St. Landry democrat., 1890-10-18
he SterE OF q Mai:ata.ai.

la SS~lS va o. Asf eth A. a. ssA%r
Dtiloer Singh, when boy was IT,, Ha,
hara iah of Lahore and the owner Ct the
koh- i-noor, or Mountain of Light, now
the chief among the crown Jewels of Eng
land. Duleep was not yet in his teens
when the great Sikh dynasty, of which
he was the last representative, fell before
the arms of England, and the little boy
lost his throne AID his wonderful diamond.
The third Clause of tho treaty of peace
provided that "the gem called the koh-
i-noor shall be surrendered by the maha-
rajah of Lahore to the queen of England"
1t is doubtful if the English ever spent
SO much money on any other fallen foe as
on the ex -maharajah of Lahore. He was
taken to Eng land along with the Kohl
moor, and no English prince WAS ever
more carefully reared and educated AS
he grew I'D to manhood, Parliament voted
him money to buy magnificent estate
and $l25, 900 year to keep the wolf from
Lhe door. He becam3 extremely lavish in
his expenditures, supporting u frst-class
shooting box and stable, on grand occa-
sions outshone ever: BODY in the splendor
of his diamonds, and in fact became one
of the most stunning young men in Elg-
land. He was now and then a guest at the
palace, and was a favurlts in aristocratic
society.
II would like" he said one day, 'to
place the Koh-i-noor in he queens hand
now that | am a man. | was only child
when l sur rendered it to her by the treaty,
but now am old enough to understand"
The very next day he was summoned to
the palace. The jewel was placed in his
| hand, ana for some time he toyed with it.
| hen the DDS cendeut of Eastern kings
handed back the rich prize of many con
quests and formally remarked that it gave
MIN much pleasure to place the jewel in
the hand of his sovereign.
But not great while after, Duleep Singh
ceased to hold the queen in such high re
gard. He begged to inquire how many
millions she was making out of his old
country. the Pun alb, while he was almost
starving on the beggArlv plttance Of S12J,
| 900 year. In fact Sl23,O 900 was smsll
SUN when compared with the almost fab
ulous income of his predecessors on the
throne of Lahore. He appealed to the
Government to give him larger allow
ance, but the request was refused. s.
Duleep singh said that if he could not
have enough money to properly support
his dignity he would not take a penny,
He therefore betook him elf and his gor-
| =
gems. like thu koh -i-noor. were derived
from Ills fathers and were worth a goodly
fortnne.
His departure moved the British to Goa
temptation. They really did not know
how much mischief the ey-mahara jail
might stir up among this disatfected eIe
ments in India He had hardly crossed
over to France before the British Offered
him all he had asked to come back. Bu
be would not stir peg. He was the Sikh
chief again, robbed of his rights, his peo-
pie and his splendor by a brutal invader
From that position he has never swervec
until now. Nearly every court on the Con
tinent has harbored him, and he has evel
been ready to tell the story of his wrong!
to all who would listen. For Years he ha
periodically issued addresses 10 the Sikh
people, urging them to revolt and promis
ing to appear among them soon to restor
the old regime. In the proclamation h
issued two years ago to the princes snC
people of India, he signed himself
"Sovereign of the Sikh nations and i'm
plicabe foe OF the British Government.
, Some of his friends in India have Away
, managed to have his proclamations mys
teriously placarded on the bill boards
OF late ears, however, these illusions hav
been hardly more than objecrs oiderlslon
Last year he wrote letter to queen Vic
toria, telling her that it was high time sh
! restored the koh.i-noor to its rightfu
owner.
OF late years Duleep Singh has i've
mostly In Russia. He attended the Pari
, Exposition last year, and an Engls
newspaper said he was looking rathe
seedy and "out of luck As far as
known, he has had no means of supper
for many years, except the gems he la
occasionally sold. He is now getting ole
and it is certain that his old spirit is bro
ken, or he would never renounce Jot G
I little of his regal claims upon the Puma
for all the wealth aud honor Bingham
J could give him. For many years he ha
! but to speak the word and princely in
come would have flowed to him frol
; British Golfers. But he never spoke tn
. word Boston Transcript.