Great Mogul

“ The air in the Mogul’s empire is cold, and the soil barren. Their commodities are aloes, musk, rhubarb, borax, silk and cotton, indigo, & c. The religion Paganism, the government arbitrary, and the Great Mogul is heir to every man’s estate, which he disposes of at his pleasure; the throne he sits upon is the richest in the world. In the peninsula within the Ganges, the air is very hot, and the soil exceeding fruitful; and the longest day is thirteen hours and a half, and the shortest eleven and a half. ”

“ To give an exact account of all these provinces, were more than I am able to undertake; yet, from what I have observed of a few, I may venture to conjecture concerning the rest, and I am convinced that the Great Mogul, considering the extent of his territories, his wealth, and the rich commodities of his dominions, is the greatest known monarch of the east, if not in the whole world. This widely extended sovereignty is so rich and fertile, and so abounding in all things for the use of man, that it is able to subsist and flourish of itself, without the help of any neighbour. ”

“ Hence, Fateh Mohammed felt neither “victorious” nor “praised” when a high official, accompanied by a glittering retinue, rode out from Agra and greeted Mowbray and Sainton with much deference, inviting them to return with him forthwith and accept the Emperor’s hospitality! They had gone through so many vicissitudes of late that this bewildering attitude on the part of the Mogul monarch left them outwardly unmoved though inwardly amazed. No one could be more surprised than Mowbray, the too successful prophet of the royal intent. ”

“ If we believe the tales of travellers and historians, nothing since the days of Babylon has equalled the magnificence of the Great Mogul. But magnificence in a sovereign generally means misery in his subjects. The wealth that is lavished on the court is wrung from the people. So it is said to have been with some of the successors of Akbar. The latest historian of Mussulman India [2] says: "They were the most shameless tyrants that ever disgraced a throne. Mogul administration ... was a monstrous system of oppression and extortion, which none but Asiatics could have practised or endured. ”

“ He disappeared in the mountains of Swât whither he had gone in the vain effort to translate one of Akbar's dreams into terms of reality.
For the Great Mogul, Emperor of India, had dreams of conquest, not by sword, not even by religion, as his great forerunner the Emperor Asoka had had in the years before Christ--but by common sense; that is the voluntary submission of the individual to a collective policy which makes for peace and prosperity to the mass of the people. ”

“ Gnats bit right through his tough hide; he swung his great head incessantly and angrily, lashing them with his tail; still they clung, biting and stinging his flesh until blood flowed. The plains stretched on ahead with no companionship in sight. Poor, lonely Mogul! For days he had not tasted water. If he could but find a water hole, he would wallow and rid himself of the stinging pests. That night he reached a small, brackish pool of water and, dropping into a moist place, Mogul rolled about until he had made a fine hole about as long and wide as himself. ”

“ Morrison was furnished with proposals, the chief of which were these:—“The Great Mogul, Shah Alum, as undoubted lord and sovereign of Hindustan, &c, and as having full right so to do, would transfer to his Britannic majesty, Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, with all that the company possessed in those parts, and which was all forfeited by them, upon condition that his Britannic majesty would pay the pecuniary homage of thirty-two lacs, and aid the Great Mogul with troops and arms.” ”

“ Of what avail are the vain efforts of man! ‘Lord, a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but Thy word shall not pass away.’”
Though the friar spoke Latin when he quoted the Bible, Walter followed his thought closely. Here was a man wholly unmoved by the pomp and vanity of the world. Fra Pietro paid more heed to a budding shrub as a manifest sign of the Creator than to all the transient splendor of the Mogul capital. ”

“ The Mogul takes great delight in these stately animals, and often, when he sits in state, calls for some of the finest and largest to be brought, which are taught to bend before him, as in reverence, when they come into his presence. They often fight before him, beginning their combats like rams, by running furiously against each other, and butting with their foreheads. ”

“ On the present occasion, instead of encumbering the bottoms of our pages with the display of numerous explanatory notes on this topographical list of places and provinces, a running commentary has been introduced into the text, so far as seemed necessary, yet distinguished sufficiently from the original notices by Terry. The observations, by way of commentary, are marked, as this paragraph.--E.
The large empire of the Great Mogul is bounded on the east by the kingdom of Maug ”

