they arrived at a fort in a valley, about three miles from Câbul, and there they remained till the 25th August, when they were obliged to set out for Bamîan, it being Akbar Khân's declared intention-as Gen. Pollock refused to evacuate the country on condition of their being released-to send them to Kooloom, to be distributed as slaves among the Usbeg chiefs. Their conductor, named Saleh Mohammed Khân, was an Afghân, who had been a subahdâr in one of Shâh Shûjah's regiments, but who had deserted to Dost Mohammed in 1840. On the 3rd September, they reached the valley of Bamîan, where they remained till the 11th, when a positive order for their immediate departure for Kooloom came from Akbar Khân. All hope of deliverance seemed now at an end, and they were resigning themselves to their fate, when Major Pottinger came to say that Saleh Mohammed had offered to deliver them to the British general, on being assured of 20,000 rupees in cash, and 1000 rupees a month for his life. With this offer they gladly closed, and they all signed their names to the requisite documents. Still they were by no means out of danger, for Akbar Khan was hourly expected to arrive, on his way to Kooloom, and Saleh Mohammed's troops could not be relied on. On the other hand, the Huzareh tribe, that inhabited the valley of Bamîan where they were, being mostly Sheeahs, were strongly in their favour, and declared their readiness to take up arms on their side against Akbar. Major Pottinger boldly nominated a new governor to the province, in the name of the British government, and made grants to the different chiefs; and the two little forts which they occupied were secured as well as was possible. On the 16th, hearing that Akbar Khân was a fugitive in Kohistan, they ventured to commence their flight. Next day, when resting after the descent of a mountain, they beheld a party of horse, emerging from a pass into the valley. These proved to be a body of 600 Kuzzilbash horsemen, who, accompanied by Sir Richmond Shakespear, had set out from Câbul to deliver them, and had travelled ninety miles in two days. No time was lost in advancing, and on the 20th they met at Argundee Gen. Sale and his brigade, who had been sent to meet and protect them. We need not say that the meeting was a most joyful one 1. It only remained now to withdraw the troops from Afghanistan, and to renounce all connexion with that country. Dost Mohammed and his family were, accordingly, set at liberty; and on the return of the army, the Governor-general indulged his taste in a grand military pageant at Ferozepore, where was a great display of painted elephants and triumphal arches, with waving banners and the roaring of artillery. The old doors of Mahmood's tomb, also, performed a part in this military pantomime. It had also been intended, in imitation of the Romans, to parade Dost Mohammed and his family in the procession, but the good sense of the Governor-general, or of his friends, saved the English name from this stain 2. 1 Including Ladies Macnaghten and Sale, there were thirteen ladies with nineteen children, eight of whom belonged to the widow of Capt. Trevor. Lady Sale acknowledges that, according to Afghân ideas of elegance and comfort, they had on the whole been well treated by Akbar Khân. 2 As Lord Auckland commenced with adopting the phra Thus terminated in pageantry a useless and calamitous war, entered into, as we have seen, without necessity and without the requisite degree of information, and conducted in a manner calculated to disgrace the British name, had it not been for the talents of a Sale, a Nott, and a Pollock, who spurned at the idea of quitting a country as fugitives which they had entered as conquerors. The expense also proved by no means inconsiderable; for it is asserted that this effort to keep off the Russian bugbear cost the Indian government not less than seventeen millions sterling. CHAPTER XVI. Transactions in Sinde-Sir C. Napier sent thither-Attack on the Residency - Battle of Meeanee-Reduction of Sinde-Observations on that Transaction-Affairs of Gwalior-Battle of Maharaj poor-Conclusion of Treaty-Sir Henry Hardinge Governor-general - Death of Runjeet Sing-Affairs of the Punjab-Campaign of the SutlejBattle of Moodkee-of Ferozshuhur- of Aliwâl-of Sobraon-Treaties-CONCLUSION. AFTER the close of the Afghân expedition, the attention of the government was directed to Sinde, a country with which the British had hitherto had few relations. In 1786, the dominant tribe in Sinde, named Kulbooras, had been displaced by another tribe named Talpoora. Meer Futteh Ally, the chief associated his three brothers in the government of this tribe, fixed his abode at Hyderabâd, and with himself. He