in Amyatt's boat and that he had brought her to the fort at Murshidabad, where she was now being kept with every mark of honour and respect. But he could not send her to the Nawab's royal court without a special order; for, he had come to know from Amyatt's servants that the Begum had been living with Amyatt as his mistress, and the Begum herself had admitted her guilt. She has embraced Christianity as her religion and is quite unwilling to go to Monghyr. She says, "Let me go away—I will go to Calcutta and live there with Amyatt's friends. If you will not let me off, I will seek every opportunity to steal away—if you will send me to Monghyr I will commit suicide." Under such circumstances, he could not but await instructions as to whether he would let off the Begum—detain her at Murshidabad—or send her to Monghyr. He would act according to the order he would now receive.
A messenger on horse-back started for Monghyr that very night, with that fatal letter.
It is said that misfortunes which are still far off, sometimes cast their shadows on our minds to indicate their approach. It may not be an absolute truth, but at the very moment the
243
