1 162 THE RELIGION OF THE SIKHS.
2 is so calculated to inspire a barbarous people
3 with respect as the performance of deeds beyond
4 their comprehension, the Faquir who, by absti-
5 nence and mortification, acquires wonderful con-
6 trol over the physical powers, is enabled without
7 difficulty to give them exaggerated notions of his
8 supernatural gifts.
9 For example:— A circumstance occurred at
10 Lahore towards the close of Runjeet Singh’s life
11 of so extraordinary a nature that the writer of
12 these pages almost doubts if he should offer the
13 details to his readers as authentic, and yet so wide
14 spread and so strong is the belief in their truth
15 entertained by many Englishmen, that the story
16 has been told in another form by a British
17 officer, who was never considered remarkable
18 for his reliance upon native representations. A
19 Faquir presented himself at the court of the Ma-
20 harajah, and offered for a reward to allow himself
21 to be buried alive for any indefinite period. The
22 Maharajah, supposing the man demented, refused
23 to permit the experiment; but, wearied out by the
24 importunities of his courtiers and the man’s per-
25 tinacity, at length gave a reluctant consent. After
26 ten or twelve days’ preparation, the Faquir gave
27 notice of his readiness to undergo the trial. . Ac-
28 cordingly, in the presence of the whole court,
29 after placing himself in a sitting posture, he was
30 covered over and sewn up in cere-cloth, somewhat