assigned two other portions of the country to two of his relations, and hence arose the states named Khyrpoor and Meerpoor, of rulers prevailed as at Hyderabad. These rulers in the former of which the system of a plurality title, as we have seen, was the usual oriental one of Sinde are usually named the Ameers. of superior might, and was therefore as good as those of most rulers in India. Their The transactions of the British with the Ameers, were of little moment till 1832, when the English merchants having begun to fancy that a great and lucrative trade might be opened with the nations of Central Asia by means of the Indus, a treaty was, as we have seen, concluded with the Ameers for opening the navigation of that river to the British under certain conditions, two of which were, that they should convey no military stores through the country, and put no armed vessel on the Indus. Some years later (1836), Sinde being menaced by Runjeet Sing, the British government appeared as mediators; and by a treaty concluded with the Ameers (1838) they agreed to the residence of a British minister with an escort in their country. concluded, and as Sinde had formerly paid tribute About two months after the tripartite treaty was to Câbul, Shah Shujah agreed to give up all claim to this tribute, which he had never received, for such a sum as would be determined by the British government. To this arrangement the Ameers, seology of the French republic, so Lord Ellenborough continued it. His imitation of Buonaparte's bulletin is but too well known for his fame. A. D. 1842-43. BATTLE OF MEEANEE, REDUCTION OF SINDE. however, had not given their consent, and when informed of it they produced a written release from Shâh Shûjah. The resident confessed himself perplexed by the appearance of this document; but Lord Auckland declared that it was not incumbent on the British government "to enter into any formal investigation of the plea adduced by the Ameers," that is, that right or wrong they were to be made to give money for the Câbul expedition. This was followed by a demand of a passage for part of the troops through their country, in contravention of the treaty of 1832. It was now also discovered that one of the Ameers was in correspondence with the court of Persia, and great indignation was expressed at this "duplicity," in violating the "close alliance" maintained with the British government, an alliance, if it may so be called, forced on the Ameers. To punish this conduct, nothing would content Lord Auckland short of their signing a subsidiary treaty, by which as large a military force as should seem fit to the Governor-general should be stationed in their country; and as they were to derive vast advantages" from its presence, they were to bear a part of the expense of its maintenance. The Ameers remonstrated, and referred to the former treaties; but the troops of Sir J. Keane were approaching in one direction, and those of Sir Willoughby Cotton in another, and might was right, so they were obliged to affix their seals to a treaty amended and altered at the Governor-general's pleasure. 66 Such were the dealings of Lord Auckland with the Ameers of Sinde, and in our candid opinion, no transaction on the part of the British in India, so repugnant to the principles of justice, had taken place since the days of Warren Hastings. Lord Ellenborough had now to act on his views of justice, and the law of nations with respect to these princes, who, there is no doubt, when they heard of the disasters at Câbul had hoped to be delivered, and, as it was asserted, had engaged in correspondence with parties hostile to the British, but who certainly had done nothing more. Lord Ellenborough was going at first to threaten them with the confiscation of their territories; but he finally determined only to require territory in lieu of the tribute which they were to pay on account of the "vast advantages" derived from the subsidiary force, and he sent Major-gen. Sir Charles Napier to exercise the chief military and civil authority in Sinde. Sir C. Napier having reported that the Ameers levied tolls on the river contrary to the treaty, and expressed his opinion that as "the more powerful government would at no distant period swallow up the weaker," it would be better to come to the result at once, "if it could be done with honesty;" the draft of a treaty was forwarded to him, and he was left to look to the honesty of the transaction himself. By this treaty, certain portions of territory were pointed out to be assigned to the British, and another portion was to be given to the Khân of Bhâlpûr, their faithful ally; the Ameers were to provide fuel for the steamers on the Indus, and if they