180 THB HORSE AND HIS EIDER. 



Runjeet Singh, after a long contest with that potentate, 

 made the delivery of the animal to him a primary 

 condition of peace. Yar Mohammad tried many 

 stratagems to evade this demand ; first, he declared the 

 horse was dead, and when this was discovered to be a 

 falsehood, he made several attempts to palm off other 

 horses on the conqueror, instead of the real Lylee. 

 In the course of the negotiations, Yar Mohammad 

 died, and was succeeded by his brother Sooltan 

 Mohammad Khan, who also prevaricated as long as he 

 could. But at last General Ventura, an Italian in 

 Runjeet's service, ended the matter by a bold stroke. 

 Entering the reception room one day, he once more 

 formally demanded Lylee, and when Sooltan Moham- 

 mad began to quibble as usual, Ventura called up his 

 soldiers, whom he had posted in the courtyard of the 

 palace, and pronounced the Khan a prisoner in his own 

 capital. This so astounded the Khan, that he ordered 

 the horse to be brought forthwith, and Ventura quitted 

 Peshawer, with his costly booty. 



Lylee was full sixteen hands high, and was 

 magnificently apparelled. His bridle and saddle were 

 splendid, and round his knees he had gold bangles. 

 He was seen by Lieut. Barr's party in 1839, when 

 he was old, and disappointed their expectations. He 

 was tljen a speckled grey, overloaded with fat, 



