ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 227 



be placed in ' this gentleman's carriage,' saying pointedly 

 to him : ' These will last you till you be again invited to 

 the palace of His Highness.' The other, taken aback at 

 the prompt recognition, was dumbfoundered, and turned 

 away, followed by the officials with the tray-load, and 

 watched perhaps by some that were not ill -pleased to 

 witness the discomfiture of a Feringhi (Englishman). 



Those who saw this incident said that if that guest had 

 thought himself very clever it was before he met the expres- 

 sion on Sir Salar Jung's fine face, an expression of lofty pity 

 for such a mean-souled person, which was plainly to be read 

 by all the onlookers, who considered him properly extin- 

 guished. Nobody was sorry for him, it being felt that a 

 slur had been cast on English society ; and his punishment 

 was not over when he left the palace, for such disgrace is not 

 easily forgotten. 



Never was a finer gentleman than Sir Salar Jung ; his 

 bearing and accent were simply those of a cultured English- 

 man, and he was persona grata at the British Residency. 

 His dress was of the plainest, and never a jewel ; he always 

 wore a long black velvet coat, like a cassock, and a velvet 

 cap. Orders — no end — glittered on his breast, but not a 

 ring on his fingers. If there be aught in hands, his betokened 

 keen intellect, foresight, and grasp of authority, all neces- 

 sary in a ruler of such a state as Hyderabad, where, amongst 

 warring people and sects, sedition was always present below 

 the surface ; but he was their master. In his presence one 

 felt that he was one of the men who make history — a power 

 for good or ill. When he died, some years ago now, English- 

 men knew that they had lost a friend. 



It is scarcely necessary to say that we visited the famous 

 tombs of Golconda, for no one leaves Hyderabad without 

 seeing them. They have been described so often that any 

 word of mine would be superfluous. Their surfaces are 

 sadly denuded of the mosaics, softly yet brilliantly tinted, 



