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all religions and to none in particular ! Though
tfls marriage with a Mohammedan lady proved
him to have been a Muslim, the burning of his body
after death restored it to Hinduism. He called
himself a sufi and a fakir. Sufism, as he under-
stood it, was perhaps no more than a quest of the
abstract spirit of religion beyond any denomina-
tional form of it. So far as I could judge, he did
not reveal any of the peculiar characteristics of
mysticism, and I never heard of any absorption or
emotional contemplation leading him towards
spiritual ecstasy. The habit of his mind seemed
to be eclectic, rather than intuitive. And though
he liked to call himself & fakir, the stern self-
abnegation which is the essential quality of a
fakir, seemed to be beyond him.
He had always been anxious to obtain a Firman
from His Exalted Highness regarding the devolu-
tion^ of his estate after him ; and his desire was
that Kis son by his Rani, Khwaja Pershad, should
be his successor. He asked me to use my influence
to persuade the Nizam to issue a Firman to that
effect; and upon my submitting the matter to
His Exalted Highness I was told there was no need
for hurry. And time showed that His Exalted
Highness was right.
The unfortunate Khwaja Pershad had .been
brought up with great expectations as he was the
sole survivor of the many sons by the Maharaja's
Hindu wives. His name, Khwaja Pershad, had
been suggested by the Maharaja's faith in the