Under these circumstances the
Rajah desired leave to perform his ablutions; which was refused, unless
he sent for water, and performed that ceremony on the spot. This he
did. And soon after some of the people, who now began to surround the
palace in considerable numbers, attempting to force their way into the
palace, a British officer, commanding the guard upon the Rajah, struck
one of them with his sword. The people grew more and more irritated; but
a message being sent from the Rajah to appease them, they continued, on
this interposition, for a while quiet. Then the Rajah retired to a sort
of stone pavilion, or bastion, to perform his devotions, the guard of
sepoys attending him in this act of religion. In the mean time a person
of the meanest station, called a _chubdar_, at best answering to our
common beadle or tipstaff, was sent with a message (of what nature does
not appear) from Mr. Hastings, or the Resident, to the prince under
arrest: and this base person, without regard to the rank of the
prisoner, or to his then occupation, addressed him in a rude, boisterous
manner, "passionately and insultingly," (as the said Rajah has without
contradiction asserted,) "and, reviling him with a loud voice, gave both
him and his people the vilest abuse"; and the manner and matter being
observable and audible to the multitude, divided only by an open stone
lattice from the scene within, a firing commenced from without the
palace; on which the Rajah again interposed, and did what in him lay to
suppress the tumult, until, an English officer striking him with a
sword, and wounding him on the hand, the people no longer kept any
measures, but broke through the inclosure of the palace.
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