Page:Picturesque Nepal.djvu/62

 removed from his high position and died in 1839. It will be noticed that after the regime of this administrator the active agents of the State have been a succession of leading officials of the Government—who occupy the position of Prime Ministers. These individuals—and especially one of them—have been mainly responsible for the subsequent policy of the State. The successor of Bhimsena was his nephew, Matabar Singh. During his ministry a young soldier of the name of Jung Bahadur rose rapidly in the army and also in favour at the court. He was a nephew of Matabar Singh, and in the course of time gained sufficient power to enable him to dispose of his uncle, and ultimately to occupy his position as head of the Government. There is little doubt that Jung Bahadur is the most remarkable individual the State has ever produced. For over thirty years — from 1846, when he became Prime Minister, until he died in 1877 — he was in every sense "the special head of all the land." The life of Jung Bahadur was full of incident, and he proclaimed his strong personality in every action. Added to this, legends