Letters - Select Letters of Tippoo Sulṭān (Kirkpatrick)

TWO letters from you have passed under our view. The note containing sundry propositions, which you addressed to Râo Râsta, and of which you transmitted a copy [for our information], was highly proper, and is much approved by us. Both of you are experienced in the business, and in the paths [of politics]; and we are persuaded that there is no point, however minute, that will be neglected by you.

[AFTER some immaterial directions, the letter proceeds as follows:]—

If you should receive intelligence of the approach of any considerable force of the enemy, you must raise the siege of the fort, and taking your heavy ordnance with you, proceed and encamp near Dhârwâr. With the will of God the helper, we also shall march on the 14th of Ahmedy, and soon arrive there, when what may be proper shall be done. Nobody is going to lift the hill of Nergûnd to [his] head and carry it away: it is where it is. [i. e. it will remain where it is.]⁽²⁾

Bûrhânûddeen was the brother-in-law of Tippoo Sultan, who had married a sister of his. He appears to have possessed a great share of the confidence of the Sultan, who frequently intrusted him with important military commands, but not without placing him (at least at this period) in a certain degree of tutelage. He lost his life in the battle of Sattimungalam, in the year 1790. Of that battle the Sultan has given a partial and exaggerated account in one or two letters; in which it is remarkable, that he speaks of the death of this gallant commander without a single expression of regard or regret.

The fort, the siege of which is here provisionally directed to be relinquished, was no doubt Nergûnd.

YOUR letter, informing us of your arrival at Chekry,⁽¹⁾ and applying for a supply of gun-flints, powder, &c., has been received, and its contents are duly understood. Send to Bûrhânûddeen for gun-flints, powder, and whatever else you may want. The Sipahdâr⁽²⁾ Mahommed Ali, has no doubt joined you by this time with the troops under his command, orders for this purpose having been repeatedly dispatched to him. That part of your forces which was at Kurpah⁽³⁾ has also marched from thence, and will soon join your army. What more?

Meer Kumrûddeen Ali Khân was the son of Meer Ali Rizâ Sâheb, commonly called Meer Sâheb, who fell at the battle of Porto Novo, in the year 1781. Hyder Ali Khân, who was married to his sister (the mother of Tippoo Sultan), is reported to have immediately conferred all the honors and appointments enjoyed by his brother-in-law upon his son, Kumrûddeen, then a young man, whom he, at the same time, committed in a very public manner to the especial care and favor of his cousin, Tippoo Sultan. The latter, however, would not appear to have had much confidence in him at any period of his reign. He was sometimes, indeed, ostensibly placed at the head of an army; but he was always under the direction of some more experienced person. Upon the death of the Sultan, the British Government, in conjunction with the Nizâm, provided for Kumrûddeen Khân in the most liberal manner. He did not, however, long survive his cousin and master, dying very soon after he had taken possession of the Jagire bestowed upon him.

IT has been represented to us, that Tumanâ Nâikwâry,⁽¹⁾ the warden of the Kurbnâth Pass, receiving bribes [for his connivance], suffers people to proceed to the Pâyen-Ghaut: we therefore write, to desire you will station two respectable and sensible men, with some trust-worthy Piâdehs,⁽²⁾ in one of the forts [commanding the said pass] for the proper care and regulation of the same. This guard must be relieved every three months.

This letter furnishes one among numerous proofs, of the unceasing jealousy and dislike, with which the Sultan viewed any sort of communication between his territories and those of the British Government, or of the Nabob of the Carnatic. He anxiously laboured to keep all his neighbours (but particularly the English) in as complete ignorance as possible of every thing that passed in Mysore: and to this object he unreluctantly sacrificed whatever advantages, either his subjects or himself might have derived, from a free commercial intercourse between the countries.

YOU wrote stating, “that Râo Râsta had said, ‘that if the design “against Nergûnd were relinquished, the Vakeel⁽¹⁾ of the Zemindâr “of that place was empowered to pay us a certain fine; by which “mode of adjustment we should not only be the gainer, but “appearances would likewise be saved with the world.’” It is known. You must say, in answer to Râo Râsta, that what we demand is, that not only the Paishcush due by the said Zemindâr be discharged, but that he shall also make due compensation for the ravages he has committed within our dominions; and that, on this condition, we will wave our purpose of reducing the place.

You further write, “that Râo Râsta had told you, ‘that you must “apply to have the amount of the arrears due for past years remitted “in specie, as bills would not be accepted by the bankers there.’” It is understood. We wrote before, and we now write again, to desire that Noor Mahommed Khân, who is well acquainted with all matters in that quarter, may be dispatched to the Presence. A verbal communication from him will best enable us to judge of the truth of their professions, and the rectitude of their proceedings, as well as to ascertain the extent of the Durbâr charges; after which we can consider what is to be done. What more?

By “Durbâr charges” is here meant the douceur to be paid to the Mahrattah ministers upon the conclusion of a settlement. This is a matter of course in the negociation of all treaties, and in the adjustment of differences between the native powers of India. Sometimes the presents, or largesses, made on these occasions, are, to a certain degree, reciprocal; but it is generally on the weaker, or yielding party of the two, that the chief burthen falls.

YOUR two letters, dated the 14th and 16th instant, informing us of the junction of the Sipahdâr, Mahommed Ali, with his Kushoon, have been received. What you write, respecting the audacity and contumacious conduct of the Zemindâr of Surhutty, and your receipt of letters from Ghûlâm Hûsain and Ghûlâm Mohyûddeen, the Kilaadâr of Lukhmaiser, on the subject of chastising the said Zemindâr, is comprehended.

Notwithstanding the said fort is situated in your road, yet as you have no heavy [or battering] ordnance with you, it is to be apprehended, that if you were to attack it, you might be detained before it, and thereby prevented from advancing. We write, therefore, to desire our dear Son⁽¹⁾ will merely encamp his army near the fort, and endeavour, by striking an awe into the garrison, or by stratagem, to get possession of it. If this should not appear to be practicable, you must proceed straight forward, without making any delay.

YOUR letter of the 9th instant was received this day, and the whole of its contents are understood. The translation of our Persian letter,⁽¹⁾ which that friend,⁽²⁾ of his own suggestion, made and sent to Râo Râsta, and a copy of which was enclosed for our information, was a highly judicious and commendable proceeding. What you say in so much detail, respecting the communications of Râo Râsta on the subject of Nergûnd, and [particularly] of his proposal that we should, for the present, accept, in the way of mulct, and as an adjustment [of the past], eighty thousand rupees, with an assurance of being paid hereafter, year by year, the established Paishcush of former times, is understood; and, together with your account of his importunate instances for our raising the siege of the place, has been duly considered.

The friendship we bear Râo Râsta makes us willing to remit the proposed mulct on the aforesaid Zemindâr; but let the latter make due compensation for the ravages he has committed within our dominions, and let him pay up the arrears of Paishcush due to us: we will then send the necessary order to our commanders for raising the siege of Nergûnd, which, by the divine favour, is on the point of being reduced.⁽³⁾

You must not communicate in writing to Râo Râsta every proposition you may have to make to him, or transmit to him copies of our dispatches to you. On such occasions you are to send for Râo Râsta’s Mûtusuddy, and make him commit to paper whatever may be proper to be written: by this means you will avoid pledging yourself under your own hand.⁽⁴⁾

You judged right, in keeping back the letter which we enclosed for Râo Râsta, and which you must return to us. We now send [instead of that letter] one framed agreeably to your suggestion, which you will deliver to him.

What you have stated so much at length, by desire of Râo Râsta, on the subject of our remitting specie [and not bills], in discharge of the yearly money,⁽⁵⁾ and for the Durbâr charges, is understood. As Noor Mahommed Khân is well acquainted with all the circumstances of that quarter, as well as with whatever relates to the subject of Durbâr charges, he must be dispatched to us; in order that, ascertaining from him the true state of things, we may pursue such measures as shall be necessary.⁽⁶⁾

We hear that eight or ten thousand of their horse have crossed the Kishna, with hostile intentions against our army. Hitherto, notwithstanding their forgetting what they owe to our kindness, we have not in a single article broken the treaty [subsisting between the two governments]; but if, in spite of the numberless favours we have bestowed upon them, and contrary to their solemn engagements, they become the aggressors, and proceed to improper lengths, it will then behove us to repel such aggression. After repulse and chastisement, there will no longer remain any appearances of good-will or amity.⁽⁷⁾

It is not very clear what translation of the envoy’s is alluded to in the beginning of the present dispatch (whether a letter to themselves, or of one to the address of Râo Râsta); nor is it worth while to offer any conjectures on this subject.

It is rarely that the Sultan condescends to bestow the title of Mehrbân, or friend, upon any of his servants, however high in his confidence; yet he has applied it, no less than three times, in the present letter, to Mahommed Ghyâs. It is probable, that the envoy knew his master too well to exult much in this uncommon mark of favour; but if he was weak enough to do so, he was not suffered to enjoy the dream of honour long.⁽⁸⁾

The directions here given to the envoys, respecting the mode in which they were to communicate with Râo Râsta, will prepare the reader for the still further developement of the Sultan’s crooked and unprincipled politics in his subsequent correspondence, as well with his agents at Poonah, as with others of his servants.⁽⁹⁾

The Mahrattah government and Tippoo Sultan differed too widely, on the subject of Nergûnd, to afford any prospect of amicable agreement between them. Of this both parties were probably equally satisfied; and therefore neither of them is to be supposed to have been very serious in the discussions which took place, relative to the mode in which the money, claimed by the Mahrattahs, should be paid. The fact was, that neither the latter expected, nor the Sultan intended, any payment at all, as long as the question regarding Nergûnd remained at issue.

BÂBOO RÂO, RÂM RÂO, and the other Mûtusuddies, whom you deputed hither for the purpose of adjusting the accounts of your conditional Jagire,⁽¹⁾ have accordingly come to a settlement, by which it appears that there is justly due to us the sum of 38,40,785 rupees. Of this amount we have excused [you] (or abated) two lacks of rupees: for the remaining 36,40,785 rupees we have received the engagements of the aforesaid Mûtusuddies, which we have lodged with our bankers, who are now, together with the said Mûtusuddies, dispatched to you. Be expeditious in putting the payment of this money in train, and in sending back the bankers to us. It will not be well, that any delay, or procrastination, should take place in this matter. You must likewise discharge the separate obligation for ten lacks of rupees, entered into by that friend’s Mûtusuddies and ratified by you.

Abdûl Hukeem Khân was a Patan chief, who possessed the principality of Sânore, Shânoor, or Savanore,⁽²⁾ called here by Tippoo Sultan a Jagire Mushrooteh; by which is meant, a Jagire held under specific stipulations, to distinguish it from a free Jagire or Jagire in ordinary. This principality was compelled to submit to the superior power of Hyder Ali Khân in the year 1764, when Abdûl Hukeem agreed to pay to the Mysore chieftain a certain proportion of his annual revenue. A double alliance by marriage was, at the same time, concluded between them; Hyder bestowing one of his daughters upon the eldest son of the Patan, who, in his turn, gave one of his to Kureem Saheb, the second son of Hyder. This connexion, however, was not productive of any advantage to the Patan; who, at length, revolted from Tippoo, and sought the protection of the Mahrattahs, to whom the district of Shânoor, including Bankypoor, was finally ceded, by the partition treaty of 1792; when its dispossessed chieftain became wholly dependent on the government of Poonah.⁽³⁾

YOUR letter has been received, and its contents are duly understood.

You write, “that having reduced your baggage as much as you “could, you were prepared, with the victorious army [under your “command], to chastise the enemy, and that, if the latter made their “appearance in force, it was your intention to raise the siege,⁽¹⁾ and “send off your heavy ordnance to Dhârwâr.” It is well: be it done as you propose. In the mean while, being careful to procure constant information of the enemy’s motions, you will act as circumstances may render expedient, taking counsel herein from the three commanders [attached to you], whose opinions being committed to writing, must regulate your proceedings. We have here the fullest intelligence regarding the enemy’s forces, which we are persuaded dare not look at our army: caution and vigilance are nevertheless necessary. Agreeably to your desire, letters have been written to Dileer Dil Khân, &c. Doubtless they will discharge the obligations of fidelity and devotedness; and you will all, in conformity with our instructions, conduct matters in concert, and after mutual consultation. Hereafter, what is behind the veil of invisibility will be displayed.⁽²⁾

It appears from this, and several other letters, that Bûrhânûddeen (as well as Kumrûddeen), had a council of war assigned him, without whose advice and concurrence he was not at liberty to take any material step. His council, at this time, was composed of Dileer Dil Khân, Syed Humeed, and Syed Ghûfâr, three Sipahdârs, or commanders of Kushoons, whose military reputation stood very high, and who possessed a considerable share of the Sultan’s confidence. Syed Ghûfâr fell with his master in defending Seringapatam. Of the fate of the other two commanders I am uninformed.

