﻿FROM CHUNARGHUR TO YERTN AGOODUM. 157 



now defired the horfemen to retire, and inquired the 

 meaning of their intruding upon us in fo abrupt a 

 manner. The man who commanded came forward, 

 and faid that he had his Rajah" s orders to take me to 

 Paloopjhah. At this inftant the Vakeel arrived. I 

 afked him the meaning of thefe meafures, after matters 

 had been adjufted on the faith of his word, and I was 

 waiting till the Rajah's pleafure fhould be made known 

 to me. I requeued, that, to prevent hoftilities com- 

 mencing immediately, he would order the horfemen to 

 fall back. He advanced towards them for that pur- 

 pofe, which gave me an oppoi'tunity of afcertaining 

 their number; when I counted twenty-five, all v/ell 

 armed and mounted; but in their rear was a large body 

 of infantry, many of whom were armed with European 

 mu{kets and bayonets; and the whole might have 

 amounted to three hundred men. 



Had this been all the force they could have brought 

 againll me, I ihould have paid very little attention to 

 the Rajah or his people; but if this body (hould an- 

 noy us in the rear, and I had had to force my way 

 through the pafs of Scondpilly Gundy, it was not pro- 

 bable, that, with my fmail efcort, confifting only of 

 thirty-two firelocks, I could have come off without 

 the lofs at leafl of my baggage. As the PaloonJJiah 

 diffriti joined to the Company's territory, it impreffed 

 me ftrongly with the idea, that when it fhould be af- 

 certained that I was a fervant of the Britipi govern- 

 ment, the Rajah would not venture to do me any ma- 

 terial injury, unlefs my condu8: fhould juftify it by 

 {irfl commencing hoftilities. 



The horfemen being now retired, the Vakeel came 

 back, and begged that 1 would be pacified; upon 

 which I ordered ihe fepoys to fit down with their arms, 

 and went with a fmall party to my tent. The Vakeel 

 then explained to me the caufe of the fudden appear- 

 ance of the troops. It had been occafioned, he faid, 

 by a report which had reached Paloonjliah, of my 



having, 



