The minister at the time the old man made over the reins of government to his son was Khânjû Purôhit.[1] Wishing to get rid of him a few years after, this son, Râjâ Bahâdur, employed Muhram Singh, one of his feudal Râjpût barons, to assassinate him. As a reward for this service he received the seals of office; and the Râjâ confiscated all the property of the deceased, amounting to four lakhs of rupees[2] and resumed the whole of the estates held by the family. The young Râjâ died soon after; and his father, when he resumed the reins of government, wishing to remove the new minister, got him assassinated by Gambhîr Singh, another feudal Râjpût baron, who, as his reward, received in his turn the seals of office. This man was a most atrocious villain, and employed the public establishments of his chief to plunder travellers on the high road. In 1833 his followers robbed four men, who were carrying treasure to the amount of ten thousand rupees from Sâgar to Jhânsî through Tehrî, and intended to murder them; but, by the sagacity of one of the party, and a lucky accident, they escaped, made their way back to Sâgar, and complained to the magistrate.[3] The[4] minister discovered the nature of their burdens as they lodged at Tehrî on their way, and sent after them a party of soldiers, with orders to put them in the bed of a rivulet that separated the territory of Orchhâ from that of the Jhânsî Râjâ. One of the treasure party discovered their object; and, on reaching the bank of the rivulet in a deep grass jungle, he threw down his bundle, dashed unperceived through the grass, and reached a party of travellers whom he saw ascending a hill about half a mile in advance. The myrmidons of the minister, when they found that one had escaped, were afraid to murder the others, but took their treasure. In spite of great obstacles, and with much danger to the families of three of those men, who resided in the capital of Tehrî, the magistrate of Sâgar brought the crime home to the minister, and the Râjâ, anxious to avail himself of the occasion to fill his coffers, got him assassinated. The Râjâ was then about eighty years of age, and his minister was a strong, athletic, and brave man. One morning while he was sitting with him in private conversation, the former pretended a wish to drink some of the water in which his household god had been washed (the 'chandan mirt'),[5] and begged the minister to go and fetch it from the place where it stood by the side of the idol in the court of the palace. As a man cannot take his sword before the idol, the minister put it down, as the Râjâ knew he would, and going to the idol, prostrated himself before it preparatory to taking away the water. In that state he was cut down by Bihârî,[6] another feudal Râjpût baron, who aspired to the seals, and some of his friends, who had been placed there on purpose by the Râjâ. He obtained the seals by his service, and, as he was allowed to place one brother in