Autobiography or Lutfullah - Forgotten Books

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.

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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


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


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


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.


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.


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.


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


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


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


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 ;


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. ”


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.


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


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.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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.


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


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


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


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


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,


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 .


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.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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 .


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


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


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.


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


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


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 .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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 ;


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


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


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.


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


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,


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 .


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


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.


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


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


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


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.


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


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


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.


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


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


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


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.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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,


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


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


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


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


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.


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


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


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


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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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 .

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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 .

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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

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” -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 .

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Religion in Common Life .

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E lhs h as sound Views, and his style is simple to demonstrati on .

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Victoria ,and the Austra lian Go ld M ines,

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Autobiography or Lutfullah - Forgotten Books

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