1 desired Herr Sclmffi to furnish him with a specimen of his
2 abilities* hy sketching a portrait of the UHi; which he accord¬
3 ingly (lid, in pencil, and the likeness was a striking one. ’I he
4 result was, that the maharajah and several of the principal
5 persons of the court sat to hint for their portraits, and Ilcrr
6 Schiifft accordingly met with great respect and consideration.
7 I may mention here, that Hair Schoff't had kept copies ot
8 these portraits, and that on his return to Europe he painted, from
9 these and other sketches which he had taken, a large picture of
10 the Durbar of .Lahore, which is considered to be his masterpiece,
11 and which was purchased front him bv Lout L’iiillipe, arid
12 is still, I believe, Rt Paris.
13 In the centre of ti e city of Umrit.sk is a gigantic rewrroir
14 of water, from the mid.-t of which rises a magnificent temple,
15 where the Grunth (the holy hook of the Sikhs) is read day and
16 night. Around this sheet of water are the houses of the maha¬
17 rajah, the ministers, sirdars, and other wealthy inhabitants. The
18 square itself is called Durbar Saheh. At. the time ol Jtunject
19 Sing and Sheer Sing, the scene which presented itself u this
20 temple, when the court was at Umritsil, was of the most
21 brilliant description, and at certain periods all the notabilities
22 of the Punjab were to be seen collected together in all the
23 splendour of oriental pageantry. During our stay at Uniritsir
24 it happened that the inhabitants gave an invitation o the
25 court to visit the sacred temple at night time, when it was
26 gorgeously illuminated; and Sheer Sing honoured me vith
27 Ilia commands that we should accompany him, sending us
28 a richly caparisoned elephant for our accommodation. Sheet
29 Sing inquired of my friend, Ilerr Schofft, if he could take
30 for him a drawing of that brihiaot scene, lie answered in
31 the affirmative, but proposed to the maharajah that it would
32 be 1 >et tot if the scene was sketched under the effect of day-
33 litfht instead of the imperfect one of the illumination. lie
34 was accordingly ordered to adopt that suggestion. On the
35 following morning we went to the house of the Laii (ioormuek
36 Sing, who hail promised, ou the previou- evening, to send