Great as were the successes which the agent of the Nana gained on his own account in Mayfair, he was able to effect very little for his master in Leadenhall Street and Westminster. In the reports which he transmitted to Bithoor he attributed his failure to the bribes which the Board of Control and the Privy Council had eaten at the hands of the Hast Indian Company ; an explanation which appeared satisfactory to the Maharaja. On his way home Azimoolah passed through Constantinople at the time when our fortune in the Crimea was at the lowest ebb. During the mid-gloom of that terrible winter there was much talk among those who did not love us concerning the decadence of England and the youthfal vigour of the Russian power. Of such gossip the clever Asiatic collected an ample budget, in order to eonsole his baffled employer with cheery vaticinations relating to the approaching downfall of the British rule
Although the Nana had failed in his attempt on the public purse, his wealth was still conspicuvus even among the colossal incomes of Indian land-holders. He had contrived to secure to himself the whole property of the ex-Peishwa, and strange stories were told about the means by which this end had been accomplished. The nephew of Bajee Rao started a claim for one half of his uncle’s estate, which moiety he valued at more than three millions.
