to visit Mrs. E, which was acceded to, and they accordingly attended on the following night.

The splendid suite of tents of the Agency gave ample accommodation for numbers, and permitted of arrangements for privacy required by Rajpoot etiquette. The medical officer, Dr. Graham, had accompanied his chief. The ladies assembled in an inner tent, and after a while, thence issued a few lines in pencil to say that two of the young Ranees would certainly soon become mothers, one of them before long. This was about seven months after the Raja's death. On this Mr. E- became sensible that with such a mass of direct and circumstantial evidence to the contrary, it would be improper to throw the whole onus of proof on his wife's testimony alone, and the Ranees were therefore informed that under the peculiar circumstances they must allow themselves to be seen by the Agency surgeon. The reply to this was that so serious a matter required time for deliberation before they could consent.

A difficulty had now to be provided for, to wit, the possibility if not probability of other parties

having been, and continuing to be, passed off as the young queens, to meet which it was decided to invite on the occasion of the second examination the Drangadra Ranees and the three objecting mothers-in-law. The Durbar consented to this ordeal, as did also the Dowagers, and the Drangadra ladies sent their midwife in their stead. At this meeting, which took place again at night, Mr. E and I made arrangements for satisfying ourselves on the subject, unperceived. No doubt on our minds was left, and such, of course, was the surgeon's report, although the old Dowagers and the Drangadra deputy vehemently maintained the contrary, in spite of his efforts to convince them. It was a decided case of tant pis pour les faits, for the credit of the British Government would have stood much higher with the people had Mr. E been able to prove that nothing had been gained by the attempt to bribe him. It was evident that there had been deep counter-plotting based on the original plot of the Durbar, and that almost every one had been gained over to what seemed to be the winning side. The heir apparent could of

course offer much heavier bribes than those who merely wanted to retain the power they held, and nothing daunted by this last examination, Akhabhaee's party declared the whole thing a delusion of the senses attributable to magic.

The necessity of removing as far as possible all public disbelief in the real facts, as well as to guard against the substitution of a male for a female child in case of the birth of the latter, was made known to the Durbar, and the Ranees were required to take up their abode, as a temporary measure, in a spacious mansion apart from other houses, with walled courts and gateway, there to await the issue of events. Windows accessible from without were barred, and a guard of regular troops under a British officer was placed in charge of the premises with several sentries all round and patrols every hour outside. In addition to these external precautions, the dowagers were requested personally to examine all their female attendants, who to the number of thirty or forty followed their mistresses, and to exclude from them any whose condition might be such as to

complicate matters, which they did, and rejected three.

With all these precautions we trusted that the public mind would be convinced of the justice of the British Government, notwithstanding the unfortunate opening of the suit. The diverse parties brought together for adjudication of the knotty question went each their way, and I was left to await the dénoûment with a force to keep the peace as well as to guard the ladies.

Dr. Graham

was to vaccinate in the neighbourhood, so as to be within call in case of being further required. Party spirit for the moment seemed suppressed, but it was only resting to gather strength if further contest were needed-a lull between blasts of the cyclone blowing from the opposite quarters of plot and counterplot.

CHAPTER IV.

PLOTS AND COUNTERPLOTS-concluded.

OME two months passed away, when one even

SOME

ing Dr. Graham came across country, on his riding camel, to my tent, to enquire how things were going on, and whether he could be of any use. He passed the night on a sofa, intending to leave in the early morning, but long before dawn we were aroused by a Havildar (i.e. sergeant) of the guard reporting that the Ranee was in labour.

'Well,' said I to my friend, 'it's lucky you dropped in upon me at this crisis; but let us hope it will be a girl, for if a boy they'll swear you brought him with you in your saddle-bags.'

The first thing to be done was to summon the Dowager Ranees, and some of Akhabhaee's trusted adherents, to attend and bear witness of the result, whatever it might be. We then rode into the town,