JUST IN TIME
The plan of the British general for the capture of Ghuznee was a
bold one. He knew that his little guns could make no impression upon
the walls, and that it would take weeks before it would be possible
to effect a breach. His idea was to blow in the gate and to pour
his troops in through the opening. His plans were admirably laid.
At midnight six companies of infantry established themselves in the
gardens to the right and left of the spot where the assaulting column
were to take up their position, ready to advance as soon as the gate
was blown in. Two hours later three companies of a native regiment
made a detour and took up a position to the north of the fortress. The
field artillery took up their post on a height. At three o'clock in
the morning the infantry on the north opened a musketry fire. At the
same moment the artillery on the hills began a brisk cannonade, while
a camel battery directed its fire against the walls. The guns of the
fortress at once replied, and the walls were fringed with the musketry
fire. It was still an hour to daylight when Captain Thompson, of the
Royal Engineers, with a party of his men, crept forward to the gate,
carrying with them nine hundred pounds of gunpowder in twelve sacks.
The movement was altogether unobserved by the garrison, who had been
taken completely by surprise by the sudden fire. The night had been
exceptionally favourable for the attempt. The wind blew so strongly
that the tramp of the columns and the sound of the wheels of the
guns failed to reach the ears of the sentries on the walls. When the
fire broke out the Afghans at once burned numbers of blue lights to
endeavour to obtain a clear view of the attacking force; but the light
failed to pierce the darkness, and the fireworks burned but fitfully
owing to the force of the gale. They therefore distributed themselves
along the whole circuit of walls instead of concentrating upon the
point where the attack was about to take place.
The Engineers had done their work admirably. They crept silently along
the causeway which afforded a passage across the moat, and then up the
steep ascent which led to the gate, unnoticed by those who manned the
loopholes. Two minutes sufficed to place the sacks in position. The
fuse was then fired, and the party ran back to such cover as they could
find. At this moment the Afghans lit a large and brilliant blue light
immediately over the gate, but before they could obtain any idea of
what was passing below the explosion took place. The gate was blown to
pieces, and masses of masonry and fractured beams fell into the passage
beyond. Then a bugle was sounded by the Engineers, and the storming
party rushed down and crept into the dark, blocked-up passage. Here
they were fiercely opposed. The Afghans had rallied almost instantly
from their first surprise, and rushed down to defend the passage. A
desperate struggle took place in the dark, but British valour was
triumphant, and the four companies of the 2nd and 17th Regiments
fought their way into the interior of the fortress.
Had they been at once supported by the column behind them, commanded
by Brigadier-general Sale, the capture of Ghuznee would have been
comparatively bloodless; but as he was advancing he met one of the
Engineer officers, who had been terribly bruised and injured by the
explosion. Upon being questioned, the latter said that the gate had
been blown in, but that the passage was blocked with the ruins. As in
that case it would have been madness to advance, the general ordered
the retreat to be sounded. The call was heard by the leading companies,
but not obeyed. Instead of the troops retreating, they halted
irresolutely, rather than carry out an order the most unwelcome that
can be given to British soldiers. Fortunately another Engineer officer
soon came along and assured the brigadier that, although the passage
was greatly blocked, the storming party had made their way through;
whereupon the column at once rushed forward. The delay, however, had
given the garrison time to rally, and large numbers had run down
from the wall to take part in the fight. Many, however, despairing
of successful resistance now that their assailants had won their way
into the town, allowed the storming party to pass and then attempted
to escape through the gateway. But as they did so, General Sale with
the head of his column arrived, and another desperate fight took place
among the ruins of the gate.
The general himself was cut down, and his assailant endeavoured to
complete his work. Sale succeeded in grasping his sword hand, but,
weakened by his wound, must have been overpowered had not an officer
run up and severely wounded the Afghan. The struggle continued, but the
general managed to gain his feet and cut down his assailant.
