CONTENTS.

The Preface, an account of the arrival of the author's ancestors in Hindústán, the Patriarchs, 'Alí, 'Abdu-l Kádir Jílání, Sálár Mas'úd, the twelve Imáms, the conquest of Bengal, Bikramájít, and other miscellaneous matters, p. 1; The Ghaznívides, p. 100; The Ghorides, Khiljís, etc., p. 121; Bábar, p. 150; Humáyún, p. 160; Akbar, p. 197; Jahángír, p. 208; Sháh Jahán, p. 240; Aurangzeb, p. 351; Bahádur Sháh, and an account of the súbas, p. 420; Jahándár Sháh, Farrukh Siyar, etc., p. 430; Muhammad Sháh, with accounts of the English, Játs, Nawábs of Oudh, Nádir Sháh, etc., p. 487; Ahmad Sháh, p. 630; 'Álamgír II., p. 699; Sháh 'Álam, p. 726; Muhammad Akbar, p. 768.

SIZE—8VO., containing 782 pages, of 17 lines each.

I have seen but one copy of this work, and that is in the possession of one of the descendants of the author.

[The Extracts, translated by a munshí, were revised by Sir H. M. Elliot.]

Calcutta formerly was only a village, the revenue of which was assigned for the expenses of the temple of Kálí Deví which stands there. As in the Bengalí language the words Karta and Kat mean the proprietor of that Kálí, in course of time, by the elision of the í, it began to be called Calcutta.* I now proceed to an account of the foundation of the city, and how the Honour­able Company's factory was maintained at Gholghát* and Mughal-púra, near Húghlí. Suddenly, at about sunset, when the English officers were at their dinner, a violent bore arose in the river, and fell with such force upon the shore that the factory was in danger of falling down. The officers ran out in great consternation and saved their lives. All the goods and property were destroyed by the water, and a few men and several animals lost their lives. Mr. Chának, their chief, having purchased the Benárasí Bágh, which belonged to the Company's agent at Gholghát, near the city, cut down the trees, and founded a factory, the buildings of which were raised two and three stories high. When the com­pound was made, and the rooms were ready to be roofed in, the nobles and chief men among the Saiyids and Mughals, who were great merchants, went to Mír Násir, Faujdár of Húghlí, and declared that if the strangers were allowed to ascend their lofty houses, they, the Mughals, would be greatly dishonoured, seeing that the persons of their females would be exposed to view. The faujdár sent a report of the matter to Nawáb Ja'far Khán, and directed the Mughals and other principal inhabitants of the place to accompany it. They all complained before the Nawáb, who issued orders to the faujdár, to the effect that not another brick or timber should be allowed to be raised. The faujdár, immediately on receipt of the order, prohibited all the masons and carpenters from carrying on the work, and ordered that no one should go to the factory. Thus the work remained unfinished. Mr. Chának, with great indignation, prepared to fight; but as he had a very small force, and only one vessel was present at the time, while the Mughals, who were joined by the powerful faujdár,* had assembled in great number, he saw no advantage in taking any hostile measure against them, and was obliged to weigh anchor. He had a burning glass in his ship, with which, by concentrating the sun's rays, he burnt the river face of the city as far as Chandernagore. With a view to avenge this injury, the faujdár wrote to the police station at Makhúá, with orders to stop the vessel. The thánadár accord­ingly, in order to prevent the passage of the vessel, prepared an iron chain, each link of which was ten sírs in weight, and having made it in length equal to the breadth of the river, kept it ready and made it firm to the wall of the fort. The chain being extended across the river, the vessel was thus intercepted; but Mr. Chának cut through the chain with a European sword, and went on his way.* He took his vessel out to sea, and proceeded towards the Dakhin.