Wanderings of a pilgrim in search of the picturesque, Volume 1 (of 2)

by Fanny Parkes Parlby

THE MENHDĪ—THE THIRD DAY.

29th.—The menhdī is the tree, Lawsonia inermis, from the leaves of which the hinnā dye is produced: the leaves are gathered and pounded; when put on the hands and feet, and allowed to remain an hour or two, it produces a dark brownish red dye, which is permanent for four or five months; the hands and feet, both of men and women, thus dyed are reckoned beautiful. It is remarkable that female mummies have the nails stained with menhdī.

A number of trays of this prepared menhdī were carried on men’s heads, covered with embroidered velvet; they were sent from the bride to dye the bridegroom. This was the grand display on the part of the bride’s friends; who all, dressed in all their most costly attire, went, at eleven at night, in procession from Khāsgunge to the Prince’s tents. The road was enclosed with bamboo screens, all lighted up with thousands of small lamps; fireworks were let off in profusion, and the triumphal arches across the road were all illuminated; five thousand torches were carried by men, to light the procession. The Begam herself was there in her nālkee, the curtains all down and fastened; the ladies in a long line of native carriages, called raths; the boys in different sorts of native palkees; the men, handsomely dressed, on elephants. I went in an amārī, on an elephant; the amārī is a litter with two seats, covered by two canopies; when the seat on an elephant is open, without a canopy, it is called a howdah. Mr. T⸺, a friend, accompanied me; we sat in the front seat, and a native gentleman occupied the seat at the back. The elephant was a very large one; we were a great height from the ground, and had a good view, being above the smoke of the blue lights. The native gentleman amused us by his astonishment at Mr. T⸺’s not being a married man; my friend told him he wished to marry, but how could he without seeing the lady? The Asiatic said that was impossible; but could he not depend on his female friends to see and select for him? Mr. T⸺ deputed me to select a wife for him; the native gentleman thought him in earnest, and said, when every thing was arranged, I might show Mr. T⸺ her picture before they were married. In this manner weddings are made up; it would be the height of indelicacy to suppose a girl could have a choice, she marries just any one whom her friends select. The led horses, in their gay native caparison, looked so well amongst the blue lights; and the handsomest of all was Candidate, an imported English horse, formerly the property of Major P⸺; Rattler, another English horse, sixteen hands high, whom I had ridden several times, was also there. They were so quiet and well-behaved in the crowd and amongst the fireworks, much more quiet than the native horses.

The ten platforms, containing the twenty nāch girls and the kettle-drum players carried on men’s heads were also there. The effect of the gay dresses of the women, as they twirled and attitudinized was good by torch-light. Some of the girls, who were horrors by daylight, looked pretty by the artificial light, at a distance. It took two hours to go with the procession the four miles, through the village of Khāsgunge to the tents. All the inhabitants were either on the road or on the roofs of their houses, and we were attended by thousands of people: such a crowd, we could scarcely move forwards. On our arrival at the tents we found Mulka Begam’s tent prepared for the reception of the females of our party. It was in utter darkness. In front fine bamboo screens were let down, which, inside, were covered with thin white muslin. Through this parda, from the inside of the tent, you could see what was going on without, where every thing was brilliantly lighted, whilst we were in complete darkness. From without you could not see into the tent in the slightest degree. These screens are called pardas, and the women who live within them, parda nishīn, secluded behind the curtain. In front of the tent was pitched a very large shamiyana, a canopy, supported on every side by high poles; white cloths were spread on the ground. In the centre was seated the young Prince on his gaddī (throne of the sovereign), most beautifully dressed, and looking very handsome. His four ill-looking brothers were next to him. On a plain gaddī, by his side, sat Colonel Gardner and myself, and all the English and native gentlemen were seated on either side. In front, were one hundred nāch women, the best to be procured, brought, at an immense expense, from great distances; six or eight of these girls danced at a time, and were relieved by another set. Around were countless numbers of natives, in all their gayest dresses: and still further back were many elephants, on which people had mounted to get a sight of the tamāshā. When the preparations within were ready, Colonel Gardner took me, his son, and the five princes, within the tent; a parda (screen) was drawn across part of the tent, behind which were some native ladies, whom it would have been improper the men should have seen, they not being their relatives. The Prince was placed on a low silver seat, and fed with sugar; the amusement appeared to be, as you offered the sugar, and the Prince attempted to take it in his mouth, to snatch away your hand. The ladies behind the parda also put forth their hands to feed him with sugar; he tried to catch their hands, and having succeeded in catching the hand of one of the girls who was teazing him, he tried to draw off her ring, and in the struggle she was nearly pulled through the parda!

A silver bason was brought, and from it, Mulka Begam, Alaida, and her sister, the Evening Star, put the menhdī on the Prince’s hands and feet, and washed it off with water, which they poured from a silver vessel, of the most classical and beautiful shape I almost ever beheld. A turban of green and gold, ornamented with brilliants and precious stones, was placed on his head; he was then dressed in a dress of kimkhwāb (gold brocade), a red and gold kamarband, and green pājāmas; and a ring and armlets of great value and beauty were also put upon him. Sherbet was given to him, and all the guests, to drink, and their mouths were wiped with a sort of napkin of red and gold cloth by the cup-bearer.

Into the sherbet tray each guest put a gold mohur, the perquisite of the girls who had put the menhdī on the Prince. Afterwards, a slave-girl brought a silver vessel with water; water was poured over the hands of the guests, each of whom put four or five rupees into the bowl; this was given the Domnee, the same three old women who in one corner were singing all the time. Necklaces of the fresh flowers of the yellow jasmine were thrown over the neck of the prince and the guests. After these ceremonies were completed, the prince and Colonel Gardner quitted the tent. I remained with the Begam. A ceremony was then performed that surprised me considerably; the native ladies laughed, and appeared to think it high tamāshā.

It was now dinner time, being midnight. The inner pardas of the tent were let down, and lights were brought in. A white cloth was spread on the ground in front of the Begam’s gaddī, upon which eight large round dishes of earthenware were placed. These were filled with boiled rice mixed with almonds and many good things, very pleasant food. These dishes are always prepared at Asiatic weddings, as bride-cake is always an attendant on the same ceremony in Europe. The rice was piled up high, and silvered all over with silver leaf, and a tuft of silver ornamented the top. Silvered food is much used by natives; and in helping a dish, if you wish to pay a compliment, you send as much gold and silver leaf as you can. At weddings the food is served in earthen vessels, instead of the silver vessels commonly used, because, when the repast is over, the remainder of it, vessels and all, are given away.

Of course, according to Asiatic custom, we all sat on the ground. The Begam said, “What shall we do? we have no knives and forks for the bībī sāhiba.” I assured her my fingers were more useful than forks. She sent me a large dish, well filled and well silvered. I bowed over it, saying in an undertone to myself, “Jupiter omnipotens digitos dedit ante bidentes.” The Begam explained to the guests, “English ladies always say grace before meals.” After holding forth my right hand to have water poured upon it, I boldly dipped my fingers into the dish, and contrived to appease my hunger very comfortably, much to the amusement of the Asiatic ladies: but I found I could not get my fingers half so far into my mouth as they contrived to do; certainly the mode is ungraceful, but this may be prejudice. I looked at Mulka Begam, how far she pushed her delicate fingers down her throat—wah! wah!

“The prophet used to eat with three fingers, the thumb, the fore-finger, and the middle finger; and after eating he used to lick his blessed fingers before touching any thing else.” The prophet said, “Repeat the name of God, and eat with your right hand; the devil has power over that meat which is eaten without remembering the name of God.” “Verily God is pleased with a servant who eats a mouthful and says God’s praise, and drinks a draught of water, and says God’s praise.” “When any one of you eats, he must do it with his right hand; and when any one of you drinks, he must take hold of his water-pot with the right hand, because the devil eats and drinks with his left.”

