'Apres Moi Le Deluge' Has Been His Motto, And Its Ruin
Has Been Accelerated Not Less By His Rapacity Than By His Political
Jealousy, Which Suggested To Him At Any Cost The Merciless Removal
Of Its Wealth And The Reckless Havoc He Has Made In Its Resources."
[8] - The Tukt-i-Suliman, an old Hindoo temple, the throne of Solomon
the magnificent, the prophet, the mighty magician, whom all pious
Mussulmans believe to have been carried through the air on a throne
supported by Dives or Afrites, whom the Almighty had made subservient
to His will.
- Vigne. The summit stands 1,000 feet above the level
of the plain, and the date of its erection is believed to be 220
B.C. VIDE Appendix A.
[9] - "There is no God but God;" "In the name of God."
[10] - This was written without being aware that the native name
of Mutton is a corruption of Martund, by which name the temple is
also designated.
The meaning of Martund being in Sanscrit "the Sun," additional grounds
have thus been furnished for determining the origin of the ruin. VIDE
Appendix A.
[11] - On this subject a good deal of difference of opinion seems
to exist, and from Moore's descriptions of the furniture of his
terrestrial paradise, which have added so much to the fame of the
valley, it appears probable that his "muse," thinking it useless
to search abroad for materials which existed in abundance at home,
supplied him with what he supposed to be Eastern celestial creations,
entirely from his native shores. Vigne, however, says, "I do not think
that the beauty of the Kashmirian women has been overrated. They are,
of course, wholly deficient in the graces and fascinations derivable
from cultivation and accomplishment; but for mere uneducated eyes,
I know of none that surpass those of Kashmir." On the other hand,
M. Jacquemont, who found "celestial happiness" in a plant of rhubarb,
is unable to discover any beauty whatever in the Cashmerian ladies,
and has no patience with his neighbour's little flights of fancy in
depicting their perfections. "Moore," he writes, in his "Letters from
India," "is a perfumer, and a liar to boot. Know that I have never
seen anywhere such hideous witches as in Cashmere. The female race is
remarkably ugly." Instead of adding to such conflicting evidence, I
have endeavoured to subpoena a credible witness to speak for herself;
and the right of private judgment being thus reserved to the reader,
Gulabie will no doubt be charitably dealt with, and will find her
proper position somewhere within the limits of a "hideous witch"
and a "celestial being."
[12] - This place is mentioned in the "Tuzuk Jehangeery," or "Precepts
of Jehangeer," in a way which shows that the Conqueror of the World
had not included himself among his victories.
The name appears on a Persian inscription as Wurnagh, but is called
by the natives Vernagh, and is mentioned by Jehangeer in his journal
as Tirnagh: -
"The source of the river Bhet (Jhelum)[*] lies in a fountain in Cashmeer,
named Tirnagh, which, in the language, of Hindostan, signifies a
snake - probably some large snake had been seen there.
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