THE meer's wives. 255 



a kind of open palanquin with curtains. At 

 sun-set the evening prayer Is recited, wherever 

 the princesses may happen to be. About an 

 hour after sunset they take their evening meal, 

 after which they converse, smoke, and listen to 

 singing till it is time to retire for the night. 

 In conversation they appeared sensible, thougli, 

 of course, their ideas were very limited, and 

 they never tired of asking Mrs Gholaum ques- 

 tions about England and the religion of its 

 people, on which subject they seem to have had 

 some rather warm discussions together. They 

 complained bitterly of the Meer's neglect of his 

 wives, who, on his return from England^ re- 

 ceived little or nothing in the way of presents, 

 whilst the AH Sirkars, his mistresses, got mu- 

 sical boxes without end, and many other highly- 

 prized gifts. His Highness' want of considera- 

 tion for his elder wife was also brought up as a 

 bitter grievance ; she, a Murree lady of higli 

 birth, and her daughters, being reduced to great 

 distress for want of means, whilst the inferior 

 wives, who were women of the lowest origin, 

 were In affluent circumstances. Her Hlirhness' 

 establishment was numerous, in the aggrcgrate 

 fully a hundred persons, those of the masculine 



