NOURMAHAL, An Oriental Romance.

BY MICHAEL J. QUIN,

AUTHOR OF “A STEAM VOYAGE DOWN THE DANUBE,” “A VISIT TO SPAIN,” ETC.

IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. II.

LONDON: HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1838.

PRINTED BY STEWART AND MURRAY, OLD BAILEY.

CHAPTER I.

“Look, master, see how the white umbrellas float, like trembling lotuses, in the lake of the atmosphere. The numerous banners undulate like waves, as they play before the wind; and now the elephants advance, their golden bells tinkling as they stride; they are mounted by merry bevies of damsels, singing songs of rejoicing, and blazing, like rays of light, with glittering jewels of variegated tints, as if they were so many portions of the heavens decorated with fragments of Indra’s bow.”

Hindoo Drama.

About the hour when Jehangire ascended the throne at Agra, the conspirators entered the city of Muttra, attended by twenty thousand Rajaputs, whom Man-Singh had previously stationed upon the road. While they were 2 halting here to take refreshment, Hussein Bey, late governor of the province of Cabul, having travelled during the night, on account of the heat of the weather, met the prince in the market-place. Hussein was on his return to Agra, having been recalled from his government by the late emperor, without any reason being assigned for such a proceeding. He was accompanied by a considerable body of Tartar cavalry, and of Afghan infantry, who voluntarily escorted him, in order to prove to the emperor the popularity and respect which he had earned by his bravery, and the generosity of his disposition while governor of Cabul. Having lavished all his fortune in the splendours of the vice-regal office, of which he had been just deprived, and feeling, moreover, that his sacrifices and labours had been ill repaid by the disgrace thus

inflicted upon him, he lent a willing ear to the overtures made to him by Man-Singh, to espouse the cause of Chusero.

Many of the inhabitants of Muttra, seeing the prince supported by two chieftains of such high reputation, eagerly enlisted in his service. On their march towards Delhi, they encountered various detachments of horse and foot, on 3 the route to different stations. These they compelled, or induced, to join his standard; and by the time they reached the suburbs of Delhi, their numbers assumed a formidable appearance.

Rumours of the approach of the rebel forces had already alarmed the imperial authorities at Delhi; the inhabitants feared the entrance of so large an army, which no discipline could restrain from acts of plunder. It was resolved, therefore, that the gates should be closed, and that preparations should be made for a vigorous defence. Delhi was then surrounded by a strong wall, and by many towers, which it would have been impossible to reduce without the aid of artillery. Chusero waited before the city for some days, but finding that he had no means for capturing it, he moved forward rapidly to Lahore, where he met with no resistance.

In the mean time Jehangire, fully informed of Chusero’s proceedings, issued mandates for the assemblage of an army sufficient to put down this dangerous, and to his feelings, peculiarly painful, insurrection. During the first impulses of his anger he had directed his household troops to pursue the rebels, charging Ferid 4 Bochari, on whom he conferred the chief command of the imperial forces, to bring back the prince’s head without delay. But the intelligence which he received of the accessions constantly making to Chusero’s party, obliged him to adopt more prudent counsels. He was much attached to his son, his eldest born, the natural heir to his throne; he could not believe that the prince was any thing more than an instrument in the hands of Man-Singh, Hussein, and the other chieftains, who were already in open revolt against his authority, and whose real object he apprehended to be the division of the empire amongst themselves. Filled, therefore, with distrust of all the world, he determined to lead the army in person, and to contend, if

necessary, with his own hand for the crown which he had derived from the valour of his ancestors.

The resolution of Jehangire to take the field at the head of a hundred thousand fighting men, necessarily caused a delay, which gave great advantages to the prince’s party. It enabled the latter to repair the dilapidated fortifications of Lahore; to collect within its walls large stores of rice and grain; to communicate 5 with the subahs of Moultan and Cashmere, and to spread the seeds of revolt throughout the whole of the northern provinces. The elevation of Bochari to the chief command of the imperial troops, produced the deepest dissatisfaction amongst the nobles in general, whose pride was wounded by the elevation of the son of a Persian portrait-painter to the highest office in the emperor’s gift. He had, they admitted, rendered essential service to Jehangire, by the seasonable precautions which he had adopted for securing the succession to the throne. But he had had no military experience. He had hitherto distinguished himself only as an intriguer, a parasite, and a debauchee.

