Page:The Bansberia Raj.djvu/16

2 Thus, by the then Lord of India from whom flowed as from a fountain all honors and decorations was the Patuli family placed on the same level with the Premier House in Bengal. But the family was destined to rise still higher. This climb almost to the topmost rung of the ladder, however, was made after the original family had broken up, and Rameswar, the fortunate recipient of the very noble title of Rajah Mahasai, had settled down for good in Bansberia. The merit of this distinction, however, lies not merely in its glorious uniqueness but also in its moral excellence. Thus, the Bansberia House possesses a rare peculiar eminence of its own, and, to compare great things with small, takes as much pride in it as the royal House of England does in what is called the brightest jewel on its diadem. No other branch of the Patuli family can as a matter of right lay claim to it, in as much as it originated at a time when not only the family had separated in estate, but the several branches had left their ancestral abode and settled down in different localities. The social annals of Bengal would be incomplete without an account of this family which has such a long brilliant record to show. The fame of the family is as resplendent now as it was "in the brave days of old", only that its fortune has to a certain extent suffered in the rough atid tumble of the battle of life. The Bansberia House is the only relic of the grand old Patuli family that is worthy of special notice, the other branches having been relegated to the cold neglected region of want and indifference. Like some commanding hill it has borne its majestic head high above the walks and ways of ordinary humanity for centuries together and is likely to bear it equally high, if not higher still, for centuries more.