42 WAR WITH MYSORE. 



of a rapacious chief, who not only plundered all the pro- 

 perty he could find, but employed the most cruel torture to 

 make them yield up their hidden possessions. The widow 

 of Futtee Mohammed, having « lost every thing but her 

 children and her honour," found refuge with her brother 

 Ibrahim, by whose bounty the family were supported. 

 Hyder, accordingly, had his fortune entirely to make : and 

 for some time he gave but slender promise of achieving any 

 high advancement. He did not even learn to read or 

 write ; and, on arriving at manhood, he spent his whole time 

 either in voluptuous riot or in the pleasures of the chase. 

 1 hus he reached the age of twenty-seven before he would 

 submit to the restraints even of military service. His 

 e dcr brother, meantime, had been more meritoriously em- 

 ployed in the army of Nunjcn.j, where he distinguished 

 himself, and was raised to a small command. Hyder was 

 at last induced to join him while employed in the siege of a 

 fortress called Dconhully, which occupied nine months. 

 1 he youth, having once embarked in this active career, soon 

 displayed daring valour, presence of mind, and all the quali- 

 ties which constitute an eminent warrior. He received the 

 charge of a small corps, with a commission to increase its 

 numbers by all the means in his power. 



At this time Nunjeraj, having formed an alliance with 

 the *rench, undertook the expedition to Trichinopoly, of 

 which some account has been already given. Hyder ac- 

 companied him, and made diligent use of the opportunities 

 Which this campaign allbrded, both to distinguish and ad- 

 vance himself. He soon assembled round him a numerous 

 body of those freebooters with which India swarmed, who 

 asked no pay, but trusted solely to the plunder that they 

 might collect under the auspices of an active chieftain! 

 Instead of his paying them, they paid him ; being required 

 to contribute nne-hnlf of all the Booty which thej might suc- 

 ceed m capturing. They were doubtless very much dis- 

 posed to evade this partition; but Hyder, though he could 

 not write the numerals, boasted of an almost unequalled 

 expertness in the operations of mental arithmetic; and he 

 was assisted by Kunde Row, a Braminical accountant of 

 remarkable skill. They established a system which the 

 operative plunderers found it nearly vain to attempt eluding 

 The practices of a common London thief may be considered 



