This also should not remain concealed, that the whole affair of writing these pages, and my appli­cation to the task of drawing up an abstract of these adventures, was not the habit of my pen, nor the addiction of my mind; nor was it proper to my times, nor desired of my heart, nor familiar to my humble nature; but on the contrary my thought and opinion were strange to this propen­sity, and so cautious of it, that it never entered my mind. For, not to consider the unsuitableness of tale-telling with my circumstances and with the dignity and rank which I am bound to main­tain, nor the smallness of the profit to be gained by descending to the meanness of such discourse, there were other prohibitions and blemishes attached to it, which rendered it unworthy of me. For some speeches may not improbably in the sight of the uninformed have an appearance of arising from a habit of ostentation, which is the main principle of the mean-principled, and in my opinion is the head and chief of all vices. But, praise and thanks be to God, my excessive devia­tion and declension from this propensity are so constitutional and have been carried to such a pass, as to have rather occasioned me obscurity in the world and fortuitous contempt. The true cause of writing this hasty sketch was, that at this time, which is the end of the year one thou­sand one hundred and fifty-four (A. D. 1742) sit­ting in a retired corner in the town of Dehli, I was a prey to grief and disease, and my temper and mind were distracted. Full to the lip with anguish, I was utterly abandoned by ease and quiet, and, amidst the vacation of all employment and the assaults of my inward grief, there was nothing to engage my serious attention, at the same time that all my nights were sleepless. Having, therefore, no other choice of amusement, I scribbled in the course of two nights, as far as this place, whatever came to the tongue of my pen of the summary of my adventures. May the reader fold up this epitome in the lappet of for­giveness and indulgence! It is a memorial of the accidents of unpropitious fortune, of distracted affairs, and of an afflicted head and heart. *To God is my complaint from refractory fortune, and from odious men, of little shame, but abundant misery. Some of them are learned, some ignorant; some are princely commanders, some simple fools; and they have taken their lust for their lord. Ruin be upon them and perdition! O God, pour out patience on us, and take to thyself our spirits, which are resigned to thy divine command.

Arabic Poetry.*

May it please God not to prolong our abode in this world, whose value

Equals not in the eye of the understanding a grain of pulse.

The world turns away from ingenuous men with a frown,

But accommodates itself to the mean wretch, who submits to every indignity.

 

Persian.*

Heavy is fallen on us the weight of the mountain of sorrow which crushes our bosom;

May God grant patience to our hearts, which have been removed from their place of rest.

And now, as the relation of some of my adven­tures subsequent to my arrival in this country has involuntarily fallen from my pen, there will be no harm, should I briefly conclude the description of the remainder.

After I had been a long time resident in Mol­tân an extraordinary event occurred. The channel of the river Indus, which passes along that terri­tory, overflowed in the heat of summer, and covered the streets and fields; and much destruction ensued to the buildings and dwelling-houses of the whole country. All intercourse and business was carried on by means of boats, and numbers of persons were drowned. When the season of harvest arrived, the inundation abated from the fields and villages, and some of the high grounds were left dry. The aged persons of the place said, that it had happened in like manner an age before, and that after the decrease of the waters, the disease of pestilence became com­mon, and an immense number of the population perished. So it was this year. The people were attacked with a shaking fever, which was mostly intermittent; and very few recovered from this disorder, which absolutely admitted no remedy. They who applied medicines, and those who applied none, all alike perished; with the exception of a few who left the country, or in whose fate there was some delay. This calamity extended itself over a space of near five months; and I also was attacked with the full violence of the fever, in such sort, that not one of its symptoms escaped me. In the village where I dwelt not a single inhabitant remained on the spot, and in the depopu­lation which succeeded, even the most indispensable necessaries of life were not to be found. Of all things the most necessary was the attendance of a servant, who at this time was as rare as the phœnix; and if, by singularity, any person could be found in the commencement of the calamity, who was in health for the employment, after two or three days he fell sick, and was himself in need of a nurse and an attendant, till he died.

The hardship of living and of subsistence at all times in India is evident to every person who may have seen the rest of the kingdoms of the earth; and the causes and occasions of this hardship are more than can be numbered. In fact, all the situations and conditions of this country are con­demned by fate to difficulty and bitterness of sub­sistence; but this sense of things is not revealed to its inhabitants, who, on the contrary, think themselves more independent for the blessings of life, and more prosperous and easy in their circum­stances, than any nation in the world. These hardships indeed, and their tumultuous struggles for livelihood, are agreeable to their natures and digestible to their stomachs. They are not even regarded, and are proper to every condition. Subsistence in these countries without the union of three things is almost impossible. These are gold in plenty, violence the most exorbitant, and utter insensibility. But to render possible the assemblage of these three requisites the constitu­tion of the country is extremely emaciated and destitute of vigour, and the meanest thing can­not be procured without labour, and perplexity, and expectation. That quantity of business which in other kingdoms may be expedited with one man of industrious ability, here with ten persons comes to no conclusion; and whatever increase is given to your servants and train of officers, and to your means and appliances of power, the pos­ture of your affairs becomes but the more unto­ward and disordered.

From Moltân I had no choice but to set off in all that distress for Lâhôr, which city I reached with the greatest difficulty. After some time the fever left me, and health re-appeared. Having staid here, I think, three months, I found it dis­agreeable for some reasons to remain in that city any longer, and I was forced by necessity to travel. The roads and highways of this whole empire are at all times unsafe and dangerous; and though I had an aversion to the idea, and felt disgust at the very thought of going to the town of Dehli, which is the residence of the Emperor of India, I could not help removing from Lâhôr and was carried to Dehli by the irresistible hand of fate. Here, after a stay of more than twelve months, I was disquieted by the attacks of anxious thought, and being firmly fixed in my intention of quitting this country, I returned to Lâhôr. The purpose of my mind was this, that having gone by the route of Kâbol to Candahâr, I would choose for my retirement in the province of Khorâsân any corner that might chance to suit me. Just about the time of my arrival in Lâhôr, the news came of the march of the army of the Kizil Bâsh to Candahâr, with intent to subdue and rescue it from the hands of the Afghâns, and it was announced that they had already invested that fortress. A severe attack of illness also, which laid me on the bed of infirmity, was protracted to a considerable length; and the atmosphere having become heated, the season, in this country, of showers and heavy rain com­menced, and my stay in Lâhôr concluded in being durable. I still was looking out for the news of the settlement of the affair of Candahâr, that so serious an obstacle might be removed from my line of road: but the siege of that town and the disturbances in those confines were prolonged to a great extent.