44 H I N D O 
facrificed to obtain pofleflion of her, this infatuated mo¬ 
narch refigned into her hands, during the greateft part of 
his remaining life, both the fceptre of the government and 
the dominion over his own faculties. This celebrated 
fultana was the daughter of the afs-lkin-covered traitor 
above-mentioned. To gratify her ambition, Jehanguir 
net only pardoned and exalted her father, but promoted 
all her kindred to polts of the higheft honour, to the great 
difguft of the hereditary ornrahs, who beheld with rage 
and envy the aggrandizement of this foreign family of 
low defeent. Nor did Nourmahal herfelf endeavour to 
conciliate the regard of the ornrahs by condel'cending 
manners ; but carried herfelf with a haughty exterior to¬ 
wards the courtiers, and made the authority Hie had 
ufurped folely fubfervient to her felfilh purpofes. Her 
father pofleffed the moll diltinguilhejd poll for honour and 
profit in the ftate; her brother, Afoph Khan, being vi¬ 
zier, was abfolute at court, no ftep, however trifling or 
important, being taken without his concurrence ; Halfem 
Khan, who had married her After, was governor of Agra ; 
while the numerous tribe of her relatives monopolized all 
the fubordinate places in the government. Surrounded 
thus, by her creatures, Are conducted every thing by her 
own defpotic will; and the emperor became a cipher in 
the midftof his fubje&s. Yet on the folar anniverfary of 
the fultan’s birth-day, in the year 1610, when he entered 
into the forty-fecond year of his age, he aflumed the ut- 
moft confequence in pageantry and Ihow, and was weigh¬ 
ed in the royal faloon eleven times : the ftrft time againft 
gold, and the other ten againft Aiver and other metals, 
perfumes, exhilarating drugs, &c. This ceremony of 
■w eighing the Mogul emperor of Hindooftan, is performed 
twice in every year, on the folar, and on the lunar, anni¬ 
verfary of his birth; and the gold and other articles 
weighed againft him are bellowed in various benevolences 
among the .people. 
At the ceremony of weighing the fultan Jehanguir, the 
Englilh ambafiador, fir Thomas Roe, was prefent; and he 
has "deferibed the fplendour of it in the following words : 
“ The fecond of September was the king’s birth-day, 
and kept with great l’olemnity. On this day the king is 
weighed againft jewels, gold, filver, Huffs of gold, Aiver, 
and many other rich and rare articles, of every fort a lit¬ 
tle, which is all given to the Brahmins. He was fo fplen- 
did in jewels, that I own in my life I never faw fuch 
ineftima'ole wealth together. The time was fpent in bring¬ 
ing his greateft elephants before him ; l'ome of which, be¬ 
ing lord-elephants, had their chains, bells, and furniture, 
of gold and Aiver, with many gilt banners and flags, car¬ 
ried about them, and eight or ten elephants waiting on 
each of them, clothed in gold, fllk, and Aiver. In this 
‘manner about twelve companies paffed by, moll richly 
■adorned, the Aril having ail the plates on his head and 
breaft fet with rubies and emeralds, being a beaft of won¬ 
derful bulk and beauty. They ail bowed down before 
the king, making their reverence very handfomely ; this 
was the Aneft Ihow of beafts I ever Atw. The Mogul 
himlelf was fitting crofs-legged on a little throne, all co¬ 
vered with diamonds, pearls, and rubies. Before him a 
table of gold, and on it about Afty pieces of gold plate, 
all fet with jewels, fome very great and extremely rich, 
fome of them of lefs value, but all of them almoft cover¬ 
ed with fmall Hones. His nobility about him in their beft 
equipage, whom be commanded to drink merrily feveral 
forts of wine Handing by in great flaggons. On a hidden 
the king rofe; we retired to the Durbar, and fat on the 
carpets, attending his coming out. Not long after he 
came, and Ait about half an hour, till his ladies at their 
■ door had mounted their elephants, which were about Afty, 
■ all of them richly adorned, but chiefly three with turrets 
on their backs, all enclofed with grates of gold wire to 
look through, and canopies over of cloth of Aiver. Then 
the king came down flairs, with fuch an acclamation of 
Health to the king! as would have out-roared cannon. 
