CHAPTER 12

Ram Singh succeeds—His impetuosity of temper—His uncle, Bakhta Singh, absents himself from the rite of inauguration—Sends his nurse as proxy—Construed by Ram Singh as an insult—He resents it, and resumes the fief of Jalor—Confidant of Ram Singh—The latter insults the chief of the Champawats, who withdraws from the court—His interview with the chief bard—Joins Bakhta Singh—The chief bard gives his suffrage to Bakhta—Civil war—Battle of Merta—Ram Singh defeated—Bakhta Singh assumes the sovereignty—The Bagri chieftain girds him with the sword—Fidelity of the Purohit to the ex-prince, Ram Singh—He proceeds to the Deccan to obtain aid of the Mahrattas—Poetical correspondence between Raja Bakhta and the Purohit—Qualities, mental and personal, of Bakhta—The Mahrattas threaten Marwar—All the clans unite round Bakhta—He advances to give battle—Refused by the Mahrattas—He takes post at the pass of Ajmer—Poisoned by the queen of Amber—Bakhta’s character—Reflections on the Rajput character—Contrasted with that of the European nobles in the dark ages—Judgment of the bards on crimes—Improvised stanza on the princes of Jodhpur and Amber—Anathema of the Sati, wife of Ajit—Its fulfilment—Opinions of the Rajput on such inspirations 1054

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