1 108 THB COURT OF TH£ SIKH SOYEBBIQNS.
2 party to and fro. Within this tent the portable
3 presents were produced, and exhibited a goodly
4 selection from the choicest articles to be found in
5 the boutiques of the gunsmiths and jewellers of
6 Calcutta. But the gift of gifts was a full length
7 portrait of our gracious Queen, painted by Miss
8 Eden for the occasion, and encompassed by a
9 fitting frame of solid gold and jewelled cornices.
10 On receiving this present, which was brought in
11 by Major-General Sir Willoughby Cotton (while
12 the camel battery fired a salute), the Maharajah,
13 through Major Wade's interpretation, signified
14 his intention to hang it up in his tent, and fire a
15 salute in its honour. A good deal of edifying
16 conversation now passed between the Governor-
17 General and his royal visitor.
18 " When all had been said that it was thought
19 requisite to say upon the occasion, the Maharajah,
20 escorted as before, proceeded to another tent, to
21 see the howitzers, the caparisoned elephants, and
22 the magnificent horses which had been prepared
23 for his acceptance ; the howitzers were extolled,
24 the elephants praised, and the horses admired,
25 though his Highness's taste, in the latter article,
26 differs from that of the English, inasmuch as he
27 was most taken with that which our countrymen
28 deemed the least entitled to approbation.
29 " The interview and its attendant ceremonies
30 having now ceased, the Maharajah was attended