failed, the Company's servants might cut timber on their territories; finally, the right of coining, the great mark of sovereignty in the East, was to be taken from them, and the coin was to bear on one side, "the effigy of the sovereign of England." The 189 justice of these harsh measures was based on the authenticity of letters said to have been written by two of the Ameers; and as that was denied, and it is well known how common and how skilful forgery is in the East, that justice is certainly very problematic. Before this treaty had been accepted by the Ameers, Sir Charles Napier began to act as if it was really in force, and threatened them with amercement if they attempted to collect revenue or impose taxes in the districts they were to lose. In order to prevail on the Ameers to divest themselves of their power, Major Outram, who had been resident at Hyderabad, was summoned thither from Bombay, and he succeeded in inducing them to set their seals to the instrument of their degradation. But the Beloochees were not satisfied at this humiliation of their chiefs, and the Ameers assured Major Outram, that if Sir Charles Napier continued to advance on Hyderabâd, there would be an outbreak. He did however continue his march; and the consequence was, that an attack was made on the residency (Feb. 15, 1843,) by large masses of horse and foot; and it was only by getting on board a steamer, that the resident and his escort escaped, though with the loss of the greater part of their property. They reached the camp of Sir C. Napier in safety, and the troops moved on to Meeanee, within six miles of Hyderabad on the west side of the river (17th), where they found the forces of the Ameers occupying a strong position. They attacked them at once, and after an obstinate conflict put them to flight. The British loss was 62 killed and 195 wounded, among whom were a great many officers; that of the enemy was said to have been 5000 men. After the battle, six of the Ameers surrendered, and Sir C. Napier entered Hyderabâd as a conqueror (20th). Shortly after (March 24th) he marched out to attack the Ameer of Meerpoor, who was still in arms. He found him with a large force strongly posted behind a deep water-course, where he attacked and defeated him with a loss to the British of 267 killed and wounded. He then advanced and took possession of Meerpoor, and a detachment under Major Woodburn secured the strong fort of Omercote in the desert. The remaining Ameers were gradually reduced to submission, and removed to the Company's territories, and Sinde has remained a British possession. Such is a slight sketch of the history of the occupation of Sinde by the British; a transaction, as appears to us, at variance with all the principles of justice. Its true origin we believe to have been the vague notion that was entertained of the vast and lucrative markets that might be opened for our manufactures by means of the Indus; and we know that when the spirit of gain is evoked it cannot be laid by the wand of justice. The arguments by which it is defended are feeble and unsatisfactory. It is said, for example, that the Ameers had gained their power by the sword. How else is power gained in the East? How did we gain our own! They had possessed it for sixty years, and we had made treaties with them as the rightful rulers of the country. Our own Indian empire, too, is not so very ancient. Their position, it is added, was not "that of a native prince succeeding a long line of ancestors, the object of the hereditary affection of his subjects." Is that our 66 own position? Or where in India, unless perhaps in Rajputana or Travancore, is it to be found? Again it is said that the overthrow of their power was duty to the people they had so long misgoverned." Who imposed this duty on us? Will not this principle justify us in overturning every actual government, not merely in India but every where else, where we think the people may be happier under our own rule? But the whole plea is mere hypocrisy ; no nation ever yet made conquests with such a view. The trade of the Indus has as yet proved to be of no importance; our troops perish in Sinde, from the unhealthiness of the climate; and it is asserted that the annual expenses of government exceed the revenue by one million sterling 3. supercession of the Maharanee's authority," an authority of which we now hear for the first time. But the real power in Gwalior lay with the army, which consisted of not less than 30,000 men, and had been commanded in a great measure by European, or half-caste officers, but whom the troops had deprived of their authority. This army was now divided into three parties; one friendly to the Dada, one hostile