\', JSJ, ir i \ o m u / ; ^ ; p I \ X? AUTOBIOGKAPHY OF LUTFULLAH, A MOHAMEDAN GENTLEMAN; AND HIS TRANSACTIONS WITH HIS FELLOW-CREATURES: INTERSPERSED WITH REMARKS ON THE HABITS, CUSTOMS, AND CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE WITH WHOM HE HAD TO DEAL. And one man in his time plays many parts. SHAKESPEARE. EDITED BY EDWARD B. EASTWICK, F.R.S., F.S.A. [THIRD EDITION.] LONDON: SMITH, ELDER, AND CO., 65, CORNHILL. 1858. PS LZ7A3 Its* TO COLONEL W. H. SYKES, F.E.S., ETC., ETC. LONDON. DEAR HONOURABLE SIR, With due respect I place before you my humble work, 1 in the shape of journal, about which I talked to you ten years ago, when I had the honour of waiting upon you in person at your own house. I do not pretend to say it is worthy of the perusal of a learned scholar like yourself; at the same time, I am confident that the unvarnished truths contained therein, if cleared of grammatical errors by your able pen and published under your auspices, will not fail to teach experience to those who want it and afford satisfaction to readers in general. IV DEDICATION. I beg to observe that, being self-tutored in your most difficult language, I stand far beyond the reach of critics, who will surely pardon me, when they are fully acquainted with my circumstances, by going through this book. With due respect, Dear Honourable Sir, I remain, Your most obedient and humble servant, LUTFULLAH. . SURAT, 24ook for the perusal of my reader. " There were in ancient times' five ladies of ex- quisite beauty residing in the city of Samarkand, intimately connected with each other both by friend- ship and consanguinity. Four of them had been married, but the fifth would not, on any account, exchange her state of freedom for that of matrimonial bondage. On one beautiful evening in spring, as they sat conversing among themselves, one of them said that her husband's love towards her was un- equalled in the world; the second, in her turn, observed that her husband was the handsomest man in Persia; the third remarked that her spouse was the bravest man of the time ; and the fourth added that her husband was unequalled in liberality : thus, each of them praised her own lord to excite the envy of the unmarried lady, whom they then addressed, * Madam, have you nothing to talk of this evening? ' She replied, she had many things to say to them, but would examine first into the truth of the com- mendations they had bestowed on their consorts, and see if they were deserved. She then asked the first beauty, 'if her husband had ever seen a beautiful woman besides herself.' The reply was, ( No ! ' * Then,' said she, * try him first, and then you will certainly know whether he loves you or not.' Of the second she asked, ' Madam, has your handsome hus- band got his manly ornament, i. e., the beard ?' ' No ; 50 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. not yet,' replied the other. c Then wait until he is bearded, and then you will be able to tell whether he is handsome or not.' To the third she said, f My young lady! has your lord been wounded in a battler' * No, Madam, not yet,' was her reply. ' Then,' re- turned she ' you cannot tell yet whether he is a brave man or not, so wait till such an accident occurs to testify to his valour.' She then interrogated the fourth, inquiring * whether her lord was liberal upon wealth obtained by himself, by his own industry, or otherwise?' She replied, f Upon the estate left by his late father.' ' Then,' said the virgin, f term his liberality extravagance and prodigality until he is liberal from his own riches.'" At first, the gaudy military appearance of my step- father, led me to believe that he was a man of courage ; but, on this trial, I found him to be worse than a jackal. Bearing, however, the above message, I came down, and, returning to the officer, I told him that the Siibhadar had armed himself; that he had his blun- derbuss loaded with bullets to the mouth, full cocked, in his hand, and as soon as the guard attempted to enter, he would act in his self-defence. I added, he was determined to hold out to the last ; that he intended to destroy his females, and then he would break through. "Thus," said I, "you will see several murders in cold blood in your presence, and for these I know not who will have to atone ; and, MY STEP-FATHER A PRISONER. 51 after all, it is not so safe for tlie guard too. Who knows to whose share the bullets of the blunderbuss are to fall, before the Subahdar is captured, dead or alive ? But," added I, " there is onl y one way for a peaceful conclusion left, that is, if you take your solemn oath upon the cow's tail that no treachery will ensue so as, in any way, to endanger the person of the old gentleman ; if he w T ere sure of this, he would come out and surrender." Thus I delivered the cowardly message, with the addition of a few touches of my own. The concluding proposal of mine was immediately agreed to by the commander. A Brahman and a cow were soon produced ; and the Brahman, putting the tail of the animal in the commander's hand, poured down some water upon it, and uttered some words in Sanskrit, which caused the poor man to tremble at their solemnity. The Subahdar, observing this through the keyhole, immediately descended; and the commander's party surrounding him, the officer read his order to the Subahdar, and asked him to give up his arms. This he did with some reluctance, and resigned himself to the decree of fate. In the evening, he gave a bag of five hundred rupees secretly to the commander as a bribe, which dumb coins made him and his party, not only dumb, but enslaved them all to us ; and though we were their prisoners, yet they made themselves ours. Two long and tedious months elapsed in this 52 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. unlucky restraint. The poor governor, during the day, sat at the door of his zananah. At night two men always sat by his bed; and if he walked he had them at his elbow. For my part, I was free ; I entered the house, and went out anywhere I liked, without any sort of obstruction whatever. At last, the orders arrived from Gwalior directing our release, and they were duly executed. A robe of honour was given to the old man in the Durbar, to make amends for his sufferings ; and a long speech, in the high Marathi language, was read out by the Minister, to give consolation to the poor weak-minded old fellow. He took all this very coolly, and, on his dismissal, he asked for the restoration of his live and dead stock, confiscated by the Government officers. To this, the deputy replied, he could not give anything back, as the orders were silent on that head. " Had it been otherwise," added he, " I would have had much pleasure in restoring them, and would have added something from myself." SUPERSTITIONS IN HINDUSTAN. 53 CHAPTER III. My step-father imputes his calamity to shaving on an unlucky day. Astrology and superstitions of the inhabitants of Hin- dustan. We visit Sindhiah's Court at Gwalior. The Prince pays our losses with a smile enlists my step-father in his service. My cruel treatment. I fly from Gwalior. THIT old gentleman, after his imprisonment, ap- peared quite satisfied with his lot, attributing the misfortune partly to destiny, and partly to having ' his head shaved on an unlucky day. I will here give some idea of the superstitious rites prevailing all over India, among all castes. Although the law of our blessed Prophet rejects every kind of superstition, whether founded upon astrology or Arab traditions of the Dark Ages ; yet, even Mohamedans in general do still follow the errors of the false religions. Upon almost all under- takings of importance they will consult astrology. Marriages, going on a journey, the birth of a child, the commencement of a building, venesection, and even shaving one's head, are all occasions which require an astrologer to be consulted, and lucky days and hours are appointed for such acts. Six days in every lunar month are considered unlucky; to find 54 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LTJTFULLAII. out these, count on the tips of the fingers, beginning from the little finger to the thumb and repeating the same for the thirty days, and the days that come on the tip of the middle finger are avoided ; they are as follows, 3rd, 8th, 13th, 18th, 23rd, and 28th. Mohamedans are particular in shunning the per- formance of business, or going on a journey, as for- bidden by the Prophet himself, during the moon's rotation of about fifty-four hours in the sign Scorpio. The rule to find out this time is a very simple one. Take the dates of the lunar month, double the same, add five, and divide the amount by fives, allotting each five to each one of the signs, commencing from that which is the mansion of the Sun at that time, and the last five must be that sign in which the Moon then performs her course. Should there remain any number less than five, such a residue is to be multiplied by six, and the product is the number of degrees which the planet hath gone over in that sign : e.g., this day is the fourth day of the lunar month Jamadu'lawal, corresponding with the 20th of April, 1847, the time when the Sun is in the sign Taurus. Take the number of days in the lunar month, four ; double the same, add five total, thirteen. In the number, thirteen, there will be two fives, so the moon must be in the second sign from Taurus, i.e., Gemini; and the residue, three, multi- plied by six, will produce the number eighteen, ASTROLOGY. 55 which is the number of degrees she hath passed in that sign this day . The following table exhibits good and bad luck for an undertaking : Days of the week. The Planets assigned thereto. Successful for. Unsuccessful for. . Saturday . . . Saturn . . . Traffic ( Cutting or putting \ on new clothes, < bleeding at the Sunday ... Monday ... Tuesday*... Sun Moon Mars ( Taking medicines, J employment, cut- 1 ting, and putting ( on new clothes. Building. I arm, and shaving (.the head. {' Beginning with a building or mar- Wednesday Thursday Friday Mercury Jupiter ... Venus ... | Study and scien- 1 tific undertaking Marriage. Journey. riage, bleeding at the arm. j Performing obse- { quies. The seven planets, viz.. Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, have dominion assigned to them by astrologers over the seven days of the week; and, then, each of the twenty-four hours of the day has been allotted to a planet domi- nant during that time. The times of the planets Saturn and Mars are considered unlucky, and those * A new-born child on the day or hour of the planet Mars, is considered to become crafty, greedy, unjust, and hypocritical. 56 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. of the remaining five planets are thought good, ex- cept Thursday. On this day, though not an unlucky day, a visit to a sick person, inquiring after his health, or taking medicine, is strictly forbidden. Wednesday, governed by the planet Mercury, is appointed for commencing study ; but to begin with any other business is prohibited. The dominant planets of the twenty-four hours are found by the following rule. For example, take Monday. The first hour of this day, beginning from sunrise, belongs to the Moon ; second, Saturn ; third, Jupiter ; fourth, Mars ; fifth, Sun ; sixth, Venus, seventh, Mercury ; and eighth, again to the Moon ; and so on, in the above routine through a whole week. Another superstitious rule, strictly adhered to by all Mohamedans, and considered by Hindus a part of law, is the observation of invisible spirits that are believed to perambulate the eight directions of the globe, on particular dates of the Hindus' lunar months throughout the year. In undertaking a journey, or any expedition of importance, or game of chance, the direction haunted by these spirits should be behind the undertaker to ensure success ; not opposite, which is considered very unlucky, and ill success must follow. These spirits are called by Mohamedans, " Rijalulghaib," by Hindus, " Jogni," or " Dissasul." The following diagram will point out the directions of the " Jogni," ASTROLOGY. 57 and the dates counting from 1st to 15th, and then again from 1st to 15th, the last 15th day standing for the 30th. Auguration also is not left unpractised by the natives of India in general. For instance, a cat crossing the road of an individual on his way, will surely retract or prevent his going at the time. In the same manner, a sneeze in his opposite direction will deter him from going to any place, or under- taking any business: a sneeze heard at the right- 58 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. hand side will prove to be of a contrary effect. In the same way, flights of birds, sight of a herd of deer, and many other things, are good or bad omens. Not wishing to take up my reader's time any more with astrological nonsense, I will return to my step- father, where I left him at the beginning of this chapter, quite satisfied with his lot. He thought proper now to proceed to Gwalior, and lay his case before His Highness the Maharajah Daulat Rao Sindhiah. He purchased several horses and camels, and left them in charge of his brother-in-law (his former wife's brother) with some diabolical instruc- tions, which hereafter will be mentioned. A lucky day having been fixed, we left the city in company with a nobleman of Sindhiah's family, who was likewise proceeding to that court, after visiting his family at Ujjain. The character of my step-father being that of a real timeserver, he soon ingratiated himself with the nobleman ; so much, that during our journey they were intimately leagued in friendship. We marched every morning till about four o'clock P.M., and then halted. I was now really transformed from a young priest to a nice little soldier. I rode a beautiful mare, ornamented with my glittering arms, sword, shield, and a small spear, all proportioned to my stature, except the mare, which was large, but a very nice animal ; her name was " Bark " (lightning), and she was as quiet as TISIT TO SINDHIAH'S COURT. 59 a lamb, that is to say, when I rode her quietly : but if I spurred, or raised my hand by chance, she was as sAvift as her name ; and, after all, so good-natured was the animal, that if I fell down she stood by my side to let me mount again. In the course of about one month we reached Sindhiah's camp at Gwalior, which was, in fact, no camp but a regular city, consisting of houses built with soft red stone and mortar, with a large and magnificent palace of His Highness in the centre. The population, at the time, was estimated to amount to three hundred thousand persons, of which armed soldiers amounted to one-third. There were two hundred elephants and three hundred cannons ready for action. We pitched our tents upon a respectable site appointed by the officer of His Highness, and lived for two months unnoticed by any person of consequence. My step-father, however, did his best to enter into intimacies with men of rank and dig- nity; and at last succeeded in obtaining admittance to the Court by distributing one thousand rupees amongst the members of it. A day being appointed, we went to the audience ; His Highness, seeing us, stood up on his seat (a cushion of valuable brocade, set with jewels), as a mark of politeness, and stretched forth his right hand to honour us, touching which respectfully with our fingers, we kissed them. His Highness's conver- sation was so graceful, civil, and fascinating, that my 60 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. step-father seemed stupified, and could not speak of his complaints : however, he did not fail to give some hints respecting them. His Highness pretended not to notice them, but comforted the old man by observing that he had given orders for him to be paid his arrears up to the end of that month ; that he might consider himself in His Highness's service from the death of the old queen ; and that His Highness had already enrolled him amongst his most favoured courtiers. This filled the old man with an uncommon pride, and locked his mouth, and rendered him unable to utter another word, except thanks ; but he kept on making salams and profound bows. Immediately upon this, at a signal from an officer in the assembly, atr, pan, rosewater, and dresses of honour were brought out for us. At the time o* our dismissal, His Highness inquired smilingly as to who I was ? " He is my son," replied the old man ; " but let the young man answer for himself." Hear- ing this, I respectfully joined my hands and said " The Siibahdar may be believed, if it please your Highness, since parents are the best authorities to speak about their children." This reply, though a simple one, excited the mirth of the Maharajah to a great degree, and he was pleased to put playfully another question to me. " What is your opinion, then, regarding your own birth ?" " I am too young, my lord," rejoined I, " and not competent to give my opinion upon matters of such importance." His WE SETTLE AT GWALIOK. 61 Highness then asked the old fellow if I could read and write ; and in reply he praised me very highly. Hereupon His Highness added to my dress of honour a very handsome MS. copy of Hafiz and S'adi, in one volume, which I have still in my possession as a memento from a great man. We were now settled at Gwalior, and were well off. The old Siibahdar's duty was a very slight one ; he went out on a shooting excursion with His Highness perhaps three times a month, and was to sit three hours alternately as a sentry, ready armed, , at the door of His Highness's bedroom, which fell to his turn only two nights a month. This was a post of great honour, and trusted to the charge of gen- tlemen high in rank, and worthy officers : they were called " Yakka," i. e., "a single man with a single horse," and received daily in cash each according to his merit. The minimum of the salary was five, and the maximum thirty, rupees per diem ; besides, they got their daily food ready dressed from the Govern- ment every day, and valuable dresses twice a-year. The number of " Yakkas " did not exceed one hun- dred and twenty-seven. My step-father's situation was the lowest, i. e., five rupees per day; but it being very respectable, he was not only glad, but proud of it. During our absence from Ujjain we received several letters from home, one of which informed the old man of the birth of a son, which tidings afforded 62 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. him unparalleled pleasure; and he gave a grand entertainment to all the nobles in the camp, which cost him about two thousand rupees; and the con- gratulatory presents given to him by them on this occasion amounted to upwards of three thousand rupees. This circumstance not only rendered him independent of me, but he began to hate and abuse me now on trifling matters: he used the coarsest language towards me, which I could not possibly bear. He passed his days among his friends, and his nights with a new friend's wife, the man appearing to wear the pair of horns without any sense of jealousy. He never went on his duty, but sent me invariably in his place; besides, when at home, I was always ordered with other servants of his to stand sentry three hours every night Being mal- treated in this manner, I felt very melancholy, and wrote to my mother all the particulars of my pre- dicament, adding that I had formed the intention of deserting the old man, and would rather commit suicide if unsuccessful in doing so. Unfortunately, this letter was intercepted, through the irregularity and neglect of the postmaster of the Maratha Government. The old man happened to call at the post-office, respecting the receipt of some bills of exchange, forwarded through that office some time before ; and the postmaster plainly told him that no reply till that time had been received regarding his bills, and that the reply to his last letter, which was MY STEP-FATIIEK PUTS ON HIS TllUE COLOURS. 63 delivered two days ago, and was immediately going to be sent off, would certainly bring joyful tidings of all kinds. " I have sent no letter," rejoined the Subahdar, "it must belong to some other person." Upon this, the letter being produced was recognised, opened, and read by the postmaster, at the request of the old fellow, who returned home with it, highly excited with rage. On getting from his palanqueen, he called for me. I went in, and he rose on his seat to show a mock- ing honour to me, of the meaning of which I had not the least conception, but stood amazed and thunderstruck. " My good friend," says he, " here is a letter for you to read, if you please." I took the letter from his hand, and knowing it to be my own, I opened and glanced through it : though the fear of being put to death made me quite pale, yet, seeing no escape, my youthful heart soon resumed courage, and I called to mind the old Persian pro- verb, " Death with courage is far superior to life as a coward." I told him it was my letter, that I delivered it to the postmaster to be forwarded to my parent, and that nobody had any business to open it. This reply kindled up the fire of his anger more than before. " You young rascal," said he, " you have committed an unpardonable crime; and then you are impudent too ! " Uttering this, he sprang from his place, and knocked me down with two or three blows ; not satisfied with which, he kicked and 64 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFCLLAII. pounded me with his fists until he was tired (of this I was informed afterwards) ; but, falling down sense- less, I declare I felt nothing. When I recovered from my swoon, I found myself lying on my bed in the stable, and a horse-keeper, named Khushal, standing by. I called for water, and the poor man kindly gave me a cup of sherbet, scented with rose- water, at his own expense. Of this sweet beverage, I could take but a very little quantity, finding all the functions of my body paralyzed. I slept again very soundly for two days and nights, and did not rise until I was forced to do so. Now I could use my limbs, though still very stiff, and made a vow not to see the infernal old butcher's face again in my life, if possible. He sent me sweetmeats and other delicious eatables, as a token of his kindness, but I gave them to the grooms; and for myself, I took, morning and evening, a small piece of their plain bread and cold water, to keep up my spirits. Thus I lived for nearly a fortnight, during which I found that my severe pain had made me quite dumb, my head being overfilled with thoughts of thousand kinds. In the meantime, the turn of the guard having occurred, the remorseless old tyrant asked me, through his servant, to act his part as usual. I replied I was unfit for duty, and would not go. Hearing this answer, he armed himself and pro- ceeded to the palace ; and I, having provided myself MY FLIGHT. 65 with one loaf, one sacred book, the beautiful volume of Hafiz, presented to me by His Highness, and my small scimitar, took my way to Agra. I left the camp early in the morning, and followed the path, or rather direction, to the town of Gohad, about twenty- two miles from Gwalior. Leaving the highway, I began to proceed through the jungle, to avoid being observed by any individual that might have been despatched to pursue and apprehend me. I went on as fast as my legs could carry me ; and to my great satisfaction, for some time I met no animal walking upon two legs, except a few shepherds every now and then, resting under shady trees, pasturing their herds, guarded by their faithful dogs. At noon I took my rest under a magnificent banyan tree, by the side of a river ; I made my ablution, and spread- ing my doputta,* or waistband, I sat upon it, with my little sword, my Kur'an, the other books, and the loaf of bread before me. A shepherd who sat under another tree near mine, very probably being struck with curiosity, came near me with his dog. He stood at a little distance, leaning against his staff gazing at my acts. The dog also appeared to stare at me with equal curiosity, and at the same time wagged its tail, being pleased, I suppose, with the scent of the bread in my possession, of which it wanted to have a share. The cravings of my hunger * It is a sheet that the natives of India tie round their waist, and use for many other purposes. D 66 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFDLLAIT. at this time being excessive, I took a piece of bread, a fourth of which I first offered to my flattering guest, the dog, and to the remainder I began to do justice. The kind-hearted shepherd asked me if I had any objection to have a little milk with my plain bread. On the contrary, replied I, I should be most happy to get a little, if he pleased, and would feel obliged to him for his generous and hospitable act to a stranger, and a man of different caste like myself. The liberal shepherd immediately brought me a pot of excellent fresh milk ; but the difficulty now arose, how to receive it. The shepherd, being a Hindu, would not allow me to touch his pot ; by his advice, however, I folded up some leaves of the tree into cups, and drank the fresh milk with my bread. The taste of this milk I found far superior to any I ever drank previously; and, to tell the truth, I never obtained milk of that flavour afterwards. The shepherd and his dog then went away satisfied, the former for his benevolent act to one of his fellow- creatures, and the latter at the liberality of a stranger. The sun now declining from the meridian, I said my noon prayers, and set off again, thanking the good shepherd for his kindness, and inquiring of him about my way to Gohad. I travelled on with expedition till four o'clock, P.M., when I felt much fatigued, and was looking about for a solitary place to take rest for the night. I wished not to put up in a village, for fear of being A SUSPICIOUS ACQUAINTANCE. 67 apprehended ; seeing, however, from afar a well situated near a village, I repaired to it to drink, intending then to look for a place for nocturnal rest. Arriving near it, I asked one of the Rajput maidens, who were busily engaged in drawing water and carrying it home for their use, to give me a little water to quench my thirst with. In reply, she asked me a question, with a lovely air, as pretty as herself, " Have you nobody else to quench your thirst with but me ? " " Madam," replied I, " I have none ; but even if I had one, she could not be more than an atom before your incomparable beauty: a lamp can have no splendour before the sun." This flattery produced a smile in her fair countenance, and she held her pot to me very gracefully, telling me, " Drink till thou art satiated." Thanking her, I took both of my hands to my mouth in the form of a cup, and she kindly poured the water in a fine stream, which I found greatly sweetened with the excellent scent of her rosy hand ; and I drank until I was full. I then made a grateful bow to the beauty, who, taking her pots on her head, went home. In the meantime, a tall well-made Muslim, of about forty years of age, came up to me; he appeared to be a wayfarer like myself, by his dusty dress, etc. He saluted me very respectfully, asked me how I did, whence I had come, and where I was going to? I returned his salam, and told him I was '> D 2 68 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUITULLAH. traveller, and was going to Gohad on business. Hear- ing this, he observed, his destination was the same, but he feared we could not reach it till after sunset, as it was full four miles distant yet from the spot. I liked not the man's appearance, his dull stupid eyes, and his intruding manners ; but he soon fami- liarized himself to me during our inarch, and put me off my guard by his conversation to a great degree. We went about two miles when the brilliant traveller, the sun, reached the horizon. At this time we came to a river, at the bank of which there was an old mosque standing, but no population to be seen in the vicinity. I told my new companion that I could walk no longer, and would make my halt in the mosque for the night, and that he might proceed on to Gohad if he pleased, where the next day I would have the pleasure of seeing him, inshd Allah ta'dla, " if it pleased the Almighty God." Here- upon he observed tliis was a place infested by both robbers and wild beasts, and he would recommend my proceeding on, instead of staying in that dan- gerous place. But I told him I cared not for both kinds of the savage animals : as for the first class of them, I did not think they would injure me, for I had not a particle of the precious metal about me ; and to guard against a frightful visit of the second class, I thought would not be a matter of difficulty, as I was a son of Adam endowed with reason, with which they were not favoured by the Deity : I JUM'A. 69 would collect some pieces of firewood and make a fire in the middle of the entrance, and would remain inside without any apprehension. My new compa- nion, " Jurn'a " (such was his name, meaning Friday), heard all this with attention. He examined my person with searching looks, again and again, and then replied, " Very well, sir, do as you please." I then undressed myself to perform ablution for the evening prayer, and to wash my body from the dust of the road. I told Jum'a to take care of the bread, that no dog carried it away, and to watch the dress, etc., whilst I washed myself. He readily accepted the charge, and carefully searched my small luggage, the cloth in which my two books were wrapped up, and my pockets, etc. Finding nothing in them that might have satisfied his brutal cupidity, he sat in silence watching me, very likely to see if I had any money or jewel about me ; this expectation of his also proved to be in vain. Coming out of the water, I wiped my body and performed my sunset devo- tion to my most sublime Creator, whilst Jum'a sat looking on, and sometimes smiled, perhaps at the acts of prayer, which of course are curious to the vulgar eye. The night came on, and we entered the mosque; Jum'a and myself brought some firewood and made a large fire at the entrance to guard against the wild beasts. We made a supper upon a piece of bread, each from his own possession. Jum'a offered me 70 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH some of his own bread, but I declined the acceptance, and told him he might take a part from my bread if he liked. Now I felt myself excessively fatigued, and so sleepy, that I could hardly keep my eyes open ; but it was the pleasure of Almighty God to save me from an injury or heinous crime from my evil companion, Jum'a, who opened a horrid conver- sation with me, telling me that he had already found I was no more than a mercenary like himself, and even, in my young days, had no friend in the world ; that, if I swore to him by the Holy Book never to divulge the secret about to be delivered to me, he would take me as one of his pupils ; that his pro- fession was so excellent a one as to render the follower of it a man of great fortune in one moment, etc. The conversation of Jum'a charmed me much; and, being a young imprudent creature, I swore to hun by the Book without thinking, though I regretted it afterwards. Jum'a then remarked that he had seven pupils in the country, who were all faithful to him. I then asked him to tell me the secret, upon which, making me swear once more, he said he was a Tlmg, and that he killed travellers very easily, and made his fortune by doing so. Opening a long bag from his waist, and undoing its mouth, he poured down gold mohrs from it to enchant my eyes and fascinate my mind. These precious coins amounted to 112, being counted afterwards. When I heard THE THUG. 71 this appalling announcement, instead of being pleased I was horrified at the sight of the infernal Jum'a, and still more at the coins. However, I did not forego my self-command, and asked him very coolly how he could destroy a man so easily as he said, since, having been an eye-witness to some executions, I found it no such slight affair to put a human being out of the world. " Never you mind that," said he, " I could teach you that in one moment by my per- formances ; but be you careful never to mention my name in any town or village, for I am a man of great name: keep this secret, and there are chances that to-morrow you will be as rich as myself; but remember, you must pay one quarter of the gain to me and one quarter to a handsome maid of ours, whom we shall see to-morrow at the gate of Gohad." Although exposed to such danger, I could not get rid of my inclination to sleep, which attacked me more and more every minute. To keep awake, I, under the pretence of lighting my cheroot, went to the fire and purposely burnt the tip of my ring finger, and, lighting the cigar, I returned to the seat. Jum'a now being satisfied of my fidelity, began his diabolical instructions to me, telling me that it was not difficult to put an end to a man's life, but it was difficult to delude him and to get into a little confi- dence with him for the performance of the act. " We adopt various modes," said he, " in making ourselves familiar with travellers, by appearing to 72 AUTOBIOGBAPIIY OF LUTFULLAII. them as mendicants, by engaging to be their guides, and even by acting as pimps for them. The woman I mentioned to you is for the last purpose: she attracts a traveller's attention immediately; and, fascinating him in her enchanting conversation, she leads him apart from the road, and then, pretending to be tired, she sits under a tree, takes out a tinder- box from her bag to strike fire for smoking ; in the meantime one of us arriving there, the traveller naturally dislikes such an intrusion, but the woman pacifies him by telling him * he is my husband (or brother), and will soon go away about his business after taking a little fire, and then we will smoke and talk at leisure.' During this talk, if the traveller is not enough off his guard, in smoking and talking, etc., she, as if by accident, removes such a part of her dress as naturally very soon attracts his whole attention ; and then any one of us throwing a hand- kerchief like this (exhibiting a long silk handkerchief with a knot) over his neck, gives him a pull, which brings him down senseless : he, however, shakes his hands and legs a little, which are instantly silenced by giving one sound kick upon his scrotum. His person is then searched, and immediately interred at the same spot, and we pursue our way separately, engaging to meet again at a certain place on a certain day." Listening to these abominable narratives, my ears became deaf, my eyes motionless, and my blood A THUG'S EXPERIENCE. 