On The Walls Of This Gallery
Are The Pictures Of The Late Emperor Akbar, The Present Sovereign, And
All His Sons.
At the end is a small devoncan, where the king usually
sits, and behind it is his bed-chamber,
And before it an open paved
court, along the right-hand side of which is a small moholl of two
stories, each containing eight fair chambers for several women, with
galleries and windows looking both to the river and the court. All the
doors of these chambers are made to be fastened on the outside, and not
within. In the gallery, where the king usually sits, there are many
pictures of angels, intermixed with those of banian dews, or devils
rather, being of most ugly shapes, with long horns, staring eyes, shaggy
hair, great paws and fangs, long tails, and other circumstances of
horrible deformity, that I wonder the poor women are not frightened at
them.
Returning to the former court, where the adees, or guards, keep
watch, you enter by another gate into the new durbar, beyond which are
several apartments, and a great square moholl, sufficient to lodge two
hundred women in state, all having several apartments. From the same
court of guard, passing right on, you enter another small paved court,
and thence into another moholl, the stateliest of all, containing
sixteen separate suites of large apartments, each having a devoncan,
or hall, and several chambers, each lady having her tank, and enjoying a
little separate world of pleasures and state to herself, all pleasantly
situated, overlooking the river. Before the moholl appropriated to the
mother of Sultan Cussero, is a high pole for carrying a light, as before
the king, as she brought forth the emperor's first son and heir.
Before this gallery is a fair paved court, with stone gratings and
windows along the water; beneath which is a pleasure garden; and behind
are the king's principal lodgings, most sumptuously decorated, all the
walls and ceilings being laid over with pure gold, and along the sides,
about man's height, a great number of Venetian mirrors, about three feet
asunder, and in threes over each other; and below are many pictures of
the king's ancestors, as Akbar his father, Humaion his grandfather,
Babur his great-grandfather, the first of the race who set foot on
India, together with thirty of his nobles, all clad as calenders or
fakiers. In that disguise Babur and his thirty nobles came to Delhi to
the court of Secunder, then reigning, where Babur was discovered, yet
dismissed under an oath not to attempt any hostilities during the life
of Secunder, which he faithfully performed. On the death of Secunder,
Babur sent his son Humaion against his successor Abram, from whom he
conquered the whole kingdom. There afterwards arose a great captain, of
the displaced royal family in Bengal, who fought a great battle against
Humaion near the Ganges, and having defeated him, continued the pursuit
till he took refuge in the dominions of Persia; where he procured new
forces, under the command of Byram, father to the Khan Khana, and
reconquered all, living afterwards in security. On the death of Humaion,
Akbar was very young, and Byram Khan was left protector of the realm.
When Akbar grew up, and assumed the reins of government, he cast off
Byram, and is said to have made away with him, when on a roomery, or
pilgrimage to Mecca. The son of Byram, Khan-khana, or khan of the
khans, in conjunction with his friends and allies, is a great curb on
Shah Selim, being able to bring into the field upwards of 100,000 horse.
Shah Selim affirms himself to be the ninth in lineal male descent from
Tamerlane, or Timur the Great, emperor of the Moguls.[253]
[Footnote 253: We have here left out a farther description of the palace
and other buildings at Lahore, which in fact convey little or no
information. - E.]
The 17th of May came news that the Patan thieves had sacked the city of
Cabul, having come suddenly against it from their mountains with 11,000
foot and 1000 horse, while the governor was absent on other affairs at
Jalalabad, and the garrison so weak that it was only able to defend the
castle. In six hours they plundered the city, and retired with their
booty. For the better keeping these rebels in order, the king has
established twenty-three omrahs between Lahore and Cabul, yet all will
not do, as they often sally from their mountains, robbing caravans and
plundering towns. The 18th of August, there arrived a great caravan from
Persia, by whom we had news of the French king's death, from an Armenian
who had been in the service of Mr Boys.
On the west side of the castle of Lahore is the ferry for crossing over
the Rauvee on the way to Cabul, which is 271 cosses, and thence to
Tartary and Cashgar. Cabul is a large and fair city, the first seat of
the present king's great-grandfather Babur. At forty cosses beyond is
Gorebond, or Gourhund, a great city bordering on Usbeck Tartary; and
150 coss from Cabul is Taul Caun, a city in Buddocsha, or Badakshan
of Bucharia. From Cabul to Cashgar, with the caravan, it is two or three
months journey, Cashgar being a great kingdom under the Tartars. A chief
city of trade in that country is Yarcan, whence comes much silk,
porcelain, musk, and rhubarb, with other commodities; all or most of
which come from China, the gate or entrance into which is some two or
three months farther. When the caravan comes to this entrance, it must
remain under tents, sending by licence some ten or fifteen merchants at
once to transact their business, on whose return as many more may be
sent; but on no account can the whole caravan be permitted to enter at
once.
From Lahore to Cashmere, the road goes first, part of the way to Cabul,
to a town called Gojrat, forty-four coss; whence it turns north and
somewhat easterly seventy coss, when it ascends a high mountain called
Hast-caunk-gaut, on the top of which is a fine plain, after which is
twelve coss through a goodly country to Cashmere, which is a strong city
on the river Bebut, otherwise called the Ihylum, or Collumma.
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