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22 chapters
Preface.
Preface.
With the fullest sense of the responsibility incurred by the addition of another volume to the countless numbers already existing, and daily appearing in the world, the following Diary has been committed to the press, trusting that, as it was not written with intent to publication, the unpremeditated nature of the offence may be its extenuation, and that as a faithful picture of travel in regions where excursion trains are still unknown, and Travellers’ Guides unpublished, the book may not be fo
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Erratum.
Erratum.
“Who has not heard of the Vale of Cashmere, With its roses the brightest that earth ever gave, Its temples, and grottoes, and fountains as clear As the love-lighted eyes that hang over their wave?” [ 3 ] More than a year and a half had been spent in the hottest parts of the plains of India, and another dreaded hot season was rapidly making its approach, when, together with a brother officer, I applied for and obtained six months’ leave of [ 4 ] absence for the purpose of travelling in Cashmere a
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Introduction.
Introduction.
Having been employed collectively, however, it would be unfair to judge of his performances in detail; and from his satisfactory management of the expedition, occasionally under such trying circumstances as a break-down in the land transport, or an utter failure in his tobacco supply, we had every reason to be satisfied with our choice. The latter misfortune was the only one which really interfered at any time with his efficiency, or upset his equanimity, and it unfortunately occurred always at
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Part I. The Pleasures of the Plains.
Part I. The Pleasures of the Plains.
May 23. —To-day we arrived at “Etawah,” where we found a very comfortable little staging bungalow, but no supplies of either beer or butter procurable. On the road in the early morning there were herds of deer and antelope in sight, but time being precious we left them unmolested. As yet very little change makes its appearance in the character of the country. Level plains, with patches of trees, mango and palm, as far as the eye can reach, and everywhere dust, dust, dust! The palm-trees, however
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Part II. Cashmere.
Part II. Cashmere.
June 13. —About two A.M. we passed out of India into the territory of His Highness the Maharajah of Cashmere, and halted at Bimber. The accommodation here turned out to be most indifferent, although in our route the edifice for travellers was called a “Baraduree,” which sounded grandly. It means a summer-house with twelve doors; but beyond the facilities it afforded of rapid egress, we found it to possess but few advantages. Putting a couple of charpoys outside, we managed a few hours’ sleep al
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Part III. A Halt in the Valley.
Part III. A Halt in the Valley.
His Highness appeared to be about thirty-eight years old, and was as handsome a specimen of a native as I had ever seen. He wore a short, jet-black beard, and mustachios, [ 82 ] turned up from the corners of his mouth, and reaching, in two long twists, nearly to his eyes. He appeared absent and thoughtful which, considering the low state of his exchequer, was perhaps not to be wondered at. 2 His English visitors spend a good deal of money every summer in his kingdom; and for this reason alone, h
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Part IV. Little Thibet.
Part IV. Little Thibet.
Got breakfast at two P.M. just as the rain began to come down upon us again. The supplies procurable here were flour, milk, fowls, and eggs; butter, however, was not forthcoming. [ 134 ] July 29. —Marched early after enjoying a drier night than I had anticipated from the look of the evening and the fine-drawn condition of our tent. Our road continued up a beautifully wooded and watered valley, and reaching a gorge in the mountains, about five kos from our start, we halted at a log hut a little w
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Part V. Ladak and the Monastery of Hemis.
Part V. Ladak and the Monastery of Hemis.
The town of Ladak, although in a commercial point of view by no means a flourishing-looking settlement, was, as far as picturesqueness was concerned, everything that could be desired. It was built in the style so popular throughout the country—on pinnacles of rock, and such out of the way positions as seemed, of all others, the least adapted for building purposes—immediately outside the town, occupying a sort of bason among the surrounding mountains, and was what might fairly be called a “city o
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Part VI. A Retreat to the Valley.
Part VI. A Retreat to the Valley.
He had a sharp, detonating way, too, of delivering a volley of Thibetian, at the same time curling up his fierce-looking moustaches and whiskers, and gesticulating with both arms, which always had a great effect, the more so that the expletives were generally in Hindostanee, and not being understood, were all the more terrible to the unfortunate pig-tails on that account. August 22. —Left for Egnemo, over our old ground, which, wanting the attraction of novelty, appeared to us rather longer than
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Part VII. Last Days of Travel.
Part VII. Last Days of Travel.
October 1. —Busily employed to-day in packing away our possessions, and making final arrangements for again taking the road. Paid a visit to Saifula Baba, the shawl merchant, whose dignity was considerably upset by a cold in his head, and bought a few specimens [ 266 ] of his trade, though not sufficient to raise his spirits entirely above the influenza. The approaching winter, and the evacuation of the territory by the principal rupee-spending community, seemed a source of great unhappiness to
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Route.
Route.
Parts of the country not having been at the time correctly mapped, these distances are in some instances approximations only. [ 305 ]...