CONSULTING together on the contents of our written instructions to you, committing the result of your deliberations to writing, and confiding in the divine goodness, you will prepare to approve your fidelity and devotion to us. You must do nothing without holding counsel of each other. Hereafter, what is at present concealed by the curtain of invisibility will be displayed. In this matter there is no room for hesitation or remissness.⁽¹⁾

Two letters from you have been received. You write, “that vermillion is not procurable within our dominions, and is only to be got at “Pondicherry, &c.” This being the case, you must send money, and buying it at those ports, dispatch it to the Presence. There is no necessity for sending [thither] goods [or merchandize] to barter for it.

You further write, “that the Serishtedârs⁽¹⁾ of —————,⁽²⁾ incited “thereto by others, have preferred various complaints against you, with “the intention of bringing upon you our displeasure.” It is known. You have had instructions given to you. Acting in conformity therewith, and attending diligently to the business of the state, you may rest perfectly confident and easy in your mind: if, however, complaints and accusations should be preferred against you, they will not be regarded or meet our approbation. Esteeming you to be intelligent and solicitous for our prosperity, we have entrusted you with an important office, in which we have no doubt of your proving your attachment and zeal for our service.

The preceding letter affords a fresh proof of the unremitting jealousy and dislike with which the Sultan, at this time, viewed any intercourse between his subjects and those of the neighbouring countries, but particularly the English possessions. He here objects to the exportation of the produce of Mysore even to Pondicherry; not so much, probably, on account of its being an European settlement, as because no trade could be carried on with it, that would not almost necessarily lead to some commercial intercourse with the Carnatic, through part of which the trade in question must unavoidably pass. Rather than incur this risk, we see him sending away the specie of his dominions for the purchase of the commodities he required, and which he could, no doubt, have obtained on more advantageous terms by barter. At a subsequent period he would appear to have acquired rather juster notions of what was essential to the prosperity of his country; having, in the year 1794, issued some commercial regulations, tending to encourage a limited trade with his neighbours. Still, however, his natural distrust of those neighbours predominated; ultimately superseding, or rendering null, the expectations which seemed to have been held out by the edicts referred to.⁽³⁾

My information does not enable me to say, how far the Sultan fulfilled the promises made in the present dispatch to Râjah Râm Chundur. I think there is a passage in a subsequent letter to another of the Sultan’s officers, that points at some secret impeachment of the Râjah’s integrity, and encourages the informer to pursue his inquiries. Colonel Munro, indeed, acquaints me, that being a native of Arcot, he finally became suspected of disaffection to the Sultan, who put him to death. However this may be, it is certain, that he continued in office, and apparently in the full possession of his master’s confidence, as late as the year 1791.

YOUR letter, informing us of your arrival at Koodry-hâl,⁽¹⁾ together with its enclosure, has been received, and its contents are understood. You must proceed with the force under your command, and encamp near Bûrhânûddeen. Last night, whatever was necessary to be written, was fully written: to that dispatch we therefore refer you.⁽²⁾ The enemy’s force is inconsiderable. It is not to be supposed that they will presume to look at our army.^(3*)

[AFTER compliments]. You write “that the Bouparies^(1*) of the port “of Pondicherry, who come into our dominions to purchase articles of “merchandize, are, on their return with their goods, molested by the “Taalûkdâr of Selim, who will not suffer them to proceed; in consequence of which, you request of us to direct him to let the aforesaid “merchandize pass.” It is known: and, agreeably to your desire, we enclose an order to the Taalûkdâr of Selim, commanding him to release the goods in question. Let the same be forwarded to him.

In future, when you dispatch Bouparies into our dominions to purchase goods, you must give them a letter from yourself to the Taalûkdâr, written either in Urwy⁽²⁾ or Telingy;⁽³⁾ when he will, in conformity with your desire, suffer the specified articles to pass. The reason of the orders which we have issued on this subject is, that of late certain strangers have come into our dominions; where borrowing money of the Ryots⁽⁴⁾ and others, they have been guilty of various unwarrantable practices. Always continue to delight and rejoice us with accounts of your welfare.

As a personal compliment to the Governor of Pondicherry (whom he probably, at this time, wished to conciliate) we here see the Sultan relaxing, in some degree, the severity of the regulations spoken of under the nineteenth letter. It is most likely, however, that the concession was only temporary, and that the French governor was frequently obliged to renew his present application.

The allusion to strangers is, no doubt, pointed at the English, and thesubjects of the Carnatic. It is not equally certain, that the cause here assigned by the Sultan for the prohibition in question was the real one, or that the accusation, thus made, had any foundation in truth.

YOUR letter, filled with complaints and accusations against the Kushoon of the Sipahdâr, Mahommed Ali, has passed under our view. The particulars therein set forth are distinctly perceived. The aforesaid Sipahdâr is still ignorant [of many parts of his duty], and but imperfectly acquainted with the manner in which the business of our government is conducted. Hence it is, that although employed on [actual] service, he has neglected the proper equipment of his Kushoon, and, in this manner, shown his worthlessness.⁽¹⁾ Bearing in mind the expediency of the moment, you must issue the necessary orders for his being supplied with such stores as may be requisite, and then employ him [as you may think fit].

The Kurpah troops have reached Gooty, and will soon join you. You are not, however, to wait their arrival, but to proceed straight to Nergûnd, and there unite yourself to the army of the Sircar.⁽²⁾

You did right in purchasing the iron, and other articles you mention, for the use of the aforesaid Sipahdâr’s Kushoon. You will furthermore furnish whatever stores may be required, for repairing any damages which his gun-carriages may have sustained.

You write that the enemy, to the number of sixteen thousand horse and sixteen thousand foot, with five pieces of light artillery,⁽³⁾ are encamped at the distance of sixteen coss from the fort of Nergûnd. It is revealed. By the favor of God, the force appointed for the reduction of that fortress is so strong,⁽⁴⁾ that though there should be fifty thousand horse of the enemy, it will suffice for their effectual chastisement. This being the case, how will they dare to look at our army? Let that beloved son, then, hasten with his corps to join [the rest of] our forces: and if the army of the enemy should show itself in your way, take counsel of each other, and with one accord inflict due punishment upon them. What more needs proceed from our pen?

The lenity with which the Sultan here notices the remissness of the Sipahdâr, Mahommed Ali, is the more remarkable, as it was his general practice to animadvert, with the greatest severity, on every instance of neglect or disobedience of his orders, and particularly of his military regulations. His moderation, on the present occasion, might possibly have arisen from something like a personal partiality towards the offending officer; but it may also have had no other foundation than caprice. From whatever cause it proceeded, similar instances will be rarely met with. It is true, that the conduct of the Sipahdâr is spoken of with strong disapprobation; but this still falls very short of the usual measure of the Sultan’s anger on such occasions. The inexperience imputed to the officer in question, rather countenances the idea of his having been prematurely raised, through private favor, to the important command he enjoyed. In the regular course, a Sipahdâr, or brigadier (and especially in an army so actively employed as Tippoo Sultan’s generally was) could not be inexperienced. Still, however, no distinct traces are observable in the written documents, nor did I ever hear a report of the Sultan’s being influenced by favorites of any kind.

Two letters have been received from you, and their contents are understood.

[After some directions on certain trivial points, like those remarked on under Letter IV. page 13, the letter proceeds:]

You write, “that wishing to marry your daughter,⁽¹⁾ and there being “none of her cast in this country to contract her to, there is a necessity “of sending for a proper person for the purpose from the Pâyen-Ghaut: “and you therefore solicit passports for the ingress and egress of parties, “whom it will be requisite to invite on the occasion, according to the “list which you have enclosed.”⁽²⁾

It is known. A passport for the persons who are to come from the Pâyen-Ghaut to Bangalore, on this occasion, is enclosed: you will, therefore send for some person of your cast, and giving your daughter in marriage to him, detain him near you. Where is the necessity for sending him back to the Pâyen-Ghaut? If this, however, should not be practicable, you must seek for one of your own cast in this country to betroth her to; when [having found such a one] you will celebrate their nuptials. What more?

The Sultan would not appear to have had any objections to the entrance of strangers into Mysore, provided they came thither for the purpose of settling; but it was extremely difficult for any, who had found admission into his dominions, to quit them again. That he should have insisted on the detention of Râm Chundur’s intended son-in-law, in the event of the latter being brought from the Carnatic, is not to be wondered at, considering the distrust with which he habitually viewed all intercourse between that country and his own. To have allowed the son-in-law, and perhaps the daughter, of a person of the rank and authority of Râm Chundur, to reside in the territories, and be liable to the influence, of the power of whom he was most jealous and apprehensive, would have been entirely at variance with those maxims of policy, which constantly governed his conduct in regard to the English.

YOUR letter has passed under our view; and what you have written, respecting your having withdrawn from before Nergûnd, and of Bûrhânûddeen’s having occupied, with his army, a position on the banks of the Punâhileh,⁽¹⁾ is understood. It is fit that you also speedily join the army; and, according to our former directions, apply yourself to the chastisement of the enemy

What you say, regarding the reduction you have made in the baggage of your troops, is revealed, and meets with our approbation.

YOUR letter has been received. What you state, respecting your having withdrawn from the trenches,^(1*) and taken up a position with your army on the banks of the Punâhileh, is understood.

You must give orders to the predatory cavalry to harass the front and rear of the enemy, and to seize on all the horses they can; the present being the proper time for collecting together and obtaining horses.

Nursia, the Taalûkdâr of Nugr, has sent you, by our direction, forty thousand Behâdury pagodas,⁽²⁾ for the pay of your army, which you will, of course, have received. What more?

YOUR letter of the 25th Extra Ahmedy, (11th April), informing us of your arrival, with the forces under your command, at Nergûnd, and of your interview with Bûrhânûddeen, has passed under our view, and the particulars contained in it are fully revealed to us. Uniting yourself to the division belonging to Bûrhânûddeen, you must advance in open day against the enemy, and attacking them with vigour, chastise them in a manner that shall deter them from confronting you again.

WE have received your letter, and its contents are understood. In conformity with the wishes of Râo Râsta, the siege of Nergûnd has been relinquished, and our victorious army has encamped at the distance of two or three Coss from thence. You must state to Râo Râsta, that a mulct is not what we want from the Zemindâr, but due compensation for the injury sustained by our dominions [in consequence of his depredations], and payment of the arrears due by him for [several] years past.

The movements and near approach of the Mahrattah army, which had now advanced in considerable force to the support of the Zemindâr of Nergûnd, appear to have rendered it inexpedient to prosecute the siege of that place, which was, therefore, relinquished for the present; the Sultan, at the same time, taking credit for having, in this instance, yielded to the wishes of Râo Râsta; who, however, was not to be so easily duped, as may be seen by Letter XXXVII to Mahommed Ghyâs. No material progress could have been made in the siege at the time it was relinquished.

YOUR encamping at Misrycôtah, as well as your dispatching of the Kâzy of Toorkul to the Presence, was proper. According to your request, Purwânehs⁽¹⁾ are enclosed for the Aumils⁽²⁾ of the several Taalûks, and for the Kilaadârs, directing them to furnish you with intelligence of the enemy.

Let loose the plundering cavalry, and other predatory troops, upon the enemy’s army, with orders to seize and bring in horses without number.⁽³⁾ Take care, also, of your own army, and be always prepared.

YOUR letter, proposing “to open⁽¹⁾ trenches against Nergûnd, and “applying for Purwânehs to the Aumils in the vicinity [of your camp] “to collect fascines and scaling ladders,⁽²⁾ for the attack and reduction of “Râmdoorg, and the other forts situated on that road,” has been received, and is understood. You must not, at present, lay siege to Nergûnd; but pursuing the army of the enemy wherever it may be, drive it beyond the Kishna, and deal with it in such a manner, as shall deter it from facing our troops again.

Purwânehs are enclosed for the Aumils of Dhârwâr, Bâdâmy, and Gujunder-ghur, directing them to supply the necessary materials for scaling ladders, &c. When these things are wanted, forward the orders, and apply for what you require.

Describe particularly, for our information, what sort of a place Râmdoorg is.

The army of the enemy is encamped at the distance of a gun-shot from Râmdoorg. In conjunction with Meer Kumrûddeen Ali Khân, lead our victorious army against it, and chastise it in such a manner, as shall break its loins, and render it incapable of facing you again. You must take fifteen days’ grain with you. The aforesaid Khân is indisposed; you will, therefore, dispatch Kishna Pundit, the physician attached to that dear son,⁽¹⁾ to administer to him. What more?

Do you, our dear son, repair to our beloved son, Meer Kumrûddeen Ali Khân, and, consulting together, act according to your united judgment; pressing the enemy in such a manner, that they may not be able to take breath on this side the Kishna. Having accomplished the chastisement of the enemy, you will resume your position before Râmdoorg.

