Early English adventurers in the East (1917)/Chapter 10
CHAPTER X
An Imperial Despot in Dress and Undress
Jehangir moves his Court—The splendours of the imperial camp—Jehangir and the fakir—The Court established at Mandu—Roe at Mandu—His ill health—Jehangir intercepts and appropriates the presents from England—Roe and the Emperor—An amusing audience—Jehangir and the English mastiffs—A curious ceremony—Prince Khurrum returns in triumph from the war—Roe and the prince—Roe forms an alliance with Asaf Khan and Noor Mahal—Asaf Khan espouses the English cause in durbar—Roe's victory
TOWARDS the close of 1616 there was much stir and excitement in Ajmere. The word had gone round that the Great Mogul was going on one of those imperial progresses for which Jehangir, like his illustrious father, had such a partiality. The picturesque Rajpoot city was moved to its depths by an edict which meant so much for every single individual in the population, for when the Emperor moved he took his capital with him with all the numerous adjuncts which go to make up the entourage of a great Oriental court. In Roe's diary we have an animated sketch of the doings of that time, more especially as they affected the central figure in the wonderful pageant. There is first a picture of Jehangir being prepared by his attendants for the journey. One man brings on a dish "a mighty carp" set in white stuff into which the Emperor thrusts his finger and with the material marks his forehead—"the ceremony presaging good fortune." Another comes with his buckler and sword, the former "set all over with great diamonds and rubies" and the latter being fixed to a belt of gold similarly embellished with precious stones, A third tenders a quiver with thirty arrows and his bow in a case. On the Mogul's head was set "a red turban with a plume of horse tops, not many but long; on one side of the turban was a ruby unset as big as a walnut, on the other side a diamond as great; in the middle an emerald like a heart, much bigger. His sash was wreathed with a chain of great pearls, rubies and diamonds drilled. About his neck he carried a chain of gold ... as great as I ever saw. On his elbows were armlets set with diamonds and on his wrists were three great rows of diamonds of several sorts. His hands bore on almost every finger a ring. ... On his feet were a pair of embroidered buskins (adorned) with pearls, the toes sharp and turning up." On each side of the Emperor were two eunuchs, carrying small gold maces, and equipped also with a long bunch of white horse hair to drive away the flies from the imperial face. Before the Mogul "went drums, ill trumpets and loud music and many canopies with strange ensignes of majesty of cloth of gold set in many places with great rubies."
Jehangir took his seat in the first of two coaches which were drawn up outside the entrance to the imperial apartments. The vehicle was the one which had been made by his order in imitation of the coach forwarded by the Company a year previously and upon the box was the English coachman, "clothed as rich as any player and more gaudy," sitting up in all the dignified majesty of his class. The second coach, the presentation one, was allotted to Noor Mahal, and into it that imperious lady stepped, with due precautions no doubt against her features being seen by the handsome Frank who was exchanging salutations with the Emperor. Not, however, that the ladies of the palace were at all reluctant to display their charms, for on an earlier occasion Roe notes that when he was having audience of Jehangir genuine curiosity prompted some whom he understood to be the Emperor's principal wives to break holes in the reed screen which hung before their box in order to gaze at him. The holes apparently were so large that he was able "to discern the full proportion" of the ladies. "They were," he states, "indifferently white with black hair smooth up (the forehead)," and if there had been no other light to enable him to distinguish their features the diamonds they wore would have sufficed to show them. "When I looked up," he adds, "they retired, and were so merry that I suppose they laughed at me." On the occasion of Jehangir's progress the ladies, apart from Noor Mahal, were not immediately in evidence. They "were carried like paraketoes" in cages half a mile behind their lord and master.
