should come from her side; and the Persian envoy at Herat became prime director of the enterprise. It was his custom to take a ride of twenty or thirty miles every afternoon, returning to the city about ten at night, the gate being regularly opened to him. On these occasions he was escorted by about a hundred horsemen, and generally rode towards Gorian, on the road to Meshed, the Persian capital of Khorassan. Now, there was stationed between Gorian and Meshed, for the purpose of keeping in check the wild Turkomans, a certain Prince Yusoof, nephew to the departed Shah Kamram, and therefore well fitted to be the instrument for effecting a revolution in Herat. With this prince and Esa Khan, a chief of Herat, the Persian envoy arranged the plans for a surprise; and when all was ready, he was joined on his ride one afternoon by Prince Yusoof and a body of Persian cavalry. The first quarter of the night was passed when they arrived at the gates of Herat; and on admission being given to the envoy as usual, his escort sabred the guard, and the Prince with his cavalry rushed in, took possession of the city, and advanced against the Arg citadel. The besotted ruler, in his cups, shot the servant who first reported to him that the enemy was in the city, but at length, arousing himself, ordered a charge when it was too late. The result was that he and all his relatives were captured and put to death; and Prince Yusoof, a member of the royal Suddozee race, mounted the throne of Herat. His first act was to thank the Shah for his success, and to beg him to continue his protection and freely command his services;-to which the Shah replied by assuring him of aid against his present or future enemies, and informing him that all the commanders of the Persian forces in Khorassan had been

strictly enjoined to watch over his welfare, and punish the disturbers of his dominion.*

It may easily be believed that Dost Mahomed of Cabool, and his brother chiefs of the Barukzee clan, by no means relished the appearance of a prince of the Suddozee line at Herat. The Persian Government had placed him there as a means of establishing its influence in Affghanistan, and as a thorn in the side of the old Ameer; and one of the prince's first acts was to push forward a detachment to take possession of Furrah, a town half-way on the road to Candahar. Upon this, the Barukzee chiefs resolved to forget their disagreements, and unite to prevent the encroachments of the common foe. Indeed, the aspect of affairs had begun to look menacing for the independence of Affghanistan. Not only had Herat been revolutionised by Persian agency, but Khiva had fallen under the domination of Persia and Russia; and the king of Bokhara was so concerned by these menacing events, and by the increasing number of Persian troops in Khorassan, that a letter from Bokhara (Sept. 1855) states that "owing to his disquiet he frequently fails in going to the Friday prayers in the Great Mosque." Kokan, the third and remaining state of Central Asia, was likewise apprehensive of a Muscovite attack; and several Russian agents were reported to be wandering about in Turkistan as petty traders, professing themselves Jews. The danger had been early descried by the shrewd old Ameer of Cabool, who had sent a friendly embassy and presents to the king of Khiva; but ere they arrived the king had been killed, the Russians and Persians were in possession, and the Affghan embassy was treated with the utmost contumely. Indeed, the ambitious

projects of the Persian government had been revealed to himself by an offer from the Shah to aid him with money and troops against all foreign powers, if he would consent to own the suzerainty of Persia. Turning a deaf ear to the insidious proposal, the old Ameer sent a trusty messenger to Mahomed Said at Herat, a short time before that prince's death, to warn him of his danger from Persia; but that dissolute wretch being in his cups when the messenger arrived, ordered his beard to be shaved, and nearly had him blown out of the mouth of a cannon! Turning to the British, Dost Mahomed contracted with our Indian Government a treaty of general amity, but failed to obtain from it the guarantee which he desired for the independence of Affghanistan and Herat.

