Note 46 — PART I.—DESCRIPTION.

Of the surprising size and fantastic arrangements of Ghiás-ud-dín’s pleasure city, the true Mándu Shádiábád or Abode of Joy, curious details have been preserved. This Abode of Pleasure was a city not a palace. It contained 15,000 inhabitants, all of them women, none either old or plain-featured, and each trained to some profession or craft. Among them were the whole officers of a court, besides courtiers, teachers, musicians, dancers, prayer-readers, embroiderers, and followers of all crafts and callings. Whenever the king heard of a beautiful girl he never rested till he obtained her. This city of women had its two regiments of guards, the Archers and the Carabineers, each 500 strong, its soldiers dressed like men in a distinguishing uniform. The archers were beautiful young Turkí damsels, all armed with bows and arrows: the carabineers were Abyssinian maidens, each carrying a carbine. Attached to the palace and city was a deer park, where the Lord of Leisure used to hunt with his favourites. Each dweller in the city of women received her daily dole of grain and coppers, and besides the women were many pensioners, mice, parrots and pigeons, who also received the same dole as their owners. So evenly just was Ghiás-ud-dín in the matter of his allowances, that the prettiest of his favourites received the same allowance as the roughest carabineer.46