After the repast silver vessels were handed round, and our mouths and fingers underwent ablution. Besan, the flour of gram, as good for the purpose as almond-paste, was presented to each guest; with it the grease was removed from the fingers, and water was poured over them.

Necklaces most beautifully made of silver tissue were now given to the whole of the company, both within and without the tent; the lights were carried away, a portion of the parda was removed, and we, unseen, could then observe what was going on without the tent, the nāching, and the company. Seeing the Begam apparently fatigued, I requested she would give me my dismissal, which, having received, I made my salām and returned to Colonel Gardner, with whom I sat looking at the nāch until 3 P.M., at which hour the prince, by taking his departure, broke up the assembly. “On retiring, the senior guest, addressing the host, says, ‘Be pleased to, or will you, give us leave, or permission, to depart?’ Adding, ‘May God bless and prosper you! I have made a hearty meal, or dined heartily (orig. eaten a belly full)!’ To which the other replies, ‘It is the will of God and Muhammad,’ i.e. not mine; or, ‘Very well:’ ‘Certainly.’ Then the whole company rise, calling out, ‘As salām alaikum!’ ‘Peace be unto you,’ and take their departure[148].” I returned to Khāsgunge in a palanquin, in which I slept all the way home, being fatigued and overcome with the exertions of the day.

It was a sight worth seeing; the thousands of well-dressed natives in picturesque groups, and the dancing girls under the brilliantly illuminated trees. I was delighted to sit by my dear Colonel Gardner, and to hear his explanations. In conversation he was most interesting, a man of great intelligence, and in mind playful as a child. I often begged him to write his life, or to allow me to write it at his dictation. The description of such varied scenes as those through which he had passed would have been delightful; and he wrote so beautifully, the work would have been invaluable. He used to tell me remarkable incidents in his life, but I never wrote them down, feeling that unless I could remember his language, the histories would be deprived of half their beauty. I have never described Mr. James Gardner, his son. He is a remarkably shrewd, clever, quick man. He has never been in England: he commenced his education at a school in Calcutta; and the remainder he received at home, from Colonel Gardner and his friend Mr. B⸺. Persian he reads and writes as fluently as a native, and transacts all his business in that language. He is very quick, and so deep, they say he even outwits the natives. He is very hospitable—expert in all manly exercises—a fine horseman—an excellent swordsman—skilled in the lance exercise—an admirable shot with the bow and arrow—excels in all native games and exercises. I fancy the Begam, his mother, would never hear of her son’s going to England for education; and to induce a native woman to give way to any reasons that are contrary to her own wishes is quite out of the power of mortal man. A man may induce a European wife to be unselfish and make a sacrifice to comply with his wishes, or for the benefit of her children. A native woman would only be violent, enraged, and sulky, until the man, tired and weary with the dispute and eternal worry, would give her her own way. Such at least is my opinion from what I have seen of life within the four walls of a zenāna. James Gardner is most perfectly suited to the life he leads: the power of the sun does not affect him so much as it does other people: he rides about his estates and farms all day: he has a great number of villages of his own, of which he is lord and master, and is able to conduct his affairs and turn his indigo and farming to profit. In all this he is assisted by the advice of Mulka Begam, to whom the natives look up with the highest respect. She is a clever woman, and her word is regarded as law by her villagers and dependents.

CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE BURĀT.

“THE NUPTIAL PROCESSION IS PROPORTIONED TO THE RANK OF THE BRIDEGROOM[149].”

The Bridegroom fights for his Bride—The grand Procession—Superstition of the Prince—Bridal Attire—The Bride’s Consent—Signing the Contract—The Nose-ring—Dress of the Bride—The Prince enters the Zenāna—He beholds his Bride—He carries her off—Colonel Gardner’s distress—Fanī Bhū’a—The Bride’s Dower carried in procession with the newly-married couple to the Prince’s Tents—A singular Custom—Pān.

1835, March 30th.—Colonel Gardner said to me, “The bridegroom will come to-night to carry away his bride; it is an old Tartar custom for the man to fight for his wife, and carry her away by force of arms; this is still retained. I shall have the doors of the gateway barred at the entrance; and the soldiers on the prince’s arrival, after refusing to admit him, will at length allow him to enter, if he give them some gold mohurs. We, of the bride’s party, are not to join in the procession, but you may go out on an elephant provided you put no gay trappings upon him; and you can look on and say, ‘What a paltry procession, not half as fine as ours last night!’ this is the custom (dastūr). I will go in my tanjan and stand at one side.” This was the grand day of all: the prince and his party came at night; the village through which they passed was illuminated, as well as the road and the triumphal arches; they were accompanied by bands of music and flags innumerable; at every halt fireworks were let off, while blue lights added a picturesque effect to the scene. The prince rode at the head of the procession on an Arab covered with embroidered trappings; on each side, the animal was decorated with the white tails of the yāk; and over all was thrown an ornamental armour made of flowers. On the head of the Arab was a jika, an ornament from which arose a heron’s plume, of which each feather was tipped with gold; his neck, the bridle, and the crupper were adorned with ornaments and golden chains. According to etiquette, an attendant on foot by the side of the horse carried an āftābī, a sun embroidered on velvet attached to a staff, gaily ornamented and carried in an elevated position: it is used as a protection from the rays of the sun, and also as a point of dignity. Another carried a magnificent chatr, umbrella of silk, embroidered with gold, a mark of royalty. In Oude the king alone is entitled to the chatr, with the exception of the resident and his assistant. Then followed the elephants, and friends, and attendants on horseback, palanquins and native carriages of many descriptions: the procession was interspersed with the platforms containing dancing girls, carried by men, and a number of horses, English, Arab, and country, were led by their grooms. Innumerable torches flared in every direction, and chirāghs, small lamps fixed on ladders, were carried horizontally by the attendants. Artificial trees made of wax, coloured paper, and shola, decorated with gold and silver leaf, mica, and coloured foil, were carried by men in great number, and added a strangely Asiatic effect to the whole, as the blue lights fell upon them.

When the procession arrived at the entrance to Colonel Gardner’s estate, the doors of the gateway were found closed, and the prince was refused admittance; but after a mock fight, he was allowed to pass through into the grounds. The Begam would not have omitted a Timūrian custom for the world. The dress of the bridegroom consisted entirely of cloth of gold; and across his forehead was bound a sort of fillet (sihrā) made of an embroidery of pearls, from which long strings of gold hung down all over his face to his saddle-bow; and to his mouth he kept a red silk handkerchief closely pressed to prevent devils entering his body! In this heavy dress of gold the prince did not look to advantage.

I went out with two gentlemen, on a very shabbily-dressed elephant; we stopped by the road-side, and had a good view of the procession. One of the party, Mr. F⸺, attired most becomingly in the native fashion, mounted on a handsome white Arab, caparisoned in purple and gold, looked like a picture in a fairy tale, as he rode amongst the blue lights; his plain dress of fine white dacca muslin, with a white muslin turban, and a handsome black Indian shawl, put round his waist coxcomically in native style, was in very good taste. We remained about an hour viewing the scene,—the effect was excellent; even the old Nawāb of Cambay came out in a tanjan, and looked happy and well pleased. On looking for Colonel Gardner, I saw the dear old man seated on the side of a well, in darkness, and quite removed from the crowd, looking on and smiling at the foolery. Perhaps his thoughts reverted to his own marriage, when he had undergone the same ceremonies: I asked him how he could have endured such folly? He answered, “I was young then; and in love, I would have done or promised any thing.”

