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2 as to whether I had sent, and if lie would come, whether he was
3 on his way, and whether he might soon expect to see him. The
4 urgency of these reiterated requests was such, that I strongly
5 solicited my brother to accede to the maharajah’s desire ; and
6 he accordingly set out on his journey from Kronstadt to Lahore.
7 Arrived at the isthmus of Suez, he heard, to his consternation,
8 of the murder of the maharajah and his wuzeer, and of the other
9 horrid massacres in the capital, which I have before described.
10 He continued his journey, however, and arrived at Ferozepore,
11 on the boundary of the Punjab, in the beginning of February,
12 1814; which, as the reader may recollect, was the epoch when
13 Heera Sing was the powerful wuzeer of the young Maharajah
14 Dulleep Sing, and the time when all Europeans were dismissed from
15 the service of the Sikhs and sent from the country. I was myself
16 at that time severely ill ; and the minister, having heard that no
17 hope of my recovery was entertained, permitted my brother to pass
18 the frontier and visit me at Lahore; thus verifying the proverb,
19 that “ out of evil, good cometh.” On the very day on which my
20 brother arrived at Lahore, my recovery commenced ; but whether
21 this was due to the pleasure I derived from his arrival, or anew
22 remedy I had employed on that day, I am unable to say ; both
23 causes, possibly, assisted in producing that result. My illness had
24 probably been for some time slumbering in the system, for I had
25 previously been using, as a beverage, a wine made from Cabul raisins
26 and sugar, which had not been properly fermented ; and this may
27 very likely have laid the foundation of the disease I am about to
28 describe. After having exposed my sight to the powerful rays of
29 an Indian sun for some hours, the stomach being empty, one of
30 my eyes became very much inflamed. Not having properly
31 attended to this circumstance, and, as was necessary, imme-
32 diately applied leeches or bleeding, I found myself on the
33 following morning totally blind; an Amaurosis being formed,
34 so that I was unable to seek for any of my medicines. No
35 European physician being at Lahore, I was obliged to have
36 recourse to the native drugs, and consult with native doctors.
37 Leeches, blisters, collyriums, &c., later employed, seemed of