73 thrilled in my veins. My self-possession, however, I still maintained, and asked him another question with the same indifference as before. " Do you not relent at all when you commit this act?" "No," replied he, " we are accustomed to it ; a butcher is never moved when he kills his goat or cow. In the beginning one always feels compassionate a little, but practice renders everything easy: upon such occasions we must think of the people's unkindness, selfishness, and remorselessness. For example, they would not give us a rupee were we dying with starvation, and they would not be moved at all if we were punished to death; so they must be treated similarly by us. In the commencement of the profession, I myself was once very much disgusted at it. "It happened that once I followed an old priest for about thirty miles from Kota, in the direction of Udepur. In the course of the first day's journey with him, I could find no opportunity to finish him. In the evening he put up with some of his friends, where I could not possibly intrude. The next morn- ing very early, he marched, and I accompanied him, sometimes following, and sometimes preceding him. When the first quarter of the day had elapsed, he took his breakfast near a village, and seeing me in a wretched condition, he gave me a piece of bread, which I received from him with an apparent eager- ness, and thanked him, but never tasted it, thinking 74 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LTJTFULLAH. that eating his salt, and then killing him, would be an unpardonable infidelity in me. I told him I was going to Udepur to look for a situation, and he replied, "May your undertaking be prosperous!" He proceeded on after his breakfast, and I after him till noon, when the time of his prayer, or I may say his death, approached. He asked me if I knew any place nigh where water could be found for his ablution, if not, he might purify himself with the sand, and pray. I told him there was a stream of water running about a quarter of a mile thence, but it was a little apart from the road : he asked me to show it to him, and I made him follow me to the water, where he performed his purifications; and spreading his cloth, began his prostrations, and rising up, heedless as he was, in the latter act of his devotion, I strangled him. He soon gave up the ghost, and to my great despair, on searching his person I found only one "pice," or farthing, with him in ready cash, a rosary, and some pieces of dry bread. The body, however, I interred immediately, and returned. The next clay I came to the village, where I had previously appointed to see my old mother, and found her there. I mentioned to her what had taken place, and my being moved with compassion, and my determination of giving up my profession, telling her that I would rather starve to death than be obliged to stain my hands in future with innocent blood for such trifling gains. She did A PLEASANT VIGIL. 75 not like this unmanliness of mine, and, taking the farthing from me, she proceeded to the market-place, whence she returned with a bundle of about one pound in weight of small fish or prawns: placing the bundle before me, she said, * Can you count these small animals my son?' 'Yes,' said I, 'but it will require one whole day to count them, without any use.' ( Then,' returned she, ' you foolish boy, do you not see how many lives are destroyed here for one farthing? and you, like a stupid, cowardly, relenting fellow, seem concerned at the death of an old priest, who had one foot already in the grave. If a lion,' observed she, f feels remorse over his prey, it is quite clear he must starve to death.' This wholesome advice of the manly old woman," con- tinued Jum'a, " restored my mind to my favourite profession, and I never afterwards felt foolish remorse for my deeds." Midnight had already elapsed by this time, and the cursed Jum'a now told me that I must be very sleepy and might go to sleep for two or three hours ; during which time he would keep awake, and then he would awake me to watch in my turn. " My friend," remarked I, " I have accidentally burnt my finger, and the pain thereof will not allow to sleep ; go thou to sleep, and I will watch and awaken thee when I feel sleepy." At this he laughed, and, accept- ing the offer with great pleasure, he slept, and began to snore like an unclean animal. I feel it impossible 76 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. to express to my reader the torture that my mind was undergoing at the conversation and sight of this devil in the disguise of man; but it was quite clear that I was helpless. In escaping from bad, I was involved in worse: my finger now became inflamed, the pain was excessive ; but the pain of my mind surpassed it. I thanked Heaven that I had nearly stripped before the beast in my evening ablution, which act assured him of my being money- less, otherwise I should have been strangled like others ere that I had a great mind to cut the throat of the unmanly wretch with my small but sharp scimitar, and send him at once to hell from his slumber, the door whereof, I thought, must be open for him, and " Malik," the keeper of it, would with much pleasure receive and put him into the eternal fire. On the other hand, I felt disinclined to kill him with my own hands, for fear of my being liable to be prosecuted on suspicion of cold-blooded murder, perpetrated for the money on his person. In such troublesome thought the long and tedious night at last came to a finish ; the chirping of the morning birds conveyed the glad tidings of its approach to my anxious ears. I rose from my place very quietly, and getting out of the gate of the mosque, without making any noise, instead of going to make my morning ablution, which was my first intention, I ran in the direction of Gohad, doing the two miles in about twenty JUM'A'S FAREWELL BENEFIT. 77 minutes. I often looked behind to see if Jum'a was not in pursuit of me. Just as the gate of the town was going to be opened I reached there, and the doorkeepers and the guard, seeing me out of breath, inquired the reason. In the fit of my excitement and fear (forgetting my oath, I must confess,) I uttered "Jum'a the Thug," in an inarticulate manner ; but the name of the rogue was quite suffi- cient to rouse all the guard. The question then arose where he was, and I pointed out the place. I was asked to accompany them and show the place; but pleading my inability, I stayed where I was. Caring not for me, they ran to the spot. In the meantime I was sent for by the Minister of the State, a young Hindu of very respectable appearance. I was informed afterwards that this young nobleman was the son of the Raja's Minister, and acted as Governor. He examined me very narrowly upon the subject, but before the exami- nation was finished, to my great satisfaction, I saw the brute Jum'a brought into the presence of the Minister, pinioned in a condition befitting his black acts. He was thrashed, beaten, and even pierced and cut with swords all over his body. The Minister and the people present recognised him, as he had escaped from their prison once before. All of them spat on his face, and his person then being searched, the money found thereon was taken by the officers, and without any further inquiry or delay, he was 78 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. tied to the mouth of a large cannon, and in a second blown into atoms, and all his hopes of committing murders in future were in one instant at an end. Thus his abominable existence was terminated: I took my way to the gate, and thence to a well, where, having performed my ablution, I offered my thanks to Heaven for this narrow escape, and sincerely demanded forgiveness of the Deity for the crime of breaking iuy oath. Finishing these humble supplications, I kindled a little fire to parch some fresh grain for my breakfast, which having done, I sat comfortably chewing it. This day it was my intention to make a long march ; I was now shy enough of strangers, and determined to proceed on as fast as possible. Just as I was preparing to start, I saw, to my great alarm, one of the guards coming up to me : his appearance filled my mind with a double appre- hension. In the first place I thought somebody might have come from Gwalior to catch me, or very likely I was to be accused of having been a partner of the damned Jum'a, in which case I must have to share his fate, or be made a prisoner. But all such fearful thoughts left me soon, when the man, coming nearer, saluted and kindly told me that the Minister wanted to see me : I accordingly returned with him to the Darbar, and was desired to be seated. The Minister thanked me in the assembly for having been the cause of the destruction of the I BECOME TIMOKOUS. 79 impure bloody robber, who had destroyed many lives, and would have taken more had he lived. He then ordered his treasurer to pay me twelve gold mohrs from the amount of one hundred and twelve, found on the person of the guilty. I made a respectful bow to liim, and got the money from, his man ; but counting them I found only ten, and looking at him to express that the number of the money was incorrect, he said he had deducted two for his fee: I made no farther dispute about the shortness of the money, and pursued my course. Having now ten gold mohrs in my possession for the first time, the feelings of pride, vanity, and self- confidence, began to take their seat in my little brain. The pure sense of being altogether resigned to the will of the One real Provider of everything to every individual creature, began to leave me. The " yellow slave," as it is termed by the immortal Shakspeare, soon evinced its noxious effects upon its possessor. Notwithstanding all this, my fears, too, were aggravated; formerly I was only fearful of a pursuer, but now my life was endangered by keeping gold about me. The base metal being the object of everybody's love, there are in this world a thousand kinds of plots laid for its attainment, and the human frames, formed by the omnipotent hand of the Deity, are destroyed for the purpose of its impure acqui- sition. I was obliged to travel by the general road, and to seek some company, for the safety of my 80 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. newly-obtained riches, which I kept on my person with all possible secrecy. In short, after seven days' hard work and circuitous travelling, I had the pleasure of seeing the vicinity of the ancient city of Agra. My bread, I may say, had the blessing of Jesus Christ, that during the week I lived upon three quarters of it, and had still one quarter of it left ; but to tell the truth, the green grain of the fields, which I plucked and parched every morning, was my wholesome breakfast through- out the journey. It affords me the greatest pleasure now to think of the freedom and happiness I enjoyed in this short travel after bondage. The remembrance of my morning walks, my ablutions in the pure limpid springs of water, my noon prayers in the still jungles, under the shade of the finest tree that I happened to select, on the emerald carpets of verdure supplied by nature, whereon I took my rest after the prayers, still enrich my memory with delight and joy. Arriving near the city, I made my halt under a fine shady tree, and sat for a while admiring the ancient lofty buildings, raising their heads from the verdant cloaks of the trees. In the afternoon, I entered the town, and searched for the house of my late father's relative, and was glad enough to find it. I called at the door, and a female slave asked "who I was. I told her I was the son of the late Molvi Mohamed Akram, who was first married in this AGHA. 81 louse. The effect of this message was soon shown "by the entry of an elderly man of very respectable appearance, whose countenance betokened his scien- tific mind. When the lock of silence was removed from his worthy tongue, he minutely examined me regarding my step-sisters and the names of my an- cestors, which he seemed to compare with a piece of paper in his hand; and finding my tale to be a genuine one, he embraced me heartily, and took me into the house, where I was surrounded by an assembly of the fair sex, and was introduced to the old lady, my step-grandmother, who kindly took charge of me at once. I was obliged to repeat my history to every new friend that visited me, and I contrived to abbreviate it to a few sentences to save trouble. I must acknowledge I am infinitely obliged to this noble family, and most heartily thank them for their hospitable protection and kindness to a stranger, as I was to them, for the principal cause of my relation- ship with them was removed by the demise of my step-mother. The old gentleman, being master of a school, kindly took charge of my education: my punctuality, perseverance, and love of knowledge, soon rendered me his favourite scholar. On Friday I was left to myself to select any amusement I liked; but instead of going to play, I went out to see the ancient gardens and edifices in company with my friends. The ancient city of Agra is handsomely situated 82 AUTOBIOGRATHr OF LUTFULIAH. on the south-west side of the famous river Jainna, one of the three sacred streams with the Hindus, i.e. t Ganga, Jainna, and Saraswati, supposed to run under ground. The confluence of these rivers at Prag, or Allahabad, is called Tribeyni (that is, three braids of hair), and is considered by them to be a place of great sanctity, and ablution therein is said to wash away all the sins of the performer ; whereas, bathing in the river Jamna here, frees him from one-third of the sins at least. Agra assumed the title of Akbar- abad from the time of the great Emperor Akbar, who much enlarged it, and made it his capital. The houses of this city are in general lofty, consisting of several stories ; but the streets are very narrow and complicated, not unlike to those of Grand Cairo, except one that leads to the Mathura gate from the fort. A great part of the town in those days was in ruins. About five miles to the north, at Sikandra, is the mausoleum of the wise Emperor Akbar may his memory be blessed! Should the reader feel inclined to know the history of this great king, I beg to refer him to the " Akbar-Namah," or the " Annals of Akbar," by his learned and able minister, Abulfazl, where he will find in detail the account of his wisdom and benevolence, and his incomparable political energies, etc., from the time of his youth. When he was only thirteen years of age, he took the reigns of the great and vast empire of India in hand, and held them unshaken up to his sixty-third year, when he AKBAR. 83 left the kingdom of this world for the next and a better one, where he must be in the eternal enjoy- ment of the blessings of palaces and huris. Agra is renowned as the birthplace of the cele- brated minister, Abulfazl, and his brother, the learned Faizi. To the latter, the world is indebted for a translation of several famous Sanskrit works, such as the Gita Mahabharat, and Ramayana, etc. ; and to the former for his energetic political administration of the affairs of India, and for the composition and production of the law institutes, such as the Ayim- Akbari, etc. I beg to draw my reader's attention, in this place, ' to the wonderful character of the Emperor Akbar, whose reign of fifty-one years was, and ever will be, considered a blessing to India. Had his successors been half as wise as himself, it would not have been the fate of the country to be under the rule of foreigners. The enormous weight of the kingdom was placed on his shoulders when he was a boy of thirteen years. It must be borne in mind that to sway the vast continent of India is not an easy thing for a boy of that age, when, in this peaceful time, three able statesmen of the enlightened land of Eng- land, aided by members of council, find it an irksome and difficult task to govern. Whereas, in the begin- ning of his government, he found the whole country in a state of confusion ; but the young ruler, as the historian says, being endowed with the following 84 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. three accomplishments by nature, viz., courage, bene- volence, and foresight, he proved to be an incom- parable warrior, reverenced monarch, and a pre- eminent statesman, and consequently managed affairs in such a way as to procure all his subjects' and friends' love for him : and he is loaded with praises, not only by all Asiatic historians, but by Europeans too, and, lastly, with all the eternal showers of mercy from his Creator. The fort of the city is strongly built of red stone, such as is taken out of the Gwalior quarries; the depth of its ditch is considerable, the ramparts double, with bastions situated at equal distances from one another. Amongst the famous edifices of Hindustan is Mumtaz Mahall, here vulgarly called Taj Mahall. It is a most remarkable work by Indian artists, built of pure marble, decorated with Mosaics. Its materials are uncommonly rich, its design chaste, and its effect most brilliant, attended by solemnity. In beauty, it surpasses all the edifices of India, and in solemnity, those of the whole of Asia. The founder of this wondrous building was Shah Julian the Great, who erected it for his favourite queen, Mumtaz Mahall Begam, who was an able woman, and, also, queen of the beauties of her time: it is her mausoleum. The number of inhabitants in Agra at this time, I was informed was about eighty thousand. The dis- AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE. 85 trict was surrendered to the English army, under Lord Lake, in 1803, by Daulat Rao Sindhiah. I lived here under the protection of this noble family for a period of five years, until the beginning of 1817. My education being considered complete in that school, I was left to myself. The old gentle- man then sent a message to me through a friend that my acquirements under him had already qualified me for a man of business, and that he had some interest with the British functionaries, whose Govern- ment, a few years since, had been established there, which he would be glad to use in my behalf if I liked; also, he would be happy to get me married, too, amongst some of his relatives. In reply to this kind message, I returned my most sincere thanks to my noble protector, adding that I should never, during my life, forget his kindness towards me, and that, although at that time it was beyond my power to do him any service in return for the protection I had received, yet I hoped I should be able some day to serve him, if it pleased the Almighty God. As to the marriage and employ- ment, I pleaded inability to accept such offers, being desirous of seeing my mother at Ujjain once more by the first opportunity. 86 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. CHAPTER IV. My service with Hindu Rao's physician I visit Delhi Return to Gwalior The cobra's bite cured Once more at Ujjain Filial love stronger than the astrologer's threats Sir T. Hislop's army Battle of Mehidpur I weary of Ujjain My luckless rencontre with Musa the Afghan Strange wander- ings in the jungle The secret unveiled Nadir, chief of the Bheels Am promoted to be thieves' secretary A Bheel banquet and strange horrors My flight The old Sheik once more My mother's death. IN the month of February, 1817, Hakim Rahma- tullah Beg Khan, physician to Hindu Rao, the brother-in-law of his Highness Daulat Rao Sindhiah, came to Agra on his way to Delhi on business. Having had the honour of knowing this good old gentleman previously at Gwalior, I called on him, and was received very warmly. I begged, if I could be of any use te him, to be allowed to accompany him in his present travels. He kindly took me in his service as superintendent of his medicines and his household, on a small salary. Favoured by unexpected success in this object of my desires, I returned home with the good news, and communicated it to my benefactor, who, with all the members of the family, were excessively sorry to part with me, after being domesticated with them for a period of about five years. On the day of our I LEAVE AGRA. 87 departure, the ten gold mohrs, with a few rupees that I had in my possession, I placed at the feet of my benevolent instructor, and begged him to oblige me by the acceptance of such a trifle. He granted this request with some reluctance, to my great satisfac- tion, and then he called on the physician in person, and spoke to them a great deal about me and in my favour ; and, giving my hand into his, he bade us khudd hdfiz, " God preserve thee," and a good journey. Early on Thursday morning we took our leave of our friends, and bade farewell to the city of Agra. It must be well known to those who have visited that part of the country, that travelling from Agra 'to Delhi, is no more than walking in gardens for pleasure ; and we completed this interesting journey in a week. On the morning of the eighth day, the very splendid view of Delhi, the ancient capital of rajas and emperors, presented itself to our eyes. The first look of this grand city reminds the reflecting traveller that this was the central seat of empire in India, whence orders -and prohibitions were issued and executed throughout the whole of the provinces; that this was the place, the sight of which filled the mind of many princes of high rank with terror and awe ; that the heads of many delinquent nobles and princes used to be hung at the gates in retribution for their misconduct, while others passed through in triumph. On our entering the city gates, some few clerks 88 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. and peons of the English Government, to our great annoyance, searched our luggage and examined us, questioning us very minutely respecting our inten- tion and cause of coming to the city, which being directly replied to, we were left to ourselves. The physician took his temporary abode with a nobleman, a descendant of Nawazish Khan, residing at Chandni Chauk in a grand mansion, furnished with everything requisite for the luxury and vanity of man. Here, after the fatigue of the journey, we lived very com- fortably for seventeen days, during which period I had very little to do. In the morning only I had a few prescriptions, written by the doctor, to enter in the book, and^sometimes gave some medicines as he directed to some of the patients from the chest in my charge ; and then, after breakfast, having all the day at my own disposal, I passed it delightfully in walking through the city and its environs The ancient city of Delhi, entitled Indraprastha in the mythological annals of the Hindus, lies in mounds of ruins, to the south of the modern town. Several marks of the ancient palaces and mansions, etc., are still in existence ; and some few of them, such as the old gates of the town, mosques and mausolems of the Emperor Humayun, etc., the fort of Sher Shah and other small citadels, stand unshaken up to this time. Their form and structure seem wonderfully strong, even at this time. The first Mohamedan invader of India was Sultan Mahmud DELHI. 89 of Ghizni, who took the capital about the end of the the year 1110, A. D. But, according to his political liberality, he restored it to the Raja, and replaced him on the throne as a tributary to himself. The modern town was peopled by the Emperor Shah Jahan, in about 1631 A.D., on the western bank of the river Jamna, and he entitled it Shah Jahan- abad, bestowing his own name upon it. The popula- tion at the time of my visit was estimated to be about two hundred thousand inhabitants. The city seemed to be in a ruinous condition, having suffered much during the Maratha wars. The city walls, with numerous bastions, and seven gates, are built with red-stone. There are many edifices here worthy of notice, some in good condition, others falling to decay. Of the former class are the college of Gha- siuddin Khan, situated near the Ajmeer gate, the palaces of Ali Mardan Khan, Kamru'ddin Khan, and Kudsya Begum, the mother of Mohamed Shah, and many mosques. But the loftiest of all, and most elegant, is the Jam'i Masjid, or great Mohamedan cathedral, built of the red-stone lined with pure marble, and situated in the middle of the city. This venerable place of worship was begun by the Emperor Shah Jahan in the fourth year of his reign, and com- pleted in the eleventh. The people are generally polite and well-behaved, and the climate seems healthy. After about three weeks' sojourn in Delhi, my employer ordered pre- 90 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. parations for his return to Gwalior, which being made in a short time, we left the old metropolis of India, and in about another week reached our destination in safety, with the exception of one accident to a peon of ours. It happened so, that on the fourth day of our march, as we halted under a tree by the side of a small village to take our breakfast, this poor Hindu, feeling thirsty, was the first person to descend into the well (near which we had halted) with his pot of water. After having gone down a few steps he was bitten by a large black snake, that was lying under the stepping-stone of the same colour. As soon as the man saw his mortal enemy, and felt the pain of his bite, he took his pistol from his girdle and fired at it The sudden report of the firearm instantly brought us to the well, and what did we see but the man engaged in separating a piece of flesh from his heel with his sword, and the noxious animal, writhing about two yards from him with a hole in his hood that the pistol ball had made. We carried up the poor man, who fainted from the loss of blood ; but our master, the kind physician, immediately ordering a large knife to be made red-hot, cauterized his foot below the ankle, and having washed the wound he put a quantity of common salt upon it. I believe the smarting of the salt roused him from his deadly swoon, and he asked for water ; but the doctor gave him a copious draught of English brandy instead of water, which soon brought him down to sleep. A RECONCILIATION. 91 In the meantime a multitude of the people of the village were collected near the well. They thanked us for the destruction of the monster, which they said had put an end to the lives of two men and one woman of their village during that year. The snake, being brought out and measured, was found some- thing more than two yards long; and its stomach being opened, a frog and a sparrow were found in it. Of the former there was only a small part remaining, but the latter was nearly whole. The poor peon, being tied on a camel, was carried during the remainder of the journey, and recovered from his severe illness after about six weeks, when His Excel- lency Hindu Rao (the brother-in-law of His Highness the Maharajah), in whose service our noble physician was, hearing of the man's courage, promoted him from his peonship to the cavalry, on the salary of a rupee per day, and dresses, etc. Upon our arrival in the camp, the old Subahdar, my late protector, or rather oppressor, called on the physician, and begged of me to forget and forgive what had passed between us ; and remonstrated with the doctor, asking him to allow me to come with him. The doctor said he had no objection in case it was my wish to go. He then turned towards me to hear my consent. I remarked, " I had already forgiven what had taken place, and would also forget it if I could ; I would wait upon him with pleasure when I had time, but would never leave the service of the 92 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. doctor to stay with him, or on any other account than my finding a caravan proceeding to Ujjain; then would I beg my dismissal to repair to see my parent.'* This determination of mine silenced the Siibahdar, and he went home. I stayed with the doctor about six months, during which period, being constantly engaged in medical occupation, I began to take much interest in the profession, and learnt something of that most useful science. The practice of this doctor was very simple and easy : he seldom had recourse to medicines, but generally prescribed change of diet. His employer, Hindu Rao, had great confidence in him, though his salary was only five hundred rupees a month ; but the presents he received amounted to more than double that sum. I recollect an instance of his practice. Once His Excellency Hindu Rao went out hunting for two or three days, to a distance of about thirty miles from the camp, where he was seized with constant and severe hiccup. He had two medical men with him, who tried their best to remove this troublesome malady from His Excellency, but to no purpose. One of them wanted to take some blood from the arm, but this was objected to by the patient himself. His Excellency, not being able to suffer any more pain, returned to the camp immediately, and tiien my master, being ordered to attend, prescribed merely a few small pieces of sugar-cane, sprinkled with rose-water, to be chewed I LEAVE DELHI. 93 and smoked. This being done, the patient was instantly relieved, and our doctor, before leaving the palace, was well rewarded. His Excellency took from his own neck a necklace of large pearls, and presented it to him, with a pair of very handsome shawls. Whenever I had leisure I visited the Subahdar, and sometimes dined with him, and found him always civil. In August, Khande Rao, the nobleman in whose company we came to Gwalior, obtained leave to proceed to Ujjain to visit his family, and the Subahdar managed to be ordered to attend him until his return. On the day of their departure I obtained my dismissal from the service of the doctor, who was unwilling to grant it, observing that if I stayed with him for four or five years, he would make a good doctor of me, and then I should become an inde- pendent gentleman, or master of myself. But, anxiety to see my parent blinded the sight of my reason, and my prejudiced ear would not listen to his wholesome advice. He paid my arrears, and very liberally added a sum of money and dresses to them as a reward; so I found myself again master of upwards of a hundred rupees. About the middle of August we left the camp, and proceeded on our journey by long marches. We started about seven o'clock every morning, and marched till four in the evening. Our travel was not so pleasant, on account of the rainy season. 94 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAIL Every river and stream detained us for hours, and sometimes for a day and night. On our halting near Bundi the rains began to fall in torrents, and continued all night, and the next day never ceased even for a second. At night the waters, breaking through the trenches of the tents, rose more than two feet above the level of the ground, and caused our beds and pillows to float. Our horses and camels stood trembling, and ourselves were in no better condition than the poor animals ; besides, the pain of hunger crowned our misfortune, and we were obliged to halt here for five days. At the end of the first week in September we at last reached our destination in safety, and glad was I to see Ujjain again, after an absence of more than six years. Khande Rao, as also the Subahdar, would not enter the city for a week more, it being unlucky, according to the astrological calculations. As for myself, I was so anxious to see my mother that no astrology could possibly keep me a moment longer in the camp, and, previous to the prohibition being proclaimed there that nobody should enter the city until next week, I was in the house of my parent, with the tears of joy running over my face. I was glad to see her in a state of perfect health, and her son, too, a fine healthy boy. I was more surprised to see her house filled with all sorts of furniture, drapery of several kinds, valuable spices, and copper vessels, etc. Finding these articles UJJAIN. 95 beyond the income of the Subahdar, I asked my mother whence they came ? To this she gave me an evasive reply; but, not being satisfied with her answer, I made further inquiries about it, and found out, from other members of the family, that all the riches were plundered property, unlawfully obtained by the brother of the Subahdar 's former wife, who all the time during our absence, acted agreeably to his orders as a freebooter, and used to go on his diabolical excursions with his horses and camels, and bring these articles home. I lived with my dear parent for a period of three months, and a few days, very quietly. About the middle of December a force of about ten thousand of the English army, headed by Sir Thomas Hislop, arrived there, and halted at the other bank of the river Sfpra. My whole attention was taken up by their excellent uniforms, their cannons in beau- tiful order, and all their warlike materials. Every day, after morning prayer, I went to the camp to see their extraordinary manoeuvres, exercise, and processions, on parade. I contracted friendship with a white soldier, who was very civil to me in his manner, but he could not speak my language. We expressed our thoughts to each other by signs and a few words of bad Hindustani that he knew. He took me to his tent and seated me by him, and all his friends received me with kindness, and asked me to drink some of the forbidden liquor, which 96 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. they seemed to enjoy. I declined the offer, and took a piece of bread and milk to please them. This was the first time I heard the English language spoken, and I felt an irresistible desire to learn it. In this society, of only three or four days' duration, I learnt thirty-seven words, which I wrote down in the Persian character ; the list still remains with me in bundle of my notes. One morning as I repaired to the camp, to my great surprise, I found it gone. The site, being crowded with crows and kites, appeared horrible, but there were a few camp-followers left behind, and they too appeared to be in great confusion, engaged in pulling down their tents, and loading their provisions, etc., on the back of a poor camel, that seemed to have been overworked, as its lament- able cries denoted. From these people I learnt that the army had proceeded to Mehidpur, where they expected to have a battle with Holkar's forces. Hearing this I returned home in despair, considering myself very unlucky, not being capable of partici- pating in such affairs. Hira Khan, the Governor of Ujjain, and almost all the chiefs, got ready to plunder the English baggage, the owners of which they considered would get a good beating and be defeated. Also parties of the mercenary vagabonds, who had nothing to lose, but everything to gain and who sojourned in the city, in expectation of such an opportunity of executing MEHIDPUR. 