“ For never was man more mystified. Clemency, even from a Mogul ruler, was not altogether a vain thing to expect. But why had Jahangir’s grace taken such form? If the Europeans were to be well received, why had the Emperor denied them admission to the fort under a trumpery excuse, after having expressed a wish to see them at once? Where was Jai Singh? Evidently Nur Mahal, assuming it was she who signalled from the tower, had definite news of their coming, and it was most unlikely that she could be so accurately [Pg 290] informed save through the medium of her devoted adherent. ”

“ As your heart is noble and upright, so may God give you a prosperous reign, because you powerfully defend the majesty of Jesus, which may God render yet more flourishing, having been confirmed by miracles," &c.
We travelled two years with the Great Mogul, who was in progress through his dominions, moving only during the temperate months, between October and April. On this occasion, I am confident that the leskar, or camp, contained not less than 300,000 persons, including men, women, and children, besides elephants, horses, and other beasts, that were fed upon grain ”

“ On it was inscribed, in Hindostanee characters, painted red, the following:—
“We fight for the King.
“We fight for the restoration of the Mogul throne.
“We fight for the Prophet.”
“Allah be praised!” exclaimed Dhoondu, as he took the cake, and a smile of triumph lighted up his cruel face. “Success attends us,” he continued, addressing the multitude; “and the Imperial City is true to herself. We will plant the rebel standard on the Palace of the Mogul, and the House of Timour shall flourish once more. Jewan Bukht, thou art faithful, and hast performed a brave deed ”

“ A fiercer yell, a stampede of both parties, announced the oncoming of the new danger. Mowbray and Jahangir thought that this was the end until they saw Roger, not smiling now but frowning, whirl the bar lightly as a preliminary to the greatest feat he ever performed. For the story lives yet amidst the glorious ruins of the Mogul Empire how the Man-Elephant killed the elephant. Trumpeting loudly, rushing through the swaying mass of human beings as a whale cleaves water, the immense brute seemed to enjoy the sensation it created. ”

“ When the English merchants of Elizabeth's day brought their goods to Surat, all India, save the south, had just been brought for the first time under the rule of a single great power by the Mogul Emperors of the line of Akbar. But with the death of Aurungzebe, in the reign of Anne, the Mogul Empire fell fast into decay. A line of feudal princes raised themselves to independence in Rajpootana. The lieutenants of the Emperor founded separate sovereignties at Lucknow and Hyderabad, in the Carnatic, and in Bengal. ”

“ I prefer to trust to luck and the local police."
"It is not always the best bars that keep people out," said the Count. "It all depends on who's trying to get in. There was an ancient Hindu hermit who lived naked in a cave and passed through the three armies that encircled the Mogul and took the great ruby out of the tyrant's turban, and went back unscathed like a shadow. ”

“ They reached Allahabad next day, and the local Kotwal was minded to give them some trouble. He was cowed instantly when Walter exhibited Akbar’s order to the Treasurer, which [Pg 220] he had forgotten to hand to Ibrahim with the receipt. Nevertheless, being now well versed in the ways of Indian officials, he marveled at the man’s hectoring manners, since this city, situated at the confluence of the Ganges and the Jumna, was one of the chief resting-places for merchants passing between the Mogul capital and the Hughli delta. ”

“ Mowbray grasped the excited soldier.
“Canst hoot like an owl?” he cried.
“Aye, sahib, that can I,” was the reply, for the man guessed the portent of the question.
“Come, then, Roger! Thou knowest the summer-house? Smite any man who leaves it! Nur Mahal, bide you here till I return! Fra Pietro, bolt the doors and open only to me or Roger!”
“One word, brother, ere thou goest,” cried the friar in English. “A chosen ruler, be he Christian or heathen, is the Lord’s anointed. ‘Curse not the King, no, not in thy thought.’”
Walter, hurrying forth, darted a single glance at the speaker. ”

“ That man would be a fool who pretended to misunderstand her. She would have said more, but words failed. Her labored breath betrayed her, and the light that kindles only in a woman’s eyes leaped out at him. He seemed to be wandering in a maze with a siren as guide. What magic spell surrounded him? Why had the arrival of Jahangir’s messenger forced this tacit avowal from the lips of the proudest woman in India?
If she defied the Emperor and continued the journey to Burdwán, it must be as the promised wife of Walter Mowbray, an alien in race, and one who professed a hostile faith. ”

