THE ELEPHANT FIGHTS.
The river Goomtee runs in front of the verandah; and on the opposite side were collected a number of elephants paired for the combat. The animals exhibited at first no inclination to fight, although urged on by their respective mahāwats, and we began to imagine this native sport would prove a failure.
ELEPHANT FIGHTS
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At length two elephants, equally matched, were guided by the mahāwats on their backs to some distance from each other, and a female elephant was placed midway. As soon as the elephants turned and saw the female they became angry, and set off at a long swinging trot to meet each other; they attacked with their long tusks, and appeared to be pressing against each other with all their might. One elephant caught the leg of the other in his trunk, and strove to throw his adversary or break his fore-leg. But the most dangerous part appeared to be when they seized one another by their long trunks and interlaced them; then the combat began in good earnest. When they grew very fierce, and there was danger of their injuring themselves, fireworks were thrown in their faces, which alarmed and separated them, and small rockets were also let off for that purpose.
The situation of a mahāwat during the fight is one of danger. The year before, the shock of the combat having thrown the mahāwat to the ground, the elephant opposed to him took a step to one side, and, putting his great foot upon him, quietly crushed the man to death!
Sometimes the elephant will put up his trunk to seize his opponent’s mahāwat and pull him off: skill and activity are requisite to avoid the danger.
The second pair of elephants that were brought in front of the verandah hung back, as if unwilling to fight, for some time; several natives, both on horseback and on foot, touched them up every now and then with long spears to rouse their anger. One of the elephants was a long time ere he could be induced to combat—but, when once excited, he fought bravely; he was a powerful animal, too much for his adversary—for having placed his tusks against the flank of his opponent, he drove him before him step-by-step across the plain to the edge of the river, and fairly rolled him over into the Goomtee. Sometimes a defeated elephant will take to the water, and his adversary will pursue him across the river.
The animals are rendered furious by giving them balls to eat made of the wax of the human ear, which the barbers collect for that purpose!
The hair on the tail of an elephant is reckoned of such importance, that the price of the animal rises or falls according to the quantity and length of the hair on the tail. It is sometimes made into bracelets for English ladies.
A great number of elephants fought in pairs during the morning; but, to have a good view of the combat, one ought to be on the plain on the other side the river, nearer to the combatants; the verandah from which we viewed the scene is rather too distant.
When the elephant fights were over, two rhinoceros were brought before us, and an amusing fight took place between them; they fought like pigs.
The plain was covered by natives in thousands, on foot or on horseback. When the rhinoceros grew fierce, they charged the crowd, and it was beautiful to see the mass of people flying before them.
On the Goomtee, in front of the verandah, a large pleasure-boat belonging to his Majesty was sailing up and down; the boat was made in the shape of a fish, and the golden scales glittered in the sun.
The scene was picturesque, animated, and full of novelty.
In an inclosed court, the walls of which we overlooked, seven or eight fine wild buffaloes were confined: two tigers, one hyena, and three bears were turned loose upon them. I expected to see the tigers spring upon the buffaloes, instead of which they slunk round and round the walls of the court, apparently only anxious to escape. The tigers had not a fair chance, and were sadly injured, being thrown into the air by the buffaloes, and were received again when falling on their enormous horns. The buffaloes attacked them three or four together, advancing in line with their heads to the ground. I observed that when the buffaloes came up to the tiger, who was generally lying on the ground, and presented their horns close to him—if the animal raised his paw and struck one of them, he was tossed in a moment; if he remained quiet, they sometimes retreated without molesting him.
The bears fought well, but in a most laughable style. The scene was a cruel one, and I was glad when it was over. None of the animals, however, were killed.
A fight was to have taken place between a country horse and two tigers, but Lady William Bentinck broke up the party and retired. I was anxious to see the animal, he is such a vicious beast; the other day he killed two tigers that were turned loose upon him.
Combats also took place between rams: the creatures attacked each other fiercely—the jar and the noise were surprising as head met head in full tilt. Well might they be called battering rams!
21st.—We visited Constantia, a beautiful and most singular house, built by General Martine; it would take pages to describe it; the house is constructed to suit the climate; ventilation is carried up through the walls from the ground-floor to the top of the building, and the marble hall is a luxurious apartment. The king having refused to give General Martine the price he asked for Constantia, the latter declared his tomb should be handsomer than any palace in his Majesty’s dominions. He therefore built a vault for himself under the house, and there he lies buried; this has desecrated the place, no Musulmān can inhabit a tomb.
