LETTER CLXVII.
To MAHOMMED GHYÂS and NOOR MAHOMMED KHÂN; dated 25th
HYDERY. (2d December.)

YOUR letter has been received. We approve of the offerings you have made at the two Durgâhs [or shrines]. You also did well, in presenting a Bûrhânpoory dress and a Fuzee to Râo Râsta the day he visited you.

You write, “that it is the intention of Râo Râsta to dispatch a “confidential person hither with letters for us.” It is known, and it is well. Let Râo Râsta send his confidential servant in charge of his secret communications. We must attribute this proceeding to motives of friendship. An answer to the before mentioned Râo’s [former] letter was forwarded some time ago. A bill for money to defray the expences of the people attached to you shall be sent hereafter.

You moreover write, “that the Mûtusuddies* with you have [of “late] assumed a most presumptuous [or impudent] mode of be­haviour;* holding separate conferences [or carrying on intrigues] “with the minister and Hurry Pundit, without your knowledge, and “to the prejudice of our affairs.” You add, “that you have heard “this, both from Râo Râsta and from other quarters.” It is compre­hended. All this arises from your neglect. That your people should act in this improper manner, and that you, instead of punishing them for so doing, should complain of them to us, is to be attributed to your great age, and to the climate of that place [Poonah]. Communicate to us the names of the several persons who have been guilty of this shameful conduct.

OBSERVATIONS.

The offerings, here spoken of, were directed to be made in a former letter, (which it has not been thought necessary to give), and consisted of a coverlid, or counterpane, of Kemkhâb, and fifty rupees in money. The Durgâhs (or shrines) in question, where those of Hûsâmûddeen and Sulâhûddeen, situated, I conclude, somewhere in the vicinity of Poonah, or at least in the Mahrattah territory.

It would appear, from the circumstances of Râo Râsta’s determining to com­municate with Tippoo, through the medium of an agent or messenger of his own, that he was not disposed to open himself freely to the Sultan’s envoys; and indeed, the weakness which the latter had recently manifested, in regard to the Mûtusuddies attached to their mission, was but little calculated to inspire him with confidence, either in their ability or discretion.