eyed and trembling feebleness. The fort is one of the strongest in the Deccan, and there are various handsome buildings, musjids, and palaces, within and about it. A huge tree on the glacis of the fort is honoured by the much-believing, as that under which the Great Captain of his age conducted operations against the enemy; but if the Duke ever did honour to its peepul shade, it must have been after, and not during, the siege; or, like Rustum, he must have borne a charmed life. The fort of Nuggur, however, hath a stirring history attached to it; a true tale of life romance, that affords an interest quite equal to that which Rhine-ascending tourists feel for Nonensworth and Rolandseck. It is the history of Salabat Khan's tomb, which is a favourite place for picnics, and a residence during the hot weather; it is about four miles from Camp, and on a considerable elevation. Fifty persons have dined together in the lower apartment of the tomb, which gives a very fair idea of its size, when it is remembered that the four compartments have an equality of extent, a regal space for the "eternal habitation" of a camptrained soldier. It is fortunate for modern travellers and sojourners in the East, however, that the Mahomedan conquerors of India and their descendants had this taste for handsome mausolea, as it supplies many with houses in a style of architecture not to be met with at present, as well as substantial shelter, at the expense of driving out the bats, and fitting in a few doors and windows. The few feet of earth with the conical masonry, occupied by the original tenant, neither seems to be considered as an objection nor an inconvenience: it forms a seat or a stumbling-block, as the case may be, but the last only literally, and is never considered as a subject for veneration or troublesome respect. Then, again, the situations these true believers chose for their mau

solea are so attractive, the trees that shade them are so bright and waving, the mounds where they are raised so dry and clean, and the gardens about them so cool and fresh-looking, that the living may well envy the dead their possession. It must be remembered that these Moslems were characteristically very capable of appreciating the luxurious and agreeable. No people ever knew so well how to live in India as they did in their days of glory, proofs of which we have in their underground apartments for the hot season, their water-palaces, thickwalled under-rooms, and descriptions of well-cooled sherbets; and, as it was their custom to pray, meditate, and spend hours in the tombs of their departed friends, it is but probable that these handsome mausolea had some reference to the comforts and convenience of the living, as well as to the secure resting of the dead. Eight miles from Nuggur is the Happy Valley, a favourite spot for sportsmen, newly-married couples, and Parsee amateur travellers. Its situation is as remarkable as its scenery is attractive. After riding over a wide plain, here and there studded with villages, sheltered by thick clumps of mangoe-trees, a rock appears more desert than the rest, flanked by arid hills. On approaching it, however, the tops of palms, cocoa-nut trees, and all the chief varieties of Indian foliage, attract attention just peeping above its edge; and a flight of granite steps cut in the rock, lead down into this fairylike glen of natural beauty. The Hindoos have a deserted temple there, but the spot was evidently selected as a Moslem pleasureground, a fact which now affords travellers the advantage of a good bungalow, built in true Mahomedan taste, which means, with a flat roof, on which to smoke, sleep, and pray, in accordance with the uses made of such places by their original de

signers; small, square, slate-coloured rooms, with arched roofs, for the occupation of bats, and little recesses for the reception of oil-lights; with doors that do not close, or if closed, do not open; tri-sided, underground apartments, looking into the valley, and arches instead of windows. This last peculiarity is here, however, an advantage, for the view commanded is most lovely. The valley, indeed, is the mere gorge of an isolated hill, but the foliage is dense and beautiful-originally well cultivated, but now having the appearance of the wildest nature; huge masses of rock are piled amongst it, and a fair stream, every here and there taking the form of waterfalls, or a rapid torrent, as the nature of the ground may cause, makes its way onward to the lower plain. The fine banian, with its columned shade, is here seen in peculiar grandeur, its daughter-stems stretching widely, and descending deeply into the ravine, the parent branches forming noble studies of forest foliage, so noble, indeed, that Hindoo travellers have even been attracted by the beauty of one, that owns some dozen pillars all around it, among which have sprung the aloe, and various lesser shrubs, giving to each stem the semblance of its being an independent tree. Every stone round which the rivulet rushes is smeared with red pigment, and no traveller passes along the little footpath on his way to the distant village, but raises his hand in reverence to this natural temple of the grove. Trees, and shade, and water, are sure attractions to the natives of the East, and varied travellers, hour by hour, arrive at the Happy Valley. Many are pilgrims, with scrip and staff, who eat, bathe, beg, and smoke, and then, without paying the slightest homage to the temple, or to the huge stone Nandi that form its chief ornament, although supposed to be on religious service all intent, go their way, laughing and chatting

