A Servant of Satan: Romantic Career of Prado the Assassin — page 69: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A SERVANT OF SATAN. 61 adding that he would do all that lay in his power to render Frederick’s sojourn in Baroda as agreeable as possible. The Guicowar wore ared velvet tunic, over which was spread a profusion of magnificent jewels. His turban was adorned with an aigrette of diamonds, among which sparkled the famous ‘*‘ Star of the South.” He was at the timea man of about thirty-five years of age and of tall and commanding stature. His complexion was tolerably clear, and his strongly marked features at once gave a perfect idea of this singular man, who to extreme gentleness in every-day intercourse united the most atrocious cruelty on many other occasions. The origin of the dynasty of the Guicowars 1s very interest- ing. Their name, ‘‘ Guicowar,” of which they are so ex- tremely proud, signifies in the Mahratta language, ‘‘ Keeper of Cows,” and they are fond of tracing their descent to a family of ‘‘ Koumbis,” or peasants. After a time hookhas, with jeweled amber miouthoieeet were brought in, and both the colonel and Frederick, follow- ing the example of the Guicowar, began to smoke in true ori- entai fashion. Meanwhile a number of pretty girls, covered with trinkets and attired in thin chemises, had stepped into the room. ‘hey were bayaderes, or dancing girls, who played, sang, and danced for the entertainment of the Gui- cowar’s guests, moving with all the languid voluptuousness peculiar to the Kast. These privileged individuals are al- — lowed to come and go as they please in the royal palace, as if to make up for the absence of the ladies secluded in their Zenana. When, at the close of the audience, which had lasted about two hours, Frederick at length took leave of his dusky highness, he was thoroughly enraptured with all he had seen. ‘The Court of the Guicowar is the only one in India which has preserved down to the present time the customs of the middle ages in all their primitive splendor, and during his stay at Baroda, Frederick had numerous op- portunities of admiring the extreme luxury and lavish mag- - (e(@) Gomicboo “cS 7) ‘ * - m