Attempt to Assassinate the Shah.—Court Martial on an Affghan Chief.—Visit to the Hospital at Ghuznee.—Hatred of the Affghans towards the Native Troops.—Departure from Ghuznee.—Capture of a Battery and Fatal Accident.—Summary Punishment.—Arrival at Cabul.—Pursuit of Dost Mahommed and Treachery of a Native Chief.—Description of Cabul.—The Balar Hissar.—Mosque of the Emperor Baber.—The Bazaar.

A few days after the taking of Ghuznee a tragical scene occurred, which pretty clearly indicated how the tide of popular feeling ran with regard to the restored monarch. There is a poetical superstition that approaching events are often foreshadowed, and the circumstance to which I allude seemed to impress every man's mind at the time with the result that has since happened.

The majority of the prisoners who fell into our hands were released on condition of their serving in the Shah's army, but there remained about thirty who refused to accept of their liberty on such terms. They consisted for the most part of the immediate followers of Dost Mahommed's father-in-law, and were devotedly attached to that prince. The Shah, on learning the circumstance ordered them to be brought before him, and expostulated with them on the folly of their conduct. A Chief of haughty bearing stepped from amongst the prisoners, and after overwhelming his Majesty with reproaches, told him that nothing should induce him to enter the service of a man who had brought the horrors of foreign invasion on his country. Then suddenly snatching a dagger from one of the attendants, he rushed with uplifted arm towards the Shah, and would have pierced him to the heart had not one of his Majesty's servants interposed his person, and received the blow intended for his master. The faithful domestic fell dead at the feet of the Shah, and the officers and attendants instantly rushed towards the assassin with drawn swords; but he had already anticipated their intention by plunging the poniard in his breast. The Shah, alarmed and exasperated, ordered the whole of the prisoners to be immediately executed, and in a few minutes their heads were rolling in the dust. This terrible scene created great alarm in the camp, it being at first reported that his Majesty had been assassinated, but the apprehensions to which it gave rise were soon dispelled, by his publicly making his appearance amongst us.

A Chief, named Walla Mahommed, who had persisted in firing on the troops several hours after the taking of the fort, and in spite of repeated summonses to surrender, was brought to a court martial by order of the Commander-in-Chief, and sentenced to be shot within the walls of the fortress. He had killed three or four of our men, and wounded one of the Native officers by his obstinate folly. He met his fate with the most perfect indifference, for the fear of death cannot be said to be one of the weaknesses of the Affghan character.

I one day paid a visit, with some of my comrades, to the hospital where the wounded Affghans had been carried by their friends. It was situated in the old town, and consisted of a mud hut, whose thatched roof was broken in several places, and afforded little or no shelter against the heat of the sun. The interior was as filthy and disgusting as it is possible to conceive. Into a space of about thirty feet by twelve, were crowded from seventy to a hundred patients, who were disabled by wounds of every description, their sufferings being aggravated tenfold, by the intolerable heat and stench of the place. They were attended by two elderly men and a youth about fifteen years of age, who were busily engaged dressing their wounds, whilst a Faquir was performing certain charms, by which he pretended he could restore them to health. Pitiable and disgusting as the scene was I could not help laughing at the mummeries of the fellow. He first placed some cow dung in the hand of the sufferer, and holding it in his, saturated it with water and compelled the patient to smell it. He then wound up the ceremony by repeating some prayers over the fumes of a charcoal pan, the patient repeating after him certain responses which he directed him to make. This done, he covered him up with an old blanket, and ordered him to lay quiet for several hours, when the cure would be complete. Having of course received a consideration for all this trouble, he left his patients to the progress of the charm, and the discovery, when too late, that they had been grossly duped.

Happening to have a quantity of apples with me which I had just plucked from one of the orchards in the vicinity, I offered them to the sufferers in the hope that they would in some degree refresh them. They accepted them with eagerness which induced some sepoys who were with me to follow my example. The Affghans indignantly refused to receive anything at their hands, and so great was their hatred of the native troops, that they actually spat upon the men who showed them this kindness.

Early in August we resumed our march towards Cabul, leaving the whole of our sick and wounded in garrison at Ghuznee. It was reported that Dost Mahommed intended to dispute every inch of ground to the capital, but these valiant resolutions were abandoned as soon as formed. The only indication of a preconcerted plan of defence which we met with on the route, was a battery of sixteen field pieces which we found planted on an eminence commanding the entrance to a formidable pass about midway between Ghuznee and Cabul, but which had been deserted by the enemy as soon as our advanced columns made their appearance. A party of the Horse Artillery having been sent to secure the guns and ammunition, an accident took place which was attended with fatal consequences. One of the men having approached a tumbrel with a lighted pipe a spark fell into it and the whole blew up with a tremendous explosion, killing two of the party and severely injuring another.

