Chapter 50

Nawāb Amīr Khān.—By the aid of one of the most notorious villains India ever produced, the Nawab Amir Khan,[50]the pretender’s party was treacherously annihilated. This man with his brigade of artillery and horse was amongst the most efficient of the foes of Raja Man; but theauri sacra famesnot only made him desert the side on which he came for that of the Raja, but for a specific sum offer to rid him of the pretender and all his associates. Like Judas, he kissed whom he betrayed, took service with the pretender, and at the shrine of a saint of his own faith exchanged turbans with their leaders; and while the too credulous Rajput chieftains celebrated this acquisition to their party in the very sanctuary of hospitality, crowned by the dance and the song, the tents were cut down, and the victims thus enveloped, slaughtered in the midst of festivity by showers of grape.

Thus finished the under-plot; but another and more noble victim was demanded before discomfited ambition could repose, or the curtain drop on this eventful drama. Neither partywould relinquish his claim to the fair object of the war; and the torch of discord could be extinguished only in her blood. To the same ferocious Khan is attributed the unhallowed suggestion, as well as its compulsory execution. The scene was now changed from the desert castle of Jodha to the smiling valley of Udaipur, soon to be filled with funereal lamentation.

The Tragedy of Krishna Kunwāri.—Krishna Kunwari Bai, the ‘Virgin Princess Krishna,’ was in her sixteenth year: her mother was of the Chawara race, the ancient kings of Anhilwara. Sprung from the noblest blood of Hind, she added beauty of face and person to an engaging demeanour, and was justly proclaimed the ‘flower of Rajasthan.’ When the Roman father pierced the bosom of the dishonoured Virginia, appeased virtue applauded the deed. When Iphigenia was led to the sacrificial altar, the salvation of her country yielded a noble consolation. The votive victim of Jephthah’s success had [464] the triumph of a father’s fame to sustain her resignation, and in the meekness of her sufferings we have the best parallel to the sacrifice of the lovely Krishna: though years have passed since the barbarous immolation, it is never related but with a faltering tongue and moistened eyes, ‘albeit unused to the melting mood.’

The rapacious and bloodthirsty Pathan, covered with infamy, repaired to Udaipur, where he was joined by the pliant and subtle Ajit. Meek in his demeanour, unostentatious in his habits; despising honours, yet covetous of power,—religion, which he followed with the zeal of an ascetic, if it did not serve as a cloak, was at least no hindrance to an immeasurable ambition, in the attainment of which he would have sacrificed all but himself. When the Pathan revealed his design, that either the princess should wed Raja Man, or by her death seal the peace of Rajwara, whatever arguments were used to point the alternative, the Rana was made to see no choice between consigning his beloved child to the Rathor prince, or witnessing the effects of a more extended dishonour from the vengeance of the Pathan, and the storm of his palace by his licentious adherents—the fiat passed that Krishna Kunwari should die.

But the deed was left for women to accomplish—the hand of man refused it. The Rawala[51]of an Eastern prince is a world within itself; it is the labyrinth containing the strings that movethe puppets which alarm mankind. Here intrigue sits enthroned, and hence its influence radiates to the world, always at a loss to trace effects to their causes. Maharaja Daulat Singh,[52]descended four generations ago from one common ancestor with the Rana, was first sounded ‘to save the honour of Udaipur’; but, horror-struck, he exclaimed, “Accursed the tongue that commands it! Dust on my allegiance, if thus to be preserved!” The Maharaja Jawandas, a natural brother, was then called upon; the dire necessity was explained, and it was urged that no common hand could be armed for the purpose. He accepted the poniard, but when in youthful loveliness Krishna appeared before him, the dagger fell from his hand, and he returned more wretched than the victim. The fatal purpose thus revealed, the shrieks of the frantic mother reverberated through the palace, as she implored mercy, or execrated the murderers of her child, who alone was resigned to her fate. But death was arrested, not averted [465]. To use the phrase of the narrator, "she was excused the steel—the cup was prepared,"—and prepared by female hands! As the messenger presented it in the name of her father, she bowed and drank it, sending up a prayer for his life and prosperity. The raving mother poured imprecations on his head, while the lovely victim, who shed not a tear, thus endeavoured to console her: “Why afflict yourself, my mother, at this shortening of the sorrows of life? I fear not to die! Am I not your daughter? Why should I fear death? We are marked out for sacrifice[53]from our birth; we scarcely enter the world but to be sent out again; let me thank my father that I have lived so long!”[54]Thus she conversed till the nauseatingdraught refused to assimilate with her blood. Again the bitter potion was prepared. She drained it off, and again it was rejected; but, as if to try the extreme of human fortitude, a third was administered; and, for the third time, Nature refused to aid the horrid purpose. It seemed as if the fabled charm, which guarded the life of the founder of her race,[55]was inherited by the Virgin Krishna. But the blood-hounds, the Pathan and Ajit, were impatient till their victim was at rest; and cruelty, as if gathering strength from defeat, made another and a fatal attempt. A powerful opiate was presented—the kusumbha draught.[56]She received it with a smile, wished the scene over, and drank it. The desires [466] of barbarity were accomplished. ‘She slept!’[57]a sleep from which she never awoke.

