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pointments were established in his name; while Bejee Si/mg, con- 

 fined to the strong hold of Merut, was so straitened for provisions, 

 that a pound of salt was not procurable for one rupee, notwith- 

 standing which, he refused all terms of accommodation offered by 

 Jeajee; who proposed an equal division of the country between 

 him and his cousin, and on receiving an acknowledgement for 

 the expenses of his own troops, to desist from all hostilities. Bejee 

 Sihng's answer was constantly and uniformly this, that he was a 

 rajpoot, that he possessed no treasure but his sword ; with which, 

 while he lived, he would defend himself. 



The war being thus protracted for three years, and Bejee 

 Sihng perceiving no end to his distresses, had recourse to the ser- 

 vices of a set of people called Ghaouleh, inhabitants of that coun- 

 try, who hold lands free of all tribute and taxation, on condition 

 of devoting themselves to their sovereign's commands, when called 

 upon to execute the most desperate acts; so that it is customary 

 with them, when summoned to his presence, to bequeath their 

 effects, and take a last farewell of their friends, as though they were 

 never to return; and, under the influence of this extraordinary 

 fanaticism, they seldom fail to effect the most hazardous enter- 

 prises. 



Five of these Ghaouleh were dispatched to the camp of Jeajee; 

 two, in the character of public envoys, had free access to the chief- 

 tain's tent; one personated a musician, and by his skill gained ad- 

 mission to an intimate knowledge of all the officers of the house- 

 hold; while the remaining two, in the disguise of byragees, a tribe 

 of religious Hindoo mendicants, were diligently employed in pro- 



