1 140 A Short History of the Sikhs.
2 Nao Nihal Singh at once placed himself at the
3 head of the government, though Kharak Singh, who
4 was kept in confinement, continued to be the titular
5 ruler, and occasionally, when a king was required,
6 was brought forth and placed for a few royal
7 moments on his confiscated throne. Kharak Singh's
8 deposition aroused but little indignation. He was
9 ill-looking and almost an imbecile, and was respected
10 by none. Nao Nihal, on the other hand, was popular
11 with nearly all classes, and particularly with the
12 army, for he was a tall and handsome prince, and
13 was endowed with many of his grandfather's manly
14 qualities. He was, in addition, a capable adminis-
15 trator ; and during his regency he managed the
16 affairs of the state with vigour and skill. Dhian
17 Singh continued to hold office as minister ; but he by
18 no means appreciated the masterful methods of his
19 new chief, under whom he found himself more of
20 a nonentity than ever. He soon saw that the only
21 way to regain his lost authority was to get rid of
22 Nao Nihal ; and again fortune — or the devil — came
23 to his assistance.
24 On November 5, 1840, the unhappy Kharak
25 Singh died. Nao Nihal's accession followed as a
26 matter of course ; but if the soldiers of the Khalsa
27 looked forward to a new era of military glory under
28 their spirited young chief, their hopes were doomed
29 to disappointment, for the day on which Nao Nihal
30 became the ruler of the Punjab was the last of his
31 life. In the morning he attended the obsequies of
32 his father; in the evening, as the royal procession
33 was re-entering Lahore, the city gateway collapsed.