The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1894-03-30
KING OF NO KINGDOM.
THE ROMANTIC LIFE OF MAHARAJAH
pHULEEP SINGH.


A decade ago Maharajah Dhuleep
Singh, who died in Paris recently,
was a we'll known figure in London,
whose photograph was on sale in the
shop windows. He was born in 1888,
the son of Runjeet Singh, 1.-The lion of
the Punjab," that doughty East Indian
sovereign who was the founder of the
Sikh kingdom and the cause Of SO much
trouble to England. There have been
two Sikh wars in the last half century
in which the relatives of Dhuleep
Singh figured. The first was in 1S45,
when a Sikh army of 60, 600 men in
vaded the queens Indian empire and
fought four pitched battles, the final
result being the retreat of the invaders
across the Sutlej and the surrender Of
Lahore to the British. By the terms
of the peace Dhuleep Singh, the infant
son of Runjeet, was recognized as rajah.
The second Sikh war broke out in
1s4S, but it proved to be short lived,
the British forces under Lord Cough
succeeding in destroying the Sikh army
and in annexing Punjab to the queens
possessions. AS a result of this way
young Dhuleep Singh received an allow
ance of $50, 900 from his conquerors.
He, with his mother, moved to Eng
land, became a Christian, and on his
estate in Suffolk cultivated the habits
of al English gentlemen. He was an
intimate friend of the Prince of Wales,
who used annually to spend part of the
shooting season at Dhuleep's country
home.
The maharajah's first wife was a lit
tie Syrian maid whom he met in Cairo
in 1864, when on his way back from
Bombay, where he had gone to take
back to its native soil the body of his
mother that it might be there cremated.
The maharanee died in 1887, and a cou-
pie of years later-in 1ss9-he married
in Paris Miss Ada Douglas Wetherill.
Dhuleep watched closely the advance
of Russia into Asia, and when he
thought the proper time had come he
renowned Christianity and issued a
manifesto to the Sikh nation claiming
the throne of his father. But his re-
nunciation Of the creed of Bahia Nanuk
and his suspected illegitimate birth-it
was asserted by the Sikhs themselves
that he was the son of his mother
through an intrigue with one of the ra-
jah's water carriers-had long since es-
tranged the feelings of the people, and
if it had been possible to create a Sikh
rebellion in the Land of the Five Rivers
there were other princes better able than
| fhfc ,phpra,o 30 1,aI .,al ,, 3d..
prise.
The British made short work of his
pretensions. He was travelling with
leisurely dignity on his great mission
in a Z. &c q. steamer, when at Alden he
was informed that a return passage had
been secured for him, and that he
would not be permitted to land in In
dia. A Sikh rebellion would have been
a serious matter for England, for never
were the British forces more evenly
fought than on the battlefields of Mool-
tan, Chillianwallah and Ghuznee.
There were at that time about 10
regiments of Sikhs in the Indian army,
acknowledged by British officers to be
the finest in the service. and in most of
the Punjab regiments there was a very
large proportion of Sikh soldiers.
After his abortive attempt to stir up
the Sikhs into rebellion against British
rule, Dhuleep went to Russia. thinking
to enlist the sympathy of the c2ar in
his behalf, but his greeting was not
overwarm. So the king without a coun-
Try established himself in c~osmopoli-
tan Paris, where he lived up to the
time of his death. Life on the CONT
nent seemed to unsettle somewhat the
domestic morals of this oriental Chris
tlan, and an hereditary predisposition to
polygamy asserted itself. The maha-
rajah recently expressed deep regret for
the course of hostility which he had
pursued toward England, and her mai
esty, by the advice of her ministers,
was graciously pleased to accord her
pardon to him.
General Dick Taylor of Louisiana
used to tell a story of an encounter with
Dhuleep. While he was staying in
1871 at Sandringham with the Prince
OF Wales, the maharajah was of the
party. One morning Taylor arose early
and strolled out into the grounds to a
small summer house in which there
was a Hindoo idol brought back from
India by the prince. AS he came near
he saw some one, who proved to be
Dhuleep, standing in front of the idol
executing certain movements, evidently
OF worship. The truth probably is
that Singh never had abandoned the
true faith Of his fathers.
The religion Of the Sikhs was found
cd by Nanuk, who died A. ID. 1888,
and who left for the guidance of his
followers an inspired volume bearing
the very uneuphonious title of the
"Grunth." This book is held in great
reverence and is carried every morning
in solemn state to the Golden Temple
OF Immortality at Amritsir, where it is
venerated by some 5000, 900 or 4, OOO,-
900 Of people. When Europeans visit
the temple, they are required to remove
their shoes An exception, however,
was made in the case of tba princo 20