I had heard of the affair of the Durveish from the minister, through his wakeel, and from Captain Bird, the first Assistant, in a letter.  I requested that he would ask for an audience, and congratulate his Majesty on the discovery of the imposture, and offer any assistance that he might require in the banishment of the impostors.  He was received by the King in the afternoon of the 6th.  He expressed his regret that the King should have been put to so much trouble by the bad conduct of those who had received from him all that a king could give-wealth, titles, and intimate companionship; hinted at the advantage taken of this by Ruzee-od Dowlah, in his criminal intercourse with one of his Sultanas, Surafraz Muhal; and earnestly prayed him to put an end to the misery and disgrace which these men had brought and were still bringing on himself, his house, and his country.  The King promised to have Ruzee-od Dowlah, his sister, and Kotub-od Dowlah, banished across the Ganges; but stated, that he could do nothing against Sadik Allee, however richly he deserved punishment, since he had pledged his royal word to him, on his disclosing all he knew about the imposition.  The King asked captain Bird, whether he thought that he had felt no sorrow at parting with Surafraz Muhal, with whom he had lived so intimately for nine years; that he had, he said, cast her off as a duty, and did Captain Bird think that he would spare the men who had so grossly deceived him, caused so much confusion in his kingdom, and ill-feeling towards him, on the part of the British Government and its representative?  His Majesty added, “I cherished low-bred men, and they have given me the low-bred man’s reward, had I made friends of men of birth and character it would have been otherwise;” and concluded by saying, that he could not touch the money he had given to these fellows, because people would say that he had got rid of them merely to recover what he had bestowed upon them.*

[* When he afterwards confined and banished them in June and July 1850, he took back from them all that they had retained; but they had sent to their families and friends, property to the value of many lacs of rupees.]

The King, in the latter end of November, divorced Surafraz Muhal, and sent her across the Ganges, to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca.  She had long been cohabiting with the chief singer, Gholam Ruza, and was known to be a very profligate woman.  She is said to have given his Majesty to understand that she would not consent to remain in the palace with him without the privilege of choosing her own lovers, a privilege which she had freely enjoyed before she came into it, and could not possibly forego.

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CHAPTER II.

Bahraetch—­Shrine of Syud Salar—­King of the Fairies and the Fiddlers—­Management of Bahraetch district for forty-three years—­ Murder of Amur Sing, by Hakeem Mehndee—­Nefarious transfer of khalsa lands to Tallookdars, by local officers—­Rajah Dursun Sing—­ His aggression on the Nepaul Territory—­Consequences—­Intelligence Department—­How formed, managed, and abused—­Rughbur Sing’s management of Gonda and Bahraetch for 1846-47—­Its fiscal effects—­A gang-robber caught and hung by Brahmin villagers—­Murder of Syampooree Gosaen—­Ramdut Pandee—­Fairies and Fiddlers—­Ramdut Pandee, the Banker—­the Rajahs of Toolseepoor and Bulrampoor—­Murder of Mr. Ravenscroft, of the Bengal Civil Service, at Bhinga, in 1823.