A very large shamiyāna (awning) was pitched before Colonel Gardner’s house; the ground beneath it was spread with white cloths, on which was placed the Prince’s gaddī, of velvet, embroidered with gold. An immense number of native gentlemen, wedding guests, were present; they came from their tents, which were all pitched on the estate around the house. During the last two days of the wedding, every man, woman, child, horse, elephant, and servant were fed at Colonel Gardner’s expense, and an immense outlay it must have been; my jamadār came to me, and said, “For the next two days your horses and servants will be fed by Colonel Gardner; do not object to it, it would bring ill-luck on the wedding; it is the custom (dastūr).” It is also the custom to sit up the whole night on this occasion; to beguile the time, a great number of brilliant ātāshbāzī (fireworks) were let off, which were fixed in the grounds in front of the house. The dancing girls descended from the platforms on which they had been carried, assembled under the shamiyāna, and sang and attudinized the whole night, one set relieving the other. The Prince seated himself on his gaddī, and the contract of marriage was read to him; it was written in Persian on beautifully illuminated parchment, for which Colonel Gardner paid duty 450 rupees, that is, £45.

Previous to the signature, it was necessary to gain the formal consent of the bride; for which purpose, Mr. James Gardner took the kāzī (native judge), and two of his native officers, with Mrs. B⸺ and myself, into the zenāna. We stood in an empty room, adjoining that in which were the bride and the Begam, her grandmother; between us was the parda; we could hear, but not see. The kāzī said, “Is Shubbeah Begam present?” “Yes.” “Does Shubbeah Begam give her free consent to marry Mirza Unjun Shekō?” An answer was made, but in so low a tone, it was more like a murmur.

Mr. Gardner said, “You are witnesses, and have heard her give her consent.” I replied, “No; I heard a murmur, but know not what it meant.”

The Begam then said, “It is the custom for the bride, from modesty, to be unable to answer; but I, her grandmother, say ‘Yes’ for her.”

The kāzī said, “Mirza Unjun Shekō will settle seven lākh of rupees upon her.”

The Begam answered, “We forgive him two lākh, let him settle five.”

A lady laughed, and whispered to me, “The young Prince has not five cowries of his own.”

If the bride were to give her consent in words, she would be disgraced for ever as an impudent good-for-nothing; after repeated demands, and sometimes pinchings, her voice is heard in a sort of hem, which, it is taken for granted, means “Yes.”

A certain number of lumps of sugar were then sent from the bride to the Prince, and we returned to see him sign the contract.

The kāzī having taken off the veil of gold tissue, and the fillet, that were around the head of the bridegroom, requested him to repeat after him, in Arabic, a portion of some of the chapters in the Kur’ān, and, having explained the contract, asked him if he consented to it; to which he answered in the affirmative; after which the kāzī offered up a supplication in behalf of the betrothed pair; and several other ceremonies were performed.

The contract, a most curious document, was then read aloud; the Prince, having listened attentively, signed it; and several English gentlemen added their names as witnesses, to make it as binding as possible.

The dowry is made high as the only security the wife has that her husband will not turn her away as soon as he gets tired of her.

Colonel Gardner then took the contract, and said, “I shall keep this in my possession.” I asked him “Why?” He said, “It is generally kept by the bride; as long as she has it the husband behaves well; for a few months he treats her kindly, and she becomes fond of him; he coaxes her out of the contract, or he finds out where she hides it and steals it; when once he has got it into his possession he swears she gave it up willingly, and the contract is void.”

During the time we were signing the contract, a different scene was going on within the zenāna.

The Prince sent the n’hut (the nose-ring) to the bride, which is equivalent to putting the wedding-ring on the finger in Europe; it was a large thin hoop of gold, and a ruby between two pearls was strung upon it. On receiving it, the bride was taken from her charpāī, on which she had reposed during all the preceding days of this ceremony, in her yellow dress and oily paste, and was bathed. What a luxury that bath must have been, after so many nights and days of penance! She was then dressed in her handsomest attire, richly embroidered garments, and an immense number of jewels; but not one atom of this costume was visible, for over all was placed a large square of cloth of silver, and over that another large square, formed of cloth of gold, which covered her entirely from head to foot, face and all. Over her forehead was bound the same sort of fillet (sihrā) as the Prince wore, composed of strings of pearls and strings of gold, which hung down over the veil so that she could not see, and could scarcely breathe.

When the guns fired at the signing of the contract, the Prince ate the lumps of sugar that had been sent him by the bride; he then arose, and, quitting the male assembly, went into the zenāna, where he was received by the Begam and her guests, and seated on a gaddī. Soon after Mr. James Gardner appeared with the bride in his arms; he carried her from her own room, according to custom, and placed her on the gaddī, by the side of the Prince.

There she sat, looking like a lump of gold; no one could have imagined a human being was under such a covering; with difficulty she was kept from fainting, the heat was so excessive. Her lips and teeth had been blackened for the first time with misī, and gold and silver dust had been thrown over her face!

Surma (collyrium) also had been applied to her eyelids, at the roots of the lashes, by means of a piece of silver or lead, made in the shape of a probe without the knob at the end. The ladies in attendance on the young Begam then performed innumerable ceremonies; they fed the Prince with sugar-candy, and sifted sugar through his hands; they put a lump of sugar on the head of the bride, off which he took it up in his mouth, and ate it; sugar was placed on her shoulders, on her hands, on her feet, and it was his duty to eat all this misrī off all those parts of her body. The bride’s slipper was concealed under rich coverings, and the grand art appeared to be to make the Prince eat the sugar-candy off the shoe!

The Kur’ān was produced, and some parts of it were read aloud; a large Indian shawl was then spread over the heads of the bride and bridegroom, as they sat on the floor, and the shawl was supported like a canopy by the ladies in attendance. A looking-glass was put into the hands of the Prince, he drew the veil of the bride partly aside, and they beheld each other’s faces for the first time in the looking-glass! At this moment, had any false description of the bride been given to the bridegroom, he had the power of saying, “I have been deceived, the face I see is not the face that was pourtrayed to me; I will not marry this woman.” However, the Prince looked pleased, and so did she, for I saw her smile at this important moment; at which time I particularly observed the expression of their countenances. The Prince took up his bride in his arms,—the golden lump I before described,—and placing her on a silver charpāī, sat down by her side, and fanned her carefully. The poor girl was almost stifled beneath the gold and silver coverings, that oppressed but did not adorn her. By this time the night had nearly passed away; the remainder was taken up with tedious and trivial ceremonies; at last morning dawned, and at 11 A.M. the dowry was counted, and made ready to carry away.

When the moment arrived for the Prince to carry off his bride, the whole of the women in the zenāna came round her, and cried and wept with all their might and main; even those who did not regret her departure cried and wept most furiously. Colonel Gardner was sitting there, looking pale and miserable; when he embraced his grand-daughter, whom he loved, the old man trembled in every limb, the tears dropped from his eyes, and he could scarcely stand. He called the Prince to him, and told him that, according to his treatment of his child should be his own conduct towards him; that if he made her happy he should want for nothing; but if he made her unhappy he would make him miserable. Colonel Gardner then said to me, “When I gave her sister to young Gardner I knew she would be happy; but this poor girl, who may prophesy her fate? However, she wished it; her mother and the Begam had set their hearts upon it; and you know, my betī (my child), women will have their own way.”

Although Colonel Gardner always called me his child, and treated me as such, my title in the zenāna was “Fanī Bhū’a,” because his son usually addressed me as “Sister of my Father.”

When it was announced that the procession was ready, the Prince took the bride up in his arms, in her lump-like position, and carried her to her palanquin, the purdas of which were then let down, and fastened outside with gold and silver cords.

