The ancient capital of Lower Scinde is indeed fallen
from its high estate. The population, once two
hundred and eighty thousand, has diminished
to five thousand; its thirty miles circumference has
shrunk to ten; of its five thousand looms, which
produced the shawls and silken stuffs * celebrated
throughout Central Asia, scarcely remains a dozen ;

* Gknerallj silk and cotton mixed ; sometimes silk and gold. They
are called hmg, or waistcloths, and are supposed to be the Zowb of the
Periplus.
102 SCENES IN 8CINDE.
and of its four hundred colleges^ not one is how in
existence. The Mosque of Aurungzeb^ with its
towering walls and huge arches^ still stands to show
the ancient munificence of the Mogul viceroys^ but
all around it^ far and near^ is a squalid congeries of
ruined or half-ruined habitations. Some of the
streets are nearly blocked up by the masses of
unbaked brick^ which are allowed to moulder where
they tumble^ and in many quarters natural squares
have been formed by the simple process of a heap of
houses sinking to the ground. Each inundation
sweeps away part of the suburbs exposed to its
violence^ and the rising places^ such as Kurrachee
and Hyderabad^ every year draw off a portion of the
wretched-looking population.
He sic He :|e

We might as well dine at the Travellers' Bungalow
to-day. Not that the old Portuguese /' messman/'
as he calls himself^ is likely to rival Verrey.
