Chapter 23

[249] The _langot_ or _langoti_ is a piece of cloth wrapped or fastened round the loins, and tucked in between the feet. It barely conceals what civilization requires should be hid from the public view.

[250] _Ma'jun_ is the extract from the intoxicating plant called _charas_ or _bhang_, a species of hemp; it is mixed with sugar and spices to render it palatable. The inebriation it produces fills the imagination with agreeable visions, and the effects are different from those of wine or spirits.

[251] Six _mashas_ amount to nearly a quarter of an ounce; a sicca rupee weighs eleven _mashas_.

[252] Literally, "a volume of a book."

[253] This exceedingly absurd story is of Rabbinical origin. I have a strong impression on my mind of having read something very like it long ago in the works of Philo Judaeus, the contemporary of Josephus.

[254] The _Ismi A'zam_, or the "Most Mighty Name" [of God] is a magic spell or incantation which the acquirer can apply to wonderful purposes. God hath, among the _Muhammadans_, ninety-nine names or epithets; the _Ismi A'zam_ is one of the number, but it is only the initiated few who can say which of the ninety-nine it is.

[255] The word _sawab_ strictly means, "the reward received in the next world for virtuous actions performed in the present state of existence."

[256] The veiled horseman who rescued the first and second _Darweshes_ from self-destruction.

[257] A Persian proverb.

[258] _Badakhshan_ is a part of the grand province of _Khurasan_, and the city of _Balkh_ is its metropolis, to the eastward of which is a chain of mountains celebrated for producing fine rubies.

[259] All Asiatic princes, like others nearer home, have spies, called "reporters of intelligence," who inform themselves of what passes in public. They are, as a matter of course, the pest of society, and generally corrupt.

[260] A _miskal_ is four and a half _mashas_; our ounce contains twenty-four _mashas_. So the ruby weighed more than half an ounce.

[261] The word _raja_ is the _Hindu_ term for a prince or sovereign. In more recent times it has become a mere empty title, conferred upon rich _Hindus_ by the Emperor of _Delhi_.

[262] _Naishapur_ was once the richest and grandest city in the province of _Khurasan_. It was utterly destroyed by _Tuli_, the son of _Jenghis Khan_ (or more correctly, _Changis Ka,an_), in A.D. 1221.

[263] Seven _miskals_ are more than an ounce and a quarter.

[264] The term Farang, vulgarly Frank, was formerly applied to Christian Europe in general, with the exclusion of Russia.

[265] Literally, "kissed the ground of obeisance," a Persian phrase, expressive of profound respect.

[266] "The minister's daughter," afterwards called "the young merchant."

[267] The phrase _pachas ek_ means "about fifty." It is strange that a certain critic on this work, (who has a prodigiously high opinion of himself,) should have rendered the above passage, "whose age was about forty or fifty years!" Most assuredly, the merest tyro in _Hindustani_ can tell him that it cannot have such a latitude as to mean "about forty or fifty." He might just as correctly have said "about fifty or sixty." The phrase _pachas ek_, as I have stated, means simply "about fifty," i.e., it may be _one_ year more or less.

[268] In the text, the _wazir-zadi_ is henceforth called _saudagar-bacha_ or the young merchant, being the character under which she, for some time, figures.

[269] _morchhals_, vulgarly called _chowrees_, are fly-flaps, to drive away those troublesome companions; the best kind is made of the fine white long tail of the mountain cow; the others of the long feathers from, the peacock's tail, or the odoriferous roots of a species of grass called _Khas_. They are likewise a part of the paraphernalia of state in India.

[270] The title _khwaja _ means "chief," or "master;" it is generally applied to rich merchants, &c., such as we would call "men of respectability." The idiomatic London English for it is "governor," or (as it is pronounced) "guv'ner".

[271] Literally, "What difficulty" (is there in so doing).

[272] The city of _Naishapur_ being some 270 miles inland, it would not be easy for the young merchant to reach it by sea. Asiatic story-tellers are not at all particular in regard to matters of geography.

[273] _'Ajam_ means, in general, Persia; the Arabs use it in the same sense as the Greeks did the word "barbarian;" and all who are not Arabs they call _'Ajami_; more especially the Persians.

