56 
THE ORIENTAL ANNUAL. 
the first paroxysms of her grief, destroy herself. That 
lady, however, bore her misfortune with more for- 
titude and resignation than could have been expected ; 
and in answer to the pressing overtures of Jehanghir, 
she declared her intention of following the injunctions 
of her deceased lord, who, she alleged, had clearly 
foreseen his ultimate destruction, through the em- 
peror’s passion, and had frequently conjured her, 
when so solicited, to yield implicit obedience to the 
royal will. She was therefore sent with all ima- 
ginable care to Delhi ; and, as she recalled to mind 
the tenderness with which the young prince Sulim 
had regarded her in former days, she was fully recon- 
ciled to her fate, and looked forward with delight 
to the glorious prospect of becoming the favourite 
sultana of the most powerful monarch in the world. 
Her vanity, however, was doomed to present disap- 
pointment ; for although she was received with great 
affection and respect by Xtohkia Sultana, the emperor’s 
mother, the mindof that prince appeared to be strangely 
altered, for he resolutely declined receiving her, and 
would not even grant her an interview. Whether 
remorse had entered his soul, or whether his attention 
was then engaged by a new object, is uncertain. All 
authors, however, agree, that he was so much afflicted 
at the death of his favourite, the Suba of Bengal, that 
he determined upon punishing Mher-ul-Nissa for an 
offence in which she had taken no part. Whatever 
the true motive might have been, certain it is that 
