Page:A Comprehensive History of India Vol 1.djvu/102

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HTSTOP.Y < apfK>int any Hindoo to a place of trust and power. His jjatronage of literature brought srnne of the most distinguished wiiters of tiie period to his court, which, if we may credit Ferishta, was the most polite and magnificent in the world His example found many imitators in the cajutal; and, while a society of learned men inet at the house of a prince called Khan Shaheed, another society, of a more miscel- laneous but not less attractive descrijjtion, as it consisted of masiciarLS, dancers, actors, and kissagoes or story-tellers, met at the hoase of the king's seajnd s^ni. Various other societies, for similar purj)Oses, were formed in every quarter of Delhi. Not merely the literary tastes of the king, but his love of show wa.s sedulously imitated ; and splendid palaces, equipages, and liveries became quite a rage amonfj the courtiers.

Ferishta warms as he describes the pomp and state with which the monarch surrounded him.self, and proceeds as follows: — "So imposing were the cere- monies of introduction to tlie royal pre.sence, that none could approach the throne without a mixture of awe and admiration. Nor was Gheias-u-din Bulbun less splendid in his procession.s. His state elephants were covered with purple and gold tra])pings. His horse -guards, consisting of 1000 Tartars, appeared in glittering armour, mounted on the finest steeds of Persia and Arabia, with silver bits, and housings of rich embroidery. Five hundred chosen foot, in rich liveries, with drawn swords, preceded him, proclaiming his approach and clearing the way. His nobles followed according to their rank, wuth their various equipages and attendants."

It is not unworthy of notice, that Bulbun took a very marked interest in what is now known as the temperance cause. An officer of rank, son of the keeper of the royal wardrobe, and governor of the pro'ince of Budaoon, had, while in a state of drunkenness, slain one of his personal dependants, and, on the complaint of the widow, was sent for, tried, and beaten to death in presence of the whole court. Another higli officer, the governor of Oude, who had been guilty of the same crime under the influence of intoxication, received a public whipping of 500 lashes, and was given over as a slave to the widow of the man he had killed. These are not to be regarded as solitary instances of rigid justice, but rather part of a general system adopted for the purpose of putting down drunkenness. In the following statement of Ferishta, there is something very like an enactment of the Maine-law: — "Gheias-u-din Bulbun in his youth was addicted to the use of wine, but on his accession to the throne he became a great enemy to the luxury, prohibiting the use and manufacture of fermented liquors throughout his dominions, under the severest penalties.'"'

Though fond of splendour, and by no means niggardly, Bulbun seems some- times to have been seized with fits of economy. During one of these, he caused a list of all the veterans wdio had served in the preceding reigns to be made out, and settled half-pay, with exeni|)tion from active duty, on all who were reported