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40 pass before I shall feel myself abreast of current events.'

Not many weeks had passed before the new Governor-General perceived that his hopes of a peaceful reign were little likely to be realised. The danger threatened from Persia. England was pledged to the independence of Herát; but that independence had always been precarious, more than once actually endangered. In 1852 a Persian force had seized the place, and nothing but the peremptory interference of the English Government had induced her to abandon the project of annexation. The Crimean War seemed to the Teheran politicians to afford an opportunity for reviving a favourite design. Material for a quarrel was soon forthcoming. Mr. Murray, the British representative, found it impossible to remain any longer at his post. A Persian army was presently on the march against Herát. English diplomacy had said its last word. War had become imminent.

Lord Canning watched with regret the lessening chances of a pacific settlement. 'Do not be afraid,' he wrote to the President of the Indian Board in April, 'of my being unduly hasty to punish Persia. Unless the Shah should steam up the Húglí with Murray swinging at his yard-arm, I hope that we shall be able to keep the peace until your instructions arrive.' The prospects of peace, however, became daily fainter. 'My hope of an accommodation,' the Governor-General wrote to the President in August, 'has almost died out. I contemplate the prospect of