Page:Twelve men of Bengal in the nineteenth century (1910).djvu/244

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TWELVE MEN OF BENGAL

and endeavouring to make a success of whatever he undertook.

On January 1st 1896 came the final honour to crown his well spent life. He was now seventy-eight years old and the bestowal of the title of Nawab Bahadur came as a fitting close to the long list of honours and distinctions that had been conferred upon him. Once more the heartiest congratulations came from all sides and the Hindu and Muhammadan residents of Patna again presented him with an address expressive of the affection and esteem in which he was universally held.

The Nawab Bahadur lived only three years to enjoy his latest honour. He had lived a long and strenuous life, using his energies both physical and mental to the full in the casue of progress, never sparing himself in his devotion to his Queen and country. The death in January 1899 of his only son Syed Tajamul Hussain Khan, who promised worthily to follow in his father's footsteps was a severe blow from which he never fully recovered. He gradually sank and died five months later on June 3rd 1899.

Perhaps no funeral has ever so stirred Patna or given occasion for such an outburst of popular feeling as that of the Nawab Bahadur. Had there been any room for doubt as to the esteem and affection in which he was held, the crowds who flocked to do him this last honour would have been sufficient