The splendours of the lescar, or imperial camp, are described in vivid language by Roe. As if by a magician's wand a vast canvas city had been called into being. The circuit of the whole was little less than twenty English miles, and within its limits were miles of streets with all sorts of shops "distinguished so by rule that every man knows readily where to seek his wants." There were special quarters allotted to "men of quality," and every trader knew exactly how far from the King's tent he might pitch, the amount of ground he might utilize and the special site which he could occupy. No man, however exalted in rank, was permitted to take up ground nearer than the distance covered by a musket shot from the imperial tents. These were stately canvas structures "half a mile in compass in the forme of a fort, with divers Coynes and bulwarkes with high cannats of a coarse stuff, made like arras, red on the outside within which were figures in panes, with a handsome gatehouse." In the midst of the imperial enclosure stood "a throne of mother of pearl borne on two pillars raised on earth, covered over with a high tent, the pole headed with a knob of gold, under it canopies of cloth of gold, underfoot carpets." Within the enclosure were about thirty divisions of tents. "Those of the noblemen were in excellent forms, some of white, some green, some mingled, all encompassed, as orderly as any house." "One of the greatest rarities and magnificences I ever saw. The whole vale showed like a beautiful city," comments Roe; and then as if overwhelmed with his own insignificance he adds, "I was unfitted with carriage and ashamed of my position. . . . So I returned to my poor house."
Many interesting details are given by Roe of the life in the imperial camp. The Emperor spent his evenings in hunting or hawking on tanks by means of boats which were removed from place to place on carts specially designed to carry them. After these expeditions the state business was transacted—that is, when Jehangir was in a condition to deal with it, but it often happened that he was prevented "by drowsiness from the fumes of Bacchus." Sometimes his alcoholic indulgence made him argumentative.
On one such occasion. Roe records, the Emperor "fell to disputing of the laws of Moses, Jesus and Mohammed, and was so kind he turned to me and said—
"'I am a King; you shall be welcome—Christians, Moors, Jews—all shall be welcome.' He medled not with faith. They came all in love, and he would protect them from wrong. They lived in his safety and none should oppress them.
"And this often repeated, but in extreme drunkenness: he fell to weeping and to divers passions and so kept us till midnight."
Jehangir, besides being a debauchee, was, there can be no doubt, a poseur. He seems to have deliberately set out to impress Roe by displays of amiable personal qualities. In the drunken fit just described the idea clearly was to create a tradition of his magnanimity and toleration. Some days later Roe was given a highly theatrical demonstration of his humility.
Entering the royal presence Roe found Jehangir sitting on his throne and a beggar at his feet—"a poore silly old man, all asht, ragd and patcht, with a young roague attending on him." This gosain, or fakir, for such no doubt he was, presented the Emperor with a cake, cooked on ashes, made of coarse grain, "which the King accepted most willingly, and breaking one bit ate it, which a dainty mouth could scarce have done." Afterwards Jehangir's meal was brought in and "whatsoever he took to eat he brake and gave the beggar half, after many strange humiliations and charities, rising the old wretch up, he being unable, he took him up in his arms which no cleanly body durst have touched. Embracing him and three times laying his hand on his heart, calling him father, he left him and all us, and me, in admiration of such a virtue in a heathen prince."
Roe seems to have conceived a real regard for the perorHe describes him about this time as "of countenance cheerful, and not proud in nature, but by habit and custom: for at night he is very affable and full of gentle conversation." On his part, Jehangir was not less drawn to the ambassador, whose manly yet courtly bearing and frank independence stood out in pleasant relief in a world in which dissimulation and abject abasement were everywhere conspicuous. When Roe fell ill, as he did in the course of the progress, the Emperor showed the most kindly feeling. He caused frequent inquiries to be made as to his condition and one day sent him from the imperial store five bottles of wine, and what was more remarkable, "a fat hog," procured from Goa, which was dispatched with a message to the effect that since it had been in the imperial charge it had been fed on nothing but sugar and butter.
At the outset of the progress the Emperor's ultimate destination was kept a profound secret. It was thought at first that Agra was the objective, and the route taken lent colour to this supposition, but when a certain point on the road was reached a more southerly course was followed, which indicated that Jehangir was making for Mandu, the old capital of the Mohammedan kingdom of Malwa, situated in what is now the Dhar State, one of the petty principalities of Central India.
