“On returning from the durbār, Runjeet stopped at the flank of the troops lining the road, and had Major Pew’s camel battery paraded for his inspection, and he seemed much pleased with it. Major Pew may well be proud of having first adapted the powers of the camel to the artillery service, for its success has exceeded the highest expectations that were formed of it. Several of Runjeet’s parade horses were drawn up opposite my squadron, they were all large, fat, northern horses, and appeared highly broke; they were most sumptuously caparisoned.
“I forgot to mention that Major Pew’s camel battery had accompanied us from Delhi. Four camels are attached to each gun, in strong and well-constructed harness; and in no instance was there any delay on the road. There can be no doubt whatever of the camel being a better beast of draught than the bullock; and in this country, unless where very rapid manœuvres are to be effected, I think superior to the horse. A driver is seated on each camel; the animal requires comparatively little care or breaking, and thrives upon scanty food; he walks along at the rate of nearly—if not quite—four miles an hour, and the team will trot away with a gun at eight, and keep this pace up for a distance if required.
“The guard I before mentioned at the gate of the durbār were superbly dressed in yellow silk (the favourite colour of the Seiks), some of them in curious and delicate chain armour, and all most sumptuously armed. There was some little difficulty in persuading this magnificent guard to allow us ingress; at length, however, this was permitted, and I found myself in a square of about four acres, artificially laid out as a garden with shrubs and flowers, which must have been brought from a considerable distance. This space was enclosed with canvas walls seven feet high, and in it were collected the body-guard, all armed with sword and matchlock, the stock curiously inlaid with gold, or silver, or ivory. There was no mistaking Runjeet Singh, from the loss of his left eye; he is not emaciated, as I had been led to expect, from debauchery; and has not the hooked nose usually found among the Seiks. The Lion of the Punjab was by far the most plainly-attired man in his court; he wore the same dress he appeared in when he visited Lord Auckland; he had not decked himself in any of the jewels of immense value which he has in his possession, and I was disappointed at not getting a glimpse of the Koh-i-Nūr, which he generally exhibits on his person on great occasions. I fear Shah Sūjah has little chance of ever recovering this inestimable diamond,—who knows, in a few years, in whose possession it may be found? Shah Sūjah’s ancestors plundered it from the treasure of Nadir Shah after he was assassinated, and Nadir Shah extorted it from the great Mogul after the massacre at Delhi.
“Those of the Seik court who were admitted to the durbār were most superbly dressed, some in flowing yellow or bright red silk dresses, their kummerbunds always a Cashmere shawl of very great value; some in high-polished cuirasses, and others in choice and glittering armour; and all appeared decked in jewels of immense value. I should mention, Runjeet has wrested Cashmere from the rule of Cabul, and will, perhaps, restore the unequalled valley to Shah Sūjah with the Koh-i-Nūr; however, at the Seik court, under a tent, formed, as it were, of immense shawls, seemed to be collected the very choicest fabrics of that heavenly country; whilst all that superb armour, jewels of inestimable value, silks of the richest manufacture, ornaments of pure and elaborately wrought gold, shawls of the finest texture and most beautiful colours and patterns, and embroidery curiously worked on cloth of velvet, here met the eye. Even those in the retinue who were very far too inferior to gain admittance to the durbār, or hardly to the presence of those who appeared there, wore shawls of such beauty, as would have excited the envy of our richest ladies. Immediately in front of the Maharaj and Lord Auckland, the never-failing nāch was exhibited; the singer was covered with jewels, and wore a dark green dress, very tastefully embroidered in silver, and she modulated her voice sufficiently, not to make herself very disagreeable. The presents were now handed round, and we took our leave. The Seiks, like a sensible people, never shave the face, and would almost as soon cut their throats as their beards. I did not get back to my tents until late, but returned very highly gratified with the superb pageant I had witnessed; it would be difficult to picture a more magnificent spectacle.”
My correspondent here mentions, that the presents given by the Seiks were handed round on trays;—a far less military style than that adopted by the Rajpūt, whose shield always forms the tray which contains his offerings.
20th.—When in the Hills, roaming in the interior, I met with an accident, a fall: coming down a rock, my long silk gown having caught on a projecting part of it, I was thrown headlong down; therefore I made a dress more suited for such expeditions, a black Paharī dress, somewhat resembling Turkish attire. My fair companion admired it exceedingly, and made one for herself after the same fashion; large round sailor-looking straw hats completed the costume: they were comfortable dresses on the river. My ayha, who accompanied me to the bazār last night, told me the natives said to her, “Ayha, ayha, is that a man or a woman?”—“A man.” “Ayha, tell the truth, is it a man or a woman?”—“A man.” “Then why are you with him?”—“Oh, the sāhib brought me to bargain for things in the bazār.” I asked her why she had said I was a man? She replied, “They are great thieves, and if they think you a man they are less likely to attempt to rob the boats.” Her stratagem amused me. The purchases I made were certainly not feminine, consisting of sixty-five bamboos and some shot; and I superintended the fixing of some brass work on a musket that was out of repair.
We are at this moment surrounded by a great number of boats; the people belonging to them are singing and playing on all sorts of uncouth instruments; such a hum, and such a din!—it will be useless to attempt to rest until these perturbed spirits have sung themselves to sleep.
22nd.—Off Pointy, where the river is rapid and dangerous, we saw two vessels that had been just wrecked. The owner of the land (the jamīndar) was taking up the cargo from the wrecks; half becomes his share, and the owners of the vessels have only the remainder.
25th.—A stormy day; during a lull we attempted to cross the river; half-way over a heavy wind rendered my boat unmanageable, and we were driven by the wind upon a clump of bamboo stumps that were just above water in the middle of the stream: the crew were alarmed, and shouted “Rām! rām! āh’e Khudā! āh’e Khudā!” Fortunately, the boat being strong and new, she did not split open, and after a time we got her off again; the wind then drove us up a creek, and we lugāoed on a sandbank. The gale separated me from my fair friend, whose boat was driven to the opposite side of the river; her people were calling to know if I were safe; it was impossible to rejoin her; she heard the answering shouts of my men in the distance, and was satisfied. We were like the Brahmanī ducks, the chakwā chakwī, separated by the river, and calling through the live-long night “ā’o, ā’o,” “come, come.”
26th.—We anchored below the village of Downapūr, which had been washed away into the river during the last rains, by the force of the current having undermined its banks. My fair friend and I roamed in the beautiful moonlight by ourselves, attired in our Paharī dresses and straw hats, to a village at some distance. The women took us for cadets, and ran away in a great fright; nor was it for a length of time we could bring an ugly old hag to a parley; at last we succeeded, and bought a Bengalee goat and kid; the villagers were excessively afraid of us, and with great difficulty we persuaded them to bring the goats to the vessel. They asked my companion where her regiment was stationed; and imagined my wife was parda nishīn on board the boats. We did not undeceive them with respect to our manhood.