as the premature deaths of several grown-up
sons.
At the Council Meetings, which he attended as
officiating Finance Member, I learned to appreci-
ate some of his estimable qualities. His ingenuous
and unassuming disposition was in no way affected
by his venerable beard which ' swept his aged
breast ' —without which I could almost have
" imagined him a child ! We became friends and
had a genuine affection for each other, and I
have felt deeply for him in his misfortunes which
crowded on him in his declining years and made
unhappy his prolonged sojourn in an empty world.
But as he is a man who has studied the Qur'an
and meditated over its lessons with occasional
side glances at Sufism, I hope he will find the
bitterness of some of his recollections mitigated
by its never-failing message.
Mirza Mohammed All Baig
Sir Afsar Jung, Afsar-ud-Dowlah, Afsar-ul-
Mulk—Mirza Mohammed Ali Baig—came to Hy-
derabad (from Aurangabad) in 1883 as A.D.C. to
His Highness the late Nizam on the death of
Agha Nasir Shah who had been nominated for
the post at first. A slim, handsome, young man,
fair in complexion and whiskered after the fashion
of the day, it was a fine sight to see Ali Baig
driving his tandem along the Bund Road.
As time passed, Ali Baig became a favourite
with his master on account of his soldierly bearing,