It is manifest that the Persian government was resolved to find or make a pretext for the actual invasion of Affghanistan. In December 1855, when Prince Yusoof was still its obedient vassal, the Teheran Official Gazette announced the intention of the government to despatch an army to Herat,-alleging in excuse that Dost Mahomed had made himself master of Candahar, to the prejudice of the relatives of the deceased sirdar of that place, Kohendil Khan (a half-brother of Dost Mahomed, who with his family leant much to Persia), and that he meditated an attack upon Herat. In the same article it was insinuated that these proceedings on the part of the Dost were instigated and aided by the British Government; nevertheless the Persian Court, following the usual Muscovite ruse, professed its desire to maintain inviolate its position of neutrality. In a subsequent manifesto, published before despatching the army, the Shah represented Mr Murray's retirement as a mere personal misunderstanding, and explained the Herat expedition as one undertaken at the urgent entreaty of Prince Yusoof, in order to save the place from the threatened attack of Dost Mahomed's forces. In refutation of these allegations, it is sufficient to say that neither the Ameer nor a single soldier of his had been

within 200 miles of Herat, and that he had made no preparations for such an attack. The Persian Government at the same time announced its intention of despatching a corps of 20,000 men to Candahar, to reinstate Kohendil Khan's son in the government.

Last spring the Persian army commenced its march to Herat, and in due course reached its destination. At Gorian, thirty miles to the west of Herat, they met and cut up a body either of Affghans or of Turkoman cavalry coming to the assistance of the menaced city. Prince Yusoof inclined to favour the Persian cause; and with his consent the first Persian detachment that arrived, under Sano Khan, was admitted into the city. But the Barukzee party is strong in Herat; the Alekozee clan, to which Yar Mahomed belonged, and of which Esa Khan is a chief, likewise declared against the Persians; and the result was that Sano Khan was ejected, and preparations made for a vigorous defence. Messengers were sent to Dost Mahomed, then at Candahar, and to the British Commissioner in Scinde, urgently entreating aid; and several successful sorties were made, blowing up the Persian magazines, and destroying their supplies. The defence was conducted jointly by Prince Yusoof and Esa Khan. Meanwhile the main body of the Persian army arrived under Murad Mirza, the commander-in-chief, raising the besieging force to 30,000 men; but it was not till the end of August that any serious action took place. Of the two great sects which divide the Mahomedan world, the Persians belong to one (Sheahs) and the Affghans and Turks to the other (Sunnees). A portion of the population of Herat, probably descendants of the Persian colony planted by Nadir Shah, are Sheeites; and betwixt certain chiefs of this sect and their co-religionists without, a secret correspondence was opened; and it was concerted that about noon, when Esa Khan and his chief officers were at prayers in the mosque, a body of Persians should surprise and take possession of one of the gates and the tower which commanded it.

On the 29th August the attempt was made with success, and the gate and tower were seized by a detachment of the besieging force; but the main body remained inactive, and Esa Khan, hastily collecting his troops, gallantly led them against the enemy. The mêlée was so confused that the Persians were unable to use their muskets, and, overpowered by the rush of the Affghans, armed with hanjars, were driven out with great slaughter. Being pursued by the Affghans beyond the gates, the routed Persians suffered still more severely, till they were carried off by a brigade sent to their rescue. Reinforcements, however, continued to arrive to the besieging army; intrenchments were thrown up around each gate, to make the blockade complete; and a native eyewitness states that "the Persians built barracks for their troops, so that there are so many buildings in the camp that it appears to form another city rivalling Herat." M. Buhler, a French officer, who was sent to the camp with special recommendations from the Shah, gave an impulse of energy to the whole army; and by his advice the trenches were pushed far in advance, till at several points the head of the boyau was within from ten to fifteen yards of the ditch. Discouragement began to spread in the city; provisions were scarce; the Sheeites were deserting and taking service with the enemy; the succours promised by Dost Mahomed were not forthcoming, and defections were reported among the Affghan chiefs. Finding his affairs desperate, Prince Yusoof made an attempt to escape from the city-other accounts say he was ejected by the Affghans; and, being taken by the Persians, was sent as a prisoner to Teheran, where he received the pardon of the Shah.

The defence now devolved wholly upon Esa Khan, who appears to have acted throughout with much gallantry. But it was impossible to avert the fall of the place. By the third week of October a considerable breach had been made at the foot of one of the numerous towers which flank the walls of the town; but in order to reach that spot it was necessary to carry an advanced work, which had

been erected at a former time by the advice of British officers. The Persian attacking columns, composed of picked troops, rushed forward to the assault with intrepidity; and the Affghans, though they stood the first shock, were soon obliged to give way Upon this, seeing that further resistance was impossible, Esa Khan (25th October) surrendered, and Herat was taken possession of by the Persians.

