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“ Can misery bid the imagination glow, 
" Or genius ripen, midst domestic woe ? 
“ Sad sits the bard amidst his country’s tears, 
Cf And sighs, regardless of the wreath he wears. 
“ Did ever want or famine sweetly sing? 
“ The fetter’d hand uncouthly strikes the string." 
Among the sovereigns of Hindostan, the imperial Akher merits 
particular notice ; and, did my limits permit, gladly should I at- 
tempt a theme, on which poets and historians have dwelt with 
fond delight. Akber succeeded his father Humaioon, the eldest 
son of sultaun Baber, in the fourteenth year of his age; and from 
that early period, during a long reign of fifty years, shone a bright 
example of wisdom, clemency, and justice. He was supreme 
monarch over all the provinces of Hindostan, from the Indus to 
the Ganges; and by his mildness and equanimity diffused happi- 
ness throughout his extensive dominions: the Hindoos enjoyed 
their religious privileges without molestation; no distant governor 
was suffered to be guilty of the smallest oppression; agriculture 
and commerce flourished; the elegant arts were cherished, and a 
princely encouragement was given to literature and science. The 
Ayen Akbery, or institutes, compiled by Abul Fazel, the secretary 
and historian of Akber, remain a lasting monument of the justice, 
prudence, and unwearied assiduity, of this great prince, for the 
true interest of his subjects. IJe reigned from 1556 to 1605. 
The Mogul empire continued to flourish from the reign of 
Akber until the death of Aurungzebe, in the beginning of the 
eighteenth century; soon after that event, the nawabs, or gover- 
nors of the distant provinces, began to shake off their allegiance 
