Page:History of India Vol 5.djvu/354

 300 THE MEMOIRS OF JAHANGIK- the inherited Moghul relations between Hindustan and the old capital of Afghanistan, but it brings out into a clearer light certain characteristics of Jahangir. In the words of Dowson, " he was a mighty hunter and took pleasure in the sport even in the later years of his life. He was a lover of nature, both animate and inanimate, and viewed it with a shrewd and observant eye. He mentions the peculiarities of many animals and birds, and shows that he watched their habits with diligence and perseverance. Trees and fruits and flow- ers also come under his observation, and he gives his opinion upon architecture and gardening like one who had bestowed time and thought upon them." The extracts that follow serve to illustrate this. ' The second new year of my auspicious reign began on the twenty-second of Zu-1-ka'da, 1015 A. H. (March 10, 1606 A. D.), and on the seventh of Zu-1-hijja, 1015 A. H. (April, 1606 A. D.), I left the fort of Lahore at a prosperous hour, and crossing the Eavi, I alighted at the garden of Dilamez, where I stopped four days. On Sunday, which happened to be the day of the sun's entry into Aries, some of my servants were favoured with promotion and ten thousand rupees in cash were given to Husain Beg, the ambassador of the ruler of Iran. On Monday, I marched from the garden to a village called Haripur, three and a half leagues from the city, and on Tuesday, my flags waved in Jahangirpur, which was one of my hunting-grounds. Near this village a minaret was raised by my orders over an antelope of