like chickens, and crept, for concealment, into the nearest holes. The Usud-bye men, resembling lious, returned with the prisoners they had made in safety. In fine, the Nazarenes were reduced to such straits by our fire, that they no sooner saw one of the Hydery people lift a musquet to his shoulder, than they would take off their hats, and bow to him, like an ape. One day the Nazarenes, at break of day, attacked and penetrated into the trenches at the edge of the ditch. I was seated, at the time, in my quarters, having just performed my customary exercises, when, hearing the noise of musquetry and of men, I took a company of Usud-Ilhyes, and ran on foot to the trenches, where I found the Nazarenes standing. The Usud-hye people, instantly attacking them with sword and bayonet, sent several of them to hell, and made some of them prisoners. The remnant of the sword took to flight. "In short, during three months, such was the slaughter on both sides, that the trenches exhibited nothing but a mixture of mud and clay with the blood and flesh of men. The toes of many were completely rotted, in consequence of the excessive rains, and owing to the mire (in the midst of which they were constantly forced to stand). Often, of a dark night, and wading through the floods occasioned by the heavy rain and wind (which here always exceed any thing known in other parts of our kingdom), I say, often during this time, have I, both by night and day, gone the rounds, to see that the necessary works were properly carried on, and that the Ahmedy people were duly watchful. In consequence, it happened that two or three sirdars, and others, fell, in the darkness of the night, into wells, which were then quite full, and became martyrs, without any one's knowing of the accident. Moreover, at this time, the water lay on the ground knee deep." This record shews that the person, to whom it relates, had possessed an office of great importance under Tippon Sultaun, (the Dewan) in which he had amassed certain wealth, and had been suspected, it shoul seem, of having accumulated more. He had been forbidden the Presence for three years, but had found means to make his peace by a promised disclosure of his property; and on that condition had received a free pardon. The oath imposed, or possibly self-prescribed, on Meer Sadik, is singular and noticeable. The general allegiance of a subject is not only enjoined by it, but the most minute duties are detailed and enforced with such earnest and persevering particularity, as if the perform. ance of them would depend more on the exact specification of their parts, than on the binding nature of the oath, and the spirit with which it is taken. It is a comprehensive classification of the functions of the principal organs and members of the body, and an appropriation of them, root and branch, on the most solemn and reiterate ! imprecations, to the service, and nothing but the service, of the jealous and merciless Sultaun. This is not, perhaps, an ordinary appeal, a mere oath of office, but a special application to the conscience of the swearer, which had been alrea 'y tried, and had not been restrained by a common fence. This oath may have been equalled, in the solemnity and diversity of attestation, by Ernulfus's, and by some efforts, of a similar nature, of the primitive church, to my lord and master, and never act, in any instance, contrary to my duty, or to his interest. And (I moreover promise) to communicate whatever I shall hear or see to the resplendent presence. If, however, (which God forbid!) I should happen to be guilty of a breach of any of the four obligations, (above-mentioned) or of the obedience which I owe, may God, the most holy and omnipotent, and whose name is the Avenger, overwhelm me and mine with his wrath, and utterly destroy us! According to the prohibitions in the holy word of God, the Almighty has forbidden eight things those (eight) crimes, by the blessing of the confession of faith, I will reprobate and put from me, even as (I would) the devil. I will moreover, in conformity with the holy word, not only zealously discharge my duty, on all occasions, to his majesty, my lord and master, but also labour to promote and maintain the concord and union of the people of Islam, or those who (are accustomed to) repeat the confession of faith. If (which God forbid!) any act, forbidden by the holy words, should come to my knowledge, I will drive the unworthy person, committing the same, from among the people of Islam; for the most glorious and high God has declared, that whosoever commits one of the eight sins, abovementioned, is the son of rejection. And I am descended, on both sides, and through three generations, from nobles and Siyuds of the tribe of Koreish, and of the Mahommedan reiigion, and am true and faithful both in tongue and hand And I declare, under the aforesaid solema sanctions, that except the wealth of my royal master, the shadow of God, at the time of his becoming a servant of the Khodâdâd Sircar, your slave was possessed of three pagodas. After becoming the servant of the Sircar, (the centre of bounty) I sent for my family, who possessed in jewels, &c. about three thousand rupees. Since that time, your slave, who is always ready to sacrifice his life in your majesty's service, swears by the book of God, (witness God, and the Prophet of God!) that all he has acquired in cattle, arms, effects, clothes, and vessels of brass, jewels, money, and presents, from his lord and master, including profit and original property, as above stated, amounts, in all, to about 1,08,200 rupees; out of which sum he expended, during the three years that he laboured under your majesty's displeasure, and confined himself to his own house, about 15,000 rupees. There consequently remain 93,200 rupees, as detailed in