Lahore is one of the greatest cities of the east, being near twenty-four coss in circuit, round which a great ditch is now digging, the king having commanded the whole city to be surrounded by a strong wall. In the time of the Patan empire of Delhi, Lahore was only a village, Mooltan being then a flourishing city, till Humaion thought proper to enlarge Lahore, which now, including its suburbs, is about six coss in extent. The castle or royal town is surrounded by a brick wall, which is entered by twelve handsome gates, three of which open to the banks of the river, and the other nine towards the land. The streets are well paved, and the inhabitants are mostly Banyan handicrafts, all white men of any note living in the suburbs. The buildings are fair and high of brick, with much curious carvings about the doors and windows; and most of the Gentiles have their house doors raised six or seven steps from the street, and of troublesome ascent, partly for greater security, and to prevent passengers from seeing into their houses. The castle is built on the S.E. bank of the Rauvee, a river that flows into the Indus, and down which many barges of sixty tons and upwards navigate to Tatta in Sindy, after the falling of the rains, being a voyage of about forty days, passing by Mooltan, Sidpoor, Backar, &c.
The river Rauvee comes from the N.E. and passing the north side of the city, runs W.S.W. to join the Indus. Within the castle is the king's palace, which is on the side towards the river, and is entered by the middle gate on that side, after entering which, you go into the palace by a strong gate on the left hand, and a musket-shot farther by a smaller gate, into a large square court, surrounded by atescanna, in which the king's guard keeps watch. Beyond this, and turning again to the left, you enter by another gate into an inner court, in which the king holds his durbar, or court, all round which are atescannas,[251] in which the great men keep watch, and in the middle of the court is a high pole on which to hang a light. From thence you go up to a fair stone jounter, or small court, in the middle of which stands a fair devoncan,[252] with two or three retiring rooms, in which the king usually spends the early part of the night, from eight to eleven o'clock. On the walls is the king's picture, sitting cross-legged on a chair of state, on his right hand Sultan Parvis, Sultan Chorem, and Sultan Timor, his sons; next whom are Shah Morat and Don Shah, his brothers, the three princes who were baptized being sons of this last. Next to them is the picture of Eemersee Sheriff, eldest brother to Khan Azam, with those of many of the principal people of the court. It is worthy likewise of notice, that in this hall are conspicuously placed the pictures of our Saviour and the Virgin Mary.
[Footnote 251: This unexplained word probably signifies a corridore, or covered gallery.--E.]
[Footnote 252: Perhaps a divan, or audience hall.--E.]
From this devoncan, or hall of audience, which is pleasantly situated, overlooking the river, passing a small gate to the west, you enter another small court, where is another open stone chounter to sit in, covered with rich semianes, or canopies. From hence you enter a gallery, at the end of which nest the river is a small window, from which the king looks forth at his dersanee, to behold the fights of wild beasts on a meadow beside the river. On the walls of this gallery are the pictures of the late Emperor Akbar, the present sovereign, and all his sons. At the end is a small devoncan, where the king usually sits, and behind it is his bed-chamber, and before it an open paved court, along the right-hand side of which is a small moholl of two stories, each containing eight fair chambers for several women, with galleries and windows looking both to the river and the court. All the doors of these chambers are made to be fastened on the outside, and not within. In the gallery, where the king usually sits, there are many pictures of angels, intermixed with those of banian dews, or devils rather, being of most ugly shapes, with long horns, staring eyes, shaggy hair, great paws and fangs, long tails, and other circumstances of horrible deformity, that I wonder the poor women are not frightened at them.
Returning to the former court, where the adees, or guards, keep watch, you enter by another gate into the new durbar, beyond which are several apartments, and a great square moholl, sufficient to lodge two hundred women in state, all having several apartments. From the same court of guard, passing right on, you enter another small paved court, and thence into another moholl, the stateliest of all, containing sixteen separate suites of large apartments, each having a devoncan, or hall, and several chambers, each lady having her tank, and enjoying a little separate world of pleasures and state to herself, all pleasantly situated, overlooking the river. Before the moholl appropriated to the mother of Sultan Cussero, is a high pole for carrying a light, as before the king, as she brought forth the emperor's first son and heir.
Before this gallery is a fair paved court, with stone gratings and windows along the water; beneath which is a pleasure garden; and behind are the king's principal lodgings, most sumptuously decorated, all the walls and ceilings being laid over with pure gold, and along the sides, about man's height, a great number of Venetian mirrors, about three feet asunder, and in threes over each other; and below are many pictures of the king's ancestors, as Akbar his father, Humaion his grandfather, Babur his great-grandfather, the first of the race who set foot on India, together with thirty of his nobles, all clad as calenders or fakiers. In that disguise Babur and his thirty nobles came to Delhi to the court of Secunder, then reigning, where Babur was discovered, yet dismissed under an oath not to attempt any hostilities during the life of Secunder, which he faithfully performed. On the death of Secunder, Babur sent his son Humaion against his successor Abram, from whom he conquered the whole kingdom. There afterwards arose a great captain, of the displaced royal family in Bengal, who fought a great battle against Humaion near the Ganges, and having defeated him, continued the pursuit till he took refuge in the dominions of Persia; where he procured new forces, under the command of Byram, father to the Khan Khana, and reconquered all, living afterwards in security. On the death of Humaion, Akbar was very young, and Byram Khan was left protector of the realm. When Akbar grew up, and assumed the reins of government, he cast off Byram, and is said to have made away with him, when on a roomery, or pilgrimage to Mecca. The son of Byram, Khan-khana, or khan of the khans, in conjunction with his friends and allies, is a great curb on Shah Selim, being able to bring into the field upwards of 100,000 horse. Shah Selim affirms himself to be the ninth in lineal male descent from Tamerlane, or Timur the Great, emperor of the Moguls.[253]
[Footnote 253: We have here left out a farther description of the palace and other buildings at Lahore, which in fact convey little or no information.--E.]
The 17th of May came news that the Patan thieves had sacked the city of Cabul, having come suddenly against it from their mountains with 11,000 foot and 1000 horse, while the governor was absent on other affairs at Jalalabad, and the garrison so weak that it was only able to defend the castle. In six hours they plundered the city, and retired with their booty. For the better keeping these rebels in order, the king has established twenty-three omrahs between Lahore and Cabul, yet all will not do, as they often sally from their mountains, robbing caravans and plundering towns. The 18th of August, there arrived a great caravan from Persia, by whom we had news of the French king's death, from an Armenian who had been in the service of Mr Boys.
On the west side of the castle of Lahore is the ferry for crossing over the Rauvee on the way to Cabul, which is 271 cosses, and thence to Tartary and Cashgar. Cabul is a large and fair city, the first seat of the present king's great-grandfather Babur. At forty cosses beyond is Gorebond, or Gourhund, a great city bordering on Usbeck Tartary; and 150 coss from Cabul is Taul Caun, a city in Buddocsha, or Badakshan of Bucharia. From Cabul to Cashgar, with the caravan, it is two or three months journey, Cashgar being a great kingdom under the Tartars. A chief city of trade in that country is Yarcan, whence comes much silk, porcelain, musk, and rhubarb, with other commodities; all or most of which come from China, the gate or entrance into which is some two or three months farther. When the caravan comes to this entrance, it must remain under tents, sending by licence some ten or fifteen merchants at once to transact their business, on whose return as many more may be sent; but on no account can the whole caravan be permitted to enter at once.