At the foot of the flairs, where I met him, and fhuffled 
OSTAN. 
to be next, one brought a mighty carp ; another a difh of 
white fluff like ftarch, into which he put his Anger, and 
touched the Afh, and fo rubbed it on his forehead; a ce¬ 
remony ufed prefaging good fortune. Then another came, 
and girt on his fv/ord, and hung 011 his buckler, fet all over 
with diamonds and rubies, the belts of gold fuitable. 
Another hung on'his quiver with thirty arrows, and his 
bow in a cafe, b'eing the fame that was. prefented by the 
PerAan ambafiador. On his head he wore a rich turban 
with a plume of herons’ feathers, not many, but long. 
O11 one Ade bung a ruby unfet, as big as a walnut; on 
the other Ade a diamond as large; in the middle an eme¬ 
rald like a heart, much bigger. His .ftaff was wound 
about with a chain of great pearl, rubies, and diamonds, 
drilled. About his neck he wore a chain of three firings 
of moft excellent pearl, the iargeft I ever faw ; above his 
■elbows, armlets fet with diamonds, and on his wrift three 
rows of feveral forts ; his hands hare, but almoft on every 
Anger a ring. His gloves, which were Engiifh, ftuck un¬ 
der his girdle. His coat of cloth of gold, without fleeves, 
upon a fine femain as thin as lawn. On his feet a pair of 
bufkins embroidered with pearl, the toes lharp and turn¬ 
ing up. Thus armed and accoutred, he went to the 
coach that attended him, with his new Engli/h fervant, who 
was clothed as rich as any player, and more gaudy, and 
had broke four horl'es, which were trapped and harneffed 
in gold velvets. This was the Arft coach he ever fat in, 
made by that fentout of England, fo like that ! knew it not 
but by the cover, which was a PerAan gold velvet. He 
fat at the end, and on each Ade went two eunuchs, who 
carried fmall maces of gold fet all over with rubies, with a 
long bunch of horfe-tail to flap the flies away. Before 
him went drums, trumpets, and loud muAc, many cano¬ 
pies, umbrellas, and other ftrange enflgns of majefly, made 
of cloth of gold, fet in many places with rubies. Nine 
led horfes, the furniture of fome garnirtied with rubies, 
fome with pearls and emeralds, l'ome only with ftuds ena¬ 
melled. The Perfian ambafiador prfclented him with a 
horfe. Next behind came three palanquins, the carriages 
and feet of one plated with gold, fet at the ends with 
ftones, and covered with crimfon velvet embroidered with 
pearl, and a fringe of great pearl hanging in ropes a foot 
deep, a border about it fet with rubies and emeralds. A 
footman carried a footftool of gold let with ftones. The 
other two palanquins were covered and lined only with 
cloth of gold. Next followed the Englilh coach newly 
covered and richly adorned, which he had given to queen 
Nourmahal, who fat in it. After them a third, in which 
fat his younger fons. Then followed about twenty ele- 
phants-royal, led for him to mount, fo rich in ftones and 
furniture, that they glittered like the lun. Every ele¬ 
phant had l'undry flags of cloth of Aiver, gilt fatin, and 
taffety.” 
BeAdes the coftly articles of magniAcence difplayed to 
public view by this luxuriant prince in the external or¬ 
naments of his palace, there Hands on record the follow¬ 
ing catalogue of the wealth which he pofleffed in jewels, 
gems, gold, &c.—“ Of jewels, compofed folely of dia¬ 
monds, one batman and a half; a batman is five and fifty 
pounds weight Englifli: thefe are rough, and of all forts 
and Azes, but none of lefs than two carats and a half. 
Of balafs rubies, two thoufand. Of pearls, twelve bat¬ 
mans. Of rubies of all forts, two batmans. Of emeralds 
of all forts, Ave batmans. Of elhime, which ftone comes 
from Cataga, one batman. Of ftones of Emen, a kind of 
red ftone, Ave thouAmd. Of ail other forts, as coral, to¬ 
pazes, &c. the amount is innumerable. Of jewels wrought 
in gold, two thouland and two hundred fwords, the lnlts 
and fcabbards fet with rich ftones ; two thoufand poniards 
in like manner ornamented. Of laddie drums of gold, 
ufed in hawking, let with ftones, Ave hundred. 01 rich 
broaches for the head, in which their feathers are let, two 
thouland. Of laddies of gold and Aiver, let with ftones, 
one thoufand. Of tuikes, Ave and twenty : this is a great 
lance covered with gold, the fluke fet with precious ftones ; 
1 they 