Jehangir's object in proceeding to this isolated and, from the standpoint of his Court, inconvenient spot, was to be in a position to lend support to a campaign which his son, Prince Khurrum, was conducting against the Bling of the Deccan. This prince had for years previously been struggling to throw off the Mogul overlordship and had successfully resisted a force which Jehangir had sent against him under the leadership of Sultan Purwaz, one of his elder sons. Prince Khurrum's expedition derived all the importance which attaches to an effort to retrieve a failure, and Jehangir was determined that it should have the fullest advantage that could be derived from his presence in a commanding position directly overlooking the theatre of war. His courtiers were probably far from sharing his zeal for the maintenance of the imperial prestige. The route lay through a wild and inhospitable region, in which supplies were difficult to obtain, and the absence of anything in the nature of roads made the transport of the immense force included in the imperial camp a matter of the utmost difficulty. Mandu itself was little more than a heap of ruins. Its highest recommendation was that it was a strong position, but its fortifications, however useful they might be for the purposes of a post of observation such as Jehangir contemplated, offered no suitable shelter for the great train of nobles and Court functionaries, to say nothing of the horde of camp followers who ministered to the multifarious needs of the imperial camp.
Roe was so fortunate as to be able to establish himself in a deserted mosque which he found on the outskirts of the ruined city. As there was in close proximity to this a stream of pure water, he was fairly comfortable, but the hardships of the journey had told upon his constitution, and he was laid low for some time after his arrival with an attack of fever. It was for him a time of great depression. "Death and I have been house fellows," he wrote to a friend at home at this period, and somewhat later he stated that he was "full of India, even to fastidiousness."
His ill-health was aggravated, there can be no doubt, by the disappointments which he had sustained in the tion of his mission. He seemed further than ever from success. The negotiations which had once offered so fair a prospect had come to nothing, and there was no immediate likelihood of their being resumed. The good will of the Emperor was, it is true, an asset, but the problem of how to turn it to account was as baffling as ever it had been.
At this juncture the weary current of Roe's life was sharply broken in up)n by an incident which caused him momentarily great mortification. In the closing months of 1616 a fleet arrived at Surat from England bearing with it a batch of new presents for the Emperor. After some delay they were despatched to Mandu in the charge of the Rev. Edward Terry, who had been sent out to act as chaplain to Roe. Jehangir, who was always well posted as to the movements of foreign ships, caused the presents to be intercepted before they reached the ambassador, and coolly annexed them. Roe was fired with indignation at so gross an insult, as he conceived it. His anger was the deeper because in order to avoid oppressive dues there had been sent up with the presents sundry silks and velvets which were designed for sale in the ordinary way by the Company's representatives. It would now be necessary for him to explain the ruse in order to obtain possession of the goods.
Roe appears to have lost no time in submitting a protest against the interception of the presents. The account of his audience with Jehangir on the subject is most amusing reading.
Jehangir, in reply to the remonstrance, told Roe that he "should not be sad or grieved that he had his choice, for that he had no patience to forbear seeing the presents." He did Roe no wrong and as for the King of England he would make him satisfaction. The prince (Khumim), Noor Mahal, and he, he added, were all one, and as for bringing him anything to procure his favour, it was a. ceremony and unnecessary, for he would at all times hear Roe: he would be welcome empty-handed, for his poverty would not be his fault. He concluded by saying that Roe should not be angry as he meant well.
During the imperial harangue Roe maintained a stolid silence that was more eloquent than words. As he continued silent, Jehangir directly asked him whether he was pleased or not.
Thus challenged. Roe diplomatically replied that his Majesty's content pleased him. At this juncture, seeing Terry, who had accompanied Roe, Jehangir called to him—"Padre, you are very welcome, and this house is yours and esteeme it so: whensoever you desire to come to me it shall be free to you and whatsoever you require of me I will grant you."
After this digression, Jehangir turned again to the question of the presents and adroitly extracted an assent from Roe to his act of misappropriation by enumerating each article and asking whether he would wish to have it back.
