control which he exercised, even in the closing years of his life, over the whole Sikh people, nobles, priests and people, was the measure of his greatness.
To the highest courage he added a perseverance which no obstacles could exhaust, and he did not fail in his undertakings because he never admitted the possibility of failure. His political sagacity was great, and was shown in nothing more convincingly than in his determined friendship with the English, when he had once realized that they were safe friends and very dangerous enemies. In spite of strong temptations, and although they had rudely opposed his most cherished ambition of conquering the Cis-Sutlej provinces, he firmly held to the English alliance throughout his reign; and the tradition of this friendship remained so strong after his death that it kept the weak and drunken Mahárájá Sher Singh faithful, when the Punjab was in a tumult and a British army had been destroyed in Afghánistán. He possessed the faculty which is one of the highest attributes of genius, and for lack of which many brilliantly gifted men have suffered shipwreck — the faculty of choosing his subordinates well and wisely. He knew men, and he selected each servant for the special work which he could best perform, and consequently he was, even in a corrupt and violent age, wonderfully well served. His natural avarice and rapacity were tempered by his appreciation of the advantages of generosity in rewarding good service, and he gave liberally of what he had plundered from other people.