The wretched mother did not long survive her child; nature was exhausted in the ravings of despair; she refused food; and her remains in a few days followed those of her daughter to the funeral pyre.

Even the ferocious Khan, when the instrument of his infamy, Ajit, reported the issue, received him with contempt, and spurned him from his presence, tauntingly asking “if this were the boasted Rajput valour?” But the wily traitor had to encounter language far more bitter from his political adversary, whom he detested. Sangram Saktawat reached the capital only four days after the catastrophe—a man in every respect the reverse of Ajit; audaciously brave, he neither feared the frown of hissovereign nor the sword of his enemy. Without introduction he rushed into the presence, where he found seated the traitor Ajit. “Oh dastard! who hast thrown dust on the Sesodia race, whose blood which has flowed in purity through a hundred ages has now been defiled! this sin will check its course for ever; a blot so foul in our annals that no Sesodia[58]will ever again hold up his head! A sin to which no punishment were equal. But the end of our race is approaching! The line of Bappa Rawal is at an end! Heaven has ordained this, a signal of our destruction.” The Rana hid his face with his hands, when turning to Ajit, he exclaimed, "Thou stain on the Sesodia race, thou impure of Rajput blood, dust be on thy head as thou hast covered us all with shame. May you die childless, and your name die with you![59]Why this indecent haste? Had the Pathan stormed the city? Had he attempted to violate the sanctity of the Rawala? And though he had, could you not die as Rajputs, like your ancestors? Was it thus they gained a name? Was it thus our race became renowned—thus they opposed the might of kings? Have you forgotten the Sakhas of Chitor? But whom do I address—not Rajputs? Had the honour of your females been endangered, had you sacrificed them all and rushed sword in hand on the enemy, your name would have lived, and the Almighty would have secured the seed of Bappa Rawal. But to owe preservation [467] to this unhallowed deed! You did not even await the threatened danger. Fear seems to have deprived you of every faculty, or you might have spared the blood of Sriji,[60]and if you did not scorn to owe your safety to deception, might have substituted some less noble victim! But the end of our race approaches!"

Fate of the Murderers.—The traitor to manhood, his sovereign, and humanity, durst not reply. The brave Sangram is now dead, but the prophetic anathema has been fulfilled. Of ninety-five children, sons and daughters, but one son (the brother of Krishna)[61]is left to the Rana; and though his two remaining daughters have been recently married to the princes of Jaisalmer and Bikaner, the Salic law, which is in full force in these States,precludes all honour through female descent. His hopes rest solely on the prince, Javana Singh,[62]and though in the flower of youth and health, the marriage bed (albeit boasting no less than four young princesses) has been blessed with no progeny.[63]

The elder brother of Javana[64]died two years ago. Had he lived he would have been Amra the Third. With regard to Ajit, the curse has been fully accomplished. Scarcely a month after, his wife and two sons were numbered with the dead; and the hoary traitor has since been wandering from shrine to shrine, performing penance and alms in expiation of his sins, yet unable to fling from him ambition; and with his beads in one hand,Rama! Rama!ever on his tongue, and subdued passion in his looks, his heart is deceitful as ever. Enough of him: let us exclaim with Sangram, “Dust on his head,”[65]which all the waters of the Ganges could not purify from the blood of the virgin Krishna, but

rather would the multitudinous sea incarnadine [468].

