THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE EAST. QI 



at Malta, and who had met witli General Ventura, that 

 the maharajah had ordered the general to make inquiries 

 for me in Europe, and to persuaoe me to go back tj 

 Lahore. Accordingly, the general invited me to accompany 

 him thither, after the expiration of his leave of absence in 

 the autuoon. I yielded to this invitation, and went in 

 company with the general from Alexandria to Bombay, 

 whence he proceeded alone, with the utmost speed, to Lahore, 

 as Runjeet Sing was dangerously ill, and as at that time 

 the English were preparing to place the Shah Soojah on 

 the throne of Cabul. 



General Ventura was accompanied by a shav.-l merchant, 

 named Monsieur Le Boeuf, and a captain of cavalry, M. 

 Mouton, with his lady. These three persons the general 

 requested me to accompany to Lahore, as they were unable 

 to speak Hindostanee. 



At Bombay we went on board a native vessel, and 

 sailed to Gogo, and thence we continued our way, partly 

 in carriages, partly on camels. Ampng our fellow travellers 

 there were some native shawl merchants from Umritsir. 

 We took the shortest road, through Palee, Ajmir, Hansi, 

 and Loodiana. We were hardly two days' journey from 

 Gogo, when we were overtaken by two English captains, who 

 had been ordered to examine our papers ; for they looked 

 upon us as if we were Russian spies. At Palee the plague 

 was raging, as it had then been for the last thfee years. 

 Previous to our arrival there, we passed a very pleasant even- 

 ing with the family of an English captain. On this occasion 

 I made the acquaintance of an English physician, Dr. Keir, 

 who informed me that the English physicians in India do not 

 agree in their views respecting the plague at Palee : for 

 some of them consider the disease to be a pestilential fever 

 peculiar to India, while others declare it to be the same 

 plague that was so common in the East, and especially 

 in Turkey and Egypt. He told me he would be very 

 glad if I would write to him my opinion about it, should 

 I on ray journey observe the disease, as he considered it 

 might be of great importance both to himself and to 

 i6 



