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these two alone should fill the whole canvas on
which our mental picture of the past is painted !

" Old Hyderabad.—Some years ago a Euro-
pean visitor saw in the remnants of its past beauty
a character that has lost its meaning for most of
us now. The famous French statesman, M. Clem-
enceau, was here in 1924, and I happened to
ask him what his impression was. " Hyderabad
is an Oriental City/' he exclaimed with enthusiasm,
" unlike Bombay which is English." He evident-
ly saw the past and the present side by side with
the eye of critical imagination. What would he
say to 'modern' Hyderabad which stands un-
abashed and rejoicing in its ugly pseudo-German
^accretions ? Old cities suffer if they are denuded
of their old-time glamour and inimitable grace!

" Our indigenous styles had been invaded by
imitations of the Greco-Roman long ago, when
some of the higher nobility were attracted by the
beauty of the latter, but the few buildings then
erected remained as interesting reminders of the
influence of the West upon the tastes of the East
under the shadow of the East India Company.
" The grand Residency building and the
triumphal arch at the main entrance, crowned
with the Royal Escutcheon came into existence