The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-16 00:00:00

y, however, his conduct became eas kind,
and , he openly demanded the surrender of the _
farimus Koh-i-noor, and the transfer of the daughters
of the unfortunate monarch to his own Zenana ;
the Shah's principal and favourite wife, the Wuffa-
dar Begum, who was a woman of a bold and de-
termined character, resisted these demands and
preserved her own and her husband's honour in
the most heroic manner; she caused the bearerof one
of Runjeet's insulting propositions to be chastised,
and declared her determination, sooner than yield to
these dishonourable demands, to pound the diamond in
a mortar and administer it to her daughters, those wa-
der her protection, and to herself. In the mean time,
as already stated, the Shah himself had arrived at
Lahore.
The demand for the coveted jewel was persisted in,
and harsh measures resorted to in order to enforce
compliance; a strict guard was placed round the
Shah's residence, and no ingress or egress-permitted'
without strict search : the unfortunate exiles being
proof against mere restraint, the prohibitions of food.
was added, and for two days the Shah together with
his whole family and establishment suffered absolute
deprivation ; even by this their firmness was not over-
cpifel
reputation,uoroi
sloir 1
further
communications
produced
i andneot of erse
experiment,
addSbode
lir:
foodek r ruler,
oeo ru. ,
on t
oo ft
supplied daringreregard
ot ot
do
cEihricnogemeei
spsSedurpohortbrltlryinte
aftertso thhahlijsz letterst
o
interceptedF were
uth
Khan, and other Affghan chiefs, praying for assist-
ance against Runjeet; these were generally supposed
to be fabrications, but they furnished grounds for in-
creased severity of treatment, which, even of the most
galling and injurious kind, was resorted to, and a
transfer to the fortress of Govind Ghur was threat-
ened; worn out at last by these importunities and
perceiving that the Seik was determined to obtain his
ends at any sacrifice, the Shah at last agreed to com-
ply, and after several delays, this valuable jewel was
surrendered in the month of June 1813. The Shah
and his family were now left more at liberty, and
for a short time enjoyed comparative repose.
The extortion of Runjeet, however, was not com-
plete ; he learned that the Shah had still some jewels
left, and a demand was accordingly made for them.
On a denial of their existence, Runjeet sent his head
eunuch and a party of women to search the interior
apartments, and caused every box or packet the Shah
possessed to he brought into his presence, from which
he selected all the most precious articles. The Shah
-was now removed from the Shalimar, where he had
hitherto resided, to a common house in the city, and
subjected there to strict surveillance, as also to every
kind of indignity and discomfort. Under these cir-
cumstances he determined to attempt the escape of his
family and himself, both of which were effected in an
extraordinary manner and with great courage and ad-
dress. In the end of Nov. the Wuffadar Begum and
ladies of the family succeeded in eluding the vigilance
of their guards and leaving the house disguised
as Hindoo women. They first proceeded to the
house of Baluk Ram, a banker in the city, and
treasurer to the British Residency, and finally after
exceeding risk and difficulty made their way to Loo-
diana, where they arrived on the 2d of December,
1814. In this hazardous attempt they were mainly
indebted for success to Arab Allee Khan a Puthan
horse-dealer, who planned the whole, assisted their
escape from the Harem, and laid the horses for them
on the road. Shah Shoojah was too strictly watched
to effect his escape at the time, and was new closely
imprisoned and treated with the utmost rigour, sen-
tries being placed in every apartment. All these pre-
cautions, however, proved unavailing. In the month
of April, 1815, the Shah, in the most wonderful and
enterprising manner, escaped from Lahore. His re-
lease was planned by the Wuffadar Begum at Loo-
diana and carried out by his friends and followers in
the city; the houses adjoining that in which
he was confined, were hired for the purpose,
and a passage opened into the street by cutting
througla seven walls ; a few hours after the house-
hold had retired to rest, the King descended by these
apertures and issued into the street disguised as a na-
tive of the Punjab. The city wall had vet to be passed,
and the gates were closed for the night, but he ma-
naged to creep through the common sewer or drain
of the city, and found himself once more without the
walls. Horses had been laid for him, and attended by
two or three servants he fled towards the hills, and
was hospitably received by the Raja of Kishtwar.
Here he once more raised the standard of a Monarch,
and having collected a body of 3,000 men and assisted
by his friend the Baja, he invaded Cashmere ; the
attempt promised favourably at first, the Governor of
Cashmere evacuated his frontier position, and the
Shah advanced flushed with the hope of success, but
fortune again played him false. In crossing the Peer
Punjal range, he was overtaken by a heavy fall of
snow, in which many of his followers perished ;
an untimely and severe season blocked up the
roads, interrupted his communications and cut oft his
supplies ; the cold destroyed some of the troops,
and the rest dispersed. The Sl ah felt that he was
warring against fate, and gave over the attempt; he
fled with a few followers to Sutnnpore, the capital
of Kooloo, where he was it )st kindly received by
the Baja, who nobly resisted Runjeet's demand for
his surrender (for which he was afterwards severely
punished), and who assisted him to reach the British
froetier at Subathoo, where he arrived after a hazard-
ous journey and much privation, in September, 1816.
