discussed at the messes of the various regiments; and immense
indignation was felt at the force being kept cooped up in Candahar,
when the history of India recorded scores of examples of victories
won, by British troops, against greater odds than those now opposed
to them.

It must be said, however, that the native portion of the army, in
Candahar, was of very inferior fighting quality to that which
operated in Eastern Afghanistan. Those regiments were, for the most
part, either Ghoorkas, Sikhs, or Punjaubees--than whom no braver
men exist. The Ghoorkas are small, active men; mountaineers by
birth, and to whom war is a passion. The Sikhs and Punjaubees, upon
the contrary, are tall, stately men; proud of the historical
fighting powers of their race. They had fought with extreme bravery
against the English but, once conquered, they became true and
faithful subjects of the English crown; and it was their fidelity
and bravery which saved England, in the dark days of the mutiny.

The Bombay troops, upon the other hand, were drawn from races which
had long ceased to be warlike. They possessed none of the dash and
fire of the hardier troops; their organization was--and still
is--defective; and the system of officering them was radically bad.
The contrast between the two was strongly shown, in the conduct of
the Sikh and Ghoorka regiments with General Stewart, when attacked
by the sudden rush of the Ghazis, at Ahmed Khil; and that of the
Bombay Grenadiers and Jacob's Foot, under precisely similar
circumstances at Maiwand.

There is no doubt, however, that the main reason why General
Primrose did not sally out and give battle on the plain of Candahar
was that, in case of defeat, the populace of the city would
assuredly have closed their gates against the army; and that
nothing would have remained but a disastrous retreat across the
Kojak Pass--a retreat of which very few would ever have survived to
tell.

Their enforced idleness, in Candahar, made the time pass slowly and
heavily; and it was with the greatest joy that the garrison hailed
the entry of the columns of General Roberts.

Upon his arrival the general lost no time in reconnoitering the
position of the enemy. It was well chosen for defense His army was
encamped behind the range of hills known as the Baba-Wali Hills. A
road ran direct over these hills; and here a strong force was
stationed, supported by artillery in position. The last hill of the
range, on the so