The monument stands in the vault; a bust of the general adorns it. Lights are constantly burned before the tomb. The figures of four sipahīs large as life, with their arms reversed, stand in niches at the sides of the monument. In the centre of the vault, on a long plain slab, is this inscription:
“Here lies Major-General Claude Martine, born at Lyons, 1735; arrived in India a common soldier, and died at Lucnow, the 13th December, 1800.
PRAY FOR HIS SOUL.”
Claude Martine was a native of the city of Lyons. He was originally a common soldier, and fought under Count Lally; he afterwards entered the service of the East India Company, and rose to the rank of a Major-general. He died possessed of enormous wealth, and endowed a noble charity in Calcutta, called La Martinière.
The house is a large and very singular building; a motto fronts the whole, “Labore et Constantiâ,”—hence the name of the house.
Returning from this interesting place, we proceeded on elephants to see the Roomee Durwāza, a gateway built at the entrance of the city, on the Delhi road, by Ussuf-ood-Dowla; it is most beautiful and elegant, a copy of a gate at Constantinople.
Near this spot is the Imām-Bārā, a building almost too delicate and elegant to be described; it contains the tomb of Ussuf-ood-Dowla, the second king of this family. Within the court is a beautiful mosque.
We were delighted with the place and the scene altogether—the time being evening, and the streets crowded with natives.
22nd.—The Governor-general quitted Lucnow at daybreak. On account of some points of etiquette respecting the queen-mother and the king’s favourite wife, Gosseina, Lady William Bentinck did not visit the royal zenāna.
This day we visited a palace called Padshāh-i-Takht, containing the king’s throne and the banquetting-rooms, a delightful place; on quitting it we crossed the river to a new house and garden, built by the present king, called Padshāh Bāgh; of which I must give a description, it being the most luxurious palace I have seen in India.
A large space has been enclosed as a garden within a high wall; it contains three houses and two gateways; the first house is a most delightful one, all you can wish for in such a climate as this; beautiful rooms, with six fountains playing in them, and everything in fairyland style; then such an hummām! or steam baths, containing rooms heated to different temperatures, the heat of each increasing until you arrive at the steam bath itself.
The apartments are built of white variegated marble, and the roofs arched; the rooms were so delightful, we felt every inclination to remain in the hummām, the temperature was so luxurious.
Crossing from this palace to the centre of the garden, we entered another elegant building, supported on white marble pillars, beautifully finished, and adorned and furnished with crimson and gold.
On the left of the garden is a third palace, sacred to the ladies of the zenāna; this house is built of marble, and covered with flower-work of pounded tālk (talc), which has exactly the appearance of silver, giving an eastern style to the place. There are two handsome gateways, a steam-engine to supply the fountains, and a superb tiger in a cage. Every luxury of life may be contained within the walls of this garden; it is at present scarcely finished, but displays great taste and beauty.
On our return we visited the king’s stables, and saw 200 horses, amongst which were some very fine Arabs. His Majesty has 500 horses in his private stables. This day was one of much fatigue; we were on elephants, and exposed to the sun throughout the whole day.
23rd.—Mr. M⸺ invited us to quit our tents, and come into the Residency, giving us the apartments vacated by the Governor-general, which are delightful; and here we are installed with some most agreeable people. First and foremost, our kind host the Resident; Mr. G⸺, the Resident of Nagpore; Mr. H⸺, the Resident of Delhi; and Col. Gardner, a most charming old gentleman;—but he will require pages to himself, he is one of many thousand.
But I can write no more—my aide-de-camp, a young Bhopaul Chieftain, is in attendance, to invite me to ride with the Resident. This little native chief is a fine intelligent boy about fourteen years of age; he rides well, on a small horse covered with silver ornaments; and his own dress, with two and sometimes three swords at his waist, is so curious, I should like to have his picture taken. The young chief, with his followers, often attends me on horseback to do my bidding.
