ever owned it would be the conqueror of the Punjab.
Ranjit Singh, the Lion of the Punjab as he was called, by courage, energy, promptness, and decision raised himself from the chiefship of a freebooting clan to be a king whose friendship was sought by distant sovereigns and princes. He undoubtedly saved the Sikhs from anarchy, disintegration, and sinking into insignificance by his masterly action in binding them together at a time when, persecution and common danger having disappeared, the confederacies were, like a loosely tied bundle of faggots, inimical to one another and intent on personal aggrandisement. The misls had done their work, and union was absolutely necessary to preserve their strength. As Nanak woke up the people by reforming their religion, and Govind by stern discipline developed their political independence, so Ranjit Singh, with a wise old head on his young shoulders, seizing the opportunity to found a military monarchy on the fruits of their labours, gave
