35
Perhaps it cannot be regained by a mere effort of
the will, but has to be induced or allured by an
easy self-abandonment to the influence of nature
with her infinite variety of suggestions and con-
solations. I have to bridge over 33 years and get
back to 1896 when I first came to stay in this
place which was then full of a subtle rural charm.
The low hills, the wooded plains and the russet-
green valleys around were teeming with surprises
and delights/'
" Nature is a feeling to me ; I feel God's breath
in me and in everything about me, and drink in
peace with every breath of air. My heart is full
of good-will to men and I feel an expansion of soul
that carries me out of self."
" Here I feel myself in the breeze, in the clouds,
in the sap that is running up the corrugated
bark of the big shady trees to give them a new
light-green coat. At present there are no flowers
to be seen anywhere, but the sight of old trees
becoming young again has a more personal and
hopeful message for me."
Though Sir Nizamat Jung chose to live away
from the world, his interest in matters of public
concern did not cease. It is true that he did not
trouble himself with politics, but in all important
international problems he took a deep interest,
even when he was engaged in his favourite literary
pursuits and philanthropic work. The one thing
which he always had at heart was the preservation
of friendship between the Islamic world and the
British Empire. He thought it necessary for the