FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD. 133 



Sutlcj, furnished," said our friend, '' one of the 

 most gorgeous spectacles ever witnessed, even 

 in the East. At the time it was called ' the 

 Indian field of the cloth of gold,'' and well might 

 it be so styled, for with that rich material, and 

 even shawls, were some of the Maharajah's 

 tents lined. The Governor- Grenerals camp was 

 pitched on the left, that of E-unjit Singh on the 

 right bank of the Sutlej, there a noble stream, 

 over which a bridge of boats had been thrown 

 to facilitate communication between the camps : 

 Lord William Bentinck, though simple in his 

 own habits, was attended by all the magnates 

 of the land, and surrounded by a staff who vied 

 with each other in the splendour of their dis- 

 play. In fact, the Governor-General's camp 

 contained upwards of a hundred elephants, 

 and camels were in countless numbers. His 

 Lordship's escort was small, but of picked men, 

 and finer specimens of British soldiery were 

 never seen. The escort consisted of a brigade 

 of Horse Artillery, whose guns and equipment 

 were models of their kind, as intended for pre- 

 sentation to the Maharajah. Two squadrons of 

 H. M.'s 16th Lancers, with the 31st Foot, com- 

 pleted the escort. The advance in line of the 



