Page:History of India Vol 4.djvu/179

 GKAND LEVEES AND CELEBKATIONS 137 of jewels and gold, sometimes to the value of 2,000,000. The festivals often ended with the national sport, an elephant-fight. Two elephants charged each other over an earth wall, which they soon demolished; their skulls met with a tremendous shock, and tusks and trunks were vigorously plied, till at length one was overcome by the other, when the victor was separated from his AN ELEPHANT FIGHT AT JAIPUR. prostrate adversary by an explosion of fireworks be- tween them. In the jovial days of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, fair Nautch girls used to play a prominent part in the court festivities, and would keep the jolly emperors awake half the night with their voluptuous dances and agile antics; but Aurangzib was " unco guid " and would as soon tolerate idolatry as a Nautch.