Rajah Ghoolab Singh,[14] the richest and most powerful of the chiefs, having narrowly escaped the fury of the soldiery, on a recent occasion, at Lahore, and being, moreover, unpopular with the Ranee, remained in his own territories at Jamoo, in the hill districts, wisely resolving to watch the progress of events, now evidently hurrying to a crisis, and to play his own game in due season, which, in the sequel, it will be acknowledged, he executed in masterly style. He was continually invited and urged to descend and take a part in the impending hostilities, but was so earnestly engaged in making preparations on an extensive scale that it took him many weeks to reach the capital. On more than one occasion the Sikh army had actually marched from Lahore towards the Sutlej, with the avowed intention of invading the British territories, but had, on second thoughts, returned to Lahore to discuss the matter once more. The most effective branch of the Sikh forces were the Aeen battalions, whose discipline and formation had been the result of many years' exertion, in the days of Runjeet, on the part of European officers in his service. Their arms and uniform resembled much that of our native troops, except the peculiar Sikh turban; and, until the revolutions which succeeded Runjeet's death, their discipline had been strictly maintained. As the officers who had brought them to a state of efficiency and discipline had all either left the country, died, or been otherwise summarily disposed of, the general supposition was that these troops would no longer be very formidable, but this impression proved incorrect. The Aeen forces have occasionally varied in strength and numbers, but amounted at this time to sixty battalions, whereof about forty were with the army of Lahore, and the remainder principally quartered in the neighbourhood of Peshawur. Six hundred men constituted the full effective strength of each battalion, and to each were attached its own four pieces of cannon with their complement of artillerymen. The Sikh artillery we had seen at exercise on former occasions, and their fire was known to be rapid and tolerably accurate; they had, in fact, enjoyed the reputation of being, in all respects, the best appointed arm of their service. All had been done that lay in our power to render them effective, for, on previous occasions, when the governor-general paid his visits to the Lahore Durbar, it had been usual to present the best pieces of artillery procurable, which served for excellent models in the Lahore arsenal. The Sikh Regular Cavalry had been abolished, and replaced by hordes of irregulars; and as no petty chief in the Punjaub appears on public parade without a band of armed retainers, generally well mounted and equipped, the irregular cavalry were almost numberless.