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The Religions of Cashmere and Thibet.
The Religions of Cashmere and Thibet.
During all our wanderings, whether in India, Cashmere, or Thibet, the most striking feature throughout, was the outward display of religion and the prominent part which religious forms of worship take in the every-day life of the people. [ 306 ] Monuments and temples everywhere bear testimony to the universal belief in a Supreme Being; and Hindoo, Mussulman, and Buddhist alike, by numberless prayers and frequent offerings, confess their desire to propitiate His power and to cultivate His favour.
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Takt I Sulíman.
Takt I Sulíman.
This name means the old capital, or ancient chief town. The name has, however, been spelt by different travellers in many different ways. “Moorcroft” calls it Pándenthán, “Vigne” Pandrenton, and “Hugel” Pandriton. The building of this temple is recorded between A.D. 913 and 921; and it is afterwards mentioned between the years 958 and 972, as having escaped destruction when the King Abhimanyú—Nero-like—set fire to his own capital. [ 355 ] As this is the only temple situated in the old capital, t
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Pándrethán.
Pándrethán.
Of all the existing remains of Kashmirian grandeur, the most striking in size and situation is the noble ruin of Márttand. This majestic temple stands at the northern end of the elevated table-land of “Matan,” about three miles to the eastward of Islámabád. This is undoubtedly the finest position in Kashmír. The temple itself is not now (1848) more than forty feet in height, but its solid walls and bold outlines towering [ 356 ] over the fluted pillars of the surrounding colonnade give it a most
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Márttand.
Márttand.
The mass of building now known by the name of Matan, or Márttand, consists of one lofty central edifice, with a small detached wing on each side of the entrance, the whole standing on a large quadrangle surrounded by a colonnade of fluted pillars, with intervening trefoil-headed recesses. The central building is sixty-three feet in length, by thirty-six in width. As the main building is at present entirely uncovered, the original form of the roof can only be determined by a reference to other te
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Extract from Vigne’s “Travels in Kashmír.”
Extract from Vigne’s “Travels in Kashmír.”
Les Tubétains et les Mongols ont perpétuellement cette prière dans la bouche. Les mots de cette inscription sont Sanscrits, et donnent un sens complet dans cette langue. En voici la transcription en devanagri:— ओं मणि पद्मे हुं “Om” est, chez les Hindous, le nom mystique de la divinité, par lequel toutes les prières commencent. Cette particule mystique équivaut à l’interjection, oh! prononcée avec emphase et avec une entière conviction religieuse. Mani signifie le joyau ; Padma le lotus. Enfin H
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Explication et origine de la formule bouddhique:—“Om mani padmè hoûm” Par M. Klaproth. “Nouveau Journal Asiatique.”
Explication et origine de la formule bouddhique:—“Om mani padmè hoûm” Par M. Klaproth. “Nouveau Journal Asiatique.”
“ ‘Fils d’illustre origine! dans le pays qu’aucun Bouddha des trois âges n’a pu convertir, et qui est rempli d’une foule d’êtres malfaisans, la loi se lèvera comme le soleil et s’y répandra dans les temps futurs. “ ‘L’apôtre de cet Empire de neige âpre et sauvage, sera le Khoutoukhtou’ (Padmá páni). “Après que ‘Sakya mouni’ eut prononcé ces paroles, un rayon de lumière, éclatant comme un lotus blanc, sortit de son coeur et illumina toutes les régions du monde et se plongea dans le coeur du Boudd
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Ûm Mani Panee.
Ûm Mani Panee.
The governor himself readily embraced the opportunity, which he thought the occurrence afforded, of extending the British influence to a quarter of the world but little known, and with which we possessed hardly any commercial connexion. In 1774 a deputation was sent to carry back an answer to the Lama, and to offer him suitable presents. It was [ 372 ] furnished also with a variety of articles of English manufacture, to be produced as specimens of the trade in which the subjects of the Lama migh
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Appendix C. A Sketch of the History of Cashmere.
Appendix C. A Sketch of the History of Cashmere.
The imperial army was afterwards, however, repulsed in attempting to subdue the country, and it was not finally conquered for two years, when Akbar, overcoming all resistance, took possession of the province. [ 378 ] The purity of the emperor’s motives in annexing the territory, and his opinion of his conquest, are amusingly shown in the following letter to his minister Abdûllah Khan:— “On the mirror of your mind, which bears the stamp of Divine illumination, be it manifest and evident, that at
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Metadata
Metadata
Redundant start-of-line quotation-marks have been removed. (Occurs in the appendix, especially in the French text). Where the text has been corrected, this is tagged with the corr tag, giving the source in the sic attribute. Some troublesome spots have been marked with the sic tag....
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Corrections
Corrections
The following corrections have been applied to the text:...
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Abbreviations
Abbreviations
Overview of abbreviations used....
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