Although the authority vested in Bûrhânûddeen, on the present occa sion, appears to have been very limited (Kumrûddeen, even when actually united with him, receiving his orders, on various occasions, directly from the Sultan himself) yet there is some reason to believe, that he was considered as the principal commander of the forces opposed, at the commencement of this war, to the Mahrattah army.^(1*) The circumstance of his being directed, in the foregoing letter, to repair to the camp of Kumrûddeen, for the purpose of consulting with the latter on the operations of the campaign, does not at all invalidate this opinion; since the order in question is sufficiently accounted for by the indisposition of Kumrûddeen, noticed in Letter XXX: besides which, it will be seen, by the following Letter, that it was the express wish of the Sultan, that they should keep up an intercourse of mutual visits. But, however this may have been, it is certain, that a considerable jealousy subsisted between these two commanders, of which some proofs will appear in the sequel.

WHAT you write, respecting the flight of the enemy’s army, and of horses taken by our troops, as also your application for Purwânehs to Ibrâheem Ali Khân and Râjoo Pundit, directing them to dispatch supplies to you,⁽¹⁾ is understood. With regard to the horses, you must take them [from the captors,] at a valuation;⁽²⁾ and, after placing such as are strong and in good condition in our stables, distribute the rest among the Silahdârs,⁽³⁾ to be mounted by men out of employ. You will, in conjunction with Bûrhânûddeen and the other [commanders], chastise the enemy in such a manner, that they may not be suffered to take breath before they reach the river Kishna. Having thus soundly beaten them, you will again encamp before Râmdoorg. You are also, from time to time, to repair to the quarters of Bûrhânûddeen; and to act in concert with him, and all the rest of the commanders, in whatsoever relates to occupying the necessary positions, and to the opening of the trenches. On the other hand, if you should, upon any occasion, find it necessary to do so, you will send to Bûrhânûddeen to come to you. The latter, as well as the Sipahdârs attached to him, has been instructed to the same effect.⁽⁴⁾ Ibrâheem Ali Khân and Râjoo Pundit have likewise been written to, according to your desire.

YOUR letter, reporting the sickness of Meer Kumrûddeen Ali Khân, and containing an application for two Yoonâny (or Greek) physicians,⁽¹⁾ and some Telingy doctors, to attend him, has been received, and is understood. Let the said Khân be attended by the physician Kishna Pundit, who is with you; and write to Abdûl Hukeem Khân,⁽²⁾ to desire he will send a doctor from thence.⁽³⁾ These two, being appointed to administer to the said Khân, must be so strictly enjoined on the occasion, that his restoration to health may speedily be effected.^(4*)

Enclosed is an order to the Kilaadâr of Dhârwâr, where there are a number of gun-bullocks, directing him to dispatch them to you: you will, accordingly, send for them, and, on their arrival, select such as are stout and young, and most fit for the draught of artillery, and deliver them over to the Sipahdâr, Syed Ghûfâr.

YOUR letter has been received, and its contents are understood. What you say, respecting your having left the Kushoon of the Sipahdâr Syed Ghûfâr for the guard of the baggage, and taken the Kushoon of the Sipahdâr Mahommed Ali along with yourself, is known. With the exception of tents and pawls⁽¹⁾ and other articles of indispensable necessity, there is no baggage attached either to you or to the division of Bûrhânûddeen; therefore the leaving the Kushoon of the said Sipahdâr for their protection is absolutely superfluous. Besides, adverting to [the near approach of] the rainy season, it is of importance, on the score of health, that you should have your tents and pawls along with you. Such being the case, you will take the Kushoon of Syed Ghûfâr also with you, as well as your tents and pawls.

You and Bûrhânûddeen must live together in harmony, and not thwart or oppose one another in the conduct of our affairs, but apply yourselves to the chastisement of the enemy. It will also be suitable to the friendship [which should subsist between you,] and will contribute to the success of our affairs, if you sometimes visit his quarters: nor will it be amiss if you occasionally invite him to yours.

It is abundantly evident from the foregoing letter (and will appear still more from some others that follow) that no very good understanding subsisted between the cousin and brother-in-law of the Sultan; whose admonitions, on the occasion, being mostly addressed to Kumrûddeen, it may, from thence, be inferred, that the fault was chiefly on the side of the latter; who might probably think that his nearer affinity to the Sultan, as well as the services of his father, gave him a claim to superior consideration.

YOUR two letters have been received. What you write, respecting the excuses made by the manufacturers of the district [under you] for declining to weave the stuffs we require, has excited our astonishment; we therefore direct, that they be compelled, by menaces, to prepare the number of pieces required, with the utmost expedition, and agreeably to the pattern [heretofore] sent. If, notwithstanding your injunctions and menaces, they persist in their false pretexts and disobedience, they must be well flogged.

What you write, regarding the affair of the Hurkâreh⁽¹⁾ Râmâ, who has been propagating false reports to the prejudice of the people of Punganore,⁽²⁾ is understood. Let the said Hurkâreh be put in irons and confined; and after taking security from the bankers of Punganore, let them be released, as their further detention would be idle.

Revolting as the idea of flogging a body of weavers, for being averse to undertake a fabric, with which they were probably unacquainted, or which they might not be able to execute without detriment to their ordinary occupations, must appear to every English reader, we are obliged, in fairness to Tippoo Sultan, to acknowledge, that similar acts of oppression and violence are, by no means, uncommon, under the native governments of India. Still, however, such acts usually proceed from subordinate officers, or persons exercising, and perhaps abusing, delegated power; and rarely, if ever, distinctly and immediately, as in the instance before us, from the sovereign himself. Thus the evil, generally speaking, is to be traced to the despotic nature of the government; while, in the case under consideration, it may justly be referred, in a great measure, to the personal character of the ruler.

It is impossible not to be struck, in the foregoing letter, by the sudden transition which it exhibits, from flagrant oppression to rigorous justice. Imprisonment and chains are not thought too severe a punishment for calumny by the man, who in the same breath, as may be said, consigns a numerous class of industrious artisans to the scourge, for refusing to relinquish their accustomed pursuits, in order to administer to his caprice. But such inconsistencies are constantly presenting themselves in the conduct of Tippoo Sultan; whose irregular mind was, at no time, under the influence of any fixed principle, if bigotry, and still more, hatred of the English, be excepted. To humanity of disposition, or to a love of justice, in the abstract, he certainly could lay no claim; and, therefore, in punishing the Hurkâreh Râmâ as he did, it is much more probable that he was actuated by resentment, at the imposition attempted to be practised upon him by that informer, than by any feeling for the injury which his slander might have done to the objects of it.

Two letters from you have passed under our view, and the particulars therein stated are duly perceived. With respect to the war which you two are conducting in conjunction with the three Sipahdârs, (that is to say, Syed Humeed, Syed Ghûfâr, and Shaikh Unser), all of them prudent and intelligent men, our desire is, that acting in concert together, you should pursue the object of chastising the enemy with the utmost vigor and sagacity, and in an effectual and glorious manner: accordingly, we have transmitted strict orders to this effect to the aforesaid Sipahdârs; who will, in consequence, be obedient to you, and co-operate on all occasions with you.

What you say of the scarcity of grain [in your army,] notwithstanding your having a Cutwâl⁽¹⁾ and [so many] Lumbânehs⁽²⁾ with you, has astonished us; you must, therefore, denounce the heaviest threats against the said Cutwal, and make him provide abundance of grain, agreeably to our regulations on this head, to the end that your people may suffer no distress for that article.

By the Divine favor your health⁽³⁾ is now re-established, and it is, consequently, no longer proper that you should have a physician attending you, or that you should take any more medicines; let him, therefore, be sent back to Shahnoor.

After chastising the enemy in a signal manner, and driving him to the other side of the Kishna, you will take up a position for the attack of Nergûnd.

Your sending away your baggage is a proceeding in no respect proper: you must keep it with you. Indeed, where is the great quantity of baggage belonging to you, seeing that you have nothing besides tents, pawls, and other such necessary articles?

The cavalry attached to you have been very remiss in skirmishing and marauding, and in having suffered the enemy to flee without making booty of any of their horses, and finally to escape by the pass of Râmdoorg, although they might have taken numberless horses. It is well. You must now give the most peremptory orders to the Risâladârs of cavalry to go forth on separate parties, and exert themselves properly to make prize of the enemy’s horses; the present being a favorable opportunity for getting together a great number of horses. Scouring, likewise, the enemy’s country, they must seize on all the grain, &c. they can discover.

The present letter is somewhat at variance with the thirty-second, on the subject of horses captured from the Mahrattahs; since, from the latter, it would appear, as if some success had attended the Sultan’s army in this respect, whereas he here complains of the enemy’s having been suffered to escape, without “any horses” having been taken from them. It is probable, that the first report of the commanders, on this head, did not descend to particulars; and that, when they subsequently stated the specific number of horses actually taken, the Sultan might have been disappointed at the result; and, under this impression, have been led to under-rate the little that had been done. The great solicitude which he betrays for procuring horses, would, of course, enhance his disappointment on the occasion.

YOUR letter, dated the last day [or 29th] of Extra Ahmedy,⁽¹⁾ has passed under our view, and its purport is duly understood. An answer has been written, on all points, in our Hindivy letter, to which you are referred for particulars.

The villainy and bad faith which they⁽²⁾ have manifested, in spite of the most solemn engagements, is abundantly well known. Upon what grounds then, [or, with what confidence,] can we, all at once, send thither a large sum of money? Noor Mahommed Khân has been sent for by us, merely for the purpose of our ascertaining [through him] their treaties and engagements, and with no other view. You must state this matter distinctly to Râo Râsta, and, removing all suspicions of a different tendency from his mind, dispatch Noor Mahommed Khân to the Presence; and if [at the same time] they should [think proper to] be very urgent for your departure also, assuredly you, too, must repair hither.

You write, “that Râo Râsta observed to you, on occasion of the “siege of Nergûnd having been raised, that if the orders for that measure had been previously communicated to his government, according “to his suggestion, such a proceeding would have had the best effect, as “it would have tended to strengthen his hands in the management of “the negociation; but as things had happened, they bore a very ungracious appearance, inasmuch as he had been led to declare repeatedly “to the minister,⁽³⁾ in the most positive manner, that if the Mahrattah “army ventured to meet ours they would inevitably be put to shame; “whereas, in fact, the very reverse of all this had taken place, to his “great disturbance and confusion.”

It is known. We have not deviated a hair’s breadth from the suggestions of Râo Râsta: nor, though we have raised the siege [of Nergûnd,] has there been any deficiency,⁽⁴⁾ on our part, in chastising the enemy’s army. This is a fact of such abundant notoriety as not to require any other evidence. What more?

It is not easy to conceive, what motive the Sultan could have for addressing his agents on any occasion in the Hindivy, rather than in the Persian language; in which last, it may be safely presumed that he usually conveyed his written orders to such of his servants as understood it. It could not be with a view to secrecy; since a Hindivy letter, supposing it to fall into improper hands, would at least be as generally intelligible as a Persian one. Possibly the Hindivy letter, referred to in the present instance, might have been dispatched, for the express purpose of being communicated to Râo Râsta; though, in this case, some intimation of that design would, it may be thought, have been given in the Persian letter. But whatever the reason of the proceeding under consideration might be, it is proper to observe, that it was not confined to the present occasion, or to the persons of the envoys at Poonah; since other examples of the practise in question will be met with in the course of this work.

It would seem, by the second paragraph of the foregoing letter, that some sinister interpretation had been put by the court of Poonah, or at least by Râo Râsta, upon the desire expressed by the Sultan for the return of Noor Mahommed Khân. What the particular nature of the suspicions entertained on this occasion by the Mahrattahs was, does not appear; but it is not improbable, that, they may have apprehended the real object of the envoy’s recal to be connected with some secret intrigue of the Sultan’s at Poonah: nor is it likely, that the latter’s disavowal of any improper view in the matter would have the effect of removing those doubts or fears; especially, as the two states were now at open war. Be this as it may, it is certain that Noor Mahommed Khân did not, at this time, obtain leave to obey the summons of his master; and that, both he and his colleague, were detained at Poonah, till the month of May in the following year.

I am not sufficiently acquainted with the details of this war, to be enabled to decide between the opposite pretensions of Râo Râsta and of Tippoo Sultan, respecting the success of the earlier operations of it. It is clear, however, that the Sultan had, at this period, been compelled to relinquish the siege of Nergûnd, by the menacing position of the Mahrattah army, and that Râo Râsta was not to be persuaded, that the measure had been adopted purely at his instance. The truth, indeed, would appear to be, that, hitherto, no material advantage had been obtained by either side.

WHAT you write, regarding the variations of the temperature⁽¹⁾ in your quarter, is revealed. Our physicians have thoroughly ascertained the proper mode of treating⁽²⁾ the diseases in question. The first thing to be done is, to draw off, by bleeding, all the corrupt humours; by which means an effectual improvement will be produced in the general constitution of the patient. The body of the diseased party being thus completely brought under subjection,⁽³⁾ the next step must be to expel from it every remaining seed of the distemper, administering, in the meanwhile, whatever medicines may be found necessary. What more?

