of rupees. The havoc wrought by the earthquake in the district was very great, but the Nawab, although heavily handicapped by the expenditure entailed in restoring his own home, came forward generously to relieve the distress.
Thus, busy with the management of his estate and the control of his family affairs, the Nawab Bahadur lived his quiet uneventful life at Murshidabad until his death in 1906. The relatives of the Nawab were numerous and it required much tact to decide petty disputes and generally prevent friction among them. So numerous were they that the Nizamat College was built exclusively for their education at a cost of Rs. 1,20,000. The Palace in which the Nawab Bahadur resided is a splendid building, and one of the largest in Bengal being 425 ft. long, 200 ft. wide and 804 ft. high. It contains a fine Banqueting Hall 290 ft. long with sliding doors encased in mirrors, and a magnificent chandelier with one hundred and fifty branches presented to the Nawab by Queen Victoria. The Palace contains some fine pictures, notably one of King William the Fourth presented to the grandfather of the Nawab by the King himself. The hospitability of the Nawab Bahadur was proverbial, and every visitor of whatever rank or class was always sure of a welcome at the Palace. Thus worthily maintaining the best traditions of his house, the Premier noble of Bengal and a loyal subject of the Empire, he passed his closing days amid universal respect and esteem.
THE END
