fire was opened below the bastions on either side of the 72nd Gateway, the flashes from the rifles and matchlocks showing that a large body of men had crept up within 200 yards. The bullets whistled harmlessly over the walls and barracks, our men still remaining quiet; as, in the semi-darkness and with the mist still hanging over the fields, nothing could be seen distinctly 100 yards away. We were waiting for the development of the real attack, and shortly before six o’clock it came. From beyond Bemaru and the eastern trenches and walls came a roar of voices so loud and menacing that it seemed as if an army 50,000 strong were charging down upon our thin line of men. Led by their ghazis, the main body of Afghans hidden in the villages and orchards on the eastern side of Sherpur, had rushed out in one dense mob and filled the air with their cry of “_Allah-il-Allah!_” The roar surged forward as their line advanced, but it was answered by such a roll of musketry that it was drowned for an instant, and then merged into the general din, which told us that our men with Martinis and Sniders were holding their own against the attacking force. For ten minutes the roar was continuous, and then the musketry fire dwindled down to occasional volleys and scattered shots from the south-eastern bastion to the Bemaru Heights, where the mountain guns were waiting for daylight before opening fire. The eastern defences were in charge of Brigadier-General Hugh Gough at the eastern end of the heights, and Colonel Jenkins of the Guides from the trenches on the slopes of the hill to the corner bastion facing Siah Sung. The troops defending the position were the Guides’ Infantry in the trenches about Bemaru, 100 men of the 28th P.I. in the native hospital, and 67th Foot. The latter were reinforced by two companies of the 92nd Highlanders from the Reserve. When the attack was made, it was still so dark and misty that little could be seen in front of the trenches, and the orders were to reserve fire until the advancing masses of Afghans could be clearly made out. Then the men of the 28th were the first to open fire, and they fired volley after volley at such long ranges that they effectually scared away even the ghazis from their neighbourhood. That the fire was not otherwise effective was proved by only one dead body being found afterwards in front of their lines. General Hugh Gough from the hillside, hearing such a tremendous fusillade below, fired star-shells, which burst in the air and showed the attacking force in the fields and orchards nearly 1,000 yards away. The Afghans opened fire in turn, but their shooting was wild and ineffective, though the bullets dropped dangerously about cantonments. The native hospital seemed the point towards which the enemy worked, taking it perhaps as a landmark to guide them; but their right flank was directed towards Bemaru and the trenches on the slopes of the hill. The Guides joined in the fusillade,