[9]
The town of Datiya contains a population of between forty and fifty
thousand souls. The streets are narrow, for, in buildings, as in
dress, the Raja allows every man to consult his own inclinations.
There are, however, a great many excellent houses in Datiya, and the
appearance of the place is altogether very good. Many of his
feudatory chiefs reside occasionally in the city, and have all their
establishments with them, a practice which does not, I believe,
prevail anywhere else among these Bundelkhand chiefs, and this makes
the capital much larger, handsomer, and more populous than that of
Tehri. This indicates more of mutual confidence between the chief and
his vassals, and accords well with the character they bear in the
surrounding countries. Some of the houses occupied by these barons
are very pretty. They spend the revenue of their distant estates in
adorning them, and embellishing the capital, which they certainly
could not have ventured to do under the late Rajas of Tehri, and may
not possibly be able to do under the future Rajas of Datiya. The
present minister of Datiya, Ganesh, is a very great knave, and
encourages the residence upon his master's estate of all kinds of
thieves and robbers, who bring back from distant districts every
season vast quantities of booty, which they share with him.
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