The column was a long time in passing over the heap of ruins, now
further encumbered by wounded and dead. As soon as they had entered,
the reserve, who had been suffering from the fire of the Afghans still
on the walls, followed them, and while General Sale's division ascended
the steep path that led to the citadel, which rose far above the rest
of the fortress, the reserve began the work of clearing out the Afghans
from the houses. Large numbers of Afghans had taken refuge here as
the troops entered, and these, rushing out, flung themselves upon the
troops with the fury of despair. Many of these who had first entered,
exhausted by their exertions, were with the wounded sitting in the
courtyard at the foot of the citadel. Upon these the fanatics rushed,
cutting and slashing with their keen tulwars alike at the soldiers who
started to their feet, the wounded on the ground, and their own horses,
who, mad with terror, were galloping wildly over the courtyard. A
series of desperate hand-to-hand conflicts were waged until the last of
the Afghans were shot or bayoneted. The walls were cleared with little
difficulty, but many soldiers were shot as they passed through the
narrow streets of the native town. All resistance ceased at a quarter
past five. Thus in two hours and a quarter after the first shot was
fired, a fortress deemed impregnable and garrisoned by three thousand
five hundred men was captured.
Ghuznee had been provisioned for six months, and so certain was
Mohummed Hyder of the ability of the place to hold out that he
had brought with him all the ladies of his zenana. In spite of
the desperate nature of the fighting, not one of the Afghans who
surrendered was injured, nor was the slightest insult offered to the
ladies of the zenana or the women in the native town. The troops
who had ascended to the citadel found the gates open, the Afghan
prince having lost all hope as soon as he found the lower fortress
in possession of the British. He was found hiding in disguise, and
was brought before Shah Soojah. The latter magnanimously said to him:
"What has been has been; you have deserved evil at my hands, but you
have this day behaved like a brave man. I forgive thee the past; go in
peace." The young prince was then handed over to Sir Alexander Burnes
for safe custody.
The success had been cheaply purchased. Only seventeen non-commissioned
officers and privates had been killed, and eighteen officers and a
hundred and forty-seven men wounded. Of the Afghans, five hundred and
fourteen bodies were buried next day; more than a hundred fugitives
were killed outside the walls; upwards of a thousand horses, a great
number of camels and mules, vast quantities of provisions, ammunition,
and arms fell into the hands of the conquerors, together with more than
fifteen hundred prisoners. Over a thousand made their escape.
At the first outburst of firing Angus had sprung to his feet; as
the fight increased in fury he was certain that a night attack was
in progress, and he at once proceeded to drive in the wedges he had
prepared. Just as he had completed this he heard the dull roar of the
explosion, followed by loud and excited shouts, but the noise of the
gale prevented him from catching the words. He had no doubt, however,
that either the gate had been blown in or that a mine had been driven
into the wall, and that the explosion of an immense charge of powder
had effected a breach. Then came the sound of a heavy and continuous
rattle of musketry. The cannon of the fortress opened fire, while those
of the besiegers answered. By the occasional fall of masses of masonry,
and the screams of women, he had no doubt that the British artillery
were now directing their fire against the citadel, in order to add to
the confusion among the defenders of the fortress.
[Illustration: HE TOOK DOWN THE PROP, AND THRUST IT SUDDENLY WITH ALL
HIS FORCE THROUGH THE HOLE.]
Presently he heard a rush of feet up the staircase, then the bolts of
the door were pulled back, and a yell of rage and surprise arose as the
door did not yield to the push against it. The staircase was a very
narrow one, and but one person could mount at a time. As it terminated
at the door, one man only could use his strength against it, and Angus
felt perfectly sure that it would need a much greater pressure than
this to force it open. He had already propped the plank against it, and
stood with his foot at the lower end to prevent it from slipping. The
man next to the door, finding that it did not yield, began to hammer
with the hilt of his sword, but soon desisted, finding that his blows
did not even shake it. There was a confused sound of talking, and then
silence for a few minutes; then there was a renewed noise, and a heavy
blow was struck at the door. Evidently a large block of wood had been
brought up; but this did not greatly alarm Angus. The staircase was a
circular one, and at most but two men could work the battering-ram,
which on account of the confined space was necessarily short.
This proving unsuccessful, there was again silence. After an interval
came blows of a sharper sound, an axe of some sort was being used.
During the lulls of the wind the sounds of the struggle below could
be plainly heard, and as it was now dawn Angus could have seen what
was going on had not the loophole been on the opposite side, but from
the sharpness of the sound he had no doubt that the firing was in
the courtyard, and that his countrymen had effected an entrance. The
chopping went on regularly. The door was thick and strong, and it
was half an hour before the edge of the axe first showed through it;
another five minutes and a hole a foot wide appeared some four feet
from the ground. At this rate it would be some time before an opening
large enough for a man to pass through could be made. He took down
the prop, and thrust it suddenly with all his force through the hole,
striking the man who was wielding the axe full in the face.