through the valley. Nuggur was a scene of many of the worst cruelties, and also highest triumphs, of the great conqueror Aurungzebe; he is said to have died there, and a little tomb on the left of the fort is considered as the depository of his heart. The mausoleum commands a very beautiful panoramic view of Nuggur, with its palaces, musjids, gardens, and flowing streams; while a pretty Protestant church rising amongst them, together with the "compounds" in the artillery-lines, gives it, to the English sojourner, a refreshing "home" look. The gardens of Nuggur are celebrated throughout the west side of India, for their beauty and produce; thick hedges of myrtle four feet high, vines that rival the south of Italy, and English vegetables in abundance, are their characteristics. The native gardens are also rich in produce; but a native garden is, after all, but a mere orchard; and, amongst rubbish, weeds, and stony roads, and large fruit-trees, one looks in vain for the neat enclosures, the well-kept paths, trim borders, and perfumed parterres of an English shrubbery. Utility appears the only object in the Eastern gardener's view; acres of rose-bushes are cultivated only that the blossoms may be cropped at sunrise to produce rose-water; and jasmine is grown in abundance, but merely for decorations on festivals, and in offerings at the temples. At Nuggur, the "Mootee Bhaug," or Garden of Pearls, is an exception, having been formed in English taste, and being rich in beautiful shrubs, bearing Oriental flowers of every hue; yet, even here, jowarree is sown amongst the plants, and the song of bulbul is lost in the cry of the cornwatcher, as he whirls his sling aloft, to scare away the feathered plunderers. There is the "Behiestie Bhaug," too, or Garden of Paradise, with the ruins of a palace at its entrance, about which the dry old

historians are very voluminous in their accounts, of how one khan built it, and another added to it, and a third advised about it, and a fourth seized it. A water-palace of considerable size, still remaining in the neighbourhood of Nuggur, is said, with great probability, to have been the residence of Aurungzebe, and is situated in the remains of an extensive garden, known as the "Furruh Bhaug," or Garden of Happiness. Considering the palace was commenced in 1006 of the Hegira, it is yet in remarkably good preservation, and must have been, in its day, a very substantial and handsome building. The centre-room, which is of huge proportions, is lighted and ventilated by two open balconies, running round the ceiling at small distances from each other; and the interior architecture of the arched recesses and roofing is, in many cases, ornamental, and finished with much skill. The prince who commenced its erection, did so, it appears, as a matter of state policy, to show the Delhi nobles his opinion of the stability of a possession on which it was considered wise to expend so much; but the water which surrounds the palace was not thought of until his successor brought it from the hills at some distance by means of aqueducts, the remains of which may still be seen in all directions about Nuggur; and this prince, with much good taste, built round the palace a reservoir of some forty acres in extent. Soon after the rainy season, the waters on every side bathe the palace walls to some feet in depth, and the garden immediately around it would be unapproachable for foot passengers, but for a raised vallade carried out from the western side of the garden. In the early morning, few effects of light and shade can be more beautiful than those which adorn the water-palace of the Furruh Bhaug, for the most perfect and handsome portion of it receives the first rays of the morn

ing sun, which, lighting up its Gothic-looking architecture, separate it vividly from the masses of fine trees clustering round its base, while they again are reflected, leaf and branch, and stem, in the deep, clear waters that surround and bathe their roots; and these, contrasted in their depth of richest shade, by the crimson turbans and orange-coloured scarfs of the native groups, who wend hither daily to enjoy the pleasures of the spot, the cool bathing beneath the trees, or the social chit-chat meal. Wild ducks may occasionally be seen in flocks upon the surface of the lake, affording considerable attraction to the denizens of the Camp; but even when the sportsman is disappointed of his spoil, the eye of the lover of the picturesque may be always gratified by the number of snow-white, graceful birds which rest upon the banks, or seek their food among the beautiful aquatic plants that adorn these fair waters, where the rich green rushes throw into fine relief the tender tints of the lovely lotus, and a hundred blossoms, red and yellow, blue and purple, are distinctly mirrored upon this charming lake, which, barbarian as he was in some matters, Shah Tiah certainly showed infinite taste in forming. The dream of Moslem grandeur, however, and the luxurious indulgences of its princes, are now at an end, and the beautiful Furruh Bhaug has long been subservient to supposed purposes of utility and improvement. A grant of its acres having been made to a medical officer of government, mulberry-trees were planted in great quantities for the growth and cultivation of the Italian worm and silk. The plan, to a certain degree, failed; perhaps in consequence of the sanguine enthusiasm of its originator, as expenses were entered into that the results of the early trial could not justify, and debt became the consequence. Feebleness and dis

ing them for a trifling remuneration to the amateur garden cultivators of the Camp. The collector, however, interfered; fortunately for the delightful shades of the Furruh Bhaug, the trees were restored, and the system still works in a trifling degree; the fine foliage becoming every day more luxuriant from the abundance of sweet water, while the worms slumber in the chambers of kings.

NUKTA, the barrel-headed or painted goose; the Anas Indui of Indian authors. During the night they rob the corn-fields, and, in the day, the flocks join and locate together in prodigious numbers on a solitary sand-bank in the river. It is supposed they come from Thibet, and their flesh is free from the rankness which attends wild-fowl in general. The black-backed, or Nukta goose, is the Anas Malanotos of authors. The male weighs about five pounds. It is plentiful in the rainy season, in the vicinity of Delhi. The comb on the male in some specimens, is large and more handsomely marked with white spots than others, and their size and plumage also differs a good deal according to their age. There is an obtuse horny process on the bend of the wing. The nukta frequents most places where there is not much water, and subsists on the seed of grasses. The female is much smaller, being about the size, and having nearly the same plumage as the common duck; it has no comb, but there is an appearance on the upper part of the bill as if nature had at one time intended to place one there. The upper part of the upper mandible is red, and the point of the bill and the legs are yellow. NULLA, Hindostanee. A streamlet, rivulet, water-course.

