1809.] 
under Sultan Sujah, one of the unfor- 
tunate sons of the Emperor Sha Jehan. 
Ile governed the eastern provinces of the 
empire for his father many years, with 
singular justice and moderation, which 
endeared | his memory to the inhabitants 
long after. his death, which happened } by 
treachery in Arracan, where he sought 
refuge from the vindictive genloury and 
ambition of his unnatural brother, Aurung- 
zebe. The numerous ruins a eee nm 
and about Raaje Mahui, and the great 
extent of some of them, are strong evi- 
dences of its former grandeur, and of the 
splendor and magnificence of Syltan 
Sujah. The natives have a tradition, 
that that part of the palace in which the 
Zenanah* was situated, was destroyed by 
fire at atime the Sultan was in a distant 
part of the province, and that upwards 
of three hundred women tella sacrifice to 
their extreme sense of female delicacy 
and modesty on the occasion, prefering 
the inevitable and painful death which 
awaited them, by continuing in the Ze- 
nanah, to the certainty of saving them- 
selves ‘at the expence only of being seen 
by the men who were endeavouring to 
extinguish the flames; such is the preju- 
dice of education. The place dwindled 
soon after the death of the Sultan; and 
as I observed before, is now a paltry vil- 
lage. -About two miles from it is the ces 
lebrated bridge, built by the same prince 
over a nullah, a small river called the 
Ooda; hence, itis generally known bythe 
name of the ‘Oodanullah bridge, and is 
distinguished as aifording an elegant spe- 
cimen of the Moghul architecture of 
those days. It has acquired additional 
celebrity in latter times , by giving name 
to a victory gained near it by the East 
India Company’s troops, commanded by 
Major Adams, over the forces of Cossim 
Alee Khan, in the year 1764. On the 
opposite side, but lower down the river 
than Raaje Mahul, are the ruins of Gour, 
the ancient capital of Bengal; the natives 
speak highly of its antiquity and magni- 
tude; the latter is evident, from its wide 
extended ruins occupying a space of 
abeut twelve miles in length, by three in 
eens but [ have some doubts of its 
being as they assert, the capital of Ben- 
gal, eight hundred years before the Chris- 
tian gra, and continuing so until the mid- 
le of the sixteenth century, when, they 
say, it was deserted by the inhabitants 
on account of an epidemic disorder, 
which destroyed several thousands, Ma- 
5 Sie z 
* The Sereglio. 
Narrative of a rvecent Tour in India. 
125 
jor Rennel, to whose opinion in matters 
of this kind I should pay the utmost de- 
ference, does not positively assert the 
fact, but merely gives it as a tradition 
handed down by the natives from w hich, 
and the geographical correspondence, he 
supposes it to be the Gangia Regia of 
Ptolemy. However this may be, itis not 
probable that-a city of such immense 
magnitude, as to contain a population of 
two ae cf souls, would be entirely 
deserted by its mbabitants at one time: 
the emigrations must have taken place by 
degrees, and at periods far more remote 
than the Hindus affirm, for the Maho- 
metan authors make no mention of its 
existence, since the introduction of Islae 
misin into the country, which took place 
about the eighth century after Christ; 
and it is not hikely they would have been 
silent respecting a place of such reputed. 
celebrity, if there ‘had been any vestige 
of its grande ur remaining in their days. 
The scite is now covered with jungle,and 
infested by wolves and tygers, “which 
make it dangerous to explore the ruins, 
without being numerously attended and 
well armed; and after ail, the labour is 
not worth the risk, for there nothing te 
be seen that-bears the leastresemblance 
of a building: some heaps of rabbish, and ~ 
a few bricks scattered here and there on 
the surface of the ground, are all that re- 
main to denote that the spot was once 
inhabited. 
gerow, in the evening, from an excursion 
to QOodanuilah, and the environs, of 
Raaje Mahal, ‘J enquired for Signior 
Cabral, and was told he had gone out. 
soon after me, and taken my double bar- 
rel gun. I felt rather offended at his 
taking sucha liberty, but thought noth Hing 
more of the matt er, and sat down to din~ 
_ ner; soonafterwards Mungloo uttered an 
exclamation of surprize, and said to me, 
“Sir, have you got your watch? alarmed. 
at Hee question, I turned round to the 
wainscot, which divided the dining-room - 
from the bed chamber, and on which the 
watch usually hung; but not observing is 
Bo my suspicion was awakened and 
fully confirmed on further enquiry, by 
missing a pair ¢ of siver mounted pistols, a 
silver surpoos,* and a pair of new boots, - 
I immediately sumimoned all my people, 
and questioned them about the Portu- 
guese, but all in vain; some were in the 
Buzar at the time he decamped, others 
poeta Hes rice, and all employed opine 
* That part of the Hucca which encloses 
the fire and the tobacco: 
how 
* 
On my return. to, the Bud«— 
