CHAP. Ill,

castle of sehwun.

49

remains of departed virtue. The miracles of Lai
Shah Baz are endless, if you believe the people.
The Indus is subject to his commands, and no vessel
dares to pass his shrine without making a propitiatory
offering at his tomb. Thousands of pilgrims flock
to the consecrated spot, and the monarchs of Cabool
and India have often visited the sanctuary. The
drums which proclaim the majesty of the saint are
a gift from the renowned persecutor Alla-o-deen,
who reigned a. d. 1242; and the gate, which is of
silver, attests the homage and devotion of a deceased
Ameer of Sinde. The needy are daily supplied
with food from the charity of the stranger ; but the
universal bounty has corrupted the manners of the
inhabitants, who are a worthless and indolent set of
men. The Hindoo joins with the Mahommedan in
his veneration of the saint, and artfully insinuates
" Lai" to be a Hindoo name, and that the Ma-
hommedans have associated with the faith of their
prophet the god of an infidel creed. A tiger, once
the tenant of the neighbouring hills, partakes of the
general bounty in a cage near the tomb.

By far the most singular building at Sehwun^
and perhaps on the Indus, is the ruined castle
overlooking the town, which in all probability is
as old as the age of the Greeks. It consists or
a mound of earth sixty feet high, and surrounded
from the very ground by a brick wall. The
shape of the castle is oval, about 1200 feet long
by 750 in diameter. The interior presents a heap
of ruins, strewed with broken pieces of pottery
and brick. The gateway is on the town side, and

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