the population of Lucknow
expected that some such demand would be made by the British
Government from the new sovereign, since his right to the throne
could be disputed, not only by Moonna Jan, the supposed son of the
late King, but by the undoubted sons of Shums-od Dowlah, the elder
brother of the present King, whose rights were barred only by that
peculiar feature of the Mahommedan law elsewhere adverted to in this
Diary. Every day of delay, in promulgating the final orders of the
Supreme Government, tended to add to this number; and by the time
that these final orders came, by far the greater portion of the city
were of the same opinion. The fears of the people tended to add to
their numbers, and give strength to the opinion, for all knew, that
there was but little left in the reserved treasury, that the expenses
greatly exceeded the annual revenue, and that the troops and
establishments were all greatly in arrear; and all believed that a
general contribution would have to be levied to meet the demand when
it came.*

[* Nuseer-od Dowlah reigned under the title of Mahommed Allee Shah,
from the 8th of July, 1837, to the 16th of May, 1842. Nuseer-od Deen
Hyder, his predecessor, had reigned from the 20th of October, 1827,
to the 7th of July, 1837. He, Nuseer-od Deen, found in the treasury,
when he ascended the throne, ten crores of rupees, or ten millions
sterling. He left in the treasury, when he died, only seventy lacs of
rupees, including the fifty-three lacs left by the Koduseea Begum.
Mahommed Allee Shah left in the treasury thirty-five lacs of rupees,
one hundred and twenty-four thousand gold mohurs, and twenty-four
lacs in our Government securities. Amjud Allee Shah reigned from the
16th of May, 1842, to the 13th of February, 1847; and left in the
treasury ninety-two lacs of rupees, one hundred and twenty-four
thousand gold mohurs, and the twenty-four lacs in our Government
securities. His son, Wajid Allee Shah, has reigned from the 13th of
February, 1847.]

The assertion, on the part of the late King, that he had ceased to
cohabit with Afzul mahal, the mother of Moonna Jan, for two years, or
even for six months before his birth, is now known to have been
utterly false, and known at the time to be so by his mother, the
Padshah Begum; with whom they both lived. Afzul-mahal, though of
humble birth and pretensions, maintained a fair reputation among
those who knew her best in a profligate palace, and has continued