"You too ?" cried I.

"Yes, Meer Sahib; my home is at Beeder, whither I will accompany you; the city is no longer safe for me: my life would be forfeited were I ever to enter it again, and fall in with that prince of devils, Nusrut Ali Khan, whose house is now dishonoured, and whose beard we have spat upon."

"Drive on," I exclaimed to Fazil; "go as fast as you can; we must reach Puttuncherroo before night-fall."

The road from the durgah, after passing the tank upon which it was situated, led through a wild pass; piles of rocks frowned over us, and the road was at times so narrow that the cart could scarcely proceed.

"A rare place for a little work," said I to Peer Khan, as we reached a low barrier-wall thrown across the road, and pierced with holes for musketry; "many a wild deed has been done here in times past, I'll warrant.”

"They tell queer stories of the place," he replied; "and we have used it ourselves in some of our late expeditions from the city. There lie the seven bunneas you heard of," and he pointed out a remarkable rock not far from the road. "A sad business we had with the grave: it was all rock underneath, and the bodies were hardly covered; but who asks about them in this country? Why, as we accompanied the travellers, we saw lying in this very pass the bodies of two men who had been murdered and dreadfully mangled."

Well," said I, " we have left our marks behind us at any rate, and all things considered we have been lucky. It matters not if we get no more bunij all the way to Hindostan."

"We have enough to make us comfortable for some years," said he; "nevertheless one's hand gets out of practice, and you are but young at the work; the more you have for a few years to come, the better."

We reached Puttuncherroo late in the evening, and to my inexpressible joy found my father and the whole band safely arrived, and comfortably encamped under a large banian tree, by which was a fakeer's tomb. One of our small tents had been pitched for Azeema, and after seeing her settled for the night I joined my father.

"You are a lucky fellow," said he, when I had told him of all my success; "I have been in anxious suspense about you, especially when the evening set in and you came not; but now there is no danger, we are once again in the country and the roads are our own. And now tell me, what is your new bride like? Is she as handsome as Zora ?'

"She is quite as handsome," said I; "the full moon is not more

beautiful; she is tender in her love, and of an affectionate and kind disposition. You must see her to-morrow; she is now fatigued with travel."

"And you must be fatigued also, my son, and hungry too. I have a rare pilau ready for you."

It was brought; and after sending a portion to Azeema, my fingers were very soon busied with the rest of the contents of the dish; and I enjoyed it, for I had tasted nothing but a few of the sweetmeats Azeema had brought with her during the whole day.

CHAPTER XXII.

Rosalind.-Now tell me how long you would have her, after you have possessed her. Orlando. For ever and a day.

As You Like It, Act IV., Scene 1.

On the fourth morning we reached Beeder. If not so striking in its outward appearance as we approached it as Hyderabad, this city was nevertheless interesting. The summit of a long table-land broke into a gentle descent, and from it Beeder suddenly opened on our view. The walls of the town occupied the crest of a high ridge; and over them one tall minaret, and what appeared another rude unfinished one, of great height, towered proudly. On the right hand the large white domes of some tombs peeped out of a grove of mango trees, with which the hill was clothed from top to bottom; and there was a quiet solemnity about the approach to the now nearly deserted capital of the Dukhun, the favourite residence of the once proud and powerful Bahmunee kings, which accorded well with our feelings, and formed a powerful contrast to the busy city we had just left. Some of our men, who had gone on in advance, had chosen a spot for our encampment near the gate of the city upon the road we were to take in the morning; but separating from my party, I rode through the town, which, though now mean in comparison to what it must have been, was more striking than I had expected to find it.

I joined the encampment on the other side, which now presented its usual bustling appearance: some were already cooking their morning meal by the edge of the well, others were bathing, and all talking and conversing in that joyous manner which showed their minds were free from care and full of happiness, at the prospect of a speedier return to their home than they had anticipated, and well laden with a rich booty.

"My father, this is a city full of true believers," said I, as I joined him; "Moollas there must be in plenty, and I pray you to send for

one, that the nika may be performed, and that I may receive Azeema at your hands as my wife.”

"I will not oppose it, my son; but the old moolla, whoever he may be, will think it strange.”

He may think what he pleases,” said I; "but I can no longer live without her; therefore pray consider the point settled, and send for him at once."

Accordingly Peer Khan was despatched for the holy person, who duly arrived. He was received with the greatest courtesy by my father, and the object for which he was required was explained to him. He expressed the utmost astonishment; it was a proceeding he had never heard of, for persons to celebrate a marriage on a journey, and was in every respect improper and indelicate.

When he had exhausted his protestations, my father replied to

him.

"Look you, good moolla," said he, “there is no one who pays more respect to the forms and usages of our holy faith than I do. Am I not a syud of Hindostan? Do I not say the namaz five times a day, fast in the Ramzan, and keep every festival enjoined by the law? And unwilling as I am to do anything which may be thought a breach of the rules of our faith, yet circumstances which I cannot explain render it imperative that this ceremony should be performed; and if you refuse, all I can say is, that there is no want of moollas in Beeder, and if you do not perform it some less scrupulous person must, and earn the reward which I now offer to you;" and my father laid two ashrufees before him.

66

“That alters the case materially," said the moolla, pocketing the money. 'Since the ceremony must be performed, in Alla's name let it take place. It was no doubt fated that it should be so, and you will therefore find no person in Beeder more willing to read the form of the nika than myself. Let me I pray you return for my book,—I will be back instantly ;" and he departed.