97 their evil designs appeared in singular excitement. My old Subahdar and liis former wife's brother, a notorious robber, seemed particularly so, anticipat- ing a disaster to the English. There would have been a host of about ten thousand armed men to destroy the foreigners had they lost the battle ; but all these hopes were frustrated by news of a con- trary nature, which appeared to them incredible at first, considering the strength of Holkar. Little did they know that Nuwab Abdulghafur Khan played the part of a traitor to his master, and deserted the field of battle with the force under his com- mand, just at the moment when the English were on the point of losing the battle through the loyal and gallant exertions of Roshan Beg, the Captain General of Holkar's artillery. The stain of this disgrace clung too firmly to the name of Abdul- ghafur, as long as he lived, to be effaced by his great liberality towards the poor and others : and his son Ghazi Mohamed Khan is not unreproached by the natives of India for his late father's misbe- haviour, though he enjoys the district of Jaora, assigned to the family through the favour of the British authorities in India. I stayed with my good parent in the city until the end of December, 1817, and then began to feel very dull, being tired of a monotonous life. Besides, I did not like to eat the Subahdar's bread so unlaw- fully obtained, and I found my mind in a state of 98 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. excitement, hearing the news of wars in the Dakhan, and the overthrow of Baji Rao, the last representa- tive of the family of the Peshwa, whose vanity and short-sighted policy had lately rendered him odious to two formidable castes, his benefactors, viz., Mohamedans and English, forgetting that through the aid of the former he was put on the throne, and through that of the latter, he retained it. He incurred the dislike of the Mohamedans by prohibiting them from appearing in his sight till ten o'clock in the morning every day, in order that his eyes might not be defiled by seeing them. Moreover, he issued a proclamation prohibiting all Muslims of whatever rank or station from even pass- ing through those streets which were overlooked by his palace. The wise and powerful Christians, although they were treated alike, yet cared not about his folly in such matters, but were greatly incensed at his vacillation and disregard of their advice. In the beginning of January, in the year 1818, hearing talk of the war in the Dakhan, I burned to proceed thither, thinking I should find there a ladder to ascend to the terrace of distinction. Infatuated with this idea, I wandered about in the city in search of a caravan or any kind of a companion through whom to accomplish my design. One day as I rambled about I saw some twenty stranger Afghans, and a Jamadar, apparently a well-behaved man of good temper, who was lodging hi the shop of a Banian. MUSA KIT AX. 99 As I passed by, I saluted them according to the established custom of the Mohamedans, founded upon the tradition of the prophet. The Jamadar Miisa Khan (such was his name, as I found out afterwards,) kindly returned my salutation, and asked me to sit and smoke with him, to which I agreed with pleasure; and, to my great satisfaction, I found from the con- versation, that he was on his return to Punah, whence he had obtained a few months' leave to visit his family at Rampur. I inquired as to the tune when he intended leaving the city ; "for," said, I " I was also thinking of proceeding to the Dakhan, where I might get employment." The Jamadar replied, he was to leave the place next morning after prayer, and would take me into his service if I liked, on a salary of ten rupees per month, and that I should eat arid drink with him free of charges ; he would also furnish me with clothes, and I should keep the accounts of his twenty-five Pathans, and might leave him when I got a better situation: but I must make up my mind and be quick. I readily assented to the above terms, and promised to be with him the next morning as early as possible with my luggage. " No luggage," replied he, " as we have none, except our small carpets and arms ; but, if you have any, recollect that you will have to carry it on your own shoulders." Thinking I might easily put up with such an inconvenience for a short journey, I told him I should be as light as possible, and perhaps lighter than his men. E 2 100 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. I returned home delighted, and packing up all my things in a box, gave it in charge to my mother, retain- ing the key in my own possession. I kept my inten- tion a profound secret, knowing that, if divulged to anybody, my going would surely be stopped. My future prospects having filled my brain, I was so busy all night in building castles in the air that I could not sleep for a moment ; not having the least idea that I was precipitating myself headlong into an abyss of misfortune worse than death ; but the lines of fate prescribed by the mighty hand of the Supreme Being are entirely unintelligible to the eye of our limited reason. Who can tell what is to become of him to-morrow? Hearing, at last, the first crow of the cock, I got up, and, performing my ablution, said my prayers; and putting my small carpet on my shoulder, and pen, ink, and paper into my girdle, I repaired to my new friends, whom I found prepar- ing to start. They unanimously received me with an acclamation of joy. " This is the first day of your employment with a gallant party of real men," said Musa, "may your days be prosperous: you are very welcome us." He then asked me if I had said my prayers, and if so to sit near the bonfire and look over the arms, etc., until their return. On my taking charge of their things, all of them repaired to the nearest Mosque, and performed their devotions ; and then, returning to me, they rehearsed their salutation, as it is the duty of Muslims to salute each other after I JOIN MUSA. 101 prayers, and when they come near one who is seatod. They then accoutred themselves in a few minutes, and unanimously repeated the following prayer, to be said by all Muslim travellers and warriors at the moment of their starting on an expedition: Nasrum min- alldh, failiun Tcarib wabashshiril mominin, Falldhu Jchairun hd/iza wahuwa urahmdnu'r rdhimm, viz., " Assistance from God, and a speedy victory, and do thou bear good tidings to the true believers. God is the best guardian, and He is the most merciful of those that shew mercy" (chap. Ixii., ver. 12, Alkur'an). Having done this we started off, and were out of the gate of the city by the sunrise. We went south-west from the town, and leaving the city of Indiir on the left, we proceeded by long marches from morning till evening every day, avoid- ing to put up at any of the large towns that were in the way, for reasons unknown to me. We halted at small villages at nights, and, purchasing our pro- visions, dressed them by turns. We took our dinner at about eight o'clock in the evening, all sitting together; and then one loaf and a little quantity of onions, or coarse sugar, was given to each man to take care of for his breakfast the next morn- ing. My time passed very pleasantly in the society of my new friends, and Musa Khan particularly seemed always very anxious about my comfort. On the evening of the sixth day of our departure from Ujjain, we halted at a small Bheel village, situated 102 AUTOBIOGRAPHf OF LUTFULLAH. at the foot of the enormous chain of mountains in this part of the world, extending east and west along the valley of the Narbadda River, which on the other side forms a natural boundary between the two extensive provinces of Malwah and Khandesh. On inquiring the reason for our coming to this dreary and difficult part of the mountain, instead of going through the celebrated pass of Jarnghat, I was informed that this pass, named Jamanya, though very difficult, having only a footpath, was preferred by Miisd Khan as being the shortest road to Mandal- eshwar, where the Narbadda is always fordable. The next morning, about two o'clock A.M., we set off and entered the mountain. Our progress was very difficult " dark before, and dangerous voices behind;" but, at the same time, it was very fast. Miisa Khan, and the other Afghans, seemed to be as well acquainted with the giddy ascents, dangerous precipices, and fearful ravines of the mountains, as a citizen with the winding streets and narrow lanes of his own native town. At daybreak we halted near a clear fountain, and, performing our ablutions, said our prayers. The cold this morning was so intense that our teeth involuntarily chattered. The Afghans seemed indifferent to it ; but, for my part, I felt my extremities benumbed and my whole body chilled. After prayers, however, Miisa ordered a bonfire to be made and pipes to be filled. We obeyed the order with alacrity, and in a moment pieces of I AM ENTRAPPED. 103 fire-wood, of which there was no deficiency, were col- lected into a large heap; and one of the Afghans, taking the chakmak (steel and flint) from his girdle, struck fire and soon kindled a flame, to our inex- pressible comfort. In the meantime, the great planet rising from the eastern horizon rendering us inde- pendent of the fire by his rays, we took our breakfast, and soon concluded it with another smoke. Thus, being well refreshed, we set off again at a more rapid pace than the night before. The road was very difficult and complicated : the footpath that we followed often became traceless. Sometimes we penetrated through the thick forest, and at others we caught hold of the roots of trees and corners of rocks to sling our- selves over a precipice or craggy peak. Thus we went on till about five o'clock in the evening, when all the Afghans joyfully exclaimed, " There is the end of our journey ; thanks to God ! we have at last reached our destination." Seeing no trace of habitation, or the expected ferry of the Narbadda, I felt greatly surprised, and asked Miisd where we were? In reply, he pointed out to me a wide valley, thickly covered with trees and dotted with huts, situated at the distance of about a musket shot from one another. " There," said he, " that is the place I was so anxious to reach, and there is- to be my home for one year, and then I shall return to my native country." He added, that in the same valley resided his lord and master, the chief of the 104 ATJTOBIOGBArHY OF LUTFULLAII. Bheels, by name Nadir, who always had about five hundred of his tribe ready at his command; and they, with the party of Afghans I had joined, plundered caravans and travellers, and infested the passes and roads of that moutain. The booty was brought to Nadir and divided into three shares, two of which were taken by the Bheel chief, and tho remainder by the Afghans. After telling me this, Musa consoled me by observing that I had nothing to do with their excursions, and might stay at home and take care of their baggage, etc., during their absence, and that their accounts would not engage my time more than half-an-hour every month. I was actually horrified at this unexpected address, and my vexation was so great that it nearly burst forth in angry words, when, no doubt, I should have been murdered on the spot; but, on reflection, I perceived the necessity of having recourse to a hypocritical policy, and, with a feigned smile, I inquired, " Are we not, then, to go to Piinah, after all?" " No, never," rejoined he; "what is the use of going there when we can acquire here the object of our desire ?" " Well," replied I, " as I am joined to you by the decree of fate, I will try and make myself useful in your service for the fixed time of one year, and then I shall see if fortune casts her favourable eye upon me." At the end of this con- fabulation we arrived very near the den of our host, and three muskets were fired from our party as a NADIR BHAI. 105 sign of our arrival. The report echoed and re- echoed in the valley, and was followed by the wild cries of the Bheels in reply, and in a few minutes we were surrounded by a host of them, naked, save a narrow strip of cotton round the middle, but armed with bows and arrows. Their bows were made of a strong piece of bamboo string, with a thin slip of the same material, and the arrows were not unlike those used in sport by more civilized nations. One of them, advancing furiously forward, cast his red fiery eyes upon us, and addressed the party in a wild, threatening tone, as follows : " Who are ye that voluntarily rush into the jaws of death?" "Dost thou not know me, Kaliya?" cried Miisa. The Bheel recognised the voice of the Jamadar, and advanced towards us, shouting at the same time to the others, Re Musd re apno Miisa rip nahin, i. e. 3 " It is our own Miisa, and no enemy." Upon this all of us were intermixed with the native robbers ; and old Kaliya's friendly talking with Miisa Khan demonstrated their former intimate acquaintance with each other. As the evening began to set in we reached a cave, at the mouth of which we beheld a black well-made man squatting on a four-legged frame interwoven with fibres of wild creepers. He was also naked as the others ; but a pair of thick golden bracelets on his wrists, and a sword, placed before him, in addition to the usual bow and arrows, and a chafing dish with live fire at a little distance, 106 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. encircled with several squatting Bheels, clearly showed that he was the chief of the banditti. Miisa, looking at him, saluted and said, " There is Nadir Bhai, the good prince of the wilderness ; make your respects to him and go home; I will be with you after a little while." So all of us raised our hands to our foreheads to the Bheel, who got up from his seat, returned our salams, and desired Miisd to approach, which he did, and sat near him on the ground, leaning against one of the feet of the rude throne. Our party now walked to the place of our future stay, which they knew too well to require a guide. It was only about half a mile off; but abhorrence, disappointment, and despondency having expelled all my eagerness and ambition, I felt going over this little distance equal to a fatiguing journey of a hundred miles. At length we arrived at a place near the side of a hill, which, like a natural wall, formed the back of our dwelling. Adjoining this hill was a spacious shed built of trunks of trees, and the three sides walled with strong bamboos, leaving a large space in the middle of the front side to serve as a door. There were two compart- ments, and about thirty rooms in each, partitioned off with split bamboos. This last march had much fatigued the Afghans too ; so, immediately on our arrival there, all of them hung their matchlocks to the walls of the hall, and each taking possession of a room for himself, flung himself down on a rude MY SOLILOQUY. 107 frame, the only furniture there. I followed the example of my friends, and, stretching myself out, attempted to close my eyes in sleep, and thereby relieve my exhausted limbs. But, instead of sleep- ing, I began to reflect, " Why did I accompany this murderous gang without inquiry? I might have waited another month with my kind parent and looked for a better convoy. It is my want of experience, nay, my folly, that always pushes me into the abyss of misfortune. It is true, Miisa acted treacherously towards me ; but an outlaw considers treachery a joke. Why did I allow myself to be imposed upon? Being nearly eighteen years of age, I ought to have judged for myself." Feeling utterly helpless (as is natural with man), I betook myself to the last and unfailing resource. I lifted my eyes and hands towards heaven, and prayed thus : " O Almighty and glorious God, how long wilt thou keep me in calamities ? Am I doomed to be dishonoured, and destined to live with murderers, robbers, and outlaws ? O Lord of earth and heaven ! am I born to be a disgrace to the name of my ancestors ? If so, my most gracious Lord, I beseech thee to put an end to my being in this world. Amen." As I repeated this, the tears flowed over my cheeks incessantly, and then an opposing train of thoughts made their appearance in the mirror of my brain to exonerate me from blame. I began to reflect as follows : " I do not deserve these severe accusations, 108 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. for I must submit to the decrees of my fate in the same way as man, wise or fool, whether endowed with the philosophy of Plato or the stupidity of Khozib, whether with the crown of royalty on his head or the wallet of misery over his shoulder; I knew not the character of the former Subahdar, nor that of Jum'a the Thug, nor was I acquainted with that of the present Jamadar. My outward senses clearly showed ^that they were men; and if they turn out inhuman, I am not to blame." In the meantime, about eight o'clock, P.M., Miisa came home. He called to us, and the whole party ran to him immediately, when, to our great delight, we saw several Bheels along with him, carrying pots of water, milk, sugar, and wheaten cakes, more than our appetite demanded. These articles of indispens- able necessity at this moment were considered a great blessing: Miisa was loaded with thanks from all sides. We then performed our ablutions, and said our evening and night prayers at once. Due justice was then done to the meal, and everybody retired to repose, except two sentinels, one of them posted in the hall, and the other upon a lofty tree. Being well tired by the hard labour of the day, all of us were soon asleep ; for my part, I think I was more soundly dor- mant than the others. In the morning I did not get up from my deep sleep until I was shaken by the shoulders. I soon felt the necessity of putting up with all my troubles and torture of mind without murmuring, THE UNHOLY ALLIANCE. 109 and began to familiarize myself with the place and its original residents. I often sat alone under trees in meditation, and sometimes conversed with the Afghans, friends of mine and foes of the public, or rather bitter enemies of mine too, having imposed on me with success. The system of robbery and rapine was, meantime, constantly carried on under the guidance of the notorious Nadir, the Bheel chief, whose detestable followers not only infested all the passes of the mountain, but very frequently attacked the neighbouring villages and towns. When one of their own party happened to be disabled by wounds from keeping up with them, they immediately cut off his head, which they buried or burnt to avoid being recognised, and to prevent the secret being divulged, as the individual, being tortured, might confess, and bring on a general misfortune. Our arrival caused a great acceleration to the current of black deeds systematically perpetrated under the diabolical superintendence of the black chief. Twice or three times a month a detachment of about fifteen of the Afghans used to be ordered to go on an expedition with a band of the native robbers, and if they found no travellers in the passes, etc., worthy of attack, the Afghans generally proceeded to the civilized part of the neighbouring country, stationing the Bheels in ambuscades, where they awaited the return of the former, with travellers decoyed by them and persuaded to engage their 110 . AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. escort to the fatal spot. A signal from them then drew the Bheels to the point, and a false conflict taking place between the banditti and the Afghans, the latter were of course defeated and driven to a distance ; and the poor travellers were then stripped of everything in their possession, even to the clothes they wore. A piece of rag about one foot broad and three feet long was generously given to every plun- dered individual to cover himself, and he was sent away. Any mark of resistance on the part of the poor travellers was sure to bring upon them severe blows or cuts, or even loss of life. Such were the horrid scenes, the accounts of which were brought and faithfully related to me by my comrades, to my secret disgust. Thanks to heaven I was never an eye-witness to these horrible affairs ; but the descrip- tions were quite sufficient to inflict wounds upon wounds on a heart unaccustomed to cruelty. On the fourth return of our party, three heads of our own people were brought back with the booty; two of them belonged to the Bheels, and the third was that of a young Afghan named Dara Khan. These three individuals were so badly wounded in their legs by the defending escort of an attacked caravan, that they were unable to walk ; so, severing their heads from their bodies was considered expedient by their friends. We interred the head of poor Dara according to our usual mode, and he was never thought of any more. My annoyance, indignation, and horror were hide- A EICII BOOTY. Ill scribable ; but my safety depending upon my feelings being kept concealed, I still hypocritically preserved a smiling countenance with my companions. I got up early, at about four o'clock every morning, and proceeded to a solitary fountain, where I made my ablutions and performed my prayers. I returned home after sun-rise, took my breakfast with Miisa and others, conversed with them for an hour or so, and then, with a pellet-bow, a kind present to me from an old Bheel, I repaired to the jungle, where I passed my time either in shooting small birds, or sitting in solitude lamenting my deplorable condition. Very nearly four months as tedious as four years passed in this state, and I thought eight more must be completed before the tree of my hope could bear the fruit of release. The eighth expedition of our detachment was so lucky, and so abundantly lucriferous, that every Afghan of the party returned loaded with gold and silver, coin and jewels. The division of this booty took place during the next night, and the Jamadar and all his party became at once in possession of large sums. Two pair of silver anklets, one golden bangle, and thirty rupees in ready cash, altogether amounting to the value of about four hundred rupees, fell to my lot in the distribution. I thanked the Jamadar for this unexpected boon, and buried my riches in my room, unperceived by all. The charm and beauty of the gold tried to allure my 112 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. thoughts in vain, for the possession of this plundered property could not afford me that genial pleasure which one feels in well-earned and lawful gains. The Afghans having obtained their object, were now anxious to take their leave of the Bheel chief for a few months to visit their home ; and Miisa, waiting upon him for the purpose, the request was readily granted. The chief told Miisa that as he and his party were to leave him for six months, he would not allow them to depart without giving them a grand feast in about three days. Saying this, he ordered his people to make the necessary prepara- tions for the appointed day. Miisa returned to his followers, and mentioned to them the result of his visit, which delighted them to a high degree ; and I must say these tidings, as they involved my liberty, rendered me happiest of all. Opium and henbane, both plain and in confection, and sweetmeats in plenty, and fat sheep, were sent to our quarters to feast us. The Afghans, considering themselves re- lieved from active duties, had recourse to the nourishing and intoxicating articles, and thereby made themselves as happy as possible. They sat up till late at night to look at the wild dances of the Bheels, and to hear their songs. Thus my friends were deluded, or blinded, by the order of the chief, for three days and nights, and on the fourth day they expected to have the grand feast which had been promised them. THE SLAUGHTER. 113 On the morning of the feast I got up from my sleep earlier than usual, and repaired to my frequented fountain; and, after performing the unavoidable duties of a good Muslim, I sat down and began to think upon the happy subject of my return to the civilized world, and freedom from the society of freebooters and thieves. Strange to say, such thoughts, instead of delighting my heart, rendered it more heavy ; I knew not why, but the dawning of the hoped-for morning, instead of cheering the heart, seemed to be clouded with gloom. I took little notice of these ominous forebodings, and at daybreak began my return to the shed. As I neared the place, and came within sound of the voice, my senses were terrified with yells and screams, attended with the slashing noise of cutting instruments, as if a butcher's hatchet descended upon an animal's flesh and bones. Then came cries of distress, ending in groans. Here reason, again making its timely appearance, stopped me to think over the matter. " It may be the sheep are being butchered for our feast," said I to myself; " but what then can be the cause of these dreadful squealings?" Whilst engaged in this soliloquy, my feet were naturally forced backward instead of for- ward ; and suddenly, to my great terror and dismay, what did I behold but an Afghan running away, with his head bleeding, and his dress covered with gore ! Running up to him, " What is the matter, Ibrahim Khan?" inquired I. To this he replied, "We are 114 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFDLLAK. undone; all the Afghans are assassinated by the Bheels. I have lost these three fingers in parrying a cut aimed at my head. My wound is not a bad one ; but, feigning death, I have escaped. Don't follow me I may be overtaken run as fast as thou canst to save thy life." " Adieu, Ibrahim," said I ; " may God protect thee ! " Saying this, I ran with the speed of a swift horse for more than two hours in a northern direction, without looking back, making hair-breadth escapes over the precipices, rugged heights, and deep valleys. Sometimes I climbed where I saw the clouds under me spread like an ocean ; at others I went down as if to the lowest region. Three hours' run, however, rendered me quite exhausted ; and not being able to move on any more, I dropped down under a tree to refresh myself. Hunger and thirst advanced their demands to be satisfied; I knew not where I was. The slightest shake of the dry leaves of the forest by the wind or an animal was sufficient to scare me ; I trembled at the thought of being overtaken and murdered by the assassins. Recovering myself in about half an hour, I resumed my journey, but was unable to perform it with the first speed. I went, however, on through the wilderness of the mountain and the thick forest till sunset, making several halts to regain strength whenever I found myself unable to walk through fatigue. Often I gathered a quan- tity of wild figs and berries, with which I tried to ALONE! 115 satisfy the cravings of hunger ; but they could not well answer the purpose. Fright, I suppose, having deranged my stomach, it could retain nothing. The pellet-bow and tinder-box fortunately remained with me ; with the former I tried several shots at small birds, but without success. The dusk of evening now came on, to my great satisfaction. " The darkness of night," thought I, " will be a good motherly veil to protect me." But the danger of being torn to pieces by some ravenous beast, and loneliness, were sad companions. There was no sign of habitation anywhere to be seen. I travelled all day without meeting a footstep, or even a footmark, and knew not where I was. " Where is a bed for me to repose upon? where friends? Is there no one to aid me in this solitary condition? Can I think of being so fortunate as ever again to reach civilized society ? " Involved in these thoughts I stood gazing about on the side of a ravine. Hope did not forsake me even in this condition ; but my fears were far stronger. Horror of either being murdered, or becoming a prey to wild animals, haunted my brain; and, to avoid these evils, I climbed up a large high tree, and rested myself upon a branch of it in deep contemplation. A dead silence reigned, only disturbed now and then by the howlings of the wild creatures of the place. When my eyes turned up, they were fascinated by the clear azure sky, ornamented with innumerable brilliant 116 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. stars, the wonderful works of the omnipotent Creator: these common phenomena filled my un- scientific mind with awe. In the meantime the beautiful orb of the moon began its welcome rise from the eastern direction like a mountain of pure gold. A flood of brilliance quickly extended over the surrounding mountains, and the objects therein situated. The scenes around me began to assume a different form. Steep sides of mountains with hillocks and uneven plains in their front, covered with verdant trees, represented palaces and grand mansions, with handsome gardens before them. 7 These deluding phantoms in the clear moonlight, and the refreshing breezes, impregnated with the delicately-sweet scent of flowers and the shrubs of the forest, had such a tranquillizing effect that I was immediately transported to the region of sleep ; and the active mental and corporeal powers being at once suspended, I walked in my dreams in these fantastical gardens amongst Hiiris and nymphs, when a sudden dash, severely felt by my back and head, soon restored me to my senses. " He dreams of riches, grandeur, and a crown ; He wakes and finds himself a simple clown." HOWE. Thus I was made conscious who and where I was. I found myself lying under the tree, for a moment unable to move; but I soon recovered. Luckily, my tree was situated in a sandy part of the place ; SUPERIORITY OF ORIENTAL DRESS. 117 so the shock was, although a great one, in no way injurious. I re-climbed the tree, and then fastening myself to the bough with my turban, I slept as fast as a horse merchant after the disposal of his horses. The reader here will observe the superior advan- tages of the graceful Asiatic garb over the patchful light pieces of dresses of the Europeans, which can only be used for the one particular purpose of covering the body closely. On the other hand, our convenient long coat may be gracefully put on to command respect ; and the same will serve as a bed if we chance to have no other. Our dopatta, the waistband, is a zone on respectable occasions ; it is a sheet to cover one at night, if required, or may be erected as a small tent to protect one from the burning sun. The turban is the most useful part of the Asiatic attire, far superior to the European hat in every respect : it is a handsome ornament to the human head, and repulses the severity of the sun ; the hat, on the contrary, attracts it. The turban is the best means to save the life of a thirsty traveller in the deserts and jungles, where there is no water to be had except in deep wells. In such a crisis, the precious liquid can be drawn by the aid of the turban with great ease. A silken turban's softness guards the head from the cut of a sharp sabre better than a helmet ; it can serve the purposes of bandages for wounds on important occasions, when surgical aid is wanting and not at hand ; and many other advan- 118 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLA1I. tages can be derived from it, which, if described, would take up time and space unaffordable here. The most beautiful chirping of the morning birds awoke me from sleep, when I felt myself much refreshed; but I found the joints of my limbs stiff and reluctant to move. Coming down, however, from my elevated place of sleep, I performed the usual duties of a good Mohamedan to his Creator, by the side of an elegant spring of water near to my tree of rest, and then I resumed my march in the northern direction. Although I had not now the elasticity of the day before, yet I had scarce walked half a mile when the stiffness left me, and the spark of vigour kindled the flame of power anew in my veins. Reader, I should tire you with the difficulties of my progress, without a road or path, or even a spot appearing ever to be trodden on by a human being, the sight of which would then have given me inexpressible delight ; but you will understand me if I say that my egress was a hundred times more difficult than the ingress already described to you. To shorten the account of my misery, I travelled on four days, guided by the sun only, and for four nights I slept upon trees, tying myself with my turban to the boughs. My food for this period was wild figs and berries ; I shot only three sparrows and one parrot during the whole time, and, I must confess, they were very palatable. The last-mentioned bird, although forbidden by our law, the compulsion A RUSE. 119 of hunger would not allow me to spare. On the morning of the fifth day, from the summit of a hill, I had the happiness to discern, at a distance of more than a mile, several poor Bheel women and men with bundles of firewood on their heads, which clearly denoted that they must go to some habitable part to sell them. I ran towards them with all possible speed, and overtook this half-starved party about nine o'clock A.M., whilst they sat by a well to refresh themselves. The ungovernable love of man for his fellow-creatures felt when alone in a wilderness, involuntarily attracted me to these children of Adam, forgetting that these were of the race inimical to the civilized; and, although they were in a miserable condition, yet their number was sufficient to put an end to my existence if they liked, for a snake, though lean, is still as poisonous as ever. But having already arrived near them, it was now too late to hesitate. " Inquiries as to where and how far was a village," thought I, " might induce them to take me for a wandering dupe, and thus being placed at their mercy, they will surely injure me to any extent they choose." So, shaking off all timidity, I was obliged to put on a grave appearance, and I sternly inquired the price of their bundles. Each of them, mentioning a very trifling sum, asked me if I would buy them on the spot or at Hasilpur ? The name of the village of poor old Shaikh Nasrullah, noticed in the first chapter, revived me as if from death. I 120 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. spoke to them with an affected firmness, to command their respect, and said that a party of my friends I had left behind would require some firewood, and I would buy when I got to the village, if they went with me. Upon this, the party started with me ; and, after marching for about three miles, ascending and descending several hills, I had the happiness of descrying the environs of the village. I shall never forget the inexpressible joy I felt at that moment. I ran to the village, leaving my humble escort far behind ; and it was about eleven o'clock in the morn- ing when I reached the cottage of the old Shaikh, whom I found sitting at breakfast with the members of his family ; a large trough, filled with the coarse flour of the Indian corn boiled in water, being in the middle, and a cup of sour milk before each of the assembly. The old Shaikh recognised me from a dis- tance, and ran and embraced me with great warmth and pleasure. I attempted to offer my humble thanks to him, and to inquire after his and his family's health, but the power of articulation was lost. The old man then told me that he had heard of my return from Gwalior, and of my subsequent disappear- ance. " Tell me, where have you been, young man?" said he. But, instead of a reply from the mouth, he had it from my eyes. He was astonished to we the torrent of tears which burst forth at his question. He tried to offer consolation, and inquired NASIUJLLAH'S HOSPITALITY. 121 again if I had been maltreated by anybody. " Tell me, my friend, what is tt matter ? " he asked, but in vain. I mf^ no answer, and my tears flowed incessantly- The old Shaikh then ordered a goblet of cold water to be brought, with which he made me wash my face, hands, and feet ; and, by this sim- ple remedy, I found myself quite recovered from my hysterical fit. After this, mutual compliments and inquiries having taken place, I was requested to partake of food with them. Hunger lent charms to the trough of plain and sorry gruel and sour milk, and I joined them with eagerness, and devoured a very large quantity of it. I also mentioned to the old Shaikh my miserable circumstances, which, moving his sympathy, caused him to shed tears of pity and com- passion over my misfortunes. The enormous quan- tity of food I had eaten, a feeling of safety, and the sense of excessive pleasure at my escape, soon brought on drowsiness. The old Shaikh, perceiving this, showed me a room to take my rest, where I slept very soundly for about eighteen hours being the remaining six hours of the day and the whole of the night. Early next morning, the old Shaikh aroused me from deep sleep, and after prayers we entered into a long conversation. He gave me news that made me uneasy; it was about my stepfather at Gwalior, the Subahdar that he had resigned the service of Sindhiah, and had engaged himself, along 122 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. with his brother-in-law (his late wife's brother) and a few horsemen, in the service of Holkar, at Indiir, to which city he had removed witli his family. Shortly after his arrival at Indiir, there ensued a. quarrel between him and his brother-in-law, and excitement on both sides rising higher and higher, words were changed into blows, and blows into sword cuts. The O * latter, being a young and smart swordsman, inflicted several fatal cuts with his sharp scimitar upon the former, and disabled him from any further move- ment. Seeing that he had finished his adversary, he next made a desperate attempt to escape, in which he wounded several persons that happened t6 be near ; but the noise of the scuffle having attracted a multitude of people to the spot, many pursued him and shot him dead. The Subahdar also died of his wounds the next day, and the Government seized all the property, under pretence that they died crimi- nals having disturbed the peace and taken the law into their own hands. This sad news brought another cloud over my head. I felt sorry for the Subahdar, but I felt extreme dis- tress for my mother. What had become of her I knew not. My stay with Shaikh Nasrullah was, in conse- quence, of only three days' duration. On the fourth I left him against his will, and pro- ceeded to Indiir. I reached the city in two days, where fortunately I soon found out the place of my dearest mother's residence, who was the sole object A GLAD-SOimOWFUL MEETING. 