This taking up a girl who is sitting on the floor in your arms, and carrying her away without touching the ground with your knees, and without any assistance from another person, is a difficult affair to accomplish; to fail in doing it would be deemed unlucky. The bridegroom performed it very cleverly.

The Prince, in the dress in which he arrived, attended the palanquin on horseback; and the whole of the bride’s dower followed in procession, carried on the heads of men, and displayed to view. One golden-footed bed, and one silver-footed charpāī; a number of large trunks, covered with red cloth, containing cashmere shawls and ready-made clothes, sufficient to last for one year; and unmade clothes, and pieces of kimkhwāb, gold and silver tissues, silks, and pieces of India muslin, enough to last for three years. I saw a large pile of pājāmas for the bride put into one of the trunks, considered sufficient for the wear of a year; besides which, forty pieces, consisting of coloured silks and gold brocades, for the same article of dress, were sent unmade, and deemed sufficient for three years to come. Two elephants, several horses, a very handsome bilee for the lady herself, and several raths for the ladies in attendance upon her; as also a palanquin. Then came, carried on trays, dishes of various sorts, for the household, which were made of pure silver; ewers and chilamchīs of the same; also for the cook-room, every article in iron or copper necessary for the establishment of a newly-married couple; and all these things were of the best description. The jewels for the bride, which were very handsome and very valuable, were carried in state, together with a pāndan for holding betel, and all the ingredients for pān; another box, with partitions for spices, cardamums, &c.; a misī-dān for holding misī (a powder made of vitriol, &c.), with which they tinge the teeth of a black colour; a surmā-dān, for holding surmā (the collyrium which they apply to the eyes, to give them a brilliant appearance); an atr-dān, a gulabpash (for sprinkling rose-water); and every article for the toilet of an Asiatic lady. Quilts, mattresses, pillows, carpets, boxes, lamps; in fact, an endless list; besides male and female slaves, to attend on the newly-married people. A Kur’ān, for the bridegroom, was also carried in procession.

Every thing necessary for the use of a native lady is sent on such an occasion, and these articles are provided for years; head and heel ropes for the horses, and even wooden pegs to secure them, and the bullocks, are sent with the lady, that nothing may be wanting.

The Prince took his bride to his tents, and a remarkable ceremony was there witnessed by Mr. Vigne, which he thus relates:—

“I was admitted, as a great favour, to see a custom, peculiar, I believe, to the Timūrians, and which perhaps no European ever saw before. Immediately after the marriage ceremony the bridegroom has the bride taken to his home; but before she quitted her palanquin, which was set down close to it, she thrust her bared foot—a very pretty one, and dyed with henna at the extremities—through the sliding doors, and the bridegroom touched her great toe with the blood of a goat, which I saw him kill with his own hands, whilst yet in his bridal dress and turban, by then and there cutting its throat. When this was done, the bride withdrew her foot, and I made my bow, and the bride and bridegroom retired to their inner apartments.”

By the time the procession had quitted the gates of the zenāna, I was very glad to return to my own rooms to bathe preparatory to breakfast. I had eaten nothing during the night but cardamums and prepared betel-nut: had smoked a little of Colonel Gardner’s hooqŭ, and had drank nothing but tea. Mr. Gardner prepared some pān for me in a particular fashion: I ate it, and found it very refreshing. Pān, so universally eaten in India, is made of the leaf of the piper betel, a species of pepper plant, called pān supéarie and betel-nut; but this betel-nut is not the nut of the piper betel, but of the areca catechu, a palm fifty feet in height. The betel-nut is cut up in small bits and wrapped up in the pān-leaf with lime cuttie, which is a bitter gum resin, an astringent vegetable extract, the produce of a species of mimosa (chadira) catechu Japonica; called kuth by the natives, and some slaked lime, or chunā. Pān at marriage feasts is tied up in packets of a triangular shape, and covered with gold and silver leaf and enamelled foil of bright colours: the lime cuttie dyes the gums and tongue a deep red.

I was quite fresh and free from headache: had I sat up all night in England, where we eat supper, it would have made me ill. Colonel Gardner came in to breakfast, and kissing me on the forehead, said, “Mera betī (my child), you are less fatigued than any one.” The Prince lived with his bride at the tents for three days, after which they returned to Colonel Gardner’s to perform the final ceremony of playing the chāotree.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE CHĀOTREE.

“ONE SNAKE HAS BIT THEM ALL[150].”

“THE PRINCESS HAS GROWN FOOLISH, SHE PELTS HER OWN RELATIONS WITH SWEETMEATS, OTHERS WITH STONES[151].”

“THEY HAVE SCATTERED DATŪRA (thorn apple) IN THE AIR[152].”

i.e. the people are all gone mad.

The Chāotree—Timūrian Dance—Churees—Finale of the Wedding—Jhanee Khanum—The Zenāna Doll—Jealousy of the Natives—Meals of the Slave Girls—Tara the pretty Slave—Conduct of English Ladies considered extraordinary—Poppy-heads—Devotion of Native Women to their Husbands—Illness of Colonel Gardner—Burial-ground of the Family—My Departure—Death of Colonel Gardner, and of his Begam—Orders of Knighthood—Remarks on the Muhammadān Religion and the Punishments of the Grave.

1835, April 2nd.—The chāotree was to be played this day, it being the finale of the wedding. When the Prince and Shubbeah arrived at Khāsgunge they came into the zenāna, and were seated on the gaddī; a large number of trays, containing fruits and vegetables of every description, fresh from the garden, were placed before them, with sugar, &c. Shubbeah had divested herself of her bridal attire, and wore the peshwāz, the court dress of Delhi, which was made of Benares tissue of gold and silver, and she wore all her jewels. Nine fruits of different sorts were wrapped in a cloth, and suspended round her waist by her attendants; it had a curious effect, because the whole was placed beneath her garments; she arose, encumbered with these fruits, and made salām to each of the four corners of the room. Her hair was then decked with natural flowers, her face having previously been covered with silver dust; and she and the Prince were both fed with sugar off a rupee. A stick, ornamented with silver tissue, was given to him, and another to her, with which they pretended to beat each other; these silver wands were presented to all the ladies, and wands covered with flowers were given to the slaves. For some days before the chāotree, the Begam had been employed in teaching the ladies in the zenāna and the slave girls a particular dance, the ancient Princess herself dancing with them, with a silver wand in her hand. I mentioned this to Colonel Gardner; he said, “It is very remarkable that, at weddings, all the ladies of this family perform this particular nāch, but at no other time do they dance; it would lower their dignity.” This is an old Tartar dance, and always performed at weddings amongst the Timūrians; it is the dastūr. The tamāshā consisted in beating each other with these silver sticks, and throwing handfuls of fruits, of turnips, of oranges, of pomegranates, in fact, any thing that could be seized from the trays, at each other; the slaves joining in the fun, breaking the glass windows by accident, and doing much damage. The more you pelt a person, the greater the compliment; sharp jealousy was created in many a breast this day, the source of much anxiety afterwards. This is called playing the chāotree, and finishes the ceremonies of the wedding.

Soon after, a woman came in, with a large basket full of chūrīs for the arms (bracelets), which were made of rings of glass, ornamented with beads. Every body at the wedding, from the Begam to the youngest slave, had chūrīs put on their arms; I was also decorated. These rings are extremely small; to put them on requires considerable art, it being necessary to mull the hand, and render it very pliant, before it can pass through so very small a circumference as that of the churee.

Thus ended the wedding of Prince Unjun Shekō and Shubbeah Begam. They quitted their tents, and went to reside at a pretty little fort and indigo factory, the property of Colonel Gardner, at Moreechee.

