It was on the same principle, he would not permit him to carry out of Calcutta, and to keep in the high office of Divan or Prime Minister, a Gentoo, named Nandecomar, a man of an intriguing spirit, who bore the highest sway upon his mind; but who having already vexed numbers of persons of distinction throughout the province, would avail himself of his ascendant over his master, to attack indiscriminately whomsoever he chose to demolish. The President himself being impressed with these notions, and thoroughly sensible of the character of these two men, no entreaties, however urgent, from Mir-djaafer-qhan, could obtain of the Council a permission to carry Nandecomar with him, and to put him in office. Nevertheless on his being arrived at M8rsh8d-abad, he was so well tutored by his friends of Calcutta, he learned to write such artificious letters to the Council, and he succeeded so well in gaining some of the ruling members to his party, that the Governor, to get rid of their clamorous intrigues, consented to Nandecomar’s repairing to his master. But, however, to guard his successors as much as possible against this man’s dangerous character, and endless intrigues, he wrote a memoir upon him, got it bound in the form of a book, and kept it for use. As to the new Minister, on his being returned to M8rsh8d-abad, he worked himself into so much authority, that he undertook to demolish no less a man than Mahmed-reza-qhan. This nobleman, who was son-in-law to Rabia-begum, and to Ata-ollah-qhan, and enjoyed now the high office of Nazem, or Governor of the province of Djehan-ghir-nugur-dacca, found himself under the necessity of crouching to the new Minister, and of seeing most of the business of his department torn out of his hands, and referred to people appointed by the Court. The Minister went so far, that the Navvab, in compliance with his will, dismissed that nobleman from his office, and moreover had him brought prisoner to M8rsh8d-abad; and probably would have proceeded farther, had not both the master and the Minister been intimidated by the interference of the Chief of Cassim-bazar, who procured his release by dint of threats. Luckily for him that Mir-djaafer-qhan* fell sick at this very time, and became worse and worse; at last on the fourteenth of Shaaban, A. D. 1765. being a Thursday of the year 1178 of the Hedjra, he departed this life, and passed over the stream which divides the confines of this fragile world, from the Regions of Eternity. Several persons of credit have affirmed that some moments before his demise, he had, on Nandecomar’s persuasion, ordered to be brought to him some water that had been poured in libation over the idol at Kyirut-conah, (a famous temple of the Gentoos in the neighbourhood M8rsh8d-abad) and that some drops of it were poured down the dying man’s throat; this being the last water which he tasted.

“Let this serve you for a warning, if you are capable of listening to it:

If you sow thorns, you cannot expect to reap Peaches.”

Preserve us, O God! as well as all believers, from such a sickness, and such a death.

It must be observed that the old Navvab, intimidated by the Vezir’s numbers, and by his personal character for valour and prowess, had always wished ardently for a peace upon any terms; and the English themselves, impressed with high ideas of his power, and affected by the shame and disgrace of fighting against the legitimate possessor of the throne, were desirous of some accommodation, provided it could be obtained without endangering their trade; nor had they any objections to the Emperor’s or rather to the Vezir’s keeping possession of the province of Azim-abad, if they could be left themselves in quiet possession of Bengal, under a certain quit-rent. But Shudjah-ed-döulah, equally proud andignorant, (and ignorance is become in these times so prevalent, and so much in fashion, that there is hardly a single Prince in India, but that labours under a want of intellects) Shudjah-ed-döulah, I say, who expected mighty con­quests from his achievements, and had conceived as high an opinion of his own power, as he had an indifferent one of what his enemies could perform, would not hear of peace on those terms; and he thought himself equal to the task of conquering all the three provinces. Indeed he had a numerous army with plenty of artillery, great and small, and plenty of all the neces­saries requisite for war; but no knowledge at all about the means of availing himself of so much power; and he was so presumptuous at the same time, and so obstinate and full of him­self, that he would not listen to any adviser and well-wisher, although he had many; and it is for that presumptuous ignorance of his, that he saw what he saw. Strange it is! that in this age, as soon as fortune has taken a fancy to any one, so as to dis­tinguish him from his equals, by raising him to the height of power and influence, he from that moment forgets himself totally; his whole frame undergoes a revolution; and the man thinking himself superior to those Prophets and ancient Sages of old, who have approved themselves so much above the usual powers of the human mind, at once assumes that independence of thought, and that originality of conduct, which was indeed characteristic in those great men, but which cannot suit the narrow limits of human understanding. Those great men, and above all, the Crown of created beings* (upon whom be grace and salute for ever!) who was indeed the greatest genius existing, and acted besides under the immediate impulse of revelation; these extraordinary beings, I say, had no occasion to take advice; and as to the greatest Princes and Commanders of the times past, they always made it a point to ask advice, and to consult their Ministers and friends on every subject of consequence. But now, as soon as fortune has been so favourable to any one, as to raise him suddenly to power, he from that moment fancies himself a compound of all excellence, and a being of a nature superior to human kind; such, in a word, as would degrade its high nature by asking advice, or holding councils; nay such a man comes at last to think, that asking advice would be detract­ing from his own dignity, and that deferring to a sensible opinion, would be derogating from his own wisdom, be the adviser, an Aristotle or some superior being.* These men seem to think that genius and abilities follow money. Nor is it uncommon to hear them say: We have genius and understand­ing by thousands and by hundred thousands, whereas the others have it only by tenths and by hundreds; as if both genius and talents were of a nature to be counted by tale, or weighed by scale. Such is the state of mankind in India. Good God! what is merit reduced to in that ill-fated region! And what is become in those countries of the dignity of the human race! O God! vouchsafe in your goodness and mercy to infuse patience and resignation in our minds for the injuries done us; and change our alarms into quiet and security!*

