The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1879-11-06
THE SURGEON AND THE MOGCL'S
DAUGHTER.

-EjUmt Goodlle. ia Good Company.
THE SURGEON AND THE MOGUL'S
DAUGHTER.
lT WAS the summer of the Year 1851
Shah Jehan. grandson of the mighty
Akhar. had been for four-aud-twentv
wears on The throne of the Great Moy,li.
He was the most magnificent and lux,l-
rjous OF all the MogulS. Before the IA
di&nt and amazing >plendorS Of his court
al the pomp and glory of the greatest
monarch> of the West paled into insm-
niticance. He had been known 10
spend a million and half sterling upon
A birthday festival. His royal prog
reSse> through his dominions surpassed
IN grandeur and >umptuouS display all
that even the Oriental imagination had
conceived. Travellers told with awe of
the acres Of land covered with carpets
Of silk and gold: Of the stately pavil-
ions glittering with diamonds and
pearls: of the gorgeous tents of GRIM
son velvet embroidered with gold. sup
ported by massive poles forty feet high.
and stretching over long miles of level
thrones studded with diamonds. rubies,
emeralds. pearls: Of the world-renowned
Peacock Throne, Shah Jehan's own
fanciful invention, so called from pea
cock with its tail spread. the natural
color> faithfully represented in sap
phireS. emeralds. rubies and pearls.
which formed the chief ornament and
design Of mass of diamonds and other
precious stones valued at six millions
and half sterling.
They told. too. OF the elephants that
looked like shining mountains of Jew
erY-clcphant> trained to kneel before
the throne and do reverence to the
Great Mogui with their trunk hose
keep cost tive hundred rupees apiece
per month: of the magnificent horses
on whose brides and saddles the gems
stood thick as dew-drops on Il lawn at
sunrise: and of a thousand other lls-
trous and dazzling marvelS. the mere
mention of which made men stand
agape with wonder and establishment.
Not solomon in al his glory could COM
pare in lavish splendor with Shah Je-
han. the Great Mo@ul.
And LOW, after nearly ten Years of
inces>an' war, there was peace in the
MogUl Empire. and the Emperor had
come tn enjoy his well-earned repose.
and revel i'll the luxury which he loved
at his capital, Delhi--that Delhi which
he had restored to more than its ancient
glory. whose marble halls and spacious
courts and golden domes and stately
mosques. he could proudly boast. were
mequaled anywhere for grace and
beauty and sublimity. For Shah Jehan
had passion for noble and beautiful
buiiding>-the mausolcum which he
erected to his wife at Agra. known as
the Tai Mahal. standing to this dav as
one of the noblest monuments in the
world. But pasSionatclv as Shah Jehan
loved luxury and magniticence. gorge
Gus pageants and splendid buildings,
there was something he loved more
pasSionately still. and that was his cid
est daughter. In all his vast empire
there was no lovelicr. more charming.
or more accomplished lady than the
PadShah Begun. Shah Jehan idolized
this. his favorite. child. She was his
constant companion. She enjoyed his
confidence Ia an extent which men
Very rarely allow to women in the East.
Her lively conversation, her skill in the
Use OF musical instruments. her Gift of
mclodious song. could always charm
him into amiability. She was the light
OF his life. the only being that, since the
death of his Queen. he really loved.
His sons he distrusted and suspected.
and not without reason. for filial affec-
ton was Il virtue which had always
been conspicuous by its absence among
the sons of the Moguls, and he was HIM
self destined to die Il prisoner in the
hands of his own son, Aurungzebe, who
deposed him. 1t was on his daughter,
therefore. that he layished all the ten
derness that was in his heart. The
Padshah Begun was now in her twenty
second year, and in the full flower of
her beauty and womanhoOd. Who
could have dreamed that so fair lily
could be blighted in a single night?
1t was an evening in July; Shah
Jehan lay doing under the gentle fam
ming of the punkah, when he was reused
by piercing shrek, followed in quick
succession by a series of shrieks. each
more heart-rending and blood-curdlino
than the last. He raised himself to
listen. 1t was apparently from the
womens apartments that these appall-
ing cries proceeded. While he listened,
the shrieks grew fainter and fainter.
and were succeeded by a wailing sound,
as Of many voices moaning. Suddenly
the curtains were pushed aside, and a
servant. pale, trembling and breathless,
entered and Frustrated himself before
the Emperor. He was impatientl>
asked what his tidings were. Grooming
and beating his breast with his hands,
he stammered out his news-news thai
made Shah Jehan leap to his feet
while his swarthy Check grew livid with
pallor, and he stood rooted to the
ground with horror and amazement
Tor the news was that the Padshal
Begun had been burned to death! /
was but for a moment that Shah Jehar
stood there petrified and horror-strick
en-. In another instant he had darteC
off in the direction of the Princess
apartments to learn for himself whether
the dreadful tidings were true or NOT
He was like a maniac as he burst int,
the chamber where his daughter Ia,
upon :; couch. surrounded by he
women. wailing and wringing thei
hands. Already two of the court phv
sicians were there, and were strippin.
the charred remnants of her robes from
the scorched and blistered limbs. Sh
was not. indeed, actually dead, as tn
messenger had reported, but she ha
tainted from the terrible agony of he
wounds, and lay there quite uncon
sciorts. The CHASTITY sight almost dc
prived the,Great Mogul of his senses
distracted and overwhelmed with griei