prevent this inconvenience to the court, the emperor, after fufficient time is allowed to the tradefmen to follow, orders them to be burnt, out of their tents.'

The character of Actemâd-ul-Dowla, the hiftory of whose early life and rife to power is very remarkable, will be read with pleasure by the friends of virtue and mankind:

Soon after the court returned to Agra, the good old vifier, Actemâd-ul-Dowla, the emperor's father-in-law, gave up a life, which, on account of his many virtues, had become dear to the people. Bred up in the fchool of Adverfity, Actemâd ul-Dowla had learned to fubdue his paffions, to liften to the dictates of Reafon, to feel for the misfortunes of mankind. Having raised himself from fervitude to authority, from indigence to honour and wealth, he knew the duties of every ftation. He was not lefs converfant with the world in practice, than he was from his extenfive reading and the well-weighed reflections of his own mind. An economist in every thing, but in charity; he was only covetous of wealth to relieve the needy and the poor. He chofe rather to maintain the dignity of his rank by the number of his friends, than by that of domeftics, followers, and Дlaves. The people loved him as a father, but feared him as a father too; for he tempered feverity with moderation, and lenity with the figour of the laws. The empire flourished under his wife adminiftration. No evil but luxury prevailed. That weed takes root in profperity; and, perhaps, can never be eradicated from fo rich a foil. The emprefs was inconfolable for the death of her father. She propofed, at once, as a proof of her affection and magnificence, to perpetuate his memory in a monument of folid filver. The imperial architect foon convinced her, that a metal fo precious would not be the most lafting means of tranfmitting the vifier's fame to pofterity. All ages," faid he, " are full of avarice; and even the empire of the houfe of Timur, like all fublunary things, is fubject to revolution and change." She dropt her purpofe; and a magnificent fabric of ftone ftill retains, in Agra, the name of Actemâd

ul Dowla.'

66

Mr. Dow has drawn the character of the emperor Jehangire with fo malterly a hand, and it is in itself so ftriking, that we fhall lay a confiderable part of it before our Readers:

Jehangire was neither vicious nor virtuous in the extreme. Mis bad actions proceeded from paffion; and his good frequently from whim. Violent in his meafures without cruelty, merciful without feeling, proud without dignity, and generous without acquiring friends. A flave to his pleasures, yet a lover of business; deftitute of all religion, yet full of fuperftition and vain fears. Firm in nothing but in the invariable rigour of his juftice, he was changeable in his opinions, and often the dupe of thofe whom he defpifed. Sometimes calm, winning, and benevolent, he gained the affections of those who knew him not; at other times, morofe, captious, re ferved, he became terrible to thofe in whom he moft confided. In public, he was familiar, complaifant, and cafy to all; he made no diftinction between high and low; he heard with patience the complaints of the meanest of his fubjects, and greatnets was never a fe

8

curity

curity against his juftice: in private, he was thoughtful, cold, and filent; and he often clothed his countenance with fuch terror, that Afph Jah frequently fied from his prefence, and the Sultana, in the plenitude of her influence over him, was known to approach him on trembling knees. His affection for his children bordered on weaknefs. He was as forgetful of injuries as he was of favours. In war he had no abilities; he was fond of peace and tranquillity; and rather a lover than an encourager of the arts of civil life. Naturally averfe to tyranny and oppreffion, property was fecure under his administration: he had no avarice himself to render him unjust, and he was the determined and implacable enemy of extortion in others. He was a man of science and of literary abilities; and the memoirs of his life, which he penned himself, do him more honour as a good writer, than the matter, as a great monarch. Upon the whole, Jehangire, though not a faultlefs man, was far from being a bad prince: he had an inclination to be virtuous, and his errors proceeded from a defect more than from a depravity of foul: his mother was thought to have introduced a tincture of madness into his blood; and an immoderate ufe of wine and opium rendered fometimes frantic a mind naturally inflamed.

