38 MURSHIDABAD CITY. The following description is based upon notes by Captain Layard, quoted in the Report of the Revenue Surveyor :- The cemetery consists of three walled enclosures. The outer of these is entered by a gateway from the east side, in front of which are the ruins of an old ghát, which formerly led down to the Bhagirathi, when that river ran under the walls. The channel is now nearly half a mile distant. The wall facing the river is loopholed for musketry, and flanked by octagonal bastions, The grounds inside are all laid out as gardens, with hedges bordering the walks ; and the flowers grown in the beds serve to adorn the tombs. Many fine trees also afford a delightful shade to the explorer. Traces of fresco paint, almost obliterated by damp and neglect, may still be seen on the walls. In the outer enclosure there are eighteen tombs, only two of which have any inscription. These two have the same verse from the Kurán, the one in Persian, the other in Arabic. The middle of the three enclosures is the principal cemetery, and contains the remains of the good Nawab,' Alí Vardí Khán, and of his grandson Siraj-ud-daula. Besides the mausoleum, there are a mosque and two other buildings set apart for the female descendants of the dead, who still retain charge of the cemetery. Spread on the tombs are darkcoloured cloths or palls, spangled with gold and silver flowers; fresh flowers are strewed daily on and around them, and lights are kept continually burning. This cemetery was first endowed by Ali Vardi Khan, who allotted Rs. 305 monthly, from the collections of the villages of Bandárdeh and Nawabganj, to defray the expenses of keeping the place in order. After the murder of Siraj-ud-daula, his widow, the Begam Lutf-ul-nissa, who had accompanied her husband in his flight to Rájmahál, and had been afterwards banished to Dacca with other ladies of the court, was subsequently recalled and placed in charge of the cemetery of Khush Bagh. Here she remained till her death, receiving, in addition to the Rs. 305 already mentioned, a personal allowance of Rs. 1000 per mensem. She now lies buried in the mausoleum by the side of her husband, but the charge is still held by her descendants, who draw pensions from the Government treasury at Barhampur. Forster mentions in 1781, that mullis were employed here to offer prayers for the dead, and the widow of Siraj-ud-daula used often to come to the tomb and perform certain ceremonies of mourning. The entire cost of the establishment required for maintaining the burial-ground is now defrayed by the English Government. The third and innermost enclosure contains only a tank, the former dwelling-place of the attendants, a muzafar-Khúna or travellers' home, and a well. This latter is no longer used, and has been walled up; for it is said that a fakir accidentally fell into it and was drowned, which caused its waters to be polluted and accursed. To the north-east of Motijhil, and immediately outside the city of