First there were the dogs, the cushions and the barber's case, he (the Emperor) was delighted with them. They need not be returned?
Roe, of course, could only answer, "No."
Then, continued the Emperor, there were two clothes chests, "very mean and ordinary," for whom were they? He was told that one was intended for himself and the other for Noor Mahal.
"Why then," said he, "you will not ask for that I have, being contented with one." "I was forced to yield," writes Roe.
Next Jehangir demanded to know who the hats were for; his women liked them, he added. Roe answered that three were sent to his Majesty and the fourth was his (Roe's) own to wear.
"Ah," said Jehangir, "then you will not take them from me, for I like them, and yours I will return if you need it and will not bestow it on me."
What could Roe do but put a smiling face upon the loss of his hat?
A picture representing Venus and a satyr provided material for more dangerous controversy. From what Roe says it seems that Jehangir suspected that the allegory of the picture was directed against Asiatics, the satyr, with its dark-coloured complexion, being a repulsive embodiment of the race, while the fair Venus was presumably the spirit of the West, shown leading the ogre of the East in bondage.
"What was the meaning of the picture?" he asked.
Neither Roe nor Terry could satisfy him on the point. Nevertheless, he annexed the picture with the rest.
Anon he turned his attention to "some carved animal figures, very ridiculous and ill-shaped ordinary figures, the varnish off and no beauty."
What were they sent for?
"I was really ashamed," wrote Roe, "and answered it was not my fault; those that seized them must bear the brunt; but that they were not intended for him, but sent to show the forms of beasts with us."
Jehangir replied quickly—
"Did you think in England that a horse and bull were strange to me?"
Roe replied that he thought not of so mean a matter, and what was in the sender's mind he could not say.
"Well," said the King, "I will keep them and only desire you to help me to a horse of the greatest size: it is all I will expect, and a male and female of mastiffs, and the tall Irish greyhounds and such other dogs as hunt in your land, and if you will promise me these I will give you the word of a King, I will fully recompense you and grant all your desires."
Roe answered that he would promise to procure the animals, but that he could not guarantee their lives.
Upon this Jehangir "gave extraordinary bows, lay'd his hand on his heart and such kinds of gestures as all men will witness he never used to any man, nor such familiarity, nor such freedom, nor profession of love."
Roe altogether was royally cozened, and that he had some suspicion of the fact is shown by the statement which follows the complacent sentences quoted: "This was all my recompense, though he often desired me to be merry, (saying) that what wrong he had done me he would royally requite and send me home to my country with grace and reward like a gentleman."
Of all the presents that he received from England, Jehangir probably most valued the mastiffs. The fighting qualities of these splendid animals appealed to the sporting instincts which were strong in him, and he doubtless appreciated them the more as they contrasted so strikingly with the cowardly disposition of the Indian dog. The two which were sent to Jehangir were the survivors of eight originally shipped. They were despatched up country in little coaches, and on arrival at Mandu were placed each in charge of four attendants. Two of the quartette carried the dog in a palankeen, to which it was chained, while the other two were told off to keep the flies from the animal with a whisk. In this lordly fashion the canine representatives of Old England upheld the dignity of a noble line; and even the great Jehangir did not consider it beneath him to feed them with his own hands, using for the purpose a pair of silver tongs which had been specially made for that purpose.
It was during his sojourn at Mandu that Roe first had the opportunity of witnessing the curious ceremony of weighing the Emperor against gold and other precious materials, which was a characteristic part of the celebration of the Mogul's birthday. On the previous occasion an invitation to attend had missed him, owing to the stupidity of the messenger, but in this instance Jehangir took especial pains to see that the English ambassador was present. Roe found the spectacle as picturesque as imagination could paint it. He saw the Emperor, glittering from head to foot with diamonds and other precious stones used to embellish his person, step into the golden scales, to be weighed six times, first against gold, next against silver and so on. When the last weighing was finished Jehangir ascended his throne and distributed silver almonds, nuts and spices, after the manner previously described. Once more the great men "scrambled prostrate upon their bellies" for the imperial largesse; once more Roe's dignity forbade him to follow their example. The Emperor, seeing that the ambassador did not join in the scrimmage, took a basin and poured the contents into Roe's cloak. Some of the nobles, observing what was happening, held out their hands to intercept the bounteous stream and they would have diverted a good part of it had not Roe protested. At night there was the usual wassail, which Roe was told he must attend, but remembering that their "waters are fire," he stayed at home on the plea of ill-health.
