Once (and he was then in his private apartment with a num­ber of ladies behind the curtain) he took into his head to make me a present of an elephant, for he was that day very merry, and amusing himself with the apparatus of the Busunt-panchmi, or festival used in introducing the spring season. He had with him in the closet, an old man called Mir-mahbó8b-aaly, who was extremely attached to him, having been his acquaintance so early as the times when he came in Bengal with Hadji-ahmed, his father, in quest of a livelihood. There was no other person at all in the apartment, save a few menial servants. An eunuch came out of the closet and called me up. I went in, and made my bow; on which he desired me to be seated; and he commenced conversing on a variety of subjects. After some time spent in this manner, it was announced in a high tone of voice by Hazyr-aaly-qhan (a slave of his household, and now a man of importance, for he was Superintendent of his hall of audienee), that Mir-soltan-aaly-qhan, who had been honoured with the gift of an elephant, was waiting at the gate of the hall of audience, and, should it be His Highness’s pleasure, would just shew himself from afar, make his bow of thanksgiving, and be gone imme­diately. To which the Prince consented; and that ceremony being over in a moment, he turned again to me, and asked me whether I had ever seen his elephant-office? My Lord-qhan, said he, I want to know your opinion of them. I answered that I had seen his elephants, and that they were numerous and of uncommon bigness and beauty. Well then, added he, you must look over them again, and choose any one you please, as I intend to compliment you with it. I, the poor man, on this compliment, got up, made a profound bow, and answered, “that the expres­sions with which he had been pleased to usher his noble present, were in my opinion worth a gift of his whole elephant-office; but that the riding on such an animal, required a certain state and a suitable retinue; and although I had been by the special favour of His Highness amply provided with an honour­able subsistence, and was perfectly satisfied with it, never­theless I did not think that my time for riding on an elephant was come as yet; and that when that time should be brought forth by his favour, it would be time then to think of elephants.” The turn I gave to my excuse was taken much notice of, and he smiled, but said nothing. Some time after there came intelligence that Ab8l-mans8r-qhan, Viceroy of A8d, was arrived at Banares, probably with a view to invade Bengal. Aaly-verdy-qhan upon this intelligence wrote to his nephew at P8raniah to march out with his army, whilst himself should set out on his side in his way to Azim-abad. Sáyd-ahmed-qhan intent on his preparatives, commanded me to raise a good body of infantry and cavalry. I answered that I would, but that as P8raniah was in a corner, and out of the high-road from Hindostan, none would be procurable, but people of P8raniah; to which he replied, that he had no objections to them, provided they should be picked men. The body in question was soon raised; but news came a little after, that Ab8l-mans8r-qhan had thought proper to return to A8d, his capital; so that the suspicions he had raised in Bengal, subsid­ing by his departure, the new levies were all dismissed, to the great discomfort of the Commanders, who after having wished for some war and some dispute, were now reduced to the neces­sity of making interest for their being kept in pay. But he kept only two-and-twenty Afghan troopers, who being excellently mounted, were reserved for his body-guards. As to myself, hear­ing of this general reform, I presented him a paper purporting, “whether it was not his pleasure that I should dismiss my own new levies also, which were numerous enough?” In answer to my question, he wrote at the bottom these words: “Why does His illustrious Lordship trouble himself about these matters? Let there be to-morrow a general review of his corps, and then their fate shall be determined.” The next day I carried all my people to the review. He looked at them all, but ordered that they should be kept in pay, and he moreover added the two-and-twenty Afghans to them; and as my corps was found now to consist of about eighty horse and about two hundred foot, he signed the review, and then turning towards me, My Lord-qhan, said he, I believe now that the time for your riding on an elephant is come at last, and that you shall have no objec­tions to my presenting you with one. Casting then his eyes upon the elephants, he made choice of one, and presented it to me.

