226 
THE OMENTAL ANNUAL. 
divine Ram as this faJchir. Having collected his 
followers, he commenced in the neighbourhood of 
his capital, upturning every mound and hillock to 
be met with, and eagerly following in person the 
operations of the workmen ; lest, by absence, he 
should be irrevocably deprived of the first glance of 
the recluse, — a glance which might be supposed 
to extend backward, into thousands of years ante- 
cedent. 
Gopa Shahir, who directed the operations of the 
men, kept them three months employed at a distance 
from Shri Gooroo’s retreat, encouraging the hopes of 
the credulous Raja, from time to time, by the rela- 
tion of pretended visions and revelations ; until, as 
he gradually approached the true position of his 
accomplice, he wound the whole multitude up to an 
extraordinary frenzy of superstitious expectation. At 
last, after cutting through several feet of solid earth, 
they opened a small cavern, from which came a rush 
of fresh air ; and wherein, after an aperture had 
been made sufficient to admit the daylight, they 
discovered the ancient ascetic, cross-legged, immove- 
able, and with his eyes fixed as if in a profound 
trance. Gopa Shahir was the first to enter the cave, 
and by applying a small vial of consecrated extracts 
to the nose and eyes of his spiritual guardian, he 
restored him to consciousness. Gopa Shahir now 
exhibited every imaginable demonstration of ecstatic 
but reverential delight. 
