The Buildings Are Fair And High Of
Brick, With Much Curious Carvings About The Doors And Windows; And Most
Of The Gentiles Have Their House Doors Raised Six Or Seven Steps From
The Street, And Of Troublesome Ascent, Partly For Greater Security, And
To Prevent Passengers From Seeing Into Their Houses.
The castle is built
on the S.E. bank of the Rauvee, a river that flows into the Indus,
And
down which many barges of sixty tons and upwards navigate to Tatta in
Sindy, after the falling of the rains, being a voyage of about forty
days, passing by Mooltan, Sidpoor, Backar, &c.
The river Rauvee comes from the N.E. and passing the north side of the
city, runs W.S.W. to join the Indus. Within the castle is the king's
palace, which is on the side towards the river, and is entered by the
middle gate on that side, after entering which, you go into the palace
by a strong gate on the left hand, and a musket-shot farther by a
smaller gate, into a large square court, surrounded by atescanna, in
which the king's guard keeps watch. Beyond this, and turning again to
the left, you enter by another gate into an inner court, in which the
king holds his durbar, or court, all round which are atescannas,[251]
in which the great men keep watch, and in the middle of the court is a
high pole on which to hang a light. From thence you go up to a fair stone
jounter, or small court, in the middle of which stands a fair
devoncan,[252] with two or three retiring rooms, in which the king
usually spends the early part of the night, from eight to eleven o'clock.
On the walls is the king's picture, sitting cross-legged on a chair of
state, on his right hand Sultan Parvis, Sultan Chorem, and Sultan Timor,
his sons; next whom are Shah Morat and Don Shah, his brothers, the three
princes who were baptized being sons of this last.
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