raged there in the first months of the ensuing year. Nizam-ul-Mulk was by no means a pattern ruler, but, though deficient in courage, and unpopular with many of his people on account of his avaricious habits, was in many respects a good ruler, and he was certainly a firm ally of the British Government. He had been to India, had mixed with British officers, and had suffered adversity. At the same time he had no wild ambitions to lead him astray. His ruling passion was love of sport; and as long as he had the support of the Government of India to guard him from outside troubles, he felt that he could indulge his inclinations in that respect to his heart's content. The result, both to ourselves and to the Chitralis, was certainly satisfactory. The Chitralis were free from any gross oppression or misgovernment, they could enjoy life in their easy-going way as they would wish, and they could be ruled by their own ruler. At the same time, we had never to fear that the Mehtar would not be guided by us in any matter relating to his external affairs. When, therefore, on the first day of January of the following year Nizam-ul-Mulk was shot dead while out hawking, by the directions of his half-brother, Amir-ul-Mulk, a characterless youth of about nineteen, every one who knew the country felt that a grave misfortune had occurred. At a stroke this miserable boy was able to sweep away the good results of two years' careful thought on the part of the Government and of their local officers, and to transform a peaceful state into the scene of a desperate struggle. The youth who had shattered the promising fabric, which had slowly been set up, was a son of the old Mehtar by one of his four legitimate wives, and Nizam-ul-Mulk would have liked to have murdered him, knowing that if he did not do so he ran the risk of himself being murdered by the youth. But knowing how averse the British authorities were to these murders, he had refrained from carrying out what he knew to be a prudent measure of self-defence, and he had now suffered for his leniency and his loyalty to the wishes of his allies. [Illustration: THE WESTMINSTER ABBEY OF CHITRAL _Where the Mehtars are buried_]