But the worst dungeon, is filled with stinging insects, called "ticks,"
reared on purpose to torment prisoners. In order to keep the ticks alive
when no prisoners are there, raw meat is thrown into the place. There is
also a deep pit into which men are let down with ropes; as once the holy
Jeremiah was in Jerusalem.

Once a fortnight the prisoners are judged by the Amir. Even when the
ground is covered with snow they stand with bare feet, waiting for hours
till the Amir appears.

Can so cruel a monarch be happy? No. He lives in constant fear of his
life.

He is afraid of drinking water, lest it should be poisoned. All that he
drinks is brought from the river in skins, and sealed, and guarded by two
officers; it is then taken to the chief counsellor, called the Vizier,
and tasted by him, and his servants; it is then sealed again, and sent to
his majesty.

The Amir's dinner when it is ready, is not placed on the royal table, but
locked up in a box, and taken to the Vizier to be tasted, before it is
served up in the palace.

But it is not the Amir only who is afraid of poison. No one will accept
fruit from another, unless that other tastes it first. It must be very
terrible to live in the midst of such murderers as the people of Bokhara
seem to be.

The Amir is so much afraid of people making plans to destroy him, that he