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AUTOBIOGRAPHY
U T F U L L A
MOHAMEDAN GENTLEMAN ;
AND
TRANSACTIONS WITH HIS FE LLOW-CRE ATURE S
IN T ER SP E R S E D W I TH REMARK SON THE HABITS , CUSTOMS, AND CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE
WITH WHOM HE HAD TO DEAL .
And oneman in his time playsmany partS.—SHAKE SPE ARE .
EDI'TED BY
EDWARD B. EASTWICK,E .S .A .
"T H I R D E D I T I O N . ]
L ONDON
SMITH, E LDE R ,A ND o o .
, 65 , CORNH ILL .
TY)
COLONE L W. H . SYKE S,
E TC" E TC.
L O N D O N .
DEAR HONOURABLE Sm,
With due respect I place before you my
humble work; 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 i s worthy o f 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 i t and afi'ord satisfaction to readers in
general .
DEDICATION.
I beg to observe that, being self-tutored in your
most difficult language, I stand far beyond the reach
o f crit ics, 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
LUTFULLAH.
Sfma'r ,
24th November, 1 854.
P R E F A C E .
‘
As this volume contains the genuine sentiments of
‘anative of India on many matters connected with
the Government of that country, it will, perhaps, be
read with some interest at the present crisis. The
Author i s known to be one o f the least bigoted
disciples of Islam ; yet his bias towards his own sect,
and th e leaders o f it, i s mo st evident. If any one i s
disposed to think that the English are beginning to
be regarded otherwise than as aliens by the inha
bitants of Hindustan, a perusal of this book will
probably lead hi s convictions the other way. In
short, we may take it for granted that there i s scarce
a Sipahi in our army, or other native of India, whose
dislike of what Europeans deem progress does no t
equal that of the writer of this work . T he majority
are certainly much more opposed to it.
vi PREFACE .
T o some peculiar notions I would have willingly
drawn attention by notes, but the great object being
to condense as much as possible, I have for borne
from all remark, and cut down the original as much
as could be done without leaving ou t any fact or
sentiment of importance. Indeed, my chief editorial
task has been to compress ; but, except with this
View,I have altered the MS . as litt le as possible.
Some stories, however, more suited to Oriental thanto European taste, have been altogether omitted. T he
quotations and scraps of Latin are al l of Lutfullah’
s
own insertion .
When the slender advantages of the writer are
considered, the reader will no doubt accord to
Lutful lah some praise for composing so long a work
in the, to him, foreign English language, with so
much general accuracy.
THE EDITOR.
HAILE YBURY,June, 1857
PE DIGRE E OF LUTFULLAH .
2 . Seth .
l l .
12. A'
ramjad.
13.
1 4. Ghabir.
1 5 . Fannaa.
1 6 . Arghun, or Hfid
ph et.17 . A sroch .
18 .
1 9. Tum.
20. A'zur
, or Tarak .
2 1 . Ibrahim.
22. Ismail.23 . Kidar.
24.
25 . 52. A bdu’laz iz .
26 . Yashab . 53. Nofail.
28 . Alsa.
29 . Arwad.30. A
'
ad.
3 1 . Oad .
32. Admin.
33. Maad.34.
35 . Madar.
36 . E lias.37. Madrak.
38 . Hassan .
39. Hannanah .
40. Nassar.
42 . Fakhar.
43. Ghalib .
44 . Lavi.45 . Kaab .
46 . Murra.
47. A di.
48 . Farat.49 . A bdu’llah .
50. Zerrah .
PEDIGREE OF LUTFULLAH.
Nasir.
Ib rah im A dhan, of Balkh .
Shekh Ishak.
Sh ekh A bu ’
l Fath .
Waiz A sghar.
Waiz Akbar.
Shekh A bdu’ll zih ,
Shekh Sultan Masai’
id.
Shekh Saman.
Shekh Sulaim zin . Shekh Nfim ’d din.
ShekhNasiru’
d-dinNasimi. Shekh Niamatu ’ll zih .
Shahabu’d-din Farrukh Shekh Faizu ’
l lah .
Shah Kabul i. Shekh A bd’
ul Kadir, or
Shekh Muhammad . Shekh Kalai t he 2nd.Shekh Yi’isuf . Shekh A bd’ul Ghani.Shekh A hmad .
Shekh Shuaib . Shekh Lutfu ’llah .
Shekh Salmzin.
Shekh Jamfilu ’d-din.
Shekh Faridu’
d-dinMasai’idor Shakar Ganj .
Shekh Nasru ’l lah.
Shekh Baiyaz id.
Shah Kamélu ’d-din Maul vi.
Shekh Babau ’d-din.
Shekh Maghis.
Shekh Hhoj ii .
Shekh Ahmad.
Shekh Daulat, or Shekh
C O N T E N T S .
CHAPTE R I .My b irth and parentage—Death of my father—My mother
finds an asylum with my uncle—Famine and t he perse
cution of my cousins—My mischievous habits—I catcha Mullanapping and dose my schoolmaster—Th e tank
,o f t iranagar, where my cousins attempt to drown me—Rajaram ,
the Good Samaritan—A new cure for
dysentery—E nd of my childhood
CHAPTE R I I .Political state of affairs about the year l S l O—Rumours
respecting the new race of foreigners cal led th e Feringees—Bh eel robbers, mode of executing th em—Visit t oBarodaP First rencontre with Feringees—Rite of cir
cumcision—Reflections—Visit to Ujjain—My mother’ssecond marriage—Plunder of my step-father’s house bySindhiah ’s soldiers—An E astern story
CHAPTE R III.
My step-father imputes his calamity to shaving on an nu
lucky day—A strology and superstitions o f the inh abitants of Hindustan—We v isit Sindh iah
’
s Court at
Gwalior—T he Prince pays our losses with a smile
E nl ists my step-father in h is service —My cruel treatment—I fly from Gwalior—Ad venture with the T hugJum
’
a—A gra—Akb ar
PAGE
CONTENTS.
CHAPTE R IV.
service with Hindu Rao’s physician—I visit DelhiReturn to Gwal ior—T he cob ra’s b ite cured—Once moreat Ujjain—Fil ial love stronger than t he astrologer’sthreat—Sir T . Hislop
’
s army—Battle of Mehidpur
—Iweary of Ujjain—My Iuckless rencontre with MusatheAfghan—Strange wanderings in the jungle—T he secretunveiled—Nadir, ch ief of th e Bheels—Am promoted tobe th ieves’ secretary—A Bheel banquet and strangehorrors—My fligh t—The old Sheikh once more—Mymother’s death
CHAPTE R V.
My mother’s funeral—A friend obtains me th e postmaster
ship at Dharampur—My sojourn there—Sudden dis
missal—T he night march—T he tiger’s spring—SirJohn Mal colm—No refusing a great man—I becomeMunsh i t o the Bheel agent-I am transferred t o Lieut.Hart—T he expedition t o Nagar Parkar—A Marathahorseman’s impudence—Decision of th e Native Magistrate—E gyptian version of the story of Shylock
CHAPTE R VI.
Ran desert—Colonel Miles—Charles the T welfth ’smusic somewhat t oo close— T hough ts of MakkaCaptain Bagnold
-Mandavi—Ph ilosophic meditationsand dogmatism disturbed—Study E nglish at Khaira
Infanticide—T he pirates ofDwarka—T he Fort takenWanderings in the hill s of Kat tiwar—T he AghoriGogo— Surat—T he Parsi cemetery
CHAPTE R VII .
Bombay—I disrobe a porter—T he mosque of ZachariasDelights of a passage boat—Panwell—Pr
’
inah—Parbat i-Satara—A urangz eb ’s siege , and witticism of Nirimat
Khan—I marry and repent—Monogamists versus Polygam ist s— A Suttee— T he Hindu rel igion originallypure-J return to S iirat—A rab ic studies—T he h igh
priest of the Borahs-Paradise tickets—E nsign W. J .
PAGE
CONTENTS . xi
PAG EE astwick—His fever—Dr. R A z rail
’s assistant
T ankaria Bandar—E nsign E astwick appointed t o LordClare
’s body-guard—Baroda—A '
b i’
r
CHAPTE R VIII.
Udepur—PaIi—Pokharj 1—Ajmir—I return to Sfirat—Ienter the service of the Nuwab—Th e intrigues of a
petty Court -My congé
CHAPTE R IX .
I am appointed to an office under the Political Agent inKat tiawar—T he Nagar Brahmans—I resign office inorder t o accompany Captain E astwick , assistant toColonel Pottinger, Resident in Sindh—Mr. E rskinepresents me with a certificate and a Kashm ir shawlI find three unexpected companions— Sara, the fairMaimuni—I lea ve Rajkot—T he Jam of NowanagarDharOl— T he merry Governor of Juria BandarPleasant sailing—Frisky monsters of the Deep—Speenlations of the Sindhis as t o our purpose in comingto their country—I act priest at th e I
'
du’
l fitr—Marchto T atta—Description of T atta
CHAPTE R X .
False alarms Shir Mohamed—Th ree ofiicers burnt t o death—T he Amirs accept the T reaty—T he army marchesfor Shikarpur—Nadir Shah and t he Saiyids of LakkiSehwan Larkhana Great cheapness of foodSh ikarpur—Bil i’i ch i Robb ers—Path Mohamed GhoriSakhar—Khairpur—Mir Rustam—Marauders—T heNaik and the Political Agent—T hank you for nothing-Great h eat—T he scorpion remedy—More plundering
CHAPTE R XI.
Zark Domki— T he storming o f Khangarh — T he new
Governor of Sh ikarpur—Mr . Ro ss Bel l— Abd’urrahmanand his civilized Bride—Seclusion of women, desirab leor not—Voyage t o Hydrabad
—I ob tain lea ve for
three months to revisit Sfirat—Voyage and journey toJafirabad
CONTENT S.
CHAPTE R XII.
PAGET he Slave Governor of Jafirabad—Return to S iirat—Deathof the Nuwab
’s eldest daugh ter—I take service w ith
Mr . Pelly—He transfers me t o Mr . Langford—T he
Nuwab of Cambay and h is Salt-pans—Once more a
Mun sh i— T he Nuwzib o f S li rat dies o f choleraSequestration of h is property—Mir Jas: Al i, h is son
in-law, prepares to proceed to E ngland—E ngages me
and Mr. Scott as his Secretaries
CHAPTE R XII I.T he voyage to Ceylon—Christian quarters and th e unclean
animal—Cingalese gentlemen—Aden—A ss-equipagesTh e Kaba on the move—E ve’s bufi al-plac& —SeMshnessof John Bul l Grand Cairo—Mohamed A li Mrs.
Larking—Arab ic the language of theHfiris—Alexandria—Did Umar burn the great Library —GibraltarA rrival at the Mother-b ank
CHAPTE R XIV.
Land at Southampton —London —Kind friends—Mr. Latham-Mr. Pul sford—Th e sights of London—T he operaMr. Baring—Lo rd Ripon—Return to India
AUT ORIOGRAPHY
L U T F U L L A H.
CHAPTER I.
My b irth and parentage—Death of my father—My moth er findsan asylum with my uncle—Famine and the persecution of mycousins—My misch ievous h ab its—I catch a Mul la napping
and dosemy sch oolmaster—T he tank ofDharanagar wheremycousins attempt t o drown me—R zijaram,
the Good Samaritan—A new cure for dysentery— E nd of my ch ildhood.
I MADE my first appearance in this world of wonders
in the ancient city of Dharanagar, in Malwah, on
Thursday, the 7th o f Rajab , 1 217 A.H. , corresponding
with the 4th of November, 1 802 A.D.
My father was a Mohamedan o f the sacred order,a descendant of Shah Kamaluddin, who was a great
saint o f his time in the province of Malwah, being
the spiritual gu ide as well as modern preceptor o f
Sultan Mahmud Khilj i , during a period of thirty-six
years , from 1 434 to 1470 A.D.
* On the death of
Vale Briggs’ Mohamedan Power in India, vol . ii' . p. 195 .
B
2 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTE ULLAH.
h is venerated friend and adviser, this good Sultan
bu ilt a magn ificent mausoleum at the western gate
O f the city, and endowed there in a shrine to the
memory of the holy man ; Oppo site to it he caused
to be raised another edifice, surmounted by a superb
dome,which was intended as a resting-place for his
own mortal remains, and there they still repose.
Near the shrine was an ancient Hindu temple of
c onsiderable size, which, by order o f the Sultan, was
transformed into a beautifu l mosque. T o these
sacred places he bequeathed in perpetuity about
three hundred acres of land immediately surrounding
them , the annual produce of which was directed to
be employed in the occasional repairs of the edifices,and in the maintenance Of the posterity of the saint.
In addition to the above, he granted an allowance
o f one rupee per diem from the revenue derived
from certain grass lands, to b e applied to the same
purposes. These rights were enjoyed by my ancestors
until A.D. 1 706 , when, after the reign of Aurangzeb,
the Marathas having possessed themselve s of the pro
vince, confiscated both the land and the allowance,leaving, however, from the former, about two acres ,for the support of my great-grandfather. Thus was
a family which, for a period of nearly three centuries
had enjoyed affluence, redu ced to a state verging
on destitution. To use an Eastern metaphor, the
light of the day was withdrawn, the shadows Of night
had gathered around them .
MY FATHE R . 3
My father, at a very early period of his l ife, when
no t more than seven years Of age, travelled in the
country, 1 11 company with a relative o f his, in search
o f knowledge. In the course of a few years he
mastered his profession, that of a mulla(priest) ; and,
on attaining the age of fifteen, was desired by his
companion to return home. But the beauty and
delightful cl imate of the Upper Provinces, and the
pain o f parting from the many kind friends who
had rendered his stay there so agreeable, delayed'
his return for t en years more ; although, when he
was abou t twenty-six years of age, being urgently
summoned by his father, he quitted Delhi for home,and nothing particular appears to have marked his
course until his arrival at Agra. There, being a
man Of great personal attractions, with a highly
cu ltivated mind, winning manners, and in the very
prime and vigour o f his l ife, he was Offered in
marriage the daughter of the person with whom
he lodged. He accepted the offer, forgetting the
urgent necessity of his retur n home, and this circum
stance detained him there for four years more . It
was while he lived at Agra that he received the
intelligence of his father’s death, a circumstance
which hastened his return home, where it was his
lot to remain for the future.
At the age of forty-nine, he had the misfortune
to lose his good wife, by whom he had i ssu e only
two daughters. Those who are acquainted with
B 2
4 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
the sentiments Of eastern nations, know the intense
anxiety which every man, whether Mohamedan or
Hindu, feels to Lhave a son to bear his name, and
transmit i t (as the English poet says)“ to ages yet
unborn . Such person s will be able to enter into
the state of my father’s feelings on finding himself,at an advanced period of life, a widower, and with
the dreary prospect of descending into the grave
the last male scion of his race. Had he consulted
only hi s own inclinations , he would have been con
tent to suffer this fate, miserable as i t was, rather
than endeavour to forget;in the society of a second
wife the severe loss which he had sustained in the
death o f the former partner of his bosom . But, atth e earnest solicitation o f his friends , he was induced,at the end of a year of widowhood, to wed a girl
o f seventeen, exquisite in beauty, elegant in manners ,perfect in virtue and goodness, and of a family fu lly
equal to his own, both as regarded sacred and social
advantages . Reader, she was my mother ; and you
will , therefore, I am sure , forgive me if I display
more than ordinary warmth in paying this tribute
to her departed worth.
It was no t till three years after he had contracted
this alliance, that the tree of my father’s hope became
fruitful , and that I, the humble au thor o f these
memoirs , made my appearance on the stage of exist
ence, to gladden the hearts of my fond parents and
o f al l those who felt an interest in their happiness.
6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFL'
LLAH.
the world, and borne down by the suddennes s and
weight Of the misfortune which had befallen us ,
knew not where to turn for aid or counsel . My
cousins, co-sharers in the smal l estate before
mentioned, so far from rendering her any assistance,
were unceasing in their endeavours to compas s our
destruction ; and, to complete the measure Of our
misery, the country was affl icted with a famine, the
severity of which has probably never been exceeded.
This last calamity lives in my recollection as freshly
as if it were only an occurrence Of yesterday.
Numbers Of people died daily of starvation ; famished
corpses were dragged ou t of the city by tens or
twenties, and buried in huge pits dug for the
purpose, or thrown promiscuously into dry wells ;but there was one case in particular, connected with
this season o f horror, which, as displaying the
dreadful lengths to which human nature may be
driven by the force o f hunger, I must no t omit to
record. I remember being taken by my uncle to see
a woman who was subjected to public disgrace ” by
being paraded through the streets of the city, seated
astride on a donkey. Her face, one side of which
was painted white and the other black , was turned
towards the animal’s tail, and I, no t knowing the
reason of this strange exhibition, was at first highly
amused by the sight. My mirth, however, was soon
dispelled, by being informed that the wretched
creature before me, who was an inhabitant of a
I FIND AN ASYLUM WITH IIY UNCLE . 7
Bheel village in '
the district, and who was afterwards
to b e transported for life, had been convicted of
having killed the young child of a neighbour, and, to
allay the pangs of hunger, had bo iled and eaten it.Bu t to return to my own affairs . At the expiration
o f the Chihlum,
”or forty days of mourning, pre
scribed by the cu stoms of the Moslems in India, when
the memory of the deceased i s supposed no longer to
engross the attention of sorrown survivors to the
exclusion o f the ordinary concerns of life, my mother
thought it advisable to remove from my late father’s
house, where we were surrounded by a host Of mis
called friends, intent only on accomplishing our ruin .
We accordingly took up our residence with her
mother and brother, by both of whom we were
received and treated with the utmost tenderness .
These dear relatives had no pecuniary interest, like
my cou sins on the father’s s ide, to neutralize those
kindly feelings which the ties of nature, when left to
themselves , are calcu lated to inspire ; and though the
addition o f two members o f their household meces
sarily pressed hard on their limited means, the
sincerity o f their sorrow for our bereavement was
attested by the l ivel iest sympathy. Towards myself,the conduct of my good uncle differed in no respect
from that which marked his intercourse with his own
children ; or, if it did, i t was perhaps in being more
kind and tender, as if u rged thereto by a sense of
my utterly helples s condition ; and the treatment
8 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII.
which I experienced at the hands of my grandmother
was equally characterised by real benevolence .
Under this hospitable roof we passed our time in
tranquill ity ; but, in those days, lawless turbulence
found a much larger field for display than i t did a
few years afterwards , when the power of the BritishGovernment was exerted for its suppression. Two
or three times a year accounts would reach us o f the
approach of large bodies o f Pindarees, who had beencommitting havoc in th e surrounding districts ; or of
an intended attack by some neighbouring potentate,
for the purpose of levying contribution s on the city.
Then the hearts o f the inhabitants were filled with
terror and dismay ; and forthwith jewels, money, and
articles o f value were bur ied in the earth, or other
wise secreted. When th e attack did take place, the
situation o f the inhabitants was truly pitiable . They
were then literal ly between two fires,” from both o f
which they suffered nearly equal injury, the can on
ball s from the citadel, instead Of reaching the enemy
for whose special destruction they were intended,
generally falling short o f their mark , and causing
fearfu l loss of life and property w ithin the walls of
the city. This, Of itself, was dreadful enough, even
when the enemy failed in the ir Object ; when victory
declared on their side, such o f the citizens as hadsurvived the onslaught became the victims of the
most refined cruelty, in order to discover the places
where their treasure was concealed. Numerous
INTERNECINE WARFARE .—HIDEOUS TORTURES. 9
modes of torture were had recourse to for thi s
purpose,amongst which the three following generally
proved the most effectual. First, the victim was
pinioned and exposed bare-headed to the burning
rays o f the sun, while his ears were pounded or
pinched between the lock of a gun ; secondly, after
being pinioned, as above, he was made to stand in
the sun, with a stone o f enormou s weight on his
head, first inserting a gravel stone of the size and
shape of a small grape, which gradually forced its
way through the skul l to the brain ; thirdly, a horse’
s
grain-bag, half filled with ashes and red pepper in
powder, was tied over the sufferer’s face, so as to
include his mouth and nose, the consequ ence of
which was, at first, a most violent fit of sneezing,and, if protracted to a quarter of an hour, a horrible
death by suffocation. But though these, and some
other modes of extracting confessions , equal in cruelty
to anything which I read, many years afterwards, o f
the Inqu isition in Catholic countr ies, were in general
attended with success, there were no t wan ting
instances in which a love o f gold prevailed over a
love of life ; and I have heard of many persons who
submitted in resolute and su llen silence to the most
agonizing tortures , till death released them from their
sufferings, and restored them to that mother-earth,wherein their loved treasu re lay interred.
Our houses, however, having contained sacred
families, were looked upon with reverence by al l the
10 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII .
troops of the banditti . Moreover, they always made
some presents to my uncle and self when they left
the city, which they considered a sanctification of
their booty. People of our neighbourhoo d, ei ther
Moslems or Hindus, whoever had the Opportunity of
hiding themselve s and property in our houses and
thus escaping diabolical outrages, mad e us some
presents : so we were no t badly off even in such
time s of difficulty ; but the sufferings of our fellow
creatures rendered our lives b itterly miserable.
My good uncle took our part against our other
usurping relatives, and demanded one half of the
produce of the landed property, and of the daily
Offerings , etc . , to the shrine. Accordingly, some t imes
they paid a few rupees : but always said they would
give us nothing unl ess I should e ither personally
attend every day at the shrine, as they did, to super
intend the Offerings, e tc. , or employ another person
to act for me. My uncle afforded us all the pecuniary
aid in his power ; but then he had a large family of
his own to maintain, and my mother did not like to
burden her kind brother with our wants . She had
jewel s o f her dowry, about four hundred rupees,
worth, which sh e was now obliged to sell, one
by one ; and, in the course o f one year, all the
jewel s vani shed— but, luckily for us, so did the
dearth .
After a few years , my pronunciati on became as
correct as possible . I spoke with accuracy, and
MY MISCHIEVOUS TRICKS. 1 1
tried to cheat my mother and relatives by patching
up stories, which often excited t heir mirth . I was,
besides, a mischievous young creature, and devised
variou s plans Of playing tricks, to the great annoy
ance of my protectors.
I caught frogs, and slyly put them into the ladie s’
work-baskets, which contained the ir needles, thread
and cotton, e tc . I watched the time when they
fin ished their domestic matters, and, after breakfast,sat at their peacefu l occupation : I then fixed my
eyes on the basket, and just as the poor lady uncoveredthe lid, out sprang the imprisoned animal upon her.
This caused her to scream , and sometimes faint, to
the laughter of the lookers on.
At the age of five I grew more troublesome, and
now itw as determined that I shoul d be sent to school.
A day of good luck was fixed, and the book being
placed under my arm ,I was led to the place of in
struction. I proceeded, Of course, unwillingly, like
a lamb to the slaughter-h ou se .
I was introdu ced by my uncle to the master, who
took me in charge, and was very glad to find, in a
Short time, that I learned my lessons quicker than my
schoolfellows , and knew my Kur’an as well as any
mulla. In the course Of six months I learnt al l the
prayers o f Islam, and was received everywhere with
approbation. Whenever I happened to rec ite any
part of the holy book in an assembly of great people,I was loaded
,with applause and presents .
1 2 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII.
During this period I was only punished once, but
very severely, for a grievou s Offence against a holy
man named Shaikh Nasru llah .
This good old man was a priest of the villageof
Hasilpur, abou t fifty miles distant from us, and was
an int imate friend o f my uncle, to whom he occa
sionally paid his v isits , and these no t of short
duration of a day or so , but he stayed with him for
weeks, and sometimes for months. Our means weretoo scanty to endure the burden Of maintaining thi sOld priest, who seemed to take no notice of our
circumstances ; but, as my uncle was unparalleled in
liberality, generosity, and humanity, he pawned his
clothes, and ran in debt, for the entertainment o f his
guest.
It happened that this old Shaikh Nasrullah had
come as u sual on a visit. He was an old man Of
great wit, and almost every other word Of his con
versation was a proverb . I remember his form and
features very well : he was a tal l man , Of good and
strong make, with a depres sed forehead ; he squ inted
mu ch , and invariably shook his head up and down,as if he consented to everything preposed to him .
He had no teeth in his mouth, but his long flowing
white beard made up for all hi s deformity. He was
SO fond of talking, that he chatted on, whether sense
or nonsense, whether one listened to it or no t .
Although speaki ng ill o f our neighbours i s a crime
unpardonable, —part icularly of those who are gone
14 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
gav e a touch from a distance and off i t went, setting
the heard on a sudden blaze. The old man started
from his sleep and began rubbing h is face, repeating
his creed as a Sign of distress, Lail lah illillah ,
There is no God bu t one God.
” Presently he go t up,mad with rage, and I Slipped in at the door o f the
Zananah unobserved by him, and looked on at the
fun through the key—hole w ith the eye Of admiration
and sat isfaction. The Old fellow ran here and there
with his staff, ready to smite even the devil himse lf, i f
he me t him . His face and hands were flayed , and,what with hisnatural ugliness and his singed beard, he
was certainly a hideou s object. His shouts soonbrought my uncle ou t of his reading place, and seeing
his friend with face and hands flayed, and deprived
o f his beard, he cried ou t,“What ails you , Shaikh
Nasrul lah Ails me ? the devil himself" replied
the old man :“ I am gone for ever : God has pun ished
me for my sins ; my honour i s gone with my beard.
Oh, my beard "my beard "” Examin ing wel l his
face , and heari ng su ch exclamations, my uncle coul d
not help smiling, for which the old man reproved him
very harshly, saying, Have you no sham e to laugh
at the calamity of your brother ? ” My uncle begged
his pardon, and inquiring how it happened, he
replied, That dog that brute " that infidel " that
little Shaitan " that learned nephew of yours, whom
you cal l a promising young lad, has, I am sure, done
this : that rod of his lying there i s a proo f substantial
MY PUNISHMENT. 1 5
enough to have him beheaded. Hearing th i s I
trembled, went quietly to my bed, and pre tended tosleep soundl y. In the meantime, my good uncle poured
two or three phial s of ink on his face and hands (itbeing the common remedy _
used in our country for
burns), and consoled him by saying al l of us were
helpless against the decrees of fate, to which all must
submit, and that what has been ordained by the
omnipo tent hand of Deity for any individual being
must come to pass : we must bear it with patience,according to the saying, Beneficiismaleficia pensare.”
He promised the Old Shaikh that my foolish act
should no t go unrewarded, and that the punishment
should be a severe one ; which last sentence gave the
old fellow more consolation than all the doctrine
above preached. My uncle then came in , determined
to fulfil his promise ; but, being a man of very tender
heart, he coul d not punish me, so he told my mother
and grandmother what had taken place, upon which
both the ladies, without asking a question, and with
o ut a judge and jury, began to use their canes on myback unrelentingly. I cried for mercy, and declared
my innocence, telling them that I never burnt the
beard, which last sentence, foolishl y uttered, proved
me guilty beyond all doubt. Fortunately, my unclebeing present, I rece ived but very few blows, and
was released from the hands of my fair torturers.
My mother now swore, by the holy Kur’an that
she would burn my hands with a red-hot pair of
1 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
tongs, if ever I was found guilty of a similar mis
demeanour again. I was very glad that I got Off
so easily, unaware o f another impending thrashing
that I had to undergo next day.
Early in the next morning I proceeded to school ,w ith my books and breakfast. My master looked.
very stiff and awkward, and did not return my salu
tation. A young friend Of mine , who sat next to me,
whispered that the old Shaikh had reported my
offence to the master, and that I mu st soon expect
the consequence. The boys were then examined in
their lesson s o f the day before, but I was requ ired to
repeat by heart all that I had learn t for the last three
days, which I did with perfect fluency, and without
a single mistake. We were ordered to resume our
seats, and the master then asked me,Did you burn
the Old Shaikh’s beard yesterday No , sir,”
replied I , but I set fire to it by mistake, and have
suffered for my error. Mistake "you l ittle brute "”
rejoined he, “ i t was a heinous crime, in re turn for
which, if you do no t get something from me, as a n
additional reward, you will certainly try my beard
next.” I was then immediately tied to the post, and
flogged most unmercifully till my backwas flayed.
This unexpected puni shment caused me to determine
on another revenge, which I took on my master, and
I fortunately managed it so well as to escape detec
tion. Moreover, his superstition led him to view
the accident in the light of a pun ishment inflicted
MY REVENGE . 1 7
on him by the invisible hand, for maltreating the
erson of a sacred orphan , and. he was confirmed in
by several dreams . In the cou rse o f two
orthree days, I took another opportunity of going to
the market-place, and purchased a little Jemalgota
(croton tiglium), the severe pu rgative powers Of which
nu t I knew beforehand, my uncle having administered
it to several person s as medicine. I powdered one
of the nu ts, and preserved it folded up in a piece of
paper in my turban. My custom was to go to school
before the other,boys arrived . T he next morning
when the coffee was brought in small cups for mya master and his three friends , each cup was placed
before their respective seats on the floor, they being
outside warmly engaged in argu ing on a religious
point. The attendant having placed the cups went
out to inform them ; and I immediately taking ou t
the powder from my turban, put it in my master’s
cup, and mixed it with my finger . In the meantime ,in comes a youngster, and, seeing me near the cup,cries ou t , “ Ha " ha " stealth "” Mentally cursing
him , I told him he was blind and had lost his Sight,for accusing me, when I was driving away the flies
with my kerchief. I then asked him to come in my
place and act my part, as my turn was over. He
readily accepted the situation, and I, resuming my
seat, began to read my book with profound attention.
My master and his friends now came in, still engaged
in conversation, and drank their cups and smoked
1 8 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
hookas with their usual zest. After about an hour
the friends left and my master began to feel uneasy.
I saw quite clearly that my miraculous dose was
taking effect on him ; hi s brown complexion became
pal e, his fiery eyes appeared dull and sunk ; and
strange qualms coming on, he told the boys to take a
holiday as he felt very unwell , and that it was owing
to his own imprudence , for in the entertainment of
last night he had eaten beyond the bounds of modera
tion ; and “one of such feasts,
” observed he , “ will
sooner or later put an end to my life.”
We gladly received this order, and commenced
folding up our books, etc . In the meantime, the
master’s suffering became greater ; he threw his
rosary on one side and his turban on another, and
bega n to roll on the floor, embracing his large pill ow
and cursing the entertainment and its au thor. When
we prepared to leave the house and saluted the master,he was seized with severe vomiting and other painful
symptoms ; so leaving the poor Old man in thi s state,we ru shed ou t , each of u s taking his own way.
For my part, I bent my steps towards home, with
the tear of sorrow in one eye and the light o f satis
faction in the other. T O say the truth, al though my
revenge was appeased, yet I could no t help thinking
my horrid vengeance had exceeded the punishment I
had received ; t hat one quarter of the cursed : quan
tity I gave him was quite suflicient for the poor o ld
fellow, and that if a nything worse happened to him ,
~ITY RE vE NGE . 1 9
shoul d have to carry his blood on my head at the
judgment (according to the preachi ng I often
from my uncle and others). With these confusing thoughts I reached home. My mother asked
me x the reason of my unseasonable return, and I
explained to her the cau se, viz . , the master’s severe
illness, not forgetting, however, to mention the
unlucky feast of the night before, in which he had
overloaded his stomach according to his cu stom on
such occasions. Upon this , my mother ordered meto sit at her wheel and read to her what I had learnt
during the last week .
This be ing the mango season, my uncle had gone
out to his trees in th e morning, and did not return
till the afternoon. On be ing informed of the master’s
indisposition, he observed that he had predicted it
last night, when he saw the Old gentleman at the
feast. He immediately ran to his house, and finding
him exhausted and nearly lifeless, gave him some
cordial medicines, and leaving advice with the at
tendant, returned home. T he master recovered the
next morning, but was unfi t for his duty for several
days, during which period I studied with my mother
and uncle.
On the master’s recovery, the school became re
populated, and I resumed my visits as usual . The
master’s profound superstition led himto be morerespectfu l towards me than necessary, and he told
every one that his indisposition was owing to the
20 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH .
displeasure o f the saints— my ancestors— from whom
he had received many warnings in his dreams. He
begged my pardon for his past ill-treatm ent of me ;
so, at the age of seven, I was a little priest ; every
body kissed my hand, aud I was respected by al l.
It was no more requisite now to instruct me in the
Holy Book, as I knew i t almost al l by heart. I knewal l the forms o f prayer, and was sometimes put in
the pu lpit to repeat sermons on Fridays, and I re
member having acted my part well.
I was soon after removed from the Alkoranic
school, and intru sted to a Persian teacher. Mystudies now became heavier, as I had two lessons to
learn , both in reading and writing, with the Persianmaster during the day ; and, at n ight, my uncle was
pleased to load my little head with the elements o f
the Arabic grammar, which last I hated, no t knowing
the importance of what I was learning. On the other
hand, I liked Persian, having had the advantage of
knowing it colloquially from my infancy, the languag e
being generally spoken by all the members Of our
family, on occasions of secresy and religious discu s
sions , etc . Besides, my new master was a very
gentlemanly man, of most amiable character. He
explained fully everything I asked, and proved
logically al l h e said. He seldom grew angry, and,
if ever he did, his words of anger were sweeter than
the applause o f my first master. His instruction was
a mere matter of favour, as he was an officer o f his
22 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
proper to strive against fate, and thus I comforted
myself. In the meantime,several boys came in, and
al l of us joined in playing and running about for an
hou r. About 10 o’clock A .H . we got tired , and my
cousins proposed going to a tank in the neighbour
hood to bathe , so all of u s proceeded thither.
This was a smal l but beautiful tank, bu ilt at the
junction of several streams descending from hil l s.
The deep column Of water was about fifteen yards
square ; three sides o f the tank were almost level
w ith the ground, with steps o f red stone, but the
fourth side was built "up perpendicularly, and here
the water was deepest. The spot was lovely, covered
with verdan t trees both of fruits and flowers, and
adorned with‘
lofty Hindu temples at a few yards ’
distance from the pool. On our arrival here, my
cou sins and others jumped down in the water fromthe enormous height of the fourth side, and swam
from one side to another, seeming to enjoy themselve s vastly. I longed greatly to play with them ;perceiving this , from my looks, they asked me to jointhem . I pleaded my inability in swimming, but
they offered to teach me by supporting me on their
hands. I willingly accepted the offer, and, strippingmyself, entered the water. My cou sins swam across
once or twice with me, and then left me to my fate
in th e middle. I went down and floated up once or
t wice, and at last sunk never to rise again , if such
had been the will of the Almighty. My cousins and
THE KIND BRAHMA N. 23
al l the boys (I was told afterwards) ran away, the
former under the pretence of fetching some one to
take me ou t o f the water, most likely thinking that
by the time they returned I shou ld be no more. I
know no t how long after I was taken out. When I
cam e to my senses, I found myself hung to a tree
with my legs upward and head down, the water
flowing from my mouth, nose, and eye s, mixed with
foam . Open ing my eyes, I saw a Brahman standingby my side and whirling me about. As the rope by
which I was suspended to the bough Slacked and
tightened I attempted to speak , bu t had no power Of-doing so. I made signs with my hand , begging theBrahman to release me from the torture I was
undergoing, and the good man did so ; after which,he seated me on his right arm , and, standing up, he
turned round like a top until he was tired ; he then
fell down with me exhau sted. III a little while,regaining strength, I sat up, but was seized with
severe vomiting which Spoiled his clothes. The
water issued from mv mou th for about an hour ; in
the meantime, the good Brahman washed, bathed,and purified himself in the tank , and return ing to
me, stood at a little distance muttering his prayers in
Sanskrit, all the time eyeing me with compassion.
He asked me h ow I did ? To this kind question my
reply was, that I was very nearly recovered. I then
sal u ted him respectfully, and begged to know his
name. He told me his name was Rajaram , and that
24 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
he was the principal warden of the temple opposite
to me ; that he was watching me from within the
temple al l the while, and when the boys deserted,leaving me to perish in the water, he was inspired
by his god, Mahadeva, to draw me ou t , in obedience
to which sacred command he had saved my life .
He then asked me to make a prostration to the deity
to which I owed my l ife. Situated as I was I cou ld
not well disobey my patron, SO I made a profound
bow apparently to th e stone, touching the ground
with my head, bu t , at the same time, bending my
little mind to the Almighty, the only God, the
Maker o f the stone as wel l as o f all creatures . As
a young Muslim priest, the first thing that had been
incul cated in me was to ridicu le the folly o f the
Hindus, in worshipping stones framed and mad e by
themselves, and other beings be sides the Supreme
One.
T nIs accident, however, rai sed doubts in my young
mind as I thought o f Polytheism prevailing every
where, and I argued with myself, If the Hindushrines are stones, ours contain bu t du st and bones .
To bel ieve in one or the other, or believe or dis
believe in both, i s a most puzzling question.
”On
the other hand, when I afterwards came to think
upon Christianity, Christians, too, seemed to have
fallen into variou s erroneous Opinions respecting the
Prophet Jesu s Christ (blessed be his name ")Some make him their God, others the Son of
THE HIND BRAHMAN. 25
God, and others one of the three persons of their
Trinity.
Although in my after life I was a good Muslim,
yet I cou ld no t shake o ff such confused notions
entirely, until I was abou t thirty years of age, when
my close study of some excellent works set my brain
right, and then I knew what I was and how to
perform my devotions to my Creator. I beg, how
ever, to observe, that I am still ignorant of my first
origin, and of what I am to b e on my being tran s
ferred to the undiscovered country, “ from whose
bourne no traveller returns.” Talking upon these
subjects, even w ith strictness, with some of my
learned friends, renders me an infidel in the ir estima
tion, to whom my general reply is the Ode o f the
immortal Hafiz (may his earth be very
nearly corresponding with the followi ng lines Of
Lord Byron .
“ Some kinder casuists are pleased t o say ,
In nameless print, th at I h ave no devotionBut set th ose persons down with me t o pray ,A nd you sh al l see who h as the properest notion
Of getting into h eaven the sh ortest way .
My altars are th e mountains and t h e ocean,
E arth , air, stars, —al l th at springs from t he greatWholeWh o h ath produced and wil l receive t h e soul ."
To return to my own predicament : I had hardly
finished my affected prostration to the w el l-formed
medium Of worship, when the Brahman pointed out
to me the boys coming with ropes and hooks, for
the purpose o f taking me out of the tank. My
26 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII.
cousins ran and embraced me, and washed my body
from the dust and mud, e tc . ,and assisted me in my
dre ssing, and shed fal se tears ; tell ing me, at the
same time, that they were very sorry that I had
slipped from their hands, adding, that if they could
not have drawn me ou t of the water with the mate
rial s they had brought, they had determined upon
drowning themselve s for my sake. The Brahmanlistened to this plausible story o f theirs very quietly,and looked on at the ir washing and dressing me ;which having done, they asked me to go along with
them . I got up, made my salam to the Brahmanand was abou t to depart, when he in an angry
tone addressed himself to them . The boy shall
not leave the spot without my going with him, and
you shal l not take him to throw him into another
well .”
My cousins pretended to discuss the point, al leging
that I was their brother, but he threatened to call to
the neighbouring gardeners for help, and to send
them along with me to the Min ister of the Raja, and
report their infamous conduct to him in full. Hear
ing this, they were frightened out o f their wits , and
prostrated themselves at his feet, begging his forgive
ness for the sake of the deity in the temple. They
made him some present in money, and in return
took his solemn promise not to allow the story to
transpire.
I liked this arrangement, dreading that the betray
THE KIND BRAHIIAN. 27
ing the secret would bring on me a severe puni sh
ment. He entered into the agreement with them in
every respe ct, except as to delivering me over to
them, which he declared he would never do for
anything in the world.
After mutual promises my cousins left the place ,and Rajarzim led me behind the temple, where he
spread a few bundles of grass under the thick shade
Of a tree, and desired me to go to sleep.
I recollect that my sleep at that time was as sound
as that of eterni ty, and, to this day, I have never
had a slumber so refreshing. When roused by the
Brahman, I got up ; i t was dark n ight, and I found
Iny clothes and the grassy b ed all wet with the
moisture which issued from me during my rest. I
felt my head heavy, my limbs benumbed, and my
mental power stupified. The Brahman made mewash my hands and face, and then asked me where I
resided. I mentioned to him the name o f the quarter
and that of my uncle,— the mere, mention o f whom
caused me, on a sudden, to burst into a violent flood
o f tears . T he Brahman then held me by the hand,and led me to the direction I pointed out. He asked
me where my father was ?“ He died long ago ,
replied I. A S we proceeded, he put several questions,regarding my station in life, means o f livelihood, and
relatives, etc . I told him everything I possibly coul d,and the poor man seemed greatly moved with com
passion at my distressful condition. He made me a
28 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLA
present of two rupees, and advised me never to go t o
bathe, or tru st my cousins again.
At the gate of my house he left me and departed.
My mother, uncle, and others received me with
delight after their long anxiety. My uncle was ready
to start in search o f me , when I arrived. I was asked
the reason of my long absence, and, in reply, I
pleaded indisposition ; and, after taking my meal, I
was put in bed.
Five or six days after, my un cle was informed of
the accident by some o f his boys . He explained it
to my mother, and this time all the members of
the family took pity on me, instead of visiting me, as
usual , with reproof. Rajaram was sent for, and
sincerely thanked by al l. My good mother, especial ly,with tearful eyes appeared before him , against al l
the laws o f morality of Mohamedan ladies ; she
thanked him most sincerely for having saved her
only son’s life, and Offered him a pair of silver brace
lets and ten rupees in ready cash as a humble reward,declaring that was all She then posses sed in the world,and that if she had t en lacs of rupees she wou ld
have given all to him with pleasure, still considering
his service had far exceeded in compari son the
amount. The poor, bu t honest, Brahman said hetook the Offer to be the very act , and that he would
no t deprive the poor lady Of a small sum on any
account ; however, he took one rupee out of i t to
please her.
30 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
deney and despair,— ignorant of this, that I had still
many vicissitudes to encoun ter, and many years more
to breathe upon this terrestrial globe of wonder ; and
l itt le thinking of the unlimited power of the omni
potent divine Providence, which shows its miraculouseffects where al l hum an powers fail .
Dur ing my stay at the gate, my attentio n was
drawn to the cook-shop, ad orned with several kinds
of cakes and some pastry o f mince-meat, etc. I
asked my uncle to give me some money that I might
purchase some of i t, as I fel t my desire irres istibly
strong to have it ; but the reply was a usual one,“ You Shall not have any of it ; for meat i s indi
gestible, and poison for those who have dysentery ;
you are sure to die in case of tasting even a par ticle
of it.” For my part, I did no t like this advice, but
was obliged to submit to it. The next day I stole
a few pieces from my mother ’s work-bo x , and pre
pared in the evening to buy some o f the pastry.
My desire was SO great that I would hav e it, and
cared no t if it cost me my life. The evening came,and I took my staff, and walked ou t to the gate
supported by it. Taking my seat, I called to the
cook, and, giving him the pieces Of money,I Obtained
the object Of my ardent desire. But now, i t was
another difficu lty, almost unsolvable, where to eat
it undi scovered by anybody ? My experience, how
ever, soon suggested a secret place , where I went
and devoured the large quantity—I think about one
THE TOBACCO”CURE . 31
pound in weight—and then going to my bed, I slept ;concluding, from the advice of my good preceptors
,
that the venom wou ld have its fu ll effect on me
during my sleep, and that I shou ld never rise t o
suffer any more di stress from dysentery or other
misfortunes . T he next morn ing, to my own great
surprise and that Of all the family, I found my
self quite recovered. The venom ,in my opinion
and that of my friends, acted as an antidote. I
began to gain strength every day, and in about
two months I was altogether as healthy as possible,excepting that my stomach still remained e x orb i
tantly protuberant, bu t withou t any sensible pain .
-T O remove this unnatural deformity some of my
advisers desired me to smoke the hooka ; this I
readily acceded to, and the expected resu lt gradually
followed : I quite recovered, though I thus became
addicted to a bad habit of smoking, and now I con
elude this chapter with the expiration of the eighth
year of my age.
32 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
CHAPTER I I.
Political state of affairs about th e year l S l O—Rumours respectingt he new race of foreigners call ed the Feringees
— Bheel
robbers—Mode of executing th em—Visit t o Baroda— Firstrencontre w ith Feringees—R ite of Circumcision—Reflections—Visit t o Ujjain—My moth er’s second marriage—Plunder ofmy step-father’s house by Sindiah ’
s soldiers—An E asternstory.
AT this time, rumours of war were heard in all
directions . The kingdom of Delhi rece ived a mortal
blow at the death of Aurangzeb, A .D. 1 706 ; bu t the
dynasty was, in fact , extingu ished by by Shah Al am ,
who, after a life o f sensual enjoyment, was blinded
by Ghulam Kadir Khan , one o f his nobles,in 1 788 ,
expired in 1 806 , and was succeeded by his son,
Akbar the II . , who was placed on the throne by the
Marathas. Observing the kingdom i n such a state,the governors Of different provinces assumed inde
pendent power.