"There," cried my father, "I thought it would be so. No one can withstand the sight of gold. From the prince on the throne to the meanest peasant, it is the same; its influence is all-powerful. With it a man may purchase his neighbour's conscience, his neighbour's wife, or his daughter; with it a man may bribe the venerable Kazee of Kazees, in any city he pleases, to declare him innocent, had he committed a hundred murders, forged documents, stolen his neighbour's goods, or been guilty of every villainy under the sun; with it a good man may be better-but that is rare-a bad man increases his own damnation; for it any one will lie, cheat, rob, murder, and degrade himself to the level of a beast; young women will dishonour their lords; old women will be bribed to assist them. A man who has hoards will practise every knavery to increase them,

yet is never happy; those who have no money, hunger and thirst after it, and are also never happy. Give it to a child to play with, and by some mysterious instinct he clutches it to his bosom, and roars if it be taken from him. In short, its influence cannot be · opposed; old and young, rich and poor-all are its slaves. Men's wisdom is nothing, men's eloquence is nothing, their character nothing; their rank nothing, but this vile metal, which has no voice, no intellect, no character, no rank-this rules our destinies on earth as surely and as potently as Alla himself does in heaven.'

"Alla ke Qoodrut!" said I with a sigh, "your words are true, my father, now that one thinks on them; and we have had a precious specimen in the sudden change of opinion in the worthy moolla, who asked no further questions when he saw your gold."

"No!" cried my father, "and if one only had enough, one might rule the world. Who was Sikundur? By all accounts, a petty prince, not half so powerful as he who rules this country; and yet, when he gained favour in the sight of the jins, and afterwards by his magic got dominion over them, did they not place the treasures heaped up in the bowels of the earth at his disposal? and who could then stop his career? Is not this all written in a book, and is it not as true as the Koran ?"

"It were heresy to doubt it," said I; "but here comes the subject of our conversation, with his book under his arm ; I will prepare Azeema."

I went to her. "Dearest," cried I, seating myself and passing my arm round her waist, "dearest, the time is come, when, with the blessing of Alla and my father's sanction, you will be mine for ever, and when the law shall bind us together, for death alone to separate us. A moolla has come; and with your permission, now, even now, the nika shall be performed; further delay is idle, and I am consumed with the burnings of my love."

"So soon, Ameer Ali? Oh, not till we reach your home. will your father think of my consenting to this wild union ?"

What

"He sanctions it, beloved; 'twas he who sent for the moolla ; 'twas he who persuaded him to perform the ceremony; and they but await my return to the tent to read the words which make you mine for ever."

"Alas! I know not," said the fair girl; "I am another's wife— how can this be done ?"

"Forget the hateful marriage," I cried; "Azeema, these objections will kill me. Am I not your slave? Are we not now on our way to a distant land, where he from whom you have fled will never again hear of you? Ah, do not continue to talk thus, for it seems like a bitter mockery that you should have fled with me, now to deny yourself to me.

"Ay," said he, "there requires no better proof than these of the present degeneracy. The monarchs of those times were just and liberal as well as powerful; the wealth their dominions brought them was freely expended in beautifying their cities, and raising edifices by which they might be remembered. Now, with the same dominions, the wealth they bring is either uselessly hoarded or wastefully expended; now, no buildings arise as monuments of a dynasty, no armies rejoice in the presence of a brave and noble sovereign, and, stimulated by his example, win for him renown at the points of their bright swords. All now is mean and sordid, from the poor pensioned descendant of Shah Jehan and Alumgeer to the representative of the once proud Soobahs of the Dukhun."

"Yes," said our conductor; "what is the use of now calling oneself a soldier, with scarcely bread to eat? The few of us who are in the fort wander about the ruins of the noble palaces and the deserted walls, and our only enemies are the panthers and hyenas who have taken advantage of the yearly increasing jungle and desolation, and bid fair to expel us altogether. But look from the window, sirs; the open ground over which you came is called the Futteh Mydan, the plain of victory. Here the proud monarchs of Beeder, first the Bahmunee and afterwards the Beereed dynasties, used to sit, while their gallant troops poured forth from the gates, and amused while they gratified their sovereign with feats of arms. And yonder," added he, taking us to another window, "yonder are their tombs, where their mortal remains rest, though their spirits are in the blessed paradise of our Prophet."

We looked, and the view was lovely as it was unexpected. We were on the top of what appeared to be a lofty mountain, so far and so deep did the noble expanse of valley before us descend. The blue distance melted into the blue of the heavens, while nearer and nearer to us the villages and fields became more and more distinct, till, close under us, they seemed as it were drawn out on a map; and among them stood the tombs, a cluster of noble-looking edifices, their white domes glaring in the red light of the declining sun.

“Ay,” cried I, "they must have felt that they were kings, while they gazed admiringly on their gallant soldiers, and looked forth over the lovely country which they ruled."

"Come," said my father, breaking in upon my reflections, which were rapidly peopling the open space of the Futteh Mydan with the troops and warriors of past ages, and picturing to me their manly games, their mock fights, the shouts of the contending parties, while from the spot whereon I stood the praises of the king and acclamations of his courtiers were ringing through the arched roofs and re-echoed by the multitudes without-" Come, it is growing late, and we must soon return.”