In less than a month from this celebration Prince Khurrum returned in triumph from his campaign in the Deccan. It is a curious example of the irony of history that his father heaped upon him on this occasion the most profuse honours, conferring upon him the title of Shah Jehan (Lord of the World), making him a Mansabdar, with the command of 20,000 horsemen, and yielding to him the right to sit on a chair next to the throne—and all this in that same Mandu in which Jehangir, after deposition by the son he now honoured, was to pass the last days of his life a prisoner.
Khurrum bore his new honours with the arrogance of a proud nature, and a less skilful student of human nature than Roe would have paid assiduous court to him. But the ambassador knew from his experience of Orientals that the very worst course he could pursue would be to pander to the great man. The line he took towards him was, if anything, a trifle more independent than that he had followed in the days when the prince's star was by no means in the ascendant. In accordance with established etiquette he rode to the Prince's tent a few days after the triumphal entry to tender his congratulations.
The prince sent out word to him that he must either attend the next morning, when he sat in durbar, or stay until his riding to Court, a course which would have entailed the necessity of Roe hanging about the door of the tent for a considerable time.
"This," writes Roe, "I took in extreme scorn, his father never denying me access; and his pride is such as may teach Lucifer; which made me answer roundly I was not his slave, but a free ambassador of a king, and that I would never more visit him or attend him. He had refused me justice, but at night I would see him with the King, to whom only I would address myself, and so departed."
Bold words these even for an ambassador to utter to a man of Prince Khurrum's status, especially in his hour of favour. But Roe at the time had in reserve a weapon which he knew he could use with telling effect in any subsequent phase of the dispute. He had heard the previous day of the arrival at Swally of a new fleet, bringing with it, of course, a fresh batch of presents. Jehangir's almost childish craving for novelties might be relied on, he no doubt thought, to smooth matters for him in the prince's direction.
Not, we may imagine, without a twinkle of triumph in his eye. Roe attended the imperial durbar that evening. As he passed the prince he saluted him respectfully, but Khurrum treated him with disdainful indifference. Then turning to the Emperor, Roe told him of the fleet's arrival and asked his commands in regard to the presents. All eagerness at the news, Jehangir demanded what had been brought. He was given a list of the articles, and was so pleased, especially with some arras which had been imported for him, that he promised Roe all favours and privileges that he might desire. The coup was so far successful, but Roe did not intend to trust over-much to his imperial patron's sense of honour. For the time being he determined to have the presents kept in safe custody at Surat, the only exception being some rather remarkable pearls—one being "shaped like a pear, very large, beautiful and orient,"— which he gave orders should be transmitted by special messenger.
The jewels thus withdrawn from the ordinary stock of presents Roe knew would supply powerful leverage for the execution of his designs. But he probably little suspected at the outset how valuable they would prove. At the period, Asaf Khan and Noor Mahal had fallen out with Khurrum, chiefly owing to the latter's refusal to wed the Empress's daughter by her first husband. This was a match upon which the ambitious Noor Mahal had set her heart, mainly because she hoped by its means to continue in a new reign, if one were entered upon, the extraordinary influence she had wielded in Jehangir's time. Prince Khurrum's uncompromising attitude on the subject, dictated by his love for Mumtaz Mahal, a devotion which inspired the construction of the glorious Taj, had convinced the exalted intriguers that it would be folly to base their hopes on the Prince. They realized that they must make other plans, and they had abeady fixed on Prince Shariyar, a younger son of Jehangir, as a suitable subject for the promotion of their designs, when Prince Khurrum's return from the war with an enormously increased prestige added a fresh incentive to their scheme of aggrandisement at the latter's expense.
