Whilst I was rejoicing at this pleasing prospect, I was suddenly called up by my ill fortune. I was one day sitting in Mir-abdollah’s house, when a chopdar, or mace-bearer, came from the Navvab, commanding my attendance. I hastened thither, and was conducted to an inner apartment, where that Prince was sitting alone. “I want,” said he, “something from you.” “What can it be,” answered I, “that should be in my power to give to your Highness? Whatever be in Bagdad, is always at the Qhaliff’s command.”* Let us have, said the Navvab, your Djaghiry estate at Monghyr, that I may confer it, together with that fortress, on Gurghin-qhan, who is to go thither, in order to put it in a state of repair. Your lands are close to the fossé; and it is ten to one, but that your agent will be daily laying complaints against his agent, as the latter will not fail to do against the former. Now, I wish to be rid of all that beforehand. I will give you, in exchange, a better estate than that. I answered, “That he might do what he thought best for his affairs; that I wanted only a subsistence, which he might easily afford; and that, if it should be his pleasure to give, and my good fortune to receive, some other lands in exchange, it would be necessary to write to Radja Radj-b8llub, who, since Ram-naráin’s confinement, was Deputy Governor of Azim-abad.” The Navvab promised it, but yet put me off with some vague promises, and in a few days he departed for Saharseram and Bodjep8r; nor did the exchange take place. So that I became extremely embarrassed for a subsistence; and as I was deeply in debt, and utterly destitute of camp equipage, I could not make the campaign with him. Doctor Fullarton, and some other friends, supplicated him for what was due to me upon my pay, but he only answered by a very well, and never thought of it any more. Fain I was to remain at Azim-abad, whilst he departed for Saharseram.

He was at the head of an army as numerous as the multi­tude at the Day of Judgment;* but as Pahluvan-sing, with the other Zemindars of the country of Shah-abad, did not dare to stand their ground, they crossed the Ganga and fled to Ghazi­poor, where they built themselves habitations in the dominions of Shudjah-ed-döulah, and in the territory of Radja Balvant-sing, Zemindar of Banares. Their lands were taken possession of by the Navvab, who placed his own collectors in each Zemin­dary, and supported them by strong bodies of troops; whilst he remained, himself, all the while, at his head-quarters of Sahar­seram, as if to give full scope to the anxieties of his mind. His temper, naturally suspicious, rendered him anxious about diving into the secrets of families, and especially in those of great men; and on that account he spent great sums in procuring intelligence, taking care to give much authority to Radja S8ck-laal,* his head-spy, who by the means of the numbers he retained in his pay, furnished him with minute intelligence concerning every man in his service, high or low, and especially about whatever concerned the Zenindars; not omitting even the inhabitants of the cities. But the greatest evils arose from the intelligence conveyed by Nann8-mull, the spy, who having already made his apprenticeship in Qhadum-hassen-qhan’s service, at P8raniah, as professed delator to the ruin of an infinity of persons, had now attached himself to Gurghin-qhan; and being a man of a malig­nant disposition, he continued the same trade with the Navvab. Unfortunately this man, who had enmities and feuds of his own, spread desolation in an infinity of families; for Gurghin-qhan listened to Nann8, whilsh the Navvab listened to Gurghin-qhan. What is more mortifying is, that the wretched man was exceedingly revengeful; and when once he had conceived senti­ments of hatred against any one, they would sink a deep root in his diabolical heart, never to be extirpated hereafter; nor was such a disposition much dissimilar to that of his master; and here is a proof of it: Kelb-aaly-qhan, and Háider-aaly-qhan, sons to Ala-c8li-qhan, Fodjdar of Bagalpore, were found fault with for having been in the engagement against the Radja of Gohrec-p8r, where Mir-abul-hassen-qhan, who was son to T8rab-aaly-qhan, the Navvab’s maternal uncle, had chanced to be slain. Another reason of resentment against them was, their having made a visit to General Coote, on his journey to Azim-abad, on the score of their having already commenced an acquaintance with that officer, when he first passed by Bagalp8r, in his pursuit of M8sher Lass. This interview had made a very heavy impression on the Navvab’s mind; and he sent orders to Radja Radj-b8ll8b, his Deputy Governor of Azim-abad, to put them both under confinement. He had now inured himself to the sufferings of defencless people, and was grown bold by the murder of Sitaram and Sheh-saad-ollah, and by the forbearance of the English; for those two unfortunate men, together with their father, remained in all the miseries of confinement, so long as his dominion lasted. What looks strange is, that the satellites, sent by Radja Radj-b8ll8b, to fetch those ill-fated brothers, having met me by chance on the road, surrounded by my customary retinue, they mistook me for their prey, and desired me to follow them; and although I expostulated strongly, they answered nothing to the purpose; and I was fain to go whethersoever they thought proper to lead. They carried me to Radja Radj-b8ll8b. This Governor, on hearing my name and family, was confounded; he professed much concern, made an apology, and dismissed me. I returned thanks to God, and went home. But how shall I express that variety of painful sensations, to which I became a prey, in that single hour? May God Almighty never permit any one of His creatures to become an object of inquiry to tyrants, accustomed to frighten mankind; or if any unfortunate people should become such objects of persecution, may His goodness please to send them a quick delivery from the intricacies of the net of suspicion! Amen, O! Almighty God.

