offers to make us honorary members of the same, were so numerous that it took the president of our mess-committee no little time to reply to them. I make mention of all these details, trifling as some of them may appear, in order to let my readers understand the exact state of the case as regards Candahar and its garrison when we arrived there; and, as will be seen presently, to show the why and the wherefore of certain events which took place shortly after we formed part of the force that held the place. Since the days of which I write the world is some forty-four or forty-five years older. Men who were then young smooth-faced lads, fresh from school, with their lives all before them, are now long past middle age, and are looking forward to the probably not far-off end of their sojourn in this world. Hence it is that what was then a mere matter of passing history must be now pretty well forgotten, and the prologue of the drama has to be told before the present generation can be expected to take any interest in what happened so long ago.

In less than a month after our arrival at Candahar we heard the news from Cabul that our army there, under General Elphinstone, was daily getting into worse and worse trouble, and that their total defeat was merely a matter of time. Coming as these reports did through natives, and our communication with British India being cut off, we hardly knew what to believe. But in time, and before long too, the very worst news we had heard proved only too true. The story of the English force, trying to retreat to the Khyber Pass, being cut up almost to a man, and many of the principal officers being taken prisoners, reached us in due time; and very shortly our own troubles commenced, although certainly on a smaller scale than those of the Cabul force. By the first days of December, Candahar was surrounded by thousands of Afghans. It is true that they kept a comparatively respectful distance from us. But they were not more than a very few miles from the city, and at times were quite close to our quarters. Our force was divided into two brigades; one of these, consisting of the 40th Regiment, the 2nd, 16th, and 38th Native Infantry, occupied the cantonments; the other, composed of the 42nd and 43rd Bengal Native Infantry, together with two of Shah Sooja's regiments, which were officered by Englishmen, was in the town, which was surrounded by high walls, and was not more than five hundred yards from the cantonments. Two or three times General Nott led a large portion of the

force under his command against the enemy, but so little good was effected by the movement, and there was so much danger of our stores and supplies falling into the enemy's hands, that this plan of operation was abandoned, and we remained throughout the winter on the defensive.

As a matter of course it was strictly forbidden for any one to go beyond a certain distance from the town or the cantonments; but what will not Englishmen venture in search of sport? About three miles from our lines there was a broad but very shallow river, on the banks of which snipe, it was reported, were very numerous, and of a size rarely if ever seen in other parts of the world. Now and again, when the enemy was reported to be a considerable distance off, a few venturous spirits amongst us would risk our lives, to say nothing of the certainty of being tried by a court-martial if we were found to have disobeyed orders, for the purpose of bagging a few of these birds. One of these adventures I have a very vivid recollection of, as it very nearly proved not only the last day's shooting I should ever do, but for some time made me and my companion believe that our respective careers in this world had come to an end.

A camp-follower who had a couple of dozen or so of snipe for sale came to the cantonments one afternoon and, as he could speak a little Hindustanee, gave us to understand that he had shot these birds in the course of about four hours. The birds were certainly very fine indeed of their kind; no snipe of such a size or in such admirable condition had ever been seen by even the most experienced shots amongst us, either in India or England. The gun with which he had killed his game was a wretched old single barrelled affair, with a very bad flint-lock, and the only shot he had was much larger than ordinary peas. The temptation proved too strong, at any rate for two of us, of which I was one. It seemed that if this half-caste camp-follower, with his almost useless gun, could make a good bag of snipe, we, with our percussion well-made fowling-pieces, would be able to do a very great deal better. As a matter of course the intended trip had to be kept a secret, for it was a direct violation of orders. But as none of the enemy had been seen for some days past, we thought that a venture to try what could be done was practicable, and determined to try our luck. My companion, and the

leader and director of the affair, was also a 40th man, "Horace " Seymour, a brother, if I am not mistaken, of General Sir Frank

Seymour, who holds high position as Master of Ceremonies to Her Majesty. Seymour-dead I am sorry to say long years ago, when he was quite a young man-was one of the kindest-hearted men, as well as one of the truest gentlemen and most gallant soldiers it has ever been my lot to meet with during a life of threescore years. He was a few years my senior, both in the service and in age, and took upon himself all the details of the expedition. We started as soon as morning parade was over, about 10 A.M. We had not more than four or five attendants, which for an Indian shooting party was unusually small; with a view to the possibility that we might have to beat a very hasty retreat, we took care to provide a tattoo, or pony, for each of our followers; we ourselves being, as a matter of course, also mounted. Having got quietly clear of the lines, twenty minutes or so sufficed to take us to the river. The latter was a broad, but very shallow stream, with a considerable stretch of marshy ground on each side. It was very evident that if the Afghans did surprise us, the sportsman who was shooting on the bank furthest from Candahar would run by far the greatest risk of being cut off. As a matter of course my friend Seymour, like the plucky fellow he was, volunteered, and for some time insisted that he should take the post of danger. But to this I would not listen, and declared that unless he drew lots for sides I would at once go back to the cantonments. After some little discussion we tossed up, and the side where as we thought the danger lay fell to me. We had arranged our plan of campaign against the snipe. We dismounted, each having our horse near us in charge of our respective "syces or native grooms, who were mounted. Of the three followers who remained, we each kept one to carry our extra ammunition, and to pick up the birds. The fifth, and last, we ordered to remain mounted, and to proceed slowly abreast of us, in order to beat up the snipe. That the latter were most plentiful, and by no means wild there could be no doubt whatever. During the ten minutes or so that we stood making the above arrangements, not fewer than a score of birds rose, all more or less close to us, and after a short flight settled down again, showing by their tameness that they had no fear or anxiety about being shot at. It must have been about eleven o'clock when we commenced operations, and I have never seen or heard of snipe in such quantities, or so large and in such admirable condition. As fast as we

