On reaching the ground, I was received by the Maharaja and Deb Shamsher Jung, the eldest of his many brothers, and the nominal Commander-in-Chief of the army; we rode along the line together, and the march past then began.  Everything was done with the utmost precision; there was no fuss or talking, and from first to last not a single bugle sound was heard, showing how carefully officers and men had been drilled.  I was told that the executive Commander-in-Chief, the third brother, by name Chandra Shamsher, had almost lived on the parade-ground for weeks before my arrival.  The Maharaja’s sons and brothers, who all knew their work, and were evidently fond of soldiering, commanded the several divisions and brigades.

The troops were not, perhaps, turned out quite so smartly as those in our service, and several of the officers were old and feeble; but these were the only faults perceptible, and I came to the conclusion that the great majority of the 18,000 men were quite as good as the Gurkhas we enlist; and I could not help thinking that they would be a valuable addition to our strength in the event of war.

General Chandra Shamsher is a very red-hot soldier.  He said to my wife:  ’Lady Roberts, when are the Russians coming?  I wish they would make haste.  We have 40,000 soldiers in Nepal ready for war, and there is no one to fight!’

The next day a grand durbar was held, at which the King (the Maharaja Dhiraj, as he is called) presided; he was an unusually handsome lad of about eighteen years of age, fairer than most Nepalese, and very refined looking.  As on all previous occasions, everyone wore uniform except the King, who had on a perfectly plain dress of spotless white.  Great deference is outwardly paid to the Dhiraj, but he has no power, and is never consulted in matters of State, being considered too sacred to be troubled with mundane affairs.  Although a mere boy, he had four wives, two of them daughters of the Maharaja Bir Shamsher Jung.

After the durbar, I was shown over the principal school and hospital; both appeared to be well conducted, and evidently no expense was spared upon them.  I was then taken to a magazine, in which were a number of guns of various calibre and any amount of ammunition.  I was told there were several other magazines, which I had not time to see, and a few miles from Khatmandu extensive workshops, where all kinds of munitions of war were manufactured.

That evening, accompanied by Colonel and Mrs. Wylie, we attended a reception at the Maharaja’s palace.  The durbar hall, which was filled with men in uniform, was of beautiful proportions, and very handsomely decorated and furnished.  After the usual introductions and some conversation with the chief officers, we were invited to visit the Maharani in her own apartments, and having ascended a flight of steps and passed through numerous corridors and luxuriously furnished rooms, we were shown into a spacious apartment, the prevailing