The pretext at Court is, that the
father is deranged; but, though not wise, he is learned, and no man
can be more sober than he is, or better disposed towards his
sovereign and tenants. That he is capable of managing his estate, is
shown by the excellent condition in which he left it.
Prethee Put, of Paska, is not worse than many of the tallookdars of
Oude, who now disturb the peace of the country; and I give a brief
sketch of his history, as a specimen of the sufferings inflicted on
the people by the wild licence which such landholders enjoy under the
weak, profligate, and apathetic government of Oude.
Keerut Sing, the tallookdar of Paska, on the left bank of the Ghagra,
between Fyzabad and Byram-ghaut, was one of the Chehdwara
landholders, and had five sons, the eldest Dirgpaul Sing, and the
second Prethee Put, the hero of this brief history. Before his death,
Keerut Sing made over the management of his estate to his eldest son
and heir; but gave to his second son a portion of land out of it, for
his own subsistence and that of his family. The father and eldest son
continued to reside together in the fort of Dhunolee, situated on the
right bank of the Ghagra, opposite Paska. Prethee Put took up his
residence in his portion of the estate at Bumhoree, collected a gang
of the greatest ruffians in the country, and commenced his trade, and
that of so many of his class, as an indiscriminate plunderer.
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