nglishmen who knew
Cabul pointed out to the governor-general the folly of his course, lord
Auckland would listen to no one, and the expedition which was to finish
in disaster was prepared.

Havelock's old friend sir Willoughby Cotton was given the command of the
part of the army destined for Afghanistan itself, while the other half
remained as a reserve in the Punjaub. Cotton appointed Havelock his
aide-de-camp, greatly to his delight, and at the end of December 1838
the march began. As far as the Indus things went smoothly enough, but
after that difficulties crowded in upon them. They had deserts to cross,
and not enough animals to drag their guns and waggons, food grew scarcer
and scarcer, and at length the general ordered 'famine rations' to be
served out. It was winter also, and the country was high and bitterly
cold, and April was nearly at its close before the city of Candahar was
reached. Here sickness broke out among the troops, and they were obliged
to wait in the town till the crops had ripened and they could get proper
supplies for their march to Cabul.

The first step towards winning Cabul was the capture of Ghuzni, a strong
fortress lying two hundred and seventy miles to the north of Candahar.
This was carried by assault during the night, the only gate not walled
up being blown open by the English. In the rush into the town which
followed, colonel Sale was thrown on the ground while struggling
desperately with a huge native, who was standing over him.

'Do me the favour to pass your sword through the body of the infidel,'
cried Sale, politely, to captain Kershaw, who had just come up. The
captain obligingly did as he was asked, and the Afghan fell dead beside
his foe.

[Illustration: The captain obligingly did as he was asked.]

Early in August the British army reached the town of Cabul, on the river
of the same name, and found that the Dost Mohammed had fled into the
mountains of the Hindu Koosh, leaving the city ready to welcome the
British. As everything was quiet, and the army was to remain in Cabul
for the winter, Havelock obtained permission to go back to Serampore,
near Calcutta, in the hope of bringing out a book he had been writing
about the march across the Indus. Unluckily this book, like the two
others he wrote, proved a failure; which was the more unfortunate as, in
order to get it published, Havelock had been obliged to refuse sir
Willoughby Cotton's offer of a Persian interpretership. Bu