We soon passed the suburbs of the city, and held on our way towards
the Durgah. I was not without hope that we might fall in with Azima
on the road; but in this I was disappointed. As we passed over the
brow of an eminence, the tombs of the kings of Golconda broke on our
sight, occupying the whole of a rising ground in front. I had never
before seen them, indeed I knew not of their existence, and they were
the more striking on this account. I was astonished at their size
and magnificence even from that distance; but how much more so when
we approached them nearer! We had plenty of time before us, and I
proposed, if the Durgah should not be much further, to diverge from the
road and examine them. I rode up to the driver of the cart, and asked
him how far we were from the place of our destination.
"You cannot see the Durgah yet," said the man, "but it is just behind
the tombs, on the border of a large tank; you cannot miss it; you
will see its white dome and gilt spire above the tamarind trees which
surround it."
"Very good," said I; "do you go on thither, and if you are asked any
questions, say that you belong to a party which is coming out from the
city. We shall go to the tombs, and will join you shortly."
The driver kept to the road, and we, diverging from it, directed our
way to the mausoleums of the departed kings. As we approached them,
their immense size, and the beautiful groups which they assumed as
our point of view shifted, struck forcibly on the mind, while the
desolation around them added to their solemn appearance.
"What a pity," said Peer Khan, who accompanied me, "that the good
people of the city do not make gardens about these proud buildings! the
spot seems to be utterly neglected, even as a burying-ground."
"They are better as they are," said I; "the dust of the present
miserable generation would hardly mix with that of so noble a one as
that which has left such a monument of its glory. Ay," continued I, as
we entered the first immense tomb, "these were kings and princes who
lie here; men who won their kingdoms at the sword's point, and kept
them,--how different to the present degenerate race, who are indebted
for the bread they eat to the generosity of the Feringhees!"
We ascended by a narrow stair to the top of the tomb, and from the
terrace out of which the huge dome proudly reared itself the view of
the city was superb; but it was not equal to the one I have before
described to you, for we saw none of the white buildings; the Mecca
Mosque and the Char Minar were alone distinguishable over the mass of
trees, if I except the innumerable white minarets which rose out from
the foliage in every direction. From the other side of the terrace
the whole of the large tombs were seen at a glance--each by itself a
noble and striking object; but rendered still more so when grouped with
others of smaller size, whose contrast increased their massiveness. Not
a creature was to be seen; the old fort itself, its gray mouldering
walls covering the face of a huge pile of rocks, seemed tenantless, and
was in unison with the abodes of the illustrious dead who had built
it. The silence and desolation were oppressive, and we scarcely made a
remark to each other, as we traversed one by one the interiors of the
noble edifices--some of them dark and gloomy and filled with bats and
wild pigeons, whose cooing re-echoed within the lofty domes--and others
whose wide arches admitted the light of day, and were more cheerful in
appearance.
"Enough," said I, after we had examined some of the largest; "we do but
loiter here while we may even now be expected. Yonder is the Durgah,
and we had better go to it and be prepared, she cannot now be long
absent."
I saw as we approached the sacred edifice that our cart was ready; but
there was no other, and my mind somewhat misgave me that Azima had been
unable to keep her appointment; and I resolved within myself that,
should she not arrive before noon, I would return to the city and seek
my bride--for such I now considered her. I could not leave so lovely a
creature to the rude treatment she would experience from him to whom
she was united--one who was undeserving to possess a jewel such as she
was; but it was still early, and perhaps some hours must elapse before
she could reach the Durgah, which was further from the city than I had
anticipated.
I entered the holy precincts, and after offering up a gift upon the
shrine of the saint, I put up a fervent prayer that the object we had
come for should end successfully. This done, I sat down under the shade
of the trees, and entered into conversation with one of the many Moolas
who attended on the tomb, and who were constantly employed in reading
the Koran over the grave of the saint. He asked me who I was: I told
him I belonged to the city, and had brought my wife to perform a vow to
the saint, on her recovering from a dangerous illness; "but she is not
yet come," said I; "I rode on with some of my attendants, and she will
follow, and will soon be here."
Hour after hour passed, and yet Azima did not come. Sahib, I was
in a torment of suspense and anxiety: could she have met with any
misfortune? could her lord have returned home unexpectedly? could
she have played me false? Ah, not the last! her grief, her misery,
were too strong to be feigned, and what object could she have had
in dissembling? Noon came, and the music of the Nobut began to
play,--still no signs of her. My patience was fairly exhausted, and I
went to the place where my horse stood, mounted him, and bidding the
men remain where they were, I rode on towards the city. I had scarcely
got beyond the small village by which the Durgah was surrounded, when I
saw three carts with curtains to them carefully closed approaching. My
heart beat quickly with hope, and I determined to return; one of them
surely is hers, thought I, and I will await her coming in the Durgah.
