ablished, and Bombay had become
an important settlement, with the result that, in the early part of
this century, the distance between the Russian and English possessions
had been diminished to less than 2,000 miles.

Our progress was now more rapid. While Russia was laboriously
crossing a barren desert, the North-West Provinces, the Carnatic, the
territories of the Peshwa, Sind, and the Punjab, successively came
under our rule, and by 1850 we had extended our dominions to the foot
of the mountains beyond the Indus.

Russia by this time, having overcome the difficulties of the desert,
had established herself at Aralsk, near the junction of the Syr Daria
with the waters of Lake Aral; so that in fifty years the distance
between the outposts of the two advancing Powers in Asia had been
reduced to about 1,000 miles.

Repeated successful wars with Persia, and our desertion of that Power
owing to the conviction that we could no longer defend her against
the Russians, had practically placed her at their mercy, and they had
induced Persia, in 1837, to undertake the siege of Herat. At the
same time, the Russian Ambassador at Teheran had despatched Captain
Vitkievitch to Kabul with letters from himself and from the Czar
to the Amir, in the hope of getting Dost Mahomed Khan to join the
Russians and Persians in their alliance against the English.

Vitkievitch's arrival at Kabul towards the end of 1837 had been
anticipated by Captain (afterwards Sir Alexander) Burnes, who had been
sent three months before by Lord Auckland on a Mission to the Amir,
ostensibly to improve our commercial relations with the Afghans, but
in reality to prevent them from joining the Russo-Persian alliance.

Burnes had been most cordially received by Dost Mahomed, who hoped,
with the help of the Indian Government, to recover the district of
Peshawar, which had been wrested from him by the Sikhs. Vitkievitch's
reception was proportionately discouraging, and for some weeks he
could not obtain an interview with the Amir.

The Dost's hopes, however, were not fulfilled. We declined to give him
any assistance towards regaining possession of Peshawar or defending
his dominions, should his refusal to join with Persia and Russia draw
down upon him the enmity of those Powers.

Vitkievitch, who had been patiently biding his time, was now taken
into favour by the Amir, who accorded him a reception which fully
compensated for the neglect with which he had previou