lay about them with sticks among the people to clear the
way. On coming to the gate of the house in which the king resided, they
were met by the chief bramin, or high priest of the royal household, a
little old man, who embraced the general, and conducted him and his
people into the palace. At this time the people pressed forwards with
much eagerness to get a sight of the king, which they very seldom do as
he goes very rarely out of the palace; and the multitude was so great
that some of them were stifled in the throng, which would likewise have
been the case with two of our men, if they had not gone on before, with
the assistance of the porters, who severely hurt many of the mob, and
forced them to make way. On passing the last gate, the general and his
attendants entered along with the noblemen into a great hall, surrounded
with seats of timber raised in rows above one another like our theatres,
the floor being covered by a carpet of green velvet, and the walls hung
with silk of various colours. The king was of a brown complexion, large
stature, and well advanced in years. He lay on a sofa covered with a
cloth of white silk and gold, and a rich canopy over his head. On his
head he had a cap or mitre adorned with precious stones and pearls, and
had jewels of the same kind in his ears. He wore a jacket of fine cotton
cloth, having buttons of large pearls and the button-holes wrought with
gold thread. About his middle he had a piece of a white calico, which
came only down to his knees; and both his fingers and toes were adorned
with many gold rings set with fine stones; his arms and legs were covered
with many golden bracelets. Close to his sofa there stood a gold shallow
bason on a gold stand, in which was _betel_, which the king chewed with
salt and _areka_. This last is a kind of fruit about the size of a nut,
and is chewed all over India to sweeten the breath, and is supposed to
carry off phlegm from the stomach and to prevent thirst. The king had
likewise a gold bason on a golden stand, into which he spat out the betel
when chewed; and a gold fountain with water for washing his mouth. The
king was served with betel by an old man who stood close to the sofa; all
the others who were in the presence held their left hands to their mouths,
that their breaths might not reach the king; and it is thought unseemly
for any one to spit or sneeze in the presence.

When the general entered the hall in which the king sat, he stoop