Kasim attended closely to the advice of the Khan, and spared no pains,
on the day which was to fix his fate and rank in the service, to adorn
his person to the best advantage. The splendid brocade suit which the
Khan had given him—of crimson silk, with large gold flowers upon it, the
most expensive the looms of Aurungabad could produce—he had found to fit
him so nearly, that it required but few alterations, which were easily
made.
This, therefore, he was able to wear. Around his head was a mundeel, or
turban of gauze and gold in alternate stripes. The colour of the gauze
was green, which marked his descent as a Syud; and it was an additional
reason, beyond his own pride in the matter, for thus openly showing it,
that the Sultaun, in his zeal for the Faith, was particularly partial to
the nobly-descended race. The mundeel was of the richest and most
expensive kind, and its costly fabric suited well with the appearance of
the brocade suit. He had bound it, too, in the most approved and genteel
form—that worn by the nobility of the Dekhan, and which is called
_nashtalik_.
Under his chin, and tied on the top of his head, so as to protect the
ears, he wore a Benares handkerchief—the gift of his mother—of purple
and silver, the glittering ends of which fluttered in the breeze as he
walked, while the colour contrasted well with his fair skin. His waist
was girded by a crimson muslin doputta, or scarf, with gold ends nearly
a foot long, richly embroidered, which hung down on one side, and were
displayed to the best advantage. A pair of tight-fitting trousers of
yellow mushroo, or thick satin, striped with crimson, completed a
costume which for its splendour could not well be surpassed, and which
displayed his striking figure and handsome face to the best advantage.
The baldric, which held his father’s trusty sword, was tarnished to be
sure, but that was a mark of its having seen service; and it was the
more honourable in appearance on that account. Its gold inlaid
half-basket hilt had been newly polished, and the crimson velvet
scabbard renewed; and it looked, as indeed it was, a handsome as well as
most formidable weapon, from its great length and breadth. Two or three
daggers, with richly chased and ornamented handles, occupied a
conspicuous place in his girdle; his shield hung loosely at his back;
and thus accoutred, he mounted the gallant horse which the Khan had
provided for him, and which had not only been more richly caparisoned
than usual, but decked with a profusion of silver ornaments, and took
his way into the Fort.
Many an eye was turned towards him as he passed along; for the proud
animal he rode, apparently aware that the appearance of his rider
warranted more than usual exertion, and excited by the clashing and
jingling of the silver ornaments and tiny bells around his neck and upon
his crupper, bounded to and fro, curvetted and pranced, as much to show
off his own unexceptionable shape, as to display his rider’s admirable
and easy horsemanship to the best advantage.
‘A gallant cavalier!’ cried one, as he passed near the gate of the Fort,
loud enough for Kasim to hear it; ‘five hundred rupees would not buy his
suit of clothes. Mashalla! this is the place after all where soldiers
are patronised, and come to spend their money in adorning their
persons.’
‘Ay, brother,’ said the man he was with; ‘knowest thou who that is? it
is Kasim Ali Patél—he who saved Rhyman Khan’s life on—’
Kasim lost the rest of the sentence as he passed on; but it proved to
him, and not unpleasantly, that the only action he had as yet performed
worthy of note was known.
‘If my fate favour me, it shall not be the last. Ya Nusseeb!’ he cried,
apostrophising his fate, ‘thou art darkly hidden; but if it be the will
of Alla, thou shalt yet shine brightly out.’
‘Alla kereem! what a beautiful youth!’ exclaimed a bevy of dancing
girls, whose gaily-ornamented bullock-carriage obstructed the gateway of
the Fort, and who in all the pride of gay and glittering apparel, and
impudence of fair and pretty faces (their lustrous eyes even made more
so by the use of soorméh), were proceeding to the Sultaun’s Durbar.
‘Alla, what a beautiful youth!’ cried one; ‘wilt thou not come and visit
us?’
‘Shall we see thee at the Durbar?’ cried two others.
‘I am stricken with love at once,’ said a fourth.
‘What a coat! what a horse! what eyes!’ cried first one, and then
another; until Kasim, whose horse had become uneasy at this volley of
words, and at the jingling and clashing of the bells around the
bullock’s necks or attached to the posts and crimson curtains of the
car—and had curvetted once or twice, so as to cause a few faint shrieks,
and afterwards a burst of merry laughter from the fair ones—bounded on,
and freed him from them.