Amīr Khan rewarded by the British.—His coadjutor, Amir Khan, is now linked by treaties “in amity and unity of interests”with the sovereigns of India; and though he has carried mourning into every house of Rajasthan, yet charity might hope forgiveness would be extended to him, could he cleanse himself from this deed of horror—‘throwing this pearl away, richer than all his tribe!’ His career of rapine has terminated with the caresses of the blind goddess, and placed him on a pinnacle to which his sword would never have traced the path. Enjoying the most distinguished post amongst the foreignchieftainschieftainsof Holkar’s State, having the regulars and park under his control, with large estates for their support, he added the epithet of traitor to his other titles, when the British Government, adopting the leading maxim of Asiatic policy,divide et impera, guaranteed to him the sovereignty of these districts on his abandoning the Mahrattas, disbanding his legions, and surrendering the park. But though he personally fulfilled not, nor could fulfil, one single stipulation, this man, whose services were not worth the pay of a single sepoy—who fled from his camp[66]unattended, and sought personal protection in that of the British commander—claimed and obtained the full price of our pledge, the sovereignty of about one-third of his master’s dominions; and the districts of Sironj, Tonk, Rampura, and Nimbahera, form the domain of the Nawab Amir Khan, etc., etc., etc.!! This was in the fitful fever of success, when our arms were everywhere triumphant. But were the viceroy of Hind to summon the forty tributaries[67]now covered by the aegis of British protection to a meeting, the murderer of Krishna would still occupy a place (though low) in this illustrious divan. Let us hope that his character being known, he would feel himself ill at ease; and let us dismiss him likewise in the words of Sangram, “Dust on his head!”

The mind sickens at the contemplation of these unvarying scenes of atrocity; but this unhappy State had yet to pass through two more lustres of aggravated sufferings (to which the author of these annals was an eye-witness) before their [469] termination, upon the alliance of Mewar with Britain. From theperiod of the forcing of the passes, the dismissal of the Jaipur embassy by Sindhia, and the murder of Krishna Kunwari, the embassy of Britain was in the train of the Mahratta leader, a witness of the evils described—a most painful predicament—when the hand was stretched out for succour in vain, and the British flag waved in the centre of desolation, unable to afford protection. But this day of humiliation is past, thanks to the predatory hordes who goaded us on to their destruction; although the work was incomplete, a nucleus being imprudently left in Sindhia for the scattered particles again to form.

Ruin of Mewār by the Marāthas.—In the spring of 1806, when the embassy entered the once-fertile Mewar, from whose native wealth the monuments the pencil will portray were erected, nothing but ruin met the eye—deserted towns, roofless houses, and uncultured plains. Wherever the Mahratta encamped, annihilation was ensured; it was a habit; and twenty-four hours sufficed to give to the most flourishing spot the aspect of a desert. The march of destruction was always to be traced for days afterwards by burning villages and destroyed cultivation. Some satisfaction may result from the fact, that there was scarcely an actor in these unhallowed scenes whose end was not fitted to his career. Ambaji was compelled to disgorge the spoils of Mewar, and his personal sufferings made some atonement for the ills he had inflicted upon her. This satrap, who had almost established his independence in the fortress and territory of Gwalior, suffered every indignity from Sindhia, whose authority he had almost thrown off. He was confined in a mean tent, manacled, suffered the torture of small lighted torches applied to his fingers, and even attempted suicide to avoid the surrender of his riches; but the instrument (an English penknife) was inefficient: the surgeon to the British embassy sewed up the wounds, and his coffers were eased of fifty-five lakhs of rupees! Mewar was, however, once more delivered over to him; he died shortly after. If report be correct, the residue of his treasures was possessed by his ancient ally, Zalim Singh. In this case, the old politician derived the chief advantage of the intrigues of S. 1848, without the crimes attendant on the acquisition.

Sindhia’s father-in-law, when expelled that chief’s camp, according to the treaty, enjoyed the ephemeral dignity of ministerto the Rana, when he abstracted the most valuable records, especially those of the revenue [470].

Kumbhalmer was obtained by the minister Satidas from Jaswant Rao Bhao for seventy thousand rupees, for which assignments were given on this district, of which he retained possession. Amir Khan inA.D.1809 led his myrmidons to the capital, threatening the demolition of the temple of Eklinga if refused a contribution of eleven lakhs of rupees. Nine were agreed to, but which by no effort could be raised, upon which the Rana’s envoys were treated with indignity, and Kishandas[68]wounded. The passes were forced, Amir Khan entering by Debari, and his coadjutor and son-in-law, the notorious Jamshid, by the Chirwa, which made but a feeble resistance. The ruffian Pathans were billeted on the city, subjecting the Rana to personal humiliation, and Jamshid[69]left with his licentious Rohillas in the capital. The traces of their barbarity are to be seen in its ruins. No woman could safely venture abroad, and a decent garment or turban was sufficient to attract their cupidity.

