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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF. CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


HIS  HIGHNESS   MEER  JAFUR  ALEE 

AND     HIS      SECRETARY. 


OFFICIAL  SKAL. 


LONDON : 
SAUNDERS  AND  OTLEY,  CONDUIT  STREET. 


JKlo0Iem  floble: 


HIS 


LAND  AND  PEOPLE. 


WITH 


SOME  NOTICES  OF 

,  or 


MRS.   YOUNG, 

II 

AUTHOR  OF  "  OUTCH;"  "  WESTERN  INDIA  ;"  "  OUR  CAMP  IN  TUBKKY,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


WITH 

from  eDrtjjtnal  SraiDtugS  fm  tljc 


LONDON: 
SAUNDERS  AND  OTLEY,  CONDUIT  STREET. 

1857. 


TO 


HIS  HIGHNESS 


AND  THOSE  OF  MY  INDIAN  FRIENDS 

AMONG  WHOM 
SOME  OF  THE  HAPPIEST  OF  MY  YEARS  WERE  SPENT, 


IN  KINDEST  RECOLLECTION, 
INSCRIBED. 


The  Cloister,  Chichester, 

May,  1857. 


PAGK 

THE  AUTHOR'S  APOLOGY  1 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  MARRIAGE  .  .  .  .8 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  DHOBUN  OR  LAUNDRESS  .  .36 

CHAPTER  III. 

TROOPS  OF  FRIENDS  .  .  .49 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  BORAH  .  .  .  .71 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  BURDEN  OF  SURAT  .  .  .87 

CHAPTER  VI. 

FIRE- WORSHIPPERS     .  .  .  .103 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  MUSICAL  DOMESTIC  .  .  .116 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  OLD  FORT  .  .  .  .130 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  SECRETARY          .  .  .  .148 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  GOLDEN  APPLES  OF   THE  HESPERIDES         .    163 

CHAPTER  XI. 

MAID  A  HILL  182 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE  AND  HIS  SECRETARY, 

(From  a  Photograph  in  the  possession  of  his  High- 
ness Meer  Jafur)  .  .      Frontispiece 
OFFICIAL  SEAL  AND  SIGNET  in  Persian  Characters  Title  -}*" 
SHEIK  KHOOB,  A  favourite  Moslem  Servant  (from  life) 

Page    8 
A  PARSEE  LADY  (from  life)  .  .     26 

PARBUTTI  DHOBUN  (from  life)  .    36 

NATIVE  PEDLARS    .  .  .  .72 

BOMBAY  HACKNEY  CART       .  .  .    82  V- 

HADJEE  AHMED  (from  life)  .  .  .84 

THE  FORT,  SURAT  .  .  .92 

MAHOMEDAN  KIOSK  on  the  Banks  of  the  Tapti  .     94  Y~ 

FRENCH  TOWER      .  .  .  .96 

VAUX^S  TOMB,  SURAT  .  . 

COTTON  LEAVES  AND  BLOSSOM  . 

DOWLUTABAD        ....  140 

ENTRANCE  THROUGH  SCARP  TO  DOWLUTABAD  .  142'~ 

OUTER  ENTRANCE  FROM  SCARP — DOWLUTABAD  .  144/~ 

TRAP-DOOR — DOWLUTABAD  .  .145 

THE  "  DUST  EXCITER  "  .  .  147^ 

VINDIA  PURDASI  (from  life)  .  .163 


THE    MOSLEM    NOBLE: 

HIS  LAND  AND  PEOPLE, 


THE  AUTHOR'S  APOLOGY. 

WE  all  love  gossip.  That  fact  I  hold  to  be  in- 
disputable. The  pleasantest  chattings  we  can 
remember  ever  to  have  had  were  full  of  it ;  and 
as  for  books,  if  we  examine  the  matter  closely,  we 
shall  find  that  the  more  personification,  the  more 
dialogue  there  is,  the  better  we  get  on.  How 
delightful,  for  instance,  are  the  Sevigne  Letters ; 
how  charming  the  Walpole  Memoirs.  And 
why?  Because  they  are  full  of  gossip;  we 
walk  and  talk  with  the  writer;  we  see  his 
friends,  we  understand  pretty  well  what  they 
think  of  each  other;  we  enter  into  the  racy 
scandal  of  the  day;  we  tread  a  measure  with 
the  gayest,  and  laugh  for  the  hundredth  time 
at  the  jeu  &  esprit  of  the  wittiest.  With  sedate 
history  it  is  the  same  influence  that  leads  us  on ; 

B 


2  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

Macaulay  and  Napier  are  our  favourite  writers. 
From  their  pages,  as  from  the  Girondists  of 
Lamartine,  life-like  tableaux  open  upon  us,  and 
we  move,  and  speak,  and  live  among  the  actors. 
We  can  see  the  pale  student,  Robespierre,  steal- 
ing to  the  glowing  hearth  of  the  beautiful 
Madame  Roland;  we  can  hear  Sarah,  Duchess 
of  Marlborough,  rating  all  about  her;  and  we 
know  the  very  words  of  those  who  fell  back  by 
hundreds  in  the  trenches  upon  that  fearful  night 
at  Badajoz !  Now,  gossip  is  of  many  kinds,  but 
this  we  speak  of  is,  perhaps,  the  worthiest,  its 
key-note  being  sympathy. 

The  aid-de-camp  of  the  fairy  king  declares 
his  power  to  u  put  a  girdle  round  about  the 
earth  in  forty  minutes."  Steam  by  sea  and 
land  has  not  yet  quite  arrived  at  the  despatch  of 
Puck,  but  it  has  done  much  to  bring,  as  it  were, 
the  ends  of  the  earth  together,  to  crumble  away 
prejudices,  and  to  originate  the  belief  that  there 
has  been  learning,  and  wisdom,  and  art  in 
those  eastern  lands,  which  was  even  greater 
than  our  own ;  and  we  can  imagine  that  friend- 
ship, kindness,  and  all  the  sweetest  virtues  of 
humanity  may  yet  be  found  in  the  families  of 
those  same  lands,  whose  creed,  climate,  and 
aspect  so  differ  from  our  own ! 

The  travelled  man,  well  aware  of  this,  sym- 
pathizes with  all  the  world,  and  that  because 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  3 

experience  has  given  him  knowledge.  He  has 
enjoyed  the  courtesy  and  hospitality  of  the  wild 
and  predatory  chief  of  central  Asia;  he  has 
been  gratified  by  the  cordial  reception  of  the 
princely  Moslem;  he  has  listened  to  words  of 
purest  wisdom  from  the  lips  of  a  learned 
Brahmin;  and  he  acknowledges  and  respects 
that  kindred  spirit  which  makes  all  men  bre- 
thren. 

Our  "  home-staying  youth,  who  has  ever 
homely  thoughts,"  lives  in  a  seagirt  isle,  on  which, 
but  comparatively  a  few  years  since,  his  fore- 
fathers herded  in  caves,  painted  themselves  with 
woad,  and  lived  (in  intellect  little  higher  than  their 
prey)  on  the  animals  they  caught  in  hunting. 
The  result  is,  that  he  views  with  contempt  all 
that  his  narrow  mind  cannot  comprehend;  and 
because  the  outward  aspect  of  the  Oriental 
differs  from  his  own,  it  pleaseth  him  to  consider 
the  descendant  of  the  Mogul  as  an  inferior 
being,  or  as  one  to  be  valued  only  for  the  rich- 
ness of  his  costume  and  the  liberality  of  his 
largess. 

Now,  what  can  alter  this  lamentable  condition 
of  the  general  mind?  Evidently  sympathy. 
And  as  the  mountain  sometimes  finds  it  difficult 
to  go  to  the  mouse,  and  as  all  persons  cannot 
travel,  the  subject  may  now  and  then  come 
home  to  them  in  some  pleasant  form,  "  gilt  and 

B  2 


4  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

lettered;"  and  as  the  gentleman  of  England 
sits  by  liis  seacoal  fire,  agreeable  introductions 
may  take  place  between  himself  and  the  varied 
classes  of  the  East,  from  which  opinions  and 
acquaintances  may  be  formed,  liberal  feelings 
may  arise,  and  the  whole  atmosphere  around 
him  become  the  warmer,  for  the  genial  flow  of 
kindness  so  begun. 

Under  this  impression,  and  with  the  spirit  of 
Oriental  gossip  strong  upon  me,  I  beg  to  intro- 
duce some  of  my  most  esteemed  and  valued 
Oriental  friends  to  the  acquaintance  of  the 
reader,  jotting  them  down  just  as  I  saw  and 
knew  them  in  their  own  land,  where,  surrounded 
by  their  people  and  dependants,  they  were 
honoured  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  them. 


It  was  a  brilliant  day,  even  in  the  Strand— 
the  cast  shadows  were  well  defined,  and  deep  in 
colour.  The  grim  hospital  seemed  less  grim 
than  usual;  the  very  lion  of  Northumberland 
House  appeared  excited  as  by  a  tropic  sunshine; 
and  as  our  chat  took  the  tone  of  foreign  climes, 
beguiled  perhaps  by  this  very  sunshine,  a  bril- 
liant-coloured, splendid  carriage  passed,  dashing 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  5 

by,  as  from  the  city,  westward.  It  was  a  notice- 
able equipage  altogether.  On  the  box  was  seen 
one  whose  swarthy  face  surmounted  a  dress 
glowing  like  a  crimson  poppy.  Within  the 
carriage  sat  a  portly,  handsome,  prince-like  per- 
sonage, flashing  with  gold  and  green,  with  jewels 
and  Cashmeres;  and  opposite  to  him  another 
eastern  gentleman,  with  eyes  so  keen  and  coun- 
tenance so  expressive,  that  one  felt  at  once  how 
shrewdly  he  could  try  conclusions  with  the 
clearest-headed  Templar  of  them  all. 

Each,  as  the  carriage  passed,  raised  his  hand 
with  the  graceful  salaam  of  oriental  recognition. 
"Who's  that?"  exclaimed  my  friend.  "Oh! 
that  is  his  Highness  Meer  Jafur  Alee  Khan 
Bahadoor,  of  Surat."  "Who?"  I  was  be- 
ginning again — "  No,  don't !  do  you  know  him?" 
"Of course."  " Where ?— how ?"  "Here,  and 
in  India  years  ago;  he  is  one  of  my  kindest 
friends."  "Really!  how  interesting! — do  tell 
me  all  about  it ;  I  do  so  like  to  hear  of  Elephants, 
and  Howdahs,  and  Jewels,  and  Hareems."  And 
now,  if  the  reader  will  allow  me  to  consider 
him  as  my  companion  for  the  time,  we  will  chat  a 
little — not,  perhaps,  about  Elephants  and  How- 
dahs, but  of  pleasant  days  and  kindly  friends, 
associated  with  my  recollections  of  his  Highness 
Meer  Jafur  Alee  Khan,  as  I  knew  him  in  his 
own  land. 


b  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

It  is  an  unhappy  truth  that  the  moment 
any  one  begins  to  chat  about  India,  every 
one  looks  bored.  At  St.  Stephen's,  in  old 
times,  as  a  certain  noble  lord  could  well  bear 
witness,  as  soon  as  India,  her  rights  or  suf- 
ferings were  introduced,  honourable  members 
strolled  back  to  their  clubs  in  search  of  rest  and 
refreshment.  In  drawing-rooms  it  is  much  the 
same.  Who  among  us  does  not  dread  the 
sallow-cheeked  old  colonel,  with  his  interminable 
stories  of  tiger  hunts  and  Seringapatam  ?  Who 
knows  anything  about  the  Museum  of  the  India 
House,  or  cares  whether  they  are  Gunputtis1  or 
Guavas,  that  people  in  Bombay  eat  for  their 
dessert? 

Well,  for  my  own  part,  I  promise  to  make 
my  subject  as  little  tedious  as  possible,  and, 
therefore,  instead  of  entering  into  all  sorts  of 
dry  details  about  Governor  Duncan  and  the 
Nuwaub  of  Surat  treaty  bill,  with  long  names 
of  Begums  that  none  but  a  student  at  Haileybury 
could  possibly  pronounce ;  and  without  saying  a 
word,  at  least  at  present,  about  how  it  was  that 
his  Highness  Meer  Jafur  Alee  first  visited  Eng- 
land in  1844 — we  will  consider  him  as  returned, 
not  to  Surat  indeed,  where  his  family  and  palace 
really  are,  but  to  the  large  porticoed  house  out 

1  Elephant-headed  deity  of  the  Hindoo  Pantheon. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  7 

there,  among  the  Girgaum  woods,  a  spot,  by 
the  by,  that  one  can  never  think  of  without  a 
sense  of  suffocation,  so  dusty  were  the  ways, 
and  so  close  the  cocoa-nut  plantations,  in  this 
part  of  the  otherwise  most  beautiful  island  of 
Bombay. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE     MAEEIAGE. 

"  She  is  like  the  rising  of  the  golden  morning,  when  the 
night  departeth,  and  when  the  winter  is  over  and  gone ;  she 
resembleth  the  cypress  in  the  garden,  the  horse  in  the  chariots 
of  Thessaly." — Idyllium  of  Theocritus,  on  the  Marriage  of 
Helen. 

IT  was  in  the  month  of  June  that  my  friend's 
carriage  took  me  from  the  heat  and  horrors  of 
cotton  bales  and  screws  on  the  Apollo  Bunder 
at  Bombay,  to  his  house  in  the  woods,  the  cha- 
racter of  the  locality  being  only  redeemed  by 
one  pleasant  avenue  leading  to  the  shore,  by 
which  some  circulation  of  air  passes  between  the 
stems  of  the  crowded  cocoa-nut  trees,  and  pre- 
vents that  total  stagnation  of  atmosphere  so 
common  to  the  level  parts  of  the  island,  particu- 
larly at  the  season  immediately  preceding  the 
setting  in  of  the  monsoon.  The  retainers  and 
humble  friends  of  an  Indian  nobleman  are 
legion,  and  the  Meer's  amiable  and  benevolent 
disposition  left  him  no  lack  of  these.  There 


SHEIK          KHOOB. 

(FROM    LIFE) 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

was  Budr-oo-deen,  the  Meer's  Hakeem  ;*  his  man 
of  business,  the  Delall ;  his  English  writer,  with 
the  adopted  title  of  Mahomed  Jaffer,  and  a 
Persian  dress ;  Hubbeeb  Khan,  or  the  beloved, 
the  Meer's  favourite  sepoy;  with  a  crowd  of 
coachmen,  grooms,  water-carriers,  pipe-bearers, 
sherbet-makers,  moonshees,  and  story-tellers 
beside ;  the  most  important  of  the  whole  being 
Eamjeo,  the  Meer's  confidential  servant,  or 
Jemidar,  as  they  call  him  in  the  family — a 
young,  intelligent,  handsome  Mahomedan,  who 
accompanied  the  Meer  to  England,  wondered  at 
Ascot,  laughed  immoderately  at  Astley's,  and 
stood  with  true  Moslem  self-command,  gravely 
and  silently,  with  folded  arms,  in  the  corner  of 
every  drawing-room  which  was  adorned  by  the 
handsome  person  and  graceful  manners  of  his 
master. 

Many  among  this  crowd  were  old  friends  of 
mine,  had  travelled  with  me  in  England,  had 
voyaged  with  me  to  India;  and  although  they 
did  not  burst  forth  into  a  series  of  loud  praises 
of  my  virtues,  talents,  and  largesses,  as  they 
would  have  done  had  I  been  their  country- 
woman, I  met  with  kindly  recognition,  the  more 
grateful  as  it  was  the  more  disinterested.  Good 
old  Budr-oo-deen,  the  Hakeem,  smiled,  and  rolled 

1  Physician. 


10  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

his  eyes  with  fearful  activity  as  he  welcomed 
me ;  and  I  was  glad  to  see  him  there,  both  from 
the  personal  regard  I  felt  for  the  old  gentleman, 
and  because  his  very  original  character  never 
failed  to  produce  amusement  to  me  whenever  I 
have  met  him. 

The  excitement  of  my  arrival  past,  I  found 
the  Meer's  people  deeply  interested  in  some 
transactions  with  little  Dorabjee,  the  merchant, 
who  had  brought  fine  muslins  and  chintzes  in 
abundance,  to  be  admired  and  purchased  as 
ankrikas1  and  scarfs,  though  he  looked  little 
suited  to  recommend  them,  being  rather  a  grim- 
looking  mahajun,2  with  a  harsh  black  beard, 
descending  to  his  waist.  Dorabjee  at  once  re- 
cognized me,  as  "  a  lady  I  know  very  well " — 
i.e.,  "that  I  have  imposed  on,  many  times  and 
oft'7 — after  his  nature.  Kamjeo,  the  Meer's 
servant,  was  very  busy  in  the  transactions,  re- 
ducing charges  and  settling  payments;  and  it 
being  rather  hard  labour  to  bring  a  Bombay 
Borah  to  the  semblance  of  honest  dealing, 
Ramjeo  wore  his  working  dress,  consisting  of  a 
clear  flowered  muslin  skull  cap,  full  trousers, 
with  a  dark  blue  cotton  handkerchief  girded 
round  the  waist;  and  as  I  looked  at  his  bare, 
glossy  brown  shoulders,  it  amused  me  to  fancy 
/ 

1  Linen  dresses  worn  by  men.  2  Merchant. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  11 

how  such  an  apparition  would  have  startled  the 
Habitues  of  Hyde  Park,  and  how  little  chance 
Ramjeo  would  have  had  of  being  recognised  as 
the  Meer's  handsome  valet,  last  seen,  shining 
in  his  rich  livery  of  gold  and  green,  the  symbolic 
hues  of  the  Prophet  and  the  Prince. 

The  great  topic  of  conversation  among  the 
native  gentry  of  Bombay  was  the  approaching 
marriage  of  the  fair  daughter  of  Sir  Jamsetjee1 
Jeejeebhoy,  to  her  cousin,  a  young  Parsee  of 
gentlemanly  and  pleasing  exterior,  much  liked 
and  well  spoken  of.  In  consequence  of  the  ill- 
ness of  the  Governor  of  Bombay,  Sir  Jamsetjee 
did  not  intend  to  issue  any  invitations  for  a 
general  party,  a  matter  of  regret  to  many,  for 
the  knight's  princely  munificence  was  so  well 
known,  and  the  preparations  made  for  the  nup- 
tial celebrations  were  so  extensive,  that  a  parti- 
cipation in  the  sumptuous  entertainment  and 
interesting  circumstance  of  the  wedding  was  of 
course  desired  by  many,  myself  prominently 
among  the  number. 

The  Meer  delighted  my  eyes  with  the  exami- 
nation of  a  parcel,  containing  some  of  the  most 
magnificent  shawls  that  were  perhaps  ever 
produced  from  the  looms  of  Cashmere,  as  Meer 
Acbar  Alee,  his  Highness's  brother,  having 

1  From  Jamsheed,  a  celebrated  king  of  Persia. 


12  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

arrived  from  Baroda,  they  were  both  anxious  to 
select  shawls,  with  which  to  return  Sir  Jamset- 
jee's  present,  sent  selon  rfyle  with  the  original 
invitation  to  the  marriage.  Now,  the  marriage 
gifts  of  the  inviter  are  of  comparatively  small 
value,  but  my  friends,  as  the  prospective  guests, 
were  anxious  to  quadruple  them  in  richness  and 
splendour.  This  practice  of  making  offerings 
at  all  marriages  in  the  East,  is  one  of  the  most 
mischievous  in  the  social  usages  of  oriental 
families,  expense  being  thus  incurred  wholly 
inconsistent  with  the  condition  and  means  of  the 
individuals  concerned ;  so  that  debts  are  neces- 
sarily contracted,  which  fetter  with  difficulty  an 
undue  proportion  of  life's  business.  The  truth 
is,  that  marriage  ceremonies  in  the  East  are 
altogether  inconsistent  and  absurd,  as  affects 
what  is  supposed  necessary  eclat;  and  the  pre- 
sents received  from  friends  on  these  occasions 
are  immediately  disposed  of,  as  the  readiest 
means  by  which  some  portion  of  the  enormous 
burthen  of  expense  may  be  met  by  the  father  and 
family  of  the  bride.  These  remarks  of  course 
do  not  apply  to  persons  of  the  rank  of  Sir  Jam- 
setjee  or  Meer  Jafur;  but  among  inferior  classes, 
it  might  be  found,  if  one's  acquaintance  was  ex- 
tensive in  families  with  marriageable  daughters, 
that  demands  on  the  purse  for  "  shawl  money" 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  13 

might  arrive  too  frequently  for  Hymen's  torch 
to  lead  to  welcome  sacrifice. 

On  the  day  fixed  for  the  presentation  of  the 
marriage  gifts  to  Sir  Jamsetjee,  the  Cashmerian 
shawl  merchant,  accompanied  by  Meer  Jafur's 
Surattee  Delall,  arrived  early  with  a  handsome 
piece  of  Kinkaub,1  wherewith  to  enwrap  the 
shawls.  This  same  Cashmerian  I  fancy  to  have 
been  a  good  specimen  of  his  race;  he  was  tall, 
graceful,  and  fair,  his  complexion  partaking  of  the 
European  style  of  fairness,  and  not  tinged  with 
the  sallow  hue  so  disagreeable  in  a  light- coloured 
native;  his  eyes  were  blue,  and  his  hair  a 
reddish  brown,  while  his  manners  were  pleasing, 
and  he  often  spoke  with  much  intelligence  on 
the  condition  of  his  beautiful  and  interesting 
country.  On  the  present  occasion,  he  alluded 
with  great  sadness  to  the  enormities  which,  his 
private  letters  told  him,  had  been  already  per- 
petrated among  the  Cashmerians  by  their  Hindoo 
ruler,  Golaub  Sing;  among  others,  he  men- 
tioned liis  countrymen's  habit  of  eating  beef, 
and  that  on  one  occasion  of  a  fat  bull  having 
been  slaughtered,  Golaub  Sing  burnt  alive  several 
Cashmerians  as  a  punishment  and  warning.  The 
poor  man  absolutely  wept  as  he  dwelt  on  the 
terror  entertained  by  the  people  of  the  Sirdar, 

1  Gold  embroidered  silk. 


14  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

and  said  there  was  no  hope,  as  long  as  the  yoke 
of  Golaub  Sing  was  on  their  necks.  And  then  he 
spoke,  in  the  spirit  of  a  mountaineer,  of  the 
beautiful  and  romantic  scenery  of  the  Kohistan, 
and  gradually  with  his  excitement  recovering 
his  good  spirits,  chatted  cheerfully  enough  of 
what  was  passing,  and  spoke  with  a  sort  of  awe- 
inspired  reverence  and  wonder,  almost  arising  to 
superstition,  of  the  military  powers  of  Lord 
Hardinge. 

A  report  was  rife,  to  the  dismay  of  shawl 
merchants  in  general,  that  Sir  Jamsetjee,  sen- 
sible of  the  expense  caused  to  those  who  could 
ill  afford  it,  from  this  custom  of  offerings  on 
marriage,  and  of  course  feeling  that  the  practice 
was  quite  beneath  his  dignity,  if  he  availed  him- 
self of  it  as  a  means,  in  ordinary  use,  for  defray- 
ing a  large  portion  of  incidental  expense,  had 
determined  in  his  own  case  to  afford  a  distin- 
guished example  against  the  continuance  of  the 
practice,  and  had  already  declined  to  receive  the 
shawls  of  Sunkersett  and  of  Gungadhur  Shas- 
tree,  the  wealthiest  Hindoo  gentlemen  in 
the  Presidency.  I  had  heard  this  news  with 
great  satisfaction  while  paying  some  morning 
visits  to  friends,  likely  to  be  very  well  informed 
on  the  matter,  but  as  I  repeated  it  to  the  Meer, 
the  shawl  merchant's  countenance  began  to  dis- 
play the  most  anxious  interest,  and  at  length  he 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  15 

burst  forth,  with  rapid  assurances  of  the  whole 
being  a  mistake.  He  knew,  he  said,  what  the  lady 
had  heard,  for  he  had  been  told  the  same  tale; 
of  course  it  was  very  kind  of  Sir  Jamsetjee,  as 
so  rich  a  man,  to  refuse  to  receive  anything  from 
the  poorer  gentry — but  from  noblemen,  such  as 
the  Meer  and  his  brother,  it  was  quite  another 
matter;  Sir  Jamsetjee  of  course  would  receive 
the  shaws  from  them — and  the  Cashmerian  began 
to  fold  the  intended  presents  not  only  with 
great  care,  but  rather  unusual  despatch,  the 
absolute  sale  of  the  shawls  depending,  it  seemed, 
on  Sir  Jamsetjee's  reception  of  them — for  as  yet 
they  had  been  merely  selected,  and  although  I 
have  no  doubt  the  merchant  knew  all  the  facts 
as  well  as  I  did,  he  cared  not  so  to  abandon  his 
hopes,  while  he  perhaps  calculated  a  little  on 
the  Meer's  rank,  with  his  Highness's  class  as  a 
Mahomedan,  and  his  wrath  was  very  ill  concealed 
when  I  suggested,  that  perhaps  Sir  Jamsetjee 
would  be  more  gratified  if  the  shawls  were  not 
even  offered  upon  this  occasion. 

The  Meer  listened  to  the  arguments  of  the 
merchant,  and  looked  doubtfully  at  me ;  in  truth, 
he  would  not  receive  the  idea  that  a  Parsee  could 
exercise  so  much  forbearance  as  to  refuse  (and 
that  in  opposition  to  old  established  custom)  a 
means  so  favourable  for  receiving  wealth  into  his 
coffers,  and  so  the  shawl  parcel,  with  its  costly 


16  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

wrapper,  was  placed  in  the  carriage,  and  Meer 
Jafur  and  Meer  Acbar  Alee,  in  full  dress,  went 
forth  to  offer  their  compliments  to  Sir  Jamsetjee. 
The  shawl  merchant  looked  first  triumphant, 
then  anxious.  The  Delall  and  he  sat  upon  chairs 
at  the  open  window,  bending  towards  each  other 
discussing  chances,  and  from  time  to  time  suf- 
fering their  voices  to  sink  to  low  whispers,  as 
they  glanced  through  the  open  doors  of  the  room 
in  which  I  sat,  quite  unconcerned,  because  con- 
fident in  the  result.  The  stake  of  the  shawl 
merchant  was  a  matter  of  more  than  four  hun- 
dred pounds  (4,000  rupees),  and  the  princely  in- 
dependence of  Sir  Jamsetjee  could  be  but  little 
appreciated  by  this  mercantile  pair.  They  esti- 
mated the  feelings  of  others  by  their  own,  and 
so  even  while  trembling,  dared  to  hope  the  best. 
In  half  an  hour,  however,  all  doubt  was  at  rest. 
The  carriage  of  his  Highness  dashed  through 
the  gates.  The  merchant  and  Delall  spring  from 
their  seats.  "Karnjeo,  what  news?"  All  praise 
to  the  noble-hearted  knight,  the  shawls  are  de- 
clined, and  my  friends  have  returned,  charmed 
with  the  courteous  bearing  of  Sir  Jamsetjee. 

As  from  this  feeling  of  respect  to  the  illness 
of  the  Governor,  the  wedding  party  was  to  be 
restricted  to  the  native  friends  of  Sir  Jamsetjee's 
family,  anxious  as  I  felt  to  be  present  at  a 
Parsee  marriage,  the  idea  was  altogether  aban- 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  17 

doned,  and  I  endeavoured  to  gain  contentment, 
so  that,  in  the  best  possible  spirit,  I  might,  with 
other  evening  loungers  on  the  Esplanade,  admire, 
night  by  night,  the  magnificent  facade  of  the 
knight's  mansion  brilliantly  illuminated ;  wonder 
whether  the  pretty  pavilion  erecting  in  front  of 
it  was  for  a  natch  or  a  supper-room,  and  gossip 
about  the  report  that  Monsieur  Koserre,  the 
Herr  Dobler  of  the  day,  had  been  offered  four 
thousand  rupees  to  do  what  any  Kalatnee1  would 
have  performed  more  surprisingly,  for  three  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  rupees  less. 

At  about  three  o'clock  on  a  certain  day,  how- 
ever, a  servitor  of  Sir  Jamsetjee's  came  to  "  call 
them  that  were  bidden  to  the  wedding,"  and  he 
literally  said  in  the  Guzeratee  tongue,  "  all 
things  are  ready,  come  unto  the  marriage." 2  A 
polite  affirmative  was  at  once  written  by  Meer 
Jafur,  on  coloured  French  note  paper,  and  en- 
closed in  an  envelope  decorated  with  loves, 
doves,  hearts,  and  violin  players,  an  original 
design,  perhaps,  of  the  valentine  producer's 
art-union ;  and  this  suitable  missive  having  been 
despatched,  Meer  Jafur  and  his  brother  Meer 
Acbar  soon  appeared  splendidly  and  most  be- 
comingly attired.  The  dress  of  Meer  Jafur  was 
of  fine  white  linen,  flowered  in  Surat  tambour 

1  Gipsy.  2  St.  Matthew,  xii,  I. 

0 


18  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

work  with  gold  and  coloured  silks;  his  turban 
was  of  Dacca  muslin,  striped  with  gold ;  a  long 
muslin  scarf,  such  as  Mahomedans  always  wear 
in  dress,  fell  on  his  shoulders,  and  upon  his 
arm  he  hore  a  magnificent  green  Cashmere 
shawl. 

Knowing  well  the  powder  of  perseverance  in 
all  mundane  matters  (even  those  with  the  most 
discouraging  aspect),  I  determined  mine  should 
not  be  lacking  in  a  vigorously  sustained  en- 
deavour to  see  as  much  of  this  great  Parsee 
wedding  as  the  unbidden  might;  and,  being 
altogether  urgent  in  curiosity,  the  Meer,  with 
his  usual  kindness,  assisted  my  laudable  ex- 
ertions with  the  loan  of  one  of  his  open  carriages, 
in  which,  with  sketch-book  in  hand,  I  quickly 
followed  to  the  scene  of  action,  and  a  brilliant 
one  in  truth  it  was. 

Passing  through  the  Sunkersett  Bazaar  (as 
this  part  of  Bombay  is  called  in  compliment  to 
the  rich  Hindoo  landholder,  Juggernath  Sun- 
kersett, Esq.),  our  way  was  constantly  impeded 
by  groups  of  women  bearing  marriage  gifts,  all 
richly  dressed,  and  followed  by  their  male 
relatives,  every  tenth  woman  bearing  on  her  right 
hand  a  salver,  on  which  was  a  loaf  of  sugar 
and  an  infant's  suit  of  crimson  satin,  broidered 
in  gold  or  silver. 

As  we  passed  through  the  church  gates  of  the 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  19 

fort,  the  plot  thickened,  and  the  crowd  was  so 
dense  that  we  could  proceed  only  at  a  foot's 
pace,  ourselves  attracting  attention  from  the 
crimson  silk  reins  and  silver  harness  of  our 
steeds.  This  fact  from  time  to  time  favoured 
my  advance,  but  the  way  was  choking  with  the 
processions  of  women  I  have  described,  and  the 
masses  of  bidden  guests  passing  from  every 
avenue  towards  the  mansion  of  Sir  Jamsetjee. 
Each  guest  wore  a  "wedding  garment,"  and 
bore  on  his  arm,  closely  folded,  a  Cashmere 
shawl.  This  wedding  garment  was  a  surcoat 
of  fine  muslin,  falling  in  full  folds  to  the  feet, 
fastened  with  large  bows  over  the  breast  on  the 
left  side,  and  girded  round  the  waist  with  flat 
broad  bands  of  a  thicker  material.  It  is  proper 
that  this  dress  should  be  of  sufficient  length  to 
conceal  the  slippers,  and  must  be  of  very  ample 
dimensions. 

As  we  advanced,  it  was  quite  evident  that  the 
constabulary  force  had  labour  almost  beyond 
their  powers  and  patience  in  warning  off  the 
hired  Shigrams1  filled  with  half-caste  women, 
and  the  Buggies  crested  with  English  sailors 
that  marred  the  scene ;  but  if  Constable  C,  who 
appeared  the  very  genius  of  order,  possessed 
any  taste  connected  with  his  public  zeal,  he 

1  Native  carriages  closed  by  Venetians. 

c  2 


20  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

must  have  backed,  passaged,  and  caracoled  that 
bay  Arab,  which  seemed  ubiquitous,  with  right 
good  will.  On  one  side  of  us  was  the  splendid 
mansion  of  Sir  Jamsetjee — its  handsome  portico 
and  broad  flight  of  steps  occupied  by  the  male 
members  of  the  family,  welcoming  the  wedding 
guests,  while  Cursetjee,  the  eldest  son,  pointed 
to  the  place  of  each  on  the  chairs  and  benches 
previously  arranged.  Thus  honourable  men 
who  were  bidden,  sat  in  the  highest  place. 
None  were  afterwards  called  on  to  give  way, 
neither  was  it  necessary  to  say  unto  any, 
"Friend,  go  up  higher,"1  arrangements  having 
been  previously  made  according  to  rank;  and 
thus  "the  wedding  was  furnished  with  guests." s 

On  the  upper  step  of  the  porch  was  seated 
Sir  Jamsetjee  Jeejeebhoy,  benevolence  in  his 
every  expression,  dignity  in  his  every  gesture. 
His  garment  was  of  white  muslin,  of  the  most 
delicate  fabric  and  ample  dimensions,  and  on 
his  breast  he  wore  a  noble  decoration  in  the 
gold  medal  presented  to  him  by  her  Majesty 
Queen  Victoria,  in  recognition  of  the  princely 
munificence  which  dictated  the  erection  of  the 
noble  hospital  which  bears  his  name. 

In  front  of,  and  nearly  opposite  to,  Sir  Jamset- 
jee's  house,  stretched  a  line  of  temporary  and 

J  St.  Luke,  xiv,  10.  ~  St.  Matthew,  xxii,  10. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  21 

highly-decorated  refreshment -rooms  intended 
for  the  Natch  and  supper,  and  here  the  band  of 
the  20th  Native  Infantry  played  polkas  with  the 
most  untiring  spirit. 

I  had  but  time  to  direct  my  coachman  to  draw 
in  at  this  particular  point,  as  the  best  for  seeing 
the  passers  by,  when  on  the  porch  and  steps  of 
the  mansion,  I  observed  the  guests  dividing  as  \ 
if  to  flank  an  avenue,  and  in  a  second  more 
came  forth  a  procession  as  brilliant,  interesting, 
and  beautiful  as  could  be  imagined.  It  was 
difficult  indeed  to  fancy  myself  the  spectator  of 
a  matter  of  real  life,  so  like  was  it  to  some  of 
the  rich,  gorgeous,  and  well  Imagined  groupings, 
that  delight  us  in  a  new  opera,  or  a  splendid 
ballet,  where  colour,  light,  and  design,  have 
exhausted  their  best  efforts  for  effect.  In  this  ( 
case,  however,  truth  added  to  the  beauty  of  the  ~" 
scene,  and  instead  of  weary,  worn-out  coryphees, 
we  had  here  the  handsome  friends  and  fair 
young  relatives  of  the  bride,  bearing  marriage 
gifts  to  the  bridegroom's  house.  And  on  they 
came,  trooping  forth  into  the  bright  sunshine 
clasped  hand  in  hand,  bearing  salvers ;  their  rich 
attire  was  of  French  satin  of  the  clearest  colours, 
bright  blue,  pale  blush  colour,  and  full  primrose ; 
each  Saree  bordered  with  a  deep  band  of  gold  or 
silver,  and  each  foot  flashing  in  a  jewelled 
slipper.  The  band  preceded  this  fair  cortege. 


22  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

and  as  the  whole  moved  on,  bright  smiles  and 
mirthful  glances  gleamed  upon  the  crowd,  but 
the  slow  and  measured  pace  served  well  to  dis- 
play the  grace  and  natural  dignity  of  the  Parsee 
ladies. 

Scarcely  had  this  charming  procession  passed, 
when  a  jewelled  hand  was  laid  on  the  carriage 
door,  and  Cursetjee  looked  in.  "  I  have  come," 
he  said,  "  the  bearer  of  my  father's  compliments, 
to  beg  you  to  honour  my  sister's  marriage  with 
your  presence;  you  would,  perhaps,  like  to  see 
the  ceremony,  and  your  friends,  the  Meers,  are 
already  here." 

The  reader,  to  whom  I  have  already  confided 
my  anxiety  on  this  point,  will  sympathize  in  the 
delight  I  felt  at  thus  becoming  a  bidden  guest ; 
in  truth,  at  this  moment  the  invitation  appeared 
the  very  pleasantest  I  had  ever  received,  and  I 
immediately  followed  its  kind  proposer  to  the 
portico,  where  Sir  Jamsetjee  received  me  with 
the  courtesy  which  so  eminently  distinguished 
the  fine  old  knight,  and  I  soon  found  myself  in 
the  seat  of  honour,  "  the  upper  room  at  feasts," 
between  my  friends  Meer  Jafur  and  Meer  Acbar. 
Ours  was  evidently  the  most  distinguished  posi- 
tion, for  Sunkersett  was  with  us,  with  his  fat, 
amiable  son,  and  the  Brahmin,  Vinaek  Gun- 
gadhur  Shastree,  Esq.,  with  others  of  note, 
while  upon  the  opposite  seats,  among  those  of 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  23 

less  degree,  I  soon  espied  "our  family  physician," 
Budr-oo-deen,  whose  eyes  revolved  more  than 
ever,  as  I  thought,  and  who  looked  much  paler — 
an  odd  old  gentleman  in  sooth,  and  not  at  his 
ease  as  a  wedding  guest. 

