1 09
2 palanquins, behind the deceased, after them followed the seven
3 female slaves, barefooted ; some of them appeared to be not
4 more than fourteen or fifteen years of age. The ranees, too,
5 were barefooted, their silk dresses were simple, and without any
6 ornaments, and they appeared to be indifferent to the awful
7 though voluntary fate which awaited them. Perhaps our hearts
8 throbbed more at the view of this dismal train than those
9 of the poor victims themselves. The body of Runjeet Sing
10 was placed on a board, to which it was probably fastened,
11 and was carried on a light and decorated bier constructed in
12 the shape of a ship ; the sails and flags of the vessel were made
13 of rich golden and silk stuff (kimkab), and of Cashmere
14 shawls. A number of people carried the bier from the interior
15 of the fortress up to the funeral-pile, there the board with
16 the body was taken out of it and deposited on the ground,
17 where, on what was a small garden, now stands a summood, i. e.9
18 a tomb of the royal family Runjeet Sing, Kurruck Sing
19 and No-Nehal Sing, i. e.9 the father, son, and grandchild, to-
20 gether with their wives and slaves. The costly ornaments
21 of the richly decorated bier were given to the mob ; the
22 Brahmins performed their prayers from the Shaster, a book
23 written in the Indian or Sanscrit language ; the Gooroos, or
24 priests of the Sikhs, did the same, from their holy scripture
25 called Grunthsaheb*, and the Musselmen accompanied them with
26 their “ Ya, Allah ! Ya, Allah ! ” A slow, but not displeasing
27 rumbling of the drums, and the murmuring of the people, gave
28 to the whole scene a melancholy aspect, and was peculiar to
29 the country. The funeral-pile which displayed itself before
30 the eyes of the spectators, was constructed of dry woods,
31 amongst which there were pieces of aloe ; it was about six feet
32 high and square. After the prayers of the Brahmins and
33 Gooroos, which lasted nearly an hour, the minister and other
34 sirdars ascended bv a ladder the funeral-pile, upon which
35 ignitible matters and substances, as cotton seeds, & c., were
36 strewn, and the royal body was respectfully placed in the middle
37 * Grunth is tho holy hook of Baba-Nanuk.
38 VOT.. I.
39 K