much better, both in size and spirit, than those usually ridden by the irregular cavalry of Hindostan, the men inferior in height, good looks, and dress; the arms and appointments of both pretty nearly the same; some had spears, most had matchlocks, shields, and swords.

CHAPTER XXV.

BARODA TO BOMBAY.

Entrance into Baroda-Namdar Khan-Cantonment-Church-Character of the Guicwar -Consecration of the Church-Visit to the Guicwar-Visits from Natives-Guicwar returns the Visit-Departure from Baroda-Crossing the Mhye-Kholees-Swaamee Narain-Hot winds-Interview with Swaamee Narain--Arrival at Kairah-Insalubrity of Cimate-Jain Temple-Departure from Kairah-Difficulty in crossing the Mhye— Broach-Banian-tree in an Island on the Nerbudda-Surat-Embarkation-Arrival at

Bombay.

66

MARCH 19.-From Jerrdda to Baroda is thirteen miles over a bare and open country, the roads much cut up. Expecting to meet great men" we made our march in regular order, the nagari beating and Maharatta standard flying before us, followed by my chobdars and a chobdar of the Resident's, who gave the word for marching in a sort of shrill cry, "Chulo Maharatta!" Forward Maharattas! The vakeels and the dewan followed with the chief part of my escort. After marching about eight miles, we were met by a body of horse in Persian dresses, under a young officer splendidly mounted on a dapple-grey Arab horse, with the most showy accoutrements which I had seen in India, and a shield of rhinoceros-hide as transparent as horn, and ornamented with four silver bosses. He announced himself as sent by the Resident to enquire after my health, and advanced in a very graceful manner to embrace me. Foreseeing that I should probably have these sort of ceremonies, I had chosen for the day my little Barreah horse, to whom my servants had given the name of Rawul, who having received his breeding at a native court, under

stood these ceremonies better, and endured them more patiently than either Cabul or Nedjeed would have done. After this ceremony, and a little more conversation with the dewan, the young officer, who was evidently a dandy of the first brilliancy in his own way, began to ride before me, shewing off his horse and horsemanship in all the usual manége of the East, curvetting, wheeling, galloping forwards, and stopping short. He did all this extremely well, but some of his followers in imitating him were not so skilful or so fortunate, and one of them got a pretty rude fall in crossing some of the deep ruts with which the road was intersected. This gave me a good excuse for desiring them to ride gently, a measure desireable on more accounts than one, since the dust was almost intolerable. About a mile further Mr. Williams met us, with several other gentlemen, and an escort of regular troopers, one of whom carried an union-jack before him, a custom which is common, he told me, in Guzerât and the Deckan, though not practised, as far as I have seen, in other parts of India. He told me that "his highness" had just left his palace as he passed the gate of the town, and that we should find him without the gates under some trees. We therefore quickened our pace as much as was compatible with the comfort of our attendants on foot, and with the movements of the suwarree elephant, who was, I found, considered as an essential part of the show, and was directed to follow me closely, though with an empty howdah. On the spot designated we found a numerous body of cavalry, camels, whose riders had each a large bundle of rockets, and infantry armed with matchlocks and swords, of whom a large proportion were Arabs. These troops made a long lane, at the end of which were seen several elephants, on one of which, equipped with more than usual splendour, I was told was the Maharaja. The whole shew greatly exceeded my expectations, and surpassed any thing of the kind which I had seen, particularly as being all Asiatic, without any of the European mixture visible in the ceremonies of the court of Lucknow. We here dismounted and advanced up the lane on foot, when different

successive parties of the principal persons of the city advanced to meet us, beginning with a young man whom Mr. Williams introduced to me as secretary to the Raja and son of the brahmin Vakeel Shastree, whom the Peishwa, Bajee Rao, murdered by the advice of Trimbukjee, and thence proceeding through the different gradations of bankers and financial men, military officers, (of whom many were Patans,) according to their ranks, Vakeels of foreign states, ministers, ending with the prime minister, (all of whom were brahmins) the Raja's brother-in-law, his nephew, a little boy of six years old, the Raja's brother, the heir-apparent, a child also of about six, and the Maharaja himself, a short stout-built young man, of twenty-seven years old. The usual forms of introduction and enquiries after health followed, and his Highness, after asking' when I would come to see him, for which I fixed Monday evening, remounted his elephant, and we proceeded different ways into the city, which is large and populous, with tolerably wide streets and very high houses, at least for India, chiefly built of wood, which I had not seen for a long time, with tiled sloping roofs, and rows along the streets something like those of Chester. The palace, which is a large shabby building, close to the street, four stories high, with wooden galleries projecting over each other, is quite a specimen of this kind. There are some tolerable pagodas, but no other building which can be admired. The streets are dirty, with many swine running up and down, and no signs of wealth, though, as I was told, there was a good deal of its reality, both among the bankers and principal tradesmen. The Residency is a large ugly house without verandahs, and painted blue, as stuccoed houses sometimes are in England. It was at this time under repair, and Mr. Williams, with his sister, were encamped in a grove of mangoes about a mile from the city; our tents were pitched near his. In passing through the city I saw two very fine hunting tygers in silver chains, and a rhinoceros (the present of LordAmherst to the Guicwar) which is so tame as to be ridden by a mohout, quite as patiently as an elephant. There were also some very

striking groupes of the native horsemen, who thronged the street like a fair; one of them, a very tall and large man on a powerful horse, was cased completely in chain armour, like the figure representing a crusader at the exhibition of ancient armour in PallMall. He had also a long spear shod with silver, a very large shield of transparent rhinoceros-hide, also with silver studs, and was altogether a most shewy and picturesque cavalier. Many of the others had helmets, vant-braces, gauntlets, &c. but none were so perfectly armed as he was.

During our ride 'Mr. Williams introduced to me more particularly the officer with the splendid equipment who came to meet me, by the name of Namdar Khân, a native of Persia, and Commander of the Residency escort. He had been aide-du-camp to Sir John Malcolm during the Pindarree war, and was a man of very distinguished and desperate bravery, though, certainly, the greatest coxcomb, as he was also one of the handsomest young men I ever saw. Nothing could exceed the smartness of his embroidery, the spotless purity of his broad belts, the art with which his eyelids were blackened with antimony, his short curling beard, whiskers, and single love-lock, polished with rose-oil, or the more military and becoming polish of his sword, pistols, and dagger; he held his bridle with his right hand, having lost the other by the bursting of a gun. He had, however, an artificial hand made in Baroda, which, so far as show was concerned, and when covered like the other with a white military glove, did very well, but which enhanced the merit of its wearer's excellent horsemanship, since it must have made the management of his charger more difficult. In his instance, and in that of many other natives of rank who had been introduced to me this morning, I already perceived what I had afterwards abundant opportunity of observing, that they associated with Europeans and were treated by them on much more equality and familiarity than is usual in Hindostan. Some of this may arise from the frank and friendly manner which distinguishes Mr. Williams individually, as well as the unusual