Amid these changes, the most interesting news
to us was the following z— About sixty years pre
v iously, duri ng th e reign o f Mohamed Shah, some
foreign adventurers, wonderful in their character
and manners, appeared in the coun try, where they
began to e stablish themselves, taking the advantage
o f the emperor’s weakness, and of the universal
FE RINGE E S. 33
discord amongst the nobles and governors of the pro
vinces . Strange things were said regarding this won
derful people, who, it was affirmed, had no skin, bu t
a thin membrane covering their body, which made
them appear abominably white. They were perfect in
magical art, which made them successful in al l their
undertakings . They did not believe in our blessed
Prophet, and they called themselves Christians ; but
would not act upon the laws of the sacred Anjil,which holy book they had changed in several places
to serve the ir worldly purposes. Most o f them still
worshipped images , and they ate everything, and
particularly things forbidden by the holy Moses, a nd
this in spite of the order of the sacred Anj il (St.Matthew , v. 1 8 and nay, they did no t spare
human flesh when driven to extremity. They had
made three Gods for themselves instead o f one— the
only Omnipotent Supreme Being— contrary to theirfirst commandment ; and, most absurd of all , they
attribu ted to the Almighty God the having wife and
children ; and by the same token they called their
Prophet and themselves Son and children of God.
Such reports were the topic o f almost al l con
versat ions, and many other things were said against
them , and only one in their favour— that they
were not unju st ; but in the administration o f
ju stice, they never deviated from the sacred book
o f the ancient law of Solomon, the Son of David,etc.
34 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
These and similar accounts no t only amused us,but sometimes excited us to a fit o f fanaticism . Such
were the tales that spread abroad in India at that
time. My uncle and myself wanted part icularly to
see some of these extraordinary people, and to ques
tion them on their erroneous religion. But as they
had not visited our city yet, and we had never seen
a European face, our zeal remained untried. The
morning of good luck, however, now began to dawn
upon the people of our district, for they in those
days were not molested by the outl aws, the Pindareesbeing engaged with their enemies . But the hill Bheelsstill infested the roads, and occasional ly paid their
noctu rnal visits to the town, to rob at the risk of the ir
l ife. They were sometimes apprehended, and then
rarely escaped, and that only by bribing the ministers
and giving large presents to the Raja himself ; and
if no t , they u sed to be punished and executed in most
cruel fashion ; such as by being tied to the foot o f an
elephant to be dragged through the town , or being
split by one of those huge animals. In the latter
case, the elephant, directed by the mahawat, pu ts
one o f the legs of the poor victim under his foot,and, seizing the other with his trunk, splits him in
a. second by a pull, when the leg pul led comes off
with the covering of the stomach and very near ly
half the skin o f the body. The next mode i s break
ing the head : this horrid pun ishment is infl icted by
putting the man horizontally on one side with his
CRUEL PUNISIIH E NTS . 35
head on a flat stone ; a ball of stone i s then put on
his upper temple, and the executioner, asking per
mission of the officer three times, inflicts a fatal blow
with a large wooden hammer on the small bal l , wh ich
smashes the head at once, and the brain i s dashed
out . O ther modes are, throwing down from the
high wall of a castle ; beheading with the sword ;and, lastly, blowing from the mou th of a cannon.
I have often been an eye-witness to these horrid
executions , and beg my reader to avoid them to
the best of his power.
Returning to the subject Of my own life : our cir
cumstances now became miserably straitened ; we
sold al l we had, and sometimes starved for a day or
so , after which we obtained but sorry food through
our own hard labour. All the females either worked
with the needle or the spinning-wheel from morning
till midnight ; and my uncle wrote copies of different
books , and I assisted him in reading and comparing
them all day long. But the price of our labour
was insufficient for our livelihood. My uncle at
last, tired of the sufferings consequent upon poverty,resolved to go to Baroda, where resided severalwealthy disciples of his own and of my late father ;and our visit to them would, we fu lly trusted, relieve
us from the misery of want, at all events for some
time .
Our journey being determined upon, my uncle,mother, and myself made the required preparations
C 2
36 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
t o start with the first caravan of Opium carts, took
leave of all the members of the family, and left the
town. We were received by the cartm en o f the
caravan with great respect ; al l o f whom , being
Moslems of the O ilmen caste, regularly worshippedus. They prayed five times a day with us, and
made comfortable places for us in the carts . They
gave us better food than what they ate, and sheltered
u s from the sun and the dew . This was my first
travel, and the cu riosities of nature filled my little
mind with uncommon amusement ; the sweetly
fragrant breeze Of the jungles, in the morning after
prayer, refreshed my brain ; the views of lofty
mountains of various shapes, of rivers and clear
streams, and the beau ty of the trees clad in green
and covered with flowers of different hues, afforded
an admirably new landscape to the sight ; and the
most sweet and melodious voices of the birds
enchanted my ears. At such times my uncle
generally cited the beau tiful verses of the immortal
S ’adi Of Shiraz, Each Of the green trees, in the
eyes o f the wise, i s a book that wil l teach you
the knowledge of the infinite power Of the Author,”
e tc. , in the same sense with William Shakespeare,
And th is our life, exempt from pub lic haunt,Finds tongues in trees, books in the rimning b rooks,Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
”
We travelled on comfortably enough in the carts
at the rate of thirteen or fourteen miles a day, and
38 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH .
city ; so the town divide s itself into four equal parts,the roads crossing each other at the central market
place. The palace i s meanly bu ilt in the usual
Maratha style , more like a dungeon than a palace.
The population Of the city at that time was e stimated
to be something more than one hundred thousand.
The Government o f Baroda was then held by a
Maratha Raja, Of the Gaikwar or cowherd caste,named Anand Rate , the s ixth Graikwar from Pilaji,the founder of the dynasty. These Rajas being an
illi terate race, were much under the influence Of
design ing mini sters, who perpetrated all sort s o f
enormities, and introduced disorder and confu sion
into every department Of the State in order to veil
their own wicked acts .
Anand Rao was succeeded by his brother, Syaj i
Rao , who, being a person of economical character,amas sed a large treasury, and had e ight son s and
several daughters . T he eldest son , Ganpat Rao
Gaikwar, commonly cal led Rao Séhib , having been
ah°
eady acknowledged as heir apparaut , by his late
father, put himself on the masnad immediately on
his father’s death . On all occasions the father had
acted the part of a mini s ter to his son, except in
business with the British Resident, who, I believe ,would not recognise him to be the heir apparent .
Amongst the population I saw , for the first time,two classes with the eyes of amazement. They were
the English and th e Parsis ; o f the former I gave my
RENCONTRE WITH THE E NGLISII. 39
reader some accoun t in the beginning of the chapter,according to my then knowledge, founded upon the
information I received from good authorities . I will
add something here, which struck at me th e time,concerning the English . One morhing as I waswalking in the city to divert myself, I saw four men,
two of them on horseback, and the other two walking
al ong with them ; to my great curiosity I found their
complexion corresponding with what we had heard.
I heard them talking among themselve s, and their
jargon sounded harsh and wild to my hearing.
Their dress tightly fi tted to their bodies, without
any skirt to screen such parts as the law o f modesty
has taught man to conceal . I fel t inclined to accost
them ; but thought myself too young to venture
on such an intrusion in a foreign city. I raised my
hand, however, to my forehead, in token of salu
taf ion, withou t uttering the sacred sentence, “ As
salamun alaikum , to which my mind whispered
none were entitled except true believers . They
retu rned my salutation very kindly, which civility
greatly softened my prejudices against them.
I was mu ch amused at Baroda with a tame rhi
noceros, kept at one Of the gates Of the city, known
by the name of the animal .” It i s the most powerful
animal on the face of the earth . I was so fond o f
looking at the creature during my stay at Baroda,that I spent many hour s of leisure in sitting with the
keepers, and staring at the animal .
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUI FULLAII .
In the course o f a few days a caravan o f empty
carts be ing ready to start to our district for the
purchase of opium , the cart owners, some o f whom
were the same individual s who brought us to Baroda ,readily agreed to take u s back . Our disciples went
along with us for two or three miles, and then, after
they had paid their last and profoundest respects , we
bade adieu to each other, and proceeded on. Our
marches were short ; but being unintermitting, we
soon reached home in safety. My uncle recovered
from his distemper during the journey, without anymedical aid ; and we concluded that the same air and
water in a jungle which at one time produce disorder
i n a person, at another are the best antidote for his
recovery.
In short, our journey being ended i n success, we
had the pleasure of seeing our kind relations. I
cannot express the sen se of happiness I felt in
embracing my old and dearest grandmother and
others. In this world o f accidents no happiness can
b e equ ivalent to that of seeing one’s friends after a
separation. All o f us lived in peace for some time,returning our thanks to the Almighty God for the
sati sfaction we enjoyed. I was now a boy of some
weight in the family, having gained a little experience
by travelling, and being attentive to my studies .
Another year of my life passed away, as if in the
twinkling o f an eye, during wh ich scarcely anything
occurred worthy of notice, with the exception of the
THE a rsn RITE . 4 1
antique Jewish ceremony, strictly attended to by al l
th e Mohamedans except the royal family of Delhi.
This was very painful and provoking to me,and
confined me to my bed for more than one month .
Here I mu st express my wonder that Muslims are
so strict in adhering to this hurtful and sometimes
fatal Operation, though the sacred Kur’
an i s entirely
silent upon the subject. Common-sense shou ld teachmy good people no t to deprive a son o f Adam of
any part of his body bestowed on him by nature
haec membrana data est pro preservatione sensationis
peculiaris et procreationis.
” Notwithstanding this
scrupulousness in a rite which our sacred book has
not made binding on u s, most of the true believers
in general at this time neglect many strict orders
enjoined by the Kur’an, —such as prayers five time s
a day, fasting thirty days annually, the bestowal of
alms to the extent of a fortieth part of one’s pro
perty annually, and pilgrimage to Mecca once during
one’s lifetime, if it can be afforded. True believers
are prohibited from making use o f any inebriating
thing, and from receiving or paying interest on
money. These, and many other religious duties, I
am sorry to find are very loosely attended to by the
Mu slims of this time in the world.
Prayers and fasts are observed by very few of thereligious character only, and the prescribed charity
by one among a thou sand of the rich. Pilgrimagei s performed by very few people of affluence ; it i s
42 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
resorted to, in general , by the poor wretches who
either find or render themselves useless to the world.
Those who abstain from intoxicating drugs , or liqu ors,do not exceed one in five thousand ; and those that
are clear from the crime of usurious transactions are,I may safely say, absolutely none. The mysterious
secret of produ cing or destroying any religion rests
with the only omniscient Supreme Being : His acts
must be full of wisdom, and unfathomable by philo
Sophers of highest rank . Let m e, therefore , be silent
upon the subject. leaving things to run their own
course at His mighty pleasure, and le t me be guided
by the law of His blessed Prophet. A mortal like
myself should no t deviate from a path followed by
twelve crores of people for the las t
more than twelve and a hal f centuries. As the
English poet wel l observes
T hyself but dust, thy stature bu t a span,A moment thy duration, foolish man 1
”
e o x .
In a few month s , the stock of our money again
being exhausted, my uncle made another preparation
for a new journey to the ancient city of Ujjain, tak inga few MSS . along with him for sale ; my mother and
self, be ing his best companion s in travell ing , aecom
panied him at his earnest des ire. We hired a vehicle ,and proceeded on at th e rate o f four or five miles
a day, hal ting at every village that contained some
houses o f Muslims, where we preached the sacred
vx srr TO UJJAIN. 43
commands and prohibitions, and in return were
treated with every respect, and great reverence. At
length we reached our destination. T he suburbs of
the city were most charming, and afforded an excel
lent view of the edifices and domes of the ancient
Hindu temples, and the minarets o f mosque s , r ising
above groves of fresh and verdant trees at the side
o f the river Sipra. We entered the city, and pu t
up with an old friend of my uncle.
After our arrival here I was highly pleased with
the town, and upon inquiry abou t it, I was informed
that the city had stood, according to the Hindulegends (or Puranas) for many ages. It is held in
great veneration by the Hindus, on account of its
having been the place where the Rajas Karan,Bhartri, and the most celebrated Vikram, once sat on
the throne of Government, aided by invisible spirits.
T he death of the illu striou s Raja Vikram, which
occurred about 57 years R d , i s the principal epoch of
the Hindus throughout the whole o f India. The city
was first conquered by Mohamedans in 1229 A.D. ,
and i t fell into the hands of the Marathas during the
imbecile reign of Mohamed Shah ; and ever since
has been enjoyed by the Sindhiah family. The popu
lation in 1 8 10 A .D. , amoun ted to about persons .
During our few days’ stay in thi s city, several
o ffers o f a second marriage were brought to my
mother. T o some o f them my uncle gave his silent
assent ; seeing that, though his sister was twenty
44 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII .
seven years of age, yet her beau ty was still more
exqu i site than ever. Presently he began to speak toher seriously, telling her that it was a sin to keep
unmarried for the sake o f mere name— which was a
sin against our law besides, it was sheer folly and a
great pity to put a restraint on nature, in attempting
which many piou s persons naturally fell victims to
heinous crimes. To this my mother made ~
a very
angry reply, telling him that she knew she and h er
son proved cumbersome to him, but, in future, she
woul d take great care to live separately upon her
own industry ; and, as for a second change in the
s tate o f her free life, sh e would rather go to hell
than submit to such nonsense again. My uncle
pacified her, explain ing many things concerning the
v icissitudes o f man’s l ife in this world, and affirming,at the same time, that we were of great assistance to
him and far from cumbersome, and that all his
happiness consisted in our welfare and prosperity.
In fine, my good parent, listening to th e advice o f
her brother, accepted an offer, and was married to a
soldier o f high rank in the service of His Highness
Dau lat Rao Sindhiah’
s mother, named Mynabee.
He was a man past forty years, and o f great eXpe
ricuce ; and the lady in whose service he was, had
entrusted all h er public and private matters to his
care and superintendence. She would no t do any
thing withou t his advice. T he discord between
herself a nd the Prince, her son, was owing, I was
46 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LurrULLAn .
o f the house, collecting his scared senses, performed
his ablution and had recourse to his prayers. My
mother, with her female slaves and attendants, th ink
ing the approach of death near, fainted ou tright . As
for myself, I felt firm enough , believing that there
was no chance of my being killed, as I felt conscious
o f my innocence ; and, further, that even if they put
me to death I shou ld die a martyr, and would, in
consequence, go to heaven , where I was sure to enjoya better life in the palaces of rubies and diamonds,fed with nectarious food, and as sociating wi th Burie s— in stead of this miserable l ife. In the meantime, the
door Of the yard was broken open and in rushed
the rathaus. The morning now began to dawn, and
the great luminary to send forth its brilliant rays
over the world : I felt as if I cou ld not keep myself
within the house any longer, but presented myself
to the unwelcome visitors. I found them bu sy in
pillaging everything they could lay the ir hands upon.
They had already saddled and despatched the horses,sent away the palanqueen and the carriage, I know
not where ; suffice it to say that the outer apartments
were swept clean in a few minutes, but they dared
not enter the house —law and custom being impene
trahle barriers against them. One of them happening
to see me at a distance, standing wi th both my hands
in my pockets , cried out to his comrade in Marathi
(which, on account of my natural avidity for lan
guages, at this time I began to understand), Seize
THE PILLAGE . 47
l the young rascal " Make haste , cal led out
another, “and tie him to the post, torture him a.
little, his screams and lamentations will soon fetch
ou t the Siibahdar, to secure whom is the final Object
of our expedition .
” Hearing this, I boldly advanced
to the commanding Officer, who knew me previouslyand Often talked and joked with me, warning theguard, at the same time, not to touch one whom they
would find ready to go to the loaded cannon’s mouth
if they wanted him. As for torturing, I cared not ;
and I swore I would not utter one word, even if they
tore my flesh Off with pincers ; but if they u sed me
fairly, I considered it in my power to bring ou t the
o ld Slibahdar and al l hi s property t oo . The officer
heard my bold speech with admiration, and said,Touch him not ; he i s a brave little soldier ; let
him come to me ; he i s my friend, and hath nothing
to do with this rotten affair.” This encouragement,o f course, emboldened me .more ; I greeted the Officer
for his kindness, and thanked him ; he was greatly
pleased with me , seated me by his side, and Observed
that he was reluctantly put on this important duty
by the Mini ster of State ; and his orders were to
confiscate all the property that he coul d find in the
outer apartments, and keep the Subahdar understr ict surveillance until further orders from his
Highness the Maharajah at Gwalior, but that in case
th e Old ma n should no t give himself up, or should
show any resistance, his party then might enter the
48 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTTULLAH.
private apartments with naked swords , take possess
sion of al l the property that might be found there ,and secure him , no lens volens. I replied I would
go to my stepfather and explain to him the orders,and do my best to persuade him to show himself ;shoul d I fail, I told the Officer he might execute his
commands as he chose. He agreed to this plan, and
I , as a li ttle pol itician , returned and spoke to the Old
man, tell ing him that it was the best thing for himself
and the family to surrender, and that it was o f no
avail to kick against the pricks, or, as the Asiatics
say, to strike the hatchet upon one’s own foot. T he
old man hearing m e with patience, e mbraced me
and kissed my forehead with his eyes full of tears,bu t he was too fond of his life to give himself upso easily. Ill conscience can never be fearless .”
He told me that if the Ofificer took his solemn oath ,by pouring water on a cow’s tail, declaring that no
harm was intended to his person, he wou ld appear ;otherwise, he would
_
escape, breaking through the
roof of the hou se, and that he would b e Off with all
speed ; and,“as to the females,
” quoth he , “ let
them devise the means o f their own safety in the
best way they can.
” Charged with this cowardly
message, I turned my back and cursed the Old fellow
for his cowardice. I recollected some o f my lesson s
in the Persian Book o f Examples and found them
verified A lion in appearance may turn ou t to
be a jackal on trial, and rice versé .
” I will here
Ax EASTERN STORY. 49
t the fable related under the proverb in the same
Ook for the perusal o f my reader.
There were in ancient times' five ladies Of ex
uisite beauty residing in the city of Samarkand,connected with each other both by friend
ship and consangu inity. Fou r Of them had been
married, bu t the fifth would not , on any account,
exchange her state of freedom for that Of matrimonial
bondage. On one beau tifu l evening in spring, as
they sat conversing among themselves , one of them
said that her hu sband’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 spou se wasthe bravest man Of the time ; and the fourth added
that her husband was unequalled in liberal ity : thu s,each o f 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 ,
bu t would examine first into the truth Of the com
mendations they had bestowed on their consorts, and
see if they were de served. She then asked the first
beauty,
‘ if her hu sband had ever seen a beau tifu l
woman besides herself. ’ The reply was, No l ’
Then ,
’ said she,‘ try him first
, and then you will
certainly know whether he loves you or no t .’ Of the
second she asked, Madam ,has you r handsome hus
band got his manly ornament, i. e. , the beard ?’ No ;
50 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
not ye t,’ replied the other. Then wai t unti l he is
bearded, and then you will be able to tell whetherhe i s handsome or not. ’ T o the th ird she said, Myyoung lady"has your lord been wounded in a batt le ?’
NO , Madam, no t yet ,’was her reply. Then ,
’re
turned she you cannot tell yet whether he i s a brave
man or no t , so wait till such an accident occurs to
testify to his valour. ’ She then interrogated the
fou rth, inquiring whether her lord was liberal upon
wealth Obtained by himself, by his own industry, or
otherwise ? ’ She replied, Upon the estate left by
his late father. ’ ‘ Then,’ said the virgin, ‘ term his
l iberality extravagance and prodigality until he is
liberal from his own
At first, the gaudy military appearance of my step
father, led me to believe that he was a man of
courage ; bu t , on thi s trial , I found him to b e worse
than a jackal .
Bear ing, however, the above message, I came down,and, return ing to the Officer, I told him that the
Si’
ibhadar 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 woul d act in his self-defence. I added,he was determined to hold ou t to the last ; that he
intended to destroy his femal es, and then he would
break through . Thu s,” said I, “
you will see
several mu rders in cold blood in your presence, and
for these I know not who will have to atone ; and,
MY STE P-FATHE R A PRISONE R. 5 1
al l, it i s no t so safe for the guard too. Who
to whose share the bul lets o f the blunderbuss
fal l, before the Siibahdar i s captured, dead or
Bu t ,”added I, “ there i s only one way for
efal 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 th e person o f
the Old gentleman ; if he were sure of this, he wou ld
come ou t and surrender.” Thus I delivered the
cowardly mes sage, with the addition of a few tou ches
of my own .
The concluding proposal of mine was immediately
agreed to by the comma nder. A Brahman and a cow
were soon produced ; and the Brahman, pu tting thetail o f the an imal in the commander’s hand, poured
down some water upon it, and uttered some words in
Sanskrit, which cau sed the poor man to tremble at
their solemnity. The Slibahdar, observing thi s
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, h e gave a bag of five hundred rupees secretly
to the commander as a bribe, which dumb coins made
him and his party, no t only dumb, bu t enslaved them
all to us ; and though we were their prisoners, yet
they made themselve s ours.
Two long and tediou s months elapsed in thi s
52 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH .
unlucky restraint. The poor governor, during the
day, sat at the door of his zah anah. 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 ; Ientered the house, and went ou t anywhere I l iked,without any sort of obstruction whatever. At last ,the orders arrived from Gwalior directing our release,and they were du ly execu ted. 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 ou t by the Minister, to
give consolation to the poor weak-minded old fellow.
He took al l this very coolly, and, on his dismissal ,h e asked for the restoration o f his live and dead stock ,confiscated by the Government Officers. To this , th e
deputy replied, he could not give anything back , as
the orders were silent on that head.
“Had it been
otherwise,”
added he,I woul d have had much
pleasure in restoring them, and woul d have added
something from myself. ”
54 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
ou t 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, 8 th , 1 3th , 1 8 th , 23rd, and 28 th .
Mohamedans are particular in shunning the per
formance Of bu siness, or going on a journey, as for
bidden by the Prophet himself, during the moon’s
rotation of abou t fifty-four hours in the sign Scorpio.
The rule to find ou t this time i s 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 o f the sign s, commencing from
that which i s the man sion o f the Sun at that time ,and the last five must be that sign in which the
Moon then performs her course. Shou ld there remain
any number less than five,such a residue is to be
mu ltiplied by six, and the product is the number Of
degrees which the planet hath gone over in that
sign : e.g. , this day i s the fou rth day of the lunar
month Jamadu ’
lawal , corresponding with the 2oth Of
April, 1 847, the time when the Sun i s in the sign
Tauru s. Take the number of days in the lunar
month, four ; double the same, add five — total ,thirteen.
In the number, thirteen , there wil l be two five s,so the moon must b e in the second sign from
Taurus , i.e. ,Gemin i ; and the residue, three, multi
plied by six,will produce the number e ighteen,
FAsTROLOGY. 5a
ich i s the number Of degrees she hath passed in
this dayllowing tabl e exhibits good and bad luck for
Days of th e Unsuccessful for.
Cutt ingorput tingon new clothes,
Saturn T raffic b leeding at th e
arm , and sh avingthe h ead.
T akingmedicines,employment, cutting, and puttingon new clothes.
Building.
Mars
Venus
T he seven planets, viz. , Sun, Venu s , Mercury,Moon, Saturn , Jupiter, and Mars , have dominion
assigned to them by astrologers over the seven days
o f 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, isconsidered to b ecome crafty, greedy, unjust, and hypocritical .
Beginning with a.
building or mar
riage, b leeding at
the arm .
"Study and seien Performing Ob se
t ific undertakingMarriage.
5 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
of the remain ing five planets are thought good, ex
cept Thu rsday. On this day, though no t an unlucky
day, a visit to a sick person , inquir ing after hi s
health, or taking medicine, i s strictly forbidden.
Wednesday, governed by the planet Mercury, i s
appointed for commencing study ; but to begin with
any other bu siness i s prohibited.
T he dominant planets o f the twenty-four hours
are found by the following rule. For example, take
Monday. T he first hou r o f thi s day, beginning
from sunri se, belongs to the Moon ; second, Saturn ;third, Jupiter ; fourth , Mars ; fifth, Sun ; sixth , Venu s,seventh , Mercury ; and eighth, again to the Moon ;and so on, in the above rou tine through a whole
week.
Another superstitious ru le,strictly adhered to by
all Mohamedans, and considered by Hindus a part
o f law , i s the observation o f invisible spirits that are
bel ieved to perambulate the eight direction s of the
globe, on particular dates of the Hindus’ lunar monthsthroughou t the year.
In u ndertaking a jou rney, or any expedition Of
importance, or game of chance , the direction haun ted
by these spirits should b e behind the undertaker to
en sure success ; no t opposite, which i s considered
very unlucky, and ill succes s 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. 5 7
and the dates counting from l st to 1 5 th, and then
l st to 1 5 th, the last 1 5 th day standing
Auguration also i s no t left unpractised by the
native s o f 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. III
the same manner, a sneeze in his Opposite direction
w ill deter him from going to any place, or under
taking any business : a sneeze heard at the right
58 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAII.
hand side will prove to be o f a contrary effect.
In the sam e way, flights o f birds , sight of a herd
of deer, and many other things, are good or bad
omens.
No t 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 beginn ing of this
chapter, quite satisfied with his lot. He thought
proper now to proceed to Gwalior, and lay his case
before His Highness th e Maharajah Daulat RaoSindhiah . He purchased several horses and came l s
,
and left them in charge o f his brother-in-law (his
former wife’s brother) with some diabolical instruc
tions, which hereafter will b e'
mentioned.
A lucky day having been fixed, we left the city
in company with a nobleman o f Sindhiah’
s family,who was likewise proceeding to that court, after
visiting his fam ily at Ujjain. T he character of my
step-father being that of a real timeserver, he soon
ingratiated himself with th e nobleman ; so much ,that during our journey they were intimately leagu ed
in friendship. We marched every morning till abou t
four o’clock P.M. , and then halted. I was now really
tran sformed from a young priest to a nice littl e
soldier. I rode a beau tifu l mare, ornamented with
my glittering arms,sword
,shield
, and a smal l spear,
al l proportioned to my stature, except the mare,which was large, but a very nice animal ; her name
was “ Bar (lightning), and she was as quiet as
VISIT To SINBHIAH’
S COURT. 5 9
a lamb, that i s'
to say, when I rode her qu ietly : but
if I spurred, or raised my hand by chance, she was
as swift 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.
III the course of about one month we reached
Sindhiah’
s camp at Gwal ior, which was, in fact, no
camp bu t a regular city, consisting of houses bu ilt
with soft red stone and mortar, with a large and
magnificent palace of His Highness in the centre.
T he population, at the time, was estimated to amount
.to three hundred thousand person s, o f which armed
soldiers amounted to one-third. There were two
hundred elephan ts and three hundred cannons ready
for action. We pitched our tents upon a respectable
s ite appointed by the officer o f His Highness, and
lived for two months unnoticed by any person of
consequence. My step-father, however, did his best
to enter into intimacie s with men of rank and dig
n ity ; and at last su cceeded in obtaining admittance
to th e Court by distributing one thou sand 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
cu shion o f valuable brocade, set with jewels), as a
mark o f politeness, and stretched forth his right hand
to honour us,tou ching which respectfully with our
fingers, we kissed them . His Highness’s conver
sation was so graceful , civi l, and fascinating , that my
60 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII.
step-father seemed stupified, and could not speak o f
his complaints : however, he did no t fail to give
some hin ts respecting them . His Highness pretended
not to notice them , but com forted the old man by
observing that he had given orders for him to b e
paid his arrears up to the end o f that month ; that
he might consider himself in His Highness’s service
from the death o f the old qu een ; and that His
Highness had already enrolled h im amongst his most
favoured courtiers . This filled th e old man with an
uncommon pride, and locked his mouth, and rendered
h im unable to u tter 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 dresse s
o f honour were brought ou t for us. At the time of
our dismissal , His Highness inquired smilingly as to
who I was ? He is my son ,” replied the old man ;
bu t let the young man answer for himself.” Hear
ing this, I respectfully joined my hands and said“ T he SI
'
Ibahdar may b e believed, if it please you r
Highness , since parents are the best au thorities to
Speak abou t their children.
” This reply, though a
Simple one, excited the mirth of the Maharajah to a
great degree, and he w as pleased to pu t playfully
another question to m e. What is your opinion,then
,regarding your own birth I am too young,
my lord,” rejoined I, “
and no t competent to give
my opinion upon matters of such importance.” His
6 2 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
him unparal leled pleasure ; and he gave a grand
entertainmen t to all the nobles in the camp , which
cost him about two thousand rupees ; and the con
gratulatory pre sents given to him by them on this
occasion amounted to upwards o f thr ee thousand
rupees. This c ircumstance no t only rendered him
independent of me, but he began to hate and abuse
me now on trifling matters : he u sed the coarsest
language towards me, which I could not possibly
bear. He pas sed his days among hi s friends , and his
n ights with a new friend’s wife, the man appear ing
to wear the pair of horns withou t any sense of
jealousy. He never went on his du ty, but sent me
invariably in his place ; besides, when at home, I
was always ordered with other serva nts 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 o f my pre
dicament , adding that I had formed the intention of
deserting the old man , and woul d rather commit
suicide if unsu ccessful in doing so. Unfortunately,this letter was intercepted, through the irregularity
and neglect of the postmaster of the Maratha
Government. T he o ld man happened to call at the
post-office, respecting the receipt o f 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-RATHER PUTS ON HIS TRUE COLOURS . 63
del ivered two days ago , and was immediately going
to be sent off, woul d certainly bring joyful tidings
o f all kinds . “ I have sent no letter, rejoined the
SI'
Ibahdar,“ it must belong to some other person.
”
Upon this, the letter being produced was recogni sed,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
no t the least conception , but stood amazed and
Thunderstruck.
“My good friend,” says he, “ here
i s 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 mad e me quite pale, yet ,see ing no e scape, my you thf ul heart soon resumed
courage , and I called to mind the old Persian proverb, 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 i t.
This reply kindl ed 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 " Utt ering this, he sprangfrom his place, and knocked me down with two or
three blows ; not satisfied with which, he kicked and
64 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTrULLAII.
pounded me with his fists until he was tired (of this
I was informed afterwards) ; but, falling d own sense
le ss, 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
ki ndly gave me a cup of sherbet, scented with rose
water, at his own expense. Of this sweet beverage,I cou ld take bu t a very little quantity, finding all
the function s o f my body paralyzed. I slept again
very soundly for two days and nights, and did no t
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 myl ife, if possible. He sent me sweetmeats and other
deliciou s eatables, as a token of his kindness, but I
gave them to the grooms ; and for myself, I took ,morning and evening, a smal l 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 sev ere pain had made me quite dumb, my
head being overfilled with thoughts o f thousand
kinds.
In the meantime, the turn of the guard having
occu rred , the remorseless o ld tyrant asked m e ,
through his servant, to act his part as usual. I
replied I was unfit for du ty, and would not go.
Hearing this answer, he armed himself and pro
ceeded to the palace ; and I, having provided myself
MY FLIGHT. 6 5
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 , orrather direction, to the town of Gohad, abou t twenty
two miles from Gwalior. Leaving the highway, I
began to proceed through the jungle, to avoid be ingobserved by any individual that might have been
despatched to pursue and apprehend me. I went on
as fas t as my legs cou ld carry me ; and to my great
satisfaction, for some time I me t no animal walking
upon two legs, except a few shepherds every now
hnd then, resting under shady trees, pasturing the irherds, guarded by their faithful dogs. At noon I
took my rest under a magn ificent banyan tree, by
the Side of a river ; I made my ablution, and spread
ing my d0pu t ta,*or waistband, I sat upon it, with
my little sword, my Kur’
an, the other books, and the
loaf o f 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.
6 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
at this time being excessive, I took a piece o f bread ,
a fourth of which I first offered to my flattering
guest, the dog, and to the remainder I began to do
ju stice. The kind-hearted shepherd asked me if I
had any objection to have a l ittle milk with my plainbread. On the contrary, replied I, I should be most
happy to get a l ittle , if he pleas ed, and woul d feel
obliged to him for his generous and hospitable act to
a stranger, and a man of different caste l ike myself.
T he l iberal shepherd immediately brought me a po t
o f excellent fresh milk ; bu t the difficulty now arose,how to receive it. The shepherd, being a HindI
'
I,
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 o f 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 l iberality 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 SUSPIOIOUS ACQUAINTANCE . 6 7
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 o f the Rajpu t maidens,who were busily engaged in drawing water and
carrying it home for their use, to give me a little
water to qu ench my thirst with. In reply, sh e asked
me a qu estion, 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 cou ld not be more than
_an atom before your incomparable beauty : a lamp
can have no splendou r before the sun.
” This flatteryproduced a smile in her fair countenance, and she
held her pot to me very gracefu lly, telling me,
Drink till thou art satiated.” Thanking her, I
took both of my hands to my mou th in the form
o f 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 o f 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 3
D 2
6 8 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUT FULLAH.
traveller, and was going to Gohad on business. Hear
ing this, he observed , his destination was the same,but he feared we could no t reach it till af ter sunset,as it was full fou r miles distant yet from the spo t.
I liked no t the man’s appearance, his dull stupid
eyes, and his intruding manners ; but he soon fami
liariz ed himself to me during our march , and put
me Off my guard by his conversation to a great
degree. We went about two mil es when the brilliant
travell er, the sun, reached the horizon. At this time
we came to a river, at the bank of which there was
an old mosque standing, bu t no population to be seen
in the vicini ty. I told my new companion that I
could walk no longer, and would make my hal t 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 o f seeing him, inslui A llah
ta’
dla , if it pleased the Almighty God,
” Here
upon he observed this was a place infested by both
robbers and wild beasts,and he would recommend
my proceeding on, instead of staying in that dangerons place. But I told him I cared not for bothkinds of the savage animals : as for the first clas s ofthem , I did no t think they woul d injure me,
for Ihad no t 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 no t favoured by the Deity : I
70 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or 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 al ready 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 b e 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 .
T he conversation of Jum’
a charmed me much ;and, being a young imprudent creature, I swore to
him by the Book without thinking, though I regrett edit afterwards. Jum’
a then remarked that he had
seven pupils in the coun try, 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 Thug, and that he killed travellers very easily, and
made his fortune by doing so. Opening a long bag
from his waist, and undoing its month , b e poured
down gold mohrs from it to enchant my eyes andfascinate my mind. These preciou s coins amounted
to 1 1 2, being counted afterwards . Wh en I heard
THE THUG . 71
this appalling annorm cement , 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 cou ld 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 ; bu t 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 chance s that
to-morrow you wil l be as rich as myself ; but
remember, you must pay one quarter of the gaint o me and one quarter to a handsome maid of Ours,whom we shal l see to-morrow at the gate of Gohad.
Although exposed to such danger, I could not get
rid of my inclination t o 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 a gar, I returned to the seat.
Jum’
a now being sati sfied of my fidelity, began his
diabolical instructions to me, telling me that it was
no t difficult to put an end to a man’s life, bu t 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 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII.
them as mendicants, by engaging to be their guides ,
and even by acting as pimps for them. T he woman
I mentioned to you i s 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 intru sion , bu t the woman
pacifies him by telling him‘ he is my husband (or
brother), and will soon go away abou t his bu siness
after taking a li ttle fire, and then we will smoke and
talk at leisure.
’ During this talk, if the traveller is
no t enough off his guard, in smoking and ta lking,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 u s throwing a hand
kerchief like this (ex hibiting a long silk handkerchiefwith a knot) over his neck, gives him a pul l , 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 certainday.
”
Listening to these abominable narratives,my ears
became deaf, my eyes motionless, and my blood
A THUG’S E x PE RIE NOE . 73
thrilled in my veins. My self-possession,however
,I
still maintained, and asked him another question withthe same indifference as before. Do you no t relent
at all when you commit this act ? ” replied
he,“ we are accustomed to it ; a butcher i s never
moved when he kills his goat or cow. In the
beginn ing one always feel s compassionate a l ittle,but practice renders everything easy : upon such
occasions we must think of the people’s unkindness,selfishness, andTemorselessness. For example, they
would not give us a rupee were we dying with
starvation, and they wou ld 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 abou t thirty miles from Kota, in the direction of
Udepur. In the course of the firs t day’s journeywith him, I could find no opportun ity to finish him.
In the even ing 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 firs t 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 LUTFULLAH.
that eating his sal t, and then killing him , would be
an unpardonable infideli ty 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
til l noon, when the time o f hi s 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 runn ing about a quarter o f 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 pu rifications ; and
spreading his cloth, began his prostrations, and
rising up, heedl ess 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. T he body, however, I interred immed iately,and returned. The next day I came to the vil lage,where I had previou sly 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 o f giving up my
profession, telling her that I would rather s tarve todeath than be obliged to stain my hands in future
with innocent blood for such trifling gains. She did
A PLEASANT VIGIL. 75
not like thi s unmanliness o f mine, and, taking the
farthing from me, she proceeded to the market-place,whence she returned with a bundle of abou t one
pound in weight of small fish or prawns : placing
the bundle before me, she said, Can you count these
small animal s my son ? ’ Yes, ’ said I, ‘ but it will
require one whole day to count them, without anyuse.
’ Then,’ returned She,
‘ you foolish boy, do
you not see how many lives are destroyed here for
one farthing ? and you, like a stupid, cowardl y,relenting fellow, seem concerned at the death of an
old priest, who had one foot al ready in the grave.
If a lion,’ Observed she, feels remorse over his prey,
i t i s qu ite clear he mu st starve to death.
’ This
wholesome advice of the manly old woman, con
t inned 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 mu st 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 accidental ly bu rnt my
finger, and the pain thereof will no t 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 l ike an unclean animal . I feel it impossible
76 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII.
to express to my reader the to rture that my mind
was undergoing at the conversation and Sight of
this devil in the disguise o f 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 keepe r 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 prosecu ted on suspicion
o f cold-blooded murder, perpetrated for the moneyon his person. In such troublesome thought the
long and tedious night at last came to a fini sh ; the
chirping o f the morning birds conveyed the glad
tidings of its approach to my anxious ears. I rosefrom my place very quietly, and getting ou t o f the
gate o f the mosque, withou t making any noise,instead of going to make my morning ablut ion,which was my first intention, I ran in the directiono f Gohad, doing the two miles in about twenty
78 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTYULLAH.
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 ablu tion, I Offered my
thanks to Heaven for this narrow escape , and
sincerely demanded forgiveness o f the De ity for
the crime of breaking my oath .
Fin ishing these humble supplications, I kindled a
l ittle 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 star t, I saw , to my great
alarm , one o f the guards coming up to me : his
appearance filled my mind with a double appre
hension. In the first place I thought somebody
m ight have come from Gwal ior 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 mu st
have to Share his fate , or be made a prisoner. Butal l such fearful thoughts left me soon, when the man ,
coming nearer, salu ted and kindly told me that the
Min ister wanted to see me : I accordingly returned
w ith him to the Darbar, and was desired to be
seated. The Minister thanked me in the assembly
for having been the cause of the destru ction of the
I BE COME TIMOROUS. 79
impure bloody robber, who had destroyed manylives, and would have taken more had he lived.He then ordered hi s treasurer to pay me twelve
gold mohrs from the amount of one hundred and
twelve, found on the person of the guilty. I madea respectful bow to him, and got the money fromhis 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 twofor 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, vani ty, and self
confidence, began to take their seat in my little
brain. The pure sense of being altogether resigned
to the will o f the One real Prov ider of everything
to every individual creature, began to leave me.
T he yellow slave,”as it i s termed by the immortal
Shakspeare, soon evinced its noxious effects upon itspossessor. Notwithstanding al l 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 be ing the object of
everybody’s love, there are in this world a thou sand
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
sitiou. I was obliged to travel by the general road,and to seek some company, for the safety of my
80 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or 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 o f seeing the v icinity
o f the ancient city of Agra. My bread, I may say,
had the blessing o f Jesu s Christ, that during the
week I lived upon three quarter s of it, and had stil l
one quarter of i t left ; but to tell the truth, the green
grain of the fields , which I plucked and parched
every morning, wasmy wholesome breakfast through
ou t the journey. It affords me the greatest pleasure
now to think of the freedom and happiness I enjoyed
in this short travel after bondage. T he remembrance
of my morning walks, my ablu tions in th e pure
limpid springs of water, my noon prayers in the
still jungles, under the shade o f 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, stil l 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 thea ncient lofty buildings, rai sing their head s from the
verdant cloaks of the trees. In the afternoon, Ientered the town, and searched for the house of my
late father’s relative, and was glad enough to find i t.I called at the door, and a female slave askedw ho Iwas. I to ld her I was the son of the late MolviMohamed Akram, who was first married in this
AGRA. 8 1
ouse. The effect of this message was soon shown
by the entry of an elderly man of very respectable
appearance, whose countenance betokened his scien
t ific mind. When the look 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 hou se , 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 o f 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 o f my education : my
punctuality, perseverance, and love of knowledge,soon rendered me his favourite scholar. On Friday Iwas 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 o f Agra i s handsomely situated
82 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
on the south-west side of the famous river Jamna,one of the three sacred streams with the Hindus,Ganga, Jamna, and Saraswati, suppo sed to run under
ground. The confluence Of these rivers at Prag, orAllahabad, i s cal led T ribeyni (that i s, three braids Of
hair), and i s considered by them to be a plac e Of
great sanctity, and ablu tion therein is said to wash
away al l the sins Of the performer ; whereas, bathing
in the river Jamnahere, frees him from one-third Of
the sins at least. Agra assumed the title Of Akbar
abad from the tM e of the great Emperor Akbar,who much enlarged it, and made i t his capital.
The houses of thi s city are in general lofty, consisting
Of several stories ; bu t the street s 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. Abou t five miles to the north , at S ikandra,i s the mausoleum Of the wise Emperor Akbar— mayhis memory be blessed " Should the reader feel
inclined to know the history Of this great king, I begto refer him to the Akbar-Namah, or the Annal s
of Akbar,” by his learned and able minister, Abul faz l ,
where he will find in detail the account o f his wisdomand benevolence, and his incomparable political
energie s, etc. , from the time of his you th. When hewas 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
the kingdom of this world for the next and a
bett er one, where he must be in the eternal enjoyment Of the blessings Of palaces and huris.Agra i s renowned as the birthplace of the cele
b rated mini ster, Abulfaz l , and his brother, the learned
Faizi. T O the latter, the world is indebted for a
translation Of several famous Sanskrit works, such
as the GitaMahabharat , and Ramayana, etc. and to
the former for his energetic pol itical admini stration
o f the affairs of India, and for the composition and
production of the law institutes, such as the Ayini
Akbari, etc.
I beg to draw my reader’s attention, in thi s 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 no t have been
the fate Of the country to be under the rule Of
foreigners . The enormou s weight of the kingdom
was placed on his shoul ders when he was a boy of
thirteen years . It mu st be hom e in mind that to
sway the vast continent Of India i s not an easy thing
for a boy Of that age, when, in thi s peaceful time ,three able statesmen Of the enlightened land Of E ngland, aided by members Of council, find it an irksome
and difficult task to govern. Whereas, in the begin
ning o f 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 or LUTFULLAII.
three accomplishments by nature, viz. , courage, bene
volence, and foresight, he proved to be an incom l
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 h im : and he is loaded with praises ,not only by all Asiatic historians, but by Europeans
too , and, lastly, with al l the eternal showers o f mercy
from his Creator.
The fort Of the city is strongly buil t Of red stone,such as i s taken ou t Of the Gwalior quarries ; the
depth of its ditch i s considerable, the ramparts double,with bastions situated at equal distances from one
another.
Amongst th e famous edifices Of Hindus tan i sMumtaz Mahall , here vulgarly called Taj Mahall .
It is a most remarkable work by Indian artists, built
o f pure marble, decorated with Mosaics. Its materials
are uncommonly rich , its design chaste , and its effect
most brilliant, attended by solemnity. In beau ty, it
surpasses all the edifices Of India, and in solemnity,those Of the whole of Asia.
The founder of thi s wondrous bu ilding was Shah
Jahan the Great, who erected it for his favourite
queen, Mumtaz Mahall Begam, who was an able
woman, and, also, queen Of the beau ties o f her time :
it i s her mausoleum .
The number of inhabitants in Agra at this time, Iwas informed was about eighty thousand. The dis
8 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
CHAPTER IV.
My service with Hindu Raid s physician—I v isit Delhi—Returnt o Gwal ior—T he cob ra’s b ite cured—Once more at 11iFil ial love stronger than the astrologer’s threats—Sir T .
H islop’e army— Battle Of Mehidpur—I weary of Ujjain—My
Iuckless rencontre,
with Musa the A fgh an—Strange wanderings in th e jungle—T he secret unveiled—Nadir, ch ief Of theBheels—Am promoted t o be thieves’ secretary—A Bheel
b anquet and strange h orrors—My fligh t—Th e old Sheik oncemore—My moth er
’s death .