This curious enigmatical letter is sufficiently intelligible. The unwholesome temperature of Poonah, alludes to the hostile disposition towards the Sultan, which had latterly superseded at that Court the amicable sentiments, formerly entertained for himself and his father by the Mahrattah rulers. By his physicians, the Sultan means his counsellors, or perhaps, the commanders of his army. The disease to be cured is, of course, the enmity of the Mahrattahs; and the mode of cure, that which he had begun to pursue; namely, an active war against them. The remaining allusions are equally obvious; and, indeed, so much so, that it can hardly be imagined that the Sultan proposed to disguise his instructions under this metaphorical cypher, which could not fail to be immediately understood by any person, knowing who the writer, or even the party addressed, was: it is, therefore, most probable, that nothing more was intended by it, than a display of the writer’s ingenuity.

THE letter you sent us has passed under our view, and its contents are understood. Whatever was necessary to be said, has been written at length to Mahommed Ghyâs; our letter to whom will inform you [of our sentiments], agreeably to which you will act.

IT has been represented to us, that the garrison of Râmdoorg proposed to capitulate, but that you intimidated them [by your answer], and thereby threw away the favorable opportunity [or the advantage thus offered]. Where was the propriety of this [proceeding]? It is well. You must still encamp before the said fortress; and sending for battering guns from Dhârwâr, and collecting together the materials for trenches, by these means strike such a terror into the garrison as may induce them to submit: upon their doing which, you may permit them to march out of the fort with their arms. After putting a proper garrison in the place, you are to direct such of the enemy as are included in the capitulation, to be conducted, with their arms, beyond the Kishna.

Nursia, the Taalûkdâr of Nugr, has, of course, sent you, in pursuance of our orders, two hundred Coolies.⁽¹⁾ Let their arrival be reported to us.

You and Meer Kumrûddeen Khân must keep united, both in word and thought, and execute every business of the Sircar in an able and creditable manner,⁽²⁾ agreeably to what we have formerly and repeatedly written on this subject.

N. B. A letter of the same tenor and date was written to Kumrûddeen.

The foregoing letter furnishes a clear proof, that whatever the degree of general confidence reposed in Bûrhânûddeen by the Sultan might be, the latter, nevertheless, kept spies upon his brother-in-law; who were encouraged to animadvert freely on his conduct; and to whose representations considerable attention was paid. Indeed it appears, from several of the documents among the state papers found at Seringapatam, that the Sultan had organized a very extensive system of espionage throughout his dominions, and in almost every department of his government.

His envoys at foreign courts, his military commanders, his governors of forts and districts, were all diligently watched; or, at least, ordered to be so: but as the spies, thus employed, were, in general, very well known, it may be safely presumed, that their integrity was often corrupted, and their vigilance as often eluded. The practice of placing spies over public functionaries is, no doubt, very common under all the governments of India: but I am inclined to think, that few of them have carried it so far as was done by Tippoo Sultan; of whose regulations for this department an outline (consisting of a short edict on the subject), will be found in Appendix F.

YOUR letter has been received; and your account of the reduction of Râmdoorg, and of your having placed a garrison therein, is understood.

Sending for the battering guns from Dhârwâr, and collecting together the necessary materials for the erection of batteries, &c. you will proceed against Nergûnd, and lose no time in reducing it.

Nursia, the Taalûkdâr of Nugr, has, by our order, sent you two hundred Coolies, who have most probably joined you. You will report their arrival. The Coolies belonging to Kopul and Bâdâmy are already with you: be expeditious, therefore, in collecting together every thing necessary [for the early siege of Nergûnd]. A Hindivy order has been sent, for placing two Jowks,⁽¹⁾ &c., in garrison at Râmdoorg, agreeably to which you will act.

You and Kumrûddeen Khân, agreeing in word and thought, must execute the business of the Sircar in a splendid [or creditable] manner.

N. B. A letter of the same tenor and date was dispatched to Kumrûddeen.

YOUR letter has been received. You have written, that nine Frenchmen, together with their captain, had embraced the faith, and that the said captain humbly hoped to be honored with the command of of a Risâla of⁽¹⁾ Ahmedies. It is known: and our pleasure is, that ten rupees be given to each of them, and that they be all dispatched, under an escort [a safeguard], to the Presence, where, on their arrival, the aforesaid captain shall receive the honor he solicits. Peremptory orders for the payment of the above stipends, and for furnishing the necessary escort, have been sent to the Kilaadâr of Nugr.

The Ahmedies here mentioned were a military corps, composed of the converts (whether forced or voluntary) to the Mahommedan religion. It was instituted by Tippoo Sultan, with whom it seems to have been a favorite establishment; of the origin of which he himself gives the following curious account in the Memoirs already referred to:

“The Portuguese Nazarenes⁽²⁾ established themselves, about three hundred “years ago, in a factory situated near the sea shore, and on the banks of a large “river. This place they obtained of the Râjah of Soondah, under the pretext of “trading [with his subjects]⁽³⁾: and here, availing themselves of the opportunities “which arose in the course of time, they acquired possession of a territory, “yielding a yearly revenue of three or four lacks of rupees, throughout which they “equally prohibited fasts and prayers among the Mussulman inhabitants, and the “worship of idols among the Hindoos; finally expelling from thence all who refused “to embrace their religion, which the Hindoos were required to do within three days, “under pain, if they remained in the country after that time, of being forcibly “converted to it. Some of the people, alarmed at this proceeding, abandoned “their property and homes, and took refuge in other countries: but the greater “part, considering the threatened danger as improbable, and not possessing the “means of removing their effects, preferred remaining; whereupon these infidel “Nazarenes, at the end of the appointed time, obliged them all to embrace their “false religion. Sometime after this, by means of gifts and presents distributed “among the Râjahs and Aumils of that quarter, they were suffered to erect “from eighty to a hundred idol temples,⁽⁴⁾ in the countries of Nugr, Soonda, and “Kûriâl-Bundur;⁽⁵⁾ in each of which they placed a Pâdre or two, whose religion, “in fact, was that of the Guebres;⁽⁶⁾ and by whose means they prevailed, partly “by artifice, and partly by tempting the avarice [of the poorer classes], on vast “numbers of the inhabitants to adopt their faith. [Such was the state of things “here] when, by the divine favor, and through the aid of the Asylum of Prophecy,⁽⁷⁾ “and with the help of the conquering Lion of God,⁽⁸⁾ the port of Kûriâl fell “into our hands; on which occasion the odious proceedings of these accursed “Pâdries becoming fully known to us, and causing our zeal for the faith to boil “over, we instantly directed the Dewân of the Hûzoor Kuchurry⁽⁹⁾ to prepare a “list of all houses occupied by the Christians, taking care not to omit a single “habitation. The officers of the Kuchurry, accordingly, employing the “Mûtusuddies of Soonda, Nugr, Kûriâl, &c. for this purpose, soon prepared “and delivered to us a detailed report on the subject. After this, we caused an “officer and some soldiers to be stationed in every place inhabited by the “Christians; signifying to them, that, at the end of a certain time, they should “receive further orders, which they were then to carry into full effect. These “men and officers being all arrived at their respective posts, the following orders “were transmitted to them, viz. ‘On such a day of the week and month, and “at the hour of morning prayer, let all the Christians, whatever their number “may be, together with their women and children, be made prisoners and “dispatched to our Presence.’ And on the sealed cover, or superscription, of each “of these dispatches, was specified the day of the week and month on which “it was to be opened and read. Accordingly our orders were every where opened “at the same moment; and at the same hour (namely, that of morning prayer) “were the whole of the Christians, male and female, without the exception of a “single individual, to the number of sixty thousand, made prisoners, and “dispatched to our Presence; from whence we caused them, after furnishing “them duly with provisions, to be conveyed, under proper guards, to Seringapatam:⁽¹⁰⁾ to the Taalûkdârs of which place we sent orders, directing that “[the said Christians] should be divided into Risâlas, or corps, of five hundred “men, and a person of reputable and upright character placed, as Risâladâr, “at the head of each. Of these Risâlas, four (together with their women “and children) were directed to be stationed at each of the following places,⁽¹¹⁾ “where they were duly fed and clothed, and ultimately admitted to the honor of “Islamism; and the appellation of Ahmedy⁽¹²⁾ was bestowed upon the collective “body.”⁽¹³⁾

Thus far the Sultan. Of these sixty thousand Christians, fifteen thousand may be supposed to have been capable of bearing arms, which number would form thirty Risâlas. But this corps was not composed exclusively of converts from Christianity. Soon after its establishment, it received a considerable accession of strength in the captives of the Kûrg or Koorg nation; all the males among whom, being compelled to embrace the Mahommedan faith, were afterwards enrolled in the Ahmedy corps, to the number (according to the Sultan’s own account in a subsequent part of this Memoir) of from sixty to seventy thousand men.⁽¹⁴⁾ The united corps were distributed throughout the garrisons and districts of Mysore; and every where the strictest orders (says the Sultan) were issued, commanding those in authority to treat these new Mahommedans with the greatest tenderness, and, in short, to consider them “as more precious even than their own souls.”

YOUR letter has passed under our view, and its contents are understood. You write, “that the Byde horse,⁽¹⁾ out of employ, have “committed great excesses and depredations in the Sircar’s dominions.” It is known. You must issue the most peremptory orders [to these people] to carry their ravages into the Mahrattah territories, bringing away from thence all the horses they can make booty of, and desisting [for the future] from their depredations in our country.

You and Bûrhânûddeen must remain united in your councils; and collecting together the necessary materials for opening trenches against Nergûnd, lose no time in reducing that place. In short, you must, in all affairs, agree in word and thought.

Turrokul belongs to the Zemindâr of Kolapoor, and the said Zemindâr is well disposed towards us: you must, therefore, never mention his name, but attend to what we heretofore particularly and strictly enjoined on this head. What more shall be written?

If some disagreement had not recently arisen between Bûrhânûddeen and Kumrûddeen, it may, at least, be inferred from the second paragraph of the foregoing letter, that the Sultan was in apprehension of it, and, therefore, judged it necessary to repeat so soon his former exhortations to harmony. It may be doubted, however, whether these admonitions produced the desired effect; since, not long after the date of the present dispatch, fresh symptoms of discord between the rival commanders are manifested.

It is not very clear, what the Sultan means, by enjoining Kumrûddeen “never “to mention the name” of the Zemindâr of Kolapoor. Kolapoor is a district situated near Soonda and Goa, and in the possession of a chieftain, who acknowledges the authority of the government of Poonah, and pays, I believe, a tribute to the Paishwa. It would seem, that a good understanding secretly subsisted between this chieftain and the Sultan; and that the latter, on this account, had determined to treat him as a neutral, notwithstanding his connexion with the Mahrattah empire. It is also not improbable, that Kumrûddeen (ignorant, perhaps, of the friendly disposition of the Zemindâr towards the Sultan) may have proposed to take possession of Tûrkûl or Turrokul; in which case, the purport of the expression under consideration might have been, that the Zemindâr of Kolapoor was not to be considered or spoken of in a hostile manner, or his territory treated as that of an enemy.

YOUR two letters, of the 11th and 15th of Ahmedy, have been received, and the account of your conferences with the Paishkâr⁽¹⁾ of Râo Râsta is understood.

The Mahrattah army has come and laid waste our dominions, to the amount of eight lacks of pagodas,⁽²⁾ and otherwise proceeded in an unwarrantable manner: the commanders of our forces have, in consequence, been reduced to the necessity of attacking that army, which, after sustaining a severe defeat, has been driven across the Kishna. On their return [from the pursuit of the enemy] our commanders seized on Râmdoorg, and have since opened trenches against Nergûnd. We still, however, are willing to relinquish the attack upon the latter place, on condition that the arrears of the usual Paishcush be discharged, and due satisfaction be made to us for the injury done to our country. We shall otherwise soon reduce the place.

You must return to us by the post all the bills of exchange in your possession and in the possession of Noor Mahommed Khân.⁽³⁾ If the chiefs of that place consent to the dismission of the said Khân, and to his being dispatched hither, we shall then be enabled to ascertain from him every particular respecting that quarter, and to consider the means of remitting the money [due or claimed].

Your account of receipts and disbursements is duly arrived. A remittance will, hereafter, be made to you, for defraying the expences of your mission.⁽⁴⁾

YOU have represented, “that notwithstanding the peremptory commands issued by us for the purpose, the necessary articles for enabling “you to open trenches [against Nergûnd] have not yet been sent to you “by any of the Aumils; to whom you, in consequence, request we will “repeat our orders.” It is known.

That light of our eyes⁽¹⁾ has always been a mere child:⁽²⁾ but now his senses must absolutely have forsaken him, as otherwise he could not write to us so often to repeat our orders. One peremptory order from us is [in all cases] sufficient. Where is the Aumil, who dares to be remiss in dispatching the articles [directed to be furnished by us]? If there be any who has disregarded our commands, let him be put to death: or⁽³⁾ let the Purwânehs,^(4*) so slighted, be returned to the Presence.

The workmen⁽⁵⁾ who arrive from the different Taalûks for the service of the trenches, as well as those already with Bûrhânûddeen, are to be divided between you. Taking half of them, therefore, you must immediately commence the business of the trenches: seeing that the rainy season approaches, and that, when that sets in,⁽⁶⁾ the siege cannot any longer be prosecuted with vigour. For this reason, you are to proceed with the utmost dispatch in the attack and reduction of Nergûnd.

