907 AH. JULY 17th. 1501 TO JULY 7th. 1502 AD. 153
Many men like us have taken breath at this fountain And have passed away in the twinkling of an eye ; We took the world by courage and might, But we took it not with us to the tomb.'
There is a custom in that hill-country of cutting verses and things1 on the rocks.
While we were in Macha, Mulla Hijri,2 the poet came from Hisar and waited on me. At that time I composed the following opening lines;
Let your portrait flatter you never so much, than it you are more (diidln
artilqsin) ; Men call you their Life (Jan), than Life, without doubt, you are more
(jdndin artiiqsln).3
After plundering round about in Aura-tipa, Shaibaq Khan retired.4 While he was up there, we, disregarding the fewness of our men and their lack of arms, left our impedimenta (auruq) in Macha, crossed the Ab-burdan pass and went to Dikh-kat so that, gathered together close at hand, we might miss no chance on one of the next nights. He, however, retired straightway; we went back to Macha.
It passed through my mind that to wander from mountain to 1 mountain, homeless and houseless, without country or abidingplace, had nothing to recommend it. ' Go you right off. to The Khan,' I said to myself. Qasim Beg was not willing for this move, apparently being uneasy because, as has been told, he had put Mughuls to death at Qara-bulaq, by way of example. However much we urged it, it was not to be! He drew off for Hisar with all his brothers and his whole following. We for our part, crossed the Ab-burdan pass and set forward for The Khan's presence in Tashkint.
1 nlma. The First W.-i-B. (I.O. 215 f. 811. 8) writes tawarlkh, annals.
2 This may be the Khwaja Hijri of the A.N. (index s.n.) ; and Badayuni's Hasan Hijri, Bib. Ind. iii, 385 ; and Ethe's Pers. Cat. No. 793 ; and Bod. Cat. No. 189.
3 The Hai. MS. points in the last line as though punning on Khan and Jan, but appears to be wrong.
* For an account of the waste of crops, the Sh. N. should be seen (p. 162 and 180).
