284 APPENDIX the kindness of the Emperor. But the majority in per- versity and wilfulness rejected the proposal. These were distributed among the amirs, who were directed to keep these despicable wretches in rigorous confine- ment. When any one of them accepted the true faith, a report was to be made to the Emperor, so that pro- vision might be made for him. Those who refused were to be kept in continual confinement. So it came to pass that many of them passed from prison to hell. Such of their idols as were likenesses of the prophets were thrown into the Jumna, the rest were broken to pieces.' CUSTOMS OP THE EUROPEANS AT HUGLI IN MOHAMMAD SHAH'S TIME, 1719-1748 A. D. A native writer of Kashmir, named Khwaja Abd- al-Karim Khan, gives some account of the various Eu- ropean nations in India early in the eighteenth century, and comments on their manners and customs at Hugli in Bengal. [Elliot, vol. viii, p. 127.] ' At this time [about 1743 A. D.], in consequence of the weakness of his Majesty Mohammad Shah, and the want of unanimity among his nobles, the armies of the Marathas of the south had spread themselves over Bengal, and Hugli fell into their hands. I had occasion to stop at the city of Firash- danga (Chandarnagar), which is inhabited by a tribe of Frenchmen. The city of Calcutta, which is on the other side of the water and is inhabited by a tribe of English who have settled there, is much more extensive and thickly populated than Firashdanga.
