BY this time Qhandö8ran’s power and influence had risen to a height; but such a strange perversity had grown up in his mind, or he was naturally so very unfortunate, that whatever he took in hand or contrived, was sure to miscarry, or to be productive of some mischief, and so soon as he had done any thing, he always had reason to repent of it. Such was his treaty with the Marhattas, mentioned in the foregoing sheets, and this is to be understood as a sample from a quantity, and as a handful from a heap. His connivance at the peculation exercised in the article of public money sent to Cabul, and his neglect in the guard of the narrow passes and defiles of that province are of that number, together with the little attention he paid to the complaints of the troops appointed to guard those inlets of the mountainous province; nor can it be doubted, but that to such a neglect is owing the mighty calamity which Hindostan suffered from Nadyr-shah’s invasion. For had he attended to the payment of the Qhandö8ran by neglecting the narrow passes of the province of Cab8l puts it in the power of Nadyr-shah to invade Hin­dostan with ease. mountaineers, destined to guard those difficult passes, and had he taken for the conservation of that province, such other pre­cautions as the case required, it is probable that Nadyr-shah would not have thought of invading Hindostan; or if he had, that he would not have found in his passage those unexpected facilities that so much expedited his march. Nassyr-qhan, the Governor of that important province, was a pious man, that spent his whole time either in hunting, or in devotions and in reading the Coran; he had never made the least representation to Qhandö8ran on the latter’s withdrawing, as of no purpose, the pension of twelve lacks a year, which used to be sent for the guards and garrisons of those parts. Hence the valleys and defiles of the province were left unguarded both by the Governor, who did not mind them, and by the Minister who did not think them of so much importance, as to trouble his head with them. Hence the guards being ill-paid, abandoned their posts, and the garrisons being utterly neglected, invited the invaders; and the report of the Minister’s inattention, and of the weakness of Government, being rumoured everywhere, every one without fear of control or examen, thought only of cutting for himself without minding any consequences. The roads and passes being neglected, every one passed and repassed, unobserved; no intelligence was forwarded to Court of what was happening; and neither Emperor nor Minister ever asked why no intelligence of that kind ever reached their ears. But this neglect was followed by another, still more ruinous in its consequence.

It is a singular observation that the Princes of the illustri­ous race of Sefi* never had the least occasion to apply to the Emperors of Hindostan for any service, and on the contrary that Emperors of Hindostan, namely, Sultan Babr and Sultan H8maï8n, took refuge in the Courts of the immortal Shah-ismaïl, and of his virtuous son, Shah-tahmasp, (that precious gem worthy of a place in paradise) and that they were cherished and assisted by those Princes in the recovery of their dominions. Neverthe­less, it is certain and notorious that the Emperors of the Sefivian race, although noways influenced by necessity, or any views of their own, kept by embassies and congratulations, a constant intercourse with the Emperors of Hindostan, and thereby exhibited proofs of their good nature and civility; and yet so uncivil was the Court of Shah-djehan-abad under Mahmed-shah, and so inattentive to those marks of amity and friendship, that it seemed entirely insensible to them, or even had assumed opposite sentiments. For on the subsiding of the civil wars in the Empire of Iran, and on Shah-tahmasp the second’s taking pos­session of the throne of his ancestors, and driving from thence the Afghan invaders, Mahmed-shah, so far from taking any becoming concern in that event by a congratulation or any other mark of attention, on the contrary, had kept a friendly correspondence with the Afghan Pir-vëiss, and had thereby opened a door for messages and letters, although Pir-vëiss’s son had never made any difficulty of invading M8ltan and putting everything to fire and sword in that province, during the little time his family kept possession of Candahar. It is no less certain that Shah-tahmasp, after possessing himself of Ispahan, his capital, and destroying the Afghan power, had sent one of his Lords to the Hindostany Court with an account of these events, and also some letters that insinuated that those ungrateful and perfidious mountaineers having been chastised according to their deserts and driven out of Iran, had now no place left in the world for refuge, against the destroying arm of the Iranian troops, but the Empire of Hindostan. That it was therefore incumbent upon the prudence of the Hindostany Court to refuse admittance to those miscreants within their territories. However, neither the letter nor the embassy were taken notice of, but after a deal of time, and it was only to return an ambiguous, frivolous answer by the same ambassador. On the Imperial Prince Abbass-mirja’s mounting the throne of Iran, another such embassy and another such request was sent from that Court into Hindostan, and this Minister too, after a deal of time, was dismissed with such another letter as the preceding, a letter full of words that said nothing to the purpose. Another envoy came again from the same quarter on Nadyr-shah’s being firmly established on the throne, and it was a Cuzzul-bash* of