ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 223 



Nizam's dominions — a feudatory kingdom in that part of 

 Central India called the Deccan, which is bounded on the 

 north by the Penganga, and on the south by the Kistna, 

 rivers, Hindustan proper being all India lying to the north 

 of that. The capital, of the same name — Hyderabad — is a 

 Mussulman city with a grand mosque, on the model of that 

 containing the Kaaba at Mecca, and with a population of 

 over 10,200,000. This is the Hyderabad I knew. The 

 British Residency is situated just beyond the walls. Enter- 

 tainments are often given to English residents, military and 

 civil, of Secunderabad by His Royal Highness the Nizam, 

 or to give him his full title, Nizam-ul Mulk (Regulator of 

 the State). I have been present at many such. On these 

 occasions the native princes and noblemen were literally 

 hung with ' barbaric pearl and gold ' worth, to the eye of an 

 expert, many thousands of pounds. Their jewels do not, 

 however, show to the best advantage according to our 

 ideas, not, as a rule, being cut in facets as with us, but en 

 cabochon, that is, rounded or squared, and polished only ; 

 sometimes not even polished. Still, that very roughness has 

 its charm, hinting at possibilities of unrevealed splendour. 



Some of the court children looked as if they could hardly 

 walk under the weight of their own magnificence. One 

 beautiful boy that I especially remember, a princeling of 

 seven years, who shook hands with us graciously with a 

 regal air, was trailing after him a four-foot sword damascened 

 with gold. His tiny hand — such a delicately cared for one, 

 with henna-stained nails — rested on the hilt, which was a 

 blaze of rubies. He was dressed to his heels in a black velvet 

 coat, so heavily embroidered with gold thread that scarcely 

 any groundwork was to be seen, and his little person was 

 agleam with jewels. A king's ransom hung round his neck, 

 and a great emerald was fastened in the small black velvet 

 cap without which he would not have let himself be seen 

 in public. He did not look to me a very happy little 



