e village. He recognised in sufficient time
that he must deal very charily and {192} cautiously with customs
which had all the force of law, and he withdrew his order.

[Footnote 6: _The History of India_, by the Hon. Mountstuart
Elphinstone.]

The chief adviser of Akbar in matters of revenue, finance, and
currency was the Raja Todar Mall, of whom I have spoken in the last
chapter. He was a man of great ability and of tried integrity. Though
attached to the court of a Muhammadan sovereign, he was an earnest
Hindu, and performed faithfully all the ceremonies of his religion.
On one occasion when accompanying Akbar to the Punjab, in the hurry
of departure he forgot his idols. As he transacted no business before
his daily worship he remained for several days without food or drink,
and was at last with difficulty consoled by the Emperor.

Of the army the principal component force was cavalry. Elephants too
constituted an important feature in the array of battle. As a rule,
the presence of elephants was supposed to indicate the presence of
the Emperor, or rather, it was believed that the sovereign could not
be present unless elephants were there. In the last chapter I have
given an example of the happy mistake committed by a formidable
antagonist of the Emperor in consequence of this prevailing
impression.

The empire north of the Vindhyan range was portioned by the Emperor
into twelve subahs or provinces. These were each governed by a
viceroy, subordinate only to the sovereign. He held office during
good behaviour, and was bound in all things to carry out the
instructions of his master. Under {193} him were local military
officers called _faujdars_, who united in their own persons the
duties devolving upon a chief of police and a military commander. To
them was consigned the maintenance of peace in their several
districts; the superintendence of military establishments within the
same; the command of the regular troops there located; and,
generally, the repression of disturbances.

The lines upon which justice was administered by the officers of
Akbar were the same as those introduced by his Afghan predecessors.
The Kuran was the basis upon which the law rested. But precedents
often modified the strict interpretation. Where, moreover, the law
leaned to severity it was again modified by the instructions drafted
by the Emperor or his advisers. The leading features of these
instructions were to temper justice with mercy