tellers, and men of learning now approached the prince, and he himself being exceedingly credulous and ignorant, was for ever consulting them as to what might be the fate of his expedition. This behaviour put it in their power to feed him with favourable predictions, and with hopes suited to their own purposes. In these predictions some were in earnest, and some meaned no more than to obtain money for themselves, as several of them did as soon as Ferokh-siar ascended the throne, and had it in his power to bestow pensions upon them.
Whilst the prince was employed in listening to these soothsayers, Hussein Ali-khan was taking every measure that could promote his object; and with that view he wrote to his elder brother Abdullah-khan, viceroy of Ilahabad, to give him notice of what had happened, and to entreat his concurrence. Abdullah-khan, amazed at the intelligence, animadverted severely on the precipitancy of his brother's conduct. He adverted on the impropriety of a step which involved in its consequence the fate of their consorts, children, and families, which being at Shah-jehan-abad must suffer from the resentment of the emperor when he saw his throne attacked. To this reproof Hussein Ali-khan answered, that for his own part, he had taken his line, happen what would, and could not retrace his
