Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 19.5.3

19.5.3

Al-Badaoni alludes to the Lanka island in his Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh as follows: 'Sultan Zain-ul-'Abidin, whose history has been written succinctly in my abridgment of the history of Kashmir' (see p. 393, footnote *) 'had sijarib of stones thrown into the water' [of the Lake], 'and built thereon a stone throne so lofty and grand that the like of it has not been seen in all the provinces of India.'—P. 398, Ed. Bib. Indica As. Soc. Bengal, 1889. and with the same effect ; thus continuing its motion at irregular intervals. But the wonder, they say, consists in this, that the least noise made, either by speaking or knocking the feet against the ground, agitates the water and causes it to run and bubble in the manner described. I discovered, however, that its movements are influenced neither by speaking nor knocking, and that its action is the same whether you make a noise or are silent. As to the real cause of the water rising in this manner, I have not reflected sufficiently upon the subject to give you a satisfactory solution ; unless it be that the sand by returning continues to obstruct the narrow channel of this small and weak spring, until the water thus opposed and closed in makes an effort to raise the sand and open a passage ; or it may rather be, that the wind pent in the channel of the spring rises at intervals, as is the case in artificial springs.