But  I  am  digressing,  and  while  the  Hakeem 
is  rolling  his  visual  organs,  as  if  boldly  defying 
any  cobra  in  all  India  to  fascinate  them,  the 
din  of  women's  voices  grows  louder  through  the 
lattice  behind  my  chair,  the  lights  burn  more 
brilliantly,  and  Cursetjee  summons  me  to  wit- 
ness the  marriage  ceremonies.  The  glare  and 
noise  on  first  entering  the  great  saloon  were 
quite  overpowering,  and  it  occupied  some 
minutes  before  I  could  see  and  understand  what 
surrounded  me.  It  seemed  that  a  few  moments 
previous  to  my  entrance  a  large  curtain  had 
been  thrown  down,  which  had  been  drawn  across 
the  chamber,  the  ceremonies  connected  with 
which  had  been  strictly  private,  and  from  what 
I  afterwards  learned  of  the  matter,  very  properly 
so ;  but  the  mirth  of  the  ladies  was  at  its  height, 
and  although  this  was  their  sixth  day  of  festivity 
preparatory  to  the  marriage,  rich  peals  of  ring- 
ing laughter  left  no  doubt  of  their  untiring 
enjoyment,  and  their  perfect  appreciation  of 
all  the 

"  Jest  and  youthful  jollity, 
Quips  and  cranks,  and  wanton  wiles,"' 


24  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

which  had  attended  the  performance  of  rites, 
mystical  to  the  stranger. 

In  the  centre  of  the  hall  was  spread  a  large 
square  carpet,  the  border  of  which  I  was  par- 
ticularly requested  not  to  touch,  even  with  the 
edge  of  my  garment,  it  being  for  the  time  sacred. 
On  one  side  of  this  were  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom, seated  on  richly  gilt  chairs ;  the  young 
husband  in  the  usual  dress  of  the  Parsees,  and 
the  bride  enveloped  in  a  veil,  or  Saree,  of  gold 
gauze  edged  with  pearls.  They  were  a  hand- 
some couple,  and  with  little  disparity  of  age, 
the  bridegroom  being  perhaps  eighteen,  and 
pretty  Ferozebhai1  some  four  years  younger. 
Facing  the  bride  stood  the  Dastur,  or  chief 
priest,  with  the  flowing  garments  and  white 
turban  peculiar  to  the  order,  and  on  either  side, 
Mobeds  (priests  of  the  second  class)  holding  a 
dish  of  coca-nuts  and  rice,  and  a  small  fan. 
Between  the  priests  and  bride  were  two  small 
tables,  teapoys  as  they  are  called  in  India  (a  per- 
version of  teen-pong  or  tripod),  each  supporting 
a  lighted  candle  and  a  green  cocoa-nut  on  a 
silver  salver.2  As  the  Dastur  thus  stood,  with 
hand  upraised,  he  scattered  rice  and  dried  fruits 
towards  the  bride,  repeating  the  nuptial  bene- 


1  Literally,  the  sister  of  the  Turquoi. 

2  Genesis,  i,  28. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  25 

diction.  This  ended,  the  bride's  feet  were 
bathed  with  milk,  the  Kusti,  or  cincture  of 
seventy-two  threads,  blessed  and  adjusted,  with 
some  frivolous  customs,  on  which  it  is  unneces- 
sary here  to  remark,  inasmuch  as  I  was  assured, 
both  by  Manockjee  Cursetjee  and  my  obliging 
friend  Nourojee  Dorabjee,  the  radical  editor  of 
the  Chabook  newspaper,  that  they  were  mere 
grafts  of  Hinduism,  and  "contemptible  to 
speak  of." 

The  concluding  ceremony,  however,  had  too 
much  absurdity  in  it  to  pass  unnoticed,  and  the 
reader  will,  if  a  bachelor,  perhaps  thank  heaven 
that  he  at  least  was  not  born  a  supposed  wor- 
shipper of  A'tish  (fire),  to  be  liable  to  the 
sufferings  I  am  about  to  describe,  in  addition  to 
that  of  a  "  wedding  breakfast."  In  the  mar- 
riage chamber  were  some  hundreds  of  Parsee 
women,  of  all  ages  and  various  ranks,  splendidly 
attired,  for  even  those  less  wealthy  than  their 
neighbours  were  radiant  in  gold  and  satin ;  yet 
the  elder  ladies,  and  some  even  more  \h&npassee, 
had  reason  to  rejoice  that  the  Saree,  when  re- 
quired, levelled  distinctions  by  concealment. 
Every  individual  of  this  crowd  from  the  moment, 
however,  the  nuptial  ceremony  was  concluded, 
stepped  upon  the  carpet,  and  commenced  a  little 
benedictory  appendix,  performed  by  extending 
the  hands,  and  passing  them  over  the  faces  and 


26  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

garments  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  from  the 
crown  of  the  head  to  the  sole  of  the  foot,  repassing 
them  from  the  sole  of  the  foot  to  the  crown  of  the 
head,  and  retiring,  after  a  low  salaam.  I  fancied 
I  could  perceive  a  pitiable  shrinking  of  the  suf- 
fering bridegroom  from  the  bony  hands  of  some 
of  the  elder  ladies,  and  a  gentle  shaking  of  the 
pretty  head  of  the  bride,  as  if  these  harsh 
touches  on  her  smooth  face  were  absolutely 
painful.  No  doubt  they  were,  but  this  is  a 
u  custom"  in  the  East — a  word  of  most  extended 
meaning,  powerful  enough  at  all  times  to  set 
aside  any  supposed  necessity  for  reason,  and 
affording  an  excuse  for  anything,  however  mon- 
strous, absurd,  or  irrational. 

On  entering  the  saloon,  Cursetjee  had  intro- 
duced me  to  his  mother,  Lady  Jamsetjee,  a 
remarkably  fine-looking  person.  Her  dress  was  a 
rich  crimson  satin  Saree,  with  a  deep  gold  border, 
slippers  worked  in  diamonds,  and  a  nose  jewel, 
composed  of  three  large  pearls,  with  an  emerald 
pendant,  an  ornament  which  the  Parsees  as  well 
as  the  Mahomedans  very  generally  use. 

After  the  marriage  I  was  presented  to  the 
bride,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  her  sweet 
face  unveiled  by  gorgeous  drapery.  She  wore 
trowsers  of  white  satin  embroidered  in  gold,  a 
flowered  lace  under  dress,  with  a  pale  pink  satin 
boddice,  worked  with  an  elaborate  design  in 


LANDELLS.DEL? 


SIMP  SOU  <fc,C°  LITE. 


PARS  EE      LA  DY 

(FROM    L\FE) 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  27 

pearls  of  various  sizes,  her  slippers  and  nose- 
ring being  similar  to  those  of  Lady  Jamsetjee; 
numerous  strings  of  large  pearls  depended  from 
her  face  and  neck,  and  her  arms  were  half  hidden 
by  rich  ornaments.  As  I  looked  at  the  fair 
Ferozebhai,  the  ode  of  the  Persian  poet  came 
into  my  memory,  and  never  seemed  the  words 
of  Hafiz  more  applicable  than  here : — 

"  Mild  is  thy  nature,  gentle  maid, 
As  is  the  rosebud's  modest  head 
In  the  fresh  bower  of  early  spring ; 
And  such  thy  shape,  to  equal  thee 
The  garden  of  eternity 
Must  its  own  cypress  proudly  bring."1 

The  demeanour  of  the  fair  girl  was  indeed  <v 
eminently  graceful  and  quiet,  and  I  am  told  that 
she  is  accomplished  and  very  amiable,  speaking 
English  well,  having  been  educated  by  an 
Englishwoman  who  was  accustomed  to  tuition 
in  England,  and  is  herself  well  informed.  And 
here  I  cannot  avoid  remarking  with  commisera- 
tion on  the  condition  of  many  of  my  poor  coun- 
trywomen in  India,  whose  position  appears  to 
be,  if  not  quite  destitute,  helpless  and  wretched 
in  the  extreme ;  one  sketch  of  whom  will  serve 
as  the  portrait  of  many.  A  young  woman, 
for  instance,  of  a  large  and  impoverished  family, 
the  members  of  which,  perhaps,  all  occupy  the 

1  Third  Ode. 


28  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

most  dependent  and  generally  the  most  degraded 
position  of  governesses  in  second-rate  families, 
is  induced,  with  the  hope  of  assisting  in  mission- 
ary labours,  to  come  to  India.  She  marries, 
perhaps,  a  clerk  in  an  office,  or  some  man  whose 
family  have  been  unable  to  provide  him  with  a 
profession.  He  gains  chance  employment  pro- 
bably in  an  office,  or  as  English  writer  to  some 
native  gentleman,  where  he  gains  lodgings  and 
some  three  pounds  (thirty  rupees)  a  month. 
Disappointment  now  brutalizes  him,  he  strives 
to  deaden  its  sense  by  stimulants;  a  young 
family  increases  care,  the  wife  struggles  to  im- 
prove things  by  teaching  among  half-castes  and 
Parsees  for  a  stipend  less  than  her  husband's; 
mutual  recrimination  too  often  follows ;  the  un- 
happy woman,  unable  to  return  to  her  country, 
fails  in  health ;  and  the  picture  is  one  over  which 
we  would  willingly  draw  a  veil,  wishing  that 
society  had  no  such  scenes  which  have  for 
actresses  our  sorrowing  sisters,  sorrowing  and 
helpless  in  a  foreign  and  ungenial  clime. 

I  had  quitted  Sir  Jamsetjee's  house,  and  was 
enjoying  the  refreshment  of  tea  with  my  kind 
friend,  Manockjee  Cursetjee,  at  his  house,  a  few 
doors  from  the  knight's,  when  my  attention  was 
excited  by  a  blaze  of  light,  which  I  found  to  pro- 
ceed from  hundreds  of  lanterns,  swinging  in 
pairs  from  the  tops  of  bamboos  some  ten  feet 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  29 

high,  and  carried  by  coolies,1  engaged  to  light 
the  procession  of  the  bride  to  her  husband's 
house.  An  avenue  was  now  formed,  and  the 
fair  Ferozebhai  appeared,  surrounded  by  her 
female  friends,  and  enveloped  in  a  crimson  Saree, 
closely  drawn  round  her  face  and  figure;  she 
was  then  carefully  placed  in  an  open  palankeen, 
decorated  with  cushions  of  gold  and  green ;  this 
was  immediately  raised  and  borne  between  her 
male  relatives,  while  the  guests  of  both  sexes 
attended  it  in  distinct  groups,  according  to  their 
sex,  but  botli  men  and  women  holding  hands, 
and  walking  slowly  two  and  two.  The  innu- 
merable lights  gave  full  effect  to  this  interesting 
scene,  and  military  bands  lent  their  aid  to  render 
it  yet  more  dramatic. 

The  looker-on  could  not  but  be  impressed 
with  the  singularity  of  the  procession,  and  the 
strange  fact  of  this  fair  girl,  whose  life  had  been 
passed  in  the  seclusion  of  her  own  splendid 
home,  being  thus  brought  forth,  and  borne  above 
the  heads  of  the  crowd  through  the  close  streets 
of  the  crowded  fort ;  a  blaze  of  light  cast  on  her 
delicate  and  shrinking  form,  and  curiously  gazed 
on  by  the  lowest  of  the  people,  arid,  this  misery 
past,  to  enter  her  husband's  house,  and  lead  a 
life  secluded  as  before.  Yet  such  is  the  "  cus- 

1  Porters. 


30  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

torn,"  painful  and  revolting  though  it  be,  and, 
as  I  remarked  before,  no  further  explanation  is 
required. 

It  was  pleasant,  however,  to  know,  that  in 
the  fate  of  this  fair  Parsee  there  was  less  harsh- 
ness than  attends  the  lives  of  many  who  dared 
scarcely  look  from  their  lattices  upon  her — a 
fact  arising  from  the  strictness  of  Mahomedan 
and  Hindoo  customs.  Ferozebhai,  it  was  plea- 
sant to  remember,  had  not  married  one  old 
enough  to  be  her  father,  the  present  husband, 
perhaps,  of  a  trio  of  fair  dames;  nor  had  she 
been  betrothed  in  childhood  to  one  she  could 
not  but  detest.  She  looks  not  forward  to  a  life 
whose  sole  pleasure  is  gossip,  whose  chief  luxury 
is  sloth ;  in  her  case  there  is  no  funeral  pyre, 
with  its  greedy  flames,  ever  dancing  before  a 
terror-excited  imagination.  Happily,  no.  Her 
cousin-husband  has  won  her  girlish  heart ;  she 
fears  not  the  influence  of  other  wives,  or  any  de- 
gradation at  her  husband's  hands ;  she  will  have 
cheerful  association  with  her  friends,  and  possess 
a  degree  of  liberty  unknown  to  other  Eastern 
women.  By  Parsee  edict  no  legal  rival  can 
dispute  her  power;  and  but  that  the  Venetians 
of  her  carriage  are  only  half  open  to  the  morn- 
ing and  evening  breezes  as  she  drives  to  her 
country  house,  to  enjoy  the  family  pic-nics  and 
festivities  in  which  the  Parsees  delight  so  much, 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  31 

her  fate  does  not  materially  differ  from  that  of  a 
young  Englishwoman  commencing  the  duties 
and  cherished  responsibilities  of  a  wife.  And 
thus,  sweet  bride,  with  heartfelt  good  wishes 
and  pleasant  thoughts,  we  say  farewell  to  thee ! 
Be  thou  as  one  among  the  "  honourable  women," 
whose  clothing  is  not  only  vestures  "of  gold 
wrought  about  with  needlework,"  but  whose 
"  strength  and  honour  are  her  clothing,"  and 
whose  "works  praise  her  in  the  gates."1 

"  Lips  though  rosy  must  be  fed,"  and  lips  of 
a  less  charming  hue  must  also  receive  suste- 
nance, despite  ceremonies,  Cashmeres,  and  stiff 
muslins;  the  Parsees  especially,  too,  agree  in 
the  idea  that  life  in  Bombay  would  be  but  a  dull 
thing  were  it  not  illustrated  by  plates,  as  poor 
Theodore  Hook  hath  it  of  London ;  consequently, 
as  soon  as  the  bride  had  left  her  father's  house 
dinner  commenced,  and  as  this  entertainment 
was  likely  to  last  some  hours,  I  thankfully 
accepted  Manockjee's  invitation  to  look  through 
his  library,  for  which  purpose  we  proceeded  to 
his  father's  house.  On  the  steps  we  met 
Manockjee's  interesting  little  daughter,  Koon- 
verbhai,  who  had  run  home  for  a  moment  to 
change  her  delicate  blue  and  silver  Saree  for  a 
less  brilliant  one,  in  anticipation  of  passing  the 

1  Proverbs,  xxxi. 


32  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

evening  in  romps  and  pastimes  with  the  bride 
and  her  companions.  This  little  lady  was  in 
high  spirits  and  under  great  excitement,  but 
gentle,  well-bred,  and  courteous  as  ever. 
Placing  her  little  soft  hand  in  mine,  she  care- 
fully led  me  up  the  winding  staircase  of  the 
house,  smiling  and  chatting  all  the  way  in  the 
most  winning  manner,  and  never  for  a  moment 
betraying  the  anxiety  she  felt  to  return  to  her 
more  congenial  party. 

On  entering  the  drawing-room  we  found  a 
weary  group,  for  six  days  and  nights  of  festival 
will  tire  the  most  zealous  in  mirth  and  gaiety. 
Manockjee's  younger  son,  Shereen,  was  espe- 
cially so,  and  taking  off  his  little  body-coat  and 
turban,  and  appearing  in  his  loose  muslin  dress, 
scarlet  trowsers,  and  blue  satin  skull  cap,  he 
threw  himself  on  a  sofa  and  was  soon  fast  asleep. 
Manockjee's  wife  was  also  there,  with  her  pretty 
round-faced  little  baby ;  but  as  she  spoke  only 
Guzeratee,  the  language  now  used  by  the 
Parsees,  our  intercourse  was  confined  to  an  in- 
terchange of  smiles. 

Soon  after  ten,  I  left  Manockjee  Cursetjee's  to 
attend  the  Natch  at  Sir  Jamsetjee's  "bower,"  as 
the  Parsees  called  it.  The  band  of  the  20th 
Native  Infantry  were  still  playing  polkas  with 
great  zeal,  and  the  guests  had  not  yet  left  the 
feast.  Cursetjee,  Janisetjee,  and  the  bridegroom, 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  33 

however,  received  us,  and  a  servant  presented  a 
large  salver  covered  with  bouquets  of  delicious 
roses,  but  no  sooner  had  I  taken  one  than  he 
sprinkled  it  with  scented  water  from  a  golden 
Golaubdani,  which  notion  of  adding,  as  it  were, 
"perfume  to  the  violet,"  was  too  completely  in 
native  taste  for  me  to  approve.  A  few  days 
before  this,  the  Meer,  who  had  been  at  a  large 
party  at  Sunkersett's,  presented  me  with  a 
bouquet,  every  blossom  in  which  was  speckled 
with  gold  leaf.  Sir  Jamsetjee's  people  were 
more  poetical  in  this  case,  but  the  little  triangu- 
lar packets  of  Pan  Suparee,  folded  in  fresh 
plantain  leaf,  were  gilded  most  profusely. 

The  dancing-room  was  elegantly  decorated, 
spread  with  rich  carpets,  and  lighted  with  mas- 
sive silver  candelabras  and  splendid  chandeliers, 
the  cornices  and  pilasters  painted  with  garlands 
of  flowers,  evidently  by  a  French  artist,  while 
the  draperies  were  of  pale  pink  silk.  The  Taifa 
consisted  of  only  two  Natch  women,  but  good 
specimens  of  their  profession ;  both  were  young 
and  handsome,  wearing  the  tight  trowser  and 
bell-shaped  dress  of  gauze,  embroidered  with 
gold.  The  contrast  of  colour  was  pretty:  one 
dancer  wearing  dark  crimson  and  gold,  and  her 
companion  pale  blue  and  silver.  Natches  re- 
semble each  other  so  nearly,  that  a  description 
of  the  present  would  be  a  work  of  supereroga- 

D 


34  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

tion  indeed,  and  altogether  intolerable  to  the 
reader ;  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the  dancers  at 
Sir  Jamsetjee's  were  perfect  in  their  art.  They 
advanced,  retired,  revolved,  and  advanced  again 
as  usual,  while  the  musicians  grinned,  and 
nodded,  and  stamped,  and  made  horrible  faces 
of  intense  excitement,  as  it  is  their  duty  to  do. 
Thus  the  spectators  were  lulled  and  charmed  by 
turns  into  a  succession  of  the  most  perfect  satis- 
faction. Behind  the  dancers  a  full  curtain  that 
depended  from  an  arch  excited  my  curiosity, 
and  under  pretence  of  viewing  nearer  the  deco- 
rations of  the  saloon,  I  peeped  behind  it. 
Stretching  away  to  what  really  seemed  an  in- 
terminable distance  were  supper-tables,  laden 
with  rich  plate,  decorated  with  epergnes  and 
roses,  •  and  abundantly  studded  with  certain 
long-necked  bottles,  in  vases  of  fresh  ice. 

The  guests  now  strolling  in,  I  felt  that,  as  the 
only  European  present,  I  might  be  considered  an 
intruder  on  the  scene,  and  after  being  escorted  to 
my  carriage  by  a  strong  party  of  "links,"  I  pro- 
ceeded through  the  fort.  The  Will  to  return 
was,  however,  easier  than  the  deed,  for  the 
town  generally,  and  the  Sunkersett  bazaar  with 
its  environs,  was  filled  with  wedding  parties; 
lights  flashed  from  every  house,  coloured  Chinese 
paper  lanterns  swung  from  every  porch,  tomtoms 
were  beaten,  and  singers  screamed  in  loud  dis- 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  35 

cord  on  every  side;  fireworks  cracked,  and 
torchmen  rushed  wildly  from  street  to  street. 
It  may  be  imagined  that  all  this  merry  madness, 
combined  with  a  bright  moonlight  and  a  pair  of 
very  fresh  and  shying  horses,  rendered  my 
homeward  course  rather  an  erratic  one,  making 
it  late  before  we  drove  through  the  gates  of 
Girgaum  House,  whither  my  friends,  Meer 
Jafur  and  Meer  Acbar,  the  "  bidden  guests,"  had 
preceded  me,  I  found,  some  hours.1 

1  Both  in  this  and  in  the  chapter  entitled  "  Golden 
Apples,"  the  reader  may  recognise  some  paragraphs,  which, 
written  by  myself,  have,  with  fewr  alterations,  already  appeared 
in  one  of  our  most  successful  periodicals. 


i)  2 


36  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


CHAPTER  H. 

THE  DHOBUN  OR  LAUNDRESS. 

"  How  truth's  pure  channel  leads  to  sacred  fame, 
Learn,  oh  my  heart !  from  the  pellucid  stream." 

Hafiz. 

A  VERY  interesting  little  personage  who,  morn- 
ing after  morning,  attracted  my  attention,  moving 
and  chatting  about  among  the  roses  and  jasmines 
of  Meer  Jafur's  parterre,  was  Parbutti,  the 
Dhobun,  and  one  morning,  on  returning  from  my 
early  ride,  I  persuaded  her  to  let  me  "  write  her 
in  a  book,"  as  the  natives  were  accustomed  to 
call  sketching. 

Now,  it  will  be  readily  understood  that  the 
Dhobun  is  a  very  necessary  addition  to  an  oriental 
household,  where  the  most  scrupulous  cleanliness 
is  joined  to  the  scantiest  imaginable  wardrobe. 
And  so,  at  almost  all  hours  of  every  day,  the 
washerwoman  or  her  helpmate  the  Dhobhie  may 
be  seen  with  the  white  Ankrika  of  either  one  or 
the  other  of  the  servants,  which,  shining  with  rice 


£  LAKDELLS.DEL? 


PARBUTTI       DHOBUN 

(FROM    LIFE) 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  37 

starch,  they  return,  in  an  hour  or  two,  neatly 
folded  in  a  thin  handkerchief,  and  balanced  upon 
the  head.  Parbutti's  costume  consisted  of  a 
bright  yellow  silk  Chola  or  boddice  fastened 
behind,  and  a  light  blue  cotton  Saree  or  scarf, 
having  a  crimson  silk  edge,  gracefully  draped 
around  the  figure.  On  the  right  arm  she  wore 
a  Taweed  or  charm,  to  defend  her,  poor  little 
soul,  from  the  evil  eye!  and  all  her  savings, 
hard-earned  rupees  as  they  were,  had  been 
melted  down  to  form  anklets  and  bracelets;  a 
safer  system,  Parbutti  thought,  than  that  of 
burying  them  in  an  earthen  Chattee,  or  pot, 
within  her  father's  hut.  These  braveries  seemed 
heavy  for  so  slight  an  ankle,  yet  the  Dhobun's 
step  was  so  light,  and  so  elastic  withal,  and  her 
figure  so  well  balanced  that  one  could  but  re- 
joice she  had  the  means  to  wear  them. 

The  matter  of  washing  is  conducted  differently 
abroad  to  what  we  know  of  it  in  England. 

The  Dhobun,  with  her  husband  and  assistants, 
ladens  a  little  bullock  with  such  of  the  family 
garments  as  are  in  a  soiled  condition,  and  drives 
the  animal  slowly  along  to  the  river  bank,  the 
tank,  the  pool,  or,  it  may  be,  to  the  nearest  well. 
The  clothes  being  then  laid  on  large  stones 
placed  there  for  the  purpose,  they  are  rolled 
and  beaten — beaten  and  rolled  again,  fresh  water 
being  constantly  poured  over  them  from  little 


38  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

Lotas  or  metal  bowls.  Dried,  at  length,  in  the 
warm  sunbeams,  the  linen  is  powerfully  starched 
with  congee,  or  rice  starch,  and  then  smoothed 
with  an  iron,  somewhat  resembling  the  box-iron 
of  England,  if  we  imagine  red-hot  charcoal 
supplying  the  place  of  the  ordinary  heater. 

The  little  Dhobun  seemed  the  sweetest- 
tempered  little  creature  living,  and  every  ser- 
vant, Peon  (messenger),  Bhisti  (water-carrier), 
or  whoever  he  might  be,  turned  from  his  occu- 
pation to  exchange  with  her  a  cheerful  greeting. 
Parbutti  seemed  also  to  have  eminently  attained 
the  great  virtue  of  punctuality;  no  servant 
anxiously  waiting  for  his  clean  attire  to  serve 
the  morning  meal,  ever  had  occasion  to  scold 
the  general  favourite,  for  exactly  at  the  moment 
that  the  cook  announced  that  the  rice  and 
Kabobs  were  ready,  that  moment  the  sunbeams 
were  broken  in  their  course  by  the  slight  figure 
of  the  pretty  little  Dhobun.  Youth,  health,  and 
worthy  occupation  make  all  lives  cheerful,  but 
if  merry  with  us  among  the  roses  and  oleanders 
of  his  Highness' s  garden,  how  much  merrier  was 
the  pretty  Dhobun  when  engaged  in  her  voca- 
tion at  the  river  bank  or  by  the  side  of  that  well, 
shaded  by  the  fine  old  peepul  tree,  out  there  by 
the  Imaun's  tomb.  How  musical  has  her  voice 
sounded  at  the  sunset  hour,  when  surrounded  by 
her  young  companions  she  has  chanted  her 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  39 

Mahratta  songs,  polishing  her  little  Lotas l  as  she 
sung,  while  the  blue  Saree,  drooping  on  her 
neck,  suffered  some  bright  ray  of  light  to  fall  on 
the  shining  tresses  of  her  heavily -braided  hair, 
and  the  rich  gold  ornament  and  red  pome- 
granate blossoms  which  formed  its  tasteful  de- 
coration. 

There  is  certainly  something  exquisitely  at- 
tractive in  colour  and  sunlight.  How  charmed 
I  have  often  been  in  watching  the  groups  of 
oriental  women  massed  about  these  Indian  wells 
at  sunset !  How  interesting  it  becomes  to  note 
the  brilliant  richnesses  of  colour,  the  great 
variety  of  form,  and  the  singular  differences  of 
effect  which  individual  arrangements  of  dress 
alone  are  capable  of  producing.  A  stranger,  if 
happily  endued  with  a  perception  of  the  graceful 
and  picturesque,  can  never  weary  in  his  admira- 
tion of  the  groups  so  presented  to  his  view,  and 
though  a  large  number  of  the  commoner  classes 
may  mix  therein,  and,  on  a  near  approach,  the 
texture  of  their  garments  may  seem  coarse,  their 
ornaments  rude  in  execution,  and  a  superfices  of 
dirt  appear  more  prominently  than  is  pleasing, 
the  spectator  will  yet  be  delighted  with  the 
charming  contrasts  and  accidental  graces  which 
are  sufficiently  present,  in  every  oriental  group 
in  which  women  form  a  part,  to  fascinate  the 

1  Metal  bowls  used  for  water. 


40  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

artistic  eye,  and  beguile  all  criticism  as  affects 
detail. 

The  European  traveller  himself  has  a  personal 
interest  in  the  village  well.  How  often  has  he 
felt  his  flagging  spirits  cheered,  after  a  long,  hot 
ride  over  a  vast  plain,  presenting  not  a  shrub  to 
diversify  the  arid  face  of  nature,  when,  from  a 
rising  knoll,  he  suddenly  descries  a  group  of 
fresh-leaved  peepul  trees,  and,  putting  his  horse 
into  a  canter,  speedily  arrives  at  the  welcome 
fount  they  overshadow?  How  grateful  to  his 
ear  is  the  sound  of  the  running  ropes,  and  the 
rude  song  of  the  water  driver!  how  delicious 
seems  the  bright  stream  that  leaps  through  the 
little  grass-bordered  rivulet,  towards  the  rich 
plantations  of  young  grain !  and  how  willingly 
he  slackens  the  rein  of  his  good  steed,  and 
suffers  him  to  take  a  long,  delicious  draught,  as 
the  sturdy  peasant,  calling  an  authoritative  halt 
to  "Kama  and  Crishnajee"1  (who  are  well  nigh 
tired  with  their  morning's  work),  points  to  the 
traveller's  tent,  scarce  an  arrow's  flight  from  the 
spot,  and  now  seen  securely  nestled  under  the 
shadow  of  a  noble  banyan  tree. 

If  to  the  European  traveller  this  well  is  a 
sight  so  refreshing  to  the  eye,  what  then  must  it 
be  to  the  merchant,  the  pilgrim,  or  he  that 


1  The  names  of  Hindoo  demi-gods  are  frequently  given  in 
India  to  draught  bullocks  and  camels. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  41 

journeys  with  all  that  he  hath  to  a  foreign  pro- 
vince, where  neither  hath  the  crops  failed  as 
with  him,  nor  the  locusts  devoured  the  first- 
fruits  of  the  field?  See  the  aged  man  leaning 
on  his  staff,  his  eyes  bent  on  the  ground,  his 
long  white  beard  brown  with  dust,  his  garments 
torn  and  travel-stained !  How  his  eye  brightens, 
his  pace  quickens,  and  his  form  becomes  more 
erect,  as  he  sees  those  shading  trees  and  hears 
the  music  of  the  Mussack  (water  bag)  ropes. 
How  he  turns  smilingly  to  point  out  that  cheer- 
ing scene  to  the  poor  weary  woman,  with  her 
little  one  cradled  on  the  half- starved  pony,  that 
her  husband,  tired  of  vainly  urging,  has  left  to 
its  own  pace,  while  he  loiters  behind,  with  their 
eldest  boy,  who,  clinging  round  his  father's 
neck,  with  cheek  upon  his  turban  sleeps  soundly 
there — worn  to  rest  by  heat  and  sheer  ex- 
haustion. How  the  group  press  together  as 
that  refreshing  well  is  seen  and  heard;  how 
quickly  the  worn-out  wife  adjusts  her  Saree  and 
rouses  the  babes,  who  wake  to  smile  upon  the 
scene.  The  miserable  pony,  too,  with  cheerful 
neigh,  ambles  along  right  briskly,  while  the 
loitering  father  runs  on  to  join  the  forward 
group,  holding  the  sleeping  child  more  firmly  by 
his  little  hands. 

And  now  the  well  is  gained,  the  poor  family 
gather  to  its  brink — they  drink  at  the  sparkling 


42  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

rill — they  bathe  their  hot  swelled  feet — they 
turn  the  pony  loose,  and  take  from  his  saddle- 
bags the  provender.  Humble  fare,  indeed!  a 
little  grain,  a  few  spices,  a  fresh  paun  leaf  or 
two,  and  a  Chillum,1  shared  between  them — but 
it  sufficeth  for  their  wants;  and  then,  by  the 
rippling  water,  they  lay  them  down,  shaded 
from  the  noontide  heat,  and  slumber  calmly, 
until  the  sunset  hour  approaching,  the  increas- 
ing shadow  warns  the  group  they  must  not 
loiter  there.  The  pony  is  resaddled,  another 
refreshing  Chillum  passes  round,  the  poor  family 
prepare  to  leave  their  halting  place ;  and  Christian 
charity  forbid  that  the  looker-on  should  scoff, 
if,  ere  they  quit  that  happy  spot  of  rest,  and 
calm,  and  shelter,  each  elder  of  the  group  should 
lay  a  grain  of  such  food  as  he  has  partaken, 
with  a  fresh  leaf  and  a  few  blossoms,  as  an  offer- 
ing to  the  Supreme  Spirit  of  the  place,  or  re- 
verently bow  in  gratitude  to  the  stone  he  believes 
a  Deity,  and  the  Giver  of  the  good  which  has 
so  restored  and  comforted  himself,  his  wife,  and 
little  ones,  on  their  long  and  weary  way. 

For  my  own  part,  I  have  quite  the  affection 
of  a  native  for  a  country  well.  I  love  to  see 
the  bright  green  turf  about  it ;  I  love  to  note 
the  flickering,  dancing  forms  of  the  huge  boughs 

1  Oriental  pipe. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  43 

that  overshadow  it,  as  the  bright  morning  sun- 
beams are  closed  out  by  a  canopy  of  thick,  rich- 
coloured,  clustering  leaves;  I  love  to  see  the 
peasants  bringing  their  baskets  of  fresh  vege- 
tables to  wash  them  in  the  running  stream;  to 
see  the  roses  and  the  jasmines  that  were 
gathered  before  sunrise  to  preserve  their  beauty, 
sprinkled  with  fresh  drops  to  keep  them  cool 
for  the  neighbouring  market,  or  until  they  are 
strung  into  chaplets  and  formed  into  bouquets 
for  the  rich  man's  hareem  or  the  temple's  service. 
'Tis  pleasant  to  see  how  the  old  well  is  covered 
with  flowering  creepers,  with  various  tinted 
lichen,  with  a  thousand  graceful  springing 
shrubs,  whilst  all  around,  perhaps,  is  drear  and 
sterile.  To  see  the  richly -plumaged  birds  hover 
near,  watching  their  turn  to  benefit  by  its  gifts ; 
to  listen  to  the  song  of  the  bullock-driver,  as  he 
sits  easily  on  the  ropes,  urging  and  encouraging 
by  turns  his  well-trained  beasts,  as,  raising  the 
full  water  bags,  they  quickly  descend  the  in- 
clined plane,  and  after  a  brief  halt,  while  the 
sparkling,  gurgling,  frothing  water  falls  over 
into  the  wide  trough  or  well-made  channel,  they 
lazily  and  slowly  back,  until  the  bags  have  re- 
filled, and  the  song  and  labour  recommence. 
'Tis  pleasant,  indeed,  to  look  on  good  in  any 
form,  and  surely  the  Indian  well  is  as  full  and 


44  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

abundant  in  its  good  gifts  to  those  who  need 
them  as  any  feature  in  the  land. 

The  two  great  descriptions  of  wells  in  India 
are  the  "  Koor  "  and  the  "  Bhowree."  The  first 
is  the  simple  well  surrounded  by  a  wall  of 
masonry,  and  the  other -is  descended  by  flights 
of  steps,  and  is  frequently  a  most  costly  work, 
elaborately  decorated  with  architectural  orna- 
ment. Many  of  the  finest  Bhowrees  have  arcades 
or  galleries  round  them  of  several  stories,  with 
delicate  traceries  of  flowers,  pilasters,  cornices, 
and  elaborate  decorations  of  various  kinds. 
Some  of  the  Mahomedan  cities  show  fine  remains 
of  this  kind  of  well,  which  must  have  been 
among  their  most  admired  architectural  decora- 
tions. I  recollect  one  of  singular  beauty  in  the 
old  city  of  Junagurh;  a  second,  of  yet  larger 
size,  near  Bhooj,  and  others  of  much  beauty  in 
all  the  great  cities  of  Western  India.  The  Koor 
is  essentially,  I  believe,  Hindoo,  but  the  Bhowree 
pertains  to  both  Hindoos  and  Mahomedaiis. 

In  Guzerat,  a  system  of  preserving  fresh  rain- 
water is  adopted,  by  means  of  small  tanks  to 
each  house,  a  plan  which  might  well  be  bene- 
ficial in  other  countries  liable  to  great  droughts. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Nuggur  there  is  a  par- 
ticularly fine  specimen  of  Mahomedan  masonry, 
called  the  Elephant  Well,  and  said  to  be  of  the 
time  of  Arungzebe.  It  does  not  appear  to  have 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  45 

ever  been  used,  but  the  people  aver  that  it  was 
intended  to  be  drawn  by  double  pairs  of 
elephants,  hence  its  name;  and  the  colossal 
dimensions  of  the  structure  render  the  idea 
very  probable. 

The  garden  well  of  the  Deccan  is  always  one 
of  its  most  pleasant  features,  both  for  the  reasons 
of  coolness  and  shade  before  remarked,  and  from 
the  peculiar  character  of  the  Mahratta  peasantry. 
This  peculiarity  results,  I  conclude,  from  their 
fine  bracing  climate,  but  there  is  a  gaiety,  an 
activity,  an  energy  of  purpose,  and  an  apprecia- 
tion of  the  ridiculous  about  a  Mahratta  that  I 
have  never  seen  in  any  other  classes  of  the 
people  of  Western  India.  The  Mahratta 
always  lightens  labour  by  a  song,  and  he  must 
be  a  dull  sluggard  indeed,  equally  careless  of 
his  health,  mental  and  bodily,  who  does  not  feel 
a  cheerful  desire  to  benefit  by  the  fresh  morning 
air  of  "  another  blue  day"  (as  the  German  song 
has  it),  to  which  he  is  roused  with  the  gay 
cheerful  song  of  the  Mahratta  water- drawer,  as 
the  full  Mussacks  cast  their  sparkling  waters 
over  the  wheel,  to  refresh  the  sweet  roses  and 
blossoming  shrubs  that  pour  forth  their  fra- 
grance on  the  cool  and  healthful  breeze. 

To  the  observant  traveller,  who,  with  a  mind 
free  from  prejudice,  desires  to  judge  of  the 
manners  and  habits  of  a  people  with  reference 


46  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

to  their  own  wants  and  condition,  and  not  by 
his  own  notions  as  an  individual  acquainted  only 
with  the  means  and  appliances  of  a  civilized 
country  in  agriculture  and  manufactures,  the 
simple  contrivance  of  these  wells  of  the  Mahratta 
Ryots  must  appear  the  best  suited  to  their  pur- 
poses that  can  possibly  be  imagined,  being  at 
/  once  so  simple,  so  cheap,  and  so  effective. 

A  Mahratta  peasant,  whose  well  formed  a 
pleasant  resting-place  in  my  evening  walk,  told 
me  that  his  whole  apparatus  for  drawing  water, 
bags,  ropes,  yokes,  and  the  general  wood-work, 
cost  him  some  ten  rupees ;  that  with  care  and 
the  expenditure  of  a  little  oil  occasionally,  the 
whole  would  last  some  years,  six  or  seven  per- 
haps ;  that  the  price  of  bullocks  varied  much, 
particularly  according  to  seasons,  but  that  for 
the  "  Pandu  and  Bappoo  "  then  in  yoke  he  had 
given  fifteen  rupees,  a  fair  price,  and  they  were 
young  and  strong  to  labour;  and  this  little 
reckoning  will  show  how  much  better  such  a 
cheap  and  simple  system  is  for  such  a  people, 
than  a  method  less  rude  and  clumsy  perhaps, 
but  one  which  would  require  considerable  outlay 
in  the  original  purchase  of  material,  as  well  as  a 
degree  of  skill  to  repair  and  keep  in  order  not 
possessed  by  village  workmen.  It  is  often 
complained  that  the  agriculturists  of  India  show 
a  very  mischievous  prejudice  in  favour  of  their 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  47 

own  old  system  of  agriculture,  but  I  think  the 
condemnation  sometimes  unreasonable,  and  very 
frequently  so  as  regards  their  implements,  while 
in  the  case  of  irrigation  by  native  wells,  nothing 
could  be  found  better,  I  should  think,  than  the 
common  system  adopted  by  the  Mahratta 
Ryots. 

