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THE KOH-I-NUR.
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strong;
it was scarcely probable therefore that it would remain for any length
of time in the feeble grasp of this child. Indeed, his elevation . upon
the throne of Lahore was a signal for all sorts of intrigues and
machinations on the part both of those who were in power and wished to
keep it, and of those who were out of power but wished to acquire it.
In
the midst of all this turmoil a new and hardier race appears upon the
scene. Lord Dalhousie annexes Lahore, and the English flag floats for
the first time over the Koh-i-nur.
In
March, 1849, the king of Lahore was formally deposed. The scene was
short and business-like, very different from the stately Oriental
silence between Runjeet Singh and Shah Shuja on the occasion of the
last change of allegiance made by the fickle diamond. A crowd of
natives, without arms or jewels, a few English officers, a man reading
the proclamation in Hindustani, Persian and English, the boy-king
affixing his seal to the paper with careless haste
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