[274] _Sara,e, sera,i_ or _caravanserai_, are buildings for the accommodation of travellers, merchants, &c., in cities, and on the great roads in Asia. Those in Upper _Hindustan_, built by the emperors of _Dilli_, are grand and costly; they are either of stone or burnt bricks. In Persia, they are mostly of bricks dried in the sun. In Upper _Hindustan_ they are commonly sixteen to twenty miles distant from each other, which is a _manzil_ or stage. They are generally built of a square or quadrangular form with a large open court in the centre, and contain numerous rooms for goods, men, and beasts.

[275] Literally, made excuses from the surface of his heart," i.e., not serious excuses.

[276] That is, "completely armed." Vide note 2, page 87.

[277] On the exact meaning of _dastar-khwan,_ see note, page 104.

[278] The _Musalman_ confession of faith, see note 3, page 156.

[279] The idiom "_do mahine ek_," about two months, similar to the phrase, "_pachas ek baras_," _v._ note 1, page 161.

[280] Literally, "began to smack his lips;" denoting his satisfaction.

[281] Tartar, African, and Turkish slaves.

[282] Literally, "I have not proved false in what you have entrusted to me."

[283] The coffee and pipe are always presented to visitors in Turkey, Arabia, and Persia, and they are considered as indispensable in good manners.

[284] "_dant kholne_" is fully explained in my Grammar, page 129. It appears to have sadly puzzled a learned critic, to whom I have occasionally alluded.

[285] Literally, "middle brother;" as there were three in number, of course the "second" and "middle" are identical.

[286] The _Siyum_ are the rites performed for the dead on the third day after demise; it is called the _tija_ in _Hinduwi_.

[287] Alluding to God.

[288] Or it may mean, "my blood boiled" [with resentment].

[289] The _Muhammadan_ sabbath is Friday.

[290] A _kafila_ means a company of merchants who assemble and travel together for mutual protection. It is synonymous with caravan.

[291] _Bukhara_ is a celebrated city in Tartary; it was formerly the capital of the province called _Mawaralnahr_, or _Transoxiana_, before the Tartar conquerors fixed on _Samarkand_. It lies to the northward of the river _Oxus_ or _Gihun_, which divides Tartary from Persia, or as the Persian geographers term it, _Iran_, from _Turan_. _Bukhara_ is celebrated by Persian poets for its climate, its fruits, and its beautiful women.

[292] The _boza_ is an intoxicating drink made of spirits, the leaves of the _charas_ plant, _tari_, and opium. _Tari_, erroneously called _todee_, is the juice of the palm tree.

[293] Literally, ale-house, or tippling-house. One is strongly led to believe that this is the origin of our cant word _boozing-ken_, imported from the East by the gipsies some four or five centuries ago.

[294] A grateful and luxurious operation in the warm climate of India, more especially after the fatigue of travelling. _Shampooing_ is a word of uncertain etymology; the French have a better term, _masser_. The natives say it has a physical advantage, as it quickens their languid circulation; perhaps they are right.

[295] A _kos_ is nearly two English miles, being about fifteen furlongs.

[296] Literally, "the fire was kindled in my stomach."

[297] Pointing to his two brothers who were present, and heard his tale.

[298] The stake was a common mode of punishment in India in former days, and, until recently, was practised among the _Sikhs_, _Marhattas_, and other Asiatic princes, who were independent of our government.

[299] Addressing himself to the king _Azad Bakht_.

[300] The term _kibla_ signifies the "point of adoration," and is generally applied to the _Ka'ba_, or holy edifice, situated in the sacred inclosure of Mecca. To this point all _Muhammadans_ must turn when they pray.

[301] The prayer of martyrdom among the _Musalmans._ It is often repeated when they go into action against Christians and Pagans

[302] According to the _Muhammadan_ belief, _Nakir_ and _Munkir_ are two angels who attend at the moment of death, and call to an account the spirit of the deceased.

[303] Literally, "satiated the dog of my stomach."

[304] Literally, to perform the act of "rubbing the nose on the earth," expressive of extreme humility.

[305] Literally, "having fastened [on his person] the four mirrors."

[306] The term _zuhr_ strictly denotes the period devoted to the mid-day prayer, which is offered up after the sun has perceptibly declined from the meridian. Vide note 4, in page 14.

[307] The name of the countries which lie, as the people of _Hindustan_ term it, below Bengal, i.e., to the south-east of it; the name includes the kingdoms of Ava and Pegu.

[308] _Kunwar_ is the _Hindu_ name for the son of a _raja_.

[309] The _chaugan_ is a Persian sport performed on horseback, with a large ball like a foot-ball, which is knocked about with a long stick like a shepherd's crook; it is precisely the game called in Scotland "shintey," and in England "hockey," only that the players are mounted.

