When the emperor was seated on his throne, the seven ambassadors were brought forwards, facing the emperor, and at the same time a great number of criminals were presented.  There were seven hundred of these, some of whom were fastened by the neck, others having their heads and hands inclosed by a board, six sometimes fastened thus to one board.  Each criminal was attended by a keeper, who held his prisoner by the hair:  and all thus waited the imperial sentence.  Most of these were remanded to prison, and only a few were condemned to die, which power resides solely in the emperor.  All the governors of this vast empire, however distant from court, send all malefactors to Khanbalik, to appear in presence of the emperor.  Each persons crime is written on one end of the board which he carries about his neck; and the crimes against religion are the most severely punished of all.  Great care is taken to examine into all the facts on these occasions, insomuch that the emperor holds council twelve several times before he condemns any one to death.  Hence a person who has been condemned in eleven successive councils, is sometimes acquitted in the twelfth, which is always held in presence of the emperor, who never condemns any but those he cannot save.  When the criminals were dismissed, the ambassadors were led by an officer within fifteen cubits of the throne; and this officer, on his knees, read out of a paper the purport of their embassy; adding that they had brought rarities as presents to his majesty, and were come to knock their heads against the ground before him.  Then the Kadhi Mulana Haji Yusof, a commander of ten thousand, who was a favourite of the emperor and one of his twelve councillors, approached to the ambassadors, with some Moslems who spoke the Persian language, and ordered them to fall on their knees and knock their ground with their foreheads; but they only bowed their heads three times.  Then they delivered the letters of Shah Rokh and the other princes, wrapped up in yellow satin, to Kadhi Mulana, who gave them into the hands of a khoja of the palace at the foot of the throne, and he presented them to the emperor.  He took them into his own hands, opened them and looked at them, and delivered them back to the khoja, who descended from the throne, and sat down on a seat at the foot of the steps.  At the same time were brought out three thousand vestments of fine stufis, and two thousand coarse, such as are the usual clothing of the imperial children and household[35].  The emperor then commanded the ambassadors to draw near, and being on their knees, he inquired after the health of Shah Rokh, and put many other questions to them, all of which they answered.  He then ordered them to rise, and go eat, saying that they had come a far journey.  From thence the ambassadors were conducted back to the first court, where they were feasted in a similar manner as at other times already mentioned.