THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE EAST. I07 



in questioninf[ me thus, was to conceal at that moment 

 the approachinor death of the prince, in order to have time 

 to make the necessary preparations, so that the peace and 

 tranquillity of the country mijjht not be disturbed, ia 

 which he succeeded so that the death of the prince re- 

 mained a seeret for three days. This interval he took 

 advantage of to recall Sheer Sing, Runjeet Sing's adopt- 

 ed son, and to place him upon the throne. In the 

 meanwhile, the partisans of the deceased prince invited the 

 ranee, his mother, Chund Kour, to come as soon as possible. 

 Both arrived on the third day, only that Sheer Sing was 

 rather later than the ranee, who had taken her position 

 in the interior part of the fortress : and he was therefore 

 obliged to camp in the garden ( hazooree-bagh ) outside the 

 fortress. When both were at their respective posts, the 

 death of the royal prince was made public, and the burn- 

 ing ceremony was ordered, which took place close to that 

 of his grandfather. Two beautiful young ladies became 

 victims of the flames with him. One female of the age of 

 twelve years Sheer Sing detained, owing to her not being 

 yet ripe for the ceremony of the suttee. 



It would have been proper at that time to have made 

 inquiries whether the falling of the wall by which No- 

 Nehal Sing and Oottum Sing had been crushed, was 

 accidental, or a premeditated machination of wicked con- 

 spirators ; but none thought it worth their while to make 

 the inquiry, and the event was regarded as a punishment 

 of God — the royal prince having neglected his royal father, 

 and if he had not caused his death, had at least accelerated 

 it by his negligence. 



The absence of investigation induced the English to 

 believe the death of No-Nehal Sing to have been a 

 premeditated plot of Dhyan Sing, who, according to their 

 opinion, ambitious as he was, saw in the prince the only 

 impediment and obstacle to the sinister purposes which 

 he had in view. As for me, having lived for a long time 

 in that country, an ocular witness of the events, and hav- 

 ing had the opportunity of closely observing the conduct 