There was a terrible cry, mingled with yells of rage from the others.
Presently a pistol was thrust through the hole and fired; he had
expected this, and had stood back. Again and again shots were fired.
It was evident that there was an unwillingness on the part of his
assailants to try the axe again. Presently he heard a shout from below.
The words came up distinctly, "Mohummed Hyder's orders are that the
attack is to cease," and Angus felt that he was saved. The prince,
indeed, seeing that all was lost, had sent an officer in great haste
to put a stop to the attack on his prisoner's cell. He no longer
thought of carrying out his former intentions. The British army was
not after all an impotent enemy to be insulted, but a victorious one
to be appeased, and as soon as he was informed of the attack on his
prisoner's cell he had sent off to put a stop to it. It had not been
made by his orders, but was the act of the soldiers on the wall near
it, who, seeing that the British had entered, had determined to take
vengeance upon the captive.
A few minutes later Angus heard the triumphant cheers of the troops as
they poured in through the open gate of the citadel.
It was another hour before the contest in the courtyard below and on
the walls of the fortress came to an end. Shortly afterwards he heard
steps approaching, and through the hole in the door saw a British
officer coming up the stair; behind him was Azim.
"I am glad indeed to see you, Campbell," the officer said, as he caught
sight of his face. "We had all given you up as dead when we found
that none of your escort came back; but your boy, on questioning the
prisoners, found out that you were confined here, and came at once to
tell me. I see by the state of the door that you have been standing a
siege. Are you uninjured?"
"Yes, my rascally troops seized me suddenly and brought me here. I will
tell you about it as soon as I have unfastened the door."
"It is the first time I ever heard of a prison door having bolts on the
inside."
"They are not bolts, as you will see directly."
It took some minutes to get all the wedges out. Macgregor then entered
and shook Angus warmly by the hand, while Azim threw himself on his
knees, and seizing his master's hand kissed it again and again, tears
of joy streaming down his cheeks.
"Where in the world did you get these wedges?" Macgregor asked.
"I cut them out of this plank. It took me all day yesterday to make
them and this mallet. How the plank came here I don't know, but it
certainly saved my life."
"That and your wits, Campbell. It was a capital idea, first-rate. I see
there is blood on the staircase."
"The plank came in useful again. I used it as a battering-ram on the
fellow who was chopping, and as I caught him full in the face, the
blood is accounted for. As you see by the opposite wall, they fired a
few shots through the hole afterwards, but of course I took good care
to be out of the line of fire."
"Well, come along. Sir Alexander has been asking about you, but could
get no information, and it might have been some time before you were
set free had it not been for your boy."
On going down into the body of the citadel, Angus was most warmly
greeted by Sir Alexander Burnes and the other officers who knew him,
for all supposed that he had been murdered. He explained to his chief
why his life had been spared.
"You had a narrow escape indeed," the latter said, "for I have no
doubt whatever that the Afghan would have carried out his threat had
we attacked in a regular way. It is quite in accordance with their
barbarous customs. But I certainly wonder that they did not kill you
when we entered the fortress."
Macgregor then told the manner in which Angus had converted his little
cell into a fort, and had resisted successfully the attacks made upon
it.
"A very narrow escape indeed, Mr. Campbell," Sir Alexander Burnes
said. "It was fortunate indeed that that piece of wood had been left
in the cell; but the idea of cutting wedges from it and fastening the
door would not have occurred to everyone. It was a most happy thought,
and certainly was the means of saving your life. It was a treacherous
business indeed of Hajee Khan Kakur, for I have no doubt that he was
the concocter of the plot. He has given us the strongest grounds for
suspicion ever since we left Candahar, and has continually been making
excuses for lagging behind. We have strong reason for believing that if
we had failed here, he would at once have turned against us."
"I do not think he knew of this, sir. When I was seized, the trooper
said. 'Do you think that because our chief is a traitor we are traitors
too?'"
