1^6 TlilRTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE EAST. 



life by their fury. This gentleman is an artist of some 

 celebrity ( at this time in St. Petersburg ), and he, accom- 

 panied by his lady, visited the East Indian Presidencies 

 shortly before my severe illness ; and having met with great 

 success in consequence of his skill in oil painting, he 

 came to visit me at Lahore. At this time the court 

 happened to be at Umritsir, and I received an order from 

 Sheer Sing to present myself at that place with my guest. 

 On our arrival, it happened that one of the principal Sikh 

 priests, named Bail Goormuck Sing, was present, and the 

 maharajah desired Herr Schofft to furnish him with a speci- 

 men of his abilities, by sketching a portrait of the Baii ; 

 which he accordingly did, in pencil, and the likeness was, 

 a striking one. The result was, that the maharajah and 

 several of the principal persons of the court sat to him for 

 their portraits, and Herr Schofft accordingly met with great 

 respect and consideration, 



I may mention here, that Herr Schofft had kept copies 

 of these portraits, and that on his return to Europe he 

 painted, from these and other sketches which he had taken, 

 a large picture of the Durbar of Lahore, which is consider- 

 ed to be his masterpiece, and which was purchased 

 from him by Louis Phillipe, and is still, I believe, at 

 Paris. 



In the centre of the city of Umritsir is a gigantic re- 

 servoir of water, from the midst of which rises a magnificent 

 temple, where the Gtunth ( the holy book of the Sikhs ) 

 is read day and night. Around this sheet of water are the 

 houses of the maharajah, th.e ministers, sirdars, and other 

 wealthy inhabitants. The square itself is called Dmhar 

 Saheb. At the time of Runjeet Sing and Sheer Sing, the 

 scene which presented itself at this temple, when the court 

 was at Umritsir, was of the most brilliant description, and 

 at certain periods all the notabilities of the Punjab were 

 to be seen collected together in all the splendour of or- 

 iental pageantry. During our stay at Umritsir it happened 

 that the inhabitants gave an invitation to the court to visit 

 the sacred temple at night time, when it was gorgeously 