Passing hastily through the gateway, he rode on into the Fort—first
through an open space, where cannon-balls in heaps, cannon mounted on
carriages, and soldiers moving in all directions, showed the efficient
state of the Fort for defence. Beyond this was the bazaar—long streets
of goodly houses, the lower parts of which were shops, and where all
sorts of grain, rich clothes, tobacco, brazen pans, and arms of all
kinds, were exposed for sale.
As he rode along slowly through the crowd—among which his appearance
attracted much notice and many flattering comments—he could not but
observe that every house was gaudily ornamented with paintings, which
were a proof, if any was needed, in what hatred the English were held by
all.
Here were represented a row of white-faced Feringhees, their hands tied
behind them, and with their faces half blackened; while others were
seated on asses, with their faces to the tail. Again there were some
being torn to pieces by tigers, while men of the true faith looked on
and applauded; others were under the feet or chained to the legs of
elephants, one to each leg, while the beast was depicted at his utmost
speed, his trunk raised into the air, and the Mahout evading him with a
huge ankoos. Again another row were undergoing the rite of Mahomedanism
at the hands of the Kazee; others were suffering torture; several
appeared drawn up in a line, whose heads were all falling to the ground
under one vigorous blow of the executioner—a man of the true faith, with
a huge beard and mustachios curling up to his eyes, while streams of
gore, very red and much higher and thicker than the sufferers
themselves, gushed from the bodies.
Here again were a group of ten or twelve seated round a table, each with
a fierce regimental cocked-hat upon his head, a very red and drunken
face, and his right hand upraised grasping a huge glass filled with red
wine; while others, overcome by inebriation, were sprawling under the
table, and wallowing among the swine and dogs which lay at the feet of
those who were yet able to preserve their equilibrium.
Kasim was amused at all this; and if he could not enter into the general
hatred with all the zest of one of Tippoo’s soldiers, perhaps it was
that the remembrance of the young Englishman whom we have mentioned rose
in his mind, as he looked on these disgusting and indecent pictures of
his race, with far different feelings than they were calculated to
engender in a Syud and a true believer.
As he passed on, the tall minarets of the mosque built by Hyder Ali Khan
towered above him, which, pierced from top to bottom with pigeon-holes,
after the manner of those in Arabia, were surrounded by thousands of
pigeons of all colours and kinds, wheeling hither and thither in the air
in immense flocks, whilst others sat quietly cooing in the niches and
enjoying their abode unmolested. Soon afterwards he emerged from the
narrow street into the square, the Futteh Mydan, or plain of victory, on
one side of which was the long line of the Sultaun’s palace, presenting
nothing to the observer but a line of dead wall with many windows, whose
closed shutters showed they were the Zenana. Around the gate, however,
were many guards dressed in the striped tiger-skin-pattern calico in use
among his bodyguard of regular infantry, interspersed with men in richer
dresses and armour,—those of the irregular troops who were permitted to
share the watch over the monarch’s abode. In the centre of the square
were a number of men under instruction, whose evolutions, with the words
of command, were quite new to Kasim, and inspired him with great
admiration. At the other side of the square the venerable forms of the
ancient Hindoo temples reared their huge conical and richly ornamented
roofs; and around their massy gates and in the courts lounged many a
sleek and well-fed Brahmin, whose closely shaven and shining head, and
body naked to the waist—having only a long white muslin cloth tied
around his loins, with its end thrown over his shoulder—proved him to be
in the service of the enshrined divinity, whose worship was not
forbidden by the fanatical ruler of the Fort—nay, it was even whispered,
shared in by him.
The Khan’s house was not far from the temple, in one of the chief
streets; and having announced his arrival to the gate-keeper, Kasim
continued riding up and down before it till the Khan should issue forth
to accompany him.
This was then the place where Ameena was secured, he thought; the
gentle, lovely being on whose fair face his eye had rested only a few
times; yet each glance, however short its duration had been, was
treasured up in the inmost shrine of his heart. As long as she remained
in the camp, he might have an opportunity of seeing her, even though for
a moment, and of displaying the scarf she had given to him—a mute
evidence which would prove to her she was not forgotten; for he had
continued to wear it tied around his chest as at first, even though his
slight wound was so far healed as to require nothing but a bandage
underneath his vest.
It had been even a comfort to him to watch the arrival of her palankeen
daily in the camp, and before that to busy himself in writing the
despatch for the Furashes, who prepared the tents for her reception.
