in woodcraft and hunting, became a favourite among the simple children of the forest; and the Bhils, having determined in sport to elect a king, the choice fell upon him. Accordingly, one of the young savages cutting his finger, applied the blood,* as the tika of sovereignty, to the forehead of the royal lad: and what had been done in idle sport was gravely confirmed by the aged forest chief. The sequel fixes upon Goha the stain of ingratitude; for he slew his benefactor, and the legend assigns no motive for the deed. The eighth in descent from Goha, Nagadit, was slain by the Bhils, who grew tired of their foreign rulers: but his infant son was preserved by the descendants of the Brahmini woman Camlavati. This child was the heroic Bappa Rawal, (said by the genealogists to be eightieth in descent from Rama) who founded the Gehlôt dyansty in Mewar, A. D. 728. Since then upwards of sixty princes, lineally descended from Bappa, have sat on the throne of Chitôr. In 1201, Rahup changed the title of the tribe from Gehlôt to Sisodiya,† and that of its chief, from Rawal to Rana. In the sixteenth century, the Ranas of Mewar were at the height of their greatness. When marching to battle, Rana Sanga was followed by eighty thousand horse, nine Raos, one hundred and four Rawals and Rawats, and five hundred war elephants. The princes of Marwar and Jaipur did him homage; and the Raos of Gwalior, Ajmir, Sikri, Raesen, Kalpi, Chanderi, Bundi, Gagraon, Rampura and Abu served him as tributaries. He defeated the Mahomedans in eighteen pitched battles, in two of which he was opposed by the Emperor in person. In Udai Singh's reign Akbar captured Chitôr: and the Rana fled and founded the present capital, Udaipur. His successor, Pertab, waged incessant war with Akbar, and Rana Umra, the next Chief, although he held out stubbornly for a time, was at length obliged to yield. The Emperor Jehangir himself thus records the humiliation of the Chief:-" On Sunday, the 26th, * This singular ceremonial is still preserved. A Bhil still anoints a newly-invested Rana with his blood.- Vide Historical Sketch of the Princes of India. †The origin of this name is referred the trivial incident of the expelled prince of Chitôr having erected a town to commemorate the spot where, after a hard chase, he killed a hare (sissu). "the Rana, with respect and due attention to etiquette, as other "vassals of the empire, paid his respects to my son" (afterwards Shah Jehan)," and presented a celebrated ruby, well known in "possession of this House, and various arms inlaid with gold, "with seven elephants of great price, which alone remained after "those formerly captured, and also nine horses, as tribute. My "son received him with princely generosity and courtesy. When "the Rana, taking my son by the knee, begged to be forgiven, " he raised his head, and gave him every kind of assurance of 66 protection, and presented him with suitable dresses of honor, "an elephant, horses and a sword." From 1806 to 1817, Mewar was ravaged by the Mahrattas and by Amir Khan's freebooters. In 1817, on the suppression of the predatory bands that were desolating Rajputana and Central India, it was resolved to extend British protection over the various principalities: and Mewar was brought within the pale of the new Empire. Lead, iron, tin, silver and copper are found in Mewar. At Jowar there are old zinc mines, now unworked, but which formerly yielded a good revenue. The majority of the people call themselves Rajputs; but there are three wild tribes, occupying the several hill ranges, the Mhairs on the North-west, the Bhils on the South, and the Minas on the North-east. The present Maharana's father was a nephew of Maharana Sarup Singh, and his mother is a Jôdha Rahtor, daughter of the Thakur of Raluda, of the Kishengarh family. JAIPUR.—Dhola Rai, who founded Jaipur in A. D. 967, is said Jaipur. to have been thirty-fourth in descent from Rama. Raja Bhagwan Dass, nineteenth in succession from Dhola Rai, gave his daughter in marriage to Prince Selim, afterwards Jehangir. The nephew and successor of Bhagwan Dass was Man Singh, whose brilliant services to the Moghal Emperor were rewarded by his being invested consecutively with the governments of Bengal, Behar, and the Deckan. Jai Singh I., who bore the imperial title of 'Mirza Raja,' was equally distinguished. He was murdered, however, by his Marwar. brother, Kirat Singh, at the instigation of the Emperor, who became jealous of his influence. In 1699, Jai Singh II. succeeded to the State. This remarkable man, who bore the imperial title of 'Sewai,' transferred the seat of government from Ambar, the ancient capital, to the present city of Jaipur. He was an eminent mathematician, and a painstaking and accurate astronomical observer. The two succeeding rulers combined with the princes of Mewar and Marwar in resisting the extension of the Mahomedan power. Yet no sooner was the Delhi sovereignty broken, than the depredations of the Mahrattas crippled and impoverished the State, a condition of affairs rendered all the more serious by the extravagance and profligacy of Jaggat Singh, who succeeded in 1803. Jaggat Singh was