might have been effected with little loss at any period of the siege.' This, indeed, was the course which Sturt, the Engineer, backed by many of his comrades, had recommended from the outset, and which the Sháh himself was known to desire. Within that fortress our troops could easily have held out for months, until help came from Pesháwar or from Sind. It was Vincent Eyre's firm belief that a timely movement into the citadel would have given us secure possession of Kábul itself. The risks involved in such a movement were as nothing compared with the obvious advantages.
This plan, however, found no favour with the military chiefs, whose puerile objections overbore the Envoy's earlier leanings towards Sturt's side. Shelton, an old soldier who had marched and fought under Moore and Wellington, and borne his part in the first Burmese war, could see at least that anything was better than sitting still in a weak ill-manned intrenchment; but he could think of nothing better than a speedy retreat on Jalálábád. Such a step, if promptly taken, might have averted a terrible disaster and saved our arms from untold disgrace. But Macnaghten resolutely set his face against any movement which involved the possible desertion of his good friend, the Sháh. Both he and Elphinstone had sent urgent messages to Sale at Gandamak for the help which Sale would not or could not give. Despairing of succour from that quarter, he wrote to Elphinstone on the 18th of November, that a retreat should be
