“We are in a mess here,” wrote Burnes to his brother-in-law, Major Holland, shortly afterwards. “Herat is besieged and may fall, and the Emperor of Russia has sent an Envoy to Kabul to offer Dost Mohammad Khan money to fight Ranjit Singh!! I could not believe my eyes or ears, but Captain Vitkevitch, for that is the agent’s name, arrived here with a blazing letter, three feet long, and sent immediately to pay his respects to myself.
