JOURNEY FROM HERAT TO ORENBURG. 283 



to get away without him, so I consented at last to 

 spare him ; but there is no hope of the man villain 

 is written too legibly on his face, and he will be a 

 " calamity " during the whole march. I have a Ya- 

 moot with me, by name Beerdee, an ugly little fellow, 

 but invaluable ; he has been once or twice to Herat, 

 and been treated very kindly by .Major Todd. The 

 minister wrote to me saying that the two children 

 concerning whom I spoke a few days back were in 

 the hands of a very influential person, a lady in the 

 palace ; that after much negotiation he had succeeded 

 in procuring the release of the youngest, a boy, whom 

 he sent to me, but that it was impossible to effect the 

 liberation of the other child, a girl nine years of age. 

 The mother on hearing this became frantic, vowing 

 that nothing should tear her from her child, and that 

 she would prefer remaining in slavery with her darling 

 Shureefa to freedom without her. She then taunted 

 me with the promise I had made to effect the child's 

 release; and, to make a long story short, I at last 

 ordered my horse and rode that night into Khiva, 

 arriving about ten in the morning. My arrival occa- 

 sioned some alarm to the minister, who was exceed- 

 ingly anxious to know the cause of my sudden visit ; 

 but I considered it advisable to lead him astray on 

 this point, saying I wished to see the Khan on various 

 subjects, and hoped to be admitted that evening. This 

 request was complied with, and after discussing many 

 points, I was at length told that I might retire. There 



