Whilst the Court of Monghyr was taken up with such discus­sions as these, its attention was called up to a very extraordinary event. Mr. Vasittart, Governor of Calcutta, impelled, doubtless, by the omnipotence of tyrannical destiny, conceived the design of paying a visit to the Navvab, and of viewing Monghyr, as well as the factories of Azim-abad and Chaprah. He quitted Calcutta, and after having seen in his way Cassimbazar, Moorshood-abad, and Bardvan, with some other places, he arrived at Monghyr. It was on a Thursday, of the first Djemadi, in the year 1176. The Navvab went as far as the orchard of Goodergatta, which is three cosses distant, to meet him; and having received him with the utmost honour and regard, he brought him to town, where he appointed for his reception and lodgings, the building which Gurghin-qhan had raised on the hill of Sihta-cond;* there were besides, a magnificent set of lofty tents for his reception, ready pitched. Gurghin-qhan, attended by all the officers of the steward and butler’s office, was ordered to provide an entertain­ment, and to furnish him with whatever might prove necessary for himself and his retinue. The Navvab, after these dispositions, took his leave, and repaired to his own lodgings within the castle. The next day Vansittart went to visit him. As soon as he appeared in the yard, the Navvab proceeded as far as the outer rails to receive him; from thence he brought him in the hall of audience, made him sit upon his own Mesned, and com­plimented him with a variety of curious and costly presents, suitable to the occasion, and worthy of the acceptance of a man of that high rank and station. Two days after, the Navvab returned the visit, and invited him to an entertainment; and, on his taking leave, he was in his turn complimented with a variety of rich presents, of European and Chinese manufactures, which the Governor had brought for the occasion. At night, he went to the Navvab’s palace, where he partook of an entertainment, looked a little at the dancers, and then returned to his quarters. So that for three or four days together, both parties were intent on sending curious things to each other. The fourth day, in compliment, doubtless, to the Governor, the Navvab ordered his artillery, and musqueteers, to go through their exercise in the Governor’s presence. As both the artillery and musqueteers had been trained and disciplined after the English maner, that exhibition was not without some grains of ostentation. Vansittart, therefore, took care to give him some advice upon it, which he likewise mixed with some grains of reprimand. “I have seen your troops,” said he, with a smile, “and acknowledge that you have accountred and disciplined them very well; but these are only good against Indians, and people of this climate. Beware of ever opposing them to Europeans, or of coming to a rupture with the English, upon a confidence reposed in your people; for rest assured, that you shall find yourself disappointed, and that these men will never stand the brunt of European soldiers. Beware, therefore, of trusting your honour to such hands. They will disappoint you assuredly, and with the loss of your honour, you shall make away with the honour of every Hindian nation, and of every Hindostany Prince; for if you come to be defeated, with these your choice troops, the people in Europe will from thence conceive the most contemptible idea of the rest of the Hindians; and they will come to despise every thing that is in Hindostan. Reckon then that in your fate is involved the fate of all Hindostan. If you intend to fight us, take care to do it with money in your hands, and arguments in your mouths: this is the way to gain a superiority. Give over then those warlike notions of yours, and be faithful to the agreement which I have established between the two nations. Never suffer any one to infringe it; and manage in such a manner as that the people of these regions may, in consequence of your adherence to the agreement between us and you, live in peace, enjoy their property in content, and bless your name for ever. For in case this agreement should come to be infringed, and matters should proceed as far as a rupture, rest assured that the prosperity of an infinity of persons will be involved in your ruin, and that death and desolation shall overspread these countries.”

Vansittart, after having given this lesson to the Navvab, and amused himself during seven days within the environs of Monghyr, took his leave, and proceeded towards Azim-abad.

“Listen to a salutary advice, and do not cover yourself with pretences;

Hear what a kind monitor says, and act accordingly.”

