On the morrow, the Prince reached Ghorband, whence he marched during the night into Kábul. When Amíru-l Umará, who followed one day's march in rear, was encamped at the foot of the pass, at midnight it began to snow, and continued doing so without intermission till morning; after which the weather became fair, and the Amír having got through the pass with his force, entered Kábul two days after His Royal Highness. As for Rájá Jai Singh, who, the day the camp marched from Surkháb, had stayed behind by the Prince's orders at that place, on account of the narrowness of the road, and the difficulty of the defiles that occurred further on, as soon as he passed Chár-chashma, the snow commenced falling, and never once ceased all that day and the next, during which he halted on the road. After arriving at the pass of the Hindú Koh, till crossing over it, the snow kept falling for three more days and nights; and Zú-l Kadar Khán, whose duty it was to guard the treasure, seeing, when four kos distant from the Hindú Koh, that a snow­storm was coming on, started at once in the hope of getting the treasure through the pass, before it could have time to stop up the road. It chanced, however, that the snow gradually accumulated to such a depth, that most of the camels tumbled down, and nearly half of them were rendered quite unserviceable, so that the Khán in question, despite his utmost exertions, was unable to cross that day. In consequence of the intense cold, his comrades, both horse and foot, got dispersed, and saving a few servants of the crown, no one remained with him; never­theless he stayed on the summit of the ridge, to guard the treasure, notwithstanding the snow-storm. In the morning, having laden a portion of it on such of the camels as were capable of travelling, he started it off in advance to Ghorband, escorted by some of the horsemen; whilst he himself with a few others occupied themselves in guarding the remainder, and spent seven days and nights on the top of the Hindú Koh in the midst of snow and intense cold, and with but a scanty supply of provisions, waiting for Bahádur Khán's arrival, who was behind. The fortunes of the latter were as follows. As soon as he reached the pass of Nek Bihár, which is two marches from the Hindú Koh, and has a very precipitous descent, the snow began to fall, and continued coming down all night till twelve o'clock next day. Owing to the difficulties of the pass, which were greatly enhanced by the heavy fall of snow, he only got the rest of the camp and army through with immense labour. At this juncture, the malicious Hazáras, in their eager desire for plunder, assaulted the camp followers more desperately than ever; but Bahádur Khán each time inflicted summary chastise­ment on the freebooters, and drove them off. After reaching the foot of the Hindú Koh pass, and halting there for a day, he sent on all those who had lagged in the rear, and as soon as they were across, set out himself. As most of the people spent the night on the summit of the pass, on account of the difficult roads, and the intense coldness of a mountain climate, heightened by the deep snow and chilling blasts, some of the men and cattle that were worn out and infirm perished. Accordingly, from the first commencement of the army's crossing to the end, about 5000 men, and a similar number of animals, such as horses, elephants, camels, oxen, etc., were destroyed, and a vast deal of property remained buried in the snow. When Bahádur Khán came to the top of the pass, and Zú-l Kadar Khán explained the state of affairs to him, he halted there, and in company with Ikhlás Khán, and some other nobles and mansabdárs who still stood by him, spent the night on the spot. In the morning, having thrown the baggage off all such of his own camels as he could find, he loaded them with the treasure, and distributed the rest among the horses and camels belonging to the troops. Just as he was on the point of starting, a body of Hazáras came up in the rear, and seeing the paucity of his detachment, resolved upon making an assault, for the sake of carrying off the treasure. Bahádur Khán, however, faced about, and made some of the doomed wretches a prey to (the crocodile of) his bloodthirsty sword, and routed the remainder. He then set out with the treasure, and reached Balkh along with his comrades, after an interval of fourteen days from the time of the Prince's arrival there.

Despatch of a Candlestick to the Glorious City.

Among the events of this year was the despatch of a candle­stick studded with gems to the revered tomb of the Prophet (on whom be the greatest favours, and blessings!) an account of which is here given. Some time previous to this it was represented that a wonderfully large diamond from a mine in the territory of Golkonda had fallen into the hands of Kutbu-l Mulk; where­upon an order was issued, directing him to forward the same to Court; when its estimated value would be taken into account, as part of the two lacs of huns (pagodas), which was the stipu­lated amount of his annual tribute. He accordingly sent the diamond in question, which weighed in its rough state 180 ratís, to Court; and after His Majesty's own lapidaries had cut away as much of the outer surface as was requisite to disclose all its beauties, there remained a rare gem of 100 ratís weight, valued by the jewellers at one lac and 50,000 rupees. As such a valuable diamond as this had never been brought to the threshold, resembling the Elysian abode, since his accession to the throne, the pious monarch, the bulwark of religion, with the best intention, and the utmost sincerity of purpose, made a vow to send it to the pure sepulchre of the last of the Prophets (on whom be peace!). Having therefore selected out of the amber candlesticks that he had amongst his private property the largest of them all, which weighed 700 tolas, and was worth 10,000 rupees, he commanded that it should be covered with a network of gold, ornamented on all sides with flowers, and studded with gems, among which that valuable diamond should also be included.

In short, that incomparable candlestick cost two lacs and 50,000 rupees, of which one lac and 50,000 was the price of the diamond, and the remaining lac the worth of all the gems and gold, together with the original candlestick. Mír Saiyid Ahmad Sa'íd Bahárí, who had once before conveyed charitable presents to the two sacred cities, was then deputed to take charge of this precious offering; and an edict was promulgated to the effect, that the revenue collectors of the province of Gujarát should purchase a lac and 60,000 rupees worth of goods for the sacred fane, and deliver it over to him, so that he might take it along with him from thence. Out of this, he was directed to present 50,000 rupees worth to the Sharíf of Mecca; to sell 60,000 rupees worth, and distribute the proceeds, together with any profit that might accrue, amongst the indigent of that sacred city; and the remaining 50,000, in like manner, amongst those of the glorious Medína. The above-named Saiyid, who was only in receipt of a daily stipend, was promoted to a suitable mansab, and having been munificently presented with a dress of honour and a donation of 12,000 rupees, received his dismissal.

The following is an exact account of the founding of the splendid fort in the above-named metropolis, with its edifices resembling Paradise, which was constructed in the environs of the city of Dehlí, on the banks of the river Jumna. It first occurred to the omniscient mind that he should select on the banks of the afore­said river some pleasant site, distinguished by its genial climate, where he might found a splendid fort and delightful edifices, agreeably to the promptings of his generous heart, through which streams of water should be made to flow, and the terraces of which should overlook the river. When, after a long search, a piece of ground outside of the city of Dehlí, lying between the most distant suburbs and Núrgarh, commonly called Salímgarh, was fixed upon for this purpose, by the royal command, on the night of Friday, the 25th of Zí-l hijja, in the twelfth year of his auspicious reign, corresponding to 1048 A.H., being the time appointed by the astrologers, the foundations were marked out with the usual ceremonies, according to the plan devised, in the august presence. Active labourers were then employed in digging the foundations, and on the night of Friday, the 9th of Muharram, of the year coinciding with 1049 A.H. (1639 A.D.), the foundation-stone of that noble structure was laid. Through­out the Imperial dominions, wherever artificers could be found, whether plain stone-cutters, ornamental sculptors, masons, or carpenters, by the mandate worthy of implicit obedience, they were all collected together, and multitudes of common labourers were employed in the work. It was ultimately completed on the 24th of Rabí'u-l awwal, in the twenty-first year of his reign, corresponding to 1058 A.H., at an outlay of 60 lacs of rupees, after taking nine years three months and some days in building.