Nor was Herat the goal of Persian aggression. At an early period of the siege, a Persian corps had been pushed forward to Furrah, an Affghan town about 180 miles due south from Herat, at the point where the main road turns eastward towards Candahar. Furrah, although surrounded by a high earthen rampart, appears to have been captured without opposition; and thereafter a further advance was made towards Geerishk (a town lying between Furrah and Candahar, and within 60 miles of the latter city), where some skirmishing took place between the Persians and the advanced guard of the Ameer's forces, about 8000 of whom were stationed for the defence of Candahar. The latest intelligence reports that the Persian army has greatly extended itself in Affghanistan. It has pushed southwards from Furrah, taking possession of the province of Seistan-as well as eastwards, threatening Khelat and Candahar. And the result of these successes, following the capture of Herat, has been to induce not a few of the Affghan chiefs to lean to Persia as the winning side, -among others, Sultan Mahomed, the ex-chief of Peshawur, who was caught intriguing with the Persians against his brother the Ameer, and by the latter was summarily ordered off to Cabool.

Independently of any treaty forbidding Persia to invade Affghanistan, it is obvious that the British had as clear a right to defend that country as the Persians had to attack it. Our aid, moreover, had been urgently solicited by the Affghans themselves. A proclamation of war, accordingly, was made at Calcutta, on the 1st of November; and a fortnight afterwards a naval expedition was despatched from Bombay for the Persian Gulf, where the island of Kar

rak (seized in the former war) has been reoccupied, and the town and port of Bushire taken possession of In the proclamation of war (as is too commonly the case in diplomatic documents), the reasons of commonsense and national interest are passed over in silence; and the whole ground of hostilities is made to rest upon the convention concluded between Colonel Sheil and the Persian Government in January 1853-of which more anon. As it is important to note the terms of the proclamation, we quote its principal clauses. After referring to the convention of 1853, it proceeds as follows:

"By those articles the Persian Government engaged not to send troops to Herat on any account, unless foreign troops-that is, troops from the direction of Cabool or Candahar, or other foreign country-should invade Herat. In the event of troops being sent, the Persian Government engaged that the said troops should not enter the city of Herat; and that, on the return of the foreign troops towards their own territory, the Persian troops should be immediately withdrawn from the neighbourhood of Herat to Persian soil.

"The Persian Government also engaged to abstain from all interference what

soever in the internal affairs of Herat, whether 'in taking possession, or occupying, or assuming the sovereignty, or governing, except in so far as interference existed between the two parties during

the lifetime of the late Yar Mahomed.'

"And, lastly, the Persian Government engaged to relinquish all pretension to and demand for the coinage, or

the reading of the Khootbeh, or any other acknowledgment of allegiance or subjection on the part of the people of Herat to the government of Persia.

"It was, at the same time, stipulated that, so long as there should be no interference of any sort whatever on the part of the British Government in the affairs of Herat, the engagements contracted by the Persian Government, as afore# should remain in full force and On the other hand, it was agreed y name of the British Government, * 1 any foreign power, such as the a or others, should wish to inace with, or take possession of Herat, Subah Government, on the requisithe Persian Ministers, would not See as restrain such foreign power by resegy advice, * so that Herat might reW state of independence.'

"While the British Government has faithfully and constantly adhered to the obligations which it accepted [?] under the agreement of January 1853, the Govern

ment of Persia has manifested a deliberate and persevering disregard of the reciprocal engagements, by which at the same time it became bound, and is now endeavouring to subvert by force the independence of Herat, which was the declared object of the agreement in question.”

Herat, the proximate cause of this war, needs a word of description. The Times asks, "Where is Herat?" and as it is obvious that every year will give the British nation a livelier interest in that part of the world, it may be useful to give a general sketch of the locality. Let us say, then, that Affghanistan, with its five millions of a warlike race, intervenes like a huge quadrangular mountain-citadel between India and Persia,-and that Herat is the only gate by which entrance can be obtained to this citadel from the west. The lofty Suleiman range of mountains, running parallel with the Indus, bounds Affghanistan on the east; the still more lofty range of the Hindoo Koosh (a continuation of north; to the south, the sandy plains the Himalayas) bounds it on the of Beloochistan stretch between it and the sea; and on the west it is separated from Persia by the deserts of Khorassan. Across those deserts the only passage for an army is to be found at their north side, where two or three routes exist more or less practicable for troops. These routes all converge west angle of Affghanistan, where and unite as they approach the northis the door which must be opened stands HERAT. This city, then, before entrance can be obtained to the quadrangular mass of mountains, valleys, and waterless plateaus which constitute Affghanistan. Its situation is one of great military and commercial importance. The peaceful files of the caravan, and the dread battalions of war, alike pass through it on their march from India to Persia, or from Persia to India. The long camel-trains from Delhi, Mooltan, and Lahore pass through it, bearing the merchandise of India and the manufactures of England to the

