VII. AMĪR QĀZI, ASĪRĪ.*

He possessed both learning and accomplishments. For some years he studied under Hakīmu-l-Mulk, and was the best of all his pupils. He was one of the most entertaining men of his time. As the climate of India did not suit him, and as he obtained no real promotion in the imperial service, in spite of his having been admitted to the circle of His Majesty's intimates, he went at length to his own country, and in the city of Rai, the native place of his ancestors, he obtained rest from the toils of the world and departed this life. The following verses are quoted as an indication of the copiousness of his imagination:—

“The jealous watcher himself has been our intermediary,
while I suspected no fraud,
He has been enabled to interpose between us his own condi-
tions.”

“'Twas but yesterday that my loved one derided my piteous
lot,
My grief and her derision were plain to see.”

“To-day has my heart's anguish grown more acute,
183 For to-day it seems that my loved one is more than ever
bent on my destruction.”

“I am wounded to the heart by the arrow of a fair boy to
whose hands time
Has not yet delivered a bow to sport withal.”

“The hope of union with thee forbade me to surrender my
life,
Else I would gladly have died when I parted from thee.”

“I lament the presence of others when that silver-bodied
one draws nigh,
It would seem that my tongue breaks into speech from
constancy to her.”

“The zest of union with her never leaves my heart,
For she spoke with me in graceful coquetry and looked for
my coming.”