Wilmington journal., 1875-09-03
f'Rs<GEE.s NRNsECEN(s: Os' sy.s g.
1saks:As 7sp(:EG4R INDIA
side ArtAs GA E'E.ncese~- s'ifsae 81
crhaEGs Covered HItia sstsiU and
Jewels s-Strc@ts Garpotcd ViIt.
silk slaEu Velvet.

side Artns OF E'r.nce...s- safs,c 81
orha,uis Covered w.tl t.oi" and
Jewels -SgrC@ts (aFpotcH wiz l.
SiEk 3lsEd Velvet.
from the Pail Mail G.zctte.I
Nothing but ridicule could have at-
tended any attempt on the part of the
Prince of Wales to rival the Mahom-
mcdau rulers of Indian cstcutat
and magniticence. In the matter Of
presents alone his utmost lnunlticoncc
would have been surpassed by a Single
&C; OF favor displayed by one of the
former sovereigns of HtnIostar. For
instance, Jehan Geer bestowed upon
his sou, when setting out to axe the
command of the army III the Deccau,
"a sword, the scabbdrd OF which Was
of gold set with stones valued at 100,
0UO rupees (elO,OOU), a dagger at 81, :
900, al elephant and two horses, al
their furniture of gold, set with
stones, and state carriage builtiu
imitation of one sent out to the Empe-
ror by King James [. On his birthday
Jehan GeeI was so richly adorned with
Jewels that Sir Thomas Roe protests
that in all Ills life he never saw such
inestimabi~ wealth together" The
tlmo," he continues, twas spent IL
p - =
him some of which, being lord Gle
plants, had their chains, bells, and
furniture of gold aud silver, with many
gilt banners aud tiags carried abou.
them, and eight or ten elephants wait
ing Oh each OF them clothed III gold,
silk, and silver In this manner about
twelve companies passed by, most
richly adorned, the first having ali the
/
rubies and emeralds, being beast OF
wonderful bulk and beauty. They ali
b owed down before the King, making
their reverence very handsomely"
On one occasion when the kIug hon
hOred his Minister with his company
at dinner, the road was covered for 8
whole mile with silks and velvets
sewed together, and the cost Of tie
banquet was estimated Ht EGO, 900. On
his birthday Jchan Gheer Was weighed
against seven kinds of commodities,
such as rupees, jewels, cloth OF gold,
silks, callcoes, spices, honey and but
ter, whicn was afterwards distri buted
among the poor. The scales were Of
beaten gold, set with small stones.
rubles aud torquolses; they hung by
chains of gold, and tor more surety
there were silk ropes. The beam Was
covered with gold. The great lords
of the nation sat abopt the throne on
rich carpets, expecting the Kings
coming out. At length he appear, d,
covered with diamonds, rubies, and
pearls. He had several strings OF
them bbout his neck, arms, wrists, and
turbau, and two or three rings on &, v
cry finger. His sword, buckler, and
throne we're also covered with precious
stones. Among the Fest saw ruOivs
as big as wulnuts, and pearls of a pro-
digious magnitude. He got INTO one
of the scales, on his legs like n tailor"
After all, the roya! gifts were not i'll
general very costly. When the weigh
ing was over, basins full of silver III
monds, nuts. and other fruits were
placed before he king, who throw
them about i'll handfuIls, while his
mobiles scrambled for then. Obscrv-
Ing thut Sir Thomas hoe wouid not
stoop to such meanncse, Jehan Cheer
took up basin that was nearly full
aud poured iG into his cloak. The cour-
tiers, however, had the impudence to
thrust in their hands SO greediiy" that
the worthy knight had some trouble to
rescue these proofs OF the royal favor
from their rapacity. He had been
told beforehand that the king would
scatter fruits moulded in massive gold,
but to his disgust he discovered that
they consisted of very thin silver, q
Thousand of them barely weighed .e2O.
Neverth less, 81 saved, he says. 1.-The
value of ten or twelve crowns, and
these would have filled a large dish.
1 keep them to show the vanity of
these people. 1 do not believe that
the king that day threw away much
above the value of se1U0."
Bernier, indeed, Says that, although |
India was an abyss that swallowed up
the gold and silver of other lands, he |
did not regard the Mogul as being ex-
rich. Shah Jehan, for |
after exercising gcommendabIe |
thrift for the space of forty years. left |
only six millions in the treasury, with.
out taking into consideration, however,