IN the month Of February, 1 8 1 7, Hakim Rahmatullah Beg Khan, physician to Hindu Rao , the
brother-in—law o f his Highness Dau lat 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
b e Of any u se to him, to be allowed to accompany
him in his present travel s. He kindly took me in
his service as superintendent of his medicines and
his hou sehold, on a small salary.
Favoured by unexpected success in this Object ofmy desires , I returned home with the good news, and
communicated it to my benefactor, who, w i th all the
members of the family, were excessively sorry t o
part with me, after being domesticated with them for
a period of about five years. On the day o f our
I LHAvB AGRA. 87
departure, the ten gold mohrs, with a few rupees that
I had in my possession, I placed at the feet of my
b enevolent 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 cal led on the physician in person,and spoke to them a great deal abou t me and in my
favour ; and, giving my hand into his, he bade us
khudd ha’
fiz , God preserve thee,”and a goodjou rney.
Early on Thursday morning we took our leave of
our friends, and bade far ewell 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 . T he first
look of this grand city reminds the reflecting traveller
that thi s was the central seat of empire in India,whence orders a nd prohibition s were issued and
execu ted throughou t 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 noble s and
princes used to be hu ng at th e gate s in retribution
for their misconduct, while others passed through in
triumph.
On our entering the city gates, some few clerks
88 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII.
and peons Of the Engli sh Government, to our great
annoyance, searched our luggage and examined us,questioning us very minu tely respecting our inten
tion and cause of coming to the city, which being
directly replied to, we were left to ourselves. T he
physician took his temporary abode with a nobleman ,a descendant of Nawazish Khan, residing at Chandni
Chauk in a grand mansion, furni shed wi th everyt hing
requ isite 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 , andZsometimes gave some medicines as he
directed to some Of the patients from the chest in
my charge and then, after breakfast, having al l the
day at my own disposal, I passed it delightfully in
walking through the city and its environs
T he ancient city o f Delhi, entitled Indraprastha
in the mythological annal s of the Hindus,l ies in
mounds of ruin s, to the south of th e modern town .
Several marks of the ancient palaces and mansions,e tc. , 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
wonderful ly strong, even at this time. The firstMohamedan invad er of India was Su ltan Mahmud
90 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
parations for his return to Gwalior, which being made
in a short time , we left the Old metropoli s of India,
and in abou t another week reached o ur destination
in safety, with the exception of one accident to a
peon of our s . It happened so, that on the fou rth
day o f our march , as we halted under a tree by the
side of a small village to take our breakfast, this poo r
Hindu, feeling thirsty, was the first person to descend
into the well (near which we had halted) with his
po t o f water. After havi ng gone down a few steps
he was bitten by a large black snake , that was lying
under the stepping-stone o f 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 o f th e fir earm
instantly brought us to the well, and wha t did we see
bu t the man engaged in separating a piece of flesh
from his hee l with his sword, and the noxious animal
writhing abou t two yards from him with a hole in his
hood that the pistol bal l had made. We carried up
the poo r man, who fain ted 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 wash ed the
wound he put a quantity of common sal t upon it. I
believe the smarting of the sal t rou sed him from his
deadly swoon, and he asked for water ; bu t the docto r
gave him a OOpious draught Of English brandy instead
of water, which soon brought him down to sleep.
A RECONCILIATION. 91
In the meantime a mul titude 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 Ou t 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. T he poor peon,being tied on a cam el , was carried dur ing the
remainder of the journey, and recovered from his
severe illnes s after about six weeks, when His Excel
Jency Hindu Rao (the brother-in-law Of His Highnes sthe Maharajah), in whose service our noble physicianwas, 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 Siibahdar,
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.
T he doctor said he had no objection in case it wasmy 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
coul d ; I woul d wai t upon him with pleasure when I
had time, but would never leave the service of the
92 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTE ULLAH.
doctor to stay with him, or on any other account than
my finding a caravan proceeding to Ujjain ; thenwould I beg my dismissal to repair to see my parent.
”
This determination o f mine silenced the Subahdar,and he went home.
I s tayed with the doctor about six months, during
wh ich period, be ing constantly engaged in medical
occupation, I began to take much interest in the
profession, and learnt something of that most useful
science. T he practice of this doctor was very simple
and easy : he seldom had recourse to medicines, but
general ly prescribed change of diet. His employer,Hindu Rao , had great confidence in him, though hi s
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 wentou t hunting for two or three days, to a distance of
about thirty miles from the camp, where he wasseized with constant and severe hiccup. He had
two medical men with him, who tried the ir best toremove thi s troublesome malady from His Excellency,but to no purpose. One o f them wanted to take
some blood from the arm , but this was objected to by
the patient himself. His Excellency, no t being ableto suffer any more pain, returned to the campimmediately, and th en my master, be ing ordered toattend, prescribed merely a few small pieces of
sugar-cane, sprinkled with rose-water, to be chewed
94 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OE LUTE ULLAII.
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 o f the tents, rose more than
two feet above the level of the ground, and caused
our beds and pill ows to float. Our horses and camelsstood trembling, a nd ourselve s were in no bett er
condition than the poor animal s 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 o f more
than six years . Khande Rao , as al so the Siibahdar,would no t enter the city for a week more, it being
unlucky, according to the astrological calculations.
As for myself, I was so anxiou s to see my mother
that no astrology could possibly keep me a moment
longer in the camp, and, previous to the prohibition
be ing proclaimed there that nobody shoul d 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 SI'Ibahdar, I asked my
mother whence they came ? To this she gave me anevasive reply ; bu t , not being satisfied with heranswer, I made further inquiries abou t it, and found
out , from other members Of the family, that all the
riches were plundered property, unlawfully Obtained
by the brother of th e Siibahdar’s former wife, who
all the time dur ing our absence, acted agreeably to
his orders as a freebooter, and used to go on his
diabol ical 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
m iddle of December a force Of about ten thousand
of the English army, headed by Sir Thomas Himp,arrived there, and halted at the other bank Of the
river Sipra. My whole attention was taken up
by their excell ent 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 Hindiistani 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 or LUT E ULLAH.
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 o f 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 confu sion,engag ed in pulling down their tents, and loading
their provisions, etc . , on the back Of a poor camel ,that seemed to have been overworked, as i ts lament
able cries denoted. From these people I learnt thatthe army had proceeded to Mehidpur, where they
expected to have a battle with Holkar’
s forces.
Hearing this I returned home in despair, considernmyself very unlucky, not being capable of partici
pating in such affairs .
Hira Khan, the Governor Of Ujj ain, and almost all
the chiefs, got ready to plunder the English baggag e,the owners o f Which they considered would get a
good beating and be defeated. Also parties of the
mercenary vagabonds, who had nothing to lose, buteverything to gain— and who sojourned in the city,in expectation of such an opportunity of executing
98 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP LUTE ULLAH.
excitement, hear ing the news of wars in the Dakhan,and the overthrow of Baj i Rao , the las t representative of the family Of the Peshwa, whose vanity and
short-sighted policy had lately rendered him odiou s
t o 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
morn ing every day, in order that his eyes might not
be defiled by seeing them .
Moreover, he issued a proclamation prohibiting al l
Muslim s of whatever rank or station from even pass
ing through those streets which were overlooked by
his palace. T he wise and powerful Christians,al though they were treated al ike, yet cared no t abouthis folly in such matters, but were greatly incensed
at his vacillation and disregard of their advice.
In the beginning of January, in the year 1 8 18 ,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 di stinction. Infatuated
with this idea, I wandered abou t in the city in search
of a caravan or any kind of a companion through whom
t o accompli sh 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 in the shop of a Banian.
MUsA KHAN. 99
As I passed by, I saluted them according to the
established cus tom of the Mohamedans, founded uponthe tradition Of the prophet. T he Jamadar MasaKhan (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 hi s return to Pi'
mah, whence
he had Obtained a few months’ leave t o v is it his
family at Rampur. I inquired as to the time when
he in tended leaving the city ; “ for,” said, I I was al so
thinking of proceeding to the Dakhan, where I might
get employment.” The Jamadar replied, he was toc leave. the place next morning after prayer, and would
take me into his service if I liked, on a sal ary Of ten
rupees per month, and that I should eat and 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 gota better situat ion : but I must make up my mind and
be qu ick. 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 shou ld be as light aspossible, and perhaps lighter than his men.
1 00 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
I returned home delighted, and packing up all my
things in a bo x , 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 b e stopped . My
future prospects having filled my brain, I was so
busy all night in building castles in the air that I
coul d no t sleep for a moment ; not having the least
idea that I was precipitating myself headlong into an
abyss of misfortune worse than death ; bu t the l ines
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 i s 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 smal l 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 i s 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 devot ions ; and
then, returning to me, they rehearsed their salutation ,as it is the duty of Muslims to salute each other after
102 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OE LUTPULLAH.
at the foot of the enormous chain Of moun tains in this
part Of the world, extending east and west al ong the
valley Of the Narbadda R iver, which on the other
side forms a natural boundary between the two
extensive provinces of Malwa h and Khandesh . Oninquiring the reason for our coming to th i s dreary
and difficult part Of the mounta in, instead o f going
through the celebrated pass of Jamghat , I was
informed that this pass, named Jamanya, though
very difficult, having only a footpath, was preferred
by MiisaKhan as being the shortest road to Mandal
eshwar, where the Narbadda i s always fordable.
The next morning, about two O’clock A.M. , we set
Off and entered the mountain . Our progress was
very difficul t dark before, and dangerou s voices
behind ;” but, at
'
the same time, it was very fast.
Musa 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 stree ts and narrow lanes
o f 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 i t ; but, for my part,I felt my extremities benumbed and my whole body
chil led. After prayers , however, Musa ordered a
bonfire to be made and pipes to b e filled. We obeyed
the order with alacrity, and in a moment pieces of
I An ENTRAPPED. 1 03
fire-wood, o f which there was no deficiency, were collec ted into a large heap ; and one of the Afghans,tak ing the chalcmak (steel and fl int) from his girdle,struck fire and soon kindled a flame, to our inex
pressible comfort. In the mean time, the great planet
rising from the eastern horizon rendering us inde
pendent o f the fire by his rays, we took our breakfast,and soon conc lu ded it with an other smoke. Thus, being
wel l refre shed, we set Off again at a more rapid pacethan the night before. T he road was very difficu lt
and complicated the footpath th at we followed Often
became traceless. Sometimes we penetrated through
the thick forest, and at others we caught hold o f
the roots o f trees and corners Of rocks to sling our
selves over a precipice or craggy peak .
Thus we went on till abou t five o’clock in the
evening, when al l the Afghan s joyfully exclaimed,“ There i s the end of o ur 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 Musawhere we were ? In reply, he pointed ou t to me
a wide valley, thickly covered with trees and dotted
w ith huts, situated at the distance of about a mu sket
shot from one another. “ There,” said he, “ that is
the plac e 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 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OE LUTFULLAH.
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
pas ses and roads of that mon tain. T he booty was
brought to Nadir and divided into three shares, two
of which were taken by the Bheel chief, and th e
remainder by the Afghans. Af ter telling me this,Miisa 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. , dur ing their
absence, and that their accounts woul d 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
perce ived the necessity of having recourse to a
hypocritical policy, and, with a feigned smile , I
inqu ired “Are we not , then ,to go to Punah , after
al l ? ” No , never,” rejoined he ; “ what i s the use
of going there when we can acquire here the Object
o f our desire Well,” replied I, as I am joined
to you by the decree of fate, I will try and make
myself usefu l in your service for the fixed time Of
one year, and t hen I shal l 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 par ty as a
106 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OE LUTE ULLAH.
encircled with several squatting Bheels, clearly
showed that he was the chief of th e banditti. Musa,l ooking at him ,
salu ted a nd said, “ Th ere i s Nadir
Bhai, the good prince o f the wilderne ss make yourrespects to him and go home ; I wil l b e with you
afte r a little while.
” So al l Of us rai sed our hands
to our foreheads to the Bheel , who got up from his
seat, returned our salams, and de sired Musa toapproach, which he did, and sat near him on the
ground, leaning against one o f the feet o f the rude
throne. Our party now walked to the place of our
future stay, which they knew too wel l 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 journeyo f a hundred mile s. At length we arrived at a
place near the side Of a h il l , which, l ike a natural
wall, formed the back Of our dwell ing. Adjoining
this hill was a spacious shed bu ilt of trunks o f tree s,and the three sides wal led with strong bamboo s ,leaving a large space in the middle o f the front
side to serve as a door. There were two compart
ments, and abou t thirty rooms in each , partitioned
o ff with split bamboos. Th is las t march had much
fatigued the Afghans too ; so , immediately on our
arrival there, al l o f them hung their matchl ocks
to the walls o f the hall, and each taking possession
Of a room for himself, flung himself down on a rude
MY SOLILOQUY. 1 07
frame, the only“furniture there. I followed the
example o f 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 inqu iry ? I might have
waited another month with my kind parent and
looked for a better convoy. It is my want o f
experience, nay, my folly, that always pushes me
into the abyss o f misfortune . It i s true, Musaacted treacherou sly towards me ; but an outlaw
considers treachery a joke. Why did I allow myself
to b e imposed upon ? Be ing nearly eighteen years
of age, I ought to have judged for myself.” Feeling
utterly helpless (as i s 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 longwilt thou keep me in calamities ? Am I doomed to
be dishonoured, and destined to live with murderer s,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 beseechthee to put an end to my be ing in this world. Amen.
As I repeated this, the tears flowed over my cheeks
incessantly, and then an Opposing train o f 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 LUTE ULLAII.
for I must submit to the decrees o f my fate in the
same way as man, wise or foo l, whether endowed
with the philosophy Of Plato or the stupidity Of
Kho z ib , whether w ith the crown o f royal ty on his
head or the wal let of misery over his shoulder ; I
knew no t the charac ter of the former S iibahdar, nor
that Of Jum ’
a the Thug, nor was I acquainted with
that of the present Jamadar. My outward senses
clearly showedZthat they were men ; and if they
turn ou t inhuman, I am not to blame.”
In the meantime, about eight o’clock , PAL , Musacame home. He called to us, and the whole partyran 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 o f indispens
able necessity at this moment were considered a great
blessing : Mesa was loaded with thanks from all
sides. We then performed our ablu tions , and said
Our evening and night prayers at once. Due ju sticewas then done to the meal , and everybody retired to
repose, except two sentinels , one of them po sted in
the hall, and the other upon a lofty tree. Be ing wel ltired by the hard labour Of the day, all ofus were soon
asleep ; for my part, I think I was more soundly d or
mant than the others . In the morning I did no t get upfrom mydeep sleep unt il Iwas shaken by the shoulders .
I soon felt the necessity o f putting up with all mytroubles and torture Of mind without murmur ing ,
1 10 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTRULLAH.
escort to the fatal spot. A signal from them then
drew the Bheels to the point, and a fal s e conflict
taking place betw een the banditti and the Afghan s,the latter were of course defeated and driven to a
distance ; and the poor travellers were then stripped
o f everything in their possession , even to the clothes
they were. A piece o f 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 resistan ce on the part o f the
poor travellers was sure to bring upon them severe
blows or cuts , or even los s of life. Such were the
horrid scenes , the accounts of which were brought
and fai thfully related to me by my comrades, to my
secret disgust. Thanks to heaven I was never an
eye-wi tness to these horrible affairs ; but the descrip
tions were qu ite sufficient to inflict wounds upon
wounds on a heart unaccustomed to cruelty. On the
fourth return of our party, three head s of our own
people were brought back with the booty ; two of
them belonged to the Bheels, and the third was that
o f a young Afghan named DaraKhan. 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 Daraaccording to our
u sual mode, and he was never thought of any more.
My annoyance, indignation, and horror were inde
A RICH BOOTY. 1 1 1
scribable ; but my safety depending upon my feelings
be ing 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 soli tary foun tain, where I made my
abl utions and performed my prayers. I returned
home after sun-ri se, took my breakfast with Mflsa
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 Ipas sed my time e ither i n shooting smal l birds, or
s itting in solitude lamenting my deplorable condition.
Very nearly four months— as tediou s as four years
passed in this s tate, and I thought e ight 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 dur ing the next n ight, 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 th e valu e of about four hundred
rupees, fell to my lot in the distribution. I thanked
the Jamadar for this unexpected boon, and buried
my r iches in my room,unperceived by all. The
charm and beauty of the gold tried to al lure my
1 12 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTE ULLAH.
thoughts in vain, for the possession of this plundered
property could not afford me that genial pleasure
which one feel s 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 Musa that as he and his
party were to leave him for six months, he would
no t allow them to depar t withou t 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. Musa returned to hisfollowers, and mentioned to them th e resul t Of hi s
visit, which delighted them to a high degree ; and I
must say these tidings, as they involved my liberty,
rendered me happiest o f al l. Opium and henbane,both plain and in confection, and sweetmeats in
plenty, and fat sheep, were sent to our quarters tofeast us. The Afghans, considering themselves rel ieved from active duties, had recou rse to thenourishing and intoxicating articles, and thereby
made themselves as happy as possible. They sat up
till late at n ight to look at the wild dan ces Of theBheels, 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 daythey expected to have the grand feast which hadbeen promised them.
1 14 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTE ULLAII.
undone ; all the Afghan s are assassinated by the
Bheels. I have lost these three fingers in parrying a
cut aimed at my head . My wound is no t a bad one ;but, feign ing death, I have e scaped. 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 hour s in a northern direction,without looking back, mak ing hair-breadth e scapes
over the precipices, rugged he ights , and deep valleys.
Sometimes I climbed where I saw the clouds under
me spread like an ocean ; at o thers I went down as
if to the lowest region. Three hours’ run, however,rendered me quite exhausted ; and no t being able to
move on any more, I dropped down under a tree to
refresh myself. Hunger and thirst advanced the ir
demands to be satisfied ; I knew not where I was .
T he 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 be ing overtaken and
murdered by the assassins . Recovering myself inabout half an hour, I resumed my journey, bu t was
unable to perform it with the first speed. I went,however, on through the wilderness Of the mountain
and the thick fore st til l sunset,making several halt s
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 " 1 15
satisfy the cravings of hunger ; but they could not
well answer the purpose. Fright, I suppose, havingderanged my stomach, i t could retain nothing. The
pellet-bow and tinder-bo x fortunately remained with .
me ; with the former I tried several shots at smal l
birds, but without su ccess .
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.” Butthe danger of being torn to pieces by some ravenous
beast, and loneliness, were sad companions . There
was no sign o f habitation anywhere to be seen. I
travelled al l 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 be ing
murdered, or becoming a prey to wild animal s,haunted my brain ; and, to avoid these evils, I
climbed up a large high tree, and rested myself
upon a branch o f i t in deep contemplation. A dead
silence reigned, only disturbed now and then by the
howlings o f the wild creatures o f the place. When
my eyes turned up, they were fascinated by the clear
azure sky,ornamented with innumerable brilliant
1 1 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OE LUTE ULLAH.
stars, the wonderful works’ o f the omnipo tent
Creator : these common phenomena filled my nu
scientific mind with awe . In the meantime the
beautiful orb of the moon bega n 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
s ituated. The scenes around me began to assume a
different form. Steep sides o f mountains with
hillocks and uneven plains in their front, covered
with verdant trees, represented palaces and grand
mansions, with handsome gardens before them.
These deluding phantoms in the clear moonl ight,and the refreshing breezes, impregnated with the
delicately-sweet scent o f flowers and the shrubs of
the forest, had such a tranquillizing effect that I was
immediately transported to the region o f sleep ; and
the active mental and corporeal powers being at once
su spended, I walked in my dreams in these fantas tical
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 rich es, grandeur , and a crown ;
He wakes and finds himself a simple clown .
”—ROWE .
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 ;
1 1 8 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII.
tages can b e derived from it, which , if described,would take up time and space unaffordable here.
T he most beautiful chirping Of the morning birds
awoke me from sleep , when I felt myself much
refreshed ; but I found the joints o f my limbs stiff
and reluctant to move . Coming down, however,from my elevated place of sleep, I pe rformed the
usual du ties Of a good Mohamedan to h is Creator,by the side o f an elegant spring Of water near to my
tree o f rest, and then I resumed my march in the
northern direction. Although I had no t now the
elasticity of the day before, yet I had scarce walk ed
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 difficu ltiesof my progress, without a road or path , or even a
spot appearing ever to be trodden on by a human
be ing, the sight of which would then have given me
inexpressible delight ; but you will understand me if
I say that my egres s was a hundred times more
difficult than the ingress already described to you .
T o shorten the account o f my misery, I trave lled
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 th e whole time, and, I must
confes s, they were very palatable. T he last-ment ioned
bird, although forbidden by our law ,the compulsion
A RUSH. 1 1 9
o f hunger would not allow me to spare. On the
morning Of t he 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 al l possible
speed, and overtook this half-starved party about
n in e o’clock A.M. ,whilst they sat by a well to refresh
t hemselves. 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 in imical 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 , i s still as poisonou s as ever. But havingalready ar rived near them , it was now too late to
hesitate “ Inquiries as to where and how far was
a vill age , thought I, “might induce them to take
me for a wandering dupe, and thus being placed at
their mercy, they will sur ely injure me to any extent
they choose. So, shaking Off al l timidity, I was
obliged to pu t 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 ? T he name of
the village of poor Old Shaikh Nasrullah, noticed in
the first chapter, revived me as if from death. I
120 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTE ULLAH.
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 m iles , ascending and
descending several hill s, I had the happiness of
descrying the environs Of the village . I shall never
forget the inexpressible joy I felt at that moment. Iran 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 o f the old Shaikh,whom I found sitting at breakfas t 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 pleasu re. I attempted to offer my humble thank s
to him, and to inquire after his and his family’s
health, but the power of articul ation was lost. The
o ld man then told me that he had heard Of myreturn 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
mou th, he had i t from my eyes. He was astoni shed
to se e the torrent of tea rs which burst forth at his
question. He tried to Offer consolation, and inquired
1 22 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
with his broth er-in-law (his late wife’s brother) and a
few horsemen, in the ser v ice of Holkar, at Indur, towhich city he had removed with h is. family. Shortlyafter his arrival at Indur, there ensued a. quarrelbetween him and his brother-in-law, and excitemen t,
on both sides rising higher and higher, words were
changed into blows , and blows into sword cu ts . T he
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 to be
near ; but the noise of the scuffle having attracted a
multitude o f people to the spot, many pursu ed him
and shot him dead. The S libahdar also died of hi s
wounds the next day, and the Governm ent seized
al l 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 Si’
ibahdar, but I felt extr eme dis
tress for my mother. What had become of her I knew
not. My stay with Shaikh Nasrullah was, in couse
quence, o f only three days’ duration.
On the fourth I left him against his will , and pro
ceeded to Indifu’
. 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-SORROWFUL ME E TING .
o f my love . Our mutual happiness at meeting isbeyond my power to describe . She told me all the
particu lars o f the fatal quarrel , and the unlawful
steps taken by the Government in pil laging the hou se
and property afterwards. My own chest that I hadleft with her, containing my things and the small
o f money lawfully earned, escaped the ransackers,i ts shabby appearance attracting no attention. Inquir
ing earnestly after my mother’s health, which did no t
appear to me good, I rece ived 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. l ittle ; 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 woul d 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 t o her native town, and
saw her dear mother, brother, and other members o f
the family. T o 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, tellingher that I had some money in my chest for such and
o ther expenses, and that, thank God " we had no t
been driven to such extremities as to think of dis
124 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or 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 o f 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, earlyin the morning, we left Indur, and, by the blessing
o f Heaven, reached o ur native town on the third daywithout 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 o f spirits,having already told him the same fatal tale , his grief
and despair were great. At the same time b e 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
mysteriou s secrets solely in the omnipotent hand o f
Providence ; and that it i s unwise to fear death on
1 26 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
grieve. The next day she appeared to be quite
recovered, and, to our extreme happiness, we saw her
walking a little, as sisted by a stafl". But, alas " thi ssudden recovery coul d but retard the fatal resul t: 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 , whils t h er head rested on
my bosom, her pure and sacred soul took flight to
the blissful region of eternity. May the bless ing Of
the merciful God shower upon her for ever and ever.
Amen.
CHAPTER V.
My mother’s funeral—A fl'iend Ob tains me the postmastership at
Dharampur My sojourn th ere Sudden dismissal T he
nigh t march-Th e tiger’s spring—Sir John Malcolm—No
refusing a great man—I b ecome Munsh i to th e Bheel agentI am transferred t o Lieut. Hart—T he expedition to NagarParkar—A Maratha horseman
’s impudence—Decision of the
Native hIagistrata—E gyptian version of the story Of Shylock .
I BEING 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 al l the expenses Of the
Obsequ ies, 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, bu t even thenthere 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
1 28 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII.
vinces, at this time resided at Dharampur, as native
agent of the British Government. I frequently visitedhim , and was treated with much kindness, as I was
usefu l to him in supplying information. F inding an
Opportunity, I imparted to him my distressful circum
stance s with tearful eyes, which moved this honour
able man with compassion ; and he no t only prevented
my fall in to 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
smal l salary o f fifteen rupees per mensem. On the
1 8 th ofMay I received the order, bearing Sir John
Malcolm’s seal and signatu re, from the head-quarters
at Mhow, purporting that I was taken into the service
o f 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, s tationing myself there, to
act as postmaster and despatch all packages from the
Sindua Pass to Mandleshwar, and vice versé . With
the Mandleshwar pos t I was ordered to write a letter
containing al l th e 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
130 AUT OBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
robbers, seemed extremely anxious to have a ruler
over them endowed with equity ; and, being informed
that the ju stice of the British Government wasunparalleled in the world, they were ready to throw
themselve s under i ts protection at the first oppor
tunity. Dharampur, though in ruins, as I have
al ready observed, i s excellently situated on the right
bank of the river Narbadda, lat. 22°10' North , long.
75 ° 26’ East. The sight of the pure limp id water,
flowing on the gravelly bed of the river here , is a
very charming one. Both banks are adorned with
many Hindu temples , buil t by the cebrated lady
Ahilya Bai, who ruled over the extensive possessions
o f the Holkar Government during the years 1 76 9 to
1 795 , A.D. , with talent, energy, and despotic power.
Her moderation, impart ial ju stice, masculine courage,and pious liberality will perpetuate her name for
many age s.
The river here abounds with water-fowl Of various
kinds, and the country, though its forests are not
very thick, swarms with game of al l sorts, and i s
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 residen ce, the temple , consequently
was a frightfu l place at night. I strictly ordered my
runners to keep the fire al ive al l night as a safeguard
against these nocturnal visitors . Shortly after my
DHARAMPUR. 1 31
arrival , a detachment Of the Madras Native Infantry,headed by a very handsome Engli shman, arrived
and was stat ioned here, to the highest satisfaction o f
the people and myself, and to the great annoyance ofthe governor, Nathu Bhai. The Englishman, hearingal l I had to say, left hi s party under the command of
his native Siibahdar, and himself, with a Naik, and
three Sipahi'
s, proceeded to Mhow early next morning.
My position and au thority now became stronger in
the village : the time I pas sed here was the happiest
I recollect. The performance of the Government
duties did not occupy me more than hal f 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 regul ar Darbar
in the temple, attended by the head men from the
village, and the officers above mentioned, til l mid
night.
Two months afterwards another Englishman, an
engineer officer, named Mr. Dangerfield, arrived
with his distance measuring-wheel, e tc. He took
down the census of the place from my mou th, and
put several other questions to me, which, having
answered, I ret ired. 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
If 2
1 32 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
not only cur se 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
o rdered to do so. At this I coul d not help smiling ;but there appeared no sign of mirth on the face of
the master.
I continued here u nmolested 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. T he translation of
it was as fol lows : You have conducted your du ties
to the satisfaction of the sublime government. H. H.
the Peshwa having lately been captured, and the
country being settled, there i s no further need Of
your services,-so you are hereby dismissed. Pleaserender your accounts in your next communication,which send, with the seven footmen under your
command, to Mhow. Receive the amount of fortyfive rupee s 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
the same.
”
This final order I was obliged to carry into effect
134 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
sung very well, and was asked every now and then
by the party to oblige them with his excellent mu sic.
The darknes s 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 ravenou s beasts, as was usual when
charged with the post. Being ou t of the service,my words were not only disobeyed, but actually had
no longer any weight with them . They ridicu led
my fears, and said, “ Pray come on quietly, if you
wish to accompany us ; if not, you may return and
do as you l ike.
” This was the first insult that pierced
thr ough 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 o f the night ren
dered my brain heavy, and my feet unwilling to
move ; bu t I strolled on still with the people. The
moon sometimes extended her calm splendour over
us, and sometimes was overshad owed with dark clouds.
Suddenly, upon the left side of our road, a crackling
was heard among the bushes : al l of us were alarmed,and, in an instant, a tiger, ru shing ou t of the jungle,pounced upon the one of the party that was foremost,and carried him off in the twinkl ing o f an eye . T he
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 . 1 35
over in three seconds; and then I know not what
happened, till I returned to my sen ses, when I found
myself and companions lying down on the ground, asif prepared to be devoured by our enemy, the sove
reign of th e forest. I find my pen incapable of
describing the terror of that dreadful moment. Ourlimbs stiffened, our power of speech ceased, our
hearts beat violently, and only a whisper of the sam“ H o hai l
”
.
was heard from us. In thi s state we
crept on all-fours for some di stance back, and then
ran for life with the speed of an Arab horse for
abou t 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 the ir might
to dr ive 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 ou t
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 ourtal e to our suspicious hosts. They reproached us for
our folly in travel ling 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 or LUTFULLAII.
us then a large pot of sour milk , diluted with water,and a large draught was kindly served ou t to each .
It was taken with great avidity, and thankfully
drunk to the good health of our hosts. After thi s
every one of us was attacked with fev er, attended
with shivering, in which deplorable state we remained
til l morning, when we proceeded to Maheshwar,about five miles from this, gu ided a nd escorted by
two Bheels, kindly lent us by the good villagers , and
reached the place at about nine o’clock , A.H . 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 distan tly 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 pas sed
some months in peace, but dejected in consequ enceof my unexpected dismissal from the service. Bythe blessing Of Heaven, at this time, even after
liquidating my small debts , I had a sum o f 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 o f it.He al so took a fancy to a large slab of black marble,about two feet and a half squar e and four inches
thick— fix ed upon the seat of the pulpit of themosqucF on account Of its being completely inscribed
138 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
finder,” I obtained the object of my desire at last,
t. e. , got a situation with an English gentleman
by name Lieut. B . Mae Mahon, the Bh’
eel agent at
Nalcha, as Persian teacher to him . It happened
that he, in company with Lieut. C. F. Hart, came to
our town on a shoot ing expedition, and put up at our
Mosque near the shrine for two or three days, and
spontaneously made an offer o f the situation under
him, which I accepted withou t hesitation, and aecom
panied him to hi s head-quarters at Nalcha. Lieut.MacMah on, now perhaps colonel o r higher, was a
tall thin young man of great tal ent and ability,endowed with an excellent gay hum our and mirthful
temper. His knowledge o f the Hindustani languagedeserved high praise, and his imitations o f theBheels
’
cries of danger, revenge, and happiness, were per
fec t : He al so spoke their jargon uncommonly wel l ;suffice it to say, that if he had been placed behind a
curtain, or had been painted black, w ith a lango ti
and a b ow and arrows in hi s 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 hal f, residing in an
ancient pal ace , when , unfortunately, be ing taken ill
with the jungle fever, h e was obliged to proceed
to the Presidency for recovery, and thence, I was
informed afterwards, to his native land. On his
departure from Naleha, I was made over by him to
his friend, the aforesaid L ieut. Hart, to be his
LIE UTE NANT HART. 1 39
instructor in Hindustani ; and from this time, up tothe year 1 835 , 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 du ty
obliged and caprice indu ced them to go. Upwardsof one hundred pupil s studied with me during the
above period, and none of my scholars returned
unlaureled from the Government examination com
mit tees. I have a book of most flattering certificate s
in my possession, and I m ay say that I was better off
than many by’ following this profession.
Abou t three months after my being employed
with L ieut. C . F. Hart, he was ordered with his
detachment of pioneers to proceed with a part of
the Malwah Field Force, under the command OfCol . Barkly, to Nagar Parkar, for the chasti sementof one of the predatory Biluchi’ tr ibes of Khojas,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 themarauders . Our force proceeded by slow mar ches,m
’
d Baroda, where being joined with another detachment, we had to march on to Radhanpur, whence wehad to cross th e desert Ran, about forty miles,which surrounds the in sulated district of Parkar,a tract of land about forty-four miles long, and ten,twelve, fifteen, and twenty miles broad, environed by
140 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH .
the Ran desert and sand-hills. Each of its villages
has no t more than ten or twelve miserable hu ts,except Virawaw , wh ich has about fou r hundred ;and the capital town itself contains about six hundred
wretched hovels.
After leaving Mhow, L ieut. Hart rose both inrank and in the estimation of his superiors : he was
made Major o f Brigade. His treatment o f 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 du ty o f
teaching him the language recurring only once or
twice a month,I felt an earnest wish to do some thing
for him, 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, no t only to his, bu t
to al l his friends’ satisfaction. In marches, I had
his tent erected first o f all ; and at halts, I caused
the pilfering hand of his servants to b e paralyzed
in robbing him. Such acts Of zeal and good will
cemented the fabric of our in timacy more strongly
and firmly every day for a length o f time .
On our arrival at Baroda, a few days’ halt was
announced in the camp, for the purpose Of giv ing
rest to the people , procuring provision s, and pre
paring large leather bags, to be carried by camel s,filled with fresh water, an indispensable supply for
the men and beasts o f the army required during the
142 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
and the rider about three yards Off from me, apart
from each other. I was greatly astonished at thi s
action of the animal : it appeared as if revenge layburied in his mind, awai ting only a spark to explode.
Immediately after the fall , the horse, leaving his
rider to shift for him self, followed an unfortunate
rider on a mare, who happened to pass by at the
t ime, thr ough the market-place, with all the ferocity
o f a low-origined animal, and raised a grea t dis
turbance. The poor horseman’s sword, in the act
o f his being separated from the saddle, coming out
o f 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 o f being the cause of the injury, and arrested
by the police to an swer for it. The affected hero,the rider, perhaps never having seen blood in hi s
l ife, beholding his own wound, turned pale, cried
like a woman, and fainted. Where i s your horse
manship ? ” cried one of the crowd, the expression
used in taunting a soldier. These bragging up
starts,”
added an old soldier that stood at a little
distance, “are only fit to be shown in the city
market : like ladies of pleasure, they are no men
Of courage , bu t a disgrace.
”
Thus, leaving the hero in the field of battle, be ing
requested by th e police to attend at the magistrate’s
office, I proceeded thither, and found in the middle
of the hal l a stout corpulent Brahman seated upon
THE AIAGISTRATE’
s OFF ICE . 1 43
a silk cu shion, leaning against a large pillow, attended
by three writers and several peons. On my arrival
there, I tied my horse to a pillar o f the hal l ; and
myself stood in front of the magistrate and made
my salam , which he returned with an air o f pride,raising his hand scarcely as high as his chin, instead
of his head . I disliked this form of extorting defer
ence and awe to his office ; but began to think it
was my evil day. He then ordered one o f his
clerks to take my depositions , and the man com
menced w ielding his pen as fluently as I did my
tongue . No sooner did the court learn who I was
and in whose service , than its aspect was changed.
T he name of Captain Har t, the Brigade Major,electrified the assembly at once, and the magistrate
’s
assumed awfulness instantly changed into the smiles
o f kindness. He asked me to sit down by him ;but I thankfully declined the honour, pleading ina
b ility on accoun t of having boots on, as respect
prevented my treading upon his carpet. Upon this,a chair being immediately ordered for me, I made
a bow and sat upon it. In the meantime, the wounded
hero , the rider of the mare- bitten in several places
on his back by the vicious horse of the former —and
the horse were brought before the cour t. As soon
as my deposition was finished, the rider o f the mare,who was a clown from the country, represented his
deplorable case to the court ; and then the brag
gadocio , now as qu iet as a lamb, stated his in a few
144 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
words, his whole attention being taken up by the
wound which still kept on exuding blood from the
bandage. The court then weighed and considered
the subject for a few minutes, and the worthy magis
trate pronounced sentence as follows Krishnaji
Holkar (such was the name o f the cowardly horse
man) in a period o f fourteen months, now for the
fifth time being brought before the court, having
in the former four instances quarrelled with respect
able citizens, was le t off by the court on consider
ation that he would amend his character in future.
It appears now that the leniency towards him was
ma l d p rop os. In this present instance he has insulted
an Officer of the British Government without any
provocation on the part of the latter. It i s a veryheavy crime and an unpardonable one, for such
behaviour of our subjects and servants might pro
duce the displeasure of a powerful government
against ours . The Holkar, therefore, shal l b e dis
missed from the service of His Highness the Maha
rajah , his property confiscated, and himself transported
beyond the river Rewra, ou t of His Highness’s do
nions ; and the British officer, in compensation forthe mental injury sustained by him
,shall receive the
Holkar’
s sword and apology, and the Patel his horse,to make amends for his corporeal sufferings .” A
letter, then, containing a summary of the chargesf
and this arbitrary sentence, was dictated by the
magistrate,and forwarded to the Bakshi’ or General
146 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTE ULLAH.
son of Moses), he divided it into the following five’
syllables
Meaning. Meaning .
Name of a h eavy weigh t consisting of 40 1bs. ,or two Ratals Ratal Pound (lb .)or pounds in PersiaA large trumpetT h e son A bd-ai Sla ve .
Hair Wool .T hirty (Persian) Panzdah Fif teen.
SO the third column forms his name, -“ Ratal Buk
Abd-al Pashm Panzdah, Small-Weight-PennyWhistle-Slave-of-WOOl-Fifteen, instead of HeavyW
'
eight-Trumpet-Son-o f-Hair-T hirty.
During the time of this extraordinary functionary
of ju stice, there lived a military man in poor cir
cumstances, who had a very pretty young wife also
in his neighbourhood resided a wealthy Jew , natu
rally characterized by habits of extreme usuriou s
ness, unbounded meanness, and greedines s. This
son of Israel, having more than once clandestinely
obtained a ful l view of the incomparable wife o f his
poor neighbour, conce ived a pas s ion for her, and to
this degree that, having lost the command Of his
heart, he impatiently watched an opportunity to
seduce her. He tried every means to accomplish
his criminal desire, but invariably failed ; for a mind
once properly fortified with v irtue can never be
THE JE W. 147
conquered by vice. The poor veteran,'
being without
employment for a long time, had been so overtaken
by indigence, that he and his wife actually starved
sometimes for two or three days. ' T he pangs Of
poverty at last being insufferable, the wife suggested
a plan to the husban d o f bettering themselves, telling
him that idl ing was the source of all miseries ; and
he must therefore buy a hatchet and ropes, and,
repairing daily to the forest, bring a bundle of fire
wood, which certainly would sel l for something. Onthe other hand, she would take to her needle, and
thus they would try to make themselves as comfort
able as possible in the world.
The man approved of her suggestion ; but said he
to her, in a submissive tone, I extol your plan
highly, but I find it even diflicul t to procure the
pre liminary means to begin. At least a hundr ed
dirhams are needed to purchase some linen and silk
for your needle, and a hatchet and rope for me.
To this th e wife replied that the sum might eas ily be
borrowed, and the Hebrew ne ighbour would certainly
lend it if a prospect of good interest was held out to
him . The soldier thought the matter over, but
demurred at going to the mean Jew to solicit his aid.
No,” said he to himself, I would rather starve to
death than be scornfully looked upon by a faithl ess
Jew.
” But again he thought he mu st submit to the
dishonour,rather than see his lovely wife on the
verge of the grave.
148 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII.
So, with mingled fear and hope, he betook himself
to the Jew, to whom he represented his case in his
soldier-l ike sincere but unpolished language . The
Hebrew was delighted to think that he had nearly
won the game, and that, by sacrificing a piece, he
wou ld certainly circumvent the queen . So at first
he impressed upon the mind o f his cu stomer the
importance of money in the world. He then said he
was very sorry that he had no money of his own to
lend him at th e same time h e could no t deny having
certain small sums in the house, but he dared not
touch them for his life, they be ing,” observed he,
the deposits of other individual s of power and
authority.
” Then am I to retu rn disappointed ? ”
asked the veteran. I cannot help it,” returned the
Jew ;“ I will no t stake my life and propert y for
others ; so pray b e gone, and never trouble me again
with such affairs. Don ’t be angry, added he, but
suppose I lend you from the deposit which I am
obliged to produce to the depositor for his satisfaction
after two months from this day, and suppose I cannot
do so, do you think my head will remain on my
shoulders ? ” But it will no t b e in any way
jeoparded,” rejoined the veteran, “ if I promise to
pay you back in seven weeks.” “ But how can I
believe you? ” quoth the Jew ; “ what security can
you afford ? ”— “ As for security, I can Offer younone,
” replied the poor man : but I can as sure you
that I shall be punctual, and I can attach my signa
1 50 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH
his consort and himself ; he also bought some pro
v isions and necessaries of life for the time be ing, and
both of them se t to work to release themselves from
the tort uring chains of poverty. They strained every
nerve inworking to make up the am ount within the
given time ; but, so far from it, they coul d no t even
save half the money requ ired. When the time was
finished, the Jew mad e his unwelcome appearance,seated himself at the door of the poor man, and, in
most v iolent terms, demanded payment. The poo r
veteran entreated very humbly, soliciting forgiveness,and telling him he was very sorry that all his labour s
to make up the sum were fruitless, and begged him
to accept very nearly half the amount in ready cash,(1 to grant him more time for the remainder ; if not ,he might take the money and the material s, by sell
ing which he might get something more than he
demanded. These supplications, instead Of doing
good, provoked the Jew’s indignation, and he angrily
shouted, “ Frivolous excuses will no t do with me ;the time agreed upon has expired, so b e brief ;remember the penal ty written down by yourself,therefore produce the money or prepare to stand the
consequences.” Upon this,the argumenta tion on both
sides , being carried on for some time, terminated in
a regular scuffle, and the Jew , getting the better of
the poor man, caught hold of his collar and dragged
him towards the court of justice ; bu t the po or man ,
releasing himself somehow or other from his grasp,
THE HALL OF JUSTICE . 1 5 1
took to flight and the Jew followed him . In swiftly
crossing the first street, he came on a sudden in con
tact with a pregnant woman, who, being knocked
down, unfortunately miscarried ; and a relative of
hers, seeing this breach of manners, followed to
apprehend him . A l ittle further, a horseman standing
in his way, he struck the horse to clear the road, and
the blow unluckily put ou t one of the horse’s eyes.
This enraged the horseman, who likewise accompanied
the two pursuers to catch the man and hold him
responsible for the loss. The poor man, by his quick
turn s and swiftness, got out of the city, leaving hi s
followers some distan ce behind ; and, seeing a stone
quarry in front, he determined to leap into it and
hide himself. With this resolve , exclaiming “Bis
milla lz,“ In the name of God "” down he jumped.
Now, where he leaped there was a shed, under which
an old man was lying ; and, as he precipitated him
self down upon the shed, its weak rafters gave way,and he, coming down upon the old man , not only
killed him, bu t sprained his leg and hur t himself so
much that he could move no farther until his pur
suers , joined by the old ma n’s son, whom he had
accidentally killed, came up and seized him . They
beat him soundly, and, tying his hands behind him ,
dragged him to the Court of the Kaz i Ratal b l'
Ik. As
the cu lprit reached the Kazi ’s gate, he beheld some
shops wherein forbidden liquors were publicly sold,and an old reverend gentleman with a long white
1 52 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTrULLAH.
beard staggering about, shamefully intoxicated. Presently there passed a l iving man tied in a bier, and
carried to the graveyard to be buried al ive, his
lamentable shrieks be ing u tterly di sregarded by
the remorseles s bearers. The sight of these horrid
scenes enacted at the Kazi ’s gate , and evidently
by his decree, fi lled the poor soldier with terrible
forebodings.
He was soon, however, dragged into the Court, and
trembled at sight o f the Kiwi, whom he positively
looked upon as a depu ty o f the angel of death. In
the middle o f the hall was a cu shion backed with a
large pil low, upon which squatted a diminu tive fat
person with a very small head and long black beard.
He held a rosary in his hand, and kept moving hi s
head in token of assent and dissent to the assertion s
of the person s about him ; and a few peons stood here
and there in respectful postures, with instruments of
tortu re in their hands . T he new parties being con
ducted to the edge of the carpet, were struck with
awe, and stood trembling. The charges made by the
Jew , th e relative of the pregnant woman, th e owner
of the horse , and the son of the old man, were then
taken down by the clerks. As for the soldier, he told
his unvarnished tal e, adding, at the same time, that
he had been very severely maltreated by his adversaries subsequent to his apprehension.
