Page:Aurangzíb and the Decay of the Mughal Empire.djvu/136

 CHAPTER VIII

THE HINDÚS

The expeditions into Assam and Arakán did not disturb the general peace of Hindústán. A profound tranquillity, broken by no rebellion of any political importance, reigned throughout northern India for the first twenty years of Aurangzíb's rule. The Deccan troubles, which will be described later, awoke no corresponding excitement in the north. So quiet, indeed, was the country, so absolute the security of the crown, that Aurangzíb was able with an easy mind to allow himself a rest and change of scene, after the dangerous illness which prostrated him in 1664. Leaving his father still a captive at Agra, but fearing no revolution in his behalf, the Emperor set out in December, 1664, upon the journey to Kashmír, of which Bernier has preserved a vivid diary. The holiday was to last eighteen months, at least six of which were consumed in coming and going. The Mughal travelled in a leisurely manner, as befitted his state, and often stopped for a few days' hunting, or deviated from the direct route to search for water. It would have been impossible to hurry with such an