After this short digression, which the historian’s character seemed to require, and which the candid reader’s benignity shall doubtless forgive, let us revert to my father. That nobleman, obliged to quit his residence of Hosséin-abad, took his second son, Naki-aaly-qhan, with him, and repaired to the Imperial camp, where he was received with the utmost regard and distinction. The Emperor presented him with a qhyalaat of four pieces, com­posed of a turband that had been rolled on his Imperial head, and of a suit of clothes which he had put on. He became his Prime Minister of State, his Deputy in the signet office, and the centre of all business civil and military, as well as the person to whom all the Grandees paid their court. Cam-car-qhan himself thought proper to pay him his respects; and M8sher Lass came to visit him. The Emperor had fixed his residence in the neighbourhood of Ticary, which is surrounded by the lands belonging to the two Radjas, Sunder-sing, and Bohor-sing; there he spent his time in anxious expectation of receiving from day to day some letter of the Abdali-king, with his injunctions to the Princes and Grandees of Hindostan, to recognise his authority and his title.* Instead of that, news came that Qhadum-hassen-qhan, whose reconciliation with Miren had been but superficial, and who continued to harbour heavy suspicions against him, was marching to join the Imperial army, and to rid himself for ever of Miren and his father. But first of all he took care before his departure from P8rania, to plunder at pleasure his own country, and to squeeze money from whomsoever he could reach, whether high or low; then only did he set out on his march. He carried with him a full treasury, a numerous artillery, and an army composed of picked men and choice troops, which he had been preparing this long while. His army amounted to five or six thousand horse, and to ten thousand foot; his artillery was of forty pieces of cannon, large and small. With such a force he resolved to join the Emperor; and taking his route along the opposite or northern shore of the Ganga, he arrived at Hadjip8r, which is over against Azim-abad, but on the other side of the river. Had this arrival happened some time before, when Azim-abad besieged by the Emperor, could hardly muster any force at all, whether Hindostany or English, there is no doubt but that he would have possessed himself of that city; would have thereby raised his reputation to the skies, and would have added a vast deal of power and lustre to the Imperial name. But every event having its moment assigned from above, how could the matter happen otherwise or how could such a disposition from above suffer any alteration or any transposition whatever? So important an intelligence could not but affect Ram-naráin deeply; he went to Mr. Amyatt, spoke much of the enfeebled state of his garrison, and of the smallness of its numbers, and seemed much depressed. Mr. Amyatt answered, “that at present there was little to fear from the Emperor, who was occupied in the pleasures of hunting and seeing dances, as well as busy in raising con­tributions; that until he might come again, he, as Governor of the place, ought to assemble the few troops he had, in order to keep one part on duty upon the walls, and make over the rest to Captain Knox, who had undertaken to fight Qhadum-hassen-qhan.” These words thunderstruck the Radja; he could not help expressing his amazement that the Captain with a few hundred men, should think of attacking a whole army of horse and foot; but finding that the scheme was fixedly determined upon, he went away to provide the intended re-inforcement; and he commanded Sheh-hamid-eddin, and Sahab-dad-qhan, and some other of his Commanders, to cross over with their corps without delay, and to join Captain Knox. Sahab-dad-qhan sent his bazar or sutlers, as well as his tents, not on the other side of the river as he was commanded, but in an island in the middle of the stream, whereon he displayed his standard. But Sheh-hamid-eddin having his house and family at Hadjip8r, made no difficulty to cross over, although he only made a show of his troops. The next morning Captain Knox prepared himself for crossing the river; he had three or four companies of Talingas, one company of European English, two field-pieces, and plenty of ammunition. But as Ráo-shitab-ráy seemed attached to the English, and a man of resolution; and he had in his pay about two hundred horse and foot that had proved very active in the defence of the place, Mr. Amyatt and the Captain proposed to him to be of the party. Shitab-ráy, who wished no better, accepted the offer; and with­out further delay or preparative, he joined Captain Knox, and crossed over with him. As to the auxiliaries which Ram-naráin had provided, these men, accustomed to that method that now disgraces all Hindostanies, who take up full ten days to clear their accounts with the treasury, and take up full ten days more to be paid and to make their preparatives; these men, I say, managed so slowly, that not a man of them did join Captain Knox. Nay, Sheh-hamid-eddin, who to save appearances, had in fact crossed over, and advanced two or three cosses, was in reality so far from preparing for a battle, that he went by night to Ráo-shitab-ráy, and spoke to him in these words: “Sir, are you mad, to come hither? The Radja does not love you, prob­ably, and wishes to rid himself of your person; and as to me, on selecting me, for crossing over, he had his views unquestion­ably. He wants to inherit one full lack of rupees which are due to me, as well as to my people, on our arrears; these are his motives for sending you and me over to this warfare with our handful of men. It is with us that he wants to fight at a dis­tance such a man as Qhadum-hassen-qhan, who has seven thousand picked horse, ten thousand musqueteers exercised, and forty pieces of cannon. Will Captain Knox with his five hundred men, and his two pieces of cannon, fight himself against all that force? Were those five hundred men to be of stone, still they will be infallibly knocked down. I advice you, there­fore, not to continue with them; imagine some excuse, and get yourself out of harm’s way. As for my part, I am resolved to have nothing to do with this affair.”

