Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v1.c20.s8.t1.82

v1.c20.s8.t1.82

¹ To increase his importance, Sindhia invited the British envoy and suite to be present on the occasion, when the princely demeanour of the Rana and his sons was advantageously contrasted with that of the Mahratta and his suite. It was in this visit that the regal abode of this ancient race, its isles and palaces, acted with irresistible force on the cupidity of this scion of the plough, who aspired to, yet dared not seat himself in, ‘the halls of the Caesars.’ It was even surmised that his hostility to Jaipur was not so much from the refused war-contribution, as from a mortifying negative to an audacious desire to obtain the hand of this princess himself. The impression made on the author upon this occasion by the miseries and noble appearance of ‘this descendant of a hundred kings,’ was never allowed to weaken,