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.
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