On This Occasion, All His Nobles Assemble, Bringing Great Gifts, Which He Repays With Princely Rewards.

Being myself present on this occasion, I beheld most incredible riches, to my amazement, in gold, pearls, precious stones, and many brilliant vanities.

I saw this festival celebrated at Mandoa, where the Mogul has a most spacious house or palace, larger than any I ever beheld, in which the many beautiful vaults and arches evince the exquisite skill of his artists in architecture. At Agra he has a palace, in which are two large towers, at least ten feet square, covered with plates of pure gold.

The walls of his houses have no hangings, on account of the heat, but are either painted or beautified with a white lime, purer even than that we term Spanish. The floors are either paved with stone or are made of lime and sand, like our Paris plaster, and are spread with rich carpets. None lodge within the King's house but his women and eunuchs, and some little boys, whom he always keeps about him for a wicked use. He always eats in private among his women, being served with a great variety of exquisitely dressed meats, which being proved by his taster, are put into golden vessels, as they say, covered and sealed up, and brought in by the eunuchs. He has meats made ready at all hours, and calls for them at pleasure. These people do not feed freely, as we do, on full dishes of beef or mutton, but use much rice, boiled up along with pieces of flesh, or dressed in a variety of ways. They have not many roasted or baked meats, but stew most of their meat. Among their many dishes, I shall only notice one, called by them deupario. This is made of venison cut into slices, to which are put onions and sweet herbs, with some roots, and a little spice and butter, forming the most savoury dish I ever tasted; and I almost think it is the same dish that Jacob made ready for his father Isaac when he got his blessing.

In this kingdom there are no inns or houses of entertainment for travellers and strangers. But, in the cities and large towns, there are handsome buildings for their reception, called serais, which are not inhabited, in which any passengers may have rooms freely, but must bring with them their bedding, cooks, and all other necessaries for dressing their victuals. These things are usually carried by travellers on camels, or in carts drawn by oxen; taking likewise tents along with them, to use when they do not find serais. The inferior people ride on oxen, horses, mules, camels, or dromedaries, the women riding in the same manner as the men; or else they use a kind of slight coaches on two wheels, covered at top, and close behind, but open before and at the sides, unless when they contain women, in which case they are close all round. These coaches will conveniently hold two persons, besides the driver, and are drawn by a pair of oxen, matched in colour, many of them being white, and not large. The oxen are guided by cords which go through the middle cartilage of the nose, and so between the horns into the hand of the driver. The oxen are dressed and harnessed like horses, and being naturally nimble, use makes them so expert, that they will go twenty miles a-day or more, at a good pace. The better sort ride on elephants, or are carried singly on men's shoulders, in a slight thing called a palanquin, like a couch, but covered by a canopy. This would appear to have been an ancient effeminacy used in Rome, as Juvenal describes a fat lawyer who filled one of them:

Causidici nova, cam venial lectica Mathonis; plena ipso -

They delight much in hawking, and in hunting hares, deer, and other wild animals. Their dogs of chase somewhat resemble our greyhounds, but are much less, and do not open when in pursuit of their game. They use leopards also in hunting, which attain the game they pursue by leaping. They have a very cunning device for catching wild-fowl, in the following manner: - A fellow goes into the water, having the skin of any kind of fowl he wishes to catch, so artificially stuffed, that it seems alive. Keeping his whole body under water except his face, which is covered by this counterfeit, he goes among the wild-fowl which swim in the water, and pulls them under by the legs. They shoot much for their amusement with bows, which are curiously made of buffaloe's horn, glewed together, their arrows being made of small canes, excellently headed and feathered, and are so expert in archery, that they will kill birds flying. Others take great delight in managing their horses. Though they have not a quarter of a mile to go, they will either ride on horseback or be carried, as men of any quality hold it dishonourable to go on foot any where.

In their houses, they play much at that most ingenious game which we call chess, or else at draughts. They have likewise cards, but quite different from ours. Sometimes they are amused by cunning jugglers, or mountebanks, who allow themselves to be bitten by snakes which they carry about in baskets, immediately curing themselves by means of certain powders which they smell to. They are likewise often amused by the tricks of apes and monkeys. In the southern parts of Hindoostan, there are great numbers of large white apes, some of which are as tall as our largest greyhounds. Some of those birds which make their nests on trees are much afraid of the apes, and nature has instructed them in a subtle device to secure themselves, by building their nests on the most extreme twigs, and hanging them there like purse-nets, so that the apes cannot possibly come to them.

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