The king has a charming park near Lucnow, called Dil-Kushā, or “Heart’s Delight,” filled with game; deer, nil-gā’ī, antelopes, bears, tigers, peacocks, and game of all sorts; the drive through it is most agreeable, the road being kept constantly watered: the house is good, and very convenient. His Majesty visits the place often for shooting.
Just beyond the park is a second park called Beebeepore, formerly the residence of Mr. Cherry, who was murdered at Benares.
24th.—I took a steam bath in true oriental style, which was very delightful; when the pleasing fatigue was over, I joined a party, and proceeded to Daulut Khāna, a palace built by Ussuf-ood-Dowla, but now uninhabited, except by some of the ladies and attendants of the old king’s zenāna.
We went there to see a picture painted in oil by Zoffani, an Italian artist, of a match of cocks, between the Nawāb Ussuf-ood-Dowla and the Resident, Colonel Mordaunt; the whole of the figures are portraits; the picture excellent, but fast falling into decay.
The next place visited was the country-house of one of the richest merchants in India, a place called Govinda Bāgh. It is one of the handsomest houses I have entered, and beautifully furnished, with fine mirrors and lustres; its painted ceilings are remarkably well done, and have a very rich effect; the pillars also in imitation of porphyry look extremely well. The owner, Govind Lall, lives in a mean dirty house, in one of the meanest gulīs (lanes) in the city, that his wealth may not attract robbers or cause jealousy.
25th.—My husband accompanied the Resident and a party to breakfast with the King, and I called on my charming friend, Mrs. F⸺, in cantonments.
In the evening I accompanied the Resident, in his barouche, drawn by four fine horses, round the grounds of Dil-Kushā. The carriage was attended by an escort on horseback; when it passed the guards, arms were presented, and trumpets blown: and sometimes men with baskets of birds running by the side of the carriage, let them fly whenever they caught his eye, in the hope of some reward being thrown to them for having liberated their captives in compliment to the great man.
To release captive birds propitiates the favour of heaven. A great man will release prisoners from jail when he is anxious for the recovery of a relative from illness, or to procure an heir!
The Jānwar Khāna, a menagerie filled with wild beasts, animals of every sort, and birds in profusion, next attracted my attention. You may talk of Le Jardin des Plantes, but the Jānwar Khāna at Lucnow is far better worth visiting. There was an immense Doomba sheep, with four horns, and such a tail! perfectly enormous.
We paid a visit to the tomb of Saadut Ulee Khan, the king’s grandfather, a beautiful building, near which is the tomb of the begam, both worth seeing.
20th.—I rode with the Resident to his country-house, a short distance from Lucnow, situated in the midst of delightful gardens; there are about twenty of these gardens, filled with fine tanks, wells, and beautiful trees; the Resident contemplates turning them into a park.
28th.—We went over a zenāna garden; the house, dedicated to the ladies, was a good one, situated in a large garden surrounded by a high stone wall. The orthodox height for the four walls of a zenāna garden is, that no man standing on an elephant can overlook them. The building is surrounded with fine trees; and a fountain played before it, in which gold and silver fish were swimming. Near it was an avenue, in which was a swing, the invariable accompaniment of a zenāna garden. The season in which the ladies more particularly delight to swing in the open air is during the rains. I cantered back to the Residency at ten A.M.; the sun was warm, but I thought not of his beams.
After breakfast, I retired to write my journal (knowing how much pleasure it would give her for whom it was kept), although I had that delightful man, Colonel Gardner, to converse with; such a high caste gentleman! how I wish I had his picture! He is married to a native princess, and his grand-daughter is betrothed to one of the princes of Delhi. The begam, his wife, is in Lucnow, but so ill that I have been unable to pay my respects to her. Colonel Gardner has promised me, if we will visit Agra or Delhi next year, which we hope to do, he will give me letters of introduction to some of the ladies of the palace, under which circumstances I shall have the opportunity of seeing Delhi to the greatest advantage.
A very fine corps of men, called Gardner’s Horse, were raised by him; single-handed nothing can resist them, such masters are they of their horses and weapons. I told him, I was anxious to see good native riding, and feats of horsemanship; he said, “An old servant of mine is now in Lucnow, in the king’s service; he is the finest horseman in India. I gave that man 150 rupees a month (about 150l. per annum) for the pleasure of seeing him ride. He could cut his way through thousands. All men who know any thing of native horsemanship, know that man: he has just sent me word he cannot pay his respects to me, for if he were to do so, the king would turn him out of service.” I asked why? He answered, “There is such a jealousy of the English at court: as for the king, he is a poor creature, and can neither like nor dislike. Hakīm Mehndie the minister rules him entirely, and he abhors the English.”