to him, and the third neutral. The second party seized the Dada, and Bapoo Setowlea, one of their chiefs, sent to inform the resident of what they had done, and to claim his approval; but all the efforts of the resident were not able to gain him possession of the Dada's person. The two opposed divisions of the army soon after cannonaded one another for the better part of two days. The firing ceased at the command of the Maharanee, and the chiefs were invited to a conference, the result of which was, that Bapoo Setowlea became minister, and the Dada was conducted a prisoner to Agra. This measure was, no doubt, expedited by the presence of a British army on the frontiers; for the alarming state of affairs in the Punjab had obliged Lord Ellenborough to depart from his non-interference system, and resolve to remove danger on the side of Gwalior, in case of a war with the Sikhs. But he had lately (Nov. 1) declared, that the only Thus was Sinde reduced; the state of the court of Gwalior next demanded the attention of Lord Ellenborough. Sindia died childless, in 1827; and a boy of the family, who was said to be the next heir, became his successor. He too died childless in February, 1843, and his widow, a woman of thirteen years of age, adopted a boy of eight years, reputed to be his nearest relative, and he was appointed Maharajah. As both mother and son were children, by the influence of Col. Spiers the resident, Mama Sahib, the maternal uncle of the late Maharajah, was appointed to be regent. Nothing is more tiresome and unprofitable than try-point to be pressed was the expulsion of the Dada; ing to trace the intrigues of Indian courts; suffice it then to say, that toward the end of May, Mama Sahib was obliged to quit the camp at Gwalior, by a party of which the young Maharanee, or queen, was the ostensive; but a man, called the Dada Khasjee Walla, was the real head, and into whose hands fell all the power of the state. As this was plain usurpation, the resident applied for permission to summon troops from Agra, to reinstate the regent; but Lord Ellenborough gave a most positive refusal. The resident, however, was directed to quit Gwalior, and he retired to Dhôlpoor, beyond the Chumbul, out of the Maratta territory. The Maharanee became very anxious for his return, but was informed that that could take place only on the condition of the banishment of the Dada, or the delivery of him up to the British government. The letter, however, containing this demand, the Dada contrived to intercept; an act, which the Governor-general declared to be "an offence of a most criminal character against the state of Gwalior, amounting to a 3 By the Indian Correspondent of the Times Newspaper. -As we write, there appears (Times, March 23) a general order of Sir C. Napier's, from which it appears that the army in Sinde is to be reduced to the ordinary garrison of a frontier province. He asserts, that the conquest has not cost a single rupee, "for had the Ameers continued to rule the land, not a soldier could have been withdrawn from the force which occupied Sinde in 1842; on the contrary, strong reinforcements must have been added to it." But not a word of the justice of that occupation. An immense increase of revenue, but of which he cannot tell the amount, has taken place, he says, in Bombay, by the suppression of the smuggling trade in opium in Sinde; and "commerce is already actively commencing between Kurrachee and Sukkur, ready to branch forth into the Punjab." Finally, great harmony prevails between the conquerors and the conquered, if that term can be applied to a people "who have been freed from a degrading and ruinous tyranny which, sixty years ago, was established by traitors over the country of their murdered sovereign." and that being effected, it was to be supposed that he would stop the further advance of the British troops. On the contrary, at a conference held with some of the chiefs (Dec. 20), he stated that the only condition on which the march of the army could be stopped, was their ratifying within three days a treaty for increasing the contingent under British officers at Gwalior, and assigning districts to be managed under the British government for its support. A right of interference, as grounded on the treaty of Bûrhanpûr in 1804, was also asserted by the Governor-general. In a conference held on the following day, the subject of a meeting between the Governor-general and the Maharajah was discussed. It seems to have been the etiquette hitherto, on such occasions, that the latter should cross the frontier to pay the first visit, and the chiefs earnestly requested that this usage might not now be departed from, as the unruly troops of Gwalior