The foregoing letter, at the same time that it affords a pretty strong proof of the slight estimation in which the Sultan held the talents of Kumrûddeen, also shews (what is further evinced in many other instances) that in the occasional expression of his disapprobation, he was not apt to be restrained by any consideration for the rank of the person incurring it; dealing out the same measure of asperity to the highest as to the lowest officer or servant, and making no distinction, in this respect, in favour even of his own near relation. The lofty tone, which he assumes in speaking of his orders, is likewise highly illustrative of his imperious temper, and of his quick sensibility of whatever affected his authority; which, it is difficult to believe, should have been actually insulted, in the manner that would seem to be indicated by the close of the second paragraph. Daring, indeed, must the Aumil have been, who could, on any pretext, not simply refuse or with-hold obedience to a Purwâneh of this prince, but contumaciously return it to the person delivering or sending it: for such is the construction to which the passage in question is liable. But whatever the fact may have been, no farther trace of, or allusion to it, is to be met with in the correspondence.

YOUR letter, informing us of the molestation given by the cavalry and Kushoons attached to the division under Bûrhânûddeen to the labourers⁽¹⁾ coming from Dhârwâr [to your camp,] has been received, and its contents are understood.

You write also [in the same letter,] “that the quantity of powder, as “well as of eighteen and twenty-four pounds shot, with Bûrhânûddeen’s “army, is inadequate [to the service going forward,] and request us to “send orders to the Kilaadâr of Dhârwâr, to dispatch a further supply “of those articles.” It is known. We have already written, and now again write, to say, that all stores arriving from the Taalûks of the Sircar are to be divided equally between you and Bûrhânûddeen.

We enclose an order for the shot, &c. required, to the Kilaadâr of Dhârwâr, to whom you will forward it. On receiving this supply, deliver half of it to Bûrhânûddeen In like manner, take the half of all other supplies that arrive; and attacking Nergûnd from one side, while Bûrhânûddeen attacks it from the other, let the fortress be speedily reduced.

YOUR letter, accompanied by a statement of the receipts, disbursements, and balances of the Taalûks of Gooty, Bulhâry, Ouk, and Hindi-Unnuntpoor, has been received, and the particulars set forth [therein] are understood.

You write, “that there are large balances outstanding in the Taalûks “of the Sircar, and particularly in Gooty and Bulhâry, where only a “thousand pagodas have been collected, notwitstanding four horsemen “have been employed as Suzâwuls;⁽¹⁾ and you therefore desire, that “peremptory orders may be issued [on the occasion] from the Presence.”

You must scourge the defaulters severely, and [by this means] speedily realize the dues of the Sircar. What more?

YOUR letter, mentioning that you had nearly completed your first two approaches, and that Bûrhânûddeen’s batteries were still unfinished, has passed under our view, and the contents are comprehended. This is an affair of a hill-fort. Without approaching very close to the place, and making a very wide and effectual breach, it will never be advisable or proper to attempt an assault: you must, therefore, wait until Bûrhânûddeen’s batteries are completed; keeping up, in the mean while, such a fire on the place, as shall utterly destroy the wall on your side. Bûrhânûddeen has been written to, directing him to deliver to you half of the guns and labourers [he has recently received]; with the help of which you must continue to push on your approaches, and speedily reduce this fort.

YOUR letter, requesting our authority for engaging in your service a Mûnshy, for the purpose of making out passports and writing letters, has been received. Agreeably to your desire, you may hire a Kunry writer for the purposes you mention.⁽¹⁾

You are to deliver to Kumrûddeen Khân half the guns and labourers [that join you.]

Kâlâ Pundit, it seems, together with his family, has fled from Nergûnd. Make enquiries, and let us know who now commands that place.

I have been unable to ascertain whether Kâlâ Pundit was the Zemindâr of Nergûnd, or only an officer intrusted by him with the defence of the place. The report here noticed of his flight proved to be unfounded.

To MAHOMMED KÂZIM (Brother of the deceased ZYNÛL AABIDEEN, late BUKTSHY of the JYSHE KUCHURRY); dated 12th BEHÂRY. (26th May.)

IT has, at this time, pleased God that your brother should die. This event has caused us much concern. Having it in view to provide for you, we desire you will repair speedily to our Presence, and consider yourself as secure of our favor.

YOUR letter, enclosing an account of the receipts and disbursements of the Taalûk of Loll-ghurry, has been received, and what you have therein stated is understood. You say, “that the Aumil of the aforesaid “Ghurry has absconded, and desire that a new Aumil and Kilaadâr may “be sent from the Presence.” It is known. But how is it, that the said Aumil should have absconded without cause or motive?⁽¹⁾ You must enquire very particularly into this matter, and report the result to us.

YOU have represented to us, “that you had proposed to Kumrûddeen “Khân to make over to him the Kushoon of Shaikh Unser, and to take, “in its place, the Kushoon of the commandant Mahommed Ali; but “that the aforesaid Khân had given for answer, that it was not proper, “at this time, to make such an exchange.” Well! what does it signify? Let the Kushoon of Mahommed Ali remain there (i. e. with Kumrûddeen.)^(1*)

You write also, “that you purposed transferring to Kumrûddeen half “of the great guns, of the labourers, Coolies, &c. and keeping the “other half yourself.” It is well: and you will continue to make the same division hereafter.

You say, “that the Vakeel⁽²⁾ of Kittoor had been with you, and “represented to you, that if his master were allowed a week or two, he “would, at the end of that time, wait upon you, and perform such “services for the Sircar as should be required of him.” It is known. At the expiration of the specified period, you will, accordingly, send for him, and employ him in our service.⁽³⁾

FIVE letters⁽¹⁾ from you, dated the 22d and 25th of Ahmedy [7th and 10th of May], and 1st and 4th of Behâry [15th and 18th May], have been received, and every particle of their contents is understood.

You observe, “that we have said in our letter to Râo Râsta (of “which a copy was sent to you, ‘that he, (Râo Râsta) having told “Mahommed Ghyâs and Noor Mahommed Khân, for our information, “that he was willing to engage that his government should make good “to us the Paishcush due to us by the Nergûnd man, as well as make “us compensation for the ravages committed in our country, we had, “in consequence, made known our sentiments to the aforesaid Khân, “who would accordingly communicate the same to him.’” You then add, “that this was not the purport of your letters to us; and request “us to refer to them again, when it will appear that what you stated “was, that Râo Râsta had proposed that eighty thousand rupees should “be paid to us by way of fine, and ten thousand rupees for Durbâr “charges; and that, for the future, the payment of the Paishcush “should be secured to us, in the same manner as when it used to be “paid through Apâjee Râm. Such being the case, you wish to know “what answer you are to give to Râo Râsta, if he should demand “of you at what time he had ever made the communication ascribed “to him.”

It is known. Whenever letters are received from you, the proper answers to them are deliberated on, and written accordingly. Thus, in the present case, our writing in the manner we have done [to Râo Râsta,] was the result of expediency; and sometime hereafter the utility of the proceeding will appear.

What you write of the death of Anund, Râo Râsta’s son, is known. You will deliver to the aforesaid Râo the dress of condolence, and the letter which we have sent for him on the occasion.

If your longer stay at Poonah should be marked with incivility [or be attended with any circumstances derogatory to our dignity,]⁽²⁾ it can be productive of no advantage; and, in this case, you will demand your dismission, and repair hither, declaring yourself plainly at your departure [to the following effect.]

“Notwithstanding the favors you have received at the hands of my “master, you have afforded assistance to a Polygâr,⁽³⁾ belonging [or “subject] to him: and forgetting the boundless kindness of the Sircar, “you have sent your army, and laid waste his country, to the amount “of [many] lacks of rupees; while [on the other hand] my master, in “conformity with the wishes of Râo Râsta, expressed, both verbally “and by writing, directed the siege of Nergûnd to be raised, and his “forces to withdraw to a distance from thence. The army of Purserâm “Bhow, nevertheless, attacked that of the Sircar; the issue of which “[act of aggression], however, was, that the Bhow was completely “worsted, and compelled to flee beyond the Kishna. In spite, however, “of all this, Râo Râsta continues to require of my master to relinquish “the siege of Nergûnd; and accepting a mulct of eighty thousand “rupees, and a farther sum of ten thousand rupees for Durbâr charges, “to agree, for the future, to receive the Paishcush in the manner it was “heretofore paid by Apâjee Râm. Now my master only wishes, that “you yourselves would fairly consider this matter, and bear in mind the “repeated declaration he has made to you [through us], regarding the “contributions levied on his subjects, to the amount of ten lacks of “pagodas, by the Nergûnd man, as well as the ravages committed by “him in the Sircar’s territories: [all which being duly weighed] he “leaves you to judge how far it is possible for him to consent to an “arrangement, so entirely inadequate to the losses he has sustained, “through the aggressions of this Polygâr.”

You mention, “that Râo Râsta had represented to the minister,⁽⁴⁾ “that having caused the latter’s sentiments to be repeatedly conveyed “to us, through our confidential servants (meaning yourselves), and “having moreover himself communicated them to us by letter, he could “not be justly blamed, because we had not sent a suitable answer to the “same.”

To which you say, the minister had replied, “that he had always “declared it to be his opinion, that as, notwithstanding his (Râsta’s) “constant importunity, no money had been sent from hence, it was “become perfectly clear, that we no longer wished to maintain the “relations of amity with them; seeing that, otherwise, such procrastination and evasion in dispatching the money [due] could never have “taken place; and that, this being the case, he now thought proper “plainly to desire that we might be informed, through you, ‘that if “we had it in view duly to strengthen the foundations of harmony, “we would [immediately] send the arrears due for the three [last] “years, together with [the necessary sum on account of] Durbâr “charges: and that, with respect to the Nergûnd business, we must “consent to what was heretofore settled [on that point.’] He concluded, as you report, by saying, ‘that if we did not wish for the “preservation of their friendship, and were determined to persist in “withholding the money [due], he could see no use in your remaining “there.’”

It is known. No doubt, our bad faith, and our disinclination to cultivate their friendship, are manifest, in the same manner as their performance of their strong and solemn engagements is as clear as the light of the sun. What pleasure can there be in reiterating these things? It is a common saying, “that if any body be at home, one word is “sufficient.” But, notwithstanding all this, we wrote, desiring Noor Mahommed Khân to be sent to us, in order that we might the better ascertain the views of the rulers there, and obtain the necessary explanations on the subject of their engagements, preparatory to our setting about the transmission of the stipulated money.⁽⁵⁾ If the aforesaid Khân had accordingly been sent hither, this would have been carried into effect. It is still our desire, that he should be dispatched to us, and that you [Mahommed Ghyâs] should remain there; but if your departure also should appear to be desired by that government, or if they should [openly] insist upon it, then you, as well as Noor Mahommed, taking leave of them, will immediately repair hither.

Instead of denoting the name of the friend of the Sircar, as you propose doing, by the number 20; and the name of the well-wisher of the Sircar, by the number 60 (these being the numerical powers of the initial letters of their respective names), you must, in future, call the former, whose name begins with a Gawf, Gûlâb Khân; and the latter, whose name begins with a Seen, Surdâr Khân; this last cypher being neat and clean; and the names to be employed not at all leading to a knowledge of the real ones. What more?

This is a very curious and interesting document; as, besides exposing the chicanery, and even downright falshood, to which the Sultan never scrupled to resort in his diplomatic transactions, when he thought he could thereby advance his purposes, it throws considerable light on the grounds of the quarrel subsisting between him and the government of Poonah; and discloses, in particular, the opinion entertained of the conduct and views of Tippoo by Nana Furnaveese, who, at this period, presided over the affairs of theMahrattah empire.

It is not the least remarkable circumstance in the foregoing letter, that to the natural question of the ambassadors, “what answer they were to give to Râo “Râsta, if he should demand of them at what time he had made the communication ascribed to him,” the Sultan makes no reply, but leaves it to the ingenuity of his agents to extricate themselves from the difficulty in which he had placed them, in the best manner they could.

The cypher which appears to have been proposed by Mahommed Ghyâs is a very common one in Hindostan, being founded on the numerical powers assigned to the letters of the alphabet by the Ubjud scheme, as explained in the Introduction; and, according to which, 20 stands for (gawf or kawf); and 60 for (Seen). Now, while to this cypher it is justly objectionable, that it expressly declares the initial letters of the names intended to be disguised, and so far furnishes a clue to the latter, it must be admitted, that the one substituted by the Sultan was not quite so liable to detection; since it conveyed no clear or absolute indication of the initials of the concealed names. Thus Surdar Khân would not so easily suggest the idea of Saindiah, as would the saying “he whose “name begins with 60, or S;” since no positive or necessary reason existed, for supposing that the initial letters of the feigned and concealed names were the same.