123 of my love. Our mutual happiness at meeting is beyond my power to describe. She told me all the particulars of the fatal quarrel, and the unlawful steps taken by the Government in pillaging the house and property afterwards. My own chest that I had left with her, containing my things and the small sum of money lawfully earned, escaped the ransackers, its shabby appearance attracting no attention. Inquir- ing earnestly after my mother's health, which did not appear to me good, I received a sad answer, which, on a sudden, like a Tatar's arrow, pierced my breast. She simply said she had a low fever attended with slight cough and diarrhoea, for which she cared but little; but she felt her vital powers gradually sinking. Knowing the nature of her seemingly mild, but fatal, indisposition, my alarm was great. I kept, however, my self-possession in her presence; and, affecting indifference, I told her that she would recover very soon, if it pleased Almighty God, as the distemper was not serious. At the same time I recommended change of air, saying it would prove beneficial to her, particularly if she returned to her native town, and saw her dear mother, brother, and other members of the family. To this she willingly agreed, and taking a bracelet off her arm, asked me to sell it for the expenses of the journey. But I objected, telling her that I had some money in my chest for such and other expenses, and that, thank God ! we had not been driven to such extremities as to think of dis- 124 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. posing of a part of the few jewels that remained to her untouched by the plunderers, who dared not infringe the rule of respect towards ladies of rank, on such occasions of injustice perpetrated under Govern- ment orders. I hastened to the market-place and made all the preparations in a short time. On the next day, early in the morning, we left Indiir, and, by the blessing of Heaven, reached oar native town on the third day without any accident. When we entered our humble abode, we were received by all the members with very sincere joy ; and surprise and astonishment at our unexpected arrival seemed to prevail everywhere in the family. It was a day of real happiness to all except myself: the anticipation of our impending evil day did not allow me to participate in their pleasure- able feelings. I informed my uncle, in secret, of the mortal disease of his sister ; but the paleness of her complexion, slow cough, and depression of spirits, having already told him the same fatal tale, his grief and despair were great. At the same time he com- forted me, observing that I should exhibit no sign of grief to the patient or anybody else, and rather seem pleased and satisfied in my conversation with her, for such were the rules of treatment in such maladies ; and that I must not suffer myself to be overcome with despair, for life and death are the mysterious secrets solely in the omnipotent hand of Providence ; and that it is unwise to fear death on LAST PARTING. 125 the two days, i. e., the day that is doomed and the day that is not doomed for our death, because, in the former as well as in the latter case, fear must be folly. We observed the above rule very strictly, and used all the remedies in our power ; but to no pur- pose. The disease made progress every day, and the sufferer's strength changed into utter weakness, and in about twenty days she was reduced to a mere skeleton. Perceiving, at last, that her days were nearly finished, she gave me her last injunctions as follows : " My son, be virtuous, and guide yourself by your reason and conscience in the world Take care of that orphan boy of mine, who is only in his sixth year, and has no one else to look to ; treat him with brotherly affection, and may God be your pro- tector wherever you are : as for me, I am now per- fectly sure of being obliged to return to the same region whence I was obliged to come." Saying this, she fell into a deep swoon, and I could no more restrain the flood of tears that was every now and then ready to flow for the impending eternal parting. All the bystanders, my grandmother, uncle, and others, melted into tears and followed my example in the tragical scene. Thus we continued for about half an hour, when, to our great joy, she returned to her senses and called for water; and then she began to appear more composed and firm in reason, as she comforted us and particularly enjoined us not to 126 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. grieve. The next day she appeared to be quite recovered, and, to our extreme happiness, we saw her walking a little, assisted by a staff. But, alas ! this sudden recovery could but retard the fatal result: it was something like a sudden blaze emitted by a lamp when about to go out. So on the following day she became worse than before ; and, in the afternoon of Friday, the 24th of April, whilst her head rested on my bosom, her pure and sacred soul took flight to the blissful region of eternity. May the blessing of the merciful God shower upon her for ever and ever. Amen. CHAPTER V. My mother's funeral A friend obtains me the postrnastership at Dharampur My sojourn there Sudden dismissal The night march The tiger's spring Sir John Malcolm No refusing a great man I become Munshi to the Bheel agent I am transferred to Lieut. Hart The expedition to Nagar Parkar A Maratha horseman's impudence Decision of the Native Magistrate Egyptian version of the story of Shy lock. the only person now to be consulted as to the funeral ceremonies, I directed them to be performed, poor as I was, in a dignified style, and defrayed the charges liberally. My funds were, however, nearly exhausted, as I had to bear all the expenses of the obsequies, of the alms to the poor, and of entertain- ing relations and friends, who paid their visits from far and near to condole with the family. I disposed of the few jewels left by my mother, but even then there was not enough to defray all the charges. I began to think of some pretence of deserting the town, where my further stay seemed likely to be both disagreeable and hurtful to my reputation ; for the creditors, of whom I had borrowed small sums, already began to importune me for repayment. A friend of mine, named Munshi Najaf Ali Khan, a very respectable gentleman from the upper pro- 128 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. vinces, at this time resided at Dharampur, as native agent of the British Government I frequently visited him, and was treated with much kindness, as I was useful to him in supplying information. Finding an opportunity, I imparted to him my distressful circum- stances with tearful eyes, which moved this honour- able man with compassion; and he not only prevented my fall into the abyss of impending ruin by his generous aid, but used his exertions to promote my interests, in getting me employed as a district post clerk in the Honourable Company's service, upon a small salary of fifteen rupees per mensem. On the 18th of May I received the order, bearing Sir John Malcolm's seal and signature, from the head-quarters at Mhow, purporting that I was taken into the service of the Honourable Company, and that, if I proved a loyal and faithful servant, my rise would be certain. At the same time I was instructed to proceed to the village of Dharampur with seven harkaras (or runners) under my command, and, stationing myself there, to act as postmaster and despatch all packages from the Sindua Pass to Mandleshwar, and vice versa. With the Mandleshwar post I was ordered to write a letter containing all the news of the place, and daily trans- mit it to the address of Mr. Bell at Mhow. Having received my instructions, I made preparations for the journey, and proceeded forthwith to the station with my harkaras. I reached my destination on the 22nd, in three days, and put up in a large Hindu temple THE DHAR GOVERNOR. 129 with my small party. I was the first British officer that ever had been stationed there, and was respected by all the people in consequence. The governor of the place at this time, on the part of the Dhar Government, was a Brahman by caste, and by name Nathu Bhai. He was a man about fifty, of black complexion, thin, and an opium eater, very tyrannical to the people of the village, and of very peevish and disreputable character, his deeds well corresponding with his outward form. In appearance, he treated me with great respect, furnished me gratis with all the necessaries of life ; but, inwardly, he hated my presence in the town, seeing that I exercised my authority, and his subjects were more submissive to me than to him. Nathu Bhai, of course, was obliged to put up with this, bitter as it was to him. It being quite clear that his master's power, in comparison with that of the British, was as an ant to an elephant; and I being a representative of the latter, a handsome young man of the high governing caste, in appearance far superior to his withered person, he allowed matters to take their course. Dharampur, a large town about twenty years ago, but now reduced to a small village, almost all in ruins, with only a hundred houses, and these inhabited by people in indigent circumstances, became the seat of my government. The people having greatly suf- fered from the oppression of remorseless governors, similar to Nathu Bhai, and from the depredations of F 130 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFDLLAH. robbers, seemed extremely anxious to have a ruler over them endowed with equity ; and, being informed that the justice of the British Government was unparalleled in the world, they were ready to throw themselves under its protection at the first oppor- tunity. Dharampur, though in ruins, as I have already observed, is excellently situated on the right bank of the river Narbadda, lat. 22 10' North, long. 75 26' East The sight of the pure limpid water, flowing on the gravelly bed of the river here, is a very charming one. Both banks are adorned with many Hindu temples, built by the cebrated lady Ahilya Bai, who ruled over the extensive possessions of the Holkar Government during the years 1769 to 1795, A.D., with talent, energy, and despotic power. Her moderation, impartial justice, masculine courage, and pious liberality will perpetuate her name for many ages. The river here abounds with water-fowl of various kinds, and the country, though its forests are not very thick, swarms with game of all sorts, and is infested with ravenous beasts. These animals were dangerously troublesome to the people of our village, whose kine and goats were carried off by them once or twice a month, even from within the enclosures ; and my undoored residence, the temple, consequently was a frightful place at night. I strictly ordered my runners to keep the fire alive all night as a safeguard against these nocturnal visitors. Shortly after my DHAJRAMPUE. 131 arrival, a detachment of the Madras Native Infantry, headed by a very handsome Englishman, arrived and was stationed here, to the highest satisfaction of the people and myself, and to the great annoyance of the governor, Nathii Bhai. The Englishman, hearing all I had to say, left his party under the command of his native Subahdar, and himself, with a Naik, and three Sipahis, proceeded to Mhow early next morning. My position and authority now became stronger in the village : the time I passed here was the happiest I recollect. The performance of the Government duties did not occupy me more than half an hour ; the rest of the day was my own. During the day I bathed in the pure water of the river, and caught some water-fowl by means of fish-baits, and played at chess at home with the native officers of the detachment; and, at night, I held a regular Darbar in the temple, attended by the head men from the village, and the officers above mentioned, till mid- night. Two months afterwards another Englishman, an engineer officer, named Mr. Dangerfield, arrived with his distance measuring-wheel, etc. He took down the census of the place from my mouth, and put several other questions to me, which, having answered, I retired. This poor man appeared to be very sickly, and his illness seemed to have rendered him harsh and irritable. During my stay with him, a fly having repeatedly settled on his mouth, he did F 2 132 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. not only curse his attendant, who stood fanning him, but tried to inflict a blow on his face, though without success, the man having parried it well. This excited his master more and more, until the poor fellow was obliged to leave the tent in self- defence, and would not come back, though strictly ordered to do so. At this I could not help smiling ; but there appeared no sign of mirth on the face of the master. I continued here unmolested for a period of about four months. In the beginning of September the post ceased coming to my station, without my being able to account for it ; but during the latter end of the same month an order from head-quarters sur- prised me, like a shot striking a bird, as it announced my dismissal from the service. The translation of it was as follows : " You have conducted your duties to the satisfaction of the sublime government. H. H. the Peshwa having lately been captured, and the country being settled, there is no further need of your services,- so you are hereby dismissed. Please render your accounts in your next communication, which send, with the seven footmen under your command, to Mhow. Receive the amount of forty- five rupees from the bearer, your wages for the ensuing month, and two months pay as a reward. Consider these injunctions to be strict, and act upon tne same." This final order I was obliged to carry into effect I LEAVE DHARAMPUR. 133 immediately on receipt. Again I was in possession of some little money to get on with in the world; but all my hopes of rising in rank, and becoming a person of consequence, were at once frustrated, arid the castles built in the air for a period of more than four months suddenly vanished. The next day I took leave of all my friends of the village, and the native officers and men of the detach- ment. The nights being moonlight at this time of the month, we started at about six o'clock, in the cool of the evening. A Naik of the detachment, by name Mahiu'ddin Sahib, accompanied me for about a mile, being an intimate friend of mine, with whom I generally played chess, and he was a man well versed in that art. I had the pleasure of seeing Mahiu'ddin Sahib again at Surat in 1840, after twenty-two years, in religious garb, with a long flowing white beard. He appeared an entirely dif- ferent man from what I had seen him. I am sorry to add that his change in life did not improve his circumstances, though he set himself up for a Saiyid. I left Dharampur, with my seven footmen, and the bearer of the bad news of my dismissal, at about five o'clock for Maheshwar, where I intended to separate myself from these people ; whence they might proceed to Mhow, and I with a caravan to my native town. We proceeded on our march, some- times talking with each other, and sometimes hearing the song of the bringer of the black tidings, who 134 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. sung very well, and was asked every now and then by the party to oblige them with his excellent music. The darkness of the evening, on account of the cloudy weather, came on with rapidity; and I advised that each man should, alternately, lead the way, with a burning log of wood in his hand to scare off the ravenous beasts, as was usual when charged with the post. Being out of the service, my words were not only disobeyed, but actually had no longer any weight with them. They ridiculed my fears, and said, " Pray come on quietly, if you wish to accompany us ; if not, you may return and do as you like." This was the first insult that pierced through my heart, and I never spoke to any of them again. It was about eleven o'clock at night when the fatigue of the march and the cool of the night ren- dered my brain heavy, and my feet unwilling to move ; but I strolled on still with the people. The moon sometimes extended her calm splendour over us, and sometimes was overshadowed with dark clouds. Suddenly, upon the left side of our road, a crackling was heard among the bushes : all of us were alarmed, and, in an instant, a tiger, rushing out of the jungle, pounced upon the one of the party that was foremost, and carried him off in the twinkling of an eye. The rush of the animal and the crush of the poor victim's bones in his mouth, and his last cry of distress, " Ho hai!" involuntarily re-echoed by all of us, was SURPRISED BY A TIGER. 135 over in three seconds; and then I know not what happened, till I returned to my senses, when I found myself and companions lying down on the ground, as if prepared to be devoured by our enemy, the sove- reign of the forest. I find my pen incapable of describing the terror of that dreadful moment. Our limbs stiffened, our power of speech ceased, our hearts beat violently, and only a whisper of the sam "Ho hai!" was heard from us. In this state we crept on all-fours for some distance back, and then ran for life with the speed of an Arab horse for about half an hour, and fortunately happened to come to a small village of about fifty huts, into which we rushed, heedless of the barking of the dogs, which roused the inhabitants, who, taking us to be a gang of robbers, hooted and shouted with all their might to drive us away. Not caring for the shouts, we entered the Chaura, or miserable police hut, which had a small fire in front. The poor old police Bheel, who sat by the fire, soon found out, by instinct, that we were no robbers, but robbed, and he pacified the inhabitants by telling them his opinion. Being out of breath, we could not utter a word for some time ; but, soon recovering our senses, we found that one of the footmen, named Rama, was missing, and told our tale to our suspicious hosts. They reproached us for our folly in travelling at night through that dangerous part of the jungle without fire, and said it was no wonder we met with a fatal accident. They brought 136 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. us then a large pot of sour milk, diluted with water, and a large draught was kindly served out to each. It was taken with great avidity, and thankfully drunk to the good health of our hosts. After this every one of us was attacked with fever, attended with shivering, in which deplorable state we remained till morning, when we proceeded to Maheshwar, about five miles from this, guided and escorted by two Bheels, kindly lent us by the good villagers, and reached the place at about nine o'clock, A.M. Here, leaving the Government footmen to shift for , them- selves, I put up with the Kazi, or judge, a name- sake of mine, who was also distantly related to my family. I passed about a week with the Kazi's family, and was hospitably treated during my stay; and then, with a good caravan, I returned home, where I passed some months in peace, but dejected in consequence of my unexpected dismissal from the service. By the blessing of Heaven, at this time, even after liquidating my small debts, I had a sum of money sufficient to allow me and my brother to live for a year or so. It happened that Sir John Malcolm at this time visited the shrine, and made a handsome present in money to us, the sacred attendants of it. He also took a fancy to a large slab of black marble, about two feet and a half square and four inches thick fixed upon the seat of the pulpit of the mosque on account of its being completely inscribed NO REFUSING A GREAT MAN. 137 with a Hindu legend, in excellent order, in ancient Sanskrit. He asked us to give it to him for a sum of money, which we did, after considering over the question. We knew that it was improper to have one of the relics removed from the place of worship, where it had been placed by the mighty hand of the king, who changed the temple into a mosque. Taking this view of the case, we could not at once comply with the request. On the other hand, we thought it was inexpedient to reject the demand of the great man, whose one word to the Raja upon the subject might dispossess us of the stone without any remuneration whatever ; so we allowed the general's people to take it for him, on the plea that the Pagan inscription must have been fixed in that holy receptacle by mistake, and that the sooner it was removed from the sacred place the better. The stone was taken away, and the place soon repaired by the general's people, who was highly pleased with his acquisition. He called us into his tent, and finding me only (and not my cousin) fit to be con- versed with, he approached so near to my person that I found my head reached only to his bosom. He then addressed himself to me, and most amiably talked much, in good Persian, in praise of the stone and our family, etc., which pleased us more than the coins. I soon began again to look for employment, and, according to the Arabic proverb " a seeker is a 138 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. finder," I obtained the object of my desire at last, t. ., got a situation with an English gentleman by name Lieut B. Mac Mahon, the Bheel agent at Ndlcha, as Persian teacher to him. It happened that he, in company with Lieut. C. F. Hart, came to our town on a shooting expedition, and put up at our Mosque near the shrine for two or three days, and spontaneously made an offer of the situation under him, which I accepted without hesitation, and accom- panied him to his head-quarters at Nalcha. Lieut. Mac Mahon, now perhaps colonel or higher, was a tall thin young man of great talent and ability, endowed with an excellent gay humour and mirthful temper. His knowledge of the Hindustani language deserved high praise, and his imitations of the Bheels' cries of danger, revenge, and happiness, were per- fect. He also spoke their jargon uncommonly well ; suffice it to say, that if he had been placed behind a curtain, or had been painted black, with a langotf and a bow and arrows in his hand, he would have been taken, or rather mistaken, for a Bheel. I lived under the generous protection of this young man for about four months and a half, residing in an ancient palace, when, unfortunately, being taken ill with the jungle fever, he was obliged to proceed to the Presidency for recovery, and thence, I was informed afterwards, to his native land. On his departure from Nalcha, I was made over by him to his friend, the aforesaid Lieut. Hart, to be his LIEUTENANT HART. 139 instructor in Hindustani ; and from this time, up to the year 1835, I regularly held the profession of a teacher of the Persian, Hindustani, Arabic, and Marathi languages to the new comers from England, from time to time, and place to place, as their duty obliged and caprice induced them to go. Upwards of one hundred pupils studied with me during the above period, and none of my scholars returned unlaureled from the Government examination com- mittees. I have a book of most flattering certificates in my possession, and I may say that I was better off than many by following this profession. About three months after my being employed with Lieut. C. F. Hart, he was ordered with his detachment of pioneers to proceed with a part of the Malwah Field Force, under the command of Col. Barkly, to Nagar Parkar, for the chastisement of one of the predatory Biluchi tribes of Khqjas, commonly denominated Khossas. I was obliged to accompany my pupil, and we left the comfortable cantonment at Mhow in the early part of this year for the Parkar districts, the refuge and resort of the marauders. Our force proceeded by slow marches, via Baroda, where being joined with another detach- ment, we had to march on to Radhanpur, whence we had to cross the desert Ran, about forty miles, which surrounds the insulated district of Parkar, a tract of land about forty-four miles long, and ten, twelve, fifteen, and twenty miles broad, environed by 140 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LCTFULLAH. the Ran desert and sand-hills. Each of its villages has not more than ten or twelve miserable huts, except ViraAvaw, which has about four hundred; and the capital town itself contains about six hundred wretched hovels. After leaving Mhow, Lieut. Hart rose both in rank and in the estimation of his superiors : he was made Major of Brigade. His treatment of me was brotherly; he ordered his servants to consider me his equal, gave me a separate tent, and appointed one of his best horses for my riding. My duty of teaching him the language recurring only once or twice a month, I felt an earnest wish to do something for huii, at least, in return for the salt that I ate and kindness that I experienced; so I took voluntarily upon myself the charge and care of his domestic affairs, and managed them well, not only to his, but to all his friends' satisfaction. In marches, I had his tent erected first of all ; and at halts, I caused the pilfering hand of his servants to be paralyzed in robbing him. Such acts of zeal and good will cemented the fabric of our intimacy more strongly and firmly every day for a length of time. On our arrival at Baroda, a few days' halt was announced in the camp, for the purpose of giving rest to the people, procuring provisions, and pre- paring large leather bags, to be carried by camels, filled with fresh water, an indispensable supply for the men and beasts of the army required during the A FOPPISH MAKATHA. 141 impending'Jong marches across the Ran. In the meantime I enjoyed the morning and evening ride in the town. On the morning of the day before we left Baroda, I was greatly teased by a foppish Maratha horseman during my ride throughout the city. He frequently manosuvred his horse across my way and behind me, in such a manner as to show that he derided me and the noble Arab steed I rode, whose value, I believe, far exceeded that of him and his beautifully caparisoned horse. Some- times he made menacing gestures towards me with his long spear, as if he was going to pierce me with it through the heart ; and sometimes he retired at full speed, and whilst galloping, he threw his hand- kerchief and picked it up again. I felt excessively excited at these causeless provocations, and, having an excellent pair of pistols in my holsters, I made up my mind to shoot the man dead in case I received a slight touch of his lance. Curious to say, my noble charger seemed cooler and more careless at the transaction than I. I now thought of cantering homeward without taking any notice of the scorn- ful conduct of the man, but no sooner did I begin to do so than the fellow made his appearance again with renewed energy, and, on his turning close in the rear of my horse, his animal having accidentally stumbled, slightly touched the tail of mine, upon which the noble Arab under me kicked the horse at once with all his might, which threw the horse 142 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. and the rider about three yards off from me, apart from each other. I was greatly astonished at this action of the animal : it appeared as if revenge lay buried in his mind, awaiting only a spark to explode. Immediately after the fall, the horse, leaving his rider to shift for himself, followed an unfortunate rider on a mare, who happened to pass by at the time, through the market-place, "with all the ferocity of a low-origined animal, and raised a great dis- turbance. The poor horseman's sword, in the act of his being separated from the saddle, coming out of the scabbard, slightly grazed his left arm from the elbow to the wrist, from which part an abundant flow of blood took place ; and, in consequence, I was accused of being the cause of the injury, and arrested by the police to answer for it. The affected hero, the rider, perhaps never having seen blood in his life, beholding his own wound, turned pale, cried like a woman, and fainted. yet during my ascent I overtook his lordship, in company with one of his aides-de-camp, about half-way to the top, both of whom seemed much fatigued, though they had their swing chairs 224 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. carried along with them, which they mounted occa- sionally, and I could not afford one. Nevertheless, the aide-de-camp, probably envying my agility, asked me to lend my fine strong walking-stick to his lord- ship. Seeing that it would be very impolite to refuse, I granted his request with promptness, and his lordship, having received the staff from my hand, thanked me for the loan (it should be termed a gift, as it was never returned), and seemed delighted to avail himself of the aid. I remained with his lordship and suite as far as the Dailvara temples, and then, leaving them to themselves, I wandered about by myself for a little while. Upon the approach of evening finding myself unprovided against hunger and cold, and disinclined to trouble my fellow travellers, as they had only brought sufficient provisions for themselves, and, above all, reluctant to eat of the bread of charity from the staunch pagans of the place I commenced my return to the camp forthwith. Unfortunately, being overtaken by a heavy shower of rain during my descent, I got wet through and through, and reached home about nine o'clock, P.M., regularly exhausted. The effect of this was a severe attack of fever, but I soon got rid of it by medical aid and the careful attention of my good master. This Abu is about twenty miles east of the town of Sirohi, belonging to Rao Sewsingji, and is an ancient place of worship of the Hindus, especially of ABU. 225 the Jain sect. Its height is about one mile above the level of the sea. There are twelve known paths (by the natives called Pag) for the ascent of this lofty mountain, of which that by Annadra, being considered safest, is mostly frequented by travellers and pil- grims. The village of Annadra is about twenty miles from Sirohi, and three from the foot of the mountain, and thence the ascent to a tank on the summit, called Nakhi Talaa, is four miles and a half. The tank, according to the Hindu legend, having been dug out with the nails of their gods, is termed Nakhi (nakha, " nail "). Anchorites and austere devotees inhabit the valleys and caves of the moun- tain about this tank, but they are very rarely visible. In the month of August, when the sun is in the sign Virgo, bathing in this tank being considered by the Hindus a purgative of all sin, a great number of them, from far and near, then assemble there for the purpose. Two of the twelve paths are considered most diffi- cult. These are by the Kacholi and Niton villages. In the first, the traveller, in many places, whilst using his hands and feet like a quadruped upon narrow steps, if he looks upward, finds the proud precipice touching the summit of the sky, and, if downwards, beholds the immeasurable depth, bottomed with nothing but darkness. A false step not only puts a period to the career of his travel, but to that of his life too. i 226 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. The ascent and descent of the second path is equally difficult ; besides, it has a very thick forest, which being infested by wild beasts, is more unsafe in conse- quence. One of the valleys of this path being con- sidered impregnable, the former princes of Sirohi have built a fortress there, for their family and selves to retire to in times of danger. On the mountain are thirteen villages, three of which are in ruin, and, of the remaining ten, Dail- wara and Achalgarh are said to be the largest, and contain about seven hundred inhabitants. The Hindu temples, both Jain and of the modern Siva sect, are numerous. Some of these sacred edifices are very handsome and elegant in design. The marble of the ceilings and floors is pure, and that of the walls is so brightly polished that one can see his countenance in it. I particularly admired the five Jain temples, situated at the village of Dail- wara, erected to Nemnath and Rakhab-deo, etc., the deified Jain saints. The ornamental work engraved upon the pillars, the ceilings adorned with the lotus and jasmine flowers in bas-relief, are nature itself. In the rear of one of these temples there are ten elephants, and, at the entrance of another, the same number and one horse, all formed of pure marble, each about the size of a bullock, fixed in order on the floor. The labour and expense in procuring and conveying these large masses of stone to the summit of the mountain must have been very considerable. ABU TEMPLES. 227 The founder of these fine temples is said to have been a banker, who, having no heir, applied the whole of his fortune in building and making these places and objects of worship in A.D. 1243. One moiety of the revenues of this mountain used formerly to be taken by the Rajas of Sirohi and some petty chiefs, and the other applied to religious purposes, such as the annual repairs of the temples, and provisions for the poor pilgrims, etc. But now Rao Sewsingji of Sirohi, after his ablution in the Ganges, has ordered the whole to be expended in charities. Our camp left the foot of this mountain the 2nd of January, 1832, and by slow marches we reached Ajmir in another fortnight, about two hundred and twenty-nine miles from Siirat. I 2 228 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. CHAPTER VIII. Udepur Pali Pokharji Ajmir I return to Surat I enter the service of the Nuwab The intrigues of a petty Court My conge. THE country beyond A'bii is very sandy, with the exception of parts, where spurs of the Aravelli mountain render it rugged and stony. This very unfertile district, called Mewar, appears a vast wilderness, except three towns of some consequence, through which we had to pass, Udepur, Pali, and Pokharji. The first is the seat of the Sissodiya Rajputs, in Mewar, whose tribe is considered purer, and their rank higher, than other Rajputs of India. Their princes are called Ranas, and at their inauguration a spot of human blood is put upon their forehead. How it is procured on such occasions is a secret ; but I believe a prisoner is generally killed to serve the purpose. The city is handsome, and situated on an eminence. The western side is adorned with a large lake, having an island in the middle, upon which two palaces are built, where the luxurious princes pass the hot season in the enjoyment of pleasures of all kinds. Pali is a mart on the borders of the desert. I roKHAiui. 