great services to his king: if the latter be at all of a suspicious disposition, evil tongues are not wanting to misrepresent even the greatest services; and such was the case on this occasion. The head of Jafer Khan was said to have been mutilated after his assassination by a man whose ears Jafer had caused to be cut off. This man, however, obtained a full pardon from Lutf'ali, on the intercession of Haji Ibraheem, and he was afterwards included in a list of persons who received robes of honour from the prince. This latter circumstance so enraged the widow of Jafer, that she sent for her son, and violently reproached him with the baseness of his conduct. In Persia, it is considered to be a point of honour to avenge the blood of a relative; and it may be well imagined that this reproach from his mother stung the young prince to the quick. Sending at once for the man he had pardoned, he demanded of him what punishment a person should receive who had behaved badly to his sovereign and benefactor. The unhappy man is said to have replied that such an one deserved to be burnt alive; and Lutf'ali Khan, forgetful of his princely word, had the barbarity to order that this sentence should be forthwith executed on him who had pronounced it. This act caused him the loss of his crown and his life.
Haji Ibraheem, who had obtained the man's pardon, afterwards told the English historian of Persia,[1] that from that moment he had lost all confidence in Lutf'ali Khan. Satisfied, by what followed, that his own existence was at stake, he took the resolution of removing the crown from the head on which he had placed it, and making over Sheeraz to Aga Mahomed Khan. For this end he took
- ↑ Sir John Malcolm.