Mir-djaafer-qhan was yet at Calcutta, when Major Monro, in consequence of a revolution, of which I know neither the detail nor the secret springs, arrived at that city in a Manvarian ship, which in their language signifies a ship of war; and as the Council of Calcutta were displeased with the protraction of the war against Shudjah-ed-döulah, and were much inclined to ascribe those delays to Major Carnac’s want of enterprise and abilities, they appointed Major Monro to supersede him in the command of the army. But independently of that supersession, it is a standing rule with that nation, that whenever a King’s officer happens to be present, from that moment the Company’s officers become his inferiors, and are bound to obey his com­mands. Major Carnac therefore hearing of Monro’s arrival, quitted the army, and repaired to Calcutta; and the other went up to Azim-abad, where he was acknowledged Commander-in-Chief of all the forces. It happened that a little time after his arrival, a regiment of Talingas, stationed upon the river Surdj8 alias Gahgrah, to oppose the enemy’s passage, had taken up their arms, and had revolted. It is said they had even laid hold of their Commander, Captain Ahmuty, and of some other English, as well as of a piece of cannon, and had crossed the river, with intention to march to Ghazip8r, and to take service with Radja Balvant-sing, who was likewise stationed on that river to defend the province of Gorockp8r, and to hinder the English troops from spreading themselves on that side. The Captain obliged to submit to the will of his Talingas, made it a point to humour them; but took care to send advice of that event to Major Monro. That Commander, on the very first moment of the intelligence, dispatched a Captain and some other officers, versed in the Hindostany language, to bring back the runaways by fair means and persuasion; but at the same time he marched himself at the head of a regiment of European soldiers, with whom he advanced so fast, that by the time the Captain and his associates were reasoning them out of their revolt, and making them some concessions, which at any other time would have been improper, that Commander was already up with the deserters. As the victorious fortune of the English accompanied them everywhere, and the Talingas were doomed to a reverse of fortune, and to chastisement, those men who had already cut so much of their way, and were near their intended spot, stopped at once, to take some rest, and yielded to their officer’s intreaties and persuasion. The Major appearing at this moment, the Talingas saluted him according to the rules of their discipline, and then according to custom, laid down their arms. As soon as these were on the ground, the Major ordered them to be taken up in bundles; and then surrounding the Talingas with his European soldiers, he marched the whole corps of the mutineers back to his camp, where he broke the revolted regiment, distributing its men by ten and twenty in the several companies of the other corps; after which he draughted from the whole of these corps as many men as formed a new regiment, and having put it under the command of Captain Ahmuty, he commanded him to his late station. This done, he ordered twenty-five men from amongst the revolted, that is, as many as had been pointed out by the cast of dice, to be blown up at his guns, for an example to others. But one of those twenty-five men, being a Brahman, made it a request to be indulged with some moments of delay to perform his devotions; and having obtained it, he prayed to the Sun and to some other objects of his worship, took a little clay from the ground, whereon he had worshipped, and having rubbed his forehead and whole face with it, he marched up to the gun with the greatest intrepid­ity, and submitted quietly to be blown up.