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Ahmad Shah, having supreme faith in himself, had also the gift of inspiring in others implicit confidence in his leadership and in their final victory. On the contrary, the enemy was daily losing patience and morale. The Indians, who had flocked to Ahmad Shah's standard, were also anxious to put an end to this protracted siege by an immediate action. When they insisted in their demand, Ahmad Shah coldly answered, "This is a matter of war with which you are not well-acquainted. In other affairs do as you please, but leave this to me and follow my advice implicitly."
The Marhattas at last clearly saw that if this state of affairs were to continue a little longer, they were sure to lose the contest. An immediate action, they thought, might relieve them of the impending danger. They therefore decided to come out of their fortifications and attack the Afghan camp.
From the day of his arrival in Panipat, Ahmad Shah had pitched a small tent for himself in front of the camp, to which he repaired every morning before sunrise for prayers. Then mounting his horse he would visit the various posts and recon-
Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.