Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/103

CHAP. IV.] of the candles lighting the passage. As her robes were made of exquisitely fine muslin and were besides perfumed with atar and other essences, the flames wrapped her round in a moment. Her four maids flung themselves on her to smother the fire with their persons, but it spread to their own dress and they had to let go their hold in agony. By the time aid arrived and the fire was put out, the princess had been dreadfully burnt: her back, both sides, and arms were severely injured.

She was the best loved child of Shah Jahan, and well did she deserve his

affection. Ever since her mother's death, her care and forethought had saved him from domestic worries. Her sweetness of temper and gentleness of heart, even more than her mental accomplishments, soothed his mind in fatigue and anxiety, while her loving kindness healed all discords in the Imperial family, and spreading beyond the narrow circle of her kinsfolk made her the channel of the royal bounty to orphans, widows, and the poor. In the full blaze of prosperity and power her name was known in the land only for her bounty and graciousness. In adversity she rose to a nobler