229 bought some European articles there cheaper than in Bombay. The inhabitants are wealthy in general, and there are above eleven thousand houses. The third is Pokharji, priginally Pushkara, so called from a spacious deep tank, three sides of which are built up with stones, and have flights of steps down to the water at irregular distances. The shores are adorned with temples. The town is not large, but the view of it from the eastern side is most enchanting. The 17th of January was the day of our arrival. The evening was cool and calm, and the azure sky seemed in the twilight to shine with seven varied hues when I paid my visit to this romantic tank. Alone, and standing at a flight of steps, I mused for a while, and w r as highly delighted with the beauty of the place. The sheet of water lay like a mirror, reflecting the lofty edifices which began to be lighted up. By degrees, as it grew darker, a multitude of lamps glittered round the lake, and were multiplied in the reflecting waters. I then returned to my tent, well satisfied, and amply repaid for the trouble I had taken. The next day, on the morning of the 18th, we reached Ajmir, the capital of Riijputana, and pitched our tents in front of the Governor-General's camp, at a little distance from the city. The two great men secretly consulted on some grand political sub- ject, and the chiefs of the neighbouring principalities having been invited, paid their homage to the ruler 230 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. vested with supreme power over India. We stayed at Ajmir about six weeks, and then returned by Nasirabad and Lunawara to Baroda, leaving Mount A'bu on the right, and passing through a very thick forest and desolate country. I must not leave Ajmir without giving a descrip- tion of it. This ancient city, six miles south of Pushkara, stands at the foot of a mountain crowned by the fortress of Taragarh. The houses are of masonry, magnificently built, and the inhabitants are wealthy. Their number does not exceed thirty thousand. After the cession of the city to the British Government by Sindhiah, a civil commis- sioner, Mr. Wilder, was put in charge, and, by good management, it soon became a rival of Jaipur. A quarter of the city bears the name of Wilder's bazaar, the architectural uniformity and beauty of which is unequalled in the cities in these parts. Saiyid Husain Mashadf and Khajah Muimi'd-din Chishti, the two most celebrated Mohamedan saints in India, have their eternal repose here. The shrine of the former is on the top of the Taragarh hill, and that of the latter at the bottom of it, adjoining the city. The Saiyid, endowed with both spiritual and temporal powers, was governor of the place for Kutbu'd-din Ibak, them Emperor of Delhi, and it was during his government that the Khajah arrived, and made the place the end of his long journeys, in which, until his arrival here, he passed THE AJMIR SAINTS. 231 all his time. Being an accomplished archer, he was in the habit of passing many days without any com- panion in the wilderness of Persia and Turkistan, living upon the game killed by his bow, and employ- ing his time in contemplation undisturbed by the noisy world. He was born at Sijistan, 527 A.H., and departed this life at the age of one hundred and eight. His intimacy with the Governor terminated in a relationship with him, though himself a Sunni, and the Saiyid a Shiah. During his sojourn at Ajmir he visited Delhi twice. On his second and last trip Saiyid WajbuM-din, the uncle of the Governor of Ajmir, who resided at Delhi, was warned in a dream by his sacred ancestor to give his only daughter in marriage to nobody but the saint of the time, Khajah Muinu'd-din, who, having heard of this, observed that, though the time of his stay in the world was nigh over, yet the sacred offer should not be refused. So the marriage took place, after which he lived for seven years, and had several children by his wife. The large and spacious mosque near his tomb was built by the Emperor Jahangir, 1027 A.n. The shrine is held in great reverence by all Muslims. The famous Akbar paid his visit more than once to the tomb from Agra, a distance of two hundred and thirty-two miles. He walked all the way on foot out of respect, and barefooted when in sight of the sacred place. Many Hindus, whose superstitious 232 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. minds can be easily persuaded to any belief, pay the same respect to the tomb as true believers. Mahadaji Sindhiah, and Yeswant Rao Holkar, annually sent an offering of money. Daulat Rao Sindhiah, besides the usual gifts, had all the edifices thoroughly repaired. Thousands of pilgrims annually come to pay their respects to the tomb. The prayers of some of the supplicants being granted through the medium of the shrine, and their hearts' desire being fulfilled either by chance or destiny, the effects are attributed to the miraculous aid of the saint. In such respects mankind are like a herd of sheep, one blindly follows another. The inside of the mausoleum is both magnificent and solemn: the floor is paved with pure marble, the walls nicely latticed, the ceiling beautifully white and smooth. In the centre stands the tomb, covered with very valuable brocade. An oblong square palisade of silver grating is fixed about it, leaving a space of about three feet all round. At the head of the tomb is placed a large silver censer, from which the smoke of the burning incense diffuses its fragrance all over the place. A somewhat higher than usual fee to the warden in attendance procures admittance into the palisade, where the visitor touches the tomb with his right hand, which he kisses with solemnity and retires. In the month of March, 1833, I returned to Siirat, and passed some time with my family and friends. This year, my income being small, I began to A BIETH. 233 practice medicine, in which, I thank heaven, I soon obtained a good name beyond my merits, having administered medicine to the poor gratis, charging those only who could afford to pay. I took care not to take a difficult case in hand, but referred such to the Government Hospital. For fifteen months I was a doctor, during which time six hundred and sixty-four patients passed under my care, from which number six hundred and sixty-one recovered and three died, two of fever and one of cholera. In November I was blessed with a son, whom I named Kudratullah. His birth afforded me great happiness, but it was overweighed by the embarrass- ment of my circumstances at this time. Burdened with the heavy charges of a nurse and tfre expense of alms and presents requisite on such occasions, I was Tinder the necessity of bidding adieu to my pro- fession as a physician ; and, finding some scholars desirous of instruction, I resumed the office of a tutor. Having an offer of employment from Lieu- tenant H. Boye, at Ahmadabad, I proceeded thither. The young man, being gifted with a clear head and high talents, made himself perfect master of the Urdu language in a short time, and proceeded to the Presidency, taking me along with him. He passed an excellent examination before the committee, and rewarded me beyond my expectation ; so I returned home once more with a sum of money sufficient for about one year's expenditure. 234 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. In June I returned to Surat, and remained without employment for about three weeks, when His High- ness Mir Afzalu'd-din Khan, the Nuwab of Surat, requested me to enter into his service as secretary. I readily accepted the offer, and was invited to breakfast at the palace, when His Highness declared that I was to be his companion for ever, and that for the present he had been pleased to fix certain allow- ances for me, the memorandum of which, bearing |Iis Excellency's signature, would be presented to me. He bade me not doubt of promotion when he was extricated from his present difficulties and had vanquished his enemy, the Guebre Cmeaning the native agent of the British Government). At the same time he presented me with a very valuable pair of shawls and the memorandum. Upon ihis, I rose from my seat, and thanked him with a low bow. On reaching home I found a host of mace-bearers, waiting servants, and musicians of His Highness at my door, to congratulate me and to receive some presents in return. I dismissed them, satisfied with my liberality in the glee of the moment. When at leisure, I referred to the memorandum, which ran thus : "Memorandum of the Monthly Allowances of the Mnnshi Lutfullah Khun Sahib, from the Sarkdr of His Highness Kamru'd-daulah, Hashmat Jang, Bahadur, Nuwdb of Surat. " Rupees, fifty -one in ready cash ; Free Table ; Dry Provisions for the Family ; one Horse, with a Groom and two Peons always in attendance upon him ; two Suits of Clothes annually." TIIE NIJWAB. 235 I found the stipend quite sufficient for a gentleman of India blessed with contentment, and was satisfied with it, having the promise of promotion in view. I was punctual and regular in my daily attendance upon His Highness, whom I found quite pleased with me, and he loaded me with presents of every kind every now and then. His Highness was a gentlemanly old man, about fifty-three, only five feet seven, but portly and dig- nified. His complexion was brownish, and his manners and deportment very stately and pleasing. A Saiyid by caste, his grandfather was an inhabitant of Burhanpur, and of the sacred order, who came to Surat as an adventurer in 1732. He managed to get himself married in the family of Safdar Khan, governor of the city at that time, and having pur- chased popularity and influence, himself succeeded to the government. His descendants ruled until the 13th of May, 1800, when the father of the Nuwab, my master, was obliged to surrender the city and the territory to his patrons, the English, for an annual pension of 15,000/. Besides, he was kindly allowed by them to retain certain small privileges and the empty title of Nuwab. After the death of this Nuwab, in 1821, his son, my master, was placed by the authorities on the throne, and allowed by them to enjoy the stipend and immunities as before, without any change in his shadowy title and dignity. To this phantom of power it was my destiny now to 236 AUTOBIOGBArHY OF LUTFULLAH. swear fealty. I was informed by the Minister of His Highness that the native agent, about two months ago, had behaved very disrespectfully towards the Nuwab in ordering one of his servants to be beaten, bound, and taken publicly, under a police-guard, to his Court, merely because he was found drunk. His Highness at the time, being in the house of his Minister, descried his servant in this disgraceful plight, and ordered the guard to be brought before him with their prisoner, whom he bade them release. This being done, in the fury of the moment he kicked out the guard, loading them with curses and impre- cations. The native agent, who could not bear his magisterial authority thus degraded, was now work- ing mischief by bearing tales to Mr. Lumsden, the agent, judge, and magistrate, all in one. I had now to reply to eleven of the agent's un- answered epistles. His Highness took three days to read through the drafts, and then condescended to say he approved very highly of the language, style, and spirit of the papers I had drawn, that his Hindu clerks could not write Persian correctly, and some- times it was difficult for them to understand the drift of the subject. The cloud of dissension between the Government agent and His Highness being, however, removed by a compromise, the native agent sought to regain favour, and soon obtained it. The Nuwab again began to send, almost every evening, his confidential DISMISSAL OF THE D1WAN. 237 officer to the nocturnal Court of the native agent, and sometimes I myself was desired to go to him to take down his answers. For five months and a half I remained in favour ; and then I found that some consultation was going on with the native agent, apart and secret from me, the result of which soon manifested itself. By the close association of nearly six months, I found that the poor old Nuwab was a mere tool in the hand of others ; he had no intellectual power to judge for himself, he was fond of low society, and addicted to intoxicating drugs and liquors. Now he was induced, I strongly believe, by his base and malignant Minister (a man vulgar, illiterate, and perfect in depravity, who at first was a menial servant to Captain Rankin, the fort adjutant), at the counsel, or rather instiga- tion, of the native agent, to plunder and sequester the property of the ex-Minister. The native agent lent his aid in the ruin of his bitter enemy, the ex- Minister, on condition that His Highness should dis- miss certain persons from the service and fill up their places by those in whom he had implicit confidence. These were the secret consultations, and they took effect very soon by the dismissal of the Diwan Har- diram Sahibram, a very respectable man, who was suddenly surrounded by the guard in his office, and all the boxes containing cash and records, etc., in his charge being instantly sealed, he was told that he was dismissed from the service because he had secret 238 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. communication with the ex-Minister. Poor Hardirdm boldly replied that he had no secret communication with the Minister, but a secret feud with the native agent, and that, from the date of the compromise, he expected to receive the treatment he now experienced. " God is great, I am innocent, truth at last will certainly shine forth, and guilt will have its due recompense," said he, and so delivered over the keys and departed. The next day the Minister and I were deputed to go to Atmaram and offer to him on the part of His Highness, the situation of Diwan. Atmaram is the son of Kirparam, who negociated the treaty of 1800, on the part of the Nuwab's late father, with Mr. Jonathan Duncan, and managed to obtain a perpetual pension of three hundred rupees per mensem for himself and his descendants, from the British authorities in return for his services. Kir- param's family, ever since the treaty, were held in odium by the late and the present Nuwab, who found out afterwards that he had acted treacherously in that business of importance, and had sacrificed his master's power and dominion for his own benefit. His Highness, therefore, had turned him out of the service. After the death of Kirparam, his son At- maram, a man well educated both in Sanskrit and Persian, became a hanger-on of the native agent for years, in the hope of getting an appointment suitable to his station in life. Besides his pension of three ATMAKAM. 239 hundred rupees a month, lie expended large sums of money in support of his interests, and got in debt to the amount of more than thirty thousand rupees. The native agent's support at last procured him the situation of Diwan, the salary of which was a small one of only fifty rupees per month ; but the great advantage was that, having entered the Nuwab's service, he had extricated himself from the civil juris- diction, and no creditor, thenceforward, could sue him under the Regulations. With Atmararn, another crafty Hindu named Matiram was appointed as accountant. This being done the next thing was to get the ex-Minister to put himself in the Nuwab's power, and a message was sent to him requesting his attendance. The man, although vulgar and illiterate, having been raised from the grade of a bread-seller to the rank of Minister, yet, by instinctive sagacity, well knew the object of His Highness, who was entirely under the influence of his malignant successor and the native agent. He, therefore, on receipt of the message, repaired to Mr. Lumsden and told him that he was then a British subject ; and, being sent for by the Nuwab, his former master, under pretence of examining accounts, his heart misgave him, and he .suspected a snare being laid for him by the people about the Nuwab, who was a mere tool in their hands. Mr. Lumsden referred him to the native agent, telling him that he had a letter from His Highness on that 240 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAIT. head, that he was sure the Nuwab could do him no harm, and that he would desire the native agent to make every proper arrangement about it. Great as were the ex-Minister's suspicions, he could not mistrust the word of the British representative, so being obliged to satisfy himself with what had taken place, he made his bow and departed. The next evening he went to the native agent's private Court, where, having asked to be heard alone, all present were requested to leave, when the ex- Minister, seeing no alternative, except submission, placed his turban upon the feet of the man in power, about whom a few months ago he cared but very little. He then said, "I have served my master faithfully for fifteen years, and have extricated him out of the difficulties of debt. I have conducted his affairs to his satisfaction, as more than once has been noticed to the British authorities in His Highness's official correspondence. My fidelity and loyalty obtained for me all my wealth and property; but, becoming the object of envy to all my master's court, they conspired against me and were bent on my ruin. I fear not the examination of the accounts, upon almost all of which I was prudent enough to obtain the Nuwab's signature. I therefore most submis- sively beg your pardon for what occurred between me, yourself, and your late brother, and I take my oath to make reparation ; " and, saying this, he knelt down to him. The native agent heard all this atten- INTKIGUES. 241 tively, and, taking his guest by the hand, seated him by himself. He gave him all the comfort a politi- cian's tongue could afford, and told him that he had not the least idea of what had occurred between him and h|s brother, and that he was liberal enough to have forgotten entirely if there happened anything in forrper times. Next evening, the present Minister and myself were ordered to attend at the native agent's for his counsel. On our arrival there, all persons present were dismissed, and we alone remained in the private assembly. He then addressed me in his broken English, saying, u The Nuwab was an ungrateful man ; many a kindness had he done him, and many a fault covered for him, in vain. He applauds," said he, " the acts of such low, mean, and vile people as the horrid brute with golden necklace next to you " (alluding to the Minister my companion, who knew not a word of English). I replied to him in the same language, telling him that. I, being a new servant, knew very little of the character of His Highness, but that I believed good acts would surely bring a good return at last. He then addressed himself very politely to the Minister in Hindustani', " You may tell the Nuwab, with my best respects, that his adversary, having at last submitted himself, I prevailed upon him to make himself present at the palace. You may send for him and do as you like, but take care do not be harsh in the commencement." Turning 242 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. then towards me, he observed that the question was a simple one ; we were only to examine the accounts of His Highness with the man, asking him to give a satisfactory explanation of all the disbursements made through him, and we should soon find him commit himself. After this we had some conversation with him upon different topics, and then, taking leave, re- turned to the palace and explained to His Highness the result of our mission. During the time this was going on, I met with a most severe calamity ; that is, my poor son departed this life at the age of two years and three months. Poor boy, he suffered his fever and cough with the fortitude of a man ; he took his doses of physic bravely, but without avail. The lance of grief pierced my heart through and through, but the loss was irreparable, and there was no remedy except patience, patience, and nothing but patience, under the decrees of heaven. After this misfortune, I was left alone for ten days, and then was ordered to take two clerks and books of accounts to a small garden near the palace, where it was appointed for the ex-Minister to undergo his examination. I was to be strict, but not harsh, and to try my best to implicate the man somehow or other. Provided with such instructions, I pro- ceeded with my companions to the place where we found the man waiting for us. I examined him in the best way I could for ten days, but he exonerated TRIAL OF THE EX-MINISTEB. 243 himself of all the charges, showing the signature of His Highness to the different items. The Minister himself sometimes superintended the examination in person, We compared the books of merchants, to whom the payments were made, with our accounts, but found them correspond. I told my friend the Minister, in private, that the man was innocent in my opinion in these accounts, and he must look for another stratagem to criminate the object of his animosity. " Could you not alter some of the items ? " remarked he. To this my reply was, that my conscience was more precious to me than His Highness's service, if I was to commit such acts of atrocity. " Atrocity, d d nonsense," rejoined he ; " would you not be loyal to your liege lord in doing anything and everything for him ? " " Expect me not," returned I, " to do anything against conscience." Some unpleasant words passed between us on this occasion, and from this time His Highness began to appear displeased and sullen towards me, though I affected not to observe it. In the meantime I went on with my duty of examining the man ; but, to my great astonishment, I found Mutiram one of my subordinates, trying to overrule me, and acting the part of a prosecutor very authoritatively and harshly, instead of acting under me in the pro- ceedings as he had hitherto done. He disputed the points wrongfully, and quarrelled with the man in very unbecoming language. He said he cared not 244 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. about His Highness's signatures, which lie believed to be either forged or taken whilst His Highness was sleepy or intoxicated. This line of conduct in my subordinate was highly extolled by the Nuwab and the Minister, and then I knew I was required to play a game beyond my capability. I then mentioned to the Minister that it was quite unnecessary for me to attend the prosecution any farther, since Mutiram acted his part in the business very ably and satisfactorily ; that I was not un- conscious of the treatment I had experienced from His Highness and himself for a few days; and that I would resign the service next week if it was con- tinued. This he heard from me very quietly, with- out uttering a word, but I was informed he brought it to the notice of His Highness immediately, by whom he was ordered to consult the native agent about it the same evening. The time of warning given by me having expired without any amend- ment in the conduct of my master and superior towards me, I sent in my resignation, after serving His Highness for seven months and ten days ;" and proceeded in person to the British agent, to whom I stated my case, and told him that, having sent in my resignation to the Nuwab, I had become a British subject again. Mr. Lumsden remarked that it was wrong in me to leave His Highness 9 service so abruptly, and that the poor old man, surrounded as he was by all sorts of rogues and rascals, would I BESUME MY OLD PROFESSION. 245 surely be ruined by them. I replied that I could not help it, and that I would not endanger myself and family for the benefit of others. Saying this, I took my departure from the agent's presence, and then paid my visit to the native agent down-stairs, who warmly shook hands with me, and observed that he knew the object of my having seen the agent, and that I had done well in having resigned the Nuwab's service. " The old man," said he, " is a patronizer of mean upstarts, who will not allow any good man to remain in his service." From such and other phrases I perceived that he wanted me to impeach His Highness ; but my reply to all was short and sweet, that service and life were pre- carious, that nobody has read the line of his fate, and that I knew not whether I had acted right or wrong in resigning. Saying this, I took my leave and returned home. After my resignation, His Highness sent messages dissuading me from giving up the service. He would not recal the peons, detached to do duty at my house, for some time; but, finding at last that my word was one and unalterable, he sent my pay that was in arrears, and called away his peons. In the meantime I resumed my old profession of a tutor to English officers, and was better off than with the Nuwab. 246 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. CHAPTER IX. I am appointed to an office under the Political Agent in Kattiawar The Nagar Brahmans I resign office in order to accompany Captain Eastwick, assistant to Colonel Pottinger, Resident in Sindh Mr. Erskine presents me with a certificate and a Kashmir shawl I find three unexpected companions Sara, the fair Maimuni I leave Rajkot The Jam of Nowanagar Dharol The merry Governor of Juria Bandar Pleasant sailing Frisky monsters of the Deep Speculations of the Sindhis as to our purpose in coming to their country I act priest at the I'du'l fitr March to Tatta Description ofTatta. IN the month of February I resigned the service of the Nuwab, and had hardly passed eighteen days with my scholars, when I received an invitation from Mr. J. Erskine, the Political Agent at Kattiawar, through Mr. Vibart, the principal collector of the Siirat-Zila. I arrived at Rajkot on the 1st of March. After a short stay at Rajkot, I was appointed super- intendent in the neighbouring district of Babriawar, on a salary of one hundred rupees a month. I, how- ever, never entered upon my duties, being detained to investigate charges of corruption against some native officers of the Political Agent's establishment. The accused parties were Nagar Brahmans, and they defended themselves with so much ingenuity, as to turn the tables on their accusers. I was detained, ADIEU TO KATTIAWAE. 247 in common with the rest, and was soon glad to avail 9 O myself of any opportunity to quit Kattiawar. In the early part of this year I was delighted to hear of my beloved master, Captain Eastwick's, return from England. ( His regiment chanced to be stationed here, and he soon arrived to join it, and again I had the pleasure of shaking hands with him, ard found his heart as warm as ever. After a few weeks' stay with his regiment, he was placed at the disposal of the Governor- General of India, and proceeded to Sindh, where he was appointed Assistant-Resident, under Colonel, now Sir H. Pottinger, a real man, wise as Solomon and enterprising as Alexander. Resolving to accompany my former master, I tendered my resignation to Mr. Erskine, and received the following certificate : " Rdjhot Political Agent's Office, Kattiawar, "July 1st, 1838. "This is to certify, that Munshi Lutfullah Khan has been known to me for years, that from the beginning of the year 1836 he has been employed by me in various capacities in the service of the H. E. I. Company, principally as a translator of Oriental documents. " He is master of the Persian, Hindustani, Marathi, and Gujarathi languages, besides having a knowledge of the idiom, structure, and details of the English language that very few Orientals have attained to. As an instructor in the above-men- tioned languages he is invaluable. His intimate acquaintance with the European character, and his contempt for the follies and depravities of the natives of India, render him a most valuable servant to the British Government. " I believe him to be a man of integrity, veracity, and ability, to 248 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. such a degree, that I have never elsewhere met with his equal among those of pure Asiatic descent. "I have given this paper to Munshi Lutfullah as a sincere testimonial to his excellent character and superior attainments, of which I have been a witness. (Signed) "JAMES ERSKINE, " P. A., Kuttiawar." On Friday, the 23rd November, I repaired to the Political Agent's Office to take leave. All my office friends felt deeply for my loss, and we exchanged tears of parting with one another : they were so obliging as to raise a subscription, and presented me with a valuable dress of honour. Mr. Erskine, likewise, made me a present of a valuable Kashmir shawl, and poor Dr. Graham, since dead, gave me a small chest of medicine. So, loaded with presents and good ' wishes from my friends and master, I returned home, with a heart partly beating with pleasure at having a wide field before me, and partly dejected at separation from friends, in whose society I had remained nearly three years. On my return home I found Parshotam Takkarsi, the head of the firm of that name at Rajkot, waiting for me. On inquiring the cause, he observed that he and his family, consisting of sixty-five in number, were all under obligations for my having been the cause of the restitution of their property, ten thousand rupees, carried off by a gang of robbers, who had wounded and killed three members of the family; that they felt very sorry at my departure, and would THE FAIR MAIMUNI. 249 not allow me to depart without my accepting a present from the firm; saying this, he poured two hundred rupees out of a bag and begged my accept- ance of the sum. I thanked him for his too good opinion of me, which I told him was more acceptable to me than the coins: so saying, I dismissed him. Thinking I had considered the present too small, he returned to me again in about half an hour with a gold necklace, worth about five hundred rupees, which he begged me very strongly to accept. I did not like to hurt his feelings, so I took the necklace and put it on before him. I asked him if he was satisfied to see me in possession of his kind present. He was greatly so, replied he, and then got up to depart, upon Avhich I took the necklace off and put it on his neck, adjuring him in the strongest terms to accept it from me. The old man, then in tears, said he was very sorry to meet with such a disappointment ; but I told him I would accept some sweatmeats from him for his satisfaction, and would always think of him on my way up to Sindh. In the evening three other visitors did me the honour of calling upon me, an old lady and two daughters. The oldest had passed the time of her charms, but the youngest, at the age of about eighteen, by name Sara, was a consummate beauty. Although her complexion was sallow, her form and features were exquisitely handsome, shaped with the chisel of the Goddess of Beauty herself. But they were 250 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. all three in a most wretched condition. They begged to he allowed to travel with the carts of my baggage as far as Juria, and I not only granted their request, but ordered my servants to take their small bundles of clothes, etc., on my carts. They then thanked me for the kindness, and the old dame began her narrative as follows : " We are Mohamedan culivators, clan of Maimun, inhabitants of Bhiij ; my husband was a man of wealth and consequence amongst the farmers of the province. The fruit of our union was these two daughters only, and no son. It pleased Almighty God to take away my good husband, the father of these orphans, when my youngest girl was about two years old. After his death the Government confiscated all our property, under the pretence of his having been in debt to it for the lease of the village to him for some years past. Some months after my husband's departure from this world, my son-in-law, too, followed him ; and thus we remained helpless, without any asylum, for some years, pressed hard under the cruel foot of indigence, labour- ing in the fields of others for our livelihood. My eldest girl, unfortunately having been seduced by an English gentleman, Mr. , absconded, and left us in a miserable condition, worse than before. We never heard of her until lately, when she wrote to me from this. The gentleman, her sweetheart, died of cholera on a sudden, and left nothing for her to subsist upon. She had, however, about three or four hundred I PROMISE PROTECTION. 251 rupees worth of jewels, a part of which we have already sold for our maintenance: and, not to conceal it from you, we have still something left, which we intend to apply in agricultural speculation on our return home. The fate of the young Sara is worse than that of the other. I gave her in marriage to a young gardener of Drangdra. She lived with her husband for about two years, when the career of his life was cut short, after which she remained under the care of her. late husband's sister, by whom she was considered an unlucky woman, as her husband died so shortly after the marriage. She was tyran- nized over and maltreated to a great degree, and at last secretly sold by her remorseless sister-in-law to an old gardener of Limri for twenty-five rupees. I heard of her misfortunes, and, coming to this place where slavery is said to be discountenanced, I sent her a message to effect her escape and come over to me. It is now about six weeks since she arrived. The gardener, her unlawful master, with a couple of peons, have also come here, and they are watching an opportunity to seize upon the girl and take her to Limri. We heard of your going to Juria Bandar, and now wait upon you to seek your protection as far as that place, , whence by the first opportunity we shall go to our native land, where we shall pray for your long life and prosperity." I listened to her tale with compassion, and told her that she and her daughters should consider themselves 252 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLA1I. safe under my protection, being that of a British subject; that they should not only be conveyed to Juria (where they could not be safe from the intrigues of the native States), but landed on the coast of their native land, free of expense. Poor creatures, they thanked me heartily for the kindness I showed, and started very early next morn- ing with my baggage. On the 24th of November, 1838,1 left Rajkot, and arrived at Pardhari, eleven miles distant, about nine A. M. I met with a hospitable reception from the agent of the Zamindar. Pardhari, though small, is the principal town of twelve villages belonging to H.H. the Jam of Nowanagar, who is graciously pleased to continue the farm of it to the son of Fakir Mohamed, his late favourite Jamadar, still in his minority. H. H. the Jam, though illiterate, is a high-minded Prince. His name Ranmalliji, " hero of the field of battle," coincides with his character. During my stay with the Political Agent, I had the honour of conferring with him several times on the part of the British Government, on the subjects of boundary disputes and infanticide. On all occasions I was pleased with his manly conduct and sensible con- versation. Though a Jareja chief,, he has preserved a daughter. On the 25th, I left Pardhari at sunrise, and reached Dharol, the principal village, belonging to Jareja Bhupatsingji at ten A. M. I was received with great HOSPITALITY. 