1 MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH. 427
2 “Payenda Khan, had become troublesome. Pakhli and Dhandor in Kashmir
3 were bestowed asa jagir on the gallant Hari Singh, Nalwa, in recognition
4 ‘of his services in that country.
5 In March 1822, two European adventurers, Monsieur Ventura, an Italian
6 by birth, and ain infantry colonel in the French service, and Monsieur Allard,
7 a Frenchman, who held a similar rank in the cavalry, arrived at the
8 Court of Lahore, in search of military employment. The fall of Napoleon
9 Bonaparte had inflicted a death-blow on the military aspirations of the
10 youths of France, and these officers, after in vain seeking honourable
11 employment in Persia, came overland to Lahore, through Kandahar and
12 Kabul. ,They came dressed like Mussalmans of Persia, and met with a
13 friendly and honourable reception, but the suspicious chief was at first
14 unable to understand what could have induced the young men to leave their
15 country and undertake so long a journey. They explained their views in
16 Persian, but, this failing to satisfy the Sikh ruler, he asked them to explain
17 them in their own language, and, this having been done, he sent the
18 paper written by them in French, to the British Agent at Ludhiana, to
19 be translated into the vernacular. All his suspicions were allayed, on
20 seeing the translation, and he employed them to organise his army on
21 the French system as to drill and mancuvres, The tomb of Anarkhali
22 was given to them for a residence, and high salaries were fixed for them.
23 In a short time both these officers, by their ability and energy, won
24 the Maharaja’s entire confidence, and raised new regiments of dragoons,
25 which they disciplined and drilled after the manner of European cavalry.
26 They built a large house outside the town of Lahore, near Wazir Khan’s
27 garden, and laid out beautiful bazars. Four years afterwards they were
28 joined by Monsieur Court (who had received his training at the Polytechnic
29 Institution at Paris, and was at one time Aide-de-camp to Marshal Bessieres
30 in Spain) and Monsieur Avitabile. Both these officers were made generals
31 in the Sikh army, and Court brought the Sikh artillery and musketry to
32 great perfection. The Sikhs have a spirit of adaptation, and, under European
33 discipline and drill, the excellence of their character and the hardihood of
34 their disposition developed. The drilling of his troops after the European
35 fashion had been an object of the greatest desire with Ranjit Singh, ever since
36 the first impression he had received of the excellence of Kuropean discipline
37 in 1809, at Amritsar, where, as previously mentioned, a handful of Mr. Met-
38 calfe’s Hindosténi escort had beaten back a crowd of Akalis. This, his
39 favourite project, had been more or less perfectly carried out since, Ranjit
40 Singh never having lost an opportunity of utilising the services of ex-naiks
41 and deserting sepoys and native officers of the Company’s service. It was
42 not without considerable difficulty that Ranjit Singh induced his men to give
43 up their customary weapons and order of battle. To encourage them to
44 resign their old mode of warfare, he gave them good pay and rations. He
45 paid personal attention to their drill and equipment and was the first to
46 break through prejudice by himself wearing the strange dress, and going
47 through movements and military exercises after the European fashion.
48 With the aid of these officers, the Maharaja was soon enabled to form a
49 tolerably well-disciplined army of 50,000 men, besides 100,000 regular
50 troops, and cannon foundries, powder magazines and manufactories of small
51 arms were established in Lahore and Amritsar.
52 Ranjit Singh wanted-the Europeans who entered his service to engage
53 not to eat beef, not to shave their beards and not to smoke tobacco. On
54 their agreeing to the first two conditions, the third was dispensed with,
55 Arrival of Monsieur
56 Ventura and Allard a6
57 Lahore, 1822.
58 They are employed to
59 instruct troops in the
60 Enropean method of
61 exercise.
62 MM. Court aud -Avita-
63 vile are made generals
64 of the Sikh army.
65 Strange conditions
66 with the European
67 officers in the employ
68 of the Maharaja.
69 VenuTaae dala Paiiserling dat ra qeanetaes nla te VENA com