THE nUKEEM AT HALLA. 115 



'' Shah bash* Hukeem Sahib, " said I, ''that is, 

 indeed, an anecdote worth hearing." 



The Hukeem was certainly a very agreeable 

 person, and I was extremely sorry when he 

 quitted London for Bombay, in charge of the 

 Meer's suite and heavy baggage via South- 

 ampton, His Highness following by the route 

 of Trieste. We met ao-ain at Bombay and 

 Kurrachee, but as the Meer had charged me on 

 no account to speak of his affairs to the Hukeem, 

 whom he suspected of treachery, in spite of all 

 I could say to the contrary, there was an 

 estrangement between us that caused me much 

 pain, for I had a great regard for him. On our 

 leaving Km^achee he remained behind on a 

 plea of sickness, and he had long been suf- 

 fering from disease of the kidneys ; but he had 

 more than once told me that he did not like to 

 trust himself in the Meer's power. The Hu- 

 keem, after a time, came up to Halla, a largo 

 town just without the frontier ; and there he re- 

 mained, till the Meer, finding that he would 

 not come to Khyrpoor of his own accord, made 

 a representation to the British authorities to 

 the effect that the Hukeem had robbed him, 

 * Bravo! 



