The following letter, dated the 15th of June, 1763, which we find entered in the copy book of Mr. Amyatt, was meant to report to Mr. Vansittart the failure of his mission. The original never reached its destination. "I am favoured with yours of the 8th and 9th instant. We waited on the Nabob, and delivered him your letter: he was highly incensed, and expressed great contempt for us and our forces, and told us he expected nothing else than a war; that we might go and remain at our tents till we received the Council's orders, and then signify the same to him by writing—which he supposed would be much the same as your letters to him; if so, he should dismiss us, but expected Mr. Hay to remain a hostage till those prisoners we had of his were released. The stopping our arms is not equal to the seizing his aumils, he says; and our troops being in his pay, they shall not remain at Patna; and peace or war depended on their removal, which he found would not be the case. All my endeavours to establish a friendship and confidence have been in vain; nor can I convince him we did not intend breaking with him, or to disgrace him by being obliged to seize his aumils, but necessitated so to do. He seemed inclined to quarrel, or rather resolved we shall have no influence, or free intercourse, or trade through his country, but what he pleases. I have had a very disagreeable time with him, and shall be heartily glad when free from this embassy, which I have, to the utmost of my power, endeavoured to conclude, in bringing about a lasting peace and friendship, and reconcile the Nabob to every body; but to no purpose, nor can it be effected." Footnote 222: 1763. Footnote 223: A well-informed friend of the author remarks, that he was not a German, but a Frenchman or Swiss, of the name of _Sombre_, which, perhaps, had been his _nom-de-guerre_ when in the French service. Footnote 224: Cossim Ali was his son-in-law. Footnote 225: Mr. Vansittart, in his communications with the Nabob, rejected this present previous to the treaty, as it might appear the price of its stipulations: but he intimated, at the same time, that there would be no objection to such present after the obligations of the treaty were fulfilled. The following is a list of the presents acknowledged to have been received on this occasion:— Mr. Vansittart rupees 500,000 £58,333 Mr. Sumner 240,000 28,000 Mr. Holwell 270,000 30,937 Mr. M'Guire 180,000 20,625 Mr. Smyth 134,000 15,354 Major Yorke 134,000 15,354 General Caillaud 200,000 22,916 Mr. M'Guire 75,000 8,750 ———— £200,269 ———— Vide Parl. Reports, vol. iii. p. 311.