"She comes!" cried I to Peer Khan, as he eagerly asked the cause of my
quick return, "she comes! Bid Fazil have his cart in readiness, and
take it round to the gate which leads towards Puttuncherroo."
I dismounted and stood at the gate. The first cart arrived; it was
filled with dancing-girls, who had a vow to sing at the shrine, one of
them having lost her voice some time before, but had recovered it, as
they supposed, at the intercession of the holy Wullee. They passed me,
and I soon heard their voices singing one of their melodies inside the
tomb.
The second arrived; three old women got out, who were the bearers of
some trays of sweetmeats for the Moolas, the offering of some lady of
rank, who was ill and begged their prayers and intercession with the
saint for her recovery. "Mother," said I to one of them, "saw you aught
of a cart with three females in it, my zenana, in fact, on the road
from the city?"
"Yes," said the woman, "they are close behind us; their vehicle broke
down in a rivulet we had to pass, and is coming very slowly, but it
will be here directly; and the ladies are safe, for I spoke to them and
offered to bring them on, but the damage had been repaired somehow or
other, and they declined my offer."
"Alhumd-ul-illa!" I cried, "they are safe then; I have been waiting
here since morning, and in anxiety enough about them."
"No wonder," said the old lady, "for the khanum seemed to be pale and
weakly-looking; but Mashalla! she is beautiful, and my lord too is in
every way worthy of her."
"She has been ill," said I, carelessly, "and her coming is in
consequence of a vow she made."
"May Alla give her a long life and many children! I feel an involuntary
interest in a pair whom he hath joined together, in every way so fitted
for each other; but I go, noble sir, my companions await my coming."
She also passed on, and in a few moments more the cart I so longed to
see turned the corner of some projecting houses, and advanced slowly
towards the gate. How my heart throbbed! was it her, my life, my soul,
or was I doomed to a third disappointment? It stopped, and I could
have fallen down and worshipped the old nurse, who first emerged from
the closely-curtained vehicle; I ran towards her, but was stopped
by the driver. "It is a zenana, noble sir," he said, "and courtesy
requires you to go out of sight, lest their faces should be seen in
descending."
"Peace, fool! the women are my own."
"That alters the case," said the man; "and my lord's displeasure must
not fall on his slave for this delay; the axletree cracked in passing
a rivulet, which is a circumstance no foresight could have prevented,
seeing that it was newly fitted after the Mohorum."
"It matters not," said I; "but you may now leave us; I will return and
pay you your hire: there is an empty cart yonder which I will engage
for them to return in."
The fellow retired to a short distance, and my breath went and came as
I put my head into the curtains and saw my beloved sitting unveiled,
beautiful beyond description, and her fine features glowing with the
excitement of her success. "Shookur khoda!" she exclaimed, "you are
here, my own best and dearest; you have not been unfaithful to your
poor slave." I caught her in my arms, and imprinted numberless kisses
on her lips.
"Toba! Toba! for shame!" cried the old nurse; "cannot you refrain for a
while? Assist her to dismount, and we will go into the Durgah."
I did so, and closely enveloped in a boorka, and leaning on the old
woman and Nurgiz, Azima followed me into the inclosure. Our first care
was to offer up at the shrine some money and a few sweetmeats which
Azima had brought with her; the old Moola to whom I had before spoken
received them and laid them on the tomb.
"They are accepted," said he, "and whatever prayers you may offer up,
our kind saint will intercede with the holy prophet for you, that they
be granted."
"Thanks, good Moola," said I; "all I desire is, that the pearl of
my eyes may be protected in health, and long spared to me. Truly an
anxious time have we had of it with her; but she is now restored to
health, and may Alla grant it be continued!"
"It will be," he replied; "Alhumd-ul-illa! our blessed saint's prayers
are wonderfully efficacious, and I could relate to my lord many
miracles which have been performed here."
"No doubt," said I; "the fame of Hoosain Shah Wullee is spread far and
wide, and we of the city have reason to be thankful that such blessed
saints were led in days of old to take up their residence near it; for
our present generation is so degraded, that without the aid of his
prayers the displeasure of the Supreme One would fall heavily on us."
"My lord's words have a sweet and holy savour," said the Moola, "and
show that, though his bearing is that of a soldier, his heart is filled
with religion; and blessed is he in whom both are seen united. But I
could tell my lord of many of the saint's miracles, if he has leisure
to hear them; and as he will not return till the afternoon, we can sit
down under the trees, and I will relate them."
"Excuse me, good Moola," said I; "time presses, and I have promised the
Syudanee's mother that I will return before the cold of evening sets
in, and it is now past noon."
"As you will," said he; "yet, perhaps, these few pages, which I have
compiled during my leisure hours, may entertain as well as instruct, if
my lord will accept them: of course he can read Persian?"
"Indifferently well," said I; "we soldiers are rarely good scholars;
nevertheless I will keep the book, and here is a trifle which may prove
acceptable;" and I put an ashruffee into his hand.
