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by the Nizam as disloyal. The names of some of
the plotters were mentioned; and also the place of
their meetings. The Minister had given the letter
to me to have enquiries made through the District
police. But before any information could be had
from that quarter, he fell.
There had been many plots in the previous
regime, but none of them had ever been so heinous
and so daringly criminal as this. Fortunately it
was the first and last of its kind. The immediate
steps taken, as suggested by the British Resident,
to get to the bottom of it was a careful examina-
tion of the forged signatures on the memorial by
a well-known handwriting expert from Calcutta,
Mr. Hardless. It showed that all except two or
three were forgeries. The author of the crime
was removed from his post but the Nizam's mercy
saved him from punishment.*
After his retirement from service, Maharaja
Sir Kishen Pershad occupied himself with his
favourite pursuits : JLiterary and artistic. Occa-
sionally he used to send his Private Secretary to
me to know how things were going on and, possibly,
to find out how he stood with the Nizam on the
one hand, and with the Resident on the other.
My advice always was that he should remain un-
perturbed and go on quietly pursuing his usual
avocations, giving special attention and care to the
improvement of his great estate, so that he
might soon be out of debt. Generous to a fault,
he was constantly reduced to the necessity of
-' * See Chapter V, - . „.. 4 ,