A  native  well  is  pleasant,  too,  considered  as  a 
scene  of  social  gossip  and  easy  chat.  To  the 
native  woman  of  the  lower  ranks  it  forms  the 
great  amusement  of  her  life,  in  fact;  and  even 
the  frequenters  of  the  male  sex,  who  can  chat 
elsewhere  at  their  leisure,  linger  much  longer 
at  the  well  than  necessity  requires,  while  the 
stranger  may  be  most  agreeably  entertained  by 
observing  the  picturesque  and  often  very  curious 
groups  gathered  at  such  trysting  spots.  We 
have  the  graceful  Hindostan  sepoy,  in  the  easy 
native  dress,  which  becomes  him  so  well  that 
one  wishes  he  was  never  required  to  wear  aught 
else;  the  cunning-eyed  Bhisti,1  with  his  pretty 
bullock,  decorated  with  a  necklace  of  shells  and 
a  little  mirror,  in  which  we  suspect  the  -Bhisti 
himself  sometimes  takes  a  sly  glance  at  his 
well-arranged  Puggree,  with  the  bunch  of  olean- 
der so  jauntily  set  over  his  left  ear;  the  woman 
of  the  lower  class,  with  her  bright  water-vessels 

1  Water-carrier. 


48 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


to  be  filled  for  family  use,  yet  wearing  handsome 
ornaments,  and  attired  in  a  gay  Saree,  which  well 
sets  off  her  bright  eyes  and  smiling  countenance ; 
and  as  each  member  of  the  party  fills  their 
vessel,  and  places  it  on  the  well-side  to  rest 
awhile,  a  world  of  pleasant  chat  and  kindly 
question  animates  the  group,  and  the  looker-on 
will  readily  perceive,  as  the  merry  laugh  rings 
on  his  ear,  that  lovers  of  lively  gossip  might 
find  worse  places  for  its  enjoyment  than  the 
much-trodden  yet  grassy  margin  of  an  Indian 
well. 

We  had  commenced  with  a  little  chit-chat 
about  the  object  of  our  sketch,  the  pretty  little 
laundress  of  his  Highness  Meer  Jafur  Alee,  but 
the  fair  Parbutti  has  betrayed  us  into  a  disser- 
tation upon  Indian  wells!  It  was  a  natural 
transition  however,  for  so  often  have  we  seen 
the  bright  eyes  and  smiling  face  of  the  little 
Dhobun  raised  to  ours,  as  we  have  drawn  bridle 
beneath  the  shading  peepul  tree,  that  Parbutti  be- 
came to  our  imagination  as  the  very  nymph  of  the 
fountain,  inseparable  indeed  from  our  ideas  of 
coolness,  refreshment,  and  the  pleasant  rural 
music  of  sweet  voices  and  honest  labour. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  49 


CHAPTER  TIL 

TROOPS  OF  FRIENDS. 

"  Give  companions,  who  unite 
In  one  wish,  and  one  delight." 

Hafiz. 

THERE  was  swamp  without,  and  swamp  within. 
The  beautiful  ruins  of  the  old  city  of  Bassein 
were  decidedly  what  Mr.  Slick  would  call 
"juicy."  The  frogs,  snakes,  and  mosquitoes 
were  in"  a  condition  of  lively  vigour,  and,  de- 
spite the  towers,  the  cloisters,  the  oriel  windows, 
the  rich  chancels,  peeping  from  every  flowery 
nook  of  the  tangled  foliage  (matters  so  at- 
tractive to  the  owners  of  block  books,  pencils, 
and  a  taste  for  the  picturesque),  we  felt  that  we 
were  little  better  than  the  foolish,  in  thus  wooing 
miasma,  in  her  favourite  haunt. 

Fortunately  we  were  in  time  with  our  new 
idea,  and  as  a  baggage  pony  was  seen  helping 
himself  to  some  coarse  grass,  flavoured  with 
indigo  plants,  at  the  door  of  the  little  mudfloored 


50  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

bungalow,  I  persuaded  him  to  splash  his  way 
with  me  to  the  post  or  Dak-boat,  and  so  arrived 
at  Gora  Bunder,  having,  in  this  case,  gained 
experience  without  a  fever. 

But  the  interest  of  Gora  Bunder1  had  waned. 
The  Mahomedan  Fojdar,  or  ruler,  good  unassum- 
ing man,  pressed  our  stay,  and  pretty  Rutton- 
bhai,  the  Parsee,  wished  it  too.  Her  eloquence 
perhaps  would  have  been  the  most  persuasive, 
for  she  was  always  well-dressed  and  amiable 
(pleasant  traits  in  woman),  and  she  was  cheer- 
ing to  look  on,  with  her  figured  lace  Sadra,  and 
her  bright  crimson  Saree,  its  deep  blue  border 
contrasting  well  with  the  fair  round  arm  that 
held  the  oval  basket  in  which  she  brought  down 
fruit  and  flowers,  attended  by  her  little  milk- 
white  curly  dog ;  but,  in  truth,  Gora  Bunder  had 
become  tiresome. 

To  watch  the  great  Butteelas  or  coast-boats 
lading  with  corn,  the  Tannah  craft  passing  and 
repassing  with  grass  from  Bassein ;  to  hear  the 
fishermen  shout  for  passengers,  arid  old  Mootun- 
bhai,  the  ferry  woman,  enforcing  their  fares;  to 
see  the  children  play  at  tattoo-ba  (or  puss-in- 
the-corner),  and  the  little  canoes  depart  laden 
with  people — an  old  cow  lying  as  ballast  in  the 
bottom;  all  this  had  been  seen  too  often  to 

1  A  place  of  favourite  resort,  about  thirty  miles  from  the 
Presidency  of  Bombay. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  51 

afford  amusement,  and  so  a  note  was  despatched 
to  his  Highness  the  Meer  requesting  him  to  send 
his  carriage  on  a  certain  day  to  take  us  back. 

But  we  acted  unadvisedly;  when  too  late  to 
alter  our  arrangements  we  received  a  Persian 
note,  saying  that  only  one  pair  of  horses  could 
be  spared  to  come  half-way,  inasmuch  as  the 
Eamazan1  had  ended,  and  the  Meer  required  his 
state  carriage  and  bay  horses  wherewith  to  pay 
visits  to  his  friends,  in  accordance  with  Maho- 
niedan  custom.     What  was  to  be  done?     Ser- 
vants, furniture,  all  was  gone.     In  this  dilemma 
the  Parsee,  whose  house  we  occupied,  suggested 
a  remedy;  he  would  put   pillows,  grass,  mat- 
trasses,  into  his  bullock  gharree;  he  had  a  fast 
pair  of  little  Deckanee   bullocks,  and  in  two 
hours  we  should  be  at  our  friend  Cursetjee's 
house  to  meet  the  carriage,  and  so  we  were,  a 
distance  of  twelve  miles!     And  I  then  learnt 
that  piles  of  grass,  with  a  good  mattrass  resting 
on  it,  is  equal  to  a  score  of  air  cushions,  and 
allows  a  journey  to  be  made  as  pleasantly  in  a 
springless  native  cart,  as  in  the  best  hung  car- 
riage, fitted  with  Collinge's  patent  axles,  and  all 
such  appliances,  as  was  ever  turned  out  of  Long 
Acre,  but  for  the  appearance  of  the  thing ;  and 
Abdoola,  the  Meer's  handsome  coachman,  cer- 

1  The  "  Lent"  of  the  Moslems. 

E  2 


52  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

tainly  did  look  rather  astonished  as  he  drove  up 
the  carriage-road  of  Cursetjee's  house;  hut  all 
was  ready,  and  the  Meer's  splendid  grays  soon 
found  their  way  to  rack  and  manger,  even  over 
the  newly-mended  ways  of  the  island  of  Salsette. 

As  we  said,  Ramazan  had  ended — there  was 
no  douht  ahout  that.  The  house  at  Girgaum 
looked  as  gay  as  brightly  dressed  servants,  with 
their  Zulufs,  or  love-locks,  more  carefully  ar- 
ranged than  ever,  could  make  it,  and  there  were 
heaps  of  roses  scattered  ahout,  and  streams  of 
perfume  from  scores  of  Hookaks,  and  minstrels 
were  in  the  garden,  and  professional  story- 
tellers among  the  retainers  grouped  in  the 
lower  rooms,  and  his  Highness  attired  in  the 
softest  robes  of  gold- embroidered  muslins,  the 
choicest  produce  of  the  looms  of  Delhi,  sat  in 
his  drawing-room,  surrounded  by  native  friends, 
for  it  was  the  "Eed,"  a  great  Moslem  day  for 
courtesy  and  salutation. 

It  was  pleasant  to  have  arrived,  for  among 
them  /  also  had  friends.  "What!"  perhaps 
some  English  reader  may  exclaim,  "friends 
among  all  those  black  people?"  Even  so, 
friends  that  I  respected  and  esteemed  as  much 
as  many  among  my  own  people,  and,  if  the 
reader  will  allow  me,  I  will  present  to  him  a  few 
of  those  so  present  in  Bombay: — There  was 
Mirza  Ali  Mahomed  Khan,  a  very  gentlemanly 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  53 

Moghul,  who  spoke  English  most  correctly,  and 
was  a  very  agreeable  person.  His  father  was  a 
rich  merchant,  but  Mirza  Ali  himself  was  inde- 
pendent, and  had  a  pleasant  country  house  a 
short  distance  from  our  own.  Then  there  was 
Yinaek  Gungadhur  Shastree,  the  Brahmin,  who 
was  so  fond  of  taking  photographs  of  everybody, 
and  clever  Manockjee  Cursetjee,  whose  daughter 
Koonverbhai  is  already  known  to  us,  while  he, 
poor  man,  but  lately  returned  from  England, 
was  suffering  from  the  disadvantage  of  being 
educated  in  advance  of  his  times  and  people. 
There  were  some  twenty  other  gentlemen  be- 
sides these,  Moslem,  Hindoo,  and  Parsee. 

And  here,  animated  as  I  must  always  be  by  a 
high  regard  and  warm  esteem  for  all  the  mem- 
bers of  native  society  I  have  had  the  advantage 
of  classing  among  my  friends,  I  cannot  avoid 
expressing  my  deep  regret  that  a  degree  of 
mutual  sympathy  is  not  cultivated  between  the 
stranger  and  the  native,  which  would  elevate  in 
the  one  case,  and  purify  from  prejudice  in  the 
other.  I  have  often  had  occasion  also  to  remark 
the  difference  of  consideration  paid  to  a  native 
gentleman  in  India  and  in  England.  In  the 
drawing-rooms  of  London,  or  the  salons  of 
Paris,  we  find  the  Oriental  noble,  or  even  men 
of  lesser  rank,  treated  with  the  utmost  courtesy, 
and  the  most  flattering  distinction,  but  the  same 


54  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

hour  that  this  lionized  individual  returns  to  his 
own  land,  he  is  treated  by  all  who  meet  him  as 
one  of  an  inferior  race,  and  tolerated,  at  the  best, 
by  persons  who,  in  rank,  are  less  than  his  equals, 
and  it  is  not  impossible  but  that  were  each  in- 
dividual judged  by  a  fair  standard,  the  Indian 
gentleman  would  be  found  morally,  and  perhaps 
intellectually,  superior  to  many  of  those  who 
thus  treat  him  with  slighting  disregard. 

Persons  who  have  mingled  much  in  general 
and  foreign  society,  by  means  of  travel,  are  dis- 
abused of  the  idea  that,  because  men  differ  from 
ourselves,  they  must,  per  consequence,  be  in- 
ferior in  all  things,  or  that  intelligence  has 
some  inexplicable  connexion  with  colour.  Every 
rational  being  would  scoff  at  the  notion  that  he 
could  thus  consider  a  dark  skin  as  a  proof  of 
semi-barbarism  of  mind,  or  fairness  of  com- 
plexion necessary  to  the  possession  of  enlighten- 
ment. Yet,  every  day  in  India,  acts  tend  to  the 
impression  that  some  such  latent  ideas  do  re- 
gulate men's  opinions,  of  whose  justice  they 
neither  care  to  inquire,  and  of  the  extent  of 
whose  mischief  they  are  quite  indifferent.  Most 
desirable  would  it  be  were  this  otherwise;  and 
that  both  travellers  and  residents  in  India  would 
make  the  same  allowances  for  differences  of 
opinion  in  the  East,  as  elsewhere,  and  as  they 
tolerate  the  Greek,  the  Turk,  and  the  Jew,  so 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  55 

should  they  the  Hindoo,  the  Parsee,  and  the 
Moslem,  respecting  the  good  they  find  in  all 
men,  and  looking  to  climate  and  education  for 
the  explanation  of  their  varieties. 

Juggernath  Sunkersett,  Esq.,  the  great  landed 
proprietor  of  Bombay,  a  Hindoo  gentleman  of 
much  influence,  as,  of  course,  landed  proprietors 
always  are,  whether  their  estates  lie  among  the 
fire-flies  of  the  tropics  or  the  bees  of  England, 
has  a  stout  son,  a  very  stout  son  indeed,  at  the 
time  I  speak  of,  and  poor  little  Koonverbhai, 
the  Parsee,  and  this  young  Hindoo  were  wont  to 
indulge  in  a  good  deal  of  amusing  flirtation,  for, 
although  the  Parsee  ladies  are  generally  of  very 
retired  habits,  Manockjee  Cutsetjee's  liberal 
opinions  induced  him  to  introduce  his  daughter 
into  general  society,  and  this  lively  pair  occa- 
sionally were  at  the  theatre  together,  where 
Sunkersett' s  son  would  amuse  himself  by  break- 
ing Koonverbhai's  fan,  with  as  accomplished  an 
air  of  mischief  as  any  English  gallant  could 
have  done.  They  were  also  together  at  Meer 
Jafur's  on  the  "Eed,"  and  when  they  had  left, 
we  gossiped  about  the  chance  of  our  little 
friend's  marrying  a  Hindoo,  forgetting  what  her 
fate  might  be  if  she  outlived  her  husband,  for 
Sunkersett  is  a  most  zealous  Hindoo,  and  we 
thought  the  directions  of  the  Shastrees,  and  the 
institutes  of  Menu  might  be  rigorously  ob- 


56  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

served,  and  the  torch  of  Hymen  be  kept  alight 
till  it  fired  the  pyre  for  Suttee!  There  was 
much  bandying  of  jest  among  the  Moslem  gen- 
tlemen on  this  matter,  but  the  soft  eyed  Parsee 
maiden  was  reserved  for  another  fate ;  the  angel 
who  presides  over  destiny,1  snapt  the  silken  cord 
which  strung  the  pearls  of  life,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  poor  little  Koonverbhai  passed 
away  through  the  portal  of  the  Tower  of 
Silence,*  to  the  flowers  of  her  own  Behisti3 
gardens. 

The  day  after  this  great  gathering,  Dadoba 
Pandoorunjee,  Esq.,  the  successor  of  the 
excellent  and  talented  Bal-shastree,  who  was 
long  a  most  respected  and  beloved  teacher  at 
the  Elphinstone  College,  called  on  me,  having 
heard  that  I  was  anxious  to  see  a  copy  of 
uFerishta,"  which  he  obligingly  brought  with 
him.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  little  daughter, 
an  interesting  child,  eight  years  of  age,  who 
spoke  Mahratta,  and  also  a  little  English,  in 
which  language,  she  told  me,  she  was  learning 
geography  and  history,  and  seemed  already  to 
know  quite  as  much  of  both  as  children  of  her 

1  Ram,  according  to  the  Parsees,  the  Angel  of  Destiny, 
who  presides  over  the  twenty-first  day  of  the  month.     No 
animal  food  is  used  on  this  day. 

2  The  funeral  towers  of  the  Parsees. 

3  Paradise  :  presided  over  by  the  angel  "  Favardin." 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  57 

age  usually  do  whose  advantages  of  education 
have  been  very  superior  to  hers.  Dadoba  and 
myself  had  a  very  long  and  interesting  chat  on 
education. 

He  confirmed  that  which  I  had  already  heard 
of  the  state  of  transition,  as  it  were,  in  which 
the  Hindoo  mind  now  seemed  to  be,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  views  entertained  by  some  of  the 
most  intelligent  natives  in  Calcutta ;  and  he  said, 
that  even  in  Bombay  people  had  received  the 
idea,  that  the  manners,  customs,  and  religion  of 
the  Hindoos,  as  at  present  known,  differed  most 
materially  from  those  of  old  time ;  and  that  the 
intelligent  classes  were  anxious  on  the  subject, 
and  willing  to  investigate  it.  In  the  present 
state  of  opinion,  much  good,  he  thought,  could 
be  effected  by  translations.  Those  of  the 
Vedas,  with  annotations,  had  indeed  appeared, 
but  great  advance  would  be  made,  he  thought, 
could  the  people  be  instructed  by  means  of  their 
own  languages ;  the  translation,  for  instance,  of 
the  Hindoo  drama  from  Sanscrit  into  Mahratta, 
he  considered,  would  be  of  the  highest  value,  by 
acquainting  the  people  with  the  manners  of 
society  in  olden  times,  the  conduct  pursued  to- 
wards the  priesthood,  and  the  estimation  and 
liberty  of  action  enjoyed  by  women;  also  the 
re-introduction,  by  similar  means,  of  works  on 
algebra,  astronomy,  music,  medicine,  and  others. 


58  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

At  present  the  ancient  learning  was  sealed 
against  the  people,  and  no  interest  was  felt 
about  matters  so  difficult  to  investigate;  the 
learned  men  of  England  and  Paris  knew  much 
more  about  them  than  the  Hindoos  themselves. 
Sir  William  Jones  had  enlarged  much  and 
ably  on  their  theory  of  music ;  Professor  Wilson 
on  their  drama.  Much  had  been  said  of  their 
knowledge  of  materia  medica,  and  the  skill  of 
their  doctors  of  medicine,  but  the  Hindoo  people 
were  entirely  ignorant  of  all  this.  The  musi- 
cians played  as  they  sung,  by  the  aid  of  ear, 
memory,  and  tradition;  and  although  it  was 
matter  of  history  that  the  King  of  Serinuggur, 
so  late  as  1422  A.D.,  caused  many  works  to  be 
written  on  music,  nothing  is  now  heard  of  them. 
The  people  are  debased;  they  are  ignorant  of 
the  learning  which  once  gave  their  nations  dig- 
nity, and  unconscious  of  the  corruptions  that 
the  love  of  power  had  urged  bad  men  to  intro- 
duce for  their  adoption.  Blindly  had  the  people 
fallen  into  these  snares;  ignorantly  had  they 
permitted  their  judgment  to  be  led  captive,  and 
their  imaginations  to  be  excited  by  dark  and 
terrible  falsehoods.  At  the  instigation  of  priests 
they  had  given  their  daughters  over  to  the  fires 
of  Suttee,  and  their  sons  to  a  participation  in 
blood-stained  rites ;  but  it  had  not  been  always 
so,  and  if  the  people  could  be  taught  to  know 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  59 

the  purity  of  their  original  religion  as  Deists, 
they  would  cast  open  their  hareems,  purify  their 
temples,  and  bow  no  more  to  images  of  wood 
and  stone.  These  things  had  nothing  to  do 
with  Old  India,  but,  unhappily,  caste  now  came 
in  to  divide  men  (even  the  highest  students  of 
the  colleges)  into  parties,  and  so  the  real  objects 
of  education  were  constantly  opposed. 

It  happened  that  as  we  talked  the  servant 
announced  dinner,  and  being  very  much  inte- 
rested in  Dadoba's  conversation,  I  asked  him  if 
he  would  pass  an  hour  with  his  Highness  Meer 
Jafur,  and  then  return  to  me.  Now,  to  arrive 
at  the  Meer's  apartments  it  was  necessary  that 
Dadoba  should  pass  through  the  dining-room, 
on  the  table  of  which  smoked  a  sirloin  of  beef! 
Had  I  known  this  fact  I  should  certainly  not 
have  suggested  an  arrangement  to  my  friend 
the  Brahmin  calculated  to  insult  him  by  wil- 
fully shocking  his  prejudices;  but  I  was  quite 
ignorant  of  the  matter  at  the  time,  and  Dadoba 
passed  through  without  remark,  mistaking,  I 
fervently  hoped,  the  offensive  joint  for  a  re- 
markably fine  saddle  of  mutton ! 

On  his  return,  however,  I  was  disabused  of 
this  opinion.  "  How  much  better  it  would  be," 
he  said,  "if  we  understood  each  other,  and 
could  be  friendly  and  kind,  and  make  allow- 
ance for  prejudices;  in  that  case  they  would 


60  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

soon  cease  to  annoy  us,  for  when  we  had  mutual 
sympathy  we  should  only  regard  such  things  as 
the  manners  of  different  countries,  just  as  I  wear 
a  Puggree1  and  an  English  gentleman  a  hat !  I 
saw  you  had  beef  for  your  dinner,  and,  as  a 
Brahmin,  it  is  very  shocking  to  me  to  see  our 
sacred  animal  so  used,  but  I  was  not  offended, 
because  I  have  a  regard  for  you ;  I  know  this  is 
your  custom,  and  I  am  sure  if  you  came  to  my 
house  when  my  wife  was  baking  the  bread  for 
our  meal  you  would  be  careful  not  to  let  your 
shadow  fall  over  it,  to  give  her  the  trouble  of 
cooking  it  all  again." 

Dadoba  then  expatiated  on  the  good  that  would 
arise  from  greater  sociality  between  native  gen- 
tlemen and  Europeans.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  there 
is  no  sympathy,  no  interchange  of  good  offices; 
you  will  not  try  to  find  any  good  in  us.  You 
fancy  we  only  offer  you  attentions  from  some 
interested  motive;  this  is  often  the  case  now, 
but  it  would  not  be  so  if  you  threw  off  your 
reserve,  and  treated  us  as  friends — for  instance, 
Sunkersett  and  the  Shastree  you  know  very 
well,  and  Manockjee  Cursetjee,  and  myself, 
with  All  Mahomed  Khan,  and  many  others,  and 
yet  you  never  ask  us  to  assist  you  in  any  way ; 
you  always  go  to  your  English  friends."  He 

1  Turban. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  61 

was  very  anxious  I  should  read  the  native  news- 
papers, the  Chabook,  the  Samarchand,  and  others ; 
I  should  then  see,  he  said,  the  shrewdness  of 
native  remark,  and  know  what  the  people  really 
thought  of  our  acts  among  them. 

Dadoba  was  quite  right ;  many  of  the  leading 
articles  in  the  Mahratta  and  Guzeratee  news- 
papers are  full  of  interest.  I  remember  a  passage 
translated  from  the  Cliabook  that  amused  me 
much.  It  had  been  raining  heavily,  and  on  the 
weather  clearing  the  editor  wrote — "  We  hope 
soon  again  to  see  that  liappij  sight,  of  fair 
English  ladies  riding  on  horseback  for  their 
health,  attended  by  their  brothers  and  husbands." 
Some  of  the  remarks  made,  too,  on  more  im- 
portant subjects  are  full  of  interest.  The  opi- 
nions held  on  decisions  passed  in  the  Supreme 
Court,  the  views  taken  of  public  affairs,  with 
criticisms  on  the  acts  of  the  Government  and  its 
employees.  One  circumstance,  then,  of  late 
occurrence  had  awakened  much  controversy, 
and  led  to  the  expression  of  divers  opinions.  A 
Brahmin,  to  whose  care  was  entrusted  a  child  of 
tender  age,  murdered  the  poor  little  creature  on 
the  way  to  Malabar  Hill,  and  cast  the  body  on 
the  rocks,  where  it  was  eventually  discovered. 
The  crime  was  fully  proved;  the  child  had  been 
loaded  with  gold,  silver,  and  jewels  in  honour  of 
a  Hindoo  festival,  and  the  Brahmin's  cupidity 


62  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

was  the  death- warrant  of  the  helpless  little  one. 
Some  thought  sentence  would  be  commuted, 
and  that  none  would  dare  to  hang  a  Brahmin, 
whatever  his  crimes  might  be,  and  on  this  point 
discussion  of  no  common  kind  arose.  Nowrojee, 
the  Parsee  editor  of  the  Clicibook,  laughed  to 
scorn  the  notion  that  the  odour  of  sanctity,  sup- 
posed to  envelope  a  Hindoo  priest,  would  save 
him  from  the  rope  of  the  executioner;  other 
papers  doubted ;  some  hinted  at  the  danger  of  a 
general  rising,  of  the  same  kind  as  that  which  took 
place  some  years  ago  among  the  Parsees  on  the 
occasion  of  a  great  slaughter  of  dogs,  when 
their  prejudices  were  outraged.  It  all  ended,  of 
course,  in  the  sentence  of  the  law  being  executed 
on  the  Brahmin,  as  on  any  other  criminal;  and 
when  the  priest  of  Mahdeo  was  hanged  by  the 
neck  until  he  was  dead,  people  went  quietly  to 
their  houses,  and  wondered  how  it  could  ever 
have  been  doubted  that  it  would  be  so. 

Whenever  it  has  been  my  fate  to  be  in  dis- 
tricts governed  by  our  political  officers,  where 
the  "  non-intervention  "  principle  obtained,  and 
have  seen  preparations  made  for  Suttee,  known 
of  cases  of  infanticide,  and  heard  applications 
for  permission  for  individuals  to  be  buried  alive, 
either  to  avoid  their  bestowing  the  heritage  of 
disease,1  or  in  performance  of  a  vow,  I  have 

1  It  is  believed  that  when  men  die  violent  deaths,  leprosy 
and  other  diseases  are  not  inherited. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  63 

always  eagerly  desired  that  it  were  possible,  in- 
stead of  talking  of  prevention,  in  the  strain  of  a 
missionary,  by  converting  the  people  from  their 
religious  errors,  to  talk  of  English  law ;  to  treat 
all  Brahmins,  who  are  ever  the  stimulators  to 
such  acts,  as  criminals;  to  punish  them  as  the 
shedders  of  man's  blood,  and  thus  spread  a 
wholesome  terror  among  these  wholesale  mur- 
derers of  a  nation.  Even  a  Brahrninical  intel- 
lect might  thus  arrive  at  the  idea  of  "  doing  as 
he  would  be  done  by,"  and  that  by  a  much 
shorter  process  of  argument  than  is  now  com- 
monly used  to  convince  him  of  his  enormities. 

Dadoba  spoke  in  high  terms  of  the  capabilities 
of  the  Mahratta  language,  as  nervous,  concise, 
and  not  only  admirably  adapted  for  purposes  of 
business,  but  equally  so  for  those  of  art  and 
scientific  acquirement.  All  that  remained  worth 
knowing  in  India  now,  beyond  such  things  as 
were  locked  away  in  the  difficulties  of  the 
Sanscrit  language,  was  to  be  found,  he  said,  in 
Mahratta,  while  with  a  twelve  months'  study  it 
might  be  easily  acquired,  and  would  open  stores 
of  interest  well  calculated  to  repay  the  labours  of 
the  student.  The  paucity  of  books  now  written 
or  translated  into  the  modern  languages  of  India, 
rendered  it  imperative  that  the  lads  desiring  in- 
formation should  learn  English ;  but  Dadoba  con- 
sidered that  the  vernacular  would  be  much  more 


64  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

to  the  purpose ;  would  save  a  vast  deal  of  time,  and 
prove  to  the  native  mind  a  much  better  medium 
for  the  expression  and  reception  of  ideas. 

For  his  part,  the  pundit  said,  he  candidly 
confessed  he  could  not  either  understand  or 
relish  Shakespeare  or  Chaucer;  with  modern 
novels  he  seemed  to  get  on  swimmingly,  and 
enumerated  of  those  he  had  read  what  would 
fill  a  fair  sized  catalogue  for  the  circulating 
library  of  a  country  town.  At  present  Dadoba 
was  working  away  at  the  "  Heart  of  Mid- 
Lothian,"  and  I  asked  him  if  he  did  not  find  the 
Scotticisms  a  difficulty,  fancying  they  would  be 
as  great  stumbling  blocks  as,  it  appears,  Mrs. 
Gore's  Gallicisms  had  been  to  Gungadhur 
Shastree ;  to  my  surprise,  however,  he  replied  in 
the  negative;  the  professor  of  the  college,  he 
said,  who  was  a  Scotchman,  explained  the  most 
remarkable,  and  he  perfectly  understood  that 
they  were  necessary  to  give  additional  force  to 
expression,  just  as  a  man  of  business,  speaking 
Hindostanee,  would  be  obliged  to  introduce 
many  Mahratta  words  to  render  the  full  strength 
of  his  position  intelligible  to  the  extent  he  de- 
sired. The  Scotch  novels,  like  the  Hindoo 
dramas,  derived  their  interest,  the  pundit  said, 
from  being  true  pictures  of  the  times.  The 
character  of  Diana  Yernon  delighted  him  most. 
It  reminded  him,  he  said,  of  the  bold  address 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  65 

and  courage  of  the  Chand  Beebee,1  the  heroic 
Queen  of  Ahmednuggur,  while  many  of  the 
Mahratta  princesses  had  been  celebrated  for 
their  skill  in  horsemanship.  As  to  the  freedom 
of  the  condition  of  women,  he  was,  of  course, 
aware  of  this  social  difference  from  observing 
the  manners  of  the  English  in  India,  which, 
after  all,  seemed  much  the  same  as  it  is  repre- 
sented to  have  been  in  Hindostan  when  the 
"Toy  Cart"  and  "  Sacontala"  were  written. 

Dadoba  said,  "  That,  among  all  books  now 
composed,  he  wished  some  one  would  enlarge 
on  the  English  in  India,  for  he  was  sure  they 
were  quite  a  different  class  of  people  to  the 
English  in  England.  Some  it  was  true  were 
very  great,  very  good;  animated  by  generous 
feeling  for  the  people,  and  learned  in  all  that 
concerned  them,  from  ancient  days  to  the  present. 
There  could  be  found,  no  doubt,  both  in  the  civil 
and  military  services  of  "  the  Company,"  gentle- 
men who  felt  for  the  natives  of  India,  as  friends, 
sympathized  in  their  condition ;  wished  to  benefit 
them,  and  to  elevate  their  position  in  society. 
But  how  few  these  were !  What  thousands,  on 
the  contrary,  in  the  military  service,  who  would 

1  The  Chand  Beebee,  or  Silver-bodied,  of  whom  many 
romantic  tales  are  told,  worthy  the  days  of  chivalry. 


66  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

perhaps  pass  all  their  lives  in  India,  and  yet 
cared  nothing  for  the  people;  took  no  interest 
in  their  religion,  languages,  or  history,  and  did 
not  know  a  Hindoo  from  a  Mahomedan,  when 
he  saw  him."  On  this  I  inquired  why  Dadoba 
thought  there  was  more  interest  felt  in  England, 
and  that  the  English  felt  differently  in  their 
own  country  on  India  and  its  people.  He  said, 
Because  he  knew  that  books  about  it  were 
written,  which  were  read,  and  spoken  of  in  the 
papers,  and  the  natives  who  had  gone  -home, 
whether  Mahomedans,  Hindoos,  or  Parsees, 
had  always  been  received  so  well,  either  at 
Court  or  by  the  Prince,  and  had  been  invited 
everywhere,  and  treated  with  distinction  and 
kindness.  Even  the  Parsee  ship-builders  had 
received  as  many  attentions  as  if  they  had  been 
noblemen ;  for  the  English  nation  was  known  by 
all  to  be  hospitable  to  strangers ;  but,  in  Bombay, 
if  a  native  gentleman  called  at  an  English  officer's 
bungalow  to  pay  a  visit,  he  was  not  conversed 
with  as*  the  other  guests  were,  but  was  con- 
strained to  feel  himself  an  intruder,  and  some- 
times would  be  asked,  as  soon  as  he  had  sat 
down,  "  Keea  munkta"  (what  do  you  want  ?)  as  if 
he  should  not  have  come  at  all  had  he  not  had 
business  to  transact. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  all  this, 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  67 

but,  perhaps,  in  some  of  his  remarks,  Dadoba  a 
little  exaggerated  the  state  of  matters  between 
the  European  and  native  society  in  India.  How- 
ever, as  he  spoke  he  felt,  and  many  take  his 
view  of  the  subject.  I  remember  some  remarks 
boing  made  in  a  local  English  paper,  on  Mr. 
Reid,  when  acting  Governor,  being  supposed 
likely  to  occupy  (while  his  own  house  was  not 
in  order  for  his  reception)  a  mansion  belonging 
to  Sir  Jamsetjee  Jeejeebhoy,  at  Candalla,  on  the 
Poonah  road,  and  the  editorial  remarks  being 
none  of  the  wisest  or  most  judicious,  called 
forth  observation  in  the  Samarcliand,  and  a  very 
admirable  article,  from  the  pen  of  a  native,  adorned 
its  columns,  glancing  not  only  at  the  point  in 
question,  but  enlarging,  with  remarkable  free- 
dom from  prejudice,  and  with  great  good  feeling, 
on  the  advantages  that  would  mutually  arise  in 
the  feelings  if  both  parties  were  each  better 
known  to  the  other,  and  could  those  dependencies 
for  kindness  and  sympathy,  which  formed  the 
bonds  of  all  social  life,  be  encouraged  and 
strengthened  between  the  natives  of  India  and 
the  European  residents.  The  writer  of  the  article 
was  a  wise-thinking,  warm-hearted  man,  and  his 
opinions  would  have  reflected  honour  on  an 
author  of  any  nation.  I  understood  that  he  was 
a  Hindoo,  careful  in  observing  the  rites  of  his 

F2 


68  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

religion,  and  bowing  daily  before  idols  of  wood 
and  stone.  The  spirit  of  Christian  charity, 
however,  was  in  his  heart,  and  its  law  of  kind- 
ness on  his  lips;  happy  will  it  be  if  they  work 
for  him  an  equal  amount  of  purifying  good  to 
that  he  seeks  to  introduce  to  his  fellow-men, 
until  he  is  brought  u  to  stand  in  the  ways,  and 
see,  and  ask  for  the  old  paths ;  where  is  the  good 
way,  and  walk  therein"  until  he  sees  the  altar  of 
truth  shining  in  all  its  majesty  before  him. 

Meer  Jafur  had  been  for  many  days  very 
uneasy  about  the  health  of  his  mother-in-law 
the  Begum,  and  the  youngest  of  his  daughters; 
his  nature  is  most  kindly  and  affectionate,  and 
although  daily  assurances  arrived  from  the 
European  surgeon  who  attended  the  family,  and 
in  whom  the  Meer  had  full  confidence,  that 
matters  were  not  of  a  character  to  give  reason 
for  alarm,  he  had  prepared  to  go  to  Surat,  and 
judge  for  himself.  However,  the  "  Sir  James 
Carnac"  steamer  not  starting  for  a  day  or  two, 
the  Meer,  in  the  interval,  was  soothed  by  learn- 
ing that  the  fever  had  left  his  little  daughter, 
and  that  the  Begum  was  decidedly  better. 

After  the  death  of  the  Nawaub  of  Surat,  his 
father-in-law,  his  Highness  Meer  Jafur,  was  con- 
strained to  visit  England,  and,  as  is  customary, 
left  his  daughters  in  the  palace  at  Surat.  The 
eldest  is  grave,  sedate,  fond  of  reading  the 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  69 

Koran,  being  instructed  in  its  pages  by  the 
respected  Moollali  of  the  family;  but  the  little 
one  loves  merriment,  enjoys  romps  in  the 
gardens,  and  recreates  in  a  superabundance  of 
toys,  with  which  her  fond  uncle,  Meer  Acbar, 
himself  without  children,  was  at  this  time  con- 
stantly in  the  habit  of  supplying  her.  She  is 
very  handsome,  I  am  told,  and  has  not  been 
very  long  placed  behind  the  Purdah.1 

Meer  Jafur  was  always  particularly  strict  in 
attending  the  Mosque  on  Friday,  the  sixth  day 
of  the  week,  appointed  by  Mahomed  to  be  kept 
holy;  before  the  Prophet's  time,  however,  this 
day  seems  to  have  been  marked,  and  it  is  con- 
sidered, with  Moslems,  as  the  "  prince  of  days," 
the  most  excellent  on  which  the  sun  rises.  It  is 
allowed  that,  after  public  worship,  men  may 
return  to  the  common  affairs  of  life,  but  a  truly 
religious  man,  a  Syud,  such  as  Meer  Jafur, 
devotes  the  great  day  wholly  to  works  of  re- 
ligious service,  to  giving  alms,  and  reading  the 
Koran.  As  affects  giving  alms,  I  never  knew 
the  Meer  deny  relief  to  any  one  who  sought  it. 
During  an  evening  drive  the  Prince  ever  stopped 
his  carriage  to  relieve  the  beggar,  of  whatever 
caste  or  creed  he  might  be,  who  petitioned  aid; 

1  Curtain — hareem. 


70 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


none  were  sent  from  his  gates  empty,  and  of 
all  the  bands  of  people  that,  on  Friday  and 
Sunday  mornings,  came  below  his  windows, 
praising  his  charity,  and  clamouring  for.  its 
exercise,  none  returned  without  food  and  money 
in  their  scrip. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  71 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   BOBAH.1 

"Acazi  was  asked,  'What  is  the  sweetest  thing?'  He 
answered,  « When  you  can  get  vinegar  for  nothing/  " — Per- 
sian jeu  d' esprit. 

