Previous to the removal of the troops from the the Palace, the Envoy received a letter from Mahomed Akbar, to the effect that Shah Shooja might remain as King, on condition that he would inter-marry his daughters with some of the Chiefs; that Mahomed Akbar should be Wuzeer or Prime Minister; that the troops might remain till the spring, and all war cease, and demanded an enormous sum of money by way of bonus. To this the Envoy, deeply considering the extremity of his affairs, left, as he was, as it were, on his own resources, seeing this faint glimmer of a prospect of rescuing his country's fame, and give them time to make a more honorable evacuation, in a moment of frenzy, little suspecting the treachery carried with such a noble proposal, signed the document accepting, and agreed to a meeting for its ratification the following morning. Whatever may have been the feelings of the Envoy, when cautioned about the risk he ran, he declared that it were worth a hundred lives like his, at such a moment, to restore what was already on the brink of being sacrificed-his country's honor.

The morning came, and the Envoy accompanied by Captains Trevor, Lawrence and M'Kenzie, and a small portion of his body guard, met the Chiefs, who were seated on a small hillock, and commenced the business of the meeting.

It was a meeting buoyed up with the most arrant dissatisfaction; the officers who accompanied the

Envoy up to the time of their starting for the ratification, had remained ignorant of it, and observed that great numbers of armed rabble began to collect, and on Mahomed's attention being drawn to this fact, he replied, "They are all in the secret," and immediately directed some of them to "seize," andthen the work began. The whole of the officers were secured and dragged to a small fort, and Mahomed personally attacked the Envoy, who, after a desperate struggle, was shot by Akbar, with a pistol that had but a short time before been presented to the Chief, by Sir William. Thus was England deprived of the life and service of a learned, noble, energetic, and amiable man, whose indefatigable exertions had ever been such as to stamp him with renown, and most honorable fame. It will be impossible for me to give my readers the more minute details, of the very interesting personal adventures, so numerous in this sad affair it would be only extending my narrative, and in fact, would be beyond my power; the most impartial and interesting account of these disasters, will be found in the book written by Lieutenant Eyre, who was one of those, whose lot was to be amongst them. The information I give, I gained from one attached to the Cabool mission, and other officers directly connected with the force; of whose authority, I have every reason to be proud;

I shall, therefore, conclude this brief detail of those events, by summing up the retreat, and continue my own personal adventures, which passes over the ground where the unfortunates were so brutally massacred, and return to my story, in as agreeable a form as I can well arrange it.

CHAPTER XVIII.

The retreat; Fearful prospects; Entrance into the Passes ; Treacherous attack; Awful position of the Troops; Situation of the Force; The dastardly conduct of the Affghans; Akbar's message to the General; Ladies and families given up as Hostages; Elphinstone's death; Total annihilation of the Cabool Force; Dr. Brydon's escape; Brief remarks; March to Istaliff; General McCaskill's Brigade arrived; The battle; Victory; Bravery of the Troops; Fighting all over; Unfortunate death of Lieutenant Evans; His character; Return to Cabool; Safe return of the prisoners-Ladies Sale and McNaughten; A little child brought in; Destruction of Cabool; March through the Passes; Evacuation of Affghanistan; Awful sight in the Defiles; Road strewed with Skeletons; Their appearance; Description of Route; Enemy hover about; Admirable precautions; The Soldier's life; Arrival at Tezeen; Jugdulluk; Grand Attack; Samnauth Gates; Beautiful valley of Nimla; Jellallabad; Its appearance and destruction.

THEY were now compelled to commence their retreat, the king remaining behind. The chiefs had sent their families, during the affray, to Istaliff, and several of our officers, including Major Pottinger, had been detained as hostages. The road to the Koord Cabool Pass is an immense marsh, and leads into the mouth as into a cavern. The hills on each side, ere the troops had emerged, were manned by the Affghans, who commenced a fierce attack

on the moving mass below. The poor fellows were in a sad condition-cold, hungry, and weary ; ninety-seven miles of a dreary Pass to traverse, opposed by a foe whose treachery had no end. The snow had already fallen, and much impeded their progress; the cattle that had long since become weak and impaired, were dying fast, and no sooner dead than they were snatched up and devoured; food being so scarce, and wood being equally so; the flesh of horses, camels, or anything calculated to keep life up, was eaten raw; and tents or shelter for the night were strangers. The eye every now and then would rest on the dead and dying, who had become the victims of the matchlock from the heights. The officers would press forward occasionally, and form up in order of attack or defence, and would as soon be repelled. Energy, from sheer misery, grew weak, and at length discipline began to fail-superiority lost its influenceand the force now became, to a considerable extent, a mob, each looking out for himself-and the first three days brought with it a most sorrowful loss. The troops were now much reduced, and the Pass, thus far, was strewed with the massacred bodies of our men. Akbar, who followed up in rear, saw the very pitiful condition of the wives and families, mothers and children, some but a few days old at the breast, heavy and weak, sick from fatigue and distress, want of succour and the necessary comfort for their sex-infants crying for