Though Jehangire was often ferious and diftant among his domeftics, he was fond of throwing off the character of the emperor, and of enjoying freely the converfation of his fubjects. He often disappeared in the evening from the palace, and dived into obfcure punch-houses, to pafs fome hours in drinking and talking with the lower fort. He had no enemies, and he was under no apprehenfions concerning the fafety of his perfon. Being in the hall of audience, acceffible to al! ranks of men, after the performance of the usual ceremonies, he was often known in his nocturnal excurfions. But the people loved his familiar openness, and did not by rudeness abufe the truft repofed in them by their prince. He often defired his companions at the bowl to afk no favours of him, left SELIM, in his cups, might promife what JEHANGIRE, in his fober fenfes, would not chufe to perform. When the liquor began to inflame him, he was rather mad than intoxicated. He flew from one extreme of paffion to another; this moment joyful, the next melancholy and drowned in tears. When in this fituation, he was fond of arguing upon abftrufe fubjects. Religion was his favourite topic. He fome. times praised the Mahommedan faith, fometimes that of the Chriftians; he was now a follower of Zoroafter, and now of Brahma. In the midst of thefe devout profeffions, he would, fometimes, as farting from a dream, exclaim, That the prophets of all nations were impoftors; and that he himself, fhould his indolence permit him, could form a better fyftem of religion than any they had impofed on the world. When he was fober, he was divefted of every idea of religion, having been brought up a Deift under the tuition of his father Akbar.

The variety of opinions, on the fubject of religion, which prevailed in India, occafioned great uneafinefs both to Jehangire and his father Akbar. The tenets of Mahommedanifm, which the family of Timur had brought along with them into their conquefts, were the religion cftablished by law; but the majority of their fub

2

jects

jects were of different perfuafions. The followers of the Brahmin faith were the most numerous, and the next were the Perfian Guebres, who worshipped the element of Fire, as the belt reprefentative of God. The Chriftians of Europe and of Armenia podeled feveral factories in the principal cities and ports, and they wandered in purfuit of commerce over all the empire. The different opinions among all these fects, on a fubject which mankind reckon of the last impor tance, were the fource of difputes, animofities, and quarrels. Akbar was chagrined. He tolerated every religion; he admitted men of all perfuafions into his confidence and fervice; and he had formed ferious thoughts of promulgating a new faith, which might reconcile the minds of all his fubjects. He esteemed himself as equal in abilities to Mahommed, and he had more power to enforce his doctrine. But, foreseeing the distractions which this arduous measure might occafion, he dropt his defign; and, instead of establishing a new faith, contented himself with giving no credit to any of the old fyftems of religion, Jehangire in his youth had imbibed his father's principles. He began to write a new code of divine law; but he had neither the aufterity nor the abilities of a prophet. He fhewed more wifdom in relinquishing, than in forming fuch a visionary fcheme.

"His exceffive feverity in the execution of impartial juftice, was the great line which marks the features of the character of Jehangire. He had no refpect of perfons when he animadverted upon crimes. His former favour was obliterated at once by guilt; and he perfevered with undeviating rigour, to revenge upon the great, the injuries done to the low. The ftory of Seif Alla remains as a monument of his favage juftice. The fifter of the favourite Sultana had a fon by her husband Ibrahim, the Suba of Bengal, who, from his tender years had been brought up at court by the emprefs, who having no fons by Jehangire, adopted Seif Alla for her own. The emperor was fond of the boy; he even often feated him upon his throne. At twelve years of age Alla returned to his father in Bengal. Jehangire gave him a letter to the Suba, with orders to appoint him governor of Burdwan. Alla, after having refided in his government fome years, had the misfortune, when he was one day riding on an elephant through the street, to tread by accident a child to death. The parents of the child followed Alla to his house: they loudly demanded an exemplary punishment on the driver; and the governor, confidering it an accident, refused their request, and ordered them to be driven away from his door: they abused him in very opprobrious terms; and Alla, proud of his rank and family, expelled them from the diftrict of Burdwan.

Jehangire refiding at that time in the city of Lahore, they found their way, after a long journey on foot, to the prefence: they called aloud for justice; and the emperor wrote a letter to Alla with his own hand, with peremptory orders to reftore to the injured parents of the child their poffeffions, and to make them ample amends for their lofs and the fatigue of their journey. The pride of Alla was hurt at the victory obtained over him; and instead of obeying the orders of his prince, he threw them into prifon, till they made fubmiffions to him for their conduct. But as foon as they were released, they tra

velled again to Lahore. Allah was alarmed, and wrote letters to the Sultana and Afiph Jâh, to prevent the petitioners from being admitted into the prefence. They hovered to no effect, for fome months, about the palace: they could not even come within hearing of the emperor, till one day that he was taking his pleasure in a barge upon the river: they preffed forward through the crowd, and thrice called out aloud for justice: the emperor heard them, and he recollected their perfons. He ordered the barge to be rowed that inftant to the bank; and, before he inquired into the nature of their complaint, he wrote an order for them to receive a penfion for life from the Imperial treafury. When they had explained their griev ances, he faid not a word, but commanded Allà to appear immediately at court.

