CASHMERE, CAcit•NIttE, or Casnamt, the capital of the above province, called also Sirinagur, and some times Nagaz, is situated in N. Lat. 34° 12', and E. Long.
73' 45'. Rennel places it in N. LA. 49', E. Long.
73° I I'. This city has been supposed, but there is it a son to belie% e, incorrectly, to be the '1:11111* is 6011C(1 by I lerodotus, under the more of Caspira, or C.:aspirins. That opinion has been sanctioned by .101111 1{H111 (11(1 Trastt r, on the contrary, roil eel% es the old ('aspires not to liase het n ( but a city lying nearer tO Persia, perhaps(; rizna, or Gliazinin. (See Bartolomeo's Voyagc to the Eust Intros.) II ext •ivls on both sides of the river Clic 111111 kr about the spa e of . miles, and the different parts of it thus disjoincd are in some degree connected by four or live wood Ai , which arc here throw n titer the river. The houses iu this city are slightly built of brick and motto) with wnich there is intermixed a large proportion of timber work. Alany of them are two or tire,, some even lour or more stories high. The usual manner in which the different parts of these houses are appropriated is this : the lower flour is occupied by the cattle, the set ond is inhabited by the family. and the third, and those abate, are used as warehouses. On a standing roof of wood, there is laid a covering of line earth, by means of w licit a defence is formed for them that is equally useful ire every season. During the winter. it she hers the build ings from the great quantity of snow that fall, tit that pe riod, and communicates an agreeable warmth. In the summer, it yields a refreshing coolness; and the tops of the houses being at the same time planted with a vari ety of flowers, exhibit at a distance the spacious view of a beautifully chequered parterre. This city enjoys ma ny natural advantages. Besides that of a river, which flows through its centre, it is blessed with a mild salu brious air. There is a lake also which extends from the north-east quarter of the city, in an oval circumference of five or six miles, and which joins the Chelum by a narrow channel near the suburbs. This lake has been long noted for its beauties, and the pleasure which it af fords to the inhabitants of the country. The citizens fre quently go upon it in boats, having. many of them, for this purpose a communication by little canals es en be tween it and their own houses. Tnev here enjoy the sport. of pursuing the cranes or other birds is hic.h fre quent the lake. Taken in connection the adjacent and neighbouring grounds, the scene which is at the same time presented by it to their eves, is at once rich in pleasing natural prospects, and exhibits the remains of many striking works of art. Towards the cast, the Suliman, and the Ilirney Pun et, form the two sides of what may be called a grand portal to the lake These arc two hills, of which the one is sacred to the great King Solomon, who is re% ered in Cashmere as he who cleared this favoured valley of its excess water : on the other, 7.1luckdoom Saheb is honourad. to whom,
persons „Jail descriptions, on every important occasion, and of both sexes, present that -truest. and often, it is said, successful vows. T ta. northern view of the lake is terminated, at the ..aastance of twelve miles. by a de tached rangiemountains which slope from the centre to each ••,,g and front the base of which a spacious plain, preserved in constant 'terdore by numerous streams, extends with an easy dcelit ity to the margin of the water. In the centre of tl.e plain. as it approaches to the lake, there is a spacious garden. which appears to have been constructed by Sinh Jehan. one of • the Delhi emperors, during the period that this c:is•rict was in the possession of the Moguls. This c,ardLn is abun dantly stored with fruit tree-, and other flowering shrubs.
302 Some of the rivulets which intersect the plain are led into a canal at the back of the garden, and flowing through its centre, or occasionally thrown into a variety of water works, form one of the chief beauties of the place. It is farther decorated by various elegant and commodious pieces of architecture, in the erection and distribution of which, the Illogul princes of India have displayed equally taste and magnificence. These buildings are said to have derived some of their ornaments from the spoils of a Hindoo temple. The other sides of the lake are occu pied by gardens of an inferior description, two of which, however, that arc the property of the government, the Baugh Nussecm, lying on the north-west, and Baugh Nishat, on the south-east quarter of the Shalimar, are deserving of notice for their larger size and their agree able appearance. The scene is farther ornamented by the numerous small islands which emerge from the wa ters of the lake. To the east of this pleasing spot, is the wreck of a fortified palace, erected by Amir Khan, a Persian, when governor of Cashmere. He used to pass much of his time in this residence, which was cu riously adapted to the enjoyment of the various species of Asiatic luxury ; but the materials of which it was built had been so unsubstantial, that within the space of not more than' eight years from the period when it was erected, it could no longer with safety be inhabited. The environs of the town, in general, to the east and the west, are laid out in private gardens, which skirting the banks of the Chelum, or supplied with canals from the lake, afford to the inhabitants various pleasant retreats, and the several little hills that border upon the water, are