New History of the Marathas v2.c35.4

v2.c35.4

1. The Peshwa's incurable malady.—What a tremendous strain must have been caused by the momentous events described above on the body and the mind of a boy called upon at the age of sixteen to manage the concerns of a far flung Empire in its hour of the greatest peril. A tall lean but muscular figure, fair and commanding in appearance, soon lost all its original vigour, particularly when it was discovered that an insidious wasting disease had housed itself in his frame unnoticed. For some time the patient fought the malady with his inborn courage and continued his usual hard work. Towards the end of 1770 he proceeded from Poona bent on completing his work in the Karnatak, but he so quickly broke down on the way, that he had to return from Miraj and yield himself to proper treatment. Thus his last two years were spent in seeking health, now at Katore on the Godavari, then at Sidhtek, and lastly at Theur in the vicinity of Poona.