Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 9.4.1

9.4.1

I was enabled to open a passage, sword in hand, through a host of assailants, and to dash across the rapid stream which was before me. It is indeed a proverbial observation in these armies that three things are to be carefully avoided: the first, getting among the choice and led horses, where kicking abounds; the second, intruding on the hunting ground; and the third, a too near approach to the ladies of the Seraglio. It is much worse, however, in Persia. I understand that in that country life itself is forfeited if a man be within sight even of the eunuchs, although he should be half a league distant from the women; and all the male inhabitants of the towns and villages through which the Seraglio is to pass must abandon their homes and fly to a considerable distance. I shall now speak of the field sports of the King. I could never conceive how the Great Mogol could hunt with an army of one hundred thousand men; but there certainly is a sense in which he may be said to hunt with two hundred thousand, or with any number of which his army may consist.