The Navvab observed to the Governor that, under the name of the English, numbers of merchants passed their goods free from duty; and that by such a practice, whilst the English them­selves reaped but a small benefit, his customs suffered a mighty loss. He added, that to put an end to such pernicious practices, it would be proper to submit all the English private traders to the country duties, leaving the Company’s own trade as free as ever. Vansittart answered, that the English having at all times been accustomed to a freedom from duties, he could not make such a proposal to them; but that he had better wait until he himself (Vansittart), should return to Calcutta, where he would endeavour to find an expedient for that affair; and that as soon as the reglement which he had in his mind, and which he reserved for his return, should come to pass and be forwarded to Monghyr, he might then put it in execution. Without explaining himself further, the Governor proceeded to Azim-abad. But the Navvab, confiding in that kind of promise, conceived the hopes of keep­ing up his pretensions for duties; insomuch, that after some little time had elapsed, he wrote to his officers everywhere, to give them notice of the agreement he expected, and to put them upon their guards; lest, meanwhile, and until the reglement should come up, the English private traders might find means to evade the custom, and to escape duty-free. But how could he expect that overbearing custom-officers, and short-sighted toll-men would have so much sense and discretion, as to keep such a secret locked up in their breasts, and mean while, manage with so much art, as not to lay themselves open to accusations by their pre­cipitancy and forwardness? In fact, oppositions and stoppages having commenced in many places, the veil was torn away at once in two places; at Azim-abad, where Mr. Ellis, Chief of the factory, was highly incensed against the Navvab, and zealously attached to Mr. Amyatt; and at Djehanghir-nugur-dacca, where Mr. Batson held a similar office. Those two men equally incensed and equally impatient of restraint, and both unable to endure any more, sent a force, which seized the Navvab’s officers, and brought them prisoners to the English factories, with intent to have them tried and punished by the Council of Calcutta, and to throw the blame of their conduct directly upon the Navvab, and indirectly upon Vansittart.

