Siyar al-mutaʾakhkhirin 22.20
A Translation of the Seir Mutaqherin (Haji Mustafa) 22.20
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- English
22.20.1
As soon as the Minister was seen on the other side of that river, the Emperor, who was thereby left at liberty, sent for the English; who finding so fair a pretence for advancing their own affairs, doubled their pace, and joined him in a few hours. They paid their respects to him, crossed the Ganga with him, and from thence invited Beni-bahadyr to a conference. The Minister who wanted to attach Aaly-hibrahim-qhan to his person, and who had a high opinion of his genius, applied to him for advice; and having perpended his counsel, he from that time admitted him to all his secrets, and associated him to the negotiation; for he became at last convinced that his meeting the English would redound to his master's advantage; and with that view he proceeded to their camp. The English shewed a willingness to come to terms with the Vezir, if he would but deliver in their hands Mir-cassem, and Somro. The Minister who was upon bad terms with the fugitive Prince, and saw his own advantage and that of his country and master in this proposal, answered in a respectful manner, "That Somro being master of a good body of troops, and such as had not broke their ranks in the last defeat, but had retreated in good order, the seizing that man's person would not be free from danger. But that Mir-cassem might be arrested; and if the Vezir should approve of it, his own endeavours would not be wanting in that business."
22.20.2
The conference ended here; and Beni-bahadyr having heard the proposals of the English, took his leave, and returned to his own camp, where he disclosed the whole negotiation to his confidants, amongst whom was Aaly-hibrahim-qhan. The latter thought it incumbent upon his gratitude and upon those ancient ties of friendship, that bound him to Mir-cassem, to send him immediate notice of the matter in agitation; and this fugitive, who was encamped only at a few cosses distance, no sooner heard the intelligence, than he fled to Ilah-abad, with a swiftness and a rapidity that could be compared to nothing but the wind or to the lightning; and having there managed in such a manner as to get possession of his family and women, which had been plundered by the Vezir's people, and confined in that castle, he marched on without stopping as far as Berheily, which is the principal city of that colony of Afghans, who call themselves Rohillas; and there only he commenced to take some rest. There likewise we shall leave him, until we come to close his history; and this shall take place when we come to give an account of the revolutions that have happened at the capital of the Empire. But by this time the defeat of Bacsar had made a total revolution in Shadjah-ed-doula's mind.
22.20.3
That presumptuous man, who had never had an idea of such a reverse of fortune, finding now so total an alteration in his affairs, concluded that he had no other resource left, but that of abandoning his own dominions, and flying for shelter to a stranger's country. He therefore sent some of his relations to Faiz-abad and to Lucknow, with orders to take away his family and treasures, and to carry them into the country of a Rohilla Prince, called Haafyz-rahmet, with whom he had some connections; as Ynaïet-qhan, the latter's son, had become his companion of arms in his campaign about Azim-abad. His orders were to keep them in Berheily, which is the greatest city of those parts, as being a place which surpassed Pylybeet and all the other towns of that country both in the salubrity of its air, and the goodness of its water. Meanwhile he repaired in all speed to Ila-abad, and having taken from thence his mother and consort, he left Aaly-beg-qhan in the citadel, and proceeded to the country of the Afghans, where leaving his family, furniture, and the whole of his effects and treasures in Berheily, he sent Sidy-bashir, a trusty Habeshinian of his, to command in the fortress of Chennar, with a proper garrison, and every necessary requisite for the defence of that place. Beni-bahadyr arrived at this time; but his advice for making peace with the English, was rejected by the Vezir, who thought it derogatory to his dignity, and dishonourable to his name, family, and pedigree;
22.20.4