The dūlhān (bride) visits her mother on the four first Fridays after her marriage, on each of which the dūlhā (bridegroom) is bribed with a full suit.

“A marriage may be celebrated with a mŭn of rice as well as a mŭn of pearls[153].”

Another wedding immediately began, that of Jhanee Khanum, an adopted daughter of Colonel Gardner’s, a slave girl; but I did not stay to witness it, having before seen the grand display.

It is the custom in the zenāna for every young lady to adopt the child of a slave, which serves as a doll, an amusement for her. Shubbeah had an adopted child, for whom she will have eventually to provide; and every lady in the zenāna had an adopted daughter of the same description. The slaves are a set of the most idle, insolent, good-tempered, thievish, laughing girls I ever saw. I should think, counting babies, slaves and all, there must have been two hundred souls within the four walls of Colonel Gardner’s zenāna.

The prince allowed his brothers to see the bride the day of the wedding, but said he should not allow them to see her in future. A native woman thinks this sort of jealousy very flattering, and prides herself upon it.

The mother of Shubbeah was the happiest of the happy: in her idea, her child had made the finest match in the world, by marrying a prince of the house of Delhi, although she was brought up a Christian, he a follower of the prophet. Her other daughter was happily married, her husband being very fond of native life and native customs.

At noon all the slave girls came for their dinners; each had given her a great chapātī (cake of flour) as large as a plate, and this was filled brim full from two great vessels of curry and rice. This repast took place again at eight in the evening. One day, just as they were beginning their meal, I sat down in the verandah and played an Hindostanee air on a sitar (a native instrument made of a gourd); up started all the slaves in an instant and set to, dancing with their food in their hands and their mouths full! Each slave girl carried her curry and rice on the wheaten cake, which was about the size of a plate, and used it as such; until having eaten the contents she finished with the cake. In spite of their dexterity in putting the food down their throats without dropping the rice or soiling their dresses, the fingers retain a considerable portion of the yellow turmeric and the greasy ghee! They eat custards, rice, and milk, and more fluid food with the hand, sucking the fingers to clean them, and afterwards wipe them dry with a chapātī! They were merry, and fat, and happy, unless the Begam happened to catch one out in a theft, when the other girls punished her. Some of the slaves were pretty girls, and great favourites. To show how little they had to do, the following anecdote may suffice. A pretty slave girl was sitting by my bedside; I held out my hand, and desired her to shampoo it: the girl’s countenance became clouded, and she did not offer to do it—her name was Tara (the Star). “Why do you not mull my hand, Tara?” said I. “Oh,” she replied, “I never mull the hand; the other girls do that; I only mull the Colonel Sāhib’s eyebrows. I can take the pain from them when he is ill;—that is my duty. I will not shampoo the hand.” I laughed at her description of the work that fell to her lot as a slave, and said, “Well, Tara, mull my eyebrows; my head aches;” with the greatest good-humour she complied, and certainly charmed away the pain. It is the great luxury of the East.

I might have lived fifty years in India and never have seen a native wedding. It is hardly possible for a European lady to be present at one. Alaida and her sister the Evening Star learnt to read and write Persian; a very old moonshee was allowed to teach them. Musulmānī ladies generally forget their learning when they grow up, or they neglect it. Every thing that passes without the four walls is reported to them by their spies: never was any place so full of intrigue, scandal, and chit-chat as a zenāna. Making up marriages is their great delight, and the bustle attendant on the ceremonies. They dote upon their children, and are so selfish they will not part from them to allow them to go to school, if it be possible to avoid it. The girls, of course, never quit the zenāna. Within the four walls surrounding the zenāna at Khāsgunge is a pretty garden, with a summer-house in the centre; fountains play before it, and they are fond of spending their time out of doors. During the rains they take great delight in swinging under the large trees in the open air. They never ride on horseback, or go on the water for pleasure. They are very fond of atr of all sorts, the scent of which is overpowering in their houses. They put scented oil on their hair; to eau-de-Cologne and lavender-water they have the greatest aversion, declaring it to be gin, to drink! The prophet forbade all fermented liquors, after a battle which he nearly lost by his soldiers getting drunk, and being surprised.

The old Begam said to Colonel Gardner, “They are curious creatures, these English ladies; I cannot understand them or their ways,—their ways are so odd!” And yet the Begam must have seen so many European ladies, I wonder she had not become more reconciled to our odd ways.

The conduct that shocked them was our dining with men not our relations, and that too with uncovered faces. A lady’s going out on horseback is monstrous. They could not comprehend my galloping about on that great English horse, just where I pleased, with one or two gentlemen and the coachman as my attendants. My not being afraid to sleep in the dark without having half a dozen slave girls snoring around me, surprised them. My remaining alone writing in my own room, my not being unhappy when I was alone,—in fact, they looked upon me as a very odd creature. It was almost impossible to enjoy solitude, the slave girls were peeping under the corner of every parda. Some one or other was always coming to talk to me; sometimes asking me to make up a marriage! If a native lady is relating a story, and you look incredulous, she exclaims, “I swear to God it is true!” They are very fond of this exclamation. One day, in the gardens, I was talking to Tara, the pretty slave girl, when she darted away over the poppy beds, screaming out, “I swear to God there is a ripe poppy-head!” and she came back with her ripe poppy-head, out of which she beat the seeds on the palm of her hand, and ate them. She then brought some more for me, which I ate in her fashion. The half-ripe seeds of the poppy eaten raw, and fresh gathered, are like almonds; they do not intoxicate. “Remember,” said Tara, “after dinner you shall have a dish sent you; partake of it, you will like it.” It is made thus; gather three or four young poppy-heads when they are full of opium, and green; split each head into four parts, fry them in a little butter, a very little, only just enough to fry them, with some pepper and salt—send them to table, with the dessert. The flavour is very pleasant, and if you only eat enough, you will become as tipsy as mortal may desire. We had them often at Colonel Gardner’s; and I have felt rather sleepy from eating them. The old nawab was in his glory when he had two or three spoonfuls of these poppy-heads in his plate, one of which is a good dose. I was so fond of the unripe seeds, that I never went into the garden, but the mālī brought me ten or twelve heads, which I usually finished at once. There were some beds of the double red poppy, especially set apart for the Begam, the opium from that poppy being reckoned the finest; a couple of lumps of opium were collected, and brought in daily. Colonel Gardner said to me, “The Begam is perplexed; she wants to know how you, a married woman, can have received the gift of a nose-ring from a gentleman not your husband? She says the nose-ring is the bridal ring. She is perplexed.” I had differed in opinion with a gentleman: he said, “I will bet you a nose-ring you are in the wrong.” The native jewellers had been at the house that morning showing their nose-rings, and other native ornaments. I accepted the bet, and was victorious: the gentleman presented me with a nose-ring, which I declined, because its value was one hundred and sixty rupees, i.e. £16. “I will accept the n’hut I have won, but it must be one from the bazār, which will be an exact imitation of this ring, and will cost one rupee and a half.” It was accordingly procured for me. The Begam having heard this story was perplexed until it was explained to her, that I was not going to marry the gentleman, and had only accepted the nose-ring to make a native dress perfect.

Three of the slave girls, wishing to see the world, I suppose, went to the Begam, and asked her to give them to me. She laughed and told me their request.

Science has not yet entered the confines of the zenāna; nature and superstition reign supreme; nevertheless, native women suffer less on the birth of a child than the women of Europe. The first nourishment given an infant medicinally is composed of umaltass (cassia fistula), sugar, aniseed water, and russote, from a colt just born! Native women do not approve of flannel for infants, thinking it excites the skin too much.

