[198] The letters from Mr. Scrafton, at this period, convey a vivid picture of the state both of Meer Jaffier's mind and his own. In his letter of the 3d November, in which he reports a visit to the durbar, he describes the Nabob as looking very grim when he approached. For half an hour he took no notice of him, but abused every one present; then turning quickly round, he said to Scrafton, "What have you to say to me?"—"What! here, Sir?" Scrafton replied.—"We will go there," said the Nabob, pointing to a small room. Mr. Scrafton, ashamed of this proceeding, tried to change the subject by saying, "Have you written for the Colonel?"—"Yes, with his whole army, to be sure."—"Do you know the expense?"—"Will a lac per month do? But I shall not settle with you; when Sabut Jung comes, I will talk with him about it." Mr. Scrafton, after commenting upon the passion displayed by the Nabob on this occasion, and representing the danger of rebellion from his violent conduct, concludes by entreating Clive to hasten to Moorshedabad, leaving his army to follow. "We are lost," he says, "if we do not act as principals." In two letters written subsequently, Mr. Scrafton gives a further account of the Nabob's distraction, irritation, and alarm at the treachery and rebellion with which he is surrounded. In his communication to Clive, of the 7th November, he states, "I hope you are set out. Our honour, our interests, and our reputation, are all at stake." He closes this letter in the following words:—"The Nabob pitched his tent in the garden yesterday, and had about two hundred men with him. Not an officer has joined him yet with any forces; nor will they till Roy Dullub marches. His son is absolutely ill with grief and shame, and goes no more near his father. Sir, I can only say, if you don't set out, with or without troops, permit me to go to Calcutta. I can't carry that authority, that sway, which the Company's affairs require; and will not stay on the terms I am now with the Nabob. I clearly comprehend the political disease of the Nabob's affairs, but it is you only that can apply the remedy. I was an hour alone with Roy Dullub: I see all their schemes, and what all these seeds of division will inevitably produce. I conclude with this sentence; that if Sujah-u-Dowlah joins Ram Narrain, adieu to the Nabob and the remainder of the treaty, for he certainly carries Bengal."
[199] When Ram Narrain was believed to have joined the Vizier of Oude, Clive (according to Scrafton) advised the Nabob to remove him openly. The Nabob dreaded the consequences of such a direct proceeding. Subsequently to this, Ram Narrain fully satisfied Clive, through Roy Dullub, that he had no treasonable intentions, and required only security for his life and a continuance in his employment. A conviction of his sincerity led Clive to advise the Nabob to the course he pursued.
[200] 23d December, 1757.
[201] Dated Rockypoor, near Patna, 18th February, 1758.
[202] 18th February, 1758.
[203] 6th March, 1758.
[204] 12th January, 1758.
[205] A small copper coin, forty to a rupee.
[206] Clive early saw all the evils that would arise from the conduct of the natives employed by the English, and adopted every measure he could to check the growth of this danger; but this subject will be fully noticed hereafter.
[207] Mr. Scrafton, in his private letter, under date 15th May, 1758, observes, "In the morning, early, I was informed the young Nabob's troops were ready for a march, and presently Petrus came to me and told me the Nabob had got his cannon loaded and his troops ready. I sent him to know the cause. The Nabob, when he had dismissed his servants, put on a face of importance, and Petrus asked him what all these preparations were for. He said Roy Dullub was not true to him, and that he was afraid of Sabut Jung; that if Sabut Jung would send him his promise and faith to attempt nothing against him, it was well; if not, he would leave the city with those who were faithful to him, and go to his father; and, if any body offered to stop him, he would fight his way. That Roy Dullub had brought down a relation of Sunder Sing's, who had wrote to an officer in his service to offer his oath of fidelity to Cunjoo Beharry, which he had actually given. In short, he gave to understand that Roy Dullub was his enemy, and if you did not give him some security one of them must fall. I intend to go to him in the evening, and set his brain right if I can. He has entertained some Tellingays (about fifty) that are come via Ballasore. Either he shams, and has orders sent him by Goolam Hassen Khan and Monickchund, who arrived yesterday, to attempt Roy Dullub's life, or his fears have got the better of his blockhead-ship. The old Begum sent for Petrus and fell a blubbering, saying that she had but that son, and could not spare him."