with great pomp and illuminations. A body of infantry and cavalry march in procession before the méhndí, the Nawab and attendants follow, and elegies are chaunted.

"On the 7th day the Imámbárah is turned into a harem and the Begums attend. They put fetters on the Nawáb, according to custom, and a chain round his neck. Hundreds of women, high and low, receive presents on this occasion, as the Begums distribute thousands of rupees, in order to fulfil certain vows.

"On the 8th day the flags are carried from the palace. The Nawab accompanies them, barefooted and walking slowly, with pensive mien and great dignity, whilst tears unceasingly flow from his august eye.

"On the 10th day, called 'Ashúrá, before sunrise, the flags and the coffins are carried to Amáníganj, a place about 2 kós from the palace, where the coffins are buried. The Nawáb again walks barefooted in the procession, and, having arrived at the burial-place, orders elegies to be chaunted. The prayer appointed for this day is then read. About noon the Nawab returns to his palace. The others do not return before the evening. The gathering of the people in Amáníganj is very great; for all kinds of food are distributed there to the poor and the inhabitants in general. Besides there is in Amáníganj a place resembling Kerbalá, laid out, from pious motives, by the Nawab Názir Sayyidí Dáráb 'Alí. A meeting is held there on the 2nd Thursday of every month.

"As the relatives of a dead person prepare a dinner 40 days after his death, a large public dinner is also prepared in the Imámbárah, 40 days after the end of the Muharram festivities, i. e. on the 20th day of the month of Cafar."

I may remark that the above ceremonies are purely Shi'ah. Educated Sunnís abhor them, but low Sunnís take a part both in the Shi'ah, and also in Hindoo festivities, all over India. The Shi'ahs in Calcutta have a house near Manicktollah, where they celebrate the 10th day of the Muharram by carrying flags about. Elegies are also sung and the shéwan is performed. The house, which is called Karbalá, is let during the year, but the tenants have to leave it during the Muharram.

I take this opportunity to correct a prevalent error, which even many of our lexicographers have made, viz. that the taʼziahs are

carried about in remembrance of the death of Hasan and Husain, But it is in commemoration of the death in battle of Husain and his family only. Hasan had died a year before Husain of poison. Nor do the Shi'ahs exclaim in their lamentations "Hasan Husain !" but "Husain, Husain !" or "yá Husain! merely.

As a custom peculiar to Murshidábád, the author mentions a grand annual display of fireworks and a feast given by the Nawab on the last Thursday of the month of Bhádón, to which the English gentry of Berhampore are generally invited.

A large raft of 100 cubits square is made of plantain trees and bamboos and covered with mud. In the midst of the raft a small fortress is built, to the walls of which all kinds of fireworks are attached. At the order of the Nawáb, the raft is launched (bhasáná) and steered to the other side of the river, when the fireworks are let off. The whole is done to the honour and glory of Haszrat Khwajah Khiszr, (may blessings be upon him).

Smaller rafts (hind. béṛá) are put on the tanks by Muhammadans of the lower classes all over Bengal on every Thursday during the month of Bhádón. The simplest ones consist of joined pieces of bamboos or plantain trees, with a few sweetmeats and a small lamp placed on them. They are made in order to discharge vows.

I do not know the origin of this custom, nor the area over which it extends. It is in all probability of Hindoo origin. But it reminds me of an attribute of Khiszr as the guide of wanderers, who loose their way in the darkness of the night. Indeed one must have seen the darkness of a night in Bengal during the month of Bhádón, to know what darkness really is.

Notes on the style of the book.

The writer succeeds in expressing his ideas clearly; awkward sentences occur seldom.

The style of the book is Hindustani-Persian, i. e. Persian words arranged according to the genius of the Hindustani language, The general failings of all Indian writers in Persian, from Abulfaszl downwards, appear also here. A preference is given to long periods with participial constructions corresponding to Hindustani forms as, 55

&c. The apodosis (1) is generally introduced by words like

which corresponds to Hindustani درین وقت نظر بران برین معنی

بنا عجیب و غریب است که تعلق بدیدن دارد .purely Hindustani, e. g

and, and &c. Many phrases are

correlative adverbs as

"the building is remarkable, so that it has a connection with seeing," i. e. "you must see the building to comprehend its beauty," or as one would

you must see it, in order to دیکھنے سے علاقہ رکھتاهی say in Hindustani نماز پڑهنا is the Hindustani نماز کردن for the Persian نماز خواندن judge. مینهدی اٹهانا is Hindustani for حنا بستن for مینهدی برداشتن The phrase The مدرن معروف بصادق is Hind for مدرن عرف صادق علی The phrase

author uses also many Hindustani words quite needlessly, e. J.