Alla obeyed the Imperial command; but he knew not the intentions of Jehangire, which that prince had locked up in his own breast. The youth encamped with his retinue, the night of his arrival, on the oppofite bank of the river; and fent a meffenger to announce his coming to the emperor. Jehangire gave orders for one of his elephants of ftate to be ready by the dawn of day; and he at the fame time directed the parents of the child to attend. He himself was up before it was light, and having crossed the river, he came to the camp of Alla, and commanded him to be bound. The parents were mounted upon the elephant; and the emperor ordered the driver to tread the unfortunate young man to death. But the driver, afraid of the refentment of the Sultana, paffed over him feveral times, without giving the elephant the neceffary directions: the emperor, however, by his threats, obliged him at last to execute his orders. He retired home in filence; and iffued out his commands to bury Alla with great pomp and magnificence, and that the court thould go into mourning for him for the space of two moons, "I loved him;" faid Jehangire," but juflice like neceflity fhould bind monarchs."

The following fhort narrative will afford a fresh proof that perfecution, can never be attended with good effects:

The emperor had obferved, that during the diftrefs occafioned by the late famine, the fuperftitious Hindoos, instead of cultivating their lands, flew to the fhrines of their gods. Though neither an enthufiaft, nor even attached to any fyftem of religion, he was enraged at their neglect of the means of fubfiftence, for the uncertain relief to be obtained by prayer." They have a thousand gods," faid he, "yet the thoufand have not been able to guard them from famine. This army of divinities," continued he," inftead of being beneficial to their votaries, diftract their attention by their own numbers; and I am therefore determined to expel them from my empire." Thefe were the words of Shaw Jehân, when he figned an edict for breaking down the idols, and for demolishing the temples of the Hindoos: the measure was impolitic, and, in the event, cruel. The zealous followers of the Brahmin religion, rofe in defence of their gods, and many enthufiafts were maffacred in their prefence. Shaw Jehan faw the impropriety of the perfecution; he recalled the edit, and was heard to fay, "That a prince who wishes to have

fabjects,

fubjects, must take them with all the trumpery and bawbles of their religion."

The fucceeding paragraph will fhew the great wealth to which a vifier, who was of an excellent character, might arrive, during the flourishing ftate of the empire of Hindoftan:

Though three fons and five daughters furvived the vifier, he adopted his grandfon Dara, the imperial prince, and conftituted him heir to all his fortune. He excufed himself to his fons, by faying, that he had already raised them to high ranks and employments in the ftate; and that, if they conducted themselves with prudence and wifdom, the favour of the emperor would be to them an ample fortune. "But, fhould Folly be the ruler of your conduct,” continued Afiph, " you do not deferve to poffefs the wealth which I have acquired by my fervices." There was prudence in the conduct of Afiph upon this occafion. The emperor loved money; and he might have availed himself of the law, which conflitutes the prince the heir of all his officers; and a difpute of that kind might prove fatal to the influence and intereft of the family of the vifier. He, however, divided, before his death, three hundred and feventy-five thoufand pounds among his children and fervants. Dara, in terms of his will, took poffeflion of the bulk of his fortune, which, in coin, in jewels, in plate, elephants and horfes, amounted to near four millions fterling, exclufive of his eftates in land, which, according to the tenures in India, reverted to the crown.'

One of the most important and interefting parts of the prefent Work, is the account of the civil war between the fons of Shaw Jehân. The hiftory of this war difplays furprising turns of fortune, admirable exertions of courage and conduct, and uncommon fcenes of diftrefs. It exhibits, in a particular manner, the extraordinary incidents, and the great valour, policy, diffimulation, and artifice, which at length fixed Aurungzêbe upon the throne. We fhall finish our extracts with the concluding fate of Dara, the elieft fon cf Shaw Jehan, and who had always been intended by him for his fucceffor in the empire. Dara, after paffing through the greatest difficulties and calamities, was at laft traiteroufly delivered up into the hands of Aurungzêbe.

The emperor, though he rejoiced at the news that his brother had fallen into his hands, was full of perplexity and indecifion. He called a council of his nobles, and they differed in their opinions; - fome declaring for fending him by another rout to the cattle of Gualiar; fome that he fhould be carried through the city, to convince mankind that he was fallen for ever. Many advised against a mea fure that might be full of danger from the humanity of the people; a few argued, that fuch conduct would degrade the dignity of the family of Timur. Others maintained, to whofe opinion the emperor himself feemed to lean, that it was neceffary he fhould pass thro' the capital, to aftonish mankind with the abfolute power and invincible fortune of Aurungzébe.

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