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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of At the Court of the Amir, by John Alfred Gray
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: At the Court of the Amir
+       A Narrative
+
+Author: John Alfred Gray
+
+Release Date: December 9, 2013 [EBook #44395]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AT THE COURT OF THE AMIR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Henry Flower and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+AT THE COURT OF THE AMIR
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration:
+
+The Amir of Afghanistan, from a painting by the Author.]
+
+
+
+
+  AT THE
+  COURT OF THE AMIR
+
+  A NARRATIVE
+
+  BY
+  JOHN ALFRED GRAY, M.B. LOND.
+  LATE SURGEON TO H.H. THE AMIR OF AFGHANISTAN
+
+  [Illustration: HAND-MADE AFGHAN RUPEE
+  STAMPED "AMIR ABDURRAHMAN."]
+
+  LONDON
+  RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON
+  Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen
+  1895
+  [_All Rights Reserved_]
+
+
+
+
+THE APOLOGY.
+
+
+I would not have thought of inflicting a book on my long-suffering
+fellow-countrymen, but for the wish expressed by my publishers: for
+
+  "Every fool describes in these bright days
+  His wondrous journey to some Foreign Court."
+
+In Afghanistan however, difficult of access, and hence comparatively
+unknown, there have been, since that strong man Amir Abdurrahman
+ascended the Throne, such remarkable changes in the administration of
+the country, and such strides towards civilization, that it was thought
+a narrative of life there, throwing, possibly, some light on the
+personality of the Monarch, and on the "bent" of the people, might be
+of general interest.
+
+The book has been written in the intervals of professional work, and,
+with its shortcomings of diction and style, the only merit it can
+claim--that of "local colour"--is due to the fact that it was compiled
+from the letters I wrote from Afghanistan to her who is now my wife.
+
+  WADHAM LODGE,
+  UXBRIDGE ROAD,
+  EALING, W.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+PAGE
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+ON THE ROAD TO KABUL
+
+The start and the wherefore. Unsettled condition of Afghanistan.
+Departure from Peshawur. Jumrud Fort and the Watch-tower. The Afghan
+guard. The Khyber defile. Eccentricities of Rosinante. Lunch at Ali
+Musjid. Pathan villages. Pathans, their appearance and customs. Arrival
+at Landi-Kotal Serai. The Shenwari country. Caravan of Traders. Dakka.
+Dangers of the Kabul River. Mussaks. Camp at Bassawal. Chahardeh.
+Mountain road by the river. Distant view of Jelalabad.
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+ARRIVAL AT KABUL
+
+Arrival at Jelalabad, Reception by the Governor. The Palace. The
+Town. The Plain. Quarters in the Guest Pavilion. The friendly Khan.
+Tattang and the gunpowder factory. The Royal gardens at Nimla. The
+Suffed Koh Mountains. Arboreal distribution in Afghanistan. Gundamuk.
+Assassination of Cavagnari: details of the plot. The "Red bridge."
+Commencement of mountainous ascent to Kabul. Jigdilik. Massacre of
+British in 1837. Former dangers of the valley of Katasang. Enterprising
+peasants. Tomb in the Sei Baba valley. Burial customs. The Lataband
+Pass and the Iron Cage. Distant view of Kabul. The Amir's projected
+road at Lataband. The approach to Kabul. The Lahore Gate.
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE RECEPTION
+
+Position of Kabul. Its defences. Amir's opinion of the Founders of
+his Capital. Entry into Kabul. Aspect of the Townsmen. Arrival at the
+Arm Foundry. Visit of the Afghan Official. His appearance. Absence of
+Amir. To be received at the Palace by the Princes. The approach to
+the Palace. The Amir's Pavilion. Page boys. The Princes Habibullah
+and Nasrullah. The Reception. Internal arrangement of Pavilion. The
+earthquake. Abrupt ending of the Reception. Other buildings in the
+Palace.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+AFGHAN HOSPITALS
+
+The first attendance at an Afghan Hospital. Its arrangement. The
+drugs and instruments. The Patients. An Interpreter presents himself.
+Dispensers. Marvellous recovery of the Page boy. Its effect. Buildings
+near the Hospital. The Durbar Hall and Guest House. The Sherpur
+Military Hospital. Lord Roberts and the Sherpur Cantonment. Adventure
+with an Afghan soldier. Arrangement of the In-patient Hospital. Diet of
+Patients. Attendance of Hakims. Storekeepers and their ways.
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+AFGHAN DWELLINGS
+
+The Residential streets of Kabul. Their appearance and arrangement. The
+Police. Criminal Punishments. The Houses. Their internal arrangement.
+Precautions to ensure privacy. Manner of building for the rich and
+for the poor. Effect of rain and earthquake. The warming of houses in
+winter. Afternoon teas. Bath-houses. The Afghan bath.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE KABUL BAZAARS
+
+The unpopular Governor and his toothache. The meeting in the Erg
+Bazaar. Appearance of the Kabul Bazaars. The shops and their
+contents. Boots, shoes, and cobblers. Copper workers. The tinning of
+cooking pots. Impromptu tobacco pipes. Tobacco smoking by the Royal
+Family. Silk and cotton. "Bargaining." "Restaurants." Tea drinking.
+Confectioners. The baker's oven. Flour mills. The butcher's shop.
+Postins and their cost. Furs. Ironmongers. Arms. "The German sword."
+The Afghan tulwar. Rifles and pistols. Bows. Silver and gold-smiths.
+Caps and turbans. Embroidery. Grocers: tea, sugar, soap, and candles,
+and where they come from. Fruiterers. Tailors. "The Railway Guard."
+Costume of the Kabuli townsmen. Personal effect of the Amir on costume.
+Drug shops.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+ETHICS
+
+Sir S. Pyne's adventure in the Kabul river. The Tower on the bank.
+Minars of Alexander. Mahomedan Mosques. The cry of the Priest. Prayers
+and Religious Processions. Afghan conception of God. Religious and
+non-Religious Afghans. The schoolhouse and the lessons. Priests.
+Seyids: descendants of the Prophet. The lunatic Seyid. The Hafiz who
+was fined. The Dipsomaniac. The Chief of the Police and his ways.
+Danger of prescribing for a prisoner. "The Thing that walks at night."
+The end of the Naib. Death-bed services. The Governor of Bamian.
+Courtship and weddings among the Afghans. The formal proposal by a
+Superior Officer. The wedding of Prince Habibullah. Priests as healers
+of the sick. The "Evil Eye." Ghosts.
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+AFGHAN SURGEONS AND PHYSICIANS
+
+Accidents from machinery in motion. The "dressers of wounds" in
+Afghanistan. Their methods of treating wounds, and the results of
+the same. The "Barber surgeons." Tooth drawing and bleeding. The
+Hindustani "Doctors." "Eye Doctors" and their work. The Hakims or
+Native Physicians. Treatment of disease by the People. Aspect in which
+European Physicians are viewed by the different Classes.
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE MARCH TO TURKESTAN
+
+Jealousy and its results. Sport among the Afghans. The "Sportsmen"
+among the mountains. Order to join the Amir in Turkestan. Preparations.
+Camp at Chiltan. The Banquet. The Nautch dance. Among the Hindu Kush
+mountains. The camp in the Hazara country. Courtesy of Jan Mahomed.
+Mountain paths. Iron spring. The underground river and the Amir's
+offer. The Red mountain and the Deserted City. Camp in the Valley
+of Bamian. The English prisoners of 1837. The Petrified Dragon. The
+Colossal Idols: The Cave-dwellers. The Pass of the "Tooth-breaker."
+Ghuzniguk. Story of Ishak's rebellion. Tash Kurghan: the Shave and the
+Hospital. "The Valley of Death." The Plains of Turkestan and the heat
+thereof. The Mirage. Arrival at Mazar. The House. Story of the death of
+Amir Shere Ali.
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE AMIR
+
+To be "presented." The Palace Gardens. The Amir. Questions asked by
+His Highness. Punishment of rebellious in Afghanistan. Asiatic motives
+from European standpoint. Amir's arrangement for my safety. Bazaars
+and houses of Mazar. The Suburbs. The Military Hospital. The Patients.
+Afghan appreciation of European medical treatment. The two chief
+Hakims. Hindustani intrigue. Amir's sense of Justice. The Trial. A
+Courtier's influence. The guard of the Amir's table.
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+LIFE IN TURKESTAN
+
+General Nassir Khan. The Belgian's Request. Escape of Allah Nur:
+his Capture. The Amir's Decision. The Turkestan Commander-in-Chief.
+Operation on Allah Nur. The Armenian's Comments. Illness of Hadji Jan
+Mahomed. Excursion to Takh-ta-Pul. Fortune-telling among the Afghans.
+The Policeman-cook and the Lunch. Balkh. The Mosque at Mazar-i-Sherif
+and its Miracles. Called to His Highness. The Cool-air Pavilion.
+Illness of the British Agent: the Armenian's advice: the Answer from
+the Amir. Brigadier Hadji-Gul Khan. Afghan Endurance of Suffering.
+Euclid and Cards.
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE INHABITANTS OF AFGHANISTAN
+
+Slaves in Kabul: prisoners of war and others. The frequent rebellions.
+The different nationalities in Afghanistan. Origin of the Afghan
+race. The Turk Sabaktakin. Mahmud of Ghuzni. Buddhism displaced by
+Mahomedanism. Border Afghans. Duranis. Ghilzais. Founding of a Dynasty
+of Afghan Kings. Ahmad Shah. Timur Shah. The Sons of Timur. Zaman Shah.
+The Afghan "Warwick." Execution of Painda. Rebellion of the Shah's
+brother. Mahmud Shah. Another brother rebels. Shujah-ul-Mulk crowned:
+deposed by the Barakzai chief. Exile of Shujah. The Koh-i-nur. The
+Puppet-king and the Barakzai Wazir. Murder of the Wazir. The Wazir's
+brother becomes Amir. The first Afghan War. Rule of Dost Mahomed: A
+Standing Army established. Accession of Shere Ali. Amir Afzal Khan.
+Abdurrahman. The Ghilzais. Border Pathans, Afridis, Shinwaris. The
+Hazaras. Turkomans, Usbaks. The Christian Church.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE BIRTH OF PRINCE MAHOMED OMER
+
+Hazara slaves, Kaffir slaves, and others. Court Pages. High positions
+occupied by slaves. Price of slaves. Wife and children of Hazara
+Chief in slavery. Illness of the Hostage of an Afghan Chief. Abdur
+Rashid down with fever. Own illness and the aches thereof. The
+British Agent's postal arrangements. Postage in Afghanistan. Power of
+annoying possessed by Interpreters. The Chief Bugler. The Page boy
+and the Sirdar. The Page boy and the Amir. The uproar on September
+15th. Congratulations to the Sultana. The crowd outside the Harem
+Serai. The Sultana's reply. Matter of succession complicated. Surgical
+operations. The Priest with a blemish: his request. The Amir's reply.
+The operation. The Mirza's comments.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE REARING OF THE INFANT PRINCE
+
+The Amir's autograph letter. Medical consultation concerning the
+rearing of the Prince. Conflicting customs of the Orient and the
+Occident. Conservative nurses. The "Hakim fair to see": the patient.
+Lessons in Persian and in English. Portrait painting. Dietary
+difficulties. Gracious acts of His Highness. Amir's letter of
+condolence. The Royal visit by deputy. Congratulations of the British
+Agent. Accident to the favourite Page. The khirgar. Attempt upon the
+life of the Amir. An earthquake. Afghan appreciation of pictures and
+jokes. Generosity of the Amir. The first winter Durbar. The Royal
+costume. The Amir's question: the Parable. The dining-room. The guests.
+The breakfast. The press of State business. Amir's thoughtful kindness.
+Visit to the Commander-in-Chief. The ride to the Hospital. Adventure
+with the "fool horse." Hospital patients in winter. "Two much and three
+much."
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+THE AMIR'S CONVERSATION
+
+Sent for to the Palace. Fragility of Europeans. The Amir's postin. The
+Bedchamber. The King's evening costume. The guests. The Amir's illness.
+School in the Durbar-room. The Amir's conversation. Khans: the water
+supply of London: plurality of wives. The Amir is bled. His Highness a
+physician in Turkestan. Drawing. The Amir's portrait. Amir's choice of
+costume. The Shah of Persia. Portraits of the Shah. The rupee and the
+Queen's portrait. Cigar holders. Concerning Afghan hillmen. Dinner.
+The Amir's domestic habits. Amir's consideration for subordinates.
+European customs. The new Kabul. Native drugs. Soup and beef tea. The
+paper trick. The Kafir Page. European correspondence. Vaccination of
+Prince Mahomed Omer. Afghan women. The Prince's house. The Prince. The
+operation. Abdul Wahid. Afghan desire for vaccination. The Armenian's
+useful sagacity. An Afghan superstition. The Agent's secretary. His
+comments upon Bret Harte: the meaning of "By Jove." European "divorce"
+from an Oriental point of view.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+THE FIRST SITTING
+
+Morning prayers. Early tea. Breakfast. The first sitting for the Amir's
+portrait. The Courtier's criticism. The Amir's rebuke. The Deputation.
+Conversation with the Amir: the climate of England and Australia. Awe
+of the Courtiers. The favourite Page boy's privileges. Serious incident
+at a sitting. The Captain's toothache. Present of a rifle from the
+Amir. The shooting expedition and its dangers. Courage of the "Burma
+policeman." The eccentric rider. The singing Afghan. The scenery of
+Mazar. Salutations in the market place. The meeting with Prince Amin
+Ullah.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+THE AMIR AS AN ART CRITIC
+
+The "villain" cook. Mental effect of a cold in the head. Portrait of
+the infant Prince. The Amir's reflection in the window. The Amir as
+an Art Critic. Salaams to the King's Portrait. The Amir's toilet. A
+shooting expedition. The mud of Mazar. The Armenian's comments. The
+sample case of cigars. The Amir's handwriting. A sunset.
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE LEVEE ON NEW YEAR'S DAY
+
+The Mahomedan New Year's Eve. Presents. The "Izzat" medal. Coinage
+of Afghanistan: Rupees: Pice: the "Tilla." Levee on New Year's Day.
+The guests: Maleks and Governors: the British Agent. Presents to the
+Amir. Chess as played in Afghanistan. The Amir as a Pathologist. The
+steam-engine pony. Sight-seeing with the Princes. The Temple of Mazar.
+The booths at the entrance to the Temple. The Park of Mazar. Native
+music. The Afghan dance. Kabuli wrestling.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE YOUNG PRINCES
+
+Infant Prince as the Sultana's Deputy. Reception by the Prince:
+the pavilion: the guard: costume. Visit to Prince Hafiz Ullah. Her
+Majesty's photograph. Lunch with the Prince in the Palace Gardens. The
+"Royal manner." The mother of Prince Hafiz Ullah. A drawing of the
+Prince. Adventure with the fat General. The power of the Amir's name.
+The Amir as a Consulting Surgeon. The Fast of Ramazan. Overdose of
+tobacco. The Evening Durbar. Danger if a King fasts; "Marazan." The
+Durbar. The surgical operation: attempted vendetta. Flowers in the
+Palace. The Usbak's artistic design. The Amir's diary. The present of
+sugar. Official notice of return march to Kabul. The "Cracker." End of
+Ramazan. The guard of Amazons.
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+THE RETURN JOURNEY TO KABUL
+
+Loading up. The first camp. Tropical heat: the whirlwind. The Amir's
+khirgar. Scanty rations. Midnight marching. Dangers in the pitchy
+darkness. Impure water. Daybreak. The second camp. Lost on the plains.
+Naibabad: the rain. The march to Tash Kurghan. The Khulm Pass. Sight
+seeing from the house tops. The Durbar. Punishment of the unjust
+townsfolk. The Amir's health. The eclipse of the sun. On the march
+again: the dust: jammed in the valleys. Ghuzniguk. An Afghan "Good
+Samaritan." A poisonous sting: the Amir's remedy. A block on the road.
+The tiger valley. Haibuk. Adventure with the elephant: the somnolent
+Afghan. The aqueduct. Discomforts of a camp in an orchard.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE ARRIVAL IN KABUL
+
+The Durbar in Haibuk. "Rustom's throne." The ancient caves. The
+wounded Governor: Kabul dentistry. The erring Hakim. Courtesy of His
+Highness. "Microbes." Elephant riding. A grateful peasant. Dangerous
+passes. The Durbar at Shush-Burjah: the hot river. Accidents on the
+"Tooth-breaker." Akrab-Abad. The camp of the camels. A pet dog. Evil
+results of "temper." A cheap banquet. Coal. Arrival of Englishmen.
+Durbar at Kalai Kasi. The Amir again as a physician. Approach to Kabul.
+Reception by the Princes. The "High garden." The Pavilion. Malek the
+Page. Arrival of the Amir. The Reception. Arrival at the Workshops.
+Hospitality.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+LIFE IN KABUL
+
+The Id festival: salaam to the Amir: the educating of Afghans. Products
+of the Workshops. Royal lunch at Endekki: the Invitation: the Brougham:
+the Palace: the Drawing-room: the Piano. Evening illumination of
+gardens: dinner. The unreliable Interpreter. A night at the Palace.
+Commencement of intrigue. Gifts to the Amir. The rebuke to Prince
+Nasrullah. Noah's Ark: the nodding images. Illness again: the Amir's
+advice. An afternoon call. Illness of the Amir: the visit: His
+Highness's question: the Amir's good breeding. An earthquake. Report on
+Kabul brandy: Mr. Pyne's opinion: the Amir's perplexity. The Hindu's
+objection. The mysterious midnight noise: the solution of the mystery.
+Mumps. The wedding of Prince Nasrullah: invitation from the Sultana:
+the Fete: a band of pipers. The Prince and his bride. Overwork at the
+Hospital. One of the troubles of a Ruler. Scenery near Bala Hissar. The
+Amir duck shooting. The sick chief: his imprudence: his amusements. The
+will of the clan.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+THE AMIR'S ILLNESS
+
+Sent for to the Palace. The Amir's health: the Liniment. Questions
+in chemistry. Early breakfast at the Palace. A courtier as a waiter.
+Called to Prince Aziz Ullah: his illness. Illness of the Deputy
+Commander-in-Chief. A visit to Prince Mahomed Omer. The Queen's
+brougham: her Reverend Uncle. The Jelalabad official and his promise.
+Dinner with Mr. Pyne. Death of Prince Aziz Ullah. The Chief ill again.
+The weather. The silence at the Palace. December 2nd: the Call. The
+town at night. Illness of the Amir: former treatment. The Amir's
+prayer. Bulletins. Called to the Sultana. The Harem. The Sultana's
+illness. A poisonous dose. Improvement of Amir: and of Sultana. The
+innocent plot. A present. Musicians. Amir and Sultana as patients.
+Annoyances by an interpreter. A shock. The Sultana's letter. News from
+Malek, the Page. In the Harem: the Armenian's comments. Quarters in the
+Prince's quadrangle. The Amir's relapse.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+ROYAL PATIENTS
+
+The Hindustani Interpreter. The Amir as a host: the Sultana as hostess.
+The Amir's photograph. The Sultana's name. Sirdar, the girl-boy. The
+sleeping draught. The tea cup and the thermometer. The Christmas
+Dinner: the guests: the menu: music. The Amir's fainting attack: the
+remedy: effect on the physician: the substituted remedy: further
+effect on the physician; the Amir's prescription. The Amir's alarming
+nervous symptoms. Hospital cases. Duties of the Princes Habibullah and
+Nasrullah.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+A KABUL WINTER
+
+Hindustani intrigue: information from the British Agent: offer of
+assistance: measures for protection: further intrigue. The "Royal
+manner." The two factions: Habibullah: Mahomed Omer. The question of
+succession. Return to the City House and English Society: the cold of
+Kabul. The naked beggar boy. The old Kabul bridge. The question of
+"bleeding." Disbanding of a Shiah regiment. Amir's advice to his sons.
+Improvement in Amir's health. The Hindustani again: Sabbath. The Afghan
+noble as workshop superintendent. New Year sports. The grand stand:
+the crowd: refreshments. Horse-racing: collisions. Tent pegging and
+its dangers. Lemon slicing. Displays of horsemanship. Amir's absence
+from the sports. The Nau Roz levee. Salaam to the Sultana. Amir in the
+Salaam Khana: reception of the Maleks and merchants: presents. The
+Princes standing before the Amir. Reception of the English engineers:
+the "White-beard:" his age: the Amir's surprise.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+A KABUL SPRING
+
+Spring clothing: a grateful Afghan. Poison bowls. A haunted house:
+the skeleton in the garden. Increase of patients. Called to the
+Palace: Amir's costume. Troubles of a Ruler: Secretary in disgrace.
+Amir's plans for the future. Geologists in the service. Occidental v.
+Oriental. Mercantile commissions. The Armenian's leave. The locusts.
+Prince Mahomed Omer and his Lala. The Palace gardens. A military
+Durbar. Amir's thoughtfulness. A portrait. Amir's opinion of his
+people: education of his soldiers. The arrest: murder of the prisoner:
+the Amir's decision. Ramazan. Rising of the river. The Id Festival. The
+Physician's plans: the Amir's comment. Prince Habibullah's portrait:
+Prince Nasrullah's portrait: his remark.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+ON LEAVE
+
+The last Durbar: the Amir's remark: a wedding present. The journey
+down. An awful day: "difficult hot." Exhaustion. The work of the
+locusts. The breeding establishment: a study in colour. An illegal
+march. Simla. The Despatch. Dinners and dances. The study of character.
+The Armenian in London. Return to India.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+THE WELCOME TO KABUL
+
+Pathan rifle thieves. Dacca. The midnight alarm: the melee. "Bally
+rascals." The next morning. The terror of the Amir's name. Running
+postmen. Kabul post. Armenian's opinion of London. Changes in the
+English "staff." Visitors: letters. Lady doctor's application. Salaam
+to the Amir. His Highness's welcome. The military Durbar. Presents. The
+new British Agent. Visit to the Sultana. Salaam to Prince Habibullah.
+Another visit to the Amir: his appreciation of scenic effect. His
+answer to the lady doctor's application.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+THE CHOLERA
+
+Ramazan. The outbreak of Cholera. Precautions. Notices in the bazaars.
+Rapid spread. European medicine. The overwhelming dread. Processions
+to the Mosque. Oriental fatalism. The shadow of death. Removal of the
+Court to the mountains. Closure of the workshops. The Armenian as an
+Inspector. The Prince's chamberlain. Death of the Dabier-ul-Mulk.
+The mortality. An incident. Afghan appreciation of British motives.
+Arrival of an Englishman with thoroughbred horses. Dying out of the
+Cholera. Visit to Paghman. The soldiers in chains. Anger of the Amir.
+An earthquake: the Amir as a scientist. Illness of the "Keeper of the
+Carpets." Arrival of Mr. Pyne and other Englishmen. Another visit to
+the Amir. His Highness's description of a Royal illness. Dinner from
+the Palace: the sealed dishes.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+ANOTHER WINTER
+
+A political Durbar: tact of the Amir: a friendly soldier. The banquet.
+Return of the Cholera. Essay on "Precautionary measures." Health of
+the English in Kabul. Report to the Amir: His Highness's kindness.
+Visit to Prince Nasrullah: a "worm-eaten" tooth: the operation. Erring
+Englishmen: the Amir's remedy. Amir as a chess-player. The far-sighted
+Armenian: winter quarters. End of the Cholera. Invasion of Small-pox
+and Erysipelas. To Paghman: Portrait of Prince Mahomed Omer: present
+from the Sultana. The sketch of the Prince: resemblance to the Amir:
+his costume: arrangement of the group. Present of a slave boy. A lesson
+in courtesy to the Page boys. Native dinners. Visit of Mr. Pyne: the
+sandali. Completion of the portrait. The Amir's remark. Sultana's gift
+to the Paghmanis: Afghan mode of slaughtering. Ride to Kabul: the mud.
+The Afghan Agent: the "Gnat." Sent for to the Palace: a Landscape
+Commission: postponement of leave; disappointment: the Amir's remedy.
+Christmas dinner at the shops. The "Health of Her Majesty."
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+ADIEU TO KABUL
+
+Afghan artists. Presentation of the little Prince's portrait. His
+quarters at the Palace. The Prince as a host. A walk in the Kabul
+Bazaars. Before the Amir: landscapes. A fresh commission. The "Gnat's"
+interpreting. The Amir's answer. Art pupils before the Amir. The
+Amir's kindly remark. The miner's dog: shattered nerves and surgical
+operations. The worries of Kabul life. To Paghman: the glens: the spy.
+Sketches. Before the Amir. A fresh Commission. Adieux.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+THE ARGUMENT
+
+Afghan court life from an English standpoint. The Afghan Courtier.
+Untrustworthiness. Intrigue. Question of "cause" or "consequence."
+Possibility of raising the moral plane. The Amir's obvious opinion.
+His Highness's great work. Certain evils. Former condition of the
+middle classes: present condition: opening of the eyes: comparison with
+similar class in India. Progress in Afghanistan. Civilizing effect of
+the Amir. Dost Mahomed's rule: comparison with Abdurrahman. Altered
+condition of country. The Amir's civilizing measures: drastic measures.
+Peaceful measures: education: the teaching of handicrafts: of art: the
+spreading of knowledge: prizes for good or original work. Personal
+fascination of the Amir.
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+  TROPHY OF AFGHAN ARMS
+
+  PORTRAIT OF HIS HIGHNESS THE AMIR (from a Painting by the Author)
+
+  OBVERSE OF HAND-MADE CABUL RUPEE OF THE PRESENT REIGN
+
+  COLOSSAL FIGURE "SA-MAMA" IN THE BAMIAN VALLEY (from a Photograph
+  by Arthur Collins, F.G.S.)
+
+  THE AUTHOR AND THE ARMENIAN INTERPRETER (from a Photograph by
+  Van der Weyde)
+
+  PRINCE MAHOMED OMER AND HIS "COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF" (from a Photograph
+  by Arthur Collins, F.G.S.)
+
+
+
+
+AT THE COURT OF THE AMIR.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+ON THE ROAD TO KABUL.
+
+    The start and the wherefore. Unsettled condition of Afghanistan.
+    Departure from Peshawur. Jumrud Fort and the Watch-tower, The
+    Afghan guard. The Khyber defile. Eccentricities of Rosinante.
+    Lunch at Ali Musjid. Pathan villages. Pathans, their appearance
+    and customs. Arrival at Landi Kotal Serai. The Shenwari country.
+    Caravan of Traders. Dakka. Dangers of the Kabul River, Mussaks.
+    Camp at Bassawal. Chahardeh. Mountain road by the river. Distant
+    view of Jelalabad.
+
+
+It was with no small amount of pleasurable excitement that I donned
+the Afghan turban, and with Sir Salter (then Mr.) Pyne and two other
+English engineers, started from Peshawur for Kabul to enter the service
+of the Amir.
+
+I had made the acquaintance of Mr. Pyne in London, where I was holding
+a medical appointment. He had returned to England, after his first
+short visit to Kabul, with orders from the Amir to buy machinery,
+procure engineering assistants, and engage the services of an English
+surgeon.
+
+I gathered from his yarns that, for Europeans at the present day, life
+among the Afghans was likely to be a somewhat different thing from what
+it was a few years ago.
+
+In the reigns of Dost Mahomed and Shere Ali it was simply an
+impossibility for a European to take up a permanent residence in
+Afghanistan; in fact, except for occasional political missions, none
+was allowed to enter the country.
+
+We do, indeed, hear of one or two, travelling in disguise, who managed
+to gather valuable facts concerning the country and its inhabitants,
+but we learn from their narratives that the hardships they were forced
+to undergo were appalling. For ages it has been a proverb among the
+natives of India that he who goes to Kabul carries his life in his
+hand. They say, "Trust a cobra, but never an Afghan;" and there is no
+denying the fact that the people of Afghanistan have had the credit
+from time immemorial of being a turbulent nation of highway robbers
+and murderers. If there were any chance of plunder they spared not
+even their co-religionists, and, being fanatical Mahomedans, they were
+particularly "down" on any unfortunate traveller suspected of being a
+Feringhi and an infidel.
+
+A busy professional life following upon the engrossing studies of
+Hospital and University, had given me neither time nor any particular
+inducement to read about Afghanistan, so that when I left England I
+knew very little about the country. However, on reaching India I found
+plenty of people ready enough to enlighten me.
+
+I heard, from officers who had been on active service in Afghanistan
+in 1880, of the treacherous and vindictive nature of the people; of
+the danger when they were in Kabul of walking in the town except in a
+party of six or seven; of the men who, even taking this precaution,
+had been stabbed. I heard, too, a great deal about the assassination
+of the British envoy in Kabul, Sir Louis Cavagnari, in 1879; of the
+highway dangers of the two hundred mile ride from the British frontier
+to Kabul, and, remembering that we were about to trust our lives
+absolutely for some years to the good faith of these proverbially
+treacherous Afghans, it struck me we were in for an experience that was
+likely to be exciting.
+
+What actually happened I will relate.
+
+[Sidenote: Departure from Peshawur.]
+
+We were all ready to start from Peshawur one day in March, 1889. The
+Amir's agent, a stout and genial old Afghan, named Abdul Khalik Khan,
+had provided us with turbans, tents, and horses; we had received
+permits from the Government to cross the frontier, and our baggage was
+being loaded on the pack-horses when a telegram arrived directing us to
+await further orders. We were informed that there was fighting among
+the Pathans in the Khyber, and we were to postpone our departure till
+it was over. This seemed a healthy commencement.
+
+Three days afterwards, however, we were allowed to proceed. The first
+day's march was short, simply from the cantonment across the dusty
+Peshawur plain to Jumrud fort: about nine miles. The fort, originally
+built by the Sikhs in 1837, has been repaired and strengthened by the
+British, who now hold it. It is said, however, to be of no very great
+value: one reason being because of the possibility of its water supply
+being cut off at any time by the Afghan hillmen.
+
+The servants, with the pack-horses and tents, took up their quarters
+in the courtyard, but we four accompanied the officer in charge up to
+his rooms in the watch-tower. From here we had an extensive view over
+the Peshawur valley. The entry to the Khyber was about three miles off
+to the west. We had left the cantonment early in the afternoon, and
+soon after our arrival it became dark. We dined, and were thinking of
+turning in to prepare for our long hot ride on the morrow, when we
+found, instead, that we should have to turn out.
+
+The fort was not an hotel, and had no sleeping accommodation to offer
+us. I looked at Pyne. The baggage was down there in the courtyard,
+somewhere in the dark, and our bedding with it. Should we----? No!
+we would roll up our coats for pillows, throw our ulsters over us,
+and sleep on the platform outside the tower. We were proud to do it.
+But--the expression "bed and board" appealed to my feelings ever
+afterwards.
+
+We had an early breakfast.
+
+In the morning we found the guard of Afghan cavalry waiting for
+us in the travellers' caravansary near the fort. There were about
+forty troopers--"the Amir's tag-rag," as the British subalterns
+disrespectfully called them.
+
+They were rough-looking men, dressed more or less alike, with turbans,
+tunics, trousers, and long boots. Each had a carbine slung over his
+shoulder and a sword at his side. A cloak or a rug was rolled up in
+front of the saddle and a couple of saddle bags strapped behind.
+They carried no tents. I cannot say they looked smart, but they
+looked useful. Of the individual men some were rather Jewish in type,
+good-looking fellows--these were Afghans; and one or two had high
+cheek-bones and small eyes--they were Hazaras. All were very sunburnt,
+and very few wore beards. This last fact surprised me; I had thought
+that Mahomedans never shaved the beard.
+
+It is, however, not at all an uncommon thing for soldiers and officers
+in the Afghan army to shave all but the moustache; but I learnt that in
+a Kabul court of law, when it is necessary in swearing to lay the hand
+upon the beard, that a soldier's oath is not taken: he has no beard to
+swear by.
+
+[Sidenote: The Khyber Pass.]
+
+The baggage was sent off under a guard of about a dozen troopers. We
+followed with the rest and entered the gorge of the Khyber. It is a
+holiday trip now-a-days to ride or drive into the Pass. You obtain a
+permit from the Frontier Political Officer, and are provided with a
+guard of two native cavalrymen, who conduct you through the Pass as far
+as Landi Kotal. This is allowed, however, on only two days in the week,
+Mondays and Thursdays--the Koffla, or merchant days. The Khyber Pathans
+have entered into an agreement with the Government that for the payment
+of a certain subsidy they will keep the Pass open on those two days:
+will forbear to rob travellers and merchants. Doubtless it is an act of
+great self-denial on their part, but they keep faith.
+
+Riding along the Pass one sees posted at intervals, on rock or peak,
+the Pathan sentry keeping guard. He is a fine-looking man, as he stands
+silently in his robes: tall, with black beard and moustache. His head
+may be shaven or his long hair hang in ringlets over his shoulders. He
+wears a little skull cap with, may be, a blue turban wound carelessly
+round it: a loose vest reaching the knee is confined at the waist by
+the ample folds of the cummerbund, or waist shawl. In this is thrust
+a pistol or two and a big ugly-looking knife. The short trousers of
+cotton, reaching half-way down the leg, are loose and not confined
+at the ankle like the townsman's "pyjamas." On the feet he wears the
+Afghan shoe with curved up toe: the ornamental chapli or sandal of
+leather: or one neatly made of straw. Draped with classical beauty
+around the shoulders is the large blue cotton lungi, or cloak. If the
+morning is cold the sheepskin postin is worn, the sleeves of which
+reach to the elbow. If it rain the postin is reversed, and the wool
+being outside shoots the wet off. The next day's sun dries it.
+
+The rifle he has may be an old English musket, a Martini-Henry or a
+native jezail, but, whatever it be, in the Pathan's hands it is deadly.
+
+The scenery in the Khyber is rugged and wild, the only vegetation being
+stunted bushes and trees at the bottom of the gorge. The rocky cliffs
+rise precipitously on either side, and gradually closing in, are, at
+a little distance from the entry, not more than three or four hundred
+feet apart. The road at one time leads by the stream at the bottom
+of the gorge, and later creeping up the mountain it winds in and out
+round the spurs or fissures half-way up the face of the cliff. It is a
+good broad road, made, and kept in excellent repair, by the British.
+Nevertheless, I was far from happy: my mare, accustomed to a town,
+was frightened by the rocks, the sharp turns, and the precipices, and
+desired to escape somewhere, anywhere--and there was no parapet.
+
+[Sidenote: Eccentricities of Rosinante.]
+
+By-and-bye, however, we descended and were in a stony valley, for the
+Pass varies in width from ten or twelve feet to over a hundred yards.
+Mr. Pyne suggested a canter. A canter! I knew the mare by this time,
+and I had on only a hunting bit. Off we went. Pyne had a good horse,
+a Kataghani that had been given him in Kabul, but we swept ahead, my
+bony mare and I, much to Pyne's disgust--and mine, for I couldn't hold
+her. Roads! what were roads to her? Away she went straight up the
+valley, and such a valley! The ground was covered with pebbles and big
+stones, and cut up by dry water-courses wide and narrow. The narrower
+gulleys she cleared at a bound, the wider she went headlong into and
+out of before I had time to hope anything. I soon was far ahead of the
+guard, only the Captain managed to keep somewhere in my wake, shouting,
+"Khubardar," "Take care!" I yearned to khubardar with a great yearn,
+for in addition to the danger of breaking my neck was that of being
+shot. Sawing at the reins did not check her, and at last I flung myself
+back, caught the cantle of the saddle with my right hand, and jerked
+at the curb. I was tossed in the air at every stride, and my loaded
+revolver thumped my hip at each bound, but her speed diminished, and at
+last she gave in and stopped, panting and snorting. Then the Captain
+came clattering up, and I was obliged to turn the mare round and round
+or she would have been off again. The Captain smiled and said, "Khob
+asp," "It is a good horse."
+
+"Bally," I said, which means "Yes."
+
+We adjusted the saddle and waited till the others came up. Pyne
+remonstrated with me and told me I ought not to have done such a thing,
+it was not safe! He viewed it as a piece of eccentricity on my part.
+
+About eight miles from Jumrud, and where the defile is narrow and
+precipitous, is the Ali Musjid fort. This is built on a high, nearly
+isolated, rocky hill to the left or south of the road. The small
+Musjid, or Mosque, from which the place takes its name, stands by
+the stream at the bottom of the defile. It was erected, according to
+tradition, by the Caliph Ali. The fort, which is called the key of
+the Khyber, has at different times been in possession of Afghans and
+British. We hold it now. The last man we dislodged was General Gholam
+Hyder Khan, Orak zai, who was then in the service of Amir Yakub Khan.
+He is now Commander-in-Chief of the Amir's army in Kabul and Southern
+Afghanistan. He is a big stout man, about six feet three inches in
+height. When I saw him in Kabul he did not seem to bear any malice on
+account of his defeat. There is another General Gholam Hyder, a short
+man, who is Commander-in-Chief in Turkestan, and of whom I shall have
+occasion to speak hereafter.
+
+At Ali Musjid we sat by the banks of the streamlet and hungrily munched
+cold chicken and bread; for Mr. Pyne had suggested at breakfast our
+tucking something into our holsters in case of necessity: he had been
+there before.
+
+Beyond Ali Musjid the narrow defile extended some distance, and then
+gradually widening out we found ourselves on an elevated plateau or
+table-land, bounded by not very high hills. The plain was some miles
+in extent, and we saw Pathan villages dotted here and there, with
+cornfields surrounding them. The villages were fortified. They were
+square, surrounded by a high wall with one heavy gate, and with a tower
+at one or all four corners. The houses or huts were arranged inside
+in a row against the wall, and being flat roofed and the outer wall
+loopholed there was at once a "banquette" ready for use in case the
+village should be attacked.
+
+The mountains and valleys of the Khyber range and of the other Indian
+frontier mountains are inhabited by these semi-independent Afghans
+called, collectively, Pathans or Pukhtana. There are many learned and
+careful men among the Government frontier officers who are at present
+investigating the origin and descent of the Pathan tribes.
+
+[Sidenote: Pathans; their Appearance and Customs.]
+
+The Khyberi Pathan whom I have described as the "guard" of the Pass
+is a fair type of the rest. The men are quarrelsome, are inveterate
+thieves, but are good fighters. Many of them enter the British service
+and make excellent soldiers. They are divided into a great number of
+different tribes, all speaking the same language, Pukhtu, or Pushtu,
+and bound by the same code of unwritten law, the Pukhtanwali. The
+neighbouring tribes, however, are jealous of one another and rarely
+intermarry. There is the vendetta, or law of retaliation, among them,
+and almost always an ancient feud exists between neighbouring villages.
+The women, unlike the Mahomedan townswomen, are not closely veiled; the
+head is covered by a blue or white cotton shawl, which, when a stranger
+approaches, is drawn across the lower part of the face. They wear a
+long dark-blue robe reaching midway between knee and ankle, decorated
+on the breast and at the hem with designs in red. The feet are
+generally bare, and the loose trousers are drawn tight at the ankle.
+Their black hair hangs in two long plaits, the points being fastened
+with a knot of many-coloured silks.
+
+When one considers the nature of these mountaineers--hereditary highway
+robbers and fighters, crack shots, agile and active, and when one
+observes the unlimited possibility they have among rocks, valleys, and
+passes of surprising a hostile army and of escaping themselves--the
+advantage of a "subsidy" becomes apparent.
+
+At the distant or west extremity of the plateau, where we saw the
+Pathan villages, is the Landi Kotal serai. An ordinary caravansary in
+Afghanistan is a loopholed enclosure with one gate, and is very like
+the forts or villages I have described. At Landi Kotal, in addition
+to the native serai, is one built by the Government. It is strongly
+fortified, with bastion, embrasure, and banquette, and any part of the
+enclosure commanded by the adjoining hills is protected by a curtain or
+traverse.
+
+Hot, tired, and thirsty, we four rode into the fort, and were received
+by the British officer in charge. The Afghan guard took up their
+quarters in the native serai outside. Good as the road was it had
+seemed an endless journey. Winding in and out in the heat we had seemed
+to make but little progress, and the unaccustomed weight of the turban
+and the dragging of the heavy revolver added considerably to our
+fatigue; but the march, after all, was not more than five-and-twenty
+miles.
+
+This time there was ample accommodation for us, and after an excellent
+dinner, the last I had in British territory for many a long month, we
+turned in.
+
+[Sidenote: The Shenwaris: Caravan of Traders.]
+
+After Landi Kotal, the Khyber narrows up. We wound in and out round
+the fissures and water channels in the face of the mountain, and
+climbed up and down as before; but presently the guard unslung their
+carbines and closed in round us. It was the Shenwari country we were
+now traversing, and these Pathans, even by the Amir's soldiers, are
+considered dangerous; for what says the proverb, "A snake, a Shenwari,
+and a scorpion, have never a heart to tame." The Amir had, however,
+partly subjugated them even then, and a tower of skulls stood on a hill
+outside Kabul.
+
+Then we came to a series of small circular dusty valleys surrounded by
+rocky mountains. There was nothing green, and the heat was very great,
+it seemed to be focussed from the rocks. Further on we caught up with a
+caravan of travelling merchants with their camels and pack-horses.
+
+These men belong almost entirely to a tribe of Afghans called Lohani.
+They come from the mountains about Ghazni. In the autumn they travel
+down to India with their merchandise and go about by rail and steamer
+to Bombay, Karachi, Burma, and other places for the purposes of trade.
+In the spring they go northward to Kabul, Herat, and Bokhara. Under the
+present Amir they can travel in Afghanistan without much danger, but in
+the reigns of Shere Ali and Dost Mahomed they had practically to fight
+their way.
+
+They go by the name of Povindia, from the Persian word Parwinda, "a
+bale of merchandise." When I was in Turkestan I became acquainted with
+one of these men. He was a white bearded old Afghan who had been, he
+told me, to China, Moscow, and even to Paris. He tried to sell me a
+small nickel-plated Smith and Wesson revolver.
+
+We rode by the caravan of traders and reached Dakka, on the banks of
+the Kabul river. This is the first station belonging to the Amir. The
+Colonel commanding came out to receive us, and conducted us to a tent
+on the bank, where we sat and drank tea. We were much interested in
+watching some Afghans swimming down the river buoyed up by inflated
+skins--"mussaks." Grasping the skin in their arms they steered with
+their legs, the force of the current carrying them rapidly along. Two
+men took a donkey across. They made a raft by lashing four or five
+skins to some small branches; and tying the donkey's legs together,
+they heaved him sideways on to the raft. Clinging to the skins they
+pushed off, and, striking out with the legs, they were carried across
+in a diagonal direction. By-and-bye some men floated by on a rough raft
+made of logs. They were taking the wood to India for sale.
+
+The river here, though not very deep, is dangerous, on account of the
+diverse currents.
+
+In the centre, to the depth of three or four feet, the current runs
+rapidly down the river; deeper it either runs up the river or goes much
+slower than the surface water.
+
+A few years later I was travelling past here, one hot summer, with
+Mr. Arthur Collins, recently geologist to the Amir, and we determined
+to bathe. Mr. Collins, who was a strong swimmer, swam out into the
+middle: I paddled near the bank where the current was sweeping strongly
+_up_ stream. Mr. Collins, out in the middle, was suddenly turned head
+over heels and sucked under. He could not get to the surface, and,
+therefore, swam under water, happily in the right direction, and he
+came up very exhausted near the bank.
+
+[Sidenote: Camp at Bassawal.]
+
+After resting, we rode on through some hot pebbly valleys, with no
+sign of vegetation, until we reached Bassawal, where we camped. The
+tents were put up, sentries posted, and the servants lit wood fires to
+prepare dinner. It soon became dark, for the twilight is very short. We
+were advised to have no light in our tent, lest the tribes near might
+take a shot at us; and we dined in the dark. It was the first night I
+had ever spent in a tent, and to me it seemed a mad thing to go to bed
+under such circumstances. I remember another night I spent near here
+some years afterwards, but that I will speak of later.
+
+On this occasion the night passed quietly.
+
+The next morning they woke us before daybreak. The cook had lit a fire
+and prepared breakfast--fried eggs, tinned tongue, and tea. As soon as
+we were dressed the tents were struck, and while we were breakfasting
+the baggage was loaded up. We had camp chairs and a little portable
+iron table, but its legs became bent, and our enamelled iron plates
+had a way of slipping off, so that we generally used a mule trunk
+instead. The baggage was sent off, and we sat on the ground and smoked.
+Starting about an hour afterwards, we rode along through fertile
+valleys with cornfields in them: here water for irrigation could be
+obtained. In March the corn was a foot high. Then we rode across a
+large plain covered with a coarse grass. It was not cultivated because
+of the impossibility of obtaining water. We camped further on in the
+Chahardeh valley, which was partly cultivated and partly covered with
+the coarse grass. The tents were put up near a clump of trees, where
+there was a well. Unfortunately, there was also the tomb of some man
+of importance, and other graves, near the well. The water we had from
+it tasted very musty and disagreeable. Next day we went through other
+cultivated valleys to the mountains again. The river here made a curve
+to the south, and the mountains came close up to the bank. The road,
+cut out of the face of the mountain, ran sometimes level with the bank,
+sometimes a hundred feet or more above it. It was much pleasanter than
+the Khyber Pass, for to the north (our right) there was the broad Kabul
+river, with cultivated fields on its northern bank, and though the
+scorching heat of the sun was reflected from the rocks there was a cool
+breeze blowing. I thought it was a wonderfully good road for native
+make, but I found, on enquiry, that it had been made by the British
+during the Afghan war.
