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Though Kailas Balm, as I have said, had lost all his landed property, he had still same family heirlooms left. There was a silver cruet for sprinkling scented water, a filigree box for otto-of-roses, a small gold salver, a costly ancient shawl, and the old-fashioned ceremonial dress and ancestral turban. These he had rescued with the greatest difficulty from the money-lenders’ clutches. On every suitable occasion he would bring them out in state, and thus try to save the world-famed dignity of the Babus of Nayanjore. At heart the most modest of men, in his daily speech he regarded it as a sacred duty, owed to his rank, to give free play to his family pride. His friends would encourage this trait in his character with kindly good-humour, and it gave them great amusement.

The neighbourhood soon learnt to call him their Thakur Dada (Grandfather). They would flock to his house, and sit with him for hours together. To prevent his incurring any expense, one or other of his friends would bring him tobacco, and say: ” Thakur Dada, this morning some tobacco was sent to me from Gaya. Do take it, and see how you like it”

Thakur Dada would take it, and say it was excellent. He would then go on to tell of a certain exquisite tobacco which they once smoked in the old days at Nayanjore at the cost of a guinea an ounce.

“I wonder,” he used to say, “I wonder if any one would like to try it now. I have some left, and can get it at once”

Every one knew, that, if they asked for it, then somehow or other the key of the cupboard would he missing; or else Ganesh, his old family servant, had put it away somewhere.

“You never can be sure,” he would add, ” where things go to when servants are about. Now, this Ganesh of mine,- I can’t tell you what a fool he is, but I haven’t the heart to dismiss him.”

Ganesh, for the credit of the family, was quite ready to bear all the blame without a word.

One of the company usually said at this point: “Never mind, Thakur Dada. Please don’t trouble to look for it. This tobacco we’re smoking will do quite well. The other would be too strong.”

Then Thakur Dada would be relieved, and settle down again, and the talk would go on.

When his guests got up to go away, Thakur Dada would accompany them to the door, and say to them on the door-step: “Oh, by the way, when are you all coming to dine with me?”

One or other of us would answer: “Not just yet, Thakur Dada, not just yet. We’ll fix a day later.”

“Quite right,” he would answer. “Quite right. We had much better wait till the rains come. It’s too hot now. And a grand rich dinner such as I should want to give you would upset us in weather like this.”

But when the rains did come, every one careful not to remind him of his promise. If the subject was brought up, some friend would suggest gently that it was very inconvenient to get about when the rains were so severe, that it would be much better to wait till they were over. And so the game went on.

His poor lodging was much too small for his position, and we used to condole with him about it. His friends would assure him they quite understood his difficulties: it was next to impossible to get a decent house in Calcutta. Indeed, they had all been looking out for years for a house to suit him, but, I need hardly add, no friend had been foolish enough to find one. Thakur Dada used to say, after a long sigh of resignation: ” Well, well, I suppose I shall have to put up with this house after all.” Then he would add with a genial smile: “But, you know, I could never bear to he away from my friends. I must be near you. That really compensates for everything.”