Storia do Mogor 161: 'Izzat Khan, the Viceroy of Sind, dresses Himself as a Woman.

161

Before we proceed to speak of the retirement of Aurangzeb [from the Panjab to Dihli] the reader will be pleased to hear of a curious matter which happened in the city of Tattah, in the province of Sind, to the governor, or viceroy, called 'Izzat Khan, a man I knew very well. This great lord was a great lover of women, nor did he content himself with the liberty or with the wealth he had, by use of which he could choose everywhere whomsoever happened to please him. He learnt that a certain citizen of Tattah had a beautiful daughter, whereupon he set to work to see if he could bring her over to his designs. Great were the solicitations by the medium of procuresses ; and at last the girl revealed to her father the messages sent her by 'Izzat Khan. The father rejoiced to hear the news, seeing in it an opening to avenge himself on 'Izzat Khan for the harshness with which he treated the inhabitants of Tattah. He told his daughter that if the procuress came again she was to make a good deal of difficulty, but end by saying that the viceroy might come. But he was not to arrive till nine o'clock at night, when her father was on the point of retiring to rest. He must come wearing woman's clothes, for should her father appear at the same time he would suppose it to be some woman come on a visit. When 'Izzat Khan arrived he was to be taken into a room, and she was to fasten the door on the outside, and tell him that after she had seen that her father had gone to bed, she would come back to pass the night. The daughter obeyed, and carried out in full her father's instructions. Thus 'Izzat Khan passed the night in solitude, locked up in the room, and deprived of the hoped-for companion.
Here he remained till it was clear daylight, and the father of that clever girl failed not to send word to his friends of what was up. Thus the following day, being the day of audience, many men assembled on pretext of having business with the governor, but really to be witness of his downfall, and to insist that information on the subject should be sent to the king. All awaited the Nawab's coming out to hold audience, or at least the arrival of word that he was not to appear. The eunuchs were at a loss what to say, and reported him to be ill. But as it was obligatory to write to the king that the Nawab was unwell, the public reporter and the secret news-writer both demanded an interview with the doctor and admission to see the viceroy.
Thus everything was in great confusion, for the medical man, ignorant of what had happened, said he had heard no word of his master being ill. Some went so far as to say that the Nawab was dead, and thus a turmoil arose in the city and crowds rushed to the palace. Among them was the venerable citizen who held the Nawab prisoner in his house. He asked why there was all this uproar in the audience hall. They told him it was because they did not know what had become of the Nawab. Thereupon he replied that he knew quite well where he was, and if they wanted to see him they had only to go to his house and he would show the Nawab to them. This was enough to make everyone follow him, the greater part of them already informed of the truth. On reaching his house the citizen took from his daughter's hand the key of the room, and opening the door, showed them the Nawab. All were astonished to see an old man with a big beard dressed as a woman. 'Izzat Khan, out of countenance and ashamed of himself, hid his face and went off to the palace in a palanquin. There he shut himself up and never appeared, making the excuse that he was ill. The officials wrote at once to Aurangzeb about the facts. The king ordered 'Izzat Khan to be removed from his office, to be deprived of rank, and sent to court on foot in the charge of cavalry [172]. But yielding to the petitions of many friends, the king varied his order, and allowed him to come to Lahor on horseback, where he was to remain for the rest of his life, as he did.