Bāpu Sindhia Sūbahdār of Mewār.—In S. 1867 (A.D.1811) Bapu Sindhia arrived with the title of Subahdar, and encamped in the valley, and from this to 1814 these vampires, representing Sindhia and Amir Khan, possessed themselves of the entire fiscal domain, with many of the fiefs, occasionally disputing for the spoils; to prevent which they came to a conference at the Dhaula Magra (the white hill), attended by a deputation[70]from the Rana, when the line of demarcation was drawn between the spoilers. A schedule was formed of the towns and villages yet inhabited, the amount to be levied from each specified, and three and a half lakhs adjudged to Jamshid, with the same sum to Sindhia; but this treaty was not better kept than the former ones. Mewar was rapidly approaching dissolution, and everysign of civilization fast disappearing; fields laid waste, cities in ruins, inhabitants exiled, chieftains demoralized, the prince and his family destitute of common comforts. Yet had Sindhia the audacity to demand compensation for the loss of his tribute stipulated to Bapu Sindhia [471],[71]who rendered Mewar a desert, carrying her chiefs, her merchants, her farmers, into captivity and fetters in the dungeons of Ajmer, where many died for want of ransom, and others languished till the treaty with the British, inA.D.1817, set them free.

1. Brother of Ajit, the negotiator of the treaty with the British.

2. Chief of the Jagawat clan, also a branch of the Chondawats; he was killed in a battle with the Mahrattas.

3. It is yet held by the successor of Sangram, whose faithful services merited the grant he obtained from his prince, and it was in consequence left unmolested in the arrangement of 1817, from the knowledge of his merits.

4. The father of Rawat Jawan Singh, whom I found at Udaipur as military minister, acting for his grand-uncle Ajit the organ of the Chondawats, whose head, Padam Singh, was just emerging from his minority. It was absolutely necessary to get to the very root of all these feuds, when as envoy and mediator I had to settle the disputes of half a century, and make each useful to detect their joint usurpations of the crown domain.

5. She was the grandmother of Man Singh, a fine specimen of a Saktawat cavalier.

6. [Lālsot, about 40 miles south of Jaipur city. For an account of the battle see Compton,European Military Adventurers, 346 f.]

7. Megh Singh was the chief of Begun, and founder of that subdivision of the Chondawats called after him Meghawat, and his complexion being very dark (kala), he was called ‘Kala Megh,’ the ‘black cloud.’ His descendants were very numerous and very refractory.

8.A.D.1788.

9. He did not recover his liberty for two years, nor till he had surrendered four of the best towns in his fief.

10. Father of the present Hamir Singh, the only chief with whom I was compelled to use severity; but he was incorrigible. He was celebrated for his raids in the troubles, and from his red whiskers bore with us the name of the ‘Red Riever’ of Badesar—more of him by and by.

11. Sheodas and Satidas, with their cousin Jaichand. They revenged their brother’s death by that of his murderer, and were both in turn slain. Such were these times! The author more than once, when resuming the Chondawat lands, and amongst them Badesar, the fief of the son of Sardar, was told to recollect the fate of Somji; the advice, however, excited only a smile; he was deemed more of a Saktawat than a Chondawat, and there was some truth in it, for he found the good actions of the former far outweigh the other, who made a boast and monopoly of their patriotism. It was a curious period in his life; the stimulus to action was too high, too constant, to think of self; and having no personal views, being influenced solely by one feeling, the prosperity of all, he despised the very idea of danger, though it was said to exist in various shapes, even in the hospitable plate put before him! But he deemed none capable of such treachery, though once he was within a few minutes’ march to the other world; but the cause, if the right one, came from his owncuisinier, or ratherboulanger, whom he discharged.

12. See the Essay on a Feudal System.

13. S. 1847 (A.D.1791).

14. [Count Benoit de Boigne, a Savoyard, born at Chambery, 1751: served under Mahādaji Sindhia, and won for him his battles of Pātan and Merta in 1790: defeated Holkar at Lakheri in 1793: resigned his command in 1795, and left India in the next year: died June 21, 1830 (Compton,European Military Adventurers, 15 ff.; Buckland,Dict. of Indian Biography, s.v.).]

