40
" so much breathing time/' as he says, " after
having got old, running the official race/' It does
not fall to the lot of many to contemplate with
satisfaction the results of their activities during
the 6oth and 7oth years of their lives. Sir Nizamat
was saved from the common feelings and regrets
of old age : that a life had been wasted.
Those who had watched his career might have
observed traces of an impulse to do or say the
unexpected thing. His telling His Exalted Highness
as soon as he was made Political Secretary (1918)
that he would not ask any favour of him ; his refus-
• ing to take more than a Judge'spay when he was
Political Minister; his insisting on not having
more than Rs. 1,000 as pension, are not the only
. instances of it.
Before leaving for Arabia for the first time, he
laid the foundation of a jmosque for Muslim
orphans, and handed a cheque to Mr. Meher All"
4 Fazil (Superintending Engineer, City Improvement
Board) with an earnest request that the building
should be ready before his return. Any one
entering the Victoria Memorial Orphanage com-
pound from the front gate can see that beautiful
building in front of him.
In 1930 Sir Nizamat Jung visited .YercaudL
(near Salem) on the Sheveroy Hills.- It happened
to be Eid time, and he was dismayed to find that
there was no mosque for the Muslims there, though
several of them were fairly prosperous tradesmen.
He was surprised and hurt at their seeming indiffer-
ence and in a few days arranged for the acquisition