+
+After rounding a shoulder of the mountain, where the road was high
+above the river, we could see in the distance the Jelalabad Plain and
+the walled city of Jelalabad. However, it was a long way off and we had
+to ride some hours before we reached it.
+
+When on a journey in Afghanistan it is not usual to trot or canter, in
+fact, the natives never trot. They ride at a quick shuffling walk:
+the horse's near-side feet go forward together, and his off-side feet
+together--a camel's walk. It is an artificial pace, but very restful.
+
+[Sidenote: Advantages of Cultivation.]
+
+There was a shorter route which we could have taken from Bassawal,
+avoiding Jelalabad altogether, but it was mostly over pebbly hills and
+desert plains, and was exceeding hot. From Dacca we had kept fairly
+close to, though not actually in sight of, the Kabul river. It makes a
+vast difference to one's comfort in a tropical or semi-tropical country
+to travel through cultivated land where, if only at intervals, there
+is something green to be seen. Few things are more fatiguing than the
+glare of a desert and the reflected heat from pebbles and rocks; we,
+therefore, chose the longer but pleasanter route.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+ARRIVAL AT KABUL.
+
+    Arrival at Jelalabad. Reception by the Governor. The Palace. The
+    Town. The Plain. Quarters in the Guest Pavilion. The friendly Khan.
+    Tattang and the gunpowder factory. The Royal gardens at Nimla.
+    The Suffed Koh mountains. Arboreal distribution in Afghanistan.
+    Gundamuk. Assassination of Cavagnari: details of the plot. The "Red
+    bridge." Commencement of mountainous ascent to Kabul. Jigdilik.
+    Massacre of British in 1837. Former dangers of the valley of
+    Katasang. Enterprising peasants. Tomb in the Sei Baba valley.
+    Burial customs. The Lataband Pass and the Iron Cage. Distant view
+    of Kabul. The Amir's projected road at Lataband. The approach to
+    Kabul. The Lahore Gate.
+
+
+We arrived at Jelalabad about the middle of the afternoon. The town is
+fortified; surrounded by a high wall, with bastions and loopholes; and
+is in a good state of repair. We entered one of the massive gates, rode
+through the bazaars to the Palace. The bazaars, like those of Kabul,
+are roughly roofed over to keep out the glare of the sun.
+
+The Governor of Jelalabad received us in the Palace gardens: seats were
+placed in the shade: fans were waved by the page boys to keep off the
+flies; and a crowd of people stood around. Sweets were brought--chiefly
+sugared almonds--then tea and cigarettes, and bouquets of flowers.
+
+We rested for a while, and as we smoked the Governor made the usual
+polite Oriental speeches. Then he invited us to see the interior of the
+Palace. It is a large white building, standing in the midst of well
+laid out gardens, in which are many varieties of Eastern and European
+fruit-trees and flowers. The Palace was semi-European in its internal
+decoration. It was unfinished at this time. There was a large central
+hall with a domed roof, and smaller rooms at the side: a separate
+enclosure was built for the ladies of the harem: near by were kitchens,
+rooms for the Afghan bath, and a Guest house or pavilion in a garden of
+its own.
+
+[Sidenote: Jelalabad.]
+
+The town of Jelalabad is between ninety and a hundred miles from
+the Indian frontier town Peshawur, and contains, in the summer, a
+population of from three to four thousand inhabitants. There is one
+chief bazaar or street with shops. The other streets are very narrow.
+Though much smaller it resembles in style the city of Kabul, which I
+will describe presently.
+
+The spot was chosen by Baber Badshah, the Tartar king, founder of the
+Mogul dynasty of Afghanistan and India. He laid out some gardens here,
+but the town of Jelalabad was built by his grandson, Jelaluddin Shah,
+also called Akbar, in 1560 A.D., just about the time when
+Queen Elizabeth came to the throne. The place is interesting to us from
+the famous defence of Sir Robert Sale during the first Afghan war, when
+he held the town from November, 1841, to April, 1842.
+
+The river which runs near the town is here broad and rapid, though
+shallow and with low banks. All along the river for miles the plain is
+marshy and overgrown with reeds. In the summer when the swamp is more
+or less dried up, one rides through the reeds rather than keep to the
+glare and heat of the road. The plain of Jelalabad, nearly two thousand
+feet above the sea, is about twenty miles long, that is, from east to
+west, and four or five miles wide. Wherever it can be irrigated from
+the Kabul river it is delightfully fertile, but everywhere else it is
+hot barren desert. The climate of Jelalabad is much more tropical than
+that of Kabul--more resembling the climate of Central India; and in
+the winter the nomadic Afghans of the hills in the Kabul province pack
+their belongings on donkeys or bullocks, and with their whole families
+move down to Jelalabad, so that the winter population of the town is
+enormously greater than that of the summer.
+
+Palm trees and oranges grow out in the gardens: pomegranates and grapes
+in great quantities; and there are many kinds of tropical as well as
+sub-tropical flowers. His Highness the Amir had an idea a short time
+ago of establishing a tea plantation here. It is doubtful, however,
+whether it would be successful, for in the summer there is the dust
+storm and the scorching wind--the simum.
+
+After taking leave of the Governor we were shown into the Guest
+pavilion in its enclosed garden. Here arrangements had been made for us
+to spend the night. On the north side, where the pavilion overlooks the
+Kabul river, was a stone colonnade or verandah with pillars. A sentry
+was stationed here and also at the gate of the garden. One of the
+Khans had asked permission to entertain us at dinner, and with Afghan
+hospitality he provided also for the guard, servants, and horses. He
+did not dine with us but came in afterwards for a chat. I noticed that
+in spite of being a Mahomedan he did not refuse a cigarette and some
+whiskey. This gentleman we were told had considerable power in the
+neighbourhood of Gundamuk, and we were advised, in case it should ever
+be necessary to escape from Kabul, to remember his friendliness; for
+though Gundamuk is a long way from Kabul, one could ride there in a day.
+
+Next day we had a gallop through the fertile part of the valley. I had
+changed my mare for a steadier horse and my mind was peaceful. Away
+to the south it was stony and bare, and in the distance we could see
+the snow-capped range of the Suffed Koh or White Mountains. We did not
+go very many miles, but put up at the village of Tattang. Some of the
+villages are built entirely as forts, resembling those in the Khyber
+district. In others there is a similar but smaller fort, which is
+occupied by the Malek or some rich man with his immediate retainers;
+the other houses, flat topped and built of sun-dried bricks, are
+clumped irregularly together near the fort. But the windows, for safety
+and to ensure privacy, generally open into a walled garden or yard, so
+that even these have the appearance of being fortified. The villages
+are surrounded by orchards and fields.
+
+[Sidenote: Gunpowder Factory at Tattang.]
+
+At Tattang the Amir has a gunpowder factory, and the superintendent
+showed us over it. The machinery is of wood, roughly made, and is
+worked by water power. The water is obtained from a stream rising in
+the Suffed Koh mountains, and is led by broad channels to the water
+wheels. Along the channels, and indeed along most of the irrigation
+canals that one sees in the country, are planted poplars or willows;
+these protect the canal banks from injury, and possibly lessen by
+their shade the rapid evaporation of water that takes place in a dry
+hot climate. The gunpowder is not for sale, and severe penalties are
+inflicted on those detected selling or stealing any.
+
+The following day we left the cultivated part of the valley and rode
+through a stony desert and over pebbly mountains to Nimla. Contrasted
+with the pleasant ride through the fields of the day before, the heat
+and glare were most oppressive. The Nimla valley is, however, an oasis
+in the desert. In it there is a very beautiful garden enclosed within
+a high wall. It was made by Shah Jehangir about 1610 A.D.,
+and has been repaired by the present Amir. One can see the garden a
+great way off, the deep green of its cypress trees being a striking
+piece of colour among the blue greys and reds of the mountainous barren
+landscape. There is an avenue of these trees about one hundred feet
+wide, and between them, from one end of the garden to the other, rushes
+a broad stream with three cascades artificially made and enclosed
+within a stone embankment. The water is brought from a stream rising in
+the Suffed Koh mountains, and rushes on to join the Surkhab, a branch
+of the Kabul river.
+
+At one end of the avenue is a pavilion surrounded by flowers. Here we
+put up for the night. Soldiers were sent off to the nearest villages to
+buy provisions, and our Hindustani cook, having dug a shallow hole in
+the ground in which to build his wood fire, placed a couple of stones
+on each side to support his pots, and sent us an excellent dinner of
+soup, roast fowl, and custard pudding.
+
+[Sidenote: The Suffed Koh, or White Mountains.]
+
+We started off early next morning. Leaving the Nimla valley we had a
+rough road, often no more than a dry watercourse which led up over
+rocky mountains and across stony plains for many miles. As we were
+travelling westward, on our left hand, that is to the south, could be
+seen the great range of mountains called the Suffed Koh, on the other
+side of which is the Kurram valley, now occupied by the British. This
+range forms the southern boundary of the Kabul province, and extending
+from the Khyber mountains had been on our left the whole way. Our
+route, however, had been somewhat north-west, for we had kept fairly
+close to although not on the banks of the Kabul river, but at Jelalabad
+we branched off from the river south-west, and came much closer to the
+Suffed Koh.
+
+This range, unlike the other mountains we saw, is covered with great
+forests of trees. In the whole country the arboreal distribution is
+peculiar. The forests are confined entirely to the main ranges of
+mountains and their immediate offshoots. The more distant prolongations
+are bare and rocky. I remember once in travelling from Turkestan to
+Kabul, everyone stopped and stared, for there on a mountain a solitary
+tree could be seen; it looked most extraordinary. In the valleys there
+are poplars and willows, which have been planted by the peasants for
+use afterwards as roofing beams, and there are orchards of fruit-trees,
+but I never saw a forest, a wood, nor even a spinney. The species of
+tree on those mountains where they are to be found, varies, of course,
+according to the height you find them growing. For instance, high up,
+there are the cone-bearing trees, the various kinds of pine and fir.
+Then come the yew and the hazel, the walnut and the oak. Lower down--to
+3,000 feet--are wild olives, acacias, and mimosas. On the terminal
+ridges you find simply shrubs and herbs.
+
+We passed Gundamuk, where in May, 1879, the "Treaty of Peace" was
+signed by the reigning Amir Yakoub and by Sir Louis Cavagnari. Four
+months later, in September, Cavagnari, while British Resident in Kabul,
+was assassinated with the connivance of the same Amir. I heard the
+whole plot of the assassination when I was in Kabul.
+
+The story was this. Cavagnari had been holding Durbars, giving judgment
+in cases of dispute brought to him by the natives, and had been
+distributing money freely, till the Sirdars, coming to Amir Yakoub,
+said, "No longer is the Amir King of Afghanistan, Cavagnari is King."
+Yakoub therefore took counsel with his Sirdars as to the best course
+to adopt. They said, "To-morrow the Herati regiments come for their
+pay--send them to Cavagnari." It was crafty advice--they knew the
+hot fiery nature of the Heratis. The following day, when the troops
+appeared, unarmed, as is the custom on these occasions, Amir Yakoub
+sent word, "Go to Cavagnari--he is your King." Off rushed the soldiers
+tumultuously, knowing the Englishman had been lavish with money. The
+Sikh sentry at the Residency Gate, seeing a great crowd rushing to the
+Bala Hissar, challenged them. The excited shouts of the crowd being
+no answer, he fired. At once their peaceable though noisy excitement
+changed to anger, and they retaliated with a shower of stones. The
+Residency guard were called out, some of the Afghans rushed back for
+their rifles, and soon all were furiously fighting, though no one but
+Yakoub and his Sirdars knew why. Messages were sent to Amir Yakoub, and
+the answer he returned was, "If God will, I am making preparations."
+The end was the massacre of the British Envoy and all with him.
+
+[Sidenote: Commencement of Ascent to Kabul.]
+
+About ten miles beyond Gundamuk was Surkh pul, or "The Red Bridge."
+This is an ancient brick bridge built over the river Surkab, which runs
+into the Kabul river near Jelalabad. The bridge is built high up at a
+wild looking gorge between precipitous red mountains, and the river
+comes roaring out into the valley. The water of the river is reddish,
+or dark-brown, from the colour of the mud in suspension; however, the
+Afghans said it was good water, and while we sat in the shade of a
+fakir's hut there, the servants boiled some of the water and gave us
+tea. Then we crossed the bridge and rode on again. From here, almost
+to the Kabul valley, the road is through a very wild and desolate
+mountainous region; you gradually rise higher and higher, to nearly
+8,000 feet, but just before you reach Kabul, descend some 2,000 feet,
+the valley of Kabul being 6,000 feet above the sea. It is, of course,
+a very great deal colder in this region than in Jelalabad; in fact,
+while the harvest is being reaped in Jelalabad, the corn at Gundamuk,
+only twenty-five miles further on, is but an inch or two above the
+ground. It would, perhaps, be more accurate to say that the ascent
+commences at Nimla. We rode some miles between two ranges of hills--the
+long narrow valley being cut across by spurs from the mountains; then
+climbed a very long steep ascent, with precipitous walls of rock on
+either side, and descended a narrow winding gorge which appeared to
+have been once the bed of a river. On either side of this gorge there
+was brushwood growing, some stunted holly trees, and what looked like
+twisted boxwood trees. Then we climbed the mountain, on the top of
+which is the Jigdilik serai. This is 6,200 feet high, and the scenery
+from the serai is the abomination of desolation--range after range of
+barren mountains. It felt bitterly cold up there, after the heat we had
+been through.
+
+They found us a room over the gateway of the serai, lit a blazing wood
+fire, and we stayed there till the next day. In the first Afghan war
+in 1837, during the winter retreat of the British army, of the 5,000
+soldiers and 11,000 camp followers who left Kabul, only 300 reached
+Jigdilik, and of these only one, Dr. Brydon, reached Jelalabad, the
+others were shot down by the Afghans, or died of cold and exposure.
+
+The village of Jigdilik is not on the hill where the serai is situated,
+but in the valley at the foot. Here three gorges meet. One was the
+road by which the ill-fated army came in their retreat from Kabul
+through the Khurd Kabul Pass. We took another road to the north-west.
+We climbed up and down over steep mountains and through narrow defiles
+hemmed in by bare rocks. In the valleys it was rare to see anything
+but stones, rocks, and pebbles. There was one valley at Katasung where
+there was a little stream with grass growing by it. This valley, a
+short time ago, was very dangerous to travel through on account of the
+highway robberies and murders of a tribe living near. It is safer now,
+for the Amir has killed some of them, imprisoned others, and dispersed
+the rest. We camped at Sei Baba, a narrow valley of pebbles, with a
+small stream trickling through it. An enterprising peasant, finding
+water there, had picked all the pebbles off a narrow strip of ground,
+piled them in a ring round his field, led the water by a trench to it,
+and had planted some corn. He, however, was nowhere to be seen, nor was
+there any house or hut there.
+
+[Sidenote: Irrigation Terraces.]
+
+We occasionally came across these patches among the mountains wherever
+there was a trickle of water to be obtained. Sometimes they were more
+extensive than this one, and, if made on the slope of the mountain, the
+ground was carefully dug and built up into terraces, so that irrigation
+was possible. In the middle of the Sei Baba valley was a tomb with a
+low wall all round it, and a solitary tree was growing by. On the tomb
+were placed two or three pairs of horns of the wild goat. This is done
+as a mark of great respect. Every passer by, too, throws a stone on a
+heap by the grave, and strokes his beard while he mutters a prayer.
+The heap of stones, or "tsalai," is supposed to be piled only over the
+graves of holy men or martyrs; but they are heaped over any grave that
+happens to be apart from others, and by the wayside. The peasants,
+not knowing, assume it is the grave of a holy man. The custom is said
+by some to originate by imitation from an act of Mahomed, in which
+the form but not the spirit of the ceremony, has been retained; for
+Mahomed, fleeing for refuge to Mecca from Medina, threw stones at the
+city and cursed it. By others, these heaps of stones are supposed to
+be representative of the Buddhist funeral pillars, the custom having
+remained extant since the days when Buddhism was the dominant religion
+of the people inhabiting this country. The latter seems the more likely
+explanation.
+
+By the side of some of these tombs a small shrine, "ziyarat," is built.
+If the tomb is that of a known holy man, the passer by, in addition
+to adding a stone and saying his prayer, calls upon the name of the
+saint, and tears a small piece of rag off his garment which he hangs
+on the nearest bush or tree. The shred is to remind the holy man that
+the wearer has prayed him to intercede on his behalf with the prophet
+Mahomed. On the grave, too, is generally planted a pole with an open
+hand, cut out of zinc or tin, fixed on the top. If the deceased has
+fallen in battle a red rag is fixed on the pole as well. What the open
+hand pointing to the sky represents I never heard.
+
+When we arrived at Sei Baba we found that a party of peasants on the
+tramp had halted there--one of their number died just as we arrived.
+Seeing that we had a cavalcade of horsemen and much baggage, and there
+being no village nearer than seven or eight miles, they came to us to
+beg a little calico for a winding sheet. It struck me that ten yards,
+the amount they asked for, was rather much for that purpose. Possibly
+they thought the living men required it quite as much as the dead man.
+
+[Sidenote: The Iron Cage.]
+
+Next day we had a high and stony range of mountains to climb--the
+Lataband Pass, nearly eight thousand feet above the sea. This part
+of the journey between Lataband and Chinar, with the winding rocky
+road curving high up round the spurs or plunging into narrow ravines,
+always seems to me the wildest and most weird of all. The mountains
+are so huge and rocky, the ravines so precipitous, and the silence
+so appalling. A few years ago the Pass was dangerous not only in
+itself--the road in one place runs on a ledge of rock overhanging a
+seemingly bottomless precipice--but it was infested with Afghan highway
+robbers. Being comparatively near the capital this was particularly
+exasperating to the Amir. Finding ordinary punishments of no avail he
+determined to make an example of the next man apprehended. As we were
+riding along we could see fixed on one of the highest peaks something
+that looked in the distance like a flagstaff. The road winding on we
+drew nearer, and saw it was not a flag, it was too globular, and it did
+not move in the wind. When we got right under the peak we saw it was a
+great iron cage fixed on the top of a mast. The robber had been made an
+example of. There was nothing left in the cage but his bones. I never
+heard of there being any more highway robbery or murder near here.
+
+From this pass you get the first view of Kabul. In the distance it
+seems a beautiful place, and after the long desolate march the sight
+of it lying in the green Kabul valley is delightful. We reached the
+foot of the mountains, rode some miles along a stony and barren plain
+till we reached a village called Butkhak, where we camped. The next day
+the cultivated part of the Kabul valley lay before us. First were the
+fields surrounding Butkhak, then we crossed a small dilapidated brick
+bridge over the Logar river, which runs north to join the Kabul river.
+We had quite lost sight of our old friend the Kabul river since we left
+Jelalabad: he was away somewhere to the north of us, cutting a path
+for himself among the mountains. The Amir has spent several thousands
+of pounds--or rather lacs of rupees--in trying to make a road in the
+course of the river from Kabul to Jelalabad, but it was found quite
+impracticable among the mountains in the Lataband and Chinar district.
+The object, of course, was to avoid the climb over the Lataband Pass. I
+have never been the route through the Khurd Kabul Pass to Jigdilik, but
+I have heard that the road is not very good.
+
+After crossing the Logar bridge we mounted a range of low pebbly hills,
+which run irregularly east across the valley, cutting it in two.
+From the elevated ground we could see on our left a large reed grown
+marsh surrounded by meadow land, which ran right up to the foot of
+the mountains, forming the south boundary of the valley. We were much
+nearer to the southern than to the northern limit. The mountains curved
+round in front of us and we could see the gap or gorge between the
+Asmai and Shere Derwaza mountains. From this the Kabul river emerged
+and took its course in a north-easterly direction across the valley.
+
+[Sidenote: The Approach to Kabul.]
+
+On the south bank of the river near the gorge and at the foot of the
+Shere Derwaza lay the city. Jutting out north-east from the Shere
+Derwaza into the valley, about a mile south of the gorge, was the spur
+of the Bala Hissar, and the city seemed, as it were, to be tucked into
+the corner between the Shere Derwaza, its Bala Hissar spur, and the
+Asmai mountain. On our right, about a mile and a half north of the
+city, was the Sherpur cantonment or fortification, backed by two low
+hills--the Bemaru heights.
+
+We descended the elevated ground, from which we had a birds-eye view of
+the valley, and found ourselves riding along excellent roads fringed
+with poplar trees. The cultivated fields separated by irrigation
+channels lay to the left of us. On the right were the pebbly hills we
+had crossed lower down, continued irregularly west. On the last hill
+nearest the town, "Siah Sang," was a strong fort, built by the British
+when Lord Roberts was in Kabul. It is called Fort Roberts.
+
+We rode along the avenues of poplar and plane trees right up to the
+Bala Hissar spur. In the time of the Amir Shere Ali, on the high ground
+of the spur stood the royal residence and the fort, and when Yakoub was
+Amir this was the Residency where Cavagnari lived. It is now almost
+all in ruins or demolished. The gateway stands, and a part of the
+old palace. This is used as a prison for women, political prisoners,
+Hazaras, and others. The wall and the moat exist, and inside, some
+rough barracks have been built for a few troops. The native fort on the
+higher ground of the Bala Hissar seems to be in good repair. I have
+never been inside. It is used as a magazine for powder.
+
+We passed the Bala Hissar, leaving it on our left, and the road led
+through a plantation of willows extending from the Bala Hissar some
+distance north, skirting the east suburb of the city. The willows in
+the plantation were arranged in rows about ten yards apart with a water
+trench or ditch under each row of trees, and the shaded space between
+was green with grass--an unusual sight in Afghanistan. The trees were
+planted by Amir Shere Ali, whose idea was to camp his soldiers here
+in the summer without tents. The willow branches are used now to make
+charcoal for gunpowder.
+
+We entered the gate of the city called the Lahore Gate. It was rather
+dilapidated, but looked as though it might once have been strong. There
+were heavy wooden doors studded with iron, and large loopholes in the
+upper brickwork of the gate which were guarded by brick hoods open
+below, a species of machicoulis gallery. Possibly the loopholes were
+once used for the purpose of pouring boiling water on the heads of an
+attacking enemy.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE RECEPTION.
+
+    Position of Kabul. Its defences. Amir's opinion of the Founders
+    of his Capital. Entry into Kabul. Aspect of the Townsmen. Arrival
+    at the Arm Foundry. Visit of the Afghan Official. His appearance.
+    Absence of Amir. To be received at the Palace by the Princes. The
+    approach to the Palace. The Amir's Pavilion. Page boys. The Princes
+    Habibullah and Nasrullah. The Reception. Internal arrangement of
+    Pavilion. The earthquake. Abrupt ending of the Reception. Other
+    buildings in the Palace.
+
+
+[Sidenote: The Defences of Kabul.]
+
+The city of Kabul, 5,780 feet above the sea, lies then at the foot of
+the bare and rocky mountains forming the west boundary of the Kabul
+valley, just at the triangular gorge made by the Kabul river. Through
+this gorge runs the high road to Turkestan and Ghuzni. An ancient brick
+wall, high, though somewhat ruined, with towers at intervals, leads up
+on each side of the gorge to the summit of the Asmai and Shere Derwaza
+mountains, along the latter to the Bala Hissar spur, where it joins the
+fort. From the Asmai a line of hills extends west to the Paghman range.
+Formerly the wall was taken across the gorge, bridging the Kabul river.
+Remains of it are to be seen on a small island in the middle. The city,
+therefore, was well protected on the western side--the side of danger
+from invasion of the Tartars: it is comparatively unprotected on the
+east, except by the Bala Hissar fort; for in those days little danger
+of invasion was apprehended from India.
+
+The city extends a mile and a-half from east to west, and one mile from
+north to south. Hemmed in as it is by the mountains, there is no way
+of extending it, except in a northerly direction towards the Sherpur
+cantonment. It is here midway between the city and Sherpur on the north
+side of the river that the Amir has built his palace.
+
+His Highness speaks derisively of the founders of his capital,
+"Dewanas," he calls them, "Fools to build a city of mud huts cramped
+into a corner among the mountains." One of his ambitions has been to
+build a new Kabul in the fertile Chahardeh valley to the west of the
+Shere Derwaza and Asmai mountains, between them and the Paghman hills.
+Amir Shere Ali had also the intention of building a new Kabul, and
+"Shere pur," the "City of Shere Ali," was begun. However, he got no
+further than three sides of the wall round it.
+
+The desire to build a new Kabul is not surprising when one has seen the
+present city. The first thing that strikes you on entering it is the
+general look of dilapidation and dirtiness. Closer acquaintance shows
+you how inexpressibly unclean and unhealthy an ancient Oriental city
+can become.
+
+We rode through the narrow badly-paved streets, and through the
+bazaars, which were crowded with turbanned Afghans and Hindus robed
+in bright colours. They moved out of the way of our rather large
+cavalcade, but very few showed any appearance of curiosity; and we rode
+on to the garden or orchard in the gorge between the Shere Derwaza and
+Asmai mountains, where, by the side of the Kabul river, the Amir's
+European Arm foundry has been established. This is protected on one
+side by the river, on the three other sides by high walls.
+
+[Sidenote: Arrival at the Arm Foundry.]
+
+The entrance was through a large double wooden gate, where some
+soldiers were on guard. Inside there were built along the walls a
+series of rooms where tin workers, brass workers, and others practised
+their handicraft. In one of the larger of these rooms Mr. Pyne and
+myself were located, and an adjoining one was prepared for the two
+English engineers, Messrs. Stewart and Myddleton, who had accompanied
+us.
+
+In the centre of the ground three or four large buildings were in
+course of erection. These had been commenced by Mr. Pyne during his
+first short visit to Kabul. The walls were nearly completed. To finish
+them were the corrugated iron roofs which Mr. Pyne had brought out
+from England, and the machinery, some of which was lying around packed
+in cases in two hundredweight pieces: the rest arrived on strings of
+camels a few days or weeks after we did.
+
+In our room we found a large table loaded with sweets, cakes,
+kaimaghchai, or cream and tea, and various other eatables. We set
+to, but were presently visited and salaamed by some score or so of
+Hindustani mistris, whom Mr. Pyne had engaged and sent on from India.
+There was a very fair carpet on the earth-beaten floor. Our beds,
+bedding, and chairs we had brought with us. A soldier was posted on
+guard at our door and another on the roof.
+
+In the space inside the enclosure unoccupied by buildings, there grew
+a great many mulberry trees, and outside the walls were large beds of
+flowers, vines trailed over upright poles, and a fountain. This plot
+of ground had once been the garden of a wealthy Afghan gentleman.
+
+On the day after our arrival in Kabul it rained hard, but on the
+following day we received a ceremonial visit from Jan Mahomed Khan,
+the treasury officer, who was accompanied by a large retinue of
+servants. This gentleman was of medium height and slightly built. He
+had a rather dark skin, but a very pleasant face, and was charming
+in his manner. His costume was brilliant. It consisted of a black
+astrakhan hat of the globular Russian shape, a purple velvet tunic
+embroidered with gold, a belt and sword, both highly ornamented with
+beaten gold, trousers and patent leather boots. The sword was not of
+the European shape. It was made with a slight curve, had no hand guard,
+and slipped almost entirely into the scabbard. Mr. Pyne was acquainted
+with this gentleman, having met him during his first visit to Kabul.
+I, therefore, was introduced. After the usual compliments and polite
+speeches, it was intimated to us that Prince Habibullah, the eldest son
+of the Amir, would receive us at the Palace that day.
+
+We learnt that His Highness the Amir himself was away in Turkestan,
+where he had been fighting his rebellious cousin Ishak.
+
+[Sidenote: The Approach to the Palace.]
+
+After Jan Mahomed Khan had politely asked permission to depart, we got
+ready to go to the Palace. Our horses were brought to the door, and we
+rode, accompanied by our guard and an interpreter, to the Erg Palace.
+This Palace is situated outside the town, about midway between it and
+the Sherpur cantonment. We rode from the workshops some little distance
+along the Kabul river, then skirted the Government buildings which are
+built on the south and east sides of the Palace gardens, and arrived
+at the east entrance, a big arched gateway in which, however, there
+were no gates. Here we left our horses. Entering the gateway we walked
+across the gardens, the guard unceremoniously clearing out of our way
+the clerks, pages, and petitioners who were walking along the paths.
+We saw in front of us the ramparts, moat, and bridges of the Palace.
+The flame-shaped battlements of the walls, and the decorated gateway
+set in a semicircular recess flanked by bastions, had a quaint Oriental
+appearance.
+
+On the wall over the gateway was a small cupola sheltering what
+appeared to be a telescope, but may have been a machine gun. From this
+tower issues at sunrise and sunset the wild native music of drums and
+horns, which is the invariable "Salaam i subh" and "Salaam i sham" of
+Oriental kings. Many a morning in after years was I woke up at daybreak
+by the weird monotonous howl of the horns and the distant rattle of the
+drums.
+
+We crossed the bridge in front of us and entered the decorated gateway,
+the wooden gates of which--massive and studded with iron--were open.
+Inside was the guard-room, large and high, with passages leading off
+from it, and the soldiers of the guard were grouped idly about.
+
+The sentry on duty with fixed bayonet was lounging in a wooden shelter
+near the gates. He jumped up as we entered. We walked across the
+guard-room, out into the open, and found ourselves in another garden.
+On either side of the path were grass lawns and trees. The paths
+were fenced off by thin iron railings. All around the gardens were
+buildings symmetrically arranged: two stories high on each side of the
+gateway, and one story elsewhere. We walked along the centre path,
+till we came to a long high wall, with loopholes extending across the
+garden, and evidently concealing other buildings; turned to the left
+till we came to a small heavy wooden door studded with iron, and with
+the posts and jambs somewhat elaborately carved. There was no porch,
+but fixed in front of the doorway, about six feet from it, was a high
+heavy wooden screen. The object of this screen I could not see, unless
+it were to obstruct the view when the door was opened. Near the door
+was a wooden bench for the use of those who were waiting. Between the
+door and the screen we found an officer in uniform, armed with a sabre,
+and several soldiers in uniform, all armed with Martini-Henry carbines
+and sword-bayonets. We waited a few minutes while the officer went in
+to report our arrival.
+
+We were admitted, and I saw, standing in the middle of a flower garden,
+the Amir's pavilion. There were roses, wallflowers, stocks, and other
+sweet-smelling flowers in the garden, and the walks between the
+flower-beds were paved with marble. Directly opposite was the entrance
+to the pavilion, and it struck me at once why the heavy screen had been
+erected outside, opposite the gate of entry to the garden; for the door
+of the pavilion being open it was possible to see into the interior,
+and if the door into the garden were also opened it would be possible,
+without the screen, for a man in a distant part of the outer gardens
+to fire a rifle straight up to the royal couch. On either side of the
+steps leading up to the entrance of the pavilion reposed a marble lion.
+These I found had not been carved in Afghanistan, but were imported
+from India. The pavilion struck one as an extraordinary piece of
+architecture in an ornate style.
+
+[Sidenote: The Princes Habibullah and Nasrullah.]
+
+We went up the steps into the entry, where there were several page boys
+waiting. They were not dressed as Orientals, but had on astrakhan hats,
+velvet tunics of different colours, embroidered with gold, trousers,
+and English boots. The lobby led into a circular or octagonal hall,
+with a high domed roof, and, entering it, we found ourselves in the
+presence of the Prince.
+
+His Highness was seated in an arm-chair, his brother, Sirdar Nasrullah
+Khan, on his left, and several officers in a semicircle on his right.
+The Prince Habibullah Khan is a broadly built somewhat stout man, and
+appeared to be about twenty years of age. He is fair for an Oriental,
+is shaven except for a slight moustache, has handsome features, and a
+very pleasant smile. Sirdar Nasrullah Khan, who seemed about seventeen,
+is of a different type. He is less broadly built than his elder
+brother, and his features are more aquiline. Neither of the Princes are
+tall. Habibullah Khan bears a strong resemblance to the Amir, though he
+has a smaller frame and a much milder expression than his Royal Father.
+The Prince stammers slightly in his speech, and His Highness, the Amir,
+told me this affection first appeared after an attempt had been made
+to poison the Prince when he was quite a child. The Princes and the
+officers were dressed in European military uniforms, with astrakhan
+hats, and though this was an Oriental court no one was seated on the
+ground.
+
+Contrary to Oriental etiquette we took off the turbans which we had
+been wearing, for it seemed better to act according to Western ideas
+of courtesy than to attempt to imitate the customs of Orientals, of
+which we then knew very little. We bowed as we were introduced, and
+the Prince, without rising, shook hands with us, politely enquiring if
+we were well, and expressed a hope that we were not fatigued by the
+journey to Kabul.
+
+Chairs were placed for us in front of the Prince, at some little
+distance, and to his left. Tea and cigarettes were brought. The Prince
+spoke to us for some time, chiefly about the machinery and workshops.
+He spoke in Persian, the interpreter translating.
+
+There were four alcoves or rooms leading off from the central hall
+of the pavilion, each about twelve feet square: one constituted the
+lobby: in the opposite alcove, I learnt afterwards, the Amir's couch is
+usually placed, and one led off from each side. The four rooms leading
+from the central hall were not separated by doors, and over each was
+a corresponding room upstairs, also looking into the central hall,
+but protected by a wooden railing. The rooms were lighted by windows
+opening into the garden; and the central hall by borrowed light from
+the rooms. The hall, though high and domed, was not more than about
+eighteen feet across, and against the four short walls that intervened
+between the rooms, were placed respectively a piano with a gold
+embroidered velvet cover; a carved wood cabinet; a marble table covered
+with brass candlesticks and ornamental lamps of different patterns,
+from England and Russia; and a dark carved wood escritoire with writing
+materials on it.
+
+As I sat facing the Prince with my back to the entry, I saw hanging on
+the walls opposite me two framed chromo-lithographs--one representing
+the English House of Commons and the other the House of Lords. A year
+or two afterwards I became much better acquainted with this pavilion,
+for I had to live there while I was attending His Highness during a
+severe illness. The Amir told me he designed it himself; I fancy he got
+the idea from one of the churches in Tashkend, of which I have seen a
+picture. It was small, he said, but was built as an experiment; he had
+endeavoured to make it earthquake proof by bracing it with iron bands.
+It cost him a great sum of money.
+
+[Sidenote: The Earthquake.]
+
+The Prince lit a cigarette, and just as he began smoking we heard a
+most curious noise. The lamps and vases rattled violently, and I saw
+the Prince's face change. Pyne turned to me and said, "An earthquake!"
+The rattling and shaking increased, the doors swung open, and our
+chairs heaved. The Prince sat a moment while the noise and shaking grew
+more and more severe, then suddenly he rose and walked rapidly out into
+the gardens. The whole court, and we with them, followed hurriedly.
+All thought the Palace would fall. With one exception it was the most
+severe earthquake I ever experienced. The shock lasted four minutes,
+and travelled from east to west. We returned again to the pavilion
+for a short time, but presently were allowed to retire, so that the
+reception ended somewhat abruptly.
+
+As we were coming out I found there were two other enclosures in the
+fort beside that containing the Amir's pavilion. Next to the Amir's
+garden was the large enclosure of the Harem serai. It is not etiquette
+to walk past the door of this if you can get to your destination any
+other way. I had to enter this enclosure once, but that I will speak of
+later.
+
+Next to the Harem serai was a quadrangle containing the official
+quarters of the Princes. Each Prince has also an establishment in the
+city, where are his servants, and horses, and his harem. Besides these
+enclosures there is the Treasury, the Amir's private Stores containing
+valuables of all kinds, silks and diamonds, carpets, and wines: a row
+of cook houses or kitchens: quarters for the court officials and pages;
+and barracks for the garrison. The fort, though seemingly strong, and
+no doubt useful in case of a sudden riot, is completely under the
+control of the fort on the summit of the Asmai mountains.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+AFGHAN HOSPITALS.
+
+    The first attendance at an Afghan Hospital. Its arrangement. The
+    drugs and instruments. The Patients. An Interpreter presents
+    himself. Dispensers. Marvellous recovery of the Page boy. Its
+    effect. Buildings near the Hospital. The Durbar Hall and Guest
+    House. The Sherpur Military Hospital. Lord Roberts and the Sherpur
+    Cantonment. Adventure with an Afghan soldier. Arrangement of the
+    In-patient Hospital. Diet of Patients. Attendance of Hakims.
+    Storekeepers and their ways.
+
+
+[Sidenote: The Out-patient Hospital.]
+
+The next day Mr. Pyne set to work to get the pieces of machinery
+removed from their cases and put together. Followed by a sergeant
+and a couple of soldiers of the guard he bustled about vigorously,
+issuing rapid orders in a mixture of English and broken Hindustani, and
+Persian, which compound language his workmen soon learnt to understand.
+
+I had received no orders as to attending patients, but hearing
+from Pyne that there was a City Hospital I rode off with my guard
+to see what it was like. I found the Hospital was situated in the
+row of Government buildings erected outside the Erg Palace on the
+wide poplar-fringed road running between the city and the Sherpur
+cantonment, which was made by the British and called by them "The Old
+Mall." These buildings skirt the gardens outside the Erg Palace on the
+south and east. Like most of the buildings put up under the direction
+of the Amir, they are better built than most of the other houses in
+Kabul. Though only of one story they are very lofty, with thick walls,
+and have glazed windows. The buildings do not open into the street but
+into the gardens, access to which is obtained by the big gateway on the
+east side, where we left our horses when we visited the Prince, and by
+a similar gateway on the south.
+
+In the storeroom of the Dispensary I found on the shelves of glazed
+cupboards a great many cases of old-fashioned surgical instruments,
+some of which were marked "Hon. East India Co.," and on other shelves
+a large collection of European drugs in their bottles, jars, and
+parcels. The name of each drug was written in Persian as well as in
+English characters. These had been ordered from time to time by certain
+Hindustani Hospital assistants who were in the service of the Amir,
+and who had had charge of the Out-patient Hospital and the European
+drug stores. The Hospital assistants had not used any great amount of
+judgment in their orders, nor had they considered expense in the least.
+I found great quantities of patent medicines warranted to cure every
+disease under the sun; and of the newer and more expensive drugs of
+which so much is expected and so little is known. The old tried friends
+of the Medical Profession, whose cost is reasonable and whose action
+is known, such as quinine, ipecacuanha, carbonate of ammonia, Epsom
+salts, were conspicuous by their absence. I enquired what plan had been
+adopted by the Hindustanis when they were making out their orders,
+and learnt that they got hold of the price list of some enterprising
+vendor which had found its way to Kabul through India, and ticking
+off any drugs or patent mixtures that seemed to promise an easy road
+to success in treatment, they ordered great quantities of these,
+regardless of cost and before they had tested them.
+
+The stores were in charge of a Hindustani, who had obtained a medical
+qualification in Lahore, and who had been in the British service. He
+showed me a medal, and was reported to be in receipt of a small pension
+from the Government, though how he received it while in Kabul I never
+heard.
+
+I reached the Hospital about nine o'clock in the morning, and found
+myself confronted by some eighty sick Afghans who had heard of the
+arrival of a "Feringhi doctor," and were all eager to be cured by him.
+In the time when Lord Roberts occupied Kabul the regimental surgeons
+had done good work among the Afghans.
+
+A guard, with fixed bayonet, stood at the door to keep off the crush;
+he did not use the bayonet, but he used a stick that he had with some
+vigour.
+
+[Sidenote: The First Patient.]
+
+Every patient who had a weapon, and most Afghans wear one of some kind,
+was disarmed before he entered the room. I had no interpreter, and had
+been advised by Mr. Pyne not to learn Persian; so that when the first
+patient was admitted I was in somewhat of a difficulty. I had seen
+in a Persian grammar that the word "Dard" meant _pain_, so that when
+the first man came up I said, "Dard?" putting a note of interrogation
+after it. The patient looked blankly at me. I thought he must be
+intellectually very dull, and I repeated my word, but with no better
+result. Not knowing quite what to say next, I examined him with the
+stethoscope.
+
+He was greatly astonished, and shrank back somewhat suspiciously when I
+placed it against his chest. However, when he found no evil resulted,
+he allowed me to proceed. I could not find anything the matter with
+him, and was again at a standstill.
+
+This seemed very unsatisfactory; when to my great relief, a tall young
+man, in a turban and a brown frock-shaped coat, stepped forward and
+addressed me in imperfect English. I found he was an Armenian Christian
+who had been educated in a Missionary boarding school in India, but
+he had been so long in Kabul that he had nearly forgotten English. He
+afterwards became my interpreter, and grew very fluent, but at first I
+had to learn _his_ English before I could understand him; it was quite
+different from anybody else's. However--about the patient--I said, "Ask
+this man if he has any pain." And then I found that my word "Dard"
+ought to have been pronounced more like "Durrud." I tried "Durrud" on
+them afterwards, but either they didn't expect me to know Persian, or
+else there ought to have been some context to my word, for they looked
+just as blankly at me as when I said "Dard." The ordinary Afghan is a
+very slow-witted person. I found the patient had no pain, and I said,
+
+"Tell him to put out his tongue."
+
+The patient appeared surprised, and looked somewhat doubtfully at me. I
+suppose he thought I was jesting in making such a request. However, he
+put out his tongue: it was quite healthy. I said,
+
+"There is nothing the matter with him;" but the Armenian said,
+
+"Sir, a little you stop--_I_ find out." He said something in Persian,
+and the man nodded. What words the Armenian used to enable me to
+understand what was wrong I do not remember, but I found out eventually
+that the patient wanted a tonic, for all he suffered from was an
+inability to manage his many wives. I said, "Tell the man his complaint
+does not exist in my country; I have no medicines for it."
+
+There were, I should think, a dozen who came the first day for the
+same reason. Of other diseases, malarial fevers, eye cases, venereal
+diseases, coughs and dyspepsia were the commonest. I was not able to
+finish attending to all the patients in the morning, and returned in
+the afternoon, finding them still waiting. As the days went by, the
+number of patients increased to such an extent, that it finally became
+no small matter to attend to them all, and do my own dispensing. There
+were Hindustani dispensers, but I was not quite prepared to trust them,
+till I knew them better.
+
+[Sidenote: Miraculous Recovery of the Page Boy.]
+
+One day a lad, one of the Court pages, was brought: he was suffering
+from jaundice. I put the suitable medicine in a bottle, placed it on
+the table, then turned to examine another patient, mixed his medicine,
+and put the bottle by the side of the first one. I went on till I
+had about a dozen bottles ready, then I ordered them to be filled
+with water, and gave them out. The patients took their medicine and
+progressed satisfactorily: the Page boy, in particular, rapidly
+improved. I was naturally pleased and said so to the Armenian. I
+thought he looked rather strangely at me, and he said--
+
+"Truly God works for the Sir!"
+
+I wondered rather that he should be so impressive; but not for some
+months after did I know why he was so. Then he told me. It seemed that
+after I had mixed the Page boy's medicine and turned away to the second
+patient, one of the dispensers seeing the bottle on the table ready,
+as he thought, for use and not quite clean, washed it out and replaced
+it. It was then filled with water and the boy rapidly became well.
+The dispenser had not dared to say what he had done, lest I should be
+angry. There was great wonder and awe at the hospital over that case,
+and my reputation as a healer of the sick spread rapidly.
+
+"If the Feringhi," they said, "gives a pinch of dust (jalap powder) or
+only water, the sick became well!"
+
+[Sidenote: The Durbar Hall and Guest House.]
+
+In the Palace gardens outside the moat, and about a hundred yards from
+the out-patient hospital, I saw a large white building with pillared
+verandah and corrugated iron roof. This was the "Salaam Khana" or
+Hall of Audience. It is a long high hall, with twelve lofty windows
+on each side draped with English curtains: two rows of white pillars
+support the ceiling, which is decorated in colours with stencilled
+and lacquered plates of thin brass. The floor is covered with English
+carpets, and when, as is frequently the case, a dinner is given by
+His Highness to the chief officers of his army, long tables occupy
+the aisles, and each guest is accommodated with a cane-seated wooden
+arm-chair. During a banquet or festival, the hall is lit in the
+evening by two big "arc" electric lamps, the dynamo of which is
+worked by a portable engine, which is brought from the workshop for
+the occasion. The building lies east and west, and is entered at the
+eastern extremity by a big doorway and portico. The western extremity
+is entered through a large vestibule with portico and steps. Here the
+building is carried up another story, and this part of the Salaam Khana
+constitutes the Amir's Guest house.
+
+On the ground floor are the great hall, the vestibule or entrance
+hall which opens into the Palace gardens, and three smaller rooms. A
+stone staircase with wooden balustrades leads to the upper floor. Here
+there is in the centre a large pavilion, the Guest House, lighted by
+many large double windows, which open on to the covered balcony or
+terrace on the roof of the lower rooms. The Amir and, sometimes, Prince
+Habibullah, are accustomed to spend a month or two in this house,
+living in the upper pavilion, or in one of the lower rooms.