Sometimes, as she got out of her palankeen, he would catch a glimpse of
her muffled figure, or hear the chink of her gold anklets, and even this
would be pleasant to him. But now there was no hope; she had passed
within those walls which had, he thought, for ever shut her from his
sight; and while his memory was busy with the past, he strove, under the
weight of obligation with which the Khan had loaded him, and which that
day would be augmented, to drive away the thoughts of his fair wife,
not, however, with the success which ought to have attended his efforts.
Indeed, the beautiful image of her face was too deeply fixed upon his
memory; and the fears that her lot, so young and gentle-tempered as she
was, in the companionship of her lord’s older and ill-tempered wives,
would not be a happy one, made him again determine that in need or
danger she might rely on one who would be true to her. Every now and
then he cast up his eyes to the lattices to see if perchance any one
looked out from thence; but there was no one, and he continued his slow
pace to and fro.
In a short time, however, his reverie was interrupted by the cheerful
voice of the Khan, who, fully armed, was splendidly dressed in a suit of
bright chain-armour over a tunic of cloth-of-gold; a highly-polished
steel cap glittered on his head, from the sides of which to his neck
descended lappets of chain-links strengthened with scales; his long
straight sword was suspended in an embroidered baldric, and his waist
was girded by a green and gold scarf similar to that Kasim wore. He
greeted Kasim heartily.
‘By the Prophet! thou art no disgrace to me, and the Ulkhaluk becomes
thee; a green mundeel too—that is well, as thou art a Syud, and hast a
right to wear it. I would thou hadst a pair of Persian boots like
mine—but no—better as thou art; they would not fit thee, nor suit thy
dress. So now let us see thee make my Yacoot bound a little.’
As Kasim complied with his request, the delight of the Khan and his
retainers, who had now assembled, was extreme; and cries of ‘Shabash!
shabash! Wah wah! Wah wah!’ rewarded his exertions; indeed Kasim’s
horsemanship, like that of most Dekhanie’s, was perfect; and he sat his
excited horse with the ease and grace of one who was completely at home
upon his back, in spite of his extreme spirit and violence.
As the Khan prepared to mount, Kasim happened once more to cast his eyes
up toward the lattices which looked into the street: they were guarded
with transparent blinds, but nevertheless he thought he could
distinguish one or more female figures behind each, and his heart beat
very rapidly as he thought—nay was sure—that Ameena beheld him; it was
not an unpleasant thought that she looked upon him, richly dressed and
accoutred as he was, and had seen him exhibit his spirited horsemanship
to the Khan.
Again he looked—and for a moment, with an apparent pretence of arranging
the blind, the corner was drawn inwards: a face which was new to
him—dark, yet very beautiful—appeared; and a pair of large flashing eyes
threw a glance towards him, which met his. It was not Ameena’s, and he
was disappointed; but he could not the less remember afterwards the
glance he had received from eyes so bold and so commanding, and the
older yet beautiful face and remarkable expression, and involuntarily
sought it again. The Khan, however, at the moment he saw it, called to
him to proceed; and the spearmen and running footmen and grooms having
arranged themselves in front, they set forward at a quick pace, followed
by the Khan’s retainers, who were almost as well mounted, though not so
richly clothed, as themselves; those in front shouting the Khan’s
titles, and clearing the way, often with rude blows of the heavy
spear-shafts.
They retraced Kasim’s steps through the bazaars, where the profusion of
salaams and compliments which greeted them, showed how greatly the Khan
was respected and esteemed; and the various cries of the Fakeers, who
appealed to him by name as they solicited charity, and mentioned many of
his valiant acts in high-flown and laudatory terms, proved how well his
brave deeds were known to all. Kasim also came in for his share; and as
his connection with the Khan was mentioned truly, and the subsequent
engagement with the Mahrattas, it was plain that it had become known to
those rapid acquirers of topics for gossip, the Fakeers, and had already
become the common talk of the bazaars.
Issuing from the Fort, they escaped from this in a great measure; yet
here and there along the road sat a half-naked Fakeer, or Kalundur, with
his high-pointed felt cap, and quilted chequered gown of many colours,
who, with a sheet spread before him, upon which was a cup, solicited the
alms of the true believers, alternately with prayers, threats, or abuse,
as the quality of the passers-by warranted. Instead of taking the road
to the right, which led to the camp, they struck off to the left, and
after a few minutes’ ride arrived at the gate of the garden of the
Duria-i-Doulut, or Sea of Wealth, by the river side, where, for the day,
the Sultaun held his court.
