story and geography of north-western India and the
adjacent countries, at that time very imperfectly known. His proposal in
1829 to undertake a journey of exploration through the valley of the Indus
was not carried out owing to political apprehensions; but in 1831 he was
sent to Lahore with a present of horses from King William IV. to Maharaja
Ranjit Singh and took advantage of the opportunity for extensive
investigations. In the following years his travels were extended through
Afghanistan across the Hindu Kush to [v.04 p.0851] Bokhara and Persia. The
narrative which he published on his visit to England in 1834 added
immensely to contemporary knowledge of the countries traversed, and was one
of the most popular books of the time. The first edition brought the author
the sum of L800, and his services were recognized not only by the Royal
Geographical Society of London, but also by that of Paris. Soon after his
return to India in 1835 he was appointed to the court of Sind to secure a
treaty for the navigation of the Indus; and in 1836 he undertook a
political mission to Dost Mahommed at Kabul. He advised Lord Auckland to
support Dost Mahommed on the throne of Kabul, but the viceroy preferred to
follow the opinion of Sir William Macnaghten and reinstated Shah Shuja,
thus leading up to the disasters of the first Afghan War. On the
restoration of Shah Shuja in 1839, he became regular political agent at
Kabul, and remained there till his assassination in 1841 (on the 2nd of
November), during the heat of an insurrection. The calmness with which he
continued at his post, long after the imminence of his danger was apparent,
gives an heroic colouring to the close of an honourable and devoted life.
It came to light in 1861 that some of Burnes' despatches from Kabul in 1839
had been altered, so as to convey opinions opposite to his, but Lord
Palmerston refused after such a lapse of time to grant the inquiry demanded
in the House of Commons. A narrative of his later labours was published in
1842 under the title of _Cabool_.

See Sir J.W. Kaye, _Lives of Indian Officers_ (1889).

BURNET, GILBERT (1643-1715), English bishop and historian, was born in
Edinburgh on the 18th of September 1643, of an ancient and distinguished
Scottish house. He was the youngest son of Robert Burnet (1592-1661), who
at the Restoration became a lord of session with the title of Lord Crimond.
Robert Burnet had refused to sign the Scottish Covenant, although