1879.] W. Irvine — The Bangash Nawdbs of Farrulehdldd. 153 



Another cheat was Sayyad Bakir. He wrote a forged letter in the 

 name of a holy man of Lakhnau to Jan 'Ali Khan, saying he had heard 

 that Nawab Ahmad Khan had lost his eyesight and had given up all hope 

 except in the intercession of fakirs. Now in the city of Farrukhabad 

 would be found a, fakir of great holiness, chief of the age, whose name was 

 Sayyad Bakir. There was little doubt that he would be able to restore the 

 Nawab's eyes. Jan 'Ali Khan went with the letter to the Nawab. The 

 Nawab told him to obey its directions. Bakhshi Fakhr-ud-daula and Jan 

 'Ali Khan proceeded to that deceiver and with the profoundest respect 

 brought him to the Nawab. The Nawab presented him with five hundred 

 rupees and a number of rich dresses. The fakir said food must be distribu- 

 ted daily, while he underwent a forty days' fast, for which a secluded place 

 must be provided. The Nawab ordered Jan 'Ali Khan to find the man 

 a place in his garden. Then that lying philosopher promised the Nawab 

 that sight would return to his eyes on the festival of the 'Id-ul-fitr. 

 Jan 'Ali Khan took the fakir to his garden and placed men to watch him. 

 As the promised time drew near, one night in the end of Ramzan, the cheat 

 got over the back wall of the garden and escaped. On the day fixed Jan 

 'Ali Khan was sent to bring the fakir. He went into the garden and 

 called, but there was no answer. Then he looked about and could find the 

 man no where. Wringing his hands, he came out of the garden and sat 

 down at his own entrance gate. For very shame he was unable to appear 

 before the Nawab. At length the Nawab sent to know what had happened. 

 Jan 'Ali Khan was forced to go and reported how they had been deceived. 

 The Nawab after this ceased to repine and put his full trust in God, whose 

 will is best. 



Nawab Ahmad Khan breathed his last on the 28th Rabi I, 1185 H. 

 (12th July, 1771), the day on which 'Ali Guhar Shah 'Alam reached 

 Khudaganj, on his way from Allahabad to Delhi. After a delay occasioned 

 by the disturbance raised by Murtazza Khan, the body was taken out and 

 buried in the Bihisht Bagh, in the tomb prepared by Ahmad Khan in his 

 own lifetime. 



The date of his death is given by the following chronogram — 



Kunand giriya khdldik ba-ndlah o Afghan. 



Maldik ah kashand az wafdt Ahmad Khan, (1191 — 6 = 1185).* 



Another is — " Hai, Hai, Hatini Tde sdni na mdnd," (1185). 



The Emperor with his escort of some five thousand men marched on 

 the next day, accompanied by Shuja'-ud-daula and others,f and encamped 



* Miftah-ut T., p. 526. 



f The ' Ibrat-ndmah states that Shuja'-ud-daula, after visiting the Emperor at Al- 

 lahabad, returned to Faizabad, The text gives the local tradition. 



U 



