This was the lighter side of what was taking place during the early part of Lord Ripon’s reign. He, meanwhile, was giving anxious thought to the conclusion of the second Afghan campaign, having been sent out with instructions to reverse Lord Lytton’s policy and terminate the war as speedily as possible. Kandahar, which the latter had intended to hold, was given up, and the whole of Afghanistan secured to the Amir Abdul Rahman. The following, poem shall I call it, appeared about this time in one of the Indian papers signed “Bala.” A cutting of it was given to me, but I do not know from what paper, so cannot ask for permission to reproduce it, and can only trust I may be forgiven. THE VICEROY’S MESSAGE AND THE AMIR’S REPLY George Samuel, Marquis of Ripon, to the Afghan Chief wrote he, “God made me Viceroy of India, and thou knowest what I made thee, You rule by my will and pleasure, I care not to flatter or bribe, One pledge or promise I ask of thee; I pardon if all men know That up to this time thou hast not done much to prove thee our friend or foe. For the Russian is closing upon you, our faith in his promise is dead, He is massing his troops on your border, and is eager to push on ahead. Sharp is the word with the Muscovite, whose will is to plunder and spoil, His covetous eye is on India, and eke on your God-granted soil. Now while he stands for a moment still, there is only one thing to be done, I must send a commission to meet him, to show where your boundaries run, And you must promise safe escort (we know what the Afghans are!) And prove yourself friend to the English, and foe to the Russian Czar. So choose thou of all my civilians, or choose thou of all my host, One man to lead the commission, whom ever thou trustest most. Whom thy tribes have known and trusted, to pass through in safety and peace, And so shall thy borders be measured, and our feud with the Russians shall cease.”