Blue, Being The Colour Of Mourning, May Not
Be Worn In His Presence, Neither The Name Of Death Pronounced In His
Hearing.
This circumstance is usually expressed by some circumlocution,
as that such a person has sacrificed himself at the feet of his majesty.
Owing to the great heat of this country, there is but little demand for
English cloth, which is almost only employed for the housings of
elephants and horses, and the linings of coaches. This sovereign
assuredly exceeds all others in the splendour of his thrones, and the
variety and richness of his jewels. In his palace at Agra, he has a
throne upon a raised platform, to which he ascends by several steps, on
the top of which are four figures of lions of massy silver, gilded and
set with precious stones, and supporting a dome or canopy of pure gold.
I may mention, that when I was at his court, he had a tame lion which
went up and down at liberty, as harmless as a dog. The jewels with which
he daily adorns his head, neck, and arms, and the hilts of his sword and
dagger, are rich and valuable beyond all computation. On his birthday,
which happens on the 1st of September, he being now sixty years of age,
he is weighed, and an account thereof carefully noted down by his
physicians, who thereby guess at his bodily condition.[242]
[Footnote 242: See of these and other things, formerly stated, in the
Journal of Sir Thomas Roe, and therefore here omitted. Purch.]
The following are parts of two letters from the Great Mogul to his
majesty King James I. translated out of Persian, and sent through Sir
Thomas Roe, one written a year before the other. What followed in both
letters, was merely complimentary assurances of his love for the
English. These letters were rolled up and covered with cloth of gold,
the covering being sealed up at both ends, which is the fashion in that
country. Copies were sent to the lord ambassador, from which these
specimens were translated out of the Persian language.
* * * * *
"When your majesty shall open this letter, let your royal heart be fresh
as a sweet garden. Let all people make lowly reverence at your gate, and
may your throne be exalted among the kings of the prophet Jesus. May
your majesty be the greatest of all monarchs; and may others draw
counsel and wisdom from you, as from a fountain, that the law of the
divine Jesus may revive and flourish under your protection. Your letters
of love and friendship, and the tokens of your affection towards me, I
have received by the hands of your ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe, who well
deserves to be your trusted servant, and who delivered them to me in a
happy hour. Upon them mine eyes were so fixed, that I could not easily
remove them to any other object, and have accepted them with much joy,"
&c. - The other began as follows:
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