ivhkhfell in the Mogul Territories. 29S 



appearance, the heat of which was so violent that one might 

 have supposed it to have been a tiirnace. After some time 

 it became cold ; when the aumil conveyed it to his own habi- 

 tation, from whence he afterwards dispatched it, in a sealed 

 bag, to court. 



" Here I had (this substance) weighed in my presence. 

 Its weight was 160 tolahs *. I committed it to a skilful 

 artisan, with orders to make of it a sabre, a knife, and a 

 dagger. The workman (soon) reported that the substance 

 was not malleable, hut shivered into pieces tender the ham- 

 mer f. 



'' Upon this I ordered it to be mixed with other iron. 

 Conformably to my orders three parts of the iron of light" 

 iiing J were mixed with one part of common iron ; and trom 

 the mixture were made two sabres, one knife, and one dag- 



** By the addition of the common iron, the (new) sub-^ 

 stance acquired a fine temper ; the blade (fabricated from 

 it) proving as elastic as the most genuine blade of Ulman- 

 ny § and of the south, and bending like them without leav- 

 ing any mark of the bend, I had them tried in my pre- 

 sence, and found them cut excellently ; as well (indeed) as 

 the best genuine sabres. One of these sabres I named ka- 

 tai, or the cutter ; and the other, hurk-serisht, or the light- 

 ning natured. 



" A poet Ij composed and presented to me, on this occa- 

 sion, the following tetrastich ; 



" ' This earth has attained order and regularity through 

 the emperor Jehangire. 



*' In his time fell ra/u iron from lightning : 



" That iron was by his word-subdumg authority con- 

 verted into a dagger, a knife, and two sabres.' 



*' The chronogram of this occurrence is contained in 

 words which signify ' the flame of the imperial lightning,' 

 and cive the year (of the Ilegira) 1030. 



""N. B. The foregoing translation (which is nearly literal) 

 has been made from a manuscript that has been several years 

 in my possession; and which, although without a date, bears 

 jnarks of having been written at a remote period, 



"William Kirkpatrick." 



* A tn!ah is aliout iSo grains Troy weight. 



i Literally, *• it did not stand btneath the hammer, but fell to pieces. 

 J This expression is ctjuivaient to our ttrm /bii/u/rr-l/o/i. 

 § Tlic name of the place here designed is doubttul. 

 U Tlic poet is named ia the original, but the name is not perfectly le- 

 gible. 



T 4 4, Notice 