It is a curious circumstance that many of the palaces in Lucnow have fronts in imitation of the palaces in Naples and Rome, &c.; and the real native palace is beyond in an enclosed space.
Being tired with writing, I will go down and talk to Colonel Gardner; should no men be in the room, he will converse respecting the zenāna, but the moment a man enters, it is a forbidden subject.
Lucnow is a very beautiful city; and the view from the roof of the Residency particularly good.
I am fatigued with my ride through the sun; nevertheless, I will go out on an elephant this evening, and view all the old part of the city. I like this barā sāhib life; this living en prince; in a climate so fine as this is at present it is delightful.
The subjects of his Majesty of Oude are by no means desirous of participating in the blessings of British rule. They are a richer, sleeker, and merrier race than the natives in the territories of the Company.
What a delightful companion is this Colonel Gardner! I have had the most interesting conversation with him, which has been interrupted by his being obliged to attend his poor sick wife, as he calls the begam. She is very ill, and her mind is as much affected as her body: he cannot persuade her to call in the aid of medicine. A short time ago, she lost her son, Allan Gardner, aged twenty-nine years: then she lost a daughter and a grandson; afterwards a favourite daughter; and now another young grandson is dangerously ill. These misfortunes have broken her spirit, and she refuses all medical aid. That dear old man has made me weep like a child. I could not bear the recital of his sorrows and sufferings. He said, “You often see me talking and apparently cheerful at the Resident’s table, when my heart is bleeding.”
We have had a long conversation respecting his own life, and I have been trying to persuade him to write it. He says, “If I were to write it, you would scarcely believe it; it would appear fiction.” He is gone to the sick begam. How I long for another tête à tête, in the hope of learning his private history!
He must have been, and is, very handsome; such a high caste man! How he came to marry the begam I know not. What a romance his love must have been! I wish I had his portrait, just as he now appears, so dignified and interesting. His partiality flatters me greatly.
CHAPTER XVIII.
REVELATIONS OF LIFE IN THE ZENĀNA.
1831.—Pedigree of the Kings of Oude—Lucnow Mohurs—Anniversary of the Coronation—The Prime Minister—Khema-jah—Feredooa Buckht—Evil omens—Mossem-ood-Dowla—Largesse—Hārs, Pān, and Atr—The Zenāna—Sultana Boa—Mulka Zumanee—Gosseina—Tajmahŭl—Plurality of wives.
Saadut Khan, known at first under the name of Meer Muhammad Ameen, descended in a direct line from the Imām Mousa Kasim, of the family of Ali, esteemed in Persia as of the highest and most noble extraction. During the civil wars, he quitted Khorasān, his native province, and repaired to Lahore, where he took the name of Saadut Khan. On the accession of Mahmud Shāh, he was created a noble of the empire, and Soobadar of Oude, with the titles of “Pillar of the empire, confident support of the state, Meer Muhammad Ameen Khan, the Glory of War.”
Fortune having proved favourable, he sent for his only sister, the widow of a nobleman, Jaafer Beg, and her two sons, and bestowed his only daughter in marriage on the elder brother, the young Nawāb Munsoor Ulee Khan, commonly called Sefdar Jung, who on the death of his uncle was confirmed by the king in his government of Oude. He died in 1756, leaving Soojah-ood-Dowla his son and successor.
Soojah-ood-Dowla, the first prince of the race, died leaving two sons, Ussuf-ood-Dowla and Saadut Ulee Khan. Ussuf-ood-Dowla ascended the masnud; he built Lucnow, and most of the palaces around the city, also the Roomee Durwazah, and the Imām-Bārā; in the latter he was buried.
Pedigree of the Kings of Oude.
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The Daulut Khāna was also built by him; in it is his picture, by Zoffani. In fact, whenever you ask who built this or that place, the answer is sure to be Ussuf-ood-Dowla.
