all their armed followers in their camps, and taking only a few personal attendants and palankeen bearers.  No person is permitted to take arms into the Nazim’s tent; nor does any landholder or merchant of Oude enter his tent without the pledges for personal security above mentioned.  Ramdut Pandee and the Rajah entered with only a few personal servants, leaving all their other attendants outside the outer curtain.  This curtain surrounded the tent at a distance of only a few yards from it, and the tent was pitched in the centre.  They were received with all due ceremony, and in the same friendly manner as usual.  The Rajah had no business to talk about, while the Nazim and banker had; and, after a short conversation, he took leave to return to his tents and break his fast, which he had kept that day for some religious purpose.  He left in the tent the Nazim, his deputy, Jafir Allee, and his nephew and son-in-law, Allee Hoseyn, sitting together on the carpet, on the right, all armed, and Ramdut sitting unarmed, on the left, with a Brahmin lad, Jowahir, standing at the door, with the banker’s paundan and a handkerchief.  Kurunjoo, a second person, with the banker’s shoes, and a third attendant of his standing outside the tent door.

The Nazim and Ramdut talked for some time together, seemingly on the most friendly and cordial terms; but the Nazim, at last, asked him for a further loan of money, and further securities for landholders of doubtful character, before he went to bathe.  The banker told him, that he could lend him no more money till he came back from bathing, as he had lent him eighty thousand rupees only eight days before; and, that he could not increase his pledges of security without further consultation with the landholders, as he had not yet recovered more than four out of the seven lacs of rupees which he had been obliged to advance to the Treasury, on the securities given for them during the last year.  He then took leave and rose to depart.  The Nazim turned and made some sign to his deputy, Jafir Allee, who rose, presented his gun and shot Ramdut through the right side close under the arm-pit.  Exclaiming “Ram!  Ram!”—­God!  God!—­the banker fell; and the Nazim, seizing and drawing the sword which lay on the carpet before him, cut the falling banker across the forehead.  His nephew and deputy drew theirs; and together they inflicted no less than twenty-two cuts upon the body of Ramdut.

The banker’s three attendants, seeing their master thus shot down and hacked to pieces, called out for help; but one of the three ruffians cut Jowahir, the Brahmin lad, across the shoulder, with his sword, and all ran off and sought shelter across the border in the British territory.  The Nazim and his attendants then buried the body hastily near the tent, and ordered the troops and artillery to advance towards and fire into the two camps.  They did so, and the Bulrampoor Rajah had only just reached his tents when the shot came pouring in upon them from the Nazim’s guns.