erceived his life was failing, and his glory
coming to an end. Two days before his death, he commanded all the untold
riches of his treasury, his sacks of gold and silver, his caskets of
precious stones, to be brought out and placed before him. Having feasted
his eyes upon them, he burst into tears; he knew they would not long be
his, but he had not the heart to give any part of then away. The next
day he caused to be drawn up before his travelling throne, for he
observed still the Tartar custom, his army of 100,000 foot and 55,000
horse, his chariots, his camels, and his 1,300 elephants of war; and
again he wept, and, overcome with grief, retired to his palace. Next
day he died, after a prosperous reign of more than thirty years.

But, to return to the general history. It will be recollected that
Mahmood's dominions stretched very far to the west, as some say, even
round the Caspian to Georgia; and it is not wonderful that, while he was
adding India to them, he found a difficulty in defending his frontier
towards Persia. Meantime, as before, his own countrymen kept streaming
down upon him without intermission from the north, and he thought he
could not do better than employ these dangerous visitors in garrison
duty against his western enemies. They took service under him, but did
not fulfil his expectations. Indeed, what followed may be anticipated
from the history which I have been giving of the Caliphs: it was an
instance of workmen emancipating themselves from their employer. The
fierce barbarians who were defending the province of Khorasan so well
for another, naturally felt that they could take as good care of it for
themselves; and when Mahmood was approaching the end of his life, he
became sensible of the error he had committed in introducing them. He
asked one of their chiefs what force he could lend him: "If you sent one
of the arrows into our camp," was the answer, "50,000 of us will mount
to do thy bidding." "But what if I want more?" inquired Mahmood; "send
this arrow into the camp of Balik, and you will have another 50,000."
The Sultan asked again: "But what if I require your whole forces?" "Send
round my bow," answered the Turk, "and the summons will be obeyed by
200,000 horse."[40] The foreboding, which disclosures such as this
inspired, was fulfilled the year before his death. The Turks came into
collision with his lieutenants, and defeated one of them in a bloody
action; and though he took full reprisal