CHAPTER XLII.
THE MAHRATTAS AT ALLAHABAD.
Zenāna of the Nawāb of Farrukhabad—The Nawāb Hakīm Menhdī—Hidden Treasures—The Jak—Dak to Cawnpore—The Nawāb of Banda—Returned home in the Seagull—Mr. Blunt, the Lieutenant-Governor, quitted the Station—Arrival of Mr. Ross—The Bāiza Bā’ī sent to Allahabad—Arrival of her Highness—Parties in the Mahratta Camp—Opium-Eating—Marriage Ceremonies of the Hindoos—Procession in Parda—The Bride—Red Gold—The Ex-Queen’s Tents at the Tribeni—The Bathing—Presents to the Brahmans—Arrival of Sir Charles Metcalfe—Sohobut Melā—Illness of the Gaja Rājā Sāhib—Murder of Mr. Frazer—The Bāiza Bā’ī a State Prisoner—The power of Magic.
1835, Oct.—One day I called on the Begam, the mother of the young Nawāb of Farrukhabad, and found her with all her relations sitting in the garden; they were plainly dressed, and looked very ugly. For a woman not to be pretty when she is shut up in a zenāna appears almost a sin, so much are we ruled in our ideas by what we read in childhood of the hoorīs of the East.
One morning, the Nawāb Hakīm Menhdī called; his dress was most curious; half European, half Asiatic. The day being cold, he wore brown corduroy breeches, with black leather boots, and thick leather gloves; over this attire was a dress of fine white flowered Dacca muslin; and again, over that, a dress of pale pink satin, embroidered in gold! His turban was of gold and red Benares tissue. He carried his sword in his hand, and an attendant followed, bearing his hooqŭ; he was in high spirits, very agreeable, and I was quite sorry when he rose to depart. In the evening, he sent down a charming little elephant, only five years old, for me to ride; which I amused myself with doing in the beautiful grounds around the house, sitting on the back of the little beauty, and guiding him with cords passed through his ears.
The next evening the Nawāb sent his largest elephant, on which was an amārī,—that is, a howdah, with a canopy,—which, according to native fashion, was richly gilt, the interior lined with velvet, and velvet cushions; the elephant was a fast one, his paces very easy, and I took a long ride in the surrounding country.
The Muhammadans have a fondness for archery, for which the following extract accounts:—“There was an Arabian bow in the hand of the Prophet, and he saw a man with a Persian one, and said, ‘Throw away the Persian bow, and adopt the Arabian, and appropriate arrows and spears; because God verily will assist with them in religion, and will make you conquerors of cities.’” “Verily, God brings three persons into Paradise, on account of one arrow; the first, the maker of it, being for war; the second, the shooter of it in the road of God; the third, the giver of the arrow into the hands of the archer.”
“His Highness entered Mecca on the day of taking it with his sword ornamented with gold and silver; and he had two coats of mail on the day of the battle of Oh’ud, and wore one over the other; the Prophet had two standards, one large, the other small; the large one was black, and the small one white; verily, the Prophet came into Mecca with a white ensign.”
We were speaking to-day of the practice of burying money, so much resorted to by the natives, when a gentleman remarked,—“It is a curious circumstance, that when a native buries treasure, in order to secure it, the only persons who know the secret are a low, debased caste, called Chamārs; these men are faithful to their employer; they will bury lākhs of rupees, and never betray the spot; they dig the ground, and guard it; as long as their employer lives they keep the secret; the moment of his death, they dig up, and are off with the money; they consider they have a right to it in that case, and they would not give it up to his son.” This is a curious fact, and accounts for their strict secrecy during the life of the owner.
Buried treasures, consisting of jewels, as well as the precious metals, to the extent of lākhs and lākhs, are supposed to exist in the East; the inhabitants in ancient, and even in modern times, being in the habit of thus securing their property from plunder in wars and invasions; but they have not sufficient faith in their Mother Earth to leave their valuables in her care without the aid of necromancy (jādū); and, as before mentioned, the Akbarābādee, or square gold mohur, as represented by Fig. 7 in the plate entitled “[Superstitions of the Natives],” is had recourse to, and buried with the treasure. Those who are not fortunate enough to possess a square gold mohur, substitute an Akbarābādee rupee, Fig. 5; or a square eight ānā piece, Fig. 4. It is also stated that an animal, sometimes a man, is killed, and buried with it as a guard; this animal is called jak, and receives orders to allow no one else to take up the treasure. It is not surprising the natives should behold the researches of English antiquaries with a jealous eye; and it must be some consolation to them that they believe a fatality awaits the appropriation, by the discoverer, of a hidden treasure.
15th.—Having despatched the pinnace to await my arrival at Cawnpore, I started dāk for that place, which I reached the next day, after a most disagreeable journey; I was also suffering from illness, but the care of my kind friends soon restored me to more comfortable feelings.