on the ground, and there is no mention of any utensils. At another great festival to which the Spanish envoys were summoned, they were forced to pay elaborate homage to one of the Khan’s grandsons newly come from India, kneeling time after time before him. Doubtless they felt there was no choice as to obeying any such order of Tamerlane, for had they not seen plenty of instances of his summary methods of so-called “justice.” At the marriage festival of two of his grandsons Tamerlane said he “knew how to be merciful and kind to some, and how to be severe to others,” so a number of gallows were set up at the place of entertainment. When the games were over he meted out “justice” to various people who had incurred his displeasure, and they were instantly put to death; hanging was the more aristocratic punishment, and execution was the fate of the poorer classes. Tamerlane’s most pleasing characteristic is the deep affection he entertained for his Chinese wife and for his sons, whose death caused him deep and passionate grief. There is a legend that he caused his daughters to be taught magic in order to help him in his conquests, but that sounds wholly at variance with his character. He was extremely energetic and ambitious, and brooked no interference. The portraits of his personal appearance are far from pleasing; he was not only lame, but also blind in one eye. Tamerlane’s last campaign was against the Turks, and he pushed as far as to Damascus, taking prisoner the Sultan Bajazet. On his return he projected another distant campaign against China, but he fell ill of ague and fever, and died in Syr Daria in 1405. His body was embalmed and carried for burial to Samarkand. CHAPTER XIX Samarkand