nd that would have made him a firm
friend, but in our dealings with Abdur Rahman we rushed into the other
extreme, and showered favours upon him; in fact, we made too much
of him, and allowed him to get out of hand. The result was that he
mistook the patience and forbearance with which we bore his fits
of temper for weakness, and was encouraged in an overweening and
altogether unjustifiable idea of his own importance; he considered
that he ought to be treated as the equal of the Shah of Persia, and
keenly resented not being allowed to communicate direct with Her
Majesty's Ministers.

In the hope of being able to establish more satisfactory relations
with the Amir, Lord Lansdowne invited him to come to India, and,
on His Highness pleading that his country was in too disturbed a
condition to admit of his leaving it, the Viceroy expressed his
willingness to meet him on the frontier, but Abdur Rahman evaded this
arrangement also under one pretext or another. It was at last proposed
to send me with a Mission as far as Jalalabad, a proposal I gladly
accepted, for I was sanguine enough to hope that, by personal
explanation, I should be able to remove the suspicions which the
Amir evidently entertained as to the motives for our action on the
frontier, and to convince him that our help in the time of his need
must depend upon our mutually agreeing in what manner that help should
be given, and on arrangements being completed beforehand to enable our
troops to be rapidly transported to the threatened points.

Abdur Rahman agreed to receive me in the autumn, and expressed
pleasure at the prospect of meeting me, but eventually he apparently
became alarmed at the size of the escort by which the Government
thought it necessary that I, as Commander-in-Chief, should be
accompanied; and, as the time approached for the Mission to start,
he informed Lord Lansdowne that his health would not permit of his
undertaking the journey to Jalalabad.

Thus the opportunity was lost to which I had looked forward as a
chance for settling many vexed questions, and I am afraid that there
has been very little improvement in our relations with Abdur Rahman
since then, and that we are no nearer the completion of our plans for
the defence of his kingdom than we were four years ago[9]--a defence
which (and this cannot be too strongly impressed upon the Amir) it
would be impossible for us to aid him to carry through unless Kabul
and Kandahar are brought in