Plaffiey, betrayed by his generals, and foon after taken in an ignominious
flight, and in lefs than thirty hours murdered by his
fucceffor, Meet- Jaffier Ally Cawn, on whom we had bellowed
the Nabob/hip as a reward of his treafon. His conduit did
not pleafe us ; we depofed him, and advanced to the Mufnud,
or throne of power, his nephew, Ally Coffim, who began to
lhew a fpirit of independency, a crime intolerable ; we dif-
carded him alfo, and again placed that Nabob o f fhreds and tatters,
poor Jaffier, in his feat. That wretched cypher died in
1765. Heirs were wanting to the throne, and we very wifely
nominated ourfelves to the fucceflion.
We had every reafon to dread the abilities of Mir Coffim. He
collected troops from every part, and gave them the fulleit difci-
pline which the time would allow. He formed a train of artillery;
he made alliances ; he threatened to oppofe us in Bengal, in the
form o f a fecond Ayder Alt, with all his cruelty, and all his talents
; and in the end might have proved equally formidable,
had we been lefs ailive in fupprefling this riling hero.
Rajabmabel is a town feated on the wellern fide of the river,
in a parallel with Mauldab; it was the refidence of the Sou-
babs o f Bengal, who came there on account o f the quantity of
game o f chace which the neighborhood afforded. At Rajab-
mabel is a mod venerable mofque, founded by Sultan Sujab,
third fon o f Sbab Jehan, and brother to Aurengzebe. Not
far from it is a palace built by the fame prince, and in the
fame llyle. The mofque is fo, large as to have received the
whole of the Englijb part of the army, after the great victory
at Ouda Nulla. The battle was fought on the banks o f the
Ganges,
Ganges, two miles below Rajabmabel, near one of the fmaller
rivers which fall into the Ganges. The bridge (built alfo by
Sultan Sujab) is an elegant building, with three pointed arches,
and in the middle rife two light cupolas on each fide of the battlements.
Mr. Hodges, vol. i. tab. XXIV. gives a view o f the
mofque; and vol. i. tab. XIV. o f the bridge. '
A t Rajabmabel is a molt magnificent Caravan/era, founded C a r a v a n s e r a .
by the fame munificent prince. Thefe are the foundations o f
the charitable and benevolent* and are the moft ufeful that can
be thought o f in fuch countries as thefe, where inns are unknown.
They are alfo called Choultries and Chauderies, and are
very frequently ereited on the fides o f great roads; they are
often fo ftrongly built as to be occupied by the Europeans as
places of defence; thofe founded by the Hindoos are open in
front. M. Sonnerat, in vol. i. tab. 2d, gives a fpecimen o f one
o f this kind, as Mr. Hodges does in his iff vol. tab. IV. a Mahometan
foundation built by Sultan Sujab.
On the hills which lie to the fouth and weft o f Boglepour, A s a v a g e
and extend to the fouth of Rajabmabel, inhabit a people once of E0?LE i
the moft favage manners, now by the good fenfe and humanity
of a Mr. Cleveland reclamed, and become the protectors"
of thofe very neighbors to whom they were the conftant terror.
They were accuftomed to fally out at night from their fortreffes
on the innocent Hindoo villages, murder the huibandmen,
drive away the cattle, and retire, beyond the reach o f purfuit,
to their inacceffible dens. The Hindoo, Mahometan, and Englijb
government in their turns \frere obliged to poll troops to cheek
their inroads. Thefe they were unable to withftand, as their
only