1 18 HISTORY OF THE PUNJAUB FROM
2 of the palace. The corpse of the late Maha-
3 rajah, placed upon a splendidly gilt car, con-
4 structed in the form of a ship, with sails of gilt
5 cloth to waft him (according to native super-
6 stition) into paradise, was borne upon the
7 shoulders of soldiers, preceded by a body of
8 native musicians, playing their wild and melan-
9 choly airs. His four queens, dressed in their
10 most sumptuous apparel, then followed, each in
11 a separate gilt chair, borne upon the shoulders
12 of their attendants; the female slaves following on
13 foot. Before each of the queens was carried a
14 large mirror, and gilt parasol, the emblems of
15 their rank. After them came the successor to
16 the throne, the Maharajah Kurruck Singh,
17 attended by the whole of the Sikh Sirdars, bare-
18 footed, and clothed in white ; none but persons
19 of noble rank being permitted to join the pro-
20 cession. To the last moment of this terrible
21 sacrifice, the queens exhibited the most perfect
22 equanimity ; far from evincing any dread of the
23 terrible death which awaited them, they appeared
24 in a high state of excitement, and ascended the
25 funeral pile with alacrity. The slaves also ap-
26 peared perfectly resigned, but less enthusiastic. .
27 The body of the Maharajah having been placed
28 upon the pile, his queens seated themselves
29 around it, when the whole were covered over
30 with a canopy of the most costly Kashmir