1 Sir; David Ochter-
2 lony is invited to
3 Lahore as a guest.
4 Cordial relations be-
5 tween the Maharaja and
6 therepresentativeof the
7 British Government.
8 Fresh invasion of
9 Bhinrbar, 1$12.
10 392 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB,
11 Kharak Singh, with Chand Kour, the only daughter of Sardar Jaimal Singh,
12 Kénhia, of Fatehgarh, near Gurddsptr, the same who had been deprived
13 of his Pathankot territory by the Mahardjd, four years previously. The
14 bride was then ten years of age. The marriage procession, with all its
15 pomp and pageantry, moved with the Mahardj4 and the bridegroom to
16 Fatehgarh, the residence of the bride.‘ Sir David Ochterlony came from
17 Ludhidné, with a small escort, at the express invitation of the Mahardjd4,
18 and brought with him a galloper gun which Ranjit Singh had expressed an
19 earnest desire to inspect. The rdjds of Jhind and Nabhd, the chief of
20 Kythal, and other sardars, and, indeed, the whole Sikh nation, assembled
21 at Fatehgarh todo honour to the occasion. Among the guests were also the
22 agents of the king of Kabul, the nawdb of Multdn, the subadar of Kdshmir,
23 and the chief of Thatta, who brought large sums as tambol, or wedding
24 presents, from their respective masters, The Mahardjd dressed all his troops
25 in scarlet broadcloth and striped silk, and the scene, as the grand procession,
26 with numerous elephants, horses and equipage, left Lahore for Majithia, was
27 most imposing. The Kanhia chief spared no expense on the occasion,
28 and entertained his numerous guests in a truly royal manner. Fifty
29 thousand rupees were paid for the first day’s ziyéfat, or entertainment, on
30 the arrival of the guests at Fatehgarh, and Rs. 15,000 were paid daily in
31 cash, by way of ztydfut, to the Mahardjd& for as many days as he stopped
32 there. The marriage was celebrated with the greatest spendour, on the 6th
33 of February 1812, and the ceremonies were presided over by Brahmans, in
34 accordance with the custom enjoined by the Shastras and Vedas. The
35 procession then returned to Lahore with the bride, and the dowry, consisting
36 of shawls, jewels, ornaments, slave girls, elephants, horses and other objects,
37 valued at several lakhs of rupees, was displayed. Sir David Ochterlony,
38 was treated with marked courtesy during his stay at Ldéhore. High officers
39 of State were appointed to look after his personal comforts, and the Maha-
40 rajé appeared to take great pleasure in spending several hours at a time in his
41 company. All the suspicion and distrust that was so conspicuous at the
42 time of Mr. Metcalfe’s visit to the Panjab, appeared to have been removed,
43 and the Mahardjd, with frank confidence, ordered a parade of his troops in
44 honour of his visitor, to whose notice his newly-raised battalions were
45 particularly brought. He showed him over the fortifications of Lahore, and
46 the defensive works which were then in progress to connect the fort with the
47 grand mosque of Aurangzeb. The minister, Dewén Mohkam Chand, tried
48 to dissuade the Mahardjaé from placing implicit confidence in the foreigner,
49 and pointed out that the knowledge thus imparted, might be turned to
50 account against him, but the Mahardjd was satisfied that there was nothing
51 to. apprehend, and the remonstrances of the cautious minister were of no
52 avail. The British Agent was invited by the Mahardjd to attend the Holi
53 festival, which had then commenced, but theinvitation was politely declined,
54 though all the chiefs and sardars, who had attended the marriage ceremonies,
55 and were at the time staying at Ldhore, gladly accepted the honour.
56 After the nuptial ceremonies of the heir-apparent and the observances
57 of the Holi festival had been duly gone through, military operations were
58 resumed, and, intelligence having been received, in the spring of 1812, of
59 the murder, by Sultéu Khan, the chief of Bhimbar, of his-relation, Ismail
60 Khan (who had been placed in charge of a portion of the Bhimbar territory,
61 in consequence of occurrences which had led to a campaign two years pre-
62 viously, under the command of Dewdn Mohkam Chand), a portion of the
63 Lahore army, consisting of four battalions of infantry, 500 horse, and a
64 Sri Satgdttipadiit Sigh Frattbnary was detachey anpdearithbragergmidil.ebrphai Ram