68 
THROUGH ASIA 
to his house. As midnight approached, champagne was 
served round, and in silence and with uplifted glasses 
we awaited the striking of the clock. As the New Year 
came in, the words “ S’ novotft godom” (“A Happy New 
Year to You!”) were spoken to right and to left by each 
person. 
On January 2nd the usual official dinner was given in 
the banqueting-hall of rhe palace. The guests were all 
civil and military officials of high rank, the emissary of 
the Emir of Bokhara, the three chief kadis or judges of 
the Sarts in Tashkend, and so forth. Every year the 
Emir of Bokhara sends a special emissary to convey to 
the governor -general the compliments of the season. 
This year it was the handsome black-bearded 1 ajik, 
Shadi Beg Karaol Begi Shigaol, whom the Emir sent to 
welcome me, when I crossed the frontier between Samar- 
kand and Bokhara two years previously. 
According to custom, Shadi Beg brought with him 
presents amounting in value to over eleven hundred 
pounds. In this case they consisted of eight horses, with 
handsome saddle-cloths embroidered in gold and silver, 
of red and blue satin, carpets, cloths, ornaments, and 
several hundred costumes, chiefly from Bokhara, but 
some also from Kashmir and China. 
Among the guests was a man who had played a 
prominent part in the modern history of Central Asia, 
namely Jura Beg. When a young man he was in the 
service of Emir Nasrullah of Bokhara, and on his death 
had seized the native province of Shahr-i-Sebs, the ancient 
Kesh, where Tamerlane was born. There he ruled as 
beg for some years ; but was ousted by a rival, and 
thrown into prison. The people, who were not satisfied 
with the rule of the new beg, liberated Jura Beg and 
re-constituted him their prince. When the Russians, 
under General Kaufmann, took Samarkand in 1868, 
Jura Beg hastened with a considerable force to the relief 
of the famous city, and besieged it obstinately, reducing 
the Russians to great distress, from which they were 
only saved at the last moment by a relief expedition. 
