I, Meer Mahommed Sâdik, Son of Meer Ali Nuky, servant of the Khodâdâd Sircar, do swear by God, and engage (to which engagement God and his Prophet, and the word of God, which is the Imâm of true-believers, are witnesses) to perform my duty to my Lord and Master faithfully, with all my heart,* and with my four members;* that is to say, with my eyes, my ears, my tongue, and my hands:* that I will study nothing but obedience to my Lord and Master, and never act, in any instance, contrary to my duty or to his interests. And [I moreover promise] to communicate whatever I shall hear or see to the resplendent Presence.

If, however, (which God forbid!) I should happen to be guilty of a breach of any of the four obligations* [above mentioned], or of the obedience which I owe, may God, the most holy and omnipotent, and whose name is the Avenger, over­whelm me and mine with his wrath, and utterly destroy us!

According to the prohibitions in the holy word of God, the Almighty has forbidden eight things: those [eight] crimes, by the blessing of the confession of faith I will reprobate and put from me, even as [I would] the devil. I will, moreover, in comformity with the holy word, not only zealously discharge my duty, on all occasions, to his Majesty, my Lord and Master, but also labor to promote and maintain the concord and union of the people of Islâm, or those who [are accustomed to] repeat the confession of faith.

If (which God forbid!) any act, forbidden by the holy word, should come to my knowledge, I will drive the unworthy person, committing the same, from among the people of Islâm; for the most glorious and high God has declared, that whosoever commits one of the eight sins, abovementioned, is the son of rejection. And I am descended, on both sides, and through three generations, from nobles and Siyuds of the tribe of Koreish, and of the Mahommedan religion, and am true and faithful both in tongue and hand.

And I declare, under the aforesaid solemn sanctions, that except the wealth of my Royal Master, the Shadow of God, at the time of his becoming a servant of the Khodâdâd Sircar, your slave* was possessed of three pagodas. After becom­ing the servant of the Sircar (the centre of bounty) I sent for my family, who possessed in jewels, &c. about three thousand rupees. Since that time your slave, who is always ready to sacrifice his life* in your Majesty’s service, swears by the book of God (witness God, and the Prophet of God!) that all he has acquired in cattle, arms, effects, clothes, and vessels of brass, jewels, money, and presents, from his Lord and Master, including profit and original property, as above stated, amounts, in all, to about 1,08,200 rupees: out of which sum he expended, during the three years that he laboured under your Majesty’s displeasure, and confined himself to his own house, about 15,000 rupees. There consequently remain 93,200 rupees, as detailed in the subjoined statement.

I swear by the book of God, and by the words* of the Prophet, that your slave represents his true situation; but if he should [be suspected to] have embezzled any of the Sircar’s property, or to have taken bribes from any Asof, Mûtusuddy, Amuldâr, or Serishtedâr, or to have done injury to any inhabitant of the Sircar, let orders be issued from the Presence full of splendor (the Shadow of God) for enquiry to be made therein; and if your slave shall be found guilty, let a severe punishment be inflicted on the unfaithful offender [i. e. on me]. Let him be rolled up in a mat, and burnt, and let his dwelling and family be destroyed; but though your sacred Majesty should forgive, God will surely punish that wicked doer.

From the beginning of his service, your slave has not given a farthing to any of his relations; and in your slave’s house, marriage ceremonies have seldom exceeded five and twenty rupees, and at no time one thousand rupees. Your slave’s pay was twelve hundred rupees per month: in lieu of half of which your Majesty graciously conferred upon him a Jâgeer of three thousand pagodas. Of this, whatever I have spent, I have spent: the remainder is ready to be laid, together with my life and heart, an humble sacrifice at your sacred and august feet.

All former crimes of this devoted slave, my royal Lord and Master has, through his abundant generosity, favour, and protection, forgiven: but if, hereafter, I should receive any bribes, or commit any [other] misdemeanor in the [manage­ment of the] country of the Khodâdâd Sircar, the aforesaid oath will be binding on me. And I will perform the duties of my station, with heart, soul, and fidelity; and never be neglectful of, or deficient in, the same. To this engagement God, and the Prophet of God, are witnesses: and if I act contrary thereto, I shall be obnoxious to the wrath of the throne of vengeance. And the specification of my duties, according to the four above-mentioned members, is as follows:

1st. As to the duty of the eyes. I will not authorize, by any sign made by my eyes, any embezzlement of the property of the Sircar: and if any one should, to my knowledge, do any thing prejudicial to the affairs and property of the Sircar, I will not wink thereat, but will forbid the same, and report it to the exalted Presence.

2d. As to the duty of the ears. If any person should utter expressions of a treasonable nature, or prejudicial to the wealth or affairs of the Khodâdâd Sircar, or act seditiously, and the same should come to my hearing, I will not remain silent, but will forbid and punish the offence, and also report it to the exalted Presence.

3d. As to the duty of the tongue. That is to say, in all matters relating to the due management of the affairs of the Khodâdâd Sircar, whether now or hereafter, and in which the interest, glory, and prosperity of your Majesty may be con­cerned, it (i. e. my tongue) shall be ever actively employed, as long as it retains motion: nor shall it fail, at any time, to make all necessary communications to the Presence, full of splendor.

4th. As to the duty of the hands. That is to say, the enemies of my royal Lord and Master I will kill with sword and pen,* and most certainly will never neglect any opportunity of destroying his enemies with sword and pen. I will, moreover, communicate all such transactions to the resplendent Presence, in my own hand-writing; and I will, likewise, write out all abstract accounts with my own hand. I will, in fine, in all affairs, be loyal with my four members, and omit or neglect nothing which can be accomplished by them.

N. B. The foregoing articles have been set down at about twelve rupees above their real value.*

Written on Wednesday, the tenth of the month Hydery, year Shûdâl, 1226* from the birth of Mahommed, in the hand-writing of Meer Sadik.