succeeded by a posthumous son, Jai Singh III., who died in 1835, leaving as his heir an infant seventeen months old, Ram Singh, the present Chief. Maharaja Ram Singh is one of the most enlightened princes in India. From 1869 to 1875 he was a member of the Legislative Council of India. In recognition of his praiseworthy exertions towards the relief of the Rajputana famine of 1868, he received an addition of two guns to his salute. His splendid hospitality to more than one Viceroy and to H. R. H. the Prince of Wales will not be forgotten. This great State, which has an area equal to that of Hanover, now enjoys a mild but efficient system of administration. Jaipur is one of the cleanest, best lighted, and most beautiful cities in India. A force of about 5,000 cavalry and 16,000 infantry is maintained. MARWAR.-The Rahtor,* like the Sisodiya clan, belongs to the Suryavansa, or solar race, and claims descent from the heroic Ram. It can be traced back to Nain Pal, who founded the Canouj dynasty, on the banks of the Ganges, about A. D. 470. This ancient line ruled Canouj for upwards of seven hundred years ; *The Rahtors claim descent from Mulrai, fifty-sixth in descent from Rama. Mulrai having no son, propitiated the goddess Rathesuri by the performance of an irksome ritual, and received the fulfilment of his wishes. The child was called Rath after the goddess, and bar, a gift, hence Rathbar, corrupted perhaps into Rahtor. being at length overthrown by Shahabudin Ghori in 1193. Eighteen years afterwards, Sevaji, grandson of Jaichand, the last ruler of Canouj, set out with two hundred retainers, ostensibly for the purpose of making a pilgrimage to the shrine of Dwarika, but probably with the real intention of seeking his fortunes in fresh fields of adventure. This prince first obtained a footing among a community of Brahmans, who held the city of Pali, with extensive precincts. His son and successor, Asthan, enlarged his territories by conquering the neighbouring chiefs, and won for his brother, Soning, the State of Edar. Chondaji, the tenth in succession from Sevaji, wrested Mandôr, the ancient capital of Marwar, from its Purihar ruler in 1381. Chondaji's successor, Rao Rirh Mall, was a famous soldier and ruler. His son, Jôdha, founded the present capital of Jodhpur in 1459. Udai Singh (1584), fourth in succession from Jôdha, acknowledged the supremacy of the Moghal Emperor, and gave his sister in marriage to Akbar. The three next Chiefs, Sur Singh, Gaj Singh and Jeswant Singh, were distinguished soldiers and statesmen, leading the imperial armies of Delhi to repeated victory, and governing great provinces in the name of the Emperor. Jeswant Singh indeed left behind him a name that will never die, while the Rajputs continue to value and honor the memory of glorious ancestors and countrymen. This chieftain had almost every qualification that can strengthen and dignify the position of a great feudal lord. A bold and generous soldier, a skilful leader, an astute, active and fearless politician, a scholar and a patron of learning, he conciliated in peace and war the affection and respect of every class of his people. He reigned for forty-three years. Towards the close of his career he had incurred the fierce resentment of Aurangzeb, and, on his death, Marwar passed for a time under the dark shadow of foreign domination. But the posthumous child of Jeswant Singh, born in exile, amid the snows of Afghanistan, inherited the vigour and courage of his father, added to a passionate hatred for the Power that had alienated his ancestral State. Ajit Singh had one aim in life—to recover Marwar; and through a long course Kota. of years, in the face of incredible difficulties, he steadily Both the parricides succeeded say, we read that the second, offered by the Court of Delhi. In 1791, during the reign of Bijai Singh, one of Sindia's armies, under De Boigne, defeated the allied forces of Rajputana, and Marwar lost for ever the fort and city of Ajmir, and had to pay a war indemnity amounting to sixty lakhs of rupees. In 1818, Rajah Man Singh concluded a treaty with the British Government; and Marwar became a Protected State. Marwar is one of the largest States in India. Its area is greater than that of Ireland. A great portion of it consists of vast treeless tracts of grass and thorny jungle, the grazing and breeding grounds of immense herds of cattle and camels. The horses of Marwar are highly prized by the chiefs and nobles, who adhere to the haute école of the Indian manège. Although the revenue of the Durbar only amounts to about twenty-five lakhs, the rent of Crown lands, alienated for religious purposes, and in free grants, exceeds fifty lakhs, or half a million sterling. KOTA.-In 1620, Shah Jehan conferred Kôta and its dependencies, on Madhu Singh, a younger son of Rao Raja Ratan, of Bundi, in recognition of kindness received by himself while a prisoner, and for distinguished services rendered in the Deckan and Cabul. Raja Mokand Singh succeeded to the State in 1657. At the battle of Ujein this prince with his four brothers led his vassals, clad in their saffron-coloured garments, and wearing the bridal |