On their arrival at the city, Sherf insisted that Meher and his friends should take up their abode in his own spacious home, and for the time being they consented to do so.
The next day the prince visited the public bath, and his splendid physique won the admiration of all beholders, greatly to the satisfaction of his friend. The merchant, on his return from his long journey, went to the court of King Keiwan, and laid costly gifts at his feet, as was the custom on the completion of a successful expedition. The king was anxious to hear the adventures of the traveler, and listened long to the story of his voyage and wonderful escapes.
The merchant was glad of an opportunity to thus communicate with the king, and always loyal to Meher he related at length the story of the night attack, and the daring pursuit of the Persian youth, who succeeded not only in restoring the property of his host, but also in gaining from the banditti a rich reward for the servants who so bravely responded to his call.
ROYAL INTERVIEWS.
The king was greatly interested in the gallant stranger, and he immediately sent a chamberlain to request his presence at court.
Meher stepped with easy grace into the royal presence and saluted with due courtesy, but there was no fear in his manner, no awkwardness in the salute, and the keen-eyed monarch saw at once that he was accustomed to the presence of royalty, and suspected that he carried noble blood in his veins.
He was most graciously received, and after a long conversation the king presented him with a beautiful horse; delighted with the gift, Meher sprang to the saddle, and rode away like the prince that he was, while the king looked admiringly on.
The next morning he received another invitation to visit the palace, and on this occasion he presented a poem which he had written in honor of the king, when the eloquence of his diction, the music of his rhythm, and the historical knowledge betrayed by his allusions to the past, made his production an object of admiration to the literati of the court. It was customary for those who were presented to make an offering to royalty, and after apologizing for the humble character of his gift, Meher ordered one of his attendants to present to his majesty a little casket which he carried in his hand. With a feeling of curiosity, mingled with a desire to extend an especial favor, Keiwan received the gift in his own hands, and upon opening the casket he was astonished to find richer jewels than any that gleamed in his own treasury. There was one ruby in that little collection, which, on being placed in water, radiated a light which colored the water like the blood of the grape, and the diamonds flashed back the green and purple fire of the emerald and amethyst beside them.
Here was another factor in the problem which was agitating the mind of Keiwan, for unless this youth was of royal birth he must surely belong to some band of robbers who had successfully raided a king’s treasury. But with true Oriental reticence he forbore to express his surprise, determined to wait until he could solve the mystery without questions.
Again Meher was summoned to the court and challenged to a game of drafts with a skillful opponent; being successful in this, he was invited to a contest in chess with the best player of the kingdom. The king looked on and saw his young friend checkmate the veteran with six moves. Afterward the monarch sent him a letter requiring an immediate reply at a time when his secretary was known to be absent. The messenger waited a few minutes, and then carried to his royal master a letter which was a model in its literary style as well as in its mechanical execution. Every triumph of this kind raised the Persian youth more highly in the estimation of the king, but he was not yet satisfied, and after a time he was invited to a trial of strength and agility; the contest took place in front of the palace, while the queen and the princess Nahīd looked upon the combatants from behind a screen. Meher rode into the arena upon his white Arabian steed, and never royal rider mounted a more magnificent animal, or rode with more grace and ease; as the horse circled proudly around the arena, his young master shot his arrows through the distant target until the quiver by his side was empty, then he threw the javelin, and in a later contest with spears, he carried off the prize.