FROM  the  large  shaded  upper  room  of  the  Meer's 
house  in  Bombay  it  was  exceedingly  difficult  to 
keep  away  the  Borahs,  or  itinerant  traders,  who 
might  be  seen  hour  by  hour  at  the  entrance 
porch,  endeavouring  to  insinuate  their  way  into 
one's  presence.  As  a  group,  taken  in  an  artistic 
sense,  they  were  very  admirable  to  look  upon. 
The  merchant,  with  his  white  linen  body  coat 

1  There  is  a  bazaar  called  the  Borah  Bazaar  in  Bombay, 
where  stolen  goods  are  too  often  received.  An  untranslated 
Persian  work  has  a  good  story  touching  this  subject : — A 
thief  stole  a  garment,  and  took  it  to  the  bazaar  for  sale ;  while 
he  was  disputing  the  price  a  second  thief  secreted  and  carried 
it  off.  When  the  discomfited  victim  returned,  his  wife  asked 
him  what  he  got  for  the  dress ;  he  said,  "  Exactly  what  I 
gave  for  it." 


72  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

and  brightly-coloured  turban,  smiling  and  bow- 
ing in  advance  of  some  dozen  swarthy  porters, 
bearing  baskets  full  of  goods ;  but  once  admitted, 
the  waste  of  time  and  annoyance  was  absolutely 
indescribable.  At  length  we  succeeded,  by 
means  of  considerable  coercion  and  exercised 
authority  on  the  part  of  his  Highness's  servants, 
in  freeing  ourselves  from  intrusion,  always  ex- 
cepting one  case,  that  of  Hadjee  Ahmed,  a  very 
well-known  and  most  pertinacious  individual, 
full  of  "  wise  saws  and  modern  instances." 

Before  we  enlarge  on  the  characteristics  of  the 
Hadjee,  however,  perhaps  the  reader  will  allow 
us  to  introduce  a  slight  sketch  of  what  we  mean 
and  understand  by  the  "  Borah,"  the  waste-time 
and  pass-time  of  the  English  resident  in  India. 
Now,  just  what  the  pedlar  in  olden  times  appears 
to  have  been  in  the  west,  is  the  present  Borah, 
or  itinerant  tradesman  of  the  East ;  a  curious 
feature  in  its  characteristics,  and  consequently 
worthy  of  remark.  In  Bombay,  the  Borahs 
form  a  distinct  class,  and  have  their  principal 
bazaar  within  the  fort.  In  some  rare  cases  they 
are  workmen  as  well  as  venders  of  goods,  but 
are  generally  considered  and  known  only  as 
wholesale  and  retail  dealers.  The  Borahs  are 
all  Mahomedans  of  the  "  Shere"  sect,  and  are  of 
two  great  divisions — one,  originally  from  Guzerat, 
and  the  other  from  Mungrole,  Porebunder,  and 


SIMPSON. 


NATIVE        PEDLARS. 

(FROM    LI  FE) 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  73 

the  coast  generally  of  Kattiawar.  These  classes 
are  subdivided  into  the  "  Daodee "  and  the 
"  Soolamaney,"  each  of  which  has  its  "Peer,"  or 
great  ecclesiastical  head.  The  Daodee  Hadjee, 
called  Abdool  Kader  Nuzmoodeen,  resides  at 
Surat,  and  the  Peer  of  the  Soolamaneys  at 
Jidda,  in  the  Ked  Sea.  There  is  a  considerable 
schism  between  these  sects,  old  jealousies,  and 
so  on,  not  of  much  interest,  however,  to  the 
general  inquirer.  About  three  thousand  of 
these  men  are  to  be  found  in  Bombay,  and  a 
very  large  extra  number  among  the  navigators 
of  the  native  craft. 

Such  are  the  general  statistics  of  the  Borah 
class ;  but  it  is  their  ordinary  bearing  and  occu- 
pation which  render  them  so  curious  and  enter- 
taining a  subject  of  inquiry  and  observation  to 
the  gleaner  of  Eastern  characteristics.  As  with 
the  English  auctioneer,  who  admits  every  de- 
scription of  goods  into  his  store,  from  libraries 
to  liquorice,  so  with  the  Bombay  Borah ;  he  may 
deal  in  Cashmere  shawls,  rich  silks,  and  fine 
laces,  but  neither  does  he  despise  things  of  small 
price — odd  mustard  pots,  pins,  or  boot  laces. 
Some  of  these  people  amass  enormous  fortunes, 
and  others  remain  comparatively  poor,  but  I 
fancy  utter  ruin  and  loss  are  never  experienced  by 
a  Borah,  and  if  failing  in  one  case,  he  invariably 
hopes,  like  Jacob  Faithful,  for  "  better  luck  next 


74  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

time,"  and,  as  is  often  the  case  with  those  who 
are  hopeful,  and  with  people  determined  to  help 
themselves,  the  Borah  finds  it. 

They  are  a  strange  class  these  itinerant  mer- 
chants, being  at  once  particularly  troublesome 
and  eminently  useful !  Troublesome  in  impor- 
tunity, and  useful  by  reason  of  the  extraordinary 
variety  of  their  wares.  Always  excepting  the 
great  Borahs,  Meerjee  and  Tiabjee,  who  are 
highly  respectable  shopkeepers  in  the  fort  of 
Bombay,  and  their  goods  of  a  very  excellent 
description,  little  that  is  worth  having  is  to  be 
found  in  the  possession  of  a  Borah.  The  quick 
perception  of  self-interest,  which  is  the  ruling 
faculty  of  a  native  mind,  attains  its  acme  of  per- 
fection in  the  brain  of  a  Borah ;  and  the  class 
contains,  without  exception,  the  most  inventive, 
most  persuasive,  and  the  shrewdest  men  of 
business  in  the  world. 

A  Borah  said  to  me  one  day,  in  the  course  of 
that  sort  of  desultory  chit-chat  that  I  was  in  the 
habit  of  holding  with  natives,  and  in  the  course 
of  which  a  good  deal  of  original  character  often 
displayed  itself  for  my  instruction  and  amuse- 
ment— "  I  have  some  thoughts  of  going  to  Eng- 
land to  buy  goods  for  myself;  my  friends  advise 
me  to  do  so,  but  they  say  the  English  people 
are  very  shrewd ;  however,  I  never  was  cheated 
in  Bombay,  and  therefore  I  think  it  would  be 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  75 

rather  difficult  to  cheat  me,  even  in  London." 
The  Borah  was  quite  right,  for  if  a  tradesman 
can  hold  his  own  in  the  commercial,  huckstering, 
business-like,  unconscientious  arena  of  Bombay 
native  trading,  he  is  tolerably  sure  in  challenging 
the  whole  world  —  the  London  jeweller,  the 
Frankfort  Jew,  the  Parisian  of  the  Palais  Royal, 
or  even  the  Greek  of  Constantinople  (and  that 
is  saying  much),  to  a  competition  of  skill  in 
the  art  of  money-making  on  false  pretences,  or 
the  whole  knack  of  buying  cheap  and  selling 
dear,  illustrated  by  examples,  in  daily  practice. 

The  most  respectable  among  these  dealers  are 
the  cloth  merchants;  these  men  are  generally 
traders,  who  purchase  goods  from  the  merchants 
in  wholesale  quantities  and  dispose  of  them 
again  as  retail  itinerant  dealers.  Heerjee  Gun- 
thur,  for  instance,  a  Banian  of  the  Bhattia 
caste,  is  called  by  many,  not  aware  of  his  dis- 
tinction, "  Borah,"  by  reason  of  his  calling.  He 
is  well  known  in  Bombay,  and  is  a  man  fair  in 
his  dealing,  and  altogether  respectable;  but 
Heerjee  Gunthur  is  not  a  Borah,  although,  as  I 
have  observed,  he  is  often  called  so  by  persons 
not  acquainted  with  the  distinction  between  the 
Guzerat  Mahomedan  Borah  and  the  Bhattia 
Banian,  although  the  Cutch  Puggree  of  scarlet 
cloth  and  the  Loonghie  flowing  round  his  ankles 
should  at  once  show  his  Hindoo  origin.  Heerjee 


76 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


is  a  most  obliging  person,  and  will  procure  any 
article  that  can  be  possibly  required  from  some 
of  his  merchant  friends,  if  notice  is  given  a  day 
in  advance.  His  goods,  too,  are  fresh,  and  it 
would  seem  he  has  much  custom,  for  the  coolies 
who  bear  into  the  house  his  large  japanned  tin 
boxes  full  of  "  Challis "  and  "  new  fashions," 
followed  by  those  less  favoured  in  his  confidence, 
who  bear  the  huge  bundles  containing  the 
variety  of  cottons  supplied  so  cheaply  to  the 
Indian  market,  to  the  sad  disgrace  of  those  who 
have  rendered  forgotten  the  looms  of  eastern 
manufacture,  look  fresh,  as  if  they  rested  long 
and  often,  on  pleasant,  airy,  China  matted  landing 
places,  and  did  not  fag  from  one  end  to  the  other 
of  the  oven-like  island,  to  be  dismissed  from 
doors  without  a  chance  of  sale,  and  forced  on 
hopelessly  by  some  unpitying,  grumbling  task- 
master disappointed  in  his  profits. 

I  believe  that  none  but  a  patient  and  enduring, 
because  an  apathetic  native,  could  bear  this 
monotony  of  toil,  this  folding  and  unfolding 
chintzes,  and  arranging  and  re-arranging  packets 
of  socks,  and  parcels  of  rejected  grass- cloth,  hour 
after  hour,  day  after  day,  without  the  slightest  in- 
terest in  the  matter  but  the  three  pence  per  diem 
as  porters,  which  they  receive,  whether  the  goods 
are  sold  or  unsold.  These  people  have  none  of 
the  pleasures  of  a  shopman  even  of  the  com- 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  77 

monest  class ;  they  cannot  chat  or  gossip  with  a 
customer,  nor  find  amusement  in  the  act  of 
draping  a  window  to  advantage,  an  absolute 
matter  of  consummate  skill  to  an  English,  and, 
above  all,  to  a  French,  shopman,  The  miserable 
cooli  has  no  recreation ;  he  must  wipe  the  per- 
spiration from  his  weary  brows,  repack  the  re- 
jected goods  (a  duty  too  humiliating  for  his 
master),  and  then  taking  box  or  bundle  again 
on  his  head,  trudge  away  after  the  fat,  well- 
dressed  taskmaster,  who  craves  permission  at 
the  door  of  every  mansion  to  amuse  the  morn- 
ing leisure  of  its  mistress  or  fulfil  her  requisi- 
tions. 

The  better  class  of  Borahs,  as  I  have  said, 
purchase  their  goods  from  merchants,  but  the 
lower  class,  or  "  Chow-chow "  Borahs,  as  they 
are  called  in  Bombay,  depend  for  stores  almost 
entirely  on  the  auctions  of  the  commission 
agents  and  the  refuse  part  of  Liverpool  captains' 
investments  for  the  port  of  Bombay.  Auctions 
of  this  kind  are  of  daily  occurrence,  and  a  strange 
assembly  generally  attends  them.  The  Borahs, 
that  is  the  people  of  Guzerat,  were  converted 
some  five  hundred  years  ago  to  the  Mahomedan 
faith,  and  acknowledge  as  their  head  Abdool 
Kader  Nuzmoodeen ;  all  wear  a  similar  turban, 
a  very  closely  folded  one  of  red  or  white  cloth, 


78  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

but  the  Mehmens,  often  confounded  with  the 
Borahs,  although  Moslems  from  the  shores  of 
Cutch,  dress,  some  with  the  loose  turban  of  the 
Arab,  others  with  the  horn-like  fronted  head- 
dress of  the  Bhattias.  Both  classes  of  hucksters, 
however,  are  to  be  seen  in  these  strange  auction 
sales — "  Selums,"  as  they  are  called — while  the 
vociferation  of  the  purchasers  can  only  be 
imagined  by  those  who  know  to  what  pitch  the 
native  voice  can  be  toned,  or  with  what  marvel- 
lous rapidity  utterance  can  be  given.  The  lots 
so  disposed  of  are  often  the  most  incongruous 
that  can  be  imagined,  and  these  are  greedily 
sought  by  the  "  Chow-chow  Borahs "  as  the 
readiest  of  sale,  and  consisting  of  articles  on 
which  they  can  the  more  easily  realize  profit. 

Other  salesmen,  besides  the  Borah  and  the 
Jew,  commonly  fix  a  certain  per-centage  of  profit 
on  the  article  for  sale,  as  calculated  for  fair  re- 
muneration, according  to  the  ordinary  rules  of 
general  business ;  but  the  Borah  never  dreams 
of  any  such  self-denying  regularities.  He  gets 
as  much  as  he  can,  justly  or  unjustly,  and 
prices  his  goods,  if  compelled  to  do  so  at  all, 
generally  with  more  reference  to  the  opinion  he 
holds  of  the  ignorance  of  his  customers  on  the 
subject  than  to  the  real  value  or  the  absolute 
cost  of  the  article  to  himself. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  79 

A  thoroughly  ingenious  Borah,  however, 
avoids  pricing  his  goods  as  much  as  possible; 
he  either  states  the  article  to  be  the  property  of 
some  one  else,  whom  he  describes  as  a  very 
harsh,  determined,  never-to-be-turned-aside  sort 
of  person,  like  the  father  or  uncle  in  an  old 
comedy,  and  he  tells  you  confidentially  that  he 
really  is  afraid  to  ask  him  to  take  less,  but  will 
"  try  and  bring  answer  to-morrow,  if  gentleman 
please;"  or,  knowing  perfectly  well  that  the 
article  is  wanted  on  the  instant,  and  delay  won't 
be  thought  of,  he  tries  another  plan,  and  with  a 
despairing,  quite-satisfied-to-go-to-prison  sort  of 
air,  flings  the  bridle,  saddle,  book,  or  whatever 
it  may  be,  on  the  ground,  unpleasantly  near  the 
feet  of  the  intended  purchaser,  and  declining  to 
name  a  price,  exclaims,  packing  up  at  the  same 
time  the  rest  of  the  basket,  as  if  it  was  altogether 
a  settled  bargain,  "Very  well;  there,  master 
take,  give  what  he  like — /  not  say  anything;" 
hoping,  of  course,  your  ignorance  will  prove  his 
gain;  if  not,  and  a  fair  price  is  offered,  the 
Borah,  in  the  teeth  of  his  own  settlement,  takes 
up  his  goods  with  an  air  of  affronted  honesty, 
packs  them  up,  puts  his  basket  silently  on  the 
cooli's  head,  just  turns  once  to  inquire  if  any- 
thing else  is  wanted,  and  seeing  you  thoroughly 
annoyed  with  your  own  waste  of  time  and  his 


80  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

roguery,  walks  off.  However,  before  lie  has 
reached  the  gate  he  returns,  unpacks  his  basket, 
and  after  one  trial  of  what  is  called  "  splitting 
the  difference "  in  bargains,  he  gives  up  his 
goods  for  the  sum  originally  offered.  The  weary 
buyer  seizes  the  articles,  his  tormentor  the 
money ;  while  the  purchaser  orders  him  instantly 
from  his  presence,  never  to  return;  on  which 
the  Borah  smiles  blandly,  and  proposes  to  call 
early  the  next  day  with  some  new  goods,  "  very 


nice." 


The  Borah,  who  knows  well  enough  what  is 
expected  of  him  (vain  though  such  expectations 
are),  always  commences  negotiations  with  the 
assertion,  that  he  bought  his  goods  yesterday  at 
auction  very  cheap,  if  you  only  please  to  look ; 
and  having  done  so,  he  immediately  asks  for 
each  article  about  ten  per  cent,  more  than  would 
be  charged  by  a  respectable  shopkeeper.  He  is 
apt  also  to  purchase  all  sorts  of  things  made  ex- 
pressly for  importation,  things  worthless  beyond 
all  description,  and  is  quite  shrewd  enough  to 
know  that  they  are  so.  Needles,  for  instance,  half 
the  papers  filled  with  eyeless  rods ;  pins,  whose 
heads  fall  off  as  the  unhappy  buyer  draws  them 
from  the  paper ;  reels  of  cotton,  the  wood  simply 
veneered,  as  it  were,  with  thread;  and  similar 
wares,  their  external  appearance  sadly  contra- 
dicted by  the  faithlessness  within. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  81 

Thus  we  have  sugar  cane  bottled  in  Bombay, 
for  garden  rhubarb ;  acid  pale  ale  for  white  wine 
vinegar,  and  so  on;  all  bearing,  however,  fair 
promise  to  the  eye,  of  Heskett,  Davis,  and 
Company,  with  other  well-known  purveyors  to 
foreign  markets.  The  chances  are  of  course 
much  in  favour  of  not  again  seeing  the  face  of 
the  shrewd  impostor  master,  but  if  "  fate"  causes 
an  encounter,  he  is  not  to  blame ;  "  How  could  I 
tell,  master?  vinegar;  bad  vinegar,  made  in 
England;  bought  at  auction;  what  can  do?" 
Articles  and  prepositions,  it  may  be  observed, 
seldom  take  up  position  in  the  parts  of  speech 
of  a  low  class  native;  they  are  shorn  as  exu- 
berant flowers  of  rhetoric,  and  are  in  no  way 
considered  necessary  to  the  argument. 

I  have  now  spoken  particularly  of  the 
generally  inferior,  or  "  Chow-chow "  Borahs, 
but  not  of  the  merchants,  who  usually  bring 
their  goods,  with  great  state,  in  tall  hired  bug- 
gies, drawn  by  a  miserable  pony,  supported 
between  the  shafts,  or  in  the  little  painted 
wooden  Gharries,  covered  with  dark  curtains  in 
the  fine  weather,  and  with  wax- cloth  in  the  rains, 
the  wheels  and  body  of  which  are  of  two  bright 
contrasting  colours,  and  drawn  at  a  sharp  trot 
by  a  quick,  active  pair  of  little  Mahratta 
bullocks. 

G 


82 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


BOMBAY  HACKNEY  CART. 


These  are  Mehmans,  and  generally  of  a  superior 
class,  selling  valuable  goods,  such  as  Cashmere 
shawls,  jewels,  and  plated  ware. 

The  greatest  character  in  Bombay,  of  the 
Mehman  class,  is,  beyond  all  question,  our  friend 
Hadjee  Ahmed,  a  very  useful  man,  with  wit 
enough  for  twenty  of  his  calling,  yet  not  very 
scrupulous,  I  fear,  notwithstanding  the  odour  of 
morality  supposed  to  be  given  by  his  Mecca 
pilgrimage,  and  consequent  Hadjeeship.  No 
householder  ever  arrived  in  Bombay  to  arrange 
for  proceeding  to  Europe,  but  his  first  visitor, 
full  of  anxious  inquiries  for  his  forks  and  curry 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  83 

dishes,  was  the  Hadjee.  No  cadet,  laden  with 
gun,  pistol,  rifle,  broadsword,  medicine  chest, 
and  standard  books,  by  considerate  parents,  but 
finds  the  Hadjee  seated  in  his  tent  the  day  after 
his  arrival,  luring  his  young  ideas  with  Arab 
hunters,  and  Peat's  best  saddles,  at  unheard-of 
prices,  while  both  are  represented  by  the  Hadjee 
as  presenting  singular  advantages  when  con- 
sidered as  matters  of  exchange  for  books  and 
medicine  chests. 

He  lendeth  money,  too,  our  Hadjee,  but  com- 
mits not  the  sin  "  of  being  surety"  for  a  stranger ; 
on  the  contrary,  he  taketh  himself  both  security 
and  heavy  interest,  well  noted  in  the  bond,  and 
smiles  at  danger,  for,  as  he  says,  "I  could 
extract  rupees  from  a  stone,"  and  I  suspect  that 
few  could  resist  those  means  of  coining  money 
to  their  advantage,  so  well  known  to  men  of  our 
Hadjee's  convenient  class. 

Meanwhile,  the  Hadjee's  shop,  situated  in  the 
Bombay  fort,  is  crowded  with  as  much  disorder 
as  a  "  Chow-chow"  Borah's  basket,  yet  contain- 
ing goods  of  the  most  valuable  description— 
here  is  plate  of  the  best  fashion,  both  of  China 
and  English  manufacture;  massive  candelabras, 
silver  tureens,  epergnes,  furniture  of  every  de- 
scription, valuable  books,  splendidly  bound,  en- 
gravings, annuals,  portfolios  of  beautiful  litho- 
graphs !  We  wonder  that  he  can  find  purchasers 

G  2 


84  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

for  such  articles  in  the  quantities  we  see  around 
us,  but  branch  establishments  of  the  same  kind 
at  out  stations  prevent  a  plethora  of  mer- 
chandise, as  well  as  the  baskets  of  those 
itinerants  of  his  class,  who  are  to  be  seen  in 
every  station  in  India,  increasing  the  prices  of 
their  goods,  mile  by  mile,  as  they  advance 
beyond  the  presidency. 

The  Hadjee  hath  a  winning  way,  "  a  passing 
pleasing  tongue,"  and,  if  he  have  it  not,  as- 
sumetJi  candour,  with  liberality  of  dealing. 
Moreover,  he  confides  to  the  purchaser  the 
favourable  circumstances  under  which  he  ob- 
tained the  goods  he  now  offers  at  so  low  a  price, 
and  whispers  what  will  be  the  exact  amount  of 
his  small  profit,  if  you  intend  to  benefit  by  such 
a  happy  accident.  Then,  again,  the  Hadjee 
often  stops  a  bargain  in  process  at  its  most  in- 
teresting point,  to  tell  you,  in  a  low  voice,  some 
touching  anecdote  of  a  man  who  ruined  himself 
by  trying  to  gain  too  much ;  then  shakes  his 
head,  and,  with  a  moral  sigh,  exclaiming,  "  Ah ! 
avarice  is  a  dreadful  vice,  master;"  returns  to 
his  curry  dishes  and  negotiations,  and  generally 
succeeds,  quite  to  his  satisfaction,  in  what  a 
Borah  understands,  by  "  doing  business." 

Sometimes  the  Hadjee  tries  a  rapid,  energetic 
manner,  pressing  his  goods  upon  his  intended 
purchaser,  naming  a  certain  price,  ridiculously 


-.-"*. 


E  LANDELLS,  DEL? 


SIMPSON  kC'lITH. 


HADJIE      AHMED     BORAH. 

(FROM     LIFE) 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  85 

high,  but  using  a  quick,  sharp  tone  in  doing  so, 
as  if  he  was  a  victim,  and  content  to  be  one;  as 
if  he  had  said,  "  There !  I  hope  that  will  satisfy 
you!"  At  the  same  time  piling  tea-pot,  milk- 
jug,  books,  and  fifty  things  you  never  had  an 
idea  of  buying,  upon  table,  chair,  and  sofa,  ex- 
claiming as  he  does  so,  "Bus — hua — chul!" 
(enough — settled — go  on!)  as  if  all  hesitation 
was  now  at  an  end.  I  never  heard  the  Hadjee 
bargain,  that  he  did  not  use  this  favourite  clinch- 
ing phrase  of  his  every  five  minutes,  and  after 
every  question  concerning  the  price  of  his 
articles. 

Another  character  that  was  well  known  among 
the  Bombay  Borahs,  was  the  poor  blind  man 
bearing  a  little  box  and  bundle  of  trifling  goods, 
and  leaning,  for  guidance  and  support,  on  a 
little  lad  of  particularly  prepossessing  counte- 
nance. The  boy  was  the  old  man's  grandson, 
and  not  only  led  him  tenderly  and  safely  over 
the  dangerous  highways  of  the  city,  but  showed 
extreme  shrewdness  in  assisting  him  in  his  call- 
ing, examining  the  money  paid  to  him,  and  sug- 
gesting goods  and  customers.  The  poor  creature, 
in  consequence  of  his  affliction,  was  a  pensioner 
among  the  kind-hearted  people  in  Bombay,  and 
few  but  lightened  the  load  of  the  "  poor  blind 
Borah." 

Peer  Abdool  Kader,  the  head  of  the  class  at 


86  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

Surat,  is  a  living  proof  of  ecclesiastical  power 
and  influence  in  the  East.  As  a  Fakir  he  re- 
ceives a  stipend  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  rupees 
a  year  only.  But,  from  the  voluntary  contri- 
butions of  true  believers,  enjoys  all  the  ad- 
vantages of  enormous  wealth.  The  Borahs  of 
the  Daodee  caste,  who  acknowledge  his  priestly 
power,  give  him  five  per  cent,  on  all  their  gains 
and  marriages;  gifts  are  also  made  to  him  in 
accordance  with  the  wealth  of  the  couple,  and 
also  on  the  birth  of  children. 

At  Surat  this  Peer  lives  in  good  style,  gives 
alms  liberally,  and  receives  visits  from  nobles 
and  governors,  while,  perhaps,  the  itinerant 
trader  deems  all  acts  praiseworthy  which  enable 
him  to  add  his  gift  to  the  coffers  of  his  powerful 
and  respected  Moollah,  to  the  increased  honour 
of  priest  and  people. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  87 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   BUKDEN   OF   SURAT. 

"  Kings  are  like  stars — they  rise  and  set,  they  have 
The  worship  of  the  world,  but  no  repose." 

LET  us  ask  the  first  old  Indian  one  can  meet, 
soldier  or  civilian,  where  he  was  the  happiest, 
and  which  he  thought  the  pleasantest  station  in 
the  whole  of  the  Bombay  Presidency?  His 
answer  will  be  immediate — "  Oh,  Surat !  it  was 
such  a  splendid  city;  the  river  was  so  fine,  the 
commerce  and  shipping  rendered  it  so  cheerful, 
and  the  Moslem  buildings  were  so  magnificent; 
besides  all  that,  there  was  such  good  feeling  in 
society — oh,  there  was  never  anything  like  Old 
Surat !"  And  then,  with  garrulous  delight,  the 
veteran  hog-hunter  proceeds  to  dilate  on  the 
numerous  "first  spears"  he  has  taken;  on  the 
pleasant  pic-nics  at  Domas  and  Vaux's  Tomb; 
on  the  sporting  songs  of  the  celebrated  Major 
Morris,  so  often  trolled  forth  in  chorus  from 


88  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

tents  pitched  on  the  banks  of  the  pleasant 
44  Tapti ;"  nor  does  he  forget  to  laugh  once 
more  over  that  character  of  fun  and  gossip,  that 
Figaro  of  the  East,  Old  Tom  the  Barber  of 
Surat. 

Of  course  we  ourselves  know  all  that  charac- 
terises Surat,  or  we  should  not  presume  to 
gossip  about  it  to  the  reader :  still,  there  lies  on 
the  table  an  odd  old  volume,  possessing  those 
peculiarities  of  good  binding,  bad  paper,  and 
worse  printing,  which  seem  to  distinguish  the 
efforts  of  the  press  in  the  last  century,  and  we 
find  that  we  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  begin 
our  sketch  with  this  very  book: 

If  the  sharer  in  all  this  tittle-tattle  really  loves 
literature,  he  will  agree  that  there  is  nothing  so  re- 
freshing as  the  originality  of  the  old  writers.  It  is 
so  pleasant  to  note  what  were  men's  ideas  on  sub- 
jects new  and  unhacknied ;  to  see  the  quaint  way 
into  which  they  put  these  ideas  into  their  setting 
of  words  at  a  time  when  book-making  had  not 
become  a  trade,  nor  "  special "  or  "  foreign  cor- 
respondents "  filled,  like  the  air  we  breathe,  all 
space. 

In  those  days  of  innocent  wonder,  the  idea  of 
distant  lands,  and  their  often  very  hideous 
"curiosities,"  rather  alarmed,  than  pleased  the 
u  ancient  Britons."  Society  felt  a  certain  awe 
for  those  who  had  travelled  therein,  with  con- 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  89 

siderable  misgivings,  moreover,  upon  the  tales 
they  heard ;  but  now  the  very  land  of  Sphinxes, 
by  its  "  return  tickets  to  the  first  cataract,  chil- 
dren half  price,"  has  become  so  vulgarised,  that 
whatever  we  must  continue  to  think  of  the 
"  Salts,  Champ ollions,  and  Belzonis"  of  the  past, 
we  all  of  us  rather  dread  the  imitation  lion,  with 
his  somewhat  moth-eaten  fur,  and  are  apt  to 
consider  the  thinking  man  of  England  as  the 
pleasanter  companion. 

As  with  Egypt,  so  it  is  with  India.  The  over- 
land communication  has  set  all  wits  to  work. 
Travellers  indite  their  "  first  impressions"  of  the 
Sea  of  Edom,  and  the  river  which  bore  the  fleet 
of  Alexander,  as  readily  as  a  Greenwich  paper 
would  report  a  whitebait  dinner.  Yet  this  sort 
of  writing  is  very  unsatisfactory — it  gives  us 
stones  for  bread.  Pleasant  chit-chat,  indeed, 
entertaining  anecdote,  but  nothing  that  is  really 
interesting  or  valuable  concerning  these  mighty 
and  mysterious  lands,  whose  learning  and  wisdom 
— the  learning  and  wisdom  which  calculates  its 
ages  by  thousands  of  years — is  cased  in  the  trea- 
sure caskets  of  a  language  almost  unknown  to 
us.  For  all  the  religion,  the  philosophy,  the 
science,  the  arts  of  ancient  India,  we  must  still 
look  to  the  "  Oriental  Kesearches ;"  we  must 
still  seek  through  and  through  such  media  as 
men  chose,  who,  in  laborious  research,  passed 


90  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

the  years  of  their  Eastern  career,  devoting  them- 
selves, their  time,  labour,  means,  and  mighty 
intellects,  to  the  history  of  the  people  among 
whom  they  dwelt. 

"  You  will  still  be  talking,  Signor  Benedick," 
quoth  the  most  witty  of  all  Shakespere's  hero- 
ines, and  I  fear  the  reader  thinks  /  also  have 
been  chatting  for  the  mere  pleasure  of  doing  so, 
in  that  I  have  gone  all  this  way  about  to  intro- 
duce the  quaint  old  book  of  u  Olof  Torreen, 
Chaplain  of  the  Gothic  Lion,  East  Indiaman 
(fancy  a  Gothic  lion!),  and  his  account  of  a 
Voyage  to  Suratte,"  a  mighty  wonder  in  his 
days  we  may  be  sure. 

This  book  being  originally  written  in  German, 
was  in  due  time  printed  in  translation,  not,  in- 
deed, by 

"  Longman,  Brown,  Rees,  Orme,  and  Co., 
Our  brethren  in  the  Row," 

but  by  one  Benjamin  White,  "at  Horace's  Head, 
Fleet  Street,"  the  said  White  being  an  ancestor 
of  the  kind-hearted  old  naturalist  of  Selbourne. 
And  here  we  really  must  stop  again  to  remark 
on  the  sign,  "Horace's  Head!"  When  Old 
London  was  backward  in  her  Horn  Book,  she 
availed  herself  of  hieroglyphics  which  the  most 
illiterate  could  construe,  and  the  author's  varlet 
found  no  difficulty  in  throwing  copy,  as  it  were, 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  91 

at  the  head  of  the  Latin  poet  in  Fleet  Street, 
although  to  deliver  it  duly  at  the  printing-office 
of  "Benjamin  White"  might  have  taken  a  higher 
knowledge  of  orthography  than  the  serving-man 
possessed. 

The  style  of  oriental  houses  generally  is  well 
known  to  us,  and  those  of  Surat  differ  little  in 
the  ordinary  characteristics.  They  have  flat 
roofs,  and  are  covered  with  Chunam,1  which 
gives  them  a  shining,  clear,  handsome  appear- 
ance, while  the  flower-gardens  in  which  they  are 
built  are  usually  well  planted  and  gay  in  colour. 
Torreen  does  not  seem  aware  how  much  the 
heat  of  houses  is  increased  by  windows,  which 
the  Moslems  ever  avoid,  preferring  to  ventilate 
rather  by  shafts,  where  such  means  are  practi- 
cable. The  chaplain,  therefore,  remarks,  "In 
the  lower  storeys  there  are  no  windows,  and  but 
few  in  the  upper.  In  my  opinion,  this  is  done 
merely  through  jealousy,  and  not  out  of  any 
well-grounded  fear  of  thieves ;  for  he  who  steals 
five  bottles  full  of  rosewater  is  punished  by  the 
loss  of  both  his  hands,  which  punishment  must 
probably  deter  from  the  commission  of  this 


crime." 


In  speaking  of  the  architecture  also,  Torreen 


'  A  kind  of  mortar,  composed  of  lime  and  powdered  egg- 
shells. 


92  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

remarks — "It  is  neither  borrowed  from  the 
Greeks  nor  the  Italians,  yet  there  is  taste  and 
an  agreeable  proportion  in  their  columns.  Some 
ornaments  on  the  capital  and  pedestal  do  not 
seem  to  be  in  their  right  places ;  but  they  have 
such  confidence  in  their  architecture,  that  they 
would  make  one  believe  that  an  whole  building 
is  supported  by  leaves  or  feathers."  How  truly 
this  expresses  the  beautiful  tracery  so  noticeable 
in  all  Moslem  decoration ! 

Torreen  speaks  of  the  magnificence  of  the 
Mahomedan  tombs,  built  with  domes  (which 
manner  of  architecture  the  Mahomedans  greatly 
affect),  and  of  the  castle,  as  the  most  consider- 
able building  on  the  banks  of  the  Tapti.  This 
castle,  which  takes  up  a  prominent  position  on 
the  wall  of  the  city,  is  not  less  noticeable,  as  we 
shall  perhaps  see,  in  the  history  of  the  Mahome- 
dan government,  and  may  be  considered,  in  local 
position,  as  the  centre  of  a  chord  of  which  Surat 
and  its  suburbs  include  a  semicircle  of  some  six 
miles  in  extent.  The  castle  has  angular  bastions 
and  a  dry  ditch,  but  in  old  times  could  hardly 
have  been  well  adapted  for  defence.  Torreen 
mentions  that  the  reveille  was  played  upon  "  a 
flageolet"  from  this  castle;  and  after  deciding 
that  the  jugglers  of  Surat  were  not  to  be  com- 
pared to  those  of  China,  he  alludes  to  "the 
dancing-women,"  facetiously  introducing  in  pa- 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  93 

renthesis  "  (for  such  is  their  name,  though  they 
stand  still  for  the  most  part)"  a  phrase  which 
brings  at  once  to  the  mind's  eye  the  Natch 
woman  of  India,  on  her  flat  foot,  with  her  doubt- 
fully poetic  gestures,  and  hand  upraised,  in  style 
so  essaying,  rather  as  a  fishwife  than  a  Houri,  to 
render  to  every  ear  the  glowing  anacreons  of  the 
immortal  Hafiz. 

The  Moslems  loved  Surat.  Its  capabilities  were 
all  such  as  delighted  their  peculiar  tastes :  the 
fine  river,  with  its  refreshing  breezes ;  the  great 
sea,  which,  making  this  port  the  readiest  high- 
way to  Arabia,  gained  for  it  the  title  of  the  port 
of  Mecca;  the  bright  gardens,  full  of  gay 
flowers ;  the  rich  mangoe  groves ;  the  beautiful 
position  of  the  city:  and  thus  this  great  and 
powerful  people  sought  to  embellish  it  as  they 
did  all  places  which  came  into  their  power,  so 
that  the  palaces  and  wells,  tombs  and  terraces, 
Ghauts  and  pleasure  Kiosks  of  Surat  charmed 
the  eye  of  every  traveller  who  lingered  there. 

The  Mahomedans  had  ever  taste  for  the  beau- 
tiful :  the  sites  of  their  cities,  and  the  exquisite 
delicacy  of  their  architectural  decorations  are 
proofs  of  this.  The  Moslem  occupation  of  India 
is  marked  by  the  magnificence  of  the  Mahome- 
dan  capitals;  but  as  the  Moslem  power  gave 
place  to  the  British,  we  find  ruin  and  devasta- 
tion. Beejapore,  the  very  queen  of  cities,  is 


94 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE, 


MAHOMEDAN  KIOSK  ON  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  TAPTI. 


now  a  mere  refuge  for  the  owl  and  the  hyena ; 
the  exquisitely  sculptured  tomb  of  the  wife  of 
Shah  Jehan,  at  Aurungabad,  is  as  a  lovely  pearl 
overgrown  by  rank  grass  and  tangled  foliage; 
the  fountains,  which  in  a  thousand  streams  re- 
flected the  sunlit  rays,  are  choked  by  thorns 
and  briers ;  while  the  howl  of  the  wolf,  with  the 
shrill  bark  of  the  jackal,  and  the  laugh  of  the 
hyena,  sounds  through  the  flowery  woods  that 
were  once  vocal  with  the  prayerful  call  of  the 
Muezzin  and  the  strains  of  Persian  poesy. 

Fallen  Surat!    thou  wert  once  great  among 
the  nations !     The  beautiful  fabrics  of  thy  looms 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  95 

were  the  wonder  of  the  world.  Arabia,  in  her 
rest  and  luxury,  owed  thee  no  less  thanks  than 
the  slave  colonies  of  the  west,  with  their  labour 
and  their  tears!  Merchants  traded  from  thy 
ports  laden  with  diamonds  and  spices,  fragrant 
woods,  pearls,  ambergris,  musk,  gold,  and  silks. 
Of  thy  wealth  there  seemed  no  limit ;  thy  fleets 
swept  the  ocean ; — but  the  day  came,  and  with 
it,  its  burden,  its  ruin,  and  its  dismay ! 

We  intended  to  gossip  through  this  book,  but 
in  some  way  we  have  committed  the  folly  of 
being  serious  for  the  nonce.  Is  the  reader  inte- 
rested? If  so,  he  will  bear  with  us  while  we 
transcribe  the  means  by  which  this  wondrous 
change  was  wrought. 

If  we  consult  the  map  of  India,  the  value  of 
the  position  of  Surat,  on  the  river  Tapti,  re- 
sembles, in  some  degree,  that  of  Constantinople 
on  the  Bosphorus;  and  thus  it  became  a  mart  of 
nations :  the  result  of  this  local  position  being, 
to  bring  together  not  only  the  merchants  of 
Persia  and  Arabia,  of  the  western  shores  of 
India  and  of  Ceylon,  but  the  produce  of  its 
looms,  celebrated  throughout  the  world,  sup- 
plied cotton  goods  to  all  the  slave  islands  of  the 
Eastern  Ocean. 

