haah Jhee left the
Oude district, and travelled over most parts of Hindoostaun. Returning
after many years' absence to Lucknow, he found the prince seated on the
throne of his ancestors, and watching for a favourable opportunity to
present himself, made his claims to the sovereign, who, remembering the
circumstance and his promise, conferred the required reward--to be allowed
to demand five cowries daily from every shopkeeper in the city of Lucknow.
The King added to this humble demand a house to reside in, and the
elephant on which he went to collect his revenue. Eighty-five cowries
(shells) are valued at one pice, or a halfpenny; yet so vast is this
capital of Oude, that Shaah Jhee was in the receipt of a handsome daily
allowance, by this apparently trifling collection.

Most of the respectable gentlemen in Lucknow maintain an elephant for
their own use, where it is almost as common to meet them as horses. Though
most persons, I observe, avoid falling in with, the royal cortege, (which
is always announced by the sound of the dunkah), unless they are disposed
to court the King's observation; then they draw up their elephant, and
oblige the animal to kneel down whilst the King passes on, the owner
standing in his howdah to make salaams; others, I have seen, dismount in
time, and stand in a humble posture, with the hands folded and the head
bowed low, doing reverence and attracting his Majesty's notice as he
passes on. These little acts of ceremonious respect are gratifying to the
King, and are frequently the means of advancing the views of the subject
to his favour.

The khillauts, presented by the King, vary in the number of the articles
composing the gift, as well as in the quality. The personal rank, and
sometimes the degree of estimation in which the receiver is held, is
defined by the value and number of an individual's khillaut. I have known
some gentlemen tenacious to a foible, about the nature of the khillaut
that could consistently be accepted; I have heard it even expressed, 'I
shall be disgraced in the eyes of the world, if my khillaut has not the
full complement usually conferred on men of my rank'. It is the honour
they value, not the intrinsic worth of the articles, for it is no uncommon
thing to find them distributing the dress of honour amongst their
dependants, on the same day they have received it.

The splendid articles composing khillauts are as follows: swords with
embroidered belts, the handle an