DELHI. 
41 
his good fortune, he succeeded in advancing himself 
to the most responsible office in the realm, — the 
emperor having invested him with the dignity and 
title of Etimaun-ud-Dowla, High Treasurer of the 
Empire. Thus, he who had well-nigh perished 
through want in the desert, became, in the space of 
a few years, by the excellence of his head and heart, 
the first and most favoured friend and adviser of the 
mightiest of earthly monarchs. 
The daughter who had been born to Khaja Aias 
(henceforth to be called Etimaun-ud-Dowla) in the 
desert, received, by order of the emperor, the title of 
Mher-ul-Nissa, — the Sun of Women, — and, in truth, 
she had right good claims to the appellation ; for it 
was already apparent that she would excel all the 
ladies of the East in beauty. She was educated, as 
was fit, with the utmost care and attention. In 
music, in dancing, in poetry, in painting, (for these 
are the accomplishments of the court ladies,) she had 
no equal throughout India. Her disposition was 
lively, her wit acute and discriminate, her spirit lofty 
and uncontrolled. 
When the lovely Mher-ul-Nissa was yet in the 
first freshness of her beauty, it happened that Sulim, 
afterwards Jehanghir, then the prince-royal and heir 
to the throne, visited her father, to witness some 
sporting entertainment given by that minister. After 
the amusements had concluded, when the public had 
withdrawn, and only the principal guests from the 
e2 