could load and fire, we added to the number of the booty in our game bags. My friend Seymour, who was a first-rate shot, must have bagged at least fifty birds in about twice that number of minutes. Even I, whose shooting left much to be desired, whose aim was by no means certain, but very much the reverse, killed no fewer than a couple of dozen snipe before we had been an hour on the ground. As to labour or walking there was little or none. The birds rose at our very feet, and as fast, or even faster, than we could load, fresh victims took the place of those we had knocked over. If instead of two there had been half-a-dozen sportsmen, and each of these had behind him a couple of attendants with spare guns ready loaded, there would have been sport and to spare for all. The condition of the birds was also something wonderful. If our sport could have lasted some four or five hours, we should no doubt have made, both in quantity and quality, bags which would have been historical in the annals of sport. As it was, notwithstanding that we were ill-provided with ammunition, had no good markers of the game, and also had to keep an outlook for the Afghans, who might at any moment be down upon us, we made much larger bags than we could have done on any ground that it was ever my luck to see in India or England. We had got well to work, but halted for half-an-hour to eat a mouthful of lunch and smoke our cheroots, and had resumed our shooting, when a very unpleasant stoppage was put to our sport. Happening to look towards my friend Seymour, I saw that he was making signs to me in a most urgent manner. We were too far apart, the river being too wide, to hear what he said, but I came to the conclusion that he was in need of powder, or shot, or perhaps both. To the best of my ability I made signs asking what it was he needed; but he shook his head and made gestures with his hand, which showed that it was something else-evidently more seriousthat he wished me to notice. He had stopped shooting and was looking through his binocular glasses very earnestly at something on my side of the river. At last what turned out afterwards to be a happy thought seized me, and I resolved to mount my nag and cross to where he was, I had hardly gone fifty yards in that direction, when I got a practical intimation as to what he wanted me to do, and whence the danger he had seen was to be expected. All at once four or five bullets from behind whistled past me, causing me instantly to quicken my pace. I looked over

my shoulder as soon as I got some little distance, and saw half-a dozen Afghans armed to the teeth, making after me as fast as they could. Fortunately they were not mounted, so that I had the best of the case thus far. In a very few minutes I had joined Seymour, who greeted me with a "Now then, old fellow, we must ride for it, for there are a dozen or more of those ruffians following those who fired at you." Our first care was to see that none of our followers were left behind. These individuals had, however, taken alarm in time, and were making their way towards Candahar much in advance of ourselves. Not that we were slow to follow them, for the first shots from the Afghans had been quickly followed by others, and as we could now perceive, those who had fired at us were making their way to the river, and evidently intended, if they could, to capture us. they were on foot, we had the best of the race, and galloped on towards the cantonments, feeling certain that we could not be overtaken; but we had very soon reason to take a less cheerful view of our position.

As

The ground between the river and the cantonments was, as is very common in Afghanistan, undulating to a degree seldom seen in any other country. So much so is this the case, that the pathways or tracts— for they can hardly be called roads-look as if they were almost level, and hundreds of men or animals might be within a very short distance of each other, and yet have no idea whatever of the fact. We had just reached the top of a gently undulating piece of ground, and were congratulating ourselves at being within measurable distance of home, when all of a sudden we saw about fifty or sixty armed horsemen drawn up in line, and barring our further progress towards the cantonments. They were evidently waiting for us, and seemed certain they could capture us with ease. To be made a prisoner by any one is far from pleasant, but to be taken by the Afghans meant, as we knew, a cruel and prolonged death, so brutal in details that it could not be described in print. About a month previous to our expedition three young lads, private soldiers in the 40th Regiment, had, in defiance of orders, gone out on a wandering expedition. Their bodies were found the next day not more than a mile from the cantonments. They had been murdered; but, as the medical officer who examined the corpses said, they had evidently been tortured in the most brutal manner it was possible to imagine, before being put out of their pain.

