erally
have looked upon it as impregnable; but it is in reality a place of
great strength, both by nature and art, far more so than I had reason to
suppose from any description that I had received of it, although some
are from others in our own service who had seen it in their travels.

I was surprised to find a high rampart in good repair, built on a
scarped mound about thirty-five feet high, flanked by numerous towers,
and surrounded by a fausse brayze and a wet ditch, whilst the height of
the citadel covered the interior from the commanding fire of the hills
from the north, rendering it nugatory. In addition to this, screen walls
had been built before the gates, the ditch was filled with water, and
unfordable, and an outwork built on the right bank of the river so as to
command the bed of it.

It is therefore the more honourable to the troops, and must appear to
the enemy out of all calculation extraordinary, that a fortress and
citadel to the strength of which, for the last thirty years, they had
been adding something each year, and which had a garrison of 3500 Afghan
soldiers, commanded by Prince Mahomed Hyder, the son of Dost Mahomed
Khan, the ruler of the country, with a commanding number of guns, and
abundance of ammunition, and other stores, provisions, &c., for regular
siege, should have been taken by British science and British valour in
less than two hours from the time the attack was made, and the whole,
including the governor and garrison, should fall into our hands.

My dispatch of the 20th instant, from Nanee, will have made known to
your Lordship that the camps of his Majesty Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk, and
of Major-General Willshire, with the Bombay troops, had there joined me
in accordance with my desire, and the following morning we made our
march of twelve miles to Ghuzni, the line of march being over a fine
plain. The troops were disposed in a manner that would have enabled me
at any moment, had we been attacked, as was probable, from the large
bodies of troops moving on each side of us, to have placed them in
position to receive the enemy. They did not, however, appear; but on our
coming within range of the guns of the citadel and fortress of Ghuzni, a
sharp cannonade was opened on our leading column, together with a heavy
fire of musketry from behind garden walls, and temporary field-works
thrown up, as well as the strong outwork I have already alluded to,
which commanded the bed of the river from a