In answer to all these reasonable and advantageous pro­posals, the Emperor contented himself with saying, “That, if Ab8l-hassen was really so submissive, and so much his servant, he had nothing more to do, but to come of himself to his presence, with his hands bound before him, or else to let the Imperial officers bring him with his neck and hands bound; after which,” added he, “I shall act as my goodness shall prompt me.”

This negotiation took up the whole night. The next morn­ing, contrary to Ab8l-hassen’s expectation, the Emperor dispatched an order to the Divan of the Province of Barar to forward to camp a variety of military stores, and in particular fifty thousand bags of canvas, two yards in length and one yard in breadth. A report of this order having been spread throughout the army, excited a general murmur, and even the common soldiers asked, “Where was the wisdom, where was the expediency, of sending for fifty thousand empty bags to fill up the ditch, instead of ordering them to be brought full of grain; after emptying which they might answer equally well? And had he not better accept the compassionate proffers of Ab8l-hassen’s, and save the remaining army from perishing with distress and famine?”

But the Emperor, without minding these murmurs, enforced the order by a number of corz-berdars guards, which were sent with the letter. Meanwhile, on the nineteenth of Shaaban, notice was given the Emperor that the mines were loaded and ready, and the miners waited only for the order to set fire to them. On this intelligence, the Emperor ordered that the guards at the trenches, with a great number of other people, should set up a general uproar as for an assault, to bring the besiegers upon the wall, and that then only fire should be given to the mines. All this scheme produced nothing. The brave and sagacious General, Abdol-rezac, alias Mustepha-qhan, had guessed the mines, and taken care to oppose them by three counter­mines, which he pushed against the enemy by the means of the stone-diggers in the place; and he was so lucky as to find out the enemy’s three mines, and to take away the whole powder of one of them, after having poured water upon the two others, and gutted them of as much powder as he could take away with safety. The people in the trenches having made their appear­ance as for an assault, raised a general outcry; and this having brought vast crowds upon the crest of the wall, the miners, who waited only for such a moment, gave fire to one of the mines. But as the powder of that part was entirely wet, and nothing good remained but what was on the side of the trenches, the Three mines of the besiegers have a retrogade effect, and kill an infinity of people. mine had a retrogade effect, and blew up an infinity of men about the trenches who were ready to mount to the assault, as well as a vast number of spectators; it also filled the trenches with rubbish, and it overthrew a great part of the parapet. This event happened in the year 1097, of the Hedjrah, a number which by a strange fatality happened to tally exactly with the number of men killed by that accident; and several of these were men of great characters. On the smoke ceasing, no breach could be discovered in the wall, nor any appearance like it, that might favour the troops ready to mount to the assault. So far from that, they lost courage, and fell into confusion; and this being soon discovered by the besieged, they fell upon the besiegers like a storm, and put to the sword everything they met in the trenches or in the environs. Assistance came, and after a great loss the trenches were at last cleared of the enemy, and filled with men again. And people were yet busy in counting the survivors, when the second mine was fired, and this likewise having had a retrogade effect, up flew an infinity of stones and clods of earth, which, by falling again, killed and wounded an infinity of people, whose screams reached the cupola of heaven; and this accident killed double the numbers that had been lost by the former. On sight of this, the besieged rushed out again, cleared the trenches, and did everything in their power to make themselves masters of the circumvalation, behind which the whole army was encamped, and which had cost full six months’ Curious sortie of the besieged. labour. The General Ghazy-eddin-qhan, seeing the conse­quence of what they intended, marched in person to oppose them. A scene of mutual slaughter took place, and