The high-chancellor, Kazim Ayas, whom Jehangire nominated to that office, had indeed also been raised above the heads of many omrahs from the inferior grades of life. But he was of an ancient, though decayed family; he had, moreover, exhibited talents in the discharge of his functions, which would have secured the acquiescence of all men in his advancement, even if he had not won their favour by the graces of his mind, and the invariable modesty of his demeanour. Bochari, on the 6 contrary, treacherous, sanguinary, rapacious, insolent, had evinced no ability for command. His promotion to so high a degree of authority, was deemed an insult to the whole empire!

These feelings of discontent throughout the court at Agra, were, however, in some measure, appeased by the emperor’s resolution to place himself at the head of the troops, destined to take part in the approaching contest. Many of the omrahs, who had wavered in their allegiance, accepted that resolution as an apology for the appointment of which they so loudly complained, and prepared to follow the imperial standards. The requisite number of troops having been organised within three months, the emperor’s tents were sent on beforehand; and the astrologers having been consulted as to the time when he should set out from Agra, an hour was discovered at the termination of the third day of the new moon, which they unanimously pronounced auspicious for that purpose.

The whole army having been assembled in and around the city, the great imperial drum, accompanied by the trumpets and cymbals of the palace and the artillery of the citadel, gave the signal for departure, and at the precise 7 moment indicated by the stars, the whole host was in motion on the road to Delhi. The vanguard was composed of thirty thousand cavalry, mounted on steeds from Turkestan and Tartary, clad in chain armour, and bearing in their hands long spears. These were followed by three thousand elephants, with castles on their backs, occupied by the household guards, who bore matchlocks in their hands, and on their breasts cuirasses of burnished steel. Mantles of scarlet cloth covered those parts of the elephants’ hides which were not painted black, and from their ears were suspended white tails of the cows of Great Thibet. Their guides sat upon their necks, arrayed in iron armour from head to foot. Next to these elephants were stationed ten thousand archers, clothed in green quilted mail, armed with large bows, and quivers filled with winged arrows, and

with slings for the discharge of various missiles. Then marched forward five hundred dromedaries, and small swift-footed elephants, upon whose backs were fixed, on swivels, pieces of light artillery, each attended by a gunner, who held before him a shield of steel; Bengal buffaloes drawing a hundred pieces of heavy 8 artillery, and vast masses of Hindoo infantry, followed at some distance by the imperial staff, composed of omrahs and rajahs, some riding on elephants, others mounted on war-horses clothed in armour, all distinguished by their golden helmets, surmounted by black horse-tails and Begla plumes, cuirasses of silver, and gold-hafted scymitars of Damascus, whose naked blades outshone the sun.

The omrahs were attended by cavaliers and footmen, bearing silver maces; and the rajahs lifted the banners of the empire, surmounted by the crescent; behind which, followed, intermixed with a thousand flutes, trumpets, cymbals, drums, and tambourines, the sacred kour consisting of long ebony staffs, on the tops of which glittered in massive silver the mystical hands; spheres representing the sun, moon, earth, and stars; birds and quadrupeds of awful forms; the scales of justice; the head of Solomon; tablets inscribed with characters which the prophet alone could interpret; and other symbols of sovereign authority. High above all these veteran warriors, and this splendid pageantry, appeared, reclining on a throne of solid gold, shaded by curtains of cloth of gold, 9 and a canopy of silver thickly set with diamonds, emeralds, and rubies, the great chieftain of the host wearing his magnificent Persian tiara and imperial robes, mounted on Indragui, that elephant of matchless stature, towering in the air like a giant of ancient days. To ascend

this stupendous animal, required a ladder of fourteen steps. His body was painted all over with the dust of yellow sandal-wood. From his ears hung snow-white tails of cows from Thibet; his neck, breast, and legs were covered with chain armour of gold, interspersed by plates of the same metal set with opal stones of incomparable lustre, from which rows of melodious silver bells were suspended.

