lacs, with an annual stipend of four lacs, were to be paid to him, It had evidently been the purpose of Akbur Khan to exhibit to his confederates the small reliance they could have upon the envoy's faith, in the conclusion of a treaty with him, of an entirely opposite and contradictory character to what had already been settled; and in this, which involved the envoy's fate, he perfectly succeeded. Sir William Macnaghten's own defence His defence. forms his best and only apology for these miserable transactions. The lives of 15,000 human beings,' he said, 'were at stake, and he did the best he could to secure them,' and he confirmed the false treaty with Akbur Khan, by a writing in his own hand. On the 23rd he went again to meet Akbur Khan. One of his staff declared this 'to be a trap;' and General Elphinstone, to whom he confided his plan before he set out, warned him and remonstrated against the whole proceeding; but in vain. It is probable that Akbur Khan only intended to carry off the whole party, as the envoy's three companions, Trevor, Mackenzie, and Lawrence, were seized, and placed behind horsemen ; but Sir William Macnaghten struggled with Akbur Khan, who drew a pistol and shot him. Trevor fell from horseback and was killed by the Ghilzyes, but the others were protected, though confined. Terms pro chiefs. The troops would, there is little doubt, have now attacked the city, or made an effort to avenge the envoy's murder: but they were restrained, and the chiefs renewed their negoposed by the tiations; but their demands were raised: the treasure must be surrendered, and all the guns but six; while the married men, with their wives and children, should remain as hostages and guests, until the arrival of Dost Mahomed. The two first articles were agreed to, and on January 6, 1842, the The march to troops began their march. There were about 4,500 India begins. soldiers with 12,000 followers. Snow was lying heavily on the ground, and the cold was intense: and the first night, instead of clearing the Khoord Kabool pass, they bivouacked near the river. On the 7th they marched to Bootkhák, only four miles; and again halted at the request of Akbur Khan, who demanded fresh hostages-Pottinger, Lawrence, and Mackenziewho went to him. On the 8th the force again moved on into the Khoord Kabool pass. It was lined by Ghilzyes, who poured a The army is deadly fire upon the struggling mass, of which, about attacked. 3,000 fell; but the ladies and children reached Khoord Kabool, where Akbur Khan besought Captain Skinner to induce them to place themselves under his protection: he succeeded in his mission, and their lives were thus Murder of The ladies saved. saved. On the 10th, there only remained of the whole army, fifty artillerymen, 250 of the 44th, and 150 cavalry, with Remains of about 4,000 camp-followers. The rest had perished in the army. the Tunghee Tareekee, a defile not more than ten feet wide, through which the troops had struggled, while volleys of musketry and stones were poured upon them by the Ghilzyes from the rocks above. Akbur Khan now promised to save the fighting men if they would lay down their arms; but the offer was indignantly rejected by the General and Brigadier Shelton, and forming an advance and rear guard, with the followers between, the remains of the force pushed on to Jugdulluk. Here ensued another conference: and the general, Brigadier Shelton, and Captain Johnstone, having attended Akbur Khan, were detained as hos- Fresh tages for the evacuation of Jellalabad. After this the hostages. wreck of men and officers passed on to Gundamuk, which was reached on the morning of the 13th, when, of all the army, twenty officers and forty-five men only remained; and while Final attack Major Griffith, their leader, was endeavouring to obtain at Gundaterms, the little party was overwhelmed by a rush of the furious and bloodthirsty Ghilzyes. Captain Souter of the 44th, who had wrapped the colours of the regiment round The survivhis waist, and a few privates were taken prisoners, and ing officer, six officers escaped, of whom, only one, Dr. Brydon, reaches wounded, and mounted on a sorry pony, reached Jella- Jellalabad. labad. With the exception of those who had been detained as hostages, and a few prisoners, the whole of the army and its Fate of the followers had perished in the snow, and by massacre army. which not even money could restrain. Akbur Khan had followed the troops to the last, and declared that he had lost all control over the infuriated mountaineers, which in some respects perhaps was the truth. It is impossible to conceive a more total destruction of an army, with all its matériel of war; and yet it is little to say, that though some privations might have been endured in the Bala Hissar at Kabool, the greater part of the troops might, under ordinary capacity by its superior officers, not only have defied all local efforts, but have remained absolutely triumphant. muk. Dr. Brydon, General Sale Jellalabad. General Sale was not intimidated: and his memorable defence of Jellalabad was a brilliant and triumphant episode of the war. A brigade was dispatched under Colonel Wylde defends to succour him, but it failed to force the defile; the Sikh troops mutinied at Peshawur and refused to march. General Sale persisted in his resolution not to give up the place, and its defence continued. At Kandahar, General Nott defeated the General Nott insurgents and was left in comparative peace; but at defeats the Ghuzny, Colonel Palmer, who commanded the fort, after at Kandahar. insurgents a long resistance in the citadel, capitulated on March 6, an act for which he was severely blamed, and the garrison, which was composed of Sepoys, was attacked on the following day by the Afghans, in the quarters which had been assigned to them. Shumsh-ood-deen, the Afghan commander, offered to secure the lives of the officers if they would leave their men; but this they honourably refused to do, and on the 10th, the men, unable to endure their condition longer, and praying their officers to accompany them, made an attempt to escape. It was, however, fruitless; they were followed, and massacred to a man; but the officers, though often ill-treated, were in the sequel given up. By this time, a new and more vigorous man had arrived in India as governor-general. Lord Ellenborough, who had been dispatched to relieve Lord Auckland, reached