We have just seen how the Navvab had been extricated by his good fortune from a very dangerous conspiracy. This success augmented both the old man’s indolence, and his son’s impe­riousness. This son who was the light and flambeau of his family, as well as the soul of his father’s Government, no sooner saw himself rid of that ill-concerted conspiracy, than his pride and haughtiness knew no bounds. Both the father and the son became insupportable, and seemed to touch the firmament with their foreheads. The son boiled over, and he resolved to make away with Mir-cazem-qhan also, that officer, who after having resigned the command of his corps, and the office of Paymaster, lived now privately within his family. This unfortunate man, intent on eradicating every thing like suspicion from Miren’s mind, used to come often to Court with only a small number of menial servants; and he seemed to mind nothing but amusement, although underhand he made interest for being readmitted into favour. But the winter time being now come, Miren used often to amuse himself with paper-kites, and other flying engines; in which, to lull Mir-cazem-qhan asleep, and to put him off his guard, he always requested his taking an active part in those amusements, desiring him to come every evening for the purpose of contending with him, or as often as there should be any wind stirring. The poor man found himself under the necessity of employing himself in such pastimes, and of acquiring in them a skill, that gradually entangled him in the net of artifice and destruction. His custom was to come in the evening; where, after having paid his respects, he used to repair to the strand which spread under Miren’s house, in the bed of the Baghratty, and often to contend with him. On a Saturday, the twenty-first of the second Reby, of the year 1172, he came as usual, without arms, and with nothing but a dopata about his loins,* in which condition he paid his respects to Miren. It was in the evening. Miren had taken into his pay two or three hundred Rohila-afghans, who might have been considered as the remains of the army of Sham, and full as thirsty as they, of the Séyds.* He had lodged them in the out-buildings of his palace, where he reserved them for sudden executions. Some of these, whom he particularly trusted, he had in the morning called to his closet, where he had secretly given them orders to put the poor man to death. Their instructions were to let him walk in, as usual, to pay his respects in the evening; after which, the moment he should turn about, in order to repair to the strand, they were only to let him walk a few paces out of the gate, and then to fall upon him at once, so as to hack him to pieces. At the usual time, Mir-cazem-qhan came, and Miren spoke much to him about his kites, and about bringing them to an engagement. There happened to be then present, a young man called Mirza-abdollah, son to Mirza-mehmed, alias Aga-mirza, who had been introductor to Shudjah-qhan, once Sovereign of Bengal. As he took a mighty delight at these paper amusements, and he wanted then to contend with Mir-cazem-qhan, he got up to join him. But his death was not to happen that day; nor had Miren any thought about him at all; far from that, he was debating with himself how he might part them, and whither such a precaution would not disclose his secret. On the other hand, he was loath that the man should lose his life for no reason at all. An incident extricated him from his per­plexity. Mir-cazem-qhan having advanced three steps out of the gate, came back, and said that the agent of the Radja of Nediah would be glad to pay his respects. Let him come in, said Miren, and you Mirsa-abdollah, do you go upon the strand and raise your kite, until your antagonist is at hand to join you. These few words saved Mirza-abdollah, by making him part company with the devoted victim; they seem to have been suggested by Providence itself. Otherwise, and but for that cir­cumstance, the poor man would have been involved in the other’s massacre. Mir-cazem-qhan having come back to introduce the agent, had time to live the few moments more which were yet of his portion; and he was returning to his Paleky, when the Afghans getting up, surrounded him; and one of them ran an Afghan knife, which is equal to half a sabre, through his side with so much violence, that it came out at the other side. At this signal, the others fell upon him, and with their knives and sabres, they hacked him to pieces, and sent him to the desert of nothingness. May God Almighty have joined his soul to the assembly of his pious ancestors! Mirza-abdollah, who saw this execution, was much surprised and confounded; but the next day as he came to Court, Miren embraced him tenderly, drew him to his bosom, congratulated him on his having come to life a second time, and seemed mightily pleased to see he had so providentially escaped; he added, that not one knew any thing Mir-cazem involved in the punition. of the secret, save his fool, Lahory-beg. But the fool hearing the assertion, rejected the compliment; and although he might, in consequence of his master’s acknowledgment, assume the honor of an inviolable secrecy, he thought it more prudent to say, that His Highness, indeed, was pleased to say so; but that, in fact, he himself knew nothing of the matter.