Indragui, not withstanding his size and strength, was of a disposition so gentle, that under his most fearful excitements, if an infant happened to fall in his way, he would take it up with his trunk, and place it out of danger with the utmost tenderness. Such was his courage, that he would not hesitate to attack a hundred elephants in the field of battle, or in the arena where combats of animals were performed for the entertainment of the court. In speed he excelled the fleetest horse ever seen in Hindostan. 10 A band of music and a company of forty spearmen were assigned to attend exclusively upon this elephant, such was the regard in which he was held by his imperial master.

Bochari, in silver armour, his gold helmet covered with waving ostrich plumes, was seated on a cushion at the emperor’s feet; and then followed on horseback a troop of eunuchs, each with a gold-headed cane in his hand, attending twelve of the principal ladies of the harem, mounted on Pegu elephants, seated in litters, and protected from the gaze of the multitude by golden lattices and canopies of brocade, over which were thrown nets of azure silk, with deep fringes of silver. Surrounding these elephants, were trains of female slaves from Tartary, fantastically attired, and riding zebras and milk-white ponies from Cashmere.

Saddle-horses fully caparisoned, mostly of a light fawn colour, led by pages in the red imperial livery; footmen bearing on their shoulders, battle-axes, and javelins; pipe and hookah bearers; huntsmen leading in couples beagles, leopards, and large birds of prey trained to the chace; falconers with hoops suspended around them, on which were perched hawks of twelve 11 different kinds, including the beautiful zodehpeer, no larger than a parrot, and the moolcheen, scarcely so big as a sparrow,—both perfectly green, which, like the royal hawk, attack and bring down game of any size; gladiators, and the keepers of the wild beasts, holding in strong chains lions, tigers, wolves, rhinocerosses, lynxes, hyenas, and panthers; monkeys riding on troops of well-trained dogs, and bears taught to dance to the sound of drum and fife, followed the imperial harem, guarded by the executioners of the palace, mounted on dromedaries, clad in black mogul caps and pelisses of leopard skins, bearing on their shoulders axes of the finest edge, whose glittering blades struck all beholders with terror.

Last of all appeared a vast disorderly multitude, composed of camels, buffaloes, horses, mules, oxen laden with tents, provisions, cooking-utensils; of suttlers of the army; vendors of articles of every description, to whom the removal of the court would have been ruinous if they had remained at Agra; of Brahmins, Hindoo devotees carrying their idols, dervishes, barbers, tailors, astrologers, jugglers, exhibitors of shows and serpents, harpers, lutanists, players 12 on the dulcimer, singing and dancing girls, adventurers of every colour, and idlers and thieves of every age and sex, whose undulating masses were seen, and whose shouts were heard in the back ground of the army, like the waves and sounds of the untameable ocean.

Kazim Ayas, to whom, as the high chancellor, the emperor had delegated his authority over the capital during his absence, ascended the watch-tower of the citadel an hour before day-break, to observe the movements of this mighty host. The early sunbeams, piercing through the foliage of the trees, and reflected by a vast forest of spears, soon enabled him to discern the position of the vanguard. The glittering cuirasses of the household troops easily distinguished them from the dark array of the archers; and the shields of the gunners indicated the progress of the light and heavy artillery. The Hindoo infantry, in massive columns, ten men a-breast, were clearly seen, armed with short pikes and cutlasses, and moving to the martial airs of their different bands. The silver canopy of the emperor seemed in itself a sun surrounded by a sea of plumes, through which countless helmets shone 13 like satellites. The multitude that followed was occasionally hidden from Kazim’s eye by clouds of dust, which assumed hues of gold and purple as the sun rose higher in

the heavens. Their tumultuous shouts at first filled his mind with apprehensions of a general mutiny; but his fears were dissipated by the regularly recurring clash of cymbals, and the roll of drums, and the tramping of men, elephants, and horses, mingled with gay music, borne to his ear at intervals on the light winds that played through the firmament.

