Page:History of India Vol 5.djvu/125

THE SLAVE- BOY ALTAMISH 93 ticed him away from his father and mother on the pre- tence of going to see a drove of horses; but when they brought him there, they sold him to a horse-dealer. Some say that his sellers were his cousins. The horse- dealers took him to Bokhara and sold him to one of the relatives of the chief judge of that city. For some time he remained with that great and noble family, whose chiefs nourished and edu- cated him like a son. A credible person has related that he heard in the gracious words of the king himself that on a certain occasion one of the members of the family gave him a piece of money and ordered him to go to the bazaar and buy some grapes. He went to the bazaar, and on the way lost the coin. Being of tender age, he began to cry for fear; and while he was weeping and crying, a dervish came to him, took his hand, purchased some grapes, and gave them to him, saying: " When you obtain wealth and dominion, take care that you show respect to dervishes and holy men, and uphold their rights." He gave his promise to the dervish, and what- ever fortune and power he obtained he always ascribed to the favour shown him by that kindly man. Altamish was purchased from his noble and dis- tinguished owner by a merchant whose name was Haji PIOUS MENDICANT.