Still, however, the Sultan’s cypher did not possess any great advantage over that of Mahommed Ghyâs; and still less did it merit the praise of being “neat “and clean;” because, like the latter, it is so much in use, that the generality of readers would be very apt to suspect the principle of its construction. At a subsequent period, the Sultan appears to have improved somewhat in the art of cyphering; for the Vakeels, who accompanied the hostage princes to Madras, in 1792, were in possession of a figure-cypher, in which a descriptive account of the works of Fort St. George, written throughout in cypher, was discovered among the papers found at Seringapatam on the capture of that place. Even this, however, was but an indifferent contrivance, and, in consequence, was not difficult of detection.

It is not possible, at this time, to say, who were meant by Gûlâb Khân and Surdâr Khân; but it is sufficiently evident, from the epithets by which each is distinguished, that the former was a person of consideration, and the latter some one of inferior rank.

MAHOMMED USHRUF, the Superintendant of the Dewâny Kuchurry of Gooty, wrote to you, by our direction, desiring you to send to him Buswunt Râo, the Aumil of Beiginpilly; in order to his examining the accounts of the said Aumil, and ascertaining his malversations. Instead, however, of complying with this requisition, it appears, to our great astonishment, that you exhibited, on this occasion, the most senseless and extravagant behaviour; tearing the letter of the superintendant in pieces, and returning it to him in that condition. Such conduct is very remote from what we expected from your good sense: you must instantly, therefore, on receipt of this letter, dispatch the said Aumil to Mahommed Ushruf; and take care not to be guilty again of the like improper and rude behaviour, as such proceedings are contrary to our pleasure.

The reproof conveyed in this letter, considering the magnitude of the offence which gave rise to it, and the usual severity of the Sultan in similar cases, is so remarkably moderate, as almost to warrant a suspicion, that he occasionally suffered himself to be actuated, in his treatment of his servants, by motives of a personal and private nature, partaking, in some degree, of the character of partiality, not to say favouritism. The tearing in pieces, and returning in that condition, a letter written by the express direction of the Sultan, and most probably announcing it to be so, was hardly a less contempt of his authority, than the conduct of the Aumil mentioned in Letter XLV., whose crime was declared to merit death. It is possible, however, that the Sultan might not have viewed the transaction in this light; but have considered it as a mere personal affront to Mahommed Ushruf, which would be sufficiently punished by the bare manifestation of his displeasure.

YOU write, “that it is not advisable, until the reduction of Nergûnd, “that the Sipahdâr, Mahommed Ali, should be relieved, as you propose “that his Kushoon should continue to occupy its present post in the “trenches.” It is known

As the aforesaid Sipahdâr is an officer of no experience, and as his Kushoon consists of ignorant and new raised troops, we directed that you should send for, and keep with you, Shaikh Unser and his Kushoon, and station Mahommed Ali and his Kushoon with Bûrhânûddeen; by which means you would have the services of old soldiers, while the others would be more in the way of acquiring instruction. The fact is, that the instruction of the aforesaid Sipahdâr, and the improvement of the men composing his Risâla, is our object [in this arrangement], and not his exchange or supercession: you will, therefore, after speaking in an encouraging manner to him, send him to join Bûrhânûddeen.

What you say respecting the Risâla of Mahommed Nâsir (part of which you have incorporated into Mahommed Ali’s Kushoon, and made over the remainder to Bûrhânûddeen) is understood. The men belonging to the aforesaid Risâla are to be considered by you in the light of a loan or deposit,⁽¹⁾ and are neither to be made over to Bûrhânûddeen, nor to be incorporated into Mahommed Ali’s Kushoon; but are to be dispatched to the Presence, whenever our orders, for that purpose, shall be issued.

With regard to your sending away the stable horses, &c.⁽²⁾ on account of the scarcity of grain and forage, it is to be observed; that the war you are just now carrying on is against a fort; and that field operations being [for the present] out of the question, there can, of course, be no call for cavalry. You will, therefore, dispatch all the stable horses, &c. to Kuppood-ghur, where there is abundance of forage and good pasturage. This, indeed, was formerly signified to you; and it is a matter of extreme astonishment to us, that you should perpetually write and apply for orders in such plain and easy cases as this.

The foregoing letter clearly shows, that if the Sultan did not place unlimited confidence in the military talents or experience of Bûrhânûddeen, he at least considered the camp of that commander as a better school for the young and inexperienced soldier than that of Kumrûddeen. There is reason to believe, however, that the professional merits of Bûrhânûddeen were duly appreciated by his master; since we shall hereafter see him entrusted with the important charge of a wing of the united army of Mysore, in a general action with the Mahrattahs, near Shahnoor.

YOUR three letters (two of them dated the 9th of Behâry, and the other the 13th of Behâry) accompanied by five bills of exchange,⁽¹⁾ namely, four from yourself, and one from Noor Mahommed Khân, have been received. The detail you have entered into, regarding the insolent conduct of Suddashoo, the Hurkâreh, is understood. The aforesaid [person] is only an Hurkâreh: what question or debate [therefore] can arise with him, and why should he be made privy to any secret affairs? You must require of him those services which it is his duty to perform [and no other]; and when you may have any thing of a particularly secret nature to communicate, you must do it in the couplet cypher which is enclosed.⁽²⁾

If the [Mahrattah] minister, and the rest of them, will dismiss Noor Mahommed Khân, and allow him to return hither, it will be well; and, in the event of their being urgent for the return of you both, it will be better still: you will, in that case, set out together for the Presence.

IT has been represented to us, that a balance of fifteen or sixteen thousand pagodas is still due from some of the Taalûks, under the charge of Meer Futah Ali, the Taalûkdâr of Chuck-Bâlâpoor (from which amount, however, certain deductions remain to be made), and that you have taken very rigid measures for enforcing payment of the same. Now, as the aforesaid Taalûkdâr has never before exercised the functions of that office, and as he is, moreover, a stranger, and inexperienced in business, it is our pleasure, that you desist from those rigorous proceedings, and be content with gradually realizing the balance due. You will therefore recall your Suzâwuls [bailiffs], to the end that the aforesaid Aumil may be relieved from his present dismay.

N.B. The remainder of this letter is on an uninteresting subject.

The preceding letter affords another exception to the usual severity of the Sultan on similar occasions. The motives assigned for his lenity, in the present instance are, no doubt, satisfactory and creditable to his justice; though, as in the case of the Sipahdâr, Mahommed Ali, they necessarily bring in question the prudence of the Sultan; whom we see placing men in trusts, to which he knew them to be unequal. The following letter will be found to breathe a very different spirit.

YOUR letter, on the subject of the revenue accounts of the Huwaily⁽¹⁾ and Taalûk of Ali-Nugr (depending on Guramcoondah), has passed under our view, and is duly understood. You must examine the accounts of the said Taalûks in the strictest manner, and apply yourself diligently to the realization of the revenue. On this occasion, you must flog, without favour or partiality to any, all such persons as, adopting the practice of ingratitude, have defrauded the Sircar. By this means, let the payment of our dues be enforced.

N.B. The rest of this letter is omitted as immaterial.

YOUR letter has been received. We highly approve of your having placed the Kushoon of the Sipahdâr, Mahommed Ali, with Bûrhânûddeen: in the room of which you must take Shaikh Unser [and his corps]; that commander and his men being intelligent and well instructed.

You should open a negociation with the garrison of Nergûnd, through the Kilaadâr of Bâdâmy, or the Kâzy of Tûrkul, or through any other channel; and endeavour, by some means or other, to obtain speedy possession of the fort.

The reader will recollect, that the measure, for the execution of which Kumrûddeen is here commended, did not originate with him, but had been directed by the Sultan, and a compliance with it evaded, in the first instance, by the Meer.

I am inclined to infer, from the instructions here given to Kumrûddeen for opening a negociation with the garrison of Nergûnd, that the Sultan sometimes addressed his orders to one, and sometimes to another of the two commanders employed against that place, and that they were in the habit of communicating such orders to each other. It would be difficult, indeed, on any other supposition, to account for such an order as the present one being apparently addressed to Kumrûddeen exclusively; since there can be very little doubt that Bûrhânûddeen took the lead, at least, in all political, if not also in all military movements, connected with the general command of the army now advanced towards the Mahrattah frontier. It is, on the other hand, possible, that similar instructions to those under consideration may have been addressed directly to Bûrhânûddeen, although no entry, to that effect, appears in the correspondence.

YOUR letter, containing an application for money to enable you to make up some clothes, has been received. You may take three hundred rupees from the Tosheh-khâneh,⁽¹⁾ and apply that sum to the purposes of furnishing yourself with apparel.

Muster returns of the whole of the troops under your command, whether cavalry, regular infantry, or other description, as well as a statement of [your] receipts and disbursements, must be sent to us.

A month has elapsed since Kumrûddeen’s batteries were established close to the fort; but you have not advanced so far from your side, although you commenced your approaches so much sooner than he did. This is what we do not understand. It is necessary, that you should be more expeditious in the prosecution of this business; and that, by properly battering the walls of the place, you should effect such a plain and practicable breach, as may enable you to storm it with success. In this affair you must be brisk and active.

Parsimony, or perhaps, more strictly speaking, a rigid economy in his general expenditure, was always known to be a prominent feature in the character of Tippoo Sultan; and we have here a curious and striking proof of the fact. One of his principal generals, and his brother-in-law, is obliged to apply to him for the means of providing himself with wearing apparel; and the Sultan, although he complies with the request, is so far from leaving any thing on the occasion to the discretion of Bûrhânûddeen, that he restricts him to the disbursement of a specific sum, in fixing of which he certainly has displayed none of the munificence of a sovereign prince.

The Tosheh-khâneh is distinguished by Tippoo himself (in one of the letters of the present collection) into two kinds, viz. the Nukdy and Jinsy. The former I take to have been the Treasury, properly so called, or office in which the current specie, and, perhaps, bullion were deposited. The latter would appear to have comprehended a great variety of articles besides the wardrobe; to which, however, the term Tosheh-khâneh is, I believe, usually restrained in the northern parts of Hindostan. Where this word occurs by itself (that is, without its being joined to the words Nukdy or Jinsy, which is in general the case) it is not easy to determine its precise sense. In some places, as in the present letter, it appears to signify the treasury in its strictest sense; in others, the wardrobe; and, occasionally, a general storehouse or magazine. The Jinsy, in some parts of Hindostan, includes ordnance and ordnance stores; but I am unable to say, whether the term was, on any occasion, applied in the same manner by Tippoo Sultan.

It would be a difficult matter to judge, how far the censure here passed on the conduct of Bûrhânûddeen before Nergûnd, was justly merited, without a much fuller knowledge of the circumstances and operations of the siege than we posses. It may be presumed, however, that it was upon such a knowledge that the judgment of the Sultan was formed; and that, consequently, there was actually some remissness manifested by Bûrhânûddeen on this occasion.

THE Piâdehs from the [adjacent] Taalûks of the Sircar, [at present] stationed with your army, are distressed for want of [the usual] means of subsistence; we therefore write to desire, that, in order to remove their difficulties, you will make them a monthly allowance of ten fanams per man.

YOUR letter, together with the Hindivy enclosure, addressed to the Aumil of Vencatigeery, has been received, and the particulars therein stated are become known.

Write to the aforesaid Aumil, that he must address Bâboo Râo, the renter of Vellore, to this effect, viz. “that it is not the custom of the “Taalûks belonging to our Sircar to allow the residence of robbers “therein; and that, upon the discovery of any such, they are immediately put to death.” What more?

The Hindivy enclosure, here referred to, was probably from the renter of Vellore (in the Carnatic), requiring some robbers, supposed to have taken refuge in the Vencatigeery district, to be delivered up. The answer ordered to be sent to this demand is a sufficient proof of the little disposition which the Sultan had to maintain an amicable, or even civil, intercourse with the existing government of the Carnatic.

YOUR letter has been received, and its contents are duly understood. What you write, respecting the rigorous proceeding of Mahommed Ushruf, the Darogha of Gooty, in sending five horsemen to enforce payment of the third instalment of the revenue of your district, is revealed.

Esteeming you to be intelligent in business, a person of integrity, and a well-wisher of our government, we appointed you to your present charge; and we confidently trust, that you will use your utmost exertions to promote the interest of the Sircar, the prosperity of your Taalûk, and the increase of its revenue; and [especially] that you will, according to your written engagement, discharge the whole of the third Kist within the period of a month, paying the amount thereof into our treasury. In this persuasion, we transmit you a Purwâneh, to the address of the aforesaid⁽²⁾ [Darogha], directing him to withdraw his horsemen, which you will accordingly forward to him. You must, at the same time, labour most diligently in the improvement of your Taalûk, and in the collection and augmentation of its revenues.

WHAT you have stated to us, respecting the pay of four men belonging to [the garrison of] Guramcoondah, who have been some time dead, having been appropriated to their own use by the officers of that place, is revealed. We desire you will enquire very particularly into this transaction; and having ascertained the time that the aforesaid officers have been in possession [or receipt] of this money, make them refund the same.

I am not clear, whether it be here meant that the officers continued to draw an dreceive the pay of the deceased men after their death, or that they had only possessed themselves of the pay due to them at their decease. In either case, the notice taken of the offence by the Sultan appears extremely slight.