Chusero’s emissaries conveyed to him early intelligence of the advance of the imperial army. He prepared to give them battle on the borders of the river Sutledge, the passages of which he resolved to defend; if defeated there, he intended to retire within the fortifications of Lahore, and if driven thence to seek refuge amongst the mountains of Cashmere. He was not ignorant of his father’s passion for Nourmahal, and he carefully availed himself of the circumstance, in order to gain over to his cause the powerful assistance of Shere-Afkun. The feelings of that distinguished warrior were painfully alive to the insinuations which had 14 been circulated upon that subject, both before and after his marriage. It was not difficult to excite his attention to the consequences that might arise, if Jehangire should enter Cashmere, flushed with the victories which must have crowned his banners, should he march beyond the province of Lahore. Afkun was, moreover, too much of a soldier to hear of battles and warlike movements in Hindostan, in which he did not participate.

He had already quelled the insurrectionary spirit of his own province; and although the luxury of domestic enjoyments never before possessed for him such attractions as it yielded at that moment, still he felt it impossible for a chieftain of his rank and celebrity, to remain neutral in a contest on which the fate of the empire depended. In answer to the requisitions for assistance, addressed to him by Chusero, he engaged to bring into the field twenty thousand fighting men, being fully persuaded, from all he had heard of Jehangire, that from idiotcy or madness derived from his maternal blood, and aggravated by the vices of wine-drinking and opium-eating, in which he was reported to have indulged beyond all the ordinary bounds of 15 decency, the new sovereign was incapacitated for the functions entrusted to him by the weak partialities of Acbar.

Nourmahal, notwithstanding the conflicting feelings by which her bosom was agitated, suggested no opposition to the resolutions of her consort. The castle in which they resided, at a short distance from the city of Cashmere, was the resort of crowds of young noblemen, who, from the moment they heard that Chusero was proclaimed emperor at Lahore, and that Afkun determined to espouse his cause, were anxious to enlist under his banners. The frank and manly character of the prince, his freedom from those vices by which the character of Jehangire was tainted, the cordiality of his manners, the heroic beauty of his person, his unquestioned bravery, were rendered familiar to them by the reports which they had heard on all sides. There was, moreover, something especially odious to their proud minds, in the notoriety of the influence which the son of the Persian portrait-painter exercised over Jehangire, and they agreed that, at all events, it became the chivalry of Hindostan to rescue the 16 throne from the thraldom of such a vile adventurer as Bochari.

Their conversations upon this subject were conveyed from time to time to Nourmahal by Afkun; sometimes she overheard them from her terrace, as the young omrahs were carousing in the great hall of the castle. She listened with anticipations of unfeigned pleasure to every proposition which had for its object the destruction of Bochari’s power, remembering, as she did, the scowling looks with which he pursued her on the evening of the Vishnu dance, and feeling instinctively that his ascendancy stood before her own destinies as an impassable barrier. She therefore speedily caught the contagion of enthusiasm with which the approaching battles were spoken of by all around her, not doubting that they would yield fresh laurels to him whose renown had already won her hand. How far it had yet touched her heart, was a problem which even Kanun found a difficulty in solving.

CHAPTER II.

On that day thy cheek sparkled under thy veil, and all this beautiful imagery appeared on the mirror of our fancies.

Hafiz.

“It grieves me,” said the pale Circassian to one of her companions, while they were engaged in watering a bed of Cashmere roses, “to behold the indifference with which our mistress still meets the looks, beaming all over with love, that light the noble countenance of the subah, whenever he finds her walking alone on this terrace. He takes her hand in his, kisses it, gazes upon her eyes with ardour as warm as if she had just dropped down to him from heaven; but she—has finished her walk, or is weary of the heat, or, negligent of his attentions, turns away to a tulip or an anemone, about which she 18 seems to care much more than any thing that he can address to her!”

“It is but too true! How changed, Kanun, she appears from her former self! You remember the night of the Vishnu dance,—when Selim, now the emperor, was present,—what a goddess she looked on that night!”

“Ah, never can I forget it. You know how beautiful we always thought her,—but she was then divine! How changed indeed! She will sit for hours at the foot of a water-fall, which tumbles from those lofty mountains above us with a roar that is to me sometimes terrible. But Nourmahal likes it. It hushes to repose, she says, the feelings that trouble her bosom when she thinks of her delicious home upon the banks of the Jumna!”

“Why does she still call her father’s palace, which she has quitted for ever, her home?”