notwith­standing every effort made to drive the besieged, they remained masters of the field; and here again the number of the slain proved equal to what the two former actions had cost. So many disasters, one after another, could not but kindle the Imperial anger. That anger, capable to set the world on fire, was kindled into a flame. He sent for an elephant, and mount­ing directly, was followed by all his Generals and Grandees, and by all the braves of the army. Being arrived at a place where the balls were whistling in every direction, he ordered his moving throne to be laid upon the ground, unconcernedly took his seat in it, and ordered the besieged to be driven back. Whilst he was speaking, one of his guards, who was laying his hand upon the throne, had it carried away by a ball of cannon; and this accident did not affect the Emperor. He took no notice of it, and without betraying the least concern or trepidation, The Emperor repairs to the breach, and behaves with the utmost intrepid­ity. he continued to give his orders, and to exhort his people to behave manfully. At this moment, the clouds opening, a violent rain fell, and prevented either the Emperor’s victory or his defeat. In a moment the plain was covered with waves, as if it had been an open sea. A stop was put to all further oper­ations, and very one, without purposing any thing else, thought only of seeking shelter at home. The works, the trenches, the batteries, those lofty cavaliers that seemed to reach the cupola of heaven—all that was overset; and the Emperor, wet to the skin as well as others, thought proper to return with his whole Court. At this sight the besieged, always intent on turning every opportunity to their own profit, rushed out of their gates, and falling upon the trenches, levelled them with the ground instantly; whilst others, finding in the mud those large guns that had cost so much money and time before they could be fixed upon the cavaliers, dragged some of them with a great deal of ease to the gates, and spoiled or rendered the rest unserviceable. They, likewise, carried away some thousand bags that had been filled with earth and thrown in the ditch. Amongst these was one that had been sewn by the Imperial hands, and this also was carried away in triumph, and was with the others employed in mending the breaches of the walls. In this sortie the Imperial General did not spare his own person; he was everywhere, but to no purpose. Matters were past remedy. The Emperor’s own elephant, a favorite animal*, that had cost forty thousand rupees, after having greatly suffered from the rain, mire, and wind, was killed by a cannon-ball. That day also proved a blank one, and nothing at all could be done. The second day, the Emperor mounted early, and gave orders to fire the third mine. But no fire would take effect. Every one wondered at such an event; when some spies gave advice that the besieged had taken away, from within, part of the powder, had wetted the rest, cut away the saucissons, and rendered all that work of no use. The Emperor, confounded and afflicted at such a series of reverses, was obliged to return to his quarters, after having put up the assault for some other day. Every thing remained quiet for some days, as numbers of Generals and Lords had been wounded and disabled, and the Generalissimo Ghazi-eddin-qhan, himself, had received two wounds, which obliged him to remain at home, and to leave the operations of the siege to the Imperial Prince, Azem-shah, in com­pliance with the Emperor’s pleasure. The Monarch, meanwhile, who made no account of Ab8l-hassen, whether dead or alive, settled a regular government at Haïder-abad, which city he ordered to be mentioned in the accounts and records under the name of Theatre of Sacred War. He appointed a Governor and a Divan or intendant in that city, established collectors and a revenue office, and instituted several Courts of Justice; and all that was done with as much unconcern and sang-froid, as if the Haïder-abadian King had never existed. Abd8l-rahim-qhan was preposed to take an account of the houses and inhabitants of that great city; and the Emperor hearing that Ab8l-hassen had permitted some sectaries to settle in the suburbs, and also had given vogue to some sects of Deïsts, he ordered these people to be driven away; and levelling their habitations to the ground, together with some temples of idols, he ordered a number of mosques to be erected in their stead.

