Excerpt from Letters Received by the East India Company From Its Servants in the East, Vol. 3: Transcribed From the 'Original Correspondence' Series of the India Office Records I Two prominent members of Jahangir's retinue are mentioned by name. Mahabat Khan. 'the King's greatest minion' (afterwards to be his jailor). And Asaf Khan. Who had lately risen into notice. Partly by his own astuteness and partly by the help of his sister. Nur Jahan. 'the beloved Queen.' Asaf Khan's well-known avarice is amusingly brought out. Edwards made presents to both; and Mahabat Khan. Being honourable.' sent him a thousand rupees for a banquet. Specifying in writing the particulars. As flesh. Rice. Butter. Etc.. Which is a direct custom but Asaf Khan only proferred requital in such a manner that Kerridge felt obliged to tell him that it was quite unnecessary (p. Later. Edwards. Intending to give the King two pictures at the Nan-162 festival. Sent them to Asaf mm for his opinion of their fitness for that purpose.' He. Casting about for a present to make to his sovereign on his own account. Appropriated one of the pair. Returning in its place a portrait of Sir Thomas Smythe previously given to him by Edwards; and consequently the English envoy had to ofi'er for the Emperor's acceptance a paint ing which had been rejected by his minister (p. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.