Storia do Mogor 356.3.2

356.3.2

The sagacious old man, thus seated on the throne, gave first some orders to the chief wazir. He then had recourse to an artifice such as had been customary with him in early years. Taking his handkerchief, he pressed it upon his eyes and pretended to cry. This act raised acute compassion among the bystanders; and whether it were genuine or merely a stroke of clever policy, they demanded the cause of his grief. Aurangzeb then removed the handkerchief from his eyes, and, tears running down his face, said: 'I weep bitter tears, and grief overwhelms me at finding myself so feeble, also because I foresee much destruction and many innocent deaths. The chief anxiety which torments me is that my prayers are unanswered wherein I ask God daily to take me from this world.'