with a new and turbulent race, his success augured well for the future.
Six months after Henry Lawrence entered on his duties at Firozpur, Ranjít Singh, the founder of the Sikh kingdom, died, and the whole State became agitated with intrigue. This altered and weakened the state of the relations between the Sikhs and the English, and, combined with the war now going on in Afghánistán, enhanced to the utmost the demands on Lawrence's vigilance and energy, as well as tact, in his advanced position on the frontier.
A full account of the origin and past history of the Sikhs will be found in Sir Lepel Griffin's Ranjít Singh in this series, and a brief one at p. 45 of this volume. Here it may suffice to say that the Punjab is peopled not only, or even mainly, by the Sikhs, but by many races; Muhammadans and Hindus, as well as Sikhs; that the Sikhs are a military brotherhood, and as such are one in caste; and that those of the Punjab proper, or Trans-Sutlej, had been organized by Ranjít Singh into a compact, powerful, and well-disciplined army. Their bravery and fighting efficiency were well known, but with Ranjít Singh they had been kept well in hand and under the sternest discipline. He had recognized the assured fact of the power and supremacy of the British, and had ever been loyal to his alliance with them, if only as a matter of sound policy. But now that he was dead there was no one ready and fitted to take his place, and the situation resolved itself into, on the
