so greatly that I soon became insensible. Not my least danger was my attempt to enter Jellalabad in the darkness of the following night, when I was nearly being shot for an enemy by one of our own sentries; but, thank God, I was preserved through that as I have since been through many another danger.

CHAPTER XV.

JELLALABAD.

THE defence of Jellalabad began on the 12th of November, 1841, and lasted till the 7th of April, 1842. The fortress was found to be in a bad condition, and the people disaffected. The troops speedily erected parapets and works for the defence of the place, and had several satisfactory encounters with the enemy by the time December set in. In fulfilment of the contract entered into at Cabul, Sale was requested to give up the fortress to the leader of the Afghan rebellion, but feeling certain there was treachery, he decidedly refused to do so.

Besides being harassed by the enemy, there were the disturbances caused by continual earthquakes to contend against, which much injured the defences, even reducing some parts to ruins. But men under the command of General Sale were seldom down-hearted, the unconquerable spirit of their leader being infectious, and the works were soon rebuilt.

After the treacherous annihilation of the force which left Cabul for Jellalabad and never reached there, Akber Khan turned his attention to the destruction of Sale's brigade; but this was not so easily accomplished, although they were blockaded, and had constant skirmishes.

With the hope of ending this unpleasant state of things General Sale determined to attack the Afghan camp. On the morning of the 7th of April this was carried out, and proved a brilliant success. The opposition of the enemy was determined, but their loss was very severe, the field of battle being carpeted with their dead. This is a brief sketch of the defence of Jellalabad, which to this day is remembered as the one green spot of the disastrous Afghan campaign of 1840–41; and I was glad indeed to be able to partake in this final victory, and to find there, fighting by my side, my brother Curtis; though, alas! that day's laurels brought the cypress bough in its train.

But I am anticipating, and must return to the day on which I entered Jellalabad, and was received with open arms by my fellow-countrymen, among whom were many old friends, who felt that they had gained. me back from the very jaws of death. Almost the first hand to grasp mine was that of my brother Curtis; but he was so changed that I hardly knew him. He had been sent with despatches to General Sale from India, and had been attacked on the road, escaping by the "skin of his teeth" severely wounded. He had been too ill to return from whence he came. There he was, with the same open face I so well remember, but ghastly in its pallor; with a sabre wound across it scarcely healed. How glad we were to meet again, your uncle Curtis and I! But even in my joy at seeing him there came upon me a fear that he looked like a man whom death has marked for his own. I found the scar in his face was the least serious of his wounds, a bullet having passed through his lungs. Still the doctor

assured us it would heal if he were kept quiet, but on no account must he have any excitement. Pleasurable excitement, however, seldom does harm, and the sight of me cheered my brother greatly.

Upon me was the horror of uncertainty about my wife's fate, and many another there had to bear the same trouble, from our general downwards. Sir Robert Sale's wife and daughter were among the ladies of whom the sirdar had taken possession, under the guise of friendship, to make them prisoners and use them as a means for the subjection of our troops. This was proved by the fact that General Sale was informed that unless he surrendered, his wife and his daughter would be murdered. But the noble soldier did not flinch. He knew his duty to his country, and did it. He was a fond husband and father, but not for that did he waver. He declined to give the fortress up-all honour be to his memory! And we whose wives were also in the tyrant's power, knowing that if the blood of one woman was in this instance shed, it would be carried through to the bitter end, even we knew that he was right, though our souls sickened at the thought of our dear ones and what they must be suffering, even if at last their lives were spared.

The knowledge of it all well-nigh destroyed my reason at times. My wife, my precious darling at the mercy of our bitter enemy! It was maddening to think of, and yet it was utterly impossible to put the thought aside. How thankful I was for every danger and difficulty which came in my way, which, for the time at least, distracted my mind from that one idea, which was searing my brain like a flame of fire.

CHAPTER XVI.

LADY KENYON'S CAPTIVITY (TOLD BY HERSELF).

"IT is always such a pain to your dear father to recall those days of sadness in which we were parted, that I have undertaken to write this much for him. You may fancy, my dear boy, how my heart sank when I learnt that we were to go away, we women, under the protection of Mahomed Akber Khan. Yet, as the others went quietly, and almost cheerfully, I could not refuse, nor did I know that such a refusal would be in accordance with my husband's wishes. At any rate, with him absent I could not remain there, one woman all alone; so, although my heart misgave me, I went with the others and made no complaint. We were taken to the Khoord Cabul forts, where the sirdar, with the hostages, had arrived before us. Some of the married ladies were happy enough, having their husbands with them; and besides, we had a few wounded officers among us. We were put into three dark and filthy rooms, with only the outlet of their one small strong door. But what did I care? I was parted from my husband, and each hour I felt weaker and more ill; and I had horror and disgust on me from the glances of bold admiration which had