He at length left the council,
accompanied by the late king his father, and went to see his
mother, Queen Gulnare. The queen no sooner saw him coming with his
crown upon his head, than she ran to him, and embraced him with
tenderness, wishing him a long and prosperous reign.
The first year of his reign King Beder acquitted himself of all his
royal functions with great care. Above all, he took care to inform
himself of the state of his affairs, and all that might in any way
contribute towards the happiness of his people. Next year, having
left the administration to his council, under the direction of the
old king his father, he went out of his capital, under pretext of
diverting himself with hunting; but his real intention was to visit
all the provinces of his kingdom, that he might reform all abuses
there, establish good order and discipline everywhere, and take
from all ill-minded princes, his neighbours, any opportunities of
attempting any thing against the security and tranquillity of his
subjects, by showing himself on his frontiers.
It required no less than a whole year for this young king to carry
out his plans. Soon after his return, the old king his father fell
so dangerously ill that he knew at once he should never recover.
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