[310] _Rani_ is the _Hindu_ name of a _raja's_ wife.

[311] Literally, "without a partner." The _Musalmans_ consider our doctrine of the Trinity as a deadly error.

[312] _Sarandip_ is the name for the island of Ceylon among the Arabs and Persians, as well as the _Musalmans_ of India. The ancient _Hindu_ name was _Lanka_, applied both to the island and its capital.

[313] The term _kisra_ is evidently applied here to _Naushirwan_, not to Cyrus, as is stated in some books.

[314] _Iran_ is the ancient name of Persia in its more extended sense, that is, the Persian Empire. _Fars_ is sometimes used in the same sense. Strictly speaking, it denotes Persia proper, which is only a province of _Iran_.

[315] The _kafila-bashi_ is the head man of the _kafila_, or company of merchants, who travel in a body for mutual safety, and compose what is commonly called a caravan, properly a _karwan_; the richest and most respectable merchant of the party is generally elected _bashi_; all the rest obey his orders, and he directs the movements, &c., of the whole company, and moreover, acts, in all cases of dispute, as judge and magistrate.

[316] The _farsakh_, or _farsang_, or _parsang_, is a measure of distance in Persia, and contains at the present day about 3 3/4 English miles. Herodotus reckoned the _[Greek: pasasaggaes]_; in his time at 30 Grecian stadia.

[317] _Salsabil_ is the name of a fountain of Paradise, according to _Muhammadan_ belief.

[318] The student is of course aware that in most languages a question is frequently equivalent to a negative, as in this sentence. A sapient critic, to whom I have more than once alluded, was pleased to honour me with the following profound remark on the reading given in the original, viz.--"There is a slip here in Forbes's edition, as well as the Calcutta one. The word _nahin_, 'not,' is omitted, which destroys the whole sense!!!"

[319] The _kaliyan_ (or as the moderns say, _kaliyun_) is the Persian _hukka_.

[320] This is, as the vulgate hath it, "coming it a little too strong;" but be it remembered that Oriental story-tellers do not mar the interest of their narrative by a slavish adherence to probability.

[321] Here the king _Azad Bakht_ speaks in his own person, and addresses himself to the four _darweshes_.

[322] With regard to the essence of _bed-mushk_ vide note 2, page 42.

[323] The image of the Divine power in that country of Pagans.

[324] Vide note 3, page 30, respecting the _chilla_, or "period of forty."

[325] That is to say, she had never seen a _Muhammadan_ at his prayers.

[326] _Lat_ and _Manat_ were the two great idols of _Hindu_ worship in former times.

[327] In the languages of southern India, _Turk_ is the general appellation for a _Musalman_.

[328] The _chaman_ is a small garden or _parterre_, which is laid out before the sitting room in the interior of the women's apartments; it means in general, _parterres_ of flowers.

[329] The original uses a much stronger expression.

[330] Literally, the poison of the _halahal_, as expression used to denote poison of the strongest kind. The _halahal_ is a fabulous poison, said to have been produced from the ocean on the churning of it by the gods and _daityas._ Our critic says, on this word, that it means "deadly!!!" will he favour us with some authority on that point, better than his own?

[331] On the phrase, _do mahine men_, our critic comes out in great force. He says, "Mir Amman here sins against grammar; it should be, _do mahinon men!!!_" The critic is not aware, that when a noun follows a numeral it never requires the inflection plural en, except when it is to be rendered more definite? In reality, Mir Amman would be wrong if he had employed the reading recommended by the sapient critic; _do mahine men_ means "in two months;" _do mahinon men_ "in _the_ two months" (previously determined upon).

[332] The _chor-mahall_ is a private seraglio.

[333] The twelve _Imams_.--Vide note 3, page 4.

[334] The threshold of a pagoda or mosque. The oriental people uncover their feet, as we do our heads, on entering a place of worship.

[335] Asiatics do not sign their names, but put their seals to letters, bonds, paper, &c.; on the seal is engraven their names, titles, &c.; which absurd practice has frequently given rise to much roguery, and even bloodshed, as it is so easy, by bribes, to get a seal-cutter to forge almost any seal, a notorious instance of which appeared some twenty years ago in the case of the _Raja_ of _Sattara_. Though the _Muhammadan_ laws punish with severe penalties such transgressions, yet seal-cutters are not more invulnerable to the powers of gold than other men. Kings, princes, _nawwabs_ &c., have a private mark, as well as a public seal, to official papers; and a private seal and mark for private or confidential papers.