+
+A few days after my first appearance at the dispensary, I heard
+there was a military "In-patient" hospital situated in the Sherpur
+cantonment, which lies to the north of the town about a mile and a-half
+away.
+
+I determined to visit it, and one afternoon, after finishing at the
+City dispensary, we started along the Old Mall which leads from the
+town, past the Erg Palace to the cantonment.
+
+We passed first the Salaam Khana, and then, further on, at the
+extremity of the Palace gardens, I saw a small monument about twenty
+feet high. It was square at the base and carried upward like the spire
+of a church. On the square pediment was an inscription in Persian. This
+monument I learnt was erected by His Highness to the memory of those
+soldiers who fell in the last war against the British.
+
+On the other side of the Old Mall, commencing opposite the Palace and
+extending as far as the monument, is a row of one storied buildings.
+These open not on to the road, but on the other side into vegetable
+gardens and fields at the back. This row of buildings which turns a
+corner opposite the monument and extends down a road running east to
+the Kabul river, the Amir has built as a barrack for the soldiers of
+his body guard. About four feet from the doors of this row of buildings
+is a narrow stream of running water, artificially made and used, after
+the Afghan custom, both for ablutionary and for drinking purposes, as
+well as for the irrigation of the vegetable gardens.
+
+[Sidenote: The Sherpur Cantonment.]
+
+Proceeding on our way we approached the lofty battlemented walls
+surrounding the Sherpur cantonment. This oblong enclosure which lies
+nearly east and west a mile and a-half due north of the city, is a
+mile and a-half along its front, nearly three-quarters of a mile along
+either end, and backs upon two low hills about three hundred feet high,
+the Bemaru heights, at the east base of which, within the enclosure,
+lies the Bemaru village. The hills protect the north side: the other
+three sides are protected by the high walls, which are complete except
+for half the length of the east extremity just by the Bemaru village.
+
+It was this cantonment, it will be remembered, that was held by the
+British at the time when Lord Roberts occupied Kabul during the second
+Afghan war.
+
+The Afghans had planned a sudden night attack in which their whole
+force was to move suddenly at a given signal upon the cantonment. As
+Lord Roberts' force was exceedingly small, considering the great extent
+of the cantonment, it was thought by the Afghans that an easy victory
+would result. The signal was to be the sudden lighting of a beacon on
+the Asmai mountain. But there are never wanting those among the Afghans
+who, for a sufficient bribe, will reveal anything, and the British
+were ready when the attack came. The rush was met by a continuous and
+deadly fire, and after strenuous but vain efforts to gain an entry, the
+Afghans retired, leaving great numbers of their comrades dead on the
+field.
+
+The gate we entered was protected outside by a semicircular curtain.
+Built along the inner side of the wall were buildings one story high,
+with a massive pillared colonnade or verandah and flat roof. There were
+wood-faced, clay-beaten steps at intervals leading to the roof, so that
+it was possible for troops defending the cantonment to take their stand
+on the roof and fire through the loopholes.
+
+Just inside the gate was a bazaar of small shops, where fruit,
+vegetables, and bread were for sale; and soldiers in every style of
+dress, Turkoman, Kabuli, Hazara, were grouped about. Some were seated
+on the ground playing cards, some smoking the chillim or hubble-bubble,
+others digging in little vegetable or flower-gardens. These were
+created with great pains around irregularly arranged huts which formed
+the north side of the street leading along by the colonnade. These
+huts and the rooms under the colonnade were used as barracks. The
+soldiers seemed to stare with more curiosity than the townspeople had
+shown, and as we rode along towards the hospital one suddenly stepped
+forward and seized my bridle. I thought it was a piece of insolence,
+and raised my riding-whip to cut him across the face, when it occurred
+to me that perhaps it would be as well not to risk a close acquaintance
+with the ready knife of an incensed Afghan. My guard seized the man and
+hustled him out of the way with many loud words, to which he replied
+vigorously. Not understanding Persian, and an interpreter not being
+with me, I could not enquire what it was all about, so I rode on. All
+the centre of the cantonment was a huge open gravelled space, and here
+troops were drilling. The words of command were in Afghani or Pushtu,
+not Persian, but the titles of the officers were moulded upon English
+titles: Sergeant was pronounced Surgeon; Captain, Kiftan; General,
+Jinral; and there was Brigadier and Brigadier-Jinral.
+
+The hospital was in an enclosed garden within the cantonment, and was
+entered by low but heavy double gates. A series of rooms was built
+along the inner side of the walls of the garden in the usual Afghan
+style. There was no connection between the rooms except by a verandah,
+and there was no upper story. Each room was about eight feet by ten,
+and as none of them had windows, but were lighted simply by the door
+that opened on to the verandah, they were nearly dark.
+
+In the garden were a few trees, and in the centre a square sunk tank
+for water: this, however, was empty. There was a cook house or kitchen,
+with its coppers and ovens heated by charcoal, where the cook baked
+the bread and prepared the diets for the patients: Pilau (rice and
+meat), kabob (small squares of meat skewered on a stick and grilled
+over charcoal), shorbar, or broth, and shola, which is rice boiled
+and moistened with broth. There were two dispensaries, one containing
+native drugs and one a few European drugs. There were, of course, no
+female nurses: each sick soldier was looked after by a comrade.
+
+[Sidenote: Storekeepers and their Ways.]
+
+The Hakim on his daily round wrote on a slip of paper the date and the
+name, diet and medicine of the patient he prescribed for. This was
+handed to the attendant of each patient, whose duty it was to procure
+the medicine from the dispensary and the food from the cook-house. I
+never heard of an attendant eating the food intended for a patient. One
+hakim, the cook and dispenser lived in the hospital. The slips of paper
+were taken to the mirza, or clerk, who copied the daily diets on to one
+paper and the medicines on another. The papers were then put away in
+the stores. No daily totals were taken, so that if fraud were suspected
+on the part of a storekeeper, dispenser, or cook, and the Amir ordered
+a rendering or auditing of accounts, the matter took a year, a year
+and a-half, or two years before it was completed. However, as I found
+later, the order in Afghanistan to "render an account" is usually
+synonymous with "fine, imprisonment, or death."
+
+The next morning at the out-patient hospital when the Armenian
+interpreter appeared, I told him of the soldier seizing my bridle in
+Sherpur, and asked him to enquire what the man wanted. He seemed rather
+startled when I told him, and at once turned to the sergeant of the
+guard to enquire about it. It was nothing after all, simply the man,
+guessing I was the Feringhi doctor, wanted me to see a sick comrade.
+They apologized for him, saying he was not a Kabuli but an uncouth
+"hillman" who knew no better. However, an order from Prince Habibullah
+arrived in the afternoon that I was not to attend at Sherpur till he
+had communicated with His Highness the Amir.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+AFGHAN DWELLINGS.
+
+    The Residential streets of Kabul. Their appearance and arrangement.
+    The Police. Criminal Punishments. The Houses. Their internal
+    arrangement. Precautions to ensure privacy. Manner of building
+    for the rich and for the poor. Effect of rain and earthquake. The
+    warming of houses in the winter. Afternoon teas. Bath-houses. The
+    Afghan bath.
+
+
+The same day that I attended the Hospital, I received an order to visit
+a man of some importance, the brother of the Prince's Chief Secretary
+or Mirza. Although it was but a very short distance, I went on
+horseback, for I found it was not usual for any man of position to walk
+about the town. The patient was suffering from Paralysis agitans, or
+Shaking palsy, and was of course incurable. I was not allowed to depart
+until I had eaten some sweets and drank tea.
+
+[Sidenote: Residential Streets.]
+
+To reach his house we rode through the streets in which are the
+living houses of Kabul. I think the most striking peculiarity of
+these Residential streets is their narrowness, and the height and
+irregular arrangement of the almost windowless walls. Generally, they
+are simply narrow passages necessary to obtain access to one, or a
+group, of the living houses. Few of the streets, except the bazaars,
+can be called in any sense thoroughfares. They wind and twist about
+most irregularly, sometimes open to the sky, sometimes covered in by
+rooms belonging to the adjoining houses, and they usually end abruptly
+at the closed door of a house or garden. When one or more rooms are
+built over the street the builder rarely trusts to the strength of
+the original wall: he fixes wooden uprights on each side to support
+the cross beams. Dirtiness and want of ventilation are conspicuous.
+Drainage and street scavenging are also conspicuous by their absence.
+At one time it was exceedingly unsafe to traverse the streets after
+nightfall--I mean for the Kabulis themselves. Robbery and murder were
+every night occurrences. It is now, however, less dangerous. There are
+sentries belonging to the military police posted at intervals, each
+having a small oil lamp at his station. After ten o'clock at night
+every passer-by must give the night word or be kept by the police till
+the morning, when he is brought before a magistrate to give a reason
+for his wanderings. And the Amir now punishes the crimes of robbery and
+murder most severely. For robbery and theft the hand of the criminal
+is amputated in a rough and ready way. It is done in this manner. The
+local butcher is called in. He knots a rope tightly just above the
+wrist of the criminal, and with a short sharp knife he severs the
+hand at the joint, plunging the raw stump into boiling oil. Then the
+criminal becomes a patient and is sent to the hospital to be cured. No
+flap of skin has been made to cover the end of the bone, and the skin
+has been scalded for two inches or more by the oil, so that months
+go by before the stump heals by cicatrization. A priest one day--he
+may have been a humane Afghan--suggested to the Amir that operations
+of this and other kinds on criminals should be done by the European
+doctor. The Amir negatived the suggestion with a sharp reprimand.
+
+For murder--hanging and other forms of putting to death were found
+inadequate. So that now in addition to the murderer being given into
+the hands of the deceased's friends for them to kill as they please,
+such a fine is put upon his whole family--father, brothers, uncles, and
+cousins--that they are all ruined. Mere life is of no great value to
+an Afghan, and at one time if a man found it inconvenient to kill his
+enemy himself, he could easily get someone who for six thousand rupees
+would do it for him and take the risk of being hung, so long as the
+money was paid to his family.
+
+[Sidenote: The Approach to the Kabul Dwelling-house.]
+
+Supposing you have to visit a person in the town, you are conducted on
+horseback along the narrow winding streets. You dismount at a door and
+stumble into a dark winding passage with your head bent to avoid a bang
+against an irregular beam, and you go slowly for fear of puddles and
+holes which you cannot see. You come into the open, and find yourself
+in a garden with flowers and trees, and a tank or pond in the middle,
+or in a small courtyard with simply a well. The house is built round
+the garden or yard, and consists of a series of rooms opening by doors
+into one another and with the windows all looking into the garden.
+
+[Sidenote: Internal Arrangement of the House.]
+
+The richer men, especially those whose houses have been built within
+the present reign, have large and beautiful gardens full of fruit-trees
+and flowers, and through them ripples a stream or channel to supply the
+tank with fresh water. A house so placed that a stream can be brought
+through the garden from some irrigation canal is of greater value
+than one where water can be obtained only from a well. These modern
+houses are better built and much more elaborate than the older ones.
+The windows, large and often filled with coloured glass, are made to
+open and shut on hinges. The floors, though rarely boarded, are of
+beaten earth carefully levelled. The rooms are decorated all round in
+the Oriental way with "takchas," or small niches having the Saracenic
+arch. There is a frieze just below the ceiling, and below this is a
+dado, with mouldings which are arranged also around the takchas and the
+fireplace, if one exists. The mouldings are of a hard and fine cement
+with which the whole wall is faced. The best cement is brown in colour,
+very like Portland cement, and is found at Herat. Generally the wall
+is whitewashed, and sometimes before the cement is dry it is sprinkled
+with sparkling particles of talc. The ceiling may be boarded, but more
+often the beams are hidden by crimson drapery stretched tightly across.
+In the winter a crimson curtain is hung over the door. The windows,
+except in the Amir's palace, are rarely curtained.
+
+The takchas or recesses are filled with vases, lamps, or candlesticks,
+and the floor is covered with beautiful Turkestan rugs or carpets.
+These, with the addition of a velvet-covered mattress, properly
+constitute the furniture of a room, for Orientals habitually sit
+cross-legged on the ground. Now-a-days, however, no rich Afghan
+townsman considers his room furnished without a chair or two; not that
+he uses them much except when a distinguished foreigner calls, but it
+is a sign that he knows what is correct. Sometimes you even see a small
+table, but this is not usual. The houses of the richer men are in the
+suburbs. They cover large spaces of ground and are rarely more than one
+story high. They are not built level with the garden, but are raised
+some three or four steps. The roof is flat, and a staircase leads to
+the top. In the summer, on account of the heat, it is usual for a tent
+to be erected on the top of the house, and for the owner to sleep
+there. There are apartments which are devoted solely to the ladies of
+the harem, and also kitchens and quarters for the servants and slaves.
+The stables are, as a rule, in another enclosure. The whole house and
+garden, surrounded by its high wall and entered by only one gate, is
+absolutely private and screened entirely from any curious eye.
+
+Generally there is a room arranged apart from the rest with its window
+opening outside and not into the garden. This is often a story above
+the others, and has a staircase of its own. It is for the reception of
+male visitors who are not relatives or intimate friends of the host.
+
+The houses of the less rich, particularly those in the heart of the
+town where space is limited, are two, three, or even four stories
+high. They are built on very much the same plan, though the garden is
+replaced by a small cramped yard. Many of these are very old houses,
+and their window sashes do not hang on hinges, but consist of three
+shutters one above the other, sometimes beautifully carved. If the
+owner can afford glass the top shutter has one small pane, the second,
+two, and the third, three; generally, however, there is no glass. The
+shutters all push up out of the way, and the window is generally wide
+open, for in the spring, summer, and autumn, the heat is considerable.
+It is only in the newest houses that you see fireplaces, and these are
+rarely used, not because the winter is not cold, but because wood is
+too expensive to burn in such an extravagant way. There is coal in the
+country, but it is not in use. Even if mines were worked it would be
+far too costly a proceeding in the absence of railways to bring the
+coal to town. Quite lately a little inferior coal has been brought for
+use in the Amir's workshops, but there is none for sale.
+
+In the winter people keep themselves warm by means of a charcoal
+brazier or sandali, which I will describe presently. In the city, the
+houses being crowded so close to one another, it was to me a source of
+wonder how the owners could prevent themselves being overlooked. I was
+informed that if a man standing on the top of his house could see into
+his neighbour's enclosure, even into the garden, he was compelled by
+law to build a wall or screen to cut off his view: a violation of the
+privacy of a man's dwelling by looking over the wall is a great offence
+in Afghanistan.
+
+[Sidenote: The Building of the House.]
+
+When a house is to be built, a trench two feet deep is dug and large
+stones or pieces of rock, unshaped, are packed in with a mixture of
+clay and chopped straw. This is the foundation. The thickness of the
+wall depends on the class of house and the height it is to be built.
+Two feet is about the thickness of the wall of a house one story
+high. In the poorer houses the wall is built of lumps of clay or mud
+mixed with chopped straw: in the better houses, of sun-dried bricks
+six inches square, an inch thick, and laid on the flat: in the best,
+of similar bricks properly baked. The roof is supported on beams of
+unshaped poplar. The wood being of poor quality the beams are arranged
+close together, with a space of not more than two or three inches
+between each. The beams are covered with rush matting, or, in some
+houses, little pieces of wood, about four inches long and an inch
+wide, are placed from beam to beam close together. Over this or the
+matting is placed clay and chopped straw to the thickness of eight or
+nine inches. Upper floors are made in precisely the same way. As there
+is very little rain in the country, a house built in this manner will
+stand for years, but it is necessary to repair the roof every autumn.
+When a poor-class house is carried more than one story high, the upper
+stories, often projecting beyond the lower, are framed with wooden
+beams--poplar--and the interspaces filled in with sun-dried bricks,
+making a wall one brick thick. The builder never trusts to the lower
+wall alone to support a second or third story, but invariably fixes
+uprights of wood in the ground against the wall to support the first
+floor. This may be because the extra stories have been added on as
+the need for more space became urgent. In the older houses the walls
+are rarely perpendicular, but bulge and lean in all sorts of dreadful
+ways. If a house seems inclined to tumble over on one side, several
+extra props of wood are fixed under it. Sometimes an unusual amount
+of rain in the autumn will wash a house down, and not infrequently an
+earthquake will shake one to pieces. But considering how they are
+built, and what they look like, it is astonishing how long they stand.
+
+In the better class houses, built of brick, there is not so much need
+of the wooden uprights, though even in these you generally see them.
+The walls of these better houses are some of them very thick: this is
+the case when they are from the commencement intended to be more than
+one story high. The house that I lived in in Kabul, after I returned
+from Turkestan, was one of the better class. It was arranged in two
+wings at right angles to one another, and was two stories high. It
+was built of brick coated with mud and chopped straw. The lower walls
+were about four feet thick and the upper about two feet. Nevertheless,
+wooden uprights supported the upper floor where I lived. Below were
+the stables, the kitchen, and the servants' quarters. I noticed in
+the stable that one of the walls bulged alarmingly, so that I did not
+feel any too comfortable when an earthquake--a common phenomenon in
+Kabul--shook the house. The sensation produced by a slight earthquake
+is somewhat similar to that produced when you are standing on the
+platform of a small station and an express comes rushing through.
+There is not so much noise, but the shaking is very similar. A severe
+earthquake is very different. It commences mildly, and you think it
+will stop soon--but it does not: it becomes worse and worse, the beams
+creak, the windows and doors rattle, the house rocks, and you wonder
+what is coming next. If it is daytime you escape from the house; if it
+is night, and in the winter, with three feet of snow outside, you wait
+for further developments, hoping your house will not fall on top of you.
+
+[Sidenote: The Warming of the House.]
+
+The houses, being built in this way with thick non-conducting walls and
+roof, are wonderfully cool in spite of the intense heat of the sun in
+summer. They should be equally warm in the winter, but, unfortunately,
+the windows and doors never fit properly. There is no paint on the
+woodwork, for paint is far too expensive to be used in such a wholesale
+way, and the heat and dryness of the summer make great cracks appear.
+Except in the Amir's palaces there are no latches to the doors such
+as we have. The doors and windows are fastened by a chain which hooks
+on to a staple. The windows of a room occupy nearly the whole of the
+wall on the garden side of the room; and as passages are rare--one room
+opening into another--there are two or more doors to each room. The
+number and variety of draughts, therefore, can be imagined; so that
+with the thermometer at zero, or below, it is utterly impossible to
+keep a room warm with a wood fire in the fireplace--even if you have a
+fireplace, which is unusual.
+
+The Afghans do not attempt to keep the room warm. They keep themselves
+warm, however, by means of the "sandali." An iron pot or brazier is
+placed in the middle of the room and filled with glowing charcoal.
+Among poorer people simply a shallow hole is scraped in the earth of
+the floor, and in this the charcoal is put. A large wooden stool is
+placed over the charcoal and covered by a very large cotton-wool quilt,
+or rezai. The people sit on the ground round the sandali, pulling the
+quilt up to their chin. A big postin over the shoulders keeps the back
+warm, and the turban is always kept on the head. In the winter there is
+not much work done, and the people sit by the sandali most of the day.
+Supposing you make a call, you find them, masters and servants (all
+men, of course), sitting round the sandali chatting together or playing
+cards or chess. The ladies have their own sandali in the harem--you
+don't see them. Everyone rises as you enter, and room is politely made
+for you at the sandali. One of the servants goes off to prepare tea,
+making the water hot in the samovar. Another makes ready the chillim,
+or hubble-bubble. The tray is brought in with an embroidered teacloth
+over it, covering teapot, cups and saucers, and sugar-basin. The
+servant places the tray on the floor and kneels down by the side of it,
+folding up the cloth for a tea cosy. It is not etiquette for a servant
+to sit crossed-legged in the presence of a visitor or a superior. In
+the privacy of their own homes etiquette is, however, considerably
+remitted. He puts two or three big lumps of sugar into the cup and
+pours out the tea, breaking up the sugar with a spoon. He gets up and
+hands you the cup and saucer with both hands. To use one hand would
+be a rudeness. No milk or cream is drank with the tea, except in the
+occasional cup of "kaimagh-chai."
+
+You must drink two cups of this sweet tea--it is flavoured with
+cardamoms--and half a cup of tea without any sugar--"chai-i-talkh"--this
+is to correct the sweetness. If you make two or three calls in an
+afternoon, you feel it is as much as you can bear. In Afghanistan you
+may call upon a man whenever you like, but you must not leave his
+house without asking permission. I told them that in my country it was
+different: people were not allowed to call upon us without invitation,
+and they could go away as soon as they pleased. The Afghans seemed
+to think this was very discourteous, for they are nothing if not
+hospitable.
+
+[Sidenote: The Bath House.]
+
+All the larger houses have rooms for the Afghan bath; there is the
+bath-room proper, and a small dressing-room. It is not a hot dry-air
+bath like the Turkish bath, but a hot moist air, so that the heat is
+never so great as in the Turkish bath. The walls are cemented, and
+the floor either cemented or paved with an inferior marble that is
+plentiful near Kabul. The cement is made of equal parts of wood-ashes
+and lime moistened and beaten together for some days. In a recess in
+one wall is a cistern or tank of stone or cement, with a fireplace
+beneath it, which is fed from the stokehole outside the bath-room.
+Public bath-rooms are quite an institution in Afghanistan. They are
+rented by a bath-man or barber, who makes what he can out of them.
+Some of the bath-houses belong to the Amir. The bath is by no means
+an expensive luxury: the poorer people pay about a halfpenny. Richer
+people who engage the services of the bath-man or barber to shampoo
+them, pay about eighteenpence. The plan I adopted was to engage the
+bath-room and the shampooer for the day. It cost but a few shillings.
+
+Having sent word a day or two beforehand, I used to start about ten
+o'clock in the morning, accompanied by all my Afghan servants,
+bringing bath-towel, soap and comb. It is the custom in Afghanistan
+when the master has engaged the bath-room, for the Afghan servant to
+seize the opportunity of having a free bath. Hindustani servants in
+Kabul do not presume to accompany the Sahib on such an occasion. The
+outside appearance of the bath-house is not very inviting. As a rule,
+there is a large pool of stagnant water near by--the waste water of
+the bath--and you dismount in a hesitating way. When you get into the
+small dark unpaved entry, and slip about on the mud, the inclination is
+to turn round and go out again. However, having got so far, you think
+you may as well face it out. You find the dressing-room clean and dry,
+and the bath proprietor (or tenant rather) comes out to receive you.
+He is dressed--or undressed--ready to shampoo you, his only garment
+being a waist-cloth. The servants pull off your boots, and help you to
+get ready, and then fix a waist-cloth, which reaches the knees, very
+tightly round the waist, fastening it with a particular twist. The
+bath-man taking your hand, raises the curtain over the arched door of
+the bath-room, and leads you carefully in. The reason is that the floor
+being very smooth and wet, you are exceedingly likely, without great
+care, to have a dangerous fall. When you enter, the air being damp as
+well as hot, you feel almost suffocated.
+
+[Sidenote: The Process of the Bath.]
+
+A good class bath-room is generally octagonal, with a vaulted and
+groined roof, not much decorated, but displaying a certain amount of
+taste in the building. The windows are arched and glazed, and very
+small, so that the room is rather dark. The Afghan servants quickly
+follow you in, attired in the same way as yourself, and though they
+treat you with due respect, all seem for the time, more or less, on an
+equality, and as they dash the water over each other, they chat and
+laugh quite unrestrainedly. The process of massage, or shampooing,
+which the bath-men thoroughly understand, is rather a long one; and
+it is not at all uncommon when bathing to spend a great part of the
+day--four or five hours--in the bath-room. For myself, I found two
+hours quite as much as I wanted. A cloth is folded up for a pillow, and
+you lie on a warm part of the marble, or cement floor. You generally
+see, at first with some disgust, a few large long-legged ants, running
+quickly about near the walls: afterwards you become indifferent, for,
+as the bath-man says, they are harmless, they don't sting. There are
+such swarms of insects of all kinds in the East, that you divide them
+roughly into those that sting and those that don't. The latter you take
+no notice of, the former you treat with more respect. The shampooer,
+having dashed on a little warm water, begins by stretching and kneading
+the skin of one arm, the rubbing being done in the direction of the
+blood current; the knuckles of the fingers he cracks with a sudden
+jerk. Then he goes to the other arm. Having treated all the limbs
+the same way, he places his two hands on the sides of the chest, and
+suddenly throws his whole weight on to them, which stretches the skin,
+and compressing the ribs, drives out the air from the chest with a
+grunt and gasp. Then he kneads and rubs the muscles of the chest,
+shoulders, and body. After that he brings you into sitting posture, and
+fixing you with his knee, he seizes one shoulder and twists you round
+as far as you can go, and with a sudden jerk in the same direction he
+makes the back-bone crack. A similar twisting is done the other way
+round. He then takes a coarse flesh glove and proceeds to rasp your
+skin off. The more he can get off, the better pleased he is. They left
+me the first time with a "fox bite" on the chest, which lasted for
+days. On subsequent occasions I called attention to the fact that I
+was an Englishman and not a cast-iron Afghan. After the flesh glove,
+come two courses of "soaping"--how it smarts! hot water being dashed
+on at frequent intervals. The Afghan shoe leaving a part of the instep
+exposed, the skin becomes thick and coarse, and a piece of pumice stone
+is used to scrub the feet with. This, after all the rest, was too much
+for me, and I rebelled, excusing myself by explaining that my life was
+of value to the Amir on account of the number of sick poor in the city.
+
+[Sidenote: The Lack of Ventilation.]
+
+Finally you stand up, and two or three bucketfuls of hot water are
+thrown over your head. Your servant then comes up, wraps you in a
+bath-towel, and you go off to the dressing-room. There are no velvet
+couches to lie on, so you proceed to rub down and dress: then tea is
+brought, you have a cigarette, and ride languidly home. The Afghan bath
+is an excellent institution for cleanliness in a hot climate, but it
+certainly is neither exhilarating nor stimulating. There is little or
+no arrangement made for ventilating the bath-room, and it is customary,
+in the bitter cold of a Kabul winter, for poor people to obtain
+permission to sleep there at night. It is a not uncommon occurrence for
+one or two to be found suffocated in the morning.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE KABUL BAZAARS.
+
+    The unpopular Governor and his toothache. The meeting in the Erg
+    Bazaar. Appearance of the Kabul Bazaars. The shops and their
+    contents. Boots, shoes, and cobblers. Copper workers. The tinning
+    of cooking pots. Impromptu tobacco pipes. Tobacco smoking by
+    the Royal Family. Silk and cotton. "Bargaining." "Restaurants."
+    Tea drinking. Confectioners. The baker's oven. Flour mills. The
+    butcher's shop. Postins and their cost. Furs. Ironmongers. Arms.
+    "The German sword." The Afghan tulwar. Rifles and pistols. Bows.
+    Silver and gold-smiths. Caps and turbans. Embroidery. Grocers: tea,
+    sugar, soap, and candles, and where they come from. Fruiterers.
+    Tailors. "The Railway Guard." Costume of the Kabuli townsmen.
+    Personal effect of the Amir on costume. Drug shops.
+
+
+One day soon after I arrived in Kabul the Governor of the city--the
+notorious Naib Mir Sultan--of whom I shall have more to say later,
+sent to say he was very ill. He had been suffering for days from an
+agonizing toothache. I was advised not to visit the Naib because he
+was not in favour with the Prince. I therefore sent him some medicine
+and directed the Armenian interpreter to go, and if he found a decayed
+tooth to introduce a small pellet of cotton wool soaked in creosote. A
+day or two after, as I was returning from the hospital, I met the Naib
+in one of the bazaars. He was surrounded by a guard of the military
+police, whose Chief he was, and by a great crowd of servants. At that
+time he was execrated in Kabul. He did not, however, look very evil. He
+had a dark skin but not a disagreeable face. I enquired how he was, and
+he said the pain had entirely left him. He dismounted, and I examined
+the tooth in the street. It was decayed and the socket inflamed. I
+wanted to pull it out there and then with my fingers, but he would not
+let me touch it.
+
+[Sidenote: The Appearance of the Kabul Bazaars.]
+
+The bazaar in which I met the Naib is a modern one built by the present
+Amir, the street is wider and the shops are better built than those of
+the other bazaars.
+
+There are three chief bazaars or streets of shops in Kabul. Two lead
+from the direction of the workshop gorge eastward through the town.
+One running near the foot of the mountains to the Bala Hissar, and the
+other near the middle of the town. These two are for a considerable
+distance broader, better paved, and more carefully roofed than the
+others. In the best part the houses are two stories high. They are flat
+topped, and beams supporting a roof to the bazaar extend across from
+house to house. In other parts, where the houses are but one story,
+the bazaar is not roofed in. The other chief bazaar extends from a
+strong wooden bridge over the Kabul river, southward through the middle
+of the town. This too is roofed over in a part of its course, but it
+is neither so broad nor so carefully built as the others. There are
+a few smaller bazaars and many narrow streets or passages striking
+off in different directions from the others. They are badly paved,
+undrained, and exceedingly dirty. The shops are small and open, like
+stalls, with no front window. The floor of each is raised three or four
+feet above the street, and the shopkeeper sits cross-legged among his
+goods. At night he closes his shop with shutters, fastening the last
+shutter with a chain and a curious cylindrical padlock. Some parts of
+the bazaars are reserved for the sale or manufacture of particular
+articles. There is, for instance, the shoe bazaar. This is in the
+street leading from the wooden bridge south. The Afghan shoes are of
+heavy make, are sewn with strips of leather and have the pointed toe
+turned upwards. Some are elaborately embroidered with gold. The women's
+shoes or slippers are generally green in colour, and are made with a
+high heel. They are almost sandals, having an upper only at the toe.
+They are awkward things to walk in, I have noticed, for they drop at
+the heel at every step. The native shoes are those most on show, but
+one can buy English boots of all kinds, from the elaborate patent
+leather of Northampton to the three-and-sixpenny army boot. There are
+also long Russian boots made of beautifully soft leather: these are
+the fashion among the highest class; and a cheaper Turkoman boot of a
+similar shape with a high heel that cavalry soldiers who can afford
+the luxury invest in. A shopkeeper is, however, none too ready to show
+you his best goods. He does not exhibit them in the shop, for the
+Government officials have a way of buying anything that takes their
+fancy at their own price.
+
+I noticed in the boot bazaar that in the three-foot space under the
+floor of the shop the poorer men, the cobblers, did their business.
+There was just room to sit, and there the cobbler sat stitching, with
+his nose on a level with the knees of the passers by. A customer with a
+shoe to mend squats down beside him and gives his orders. Cobblers who
+can't afford to rent even such a "shop" as this, sit by the roadside
+in the shade of a wall or a tree and carry on their business.
+
+[Sidenote: Copper Workers: Tinning of Copper Pots.]
+
+There is a copper bazaar. Though copper is found in Afghanistan, most
+of that used comes from India. This bazaar is in the street running
+east through the middle of the city. Here, there is shop after shop
+of men hammering out copper into the different shaped utensils: the
+long necked vase for the chillim, or hubble-bubble pipe: bowls and
+pots for cooking kettles: water vases with long neck and handle and
+tapering curved spout. The shapes are all those made by their fathers
+and forefathers; there is no new design invented. The pots used for
+cooking are tinned over inside and out. Supposing the tin has worn off
+your cooking pots, you send to the bazaar for one of these men. It is
+interesting to watch how he sets to work.
+
+He brings a pair of hand-bellows with him and a stick of tin. Settling
+himself on the ground in the garden he digs a shallow hole six or seven
+inches across. This is to be his furnace. From it he leads a little
+trench about six inches long, which he covers over with clay, placing
+his finger in the trench as he moulds each piece of clay over it.
+Thus he has a pipe leading to his furnace. The nozzle of his bellows
+is fitted into the distal end of the pipe. He begs a little lighted
+charcoal from the cook with which to start his "furnace," piles it
+over with black charcoal, blows his bellows, and soon has what fire he
+wants. A small boy with him having cleaned the pots with mud and sand,
+he places the first one, supported on three stones, over his furnace.
+When it is at the proper heat he rubs it round with a rag smeared with
+wood ashes, touches it with the stick of tin, then rubs it round again
+with his wood ashes, and the pot is tinned. If you are watching him he
+may make it extra superfine with another touch of tin and another rub
+with the wood ashes, and so he goes on till he has finished them all.
+
+[Sidenote: Tobacco Smoking by the Royal Family.]
+
+Supposing the pot to be tinned is a large one, the small boy, having
+thrown in the mud and sand, stands inside the pot, and jerking it round
+and round with his hands, cleans it with his bare feet. Describing the
+way that the "furnace" is made reminds me that I have seen men prepare
+an impromptu tobacco pipe the same way. The principle is exactly the
+same, only instead of blowing air through the pipe they suck the smoke
+from the tobacco which they have lit with a match. To lie on your
+face on the ground in order to get a smoke seems rather excessive,
+but if a man has tobacco, a match, and cannot get a pipe, this is one
+way out of the difficulty. I have also seen a soldier use his bayonet
+for a pipe. He filled the cylindrical part that fits on the muzzle of
+the rifle with tobacco, and having put a lighted match on the top, he
+fitted his two hands round the lower end and sucked the smoke between
+them. Most Afghans are inveterate smokers. The tobacco they smoke is
+not the American tobacco that we have. It grows in Kabul, Kandahar,
+Herat, and many parts of Afghanistan, but the best comes from Persia.
+The leaf is paler, apparently uncured and is not pressed, nor cut,
+but simply broken up. I have smoked it, but it is very hot in a short
+pipe. It smokes best in the chillim. The Amir himself when he smokes,
+which is not often, generally has a Turkish cigarette. The eldest
+Prince, Habibullah, smokes cigars from India. Prince Usuf, the Amir's
+uncle, one of the younger sons of Amir Dost Mahomed, smokes American
+birdseye tobacco. He is a courtly old gentleman, dresses exceedingly
+well, and is of the bluest of the blue blood, and it strikes one as
+very incongruous to see him puffing away at a short clay pipe; he never
+smokes anything else.
+
+There is the cotton and silk bazaar in the street leading from the
+gorge to the Bala Hissar. The shops here are mostly kept by Hindus.
+Every Hindu in Kabul, and there is quite a colony of them, has to pay a
+poll tax, and is not allowed to wear a blue turban. It must be either
+yellow or red--generally they wear red.
+
+Besides the rolls of silk from India and Bokhara, and the plain and
+printed cotton goods which come from India, there are many English
+undergarments to be seen: for English clothing of every kind is very
+fashionable among the upper classes in Kabul. There are cotton and
+merino vests, socks, and handkerchiefs hanging on strings across the
+little shops. The Hindu shopman in Kabul strikes one as oppressively
+civil, he "salaams" so low with the hand on the forehead. The Afghan
+trader does not. You can buy or not as you please. If he has a piece
+with a yard or two more than you want, often he will not cut it for
+you. You can take the lot or leave it, he is not particular. But Afghan
+and Hindu alike ask you a much higher price than they will afterwards
+take.
+
+If you want to buy anything, you send for a shopkeeper to your house
+and ask his price. He tells you. You smile derisively, and offer him
+just a third. He is pained, he is indignant, the thing is absurd, he
+gave a great deal more than that himself. You say, "Good morning."
+Then he says--Well, he will do what he can, for you are a friend to
+the poor, but it will be a dead loss to him; and he knocks a little
+off his price. You say, "No," but add a little on to yours, and so
+it goes on for a variable time, derision and sarcasm on your side--a
+pained indignation on his. Finally, he takes less than half of what he
+asked originally, and is well paid then; but when he goes away you feel
+rather as if you had swindled the poor man.
+
+Though shopkeepers in Kabul selling similar goods tend to congregate
+in the same bazaar, they do not do so to the same degree as in some of
+the towns of India. You find boot shops in other streets than the chief
+boot bazaar; and so with other goods for sale.
+
+In the tea-drinking shops you see a large samovar, about three feet
+high, in one corner, where water is kept boiling hot by the glowing
+charcoal in the centre pipe. Men drop in and seat themselves,
+cross-legged, for a chat and a cup of tea. The shops will hold some
+three or four. The Afghans like their tea very hot, weak, very sweet,
+and flavoured with cardamoms, which are put unpowdered into the teapot.
+They pay a pice, that is a little less than a farthing, for a cup of
+tea. If a man has some tea with him, and he often has, he can always
+send to one of these shops for a teapot and hot water. He pays a pice
+for it. There is also a preparation they call "kaimagh-chai," but this
+is comparatively expensive, and is drunk only at festivals or times of
+rejoicing. It is a mixture of tea, sugar, cream, soda, and cardamoms.
+It is thick, curdy, pink, and very sweet--not at all bad to taste, but
+very "rich." The teapots, cups, and saucers in use are generally from
+Russia. Some of the richer men have them from China or Japan.
+
+[Sidenote: The Kabul Restaurant.]
+
+Besides the tea-drinking shops there are the eating-houses. These have
+no marble-topped tables or velvet-covered chairs. The shop is the same
+as any other shop, except that it looks rather dirtier, probably from
+the amount of fat or oil used in the cooking. The customer carries his
+lunch away with him, or stands outside to eat it. The space inside
+the shop is taken up by the cook and the cooking pots. They sell
+kabobs--little cubes of meat skewered on a long stick and grilled over
+charcoal. A stick of kabobs, with some bread, is uncommonly good if you
+are hungry; you tear the meat off the stick with your fingers. They
+have also meat, finely minced and mixed with fat, which they squeeze in
+their hand round a thin stick and cook over charcoal. It looks rather
+like sausage, I don't know what it is called. They use any kind of meat
+for this--mutton--or, failing that, the flesh of the camel or horse
+that age or infirmity has rendered unfit for further service. There
+are many kinds of pilau too. Rice, boiled skilfully till every grain
+is soft without being soppy, is piled over the meat, stewed to such
+tenderness that you can easily tear a piece off with the fingers. There
+are chicken pilau, mutton pilau, sweet pilau with raisins in it, and
+so on. Kourma is another dish--meat stewed in small pieces and eaten
+with stewed fruit.
+
+For his pudding the Afghan goes to another shop, the confectioner's.
+Here there are sweets of many kinds: sugared almonds, "cocoa-nut
+ice," sweets made in the shape of rings, sticks, animals, or men;
+gingerbread, soft puddings made of Indian corn, much sweetened. In the
+summer different kinds of iced sherbet, lemon, orange, or rose are sold
+in the street.
+
+In the bread shop, the baker squatting on the floor kneads out the
+dough into large flat cakes and claps it in his oven. The oven is a
+large clay jar about three feet across and three feet deep, with the
+neck a foot in diameter. This is buried beneath the shop, the mouth
+being level with the floor, and is packed round with earth. It is
+heated by making a fire inside. When the heat is sufficient, and the
+fire has burnt out, the baker puts his hand in the mouth and flaps the
+flat doughy cake against the wall of the oven, where it sticks. When
+baked, it generally brings away some grains of charcoal or grit with
+it. You pay two pice (a little less than a halfpenny) for a cake of
+bread a foot and a-half long, a foot wide, and an inch thick.
+
+Flour is ground in a water mill. A hut is built by the side of some
+stream which has a sufficient fall. The water pours down a slanting
+trough over the water wheel, and turns two circular flat stones which
+are arranged horizontally in the hut. The miller, squatting down,
+throws the grain into an aperture in the upper wheel and scoops up the
+flour as it is ground away from between the stones on to the floor.
+The bread made from the flour varies very much in grittiness, some is
+hardly at all gritty. The Afghans are very particular about eating
+their bread hot, they don't care to eat it cold unless they are on a
+journey. One of their proverbs is, "Hot bread and cold water are the
+bounteous gifts of God," "Nan i gurrum wa ab i khunuk Niamati Illahist."
+
+[Sidenote: The Butcher's Shop.]
+
+Butchers' shops are not very common; meat is an expensive luxury.
+Mutton is the usual meat eaten. By very poor people other meats are
+sometimes eaten, especially in the form of mince. In the latter case
+it is impossible to say what the meat is, so the impecunious Afghan
+assumes it to be mutton. If there is any meat in the mince that is
+unclean--on the shopkeeper's head be it for selling anything "nujis" to
+a True Believer.
+
+There is very little meat to be seen hanging in the shops, for the
+climate being a hot one and flies numerous, the meat will not keep more
+than a few hours. What the joints are it is impossible to say, for
+they cut the sheep up quite differently from an English butcher. At
+one time I used to try and puzzle out when the joint came to the table
+what it was: I gave up the attempt afterwards as futile. The mutton is
+excellent in quality and very cheap. I wished to give a dinner one day
+to a dozen Afghans--the Amir's palanquin bearers. I bought a sheep for
+4s. 6d., some rice, butter, bread, and firewood, and the whole cost
+less than 6s.
+
+Kabul is famous all over Central Asia for the manufacture of the
+postin or sheepskin pelisse. While riding along the bazaar running
+from the wooden bridge south, I used to wonder at one place what the
+faint disagreeable smell was due to. I found on enquiry that there
+was a manufactory of postins there. I have not seen the whole process
+of tanning. The skin of the sheep or lamb with the wool on it is
+cleaned and scraped, then soaked in the river and pegged out in the
+sun to dry; afterwards it is tanned yellow with pomegranate rind. The
+leather is beautifully soft, and it is usually embroidered artistically
+with yellow silk. The wool is, of course, worn inside. The better
+ones are trimmed at the collar and cuffs with astrakhan. There are
+several different kinds of sheepskin postins. The long one reaching
+from shoulder to ankle, with ample folds that you wrap yourself up in
+on a winter night: there is nothing more cosy and warm to sleep in.
+The sleeves are very long and are more for ornament than use. These
+are but little embroidered, they cost from fifteen to thirty rupees.
+There is a short one with sleeves, which is elaborately embroidered.
+This is worn in the winter by the soldiers--cavalrymen, for instance,
+if they can afford the necessary ten or fifteen rupees. Similar but
+cheaper ones with less beautiful wool and no embroidery, can be bought
+for four or five rupees. There is the waistcoat postin of lamb's
+wool, which is made without sleeves, this costs two rupees six annas
+Kabuli, or half-a-crown English. These waistcoat postins and the long
+sleeping postins are used by all classes, rich and poor. The others
+are used only by the poorer classes, the peasants and the soldiers. A
+gentleman or a man of position would no more think of putting one on,
+were it ever so beautiful and elaborate in its embroidery, than would
+a resident of the west of London think of appearing in the "pearlies"
+and velvet embroidered coat of the coster. The rich men wear, in the
+winter, coats of cashmere, velvet or cloth, lined with beautiful furs
+from Bokhara and other parts of Asiatic Russia.
+
+[Sidenote: Furs: Their Cost.]
+
+The most valuable fur that is imported I have not seen, only the Amir
+wears it, and he rarely; from the description they gave me I conclude
+it is sable. The next most valuable is the "Khuz," a species of Marten.
+There are two kinds, the Khuz i Zulmati, which is dark, and the Khuz i
+Mahtabi, which is much lighter and of an inferior quality. These can
+be bought sewn together in the sheet, either with or without the tails
+of the animals attached. There were twenty-four skins in the sheet I
+bought. The shopman asked L10 for it, but he let me have it the next
+day for L6.
+
+Then there is the "Altai," a beautiful fur taken from the inner side
+of the leg of the red fox. A sheet consists of many pieces, each with
+a deep black centre surrounded by a dark red margin. I bought one in
+Turkestan for L6, which I was told was cheap. Squirrel fur made into
+the sheet, with or without tails, either grey or grey and white, is
+very popular. It is called "Sinjab," and is less expensive than the
+others. There are several other cheaper furs--a white one they call cat
+skin--though of what cat I do not know, the fur of it soon rubs off;
+and a short brown fur, the name of which I never heard. Astrakhan, of
+which the Amir has the monopoly, is exported largely to Russia and in
+small quantities to India. It is used chiefly to cover the round or
+straight-sided Russian hats that Afghan Colonels and Captains wear. It
+is difficult to get hold of any in the Kabul bazaars.
+
+In the ironmongers' shops are nails, hammers, locks, knives, and
+horse-shoes. The last are made broad, flat, and rather thin, in the
+Russian style. I was told that this pattern is considered to protect
+the frog of the horse's foot from the numerous stones and pebbles he
+has to go over on a journey. Shoes in the English pattern are more
+expensive. I heard that the Amir had imposed a small tax on the sale of
+them.
+
+[Sidenote: Weapons: Their Nature.]
+
+In the "arms" shops are swords, guns, and pistols of various kinds.
+There is the curved "shamshir," or scimitar, with a cross hilt. Most
+of these come, Mr. Pyne told me, from Birmingham, some, I suppose,
+from Germany. They can be tied in a knot if necessary. The Armenian
+interpreter one day brought me a sword to examine; he was thinking of
+buying it for eight rupees. It looked like an English sword, and was
+brightly burnished. I put the point on the ground and bent the sword to
+try its spring. It seemed easy to bend. I raised it up and it remained
+in the position to which I had bent it.
+
+"Wah!" said the Armenian, "and he is English sword!"
+
+"Oh, no," I said, "German."
+
+Then I had to explain where Germany was. But I don't know, it may have
+been English; I hope not. I advised him not to buy it for eight rupees.
