124 THE SHAHBAZ. 



the cushion at his back. The musicians are 

 ordered to play and sing, after which His 

 Highness retires to take his siesta, and all 

 the attendants and others go to sleep too, for 

 no noise is j^ermitted duiing the slumbers of the 

 sovereign. After the Meer rises, he bathes and 

 dresses, then passes the time in firing at a 

 mark, or has some dogs brought for inspection, 

 or has some of the young hawks tried at 

 partridges or crows, which are kept in readiness 

 for such purposes. 



The Meer perfectly understands all relating 

 to sporting matters, and especially the training 

 of hawks, of which he is intensely fond, and 

 spares no expense in obtaining the finest birds 

 from Central Asia. 'Wlien in London he was 

 so struck with a Shahbaz, or King of the 

 Falcons, at the Zoological Gardens, that he 

 paid Landseer fifty guineas for a picture of 

 the bii^d, and a splendid pictm-e it was. From 

 His Highness I learned that young hawks, 

 when fully fledged, should be placed in a light 

 room, well defended from cats. They should 

 be fed fi'om the hand to a peculiar sound, 

 getting a good meal, morning and evening, of 

 goat's flesh, but best of all is the flesh of 



