These horses, selected with care requiring much time, I now send to your Highness; and as their great weight makes it inexpedient that they should undergo the fatigue of a long march in a hot climate, I have directed that they shall be conveyed to your Highness by the Indus, and such river of the Punjab as may be most easy of navigation.
The King has given me his most special commands to intimate to your Highness the sincere satisfaction with which his Majesty has witnessed the good understanding which has for so many years subsisted, and which may God ever preserve, between the British Government and your Highness.
His Majesty relies with confidence on the continuance of a state of peace, so beneficial to the subjects of both powers; and his Majesty earnestly desires that your Highness may live long in health and honour, extending the blessings of beneficent government to the nations under your Highness’s rule.
By the King’s command.
(Signed) Ellenborough.
Runjeet Sing’s stud.
As the contents of the document were unfolded, the Maharaja gave evident symptoms of his satisfaction; and when the letter was half read, he said that he would greet its arrival by a salute; and a peal of artillery from sixty guns, each firing twenty-one times, announced to the citizens of Lahore the joy of their King. His Highness then expressed his intention of viewing the presents; and we accompanied him. The sight of the horses excited his utmost surprise and wonder, their size and colour pleased him: he said they were little elephants; and, as they passed singly before him, he called out to his different Sirdars and officers, who joined in his admiration. Nothing could exceed the affability of the Maharaja: he kept up an uninterrupted conversation for the hour and a half which the interview lasted: he enquired particularly about the depth of water in the Indus, and the possibility of navigating it; and put various questions regarding the people who occupy its banks, and their political and military importance. I alluded to the riches of Sinde, which seemed to excite his utmost cupidity. He introduced us to all the representatives of the neighbouring states, and concluded by asking if we should like to see his own stud. About thirty horses were immediately brought, and passed in review order before us. They were caparisoned in the richest and most superb manner; and some of them were adorned with very valuable jewels: he named each horse, and described his pedigree and points, as he was brought up. They were of all countries; and from their necks being tightly reined up, certainly looked well; but they were not the stud which one would have expected at Lahore—all the horses appeared to be under-limbed. The exertion which his Highness underwent seemed to exhaust him, and we withdrew. Nature has, indeed, been sparing in her gifts to this personage; and there must be a mighty contrast between his mind and body. He has lost an eye, is pitted by the small pox, and his stature does not certainly exceed five feet three inches. He is entirely free from pomp and show, yet the studied respect of his Court is remarkable; not an individual spoke without a sign, though the throng was more like a bazar than the Court of the first native Prince in these times.
Hall of audience.
The hall of audience, in which the interview took place, was built entirely of marble, and is the work of the Moghul Emperors; part of the roof was gorgeously decorated by a pavilion of silken cloth studded with jewels. The Maharaja himself wore a necklace, armlets, and bracelets of emeralds, some of which were very large. His sword was mounted with the most precious stones. The nobles were likewise dressed for the occasion with jewels; and all the Court appeared in yellow, the favourite colour of the nation, which has a gaudy but striking effect.
Military spectacle.
On the following morning, the Maharaja intimated his wish for our presence at a military review in honour of passing events. We found his Highness on the parade ground, seated on a terrace, a short distance from the walls of Lahore. Five regiments of regular infantry were drawn up in line, three deep. Runjeet requested we would pass down the line and inspect them. They were dressed in white, with black cross belts, and bore muskets, the manufacture of Cashmere or Lahore: there was a mixture of Hindoostanees and Seiks in every corps. After the inspection, the brigade manœuvred under a native general officer, and went through its evolutions with an exactness and precision fully equal to our Indian troops: the words of command were given in French.