The matter then was thoroughly discussed by the
lawyers in presence of the Kazi, who listened with
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
cure her, and, after her recovery, must keep her with
him in his own house until she i s in the family-way,and then she must honourably be restored to her
former husband. ” T he plaint iff, shocked at this sen
t ence, begged to give up his suit if such were justice.
Bu t the Kaz i observed, he shoul d no t be permitted to
do this unless he paid a fine Of ten pieces of silver to
the Court for having taken up its time.
The horseman next being summoned, u rged his
claim, stating that only a short time ago he had , by
a very cheap bargain, purchased his noble horse
for two hundred pieces of gold ; and it had been
seriously damaged by the loss of its eye, So that
the whole price,” represented he, “ should be paid
me, when the soldier m ay take the animal, or com
pensate me for the blemish by paying a moiety of i ts
value”
Upon this his lordship duly considered the case,and decreed as fol lows Let a pair of sawyers be
sent for to divide the horse longitudina lly, from the
middle poin t of his head to the end of his tail ; and,
when this i s done , the uninjured par t shall be retainedby the complaina nt, and the part with the injured eye
b e given to the defendan t, who must pay one hundred
pieces of gold, be ing one-half the price to the plaintiff
as compensation for the damage.” T he owner o f the
horse,see ing that the loss of his animal would be
greater than the compensation, begged to withdraw
hi s claim, which was granted to him with some difi
THE LAST CLAIM WITHDRAWN. 1 55
culty, on his agreeing to pay a fine of twenty pieces
o f s ilver to the Court .
Lastly, the son of the poor old man appeared,
throwingdu st over hi s head for the unnatural deatho f his venerable father, the cause of which he swore
was the rascally veteran’s fall upon him, and, there
fore, in justice, he woul d have him impaled for thecrime.
His lordship coolly heard all his excited statements,and what was said on the part o f the prosecution,and on that of the defence , and, weighing everything
in the scales of his judgment, pronounced the follow
ing sentence Let the offender be dragged to the
shedding under which, with hands and feet
tied, let him be placed at the identical spot where
the old man was killed, and then let his son jump
down upon him from the brink of the quarry in
revenge for his father’s death.
” Hereupon the young
man , foresee ing th e danger of the undertaking, refused
to execu te the orders, offering to rel inqu ish hi s claim ,
and attribute his father’s death to an accident ; but
his lordship repli ed that he wou ld no t allow the pre
cepts of the law to be disregarded , or the claim to b e
abandoned, unless he paid a fine of forty pieces o f
silver to the Court, for his folly in making an unbe
coming charge. The young man then paid the fine
and went Off, considering himself lucky in getting out
o f the scrape.
The hour of noon prayers by this time having
1 5 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
arrived, the Court was cleared, and the Kiwi, having
compassion upon the veteran, bestowed on him a
handsome present, and inquired if he was satisfied
w ith the proceedings of the Court . The poor man,
in reply, praised the Kazi’s justice, and said, God
bless you , my lord ; I am entirely satisfied, and myacknowledgments to you r lordship during the re
mainder of my life shall be unceasing.
”
Having said this, he began to leave his lordship’s
presence with some hesitation , which being observed
by the judge, he asked him if he had anything to
say ; and the veteran answered he had something to
represent, but it being beyond the bounds of respect,he would no t do so unless permission were granted.
You should no t b e backward,” observed his lord
ship,
“ in satisfying yourself abou t the law ; for i f
you leave the Court in suspense respecting any
verdict, it may cause others to be misled, and the
mischief may become too seriou s to be remedied.
”
T he veteran then humbly stated that he could not
reconcile with his lordship’s fair justice the forbidden
liquor being openly sold at the gate o f the Cour t,where he found a venerable man drunk, nor the fact
o f a living man being carried to the grave.
“ I am
glad,” returned the Kazi, that you hav e asked me
these questions, as my answers to them will quiet
your conscience. Pray hearken unto me with atten
tion. T he l iquors privately sold are adul terat ed
with poisonous substances by the sellers to strengthen
CHAPTER VI.
The Ran desert—Colonel Miles—Charles the Twel fth ’s musicsomewhat too close—T hough ts of Makka—Captain BagnoldMandavi—Ph ilosophic meditations and dogmatism dis
turbed—Study E nglish at Khaira—Infanticide—Th e piratesof Dwarka—T he Fort taken—Wanderings in th e hill s of
Kat tiwar—The Aghori—GogO— Sfirat—Th e Parsi cemetery.
T o return to my own adventures ; on the next
morning of my triumph over the Maratha, we
marched from Baroda towards Nagar Parkar Cid
Ahmadabad, Karri, Sammi , Radhanpur, and Suigam.
Our marches were slow , about ten mile s a day on an
average. From Suigam in our first long nightly
march we crossed to Narrah, a desolate spot in the
midst of the Ran where we arrived at about eight
o’clock , A LL , and thence on the following day we
crossed to Virawaw in another longer and more
fatiguing march . Al l of us were so much knocked
up with the fatigue, that a small party of the
insurgents might have exterminated our whole force
had they had courage enough to attack us at the
time. The difficulties and hardships suffered by the
force during the last two marches were very severe
from the want of fresh water, although a good supply
BRACHIsH WATER. 159
o f it had been carried along with us upon camels,bullocks, and poni es ; but soon after our arrival at
Narrah, it was near ly out , and we were obl iged tomake use of the water o f that place, brackish as it
was, for the animal s, and partly for ourselves too.
This salt water, though drinkable, produced loosenes s
of the bowel s to many. The mere want rendered
our thir st more craving, as the salt water appeared
to be nearly out , on account o f our free use of
i t ; and, I am sure, if the army h a d prolonged its
halt for t en or twelve hours more, the whole of
the water o f the island would have been absorbed
by us . T he sufferings of the Brahman sipahis of
the regiments, whose caste’
prohibited them from
touching water from the leat her bags, was greater,for the kettles provided for them by Government
held mu ch less than what they required in two days.
The good management of the officers and economy
on the part of th e people, were, however, the means
of our safe arrival at that side of the sal t desert.
T he view of the Ran, i. e. , the salt morass, i s no t
an unpleasant one , perhaps, because it i s a curiosity
not frequently met with by travellers. The Ran is a
vast pathl ess plain, bright and level. As far as sight
can reach nothing is seen bu t a white sheet, canopied
by the sky, and bounded only by the horizon. There
i s no sign of vegetable or animal to interrupt the
view for miles and miles . Small objects, such as
dwarf bushes, are magnified by the mirage into
1 60 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAH.
beautiful gardens and lofty trees reaching the clouds,until you go near them , when you are undeceived.
A herd of zebras, that passed by u s with uncommon
swiftness, assumed the appearance o f gigantic horses ,something like elephants flying in the air, at the
distance of about three or four miles . When fur ther
Off, they appeared like a hill fort su spended between
heaven and earth, which, gradual ly diminishing in
size, at last disappeared.
On the morning after our arrival at Virawaw , I
walked ou t o f the camp in the suburbs of the town
in search of something new, where I was surpri sed
t o see a European gentleman, who had already
anticipated me. I found him engaged with a large
slab of stone bearing Arabic inscr iptions,belonging
to a dilapidated mosque . As he copied it in silence
without reading it aloud, I took him to be a super
ficial transcriber, who could no t decipher the charac
t er and understand the pecu liar turns in the phrase
ology of that difficult language. Upon thi s,taking
out my pencil, I copied the inscription s for myself
in about five minu tes, leaving him far behind in his
arduous task , and then, in comparing it with the
original , I read it aloud : but, finding my European
friend following me very close in my read ing, I pur
posely read out a part wrong to mislead him ; but
he checked and corrected me in a very able manner,which convinced me that he was a man of letters
and of superior abilities. I bowed to him, and we
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
t o them for their favour. It was a serious mistake
on our part, and, in fact, ar ose through the villanous
misrepresentations of a certain designing party.
During our journey from Virawaw , some antiqua
rians from amongst the Officers found an ample means
for the exercise of their talent. Idol s of fine marble
and of different size, the images of the Buddhistgods , were found underground in the country, and
were careful ly exhume d and carried off.
On our arrival at Nagar Parkar, as the tents weregoing to b e pitched at a little di stance from the town ,and a column of the regimental line s was passing by
i ts side in proper order, the in surgen ts began to fire
their matchl ocks at us, thinking probably that they
woul d rout the force by woundn and kill ing a few
of us, and then attack the baggage and enrich them
selves by plundering it. Our column , on being firedat , coolly turned in the direction o f the enemy
instead of its tents, and drove them out Of the town
immediately. Taking shelter in the mountain, near
which the town is situated, they continued firing
upon us from behind the rocks and trees in places
inaccessible to u s, until about three o’clock , P.M. ,
without doing much harm . Several bullets startled
me as they passed Whistling and whizzing by my
head. At about four O’clock in the evening the
rebels vanished in the mountains and val leys, which
were quite impracticable to us and fam iliar to
themselves.
THE MARCH RE SUME D. 1 63
In this skirmish Captain Hart was nearly losing
hi s life, though no t fr om the enemy. He had taken
a sipahi’
s musket, and was firing at the Khojas,when, in hi s eagerness, he ad vanced too near the
edge of a precipice , over which he fell, but was
saved by the sipahi, whose musket he had borrowed,and who caught him by the neck as he was fal ling.
He rewarded the man with a liberal ity beyond his
and my expectation, so much so that he was released
from the servitude of a soldier’s l ife at last, and able
to return to his own village in the upper provinces .
wi th an ample provision to subsist on for the rest
o f his life. Two years before, when he left his
v illage to enl ist, he was no more than a young rustic ;but the momentary display of val our raised the star
o f his fortune at once, and rendered him a great man
amongst his fell ow villagers.
After this trifling affair our force set ou t on i ts
return, and proceeded to Bhuj Cid Lodram'
. In
recross ing the Ran we encountered difficul ties some
what similar to our former hardships but the sense
o f getting ou t of such a diabolical wilderness with
laurels, rendered the labour of travelling hardly per
ceptib le. We soon had the pleasure of entering the
province of Kach, and marched on to Bhuj , thecapital of the province, Cid Anjar, one of its principaltowns, the hill fort of which appeared to have sustained
a very severe injury from an earthquake, which
occurred on Wednesday, l 6 th of Ju ne, 1 8 19. OnG 2
1 64 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LuTrULLAH.
our arrival at Bhuj , Capt. Hart, owing to a severe
attack of fever, remained in the British Residency,and the force marched on to Khaira, a smal l village
between Bhuj and Mandavi, where it cantoned and
was joined by several regiments of infantry and
cavalry, and a detachment of artillery, etc . , under
the command o f the Hon. CO]. L. S tanhope, assembled
to intimidate the S indh Government.
Capt. Hart’s illness was a severe one, and con
t inued for about three weeks, during which I
remained constantly at his bed, attending him l ike
a brother. On his recovery, I found his temper
very peevish , and instead of being tha nkful to me,he seemed to think what I had done for him was
a part of my duty, so we parted from each other not
in a friendly way. On leaving his service, I felt
much disgusted with the world, and formed the
intention of proceeding to Makka by a ship then
ready at Mandavi to sail to the Arabian coast. I
made preparations for the voyage, and expressed my
determination to my friends, Mun shi Abba Miyan,o f Anjar, and Mohamed Saiyid Khan, a nobleman of
Rampur, whom accident had brought t o this distant
land ; bu t both of these gentlemen disapproved of
my plan, finding my stock of money too smal l for
the trip. Abba Miyan observed that he would not
for the World dissuade me from my good intention,but he would recommend my taking employment
for some time until I shoul d have gained su fficient
1 6 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTE ULLAH.
employed myself in the performance of my duty, in
which I engaged from morning till evening. At
night I enjoyed the good society of Abba Miyan,
of whom I learned the English alphabet, and enabled
myself to_
make out the words from dictionaries, and
read Hindustani and Persian fluently in the Romancharacter. From this time until the end of 1 829
I never went to bed withou t learning ten words
of English by heart, and reading a few pages of the
eminent Dr. Gilchrist’s grammatical works with ful l
attention by myself. Thus, after the hard labour of
full eight years, I learnt English, the most difficul t
language in the world.
Before leaving Kach for Dwarka, I must say a
few words with regard to the country. It does no t
possess that pleasing appearance which the fertile
parts Of India have ; it has no perennial r ivers of
fresh water— a most inval uable blessing to the inha
bitants ; bu t there are some streams runn ing down
from the hill s, which dry up immediately after the
rainy season is over. In the bed of these streams
springs are dug by the people, and a temporary
supply of the indispensable element i s thu s obtained.
Large well s at the towns and vi l lages, however,make up the deficiency in quantity, but no t in
quality.
Sign s o f the wrath of God, both in former and
present times, are quite vi sible ; the surface of the
earth about the hills is spread with volcanic matter,
DESCRIPTION OF HACH. 1 6 7
and large blocks are left, Split in pieces. The recent
earthquake s shattered the forts of Ane and Bhujin many places, and a large number o f edifices and
hill forts in all the towns were tran sformed into
ru ins by the tremendous shock. Great numbers of
the inhabitants remained buried in their ‘houses to
be raised on the day of the general resurrection.
Although the external character of the inhabitants
in general seems good, a short stay in the country
will show a foreigner their want of morality, of the
mean ing of which thay have no idea at al l. High
way robbery, larceny, and piracy are considered
heroism. Adu ltery, fornication, and infanticide,may, some things more he inous— are perpetrated
with impunity.
Infanticide, the most heinous crime of all— a crime
unnatural and uneommit table even by irrational
beings— i s committed by men of this country, and
that no t by common people, but by th e governing
race of the land, who are JarajuRajputs, originallyfrom the Summa tribe of Sindh, who governed that
part of the world in ancient times, under the title o f
Jam . These people must have brought this horrid
custom with them from their original country. It
could not , by any means, have been invented by the
Hindus, who detest the very idea of the act. These
Jarajas think themselves so much higher than other
Rajpu ts, that they consider giving their daughters inmarriage would ruin their character. This absurd
1 68 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII.
pride has hardened their hearts to the perpetration
o f infanticide to such an extent that, on inqu iries , I
found the population Of Kach to be five hundred
thousand soul s, ou t of which there are twelve
thousand Jarajas, and of these but thirty-seven are
females. The country now fortunately falling under
the control of the British , the late Rao having beendeposed for his vices
,his son, Rao Desalji, a minor
remained under care of the Engl ish Government
until he came of age, during which time many
reforms were effected.
I lived near the camp at Khaira in the mosque for
some months, enjoying the society o f my friend,Munshi Abba Miyan—may God bless him for his
kind attention towards me ' He was my first and
last master in English, as, after leaving him, I taught
myself from the books of Dr. Gilchri st, etc . , for a
period of eight years, as I have already Observed.
On finishing the copy of the history for Capt. Bagnold, I was very handsomely rewarded by him . The
year now approached its end, and a part of the force
was ordered to proceed by sea to the i slands of
Dwarka and Bét , under the command o f CO]. L .
Stanhope, for the chastisement of the rebel s there.
My scholar’s regiment forming a part o f the division ,
we embarked from the port of Mandavi one after
noon.
Before morning dawned we reached our destina
tion, and the dreadful report of cannon awoke me
1 70 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTrULLAH.
After our brilliant victory over the place, held
most sacred by the idolators o f India, a halt for a
few days being ordered, I explored all the places of
worship, and, to my great surprise, found the shrine
of a Mohamedan saint, Pir Patta,” on the i sland of
Amara, a light of Islam shining lu strou sly in the
heart of the darkness of Pagan ism . Our regiment
now being ordered to pursue and destroy the outlaw
Kattis of the Kuman tribe, under Jogi Das, in the
Ghir mountains, we embarked on board a native
vessel , and, after abou t e ighteen hours’ very rough
voyage, landed at Surya Bandar, whence, beingdivided into detachments of abou t two companies,w e hunted the Kattis throughout the whole Ghirnarmountains.
This range, though inferior in loftiness to other
m ountains o f India, i s very pleasant to sight, being
fertile and verdant everywhere. It is held sacred
by al l the Hindus according to their legends, whencethe ancient name of Rewtachal . One o f its branches,extending towards Pah'tanah , in Goelwar, i s deco
rated with Jain temples of various sizes, and re
garded by that class of the an cient Hindus with greatveneration.
T he mountains abound wi th game o f every description, from the royal lion to the quail . Going abou tin this wilderness, one sometimes happens to see a
Hindu monk,whose zealous austerity prompts him to
give over all , and devote his life to the worship of
A HINDI'
J RE CLusE . 1 71
the Deity u ninterrupted by worldly people. He l ives
upon the vegetable production s of the place,makes
fire by rubbing two pieces Of wood against one another
to warm himself in the cold nights, and keeps his
body rubbed over with ashes, which thin cover,keeping the pores closed, renders him independent of
artificial covering. After ten or twelve years’ life
in this state, he becomes like the wild beasts, and
run s at the sigh t of man . The people in this part
of the world have a mistaken idea that these devotees
are cannibal s, and devour man’s flesh if they can get
hold of a single unarmed person ; but this i s not
credible.
One morning, as I marched with my scholar, we
entered into a long conversation upon the subject
of spiri t and matter. Being deeply engaged in thisvery interesting topic, he left his party in charge of
a subordinate Officer, and desired me to accompany
him a little di stance from the road, to talk more
fully and with less interruption. SO we turned our
horses to the left of the party, and walked on engaged
in confabu lation, taking care, however, not to lose
sight of our small troop. All of a sudden we came
up to a bonfire without any human being near it.
The fire being alive, it seemed as if somebody mu st
have been there. We lighted our cheroots and asked
our grooms the cause o f the fire in that solitary place.
Their unan imous reply was that the fire belonged to
some Aghori Baba e. omniverous father), and that
172 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTRULLAH .
it was dangerous for u s to stay there longer. This
excited our laughter, and we proceeded on without
any concern about the matter. After going a li ttle
further, we came to the side of a valley enormously
deep, a nd, on looking down , we had the honour of
seeing the monk himself, the demigod of the Hindus,about a thousand yards from u s, running down as
fast as he cou ld, cautiously looking behind every
now and then, as if somebody were pu rsuing him .
T he poor grooms, on seeing him, were overpowered
with fear, bowed to him , touching the ground with
their foreheads. My scholar, with European curiosity,
hailed the man , and beckoned to him as if he had to
make some important commun ication to him ; but
these acts o f civili ty, instead of producing the desired
effect, accelerated the flight of our uncivil host, and
the impracticable declivity altogether prevented my
curious European companion from following . So
having recourse to our telescope , w e had a full view
o f him . He was a strong and powerfu l man,the
s ilvery hair of h is head hanging over his shoulders
dishevelled, and his long beard in the same state ; his
eye s were quick and sparkled with fire , and his
shaggy body was rubbed over with ashes. Having
seen so mu ch of him, he vanished from our sight.
Our party’s destination at this time was Tu ls i
Sham, a Hindu monastery in the heart o f the mountain , about three days’ journey off , where they
intended to concentrate with other detachments , and
1 74 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTYULLAH.
purposes—he would give them away to the same end.
A t al l events, our need was served by this food,though it was unwholesome to those who were un
accustomed to it. I, being one of them, had an
attack of diarrhoea, bu t soon cured myself when I
got good food, which I did as follows . It happened
that, during my indisposition, I was visited by a
Mohamedan non-commissioned offi cer, named Sikan
dar Khan, who was then orderly of his own company
(now a subahdar Major pensioner), and consequentlywas entitled to double bhaté. F inding out my circumstances, he kindly lent me some rice, which was
a great re lief to me and my servant. My obligation
to him for this timely aid was unbounded, and we
have been staunch friends ever since.
Tulsi Sham is revered by Hindus on accoun t of a
smal l image o f Kr ishna, their Apol lo, in the monas
tery, in front of which is a thermal spring divided
into two large reservoirs Of boil ing water. Sulphuric
and l imy ve in s exist in the stratum , a strong smell
o f which i s quite perceptible. The springs are n ice ly
bu ilt up with stone s and mortar, having flights o f
steps on ai four sides. The heat of the water they
attribute to the miracul ous nature of the image, and
ablution therefore in these reservoirs is considered a
means of salvation.
Our stay here was no more than four days, and
then we di spersed in smal l parties as before. During
our peregrination in the hill s for about s ix weeks,
A DISCOVERY. 1 75
we never had the sati sfaction o f meeting the free
hooters alive anywhere . On the morning, however,of the sixth day of our leaving Tul si Sham, as we
came near a large group o f the mangoes and other
wild trees, a stench, as if from a putrid car cass,became perceptible. On going a l ittle further, we
discovered four dead bodies of the ou tlaws hung
inverted to the boughs of the trees, in a most horrid
s tate, maimed and disfigured. This barbarous act ,we were given to understand, was perpetrated three
days previou s to our arrival , by a party of the
Gaikwar contingent co-operating with us in the ex pe
dition. Roaming and wandering abo ut for a period
o f three months in the mountains , at last we were
informed of the rebels being overtaken and seized and
destroyed at several places ; so we had now to pro
ceed to the village of Dhari, to be can toned there for
the rainy season.
My scholar, being a very industrious and attentive
lad, never missed his lessons, either on the marching
or halting days ; and, by the break of the monsoon,he made himself an excellent linguist in Hindustani.He then obtained leave to proceed to Bombay to beexamined. I accompanied him as far as Gogo, where
we parted with each other with a feel ing of mu tual
esteem as good friends on the 1 7th Of September,1 821 . He gave me a handsome present in money,besides the arrears of my pay, and sailed for the
Presidency with my best wishes for his success. I
1 76 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
was soon informed o f his passing a good examination,and, subsequently, of his getting the quartermastership
of the regiment.
Gogo is a small town situated on the west side of
Cambay ; there are about three thousand houses,chiefly o f Mohamedans. It i s a safe roadstead in
th e boisterous season of the year. Tradition says
that the i sland of Perim, near its harbour, was the
seat of the Governmen t o f the ancient Goel Rajputs,when it was joined to the Gujarat peninsula by an
i sthmu s. T he i sland is now a wilderness , on which
Government has erected a lighthouse. It i s inha
bited by serpents o f various sizes and colours .
Animal and vegetable fossil s o f the incalculably
remote ages are found OIi this i sland by digging up
the ground not very deep : many European travellers
have taken away some o f them as a curiosity to their
country. The Mohamedan inhabitants of Gogo ,being in general active, strong, and well-made, are
very expert seamen. I sojou rned at Gogo for three
days af ter parting with my friends ; on the fourth I
went on board a smal l vessel, and on the fifth
reached the city of Surat. I was informed, on
board, of the annoyance one i s subjected to at the
custom-house in being searched,though he may
have no articles for sale ; and, therefore, I settled
with the sailors to smuggle myself and my things
for the sum of half a rupee. The aid o f darkness
being required for the purpose, I was obliged to stay
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
I got up from my comfortable and sound sleep at the
sacred cal l Of the Mu’
azzin, and called for my ser
vant Ismail : “ Ismail, give me a li ttle fire, that I
may have a good morn ing smoke before I prepare
myself for the Divine duty ;” but
, to my great
astonishment and fear, I found him missing. W'
ell ,”
said I to myself, “ this i s a very pleasant circum
stance— losing in one night what I have earned in
return for the servitude of four years. God is
great " one must undergo the decrees o f his fate.”
Overwhelmed with such ideas , I began to grope atthe head, feet, and side s of my mattres s, to which I
had carefully fastened my small box, and other
articles o f my baggage, before I went to b ed ; and
to my delight found everything in its proper place.
T he boy had run away with hi s own clothes, and
abou t three quarters o f a rupee in copper coin s, with
which he was tru sted for daily expen ses.
After th e day had dawned, I went and stood at
the door of the mosque to look for a porter to carry
my things to a smal l house, rented to me through
the kind offices of the Mu’azzin. Presently I ObservedMohamedans, both high and low, hastening in one
particular direction , some in palki s and bullock
carriage s, and others on foot, almost al l looking as if
they had been struck with sorrow. On inqu iry, Iwas informed that Nasir-ud-din Khan, the Nuwab o f
the city, had departed this life dur ing the night, and
they were going to at tend the funeral . I learnt, too ,
SuRAT. 1 79
that Nasir-ud—din had two sons, but one of them , a
very praiseworthy character, died eighteen months
before his late father, and that the su rviving son was
a perfect contrast to his late brother, on account of
his love for low society and bad habits though it was
hoped the English Government wou ld recognise his
right to the titular Nuwabship of the city, by which
he would remain entitled to a pension o f a lakh and
a half rupees per annum from Government and some
o ther rights and immunities reserved to the family.
In the city of surat, entitled “Bab-ul-Makkah
(or the gate of I stayed four days to see
the celebrated town through which almost all the
pilgrims to the sacred city proceed , and through
which the English first stepped into our country as
trading people. Captain Hawkins, of the ship Hector,was the first merchant from England who landed
here, in the year 1 608 , A.D. , and after making some
mercantile arrangements for h is nation, and leaving
some of his compan ions in charge of the business,he himself proceeded to the court o f the Emperor
Jahangir at Agra, to effect a favourable negotiation
for the trading people of his country to this port.
Having assumed the title of an ambassador from the
King of England, he was received with attention
and kindness, and by dint of some trifli ng present s
and bribes to the king and his courtiers, he no t only
gained his object, but was presented with a valuable
dress o f honour, and a Christian lady, whose star of
1 80 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
ill-luck had brought her as a prisoner into the
seraglio .
surat is situated on the southern bank of the river
T apti. A brick wall encircles the suburbs in the
form of a bow, the string of which, depressed in the
m iddle, i s the river. The city extends abou t Six
miles in circumference. T he wal l i s flanked by
bastions o f smal l S ize at irregular distances. Its
height varie s from thirteen to eighteen feet, it was
not original ly strong, and, having had no repairs
from the time it was built, i t i s now in a deplorable
condition. It has twelve gates , with heavy wooden
leaves turning on tenon s : and an other inner wal l
exists, surrounding the original city, extending abou t
three miles in an irregular oval form, though in
construction i t i s similar to the outer ; but in con
dition i s worse , so much so that in many places it i s
level with Mother Earth.
The city had no wal l s when, in 1 5 1 2, A.D. , it was
sacked by th e Portuguese. This grand pillage, fol
lowed by the frequent depredations o f the nuprin
c ipled Christians, and the barbarous Abyssinians o f
the Zanj ira Island, induced the authorities of Ahmadabad, under the direction of Sultan Bahadur, to bu ildthe walls and the castle, which were completed in
1 530, A .D. , under the superintendence of Rumi Khan ,o riginally a Turkish Mamluk .
T he city seems to be in a decaying state, and the
population therefore amounts to only one hundred
1 82 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTE ULLAH.
from the head to the breast. We halted under a
tree, expecting in the du sk of the evening to avoid
being observed by the sentry priest, as wel l as by
the shepherds and passer s by. The time having
arrived, I left my friend under the tree , and advanced
to the tower to satisfy my curiosity. My friend told
me to be on the al ert, that if he saw anybodyapproaching he would cough , which I shoul d con
sider a signal to take to my heel s as fast as I could
to the direction o f the tree. Thanking him for the
kind advice, I went and reached my destination in
a minu te, and ascending the few steps into the door
way, and, being an expert climber, I sealed the wal l,resting my big t oe on the heavy padlock of the
door ; and thus assisted, I soon found myself on the
top of the wall, whence I beheld the horrid scen e.
The human skeletons, some whole and some in
pieces, mingled with rags of the shrouds, lay, some
on the rampart, and others had found their way
into the middl e pit. The strong and offensiveeffluvia no t all owing me to remain more than five
minutes, I quickly began to descend ; bu t unfor
tunately my hands slipt from the parapet, whilst
my toes were engaged in searching for the support
o f the lock. I sl id down on the portico, and my
chest, rubbing against th e side of the wall, was con
siderably excoriated . The noi se of my fall , and the
rattl ing o f the lock , roused the Parsi warden fromhis small hut, about two hundred yards from me
,
I JOURNEY To BROACH. 1 83
and he came out in a furiou s manner, with a mouth
pouring forth curses and bad names, and a hand
armed with a long stick, at the same time cal ling
for help, and crying that he was going to be murdered
by robbers . This noise, and the cough o f my friend
being simultaneous, I fled to the tree, whence we
found out that the poor keeper was an old man,
toothless, weak , and half blind, or perhaps labouring
under nyctalopia, for instead of advancing towards
us, he took another direction, every now and then
feeling the ground with his stick, and cursing as
if his long tongue had been a compen sation to him-for the other powers he had lost. Nobody coming
to his aid, we departed coolly ; but, seeing the o ld
man going towards the same gate we had come
through, we passed through the next gate unmo
lested, and re turned home. I soon cured my chest
by washing it with litharge diluted with rose-water.
On the morning of the 29th o f September I left
the city of S lirat for Broach, on my way home,hiring three hegaris, or porters , to carry my luggage.
These I had to Change at every village on the road.
I paid them liberally. A penny or two for a draught
o f the fermented palm juice, of which they are
very fond, rendered them entirely submissive ; and,
dividing the load between two, the third prepared
my pipes every now and then , shampooed me at
the resting-places, and held my umbrella to keep off
the sun, which I felt very Oppre ssive at thi s season,
1 84 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
though the rains had just ended. Teddy, or palm
juice, i s a general calamity for the low people o f
thi s district. T eddy shops are to be found in all
the villages, and even the roads are not without
them . At the distances of one or two miles you
can always find a shop under the inviting shade
of a large tree or shed, with a small flag waving
over it ; and the keeper, generally a Parsi, witha soft flattering tongue, entices you to drink , ex
pressing, though less poetically, the idea of the
English bard
Drink of th is cup you ’ll find there ’s a spell inIts every drop against il ls of mortal ityT alk of th e gob let that sparkled for Helen ,
Hers was a fiction, but th is is reality"”
This diabolical drink is the cause of many evi l
deeds being done by the poor ignorant people of
the district.
I reached Breach on the evening of the 3oth o f
September. It being about thirty m iles from surat,I was obliged to make a halt for the n ight at a
station called Chauki, nearly half way. Breach ,
though in the middle of a very fertile district, is
i tself an ugly dilapidated town, situated partly on
a smal l hill, and partly on the skirt of the same,on the northern bank o f the river Narbadda, which
falls into the gulf of Cambay, about twenty-five
miles from this. The houses are like those o f surat,but the streets are narrow and more fi lthy. The .
186 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII.
the midst of the water there rises, about one inch
above it, a small i sland, or the inner tomb, of four
feet by one. This miraculous reservoir is always full
to the brim of very cold water, somewhat nitrou s to
the taste. Hundreds of visitors go to the shrine
every Thursday, and each of them takes a tumbler
full o f the water to drink ; bu t the water never
diminishes,'
nor does it ever overflow when no water is
taken from it. There were no less than fifty persons
present when I paid my visit to the shrine, and al l of
us drank without making the slightest difference in
the original quantity. The warden o f the place, a
good old man, very nearly one hundred years of age ,on being examined, informed me that he recoll ected,when he was a boy, a Maratha chief coming there
and putting the miracle Of the sain t to test by order
ing his three elephants to drink from the reservoir ;bu t , see ing the quantity of the water undimin ished,he prostrated himself at the threshold, which he
solemnly kis sed, and ordered the enclosur e and the
tomb to be thoroughly repaired at his own expense .
From what I have heard and seen, my opin ion of
this holy water is that it must be the mouth o f the
vein of a spring Opened at this place , but I cannot
accoun t for the quantity of water never increasing or
decreasing.
In two days’ easy travelling from Breach I reached
Baroda, where I was obliged to stay for seven days,on account of the fast of Muharram. On my entering
ONE OF THE OLD NOBLE SSE . 1 87
the city, I happened to meet His Highness Nuwab
Mir Am iru’d-din Husain Khan 0 11 horseback, with
his retinue. Having formerly had the honour of his
acquaintance, b e recognised me, and persuaded me to
pu t up with him ; but I, being inclined to take alodging and live by myself uninterrupted for the
time, begged His Highnes s to excu se me,thanking
him for the Offer. I told him that my whole family
and myself were sensible of his late father’s kind aid
when in distress in my native city ; and that, not
being endowed with the means of making any suit
able return, we were and should ever be thankful to
him, and always raised our hands in prayer to God
for his happiness and success in al l his undertakings .
Bu t the true spirit of goodness and hospitality 1n the
man wou ld not permit him to leave me. He dis
mounted from his horse, and, taking me by the hand,he led me to his own noble house, and assigned a
private and comfortable room for my sojourn. I
passed a week , partly in going about the town, and
partly in this noble-hearted nobleman’s amiable
society. I then requested his permission to proceed
to my native country, which was kindly granted,with a handsome present both in dresses and money.
This noble-minded Nuwab left this transitory abode
for the next at a premature age, in the year 1 837,A.D. , leaving one of his two brothers to succeed him
in the dignity. He died, but his memory in manyhearts shal l remain respected and unextingu ished.
1 88 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
Leaving Baroda on the 10th of October, I reachedmy native land in thirteen days, al l safe, and had
the satisfaction of seeing my uncle, my grandmother,and other members of the family all well .
Soon after my arrival, our young Prince Ramchandar Rao making his preparations to proceed to
Gwalior to be married to the daughter o f Sindhiah ,
I cou ld not but seize the opportunity of a break to
my monotonous life at home. I purchased a small
horse and accompanied the procession, in the hOpe of
getting employment. After a few marches towards
our destination, an English political officer named
Mr. Robinson, destined to accompany the prince,
overtook us, and was received by the Raja, with
marks of respect and courtesy. He delivered a
couple of letters in Persian to the Raja, and hi s
Mini ster, Raghunath Rao Bapu and, staying a l ittle
while with them , returned to his tent at a little
distance from our camp . None of the Raja’s companions being well qual ified in the Persian language,the contents of the letters remained undeciphered at
the time ; but, the Mini ster i ssu ing inquiries if there
could be found a person in the camp competent to
decipher the papers, I was introduced as a Persia nscholar to the Court by one o f its staff-bearers . I
then,mak ing my Obeisances to the Prince, and raising
my hand to my forehead to the nobles about him,
was desired to sit down, and the papers were pu t
into my hand to be read out ; this I performed with a
190 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
that might have tended to my rise in the opinion of
the prince. At this conduct of his I coul d not help
being disgusted.
After the wedding, with all its splendour and
princely pomp, was over, all of us were first invited
to the pal ace of His Highnes s the Sindhiah , feasted
with the most delicious dinner, and gratified with
excellent music and dances. His Highness being
bridegroom, coul d not , according to Asiatic custom ,
appear to the gue sts in person, but all the nobles of
his Court superintended our entertainm ent. Valuable
dr esses were then presented to every one according
to his merit, and afterwards atar and rose-water, with
be tel-leaves covered with gold , as a sign of dismissal .
Then all retired except the bridegroom , who entered
the apartment assigned to him in the palace, for the
enjoyment o f sweet repose, etc.
A week after the above final enterta inment, pre
parations for our return being made, we left the
camp of Sindhiah two months after our arrival . Oursmall camp now became a large one, being dignified
with an elephant, and horses with bejewell ed trappings, and tumbrils carrying jewels and treasures,magnificent pavil ions for the Seraglio, and domestic
attendants of both sexes. A strong escort under an
experienced Maratha officer attended us, and we pro
ceeded on by continual marches towards home with
the precious prize, and safely reached our destination
in seventeen days.
GREAT MEN ’S PETTY DEALINGS. 1 9 1
Another event greatly added to my disgu st at my
situat ion under the Marathas. The dresses, etc. ,given to the persons of rank 0 11 the night of the last
entertainment were, immediate ly upon our return
home, collected by the Minister’s people and depo
sited in the Government treasury, for the purpose of
taking a despicable advantage, highly unbecoming
the character of those who assume the title Of Sarkar,or the head of a State. These dresses, e tc. , were
exchanged in the market for some of lower price ,which were distributed amongst all , before leaving
the camp of His Highness. As for myself, I was
left unnoticed, in anxious expectation, un til we had
reached more than half way towards home. On theday of our halt at Bhilsa, a clerk came to me with a
servant bearing a bundle, which, after seat ing himself
by me, he Opened, and taking out a turban and a pair
of shawls, he del ivered them over to me with the
Minister’s compliments. I found them far inferior to
what I had received from the original donor, and
besides missed a necklace of pearls, worth about two
hundred rupees , which accompanied my dress. I
asked the man if he knew any reason for the reser
vation of the fir st article of the three presented to
me at the Court o f Sindhiah . He replied in the
negative, with a scornful smile at the conduct of the
au thorities , hinting in figurative language, to avoid
being understood by his compan ion, that the cal amity
was a general one. Being obliged to submi t to the
1 92 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
treatment, I received the present, as he advised me,w ith an expression of feigned gratitude . Such mes
sengers, bearers of a present from superiors, accord
ing to the usage of the country, expect a reward from
the recipient before they leave him. I therefore dis
m i ssed the deputation more than usually pleased with
me. I offered them th e present itself, bu t they hav
ing declined to receive it, I gave them a handsome
sum in money, more than their expectation, in order
that their master might be informed of my generosity
and independence. In short, in a very few days
more, having reached home, I tendered my resig
nation from the service, and am proud to say neither
the Minister’s remonstrance against this measure ,which he said was an imprudent one, nor his offer of
an increase of salary, could dissuade me from my
determination ; and I again became free and inde
pendent for a short time.
I passed a few idle days at home after obtaining
my dismissal from the service of the Marathas, during ,
which time Sir David Ochterlony visited our town
t o see the Raja, perhaps on some political matter,under pretence of congratulating him on his marriage.
On this occasion the Old and renowned general paid
a visit to the shrine of our ancestor, and gave us
a handsome present in money. His meed to us
exceeded that of Sir John Malcolm’s, but his vi sit
did no t create that general pleasure in o ur hearts
which Sir John’s alluring and amiable conversa
C H A P T E R VII.
Bombay.—I disrob e a porter.
—Th e mosque Of Zacharias.—Delights
of a passage boat. —Panwell .—P f1nah.—Parbat i. -Satani
A urangz eb’s siege, and witticism of Niamat Khén .
—I marryand repent.—Monogamists versus Polygamists .
—A SatiT he Hindu religion originally pure—I return to Surat.A rab ic studies—T he h igh priest of the Borah s.—Paradisetickets—E nsign W . J. E astwick—his fever. Dr. R
A z rail’s assistant—Tankarir Bandar.
—E nsigr1 E astwickappointed to Lord Clare
’s body-guard.— Baroda.
—A’
b fi.
A FTER having left Raghunath Rao Bapu , I re
mained at home for fou r months ; and then, feeling
myself tired with the monotony of home, in the early
part Of the year 1 823 I again thought of taking
English scholars as a first step to advancemen t in
the world. To Obtain this employment I required
some English friend, and as I had none in my native
province, I inquired after the 6 th Regiment and myformer scholar, whom I had left at Gogo ; and, being
informed of their being stationed at Satara, I deter
mined ou proceeding thither. On consu lting my map,
I found the neares t way to be vid Khandes ; but the
high mountains and thick forests, infested both by
robbers and wild beasts, and the disturbed state Of
the country I had to pass through , discouraged me
voYAGE To BOMBAY. 195
from adopting that rou te ; so I decided on the cir
cuitous way, vid Baroda, Surat, and Bombay. And
again leaving home, I reached S lirat in twelve days,whence I embarked on board a native boat for
Bombay, of which place I had read and heard much .
A favourable wind carried us smoothly over the sea,and 011 the fourth day of our departure from Suratwe had the pleasure of seeing the i sland o f the Pre
sidency, surrounded first by the sea water, and then
by lofty and handsome-looking hills, except on the
west ern side, which overlooks the vast sea as far as
your eyesight can extend. On entering the harbou r
I was astoni shed at the sight of a multitude of ships,.
some Of them like float ing castles. T he first sight Of
the innumerable masts and riggings from one end of
the harbour to the other wou ld lead one to think
that it was an extensive forest of ves sel s all round
the town . O ur smal l boat real ly'
lost its consequ ence
in my mind, as its proportion to the other vessels was
no more than that of a sparrow to a phoen ix. T he
magnificent view of the castle, encircling handsome
and lofty edifices, qu ite different from what I had
ever seen yet, then attracted my attention, and the
scene altogether was a charming one.
The appearance of Bombay Castle was quite new
to me, be ing built of stone after the European style ,the wal ls very strong and thick, though no t high,with battlements flat and sloping outside . The broad
and deep ditch, fi lled with water, and the strong gates
H 2
1 96 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAH.
w ith drawbridges, gave the place an air of impregna
bility.
In the castle are the Christian cathedral and the
dockyard, T he former i s weekly v isited by Chris
tian s of every class for their divine service every
Sunday, that day being the ir Sabbath. In the latter
are employed abou t one thousan d persons o f every
caste in building and repairing ships , etc . Thus they
obtain their livelihood, be ing well paid by Government.
Nobody is pressed to work here without wages.
History informs us that this place, now rising to
b e an emporium o f the East, was no more than a
fishing town Of little or no consequence in the district
of Aurangabad. About the year 1499, A .D. , after
Vasco de Gama’s arrival, the Portuguese, be ing struckwith the beau ty of the place , and the superior excel
lence of its safe harbour, resolved to Obtain it ; and i t
came into their hands in the year 1 530, A.D. ,during
the reign o f Humayun, withou t much difficul ty, asthe viceroy o f Aurangabad did not consider the sub
jcet worth his notice. The proud and ambitious
Portuguese then having built the formidable castleto the fi shing town, it began to assume consequence
and the confu sed state of the country during that
time of disturbance inducing the neighbouring popu
lation to take shelter under the new patron s, who
seemed to be just, and far from a tyrannical sect.
Upon this, inhabitants Of the neighbouring districtsflocked daily to this place of security, and it soon
1 98 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
I bought it, said he, only two years ago , and i t
i s now worn ou t ; whereas my former dresse s lasted
for five years at least.”
T he luggage having be en examined by the custom
honse authorities, I entered the town with my good
porter, and, to my great sorrow, on inquiry I found
that there was no place in that city for travellers to
put up at ; that private lodgings were al so not
obtainable unle ss one month’s rent were paid in
advance, a th ing beyond my mean s to afford. In
this difficulty I asked my naked friend the porter’s
advice, and, at his suggestion , I put up in a mosque
call ed Haj i Zacharias’ Masj id. Here I was treated
by the servants o f the H ziji hi mself with respect and
hospitality. I wished to have the pleasure of seeing
the founder of this mosqu e, the Haj i , of whose
benevolent character I had heard much whil st in
Bombay ; and on inquiry I was informed by his ser
vant, who waited on m e, that th e Haj i Often sat and
talked with me after prayers . Indeed, I recollected
a man having done so, but nev er taking him for that
great man , I always slighted and despised h im for
his clowni sh manners and coarse dress and conver
sation , instead of acting po litely towards him. I
regretted mu ch having been so ru de to a man who
treated me with hospitality, yet cou ld no t bu t impute
part of the blame to his own rude dress and manners.It being, however, incumbent on me to apologise for
the past, I repaired to his office, where I found him
THE HAJI' . 199
squatted down 0 11 an o ld cu shion spread on the
floor,with an old bolster pillow behind his back ,
whilst his servants and attendants , be ing smartly
dressed, every one of them excelled his master in
appearance. There were al so English gentlemen, a
captain and his second officer, belonging to one of
his ships, standing there, hat in hand, perhaps for
his orders. These were going to b e given when I
arrived. I was received with much civility, and
seated next him . I begged pardon for having unin
t entionally slighted him in his former visits to me,which I assu red him was owing to ignorance of his
station. He replied bluntly that, be ing made of
humble du st, his duty was to be humble. I then
asked him to furn ish me with a passport, as without
such security from a person of consequence nobody
cou ld go ou t of Bombay at that time. Upon this hetold me to take my oath that I was no t imposing upon
h im in this matter ; and on my having done so, he
ordered his people to give me one, which be ing imme
diately written out , was signed by him and delivered
over to me. I then, having offered my thanks to him ,
returned home to the mosque .
After about four days’ stay at Bombay, I embarkedon board a smal l native boat to Panwell, about
twenty-one miles from Bombay : we started at five
o’clock, P .M. , and arrived at six o’clock th e next
morning. This short voyage may be considered
a trifling one by inexperienced persons ; but, by
200 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
Heaven " it was a severe ordeal for me to go through ,and I warn my readers no t to attempt it on any
account in a native vessel o f the ferry contractors .
