Let it not pass unnoticed that Shah-djehan-abad was the native place of me, the poor man, as well as that of my father and mother, and of all my paternal and maternal ancestors*. The former descended from the posterity of Hassen*, by a branch sprung from Hibrahim, one of those who received the surname of Tebateba, and who shone amongst the most illustrious of that holy race. He quitted the illuminated city of Medina, and came and took up his residence at the sepulchre of that glorious martyr, Aaly, the Rezevian (upon whom may honour and grace rest for ever!). His descendants resided for a long series of ages upon that holy spot*, watched by Angels, when one of them repaired to Hindostan, where he took up his abode, first in Delhi, and then in Shah-djehan-abad. The maternal ancestors of this the humblest of men, were Seyds of the M8ssevian branch, descended from that illustrious stock, Seyd-ahmed, son to M8ssa, grandson to Djaafer (upon all whom be peace for ever!), who is so renowned in Shiraz, the Capital of Pars*, under the appellation of Shah-Chiragh*, and where his tomb is extremely resorted to from all parts, by persons of all nations, numbers of whom daily have their prayers and supplications accepted; and that acceptance signified by miracles stupendous, and innumerable are those prodigies that have ever been, and are to this day, performed under their eyes. Nor is there any thing more notorious all over the world, than that torrent of light that is endlessly pouring from his glorious portico. One of his posterity came to settle in Hindostan, from whom was descended Seyd-zin-el-abdin, my maternal grand­father, who was son to Aaly-verdy-qhan’s aunt. At his death his mother undertook to put Seyd-zin-el-abdin’s orders into execu­tion, which were to marry, as soon as possible, her daughter, who was mother to the poor man; and this being performed, she retired to her house, where she lived seven years, upon the savings which her husband had made in Azm-shah’s service, before he had so unfortunately quitted it. I came into the world about this time, being the year 1140, at Shah-djehan-abad, and was followed two years after by my orother, Seyd-aaly-naky-qhan. I was five years old, and my brother was three, when my grand­mother, having sold her house at Shah-djehan-abad, quitted that city, and taking with her both her two daughters, and her two sons-in-law, as well as her whole family, she repaired to M8rsh8d-abad, in Bengal, where Aaly-verdy-qhan was then, in Shudjah-qhan the Nazem’s service, and where she recommended to her nephew the families of her two daughters. Fortune commencing to favour our family, Aaly-verdy-qhan was in a few days after appointed Governor-General of Azim-abad, whither my father followed him, where he settled, and where our family has to this day, that is to the year 1195, lived in affluence, dignity, and splendour; for the houses we had bought, and the lands we had acquired by purchase, gift, or otherwise, during Aaly-verdy-qhan’s administration, and by his favor, are to this day in our possession, thank God! Unluckily I happened, in the year 1188, to stand security for a zemindar, who had these many years the highest obligations to me, and from whom I was very far from expecting such a return, and so much perfidy, and being unex­pectedly called upon by Government to pay sixty thousand rupees in his stead, fain I was to comply with my obligation, and to sell my jewels and plate, to the amount of thirty-one thousand rupees, making up the balance by borrowing it from a banker; and in this manner I got out of the hands of some English, and especially of the M8tsuddies and revenue-officers, who seemed but to wait for a signal to come to hostilities with me. I was obliged to put into the banker’s hands, as a security, the Altumgah of land which I possessed, and to look out for a new livelihood; nor was this to be had anywhere, after a very trouble­some enquiry. At last it pleased fortune to raise up, for our benefit, General Goddard, a man of a merit so notorious as to need no praise, and of so much benevolence to me, the poor man, and, indeed, to all Indians in general, that hardly such another character can be found among the English. He happened to be appointed Governor of Chennar-gur, and to make some stay at Azim-abad. As I was an old acquaintance of his, I went to see him, and he had the goodness to enquire after my circumstances, and to hear, with apparent concern, the catas­trophe that had undone my family. “I am sorry to hear all that,” said he, “but as I see no employment for you here, you had better come with me, and we shall live upon what we can get.” I accepted the proposal, looking upon it to be one of the secret resources which had been kept in store by Providence for me; and in a few days I got myself ready, and followed him to Chennar. It was soon found out that the post in question was no more what it had been, in point of emolument, and did not defray the expenses incident to his station; but as it afforded his commisseration a proper field, he committed to my care whatever concerned the revenue matters of that town Not satisfied with that, he appointed for my lodgings a house that had been fitted up for himself, and sent his own boats, amongst which was his own budgerow, (a vessel comparable to a house, for both spaciousness and commodity) to fetch my family and consort. When they arrived, he gave them a pension of three hundred rupees per month, and commanded his butler to furnish me with as many wax-candles as I should call for. After sup­plying me in this manner with every thing necessary to a beg­gar, he used to receive my visits with the utmost distinction, as of an equal. I have already observed that his income at Chennar was much below his expenditure. So that hearing at that time that Assef-ed-dowlah, dissatisfied with his old troops, had dis­missed them all, and wanted to raise and discipline new ones, at the head of which he wished to place some English Colonel, he conceived that such an employment would better suit his temper than the stationary life he led at Chennar, and that it would prove likewise more profitable to both himself and me. But as he had no acquaintance with Mr. Djan Bristow, and he did not think proper to make such a request in his own name, he asked my opinion about the matter. I proposed that he should give me a letter of recommendation to another English­man, a friend of Mr. Bristow, to whom by that means I would find a ready introduction, with an opportunity of sounding the ford without compromising his name. This he approved; and giving me the intended letter, he wished me a good journey. I left at Chennar my family, consort, children and dependants, and with a few attendants only, I set out for Fëiz-abad and Luckow. As the city of Djonp8r was in my way, on my arrival there, I heard that it had become the residence of the venerable and illustrious, our Lord and teacher, Seyd-mahmed-askery, (whose spirit may God Almighty keep for ever refreshed!) a noble personage, renowned for learning and sanctity; and of whom I had heard so much at Chennar by his zealous disciple, Seyd-moluvy-zafer-aaly, (whom God may continue to illume in the other world as he did in this!) that I sent to desire leave to pay him a respectful visit. Being admitted, I spent two whole hours in his company; and having heard from his own mouth a conversation which seemed a compendium of all his excellencies, I departed glad to my heart, and fully satisfied that fame in her encomiums had fallen short of what I had seen with my own eyes, and heard with my own ears. And to this day, I remember that illustrious personage with so much respect, that I think it proper to suspend the relation of my own voyage, in order to afford the reader a glympse into the many excellencies of that illustrious character.

