In The Day Excursions, The Elephants Are Decorated In The Most Costly Manner With Rugs And Fine Stuffs, Gold Lace,

And fringe; the seats called the howdahs are even covered with Cashmere shawls; richly fringed canopies keep off the heat

Of the sun, or else servants hold enormous umbrellas for this purpose. The princes and nobles sit in these howdahs to the number of two or four, and are very gorgeously attired in Oriental costumes. These processions present a most beautiful appearance, and are even larger and more splendid than those of the Rajah of Benares, which I have described. Each procession consists frequently of as many as a dozen or more elephants, and fifty or sixty soldiers on foot and mounted, and as many servants, etc. In the evenings, on the contrary, they are not so pompous - one elephant, together with a few servants, suffices; they ride up and down the streets, coquetting with females of a certain class, who sit richly dressed and with unveiled faces at open windows or outside galleries. Others ride noble Arabian horses, whose stately appearance is still more increased by gold- embroidered trappings and bridles inlaid with silver. Between these riding parties, heavily laden camels from far distant regions walk deliberately along. There are, moreover, not a few bailis, drawn by beautiful white oxen, which the less wealthy people or the above mentioned women use. The bailis, as well as the oxen, are draped with scarlet cloths: the animals have their horns and the lower half of their feet painted brownish-red, and round their neck is a handsome collar, on which bells are fastened.

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Words from 101248 to 101519 of 187810