elicited through intermediate channels, at second hand, and with the knowledge that all concerned are more or less infected by that indifference to truth arising from the Eastern maxim that speech is given to man exclusively for his own benefit, an idea unhappily rather too prevalent even in the West.

Some time elapsed before the arrival of the Drangadra Ranees; and during this interval I took measures for assembling a matron punchayut, that is, a committee of ladies, from amongst the principal people of the country, some named by the Durbar, others by Akhabhaee, to be in readiness to meet them; at the same time pursuing my enquiry into the alleged bribe given to my chief for conniving at the introduction of a spurious heir. The proof became too apparent of the money having actually issued from the Limree Durbar, for Munguljee, when in power, had kept so keen a lookout, and gathered so many threads of the plot, that though the deed took place with every precaution, in the dead of night, it could not be effectually concealed.

D

The investigation by the ladies was long postponed under various pleas. What with unlucky days of the calendar, or superstitious causes assigned by one or other of the parties concerned, it really seemed as though it never would come off; and as the chief delay was caused by the Durbar, the reasons for disbelieving the likelihood of a direct heir increased in strength. Unfortunately, during all this time, Mr. E or his moonshee corresponded directly with the Durbar instead of through me, which had a most prejudicial effect on my endeavours to convince them of my impartiality; and this was rendered still more difficult by the trial then going on at the neighbouring station of Ahmedabad of the judge of the district, Mr. Grant, by a commission which called on me to examine the Limree minister, Nuthoo Mehta, on matter pertaining thereto, the judge's assistant, Mr. W. E. Frere, having been directed to prosecute.

1 An invidious duty to exact and impolitic to require from any assistant. In all such cases, happily rare, a special officer, unconnected with the department, should be selected for the duty, that of the assistant being limited to giving the information he possesses.

At last report was made to me that the claim was fictitious; at the same time, however, the husband of one of the jury informed me that his wife was very strongly of an opposite opinion, but as he was a relation of the young would-be mother, his wife's verdict had but little weight. This embroglio was duly reported, and, as I had placed an intelligent man in charge of the town in supercession of Munguljee's inefficient successor, besides employing other means to arrive at the true state of affairs, I did not altogether despair of solving it, although it appeared all but impossible the Ranee should be really with child.

It was the usage in that part of India, on visiting the capital of any native state, for its Durbar to supply milk, firewood, and hay from their own dairy and preserves, and the attempts on the part of Europeans to break through this custom had been given up in consequence of the offence caused by non-acceptance. The feeling would have been as though an English traveller, after partaking of the hospitality of any gentleman, were to ask to be allowed to pay for his dinner, or were to buy

his own food and have it cooked in his host's kitchen. Being anxious to stand well with the Durbar, and to give them no cause for suspecting I was their enemy, I permitted them to send the above-named supplies, although I received warning from different quarters, some anonymous, that under the very peculiar position I then occupied at Limree it behoved me to be careful against poison. I had hardly time to make up my mind what course to pursue with reference to this advice, when one morning, immediately after breakfast, I became deadly ill with vomiting and other choleraic symptoms; happily, the first was so violent as to get rid of everything I had taken. medical man was within hail, and I remained exceedingly ill for some days. On afterwards mentioning my symptoms to the Agency doctor, he gave it as his opinion that I had probably been poisoned, and owed my life to its not having been taken into the system. Whatever was the real fact, I took good care to drink no more Durbar milk, but, in the absence of proof, thought it wiser to keep silent as to the cause.

No

Shortly after this, Mr. E suddenly resolved to come to the scene of action, bringing his lady with him, over-ruling my representation, that should the claim of the Durbar prove valid, the fact of a large sum of money having been paid with the view of gaining his consent to a spurious heir, would invalidate anything he himself might do, however ignorant he might have been of the source whence the money was derived. I could not prevent his coming, but he repaid through me, by an order on a Baroda banker, the amount of the money proved to have come from the Durbar; and I took good care in delivering this order in a ceremonial interview, that the fact should be publicly known, with due admonitions as to the folly of attempting to bribe a British functionary; stating at the same time that all the harsh usage that might possibly be necessary to test their claim, must be attributed to their own acts which threw such doubt upon it.

On Mr. E—'s arrival serious were the consultations between us, and it was at length decided that a letter should be written inviting the Ranees