Later Mughals v1.c9.s13.3

v1.c9.s13.3

As we have seen, a few days after the victory at Agra, Qutb-ul-mulk was detached to seize Dihli; and, for the moment, the second brother, Husain Ali Khan, was incapacitated by severe wounds from taking any active part in affairs. The opportunity was too good to be lost. Farrukh-siyar was never long of the same mind and fell always under the influence of the last speaker. Mir Jumla, Khan Dauran, Taqarrub Khan, and other personal friends and favourites found thus a splendid opening for intrigue, of which they at once availed themselves. Between the departure of Qutb-ul-mulk for Dihli and Farrukh-siyar's own arrival at the capital barely a month elapsed; but this short interval was sufficient to implant in Farrukh-siyar's mind the seeds of suspicion, and he arrived at Dihli already estranged from the two Sayyids. We have told how the Court party interfered between the Sayyids and Zulfiqar Khan, beguiling the latter to his destruction. These intrigues had not remained altogether concealed from Husain Ali Khan, and in the most secret manner he communicated his suspicions to his brother. He wrote, we are told, that on his brother's leaving the camp it was clear, from the Prince's talk and the nature of his acts, that he was a man who paid no regard to claims for service performed, one void of faith, a breaker of his word, and altogether without shame. Thus it was necessary for them to act in their own interests without regard to the plans of the new sovereign. If Husain Ali Khan really wrote these words at such an early stage of his acquaintance with Farrukh-siyar, it proves him to have possessed wonderful penetration and great insight into character. The remainder of our story yields abundant evidence of the fact that the character of Farrukh-siyar could hardly be delineated with greater accuracy than in the above words. Acting on his brother's hint, Abdullah Khan, as a precaution, assumed possession of the house lately occupied by Kokaltash Khan, Jahandar Shah's foster-brother, and with it all the cash and property contained therein.