If they do, I am su re they will have to experience
what I suffered. T he vessel was crowded to its
every inch with men, women, and children of al l
clas ses and descriptions, crammed together ; its ballast
I believe be ing composed Of filthy mud and rotten
fi sh, which diffu sed such an effluvia as to try the
brain Of a currier himself ; besides , i t being an
unusually sultry n ight, though in the month of
March , all the crew fall ing into a perspiration,imparted no pleasan t smell . Their bodies thu s being
drained, a general cry fo r water was raised, which
be ing brought to the lips, was no t only found warm ,
but strongly impregnated with the smell o f the
ballast. A host of flies and bugs penetrating our
dresses with impunity, engaged themselves in biting
and sucking our blood. Their number was so great,that if one was killed the vacancy was immediately
fi lled up by half a dozen others. The Open part of
the body was attacked with mosqu itos and cock
roaches ; the former, bu zzing about the head, inflicted
an occasional sting, and the latter, in flying from
one direction to another, came slap every now and
then against the face and neck. T o crown al l, the
boatmen wearied'
our l ives ou t for a present, in addi
tion to their freight, which they had already received
in advance. One of them went round, holding an
202 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
out , Leave that gentleman alone , we have get o ther
worthy, liberal, charitable, and good people to extend
our humble hands to .
” My just words , I am glad tosay, produced the desired effect ; nobody, after having
heard my speech, wou ld pay anything to the rogues ,bu t al l of them joined with me in reproaching the
rascal s , whose fallacious logic thenceforth proved
fruitless.
On landing at the town of Panwell , of the district
o f Konkan (Concan), early in the morning , I ran to
the land like an imprisoned bird e scaping from his
cage. Here I took one day’s rest under an umbra~
geous banian-tree, enjoying the free air of the Konkan
combined with the fine sea breeze, and had all my
clothes and self well washed and cleaned, after my
four days’ stay in th e then filthy town o f Bombayand one night’s voyage on board the fil thiest o f boats .
T he next day I took my way to Punah , abou t seventyone miles distant. T he road was excellent, mostly
shaded by the forest trees as far as the pass , and
being bu ilt and cut all the way in the mountainous
parts by the English authorities, except the Ghat or
Pass o f Khandala, abou t thirty miles from Panwel l .
This pass i s not a very high one, be ing abou t two
thousand feet above the level o f the sea ; bu t the
natural acclivities being left unadju sted by man’s art ,it was then quite impassable for wheeled carriages,and most diflicult for quadrupeds to ascend with their
loads . From Panwell , in three days’ easy marches
P l'
JNAH. 203
of abou t twenty-five miles a day, I reached the
ex-capital of the Maratha power, namely, the city o f
Punah, formerly in the province o f Aurangabad, bu t
latterly under the Marathas . T he late Pe shwa’sdominion in the Dakhan being invaded by the
English in 1 8 1 8 , this became a British district. T he
appearance of the city is not unlike that of Ujjain ,
but the material difference between the two is,that
Punah is su rrounded by hills. The castle of thisplace, which is called the palace, i s quite unworthy
o f notice ; it i s more l ike a gaol , having only one
entrance, and thick high walls angu lated with fou r
round towers. On entering the town by the northern
side o f it, we crossed the river Muta, which, at a
little distance from this joins the river Mula, and theplace of their junction i s denominated Sangam , where
the hou se o f the British Resident stood in the time
Of the Peshwa. I halted here for two days to see
the ci ty, about the wealth and Splendour of which I
had heard a good deal . On personal examination, I
was qu ite disappointed, and was informed by the
inhabitants that the splendou r had departed with its
former master. Those markets,” said they with a
melancholy tone, where heaps of golden coins,strings of pearl s, and caskets o f preciou s ornaments ,were exposed for sale, are now al l deserted.
” The
amount of the population of the city at this time i s
said to have been reduced from half a million to
about one hundred and twelve thou sand persons, on
204 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTE ULLAH.
accou nt o f the banishment Of the Peshwa and the
consequent dispersion o f his armies and emigration
o f the people .
It having occurred to me to ascend the Parbati
Hill to have a full view of the city at once, I
employed a gu ide for th e pu rpose and soon reached
the summit. It commands a view o f the whole city,with its environs and a beau tiful landscape of the
town,the English camp , and the subu rbs , ornamented
with nine lakhs o f mango-trees planted by the Peshwa,called nau lakha bdgh.
T he next day I left Pdnah for Satara, the place o f
my destination , which, being about fifty-six mile s
distant, I reached in three days by easy marche s on
the 3oth of March, 1 823. Satara, originally belong
ing to th e province o f Bijapur, i s s ituated in a
mountainou s country, environed by lofty hills on
three sides : o r, I may observe , the town is lying
under and within the sou th-western angle o f hills
running in the form Of a syphon, the southern leg o f
which is the short one, and i s wal led and towered,partly scarped and partly bu ilt into a hill fort
, the
eminence be ing about two hundred and seventy-five
yards high. T he fortress was commanded from many
places , particul arly from the west.
The sight o f the fortress reminded me o f the
anecdote o f Aurangz eb’
s able secretary, named
Niamat Khan, who, on the morning of the day
when this fortre ss was stormed, was the first person
206 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII.
works o f Dr. J. B . Gilchrist. Thus I pas sed sixyear s at thi s station, during which time many young
Officers having passed in the languages by my aid, I
obtained some reputation and a good sum of money.
After a short stay with my good host, I did no t
l ike to press on his scanty means , which were hardly
sufficient to maintain his own family, so I took a
comfortable lodging in the town, where I passed my
nights partly in my favourite study and partly in
repose , the sweetness of which can only be felt by
those who enjoy it after hard labour.Thus I passed my time in quietness without be ing
disturbed by anything excepting domestic affairs,su ch as theneglect of my servants in the performance
o f their duty and their treacherous conduct, attended
with petty larceny in my house, where, on my
absence du ring the day, they had uncontrolled au tho
rity. These domestic troubles Often embittered my
thoughts and disturbed my peace. T o remedy such
evils I felt the necessity o f'
having a person to super
intend my hou sehold and be a companion to me
during some of my lonesome hours.
Thus, being compelled by circumstances , on the
23rd Of September, 1 824 , I married a young lady
whom I had known when in Kach, and whose
destiny had brought her hither some time before
my arrival . Man is naturally deluded by tempta
tions, and in many cases he i s no t undeceived un tilh e finds himself completely entangled in the net of
MARRIAGE. 207
trouble. In over-rating small evil s we generally
bring upon ourselves heavier ones. T he dream o f
my happiness in the married state was but a short
one, and I soon found myself more involved indomestic anxieties than before. When a bachelor
,I
thought for myself only, but now I had to think
for another person too , whose fate had joined mine.
The repletion of my purse likewise began to be
changed for depletion ; and to crown all these diffi
cul ties, to my great sorrow, I discovered my new
companion to b e of a very pettish and hypochon
driacal temper, to which I had to submit in future .
S uch inconveniences can b e eas ily obviated by our
law in divorcing a wife, not only for crimes, bu t
even if she i s disagreeable. But who can have the
heart to part with his faithful companion withou t
seriou s cause. This bad practice prevails only
amongst the lower classes of the people. A man of
high station in life may marry four wives at once or
gradually, and may have as many handmaids as he
can support ; then, from amongst such a number, he
i s sure to find one who gives him every satisfaction,and the rest may be maintained withou t being
repudiated, each knowing that she has only herself
to thank for a rival in her lord’s affect ions, as she
ought to have made herself so dear to him that he
cou ld no t have desired a change . Here I drop the
gra nd subject of monogamy and polygamy, contro
verted between the doctors of Mohamedanism and
208 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
Christianity. There are many things to be said on
both sides, bu t I will not enlarge my journal withthese discussions . I side with my own law, though
I have been a monogamist throughout all my life .
One morning, as I was sitting with Lieutenant E .
M. Earle,*of the 24th Regiment N. I. , who studied
Persian with me (after having passed in Hindustaniand Marathi), we were informed that a sati (suttee)was going to be performed that forenoon at the
village o f Maholi, near the river side. T he news
startled my young friend as well as myself. We
could not believe that such an outrage could be
committed with impunity whilst a British Residentremained near the capital . We had hardly finished
o ur conversation on the subject, when we descried
the ominou s procession, attended with native mu sic
passing from the town, along the high road close
to the Resident’s gate. Upon this, we ran to our
horses and rode to the place of execu tion, which we
reached in abou t half an hou r in the heat of the
sun. Another scholar of mine, by name Dr. M. F.
Kaye, having heard of the sad news,pre sented him
self On the spot immediately after us .
After waiting about a quarter o f an hour under
an umbrageou s pipal-tree on the bank o f the river,
the procession arrived, and the Brahman carriersplaced the bier at the brink o f the water , so as
T his very p romising young man was drowned in the wreck o f
t he Lord Cast lereagh ,”13th o f June, 1 840 .
210 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
primary sincerity, so I must be his true companion
wherever he goes. Take you no more trouble, sir,about the matter. Peace be with you.”
Lieutenant Earle now , at the suggestion of Dr.
Kaye and myself, begged her to listen to him for
another moment, so she turned to him, and he
further Observed as follows : My good lady, pray
con sider over the ac t once more ; act not against
your reason ; you must be sure that we are your
friends and no t your enemies, that we would save
you from the horrid death by all means at a slight
signal of your con sent, and would make an honour
able provision for you during your life and, he
added, “ You should try the experiment of burning
your little finger before committing your whole
precious body to the flames .” But, al as " her fanaticism had advanced too far beyond the reach o f su ch
wholesome advice ; and, with a scornful smile , she
told Mr. Earle that she was highly obliged to him
for his kindness, o f which she did no t stand in need ;that her word was one and unalterable. She then,boldly tearing up a slip o f her handkerchief, dipped
it into the oil o f t he burning lamp (usually placedbefore sati s whether day or night), and, tying it
round her little finger, sh e lighted it up with eager
ness, and it burnt on like a candle for a little while,and then diffused the smel l of burn ing flesh, during
which the young beauty talked on to the audience ,wi thou t a sigh or sob to indicate the pain ; yet
THE SATI' 2 1 1
the marks of the blood’s rush to the face, attended with
a profu se pe rspiration on her brow, betrayed her feel
ing to our unbias sed and sorrowful mind. The fit of
this enthusiastic frenzy is aided and maintained, I
believe, by the effect o f some narcotics , particu larly
of camphor, a large quantity of which is admini stered
by the hard-hearted Brahmans to the poor victims ,which i s swallowed up by them immediately after
they have u ttered their intention o f self—destruction
in the sudden impulse o f gr ief at the ir bereavement.
T he effect soon spreads over the nervous sys tem ,
stupefaction ensues , and the whole body is benumbed
before it goes to the fire to be consumed. The pile
now being ready, the corpse was washed and laid
inside, and about half a pound o f camphor in a bundle
tied round the neck of the damsel ; she go t up with
her u sual alacrity, invoking her gods, a nd ru shed to
the fatal spot in the same way as a moth to the flame.
She then walked round the pile seven times, and,
hav ing entered it, she placed the head of her dead
hu sband in her lap, and herself holding a burning
wick between the big and second toes of her left fo ot,she set fire to the combustible s interwoven with the
logs of fire-wood. Upon her entering , the Brahman sbegan to stop the entrance with heavy pieces o f timber,when Dr. Kaye, being much excited at the scene,could no t keep silence any more . Though h e knew
very little or nothing of the language , he called out
with as much fierceness as he could command, You
212 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
scoundrel s, this i s not fair ; darwdz a mat klzolo’
: that
i s to say, do no t open the door,”o f course meaning
the reverse. Such erroneou s expression s of the good
doctor, even at this tragical moment, produ ced a smile
from most of the bystanders . Immediately the poor
woman set fire to the pile, the Brahmans and othersSurrounding it began shou ting ou t th e name o f the ir
god, Rama, and ordered the kettle-drums, flageolets,and cymbal s that accompanied the procession to be
beaten and played, and rent the air with their crie s,in order that no cry o f distress might b e heard from
the victim : and, as soon as the flames is sued from al l
s ides, they cu t the ropes of the fou r corners of the
platform of the pile with their hatchets , so the
enormou s weight of the firewood, fall ing at once upon
the del icate girl , cru shed her in a moment. In short,in abou t fifteen minu tes’ time al l the fuel became a
heap of ashes, the music and the cries ceased, and
th e party o f the executioners, being tired , seated
themselves in calmness under the tree, in expectation
of the embers being extinguished, that they might
throw the ashes into the river and return home. We
then hastened to our own places of rest, sad and
dejected from what we had seen.
Religions, pure in their origin, in course of tim e
beget superstitions, which give birth to such resul ts
as we have just described. T he religion o f the
Hindus in i ts origin i s pure and sublime , as will b e
c learly seen from the books o f their Ved, or theo
214 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
Stuart Elphinstone, Governor o f Bombay, who paidhis visit to the State for some political purpo ses just
at the time when the celebration o f the marriage of
the Raja’s natural daughter to one of the sons of the
Ghorpora o f PI'
Inah took place . On this occasion al l
the gentry of the city be ing entertained at the palace
for a fortnight, I was one Of them ; and, being pre sen t
at the conference, I greatly admired the amiable,cogent
,and comprehensive conversation of the
Governor with the Raja. It appeared to me as if
the great man was talking to a child, sometimes
correcting his ideas, and sometimes tossing them up
from one side to another to see i f the young prince
could re-arrange them well ; bu t he was disappointedmore than once in this respect. I recollec t a remark
o f his in the same conference. T he Raja had
expressed his desire to know the cau se o f His
Excellency’s talking to him in Hindustani , and notin Marathi , in which language , observed the prince,he was as well versed as himself. Because,” repliedthe state sman , I speak Hindustani better than yourHighness, and your Highne ss
’s Marathi mu st natu
rally b e better than mine.
”
Six years I passed at Satara, during which titne
my lawful indu stry procured money for me suflicient
to pass another period of six months without any
employment. But, having lost many good friends,both English and native, by the 6 th Regiment beingordered to another station , I found myself dull and
THE MULLA or THE BOHRAs. 2 15
lonesome at this place. Besides, the climate of theDakhan and the insipid soc iety of the Marathas
began to prove disagreeable to me, and I thought o f
leaving the place for another more civilized one by
the first opportunity. During my anxiety about
leaving Satara I luckily had an Offer from Lieu tenantWebb of the Artillery, a very nice gentleman and
an over-zealous Christian , who, having studied with
me for some time, was ordered to be stationed at
S lirat in charge of the garri son, etc. I readily
accepted the offer, and proceeded forthwith to SI’
Irat ,
which I reached with my family in April , 1 828 .
.My passage from Bombay to Surat was a quick,rough, and dangerou s one.
A vessel belonging to the same owner left the
harbour at the same time, having on board abou t one
hundred and forty Bohras, invited by their Mull z'
t
(or high priest) to celebrate the nuptial s o f his son.
She was in sight of us for a few leagues , and then
d isappeared ; and having at night encountered the
severity of the storm,foundered abou t half way to
S tirat , and al l the unfortunate passengers, instead of
enjoying the festival, m et with a horrible watery
grave. I fancy the Mulla at this time had a good
long li st of dead disciples to send to his brother
Gabrie l for accommodation in Paradise. The cu stom
o f this schismatic class o f Mohamedans i s to receive
a certificate of the priest for every dead follower,addressed to the archangel , recommending a place i n
21 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTI‘
ULLAH.
the blissfu l region suitable to the amount of the fee s
paid on such occasions, which document i s carefu lly
placed in the shroud o f the deceased .
I recollect an anecdote of a friend of mine, Dr.
C. D . Straker, the civil surgeon o f this place for
some years . This gentleman attended the Mulla
during a bad illness . When i t came to the month o f
Ramzan (the Mohamedan Lent) the doctor told hisreverend patient no t to observe fasts until his reco
very, as that ac t Of devotion at that juncture woul d
prove injurious to his weak constitution . Bu t the
crafty priest, in order to show his religiou s zeal ,Observed that the omission of an indefeasible duty,s trictly ordered in his sacred book, mu st be the cause
of a severe punishment in the world to come.
T O this Dr. Straker replied, with the characteristic
frankness Of an Englishman , No, 110 , Mulla Séhib ,
don ’t you fear abou t that : I will give you a certifi
cate, which , being shown to your brother archangel,will surely procure absolution for this necessary
transgression on your part.” This remark Of the
pure-hearted Englishman produced a smile mingled
with m ortification from the priest, and the bystanders
cou ld no t help turning the ir faces to laugh, espe
cially two or three orthodox Mohamedan servants,who were obliged to leave the room to conceal their
At S i’
Irat I found more scholars than I could
attend, so I was bette r off than in the Dakhan.
21 8 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUT E ULLAH.
ensign , by name W. J. Eastwick , of the 1 2th Regiment Bombay N. I. , a very promising you th with an
extraordinary memory. What he learn t once was
always found indelible on the tablet o f his pure
mi nd. By my further stay with him I found thathis endowments, qual ities, and mental qualifications
were superior to his age and station. He was
amiable, mild, generous , and charitable in every
sense o f the word, and his liberality rendered me
qu ite independent of taking another scholar. He
passed with me in both the Hindustani and Persianlanguages in a short time, and made himself master
o f the elements o f Arabic Grammar in a compara
tively short period, learning them o f me during my
few morn ings’ r ides with him.
’ His invaluable
society became so precious to me that I remained in
his service almost al l the time o f hi s stay in India,excepting some interval s, during which higher
emoluments tempted me to leave him for some t ime,but the attraction Of his kindness again brought me
soon to him.
In the month o f May, 1 829, being invited by
Ensign John Ramsay, o f the Bombay N.I. ,I pro
ceeded to Sholapur, a distance of abou t four hundred
and fifty miles from SI’Irat , which I travelled in four
teen days vid Bombay and Punah, in the hot seasono f the year. My passage to Bombay was a pleasant
one, and thence I hired a smal l boat to Panwell for
myself and servants, avoiding the ferry-contractors’
SHOLAPUR . 21 9
beats by al l means , as experience had given me a
good lesson in the year 1 823 to do so. T he desolated t own of Sho lapu r, situated in a burning, tr eeless
place, does no t deserve any commendation here. It
is surrormded by a strong wall , to the south-west of
which is an Oblong capacious fort, built of stones,flanked by several large towers, and encircled by a
deep ditch communicating with a large tank sou th
ward o f the fort. The inh abitants, chiefly Marathas ,amoun t to about twenty-two thousand persons.
Although the Dakhan i s hot, Sholapur, I think , i s
pre-eminently so, on accoun t of its situation, where
hot winds have nothing else to act upon except the
poor inhabitants . On my arrival, I proceeded to the
cantonment at a little distance from the town, where ,at th e house of my noble host, I m et with a very
kind reception , and remained there for about seven
months , during which time that worthy and mag
nanimous young man, having rendered himself com
petent in th e Hindustani language, I returned to Si’
irat
well rewarded , a nd was again received with open
arms by my pa tron, Mr. Eas twick , in whose service
I continued.
In the beginning of September, 183 1 , to my great
sorrow, Mr. Eastwick had a very severe attack o f
fever, for the first time, I think , since his arrival in
India. T he hot and cold fi ts al ternately su cceeded
each other for five days, after which time he became
insensible, sometimes for fifteen or twenty minu tes.
220 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH .
His life was despaired of by his English friends . I
attended on him night and day, and, according to
my little knowledge o f medicine , I saw no danger,although the attacks were so severe as to deprive
h im o f his strength entirely. So weak became he
that he could no t get up in his b ed unaided. During
some hours , whilst free from fever, I gave him dose s
o f lemon sherbet, which afforded him refreshment
for a time . I encouraged him whenever I found him
dejected, and impressed upon his mind the necessity
of a change as soon as possible . My counsel , I am
glad to observe, had its timely effect, and he pro
ceeded to Bombay, leaving his horses and effects in
my charge. Had he remained two or three days
longer, such a delay would surely have cost him his
life , for I had found the medical gentleman, Dr.
under whose charge he was, to be one of the depu tie s
of the angel of death. His prescriptions, when taken
to the native apo thecartyr (a friend of mine), weresometime s laughed at , and sometimes rece ived with
all the cu rses at his command. At the sight of them
h e generally said, I bel ieve master is mad, and if I
obeyed him I should no t only be madder, bu t an
executioner and shedder of innocent blood. ” On one
instance , as I took the prescription myself to him for
my benefactor under suffering, he took me aside and
read the paper to me in English (as they are usually
in Latin), pointing ou t one of the ingredients
laudanum— fifty drops instead of five " Had this
222 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
Bombay in person. On the 29th of October, however,I had the pleasure to rece ive an autographical lette r
from hi m, in which, after announcing hi s recovery,he directed me to go forthwith to Tankaria with his
horse s and baggage, where he was proceeding in
command of the e scort of Lord Clare, then en route
to Ajmir. The orders were duly execu ted, and,
meeting at Tankaria Bandar, we proceeded in theretinue Of his lordship.
In five short a nd easy marches we found ourselves
at Baroda, where we remained encamped a few days .His lordship was busy in paying and receiving visits
to and from the Gaikwar. At the time of our de
parture, his lordship and all the gentry of his camp
were , by His Highness, presented with costly gifts .
My share was a golden necklace, a turban , and a
shawl , and that Of my employer consisted o f more
valuable articles ; but we, as well as others , were
soon deprived of them by his lordship,I bel ieve for
the Government. On the evening of the announce
ment o f our march for the next morning, I returned
the couch kindly sent to me by a friend, with my
thanks, and made my bed on the ground, placing
my new desk of Morocco leather at th e head to serve
as a pillow, and went to bed. In the morning, when
roused by the bugle, I found my b ed strewed with
damp dust, my skin excoriated in som e parts, and
my back irritated in others. I called my servant ,who was engaged in saddling my horse. Ma hdilli,
”
warm ANTS . 223
said I angrily, you have been throwing dust all
over my bed and self, in shaking the trappings o f
the horse near my bed in the tent.” —“ No
,sir
,I
have done no such thing,”was his reply. When I
took up my cloak it fell to pieces in my hand ; the
blanket w as in the same state, and the bottom of my
desk , with some valuable papers, were destroyed.
What misfortune i s this ? ” cried I to Mahdilli, who
immediately brought a burning stick to examine the
cause, and coolly Observed, It is the white ants, sir,and no misfortune, but a piece of bad luck, sir.
”
Poor m an " in all mishaps, I always found him‘
attaching blame to destiny, and never to his own or
my imprudence .
By slow marches from Baroda, ma Ahmadabad ,we reached Disa, a large cantonment e stablished to
keep the predatory robbers of the neighbouring
wastes and mountains in check . From this we proceeded north-east to Abu, at the foot Of which grandmountain w e halted for three days, his lordship being
inclined to ascend the high region and explore the
antiqu ities o f the place. So the next day, early in
the morning , a select party of the gentry, head ed
by his lordship, began to ascend, along with whom I
had the honour to go. Although I was left far
behind by most, yet during my ascen t I overtook his
lordship , in company with one of his aides-de-camp,about half-way to the top, both o f whom seemed
much fatigued, though they had their swing chair s
224 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH .
carried along with them ,which they mounted occa
sionally, and I cou ld no t 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 impoli te 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 o f the aid.
I remained with his lordship and su ite as far as
the Dailvara temples, and then, leaving them to
themselves , I wandered abou t by myself for a little
while. Upon the approach o f even ing— findingmyself 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 pagan s o f the place —I commenced
my retur n to the camp forthwith . Unfortunately,being overtaken by a heavy shower of rain dur ing my
descent, I got wet through and through , and reached
home abou t nine O’clock , P.M. , regularly exhau sted.
T he effect o f this was a severe attack of fever, bu t I
soon got rid of i t by medical aid and the careful
attention o f my good master.
This Ab i'i i s about twenty miles east o f the town
of Sirohi , belonging to R230 Sewsingji, and i s an
ancient place of worship of the Hindus,especially o f
226 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP LUTFULLAH.
The ascent and descent of the second path i s equal ly
difficult ; besides , i t has a very thick forest, which
being infested by wild beasts , i s more unsafe in conse
quence. One o f the valleys of this path being con
sidered impregnable, the former princes of Sirohi
have bu ilt 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 ru in, and, of the remaining ten , Dail
wara and Achalgarh are said to be the largest,and contain abou t seven hundred inhabitants.
The Hindu temples , both Jain and o f the modern
Siva sect, are numerous. Some of these sacred
edifices are very handsome and elegant in design.
T he marble of the ceilings and floors i s pure, and
that of the wall s i s so brightly polished that one can
see his countenance in i t. I particularly admired
the five Jain temples, situated at the village o f Dail
wara, erected to Nemnath and Bakhah-deo , etc. , the
deified Jain saints . T he ornamental work engraved
upon the pillars , the ceilings adorned with the lotus
and jasmine flowers in has-relief, are nature itself.
In the rear o f 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
o f the mountain must have been very considerable.
ABI'
I TE MPLE S . 227
T he founder o f these fine temples i s said to have
been a banker, who , having no heir, applied the
whole o f his fortune in building and making these
places and objects of worship in A.D. 1 243.
One moiety of the rev enues of this mountain used
formerly to be taken by t he Rajas of S irohi and
some petty chiefs, and the other applied to religious
purposes , such as the annual repairs of the temples,and v
provisions for the poor pilgrims, etc. Bu t now
Rao S‘
ewsingji of Sirohi, after his ablu tion in th e
Ganges, h as ordered the whole to be expended in
charities. Our camp left th e foot of this mountainthe 2nd of January, 1 832, and by slow marches we
Ajmir in another fortnight, about two
hundred and twenty-nine miles from Siirat .
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
CHAPTER VIII.
Udepur—Pali—Pokharji—Ajmir—I return to Sfirat—I enter th eserv ice of the Nuwab—T he intrigues of a petty Court—Myconge.
THE country beyond A'
b ii.
i s very sa ndy, with the
exception o f parts , where spurs o f the Aravel li
mountain render i t rugged and stony. This very
unfertile di strict, called Mewar, appears a vas t
wilderness, except three towns of some consequence,through which we had to pass, Udepur, Pal i, andPokharji.
The first i s the seat of the Sissodiya Raq ts, in
Mewar, whose tribe i s considered purer, and their
rank higher, than other Rajputs of India. Their
princes are called Ranas, and at their inauguration
a spot o f human‘
blood i s put upon their forehead .
How i t i s procu red on such occasion s i s a secret ;but I believe a prisoner is generally killed to serve
the purpose. T he city is handsome, and situated on
an eminence . The western side i s adorned with
a large lake, having an i sland in the middle, upon
which two palaces are built, where the luxuriou s
princes pas s the hot season in the enjoym ent o f
pleasures o f all kinds.
Bali i s a mart on the borders of the desert. I
230 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAIL
vested with supreme power over India. We stayed
at Ajmir about six weeks , and then returned by
Nasirabad and Lun awara to Baroda, leaving Moun tA M). on the right, and passing through a very thick
forest and desolate country.
I must no t leave Ajmir without giving a descrip
tion o f i t. Th i s anc ient city, six miles south o f
Pushkara, stands at th e foot Of a mountain crowned
by the fortress of Taragarh . The houses are of
m asonry, magnificently bu ilt, and the inhabitants
are wealthy. Their number does no t exceed thirty
thou sand. After the cession of the city to the
British Government by Sindhiah , a civil commis
sioner, Mr. Wilder, was pu t in charge, and, by
good management, i t soon became a r ival of Jaipur .
A quarter o f the city bears the name Of Wilder’s
bazaar, the architectural uniformity and beauty o f
which is unequalled in the cities in these parts .
Saiyid Husain Mashadi and Khajah Muinu’
d-din
Chishti , the two most celebrated Mohamedan saints
i n India, have the ir eternal repose here. T he
shrine of the former is on the top of the Taragarh
hill, and that Of the latter at the bottom o f it,adjoining the city. The Saiyid, endowed with both
spiritual and temporal powers, was governor o f the
place for Ku tbu’
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 AJMI'
R SAINTS. 231
al l his time. Being an accomplished archer, he was
in the habit of passing many days without any com
panion in the wilderness o f 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 o f 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 Wajbu‘d-din, the uncle o f the
Governor o f 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
shoul d not be refused. So the marriage took place,after which he lived for seven years, and had several
children by his wife .
T he large and spacious mosque near his tomb was
bu ilt by the Emperor Jahangir, 1 027 A.H. T he
shrine is held in great reverence by all Muslims.
T he famou s Akbar paid his v is it more than once to
the tomb from Agra, a distance of two hundred and
thirty-two miles. He walked al l the way on foot
out o f 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 bel ievers. Mahadaji
Sindhiah , and Yeswant Rao Holkar, annually sent an
Offering o f money. Daulat Rao Sindhiah , besides
the usual gifts , had all the edifices thoroughly
repaired. Thou sands of pilgrims annually come to
pay their respects to the tomb . T he prayers Of
some o f the supplicants be ing granted through the
medium of the shrine , and their hearts’ desire being
fulfilled either by chance or destiny, the effects are
attribu ted to the miraculou s aid of the saint. In
such respects mankind are l ike a herd o f sheep , one
blindly follows another. T he inside o f the mau soleum
is both magn ificent and solemn : the floor i s paved
with pure marble, the wall s nicely latticed, the
ceiling beau tifully white and smooth . In the centre
stands the tomb, covered with very valuable brocade.
A n oblong square palisade o f silver grating is fixed
abou t it, leaving a space of abou t three feet all
round. At the head o f the tomb is placed a large
silver censer, from which the smoke Of the burn ing
incense diffuses its fragrance al l over the place. A
somewhat higher than u sual fee to the warden in
attendance procure s admittance into the pal i sade,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 SI'
Irat,
and passed some time with my family and friends.
This year, my income being small, I began to
234 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAH.
In June I returned to S tirat , and remained without
eniploym ent for about three weeks, when His High
ness Mir Afz alu’d-din Khan, the Nuwab o f 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 tha t for
the present he had been pleased to fix certain allow
anoes for me , the memorandum of which , bearing
His Excell ency’s signature , wou ld b e presented to
me. He bade me no t doubt of promotion when he
was extricated from his present difficul ties and had
vanqu i shed his enemy, the Guebre (mean ing the
native agent o f the Briti sh Government). At thesame time he presented me with a very valuable pair
o f shawls and the memorandum . Upon t hi s, I rosefrom 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 Highnes s at
my door, to congra tulate me and to rece ive some
presents in return . I dismissed them, satisfied with
my l iberality in the glee o f the moment. When at
leisure , I referred to the memorandum, which ran
thus
ill emorandum of the M onthly A llowances of the Ilf unsht’
L utf ullah
t in S a’
lnb, f rom the S arhdr of H isH ighness Kamru
’
d—da ulah,
H ashma t Jang, B ahddur,N uwdb of Sara t .
Rupees, fifty-one in ready cash ; F ree T ab le Dry Provisionsfor the Family ; one Horse, w ith a Groom and t wo Peons al waysin attendance upon him ; two Suits of Clothes annually.
”
THE NUWAB . 235
I found the stipend qu ite sufficient for a gentleman
of India blessed with conten tment, and was satisfied
with it, having the promise of promotion in v iew . I
was punctual and regular in my daily attendance
upon His Highness, whom I found quite pleased
with me, and he loaded m e with presents o f every
kind every now and then .
His Highness was a gentlemanly old man, about
fifty-three, only five feet seven, bu t 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,a nd of the sacred Order, who came to
Siirat as an adventurer in 1 732. 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 ru led until the
1 3th of May, 1 800, when the father o f the Nuwab,my master, was obliged to surrender the city and
the territory to his patrons, the English, for an
annual pension o f 1 5 ,000l. Besides, he was kindlyallowed by them to retain certain smal l privileges
and the empty title of Nuwab . After the death of
this Nuwab, in 1 82 1 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 o f power it was my destiny now to
236 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
swear feal ty. I was informed by the Mini ster Of His
Highness that the native agent, abou t two months
ago , had behaved very disrespectfully towards the
Nuwab in ordering one o f 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, be ing in the hou se o f his
Minister, descried his servant in this di sgraceful
plight, and ordered the guard to be brought before
him wi th the ir prisoner, whom he bade them release .
This being done, in the fury of the moment he kicked
ou t the guard, loading them with curses and impre
cations. The native agent, who could no t bear his
magisterial au thority thu s degraded, was now work
ing mischief by hearing tales to Mr. Lumsden, theagent, judge, and magistrate, all in one.
I had now to reply to eleven o f the agent’s un
answered epistles. His Highnes s took three days to
read through the drafts , and then condescended to
say he, approved very highly o f the language, style,and spirit of the papers I had drawn, that his Hindli
clerks cou ld no t write Persian correctly, and sometimes it was difficul t for them to understand the drift
Of the subject.T he 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. T he Nuwab again
began to send,almost every evening, his confidential
238 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
communication with the ex -Minister. Poor Hardiram
bo ldly replied that he had no secret commun ication
with the Minister, but a secret feud with the native
agent, and that, from the date o f the compromise, he
expected to rece ive the treatment he now experienced.
“ God i s great , I am innocent, truth at last will
certainly shine forth , and guilt will have i ts due
recompense ,” said he , and so del ivered over the keys
and departed .
T he next day the Minister and I were deputed to
go to Atma ram and Offer to him on the part of His
Highness , the situation of Diwan .
Atmaram i s the son of Kirparam, who negociated
the treaty of 1 800, on the part o f the Nu‘wab’
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
ou t afterwards that he had acted treacherously in
that bu siness o f importance, and had sacr ificed hi s
master’s power and dominion for his own benefit .
His Highness, therefore, had turned him out o f the
service. After the death o f Kirparam , his son A t
maram, a man well educated both in Sanskrit and
Persian, became a hanger-ou of the native agent for
years, in the hope of getting an appointment su itable
to his station in life. Besides his pension of three
ATHARAM. 239
hundred rupees a month, he expended large sums of
money in support of his interests, and got in debt tothe amoun t 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
s ervice, he had extricated himself from the civil j urisdiction, and no creditor, thenceforward, could sue
him under the Regulations.With Atmaram , another crafty Hindu named
Mat iram was appointed as accountant. This being
done the next thing was to get the ex-Mini ster to put
h imself in the Nuwab’
s power, and a messagewas sent
to him requesting his attendance.
The man, al though vulgar and illiterate, having
been raised from the grade of a bread-seller to the
rank of Minister, yet, by instinctive sagacity, well
knewr the Object o f His Highness, who was entirelyunder the influence o f his malignant successor and
the native agent. He, therefore, on receipt of the
m essage, 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 be ing laid for him by the people
abou t the Nuwab, wh o was a mere tool in their hands.
Mr. Lumsden referred him to the native agent, tell ing
him that he had a letter from His Highness on that
240 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
head, that he was sure the Nuwab could do him
no harm, and that he wou ld desire the native ag ent
to make every proper arrangement‘
abou t i t. 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 e x
Min i ster, seeing no al ternative, 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
Ou t of the difficul ties 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 fidel ity and loyalty
Obtained for me al l 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 no t the examination of the accounts, upon
almost all o f 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, h e knelt
down to him. The native agent heard all this atten
242 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTPULLAH.
then towards me, he observed that the question was a
simple one ; we were only to examin e the accounts of
His Highness with the man, asking him t o give a
satisfactory explanation o f all the disbursementsmade
through him, and we should soon find him comm it
himself. After this we had some conversation withhim upon different topics, and then, taking leave, re
turned to the palace and explained to His Highness
the result o f our mission.
During the time thi s was going on , I met with a
most severe calamity ; that i s, my poor son departed
this l ife at the age of two years and three months.
Poo r boy, he suffered his fever and cough with thefort itude of a man ; he took his doses o f physic
bravely, but without avail. The lance Of grief
pierced my heart through and through, but the
los s was irreparable, and there was no remedy
except patience, patience, and nothing bu t patience,under the decrees of heaven.
After this misfortune,I was left alone for t en
days, and then was ordered to take two clerks and
books of accounts to a smal l garden near the palace,w here it was appointed for the e x -Minister to undergo
his examination. I was to b e strict, but not harsh ,and t o try my best to implicate the man s omehow
or other. Provided with such instructions , I proceeded with my companions to the place where we
found the man waiting for u s. I examined him in
the best way I coul d for ten days , but he exonerated
TRIAL OF THE E x -HINISTE H. 243
himself of all the charges, showing the signature of
His Highness to the different items. T he Minister
himself sometimes superintended the examination in
personi We compared the books of merchants, to .
whom jthe payments were made, with our accounts ,but found them correspond. I told my friend the
Ministei' , in pr ivate, 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 no t 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 no t b e loyal to your liege lord in doing
anything and everything for him ? ” “ Expect me
no t ,”returned I, to do anything against conscience .
”
Some unpleasant words passed between u s on this
occasion, and from this time His Highness began
to appear displeased and sullen towards me, though
I affected no t to observe it. In the meantime I
went on with my du ty of examining the man ; but,to my great astonishment, I found Mu tiram one of
my subordinate s, trying to Overrule me, and acting
the part of a prosecutor very au thoritatively and
harshly, instead of acting under me in the pro
ceedings as he had hitherto done. He dispu ted the
points wrongfully, and quarrelled with the man in
very unbecoming language . He said he cared not
244 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTPULLAH.
about His Highness’s signatures, which he believed
to be either forged or taken whilst His Highness
was sleepy or intoxicated. This line o f 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 Mu tiram acted his part in the bu siness
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
tinned . This he heard from me very quietly, with
ou t uttering a word, but I was informed h e brought
it to the notice of His Highness immediately,‘ by
whom he was ordered to consul t the native agent
about it the same evening. The time o f 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 thati t was wrong in me to leave His Highness’ serv ice
so abruptly, and that the poor old man, surrounded
as he was by all sorts of rogues and rascals , woul d
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
CHAPTER IX .
I am appointed t o an office under the Pol itical A gent in Kat tiawar—T h e Nagar Brahmans—I resign office in order to accompanyCaptain E astwick , assistant t o Colonel Po tt inger, Resident inS indh—Mr. E rskine presents m e with a certificate and a.
Kashmir shawl—I find three unexpected companions—Sara,th e fair Maimuni—I leave Rajkot—T he Jam of NowanagarDharol—T he merry Governor o f Juria Bandar—Pleasantsail ing—Frisky monsters of the Deep—Specul ations of the
Sindh is as to our purpose in coming t o their country—Iac t priest at th e I’du ’
l fi tr—March t o T atta—Descriptionof T atta.
IN the month o f February I resigned the service ofth e Nuwab, and had hardly passed e ighteen days
with my scholars , when I received an invitation from
Mr. J. Erskine, the Political Agent at Kattiawar,
through Mr. Vibart, the principal col lector o f the
S iirat-Zila. I arrived at Rajké t on the l st of March.
After a sho r t stay at Rajkot, I was appointed super
intendent in the ne ighbouring district of Babriawar,
on a salary of one hundred rupees a month. I, how
ever, never entered upon my du ties, being detained
to i nvestigate charges o f corruption against some
native Officers of the Political Agent’s establishment.The accused parties were Nagar Brahmans, and theydefended themselves with so much ingenuity, as to
turn the tables on their accusers. I was detained,
ADIEU TO KATTIAWAB. 247
in common with the rest, and was soon glad to avail
myself of any Opportunity to qu it Kat tiawar.
In the early part of this year I was delighted to
hear of my beloved master, Captain E astwick’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,
and found his heart as warm as ever.
After a few weeks’ stay with his regiment, he
was placed at the disposal o f the Governor-General
o f 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
t endered my resignation to Mr. Erskine, and received
t he following certificate
R dj hé t P olitical Agent’s Ofi ce
,Kdttc
’
awdr,
July l st, 1 838 .
This is to certify, that Munsh i Lutful lah Khan has been
known to me for years, that from th e beginning of the year 183 6
h e h as been employed by me in various capacities in t he serviceof t he H . E . I . Company, principally as a translator of Orientaldocuments.“He is master of th e Persian
, Hindustani, Marath i, and
Gujarath i languages, b esides having a knowledge of t he idiom ,
st ructure, and details of the E nglish language that very few
O rientals have attained t o . As an instructor in the above-ment ioned languages he is invaluab le. H is intimate acquaintancewith th e E uropean character
,and his contempt for the follies and
d epravities of the natives o f India,render him a most val uab le
servan t t o th e British Gov ernment.I believe him to b e a man of integrity, veracity, and ab ility, to
248 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
such a degree, th at I have never elsewhere met with h is equal
among those o f pure A siatic descent.“ I h ave given th is paper to Munsh i Lutful lah as a sincere
testimonial t o his excel lent character and superior attainments, ofwhich I have been a witness.
(Signed) JAl IE S E RSKINE,
P . A . , Kat t iawar.
”
On Friday, the 23rd November, I repaired to thePolitical Agent’s Office to take leave. A ll my office
friends felt deeply for my loss, and we exchanged
tears of parting with one another : they were so
Obliging as to rai se a subscription, and presented me
with a valuable dress o f 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 heating 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 T akkarsi,the head of the firm o f that name at Rajkot, waitingfor m e. On inquiring the cause, he Observed that
he and his family, consisting of sixty-five in number,were al l under obligations for my having been the
cau se of the restitution of their property, ten thousand
rupees, carried Off by a gang of robbers, who had
w orm ded and killed three members o f the family ;that they felt very sorry at my departure, and would
250 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
all three in a most wretched condition. They begged
to be allowed to travel with the carts o f my baggage
as far as Ju ria, and I not only granted the ir request ,but ordered my servants to take their small bundle s
o f clothes,etc. on my carts . They then thanked
me for the kindne ss , and the Old dame began her
narrative as follows
We are Mohamedan culivators, clan of Maimun,inhabitants of Bhuj ; my hu sband was a man of wealth
and consequence amongst the farmers of the province.
T he fru it of our union was these two daughters only,and no son. It pleased Almighty God to take away
my good hu sband, the father o f these orphans , when
my youngest girl was abou t two years Old . After
his death th e Government confiscated all our prope rty,under the pretence o f his having been in debt to i t for
the lease of the village to him for some years past.
Some months after my hu sband’s departure from this
world,my son-in-law, to o , followed him ; and thu s we
remained helpless, withou t any asylum, for some years,pressed hard under the cruel foot of indigence , labour
ing in the fields o f others for our l ivelihood. 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. T he gentleman, her sweetheart, died Of
cholera on a sudden, and left nothing for her to subsist
upon. S he had, however, about three or four hundred
I rnom sn PROTE CTION. 25 1
rupees worth of jewel s, a part of which we have
already sold for our maintenance : and, no t to conceal
it from you, we have stil l something left, which we
intend to apply in agricu ltural speculation on our
return home. T he fate of the young Sara i s worse
than that o f the other. I gave h er in marriage to a
young gardener of Drangdra. She l ived with her
husband for about two years, when the career of his
l ife was cu t short, after which she remained under
the care o f her. late hu sband’s sister, by whom she
was considered an unl ucky woman, as h er husband
died so shortly after the marriage. She was tyran‘
niz ed over and maltreated to a great degree, and at
l ast secretly sold by her remorseles s sister-in—law to
an old gardener of Limr i for twenty-five rupees. Iheard of her misfortunes , and, coming to this place
where slavery is said to be discountenaneed, I sent
her a message to effect her escape and come over to
me. It i s now abou t six weeks since she arrived.T he 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
L imri. 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
shal l go to our native land, where we shal l 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 or LUTFULLAII.
safe under my protection , be ing that of a Britishsubject ; that they should no t only be conveyed to
Juria (where they could not be safe from the intrigueso f the native States), but landed on the coast of their
native land, free of expense.
Poor creatures, they thanked me heartily for the
kindnes s I showed, and started very early next morning with my baggage.
On th e 24th ofNovember, 1 838 , I left Rajkét , 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, i s
the principal town of twelve villages belonging to
H .H . theJam ofNowanagar, who is graciously pleased
to continu e the farm of it to th e son ofFakir Mohamed,his late favourite Jamadar, still in his minority.
H . H . the Jam, though illiterate, i s a high-minded
Prince. His naine— Ranmalliji, hero of the field ofbattle,
” coincides w ith his character. During my
stay w i th the Political Agent, I had the honour o f
conferring with him several times on the part of the
British Government, on the subjects of boundarydisputes and infanticide. On al l occas ions I was
pleased w ith his manly conduct and sensible con
versation. Though a Jareja chief, he has preserveda daughter.
On the 25 th , I left Pardhari at sunrise, and reached
Bharol , the principal village, belonging to Jareja
Bhupatsingji at ten A. M. I was received with great
254 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH .
thi s was the last stage whence I cou ld 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
harbou r, which i s 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 smal l vessel s not e xceeding the
tonnage o f 100 khandies (or 25 tons) was bu t 26 . I
t ook one of 60 khandies, or 1 5 t ons.
Dined with the governor at six P . M. My jolly Oldhost commenced drink ing, or rather sipping, raw
brandy, an hou r before the dinner was brought.
He insisted upon my j oining him , but I could not
grant his request. T he o ld man was merry by
dinner-time. In short we passed the even ing very
pleasantly. After the dinner was over he showedme
two magnificent palaces belonging to his government.
The edifices, though no t well furn ished, are of an
excellent design.
