this Gunga Govind Sing produces soon after
another character, to whom he consigns the custody of the whole family
and the whole province.

I will do Mr. Hastings the justice to say, that, if he had known there
was another man more accomplished in all iniquity than Gunga Govind
Sing, he would not have given him the first place in his confidence. But
there is another next to him in the country, whom you are to hear of
by-and-by, called Debi Sing. This person, in the universal opinion of
all Bengal, is ranked next to Gunga Govind Sing; and, what is very
curious, they have been recorded by Mr. Hastings as rivals in the same
virtues.

Arcades ambo,
Et cantare pares, et respondere parati.

But Mr. Hastings has the happiest modes in the world: these rivals were
reconciled on this occasion, and Gunga Govind Sing appoints Debi Sing,
superseding all the other officers for no reason whatever upon record.
And because, like champions, they ought to go in pairs, there is an
English gentleman, one Mr. Goodlad, whom you will hear of presently,
appointed along with him. Absolute strangers to the Rajah's family, the
first act they do is to cut off a thousand out of sixteen hundred a
month from his allowance. They state (though there was a great number of
dependants to maintain) that six hundred would be enough to maintain
him. There appears in the account of these proceedings to be such a
flutter about the care of the Rajah, and the management of his
household: in short, that there never was such a tender guardianship as,
always with the knowledge of Mr. Hastings, is exercised over this poor
Rajah, who had just given (if he did give) 40,000_l._ for _his own_
inheritance, if it was his due,--for the inheritance of _others_, if it
was not his due. One would think he was entitled to some mercy; but,
probably because the money could not otherwise be supplied, his
establishment was cut down by Debi Sing and Mr. Goodlad a thousand a
month, which is just twelve thousand a year.

When Mr. Hastings had appointed those persons to the guardianship who
had an interest in the management of the Rajah's education and fortune,
one should have thought, before they were turned out, he would at least
have examined whether such a step was proper or not. No: they were
turned out without any such examination; and when I come to inquire into
the proceedings of Gunga Govind Sing's Committee, I do not find that the
new guardians have bro