THE COURT JESTER. 21 



closed on the morning of the hunt, which took 

 place in the afternoon, a raised building was 

 constructed for the accommodation of the Meer 

 and some of his principal officers, in which they 

 placed themselves. Inferiors seated themselves 

 on the wall, or on trees, anywhere, in short, out 

 of reach of the animals. One of Jacob's horse- 

 men was present, and the I^Ieer asked him if he 

 would encounter a hog with his sword, but the 

 trooper declined the honour, for which the 

 Meer called him a coward, though if all present 

 were cowards who would have done the same, 

 I apprehend that His Highness and most of 

 those around him would have come within the 

 category. A scampy dissipated retainer of the 

 Meer's, who was generally under the influence 

 of stimu-lants, and was looked on as a sort of 

 court jester, having thoroughly primed himself 

 with hJmng, then came forward declaring that 

 he was a match for any boar in the world ; and 

 having been lauded to the skies by all present 

 as a very ''Roostam," the Persian Hercules, 

 placed himself on a rising ground just in front 

 of the Meer's stand, and baring his arm to the 

 shoulder, twisted his moustache and flourished 

 his sword to the admiration of his friends, who 