253 kindness and hospitality. The chief himself did me the honour of visiting me at my quarters out of town, in company with his son, a promising lad of about fourteen, his daughter, a very pretty young girl of six, and his guest, the chief of Amran, attended with a numerous retinue. He stayed with me for three hours engaged in conversation about the impending war with Russia. He seemed to take an especial interest in my account of the Russian Empire. I satisfied his curiosity, to the best of my knowledge, regarding the customs, manners, and habits of Russians. On the morning of the 26th, I left Dharol. It was an unusually misty morning. We reached Juria, a very populous and large town, at half-past eight A. M. Here I was received with greater hospitality than I ever experienced in Kattiawar. The governor of the place, by name Ahmad Khawass, had the politeness to send his people to receive me. They conducted me to a very nice place, -where I put up and made myself as comfortable as at home. A very good breakfast for myself, and for all the people with me, had been prepared before our arrival. All of us jointly thanked our host for his goodness. Although his title is " Khawass " (which in Kattiwar means " slave"), yet I found him excel many masters, princes of the country. On the 27th, I was obliged to make a halt, as I had several letters to write to my family and friends, and 254 AUTOBIOGBAPHY OF LTJTFULLAH. tliis was the last stage whence I could communicate without fear of the letters being lost. I sent away the Gaikwar contingent horsemen who were ordered to escort me as far as this place. I then went to the harbour, which is two miles from the town, to select a boat for my voyage to Sindh. The governor accompanied me. I found the harbour a poor one. The number of the small vessels not exceeding the tonnage of 100 khandies (or 25 tons) was but 26. I took one of 60 khandies, or 15 tons. Dined with the governor at six p. M. My jolly old host commenced drinking, or rather sipping, raw brandy, an hour before the dinner was brought. He insisted upon my joining him, but I could not grant his request. The old man was merry by dinner-time. In short we passed the evening very pleasantly. After the dinner was over he showed me two magnificent palaces belonging to his government. The edifices, though not well furnished, are of an excellent design. At my departure, he bestowed on me, on the part of his master, a dress of honour, consisting of a very handsome scarf and a turban, both worth about 100 rupees. I tried my best to decline the honour, but he insisted strongly on my accepting them, telling me that, five days previous to my arrival here, he had received strict orders from his master upon the subject, and His Highness would certainly be dis- pleased with him if they were not accepted. In short, THE VOYAGE. 255 I was so much pressed by the good old man that I consented to receive the things. Seeing that he was very fond of, and in want of, tea, I gave him one half of the quantity I had along with me, and a native saddle which he seemed to admire much, and of which I had no use for the present, having disposed of my horse. On the 28th, at eleven A. M., I left the town of Juria for the harbour. The governor accompanied me to see myself and the baggage, etc., safe on board. I saw a European priest, just landed from Bhuj, and exchanged a few words with him respecting his journey to Rajkot, etc. They say it is unlucky for a traveller to see a priest at the time of starting on his way, and it proved to be so in my case ; for, whilst engaged in conversation with him, the tide that would have carried my vessel out of the harbour ebbed, and we were obliged to remain at the mouth of the creek until nine P. M., to our great annoyance. Not wish- ing however, to keep my new friend, the old governor, exposed in the sun, we parted, mutually expressing our best wishes for each other. I went on board at one P. M., and bade adieu to the Peninsula the land of ignorance, opium-eating, and infanticide, and its one million six hundred thousand inhabitants and two hundred and forty-four chiefs in the words of the good ploughman of Scotland, " Farewell my friends, and farewell my foes ; My peace with these and my love with those." 256 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. We weighed anchor on the night of the 29th at nine P.M. It being calm, the night and day passed well. The pure atmosphere, the cold breeze, and the gentle exercise of sailing, produced in me a healthful exhilaration. I felt my appetite insatiable, and we had no meat on board, it not being procurable at Juria, where the governor alone killed sheep, and that secretly, not to offend the prejudices of his Hindu Jain subjects, who are generally the richest people. Early in the morning of the 30th, when I opened my eyes, I found myself at the port of Mandavi. The scene of nineteen years ago presented itself to my mind. The memory of my reverie when I stood there gazing at the ocean for the first time, and my being startled by the bite of the dog, etc., came back, and it seemed as if all had taken place but yesterday. My Tindal Jum'a, of the clan of Mianas or pirates, coming up to me, put himself in a complimentary attitude very unnatural to him. " Well, Jum'a," said I, "what is the news?" Poor rough creature of the sea ! summing up all the words of politeness he knew, which did not exceed five, he said, in his growling voice, that he would make a stay of one day there to try his luck in taking charge of some cargo for Sindh. He bade me go ashore and order my servants to buy provisions for five days, as he did not like to see me starving without meat. I thanked the good man for his kindness, and com- JUM'A'S REMONSTRANCES. 257 plied with his request, telling him that he might take rny servant with him for the provisions, and put the three ladies on shore at the same time ; as for myself, I told him a sore foot prevented my going on land, so I remained on board engaged with my book, whilst my friends proceeded to the town. At midnight, on the 1st of December, we sailed with a fleet of vessels carrying an English regiment. By the grace of the Almighty God, on the 3rd we passed the " Ghori Kichar," an island of sand. A couple of monstrous sharks, each of them in size somewhat bigger than an elephant, came near our vessel ; they seemed to play with each other, some- times one lying flat and the other mounting it, and, at others, one running after the other, passing under our vessel and going round it, in which act they often gave a shake to our boat, which distressed us and roused the spirit of our Tindal. He said to me, " It is true these brutes are sometimes dangerous to the vessels ; but have no fear, they are as cowardly as huge ; I will soon remedy the evil." Saying this, he came to the side of the boat and, finding them floating along with us, 'began his remonstrances as if they understood his language : " You are kings of the sea, leave pursuing us, in the name of God and of the prophet Solomon. We are poor people, our vessel does not contain more than ten men ; go, therefore, to the other vessels, they are filled with fat soldiers of the Honourable Company." Old K 258 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP LUTFULLAH. Jum'a's words, instead of producing a good effect, made the animals more frisky and furious. They spouted* up water from their immense nostrils into our ship, in addition to the former annoyances, and played at " hide and seek" round the boat with new vigour, from seven till about a quarter past eight o'clock, A.M. Our good Tindal then, having lost all patience, took up one of his ballast stones, very sharp on one side, pronounced the name of God, and flung it with all his might against the bigger monster's head, inflicting a good blow not unlike that of a hatchet After the receipt of this compliment, the animal went down at once with his companion, with- out making its appearance again, and all of us jointly returned our thanks to the kind Providence for this narrow escape. I regretted much not having brought my gun with me. " Ghori Kichar" is now a large sand bank, which, twenty years ago, was the site of Ghori Bandar, now all sunk below the wave. On our approach to the aforesaid sand bank, Jum'a desired me to taste the water of the sea, which I did, and to my surprise found it on one side of the ship quite fresh and sweet, and on the other very salt. On inquiring the reason, I was told that the strong current of the Indus ran so far uninfluenced by the sea. We moored about nine o'clock P.M. ten miles off Vikkar Bar. * From this it is evident that the Author's sharks were grampuses. SINDIIl VILLAGES. 259 4th. It being dead calm, the whole day was spent in reaching the bar. Here we found twelve British men-of-war, two steamers, and about one hundred battelahs at anchor, all of them bearing the British flag and containing soldiers and supplies. My friend the old Tindal passed close by a vessel newly wrecked upon a sand bank. I told him the wreck warned us not to come too near, unless we would share her fate ; but the old pirate replied, that the Tindal of the boat must either have been blind or had some sinister motive to wreck the vessel, for all the banks here were known to every boy of the coast. Moored at the bar for the night On the 5th we entered the mouth of the Indus, and on the 6th we arrived within seven miles of Vikkar. There being a small village on the left bank, I went ashore to see it. Visited the head man of the village. Conversed with him through the old Tindal, whose mother tongue was Sindhi. The old chiefs replies to our queries were so loud that at first I thought he either took us to be deaf, or was offended at our intrusion. On asking the reason, Jum'a told me that nothing was wrong, but that such was the custom of the country. These people seemed miser- able beings, living in such huts as the villagers of India have for their cattle, without any partition. All members of the family husband, wife, son, daughter- in-law, etc. sleep in the same stall, upon one bed, the materials of which are no more than a mat K 2 260 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAIL spread over a little grass. Their food is a very coarse bread of rice, with fish, fresh or dry. They are very fond of tobacco and onions, for which articles the head man begged. I inquired about the system of taxation in his country, and he informed me that taxes were mostly taken in kind. The agri- culture in general is confined to rice, which is produced in abundance. The cultivator gets one- fifth of the produce, the remainder being divided into two halves, one of which goes to the Govern- ment, and the other to the landholder. On the 7th I landed at the camp at Vikkar, and was most hospitably received by my master and friend, Captain Eastwick. The 8th I passed in exploring the village of Vikkar. It consisted of about two dozen miserable hiits. Colonel H. Pottinger arrived in the evening from Hydrabad. On the 9th we removed our tents from the military camp, and pitched them near the Resident's. From this date I regularly commenced the performance of my duty. I had the pleasure of seeing Sikandar Khan, my old friend of Tulsi Sham, now Siibahdar Major, the highest rank that a native soldier attains to. He now belonged to the Sappers and Miners. He introduced to me a friend of his, Mirza Ali Akbar, Captain S. Powell's Persian teacher. The young Mughal appeared to be a promising lad. I began Sindhi grammar, which I found to be easy THE OMNIVOROUS ENGLISH. 261 work. A man acquainted with the rudiments of the Asiatic languages could learn Sindhi with little trouble. On the 14th, after the usual work in the office, I was engaged in an onerous task of counting and taking down the numbers of Government treasure boxes, one hundred and seventy-eight in number, arrived from Bombay. A horrible case of suicide occurred in the evening. An officer of Dragoons shot himself; cause unknown. On the 15th I had the honour of being introduced to the Resident, Colonel Pottinger. At the first sight his abilities and resolute character were apparent I now began to mix with the Sindhis and learnt the idiom of the language by conversing with them. Idleness is the main feature in the Sindhi character. The Tindals of the river sat almost all day at the door of my tent, engaged in confabulation and dis- putes. The general theme of their discourse was Government affairs. One party remarked that the country was lost the English would take it very soon. " The Talpurs themselves, especially Mir Subdar," said they, " are to blame for being too friendly with the omnivorous English: they have taken all India; in the same way they will soon take this country." Another responded, " You are mistaken, my friends. Let the Talpurs of Hydrabad make themselves Christians; but fear not, as long as we have Shir Mohamed of Mirpur on our side. 262 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LFTFULLAH. His late Highness Mir Karam Ali's widow has fur- nished, and will always furnish him with funds suffi- cient to carry on a perpetual war with all the Feringees in the world; and, if God pleases, we can be masters of all the gold and implements of war that they are labouring to bring into our country. Know ye not the verse of our Holy Book, " One true believer is sufficient to defeat ten infidels?" A third white-bearded Sindhi, with a profound sigh, observed, " Ah ! my friends, your dream is somewhat too extravagant ; you have never seen the tri-coloured, viz., the white, brown, and dark devils, fighting jointly on a field of battle. Whilst in the service of H. H., the Peshwa, I was an eye- witness of their hard fights in the Dakhan. Here is an unquestionable proof: " saying this, he tucked up his sleeve and showed a scar, which demonstrated a clear transit of a bullet through his left arm. He concluded by saying, "A man may over-match another, or perhaps two or three, if the contest is to be decided by the sword, but these cowardly Satans have no sword, and if they have any it is as blunt as your walking-stick. They will kill you with their rascally shots whilst you are a mile or so off from them, and then what is the remedy ? " Such discussions by the side of my tent walls often amused me much; and sometimes, rising from my seat, I intruded upon them, and preached to them in mv broken Sindhi, that the English would not I ACT AS PRIEST. 263 take their miserable country, poducing only fish and rice, even if it were forced upon them ; that they had sufficient golden territories to govern and manage, and that they were staunch friends of the Amirs; that their forces were now passing through the country for the purpose of protecting their posses- sions in India, as well as the Amirs' territory, from foreign aggression. To this they would reply with a chorus of laughter, " What you say, sir, may be true, but we are rude people; we cannot com- prehend high politics of government. Ha ! ha ! ha ! " Being desired by my employer, I made acquaint- ance with a Sindhi Hindu merchant, Naomal, of Karachi, who made himself very useful to the British authorities in Sindh. He visited me every now and then, and tried his best to supply the wants of our army. He was a wealthy man, had a large family, consisting of a father, six brothers, and a number of women and children. He was also a man of consequence and influence in Lower Sindh. On the 19th December^happened the I'dul'l fitr, it being the first of the month Shauwal. This is a joyous festival in the Mohamedan world, as it concludes our Lent. But there being no Mohamedan priest with the army, I was obliged, at the request of some friends, to act as one; and, although out of practice for many years, I led the prayers and delivered the sermon to the congregation, composed of the Mohamedan horsemen and footmen, etc., of 264 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. the Company, and received the usual fee in a turban and scarf, which cost about forty rupees, subscribed by the commissioned officers. In these days we had often false alarms of Shir Mohamed's giving us a night attack. On the night of the 20th all the men were kept on the alert, and officers patrolled all the night by turns. I noticed that the cocks in this province seemed superfluously religious, as, in addition to their morning and after- noon calls, they took two hours of the night more for crowing, i. e., they began the surplus duties at eight and ended at ten, P.M. This untimely crowing- is considered an ill omen in India and Persia, and such over-officiousness of the bird would cost him his life there, but the Swidhis are indifferent about it. Visited the village of Ghorabari, about one mile off. It is considered a large village because it con- sists of one hundred miserable huts. The river in this part of the province, at this cold season, is about a fathom and a half deep. Its width too, in general, is not more than two hundred and fifty yards. The water is muddy, mixed with sand, according to the character of the soil here. On the 23rd, we were glad to hear of orders for marching next day towards Tatta, and sent off all our baggage with that of the army. In the morning, striking our small tent, as we were going to mount our horses, my master was ordered by the Resident to stay where he was until some arrangement for A BANQUET ON DATES. 265 more camels of burden was made, as the demand for them was on the increase. The 24th passed in making arrangements about the camels, but some- thing remained to be done on the next morning. I slept in the same tent with Captain Eastwick. The cold was intense ; I had never felt so cold in India, We had to content ourselves with very unpleasant lonesomeness. The day before, we were in the midst of an army of ten thousand men, and now we had with us but two peons and two Sindhi grooms. We pitied our four attendants who were shivering with cold, and asked them to sleep with us in the tent, but they on no account would overstep the bounds of respect, and slept close to the tent walls. After the day's work we had neither servant nor provision to satisfy the cravings of hunger. Luckily, I had obtained some dates and half a cake of the coarse Sindhi rice bread for a few pice. Upon these articles we made our dinner. To my master it proved a most palateable meal, and to me better than dainties I afterwards tasted in Mivart's Hotel, London. He said his grace like a good Christian, and I returned my thanks to Him who overlooks our faults and supplies our wants more than we deserve. I made a trial of my good companion at this time, making the following remark : " We must not thank Heaven for bad meals, for if we do, it will never furnish us with better." At this he smiled, and observed, "Let the badness of what we have dined upon be proved 266 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. first, and then we shall argue on further." Thus we beguiled our time in conversation until he was fast asleep ; and then I, having enjoyed my cheroot, went to my bed. The 25th of December, the birthday of the prophet Jesus Christ, is a holiday of rejoicing to all the Christian world. Early on the morning of this day we were roused from our sleep by two officers, Mr. Jenkins and Captain Ward, just arrived from Man- davi. They asked Captain Eastwick to guide them on to overtake the army ; but the remaining part of the compact with the owners of the camels requiring his stay a few hours more, he ordered me to go on with these officers, himself remaining alone to conclude the affair. We galloped on to Somria, a miserable hamlet of thirty huts, about twelve miles distant, where we overtook the army. Captain Eastwick likewise arrived in the afternoon, successful. Our next march with the army was a long one of twenty miles, to Karampur, consisting of about fifty huts, situated on this side of a branch of the Indus. On the other side is the village of Ghulam Ka Got, of the same size. On the 27th we halted, and the 28th brought us to the ancient city of Tatta. Having ) marched early in the morning, we reached the halting place at Makalli, about two miles from the town, at nine o'clock A.M. Our road this morning was partly TATTA. 267 sandy and partly stony and uneven. It passed through the ruins of Kalankot, about two miles from this. The fortifications of this remarkable place appeared to be very old and strong. The materials are mortar and baked bricks, which, at this remote period of time, seem quite new, and as strong as stone. In these heaps of ruins certain signs of antiquity, such as old coins, etc., are some- times found by the inhabitants, and sold for a good price. On the 30th it was cloudy, tempestuous, and bitterly cold ; so much so that, in the morning when I got up to perform my ablutions, I found the water congealed in the vessel, so was obliged to purify myself with the dust. This being Sunday, I had no office work, and therefore repaired to see the city. The town of Tatta has no city walls, and great part of it is in ruins. The inhabited houses are about ten thousand. The markets are narrow and the streets filthy. Most of the inhabitants are weavers. Long silken scarfs (called lungis) and blankets are manu- factured here better than in Upper Sindh. The fair sex of this town, and indeed of all Sindh, are in general very plain, and very clumsily dressed. Mills for grinding grain and expressing oil, are worked by camels. There are upwards of four hundred mosques in the city, but almost all of them are going to decay. Visited the Grand Mosque (Jamil Masjid), begun by Shah Jahan, in 1057 A.H. (A.C. 1647), and finished 268 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. by Auran^zeb in 1072 A.n. (1661 A.C.), as I found by the inscriptions. The edifice is a magnificent one, about two hundred yards long by one hundred broad, built with baked bricks and mortar. The inner plaster is glazed in white and blue colours. The whole site is roofed with one hundred domes, every one of them painted in a different style from another. The inscriptions carved round the great arch of stone, and those upon the two date stones, are excellently done in large letters. In short, the whole scene presents a picture of beauty and solemnity to the spectator. The bricks and earthenware of this city are very strong and durable, I believe owing to the peculiarity of the soil, which is a composition of white clay and sand. The houses in general are single storied and built of mud and flimsy timber, flat-roofed, clay only being spread over the upper frame ; and partitions plastered with mud are the_[ walls. There are a few houses of double stories, built of bricks, belonging only to very rich individuals. Happening to meet a very handsome Arab, by name Saiyid Mohamed, of the sacred city of Madina, in the market-place, I made his acquaintance, and visited the great priest of the city, Makhdum Shaikh Abdullah along with him. Both of these men had great influence in the city, the former on account of his birth, and the latter for his station in life. Passed two hours with these gentle- men in conversation. Saiyid Mohamed travelled THE HILL OF MAKALLI. 269 through Baghdad and Persia for the last three years, leaving his khums to accumulate, this being one-fifth of the property of all the heterodox community of the Shiah sect, paid to him as a religious fee. He has thus enriched himself like a Jew. He speaks Persian fairly enough for an Arab, for Arabs are naturally bad linguists. But my host is a man of learning and good breeding. He has a large and beautiful library containing many standard works both in Arabic and Persian. On the 1st January, 1839, a mission, consisting of four or five officers of rank of the court of Hydrabad, having arrived in the camp, was received in the Resident's tent by Sir John Keane and Colonel Pot- tinger. The amity and friendship between the two Governments first being talked of, some differences and discontents of their Highnesses, the Amirs, exuded from the discourse of the Ambassadors. The meet- ing was then adjourned, on their full consent to afford us all the aid in their power for the progress of the army. On the 4th I obtained leave to explore the Hill of Makalli near the camp. I proceeded early in the morning and amused myself till four o'clock P.M. This celebrated hill is situated at the distance of about one mile from Tatta. The range runs from west of the town to north, being eight miles long and under one mile broad. Its average height is fifty- five feet. The name is said to be derived from that 270 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LtJTFULLAH. of a fisherwoman who had her shop there in days of yore. This small hill contains about five hundred domed, and innumerable unroofed, tombs. It is a well-populated city of silence. I had time enough to see only fourteen edifices, as follows : 1. Idgah, a splendid mosque, where all true be- lievers gather together twice a year, and perform the divine service of the two holy days. The mosque was built by Yusuf Khan, governor of Sindh. Its inscription is in beautiful large Naskhtalik characters* as follows : " Yusuf Khan, the powerful lord, erected this place of worship as high as his fortune. The year of its finishing is found by Cherubim the temple of Makkah for the "virtuous, 1043 A.H., 1633 A.C. 1. The tombs of the two Vazirs Mirza Jana and Mirza Ghazi. Date, 1095 A.H., 1683 A.C. 3. A grand mosque, built by Tughral. 1090 A.H., 1679 A.c. 4. Tombs of Mirza Isa and Mirza Inayatullah, two governors of the place. Magnificent edifices of yellow marble, beautifully carved, with flowers in bas-relief, and surpassing all the buildings of the place. The inscription gives the year of 1058 A.F., 1648 A.C. 5. The tomb of a Minister. 1048 A.H., 1638 A.C. 6. The tomb of a Nuwab. 966 A.H., 1558 A.C. 7. The tomb of Pir Asad, the Kazi, 9 feet long. Era illegible. 8. The tomb of Saiyid Abdullah, son of Saiyid Abdul Kadir Gilanf, the great saint of Baghdad. THE BILtJCH PRISONER. 271 9. The tomb of Mirak Mohamed. 1059 A.H. 1649 A.C. 10. The tomb of Shaikh Zia. 1129 A.H., 1619 A.C. 1 1. The tomb of a King, name illegible. 1 109 A.H., 1697 A.C. 12. The tombs of Jam Ninda and Tamachi, the governors of the Summa tribe, of yellow marble. The building contains three tombs. 925 A.H., 1519 A.C. 13. The tomb of Baba Isa Langotiband. 920 A.H., 1514 A.C. 14. The tomb of Saiyid Ali Shirazi the Saint of the Jokhia Sindhi tribe. 1190 A.H., 1776 A.c. Amongst my official duties I had the special honour to translate the draft treaty of the thirteen articles now about to be enforced upon the Amirs of Sindh. This task I performed in ten hours, sitting up all night. In the morning the work was taken to the Resident, who held the English draft (in his own handwriting, very difficult to read), in his hand, and ordered me to read the translation. This was found to be correct, and met with the Resident's approba- tion. Captain Eastwick gave me a present of five hundred rupees out of his own pocket as a mark of his approbation of my services, and the Resident pro- mised me a higher reward. On the 5th, at five o'clock, P.M., our guard killed a Biliich who was taken prisoner for selling liquor in the camp, and was consequently ordered to be flogged. 272 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. Poor devil, he committed the crime without knowing the retribution. After he was taken to the quarter- guard, he began to wield his sword and shield (of which he ought to have been dispossessed) and inflicted three cuts upon the sentry, who parried, in the best manner he could, with his firelock, the butt end of which was cut in two. The prisoner then attempted to escape, and had got about five hundred yards from the guard, with the naked sword and the shield in his hands, when, passing between the tents of Sir John Keane and Colonel Macdonald, three muskets were fired at him : the ball of one of them, passing through his side, brought him down dead upon the spot, and thus he escaped the flogging. Rumours of our camp being surprised at night were again prevalent. Several camp followers had been plundered near Lakpat, by a party of twenty-five armed Sindhis. On the 16th Captain Eastwick was ordered to Hydrabad, so we prepared ourselves to start, and the next morning we proceeded to the ferry, about two miles off, whence we embarked on board the Snake, a small steamer. Here Captain J. Outram joined us. It was a very cold morning, it having rained much all last night We sailed up about twenty miles during the day, and moored near a village. Passed several Shikargahs, or hunting seats of the Amirs. These are large tracts of forest land by the river side, fenced all round, containing all sorts of game. re: ARRIVAL AT HYDBABAD. 273 .fter steaming and sailing for four days, we hed the port of Hydrabad on the morning of the 20^1. The view of the hills and the country, on both sicts of the river, is excellent all along. Flocks of laige birds, with rosy hued plumes, were seen every nojv and then floating on the water. On the morning of the 18th we saw a large alligator fast asleep on the rijl.t bank, within musket shot, and Captain Outram saluted him with a bullet, which rebounded from his scalt back. But the compliment had only the effect of sjartling the monster from his sleep and sending him' to the water. JL young nobleman, Dost Ali Khan, the son of Khairullah Khan, a near relative of the Amirs, came on their part to receive us. After the exchange of long complimentary sentences he departed, and we located ourselves at the Residency. Munshi Jeth A'nand, the native agent of this place, was deputed to the Court, to know when it would suit their High- nesses to receive the British representative and his companions. He brought answer on the 21st, that tie Amirs could not see the British officers that day, as they were undergoing the bi-weekly operation of depilation. On the 22nd, however, Mir Subdar Khan was foremost to send his confidential agent, by name Badru'd-din, to Captain Eastwick, with a secret message that he had from the first devoted himself to the British cause, and would ever be found most 274 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. sincere in it ; that he must not be held responsble for the acts of his cousins ; and that he felt anxioiB to receive an assurance of the same nature on the praent occasion from Captain Eastwick, before seeing Km. Upon this I was forthwith deputed to accompiny Badru'd-din as a bearer of renewed assurances to lis Highness. After going somewhat more than three miles, we came in sight of the citadel of Hydrabad, of which I had heard so much. The near sight of it disappointed me. It is no more than a pentagonal fortificttion, built of baked bricks and mortar, irregularly basticned, without any ditch, containing the families of the Anirs and their relations and dependents. In passing through the town we saw several parties of Biliichis sitting in groups with their pipes, and the extract of htmp under preparation before them. They scowled upon me, and some reviled me in their language. " What do you say to this," said I to my friend Badru'd-din, " Is this the way of treating foreigners in your country?" "Do you not know," replied he, "ajar exudes whatever it contains. These are vile soldiers from the country. They don't like Feringees, and taking you to be one of them, they are eating this dirt ; turn, therefore, a deaf ear to these things in the same way as the Resident himself does sometimes." Considering it expedient to follow my friend's advice, I did so, and entered Mir Siibdar's palace, and was duly presented to him. He was sitting upon a bed- JIJ'R SUBDAR. 275 steal with his son Fath- Ah', a handsome boy of about tenJattended by a secretary and slave, in a large spatious room without any furniture. After I had ejaculated my salutation in the Mohamedan style, His Highness stretched forth his hand, which I touched with my right, and was going to take my seat upon the floor like the others, but was parti- cularly desired to take a chair that was brought for the purpose. After compliments, I delivered my message, which His Highness heard with attention, and /was satisfied. After this, some conversation upon the subject of the manners and customs of Europeans took place, and then I took my depar- ture, A couple of Sindhi horsemen were ordered to escort me to the Residency, and to protect me from the insults of the wild Biluchis. When I had got half-way to our camp, another pair of horsemen galloped up, begging me to return for a moment as the Amir wanted to speak to me. I returned and had to repeat my message, some words of which Mir Siibdar had not fully comprehended. Having done this I took my departure and began to return to camp with my Sindhi attendants, when I saw my master in company with Captains Outram and Leckie, proceeding to the Court of the three Amirs. My presence also being requisite, I was desired to go along with the British representative. This was a day of hard work and starvation for me ; I took only a piece of bread and a cup of tea when I 276 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. left home in the morning, and the day was coning fast to an end, without any end to my business. On arrival at the Darbar, we found the crowd of armed Biluchis and attendants so thick that I thought it was impossible to pass. Road, however, was made for the admission of the European gentry. As for myself, I remained behind and could not pssibly penetrate through the concourse. Captain Eattwick, fortunately thinking of me, when with the A.mirs, turned his head a little and observed, " Here, Lut- fullah, take care of these papers." No sooner was this pronounced, than the attendants, breaking through the mob, took me upon their hands, and in a minute conveyed me sliding over the heads of the multitude to my master, at whose elbow I seated myself and took down notes of the conference. The three Amirs, Niir Mohamed, Nasir Khan, and Mir Mohamed, and a young man, Mir Shahdad, sat on a large four-legged square plank, covered with a simple Persian carpet, called the throne, with their swords and shields placed before them. The British representative and his companions sat on the chairs placed for them, but were obliged to take off their shoes before entering the Darbar. The rest of the people sat on the floor, which was well carpeted. There was no order here such as is observed in Indian Courts. The armed Biluchis and Siudhis sat as they pleased, wherever they could find a place for themselves, talking as loud as possible with each THE DARBAK. 277 other, and scowling upon us every now and then, as if we were their murderers. Niir Mohamed seemed to be a man of high talent and exalted views, brave and handsome, middle-aged and middle-sized. One deep and perpendicular wrinkle between his eyebrows indicated that he was a man of passion and cogitation. He was the only person to be addressed in the conference about the State affairs, as Nasir and Mir Mohamed seldom gave any replies, and, if they did so, then only through him. I highly admired his brave coun- tenance, and his conversation, full of truth, spirit, and valour. Nasir was handsome, but very corpulent. Affa- bility, mildness, and generosity, seemed to be pro- minent in his disposition. Mir Mohamed was a well-made, soldier-like man, with handsome features, but hare-lipped. It seemed that the hand of Nature, in finishing his face, acci- dentally dropt its chisel between his lips and left the blemish unrectified. He sat to the left of Niir Mo- hamed at the edge of the throne, leaning his left hand against his shield, and resting his right upon the hilt of his sword. Such were the Presidents of this semi-civilized Darbar. After the overflow of compliments had subsided, Captain Eastwick seized the opportunity to administer the black dose of his mission to his hosts. 