The  certain  effect  of  an  extensive  export  and 
import  trade  is,  to  give  magnitude,  magnificence, 
and  wealth  to  the  capitals  of  the  producing 


96  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

land.  So  was  it  with  Surat;  and  in  the  pleni- 
tude of  its  greatness,  Delhi  became  its  governing 
power.  The  Moguls,  whether  from  doubt  in 
the  political  honesty  of  their  great  men,  from 
consideration  of  the  temptations  incidental  to 
too  extended  an  authority,  or  from  some  other 
causes,  thought  proper  to  divide  the  authority 
of  the  civil  and  military  powers,  giving  gover- 
nors both  to  the  town  and  castle,  supporting  the 
commander  of  the  castle  by  assignments  of  land 
revenue,  and  the  governor  of  the  town  by  the 
customs,  taxes,  and  other  minor  matters,  Delhi, 
of  course,  with  the  royal  treasury,  now  and  then 
taking  the  lion's  share.  It  was  said  of  old,  that 
a  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand, 
though,  certes,  the  position  of  some  London 
brick,  perilous  as  it  looks,  would  throw  doubt 
upon  this  assertion  if  of  less  authority ;  but  to  let 
that  pass,  it  is  beyond  all  doubt,  that  the  govern- 
ments of  Delhi  did  not  get  on  well  together.  It 
very  frequently  happened  that  the  governors 
were  brothers,  which  did  not  improve  matters, 
as  they  were  apt  to  quarrel  terribly,  as  brothers 
of  other  lands  will  do  where  interest  becomes 
the  stimulus.  It  was  not  unusual  for  the  gover- 
nor of  the  town  to  shut  himself  up  in  the  pretty 
French  tower  on  the  banks  of  the  Tapti,  and 
hold  his  position  as  in  a  state  of  siege.  This 
pretty  spot,  cooled  by  fresh  breezes,  and  sur- 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  97 

rounded  by  flowery  woods,  deserved  that  plea- 
santer  memories  than  those  of  feud  should  cling 
around  it,  and  perhaps  they  may  in  the  recollec- 
tion of  the  English  sportsman,  but  to  the  native 
resident  in  Surat  the  French  Tower  seems  but  a 
monument  to  fraternal  differences. 

The  Mahomedan  government  protected  the 
trade  of  Surat  against  the  piratage  so  common 
in  the  Arabian  seas,  by  a  powerful  fleet,  which 
was  given  into  the  command  of  certain  chiefs  of 
Rajahpoor,  called  Siddees;  but  when  the  ener- 
getic Mahrattas,  a  people  eminently  skilled  in 
warfare,  and  ever  opposed  to  the  power  of  the 
kings  of  Delhi,  pressed  their  forces  against  the 
very  gates  of  Surat,  the  Nawaub,  or  Mogul 
governor,  found  himself  unable  to  support  the 
heavy  expenses  of  the  fleet,  and  thus  excited  the 
commander  to  blockade  the  port,  so  turning  that 
which  should  have  been  the  chief  protection  of 
Surat,  into  an  offensive  medium  of  intimidation. 
Compelled  to  appropriate  the  revenues  by  this 
coercion,  injustice  in  some  quarters  was  followed 
by  revolution  in  others.  Moslem  governors 
carried  on  civil  war  between  themselves,  and  at 
length  Mea  Atchurid,  a  clever  man  of  some  po- 
pularity, secured  his  position  by  seeking  the  sup- 
port of  the  Mahratta  power.  Then  came 
misgovernment  in  all  forms ;  the  commander  of 
the  fleet  held  the  castle,  and  made  matters  worse. 

H 


98  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

The  Mahomedans  entreated  help  from  the  Eng- 
lish; they,  fearing  the  powerful  Mahrattas,  re- 
mained neutral,  until  the  naval  commander 
perpetrated  some  outrage  on  an  Englishman; 
coalition  then  took  place,  and  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1759,  the  Rajahpoor  chief  gave  up  the 
fleet  and  castle,  and  the  East  India  Company, 
by  sunnuds  from  Delhi,  took  the  command  of 
both,  with  an  order  for  the  receipt  of  two  lacs 
of  rupees  per  annum  to  meet  their  expenses. 

Succession  followed  succession,  but,  as  we 
know  what  hard  reading  Mahomedan  names  are, 
we  will  escape  to  the  year  1797,  when  the 
English,  finding  the  enormous  character  of  their 
burthen,  and  requiring  an  enlargement  of  re- 
ceipts from  the  ruling  Prince,  recommended  him 
to  disband  his  own  undisciplined  soldiery,  "  and 
assign  to  the  English  funds  sufficient  for  the 
maintenance  of  three  local  battalions."  u  The 
Nabob,"  says  Governor  Duncan,  "betrayed  an 
immediate  jealousy  of,  and  repugnance  to,  any 
concession,  as  well  on  the  alleged  ground  of  the 
inadequacy  of  his  funds,  as  on  the  principle  of 
our  interference  with  his  administration ;  which 
he  declared  to  be  inconsistent  with  the  treaty  of 
1759."  l  Eventually,  poor  man,  he  was  pressed 
so  hard,  that  he  agreed  to  make  all  sorts  of  con- 

1  Vide  Mills's  History  of  British  India. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  99 

cessions,  and  perhaps  the  affliction  killed  him, 
for  he  died  before  the  necessary  treaty  could  be 
concluded.  Then  did  the  flag  of  England  wave 
triumphantly  from  the  Castle  of  Surat.  Money, 
money !  was  the  cry.  The  power  of  all  patronage 
was  in  the  hand  of  the  British.  The  fiat  of  the 
British  placed  the  Prince  upon  his  Musnud,  but 
—not  without  money!  The  right  of  inheritance 
indeed  was  a  sort  of  stumbling  block,  but  the 
Supreme  Government  of  India  settled  the  matter 
as  they  pleased. 

In  1800,  the  Nabob  agreed  to  pay  a  large  sum 
annually,  but  declared  the  impossibility  of 
advancing  beyond  it.  Mr.  Seton,  the  chief 
English  authority  at  Surat,  assured  the  Govern- 
ment that,  except  by  a  system  of  barbarous 
tyranny  among  his  people,  the  Prince  could  not 
possibly  raise  more  from  the  revenues  of  Surat. 
A  despatch  in  answer  to  this  arrived,  the  import 
of  which  was,  to  order  "  the  Nawaub  to  be  im- 
mediately displaced,  and  the  government  arid 
revenues  to  be  wholly  assumed  by  the  English." 

The  British  called  this  "  a  reform  of  the 
Government  of  Surat."  The  Prince  was  weak; 
a  puppet  of  the  English — unpopular  by  reason 
of  his  efforts  to  meet  the  urgent  demands  of  an 
oppressive  power,  and  so,  in  the  words  of  Mills, 
the  English  Government  exercised  their  right 

H2 


100  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

to  "the   monopoly  of   dethronement,   and   the 
Governor  of  Bombay  went  up  to  do  his  bidding." 

With  tears  the  Prince  declared  "  that  he  could 
not  survive  acquiescence  in  the  demand,  not 
only  from  the  sense  of  personal  degradation,  but 
from  the  odium  he  must  incur  among  all  Mus- 
sulmans^ if  he  consented  to  place  the  door  of 
Mecca  in  the  hands  of  a  people  who  had  another 
faith."  But  what  could  all  avail?  Meer  Nasseer- 
ood-deen,  forced  into  the  narrowest  compass, 
loving  and  trusting  Governor  Duncan,  and, 
through  him,  believing  in  the  faith  of  the  British 
Government,  signed  the  required  treaty.  He 
resigned  all  authority,  civil  and  military,  "all 
emoluments,  powers,  and  privileges"  to  the  British 
Government,  "and,  on  their  part,  the  Company 
agreed  to  pay  the  Nawaub,  and  his  heirs  and 
successors,  one  lac  of  rupees  annually,  together 
with  a  fifth  part  of  what  should  remain  as  sur- 
plus of  the  revenues,  after  deduction  of  this 
allowance,  of  the  Mahratta  Chout,  and  of  the 
charges  of  collection." 

In  gold,  and  silk,  and  jewels,  the  Prince  was 
then  replaced  on  the  throne  of  his  ancestors  by 
the  English  Government;  the  farce  was  played 
out  with  the  trumpettings  of  elephants,  and  the 
sounds  of  sackbut,  psaltery  and  dulcimer,  and 
the  great  and  good  Mr.  Duncan  returned  to  his 
seat  of  Government  to  whisper  in  the  ears  of 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  101 

his  many  friends,  that  never  had  any  day  been  to 
him  so  bitter  as  that  day ! 

Strange  fatality !  The  son  of  the  dethroned 
Prince,  Nasseer-ood-deen,  to  represent  the  "heirs 
and  successors,"  in  whose  favour  the  treaty  had 
been  made,  saw  but  a  fair  daughter,  growing 
like  a  lotus  flower  in  his  Hareem,  and  this  lady 
he  gave  in  marriage  to  one  of  the  sons  of  a 
noble  gentleman  of  the  Court  of  Baroda,  the 
"  Old  Meer,"  as  his  English  friends  affectionately 
call  the  Prince  Safaraz  Alee,  for,  happily,  the  good 
old  man  yet  lives,  respected  and  beloved  by  all 
who  know  him.  The  "  Old  Meer"  has  an  im- 
mense force  of  cavalry,  and  there  are  few  of  the 
large  cities  in  Western  India  where  bodies  of 
these  troops  are  not  to  be  found,  commanded 
by  amiable  and  excellent  officers,  Moslems,  of 
course.  His  Highness  Meer  Jafur  Alee,  was  one 
of  these  sons,  and  Meer  Acbar  Alee,  the  other. 
The  fatality  seemed  not  to  end  here.  His 
Highness  Meer  Jafur  had  himself  only  two  fair 
daughters  born  to  his  house,  and,  in  default  of 
male  heirs,  claimed  in  right  of  his  wife,  as  suc- 
cessor to  his  father-in-law,  the  dignity  of  Nawaub 
of  Surat,  in  addition  to  the  right  of  inheritance. 

For  fourteen  years  this  question  has  been 
mooted,  but  the  first  trial  of  the  right  was  fatal 
to  the  amiable  mother  of  Meer  Jafur's  infant 
daughters.  Deprived,  by  reason  of  her  husband's 


102  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

visit  to  England,  of  her  natural  protector, 
shocked  at  the  want  of  respect  shown  her  sex, 
religion,  and  rank,  by  officials,  on  the  sequestra- 
tion of  the  family  property,  the  poor  lady  pined 
and  died,  and  the  loss  of  his  gentle  wife  was  the 
first  news  which  greeted  the  ear  of  the  husband 
on  his  return  to  his  native  land.  The  daughters 
of  the  Prince  are  now  marriageable,  and  upon 
the  settlement  of  his  rank  naturally  depend  the 
arrangements  for  suitable  alliance. 

Whether  experience,  that  watchword  of  rulers, 
may  point  to,  or  necessity  enforce,  the  measure, 
the  dethronement  of  Princes  must  ever  be  at- 
tended with  saddening  circumstances — old  as- 
sociations are  so  broken  by  it,  old  reverences  so 
trampled  under  foot !  Great  even  is  the  misery 
when  abdication  is  enforced  by  the  will  of  the 
masses  among  a  misgoverned  people;  but,  when 
the  will  of  a  stranger  nation  commands  the  deed, 
and  that  nation  unsympathizing  in  all  that  in- 
terests the  people — unsympathizing  in  religion, 
customs,  language,  superstition,  then  indeed  is 
the  burden  great — even  as  was  this  burden  of 
Surat. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE,  103 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FIKE-WOKSHIPPERS. ' 

"  Now,  they  touch  the  Temple  walls; 
Now — Hafed  sees  the  fire  divine." 

Moore. 

A  MOST  delightful  old  lady — a  rosy,  bright-eyed, 
sweet-voiced,  white-handed,  dear  old  lady,  and  a 
great  friend  of  ours,  the  instant  a  word  of  mur- 
mur or  regret  falls  upon  her  ear,  is  wont  to  say, 
"  Take  an  old  woman's  advice,  my  dears,  and 
always  keep  the  sunny  side  of  the  way."  Now 
we  have  been  lounging  slowly,  and  chatting 
much  in  the  shade,  about  Surat,  up  to  the  present 
time,  but,  remembering  our  friend's  advice,  we 
will,  if  our  reader  pleases,  cross  over,  and  take 
the  "  sunny  side." 

The  Fire-worshippers  of  Mr.  Moore  (and  I 


1  I  have  used  this  title  in  conformity  with  the  popular 
English  notion  of  Parsee  worship.  But  the  term  is,  I  be- 
lieve, quite  unfounded.  There  are  two  sects  among  the 
Parsees ;  the  "  Cudmis "  and  the  "  Rushmis,"  and  they 


104  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

had  his  word  for  it),  came  direct  from  d'Her- 
belot's  u  Dictionnaire  Orientale,"  but  our  Fire- 
worshippers,  the  Parsees  of  Surat,  landed 
from  Yezd,  which  any  one,  who  likes  hunting 
up  odd  names  on  small  maps,  may  easily 
find  in  the  province  of  Khorassan,  and  not 
far  from  the  wide-famed  Ispahan.  There  is  little 
reason  for  it,  but  yet  Yezd  always  reminds  me  of 
York,  with  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  "  Ivanhoe,"  and 
Rebecca;  and  this,  not  for  the  reason  that  the 
word  begins  with  Y  and  has  only  four  letters  in 
it,  but  in  remembrance  of  the  religious  perse- 
cutions which  occurred  in  either  place;  the 
romantic  episodes  connected  with  both,  and  the 
heroism  of  the  women,  whether  Hebrew  or  Per- 


differ  on  details  of  faith,  as  we  Protestants  may  do  with  the 
Romanists,  but  neither  worship  either  the  elements  or  the 
heavenly  hodies,  being,  in  fact,  pure  Deists,  and  regarding 
the  works  of  God's  hand,  as  to  be  reverenced  only,  as  proofs 
of  the  Divine  power. 

The  Parsees  claim  descent  from  the  Phoenicians,  and  ac- 
knowledge Abraham  as  their  chief.  Many  superstitions  have 
deformed  the  ancient  faith  since  their  naturalization  among  the 
Hindoos  of  India.  Such,  for  instance,  as  the  idea  of  a  dog 
protecting  the  presence  of  a  deceased  person  from  the  evil 
spirit,  with  a  general  hatred  of  cats,  and  so  on.  But  the 
educated  Parsees  speak  contemptuously  of  these  things. 

Several  works  on  the  Parsee  religion,  manners,  and  customs, 
have  been  written  by  missionaries,  but  the  Parsees  deny  their 
truth.  As  a  body  they  abhor  the  "  interference  of  the  mis- 
sionaries," and  admit  that  they  wilfully  mislead  these  zealous, 
but  often  mistaken  men. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  105 

sian.  While  the  spirit  of  proselytism  shook  the 
sword  of  terror  over  the  ancient  Fire-worshippers 
of  Persia,  many  faint  hearts  yielded  up  their  faith, 
many  weary  heads  bowed  to  the  conqueror's  will, 
but  at  Yezd  a  faithful  few  clung  to  their  olden 
faith,  and  when  pressed  on  all  sides,  they 
gathered  the  yet  glowing  embers  of  their  sacred 
fire,  sought  the  nearest  port,  and  there,  trusting 
to  the  wild  sea  waves  for  the  mercy  denied  by 
man,  pushed  off,  like  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  they 
knew  not  whither ;  while,  'tis  said,  that  many  of 
their  women,  necessarily  left  behind,  at  this  time 
of  misery  and  dismay,  sought  death,  rather  than 
fall  into  the  captor's  power,  and  asserted,  to  the 
last,  their  faith  in  the  creed  of  their  fatherland. 

The  Parsees,  still  carefully  preserving  the 
sacred  fire,  the  emblem  of  their  faith,  landed  a 
few  miles  below  Surat,  at  a  place  called  Nowsara, 
where  they  erected  the  Temple,  which  has  since 
become  the  point  of  pilgrimage  for  the  Parsees 
from  every  part  of  Western  India,  and,  in  Surat 
itself,  14,000  of  the  followers  of  the  doctrines  of 
the  Zend  and  the  Pagend  preserve  the  ancient 
traditions  of  the  Persian  people.1 


1  This  is  the  received  belief,  but  a  Parsee  gentleman,  a 
short  time  since,  assured  me  that  when  the  Parsees  left  Yezd 
they  first  touched  at  "  Diu,"  but  finding  that  port  incommo- 
dious, they  sailed  on  to  St.  John's,  near  Bassein,  not  far  from 
Bombay.  The  Prince  of  that  country  was  a  Hindoo,  and  he 


106 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


As  many  Parsee  refugees  had  fled  alone  from 
their  native  shores,  they  intermarried  with  the 
dark- eyed  Pagans  of  the  land  in  which  they  had 
become  naturalized,  while  it  became  a  custom 
among  them  to  again  intermarry  almost  entirely 
within  the  circle  of  their  immediate  female  re- 
latives. It  is  also  curious,  and,  therefore,  worthy 
of  remark,  that,  so  far  from  this  custom  produc- 
ing a  deterioration  of  race  among  the  Parsees, 
as  it  is  found  to  do  in  other  lands,  the  de- 
scendants of  the  ancient  Persians  have  become  a 
finer  people;  larger  in  stature,  more  active  and 
energetic  in  habit  and  character.  Many  of  the 
diseases  common  to  the  Hindoos  and  Maho- 
medans  are  unknown  to  the  Parsees,  but  one 
scourge  is  among  them,  and  that  to  a  fearful 
extent;  the  scourge  of  leprosy. 

In  the  cities  of  India  confirmed  lepers  dare 
not  enter,  they  have  small  villages  immediately 

only  suffered  the  Parsees  to  land  and  make  a  settlement  there 
on  four  conditions.  1st,  That  the  Parsees  should  adopt  the 
Hindoo  dress ;  2nd,  That  they  should  not  wear  or  use  arms ; 
3rd,  That  they  should  not  eat  heef ;  4th,  That  in  marriages 
the  rights  should  first  he  performed  according  to  Hindoo 
ceremonial.  Once,  it  is  said,  the  Parsees  repulsed  an  army  of 
attack  on  the  Prince,  who  gave  them  Salsette ;  the  second 
time  the  city  was  attacked,  the  Parsees  were  absent,  keeping 
some  high  day  of  their  religion,  and  the  women  arming,  drove 
back  the  foe.  The  Parsees  then  separated,  some  going  to 
Oodipoor,  and  some  to  Nowsara;  both  these  places  are, 
therefore,  points  of  pilgrimage. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  107 

without  the  walls,  and,  when  believed  incurable, 
often  seek  the  dense  forest  sacred  to  a  favourite 
saint,  "the  Datar  Chelah,"1  who  alone,  as  they 
believe,  can  restore  them  in  health  to  their 
homes  and  little  ones. 

The  Parsees  are  the  most  energetic  people 
living,  except  the  French.  Nothing  dismays 
them.  Among  other  matters,  they  farmed  nearly 
all  the  cocoa-nut  plantations  in  Guzerat  for  the 
purpose  of  producing  "toddy,"2  and  took  their 
Hindoo  wives  with  them,  to  overlook  the  culture. 

The  miasma  of  many  of  these  plantations, 
however,  was  so  fatal  that  the  women  died  in 
great  numbers  from  fever;  and  it  is  said  that 
many  of  the  Parsees  married  no  less  than  five 
wives  in  succession  from  this  cause;  still,  per- 
severance, the  motto  of  the  Parsees,  stimulated 
them  to  continue  the  labour,  and  to  realise  not 
only  great  wealth  from  this  source,  but  to  clear 
and  render  the  grounds  sanitary.  Whatever  a 
Parsee  undertakes,  he  does  actively ;  occupation 

1  The  Hill  of  the  "Datar,"  or  Giver,  overlooks  a  noble 
forest  on  the  Surashtra  Peninsula,  near  the  Mahomedan  city 
of  Junagarh. 

2  Name  given  to  the  juice  of  the  palm  tree.     An  annual 
tax  of  one  rupee,  or  two  shillings,  is  levied  by  Government  on 
caeh  tree  cultured  to  make  toddy,  and  the  plantations  of  these 
trees  are   considered  excellent  property,  not  requiring  irriga- 
tion, and  producing  a  liquor  much  esteemed,  refreshing  in  its 
qualities,  and  only  inebriating  after  sunrise. 


108  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

is  agreeable  to  him  for  its  own  sake,  and  specu- 
lation is  as  the  air  he  breathes,  a  necessary  item, 
as  it  were,  in  the  requirements  of  his  existence. 
It  is  asserted  by  French  oriental  writers,  M. 
Burnouf  and  others,  that  the  Parsees  of  Surat 
lost  such  portions  of  their  sacred  books  as  they 
brought  with  them  from  Yezd,  and  that  the  so- 
called  Zendavesta  they  now  possess,  has  been 
compiled  from  traditions  among  their  priests.  I 
hope,  if  this  remark  falls  under  the  eye  of  the 
learned,  they  will  not  think  that  I  am  presump- 
tuously going  beyond  my  depth  in  this  little 
exhibition  of  knowledge,  for  nearly  all  I  know 
about  the  Parsees  has  been  derived  from  per- 
sonal observation,  and  I  am  not  disposed  to  lose 
myself  in  the  difficulties  of  cuneiform  inscrip- 
tions, dialects  of  Zend,  or  Sanscrit  relations.  I 
have  seen  the  Parsees,  day  after  day,  on  the 
sands  of  the  seashore,  with  their  faces  turned  to 
the  rising  or  the  setting  sun,  clad  in  white  cotton 
garments,  with  a  Chinese  umbrella  or  Chittree 
of  varnished  palm  leaf  under  their  arms,  and  I 
have  heard  them  pray  in  some  jargon  or  other, 
but  whether  according  to  the  words  of  Zoroaster 
I  cannot  pretend  to  say,  while  sometimes,  as  we 
have  ridden  by,  some  worthy  creature,  whose 
name  has  ended  with  a  "jee,"  has  broken  into 
his  prayer  with  an  episode,  reminding  us,  as  we 
passed  behind  him,  "  French  ship  arrived,  master, 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  109 

good  Bordeaux  want,  some  very  fine" — and  then, 
on  again  with  the  morning  invocation. 

The  present  Zendavesta  is  said  to  be  without 
sense,  and,  therefore,  I  believe  the  learned  will 
not  allow  it  to  have  been  the  compilation  of  so 
great  and  wise  a  man  as  the  Zoroaster  of  the 
Greek,  the  Zeratush  of  Persia,  a  philosopher  of 
such  unquestionable  genius,   that  his  opinions 
commanded  the  intellects  of  some  of  the  most 
highly-educated  among  the  Persian  scholars  and 
princes.      Anquetil   du  Perron   devoted   much 
of  his  time  to  this  question,  and  translated  two 
small  liturgical  works  of  the  Parsees,  called  the 
lesser  and  the  greater  "  Si-roze."     Now,  "si" 
means  thirty,  and  uroz"  day;  but  it  seems  that 
there  is  a  third  book,  which  tells  us  the  auspi- 
cious and  inauspicious  days  of  the  whole  month. 
This  is  a  very  singular  affair;  the  good  and  evil 
being   so   balanced,    that  'tis   odd   if  any   one 
escaping  Scylla  be  not  destroyed  by  Chary bdis. 
Every  day  has  its  presiding  angel.     We  could 
repeat  their  names,  strange  as  they  are,  but  feel 
sure  that  the  gratification  would  not  extend  itself 
to  the  reader.    This  "  Si-roze"  is,  in  fact,  a  "  fate 
book,"  and  speaks  of  the  common  acts  of  life, 
such  as  bathing,   dressing,  travelling,  &c.,   on 
which   days   they  will   be    attended   with   for- 
tunate  results,  and   the   contrary;   as,   for   in- 
stance, in  the  seventh  day   of  the  month,  pre- 
sided  over  by  Amardad,  we  are  told,  among 


110  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

other  things,  that  "the  day  is  auspicious  for 
forming  unions,  for  learning  science,  and  for 
casting  a  malicious  look  at  an  enemy.  The 
person  taken  ill  will  be  in  danger  of  his  life; 
and  the  good  and  bad  results  of  a  dream  will  be 
known  within  twenty  days.  Anything  lost  or 
mislaid  will  not  be  recovered.  Kumours  will 
not  prove  false,"  and  so  on  through  the  thirty 
days. 

The  Parsees  are  a  most  interesting  people, 
whether  we  regard  them  in  the  past  or  present ; 
and,  as  India  owed  much  of  its  pomp  and 
beauty  to  the  results  of  the  Mahoniedan  con- 
quest, so,  all  that  is  progressive  in  the  pre- 
sent day  emanates  from  the  Parsees.  We 
have  heard  of  their  Towers  of  Silence,  where 
the  dead  are  seated  among  iron  gratings  to  be 
reduced  to  skeletons  by  the  birds  of  the  air;1 

1  There  is  something  poetic  in  this  Parsee  term,  "  Tower  of 
Silence,"  as  the  resting-place  of  men  when  the  golden  howl  is 
broken,  and  the  silver  cord  is  loosed,  as  the  wise  man  has  it. 
It  is  more  serious,  more  suhlime,  than  the  Saxon  term, 
"  God's  Acre,"  and  yet  to  us,  who  are  accustomed  to  say, 
with  Abraham,  "  Give  me  a  possession  of  a  burying  place, 
that  I  may  bury  my  dead  out  of  my  sight,"  there  is  something 
very  horrible  in  the  idea  of  these  towers  of  the  dead.  True,  in 
the  Capuchin  Catacombs  of  Malta  and  Syracuse  the  dead  are 
placed  in  their  ordinary  attire,  within  niches,  to  be,  as  it  is  in- 
tended, a  perpetual  comment  on  the  vanity  of  life,  and  the  tra- 
veller is  soon  habituated  to  the  hideous  company.  But  the 
revolting  circumstance  of  these  Towers  of  Silence  is,  that  the 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  Ill 

we  have  heard  of  their  Mobeds  or  Priests,  less 
respected,  as  a  class,  than  the  priests  of  any 
nation  under  the  sun ;  we  have  heard  of  the  odd 
superstition,  which  teaches  that  evil  spirits  are 
driven  from  the  dead  by  the  presence  of  a  dog, 
and  that  the  future  fate  of  the  deceased  may  be 
somewhat  guessed  at  by  the  manner  of  the 
animal's  gaze  upon  the  corpse;  we  have  heard 
of  their  simple,  undecorated  Fire-temples,  and 
their  gorgeous  ceremonies  of  marriage;  but  we 
look  forward  now  to  their  influence,  as  men 
of  business ;  as  the  introducers  and  speculators 
in  railways ;  as  the  great  ship-owners  of  Western 
India ;  as  traders  and  merchants,  keen,  observant, 
and  speculative,  as  any  men  of  business  in  the 
world. 

The  head  of  the  Parsee  community  is  Sir 
Jamsetjee  Jeejeebhoy,  widely  known  by  reason 
of  his  prince-like  charities  and  munificence. 
The  parents  of  this  great  man  came  from  Now- 
sara,  and  he  may,  therefore,  be  considered  as  a 
native  of  Surat,  while  it  is  his  custom,  though 
by  no  means  bigotted  to  his  ancestral  faith,  to 


dead,  in  their  ordinary  dress,  are  placed,  sitting,  in  grated  niches 
that  surround  the  interior  of  the  tower.  The  birds  of  prey  then 
descend,  and  the  fleshless  skeleton  falls  through  into  the  huge 
pit  excavated  at  its  base.  None  but  the  priests  enter  these 
towers,  and  their  breathing  is  partially  defended  from  the 
noisome  atmosphere  by  the  folds  of  a  linen  cloth. 


112  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

visit  the  great  Fire-temple  of  Nowsara  as  a 
place  of  pilgrimage,  at  intervals  of  two  or  three 
years.1 

Before  the  period  when  trade  was  thrown 
open  at  Surat,  it  was  celebrated  as  a  seat  of 
learning.  The  college  was  one  of  the  best  in 
India,  so  that  looms  and  literature  worked  hand- 
in-hand,  much  as  they  do  with  us  in  modern 
Manchester ;  and  it  is  this  very  city  of  facts  and 
factories  that  has  told  so  much  against  the 
cotton  trade  of  poor  Surat,  inasmuch  as  it  is 
found,  that  the  "  raw  material"  can  be  sent  home, 
manufactured  into  usable  articles  of  civilized 
life,  and  sold  in  India,  at  a  less  cost  than  it 
could  be  worked  there;  thanks  to  steam  power. 

Again,  who  has  not  heard  of  the  Pingerah 
pool,  or  hospital  for  old  and  diseased  animals  at 
Surat;  the  Jains,  who  wear  a  cloth  over  their 
mouths  lest  they  should  destroy  insect  life  with 
the  air  they  breathe,  as  well  as  the  Brahmins,  are 
morbidly  tender  on  the  idea  of  destroying  life, 
and  hence  the  origin  of  this  hospital,  where  the 
poor  beasts  drag  on  a  weary  and  loathsome 
existence.  Moral  good  is  said  to  be  produced 
by  this  system,  though  the  fact  is  very  ques- 

1  The  public  and  private  charities  of  Sir  Jamsetjee  for 
British,  Hindoo,  and  Parsee  purposes,  amount  to  no  less  a 
sum  than  £234>, 272,  a  sum  standing  without  parallel  in  the 
annals  of  individual  benevolence. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  113 

tionable  in  the  minds  of  all  observers  of  tail- 
twisting,  as  the  coercive  power  in  common 
use  towards  the  hapless  draught  bullocks  of  the 
land. 

Perhaps  the  most  cheerful-looking  points  in 
that  part  of  Surat  which  rises  from  the  river 
banks  are  the  Ghauts,  or  steps,  which  form  the 
landing-places.  The  Moollah's,  or  Priest's 
Ghaut,  the  Mar  Bhere  Ghaut,  and  the  Dutch 
Ghaut,  are  the  principal  of  these,  although  two 
new  landing-places  have  been  recently  added. 
Some  of  the  steps  leading  from  the  sea  to  the 
fastnesses  of  our  little  ocean  barrack,  Malta, 
remind  one  most  of  the  Ghauts  of  far  Surat,  but 
are  deficient,  even  in  that  bright  clime,  in  the 
brilliant  colour  and  varied  groups,  which  render, 
at  early  morning,  the  landing-places  of  the  city 
of  the  Nawaub  so  animated  and  attractive.  The 
Maltese  dame  in  her  black  faldetta,  the  English 
soldier,  or  the  boatman  with  Neapolitan-like 
cap  and  jacket,  slung,  like  the  pelisse  of  the 
hussar,  carelessly  over  his  shoulder,  are  pic- 
turesque enough  in  their  way,  but  they  cannot 
be  remembered  for  a  moment,  when  compared 
with  the  warmly-coloured  groups  of  pleasant 
Surat.  We  lack  the  Brahmin,  repeating  the 
Mantras  of  his  morning  service,  and  laying 
aside,  as  he  does  so,  his  turban  of  striped  cloth, 

i 


114  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

and  all  the  items  of  his  upper  dress ;  the  hand- 
some wife  of  the  Banian  merchant,  laden  with 
jewels,  and  attired  in  silks  of  the  richest  texture 
and  brightest  colours,  stooping  to  fill  her  polished 
vessels  from  the  sunlit  waters ;  the  bright-eyed 
little  bullock-driver,  filling  his  skins  for  the  city's 
use;  the  washerman,  surrounded  by  heaps  of 
garments,  the  colours  of  the  rainbow,  beating 
them  on  the  smooth  stones,  as  he  laughs,  and 
sings,  and  chats  to  every  fresh  arrival  at  the 
Ghaut;  the  little  children  singing,  playing,  and 
weaving  fresh  necklaces  of  jasmine  flowers ;  the 
Hindoo  girl,  slight  and  handsome;  the  fruit- 
seller  of  the  bazaar,  or  the  flower-dresser  of  the 
temple,  her  shining  hair  heavily  braided,  and 
adorned  with  gold  coins  and  fresh  pomegranate 
blossoms:  all  these,  from  time  to  time,  descend 
to  the  banks  of  the  blue  Tapti,  and  render  the 
landing-places  of  Surat  the  long-remembered 
spots  of  interest  and  of  beauty  that  they  are. 

Surat,  indeed,  is  fallen !  Her  Moslem  rulers 
have  lost  their  power ;  the  sound  of  the  shuttle  is 
scarcely  heard;  the  tents  of  the  sportsman  are 
few  beneath  the  shadow  of  Vaux's  Tomb ;  the 
college  is  like  one  of  those  at  Padua,  almost  a 
tradition  among  men.  Still  there  is  sunshine 
yet.  Nature  is  genial  as  of  yore;  the  days 
as  blue,  and  the  people  as  gentle  and  as  kindly. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


115 


So  here  let  us  end  our  sketch,  satisfied,  as  our 
dear  old  friend  has  it,  of  the  philosophy  of 
keeping  upon  "  the  sunny  side." 


VAUX  S  TOMB,  SURAT. 


i  2 


116  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    MUSICAL   DOMESTIC. 

"  Mere  wheels  of  work  and  articles  of  trade, 
That  grace  the  proud  and  noisy  pomps  of  wealth." 

Queen  Mob. 

"  WHIRR,  whirr !  whiz,  whiz !  twang  !  whirr  !" 
What  an  extraordinary  noise !  "  Mahomed  Shah, 
what  are  they  doing  down  stairs?"  "  Oh!"  was 
the  answer,  "it  is  only  the  Churkee,  or  cotton- 
cleaner,  who  wants  to  re-dress  all  the  cotton  for 
his  Highness's  mattrasses !"  Truly,  a  very 
remarkable  sound,  decidedly  musical  in  its  way, 
and  one  that  I  recollected  to  have  heard  before, 
in  the  half-ruined  streets  of  Citta  Vecchia,  where 
it  deluded  me  into  the  idea  that  the  modern 
Maltese  had  retained  this  strange  rasping  kind 
of  melody,  as  a  tradition  of  some  Arab  occupa- 
tion of  their  island  in  days  long  gone  by.  Yet, 
as  I  listened,  in  utter  ignorance  of  who  a  Churkee 
was  or  how  he  cleaned  cotton,  and  thinking,  per- 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  117 

haps,  that  as  he  worked  a  companion  beguiled 
the  task  with  some  shrill  piping  stick,  such  as  is 
used  by  the  snake  charmers  (though  the  sound 
seemed  too  clear  for  any  of  the  single  instru- 
ments commonly  played  in  the  highways  by  idle 
people,  in  a  spirit  of  wantonness  and  mirth) 
curiosity  conquered,  and  I  went  down  stairs 
among  all  the  Meer's  chess-players,  Koran 
copiers,  and  others,  to  see  the  Churkee,  and,  if  I 
could,  to  find  out  all  about  it.  There  he  was,  a 
slight,  active  Mahomedan,  his  head  bound  with 
a  brightly-coloured  handkerchief,  bearing  on  his 
shoulder  a  machine,  in  appearance  very  like  an 
old-fashioned,  single- stringed  harp,  the  catgut  of 
which,  struck  by  a  mallet,  had  produced  the 
sound  described,  and  has  its  use,  not  only  in 
cleaning  and  separating  the  cotton,  but  of  at- 
tracting attention  to  the  Churkee's  presence, 
the  requisition  for  the  cotton-cleaner  being  very 
frequent. 

It  is  remarkable  that,  in  every  detail  of  do- 
mestic life,  the  manners  of  the  natives  of  India 
are  as  much  opposed  to  our  own,  when  resident 
among  them,  as  can  be  imagined;  and  of  this 
fact,  the  necessity  for  the  profession  of  the 
Churkee  is  a  case  in  evidence.  A  European, 
doomed  to  endure  the  mighty  heat  of  an  Eastern 
climate,  seeks  to  render  repose  at  once  as  pos- 
sible, as  healthful,  and  as  agreeable,  as  circum- 


118  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

stances  permit.  A  hard,  firm  couch  contributes 
materially  to  this  desirable  end;  and  where 
horsehair,  as  cushion  and  mattrass  stuffing  is 
not  to  be  procured  (which  is  commonly  the  case, 
unless  ordered  direct  from  Europe),  coir,  or  the 
fibre  of  the  cocoa-nut,  is  considered  a  most  valu- 
able representative.  The  native  of  India,  how- 
ever, if  he  can  afford  to  do  so,  cherishes  warmth 
as  his  great  remedy  and  general  preventive ;  the 
body  being  always  heated,  warm  beds  are 
deemed  absolutely  necessary,  and  a  rich  man 
literally  preserves  himself  in  cotton,  as  the 
Affghans  do  their  Caubool  grapes ;  for  he  is  not 
only  laid  on  a  bed  filled  some  two  feet  thick 
with  this  gentle  comfort,  but  beneath  a  coverlet 
of  the  same  quilted  material,  compared  to  which 
a  German  eider-down  is  a  cool  and  manageable 
luxury.  After  brief  use,  this  cotton,  separating 
itself  into  portions  from  the  general  body,  like  a 
commonwealth  breaking  into  parties,  becomes 
one  of  the  most  troublesome  things  to  manage 
in  the  world,  and,  by  degrees,  the  poor  son  ol 
the  sleepless  finds  himself  little  better  off  than 
the  Jogee  on  his  bed  of  blunted  nails,  until  the 
Churkee  with  his  Jin  sets  matters  smooth  again. 
There  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  however,  so 
while  I  stood  looking  on,  full  of  marvel  at  the 
whole  affair,  the  Churkee  seated  himself  about 
three  feet  from  the  wall,  holding  the  handle  of 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  119 

his  Jin  in  a  horizontal  position,  a  little  inclined 
towards  him;  and  so  commenced  his  labour. 
The  instrument,  which  really,  as  I  have  said,  is 
a  good  deal  like  an  old-fashioned  harp,  and  some 
six  feet  in  length,  was  fastened  by  the  centre  to 
a  long  rope  tied  firmly  to  the  cord  of  a  bow, 
suspended  by  a  strong  nail  on  the  upper  part  of 
the  wall,  which  allowed  the  necessary  play  to 
the  Jin,  while  the  cotton- cleaner,  holding  it  with 
one  hand,  placed  the  cotton  upon  the  catgut 
string,  and  striking  it  quickly  with  a  double- 
headed  mallet  in  the  other,  caused  the  cotton  to 
fly  from  it,  by  means  of  the  vibration,  in  a  clean 
and  open  state. 

