This Was The
First Coach He Had Ever Been In, Made In Imitation Of That Sent From
England, And So Like It That I Only Knew The Difference By The Cover,
Which Was Of Gold Velvet Of Persia.
Having seated himself at one end,
two eunuchs attended at each side, carrying small golden maces set all
over with rubies, to which horse-tails were fastened, for driving away
flies.
Before him went drums, bad trumpets, and loud music; with many
canopies, parasols, and other strange ensigns of majesty, all of cloth
of gold, and adorned with rubies. Nine spare horses were led before him,
some having their furniture garnished with rubies, some with pearls, and
others with diamonds, while some had only plain gold studs. Next behind
the coach came three palanquins, the carriages and feet of one being
plated with gold, set with pearls, and a fringe of great pearls in
strings a foot long, the border being set all round with rubies and
emeralds. Beside this, a man on foot carried a stool of gold, set with
precious stones. The other two palanquins were covered and lined with
cloth of gold.
Next followed the English coach, newly covered and richly trimmed, which
he had given to his favourite queen, Nourmahal, who sat in the inside.
After this came a coach, made after the fashion of the country, which I
thought seemed out of countenance, in which were his younger sons. This
was followed by about twenty spare royal elephants, all for the king's
own use, all so splendidly adorned with precious stones and rich
furniture, that they outshone the sun. Each elephant had several flags
and streamers of cloth of silver, gilded sattin, or rich silk. His
noblemen accompanied him on foot, which I did likewise to the gate, and
then left him. His women, who accompanied him on elephants, as before
mentioned, seemed like so many parroquitos in cages, and followed about
half a mile in the rear of his coach. On coming to the door of the house
in which his eldest son was kept prisoner, he caused the coach to stop,
and sent for prince Cuserou; who immediately came and made reverence,
having a sword and buckler in his hands, and his beard grown to his
middle, in sign of disfavour. The king now commanded his son to mount
one of the spare elephants in the royal train, so that he rode next his
father, to the great joy and applause of the multitude, who were now
filled with new hopes; and on this occasion, the king gave him 1000
rupees to throw among the people; his gaoler, Asaph Khan, and all the
ministers, being still attendant on foot.
To avoid the press and other inconveniences, I took horse and crossed
out of the leskar, getting before the king, and then waited for him
till he came near his tents, to which he passed all the way from the
town between a guard of turreted elephants, having each on the four
corners of their howdars a banner of yellow taffety, and a sling[208]
mounted in front, carrying a bullet as big as a tennis-ball. There were
about three hundred elephants armed in this manner, each having a
gunner; besides about six hundred other elephants of honour, that
preceded or followed the king, all covered with velvet or cloth of gold,
and all carrying two or three gilded banners. Many men afoot ran before
the king, carrying skins of water with which to sprinkle the road to
prevent dust from annoying him; and no one was allowed to approach the
coach on horseback by two furlongs.
[Footnote 208: The sling in the text appears to have been a slung
musquetoon, or small cannon, mounted in that manner to avoid
recoil. - E.]
Having gone before a-horseback, as before mentioned, I hastened to the
tents, to await the king's arrival. The royal encampment was walled
round, half a mile in circuit, in form of a fortress, with high screens
or curtains of coarse stuff; somewhat like Arras hangings, red on the
outside, the inside being divided into panes or compartments, with a
variety of figures. This inclosure had a handsome gateway, and the
circuit was formed into various coins and bulwarks, as it were; the
posts which supported the curtains being all surmounted with brass tops.
The throng was very great, and I wished to have gone into the enclosure,
but no one was allowed, even the greatest of the land having to sit down
at the gate. At length I was admitted, but the Persian ambassador and
all the nobles were refused. At this gate, and for the first time, I was
saluted by the Persian ambassador as I passed, by a silent salam.
In the midst of this enclosure, there stood a throne of mother-of-pearl,
borne aloft on two pillars, under cover of a high tent or pavilion, the
pole of which was headed by a golden knob, the roof being of cloth of
gold, and the ground covered by carpets. When the king came near,
several noblemen were admitted, together with the Persian ambassador;
all of us making a kind of lane, the ambassador being on one side, and I
on the other. As the king came in, he cast his eye on me, whereupon I
made him a reverence, to which he answered by bowing and laying his hand
on his breast. Turning to the other side, he nodded to the Persian. I
followed close at his heels till he ascended the throne, every one
calling out, joy, health, and good fortune. The king then called for
water, with which he washed his hands, and then retired into an interior
tent, to join his women, who had entered by another gate to their own
quarters; there being about thirty divisions with tents within the royal
inclosure. His son I saw not. All the noblemen now retired to their
quarters, which were all very handsome, some having their tents green,
others white, and others again of mixed colours, all handsome in form
and arrangement, and all as orderly inclosed as their houses in the
city, so that the whole composed the most curious and magnificent sight
I had ever beheld.
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