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159 the Indian frontier was to rest not upon the Indus but upon the command of the passes. The triumph was short-lived. The Indian Government once more, by painful experience, had to learn the lesson that the moment any ruler of Afghanistan is supported by any foreign power, he forfeits all the respect and allegiance of his fellow countrymen. How blind the Viceroy was to the real state of affairs may be seen from his statement that "the Afghans will like and respect us all the more for the thrashing we have given Sher Ali". A month after these words were written, the clouds were ominously gathering and the fate of Burnes and McNaughten awaited Sir Louis Cavagnari, who had entered Kabul as British Resident on July 24, 1879. On September 2, Cavagnari sent a telegram to the Viceroy containing the words: "All well". The next day the envoy and the whole of his escort were murderd in the Bala-Hissar. The jubilation with which Beaconsfield and Lytton regarded their handiwork was rudely disturbed. "The web of policy", wrote the Viceroy, "so carefully and patiently woven, had been rudely shattered". British forces were once again in motion and before the close of October, General Roberts was able to occupy Kabul. Yakoub Khan abdicated and was sent to India, where he resided until his death in 1923. Roberts' position in Kabul was far from secure. The Afghan People had once again risen in arms against the foreign invaders, led by different tribal leaders. In winter, there was fierce fighting in and around Kabul, and it was with great difficulty that Roberts kept his communications with India open. Indeed, for ten days, December 14 to 24, he was forced to abandon Kabul and the Bala-Hissar, and retire within the defences of Sherpur where he was besieged by 100,000 nationalist forces. To hold Afghanistan permanently was now out of the question. Lord