In [page 230] is the following remark by Colonel Gardner,—“Nothing can exceed the quarrels that go on in a zenāna, or the complaints the Begams make against each other; a common complaint is, such an one has been practising witchcraft against me.” The following extracts will account for their belief in witchcraft. “Aa’yeshah said, ‘His Majesty was bewitched while he was with me, and he prayed to God, and then said, ‘O Aa’yeshah! do you know, that verily God gave me what I asked him? Two men came to me, one sitting at my head, the other at my feet; and one of them said to the other, ‘What is the cause of his Majesty’s pain and illness?’ The other said, ‘The man has been bewitched.’ The other asked, ‘Who did it?’ He said, ‘Labid-bin-As’am, the Jew.’ The first said, ‘In what thing?’ The other replied, ‘In a comb, and in the hair which falls from it, and in the film of the male date bud.’ And one of them said, ‘Where has he put them?’ The other said, ‘In the well Dharwān.’ Then his Majesty sent Alī and Omer to bring the things out of the well; and they found in the bud an image of his Majesty, made with wax, with needles stuck into it, and a thread tied upon it, with eleven knots in it. Then Gabriel brought the chapters imploring protection, every verse of which repeated opened one of the knots; and his Majesty received ease from every needle that was pulled out of it.”

“His Highness permitted spells being used, to counteract the effects of a malignant eye; and on those bit by snakes, or scorpions, and for sores in the side. A man said to his Majesty, ‘We made use of charms in the time of ignorance, may we use them now or not?’ He said, ‘Describe your spells to me, that I may see the meaning of them; there is no fear in using spells which do not associate any thing with God.’”

“Zainab, wife of Abdullah-bin-Masu’ud, said, ‘Abdullah saw a thread round my neck, and said, ‘What is this?’ I said, ‘This is a thread which has been made as a charm for me.’ Then he took and broke it to pieces; after that he said, ‘O family of Abdullah! verily you stand not in need of this kind of charm used by the polytheists; because I heard the Prophet say, Verily, spells and tying to the necks of children the nails of tearing animals, and the thread which is tied round a wife’s neck, to make her husband love her, are all in the way of the polytheists.’”

“Then I said to Abdullah, ‘Why do you say so? Verily, I had such a pain in my eyes that I thought they would have fallen out; and I went to a Jew; and when he applied a spell I got ease.’ Then Abdullah said, ‘This is nothing but the work of the devil; he was shaking your eyes with his hands, and when the spell was used he stopped. It will be sufficient for you to repeat such words as his Majesty used to say: O Cherisher of men! remove this punishment, and give ease; thou art the giver of health, there is no cure but from thee, the remover of sickness.’”

“A man said, ‘O messenger of God! verily the family of Jaspar are soon affected by the baneful influence of a malignant eye; may I use spells for them or not?’ His Majesty said, ‘Yes; for the eye has a complete influence; because, verily, if there was a thing to overcome fate, it most certainly would be a malignant eye.’”

Sons are of inestimable value; the birth of a daughter is almost a calamity; but even the mother blest with a son is not likely to remain long without a rival in the heart of her husband, since ninety-nine out of a hundred take new wives; besides the concubines given by the mother before marriage!

When a Muhammadan has sworn to separate himself from his wife, she retires to her own apartments, and does not behold her husband for four months; if they are not reconciled by the end of that time, all their ties are broken; the woman recovers her liberty, and receives, on quitting the house, the property settled on her by the contract of marriage. The girls follow the mother, the boys remain with the father. The husband cannot send her from his house until the expiration of the four months.

One day Colonel Gardner was ill; he was in the large garden without. The Begam begged me to go to him; she dared not leave the zenāna, even to assist her husband, who was so ill that his attendants had run in for aid! I went to him. After a time he was better, and wished to return to the house; he leaned on my shoulder for support, and led the way to the burial-ground of his son Allan, just without the garden. He sat down on a tomb, and we had a long conversation; “If it were not for old age, and the illness it brings on,” said he, “we should never be prepared, never ready to leave this world. I shall not last long; I shall not see you again, my betī; I wish to be buried by the side of my son; but I have spoken to James about it. The poor Begam, she will not survive me long; mark my words,—she will not say much, but she will take my death to heart, she will not long survive me: when her son Allan died she pounded her jewels in a mortar.” Shortly afterwards we returned to the house.

It may appear extraordinary to an European lady that the Begam, in her affliction, should have pounded her jewels in a mortar: ornaments are put aside in times of mourning; and jewellery with native ladies is highly prized, not merely for its own sake—that of adding to their beauty, but as a proof of the estimation in which they are held by their husbands. If a man be angry with his wife, he will take away her jewels, and not allow her to wear them; if pleased, it is his delight to cover her with the most valuable ornaments, precious stones set in pure gold. The quantity and value of the jewellery thus ascertains the rank to which a lady is entitled in this sort of domestic “order of merit;” the women pride themselves upon this adornment, and delight in jewellery as much as the men of England in stars and garters.

A lady wears slippers only out of doors, and puts them off on entering the house; the slippers are of various forms and patterns; some of them are square at the toes, and have iron heels. “She combs his head with the iron heel of her slipper,” is applied to a woman who domineers over her husband. The slippers for the ladies are of cloth, of the gayest colours, ornamented with embroidery of gold and silver, adorned with seed pearls, and with beetle wings, which are worked into flowers upon the cloth, and cover the long peak that turns up over the toes.

Stockings are never worn; but I have seen little coloured socks, made of the wool of Cashmir, worn at times during the cold season. The ankles of a native lady are decorated with massive rings, called kurrā; those worn by the Begam were of gold, thickly studded with jewels; the ladies had them of solid embossed gold; and for the slaves, they were of solid silver. These rings are generally hexagonal or octagonal, of an equal thickness throughout, and terminated by a knob at each end. The gold or the silver of which they are composed being pure metal, they may be opened sufficiently to be put on or off at pleasure; the ends being brought together by the pressure of the hand.

Another ornament consists of a great number of small bells, ghoonghroo, strung on a cord, and worn around the ankle, hanging to the heel. It is reckoned very correct to wear these tinkling bells; if a native wishes to praise a woman most highly, he says, “She has never seen the sun, she always wears bells.”

In lieu of this string of bells, another ornament is often worn, called pāezēb, which consists of heavy rings of silver, resembling a horse’s curb chain, but much broader, set with a fringe of small spherical bells, all of which tinkle at every motion of the limb; and all the toes are adorned with rings, some of which are furnished with little bells; such rings are called ghoonghroodar chhallā. The ladies wear their dresses, unless they be grand dresses for occasions of state, until they are dirty; perhaps for five or six days together; the dresses are then thrown away, and they put on new attire.

5th.—I took leave of my dear Colonel Gardner, and quitted him with a heavy heart, for I saw how feeble his health had become, how necessary quiet and attention were for him, and I knew that, left to the care of natives, his comfort would be little considered.

After my departure, I heard he endured much annoyance from domestic concerns, and that it was too much for his feeble health. He suffered greatly from asthma and violent headaches, and had only recently recovered from an attack of paralysis. I was strongly tempted to return to Khāsgunge when I heard of his illness, but was deterred from a feeling of delicacy: an adopted child has a right to a portion of the inheritance, and my presence might have caused the ladies of the zenāna to imagine a sinister motive influenced me.

A gentleman who was with him afterwards told me,—“During his last illness, Colonel Gardner often spoke of you in terms of the greatest affection, and expressed many times his wish for your presence; I did not write to tell you so, because the hot winds were blowing, and the distance some five or six hundred miles.”

