1 *iriV wu,ch kike °ther oriental princes, Runjeet is fond of
2 nautching, or dancing-girls ; he keeps up a large
3 establishment; of these, and lavishes vast sums of
4 money on them. These females are sometimes
5 attired in military costume, and armed with bows
6 and arrows ; when thus equipped, he styles them
7 his body-guard! They do not, however, like the
8 amazons of old, take partin the battle strife; though
9 their domestic quarrels are by no means unfre¬
10 quent, and require all the address of the “ Lion of
11 the Punjab” to suppress them! He confesses that
12 his body-guard are the most troublesome, and least
13 manageable portion of his troops! ! When eih-
14 ployed in dancing and singing, Runjeet, it is said,
15 sometimes amuses himself by giving them spirituous
16 liquors (of which these girls are as fond as any
17 bearded Sikh) until they have drank to excess, when
18 they commence quarrelling, and tear each other’s
19 hair, much to his delight! He encourages the sport
20 by every means in his power, and showers rupees
21 without number among the combatants! These 1
22 Bacchanalian scenes are, however, confided to
23 himself and his favorites, being rarely or ever
24 exhibited to strangers. When in the enjoyment:
25 of good health, the Maharajah and his sirdars used
26 to indulge in spirituous liquors to an immoderafe
27 extent; on such occasions, his European guests
28 found considerable difficulty in avoiding the force
29 of regal example, as may be seen in Bumfs’
30 amusing account of a drinking scene at Lahore.
31 On this, and similar occasions, the Maharajah is