steps; but that his elder brother might if he chose adhere to the emperor. In the sequel Abdullah-khan himself, carried away by his brother's entreaties and example, wrote to his younger brother that, since what had happened could not be recalled, it became them both to make the best of it, now that they were embarked in the undertaking. He said, "Make haste to join me, as my proximity to the capital renders me more liable to become an object of resentment. Let us unite, and have but one cause." This is what I find in the memoir before alluded to; but there is another account, which is as follows.
Bahadur-shah having appointed Az-ud-dowla, a nobleman of high rank, to the government of Bengal, commanded Ferokh-siar's attendance at court. The latter, being apprehensive of a fate similar to that which his two brothers, Kerim-ed-din and Humayun, had suffered, did not chuse to trust himself near the emperor, and had protracted the time by contriving a variety of delays. On arriving at Azimabad Patna, and unwilling to proceed farther, he, under pretence of his wife being near her time of confinement, found means to prolong his stay, and wrote to court accordingly. During his sojourn there, some astrologers, fortune-tellers, and others, men who wanted only to provide for themselves, prevailed on Hekim-messih,
