heart that he had killed her husband out of spite and malice. For this reason, Malhar Rao merely took the impostor prisoner, and having appointed thirty or forty horsemen to take care of him, forwarded him from thence to Poona. The few weak-minded beings who had gathered round him were allowed to depart to their several homes, and Holkar proceeded to his destination. When the pretender was brought to Poona, Madhu Rao likewise, out of regard for the feelings of the late Bhao's wife, deemed it proper to defer his execution, and kept him confined in one of the forts within his own dominions. Strange to say, the silly people in that fort did not discover the falseness of the impostor's claims, and leagued themselves with him, so that a fresh riot was very nearly set on foot. Madhu Rao, however, having been apprised of the circumstances, sent him from that fort to another stronghold; and in the same way he was constantly transferred from various forts in succession, till he was finally confined in a stronghold that lies contiguous to the sea on the island of Kolaba, which is a dependency of the Konkan territory.
The following is another of the events of Madhu Rao's reign: Bithal, Minister of Finance to Nawab Nizam Ali Khan Bahadur, advised his master that as the Marathas were then devoid of influence, and the supreme authority was vested in an inexperienced child, it would be advisable to ravage Poona. Januji Bhonsla, Raja of Nagpur, Gopal Rao, a servant of the Peshwa, and some more chiefs of the Maratha nation, approved