This palace, which had been erected by his father many years before,
stood in the centre of a garden of great beauty, which, from the
richness of the soil and plentiful supply of water, brought from the
river by a deep water-course, flourished in the utmost luxuriance. Large
trees, mango and tamarind, walnut, and the sweet-scented chumpa, with
many other forest kinds distinguished for their beauty of growth, or the
fragrance or luxuriance of their foliage and blossom, with large clumps
of feathering bamboos, overshadowed the broad walks and long green
alleys, and in the hottest weather formed an almost impervious shade,
while the coolness was increased by the constant irrigation and
consequent evaporation from the ground.
Passing through the gate, the Khan and Kasim rode down the avenue, at
the end of which was the palace; they could not see the extent of it,
nor was there anything remarkable in the outward appearance which
corresponded at all with the splendour within. The building was two
storeys high, the lower of which was occupied by kitchens, halls for
servants, and long corridors—the upper contained the rooms of state; a
projecting roof, which was supported by carved wooden pillars, formed a
deep verandah, which was occupied by a crowd of persons—servants, and
those who attended either with petitions or upon business, and whose
rich and gay dresses contrasted well with the dark foliage which almost
swept the ground near them.
‘Behold the triumph of art!’ cried the Khan, as they dismounted and
approached the building, and Kasim could see that the walls were covered
with paintings; ‘there are not such paintings in Hind, thanks to Hyder
Ali Khan—may his place in Heaven be blessed, and his grave honoured!
Behold the whole of the rout of the kafir English at Perambaukum, where,
praise be to Alla! the arms of the true believers were completely
victorious, and thousands of the kafirs tasted of death at their hands.
Yonder is Baillie and his troops; you can see Baillie in the centre.
Mashalla! he was a great man: so indeed he and the other leaders
appeared, for they were much larger than the troops. Yonder are the
valiant Assud Illahee of the great Hyder, the disciplined troops before
which the English battalions are only as chaff; behold, they are
advancing to the attack, and bear down all before them. There are the
guns too pouring fire on the devoted Feringhees, and the rockets flying
in the air, which overwhelm them with confusion. In the midst of the
fire the cavalry of the Sircar, led on by the young Tippoo, are
charging, and Hyder himself is animating the attack by his presence on
his elephant. And look there,’ he continued, pointing to another part of
the wall, after Kasim had expressed his admiration at the rare skill of
the artist, who had delineated so many figures; ‘that is the end of the
affair, as the end of all like affairs ever will be: the kafirs are
being cut to pieces, while their blood is poured out upon the earth like
water.’ This indeed was pretty evident from the prostrate forms of the
Europeans, and the figures of the Mahomedans hacking at them with swords
rather larger than themselves; while large daubs of red paint showed how
indeed the blood had been poured forth like water. The figures, being
all in profile, had considerably exercised the ingenuity of the artist
to express what he meant.
‘Alla kureem!’ ejaculated Kasim at last, who was mightily struck with
the magnitude of the drawings, the lines of charging cavalry, all with
their fore feet in the air—the bodies of infantry, which marched in all
kinds of lines to the attack with their right legs uplifted—the smoke of
the guns that obscured everything—the rockets flying in the air with
fiery tails—the elephants, and the General’s officers, some of whom were
bigger than the elephants they rode—the horses and their riders—the
whole battle, of which, from the peculiarity of the perspective, it was
difficult to say whether it was on the earth or in the sky,—‘Alla,
kureem! it was a great battle, and this is a wonderful picture—may the
designer’s prosperity increase!’
‘Ay, you may well say that,’ continued the Khan; ‘and behold, here are
the Feringhees in captivity, all wounded, but enduring life; there they
are, brought before Hyder the victorious, who, seated on his throne,
allows the officers to live, while the soldiers he orders to be
dispatched to the regions of perdition by the executioner. Yonder are a
row kneeling in terror, while the sword is brandished behind them which
shall cause them to taste the bitterness of death. There again are
others under torture, and those who are spared by the clemency of the
exalted in rank, going into a deserved captivity!’
‘Those we brought were then some of them,’ said Kasim.
‘No, I think not. I rather believe they were all discharged, or most of
them, at the peace, four years ago. These are some who, if I mistake
not, were taken at Bednore, when Mathews was surrounded, and obliged to
yield himself to the Sultaun; however we shall soon know, for I have
heard that judgment is to be done on them to-day. But come, the Durbar
is open, we have much to do and to see; others are pressing on before
us, and we shall lose our place.