278 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. He took the papers from my hand containing the draft of the treaty lately translated by myself, and read it to their Highnesses with a clear Persian accent. The Amirs listened composedly, though marks of displeasure could he traced on the face of Mir Niir Mohamed. He changed colour, becoming now red, now pale as a ghost. When the reading was over, the Biluchis showed great excitement. At this time a slight signal from their Highnesses would have been sufficient to terminate the lives of all our party under the swords of the barbarian and remorse- less Biluchis, many of whom stood at our head with naked scimitars, in the same way as executioners do at the moment of the performance of their horrid duty. Mir Nur Mohamed first observed, in Biluchi, to his two colleagues, " Cursed be he who puts reliance upon the promises of the Feringees ; " and then, addressing himself seriously to the British representative, he spoke thus in Persian : " Your treaties, I believe, are changeable at your pleasure and convenience ; is this the way to treat your friends and benefactors ? You asked our permission to allow your armies a free passage through our territories. We granted it without hesitation, de- pending upon your friendship under your honourable promises. Had we known that, after the entrance of your army into our lands, you would threaten our safety, and enforce another treaty upon us, demanding THE WOLF AND THE LAMB. 279 an annual tribute of three hundred thousand rupees, and a ready payment of two million one hundred thousand rupees for the immediate expenses of the army, we would, in such case, have adopted measures for the security of our country and persons. You know we are Biluchis, and no traders to be frightened easily. We do not govern the country alone, but the interest of the whole of our clan is involved in the government." Captain Eastwick heard all this with calmness, and gave brief replies in Persian and Arabic pro- verbs, such as, " Our Government has no intention of putting your Highnesses under any inconvenience, but necessity has no law ; " " Friends must aid friends in emergencies ; " " The present campaign is not only for the security of India, but the safety of your Highness's territories likewise depends upon it," etc. Mir Niir Mohamed smiled, and spoke to his cousins in Biluchi, which we could not understand; and then, with a sigh, he said to Captain Eastwick, " I wish I could comprehend the meaning of the word * friend ' which you use. We cannot give a decisive reply to your present demands at once. The matter requires consultation with those whose interests we cannot sacrifice for ourselves, and who are not altogether under our control." We left the Court at sunset. There was no sprinkling of atr and rose water, etc., at dismissal, as usual in Indian Darbars. We reached home at 280 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. half-past six o'clock P.M., tired with the business of the day. On the 23rd we remained, expecting a reply from their Highnesses, but affairs seemed to take a bad turn. The native agent sent a secret message requesting us to be on our guard ; and his warning was perhaps not void of reason, for we saw a party of about two hundred armed Biluchis sitting unac- countably in a dale within five hundred yards of us. One or two of them more than once reconnoitred our small party ; but, finding us on the alert, they retired. On the 24th, the time allowed for the Amir's answer having expired, we began our return to camp. Having wind and stream in our favour, we glided smoothly down to the village of Jarrak, upwards of eighteen miles, in three hours. On the 25th we landed at Jarrak, and joined the army, which arrived that morning. Here I had a narrow escape from being drowned. Having to move a heavy box full of my books, I, with the aid of a Sindhi boatman, got it on the edge of two boats ; and, as I stood with my legs wide apart, the Sindhi suddenly left me so planted, and unable to move, for fear of losing the box. In this disagreeable and dangerous position I remained for a quarter of an hour, when, just as the boats began to part, and at the moment that I and the box were about to drop into the river, the boatman came back, and, without A PROVOKING BOATMAN. 281 a word of excuse, asked for a present "suitable," as he said, "to my dignity." I was obliged to suppress my indignation, and give the rascal some- thing to rescue me and my box, though mentally I consigned him to the infernal regions for his impudence. 282 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. CHAPTER X. False alarms Slur Mohamed Three officers burnt to death The Amirs accept the Treaty The army marches for Shikarpur Nadir Shah and the Saiyids of Lakki Sehwan Larkhana Great cheapness of food Shikarpur Biluchi Robbers Fath Mohamed Ghori Sakhar Khairpur Mir Rustam Marauders The Naik and the Political Agent Thank you for nothing Great heat The scorpion remedy More plundering. OUR force remained encamped here for eight days, during which time false alarms of night attacks were often spread. A Sipalu named Chandidin, of the 5th Bombay Native Infantry, having effected his escape from amongst the prisoners of Shir Mohamed Khan, of Mirpur, brought us news that that chief was on the point of joining the Amirs of Hydrabad against us. On the 29th, Mir Ismail Shah and one of his sons arrived in camp to treat with the authorities. On the evening of the 30th, three dead bodies of Queen's officers were brought to camp. These men had absented themselves without leave, on a hunting expedition, and the fire having broken out from all sides in a forest, they could not escape. On the 1st February, Mir Ismail Shah, the Ambassador for the Amirs, announced their sub- MARCH TO HYDRABAD. 283 mission to the terms imposed by the treaty ; and next day Takki Shah, son of Ismail, was despatched to Hydrabad to obtain their Highness' signatures to the paper. On the 3rd our camp left Jarrak, and halted at the village of Ismail jo Got, eleven miles off, and the next march of nine miles brought us to the village of Kotri, a small hamlet situated on the right bank of the Indus, opposite to Hydrabad. The Sindhian army that had stationed itself at the opposite bank of the river, inarched back to the capital on the 3rd, but we saw a portion of it on its return in haste. The army consisted of about ten thousand men and thirty pieces of cannon, of which seven thousand men and twelve guns belonged to Shir Mahomed, of Mirpur, who had joined the Amirs to afford his aid against the infidel host ; but, seeing the English far superior in power, number, and discipline, he retired to his own district, after having sent a very civil answer to the Resident's strong and rigorous letter, drafted out by myself and forwarded to him some days before. The river begins at this season to rise ; its waters, though always muddy, are very wholesome if puri- fied. The mode of purification is very simple. Take a kernel of almond and rub it against the inner side of a pitcher until it is exhausted; fill the pitcher with the water and let it stay unshaken for one hour, and you will then find the water beautifully clear ; 284 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. have it then strained in another vessel, and drink it to your satisfaction. But if you drink this water unstrained, and especially after eating the delicious fish called pulla, you are sure to get dysentery, which generally proves fatal. On the 6th the Resident, having received a num- ber of trays of sweetmeats from their Highnesses as an entertainment to all the gentlemen of the camp, had the kindness to send me two of them, containing about eighty pounds of excellent confections, etc. The English, being originally carnivorous, cannot enjoy the taste of our confections, and this quantity, I believe, had come to my share simply for that reason. All my friends, servants, and self, enjoyed the gift of the great man for some days, and returned our thanks to him. On the 9th, Captain Eastwick was ordered to con- duct the army up to Shikarpur, and we made all the necessary preparations for the performance of that duty. On the morning of Sunday, the 10th, we marched with the army, and halted at the village of Bada, eight miles from Kotri. Sadikshah, one of the sons of Ismail Shah, joined us here as an agent on the part of the Amirs to render us his aid in obtaining sup- plies. We had orders to keep as near as possible to the right bank of the Indus. A dragoon foolishly took his horse to drink apart from the watering place in the river, and sank with the animal, never to rise MARCH TO SHIKiurUE. 285 again. A camel, \vliilst quenching his thirst, seated itself in about knee-deep of water to cool his body, but no sooner had he done so than he was pulled in by a gigantic force, and carried off by a large alli- gator. Five private Sipahis deserted this day from their regiments. The march of the llth was ten miles to Umarpur. 12th nine Gopang. 13th ten Majhand. 14th eleven Suma. 15th twelve Amrf. IGth twelve Lakki. Lakki is a large village of about one hundred huts. It belongs to the Saiyids of Sindh. I visited the shrine of Shah Sadr here, situated at the foot of a large mountain of Siwistan, at the distance of about three hundred yards from the village. This famous saint originally came from Arabia, and brought thousands of infidels to the light of Islam from the darkness of idolatry in Sindh. His tomb was built here by order of Nadir Shah, king of Persia, in 1155 A.H. Tradition states that Nadir, in a dream, was invited by this saint to come up to Umarkot where he was to find a very large treasure ; and His Majesty, having acted upon the visionary command, discovered the treasure promised to him, and received a very large amount, as a tribute from the Amirs of the time, in addition. His Majesty then bestowed 286 AUTOBIOGRAPHr OF LUTFULLAII. a large sum of money upon the Saiyids of the vil- lage, directing them to have the edifice built over the remains of the saint. This they carried into exe- cution at the time. The following inscription at the door of the shrine gives the date of its completion : " I inquired of intellect the year of its date. " Inspiration informed me it is the Paradise of the member of the sacred house." 1155A.H. 1742 A.D. All Saiyids of Sindh that are called Lakki Saiyids, are, I am informed, the descendants of this saint, whose parentage ascends up to the Imam Ali Nakki. I am therefore inclined to think that the word Lakki is a corruption of Nakki, which is the name of the tenth Imam. The view of the mountains about one mile from this is fine. On the nearest hill there are two springs near one another; the water of one is very cool and limpid, and that of the other very hot. A banian remaining behind in this march, was overtaken by the Biliich marauders, who robbed him of his clothes, and -inflicted two sword cuts on his arm. The poor fellow came in bleeding: several camels were stolen ; the perpetrators of these out- rages were Burgoari, Marri, and Laghari Biliichis, who inhabit this mountain with their asses, goats, sheep, etc., and very seldom visit the neighbouring villages. 17th, 18th, and 19th. Halted to have the heavy ordnance, etc., sent on first. Three camel robbers SEHWAN PASS. 287 having been seized, were on the 18th flogged, and O OO ' had their heads and beards shaved. A European soldier, who stood by me whilst the guilty were undergoing the penalty, observed that he would be happy to receive such punishment every day, except the flogging part. On the 20th, we marched early in the morning, and reached the Sehwan Pass at ten o'clock A.M. The morning was very misty; it rained and thundered in the night very heavily, which is not a usual thing in India in this month. The pass is nearly half-way between Lakki and Sehvvdn, and about two hundred yards long. The difficulty is merely on account of the river's cutting the very foot of the mountain. During your walk on this path you will find yourself in an awkward position, as on your left is the proud, sublime, and steep side of the mountain ; and, on your right, down a very deep precipice, you behold with awe the river whirling on. Our engineers, how^ ever, widened the path about ten feet wherever they found it too narrow, and thus rendered it practicable for the present. Our whole force passed without any accident, except a poor woman, whose leg bone was fractured in the tumult. On the 21st we halted, and Sir H. Fane landed at our encampment and had an interview with Nuwab Mohamed Khan Laghari, deputed by the Sindh au- thorities to meet this nobleman on his way here. No one was allowed a seat, except Sir H. and the Nuwab. 288 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP LUTFULLAH. I attended several Darbars of the Governor-General when at Ajmir, but never found any gentleman, whether sallow or white, underrated as in this ex- traordinary andience. The English officers of the Bengal side have in general a too good opinion of themselves. Captain Eastwick stood as interpreter in the presence of the two representatives, and I, behind him, euphonizing every now and then his Persian sentences to the Nuwab. When Sir H. heard me first, he called out, " And who are you, sir? " To this Captain Eastwick replied, " He is my Munshi." Sir H. is a tall, well-made, intelligent, middle-aged man, but he seemed to have had no lessons of polite- ness. The Biluch Nuwab wanted to continue the conversation after business was over, but Sir H. got up and dismissed him abruptly. The 22nd was a cold and foggy morning. I visited the town of Sehwan which contains about five thousand houses, or fifteen thousand inhabitants. The shrine of Lai Shah Baz, the famous saint of this place, is a grand one, built in 1148 A.H., and it contains but one tomb, that of the saint. A tiger of large size is kept in a wooden cage at the gate. Marched on the 23rd to the village of Tarti, nine miles ; our force was obliged to cross a branch of the Indus called Aral, near Sehwan. Our engineers made a good pontoon bridge over this river, and the army and baggage crossed over it in the morning. Tarti is a large village, consisting of about two THE MARCH FKOM SEHWAN. 289 thousand houses, situated near a spacious lake of fresh water. On the 24th, we had a very troublesome march, on account of the General's changing his mind at a late hour. On the 25th, I had the honour of a kind visit from Daji Ghorpore, a nobleman formerly in the service of the late Peshwa, and now one of the officers com- manding the Punah Irregular Horse. I found him to be a gentleman of honourable feelings and extended views. In the confusion of yesterday, a part of Dr. Rook's baggage was stolen. This being our holiday of Idu'z-zuha, I was requested by my Mohamedan friends to deliver the sermon, but, being excessively fatigued, I declined. The village of Rokan, where O * Cj * we were, is a large one, and is full thirty miles from Sehwan. The Mulla of the place, being a mere illi- terate Sindhi, the Divine service of this holiday was lost, and to me for the first time. The morning of the 26th was very cold, and the water in our vessels froze during the night. We marched to the village of Ghallu, ten miles. For the last three stages we found the soil brackish. In this district, salt is manufactured in abundance. It is stored in large heaps, covered with the dust, without being burnt, as usual in other countries. On examin- ing it, I found it consisted of more nitric ingredients than the common salt of India. L 290 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. 27th. Sixteen miles to the village of Ghara, six miles beyond the shrine of Pirpanja. This saint belongs to the order of those Mohamedan monks who dress themselves in black blankets and nothing else. This was a long and fatiguing march through the forest, which is not very thick about this part. The custom of wearing caps, gradually diminishing from Sehwan, is nearly out from this stage. Here you will see almost all the Sindhi heads ornamented with white and becoming turbans. 28th. Six miles to the village of Chinna, good road and fertile country all the way. The cold began to diminish. 1st March. This morning the General changed his mind about the halting-place, and caused much confusion. At first, the village of Kamori, sixteen miles, was fixed, which being subsequently changed for Fathpur, ten miles only, many missed the road, and many had to return from Kamori to Fathpur. On the 2nd, sixteen miles, to the village of Bak- rani, where, on the 3rd, a halt was ordered, not for the Sabbath, but on account of a large branch of the Indus coming across the way, which required the troops to pass by degrees, the stream being nearly six feet deep in the middle. On the 4th, \ve crossed the stream early in the morning, and reached the town of Larkhana in about two hours, it being only eight miles from the last stage. Larkhana is a large town surrounded by LARKnANA. 291 a mud wall, and governed by an old illiterate man, Pir Abdu'rraliim. Here the army was obliged to halt until the llth, to make the necessary arrange- ments for the long hazardous journey through the Bolan Pass into a climate too cold for the natives of India. Many camel drivers, especially those of Kach, refused to go to the cold climate ; but, having been well flogged and chastised for refusing, poor fellows, they saw no alternative except submission or desertion. The latter plan was, however, adopted by many, who left their camels to the tender mercy of the swearing soldiers, and took their way home. Here ended, for the present, the duty that Captain Eastwick had to perform, of escorting the army. A young officer, Major Tod, having arrived on the 6th, was to take charge as Political Officer^ so Captain Eastwick, leaving me in the camp, and instructing me to afford all the information I could to the Aides-de-Camp or Major Tod, if required to do so, himself proceeded to Shikarpur, to see Mr. W. H. Macnaghten, the Envoy and Minister. On the 9th, Captain Eastwick returned to the camp from Shikarpur, having been appointed officiating Political Agent in Upper Sindh. He consulted me whether he should remain as Political Agent in Upper Sindh, or accompany the Envoy to Afghanistan, this being left to his option. He inclined to the latter service, in the performance of which he would have the oppor- tunity of seeing a new country, and of obtaining L 2 292 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. experience in the impending battles, and distinguish- ing himself. I told him I knew the character of the Afghans better than any Englishman ; that I would neither for money nor love endanger myself in the expe- dition, the success of which was to me exceedingly doubtful ; that I would humbly advise him not to go, unless he was ordered, to Afghanistan, where I doubted not he would fall the first victim to his own energy, zeal, and ardour. Hearing this, he smiled scornfully at my remarks, and observed, "My friend, life is a lottery; what is the use of living, when you can benefit others and yourself by your death?" I had an excellent answer to his last remarks on the tip of my tongue, but did not like to argue farther, so I cut the matter short by refer- ring to other things. His services, happily for us both, were so required in Upper Sindh, that he had not time afterwards to think of proceeding to Afghan- istan. On the 12th a division of the army marched towards Kandahar, under Sir John Keane, and the other division was obliged to remain till carriage could be procured. This very evening we also separated ourselves from the army and slept at Chuharpur, four miles from Larkhana, on our way to Shikarpur. We were furnished with a military guard of a native officer and twenty-three rank and file. LARKHANA TO SHIKAUl'UR. 293 On the morning of the 13th we marched eight miles to the village of Naudera. Good road all the way, and the country very populous. The environs of the villages were beautifully surrounded with the palm and mango trees, most agreeable to the sight. We put up in a small garden-house. Naudera is a large village, and belongs to Mir Mir Mohamed, under the management of a rough, but very witty old man, by name Mohamed Khan Siyal (meaning jackal). The art of extracting the palm-juice, which might largely add to the revenue, is unknown in the country. We found the provisions so cheap, that I purchased good fowls for two pice (one and a half farthing) each, the same as you get in London for two shillings. Other things also were proportionably cheap. On the morning of the 14th we marched sixteen miles to Gohej, belonging to Mir Nasir Khan. This village is larger than Naudera, but many inhabitants had deserted it on account of the Bengal army having passed through it. We got, however, everything we required as cheap as at Naudera. On the morning of the 15th, we inarched sixteen miles, and reached Shikarpur at nine o'clock, A.M. This town is the largest in Sindh, containing about fifteen thousand houses, which are flat-roofed, and some of them two-storied. The city is encircled with mud walls, and has a small fort outside the town. The environs are very pretty, having groves of 294 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFTJLLAK. mangos and palms, etc., all round. The water is from wells. The soil seems to be fitted to grow the poppy and flax, several fields of which we observed in a most flourishing state. About one half of the inhabitants are Hindus of the Khatri and Lohana clans, and the other half are Muslims. Shikarpur has an excellent market-place, shaded all over from the sun. The Hinchi tradesmen of this place talk Persian and Pushtu, as well as their own Sindhi. We pitched our tent near the town for the present, and lived in the enjoyment of quiet and solitude after a month's hard work in escorting the army. On the morning of the 16th I accompanied Captain Eastwick to the town. He examined the city, the market-place, and the fort, etc., with a scrutinizing glance, and then went to see a state prisoner, a German gentleman. Heard the French language talked for the first time. On the morning of the 17th I took a walk in the lines of the two remaining Bengal regiments, and the principal camp market (called Sadri Bazar). Felt very sorry to learn that a number of followers and animals perished beyond the desert for want of water. Mismanagement in every department pre- vailed. Sir A. Burnes, the former Political Agent in Upper Sindh, disbursed large sums of Government money without keeping any accounts. No day closed without seeing some of our people killed or wounded, and some camels carried off by the Biluchi robbers. SHIKARPUR TO SAKIIAK. 295 Two very rich and influential Hindu merchants, Chitrumall and Jet Singh, paid their visits to Captain Eastwick this morning. The latter is a very hand- some man, well-informed, and exceedingly polite. His sister, having heen the beauty of Sindh, was forcibly taken away by Shah Shiija, whose name is detested by him and by his clan. On the 18th of March we made preparations for our march, but it having rained much in the night, our tents had become so heavy that we had to wait until they were dry. An affray took place the day previous, between a party of the Bengal Irregular Horse, guarding camels, assisted by Abdu'ssamad Khan, the manager of the village of Lakki, and ten Biliich robbers, who attempted to carry off the camels. In this, three of the banditti were wounded and one killed; the head, having been severed from the trunk, was brought to Captain Eastwick, as a mark of valour on the part of our people. It was a most disgusting and horrid sight to behold a human head weltering in blood and dust. Thus we abuse the law of nature and cruelly treat our fellow-creatures, to serve our filthy purpose of lucre. On the 19th we left Shikarpur for Sakhar, and marched in the morning sixteen miles to Mahbiib jo Got, passing the village of Lakki, about half-way. Lakki is a large village belonging to Mir Nur 2% AUTOuioGEAnir OF LUTFULLAII. Mohamed. Good road all the way, through dense forest. There was no chance of missing the road, as hundreds of dead camels were lying on both sides as well as in the middle of it; so the best guide for everybody was his own nose. On the 20th we reached Sakhar, fourteen miles from Mahbub jo Got. We started at six in the morning, and arrived at eight o'clock A.M. Sakhar was a large city, but now is almost in ruins. It has, I am informed, never recovered the shock it suffered in the last conflict between Shah Shuja and the Khairpur Amirs. Sakhar is situate on the right bank of the river Indus. Rori, a large populous city, is on the left, and Bakhar, a fortress in the middle of the stream, upon a small island nearly triangular. This fortress, so much praised by the Persian historians and Sindhis for its impregnability, was lent to the British authorities to keep their stores, etc., until the end of the campaign, but, as I anticipated, the loan turned out irrecoverable. On the 21st, I was deputed to call upon Fath Mohamed Khan Ghori, the Minister of Khairpur, who arrived and encamped at the town of Ron, the day before, by his master's orders, to punish the Biliich robbers infesting the country between Sakhar and Shikarpur. He is a very old man, about eighty, but his spirit and energy surpass those of a young man. His head is clear, his experience in local affairs great, and his management of the country PATH MOHAMED. 297 commended, both by his master and his subjects. I was politely received by the old gentleman, and, after compliments, I brought the subject of the Biliich robbers under discussion. The old man observed that the Biluch robberies were even more troublesome to the natives themselves than to the foreigners, and that he was obliged at last to gird on his sword, and proceed with his army to chastise the banditti. I told him the object of my master was to coerce the wild people rather than extirpate them ; but I could not help smiling at the old man's remark about his army, etc., as his force consisted of about forty-five foot and one hundred and fifty mounted soldiers. The horses of the latter appeared most lean and miserable. The old gentleman saga- ciously perceived the meaning of my smile, and said, " Do not look upon my soldiers and horses with contempt. They are not fat, but fitted for the warfare of this country, and can endure hunger and thirst for three days, more than your good looking men and fat horses can, in chasing the robbers amongst hills and dales of the land." I did not like to hurt the feelings of the old man, whose grandson appeared to be older than myself; and observed that I had every confidence in the valour and puis- sance of the soldiers under his command ; that I begged his Grace's pardon for my rude mirth, to which I was addicted in consequence of having long been in the society of the English people. We 298 AUTOBIOGEArilY OF LUTFULLAIT. then parted with each other as good friends, with the promise of seeing each other on the next day but one, when he would visit Captain Eastwick. On the 23rd, he did so, and gained the Political Agent's good opinion in the very first visit. Large heaps of grain, that had been lying by the river side for the last eight or ten days in charge of the commissariat conductor, not being timely removed, were carried off the night before by an inundation of the river, which was so violent and sudden as to break asunder the bridge of native boats that joined Sakhar to Ron'. Captain Eastwick adverted to the subject in conversation with the minister, telling him that the river, too, bore the character of the Biliich robbers, and stole away the masses of grain by night. To this old Fath Mohamed replied, very promptly, that he thought the river, on the contrary, acted the part of a friend and adviser to us, in giving us warning not to be careless in a foreign land. On the 25th, we crossed the river to the town of Ron, and encamped in a fine garden commanding a beautiful view of both sides of the river, and of the fortress in the middle. On the 28th, we left Rori for Khairpur. Started early in the morning, and reached the place at about eight o'clock, A.M., the distance being about fifteen miles. An officer, by name Ali Mohamed, with a party of horsemen, came to receive us three miles MIR RUSTAM. 299 out of the town. We pitched our camp in a small enclosure, with a small house, destined for all the European guests who might have occasion to visit the Amir. No sooner had the Political Agent done his breakfast, than two officers of higher rank, namely, Asanand Vakil and Jetmall Diwan, waited upon him to inquire after his health on the part of the Amir. Captain Eastwick received them with politeness, and told them that he could not make a longer stay than one day, and that he would be glad to see the Amir as soon as convenient to His High- ness. They returned with this message to their master, and, in the evening, Inayatullah Khan, son of the old minister, and Jan Mohamed, came with their retinue, and escorted him to the palace. Mir Rustam Khan rose from his masnad and embraced the Political Agent with Asiatic courtesy. The audience chamber was as plain as that at Hydrabad, but less crowded. The Political Agent was seated next to the Amir on the floor. The Darbar consisted of the following nobles Mir Zanghi Khan, His Highness' uncle ; Mir Nasir Khan, his nephew ; Mir Mubarak ; twenty Biliichis ; and the two Hindu officers that waited upon the Political Agent in the morning. The object of the conference was, as I found afterwards, to impress on the mind of His Highness the necessity of taking immediate steps to coerce and chastise the several robber tribes of Biluchis. Mir Rustam promised to do all he could, 300 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. and professed himself the humble, but sincere, friend of the English. The Amir seemed advanced in years: perhaps about sixty. He was a handsome man, and it was clear, from his conversation, that his mind was noble and devoted to religion. He has eight sons. Khairpur is a large town. The palace is situated in the middle of a mud wall fortress. In the forenoon of the next day, another Darbar of ceremony was held, and the Political Agent was received with all honour. Pleasant conversation, with an admixture of business, continued for about an hour, and then the court adjourned. At the time of parting, when Captain Eastwick was about to bid His Highness, and the family, adieu, the Amir observed : " Now I speak to you as a friend ; I have a greater regard for you than any Englishman I have ever seen, for I feel a real pleasure in con- versing with you. I believe you are a good Christian, with a heart as pure as a mirror : I therefore esteem you as one of my own sons." Captain Eastwick bowed, and made a suitable reply. We then left the Darbar for our camp, and, after the performance of our daily work, paid a parting visit to the old Amir; and, having chatted half an hour, left him with our best wishes. On the morning of the 30th, we left Khairpur for Sakhar, which place we reached at nine o'clock A.M. As we marched along, easily and leisurely, I observed, all along the road, Cassia fistula trees in abundance. BILUCH ROBBEKS. 301 They are as handsome as the Mimosa seris, but theii flowers are deep yellow, handsomer than the latter , and their fruits are long spherical beans, about an inch in diameter, and from two to three feet in lengjji. The tree, with its green foliage, yellow flowers, and bunches of ebony stave-like beans pending from its boughs, is a picturesque object. The Cassia fistula fruit contains a quantity of sweet pulp, with a peculiar smell, covering its seeds, which resemble the cytisus cajan. Physicians of India and Persia use the pulp as an aperient medicine. A dose of one ounce of it, dissolved in hot water, and taken with the almond oil, operates well upon the lower intestines. The Sindhis seem to be ignorant of its good effects, or else they might drive a lucrative trade by exporting it to Bombay, and other places. On the 2nd of April, 1839, preparations were ordered for our return to Shikarpur. The press of business for the last few days was so great, that I could not leave my desk from sunrise to sunset, and was unable to go out and see anything in the country. I therefore stole an hour of my employer's time, and visited the shrine of Shah Khairu'd-dm, the famous saint of this place. The tomb is an excellent piece of architecture, built in 1029 A.H., or 1619 A.C. On the 3rd we left Sakhar, and reached Shikarpur in three easy marches. Here we found the state of affairs worse than ever. Biliich robbers had the im- pudence to visit the environs of the city, almost every 302 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. day, cutting, maiming, and murdering the poor camel drivers, and some of the guards on pasturing duty. Our native soldiers were useless out of the lines, for want of local knowledge. The tall, well-made, and handsome Bengali Sipahis have not always a Jaeart corresponding with their outward form. Here I give an instance of their prowess, displayed by a party of them. On the 6th of this month, thirty-nine camels, belonging to Government, under the pasturing care of a Naik and five Sipahis, were seized upon and carried off by ten Biliich robbers in the afternoon. Two of the drivers received sword cuts, and the sight of these bleeding comrades made the rest run to the Agency; and the guards, too, followed their example. The non-commissioned officer then presented himself to the Political Agent, and, after his (f present arms," gravely said : " The thirty-nine camels, sir, are carried off by the robbers just now, sir ; two drivers are wounded, and all is well, sir." The report of the officer excited my mirth, so much that I left my desk in the room to get rid of my laughter, and then I heard the follow- ing dialogue between the Political Agent and the Naik: Political Agent. What were the numbers of the robbers ? Naik. They were ten, but we discerned a cloud of dust behind them, which indicated a larger num- ber following. RECREANT KNIGHTS. 303 P. A. Why did you not fire at the robbers ? N. Because we were dressing our food under a tree ; and, seeing the wounded men run, we ran to you! P. A. You are very nice soldiers ! JV. I thank your Honour for the good word ; I have done my duty. P. A. Good word and thanks ! I have a great mind to give you a court-martial for your unsoldier- like conduct. N. Then we must thank our own bad luck, to get such a reward from your Honour's hand for our faithful services. P. A. Leave my presence. Do not utter another word, and do not show me your face again. Right about face ! march to the lines. It was on this occasion that I saw Captain East wick lose his temper, for the first time in twelve years' association. He then immediately ordered a party of the Bengal Irregular Horse, under Nur- baksh Risaldar, to pursue the banditti ; but no trace of them was to be found : they were as if swallowed by the earth, with the camels and the spoil. To crown other misfortunes, the heat was now so great, attended with the hot wind, that we felt confident, in case nothing else could destroy us, the heat would very soon. The thermometer in my small hut was 110 in the middle of the day, and 90 in the coolest hours. The six hours after midnight were the only 304 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFCLLAH. time blessed with cool breezes : but, during the remaining hours, we had a window of Jahannum open towards us : exposure to the sun was certain death. Officers of strong constitution and bulky frames I have often seen leaving for the advance one day, and the next day their sudden death has been reported to us. The natives and the Biluch robbers could bear the sun famously : they could trot along almost every day from morning till sunset, exposed to the sun, and without eating or drinking, which is beyond the power of our people of India; Europeans are out of the question entirely. I could not account for this great heat; the place being about four degrees northward from Siirat, the climate ought to be cooler than that of Gujurat. Not being able to suffer the heat any longer, I built a small shed of a prickly bush, very cooling in its property, termed Jawassa in Hindustani, in front of my hut, and employed a water carrier to sprinkle it from morning till evening. This made me comfortable for the time. On the morning of the llth, I ordered my servant boy to shake my bedding and put it in the sun for an hour or so, that the moisture imbibed by the quilt might be dried. As soon as the quilt was removed from its place, what did I behold but an immense scorpion, tapering towards its tail of nine vertebrae, armed with a sting at the end, crawling with impunity at the edge of the carpet. I had A REMEDY FOR THE COLIC. 