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He rose, but in the short interval, the throne had been hoisted by 

 an engine from the floor to the deling, the imperial figure appeared 

 in new and more gorgeous apparel, and the interview was con- 

 cluded in haughty and majestic silence." On the eve of a pro- 

 cession, the gracious or devout intention of the emperor was pro- 

 claimed by the heralds: the streets were cleared and purified; the 

 pavement was strewed with flowers; the most precious furniture, 

 the gold and silver plate, and silken hangings, were displayed from 

 the windows and balconies, and a severe discipline restrained and 

 silenced the tumult of the populace. The march was opened by 

 the military officers at the head of their troops; they were fol- 

 lowed in long order by the magistrates and ministers of the civil 

 government. The person of the emperor was guarded by his 

 eunuchs and domestics, and at the church-door he was solemnly re- 

 ceived by the patriarch and his clergy. The task of applause 

 was not abandoned to the rude and spontaneous voices of the 

 crowd. Convenient stations were occupied by chosen bands, who 

 in responsive melody echoed the praises of the emperor. Their 

 poets and musicians directed the choir, and long life and victory 

 were the burden of every song." 



Such was the style of ancient adulation; the ostentatious and 

 expensive entertainments of Asuph ul Dowlah have afforded an 

 ample display of modern pageantry; perhaps none like it will be 

 any more exhibited, for such things must be nearly at an end with 

 the Indian princes; their wealth, their power, their palaces, their 

 mausoleums, wells, and serais, are all decaying, without a pros- 

 pect of revival. Few places of less importance than the royal 

 Mogul cities evince this melancholy change more than lirodera. 



