T£IIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE EAST. 73 



slavery, because they were not accidentally flung on this 

 territory, but were sent hither to obtain their rights. I 

 resolved therefore to interfere for them. I felt myself, 

 in fact, compelled to do so ; for had I refused my assistance, 

 the poor men would have been detained, in consequence of 

 the heavy debts they had contracted during their three 

 years' stay at Bokhara. I accordingly addressed myself in 

 this affair to Hoshbegi, begging him to take pity on these 

 men, and to interfere in their behalf. He received myself 

 and my petition very kindly, but appeared little disposed 

 to do anything for the younger of the supplicants, as he 

 had uttered some threatening words when asking for justice ; 

 and he added, " they may plead their cause before the 

 tribunal." But the judges refused to listen to their 

 petition, alleging — first, that they had not appeared to 

 make their claims immediately after the death of the 

 testator ; secondly, that those who appeared as heirs, 

 being Russian subjects, could not be considered as legal 

 claimants, but were reckoned among Christian sects, and 

 treated as heretics ; and, thirdly, that the whole legacy 

 being the result of a trade not tolerated in the Koran, i. e.y 

 wine, it ought to have been confiscated, as it really was. 

 I solicited Hoshbegi to permit me to pay the debts of 

 these poor men, and to take them with me to their home 

 in Russia. This I obtained without any difficulty, so I 

 liquidated their debts, and took them with me, accom- 

 panying the caravan with which the Russian ambassador 

 also set out for that country. The most costly thing I 

 carried with me from Bokhara, was a very beautiful horse, 

 of a breed called argomak. This horse, the beauty of which 

 was admired by every connoisseur, was provided with all 

 its appurtenances ; such as a silver bridle, a Bokharian 

 saddle, a richly-adorned caparison, &c. This noble animal 

 was a stallion four years old. I destined it as a present 

 for his Majesty the late Emperor of Austria, Francis I, with 

 a view to its serving as a riding-horse and a sire. I ven- 

 tured to do this as an Austrian subject, and after an absence 

 of twenty years, to manifest tny loyalty and faithfulness 



