He has now dwelt in Kashmīr for nearly eight years. At first he was a religious mendicant and then he elected to become an official, and entered the emperor's service. From Kashmīr he was sent as envoy to the ruler of Little Tibat, ‘Alī Rāī,* and on his return presented to Shaikh Abū-'l-Faẓl a treatise which he had written on the wonders of that land, which Abū-'l-Faẓl embodied in the Akbarnāma. He is a very sympathetic man, and his taste, both in poetry and in prose, is correct. He wrote the following quatrain:—

“Thou givest me to drink of the poison of thy absence, asking
me what has happened,
Thou sheddest my blood and shakest me from thee, asking
me what has happened,
O thou who art ignorant of what the sword of thy absence
inflicts on me,
Wring my dust, that thou mayst know what has happened
to me.”

Another quatrain.

“Thou readest not the story of my grief, and it waxes old,
Thou knowest not my disappointment, and it waxes old,
Let not thy coming be delayed, for as for this wound of
separation,
I fear that thou wilt linger, and it will wax old.”

Another quatrain.

“One day I, weary with travelling along the road of the stages
of the heart,
Turned its dust into mire with water from blisters on the
foot of search.
I spend my life on this road in order that, in answer to
my supplication,
²⁶⁶ Soul may meet soul, and heart heart.”

Other verses.

“Seek after enjoyment, for this virgin of life, sitting in the
bridal chamber,
Like a rose bursting forth from the bud casts her mother
aside.
Like the petals of a rose scattered by the spring breeze
We go, with dust on our heads in the grief of our hearts.”

“I am pleased with the folk of this world, for I have learnt
from their fellowship
Not to give up my corner of solitude for the world.”