The conduct of the inhabitants of the different villages along this route, whether influenced by good will or fear, I cannot take upon myself to say, was friendly and well disposed towards us. This did not however prevent some excesses on the part of the native troops, which Sir John Keane sought to repress by issuing an order forbidding the men from robbing the villagers on pain of death. At Chesgow, about two days march from Ghuznee, a soldier belonging to the 2nd Bengal Light Cavalry was observed thieving in the immediate vicinity of the staff lines, and one of Sir John's aides de camps who watched his proceedings took a gun from his tent and deliberately lodged its contents in his side. The unfortunate man died of the wound, after lingering a few days. The extreme severity of the punishment and its informal nature, were bitterly canvassed amongst the native troops, but it nevertheless had the effect of preventing a repetition of the offence.

Early on the morning of the 7th of August, we encamped without opposition under the walls of Cabul, Dost Mahommed and his forces having fled to the hills at the first news of our approach. The Commander-in-Chief being desirous of securing the person of the usurper, immediately despatched Captain Outram, and Hadji Khan, a chief supposed to be well affected towards Shah Soojah, with a thousand Affghans and a hundred native cavalry in pursuit. They had not proceeded far from the camp when it became evident to Captain Outram that treachery was secretly at work, the Affghans deserting daily, until their number was diminished to about five hundred. Hadji Khan, to whose guidance the force was entrusted, led it by long and circuitous routes, under pretence that they would thereby more easily intercept the fugitives, and turned a deaf ear to the Captain's entreaties that they should proceed directly across the hills. Wherever a rapid movement became necessary, the Affghan managed so that his followers should be delayed on the route, and there was no sort of impediment that craft or ingenuity could suggest that he did not employ to retard the progress of the troops. Captain Outram having no authority to act without the aid of the Khan was obliged to shut his eyes to these manoeuvres, and succeeded after the most urgent persuasion in inducing the Affghan Chief to proceed at once to the hills, with a small detachment.

After traversing the highest parts of the Hindoo Kosh, a chain of mountains, fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, and extending as far as Bamean, Captain Outram found that Dost Mahommed had taken refuge in the territories of an independent Uzbeck Chieftain then at enmity with the Shah. Whilst crossing the heights several blue lights were thrown up by the orders of Hadji Khan, which the British had reason to believe were intended to give warning to the enemy. Further pursuit through a difficult and hostile territory became of course out of the question, and the horses being worn out from want of forage and rest, orders were given for the return of the party to Cabul. During the march homeward Hadji Khan contrived to give the British the slip, and made off to the hills, rightly calculating that his equivocal conduct would be severely punished by the Shah. He was, however, captured before the British left Cabul, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. It was said that the Commander-in-Chief was dissatisfied with the conduct of Captain Outram in this affair, and that he pointedly passed over his name in the official despatches to mark his displeasure.

As several descriptions of Cabul have been published it will only be necessary for me to give such of its leading features as are essential to the completeness of my narrative. The city lies almost in the centre of a semicircular chain of hills, the valley in which it is situated being watered by a noble river which pursues a serpentine and picturesque route through it, and divides the town in nearly equal parts. The bazaar stands at the base of a lofty mountain, up whose rugged sides straggle rude and irregular fortifications of no great strength or importance. The town itself covers a considerable extent of ground, and the streets are in general regular and well built as compared with the other cities of Asia. Towering high above the other buildings may be observed the mosque and Balar Hissar or palace of the sovereign. The latter is surrounded by beautiful gardens and is entered by a large flagged court-way leading to the principal portal of the edifice. The proportions of the building are on a scale commensurate with royalty, the centre being surmounted by a lofty dome, and the wings of vast extent. The right wing contains the stabling of the Shah and chambers of the household, and the left is appropriated to the sovereign's own use. The general effect of this building is heavy, and it conveys the idea of a prison rather than a palace.

About half a mile to the right of the palace stands the mosque which contains the remains of the Emperor Baber. This temple is one of the finest I have seen in this part of Asia, being of great architectural beauty and noble proportions. It is entirely composed of richly carved stone-work, and is crowned by a number of graceful spires and minarets. The interior is magnificently ornamented with gilding and sculpture, and the pavement is composed of rich Mosaics of various coloured marbles. The tomb containing the remains of the Emperor occupies the centre of the mosque, and is less elaborately ornamented than any other part of it, being composed of plain slabs of white marble on which some extracts from the Koran are inscribed.

The bazaar is of circular form, the streets composing it radiating from an open space in its centre, and presenting a thronged and busy aspect. The principal articles of merchandize which attracted our notice were cashmere shawls of the richest and most expensive patterns, and costly silks of every description. A considerable trade is also carried on in preserved fruits, which find their way from here to the most distant parts of Hindostan. In the fruit market we observed grapes which measured nearly two inches in circumference; peaches, whose rich bloom and luscious quality gratified at once the eye and the palate; and strawberries, such as the hot houses of Europe, and all the inventions of horticultural science could not force into existence. As to apples and pears, fruits prized in the western hemisphere, they were in such abundance and of such low price, that they were only deemed worthy of furnishing food for cattle. Almost all the necessaries of life were in equal profusion, beef fetching only a penny, and mutton twopence the pound. It may be readily imagined that to the tired and half-starved soldier, Cabul appeared almost a second land of promise.