But to return,— after the conclusion of the festi­val of the Lílut ul Barát*, and the payment of the whole army, the Sultán marched by great Bala­poor, Hindoopoor and Pao Gurh to the river Makri, where he halted two days, and leaving his heavy baggage and followers to the care of Purnia, the Mutsuddí, or clerk of the Toshu* Khána, the Sultán with his horse lightly equipped, by a forced march moved on to the vicinity of Hunoor where he encamped.— The next day he marched on to the town of Kubkul, two Kose east from Bullari, where he encamped part of one night, but moving on during the night; at day break the next morning his advanced guard suddenly appeared in front of the hill of Adhooni, and the Sultán and his cavalry halted and rested themselves at the village of Gul­bayen. The governor of Adhooni, Mohábut Jung, (the son of Shuja ul Moolk Busálut Jung,) who was married to the daughter of Nizám Alí Khán, (the Subadár of the Deckan) had his family with him having been lately appointed to the govern­ment of that part of the country.

As soon, therefore, as he heard of the arrival of the victorious army, being greatly alarmed, he deputed his minister Assud Alí Khán to the presence, and in the meantime taking advantage of the opportunity, despatched the whole of his wealth with his women to the mountains. When the envoy presented himself to the Sultán he in the name of his master entreated the Sultán would desist from his purpose to injure or molest him. The Sultán replied, that in his heart he had enter­tained no enmity to his master, but, that as the Nawáb (the Nizám) without cause had manifested hostility towards him, and had joined the Brahmans (the Paishwa, &c.) and was seeking the overthrow and destruction of his state, he would soon see the difference between his (the Sultán’s) friendship and fidelity and their treachery and violation of treaties:— that, independent of this, they (the Nizám) had abandoned the ties of faith and religion, and had joined the ancient enemy of his house, and with a large army had invaded and taken possession of the territories of a Mussulman Sovereign, and had car­ried their enmity to that degree that Idolators had plundered and burned the Musjids or mosques and houses of Mussulmans and the poor people of the country, and had raised the flag of rapine and desolation in the territory of the Khodadád;— that it would be good policy, therefore, that they (the Sultán and Mohábut Jung) should strengthen the foundations of friendship and unite in repelling and doing away with those who were shaking the chain of hatred and enmity— (in the original an allusion to the chain of gold in front of Noushirwan’s palace, shaken by those who demanded justice) or that they should meet and consult in this matter, and if he Mohábut Khán chose, he might remain where he was, sending a body of his best troops under the command of his own officers to join and aid the Sul­tán’s forces. For that he (the Sultán) had bound up his loins in this religious war in order to establish Islamism on a firm basis, to obtain the favor of God, and ensure the peace and safety of God’s people. As the governor (Mohábut Khán) did not how­ever agree to the Sultán’s propositions and failed in coming to present his respects to him, and also prepared to resist and defend himself, the Sultán to give him an example of what he could do and to frighten him, the morning after that day, gave orders to the Sipahdárs to attack the town, and they assaulted and took it, and swept it with the besom of destruction,— they did not however suc­ceed in bringing the governor to the right path, and, therefore, on both sides the fire of war was kindled, and the soldiers of the victorious army and the chief of the ordnance department, turned their faces to the reduction of the fort, high as the heavens, and having encompassed it on all sides, raised batteries, dug their approaches and pushed on their attacks chiefly from the garden containing the tomb of Busálut Jung, and from the tank at the Tomul gate,— from thence they kept up a continual fire of cannon and mortars;— still, how­ever, the Sultán’s compassionate heart never intended the conquest of this fort, but what he did was merely to awaken the solicitude of the chief of Hydurabád (the Nizám) for the honour of his relation and the safety of his daughter, shut up in the fort, and the siege of the fort was undertaken in the hope that by this means he might be induced to offer terms of accommodation, and desist from the ruin of the poor people of the country. Otherwise if the Sultán had seriously intended to take the fort he could have taken it with ease the first day, and also the governor with his women and wealth, as will be seen from the following statement;— for when, in the morning, the Sultán’s army attacked, and entered the city and pene­trated, firing vollies to the gate of the fort, it was open for any one to enter, and when the inhabi­tants of the city, who fled to the fort from fear of losing their lives like so many crows or kites, were shouting, screaming and crowding to get to the gate, of the garrison not a single man was to be seen either on the bastions, or walls;— the fear of the lion-like Ghazies having seized on them. At seeing this, some of the Sultán’s friends and Amírs represented to him that this was the very time to take the fort; that he should not allow his enemies leisure to rub their eyes and awaken from their sleep of neglect, and, that if he would give orders they would take the fort, and bring Mohábut Khán willing or unwilling to the presence.

Roostum Jung, that is to say Monsieur Lally the French officer, also repeatedly submitted this to the Sultán. The Sultán, however, pretended indifference to the matter and said do not attempt it, on any account; please God to-day or to-morrow, or perhaps in a week, or at furthest a month, he Mohábut Khán will come out and sur­render himself with his hands tied. The writer of these lines was present at this siege;— but to return,— after mid-day the besieged governor gave orders for the regulation and security of the fort, and, assembling his soldiers, amounting to near seven thousand men, horse and foot, took the duties or direction of the defence upon himself. Lal Khán and Saudullah Khán, Surkheíl of the Kaim Khanees, who had command of four hundred Jaunbazes, were stationed at the gates and kept themselves ready to repel the assaults of the victorious army, and each side laboured hard in all warlike arts to deceive the other. When the Nizám of Hydurabád heard of these occurrences he refused to eat or sleep, and the forced march of that lion of the forest of valour (Tipú Sultán) and the attack of Adhooni deprived him of his senses. Having therefore apprized the Paishwa of these circum­stances, they held a consultation on the subject;— some of the more experienced and wise among them, said that seeing that the frontier fort Budami which was not very strong was taken by capitula­tion only, after the labours of two armies for nine months, during which the smoke of the guns and muskets had been sufficient to dry up the brains of those employed in the siege, and that in one year they had actually done nothing more;— what could be expected from their future operations? that since the troops of the Sultán in the absence of their master were not slack in fighting, what would they not do in his presence? that the best thing they could do, therefore, was to appoint a number of officers with troops to lay waste the country and that the two princes should return to their capitals. This advice of the Amírs being approved by the princes, and their policy highly applauded, the Nizám of Hydurabád on his part appointed Mushír ul Moolk, Syfe Jung and others with a large body of troops to the relief of Adhooni and the chief of Poona, (the Paishwa) appointed Yuswunt Rao Holkar, Purusram the chief of Mirch, Hurri Punt Phurkia, Rastia Mahratta and other Amírs, with all the horse, foot and artillery to the aid of the Amírs of Hydurabád and the devastation of the Sultán’s territories, and the two princes under pretence of ill health returned to their own capitals, that is to say Hydurabád and Poona.