ENGLISH ANNUAL BIOGRAPHY FOR 1819. 171 



" a valuable landscape of Claude Lorraine's was 

 " suspended near a board painted with ducks and 

 " drakes. 



" He sometimes gave a dinner to ten or twelve 

 " persons, sitting at their ease in a carriage 

 " drawn by elephants. His harem contained 

 " above five hundred of the greatest beauties of 

 " India, immured within high walls, which they 

 " were never to leave except on their biers. He 

 u had an immense number of domestic servants, 

 " and a very large army, besides being fully 

 " protected from hostile invasion by the Com- 

 " pany's subsidiary forces, for which he paid five 

 " hundred thousand pounds per annum. 



" His jewels amounted to about eight millions 

 " sterling. Amidst his precious treasure, he 

 " might be seen for several hours every day 

 " handling them as a child does his toys. He 

 " was in the habit whenever he saw a pregnant 

 " woman whose appearance struck his fancy, to 

 " invite her to his palace to lie in; and several 

 " women of this description w r ere delivered there, 

 " and amongst the number was the mother of 

 " Vizier Ally. Several children so delivered 

 " were brought up and educated in the palace." 



