WE have heretofore observed that Miren had made himself easy by the murder of Qhadja-haddy-qhan and of Mir-cazem-qhan, just as his father had on his side eased his mind by murder­ing Sadacat-mahmed-qhan, and Sheh-abd8l-vehab-qhan, whom he had blown at one of his guns. This expeditious way of dis­pelling their suspicions, had taken entire possession of their hearts, and especially of the son’s, who now commenced murder­ing promiscuously men and women, just as one name occurred to him sooner than another. Matters went so far, that he murdered some women of his own seraglio,* having cut off their heads with his own hand and sabre; he even used to say, “That the adage after suspicion, clearness, meant nothing else, but that any suspected person, by being dispatched directly, cleared all suspicions at once; and he insisted that any other acceptation of that adage was absurd, and afforded no sense.” In consequence of this new-fangled system of his, he repeatedly wrote to Djessaret-qhan, Governor of Djehanghir-nagur-dacca, a nobleman highly respected in that province, to put to death those two unfortunate, defenceless, aged women, in whose house his whole family, as well as himself, had found not only bread, but the highest preferment; those meritorious women, who had been of late highly instrumental in raising him to the summit of power. Those women were the two eldest daughters of Aaly-verdy-qhan, (Gahasity-begum and Amnah-begum.) Even against these unfortunate beings, now exiled, forgotten, and reduced to poverty and distress; even against these he conceived suspi­cions, and he wrote accordingly in strong terms to Djessaret-qhan. This generous man, who himself owed his bread and preferment to those women and to their husbands, declined the odious task, and he wrote word, “That he requested a successor might be sent him, in the government of the province, as he wished to be excused from executing such orders.” Upon this request Miren, on the point of setting out for his last expedition against Qhadum-hassen-qhan, sent one of his friends with instructions to put those unfortunate women in a boat, under colour of bringing them to M8rsh8d-abad, and when out of town, to sink the boat in some lonely place; he also wrote to Djessaret-qhan to deliver those women to such a one, who had orders to bring them to M8rsh8d-abad. After signing these two orders, he set out for Azim-abad; and his friend repairing to Djehanghir-nugur, or rather taking the right road to hell, carried away those two unfortunate, friendless sisters; and under pretence of bringing them to M8rsh8d-abad, he put them into a boat and sheered off with his prize. Being arrived at a lonely place fit for his purpose, he bid them purify them­selves,* and put on clean clothes;—some say he informed them of his orders, Gahasity-begum, who was the eldest, took fright and shed tears; but the youngest, who was Amnah-begum, turning towards her sister, endeavoured to console and pacify her. Why such fears, my sister and why to weep? said she; we were destined to die one day; let that day be this.—Here she paused, and taking a calmer tone of voice, she added: Sister, as we have been great sinners ourselves, we ought to thank God, that we are offered this method of expiation; and that we are not going without having placed our own load on Miren’s shoulders. After these few words, they both purified themselves, and putting on clean clothes, for want of winding sheets, they rubbed on their foreheads and on their bodies some of the holy* earth, raised from the tomb of the Prince of Martyrs; and after asking pardon for their sins, they bid the man execute his orders. The man seeming to hesitate, they both raised their hands, and the youngest exclaimed, O! God Almighty, we are both sinners, Heroical speech of the Princesses, prisoners at Dacca, on their being ordered to die. and culprits; but we have committed no sin against Miren. On the contrary, he owes to us every thing in the world; nor have we seen any better return from him, than this unjust order for putting us to death. We hope therefore,* that after our death, Thou sendest Thine lightning* to crush his guilty head, and to exact from him a full revenge on our own account and that of our children. After these few words, they pronounced their profession of faith in the usual posture,* with the addi­tion conform to their particular belief; and having again kissed the holy bit of earth, they joined hands together, and jumped together in the boundless ocean of Divine mercy. It is reported that the lightning fell on Miren, (at two hundred leagues from thence), that very night. Some say that this event happened only a month after; but very accurate and very creditable persons affirm, that those unfortunate women suffered the last day of Shevval, or the first of Zilcaad, in the year 1173 of the Hegira; A. D. 1760-61. and that the lightning fell on Miren the ninth of the same month. Almighty God, to Thee belongs all revenge.* It is likewise reported by people of credit, and even by Miren’s intimate friends, that he, in this his last voyage, carried about him a small pocket-book, in which were inscribed no less than two or three hundred names; and he used to say, that after having beaten and chased both the Shah-zada and Qhadum-hassen-qhan, he would return to M8rsh8d-abad, and put to death every one of these three hundred persons he suspected; after which, with a mind eased of its burden, he would think of enjoying the com­forts of life in the society of his friends. But God Almighty, who is the Lord and disposer of mankind, did not permit that his bloody purpose should be brought to maturity. Let the reader conclude from this catastrophe, that when the Almighty Artist of the creation sees His creatures addicted to crimes and sinning, He sends some tyrant of a ruler amongst them, who never fails to inflict the intended chastisement. But it does not follow from thence, that He suffers the tyrant to lord it for ever over his creatures; for tyranny cannot have any solid foundation, nor is it everlasting; and in this manner is verified that striking sen­tence revealed in the Holy Writ to the Prince of Messengers: Duration and permanency are sometimes allowed to infidelity, but never to oppression and tyranny. But if even after having exercised such acts of tyranny, the oppressors repent of their crimes, and revert to a life of innocence, and a righteous mode of governing, then it becomes possible that the Divine justice should suffer them to live, and may forbear extirpating their power by the root; otherwise, God makes the oppressor over to some other oppressor, and the tyrant to some greater tyrant, whose mission is to pull the other by the root; for everything is possible to God, says the Holy Writ; nor is any thing out of the reach of its power.—But let us revert to our narrative of Miren’s death.

The next morning, at day-break, a man of credit went and informed the Colonel of that tremendous event that had happened the eve; for this General was the supreme Commander of the auxiliary troops, whether English or Hindostanies, and the main prop of the whole army, of which in fact he was the head and supreme mover. He immediately adopted the opinion that this death ought to be kept secret; and he ordered the entrails and other parts to be taken out of the body, and buried; but the body itself to be carried about, as if Miren had been only sick. The next day he beat the General, and marched off, the body being carried, stretched on the häodah of an elephant, the feet hanging outwards, as those of a sick man; but that very moment, it became public that it was only a dead body stretched on an elephant; and every one on recollecting how Seradj-ed-döulah’s body had been brought into the city, did not fail to attribute this appearance to a full retribution on Miren’s inhumanity.

The Colonel, become by this death the sole Commander of both armies, advanced close to the fort of Betiah, where he tarried a little. On the persuasion of Miren’s Ministers, and of Ram-naráin’s agents, he sent to the Zemindar of that country a message mixed with threats, exhorting him to settle his accounts immediately. The man, intimidated by the fame of the English army, and by the Colonel’s presence, did as he was ordered; and that affair being put to an end, the two armies, now under the sole command of the Colonel, decamped from the plain of Betiah. Meanwhile Miren’s body having been put into a coffin, was carried rapidly upon chairmen’s shoulders, to the Ganga, where it was put in a boat, and hurried down the river, as far as Radje-mahal; but the abominable stench that exhaled from it, obliged the messengers to land it immediately; and it was buried in a spot which now goes by the name of his monument.

“Take warning, ye that have eyes and ears.”