574 AN iNf UAL REGISTER, 1818. 



dances and motions, and gung 

 some soft airs of the country, 

 chiefly Persic and Hindoo Persic. 



" About seven o'clock, the 

 bridegroom, Vizier Ally, the 

 young nabob, made his appear- 

 ance, so absurdly loaded with 

 jewels, that he could scarcely 

 stagger under the precious 

 weight. The bridegroom was 

 about thirteen years of age, the 

 bride ten : they were both of a 

 dark complexion, and not hand- 

 some. 



" From the shumeeana we 

 proceeded on elephants to an 

 extensive and beautiful garden, 

 about a mile distant. The pro- 

 cession was grand beyond con- 

 ception ; it consisted of about 

 twelve hundred elephants, richly 

 caparisoned, drawn upin a regular 

 line like a regiment of soldiers. 

 About a hmidred elephants in the 

 centre had houdas, or castles, 

 covered with silver ; in the midst 

 of these appeared the nabob, 

 mounted on an uncommonly 

 large elephant, within a houdah 

 covered witli gold, richly set 

 with precious stones. The ele- 

 phant was caparisoned with cloth 

 of gold. On his right hand was 

 Mr. George Johnstone, the 

 British resident at the court of 

 Lucknow ; on his left the young 

 bridegroom ; the English gentle- 

 men and ladies and the native 

 nobility were intermixed on the 

 right and left. On both sides of 

 the road, from the tents to the 

 garden, were raised artificial 

 scenery of bamboo-work, very 

 high, representing bastions, 

 arches, minarets, and towers, 

 covered with lights in glass 

 lamps, which made a gr^nd dis- 

 play. On each side of the pro- 



cession, in front of the line of 

 elephants, were dancing girls 

 superbly dressed (on platforms 

 supported and carried by bear- 

 ers) who danced as we went 

 along. These platforms con- 

 sisted of a hundred on each side 

 of the procession, all covered 

 with gold and silver cloths, with 

 two girls and two musicians at 

 each platform. 



" The ground from the tents 

 to the garden, forming the road 

 ^ on which we moved, was inlaid 

 with fireworks ; at every step of 

 the elephants the earth burst 

 before us, and threw up artificial 

 stars in the heavens, to emulate 

 those created by the hand of j 

 Providence ; besides innumerable 

 rockets, and many hundred wood- 

 en shells that burst in the air, 

 and shot forth a thousand fiery 

 serpents; these, winding through 

 the atmosphere, illuminated the 

 sky, and, aided by the light of 

 the bamboo scenery, turned a 

 dark night into a bright day. The 

 procession moved on very slowly, 

 to give time for the fire-works 

 inlaid in the ground to go off. 

 The whole of this grand scene 

 was further lighted by above 

 three thousand flambeaux, car- 

 ried by men hired for the occa- 

 sion. In this manner we moved 

 on in stately pomp to the garden, 

 which, though only a mile off, 

 we took two hours to reach. 

 When we arrived at the garden 

 gate we descended from the 

 elephants and entered the garden, 

 illuminated by innumerable trans- 

 parent paper lamps or lanterns, of 

 various colours, suspended to the 

 branches of the trees. In the 

 centre of the garden was a large 

 edifice, to which we ascended 



and 



