gates shut, and the people in arms against him. On the evening before this news was brought to him, Dara had taken refuge with his harem in a caravansary, into which, in spite of the natural aversion of all orientals to introduce strangers among the women of their anderûn, he kindly invited Bernier, apprehending lest the sanguinary peasantry should beat out his brains in the darkness. Here it was melancholy to see the shifts to which this unfortunate prince was driven to have recourse for the preserving, even in this last extremity, of the dignity of his harem; for, possessing neither tent nor any other effectual covering, he caused a few slight screens to be fixed up, in order to maintain some semblance of seclusion, and these were kept steady by being tied to the wheels of Bernier's wagon.
Meanwhile, as the determination of the governor of Ahmedabad was not yet known, the most intense anxiety prevailed among the fugitives. Every gust which moaned along the surrounding waste appeared to their half-slumbering senses to announce the approach of some messenger. The hours, which seem to flit away so rapidly when men are happy, now appeared so many ages. Time and the wheeling stars above their heads seemed to stand still; and their very souls were sick with expectation. At length, as the red dawn began to appear in the east, a single horseman was discovered scouring across the plain. His tidings from Ahmedabad were such as have been related above. Upon hearing this dreadful intelligence, the ladies of the harem, who had hitherto consoled themselves with the hope of tasting a little repose in that city, which had become a kind of land of promise in their eyes, gave themselves up wholly to despair, and tears, sobs, and the most passionate lamentations burst unrestrainedly forth, and brought tears into the eyes of many not much used to weeping. Every thing was now thrown into the utmost trouble and confusion. Each person looked at the