"These fellows are very crafty, Mr. Campbell, and Hajee has a special
reputation that way, having before now turned traitor in spite of
promises and vows. He may very well have instructed one of his men
to say this, in order that if, contrary to all probability, you ever
rejoined the army, he himself might be shielded by your repeating
this speech. We have never put any trust in him since he joined us,
though of course it was politic to seem to do so, as other chiefs might
follow his example. He was questioned very sharply as to the orders he
had given his men when you did not return that afternoon. Of course he
swore by the Prophet that he had chosen men in whom he had the greatest
confidence, which was, I have no doubt, true. However, as it was
possible that you and they might have fallen into an ambush, the matter
was dropped for the time. But our suspicions gained ground when, as we
came up here, no signs of a fight were discovered, no bodies either of
men or horses, and I intended to reopen the matter as soon as things
were a little settled down. Well, I can assure you I am heartily glad
to see you back again safe and sound, and I shall not fail to report
the matter to Sir John Keane, and tell him how cleverly you escaped the
fate intended for you."
The army remained for a week at Ghuznee while preparations were being
made for converting the fortress into a base from which further
operations could be carried on. It was thought well to pause, so that
the full effects of the disaster might be felt throughout the country
before the advance began again. The fall of Ghuznee had indeed entirely
disarranged the plan of campaign that had been decided upon by Dost
Mahomed. The fortress had been provisioned for six months, and it was
confidently believed that it could resist all attacks for that time.
With the approach of winter, the position of a besieging army would
be desperate. The cold would be intense, they would be surrounded on
all sides by swarms of fierce tribesmen, would be unable to obtain
provisions in the country round, and must either retire through the
passes they had ascended, to Candahar, or be forced by famine to
surrender. In the former case, the disaster that afterwards occurred in
endeavouring to retire from Cabul would probably have befallen them.
This plan was entirely brought to naught by the fall of Ghuznee, and
six days later the brother of Dost Mahomed arrived in camp with an
offer from the Ameer to surrender the government to Shah Soojah, on
condition that he himself should, as the head of the Barukzyes, fill
the hereditary office of wuzeer, or prime minister. As this would
have placed the whole power of the state in his hands, the offer was
refused, and on the 31st of July the army resumed its march. After
three days' march, they learned that the Kuzzilbashes had mutinied.
This body of troops were of Persian descent, and had for very many
years formed an important part of the military power of Cabul, and held
a position similar to that of the Janizaries of Constantinople and the
Mamelukes of Egypt. Under but very slight control, they were constantly
causing trouble by their insolence and exactions, and they now showed
that they entertained no feeling either of loyalty or gratitude towards
the dynasty which they served.
In spite of the exhortations of the Ameer, they insisted upon his
granting them a discharge from his service, and as it was evident that
the news from Ghuznee had so much dispirited the whole army that no
reliance whatever could be placed on their fidelity, the unfortunate
monarch was obliged to allow the Kuzzilbashes to disband, and the rest
of the army to disperse, and to take to the mountains as a fugitive,
accompanied only by a small party of personal followers. A force was at
once sent in pursuit of him; but as the following of the traitor, Hajee
Khan, formed the principal part of this force, the double-faced chief,
who desired to make himself safe whatever turn affairs might take, so
contrived that Dost Mahomed and his party were not overtaken. In the
meantime the main force marched forward to Cabul wholly unopposed.
Twenty-two guns were found abandoned at the spot where the Ameer's army
had dispersed. These, placed in a strong defile, and supported by a
large force of tribesmen, might have long resisted our advance had the
Kuzzilbashes and other Afghan horsemen swept round on our rear, and
although British valour might have finally succeeded, it could only
have been after a terrible struggle. But now the Ameer was a fugitive,
the guns were in our hands, the Kuzzilbashes and native tribesmen had
come in to salute their new ruler, and nothing remained but to enter
the capital in triumph.
The entry took place on the 7th of August. The ceremony was an imposing
one. Shah Soojah, after an exile of thirty years, rode at the head
of the cortege, on a white charger with golden trappings. He wore a
jewelled coronet, his arms and garments were ornamented with precious
stones, and his waist encircled with a broad girdle of gold encrusted
with rubies and emeralds. Accompanying him were the commander-in-chief,
and Mr. Macnaghten and Sir Alexander Burnes, who were in full
diplomatic dress. Two of the Shah's sons and a few of the principal
chiefs rode behind him with a number of staff officers in full uniform.
Following him came the army that had performed so long and difficult
a march to place him on his throne. The surrounding country traversed
was rich and fertile in the extreme, and almost covered with orchards
of peaches and other fruits; under these crops of all sorts grew
luxuriantly. On the eminences commanding the plain immense numbers of
tribesmen assembled to witness the martial display.
