The neighbourhood has, however, at present, lost its reputation for sanctity, and the offerings received are scarcely sufficient to maintain two or three Fakirs.
In the evening we stopped near Monghyr, {160a} a tolerably large town, with some old fortifications.

The most conspicuous object is a cemetery, crowded with monuments.

The monuments are so peculiar, that had I not seen similar ones in the cemeteries of Calcutta, I should never have imagined that they belonged to any sect of Christians.

There were temples, pyramids, immense catafalques, kiosks, etc., all massively built of tiles.

The extent of this cemetery is quite disproportioned to the number of Europeans in Monghyr; but the place is said to be the most unhealthy in India, so that when a European is ordered there for any number of years, he generally takes a last farewell of all his friends.
Six miles hence, there are some hot springs, which are looked upon by the natives as sacred.
We had lost sight of the Rajmahal Hills at Bogulpore; on both sides of the river, nothing was now to be seen but an uninterrupted succession of flat plains.
24th December.