Chap. II. through feverai Countries of the INDIES, , 761 
JSize purfued us about half a League, and by their odd 
Looks gave us to underftand that they were ready to do us 
any Mifchief, if they durft approach us. 
16. At Amadahat I met with a Caravan of Englijh and 
Ban] an Merchants bound for Agra, and being recommended 
to them by the Diredtor of the Englijh Fadtory of Amada- 
hat, I fet out with them the 28 th of October. We met in 
five Days Journey with no more than one Village worth 
mentioning called Paingot , and came the 6th Day after 
our fetting out of Amadabat to the fmall City of Heribath , 
fifty Leagues thence ; it is without Walls or Gates, which 
have been deftroyed by the famous Conqueror Tamerlane , 
as well as the adjacent Caftle, the Ruins of which, are to be 
feen near a high Mountain. 
Betwixt this City and that of Damtiges , which is fifty 
Leagues from Heribath , we met a Caravan of Ban] an Mer- 
chants, who told us, that they had been fet upon by two 
hundred Rajhpoots , who had forced them to pay a hundred 
Rupees *, upon which we ordered our Waggons to be fa- 
ttened together, and difpofed our Guards in fuch a manner 
as we thought might make them molt ferviceable ; neither 
was it long before we got Sight of fifty of the fame Gang 
that were fent without Queftion to view us •, but finding us 
too well guarded, let us go unmolefted. We travelled fifty 
Leagues farther before we came to the Village of Suedeck , 
which has a ftrong old Caftle. As we were travelling in a 
Bottom ten Rajhpoots furprized fome of our Waggons that 
were got about fix hundred Paces before the reft, and 
wounded two Banyans but two of our Guards being fent 
to their Relief, the Robbers were forced to betake them- 
felves to their Heels, and to leave the Booty behind them. 
After this Rencounter we met with no farther Difafter, 
and arrived fafely at Agra , where I was received with the 
fame Civility by the Englijh as I had been in all other Places 
through which I had patted. The City of Agra is, with- 
out Comparifon, the nobleft of all Indojlan , and the ordi- 
nary Refidence of the Great Mogul. It is feated in 28° 
on this Side of the Line, in the Province of Indojian , upon 
the River Gemini , which joins its Waters with the Ganges , 
above the Kingdom of Bengal It being twice as big as 
Jfpahan , a Man can fcarce ride round it on Horfeback in 
a whole Day. Its Fortifications are of red Free-ftone, and 
the Ditch is above thirty Fathom broad ’, the Streets are 
fair and large, there being fome vaulted, which are a Mile 
in Length, and are furnifhed with Shops of all forts of 
Trades, each of which have their peculiar Streets and Quar- 
ters affigned them. It contains fifteen Meydans and Ba- 
fars, the moft fpacious of which is before the Caftle ; in the 
midft of it ftands a high Pole, where the Mogul himfelf 
flioots fometimes at a Wooden Parrot fattened to the Top 
of it. Eighty Caravanferas are appointed for the Recep- 
tion of Foreign Merchants and their Merchandizes ; they 
are provided with noble Apartments, and convenient 
Shops, Vaults, Stables, and other Conveniences. 
As the Mogul and the chiefeft of his Court are Moham- 
medans , fo there are a vaft Number of Mofques throughout 
the City, of which feventy are remarkable for their Big- 
nefs, and fix of them appointed for their Devotions on 
Holy Days ; thefe laft they call Matfchidadine. In one of 
thefe they ftiew you the Sepulchre of a certain Saint named 
Seander , of the Pofterity of Aly, and in another the Tomb 
of a Giant Saint, being thirty Feet in Length, and fixteen 
in Breadth. This Tomb is furrounded on all Sides with 
little Banners, or Flags, as fo many Tokens of his heroick 
Atchievements ; whence it is, that his Sepulchre is fre- 
quented by a vaft Number of Pilgrims, who bring thither 
daily their Offerings, out of which, and the ordinary Re- 
venue belonging to it, are maintained fuch a vaft Number 
©f Poor, that in thofe Refpedts it is not inferior to the Se- 
pulchre of Sheik Sefi at Ardebil 
Thefe Mofques, with their adjacent Courts, are fo many 
Sandtuaries both in criminal and civil Cafes, the Mogul 
himfelf never prefuming to take any Criminal, tho* never 
fo great an Offender, thence, out of a Veneration all the 
Mohammedans have for their Saints. In the City of Agra 
are above eight hundred pub-lick Baths, which pay a con- 
fiderable Sum yearly to the Mogul ; for as Purification is 
one of the main Ingredients of the Mohammedan Religion, 
fo thefe Baths are daily frequented by a vaft Number of 
People. The great Lords of the Court, who bear the 
Title of Rajas, or Princes, have many of them, very fine 
magnificent Houfes both within and without the City, where 
the King alfo has many Gardens and Summer-houfes to 
retire to upon Gccafion, with the Women Dancers, who 
dance before him ftark naked. 