It  was  hard  work  for  the  poor  Churkee,  who 
looked  thin  and  wretched  enough,  and  although 
his  hand  was  protected  to  a  certain  degree,  by  a 
cotton  pad,  against  the  vibration  of  the  string, 
yet  he  had  his  knuckles  sadly  galled  by  the  play 
of  the  instrument,  which  had  taken  away  the  skin, 
and  caused  soreness  and  swelling— not  a  matter 
of  much  consequence,  however,  to  Esoo  the  suf- 
ferer, who  seemed  rather  amused  at  being  pitied 
than  otherwise,  for  it  must  be  a  very  severe  flesh 
wound  indeed,  that  produces  any  effect  upon  a 
native.  This  remark  I  have  frequently  made 
when  I  have  seen  men  wounded  by  sword-cuts 
and  desperate  chances  of  flood  and  field ;  while 
perhaps  it  is  to  their  own  indifference  in  the 


120  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

matter,  rather  than  to  absolute  cruelty,  that  their 
apathy  in  the  cases  of  the  poor  beasts  of  bur- 
then may  be  traced,  when  galled  by  heavy 
loads. 

Whatever  the  necessities  of  the  factory  system 
may  do  in  compelling  the  endurance  of  personal 
suffering,  very  few  like  Esoo  the  cotton-cleaner 
would  willingly  pursue  a  vocation  that  seemed 
so  painful  as  this,  nor  remain  so  careless  in  pro- 
viding against  its  evils.  "  Every  Churkee  was 
the  same,"  he  said ;  "  all  their  left  hands  raw 
and  swelled,  but  what  was  that?"  I  suspect  his 
work  was  very  heavy  too,  for  Esoo  did  not  look 
like  an  idler,  and  he  was  working  for  his  own 
people — a  fact  of  great  importance  as  affects 
honesty  and  speed  among  native  workmen;  it 
was  job  work,  too,  paid  at  the  rate  of  twelve 
annas,  or  about  one  shilling  and  eight  pence,  for 
a  mattrass  containing  sixty  pounds  of  cotton, 
and  yet  every  ten  minutes  he  socially  availed 
himself  of  a  Gora  walla  V  offer  to  share  the  plea- 
sures of  his  "bubble  bubble." 

The  Churkee's  stock  in  trade  does  not  require 
much  capital,  and  once  purchased  his  labours 
are  all  profitable.  The  Jin,  or  "  Caman,"  as  it  is 
called,  is  made  of  the  strongest  wood,  the  sesum, 
and  is  joined  in  three  pieces,  for  the  sake  of  com- 

1  Horsekceper. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  121 

bined  strength  and  elasticity.  Its  price  is  fifteen 
rupees  (thirty  shillings) ;  the  Gotilla,  or  mallet, 
is  of  tamarind,  at  once  the  lightest  and  hardest 
wood  known,  and  this  implement  costs  about 
three  rupees;  so  that  for  less  than  an  expendi- 
ture of  two  pounds  sterling,  the  Churkee  is  set 
up  as  a  professional  man;  and  as  everybody 
has  their  mattrass  refilled  twice  a-year,  and 
there  are  but  sixty  of  his  calling  in  the  Presi- 
dency, the  cotton-cleaner's  trade  is  tolerably 
profitable,  and  always  secure. 

The  best  cotton  in  the  Bombay  market  is 
brought  from  Guzerat,  Broach,  Bhownugger, 
and  Dholera.  The  cotton  is  gathered  every 
year  in  the  spring,  or  Hooli  season,  and  sown 
during  the  rains,  while  it  averages  in  price  four 
rupees  a  Maund,  of  eighty  Seers,  in  Guzerat, 
and  three  rupees  a  Maund,  of  forty  Seers,  in 
Bombay.  It  is  cultivated  by  both  Mahomedans 
and  Hindoos,  but  cleaned  only  by  the  former. 

Guzerat  rather  resembles  one  enormous  park, 
with  its  fine  trees  and  flat,  ribbon-like  roads  over 
the  rich  black  soil,  than  an  extensive  province, 
as  it  is ;  and  its  beauty  is  increased  by  the  plan- 
tations of  cotton,  which,  when  the  bushes  are  in 
bloom,  with  their  pretty  yellow-tinged  blossoms, 
and  the  snow-like  cotton  bursting  from  the  pod, 
are  extremely  gay  and  pretty,  scarcely  less  so 
than  fields  of  the  flaunting  poppy,  while  more 


122 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


COTTON    LEAVES   AND    BLOSSOM. 

pleasing  to  the  thoughtful  admirer,  inasmuch  as, 
while  the  one  is  associated  with  half  the  disease, 
misery,  and  apathetic  indifference,  flowing  from 
sensual  indulgence  among  the  people  of  the 
East,  the  other  is  the  very  type  of  industry, 
peace,  and  commercial  affluence. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  123 

In  all  great  schemes,  individuals  suffer,  I  fear, 
from  the  abuses  and  evils  that  seem  almost  in- 
separable from  the  system.  Inseparable  from 
many  causes — from  the  very  nature  of  the  thing 
itself;  perhaps  from  the  weakness  or  the  wick- 
edness of  human  nature  when  armed  with  irre- 
sponsible power;  or  from  the  impossibility  of  a 
complete  investigation  of  details  by  those  in 
authority. 

Our  attention,  however,  is  not  demanded  on 
this  question ;  we  have  a  brighter  and  pleasanter 
subject  before  us.  Let  us  remember  the  cheer- 
ful faces  we  have  seen  even  here  in  the  East: 
young  girls  and  matrons  plying  the  distaff,  sur- 
rounded by  smiling,  happy  children.  Let  us 
think  of  the  comfort  this  cotton  work  produces, 
with  the  value  of  the  product  as  an  article  of 
trade,  both  here  and  in  export  to  our  own  land ; 
of  the  beauty  that  art,  design,  and  colour  can 
effect  from  these  snow-like  balls  of  raw  mate- 
rial ;  and  on  the  value  of  knowledge,  as  a  means 
of  wealth  and  happiness  to  countless  thousands, 
even  as  here  shown  by  one  cotton  pod,  if  we  will 
but  in  imagination  follow  its  course,  first  to  the 
screw,  next  to  the  cleaners,  then  to  the  winders, 
the  twisters,  the  dyers,  the  weavers,  until  it 
shines  forth  a  brilliant  flower  on  the  gay  dress 
of  some  happy  village  bride,  among  the  rural 
homes  of  England,  or  is  returned  in  fabrics  of 


124  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

the  most  glowing  tints  to  India,  to  delight  many 
with  its  brilliant  hues. 

Thinking  thus,  the  cotton  pod  has  great  inte- 
rest to  the  eye  of  the  contemplative  traveller, 
and  suggests  a  thousand  thoughts,  well  suited 
to  its  beauty  and  its  value,  far  beyond  the  cold 
calculations  of  u  price  currents,"  or  the  question 
of  its  value  in  American  markets.  Let  us  but 
put  aside  the  statistics  of  cotton,  leaving  such 
knotty  matters,  with  all  deference,  to  those  who 
best  comprehend  them — to  the  merchant,  the 
broker,  and  the  reporter  on  commerce — and  we 
shall  then  see  that  no  subject  in  the  world 
is  more  rife  with  the  power  of  leading  us 
away  with  pleasant  thoughts,  in  endless,  wide 
variety. 

The  looms  of  the  East,  for  instance,  how  rich 
they  once  were  in  beautiful  fabrics,  produced  by 
the  cunning  hand  of  man,  ere  the  now  forgotten 
art,  chased  from  India,  became  known  in  its  per- 
fection in  the  West,  by  the  wondrous  powers  of 
all- controlling,  all-producing  steam !  And  even 
now,  how  delicate  the  silk  embroidering  on  this 
same  cotton  ground,  wrought,  it  is  true,  with 
the  rude  tools  of  native  workmanship,  yet  excel- 
lent in  beauty,  and  adorning  forms  among  the 
nobles  and  princes  of  the  East,  that  classic  lands 
might  have  accepted  as  their  artists'  models. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  125 

The  divans  and  ceilings  of  princes'  Hareems, 
too,  wrought  on  this  same  cotton  in  needlework 
of  divers  colours,  how  beautiful  they  are !  how 
fit  to  charm  the  eyes  of  fair  and  gentle  women, 
who  need  only  the  fostering  hand  of  civilization 
to  render  them  in  all  other  things,  as  they  now 
are  in  loveliness  of  feature  and  grace  of  form,  the 
more  than  equals  of  their  Western  sisters !  The 
pretty  children  also,  how  interesting  they  are 
with  their  little  parti-coloured  coats  of  brilliantly 
dyed  cotton  cloths,  on  whom  the  eye  of  the 
fond  mother  falls,  as  if  her  treasure  were  a  second 
Benjamin ! 

Contrasting  with  the  child,  we  see  the  mounted 
chief;  his  cuirass  of  quilted  cotton  turning  aside 
the  bullets  of  the  Jinjal  fired  from  his  rival's  fort, 
as  though  his  armour  were  of  ringed  steel;  the 
saddle,  too,  so  bright  and  gay,  beneath  which 
his  well-broken  steed  caricoles  with  so  much 
spirit;  the  reins  of  silk  and  cotton  twist,  also  so 
bright  and  gay :  for,  if  a  Hindoo  warrior,  he  dare 
no  more,  by  reason  of  his  caste,  touch  the  un- 
clean leather,  than,  indeed,  the  Prophet's  fol- 
lower can  handle  the  (to  him)  accursed 
hog-skin,  the  abomination  of  Islam  and  its  fol- 
lowers. Then,  again,  the  holiday  attire  of  the 
Indian  women,  even  of  the  common  class,  as  the 
warm  sun  shines  in  streams  upon  the  brilliant 


126  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

dyes,  the  gay  and  pretty  borders  of  their  various 
coloured  Sarees ;  how  beautiful  even  cotton  seems, 
when  draped  with  a  grace  equalling  Grecian 
art  over  fair  forms,  which  owe  all  to  nature,  and 
acknowledge  none  of  those  interferences  of  the 
toilette"  that  would  mar  their  beauty!  How 
richly  the  dark  blue  folds  fall  over  the  half- 
concealed  crimson  boddice,  and  drape  round  the 
delicate  elastic  ankle,  decorated  with  its  silver 
bangle!  How  handsome  the  expressive  face 
often  looks,  the  saree  half  drawn  over  one  cheek, 
while  it  casts  a  clear,  decided  shadow  on  the 
smooth  forehead  and  the  plaits  of  glossy  hair  so 
softly  braided  there ! 

Would  we  have  a  contrast  in  our  theme,  let 
imagination  bear  us  to  the  gay  kerchief  head- 
dresses of  the  south  of  France;  to  the  scarlet 
and  yellow  handkerchief  braiding  the  woolly 
head  of  the  merry  negress  attending  on  the 
Turkish  hareem,  all  finery  and  laughter ;  or  to 
the  crowded  streets  of  London,  and  moralize  on 
the  groups  that  pass  us  there. 

Half  the  commerce  of  the  world  appears  in 
cotton;  half  our  ideas  are  borrowed  from  this 
topic.  Scarcely  a  thought,  whether  of  the  com- 
merce and  prosperity  of  England,  or  the  suffer- 
ings of  her  people,  of  her  foreign  influences,  of 
her  growing  power,  but  cotton  may  appear  a 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  127 

principal  point  in  every  tableau,  and  presents 
a  series  of  the  most  glowing  as  well  as  in- 
teresting pictures  to  the  imagination;  while 
the  stranger,  winding  along  the  monotonous 
roads  of  fertile  Guzerat,  his  eye  fixed  on  the 
poor  cultivator's  little  field  of  blooming  plants, 
may,  by  the  help  of  a  little  imagination,  be 
transported  to  the  uttermost  ends  of  the  earth, 
and  gather  fresh  wisdom  and  certain  pleasure 
from  his  reverie. 

The  best  cotton  known  of  old  in  England  was 
chiefly  brought  from  Cyprus  and  Smyrna.  The 
cotton  thread  of  Jerusalem,  called  bazas,  was 
also  much  esteemed.  Of  Indian  cotton,  that  of 
Bengal  and  Guzerat  has  the  readiest  sale,  as 
finer,  longer,  and  softer  than  other  kinds.  In 
olden  times,  the  cotton  of  the  Antilles,  called 
Siam  cotton,  had  a  high  celebrity  for  its  very 
extraordinary  beauty  of  texture,  and  stockings 
woven  of  it  could  scarcely  be  distinguished  from 
silk,  in  consequence  of  their  fine  glossy,  delicate 
appearance,  and  were  sold  in  England  at  fifteen 
crowns  a  pair.  Although  cotton  must  be  always 
packed  dry,  moist  weather,  if  the  cotton  is  under 
cover,  is  considered  the  best  time  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  great  Apollo  and  Colabah  screws  in 
Bombay  are,  perhaps,  among  the  most  curious 
features  in  the  island  to  a  stranger's  eye,  as  well 


128  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

as  the  enormous  warehouses  required  for  storing 
the  cotton  during  the  monsoon.  These  screws 
are  of  double  power,  and  worked  by  Ghatties,  or 
hill  coolies,  principally  from  the  Southern 
Ghauts.  The  screw  compresses  the  cotton  to 
about  a  fourth  its  original  bulk,  and  the  work  is 
said  to  be  laborious  in  the  extreme. 

It  is  reported  that  the  Bombay  cotton  trade  is 
grievously  declining,  and  many  fear  its  ceasing 
altogether.  The  trade  between  India  and  Can- 
ton a  few  years  since  was  very  important,  but 
the  Chinamen  are  said  to  have  taken  a  fancy  of 
late  to  British  goods,  manufactured  of  cheap 
American  cotton,  and  will  have  little  of  India's 
raw  material.  If  this  is  indeed  so,  it  were 
time  India  recovered  her  knowledge  of  the  arts, 
and  had  steam  and  hand-looms,  designers,  cotton 
printers,  and  dyers  of  her  own.  The  poor  cul- 
tivator, at  least,  would  find  recompense  for  his 
labour,  while  the  Banian,  the  merchant,  and 
the  boat-owner,  might  still  find,  in  interior  de- 
mand and  home  consumption,  all  the  benefits 
erst  derived  from  general  exportation  and  foreign 
trade. 

I  am  afraid  that  picking  through  this  mass  of 
cotton  has  tired  the  reader,  as  much  as  his  work 
did  poor  Esoo ;  nor  has  the  former  had  the  sun- 
shine that  plays  about  Meer  Jafur's  pleasant 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  129 

house  to  cheer  his  labour  in  making  way  through 
the  puzzled  web  of  the  "  raw  material,"  so  that 
were  he  called  upon  by  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce to  report  upon  the  matter,  "  cottons 
are  lively "  would  scarcely  be  the  phrase  of 
his  selection,  whereby  to  describe  the  present 
market. 


130  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 

THE  OLD  FORT. 

"  Swift  with  exulting  cries  and  wild  despair, 

On  the  proud  fortress  rush  the  maddened  host ; 
The  lengthened  ladders  to  its  walls  they  hear, 
And  press  contending  for  the  dangerous  post." 

"  I  CAN'T  go  to  Sweden  this  summer/'  said  a 
friend  of  ours,  a  very  gourmand  in  travelling; 
"  because  I  must  read  up  sea-kings  and  Norse- 
men first." 

It  has  happened  to  me  to  have  frequent  oppor- 
tunities of  noting  how  this  sort  of  labour  has 
gained  the  rich  return  it  sought.  How,  like  all 
worthy  things,  not  a  grain  of  it  has  been  lost  in 
producing  the  interest,  the  compound  interest, 
of  recompense.  I  have  stood  in  the  ancient 
theatre  at  Yerona,  with  a  student  of  Euripides 
and  Aristophanes,  and  seen  how  it  affected  him 
to  note  the  very  ways  and  means  by  which  the 
old  Greek  drama  was  put  upon  the  boards. 

I  have  sat  on  the  Nyx  at  Athens,  with  one  of 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  131 

the  first  classics  of  the  day,  and  admired  the 
ecstacy  with  which  his  eye  fell  upon  the  distant 
groves  of  Academus,  while,  in  the  dreamy  fancies 
of  the  hour,  the  population  of  the  neighbouring 
city  seemed  streaming  round  the  fair  Acropolis, 
to  hear  the  mighty  words  of  Demosthenes,  as 
given  from  that  spot;  and  I  have  also  seen  the 
"fast  man,"  full  of  ignorance  and  conceit, 
"  doing  "  both  Northern  Italy  and  the  fair  city 
of  Pericles,  and  I  have  tried  to  pity  him ! 

We  have  show  places  in  India,  too,  as  well  as 
Europe — places  great,  wonderful,  mysterious  in 
old  tradition;  speaking  of  languages  and  reli- 
gions long  forgotten,  sciences  and  arts  for  ever 
hidden  as  it  seems :  and  yet  people  go  and  look 
at  them,  and  dance,  and  laugh,  and  boil  potatoes 
in  true  pic-nic  style,  nor  ask  to  learn,  nor  pause 
to  think; — they  have  done  Elephanta,  Ellora, 
and  Carli — and  what  remains? 

See  that  calm  student  there,  with  his  friend 
the  Brahmin,  who  has  glided  away  among  these 
glorious  ruins  towards  his  distant  tent  pitched 
on  the  side  of  that  rocky  mound  beneath  the 
peepul  tree !  He  has  laboured  on  the  records  of 
the  past,  and  as  he  stands  and  gazes  on  these 
mighty  monuments  of  time  and  art,  on  gigantic 
statues,  on  traceries  of  flowers,  delicate  as  lace- 
work,  yet  of  a  substance  so  hard  as  to  turn  every 
instrument  now  used  upon  it  in  roughest  work ; 

K  2 


132  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

he  sees  the  ancient  world  rolling  back  again,  as 
it  were,  in  eclipse  of  all  now  present;  he  hears 
the  wisdom  of  the  Buddhist  sages;  he  listens  to 
the  strains  of  Hindoo  poetry,  to  the  glorious 
language  of  the  Sanscrit  drama;  beautiful 
women,  the  "lights  of  the  Hareem,"  move  grace- 
fully before  him;  conquerors,  the  Timurs  and 
the  Akbars  of  the  East,  in  shining  armour,  stride 
through  the  corridors ;  the  priests  perform  their 
dark,  mysterious  rites;  the  dancing-girls  weave 
fresh  chaplets  for  the  altar.  The  student's  eye 
is  dark  and  bright,  for  glorious  dreams  are 
lighting  it;  and  he  starts,  as  if  too  roughly 
roused,  when  his  watchful  servant  warns  him  to 
his  sunset  meal. 

Oriental  students  are,  unfortunately,  too  rare 
in  modern  days,  nor  can  /  boast  a  rank  among 
them ;  yet  having  "  read  up  "  a  little  of  Moslem 
history  before  I  travelled  through  the  Deckan, 
the  reader  may,  perhaps,  feel  some  interest  also 
in  the  way  we  took. 

My  supposed  companion  is  probably  not  an 
early  riser,  yet  the  horses  will  be  saddled  at 
three  in  the  morning,  and  we  must  make  our 
way  over  the  soft,  even,  pleasant  Mahratta  roads 
while  the  Pleiades  are  yet  shining,  so  that  we 
may  arrive  at  the  great  Mahomedan  city  of 
Aurungabad  before  this  sun  is  hot  enough  to 
cause  us  headache.  It  will  be  pleasant,  too,  as 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  133 

the  dawn  breaks  and  the  breeze  rises,  to  canter 
on  over  the  winding  roads  of  the  wide  plain,  all 
green  and  fresh  with  its  varied  brushwood,  the 
dew  lying  on  grass  and  flower,  the  birds,  that 
"  king  of  the  crows,"  the  earliest  riser,  calling 
on  the  Hooppoes  and  the  Minars  to  give  life  to 
the  awakening  world.  How  delightful  the  air 
is!  how  peculiar  the  sensation  it  occasions! 
How  different  is  the  climate  of  these  mornings 
in  the  tropics,  to  that  of  any  other  that  we  know ! 
The  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  climates 
of  Greece,  Turkey,  Egypt,  and  Italy  are  agree- 
able, yet  not  as  this  is.  But  we  must  hasten 
on,  for  the  sun  has  risen;  flocks  of  peacocks 
spread  their  glorious  plumage,  strut  for  a  time, 
and  then  fly  shrieking  over  our  heads;  while 
the  monkeys  spring  from  bough  to  bough  of  the 
niangoe  trees,  followed  by  their  little  ones,  to 
whom  they  never  cease  to  chatter,  with  warnings, 
no  doubt,  of  danger. 

And  thus  we  reach  the  famous  city  of 
Aurungzebe,  the  courageous,  ambitious  son  of 
the  mighty  Shah  Jehan,  the  great  Mogul  con- 
queror of  the  Deckan.1 

Our  tents  have  been  pitched  we  find  in  the 
tangled  garden  of  the  beautiful  Mukrubeh — fit 
monument  to  the  beloved  and  accomplished 

1  A.D.  1655. 


134  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

wife  of  a  Moslem  prince.  And  when  the  rice 
and  curry  have  received  their  fair  attention, 
with  the  dish  of  blamange-like  Soojee1  that  we 
see  in  preparation,  we  can  stroll  out  and  note  it 
well.  We  find  the  model  to  have  been  that  of 
the  famous  Taj  at  Agra,  and  determine  to  devote 
a  day  to  its  inspection,  its  beauty  being  so  infi- 
nitely beyond  our  expectations.  Fortunately 
the  tomb  is  outside  the  town,  near  the  hills  to 
the  north,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  wall,  the 
masonry  of  which  seems  perfection;  and  the 
entrance  gate-way  on  the  southern  side  has 
doors,  massive  beyond  belief,  and  richly  orna- 
mented with  brass. 

But  we  will  turn  to  the  tomb  itself,  which  is 
of  pure  white  marble,  raised  on  a  terrace  plat- 
form some  twenty  feet  from  the  garden  plain, 
and  surrounded  by  beautiful  minarets.  The 
traceries  and  fine  work  of  the  exquisitely  carved 
windows  are  of  a  lace-like  delicacy  indescribable ; 
and  as  we  look  through  the  marble  doors  that 
enclose  the  absolute  tomb  of  the  lady,  with  its 
cloth  of  gold  covering,  in  accordance  with  the 
customs  of  the  Mahomedans,  art,  we  feel,  can 
have  no  greater  perfection.2 

1  Fine  flour,  which  is  boiled  to  a  certain  consistence,  and, 
when  cold,  is  eaten  with  sugar,  cinnamon,  and  milk. 

2  From  the  gate  of  the  Mukrubeh  we  copied  a  Persian  in- 
scription, thus  translated  : — "  This  illustrious  shrine  has  been 
built  by  Busput  Roi,   under  the  supervision  of  Ut   Ullah, 
1071"  (Hegira). 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  135 

The  garden  looks  unusually  gay,  too,  as  it 
happens  to  be  Friday,  a  day  when  the  Moslems 
frequent  it  in  great  numbers,  this  being  their 
Sabbath  as  it  were ;  and  though  the  fountains, 
which  at  certain  distances  mark  the  centre  of 
each  avenue  leading  to  the  mausoleum,  have 
long  ceased  to  throw  their  sparkling  showers  to 
the  light,  and  the  brilliant  flowers,  untended, 
trail  along  the  pathways,  the  colours  of  the 
varied  groups  give,  as  we  see,  animation  to  the 
scene,  and  awaken  dreams  of  the  time  when 
"fair  women  and  brave  men"  made  this  spot 
their  favourite  place  of  rest  and  recreation. 

It  is  difficult  to  repose  here  on  soft  cushions 
under  the  shadows  of  the  widely -spreading 
tamarind  trees,  and  to  gaze  upon  the  lovely 
tomb  of  the  Empress  Eabia  Doorani,  the  beau- 
tiful and  tenderly  loved  wife  of  one  of  the 
greatest  warriors  of  the  East,1  without  reflection 
on  the  history  and  character  of  those  great  and 
chivalrous  rulers  of  India,  of  whose  present  de- 
cadence and  ruin,  this  tangled  garden,  these 
broken  fountains,  these  blossoms  trampled  under 
foot,  seem  but  as  the  symbols. 

Bactria  and  Transoxiana  gave  those  chiefs, 
who,  renowned  for  their  learning,  taste,  and 

1  Aurungzebe  assumed  the  title  of  Alum  Gir,  or  Conqueror 
of  the  World,  at  Delhi,  in  1658. 


136  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

civilization,  founded  the  Mogul  dynasty  of  India; 
among  them  were  poets,  historians,  linguists, 
and  men  of  science;  mathematicians,  astrono- 
mers, and  geographists.  Bokhara  and  Samar- 
chand  were  as  notable  for  their  libraries  and 
universities  as  Verona  and  Padua.  Mahmood 
of  Ghuzni  honoured  with  his  friendship  and 
protection  the  Tasso  of  Asia.  The  great  Timur 
made  institutes  marked  by  a  wisdom  and  a  bene- 
ficence unrivalled  in  the  history  of  rulers,  and 
there  was  a  chivalry,  a  manliness,  a  purpose,  an 
independence  about  these  Moslem  princes,  which 
was  unrivalled  among  the  conquered.1 

Then  there  was  the  romance  too,  despite  the 
seclusion  and  matter  of  course  system  of  the 
hareem!.  The  great  Jehangire  owed  all  the 
influences  on  his  life  to  the  power  of  love  and 
beauty.  Who  has  not  heard  of  "the  light  of  the 
hareem,  the  fair  Nour-mahal?"  no  imagination 
of  the  poet,  but  a  Tartar  maiden,  who,  saved 
from  the  deadly  coils  of  a  snake  in  early  life, 
lived  to  become  the  favourite  sultana  of  an  empe- 
ror, and  not  only  so,  but  having  carefully  culti- 

1  Abul  Fazil,  the  great  statician  and  geographer,  was  the 
prime  minister  of  the  Emperor  Ackbar,  A.D.  1605,  and  assisted 
him  in  the  compilation  of  the  Ayeen  Ackbari.  The  Emperor 
Baber,  whose  charming  memoirs  are  the  recreation  and  delight 
of  every  reader  acquainted  with  Oriental  literature,  died  1530, 
leaving  an  inheritance  of  wisdom  to  be  ever  remembered 
among  the  fountains  and  rose-gardens  of  beautiful  Caubul. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  137 

vated  the  arts  for  self-support  in  early  life,  she 
possessed  attractions  which  had  power  to  exer- 
cise sway  over  all  the  governments  of  the 
land. 

Then  there  were  the  daughters  of  Shah 
Jehan;  three  Graces,  as  it  were — witty,  gentle, 
beautiful,  accomplished — not  easily  forgotten; 
their  charms  and  virtues  not  alone  the  theme  of 
minstrel  poets,  but  which  guided  to  courteous 
sentences  the  pen  of  the  very  coldest  of  histo- 
rians;— but  the  sun  is  lowering  in  its  course, 
and  we  have  yet,  guided  by  that  dark  green 
Moslem  flag,  to  visit  the  tomb  of  the  well- 
known  Musafir  Shah,  a  saint  of  great  reputed 
holiness. 

When  I  was  there  some  time  since,  I  made 
many  sketches  of  the  place,  and  fed  the  tame 
carp  with  bread,  who  sported  in  the  cool 
waters  of  the  tank ;  and  I  was  shown  the  site  of 
the  palace-like  house  of  the  great  merchant — 
Palmer,  who  once  exercised  prince-like  hospi- 
tality all  around.  However,  as  we  have  to  start 
for  the  Old  Fort  at  gun-fire  in  the  morning,  it 
will  now  be  enough,  if  the  reader  pleases,  to 
see  the  tomb  of  the  Shah  Sahib,  as  they  call  it 
here. 

How  dirty  Aurungabad  is !  what  swarms  of 
children !  what  hundreds  of  long,  white- teethed, 
barking  dogs !  what  heaps  of  filth !  what  horrid 


138  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

odours !  But  we  have  passed  it  all  at  last ;  the 
green  flag  of  the  Nizam  waves  over  the  wall  so 
handsomely  carved  in  arches,  and  we  are  in  the 
cool  garden  that  surrounds  the  tomb.1 

How  full  all  the  verandahs  are  of  slippers! 
and  how  odd  it  seems  that  all  those  grave  elders 
sitting  in  the  shade,  with  Korans  on  their  knees, 
seem  too  much  abstracted  to  notice  either  our 
approach  or  the  constant  passing  of  the  Hindoos 
to  fill  their  water-vessels,  in  preparation  for 
their  evening  meal.  It  is  habit,  and  the  good 
Syuds  read  the  Koran  sedulously ;  but  there  is 
not  much  learning  here,  although  some  Jahgirs, 
or  landed  estates,  are  enjoyed  for  the  support  of 
the  Morreeds,  or  pupils  of  the  saint's  successors, 
there  being  colleges  attached.  Dinner,  however, 
is  waiting,  the  pale  ale  is  by  this  time  cold,  as 
if  frappe  with  American  ice;  the  camels  are 
roaring  in  the  distance,  and  we  must  see  the 
moon  rise  over  the  pearl-like  domes  of  the 
Muckrubeh  before  we  seek  rest — and  our  morning 
march  must  be  right  early  too,  though  it  is  but 
fourteen  miles  to  the  Old  Fort  of  Deogurh,2  our 
intended  halting-place. 

1  On  the  gate  of  the  Shah's  tomh  is  this  inscription: — 
"  Musafir  Shah,  the  world  of  truth,  departed  from  this  earth 
when  his  time  was  come,  and  Khureed  told  the  date  of  his 
departure."     1126  (Hegira). 

2  The  Dowlutabad  of  the  Mahomedans. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  139 

It  is  as  well  that  we  guide  our  horses  as  far 
from  the  centre  of  the  pathway  as  we  can,  out 
of  the  way  of  the  stream  of  religious  fanatics, 
Hindoo  or  Moslem,  who  have  entered  the  city 
of  Aurungzebe,  to  seek  rest  for  the  night  at  the 
Shah's   tomb.     Here   are  Fakirs   and  Goshna- 
sheens  of  all  descriptions.     That  wild,  nearly 
unclothed,    fine-looking    man,   with   his    black 
hair  falling   over  his  neck,  arid   bearing   those 
great  bell-like  affairs   of  crimson   embroidered 
cloth   over   his   shoulder,    brings   water  —  holy 
water,  as  'tis  thought — from  the  river  Ganges ; 
he,  on  the  side  there,  advancing  prostrate  on  the 
ground,  is  measuring  his  length  from  Benares  to 
all  the  sacred  shrines  of  India,  in  performance  of 
a  vow;    and  that  wild,   skeleton-like  creature, 
with  a  bell  depending  from  his  waist-belt  to  his 
ankles,  has  walked  through  the  deadliest  forest 
without  scrip  or  clothing,  sharing  wild  berries 
with  the  parroquets,  and  scaring  the  beasts  of 
prey  from  his  path  by  the  sound  of  that  same 
bell.     But  we  have,  with  all  our  care,  pushed 
against  a  priest — how  he  scowls !  and  holds  the 
tip  of  his  ear  till  long  past  our  group,  and  all 
that  trouble  simply  to  guard  him  from  the  Evil 
Eye  and  the  contamination  of  the  Feringee ! 

Now,  then,  for  Dowlutabad!      The  road  is 
bad,  and  the  tents  will  certainly  not  be  up  for 


140  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

breakfast,  for  we  can  even  now  hear  the  creak- 
ing of  those  dreadful  carts,  and  see  the  camels 
not  very  far  ahead;  it  is  evident  that  the  ser- 
vants halted  at  midnight,  lighted  fires  among 
the  stones,  and  slept  too  late.  Well,  fortunately, 
there  is  capital  accommodation  in  the  tombs,  so 
it  does  not  much  matter. 

Perhaps  our  friend,  the  reader,  considers  it 
better,  as  Russell  would  say,  u  to  wait  a  little 
longer"  for  "  capital  accommodation"  in  a  tomb, 
but  he  must  be  good  enough  to  recollect  that  he 
has  consented  to  be  our  imaginary  companion  in 
an  Eastern  trip,  and  there  the  large  apartments, 
the  domed  roof,  the  thick  walls  of  a  neglected 
tomb,  are  worth  the  finest  tent  that  Bengal,  with 
all  its  knowledge  of  four-cloth  Kanauts,1  double 
flys,  and  extending  verandahs,  can  possibly 
produce. 

The  tombs  we  have  decided  on  are  capital, 
they  are  twin  mausoleums  as  it  were,  so  we 
arrange  them  accordingly,  having  in  front  that 
handsome  range  of  domes  that  the  Emperor 
Mahomed  III.  caused  to  be  erected  over  the 
tooth,  which  pain,  and  ignorance  of  the  soothing 
effects  of  chloroform,  caused  him  to  have  ex- 
tracted.2 While  we  admire  and  wonder  at  this 

1  The  sides  of  a  tent.  2  A.D.  1324. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  141 

expenditure  of  masonry,  a  Taifa,  or  band  of 
Natch  people,  taking  the  expression  of  our 
smiling  observation  for  personal  encouragement, 
have  sat  down  so  exactly  in  front,  that  the  head 
of  the  gray-beard  with  the  tom-tom  has  fallen 
exactly  on  the  lens  of  our  camera  lucida,  so  we 
stroll  away  to  the  Old  Fort.  It  is  fortunate 
that  we  have  this  order  from  his  Highness  the 
Nizam,  or  we  could  never  see  this  strong  place 
after  all !  What  a  wonderful  mound  of  earth- 
work, and  wall,  and  bastion  it  is,  and  how  our 
Arab  steeds  scramble,  and  stumble,  and  recover 
themselves  again,  with  rein  on  neck,  till  they 
have  wound  round  and  round  the  roughly -paved 
outworks,  and  arrive  in  front  of  the  marvellously 
low  entrance  doorway.  It  is  scarcely  high 
enough  to  pass  under  without  stooping,  even 
when  we  have  dismounted.  Ah !  there's  the 
trick  of  it,  the  old  Mahratta  stronghold  of 
Deogurh1  had  not  repelled  so  long  and  so  often 
the  attacks  of  the  Moslem  emperors  of  Delhi 
but  for  such  stratagems  and  architectural  sur- 
prises as  we  shall  meet  with  here. 


1  House  of  the  God.  Deogurh  is  by  some  considered  to 
have  been  the  Tagara  of  Ptolemy.  The  first  notice  I  find  of 
Deogurh,  speaks  of  it  as  the  capital  of  a  Mahratta  chief  of  the 
Deckan,  called  Ramdeo,  in  1298. 


142 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


ENTRANCE    THROUGH    SCARP    TO    DOWLUTABAD. 

Although  the  Mogul  prince  Alia  so  reduced 
the  power  of  the  Mahratta  chief  of  Deogurh,  as 
to  compel  him  to  hold  his  country  as  a  depen- 
dency of  the  throne  of  Delhi,  still  it  was  only  in 
the  reign  of  Mahomed  III.  that,  charmed  with 
the  position  of  the  fort,  that  emperor  determined 
to  transplant  his  people  there  from  the  ancient 
capital,  and  gave  to  the  Old  Fort  the  modern 
title  of  Dowlutabad;  but  though  long  held,  it 
fell  into  the  hands  of  rebels,  Affghan  insurgents, 
and  then  followed  bloodshed,  insurrection, 
miseries  unspeakable,  until  1650,  about  when 
Futteh  Khan,  a  governor  under  the  Prince  of 
Ahmednugger,  rather  than  give  it  over  to  the 
King  of  Beejapore,  offered  it  to  Shah  Jehan. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  143 

Now,  Futteh  Khan,  like  a  child  who  stretches 
out  a  bit  of  cake  towards  its  nurse  in  a  moment 
of  generosity,  repented  of  his  act  and  drew  back 
accordingly — but  too  late.  Dowlutabad  was  a 
bit  of  cake  the  King  of  Delhi  experienced  a  great 
relish  for,  and  so  laid  siege  to  it;  but,  as  we 
shall  see  when  we  enter  it,  it  was  not  to  be 
easily  taken,  and  famine  from  within  effected 
what  no  outward  attack  could  compass. 

A  wonderful  place,  in  sooth,  is  this  great  forti- 
fication, on  a  detached  rock,  of  which  every  natural 
precipice  is  taken  advantage  of  for  some  work  of 
marvellous  strength,  that  strength  increased  by 
every  ingenious  device  of  Oriental  skill. 

The  Moslem  soldier,  our  cicerone,  however, 
seems  rather  tired  of  leaning  on  his  matchlock, 
and,  no  doubt,  thinks  that  our  rhapsodies  should 
have  an  end.  A  very  picturesque  person  he  is 
truly,  with  his  rhinoceros-hide  shield  bossed  with 
gold,  his  pouch  and  powder-flask  of  embroidered 
crimson  cloth,  his  green  turban,  and  waist-belt 
bristling  with  Creeses ;  and  as  he  is  just  the  sort 
of  man  it  would  be  better  to  have  as  a  friend 
than  an  enemy,  we  will  pass  forward  without 
further  parley. 

Having  achieved  the  outer  gate,  and  passed 
the  great  Wardlee  wallah1  by  the  ditch,  all  we 

1  A  gun,  so  called  from  its  having  a  ram's  head  at  the 
trunnion.  A  magnificent  piece  of  Mahomedan  work,  twenty- 
two  spans  in  length,  and  capable  of  carrying  a  12-lb.  ball. 


144 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


thought  would  be  easy.  Not  so ;  you  see  every 
irregularity  of  the  rock  must  be  ascended  and 
descended  by  steep  steps,  part  concealed  by 
brushwood,  in  which  lions  by  the  dozen  delight 
to  rest,  and  then  we  have  more  strong  works 
before  us,  and  the  narrowest  and  lowest  of  all 
possible  doorways.  "  Stoop,  stoop,  young  man," 
said  the  wise  Franklin  to  his  young  friend,  "  and 
both  in  the  world  and  in  the  gateways  you  will 
escape  many  hard  knocks ;"  so  we  shall  do  well 
to  stoop  in  this  great  Moslem  fortress,  for  many 
hard  knocks  must  the  besiegers  from  time  to 
time  have  had  before  us  here. 


