1 126 THB RELIGION OF THB SIKHS.
2 is SO calculated to inspire a barbarous people
3 with respect as the performance of deeds be-
4 yond their comprehension, the Faquir who, by
5 abstinence and mortification, acquires wonderful
6 control over the physical powers, is enabled with-
7 out difficulty to give them exaggerated notions of
8 his 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
13 the details to his readers as authentic, and yet
14 so wide spread and so strong is the belief in their
15 truth entertained by many Englishmen, that the
16 story has been told in another form by a British
17 officer, who was never consiidered 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 th^
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, some-