As to myself, I was about this time in great perturbation of The author quits his his­tory to speak of himself. mind, having just lost Zin-eddin-ahmed-qhan, my patron, who had been murdered by the treachery of Shimshir-qhan; an afflicting event, which I learned at Gazipoor, and which made me retreat to Benares, from whence I went to Berhëily, which was my forgiven father’s residence. That city is the Capital of the countries of Bedaön and Shah-djehan-poor, &c., which con­stituted Nizam-el-mulk’s Djaghir, and had been put by Ghazy-eddin-qhan, his son, under the command of my father. It was at his feet I lived sometime, when a terrible event happened there, from the consequence of which I escaped with difficulty, as I shall mention in the subsequent pages.

My forgiven father had been, as I have said, promoted by Abool-mansoor-qhan’s influence to the Government of Seken­derah, when, taking my leave of that General, I repaired to Azim-abad, where I paid my respects to my glorious mother, and visited my uncles and my other relations, most of whom were allied either to Aaly-verdy-qhan himself, or to his nephews. There also I took a spouse in the family, which my mother had appointed. From thence I followed my uncles to the wars, and in the engage­ments against Mustapha-qhan, I rendered such whatever services could be expected from me. But a rupture soon took place between Abool-mansoor-qhan and my father, after the latter had remained one year in Sekenderah; and about the same time the countries of Moorad-abad, Sambal, and Berhëily having been recovered from the hands of the Rohillahs by Mahmed-shah in person, who thought proper to return those lands, and Districts to those to whom they had belonged before, either as Altumghas or Djaghirs, my father was a second time sent to command in those parts with full powers. The City of Berhëily, with the circumjacent country was a paternal Djaghir of Nizam-el-mulk’s; and as in consequence of the power and usurpations of Aaly-mahmed-qhan-Rohillah, those parts had become of small revenue, no person caring to expose his purse and honor on their product, the whole had been committed to the care of my forgiven father, who found much difficulty in quieting his Government. For although Rohillah himself had been driven away, and was gone to Ser-hend, there were thousands and ten thousands of Afghans spread all over the country, where they had taken so deep root, that they had become the Zemindars of that tract, and had to their own Afghan stubbornness added all the perverseness and all the refractory behaviour inherent to the charcter of a Zemindar. So that, none but my father was thought equal to the task of bringing them to order and sub­mission. Ghazy-eddin-qhan, therefore, having sent his own Steward thither for a while, recalled my father; and after confer­ring with him some time, and furnishing him wtih every necessary, and with full powers, he sent him back with instructions. My forgiven father, thus supported, raised a goood body of troops, and marching throughout the country, he soon brought the city of Berhëily and the seventeen other Districts under order and controul. For a further security, he thought it a piece of policy to admit the principal Afghans amongst his troops; and thus Serdar qhan, of Berhëily, and Mangal-qhan, of Telhur, took service with him, each at the head of about two thousand men; as did another Afghan, of illustrious race, with seventeen hundred others. This last was called Pir-ahmed, and was a descendant of Sheh-abdol-cadyr-Ghilani, the great Saint of the Afghan nation.