At my departure, he bestowed on me, on the part
o f his master, a dress o f honour, consisting of a very
handsome scarf and a turban, both worth about 1 00
rupees. I tried my best to decline the honour, but
he in sisted strongly on my accepting them,telling m e
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 no t accepted. In short,
THR vOYAGB. 255
I was so much pressed by the good old man that I
consented to receive the things. Seeing that he wasvery fond o f, 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 28 th , at eleven A. M. I left the town o f 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 i s 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 part ed , mutually expressing
our best wishes for each other. I went on board at
one P. M. and bade adieu to the Peninsul a— the land
o f ignoran ce, opium-eating, and infanticide, and its
one million six hundred thou sand 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.
25 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH .
We weighed anchor on the night of the 29th at
nine P.M. It being calm, the night and day passed
well. T he pure atmosphere, the cold breeze, and the
gentle exercise o f sail ing, produced in me a healthful
exhilaration. I felt my appetite insatiable , and we
had no meat on board, it no t being procurable at
Juria, where the governor alone kil led 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 3oth , when I opened
my eyes , I found myself at the port of Mandavi.
The scene o f n ineteen years ago presented itself to
my mind. T he memory of my reverie when I stood
there gazing at the ocean for the first time, and my
being startled by the bite o f the dog, etc. , came back,and it seemed as if al l had taken place bu t yesterday.
My Tindal Jum ’
a, of the clan o f Mianas or pirates,coming up to me, put himself in a complimentary
attitude very umi atural to him. Well , Jum’
a,”
said I , “ what i s the news ? ” Poor rough creatureo f 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
258 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTRULLAH.
Jum’a’s words, instead Of producing a good effect,
made the animal s more frisky and furious. Theyspouted ” up water from their immense nostril s 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.H . Our good Tindal then, having los t all
patience, took up one of his ballast stones , verysharp 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 o f a.
hatchet. Afte r the receipt of this compliment, the
animal went down at once with hi s companion, with
out mak ing its appearance again, and all of us jointly
returned our thanks to the kind Providence for thisnar row escape . I regretted much not having brought
my gun with me.
Ghori Kichar i s now a large sand bank, which,twenty years ago , was the site of Ghori Bandar, nowal l sunk below the wav e.
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 shipquite fresh and sweet, and on the other very sal t.
On inquiring the reason, I was to ld that the strongcurrent Of the Indus ran so far uninfluenced by the
sea. We moored about nine O’clock P.M. ten mile s
o ff Vikkar Bar.
From this it is evident that the Author’s sharks weregrampuses.
SINDHI VILLAGES. 259
4th . It being dead calm , the whole day was spent
in reaching the bar. Here we found twel ve Briti shmen-of-war, two steamers, and about one hundred
ba ttelahs at anchor, all o f them bearing the Britishflag and containing soldiers and supplies. My friend
the O ld Tindal passed close by a vessel newly wrecked
u pon a sand bank . I told him the wreck warned
us no t to come too near, unless we would share her
fate ; but the Old pirate replied, that the T indal of
the boat must ei ther 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
a t the bar for the night.
On the 5 th we entered the mouth of the Indu s,and on the 6 th we arrived with in seven miles of
Vikkar. There being a small vill age on th e left
bank, I went ashore to see it. Visited the head man
o f the village. Conversed with h im through the old
Tindal, whose mother tongue was Sindhi. The old
chief’s replies to our qu eries were so loud that at first
I thought he e ither took us to be deaf, or was offended
a t our intrusion. On asking the reason, Jum’
a told
me that nothing was wrong, but that such was the
custom o f the country. These people seemed miser
able b eing s, l iving in such hu ts as the vil lagers 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, upan one bed,
the material s of which are no more than a mat
K 2
260 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII.
Spread over a little grass. Their food i s a very
coarse bread of rice, with fi sh, fresh or dry. They
are very fond of tobacco and onions, for which
articles the head man begged. I inqu ired about the
system of taxation in his country, and he informed
me that taxes were mostly taken in kind. The agri
culture in general i s confined to rice, which i s
produced in abundance. T he cul tivator 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 .
T he 8 th I passed in exploring the village of
Vikkar. It consisted of about two dozen miserable
hu ts. Colonel H. Pottinger arrived in the eveningfrom Hydrabad.
On the 9th we removed our tents from the military
camp, and pitched them near the Resident’s . Fromthis date I regu larly commenced the performance of
my du ty. I had the pleasure of seeing Sikandar
Khan, my Old friend of Tu ls i Sham,now S iibahdar
Major, the highest rank that a native soldier attainsto. 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 youngMughal appeared to be a promismg lad.
I began Sindhi grammar, which I found to be easy
262 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII.
His late Highness Mir Karam Ali’s widow has fur
nished, and will always furnish him with funds sufli
cient to carry on a perpetual war with all the
Feringees in the world ; and, if God please s, we
can be masters of al l the gold and implements of
war that they are labouring to bring into our
country. Know ye no t 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. Whil st
in the service of H. H . , the Pe shwa, I was an eye
witne ss Of their hard fights in the Dakhan. Here
i s an unquestionable proo f: saying this, he tucked
up hi s sleeve and showed a scar, which demonstrated
a clear transit o f a bullet through his left arm . He
conc luded 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 i f they have any i t 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 ? ”
Su ch discussion s by th e side of my tent walls often
amused me much ; and sometimes, ri sing from my
seat, I intruded upon them, and preached to them
in mv broken Sindhi, that the English would no t
I ACT As PRIE ST. 263
take their miserable country, poducing only fish and
rice, even if it were forced upon them ; that they hadsufficient 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 pu rpose of protecting their posses
sions in India, as well as the Amirs’ territory,from foreign aggression. To th is they would reply
with a chorus o f laughter, What you say, sir, may
b e true, bu t we are rude people ; we cannot com
prehend high politics of government. Ha "ha " ha I
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
o f our army. He was a wealthy man,had a large
family, consisting of a father, six brothers, and a
number of womefi and children. He was al so a
man of consequence and influence in Lower Sindh .
On the 1 9th Decemberfihappened the I
'
dul’
l fitr,
it being the first of the month Shanwal . This i s
a joyou s festival in the Mohamedan world, as i t
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
o f 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 or LUTFULLAH.
the Company, and rece ived the u sual fee in a tu rban
and scarf, which cost abou t forty rupees, subscribed
by the commissioned officers .
In these days we had often fal se alarms of Shir
Mohamed’s giving us a n ight attack . On the night
of the 20th all the men were kept on the alert, and
officers patrolled al l the n ight 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 hou rs of the night more
for crowing, i. e., they began the surplus du ties at
e ight and ended at ten, P.M. This untimely crowingis considered an ill omen in India and Persia, and
such over-ofliciou sness o f the bird would cost him
his life there, but th e Sindhi s are indifferent about it.
Vi sited the village of Ghorabari, abou t one mile
Off. It i s considered a large village becau se it con
s ists Of one hundred miserable huts. The r iver inthis part o f the province, at this cold season, i s about
a fathom and a half deep. Its width too, in general ,
i s no t more than two hundred and fifty yards. The
water i s 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 al lo ur baggage with that of the army. In the morn ing
,
striking our small tent, as we were going to moun t
our horses, my master was ordered by the Residentto stay where he was until some arrangement for
26 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII .
first, and then we shal l argu e on further. Thus we
beguiled our time in conversation until he was fast
asleep ; and then I, having enj oyed my cheroo t,went to my bed.
T he 25 th of December, the birthday of the prophet
Jesus Christ, i s a holiday of rejoicing to al l the
Christian world. Early on the morning of this daywe were roused from our sleep by two officers, Mr.
Jenkins and Captain Ward, just arrived from Man
davi. They asked Captain Eas twick to guide them
on to overtake the army ; but the remaining part o f
the compact with the owners of the camel s requiring
his stay a few hours more, he ordered me to go
on with these officers, himself remaining alone to
conclude the affair.
We gal loped 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 twentymiles, to Karampur, consisting of about fifty hu ts ,situated on this side of a branch of the Indu s. On
the other side i s the village of Ghulam Ka Go t,
of the same size .
On the 27th we halted , and the 28 th brought us
to the ancient city o f Tatta. Having marched
early in the morning, we reached the halting place
at Makalli, about two miles from the town , at n ine
o’clock A .M. Our road this morn ing was part ly
TATTA. 26 7
sandy and partly stony and uneven. It pas sed
through the ruins of Kalanko t, abou t two mile s
from this. T he fortifications of this remarkable
place appeared to be very old and strong. The
material s are mortar and baked bricks, which, at
thi s 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 i t 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 wall s, and great part
of it i s in ruins. The inhabited houses are about ten
thousand The markets are narrow and the streets
fil thy. Most of the inhabitants are weavers. Longsilken scarf s (called lungis) and blankets are manu
factured here better than in Upper Sindh. T he fair
sex of this town, and indeed of al l Sindh, are in
general very plain, and very clumsily dressed. Mills
for grinding grain and expressing oil, are worked by
camel s. There are upwards of four hundred mosques
in the city, but almost all o f them are going to decay.
Visited the Grand Mosque (JamaMasj id), begunby Shah Jahan, in 1057 A.H. (A.C. and fini shed
26 8 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
by Aurangzeb in 1072 A .H. (1 6 6 1 as I found by
the inscriptions. The edifice i s a magnificent one ,about two hundred yards long by one hundred broad,built with baked bricks and mortar. The inner
plaster i s glazed in white and blue colours . The
whole site i s roofed with one hundred domes, every
one of them painted in a different style from another.
T he 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 o f beau ty and solemnity to the
spectator.
T he 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. T he hou ses in general are single storied and
bu ilt of mud and flimsy timber, flat-roofed, clay only
be ing spread over the upper frame ; and partition s
plastered with mud are the;walls. There are a few
houses o f 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 gentlemen in conversation. Saiyid Mohamed travelled
270 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAH.
of a fisherwoman who had her shop there in days of
yore. This small hill contains abou t five hundred
domed , and innumerable unroofed , tombs. It is a
well-popu lated city of silence. I had time enough to
see only fourteen edifices, as follows :
1 . Idgah, a splendid mosque, where all tru e be
lievers gather together tw ice a year, and perform the
divine service o f the two holy days . The mosqu e
was buil t by YI'
Isuf Khan, governor o f Sindh. Its
inscription i s in beautiful large Naskh talik characters:
as follows
Yusuf Khan , th e powerful lord, erect ed this place of worshipas high as h is fortune. T he year of its finishing is found byCherubim— th e temple of Makkah for th e virtuous, 1043 A .H . ,
1 633 A. O.
1 . The tombs of the two Vaz irs—Mirza Jand and
Mirz a Ghazi. Date, 1 095 A.H. , 1 6 83 A G.
3. A grand mosque, built by T ughral . 1 090 A.H. ,
1 679 A.o.
4 . Tombs o f Mirz a Isa andMirza Inayatullah, two
governors of the place. Magnificent edifices of ye llow
marble , beau tiful ly carved, with flowers in bas-relief,and surpas sing all the buildings of the place. The
inscription gives the year of 1058 A .H. , 1 64 8 A.C.
5 . T he tomb Of a Mini ster. 1048 A.H. , 1 638 A.C.
6 . The tomb Of a Nuwab. 96 6 A.H. , 1 558 A.C.
7 . T he tomb o f Pir Asad, the Kazi, 9 fee t long .
E ra illegible.
8 . T he tomb of Saiyid'
Abdullah , son of Saiyid
Abdul Kadir Gilani, the great saint of Baghdad.
THE BILUOH PRISONER . 271
9, The tomb of Mirak Moham ed. 1 059 A.H.
1 649 A C.
10. The tomb of Shaikh Zia. 1 1 29 A.H. , 1 6 19 A.C.
1 1 . The tomb of a King, name illegible. 1 109 A.H. ,
1 697 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. ,
1 5 19 A.O.
1 3. The tomb of BabaIsa Langotiband. 920 A.H. ,
1 5 14 A G.
14. The tomb of Saiyid Ali Shirazi the Saint of
the Jokhia Sindhi tribe. 1 1 90 A.H. , 1776 A.C.
Amongst my official duties I had the Special honour
to tran slate 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 ownhandwriting, very difficul t to read), in his hand, ando rdered 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 promised me a higher reward.
On the 5 th , at five o’clock, P.M. , our guard killed
a Biluch who was taken prisoner for se lling l iquor in
the camp, and was consequently ordered to be flogged.
272 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OE 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 (ofwhich he ought to have been dispossessed) and inflicted
three cuts upon:the sentry, who parried, in the best
manner he cou ld, with his firelock, the butt end Of
which was cu t 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 o f Sir John
Keane and Colonel Macdonald, three muskets were
fired at him : the bal l 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 wereagain prevalent. Several camp followers had been
plundered near Lakpat , by a party o f twenty-five
armed Sindhis.
On the l 6 th Captain Eas twick 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 u s.It was a very cold morning, it having rained much
all last night. We sailed up about twenty mil e s
during the day, and moored near a village. Passedseveral Shikargahs, or hun ting seats of the Amir s.
These are large tracts of forest land by the river side,fenced all round, containing all sorts of game.
274 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTPULLAII.
sincere in it ; that he must not be held responsble
for the acts of his cousins ; and that he fel t anx iou; to
receive an as surance of the same nature on the precut
occas ion from Captain Eastwick, before seeing lim.
Upon thi s I was forthwith deputed to aecompmy
Badru’d-din as a bearer of renewed assurances to dis
Highness.
After going somewhat more than three miles, we
came in sight of the citadel of Hydrabad, of which I
had heard so mu ch. The near sight of it disappointed
me. It i s no more than a pentagonal fortification,built of baked bricks andmortar, irregularly bastimed,without any ditch, containing the families of the Anirs
and their relation s and dependents. In passing through
the town we saw several parties of Bihichis sitting in
groups with the ir pipe s, and the extract o f hemp
under preparation before them. They scowled upon
me, and some revil ed me in their language. What
do you say to this,” said I to my friend Badru’d-din,
Is thi s the way of treating foreigners in your
country ? ” Do you no t know, repl ied he, a jar
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
III’
R SUBBAR. 275
with his son Path-Ali, a handsome boy of aboutt tended by a secretary and slave, in a large
without any furniture. After I hadsalutation in the Mohamedan style,stretched forth his hand, which I
my right, and was going to take my
floor like the others, but was part i
to take a chair that was brought for
After compliments, I delivered my
which His Highness heard with attention,
satisfied. After this, some conversation
subject of the manners and customs of
3 took place, and then I took my depar
couple o f Sindhi horsemen were ordered
the Residency, and to protect me fromthe wild Biluchis. When I had got
our camp, an other pair Of horsemen
oped up, begging me to retu rn for a moment as
the Amir wanted to speak to me . I returned and
had to repeat my message, some words o f which Mir
S libdar had no t fully comprehended.
Having done this I took my departure and began
to return to camp with my Sindhi attendan ts, when I
saw my master in company with Captains Outramand Leckie, proceed ing to the Cour t of the three
Amirs. My presence al so being requi site, I was
desired to go al ong 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 eoning
fast to an end, wi thou t any end to my business.
On arrival at the Darbar, we found the crowd of
armed Biluehis and attendants so thick that I thOLgh t
it was impossible to pass . Road, however, wasmadefor the admission o f the E uropean gen try. As for
myself, I remained behind and could no t possibly
penetrate through the concourse . Capta in E az twick,
fortunately thinking of me, when with the Amirs,turned his head a little and observed, Here, Lut
No soonerfullah , take care o f these papers .
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
mul titude to my master, at whose elbow I seated
myself a nd took down notes of the conference.
The three Amirs,Nur Mohamed, Nasir Khan , and
Mir Mohamed, and a young man, Mir Shahdad , sat
on a large fou r-legged square plank , covered with a
simple Persian carpet, called the throne, with thei rswords and shields placed before them . The Britishrepresentative and his companions sat on the chairs
placed for them , bu t 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 i s Observed in
Indian Courts. The armed Biluehis and Sindhis sat
as they pleased, wherever they could find a place for
themselves,talking as loud as possible with each
278 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAH.
He took the papers from my hand contaia the
draft of the treaty lately translated by myself, and
read it to their Highnes ses with a clear Persianaccent. The Amirs listened compo sedly, though
marks of displeasure could be traced on the face of
Mir Nur Mohamed. He changed colour, becomingnow red, now pale as a ghost. When the reading
was over, the Bihichis showed great excitement. At
this time a slight signal from the ir Highnesses woul d
have been sufficient to terminate the lives of al l our
party under the swords of the barbarian and remorse
les s 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 the ir horrid
duty. Mir Nur Mohamed firs t observed, in Biluchi,to his two col leagues, “ Cursed be he who pu ts
reliance upon the promises of the Peringees ;”and
then, address ing h imself seriou sly to the Britishrepre sentative, he spoke thu s in Persian : “ Yourtreaties , I believe, are changeable at your pleasure
and convenience ; i s 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 withou t hesitation, de
pending upon your friendship under your honourable
promises. Had we known that, after the en trance
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 o f thearmy, we would, in such case, have adopted measure s
for the security o f our country and persons. Youknow 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 i s involved in
the government.”
Captain Eastwick heard al l this with calmness,and gave brief replies in Persian and Arabic pro
verbs, such as,“ Our Government has no intention
o f putting your Highnesses under any inconvenience ,but necessity has no law Friends mu st aid friendsin emergencies T he present campaign i s not only
for the security o f India, but the safety o f your
Highness’s territories l ikewise depends upon it,” etc.
Mir Nur Mohamed smil ed, and spoke to his cousin sin Biluchi, which we could not understand ; and
then, with a sigh , he said to Captain Eastwick,“ I
wish I could comprehend the mean ing of the word
friend ’ which you u se . We cannot give a decisive
reply to your present demands at once. The matter
requ ires 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 o f atr and rose water, etc . , at dismissal ,as usual in Indian Darbars . We reached home at
280 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII.
half-past six o’clock P.M. ,tired with the b
the day.
On the 23rd we remained, expecting a reply from
their Highnesses, but affairs seemed to take a bad
turn. T he native agent sent a secret message
requesting us to be on our guard ; and his warning
was perhaps not void o f reason, for we saw a par ty
o f 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 ; bu t , 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 mile s, in three hours.
On the 25th we landed at Jarrak, and j oined the
army, which arrived that morn ing. Here I had a
narrow e scape from be ing drowned. Having to
move a heavy box ful l of my books, I, with the aid
of a Sindhi boatman , go t it on the edge of two boats ;and, as I stood with my legs wide apart, the Sindhi
suddenly left me so planted, and u nable to move, for
fear of losing the box. In thi s 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
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
CHAPTER X.
False alarms—Sh ir Mohamed—Th ree officers burnt to deathT he Amirs accept the T reaty—T he army marches forSh ikarpur—Nadir Shah and t he Saiyids of Lakki—Sehw z
’
m
Larkhana Great cheapness o f food Sh ikarpur Bilfichi
Robbers Fath Mohamed Ghori Sakhar Khairpur
Mir Rustam—Marauders—The Nail: and the Pol itical Agent—T hank you for nothing—Great heat—Th e scorpion remedy—More plundering.
OUR force remained encamped here for eight days,during which time fal se alarms of night attacks
were Often spread. A Sipahi named Chandidin, of
the 5 th Bombay Native Infantry, having effectedhis 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 Ismai l Shahand one of his sons arrived in camp to treat with the
authorities.
On the evening of the 3oth,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 ou t from all
sides in a forest, they could no t e scape.
On the l st February, Mir Ismai l Shah, the
Ambassador for the Amirs, announced their sub
MARCH To HYBRABAB . 283
mission to the terms imposed by the treaty ; and next
day Takki Shah, son o f Ismail, was despatched to
Hydrabad to obtain their Highne ss’ signatures to the
On the 3rd bur camp left Jarrak , and hal ted at
the village of Ismail j'
o Go t , eleven miles off, and the
next march of nine mile s brought us to the village
o f Kotri, a smal l ham le t situated on th e right bank
o f the Indus, o pposite to Hydrabad. The Sindhian
army that had stationed itself at the opposite bank
o f the river, marched back to the capital on the 3rd,but we saw a portion o f it on its return in haste.
T he army consisted o f about ten thousand men and
thirty pieces of cannon, of which seven thou sand
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, numbe r, a nd discipline , he retired
to his own district, afte r having sent a very civil
answer to the Resident’s strong and rigorou s letter,drafted ou t by myself and forwarded to him some
days before.
The river begins at th is season to rise ; i ts waters ,though always muddy, are very wholesome if pu ri
fied. T he mode of purification i s very simple. Take
a kernel of almond and rub it against the inner side
o f a pitcher until i t i s exhausted ; fill the pitcher
with the wa ter and let it stay unsh aken for one hour,and you will then find the water beautifully clear ;
284 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
have i t then strained in another vessel , and drink it
to your satisfac tion. But if you drink thi s water
unstrained, and especially after eating the del iciou s
fish called pu lla, you are sure to get dysentery, which
generally prove s fatal.
On the 6 th the Resident, having received a nume
ber of trays of sweetmeats from their Highnesses as
an enterta inmen t to al l the gentlemen of the camp,had the kindne ss to send me two of them, containing
abou t eighty pounds of excellent confections, etc.
T he 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 Shikarpu r, and we made all
the necessary preparat ions for the performance of
that du ty.
On the morning Of Sunday, the l oth , we marched
with the army, and halted at the village o f Bada,e ight miles from Kotri . S '
c
'
tdikshah , one of the sons
o f Ismail Shah, joined us here as an agent on the part
o f the Amirs to render us his aid in Obtain ing sup
plies. We had orders to keep as near as possible to
the right bank o f the Indus. A dragoon foolishl y
took his horse to drink apart from the watering place
in the river, and sank with the animal, never to rise
286 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAII.
a large sum of money upon the Saiyids of the vil
lage, directing them to have the edifice b uilt o ver
the remains of the sain t. This they carried into ex e
ca tion at the time. The following inscr ipt ion at the
doo r of the shrine gives the date of i ts completion
I inquired of intell ect the year of its date.
Inspiration informed me it is th e Paradise of th e member of
the sacred house.
”1 15 5 A .H . 1 742 A .D .
All Saiyids of S indh that are called Lakki Saiyids,are, I am informed, the descendants o f this saint,whose parentage ascends up to the Imam Al i Nakki.
I am therefore inclined to think that the word Lakkii s a corruption o f Nakki , which i s 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 springsnear one another ; the wat er of one is very cool and
limpid, and that of the other very hot.
A banian remaining behind in this march,
o vertaken by the Biluch marauders, who robbed him
o f his clothes, and i nflicted two sword cu ts on his
arm. T he poor fel low came in bleeding : several
camels were stolen ; the perpetrators o f these out"
rages were Burgoari, Marri, and Laghari Biluchis,who inhabit this mountain with their asses
,goats,
sheep, etc . and very seldom visit the neighbouring
villages.
1 7th , 1 8 th , and 1 9th . Halted to have the heavy
o rdnance, et c. , sent on first. Three camel robbers
SE HWAN PAss. 287
having been seized, were on the 1 8 th flogged, and
had their heads and beards shaved. A Europeansoldier, who stood by me whilst the guilty were
undergoing the penalty, observed that he would be
happy to receive such puni shment every day, except
the flogging part.
On the 2oth, 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 i s nearly half-waybetween Lakki and Sehwan, and abou t two hundred
yards long. T he 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 i s the proud,sublime, and steep side of the mountain ; and, on
your right, down a very deep precipice, you behold
with awe the river whirl ing on. Our engineers, however, 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 anyaccident , except a poor woman, whose leg bone was
fractured in the tumult.
On the 21st we halted, and Sir H. Fane landed atour 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 .
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII.
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 audience. The English officers of the
Bengal side have in general a too good opin ion o f
themse lves. Captain Eastwick stood as interpreter
in the presence o f the two representatives, and I,behind him
, euphonizing every now and then his
Persian sentence s to the Nuwab. When Sir H. heard
me first, he called ou t , And who are you , sir ?” To
this Captain Eastwick replied , He i s my Munshi.”
Sir H. i s a tall , well-made, intel ligent, middle-aged
man, but he seemed to have had no lessons o f polite
ness. The Biluch Nuwab wanted to continue the
conversation after bu siness was over, but Sir H. go t
up and dismissed him abruptly.
T he 22nd was a cold and foggy morning. I visited
the town of Sehwan which contains about five thousa nd
houses, or fifteen thou sand inhabitants . The shrine
of Lal Shah Baz , the famous saint of thi s place, i s a
grand one, built in 1 148 A .H. , and it contains b ut one
tomb , that o f the saint. A tiger o f large size i s kept
in a wooden cage at the gate.
Marched on the 23rd to the village o f Tarti, n ine
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 i s a large v illage, consisting of about two
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII.
27th . Sixteen miles to the village o f Ghara, six
mile s beyond the shri ne o f Pirpanja. This saint
belongs to the order of those Mohamedan monks who
dress themselves in black blankets and nothing else.
T his was a long and fatiguing march throug h the
forest, which is no t very thick abou t thi s part. The
custom of wearing caps, gradual ly diminishing from
Sehwan, i s nearly ou t from this stage . Here you will
see almost all the Sind hi heads ornamented with white
and becoming turbans.
28 th . Six miles to the village o f Ohinna, good
road and fertile country al l the way. T he cold
began to dimini sh .
l st March. This morn ing the General changed
his mind about the halting-place, and caused much
confusion. At first, the v illage o f 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 2md, sixteen miles, to the village of Bak
ram’
, where, on the 3rd, a halt was ordered, no t for
the Sabbath, but on account of a large branch o f the
Indus coming across the way, which required the
troops to pas s by degrees, the stream being nearly six
feet deep in the middle.
On the 4th , we crossed the stream early in the
morning, and reached the town o f Larkhana in abou t
two hours, i t being only eight miles from the las t
stage. Larkhana i s a large town surrounded by
a x uim . 291
a mud wall , and governed by an old illi terate man,
Pir Abdu’rrahim. Here the army was obliged tohalt unt il the l 1 th , to make the necessary arrange
ments for the long hazardous journey through the
Bolan Pass into a climate too cold for the native s ofIndia. Many camel drivers, e specially those of Kach ,refused to go to the cold climate ; but, having been
well flogged and chastised for refusing, poor fe llows ,they saw no alternative except submi ssion or desertion.
T he latter plan was, however, adopted by many, wholeft their camels to the tender mercy o f the swearing
soldiers , and took their way home . Here ended, for
the present, the duty that Captain Eastwick had to
perform, of e scorting the army. A young officer,Major Tod, having arrived on the 6 th , was to take
charge as Political Officer ; so Captain Eastwick ,leaving me in the camp, and instru cting me to afford
al l the information I could to the Aide s—de-Camp orMajor T od, if required to do so, himself proceeded to
Shikarpur, to see Mr. W. H. Macnagh ten, the
Envoy and Minister. On the 9th , Captain Eastwick
returned to th e camp from Shikarpur, having been
appointed officiating Political Agent in Upper Sindh.
He consulted me whether he shoul d 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 or LUTFULLAH.
experience in the impending battles, and distinguish
ing himself.
I told him I knew the character o f the Afghan s
better than any Englishman ; that I would ne i ther
for money nor love endanger myself in the e x pe
dition, the success of which was to me exceedingly
doubtful ; that I would humbly advise h im not to
go, un les s he was ordered, to Afghanistan, where I
doubted no t he would fal l the first victim to his own
energy, zeal , and ardour. Hearing this, he smiled
scorn fully at my remarks, and observed, My
friend, life i s a lottery ; what i s the use of living,when you can benefit others and yourself by you r
death ? ” I had an excellent answer to his las t
remarks on the tip o f 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 u s
both , were so requ ired in Upper S indh, that he hadnot time afterwards to th ink of proceeding to Afghan
istan.
On the 1 2th a division o f the army marched
towards Kandahar, under S ir John Keane, and the
other division was obliged to remain till carriage
could'
b e procured.
This very evening w e al so separated ourselve s
from the army and slept at Chuharpur, four miles
from Larkhana, on our way to Shikarpu r. We
were furni shed w ith a military guard o f a native
o fficer and twenty-three rank and file.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
mangos and palms , etc. , all round. The water i s
from wells. The soil seems to be fi tted to grow the
poppy and flax , several fields of which we observed
in a most flou rishing state. Abou t one half of the
inhabitants are Hindiis of the Khatri and Lohanaclans , and the other half are Muslims . Shikarpur
has an excellent market-place , shaded all over from
the sun. The Hindu tradesmen of this place talk
Persian and Pushtu, as wel l as their own S indhi .
We pitched our tent near the town for the present,and lived in the enjoyment of qu iet and solitude after
a month’s hard work in escorting the army.
On the morning of the 1 6 th I accompan ied Captain
Eastwick to the town. He examined the city, the
market-place, and the fort, e tc . , with a scru tinizing
glance, and then went to see a state prisoner, a
German gentleman . Heard th e French languagetalked for the first time .
On the morn ing o f the l 7th I took a walk in the
lines o f th e two remaining Bengal regiments , and theprincipal camp market (called Sadri Bazar). Feltvery sorry to learn that a number of followers and
animals perished beyond the desert for want of
water. Mismanagement in every department pre
vailed . S ir A. Burnes , the former Political Agent inUpper Sindh, disbur sed large sums o f Governmentmoney without keeping any accounts . No day clo sed
without seeing some o f our people killed or wounded,and some camels carried off by the Bil llChi robbers.
sniml arua TO sx x nan. 295
Two very rich and influential Hindu merchants,Chitrum all and Jet Singh, paid their visits to Captain
Eastwick this morning. T he latter i s a very hand
some man, wel l-informed, and exceedingly polite.His sister, having been the beau ty of S indh
, was
forcibly taken away by Shah Sh l 'ija, whose name
is detested by h im and by his clan.
On the 1 8 th of March we made preparation s for
ou r march , bu t 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 o f the Bengal Irregular Horse, guardingcamels, assisted by Abdu
’
ssamad Khan, the manager
o f the village of Lakki, a nd ten Biluch robbers, whoattempted to carry off the camels. In this, three
o f 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 disgu sting and horrid sight to
behold a human head weltering in blood and du st.
Thus we abu se the law of nature and cruelly treat
our fellow-creatures, to serve our filthy purpose
o f lucre.
On the 1 9th we left Shikarpur for Sakhar, and
marched in the morning sixteen mile s to Mahb iib jo
Got,passing the village of Lakki, about half-way.
Lakki i s a large village belonging t o Mir Nar
296 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH .
Mohamed. Good road al l the way, through dense
forest. There was no chance o f missing the road ,as hundreds of dead camels were lying on both sides
as wel l as in the middle of it ; so the best gu ide
for everybody was his own nose.
On the 20th we reached Sakhar, fourteen miles
from Malibub jo Got . We started at six in the
morning , and arrived at eight o’clock M t . Sakhar
was a large city, bu t now i s almost in ru ins . It has,I am informed, never recovered the shock i t suffered
in the last conflict between Shah Shuja and the
Khairpur Amirs. Sakhar i s situate on the right
bank of the river Indus. Rori, a large populou s
c ity,i s on the left, and Bakhar, a fortre ss in the
middle of th e stream , upon a smal l i sland nearly
triangular. This fortress, so much praised by the
Persian histor ians and Sindhis for its imp regnability,was len t to the British authorities to keep the ir
stores , e tc . , until the end of the campaign ,but
, as
I anticipated, the loan turned out irrecoverable.
On the 2 l st , I was deputed to call upon FathMohamed Khan Ghori , the Minister o f Khairpur,who arrived and encamped at the town o f Rori, theday before , by his master
’s orders, to punish the
Biluch robbers infesting the country between Sakhar
and Shikarpur. He i s a very old man, abou t e ighty,b ut his spirit and energy surpass those of a young
m an . His head i s clear, his experience in local
affairs great, and his management o f the country
298 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LU’
I FULLAH.
then parted with each other as good friends, with
the promise o f seeing each other on the next daybut one , when he would visit Captain Eastwick .
On the 23rd, he did so , and ga ined the PoliticalAgent’s good Opinion in the very first visit.
Large heaps Of grain, that had b een lying bythe river side for the last eight or ten days in charge
Of the commissar iat condu ctor, n o t being timely
removed, were carried Off the night before by an
inundation of the river , which w as so violent and
sudden as to break asunder the bridge Of native
boats that joined Sakhar to Rori . Captain Eastwickadverted to the subject in conver sation with the
mini ster, telling him that the ri ver, too, bore the
character Of the Bil i’ich robbers , and stole away
the masses Of grain by night. To this Old FathMohamed 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
careles s in a foreign land.
On the 25 th , we crossed the river to the town Of
Rori , and encamped in a fine garden commanding a
beautiful view o f both sides Of the river, and Of the
fortress in th e middle .
On the 28 th , we left Rori for Khairpur. Startedearly in the morning, and reached the place at about
e ight O’clock , A .H . , the distance being about fif teen
miles. An Officer, by name Ali Mohamed, with a
party Of horsemen , came to receive us three miles
Mia BUSTAM. 299
out of the town. IVe pitched our camp in a smal l
enclosure, with a small house , destined for al l the
European guests who might have occasion to visit
the Amir. No sooner had the Political Agent donehis breakfast, than two Officers Of higher rank ,namely, Asanand Vakil and Jetmal l Diwan, waited
upon him to inqu ire after his heal th 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 wou ld 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 mini ster, and Jan Mohamed, came with
their retinue , and escorted him to the palace. Mir
Ru stam Khan rose from his m asnad 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 seatednext to the Amir on the floor. T he Darbar consisted
o f the following nobles—Mir Zanghi Khan, His
Highness’ uncle ; Mir Nasir Khan, his nephew ; Mir
Mubarak ; twenty Bil i’
ichis ; a nd the two Hindl'
i
Officers that waited upon the Political Agent in themorning. T he Object Of the conference was, as I
found afterwards , to impres s on the mind Of His
Highness the necessity o f taking immediate steps to
coerce and chastise the several robber tribes Of
Bilfichis. Mir Rustam promised to do al l he could,
300 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
and professed himself the humble, bu t sincere , friend
o f the English. T he Amir seemed advanced in
years : perhaps abou t sixty. He was a handsome
man, and i t was clear, from his conversation, that his
mind was noble and devoted to religion . He has
e ight sons . Khairpur i s a large town . T he palace
i s situated in the middle of a mud wall fortre ss. In
the forenoon Of the next day, another Darbar Of
ceremony was held, and the Political Agent wasreceived with all honour. Pleasant conversation,with an admixture o f 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 bel ieve you are a good Chri stian,with a heart as pure as a mirror : I therefore e steem
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
w ith our best wishes.
On the morning Of the 30th , we left Khairpur for
Sakhar , which place we reached at nine O’clock A.H .
Aswe marched along, easily and leisurely, I Observed ,all along the road, Cassia fistula trees in abundance .
302 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
day, cutt ing, maiming, and murdering the poor camel
drivers, and some o f the guards on pasturing duty.
Our native soldiers were useless ou t Of the lines, forwant Of local knowledg e. T he tall, well-made , and
handsome Bengal i Sipahis have no t always a h eart
corresponding with their outward form .
Here I give an instance Of their prowess , displayed
by a party of them . On the 6 th o f 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 t en B i ll ’i ch robbers inthe afternoon. Two Of the drivers rece ived sword
cuts, and the sight Of these bleeding comrades made
the rest run to the Agency ; and the guards, too ,followed their example. T he non-commissioned
Officer then presented himself to the Political Agent ,and, after his present arms,
” gravely said : The
thirty-nine camels, sir, are carried Off by the robbe rs
just now, sir ; two drivers are wounded, and al l i s
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 Agen t and the
Naik :
P olitical Agent .-What were the numbers of the
robbers ?
Ndilc.—They were ten, but we di scerned a cloud
Of dust behind them , which indicated a larger num
ber following.
RE CRE ANT KNIGHTS. 303
P . A .—Why did you no t fire at the robbers ?
M— Becau se we were dressing our food under a.
tree ; and, seeing the wormded men run, we ran to
you "
P . A .—You are very nice soldiers "
N — I thank your Honour for the good word ; I
have done my duty.
P . A .—Good word and thanks " I have a great
m ind to give you a court-martial for you r un soldier
like conduct.
M—Then we must thank our own bad luck , to get
such a reward from your Honour’s hand for our
faithfu l serv ices.
P . A .— Leave my presence . DO not utter another
word, and do no t show me your face again. R ight.about face "march to the lines.
It was on this o ccasion 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 Narbaksh Risaldar, to pursue the banditti ; but no t raceo f them was to be found : they were as if swallowed
by the earth, with the camels and the spoil. T o
crown other misfortunes, the heat was now so great,attended with the hot wind, that we felt confident,in case nothing el se could destroy us, the heat would
very soon. The thermometer in my small but was
1 10° in the middle Of the day, and 90° in the coolest
hours. The six hours after midnight were the only
304 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
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 u s. The natives and the Bilach robbers could
bear the sun famously : they cou ld trot along almost
every day from morning till sun set, exposed to the
sun, and without eating or drinking, which is beyond
the power Of our people Of India ; Europeans are
ou t Of the question entirely. I could no t accoun t
for this great heat ; the place being about four
degrees northward from S i'i rat , the climate ought to
b e 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 i ts property, termed Jawassa in Hindastani, in
front Of my hut, and employed a water carrier to
Sprinkle i t from morning till evening. This made
me comfortable for the time.
On the morning o f the 1 l th , I ordered my servantboy to shake my bedding and put it in the sun for
an hou r or so, that the moisture imbibed by the
quilt might be dr ied. As soon as the quilt was
removed from its place, what did I behold but an
immense scorpion, tapering towards its tail Of -nin e
vertebrae, armed w ith a sting at the end, crawling
w ith impunity at the edge Of the carpe t. I had
306 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LuTrULLAH.
taken by the Am irs Of Khairpur,— viz. , one Of the
three by Mir Mubarak , and the two by Mir Rustam.
T he shares Of the Amirs Of Hydrabad are farmed
to Jetmall, a very clever and powerfu l Hinda, for
the sum Of rupees per annum . Jetmal l was
originally a liquor merchant, but his weal th, talent,and ability raised him to this high station in life.
He is a very tal l as well as bulky man , and i s 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 abou t five lakhs o f rupees (orper annum, which sum , being divided into five
shares, thr ee go to Mir Rustam, one to Mir Muba
rak, and the remaining one to other members Of the
fam ily.
On the morning o f the 1 2th , Captain Eastwick
being informed that a large party of Bilach robbers
were lying in ambush about thirty miles Off, deter
mined to surprise them. He left the camp at noon
with about twenty irregul ar horsemen, and reached
the spot early the next morning, where he found
smal l heaps Of ashes-the sign o f the outlaws having
prepared their meal there— and the dung Of their
horses, too, lying about. F inding 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 An TAKE N FOR A MAGICIAN. 307
the evening, fatigued and exhaus ted by the terrific
heat.
Seeing now the emergent necessity Of rai sing 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 an swer from the authorities, h e at once, on hi s
own respon sibili ty, began on the 1 5 th to enlist
Biluchis, selecting especial ly the two chiefs Of the
clans of Khosas and Kah iris, who were at feud with
the banditti of the following clans, most notorious at
this time for the ir black deeds.
1 . Domki ; 2. Jakrani ; 3 . Bugti ; 4 . Marri ;5 . Mazari; 6 . Laghari ; 7. Burdi ; 8 . R ind ; 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
o thers that'
were to b e enlisted through him. My
task was a difficult one now, as I had to take down
the names and descriptions o f the wild men and their
wild horses : some o f them laughed heartily when
I took down their names , looking at their face for
the ir complexion and distinctive marks. O thers real lytook 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 mouth s
wide Open. They had no idea as to their ages.
308 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or 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 th e Kalhoras from Sindh ?
He replied, That occurred only a few years ago ,when I was a young boy and u sed to go to the fields
to pasture cattle with a pellet bow.
” At such non
sense I could no t help laughing, for the event alluded
to took place in 1 779 A .D. , and, accordingly, he mu st
have been full seventy, though evidently no t 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 infide l Feringees for a long time,
you have lost your conscience, and you will there
fore never give credit to a Mu slim. 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 wou ld always find me
ready to give my belief to the word Of my brother
Mu slims.
On the 26 th our secret i nformers brought u s the
news of a Persian gentleman Of suspicious character
having arrived in the city. We immediately repaired
to his quarters, and found that two camel s were being
loaded, and his servants were preparing, for the ir
intended march. We soon found that he was a
gentleman having some Object in view, which he to ok
care to avoid divulging, by turning the conversation
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
attack them in return ; and they reassured me in' the
following words : Be not anxiou s about it, my
friend ; no robber dare touch thy person as long as
we s ix have our heads on our shoulders .”
Old Kamal Khan received me with the franknessand hospitality Of the tribe s Of the wilderness. He
had two excellen t sheep roasted, and some cakes made
with clarified butter. Upon these dainties I dinedwith him and a number of his Bilach relations . We
then perfor med our prayers, in which , being
quested, I stood as leader, and acted my part to the
sati sfaction Of my wild congregation. Before goingto bed, which w as made Of straw , I conversed ful ly
with Kamal Khan on the subject Of my mission, andbrought to his view the unl imited benefits he was
to Obtain by his immediately entering our service.
He expressed his con sent, and said that he and his
clan wou ld be happy to serve the English cause, on
condition Of non-interference with his religion ; for
he was told by some people that the Engli sh woul d
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 design ing persons.
I asked him if he had heard Of any compul sorymeasures, towards person s Of any religion, ever
adopted by the English in India, where they had
ruled now for the last one hundred years ? In proo f
of their forbearance, I asked him to see the regiments
A IIONSTROSITY. 31 1
Of the army with his own eyes, in which he would
find people of al l castes following their own religions
withou t 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 pu t his index
fingers upon both his eyes, in token Of his believing
me with his heart and soul .
On the next morning, very early, w e 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 wastaken into the service Of the Honourable Company,with his colleagues, on the promise Of their ever be ing
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 natu re, deviating from the usual course, gave
this man a smal l trunk , l ike an elephant, on the right
side Of his face, beginning from the forehead to his
chin. With his left eye only coul d 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 S indhi
language .
Another difficu lty now made i ts appearance in
the state Of affairs . Our disciplined people coul d
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
no t know the newly employed Bilachis from the
robbers .
Whenever they chanced to see three or four Of
these paid Bilachis near the camp, parties of twenty
or thirty native soldiers rushed upon them, se ized
them furiously, thrashed them , and brought them
in to our presence, sometimes wounded, too .
We did no t like to rou se the anger o f 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 .
0 11 the 5 th Of May, the Political Agent orderedthe bay Arab horse of his, that I was allowed to
ride, to b e lent to Sarwar Khan Lohani, who rodethi s beautiful animal, and went Off with a party Of
our B il l 'i ch horsemen after the robbers , in the heat
o f thesun, the thermometer be ing a t leaving his
own horse to enjoy the stable. He returned in the
evening with the party, having su cceeded (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 unsaddl ed in the stable than he dropped
down dead.
T he heat was now insufferably great. I ordered
some eggs to be placed in the sun to see the power
3 14 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP LUTFULLAH .
him involved in that misfortune which his own
ambition had brought upon him . Call it no t m is
fortune, man,” replied he angrily ; “ i t is honour no t
obtainable by every man, the marks
ever be indelible upon my person .
”
Wi shed him a speedy recovery, and we parted for
the time.
ZARK non x i. 3 15
CHAPTER XI.
Zark Domki—T he storming o f Khangarh—T h e new Governor ofShikarpur—Mr. Ross Bel l—A bd ’
urrahman and h is civil izedBride—Seclusion o f women
,desirab le or not—Voyage t o
Hydrabad—I Obtain leave for three month s to revisit S I’Irat
Voyage and journey t o 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 t o 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. PoorZark
’
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 1 1 th we heard Of a fight between a detach
ment Of the 5 th Bombay N. I. , some Bili'
Ich Horse,and the Khosas Of Khangarh . Four Of our m en
were killed, and a Sabahdar'
and a Mr. Stanley were
slightly wounded. The Khosas lost thirty men.
Want o f knowledge Of the language was the cause
o f this misfortune. All the friendly signal s on the
part Of the Khosas in the fortress were taken t o
31 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAH.
be hostile by our people, as was proved before the
Pol itical Agen t afterwards. Next morning the
wounded and prisoners being brought in, the PoliticalAgent set the latter at l iber ty, and had the former
put under the care of our European physician.