I was astonished to find . دو سه جفت مرثیه خوان for دوسه جور مرثیه خوان و نیز معمول the following monstrosity in the chapter on Murshidabad ناظمان سلف بوده که در ماها بهادون که کشتیهای نوار سرکاری که در دهاکه بود طلب میداشتند

"It was also the custom of the former Nawabs to send in the month of August for those government boats which were at Dacca." The most learned Persian scholar, unacquainted with Hindustani, would not know what to make of the before. It is very

جو good Hindustani* and stands for is Indian usage for کشتی ها پادشاه for بادشاہ Hindustani authors also insist upon writing کشتیها

as has an obscene meaning (V. Bahár i 'Ajam). is a curious Arabic plural of the Persian, "The phrase" &,"plundered things" is a serious blunder. It looks as if the author had made a participle of the noun mistaking the for a radical.

The handwriting of the MS. is a bad Shikastah.

*

بہادون مھینے مین جو کشتیان دهاكه مين تهين الخ :

Notes on Buddhist Remains near Mynpoorie.-By C. HORNE, Esq. B. C. S.

[Received, October 30th, 1866.]

At a distance of from 10 to 25 miles to the south of Mynpoorie extends of line of high Kheras, distant 3 or 4 miles apart.

On each of these, in ancient time, was some large building, but owing to their general transformation, some hundred years since, at a time. of anarchy, into square mud forts, traces of these ancient buildings are hard to find.

In my former notes relative to Kerouli, Maloun and Kánemganj, I recorded evident traces of Buddhist buildings of probably the 3rd or 4th century A. D., but in the mounds recently visited, I have not been so successful.

Leaving Bújániganj canal station, opposite to which is a village perched on a high mound with its usual jheel around, created by the excavation of earth to form the said mound which I could not visit, I proceeded to Tukrow (canal station), nearly west for 6 miles. Three miles from there, still going west, I arrived at Bhawanti, a village similar to that just spoken of and probably worthy of a visit― but the sun forbad my examining it, and I pushed on to Kúrhatwhich is a mound of great extent, with a very large jheel almost enclosing it.

Here the fort arrangement had been carried out, as shewn in Fig. 1; but I was fortunate in finding some very ancient solid brick blocks cut into ornamental patterns with a tool. (Fig. 2.) This block was burnt in one piece and was of very fine texture.

Fig. 3.

71"

The next illustration was a finial corner ornament. (Fig. 3.) The cutting was very sharply done, and I found fragments of many other such bricks.

Fig. 4.

3'

10"

9"

7" thick.

Fine kunkur blocks are rare here, and stone is quite unknown, hence the use of brick. There was, however, one small column shaft in fine kunkur (Fig. 4) which shewed the trace of a small building, probably early Hindoo.

There were also heaps of fragments of small kinriaros or cherubs, such as are seen around later statues of Buddha, as well as 2 pairs of feet, with one or two round faces with very large ear-rings, so that I think that this village would repay a careful search.

From Khurrah to Soj is only 2 or 3 miles. Soj is a mound of vast extent with a very large square mud fort rising 40 feet on its crest, and an immense jheel stretching away from its base. Near the jheel is an arrangement of old kunkur blocks 16' x 10'-being 5 courses 4′-9′′ in height, with many blocks lying around, amongst which I identified the centre block of a Jain ceiling as per fig. 5 in the margin.

2'-8"

Fig. 5.

This from its size would indicate a building of small size; but kunkur is a formation which does not readily indicate age.

I also noticed, set up as a sacred post,

a kunkur ornament

finial, the same as

loun. A portion of

being a large

found at Ma

a statue of

Buddha, being from the waist to the

feet, also occurred, but I was much disappointed at finding so little that was really ancient.