DIRECTING the name of Fyze Hisâr to be substituted for that of Gooty.

Similar orders were issued, under the same date, directing Bulhâry to be in future called Sumrputn, and Chittledoorg to be named Furkhyâb Hisâr.

Some of the letters in this collection, instead of being complete transcripts of those dispatched, are only, as it were, notes of the originals. These heads, or memorandums of dispatches, are titled and dated like the entire entries, but are distinguished by beginning always with the words or that is to say, “on the subject of——” followed by a brief abstract of the subject.

The present letter is the first of this description that has occurred. I propose, in every future case of the kind in question, to render the introductory words just quoted, in the same way I have done on the present occasion, namely, by the word “directing,” or other suitable participle; which will sufficiently distinguish this portion of the correspondence from the more complete part.

IF they⁽¹⁾ should allow Noor Mahommed Khân to depart, then you must dispatch him hither, and practising procrastination, you will yourself remain behind for some time, writing us occasionally the news [of that quarter]. In the event, however, of their not giving the aforesaid Khân his audience of leave, you must both of you continue there; and contrive, by one means or another, to amuse them for a certain time, and to deceive them by speeches, calculated to flatter their selfish views⁽²⁾ [or to work upon their avariciousness].

The real situation of these envoys at Poonah, as well as their continuance there so long, is enveloped in a good deal of obscurity. At one time it is intimated, that the Mahrattah government have objections to the departure of Noor Mahommed Khân; at another, Nana Furnaveese is seen to hint an intention of dismissing both envoys. The Sultan’s wishes and intentions respecting them are, at least, equally inexplicable; and will appear still more so, as we proceed in the correspondence. The only conclusion to be distinctly drawn from the present dispatch is, that if the agents remained at Poonah, it was to be with no other objects than those of transmitting intelligence, and of amusing and deceiving the Mahrattah government. This is clearly and explicitly expressed; and abundantly proves, that he thought of nothing less, at this time, than of affording any satisfaction whatsoever to that government. Whether by “speeches calculated to flatter their “selfish views,” it was meant, that the envoys should hold out the temptation of bribes to the Mahrattah ministers, or only that they should continue to profess his readiness to discharge the arrears of Paishcush due by him, is doubtful; but it is by no means so, that the Sultan had no serious intention of parting with his money for either purpose.

SOME time since, a Distich, according to the Juml form or rule,⁽¹⁾ was communicated to you, and has, no doubt, been comprehended by you. A scroll, exhibiting the details of that rule, and which will make you completely acquainted with the subject, is now enclosed. Nobody besides yourself is to be admitted to a knowledge of it; and when you have any thing of a particular or secret nature to communicate, you must write in this cypher.

N.B. At the end of the foregoing letter a Distich is added, which I take to be the Distich referred to in the beginning of it, though that would seem to have been transmitted on a former occasion. Of the scroll spoken of, nothing appears. I omit the Distich, because I am, at present, unable to make out the meaning of it.

The title of this letter assigns it to Mahommed Ghous: but I incline to think that Ghous is an error of my transcriber, for Ghyâs. If not, I am unable to say who Mahommed Ghous was, or what diplomatic situation he filled; for such, it is reasonable to suppose, must have been his employment, from the injunction given him to write occasionally in cypher.

YOUR letter, advising us of your having detached a Risâla to Kunnek-geery, has been received, and we approve of what you have done. We desire [however] that you will particularly state, whose Risâla you have sent [on this service], as well as what number of cavalry it consists of. Your are to send the pay abstracts⁽¹⁾ of this cavalry to Mohyûddeen Ali Khân, the Dewân of Kurpah.

Having erected batteries close to the walls of the fort, and well breached the same, you will, with the concurrence of the Sipahdârs and other commanders with you, assault and reduce the place. It will be better, however, to endeavour, to the utmost of your power, to gain possession of it by management,⁽²⁾ and by striking an awe into the garrison. It must be stormed only in case of absolute necessity.

The kind of management here recommended to Kumrûddeen Khân will more fully appear in subsequent letters. It consisted in the practice of every unprincipled art that might tend to circumvent the garrison, and induce them to submit to terms.

YOUR letter has passed under our view, and its contents are duly understood.

We notice what you state, respecting the mortality prevailing among the Jyshe,⁽¹⁾ in consequence of the unhealthiness⁽²⁾ of your position, and approve of your having dispatched the commanders of companies⁽³⁾ into the adjacent districts, in search of recruits to fill up the vacancies [which have occurred]. You must, furthermore, order additional levies, for the purpose of completing your own Kushoon, as well as to enable you to send a supply to the Presence.

There are physicians attached to your Kushoon: let them be strictly enjoined to attend diligently to the care of your sick. The officers, also, of the said Kushoon, must be peremptorily directed to prevent desertion among their men. The horses and cattle belonging to your baggage should be dispatched to some place abounding in forage, and the Risâladârs, having charge of them, must be instructed accordingly.

Agreeably to our former directions, let a capitulation be granted to the besieged, allowing them to depart with their arms and accoutrements. Kâlâ Pundit, with his family and kindred, and the principal bankers, must also be induced, by engagements,⁽⁴⁾ to descend from the fort, upon doing which they are to be placed under a guard, and ten lacks of pagodas to be demanded of them, for the ravages committed in our territories. If they pay this sum, it will be well; otherwise they must be kept in confinement. In short, you are, by finesse, to get the aforesaid Pundit, together with his kindred and the bankers, out of the fort, and then to secure their persons.

[A few lines, containing other directions of no consequence, are here omitted.]

When your batteries are erected close to the walls of the fort, and the ditch is completely filled, you will, if the measure be approved of by the Sipahdârs, advance to the assault: otherwise the attempt will not be proper, inasmuch as this is a hill-fort affair.⁽⁵⁾

N.B. A letter, of the same tenor and date, but less in detail, was dispatched to Bûrhânûddeen.

WE have received your letter, acknowledging the receipt of twenty-one thousand pagodas; and representing that, so far from that sum sufficing for the payment of all your troops, it is inadequate even to the payment of the regular infantry. It is understood. Adverting to this very circumstance, we some time since wrote to you, desiring you to transmit to us a full and distinct statement of the monthly disbursements of the troops under your command, in order that we might make you the necessary remittances. We now repeat those directions; upon your complying with which we will take your report into consideration, and supply you with money [according as may appear requisite to us].

N.B. There follows here another short passage, respecting the pay of the troops, which I suspect to have been miscopied, but which is, at any rate, unintelligible to me.

UPON receipt of the Imperial Mandate, [my] glorified head touched the summit of honour. The special gifts of ennobling quality [or virtue], which your Majesty, in your boundless favour, graciously bestowed [on me], by the hands of Râo Bâl Mukn Doss, also arrived in the most auspicious conjuncture, and put [me] in possession of the wealth of distinction and pre-eminence. In acknowledgment of this magnificent donation, [I] respectfully offer [my] most humble obeisance.

This stedfast believer, with a view to the support of the firm religion of Mahommed, undertook [some time since] the chastisement of the Nazarene tribe; who, unable to maintain the war [I] waged against them, solicited peace [of me] in the most abject manner. This is so notorious a fact, as not to require to be enlarged on. With the divine aid and blessing of God, it is now again [my] steady determination to set about the total extirpation and destruction of the enemies of the faith.

In token of [my] sincere attachment [or devotion] to your Majesty, [I] send, by way of Nuzr, a hundred and twenty-one gold Mohrs to your resplendent Presence: let them be [or may they be] honoured by [your Majesty’s] acceptance. [I] am humbly hopeful, that [I] may continue to be honoured and distinguished by the receipt of your ennobling commands. More would exceed the bounds of respect.

Notwithstanding the apparent air of humility, which may be thought to pervade the first paragraph, in particular, of the foregoing letter, it is nevertheless remarkably deficient in the forms of respect, invariably observed in all addresses to the Emperor of Hindostan (even though “fallen from his high estate”) from those acknowledging him as their sovereign. The writer here does not once style himself, as is customary, “the slave,” “the devoted servant,” or even “the dependent” (in any respect) of Shâh Allum. The very manner in which he offers his Nuzr is lofty, and unsuitable to the occasion; but is still less offensive and affronting than the Nuzr itself, as will be seen by the following letter. In short, the address is marked throughout with a strong and visible repugnance to any direct or express acknowledgment of the imperial authority. This is more especially shown in the studied omission of the nominative case, the use of which would have reduced him to the necessity of employing some of the ordinary terms of respect appropriate to similar occasions; such as, “this slave,” or the like. The nominative, in fact, occurs but once in the course of the letter; and then it is not “this devoted “servant,” but “this stedfast believer” in Mahommed.

There can be no doubt, that by the Nazarenes, mentioned in the second paragraph, the English are meant; and that the peace alluded to is that of Mangalore, concluded in March 1784, or about fifteen months previously to the date of the letter under consideration. Here, then, we have an indisputable proof, that it was “the steady determination” of the Sultan, as early, at least, as June 1785, to seize the first favourable occasion of “utterly extirpating and “destroying” us. It is highly probable, however, that this resolution was taken long before it was announced to Shâh Allum, and, in short, that it was coeval with the very treaty by which he bound himself to maintain the relations of amity with us. Unfortunately, his instructions to the first embassy which he dispatched to Europe (via Constantinople) and which I conceive to be that alluded to in Letter VII, have not been preserved, or, at least discovered; otherwise, there is abundant reason to suppose, that this document would have fully shown, that a vigorous prosecution of the war against us, was an object which never ceased to occupy his chief attention, from the moment of his accession to the Musnud. Subsequent events, indeed, compelled him to suspend, for some time, but not to abandon, his hostile purposes; nor would he seem to have ever taken any particular pains to conceal them. In his own Durbâr he certainly did not: and there is sufficient ground for concluding, that he was not more reserved on the subject, in his occasional communications to other foreign or independent powers, than tothe Emperor of Dehli. It is not unlikely, indeed, that he wrote with less freedom than he spoke of his intentions, or than he authorized his diplomatic agents to speak of them. Oral declarations could be easily disclaimed, and would be difficult to prove; while written ones, unless very cautiously expressed, might lead to premature discovery. Accordingly he has not, in the present letter, distinctly and explicitly stated, that the English were “the enemies of the faith,” whom he was determined “to extirpate;” although few persons will entertain any doubt on the subject. Still, however, if the letter had been intercepted, or communicated to the British government, and he had been questioned regarding it, he might have pretended that he meant the Koorgs, or Nairs, or Mahrattahs; all of whom being infidels, as well as the English, might be equally considered as “enemies of the faith.” It is not to be denied, that the Sultan, all this while, kept up a cold and formal intercourse, by letter, with the British government in India; but there can be little question that this was a constraint, to which he submitted with reluctance; and only because he could not have waved such a correspondence, without manifesting, thereby, to that government itself, and in a manner more direct and explicit than he was yet prepared to do, the hostile spirit by which he was actuated towards it. In fine, though he either did not deem it necessary, or was unable, from the violence of his hatred, to conceal his designs against us from his own dependents, or from some of the foreign princes and states with whom he was in correspondence, still it is not to be supposed, that he was absolutely indifferent to our being apprized of them; since, no doubt, he would rather have taken us by surprise, than have found us prepared to resist him: he, therefore, continued to maintain an outward show of distant civility towards us, till weary of waiting for the assistance he had been led to expect from the French, and no longer able, perhaps, to restrain the rancour which animated him against us, he at length gave full vent to it; and by an open attack on our ally, the Râjah of Travancore, plunged into that war from which he had hitherto abstained, only because he hoped, by delay, to prosecute it to greater advantage. But with his impetuous feelings, delay, beyond a certain point, was intolerable; and, therefore, yielding to those feelings, he willingly incurred the hazards of a contest, to which, though standing alone, he doubtlessly thought himself more equal than the event proved him to be.

The only remaining observation, suggested by the foregoing letter, relates to the professed object of the last war waged by Hyder Ali Khân against the English; for the war alluded to in the second paragraph must, of course, have been that of 1780, though the Sultan, on this occasion, has thought proper to sink the name of his father. This war is said to have been undertaken “with a “view to the support of the Mahommedan religion.” This may serve as a clue to the real, however covert, meaning of Mahommedans, and particularly bigotted ones, whenever they talk of “holy wars,” of “wars entered into for the advancement or security of Islâm,” and of “the extirpation of the enemies of the “faith.” This language is susceptible, no doubt, of being applied to other infidels besides the Nazarenes; but the time and occasion of its use, to say nothing of other circumstances, always sufficiently indicate who are actually intended. Thus, in the present case, the context so plainly points at the English, that we will venture to say, it would be difficult to find a candid and intelligent Mussulman, who would hesitate, for an instant, to declare his conviction, that they, and they alone, were alluded to in the passage in question. Indeed, it may be farther remarked, in confirmation of this opinion, that the “extirpation” of the Mahrattahs would never seem to have been an object in the contemplation of the Sultan; whose hatred to that nation was far less virulent than that which he bore to the English; nor was their power viewed by him with the same fear or jealousy. In his disputes with them, the acquisition of some fort or district, or the relinquishment of some pecuniary demand, was probably all that he at any time contended for.

