In presenting this translation of the History of Tipu Sultan to the public, it may be proper to observe, that I do not consider myself responsible for any details contained in the work.

Tipu’s character, cannot be better exemplified, than by the eases of Muhammad Ali, Commandant, and Ghazi Khan Bede. These officers had been all their lives the most devoted and trust worthy of his father's servants, and indeed his father owed his life to them on more than one occasion, as will be seen in his history. They had been also the chief instruments of his father's elevation to the rank and power he attained, and moreover the chief means of his own accession to the throne of the Khodadad kingdom.

In return for all these meritorious services, he no sooner found himself secure in the possession of his father's authority, than he put the first to death from jealousy, because he was too just and honourable a man for the service of such a tyrant; and both were executed under circumstances of great cruelty. It is true, Muhammad Ali, Commandant, was a violent man, that he wanted sense and entirely misunderstood his new master's character; but Ghaizi Khan Bede, to all appearance, was sacrificed to mere suspicion, and put out of the way only because the Sultan Tipu chose to listen to his enemies, or because he coveted the possession of his wealth.