His residence, which he so often visited,
he informed me that it was a maxim with all Indian monarchs not to
make roads, for, according to their opinion, in case of a war, they
offered too great facilities to the invasion of the enemy.
The castle is small and unimportant. It lies on the river Chumbal,
which has here hollowed out for itself a remarkably deep bed in the
rock. Picturesque ravines and groups of rock form its shores.
The garden of the castle is so thickly planted with orange, citron,
and other trees, that there is not room for even the smallest
flowering plant or shrub.
The few flowers which the Indian gardens contain, are placed at the
entrances. The paths are raised two feet, as the ground is always
muddy and damp in consequence of the frequent watering. Most of the
Indian gardens which I afterwards saw resembled these.
The king frequently amuses himself here with tiger-hunting.
Somewhat higher up the river small towers are erected upon slight
eminences; the tigers are driven gradually towards the water, and
always more and more hemmed in, until they are within shot of the
towers; the king and his friends sit securely upon the tops of the
towers, and fire bravely upon the wild beasts.
