s. The argument was a strong one; and it
may readily be granted that good government, civilisation, and commerce
have benefited by the extension of the _pax Russica_ over the
slave-hunting Turkomans and the inert tribes of Siberia.

Nevertheless, as Gortchakoff's circular expressed the intention of
refraining from conquest for the sake of conquest, the irritation in
England became very great when the conquest of Tashkend, and thereafter
of Samarcand, was ascribed, apparently on good grounds, to the ambition
of the Russian commanders, Tchernaieff and Kaufmann respectively. On the
news of the capture of Samarcand reaching London, the Russian ambassador
hastened to assure the British Cabinet that his master did not intend to
retain his conquest. Nevertheless, it was retained. The doctrine of
political necessity proved to be as expansive as Russia's boundaries;
and, after the rapid growth of the Indian Empire under Lord Dalhousie,
the British Government could not deny the force of the plea.

This mighty stride forward brought Russia to the northern bounds of
Afghanistan, a land which was thenceforth to be the central knot of
diplomatic problems of vast magnitude. It will therefore be well, in
beginning our survey of a question which was to test the efficacy of
autocracy and democracy in international affairs, to gain some notion
of the physical and political conditions of the life of that people.

As generally happens in a mountainous region in the midst of a great
continent, their country exhibits various strata of conquest and
settlement. The northern district, sloping towards Turkestan, is
inhabited mainly by Turkomans who have not yet given up their roving
habits. The rugged hill country bordering on the Punjab is held by
Pathans and Ghilzais, who are said by some to be of the same stock as
the Afghans. On the other hand, a well-marked local legend identifies
the Afghans proper with the lost ten tribes of Israel; and those who
love to speculate on that elusive and delusive subject may long use
their ingenuity in speculating whether the oft-quoted text as to the
chosen people possessing the gates of their enemies is more applicable
to the sea-faring and sea-holding Anglo-Saxons or to the
pass-holding Afghans.

That elevated plateau, ridged with lofty mountains and furrowed with
long clefts, has seen Turkomans, Persians, and many other races sweep
over it; and the mixture of these and other races, perhaps including
er