Page:The Seven Cities of Delhi.djvu/202

The Seven Cities of Delhi. — Close by the main entrance from the terrace into the baths there is a small chamber containing a bath, let into the ground, and said to be made out of one block; the small size suggests that it was the bath set apart for the children. On the celling, now covered with whitewash, were, it is said, pictures of animals, to frighten naughty children. A passage, parallel to the river-wall, traverses the building, and to the right of this is a bath-chamber, used during the hot weather; in the further recess of this is a shower-bath. In the centre of the larger chamber of this cool room is a shallow basin, ornamented with jade, a small piece of which yet remains. It is a custom among Hindu women to wear a necklace, composed of nine different stones, with a jade pendant, as a charm; each morning this is washed with water, and the water is drunk to avert sickness, or the charm may be merely sucked. This idea is said to have suggested the ornamentation of this basin, but the precious stones have, of course, long disappeared. These charms are called "nau-rattan," and curios composed of nine different stones are frequently offered for sale by the Delhi jewellers to-day. To the left of the main passage there are two more chambers, the first of which is a 152