15. Acquired from the actors in those scenes: the prince, his ministers, Zalim Singh and the rival chiefs have all contributed.

16. It was levied as follows:SalumbarLakhs3Deogarh”3Singingir Gosain, their adviser”2Kosital”1Amet”2Kurabar”1Lakhs12

16. It was levied as follows:

17. [Pāndhri, Pāndharapatti, a tax on shops, artisans, traders, and persons not engaged in agriculture, levied on their persons, implements, places of work, or traffic; the same as the Mahtarafa (Wilson,Glossary, s.v.).]

18. Raepur Rajnagar from the Sindis; Gurla and Gadarmala from the Purawats; Hamirgarh from Sardar Singh, and Kurj Kawaria from Salumbar.

19. In Bhadon, the third month of the rainy season. An account of this festival will hereafter be given.

20. The first of these is now the manager of Prince Jawan Singh’s estates, a man of no talent; and the latter, his brother, was one of the ministers on my arrival at Udaipur. He was of invincible good humour, yet full of the spirit of intrigue, and one of the bars to returning prosperity. The cholera carried off this Falstaff of the court, not much to my sorrow.

21. S. 1853,A.D.1797.

22. This person was nominated the chief civil minister on the author’s arrival at Udaipur, an office to which he was every way unequal. The affairs of Mewar had never prospered since the faithful Pancholis were deprived of power. Several productions of the descendants of Biharidas have fallen into my hands; their quaint mode of conveying advice may authorize their insertion here.The Pancholis, who had performed so many services to the country, had been for some time deprived of the office of prime minister, which was disposed of as it suited the views of the factious nobles who held power for the time being; and who bestowed it on the Mehtas, Depras, or Dhabhais. Amongst the papers of the Pancholis, several addressed to the Rana and to Agarji Mehta, the minister of the day, are valuable for the patriotic sentiments they contain, as well as for the general light they throw upon the period. In S. 1853 (A.D.1797) Amrit Rao devised a plan to remedy the evils that oppressed the country. He inculcated the necessity of dispensing with the interference of the Saktawats and Chondawats in the affairs of government, and strengthening the hands of the civil administration by admitting the foreign chieftains to the power he proposed to deprive the former of. He proceeds in the following quaint style:“Disease fastened on the country from the following causes, envy and party spirit. With the Turks disease was introduced; but then the prince, his ministers, and chiefs, were of one mind, and medicine was ministered and a cure effected. During Rana Jai Singh’s time the disorder returned, which his son Amra put down. He recovered the affairs of government from confusion, gave to every one his proper rank and dignity, and rendered all prosperous. But Maharana Sangram Singh put from under his wing the Chandarawat of Rampura, and thus a pinion of Mewar was broken. The calamity of Biharidas, whose son committed suicide, increased the difficulties. The arrival of the Deccanis under Bajirao, the Jaipur affair[A]and the defeat at Rajmahall, with the heavy expenditure thereby occasioned, augmented the disorder. Add to this in Jagat Singh’s time the enmity of the Dhabhais towards the Pancholis, which lowered their dignities at home and abroad, and since which time every man has thought himself equal to the task of government. Jagat Singh was also afflicted by the rebellious conduct of his son Partap, when Shyama Solanki and several other chiefs were treacherously cut off. Since which time the minds of the nobles have never been loyal, but black and not to be trusted. Again, on the accession of Partap, Maharaja Nathji allowed his thoughts to aspire, from which all his kin suffered. Hence animosities, doubts, and deceits, arose on all sides. Add to this the haughty proceeding of Amra Chand now in office; and besides the strife of the Pancholis with each other, their enmity to the Depras. Hence parties were formed which completely destroyed the credit of all. Yet, notwithstanding, they abated none of their strife, which was the acme to the disease. The feud between Kuman Singh and the Saktawats for the possession of Hintha, aggravated the distresses. The treacherous murder of Maharaja Nathji, and the consequent disgust and retreat of Jaswant Singh of Deogarh; the setting up the impostor Ratna Singh and Jhala Raghudeo’s struggle for office, with Amra Chand’s entertaining the mercenaries of Sind, brought it to a crisis. The negligence arising out of luxury, and the intrigues of the Dhabhais of Rana Arsi, made it spread so as to defeat all attempt at cure. In S. 1829, on the treacherous murder of the Rana by the Bundi prince, and the accession of the minor Hamir, every one set up his own authority, so that there was not even the semblance of government. And now you (to the Rana), listening to the advice of Bhim Singh (Salumbar), and his brother, Arjun, have taken foreigners[B]into pay, and thus riveted all the former errors. You and Sri Baiji Raj (the royal mother), putting confidence in foreigners and Deccanis, have rendered the disease contagious; besides, your mind is gone. What can be done? Medicine may yet be had. Let us unite and struggle to restore the duties of the minister and we may conquer, or at least check its progress. If now neglected, it will hereafter be beyond human power. The Deccanis are the great sore. Let us settle their accounts, and at all events get rid of them, or we lose the land for ever. At this time there are treaties and engagements in every corner. I have touched on every subject. Forgive whatever is improper. Let us look the future in the face, and let chiefs, ministers, and all unite. With the welfare of the country all will be well. But this is a disease which, if not now conquered, will conquer us.”A second paper as follows:"The disease of the country is to be considered and treated as a remittent."Amra Singh cured it and laid a complete system of government and justice."In Sangram’s time it once more gained ground."In Jagat Singh’s time the seed was thrown into the ground thus obtained."In Partap’s time it sprung up."In Raj Singh’s time it bore fruit."In Rana Arsi’s time it was ripe."In Hamir’s time it was distributed, and all have had a share.“And you, Bhim Singh (the present Rana), have eaten plentifully thereof. Its virtues and flavour you are acquainted with, and so likewise is the country; and if you take no medicine you will assuredly suffer much pain, and both at home and abroad you will be lightly thought of. Be not therefore negligent, or faith and land will depart from you.”A third paper to Agarji Mehta (then minister):"If the milk is curdled it does not signify. Where there is sense butter may yet be extracted; and if the butter-milk (chhachh) is thrown away it matters not. But if the milk be curdled and black it will require wisdom to restore its purity. This wisdom is now wanted. The foreigners are the black in the curdled milk of Mewar. At all hazards remove them. Trust to them and the land is lost."In moonlight what occasion for a blue light? (Chandra jot).[C]"Who looks to the false coin of the juggler?"Do not credit him who tells you he will make a pigeon out of a feather.“Abroad it is said there is no wisdom left in Mewar, which is a disgrace to her reputation.”

