Page:Wanderings of a Pilgrim Vol 2.djvu/55

 abilities, and restored the power of the empire. This dynasty commenced about 1072 years before the Christian æra, and it lasted two hundred and eighty-six years. It is affirmed by the Brahmins, that it was in the time of this dynasty that the worship of emblematical figures of the Divine attributes was first established in India."

The Persians, in their invasions, they say, introduced the worship of the sun, fire, and the heavenly bodies; but the mental adoration of the Divinity, as the one Supreme Being, was still followed by many.

The great city of Kannouj was built by one of the Surajas, on the banks of the Ganges; the circumference of its walls is said to have been nearly one hundred miles. It contained thirty thousand shops, in which betel-nut was sold; and sixty thousand bands of musicians and singers, who paid a tax to Government. In 1016, the King of Ghizni took Kannouj, "a city which, in strength and structure, might justly boast to have no equal, and which raised its head to the skies." It is said, "The Hindostanee language is more purely spoken in Kannouj than in any other part of India."

We anchored; and after tiffin, Mr. M accompanied me to see the tombs of two Muhammadan saints, on the top of the hill. Thence we visited a most singular Hindoo building, of great antiquity, which still exists in a state of very tolerable preservation; the style of the building, one stone placed on the top of another, appeared to me more remarkable than any architecture I had seen in India. A further account of this ancient building, with a sketch annexed, will be given in a subsequent chapter.

The fort, which is in ruins, is on a commanding spot; the view from it all around is beautiful. The people sometimes find ancient coins amongst the ruins, and jewels of high value; a short time ago, some pieces of gold, in form and size like thin bricks, were discovered by an old woman; they were very valuable. The Brahmans brought to us for sale, square rupees, old rupees, and copper coins; but none of them were Hindoo; those of copper, or of silver, not being more than three hundred years old, were hardly worth having. I commissioned them to