Page:Picturesque Nepal.djvu/138

 population, "being mostly Buddhists, received but little mercy at the hands of their Hindu conquerors. The royal palace was dismantled; the dwellings of the wealthy citizens were robbed of everything valuable that they contained, and even the temples were not spared." And Patan has never recovered from this dreadful blow, which still appears imprinted on the visages of its people as on the façades of its buildings. Time also has assisted in this ruin, and laid its hand heavily on much of the architecture of this city, so that deserted shrines, broken archways, mutilated sculptures, and relics overgrown by rank vegetation greet the eye at every turn. Hodgson himself states that "it is often requisite to walk heedfully over the classic fields of the valley of Nepal, lest perchance you break your shins against an image of a Buddha." But the great central square with its public buildings and temples still bravely stands, and endeavours to give the lie to those who maintain that she is utterly cast down. Sylvain Levi's recent observations on this portion of Patan are graphic and interesting: "La place