The old man's eyes glistened as he saw it, and after a profusion of
compliments he left us to ourselves. "Now there is no time to be lost,"
said old Kulloo; "we must travel far and fast this day. You have
brought a cart with you?"
"I have, it is ready; if there be aught in the one you came in, tell
me, and I will have it put into the other."
"Send a man or two with us," said the nurse; "I and Nurgiz will arrange
the new vehicle, and return instantly."
They too left us, and we were alone. No one remained in the large
inclosure, the women were still singing in the tomb, and all the Moolas
were sitting round them listening. "Can you support the fatigue of
further travel, Azima?" said I.
"I am strong and can bear anything, so I am with thee and thou with
me," she replied. "Dearest, I am now secure; but oh the suspense I have
endured since I last saw you, and until I was fairly out of that vile
city!"
"Tell me," said I, "how did you contrive to elude suspicion?"
"When you left us," replied Azima, "I thought my happiness had fled
for ever; I would have given worlds to have called you back, and to
have fled with you then. I had seen your noble face, I had heard your
vows of love; Alla had sent me a lover such as my warmest fancy had
painted to me, while I was daily suffering torments which the fond and
loving only can feel, when their affection is returned by severe and
bitter insult; and I thought I had lost him, that I had only gained a
few moments of bliss, which would appear like one of those dreams that
had often cheated my sleeping fancy, to leave me when I awoke to the
bitter realities of my sad lot--and I was inconsolable; but my kind old
nurse and Nurgiz soothed me. They told me they would die for me, and
assured me you would be faithful; so I gathered courage, and Kulloo
proposed that we should make immediate preparations for flight. We
packed up some clothes and my jewels, and all the money which had been
left with us, a few hundred rupees, and before morning we lay down to
take a little sleep. At daylight Kulloo told the other slaves and the
two old servants that I was going to this durgah, and sent one of them
for a cart; it came about sunrise, and concealing the articles we had
packed up in two large bundles of carpets and sheets, which we said we
should require to sit on at the durgah, we put them into the cart, got
in ourselves, and the driver made the best of his way hither."
She had just spoken, when Kulloo came to us. "All is prepared,"
said she; "I have dismissed the other cart, and your new one is now
ready;--do not delay."
There was no occasion for her to hurry us, we were as well inclined
to set off as she was, and we rose and followed her. The cart was
ready--my men with it, and Nurgiz already inside. Azima got in, and her
old nurse followed.
"You too?" cried I.
"Yes, Meer Sahib; my home is at Beeder, whither I will accompany you;
the city is no longer safe for me; my life would be forfeited were I
ever to enter it again, and fall in with that prince of devils, Nusrut
Ali Khan, whose house is now dishonoured, and whose beard we have spat
upon."
"Drive on," I exclaimed to Fazil; "go as fast as you can; we must reach
Puttuncherroo before nightfall."
The road from the durgah, after passing the tank upon which it was
situated, led through a wild pass; piles of rocks frowned over us, and
the road was at times so narrow that the cart could scarcely proceed.
"A rare place for a little work," said I to Peer Khan, as we reached
a low barrier-wall thrown across the road, and pierced with holes for
musketry; "many a wild deed has been done here in times past, I'll
warrant."
"They tell queer stories of the place," he replied; "and we have used
it ourselves in some of our late expeditions from the city. There lie
the seven Bunneas you heard of," and he pointed out a remarkable rock
not far from the road. "A sad business we had with the grave; it was
all rock underneath, and the bodies were hardly covered; but who asks
about them in this country? Why, as we accompanied the travellers, we
saw lying in this very pass the bodies of two men who had been murdered
and dreadfully mangled."
"Well," said I, "we have left our marks behind us at any rate, and all
things considered, we have been lucky. It matters not if we get no more
bunij all the way to Hindostan."
"We have enough to make us comfortable for some years," said he,
"nevertheless one's hand gets out of practice, and you are but young at
the work; the more you have for a few years to come, the better."
We reached Puttuncherroo late in the evening, and, to my inexpressible
joy, found my father and the whole band safely arrived, and comfortably
encamped under a large banian tree, by which was a Fakeer's tomb. One
of our small tents had been pitched for Azima, and after seeing her
settled for the night I joined my father.
"You are a lucky fellow," said he, when I had told him of all my
success; "I have been in anxious suspense about you, especially when
the evening set in and you came not; but now there is no danger, we are
once again in the country and the roads are our own. And now tell me,
what is your new bride like? is she as handsome as Zora?"
"She is quite as handsome," said I; "the full moon is not more
beautiful; she is tender in her love and of an affectionate and kind
disposition: you must see her to-morrow; she is now fatigued with
travel."
"And you must be fatigued also, my son, and hungry too. I have a rare
pilau ready for you." It was brought; and after sending a portion to
Azima, my fingers were very soon busied with the rest of the contents
of the dish; and I enjoyed it, for I had tasted nothing but a few of
the sweetmeats Azima had brought with her during the whole day.