1879.] W. Irvine—TZhe Bangash Nawdbs of Farrukhibad. 155 
with wax on their feet. In this way, in the course of five or six hours, they 
would carry away some hundreds of rupees. When the money was count- 
ed and put back, some of the bags would remain unfilled. Then the Nawab 
would be surprised and say to his chelas, “ I do not know how it is, but I 
“watched these rupees myself, and yet they have diminished. Perhaps they 
“have been exposed too long to the sun and have got too much Cried up. 
“Go and place the bags in the treasury.’’* 
It was the Nawab’s habit to go out twice a day, sometimes on an ele- 
phant and sometimes ina pa/ki. At other times, quitting the city, he looked 
on at elephant-fighting. As he passed through the streets of the city, he 
was attended by men carrying bags of money for the distribution of largesse. 
Their orders were to allow the approach of the humble poor, the weak, the 
blind, the lame and the sick. To all these money was given ; not one poor 
man was passed over. Especial protegés of his were the so-called Khopi- 
walds.~ Some hundreds of families lived along the road side from the 
fort to the Mau gate, and below the fort as far as the edge of the Kadam 
Sharif pond. They were people of all castes, who had followed the Nawab’s 
eamp from Delhi in a year of famine, he having distributed five thousand 
rupees a day in food during his stay there. They acquired their name from 
the rough earthen huts which they built to live in, not having funds to 
build houses in the usual way. The Nawdb would often send money and 
food to them, saying, that they must not starve, since they had left their 
homes to follow him. 
The Nawab’s retinue was accompanied by numerous Saldyah-bardirs 
(?) spearmen, (barchi-barddrs) lancemen, (bhdla-dars) macemen, (chobdars) 
heralds, (nakibs) flatterers, (bdd-farosh) bards, and (karkah-go) singers, The 
Nawab’s titles were announced and his praises cried out as the procession 
moved on. It was preceded, at a little distance, by a number of men with 
bambu sticks, lacquered in various colours, gold, scarlet, and so forth, some 
plain and some with flowered patterns. For about two cubits of their 
length these bambus were split. If any one came in the way of the retinue, 
whether rich or poor, he was beaten with those bambu sticks. They were 
also used to anybody who incurred the Nawab’s anger, The sound made 
by the blows was so great, that it could be heard a quarter of a kos off, 
though no wound was caused; any one who was beaten considered that his 
lucky star was in the ascendant, for the Nawab was sure to send for him. 
Then he would say “ You have not been hurt ;” and the man would reply 
“* Nawab Sahib, each bone in my body aches as if it had been broken.” 
* This story is in the main confirmed by Shekh Allahyar, author of the Hadikat- 
ul-Akdlim, who was at Farrukhabad in 1769-70, in the employ of the Nawab. 
. t Apparently from “hop = a cave or cayern, 