the subjoined statement. I swear by the book of God, and by the words of the Prophet, that your slave represents his true situation; but if he should (be suspected to) have embezzled any of the Sircar's property, or to have taken from any asof, mutusuddy, amuldar, or serishtedâr, or to have done injury to any inhabitant of the Sircar, let orders be issued from the presence full of splendour (the shadow of God) for inquiry to be made therein; and if your slave should be found guilty, let a severe punishment be inflicted on the unfaithful offender, (i. e, on me.) Let him be rolled up in a mat, and burrt, and le, his dwelling and famny be destroyed; but though your sacred majesty should forgive, God will surely punish that wicked deer. to connect and keep together its newly-gathered flock; but the penance, with which it is accompanied, is a discipline too refined for early barbarism and tanaticism to inflict It is disgusting to behold the exhibition here made, in the pacification of a prince, by means so base an degrading; and the submission of a nobleman of pure blood, on both sides, through three genciations of ancestors, to confessions, suited only to the most abject state of humanity, f the .riest poverty and dependence, nay even of crime, which is in the same breath forswern, and of the strender of himself and his family to the most cruel and ingenious mole of punishment, at the bare suspicion or caprice of his tyrannical If the servant be not worthy of such a master-the master, giving credit to his sus picions, is certainly deserving of such a servant! lord. From the beginning of his service, your slave has not given a farthing to any of his relations; and in your slave's house, marriage ceremonies have seldom exceeded five and twenty rupees, and at no time one thousand rupees. Your slave's pay was twelve hundred rupees per month; in lieu of half of which your majesty graciously conferred upon him a jageer of three thousand pagodas. Of this, whatever I have spent, I have spent; the remainder is ready to be laid, together with my life and heart, an humble sacrifice at your sacred and august feet. All former crimes of this devoted slave, my royal lord and master has, through his abundant generosity, favour, and protection, forgiven; but if, hereafter, I should receive any bribes, or commit any (other) misdemeanour in the (management of the) country of the Khodadad Sircar, the aforesaid oath will be binding on me. And I will perform the duties of my station with heart, soul, and fidelity; and never be neglectful of, or deficient in, the same. To this engagement, God and the Prophet of God are witnesses; and if I act contrary thereto, I shall be obnoxious to the wrath of the throne of vengeance. And the specification of my duties, according to the four above-mentioned members, is as follows: 1st. As to the duty of the eyes. I will not authorize, by any sign made by my eyes, any embezzlement of the property of the Sircar; and if any one should, to my knowledge, do any thing prejudicial to the affairs and property of the Sircar, I will not wink thereat, but will forbid the same, and report it to the exalted presence. 2d. As to the duty of the ears.-If any person should utter expressions of a treasonable nature, or prejudicial to the wealth or affairs of the Khodadad Sircar, or act seditionsly, and the same should come to my hearing, I will not remain silent, but will forbid and punish the offenc, and also report it to the exalted presence. 31. As to the duty of the tongue.— at is to say, in all matters relating to the due management of the affairs of the Khodadad Sircar, whether now or hereafter, and in which the interest, glory, and prosperity of your majesty may be concerned, it (i. e. my tongue) shall be ever actively employed, as long as it retains motion; nor shall it fail, at any time, to make all necessary communications to the presence full of splendour. 4th. As to the duty of the hands.— That is to say, the enemies of my royal lord and master, I will kill with sword and pen, and most certainly will never neglect any opportunity of destroying his enemies with sword and peu: I will, moreover, communicate all such transactions to the resplen dent presence, in my own writing; and I will, likewise, write out all abstract accounts with my own hand. I will, in fine, in all affairs, be loyal with my four members, and omit or neglect nothing which can be accomplished by them. hand From the manuscript notes of an officer of the Bengal army, made from actual observation, during a late tour through the Punjab to Lahore; and affording, among much va uable matter, some illustrations of the character and manners of the Sikhs. On the 15th April last, I crossed the Jumna, at Rejenore Ghaut, seven' coss from Saharanpore, in company with a large kafila of Sikhs, returning from the Hardoar Mela; and arrived at the town of Borea, situated in the Doab, that part of the frontier so called from lying between the rivers Jumna and Sutledge. I was much gratified with the general appearance of the country, then in a high state of cultivation, affording satisfactory proof of the fertility of the soil, and industry of the people. I was no less pleased with the kind reception I experienced from the inhabitants of the town of Borea; who all assembled near my tent, to gratify their curiosity with the novel and extraordinary sight of an European. Many of the Jautnee ladies, wives of the royuts, begged leave to be introduced to my presence, and every look and gesture testified their surprise. They stood near me, hughed' heartily at my appearance, and made a multitude of inquiries. They asked me if I did not wear a hat; if ever I ventured to expose my face to the sun, or if I always staid within doors, or moved about under cover? whether the table which was