1 7. But his Palace, which ftands upon the River Ge- 
mini, and is four Leagues in Compafs, furpaffes all that I 
ever faw of that kind before or fince. It is furrounded 
with a Wall of Free-ftone, and a broad Ditch, having a 
Draw-bridge at each Gate ; the Gate at the Weft Side lead- 
ing to the Bafar is called Cijlei •, under this Gate is kept the 
Court of Judicature, and in an adjoining fpacious Hall the 
Prime Vizier, or Lord-Chancellor, difpatches all Mat- 
ters relating to Civil Affairs, where the Original Records are 
kept. Immediately within this Gate you come into a very 
fpacious Street, with Shops on both Sides, leading direcftly 
to the Mogul’s Palace, the Gate of which is called Acho - 
barks Dejwage , i. e. King Achobar' s Gate, through which 
all the great Lords of the Court, except the King’s Sons, 
are obliged to go in on Foot *, this being the Quarter 
where the dancing and finging Women are lodged. 
There is another Gate leading to the River, where the 
Mogul every Morning pays his Devoirs to the Sun at his 
rifing. It is on that Side that great Men pay their Re- 
fpedts to the King from a certain Eminency, where the 
King can take particular Notice of them. The Com- 
manders of Horfe alfo ftand on that Side, but at a great 
Diftance, at a Place where the Mogul fees the Engage- 
ments every Day betwixt Lions, Elephants, Bulls, 
except Fridays , a Day dedicated to their Devotions. There 
is alfo another Gate, which brings you into the Guard- 
Hall •, through this Hall is a Paffage into a paved Court, 
at the farther End of which you fee a Row of Silver Pil- 
lars under a Piazza, where is kept another Guard to prevent 
the common People from entering. Here I met with my 
Perfian Servant who had left me at Surat, he offered me 
all the Service he was able to do me, and would fain have 
brought me within thefe Pillars, but that the Guards would 
not permit it ; this being the ready Way to the Mogul’s 
Apartment, where is a Row of Golden Pillars of a letter 
Size, and within them the Royal Throne of maffy Gold, 
enriched with Diamonds, Pearls, and precious Stones ; and 
above it a Gallery, where the Mogul appears every Day at 
a certain time to hear and determine the Complaints of his 
Subjects : But this Trial is fo dangerous, that if you do 
not prove the Matter of Fadt by undeniable Evidence, you 
run the Hazard of your Life. 
None but the King’s Sons, who fan him, and keep off 
the Flies, are admitted within the Compafs of thofe Gol- 
den Pillars ; neither is any other Perfon admitted into the 
innermoft Parts of the Mogul’s Lodgings, except the Eu- 
nuchs, who being one thoufand two hundred in Number, 
wait on the Ladies of the Seraglio. There is another 
Apartment in the Caftle very remarkable for its Tower, 
which is covered with Gold, and the Treafure it contains, 
having eight large Vaults filled with Gold, Silver, precious 
Stones, the Value of which is ineftimable. I had it from 
very knowing and very worthy Perfons, that Shah Choram , 
who reigned in my Time, had a Treafure which amounted 
to one thoufand five hundred Millions of Crowns. I had 
from the fame Hands an exadt Inventory communicated to 
me of the Treafure which was found at the Death of Shah 
Achobar his Grandfather, which I will faithfully communi- 
cate to the Reader. 
3 H An 
N VMB. 51, 
