Page:The Indian Antiquary Vol 2.djvu/92

82 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [March, 1873. thirty royal robes, two horses, one of which was saddled, one hundred javelins, and five Khatdy girls, except that Bakhshy Malak obtained one ingot less ; also the Empresses made presents to the ambas¬ sadors. On that day the ambassador of A'wys Khan with 250 men obtained an audience from the Emperor and paid him the customary homage ; the courtiers provided them with royal garments, and rations were assigned to them. On the 13th (March 18th) the Emperor sent for the ambassadors and said to them :—“ I shall depart on a hunting expedition, and shall perhaps stay away for some time. Take charge of your falcons, lest you lose them.” According to this command the birds were surrendered to them, and the Emperor went to the chase. During his absence a royal prince ar¬ rived from the country of Tainnd ; the ambassadors paid him a visit on the 18th (March 23rd), and found him sitting on the eastern side of the Emperor’s house, which was, according to custom, adorned with tables laid out; they ate some food and came out again. In the beginning of Raby I the second (March 25th), the ambassadors received information that the Em¬ peror had returned from the hunt, and that they must go out to meet him. Accordingly they mount¬ ed their horses, but when they reached the Ydm- khanah, they found Mull And Yusuf Qadzy sitting on his horse in a state of great melancholy and dejec¬ tion, and, asking for the reason of his sadness, he whispered to them :—“ The horse sent by His Majesty Shdh Rokh has thrown the Emperor whilst hunting, which event made him so angry that he ordered the ambassadors to be taken back in fetters to the city of Khatd [Peking].” At these words the ambassadors became much distressed and con¬ fused. In the camp of the Emperor, where they had alighted in the night, they perceived a wall built around it, which was 400,cubits long and as many broad, the wall itself was four paces broad and two cubits high ; it had been built up that night. They built the wall of green trees and left two gates in it; in the rear of the wall, which was plastered with mud, a deep fosse could be seen. At the gates armed soldiers were standing, and within the [en¬ closure of the] wall were two square tents, each 25 cubits long and supported by four poles ; around them stood smaller tents and sheds of yellow and gold-embroidered atlas. As the ambassadors were yet 500 paces distant, Mulldnd Yusuf said to them :— “Get down from your horses and remain on this spot till the Emperor comes.” Then he went alone forward, and when he arrived near the escort of the Emperor, he alighted and found him sitting with Lyllajy and Jan Wdjy, and blamingthe ambassadors ; both of these men, however, as well as Mulldnd Yusuf Qddzy, touched the ground with their heads, and interceded, representing to him that the ambas¬ sadors were not guilty, since their king, to whose government no damage would be done in case these men should be killed, was obliged to send a good horse, but that on the contrary His Imperial Majesty, who was far and near celebrated for his mercy, would be accused of an act of tyranny for punishing in this manner ambassadors who were not guilty accord¬ ing to auy codoof laws. The Emperor approved of this argument of the well-wishers, and gave up his intention of punishing the ambassadors. Accord¬ ingly Mulldnd Yusuf went joyfully to them and said :—“ God the Most High and Glorious has taken mercy on you, poor fellows, and the Emperor has graciously pardoned the transgression you have not committed.” Afterwards the Emperor came near, mounted on a tall black horse, with white legs, which Mirzd Olugh Beg had sent him. He wore a red gold-embroidered dress, and rode slowly, having an Okhtaji on each side; his beard was encased in a wrapper of black atlas; and he was accompa¬ nied by seven small Sedan-chairs, which were covered and contained girls sitting in them : there was also one large Sedan-chair borno on the shoulders of seventy men, and escorted by numerous mounted troops on the right and on the left, no other person daring to move a single step forward or backward, and the interval from the people was always 20 steps. When the Emperor had arrived nearer, the am¬ bassadors made demonstrations of respect at the instigation of Jan Wdjy and Lyllajy and of Mulldnd Yusuf, and the Emperor said to them :—“ Mount your horses 1” Accordingly the ambassadors de¬ parted in the cortege of the Emperor, who had by way of complaint said to Shady Khdjah that the presents of horses and other animals sent with the other offerings ought to be good ones, and added :— “ On account of my affection for thee I rode the horse thou hadst brought when I was on the hunting ground, but it was so vicious that it threw me and injured my hand.” Shddy Khdjah apologized and represented that the horse was a souvenir from His Majesty, the Lord of the two conjunctions, the Amir TaymiirKurkan, and that the king Shall Rokh had sent it as a present to the Emperor to show him respect.” This excuse the Emperor accepted, and marched to the capital, in the vicinity of which great crowds of men were assembled uttering good wishes and praises of the Emperor in the Khatdy language ; and amidst this display of power and glory the Emperor alight¬ ed at his own palace, whilst the people returned to their homes. On the 4th of Rdbyt the second (April 8th), an imperial messenger came again, and said to the ambassadors whilst he took them away :—“This day the Emperor will give you presents 1” When they arrived at the foot of the throne, they observed that the Emperor had heaps of gifts collected around him, which he distributed to the ambassadors as follows :—To Shddy Khdjah ten ingots of silver, thirty robes of atlas, with seventy pieces of cloth, and various other presents ; to Sultdn Ahmad, to Kukjah, and to A'rghddq, severally, eight ingots of silver, sixteen robes of atlas, and other things. To Khdjah Ghaydth-ul-din, to Ardvdn, and toTdj-ul-din, severally, seven ingots of silver, sixteen robes of atlas, and other articles. When the ambassadors