ack to the gods--include the
ancient City of Golconda, whose name for centuries was a synonym
for riches and splendors. In ancient times it was the greatest
diamond market in the world. It was the capital of the large and
powerful kingdom of the Deccan, and embraced all of southern
India, but is now in ruins. Its grandeur began to decay when the
kingdom was conquered by the Moguls in 1587 and annexed to their
empire, and to-day the crumbling walls and abandoned palaces are
almost entirely deserted. Even the tombs of the ancient kings,
a row of vast and splendid mausoleums, which cost millions upon
millions of dollars, and for architecture and decoration and
costliness have been surpassed only by those of the Moguls, are
being allowed to decay while the ruling descendant of the men
who sleep there spends his income for diamonds.

The magnificence and extravagance of these princes are the theme
of poems and legends. There is a large book in Persian filled with
elaborate and graphic descriptions of the functions and ceremonies
that attend the reception of an envoy from Shah Abbas, King of
Persia, who visited the court of Golconda in 1503. Among other
gifts brought by him from his royal master was a crown of rubies
which still remains in the family, although many people think
the original stones have been removed and imitations substituted
in order that the nizam may enjoy the glory of wearing them.
When his ambassador went back to Persia he was accompanied by
a large military escort guarding a caravan of 2,400 camels laden
with gifts from the nizam to his royal master.

The present capital of the province, the city of Haidarabad,
was founded in 1589 by a gentleman named Kutab Shah Mohammed
Kuli, who afterward removed his household there on account of a
lack of water and a malarial atmosphere at Golconda. He called
the city in honor of his favorite concubine. The name means "the
city of Haidar." The province includes about 80,000 square miles
of territory, and has a population of 11,141,946 of whom only
10 per cent are Moslems, although the ruling family have always
professed that faith.

The present nizam is Mahbub Ali, who was born in 1866, was partially
educated in England and is very popular with all classes of
people--particularly with those who profit by his extravagance.
The revenues of the state are about $20,000,000 a year, and the
people are very much overtaxed. The nizam's taste for splendor
and his desire