might break out, supposing the British to have crossed the frontiers with hostile views. Col. Sleeman, the new resident, also wrote, warning the Governor-general of the probable consequence of the troops crossing the Chumbul. But that river had been already passed; and a proclamation was issued from Hingona (25th), announcing that the British army had come to protect the Maharajah's person, and maintain his authority. That very day, Bapoo Setowlea, who had been one of the negotiators, quitted the British camp, and returned to Gwalior to take the command of a division of the troops; and on the following day, Angria, another of the negotiators, also departed. The Marattas had taken up a strong position, at a place named Chonda, south of the river Koharee; and Sir Hugh Gough, the commander-in-chief, made preparations for attacking them at that place. But on reaching Maharajpoor, on their march for Chonda (29th), the British troops, to their surprise, were received by a fire of artillery, a part of A. D. 1844. BATTLE OF MAHARAJPOOR-AFFAIRS OF PUNJAB. On the enemy's forces having moved thither during the night. The plan of attack was now changed; one column, under Gen. Littler, being directed to advance on Maharajpoor, while another, under Gen. Valiant, was to take it in reverse. In the first, the Queen's 39th, led by Major Bray, and supported by the 56th Native Infantry, drove (in dashing style) the enemy from their guns into the village, where, however, they defended themselves gallantly, and a sanguinary conflict ensued. The second column acted with equal spirit, and the Marattas were driven off with the loss of twentyeight guns. Gen. Valiant now moved to attack the right of the enemy's position at Chonda. the way, he had to take three strongly intrenched positions, which the enemy defended with desperation, but they all were carried in succession. Gen. Littler's brigade now advanced to attack the main position in front; and it was carried by a rush of the 39th, whose gallant commander was severely wounded by the blowing up of a tumbril, after he had witnessed the fall of his son, a fine youth, an ensign in the regiment. The Marattas were speedily routed in all directions; but the loss of the victors in killed and wounded was very severe. They had never, perhaps, experienced so obstinate a resistance from a native army in India. On the same day, the left wing, under Gen. Grey, defeated another large body of the Marattas, and captured their guns, twenty-four in number, at a place named Antree, twelve miles south of Gwalior. A new No further resistance was now to be apprehended. On the 5th January (1844), Lord Ellenborough and the army arrived at Gwalior. treaty was concluded, by which, till the Maharajah should have attained the age of eighteen, the government was to be conducted by a council of regency, acting under the advice of the British resident; the contingent force was to be increased, and the revenues of specified districts were to be assigned for its maintenance; the troops of the Maharajah were never to exceed 9000 men, of which, not more than a third were to be infantry, with twelve field-pieces, and twenty other guns, &c. &c. This treaty was ratified on the 13th, by which time the disbanding of the Gwalior army had nearly been effected. It took place without the slightest commotion; a part of the men enlisted in the new contingent force, the rest departed, having been paid all their arrears, and receiving a gratuity of three months' pay. The Lord Ellenborough reached Calcutta on the anniversary of his landing there, two years before (Feb. 28); but the period of his Indian rule had expired; for in the following month of July, he learned that the Court of Directors had removed him from the office of Governor-general. motives of the Directors for this act, no instance of which had occurred since the passing of Pitt's India Bill, are only matters of surmise, and we therefore will not enter into them. The ministry, to console his wounded pride, bestowed on him an earldom; and he was made afterwards First Lord of the Admiralty, an office for which, we believe, he was much better qualified, than for the government of an empire. The successor to Lord Ellenborough, nominated by the Court of Directors, was Sir Henry Hardinge, a distinguished military man, and the choice 191 was fully approved of by the ministry. On reaching India, he found the condition of the Punjab to be such, that there was every prospect of a necessity for British interference; and, as we shall see, the necessity arose in a way which might not have been expected. On the 27th June, 1839, not many months after his celebrated interview with Lord Auckland, the Maharajah, Runjeet