to him the kingdom; he therefore determined to effect the ruin of the
vizier. The prince was not long in gaining over his father to his views;
and Futteh Khan being at Herat, Kamran seized on his person and put out
his eyes. In this state he kept him prisoner for about six months,
during which time the brothers of the vizier, irritated at the conduct
of Kamran, began to show signs of disaffection. Mahmood ordered Futteh
Khan to be brought before him in the court of his palace, and accusing
the brothers of the vizier of rebellion, directed him to bring them back
to a state of allegiance. The vizier, in the dreadful condition in which
he had been reduced, replied to the demand of Mahmood, "What can an old
and blind man do?" when, by the order of the king, the courtiers cut the
vizier to pieces, limb after limb: his nose and ears were hacked off;
neither did he receive his death blow until not a member of his person
was left upon which they could inflict torture. With the fall of his
vizier the king's power rapidly declined, and he fled to Herat,
virtually yielding up the rest of his kingdom. He died in 1829, his son,
Kamran, succeeding to the limited government of that portion only of his
former dominions. Upon the flight of Mahmood to Herat, the horrid murder
of their brother threw the whole of the Barukzye family into open
revolt, the eldest of whom, Azeem Khan, recalled Shah Shooja from his
exile. From the time Shah Shooja lost his throne, he had been first a
captive in the hands of the son of his former vizier, and then a
pensioner on the bounty of the Maharajah, at Lahore, who in return
extorted from him the famous diamond, "The Mountain of Light," and other
jewels, which he had brought away with him when he fled at Neemla. He
then made his escape from the Maharajah, and found protection and
support from the British government of India. Upon the summons from
Azeem Khan, Shah Shooja immediately hastened to Peshawur; where, before
his benefactor had time to meet him, he practically displayed his ideas
of royalty so unwisely, and so insulted some of the friends of the