The Pancholis, who had performed so many services to the country, had been for some time deprived of the office of prime minister, which was disposed of as it suited the views of the factious nobles who held power for the time being; and who bestowed it on the Mehtas, Depras, or Dhabhais. Amongst the papers of the Pancholis, several addressed to the Rana and to Agarji Mehta, the minister of the day, are valuable for the patriotic sentiments they contain, as well as for the general light they throw upon the period. In S. 1853 (A.D.1797) Amrit Rao devised a plan to remedy the evils that oppressed the country. He inculcated the necessity of dispensing with the interference of the Saktawats and Chondawats in the affairs of government, and strengthening the hands of the civil administration by admitting the foreign chieftains to the power he proposed to deprive the former of. He proceeds in the following quaint style:

“Disease fastened on the country from the following causes, envy and party spirit. With the Turks disease was introduced; but then the prince, his ministers, and chiefs, were of one mind, and medicine was ministered and a cure effected. During Rana Jai Singh’s time the disorder returned, which his son Amra put down. He recovered the affairs of government from confusion, gave to every one his proper rank and dignity, and rendered all prosperous. But Maharana Sangram Singh put from under his wing the Chandarawat of Rampura, and thus a pinion of Mewar was broken. The calamity of Biharidas, whose son committed suicide, increased the difficulties. The arrival of the Deccanis under Bajirao, the Jaipur affair[A]and the defeat at Rajmahall, with the heavy expenditure thereby occasioned, augmented the disorder. Add to this in Jagat Singh’s time the enmity of the Dhabhais towards the Pancholis, which lowered their dignities at home and abroad, and since which time every man has thought himself equal to the task of government. Jagat Singh was also afflicted by the rebellious conduct of his son Partap, when Shyama Solanki and several other chiefs were treacherously cut off. Since which time the minds of the nobles have never been loyal, but black and not to be trusted. Again, on the accession of Partap, Maharaja Nathji allowed his thoughts to aspire, from which all his kin suffered. Hence animosities, doubts, and deceits, arose on all sides. Add to this the haughty proceeding of Amra Chand now in office; and besides the strife of the Pancholis with each other, their enmity to the Depras. Hence parties were formed which completely destroyed the credit of all. Yet, notwithstanding, they abated none of their strife, which was the acme to the disease. The feud between Kuman Singh and the Saktawats for the possession of Hintha, aggravated the distresses. The treacherous murder of Maharaja Nathji, and the consequent disgust and retreat of Jaswant Singh of Deogarh; the setting up the impostor Ratna Singh and Jhala Raghudeo’s struggle for office, with Amra Chand’s entertaining the mercenaries of Sind, brought it to a crisis. The negligence arising out of luxury, and the intrigues of the Dhabhais of Rana Arsi, made it spread so as to defeat all attempt at cure. In S. 1829, on the treacherous murder of the Rana by the Bundi prince, and the accession of the minor Hamir, every one set up his own authority, so that there was not even the semblance of government. And now you (to the Rana), listening to the advice of Bhim Singh (Salumbar), and his brother, Arjun, have taken foreigners[B]into pay, and thus riveted all the former errors. You and Sri Baiji Raj (the royal mother), putting