Page:Malabari, Behramji M. - Gujarat and the Gujaratis (1882).djvu/233

Rh Shett Jamálji, who swore that he had disinherited the young "thief," and in a fit of passionate upbraiding, was carried off before he could make another will.

Come we now to the history of Jamál Gotá Fils, Justice of the Peace, Khán Báhádur, &c. &c. Young Jamál's first care was to look into the finances of the house. He ascertained that he was master of about five lakhs of rupees. He then counted how much he should spend every month, so as to leave a few thousands for his "brats," as he paternally called his sons. Having settled this point, he opened his campaign of luxury, dissipation, and waste. He pulled down house after house and built bungalows instead. He organised dinner parties and nautch parties, and other immoral entertainments. He invited the élite of the town three times a week on one pretence or another. He took a Mehtá in confidence, only bargaining that he should be supplied with what he wanted daily, the family to be reared with strict economy. He spent Rs. 1,000 one night on a party, and threatened