On entering the city, the victors found the inhabitants clustered
in the streets through which they passed to the royal residence in
the Bala Hissar, a great citadel situated on a hill commanding the
town, and so strongly fortified that it would have been difficult
to capture it unless by the aid of a regular siege train. The aspect
of the inhabitants was perfectly peaceful; there were no shouts or
exclamations of enthusiasm, but it was evident from the expression
of satisfaction on their faces that the majority were well satisfied
with the termination of the rule of the Barukzyes, whose exactions had
pressed heavily upon them.
Dost Mahomed himself was popular. He was affable and kindly in
disposition; his decisions on all matters brought before him were just
and fair; he was accessible to all having complaints to bring before
him; and had he possessed a body of trustworthy infantry to overawe the
marauding Kuzzilbashes and the semi-independent chiefs, there can be
no doubt that his rule would have been a wise and beneficial one. Shah
Soojah was the reverse of his rival. Haughty and arrogant, he regarded
and treated with contempt his new subjects, seldom granted audience, or
troubled himself in any way with their affairs, rarely went abroad, and
remained in almost constant seclusion in his palace.
The shops of Cabul excited the admiration of the officers and men
of the British force. Probably nowhere else in the world could such
a display of fruit have been collected. Here were piles of peaches
equal to the finest product of English hothouses, grapes of five
varieties, rosy apples, juicy pears, several delicious kinds of melons,
almonds, pistachio nuts, walnuts, quinces, cherries, and red and white
mulberries, and vegetables of all kinds. The butchers' shops were
cleanly and well arranged; there were public ovens, in which loaves,
and the cakes of which the Afghans are extremely fond, were baking
when the force entered. In the potters' shops were jars and drinking
vessels of all kinds; Afghan, Persian, and Russian cloths, cloaks, furs
of many kinds, sets of china and Dresden porcelain in the shops of the
wealthier traders; and behind these open shops were inner apartments
with very fine and costly shawls, silks, precious stones, valuable
carpets, and tea imported by way of Bokhara. Conspicuous were the
shops of manufacturers of swords and daggers, and makers of scabbards
and belts, shields and chain armour, and even of bookbinders, who
manufactured covers for manuscript copies of Persian poems and stories.
Unfortunately for the moral of the army, there were also manufactories
of spirits. Since leaving Candahar no spirit rations had been served
out, and the troops had greatly benefited in health during their
arduous work by the privation, but the power to purchase vile spirits
at a very low price now tempted many into drinking to intoxication, and
lowered at once their health and discipline.
Mr. Macnaghten and his staff had a fine building in the Bala Hissar
allotted to them. Sir Alexander Burnes with his assistants occupied
a house in the city. The position of Burnes was an unsatisfactory
one. He had a right to expect that after his previous residence in
Cabul he would be appointed British resident there, and he had only
accepted a secondary position upon the understanding that Macnaghten's
appointment was a temporary one. He had on the way up rendered much
valuable assistance, but he had no strictly defined duties. His opinion
was seldom asked, and if given, was wholly disregarded. For this he
was himself somewhat to blame. His temperament was a changeable one.
At times he was full of enthusiasm and saw everything in the rosiest
light; at other times he was depressed and despondent, and came to be
regarded as a prophet of evil. Having no serious work to occupy his
mind, he worried over trifles, exaggerated the importance of the bazaar
rumours, and was often filled with the gloomiest anticipations.
The war had been undertaken altogether in opposition to his advice.
He had been most favourably impressed with Dost Mahomed, and his
remonstrances against the attempt to force Shah Soojah on the Afghans
had been so strong and persistent, that the home government, in
defending themselves from the public indignation excited by subsequent
disaster, even went the length of suppressing some of his despatches
and garbling others, after he was no longer alive to proclaim the
falsification.
Once at Cabul, his opportunities for doing useful service came to
an end. Macnaghten, who was always sanguine to an extent that, in
the light of subsequent events, seemed to border on insanity, was
all-powerful with the new Ameer. The expression of any opinion which
ran counter to his own was in the highest degree distasteful to him,
and it was only in negotiations for the supply of the troops, and with
the petty chiefs, that Burnes and his staff found any employment.
Although Pushtoo was the language of the country-people who came in
with goods, the inhabitants of Cabul almost universally spoke Persian,
and Angus Campbell and Azim found themselves quite at home among them.