confidence in foreigners and Deccanis, have rendered the disease contagious; besides, your mind is gone. What can be done? Medicine may yet be had. Let us unite and struggle to restore the duties of the minister and we may conquer, or at least check its progress. If now neglected, it will hereafter be beyond human power. The Deccanis are the great sore. Let us settle their accounts, and at all events get rid of them, or we lose the land for ever. At this time there are treaties and engagements in every corner. I have touched on every subject. Forgive whatever is improper. Let us look the future in the face, and let chiefs, ministers, and all unite. With the welfare of the country all will be well. But this is a disease which, if not now conquered, will conquer us.”

A second paper as follows:

"The disease of the country is to be considered and treated as a remittent.

"Amra Singh cured it and laid a complete system of government and justice.

"In Sangram’s time it once more gained ground.

"In Jagat Singh’s time the seed was thrown into the ground thus obtained.

"In Partap’s time it sprung up.

"In Raj Singh’s time it bore fruit.

"In Rana Arsi’s time it was ripe.

"In Hamir’s time it was distributed, and all have had a share.

“And you, Bhim Singh (the present Rana), have eaten plentifully thereof. Its virtues and flavour you are acquainted with, and so likewise is the country; and if you take no medicine you will assuredly suffer much pain, and both at home and abroad you will be lightly thought of. Be not therefore negligent, or faith and land will depart from you.”

A third paper to Agarji Mehta (then minister):

"If the milk is curdled it does not signify. Where there is sense butter may yet be extracted; and if the butter-milk (chhachh) is thrown away it matters not. But if the milk be curdled and black it will require wisdom to restore its purity. This wisdom is now wanted. The foreigners are the black in the curdled milk of Mewar. At all hazards remove them. Trust to them and the land is lost.

"In moonlight what occasion for a blue light? (Chandra jot).[C]

"Who looks to the false coin of the juggler?

"Do not credit him who tells you he will make a pigeon out of a feather.

“Abroad it is said there is no wisdom left in Mewar, which is a disgrace to her reputation.”

A. The struggle to place the Rana’s nephew, Madho Singh, on the throne of Jaipur.

B. The Pancholi must allude to the Mahratta subsidiary force under Ambaji.

C. Literally, a ‘moonlight.’ The particular kind of firework which we call a ‘blue light.’

23. [Mahādaji Sindhia, commonly and erroneously called Mādhava Rāo, died near Poona, January 12, 1794. See his life by H. G. Keene, ‘Rulers of India’ series; Grant Duff,Hist. of Mahrattas, 343 ff.; W. Franklin,Hist. of Shah-Aulum, 119 ff.]

24. There are three classes of Mahratta Brahmans: Shenvi, Prabhu, and Mahratta. Of the first was Lakwa, Balabha Tantia, Jiwa Dada, Sivaji Nana, Lalaji Pandit, and Jaswant Rao Bhao, men who held the mortgaged lands of Mewar. [There are four groups of Marātha Brāhmans: Konkanasthas, Deshasthas, Karhādas, and Kanvas. The Prabhus are not Brāhmans, but the writer caste, like the Kāyasths of Hindustān (J. Wilson,Indian Caste, 1877, ii. 17 ff.). The word Shenvi is a corruption ofchhiyānavē, ‘ninety-six,’ from the supposed number of their sections.]

25. I knew him well. He stood six feet six inches, and was bulky in proportion. His limbs rivalled those of the Hercules Farnese. His father was nearly seven feet, and died at the early age of twenty-two, in a vain attempt to keep down, by regimen and medicine, his enormous bulk.

