1 A. D. 1831. FIRST MEETING. 1G3
2 and to present them to the Governor General and to his
3 Secretary : if they were at once taken without demur,
4 he was to consider it as a good omen, and might proceed
5 in full assurance, that the result of the meeting would
6 give him satisfaction. On the morning of the 26th Octo-
7 ber, a deputation went to conduct the Muha-Raja to
8 camp, and he started at sunrise. A bridge of the flat-
9 bottomed ferry boats of the Sutlej had been constructed
10 for the convenience of communication. Runjeet
11 Singh made to cross over before him, 3000 of bis best
12 Gorchur cavalry, dressed in new yellow silk quilted
13 coats, also about 800 of Monsieur Allard's dragoons ;
14 he then took his breakfast of a highly spiced cordial, and
15 sent over the chiefs he meant should attend on their
16 elephants. This occupied some time, for the boats were
17 fragile and would allow but few elephants to be on the
18 bridge together. Lastly, His Highness passed over in per-
19 son, and then, to prevent all confusion, ordered the guard
20 at the bridge to permit none else from his camp to cross
21 over. With the escort and attendance thus formed, the
22 Sikh Chief crossed the open plain, at the further end of
23 which lay the camp of the Governor General, from the
24 centre of which a street was formed of the British troops
25 collected. On reaching the end of the line, the Muha-
26 Raja stopped to examine each corps, and put an infinity
27 of questions as to their equipment, asking the use and
28 cost of every strange article, that caught his eye. In
29 the middle of the street he was met by the Governor
30 General, and presented the apples, as enjoined by
31 the astrologers : they were freely and at once taken.
32 His Highness then crossed into the Governor Gene-
33 ral's houda, and the two Chiefs proceeded together to
34 the tents of audience that had been prepared. lo an
35 w 2