“ Once the Emperor is dead it will be a fitting excuse to get rid of us on the ground that we conspired against him.”
“’Tis a pretty plot,” said Mowbray, grimly. “Hath it any further twists?”
“Yes, one. Raja Man Singh, Khusrow, and the rest are doomed. Few of them shall see the sun again. The man who contrived their fate is far more skilled in intrigue than they. Behind Jahangir and his feud with me stands the black robe.”
“Dom Geronimo! I thought him dead.”
“He may be, but he lived to-day,” was Nur Mahal’s careless answer. “Living or dead, his hour has passed. Others, too, can think and plan. ”

“ His heart rose in pity as he took Nur Mahal in his arms for an instant.
“Sweet lady,” he said, “were I not pledged to one whom I hold dear as my very soul I would abide with you in Burdwán, and my sword should defend you while my hand could use it. But no man can gainsay his fate. He can only keep his conscience clean and leave the rest to God. I came to India hoping to earn a fortune wherewith I could return to my own land and claim my love. I have failed, yet my purpose will endure until I succeed or die.” ”

“ Dom Geronimo, who lost no word of the interview, seemed to be displeased by Mowbray’s adroit distinction between the occupant of the throne and a prince of the royal blood. He leaned over and whispered something, but Jahangir paid little heed to him.
“Then, you think a monarch should have no memory?” he asked, looking fixedly at Walter.
“Not so. He should remember his friends and forget his enemies.” ”

“ Mowbray’s resolute features must have shown the irritation which mastered him, for the Franciscan added:—
“Be not angered with your friend. He hath a heart of a size to match his body, and ’tis a man’s privilege to protect the weaker sex. ‘From the beginning of creation God made them male and female.’”
[Pg 286]
“Believe me, brother, I am mostly concerned about my own lack of foresight in this matter. Thank Heaven there is no woman here for whose sake I should be compelled to act, it may be, even more hastily than Roger!” ”

“ Kill me! It is my desire. Better that than an assassin’s blow at the hands of the woman I love.”
She burst into a passion of tears and fell to her knees.
“Forgive me, my Lord,” she sobbed; and her grief was music in Sher Afghán’s ears. If, indeed, his wife regretted her attitude he could afford to be magnanimous. Throwing sword and dagger to the ground he bowed to Jahangir.
“Your Highness has been misled by idle tongues,” he said. “Tidings of this brawl will reach the Emperor as fast as men can ride. Let you and me hasten to his presence and together seek his clemency.” ”

“ Never did woman belittle a man as Nur Mahal belittled me. She said much that was true, and a good deal that was false. But her spleen was manifest. Had my head rolled at her feet she would have kicked it. Why, then, should she risk her life to save me?”
“You must ask her that yourself, your Majesty.”
There was no other way. It was out of the question that Walter should dispel Jahangir’s doubts by hinting a very different motive for Nur Mahal’s visit to Dilkusha. Come what might he had dissipated in her mind the mirage of a dynastic struggle in which he would participate as her husband. ”

“ If so, on my soul, your friend gives good warrant of its virtues.”
“Unhappily our land is too far distant to permit us to produce other than a sample of what our meat and wine can achieve. But we have ample stock of rare silks and rich spices of Araby and Gondar. If the ladies of this charming city are as fair to behold and as richly adorned as all else we have seen then our journey from Surat to the court of Akbar shall not have been made in vain.”
Mowbray’s easy diction and the distinction of his manner astounded the hearer quite as much as did Roger’s proportions. ”

“ The excited servants of the Diwán—those who were left at the entrance—barred the gate and left the Englishmen standing outside. But there was a lamp there, and the row of little lights on top of the wall lit up the roadway sufficiently to reveal the approach of the elephant. He came with the speed of a galloping horse, his trappings flying in wild disorder and his trunk uplifted in terror. Behind him raced a mob of armed men, but, on his left side, managing a fine Arab with consummate skill, and cutting and thrusting madly at Sher Afghán, rode Prince Jahangir. ”