W. CROOKE.



INTRODUCTION


Very little is known about the authoress of this interesting book. She is
reticent about the affairs of her husband and of herself, and inquiries
recently made at Lucknow, at the India Office, and in other likely
quarters in England, have added little to the scanty information we
possess about her.

The family of her husband claimed to be of Sayyid origin, that is to say,
to be descended from the martyrs, Hasan and Husain, the sons of Fatimah,
daughter of the Prophet, by her marriage with her cousin-german, 'Ali.
The father-in-law of the authoress, Mir Haji Shah, of whom she
speaks with affection and respect, was the son of the Qazi, or
Muhammadan law-officer, of Ludhiana, in the Panjab. During his
boyhood the Panjab was exposed to raids by the Mahrattas and incursions of
the Sikhs. He therefore abandoned his studies, wandered about for a time,
and finally took service with a certain Raja--where she does not tell
us--who was then raising a force in expectation of an attack by the Sikhs.
He served in at least one campaign, and then, while still a young man,
made a pilgrimage thrice to Mecca and Kerbela, which gained him the title
of Haji, or pilgrim. While he was in Arabia he fell short of funds,
but he succeeded in curing the wife of a rich merchant who had long
suffered from a serious disease. She provided him with money to continue
his journey. He married under romantic circumstances an Arab girl named