[336] A _khil'at_ or honorary dress is generally bestowed on a person when he is appointed to a new situation.

[337] Literally, "who could hit a _kauri_ suspended by a hair." The _kauri_ is a small round shell used to denote the minutest denomination of money. In Bengal it is about the hundredth part of a _paisa_.

[338] The _nazar_ or _pesh-kash_ is a sum of money, &c., which, all oriental officials pay to the prince of the country, or to his favourites, &c., when appointed to their situations. Some people say that such things are done nearer home, with this difference, that among us it is a private transaction; whereas, in the East, it is an open one.

[339] _ja-girs_ are donations of lands, or, rather, of the revenues arising from a certain portion of land; strictly speaking, such a grant is a reward for military service, though it is sometimes bestowed without that condition.

[340] As the _Musalmans_ reckon their day from sun-set, this is no _bull_.

[341] Literally, "the third fault is that of the mother."

[342] The king here resumes his address to the four darweshes.

[343] A proverb synonymous to ours, of "What is bred in the bone, will never come out of the flesh."

[344] The _tawa_ is a circular plate of malleable or cast iron, used for baking cakes or bannocks. It is slightly convex, like a watch-glass, on the upper side, where the bread is laid on; the under or concave side being, of course perfectly black. In Scotland, and in the northern counties of England, this domestic implement is called "the girdle," and is still in common use in places remote from towns.

[345] Till recently a province of Persia; the northern part of ancient Media. It is now, alas! fallen into the deadly grasp of the unholy Muscovite.

[346] A kind of pea common in India; it is the ordinary food of horses, oxen, camels, &c., likewise of the native. By Europeans it is generally called _grum_ or "_graum_."

[347] The _Muhammadans_ believe that on the day of judgment all who have died will assemble on a vast plain, to hear their sentences from the mouth of God; so the reader may naturally conceive the size of the plain.

[348] The _surma_ is a black powder made of antimony, which the Asiatic women use on their eyelids, to give a superior lustre to their black or hazel eyes; when applied with taste, it certainly has that effect. It is likewise used for sore eyes, but I cannot say with what success.

[349] _Chummak_ is the Turkish name for a kind of _baton_ set with precious stones, and used by some of the officers of the palace as an insignia of state, like our rods, wands, &c.

[350] This ludicrous idea is to be found in the veracious "Voiage and Travaile" of Sir John Maundevile, Kt. Speaking of the "Yles abouten Ynde," he says, "men fynden there an Ile that is clept Crues," where "for the grete distresse of the hete, mennes ballokkes hangen down to their knees, for the grete dissolucioun of the body."

[351] The _Hur_ are celestial females, and the _Ghilman_ beautiful youths, who are to attend upon all good Mahometans in Paradise.

[352] The _nakkar-khana_ is the place at the portico of a temple or palace where drums are beaten at stated intervals. It is somewhat akin to the "belfry," of a Romish church, the childish and everlasting noise of which is supposed to constitute an important part of Christianity.

[353] _Padmini_, the highest and most excellent of the four classes of women among the _Hindus_.

[354] The prime minister, or first officers of state, under the _Mughal_ emperors.

[355] Literally, "instant of an instant." With regard to this idiomatic use of the genitive case, vide "Grammar," page 96, paragraph _b_.

[356] Here the _khwaja_ resumes his own story to _Azad Bakht_.

[357] The king, _Azad Bakht_, speaks in his own person.

[358] The son of a _khwaja_ or merchant of the highest grade.

[359] When _Musalmans_ go on pilgrimage to _Mecca_, they shave their heads on their arrival there; the ridicule is, to have incurred the shaving without the merit of the pilgrimage.

[360] Called the _khil'at sarafrazi_, i.e. of exaltation.

[361] The _farsh_ is the carpet or cloth which is spread in the room, where company is received, or the king's audience is held; for the king to advance to the end of the _farsh_ to receive the _wazir_, is a mark of respect, which Asiatic princes seldom pay, even to their equals.

[362] The insignia of the _wazir's_ office in India and Persia, is the _kalumdan._

[363] The abode of a _fakir_ is called a _takiya_.

[364] The phrase _kot bundh baithna_ signifies to squat down as a person does when easing nature, the two hands being clasped together round the legs a little below the knees.