On the 3rd of September, a force under Colonel Wade, which had advanced
through the Khyber Pass, arrived at Cabul. It was a mixed body composed
principally of Pathans and Sikhs. It had met with comparatively small
resistance, but had rendered valuable service, as a large force had
been detached from Dost Mahomed's army to oppose its advance, and thus
greatly weakened the army with which the Ameer had intended to meet the
British advance from Candahar. The Afghan force had been recalled in
haste after the news of the fall of Ghuznee, but had not arrived until
after the disbandment of the Ameer's army and his flight to the Bamian
Pass, when it had also broken up, and Wade was therefore able to reach
Cabul without opposition.
It was now necessary to decide what should be done with the army of
occupation. Macnaghten was pressing by a constant succession of letters
that large reinforcements should be sent up in order to win back for
Shah Soojah the territories that had once formed part of the Afghan
empire. He urged that in order to check Russian aggression an army
should not only occupy Herat, but should extend its operations until it
became paramount at Bokhara; while, on the other hand, Peshawur and the
territory wrested from Afghanistan by the Sikhs should be reconquered,
and the Sikh nation, which was becoming more and more hostile to us,
should be brought into subjection. But fortunately Lord Auckland, now
freed from the pernicious influence of Macnaghten and surrounded by
discreet counsellors, was by no means disposed to turn a favourable ear
to these fantastic projects. The cost of the army of occupation was a
heavy drain on the revenue of India, and so far from any assistance
being rendered by Afghanistan, Shah Soojah was constantly clamouring
for subsidies to enable him to maintain his position. The absence of so
many troops was also much felt in India, for they were greatly needed
on the frontiers of the Beloochees as well as those of the Sikhs.
Macnaghten had so persistently asserted that Shah Soojah was personally
popular with the Afghans, that it was decided that only a comparatively
small force was needed to uphold his authority in case Dost Mahomed
should make an effort to recover his throne, and orders were given
that the greater portion of the Bombay army should march down through
the Kojuk and Bolan Passes, and most of the Bengal troops through the
Khyber, leaving some six regiments, with a proportion of artillery, at
Cabul, with garrisons at Ghuznee, Candahar, Quettah, and Jellalabad.
Macnaghten in vain remonstrated and entreated. It was settled that the
movement should begin at the end of September, so that the troops
could regain the plains before winter set in in earnest. September
passed quietly. The climate at this time was perfect, and the troops
enjoyed the rest, with the abundance of fruit and vegetables. There
were reviews and races. Shah Soojah established an order of knighthood,
and held a grand durbar, at which the principal officers were invested,
with great ceremony, with the insignia of the new order. On the 18th of
the month the Bombay column started on its march, but news having been
brought down from the force that had occupied the Bamian Pass, that
Dost Mahomed was collecting a formidable army, the authorities were
induced to maintain a great portion of the Bengal force round Cabul.
Great difficulties arose with reference to provisioning these troops
through the winter. There was abundant accommodation for them in the
Bala Hissar and its citadel, but Shah Soojah strongly objected to the
presence of a large body of troops there. Macnaghten, with his usual
weakness, gave way.
On the 15th of October Sir John Keane, with that portion of the Bengal
force that was to return, set out. The Ameer left two days later,
to spend the winter in the more genial climate of Jellalabad, and
Macnaghten accompanied him. Sanguine as he was, he could not help
feeling uneasy at the situation. The British occupation had greatly
benefited the merchants and traders, the farmers and cultivators
of Cabul, but it had seriously injured the poorer portion of the
community. The natural result of so large an army, well supplied
with money, being stationed in the city, was to raise the price of
all articles of consumption prodigiously, and to cause wide-spread
discontent. The exactions of the native tax-collectors pressed heavily
upon all the tribesmen. The British officers, by the terms of the
treaty with Shah Soojah, were unable to interfere in any way with the
internal affairs of the country; but when the natives revolted against
the unjust exactions it was they who were called upon to suppress them,
consequently the infidel supporters of the Ameer became more and more
hated by the people, and it was soon dangerous for them to go beyond
the limits of their camps. The Ameer himself resented the state of
subjection in which he considered that he was held, though he could
not dispense with British bayonets and British money. Macnaghten left
behind him experienced administrators. Burnes, Conolly, Leech, Todd,
and Lord had all long acquaintance with the country, and if anyone
could, under such circumstances, have reconciled the country to foreign
occupation, they would have done so.