character who brought it; but the ambassador having been plundered by banditties on the road, it was with the utmost difficulty, and not but after many entreaties that he obtained from them to return him his credentials; and these proved to be one letter for Saadet-qhan, who had now become one of the most considerable Lords of Hindostan, and one for Mahmed-shah. With all the pains imaginable, he performed his journey to the capital, and delivered his message and letters, but without having the means of returning home. Nor did Mahmed-shah or any of his Ministers much mind his distress. They were wholly absorbed in wondering at so many envoys and so many messages sent from Iran. But surprised at the same time to hear that Hossëin-qhan, the Afghan, had taken possession of Candahar, where he got himself crowned, and from whence he made incursions into M8ltan, a province of Hindostan, they sent for Nizam-el-mulk from Decan, with intention to avail themselves, in case of need, of the abilities of an old General, who had served with distinction under Aoreng-zib the Conqueror, and passed for a wolf that had seen much bad weather, was much experienced in the ways of the world, and thoroughly apprised of the difference betwixt day and night. They kept him at Court, although he wanted to return to Decan; and they were resolved to put his abilities and his experience to the test, should any untoward emergency come to take place; for about this time Nadyr-shah had advanced as far as Candahar, which he besieged, and from thence he had sent again Mahmed-qhan the Turkman, with a repetition of his former mes­sage, and a complaint upon the former subjects. The envoy being arrived at the capital, delivered his letter and message, and was Nadyr-shah sends another embassy to Delhi, and then ten mes­sengers. desired to wait a little, but with no positive answer, although he insisted upon his departure. The Ministers disputed amongst themselves, sometimes about the purport of the answer, and some­times about what style was to be used, and what title should be given to Nadyr-shah. They went so far as to think it a piece of good policy to delay the Ambassador’s return, and they waited to see whether the Afghan Hussëin-qhan, after having ruined Nadyr-shah’s forces before Candahar, would not so far weaken that Prince, as to reduce him to nothing; after which there would not be any occasion to write an answer at all. Meanwhile the siege of Candahar being converted into a long blockade, and Mahmed-qhan not making his appearance, Nadyr-shah wrote him a letter, and sent it by a few horsemen. The letter inquired about the reasons of so much delay, and it recommended diligence, and a speedy return, with an answer. But all this did not hasten his departure, and he continued to be detained under a variety of pretences, without being able to obtain any answer at all. The blockade of Candahar drawing to a length, Nadyr-shah ordered a town to be built over against it, which he called Nadyr-abad; and from thence the siege was renewed, and assaults given, until at last a body of Cuzzel-bashes escaladed the walls, put the Afghans to the sword everywhere, and took the fortress together with Hussëin-qhan, who was sent to end his days in Mazenderan* where he was confined.

It must be observed, that since the signal defeat given the Afghans at Shiraz in Iran, they had led a wandering life without King and without Government; insomuch that most of them, hard pressed by their enemies, had spread all over Hindostan, where they had turned husbandmen in some parts, and soldiers in others, settling themselves in several provinces of that Empire, where they incorporated with the other subjects. Aaly-mahmed-qhan, called Rohilla, was one of them. In the battle against Sëif-eddin-aaly-qhan, he had rendered an important service to Azim-ollah-qhan, that had recommended him to the notice, and also to the favour, of the Vezir Camer-eddin-qhan, who gave him in free gift some lands and some Djaghirs dependent on the Qhalissah-office. This man, although only an adoptive son to an Afghan, being originally a Gentoo Ahir or herdsman, found means to approve himself a man of courage and abilities; and having taken into his service, and assembled about his person, those herds of Afghans that were continually flying from Candahar, he formed them into an army, and by their means spread his authority in the countries contiguous to his Djaghiry lands, such as Anö8lah, Sumbul, Morad-abad, Bedahon, Berheïly, and some others, of which he took possession. From this narrative it will appear that the proposal made to Mahmed-shah for shutting the passages of Cab8l, so as to prevent the Afghans from flocking into India, was in fact beyond his power. For the garrisons of those parts having been totally neglected, customary remittances in money from the Capital suppressed, and the guards of the defiles and difficult passes left unpaid and unthought of, whilst the Governor himself was contented with residing at Lahor; where was the man that would mind those troops of freebooters, and those shoals of Afghan banditties, that were continually passing and repassing; and even supposing that any one had such a mind, where was the power to enforce a prohibition? And how probable could it be that a set of Ministers, who, with such a man as Nadyr-shah at their elbows, for years together, had never minded his motions, should ever trouble themselves about other matters of an inferior importance; or that, after having been so careless about Nadyr-shah’s views and schemes, they should think of the motions of some Afghan banditties?