28 
THE ORIENTAL ANNUAL. 
The domestic peace of the emperor was sadly dis- 
turbed by the factions of his court; for intrigue 
appears to have run as high in these days of court 
famine as in the more plentiful seasons of Akbur the 
First, or of Shah Jehan. Prince Mirza Sulim, the 
third son of the emperor, was the royal favourite ; 
and his majesty was for ever scheming, in opposition 
to the will of the East India Company, to secure the 
succession in favour of this prince, to the exclusion 
of Aboo Zaffir ; moreover, each of the eight wives 
had a particular pet to oppose prince Mirza Sulim. 
Fate, however, removed him from the strife ; he 
died in September 1836, and Aboo Zaffir succeeded 
his father. 
The old emperor was extremely sensitive touching 
the respect which he deemed due to the dignity of his 
presence. Lord Amherst was the first British 
governor-general who visited the court of Delhi, in 
consequence of the emperor having, until that time, 
refused to allow even the representative of the British 
monarch to be seated in the royal presence. It is 
said that, on the occasion in question, the emperor 
was so moved by the indignity, that he could not 
restrain his tears. In 1828, Lord Combermere, as 
commander-in-chief, paid the emperor a visit, and in 
addition to the usual honours of the khilat and other 
presents, received the incomprehensible dignities of 
the Fish and Kettle-drum, with the rank of seven 
thousand, and the illustrious titles of Ghizenfir-ud- 