So suspicious a government soon interrupted all social intercourse; and people, accustomed to a certain set of actions, and acquaintances and visits, now found themselves under the necessity of abandoning them at once, and of living at home Mir-cassem obliged to suspect every one, inter­rupts all social intercourse. altogether. It was some months before this confinement, that the Navvab had taken to task Radja Sitaram himself, a Minister who transacted a great deal of important business. This man, mistaking so far his master’s temper, as to think him as neglect­ful and conniving as the former Viceroys, forgot himself entirely, and, in imitation of all the penmen, and of all the heads of office, who used to exact exorbitant fees, and to carve for themselves, he put suitors under heavy contributions, and made it a practice, in every business that passed through his hands, to exact money at his pleasure, and to transform equity into injustice, and injus­tice into justice. Another person of consequence fell under the Navvab’s displeasure. It was Sheh-saad-ollah, a Commander, who, under Ram-naráin’s administration, had often been sent amongst the restless Zemindars of the districts of Shah-abad, where he had acquired much local knowledge of the country, was concerned in most of its branches of revenue, commanded actually in some districts, and kept up a deal of correspondence with the Zemindars, now residing at Ghazip8r. This man mak­ing no difference between the past and present times, continued his correspondence with them, and to all appearance, made use of some expressions that gave offence to the Navvab, a Prince who was minutely informed of every thing of consequence that happened in his service; for he had actually in his pay two or three head-spies, every one of whom had been, in times of yore, a man of importance in the household of some mighty Minister or mighty Sovereign of Hindostan, where he had the authority to inform and to advise. Every one of these was now at the head of several hundreds of spies, whose business was to pry into the secrets of every family, and into the actions of every man, whether in the Navvab’s service or not. These men being accustomed to accusations, and trusting to the facility of a denial always in their power, and to a lie always at their command, were stopped by no scruples at all; and they made no distinction of either times or persons. But these men were accused in their turn. They were arrested, and put to a severe scrutiny; and being found guilty, they were punished as well as others. Indeed, I never could find the particular guilt of any one of them; whenever I come to be informed of it, I shall mention it in the subsequent pages. But I hold it from the mouth of several persons worthy of credit, that not one of those five persons had committed any such crime as might have deserved death; they even added, that every one of them had fallen a victim to con­jecture and suspicion. Sheh-saad-ollah, in particular, was found fault with for his attachment to Mir-djaafer-qhan, and for his holding correspondence with the fugitive Zemindars. Sitaram, likewise, had written some letters to a Zemindar, in one of which he gave him information of the day in which the Navvab would set out; and, it was concluded, that the advice was given with intent to put him upon his guard; nay, the very correspond­ing with the fugitive Zemindars was reputed a crime; nor was the guilt of the three head harcaras, or spies, of any other nature. They were then put to death upon bare suspicion; their guilt did not amount to more. Five executions of that importance, spread far and near such a dread of the Navvab’s resentment and exactitude, and it took so much possession of all hearts, that there was no man in his Court, however considerable, who durst speak a wrong word, or who, whether near or far, could sleep in his bed easy and in peace of mind. It must be observed, that in the treaty concluded between the Navvab and the English, it had been stipulated that he should have an absolute authority over all his servants, Indians or others, without being liable to any question on that subject. Nevertheless, as capital punish­ments are actions of such a mighty nature, letters came from the Council, asking the reason of those persons being put to death, and requesting an answer. The Navvab, to prepare his answer, sent to Doctor Fullarton, and to two or three English friends of his, some letters of Sheh-saad-ollah’s, and of the others which had been laid hold of by him, as a ground for their being put to death; and he requested their being translated into English. As the Doctor was as much attached to me, as I was to him, he put those letters into my hands, for my opinion. On casting my eyes upon one of them, I found that there were erasures, and corrections, although done with a deal of art, and on that account I concluded that, possibly, the writer’s death had some other secret cause. I conjectured that letters might have been written after the death of those men, and sealed with their seals, con­taining whatever their enemies had been pleased to insert. Some of these erasures and* corrections I shewed to Doctor Fullarton; but I cannot say whether the letters themselves were forwarded to the Council or not; nor in what manner the Navvab excused his putting those men to death; nor in what light those excuses were received.