134 STATE VISIT TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL. 



31st elicited the most enthusiastic praise from 

 old Rmijit, wlio was himself every inch a 

 warrior ; ' that regiment moves,' said he, ' a 

 living wall,' and truly it did so, in advancing 

 to the royal salute on the occasion of His High- 

 ness' visit to the Governor-General. On the 

 following day his visit was returned with all 

 ]30ssible ' pomp and circumstance,' but the 

 grandeur of display in the British camp was as 

 nothing compared with the 'vivid magnificence 

 of that of the Maharajah. On our side of the 

 river not a blade of grass was to be seen, but on 

 crossing the Sutlej we found ourselves as though 

 in fairy land, one sheet of verdure extending for 

 miles, the ground having been ploughed, level- 

 led, and sown with wheat, which had been care- 

 fully watered to expedite its growth, and there 

 the Maharajah's tents were pitched as though 

 upon a lawn. The tents themselves were of the 

 most costly materials, and some of them of vast 

 size ; but two in particular struck my fancy as 

 perfect gems of their kind, one being lined with 

 the finest Cashmere shawls, the other with Kin 

 kab, or cloth of gold, and the tent-poles were 

 encased with gold or silver. 



" A large body of the Maharajah's best troops 



