MAEBI.E OX THE NERBFDDAH. 
49 
end of November. The bed is entirely rockjj and, in as 
far as I could judge in passing, the rock is a variety of 
trap, having a position nearly horizontal. A few miles 
lower down, I am informed, the river passes over a forma^ 
tion of marble j of the purest white colour, and with a gra- 
nular structure. I met with some masses in the jungle 
soon after crossing the Nerbuddah, which appeared to be 
of the same nature. At the river, it is quarried by the 
natives, who. make images and various religious ornaments 
of it. I saw a very large block in progress at the town of 
Huttah, in Bundlecund, when I left that part of the coun- 
try, which the people told me had been brought from the 
Nerbuddah. It appeared equal to the finest marble I have 
seen in England, and might well come in competition with 
the admired Parian and Pentelic marbles of old, or the 
Carrara of modern times. The image which was then un- 
der the chissel represented the God Sira^ or Mah-ded, 
{Magnus Deus), and his consort Bowannee ; and though 
finished in the usual heavy style of the Hindoos, the exe- 
cution was yet suiEciently delicate to display the excellence 
of the materials, which I admired greatly. The specimens 
of the rock, with many others, I regret to say, have been 
lost, through the carelessness of my servants, during my 
Jong march from the Nerbuddah ; but I expect soon to be 
able to replace them, and transmit to you several others 
from that part of India^ as a friend there has kindly under- 
taken to supply me. 
The valley of the Nerbuddah is formed by two principal 
ranges of hills, which inclose it, and run nearly parallel to 
each other through its whole extent ; the Vindhya, in the 
Malwa district, on the right,-— and the Gondwana, in Be- 
rar, on the left. These are both composed chiefly of sand- 
stone, the Gondwana displaying often perfect table-summits, 
with a horizontal arrangement ; while the strata of tJie op- 
yoL. IV» D 
