The travellers who pass this solitary
spot respectfully place upon the tomb the prettiest specimen they can
find of the crystals which abound in the neighbourhood; and, with so
much of kindly feeling had the history of Durgavati inspired me, that
I could not resist the temptation of adding one to the number when I
visited her tomb some sixteen years ago.[37]
I should mention that the Raja of Samthar in Bundelkhand.[38] is by
caste a Gujar;[39] and he has not yet any landed aristocracy like
that of the Bundelas about him. One of his ancestors, not long ago,
seized upon a fine open plain, and built a fort upon it, and the
family has ever since, by means of this fort, kept possession of the
country around, and drawn part of their revenues from depredations
upon their neighbours and travellers. The Jhansi and Jalaun chiefs
are Brahmans of the same family as the Peshwa.
In the states governed by chiefs of the military classes, nearly the
whole produce of the land goes to maintain soldiers, or military
retainers, who are always ready to fight or rob for their chief. In
those governed by the Brahmanical class, nearly the whole produce
goes to maintain priests; and the other chiefs would soon devour
them, as the black ants devour the white, were not the paramount
power to interpose and save them.
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