( 14 )
the buſiness of ſtate with reluctance; and reſolved to relinquiſh the toils of government of which he could no longer enjoy the reward.
He therefore obtained permiſſion to approach the throne of his Sovereign; and being aſked what was his requeſt, he made this reply.
"May the Lord of the World forgive the ſlave whom he hath honoured. If Mirza preſume again to lay the bounty of Abbas at his feet. Thou haſt given me the dominion of a country, fruitful as the gardens of Damascus; and of a city, glorious above all others, except that only which reflects the ſplendour of thy preſence. But the longeſt life is a period ſcarce ſufficient to prepare for death: All other buſineſs is vain and trivial, as the toils of emmits in the path of the traveller, under whoſe feet they periſh for ever; and all enjoyment is unſubſtantial and evaneſcent, as the colours of the bow that appear in the interval of a ſtorm. Suffer me, therefore, to prepare for the approach of eternity; let me give up my ſoul to meditation; let ſolitude and ſilence acquaint me with
