EXTRACTS.

The most admirable command of His Most High Majesty * * was issued to this effect, that as the Akbar-náma was still un­finished, and Abú-l Fazl was no more, and had not attained the happiness of completing this noble record, this humble in­dividual (Ináyatu-lla) should relate the annals of four years which remained unchronicled. And as the second volume of the Shaikh was both deficient in beauty of style, and contained many obsolete words unintelligible to the generality of mankind, a point which was not approved of, he was further directed to arrange his diction and phraseology after the model of the first volume, so that his meaning, though wonderful and sublime, should be clad in the familiar garb of common language, and that it might thus be understood and commended by small and great. My hope is, that by obedience to this mandate, the morning of suc­cess and complacency may dawn upon me, and that I may thus secure an ample stock of approbation and advancement!