[365] _Chaupar_ is a very ancient Indian game of the nature of backgammon, played by four people, each having four men or pieces. A full description of it is given in the Ayeeni Akbary, London, 1800, vol. 1st, page 253.

[366] _Azur_, the father of Abraham, was a famous statuary and idol-worshipper, according to the ideas of _Muhammadans_.

[367] Alluding to the _Hindu_ custom of the wife's burning herself with the corpse of her husband; in these cases, perhaps, fear of the priesthood, &c., is a stronger motive than love for the defunct.

[368] By the Island of the Franks, it is most probable that the author means Britain. The description of the capital is more adapted to London sixty years ago than to any other European city. This, _Mir Amman_ might have learned from some of the resident Europeans, while he filled up the rest from his own luxuriant imagination.

[369] The "eunuch" is of course out of place in a Christian city; at least he does not hold the same rank as in the East.

[370] In the original it is water; the meaning is obvious enough.

[371] Most probably the name of some famous armourer.

[372] A Persian proverb.

[373] That is poison of the strongest kind.--Vide note on this word in page 213.

[374] Meaning in this world and the next.

[375] Barbers in Asia not only shave but wash persons in the private and public baths.

[376] A prince of _Khurasan_, who quitted a throne in order to lead a life of piety.

[377] A celebrated city of _Khurasan_, famous in former times for its riches.

[378] The attitude of respect, common in the East, when a servant has a request to make of his master; or a very inferior person of one who is greatly his superior.

[379] Meaning, "of surpassing speed."

[380] In the original, the word is _kai_, or the green scum that floats on stagnant water. "_Bihzad Khan_, dispersed the enemy as _kai_ is dispersed when a stone is thrown into the water," is nearly the original simile.

[381] Literally, "merely continued bringing up the soil from the bottom."

[382] The first and second _Darweshes_.

[383] One of the many epithets applied to _Darweshes_ in the East.

[384] A Persian proverb.

[385] The regent; the fourth _Darwesh's_ uncle.

[386] According to the fabulous system of _jinns, divs, paris, &c.,_ in Asia, it is supposed that the _jinns_ and _paris_ live on essences, &c. The _divs_ are malignant spirits or beings, and live on less delicate food.

[387] _Divs_ or demons; the malignant race of _jinns_.

[388] _Chin_ and _Machin,_ is the general name of China among the Persians.

[389] _Bukhur_ is a kind of frankincense.

[390] _Abu-Jahal_, or "the father of obstinacy," or "of brutality," was the name of an Arab. He was uncle to the prophet _Muhammad_, and an inveterate opposer of the latter's new religion.

[391] The forty figures of monkeys would give the possessor a power over the _divs_ and _jinns_, and having them at his command, he could easily overset the usurper, _alias_ his uncle.

[392] The _Ismi A'zam_, or great name of God.--See note 2, p. 145.

[393] Alluding to the Asiatic custom of the women being concealed from the view of all, except their husbands or very near relations.

[394] The _kazis_ and _muftis_ are the judges in Turkey, Arabia, Persia and _Hindustan_, of all civil and religious causes; they likewise marry, divorce, &c.

[395] The _tija_ is the same as the _siyum_.--See note 2, page 187.

[396] A kind of litter for the conveyance of women and the sick.

[397] A kind of litter for travelling in Persia and Arabia; two of them are slung across a camel or a mule; those for camels carry four persons.

[398] Viz., his state of castration.

[399] _Zu-l-fakar_, the name of a famous sword that _'Ali_ used to wear.

[400] The veiled horseman, _'Ali Mushkil-Kusha_.

[401] In the original there is a play on the words _haml_ and _hamal_.

[402] Literally, "he made the man in want of a _kauri_ the master of a _lakh_ [of rupees].

[403] _Ryots_ (a corruption of the word _ra'iyat_) are the husbandmen in India; the tillers of the soil who rent small parcels of land from the government, through the medium of the _zamin-dar_, who is a servant of government and not the proprietor of the land, as some have erroneously supposed. The word means keeper of the land, and not the proprietor. In fact, he is like the Irish middleman, in every sense of the word.

[404] A famous garden in Arabia Felix; it is also applied to the garden in Paradise, in which all good Mahometans, according to their belief, are to revel after death.

[405] _'Umman_ is the name of the southern part of _Yaman_ or Arabia Felix; the country which lies between the mouth of the Persian Gulf and the mouth of the Red Sea; the sea which washes this coast is called the sea of _'Umman_ in Persia and Arabia, as the Red Sea is called the sea of _Kulzum_.