Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057352).pdf/156

 148 PAR as had been long coveted by Pirthipat. Deluded with these specious promises, and by the more substantial bait held out to him, Raja Pir- thipat, accompanied by 1,000 sabres, started for Gutni. Nawab Safdar Jang received him with every appearance of cordiality, presented him with a sanad for the coveted post, and, directing a "khilat" to be given bim, requested him to go into an adjoining tent and robe himself. At the same time he secretly directed Ali Beg Khan, Chár- chin, to follow and assassinate him. Accordingly Ali Beg Khan followed the rája into the tent, and on pretence of congratulating him on his good fortune, sprang upon him and endeavoured to throw him down. Pirthipat was the more powerful man of the two, and in the struggle which ensued fell uppermost, whereupon Ali Beg Khan, quick thought, snatched a dagger from the rája's girdle and stabbed him with it mortally. The Rája, after inflicting a severe wound in his adversary's face with his teeth, fell back a corpse. The annals of the clan are remarkable and instructive. They have always disregarded two maxims supposed to be of primary force, purity of blood and indivisibility of estate. It is mentioned in the family annals as an exceptional incident that the line of Mallapur is of pure descent; its scions being all the sons of wives. It does not appear, however, that any division took place in the way of partition of the inheritance. The younger brothers were provided with a village or two, which small patri- monies they proceeded to enlarge by every means in their power, and specially by picking up stray villages after their rája was murdered. Thus the Sujákhar lord commencing with 24 villages in 1778, added twelve pore, and from 1828 to 1855 forty more, finally acquiring an estate of 110 villages, and losing half of it for concealing cannon in 1859, The Sombansi have 360 taluqdari, 154 zamindari, and 85 sub-tenures. No other clan can boast such a fair distribution of property, and such a good basis for future prosperity. Most of its chiefs are kind and liberal men. PARTABGARH-Pargana PARTABGARH-Tahşil PARTABGARH--District PARTABGARH.-Partabgarh lies in latitude 25°53' north, and longitude 81°59' east. It was founded in 1618 A.D. by Rája Partáb Singh ; it is on the metalled road to Allahabad, 36 miles distant, 56 from Rae Bareli, and 24 from Sultanpur. The general history of the town is given under that of the pargana. There is a fine old fort here built by the rája, but seized 90 years ago by the Government. The British Government has now sold it to Rája Ajít Singh, a relative of the ancient owner. It was of consi- derable size, but its outer wall and flanking works were knocked down after the mutiny; an inner keep and little walled garden still remain. It is a favourable specimen of Hindu architecture. The population is 3,743. There are six mosques, and four temples to Mahadeo, which in addition to the fort are the only masonry buildings. The annual sales in the bazar are about Rs. 5,000; very good sugar is made bere. This place gives its name to the district, tahsil, and pargana, and is four miles from Bela, the civil station. There is a Government bigh school, the registry, and other usual district offices.