Indian Antiquary Vol 43

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 74

70
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(MAY, 1914.
hoe should have the first sight of, wherwith hee seemed well contented, and hath given order to gerche out for a house for mee, but as yet cannot finde any convenyent enoughe, yet hope shortlye to bee well seated, thoughe I feare not rent free. The Nabobe is desierous of some cloth and hydes, for which I have advized to Agra for what theye can spare, or maye lye there un vendable; also tapestrye, clothe of tishoo [tissue), velvetts, embrodares, fethers, or anye other rich commodities to bee gotten, and hath desiered me to write you to procure him some from the expected fleete, of which if you may spayer anye, doubtlese theye wilbe well sould, and your selves knowe him to bee as free in payinge as in buyinge.
I have made some enquirye into the commodityes here to bee procured and by you required from England. And first for clothinge (as I have bine enformed, for I have not had tyme yet to make anye experiences), the usiall custome of buyinge the amberty? calicoes at Lackhoure [Lakhawar] (which is the pente (peth, penth, market-town] or fayer for that commoditye, and is a towne 14 course from this place) is as follows: theye are dalye brought in from the neighboringe gonges [ganj, a village] by the weavers, from whome they are bought rawe, of length 13 coveds Jehangery (which is one-fourth longer then the elahye [ilâhi gaz. 33 in.) of Agra), from which the buyer, of an antient custome, teares of 17 or 2 coveds, and soe deliverse them marked to the whitster, whoe detaynes them in whitinge and starchinge about three mounthes, the charge whereof is neare upon 3 ru[pees] per courge [score), and the abatements and disturyes (dasturi, commission) in buyinge them rawe from the weaveres. per rupye or 25 per cent. In this maner, by reporte, dalye maye there bee bought 50,60, and some dayes 100 peeces. Almost in the like nature are theye sould here in Puttanna, beinge likewise brought thence by the weaveres, but readye whited and cured, and the same customes and abatements as in the cuntrye; and by computation here may bee provided within the space of three or four mounthes, soe bought, and of the broadest sizes, called zeferconyes [zafar-khani], two or three hundred corge.
Of sahannes [sahan, fine sheeting] and hammomes [hammam, towelling] theire are but fewe at presant in towne. Theye are brought from the lower partes of Bengalla in smalle parcells by Puttanes (Pathans). Other sortes of choutare? cloth are not here to bee gotten, unlesse some fewe rahmoutes. What of theise sortes shall come to towne, I shall not slip anye oportunitye for theire procuringe, for the yeare is allreadye so farr spent that it will not permite anye convenyent investments to bee made at Lackhoure in th'ambertyes rawe, the tyme beinge soe shorte for theire dispeed hence, and theye soe tedious in whittinge.
Of rawe silke of Bengalla I have sent musteres (samples] to Agra, and have entreated, after perusiall [inspection), to send them you joyntlye with this my leter. In the paper No. 1 are two skeynes of the first and second sortes, which is the sortes cheflye by the Companye required, and by us provided [at] Agra, which at presant is here to bee bought (wounde of into skeynes of a coved longe) for 54 rupees gross the seare of 344 pices weight per seare, from which is abated 17 per cent. kessure [kasar, diminution, discount] and disturye, and will falle out net not above 4 rup[ees] the seare of 344 pices weight. In the paper No. 2 is two skeynes of the third and fourth sortes wee usialye buye in Agra, not wound of aparte,
Amberty, ambertee ambartroo (Hindt, amriti, imrati, amirti imarti), a name applied to a stout cloth of N. India, See Travels of Peter Mundy, ed. Temple, II, 141 n.
3 The word is chaudh, chautaha, chaudhi, chautai, lit., four folds, & coarse double-width cotton cloth of two lengths.
This word clearly means a kind of chaulah or wide, coarse cotton cloth, but I am unable to trace it in any vernacular, unless it is a mistranscription for dual, rdo, rd watt rdori.