British administration in India, which met with considerable success.
Government was not slow in recognising the good work done by Amir Ali, and when an opportunity occurred showed itself anxious to make use of his services. In 1867 it became necessary to appoint a manager for the affairs of Wajid Ali Shah, the ex-king of Oudh, who was then residing in Calcutta. It was a most difficult post, one that few would envy and few were adequately fitted to occupy. The choice of government fell finally upon Amir Ali Khan. He had proved his capability and above all his unfailing tact as assistant to the Commissioner of Patna in the difficult days of 1857, while his genial manners and sympathetic disposition had already won him a host of friends in Calcutta. As manager of the affairs of the ex-king of Oudh, however, he had the most difficult task of his lifetime. Wajid Ali Shah, surrounded by a crowd of favourites and satellites who bitterly resented the intervention of a stranger, was himself by no means inclined to welcome with open arms the official appointed by the British government to regulate his private affairs. Resenting the position in which he had been placed, the ex-king endeavoured to withdraw himself altogether from social intercourse, particularly with Europeans, adopting towards the government a tone of marked hostility and distrust. By his constant tact and unwearied patience Amir