Sometime before these disturbances, this Prince had crossed the Ganga on Gurghin’s persuasion, with intention to proceed on an expedition against Nepal, which had been planned and proposed by that General; and he preceded the Navvab by some days. It was just at the time when Vansittart, after a short visit to Azim-abad, was returning to Calcutta; but the Navvab was already returned from Betiah, when he heard of the bold step which the English had taken. However, before we proceed fur­ther on that subject, it is fit that we should give some account of the result on the Navvab’s expedition against Nepal, as it is there that his good fortune commenced to decline. After that, we shall revert to his disputes with the English, and to all the consequences which they produced. As the country of Nepal was known to produce gold, as well as to be full of riches, Gurghin-qhan, who had as much ambition as covetousness in his composition, wished to undertake an expedition thither. But he had another object in view; he wanted also to make a trial of the troops which he had disciplined, and of the artillery which he had trained. With this view, he had long before commenced connections with those crowds of Cashmirians and Sanyassees, and Fakirs,* who yearly frequented those parts; he had likewise, procured much information from some French priests that live at Latsa;* insomuch, that he became a proficient in the knowledge of the passes over the mountains, and of the entrances into the country. He even attached to his service, some of those men whom he found to be endowed with under­standing, and capable of serving as guides in his expedition; for they had of themselves tendered their services on that head, and had first inspired him with the thoughts of conquering so wealthy a country. Gurghin-qhan, whose ancestors had never been warriors, who was not of a warlike nation, and who knew nothing of military affairs, having conceived a very easy idea of the possibility of conquering that country, inspired his master with an inclination for that conquest. This was not the opinion of Aaly-hibrahim-qhan, and of some other friends of the Navvab’s, who all objected to the expedition, and proposed that at least, if he was bent upon undertaking it, at any rate, he should take with him a body of English; and they reasoned in this manner: “That if by making them his companions, he came to conquer the country with the expected ease, he had carried his point; and if the expedition should not succeed, then he would not be liable to any taunt or reproach from them; nor would he afford them an opportunity of falling out with him so soon. Whereas if he should proceed alone on that expedi­tion, and it should happen to miscarry, the miscarriage would not fail to sink his character with the English, and to become a subject of affliction to his servants and well-wishers.” This advice was certainly rational, and the only good one in those conjunctures; but it was not listened to; and Gurghin-qhan’s interest and counsels prevailed. But, as the fortress of Betiah had been taken but freshly, and the country, which is contiguous to Napal, had been but lately brought under controul, the Navvab availed himself of the pretence of establishing order in that region, to set out on the intended expedition. It was the twenty-fifth of the second Djemady, in the year 1176, of the Hedjra. He crossed the Ganga, and commenced his march; Gurghin-qhan preceding him by one or two stages, at the head of the troops and artillery which he had himself trained; and this order of march lasted until the Navvab arrived at Betiah; from whence Gurghin-qhan advanced four days’ journey farther, and commenced Gurghin-qhan’s expe­dition in Napal, mis­carries. ascending the gaut, or difficult pass, which gave entrance into the country of Nepal. There he was opposed by the Nepalian army; and a sharp engagement took place, in which Gurghin-qhan’s troops, after repeated efforts, in which they lost a great number of men in wounded and slain, repulsed the enemy, With much courage and perseverance they gained the summit of the ascent, where they halted to take some rest for that night. But hardly the night was closed, when the Nepalians coming out of the woods and hills, attacked the Bengalies on all sides at once; and with stones, arrows, and musket-balls, they made so much havoc amongst them, that they drove them back to the bottom of the pass, from whence the latter, after losing a great number of men, and leaving many stands of arms, were obliged to retreat without stopping, as far as Gurghin-qhan’s quarters. That General, on seeing the condition in which they were, lost all hopes of succeed­ing in his expedition; he was struck with amazement, and ashamed to shew his face. Unable to bear the thoughts of announcing himself his miscarriage, he remained motionless, like one stupefied. Equally unwilling to retrograde and to shew his face again, and not daring to advance against an enemy grown bolder by his late success, he became weary of his very existence, and incapable to take any party for himself. Intelligence of this event having reached the Navvab from elsewhere, he became pensive and uncertain himself, and was at a loss which party to take. After much irresolution, he determined to recall Gurghin-qhan, and an order was dispatched on those terms. The man, impeded by his innate want of sense, and thunderstruck by his recent disgrace, would not go back; and he remained where he was, in defiance of the order he had received. The Navvab informed of this, wanted to send some person of weight to bring him back; but to find such a man, and one to whom Gurghin-qhan would choose to defer, was not an easy matter, unless indeed, it might be Aaly-hibrahim-qhan himself, whom the Navvab pitched upon, as a proper person for so delicate a commission and that nobleman set out immediately, without even any bagage. On his way he found multitudes of wounded, who were on their march towards the Navvab’s camp at Betiah. The Qhan desired them to stop, and to give him time to repair to their General, and to bring him away, as he had come for that very purpose; at the same time, he represented to them, that their appearing in camp in that condition, would redound to their own disgrace, whilst it would discourage their friends and companions, and also displease their lord and master. This remonstrance pro­duced an effect; and as the Qhan spoke sense and reason, and was a man of authority, his words carried a weight, which made an impression on the minds of runaways; and they consented to stop where they were. After this, the Qhan proceeded on his march, and being arrived in Gurghin-qhan’s camp, he worked so forcibly on the mind of that man, become a prey to all the pangs of sorrow and regret, that he brought him back to the Navvab. The Prince, after saying a few words on the expedition, raised his camp, and marched towards Azim-abad. There he learned that some of his officers, who in several places had exacted unaccustomed duties from the goods of the English traders, had been seized by the latter, and confined in their factories. One of these men was Mirza-mahmed, seized at Djhanghir-nugur, and sent to Calcutta; the other had been seized by Mr. Ellis, Chief of the factory of Azim-abad, and sent to Calcutta also. The Navvab, equally surprised and shocked at this intelligence, conceived that the only expedient to save the honour of his Government, and to render it respect­able, would be to seize the English mercantile agents on his side, and to keep them in confinement. Orders were accordingly dis­patched to surprise and seize a certain number of them, and to send them to Court. After dispatching these orders, he thought proper to displace Radja Nobet-ray, the Deputy Governor of Azim-abad, as being unfit to contend with a man so incensed and so fiery as Mr. Ellis; and he appointed in his stead the valiant Mir-mehdi-qhan, who then commanded in the territory of Shah-abad. The Navvab was then at Hadjip8r, from whence he ordered a bridge of boats to be thrown over the Ganga. As soon as it was ready, he crossed over with his army, a little above the English factory; and without seeing Mr. Ellis, who wanted to pay him a visit, he went and encamped in Djaafer-qhan’s garden, where he invested the new Governor in his Government, by bestowing a rich qhylaat upon him; at the same time, he ordered Radja Nobet-ráy to live at Court, and then marched down towards Monghyr.