CASHMERE, the capital of the above province, is a large city, which extends 4 miles on each side of the river Jhelum, over which there are seven wooden bridges. It is of un-
equal breadth; but in some places it is nearly 2 miles wide. North of the city, on the summit of the Koli Maran, a hill rising 250 feet above the bed of the Jhelum, is the citadel, and in the south-eastern quarter is the small fort of Shore Ghur, where the governor resides. The houses are mostly built of wood, with partition walls of brick and mortar. They are high, being many of them three stories, with sloping wooden roofs covered with a bed of fine earth, which in summer is sown with flowers, and exhibits a lively appearance. The town, like most of those in the East, is dirty in the extreme, its narrow streets being covered with the filth of the inhabitants, who, even in the East, are proverbially unclean. The river is, notwithstanding, covered with baths. The public buildings in the city are not remarkable; the most celebrated being the Jama Masjid, or Great Mosque, and the mosque of Shah Hamedan. There is a beautiful lake near the town, which extends from the N.E. quarter in an oval circumference of 5 or 6 miles, and communicates with the Jhelum by a narrow channel near the suburbs. On the east side of the lake is a detached hill called Tukhi Suliman, and on the west an eminence designated Huri Parbut. The verdant and level margin of this beautiful piece of water was the favourite resort of the Mogul emperors, and is still in many places overspread with the relics of their pleasure-grounds and palaces. Of these the most celebrated is the Shalimar, laid down by the Emperor Jehangir, and which has been selected by Moore for the closing scene of Lalla Rookh. The city of Cashmere is generally considered to have been founded by Pravarasena, who reigned from A.D. 128 to 176. Its elevation above the sea is about 5500 feet. Cashmere is also called Sirinagur. Lat. 34. 5., Long. 74. 58.