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more became populous, and remained under their government 

 upwards of two centuries; it then fell into the hands of the Mah- 

 rattas, who rebuilt the walls in their present heterogeneous condition; 

 under them it continued until the beginning of 1780, when, during 

 the Mahratta war with the English, general Goddard appeared be- 

 fore it at the head of an English army from Bengal. While he was 

 preparing for a siege, the pundit with the Mahratta troops evacu- 

 ated the city in the night, and the next morning the English took 

 possession. General Goddard having established a garrison, marched 

 to the conquest of Ahmedabad, and I was appointed to take charge 

 of this new acquisition, and to collect the revenues, still retaining 

 my situation as a member of the council at Baroche, where I oc- 

 casionally resided. 



The circumstance of giving a name to a city on any particular 

 occasion, or of changing the name on some extraordinary event, 

 frequently occurs in ancient history, as we find at Alexandria, 

 Constantinople, and many other places: in India it is equally pre- 

 valent; Ahmedabab, Hyderabad, and Aurungabad derive their 

 name from their founder or conqueror. And although the former 

 name of Dhuboy, if the spot had any peculiar appellation, is no 

 longer remembered, I should suppose it must have been the " city 

 of waters;" for in the rainy season it is completely insulated by 

 large lakes, so that the cattle swim in and out of the gales every 

 morning and evening. A similar passage occurs in the reign of 

 David; when the Israelitish monarch sent Joab, his principal 

 general, to besiege Rabbah, a royal city of the Ammonites. After 

 the conquest, Joab sent messengers to David, and said, " I have 

 fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters; now 



