From an Engraving.]
TEMPLE BAR IN 1837.
This, the western gate of the City of London, was built by Sir Christopher Wren in 1670. Above it, on iron spikes, used to be displayed the heads and limbs of executed traitors. Up to 1851 it was the custom to close the gates when the Sovereign was to enter the City in State, until a herald had knocked upon them with his bâton, when the procession, after some parley, was admitted. The Bar was removed in 1878.
But there were many claimants to the throne of the Amir. Among these was Abdurrahman, who lived in Turkestan, subsidised and protected by Russia. This prince appeared in Northern Afghanistan in March 1880, and a formidable rising took place in support of his claim. On April 19 General Stewart encountered a force, about 15,000 strong, at Ahmed Kel, and a fierce encounter took place. For some time it seemed as if the furious onslaught of the Afghans must prevail; the British infantry were driven back; it was only by means of his artillery that Stewart saved the day and the enemy was routed in the end.
In this position affairs in Afghanistan must be left, in order to trace the momentous course of events at home, which wrought a remarkable change on the character and object of the war. But before reverting to the fortunes of the Beaconsfield Ministry, it is necessary to make mention of another and more lamentable war which took place in another quarter of the globe simultaneously with the Afghan Campaign. The River Tugela formed the boundary between the British Colony of Natal and the territory of the Zulus, the most powerful nationality in South Africa. Land disputes between the Zulus and the Dutch Boers of the Transvaal Republic had been brewing for many years, and at last hostilities broke out between them. |The Zulu War.| The Boers were badly beaten by a young Zulu chief called Sikukuni, and both sides appealed to the British Government to intervene. Sir Theophilus Shepstone was sent into the Transvaal to adjudicate between them, and sought to solve the problem by annexing the whole territory, not without the consent of the Republican leaders, the disputed land being handed over to the Zulus. This settlement might have proved effective but for the outrageous behaviour of Cetchwayo, King of the Zulus, who suddenly developed a most violent temper, probably arising from a growing taste for British rum. Even then, had matters been left in the hands of Sir Henry Bulwer, the Governor of Natal, matters might have been maintained on a friendly footing. Unfortunately, Sir Bartle Frere, the Queen’s High Commissioner in South Africa, saw grounds for apprehension in the immense force maintained by Cetchwayo on the frontier, and began moving troops from Cape Colony into Natal. He endeavoured to exact guarantees from the Zulu king of an extremely onerous nature, fixing January 11, 1879, as the limit for their acceptance. Sir Bartle Frere’s action can only be justified by the supposition that war was, sooner or later, inevitable, a belief which neither Sir Henry Bulwer nor the Colonial Office entertained. Cetchwayo allowed the prescribed day to pass without complying with the High Commissioner’s demands. On the very next day British troops under Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand, the force advancing in three columns, under Colonel Glyn, Colonel Pearson, and Colonel Durnford. Colonel Durnford’s column occupied a camp at Isandhlana on January 21; and the following day, being attacked by about 20,000 Zulus, were almost annihilated. |Disaster of Isandhlana.| The 1st Battalion of the 24th Foot was destroyed, thirty officers and 500 men being slain. Colonel Durnford and Colonel Pulleine were killed, and immense quantities of stores fell into the hands of the enemy. It was a terrible retribution for having underrated the resources and numbers of the enemy and for imperfectly reconnoitring his position. A similar disaster very nearly befell Colonel Pearson’s column. On the day after the tragedy at Isandhlana he was beleaguered at the mission station of Ekowe. For more than two months his little garrison of 1,200 held out against incessant assaults by immense numbers of Zulus, till, in the last days of March, provisions had run dangerously low. On April 1 Lord Chelmsford, having received reinforcements from England, advanced with 4,000 British troops and 2,000 friendly natives, defeated the besiegers, and raised the siege.
PRINCES STREET, EDINBURGH, IN 1897.
The Scott Monument was erected in 1840–1844 from designs by George Kemp; the statue is by Steele. Between it and the Castle are seen the Royal Institution (built in 1836) and the National Gallery (1850–1858).
From a Photograph] [by Lawrence, Dublin.
SACKVILLE STREET, DUBLIN, IN 1897.