Had he only written to me, I would have gone dāk to Khāsgunge immediately; what would the annoyance of hot winds or the distance have been, in comparison with the satisfaction of gratifying the wish of my departing friend? I had lived for weeks in his house, enjoying his society, admiring his dignified and noble bearing, and listening with delight to the relation of his marvellous escapes and extraordinary adventures. His chivalric exploits and undaunted courage deserve a better pen than mine, and he alone was capable of being his own historian.

Colonel Gardner told me, if I ever visited Delhi, he would give me an introduction to the Nawāb Shah Zamānee Begam, the Emperor’s unmarried sister; who would show me all that was worth seeing in the zenāna of the palace of the King of Delhi. This pleased me greatly; so few persons ever have an opportunity of seeing native ladies.

On the 29th of the following July my beloved friend, Colonel Gardner, departed this life at Khāsgunge, aged sixty-five. He was buried, according to his desire, near the tomb of his son Allan. From the time of his death the poor Begam pined and sank daily; just as he said, she complained not, but she took his death to heart; she died one month and two days after his decease. Native ladies have a number of titles; her death, names, and titles were thus announced in the papers:—“On the 31st of August, at her residence at Khāsgunge, Her Highness Furzund Azeza Zubdeh-tool Arrakeen Umdehtool Assateen Nuwab Mah Munzil ool Nissa Begam Dehlmī, relict of the late Colonel William Linnæus Gardner.”

“The sound of the Nakaras and Dumana have ceased[154].”

Colonel Gardner’s Begam was entitled from her rank to the use of the nalkī, the morchhal or fan of peacock’s feathers, and the nakara and dumana, state kettle drums.

The following extract from Colonel Sleeman’s most interesting work will explain the value of these articles of pomp and state:—“The Nalkee is one of the three great insignia which the Mogul Emperors of Delhi conferred upon independent Princes of the first class, and could never be used by any person upon whom, or upon whose ancestors, they had not been so conferred. These were the Nalkee, the Order of the Fish, and the fan of Peacock’s feathers.

“These insignia could be used only by the Prince, who inherited the sovereignty of the one on whom they had been originally conferred.

“The Order of the Fish, or Mahee Moratub, was first instituted by Khoosroo Purwez, King of Persia, and grandson of the celebrated Nowsherwan the Just. He ascertained from his astrologer, Aruz Khushusp, that, when he ascended the throne, the moon was in the constellation of the Fish; and he gave orders to have two balls made of polished steel, which were to be called konkubas (planets), and mounted on long poles. These two planets, with a large fish, made of gold, upon a third pole in the centre, were ordered to be carried in all regal processions, immediately after the King. The two konkubas are now generally made of copper, and plated, and in the shape of a jar, instead of quite round, as at first; but the fish is still made of gold. Two planets are always considered necessary to one fish; and they are still carried in all processions between the Prince and his prime minister. Noosamanee, who ascended the throne of Persia after the Sassanians, ascertained that the moon was in the sign Leo at the time of his accession, and ordered that the gold head of a lion should henceforward accompany the fishes and the two balls in all royal processions. The Persian order of knighthood is, therefore, that of the Fish, the Moon, and the Lion; and not the Lion and Sun, as generally supposed.

“The Emperors of the House of Timour, in Hindoostan, assumed the right of conferring the order upon all they pleased; and they conferred it upon the great territorial sovereigns of the country, without distinction as to religion. He only who inherits the sovereignty can wear the order; and I believe no Prince would venture to wear or carry the order who was not generally reputed to have received the investiture from one of the Emperors of Delhi.”

Reading the history of the Dynasty of Timur, the free-thinking of all the race is remarkable; religion appeared principally to be used by them for political purposes.

I cannot quit the zenāna without some observations on the Muhammadan religion, and some extracts from the Kū’rān and other works on the subject.

The Prophet was a cunning fellow, and made the religion he preached subservient to the interests of his own sex. Muhammad, in a vision, beheld the infernal regions; his blood curdled; behold! the greater part of its inhabitants were women, sent there for not having obeyed their husbands!

Obedience to the master ensured the slave—i.e. the wife—admittance to Paradise.

The Prophet says, “Admonish your wives with kindness, because women were created from a crooked bone of the side; therefore, if you wish to straighten it, you will break it; and if you let it alone, it will always be crooked.”

“When a woman performs the five times of prayer, and fasts the month of Ramdān, and guards herself in purity, and obeys her husband, then tell her to enter Paradise by whichever door she likes.” “Every woman who dies, and her husband is pleased with her, shall enter Paradise.”

“No one woman vexes her husband in the world; but the husband’s wife in Paradise says, ‘Vex not thy husband, may God destroy thee! because he is nothing more than a traveller with thee; he will soon come to me in Paradise.’”

“Verily the best of women are those who are most content with little.”

This tradition is recorded:—

“An unknown person came to the Prophet, and said,—‘O Muhammad, instruct me in Islām!’ The Prophet said, ‘Islām is, that thou bear witness there is no God but God, and that Muhammad is his messenger; and be stedfast in prayer, and charitable; and fast during the month of Ramdān; and make a pilgrimage to the Kaaba, if thou have it in thy power to go there.’ The man replied, ‘Thou hast spoken true.’ On which we wondered at his questioning the Prophet, and then telling him that he spoke the truth. Then the man said, ‘Instruct me in Imān.’ The Prophet said, ‘That thou believe in God, and in his angels, and in his books, and in his prophets, and in the day of resurrection, and that every virtue and vice is by the will of God.’ The man said, ‘Thou hast spoken true.’ He then said, ‘Inform me in Ih’sān.’ The Prophet said, ‘That thou worship God as if thou sawest him; for though thou dost not see him, know that he seeth thee.’ The man said, ‘Thou hast spoken true.’ He then said, ‘Instruct me concerning the resurrection.’ The Prophet said, ‘I am no wiser than the questioner.’ Omer said, ‘After this, the man departed, and I remained sitting a long time; after which the Prophet said to me, ‘Didst thou know who that person was?’ I replied, ‘God and his prophet know best.’ Muhammad said, ‘Verily it was Gabriel, he came for the purpose of instructing you in your faith.’”

The Ramdān is the ninth month of the Muhammadan year, in which a rigid fast, from daybreak till night, is enjoined to all Musalmāns; the reason assigned for this is, that the Kū’rān began to descend from heaven in this month.

The Kaaba is the square temple at Mecca; that is, the Kibla of the Muhammadans, or place to which they turn their faces when at prayer. The Kibla of the Jews was the Temple of Jerusalem.

“When the month of Ramdān arrives, the doors of Paradise are opened, and the doors of the infernal regions are shut, and the devils are chained by the leg. The person who fasts the month of Ramdān, on account of belief in God, shall be pardoned all his past faults.”

“Keep not fast until you see the new moon; and if the moon be hidden from you by clouds, count the days. Eat at the first dawn of day, because it gives increase of strength for performing the fast.”

The prophet used to say, when he saw the new moon, “O Lord! make the new moon rise upon us, safe from calamities, and firm in faith, and pure in heart, and secure in Islām. Oh, new moon! our Lord, and your Lord, is God.”

“When the darkness of the night advances from the west, and day follows from the western quarter, I mean the sunset, the keeper of fast may begin to eat.”

Those who profess this religion are interdicted from eating and drinking between the dawn and appearance of the stars at night. On the 27th of this month, the Kū’rān began to descend; and every prayer offered up that night will be complied with.

The Adhān, or call to prayer, is to repeat the Jacbir twice over with a loud voice, as a signal for prayer. The prophet ordered the Muadhd’hin, the person who calls the people to prayer, to put his two forefingers into his ears, when repeating the Adhān, because it strengthens the voice.

“The Jacbir: God is greatest, God is greatest; I bear witness there is no God but God, I bear witness there is no God but God; I bear witness that Mohammud is the messenger, I bear witness that Mohammud is the messenger. Hasten to prayer, hasten to prayer; hasten to redemption, hasten to redemption. God is greatest, God is greatest; there is no God but God.”

