men and horses were worn out with hunger, thirst, and fatigue, when on the 26th of April the main body encamped with Keane before the city of Kandahár[1].
On the previous day Sháh Shujá had made his public entry into the city where lay entombed the remains of his famous grandfather, Ahmad Sháh. Dost Muhammad's three brothers had lost heart, and fled without striking one blow. The Saduzai prince, according to Macnaghten, 'was received with feelings nearly amounting to adoration.' Something must be allowed for the Envoy's obstinate belief in Shujá's popularity, a belief shared by few of Keane's officers; for the winning influence of British gold, for the impulsion of mere curiosity, and for Afghán readiness to worship the rising sun. On the 8th of May, a few days after the arrival of the Bombay column, a grand parade of our troops outside the city was got up in honour of the royal exile whom British bayonets had brought back in triumph to the capital of Western Afghánistán. As the Sháh ascended the raised platform whence he and his retainers were to witness the review, the long line of troops presented arms, and the batteries thundered a salute of 101 guns. Seated under a gorgeous canopy, and surrounded by British officers, the new king might enjoy the spectacle of guns and regiments marching past. But people noted that barely a hundred Afghans came out of the city to take part in the ceremony of installing their long
- ↑ Kaye; Durand; Sir O. Lawrence's Forty-three Years in India.
