ould explain herself in their language without embarrassment, or the
assistance of an interpreter, and who was the more interesting to them
from the circumstance of being the wife of a Syaad'.[5]

From inquiries made at Lucknow it has been ascertained that Mir
Hasan 'Ali had no children by his English wife. By one or more native
wives he had three children: a daughter, Fatimah Begam, who married a
certain Mir Sher 'Ali, of which marriage one or more descendants
are believed to be alive; and two sons, Mir Sayyid 'Ali or Miran
Sahib, said to have served the British Government as a Tahsildar,
whose grandson is now living at Lucknow, and Mir Sayyid Husain, who
became a Risaldar, or commander of a troop, in one of the Oudh
Irregular Cavalry Regiments. One of his descendants, Mir Agha 'Ali
Sahib, possesses some landed property which was probably acquired by
the Risaldar. After the annexation of Oudh Mir Hasan 'Ali is
said to have been paid a pension of Rs. 100 _per mensem_ till his death in
1863.

It is also worthy of remark that she carefully avoids any reference to the
palace intrigues and maladministration which prevailed in Oudh during the
reigns of Ghazi-ud-din Haidar and Nasir-ud-din Haidar, who
occupied the throne during her residence at Lucknow. She makes a vague
apology for the disorganized state of the country: 'Acts of oppression may
sometimes occur in Native States without the knowledge even, and much less
by the command of, the Sovereign ruler, since the good order of the
government mainly depends on the disposition of the Prime Minister for the
time being'[6]--a true remark, but no defence for the conduct of the weak
princes who did nothing to suppress corruption and save their subjects
from oppression.

Little is known of the history of Mrs. Mir Hasan 'Ali after her
arrival in England. It has been stated that she was attached in some
capacity to the household of the Princess Augusta, who died unmarried on
September 22, 1840.[7] This is probable, because the list of subscribers
to her book is headed by Queen Adelaide, the Princess Augusta, and other
ladies of the Royal Family. She must have been in good repute among
Anglo-Indians, because several well-known names appear in the list: H.T.
Colebrooke, G.C. Haughton, Mordaunt Ricketts and his wife, and Colonel J.
Tod.

The value of the book rests on the fact that it is a record of the
first-hand experiences of an English lady who occupied the exceptional
posit