Calcutta on February 28, and found his predecessor prostrated in mind and body by the events which had occurred. The only effort which had been made to redeem the national honour, was the dispatch of Colonel Wylde's brigade, and that, owing to illequipment, and absence of military skill, had failed. Another force under General Pollock was in preparation, but had made no attempt as yet to advance. Capitulation of Ghuzuy. Lord Ellenborough reaches India. Auckland's government. Connection with Hindoo temples ceases. Except the Afghan war there is only one other incident of Lord Acts of Lord Auckland's administration which deserves notice. All connection between the English Government of India and Hindoo temples and their idolatrous ceremonies was abolished under imperative orders from the Court of Directors and the Board of Control. All revenues derivable from these sources were abandoned, and the temples and their endowments placed under the management of their own priests. It will hardly now be credited, how much honour had used to be accorded to idols and their worship before this most necessary exactment of April 20, 1840. Up to this time troops had been paraded at festivals, salutes fired, and offerings by the company presented to idol deities; and the European functionary of the district was obliged, often most unwillingly, to take a part in heathen ceremonies, originally conceded to conciliate the people, but which had grown by usage into a portion of the ceremonies themselves. It is still stranger to record, that it was not till the lapse of years, that a final disseverance from and abandonment of Pilgrim Taxes was effected. BOOK VIII. CHAPTER I. THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD ELLENBOROUGH-THE EVACUATION OF AFGHANISTAN, 1842. in India. Ir was fortunate that no excitement among native States existed to increase the anxiety attendant on the disasters in Causes of Afghanistan; but the reason for this is very evident. tranquillity The Sikhs, now the only real military power in India, were in alliance with the English; and except the disciplined troops of Sindia, with their splendid park of artillery, there was no other military force extant which could excite apprehension, or which could not, by a few simple movements, have been immediately overthrown. The Mahrattas, content under a liberal and protective government, had literally turned their swords into ploughshares. The Rajpoots were unmoved by the current events; and though there might be still thousands of unquiet spirits in India, there was no leader round whom they could rally, or any one bold enough to attempt the temerity of once more trying conclusions in the field. Lord Ellenborough, therefore, a man of much brilliant talent, and apparent determination, possessing ample theoretical experience in Indian affairs, and filled with ambition to distinguish himself in the actual government of India, with the details of which he was familiar-undertook the office of governorgeneral at a period of profound local tranquillity, which enabled him to apply all his energy to the retrieval of the Afghan disasters of his predecessor; and the advance of General Pollock's forces upon Jellalabad was the first step to be accomplished. This, however, was not so easy a task as was assumed. Four native regiments, lying at the foot of the Khyber pass, Difficulties at were in a dangerously mutinous condition, not only the Khyber refusing to enter the defile, but by their emissaries endeavouring to excite other troops at a distance to uphold them in their determination. They were also very much weakened by pass. • a prevailing fever, and were, in a great degree, supported by the example of the Sikhs, who from an early period in the war had successfully resisted the efforts of their government to employ them under the terms of the treaty. But all these discouraging symptoms were gradually overcome by the tact and resolution of General Pollock; and on April 5, 1842, he advanced to the attack of one of the most formidable defiles in the world. Crowning the heights on both sides of the pass, the British troops gallantly drove the Afghans from the summits of their mountains, while the main body of the force advanced securely through the pass, and the fort of Ally Musjid, the key Jellalabad to the position, was occupied with comparatively little resistance. Pursuing his march, General Pollock arrived at Jellalabad, on April 15, and found the long-beleaguered garrison unmolested; the enemy had retired, and though unable to move, the brave defenders of the place were triumphant. relieved. It is impossible to follow in detail the previous occurrences at Jellalabad, the narratives of which possess intense and singular interest. When Sir Robert Sale took possession of the town on November 13, he had only two days' prodefence. visions left, the country was in arms to a man, and the townspeople attempted to resist the occupation of the place. The latter were routed on the 14th by Colonel Dennie, and so sharp had been the lesson, that no further instance of revolt occurred. With indomitable energy and perseverance, and under the skilful direction of Captain Broadfoot, the defences were repaired, and the front cleared of all obstructions or cover. As yet the defenders were not molested from without; but demands came, first from Akbur Khan, and afterwards from Shah Soojah, to evacuate the town, and return to India. How these were refused, and how Broadfoot's energy in opposition to any attempt at movement, prevailed over more timid counsels, can only be understood by perusal of the narrative of the siege, and the opinions of the principal officers. It was clear to Captain Broadfoot and some others from the first, that after Brigadier Wylde's defeat, any present hope of obtaining relief was impossible: and that any attempt to move would be attended with the same results as had befallen the Kabool force. The new ramparts were thrown down and broken by an earthquake on February 18; but the damage was quickly repaired, and soon afterwards, by a skilful movement, large herds of cattle and sheep were captured, and driven into the . town. The Khyber pass forced. Events at Jellalabad; the gallant Early in March, Akbur Khan, finding that he could not obtain Arrival of Jellalabad by negotiation, or by order of General Akbur Khan. Elphinstone, his hostage, arrived from Kabool at the |