that he had passed for an interpretership. "I was so delighted," he wrote, "that I could hardly contain myself."

His regiment was ordered to Poonah, and here he began the study of the Persian language, because he had been told that it would greatly improve his Hindostanee, and perhaps add greatly to his future prospects in India ; and he prosecuted the study with such great effect that after a few months he was able to derive intense gratification from the perusal of the Persian poets, whose compositions he declared to be for "sound and everything like a beautiful song."

In January 1823, Alexander Burnes was gazetted as Interpreter to the 1st Extra Battalion, and some months later, when little more than eighteen years old, the regimental adjutancy was offered to him, with a salary of fifty to sixty guineas a month. The offer excited him greatly, and he wrote:- -"Behold your son Alexander the most fortunate man on earth for his years ! "

From this time his progress was rapid, his knowledge of Persian brought him under the notice of the Government, and obtained for him the post of Persian interpreter to an army of 3000 men ; this force did not advance, and in the absence of other duty Alexander employed his time in surveying and geography; and produced a map of an unknown track, for which he was rewarded by a good appointment. He afterwards volunteered to explore the Indus, then almost unknown, and this delighted the men in authority; and in the autumn of 1829 he started upon this hazardous undertaking, but was recalled for political reasons; in the two following years he executed with success this "delicate and hazardous duty;" and on his return the Governor-General, Lord William Bentinck, received the young traveller with characteristic

N

kindness, and listened with the deepest interest to the account of his adventures.

PART II.

After a few weeks of pleasant sojourning in the viceregal court, Alexander Burnes started upon a still longer and more hazardous journey, an exploration which was eventually to obtain for him fame and fortune; the design being to cross the Indus and Indian Caucasus, and proceed through Cabool and Independent Tartary, to the countries bordering on the Oxus and Caspian. In the middle of March 1832, the travellers forded the Indus, near Attock, took leave of their Sikh friends, and became guests of the Afghans. From the Afghan capital Burnes wrote on May 10th to his mother :

:

"My journey has been more prosperous than my most sanguine expectations could have anticipated; and instead of jealousy and suspicion, we have hitherto been feasted and caressed by the chiefs of the country. I thought Peshawur a delightful place till I came to Cabool; truly this is a Paradise. . ... We travel from hence in ten days with a caravan, and shall reach Bokhara on the 1st July. . . . If the road from Bokhara to the Caspian is interrupted by war, of which there is a chance, I shall be obliged to pass into Persia. . . The countries north of the Oxus are at present in a tranquil state, and I do not despair of reaching Istamboul in safety. They may seize me and sell me for a slave, but no one will attack me for my riches. Never was there a more humble being seen. I have no tent, no chair or table, no bed, and my clothes altogether amount to the value of one pound sterling. You would disown your son, if you saw him. My dress is purely Asiatic, and since I came from Cabool, has been changed to that of the lowest

... ·

orders of the people. My head is shaved of its brown. locks, and my beard dyed black grieves, as the Persian poets have it, for the departed beauty of youth. I now eat my meals with my hands, and greasy digits they are, though I must say in justification, that I wash before and after meals. I frequently sleep under a tree, but if a villager will take compassion on me, I enter his house. I never conceal that I am a European, and I have as yet found the character advantageous to my comfort. might assume all the habits and religion of the Mohammedans since I can now speak Persian as my own language, but I should have less liberty and less enjoyment in an assumed garb. The people know me by the name of Sekundur, which is the Persian for Alexander, and a magnanimous name it is. With all my assumed poverty I have a bag of ducats round my waist, and bills for as much money as I choose to draw. I gird my loins and put on my sword on all occasions, though I freely admit I would make more use of silver and gold than of cold steel. When I go into a company I put my hand on my heart, and say with all humility to the master of the house, 'Peace be unto thee,' according to custom, and then I squat myself down on the ground. This familiarity has given me an insight into the character of the people, which I never otherwise could have acquired. I tell them about steam-engines, armies, ships, medicine, and all the wonders of Europe; and in return they enlighten me regarding the customs of their country, its history, state, factions, trade, &c., I all the time appearing indifferent.

"The people of the country are kind-hearted and hospitable. They have no prejudice against a Christian, and none against our nation. . . . At present I am living with a most amiable man, a nawab named Jubulur Khan,

brother to the chief of Cabool, and he feeds me and my companion daily. Our breakfast consists of pillau (rice and meat), vegetables, stews, and preserves, and finishes with fruit, of which there is yet abundance, though it is ten months old. Apples, pears, quinces, and even melons, are preserved, and as for the grapes they are delicious. They are kept in small boxes in cotton, and are preserved throughout the year. I am well mounted on a good horse, in case I should find it necessary to take to my heels. My whole baggage on earth goes on one mule, over which my servant sits super-cargo; and with all this long enumeration of my condition, and the entire sacrifice of all the comforts of civilised life, I never was in better spirits. . . . I cannot tell you how my heart leaps to see all the trees and plants of my native land growing around me in this country."

Of their host Jubulur Khan, Burnes writes, "I never took leave of an Asiatic with more regret than I left this worthy man. He seemed to live for every one but himself. He was known afterwards among our people as "the Good Nawab," and the humanity of his nature was conspicuous to the last.

The travellers now continued their journey, and traversed the stupendous range of the Hindoo Koosh or Indian Caucasus. At Bokhara they received from the Vizier all possible kindness and hospitality. "Sekundur," he said to Burnes on his departure, "I have sent for you to ask if any one has molested you in this city, or taken money from you in my name, and if you leave us

contented."

From Bokhara the route of the travellers lay across the great Turkoman desert, thence to the shore of the Caspian, returning by way of Teheran, from which point they moved down the Persian Gulf, took ship

there for Bombay, and afterwards proceeded to Calcutta.

At Calcutta Alexander Burnes laid before the Governor-General an account of his journey, and was sent home to communicate to the authorities in England the information which he had obtained. All this was truly delightful. Never in the midst of his wanderings in strange places and among strange people, had he forgotten the old home in Montrose, and the familiar faces of the household there; never had his heart ceased to yearn for the renewal in the flesh of those dear old family associations. He liked India, he loved his work, he gloried in the career before him; but the good home feeling was ever fresh in his heart, and he was continually thinking of what would be said and thought. at Montrose.

In London he was received with acclamations, in fact, as he himself said, "I am killed with honours and kindness." The magnates of the land were contending for the privilege of a little conversation with "Bokhara Burnes." And to crown all, the king-William IV.commanded the presence of the Bombay Lieutenant at the Brighton Pavilion, and listened to the story of his travels and the exposition of his views for nearly an hour and a half.

Thus did the young soldier and traveller return to his home after an absence of twelve years.

From Kaye's "INDIAN HEROES.”