A great annual fair being held at the branch Of
the river, abou t 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
o f the Hinda caste unveiled, and I declare I found
some Of them no les s gracefu l 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’
HindI'
I with a long flowing
white beard, dancing to the sound of the tambourine ,played by a handsome lady who assisted the jollyOld fellow with her delicate voice, every now and
then, in his historical songs. On the 1 8 th , I paid a
visit to Jet Singh , the banker. Amongst the jewel s
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 rupee s,and were mortgaged to him for
Shikarpur had been for two or three days withou t
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
3 18 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP LUTFULLAII.
whether sense or nonsense,standing upon his legs,
with his inkstand fastened to his waistband. Who
coul d stand such degradation as this ? I woul d not
submit to it for the salary Of the Political Agenthimself: but my friend, T rebania Saha, as well as
his colleagues, seemed to enjoy the slavery w ith 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 erroneou s sentence, which h is au to
maton secretary took down exactly, and, reading i t
ou t , stood waiting for the next. Thinking that, if
the sentence remained, i t would prove injurious to
the British interests, I coul d not help speaking ou t
in correc tion Of the error ; upon which the great
man s tared at me fiercely, as if he would devour me
up, had it been in his power to do so. But, withoutcaring abou t 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 angrywith me for my interference in hi s business. I said
to him that a sense Of du ty 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 INTE ROE PTE D LE TTE RS . 31 9
private room o f the Agency. I found there Captain
Eastw ick and Mr. Bell sitting up, with some Persianletters in their hands. I took my seat, and Mr. Bellsaid 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 bel ieve the letters were inter
cepted by some design ing 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 abou t ten
minu tes ; and then I was ordered to proceed forth
with to Sakhar with a message o f importance to FathMohamed Khan Ghori, the Minister.
SO, in the morning o f the 25 th , at one O’clock A.M. ,
I left Shikarpur, and reached my destination in the
camp Of the Minister at eleven o’clock A.H . I
del ivered the message , to ok my breakfast with him ,
and then, selecting a quiet place to shelter myself
and the horse from the sun, I wrote out the report
o f 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
cal led, for the thermometer under the tree which
shaded me was and then I started at three
O’clock P.M. , for Shikarpur, where I arrived, much
fatigued, at half-past eleven R M.
On the 24th Of July I was deputed to pay an
320 AUTOBIOGRAPHY voF LUTFULLAII.
Official visit to Mir Ismail Shah, the Minis ter of
Hydrabad, who arrived that morning on his way to
Calcu tta. 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
village s . SO much , I should say, ought to have
satisfied h im ; but no , he was after more and more
until he was no more.
On the 29th Of July, Captain Eastwick receiving
his instruction s to return to Hydrabad and resume
charge o f th e Residency there, I made over al l the
drafts Of the letters to my fr iend, Captain Postans,the Assistant Political Agent, and employed myself
in preparation for the happy return to Hydrabad.
I paid parting visi ts to several friends in th e 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 thi s lady
and conversing with her more than once ; and this
time, having received an invitation , I had t he pleasure
to dine with her and her civilized husband. This
damsel , in her beau ty and charm , excelled the fai r
sex o f Shikarpur, and in wit,talent, and ability,
surpassed her simple-hearted husband, whom she
seemed to lead by the nose.
322 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTPULLAH.
affairs, they have no leisur e to think Of admirers .
Their marriages are arranged by their parents, who
are their best friends , and whose experience inworldly affair s must b e greater than theirs. Oppor
tunities are in general afforded to the bride to see
her would-be husband from a loop-ho le or a window
before she i s married to him ; and no matrimonial
contrac t i s considered binding, unles s the lawfully
attested consent of both parties is first Obtained, and
taken down by the law Officer appointed by the
Government to solemn ize the marriage. Thus many
bitter feuds and lasting animosities which poison the
minds of contending rivals are avoided , and marriage
beds are no t only free from contamination, bu t from
the dread Of it. In short, seclu sion secures women
from those delusions and temptations which irritate
the mind with fleeting joys, leaving behind the permanent 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
On the 12th Of August, 1 839, we left Shikarpfor Hydrabad, embarking on board two small flat
boats, call ed berz’
s, 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
w ick extricated himself from the multitude Of his
v isitors, some Of whom ran to pay their respects to
SINDH FE VE R. 323
him, and overtook us when we were as far as six
or seven miles from the town. T he very high rise
Of the water at this season afforded us a beau tiful
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. T he
fir st 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 pul ling and dragging
the boats through the canal , we reached Sakhar once
more on the 1 5 th , where, on the next day, I had
the pleasure Of seeing Captain E astwick’s younger
brother, de stined to be an assistant to the Poli ticalAgent, and found him wel l acquainted with several
Asiatic languages. We made a stay Of about one
week here, during which t ime we received the tidings
o f the capture Of Ghasni by Sir J. Keane.
T he state Of affairs in Upper Sindh seemed to befast deteriorating. The new Political Agent wasmostly engaged in quarrelling, particul arly 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 28 th , all safe. We enj oyed hardly
five days Of peace here, in the very pleasan t 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
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
b aggage 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 1 5 th Of September we had a hot day, but
the evening was n icely 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, bu t
thi s was the father Of all. Many o fficers’ tents were
t orn to pieces and flew away ; but my small tent,having the advantage of several iron pegs driven in
the stony ground, remained in statu qua, though the
water, forcing through the entrenchments, rose about
two feet high, on the surface o f which floated my
b ed 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 . T he
weather continued stormy alternately till the 20th .
On the evening of the 28 th , I witnessed a horrid
sight : a Sipahi Of the 6 th Company, 26 th RegimentN. I. ,
committed infanticide and su icide. The man
326 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTPULLAII.
be referred to . T he mixture o f senna and worm
wood was the only remedy at my command. T he
disease at last began to abate , after n ine days , and
then the cooling sherbet Of sugar brought on healing
effects in three days , and I felt myself qu ite recovered.
But the disease had rendered me so weak that I
coul d not stand up and wal k for some days. In the
meantime, the month Of Ramzan occurr ing, I wasprevented by weaknes s from Observing the fast.
Abou t thi s time, as I one morning walked out of
the Re sidency compound, a young man with a rough
stick in his hand and a portmanteau upon his shoul der,coming up to me, pronounced the formal salu ta tion
o f a true bel iever, and inqu ired if therewas 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 went to the Residency gate, bu tthe guard, seeing his miserable appearance , wou ld
not admit him. He then seated h imself under a tree,and, taking out a piece Of bread from his bag ,
employed himself in chewn the same. After my
wal k, 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 Eas t
wick for his signature, to my great astoni shment, I
found the same adventurer , in English dress, si tting
MOURNING POR AN UNCLE . 327
at the table, and x 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 Hindastani, Persian, and Arabic languages so
we ll 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 disgu ised himself in his former
garb, and parted with us to proceed to Turkey. I
had the pleasure Of seeing him afterwards in London,in 1844.
On the night Of the 27th , Ofi cial intelligence Of abattle at Khelat reached u s. It announced the death
OfMihrab Khan, and the capture of his fortre ss.
Next morning the Amirs were Official ly informed
Of this su cces s, upon which th ey ordered a salu te of
twenty-one gun s to be fired from the castle, and the
city to be illuminated in the evening. Private information ment ioned that the Am irs were exceedingly
sorry to learn of the fal l of Khelat, and of the de ath
of the chief, with whom they were not only on terms
Of intimacy, but to whom they were al so 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 hi s uncle.
On the l st Of December,Captain Eastwick had
another relapse of fever, which confined him to his
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII.
b ed at once. He held on for a week in hopes Of
getting better ; bu t 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 8 th we left the Residency in charge Of Lieut.IVhitelock o f the 1 1 th Regiment By . N. I. We
reached Tatta in the morning Of the l 0th once more,
and Karachi on the 1 1 th . Our servants , too , were
in a condition worse than ourselves. One Of my head
servants, Hasan, was a large m an o f strong make,
and gigantic statu re , and, when in health, I never
found h im eat less than fou r pounds a day. Butnow the fever had reduced him to a phantom o f what
he was. His native land being Purbandar, I tookthe Opportunity of sending him home by a Sindhi
boat sailing for that port.
Under such circumstances, my fears were great. Iapplied, 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, Lutful lah K han, leaves me for three month s tov isit his family at S i
’
Irat . In th isworld of accidents many circum
stances may occur to prevent his return. I cannot,therefore,
al low him t o depart w ithout reco rding my deep sense Of the valueo f his services, and th e h igh estimation in which I hold him as a
friend and precepto r. I h ave h ad Opportunities Of narrowlyob serving h is character at intervals during the last eleven years ,and I can conscientiously affirm that
, as a native of India, I haveseldom met h is equal , never h is superior, in liberality of sentiment, in the feel ings and manners o f a gentleman,
in an ardentdesire of knowledge, and indefatigable industry in its pursuit.
330 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH .
the care of the same Supreme Being to whom Ilooked for my safe arrival at S tirat. sadik Shah,the governo r, and Nao Mall, the great merchant of
Karachi, gave me the honour of their company as far
as the pier-head, where I bade them ad ieu for the
last time, and, getting into a long boat, was soon
conveyed on board the Rahmati.On reaching the vessel , I was sorry to find it over
filled with dry fi sh from top to bottom ; even the
cabin promised to me was no t without several bundles
of them lying at random. The Tindal was ashore ,and there were no persons o f consequence to be
spoken to upon the subject. I addressed myself to
th e crew, telling them that I woul d not remain on
board unless they woul d clean the cabin for me.
T o thi s they replied very civilly, that they woul d do
everything in their power for my comfort , but I must
wait until the Tindal had arrived. After this I made
my bed upon the poop, and, having sprinkled a little
lavender al l over it, immediately on laying my head
upon the pillow I was fast asleep , and did no t wake
til l the morning, when the melodious cries of the
sailors, in weighing their anchor and setting the sails ,roused me from my dormant state ; and, all of us
be ing true believers withou t exception, jo int ly pro
nounced the sac red sentence of our Holy Book ,usual on such occasions : In the name of God ,
while it moveth forward and while it standeth still ,for our Lord is graciou s and merciful .
run VOYAGE . 33 1
A nice morning breeze floated our vessel swiftly
and smoothly, and we were soon out of sight of
Karachi. By the evening o f the 21st we were
opposite to Ghorabari. On the 22nd, I cou ld discern
the Kach shores by the aid o f my telescope ; and
by the 23rd we came in sight of the Miani Hills
and Jagat Point, and passed by them gradually. On
the 24th , i t being dead calm al l day, our progress
was very slow. T he Tindal had the cabin well
cleaned for m e , and ordered his people to attend
to my commands implicitly. T he smell, too , began
to be less perceptible every day, —I believe, on
. account of my nose becoming more and more accus
tomed to it.
On Wednesday, the morning of the 25 th , the
Christmas Day of the Christians, we came Opposite
to B ilwal Patan, and then I cou ld keep myse lf no
longer on board the Rahmati. I requested Kasim to
land me, and he executed my orders as promptly as
u sual . I parted with him as a fr iend , and made him
a present of a few rupees , which he received very
thankfully. I found Kasim Tindal to b e a man of
high mind, free from avarice, and endowed with a
sense of honour ; in fact, he was an exception to the
general character of the Sindhians.
T he governor of this place , on the part o f the
Nuwab of Junagarh , I was informed, was still my
old friend Saiyid Abdullah Jamadar, who is so highly
spoken of by the learned lady, Mrs. Postans, in her
332 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
travels, and he received me with the usual hospital ity.
I passed two days with him in shooting and playing
chess.
On the 27th , I bade farewel l to the good Saiyid, andtook my way to Jafirabad. Having lately sojournedfor upwards Of three years in Kat tiawar, I had
acquired a thorough knowledge o f every corner of
the peninsu la, and required no guide to show me the
way.
Accordingly I made the following marches
Date. Name of the Village. Miles.27th Damlej 14
28 th Kor i Nar 1 0
29th 12
3oth Rohisa 12
3 1 st Jafirabad 6
This short journey was something like a pleasant
morning walk, in which I shot a few partridges and
wild pigeons every day.
On my arrival at Jafirabad, I was received with
hospitality by the Indo-African authorities of the
place, the delegates o f the Abyssinian chief at Zanj ira,near Bombay. Sidi Mohamed, the governor, assigned
m e a very nice place in the castle, until a boat bound
for Sarat could b e Obtained. The popul ation Of both
Jafirabad and Unah appeared to be increasing at
this time. A great difference seemed to have taken
place in these towns , from what I had seen two years
before. T he number o f houses now amou nted to
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
CHAPTER X II.
T he Slave Governor Of Jafirabad—Return to S firat—Death of the
Nuwab’s eldest daugh ter—I take service with Mr . Pell y
He transfers me t o Mr . Langford—T he Nuwab o f Cambay
and h is Salt-pans— Once more a Munsh i—The Nuwab o f
Sfirat dies of cholera—Sequestration of h is property—MirJafir Ali, h is son-ia-law
, prepares t o proceed to E nglandE ngages me and Mr. Scott as h is Secretaries.
THIS year I commenced at Jafirabad, under t he
h ospitable roof Of the Indo-Abyssinian governor of
the place, Sidi Mohamed, who was intelligent, well
behaved, and well versed in the art of governing his
subjects. I had met with three governors, once
slaves, inferior to no freemen, within the last twelve
months, viz. , Anand Khawass of Joria Bandar, FathKhan of Unah , and S idi Mohamed of Jafirabad .
Slaves, when left to their own free will in the ir
condu ct, prove better than freemen in general, for
their first subjugation teaches them how to act
t owards their ' subordinates . But eunuchs are an
exception to this rule. The maltreatment received
by them in the commencement works so strongly
upon their mental faculties, that they are viciou s,vindictive, remorseless, and void Of fellow feeling and
sociableness ever after.
RE TURN TO sunA'r. 335
On the evening of the 2md of January, I took my
leave o f Sidi Mohamed, and embarked on board a
battéla, laden with limestone, proceeding t o Siirat .
On t he l 0th , I called at the palace , and paid my
respects to the Nuwab and his two sons-in-law . The
Old gentleman received me with his usual kindness,and examined me narrowly about th e affairs of the
Amirs of Sindh, and the success of the English in
Afghani stan. His Highness appeared to be in the
enjoyment o f good health, but he was no better ina moral point of view. His companions now were
low, mean, and reprobate persons, worse than before,in whose society he pa ssed his time in laughing,j oking, and nonsense. He had become addicted to
drinking ardent spirits, in addition to the usual dose
o f opium ; and was guided, or rather misguided,in al l matters by his Min ister, Moham ed Ali Bey.
Yes, my lord,”and Very true,
”and Most un
doubtedly, were the sentences in general pronoun ced
by his cour tiers in replies to his Highness’s remarks,Observations, and desires, whether right or wrong.
After leaving his Highness, when I visited his
son s-in-law , they were delighted to see me, and
complained abou t their father-in-law’s conduct in
l ife.
On my way to and return from, the palace, I
saw the destructive effects Of the late confiagration.
Nearly one hal f of the city was turned into ashes.
Large naked wal ls were seen here and there standing
336 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LuTrULLAH.
upright, the only remnant of sublime edifices andexquisite mansions.
On the 22nd, I learnt that Captain Eastwick wasproceeding to Bombay on sick leave. Thu s my retu rn
to Sindh was rendered unnecessary.
On the 30th Of March I attended the grand funeral
o f the Nuwab’
s eldest daughter, Mir Akbar Ali’s
w ife. She died of consumption this morn ing at five
o’clock , at the age of twenty-one. She had had
four children, bu t none survived her. This lady i s
said to have been the best of the two daughters.
Her lov e for her husband and father was unlimited.
The principal cause to which is attribu ted her
untimely death , was the constant maltreatment cx pe
rienced by her from her rival mother, who , being in
power, and in high favour with the Old Nuwab, left
no annoyance unpractised towards this unfortunate
v ictim of h er malign ity. Mir Akbar Ali , having
been sent for by the Gaikwar at Baroda, had leftt en days before, and cou ld no t be present to bid his
last farewel l to his dear beloved wife. This noble
lady had taken in adoption a daughter of a poor
Mughal from her infancy, whom she loved like her
own child, and had given to her the name of her
own great great grandmother, Wilayati Khanam.
T he cries o f this young, innocent, and very pretty
girl for the loss of her patron mother, moved my
sympathy so much that I cou ld no t help weeping
very bitterly, like one of the relatives and connec
238 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAH.
many misfortunes upon worldly men that, not con
tented with my present income, my ambition brought
me thither to ask his favour to give me a s ituation
in the Government serv ice, and, ins tead o f gain ingmy Object, I had nearly lost my life and the object
itself both together, The Old gentleman , smiling at
my remark, Observed, “ Be not discouraged, Lut
fullah , by mere accidents : our l ife i s in the hand of
that Almighty Being without whose commands itcan be injured by none.” He added, i t was in his
power to give me at present a small situation as
Engli sh clerk and t ranslator, for thirty rupees per
mensem, in hi s Office, and that he woul d give
thirty more ou t Of his own pocket, if I in structed his
daughter and son in the Hinddstani language for
hour every morning. This kind offer I accepted at
once, and thanked my benefactor for his generous
and good act towards me.
On the 1 9th of December I reached Bombay, tobid farewell to my old master, Captain Eastwick,proceeding to England for the recovery of his health.
We were glad to see each other after one year ’s
interval , and conversed for many hours together,when he was free from fever. As he was about to
proceed to his native land by the next steamer, I
stayed al l the time with him ,wrote several official
letters for him, and superintended his domestic
arrangements . On the l st o f January, 1 841 , when
we were about to part from each other, he was good
I SAIL FOR sURAT . 339
enough to present me with a letter to Mr. Pelly, andwith a sum of money and some articles . I told him
I had come to see him, and not to receive
nts but, see ing that my refu sal would displease
I spoke no more to him upon the subject. At
I hired a good easy carriage for his conveyance
tq the harbour ; and, having carefully put him into
it, I seated myself by him and held him fast, as he
was shivering with his cold fit. In thi s state I
conveyed him on board the steamer Victoria . He
was then conducted to the saloon, where , having
spread a small thin mattress , I made him l ie down
u pon i t ; and, no sooner had I covered him with his
cloak , than I was ordered to leave the vessel. I
then bade him adieu with throbbing heart and tearful
eyes , thinking over the difficulties of the long voyage
he was to encounter in such a state Of ill health.
We poor creatures of limited senses and imperfect
understanding are easily overpowered with grief or
rejoicing, withou t thinking of the unlimited power
of that Omnipotent Being, before whom it was no t
difficult to cure the hopeless mal ady o f Job and
engulf Pharaoh and his hos t in the Red Sea.
On the evening of the 5 th , at last finding out a
boat bound for S tirat , I embarked on board of it,and we sailed in the name of the Lord. The wind
not be ing in favour so much as was requ ired, we
reached our destination on the evening of the 1 1 th ,all safe, bu t greatly fatigued by the effect of the
340 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP LUTPULLAII.
jolting and shaking. On the 12th , I attended the
office and del ivered the letter o f Capta in Eastwick to
Mr. Pelly, who had the kindnes s to give me an
extract o f the same, under his own signature , and
promised to promote me on the first Opportunity. I
resumed my Office du ties again as u sual , and on the
4 th o f February, Mr. Pelly prepared to proceed on
his tour in the Konkan Zila ; and, having ordered a ,
part o f his e stablishment, inclusive of myself, to go
along with him, I got in readiness and joined him , on
the morn ing o f the 5 th , at the Sdrat Bar, on board
his vessel , and was rece ived by him with great kind
ness. We had an excellent passage , and reached
Karanja, the place of our destination, on the 7th .
Entering Bombay harbour, and leaving that town tothe left, we landed at the foot o f the Opposite hill ,from which spot across to Bombay Castle is abou t
three miles.
On our landing at Karanja, I found a few smal l
huts, with inhabitants half naked. Three place s
were called houses : the first was the Government
distill ery ; the second, the dwelling house o f the
Parsi in charge of the same ; and the third was a
caravansary, lately built by Mohamed Ali Bogey,the Nakhuda, a respectable inhabitant of Bombay,whose philanthropy and charitable feelings had, I am
informed, induced him to build this place for the
accommodation o f travel lers.
Karanja, with its environs, i s a very niCe healthy
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLA II .
find your heart pierced through by her sweet sub
duing glances : in fact,she was a lady called by the
English a civilized woman, and I considered it mygood luck to eat and dr ink from her sweet hands.
In the evening , I accompanied the head clerk up
to the house on the hill, to pay our visit to Mr.
Langford, and to receive his instructions abou t ourselves . We sent word that we were wai ting to payour respects ; bu t the servan t return ed with the
answer, “Wait till you are sent for.
” After two
hours’ anxious expectation, admittance being granted,
we went into the presence, and, after making our
bows, the head clerk was questioned if there was
any bu siness o f emergency which required immediate
attention . On his reply in the negative, we were
dismissed abruptly, and ordered to be in SI'
Irat within
ten days. Not having had the honour of exchanging
a word with the new master, I presented Mr. Pelly’
s
note o f recommendation to him, which he reluctantly
took from my hand ; and, casting a cursory glance
upon it, he destroyed it, and told me that he had no
more to say to me than what he had just spoken
to the head clerk, and that Captain Jacob had lately
given him some information about me . I did no t
l ike this cur t answer, with the air of arrogance, and
had a great mind to tender my resignation on the
spot ; but the head clerk, who stood by me, reading
my emotions from my forehead, pinched my hand to
stop my tongue, which prevented me. SO I bade
MR. LANGFORD. 343
Mr. Langford a good night, withou t u ttering another
word. On our way home, I told my friend Beyz anji,the head clerk , that, after this visit, I felt disgusted
with th e Honourable Company’s Service, in which
one is required every now and then to be cringing
before new masters. Don’t you see,” said I , that
Mr . Langford says that he had heard about me from
Captain Jacob , who, I am sure , has no favou rable
Opin ion of me ; so I should expect no promotion
in this department. But why should you bealarmed ? ” replied Beyz anji ; Mr. Langford cannotb e always the head of the establishment : h e i s only
. acting for Mr. Pelly.
”
Our conversation ended with our arrival at the
inn, where we were rece ived by the fairy, the land
lady’s daughter, with an Open, sweet, smiling counte
nance, which made me forget all cares. We took
our dinner, served by her fair hands, made arrange
inen ts abou t our starting early in the next morn ing,settled about the hire of the carts for the next stage,and went to bed as comfortable as at home.
Early in the morning o f the 1 st of April , we left
Bandra for Sarat, and travelled on easily, changing
our carts at every stage ; we reached our destination
on the 8 th , all safe. On th e 20th of November,I was ordered by Mr. Langford to accompany him
to Cambay, where he required my aid in the pro
posed arrangements with the Nuwab, as to the salt
pan s Of that district.
344 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTPULLAH.
On the 24th, I left S tirat for Cambay with theclerks of the e stablishment, on board the Govern
ment schooner, and reached that port in the morn ing
o f the 28 th . Immediately on our arrival here ,Gopalbhai, the head man of the native establishment,and myself, received instructions to wait upon the
Nuwab, and to "confer with him about the business ,and prepare him to acqu iesce in Mr. Langford’sde sires withou t any further di scu ssion. My com
panion and myself then put on our court dresses
and, at about half-past ten o’clock, proceeded to
the Court. His Highn ess having been previou sly
i nformed of our intended visit, we were duly rece ived
by an Officer Of the State and presented to him in
the great hall, Opposite to a large reservoir. We found
the Nuwab , a stripling Of abou t e ighteen, sitting
upon his State cu shion, with a bolster behind him .
He had only fou r persons for his cour tiers, seated to
the right,at a little distance from him. These were
gentlemanly looking men . There was another person
s itting in the window Of the hinder gallery behind a
blind screen, close to His Highness’s cushion, watch
ing strictly what was going on in the Court. We
could discern a human figu re, but did not know
who and what he was until afterwards, when we
were informed that it was the uncle, whose daughter
was married to the young Nuwab, and who always
watched him very carefully, a nd managed both his
public and private affairs . Upon the whole, the
346 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
afternoon, and settle the matter with him at once .
Thus having obtained what we wan ted, we took our
leave of him and returned to our lodging in the
On my return I drew up a report of our visit and
presented it to Mr. Langford, who highl y approved
o f it. He told me that, as he required me no more
in the district, I had better retu rn to Sarat by the
boats that had brought us hither, and were going
back by the next tide that I had given him all the
satisfaction he required in the performance of my
duty during his charge of the Office, and that I
shou ld have my promotion by the first opportun ity.
I thanked him fo r these soft and civ il words in my
behalf, and prepared myself immediately for the
return. Our voyage back to Sarat was a speedy
one, and on the l st o f December I rejoined theOffice at that place ; bu t hearing that Mr. Langfordwas going to move us to an unhealthy station , I
sent in my resignation.
Being now free from the Office slavery, which
took up seven hours every day for only th ir ty
rupees per mensem , I conveniently al lotted my time
to my English pupils ; amongst whom I had the
pleasure to have Mr. C. J. Erskine, a young
of extraordinary talent and abil ity, whom I liked
much . So indu strious was he in pursuit Of know
ledge, that in a few months he passed in three
languages, i. e., Hindustani, Persian, and Gujarati ;
SARPARAZ AL I’
. 347
and he paid me very liberally, in fact, far beyond
my expectation. Although I was better o ff in my
pecuniary affairs at this time, yet certainty of e x pen
diture and uncertainty Of income render ing me
uneasy, I thought of having a permanent situation,and, with this view, I wrote to Mir Sarfaraz Ali .
On the 1 3th of April, I was regularly engaged to
instru ct one of this nobleman’s sons in the English
language for an hour every day, on a small salary ;but the
'
young nobleman, my pupil , seeing after
wards that one hour’s time was not su fficient,
increased my sal ary to fifty rupees per mensem ,
with free table and carriage. I then gave up all
the English pupils except Mr. Erskine .
His Highness t he Nuwab was also glad to see me
with his only son-in-law now in S iirat , the other
having gone to Baroda after the death of his wife .
He gave me a n ice copy of Goldsmith’s Natural
History, presented to him by an English friend, and
a sked me to translate i t for him into Persian at my
leisure hours , promising to reward me very hand
somely for my labou r. This offer I accepted with
great pleasure . I wrote about two hu ndred pages,every sheet of which , as soon as I fini shed, was
t aken by His Highness , read with avidity, and care
ful ly kept.
On the evening Of the 7th of August I received
a note from Mir Jafir Ali Khan, requesting me to
attend immediately, as the Nuwab had been taken
348 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
very ill with cholera, on his return from seeing the
steamer Carnac for the first time . Instan tly, on the
receipt of this unwelcome note, I ran to the palace,and on my arrival near the room where his High
nes s was, I saw Dr. J. Tawse leaving it w ith some
instructions, and the Parsi Native Agent followinghim. I entered the room and saw His Highness in
a bad state, his face changed , his eyes sunk deep,and his voice low ; in fact, I found him beyond the
reach o f remedy. Besides , his be ing under the care
o f his philosophical minister and his sapient young
attendants ensured his speedy departure from this
world. I felt deeply for the poor old man, thinking
that all his state , wealth , and dignity were now
unable to save him . I whispered my idea to my
young master, taking him aside ; bu t he did no t
like to hear what I spoke to him , and, instead of
resorting to some precau tionary measu res, began to
cry like a child. Seeing that it was no time for
advice, I soothed the young man by telling him that
he mu st not allow himself to be overpowered by grief.
In the meantime, it being announced that the
Nuwab ’s favourite w ife and his daughter were coming
down to see him , w e left the room clear for the
ladies of the palace . The visit of these children of
weakness and simplicity caused the old man to lose
a part o f his remaining senses . At four o’clock, P.M . ,
death at last relieved him from all his pains and
anxieties. The poor old man died thus suddenly at
350 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAH.
his great great grandfather and his repudiated wife
prepared to take their revenge upon the survivingfamily of the deceased
Petition s on the part of the conflicting parties,reviling and abu sing each other, were sent in to
Government. It was con sidered advisable that Mir
S arfaraz A li shoul d proceed to Bombay, taking mealong with him to represent the claims of hi s son and
daughter-in-law, and her children, to Government,in person. So on the 3rd of October I left Sdratfor Bombay, in company with the Old gentleman , in
whose most agreeable a nd valuable society I pas sed
two months. I drew up two petitions to Govern
ment for him , of which he approved very highly,and he conferred a handsome reward of five hundred
rupees on m e . Also he wrote a very flatter ing note
in his own handwriting to my address, which I pre
serve on my records as a mark Of his favour . He
visited the Honourable the Governor thr ee times,and then received an answer from Government,assuring him that ju stice should b e done in duetime. Upon thi s we made preparations for
retu rn to SI'
Irat, and came back to that city on the
l st of December. A few days before our re turn ,
the property of hi s late Excellency was sequestered
by the Government Agent, and the parties remained
anxiously expecting the final orders of the supreme
Government, and building their castles in the air.
On the 28 th , I was Officially requested by the
TITLE or NUWAB E XTINCT. 35 1
magistrate of Siirat to attend forthwith at the Political Agent’s court at Rajkot as a witness. I had
accordingly to proceed thither, and was detained sixweeks, to my great annoyance and pecuniary loss.
To return to the late Nuwab ’s affairs : fourteen
months after his late Excellency’s death the supreme
Government of India sent its dreadful order through
the Bombay Government, by which the title of the
Nuwab became extinct, the pension ceased, and only
such members of the family as were in indigence
were enti tled to any support from Government. The
ears of my young employer, and o f all the members
of the family, were qu ite stunned to hear this arbi
ti'ary order. Mir Jafir consulted with his elders ,and it was suggested that he should proceed to
Bombay, and represent his grievances to Govern
ment in person ; and that, if he failed to succeed,h e should then repair to England. So , in accord
ance with this advice, he prepared to proceed to the
Presidency by land, and requested me to accompanyhim . A lucky hour having been fixed by our
astrologers for the departure, again, in the latter
part of the month of December, we left Sarat for
Bombay. We proceeded on , shooting and huntingall the way, and fini shed our pleasant journey and
the month of December both together. For aboutfive weeks we stayed at Bombay, during which timeMir Jafir Ali Khan waited upon the Honourable
the Governor thrice in person, and sent in hi s
352 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAII .
memorial s tO Government ; but no decisive answer
being obtained, he made up his mind to proceed
to England. He engaged the services o f an English
man, Mr. T . J. A. Scott, and of myself, as
his secretaries and interpreters for the trip , and
passed his agreements to both of u s. We then
re turned to SL'
Irat on the 4th o f February to makeour final arrangements for the long trip to England ,and on the 1 2th o f March , 1 844 , we left our homes
and friends for the other end Of the world, Bid
Ceylon. We chartered the steamer S ir James Car
nac, as far as that i sland, and thence we had to
embark on board the large steamer Bentz'
nck, belong
ing to the P. and 0 . Company .
354 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII .
bidden liquor in his head. He pas sed by me everynow and then as I sat squatted by the side of his
walk, embracing one of the awning po sts , and told
me, “ My friend, tell Hi s Highness and your com
panions to be manly, and not quake for a capful of
wind.
”Got in sight of Cape Komorin thi s evening.
The last rock of old India looked well and pie
turesque. T he weather cont inued as harsh as the daybefore , and the night and the next morning were as
b ad as the preceding day. I myself, too , began to
feel very uncomfortable,and tired of being tossed
up and down. Captain Duverger told me that we
were Opposite the Gulf of Manar and Adam ’s Bridge,where storm s always rage, and that we were about
to get over our difficu lties . His prophecy proved
true, and on the mo rn ing Of the 2oth we were bles sed
w ith the beautifu l sight of Point de Galle, in Ceylon,at a distance o f abou t forty mil es.
T he beautiful view of th is precious island became
more and more enchanting as we approached. A t
last we east our anchor in the harbour , and were
immediately surrounded by the black nat ives, the
Cingalese, so-called from the ancient name of their
land, Singal dip. The language Of the natives sounded
to me a harsh jargon, without distinct ion Of syllab le s or periods, something like gravel put into a
copper vessel and shaken ; but they spoke English
well enough . Seeing marks of the tide s at the land
ing-place, I inquired the cause, and was informed,
UNCLE AN ANIMALS . 355
to my great surprise, that there was no ebb and
flow of the tides perceptible in that part of the island.
We were overtaken by the evening dusk before we
got over our confusion and bustle of landing. In
the hurry, an English hotel being recommended for
our short sojourn , we proceeded thither and put upcomfortably.
Early in the morning, to our great astonishment
and disgust, we beheld a herd of unclean animal s
running, grun ting, snorting, and roaring abou t our
rooms. This abominable sight at once made us
anxious to quit the Christian roof as soon as pos
sible ; and, on inquiry, we found that there were
several houses o f Muslims in the town ; one of
them, the property o f a very nice gentlemanly man,
by name Maka Marker, was Obligingly lent to us,and we immediately migrated to that place, and were
gladdened by the hospital i ty Of our good host. The
Christian s o f this time, in reforming themselves , have
reformed their religion too. They eat and drink and
do what they like under the acts of their Parliaments , withou t any regard to the Old and New
Testaments, vide Leviticus, chap. xi. ver. 7 ; Matthew,chap. v. ver. 1 7, 1 9.
The animal s of this island are not dissimilar to
those of India, with some exceptions, in which I
would number the elephant. This animal , from what
I have seen here, appears to me far handsomer than
those the Indian forests produce ; besides, white and
N 2
35 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAH.
brown elephants, which are rare in India, are com6
men in this land.
The following day we were honoured with a visit
from five native gentlemen , fine looking men, of a
browni sh shining complexion, in costum e o f the
ancient fashion, long robes and circular turbans
n icely zoned. They were introduced to us as Mini s
ters and State-officers of the former governing power
Of the island . The power i s now annihilated in to te ,bu t these are the marks of the ru in of the kingdom;from which one might trace its origin. From the
conversation that took place, I conclude that these
gentlemen were intelligent and well-informed. T he
religion Of the country is Buddhism. T he dead, if
laymen , are buried ; if priests, are given to b e con
sumed by fire . T he prevailing diseases of the island
are leprosy and elephantiasis.
On the morning of th e 22nd I had a kind invita
t ion from a Moham edan native gentleman , by nam e
Ahmad Labbe, to breakfast with him at his country
house, situated in a cinnamon garden, about three
miles from the town. At eight O’clock in the morn
ing, I set ou t and travelled in a coach for about
hal f an hour in the country, all over verdant, and
o rnamented with beautiful trees, passing every now
and then by aqu educts and rivulets of fresh water.
I must no t call this a travel , as it was somewhat
better than a morning walk into .a garden, refresh
ing the soul. On my arrival at the garden-house
358 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
while ; but I endured them well, and, I mus t say,
it was a reward for my hypocrisy, which I well
deserved. After the breakfast was over, I was taken
to another apartment, where, kalyi'
Ins being brought,we had a hearty smoke, and conversed a li ttle more
on the subject of the Indian Government, and then
I parted with my noble friend and returned home.
The rehearsal o f what had taken place excited much
laughter of my companions at home, but I cared no t
for it, as I had obtained a piece o f experience at the
cost Of a dose, which did me no harm , but operated
as medicine twice or three times.
In the morning of the 25 th , hearing a terrible
noise at the harbour , we ran and got upon the ram
part to find out the cau se, when, to our great delight,we discerned the large steamer Bentinck forcing
its way through the sea, with its four tremendous
wheel s at work, making a dreadfu l noise, and send
ing up its smoke to the sky. Upon the whole, thesight o f this exceedingly big sea monster will give
you an idea o f a roaring Satan making its appear
ance to devour up all that may come in i ts way.
On the 26 th , we embarked on board this large vessel ,bidding adieu to the beau tiful i sland of Ceylon. We
were introduced to the commanding oflicer, Captain
Kellock, a n ice gentlemanly man, of a size propor
tionable to the vessel he commanded. Our cell s
or cabins, in the sea language— were shown to us ;
luckily they were in the second of the four stories that
SOOOTRA. 35 9
the ship contained. T he vessel , although very large,we yet found too much crowded, there being no less
than three hundred passengers on board, besides the
crew. At half-past two o’clock , P.M. , the anchor
was weighed and the steamer started with its gigan tic
force, wending its way as fast as possible. All o f
us were made very comfortable on board the vessel,through the attention of the good captain and officers.
I must say that al l the passengers who go by the
P. and O . Company’s steamers are more comfortable
than at home. T he English people, from what we
saw of them on board the Benti'
nck, are first-rate
i
eaters and drinkers ; almost all o f them ate and drank
fou r times, five times , and even some six times a day.
I must confess that w e ourselves had no t a bad
appetite, and were amply furni shed with every ar ticle
of food we required, and made comfortable in every
respect.
On the 2nd of April we came in Sight of the
island of Socotra, as predicted the day previous by a
number of birds called bo ston s flying in that direction
in the afternoon . This bird seems to be gifted with
a wonderful power Of flight over the seas. The
island of Socotra was not less than two hundred
miles distant from the spot where we saw them the
day before. Hence i t might be concluded that the
bird, leav ing the i sland in the morning and returning
to it in the evening for its rest, must travel about
five hundred miles a day. Praise to the power Of
360 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP LUTFULLAH.
the Omnipotent Being " in one s troke of whose
mysterious pen, innumerable dexterities and arts can
b e seen, if one has an attentive eye and comprehen
sive mind. I witnessed another wonder in this part
o f the sea,— the flying fi sh . From one o f these flocks
that happened to go across our steamer, three flying
fish having fallen upon the deck , I seized upon one ;
and a near view o f the animal showed that it w as
a pretty little creature , and that nature had furnished
it with two pairs of wings, one to be used in the
water and the other in the air. Besides, when it
was fried, I found it to be a very del icious food.
On the morning of the 4 th we came in sight o f
Aden, and let down our anchor in its harbou r at
half-past one o’clock P.M. T he distance reckoned
from Ceylon i s English miles, SO far, our
voyage was, upon the whole , a very pleasant and
very comfortable one. We had smooth and calm
water almost al l the way from Ceylon. After our
arrival , the ship’s company get permission to go to
th e land, if they liked ; so we landed at once and
placed ourselves on the lap of Mother Earth after
eight days’ separation. There i s no su ch thing as
a wheel-carriage known in Arabia ; we had, there
fore, no alternative left but to hire some as ses for
our short travel to the town of Aden, six miles from
the harbour. Some uses in one country are abuses in
another. For instance, ass-riding in India is a Sign
o f public disgrace. There you will see nobody riding
362 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAH .
upon the same principle as we give the name Kafar,or Camphor, to our African slaves . There i s no
sign o f vegetation here as far as you can see. There
i s no fresh water, except in one small well , under the
Government guard, the water of which is sold for
high prices. I suppose I may not say anything
about the an imal productions o f a place where there
i s no water nor vegetable. The inhabitants are
wretched and mean-looking people, bareheaded and
barefooted, having nothing to cover their body
except a small piece of l inen . There were only
three or four persons who seemed to honour the ir
heads with turbans ; one o f them was E drlisi Saiyid,who acted as priest to these wretches, and led their
prayers in the small mosque, apparently going fast
to decay. We pu t up under a shed belonging to
an Indian retailer, and, having prepared and eaten
our dinner, all of us went to bed and slept undis
t urbed very soundly, and did no t get up un til very
late the next morning, when the ho t rays of the sun,
penetrating through the partition, obliged us t o rise .
After the ablu tion and breakfast we thought of
returning to the steamer ; but , i t being Friday, theday Of our Sabbath , i t was agreed upon that we
should not leave Aden before the performance o f
our Divine service at noon in the mosque o f this
place. At the appointed hour we proceeded to the
sacred place o f worship , whence the Holy Mec ca, the
rendezvous o f the prayers of the Mu slim world, was
THE HABA ON THE MOVE . 363
not too far ; attended to the sermon n icely delivered
by the Saiyid aforementioned, and, having performed
the prescribed duties, we left Aden for the harbour,which we reached in time, and embarked.
SO, in the evening of this day, the 5 th of Apr il,at half-past six O’clock, the anchor was weighed,and off the steamer went on its way. In the morning
o f the 6 th we passed through the Babu ’
lmandab , and
entered the Bahr i Kul zum , by the English called
the Red Sea. By ten O’clock we came Opposite toMokka
, and then passed several smal l i slands on
the left side. This day, in the afternoon, I found,
,by the mariner
’s compass, that the Kaba, the criterion
point of our prayers, began to incline to the East.
I mentioned the fact to my Mu slim companion s,who, instead of believing me, laughed at me heartily,and said that too mu ch reading in English books
most certainly had made my religiou s feelings too
weak . How could it be possible, said they, that
the Kaba, the most sacred hou se of God, which i s
the centre o f th e universe,should change its posi
tion l” He must have taken a glass o f wine with
his English friends , Observed another, jokingly, “ and
what he says, therefore, cannot be sound.
”In the
meantime, my third friend, the o ld physician, changed
his po sture, and, addressing himself to his young
master, remarked, “ Did your Highness ever hear
su ch nonsense ? A man with a sound m ind would
never say that the Kaba changes its position.
” All
364 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
these remark s I heard with patience withou t saying
a word, and e stabli shed my tru th by another bond
fide proof. The Arab pilot, taken by the captain
from Aden, stood to say his afternoon prayers to the
direction mentioned by me .
“ How is this ,” said
I to my friends,
“ that this Arab tu rns to the
direction I pointed ou t ?” “We daresay he is a
Jew we shall, however ,” said they, ask him some
ques tions, through the medium of another interpreter,and satisfy ourselves upon this subject of importance.
”
They did so, and got a good reward for their folly.
In the first place the interpreter, a young Frenchman, laughed at them for the que stions they put ,and, secondly, the rough Arab gave them a scolding
answer, and told them that they would soon see at
Su ez and Cairo al l the true believers direct their
prayers to the due east. If you Indians,” growled
h e angrily, “ believe in the same God and the same
prophet as they do , please follow their example ; if
not , prepare yourself for hel l fire. In the evening
we came in sight o f the lights of Jeddah , the cele
b rated port where al l the Indian Muslims disembark
first, and whence they proceed on to the holy city of
Mekka for the performance Of their pilgr image. As
for the derivation Of the word Jeddah , which sign ifies
grandmother, I have read in some book that when
our first parents were thrown from the blissfu l region
under the wrath of God for their transgression,Adam was destined to fall at Ceylon and Eve at
36 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII.
Khan was worst off , through his own imprudence in
leaving his cloak on board the steamer. I offered
him mine, bu t he po litely declined the Offer, tel ling
me that it was too small for him, so it would be
worse than useless to deprive me Of the benefit with
out relieving him from the cold. At the same time,he suggested to me that there were two blankets
without any owner lying about the place where Mr .
S cott sat , and one of them had been taken for Mrs.
Scott, so the remainn one might be brought to
him. I proceeded thither to fetch it, but Mr . Scott
prevented my doing so, tell ing me in a very rough
manner, as if we had never known each other, that
he was the first person to seize upon the blanket,and he wou ld no t allow his father Peter to take itfrom him until he had done with it. I told him
that I did not want it, but that his master requ ired
it very badly. I woul d no t,” replied he , for the
world kill myself for others , you may tell my mas
ter.
” But there was no need o f telling the master,as he overheard and understood what pas sed be tween
u s. This showed clearly that selfishn ess was the
general character of John Bull.At hal f-past seven o’clock in the evening we
reached the pier at Suez , and were conducted to the
inn, where , thanks to God, we got a nice comfortable
room, good dinner, and clean beds. After the hard
ships we had suffered in the afternoon, seeing some
oranges that were brough t from Cairo and sold at
AL MISR. 367
thb doo r Of the hotel, I bought a few, and found
themexcel, in sweetness and flavour, all fruit of that
kind I had ever tasted in my life. My companions,too , extolled the fruit very highly, and not onl y
devoured all that I had bought, but purchased a
good lOt '
Of them to supply our wants on our way in
the desert.
In the afternoon of the 1 3th we left Suez ; our
luggage and servants were loaded on the camels,and ourselves were furni shed with light carriages,cal led vans ; each of these vehicles held four per
sons, and the fifth was the Arab driver. It was lucky
.that four of us were put in the same van without
making a heterogeneous mixture o f the English with
us. We proceeded on in the cool Of the night, partly
conversing and partly dozing and drooping with sleep.
At midnight we reached the stage house, where we
slept comfortably till morning ; and then, after taking
our breakfast, set off again and reached Al Misr,commonly called Grand Cairo, on the evening of the
14th. It was a most enchanting scene to see, ju st
at the verge of the wilderness, the lofty edifices and
the golden spires of the domes and palaces shining
brightly over the houses Of the population of this
c ity, the capital of Egypt.
The houses of the city are built in the ancient Arab
manner, within courtyards, confu sed and crowded,and the streets are very narrow in some places , hardly
admitting two persons to go abreast. Men and women
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
are strong, robust and fair ; and the eyes Of the
Egyptian ladies are remarkably handsome and most
enchanting. Donkey riding is considered no disgrace
here ; you will see even ladies of rank and dignity,when tired Of walking in the streets , beckoning to
the donkey man for his animal , who instantly attends
to the call , and the fair creature, getting upon its
back astride, canters on to h er destination. T he lan
guage of business i s Arabic, and that used at Court
and in families i s pecu liarly Turkish. SO much for
the city of Grand Cairo.
O II our arrival here we put up in the house of a
native Christian physician, and passed a very com
fortable night after the fatigu e of our jou rney. On
the morning of the 1 5 th , our young master, among
o thers, had the pleasure o f receiving a visit from Mr.
