A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 08Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 08
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
[Footnote 206: Hawkins calls rebels, as the Moguls did, all those that
refused subjection; though some of them were perhaps originally
independent kings, as this Ragane or Ranna, supposed to have been the
true successor of Porus, who was conquered by Alexander. He is now
reduced, or rather, as they say, peaceably induced to acknowledge the
Mogul, and to pay tribute.--_Purch_.]
[Footnote 207: Probably meaning the Ballogees, a people on the
south-side of the Wulli mountains, bordering to the southward on
Candahar.--E.]
In the morning, at break of day, the king is at his beads, praying, on
his knees, upon a Persian lambskin, having some eight rosaries, or
strings of beads, each containing 400. The beads are of rich pearl,
ballace rubies, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, aloes wood, _eshem_, and
coral. At the upper end of a large black stone on which he kneels, there
are figures graven in stone of the Virgin and Christ, so, turning his
face to the west, he repeats 3200 words, according to the number of his
beads. After this he shews himself to the people, receiving their salams
or good-morrows; a vast multitude resorting every morning to the palace
for that purpose. After this he takes two hours sleep, then dines, and
passes his time among his women till noon. From that time till three
o'clock he shews himself again to the people, looking at sports and
pastimes made by men, or at fights of various animals. At three o'clock,
all the nobles then in Agra, who are in health, resort to court, when
the king comes forth to open audience, sitting in his royal seat, and
all the nobles standing before him, each according to his degree. The
chiefs of the nobles standing within the red rail, and all the rest
without, all being properly placed by the lieutenant-general. The space
within the red rail is three steps higher than where the rest stand, and
within this red rail I was placed among the chiefest of the land. All
the rest are placed in their order by officers, and they likewise are
placed within another rail in a spacious place; and without the rail
stand all kinds of horsemen and foot-soldiers belonging to his captains,
and all other comers. At these rails there are many doors kept by a
great number of porters, who have white rods to keep every one in order.
In the middle of the place, right before the king, stands one of the
king's sheriffs or judges, together with the chief executioner, who is
attended by forty executioners, distinguished from all others by a
peculiar kind of quilted caps on their heads, some with hatchets on
their shoulders, and others with all sorts of whips, ready to execute
the king's commands. The king hears all manner of causes in this place,
staying about two hours every day for that purpose; for the kings in
India sit in judgment every day, and their sentences are put in
execution every Tuesday.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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