n, worthy only to rank in the second place."

* In nearly every instance the passages quoted from various authorities
have been retranslated from the Russian. As the time and labor needful
for verification would he too great, the sense only of these passages is
given here. They do not pretend to be textual.--Translator

England did not disarm the Rajputs, as she did the rest of the Indian
nations, so Gulab-Sing came accompanied by vassals and shield-bearers.

Possessing an inexhaustible knowledge of legends, and being evidently
well acquainted with the antiquities of his country, Gulab-Sing proved
to be the most interesting of our companions.

"There, against the blue sky," said Gulab-Lal-Sing, "you behold the
majestic Bhao Mallin. That deserted spot was once the abode of a holy
hermit; now it is visited yearly by crowds of pilgrims. According to
popular belief the most wonderful things happen there--miracles. At the
top of the mountain, two thousand feet above the level of the sea, is
the platform of a fortress. Behind it rises another rock two hundred and
seventy feet in height, and at the very summit of this peak are to be
found the ruins of a still more ancient fortress, which for seventy-five
years served as a shelter for this hermit. Whence he obtained his food
will for ever remain a mystery. Some think he ate the roots of wild
plants, but upon this barren rock there is no vegetation. The only mode
of ascent of this perpendicular mountain consists of a rope, and holes,
just big enough to receive the toes of a man, cut out of the living
rock. One would think such a pathway accessible only to acrobats and
monkeys. Surely fanaticism must provide wings for the Hindus, for no
accident has ever happened to any of them. Unfortunately, about forty
years ago, a party of Englishmen conceived the unhappy thought of
exploring the ruins, but a strong gust of wind arose and carried them
over the precipice. After this, General Dickinson gave orders for the
destruction of all means of communication with the upper fortress, and
the lower one, once the cause of so many losses and so much bloodshed,
is now entirely deserted, and serves only as a shelter for eagles and
tigers."

Listening to these tales of olden times, I could not help comparing the
past with the present. What a difference!

"Kali-Yug!" cry old Hindus with grim despair. "Who can strive against
the Age of Darkness?"

This fatalism, the certainty that nothin