+He said, "I not have him at one pice."
+
+There is the straight-pointed Afghan sword, the blade of which broadens
+to three inches at the handle. The back from point to handle is
+straight and thick. There is no handguard. The best of these are made
+in Khost, a frontier district south of the Kurram valley. The blades
+are often beautifully damascened, and the handles of ivory or horn are
+carved and inlaid with gold or silver or studded with jewels. They
+are very sharp, the steel is of good quality, and they are rather
+expensive. For one of good quality without a scabbard, and which was
+not elaborately ornamented, I gave sixty rupees. I had a scabbard made
+in Kabul. The scabbard is made of two long pieces of wood thinned and
+hollowed out to receive the sword; these are fastened together and
+covered with leather. Formerly they were covered with snake skin. Mine
+was covered with patent leather and mounted with silver. I weighed out
+rupees to the silversmith, and when the mounts were finished he weighed
+them out to me before they were attached to the scabbard. The scabbard
+is made longer than is usual in England, for it takes the handle
+all but about an inch, as well as the blade of the sword. In these
+shops are also rifles for sale--the native jezail with a curved stock
+ornamented with ivory, and with a very long barrel fastened on with
+many bands. The Afghan hillmen and the Hazaras make these, and they
+are good shots with them. They make their own powder also. There are
+old-fashioned English rifles, flint locks and hammer locks: some very
+heavy, with a two-pronged support hinged on to the barrel, presumably
+to rest on the ground and steady the rifle when taking aim; native
+pistols and old English pistols of various kinds; old shirts of chain
+mail and small shields with bosses on. These are not used now except
+for ornament. Lance or spear heads, old Indian and English helmets,
+firemen's helmets; powder flasks made of metal or dried skin; and heavy
+tough very strong wooden bows, with a straight handpiece in the middle
+of the bow: these were used in the time of Dost Mahomed. I never saw
+any arrows, and the bows were sold merely as curiosities. Boys and
+lads, now-a-days, use a bow with two strings which are kept apart by a
+two-inch prop. They use it to kill birds, shooting small stones from a
+strip of leather attached to the two strings.
+
+The silver and goldsmiths make native ornaments similar to those one
+sees in India: broad, thin perforated bracelets; studs for the nostril,
+that the hillwomen wear--this custom, however, is not so common as
+among the Hindus; necklaces of coins and discs, amulet boxes, belt
+buckles, and so on. Nothing original or peculiar to Afghanistan seems
+to be made.
+
+[Sidenote: Turbans and Caps.]
+
+In the cap shops there are rows of small conical caps, hanging on pegs
+and on bars across the top of the shop. The Afghan turban is wound
+round the cap which is jammed on the back of the head. If put more
+forwards the weight of the turban causes a painful pressure on the
+forehead.
+
+There are several different kinds of caps. The Kabul cap is thickly
+quilted with cotton-wool. Inside, at the top, a little roll of paper
+enclosed in silk is sewn. This is supposed to have a sentence from
+the Koran written on it to protect the wearer from harm. I opened a
+roll one day to see what was written, but found the paper blank. The
+best caps are embroidered all over with gold thread from Benares. Some
+are but little embroidered, have simply a star at the top, and others
+not at all. Some are made of velvet, and some of cloth. Those from
+Turkestan are not quilted. They are not so heavy as the Kabul caps, are
+of very bright colours, and are worn indoors or at night. The caps are
+of all prices, from three or four pice to fifteen rupees. The lungis,
+or turbans, are also of many different kinds: the commonest being
+cotton dyed blue with indigo--these are of native make: or of white
+cotton or muslin from India. A better kind are of blue or grey cotton,
+embroidered at the ends with gold thread, in wider or narrower bars,
+according to the price. These come from Peshawur, and they look very
+handsome on a tall dark-skinned Afghan. Others are from Cashmere, most
+beautifully embroidered, and are fawn-coloured, turquoise-blue, black,
+green, or white. The ordinary length of a lungi is nine yards; the
+cashmere, being thicker, are not so long. The only white cashmere lungi
+I ever saw was the Amir's. He gave it me one day; but that is a story I
+will relate further on.
+
+In the cap shops are also Kabul silk handkerchiefs for sale. They are
+of beautiful colours--purple, crimson, and green. I do not know what
+dyes are used, but they are not fast, they wash out; and the silk is
+of poor quality, not to be compared with English or French silk. In
+these shops, too, are gold brocades of various kinds, mostly from Delhi
+or Agra. Some, however, are made in Kabul, the design being copied
+from English or European embroidery that has been imported. Many of
+the workers imitate European embroidery with wonderful exactness,
+though they do not seem to be able to originate any new designs. If one
+bolder than the rest attempts to do so, the design is greatly wanting
+in beauty of outline. The brocades are used for tea-cloths, and by the
+Amir and richer men for table-covers. The skill of these men is also
+called into use to decorate the dresses of ladies, and the tunics of
+pages and gentlemen.
+
+In the grocer's shop the most prominent things to be seen are the big
+loaves of white sugar from India and Austria. The native sugar is made
+in small conical loaves--about a pound each. It is very sweet, but
+not so white as European sugar. The loaves of native sugar are always
+wrapped round with coloured paper--pink, red, or blue--so that the shop
+looks quite smart. The tea for sale is chiefly green tea from Bombay.
+It is brought by koffla--camel and donkey caravan, from Peshawur
+through the Khyber Pass, by the travelling merchants or carriers. Many
+of the rich men of Kabul own trains of camels, which they hire out for
+carrying purposes. There is black tea also, but in small quantities and
+expensive. It is said to be brought from China through Asiatic Russia
+and Turkestan. The Afghans always call black tea "chai-i-famil."
+
+[Sidenote: Lamps, Candles, and Soap.]
+
+The candles are of two kinds, tallow and composite. The tallow are of
+native manufacture--dips--with cotton wick. They are not used very
+much, as they gutter and melt away very quickly. There is a much better
+tallow candle made in Afghan Turkestan, thicker than the Kabul candle,
+which burns exceedingly well. The composite candles are much more
+popular, and are not very expensive. They come from Bombay or Peshawur,
+and are used largely by the Amir and the richer men. The poorer people
+use an oil lamp, very much the shape of the old Roman lamp. It is of
+clay or terra-cotta, saucer-shaped, with or without a handle, and with
+a spout. The cotton wick floats in the oil, and extends a quarter of
+an inch beyond the spout, where it is lighted. The oil they use is, I
+believe, almond oil: it is called "Tel-i-kunjit." It has a smoky flame,
+and gives a poor light. Some lamps on the same principle are larger,
+elaborately made of brass, and hang by chains from the ceiling; they
+have four or five wicks. Others, also with three or four wicks, are
+made of tinned iron; they stand on the ground supported on an upright
+about a foot high. Paraffin oil from Bombay can also be bought, and
+some of the richer men occasionally use cheap paraffin lamps "made in
+Germany."
+
+Soap is both native and imported. The native is in saucer-shaped lumps.
+It is not used for washing the hands and face--an Afghan rarely uses
+soap for this purpose; but for washing clothes or harness. It is rather
+alkaline and caustic. A soap "plant," with its tanks, has been erected
+in the workshops, and doubtless when the working of it is better
+understood the soap will be of usable quality. At present it does not
+sell. Other soap in the form of tablets is imported from India, Russia,
+and Austria. By what route it comes from Austria I do not know, unless,
+like so many cheap German goods, it comes through India. Russian soap
+is the cheapest and worst, it crumbles up in your hands the second time
+you use it. Next is the Austrian, which is not at all bad; the best and
+most expensive is the English. The native salt--powdered rock salt,
+pinkish in colour--is not very good. You have to use so much before you
+can taste it. I don't think any salt is imported. Spices of most kinds
+can be bought--pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and so on; but these are bought
+at drug shops.
+
+Fruit shops are in great numbers, for fruit and vegetables form
+important items in the diet of the poorer people: in the summer fresh
+fruit and vegetables, and in the winter dried fruits, particularly the
+mulberry, are largely used. The fruit shops are, as a rule, arranged
+very tastefully. Grapes of different kinds are in great quantities and
+exceedingly cheap--a donkey load for a rupee. Melons and water melons,
+apples, quinces, pomegranates, pears, and various kinds of plums,
+nectarines, peaches, and apricots. Dried fruits, almonds, roasted peas,
+pistachio nuts, dried mulberries, apricots, and raisins, are sold by
+the grocers. Fresh fruit, as soon as it is ripe, and even before, is
+eaten in large quantities, far more than is good for the health of the
+people.
+
+The Englishmen in Kabul had to be exceedingly careful in eating fruit.
+Unless taken in very small quantities it produced, or predisposed to,
+troublesome bowel affections. The natives, though, as a rule, not so
+susceptible as the English, were affected in the same way, sometimes
+dangerously, occasionally fatally.
+
+[Sidenote: Tailors. "The Railway Guard" Costume.]
+
+In a tailor's shop you see one man sitting on the ground hard at
+work with a sewing-machine, another cutting out or stitching. There
+are no ready made clothes in a tailor's shop, these are to be bought
+elsewhere. A rich man has, as a rule, a tailor attached to his
+establishment. Those less rich having procured their material send
+for a tailor from the bazaar. He cuts out the material in front of
+the employer and takes away the garment to his shop to make up. This
+is a check upon the tailor, so that there can be no purloining of
+material. Ready-made clothes, new or secondhand, are for sale in many
+shops. English coats of all kinds sell readily, especially old military
+uniforms. One day a man walked into the hospital evidently thinking
+himself rather smart. For the moment I was startled: I thought he was
+an Englishman. He was dressed in the complete costume of a railway
+guard.
+
+The costume of the hillmen and peasants is the same as that worn by
+the Khyberi Pathans, which I have described. An Afghan in typical
+native town costume--say a mirza, or clerk--is dressed somewhat more
+carefully than the Pathan. He wears the loose oriental trousers, or
+pyjamas, gathered in at the waist and hanging in multitudinous folds
+draping from the hip to the inner side of the knee and ankle, the band
+at the ankle fitting somewhat closely. The native shoes with turned
+up pointed toes are worn without socks, that is, unless the wearer
+is wealthy. The embroidered camise, or shirt, falls over the pyjamas
+nearly to the knee. A waistcoat with sleeves is worn reaching a little
+below the waist and slit at the hip. Finally, a loose robe or coat
+worn unfastened and with long sleeves, reaches midway between the knee
+and ankle. The waistcoat is of velvet or cloth, quilted and generally
+embroidered with gold. The coat is of thinner material, and, as a
+rule, of native cloth. The townsmen, however, generally, though not
+always, modify the native costume with European innovations. As a rule
+the higher they rise in the social scale the more Europeanized they
+become--in costume if in little else. The Afghans, though invariably
+spoken of as religious fanatics, are far less "conservative" than the
+Mahomedans of India. You never see one of the latter with an English
+hat on: a very great many refuse to adopt even European boots. In
+Afghanistan the readiness to become Europeanized, at any rate in
+appearance, probably depends upon the personal influence of the Amir.
+After European weapons and knives--these are readily adopted by all
+who can afford them--the first thing taken is the belt with a buckle,
+instead of the cummerbund or waistshawl. It is, however, open to
+question whether this innovation is an improvement, for in a climate
+with such great variations of temperature as that of Afghanistan the
+cummerbund is an excellent protection to the abdominal organs. Socks
+are readily adopted even by the conservative. Then come European
+coats, which are worn by a great many of the townsmen. After the
+coats, European boots. Trousers are worn, as a rule, only by the
+upper classes, including the court pages and by some of the soldiers.
+They are made somewhat loosely and are worn over the pyjamas. When
+a gentleman or Khan arrives at home after the business of the day
+is finished, he throws off his European garb and appears in native
+costume. First, the belt and tunic are removed, and he dons the loose
+robe. Then his boots and trousers, and he can curl his legs up under
+him once more in the comfortable Oriental way, as he sits on his carpet
+or cushions on the floor. To sit on a chair for any length of time
+tires an Oriental very much more than a European can realize.
+
+Finally, English felt hats, or solar helmets, are worn by the more
+liberal minded, or those who are more ready to imitate the Amir.
+Russian astrakhan hats, semiglobular shape, and those wider at the
+top, have been worn for many years by gentlemen and officers in the
+army. This was not such a striking innovation, for the somewhat similar
+Turkoman hat of astrakhan has been familiar to the Afghan for ages.
+
+[Sidenote: Drugs.]
+
+In the drug shops are native drugs for sale. Some few English drugs can
+be bought: quinine, of which the Afghans are beginning to realize the
+value; and chloral hydrate, of which some are beginning to learn the
+fascination. The native drugs are such as manna, camphor, castor oil,
+and purgative seeds of various kinds.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+ETHICS.
+
+    Sir S. Pyne's adventure in the Kabul river. The Tower on the
+    bank. Minars of Alexander. Mahomedan Mosques. The cry of the
+    Priest. Prayers and Religious Processions. Afghan conception of
+    God. Religious and non-Religious Afghans. The schoolhouse and the
+    lessons. Priests. Seyids: descendants of the Prophet. The lunatic
+    Seyid. The Hafiz who was fined. The Dipsomaniac. The Valet who
+    was an assassin. A strangler as a Valet. The Chief of the Police
+    and his ways. Danger of prescribing for a prisoner. "The Thing
+    that walks at night." The end of the Naib. Death-bed services.
+    Graves and graveyards. Tombs. The Governor of Bamian. Courtship
+    and weddings among the Afghans. The formal proposal by a Superior
+    Officer. The wedding of Prince Habibullah. Priests as healers of
+    the sick. The "faith cure." Charms. The "Evil Eye." Dreadful fate
+    of the boy who was impudent. Ghosts.
+
+
+[Sidenote: Adventure in the Kabul River.]
+
+When we had been in Kabul about a fortnight, His Highness the Amir
+nearly lost the services of Mr. Pyne. It occurred in this way. We
+were riding along the lanes around Kabul, accompanied by a guard of
+troopers, and Mr. Pyne was lamenting that he had drank _water_ for
+lunch. "There it was," he said, "still deadly chill." He certainly
+had water enough and to spare very shortly after. He had galloped
+on a little ahead towards the river, and when we turned the corner
+expecting to catch sight of him, he was nowhere to be seen. The Kabul
+river, swollen by rains and melting snow, was roaring and foaming by. I
+galloped along the bank expecting to see him. Hearing a shout, I looked
+back and saw one of the sowars, who was some yards behind me, jump off
+his horse and run to the bank, which was here some three or four feet
+above the river. I sprang off my horse and ran up just in time to see
+Pyne dragged out, dripping, by the lash of the soldier's whip.
+
+He was galloping, he said, along the path on the river bank when
+he came to a place where the bank was lower and the river partly
+overflowed it. Never thinking but what there was firm bottom he did not
+stop, and down his horse sunk till Pyne was up to his armpits in water,
+icy cold. The next minute the current swept him off, and he found
+himself under water near his horse's heels, with the animal striking
+out violently in its endeavour to swim out. He came to the surface and
+tried to swim to the bank, but his arm caught in the rein and he and
+his horse were swept together to the middle of the stream. He got clear
+of the rein by sinking, and struck for the bank again, but found the
+current turned his head up stream. Meanwhile, his riding boots became
+filled with water, and his turban and clothes soaked. The current swept
+him along, but by violent exertion he reached the bank, here four or
+five feet high, caught at a root and shouted. The root was torn out,
+and again he was swept into midstream: things now seemed to be getting
+serious. He saw two men wrestling on the bank, and a priest on a tower
+calling people to prayer, but no one would look round at him. With the
+heavy turban weighing him down, and wet clothes impeding his action, he
+could with difficulty keep his head above water. His breath was going,
+and his muscles aching when he once more got under the bank. He saw me
+go galloping by, and shouted. The sowar who was near heard the shout,
+saw him, jumped off his horse, and threw him the lash of his whip.
+
+Just under the bank his feet touched the bottom, and he stood up to his
+neck in water, holding on to the whip and panting to get enough breath
+to scramble up the bank. He was hauled out, dripping, and then we
+looked round for the horse. The poor brute was struggling and snorting,
+and being rapidly carried along midstream. Pyne ran along the bank and
+called to him. The animal turned his head, pricked up his ears, and
+struck vigorously for the shore. He reached the bank, and with two or
+three violent plunges scrambled up to dry land.
+
+Pyne did not tell me all this on the river bank, for we mounted at
+once and galloped off to the workshops, so that he could get into dry
+clothes; then I heard the whole story.
+
+No evil resulted, but the soldiers of the guard were informed that if
+Mr. Pyne had been drowned, their lives would have been forfeited--a
+strong inducement to a "guard" to be watchful and attentive.
+
+I mentioned a "priest on a tower calling people to prayer." There are
+several towers round about Kabul, mostly to the north-west of the city.
+They are not of great height, and I doubt if they were built originally
+for religious minarets, for they are not attached to any mosque or
+musjid. Probably they were originally watch-towers put up by the
+peasants to guard their crops and herds from local marauders. On the
+mountains near Kabul one sees stupendous minars which were built, it is
+said, by Alexander to mark the road through Afghanistan to India. One
+of these may be seen from Kabul on the distant peak of a mountain to
+the east of the Kabul valley; another can be seen west of Kabul, from
+the elevation of the Paghman hills.
+
+[Sidenote: Mahomedan Mosques.]
+
+Mosques, or, as they are called, musjids, are numerous in Kabul. Some
+are comparatively large, with a courtyard and a domed roof with a
+minaret on each side. These have either a stream of water near, or a
+tank or well, for the use of those who come to pray: for Mahomedans
+invariably wash hands, feet, and face before they pray, and cleanse
+also the nostrils and mouth. There is a rush matting on the floor, and
+the worshippers leave their shoes outside, as they do when entering any
+house. Inside, the musjid is very empty and bare.
+
+In the west wall is the niche, or mihrab, marking the direction of
+Mecca: or the Kibla, so called because of the Kibla or stone of Mahomed
+in Mecca, and towards this the worshippers turn their faces when they
+pray. In the larger musjids there is also a pulpit or platform with
+three steps, called a Mimbar, from which the Imam or preacher recites
+his Sabbath oration, Friday being the Sabbath. The Amir's new rupee is
+stamped on one side with a decorative representation of a musjid with
+a three-stepped pulpit inside. At early dawn, and at four other times
+during the day, the priest mounts the minaret, and, standing upright,
+with his thumbs in his ears and his hands spread out, he utters in a
+penetrating falsetto voice the call of the faithful to prayer, "Allah
+akbar! Allah akbar, Mahomed Ressul Allah!" and so on. "God is great,
+God is great, Mahomed is the Prophet of God. Come to Prayers, Prayers
+are better than sleep. Come to salvation, God is great. There is no
+god but God." Then a few people begin to gather in, ten or twelve to a
+musjid.
+
+They stand in a row, their faces towards Mecca, and the priest, having
+descended, stands in front of them with his face in the same direction.
+The priest recites the prayers, standing, or stooping with his head
+bent, kneeling or prostrating himself with his forehead touching the
+ground, according to the law of the ceremony. The people imitate the
+priest in his motions. They are supposed to repeat the prayers to
+themselves, but the prayers are in Arabic, which very few Afghans
+understand: so that if they have learnt them by heart they repeat them
+simply as a parrot does.
+
+The smaller musjids have no courtyard, they are flat-roofed and open
+on one side, the roof being supported on that side by carved wooden
+pillars, and the musjid is raised three steps above the street. These
+have the mihrab, or altar, but no pulpit, and the minaret is replaced
+by a block of stone about a foot square outside the musjid, on which
+the priest stands to utter the call to prayer. These, too, have a
+stream, a well or tank, or some other water supply for ablution.
+
+So far as I could judge the majority of people do not go to a musjid to
+pray except when there is some national calamity, such as a visitation
+of cholera. On these occasions they go in procession with bands of
+music and flags. I once saw a procession in the distance, but though I
+felt some curiosity to see it nearer, I did not thrust myself unduly
+forward. There are drawbacks to doing so when Mahomedans are in a
+state of religious enthusiasm, for there is the possibility that one of
+them, overcome by excess of zeal, might obtain Paradise for himself by
+putting a knife into a Feringhi. It was not my ambition to be, in this
+way, a stepping-stone to Paradise.
+
+Ordinarily such Afghans as profess religion go through the ceremony of
+prayer just where they happen to be when the time of prayer arrives.
+There are five periods appointed in the day. The first, just before
+sunrise; the second, just after midday; the third, an hour before, and
+the fourth, just after sunset; and the fifth, when they can no longer
+distinguish a white from a black thread. If they happen to be at Durbar
+they withdraw a little from the presence of the Amir--for His Highness
+sits towards the west of the audience chamber--spread their cloaks
+or coats in lieu of "praying carpets," and turning towards the west,
+or Mecca, go through their prayers. The Amir's two eldest sons pray
+regularly at the appointed times, and if they happen to be in Durbar at
+the time some of the chief officers join them.
+
+His Highness the Amir does not pray, at least so far as I know. I have
+never seen him do so openly, though it may be he prays in his heart.
+I have noticed that some of the greatest scoundrels at the Court are
+those who openly pray, or go through the form of prayer most regularly.
+
+[Sidenote: Afghan Conception of God.]
+
+God, as conceived by the Afghans, seems to be an All-powerful Being,
+towards whom it is necessary to behave with the greatest politeness;
+for if one detail of etiquette be omitted God will be offended--and
+then what harm He can bring upon the offender! It is far less dangerous
+to offend against a fellow-man by annexing his property or taking his
+life than to insult God by omitting to bow down to Him on one of the
+five appointed times.
+
+There are many, however, who do not trouble to be religious. I do not
+know how they look at things: whether they think too much is required
+of them, or that they will probably be able to gain Paradise in the end
+by killing some unbelievers, or whether they simply don't care. When
+attending medically any man of education, I had always to be careful in
+enquiring whether he were "religious" or not; for if I gave a tincture
+(containing spirit) to any "religious" man, I got into trouble--he
+evidently considered that I wished to injure his prestige with God.
+With the uneducated, or poorer people, I had no trouble of that kind.
+They swallowed anything I liked to give them unhesitatingly. I never
+found the "religious" Afghan a whit less ready to "do his neighbour in
+the eye" than a non-religious one.
+
+[Sidenote: The Languages Learnt in Afghanistan.]
+
+The musjid is also the schoolhouse, and is presided over by the priest.
+A learned priest will get a good many pupils, but an unlearned one
+none. I have often seen boys from eight to thirteen years of age
+seated in a row in the musjid with the moolah, or priest, opposite
+them. Their open books are propped on an =X= shaped support, and the
+boys sway backwards and forwards as they drone out in a monotonous
+voice whatever they are committing to memory. The education of the
+majority seems to be of the very slenderest. They learn to read parts
+of certain books and to write a little. With some, education is
+carried further, particularly among those who are intended for priests
+and mirzas. Some of the latter study Persian sufficiently to write
+a well worded and flowery letter: they learn, too, a certain amount
+of mathematics--arithmetic and Euclid. The moolahs learn some Arabic
+because the Koran is written in that language: otherwise, foreign
+languages are not taught. The Court pages seem to be taught rather more
+than other boys; some of them learn the different languages of the
+country--Pushtu and Turki--as well as Persian. The Amir's eldest son,
+Prince Habibullah, was learning English when I was in Kabul, though
+I never heard of anyone else learning the language. I have heard the
+Amir speak Persian, Pushtu, and Turki. He told me he could speak Arabic
+also. Of Russian he said he knew two words only, I have forgotten what
+they were; and of English he knew two words: "tree," he said, meant
+"dirakht," and "gown" meant a lady's dress.
+
+The income of the priests is derived from their fees for performing the
+ceremonies of marriage and of burial, and from charitable donations.
+
+A priest who is a Seyid, or a direct descendant of the Prophet,
+is hereditarily a beggar. He can demand from anyone he pleases a
+sufficient sum of money for his wants. The Seyids in Afghanistan do not
+seem to have the exclusive right of wearing green turbans: in fact, I
+never saw one with a green turban on, though I have often seen page
+boys and others not Seyids wearing them. One of my servants, the mirza,
+or secretary, was a Seyid. He was a good sort of man in his way, and I
+quite liked him. However, he used to smoke Churrus, or Indian hemp,
+and it affected his intellect. At times he behaved like one insane. He
+never attempted any violence towards me; in fact, though I was warned
+against him, I think he was too attached to me to do me an injury: but,
+perhaps, I am wrong in this; however, he never did do any harm. If he
+were upset he would cover his face with chalk and walk about shaking
+his head in a dejected way, muttering, "Tobah, tobah," Alas! alas! One
+day he removed all his clothing, and went out into the street with his
+beggar's wallet only. I sent one of the military police to fetch him
+back, and asked him if he were not ashamed to behave in that manner. He
+said he was tired of work. I said, "You are earning an honest living
+and are able to send money to your wife and children in Jelalabad." He
+said, Yes, but he had to write when he didn't want to write. It was
+better that he should go out with nothing and beg for his few wants. As
+for his wife and children, God would take care of them. There seemed a
+certain amount of "method" in this. Occasionally, however, he was very
+violent, though not with me, and I could hear him raving like a madman.
+
+[Sidenote: The Hafiz who was Fined.]
+
+One of the compounders at the hospital was a Hafiz and a moolah; a
+Hafiz is one who from memory can repeat the whole Koran. He was a tall
+handsome young man with courtly manners. He lived at my house, and at
+daybreak I was often dreamily roused by his fine tenor voice as he
+was chanting his prayers. Once his early prayer was of considerable
+worldly service to me and the neighbourhood, for he found that the
+bathroom of my house was on fire; the beams were already alight. He
+summoned assistance, the fire was soon put out and the matter ended.
+If the house had been burnt the affair would have reached the ears
+of the authorities, and the neighbours would have had a fine imposed
+upon them unless they could produce the incendiary! This young man had
+asked permission to live at my house because he could do so cheaply.
+He was saving money to pay off a debt incurred in Peshawur, his native
+town. I thought, What an honest worthy young man! but I found the money
+had been borrowed to pay off a fine imposed upon him for a murder he
+committed in Peshawur. He escaped hanging because there was an element
+of doubt in the case, and possibly for the reason that his elder
+brother had been some years in the British service. He admitted to me
+that he had stabbed the man, but he did not regret it. The man was a
+"bad man" and had injured him.
+
+"Surely the Koran does not tell you to commit murder," I said.
+
+"No," said he, "the Koran is God's book, but we are all sinners."
+
+One of the hospital assistants, a Hindostani, working under me, was
+also a Hafiz and a priest. He was a very gentlemanly man of about
+forty-six, and well educated. He had been in the Bengal cavalry. I
+liked him very much, but, unlike most Mahomedans, he was a dipsomaniac.
+For a fortnight or so he would be miserably drunk. He drank the native
+spirit made from raisins, methylated spirit, or any kind of intoxicant
+he could get hold of. He explained his condition to me by saying that
+"Shaitan" came to him occasionally and said, "You have drunk no shrab
+for so long, now is a very good time to drink," and so he listened to
+Shaitan and drank. He afterwards gave up alcohol and took to chloral
+eating and opium smoking. I was very sorry for the man. I think he was
+not such a scoundrel as some of them.
+
+When I first entered the service I picked up a man in Kabul who could
+speak a little English, and had him to look after my clothes and wait
+upon me--my valet. He was a short thick-set man, with a shaven head,
+on which he always perched a little red fez. He was wonderfully gentle
+with sick children, who were brought to me to prescribe for. He was
+very lazy, but was cowed at once if I were angry. I found he was a
+hired assassin who had escaped from Peshawur into Afghanistan. When I
+discharged him he made a large sum of money by gambling in the bazaar,
+and then returned to Peshawur. The last I heard of him was that he had
+been apprehended and was in jail.
+
+At one time, after I returned from Turkestan, I used often to go
+and dine at the workshops with the other Englishmen, and two of the
+military police who guarded my house came at ten o'clock with a lantern
+to escort me home. My interpreter did not like my doing this at all,
+because I had to ride through some narrow winding streets and across
+the large orchard or garden before I reached the shops. He said, "It
+is known that you often come home at that time of night, and you might
+easily be shot, and there be no possibility of finding the man who
+fired at you. In that case your guard would be killed, and probably I
+as well for not warning you." However, it was too depressing to be
+always alone, and no one ever shot at me. One of these soldiers who
+came for me was a big, very handsome man, but he had a curious furtive
+look in his eyes. He used to pull my riding-boots off when I got home,
+and put out the candle. I remarked once upon the curious look in his
+eyes, and was told that all in his particular profession had that look.
+
+[Sidenote: A Strangler as a Valet.]
+
+I enquired what he did besides guarding my house. They said, "Have
+you not noticed that on some nights another man takes his place?" I
+had noticed it. I was then informed that he was one of the official
+executioners, whose duty it was to strangle certain of the prisoners in
+jail. The unfortunate is told one day that he will have the privilege
+that night of sleeping in a separate room. He is conducted there, and
+finds there is one other occupant of the room. As soon as he is asleep
+the other occupant--my friend!--secretly placing a noose round the neck
+of the sleeper, suddenly draws it tight and throws his whole weight
+upon the chest, striking the victim violently over the heart.
+
+The late Governor of Kabul and chief of the police, Naib Mir Sultan,
+whom the Amir hanged recently for his iniquities, largely employed this
+means of getting rid of prisoners. An anxious woman would come to him
+with perhaps a thousand rupees, and implore his intercession on behalf
+of her husband who was in jail. The Naib would say, "Yes, he would do
+what he could, he knew the case was coming on directly, but it was an
+expensive business; if she could bring another thousand perhaps the
+thing could be done." And he would keep her dangling on some time,
+squeezing out of her all the money he could get, and then she would be
+informed officially that her husband had died in jail of an illness!
+
+Sometimes a prisoner who was sick would ask permission to see the
+doctor, and he would be brought to me at the hospital with chains round
+his ankles, in charge of a soldier with fixed bayonet. But I was very
+careful about prescribing for a prisoner, for the Naib was an adept
+in the use of poisons as well as of stranglers, and a death might be
+imputed to me. Another way he had of removing objectionable men who
+were not prisoners. Some night two of the police knock loudly at a
+man's door, saying, "Get up at once, Amir Sahib calls you." This is
+quite likely to be true, for His Highness often continues at his work
+late into the night, and the man hurries on his clothes and goes out
+with the police. He is never seen again; but some days afterwards his
+head is found in one place and his body in another. Then the widow in
+great distress goes before the Amir and tells her story.
+
+The Amir naturally enquires, "Who is your husband?" The woman explains,
+saying, "Amir Sahib sent for him on such and such a night." The Amir,
+of course, tells her that he did not, and enquires if she can identify
+the soldiers who came for her husband. She cannot, for it being night
+and she a woman, she has never seen them. The natural conclusion is
+that some enemies of her husband have personated soldiers and murdered
+him.
+
+I have, however, heard other explanations of these incidents.
+
+[Sidenote: The End of the Naib.]
+
+The Naib was not a bad-looking man: he had a dark skin, but rather
+an agreeable expression than otherwise. He never dared go out without
+a large guard of his police, the townspeople would have torn him to
+pieces. Prince Habibullah disliked him even when I first entered the
+service in 1889, and, finally, his iniquities were proven to the Amir.
+I forget what the particular charge against him was, but he was fined,
+they said, a hundred lacs of rupees to begin with, somewhere about half
+a million! He paid it, and another fine was imposed which necessitated
+his selling up everything. Brought before the Amir soon after this, he
+was insolent, and His Highness in exasperation seized him by the beard
+and struck him in the face. The soldiers then hurried him away to a
+tree outside. Someone suggested his praying. "Pray!" he said, with a
+laugh, "after a life like mine? No, I'll die as I have lived;" and they
+hanged him on the tree.
+
+This is the story as I heard it at the time. I did not see him hanged,
+for there was a cholera epidemic in Kabul, and I was there. The Amir
+was at Paghman in the mountains.
+
+Though Friday is the Sabbath, the shops are open on that day as well as
+on other days in the week. Somewhat less work is done, especially at
+the time of the priests' oration in the principal musjids, about two
+in the afternoon. In Kabul the Amir's workshops are closed, and the
+Out-patient Hospital also. The Amir himself, too, does less work on
+that day, otherwise there is no great difference between the Sabbath
+and other days in the week.
+
+I spoke just now of fees to a priest for a "burial" service, but,
+perhaps, that is hardly a correct term to apply, for I never saw any
+service or ceremony performed at the actual time of burial. However, it
+is possible there may be, though I never saw one, but I have seen the
+service performed at a death bed.
+
+When I was in Turkestan a young officer, a cousin of the Sultana's, was
+ill. The Hakims, who were attending him, not knowing the use of the
+stethoscope, could not diagnose the case, and after some days I was
+sent for. I found that he had had Pneumonia, or Inflammation of the
+lung, and that instead of clearing up, the inflamed lung had become
+tubercular, and a cavity could be detected in it. He had developed
+consumption. I did what I could, but it was too late for any permanent
+relief to be afforded him.
+
+He became worse, and one day when I called, he was manifestly dying. I
+found several men sitting on the ground by the bedside reciting prayers
+continuously. I enquired why they were doing so at this time, and was
+told they would continue praying till he died, for he was then passing
+to Paradise over the narrow bridge whose edge was sharper than a razor,
+and that the continuous prayers kept away the evil spirits who were
+endeavouring to drag him down into the abyss.
+
+The men praying were his nearest relations, and with them was a priest;
+for although it is the Mahomedan custom for the nearest relatives to
+recite the prayers on this occasion, a priest is generally sent for
+also.
+
+[Sidenote: Royal Tombs.]
+
+The graves of the richer Afghans have upright headstones of marble
+or slate carefully shaped and ornamented. The writing on them is in
+relief, the stone being chipped away from the letters. The tomb of an
+illustrious man is bricked round, about two feet high, and covered with
+a slab of marble. Occasionally one is surrounded by a fence: trees
+and flowers being planted in the enclosure. The grave of the Amir's
+father near Kabul is cared for in this way. Others have a sort of small
+mosque or musjid built over them; and the deceased, when his name is
+forgotten, becomes a holy man and a saint.
+
+The grave of a poor man has a flat stone, the largest his friends can
+find, planted upright to mark the place of burial: many have no mark at
+all, but the collection of mounds is not to be mistaken. The graveyard
+is not walled in or enclosed. The tombs of the kings are, some of them,
+imposing. That of Timour Shah in Kabul (son of Ahmed Shah, founder of
+the Durani Empire) is a very fine piece of brickwork. A huge central
+dome is surrounded by a series of flat-roofed rooms, the ground plan
+of the structure being octagonal. No care is taken of it, and it is
+becoming dilapidated by time. The tomb of Babur Shah, just outside
+Kabul, is also becoming dilapidated. It is smaller and of marble, in
+the style of the smaller musjids, with pillars to support the roof.
+Another tomb just outside Kabul is built in the shape of a musjid. It
+is that of a grandson of Amir Dost Mahomed. I knew his son very well,
+Sirdar Abdul Kudus Khan. The latter once was of great service to the
+Amir. In one engagement, by a brilliant charge, he completely turned
+the fortunes of the day. Success was too much for him, and he became
+presumptuous. He was accordingly ordered into honourable confinement.
+Some time afterwards he was allowed to appear at court, but for many
+years no appointment was given to him. Quite recently, he received
+office, being made Governor of the province of Bamian.
+
+[Sidenote: The Proposal of Marriage.]
+
+The marriage ceremony differs very much from ours in England. Firstly,
+the young Afghan does not see his sweetheart till she becomes his
+wife--at any rate he is not supposed to. He hears that such a man has
+a very pretty daughter, and that she is likely to have so much dowry.
+He therefore sends his mother or sisters on a visit to the harem. The
+ladies, properly veiled, are conducted there by their servants in a
+closed palanquin. On their return they give their opinion, and all the
+information they have managed to glean. If everything is satisfactory
+to the young man, he approaches the father or guardian, and makes his
+proposal. If he is accepted as a suitor, an opportunity is given to the
+young lady to see the swain herself, unobserved. She can, if she like,
+refuse him, and if she be a girl of strong character, may be successful
+in her refusal: but I know that sometimes considerable pressure is
+brought to bear, if her wishes are contrary to those of her father or
+guardian. Sometimes the young man, if he holds a subordinate position,
+will prevail upon his superior officer to make the proposal for him
+to the father or guardian. It may have more weight. I once had this
+onerous and pleasing duty to perform. I marshalled all my servants,
+and rode off with as much ceremony as possible, to the house of the
+young lady. I had a vague sort of an idea I might see her; but I did
+not: she saw me, which was not so satisfactory. When I arrived at the
+house, I was conducted through the courtyard into an upstairs room,
+where the guardian--her brother in this case--received me. A party of
+gentlemen were in the room, and they all rose as I entered. After the
+usual salutations a chair was offered me: the rest seated themselves
+cross-legged round the room. I made a formal proposal in the name of my
+subordinate, and a discussion followed. I was surprised at the free and
+open way in which they said the man for whom I was making the proposal
+was a rascal and a liar, and that he had not the money he said he had.
+There was no delicate hinting that, perhaps, they had erred in assuming
+his fortune was such and such. I naturally anticipated a refusal; no,
+out of respect for me, he was accepted! Then a large tray of loaf sugar
+broken into pieces was brought in, and first I and the guardian, then
+the others, ate a little, and the rest was given to the servants. After
+that we had tea, and I rode off home again, where the anxious lover was
+waiting for me. I said,
+
+"They called you very bad names."
+
+"That matters little;" said he, "did you eat the sugar?"
+
+"Yes," I said.
+
+"Ah! then all is well! the other is a custom."
+
+The actual ceremony of marriage is performed at the house of the
+bridegroom, though there is often a reception at the bride's house
+afterwards--not that you see the bride or any other ladies. The father,
+guardian, or brothers receive you.
+
+At the marriage ceremony the amount of dower is first discussed
+and settled, and then the priest formally enquires, first of the
+bridegroom then of the bride's legal representative, whether they each
+agree to the marriage. On receiving an answer in the affirmative he
+pronounces a few short prayers and blessings, remaining seated while
+he does so, and the ceremony is concluded; sometimes, also, rings are
+exchanged. Then comes the reception of guests at the bride's house.
+
+I was invited to the wedding of Prince Habibullah. I did not see the
+ceremony, where the priest blesses the union, but I attended the
+reception at the house of the bride's father. It happened to be in
+the suburbs, near where I was living, and I walked there escorted
+by my servants and guard. I was shown into a large flower-garden
+where several tents were erected. A great many guests had arrived,
+but not the Prince. Presently, I heard the "Salaam-i-Padshah"--the
+representative of our National Anthem--being played by a brass band.
+It is a solemn and slow chant, reminding one of a dead march: it is
+very impressive and by no means unmusical. I was told it was composed
+by an Englishman--who he was I do not know. Then the Prince rode into
+the garden, followed by his brother, Nasrullah Khan. Both were dressed
+in scarlet and gold uniforms. Prince Habibullah wore a military helmet
+with plumes, and Nasrullah Khan a grey astrakhan hat. I bowed as
+the Prince went by, and he pulled up to enquire why I had not taken
+possession of the tent prepared for me, and he pointed out a very gay
+one. There were people in it, but they turned out at once. The Prince
+gave orders to one of the chamberlains for tea and cigarettes to
+be served for me there, and then rode on to another tent, where he
+dismounted. Taking his seat he received the salaams of the assembled
+guests. I sat in my tent, and people came in and chatted, and then went
+on to other tents. I drank tea, ate fruit, and smoked, while musicians
+and nautch women went through their performances. Then large trays of
+sweetmeats and sugar were brought to each of the tents, and when I had
+eaten a little I departed, for it began to rain. The servants of each
+of the guests carried away their master's tray of sweets, for it was
+the fast of Ramazan, when Mahomedans cannot eat nor drink till night.
+The father of the bride was the Shaghassi, or Master of the Ceremonies
+in Mazar, and when we left there he was made governor of Turkestan.
+Soon after we left, however, he had sunstroke--mania, the hakims
+said--and the Amir recalled him to Kabul.
+
+I found my horse waiting for me at the gate of the garden. In spite of
+the rain, the streets were crammed with people, and I had some trouble
+in the crowd, for my horse was restive, and plunged; however, we got
+home without accident. I went also to the wedding of Prince Nasrullah,
+but I will describe that later.
+
+[Sidenote: The Faith Cure.]
+
+Some of the priests have gained a certain amount of reputation as
+healers of the sick; not by the administration of medicines, for
+that is a privilege reserved for the hakims and doctors, but by the
+employment of the "faith cure." It is an axiom in the Mahomedan
+religion that to utter the name of God a great number of times is
+of inestimable benefit to both body and soul; also that if a part
+of the body be diseased, it is an efficient cure to bind on it the
+written name of one of the attributes of God, "the Merciful," "the
+Compassionate," "the Restorer." The sick, therefore, go first to
+the priest for help, and by the payment of a fee obtain the written
+scroll. This is rolled up in silk or leather, or, if the patient be
+wealthy enough, is enclosed in a little cylindrical box of silver made
+for the purpose, and bound on the diseased part of the body. If the
+patient recover, great credit is given to the priest, and other sick
+people seek his aid. If recovery does not ensue, either the patient is
+resigned, considering that his "Nasib" is thus written in the book of
+fate, or else by the payment of a larger fee he engages the medical
+skill of the hakims, or native physicians.
+
+Every patient with chronic disease of any kind who came to me had one
+of these little packets fastened by a string round his arm or neck.
+
+[Sidenote: The Evil Eye.]
+
+Many of the children, even those in good health, have similar charms
+fastened to them. I noticed that the Sultana, or her women, fastened
+one in a gold cylindrical box on the arm of the little Prince Mahomed
+Omar, soon after he was born. This was to protect him from accident
+or other evil. Sometimes, for the same purpose, a piece of string
+only, over which a few prayers have been recited, is tied round the
+child's limb. This is done by the poorer people. Against the "Evil
+Eye"--which, as far as I could understand, is the eye of "envy, hatred,
+and malice"--something blue is a great protection. Men wear turquoise
+rings, children and woman turquoise ornaments or blue beads. When a man
+buys a new horse the servants at once fasten a blue bead or ribbon
+among the hairs of his tail. It is not necessary for the blue to be
+seen: it is just as sure a protection when it is hidden. The Evil Eye
+is a dangerous weapon, so many possess it, and it works silently and
+secretly. Paralysis, wasting, rickets in children, impotence, and
+sudden death, the illness of cattle and horses--all these are imputed
+to the evil eye.
+
+Just outside the house I occupied, after my return from Turkestan to
+Kabul, there was an open space with a small pond in the middle; this
+was a favourite playground for the boys of the neighbourhood. I rode
+through it as usual one morning on my way to the hospital. When I had
+finished my work and returned home again, my interpreter, who seemed
+rather upset about something, said to me--
+
+"Sir, I very sorry you kill that boy to-day."
+
+"What do you mean?" I said; "I've not killed any boy."
+
+"Oh, yes, sir; you remember he called you Feringhi this morning."
+
+I remembered then that while riding through the playground, one of the
+boys, a good-looking lad of about twelve, had attracted my attention
+by calling out something, and he laughed as he ran away. I looked up
+carelessly and then rode on, thinking no more about it. I said--
+
+"I remember a boy saying something, but I didn't hear what it was."
+
+"Sir, he very fool boy to call you Feringhi, but he is dead now."
+
+"That is very sudden! What did he die of?" I asked.
+
+"Oh, sir, I poor man--what I know? You looked at him, and he died;
+perhaps trouble come for us."
+
+"Nonsense," I said, "he must have died of something. Boys don't die
+because you look at them."
+
+"Sir, in this country often it is they do!"
+
+I indignantly said, "What do you mean! _I_ haven't got the evil eye!"
+
+He looked at me meaningly, then looked on the ground and shook his head
+dolefully: I couldn't persuade him that the thing was a ridiculous
+impossibility. As there is a kind of vendetta in Afghanistan I rather
+wondered what would happen next. I told my interpreter to make
+enquiries and find out what the boy really died of. He said,
+
+"Why for we make enquiries? Better it is we keep quiet for a few days
+and say nothing."
+
+I never heard what was the cause of death, and the matter blew over.
+
+[Sidenote: Ghosts.]
+
+Besides the evil eye the Afghans believe in other forms of magic; in
+certain days of the week being lucky, and others unlucky; in ghosts,
+and jins, or devils. A man told me one day that the house he lived in
+was formerly occupied by the three sisters of one of the kings, Shah
+Shujah, I think it was, and that they were evil women. One night on his
+return home, just as he entered the house he heard sound of women's
+laughter in the bath-room on the ground floor. Wondering who could be
+there, he opened the door. Three women, whom he did not recognize,
+sprang up and rushed, laughing, through the further door into the
+inner bath-room. He slammed the door to, and fastened it, and hurried
+upstairs, where he found his wife and the women of the household. He
+enquired who were the women in the bath-room. They said there could be
+no women. The house was of the usual kind--only one door leading from
+the street into the courtyard, and every one entering could be seen.
