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 Chap. IV.] REIGN OF ALA-U-DIN. 99

ablest and most faitliful servants to death; and then, in order to suppress the ..i). ms.

(U.sturbances which this imbecile and inic^uitous act had produced, had recoiu-se

to Bheilole for assistance. The crafty Afghan at once obeyed the summons,

and marched to Delhi with 20,000 horsemen iUTayed in armour. 'J'hough

this reinforcement made the royal army superior to that of the insurgents,

lie refused to take the Held, and, like a coward, shut himself up in his ])alace.

The brunt of the action which ensued fell upon Bheilole, who acquitted liim-

self manfully ; and, in consequence, rose into such ftivour that Mahomed adopted

liim as his son. Matters seemed now ripe for the execution of the schemes

which Bheilole had all along contemplated. He accordingly strengthened his

army by numerous bodies of Afghans, and, throwing off the mask, marched

upon Delhi. The siege which he commenced proved more formidable than he

had anticipated, and he determined to wait a little longer. Meantime the

weak and dissolute Mahomed was permitted, notwithstanding his crime of

jtarricide, to die a natm-al death, in 14-10, after a reign of twelve years.

Ala-u-din, Mahomed's son, mounted the throne, and immediately received -Ma-w-diirs

feeble reign.

tlie homage of all the chiefs except Bheilole, who was jn-obably not unwillmg to provoke a contest in which he felt confident that he would prove the victor. Ala-u-din was too j)owerless or too mean-spirited to resent the insult, and soon tell into general contempt, the people not hesitating to say openly that he was a weaker man than his father. The kingdom of Delhi now posses.sed scarcely a shadow of its former greatness; for the whole that could be considered as pro- perly belonging to it was the city of Delhi and a small tract in its vicinity. All the rest of Hindoostan wtis broken up into separate })rincipalities. The Deccan. (iujerat, Malwah, Jounpoor, and Bengal had each its independent king ; while a. ii ions <tll the other territories, though nominally subordinate to Delhi, were in the kingdoms. hands of chiefs e(pially independent. At the head of these was, tis has been already seen, Bheilole Lody, whose designs on the ca})ital had been re})eatedly declared by overt acts, ;ind were only postponed to a fitting opportunity. This op])ortuuity soon arrived.

Ala-u-din had early taken a great ftmcy for Budaoon, where he had spent Ai,iu<iiii'« some time in building pleasiu-e-houses and laying out gardens. He thought that ii,„i;,.H,n. its air agreed better with his health than Delhi, and wished to make it his lesi- dence. The remonstrances of his vizier, who showed him the danger, dissuaded him for a time; but crafty corn-tiers, having succeeded in bringing the vizier into disgrace, he immediately proceeded to follow out his own wi.shes, regardless of the consequences, and set off to enjoy him.self at Budaoon, leaving a deputy to act for him at Delhi. The vizier, though disgraced, was still alive. The very thought made him uneasy; and some of his comisellors. tfiking advantage of the reeling, persuaded him that his best policy would ])e to take the vizier's life. The order to that ett'ect was accordingly given; but the vizier Mas put on his guard, and made his escape to Delhi, where he had intiucnce enough to obtain