Nor were these poor fellows the only

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example of what the Afghan savage will do in order to torment his enemy when living, and insult his corpse when dead. Such being the case, the prospect of being taken by the horsemen who were so evidently on the look-out for us was anything but pleasant. "There is only one hope for us," said my companion, shortly after he saw the men in front of us; we must do our best to ride through them, and make for the cantonments. Let us walk our horses quietly until close upon them, and then make a start for it. Our chance of escape is small, but it is the only one we have. If I fall you will write to my friends, and if you are killed I will do the same to yours." Seymour happened to have with him a brace of double-barrelled pistols. He drew these from his holsters and gave one to me, saying, "In any case let us sell our lives as dearly as we can, for to be killed on the spot would be infinitely better than to be taken prisoner by these cruel miscreants." We had one thing in our favour, although our horses were not by any means large they were both tolerably fleet, and would be able to hold their own for a certain distance. Another fact that Seymour reminded me of, was that at a certain ruin a little more than half way between where we were and the cantonments, there was very often a picket of Skinner's Horse, consisting of a havildar or sergeant, and a dozen or fifteen troopers. "If either of us escape," he said to me- -for it seemed far too much to hope for that both of us could by any possibility do so- "let him ride straight for that ruin, and bring down the picket of horsemen with him. It is just possible, although not very probable, that the one who remains with the Afghans may be saved." Afghans may be saved." Thus my plucky friend tried to make the best of what was, at the best, a very desperate position to be in. With a "now, good-bye, old fellow," from one to the other, we rode quietly on, having arranged that Seymour would give the word when we were to start off in a gallop, and try to shake off the enemy.

As we approached the Afghans they evidently thought we intended to give ourselves as prisoners. They shouted at, and abused us after their fashion, using the most brutal epithets towards us in a sort of mongrel Hindostanee, so that we might understand them the better. Half-a-dozen shots were fired at us but they went so wide of the mark that they were evidently meant to intimidate rather than absolutely to injure One thing as we found out afterwards, when comparing notes-struck us both, and gave us very much better hopes than we had

us.

before dared to entertain of getting away safe if it came to a race for life, the horses of the Afghans were very dusty, had evidently come a long way, and were, compared with our own, very much done up.

"Now for it," said Seymour, as we got within thirty yards or so of the line-a line formed by single horsemen some ten or a dozen yards apart "now for it, old fellow, turn sharp to the right when you get near them, and go as hard as you can." It is wonderful what effect the words of a coolheaded man have on desperate occasions, like the one I am endeavouring to describe. My plucky companion had-as he afterwards told me-seen at a glance that the Afghans were slowly closing in to the point opposite to which we were advancing; thus leaving, as it were, their flank exposed. Towards, or rather, at that flank we rode, spurring for dear life to get clear of the ruffianly gang. In far less time than it takes to relate what happened we were clear, and, what was better, we felt that we were increasing the distance between our pursuers and ourselves at every stride. The four or five horsemen

But

through whom we dashed, struck at us with sword and lance, but all to no purpose, neither our horses nor ourselves were touched. The enemy then tried to fire at us, but their doing this was so much in our favour. Every horseman when he fired had to stop his horse, and thus we had for the moment one pursuing enemy the less. what really saved us-for saved we were, and although poor Seymour did not live many years afterwards; I have survived forty odd years to tell the tale-was the superior freshness and speed of our horses. Half-an-hour's riding brought us safe to the cantonments. A few of our more intimate friends heard of the escape we had had, but as disobedience of orders in the field is a serious matter, the affair was never talked about. During a campaign like that of 1841-42 in Afghanistan, when every man feels that his life is in his hands, and no one can tell what a day may bring forth, the private adventures of either officers or men are quickly forgotten, no matter how interesting they may be to those, or to the friends of those, chiefly concerned.

"I CONSIDER," said our friend from Chicago, "it's about the most interesting thing I've seen since I've been on this side." He was speaking to a party of Newcastle citizens, of the old Norman Keep which stands in the midst of the busy city on the Tyne, and which, though black with the smoke, and worn by the storms and struggles of seven centuries, is still as stable and strong as when it was the New Castle on the Tyne, and gave its name to the town which lay under its protecting shadow. The citizens opened their eyes incredulously as the stranger from the far west delivered this opinion, pretty much as a group of Indians might have opened their eyes at a missionary who told them that he never tasted a better glass of fire-water in his life than one he had just drawn from the creek running through the village. What! This old black tower, which they passed by regardless every day of their lives, was the most interesting thing he had seen-he who had just seen London and Paris with all

their wonders! Was it delicate flattery, or deliberate irony? Neither it would seem, for he spoke with unaffected enthusiasm as he described the massive thickness of the walls, the ingenious contrivances for defence, the wealth of antique weapons, and other objects within the castle: the dungeon, the chapel, the king's chamber, the Roman altars and memorial tablets, the ancient British shields and urns and arms-in short a perfect treasure-house of relics, embodying and illustrating the history of the town, and of England from the earliest times. It was noticed that while he spoke, the listeners all nodded assent to what he said, as though perfectly familiar with the objects he described, though we have a shrewd suspicion that none of them had ever been in the Castle, except perhaps years ago as boys; for when he would have asked for further information on any point, it was just this particular point that all his listeners had not noticed during their visits, though where his knowledge was clear, they were unanimous