A DEBT CANCELLED. 
79 
assuaged his own thirst, the Emperor rode back to en- 
courage his followers, and seeing the merchant lying 
in the road, almost at the point of death, he thought 
this would be a favourable opportunity to cancel a 
debt which he was without the means of paying; 
as it would at once release his mind from the burthen 
of an obligation he was unable to remove but by 
the method now contemplated. Advancing to the 
famishing merchant, he proposed to supply him with 
any quantity of water he might require, provided he 
would abandon his pecuniary demand. The sufferer 
replied : A cup of water is, in my present situa- 
tion, more valuable than the wealth of the whole 
world, and I consent.” * The agreement being regu- 
larly witnessed by several of the attendants, the mer- 
chant was supplied with as much water as he desired, 
and thus the debt was cancelled. Those among the 
followers who had died were buried in the desert ; 
and the survivors, having had their thirst assuaged, 
proceeded eagerly to the camp, which had been pitched 
round the well. 
Whilst the unhappy sovereign was encamped near 
the well, a neighbouring Rajah had conceived the de- 
sign of plundering his tent ; obtaining, however, a hint 
of the Rajah’s intention, Humayoon ordered the guides, 
and two camel drivers, to be seized, disarmed, and put 
under restraint. One of these latter, however, having 
released himself and a companion, stabbed the soldier 
who guarded them, and killed the camels, together 
with a favourite horse and mule. This so incensed 
the Moghuls, that having sacrificed the camel-driver 
* Vide “ Tezkereh al Vakiat,” p. 37. 