Sheh-hamid-eddin, after some other words to the same pur­port, went away. As to Sahab-dad-qhan, he was yet in town, when Qhadum-hassen-qhan was already encamped at about six or seven cosses from Captain Knox. This officer, finding the enemy so near, came in the dark to Ráo-shitab-ráy’s quarters, and proposed to surprise them in the dead of the night. Our people, said he, are in very small numbers; and I am afraid lest, on seeing the multitudes of the enemy, they take fright and lose their senses. I propose therefore to fall on the enemy by night; for I reckon either that we shall defeat and disperse them, or that we shall destroy his ammunition and spike his artillery, as well as seize his money. In either case, we shall disable the enemy effectually from doing any thing. Shitab-ráy answered, “that he had no will of his own; that he agreed in his scheme, and would follow him whithersoever he would lead the way, being entirely at his command.” Then, replied “the Captain, take your meal, go to sleep, and let your people do the same, as we must be up by the middle of the night. Shitab-ráy did as he was bid; and he was up at midnight, when the Captain sent for him. This officer left one company of Talingas for the guard of his tents, and marched with the rest, under the guidance of an harcara, or guide, who the preceding day had viewed the road, up to the enemy’s camp, and had come back again. By a particular ill luck, the night proved so dark that the man lost his way; and they had much marched already, when the Captain approaching one of Shitab-ráy’s men, who had his match-lock lighted, he found at his watch that it would be day-light within two hours; he observed “that this was the time when they ought to have been within the enemy’s camp; that it was now too tate to fall upon them by surprise, and that there remained no better party than to return to camp.” Shitab-ráy assented, and they returned to camp. But hardly had they laid down their arms and washed their hands and faces, when Qhadum-hassen-qhan’s vanguard made its appearance at day-break. The Captain being the first man up, got his men under arms, and sent word to Shitab-ráy to do the same; the latter armed himself, got his men ready, and joined the English, resolved to share their fate. As soon as Qhadum-hassen-qhan saw the English out of their camp, he sent a body of troops, who plundered it thoroughly, and killed or wounded some men that had been left in it, as well as some others that were coming to join the Captain from the city. Many more had time to fly back; and some frightened chairmen with their palekies on their shoulders, finding those boats at the water side, that had been provided for an emergency, got into them and crossed over to the city. Meanwhile Qhadum-hassen-qhan’s troops having divided into several bodies, attacked the English on all sides. The latter stood their ground undauntedly, firing their cannon with steadiness and precision, their officers standing over them, and directing their fire, with the utmost coolness and intrepidity. Shitab-ráy was doing the same on his side; he was animating his men to do their duty; and whenever the enemy attempted to approach too near, they were constantly repulsed by Shitab-ráy’s advancing on them, or by being occasionally assisted by some cannon-shot directed from the English line, against those that pressed upon him. The engagement was maintained on both sides in this manner, as late as twelve o’clock; at this time Mir-afzyl, General to the enemy’s troops, received orders from his master, to form the whole army in two bodies, and to attack at once on both sides. But as they had already observed, that in this manner they had lost an infinity of horses by the English cannon-balls, they all alighted and marched up on foot; and now the cannon ceasing on both sides, the engagement went on with musket firing only.