im in Akber's house.
Mahomed Sudeeq disclosed Mahomed Akber's proposition to the
Envoy, which was, that the following day Sir William should
meet him (Mahomed Akber) and a few of his immediate friends,
viz. the chiefs of the Eastern Giljyes, outside the
cantonments, when a final agreement should be made, so as to be
fully understood by both parties; that Sir William should have
a considerable body of troops in readiness, which, on a given
signal, were to join with those of Mahomed Akber and the
Giljyes, assault and take Mahmood Khan's fort, and secure the
person of Ameenoolah. At this stage of the proposition Mahomed
Sudeeq signified that, for a certain sum of money, the head of
Ameenoolah should be presented to the Envoy; but from this Sir
William shrunk with abhorrence, declaring that it was neither
his custom nor that of his country to give a price for blood.
Mahomed Sudeeq then went on to say, that, after having subdued
the rest of the khans, the English should be permitted to
remain in the country eight months longer, so as to save their
_purdah_, (veil, or credit,) but that they were then to
evacuate Affghanistan, as if of their own accord; that Shah
Shoojah was to continue king of the country, and that Mahomed
Akber was to be his wuzeer. As a further reward for his
(Mahomed Akber's) assistance, the British Government were to
pay him thirty lacs of rupees, and four lacs of rupees per
annum during his life! To this extraordinary and wild proposal,
Sir William gave ear with an eagerness which nothing can
account for but the supposition, confirmed by many other
circumstances, that his strong mind had been harassed until it
had in some degree lost its equipoise; and he not only assented
fully to these terms, but actually gave a Persian paper to that
effect, written in his own hand, declaring as his motives that
it was not only an excellent opportunity to carry into effect
the real wishes of Government--which were to evacuate the
country with as much credit to ourselves as possible--but that
it would give England time to enter into a treaty with Russia,
defining the bounds beyond which neither were to pass in
Central Asia. So ended this fatal conference, the nature and
result of which, contrary to his usual custom, Sir William
comm