So saying, he led the way by one side of the building to a flight of
broad stairs under the cover of a verandah, and they ascended amidst the
crowd of courtiers and military officers who were thronging to the
Durbar; for proclamation was being made as they waited without, and the
cries of the Chobdars of ‘Durbar-i-Aum! Durbar-i-Aum!’ announced to all
that the Sultaun had taken his seat. The head of the stairs opened at
once into the hall of audience, so that when they reached the top the
scene burst fully upon them. To the Khan there was nothing new in it;
but to Kasim, who had never seen anything grander than his own village,
or at most the town of Adoni, the effect was dazzling and overpowering.
The room was large, but low in its proportions. The walls were of that
beautiful stucco which is only to be seen in perfection in the south of
India, and which, from its high polish and exquisite whiteness, so
nearly resembles the purest marble. This was wrought into most elaborate
designs of arabesque work; and the sharp edges of every flower, leaf,
and line were picked out with a faint line of pure vermilion, here and
there relieved with gold, which gave a peculiar but agreeable effect to
the ornament. In the niches and compartments into which the walls were
divided, upon the deep cornices, and especially around the open arched
windows, the patterns were more intricate and delicate than elsewhere.
The windows themselves were without frames, and were open to the garden,
which in all its beauty and luxuriance could be seen through them; and
they admitted the cool breeze to play through the room, which otherwise,
from its crowded state, would have been insufferably hot. Heavy purdahs,
or gilded curtains of crimson cloth, hung above them, which could be let
down so as to exclude the air completely if required. The ceiling was
covered with fret-work and arabesque patterns of stucco in chequers,
from the intersections of which depended a small stalactite, decorated
like the walls with red and gold; this, while it caused a heavy effect
to the room, was nevertheless extremely rich and handsome. The floor was
covered with rich carpets to about one half of its length, where
commenced a white muslin cloth, on which none dared to venture but those
whose rank or station about the monarch entitled them to that honour.
At the further end of the room was a raised dais, which was covered,
like the floor, with white muslin; but in the centre of it was a square
carpet of rich purple velvet, surrounded with soft cushions, also of
velvet, upon which sat Tippoo, alike the pride and the dread of those by
whom he was surrounded.
Kasim easily distinguished the bull-slayer of the previous day in the
person before him; but he was dressed with extreme plainness in white
muslin, and would not have been taken for the Sultaun by a stranger,
except from the place he occupied, and the large and peculiarly-formed
turban, with which every one was familiar from description.
On each side of him knelt two fair and rosy-faced youths, dressed in
gorgeous apparel, the children of Europeans captured on various
occasions, who, forcibly converted to Mahomedanism, always attended the
Sultaun, and waved chowrees, formed of the white tail of the Tibet cow,
with gold handles, on all sides of him, to drive away the flies. On each
side of the dais, in semicircles, sat the officers of state and of the
army, in their various costumes, leaving an open space in the centre,
through which those passed who desired to present their nuzzurs to the
Sultaun.
Some French officers were there in glittering uniforms, but whose
tight-fitting clothes, bare heads and feet, without boots or shoes,
looked meanly amidst the turbaned heads and more graceful costume of the
courtiers. Behind all were a number of the royal Chelas, or bodyguard,
splendidly dressed, and armed to the teeth, whose formidable appearance
completely awed the assembly, if indeed the presence of the Sultaun
himself was not sufficient to produce that effect.
The figure of the Sultaun was of middle height, and stout; his
complexion was darker than that of most of those who surrounded him, and
he sat with an affected air of royalty, which, though it at first
impressed the spectator with awe, yet that passed away in a great
measure upon the contemplation of his face, which wanted the dignity of
expression that his body assumed. His eyes were full and prominent, but
the whites of them were of a dull yellowish tint, which, with their
restless and suspicious expression, gave them a disagreeable look, and
one which bespoke a mind of perpetual but not profound thought; his nose
was small and straight, and, with his mouth, would have been
good-looking, except for the habitual sneer which sat on both; his
eyebrows and mustachios were trimmed most carefully into arched lines,
and he wore no beard. In his hand there was a large rosary of beautiful
pearls, with emeralds at the regular distances, which he kept
perpetually counting mechanically with the fingers of his right hand.