OUTER    ENTRANCE    FROM    SCARP — DOWLUTABAD, 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


145 


There  is  a  cold  breeze  rushing  down  from 
above  us,  and  we  find  it  is  caused  by  a  large 
square  opening,  heading  a  flight  of  wide,  conve- 
nient stairs !  Ha,  ha !  another  trick ;  the  enemy, 
who  had  once  gained  an  entry  to  the  fort,  and 
arrived  thus  far,  thought  all  won;  with  shouts 
of  triumph  they  then  rushed  madly  on,  to  be  but 
cast  down  again,  with  yells  of  pain  and  anguish. 
Now,  we  see  those  heavy  gates  of  iron  resting 
against  the  wall ;  they  fit  this  opening ;  on  them 
lighted  wood  was  often  piled,  and  kept  blazing 
by  a  blast-hole  from  the  outer  bastion.  As  the 
soldiers  rushed  up  to  victory,  they  struck  their 
heads  against  this  burning  roof,  and  were  cast 


TRAP-DOOR DOWLUTABAD. 


146  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

pell-mell  back,  to  die  in  torments  in  the  castle 
ditch ! 

Now  we  have  gained  the  summit  of  the  fort, 
and  stand  beside  the  old  brass  Hindoo  gun,  over 
which  floats  the  green  flag  of  the  Moslem ; l  it  is 
supported  on  a  rickety  wooden  rest  that  stands 
on  a  circular  plateau  of  masonry,  and  here  the 
soldier  turns,  and  thinks  when  we  have  looked 
down  a  dismal  hole,  of  which  he  tells  many  tales 
of  men  lost,  and  of  Gins  and  Devis  seen,  that 
we  have  done  enough. 

So  we  have,  but  let  us  look  around  upon  the 
great  plain  below;  on  the  beautiful  Moslem 
tombs  of  divers  architecture,  on  the  fine  niangoe 
trees  grouped  around,  on  the  graceful  Minar 
rising  at  one  side  near  the  entrance  of  the  fort, 
and  on  the  little  hamlet  clustered  at  the  base. 
We  can  just  make  out  our  own  tombs  in  the 
distance,  with  the  cooking  tent  and  servants, 
who  seem  moving  to  and  fro,  as  if  preparing 
our  now  much-needed  evening's  refection;  we 
will  descend  then,  carefully  and  slowly,  and  now, 
once  more  upon  the  open  plain,  we  turn  again 
to  gaze  upon  this  wonderful  stronghold,  and  our 
melancholy  friend,  the  Persian  Moonshee,  seeing 


1  Bearing  the  following  inscription  in  Mahratta — "  This  gun 
was  made  at  Agra,  by  Mahomet  Hassan,  Arab ;  and  is  called 
-"  Dust  Exciter." 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


147 


us  do  so,  strokes  his  beard,  and  breaks  forth, 
after  his  manner,  with  a  sort  of  compliment, 
which,  though  it  does  not  sound  so  well  in 
English,  we  will  venture  to  transcribe-^- 

"  Whoever  has  travelled  is  approved — 

His  perfections  shall  be  reflected  as  from  a 

Mirror  of  light, 

There  can  be  nothing  more  pure  than  water, 

But  wherever  it  stagnates  it  becomes  offensive," 


THE  "  DUST  EXCITER. 


L2 


148  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE     SECRETARY. 

"  Give,  to  spend  the  classic  hour, 
One  deep  read  in  learned  lore ; 
One,  whose  merry,  tuneful  vein, 
Flows  like  our  gay  poet's  strain." 

Hafiz. 

WE  have  been  introduced  to  Mirza  All  Ackbar 
Khan  Bahadoor,  his  Highness's  attache^  dashing 
along  the  Strand  in  the  Meer's  carriage,  on  his 
return  from  some  notable  interview  with  the 
chiefs  of  the  English  bar;  we  can  now  take  a 
nearer  view  of  him  as  he  stands  behind  Meer 
Jafur  Alee's  chair,1  and  the  scrutiny  will  satisfy 
us  at  once  how  completely  the  countenance  is, 
in  this  case,  the  index  of  the  mind. 

When  his  Highness  Meer  Jafur  Alee  visited 
England  in  1844,  he  brought  in  his  suite  from 
Bombay,  an  English  gentleman,  who,  as  he  had 

1  Vide  frontispiece. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  149 

occupied  a  commercial  and  literary  position  at 
the  capital  of  Western  India,  his  Highness 
thought  a  fitting  person  at  once  to  advance  his 
claims  and  to  assist  his  introduction  to  society. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  Nawaub  of  Surat, 
as  he  was  called,  soon  proved  his  own  best  intro- 
duction. His  courtly  manners,  his  splendid 
costume,  the  interest  which  attached  to  his 
position  in  this  country,  soon  gave  to  his 
Highness  Meer  Jafur  Alee  an  entree  into  the 
first  society  of  London;  and,  although  he  was 
at  this  time  quite  unacquainted  with  the  English 
language,  interpreters  of  his  own  pure  and 
elegant  Persian  were  easily  found  among  several 
officers  of  the  Honourable  East  India  Company's 
service,  who  had  known  his  Highness  in  India, 
and,  being  warmly  attached  to  him,  felt  the 
greatest  possible  satisfaction  at  the  reception 
which  greeted  the  Meer  in  our  own  aristocratic 
and  courtly  circles. 

At  Windsor  and  St.  James's  his  Highness  was 
received  as  became  his  rank.  At  balls  and 
fetes,  dejeuners  and  fancy  fairs,  the  eye  of  beauty 
rested,  well  pleased,  upon  the  "Nawaub"  and 
his  richly  attired  suite.  Crowds  of  gaping  idlers 
thronged  every  street  in  which  the  carriage  of 
his  Highness  stopped,  in  hopes  of  seeing  him 
re-enter  it,  for  visions  of  oriental  costumes, 
with  an  abundant  use  of  gold,  Cashmere,  and 


150  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

the  primitive  colours,  were  not  so  common 
between  St.  John's  Wood,  Maida  Hill,  and 
Leadenhall  Street  in  those  days,  as  they  are 
now;  and,  even  at  the  Polish  ball,  the  brilliant 
dancers  of  Willis's  Rooms,  forgot  their  own 
braveries,  whether  of  Turk,  Greek,  or  Man- 
darin, to  gaze  upon  a  costume,  whose  very 
correctness  seemed  a  stumbling  block  in  the 
popular  belief.1 

His  Highness  returned  to  Bombay,  but  dis- 
appointment awaited  him  there,  and,  after  years 
of  anxiety,  and  that  hope  delayed  which  maketh 
the  heart  sick,  Meer  Jaiur  Alee  determined  to 
revisit  the  shores  of  England,  and,  on  this  occa- 
sion, was  accompanied  by  one  of  the  shrewdest 
of  all  shrewd  political  workmen,  and  the  subject 
of  our  "present  sketch — Mirza  Ali  Ackbar  Khan 
Bahadoor,  late  Moonshee  in  the  service  of  the 


1  The  receipt  for   making  an  "ugly   Christian"  into   a 

handsome   Mahomedan,   was,   some   many   years   ago,   very 

amusingly  given  by  Mr.  Horace  Smith,  in  the  New  Monthly, 

and  seemed  very  generally  tried  on  the  evening  in  question — 

"  I  made  myself  that  night  a  vow 

To  startle  all  beholders — 
I  wore  white  muslin  on  my  brow, 
Green  velvet  on  my  shoulders — 
My  trowsers  were  supremely  wide, 

I  learnt  to  swear  by  Allah  ! 
I  stuck  a  poignard  in  my  side, 
And  called  myself — Abdallah  !  " 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  151 

British  Government  in  Sindh.  At  present  his 
Highness  speaks  and  understands  English,  so 
that,  in  ordinary  society,  an  interpreter  is  not 
required,  but  Ali  Ackbar's  services  in  other 
ways  have  been  of  the  greatest  possible  value 
in  the  arrangement  of  his  Highnesses  claims. 

As  he  stands  there,  one  hand  resting  on  the 
chair  of  the  "Nawaub,"  the  Arab  Secretary, 
thoughtful  as  he  looks,  seems  fitted  better  for 
the  cabinet  than  the  camp,  and  yet  he  has  been 
a  warrior,  too,  and  has  earned  goodly  laurels. 
The  history  of  Ali  Ackbar' s  life  is  a  romance, 
glowing  with  tableaux  of  battles  by  flood  and 
field;  of  forays  with  border  chiefs;  of  single 
combat;  of  treacheries  'mid  murderous  bands; 
of  perilous  escapes  amongst  Beloochee  hordes ! 

The  present  chief  of  the  British  army  on  the 
shores  of  Persia,  called  him  his  friend  ;*  and  Sir 
Charles  Napier,  in  the  style  eminently  cha- 
racteristic of  that  hyperbolic  warrior,  observed, 
"  I  have  a  right  to  say  that  Ali  Ackbar  did  more 
for  the  conquest  of  Sindh  than  a  thousand 
soldiers  could  have  done."  This  speech  was 
made  after  dinner  at  the  Bycullah  Club,  but 
Ali  Ackbar  is,  in  truth,  a  brave  soldier ;  and  for 


1  Vide  the  letter  of  General  Outram  to  Ali  Ackbar,  when 
that  gentleman  was  employed  as  chief  Moonshee  to  the  Sindh 
agency. 


152  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

his  chivalrous  bearing,  his  undaunted  courage 
at  the  battle  of  Meeanee,  the  Governor- General 
of  India  bestowed  upon  him  his  title  of  Baha- 
door. 

Now,  as  we  admit  our  love  for  gossip,  it  is 
natural  we  should  like  to  know  exactly  who 
Mirza  Ali  Ackbar  Khan  is,  and  all  about  him, 
and  we  may  preface  the  chat  by  telling  the  non- 
oriental  reader  that  Mirza  Ali  Ackbar  are 
names,  Khan  and  Bahadoor,  titles.  Just  as  we 
have  our  Governors  of  Provinces  and  Com- 
manders of  the  Bath. 

Now  Ali  Ackbar  was  an  only  son.  Not  in 
general  an  enviable  position;  but  his  father, 
Mirza  Hassan,  who  was  employed  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  as  Moonshee  to  the  British 
resident  at  Bushire  (oh!  it  is  such  a  very 
hot  place,  Bushire),  not  only  saved  consider- 
able property  in  that  political  oven,  but  had 
the  wit  to  belong  to  the  Native  Education 
Society  in  Bombay,  at  whose  college,  when 
Mirza  Hassan  died,  Ali  Ackbar  was  placed  by 
his  guardian,  and  as  Ali  was  just  then  fourteen, 
the  very  blossoming  time  of  learning,  such 
forcing  and  culturing  ensued,  as  brought  forth 
marvellous  fruit  in  due  season. 

Soon,  Ali,  treading  in  his  father's  steps,  be- 
came also  that  very  important  person  at  native 
Durbars,  a  Persian  Moonshee,  and  was  identi- 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  153 

fied,  as  all  Moonshees  are,  with  the  appeals  of 
farmers,  the  quarrels  of  chiefs,  the  remon- 
strances of  the  taxed — with  yellow  paper,  reed 
pens,  and  ink  boxes  of  Chinese  lacquer  work. 

But  ability  soon  asserted  its  prerogative  of 
success.  When  Lord  Keane  forced  his  army 
through  the  difficult  defiles  of  the  Affghan 
mountains,1  where  the  scarped  rocks  of  the 
varied  passes  were  fringed,  as  it  were,  with  the 
armed  hordes  of  the  marauding  chiefs,  and  their 
matchlocks,  as  a  deadly  chevaux  de  frise,  were 
pointing  at  the  advancing  hosts,  Mirza  Ali 
Ackbar  was  appointed  on  the  general's  staff. 

Throughout  that  fearful  Caubool  campaign, 
with  pen  and  sword,  Ali  Ackbar  cut  his  way; 
in  the  Punjaub,  presents  from  the  Court  of 
Lahore  were  proffered  on  every  side,  and,  in 
acknowledgment  of  his  services,  the  Moonshee 
was  allowed  not  only  to  accept,  but  to  keep  them 
too.  No  common  boon  that,  as  the  reader  will 
admit,  if  he  has  ever  been  the  recipient  of  a 
splendid  matchlock,  a  superbly  chased  sword,  or 
a  magnificent  pair  of  shawls,  from  the  hand  of 
an  Eastern  Potentate,  and  then,  ere  he  has  had 
time  to  wonder  at  their  beauty,  or  rejoice  at 
their  value,  be  called  upon  to  send  them,  with- 
out delay,  to  the  Tosha  Khana,  or  Government 

1  In  1838. 


154  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

auction,  and  to  become  proxy  for  their  acknow- 
ledgment, his  hands  full  of  pistols  and  watches, 
and  the  smile  of  friendship  on  his  eyes,  while  his 
heart  was  still  yearning  for  the  forbidden  Cash- 
meres! Ali  Ackbar,  however,  kept  his  gifts, 
and  we,  for  our  part,  fully  appreciate  the  in- 
dulgence. We  can  see  them  now,  those  ex- 
quisitely delicate  French  gray  Cashmere  shawls, 
embroidered  in  silver,  that,  presented  on  the 
banks  of  the  classic  Indus,  were  so  soon  torn 
from  our  grasp,  and  cast  unrelentingly  into  the 
Tosha  Khana!  We  can  see  that  gazelle-eyed 
Arab,  his  sweeping  mane  worthy  of  Mazeppa, 
henna  stained,  after  the  manner  of  a  chieftain's 
horse,  and  plaited,  moreover,  with  golden 
threads,  we  can  see  even  him  led  away  to  the — 
Tosha  Khana!  The  bags  of  turquois —  the 
emerald  signets — the  embroidered  slippers — the 
caps,  like  bowls  of  gold — all  had  the  like  fate — 
all  and  each  of  these  tempting  hopes  were  ever 
rounded  by  the  Tosha  Khana ! 

There  were  not  only  gifts,  but  orders  bestowed 
upon  the  secretary  for  his  energetic  service. 
Lord  Ellenborough,  as  we  see,  gave  him  the  title 
of  "  Bahadoor,"  in  addition  to  the  pistols,  which 
seemed  symbolic  of  his  warlike  bravery  at 
Meeanee.  Lord  Gough  decorated  him  with  a 
Ghuzni  medal,  and  Colonel  Outram  writes  that 
he  "  had  never  witnessed  services,  by  any 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  155 

native  of  India,  more  zealous,  more  able,  or 
more  honest"  than  All  Ackbar's. 

We  have  our  great  dramatist's  word  for  the 
difficulty  there  is  of  escaping  calumny — Hamlet 
had  learned  that  philosophy  of  life.  We  know, 
too,  what  the  sacred  Syrian  writers  thought  of  the 
character  of  him  of  whom  all  men  speak  well !  We 
know  what  Sindh  and  its  campaign  did  for  us  in 
confusing  right  and  might,  good  and  evil ;  what 
public  and  private  disputes  arose  from  it;  what 
huge  differences  grew  out  of  it;  how  powerful 
became  expediency,  and  what  an  individual 
amount  of  suffering  tended  to  impede  the 
triumphant  progress  of  the  conqueror's  car! 
It  would  have  been  strange  had  these  clouds 
over  the  political  horizon  not,  in  some  way,  been 
attracted  by  a  point  so  prominent  as  that  of 
chief  Moonshee!  More  or  less,  consequently, 
Ali  Ackbar  has  been  distressed,  and  suffered; 
but  he  has  now  petitioned  the  Court  of  Directors, 
and,  when  fuller  evidence  is  before  the  Govern- 
ment of  India,  we  hope  that  the  secretary's 
many  friends  will  have  reason  to  rejoice  that 
the  prayer  of  his  memorial  is  heard. 

Ali  Ackbar  is  married,  his  wife  remaining  in 
Bombay.  He  has  two  sons,  of  the  respective 
ages  of  twelve  and  seven.  These  lads  he  pro- 
poses to  have  at  once  sent  home  for  education, 
his  nephew  being  already  a  student  in  the 


156  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

London  College.  No  one  knows  better  than 
All  Ackbar  the  value  of  learning,  although,  as 
he  admits,  his  own  advantages  have  been  gained 
in  a  university  that  no  student  ever  graduated 
in  without  success.  The  school  of  experience,  in 
the  East,  advances  the  most  entangled  and  diffi- 
cult problems,  and  he  must  have  a  clear  head 
indeed  who  works  them  satisfactorily  to  the  end. 
The  statesman,  fresh  from  European  courts,  sees 
perplexity  and  dismay  on  every  side,  and  were 
it  not  for  the  aid  of  the  old  civilian  of  half  a 
century's  standing,  and  the  clear-headed,  clever 
Moonshee,  that  is  ever  at  their  side,  few  of  the 
great  men  in  our  Indian  administration  would 
have  gathered  the  laurels  with  which  posterity 
adorns  their  brow. 

It  was  experience,  daily,  hourly  experience  of 
native  character  among  all  ranks,  that  formed 
the  great  and  noble  characters  of  Sir  Thomas 
Munro  and  the  Hon.  Mountstuart  Elphinstone; 
and  it  is  only  at  the  hands  of  such  men  as  these 
— men  skilled  in  the  languages  and  religions  of 
the  East,  and  blessed,  moreover,  with  natures 
abounding  with  human  sympathies  and  gentle 
charity,  that  the  people  of  India  can  ever  receive 
justice,  as  it  is  they  alone  who  can  understand 
the  characters  of  the  people  they  govern,  with- 
out the  necessity  of  any  distorting  medium. 

Mirza  Ali    Ackbar   has   all   the   strength  of 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  157 

frame  and  appreciation  of  the  humorous  which 
is  peculiar  to  the  Arab.  He  loves  a  jest  infi- 
nitely, and  the  quaintnesses  of  Persian  literature, 
the  punning  character  of  Oriental  epitaphs,  the 
involved  witticisms  of  Arabian  anecdotes,  find 
in  him  an  admirable  translator.  So  peculiarly 
characteristic  is  he  in  this  matter,  that  I  have 
sometimes  fancied  his  own  wit  has  out-ran  that 
of  his  author,  and  that  the  good  old  Persian  who 
indited  the  verses  over  the  saint's  tomb,  never 
had  a  notion  of  the  double  meaning  and  epi- 
grammatic point  given  to  them  by  Mirza  Ali. 

As  may  be  supposed,  the  secretary  is  an  ad- 
mirable logician,  and  few  could  withstand  him  in 
argument;  and  it  is  when  gathering  his  forces 
in  this  way,  that  Ali  Ackbar's  diplomatic  talents 
become  most  developed  to  the  looker-on. 

Often  have  I  seen  him,  since  his  arrival  in 
England,  awaiting  a  discussion  on  his  Highness 
Meer  Jafur's  interests,  in  presence  of  old  officers 
of  the  Indian  service,  civil  and  military,  while 
the  debate  was  to  turn  on  a  legal  opinion  given 
by  the  highest  authorities  in  the  land.  We  will 
suppose  the  tenor  of  the  argument  to  have  be- 
come adverse ;  the  Moonshee  sits  a  little  apart, 
looking  grave,  respectful,  grieved ;  a  momentary 
pause  ensues;  Ali  Ackbar  suddenly  moves  for- 
ward, he  presses  his  turban  slightly  from  his 


158  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

brow,  his  eyes  flash,  and  a  tide  of  argument,  of 
close  reasoning,  the  result  of  clear  and  intimate 
acquaintance  with  every  detail  of  his  subject,  is 
poured  forth,  with  a  pureness  of  accent,  a  cor- 
rectness of  expression,  and  a  careful  choice  of 
words,  which  must  have  startled  many,  unaware 
of  the  acquirements  and  abilities  of  the  class  so 
distinguishingly  represented  by  the  subject  of 
our  sketch;  for  truly,  as  Hafiz  has  it,  "  his  coun- 
sels are  like  Asaf  s  sage."1 

On  the  return  of  his  Highness  Meer  Jafur 
Alee  to  India,  it  is  understood  that  the  secretary 
does  not  accompany  him,  being  engaged  to  re- 
main in  England  on  some  affairs  of  importance. 
The  active,  intellectual  life  of  Europe~well  suits 
the  temperament  of  our  Moonshee,  and  his  con- 
stant association  with  English  character,  among 
the  officers  of  the  British  army  in  the  East, 
enables  him  to  understand  and  appreciate  it 
here,  while,  from  his  Arabian  origin,  Ali  Ackbar 
possesses  a  vigour  of  constitution  which  renders 
him  almost  insensible  to  fatigue,  whether  mental 
or  physical.  His  observation  is  keen,  and  has 
been  the  schoolmaster  of  his  judgment,  so  that 
his  opinions  of  men  and  acts  arise  out  of  the 


1  Asaf  was  the  minister  of  King  Solomon,  and  the  sound- 
ness of  his  policy  is  the  admiration  of  all  Moslems. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  159 

broad  principles  which  his  experience  has  taught 
him,  without  any  of  the  narrowing  prejudices 
that  might  be  supposed  to  influence  his  character 
as  an  Oriental.  The  theory  of  expediency  in 
all  its  shapes,  the  stimulus  of  self-interest,  he 
everywhere  expects,  inasmuch  as  he  has  been 
trained  in  a  school  where  both  were  common 
watchwords.  It  would  require  a  clever  diplo- 
matist indeed  to  outwit  the  secretary,  Mirza  Ali 
Ackbar,  although  his  courtesy  of  manner,  and 
yet  frank  address,  would  lead  to  the  impression 
that  distrust  was  impossible  to  him. 

This  high  polish  observable  in  the  manners  of 
Asiatics  is  eminently  remarkable ;  and  I  recol- 
lect being  particularly  impressed  by  it  in  the 
person  of  the  ex-chief  of  Sindh,  his  Highness 
Meer  Ali  Moorad,  also  now  in  England.  At  the 
time  I  speak  of,  this  nobleman  was  chief  of  Diji, 
a  stronghold  near  the  classic  Indus.  The  chief 
had  a  large  force  assembled  there,  and  we  passed 
over,  to  interchange  presents  at  his  Highness's 
camp.  Had  Meer  Ali  Moorad  been  the  most 
accomplished  gentleman  at  the  most  polished 
court  in  Europe,  had  his  time  passed  entirely  with 
the  gay,  the  beautiful,  and  the  learned,  amidst 
poets,  painters,  and  wits,  the  influence  on  his  man- 
ners could  not  have  produced  a  bearing  more  per- 
fectly elegant  and  courteous — what  the  circum- 


160  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

stances  which  followed  may  have  produced  I  am 
not  prepared  to  record ;  and  this  instance  is  only 
given  to  show,  that  men  in  almost  desert  lands, 
surrounded  by  bands  of  wild  soldiery,  and  apart, 
as  it  would  seem,  from  all  civilizing  means,  may 
yet,  perhaps,  by  reason  of  climatic  influences, 
possess,  to  a  remarkable  degree,  that  ease, 
suavity,  and  grace  of  manner  which  we,  as  a 
race  certainly  not  distinguished  for  our  courtesies, 
imagine  to  result  only  from  a  highly-trained  in- 
tellect and  carefully  cultivated  tastes. 

Talking  of  Moonshees  always  suggests  the 
peculiarity  of  epistolary  correspondence  in  the 
East ;  of  the  wonderfully  long  slips  of  paper  that 
are  covered  with  curved  characters,  sprinkled 
with  gold  dust,  enclosed  in  an  envelope  of  em- 
broidered satin,  then  passed  into  a  muslin  case 
carefully  tied  and  sealed,  and  protected  by  a 
huge  strip  of  paper  on  the  side,  with  a  most 
elaborate  direction.  I  asked  Ali  Ackbar  one 
day  if  such  letters  were  ever  sent  from  India  to 
the  Meer's  party  here,  and  he  said,  "Oh,  yes! 
sometimes."  What  a  wondrous  affair  one  of 
these  missives  must  appear  to  the  penny  post- 
man !  How  he  must  look  at  it,  and  turn  it  over, 
and  get  confused  ideas  of  the  seven  men  of  the 
mountain,  and  Ricket  with  the  Tuft,  and  the 
Princess  Sheherazade,  and  Sinbad  the  Sailor, 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  161 

with  Kobinson  Crusoe,  and  a  hundred  other 
juvenile  studies ;  and  how  he  must  wonder" what 
is  the  meaning  of  all  those  dots,  and  curves,  and 
crooked  little  marks  before  him !  and  how  much 
more  surprised  he'd  be  to  see  the  way  in  which 
the  letter  is  composed,  with  all  that  wonderful 
hyperbolical  preface,  and  the  wee,  wee  bit  of  fact 
at  the  end — a  letter  on  business  too ;  and  how 
he  would  marvel  could  he  see  the  great  reed  pen 
that  formed  the  delicate  characters  moving  from 
right  to  left,  and  the  writing  on  the  knee,  with 
the  odd  way  of  smearing  Indian  ink  over  the 
signet,  to  gain  the  clear  impression,  which 
should  stand  as  "  my  mark,"  and  the  authority 
of  the  great  man,  who,  possibly,  cannot  write 
himself.  Poor  benighted  postman!  what  won- 
ders, what  agonies,  what  hopes,  pass  daily 
through  his  hands,  and  'tis  only  such  a  chance 
missive  as  this  one,  all  gold  and  satin,  from  far 
Surat,  that  leads  him  to  question  for  a  moment, 
or  to  slacken  his  mechanical  career. 

And  here,  as  we  are  talking  of  the  pen  and  its 
labours,  with  secretaries  and  so  on,  chatting 
together  about  knowledge  and  its  influences  in 
various  forms,  the  reader  may  be  amused,  as  I 
was,  if  I  end  this  gossip  with  a  quaint  saying, 
gathered  from  an  unpublished  Persian  book, 
which  Mirza  All  Ackbar  himself  was  good 

M 


162 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


enough  to  translate  to  me  but  the  other  day; 
it  runs  thus : — 


"  If  a  person  knows,  and  knows  that  he  knows, 

He'll  pass  a  very  happy  life ; 
If  a  person  does  not  know,  and  knows  that  he  does  not  know, 

He'll  pass  a  very  tolerable  life  ; 

But  if  a  person  does  not  know,  and  does  not  know  that  he 
does  not  know, 

He'll  pass  a  very  miserable  life." 

An  ingenious  bit  of  philosophy  enough,  and  very 
characteristic. 


SIMPSON  &  .C°IJTH. 


VI  N  Dl  A        P  U  RDA  SI. 

(MANGOE  SELLER)      VFROM  LIFE) 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  163 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  GOLDEN  APPLES  OF  THE  HESPEEIDES. 

"  See  !   the  knotted  clusters  shine 
In  the  gaily  spangled  glade." 

Hafiz. 

THESE  I  firmly  believe  to  have  been  mangoes ; 
and  any  one  who  had  ever  tasted  one  of  those 
freshly  brought  to  his  Highness  Meer  Jafur's 
house  day  by  day,  borne  in  a  light  bamboo 
basket  on  the  head  of  the  pretty  fruit-seller 
Vindia  Purdasi,  will  not  only  be  inclined  to 
agree  with  me,  but  consider  those  dragons  as 
much  to  be  envied,  who  formed  the  guard  of 
honour  to  fruit  so  worthy  the  banquet  of  the 
gods. 

Eggs,  oranges,  and  mangoes  had  best  be 
eaten  u  privately,  alone."  And,  as  we  write,  we 
can  again  fancy  we  see  the  luxuriating  old 
Bombay  civilian  on  a  hot  morning,  with  his 
sleeves  tucked  above  his  elbows,  a  tub  of  water 

M  2 


164  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

between  his  knees,  a  wicker  basket  on  one 
side,  and  a  deliciously-flavoured  Alplionso  man- 
goe  between  his  lips,  with  the  yellow  juice 
streaming  away  in  all  directions,  his  own  face 
reminding  one  of  the  melon-eating  boys  of 
Murillo,  only,  that  our  hero  is  somewhat  of 
longer  standing  in  the  service.  The  great  stone 
in  the  centre  of  the  mangoe  is  a  sad  stumbling- 
block  to  beginners,  but  after  a  while,  facial  con- 
tortions decrease,  and  ingenuity  supplies  a 
remedy. 

Much  of  the  property  in  Western  India  con- 
sists of  plantations,  or  "  topes"  of  mangoe  trees, 
and  mangoes  and  tamarinds  being  considered  as 
the  fruits  dedicated  to  the  ladies  in  all  marriages, 
they  take  up  a  considerable  position  in  the  settle- 
ment of  dowry. 

There  are  no  less  than  thirty  different  kinds 
of  mangoes,  as  puzzling  as  geraniums  are  with 
us,  but  the  Alphonso,  the  Mazagon,  and  the 
Raspberry,  are  the  most  esteemed.  Mangoe- 
trees  live  wonderful  lives — quite  patriarchal. 
There  is  a  Mazagon  mangoe-tree  that  was 
brought  from  the  Portuguese  settlement  of  Goa 
about  three  hundred  years  ago,  still  living  in 
that  "Camberwell"  of  Bombay,  and  thriving 
too,  with  a  right  cheerful  countenance,  notwith- 
standing the  "  old  party  "  that  he  is !  One  is 
almost  apt  to  forget  the  birth  of  such  very  long- 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  165 

lived  individuals,  but  the  origin  is  thus:  the 
stone  of  a  mangoe  is  planted — good ;  when  the 
plant  springing  therefrom  is  four  years  old,  it  is 
grafted  with  a  fine  tree,  after  which,  each  suc- 
ceeding year  it  bears  fruit  for  twelve  years. 
Beyond  this  period  the  produce  gradually  de- 
creases. If  the  plant  is  allowed  to  attain  its  full 
size  without  grafting,  it  will  not  bear  fruit  until 
it  is  twelve  years  old,  but  every  year  the  pro- 
duce is  finer,  both  in  the  flavour  and  size  of  the 
fruit ;  still  the  best  mangoe  is  produced  from  the 
graft. 

His  Highness  had  some  mangoes  sent  home 
from  Bombay,  hanging  over  the  stern  of  the 
steamer  up  the  Red  Sea,  and  Gunter  made  ice 
thereof,  and  we  ate  the  same  rejoicingly  in  Upper 
Gloucester  Place,  and  the  flavour  was  as  good 
as  that  of  the  fresh  mangoe  brought  to  Girgaum 
House  on  the  head  of  little  Vindia  Purdasi, 
mangoe-seller  and  smile-dispenser  to  the  house- 
hold generally. 

In  Bombay  also,  his  Highness  ate  mangoes  for 
dessert;  and  we  had  there  ices  of  it  too,  in 
change  with  guava  and  pine-apple,  and  very 
pleasant  these  Indian  fruits  are  when  wellfrappe 
with  American  ice,  notwithstanding  good  Bishop 
Heber's  criticisms  thereon.  Dessert  always 
seems  useless,  except  for  the  purposes  of  chit- 
chat, and  especially  so  in  India  at  a  native 


166  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

dinner,  but  in  the  months  of  June  and  July, 
when  mangoes  are  ripe,  and  twenty  for  a  rupee, 
they  are  not  to  be  despised. 

Perhaps  the  reader  has  never  been  to  a  Mos- 
lem's dinner,  and  so  can't  judge ;  gladly,  therefore, 
we  place  our  experiences  at  his  service.  Some 
Moslems  take  three  meals  a  day,  after  this 
manner;  they  breakfast  at  eight,  dine  at  one, 
and  again  sup  at  eight.  Some,  two  meals  suf- 
fice ;  this  class  breakfast  at  ten  in  the  morning, 
and  dine  at  eight.  His  Highness  Meer  Jafur, 
when  I  was  with  him  in  India,  took  but  one 
meal  in  the  twenty-four  hours,  and  this  was 
served  at  mid-day. 

It  is  customary  to  spread  a  table-cloth  on  the 
floor,  and  when  dinner  is  ready,  the  head  servant 
goes  into  the  room  where  the  guests  are  assem- 
bled and  says,  "Bismillah"  (In  the  name  of 
God) ;  this  is  repeated  as  a  grace.  The  com- 
pany then  bathe  their  hands,  and,  sitting  round 
the  table,  the  dinner  is  served  (the  Moslems  use 
silver  plates,  the  Hindoos  leaves).  Several 
kinds  of  bread  are  then  brought,  leavened  and 
unleavened,  some  plain,  some  prepared  with 
butter,  almonds,  and  so  on.  The  dinner  is 
varied :  there  is  Pillau-kooshka,  or  rice  plain 
boiled  with  a  little  butter;  Salna  (curry); 
Nahadi  (spiced  meat) ;  a  great  variety  of  acid 
and  sweet  confectionary;  "  Burfee,"  from  Surat, 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  167 

made  of  milk  and  flour;  "  Hulwa,"  very  like  the 
Turkish  Rah-huk-la-koom,  from  Muscat;  and 
then,  sherbets,  lemon,  orange,  rose,  &c.,  &c.,  im- 
possible to  describe.1  Then  follows  another 
grace,  and  the  hands  are  again  washed.  The 
table-napkins  are  so  pretty !  the  rich  embroidery 
with  the  gold  and  silver  fringes,  and  the  coloured 
silks — it 's  like  the  phylacterie  of  a  high  priest 
of  the  temple  of  Solomon ;  and  yet  it  all  washes, 
just  as  if  it  were  no  better  than  ordinary  diaper. 
Ah !  that  Indian  washing  is  a  great  mystery — 
colours  never  run  there ;  from  a  Cashmere  shawl 
to  a  gold-embroidered  table-napkin  everything 
washes  and  is  refreshed ;  the  river  and  its  stones 
being  its  sole  appliances. 

These  dinners  of  great  men,  however,  are 
more  savoury  than  wholesome  we  suspect,  and 
"  the  preserved  bamboo  "  holds  a  sort  of  rod  in 
pickle  for  many  a  poor  dyspeptic;  but  then 
there  is  the  family  physician  to  set  all  right 
again ;  and  as  dear  old  Budr-oo-deen,  the  Escu- 
lapius  of  his  Highness  Meer  Jafur  Alee,  was,  as 
I  have  said,  an  especial  friend  and  favourite  of 

1  Soup  and  fish  are  seldom  eaten.     The  Moslems  of  India 
also  avoid  what  Dr.  Kitchener  calls — 
"That  surly  elf, 
Digesting  all  things  but  itself." 

But  the  Turks  and  Persians  always  finish  dinner  with  cream 
cheese. 


168  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

mine,  I  should  like  to  present  him  in  a  sort  of 
Daguerreotype  sketch,  taken  as  I  saw  him  when 
we  were  together  living  in  the  society  of  his 
Highness,  at  our  old  house  in  the  Girgaum 
Woods. 

THE  FAMILY  PHYSICIAN, 

was  a  small  man,  very ;  yet  exceedingly  pomp- 
ous withal,  as  small  men  generally  are  in  all 
countries;  his  costume  consisted  of  a  white 
calico  body  coat,  a  huge  cotton  turban,  and  a 
narrow  spotted  muslin  scarf  that  he  wore  round 
his  neck,  the  ends  depending  to  the  turned-up 
toes  of  his  green  morocco  slippers,  while  on  his 
little  finger  was  an  enormous  emerald  signet, 
engraven  with  his  name  and  titles  in  Arabic 
characters.  Had  the  gem  been  a  solid  unflawed 
emerald,  it  would  have  been  fit  to  be  promoted 
as  a  crown  jewel,  or  would  doubtless  have  been 
bought  up  fresh  from  the  mine  for  the  great 
peacock  throne  of  the  Delhi  sovereigns;  but 
"  general  effect "  being  the  object  cared  for  in 
the  East,  this  decoration  of  the  worthy  Hakeem's 
was  like  most  such — a  thin  plating,  as  it  were, 
of  gem  on  a  glittering  foundation  of  very  suffi- 
cient tin,  but  it  answered  the  purpose^  and  looked 
of  wondrous  brightness  whenever  the  worthy 
man  stroked  his  beard,  and  of  course  added 
very  much  to  the  influence  of  his  "Bismillahs" 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  169 

on  all  around;  and  all  around  both  loved  and 
reverenced  our  Hakeem  beyond  description:  to 
them,  his  wisdom,  his  learning,  his  grace,  his 
courage  stood  unrivalled,  and  whether  his  noble 
employer  was  considered,  the  ladies  of  the 
Hareeni,  the  Jemidar  or  butler,  down  to  the 
grooms,  and  even  the  little  barber,  with  his 
cunning  eyes,  compact  bundle,  and  parti -coloured 
jacket,  in  the  heart  of  all  and  each  rested  that 
degree  of  awe,  which  the  reputation  for  sur- 
passing knowledge  is  sure  to  awaken. 

We  have  imagined  the  costume  of  Budr-oo- 
deen,  but  not  his  eyes,  and  they  indeed  seemed 
to  form  the  idiosyncrasy  of  the  man.  Never 
were  seen  such  eyes.  They  were  gray  in  colour, 
consequently  lighter  than  his  complexion — a 
fact  which  gave  them  a  strangely  glassy  and 
glaring  appearance;  they  seemed,  moreover,  to 
have  no  speculation  in  them,  and  they  rolled  in 
their  sockets  with  so  wonderful  an  organic 
mechanism,  that  'twas  little  marvel  the  people 
believed  he  could  look  into  futurity,  for  one 
could  easily  fancy  he  could  look  into  anything 
with  eyes  that  seemed  to  make  an  entire  revolu- 
tion in  their  orbits  every  time  he  spoke;  this 
singular  action  forming,  as  it  were,  with  the 
Hakeem  Budr-oo-deen,  what  a  capital  letter  does 
in  writing — the  sign  of  the  commencement  of  a 
fresh  sentence. 


