in his refufal to an fwer any of his letters; but took care to let him know, that they were written with too much prefumption, in a ftile of equality; and that they contained inapplicable profeffions of no value.

The paffion for the prefervation of his wealth operated fo ftrongly upon the Rajah, that he feemed blind to all other confiderations, and equally incapable of confulting his reafon, or of liftening to his fears.

It was intended to commence the military operations with the attack of Ramnagur, partly from its having been the late fcene of difgrace, partly with a view to the refractoriness of the inhabitants, who had been the firft authors of mifchief, and above all, as its capture would be the means of gaining poffeffion of the capital without blood or difficulty, whereby the credit and character of the company being reftored in the public opinion, and the Rajah cut off from the feat and fources of government, his forces would foon dwindle, and his fortreffes fall of courfe. Battering cannon and mortars were accordingly ordered to Major Popham's camp, and the neceffary preparations made for a fiege..

But it was destined that a native of the country fhould point out a thorter and eafier way to conqueft, than had yet, or could otherwife have been thought of. A man, named Bundoo Cawn, a native and inhabitant of Chunar, where he had a wife and large family, had, fince the troubles commenced, given fome inftances of an extraordinary attachment to the English. For he had volunVOL. XXVI.

tarily and gratuitoufly accompanied Captain Blair, in the two expeditions which he had undertaken with the Chunar battalion, firft to the attack of Ramnagur, and afterwards to furprize the enemy's camp at Pateetah; and on both occafions, his accurate knowledge of the ground and country, and his advice in the application of that knowledge, were of great ufe to that officer.

This man gave information to the commanders, that as the Rajah's forces were principally col lected at Lutteefpore and Patee-, tah, and were daily accumulating, it would become exceedingly dif 'ficult, if not impracticable, to dif lodge him, if he were allowed much longer time to ftrengthen himfelf, in grounds and pofts already fo frong, and fo exceed ingly difficult of accefs. He obferved, that though the walls of Pateetah, and the defences of its fort, might appear of little mo ment, confidered merely as fortifications, yet from the peculiar fituation of that large town, the nearness of Lutteefpore, at its back, and the fresh forces with which the Rajah could conftantly fupply the defence, it would be found a matter of no fmall difficulty or lofs, to carry it even at prefent; and if that point was gained, it could anfwer no purpofe, as it could not poffibly be retained, while Lutteefpore continued in the hands of the enemy, The next obje&t then must be the reduction of that fortrefs; but it was unaffailable on that fide; and it could not be invefted or attacked on the other, while the enemy were in poffeffion of the impracticable pafs of Suckroot, [C]

which

which lay at its back in the gorge of the mountains; and which be. fides kept the communications open for reinforcements and fupplies of every kind, as well as a free and direct intercourfe with the ftrong fortrefs of Bidjeygur, where the means of fupporting the war, the Rajah's treafures, were depofited.

When he had thus ftated the almost infuperable difficulties which barred the way against all obvious attempts upon the Rajah, in his prefent fituation, this fingular guide, who feemed to unite in himself the qualities and intelligence of a topographer, engineer, and general, proceeded to fhew the means by which they might be evaded or overcome. He propofed that the main part of the army fhould carry on its approaches in front, and in the ufual forms, against Pateetah ; and that while it was thus engaged, and the whole attention of the enemy naturally directed to the attack and defence on that fide, a divifion of the most active troops, which was previously and fecretly to take its departure by night, fhould, under his guidance, and freed from all incumbrances, by a long circuitous march of feveral days through the woods and mountains, come round in fuch a manner to the back of the pafs at Suckroot, that the defences of the enemy being foiled, or turned against themselves, it would fall without difficulty into their hands; the confequences of which must be, either that they fhould immediately abandon their faftneffes at Lutteefpore and Pateetah, or be fhut up in them to certain deftruction. Bundoo Cawn

fhewed fo much knowledge of the fubject, and fuch an affured confidence in the facility and fuccefs of the enterprize, upon the iffue of which he taked his perfon and family, that Major Popham, equally convinced of his fincerity and of the propriety of his advice, at once adopted the fcheme.

The only motive affigned by Bundoo Cawn, befides general attachment, whether for the proffered or the paft fervices, was the intereft and fecurity of his large family, whofe fituation, from that circumftance, feems to have been in fome manner connected with the garrison of Chunar. To affure his fidelity, and to give him the greater intereft in the enterprize, a jaghire, or eftate, in perpetuity to himfelf and his family, was promifed, as the prize and reward of fuccefs.

In pursuance of this fcheme, the cannon and mortars intended for the fiege of Ramnagur were now directed to that of Pateetah; and Major Crabbe, with his own regiment of fepoys, being the 7th, the firft battalion of the 6th, and the fix companies of the Vizier's guards, under Pollhill, with four fix pounders, and a five-andhalf-inch howitz, were destined to the new enterprize. These troops being told off, took their departure from the camp, with all the fecrecy fuch a circumstance could admit of, about 11 o'clock at night, on the 15th of September; and at three in the morning, Major Popham advanced with the main body to the attack of Pateetah.

