344 
Some Account of Mandu, 
[Nov. 
ruins, and interspersed with trees, occupies the centre, and serves to break the 
view, and give variety to a scene which might otherwise have had a somewhat 
monotonous effect. The fallen arches of the bridge, by which the Island was 
reached, are now too broken to permit of traversing it, though the piers yet show 
themselves above the surface to mark the taste, which the architect of this fairy« 
scene possessed. Near to the entrance of this passage to the Island, numerous 
decaying mosques and tombs cover the ground, and some of these, the staff of Sir 
John altered into places of habitation for themselves, like that selected by himself, 
though the preparations to render them comfortable, were less visible than in his 
own. The humble village adjacent, which at present gives the traveller and his 
followers all the usual supplies requisite in an Indian camp, is built of stone ; and 
holds a hdt,h occasionally, when the Bhil tribes descend fiom their lurking 
places in the hills to make purchases of cloth and some few other commodities ; 
which simple as their wants are, still require the assistance of this little primitive 
market to satisfy. From one of these miserable naked, dark coloured beings, I 
obtained, by the offer of a single rupee, a bow and arrows, which few or any of 
them were unarmed with. In make, and partly in material, these weapons differed 
from those I have seen in the plains of Hindoostan, in having that portion else- 
where usually constructed of catgut, formed of a tough strip of bamboo or cane, 
while the arrows, instead of being pointed with three or four edged pieces of blunt 
iron, were armed with a flat blade, of about three inches long, by one and a half 
broad, thin and well polished, and certainly capable of inflicting a severe wound. 
There was less of ornament, than this description of arms are generally embellish- 
ed with ; yet they were neatly finished, very light, and ready at a moment’s warn- 
ing, to serve the purposes of those that use them. In calling to recollection the 
many beauties of Cliecaldra, I am induced to say, that Sasseram, on the new 
road to Benares, is the only place I was ever at, which bore any resemblance to 
it— ridiculously inferior of course, yet reminding me, I confess, of what I felt 
when viewing the former. I allude to a spot on the right hand side of the road, 
and not immediately within sight of it, a little beyond the town. In the 
opposite direction, but somewhat more out of the way, a prettier scene will 
reward the lover of the picturesque, though of a character more formal, and there- 
fore very different to that which gave me such unalloyed delight in the wilds 
of Malwa. Ere the idler bids adieu to Cliecaldra, he will do well to enquire 
after a couple of guides, resident within its seldom disturbed repose, who for the 
promise of a trifling consideration, will gladly accompany him to Mandu, and 
prove of infinite use. These two men, formerly held recommendatory chits 
from their late patron, Sir John Malcolm, as intelligent active individuals, pos- 
sessing great knowledge of the neighbouring localities, and capable of pointing out 
every thing worthy of observation. They will also, at the same time, prove 
entertaining companions, investing their descriptions with marvellous tales of 
better days ; traditions handed down from ages long since, yet still current in the 
vicinity, and relating to that far distant period, when the deserted city swarmed 
with inhabitants ; and in glory, riches, and pretensions, stood second to none in Hin- 
doostan. As the “City of the Seven Kings,” is approached from this quarter, to 
which, by the way, it must have been a kind ofsuburbs, the whole length of the road 
on either side is strewn with the scattered relics of fallen affluence, and appropriate- 
ly enough, serves as an introduction for the spectator, to that far greater scene of 
devastation that lies before him. The mind is thus prepared for witnessing the 
complete display of utter ruin, which I have briefly alluded to in the preceding page, 
and of which I hope that some more intelligent scribbler than myself will soon 
give a fuller account than I can supply from an imperfect memory. When about 
two or three miles from the first gateway, attention is called to an amazing 
deep wide rent or chasm in the earth, on the left hand side of the path, down 
which, during the wet season, a waterfall of very considerable magnitude and 
volume, must descend. Carrying the eye along the dark shade of this dell, a peep 
can be procured of the country beyond : a valley, through which, the rocky, shallow, 
but clear and brisk bubbling Nerbaddah runs. While gazing on this distant view, 
the guides will entertain the time, by relating how a famous juggler, of gre« 
dexterity, once amused a king, by stretching across the widest part of this fearru 
deep, a rope, on which he danced with unconcern, to the wonder and delight o 
the thousands attracted to witness this daring feat. When in the centre, an 
over the most giddy height, the rash adventurer claimed reward — one of consider- 
able magnitude was offered. “ ’Tis insufficient,” was the answer ; on being aske 
the amount of his expectations, t( Your kingdom,” was the reply ; when 1 ie 
