On The Banks Of The
River Stands The Castle, One Of The Fairest And Most Admirable Buildings
In All The East, Some Three Or Four Miles In Circuit, Inclosed By A Fine
And Strong Wall Of Squared Stones, Around Which Is A Fair Ditch With
Draw-Bridges.
The walls are built with bulwarks or towers somewhat
defensible, having a counterscarp without, some fifteen yards broad.
Within are two other strong walls with gates.
[Footnote 259: This of course is to be understood as referring back from
1611, when Finch was there. We have here omitted a long uninteresting
and confused account of many parts of India, which could only have
swelled our pages, without conveying any useful information. - E.]
There are four gales to the castle. One to the north, leading to a
rampart having many large cannon. Another westwards, leading to the
Bazar, called the Cichery gate, within which is the judgment-seat of
the casi, or chief judge in all matters of law; and beside this gate
are two or three murderers, or very large pieces of brass cannon, one
of which is fifteen feet long and three feet diameter in the bore. Over
against the judgment-seat of the casi, is the Cichery, or court of
rolls, where the grand vizier sits about three hours every morning,
through whose hands pass all matters respecting rents, grants, lands,
firmans, debts, &c. Beyond these two gates, you pass a third leading
into a fair street, with houses and munition along both sides; and at
the end of this street, being a quarter of a mile long, you come to the
third gate, which leads to the king's durbar. This gate is always
chained, all men alighting here except the king and his children. This
gate is called Akbar drowage; close within which many hundred dancing
girls and singers attend day and night, to be ever ready when the king
or any of his women please to send for them, to sing and dance in the
moholls, all of them having stipends from the king according to their
respective unworthy worth.
The fourth gate is to the river, called the Dersane, leading to a fair
court extending along the river, where the king looks out every morning
at sun-rising, which he salutes, and then his nobles resort to their
tessilam. Right under the place where he looks out, is a kind of
scaffold on which the nobles stand, but the addees and others wait in
the court below. Here likewise the king comes every day at noon to see
the tamashan, or fighting with elephants, lions, and buffaloes, and
killing of deer by leopards. This is the custom every day of the week
except Sunday,[260] on which there is no fighting. Tuesdays are
peculiarly the days of blood both for fighting beasts and killing men;
as on that day the king sits in judgment, and sees it put in execution.
Within the third gate, formerly mentioned, you enter a spacious court,
with atescannas all arched round, like shops or open stalls, in which
the king's captains, according to their several degrees keep their
seventh day chockees.[261] A little farther on you enter through a
rail into an inner court, into which none are admitted except the king's
addees, and men of some quality, under pain of a hearty thwacking from
the porter's cudgels, which they lay on load without respect of persons.
[Footnote 260: Probably Friday is here meant, being the Sabbath of the
Mahometans. - E.]
[Footnote 261: Mr Finch perpetually forgets that his readers in England
were not acquainted with the language of India, and leaves these eastern
terms unexplained; in which he has been inconveniently copied by most
subsequent travellers in the East. Chockees in the text, probably
means turns of duty on guard. - E.]
Being entered, you approach the king's durbar, or royal seat, before
which is a small court inclosed with rails, and covered over head with
rich semianes, or awnings, to keep away the sun. Here aloft in a
gallery sits the king in his chair of state, accompanied by his sons and
chief vizier, who go up by a short ladder from the court, none other
being allowed to go up unless called, except two punkaws to fan him,
and right before him is a third punkaw on a scaffold, who makes havock
of the poor flies with a horse's tail. On the wall behind the king, on
his right hand, is a picture of our Saviour, and on his left, of the
Virgin. On the farther side of the court of presence hang golden bells,
by ringing which, if any one be oppressed, and is refused justice by the
king's officers, he is called in and the matter discussed before the
king. But let them be sure their cause is good, lest they be punished
for presuming to trouble the king. The king comes to his durbar every
day between three and four o'clock, when thousands resort to shew their
duty, every one taking place according to his rank. He remains here till
the evening, hearing various matters, receiving news or letters, which
are read by his viziers, granting suits, and so forth: All which time
the royal drum continually beats, and many instruments of music are
sounded from a gallery on the opposite building. His elephants and
horses in the mean time are led past, in brave order, doing their
tessilam, or obeisance, and are examined by proper officers to see
that they are properly cared for, and in a thriving condition.
Some add[262] that Agra has no walls, and is only surrounded by a dry
ditch, beyond which are extensive suburbs, the city and suburbs being
seven miles long and three broad. The houses of the nobility and
merchants are built of brick and stone, with flat roofs, but those of
the common people have only mud walls and thatched roofs, owing to which
there are often terrible fires.
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