“Verily, Friday is the chief of days in the estimation of God, and it is greater than either the festival of sacrifice, or that of Ramdān. Why do they call Friday Jumâh? or the assembly? Because, on that day the clay of thy father Adam was collected, and on that day will be destruction, and rising from the dead; and on it resurrection, and in the last three sáâts of Friday there is one in which the requests of a servant are granted.

“Pronounce ye many blessings on me on Friday, because the angels are present. There is not a Musalmān that dies in the day or night of Friday, that God doth not preserve from the punishments of the grave.

“He who visits the graves of his father and mother, or one of them, on every Friday, his faults will be pardoned: and there will be written, in the register of his actions, a doer of good to his father and mother. Visiting and seeing graves dispels worldly wishes and gives disgust to them, and reminds of futurity.”

The efficacy of prayer is greatly enhanced by the use of the miswác, a kind of tooth-brush made of the twig or the root of a tree, beaten at the end into a brush. When the prophet stood up to prayer in the night he rubbed and washed his mouth with the miswác. The Musalmanī ladies regarded our European tooth-brushes with horror, and considered them unfit to be used, as being formed from the bristles of the unclean beast. “When you hear a cock crow, then supplicate God for an increase of his beneficence, because the cock sees an angel and crows at the sight; and when you hear an ass bray, seek protection with God from the devil and say, ‘I take protection with God from the cast-out devil, because the ass has seen the devil.’”

Pilgrimage to Mecca once during life is necessary for every Musalmān: and pilgrimage for women is as the Holy War for the men.

The prophet performed his farewell pilgrimage after an interval of ten years, nine of which he spent at Medinah.

“When the prophet arrived at the Kaaba, he kissed the Black Stone, then encompassed the kaaba three times in a quick step, and walked four times in a gentle pace; after which he came to the stone on which is the impression of Abraham’s foot, and repeated this revelation; ‘Take the station of Abraham for a place of prayer.’ Then he gave the salām. One hundred camels were brought for sacrifice, of which the prophet slew sixty-five with his own hands at the place of sacrifice, which is in Mina. The prophet kissed the Black Stone and the Yemáni Pillar of the Kaaba, which pillar belonged to the original structure of the kaaba ascribed to Abraham, and on that account it is held in higher reverence than any of the others.

“The black stone came down from Paradise, and at the time of its descent it was whiter than milk, and the sins of the children of Adam have caused it to be black, by their touching it. ‘Verily, God will suspend the Black Stone, on the day of resurrection, when it will have two eyes, by which it will see and know all those who touched it, and kissed it; and it will have a tongue by which it will speak, and it will give evidence for all those who touched and kissed it on Imàn.’ ‘God has appointed seventy angels over the Yemáni Pillar.’

“The Hindoos insist, that the Black Stone in the wall of the Kaaba, or sacred temple of Mecca, is no other than a form of Mahadēo; and that it was placed there by Mohammud out of contempt; but the newly-converted pilgrims would not give up the worship of the Black Stone, and sinistrous portents forced the ministers of the new religion to connive at it.”

The pilgrims to Mecca visit the graves of Adam, and Noah, and Ali, who was buried near them on the Mount on which Noah’s Ark rested, and make salām also to the grave of Eve, said to be nine yards long!

“It is said God created Adam a handsome figure; he was sixty cubits in stature, and his children also; since which time they have degenerated; but when they enter into Paradise, they will be as tall as Adam was. His stature was sixty cubits, and he was seven cubits broad.”

The Muhammadan religion is intolerant: “His Majesty said, ‘Alláho-Acber I bear witness that I am God’s servant, and sent by him.’ And he added, ‘O Bill’al! get up, and give notice that none will enter Paradise but Musalmāns.’

“There are six duties from one Musalmān to another; to salute each other when they meet; to accept each other’s invitations to dinner; to say ‘God have mercy upon you!’ after sneezing; to visit the sick; and to follow each other’s biers when dead; and for one Musalmān to wish for another what he wishes for himself.” The Muhammadans stand in great awe of the punishments of the grave. “The prophet of God said, ‘When a Musalmān is interrogated in his grave about his God, his prophet, and religion, he will give evidence to the unity of God, and the mission of his prophet, and will say, My religion is Islām.’ When a servant is put into his grave and mankind leave him; verily he hears the noise they make in walking away: when two black angels, with blue eyes, come to the dead body, the name of the one Munkir, the other Nak’ir, and cause it to sit up, and say to it, ‘Who is thy defender?’ and it will say, ‘My defender is God.’ ‘And what is thy religion?’ It will say, ‘My religion is Islām.’ Then they will ask, ‘Who is this man who was sent to thee?’ It will say, ‘He is the messenger of God.’ ‘And how didst thou know he was the prophet of God?’ It will say, ‘I read the book of God, and put faith in it.’ Then a voice will come from heaven, saying, ‘My servant hath spoken true.’ And a bed shall be prepared and clothes provided for it from Paradise; and a door shall be opened for it towards Paradise, when a fragrant gale will breathe upon it from above, and a place will be opened for it in the grave to see out of; but the soul of an infidel will be replaced in its body in the grave. Two angels will come to it and say, ‘Who is thy cherisher?’ It will say, ‘Alas! alas! I know not.’ Then the angels will ask about Muhammad. It will reply, ‘Alas! I know him not.’ A voice will then come from heaven, saying, ‘This servant hath lied; then give it a bed from hell, and clothes also, and open for it a door towards hell.’ Then a hot wind will come to it, and its grave will be contracted so as to break the bones on each side; after which an angel will come to it, deaf and dumb, with a mace of iron, with which, if a mountain were struck, it would turn to dust. Then the angel will strike the body with the mace, the noise of which will be heard by every thing between the east and west, excepting the genii and man, and it will turn to dust; after which, a soul will be returned to it, and it will be tormented to the day of resurrection.”

The iron mace with which the angels torment the wicked is, it is said, the goorz, a sort of iron club, pointed at one end, and having a knob on the other covered with spikes. This sort of mace is carried by Muhammadan fakīrs, the goorz-mar, who believe the wounds made by it will quickly heal from the application of their spittle, by the influence of Syud Ahmad Kabeer.

The prophet said, “When any one of you dieth, his place is shown him morning and evening, whether in heaven or hell; and it is said to him, ‘This grave is thy sitting place until the day of resurrection.’” “Aa’yeshah said, ‘A Jew came to me, and mentioned the punishments of the grave.’ Then I interrogated the prophet about them, and he said, ‘Yes, punishments in the grave are true: and I always observed the prophet, at the end of every prayer, implore God to defend him from the sufferings of the grave.’”

The sums of money and the quantity of food distributed by Colonel Gardner’s Begam in charity was surprising; she was a religious woman, and fulfilled, as far as was in her power, the ordinances of her religion. The necessity of giving alms is strongly inculcated. “To whomsoever God gives wealth, and he does not perform the charity due from it, his wealth will be made into the shape of a serpent on the day of resurrection, which shall not have any hair upon its head; and this is a sign of its poison and long life; and it has two black spots upon its eyes; and it will be twisted round his neck, like a chain, on the day of resurrection: then the serpent will seize the man’s jawbones, and will say, ‘I am thy wealth, from which thou didst not give in charity; I am thy treasure, from which thou didst not separate any alms.’ After this the prophet repeated this revelation. ‘Let not those who are covetous of what God of his bounty hath granted them, imagine that their avarice is better for them: nay, rather it is worse for them. That which they have covetously reserved shall be bound as a collar about their necks on the day of resurrection.’”