From this he proceeded to Loodiana, where he joined
his family once more. Here he found an honourable
and safe asylum from the British Government, who
allowed him a yearly provision of 50,000 rupees as
long as he remained within the British territory ; he
was subsequently joined by his brother Shah Zeman,
who was finally set at liberty by Runjeet Singh; the
British Government allowed him also an annuity of
24,000 rupees.
In the mean time Futteh Khan having established
Mahmood on the throne, and having settled affairs in
Cashmere, turned his attention to Herat, which the
Persians threatened with invasion ; here he had an
undecided action with the Persians, who however re-
tired, and Futteh Khan, under authority received from
Mahmood, dealt very harshly with Hadjee Feroze, the
Governor of Herat, of whose conduct Mahmood was
hre
feelings
alarmed ;f.
abTrohoeodp,oaNnvdereaxncd
in the breast of his son Kamran, who, with his
itedauthstiollristtyroonfget
father's sanction and knowledge, having proceeded .to
Herat, treacherously seized Futteh Khan at an inter-
view and put out his eyes. This rash and most un-
grateful act was committed in 1818 and drove all
Futteh Khan's brothers, with the whole Barukzye
tribe, into open rebellion. FuttehlKhan was shortly
after this, cruelly murdered by Mahmood and his son
Kamran. Mahmood's power departed with the loss of
his Vuzeer, be dared not meet the rebels in the field,
but fled to Herat, where he sunk into a vassal of Persia;
he died at the city in 1829, and was succeeded by his
son Kamran, who with his Minister Yar Mahommnd,
who was son to Atta Mahommud Khan, and grand-
son to the Mooktyar-00-dowlah, have recently been
brought prominently to notice even in the European
world. Azeem Khan, the eldest of Futteh Khan's
brothers, who had been left to govern Cashmere, as-
sumed the chief authority as head of the family, and
hastened to the scene of action to 'avenge his brother's
death by dethroning his murderer; but Mahmood's
flight had already anticipated his intention. Azeem
Khan now took the somewhat extraordinary resolu-
tiontime
of recalling Shah Shoojah from exile, and offered
him the crown of Caubul, sending at the same
a Koran under his seal, as a proof of his _ sin
The Shah accepted his offer, and r paired withsincerity.
all
The
expedition to Peshawur : this was in
Fortune once more seemed to smile
upon the
the end of 1818.
Monarch, who might now, after all misfortunes,
hi hancestorsis with-
have regained the throne
reached. Peshawur, he
wisely, before Azeem Khan
notions of Royal authority
premature] y displayed his
of his
out opposition ; but unfortba
uondfatelvs or rather un-
benefactor, whom he
by insulting some friend o
dignity by •
hole Barukzye family took of-
a palanquin. The w
"derate attack, and determined to
fence at this inconsiderate
a younger
. brother of Shah
considered to be encroaching on his using
a convenient puppe b
put a more compliatntwm.asastfeorunudporneadthye
to
othrthoenier :hasuncdsh
the most abject terms to Azeem
Khan for the empty crown. Make me but King,"
ed
he said, " and permit money to be coined in my name,
in the
Shoojah, perso
whon os fu
noo ,
and the whole power and resources of the kingdom
may rest with yourself, my ambition will be satisfied
with bread and the title of King." Azeem Khan
closed with his terms, and both parties adhered to
their agreement ; the power and authority being en-
tirely centered in Azeem Khan, with the title of
Vuzeer, who carried on the affairs of the State in the
name of the shadow of royalty. The unfortunate
anShdahrSethiorectittowassiilmikmarpoedireately driinsvceinnfdroe,m
mil
Peshawur,
which the
Ameers of that country agreed to cede to him. llere
he was engaged in a number of petty and undigni-
fied intrigues, not well calculated to support his fall-
ing fortunes, but to which he was in some measure
forced by the machinations of his enemies, who at
last succeeded in expelling him from this miserable
retreat. Once more a fugitive he took the circuitous
route of the desert and Jaysulmere and regained his
family at Loodiana.
In the mean time the civil war which continued in-
cessantly in Affghanistan, weakened the power of that
nation, a circumstance of which the wily Seik ruler
availed himself to the fullest extent; one by one the
eastern provinces, Mooltan, Leia, and Cashmere fell
into his power; and finally after defeatingthe Affghan
force at Noushera on the Caubul river in 1823, he
made himself master of the fertile province of Pesha-
avur : this last blow was followed by and is said to
have caused the death of Azeem Khan, the head of the
Barukzye brothers, which event was the signal for a
scene of family strife, and the dismemberment of the
empire. Sultan Mahmood, one of the brothers, held
Peshawur from Runjeet as his tributary ; Dost Ma-
hummud made himself master of Caubul and the
neighbouring districts; and four other brothers ruled