26. [This is perhaps Captain Butterfield, who served in Sindhia’s force under Colonel Sutherland. He behaved gallantly in action against Lakwa Dāda, for which he received a flattering letter from Perron: no further mention of him has been traced (Compton,Military Adventurers, 344).]

27. [For Colonel Robert Sutherland, known to natives as ‘Sutlej Sahib,’ see Compton, 410 ff.]

28. [For the remarkable career of George Thomas, who nearly succeeded in forming a kingdom of his own on the ruins of the Empire in N. India, see Compton, 109 f.; W. Franklin,Military Memoirs of Mr. G. Thomas, 1803.]

29. Both camps were on the right bank of the Banas: Lakwa’s at Amli, about ten miles south of Shahpura, and Nana’s at Kadera, between these towns.

30. Lakwa at this time [S. 1856,A.D.1799] put the Shahpura Raja in possession of the important fortress and district of Jahazpur, which, although the Rana consented to it, covertly receiving from the Raja two lakhs of rupees, disgusted the nobles with Lakwa.

31. Balabha Tantia and Bakhshu Narayan Rao were Sindhia’s ministers at this period, of the same tribe (the Shenvi) as Lakwa.

32. [October 14, 1801 (Grant Duff 555).]

33. [Krishna.]

34. Five-and-twenty [about thirty] miles north of Udaipur. On this subject we shall have much to say hereafter.

35. S. 1859 (A.D.1803).

36. [Hyder Young Hearsey (1782-3-1840), son of Captain Harry Thomas Hearsey by a Jāt lady, served Sindhia under Perron, and also George Thomas, joined Lord Lake at Dīg in 1804: taken prisoner in the Nepāl war of 1815: present at the siege of Bharatpur: died near Budāun (Buckland,Dict. Indian Biography, s.v.).]

37. In S. 1860 (A.D.1804).

38. At this juncture an officer of Holkar’s, Harnath Chela, on passing through Bansain, had some camels carried off by the Bhils of the Satola estate. Harnath summoned Gulab Singh Chondawat, who came with eight of his relatives, when he was told he should be detained till the cattle were restored; and in the morning, as the Mahratta mounted his elephant, he commanded the Raghaut chieftain to be seized. Gulab drew his sword and made at Harnath, but his sword broke in the howda, when he plunged his dagger into the elephant; but at length he and all his relations, who nobly plied their swords on the Mahrattas, were cut to pieces.

39. [For a graphic account of these camps see T. D. Broughton,Letters written in a Mahratta Camp during the year 1809, ed. 1892.]

40. The Rana of Gohad and Gwalior, the Khichi chiefs of Raghugarh and Bahadurgarh, and the Nawab of Bhopal, made common cause with us in Warren Hastings’ time. The first three possess not a shadow of independence; the last fortunately formed a link in our own policy, and Lord Hastings, in 1818, repaid with liberal interest the services rendered to the government of Warren Hastings in 1782. It was in his power, with equal facility, to have rescued all the other States, and to have claimed the same measure of gratitude which Bhopal is proud to avow. But there was a fatality in the desire to maintain terms with Sindhia, whose treachery to our power was overlooked.

41. The author, then a subaltern, was attached to the suite of the ambassador, Mr. Græme Mercer. He left the subsidiary force at Gwalior in December 1805, and the embassy reached Sindhia’s court in the spring of 1806, then encamped amidst the ruins of Mewar.

42. The ministers of Sindhia were Ambaji, Bapu Chitnavis, Madhuba Huzuria, and Anaji Bhaskar.

43. [Baiza Bāi, widow of Daulat Rāo Sindhia, who died in 1827, was an unscrupulous, designing woman, whose intrigues at Gwalior forced her to take refuge in British territory. She returned after an interval and lived at Gwalior until her death in 1862 (IGI, xii. 424).]

44. That is, chief of the race from which issued the Satara sovereigns, whose minister, the Peshwa, accounted Sindhia and Holkar his feudatories.

45. Rangra is an epithet applied to the Rajputs, implying turbulent, fromrana, ‘strife.’ [Rāngar is the title of a body of turbulent, predatory Muhammadans, who claim Rājput descent, occupying parts of the E. Panjāb and W. districts of the Ganges-Jumna Duāb. The derivation suggested is very doubtful (Crooke,Tribes and Castes, N.W.P. and Oudh, v. 227 ff.).]

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