placed in my tent, was that I slept upon (although my cot was close beside it, but with the curtains down.) They took a particular survey of the cot, looked at the bed clothes, and curtains: they then examined the lining of the tent, &c. &c. at all which they seemed greatly surprised and delighted. Curiosity is one of the strongest passions of the fair sex, whether in Europe or in India; and you may judge how much the Jautnee ladies were gratified on this occasion, by their exclamation, that God had been very kind in indulging them with so wonderful a sight as an European, which they considered as equal to the two other great gifts of heaven, namely, the sun and moon. This ludicrous comparison, the ladies probably intended as a compliment to me; though it must be ascribed, in some measure, to their fondness for hyperbole, which I had frequent opportunities to remark. They were all of pleasing appearance, with mild regular features, and olive complexion, agreeably contrasted by beautiful, wellarranged, white teeth; for which all the natives of the Punjab, both men and women, are remarkable. Neither pawr nor the beetle nut grow in any part of this country; and the lips and teeth of the natives are unstained by the use of these luxuries, which give so disgusting an appearance to the mouths of many other Asiatics. The people were well dressed, and bore every appearance of health, ease, and contentment; the effects of a just and good government, to which the inhabitants of those districts are happily subject; and, in proof of this observation, I may mention that, during the whole course of my inquiries, I heard not one cause of complaint. The cultivators are assessed to the amount of one half of the produce of their crops, which is paid in kind to the chief, as money currency is ver“ All limited throughout the Punjab. Although that is the general rate of asessment, yet every allowance is made to the cultivator for unfavourable seasons, and every species of oppression carefully guarded against by the chief, who, although he is absolute, rules with such moderation and justice, that he is beloved and revered by his people, whose happiness he studies to promote. Though vested with uncontrolled power, his administration of justice is mild and equitable. He seldom dooms to death even for murder: so lenient is the system of polity, that crimes of that heinous nature are punished by the temporary imprisonment of the criminal, by corporal chastisement, and confiscation of property of every denomination, which the chief converts to his own use. offences, whether murder or the slightest misdemeanor, are under the cognizance of the kotewall, who submits a detail of all the cases that come before him to the chief, by whom alone punishments are awarded, agreeable to his will. This system of judicial administration seems to have a happy effect, insomuch that capital crimes are rarely perpetrated, and the police in the different towns is so well regulated that persons of all nations enter them with confidence, and meet with no molestation while they remain. The same attention is shewn to an English gentleman as in our own territory, by the kotewall, who readily sends the usual suppiles of provision, and for which he will receive no payment. He also furnishes a guard of Chokeedars at night. The town of Berea and the adjoining districts were independent of rajah Runjeit Sing, at the time I allude to. The inhabitants of that tract of country are both Singhs and Sikhs. The Sighs, or Lions are proselytes of Goooogobind Singh, a reputed sint, who lived in the reign of Alum cheer, and declared hin self to the world as the converter of men into lions. They are all soldiers; but Goo oogobind Singh was not a Singh himsel. Nei ther the time nor manner of his death is noticed in any record, nor in any traditional account. A Sikh wishing to become a Singh, finds no difficulty in accomplishing his proselytism. He goes to the Akalees, or priests of the sect, at Amrutsur, who ask him if he wishes to become a convert to their persuasion, and if so, to produce proofs of his determination; upon which the convert breaks with his own hands, the zunar, the small thread, or cord, worn across the shoulders by most of the Hindoo sects, and after the performance of certain ceremonies, he is given to drink a sherbet made of sugar and water, from the hand of an Akalee. After this initiation, he never shaves his beard, nor cuts his hair, and ought not, according to a rigorous observance of the doctrines, to pair his nails, but that is dispensed with, though contrary to the rules of the lawgiver. Now become a Singh, he is heterodox, and distinct from the Hindoos, by whom he is considered as an apostate. He is not restricted in his diet, but is allowed, by the tenets of his new religion, to devour whatever food his appetite may prompt, excepting beef. He is allowed also to drink every kind of liquor, such as the Singhs. The Sikhs are those, who (if originally Hindoos,) together with the peculiar tenets and observances prescribed to the sect by its founder, Nanuk, retain firmly the institutions of their faith, in strict conformity to the doctrines of Brahma. Both the Sikhs and Singhs marry one wife, and in the event of her death may marry again; but if the husband die, the widow cannot again enter the nuptial state, but the widow of a Jaut is allowed to marry a second or third husband. Widows arely declare themselves Suttees* in any part of the Punjab; but in the city of Jumoo, a contrary practice prevails. There it is generally practised, and is indeed considered as an indispensable sacrifice to the manes of the deceased husband; and, if the widow does not voluntarily attend the corpse of her husband, and • Widow who devotes herself to death on the funeral pile of her husband. |