BABER. 
145 
that there was no hope at present of regaining his em- 
pire, he marched towards Cabul. On his route he re- 
ceived a reinforcement of seven thousand men, with 
which he proceeded direct to the capital, besieged and 
took it after a faint resistance. 
On the 3rd of June 1505, the king’s mother died 
at Cabul. This year was distinguished by dreadful 
earthquakes, which laid many of the neighbouring ci- 
ties in ruins. Baber’s unwearied exertions to alleviate 
the distresses of the people obtained for him the firm 
attachment of his new subjects. He soon subdued the 
small principality of Ghizny, the government of which 
he conferred upon his brother Jehangire Mirza. Though 
the young king was of a restless and active spirit, his 
mind was at times fully alive to the pleasures of re- 
pose. One of his favourite amusements was collect- 
ing rare animals of different countries; and of such 
objects of curiosity, perhaps no country in the world 
supplies a greater abundance and variety than India. 
Among the feathered tribe, the fire-pheasant of Java 
is one of the most deservedly distinguished. It is 
called the fire-pheasant from the circumstance of its 
having upon the back, just above the tail, a mass of 
feathers of an ardently luminous colour. In some 
lights this is so bright as to appear like a flame of 
fire. The darkest tint about the neck and body is 
of an intense purple, deepening almost into a Prussian 
blue. This pervades the neck and back, gradually 
subsiding towards the tail until it terminates in the 
flame- colour feathers already mentioned. The tuft on 
the head is dark blue, but the colour is less intense 
than that of the back. About the eyes, which are of a 
o 