He died, leaving no issue, and was succeeded by Wuzeer Ulee Khan, an adopted son, but whom he declared to be his own. Mr. Cherry was at this time Resident of Lucnow. Sir John Shore deposed Wuzeer Ulee Khan, on account of his not being the real son of the late king, and raised Saadut Ulee Khan to the throne, the brother of Ussuf-ood-Dowla.
The deposed Wuzeer went to Benares, and attempted to rouse the natives to murder all the English. In pursuance of which plan, Ulee Khan came to Mr. Cherry’s house, he being at that time Resident at Benares, and murdered him, while sitting at breakfast. The house of Mr. and Mrs. Davis, of the Civil Service, was attacked. Mr. Davis and his wife ran up a narrow winding staircase to the roof of the house, where, with a hog-spear, he defended the door of the staircase, and kept his pursuers at bay until the arrival of the military from cantonments. The roof of the house being flat, as is the custom in India, and the narrowness of the winding stair admitting only one person at a time, Mr. Davis was able to defend himself, and killed several of the assailants. Wuzeer Ulee Khan was confined for life in the Fort, in Calcutta, and died a few years ago.
Saadut Ulee Khan, the brother of Ussuf-ood-Dowla, amassed thirteen millions of money, and left the throne to his son, Ghazee-ood-Deen.
The Nawāb Wuzeer, Ghazee-ood-Deen Hydur, assumed the sceptre by the advice of his minister, Āghā Meer. He cast off allegiance to Delhi, and stamped coins in his own name.
The gold mohurs struck by him, bear the following inscription in the Persian character:—
“Coined in the Royal Treasury of Lucnow, Soubah Oude, in the 3rd year of the great and auspicious reign. Struck in silver and gold, by the grace of God, the giver of all good, by Ghazee-ood-Deen Hydur, the Great Lord, the King of Time.”
The crown is placed between two standards, on each of which is a fish: the standards are supported by leopards: beneath the crown is the double-handled dagger, a most formidable weapon; and at the base of the whole are two large fish.
Ghazee-ood-Deen Hydur had no son, and one only daughter, who married her cousin, and had issue Mossem-ood-Dowla, the true heir to the throne; a man whom you may see constantly at the present king’s table.
Ghazee-ood-Deen, instead of leaving the throne to his true heir and grandson Mossem-ood-Dowla, left it to Nusseer-ood-Deen Hydur, a boy whom the king declared to be his own son by a slave girl; but who, they say, is in reality the son of a dhobee (washerman) belonging to the palace. This man is the present king of Lucnow. The English are aware of these facts. On the decease of the present king, the succession will be disputed, as he wishes to place a boy, named Khema-jah, on the masnud, instead of his own son, Feredooa Buckht Moona-jah: but for the history of these two boys, I refer you to the lives of the wives of the king.
The Muhammadan law allows an adopted son to take the place of a legitimate son at the pleasure of the parent, by which law Nusseer-ood-Deen Hydur claimed the throne, and put aside Mossem-ood-Dowla, the grandson of Ghazee-ood-Deen Hydur.
29th.—We drove to Barouda, a palace built in the French style; I saw there nothing worthy of remark, but two marble tables, inlaid in the most delicate and beautiful manner with flowers of the convolvulus.
30th.—The Resident and all his party breakfasted with the King on the anniversary of his coronation, which takes place in any month, and on any day, according to his Majesty’s pleasure.
During breakfast my attention was deeply engrossed by the prime minister, the Nawāb Mootuzim-ul-Dowla, Mehndee Ulee Khan Bahadur, commonly called Nawāb Hakīm Mehndi. I conversed with him at times, and eyed him well as he was seated next to me, and opposite the King, telling his beads the whole time, for good luck perhaps; his rosary was composed of enormous pearls.
His majesty’s hooqŭ was presented to the Nawāb; Lord William Bentinck and the Resident were honoured with the same: it is a great distinction; no subject can smoke, unless by permission, in the royal presence. Hooqŭs are only presented to the Governor-general, the Commander-in-chief, the Resident, and the Bishop of Calcutta—if he likes a pipe.
Numerous histories respecting the prime minister were current in the bazār, far too romantic and extraordinary to be believed, of which the following is a specimen:
“The truth or falsehood of the story rests on the head of the narrator[64].”
“The dagger in his bosom and salutation in his mouth[65].”
