1871.] 
The reign of Mu'izz-uctdin. 
20 ,$ 
son, be well assured that you owe your two years’ continuance on 
the throne to the awe inspired by your grandfather, who drove 
down the roots of monarchy so deep in the garden of the empire, 
that wind and storm have not availed to shake it. Were it not so, 
no man of your stamp could maintain himself a day in the king¬ 
dom. My son, you seem to have no thought for your life: does 
not your mirror show you, when you look into it, how your com¬ 
plexion which was brighter than the red rose, has turned paler than 
saffron ? A man who has no care for his health, will reck little of 
sound and wholesome counsels in his government, and one who 
has no solicitude about his own life, is not likely to be solicitous 
about any created thing. How can such recklessness and indiffer¬ 
ence co-exist with the slightest care of the people who constitute 
the wealth of the ruler ? I am grieved with your words and deeds, 
and being your father I can speak out of my grief bitter truths in 
your ear; and yet, myself excepted, there is not a living soul, nor 
can there be, however friendly and well-disposed towards you, 
who would tell you to your face what is for your good. I doubt 
not, that the pride engendered by the few days of royalty that have 
passed over your head, and the sight of a whole people flocking to 
your gates may make it hard for you to listen to me. But if you 
can only be sober for a few days, you will think over my words, 
and recognize their importance. 
“ Oh my son! my father used to say that empire consists in five 
things, and if they are not known and practised, the empire cannot 
remain stable. The first is—to practise justice and benignity ; the 
second, to strengthen your army and to protect and cherish your 
subjects ; the third, to amass treasure; the fourth, to treat with 
consideration the ministers and counsellors of the throne, and the 
fifth to be well-informed about the inhabitants of your kingdom, 
far and near. And when you take no heed of any of the five prin¬ 
ciples of government, how can the realm remain secure to you ? 
My son, I dread these habits of yours which have come under my 
notice, and the customs you have addicted yourself to during these 
two years of your reign, (pardon me for speaking thus,) and 
the people, the gluttons and the voluptuaries, and the pleasure- 
seekers, and the tellers of idle tales whom I have seen in your 