It was observed during the siege, that Saf-shiken-qhan, son to Cavam-eddin-qhan, very different in that from the other Iranian Lords in camp, had exerted himself in every occasion. Once a learned Iranian, who was his friend and companion, took occasion to observe, that there was in the place a multitude of Sëyds of undoubted extraction, a number of faithful believers*, and a number of learned venerable personages, who could expect nothing at his hands after the capture of the place, but captivity to themselves, and defilement to their families. “How then,” said the venerable man, raising his voice, “can you account to your own heart for all those efforts you are daily making to undo these unfortunate people?” The man, unmoved by the expostulation, answered,: “He had done nothing but his duty, and would do it again; and that, were Imam Husseïn himself within the place, he would not desist from his endeavours to take the fortress.” This answer of his soon went throughout the whole camp, where it was reputed a kind of blasphemy. The Emperor himself found fault with it, and spoke of the man with displeasure. His blasphemy was supposed to be a fictitious one, and to cover some intelligence with the besieged. He was disgraced, imprisoned, and his property was confiscated. In a little time, the Emperor, reflecting on his bravery, and on his meritorious services, took him into favor again, and gave him the office of Grand-master of the artillery, an office of importance, now vacant, and which had been refused both by Selabet-qhan and by others, who did not care to expose themselves to the Emperor’s caprices. The Emperor, mean­while, seeing how badly the siege went on, was intent on debauching the best officers and best servants of the besieged King; and as people are little inclined to fidelity in unprosper­ous times, most of the friends and Generals of that unfortunate Prince quitted his Court, one after another, and were imme­diately complimented with brilliant dignities, high titles, kettle-drums, fringed palekies, elephants, horses, jewels, and djaghirs. Mean while, Sheh-minhadj, that valorous Commander of the besieged, having been accused of an intention to desert, was The Hai­der-abadian
King for­saken by all, except by General Abdol-rezac. imprisoned; and there now remained none to Ab8l-hassen, of all his friends and Generals, but Abdol-rezac the Larian, and Abdollah-qhan-tirrin the Afghan. By this time the siege had lasted full eight months. But those two Commanders remained inviolably attached to the besieged King, and rendered him an infinity of services. Never did fidelity and zeal shine so conspicuously. Even these two men, so circumstanced, underwent an attack from the Emperor. An Imperial letter came to Abdol-rezac, conferring upon him both the grade and effectual com­mand of six thousand horse, with several offices, titles, and dignities. The General, having read the letter with derision, carried it upon the crest of one of the towers, and after shew­ing it to the men in the trenches, he tore it to pieces, with every mark of contempt and indignation, and threw the pieces to the people below. Sending at the same time for the man, who had brought the letter, he gave him this verbal answer: “Sir, tell your master that this war looks, without comparison, like that of Kerbelah*; and I hope, so long as I live, to exert myself in behalf of my master, as did, to their eternal honor and glory, those seventy-two heroes who stood by Imam Hussein, Heroical behaviour and unshaken fidelity of that General. and shed their blood in covering him with their persons against those two-and-twenty thousand cowards who were not ashamed to smite those valorous fellows, and to fight the Mes­senger’s beloved grandson. I hope to imitate their fidelity and courage, and to do myself honor both in this world and the other.” The Emperor, hearing this answer, said publicly, “That wretch Larian’s mind is of the homely kind;” but in private he paid the highest encomiums to his fidelity, services, and unshaken attachment. And although it was in the decrees of Providence that the place should be taken at last, the siege lasted some time longer, as if to afford time to religious zeal, military talents, heroical valour, and unshaken fidelity, and to many other noble qualifications of both parties, to be put to the test, and to be weighed in the scales of discernment. So that the quantity and quality of merit in every Commander and every man present, came to be ascertained beyond a doubt. The thoughtless exertions of the Imperial Generals were also properly ranked; and a proper value set upon the Emperor’s sewing a bag with his own hands, after having purified and washed himself according to law, and pronounced the office of the dead upon his ownself. The public rated properly that obstinacy which he manifested in digging trenches and filling ditches at an immense expense, and in sacrificing an infinity of innocent or meritorious lives