The hakīm (physician or learned man) was formerly employed on a salary of about twenty rupees a month. The commencement of his enormous fortune began thus:—He was in tents in the district; a very rich Hindoo was with him, within the (kanāts) canvass walls, with which tents are surrounded. This man was said to have died during the night; his corpse was given to his relations, who were in the camp, to be burned according to Hindoo custom. There were two black marks round the neck of the corpse. It is a custom amongst Hindoos to put sweetmeats into the mouth of a dead body. When they opened the mouth of the corpse for this purpose, within it was found a finger, bitten off at the second joint. On that very night the confidential servant of the hakīm lost his finger! The hakīm seized the man’s treasure, which laid the foundation of his fortune. He next took into pay a number of thieves and murderers, who made excursions, and shared the booty with the hakīm. They say the man’s art is such that he keeps in favour both with natives and Europeans, in spite of his crimes.
Having been unable to bring the Resident over to his views, he is his sworn enemy, and would give thousands to any one who would poison him. Many of the servants now standing behind the Resident’s chair know the reward they might obtain. They would not poison any dish from which many might eat, the most likely thing in which it would be administered would be coffee or ice!
After breakfast, the King went into the next apartment, where the Resident, with all due form, having taken off the King’s turban, placed the crown upon his head, and he ascended the masnud.
Khema-jah, the eldest boy, about fourteen years of age, is an ill-looking low caste wretch, with long, straight, lank hair, coarse, falling lips, and bad teeth. The manners and looks of the boy proclaim his caste. He was the first person presented to his Majesty, and received four or five dresses of honour, made of thick Benares gold and silver kimkhwāb, which were all put upon his person one over the other. A jewelled turban was put on his head, and a necklace of pearls and precious stones round his neck; and over all these dresses of honour were placed four or five pairs of Cashmere shawls. A sword, dagger, and shield were given him; an elephant, a horse, and a palanquin. Having made his sālām to his majesty, and offered some gold mohurs, he retired.
The younger boy, Feredooa Buckht, a bold and independent child, then came forward and received the same presents in the same style.
The khil’ats (dresses of honour) are sometimes given away to dependents on the same day; this, if known, would be considered an insult.
Then appeared the minister, the Nawāb Hakīm Mehndi: when the first dress of honour was put on him, it being too small, he could only put in one arm; and there he stood shaking, perhaps from an idea of its being a bad omen. The Nawāb prostrated himself before the King, and took off his own turban; his Majesty himself immediately placed a jewelled one on the uncovered head of the minister. Imagine the old man, sinking beneath the weight of years, his head totally bald, and his person overwhelmed with dresses of honour, shawls, and presents, like those before given to the young princes: he trembled so much, the elephant-goad fell from his hand, a sign of his own fall; and the gold mohurs he attempted to retain in his hands fell at the foot of the throne. The people say there is a prophecy he will come to an untimely end next February:—“A bad omen ought not to be mentioned[66].”
When Mossem-ood-Dowla (the true heir) approached, he was coldly received, and a deep cloud for some time darkened his countenance. Mossem-ood-Dowla is a fine, handsome man, with a keen eye, and a very intelligent, good-natured countenance. It was a painful sight to see him do homage to one who had no right to the throne, but through the power of an unjust law.
I was standing next to the Resident and the Prime Minister, when, during a part of the ceremony, a shower of precious stones was thrown over us; I looked at the Resident, and saw him move his arm to allow the valuables that had fallen upon him to drop to the ground; I imitated his example by moving my scarf, on which some were caught; it would have been infra dig. to have retained them; they fell to the ground, and were scrambled for by the natives; the shower consisted of emeralds, rubies, pearls, &c., &c.
A magnifique style of largesse!
After all the dresses of honour had been presented to the different persons, a hār (a necklace of gold and silver tinsel, very elegantly made,) was placed around the neck of each of the visitors; atr of roses was put on my hands, and on the hands of some other visitors, in compliment to the Resident, by his Majesty himself. Pān was presented, and rose water was sprinkled over us; after which ceremonies, we all made our bohut bohut udūb sālām[67] to the King of Oude, and took our departure. The gold and silver tinsel hārs have been substituted for strings of pearl, which it was customary to present to visitors, until an order of government, promulgated four years ago, forbade the acceptance of presents.