200 Journal of a voyage from [March, 



was said about the " bahdduri" of the fallen chiefs, the devoted cou- 

 rage of their adherents, and the time which a few resolute men had 

 kept the second Baha'wal Khan and his whole army at bay. The 

 knowledge possessed by our guides of these affairs seemed to be inti- 

 mate ; and could I have understood clearly all that they said, I might 

 during our walk have learnt the whole history of the tribe. On their 

 first settlement in the country, the Daudputras, to add consequence 

 to their name, as well as to increase their power, are said not to have 

 been very scrupulous how they swelled their numbers, and people of 

 all descriptions were admitted into their tribe. 



The opinion I formed of the lower orders from what I saw to-day 

 was not very favorable. One cannot be long in their society without 

 being struck with the absence of that urbanity which is so universal 

 among all orders in Hindustan. With each other they appear to be 

 on easy terms, using little ceremony. With strangers they are either 

 rough and betray a suspicion and distrust in their manner, or their 

 courteousness is awkward and descends to servility. One of our 

 guides, whose garments would hardly have gained him admittance 

 into any gentleman's gateway, gave me to understand that he was no 

 common person, but one who lived in the Khan's presence. I should 

 not have believed him but for an anecdote which I heard of one of 

 the former chiefs soon after my return to camp, and which was to 

 the effect " that the first Bahawal Khan would have given a severe 

 bastinado to any person who had dared to come to his darbdr in 

 new or clean clothes." The person who related this anecdote to me, 

 lamented the degeneracy of the present ruler, " who has brought 

 himself," said he, " to look upon clean clothes without aversion, and, 

 what is worse, allows his prime minister to ride in a baili or a bullock 

 carriage, for which last innovation he will one day be sorely visited." 



We remained at Darpur on the 5th. This place is pleasantly situ- 

 ated at about half a mile from the present channel of the river. A 

 fine piece of grass turf sprinkled with dwarfish palm extends from it 

 down to the banks of the river. The fort of Darpur is still in good 

 preservation, but has not been occupied since the family was dispos- 

 sessed by the second Bahawal Khan. It is of mud and pakd bricks, 

 in form a square, with turrets at the angles ; the outer walls enclose 

 an aria of nine hundred square yards. Near the fort are the lines of 

 one of the Khan's disciplined battalions, stationed here under the com- 

 mand of a half-caste Portuguese ; their uniform was a blue coat with 

 scarlet facings, flaming scarlet shakos, with brass ornaments. They 

 were drawn out to receive us on the day of our arrival Evening had 



