to eat, and with courtesy solicited me to join them. When dinner was
over, a female servant came out from the interior [of the seraglio]
and asked, "Where is _Bahrawar_? call him." The servants in waiting
brought him immediately; his appearance was very respectable, and many
keys of silver and gold were suspended from his waist. After saluting
me, he sat down by me. The same female servant said, "O, _Bahrawar_,
whatever thou hast seen, relate it fully [to this stranger]."

_Bahrawar_, addressing himself to me, began the following
narration:--"O, friend! our princess possesses thousands of slaves,
who are established in trade; among them I am one of the humblest of
her hereditary servants. She sends them to different countries with
goods and merchandise, worth _lakhs_ of rupees, of which they have
the charge; when these return [from the respective countries to which
they were sent to trade], then the princess, in her own presence,
inquires of them the state and manners of such country, and hears
[their different accounts]. Once it so happened that this meanest
[of her slaves] went to the country and city of _Nimroz_ [217] to
trade, and perceiving that all the inhabitants were dressed in black,
and that they sighed and wept every moment, and it appeared to me
that some sad calamity had befallen them. From whomsoever I asked
the reason [of these strange circumstances], no one would answer my
inquiry. One day, the moment the morning appeared, all the inhabitants
of the city, little and great, young and old, poor and rich, issued
forth. They went out and assembled on a plain; the king of the country
went there also mounted on horseback, and surrounded by his nobles;
then they all formed a regular line, and stood still.

"I also stood among them to see the strange sight, for it clearly
appeared that they were waiting for [the arrival of] some one. In an