+Lights were procured, and he descended to the bath-room, unfastened the
+door, opened it, and peeped in--no one was there. He went across to
+the further door and found it fastened with a chain and padlock on the
+outside in the usual way. He thought, "The women cannot have fastened
+themselves in." He took the key from his pocket, unlocked the door and
+looked in: this room also was empty. He is convinced he saw the wraiths
+of the women who formerly occupied his house.
+
+Almost every house in Kabul has its ghost or jin. The house I had on
+my return from Turkestan had a reputation. The soldiers who were put
+to guard it in the winter while I was at the Palace at last refused to
+sleep in one of the ground floor rooms. They said it was haunted, that
+jins and devils came and pinched them, and moved their rifles and belts
+from where they had placed them. So in spite of the intense cold they
+moved out into the porch of the big gate opening from the courtyard
+into the street, and there they took up their quarters permanently. One
+day, just before sunset, after I had returned, the syce came out of
+the stable, which was under the room I occupied, and called one of the
+other servants. The latter came to me afterwards and said that just as
+it was beginning to get dusk he went to look into the stable, as the
+syce had called him. To his astonishment he saw what seemed to him to
+be two small children running round the legs of the bay horse, and
+jumping on its neck and off again. He went forward to gain a clearer
+view, and the children, or jins, as he called them, disappeared. He
+searched the stable thoroughly, and found nothing out of the way,
+except that the bay horse was trembling and covered with sweat.
+
+Many similar stories were related to me at different times, but though
+for months I slept alone in the "haunted wing" I never saw any ghost,
+jin, or devil--except those clothed with flesh and blood; doubtless it
+was a privilege reserved for "True Believers." There was, however, one
+incident; but I will relate that by and bye.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+AFGHAN SURGEONS AND PHYSICIANS.
+
+    Accidents from machinery in motion. The "dressers of wounds" in
+    Afghanistan. Their methods of treating dislocations, fractures, and
+    wounds, and the awful results of the same. The "Barber surgeons."
+    Tooth drawing and bleeding. The Hindustani "Doctors." "Eye Doctors"
+    and their work. The Hakims or Native Physicians. Treatment of
+    disease by the People. Aspect in which European Physicians are
+    viewed by the different Classes.
+
+
+[Sidenote: Machinery Accidents.]
+
+One morning soon after our arrival in Kabul, when I was at the Erg
+hospital, a messenger arrived in a great hurry to say a man had been
+injured at the Workshops. I jumped on my horse, which was waiting, and
+galloped off. Just outside the Workshop garden, on the road by the
+river bank, I saw the heavy portable engine with a crowd of people
+round it. Mr. Pyne was there in the middle of the crowd, and a man, one
+of the Afghan workmen, was lying on the ground. I examined the patient
+and found he was dead. Mr. Pyne was very upset and at first refused
+to believe it. He sent off a man to the shops for whisky, and begged
+me to send someone to the hospital for ammonia. I did so, though, of
+course, it was useless. They were moving the engine to the Salaam Khana
+or Durbar Hall to work the dynamo for the electric light there, but no
+one in the crowd seemed to have seen how the accident occurred, whether
+the man was crushed under the wheel or whether he had been struck on
+the head. There was no inquest, and post mortem examinations were not
+viewed with favour.
+
+Later on, when the machinery was put together and some of it was in
+working order, accidents and deaths were, as might be expected, of
+frequent occurrence. In stepping over the shafting which ran across the
+entrance to one of the shops, about a foot above the ground, the long
+sheepskin postin or coat would catch, and the wearer be whirled round
+and killed. Familiarity breeds contempt, and in spite of accidents it
+took a long time to educate the ordinary Afghan, after he had got over
+his first awe, up to the point of learning that machinery in motion
+should be approached with circumspection.
+
+They had a way of putting their fingers under the punches of the
+cartridge machines, forgetting that the punch would inevitably come
+down at its appointed moment. It took one man in the palm, I remember,
+and I had to amputate his first and second finger and his thumb.
+Another got his hand between some steel rollers in motion, and but for
+the fact that Mr. Pyne was on the spot and at once threw the machine
+out of gear, the arm would have gone too. As it was, the skin was taken
+neatly and cleanly from the wrist and turned backwards like a glove
+over the finger tips. The bones of the hand were crushed, and I wished
+to amputate in the lower forearm; but the man, who was brought to the
+hospital, refused to have the hand taken off because he could move the
+fingers a little. I pointed out the danger he was running of further
+serious results, but he would not consent.
+
+As he refused the only treatment that I felt was suitable, I could not
+undertake to treat him, and he was removed to his home in the city.
+I do not know who attended to his hurts, probably one of the native
+"dressers," but four or five days afterwards he sent a friend to beg
+that I would come and remove the hand. Unfortunately, it was too late;
+"tetanus," or lockjaw, had set in.
+
+[Sidenote: Afghan Treatment of Dislocations.]
+
+The "dressers" of wounds in Afghanistan are a body of
+men--natives--whose duty it is to dress wounds and ulcers, set broken
+limbs, and probe for bullets. They have no knowledge of even the
+groundwork of their profession. Never having dissected, nor studied
+anatomy, they are quite ignorant of the position and shape of the
+bones, to say nothing of the course and distribution of the larger
+arteries of the human body, so that the abscess knife and the scalpel
+put into the hands of one of these men work grievous harm. They carry
+about with them a flat tin box, with partitions inside, something
+like a paint box; and in it is a collection of most filthy looking
+ointments of different colours. These they plaster on indiscriminately;
+if one does not cure an ulcer perhaps another will. For dislocation
+of joints a mixture of flour and yolk of eggs smeared on is a certain
+specific; they have no idea of reducing the dislocation. For a broken
+bone, flour and yolk of eggs again comes in. Say the bone of one arm
+is broken between the shoulder and elbow, the following treatment is
+adopted. Some narrow strips of calico, smeared with the flour and egg
+mixture, are bound tightly round the limb at the seat of injury; thus
+breaking the first law of surgery, that no bandage be put on under
+a splint. Over this bandage are arranged longitudinally four or five
+narrow pieces of wood about five inches long, very like those you buy
+in a bundle for firewood, and utterly useless as splints, and another
+bandage is wound firmly over these; there is no padding with cotton
+wool. The patient is then left. The result is, of course, that the limb
+below the bandages becomes exceedingly swollen and painful.
+
+When the pain has reached such a pitch that it is no longer bearable,
+the patient releases his arm from the bandages, and the dresser is
+sent for to readjust them, so that the unfortunate limb is relieved
+for a time before it is tortured afresh. In spite of the dresser the
+bone sometimes unites, usually at a more or less obtuse angle; but
+not uncommonly, especially in compound or comminuted fractures, the
+pressure is taken off too late, and the whole limb mortifies. The
+patient, after months of suffering, may or may not recover. I have had
+them brought to me with the broken end of the bone protruding from a
+hanging mass of stringy and sloughing muscle and tendon, the rest of
+the limb being hidden from sight by unclean rags.
+
+Such "dressers" as I could get hold of I put through an examination at
+the hospital, to try and find out what they knew, and endeavoured to
+teach them some elementary facts in anatomy and one or two common sense
+rules in surgery, but only one of them would even pretend to learn, and
+he was a humbug. They all knew better than I did how to treat wounds
+and ulcers, and set broken limbs, and they received any suggestions of
+mine in offended silence. I showed up one or two, pointing out the
+disastrous results of their treatment, but it did no good. I only had
+an extra enemy or two to consider, for they were very venomous.
+
+[Sidenote: The Barber Surgeons.]
+
+Besides the comparatively modern "dressers," there is another body
+of men in Kabul who practise the noble art of surgery, namely, the
+"barbers." The line they specially take up is that of bleeding and
+tooth drawing. They have very rough forceps for the latter operation,
+and when, as not infrequently happened, they snapped the crown of a
+tooth off instead of extracting it, they passed the patient on to me.
+It is annoying for a surgeon to have to extract broken but firmly-fixed
+fangs from an injured and bleeding jaw. It is not a pretty operation at
+all.
+
+For fevers, dyspepsia, gout, headache, or any feeling of malaise, the
+barbers bled their patients--but besides these, which may be called the
+_irregular_ bleedings, there are regular bleedings every spring and
+autumn. These are generally done out of doors by the road side. The
+barber, squatting down by the side of his patient, makes his incision
+at the bend of the elbow: fortunately, not into the vein immediately
+over the great artery of the arm, the one usually bled from in England,
+but into one adjoining. The patient holds out his arm and allows the
+blood to drip on to the ground till he thinks enough has run away.
+There is not the slightest attempt made to measure the quantity of
+blood lost. The only precaution taken is to avoid drinking any water
+for twenty-four hours afterwards, lest it should mix with the rest of
+the blood in the vein and make it thin; or if they do drink any they
+hold the wounded arm above their heads to prevent the water running
+into it! Wet cupping, too, is performed by the barbers and dressers,
+and is a very popular means among the townsfolk of getting rid of
+their blood. It is a common thing to see an Afghan scarred all over
+the shoulders and loins. Cupping is employed generally as a remedy for
+muscular rheumatism. The custom was introduced some years ago by the
+Hindustani hospital assistants, who, after having had in India some
+slight training in the European system of medicine, found their way
+into Afghanistan under the guise of "doctors." The majority of these
+were unqualified men, and were quite unfit to be anything but hospital
+assistants. Let loose upon the people they have worked as much havoc
+among the sick as a similar number of the hakims could have done.
+
+[Sidenote: Eye Doctors and Hakims.]
+
+There are also native "eye doctors!" These may do good sometimes by
+accident, though I never heard of a case, but they do an incredible
+amount of harm: for eye diseases, on account of the glare and the dust,
+the absence of proper treatment and ordinary care are very common in
+Afghanistan.[1]
+
+[1] The commonest affections I met with were granular lids, chronic
+entropion, corneitis, nyctalopia, and cataract.
+
+Finding out that I sometimes used sulphate of copper--an astringent
+and caustic--of which there was plenty to be had in the bazaars, they
+would put this powdered into any eye--say, of a child who had ulcer of
+the cornea! The Hindustani hospital assistants were not much wiser, for
+they sometimes used solutions of sulphate of zinc, a similar remedy,
+for the same purpose. The eye being irreparably damaged the patient is
+then handed on to me, and the Hindustani, like the dresser, smugly says
+that "If _he_ couldn't cure the patient, neither could the Feringhi."
+
+However, the people and the Amir judged, I found, according to general
+results. I remember in Turkestan a soldier getting leave of absence,
+travelling down to Kabul, and bringing his old mother on a donkey the
+two hundred odd miles over the mountains, for me to cure her eyes. They
+were past all hope.[2] The painful part of the affair was that they
+would not believe I _could_ not, but that I _would_ not restore her
+eyes; and the old woman went down on her knees to implore.
+
+[2] Entropion, with nebulous and vascular cornea in an old woman of
+seventy.
+
+There was one old fellow, an "eye doctor," in Kabul, whom I used to
+notice on my way to the hospital. He sat in a hut of rushes and mud by
+the roadside, with his medicines in little packets before him. I often
+wished he would come and have a little elementary instruction in the
+"eye." But he had such a sour expression when I went by, and he never
+would look at me, that I did not suggest it to him.
+
+The hakims--the physicians of Afghanistan--practise purely as
+physicians; they do not use the knife surgically, rarely even for
+bleeding. When they find it necessary to treat an abscess, they apply
+an irritating ointment which causes ulceration of the skin. Since the
+introduction of European drugs into Afghanistan some of the hakims have
+made use of them; but as they do so in ignorance of their therapeutic
+properties, the results are rarely satisfactory, and, in some cases,
+are disastrous. They have great faith in the healing properties of a
+purge, but do not consider it has had any effect unless it acts at
+least twenty times. The way is prepared by administering every day for
+a week a large bowl of laxative mixture; afterwards, one or more bowls
+of a drastic purge are given. Some of the people seem to establish
+toleration of this class of medicine, and require a large dose before
+they are acted on; but with a vast number this mode of treatment,
+combined with the custom of eating largely of ripe and semi-ripe fruit,
+certainly predisposes them to the obstinate and often fatal bowel
+affections that are such a scourge in the spring and autumn.
+
+These bowel troubles, according to a popular native idea, are caused
+by drinking tea immediately after having eaten fruit, particularly
+mulberries. There is no doubt, however, that some of the cases are
+due to the debilitated and enfeebled state of the digestive organs,
+produced by the malarial poison, the immediate exciting cause often
+being the sudden change in temperature experienced when climbing a
+mountain after a residence in the hot valleys. Other cases are due to
+the presence of minute intestinal parasites, the ova of these being
+ingested during the drinking of impure water, a common custom among the
+careless Afghans.
+
+[Sidenote: Treatment of Disease by Hakims.]
+
+The hakims practise, I was informed, according to the Yunani or ancient
+Greek system of medicine. The only books I could obtain on this system
+were written in Arabic, and this was an obstacle to my studying them;
+but, whatever the teaching of their books may be, the hakims I found
+knew nothing whatever about anatomy, physiology, or pathology. Their
+treatment of disease is entirely empirical. They act according to
+"authority." Studying disease, not in the living subject, but in their
+books only, they have made no progress whatever upon the teaching of
+their ancestors. A sick man is brought to them, and some prominent
+symptom forces itself upon their notice. This is at once diagnosed as
+the disease. For instance, pain in the abdomen is to them "colic."
+It is described in their books and a certain line of treatment is
+directed. They do not examine their patient, or attempt to find a cause
+for his pain; nor do they differentiate between different forms of
+colic, for they have not noticed that pain in the abdomen is sometimes
+unconnected with the bowel. As an example, Perwana Khan, the Deputy
+Commander-in-Chief in Kabul ("Dipti Supersala"), was for some weeks
+attended by the hakims, who, reporting him to be suffering from colic,
+administered purge after purge. As, however, he did not seem to be
+getting any better, the Amir desired me to examine him. I found he
+had acute pain in the left loin, shooting downwards; the attacks of
+pain came on, he said, after he had been riding on horseback, and he
+had other symptoms, all pointing unmistakably to stone in the kidney.
+I administered suitable medicine for the relief of the pain, and he
+was overjoyed, imagining himself cured. I explained, however, to His
+Highness what was wrong.
+
+To the hakims dropsy is a disease, and can be cured by the treatment
+set forth in their books. No attempt is made to discover the cause
+of the dropsy--whether it is due to kidney disease, heart, liver,
+lung or blood disease--it is simply an accumulation of gas (bad) in
+the tissues! In diseases of the chest, they do not, of course, employ
+auscultation with a stethoscope, nor percussion; and bronchitis,
+pneumonia, and phthisis are classed together under the name of surfa,
+or cough. This, they say, is due to an accumulation of "slime"
+(balgham) in the body. In some cases the surfa is accompanied by dard
+i sina, or pain in the chest, and occasionally blood as well as slime
+is coughed up: these are recognized as bad cases. I have related the
+case of the young brigadier in Turkestan, cousin of the Sultana, whom
+the hakims were treating for surfa, and who was dying of an improperly
+treated pneumonia, which had, eventually, become tubercular. As I did
+not want to have the credit of killing him, I sent in my report to the
+Amir at once. The hakims did not in the least mind my being sent for to
+their cases, after they had become hopeless; for, like the dressers,
+they said, "Behold, the Feringhi doctor cannot cure them any more than
+we."
+
+Malarial fevers are diagnosed as "cold fever" or "hot fever" (tap i
+larza--tap i gurrum), according to whether there is a shivering stage
+or not. They are treated by copious bleedings and purgings, and by
+very low diet. Malarial fever, however, being due to the presence in
+the blood corpuscles of a microscopic animal, an amaeba, the treatment
+that the hakims adopted was not likely to be very successful. Quinine
+in sufficient dose destroys this organism, but the hakims would rarely
+give it, or if, following my plan, they did so, they gave it in doses
+so small as to be useless, for they said, "Quinine is _hot_, and,
+therefore, bad for fever."
+
+What they meant I do not know.
+
+The hakims divide not only malarial fevers into "hot and cold," but
+they arrange all diseases into these two classes, and I was asked of
+almost every disease that came under my notice whether it were hot or
+cold; for instance, whether dyspepsia were hot or cold. The reason for
+the classification in the case of malarial fevers is obvious enough,
+but for the other diseases I never was able to find out upon what they
+founded their conclusions. It certainly was not simply whether the
+patient had fever or not.
+
+It was particularly embarrassing when the Amir asked the question, and
+I once told His Highness that in Europe we did not speak of diseases
+as being either hot or cold, that it was often impossible to consider
+them as either one or the other. His Highness was quite indignant at
+my denying what apparently seemed to him such a self-evident fact, so
+much so that he doubted if my interpreter had translated what I had
+said correctly. After that, when I was asked, I told the interpreter
+to class the disease as hot or cold, according to the custom of the
+country.
+
+[Sidenote: Treatment of Disease by the People.]
+
+In the distant villages, where there is no hakim, and the priest's
+amulet has failed to cure, the people either go untreated or treat
+themselves. A popular mode of treatment for diseases of bones and
+joints, and also for almost any pain in the chest, abdomen, or back,
+is the employment of the "actual cautery." A piece of live charcoal is
+placed against the skin until a deep burn is produced; this is done in
+two or three places, the scars, of course, remaining till the end of
+the patient's life.
+
+Another custom, mostly for diseases accompanied by fever, is to kill a
+sheep, skin it rapidly, and at once wrap the patient in the hot skin.
+I do not know that it does any harm. The Amir himself, when suffering
+from gout, and when the hakims had failed to relieve him, employed this
+essentially Afghan mode of treatment for his leg and foot. Afterwards
+he sent for me.
+
+For wounds, ulcers, or abscesses the villagers bind on either a piece
+of fresh sheepskin, which they leave on till it stinks, or a piece
+of an old water bag (mussack), which they soften afresh by soaking.
+Sometimes they plaster on mud or clay. In the case of ulcers, the
+fact that they _never_ heal under these circumstances does not seem
+to strike the Afghans, and they continue in the old custom. If the
+discharge oozes from under the clay they plaster on a little more.
+Cover a sore, get it out of sight, is the golden rule of hakims,
+dressers, and people. The condition of the ulcer when the clay is
+removed is indescribable. In some cases the only possible treatment is
+the removal of the limb.
+
+[Sidenote: The Feringhi as a Healer.]
+
+I noticed that the richer and more educated Afghans did not seem so
+ready to avail themselves of European medical aid as the poorer people,
+and it struck me there were two reasons for this. First, that the
+hakims took the trouble to explain to the richer people, from whom
+they expected to receive fees, that Europeans use deadly poisons in
+their medicines, which are just as likely to kill as to cure. A certain
+amount of weight attaches to this by the often unfortunate results
+of medical treatment by the Hindustani hospital assistants. The other
+reason seems to be due, not to the hakims, but to the influence of
+the priests. The more religious of the Afghans apparently look upon a
+European as one who, by the help of the Powers of Evil, has in this
+world the gifts of knowledge, skill, and wealth, but who in the next
+life must inevitably be consigned to eternal torment. Doubtless with
+his deadly poisons he can cure diseases if he wish, but it is not wise,
+and, indeed, is scarcely lawful, for a sick man to make use of him.
+
+They feel it will offend God less if, before they traffic with the
+evil one by employing a Feringhi doctor, they use all lawful and right
+means to become well, such as trying the efficacy of prayer, or the
+wearing of amulets and charms: should these fail, by placing themselves
+under the care of their hereditary physicians, the hakims, who attended
+their fathers and their fathers' fathers. They can always call in the
+Feringhi as a last resource.
+
+The peasants and the hillmen, the soldiers and the poorer townsfolk--in
+fact, all those who are but occasionally under the influence of the
+priests, and from whom the hakims can expect a small, if any fee--these
+are ready enough to trust themselves, when sick, to European medical
+skill. They take advantage of that which seems to them good, as an
+animal might, without entering upon the deeper question whether it is
+religiously right or wrong--in fact, they even look upon a doctor as
+one to be classed with Dewanas or madmen, and prophets, who are all
+more or less sacred.
+
+It must be a powerful reason, such as the fear of being poisoned or
+damned, that prevents the richer Afghans from employing European
+medical aid, for they have to pay the hakims, whereas at the hospital
+no fees or presents were received, and it is not the nature of an
+Afghan to pay for a thing if he can get it for nothing.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE MARCH TO TURKESTAN.
+
+    Jealousy and its results. Sport among the Afghans. The Prince
+    hawking. The "Sportsmen" among the mountains. Wild-fowl shooting.
+    Order to join the Amir in Turkestan. Preparations. The start.
+    Camp at Chiltan. The Banquet. The Nautch dance. Salaams by the
+    Villagers. Among the Hindu Kush mountains. The camp in the Hazara
+    country. The dismal night. Courtesy of Jan Mahomed. The hungry
+    morning. Mountain paths. Iron spring. The underground river and
+    the Amir's offer. The Red mountain and the Deserted City. Camp in
+    the Valley of Bamian. The English prisoners of 1837. The Petrified
+    Dragon. The Colossal Idols: their construction and probable origin.
+    The Cave-dwellers. The Pass of the "Tooth breaker." Ghuzniguk.
+    Story of Ishak's Rebellion. Fording the River. Tash Kurghan: the
+    Shave and the Hospital. "The Valley of Death." The Plains of
+    Turkestan and the heat thereof. The Mirage. Arrival at Mazar. The
+    House. Story of the death of Amir Shere Ali.
+
+
+[Sidenote: Jealousy: Revenge.]
+
+About a month after our arrival in Kabul an incident occurred which,
+though gruesome in its details, I cannot refrain from relating on
+account of the light which it throws upon the nature of the Afghan.
+
+One of the soldiers had made a favourite of a boy in the town. Some
+time afterwards the boy was seen to associate with another man in the
+cantonment. At once the jealousy of the soldier was aroused. He taxed
+the boy with it, and in a moment of jealous anger he drove his knife
+into him, killing him instantly.
+
+Forthwith the mother of the lad appealed to Prince Habibullah for
+justice and revenge. She claimed the life of the murderer. The Prince
+heard the case in detail, and, according to the Afghan law (an eye
+for an eye and a tooth for a tooth), granted the woman's request. The
+soldier was hurried off to the execution ground, close to the hospital
+where I was. His hands were fastened behind him, and he was tied in a
+sitting posture in a chair. A knife was handed to the woman: she seized
+the man's beard, wrenched his head back, and with a cry of "Allah,
+akbar," cut his throat. Then, flinging down the knife, she plunged her
+hands in the spirting stream, and lapped the blood into her mouth.
+
+On Friday, the Mahomedan Sabbath, there being no work in the workshops,
+Mr. Pyne and I went for a ride along the beautiful lanes fringed with
+poplars, which lie between the fields around Kabul.
+
+We saw in a large field among the young green corn some seven or eight
+horsemen sitting silently on their horses. Presently I recognized the
+slender form of Prince Nasrullah. We rode up to salute His Highness,
+and he informed us he was hawking for partridges. The bird used was, I
+believe, a species of falcon, though I am not sufficiently skilled an
+ornithologist to say what species. The bird is carried, hooded, on the
+wrist, and is unhooded and cast off when the prey is sighted. For large
+game the bigger female falcon is used.
+
+The group of riders made quite a picture as they sat: the gold
+embroidery of their military uniforms sparkling in the sun; the black
+of the astrakhan hat, the long waving mane and tail of the horses,
+all sharply distinct against the background of soft spring green and
+distant shadowy mountains.
+
+[Sidenote: Mountain "Sportsmen."]
+
+As a nation the Afghans are fond of sport. Game of many kinds
+is plentiful in the country. A short time ago, the sport of all
+sports--for the excitement of great possible gain came in--was the
+picking off of unwary travellers and annexing their belongings. Here
+was not only sport but the indulgence of a passion so dear to the
+Afghan, that of gambling.
+
+A sportsman on the hills saw trudging along the road a traveller with a
+burden on his shoulders. From the distance he examined him with care.
+
+"To my eye this traveller has rupees and much gold in his pack. Without
+doubt he is a rascal Hindu usurer, who, journeying to Kabul, is about
+to plunder the Faithful. Soul of my father! Shall this be?" And the
+bullet sped on its way. Springing from rock to rock, with agility born
+of a mountain life, the sportsman was soon on the road. Quickly he
+opened the pack and--out rolled a melon.
+
+His arms sunk to his sides, his head drooped, and he stood the picture
+of despair. For his sins he was thus punished. "Tobah! tobah! alas and
+alas!" he groaned; "my cartridge, my good cartridge is gone, wasted,
+for ever lost; and I, what have I? a melon! Wai! wai!" and he wept.
+
+But, nowadays, since the great king, Amir Abdurrahman, has occupied the
+throne, this form of sport is less popular than it was. Possibly it may
+be due to the fact that consequences far from pleasing to the sportsmen
+and their friends are apt to follow indulgence in this pastime.
+Imprisonment has occurred; the being compelled to work in chains on the
+roads or in the workshops; ignominious death even, as by hanging, or
+by being thrust into an iron cage and left thirsting on the high peak
+of a mountain. So, therefore, as I said, it is becoming less popular.
+
+There are, however, many other forms of sport. Wild-fowl shooting in
+the marshes around Kabul is a favourite pastime.
+
+Sometimes the sportsmen go in a body on horseback, ride into the
+marsh where it is shallow, disturb the duck and fire into the flight.
+Sometimes they go singly, conceal themselves and use a decoy. In the
+plains they stalk the deer or use a body of beaters to drive the game
+to certain points. In Turkestan, tiger, wild pig--which they shoot--and
+bear are to be obtained. Duck shooting in the autumn and winter, and
+hawking in the spring are, perhaps, the sports in which the Royal
+Family most frequently indulge.
+
+[Sidenote: The Start for Turkestan.]
+
+Not very long after our arrival in Kabul it was rumoured that the Amir
+needed my services in Turkestan, and a month and a-half afterwards
+the official order arrived. I was to accompany Jan Mahomed Khan,
+the Treasury Officer, who was about to convey a supply of bullion
+to Turkestan for the use of His Highness. Accordingly, as soon as
+I received the order, I engaged some servants: a Peshawuri--the
+"assassin," whom I have already referred to--as valet, and a Hindustani
+cook, whom I found in Kabul. I was fortunate in being able to obtain
+a cook, as hitherto Mr. Pyne and I had shared one between us. The man
+I engaged had been cook in the family of Sir Louis Cavagnari. The
+other servants were Afghans. After some extra cooking pots, dried
+fruit, salt, and various other things, which the cook said he must
+get from the bazaar, were obtained, and the baggage was packed, Mr.
+Pyne accompanied me to the house of Jan Mahomed Khan. We were received
+in a large room, which was crowded with people standing. We seated
+ourselves at the end and drank tea with Jan Mahomed. Then a bottle of
+champagne was opened, complimentary speeches made, and, finally, about
+midday we started. We stopped at the Palace, dismounted, and went in to
+take leave of His Highness, the Prince. When we remounted we were met
+outside the Palace by Perwana Khan, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and
+Naib Mir Sultan, the Governor of Kabul, each with their attendants, so
+that with our own crowd of servants, and a guard of sixty soldiers, we
+made a large cavalcade. A crowd of people on foot accompanied us part
+of the way, running by the side and in front of the horses. The sun
+shone brightly; the dresses of the officials--crimson, and purple, and
+green--were brilliant with gold embroidery. The glitter of the gold
+and silver ornaments on belt, scabbard, and bridle, the blue and gold
+turbans of the attendants, the black sheepskin busbies of the soldiers,
+horses caracoling, and the look of bustle and excitement, made an
+artistic and interesting picture.
+
+We rode by the bank of the Kabul river westward, past the workshops and
+through the gorge between the Sher Durwaza and Asmai mountains out into
+the Charhardeh valley.
+
+The first day's journey was short, for we went only a few miles across
+the valley to a place called Chiltan, where on a hill Jan Mahomed has
+a "country residence." The house was pretty, and well built, in the
+style of a bungalow with a verandah; around it were flower gardens with
+a small fountain. Down the hill and around the foot of it were vines
+and fruit trees, and the view from the house was over the cornfields
+and vineyards of the beautiful Charhardeh valley, circled with
+mountains.
+
+The Governor of Kabul did not accompany us to the house, but the rest
+of us sat down to dinner together, in the Mahomedan fashion, that is,
+on the ground. Pyne and I were accommodated with cushions. As we were
+not able to double our legs up in the Eastern fashion we "reclined."
+It was my first "native" dinner, and I enjoyed it immensely, for the
+ride and excitement had made us hungry. With the fruit, champagne was
+brought, and afterwards sweets and tea. Then when we lit our cigars
+nautch girls and musicians were introduced.
+
+[Sidenote: The Nautch Dancer.]
+
+I can speak of the wild barbaric music from seithar, rubarb, and drum;
+of the passionate Oriental love song pealing forth in unison from
+strong male voices; of the unveiled girl dancers undulating to the
+music; of the glances cast by the dark eyes, the waving of arms, the
+clinking of bangles, and the tinkling of bells on their ankles, as the
+dancers stepped daintily on the carpet.
+
+I can also speak of the indescribable ear-splitting din, without
+either time or tune, which was torn from the tortured instruments and
+hurled at us as "music;" of the harsh voices roaring till they were
+hoarse something which we did not understand; of the attempts of the
+singers to produce a trill by shaking the head; of the utter absence of
+modulation or feeling in their singing; of the dancing women shuffling
+about, clapping their hands and throwing themselves into uncouth and
+to us unmeaning postures; and I thought, "Oh, for an hour of Augustus
+Druriolanus to open the eyes of these Easterns."
+
+We turned in at midnight, Pyne and I sharing a room, and he broke my
+only egg cup with his heel. We started next morning at eight, said
+good-bye to Pyne, who returned to Kabul to superintend the workshops,
+and then rode on. On the way villagers came out and lined the road to
+salaam Jan Mahomed and offer him presents. As they stood in a row they
+held out their hands, palm upwards, muttered a prayer, and stroked
+their beards--that is, those who had beards: the young men and boys who
+had not, pretended to do so. At some places they slung a string across
+the road with a Koran fixed in the middle of it, and as we passed under
+it we held out our hands, palm upwards, muttered a prayer, and stroked
+our beards. At other places they killed a bullock or a calf by cutting
+its throat. I do not know the significance of the operation.
+
+It rained somewhat when we got among the mountains, and Jan Mahomed,
+who had on a purple velvet tunic, put up an umbrella to protect
+himself. I found he had brought his little son, four years old with
+him. The youngster was seated in a little chair, which was securely
+fastened on the back of a steady horse, an attendant holding a leading
+rein. I was not on very good terms myself with my horse. He was a
+very showy creature, and had been given me by the Prince, but he had
+evidently not been ridden lately, and was very fresh. A march is a
+fatiguing function at the best of times, and my horse was not up to
+the quick shuffling walk which is so restful. He would do anything
+else--buck, kick, gallop, or trot. Finally Jan Mahomed ordered one of
+the soldiers, an iron Afghan, to change with me, and I was at peace
+again.
+
+Sometimes we stopped at a village and put up in the different houses;
+other times the tents were pitched near a stream. When we got among the
+Paghman offshoot of the Hindu Kush mountains we had pelting rain and
+sleet for hours; a violent storm of thunder and lightning; then had to
+ford a wide roaring stream with a stony irregular bed, and, finally, to
+camp outside a Hazara fortified village in the sloppy melting snow.
+
+[Sidenote: Courtesy of Jan Mahomed.]
+
+The village (Kharzar) was too filthy inside for us to enter, and too
+cramped in space to accommodate us, if we had entered. I went to
+look--for my tent had not arrived. For food the villagers were too
+ill provided themselves to be able to sell us anything, and hungry,
+wet, and tired, it seemed likely we should have a cheerless night.
+When Jan Mahomed's tent was ready he kindly invited me to enter it. I
+took off my soaked ulster, sloshed and slipped into the dusk of the
+tent, sat on a stool, and shivered miserably. Nothing else seeming to
+be forthcoming, a pipe was the only resource, and with shaking hand I
+tried to light it. Match after match fizzed in the damp and went out.
+The pipe chattered in my teeth, and, woe is me, I felt that the cold
+and the wet and the hungry emptiness would last for ever. But it did
+not. Jan Mahomed Khan noticed presently that I seemed uncomfortable.
+He rose from the camp stool on which he was sitting enveloped in the
+voluminous folds of a huge sheepskin postin, came across the tent,
+slipped the postin from his shoulders and threw it around me. I tried
+to refuse; but he insisted. He said nothing, for he could not speak
+English nor I Persian, then he smiled, bowed and sat down again. I felt
+very grateful, and at the same time rather ashamed at having robbed
+him, but presently a soldier brought him a cloak in which he wrapped
+himself.
+
+Meanwhile, the attendants, having succeeded in obtaining some straw,
+scattered it thickly inside the tent and spread carpets over it. Then
+they endeavoured to light a fire in a large iron pot outside, and when
+there was a feeble glimmer of a flame they brought it in. We gathered
+round it joyfully, but soon a dense fog of smoke from the damp wood
+filled the tent. Though I still shivered under the postin, I had
+managed to light my pipe, and I sat puffing away with the smarting
+tears trickling down, finally the smoke fog became so dense that I was
+compelled to sit with my eyes shut. Neither Jan Mahomed nor any of the
+Afghans seemed to mind it in the least. Jan Mahomed himself is not an
+Afghan. He is a Samarcandi whom the Amir purchased as a boy. He was the
+Amir's faithful attendant when in exile in Russian Turkestan; and when
+His Highness came to the throne Jan Mahomed was put into a position
+of trust, finally becoming treasury officer, or "Chancellor of the
+Exchequer."
+
+The tent, by-and-bye, became warmer, and I took off my solar helmet
+which I had worn during the rain storms. The Afghans, however, attach
+great importance to keeping the head warm, and they all insisted upon
+my putting on that or some other head covering at once; otherwise, they
+said, I should take fever. The fire began to blaze up brightly and
+the smoke to disappear, when an iron vessel was brought, containing
+a few pints of milk with water added to eke out the quantity. They
+put it over the fire and, when it boiled, a handful of tea was thrown
+in. There was enough for all in the tent to have a teacupful; I,
+the guest, and Jan Mahomed, received two each. By-and-bye, an iron
+camp bedstead was prepared for my host, and he retired; one of the
+attendants kneading and massaging the limbs till he slept. My bedding
+not having turned up I threw a buffalo rug over my feet, and lay down
+on the carpet enveloped in the folds of the sheepskin. It was not a
+comfortable bed, but I was tired and slept more or less, waking up
+occasionally with aching bones.
+
+The morning was bright: the rising sun in the clear sky lit up the
+white snow all around, and a keen wind was blowing. My interpreter,
+the Armenian, appeared. He said he had had fever in the night, and had
+found shelter in one of the huts inside the Hazara fort. He brought me
+a small piece of dry bread which the cook had found among the baggage
+when my tent arrived. Some hot tea was made, and I munched my crust
+with great satisfaction. They told me we should have a cold march that
+day, by Hajiguk, and the Armenian said:--
+
+"Sir, you not wear the long coat; he is wet, and fever come for you."
+
+"I must wear something," I said.
+
+"Another you have," said he, and off he went. He presently returned
+with my dressing-gown. I objected; but, no, there was nothing
+extraordinary in it; in fact, it was very like an Afghan robe. I wore
+it, therefore, though it did not seem a very suitable riding coat.
+
+[Sidenote: Mountain Climbing.]
+
+It was a cold march as we crunched along through the snow, in spite of
+the fact that the sun was shining brightly. We were at an altitude of
+over sixteen thousand feet, and had to make long detours, for the road
+was in places blocked or rendered unsafe by the snow. In some of the
+detours where there was no path, we scrambled up and down terrifying
+slopes. My saddle, a hunting one, could not be kept in place, and we
+had to extemporize a breast-plate with string. In one ravine where
+we halted, trying to find a way out, there was a sudden crack and a
+splash. We had stopped over a stream crusted with ice and covered with
+snow, and the horse of one of the soldiers went through. The stream,
+however, was shallow, and only the man's feet were wetted. There was a
+laugh as he urged his horse out.
+
+We descended from the region of snow into valleys where the air
+quivered with heat, and one's face was nearly blistered. In one, where
+we stopped for lunch, I put a clinical thermometer for a moment against
+my coat sleeve. The mercury shot up to the top at once. I was glad when
+we moved on again. We passed a spring bubbling up near the road, whose
+waters were impregnated with iron, the ground all round being stained
+brown. Jan Mahomed said the water contained copper and was poisonous.
+
+I remember one narrow but wild rocky ravine, with a river foaming and
+roaring down it. The road ran along a few yards above the water. There
+was a natural bridge of rock, over which the road ran, and just beyond,
+a waterfall of some depth, where, at the bottom of the fall, the water
+rushed under an arch of rock and was lost to sight. It reappeared, I
+was told, in a valley about two miles off, and they said His Highness
+the Amir one day, when travelling by, offered a prize of a hundred
+rupees to the man who would plunge in and explore the underground
+river. A duck had been put in and had reappeared alive in the valley.
+A soldier undertook the adventure at once, and was preparing for his
+perilous journey when the Amir forbad it. His Highness said, "If he is
+drowned I lose a man of courage, and if he succeed what gain is there?
+Give him the rupees."
+
+[Sidenote: Camp in the Bamian Valley.]
+
+We were now about ninety miles from Kabul. For the first forty miles we
+travelled due west, after that north-west, till we entered the ravine
+I spoke of, which led nearly due north. As we rode on, the ravine
+descended and opened into a large and very fertile valley. The mountain
+at the west of the gorge was red in colour, quite different from those
+we had been travelling among. Looking up with some interest at it, I
+distinguished battlemented walls and towers leading up the mountain,
+and, at the top, clusters of ruined houses and walls. There was no
+sign of life. The city was deserted. They told me the place was called
+Zohak-i-Marhan, and was built a thousand years ago ("hazar sol") by
+the Emperor Alexander ("Sekunder").
+
+I did not, however, in the style of architecture see anything that
+could lead one to suppose the buildings were of Greek origin. It
+is interesting to note that there is in Afghanistan a tribe called
+Zohak, which is a division of the Ushturyani (the Stauri of Pliny),
+who formerly occupied the district west of Bamian. Zohak is stated by
+Dr. Bellew to be the same as Zak and Sak, and stands for the ancient
+inhabitants of Sistan and Makran, Assyrian subjects of Nimrod, king of
+Babylon.
+
+We descended into the valley and camped not far from the red mountain,
+near the village of Topchi.
+
+It was the month of May, the sun shone brightly, and the fields around
+were green. Jan Mahomed had brought the musicians--but not the dancing
+girls--with him. We luxuriated after the bitter winds and sleet of the
+mountains, and the heat and weariness of the stony valleys. When lunch
+was over Jan Mahomed sent me some sweets and a bottle of champagne. I
+found that my servants, though Mahomedans, felt they were justified
+after their fatigues in finishing the bottle. The musicians sat playing
+in Jan Mahomed's tent, and as I lay in mine reading a novel, the quaint
+music, softened by the distance, was more pleasing than I had supposed
+possible. For years afterwards the twang of the rubarb, the irregular
+thud of the drums, and the monotonous sound of the singing, brought
+back vividly to me that day in the Bamian valley, when I was a new
+comer in the country.
+
+The Bamian valley extends from Topchi nearly ten miles in a westerly
+direction, and is about eight thousand feet above the sea. It is
+interesting to know that Lady Sale, Lady MacNaughten, and six other
+English ladies, who were taken prisoners in the first Afghan war in
+1837, were conducted over the road we traversed to this very valley.
+Lady Sale, relating their adventures, says that though they suffered
+hardship, privation, and much anxiety concerning their future fate,
+they were treated with kindness and consideration by the villagers
+on the way. The order was that they were to be conducted to Khulum,
+a hundred and twenty miles further on among the mountains toward
+Turkestan, there to be delivered over to the Governor. This would have
+meant to them a hopeless captivity. Happily, Sir Robert Sale, after the
+defeat of the Afghans by Pollock, hurried on, and was able to rescue
+the party in Bamian. Lady MacNaughten, less happy than Lady Sale, had
+seen her husband, diplomatist and Oriental scholar, murdered before her
+eyes in Kabul.
+
+While we were in this valley Jan Mahomed went some miles out of the
+road to show me a petrified dragon, or as my interpreter put it, "a
+stone cow." Akbar Mahomed had slain this dragon in single combat, and
+Allah had changed it into stone. "Why _cow_?" I asked the Armenian,
+some time afterwards. "It is a snake or a dragon."
+
+"I not know English word snake and dragon; I must say some animal, and
+'cow' came into head, therefore I say _cow_." The dragon I found to be
+a curious shaped rocky hill formed in the course of ages by the deposit
+of carbonate of lime from a spring that was still bubbling there.
+
+[Illustration: COLOSSAL FIGURE, "SA-MAMA," IN THE BAMIAN
+VALLEY.
+
+  _From a photograph by Arthur Collins, F.G.S._]
+
+[Sidenote: The Colossal Figures.]
+
+This valley was full of surprises, for the next day we came up with
+three colossal figures, cut in relief on the face of the mountains (the
+Hindu Kush range) on the north side of the valley. These figures, they
+said, were statues carved by order of Jelaluddin Shah, of himself,
+his wife and son (Jelaluddin lived about the year 1230). Away on the
+other side of the valley we could dimly see on the heights the ruins
+of a deserted city--"the city of Jelaluddin." We were too far off to
+see anything characteristic in the ruins, but it is possible that
+the city belongs to the same era as that of Zohak-i-Marhan, a few
+miles further down the valley. The figures, it is probable, are of
+Buddhist origin, and date back to the time which preceded the Mahomedan
+conquest of Afghanistan, when Buddhism was the dominant religion of
+the country. The largest of the three figures, which has the local
+name of "Sa-mama," is 173 feet in height. The smaller, "Sul-sol," 120
+feet, and the smallest not more than 80 feet. They resemble in style
+other figures of Buddha. The drapery, moulded and fastened on with
+pegs, shows no sign of classical influence, arranged, as it is, in
+stiff conventional folds. These are in places broken away, showing
+the peg holes. To give an idea of their relative size, I saw a man on
+horseback ride up to one figure--he and his horse together were not so
+high as the toe. The figures are hollow, and there are steps leading
+up to chambers inside the body and head. These are used by the Amir
+as storehouses for grain. On the wall of the chamber, in the head of
+the largest figure, are the indistinct marks of a fresco painting, of
+which Mr. Collins, the geologist, managed, some years afterwards, to
+get an imperfect photograph. It is, however, impossible to make out the
+subject, and I heard no story as to when or by whom it was painted. In
+the face of the mountain, by the side of the figures, are chambers or
+caves hollowed out of the rock. Some of these are beautifully cut, with
+domed roofs--to use the words of Mr. Collins, who examined them--in
+"hard conglomerate rock, and are coated with a layer of lustrous
+bitumen." Doubtless, they were used as temples and dwelling-places for
+the Buddhist priests. Many of the other caves are in "soft sandstone
+and conglomerate." These could be easily cut, the hard conglomerate
+forming a natural roof for rooms dug in the softer sandstone beneath.
+Presumably they are of later origin than those cut in the harder
+material. Narrow, almost impossible staircases lead up to the caves,
+and there dwell the poorer Hazara agriculturists of the Bamian valley.
+There are cave-dwellers in many parts of Afghanistan, and it is men of
+this kind, who combine the professions of agriculturist and warrior,
+who would be likely to cause more trouble to an invader of Afghanistan
+than would the regular army of the Amir. During the last Afghan war the
+English were at first much puzzled by the rapidity with which thousands
+of armed men would appear, and, if occasion required, the equal
+rapidity with which they would vanish. All that could be found was here
+and there a peaceful peasant hard at work in the fields with his
+mattock--the rifle was left at home.
+
+The furniture of one of these rock dwellings is simple enough. The
+most prominent feature is the great ornamented earthen jar, in which
+grain and provisions are stored: a strip of carpet occupies the place
+of honour in the centre of the floor: a few copper cooking utensils, a
+"chillim," an Afghan "samovar" for tea, and a rough "charpoy," complete
+the establishment.
+
+In the Bamian valley, fertile, full of interest and with a delightful
+climate, we travelled deliberately, taking two days to traverse the
+ten miles or so. As we rode, my Armenian told me many stories. I do
+not know what they were about; I didn't then. One only I understood.
+He said that once on a march, utterly wearied, he went to sleep on
+horseback. "It is thrown out," said he, meaning himself; and pointing
+to his forehead, with a mild smile, he said, "He is broke, and blood
+is come." I laughed, and asked what happened next. "I got him upstairs
+horse, but I not go to sleep again."
+
+[Sidenote: The Pass of the "Tooth-breaker."]
+
+Then we turned north, and the next day was wearisome: not so much
+from the length of the march, it was only thirty miles, as from the
+incessant climbing. We had a mountain to cross, to which all that we
+had hitherto seen was a mere joke. The Afghans call the mountain the
+"Tooth-breaker" (Dandan shikan). I don't mind trifling adventures,
+such as riding along the tops of walls, or foot-wide bridges, but when
+it comes to riding an iron-shod horse along smooth rock, slanting to
+a precipice of unknown depth--well, it is past a joke. We had to do
+it, and then descend a horrible "zig-zag." I don't call it a path,
+because the predominant features were boulders, smooth tilted slabs,
+and rolling pebbles. You lean back in the saddle, leaving your horse to
+make his own arrangements. He picks his way warily, lower and lower,
+and you thank Heaven you have got so far, when, just as you reach the
+end of one "zig," and your horse's nose is over the edge, there is a
+crunching slip of his hind feet: you catch in your breath and--think.
