He
confided the command of his various cities to such as had
distinguished themselves by valor and prudence, and who seemed most
acceptable to the people. He organized a vigilant police, and
established rigid rules for the administration of justice. The poor
and the distressed always found ready admission to his presence, and
he attended personally to their assistance and redress. He erected
hospitals for the blind, the aged, and infirm, and all those incapable
of labor, and visited them frequently; not on set days with pomp and
form, so as to give time for every thing to be put in order, and every
abuse concealed; but suddenly, and unexpectedly, informing himself, by
actual observation and close inquiry, of the treatment of the sick,
and the conduct of those appointed to administer to their relief. He
founded schools and colleges, which he visited in the same manner,
inspecting personally the instruction of the youth. He established
butcheries and public ovens, that the people might be furnished with
wholesome provisions at just and regular prices. He introduced
abundant streams of water into the city, erecting baths and fountains,
and constructing aqueducts and canals to irrigate and fertilize the
Vega. By these means prosperity and abundance prevailed in this
beautiful city, its gates were thronged with commerce, and its
warehouses filled with luxuries and merchandise of every clime and
country.
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