Roe was too well posted in the affairs of the Court not to be aware of the direction in which the palace intrigues were being promoted. Possessing such knowledge he sagaciously concluded that the situation might be turned to account by his association with Asaf Khan and Noor Mahal.
Without loss of time he sought an interview with the former, and under a pledge of secrecy revealed to him the fact that the ships had brought a beautiful pearl which he alleged he was anxious to sell, either to the Emperor or to the prince.
Asaf Khan swallowed the bait tendered with avidity. He told Roe that he must on no account allow either Jehangir or the prince to have the jewel. The Emperor, if he were told about it, would not rest until he got it into his hand, and once it was in his possession Roe would have to sue for it. The prince was tyrannical and opposed to all nationalities. "Why not let him have the pearl? If it were put in his possession, he insinuated, he would reconcile Roe to the prince and do great things for the English. Roe showed a yielding disposition, but raised doubts as to the possibility of the transaction leaking out. Whereupon Asaf Khan gave his oath, and this was followed by "a ceremony of covenant by crossing of thumbs," Finally the conspirators embraced in token of their bond of friendship.
The minster proved as good as his word. He took Roe "to Prince Khurrum and "persuaded him to alter his course towards us, telling him he gained yearly by us a lakh of Tupees at his port (Surat), that the trade was on the increase, and that if it were interfered with great inconvenience would ensue." Finally, Asaf Khan "moved him for a firman for our present case, and obtained it, promising all manner of content." Afterwards the minister added to the great service he had rendered by writing to the government of Surat on behalf of the Company's representatives.
Noor Mahal ably seconded her brother in his support of English interests. In exchange for a promise of priority in the selection of foreign novelties brought by the English ships, she took the cargoes under her special protection, with the consequence that the irritating exactions of local officials were effectually suppressed.
Under the buoyant influence of his diplomatic success, Roe's spirits rose. No longer was he a humble suppliant for favours which were never forthcoming. As he wrote to the Company's officials at Surat, "Noor Mahal is my solicitor and her brother my broker,"
Asaf Khan was dissatisfied with the pearls—or professed to be so—when they arrived in the custody of Richard Steele early in November, by which time the Emperor was once more on the march. But he kept nobly to his bargain to the extent even of openly in durbar championing the English cause in opposition to the antagonistic views forcibly expressed by Prince Khurrum.
This strange incident, which may be said to have set the seal on the establishment of the English power at Surat, is described by Roe with evident relish in his diary. Roe had attended the durbar to present a letter from James I which had arrived with the latest fleet. In the course of the ceremony of presentation Klhurrum entered into an argument with his father as to the value of the English trade, complaining that he had no profit by it and would be well content to be rid of the Company's establishment. Asaf Khan, perceiving the drift of the discussion, "took a turn and roundly told the king that we brought both profit to the port and to the kingdom, and security; that we were used very rudely by the prince's servants, and that it was not possible for us to rest without amends; that it were more honourable to his Majesty to license us to depart than to intreat us so discourteously, for it would be the end." The prince made a passionate reply, asserting that he had never done the English any wrong. But he could make no headway against Asaf Khan's advocacy, and in the end Jehangir administered a sharp reproof to his son and directed him to allow the presents to be sent up to Roe without being touched and also to give the ambassador such privileges as were fit.
The victory was so complete that Roe was content to seek a little relaxation at Ahmedabad, where an English factory had been established, while Jehangir pushed forward into Cambay to obtain his first glimpse of the ocean. Simultaneously with the ambassador's progress westward an agent of Noor Mahal was speeding to Surat to take advantage of the arrangement come to about the selection of novelties. Roe thought the enterprising lady's haste strange, but he forwarded instructions that her envoy should have every consideration on the ground that the opportunity, if discreetly used, might turn out to the Company's advantage.