+But he does not make a plunge over the edge, he pivots round on his
+four feet, and goes down the "zag." This is repeated frequently, and
+at last, after many years, you arrive with your nerves in a shattered
+condition at the bottom. The next time I came over this road, a year or
+two later, there were accidents; but that I will speak of later.
+
+We travelled on, day after day, through valleys and over
+mountains--sometimes putting up at villages, sometimes camping in our
+tents. Rain and hail alternated with scorching heat. To blacken you
+properly, you want a dry scorching heat, alternating with icy winds and
+hail. Some of the soldiers looked exactly as if they had been smoked:
+the eyelids and creases of the face being white--the rest black.
+
+[Sidenote: Story of Ishak's Rebellion.]
+
+We often had music when we camped, and one evening I played chess with
+Jan Mahomed. He beat me. We were then at Ghuzni guk, the valley where
+the armies of the Amir and of his cousin Sirdar Ishak Khan met and
+fought. The story I heard was this: His Highness the Amir and Ishak
+had always been friends, and when the Amir ascended the throne, Ishak
+was made Governor of the Turkestan provinces. All went well for some
+years. Suddenly, news arrived in Turkestan that His Highness had had
+an attack of gout, and had succumbed.[3] Ishak called his officers
+around him, and discussed what steps to take. The chiefs urged him to
+seize the throne. He, however, was a nervous man, not a warrior by
+nature, and he hesitated. The chiefs seeing this, broadly hinted that
+unless he seized the moment while he could, they would place another on
+the throne, and Ishak, much against his will, was constrained to do as
+they wished. He sent his women-folk and children across the Oxus into
+Russian Turkestan, and marched with his troops and chiefs for Kabul.
+They had not advanced many days' journey when news was brought that
+the Amir was very much alive, and that his army was marching under
+Gholam Hyder, the less, to meet them. Ishak knew now that he must meet
+his Great Cousin, and in fear and distrust he posted relays of horses,
+so that, if the worst came, he could escape across the frontier. They
+met in this valley a few miles beyond Kamard. It is said that Ishak's
+army at the outset had the best of it--the men knew they were fighting
+for their lives--but Ishak, neither Mahomedan nor Christian, did not
+wait to see the end of the day. He made use of his horses, and rapidly
+escaping across the frontier into Russia, he left his unfortunate
+followers to bear the brunt of the Amir's terrible vengeance. It
+appears that the rumour of the Amir's death had some foundation: His
+Highness had been seized with a sudden attack of syncope, in which he
+fell insensible to the ground.
+
+[3] The news reached India. It was the first thing I saw in the papers
+when I arrived there to enter the Amir's service, Sept. 1888.
+
+One Sunday we had a very long march, thirteen hours, with two rests of
+an hour each. Going one pace all the time is tedious, and one's bones
+ache abominably. We got into a ravine with a rapid stream roaring
+along it, and part of the path was undermined and slipping. We had to
+dismount and skip across on foot, the soldiers getting the horses over.
+
+The ravine narrowed, curved to the right, and opened out into a
+valley. The river roared round the corner, figure =S= shape, in some
+places cutting away the path completely. Our horses had to plunge, and
+stumble, and splash through that river three times in twenty yards,
+before we could get out into the valley. It is at times like this that
+the beautiful song "One More River to Cross" becomes full of meaning. A
+mile or two more of hill and vale, and soon after dark we reached "Tash
+Kurghan," or "Khulum," the place where Lady Sale and her companions in
+captivity were to have been taken.
+
+We put up at the citadel or fort, which is built on a rocky hill in the
+middle of the town. We rested here all day Monday, and I enjoyed the
+luxury of a hot bath. The Armenian waxed philosophical. He said, "It is
+good to rest a little. Tired is go away, and hungry is go away." Also
+he suggested that a shave might commend itself to my judgment.
+
+"But who is to shave me?" I said.
+
+[Sidenote: The Wounded Soldiers in Tash Kurghan.]
+
+"There is bolber in the town." He called it barber afterwards. They
+fetched the barber, and I wondered if it were dangerous for him to
+shave me, for I had heard that Afghans were treacherous fanatics.
+He did not destroy me. He merely rubbed some oil on my chin and
+then scraped the skin off with a knife--a painful process. When the
+operation was completed, I was conducted to the hospital. No, not on
+account of my chin, but to examine the patients. The hospital was an
+ordinary but rather large dwelling-house, and there were many wounded
+soldiers lying there. It was exceedingly unclean and smelt badly. The
+patients--I never before in my life saw such a condition of things. The
+ghastly state to which battle wounds can come from neglect and improper
+treatment, is too awful for words. I wanted to move the men from the
+house, and to amputate at once some half-dozen arms and legs that were
+_worse_ than useless to their owners. I could not, for I had neither
+knives nor chloroform, and I had to leave the men--to leave them as I
+found them--with their wistful eyes on me.
+
+After that Jan Mahomed took me out to dine at a local magnate's house.
+My cook accompanied me, bearing knife, fork, spoon, and plate. In the
+absence of table and chair I had to kneel to use my knife and fork.
+It was not a comfortable dinner. I could not understand what the
+conversation was about; and there were those men at the hospital ever
+before me.
+
+Beyond Tash Kurghan we turned west, and the scenery completely changed.
+For some miles there was undulating plain covered with coarse grass. As
+we rode on we started a herd of antelope, and had a gallop after them:
+the change of motion from the everlasting walk was a great rest to the
+muscles.
+
+In one place the road dipped down between some low clay hills, the
+defile of Abadu. Until very recently this little grip had had the
+credit of being exceedingly dangerous; in fact, it is even yet called
+"the Valley of death:" this on account of the caravan thieves and
+robbers who infested the neighbourhood.
+
+It is less dangerous under the present Amir, for I had occasion while
+in Turkestan to send for two additional dispensers from Kabul, and
+these two men rode the whole distance from Kabul to Mazar unattended.
+They had for safety's sake a revolver. It was, however, unloaded, and
+they had no powder.
+
+The plains became gradually flatter and more dusty, till, finally, it
+was little more than a desert with the scantiest vegetation.
+
+The heat was intense, and the glare from the white dust most wearying.
+Away in the distance in front of us, I saw a lake with some trees round
+it, and I longed for the time when we should arrive and get cool again
+in the shade. "There is no lake there," they said. Nonsense! I knew
+there was. This was no "mirage." I mean, you could see the thing. There
+weren't any towers or castles, or people walking upside down, simply
+one or two trees near some water. But, alas! we dragged on and on in
+the parching heat, and never got nearer the lake. We passed a camel,
+dead, by the roadside, loading the hot air with foulness. The gorged
+vultures only hopped lazily a little way off, and sat and stared at us.
+We halted at last, dismounted, and sat in the sun while the "chillim"
+bearer blew up his charcoal and passed round the pipe. I had a pull at
+it. He kept a little silver mouthpiece for my especial benefit, which
+he slipped on the end of the tube. I was glad of this, though I knew it
+was simply done lest I had eaten pork or anything unclean. After all
+had smoked, the pipe charcoal was used to light some sticks that the
+pipe-bearer had brought with him; the kettle was boiled, and we had hot
+tea--scalding hot: the hotter it was, the more it seemed to satisfy our
+thirst.
+
+[Sidenote: Arrival at Mazar.]
+
+Then we mounted and rode on again. By-and-by, Jan Mahomed politely gave
+me a handful of English sweets, those round discs like pennies, with a
+fancy edge, and with words printed on, "For a good boy": they tasted
+of peppermint. I wished they had been gelatine lozenges. Some hours
+afterwards we halted again. This time it was at a village on the plain.
+There were small mud-huts, and quaint-looking domes of wickerwork with
+bits of scrub tucked into the interstices. It was cool in the shade,
+and the villagers, Turkomans, gave us lettuces to eat. It was delicious
+to crunch up the cool crisp leaves. We drank more tea, then rode on
+again amid the salaams of the Turkomans. At last we came in sight of
+the trees, the cupola and minarets of the town of Mazar-i-Sherif. This
+was no phantom scene. A great crowd of people on foot and on horseback
+came to meet us. I noticed that many of them kissed the hand of Jan
+Mahomed, those on horseback dismounting to do so.[4] I also noticed
+that one man running by the side of Jan Mahomed had a rifle slung
+backwards under his arm, and that the barrel kept persistently in a
+line with my head. It annoyed me. I could not get out of the way of the
+brute. I need not have been disturbed, the gun was not in the least
+likely to have been loaded: powder was too expensive.
+
+[4] I was very sorry to hear recently, that Jan Mahomed Khan is no
+longer living: a machine gun exploded and he was killed.
+
+We reached the town at five in the afternoon, rode through the gate
+along the narrow bazaar to the Palace. We dismounted under some big
+plane-trees growing by a tank in the outer garden of the Palace, and
+the report of our arrival was taken to His Highness the Amir. The pages
+and other officials crowded round, busily brushed the white dust off
+us, and brought us bowls of iced water. Thirst! I knew what it was now!
+Ride for ten hours over a dusty plain, with the thermometer over 100 deg.
+in the shade, and anything you like in the sun, and see.
+
+Word was brought that His Highness would receive us the next day. Jan
+Mahomed then handed me over to the care of one of the court officials,
+the "Ferash-Bashi," or "Keeper of the Carpets." This was a short stout
+gentleman of few words, and with a sour expression.
+
+He was dressed rather gorgeously in a cashmere tunic, gold-bedecked
+belt, trousers, high boots and turban. When I got to know him better,
+I thought he was not such a villain as he looked. This gentleman
+conducted me, accompanied by the Armenian, to a house near the Palace.
+We passed through a covered porch, guarded by a pair of heavy gates,
+into a garden surrounded by high walls: went along the stone-paved
+paths, up some steps into a suite of rooms on the north side of the
+garden. The rooms were beautifully carpeted, and looked very bright
+and handsome in the setting sun. The "Bashi" informed us that he had
+orders to send dinner from the Amir's kitchen; then politely saying
+"Binishined"--take a seat--he departed. Seeing there was no seat to
+take, I took the floor, and waited hungrily till dinner should arrive.
+I had not long to wait, and was delighted to see the servants bring a
+portable chair and table, with the dinner. I don't remember what the
+different courses were, but the dinner was European--soup, joint, and
+entrees--and ended with a very delicious ice-pudding and fruit.
+
+This house, which His Highness was kind enough to put at my service,
+is of interest. Here, His Highness himself lived, before he built the
+Mazar Palace. Here, too, Sirdar Ishak, in the days when he was Governor
+of Turkestan, kept the ladies of his harem; and here Amir Shere Ali
+lived--and died--in the very room I was dining in.
+
+[Sidenote: Story of the Death of Amir Shere Ali.]
+
+Amir Shere Ali had been friendly with the British: troubles arose, and
+he turned to the Russians. The British occupied Quetta in 1876, and
+in 1878 the Amir received a mission from Russia. A British mission
+being refused entry into the Kyber, war was proclaimed. I need not
+trace the outline of the war; it is enough to say that Amir Shere
+Ali did not receive the help he expected from Russia, and he fled to
+Mazar-i-Sherif. Here he was seized with his old enemy, gout--a disease
+that is hereditary in this reigning family.[5]
+
+[5] There is a saying in Kabul that only those of the family suffer
+from gout who afterwards occupy the throne; and since Prince Nasrullah,
+the second son, has had twinges of pain in one of his lower limbs, some
+have looked upon him as a probable successor to the throne!
+
+They say that he was being attended by a Russian physician, and that
+the pain being very severe the physician introduced some medicine
+beneath the skin; then escaping by night to the Oxus he crossed into
+Russian territory. In the morning Amir Shere Ali was found dead. For
+some days his death was concealed, but finally the fact was betrayed by
+a serving woman.
+
+At once the soldiers of the regular army commenced looting. The Palace
+was stripped; then the bazaars and the wealthier people suffered,
+and soon there was a pandemonium of riot, robbery, and murder. This
+having occurred once, the fear is lest it may occur again. Many of the
+well-to-do natives of Afghanistan have that dread; and at the time when
+the present Amir was severely ill, in 1890, there was such trepidation
+and anxiety in Kabul, that many of the well-to-do concealed their more
+portable valuables by burying them in the earth, and sought for safer
+retreats outside the town, to which they could hurry in time of need.
+
+[Sidenote: The House.]
+
+The house did not differ from those of the richer Kabulis. The
+windowless twenty-feet-high walls, in addition to ensuring privacy,
+enabled the occupant on closure of the massive doors to convert his
+house into a place of defence. It was partly overlooked, however, by
+one tower or observatory built on the top of a high house some little
+distance off. It was here, I was informed, that Sirdar Ishak lived. He
+could, therefore, catch a glimpse of the ladies of his harem when they
+were walking on the roof.
+
+The large square garden was filled with fruit-trees and flowers: roses,
+wallflowers, sweet-williams; and in the centre was a movable wooden
+platform. In nearly every garden in Afghanistan you find, in some
+shady place, generally by the side of the stream that ripples through
+the garden, a platform a foot or two high, either of wood or carefully
+smoothed earth. Here the Afghan, in his loose native garb, loves to
+spread his carpet and sit in the hot summer afternoons lulled by the
+murmur of the water, lazily talk to his friends and drink unlimited
+tea. I have done it myself.
+
+On the north side were my rooms raised six steps above the garden.
+Passing up the steps to the lobby one entered the outer room with
+its seven arched windows overlooking the garden, its one huge carpet
+covering the floor, and, passing through, reached the inner room,
+parallel and of the same size. There were the white sparkling walls
+ornamented with frieze and dado, the arched niches or takchahs, with
+small mirrors between them, the fireplace with ornamental mouldings,
+the draped ceiling and the smooth earth floor with beautiful rugs
+that are usual in the homes of the wealthiest Afghans. The inner room
+was lit from the outer by a triple arched window, filled with stained
+glass, which reached nearly to the floor. It was in this room that
+Shere Ali died. It is said that on the takchah over the fireplace there
+was left in the hurry when Ishak fled, the sum of R80,000 in gold.
+At any rate, while I was there, one of the Court officials was fined
+heavily by the Amir for appropriating the money.
+
+The rooms appointed to the interpreter and servants adjoined mine, but
+were uncarpeted and less elaborately ornamented. On the south side of
+the garden the rooms were occupied by one of the chamberlains, Mirza
+Abdur Rashid. The Mirza was an excellent fellow, and we were friends
+during my whole stay in Afghanistan. He was a pure-blooded Afghan about
+my own age, with handsome features, and a skin so dark as to be nearly
+black. For an Afghan he was well educated, and it was his duty night
+after night to read aloud to His Highness the records of the kingdom
+and books translated into Persian, of travel, geography, history, and
+general information.[6]
+
+[6] I have heard recently that the Mirza, following the example of
+other misguided Afghans, endeavoured to escape from the country into
+India. Unfortunately for him he was one of the unsuccessful ones. He
+was seized, brought before the Amir, and--Fate is now unkind to him.
+
+On the east of the garden were rooms for the Afghan bath, and on the
+west a colonnade where I kept my horses and where the soldiers of the
+guard congregated. Night and day a sentry was on duty in the porch by
+the big gates.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE AMIR.
+
+    To be presented. The Palace gardens. The Palace. The Amir. The
+    Presentation. Questions asked by His Highness. Another European
+    present. Punishment of Rebellions in Afghanistan. Asiatic motives
+    from European standpoint. Departure of the Captain. Amir's
+    arrangements for my safety. Bazaars and houses of Mazar. The
+    suburbs. The Military Hospital. The Patients and their condition.
+    The medical attendants. Afghan appreciation of European medical
+    treatment. The daily routine. Insubordination of Hospital
+    assistants. The two chief Hakims. Hindustani intrigue. Amir's sense
+    of justice. The Trial. A Courtier's influence. Breakfast under the
+    almond trees. The guard of the Amir's table.
+
+
+[Sidenote: To be Presented.]
+
+On the appointed day I accompanied Jan Mahomed Khan to the Palace, to
+be presented to His Highness the Amir. Mazar is a much smaller town
+than Kabul, and as we had so short a distance to go we walked. The
+bazaar and the streets bear a strong resemblance, in their squalor
+and narrowness, to those of the larger town; we, however, were on the
+outskirts where the roads were wide and the houses at intervals.
+
+We reached the outer garden of the Palace, where we had dismounted on
+our first arrival in the town, and word was at once taken in to His
+Highness. After waiting a few minutes the sentry at the gate admitted
+us, and we entered the inner garden. This appeared to be extensive, and
+was so filled with almond and other fruit-trees as almost to resemble
+a wood. Along by the paths were planted sweet-smelling flowers. There
+were page boys and other officials walking about, and presently we
+came in sight of the Palace. In front was a large open space free from
+trees and flowers, and protected from the sun by a crimson and white
+awning. This was in place of a "Hall of Audience," where congregate
+those who have petitions to offer or disputes to settle.
+
+Between the open space and the Palace ran a stream of water about six
+feet wide, which meandered through the garden. The Palace was small.
+It resembled in style a bungalow, such as one sees in India. There was
+a broad and high verandah supported on carved wooden pillars, a high
+sloping roof, and large windows on each side of the centre door: the
+one on the left reaching nearly to the ground.
+
+We drew nearer, everyone making way, and we saw, surrounded by pages
+and courtiers, that remarkable man who, had he lived a century
+ago, would in all probability have been, not the petty prince of
+a half-barren country, but the great conqueror of the East--"Amir
+Abdurrahman, Amir of Afghanistan."
+
+He sat, a swarthy heavily-built man, with broad white forehead and
+piercing eyes; his stooping attitude, with head advanced, showed little
+of grace, but seemed the personification of watchful strength; as the
+full-lipped mouth and square jaw betokened the inflexible will.
+
+Almost Persian in type, with the aquiline semi-Jewish features and
+coal-black hair of his race, he added to the courtesy of the Oriental
+something of the bluff heartiness of an Englishman.
+
+We had crossed the stream by a foot-bridge, but had paused at a little
+distance from His Highness. Jan Mahomed receiving a sign, went quickly
+forward, knelt at the feet of the Amir, kissed his hand and pressed it
+to his forehead and eyes; then, rising, he presented me to His Highness.
+
+[Sidenote: Questions asked by His Highness.]
+
+The Amir welcomed me to his country, and courteously expressed a hope
+that I was not fatigued by the long and trying journey. A chair was
+placed, and His Highness, desiring me to be seated, asked me many
+questions as to my medical experiences. In particular, he asked what
+opportunities I had had of studying the disease, Gout--"neqris." I
+said that in Europe "gout" was called the "English disease," and that
+as all my professional life had been spent in London, I had had many
+opportunities of studying and treating this complaint. His Highness
+then described to me the symptoms that he suffered from, and showed
+me where the pain seized him. He traced out exactly the course of the
+sciatic nerve, and I saw that, whatever else he might suffer from,
+there was no doubt whatever that he had chronic sciatica. He asked
+also many questions in Science and Natural History, with the object,
+presumably, of testing one's general knowledge. He did not, however,
+enquire concerning my Degrees or Diplomas in Medicine, though he well
+knew of the existence of such things.
+
+His Highness's words were translated by an Interpreter at the Court--a
+Hindustani who spoke English exceedingly well. I confess I was glad the
+Armenian was not, at that time, called upon to perform this duty, or I
+am afraid my answers would have been less to the point. However, later
+the Armenian became very fluent, and I learnt to understand him.
+
+Seated some little distance from the Amir was another European, Captain
+(now Major) C. L. Griesbach, C.I.E. This gentleman, I heard, had been
+with the Amir some two years as Geologist. When my "examination"
+was satisfactorily over, permission was given us to retire, and I
+accompanied Captain Griesbach to his house and dined with him. The
+Captain informed me he was not remaining much longer with the Amir,
+but was returning to India to continue his service under the British
+Government. After dinner he sketched the character of the Amir, and
+gave me a good deal of information as to the life in Turkestan. He had
+heard of the terrible punishment that had been inflicted on the rebel
+followers of Sirdar Ishak and their unfortunate families. One form
+of punishment appeared to have been introduced from Russia. Men were
+described as being tied, in the bitter winter of Turkestan, naked, to
+a post; water was thrown over them, and they were left to freeze: a
+strong man would last two days. Girls had been fastened to the earth
+and tortured; women and children sold as slaves--and much more.
+
+I came away in anything but a cheerful state of mind.
+
+[Sidenote: Asiatic Motives from European Standpoint.]
+
+By whose orders had these things been done? I asked myself. Who was
+responsible for them? The Prince, whose service I had just entered? He
+whom I was to attend in sickness; to the preservation of whose health I
+was to devote all my knowledge and skill? I tried to believe not; that
+the deeds had been done without his knowledge; that the stories were
+exaggerated: anything than that they were true; but the horror of it
+all remained with me long. As the months went by, however, I perceived
+that to view the conduct of an Asiatic ruler over a turbulent country
+from the standpoint of Western nineteenth century civilization, is to
+commit not only an error, but an injustice. It is an error, for it
+leads one to quite wrong conclusions as to the character of the chief
+actor: the Amir was simply proclaiming, in language that Asiatics
+understand, his determination of being king in Afghanistan. It is
+an injustice, for education and civilization _cannot_ advance with
+such strides in an isolated Eastern country as in Europe; and without
+the progress of knowledge the sons cannot learn better than their
+fathers. Again, the Mahomedan religion--does it uphold forgiveness,
+long-suffering, pity, and humility, as virtues? On the contrary, it
+claims an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. It tends rather to
+encourage cruelty, for it spreads its very tenets by slaughter. With
+what justice, then, could I view these things from our Nineteenth
+century standpoint, seeing that less than two hundred years ago, with
+_our_ religion, similar deeds were committed among us.
+
+A fortnight after my arrival, Captain Griesbach departed for India. He
+was accompanied by the Interpreter who had translated for me before
+the Amir: His Highness had desired the Interpreter to remain in his
+service, but the man refused.
+
+During the interview when I was presented, His Highness had directed me
+to take charge of the military hospital in Mazar. Remembering the men
+in Tash Kurghan, I wondered what I should see. Early in the morning I
+rode off, accompanied only by the Armenian. His Highness had decided
+that in Turkestan it was unnecessary for me to be followed everywhere
+by a guard of soldiers. He was my guard, he said, "and the Mazaris
+are little likely to injure one for whose arrival they have been
+anxiously watching." One or two precautions he directed the Armenian
+to take. He was not to conduct me out on the plains more than a mile
+from the city--this on account of Turkoman highwaymen; nor near a gang
+of prisoners, for they were dangerous men, and in spite of search
+carried concealed weapons; nor near a regiment of soldiers with fixed
+bayonets--for as he significantly put it, "They have attempted even
+_my_ life!"
+
+The way to the hospital was through the narrow, covered bazaar or
+market-place. This was crowded with people, and caravans of camels and
+pack-mules from Kabul and Bokhara.
+
+[Sidenote: Houses and Plains of Mazar.]
+
+The rough roofing of the bazaar forms a grateful shelter from the
+scorching sun. The shops are similar to those of Kabul. After the
+bazaar come winding streets among the houses. Space here is not so
+limited as in Kabul, and though the streets are no wider, the houses
+are less lofty. In style they differ much from the Kabul houses;
+generally, the rooms are square, eight or nine feet high, with a domed
+brickwork roof. One, two, or more rooms, side by side, for master,
+servants, and horses, constitute the house. Often there are no windows,
+light being admitted through the door and through an aperture in the
+centre of the domed roof. This last acts also, when a wood fire is
+lighted, as a convenient chimney. The sandali, however, is generally
+used in the winter. The houses stand in an enclosed yard or garden,
+but since the domed roofs of the houses are not used for the promenade
+as are those of Kabul, the garden-walls have no need to be more than
+seven or eight feet high. This style of house is peculiar to Turkestan,
+though there are, in the suburbs of Mazar, many houses precisely like
+those of Kabul. The walls, built of sun-dried bricks and coated with
+mud, become painfully white and glaring in the summer sun.
+
+We reached one of the gates of the town and rode out. Here, in the
+suburbs, are the summer gardens of the richer men. Far away are the
+mountains, blue in the distance. Mazar lies on a malarious, almost
+desert plain in Turkestan, nine miles east of the ancient city Balkh,
+and thirty miles south of the Pata Kesar ferry, on the Oxus river, so
+that we were near the Russian frontier.
+
+The plain is desert, because of the absence of water. When the snow
+melts in the warmth of the spring, the plain becomes a blaze of red
+flowers, wild tulips--poppies, my Interpreter said: but these shrivel
+up and die in the summer. The gardens of the town, and the fields
+immediately around it, are irrigated by an artificial canal, made, I
+was told, by the Amir's father during the few months he reigned. They
+said the water was brought south from the Oxus, but I fancy it must
+come from the mountains towards Malmul.
+
+The hospital, a short distance out of the town, was once the suburban
+house and garden of a wealthy man.
+
+The patients lay in the garden: some were under the trees, others were
+protected by long thatched roofs supported on poles. None were in the
+house. In Tash Kurghan the patients with festering wounds were shut
+in a house when they should have been out in the open. Here they were
+out in the open, lying on the earth, and dying by scores from malarial
+fever. They should have been in the house, which was cool, and raised
+four or five feet above the earth.
+
+There were about three hundred patients when I arrived, most of them
+down with severe Remittent fever. The Hakims were treating the fever by
+bleeding, purging, and starvation. Had they left the men untreated some
+of them might have recovered: as it was, the victims were being carried
+out five and six a day. In spite of their want of success, the Hakims
+continued blindly and persistently with their mode of treatment.
+
+I walked round examining the patients and determining what I would
+do. Evidently it was useless taking the poor fellows who were already
+drained of their blood by the Hakims. I must take the new comers if I
+was to succeed in the essential object of medical treatment, that of
+curing the patient. I therefore directed that all new comers--and they
+poured into the hospital--should be taken to the inner garden and their
+beds arranged in the vacant rooms of the house there. A sentry was
+posted at the gate of the inner garden, with orders to shoot any Hakim
+attempting to enter.
+
+One room contained a heterogeneous collection of European drugs and
+surgical instruments. In a small room on the roof lived a Hindustani
+hospital assistant--the gentlemanly dipsomaniac whom I have already
+introduced. There were two other Hindustani assistants, but they were
+utterly and hopelessly ignorant. These men happily had spared the
+patients. They had done no work at all.
+
+I had, therefore, the first day seven or eight new cases secluded from
+the rest under my own hands, and, excluding bribery, beyond the reach
+of Hakims. After some months, when I had become known, I found whom I
+could trust, and did not take such stringent precautions.
+
+[Sidenote: Afghan Appreciation of Medical Treatment.]
+
+I made a preliminary round of my cases with a note-book, for, at that
+time, distinguish Mahomed Akbar from Mahomed Hassan, and him from
+Mahomed Hussain or Gul Mahomed, I could not. I then made a second round
+with medicines, which were administered before me; for the possibility
+of bribery occurred to me, and I knew the Hakims would shrink from
+nothing to bring discredit upon a Feringhi interloper. My wards filled
+rapidly, and for a week I had no deaths, the fever yielding readily
+to quinine. The difference in the mortality after European and after
+native treatment was naturally striking, and the news spread far and
+wide, especially among the soldiers, the poorer townsfolk and the
+peasants, so that I soon had far more work before me than I could
+possibly get through in the day.
+
+The way my time was allotted may be interesting.
+
+After a light breakfast I galloped off to the hospital at daybreak, to
+escape the intense heat. Having completed my rounds there I returned
+home about eleven, washed and changed, putting on a dry suit of
+flannel; then, lying on a couch in the inner room, with all the doors
+and windows shut to keep out the heat, I munched some of the most
+delicious fruit--peaches, grapes, and melons--that it has ever been my
+good fortune to taste. At this time I had not become saturated with
+malaria, and I could eat fruit without any evil resulting. I slept
+for an hour, had lunch, and at two o'clock repaired to an underground
+room, which was comparatively cool, to see the patients, townsfolk, and
+soldiers who had been gathering in crowds round the house. I continued
+attending to them till six in the evening and then ceased, whether
+there were many or few remaining. After dinner I saw the one or two
+favoured ones who had obtained from the Amir a special order for me to
+visit them at their homes.
+
+I had at first some little trouble with the Hindustanis. Work was
+uncongenial to them. Only one of them, my friend the drunkard, had any
+medical knowledge, even such preliminary attainment as the use of the
+stethoscope. Of the other two, one I made a compounder, and the other a
+dresser of wounds.
+
+Having one day to amputate a thumb, I desired the dresser to remain
+at the hospital and administer chloroform. He objected, saying he had
+finished his work for the day. He did not understand English, but spoke
+in Hindustani, in which language my Armenian was fluent. I said several
+things, more or less severe, which my interpreter translated, but the
+Hindustani went on his way. Had I then been acquainted with Afghan
+customs I should at once have ordered a soldier to thrash him, but such
+a procedure would have been unprecedented in a London hospital, and I
+did not do so. Instead, I wrote to His Highness to enquire if I had
+authority over the Hindustanis or not. His Highness answered that I had
+authority over all the Hindustanis and Hakims in the kingdom, with the
+exception of three men--one Hindustani and the two chief Hakims. He
+added, that if there were any insubordination I was at liberty to order
+the offender to be whipped or put in irons.
+
+[Sidenote: The Two Chief Hakims.]
+
+The Hindustani over whom I had no authority was a qualified man, who
+had been hospital assistant in the British Army, but who, accused
+of murdering his superior officer, an Englishman, had escaped into
+Afghanistan. The Amir found him a beggar by the wayside and took him
+into his service, appointing him to attend to the slaves of the harem.
+He was at the time of which I am writing, in Kabul. The Hakims who were
+excepted were two old men who had attended the Amir's father. One, the
+Mirza Abdul Wahid, was an interesting old man, with wrinkled face of a
+Roman type. I read of him in a Russian book that Captain Griesbach lent
+me. For a Hakim he was an intelligent man, and I had a respect and a
+liking for the courtly old fellow. He died while I was in Turkestan,
+and I went to see him shortly before his death. With a courtesy that
+pained me he rose from his sickbed and ordered tea and sweetmeats to be
+brought.
+
+The other Hakim, Abdul Rashid, was a fat old fool, pompous and
+ignorant, with many words. He came to see me--but I will relate that
+presently. The chair he sat on never recovered. It was rickety ever
+afterwards.
+
+[Sidenote: Hindustani Intrigue.]
+
+I knew now what my powers were. The Hindustanis did not openly rebel
+again, but they hatched a plot which, had they been more careful, might
+have led to unpleasant results. First, as I afterwards heard, one of
+them, the one whom I had made compounder, appealed to the Amir for
+protection. I was his enemy, he said. _His_ enemy! But the Amir waited
+and watched. It _might_ be true, India is a conquered country. His
+Highness appeared to take but little notice of me. He was courteous as
+always, and allowed me to be seated in his presence; but he spoke very
+little to me. The Hindustani, however, marred his own plot, for, not
+content with opposing me, he needs must quarrel with his countrymen
+instead of standing by them. He made a false accusation against the
+"dresser," who, on his part, made a countermove. They were arrested
+and brought before the Amir, each swearing a contradiction to the
+other. They were both put to the torture--the "wedge and post"--and the
+compounder, screaming with fright, gave in at once and confessed. He
+was dismissed the service.
+
+He knelt, imploring pardon and permission to stay; but the Amir said,
+"I send you away for your own good. Twice you were taken in adultery,
+and, as a foreigner, I spared you. Now you falsely accuse and endeavour
+to ruin your own countryman. Go, before I kill you."
+
+I think I have not described the "wedge and post." It is a simple
+thing. There is an upright post in the earth. The criminal is seated on
+the ground and his feet lashed to the post; wedges are inserted between
+the sole of the foot and the post, and are hammered home. It is a
+painful process, they say, but a dogged Afghan will sit till the bones
+of both feet are crushed, before he will utter a sound.
+
+The Hindustani before he departed came to take leave of me--his enemy!
+the coachman is not an enemy to the horses. I gave him some tea and
+sent him away, but I noticed he did not limp; he must have given in
+soon at the post.
+
+Then the other one, the dresser, linked the drunkard with him, and they
+aimed, not at me, but at the Armenian. They would cut him off. Now this
+fellow had been honest according to his lights. Every piece of advice
+he gave me I found to be sound: he instructed me in the customs of the
+country, described what should be done at festivals, what at visits
+of condolence; told me who were the dangerous men and who the true
+servants of His Highness; prevented my servants robbing me, and though
+he was rough and unpolished he had showed to me in a hundred minor ways
+a careful thought almost amounting to affection. Added to this, his dry
+humour and his yarns in broken English had whiled away many a dull hour
+when, as a newcomer, the sense of utter loneliness had oppressed me. He
+seemed my one friend. Was I to go back on him?
+
+The Hindustanis wrote to His Highness accusing the Armenian, among
+other things, of translating the Amir's words to me falsely--a most
+serious matter. But how could they know the Armenian translated falsely
+if they did not understand English? The drunkard understood, though he
+spoke "book English," and haltingly; hence the necessity of him in the
+plot.
+
+I saw the Armenian one day looking very dejected, and I asked him what
+was the matter. He told me of the accusation that had just been made
+against him.
+
+"Perhaps Amir Sahib kill me," he said.
+
+Wishing to cause him as much distress as possible, the Hindustanis had
+shown their hand. It was a weak thing to do. The original conception
+was crafty, for I saw at once how difficult a thing it was to rebut;
+and then, too, it was just the idea to "catch on" in the mind of an
+Oriental monarch. How could I say the Armenian translated correctly
+when I understood little or no Persian?
+
+If anything was to be done it must be done promptly. I determined,
+therefore, to carry the war into the enemy's camp, and I sat down at
+once and wrote to His Highness in English.
+
+I said it had come to my ears that these men--mentioning their
+names--had accused my Interpreter of translating falsely; that I had
+no reason to believe the accusation was true, for I found the accusers
+unworthy of trust. I then proceeded to explain why; describing the
+drunkenness of the one and the ignorance of the other; and pointed out
+their neglect of duty, naming a man of position as witness in each
+case that I brought forward. I was, fortunately, able to do this, for
+in two or three surgical operations that I had had to do, when they
+showed themselves neglectful and incompetent, there had been men of
+position, military officers, who witnessed the operation. I sent for
+the secretary of Col. Attaullah Khan, then British agent with the Amir,
+who understood English, asked him to translate for me, mentioning in
+the letter that he had done so, and at once sent the translation in to
+His Highness.
+
+[Sidenote: Amir's Sense of Justice.]
+
+That night the Amir sent for the witnesses and examined them. The
+next morning a messenger arrived with a written order from the Amir
+that I was to bring the Armenian before him on the following day; the
+Hindustanis were to be accompanied by one of their countrymen, or
+rather a Kashmiri, who spoke English fluently. This man was a civil
+engineer who had served the Amir for some eight years--a clever man,
+well known at the Foreign Office in India.[7]
+
+[7] This man has since been executed for treason: he was smothered.
+
+I felt some amount of nervous disturbance, wondering what turn the
+affair might take. I had not been long in the country, and I did not
+know what were the possibilities of the case. The whole story of the
+Hindustanis is, in itself, unimportant. What does it matter whether
+they rebelled against me or not? But it brings forward one trait of the
+Amir's character--his sense of what is fair--and for that reason I have
+related it.
+
+The morning came.
+
+The Armenian, with a white face, silently walked with me to the Palace.
+It was a sunny warm morning, the fruit-trees in the garden were in
+full bloom, and I remember the scent of the flowers, as we walked
+along the path. How is it, I wonder, that slight external impressions
+dwell for ever in one's memory when the mind is busily turned inwards?
+The awning was not up, and we took our stand, the Armenian and I, in
+the sun on the open space opposite the Palace. The two Hindustanis
+came up looking very yellow, accompanied by the Kashmiri, who was an
+intelligent looking man, with a dark skin. We waited a few minutes
+without speaking, and then His Highness with some attendant pages came
+from the Palace, and took his seat on an arm-chair on the verandah,
+opposite to us. The natives "salaamed," I bowed, and His Highness
+touched his hat in acknowledgment. His Highness then addressed the
+Kashmiri engineer in Persian. The engineer turned to me, he had my
+letter in his hand; and he said in a severe manner:--
+
+"I have here a letter purporting to be from you. I notice that it is
+not dated."
+
+"Confound your impudence," I thought, but I said nothing; I bowed.
+
+"You know," said he, approaching nearer and altering his manner, "that
+this Armenian fellow cannot speak English, you had very much better----"
+
+"Who asked for your advice, sir!" I said, turning on him suddenly. "His
+Highness ordered you to enquire whether that letter were mine or not."
+This was a shot, for when His Highness spoke, I understood only two
+words, "letter" and "doctor."
+
+The engineer appeared startled, and he said:--
+
+"A learned man like yourself, the most scientific in Afghanistan, and
+one on whose shoulders a grave responsibility rests, should have his
+words translated exact in every detail. If you expressed a wish to
+that effect, I am sure His Highness would engage from India at a large
+salary, an interpreter----"
+
+At it again, I thought.
+
+"That is my letter, sir. Inform His Highness." There appeared nothing
+more to be said, and he turned to the Amir and addressed him in Persian.
+
+[Sidenote: A Courtier's Influence.]
+
+Then His Highness burst forth. I did not understand his words, but
+there was no mistaking his manner--the knitted brow, the flashing eye
+and the low rumble, lashing up to a roar. The storm descended upon the
+heads of the two Hindustanis. They stood shivering, and from yellow
+became green. _They_ knew, and I afterwards had frequent opportunities
+of observing, that in moments like this the Amir is dangerous; men's
+lives tremble in the balance. A clever man who has the entree of
+the Durbar, and who happens to be in favour, may sometimes on these
+occasions, by dropping a word here and edging in a sentence there,
+gradually turn the current of the Amir's thought. If he can also by
+some appropriate witticism bring about a relaxation of the muscles of
+that grim face, causing a smile or perhaps a laugh, then a man's life
+is saved. They, however, more often employ their wits in adding fuel to
+the fire.
+
+The Hindustanis crept away, and I was about to bow and retire, when His
+Highness signed to me to stop. I was then informed that breakfast was
+prepared under the almond trees in the garden, and His Highness desired
+my company.
+
+This was the first occasion on which the Amir showed me any act of
+familiar kindness, and my relief from suspense was such, that in
+attempting to describe the breakfast I can hardly do full justice
+to the situation. The air was balmy, as we sat in the shade of the
+blossoming trees. Sweet-scented flowers were at our feet, and I sat
+sipping tea and munching macaroons in the luxurious enjoyment of
+living. The Armenian stood silently behind my chair, and I fancy he
+too, though in a more realistic sense than I, felt the luxurious
+enjoyment that mere life could afford.
+
+His Highness spoke to me for some time, though I remember but little of
+the conversation, except the more full description His Highness gave of
+his bodily ailments. He did not yet ask me to prescribe for him.
+
+When we reached home, I found my neighbour opposite, the Mirza
+Abdur-Rashid, had a guest. They were drinking tea together in the
+garden, and invited me to join them. The guest was a tall, very
+handsome man, plainly dressed in grey military tunic and astrakhan
+hat. He had very considerable dignity of manner, and was, I found, the
+Sirdar Gholam Hussain, a relative of His Highness, of the same clan. It
+is the duty of this gentleman to wait upon the Amir at dinner, and to
+take charge of all food laid before His Highness. It is an honourable
+and also an onerous task in a country where the danger of poison is
+ever before the King. The drinking water of His Highness is in charge
+of a trusted page, the foster-brother of one of the Princes, and when,
+some time after this, I was attending His Highness medically, this page
+it was who was entrusted with the keys of the medicine cabinet.
+
+[Sidenote: The Blind Singer.]
+
+As we chatted over our tea, a blind boy came into the garden to sing.
+He would have been much improved by a few lessons on voice production,
+but for all that we listened to him with pleasure. His voice was soft
+and sweet, with a pathetic ring in it.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+LIFE IN TURKESTAN.
+
+    General Nassir Khan. The Story of the Shield. The Belgian's
+    Request. Escape of Allah Nur: his Capture. The Amir's Decision.
+    The Turkestan Commander-in-Chief. Operation on Allah Nur. The
+    Armenian's Comments. Illness of Hadji Jan Mahomed. The Haughty
+    Colonel: further comments by the Armenian. Sundry Acquaintances.
+    Excursion to Takh-ta-Pul. Fortune-telling among the Afghans. The
+    Policeman-cook and the Lunch. Balkh. The Mosque at Mazar-i-Sherif
+    and its Miracles. Called to His Highness. The Cool-air Pavilion:
+    evil results of the same. Illness of the British Agent: the
+    Armenian's advice: the Answer from the Amir. Brigadier Hadji-Gul
+    Khan. Afghan Endurance of Suffering. The Country Cousin among the
+    Court Pages. Euclid and Cards.
+
+
+A few days after this I was sent for to see General Nassir Khan, who
+was sick. He was a bent old man, but had been, I heard, a tiger to
+fight. He was with the Amir during His Highness's exile in Asiatic
+Russia. They said that he entered the Russian service, and rose to the
+rank of Colonel. He did not, however, forget his master, for he sent
+the greater part of his pay to the Amir, retaining only enough for bare
+necessaries. Concerning this old man, I heard a little story, which
+throws a side-light on the Amir, and may therefore be interesting.
+
+[Sidenote: The Story of the Shield.]
+
+There had been brought to His Highness, as a present, a very beautiful
+shield inlaid with gold. This was when he had come to the throne, and
+was Amir.
+
+Everyone in the Durbar Hall feasted his eyes upon this beautiful thing,
+and the courtiers edged anxiously nearer the royal chair, in the hope
+that "Amir Sahib" might perhaps, as he sometimes did, bestow a present
+upon a "faithful and deserving slave." The Amir slowly cast his eyes
+round the ring, and each heart beat high, as the Amir's eyes rested a
+moment on this man or that. Suddenly, the Amir called out,
+
+"Nassir, Pesh biar," "come forward."
+
+Out of a far corner came Nassir. The Amir turned to the anxious circle,
+and said,
+
+"Look upon this man. He was with me in Samarcand." The hearts of the
+courtiers sank; Nassir, then, was to be the recipient of the shield.
+
+"He was with me in Samarcand, and for a little thing he turned and
+cursed me. These were his words"--and the Amir repeated the curse. "Is
+this so?" he said to Nassir. The old man hung his head in shame.
+
+"He cursed me; he half drew his sword on me, his master. What is this
+man worthy of?"
+
+There was a dead silence: the shield was forgotten, for behold Nassir's
+day had come. It had; but not in the sense anticipated.
+
+"Give him the shield," said the Amir. "He was with me in Samarcand."
+
+I should finish the story by saying Nassir treasured the shield as the
+apple of his eye, and shewed it me with honest pride--but no, he sold
+it next day for what it would fetch. Afghanistan!
+
+When I went to see him he was suffering from lumbago. He was a courtly
+old man, and he gave me black tea to drink, in a Russian tea-glass.
+
+I saw him at the Court, some time afterwards, and he came up to speak
+to me. He had a stoop in his shoulders, and the tailor had not cut his
+tunic properly, so that he had unbuttoned the top two or three buttons
+to release his throat. It was a gorgeous tunic, richly embroidered with
+gold; his sword-belt and scabbard were loaded with plates of solid
+gold, and he had an old-fashioned bowler hat, too large for him, on
+the back of his head. I was sorry. It took so from the dignity of his
+appearance; at least in my eyes: not so in the eyes of the Afghans, to
+them it was quite _en regle_.
+
+Shortly after my visit to the general, I developed, from being
+constantly among the sick, a "Hospital throat," and had to stop at
+home for a day or two. His Highness sent me a very kind message of
+condolence; and while I was at home there was brought to me, from
+the Post Office, a post card written in French and addressed to the
+"Postmaster-General, Afghanistan." The Amir wished to know what was
+written. I found the card came from the Postmaster of some small
+Belgian town. It was a proposal on his part to the Postmaster-General
+of Afghanistan to exchange "stamps." He was, he explained, a "stamp
+collector." With the help of the Armenian I sent a Persian translation
+to His Highness. The Amir directed me to write and enquire what was the
+colour of the stamps the collector required: on receipt of his answer
+they would be forwarded to him. I imagine His Highness considered that
+the collection was more for artistic effect than on account of the
+intrinsic value of the stamps. The Belgian received his stamps in due
+time.
+
+Just at this time, too, I received a letter from the Editor of one
+of the Indian papers asking me to contribute a series of articles on
+Afghanistan. As, however, I was in the service of the Amir I did not
+feel justified in doing so, and was compelled to leave the letter
+unanswered.
+
+[Sidenote: The Escape of Allah Nur.]
+
+Another incident also occurred. There was in the Hospital a soldier
+named Allah Nur. He was suffering from disease of the elbow, which had
+advanced to such a degree that the joint was completely disorganized.
+The Hakims had promised to cure him by the application of ointments.