distant towns and oases of Persia and Turkistan; and so completely is Herat a gateway of commerce that it is called Bunder, or Port, although the only sea upon which it borders are seas of sand. The march of conquest has passed through it from time immemorial. The cavalry-host of Timour and the disciplined army of Nadir Shah, in their invasions of India, went and came by this route; and though Alexander the Great, Gengis Khan, and Baber marched by Balkh, and crossed the Hindoo Koosh immediately to the north of Cabool, the route by Herat is the only one practicable for an army with the usual complement of artillery. The country around Herat affords an admirable halting-place for armies. It is a spacious plain, thirty miles long and half as broad, once studded with villages, and still exhibiting a fair expanse of gardens, vineyards, and corn-fields; while the Herat river and 66 the bright waters of small running streams [canals?] lighten the pleasant landscape," and fertilise the plain. In the hamlets and gardens around, the celebrated attar, or otto of roses, is manufactured; and such is the profusion of this regal flower that Herat has been styled the City of Roses. In the midst of the plain stands the city, now much fallen from its olden prosperity, but still containing a population of about fifty thousand, and destined ever to retain much wealth and importance from lying in the track of the caravans. Its staple commodities are silk, assafoetida, and saffron ; and the principal merchants of the place are Hindoos. Like most Asiatic towns, there is much dirt and desolation within; yet water, that prime necessity of Oriental life, is so abundant that almost every house has a fountain, besides the public ones in the bazaars. The city, which forms a square, each side of which is about a mile long, is strongly fortified for an Eastern town, being encircled by a solid bastioned earthen wall and wet ditch; and within there is a citadel, a square castle built of burnt brick, elevated on a mound, sufficiently strong to constitute a rallying-point, but incapable of separate defence. Abundant crops of wheat and barley, and every kind of

fruit known in Persia, are supplied by the fertile region around; and though cattle are not very numerous, there are large flocks of the broad-tailed sheep so well known and prized in Central Asia. Thus no better camping-ground and quarters could be found for an army; and as an intermediate station between the deserts on the west and the Affghan mountains on the east, it is for such a purpose invaluable. It is a vast place d'armes, where all assaulting columns from the west must unite and recruit before making their final attack upon the defences of our Indian empire. To speak in miniature, it is just such a place as a skilful defender of India would desire to cover with a horn-work, in order to prevent the enemy from getting possession of a spot where they could collect their forces under cover, and from which they could so advantageously push forward their assault upon our interior works of defence.

"We have a garden, which is India; the walls are the fortified towns of Tartary and Affghanistan. Let the Russians once seize them, and our garden is theirs." So said Sir Richmond Shakspere to the Khan of Khiva, in language not more finely figurative than true; and M. Ferrier, the French officer who lately wandered with the caravans throughout that region, and who has elaborately speculated on the future of Russian and Anglo-Indian power in the East, adds, "I believe he is right." In the imperial policy of Russia, designs upon India have been very long cherished. First sighted by the genius of Peter, and first practically contemplated by the madman Paul; talked of by Alexander and Napoleon, and sketched out like a grand dream by the latter, the invasion of India is a design never laid aside at the Court of St Petersburg. But apart from the question of design, look at the mere facts. Russia is advancing farther and farther into Asia, nearer and nearer to the bulwarks of our Indian empire. "If we go on at this rate," said Baron Brunow to Sir John Hobhouse, in 1837, "the Cossack and the Sepoy will soon meet on the banks of the Oxus." They will so meet some day. Russia knows this, and intends this; and it were well that the grand issue