till far on in the night.  I found it anchored in the most disadvantageous position possible, and in the morning I saw at a distance of one-eighth of a league the same body of troops, that had followed me the day before, establishing and settling itself.  A moment later I learned that Sheikh Faiz Ulla was on the opposite bank with his army and his artillery, that he intended to wait for me in a narrow place called Choquova,[151] at the foot of which my boats must pass, and that he was diligently making entrenchments there.  My embarrassment was then extreme.  I found myself surrounded on all sides; I was without any provisions, destitute of the most necessary articles of life.  In this perplexity I saw only the most cruel alternatives, either to surrender or to fight to the death so as to perish with our arms in our hands.  The latter appeared to be less dreadful than the former.

“After repeated consultations, we determined it would be best to risk the passage of the fleet by Choquova.  We thought that possibly we should find provisions there, and that certainly the position could not be worse (for defence) than that in which we then found ourselves.  The passage was carried out in three hours’ time without confusion or disorder, by means of my Swedish guns on the boat which led the van.  What was our delight to find, not only a better position than that which we had quitted, but one that was almost completely entrenched by nature, and had villages full of rice to the right and left of it.

“Next day I collected provisions in abundance, cleared the country round for a quarter of a league, and did my best to ameliorate my condition.  The enemy were disconcerted by my boldness.  They pretended as usual, in order to deceive me the more easily, that they were not surprised at my march.  They feared rightly that if I commenced new entrenchments all their trouble would begin again.  Besides, I had completely protected myself from the possibility of surprise. Pourparlers for an accommodation were renewed and lasted three days, at the end of which it was agreed that I should continue my march, that two hostages should be given me for my safety, and that the army with its guns should retire from Choquova, and should be sent a long way ahead across country, and as, at half a league from this place, the river was no longer navigable because of the bank which had formed in it, I should be supplied with people to facilitate my passage.  Thou wilt notice, my dear wife, that in all the negotiations I had for various reasons and on several occasions proposed to suspend all hostilities until an answer could be received from Jafar All Khan and the English, to whom I said I would write to come to some accommodation with them, offering to send my letter open.  This was repeatedly refused, but the refusal did not prevent my asking for the honours of war.  My letters were despatched secretly by my own messengers.