170  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

As  a  teller  of  stories  (not  as  a  story-teller,  for 
I  believe,  except  when  he  spoke  of  the  miracles 
of  Mahomed,  his  veracity  was  unimpeachable), 
Budr-oo-deen  was  a  perfect  Feramorz,  and,  after 
the  evening  meal,  when  the  rich  Persian  carpet 
was  spread  in  the  moonlight  that  streamed 
through  the  plumed  heads  of  the  tall  palm  trees 
into  the  perfumed  garden,  shouts  of -laughter 
and  exclamations  of  the  most  intense  delight 
would  ring  from  the  circle  of  which  Budr-oo- 
deen  was  the  centre,  and  Kaliuns  grew  cold,  and 
the  sherbet  was  untasted,  while  the  skilful 
raconteur  fascinated  his  audience  with  impromptu 
tales,  of  kings  who  turned  religious  mendicants, 
wandering  over  the  earth  seeking  food  and 
adventures  where  they  might  be  found,  and  of 
those  little  hareem  fracas,  so  common  where 
some  hundred  and  fifty  ladies  are  each  deter- 
mined to  support  her  own  individual  right! 
Far  into  the  night  did  these  merry  mimicries 
extend,  and  the  imaginative  powers  of  the 
entertaining  Hakeem  seemed  never  to  desert 
him. 

One  of  the  chief  merits  of  Oriental  fiction 
consists  in  its  general  absence  of  all  plot,  so 
that  the  narrative  may  be  continued  at  any  time, 
or  renewed  at  any  interval,  a  quaint  conceit  or 
an  absurd  adventure  fitting  one  niche  in  the 
compartment  of  a  story  as  well  as  another. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  171 

The  audience,  too,  lose  little  in  these  cases ;  the 
raconteur  continues  hour  after  hour  with  un- 
bated  breath,  and  the  listeners  come  and  go,  as 
their  occupations  may  require ;  one  man  strolls 
away  to  refill  his  Kaliun,  another  to  bathe  his 
head,  a  groom  to  feed  his  horse,  yet,  on  the 
return  of  each,  nothing  seems  to  have  been 
missed,  for  the  story  proceeds  with  equal  in- 
terest, whether  at  the  first,  second,  or  third  part 
thereof,  thus  bearing  no  resemblance  to  a 
modern  novel. 

And  then  the  riding  of  our  Hakeem  !  in 
sooth  he  was  a  very  Roostum.  In  all  the 
Guicwar's  cavalry,  I  question  if  a  rider  of  them 
all,  regular  or  irregular,  could  have  matched  him, 
by  many  a  bound,  and  prance,  and  curvet.  There 
was  a  gray,  large-boned  colt,  a  wild,  unbroken 
creature,  fresh  from  the  Arab  stables,  with  a 
wicked  eye,  a  heavy  shoulder,  an  unformed 
mouth,  and  a  back-lying  ear ;  the  Hakeem 
thought  these  things  rather  in  the  creature's 
favour,  as  they  promised  necessity  for  greater 
skill  in  the  equestrian,  and  he  rejoiced  thereat 
in  grave  and  solemn  triumph.  So  soon  as  the 
sun  was  shaded  by  the  feathery  palms,  the  iron- 
gray  came  forth,  held  by  two  grooms,  each  of 
whom  had  long  been  satisfied,  according  to  the 
eastern  belief  in  transmigration,  that  the  soul  of 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  favourites  of  Siva 


172  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

(the  destroyer)  was  incarcerated,  and  having  its 
wicked  will,  in  this  same  pleasant  steed.  So  a 
sharp  Mahratta  bit  was  placed  in  his  mouth — a 
contrivance  much  resembling  the  barrel  of  a 
musical  box;  his  head  was  tied  almost  to  his 
knees  with  a  standing  martingale  of  crimson 
rope,  strong  enough  to  have  pulled  the  alarum 
bell  at  the  market-place  at  Naples,  and  stirrups 
dangled  from  the  well- quilted  demi-pique  saddle, 
much  like  the  sole  of  a  shoe  set  round  with 
spikes. 

After  much  delay,  during  which  the  iron-gray 
spurred  his  sides  and  cut  his  mouth,  as  the 
smallest  excitement  inevitably  caused  him  to  do, 
thereby  rendering  him  momentarily  more  vin- 
dictive, our  Hakeem  would  come  forth,  and 
with  him  all  the  servants  of  the  family,  filled 
with  wonder  and  admiration,  anticipatory  of  the 
coming  show.  And  then  our  friend  would 
mount,  and  sit  for  a  moment  in  dead  calmness, 
not  as  if  he  were  about  not  to  enjoy  healthful 
and  vigorous  exercise,  but  to  do  a  deed  of 
desperate  purpose ;  his  eyes  the  while  rolling,  as 
only  Budr-oo-deen's  can  roll,  and  then,  with  a 
dash  of  the  stirrups  against  the  sides  of  poor 
Bucephalus,  away  flew  horse  and  rider,  like  an 
arrow  from  a  bow.  In  a  second  the  creature 
was  almost  pulled  upon  his  haunches  by  the 
cruel  Mahratta  bit,  and  then  came  the  grand 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  173 

spena  of  the  piece.  By  right  application  of  the 
hand  and  heel,  the  animal  bounded,  leaped,  and 
turned,  on  a  space  incredibly  small,  and  then 
again  rushed  madly  forward,  scattering  the 
dust  about  him,  until  rider  and  steed  were  both 
obscured. 

Then  the  Hakeem  would  turn  the  iron-gray, 
at  a  hand-gallop,  round  every  palm  tree  in  the 
plantation,  avoiding  water  vessels  and  Kaliuns 
with  wondrous  dexterity,  much  as  one  has  seen 
accomplished  waltzers  practise  with  selected 
chairs  as  the  centre  of  their  circles.  And  then 
the  lookers-on  would  cry  "Shah  bash!"  (well 
done),  and  the  water-carrier's  little  bullock,  who 
had  been  long  intently  looking  on,  would  grow 
excited  too,  and,  slipping  off  the  half-filled 
water-bags,  canter  away  himself  into  the  woods, 
doing  infinite  mischief,  and  causing  much  shriek- 
ing from  the  fair  Parsee  women,  bearing  their 
well-balanced  water  vessels  from  the  neighbour- 
ing Koor  (open  well). 

After  an  hour  so  passed,  our  Hakeem  would 
brink  back  his  panting  steed  and  receive  the 
unqualified  expressions  of  admiration  from  the 
lookers-on.  Day  by  day  would  he  repeat  the 
exercise,  never,  by  any  chance,  going  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  shrubbery  and  grounds,  or 
mounting  any  steed  but  that  wicked  iron-gray ! 
In  due  time  the  animal  had  his  mane  dyed  a 
brilliant  crimson,  to  match  his  saddle,  by  means 


1  74  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

of  henna,  a  rule  for  the  horses  of  all  great  men, 
and  his  mane  was  plaited  with  red  silk  and 
white  shells,  and  a  blue  thread  was  tied  round 
his  throat,  to  keep  off  the  evil  eye,  equivalent  to 
the  horse-shoe  on  an  English  stable  door,  to 
ensure  the  preference  of  witches  for  broomsticks 
over  hunters  for  their  moonlight  rides ;  en  bref,  the 
iron-gray  was  considered  trained.  After  which  he 
was  led  about  for  exercise  with  the  general  stud, 
the  grooms,  however,  as  the  result  of  their  own 
private  opinions,  always  leading  him  in  couples, 
each  bearing  a  stout  bamboo. 

But,  if  the  reputation  of  the  family  physician 
stood  high  as  a  horseman,  how  infinitely  higher 
was  his  celebrity  as  an  astrologer!  By  this, 
indeed,  was  he  sovereign  lord  of  all,  for  nothing 
in  the  household  could  be  done  with  comfort, 
unless  Budr-oo-deen  declared  the  hour  auspi- 
cious. I  do  not  think  a  servant  in  the  house 
would  have  had  his  hair  cut  or  his  moustachios 
trimmed  without  consulting  the  Hakeem;  if  a 
rich  curry  disagreed  with  a  luckless  epicure, 
everybody  knew  he  had  eaten  it  at  an  unlucky 
hour;  if  a  horse  fell  lame,  it  was  evident  to  all 
that  the  Hakeem  had  not  been  consulted  when 
the  Nalbund  (farrier)  shod  him ;  and  when  it  was 
necessary  for  his  noble  friend  to  pay  a  visit  of 
ceremony,  or  one  connected  materially  with  his 
interests,  the  Hakeem  was  invisible  for  hours, 
pondering  over  his  horoscope ;  and  I  have  been 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  175 

frequently  diverted  by  watching  the  horses 
champing  their  bits,  the  party  in  full  dress,  and 
all  patiently  waiting  till  the  Hakeem  was  pleased 
suddenly  to  announce  the  arrival  of  the  aus- 
picious moment,  when  a  hurried  rush  was  made 
to  the  carriage  door,  the  coachmen  and  grooms 
mounted  with  a  simultaneous  movement,  the 
people  vigorously  cheered,  and  the  cortege 
dashed  forth  to  fulfil  the  prognostications  at- 
tending the  lucky  hour !  And,  strangely  enough, 
there  never  appeared  any  dissatisfaction  in  the 
matter,  all  that  happened  was  considered  right, 
and  "whatever  is,  is  best,"  was  ever  the  contented 
feeling  after  a  particularly  serious  attention 
to  the  effects  of  the  Hakeem's  astrological 
inquiries.1 

Budr-oo-deen  was  a  good  Mahomedan,  too, 
and  studied  the  Koran  daily,  and  prayed  five 
times  a  day,  with  all  the  varied  attitudes  and 
genuflexions  proper  to  be  observed,  and  he  knew 
all  the  miracles  of  the  Koran  by  heart,  and  a 
thousand  others,  of  the  ridiculous  kind,  that  Mos- 
lem traditions  have  appended  to  the  acts  of  Ma- 
homed, quite  unworthy,  as  they  are,  of  the  cha- 
racter of  that  earnest  and  clever  man.  And  the 
Hakeem  knew  some  verses  of  the  Koran  by  rote, 
and  repeated  them  at  times  with  great  unction, 

1  It  must  be  understood  that  his  Highness  did  not,  by  any 
means,  yield  to  this  credulity  of  his  household. 


176  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

stroking  his  beard  the  while,  and  wagging  his 
head  from  side  to  side,  in  a  fashion  worthy  the 
Moollah  of  the  Jumma  Musjid  (Friday  Mosque) 
himself;  but  if  he  could  not  scribble  margins 
full  of  little  Persian  annotations,  as  his  friend 
the  Moonshee  did  all  day  in  the  back  verandah, 
nor  write  sonnets  descriptive  of  the  houris  and 
fountains  of  Paradise,  as  an  idle  young  poet  did, 
who  lounged  about  the  house,  and  won  the 
sobriquet  of  Hafiz,  yet  still,  setting  the  Moon- 
shee on  one  side,  the  Hakeem  certainly  was  a 
miracle  of  religious  learning.  He  earnestly 
desired  to  go  to  Mecca,  not  for  anything  to  be 
seen  or  learnt  there,  but  with  a  vague  idea  it 
was  a  proper  thing  to  do. 

He  was  remarkable  for  not  having  a  particle 
of  observation;  and  although,  as  forming  part 
of  his  Highness  Meer  Jafur's  suite  on  his  visit 
to  England  in  1844,  Budr-oo-deen  had  abso- 
lutely been  in  London,  he  knew  little  enough  of 
Frangistan,  for  though  it  was  in  the  dog-days, 
and  in  a  peculiarly  hot  summer,  he  remained 
with  closed  shutters  during  the  four-and- twenty 
hours,  smoking  a  Kaliun  on  a  Persian  prayer 
carpet,  and  rolling  his  eyes  with  much  apparent 
agony  at  a  little  floating  wick  in  a  tumbler  of 
oil ;  breathing,  as  he,  poor  exile !  thought,  some- 
thing of  the  atmosphere  of  Hindostan.  Poor 
man !  no  one  who  has  never  enjoyed  the  freedom 
of  the  East,  of  a  life  passed  in  the  open  air, 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  177 

surrounded  by  the  glad  sunshine,  which  casts  on 
all  around  it  that  unimaginable  glory  which 
must  be  seen  to  be  understood ; — no  one  who  has 
never  felt  the  exquisite  freshness  of  the  morning 
air  in  the  tropics,  nor  gazed  on  the  bright  "  star 
galaxies"  of  the  "deep  blue  noon  of  night" — 
who  has  never  experienced  the  delicious  effects 
of  the  climate  of  the  East  in  conferring  physical 
enjoyment,  and  lulling  all  care  to  rest — who  has 
never  gazed  on  faces  animated  with  the  intense 
interest  produced  by  Eastern  story,  or  the  eager- 
ness of  social  intercourse — can  judge  of  what  the 
Asiatic  must  feel  in  our  cold  land,  caged  in  an 
apartment  scarcely  large  enough,  as  he  feels,  for 
a  bath-room,  pressed  on  by  an  atmosphere  of 
clouds,  chilled  into  torpor  by  the  climate,  and 
receiving  the  ideas  of  commonplace  existence,  in 
exchange  for  his  poetic  dreams  and  traditionary 
story,  which,  fantastic  as  they  often  are,  yet  are 
filled  with  sunshine  and  splendour,  with  the 
glitter  of  spears  and  minarets,  with  sparkling 
fountains,  with  Houris  brighter  than  the  gems 
of  Samarchand! 

It  was  little  marvel,  then,  that  poor  old  Budr- 
oo-deen  preferred  to  revel  in  his  dreams  of 
distant  India,  rather  than  to  gaze  forth  on  smoky 
London,  or  that  the  Hakeem's  eyes  rolled  with 
some  pleasure,  inexpressive  as  they  are,  when 

N 


178  ^HE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

he  found  himself  once  more  seated  beneath  the 
feathery  palms  of  his  beloved  land. 

The  family  physician,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a 
man  of  rare  accomplishment,  but,  strange  to 
say,  of  the  healing  art  he  was  profoundly 
ignorant.  He  divided  all  diseases  into  "hot 
and  cold."  Remedies  he  never  attempted,  and 
the  sufferers  either  wore  out  the  disease  with 
patience,  or  used  the  simplest  aids  that  pleased 
them ;  the  Hakeem  merely  advising  them  of  the 
most  auspicious  hours  for  their  adoption.  Thus 
a  man  with  a  violent  headache  would  smear  his 
forehead  with  lime  and  water,  which,  tightening 
as  it  dried,  relieved  the  pain ;  or  he  would  tie  a 
blue  thread  round  each  wrist  for  rheumatism,  or 
bind  a  fresh  plantain  leaf  on  the  head  for  fever ; 
he  would,  if  attacked  by  lumbago  or  cholera,  sear 
himself  with  a  hot  iron,  as  a  farrier  would  ope- 
rate on  a  horse,  or  perhaps  he  would  patiently 
excavate  an  offending  tooth  with  a  rusty  nail — 
it  was  all  quite  immaterial  to  the  family  physi- 
cian. He  wished  them  better,  gave  them  lucky 
hours,  rolled  his  eyes  most  wonderfully,  but 
never  attempted  to  bring  his  knowledge  of 
mater ia  medica,  or  his  skill  as  a  surgeon- dentist 
to  bear  upon  the  facts. 

The  monsoon  had  set  in,  and  it  was  wet  and 
cold,  and  some  native  friends  suffered  severely 
from  rheumatism.  Budr-oo-deen  solemnly  an- 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  179 

nounced  that  tlie  sufferings  had  arisen  from 
eating  Guava  ices,  and  the  ice  confectioner  was 
half  ruined  in  consequence,  for  he  depended  on 
the  Mahomedan  gentry  of  Bombay  for  consuming 
his  consignment  of  ice  before  the  arrival  of  the 
next  American  ship.  On  one  occasion,  I  recol- 
lect, a  boy  in  my  service  was  taken  alarmingly 
ill,  by  reason  of  having  eaten  some  six  pounds 
of  Muscat  dates,  landed  from  an  Arab  boat 
rather  the  worse  for  their  voyage,  and  in  much 
anxiety  I  appealed  to  Budr-oo-deen  for  remedies. 
His  face  of  wonder  I  shall  long  remember.  I 
mentioned  half-a-dozen  drugs  in  vain.  The  old 
man  smiled,  salaamed,  and  rolled  his  eyes;  the 
boy  writhed  and  screamed  with  agony. 

"  Had  he  any  opium?"  I  asked,  at  last. 

"  Oh,  yes !  Affeem  in  plenty." 

"  Could  the  family  physician  weigh  or  measure 
it  in  solution?" 

"  By  the  beard  of  the  Prophet  he  could  not." 

So,  as  a  matter  of  mere  chance  we  gave  the 
lad  a  great  pill  of  opium,  and  he  recovered  to  fill 
the  people  with  gratitude  and  wonder  at  the 
skill  of  the  family  physician. 

The  East  is  a  favoured  land.  We  see  worked 
out  among  its  people  and  in  its  scenes  the  great 
truth  of  all  creation,  that  happiness  and  physical 
enjoyment  is  the  rule,  suffering  and  pain  the 
casual  exception.  In  the  East  the  effect  of  cli- 

N  2 


180  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

mate  itself  is  to  produce  a  quiet  consciousness 
of  physical  enjoyment,  and  to  lull  the  mind  to 
ease  with  all  about  it,  in  a  manner  extremely 
agreeable.  Trifling  yet  distressing  ailments, 
such  as  are  in  the  northern  climates  the  effect  of 
cold  acting  on  the  skin  and  system,  are  unknown. 
The  remedy  of  opium  with  hot  baths  is  at 
everybody's  disposal,  with  spices  in  abundance, 
and  oils  of  the  finest  quality.  The  fevers  caused 
by  the  decay  of  vegetable  matter  seldom  affect 
the  natives  of  the  country  very  materially,  unless 
after  wantonly  exposing  themselves  to  such 
effluvia,  or  sleeping  on  the  damp  ground;  while 
this  very  decay  becomes  the  cause  of  a  loveli- 
ness in  the  vegetation  of  the  tropics  that  no 
other  land  can  rival,  and  brings  forth  abundantly 
the  plants  and  fruits  required  for  the  food,  and 
shelter,  and  comfort  of  man. 

Cholera,  indeed,  devastates  towns  and  cities, 
and  fills  with  terror  the  heart  of  the  observer; 
but  the  population  of  the  East  is  a  very  abun- 
dant population,  and  death  is  its  inevitable  ne- 
cessity. Life,  while  it  last,  is  one  of  enjoyment, 
and  its  extinction,  even  by  means  of  the  scourge 
of  the  East,  as  it  is  called,  is  brief  in  its  pains, 
and  more  to  be  desired,  perhaps,  than  an  old 
age  of  protracted  suffering ;  soft  air,  pure  water, 
simple  plants,  spices,  and  earths,  are  every- 
where abundantly  supplied  as  remedies  for  the 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  181 

trifling  sufferings  of  the  people ;  while  a  beneficent 
climate,  a  natural  system  of  life,  and  a  vegetable 
diet,  preserve  them  from  many  of  the  physical 
sufferings,  known  in  our  colder  and  more 
artificial  land.  As  the  use  and  knowledge  of 
their  simple  remedies  are  traditional,  and  no 
inflammatory  symptoms  ever  follow  the  most 
extraordinary  surgical  practice,  the  general 
practitioner  would  enjoy  a  sinecure;  and  of 
Budr-oo-deen,  I  have  little  doubt  that  his  charm- 
ing romances,  his  exciting  horsemanship,  his  as- 
trological predictions,  and  his  kindly  temper, 
served,  in  more  good  ways  than  even  they  be- 
lieved, the  credulous  arid  admiring  friends  of  our 
"  Family  Physician." 


182  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

MAIDA  HILL. 

"  Of  people  there  was  hurrying  to  and  fro, 
Numerous  as  gnats  upon  the  evening  gleam, 
All  hastening  onward,  yet  none  seemed  to  know 
Whither  he  went,  or  whence  he  came,  or  why 
He  made  one  of  the  multitude." 

THE  cabman  asks  just  two  shillings  more  than 
his  fare,  and  his  Highness's  servant,  Mahomed 
Shah,  is  good  enough  to  settle  the  matter  for 
us.  There  is  quite  a  collection  of  handsome 
carriages  and  dirty  hack  vehicles  about,  but  the 
little  boys  have  left  off  waiting  at  the  curb- stones 
for  new  arrivals ;  green,  and  gold,  and  Cashmere, 
having  quite  wearied  their  young  eyes. 

Warwick  Road  West  promises  well,  but  at 
present  brick  and  mortar  occupy  too  much  of 
the  roadstead,  and  the  coachman  of  his  Highness 
the  ex- chief  of  Khyrpore,  Meer  Ali  Moorad, 
does  not  find  it  easy  to  turn  his  handsome  bays 
on  the  sort  of  promontory  which  separates  the 
plateau  on  which  Meer  Jafur's  house  stands,  from 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  183 

the  wide  extent  of  "  desirable  building  ground," 
which  stretches  far  away  towards  smoky  London. 

As  we  enter  the  door  two  persons  are  passing 
out,  and  we  stop  to  shake  hands.  One,  all 
green  and  gold,  the  A.D.C.  of  the  King  of  Oude, 
leaves  a  perfume  on  the  air  which  reminds  us  at 
once  of  high  mass  at  St.  Peter's,  with  its  censers 
and  frankincense;  and  the  other,  in  a  black 
dress  and  dark  glazed  cotton  head-dress,  is  the 
Parsee  Seit,  or  merchant,  Mr.  Heerjeebhoy 
Rustomjee,1  who  is  always  so  courteous,  and 
full  of  information  about  his  people.  Just  now 
his  fine  countenance  is  a  little  excited,  for  some 
altercation  has  taken  place  between  himself  and 
"  the  Oude  people."  As  usual,  a  strong  aroma 
of  "  curry  stuff,"  garlic  in  the  ascendant,  is 
making  its  way  from  his  Highness's  kitchen, 
where  the  cook  is  preparing  dinner  for  Mahomed 
Shah,  Noor  Mahomed,  Ryan,  and  Mirza  Meeran ; 
while  Hill,  the  English  servant,  looking  almost 
like  a  gentleman,  has  just  come  in  with  Punch, 
the  Family  Herald,  and  Reynolds's  Miscellany — 
diet  to  suit  all  tastes. 

His  Highness  Meer  Jafur  Alee  receives  us  with 
his  usual  courtesy  and  kindness,  and  Mirza  Ali 
Ackbar  looks  excited,  his  eye  bright,  his  brain 
hard  at  work — both  are  going  out  to  the  Temple 
as  usual;  but  Meer  Mahomed  Ali,  the  nephew 

1  The  "  jee"  in  Parsee  names  is  equivalent  to  our  "  Esquire." 


184  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

of  All  Ackbar,  remains  at  home ;  so  we  sit  down, 
and  chat,  and  turn  over  some  Persian  books. 
Here  is  one,  written  only  lately  at  Tehran ;  very 
droll  it  is,  that  the  Persians  so  delight  in  ridi- 
culing the  Hindoos,  and  that  the  Hindoos  so 
vivaciously  return  the  compliment.  Here  is  a 
story  to  the  point:  A  Hindoo  king  began  to 
distrust  everybody,  and  so  he  convinced  him- 
self that  fish  only  were  faithful.  The  king, 
therefore,  turned  all  his  wealth  into  blocks  of 
gold,  and  every  year  dropt  them  into  the  sea, 
that  his  treasury  might  be  safe,  as  "  fishes 
only  were  faithful." 

Then  came  the  story  of  King  Solomon  and  the 
sea  monster,  a  legend  altogether  Persian.  This 
king  was  known  to  be  most  benevolent,  and  he 
laid  up  stores  to  feed  all  creatures  that  were  in 
want,  and  none  died  for  lack  of  food;  and  Solo- 
mon was  said  to  have  power  over  fish,  over 
men,  over  animals,  and  over  genii.  One  day 
the  king  was  walking  alone  upon  the  sands,  and 
a  great  monster  raised  its  head  from  the  sea, 
and  asked  for  food.  The  king  gave  orders  that 
the  creature  should  be  satisfied,  but  it  ate,  and 
ate,  and  devoured  all  the  stores  laid  up,  and 
roared  for  more !  Then,  when  it  came  not,  the 
creature  rebuked  the  king,  saying,  Oh,  man! 
who  art  thou  to  have  power  over  all  created 
nature,  birds,  beasts,  men,  and  genii,  and  cannot 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  185 

feed  one  fisli !  God  has  fed  me  day  by  day,  and 
I  have  never  wanted;  there  is  none  all-powerful 
but  Allah !  And  the  fish  was  seen  no  more. 

Then  came  a  story  about  a  tree  of  emerald, 
planted  on  a  bank  of  rubies,  which,  during  the 
reign  of  Mahinoud  of  Ghuzni,  blossomed  with 
gold  Mohurs,1  but  when  the  king  died  the  tree 
disappeared;  to  this  the  historian  modestly 
adds,  "  this  is  said  of  a  truth,  but  God  is  great, 
and  who  can  tell?" 

This  Persian  book  that  we  were  laughing  over 
had  the  oddest  drawings  in  it  possible.  They 
were  worse  than  anything  a  child  of  ten  years 
old,  in  these  Marlborough  House  days,  would  put 
its  hand  to;  but  we  found  that  they  described 
talismans,  and  that  the  Persian  text  illustrated 
their  virtues. 

Mirza  Ali  Ackbar  returned  while  we  were 
still  engaged  with  the  volume,  and  he  said, 
"  Now,  I  will  tell  you  a  droll  thing  that  I  know 
happened  to  two  English  officers  when  I  was 
with  Lord  Keane's  force.  We  were  encamped, 
and  did  not  know  what  to  do  to  amuse  ourselves. 
It  was  said  that  some  twenty  miles  off  there  was 
a  village,  and  near  the  village  a  well,  and  that 
everybody  who  drank  of  the  water  of  that  well 
became  fools,  and  the  village  was  full  of  fool- 
ish people.  So  the  two  young  men  laughed, 

1  A  coin  equal  in  value  to  the  French  Napoleon. 


186  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

and  they  said  it  would  be  something  to  do,  and 
they  would  go  and  see  this  village.  In  the 
morning  'tope  ke  braba'  (dawn,  or  gun-fire), 
they  set  out  on  horseback  for  the  foolish  village, 
but  it  grew  hot  before  they  neared  it,  so,  seeing 
a  Bhowree  (Moslem  well,  with  steps  that  de- 
scend to  the  water),  they  said,  4  Let  us  go  down, 
and  drink  some  water,  and  then  go  on ;'  and  they 
did  so,  and  felt  much  refreshed.  But,  as  they 
came  up  the  steps,  one  said  to  the  other,  4We 
ought  to  have  brought  the  servants,  perhaps  we 
may  not  get  anything  to  eat  here,  and  who 
knows? — they  are  a  wild  set,  these  Affghans, 
and  we  are  unarmed ;  really,  I  think,  it  is  a  very 
dangerous  joke/  They,  therefore,  agreed  to  re- 
turn to  camp ;  but  had  no  sooner  arrived  there, 
than  one  said,  looking  at  the  other,  c  We  went  all 
that  way,  and  bore  the  heat,  and  nothing 
molested  us,  and  still  we  have  come  back,  and 
seen  nothing;  truly  there  is  reason  in  the  say- 
ing, that  those  who  drink  at  that  well  become 
fools!'" 

Somehow  or  other,  we  talked  of  marriage,  and 
I  asked  how,  as  a  general  rule,  people  got  on, 
who  had  four  wives !  Mirza  Ali  assured  me 
that  few  Mahomedans,  unless  they  were  great 
men,  or  influenced  by  state  reasons,  had  more 
than  one;  but,  he  added,  we  say,  if  a  man  has 
one  wife,  he  may  not  like  her ;  if  two,  the  ladies 
invariably  quarrel ;  but  if  the  husband  marries  a 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  187 

third,  there  is  perfect  happiness,  because  the 
wives  so  much  fear  that  he  will  take  a  fourth. 
The  Shah  of  Persia  has  five  hundred  wives,  and 
that  establishment  is  marked  by  the  amiable 
tone  of  its  internal  arrangements,  while,  as  illus- 
trative of  the  same  system  in  a  different  class  of 
society,  Aga  Khan,  the  priest  of  the  Khojas  in 
Bombay,  has  four  wives,  all  living  in  a  small 
house,  where  the  ladies  have  but  one  apartment 
between  them,  and  yet  domestic  tranquillity 
finds  to  it  no  parallel. 

Divorces  are  rendered  as  difficult  as  possible 
by  Moslems,  and  after  this  manner :  when  a  man 
marries  he  settles  a  dowry  on  his  wife,  and  if  he 
desires  to  give  her  a  writing  of  divorce  he  must 
pay  this  dowry,  otherwise  it  is  regarded  as 
nominal.  Now,  the  object  of  all  parents  is,  to 
render  divorce  impossible,  by  reason  of  the  diffi- 
culty the  husband  would  have  to  perform  in 
detail  his  treaty.  It  is  usual  in  Persia  to  fix 
the  dowry  at  two  hundred  and  fifty  rupees,  but 
in  India,  it  sometimes  rises  to  fifty  thousand,  or 
a  lac.  Then  come  male  and  female  slaves,  and 
sometimes  is  added,  ten  maunds1  of  mosquito  oil ! 
Now,  any  one  who  has  ever  seen  that  very  slight 
and  remarkably  active  little  insect,  the  mosquito 
of  India,  will  at  once  feel  how  difficult  it  must 
be  for  a  querulous  husband  to  fulfil  this  point 

1  A  Bombay  maund  is  forty  pounds. 


188  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

of  the  treaty,  and  so  obtain  the  required  emanci- 
pation from  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  when  con- 
sidered frail  or  offending!  A  Mahomedan 
lady's  property  on  marriage  remains  her  own, 
nor  can  a  Moslem,  if  of  the  "  Shere"  sect,  marry 
a  second  wife,  unless  he  can  declare  before  the 
priest,  that  he  has  obtained  the  consent  of  the 
first. 

Some  doubters  in  female  devotion,  where 
lords  and  masters  are  concerned,  may  fancy 
that  a  tolerably  strong  guard  of  "detectives" 
may  be  required,  to  watch  over  five  hundred 
ladies,  the  vowed  thralls  of  an  Oriental  Blue- 
beard. This  is  a  delusion;  the  more,  the  safer, 
as  well  as  merrier.  The  ladies  look  after 
each  other,  and  the  least  backsliding  is  instantly 
denounced. 

The  Mahomedan  marriage  ceremony  does  not 
materially  differ  from  our  own,  except  in  the  pri- 
vacy of  position  afforded  the  lady.  The  priest 
sits  in  front  of  a  door,  and  the  intended  bride- 
groom near  him ;  the  lady  is  then  placed  behind 
the  door,  and  the  priest  inquires  if  she 
will  have  this  man,  &c.  It  is  true  the  bride 
elect  cannot  answer,  "Ay,  my  lord,  and  fifty 
such,"  for  the  plurality  of  helpmates  is  reserved 
as  a  privilege  for  the  woer,  not  the  won,  yet  the 
matter  passes  off  with  sweetmeats  and  fireworks, 
presents  and  dances,  and,  on  the  whole,  Moslem 
marriages  are  quite  as  happy  as  any  other. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  189 

This,  however,  Mirza  All  Ackbar  accounts  for 
by  saying,  that  husbands  are  never  with  their 
wives  for  more  than  eight  hours  out  of  twenty  - 
four. 

All  the  servants  of  his  Highness  have  become 
attached  to  England,  and  they  enjoy  a  freedom 
from  the  attacks  of  fever,  so  common  in  their 
own  land,  which  itself  puts  them  in  good 
humour  with  our  damp  but  wholesome  climate. 
One  or  two  of  them  have  attained  a  very 
respectable  knowledge  of  the  English  language, 
and  find  great  amusement  at  theatres  and 
places  of  ordinary  entertainment.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  points  to  be  remarked  in 
Moslem  establishments  is,  the  admirable  feeling 
that  exists  between  masters  and  servants;  the 
protected  freedom  allowed  to  the  domestics,  and 
their  devotion  and  gratitude  to  their  employers. 
His  Highness  Meer  Jafur's  servants  go  and 
come  as  they  please;  yet  this  indulgence  is 
never  abused.  A  servant  never  leaves  home 
while  any  possible  cause  can  arise  for  his 
services,  and  their  devotion  to  his  Highness's 
person  is  so  great,  that  should  the  slightest  in- 
disposition afflict  him,  the  servants  not  only 
never  absent  themselves,  but  can  scarcely  be 
persuaded  to  give  their  tour  of  watchfulness  to 
another. 

Meer  Jafur  was,  however,  ever  noted  for  con- 
sideration arid  benevolence.  His  Highness,  by 


190  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

birth,  is  a  Syud,1  and,  in  opinion,  a  liberal 
Soonee.  He  is  now  thirty-eight  years  of  age, 
though  perhaps  his  stature  and  general  large- 
ness of  figure  give  him  the  appearance  of  being 
rather  older.  His  Highness' s  habits  are  most 
temperate,  and  his  liberality  princely.  In  India 
he  never  failed  to  repeat  the  Khum,s,  or  five 
daily  prayers,  commanded  by  his  religion,  and 
he  has  never  availed  himself  of  the  Prophet's 
permission  for  polygamy. 

Since  the  death  of  the  Begum  Bukhteya-ol- 
Nessa,  the  mother  of  his  children,  Meer  Jafur  has 
married  the  daughter  of  the  Cazi  of  Ahmedabad, 
and  only  a  month  after  this  marriage,  his  High- 
ness's  affairs  compelled  his  return  to  England. 
His  present  residence  among  us  has  extended 
over  a  period  of  three  years — years  marked  by 
unceasing  anxiety;  yet,  both  in  public  and  in 
private  life,  his  Highness  has  gained  the  good 
opinion,  the  high  respect,  and  the  warm  friend- 
ship, of  all  with  whom  he  has  been  associated, 
and  among  these  are  the  fairest,  the  wisest,  the 

1  A  Syud  is  ;a  lineal  descendant  from  the  Prophet,  not 
necessarily  a  priest,  however,  though  he  can  adopt  that  pro- 
fession when  he  pleases.  All  Arabia,  Turkey,  and  most  of 
the  Affghans  are  Soonees.  A  small  portion  of  Affghans  and  all 
Persians  are  Sheres.  The  one  sect  believe,  that  the  succession 
is  by  inheritance,  and  ought  to  be  given  to  Ali,  as  the  son-in- 
law  of  the  Prophet.  The  others  believe  the  succession  is 
given  to  the  descendants  of  the  companions  of  Mahomed. 


THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE.  191 

highest-born  of  our  most  distinguished  circles. 
He  has  gained  considerable  knowledge  of  the 
English  language,  and  speaks  it  easily  and 
correctly;  but,  while  his  health  has  been  im- 
proved, and  his  time  (when  not  absorbed  by  the 
difficulties  of  his  position)  agreeably  passed,  the 
heart  of  the  Moslem  noble  yearns  for  his  land 
and  people;  and,  more  than  all  this,  he  sighs  for 
the  bright  glances  and  sweet  smiles  of  the  young 
daughters,  who,  doubtless,  day  by  day,  look 
forth  on  the  blue  waters  of  the  Tapti,  and  ex- 
claim, in  words  like  those  of  one  who  also  waited 
for  the  familiar  voice  of  the  absent  and  beloved, 
"Why  is  his  chariot  so  long  in  coming?  Why 
tarry  the  wheels  of  his  chariots?"1 

Before  the  close  of  this  present  year,  1273  of 
the  Hegira,  his  Highness  Meer  Jafur  Alee  Khan 
will  be,  probably,  once  again  beneath  the 
palm  trees  of  his  native  land.  The  tropic  sun- 
shine will,  once  more,  rest  upon  his  brow,  the 
prayerful  call  of  the  Muezzin  fall  upon  his  ear. 
Time  will  pass,  and  the  sounds  of  London 
streets,  the  glare  of  London  soirees,  the  excite- 
ment of  London  parliaments — of  public  meetings 
— of  legal  quibbles — of  interested  adventurers, 
who  sought  to  gain  a  fortune  from  the  Moslem 
noble's  anxieties  and  inexperience,  will  be  re- 
membered by  him  but  as  an  uneasy  daydream. 

1  Judges,  v,  28. 


192  THE  MOSLEM  NOBLE. 

To  bless  his  family  and  the  poor,  to  cultivate 
the  regard  of  good  men,  and  to  return  to  his 
duties,  as  a  Moslem  and  a  Syud,  will  soon 
become,  as  they  once  were,  the  sole  objects  of 
his  Highness  Meer  Jafur  Alee's  life,  and  while, 
in  a  considerable  degree,  success  has  at  length 
crowned  the  object  of  his  residence  among  us, 
the  Meer  will  not  leave  our  shores  without 
carrying  with  him  the  kindliest  good  wishes  of 
all  who  have  had  occasion  to  remark  the  high- 
bred courtesy  and  winning  condescensions  of 
this  most  amiable  "Moslem  noble;"  while, 
though  we  cannot  quite  compare  this  gossip 
on  his  land  and  people,  to 

"  Orient  pearls  at  random  strung," 

and  though  we  must  plead  guilty  to  having 
had  "  all  the  talk  to  ourselves,"  yet  our  chat  has 
not,  we  trust,  been  quite  devoid  of  interest, 
neither  fatiguing,  beyond  all  reasonable  prospect 
of  his  recovery,  to  our  kind  companion,  and 
most  agreeable,  (because,  we  trust,  uncritical) 
fellow-traveller — the  reader. 


THE  END. 


F.  SHOBERL,  PRINTER,  51,  RUPKRT  STREET. 


ERRATA. 

Page  52,  line  12,  for  Hookaks,  read  Hookahs, 

Page  54,  line  13,  for  per  read  par 

Page  130,  last  line  for  Nyx  read  Nynx 

Page  155,   lines  17   and   18,  for  of  chief  Mooonshee  ! 

read  of  the  chief  Moonshee ! 
Page  173,  line  23,  for  brink  read  bring 


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Author  of  "  The  Camp  Club  in  the  Crimea,"  &c. 

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CJnlrer  tfj?  ^jpectal  Patronage  of  y& 

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