and on the other hand, he reckoned upon powerful succours both from the Afghan Princes, and from the Marhatta General, Malhar-rao. He therefore dispatched Beni-bahadyr to Lucknow, with secret instructions to keep fair with the English, and under this mask, to maintain his government in that province; whilst himself should proceed with all speed to the country of Ahmed-qhan-bangash, notwithstanding the cordial aversion he had for that Prince. Nor was this aversion of a modern date, as we already touched on the causes and progresses of sentiments in that part of our history which relates to Shah-djehan-abad, and to the neighbouring provinces. On his arrival there he had a meeting with Haafyz-rahmet, with Ahmed-bangash, and with some other Afghan Princes, as well as with the famous Mir-sheabeddin-qhan, better known under the title of Umad-el-mulk, who chanced to be there likewise. The Vezir threw amongst them the dice of consultation, and requested both advice and assistance. Every one of them promised succours, but nevertheless all advised him to call to his service the Mahratta Malhar-rao, who was a Prince of Decan, and an old General, who had once commanded-in-chief in Badji-rao's army. This General was then Mucasdar or feudatory Prince of the province of Shah-djehan-abad, and went simply by the title of the Soobadar or Viceroy. He lived retired in the country about Calpy and Goalyar;
22.20.5
but as he had once lost all his baggage and fortune in that bloody defeat, which Ahmed-shah, the Abdalli-monarch, had given the Marhatta nation, he did not cut any great figure. Shudjah-ed-doulah sent some of his trusty servants in that country, who prevailed upon that General to come over with his troops to their master's assistance, in whose name they promised a great sum of money, in case victory should favour his party. The man, who since the loss he had suffered, had become exceedingly covetous, greedily accepted the proposal, and soon came over with his troops to Shudjah-ed-doulah's camp. As to the Afghans, all the instances made to engage them to come to that Prince's assistance, in compliance with their own promises, proved useless; and they went on with a multitude of pretences, and far fetched excuses, put him off with procrastination, and with promises of to-day and to-morrow, and at last did not move a foot. Meanwhile Beni-bahadyr, who was now arrived at Lucknow, gave notice of his master's intentions. "Shudjah-ed-doulah," said he, "cannot be brought to consent to a peace with the English on the conditions tendered by them. He is resolved to try another battle. As to Mir-cassem, he has escaped from his hands; nor is Somro to be laid hold of, unless by some artifice; but at any rate, my master thinks that at such a time as this measures of such a nature are very improper for him.
22.20.6
With respect to me in particular, as I augur nothing good from his affairs, I am desirous and willing to meet the English half way, and to join their cause." Now it must be observed, that although Shytab-ray was unquestionably a very trusty servant of that nation, he was also much attached to Beni-bahadyr, in whose house he had found so honourable an asylum, with so many favours and so many benefits, when he fled some years before from Mir-cassem's resentment. He therefore wished to shew the high sense he retained of so many benefits; and thought himself happy in having an opportunity of serving his benefactor. This negotiation was just set on foot, when Major Monro, after defeating the Vezir, and pursuing him as far as Banares, thought proper, for reasons of his own, to go back to Calcutta, and to leave the command to Major Fooleecher (Robert Fletcher); and this too having been found fault with, and been dismissed from the command of the army, it devolved of course on Major Carnac, an officer who had once been in the Company's service, and had commanded an army; but had lately been promoted to the rank of supreme Commander, which in their language is called a Brigadier-General. As this officer had a deal of friendship for Shytab-ray, the latter embraced the opportunity of imparting to him the proposals made by Beni-bahadyr;
22.20.7
and this General who esteemed the Minister's arrival a great advance towards a peace, availed himself of the envoy's presence, to invite the master, expressing his desire at the same time in a polite letter fraught with expressions of high regard. Upon such an invitation, Beni-bahadyr came, and met the General; but his intention was only to keep fair with both parties. The General proposed to that Minister to bring over his whole family to Lucknow, and in particular to send his consort to Banares or Azim-abad, in which case he would be satisfied with his sincerity, and would leave the whole business and all the contributions of the two provinces of Awd and Ilah-abad to his own management. But as this proposal did not suit Beni-bahadyr, he declined it upon a variety of plausible pretences, and he kept the matter in suspense; until hearing that Shudjah-ed-doulah had taken Malhar-rao in his service, and was preparing to fight the English, he went to a Fakyr for whom he had a high regard, and asked him what resolution he advised him to take. The Fakyr answered, "That the coming of the English was like a squall, which had brought on much blowing indeed, but which would soon be over and gone." This answer to which the Minister paid an implicit belief, having made him conceive that victory might yet declare for his master, he resolved to continue firm in his attachment to him.