It is not to be omitted here, that Kumr uddín Khán in the hope of obtaining in marriage the bright star of the constellation of royalty; that is to say, the sister of Futteh Hydur Sultán, had frequently in every service in which he had been engaged, nobly perilled his life, but as he was not a man of that rank or character to qualify him for such an honour, the Sultán united him in marriage with one of the daughters of the Nayut, (name not mentioned) and he Kumr uddín Khán being on all accounts hopeless, now became careless and indifferent in all matters of duty, and more than that, he secretly adopted the language of those chiefs envious of the prosperity of the Sultán, and was anxiously desiring and waiting the downfal of the State. But to return;— in a very short time by the exertions of the Sultán’s troops the heads of the rebels of that quarter were brought low, and some of the Poligars, when they saw and were convinced that opposition to the Sultán was like voluntarily placing the foot of ill luck into the net of destruction, being ashamed of their miscon­duct, apologised and asked forgiveness, and became tributary and obedient. The Poligar of Punganoor, through the mediation of the English Commander-in-Chief, by the payment of a lakh of rupees yearly, as horse-shoe money, obtained the sunnuds or grants of his own Talooka from the Sultán, and was allowed to remain in peace.

From this period the Sultán renouncing all punishment, such as beating, flogging, or displacing the officers of his Government; after much deliberation determined on exacting an oath from each of them, and, therefore, in the month of Zi Huj, the Asofs of the Talookas and Purgunas with the Governors and accountants were assembled in presence of the Sultán, and after prayers and reading the Khotba of the Eediddoha, all of them before the mimbur, or reading desk of the Mosque, each having the Korán on his head, took an oath that he would not fail in his duty to the Government, nor make any false charge nor embezzle the money collected and forwarded by him on account of the revenue; that he would not allow the poor or the peasantry to be oppressed in word or deed,— also, that they should pass their time in prayer, their regular and daily duties, and abstain from forbidden things. After the imposition of these oaths and engagements, every one received the presents given on dismissal; but notwithstanding all this, these faithless men after taking the oath as soon as they arrived at their own Purgunas, discharged all care of it from their minds, and committed crimes the bare mention of which must be avoided, and whatever unlawful things their wicked minds conceived or desired, those they accomplished.

Ah! these fools did not know to what degrada­tion and misery the evil influence of these wicked actions, after breaking their oaths would reduce them:— God protect us from the like. As the Sultán had a great aversion to Brahmuns, Hindus and other tribes, he did not consider any but the people of Islám his friends, and, therefore, on all accounts his chief object was to promote and pro­vide for them. He accordingly selected a number of Mussulmans who could scarcely read and write, and appointed them Mirzas of the treasury departments and placed one over each of the other accountants, to the end that the accounts might be submitted by them to him in the Persian lan­guage, and in the extent of his Dominions in every Purguna by his orders was placed an Asof,* and in the towns yielding a revenue of five* thousand hoons or pagodas one Amil, (or collector) one Serishtadár, one Ameen, and one Mujmoodár; all Mussulmans, but, although the Sultán’s plans involved the displacement and ruin of the Brahmuns, such as the Desemookh,* Desepondeh and the Kanoongo, and all of that tribe were at once thrown out of office,— still, these people by sycophancy and their knowledge of business, and by intriguing with the Amils and Asofs were continued in their employment in revenue affairs as usual, without the knowledge of the Sultán, and the Asofs and Amils, relying on the ability of these Brahmuns in revenue arrangements, abandoned the duties of their offices and without fear or apprehension gave them­selves up to pleasure, and passed their days and nights in witnessing dances and singing, and enjoying themselves in all ways, and the rapacious Brahmuns* in the mean time plundered all the Talookas at their discretion, giving half to the Asofs while they retained the other half for their private use. Although the Sultán heard all this from with­out (from his spies, I suppose), yet still keeping in view the oaths of these faithless men, he neither punished the offenders nor did he manifest anger at their misconduct.

The Sultán also built a Musjid in every town, and appointed a Muezzin, a Moula and a Kazi to each, and promoted the education and learning of the Mussulmans to the utmost of his power. He himself also spent his time in prayer, reading the Korán and counting the beads of his rosary:— as in a Kasideh written in his praise, some one said, “Even as he gained the stars and the heavens by the help or the blessing of his rosary.” “So by his sword, he conquered the world and the people of the world.” The man, however, who neglected his appointed prayers and the adulterer, he con­sidered his personal enemies. When, therefore, for the sake of his religion, the Sultán withheld his hand from the duties of government, and conquest, and ceased to inquire into the actions and conduct of his agents and servants, every one in his place did as he pleased fearlessly, and without restraint. The old Kháns and faithful servants of the state were now cast down from confidence and power, and low men, and men without abilities were raised to high offices and dignities; men of rank, also, who had always been employed in the highest duties and services, were reduced to the lowest and humblest offices, for this reason, that it was the wish of the Sultán that every Mussulman should derive benefit, or reap all advantages from his kindness alone, in order that the lower classes of people should not despair of obtaining rank and office.* From this cause, however, it was that disorder and disaffection forced their way into the very foundations of the state, and at once the nobles and Kháns being alarmed and suspicious, became the instigators of treachery and rebellion; and the before-mentioned Amír (Mír Sádik), covered with kingly benefits, opened wide the doors of deceit and fraud on the highest and lowest ser­vants of the state, until at length the reins of the government and the supreme direction of affairs, all fell into his hands, and his duties and rank rose higher and higher;— pride, however, now found its way into his empty head, and most of the ques­tions relative to government and revenue he took into his own hands, and decided on them without asking the consent or pleasure of the Sultán. He also by his oppression and violence filled all parts of the kingdom with tumult and sedition, and regulated matters of the highest importance at his mere fancy and caprice;— he also, by reading charms, incantations, and by prayers for domina­tion* (for his necromancers burned half a maund of black pepper every day),* he so subjected the mind of the Sultán, that when he heard complaints against this villain from the mouths of his Amírs, he listened to them, but extinguishing the fire of his royal anger with the pure water of clemency and for­bearance, he did not in any way discountenance or punish him, but on the contrary, still strove to raise him to the highest dignities, and threw the mantle of mercy and kindness over his crimes. The Mír, therefore, by the Sultán’s daily increasing favour, gained authority and power over all the forts and castles of Mysore, and treating the chief men of the kingdom with neglect and insolence, he allowed no one any share in the conduct or administration of public affairs;— he also, dispatched misplaced or unnecessary firmáns and orders to the different dependencies of the state,— and neglected to report to the Sultán the state of the different depart­ments, the condition of the people, and the occur­rences in the kingdom.

When some of the Sultán’s faithful officers saw this state of things they withdrew their tongues and hands from his service; but, to proceed, the Sul­tán now determined to rebuild the fort of Seringa­puttun, after a new plan, and threw down the old walls and built towards the river two stone walls of great strength, with a deep ditch, towers, and cur­tain;— and to the south, four or five strong walls, so that the Durya Bagh, became included in the fourth fort. To the west also, he laid the founda­tions of four walls, or ramparts, of which two very strongly built were finished.