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 CHAPTER X

An Imperial Despot in Dress and Undress

OWARDS 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 147