NUMMUD, carpetting of felt, much used in Persia.

the western coast of the island of Kinsin, in the empire of Japan, in Lat. 32 deg. 48 min. N., Long. 132 deg. 35 min. E. It is the only seaport to which Europeans are allowed

to resort.

NUT-CUT, roguish, mischievous. A term of reproach, good-naturedly applied in India to vauriens. NUTTS, gipsies, an Indian term. NUWANUGGUR, a town in India, in the province of Guzerat, situated on the western coast of the peninsula, in Lat. 22 deg. 55 min. N., Long. 70 deg. 14 min. E. It is a large town, the capital of a tributary chief, styled the Jam of Nuwanuggur, and is noted for various cotton manufactures.

NUWARA ELIYA (City of Light), a new settlement formed in the mountainous parts of the interior of the Island of Ceylon, about fifty miles south-east of Kandy. In the months of December, January, February, and part of March, there is little rain, and the air is pure and healthy, the thermometer being sometimes at night below the freezing point; and in the day, in these months, seldom rising higher than sixty-six or sixty-eight. All kinds of European vegetables common in gardens, grow here, and it is delightful to see the healthy and thriving appearance of peas, beans, strawberries, cabbages, &c. It has been found by the experience of ten or twelve years to be an excellent station for invalids. Companies of several of the English regiments serving in Ceylon are stationed there; and the men, their wives and children, look as healthy and fresh-coloured as in England. The Cingalese resident there are chiefly persons who have gone from the maritime provinces for the purpose of trade. There are

a court-house, as it is the station of an assistant government agent, a rest-house, and, in addition to the barracks, several English gentlemen's residences. The plain of Nuwera Eliya is about four miles in length, and varies in breadth from half a mile to a mile and a half. Roads have been made round the plain; and neat wooden bridges in several places have been thrown across a small river that runs through the middle of it. For a few months in the year, it is one of the most delightful places in the island. NUZZER, Hindostanee. A vow, an offering; a present made to a superior.

NÚZZERI DURGAH, literally, an offering at a sacred place for maintaining places of worship.

O.

ODALISQUE, the female tenant of a Turkish seraglio. The Odalisques usually consist of Georgian, Armenian, or Circassian slaves. The Sultan generally has a great number in his service, six or seven however (called Kaddives), have alone the privilege of producing an heir to the throne.

ODEYPORE, a city in India, the pre sent capital of the province of Ajmere, situate in Lat. 24 deg. 35 min. N., Long. 73 deg. 44 min. E. It stands on the border of a large lake, which on the other sides is enclosed by ranges of wild and rugged hills. The palaces and garden residences on the borders of the lake are all of marble, highly sculptured. Images, toys, and a great variety of articles of marble and rock-crystal, are sent from this place to the neighbouring provinces.

O'M, a mystic syllable, signifying the supreme god of gods, which the Hindoos, from its awful and sacred meaning, hesitate to pronounce aloud; and, in doing so, place one of their hands before their mouths. The gayatri,

called by Sir William Jones the mother of the Vedas, and in another place the holiest text of the Vedas, is expressed by the tri-literal monosyllable, AUM, aud meaning that divine light of knowledge dispersed by the Almighty, the sun of righteousness, to illuminate the minds of created beings.

OMERKOTE, a town in India, in the province of Scinde, situated on the eastern frontier, about eighty-five miles to the eastward of Hyderabad. This was formerly the residence of an independent Rajpoot chief, and is noted as being the birth-place of the Emperor Acbar.

OMLAH, officers; the civil officers of government.

ONGOLE, a small town in India, in the province of Northern Carnatic, situated near the coast, about 150 miles north of Madras. It is small, and irregularly built.

OOCH, a city in India, in the province of Mooltan, situated at the junction of the rivers Sutlej and Beya with the river Chenab. It stands in a fertile plain, four miles from the left bank of the river. It is an ancient city, much noted during the first invasions of the Mahomedans. It has now about 2000 inhabitants. OODAGHERRY, a town in India, in the province of Travancore, has a small fortress, thirty miles south of Trivanderam, formerly one of the principal military stations of the province. Adjoining is the town or village of Papanaveram, where the rajah has a palace.

OOJEIN, a town in Hindostan, in the province of Malwa, situated on the right bank of the river Seepra, in Lat. 23 deg. 11 min. N., Long. 75 deg. 35 min. E. This is one of the most ancient cities in India, and is particularly noted in Hindoo geography, as being on the first meridian, called the meridian of Lunka, which sometimes also takes the name of this city, and is called the meridian of Oojein. The ancient city, which was greatly celebrated as one of the