One day he heard by mere chance, that I had sent to my venerable father then at Shah-djehan-abad (and now doubtless in the assembly of the justes) a bill of exchange of two thousand rupees. Is that true, my Lord-qhan, said he, in full company? “I answered it was; and that as it was no secret matter, I made no difficulty to acknowledge it.” He replied: What, if you had given me notice of it, I might have taken a share in that meritorious action of yours. I rejoined, “that there was no need of his taking any share at all, as the whole of the sum originally belonged to him, and had accrued to me from his bounty; and that as to the modicly of it, my fortune being all of his own bestowing, could not be but known to His Highness.” He smiled, and turning towards my banker, then present, who was also his cash-keeper, he ordered him to charge the bill of exchange to his debit, and to refund the money to me. I got up and returned him my thanks for his manifold bounties. This favour was soon followed by another. There was a certain dis­trict called Serip8r, the rent of which was fixed at a one hundred-and-eighty and some thousand rupees; and he conceived without any application from me, and even without my knowledge, the design of bestowing the collection of that revenue upon me. With this view he pitched upon Radja Adjáib-ráy, his Prime Minister, who had been likewise Prime Minister to the late Séif-qhan, and sent him to my house. The Minister brought with him two Qhylaats, or dresses of honour, and also a gentleman of dis­tinction, who had long been in the practice of renting and taking to farm, the revenues of Government, and amongst others, those of that very district. His name was Sheh-amanollah. The Minister speaking in his master’s name said: “That His Highness had devised that office, to put some emoluments in my way; and proposed two methods for insuring them: the first, that I should now put on the Qhylaat of investiture, and charge myself with the collection, after appointing for my deputy whom­soever I might have a mind to; the second, that I should put on the dress of investiture, but appoint the gentleman then in his company for my deputy; in which case the deputy would be responsible only to Government, at the same time that by a paper ready executed, which he shewed me, he would bind him­self to afford me a pension of seven thousand rupees a year, over and above the presents and nuzurs usual at the two holi­days, at the Des-hara and at the other customary occasions, as the New Year’s Day and others; he was likewise obliged to execute without hesitation, and as my servant, whatever com­missions and orders I should occasionally give him.” The latter proposal being the less cumbersome of the two, I adopted it, as I perceived it was the donor’s secret inclination; and also, as by insuring me a small revenue, it freed me from the anxieties and bodily trouble of a collection. Such kindnesses and atten­tions, so far from being usual from lords to their dependants, are hardly to be expected from fathers to their sons.

One day that blessed man after having taken an airing in his favorite boat, took into his head to land on the other side of the river, his Palkey and Naleky remaining on this side; and as no vehicle was at hand to land him from the boat, and he was not accustomed to walk on the board which the boatmen usually stretch out from their boats to shore for landing people, he seemed at a loss how to manage upon so narrow a bridge. On observ­ing which, I advanced bare-footed on the board, and stretched my hand, bidding him help himself with it, and come along. The Prince pleased with my having guessed his embarrassment, and with my giving him assistance so timely, smiled, availed himself of my hand, and came along; when being near the landing place, he stopped short, and said, My Lord-qhan, you have to-day rendered me a great service by stretching your hand. I answered, “that I thought otherwise; and that I fancied His Highness had rather taken me by the hand with intention to carry me higher.” The Prince laughed, and said: So I hope too, my Lord-qhan; and I hope it shall come to pass just as you have foretold. Nevertheless I must inform you that I reckon upon your assistance in the other world, as I do in this. Let the virtuous take example from this Prince; and let them observe how modestly he thought of himself. If you consider only the difference of age, he was about sixty, and I was only twenty-seven years old; if you consider the propinquity of blood, I was the younger, and he by much the elder member of the family; and if you consider the difference of stations and ranks, he was a glorious Lord of the rank of seven thousand horse, and I was no more than one of his servants; and yet with all this eleva­tion, and all this superiority, he made it a point to speak always with modesty, and to oblige with the most becoming grace.

“Modesty is pleasing and meritorious in those seated on high;

But in a poor man, it is only an appendage of his character and station.”