ey were British grenadiers. At all events the band was
playing that tune. Suddenly the music changed; they struck up a lively
polka, and a number of little boys in a sort of penwiper costume,
clasping one another like civilized ladies and gentlemen, began to caper
about, after which they went through various antics that surpassed even
the wildest notions of our highly civilized community: all this while the
troops were manoeuvring as vehemently as ever, and the boys were dancing
as fantastically; and the whole thing was so eminently ridiculous and
looked so very like a farce, that it was difficult to maintain that
dignified and sedate appearance which was expected from the spectators of
a scene so imposing.

Jung alone looked for no expressions of surprise or admiration from us,
but was evidently disappointed and chagrined at the inferiority of his
own soldiers to those he had seen in Europe and amongst our Indian
troops. He could indeed point with pride to the stalwart bearing and
soldier-like appearance of his men, but he had seen "the Guards"
reviewed, he had been present at an inspection of 15,000 of the French
army at Versailles, and he seemed half ashamed of the display we were
witnessing, notwithstanding our efforts to comfort him by telling him
that we had little thought the art of war was so far advanced in the wild
valleys and rocky mountains of Nepaul.

CHAPTER XIII.

_Distinguishing features of the races of Nepaul--The Ghorkas--Conquest by
them of Katmandu--Maintenance of the Nepaul army--Bheem Singh's
monument--A feast at the minister's--We bid him adieu--Ascent of the
Sheopoori--Magnificent view of the Himalayas from its summit_.

The grand review over, we availed ourselves of the opportunity to inspect
the regiments composed of men recruited in some of the most distant
provinces of Nepaul. They bore in their countenances little resemblance
either to the Ghorkas or Newars. We examined their faces, and tried to
imagine what sort of a looking country was likely to produce this sort of
a looking man. A regiment of dark-visaged stalwart Ghorkas would march
past, followed by a diminutive race from the north-western frontier,
little, ill-made, and abominably ugly. The same cast of countenance was
prevalent throughout the regiments that had been recruited there; all the
men had the same high cheek-bones, or wide mouths, or whatever their
peculiarity might be. The insignificant Newars looked maj