Sing, breathed his last, at the age of fifty-eight years. The tenacity with which he clung to life, after it had apparently ceased to yield him any enjoyment, is a remarkable phenomenon in the history of human existence, and curious in the view of the moralist and the philosopher. His avarice even yielded to it; and in the fond persuasion that the decree of fate could be averted with gold, he lavished his treasures on shrines and devotees. But all availed not to save, and the Lion of the Punjâb shared the lot of ordinary mortals. His character will always remain in Indian history as that of one of the most remarkable men that have appeared in it; and when we consider the disadvantages under which his career commenced, and the power to which he ultimately attained, we may almost venture to style him great. Unlike his contemporary, Mehemet Ally, of Egypt, his empire was obtained without massacre; and if not humanity, the absence of ferocity was a leading trait of his character. Runjeet was succeeded by his eldest son, Khuruk Sing, a person of feeble intellect. His vizîr, appointed by his father, was the able Dhyan Sing one of the Jummoo brothers, as they were named, from Jummoo, the place of their birth, on the left bank of the Chenâb, in the Lower Himalaya. They were of the Rajpût tribe, named Dogur; and Dhyan, having entered the service of Runjeet Sing, rose speedily to favour and command. He then introduced his brother, Gholab Sing, also a man of talent, to whom the Maharajah gave Jummoo, in jagheer. A third brother, Sûchet Sing, also obtained favour and wealth at the court of Lahore, but he was inferior to his brothers in mental power. We are not to suppose that the Jummoo family were without rivals; there was, in fact, an opposite party at court; and Khuruk, like all weak princes, soon had a minion whom he sought to exalt. This was a man of mean origin, but of handsome person, and a bold intriguing disposition, named Cheit Sing, who, not content with the undue favour he had obtained, laboured to supplant the Jummoo brothers. The consequence was, that Dhyan Sing invited the Maharajah's son, Nou Nehal, to come from Peshawur to court, to aid in removing the favourite; and on his arrival (Oct. 8), the citadel was surrounded by the troops of Gholab Sing, at night, and the prince and the brothers entering the apartment of the Maharajah, cut Cheit Sing to pieces, and placed the rajah himself under restraint. The government was administered in his name by his son; but in less than a month he followed his favourite to the tomb, from the effect, it is said, of a slow poison. At the conclusion of the funeral rites of his father, as Nou Nehal was passing on his elephant out of one of the gates of the city, on his way to the Râvee to bathe, a beam fell from it, which killed both him and a son of Gholab Sing's. 4 We may here observe, that every Sikh bears the cognomen of Sing. Sher Sing, the reputed second son of Runjeet, was immediately proclaimed by Dhyan Sing, but Chund Kowr, the mother of Nou Nehal, availing herself of a Sikh rule of succession, by which the title of a man's widow is superior to that of his ❘ brother, claimed the throne of her deceased husband. She was a woman of energy, and through the influence of her paramour, Ajeet Sing, she obtained the support of the powerful Sindawala family to which he belonged, the next heirs to the throne after the direct line of Runjeet. Dhyan's son Heera Sing and his brother Gholab Sing took the same side, and he was, therefore, obliged to give way, and proclaim Chund Kowr Ranee, or queen (Nov. 30). The Ranee was a woman of the most dissolute habits, and devoid of all prudence and regard to decency; she also offended the troops by omitting to bestow gifts on them, and by even abridging their privileges. The soldiers soon became turbulent, and insurrections broke out in various parts. Sher Sing was now encouraged to maintain his pretensions, and by the advice of Dhyan Sing, who had left Lahore to meet him, he set out with a party of only 500 men for that capital. On his arrival (Jan. 10, 1841), Gen. Ventura went out to him with 6000 men; and that same day, Dhyan Sing joined him with 15,000 hill-men from his estates in the mountains. Having gained an entrance into the city (14th), they assaulted the citadel, which was gallantly defended against them, chiefly by the troops of Gholab Sing. Dhyan Sing, however, having obtained from the troops a promise of pardon for his brother and son, the citadel surrendered. Gholab and Heera retired with their troops beyond the Ravee, the Sindawala chiefs to the British territory; and the Ranee was suffered to remain in the fort with an ample allowance. Sher Sing was