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84 sacrifice my Zamindari if I could thereby get the salute and honours which my father used to have/' There may be several more of the above stamp.

Now, my friends, think of those and such other people, and note how foolish they were in thinking that their ancestral estates were obtained for them and for them alone. Many of our Samsthanams were bestowed upon our ancestors in recognition of their meritorious military services to the Government. So long-standing are many of these Samsthanams that they have already passed through the hands of no fewer than twenty-five generations of rulers; and of a few of them, it is no exaggeration to say that the thirtieth ruler in succession, counted down from the founder, is at present in possession. Again, fortunately, most of the Zamindars knew not clearly that they had a right to alienate their estates to any one they liked