He found the works of this place much stronger, and the approaches more hazardous, than

they had been reprefented; the extenfive earthen walls of the town, were of fuch a thickness as to be proof to his artillery, and the small ftone fort was covered by fituation from their effect. After four days ineffectual effort, he grew apprehenfive, that this unexpected failure on his fide, would tend to the overthrow of the enterprize under Major Crabbe, on the other. Major Popham accordingly determined to attempt the place by ftorm on the fifth morning. A mode of proceeding which will feldom fail of fuccefs against raw and undifciplined Sept. 20th. troops. The ftorm. ing party was led by Major Roberts, who, after a flight refiftance at the outer entrenchment, threw the enemy into fuch irretrievable diforder that they fled on all fides, and the town and fort were almoft inftantly abandoned. A body of the enemy had made a weak and ineffective attack on the camp during this time; but were eafily repulfed, and not without lofs to themselves.

Nothing could have been more timely, and more ruinous to the enemy, than this attack and fuccefs. For it happened that Major Crabbe, after leading his divifion fo long through ways which feemed impracticable, and which would have been found fo, if it had not been for the afliftance of Bundoo Cawn, arrived on that very morning at a village in the mountains called Lora, which lies within about two miles of the pafs of Suckroot. Here he found a body of the enemy, who, without any intelligence, or even fufpicion of the march of his detach

ment, were entrenched, with three guns, for the fecurity of the pafs on that fide. Major Crabbe attacked the enemy with fuch vigour, that notwithstanding a firm refiftance, they were defeated, purfued, and driven through the pafs, of which he took immediate poffeffion.

The runaways from Lora and from Pateetah, arrived at Lutteefpore at the fame inftant, and the general difmay and confufion which they fpread, fully equalled whatever could have been expected from fuch troops and fuch commanders. The Rajah himself, aftonifhed, confounded, and overwhelmed with terror, at the perfonal danger, in which he was for fuddenly, and to him unaccountably involved, giving every thing elfe up for loft, thought of nothing but the means of escaping from the toils with which he feemed to be furrounded. The pafs of Suckroot was fhut up on his back, and Major Popham's army, with Pateetah in their poffeffion, were closing him in front. Flight was the only refuge; but what road or paffage could be fuppofed free from an enemy, who had already penetrated the innermoit receffes of the mountains?

There was, however, no time for hesitation; the attempt muft be made at all events. The pafs was his direct way to Bidjeygur, which was the only place of refuge now left. As that was fhut up, the Rajah, on the fame day, with a few of the beft mounted, or moft attached of his followers, departed from Lutteefpore, and taking a circuit through the mountains, recovered the road a [C] 2

few

few miles beyond the pafs. The diforderly crowd he left behind, being now without union or command, only waited to pillage Lutteefpore of whatever they could carry away, and then difperfed on all fides; every man providing as well as he could for his own fafety, without farther care or confideration. The many thousands of the country militia, and of the volunteer husbandmen, who had flocked to join the Rajah, now returned as fait as they could to their refpective homes, and refumed their wonted occupations, as if nothing had been

the matter.

Never was revolution more rapid. Within, not many hours, the whole country affumed as peaceable an appearance, as if no war had prevailed, nor even difturbance happened. Ramnagur, where the enemy had a confiderable force, and the fort of Sutteeffgur, which lay feveral miles from Lutteefpore in another direction, were both abandoned on that very evening; and a full fubmiffion to the company was every where eftablished. The Nabob vizier now returned to his own country; where his prefence, if he was capable of reftoring order and government, was fufficiently wanted. The governor general proceeded first to Ramnagur, and from thence to the peaceable city of Benares, which wore its ufual face of tranquillity.

In order to quiet the minds of the people, and to render the tranquillity perfect, he iffued a proclamation, offering pardon to all who fhould peaceably return to their obedience; the Rajah, with his brother, Shujan Sing,

and a town, named Goffe Gunge, being alone excepted from the benefit of this pardon. That town was excepted, on account of a barbarous murder committed there on two foldiers during the troubles; and to render the example terrible both now and hereafter, it was entirely destroyed.

The governor general then proceeded to fettle the fucceffion to the government; and the male line being now cut off, by the exclufion of Cheit Sing and his brother, and he not thinking it would be prudent, to put the fubmifion of the people to the tett of a new fpecies of dominion, he determined that the next lineal heir to Bulwant Sing, fhould fucceed in the rajahfhip. This fucceffor, named Bauboo Mehipnarain, was a grandfon of Bulwant Sing's, by a daughter married to Doorgbijey Sing; the father and mother were both living; and the young Rajah's being under age, certainly did not leffen his eligibility as an object of choice to the fucceffion, at the fame time that his claim in point of blood was fuch as to afford fatisfaction to the people. To fupply the place of years and experience, his father, Doorgbijey Sing, under the title of naib, was endowed with the fole management of public affairs. The fucceffion being thus fixed, a new and very advantageous fettlement with refpect to the tribute or revenue, was concluded by the governor general with the new Rajah, and and his guardian or minifter, they having agreed to pay the company a perpetual rent of four millions of rupees, or about half a million fterling a year. So that

the