proclaimed anew, Dhyan was restored to his offices, Gholab and Heera returned to court, and the latter was appointed commander-in-chief. The Punjab was now destined to feel the evils which are certain to be the result of maintaining a large army as the stay of despotism, as soon as the vigorous hand of him who formed and alone could control it is removed. The darling object of Runjeet Sing had been the formation of an army powerful from its numbers and its discipline. His troops, regular and irregular, horse and foot, exceeded 80,000 men, of which a third were regulars disciplined by Messrs. Allard, Ventura, Avitabili, Court, and other European military adventurers who had entered his service. His artillery consisted of 376 guns, and about the same number of swivels. These disciplined troops, named the Khalsas, now aware of their strength and their importance, committed what excesses they pleased; and the year 1841 is described as a year of terror in the Punjâb. In the course of the following year, through the intervention of the British government, a reconciliation took place between Sher Sing and the Sindawala chiefs, and they were recalled and restored to their estates. They seem to have acquired in some measure the favour of the Maharajah, who was an indolent luxurious man, and they were treated with much respect by Dhyan Sing, who had now been raised to the highest rank in the state next to the throne. In what ensued, there is much mystery. A conspiracy is said to have been formed against the Maharajah by the Jummoo and Sindawala chiefs. Dhyan Sing, finding the favour of the prince withdrawn from him (1843), retired, in his usual manner, to his estates; but he was menaced that if he did not return and settle his accounts for the last five years, Gen. Ventura would be sent with his troops against him. He, therefore, appeared at court, and there he addressed his master, and commented on his conduct with much freedom. There was an apparent reconciliation; but Sher Sing seems to have resolved on humbling the Jummoo family if possible. He was warned, it is said, that there was a conspiracy against him, and the very day of the proposed outbreak was even named, but he gave no heed. He was also made to observe how the troops were closing round Lahore, under the pretext of the approaching festival of the Dussera; but he replied that he wished to see them all assembled on that occasion. There was also another very suspicious circumstance. A boy of eight or nine years of age, named Dhuleep Sing, whom Runjeet had acknowledged as his child, though he knew it not to be the case, was now at Jummoo. Dhyan Sing caused him to be brought to Lahore, and in a public durbar (Aug. 31) he informed the Maharajah of what he had done, and proposed that a salute should be fired on this occasion. Sher Sing inquired why he was come, and he was told that it was to see his mother, who was sick. Some days after, the Maharajah received private information that Dhyan Sing, and the other chiefs, had sat in secret council at the house of Dhuleep Sing's mother; and Gen. Ventura, having craved an audience, informed him that they had certainly conspired against him, that it was with this view they had brought Dhuleep to Lahore, and that Gholab Sing was on his way to aid them. Still he would not give credit to the fact of a conspiracy. When Gholab Sing arrived (Sept. 8), he was received with much favour, and both he and Dhyan Sing were profuse in their declarations of loyalty. On the 15th, as the Maharajah was amusing himself in one of the royal gardens, Ajeet Sing and Lena Sing, two of the Sindawala chiefs, went to him, and while he was examining a rifle, which they offered him (for he was a great gun-fancier), Ajeet shot him in the face with a pistol, and they instantly struck off his head. Lena then went to an adjacent garden, where Pertab, the young son of Maharajah, was at the time, and beheaded him also 5. The two chiefs then proceeded toward the city; and on the way they met Dhyan Sing, who was alone. They told him that there had been a disturbance, and that the Maharajah had been slain, and proposed that he should go back with them to settle the succession. He consented, and as they drew near the gate, Ajeet fired a pistol at him; "O sirdar, what a foul deed!" he cried, laying his hand on his sword; but he was shot down by Ajeet's followers. All concord, if ever there was any, between the Sindawala and the Jummoo chiefs, was now at an end. The former threw themselves into the citadel, while Heera Sing, accompanied by his uncle, Sûchet, went to the nearest troops, and displaying to them the crimes of the Sindawalas, offered them 5 These murders are related in various ways. |