J. T ibaldie, the head director o f the Transit Com
pany, a man o f rank, wealth, and talent, perhaps Of
French origin, but wel l qualified in the English,
French, and Italian languages. This gentleman proposed to Mir Jafir Ali Khan to pay his respects to
Mohamed Ali Pasha in the afternoon at his garden
house, called Shubra, to which he agreed.
This morning I asked leave to go and see the
Pyramids, one of the wonders of the world ; but, to
my great dismay, I was refused, under the plea that
I could no t b e expected to return by the afternoon,when my services of interpre ting to the Pasha wou ldbe urgently required. I prevailed, however, upon
370 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
tance, we entered it, and found the place to be a
paradise on earth. The flower and fruit-trees were
in beautiful order, loaded with blossoms and fruits,nicely reared with perfect horticultural art , and the
avenues, paved with white and black pebbles , repre
sented Persian carpets, spread in straight lines everywhere. On entering the palace, we found it to be a
massive edifice of alabaster, having an excellent
reservoir in the middle. The ceil ings were masterly
worked in basso relievo, and the pillars, single and
solid pieces of the same stone, polished to the lustre
o f a mirror. We were conducted by a state officer,splendidly dressed, to a spacious room at the northern
corner, and there we saw the old famous prince,Mohamed Ali Pasha, plainly attired in a red Turkish
cap and a blue cloth coat descending to his knees ;and then, being introduced to him, each of us touch
ing His Highness’ right hand with his , kissed it,
according to the Turkish form of compliments, and
then seated ourselve s on the divan, in.
line to the
right of the old prince. Two pair s of valuable
Cashmere shawls were then presented by Mir Jafir
Ali Khan, and were kindly accepted by His High
ness . Now three heads and tongues were employed
t o interpret, i. e. , I explained my young master’s
expressions to Mr. T ibaldie, in English, and Mr.
T ibaldie to His Highness’ principal dragoman (or
interpreter) in French , and th e interpreter to His
Highness in Turkish. The mutual compliments were
PORTRAIT or MOHAME D ALi. 371
bu t very short, and then my young master began
addressing himself to His Highness in the usual fiat
tering mode of the English princes. He Observed
that he had always heard abou t the well-regulated
good government wisely constituted and personal ly
condu cted by His Highness ; that b e thanked heaven
he had now an ocular demonstration of the same,and found that al l he had heard was nothing but
truth. To this the old Pasha replied, Something i sdone , bu t a great deal more remains to be done.”
After this,His Highness put several questions on the
system o f the English Government in India, which
were du ly replied to in short but comprehensive
an swers. The coffee then being ordered, was brought
in, and, being presented to each of us, we rose in
turns, and, kissing our own hands to His Highness,as a Turkish homage , we drank it in the same wayas an Englishman drinks his friend’s health, and then
getting our leave, returned home well satisfied w ith
the interview with an extraordinary man, who,although an unlettered soldier once, yet had raised
himself to the summit of sovereignty, l ike the
European Cromwell and Buonaparte and our own
Haidar and Ranj it.Mohamed Al i was of middl e stature, and slender
but compact in make . His complexion was nearly
fair, and his head well-shaped. His forehead was
high and broad, having a plurali ty of horizontal
wrinkles, that appeared and disappeared according
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
to the working of his mind. He had an oval face,fringed wi th a short white beard, expressive features,an aquiline nose
, and black penetrating keen eyes set
deep under arched eyebrows . His deportment in
general was grave, disclosing the mental energy which
distinguished him ; but he seemed to have a l ively
disposition and fascinating manners upon the whole,combined w ith the air of au thority. He was about
eighty years of age, and very nearly one-half o f that
time he had been the ruler of Egypt.
On the l 6 th we got on board one of the small
steamers appointed to convey passengers to Alexandria
by the Nile . We sailed down smoothly and com
fortably. The scenery on both the banks was
beau tifu l al l the way. We saw several al ligators, inthe act of running after their prey, rushing on in the
water, regardless of the noise that our steamer made .
These monsters seem to b e endowed with an enor
mou s power by nature ; they swam both with and
against the stream with equal velocity.
At noon on the 1 7th we reached the celebrated
port of Alexandria, the metropol is of Egypt, and the
former emporium of the East, and disembarked at the
garden-hou se o f Mr. J. Tibaldie’s sister, Mrs . Larking. A tall, handsome, well-made, and well-behaved
gentleman assisted our landing from the steamer, and
then we had the pleasure o f knowing him to be Mr.
Larking himself. This very pol ite and hospitable
Christian, who does honou r to the English name, re ,
374 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTRULLAH.
the city of Alexandria to another garden-house, be
longing to Mr. T hurburn, the father-in-law of good
Mr. Larking. Here we were comfortably lodged for
a short time, expecting th e steamer that was to take
us on to England.
The next day we had the pleasure of see ing the
old gentleman, Mr. T hurburn, at his own house. He
rece ived us with un feigned attention, and treated
us with sincere courtesy during the vi sit ; and, on
our leaving, gave strict orders to his servants to see
that we were comfortable in every respect, and to
attend to all our commands during our sojourn in
his nice garden-hou se. In the evening, being
invited to dine with another son-in-law of Mr.
Thurbun, by name Mr. Straunary T ossiz z a, the
Greek Consu l , we went to his house . On our
arrival , we found the hou se sumptuously furnished
l ike a palace, fi t for a prince to reside in. Here we
were al so rece ived by our noble host and his beauti
ful wife and her younger sister. These two fairies,I must say, surpassed their sister, Mrs. Larking, intheir incomparable beau ty. The house was deco
rated with all kinds of rich articles ; and the guests
were treated with such real courte sy and po litene ss
as never can be met with from the Christians in
India. We returned home af ter ten o’clock, PAL ,
over-filled with feelings of gratitude towards our
noble hosts.
For six days we had to stay at Alexandria, during
DID UMAR BURN THE LIBRARY ? 375
which time I went my rounds within a nd without the
city, at my leisure, for an hour or so every day in
search of information.
Many Christian writers, e ither on account o f the ir
wan t of knowledge, or from an unfounded prejudiceagainst the true faith (except Gibbon and other
eminent authors), accuse our Caliph of the unpar
donable crime of having ordered the contents of the
famou s library that once adorned this city to be used
as fuel for the five thousand baths which are said
to have been here. It is something like Dr. Smith,who , in his Epistles de Moribus ac Institu tis Ture
arum,
”no less than thrice mentions the Mohamedans
visiting the tomb of their prophet at Medina, and
once speaks of his being born there , the reverse of
which i s true . So , too, Dr. Phil ip Prince, in hisUniversal History,” page 5 7, observes : A Moha
medan, amongst oth er Observances, must wash him
self thrice a day, instead of five times a day.
Writers of events,I beg to Observe, ought to be void
o f al l partiality, and ought to have a thorough know
ledge Of the nature and character of the subject they
undertake to explain. In the first place, they ought
to have known that Mohamedan tenets teach all true
believers to hold papers of all kinds sacred, and never
to touch them even with the ir feat, nor allow them
to be thrown into an u nclean place, as they may
contain the name of the Almighty Allah— contrary to
the custom of the Christians o f the present age, who
376 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP LUTFULLAH.
have no regard even for their B ible, and would use
i ts leaves , if damaged in any way, as useless paper.
Secondly, it is qu ite absurd to think the same Caliph
would commi t such an act of insanity, who, on his
vi sit to Jerusalem as a conqu erer, ordered the great
University there to b e repaired at the public expense,and who would not say his prayers within the Grand
Temple of that holy place, for fear of its being spoiled
by his soldiers in fol lowing his example. Besides ,the General Amru, who was a lover of science and
literature, and a man gifted with poetical talent,would by no means make himself an instrument o f
such an act o f irrational madness.
III the afternoon o f the 24th , at two o’clock P.M. ,
we parted w ith our noble, hospitable , and good
Christian friends, and, embarking on board the large
steamer, Great L iverpool, we bade adieu to the port
of Alexandria. With regard to the room and atten
tion, w e found ourselves more comfortable and more
attended to than OII board the Bentinck. The fact
i s, that the more you proceed on towards England,the more you find the English people endowed with
politeness and civility. On leaving the harbour o f
Alexandria, our large steamer,with its 1 67 passen
gers, glided on the sea smoothly with its usual force.
All the company were in excellent spirits , i t being
calm and peaceful. On the 26 th , we discerned the
i sland o f Candia— something like a flake of brilliant
cloud -about sixty miles Off, covered with snow. And
378 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTI‘
ULLAH.
Atlan tic Ocean on one side, and the Mediterranean
on the other keeping, at the same time, the cont inent of Spain in awe, to which it joins itself by an
i sthmus. It looks over the Mount Abyla, on the
opposite shore of Africa, as its companion, standing
in the same majestic attitude . The sides of the rock
o f Gibral tar are excavated in the forms o f gall eries
and guard-rooms, ra nge above range, with loopholes
for the muzzles of large cannons, directing destructive
fire upon all points of the compass, render this strong
hold the most formidable in the world. In the year
7 12, A.O. , this invincible fortress, being conquered by
the Mu slim General, Tarik bin Zyad , along with the
province of Granada in Spain, its former name , Cal pe,was changed into that of Jabalul-Tarik , whence the
present appellation o f Gibraltar. For about 780
years it remained under the sway of the Muslims, and
was then lost through the short-sighted po licy of King
Abu Abdu llah and his predecessor, 1492, A.C. , to
gether with all the Muslim possessions in the country.
The Kings of Spain then became its owners, and con
tinned in possession of it for a period Of 2 12 year s,when, in the year 1 704, fortune gave it to the
English, the luckiest nation in the world, who are
the rightful possessors of i t up to the present day.
The population of thi s town i s said to be about
inhabitants , of the English, Jewish, and Portuguesecastes, exclusive of the garrison soldiers, about
in number.
QUARANTINE . 379
By the evening of the 5 th , the boiler being mended,the anchor was weighed, and we proceeded out to sea.
Th e calm Of the sea, the genial society, and the atten
tion Of the good captain and his noble officers to our
wants, rendered our voyage most pleasant, and on
the l 0th of May, at night, the anchor was cast at a
Spo t cal led the “Mother-bank , where the steamer
was to be quarantined for some days, until the pas
sengers should be declared to be in perfect health
and free from the sig ns o f the Egyptian plague;Early in the morning, a friend Of mine, Mr. Renell ,Of the Bengal Service , coming to my cabin, rousedme up from sleep, telling me that there were some
native girls to be seen near our vessel . It was too
cold for me, a native of India, to get ou t o f my b ed
so early, though it was the morning of the 1 1 th of
May, the hottest month in our climate ; bu t the
temptation cau sed me to wrap myself up in my cloak
and attend immediately to my friend’s call. .Upongoing upon deck , I beheld that our steamer was
moored in a purgatory-like situation. On th e left we
had a beautiful view of the main land, and on the
right we had the Isle of Wight, a magnificent hill
with its white cliff s reflected in the sea. At the same
time, there were lying several small boats near our
vessel, which, among other spectators, contained
several fresh and fair damsel s of England, of very
dazzling beauty, so it appeared to me at least.
To be quarantined, after such a long voyage , and
380 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAII.
to see everything good and marvellou s abou t you ,
w ithout being permitted to have any intercou rse with
it, i s a state most disagreeable to man. Three te
dion s , long , and dull days we passed in this state o f
tantalization on board the steamer ; when, on the
morning Of the fourth, to our great delight, we found
our boat moving towards the land in view , and, in
abou t one hour’s sail, she entered the Sou thampton
Dock, al l safe, thanks to the Almighty God "
382 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTRULLAH.
resounded from all directions . Over-curious whitedevils, exclaimed our doctor, Badru’d-din, very
grily to me ; they have no respect for cast e
o r age : I have a great mind to pelt stones at them.
”
“ Don’t you do so, Hakim Séhib ,” said I to the
Old doctor, or you will bring evil on yourself and
the hotel : these people don’t fear any one. It i s
true,they are over curious, but, after al l , they
have done you no harm : let, therefore, well al one.”
On the morning of the 1 5 th, we proceeded by rail
to London . Seating ourselves in the se fairy vans,we proceeded on most comfortably in this unfatiguing
j ourney. Beautiful, but momentary, were the viewsof the country, green and watered with silvery
brooks ; and magnificent were the sights of the
villages, towns, and parishes that presen ted them
selves to our eyes during our progress. The Objectsappeared and disappeared successively in most delight
ful forms, un til we reached our destination. The
doors of the carriage then being opened, we alighted
in a very spacious yard, all paved with black stones.
In a few minutes, two nice carriages , drawn by
horses of gigantic make and power, being brought
near, we got up into them and drove into the far
famed City of London. Street after street, and
square after square, that we pas sed through for
about three-quarters of an hour, were all paved,clean and regular, thronged with the busy inhabitants
o f both sexes, almost all the females good-looking,
MOURNE RS . 383
and the males well-made and active. Palaces of
nobles and dukes are distinguished by their large
porticos and superior construction. In one Of them
I saw two well-dressed men with ashes sprinkled
over their heads ; and, thereby concluding that some
death might have occurred in the house, I told Mr.Scott, who sat by me, that a mournful event might
have been the cause of the dust on their heads ; but
the young man laughed at my beard, and said it was
the old custom still preserved by some of powdering
their hair. Upon the whole, one might imagine thatthis vast city, whose population is no les s than
twenty lakhs o f inhabitants, contained the riches o f
the whole world. Surrounded by such wonders and
curiosities, we travelled on to a quarter termed BrookStreet, and alighted at a magn ificent house, called
M vart’
s Hotel .
Supplied with all kinds of luxuries suitable to
princes, we lived in this inn for three days ; and
then our chief, being frightened at the enormous
charges, of about two hundred rupees per diem, en
gaged a private lodging, NO. 7, Sloane Street.
Here we settled after our long voyage from the
middle of the globe to the end of the world, where
the sun appears, far to the south, as weak as the
moon, and the polar star nearly vertical ; where the
country all over is fertile, and the people ingenious,c ivil, and active ; where the language, customs, and
manners are entirely different from our own ; where,
384 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
in fine , the destiny o f our sweet native land lies in
the hand o f some twenty-five great men. It cannot
be, I am sm '
e, without the will o f that one Supreme
Being that this small i sland, which seems on the
globe like a mole on the body o f a man , should com
mand the greater part of the world, and keep the rest
in awe.
On the l 6 th , I had the pleasure o f see ing my Old
friend and patron , Captain Eastwick , after three years
and a half, and he took me along with him to his
own house.
We passed a week in quietude at home, -I mean
my chief and his other attendants ; as for myself, I
had no rest, even when at home , having the onerou s
task of acting as secretary and interpreter to al l.
None of them knowing the language o f the country,I was requ ired to be the medium o f their bu siness,barters , and negociations, with the natives. D uring
this time I had the pleasure of gaining the acquaint
ance Of two gentlemen o f high station in l ife, namely,Alfred Latham and R . Pulsford, Esquires, the first
a great merchant, and the second a member Of Par
l iam ent ; and, through the kindness o f these two
good gentlemen, I had the satisfaction o f obtaining
much information, and seeing many places free o f
charge.
On the 24th we were taken by our kind friends
to see some o f the famous places in the town. The
first objects that engaged our attention were the
386 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTI‘
ULLAII.
rich and splendid style. Five tiers of small rooms,called the boxes, for the spectators to si t in , wide
enough to hold four or five persons in each , are
built up one above another, runn ing in semicircular
l ines, one end of which begins from one corner Of
the stage hall , and ends at the other. T he boxe s
and the chairs therein are lined and cushioned with
rich damask . T he seats of Her Maje sty and the
royal family are to the right side of the s tage. Our
seat was ju st Opposite to the stage, in the same l inewith the royal seats . We sat comfortably for abou t
half an hour, looking at the grandeur Of the place,and remarking upon the convenience of the gas
l ights, which brightened or dimmed at pleas
Hundreds of lamps at one time were reduced to th e
dimness o f night, nearly depriving the vision of i ts
free exercise , and, at another, they were made at
once to shine as bright as daylight. At hal f-past
eight the curtain was pul led up, and two very hand
some ladies, very indecently dressed, and an Old man,
representing their father, appeared on the stage .
They sang, I fancy, some historical ballad, in con
junction with the instrumental music, and danced very
expertly. Whilst the females whirled round in their
dancing, their short gowns flew up to the forbidden
height . Tantalizing the assembly it appears was
theirprincipal aim by such a violation of decorum.
We enjoyed the music well, but could no t understand
a word o f what was said.
A FANCY BALL. 387
Having gained acquaintance with a number of
respectable inhabitants and great men here, we were
almost every evening invited to partake o f their hos
pitable entertainments,and passed our evening hours
delightfully in the enjoyment of their good society.
As for myself alone, when I had no invitation to
accompany my chief, I proceeded to the theatres,generally to the Haymarket Theatre and the Lyceum,
sometimes alone, and sometime s in company with my
friend and pupil , Captain T. Postans, whom chance
had brought here with his amiable and learned wife.
On the 27th I dined and passed a happy evening
with Captain and Mrs . Eastwick, who had invited a
party of their friends and relatives to meet us. Onthe 28th , having had an invitation to the fancy ball
house, we proceeded thither in the evening, and
were highly gratified by seeing persons dressed in
various costumes of different countries. One gentle
man in Persian dress actually deceived us, as he
passed by ; no t only his dress, but his manners, too ,appearing to u s those o f a Mughal . My chief’s
brother-in-law accosted him and, after formal salu
tation in Persian, asked him how he did, and how
long since he had left Shiraz ? But the man, instead
o f answering him in that language, smiled and spoke
in English, which betrayed him to be an English
man wearing a false beard, better a than true one in
every respect.
On the 30th I accompanied my ch ief to the East
0 2
388 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
India House in Leadenhal l Street . They cal l it a
house, but it i s a palace, containing a great number
o f apartments and halls, al l well fu rn ished . It is
the place where the de stiny of my sweet native land
lies in the hands o f twenty-four men, called the
Honourable Directors o f the Honourable East India
Company, who are the principal movers of the string
o f the machine o f Government in India. On our
arrival , we were conducted by two state ushers to
a room in the middle of the palace, where we found
the chairman, with his deputy next to him,sitting
on their chairs. The chairman’s name was Captain
John Shepherd, and that of his deputy Sir Henry
Willock. Both of them appeared to be grave and
intelligent persons ; the latter spoke Persian well .By these gentlemen we were received pol itely. The
conversation first began in Persian with Sir HenryWillock, who, finding it somewhat irksome to explain
o ur mean ing every now and then to the chai rman ,let down the burden of interpreting on me ; so I went
on, partly explaining the ideas Of my young chief, and
partly coining some ou t Of my own head, whatever I
thought expedient to serve the interest of my client.
The resul t of the conference, gathered from the
remarks of these two great men, was that my chief’s
coming to this country to Obtain justice was an
imprudent act , as he might have obta ined it in his
own country by simply writing to them, without
u ndergoing the hardships Of a long voyage and
390 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULL AH.
i t appears, had made him qu ite conversant with our
manners , languages, and feelings. SO thi s accidenta l
interview with‘him produced a genial delight in our
hearts , and his civili ty, complaisance, and kindness,attracted our minds at once to seek for his fr iend
ship. During my stay in London, I had often the
honour of seeing him , and conversing with him ; and
he was always part icu larly kind towards me . I
found him to b e a man of sublime mind, endowed
with high attainments, considerable ability, and acute
understanding.
This evening, Mr. Latham kindly to ok me to the
Royal Institu tion. On my arrival , I was intr oduced
to three or four noblemen, whose names I have
quite forgotten ; bu t they treated me like the ir own
brother, made me sit near, and explained to me what
I could no t understand. T he fact is, that in England,
you will find those that are highest in rank are
the politest in society. The lecture was ably deli
vered on anatomy—which has been a favourite study
o f mine for many years past— by Professor Faraday ;and I declare, what I learnt in hearing this one
lecture I cou ld no t have acqu ired in one year’s hard
labou r with my books . Mr. Latham further was so
good as to Obtain permission for me to be admitted
whenever I liked, free Of charge. Besides,he kindly
promised to speak to the superintendents of the St.
George’s Hospital and the College o f Surgeons, who
would kindly send for me, whenever a dissection
SUNDAY. 391
might take place in those institution s most beneficial
to mankind.
On the l st June, we were introduced to a nobleman, by name Colonel T. Wood, and m et with a kind
reception at his hou se, fi om himself, his wife— a lady
o f high rank— and his two daugh tei s, exqu isite inbeauty, and adorned with the accomplishments
Ob tained from high education . After this, we paid
another visit to the East India Hou se ; and were
taken thence by Mr. Pulsford to the Bri tish Mu seum
and the Zoological Gardens, with which we were
highly delighted.
On the 2md, it being Sunday, the whole city
appeared to be in a very dreary and du ll state . No
shop was open, and no carriages , cabs, or omnibuse s
were to be seen running to and fro as u sual . But
al l the inhabitants were richly and neatly dressed
within doors . Our English servants, too, having
already performed last night what was requ ired of
them to-day, dressed themselve s very smartly, and
went away to the place of their worship . Sunday is
called the Sabbath, and it i s scrupulou sly held sacred,ju st the same as Friday w ith us, and Saturday with
the Jews ; though the word Sabbath , both in Hebrew
and Arabic, signifies Saturday, and no t Sunday .
This being not a day of business, we took a long
drive to the two places called Highgate and Hamp
stead, and be ing gratified with the fresh air and
392 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
scenery o f the town and the country, returned home
in the evening.
On the morning of the 3rd we paid our visit to
a learned man, by name Dr. Bowring, and derived
m uch benefit concerning our busines s by cOnversingwith this able man. In the afternoon we visited the
House of Lords , and t he Parliament, and heard the
question of the duty on sugar most ably discu ssed.
On the 4th I rece ived an invi tation to v isit the
St. George’s Hospital , through the recommendation
o f Mr. Latham , where I was received with great
attention and kindness by Dr. Cutler and Mr. Prescott Hewett, and was kindly taken by the latter, along
with himself on going round, to see all the patients
in the hospital , and then was allowed to participate
in the fresh dissection o f a subject expired only two
days before. Here I became convinced that a great
part of what I had studied in Galen’s Anatomy ”
in Persian and Arabic was founded upon fancy and
conjecture , and that i t was impossible for anybody
to acquire a thorough knowledge of this most u seful
study for mankind, withou t the practical course o f
dissection.
On the m orning o f the 5 th we proceeded to see
the’
Asco t races, a few m iles from town . We beheld
a great concourse o f people assembled to see wh at
horse would win, and what horse would lose. Almost
all the spectators, I am informed, lay wagers among
394 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
him ; so this speech , acting as a narcoti c dose upon
our brain, w e conversed with other lords and nobles
that happened to b e near us.
On the 9th, it being Sunday, we took another drive
to the vi llage of Richmond, about seven miles from
the town, with an English friend.
On the l oth , we attended the meeting held at the
Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manu fac
tures, and Commerce. The assembly was presided
over by Prince Al bert himself. We had the honou r
o f getting seats next to the Duke of Sutherland, and
His Grace conversed with me in a very polite and
friendly manner, whenever his attention w as no t re
quired to the meeting. On the arr ival of the noble
President , all present rose up to pay him the ir re
spects ; and we al so made obeisances in our own
Asiatic manner ; and the Prince, returning his com
pl iments to all , very gracefully took his seat on the
high chair placed in the middle. The artificers and
manufacturers then, one by one, presented their
patent article s to the Prince, and described them
m inutely. T he things presented m et with the ap
probation Of the President and members, and the
makers rece ived the ir applause, and subsequently,perhaps, some reward in money too. After thi s, we
went down-stairs to inspect a large collection of
the specimens of various kinds of articles, formerly
patented ; and, in going o ur round again, we had
the honour to meet the Prince, to whom we made
WE STMINSTE R ABBEY. 395
our profound bows ; and His Royal Highnes s verygracefully addressed my chief, asking him the usual
first question Of every Englishman,
“ How do you
like this country ? ” The answer given through me, 6
was, that we liked it much. The next que stion was,What did we admire most in England ? I boldly
but respectfully answered, on the part of my chief,that the civil ity of the people o f high rank and station
was the th ing most admirable to u s ; which answer,producing a
‘
slight Smile on the Royal face, HisHighne ss walked on. Thus ended our accidental
interview with a Prince whom fortune has aided to
ascend the summit Of the highest au thority in the
In the afternoon we saw the Chinese Exhibition ;and, at night, proceeded to ano ther fancy ball, which
we found super ior to the former.
Not be ing fu lly satisfied with our former visit to
the British Museum , on the 1 1 th we repaired to
that place again, and had the satisfaction of seeing
what remained unseen in our previous visit. We
then proceed to see We stminster Abbey, and found
i t to b e a lofty edifice of great beauty and splendour
fini shed in the ancient Gothic style . It i s said to
have been built by Henry III. , one o f the former
kings o f England, in 1221 A.C. The pavement of the
choir o f this sacred place attracted our attention first,be ing a rich mosaIc Of innumerable pieces of jasper,porphyry, alabaster, lapis lazuli, and serpentine
396 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
marbles , all varying in“
size, and skilfully arranged.
T he portico, termed Solomon’s gate, leading into the
northern cross , presents a magnificent view to th e
observer. This sacred place, too, i s not destitute of
the images of the great m en of England, but they
are no t so numerous as at St. Paul’s . T he abbot ,a very polite young man, of great ability and
talent, took us to the west door, whence w e had a
most beau tifu l view o f the inner body of the convent,which impressed us with awe , cau sed by the loftines s
o f the roof and the range o f columns by which the
whole edifice i s supported. T he double ranges o f the
coloured glas s windows of the two upper galleries ,based upon the arcade of th e aforesaid pillars , freely
admitted beams of light to the whole abbey withou t
glare . After going through all the convent, the
abbot took us to a large hall , where coronations of the
Kings Of this land take place. T he great chair upon
which they are seated, seems to be a very o ld
fashioned one ; and we could no t leave the hall
w ithou t touching this high chair, the seat of empire.
IVe then were taken by the good abbot to his own
residence, near the Abbey, and each of us was treated
with the best of beverages a glass o f water. After
this , having conversed w ith our hos t for a while 0 11
the subject Of his cross, and our crescent of th e
ancient time , my chief went home, and I was taken
by Captain Postans, to visit a great man, the Honour
able W.B. Baring, Secretary to the Board of Control.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAII.
On the 27th , we went to an evening party at
Major Jervis’s house, in the company Of severa l
beau tie s and great men, amongst whom I found
Colonel Miles, the same Arabic scholar whom I had
the pleasure of seeing at Vira, twenty-four year s
before . I told him there was a great difference
between the two places of our meet ing ; and he
remarked, that the difference was not only in places ,b ut in time . I paid h im another visit at his own
house , which he never retu rned, thinking , perhaps,that he was still in India, and no t in the land of
freedom , where al l are equal .
On the 28 th , we proceeded to Regent’s Park to see
a wonderful place called the Diorama. On our
arrival at thi s place o f incantation, we were con
ducted by the keeper into a room as dark as an
infidel’
s heart, and were kindly seated upon chairs.
I say kindly, for, having placed ourselves at his
disposal, h e might have maltreated us in this dun
geon with impunity, if he liked. In the meant ime,o ur sense o f hearing was gratified with distant music,and then a beautiful scene of a frosty morning gra
dually presented itself to our deceived vision, in
which we saw a rough clownish vegetable vendor
at the river side, having landed his large parcel s
o f cargo in a tremendou s heap, him self shrivelled
with the weather, sitting half-asleep in his boat,and his wife and a child sleeping on the bundles.
T he motion of th e water of the river was nature
THE DIORAIIA. 399
i tself,and by the side of the stream there appeared
a magnificent palace , whose inmates were engaged
in various employments. III the meantime, the sun
shone brilliantly and extended his rays al l over
and then the evening came on, the scene changed,so much so that the vegetable seller was meta
morphosed into a pretty woman, the stars became
visible,and the moon rose, casting her serene light
over the scene . The palace, too, appeared illuminated
with lamps and chandeliers . And the scene then
gradually vanished, and the first darkness again pre
vai led, in which the distant music once more allured
our attention. After a little while, the light of morn
ing again began to appear, and in about one minute
the interior of a grand Church presented itself toour v iew, first vacan t, bu t in another minute filled
with the congregation. The morning then turned
to day, and the day, in a few minutes, into evening,\and then night came on, and then to our great de
light we were helped ou t by the keeper from this
house of false magic . The secret of this place was
that the house was partly blocked up and partly
orificed with windows, turning on a pivot, and the
windowed part coming in contact with perspective
paintings, placed behind large magnifying glasses,formed this Optical deception. But how the watermoved, how the sun, the moon, and the stars appeared
and disappeared, how the objects were transformed ,and the times changed, was still beyond my compre
400 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
h ension. Thus, half-sat isfied and half-puz z led, . we
returned home. Some o f my companions would have
the house to be under the power o f evil spirits.0 11 the 29th , I received permission to v isit the
College of Surgeon’s in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, and
met with a kind reception from the superintendent,Professor Owen, who gave instructions to his as
sistants to show me all that I should like to see ,
and describe everything in full. I walked round
the several stories o f the house, and inspected human
bodies , both whole and in parts, arranged in regular
order for the benefit of the students, who, by this
help, can easily, in a short time , ascend the summit
of the science of anatomy in both theory and practice .
On the l st of July we paid a visit to the National
Gallery. From this place we proceeded to a theatre ,where Herr DObler, a juggler, exhibited his arts.
We admired very highly his performances, in making
an automaton shoot at the mark with its gun, in
producing pigeons from dry fi sh, destroying watches,bur ning handkerchiefs, and then produ cing them safe,and simil ar tricks. But, after al l , our Indian jug
glerseare superior to these Europeans. In the firs t
place, the latter are furnished with al l suitable ma
terials for their performance, with the advantage of
the stage-house, which can b e darkened or lightened
at pleasure ; whereas the poor Indian j uggler stands
in an open plain before the public , and performs
such tricks as giving his snake to his mongoose, who
402 AUTOB IOGRAPHY or LUTPULLAII.
to descend into the water by this extraordinary vessel,while my Ch ief and companions would not only no t
venture to descend, but dissuaded me very strongly
from undertaking the trial, telling me that it was
an ac t of great imprudence to endanger life in such
useles s sport. Turning a deaf ear to such remon
strances, I hastened to the brink of the water, and
pronouncing my Bismillah (in the name of the mostmerciful name of Allah) I got into the hell with four
Englishmen . Upon our entering, we found a com
Inodiou s seat, and then the bell be ing let down into
the deep, we felt a queer compressing sensation In
our ears, bu t that was al l the inconvenience we ex
perienced. We saw a patch Of the wate r on one
side , where the hell was left Open near our feet ;but the vacuum of the vessel being filled up with
the air, with which we were constan tly suppl ied by
mean s o f a commun icating tube between the inner
part o f the bel l and the outward atmosphere, pre
vented the water from rushing in. On reaching thebottom we saw the pebbles and gravel
, and then
were pulled out again from the dangerous deep to
the open air of the world.
On the 1 1 th , we proceeded to the Court o f Jus
tice of thi s city ; and, on our arrival , were received
with kindness by the Lord Chancellor, and were
requested to take our seat near the high chair of
his lordship, on the right side of the Court. His
lordship, perhaps being hard o f hearing, gave me ,
LORD RLPHINSTONE . 403
as interpreter, a chair at his elbow, and my chief
sat at a l ittle distance. T he case before his lordship
at the time was that of an IndO-Eu ropean, Colonel
Dyce Sombre , an unlucky man, who had lost his
large fortune by falling in love and entering into a
marriage con tract with an English lady of rank .
Afte r a little conversation, no t wishing to take up his
lordship’s valuable time , w e took our leave o f the
Court, and proceeded to re turn a visit to another
nobleman. Then, in company with ou r shipmate
and very obliging friend, Colonel S tratton, o f the
Madras army, we waited on Prince Sol tikoff, a youngman of very high taleIIt and great ability. He
showed us a portfolio containing beautiful drawings
Of cities, castles, and vegetable productions o f various
coun tries in Asia, worked by himself, which showed
great knowledge o f drawing. Upon the whole, h e
was an amiable, fine-looking man , no t in the least
e lated with the pride of birth .
T he next day I was ordered by my chief to wait
again I’Ipon the Russian Prince , and invite him, 0 11
his part, to Astley’
s Theatre, where he had engaged
a box. I proceeded forthwith to execute my orders ,and del ivered over the message to the Prince , whoaccepted the invitation for the night. There was a
tall , wel l made, and very handsome young English
man in the room at this time, who seemed to take
interest in my conv ersation with His Higlm ess and
the Prince , observing this , introduced me to him ,
404 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTYULLAH.
pronouncing my name to him and his name— LordJohn Elphinstone, the late Governor of Madras t o
me. I was glad to make acquaintance with this
nobleman,as my little conversation with him clearly
showed that hi s cultivated mind corresponded w ith
his outward appearance.
III the evening , the Prince having arrived in time,we proceeded to Astley
’
s Theatre, and the perform
ances that w e saw there were most admirable. T he
horses of this theatre understood man’s la nguage and
mu sic, for they turned and returned, ran and stopped ,at the w ords of command and notes of the music .
Upon one horse, whilst cantering, a very pretty
young damsel , with a smiling coun tenance, jumped
from the ground and stood upon the saddle, urging
the animal to speed. III the meantime, one o f the
performers threw an ivory bal l at her, which she
caught with alacrity, and playfully tossed it up and
caught i t repeatedly, as if the atmosphere was under
h er command, and placed it in her hand quite safe
whenever she threw it up. This was no t all ; but,in every turn, she caught an additional ball from
the performer, and went OII tossing it up, until she
had received seven and al l she tossed up and caught
invariably in both hands with wonderful dexterity.
Every one Of the seven balls appeared continually
to be in motion at the miracu lou s touch of her hand ;and the horse ran i ts round as fast as possible , whilst
the fairy stood upon it, with her smiling lovely
406 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LUTFULLAH.
church . We then proceeded to Mr. Latham’s house,and passed a very happy day under his hospitable
roof
On the 3 l st we were invited by ou r friend
R . Pulsford, Esq. , to take a whitebait dinner w ith him
at Greenwich , so we proceeded thither at noon in
his company on board one o f the smal l steamers
running to and fro on the r iver Thame s, and arrived
in abou t half an hour. We pu t up in a nice inn
at the river side , and partook of our friend’s hospi
tal ity. The town o f Greenwich i s situated at the
ba nk of the river, five miles east of London, and
i s very populou s . It is noted for its magnificent
hospital for decayed seamen, its beau tiful park, and
for its astronomical Observatory on the summit o f a
hill,whence all the English seamen reckbn their
first meridian of longitude .
T he beginning o f the month of August passed in
bu siness until the 14th, when, whilst walking in the
bazar, I was informed of the arrival of some Ameri
cans in the Egyptian Hal l. I went in , and, having
paid a piece o f silver as a fee to the owner, I saw
my fellow creatures, nine in number, in the ir uncivi
l iz ed rude state, dressed in skins, feathers, and straws,made up and interwoven by themselves. The ir com
plexion was Copper-coloured, their appearance wild,their body proportionate, excepting the arms, which
were too slender. They spoke a jargon, in sound
resembling Marathi, and a young Englishman inter
WOOLWICH. 407
pre ted their ideas , which were simple and chaste in
their nature. They painted their foreheads a nd
bodies somewhat like the Hindus. This day I
received a handsome present of a valuable telescope
from R. Pulsford, Esq. , as a token o f friendship,
which I very reluctantly accepted. I prize the
keepsake, however, very highly, i t being from a
gentleman who took much interes t in the welfare
o f my native land and myself.
On the 26 th , the news of the birth of a prince to
our graciou s Sovereign at Windsor having been tele
graphed, I was, according to o ur Asiatic cu stoms,o rdered by my chief to carry a letter of congratu la
tion to the Castle. So again Iproceeded to Windsor,delivered my letter to the secretary, and, rece iving
his reply,returned home In the afternoon.
On the 27th , having Obtained a letter o f introduc
tion to Lord B loomfield commanding at Woolwich ,we proceeded thither ear ly In the morning, aecom
panied by Captain T. Postans. We sent the letter
to the great man, and were informed that we would
be received in the afternoon at his lordship’s res i
dence. In the meantime , an officer was depu ted to
remain in attendance upon us , and to show us over
the different departments . SO , by the kindnes s o f
this Officer, we had the satisfaction of seeing the in
struments of the British wealth and the use of them
was explained most minutely to us .
It was Sir Charles Forbes who procured us this
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LU'
I FULLAII.
attention at Woolwich ; and, from the time o f our
arrival, we were helped through difficulties in a
most friendly manner by this good baronet, who was
one of the staunch patrons of India.
Now,my chief having received answers to hi s
petitions from the Cou rt of Directors, and, in the
beginn ing of September, having obtained assurance
from the Chairman that his business would be sati s
factorily settled in India, w e had nothing to detain
us in England, except the gratification o f the pleasures
o f my young chief ; upon whom , with much difficulty,I prevailed to leave this
'
city of enchantments as
soon as possible, and our passage was taken in the
mail steamer that was to leave the shore s o f E ngland Ou the 3rd proximo. SO we had one whole
month, free from the burden o f business, to bid fare
well to our friends, and to see something more that
remained unseen . Amongst our new friends in Lon
don we had al so the pleasure o f having a true bel iever
in Saiyid Aminu ’
d-din Al Ali,commonly called Ali
Effendi, the ambassador on the part o f the Sultan
o f Constantinople to the Cou rt of England. We
had the honour of several interviews with thi s noble
minister Of the Sovereign of Islam. My chiefmade
him a present of a very valuable Indian sword in
token Of his most sincere regard and profound respect.
On the 12th of September, we paid our parting v isit
to him, and his Grace wou ld no t all ow us to leave
h im without a mark Of his fr iendship. He gave
4 10 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or LUTFULLAH.
him, both from his friends and from his super iors,and see ing other friends at Bombay. My chief then
proceeded to SIirat by sea and I by land, and I
reached sweet home once more on the 5 th of Decem
ber, 1844 , A. C. My dear wife, my God bles s her
soul "was delighted to see me after this long journey,and I was twice as
'
much delighted to s ee my only
sincere friend in the world and my beloved partner
in pleasure and adversity.
It i s quite evident that the pecuniary circumstances
o f my chief and myself were improved by having
proceeded to England, in proportion to our individual
capacities. But a severe misfortIm e at the same time
lurked behind the invisible curtain o f destiny, to
inflict a deep and unhealable wound upon our hearts .
His dear wife, the source of his aggrandisement and
wealth, departed this l ife on the 9th o f January,1 845 , of consumption ; and then, on the 1 5 th of
January, 1 847, my dearest wife, too , having had
an attack o f the cholera, left thi s world for the
next. My grief for this severe and irreparable los s
was so great that I thought of renouncing the
world at once. But my friends and companions,especially my chief, blin dfolded me again, and led
me into the worldly delusions by degrees, and again
I gave in my neck to be yoked to the waggon of
worldly cares .
On Monday, the 1 2th o f July, 1 847, again I
entered into the marriage contrac t with Wilayati
DOME STIC CARES. 4 1 1
Khanum, the adopted daughter of Najibu’
nnissa
begam, eldest daughter of the late Nuwab of SI'
Irat
and by this lady I am bles sed with four children,three girls and one boy. May God bless them al l "
My domestic cares are now aggravated, my years
advanced, and my income inadequate to cover the
expenses of a large family. But I resign myself to
the will of that Omni scient Being, whose omnipotentpower first creates the food and then his creature s
destined to l ive upon it. Amen "
THE E ND.
London : Printed by SMITH, ELDE R and Co., Little Green Arbour Court.
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instructive read ing for any one who wishes torefine h is perceptions of natural scenery , andof its wort hiest artistic representations.
”
E conom ist .
The rules and il lustrations will be foundto be unusuall y concise , pertinent, and available Original as this treatise is,it cannot fail to be at once instructive and suggestive .
—Literary Gaz ette .
T he most useful and practical book on
the subject which has ever come under our
notice .
”—Press.
M odern Painters, Vo l . IV. On M ountain
Imperial Sea, with Thirty-five Illustra tions engraved on S teel, and
1 1 6 Woodcuts, drawn by the A uthor.
Considered as an ill ustrated volume , thisis the most remarkable which Mr . Ruskinh as yet issued . T h e plates and woodcuts areprofuse , and include numerous drawmgs of
mountain form by the author, wh ich proveMr. Ruskin to be essentiall y an artist. He is
an unique man , both among art ists and
writers —Sp ecta tor .
The present volume of Mr. Ruskin’s
elaborate work treats chiefly of mountain
P rice 21. 108 . clo th .
scenery , and discusses at length th e principlesinvolved in th e pleasure we derive frommountains and the ir pictorial representation.
Th e smgular beauty o f his style , the heartysympathy With al l forms of natural loveliness,the profusion of h is illustrations, and aboveal l the earnest denunciation of cant , form irresist ib le attrac tions. High thoughts , cloth edin e loquent language , are th e characteristicsof Mr. Ruskm
’
s producnons .
”—Da tly News.
M odern Painters, Vo l . III. Of M any Things.
With E ighteen Illustra tions drawn by the A uthor, and engraved on S teel.
P rice 388 . clo th.
" E very one wh o cares about nature , or
poetry , or t he story Of human deve lopment—e very one who has a tinge of l iterature or
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” Westminster Review.
Mr . Ruskin is in possessmu o f a clear and
penetrating mind ; he is undeniably practica lin h is fundamental ideas , ful l Of the deepestreverence for al l that appears to h im beauti fuland holy . HIS style is, as usual , clear, bo ld ,
racy . Mr . Ruskin is one of th e first writers ofthe day .
”-E conom tst .
The present vo lume , viewed as a l iteraryachievement , is th e highest and most striking evidence of t he author’s ab ih ties thath as yet been publ ished .
"—Leader .
A l l , i t is to be hoped , Will read th e bookfor themselves. They Will find i t well wort ha careful perusal .”—S aturday Review.
R E C E N T W O R K S .
usszan Princesses in the Cacasus : in
Seraglio, in the
a Seven
Years 1 854-5 .
Months’ R esidence in Sham
Translated from 1
Ru ssian, by H. S . EDWARDS .
With an authentic Por tra it of Shamil, a Plan of his House,and a Map .
Post 8vo, p rice 10s. 6d. c lo th.A book than which there are few novelsmore interesting . It is a romance of t h eCaucasus . The account of life in the houseo f Shamil is full and very ente rtaining ;and o f Shamil himself we see much .
” -E xammer .
Th e st ory is certainly one of th e
curious we have read ; i t contains th epopular notice of th e social po l ity of Sh:and the manners of hi s people .
" —Leader .
The narrative is well worth readingA thenceum.
Esmond. By W. M. THACKE RAY, E SQ.
A N ew E dition in One Vo lume, Crown 8vo , p rice 6 3 . clo th.Apart from its Special merits E smond ”must be read just now as an introduct ion to
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The Principles of Agricu ltureBy P. LOVE LL PHILLIPS, M.D .Trop ica l.
ducing th e same characte rs, but contintheir history at a later pei' iod .
” —Leader .
Mr . Thackeray has selected for h is heivery noble type of the caval ier softening ithe man o f th e e ighteenth century , and
h is h erome one o f th e sweetest women t
ever breathed from canvas or from b
since Raffae l le painted and Shakspeare wrT he style is manly , clear , terse , and Vigorreflect ing every mood—patheti c , graph icsarcastic—o f the writer.
” -Sp ectat or .
especia
D emy 8 vo , p rice 78 . 6d. clo th.This volume shoul dhouse , and it woul d pay ait to h is tenants .
—Cr i tw.
Religion in Common Life .
treatise contains nearly all th:f the science of agriculture .
By WILLIAM EPost 8vo, price 73 . 6d. clo th.
A book addressed to young people of th e people by a skil ful hand ; a clear knowupper ten thousand upon seeial dut ies.
and clear .
”—E xam iner .
Mr .
E lhs h as sound Views, and his style is simple to demonstrati on .
is imparted , and sensible Vl eWS areworketWe cordiall y recomn
this work to all wh o are intereste d in theLessons in Pgli tical E conomy for young cation o f th e young .
”—E conomu t .
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”—A thenceum .
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”— E xaminer .
We t hink Mr . Westgarth’
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th e great crime in its history .”—Saturday
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”—Spectator .
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"—Globe .
The best book on th e subject—Cri tic.
RECENT WORKS— continued.
The Life of Char lo t te Bronte .
Au thor o f “ JANE EYRE ,” “ SHIRLE Y,” “VILLE TTE , 81 0
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"—Globe .
l iterary workmanship o f t he authoress of This work canno t fai l to be of th e decpcs‘Jane E yre are unfo lded in the course of this interest : and it has e special interest for femalext raordinary narrat ive .
”—Times. readers.
”—E conomist .Mrs. Gaske l l has produced one of the best “ The whole strange and pathet ic story 0
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The S ea Ofi cer’
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d
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