Page:The Musnud of Murshidabad (1704 - 1904).djvu/247

[ 143 ] the musnud of Bengal, that is when he was Command- er-in-chief of the Suba. It was fortified with owers and provided with cannon.

Meer Jaffer's audience hall, since turned into an mambarah, and his dwelling house in the mahal serai, now called the Kusre Azem, still existsexist [sic].

Here the last secret conference before the battle of Plassey, took place between Watts, the East India Company's chief factor at Cossimbazar, who entered the Deori in a palanquin, disguised as a purdanasheen lady of the harem, and Meer Jaffer and his son, Miran. Miran received Watts in one of the appartments of the seraglio. Then placing the Koran on his head and his hand on the head of his son, Meer Jaffer swore with great solemnity that he would faithfully perform all he had promised.

The place, where according to the Seir-ul-Muta- qherin, Serajuddowla was murdered is pointed out in the compound of the Deori, by the side of the public road, under a Neem tree (Melia Azudirachta). On the walls of a room could be seen the blood stains of the murder of Serajuddowla. The walls which witnessed Mahamdi Beg's act do no longer stand. According to Orme, the scene of the murder would seem to be in the Mansurganj Palace, on the other side of the river, opposite to the Jaffraganj Deori. Orme was writing at Madras. Family tradition strongly supports the view of the Mutaqherin. Some are of opinion that the probability is that Serajud-