+I explained to him, however, that this was impossible, and that the
+only remedy was to remove the arm. Poor Allah Nur had been ill a long
+time: he was much reduced by pain and constant discharge, and he begged
+me from day to day to postpone the operation. He explained his dread
+of the knife, of which he seemed ashamed, by calling attention to his
+pitiable state of weakness. When I was laid up with my throat he seized
+the opportunity one night to make his escape from the Hospital: he got
+on a donkey which some kind friend had provided, and managed to reach a
+place called Takh-ta-Pul, some three or four miles off, before he was
+captured.
+
+The next morning he was brought back and taken before the Amir. His
+Highness said:--
+
+"A child or a fool is he who runs from his Physician."
+
+He sent for a probe and proceeded to examine the joint.
+
+"Without doubt the limb must come off," said he.
+
+"Baraie Khuda!" said Allah Nur.
+
+"Be silent!" said the Amir.
+
+"For God's sake, do not. My Lord----"
+
+The Amir reached out his Royal hand and boxed his ear. Allah Nur was
+conducted back to the Hospital. That afternoon, my throat being better,
+I attended the military Durbar. His Highness discussed with me the case
+of Allah Nur, advising amputation.
+
+"It would appear wise, however," said he, "considering the man's
+condition of weakness, to postpone the operation for a few days,
+feeding him meanwhile on strong soups and administering 'Portwein.'"
+
+I need not say that I entirely concurred.
+
+His Highness then spoke of other matters. He explained why he walked
+so little and was carried from place to place in his palanquin. It was
+on account of the pain he suffered from chronic sciatica. The horses
+reserved for his riding were chosen for their steadiness, and he had
+ordered them to be led about the streets after dark to cure them of
+any habit they might have of shying. In moving, even from one chair to
+another, he found the assistance of a walking-stick necessary. He spoke
+also very kindly to me concerning my professional work, and finally
+asked me to visit an old friend of his who was sick--the Hadji Jan
+Mahomed.
+
+Things were going well with me evidently, for directly the Durbar
+was over the Commander-in-Chief in Turkestan came up to speak to
+me and we walked out of the Palace gardens hand-in-hand:--I hate
+walking hand-in-hand with a man. He was very chatty, and asked me
+to visit a Colonel of his who was ill. The name of the Turkestan
+Commander-in-Chief was Gholam Hydar, but he was a man of a much smaller
+frame than his namesake the Commander-in-Chief in Kabul. Also he bore
+a most startling resemblance to Dr. Lauder Brunton, F.R.S., the London
+Physician. No two brothers could be more alike. They were the same
+build. The very beard and moustache were trimmed in the same fashion.
+The only difference I could see was that Dr. Brunton is fair and the
+Suparsalar Gholam Hydar Khan was dark. I had, therefore, from the
+beginning a pre-disposition in favour of Gholam Hydar on account of his
+resemblance to my former teacher.
+
+[Sidenote: The Operation on Allah Nur.]
+
+The next morning on arriving at the Hospital I found Allah Nur only
+too ready to have his arm amputated. While he had been away from the
+Hospital the flies in that hot climate had found access to the sore,
+and there were maggots squirming about in the joint. It was very
+horrible. There was no postponing the operation now.
+
+We had no operating table, and Allah Nur was laid on a mound of earth
+in the shade of a tree in the garden. I arranged the instruments near
+and took off my turban lest it should obstruct my view at a critical
+moment. I put the man under chloroform, screwed up the tourniquet, and
+ordered the Armenian to hold the arm steady. There were two or three
+sweeping cuts, the grate of the saw, and the arm was off midway between
+shoulder and elbow.
+
+The Afghans in the Hospital made an interested ring of spectators. One
+of the Hindustanis, however, nearly fainted, and the Armenian said:
+
+"Sir, I very glad you quick, my head is go round and round, and my eye
+is like I drink a bottle of brandy and a bottle of rum mixed--all is
+blood!" I did not ask him to help in an operation again.
+
+After dressing the stump and seeing that Allah Nur had recovered
+properly from the chloroform and was comfortable, I rode off to see His
+Highness's old friend, the Hadji Jan Mahomed.
+
+I found that the Hadji lived in a typical Turkestan house in the
+outskirts of the town. There was the row of isolated dome-shaped rooms
+or houses side by side, and in front a large garden almost entirely
+covered with grape vines. These ran along ridges of earth about six
+feet apart, each being some three feet high and six feet wide.
+
+The Hadji was a venerable-looking old fellow of about seventy, with
+a long white beard. He was of the same tribe as His Highness--the
+Barakzai Durani.
+
+After tea and fruit had been brought, and we had had some general
+conversation, the Hadji informed me that he had lately arrived from
+Bokhara, and was suffering from a disease of the leg that is prevalent
+in that district. On examination I found he was suffering from "Guinea
+worm," a thread-like creature some two or three feet long, that burrows
+through the tissues of the body, generally infesting the feet and
+legs. The treatment adopted at the present day is the same as that
+pursued by the old Persian surgeons, who extracted the worm by gentle
+and continuous traction, winding the exposed end of the worm round a
+small stick of ivory, bone or wood. If the worm is broken, local and
+even severe constitutional mischief is apt to ensue, and this is what
+had happened to the Hadji. The attempt to extract the worm had been
+unsuccessful, it had been broken. He had been exceedingly ill, he
+said; and I found a large burrowing chronic abscess above the right
+knee. It was a troublesome case, and I visited him several times. At
+last, one day I had the good fortune to detect the broken end of the
+worm, and with the greatest gentleness and care managed to extract it.
+The leg then soon healed.
+
+[Sidenote: The Haughty Colonel.]
+
+After I had visited the Hadji, who, by the way, presented me with half
+a pound of Orange Pekoe, I went to see the young Colonel whom the
+Commander-in-Chief had asked me to visit. His house was not very far
+from the Palace gardens, and I found him seated on a charpoy under
+the trees in his garden: one or two friends and a Hakim sat with him.
+He was a small dark man with a haughty expression, but he looked very
+ill. He had had fever, but was now suffering from suppuration of the
+parotid, so that he had a great unbroken abscess in his cheek and neck.
+
+I examined him carefully and decided that the abscess should be
+opened without delay. He did not, however, view the suggestion with
+any favour. He told me, very politely, that he should prefer applying
+certain ointments that had been advised by his friend the Hakim.
+I do not remember the name of the Hakim. He was one of the minor
+practitioners whom I really never took note of.
+
+The Colonel also explained that should the ointment not have the
+desired effect, he would wish to try the efficacy of prayer. After
+this, what was there to be said? I bowed, refused the tea he politely
+offered, and begged permission to withdraw.
+
+Coming away I said to the Armenian:--
+
+"What infernal nonsense it is calling me to fellows like that."
+
+"Yes, sir," said the Armenian, "he is fool man. And that Hakim! he is
+nothing. His _father_ cannot sit in your presence." This was soothing,
+perhaps. As we were going home I met little Mahomed Omer, son of
+Perwana Khan, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief in Kabul. He was a bright
+little lad of about thirteen. His face was distinctly of the Tartar
+type. We grew very friendly, and he often came with his tutor or "Lala"
+to see me. I gave him my felt hat, and he walked about proudly with it
+over his ears.
+
+[Sidenote: A Day at Takh-ta-Pul.]
+
+Soon after this I went to Takh-ta-Pul, the place where my friend
+Allah Nur had escaped to, in order to inspect the hospital there. The
+Commander-in-Chief sent a Captain--Seyd Hussain--a huge Afghan hillman,
+some six feet three inches high, to accompany me, so one morning he
+and I and the Armenian and some servants rode off together. Seyd
+Hussain was quite a friend of mine; he came very often to see me, and
+afterwards said such polite things, that the Commander-in-Chief used
+to call him my "son." We took about an hour over our ride: it was so
+excessively hot. When we arrived at Takh-ta-Pul, I called upon the
+Commander-in-Chief, who was there for a few days, had tea with him,
+and was then conducted to a house prepared for me. I was shown into an
+upper chamber, carpeted and decorated, which overlooked the garden, a
+large square one with trees and flowers, and commanded a view of the
+town and the distant mountains.
+
+My "son" came too, and five or six others, including the Armenian,
+to amuse me. They sang songs, told stories, and the captain read my
+future in the palm of my hand: I was surprised to find palmistry an
+Afghan accomplishment. He told me I should have two severe illnesses
+in the country, but should return to my native land in safety. We had
+grapes and tea, and, at about one o'clock, tiffin or lunch. There was
+roast mutton, I remember, exceedingly oily, which one of my servants,
+the groom, had cooked for me. This gentleman, whom I had picked
+up--or rather the Armenian had picked up for me--in Turkestan, was a
+Peshawuri. He had been a policeman in Burma, he said. He also said he
+could make a pudding; and he did, a watery rice pudding. Then a pillow
+was brought, and I lay on the floor and slept for an hour. After that
+we had more songs and stories, and at six, when the heat of the day
+had gone, I called again on the Commander-in-Chief and had more tea.
+He wished me to stay the night, but I remembered I had not inspected
+the Hospital yet, besides, for all I knew, the Amir might want me. I
+decided therefore not to stop.
+
+We started off for the Hospital, which was a little way out of the
+town. It was precisely like that of Mazar, except that there were only
+five or six patients in it. These were looked after by a Hakim. In the
+evening the Captain, the Armenian, and I rode back to Mazar, and I
+prepared my report for the Amir. One thing I often regret: it is that
+I did not at this time act on the Armenian's suggestion and ride to
+the ancient city Balkh, which was only some six or seven miles beyond
+Takh-ta-Pul. However, I had the feeling that I had taken a day off at
+Takh-ta-Pul, and must not waste any more time when there were so many
+sick waiting for treatment. Balkh, "the mother of cities," is situated
+in a province capable of great cultivation, and was a flourishing city
+in the time of Alexander the Great. The population, however, was so
+nearly exterminated by Ghengis Khan, and again by Tamerlane and his
+successors, that it is doubtful whether it will ever again recover even
+a moiety of its former importance.
+
+There is at Mazar-i-Sherif a great Mosque or Temple, from which the
+town takes its name. It is a huge ornate building with minarets, and a
+lofty cupola built of a shining blue stone. It is held in veneration by
+all Mussulmans, but more especially by the sect of Shiahs. The Mosque
+contains a tomb which is supposed to be that of Ali, son-in-law of
+Mahomed, though some European authorities consider that Ali was buried
+near Baghdad. Be that as it may, the Mosque possesses considerable
+revenues, the gifts of wealthy votaries and other pious people, which
+are used to feed the crowds of indigent pilgrims who, at certain times
+in the year, flock in great numbers to Mazar. Moreover, the remains of
+Ali, or whoever the gentleman may be, are capable of working miracles
+of no mean order. They restore sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf,
+and health to the sick. During one of the religious festivals which
+occurred while I was in Turkestan, there were no less than five men
+whose sight had been restored by their pilgrimage to the Mosque! I know
+this is true, for the Amir told me so himself!
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Cool-air Pavilion.]
+
+One morning His Highness sent for me to examine his ear. He fancied he
+had some insect in it. This was in July, and the weather was very hot.
+I found His Highness seated in a small circular pavilion in the Palace
+garden. I had often wondered what this little building was. It was a
+cool-air chamber. There was a door and one window. This window was
+filled in with interlaced branches of an aromatic shrub; water from a
+gutter trickled over the lattice work, and a current of air was driven
+in by a paddlewheel fan, which a man outside worked with a handle. I
+was ushered into the semi-darkness of the room; I bowed, and a chair
+was placed midway between the door and the window in an awful draught.
+After the hot dry air of the outside this horrible little room felt
+like an ice well. I literally shivered, and there sat His Highness in
+the full draught, and, what is most unusual, without a head covering.
+
+It was too dark in the Pavilion to see the condition of the ear, and
+His Highness at once consented to come out into the open. A chair
+was brought, and His Highness sat with bare head in the blazing sun.
+"Surely there is danger of sunstroke," I thought.
+
+I begged permission to put on my helmet, saying I was afraid of the
+sun. I thought His Highness might then cover his own head; no, he did
+not seem to mind the heat. I examined the ear with the speculum and
+found nothing in it. He had, however, a slight catarrh of the throat
+and of the Eustachian tube leading from the throat to the inner ear.
+I pointed out the danger of exposing the body while the skin is
+acting freely to a draught of cold damp air; and indicated the line of
+treatment I should adopt if I were to attend to the ear. His Highness
+coincided with my views, said that he had the medicines I spoke of,
+and should certainly try them. It struck me that all he wanted really
+was to know if there were anything in his ear: he had not asked me to
+prescribe for him.
+
+I heard that His Highness spoke highly of me after I left. I think he
+was not yet prepared to place himself entirely in my hands, and I had
+not forced him into the uncomfortable position of having to refuse my
+treatment and, therefore, appear somewhat discourteous.
+
+There is, in this part of Turkestan, a disease which bears a strong
+resemblance to the so-called Delhi boil--or, more correctly, Delhi
+ulcer. It was exceedingly prevalent while I was in Turkestan, and after
+trying various remedies ineffectually I hit upon one which had a marked
+beneficial effect. Formerly, the ulcers--which appear on the exposed
+parts of the body, the hands, feet, and face--were very intractable and
+rarely healed in less than a year. Under the popular native treatment
+they sometimes attained enormous proportions, and became covered with
+most exuberant granulations--great mounds of proud flesh: now they
+healed rapidly in a month, or less, according to the size, so that I
+gained a sort of reputation in this line. One day the British Agent,
+Colonel Attaullah Khan, sent his Secretary to ask me to visit him, as
+he was suffering from one of these sores upon his heel, and his own
+Hindustani medical attendant had been unsuccessful in giving him relief.
+
+I said, certainly, I would come, and was pulling on my boots, when the
+Armenian said:--
+
+"Sir, please you kind, a little you wait."
+
+"What for?" said I, with a boot half on.
+
+"First, I write to Amir Sahib and ask; then you go or you not go, as he
+says. You Amir Sahib's servant."
+
+"Well, but----" However, I thought there was no harm in his writing at
+any rate, and I waited. His Highness's answer arrived.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Answer.]
+
+He acknowledged the receipt of my letter of such a date, in which I
+asked--Had I the Royal permission to visit--and so on. He was deeply
+grieved on account of the illness of the Sirdar, for whom he had
+the greatest affection and respect, but there were weighty matters
+to consider. I, though an Englishman, was his servant. If, through
+an unforeseen calamity God should strike the Sirdar, while under my
+medical care, with an illness more severe than the present one, or,
+God forbid, even with death, then the honourable Government of England
+might consider in their wisdom that I, his servant, instigated by evil
+men, had worked harm upon the Sirdar.
+
+The gist of it was, that whatever His Highness's reason might be, he
+did not wish me to attend the Agent. I therefore sent my apologies.
+At the next Durbar His Highness appeared pleased that I had asked his
+permission before visiting the Agent, and he entered more fully, though
+on the same lines, into his reasons for refusing permission.
+
+That afternoon a Brigadier named Hadji Gul Khan, with his Staff, called
+upon me at my house. They all came in, about a dozen of them, and the
+Brigadier, in a hearty sort of way, shook hands and asked how I was. I
+was surprised, as he was quite a stranger to me, though it is possible
+I was not so to him. He was a relative of the Amir's, a Barukzai
+Durani: he had called to ask if I would attend to one of his soldiers
+who had a disease of the leg. I said, "With pleasure, which is he?"
+
+"This is the man."
+
+I examined him, and found he had a fatty tumour on the outer side of
+the right thigh. I said--
+
+"It will be necessary to remove this swelling with the knife. It
+consists of a mass of fat."
+
+"Bisyar khob," said the Brigadier; "very good; remove it."
+
+"Kai?" said I. "When?"
+
+"Hala," said he. "Now."
+
+"Certainly; come into the other room," for I did not want to spoil
+my beautiful carpets. I was short of chloroform, and I said to the
+Armenian,
+
+"Tell the man I shall hurt him." The man said,
+
+"Khair ast, it is nothing. Tell the Doctor Sahib, if he cut me to
+pieces I shall not speak."
+
+"O, all right," I said, "tell him to lie on the ground." He lay down. I
+made a longitudinal incision over the tumour, and proceeded to dissect
+it out. It must have been very painful, but the man said nothing,
+neither did I; but the bystanders, when the mass of yellowish white
+fat appeared between the edges of the wound, exclaimed, "Wah! wah!" in
+excited admiration.
+
+I bandaged the leg, and the soldier walked back to his barracks. He
+had to be in bed, however, for some time afterwards. We were very good
+friends after that--the soldier and I. I am sure I don't know why,
+except that I admired his pluck, and had hurt him.
+
+[Sidenote: The Country Cousin among the Court Pages.]
+
+I called on the Hadji Jan Mahomed again, and found his young son there.
+Both the Hadji and his son kept to the pure Afghan costume, with the
+turban and picturesque flowing robes. The boy afterwards became a
+Court Page, but he looked very out of place among the Europeanized
+youngsters who swaggered about at the Palace. He looked out of date and
+countryfied in his robes, and he felt it. I noticed when I was at the
+Hadji's what beautiful feet he and his son had: they were like the feet
+of a Greek statue. The toes had shape. They were not degenerated like
+ours, by descent through a boot-wearing ancestry.
+
+One of the Pages lived next door to me; he was an ugly little beggar,
+but rather amusing, and the Armenian suggested one evening, to
+while away an hour, that we should go and see him. He was hard at
+work puzzling over Euclid. It seemed very odd to see the well-known
+diagrams in the midst of Persian writing. We played cards--a sort of
+three-handed whist--and other games. They taught them to me, but I have
+completely forgotten how they were played. The cards used were just
+the same as those we have, except that they were cheap ones, made in
+Germany, and were exceedingly dirty.
+
+Another Page-boy lived opposite; next door to the Mirza Abdur Rashid.
+He was an exceedingly pretty boy, and was, in consequence, very
+gorgeously dressed in a scarlet and gold uniform and Kashmir turban.
+Personal beauty is a fairly certain cause of rapid promotion at the
+Amir's Court. Some of the Court Pages are the sons of nobles, of
+officers, or of wealthy men. Others are slaves.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE INHABITANTS OF AFGHANISTAN.
+
+    Slaves in Kabul: prisoners of war and others. The frequent
+    rebellions. The different nationalities in Afghanistan. Origin of
+    the Afghan race. The Turk Sabaktakin. Mahmud of Ghuzni. Buddhism
+    displaced by Mahomedanism: agglomeration of different strains.
+    Border Afghans. Duranis, Ghilzais. Founding of a Dynasty of
+    Afghan Kings. Ahmad Shah. Timur Shah. Danger to the Empire. The
+    Sons of Timur. Zaman Shah. The Afghan "Warwick." Execution of
+    Painda. Rebellion of the Shah's brother. Mahmud Shah. Another
+    brother rebels. Shujah-ul-Mulk crowned: deposed by the Barakzai
+    chief. Exile of Shujah. The Koh-i-nur. The Puppet-king and the
+    Barakzai Wazir. Murder of the Wazir. The Wazir's brother becomes
+    Amir. The first Afghan War. Rule of Dost Mahomed: A Standing Army
+    established. Accession of Shere Ali. Amir Afzal Khan. Abdurrahman.
+    The Ghilzais: origin and customs. Border Pathans, Afridis,
+    Shinwarris. Possible origin of Barakzais. The Hazaras: their origin
+    and country: their language and government. Moral and physical
+    condition. Religion. Their outbreaks and the cause. Turkomans,
+    Usbaks: their uncouth nature. Other races. The Christian Church.
+
+
+[Sidenote: Slaves in Kabul.]
+
+The slaves of Kabul are those who have been kidnapped from Kaffristan,
+or who are prisoners of war, taken when some tribe breaks out in
+rebellion against the Amir. When it is remembered that the Afghans,
+though at present the dominant race, form only a part, and a minor
+part, of the population, there being several other nations, of
+different physical conformity, different language, religion, and
+customs, inhabiting the country, the fact of frequent outbreaks and
+rebellions is less inexplicable than it would otherwise be.
+
+Of the Afghans, to commence with, there are three chief divisions:
+the Durani or Afghan proper, of which race is the Amir; the Ghilzai;
+and the Pathan or border Afghan. Each of these is divided up into many
+different tribes: the tribes into branches, and the branches into
+families.
+
+We gather valuable information concerning Afghanistan--Ariana--and the
+peoples inhabiting it, from the ancient writers; but the Afghans, as a
+distinct people, do not appear in history until the commencement of the
+tenth century; and it was not until the eighteenth century that they
+were established as an independent nation under a king of their own
+race.
+
+According to the most recent investigations, the Afghans, though they
+assert themselves to be a Jewish nation descended from Saul, are a
+conglomerate race, some tribes, or sections of tribes, having in
+their veins strains of Persian, others of Indian, Greek, or Scythian
+blood. Of the tribes at the present day some bear the very names and
+occupy the same positions that Herodotus tells us of as existing in
+the Persian satrapies of Darius, and others, the names of Macedonian
+and Greek tribes, who were introduced after the conquest of Alexander.
+Others again, especially in eastern Afghanistan, bear the names of
+Rajput tribes renowned in Indian history.
+
+[Sidenote: The First Afghan King.]
+
+In the tenth century was the invasion by Tartar hordes headed by the
+Turk Sabaktakin, who established himself in southern Afghanistan,
+making Ghuzni his capital.
+
+He and his son, Mahmud of Ghuzni, founded a dynasty in Afghanistan.
+They were recent converts to Islam, and destroying the then dominant
+religion of the country, Buddhism, shrouded under the cloak of Mahomed
+the strains of different nations that existed in the country. This wild
+mixed race, called collectively Afghan, was at all times turbulent and
+difficult to govern, and the tribes fought against each other without
+the least scruple. Their present unsettled condition, therefore, can be
+somewhat better understood when we consider that it has existed, and in
+a far greater degree, from remote ages.
+
+It would be tedious merely to enumerate the multitudinous divisions
+into which the Afghan nation is divided, and I have grouped many
+important tribes under the comprehensive term Border Afghans. These,
+as the name implies, occupy the mountains on the Indian frontier, and
+it is they who, by their raidings, thievings, and turbulence, cause so
+much trouble to the Government of India.
+
+From their position, it has been possible for investigators among the
+Indian Frontier Officials to study the customs, laws, and descent of
+these tribes more closely than those of the Afghans occupying the
+interior of the country.
+
+Of the latter, the Durani and the Ghilzai tribes are, from their
+numerical superiority, the more important. In addition, the Durani
+tribe has, from two of its branches, given to the country its Afghan
+Kings.
+
+It was in the last century, 1747, that Ahmad Khan, of the Suddozai
+division of the Duranis, created himself Ahmad Shah and founded a
+dynasty. It occurred in the following manner. Nadir Shah, a Turkoman
+robber chief, invaded Persia, driving thence the Afghans, who had held
+the country for some six or seven years. He placed himself on the
+throne, and then proceeded to annex Afghanistan, seizing first Herat,
+and after a nearly two years' siege Kandahar, and finally Kabul.
+
+He ruled with vigour and generosity, and in such a manner that he
+completely won the hearts of the people, and was able to bring to
+the assistance of his own troops large contingents of Afghan cavalry
+recruited especially among the Duranis and the Ghilzais. The chiefs
+of the tribes commanded the troops raised from their tribesmen. These
+men accompanied the Turk Warrior in all his expeditions, sharing
+his glory and his success. So much help did they give him that he
+openly preferred them to his own troops, causing, thereby, great
+jealousy among the Persian soldiers. Finally, when in 1747, Nadir was
+assassinated, the Persians fell upon the Afghans with such fury that
+the latter, greatly outnumbered, sought safety in flight. On their
+return to their native country, the nobles of the Durani and Ghilzai
+tribes met together to decide upon the best means of organizing a
+Government for Afghanistan. Any union with the Persians was declared
+henceforth impossible, and they determined to elect a chief from
+among themselves. After much discussion, Ahmad Khan, the chief of the
+Suddozai Duranis, was elected King of the nation, his only formidable
+rival, the chief of the Barakzai Duranis, withdrawing in his favour.
+Ahmad Khan was crowned in the Mosque at Kandahar in 1747, taking the
+title of Shah. In the midst of the festivities there arrived a convoy
+in Kandahar, bearing from the Punjab and Scinde the tribute due to
+Nadir Shah. Ahmad Shah at once seized the convoy, which was of extreme
+value, and wisely consolidated his power by distributing the contents
+liberally among the soldiers, officers, and nobles of his newly-founded
+kingdom.
+
+[Sidenote: Downfall of the Empire imminent.]
+
+This was the commencement of the Durani dynasty of Afghan Kings, and
+Ahmad, by frequent invasions, extended his Empire from Mashad in Persia
+to Lahore in India. He reigned twenty-six years, and was succeeded by
+his son, Timur Shah, a weak man, who, moving the seat of Government
+from Kandahar to Kabul, employed his time, not in strengthening and
+consolidating his father's Empire, but in gratifying his senses. The
+result was what might have been anticipated: Law became a dead letter;
+no longer was any road safe from highway robbery; disorder and anarchy
+once more spread over the country, and the downfall of the Empire was
+imminent. The Persian provinces were lost; then followed the Punjab,
+Scinde, and Beluchistan.
+
+At the death of Timur, in 1793, matters became even worse, for his
+many sons, who were ruling singly or jointly over different provinces,
+plotted and counterplotted against one another in the endeavour to
+obtain the throne. Three of the sons came to the front. Zaman Shah,
+who held the throne for a brief period; Shujah-ul-Mulk, his full
+brother, who held Kandahar and plotted to obtain Kabul; and Mahmud,
+who ruled in Herat as an independent Prince, and declared himself Shah
+of Afghanistan. At this time the most powerful and influential of all
+the Sirdars was Painda Khan, chief of the Barakzai Duranis, and son of
+the man who withdrew his pretensions to the Afghan throne in favour of
+Ahmad Shah.
+
+Painda, another "Warwick," supported Zaman, and by his power
+and influence placed him on the throne. The other brothers were
+entrapped and kept in prison on a meagre diet till they acknowledged
+his accession to the throne. Zaman Shah, his court in factions,
+his brothers plotting against him, his Treasury empty, India as a
+looting ground shut against him by the East India Company, and Persia
+threatening on the west, endeavoured, nevertheless, to rule on the
+autocratic principle, and though the Barakzais had hereditary right to
+the great offices of the State, he presently degraded and then executed
+the chief, Painda Khan, to whom he owed the throne, and whose power and
+intellect would have been invaluable to him.
+
+At once the sons of Painda fled and joined the King's brother, Mahmud,
+at Herat. Him, after much solicitation, they persuaded to advance
+against Zaman Shah. They were joined by the whole of the Barakzai
+tribe, who, recognizing Fethi Khan, eldest son of Painda as their
+chief, at once placed themselves under his orders. After much fighting,
+and some treachery, Zaman was deposed, and his eyes put out by order of
+his brother. He had reigned four years.
+
+It was in 1800 that Mahmud became Shah. His throne was an uneasy one.
+First, the Ghilzai tribe rebelled against him, and several encounters
+were necessary before they were subdued. Then a most sanguinary
+religious riot arose in Kabul between the two sects of Mahomedans--the
+Sunnis and the Shiahs, and the Shah, by supporting the Shiahs,
+alienated his own tribes, both the Suddozais and Barakzais, who are
+Sunnis. This was the commencement of his downfall, for while Fethi Khan
+was in Bamian subduing a rebellion of Hazaras, the other chiefs formed
+a conspiracy and invited Shujah-ul-Mulk, the Shah's younger brother, to
+advance on Kabul, promising him their support. Shujah at once advanced,
+Mahmud fled to the Bala Hissar fort, and Shujah was placed on the
+throne amid the greatest rejoicings.
+
+[Sidenote: Shah Shujah deposed by the Barakzai Chief.]
+
+The first act of the new Shah was to seize his brother, the ex-King,
+and order his eyes to be put out. This order, however, he revoked,
+owing to the influence of his new Wazir or Prime Minister--one of the
+chiefs who had invited him to seize the throne. He imprisoned the
+ex-King, therefore, in the dungeons of Bala Hissar.
+
+Fethi Khan returning from Bamian found Shujah King. He had, however, a
+vendetta against the new Shah for the murder of his father, Painda, by
+the Shah's full brother, Zaman.
+
+Secretly, and with the help of his brother, he rescued Mahmud from
+prison, and again placed him on the throne in Kabul, himself taking his
+hereditary post of Wazir. Shah Shujah, routed by Fethi Khan, fled to
+India, and sought the support of Runjit Singh, the Sikh Maharajah of
+Lahore. But Runjit Singh held certain provinces formerly belonging to
+Afghanistan, and he would do nothing for Shujah. He, however, extorted
+from him a valuable diamond that Shujah had guarded through all his
+adventures. This diamond had passed from Moghul to Turkoman, from
+Turkoman to Afghan, and from Afghan has passed through the Sikh to
+England. It is the Koh-i-Nur. Shujah, in terror of his life, escaped
+from the Sikh, and in 1815 threw himself on the mercy of the East India
+Company, who gave him a pension and a residence in Ludhiana.
+
+Meanwhile, in Kabul, Mahmud gave way to every kind of sensual excess.
+He was a puppet in the hands of his powerful minister, Fethi Khan,
+under whose rule the country recovered some of its former prosperity.
+
+Mahmud's son and heir, Kamran, jealous of the power and increasing
+influence of Fethi Khan, succeeded in entrapping the minister, and,
+with most atrocious tortures, he murdered him. The death of this master
+spirit, warrior, and statesman was an irreparable loss to Afghanistan,
+and anarchy once more spread over the country.
+
+Mahmud and Kamran fled to Herat, and the rest of the country was
+divided among the brothers of the murdered Wazir--Kabul, Jelalabad, and
+Ghuzni falling to the share of Dost Mahomed, the favourite brother of
+Fethi Khan, and the most resolute and gifted.
+
+The government of the country, therefore, with the exception of Herat,
+which was still held by Mahmud Khan, fell from the power of the Durani
+Shah to that of the Durani Wazir.
+
+Dost Mahomed took the title of Amir of Kabul, or Military Commander,
+and to him British envoys were sent on missions of commerce and
+discovery.
+
+At this time Russia was urging on Persia to take Herat, but as Herat
+commands Kandahar, and thus is, as it were, the gate of India, the
+British were compelled to make a counter-move. Then came the first
+Afghan war--the disastrous endeavour on our part to revive the extinct
+Suddozai Durani dynasty. Dost Mahomed was taken prisoner to Calcutta;
+Shah Shujah was put on the throne at Kabul; and Mahmud, with his son
+Kamran, as successor, acknowledged as Governor of Herat.
+
+[Sidenote: The Rule of Dost Mahomed: a Standing Army.]
+
+The failure of the plan is a modern story. Shah Shujah was murdered
+by the Afghans in 1842, and Dost Mahomed was released and allowed to
+find his way back to Kabul, where he was welcomed to the throne with
+acclamations.
+
+The rule of Dost Mahomed, compared with what had gone before, was a
+boon to Afghanistan; merchants and caravans could travel with some
+amount of safety through his dominions. Trade recovered considerably,
+and with its growth the revenues of the Amir increased. For a long time
+he made no attempt to extend his dominions, but contented himself in
+rendering secure and prosperous those provinces he already possessed.
+His brothers lacked the power, though not the wish, to compass his
+overthrow, for though they were bold fighting men, they possessed
+neither the capacity nor the resolution of the Amir. The danger to
+the sovereigns of Afghanistan had, hitherto, been the difficulty in
+retaining the allegiance of the great Chiefs--the Barons--those men who
+could call into the field the thousands of their clansmen to fight for
+or against the King. Dost Mahomed, though not lacking in generosity
+towards them, nevertheless showed them that it would be both difficult
+and dangerous to attempt to throw off their allegiance. As a check
+to their power in the field he established, for the first time in
+Afghanistan, a standing army. The Chiefs submitted, though at first
+unwillingly, to the rule of the Amir, for doubtless it seemed better to
+yield to a monarch both just and generous than to attempt revolts, the
+issue of which was in any case doubtful, and might place them under the
+insecure and cruel despotism of the Suddozais. Of the extension of his
+dominions to Kandahar, Herat, and Turkestan I will speak later.
+
+Dost Mahomed appointed a younger and favourite son, Shere Ali, to
+succeed him, the only one of his sons whose mother was of Royal blood.
+In 1868 Amir Shere Ali was deposed by his elder brothers, Afzal Khan
+and Azim Khan.
+
+Amir Afzal Khan, eldest son of Dost Mahomed, reigned but five months
+and died. He left one son only, the present Amir, Abdurrahman.
+
+He was succeeded by his brother, Azim Khan, who, however, was not
+recognized as Amir by the British, and in the following year Shere Ali
+again obtained the throne. His estrangement with the British, their
+advance, and the Amir's death in Mazar, I have spoken of. Yakub, who
+was Amir when Cavagnari was assassinated, was son of Shere Ali. When
+Yakub was deposed Abdurrahman Khan was invited by the British to ascend
+the throne.
+
+Considering the line of men through whom he is descended, it is not so
+surprising a thing that Amir Abdurrahman has shown talent as a ruler,
+politician, and general of so high an order. Dost Mahomed and his
+brother, Fethi Khan, their father and grandfather, Painda and Jummal
+Khan, were the type of men who change the course of history.
+
+I have given this very curtailed sketch of what has been happening in
+Afghanistan during the last hundred and fifty years, so that one may
+see _who_ Amir Abdurrahman is and why he is Amir.
+
+We may now go back to our former subject, the peoples inhabiting
+Afghanistan.
+
+[Sidenote: Origin of the Ghilzais.]
+
+The Ghilzai Afghans are of doubtful origin: they are sometimes reckoned
+as Pathan. Their language is Pukhtu, and their manners, customs,
+and religion the same as those of the Duranis; but they are said to
+have come into the country with the Turkoman Sabaktakin in the tenth
+century, and to be the representatives of a Turk tribe from beyond the
+Jaxartes, called Khilichi, "swordsmen." More recent investigation seems
+to point, however, to their being of Rajput (Scythian) descent; for the
+clans into which the tribe is divided have mostly Indian names.
+
+The Ghilzai is a very numerous and powerful tribe occupying that
+part of the country which lies between the provinces of Kandahar and
+Kabul. They are a race of fighting men, but have not given a ruler
+to Afghanistan. One reason for their submission to the government of
+the Duranis at Kabul, is the fact that a large portion of the tribe
+is nomadic in its habits, moving from highlands to lowlands with the
+seasons. They spend the summer among their villages on the uplands of
+the Suffed Koh, Tobah, and Khojah Amran Mountains, and in the winter
+packing their belongings on camels, asses, and bullocks, and driving
+their flocks before them, they descend and camp on the warm plains.
+Without their winter quarters on the plains they could not exist,
+neither themselves nor their flocks.
+
+Of the numerous tribes of Pathans or Border Afghans I will speak
+only of the two to which I have already referred in the course of my
+narrative: the Afridis, who occupy the mountains around Peshawur and
+the east of the Khyber; and the Shinwaris, who occupy the western
+extremity of the Khyber. The Afridis, who number about thirty thousand
+families, say they were transplanted by Mahmud of Ghuzni from the
+Ghor country, which lies between Kabul and Herat, to their present
+hills as military colonists for the defence of the Khyber Pass. Two
+centuries later the colony was increased by fresh arrivals planted by
+Shahabuddin Ghori. They are probably of Turkish descent. The Afridis
+are partly cave dwellers, but live also in movable huts of matting and
+wickerwork--a rough imitation of the Turkoman _Khirgar_. They have
+few villages and no tents. They are described by Dr. Bellew (a keen
+observer, who spent many years on the frontier in the study of the
+Pathan) as a warlike and predatory people, "of lean wiry build, with
+keen eyes and hungry features, and of light complexion, but not of fine
+physique."
+
+Other of the Pathan tribes near them differ in physical conformity, for
+they are tall and manly, being often as fair and as strongly built as
+Englishmen.
+
+The Shinwaris, whom I mentioned in the early part of my narrative
+as being considered dangerous even by the Amir's troops, are by
+some supposed to be of Albanian descent, and to have been placed by
+Nadir Shah in their present position as a guard to the Khyber. They,
+however, do not show a trace of such an origin, for their manners and
+customs are Pathan and their language Pukhtu. Bellew considers them
+as probably the Sanobari or Sinawari Indians of Rajput descent. Their
+"peaceful" occupation is that of muleteers, and they breed herds of
+mules for the carrying trade.
+
+One interesting point in the descent of the Amir's tribe, the Barakzai
+Duranis, is called attention to by Bellew. He considers that they are
+probably an offshoot of the Baraki mentioned by the Emperor Babar
+as one of the principal tribes of Kabul in the early part of the
+sixteenth century. These Barakis are considered a distinct race by
+themselves, and are not claimed by Afghan or Pathan, Ghilzai or Hazara.
+They use among themselves a dialect which appears to resemble a Hindi
+language. Bellew identifies the Baraki tribe of Kabul with the Barkai
+of Herodotus, who were recognized as Greeks by Alexander and his
+followers. They were a colony of Greek exiles transported from Kyrene
+in Lybia, to the Logar Valley of Kabul, by Darius Hystaspes. This
+valley is to-day their principal settlement. The Baraki have for ages
+retained the reputation of being excellent and reliable soldiers, and
+the Royal Barakzai Durani family have always entertained a body-guard
+composed of Baraki. The separation of Baraki and Barakzai, with the
+diminution in number of the one and the increase of the other, is
+explained by the probable suggestion that the former reluctantly, and
+the latter readily, accepted the religion of Islam in the early period
+of its introduction.
+
+[Sidenote: The Hazaras.]
+
+Another nation, and in point of numbers the most important, occupying
+Afghanistan, is the Hazara. They are mostly of the Tartar type, and
+occupy the mountains of the west and north-west of Afghanistan. They,
+like the Afghan, are a mixed race. Though chiefly Turk they have tribes
+among them of Rajput, Kopt, Abyssinian, and Persian descent. The
+Hazara proper, who inhabit the Ghor country, claim to be descendants
+of military colonists planted in this country by Ghengis Khan, the
+Turkestan chief, in 1200. Probably, however, the influx was slow,
+extending over several generations, and was more the migration of a
+nation than a purely military conquest. The language of the Hazaras
+is an old dialect of Persian with some admixture of Turki words.
+At the Kabul Hospital when a Hazara came for treatment I found his
+language so difficult to understand, that in the absence of my Armenian
+interpreter, I often had to call upon some one to translate for me into
+modern Persian. With their high cheek-bones, small oblique eyes, and
+scanty beards, they differ much in physiognomy from the Afghan, and
+their form of government, manners, and morals are equally divergent.
+
+The government of their chiefs is more despotic and less republican
+than that of the Afghan chiefs. Though some tribes are said to be
+nomadic, predatory, and the poorest and most barbarous of all the
+races in Afghanistan, those I came in contact with seemed, compared
+with the Afghans, a hard working peaceful people, unless they were
+roused by cruelty and oppression; then, indeed, they fought with dogged
+persistence. They seemed to have a certain simplicity of character
+which contrasted strongly with the duplicity of the Afghan. Though
+undersized, they are of great physical strength, and as slaves taken in
+war, or servants for hire, they seemed to me to do all the hard work in
+Kabul. In religion they are mostly Shiah Mahomedans, and therefore to
+the Sunni Afghans they seem almost as much infidels as the Christians.
+They make their own powder and rifles, are excellent shots, and, in
+spite of the mountainous country in which they dwell, are excellent
+horsemen. As a nation they have an intense love of liberty, and have
+been more or less independent for generations. The last monarch who
+subjugated them was Timur Shah or Tamerlane. They have, however, paid
+tribute to the present Amir, though many a battle was fought before
+they yielded.
+
+[Sidenote: Cause of Hazara Rebellions.]
+
+To this day the Hazaras are constantly breaking out in rebellion, but
+from stories I heard in Kabul I gather they would willingly pay tribute
+to the Amir as King, but for the outrages and atrocious cruelties
+practised upon them by His Highness's troops.
+
+In their day these Hazaras formed a very powerful sovereignty, which
+extended from the Euphrates to the Ganges. They it was who supplanted
+the Turk at Ghuzni, and who overthrew the Rajput dynasty, conquered
+India, and established the Mahomedan religion in that country.
+
+Further north, on the banks of the Oxus river, the border line that
+divides Afghan from Russian Turkestan, are Turkoman and Usbak tribes.
+The Turkoman is, as the name implies, of Turk descent. This people
+lived to the south of the Thian Shan or Celestial mountains, and in the
+eleventh and twelfth centuries overran Bokhara, Armenia, and Georgia.
+Physically they are immensely strong men, taller than the Hazara, of
+rough manners and coarse fibre, seeming more or less insensible to pain
+or sorrow: their cold insensible nature contrasting strongly with the
+more amorous nature of Afghan and Persian.
+
+I had a practical illustration of their rough manners one day in Mazar.
+I was riding back from the Hospital, and at some little distance from
+the city I met a troop of Turkoman cavalry. I was interested and rode
+quietly on, never dreaming of getting out of their way, for I naturally
+thought they would do as others had done, make way for a Distinguished
+Foreigner. Not in the least. They just did not ride over me, but in a
+moment I was in the midst of the troop, and as they rode carelessly
+and rapidly by, one man brushed against me, ripped my boot, tore the
+buttons off the leg of my breeches, and nearly twisted me out of the
+saddle. Consider the iniquity of the act! The Amir's own Physician and
+a common Turkoman! I was indignant; but decided to ride on and take no
+notice; they are men of such exceedingly coarse fibre.
+
+These people are nomads, living in tents, or, when they camp for a
+longer period, in temporary huts, or oftener in a sort of wickerwork
+wigwam, dome-shaped, and covered with felt called the "khirgar." These
+wigwams can be taken down and packed on a camel in less than an hour.
+The Turkoman women are unveiled, and work in camp and field, and weave
+the beautiful rugs that are so much in demand in Afghanistan and India.
+
+The Usbaks are a confederation of many Turk and Tartar tribes, not
+one race. They are flat faced, with scanty beard and slanting eyes.
+They speak the same language as the Turkoman--Turki--and have the
+same disposition, tastes, and ferocity. They do not, however, lead
+a wandering life, but dwell in villages, and may be considered the
+established and civilized inhabitants of Central Asia beyond the Oxus.
+Their type is occasionally somewhat altered by intermarriage with the
+Persians.
+
+There are other prominent but less numerous races in Afghanistan:
+for instance, the Kizilbashes, who are the better educated among the
+townspeople. There is a colony of them in Kabul, at Chendawal, to this
+day. They are Persianized Turks, who were brought to Afghanistan by
+Nadir Shah in 1737. They speak pure Persian, and constitute chiefly
+the merchants, physicians, traders, and scribes. His Highness's chief
+secretary, the Dabier-ul-Mulk, was a Kizilbachi. These men belong to
+the Shiah sect of Mahomedans.
+
+[Sidenote: The Christian Church.]
+
+At one time there was a colony of Armenians in Kabul, brought from
+Persia by Nadir Shah, and a Christian church was in existence, until it
+was accidentally blown to pieces in the last Afghan war.
+
+The Armenians, however, have drifted away to the large towns in India
+and Persia, and only one family remains, that of my Interpreter.
+
+I went one day to pay my respects to a Christian lady in Kabul, an
+aged Armenian some ninety years old. She wept bitterly as she told me
+of the church built by a Mahomedan King for their use and destroyed by
+Christians.
+
+Of other races in Kabul, there are Tajiks of Arab descent, Hindkis of
+Hindu descent, and Kohestani and Pashai tribes, who are considered to
+be the unconverted aborigines of the Kabul province.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE BIRTH OF PRINCE MAHOMED OMER.
+
+    Hazara slaves, Kaffir slaves, and others. The slave boys at the
+    Palace. Court Pages. High positions occupied by slaves. Treatment
+    of slaves in Kabul. The slave boy and the Son. Price of slaves.
+    Wife and children of Hazara Chief in slavery. Hazara slaves a
+    glut in the market. Illness of the Hostage of an Afghan Chief.
+    Abdur Rashid down with fever. Own illness and the aches thereof.
+    The British Agent's postal arrangements. Occasional fate of the
+    letters. Postage in Afghanistan. Power of annoying possessed by
+    Interpreters. The Chief Bugler. The Page boy and the Sirdar.
+    Outrageous conduct: the punishment. The Page boy and the Amir: the
+    result. The uproar on September 15th: the cause. The bearer of good
+    tidings. Congratulations to the Sultana. The crowd outside the
+    Harem Serai. The Sultana's reply. Matter of succession complicated.
+    Display of fireworks: the accident. Surgical operations. The Priest
+    with a blemish: his request. The Amir's reply. The operation. The
+    Mirza's comments.
+
+
+I was speaking of the slaves of Kabul when the subject of the peoples
+inhabiting the country presented itself. Just now the majority of
+slaves in Afghanistan are Hazaras, probably because they have lately
+been fighting against the Amir.