But these were not all the turbulent spirits of that country. There lived then in those parts a man of great character and distinction, a descendant of Uzmet-ollah-qhan, one of the two brothers who had so long commanded in Moorad-abad. It was Cootoob-eddin-mohammed-qhan-Bahadyr, who was nephew to Ferid-eddin-qhan, a nobleman in whose service Aaly-mahmed-qhan, Rohillah had been for a length of time. He lived in the Castle of Cha-chutt, and seemed inclined to quarrel with my father; but he had but a small force, and still less money. My father sent him several mild rebukes on his improper behaviour; but all to so little purpose, that he was at last obliged to think of correction and chastisement. Cootoob-eddin’s troops seeing that he had brought the Governor of the country upon himself, deserted him immediately, and there remained to him only twenty or thirty ancient friends and servants who would not leave him, but chose to shut themselves up with him in the above castle. Troubles in Rohil-cund. My father hearing of this, surrounded it immediately, and went several times round the walls on his elephant, to find out a proper place for an assault. It must be observed, that Cootoob-eddin-qhan greatly valued himself upon his skill in shooting with a musket, and, in fact, he was renowned all over the country for making use of balls and muskets of twice the size and length of the ordinary ones; and he fired with so much precision, that he never missed his mark. Several of his followers were equal to him in that art. Now as my father was going every day round the walls, both himself and his best marks-men repeatedly took aim, and repeatedly fired at him, without being able to hit any thing but the boards of his hemhary, or his cushions, or his clothes and turbant. Cootoob-eddin-qhan incensed at his eternally missing his enemy, threw down his gun, swore he would never fire again, and sent to my father to desire a conference and an accommodation. This interview was requested with a design to kill my father in the middle of the conference, the man being of such a determined daringness that he never stuck at any thing to compass his own ends. His few followers, being as daring as himself, resolved to stand by him in that trying occasion. But as they pretended fears and suspicions, it was agreed that they should come armed, and the agreement was guaranteed by Séyd-aaly-qhan, my father’s fourth brother, and by Pir-ahmed, the Rohillah Commander. On the appointed day, they came out of the castle, and were received by my uncle in his tent, in expectation of being sent for by my father. But that nobleman unwilling to meet so hastily a party of desperadoes, whom he knew to be highly incensed against him, returned for answer, that he hoped they would repose themselves the remainder of the day in his brother’s tent, as his guests, and that the next morning he would give them the meeting. The man hearing such an answer, suspected some treachery; and although he with his ten or twelve men was sitting amongst a multitude of armed Afghans, and close to my uncle and Pir-ahmed, he expressed his resent­ment without minding his situation, and said that they ought, with their beards as men, to wear long hair upon their heads, as women; openly reproaching them at the same time, with their faithlessness in bringing him in such a deceitful manner out of the castle. My uncle and Pir-ahmed, without minding his air and tone of voice, represented mildly that no breach of faith would happen, and that no harm was intended to him; but that the Governor being eternally busy, might have particular reasons for his putting off the interview till to-morrow, and that mean­while there was no harm at all in his requesting him to be his guest. That officer was yet speaking, when several sneakers of a cool lemonade were brought in, and a moment after these were followed by a number of tables, covered with a variety of costly and dainty victuals, to which was added a message from my father, requesting his guest to partake of such an entertain­ment as his camp afforded, and to take some repose until the next morning. The man, who had been both hungry and angry all this while, finding himself so gently used, dropped his resent­ment, and fell a eating so heartily that at the end of his meal he had commenced speaking in a friendly manner. After his din­ner, some presents were sent him, which he accepted. Cootoob-eddin-qhan, seeing that no harm could be intended, altered his resolution within his heart, and became reconciled to my father. The next morning, the Derbar being full, the new guest was con­ducted to the audience-tent between my uncle and Pir-ahmed, followed by a numerous throng of Afghan officers. My father on descrying him got up, and having embraced him, made him sit with himself upon the same Mesned, and he received his friends as they approached one by one, in the manner which his guest seemed to wish. Cootoob-eddin overcome by so much kindness and so unexpected a condescension, could not help exposing the intention with which he had originally come out of the castle, and he added that the sudden change wrought in his heart yesterday, together with his missing perpetually his aim,— he who had never lost a bullet—were events which he could ascribe to nothing but to some sacredness inherent in his person, and doubtless derived to him from his Séyd ancestors. My father hearing this, could not help laughing, and he continued speaking to the man with so much regard and favour, that he made a conquest of his heart; after which he proposed to him to take service in his troops, and to attach himself to his person as a friend and a companion. Cootoob-eddin, after stipulating some conditions, accepted the proffer; and thus enmity and diffidence ended in friendship and confidence.