305 never seen sucli a large monster before. It was black in the body, with small bristles all over, dark green in the tail, and red at the sting. This hideous sight rendered me and the servant horror-struck. In the meantime, an Afghan friend of mine, by name Ata Mohamed Khan Kakar, a respectable resident of the town, honoured me with a visit, and, seeing the reptile, observed, " Lutfullah, you are a lucky man, having made a narrow escape this morning. This cursed worm is called Jerrara, and its fatal sting puts a period to animal life in a moment; return, therefore, your thanks to the Lord, all merci- ful, who gave you a new life in having saved you from the mortal sting of this evil bed-companion of yours." " I have no fear of the worm," replied I, " for it dare not sting me unless it is written in the book of my fate to be stung by it." Saying this, I made the animal crawl into a small earthen vessel, and stopped the mouth of it with clay ; and then making a large fire, I put the vessel therein for an hour or so, to turn the reptile into ashes, which, administered in doses of half a grain to adults, are a specific remedy for violent colicky pains. I was informed that the revenues of Shikarpur, together with its dependencies, amounted to about three lakhs of rupees, the net amount of which is divided into seven shares. Four of them go to two Amirs of Hydrabtid, namely, Niir Mohamed and Nasir Mohamed, and the remaining three are 306 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LTITFULLAII. taken by the Amirs of Khairpur, viz., one of the three by Mir Mubarak, and the two by Mir Rustam. The shares of the Amirs of Hydrabad are fanned to Jetmall, a very clever and powerful Hindu, for the sum of 14,000 rupees per annum. Jetmall was originally a liquor merchant, but his wealth, talent, and ability raised him to this high station in life. He is a very tall as well as bulky man, and is said to make his supper upon one goat and a bottle of brandy every night. The revenues of Khairpur, with its dependencies, my friend, Jet Singh, the banker, informed me amounted to about five lakhs of rupees (or 50,000/.) per annum, which sum, being divided into five shares, three go to Mir Rustam, one to Mir Muba- rak, and the remaining one to other members of the family. On the morning of the 12th, Captain Eastwick being informed that a large party of Biluch robbers were lying in ambush about thirty miles off, deter- mined to surprise them. He left the camp at noon with about twenty irregular horsemen, and reached the spot early the next morning, where he found small heaps of ashes the sign of the outlaws having prepared their meal there and the dung of their horses, too, lying about. Finding the ashes cold and the dung quite dry, which indicated their having left the place more than six or seven hours before, he returned, disappointed, late in I AM TAKEN FOR A MAGICIAN. 307 the evening, fatigued and exhausted by the terrific heat. Seeing now the emergent necessity of raising a local corps to keep the marauders in check, he sent in an application to Government to be permitted to do so ; but, as time did not allow him to wait for an answer from the authorities, he at once, on his own responsibility, began on the 15th to enlist Biluchis, selecting especially the two chiefs of the clans of Khosas and Kahiris, who were at feud with the banditti of the following clans, most notorious at this time for their black deeds. 1. Domki ; 2. Jakrani ; 3. Bugti ; 4. Marri ; 5. Mazari; 6. Lagharf; 7. Burdi; 8. Rind; 9. Birohi. The first chief that we took into employment was Kadirbaksh Khosa, a very handsome young man, aged about twenty-five, with fifty horsemen. He was to have the command over all the Khosas and others that were to be enlisted through him. My task was a difficult one now, as I had to take down the names and descriptions of the wild men and their wild horses: some of them laughed heartily when I took down their names, looking at their face for their complexion and distinctive marks. Others really took me to be a magician, and tried my wit if I could pronounce their name after an hour by refer- ring to my book, which having done very easily, they returned from my presence with their mouths wide open. They had no idea as to their ages. 308 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. Men with grey beards wanted me to believe that they were not more than twenty-five or thirty. I asked one of them if he recollected the elder Mir Fath Ali Khan's expelling the Kalhoras from Sindh? He replied, " That occurred only a few years ago, when I was a young boy and used to go to the fields to pasture cattle with a pellet bow." At such non- sense I could not help laughing, for the event alluded to took place in 1779 A.D., and, accordingly, he must have been full seventy, though evidently not more than forty. He did not like my laughing, and, hold- ing me by the hand, remarked, " My good friend, you seem to be one of the true believers, but, having associated with the infidel Feringees for a long time, you have lost your conscience, and you will there- fore never give credit to a Muslim." I begged his pardon, and told him not to concern himself about my laughter, to which bad habit I was unfor- tunately addicted, and that he would always find me ready to give my belief to the word of my brother Muslims. On the 26th our secret informers brought us the news of a Persian gentleman of suspicious character having arrived in the city. We immediately repaired to his quarters, and found that two camels were being loaded, and his servants were preparing, for their intended march. We soon found that he was a gentleman having some object in view, which he took care to avoid divulging, by turning the conversation KAMAL KUAN. 309 to different topics, and telling us that lie was a Dervesh, by name Niir Shah, and had nothing to do with worldly affairs. Under these circumstances, the Political Agent told him that he must consider himself under arrest until some reasonable ex- planation of his being in the country was given. These words startled him at once, and he re- monstrated against the measure with the charac- teristic Persian rhetorical fluency; but all was of no avail, and he was taken to the Agency as a State prisoner. In the afternoon I was deputed to proceed to Khanpur, about thirteen miles from this, to visit Kama! Khan, the chief of the Kahiri clan to persuade him to visit the Political Agent, with the promise of his being employed in the Government service. I was to tell him that the maltreatment which his tribe and himself had experienced from Bijar Khan Domki, the outlaw, should be taken into consideration. I proceeded with my escort of half a dozen of the Biluchis, and reached the place late at night, all safe, without having had the honour of an encounter with the robbers. The Biluchis of my escort were merry fellows, and as soon as they were out of the confines of the cantonment and in the forest, they seemed to have attained to the summit of happiness, and beguiled the way in laughing, talking, and singing. I asked them how it would fare if we were attacked by the robbers. In such a case, replied they, we must 310 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. attack them in return ; and they reassured me in the following words: " Be not anxious about it, my friend ; no robber dare touch thy person as long as we six have our heads on our shoulders." Old Kamal Khan received me with the frankness and hospitality of the tribes of the wilderness. He had two excellent sheep roasted, and some cakes made with clarified butter. Upon these dainties I dined with him and a number of his Biluch relations. We then performed our prayers, in which, being re- quested, I stood as leader, and acted my part to the satisfaction of my wild congregation. Before going to bed, which was made of straw, I conversed fully with Kamal Khan on the subject of my mission, and brought to his view the unlimited benefits he was to obtain by his immediately entering our service. He expressed his consent, and said that he and his clan would be happy to serve the English cause, on condition of non-interference with his religion ; for he was told by some people that the English would first take the country and then force the people to embrace their religion. I assured him that he need have no fear about that, and should not listen to the stories and fables fabricated by designing persons. I asked him if he had heard of any compulsory measures, towards persons of any religion, ever adopted by the English in India, where they had ruled now for the last one hundred years? In proof of their forbearance, I asked him to see the regiments A MONSTROSITY. 311 of the army with his own eyes, in which he would find people of all castes following their own religions without any interference on the part of the Govern- ment ; and, lastly, I asked him what opinion he had of myself, who had been with the English more than twenty-two years. Hearing this, he put his index fingers upon both his eyes, in token of his believing me with his heart and soul. On the next morning, very early, we left Khanpur in company with Kamal Khan, and reached the Agency at Shikarpur at eight o'clock A. M, I pre- sented him to the Political Agent, by whom he was taken into the service of the Honourable Company, with his colleagues, on the promise of their ever being faithful to the British interests. On the 29th, being requested by some friends of the town, I visited a wonderful man there. It appears that nature, deviating from the usual course, gave this man a small trunk, like an elephant, on the right side of his face, beginning from the forehead to his chin. With his left eye only could he see, the other being covered with this superfluous part of the body. He was a young man of about twenty, sound in mind, as he gave rational answers to the several questions I put to him in the Sindhi language. Another difficulty now made its appearance in the state of affairs. Our disciplined people could 312 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LtJTFULLAH. not know the newly employed Biluchis from the robbers. Whenever they chanced to see three or four of these paid Biliichis near the camp, parties of twenty or thirty native soldiers rushed upon them, seized them furiously, thrashed them, and brought them into our presence, sometimes wounded, too. We did not like to rouse the anger of our new lions in taming them, so we proposed to them to wear our belts as a mark of the service ; and, with some difficulty, we prevailed upon them to submit to the halter of our bondage. On the 5th of May, the Political Agent ordered the bay Arab horse of his, that I was allowed to ride, to be lent to Sarwar Khan Lohani, who rode this beautiful animal, arid went off with a party of our Biliich horsemen after the robbers, in the heat of the sun, the thermometer being at 150, leaving his own horse to enjoy the stable. He returned in the evening with the party, having succeeded (as he pretended) in overtaking one of the robbers only, whose head they severed from the body and brought to the Agent to show their valour. Poor bay horse ! he brought his brutal rider back, and no sooner was he unsaddled in the stable than lie dropped down dead. The heat was now insufferably great. I ordered some eggs to be placed in ( the sun to see the power JIISRI KUAN. 313 of the heat, and found them well roasted in about forty minutes. On the 7th, a party of our Biliichis, under the command of Misri Khan Khosa, overtook a gang of robbers, and had a skirmish with them, in which Misri Khan himself received two wounds on his shoulder and leg. But he succeeded in bringing in four of the banditti prisoners, being of the Domki and Dashti clans, the companions of the notorious Rahman. The Political Agent consulted Diwan Jetmall, the governor of Shikarpur, about disposing of them. The governor gave his opinion that they should at once be despatched by a disgraceful and torturing kind of death. The Political Agent and his English friends agfreed in putting these poor devils to death, but they remitted the torture, and ordered their being hanged one by one every day. When T interpreted the horrible sentence to them with a throbbing heart, especially pointing out one of them for the execution of the next day, they stared at me very fiercely, without uttering a word ; but the man pointed out carelessly replied, " Je M raza K/tudah ^Y/'i.e., "God's will must be done." As for my friend, Misri Khdn, he had his wounds stitched and dressed by our doctor without a sigh or sob, returned his thanks to the medico, and went home unaided and unconcerned about the loss of a large quantity of blood, with which all his dress was wet. At his departure I said I was sorry to see 314 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LTJTFULLAH. him involved in that misfortune which his own ambition had brought upon him. " Call it not mis- fortune, man," replied he angrily ; " it is honour not obtainable by every man, the marks of which shall ever be indelible upon my person." After this I wished him a speedy recovery, and we parted for the time. ZAliK DOMKJ. 315 CHAPTER XL Zark Domki The storming of Khangarh The new Governor ol Shikarpur Mr. Koss Bell Abd'urrahman and his civilized Bride Seclusion of women, desirable or not Voyage to Hydrabad I obtain leave for three months to revisit Surat Voyage and journey to Jafirabad. EARLY next morning a detachment of our regiment and some armed people of the governor took one of the prisoners to the other side of the town to be executed. But, alas ! destiny led them to take one Zark Domki', instead of the rightful individual. It made, however, very little difference, as the sentence of death had passed for all of them, and they were to be hung one after another every day. Poor Zark's cup of fate being filled before the others, he proceeded to the place without uttering a word, whilst the rest had some time more in the world. On the llth we heard of a fight between a detach- ment of the 5th Bombay N. I., some Biliich Horse, and the Khosas of Khangarh. Four of our men were killed, and a Siibahdar and a Mr. Stanley were slightly wounded. The Khosas lost thirty men. Want of knowledge of the language was the cause of this misfortune. All the friendly 1 signals on the part of the Khosas in the fortress were taken to 316 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH. be hostile by our people, as was proved before the Political Agent afterwards. Next morning the wounded and prisoners being brought in, the Political Agent set the latter at liberty, and had the former put under the care of our European physician. A great annual fair being held at the branch of the river, about one mile from the town, in honour of the inundation, I proceeded to witness the same, and found a great concourse of the natives of both sexes assembled. I had the opportunity of seeing beauties of the Hindu caste unveiled, and I declare I found some of them no less graceful and charming than the nymphs of England. Mirth prevailed every- where to this degree that, in one of these happy assemblies, I saw an old' Hindu with a long flowing white beard, dancing to the sound of the tambourine, played by a handsome lady who assisted the jolly old fellow with her delicate voice, every now and then, in his historical songs. On the 18th, I paid a visit to Jet Singh, the banker. Amongst the jewels pawned to him, I saw a very handsome pair of emerald ear-rings. Each of the two emeralds was somewhat larger than a pigeon's egg, and without a flaw. They were considered worth 20,000 rupees, and were mortgaged to him for 18,000. Shikarpur had been for two or three days without a governor : Jetmall, the late governor, being told he was to be removed, absconded. In the mean- time, an order arrived from Hydrabad, saying he ROSS BELL. 317 was not to be changed for the present, which having been forwarded by his friends to the place where he was, he made his appearance, and had scarcely returned, when the unpleasant news of his adversary's approach caused his second flight. Takki Shah, eldest son of Ismail Shah, the new governor, arrived on the 26th, and, after taking charge of his office, paid his visit to the Political Agent, to whom he gave some complimentary mes- sages on the part of his masters and his old father the Minister. He expressed his deep regret that the plans of the Court to ensnare his predecessor were unsuccessful; otherwise he would have made the golden bird lay innumerable golden eggs for the benefit of his masters and himself. On the 6th of June, Mr. Ross Bell, the new Political Agent, arrived. His outward appearance was strikingly handsome. But I soon found this handsome edifice was darkened by pride, ostentation, and vanity. He considered all men below his dignity, and treated the Government servants as slaves. Mr. Ross Bell's mode of conducting business was strangely different from what I had ever seen. He had no confidence in his subordinates, and they had no feeling of allegiance towards him in the perform- ance of their duty. Lying down upon his sofa, the great man dictated his letters to his cringing Munshi, who dared not seat himself, either on the floor or on a chair, and was obliged to take down word by word, 318 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. whether sense or nonsense, standing upon his legs, with his inkstand fastened to his waistband. Who could stand such degradation as this? I would not submit to it for the salary of the Political Agent himself: but my friend, Trebania Saha, as well as his colleagues, seemed to enjoy the slavery with open forehead. One morning after breakfast, Captain Eastwick sent for me to fill up some blanks in his final report of Upper Sindh. He was in the same room with Mr. Ross Bell, who was dictating a letter to his Munshi. I answered several questions put to me, and was in the act of leaving the room, when I heard the great man dictating an erroneous sentence, which his auto- maton secretary took down exactly, and, reading it out, stood waiting for the next. Thinking that, if the sentence remained, it would prove injurious to the British interests, I could not help speaking out in correction of the error; upon which the great man. stared at me fiercely, as if he would devour me up, had it been in his power to do so. But, without caring about his anger, I turned my back and pro- ceeded to my own desk. In the evening, Captain Eastwick told me that Mr. Ross Bell was very angry with me for my interference in his business. I said to him that a sense of duty caused me to correct the mistake. In the night of the 24th of June, at twelve P.M., I was roused from sleep, and was sent for to the THE INTERCEPTED LETTERS. 319 private room of the Agency. I found there Captain Eastwick and Mr. Bell sitting up, with some Persian letters in their hands. I took my seat, and Mr. Bell said something in French, which I guessed was a question as to whether confidence could be placed in me. On receiving a reply in the affirmative, the papers were handed to me to be read and explained. I did as required. I believe the letters were inter- cepted by some designing dependant of the great man. After I had read out the papers, and the great man had taken some notes, he discussed the subject with Captain Eastwick, in French, for about ten minutes; and then I was ordered to proceed forth- with to Sakhar with a message of importance to Fath Mohamed Khan Ghori, the Minister. So, in the morning of the 25th, at one o'clock A.M., I left Shikarpur, and reached my destination in the camp of the Minister at eleven o'clock A.M. I delivered the message, took my breakfast with him, and then, selecting a quiet place to shelter myself and the horse from the sun, I wrote out the report of my mission, and despatched it to Captain East- wick by one of the horsemen of my escort. I took my rest for about four hours, if rest it could be called, for the thermometer under the tree which shaded me was 116, and then I started at three o'clock P.M., for Shikar-pur^ where I arrived, much fatigued, at half-past eleven P.M. On the 24th of July I was deputed to pay an 320 AUTOBIOGRAPHY -OF LUTFULLAII. official visit to Mir Ismail Shah, the Minister of Hydrabad, who arrived that morning on his way to Calcutta. He had passed eighty-five years, and was actually in his dotage. He had eight sons, all of them holding high and respectable situations under the Government. He was said to have five lakhs of rupees in ready cash in his coffers, and held several villages. So much, I should say, ought to have satisfied him ; but no, he was after more and more until he was no more. On the 29th of July, Captain Eastwick receiving his instructions to return to Hydrabad and resume charge of the Residency there, I made over all the drafts of the letters to my friend, Captain Postans, the Assistant Political Agent, and employed myself in preparation for the happy return to Hydrabad. I paid parting visits to several friends in the town, amongst whom was Abdu'rrahman Khan Durrani, the monocular. This old gentleman, according to the English ideas, had attained a great degree of civilization in permitting his wife to see his friends unveiled. I had the good luck of visiting this lady and conversing with her more than once ; and this time, having received an invitation, I had the pleasure to dine with her and her civilized husband. This damsel, in her beauty and charm, excelled the fair sex of Shikarpur, and in wit, talent, and ability, surpassed her simple-hearted husband, whom she seemed to lead by the nose. SECLUSION' OF WOMEN. 321 Seclusion of women from the society of men is considered a fault by the English, but a virtue by us, the true believers. The English leave their women to remain uncontrolled in life, and permit them to enjoy the society of men both in public and private. Poor creatures ! naturally weak, how many of them fall victims to the brutal intrigues of men ! How many families of high name have been ruined by this unreasonable license ! In London alone, eighty thousand females are said to be registered in the black records. If you take an evening walk in one of the quarters of that greatest city of the world, called Regent Street, you will find many ladies of exquisite beauty and high accomplishments, forsaken by their relatives and friends, in the practice and perhaps under the obligation of committing black deeds. Who is to blame for all this ? I say, nothing else but the license established by the civilizers. I do not say that all Mohamedan ladies are vir- tuous. Virtue and vice are two sisters, the former fair and the latter black ; and no nation has ever been or shall ever be uninfluenced by the two ladies. But limits and restraints prescribed by the Mohamedan law and usage in domestic affairs, I am bound to say, at all events prevent increase in vice and decrease in virtue. The time of the Mohamedan ladies being occupied in needlework, in the perform- ance of their religious duties five times a day, in looking over their kitchens, and other household M 322 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP LUTFULLATL affairs, they have no leisure to think of admirers. Their marriages are arranged by their parents, who are their best friends, and whose experience in worldly affairs must be greater than theirs. Oppor- tunities are in general afforded to the bride to see her would-be husband from a loop-hole or a window before she is married to him; and no matrimonial contract is considered binding, unless the lawfully attested consent of both parties is first obtained, and taken down by the law officer appointed by the Government to solemnize the marriage. Thus many bitter feuds and lasting animosities which poison the minds of contending rivals are avoided, and marriage beds are not only free from contamination, but from the dread of it. In short, seclusion secures women from those delusions and temptations which irritate the mind with fleeting joys, leaving behind the per- manent sting of bitter remorse ; while, never having tasted the universal triumph and dominion which beauty gives in the circle of Europe, the pang of lost power is not added to the painful sensation of fading charms. On the 12th of August, 1839, we left Shikarpur for Hydrabad, embarking on board two small flat boats, called beris, engaged to receive us at one of the branches of the river Indus, two miles from the town. It was with some difficulty that Captain East- wick extricated himself from the multitude of his visitors, some of whom ran to pay their respects to SINDH FEVEK. 323 him, and overtook us when we were as far as six or seven miles from the town. The very high rise of the water at this season afforded us a beautiful landscape. Three enemies we had to contend with during our voyage, the heat of the sun, the rats of the boat, and the mosquitos of the river. The first tried his power upon us all day long, the second disturbed our sleep, and the third sucked our blood during the night. In four days' voyage, by pulling and dragging the boats through the canal, we reached Sakhar once more on the 15th, where, on the next day, I had the pleasure of seeing Captain Eastwick's younger brother, destined to be an assistant to the Political Agent, and found him well acquainted with several Asiatic languages. We made a stay of about one week here, during which time we received the tidings of the capture of Ghasni by Sir J. Keane. The state of affairs in Upper Sindh seemed to be fast deteriorating. The new Political Agent was mostly engaged in quarrelling, particularly with the Brigadier-General. Such a line of conduct must prove prejudicial to the service. We left Sakhar on the 24th of August, and reached Hydrabad on the 28th, all safe. We enjoyed hardly five days of peace here, in the very pleasant society of Captain J. D. Leckie, when Captain Eastwick, being attacked with fever, was obliged to proceed to Tatta and thence to Karachi, leaving me and the M 2 324 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAU. baggage at the camp at Tatta. I myself, too, had several attacks of fever, and, not being able to obtain a medical gentleman's aid, I physicked myself with nothing but senna and wormwood infusions, finding the latter plant spontaneously growing here in abundance about the camp. On the 15th of September we had a hot day, but the evening was nicely cool, and twilight adorned the sky all round with various lively hues, when on a sudden a dark cloud, rising from the south-west direction, spread itself all over, and substituted darkness for the former beautiful scene ; and then a very heavy rain began to fall, attended with a severe hurricane, lightning, and thunder. I had seen three tempests within the last four months in Sindh, but this was the father of all. Many officers' tents were torn to pieces and flew away; but my small tent, having the advantage of several iron pegs driven in the stony ground, remained in statu quo, though the water, forcing through the entrenchments, rose about two feet high, on the surface of which floated my bed and furniture. This continued for about two hours, and at 8 o'clock P.M., the severity of the weather was luckily changed for calmness, and we went to bed all wet through and through. The weather continued stormy alternately till the 20th. On the evening of the 28th, I witnessed a horrid sight : a Sipahi of the 6th Company, 26th Regiment N. I., committed infanticide and suicide. The man THE SUICIDE. 325 was a Maratha, aged about thirty. He lost his be- Joved wife ten days before, after having given birth to a child, and the poor man had to take care of three children, the first five years old, the second three, and the third the newly-born one, besides having to perform his onerous duties as an English soldier. Overpowered by such miseries, his reason was dark- ened, and could suggest to him no remedy except putting a period to the lives of the innocent creatures and his own. So at ten o'clock r.M., he first killed the two elder children by cutting their throats, and then shot himself dead. I could not help weeping over the bodies, and the thought of their miserable fate rendered my night an unhappy one. On the 19th of October, Captain Eastwick returned to^Tatta, after five weeks' absence, and then, on the 21st, Ave left again for Hydrabad to conduct the business of the Residency. Having had to go against the stream, we reached the capital in four days, pulling and dragging the boat. On my arrival, I was sorry to find my friend, Captain Leckie, over- exhausted with fever, and reduced to a skeleton. On the 29th, I had a very severe attack of fever, which, increasing every day for one week, prostrated my strength entirely, and rendered me so weak that I was unable to move in bed without aid. Captain Eastwick's anxiety for my recovery exceeded that of a father for his son. May God Almighty reward him for his generosity ! There was no physician to 326 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII. be referred to. The mixture of senna and worm- wood was the only remedy at my command. The disease at last began to abate, after nine days, and then the cooling sherbet of sugar brought on healing effects in three days, and I felt myself quite recovered. But the disease had rendered me so weak that I could not stand up and walk for some days. In the meantime, the month of Ramzan occurring, I was prevented by weakness from observing the fast. About this time, as I one morning walked out of the Residency compound, a young man with a rough stick in his hand and a portmanteau upon his shoulder, coming up to me, pronounced the formal salutation of a true believer, and inquired if there was a great man in the Residency house, and if he could be seen. I took him to be a rude beggarly traveller, and, giving a rough answer to his query, turned my back. After this he \vent to the Residency gate, but the guard, seeing his miserable appearance, would not admit him. He then seated himself under a tree, and, taking out a piece of bread from his bag, employed himself in chewing the same. After my walk, I returned to my own quarters, and, when at breakfast, thinking of his deplorable condition, I sent my servant to him with a loaf of bread and some curry, but he was not to be found anywhere. In the afternoon, when I took some papers to Captain East- wick for his signature, to my great astonishment, I found the same adventurer, in English dress, sitting MOUBNING FOR AN UNCLE. 327 at the table, and conversing with Captain Eastwick in pure English. I was introduced to him. His name was Curzon, and I found him to be a man of superior education and high qualifications. He knew the Hindustani, Persian, and Arabic languages so well that he even deceived me that morning, when he addressed me, into thinking him a native. He had travelled from Calcutta in the same state, and on the 21st, again he disguised himself in his former garb, and parted with us to proceed to Turkey. I had the pleasure of seeing him afterwards hi London, in 1844. On the night of the 27th, official intelligence of a battle at Khelat reached us. It announced the death of Mihrab Khan, and the capture of his fortress. Next morning the Amirs were officially informed of this success, upon which they ordered a salute of twenty-one guns to be fired from the castle, and the city to be illuminated in the evening. Private infor- mation mentioned that the Amirs were exceedingly sorry to learn of the fall of Khelat, and of the death of the chief, with whom they were not only on terms of intimacy, but to whom they were also related by marriage. Mir Mir Mohamed's father, Mir Ghulam Ali, had married a sister of Mihrab. Such are worldly affairs ; a nephew is obliged to order public rejoicings at the death of his uncle. On the 1st of December, Captain Eastwick had another relapse of fever, which confined him to his 328 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFDLLAII. bed at once. He held on for a week in hopes, of getting better ; but the fever rising higher, he became weaker and worse every day. Our return to Karachi was then determined upon, and in the afternoon of the 8th we left the Residency in charge of Lieut. Whitelock of the llth Regiment By. N. I. We reached Tatta in the morning of the 10th once more, and Karachi on the llth. Our servants, too, were in a condition worse than ourselves. One of my head servants, Hasan, was a large man of strong make, and gigantic stature, and, when in health, I never found him eat less than four pounds a day. But now the fever had reduced him to a phantom of what he was. His native land being Purbandar, I took the opportunity of sending him home by a Sindhi boat sailing for that port. Under such circumstances, my fears were great. I applied, therefore, to Captain Eastwick for leave for three months, which he granted, and furnished me with the following certificate, and a peon, by name Abdul Karim, to take care of me on my way home : " My Munshi, Lutfullah Khan, leaves me for three months to visit his family at Surat. In this world of accidents many circum- stances may occur to prevent his return. I cannot, therefore, allow him to depart without recording my deep sense of the value of Ms services, and the high estimation in which I hold him as a friend and preceptor. I have had opportunities of narrowly observing his character at intervals during the last eleven years, and I can conscientiously affirm that, as a native of India, I have seldom met his equal, never his superior, in liberality of senti- ment, in the feelings and manners of a gentleman, in an ardent desire of knowledge, and indefatigable industry in its pursuit. THE KAHMATI. 329 When the difference of the advantages of an Asiatic and European education is considered, he will bear a comparison with the best of my own countrymen. I can only add that I can never forget my obligations to him, and that, while his character remains the same, I shall always be proud to number him amongst my friends. That health, success, and prosperity may attend him wherever he goes, is the sincere wish of his attached friend, (Signed) " W. J. EASTWICK, " Assistant Kesident in Sindh. " Karachi, " 19o, with Thirty-three Plates, price 30s. cloth. " Of the Topes opened in various parts of India none have yielded so rich a harvest of important information as those of Bhilsa, opened which are described, with an abundance of highly curious graphic illustrations, in this most interesting book." Examiner. by Major Cunningham and Lieut. Maisey ; and The Chinese and their Rebellions. By THOMAS TAYLOR MEADOWS. One Thick Volume, Svo, with Maps, price 18s. cloth. 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