1 NADIR SHAH. 205
2 ruin on the magnificent city that had so long been the mistress of
3 India and the pride of the East. At daybreak, a person from the
4 neighbouring terrace“ designedly fired upon the king of Persia. The Theking fired at.
5 shot, missing him, killed one of his immediate attendants, who fell dead
6 before his eyes. The fierce spirit of the Shah was now roused to the
7 utmost fury, and unsheathing his sword he ordered a general massacre of | Genoral massacre of
8 the inhabitants of the unfortunate town. The tumult had. by this time Miae.
9 subsided, but the orders of Nadir Shah were executed with such rigour that
10 till midday the streets of Delhi ran with blood, Guns were ordered out
11 and the streets swept with grape. -The incensed Persians destroyed all
12 before them, demolishing every building they came to, and levelling to the
13 ground the loftiest and most spacious edifices of the metropolis of the Indian
14 empire. In the midst of this horrible work of death and destruction, the
15 bloodthirsty Nadir sat in gloomy solitude in the little mosque of Raushan-
16 ud-doula, gloating with vengeance on the work of devastation going on
17 before his eyes. The bloody scene extended from Sarafa Ardwi, in front
18 of the fort, to Idgdéh, which is three kos distant, and from Chitli Kabar as — Horrible bloodshed.
19 far as the tobacco market and Pul Mithai.* The whole of the Dariba
20 Bazaar ran red with the blood of bankers and merchants. Neither sex nor
21 age was spared. Before two o’clock in the afternoon, it is computed, be-
22 tween 120,000 and 150,000 were slaughtered, though not a third part of the
23 population were visited by the sword of the avengers. So great was their
24 dread of the Persians that the wretched Indians bent down their heads
25 before them like sheep to be slaughtered, and one Persian soldier is said to
26 have butchered a whole family of ten, men, women and children, without
27 ‘encountering any opposition whatever. Thousands of Hindus burnt them-
28 selves alive with their wives and daughters, while thousands more threw them-
29 selves into wells. The work of destruction was carried on in the most diabo-
30 lical spirit. The Chandni Chauk, the fruit market, the Dariba Bazaar and
31 the buildings around the Jama Masjid were set on fire and reduced to ashes. _ ‘Theatreets set on
32 The flames of the burning houses reached the skies, and the crackling of ™* :
33 the falling edifices deafened the ears and filled the streets with debris.
34 The streets were strewn with corpses, which lay about as thickly as leaves
35 after a storm. While this dreadful scene was going on, the destroyer, as
36 before mentioned, sat calmly in the masjid. His countenance was fierce
37 and terrible, his eyes glared with fury, and none but the slave attending
38 on his royal person durst approach him. At length the wretched emperor, 4, eieaenna nts
39 attended by his nobles, forced his way into the presence of the Shah. He Omerahs beg for mercy.
40 stood, like a statue, in the attitude of a suppliant, with downcast eyes and
41 tears streaming down his cheeks. The nobles, who ventured to approach
42 nearer, bowed down their foreheads to the ground. Nadir Shah asked them
43 sternly what they wanted. “Spare the city,” was the unanimous cry. Nddir
44 Shah granted the request, and, sheathing his sword, ordered an immediate
45 cessation of the massacre. His words were no sooner uttered than they cessation of the
46 were obeyed; the massacre ceased and every sword was sheathed. The ™***
47 Persian heralds proclaimed peace throughout the city. Nddir Shah then
48 ‘returned to the citadel, where, under his orders, several of the Omerahs, who
49 * So called from the shops of confectioners there.
50 t+ The implorers of mercy, addressing the tyrant Nadir Shah, said metaphorically, trembling
51 and frightened :—
52 -” >
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54 “Not a soul has been spared by thy avenging sword. If it be thy wish.to carry on the
55 mone oF SHES SEGUATY agit Skagh}s MENBRaRY® Sem ond oop FHfcHRAGrary@ gmail.com