with his neighbour, for in the summer of 1868, he
sent Shadi Mirza, one of his nephews, to Vernoe, requesting that he
might be permitted to go on to Tashkent, to place before the governor of
Turkestan certain proposals from his master for a complete understanding
with Russia. Simultaneously with the despatch of Shadi Mirza by Yakoob
Beg, a Russian officer, Captain Reinthal, was commissioned by General
Kolpakovsky, the governor of Kuldja, to proceed to Kashgar and demand
the surrender of some Kirghiz robbers, who, from within Yakoob Beg's
dominion, had sallied forth to pillage Russian merchants. They had also
seized several inhabitants of Khokand and the Naryn district; and the
Russian government demanded the unconditional surrender of these
individuals as her subjects. Captain Reinthal was instructed to make
these two demands in a peremptory way, and to convince the new
government that Russia would not permit any infraction of the spirit of
the treaties concluded with the old government under the Chinese.
Captain Reinthal was received in a sufficiently hospitable manner, but
his movements were scrupulously restricted to the city. He did not, on
this occasion, learn much of importance about the country, but he was
impressed favourably by the appearance of such of the army as he saw.
The Kirghiz robbers were captured by the order of Yakoob Beg, but he
stoutly refused to surrender them. The Russian prisoners were also kept
in honourable confinement as a guarantee for the safe return of Shadi
Mirza. They were, however, permitted to return to Russian territory when
it became known that Shadi Mirza was progressing favourably with his
mission to Tashkent. Captain Reinthal accomplished little or nothing on
this embassade, and had to report, on his return to his superior, the
strange tidings that the new power was resolved to play an independent
part in Asia, and to answer defiance with defiance, and threat with
threat. This report must have seemed scarcely credible, but there is no
doubt that Captain Reinthal advised, as the result of his experience,
the adoption of a lenient and friendly policy towards the new-comer.
This concession to a Central Asian despot was not agreeable at
head-quarters, and the question was shelved for the time. Shadi Mirza,
who had been detained at Vernoe, was at last permitted to continue his
journey to Tashkent, where he found General Kaufmann absent in Europe.
Instructions were then issued to send hi