to gain the possession of a heap of stones. Yet all that as well as all those assaults, intermixed with strata­gems, availed nothing; and the place was at last taken without Golconda betrayed, surprised, and taken. the intervention of either sword or spear, and barely by debauching, one after another, Ab8l-hassen’s best Commanders and friends, and by giving in the face of the universe public and continual approbations to perfidy, ingratitude, and perjury. The event happened at the end of Zilcaad, in the year 1098 of the Hedjrah, by the underhand management of Roh-ollah-qhan (who had succeeded to the wounded Generalissimo). This General, by the means of Rostem-qhan-peni, an Afghan Commander in the Imperial service, opened a correspondence with Abdollah-tirrin, that famous Afghan General in the place, on whose valour and inviolable attachment we have hitherto bestowed so many encomiums. Even this man was gained by high offers. He commanded at the gate called the wicket; and, giving way to that perfidy that seems innate with the Afghan, and never fails to make its effects soon or late, he agreed to deliver the gate. At one o’clock in the morning, he set it open, and admitted Roh-ollah-qhan, who was accompanied by Mohtar-qhan, that Pagan of Saf-shiken-qhan, and the eunuch Qhoadjah-mucarrem, now Djan-nessar-qhan, every one of them at the head of a body of choice troops. Other troops, finding the wall abandoned, mounted by the breach, and by a variety of means got up to the very top, being everywhere connived at by that perfidious Afghan. Whilst all this was going on at the wicket, the Imperial Prince, Azem-shah, was advanced to the gate, in expectation of seeing it open. For numerous troops had already poured in, and were busy in taking possession of posts; at the same time a scream of woe, and a scream of deso­lation, such as that which shall happen on the Day of Judgment, rose at once from the inner apartments of Ab8l-hassen’s ladies, that the place was taken, and every thing lost. This scream was echoed by some other seraglioes in the neighbourhood. It was these screams that awakened Abdol-rezac the Larian. Having no time to arm himself at all points, he snatched up a sabre and buckler, and throwing himself upon a horse that had a bridle but no saddle, he with only twelve men that were at hand, advanced towards that part whence he heard the screams, that is, towards the whole host of enemies, which were ranging themselves in battle in the Palace-yard; for by this time the main gate of the fortress being wide open, troops poured one after another, like the waves of an angry sea, and they had filled every part of the place. Abdol-rezac was now over against his master’s Palace-gate. Without minding the few men by whom he was attended, or the numerous throngs that crowded on all sides, he rushed in the very middle of thousands of unsheathed sabres, with so much eagerness that his little troop was lost in a moment, and disappeared amongst them. Without being dis­mayed by that disaster, he cried with all his might, that so long as he was alive, he would prove a friend to Soltan Ab8l-hassen. He said, and kept advancing to the gate, making his way with his own blood. He was aimed at from all sides, struck on all sides, and he received so many wounds, from the top of his head to the nail of his toe, that he looked like a shrub of full blown roses. Such feats of prowess were that day exhibited by that Amazing exertions of General Abdol-rezac. undaunted man, as are almost past belief, and past the human power; and such as would have excited the wonder, and extorted the admiration, of a R8stem and a Sohrab, two ancient heroes, who would have gladly taken upon their shoulders the trappings of submission, and followed him as his friends to the end of the world*. He was now arrived close to the gate, but had received twelve large wounds. Here he received another, which blinded one of his eyes, and by throwing the skin of the forehead over the other, blinded him totally. Here he was assaulted again, received many other wounds, and his arm was disabled; his body, weakened by so much loss of blood, was seized with an universal trembling. In this extremity, he had presence of mind enough to turn the bridle about, and to abandon himself to his own horse; and the animal, although much wounded, carried him back to his house, where four men took him down, and laid him upon his carpet. Hashem-aaly-qhafi, who enjoyed then a high command in the Imperial army, as well as at Court, and was present in all this amazing affair, writes that all those that aspire to raise a character for valour and attachment, ought to have their minds illumed from the beams emitted by that incomparable gem of the sea of prowess and fidelity, if they intend to serve their lords and masters with a zeal and truth, that may entitle them to the applause of their contemporaries, and to the secret and public favors of their Maker in this world and the other.