A Dance And Grand Review Were Also Given In His Honour; So That The Arrival Made Quite A Stir, And Came Fairly Under The Head Of AN EVENT In The Valley.

At the review the Maharajah was decorated with unusual grandeur, and as he and his guest rode down the line together - the latter in a plain blue frock, and the other in all his cloth of gold and jewelled splendour - never were simplicity and display more strikingly placed in contrast.

The general's medals and crosses, however, appeared to have a greater interest and importance in the Maharajah's eyes than their intrinsic value could have commanded for them, and, during the marching past of "The Army," he kept continually poking his finger at them, and pointing them out to the courtiers who were gathered about his chair. The general, at the same time, was employed in explaining how many thousands the British Army consisted of, and how vastly superior it was to all other armies whatever, not even making an exception (as I thought he might fairly have done) in favour of the "Invincible Forces," then and there manfully throwing out their feet before him to the martial strains of "Home, sweet Home!" After the last of the army had marched past, the general, with an energy little appreciated by his friends in cloth of gold, jumped up, and, begging permission to manoeuvre the troops himself, went off to throw the unfortunate colonel commanding into a state of extreme consternation, and to frighten the few English words of command he was possessed of, fairly out of his head.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 194 of 303
Words from 52515 to 52782 of 82277