He was of a family of Seyds that ranked these many ages with the principal and most respected ones of the city of Djonp8r.

“This Seyd of virtuous disposition

Had wrote a book of practical morality;

All the rules of which he did extract from his own practice,

Very different in that from those who write of morality and lead a sinful life.

His dialectic was such, that it seemed to flow from the fountain of science itself;

His advices and counsels were so many remedies against sickness and sorrow;

His beams emitted, in every direction, torrents of light;

And his very nod or other sign seemed to teem with some secret.”

Although he was an assemblage of all the arts and sciences, he spoke with so much modesty, that whilst every one was retiring from his company with some kind of benefit in his own way, he was praising him as a man of a rare deportment. He lived contented upon a small income, without intending or expecting any thing more. But although he had not learned the sciences in the order they are taught, nor in the manner usual amongst students, he had found means to supply by the keen­ness of intelligence and the extent of perspicuity, all that might have been wanted from explanation in the knowledge of words; and in the elucidation of sense. By the force of his own genius, he had made himself a repository of all the sciences, practical and intellectual; insomuch that no difficulty in the word, no obscurity in the sense, could stop or embarrass him. No wonder then, if his house was resorted to by all the learned persons of that city and neighbourhood, and by numbers who perpetually travelled thither from far and near, being either learned them­selves, or desirous of learning and knowledge.