On March 8th a special service was held in the Temple Church to commemorate the completion of the seventh century since its consecration. [Footnote: See _ante_, p. 322.] The Master preached the sermon on the text Psalm xc. 1--'Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.' [Footnote: The _Times_ of March 9th gave a pretty full abstract of the sermon.] Reeve, who was present, considered it one of Dr. Vaughan's happiest efforts, and wrote to say how greatly he had been pleased by it. Vaughan's acknowledgement of the kindly feeling which dictated the letter has otherwise no particular interest. _From Sir Alfred Lyall_ [Footnote: At that time lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces.] _March 31st_.--When we closed in 1881 the second act of the Affghan drama, I calculated on an interval of at least five years; and I thought that if we could get a joint commission to settle some boundary that Russia could provisionally agree to, the interval might be longer. But the Boundary Commission, which I first pressed for in 1881, has propelled, instead of delaying, the crisis. I suppose our Egyptian entanglement seemed to Russia to offer an irresistible opportunity; at any rate, the Russians have some reason for precipitating the issue between us, and at this moment we may be on the verge of a war. It is very curious to find ourselves so close to the collision that we have been so long trying to fend off, and to realise that a land invasion of India by a European Power, which has been the nightmare of Anglo-Indian statesmen since Bonaparte seized Egypt in 1798, is now no longer a matter of remote speculation. The Russian menace is, however, already producing one result that I had always anticipated; it is evoking among all substantial classes of Indians a strong desire to support the British Government in India. You may remember that in my paper of January 1884 I wrote that the natives would, in times of rumoured invasion, hold by any Power that could keep the gates of India against Central Asia; and this is now strongly showing itself. The adventurous classes are ready to enlist and follow our colours; the propertied classes look to us as the representatives of order and security; the educated classes depend wholly upon our system; if the Russians calculate on any serious rising against us in India, they will be mistaken. Of course a series of reverses would change the whole face of affairs.... We are very fortunate in having Lord Dufferin here at this time. Everyone likes him, and has confidence in him. He is clearly a Viceroy who listens to everyone, but makes up his own mind independently. And Lady Dufferin charms us all....