clue. “At one syde in a wyndow were his two Principall wifes whose Curiositye made them breake litle holes in a grate of reede that hung before yt to gaze on mee. I saw first their fingers, and after laying their faces close, nowe one eye, nowe another; sometyme I could discerne the full proportions. They were indifferently white, black hayre smoothed vp; but if I had no other light, their diamondes and Pearles had sufficed to show them. When I looked vp they retyred, and were so merry that I supposed they laughed at mee." "The emperor suddenly rose and all retired to the Durbar and sat in the Carpette, attending his Commen." Not long after Jehangir appeared and descended the stairs "with such an acclamation of health to the King as would have out-cryed Cannons. At the foot of the stairs one came and buckled on his swoord and buckler, sett all ouer with great Diamondes and rubys, the belts of gould suteable."

"Another hung on his quiuer with 30 arrowes and his bow in a Case, the same that was presented by the Persian Ambassador. On his head he wore a rich Turbant with a Plume of herne tops, not many but long on one syde hung a ruby vnsett, as bigg as a Walnutt; on the other syde a diamond as great; in the middle an emralld like a hart, much bigger. His shash was wreathed about with a Chayne of great Pearle, rubys, and diamondes drild. About his Neck hee carried a Chaine of most excellent Pearle, three double; so great I neuer saw; at his Elbowes, Armlettes sett with diamondes; and on his wristes three rowes of seuerall sorts. His handes bare, but almost on euery finger a ring; his gloves, which were english, stuck under his Girdle; his Coate of Cloth of gould without sleeues upon a fine Semian as thin as Lawne; on his feet a payre of embrodered buskinges with Pearle, the toes sharp and turning vp. Thus armd and accomodated, hee went to the Coach, which attended him with his New English seruant, who was Clothed as rich as any Player and more gaudy, and had trayned four horses, which were trapped and harnassed in gould veluetts. This was the first hee euer sate in, and was made by that sent

from England, so like that I knew it not but by the Couer, which was a gould Persian velvett. Hee gott into the end; on each side went two Eunuches that carried small maces of gould sett all ouer with rubies, with a long bunch of white horse tayle to drive away flyes; before him went drumes, ill trumpettes, and loud musique, and many Canopys, quittasolls and other strange ensignes of Maiestie of Cloth of gould sett in many Places with great rubyes, Nine spare horses, the furniture some garnished with rubyes, some with Pearle and emraldes, some only with studdes enameld. The Persian Ambassador presented him a horse. Next behind came three Palenkees; the Carriages and feete of on Plated with gould sett at the endes with stones and couered with Crimson velvett embrodered with Pearle, and a frengg of great Pearls hanging in ropes a foote deepe, a border about sett with rubyes and emeralldes. A footman carried a foote stoole of gould sett with stones. The other two were couered and lyned only with Cloth of gould. Next followed the English Coach newly couered and trimed rich, which hee had given the queene Normahall, who rode in yt. After them a third of this Cuntry fashion, which me thought was out of Countenance; in that sate his younger sonns. After followed about 20 Eliphantes royall spare for his owne ascending, so rich that in stones and furniture that they braved the sunne. Euery Eliphant had diuers flages of Cloth of siluer, guilt satten, and taffeta. His Noblemen hee suffered to walke a foot, which I did to the gate and left him. His wiues on their Eliphantes were carried like Parrakitoes half a Mile behynd him.”

No gorgeous Imperial pageant now rolls down the street of Ajmer. But there are few towns in India where you can enter so into the heart of the East and feel its life about you as Ajmer, with its old houses and their carved marble balconies overhanging its narrow and tortuous bazaars, alive with many races. They come to trade, for Ajmer is an important entrepôt, and they come-Rajpoot, Jat, Mahratta, Muhammadan-to visit the shrine of the Saint Khwaja Mueyyin-ud-din Chisti, known as Khwaja Sahib, whose miracles are renowned all over India. The great Akbar once made a pilgrimage on foot to this place to implore at

the saint's tomb the blessing of male offspring. Many are the legends stated about the holy man. According to a popular tradition it was at Medina "the City" a voice came from the tomb of the Prophet calling for Mueyyin-uddin, and directing him to go to Ajmer and convert the infidels. He obeyed the call. On reaching Ajmer he took up his abode on the hill overlooking Lake Anasagar, whose margin he found lined with idol temples. The idolaters made frequent attempts to slay him. But when they came in sight of the Saint they were rooted to the ground, and when they attempted to cry Ram, Ram, only ejaculated Rahim, Rahim. They begged his forgiveness, and invited him to take up his residence in the town. He chose the site on the southern side of the city close to the wall, where the Dargah now stands. Here he lived working miracles till his death in 1235. The charm of the Dargah lies in its fine gateway, the marble courtyard glistening and sparkling in the sun, the tall trees planted around the tombs, which cast a cool and refreshing shade, and the grey mountain towering above. The marble mosque built by Shah Jehan has the radiant purity of the pearl mosque built by him at Agra. The monarch who erected the mosque at Ajmer, the pearl mosque at Agra, and the Taj Mahal, left the world richer than he found it.

1

They tried to cry Ram, Ram, the Hindu Rama, and they were forced to cry the Muhammadan name' Rahim' for the Merciful God.

FR

V

JEYPORE

ROM Ajmer the open tableland spreads eastward towards Jeypore, which stands on a sandy and barren plain sixteen hundred feet above the sea, surrounded on three sides by stony hills.

From this point the Aravell range no longer forms an unbroken barrier against the desert. Ajmer whispers the mediaeval enchantment of the East: Jeypore proclaims itself a prosperous modern town. It owes its political importance to being the capital of one of the two chief States of Rajpootana, and its prosperity to being a great commercial centre for the trade between Delhi and Agra and Rajpootana. Though Jeypore is a modern prosperous Hindu city, the State to which it gives its name has a respectable antiquity. The chiefs of Jeypore claim their descent from Kash, the second son of Rama, who was the fifty-seventh of the line of Surajbans, or Sunbegotten kings, and therefore may be allowed "the boast of heraldry." Rama ruled long and gloriously in Ajodhya (the blessed) in Oude, and when the city waxed and waned the royal kinsmen went forth and carved out chiefships for themselves. When Edgar was King of all the English (A.D. 967) Dhola Rao and his Kachwahas, after many and stubborn struggles with the local chiefs, obtained a solid establishment in a territory known by the name of Dhundar from (Tod says) a sacred mount of that name situated somewhere on the western frontier of the present State. Half a