. The only object which at all
restrained them was one of the old women, who having acquired sufficient
strength to rise from her bed, attacked them with such reproaches, that
none was bold enough to face her. The prince sent for provisions from
a neighbouring town, and took up his abode in my house. Wherever they
found corn, they seized upon it; they burnt our implements of husbandry
for firewood, and when they were expended had recourse to doors and
windows, and even to the beams and rafters of our houses. Their horses
were picketed in the new wheat, and they even cut down a great extent
of it to carry away. In short, we are entirely ruined; we have neither
money, clothes, cattle, houses, nor provisions; and, except in God and
you,' addressing himself to Shir Ali and me, 'we have no other refuge.'

Upon this Shir Ali Beg jumped up from his seat, took the old man
vigorously by the beard, and said, 'Are not you ashamed, old man, with
these grey hairs, to utter such lies? But a moment ago you told us that
you had carried into the mountains all that was most valuable, and now
pretend that you are ruined. This can never be! We have not travelled
all this way to eat your dirt. If you think that we have brought our
beards to market to be laughed at, you are mistaken. You don't yet know
Shir Ali: we are men who sleep with one eye open and the other shut; no
fox steals from its hole without our knowledge: if you think yourself a
cat, we are the fathers of cats. Your beard must be a great deal longer,
you must have seen much more country, before you can expect to take us
in.'

'No, God forgive me!' said the ked khoda: 'if I have thought to deceive
you. Who am I, that I should dare to think so? We are the Shah's
_rayats_, (peasantry); whatever we have is his; but we have been
stripped, we have been skinned; go, see with your own eyes--look at our
fields--look into our store-rooms--we have neither corn abroad nor corn
at home.'

'Well,' said Shir Ali, 'skinned or unskinned, with corn or without
it, we have only one course to pursue, and one word to say--the Shah's
orders must be executed. Either you deliver in kind or in money your
prescribed quota of provisions, or you and your elders must proceed
with us to Sultanieh, where you will be consigned over to the proper
authorities.'

After these words, much whispering and consultation took place between
the ked khoda and the village elders, who, having huddled themselves
into a