Before him lay a straight sword of small size, the hilt of which was
inlaid with gold and turquoise stones; and near him stood a gold
spitting-cup, inlaid with precious stones, into which he incessantly
discharged the saliva engendered by the quantity of pān he chewed, the
red colour of which appeared upon his lips and teeth in a disagreeable
manner; and a chased gold writing-case, containing some reed pens, ink,
paper, and a pair of scissors to cut it to the sizes required, lay near
his left hand.
The ceremony of presentation and of obeisance went on rapidly; almost
all offered their nuzzurs of gold or silver, which the Sultaun took, and
deposited beside him until there had accumulated a goodly heap, Kasim,
at the distance he then was, could catch nothing of the conversation
which was going on; for in spite of the loud cries of ‘Khamosh!
Khamosh!’ from the attendants, there was more noise in the assembly than
he thought befitting the presence of the Sultaun. After waiting some
little time, and having advanced nearer and nearer to the musnud, the
Sultaun’s eye fell upon the Khan, who in truth was a remarkable figure,
even among that richly-dressed assembly, being the only one who wore
armour. As the Sultaun’s eye met his, the Khan advanced, and bidding
Kasim remain where he was till he should be called, he performed his
obeisance, presenting, with the handle of his sword upon an embroidered
handkerchief, his nuzzur of five gold mohurs, which the Sultaun received
most propitiously.
‘We welcome thee back, Khan Sahib, most heartily,’ said the Sultaun;
‘and it is pleasant in our eyes to see an old friend return in health;
but thou art thin, friend, the effects of the journey perhaps. Praise be
to Alla! his servant, unworthy of the honour, hath been given power of
dreams such as no one else hath enjoyed since the days of the Apostle,
on whose memory be peace! We dreamed last night—and the blessed planets
were in a most auspicious conjunction, as we learned upon inquiry this
morning as soon as we arose, which assures the matter to us—that we
should see the face of an old friend, and receive a new servant, who
should eclipse all the young men of our court in gallant bearing,
bravery, and intelligence.’
As he looked around when he had said this, all those within hearing
cried, ‘Ameen! Ameen! who is favoured of Alla like unto the Sultaun? may
he live a hundred years! whose knowledge is equal to his? not that even
of Aflatoon or Sikundur.’
‘Ay,’ he continued, ‘behold it hath come true; here has the Khan, as it
were, dropped from the clouds, and with him a young man, who, Inshalla!
is one whose bravery is great. Bring him forward, O Khan, that our
fortunate glance may rest on him.’
‘May I be your sacrifice, Huzrut!’ said the Khan, ‘he is unworthy the
honour; nevertheless, I offer him unto your service, and can answer that
he hath as stout an arm and as brave a heart as he looks to have.
Mashalla! I have seen both tried, in circumstances of great peril to
myself.’
‘Good!’ said the Sultaun, before whom Kasim had performed the Tusleemât,
or three obeisances, and now stood with folded hands. ‘Good! by the
Prophet, a fine youth! there is truth on his forehead—his destiny is
good.’
‘Ul-humd-ul-illa! who can discern character like the Sultaun?’ cried
several; ‘behold all things, even men’s hearts, are open to him.’
‘He hath lucky marks about his face, only known to us,’ continued the
Sultaun; ‘and the planets are auspicious to-day. A Syud too, his
services will therefore be good, and beneficial to himself and us.’
‘Ul-humd-ul-illa!’ cried the court in ecstasy; ‘what wisdom! what
penetration! what gracious words! they should be written in a book.’
‘Wilt thou take service, youth?’ he continued to Kasim; ‘art thou
willing to strike a blow for the lion of the Faith?’
‘Huzrut! your slave is willing to the death,’ cried Kasim
enthusiastically; ‘prove him; he will not be unworthy of such exalted
patronage.’
‘Thou shalt be tried ere long, fear not. Enrol him,’ he continued to a
Moonshee; ‘let his pay be twelve hoons, with allowance for a horse: hast
thou one?’
‘The Khan’s generosity has already furnished me with one,’ said Kasim.
‘Good! thy business shall be to attend my person, and our friend the
Khan will tell thee of thy duties. Enough! you have your dismissal.’
‘I beg to represent that the Khan escorted some kafir prisoners from
Bangalore,’ said an officer who was sitting near the Sultaun; ‘would
your Highness like—’
‘True, true!’ replied the Sultaun; ‘we had forgotten that;’ and he
added, as the expression of his countenance changed, ‘Command silence,
and let them be brought into the presence.’
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