plicity of his appearance, and his ready and conftant attention
to prevent any injury to the meaneft individual from theirraf-
cibility o f his Chubdars * , or other fervants, who endeavoured
to keep them from prefling in. They could not but contrail
this appearance and conduct with that of their Nabobs, whom
they had never feen except mounted on lofty elephants, and
glittering in iplendor with their train, followed by the fol-
diciy to keep, off the multitude from offending their arrogance
and pride. .
T h e city of Patna, the principal feat *of thé province'and
government of Bahar, is long and narrow, containing a great
number o f inhabitants: this is the-rëfidèhefe !o f the political
and commercial chiefs, and the courts of juftice of the province.
| It has been famous for age9. Major Rennëll, whofe
judgement is fcarcely to be difputed, places the ancient city of
Palebothra upon the feite o f Patna. The buildings .are high,
and the ftreets narrow, and far from dean. Patna contains; a
fort, in which were confined the jjrifépi®| taken by: Meet
Coffim, Nabob of Bengal, in the war of 1764, by whofe
order they were mafiacred. The execution of this moil atrocious
ad was committed to Summaroo, a French reriegadó
in the fervice of the Nabob. The confequetfce of this feene
* Chubdars, are fervants attending perfons in high Ration, and who are always
in waiting, and precede their mailers m every excurlon, whether of
pleafure or bufinefs, and are ufed far common with Hircarrahs to carry met
fages, &e.
of horror was,' the éxpuMon o f the Nabob,) who afterwards
drew the late Sujah? ill Dowlah, Nabob; of Oude,j into a war
with the Engliih, which terminated foifavourably and’ fo honourably
to the Britiih character at the battle of Buxar; when
a peace was made; leaving thé1 conquerors .in the; undiflurbed
poffeffionof Bengal, Bahar, and part, of Orixa. Meer .Cof-
fim became afterwards,, fromu his crimes, an outcaft from fo-
ciety]Vno is "reported to have diedt of want under the walls of
Delhi, being'prohibited from entering the city .
F rUiA;Patna I made an ëxcurfidn' inland, about five cofs,
to. view the mofque of MoonheirV on f f e rivef* SiÉaUe.L* This
building, though, not.large/ is* certainly very beautiful it is
a.'fquare," with paviliorist rifing fromMhë'anglesjy.and'in the
center! is<i a majéfeic,/dome',r-thèltop' of which isi fmiihed by
what the Indian architects call a.dullus : • the line o f the curve
of the dome is .not broken, jfeut is continued; by an^ inverted
curves until it finifhes in a crefcent, ' I cannot hut greatly prefer
this to the manner in which-all great domes aré’ firiiïhed
in Europe, by erecting a finall building on the top,\ which j
at the- point of' contadf with the- dome, has a fharp angle*
The'outer furface of-this dome is\ ornamented byplantane
leaves cut in ifrone, covering-, the whole; the lines inteïfeófe
each other in great lozenges;,.: and form altogether a beautiful
ornament. The- great entrance to the" mofque is fimilar to
many of the doors to, our large Gothic! cathedrals, having columns
diminiihing a« it were in perfpeétive to the inner door.