The murdered Séyd was of the race of Beni-moqhtar, and son to Séyd-yssa, an Arabian, who married a daughter of Akydet-qhan’s sister; and this last was a nobleman of high rank, who was himself son to the famous Emir-qhan Umdet-el-mulk* Viceroy of Cabul, a man of distinction, and of an illustrious pedigree even in Iran,* where he enjoyed a high office in that country. Mir-cazem’s ancestors, on their very coming in Hindostan, had been raised to the highest dignities, and they had always been, from father to son, in such offices of importance, as put it in their power to oblige an infinity of persons. He drew his origin in a direct line from Naamet-ollah, the Hassénite.*

Miren having quieted his mind by this murder, turned his view towards the consort of Aaly-verdy-qhan and his two eldest daughters, as well as towards that Prince’s daughter-in-law, Lootf-en-nessa-begum, relict of Seradj-ed-döula, from whom she had an infant daughter, now four years old. All those illustrious, Several illus­trious, but defenceless women thrown into a loath­some prison. those unfortunate, defenceless women were turned into a loath­some confinement, although himself, with his whole family, owed every thing to that house; although it had indeleble rights over his gratitude; although so lately as the time when Seradj-ed-döula was seeking Mir-djaafer-qhan’s life, Gahasity-bibi, the eldest daughter, had assisted him secretly, as well as his adherents, with every eshrefy* which she had been able to save of the wreck of her fortune; although she had greatly advanced thereby the revolution that saved the father’s life, and she had, at last, brought him to the very steps of a throne. All these illustrious women, after having been kept confined in the most indecent manner, were huddled together into some bad boats, and sent to Djehanghir-nugur, in the most disgraceful and shameless neglect; for now a black cloud was gathering over his head, and he wanted to ease his mind by getting rid of every object capable of exciting his suspicions.

Hardly two or three months had elapsed since Mir-cazem-qhan’s murder, when a strong report prevailed that the Imperial Prince Aaly-goher, son to Alemghir the second, was coming into Bengal. It is the same Prince whom Mir-sheabeddin, who bore the title of Umad-el-mulk (or Prop of the State), had brought out of confinement, after Ahmed-shah’s demise, to seat him on the throne. The Prince thought proper to invite Mahmed-c8li-qhan, Governor or Navvab of Ilah-abad, to accompany him in his expedi­tion against Bengal. This Mahmed-c8li-qhan, alias Mirza-c8chec, was son to Mirza-mohsun, who was himself nephew to Ab8l-man­s8r-qhan, the Vezir. But whilst this approaching war was the general topic everywhere, the troops in Bengal, who received nothing of either arrears or actual pay, being reduced to down­right beggary, had often come to an open sedition, and besieged Mir-djaafer-qhan in his very palace. All that did not avail; nor did the Navvab alter his conduct. At one time, even Dilir-qhan and Assalet-qhan had joined the besiegers; for those brave sons of Umer-qhan had been reduced to the same beggary as others, although they had risked their lives and ruined their fortunes, by their attachment to Mir-djaafer-qhan, over whose gratitude they had acquired such incontestable rights, as were indefeasible. Even such meritorious men became an eye-sore to Miren; even these he wanted to drive from Bengal, unmindful of the many obligations which both himself and his father had owed to those two heroic brothers; and nothing would have prevented the scheme from being put in execution, but a well-grounded apprehension of the extremities to which resentment might carry two such Herculean men, whenever once their natural prowess and known bravery should have been pushed to despair. Nor was Miren a man to desist so easily, but for the certain intelligence which came at this very time, that the Imperial Prince had set out from Ilah-abad, accompanied by Mahmed-c8li-qhan, on his way to Bengal. The father and son, on hearing such a piece of news, thought it high time to listen to the complaints of the troops. They gave them a small part of their arrears; and the seditions and clamours of those people subsided for the time, and left him some leisure to think of Azim-abad.