HAVING heard, from Râo Bâl Mukn Doss, of the many excellencies and virtues which distinguish your character, the information has been productive of the greatest satisfaction to me. A bag,⁽²⁾ containing an Urz-dâsht,⁽³⁾ addressed to the resplendent Presence, and accompained by a Nuzr⁽⁴⁾ of a hundred and twenty-one gold Mohrs, is herewith dispatched; and I trust to your friendship and kindness, for presenting the same to his Majesty`s blessed notice.

Many Mussulmans are in the habit of carrying about their persons (in pockets and the like) for their convenience [or to answer occasional calls] gold Mohrs and Rupees. But, inasmuch as the gold and silver coins, stamped with the names of the rulers of the age, contravene the prescriptions of our liturgy, I have, on this account, devised and coined, and caused to be circulated, a new and superior kind of gold Mohr; in which the names of God, of the Holy Prophet, and of the august Prince of Sanctity and of Sages,⁽⁵⁾ are introduced. Of this new coinage is my Nuzr to his Majesty composed; and I have likewise sent, in token of friendship, twenty-five of the same sort of gold Mohrs for your acceptance.

Considering me to be always anxious to hear of your welfare, you must occasionally make me happy by your friendly letters. Other particulars will be made known to you, by the letter addressed to you by Bâl Mukn Doss. For the rest, may content and gladness attend you.

Though the various pseudo-sovereigns, who sprung up on the dissolution or dismemberment of the Mogul Empire, in different parts of Hindostan, soon threw off the authority of the Court of Dehli in all material points, they, nevertheless, continued to observe towards it some of the external forms of homage and dependence; such as styling themselves, in their addresses to the reigning representative of the house of Timur, “his faithful slave” or “devoted subject;” presenting him on certain festivals, and on other occasions, with the Nuzrs appropriate to royalty, and soliciting or accepting titles of honour from him. But the chief symbol, or vestige, of the nominal power, thus conceded to him, consisted in the general practice which had obtained among these upstart rulers, of continuing to stamp the current coins of their respective territories with the usual legend of the imperial coinage; by which means the Emperor, for the time being, became every where ostensibly recognized as the legitimate sovereign; and his name, at least, rescued from oblivion, and even rendered familiar to the people in general. Of this empty honour, Tippoo Sultan was, I believe, the first, and, indeed, the only one⁽⁶⁾ of these self-created princes, who thought fit to divest him. Not content, however, with putting this affront upon the aged monarch, he had the temerity to aggravate it in the highest degree, by sending the latter a Nuzr, consisting of a coin, from the inscription on which the name and titles of Shâh Allum were entirely excluded. The argument, by which he attempted to justify this innovation, was sufficiently curious and frivolous, but was little calculated to reconcile, even a Mahommedan court to it: accordingly, as will hereafter be seen, it was not submitted to in silence.

Never having seen a gold Mohr, of the specific coinage employed by the Sultan on this occasion, I am, of course, not enabled to say to what degree he adhered, in the legend impressed upon it, to the sanctimonious principle by which he professed to regulate it. The gold Mohr, of which a representation is given by Captain Moor, in his Narrative of Little`s Campaign,⁽⁷⁾ happens to be of the year Zubrjud,⁽⁸⁾ or six years posterior to the date of the two preceding letters; and in this interval, the Sultan, no doubt, might have made some alteration in the inscription.

There is, however, in the publication just referred to, the figure of a double Rupee, struck in the same year (namely Jullo) in which Tippoo dispatched his Nuzr to Dehli; and it is probable that the inscription on the gold Mohrs, of which the latter consisted, differed little, or perhaps nothing, from that which appears on the Rupee of the same year. Assuming this for the fact, let us examine how far the inscription in question corresponds with the description given of it by the Sultan, in the foregoing letter.

On one side is the following legend, written here in the order in which I suppose it intended to be read:

1199

which may be translated, “the religion, or faith, of Ahmed [i. e. of Mahommed] “is rendered luminous on earth by the victories of Hyder.⁽⁹⁾ Struck at Putn “[i. e. Seringapatam] in the year Jullo⁽¹⁰⁾ [or] Higera 1199.”

Here Hyder, though ostensibly standing for the Caliph Ali (one of whose names or titles it was) was, in all probability, intended by the Sultan to suggest the idea of his own father; whose name is, by this contrivance, introduced into the legend, without any direct or open deviation from the rule proposed to be followed. In like manner, the word Futah, though apparently conveying no other meaning than its usual and obvious one, viz. victory, may be safely supposed as designed to shadow out either his own original name, or that of his paternal grandfather, viz. Futah Ali Khân. Here, then, in two words, seemingly employed for a different purpose, has he ingeniously managed to impress his coin, not only with one of his own names, but also with those of his father and grandfather; and so far, without any verbal breach of the law he had imposed upon himself.

We will now enquire, how he has succeeded in the exergue, or reverse, of the coin under consideration?

The legend is as follows:

That is, “He [i. e. God] is the only Sultan [or Lord] and dispenser of justice. “3d [of the month] Behâry, year Jullo, and third of the reign.”

It is very remarkable, that the first word in this inscription (or ) and, consequently, that which immediately precedes the word Sultan, is so impressed, as to be susceptible, without any extraordinary licence or exercise of the fancy, of being read Tippoo. For the tail, or lower part of the does not appear in its usual form, but assumes something like the figure of a crescent, and might, therefore, be very easily taken for an ornament, instead of a component part of a character. Omitting, then, the tail (as if it were nothing but a flourish) the rest of the word will be exactly the same as if it were the proper name Tippoo, written without the diacritical points, the omission of which, though certainly unusual in coins, is common enough on other occasions. Supposing this, therefore, to have been the Sultan`s design, the sense would be, “Tippoo, the only Sultan, the just.”

On the whole, then, it may be observed, that with the help of a few equivoques (of which he seems, on many occasions, to have been very fond) he has contrived, while fulfilling his promise of inserting in his coin none but the names of God, of the Prophet, and of Ali, to impress it also, without actually appearing to do so, with the names of at least “two rulers of the age.”

The date on the reverse of the rupee which we have been considering, shows that it was struck on the anniversary of his Jûloos, or enthronement, which took place on the 3d of Behâry of the year Sukh;⁽¹¹⁾ corresponding, as nearly as I can calculate, to the 10th of May 1783; and being, therefore, somewhat more than five months subsequent to the death of Hyder.⁽¹²⁾

It would not be easy to assign any consistent or rational motive for the conduct of the Sultan, with respect to the court of Dehli. If he thought it capable of promoting any of the objects of his ambition, and was, on this account, desirous of cultivating a good understanding with it, it is rather extraordinary, that he should have adopted the measure of rendering such a Nuzr to the Emperor, as a very little reflection might have satisfied him, was but ill calculated to conciliate the favour of that court towards him. If, on the other hand, he neither expected nor desired any thing from it, it is equally strange, that he should have put himself to any trouble or expence, in maintaining an intercouse with it. The mere news of the place (that, too, transmitted to him only at distant intervals) could prove very little interesting, and still less useful to him.

YOUR letter, with the newspapers which accompanied it, has passed under our view, and the contents thereof are understood.

A bag, enclosing an address [from us] to the resplendent Presence,⁽²⁾ together with a hundred and twenty-one gold Mohrs of a new coinage, [designed] in the way of Nuzr, as likewise a separate bag, to the address of Munzoor Ali Khân, and twenty-five of the same kind of gold Mohrs, as a token of [our] friendship [for the said Khân], are sent herewith. For the greater security, the gold Mohrs have been sewed up in the garments⁽³⁾ of the messengers. You will, therefore, on their arrival, take the gold Mohrs from their garments, and, through the medium of Munzoor Ali Khân, present a hundred and twenty-one of them, with our Urz-dâsht [or humble address], to his Majesty, delivering the remaining twenty-five to the aforesaid Khân.

A bill of exchange for one thousand rupees is sent herewith. Out of the amount [when realized] you are to take for yourselves sixteen months` arrears of wages, at thirty rupees per month, making four hundred and eighty rupees; and a twelvemonth`s wages, at the same rate, in advance, being three hundred and sixty rupees; or, together, eight hundred and forty rupees. Eighteen rupees, which are to be paid to the Hurkârehs [or messengers, on their arrival at Dehli] being added to this sum, there will remain one hundred and forty-two rupees, which you will apply to the payment of the [regular] wages of our Hurkârehs. Of the two pair now dispatched, one of them, named Tolârâm and Mhâdâjee, are to receive, the first ten, the other nine rupees per month. The second pair, named Kishnajee and Suntajee, are to receive each nine rupees per month. Both sets have received from us their wages, at the above rate, for three months; namely, from the beginning of Rujub to the end of Rumuzân 1199 (A.H.). While they continue with you, they are to be paid at the specified rate, commencing from the month of Shuvwâl. When they are dispatched, two months` wages are to be advanced to each pair.

You must [from time to time] faithfully and accurately communicate [to us] the intelligence of that quarter.

You wrote, that you had dispatched to us, by a pair of hired Hurkârehs, two baskets of Bai-dâneh pomegranates,⁽⁴⁾ together with a letter from yourselves. The said Hurkârehs, with the letter and baskets, have not [hitherto] arrived.

According to your desire, seventy-two rupees have been paid here to the last pair of hired Hurkârehs dispatched by you. Further particulars will be communicated to you by Râo Bâl Mukn Doss.

These two agents would seem to have been natives of Hindostan, and personally unknown to the Sultan; by whom they were probably employed, on the recommendation of the Bâl Mukn Doss, mentioned in this and the preceding letter.⁽⁵⁾

This letter furnishes another instance of the minuteness to which the Sultan was accustomed to descend in all matters of disbursement. Another sovereign, in his situation, would have left such details to one of his secretaries, or to the proper officers of the department to which they naturally belonged. But either this was a degree of confidence, which it was foreign to the character of Tippoo to repose in any of his servants, or he was ambitious of appearing to be equally attentive to the most trivial, as well as to the most important affairs of his government: nor can it be denied, that a general impression, to this effect, would tend, in some degree, to secure the fidelity and diligence of those whom he employed.

YOUR letter has been received, and your account of the batteries of Bûrhânûddeen being completed is understood. We have repeatedly written before now, desiring you to advance your batteries close to the walls of the fort; to destroy these effectually; to fill the ditch; and [finally] with the concurrence and advice of the Sipahdârs, to proceed to the assault of the place. Such being the case, it is astonishing that you should still wait, and continually apply to us for fresh orders for storming. [We repeat, however, once more]: In case the walls are destroyed, and the ditch is filled, you must, with the advice and concurrence of the commanders with you, proceed to the assault and reduction of the place.

The justice of the reproof contained in the preceding letter may be very fairly questioned: for though it is certain, that the Sultan had expressed considerable impatience to obtain possession of Nergûnd, yet his orders, relative to the means by which that object was to be pursued, could not be said to have been so explicit and distinct, as to leave no doubt of his real wishes and intentions; for in Letter LIX he directs a negociation to be opened with the garrison for the surrender of the place, and about a week after (Letter LXVIII) he suggests the expediency of getting possession of it, by what he calls management, plainly saying, at the same time, “that it was not to be stormed, excepting in case of absolute necessity.” The letter immediately following the last (or Letter LXIX) is not more decisive or explicit than the others. Thus it appears, that it was not without reason that Kumrûddeen was desirous of receiving more precise and positive instructions for his guidance.

IF the chiefs of that place consent to Noor Mahommed Khân`s repairing hither, it will be well: and if they should dismiss you both, you must both, after formally declaring them to be responsible for the consequences,⁽¹⁾ set out for our Presence.

HAVING received a full account of you from the verbal report of Meer Mahommed Rizâ,⁽²⁾ as well as from the representation of Mahommed Mukrum, we, in consequence, write to desire, that you will, immediately on receipt of this our bounteous mandate, set out with the utmost confidence of mind for our Presence, accompanied by your family, and such other persons as may be disposed to come with you. On your arrival here, you shall in all things experience our care and protection, agreeably to your wishes, and be appointed to the charge of the mercantile concerns, &c.⁽³⁾ A proper place shall be assigned you for a factory; and such advances of money be made you, as may be requisite for enabling you to carry on your trade [advantageously], all the profits of which shall rest with you for the term of two years: during which time, also, we promise to grant you an exemption from all duties on your merchandize. Repair, therefore, to our Presence, without fear or distrust. All remaining particulars will be explained to you by the letter of Mahommed Mukrum, and the verbal communications of Meer Ali Rizâ.⁽⁴⁾

The encouragement here held out to Shaikh Ahmed, seems to have been abundantly liberal, and shows how much the Sultan had it at heart to open a trade with those countries, of which he had no jealousy. It does not appear at what place Shaikh Ahmed was a resident, or whether he accepted the offers of the Sultan.