+
+There are also children and women taken prisoners from other rebellious
+tribes, and Kaffir slaves kidnapped as children from Kaffristan. A
+batch of the former were brought to Mazar while I was there. His
+Highness took about a dozen. They were good-looking boys of the Persian
+type, and I was told they came from the direction of Maimana, to the
+north-west of Afghanistan towards Panjdeh. No one understood their
+language. It was not ordinary Pushtu, nor Turki, nor Persian. They,
+however, picked up Persian very quickly.
+
+[Sidenote: Slaves in High Positions.]
+
+The slave boys at the Palace are placed under the care of one official
+whose duty it is to look after their comfort and train them in their
+several duties. They are really Court Pages, and their work is shared
+by the sons of nobles and gentlemen. A slave boy, if he has beauty,
+ability, and fidelity--a rare combination, perhaps--can rise to the
+highest positions under the Government.
+
+One whom I knew, holding a very high position in the Afghan army, was
+sold by the Amir when he was in exile in Russia. The man ran away from
+his master, and found his way back to the Amir; again he was sold and
+again escaped. He returned to Afghanistan with the Amir and was raised
+to high estate. He was a kindly man, but, in spite of his dog-like
+fidelity to the Amir, was not of strong character. I do not know of
+what nationality he was: I was told that he was not an Afghan, but came
+from the north-east. His son was distinctly of the Tartar type, though
+he himself had more the regular features of the Persian. I saw in the
+newspapers a short time ago that he was dead.
+
+Two others I knew, slaves, holding high positions in the Amir's
+service, who were with him in Russian Turkestan. His Highness will
+forgive much in these men, and punish but lightly shortcomings on their
+part.
+
+As regards the treatment of the slaves in Kabul, it is simply a
+question of property: a man has the power to sell, kill, or do as
+he pleases with his slave; but, speaking generally, the slaves are
+well-treated, especially among the upper classes. Sometimes it is
+impossible to tell from their appearance which is a man's slave-boy and
+which is his son.
+
+In Mazar, two boys used often to come and see me: they were dressed
+very much alike, in gold embroidered tunics, and each had a little
+revolver. I heard one of them was a slave, but for a long time I
+thought the slave was the son. He was an amusing little fellow, quick
+at repartee; but he lacked the dignity of the other--the almost
+mournful quality of which made me think he was the slave.
+
+[Sidenote: Hazara Slaves a Glut in the Market.]
+
+The price of slaves varies according to their quality: ordinarily it
+is thirty rupees the span: by span I mean the distance from the outer
+side of one hand to the outer side of the other when, with the fingers
+closed, the thumbs are extended to their utmost, the tips touching.
+This is roughly about a foot, so that a baby that length would cost
+thirty rupees. However, in Kabul, a short time ago, a Hazara baby was
+bought for half-a-crown; the purchaser got the mother for fifteen
+shillings, and a little boy of six for five shillings. This woman,
+with her children, were the family of a Hazara of wealth and position.
+Unfortunately the tribe rebelled; the men were mostly killed, and the
+women and children became a glut in the market. Some time after the
+purchase I was asked to examine the small boy of six medically. He had
+been ill about ten days, and a Hakim had been called to attend him.
+The case had been diagnosed as typhoid fever--and the opinion given
+that the child was improving. I found the child had meningitis, or
+inflammation of the membranes of the brain. He died the same night: a
+sheer loss of five shillings to the owner.
+
+I saw the mother during my visit, she was a good-looking woman for a
+Hazara. She did not make much disturbance at the death of the child,
+at any rate while I was in the house. She seemed more stunned than
+anything else.
+
+Recently in Kabul it was a very common sight to see a gang of Hazara
+women, with their unveiled faces and their dingy blue dresses, ragged
+and dirty, conducted through the town by a small guard of soldiers with
+bayonets fixed. As the war progressed they became so plentiful that His
+Highness would often reward a faithful servant or officer by presenting
+him with one or more as an addition to his Harem.
+
+I had been in Turkestan some three months when I was sent for one
+morning to see a young man, the brother of one of the few remaining
+powerful Afghan chiefs. Most of the others have been "expunged." As
+a rule I did not visit the sick at their homes unless I received an
+order from His Highness to do so, or unless some one I knew personally
+sent for me to visit him. This young man, however, was a friend of the
+Armenian's. His brother's territory lay not very far from the British
+frontier, and he himself was a hostage with the Amir for the good
+behaviour of his brother, the Chief. I found he had malarial fever very
+severely. When I returned home my neighbour opposite, the Mirza Abdur
+Rashid, sent for me to see him. He also was down with the fever. I
+prescribed for them both.
+
+The next morning I felt rather ill myself, but started about eight to
+see the Chief's brother again. The sun seemed frightfully scorching
+that morning, it was August, and presently the headache I had grew so
+intense that each step was agony.
+
+I gave in at last, and turned my horse home again. I went into the
+inner room and sat on the charpoy. The Armenian shut all the doors and
+windows to keep out the heat, and propped me against the wall with
+pillows. Then the backache began. Oh, my bones! I was one great ache.
+The Armenian had seen the treatment I put others under, and he weighed
+out the medicines and brought them to me. I was too stupid with fever
+and aches to care what I took.
+
+Just then the British Agent's Secretary, Amin Ullah, was announced.
+He was an interesting man, but I was compelled to greet him with
+lugubrious groans. He brought me five home letters, which my aching
+eyeballs would not allow me to read.
+
+[Sidenote: Postal Arrangements for the British Agent.]
+
+I used to send my letters through the Agent's post in those days. He
+had a separate compartment in the Amir's post-bag which, by arrangement
+between the Government and His Highness, was locked and sealed. Once
+or twice the letters did not reach their destination, and it was said
+that some of the wild hillmen had pounced on the postman and carried
+off his bag. They might do the same to anyone carrying a bag, but it
+was never found out who were the robbers. Afterwards, I did not send my
+letters through the Agent's post, but sent them direct to the Amir's
+post-office. His Highness allowed me to send and receive three letters
+monthly, free of postage. This was not so small a matter as it seems,
+seeing that in Turkestan the postage of each letter came to rather
+more than its weight in silver. All I had to do, therefore, was to
+stick on an Indian stamp. I found my letters arrived about as safely
+through the Amir's post as through the Agent's, at any rate for some
+years. Afterwards, when we came to Kabul, I found there an Interpreter,
+a Hindustani, who was in favour with the Prince. He tried hard to get
+on as Interpreter for me; thinking, probably, that baksheesh from the
+patients could be worked; as I would not have him, he proceeded to
+intrigue against me. I did not take much notice of the man, knowing
+that he could not do much harm. However, he succeeded in getting hold
+of some of my home letters, which was sufficiently annoying, and once
+he placed me and the other Englishmen in Kabul in a position of no
+little danger: how this occurred I will relate presently.
+
+I got well of the fever in about a fortnight, and then I heard that
+both the Chief's brother and the Mirza Abdur Rashid were still ill. I
+had thought that, of course, the medicine I had prescribed had been
+given them every day. No, everything was at a standstill, both with
+them and at the Hospital, just as I had left it a fortnight before;
+this is so truly Oriental.
+
+I, of course, visited them, and they rapidly got well under quinine.
+
+At this time His Highness requested me to visit one of the page boys,
+the son of a former Commander-in-Chief at Herat, who was sick. He was
+a smart lad of about fifteen; in appearance very like an English boy.
+His house was just opposite a low tower where the chief bugler took his
+stand morning and evening to sound the royal salute. As I visited the
+boy when my day's work was done, I was generally in his house when the
+evening salute was sounded. The bugler was a stout red-bearded man with
+blue eyes: he looked just like an Irishman. But however much these men
+may look like English and Irish, closer acquaintance shows how strongly
+contrasted the Oriental is with the Occidental. The boy recovered in
+due time, but there is a story about him, an incident that occurred a
+year or two later, while I was in the country, which may be interesting.
+
+[Sidenote: The Page Boy and the Sirdar.]
+
+The boy was not a bad sort of boy--he looked English--and we were very
+good friends, so that I quite enjoyed my visits to his house--but he
+was an Afghan. One day the Sirdar Gholam Hussain, the dignified man who
+has charge of His Highness's food, directed the boy to perform some
+slight task, I forget what, and the boy bluntly refused. The Sirdar
+spoke sharply to him, but the boy apparently resented being spoken to,
+for he at once drew his revolver and shot at the Sirdar; he missed,
+and whipping out his sword he rushed on him. The Sirdar warded off
+the blow and threw the boy down. He was brought before the Amir. In
+consequence of his former behaviour--he had been rather a favourite
+with the Amir--and on account of the services his father, who was dead,
+had rendered the Amir--his punishment was remitted to the extent of a
+severe caning, and he was discharged from the Court for a time and sent
+back to Herat.
+
+Some months later he was recalled. This was not the end of his
+adventures, for soon after his return he objected to the smallness of
+the pay he received as page. The Amir increased it somewhat. The lad,
+apparently presuming upon the Amir's remarkable forbearance, again
+expressed discontent. His Highness is not a man to be played with. He
+was exceedingly angry, and the punishment was proportionately severe.
+The boy was degraded and sent to jail in Kabul. This is a horrible
+place, and they who enter it are often never seen again. However, when
+we returned to Kabul, I met a gang of prisoners in chains returning to
+jail after the day's work in the arm foundry: the boy was among them;
+but he covered his face as I rode by. He was in prison about two years.
+I met him one day after he was released. He looked very haggard and
+old, not at all like the boy I had known in Turkestan. I pulled up to
+speak to him, but he seemed even then to wish to escape observation, so
+that I merely said, "Jour-asti? Are you well?" and rode on again.
+
+The Chief's brother, when he became quite well, came very often to see
+me. He was a handsome fellow, and I made a sketch or two of him in my
+note-book. He had a great desire to learn drawing, but he was never
+any good at it. I taught him how to write his name in English, and he
+learnt a few words also.
+
+One Sunday morning, September 15th, 1889, I was surprised to hear a
+considerable uproar: there was the report of rifles, the playing of
+military bands, and there seemed to be an air of bustle and excitement
+with everyone. Presently a man came rushing breathlessly into my house
+to tell me the news. It was not an advance of the Russians, nor even
+an outbreak of the Hazaras: no, the Sultana, the favourite wife of the
+Amir, had given birth to a _son_. Had it been a daughter the matter
+would probably have been hushed up.
+
+[Sidenote: The Bearer of Good Tidings.]
+
+"Why this hurry?" I said to the Armenian.
+
+"This man, Din Mahomed, a little he is my friend; I know a child come
+into house of Amir Sahib, but I know not when: better this, at once we
+go to Harem Serai and send in Salaam, and Her Highness made glad upon
+you."
+
+"Ah, I see," said I, "and the little, your friend, Din Mahomed, he
+would like baksheesh?"
+
+"Please you kind," said the Armenian with an engaging smile.
+
+"How much?" I asked.
+
+"Sir, your wish. One twenty rupees," he said, carelessly.
+
+"Isn't it rather dear at the price?" I said.
+
+"Oh, sir! no. Other gentlemen, and rich man Supersala and Officer, give
+twenty or forty gold _tilla_ and three or four horses."
+
+"To a servant! For just bringing news!"
+
+"The servant, he is not keep it. He bring to his master, Amir Sahib,
+and Highness make glad upon that. Some he give to servant, and some
+he give to other servant. And Officer and Supersala make glad that
+Highness not send it back."
+
+"Well, oughtn't I to give more than twenty rupees?"
+
+"No, sir. In my o-pinion twenty rupees enough. You, mussafir and
+stranger, and not know custom of Afghanistan."
+
+The bearer of news is rewarded with presents or with blows, according
+to the quality of the tidings.
+
+Mounted men were racing off full speed to Kabul and the other big
+towns; those who got in first received the baksheesh.
+
+We rode off to the Harem Serai to offer my congratulations. I found a
+large crowd in the garden outside the Serai. There was an elephant with
+gay trappings, which attracted a great deal of attention. Two brass
+bands, with crowds round them, were hard at work, their style reminding
+one of a parish school band. Pipers were marching up and down, gaily
+playing _Scotch_ tunes on their bagpipes. Native instruments were
+giving vent to moans, shrieks, and thuds.
+
+When we got into the garden I found I attracted rather more
+attention than I either expected or desired. However, seeing the
+Commander-in-Chief and some other officers sitting on a bank under the
+shade of a tree, I went up and shook hands with them, and with the
+assistance of the Armenian we had some conversation: not about the
+weather, that is a subject which is never discussed in Afghanistan.
+Presently I saw my small friend Mahomed Omer, son of Perwana Khan, who
+was one of the Pages in the Harem, and I sent in my congratulations
+by him. By and bye two of the Amir's younger sons, the Princes Hafiz
+Ullah and Amin Ullah, about ten and six years old--who had visited the
+Sultana that morning--came from the Harem. They conveyed the Sultana's
+thanks for congratulations. Her Highness seemed very pleased that I had
+called, for she sent me a present of five hundred rupees by the hand of
+the little Princes. It struck me at the time that possibly she viewed
+the visit rather as a national than a personal compliment.
+
+The birth of the youngster may, perhaps, in the future complicate the
+matter of succession. Before his birth the heir presumptive was the
+Amir's eldest son, Prince Habibullah. The mother of the eldest Prince,
+however, is not of the royal tribe, whereas the Sultana is royal on
+both her father's and her mother's side. Her father was a Priest and
+a Seyid, or descendant of the Prophet, and therefore hereditarily
+a beggar: but he was also a Suddozai Durani, and he asked for and
+received the daughter of Amir Dost Mahomed in marriage.
+
+Now, therefore, that there is a son who is royal on both sides, Prince
+Habibullah's claim is less decided than it was.
+
+On the day after the Prince's birthday the Festival was continued.
+Bands were playing all day, and in the evening a display of
+rockets--native made--was given.
+
+[Sidenote: The Accident.]
+
+One small boy managed to get hold of some explosive affair--a bomb I
+heard--and was playing about with it when it exploded. As he was not
+killed they brought him to me. The child was not pleasant to look
+upon, for the injury was chiefly in his face. I gave him a few whiffs
+of chloroform and cleared away the blood; but it took some little
+time to fit in the pieces and sew up the rents. I had a good deal of
+trouble, I remember, with the corner of his mouth and with the brow
+and left eyelid, so much was gone. It was a sort of puzzle to fit
+things together. The left eyeball had to be removed entirely, it was
+destroyed. However, he made an excellent recovery, with remarkably
+little disfigurement, except for the loss of the eye and part of the
+eyebrow.
+
+I seemed to be in for operations just then; and one I had to do whether
+I wanted to or not.
+
+It was on a young Moolah or Priest: he had a goitre--or enlarged
+thyroid.
+
+I think I have mentioned that a priest is disqualified for the
+priesthood if he has any bodily blemish, and this enlargement in the
+throat distressed the Moolah greatly, for he was jeered at on account
+of it. Several times he had asked me to "cut away" the tumour, but
+there were reasons why I refused to employ _surgical_ treatment. He
+was improving, though slowly, under _medical_ treatment; the swelling
+was distinctly smaller. Removal of a goitre by the knife is not
+an operation to be generally recommended; firstly, because of the
+proximity of the gland to the great arteries of the throat and its very
+free blood supply; and, secondly, because, if the gland is removed
+successfully there are serious consequences that invariably follow,
+namely, the slow development of a most curious disease called Myxoedema,
+in which the sufferer has the appearance of being dropsical, though
+he is not so, and in which the speech and intellect are curiously
+affected.
+
+I could not explain all this to the Moolah through the Armenian, and I
+contented myself by saying "Ne me-kunum, me-muri." "I shall not do it,
+you would die."
+
+He bothered me time after time, and at last I said impatiently to the
+Armenian--
+
+"Tell him to go and get an order from His Highness."
+
+I thought that would end the matter, never thinking that he would go.
+He went, and, moreover, got the order. I at once wrote to the Amir and
+explained that the operation was not necessary, and that, if attempted,
+the man would probably die. I received His Highness's answer very soon
+after. He said--
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Reply.]
+
+"Your letter, in which you say ---- and so on ---- has been received by
+me. The reasons therein set forth as to the danger of the cutting need
+not be an obstacle in the way of its performance. If the man recover it
+is good, and if he die, what does it matter! He himself is willing to
+undergo the risk."
+
+There was nothing for it, therefore, but to operate. I told the Moolah
+he was foolish, and the operation would probably cost him his life. He
+said--being interpreted--
+
+"No, sir. I have no fear. You will not let me die."
+
+His complete confidence, however, did not inspire me with the same
+feeling. There was a wooden platform in my garden, and we pulled it
+under the colonnade, where it was shady, and the Moolah lay down. I
+had sent for one of the Hindustanis to give chloroform, but he did
+not come: it was the Sabbath, Friday. My neighbour, the Mirza Abdur
+Rashid, said _he_ could give chloroform, he had seen it done. As I
+could not operate and attend to the chloroform as well, I was compelled
+to let the Mirza try. He put the man under successfully--he had seen it
+done--though he knew nothing of the dangers of giving too much. I made
+a longitudinal incision in the middle line of the throat and commenced
+dissecting down with a knife and a pair of forceps, the skin being
+stretched back by one of the soldiers, who were gathered in a group
+round. When I had got rather deep there was a sudden gush of blood,
+rapid and copious. I had divided the first of five arteries that had
+to be cut through before the tumour could be removed. I wanted to tie
+the artery, but there was no finding it at the bottom of a deep narrow
+cut that filled with blood the moment the sponge was lifted. At last I
+managed blindly to catch the artery with a pair of forceps and tie it:
+the bleeding ceased. After this, I dissected down and tied the arteries
+before I cut them. Then I removed the tumour in its capsule. It weighed
+ten and a-half ounces. I sent it to the Amir, who congratulated me on
+the success of the operation. The Moolah we left on the platform under
+the colonnade, covering him with a sheepskin postin, and gave orders to
+the soldiers of the guard to take turns in watching by his side, and to
+call me if the bleeding broke out or if he seemed worse. The Moolah,
+poor fellow, had high fever the next day, and the third day he died. A
+day or two afterwards I said to the Mirza how sorry I was he had died,
+but the Mirza laughed and said:--
+
+"Dek ne me-showi. Be not sorrowful, you said he would die, and he died.
+It was so written in the book of Fate."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE REARING OF THE INFANT PRINCE.
+
+    The Amir's autograph letter. Medical consultation concerning the
+    rearing of the Prince. Conflicting customs of the Orient and
+    the Occident. Conservative nurses. The "Hakim fair to see": the
+    patient: his fate. Lessons in Persian and lessons in English.
+    Portrait painting. Dietary difficulties. Gracious acts of His
+    Highness. Amir's letter of condolence. The Royal visit by deputy.
+    Congratulations of the British Agent. The doleful dumps of
+    illness and the cheery Armenian. Accident to the favourite Page.
+    The khirgar. Story of the attempt upon the life of the Amir. An
+    earthquake. Afghan appreciation of pictures and jokes. Generosity
+    of the Amir. The first winter Durbar. His Highness's invention. The
+    Royal costume. The bearing of the men brought before His Highness.
+    The Amir's question: the Parable. Arrangement and furnishing of
+    the dining-room. The guests. The breakfast. The press of State
+    business. Amir's thoughtful kindness. The Armenian's comment. Visit
+    to the Commander-in-Chief. The ride to the Hospital. Adventure with
+    the "fool horse." Hospital patients in winter. "Two much and three
+    much."
+
+
+At the beginning of October I received an autograph letter from His
+Highness, directing me to consult with the two chief Hakims, Abdul
+Wahid and Abdur Rashid, and advise as to the best manner in which to
+rear the infant Prince. This is a literal translation of His Highness's
+letter:--
+
+[Sidenote: Amir's Autograph Letter.]
+
+    "To the Honourable and Righteous Dr. Gray,
+
+    "Be it known to you that my two Physicians, Mirza Abdul Wahid Khan
+    and Mirza Abul Rashid Khan, are directed by me to consult you and
+    take your advice concerning the customs and ways in which Europeans
+    of to-day rear their children, and also concerning the proper
+    time for putting on and removing the bandages, and the time of
+    giving milk, and of cradling and sleeping, and all things which
+    are necessary for the nourishment of a child, which are written
+    by the doctors and scientific men of Europe. These physicians are
+    acquainted with the customs of the Greeks, and I desire that they
+    be informed concerning the customs of Europeans."
+
+  AMIR ABDURRAHMAN,
+  "Finis." "I have written it."
+
+
+The Hakims arrived at half-past seven in the evening. I have spoken
+of the courtly old Abdul Wahid with his Roman face. He was Hakim to
+Amir Shere Ali. Abdul Rashid was the very fat man with interminable
+words. He did the talking, because he was ignorant, and Abdul Wahid sat
+silent. They were both exceedingly polished as became Court physicians.
+
+We compared the customs of Orientals and Occidentals in the rearing of
+infants. The Hakims were very surprised to hear that we did not bandage
+infants closely from shoulder to ankle, and so prevent them from moving
+a limb.
+
+"How then can you ensure that the child's limbs grow not crooked? What
+other method is there for keeping them straight?"
+
+I said, "Cannot Allah who created each child finish His work and cause
+its limbs to grow straight without our help."
+
+"Beshak--undoubtedly, Allah is all-powerful and all-wise; but our
+fathers, and our fathers' fathers, placed bandages on the children,
+and they were wise men. How do you account for the fact that in some
+children the legs are bent?"
+
+I forthwith entered into an explanation of the causes of rickets. How
+that want of pure air, of sunlight, and free movement of the limbs, of
+suitable food, produced a disease of the bones in which the lime salts
+were absorbed, leaving only the soft bendable gristle, and so on--but
+it was not any use: they knew nothing about pathology, or anatomy
+either. So we left that and went on to other matters.
+
+[Sidenote: The Rearing of Afghan Infants.]
+
+The Afghan baby--among the rich--is wrapped up as to the head and
+neck by a stifling head-dress, rather like that which an Arab wears
+to protect him from the sun, and I could not make them understand the
+advantage of dispensing with a head covering indoors.
+
+The cradle is a massive wooden concern. It consists of a hammock or
+shallow box, suspended at either end from a longitudinal bar supported
+on uprights, so that it will swing from side to side. When the child is
+asleep every breath of air is excluded by thick curtains, which fall
+from the bar over the sides of the cradle--and this in a hot climate.
+What could I say? We differed in almost every detail; there was no
+common ground to start from.
+
+The Sultana had expressed her desire that the European doctor should
+attend the Prince medically. I saw a cheerful future before me,
+for I found that the nurses would diverge, not in the slightest
+degree, from the customs of their ancestors. It is possible to
+move a mountain--granted time and a sufficient amount of blasting
+material--but no amount of blasting will move an Oriental woman out of
+the rut that ages of custom has made.
+
+The Sultana did not nurse her child. A nurse therefore was sought for
+to rear the little Prince.
+
+Before the Hakims left my house the fat one expressed his deep sense
+of gratitude that I had granted him my friendship, and he ended a
+polite speech by asking me to see a patient of his. I ought to have
+remembered the poet's lines:--
+
+  "I know a Hakim fair to see,"
+  (Only he was dark and fat, but that does not matter)--"Beware!
+  He can both false and friendly be--Beware!
+  Trust him not he is fooling thee."
+
+I went to see the patient: he was one of the Chamberlains, Nasir
+Courbon Ali. He was exceedingly ill with malarial fever, and his skin
+was yellow, which was bad. I thought there was a chance of saving his
+life if vigorous remedies were used. I returned home and directed the
+compounder to prepare a mixture and deliver it himself. I visited the
+Nasir three times that day, but he did not seem to be improving. The
+next day he was worse. I had to go on to the Hospital, but when I
+returned home I said to the compounder,
+
+"You sent the Nasir's medicine this morning?"
+
+The compounder had picked up a little English from the Armenian. He
+said,
+
+"No, sir, I forget it."
+
+Forget it! I was exceedingly angry.
+
+"A man's life is in extreme danger, and you _forget_!"
+
+Then he explained, or rather the Armenian did. When he had delivered
+the medicine he found the Hakim there: he left the medicine, noticing
+where it was placed; he returned once or twice during the day, but
+found the bottle just as it had been left. Not a dose was given that
+day or afterwards. Why, therefore, did the fat old fraud ask me to go
+and see his patient? I do not know. The Nasir died the next day.
+
+[Sidenote: Lessons in English.]
+
+Towards the end of September the cases of malarial fever among the
+soldiers and townspeople began to decrease in number, and I had more
+leisure. I commenced to study Persian, with the occasional assistance
+of Munshi Amin Ullah, secretary to the British Agent. The Armenian was
+not, at that time, sufficiently learned to attempt to teach me. He had
+very vague ideas as to moods and tenses: and pronouns and prepositions
+bothered him considerably. I tried to teach him English. He knew the
+letters, but words, whose sound and meaning he knew well, baffled him
+completely when written. I found this was chiefly due to the fact that
+when he spelt out a word he pronounced it exactly as it was spelt.
+"Enough" was a complete stumper, because there was no "f" in it. He
+considered it ought to have been "enuf," and wished to argue the point
+with me; so that his English reading did not progress very rapidly. He
+spoke fluently in Hindustani and some of the other Indian languages,
+in Persian and Pushtu, and was picking up Turki while we were in
+Turkestan; English, too, he was becoming better acquainted with: all
+these he learnt by ear, but Hindustani and Persian he could both read
+and write.
+
+About this time I found leisure to take up painting again. Rather
+fancying myself in Afghan turban and robes, I painted my portrait from
+the reflection in a hand-glass. It happened to turn out a success,
+and created quite a little mild excitement. The Armenian was not the
+man to let my light shine under a bushel: he looked upon me as a sort
+of possession of his. Anything that I could do and others could not,
+reflected, he seemed to think, a great deal of credit upon him: so
+that he trumpeted the news abroad. I had a great many visitors, and
+every second one asked me to paint his portrait. The Armenian said:
+
+"Sir, you not do. This man, who is?"
+
+Which sentence, though it sounds odd, is simply a literal translation
+of the Persian, "Sahib, shuma ne kuned. In mard, ki'st?"
+
+However, I consented to paint my neighbour the Mirza Abdur Rashid, and
+he gave me some sittings. He had good features, and was dark-skinned
+for an Afghan, so that when attired in green velvet and gold he made
+rather a striking picture. The matter reached the ears of His Highness
+the Amir, and he sent for the two portraits. They were taken to the
+Palace just as they were, though the Mirza's turban was unfinished.
+When the pictures were brought back I heard that His Highness was
+pleased with them. My own portrait I rolled up and addressed to
+England, intending to have it posted home by one of the British Agent's
+men, who was returning to India on leave. In the evening, just as I had
+addressed it, His Highness sent for it again.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  Dr. Gray and his Armenian Interpreter,
+  from a photograph by Van der Weyde.]
+
+I went to the military Durbar the next day, Tuesday: His Highness was
+very gracious. He spoke some time about the Moolah upon whom I had
+operated for goitre, and desired me to instruct the native dressers:
+then he spoke about the portraits, praising them highly, and finally
+told me that he would himself give me sittings for a portrait.
+
+A day or two afterwards a carpenter arrived to take instructions for
+the making of a frame to stretch the canvas upon. The next day I caught
+a most severe cold. It was the end of October, the sky was clouded
+for the first time, and the weather seemed suddenly to have become
+autumnal.
+
+[Sidenote: Dietary Difficulties.]
+
+Though the canvas was soon ready it was a long time before I began
+the Amir's portrait. The cold I had became better, but, after two or
+three days, instead of feeling well I felt much worse. I could not
+rouse myself to anything, and I had a constant backache. It struck
+me suddenly I might have fever. I had; rather severely. It was quite
+different in type from the first attack I had had. Unfortunately, a few
+days before, I had discharged my cook for some rascality or other, I
+do not remember what, and the only man who could cook in the European
+way for me was my syce, or groom. This was the man who had been in
+the Burmese Police, and who cooked dinner for me the day we went to
+Takh-ta-Pul. He could roast meat and make a rice pudding, but that was
+about the extent of his capabilities in the cooking line. With the
+fever on I did not seem to hanker after the grey, thin, greasy liquid
+he denominated "soup," neither did I seem to desire the slippery,
+sloppy, watery dish he called "custard" pudding. As bread was not to be
+obtained, but only the leathery chupatti, which is not appetizing when
+you are ill, the fact began to force itself upon me that I should be
+obliged to undergo the Hakim's treatment of fever--that of starvation.
+
+However, in a day or two it reached His Highness's ears that I was
+ill. He at once ordered the two chief Hakims and all the Hindustani
+Hospital assistants to wait upon me, and discuss what could be done for
+my relief. It was kind and gracious of the Amir; but it appeared to me
+that if I submitted to the treatment of all or any of them, I should
+be likely to find myself in a great deal more danger of dying than
+there otherwise seemed any immediate probability of. But His Highness's
+thoughtful kindness was not exhausted. Hearing that food suitable for a
+sick European was not to be easily obtained from the bazaars, he gave
+orders to his chief Hindustani cook, a man who had been imported from
+one of the hotels in India, to prepare anything that seemed agreeable
+to me. The cook came every day for orders. I had soups, bread, beeftea,
+jellies, puddings, and fruit, and, in addition, His Highness sent me
+some claret and a bottle of Chartreuse.
+
+I learnt a good deal about malarial fevers from a patient's point of
+view before I was well again, for I had three consecutive attacks of
+fever, each differing from the preceding one in its manifestations.
+
+When I had been ill rather more than a fortnight, His Highness wrote me
+a very kind letter enquiring after my health; this is a translation of
+it:
+
+    "To the Honourable and Respected Dr. Gray,--
+
+    "May Almighty God grant you health and safety. I write to you for I
+    wish greatly to hear of your health. My prayer to God is that I may
+    see you always well and happy."
+
+  "AMIR ABDURRAHMAN,"
+  "Finis."   "I have written it."
+
+
+At different times salaams and messages of condolence were received
+from the Commander-in-Chief and other people. I was gratified to hear
+that the soldiers and townspeople were wishing for my speedy recovery,
+for, certainly, it is a privilege to feel you have been of use.
+
+I became better, and went for an hour's ride, which I enjoyed
+immensely, but the next day the second attack came on violently.
+During this attack, when I was becoming better, I had the honour of
+receiving a Royal visit from the Amir--by deputy.
+
+[Sidenote: The Royal Visit by Deputy.]
+
+His Highness sent one of his chief secretaries, Mir Ahmad Shah, a tall
+and courteous man. I received him, of course, in my bedroom, as I was
+not able to get up. He brought me many kind messages. His Highness had
+signified his intention of visiting me personally, but explained that
+he was prevented by his lameness and the press of State business. He
+was greatly pleased with the work I had already done in his service,
+and was convinced that I had no other motive or desire than to serve
+him faithfully. I endeavoured to express my gratitude for the honour
+His Highness had done me, and for the many kindnesses he had showed me
+while I was in his country.
+
+The next day the secretary of the British Agent arrived bearing the
+Sirdar's congratulations to me, upon being the recipient of such signal
+marks of His Highness's favour.
+
+Some time before I was taken ill I had written to Dr. Weir, the health
+officer of Bombay, to whom I had been introduced when in India, for
+some vaccine lymph, and a day or two after my "Royal visit" I received
+a letter from him. He said that all our mutual acquaintances were well,
+but that he himself was suffering from a recurrence of the fever he had
+caught some years before in Turkestan! This was cheerful news, seeing
+that I had had the Turkestan fever five weeks already. I said to the
+Armenian,
+
+"I suppose then this will stick to me for the rest of my days--even if
+I get better now, which seems doubtful"--for my liver was touched.
+
+But the Armenian was equal to the occasion.
+
+Oh, no: that fever my friend had was quite another kind: it was caught
+at such a place--I forget where he said--and was a very bad fever.
+Everybody knew that fever, it came on sometimes years after. But this
+fever it was no-thing.
+
+"Sir, if you very ill, how you can smoke papyrus--cigarette?" and with
+other specious words did he beguile me. I got better after some days,
+and wrapping up carefully, for I concluded I must have got a chill the
+time before, went for a short ride. I was all right that day, and went
+out the next day for two hours, and came home feeling utterly fagged
+and aching in every bone. Back came the fever. The temperature chart,
+this time, was quite different from either of the other two.
+
+The snow commenced, but we did not have very much, not more than we
+often have in England, but the winds sweeping across the plains were
+bitter. This attack lasted about a month. In the middle of it I heard
+that one of His Highness's Page boys, rather a favourite one, named
+Samander, had met with an accident. While out riding his horse had
+become unmanageable, and the boy's leg had been dashed against a tree.
+
+The Hindustanis, who had been sent for, came to me to make their
+report. There seemed some doubt whether the leg was broken or not. They
+had, however, put on a splint, but when I asked what kind of splint, I
+found that it was one that was quite unsuitable if the leg were broken.
+There seemed nothing for it but to get up and dress and go off and see.
+Wrapping up well, and taking a stick, I hobbled off with the Armenian
+for the Palace. The snow was not very deep, not more than six or seven
+inches.
+
+[Sidenote: Attempt upon the Life of the Amir.]
+
+I found Samander living in a Turkoman khirgar, in the Palace gardens.
+The khirgar was a circular dome-shaped wigwam, about fourteen feet
+across by fourteen feet high, and was made of a number of light but
+strong wooden uprights, which bent inwards seven feet above the ground,
+their ends fitting into a wooden ring above. It was covered over with
+thick felt and then with canvas. A wooden door was fitted on one
+side--this is not used in the summer--and a carpet hung over the door.
+
+Around the khirgar was a small trench to carry off melted snow or rain.
+Inside, the floor was carpeted, and my patient was lying on a mattress
+on the ground. The khirgar was very warm, for in the centre was a large
+brazier with glowing charcoal. Light was to be obtained only by opening
+the door or by lighting a lamp. In the summer, when the felt-covering
+is dispensed with, light is obtained by pushing back a flap of canvas.
+
+On the boy's thigh there was bandaged a wretched little splint, quite
+useless if the bone were broken. I soon had it off, and found that the
+bone was broken in the lower third. It took some little time to have a
+long splint made and to put it on. Several Page boys, who were living
+in other khirgars, came in, and also the official whose duty it is to
+look after the boys. When I was putting on the splint, I noticed the
+scar of a bullet in the upper part of the boy's thigh. I enquired how
+he had got it, and then I heard the story of the attempt upon the life
+of the Amir which had taken place the year before.
+
+His Highness was reviewing the troops on the plains outside the town of
+Mazar. The pain of his Sciatica was troubling him so that he was not on
+horseback, but sat in an arm-chair, which was placed on a large square
+mound or platform some four or five feet high, artificially made. His
+Highness sat smoking a cigarette, the Commander-in-Chief, Page boys,
+and officials were grouped around his chair, and seated on the ground
+by his side was Captain Griesbach, C.I.E., the geologist.
+
+An Herati regiment was passing, and suddenly one of the men stepped
+out of the line, threw up his rifle, and fired point-blank at the
+Amir. Just at that moment His Highness leaned over to speak to Captain
+Griesbach, and the bullet whizzed under his arm, through the chair
+back, and caught Samander just below the hip.
+
+The Amir continued what he was saying without a pause, and still smoked
+the cigarette. The Commander-in-Chief sprang instantly from the mound
+and rushed on the man to cut him down.
+
+Then the Amir shouted "Stop!" But it was too late, the
+Commander-in-Chief's sword flew to pieces on the man's head, and the
+bystanders instantly dispatched him.
+
+The Amir, presumably, wished to go into the matter, for the Herati was
+a known shot, and to enquire the motive of his action with a view of
+determining if he were alone in the plot. But whatever may have been
+suspected I never heard that anything definite was found out. It was,
+however, an evil day for the officers of that regiment.
+
+Samander receives a larger pay than any of the other Page boys, and is
+naturally somewhat of a favourite.
+
+It was two hours before the splint was made and properly put on, and at
+the end of it I was quite done up. I found that the fact of my arrival
+had been reported to the Amir, for His Highness most kindly ordered the
+palanquin of one of the Princes to be brought to the khirgar to convey
+me back to my house. I visited Samander once or twice after that to see
+that everything was all right, but my temperature began creeping up in
+a way that was not at all satisfactory, so that I had to give up going
+and simply trust to reports from the Hindustanis.
+
+[Sidenote: An Earthquake.]
+
+We had an earthquake a few days after this, at half-past five in the
+afternoon. The bed shook and the door and windows rattled, but it was
+quite a slight affair compared with the Kabul earthquakes. I called out
+to the Armenian, who was in the next room playing cards, to ask if he
+felt the shock. He came in to know if I wanted anything.
+
+"Didn't you feel the earthquake?" I said.
+
+"The what, sir?"
+
+"The earthquake! Why, man, the house shook."
+
+"Ah!" said he, "I did think a little the earth shivered, but I not
+notice."
+
+On Christmas day my fever departed. Some time before, I had written to
+Mr. Pyne to ask him to send me a cook, if he could find one, and on
+Christmas day a cook arrived bringing a box of newspapers, Graphics
+and Punches, and a case of briar pipes, which had reached Kabul from
+London.
+
+The Graphics and Punches were a constant source of amusement to
+myself and my visitors, the older as well as the younger ones. I was
+astonished to find how little idea some of them had as to what a
+picture was intended to represent.
+
+For instance, in one of the Christmas numbers--it was of the year
+before, but that didn't matter--a pig was represented standing up on
+his hind legs to take a view of the world outside his stye. Little
+Mahomed Omer, son of Perwana Khan, could not make the picture out at
+all; finally he came to the conclusion that it represented a horse in
+his stable. The Armenian allowed him to remain with that idea.
+
+The pig is unclean to the Mahomedans, and he would have been very
+disgusted if he had thought that we ate such a nasty creature.
+
+A frequent visitor at this time was a young man named Shere Ali, who
+was, I was told, the second son of the ex-Mir of Bokhara. A friendship
+commenced at that time between us which, like that of the Mirza Abdur
+Rashid, lasted till I left the country.
+
+Shere Ali was greatly interested in "Misterre Punch." I had to go over
+the jokes and explain them to the Armenian--sometimes, in the more
+subtle ones, a matter of no little difficulty--and he translated them
+to Shere Ali in Persian. Shere Ali generally laughed, though I fancy
+from the little I had picked up of Persian, that the Armenian made his
+own point when he had missed mine. He was quite capable of both seeing
+and making a joke, as I found in after years when I brought him to
+London.
+
+With the aid of the pictures I gave the Armenian vivid descriptions of
+London and the glories thereof. One day, somewhat to my surprise, he
+said:--
+
+"Sir, let me see London. If I die then--don't matter!"
+
+The officer who had charge of the Page boys, came to see me; he was
+a short thick-set man, and sensible. He asked me many questions in
+surgery, and seemed willing to learn a few simple remedies in case of
+emergency. I was very glad to teach him.
+
+[Sidenote: Generosity of the Amir.]
+
+At this time I was brought very low in the world as regards tobacco.
+I had been reduced to smoking in a pipe broken-up cigar stumps which,
+in view of this difficulty, I had carefully saved. Tobacco, except
+uncured, and to me unsmokable Persian tobacco, was not to be obtained
+in Mazar. I said to the Armenian, "I shall be cleaned out of tobacco
+soon--and then, Chaos!"
+
+He said, "Sir, I not know Chaos, what is; but Amir Sahib has plenty of
+cheroot and cig-rette."
+
+"That is very likely," I said, "but I haven't."
+
+"You not care it, I write him, Amir Sahib, and he give it you. What a
+few cigar or cig-rette! no-thing!"
+
+"No! you must not do that," I said, "I can't cadge of His Highness."
+
+"Sir, please you kind, you say nothing. _I_ write, you not write."
+
+Sure enough he did write. I confess I was rather ashamed when His
+Highness sent me ten boxes of most delicious Turkish cigarettes, four
+boxes of cigars, and a silver cigar-case and match-box.
+
+His Highness had forbidden me to go out till I was quite strong, and
+it was the 4th of January before I ventured to do so. I went to see
+Samander and found his leg was progressing satisfactorily.
+
+[Sidenote: The First Winter Durbar.]
+
+On the 7th, it was a Tuesday, was a military Durbar, and after I had
+seen Samander and had tea with him, I determined to go on to the Durbar
+and pay my respects to His Highness: this was at eleven o'clock in the
+morning. It was the first winter Durbar I had ever been to.
+
+The Armenian accompanied me. He was gorgeous to look upon, being
+attired in a white turban, a yellow leather postin, and light blue
+trousers.
+
+We walked from Samander's khirgar along the paths of the garden to the
+Palace. The trees were white with snow, and great icicles hung from the
+branches. The sky was grey, and the water and mud by the paths frozen
+hard. Everyone looked nipped up in the icy wind. In the far distance to
+the south were the mountains dimly blue.
+
+In the open space opposite the Palace was a large crowd of people
+with petitions to offer or disputes to settle. Near at hand was the
+Amir's guard with fixed bayonets. On each side of a large open window,
+which reached nearly to the ground, were secretaries and other Court
+officials. At the window sat His Highness.
+
+The Armenian and I skirted the crowd and went towards the window, the
+crowd very politely making way for us.
+
+I waited awhile, until His Highness had finished speaking, then when he
+saw me I took off the Astrakhan busby I had on, went forward and bowed.
+His Highness enquired very kindly after my health, expressed his
+pleasure at seeing me, and then directed me to come into the room where
+he was sitting.
+
+I was very glad to do so, for in spite of my furs the bitter wind began
+to make me shiver.
+
+I made my way through the door of the Pavilion into the centre hall or
+passage, turned off to the left, and raising the curtains over the door
+entered the room where His Highness was. Compared with the outside it
+was, in spite of the open window, delightfully warm.
+
+His Highness was seated in an arm-chair facing the open window: at his
+left hand was a little table with a cup of tea on it. He directed a
+chair to be placed for me and some more tea to be brought. At first
+the pages placed my chair some little distance from the table, but His
+Highness ordered them to bring it near. While I was drinking the tea
+His Highness continued giving judgment in the cases brought before him.
+
+Presently a man, apparently a carpenter, was ushered into the room,
+bearing in his hand a curiously shaped pair of wooden sandals with
+spikes of iron fixed into them. His Highness examined them, and then
+turning to me explained that he had invented these things himself, that
+they were to fasten on the boots to prevent a slip when one was out
+shooting among the mountains in the winter.
+
+The Amir looked very handsome. He was dressed in a postin of dark
+purple velvet, trimmed and lined with a valuable fur, called in Persian
+Pari-pasha, I think a kind of sable. He had gold shoulder knots, and a
+belt covered with bosses of gold. In his right trouser pocket he had
+a small nickel-plated revolver, for I saw him take it out when he was
+searching for a seal to give to one of the secretaries. A fur rug was
+thrown over his knees, and he wore a beaver busby ornamented with a
+diamond star.
+
+It was interesting to note the bearing and appearance of the different
+men as they came before him. Almost everyone, who was not attached to
+the Court, turned pale, some went white to the lips, or yellow if they
+were dark skinned. I understood so little Persian then, that I could
+not follow what was being said, and thus was unable to judge if there
+were any reason for this emotion, beyond the awe that the presence of
+majesty inspires.
+
+Presently, with a suddenness that was quite startling, the Amir turned
+to me, and said in Persian:--
+
+"Men in autumn and winter are blown upon by _cold_ winds, and at once
+take _hot_ fever (tap-i-gurrum). In your eyes, what is the reason of
+this?"
+
+It seemed pedantry to talk pathology, and I spoke in a sort of parable.
+I said:--
+
+"A gun is loaded with powder and shot, the trigger is pulled, the cap
+flashes and the gun explodes. The men of this country are the guns;
+they are loading themselves with a poison rising from the earth by
+breathing it constantly, the malarial poison. A slight shock, the chill
+of the wind, brings about the explosion, and fever seizes them."
+
+His Highness seemed struck by the plausibility of this explanation, and
+presently he said,
+
+"Darust, darust, it is right!"
+
+He asked me several other questions, but I am sorry I have forgotten
+what they were.
+
+[Sidenote: The Dining-room.]
+
+The room we sat in looked not unlike an English drawing-room. The
+windows, however, were different. They were wider than English windows
+generally are: the larger ones were filled with plain glass, the
+smaller with coloured glass; over the lower part of one large window
+was a sort of fretwork of wood, which, as the light was reflected from
+the snow outside, was rather a relief to the eye than otherwise. The
+door panels and the window jambs were somewhat elaborately carved: they
+were neither painted nor polished. Draped over the doors and by the
+side of the windows were silk curtains of different colours. The floor
+was covered with Persian and Turkestan rugs. The walls were white, and
+the ceiling decorated rather crudely with colours. The ceiling sloped
+up on each side to a beam, supported at each end by a slender wooden
+column carved in distinct imitation of a Corinthian column, but not
+fluted. Ranged against the wall were two or three arm-chairs covered
+with velvet, and some small tables with writing materials, vases, and
+lamps upon them. The table-covers were mostly of velvet embroidered
+with gold: one or two were Indian. In the middle of one wall was what
+looked like a white "overmantel," though there was no fireplace. This
+was more Oriental in appearance than the rest of the room, the keynote
+of the decoration being the Saracenic arch. [Illustration: Saracenic
+arch] On the shelves and in the recesses of this were small ornaments
+and vases of various kinds. Below this decorative arrangement, and in
+the position usually occupied by the fireplace, was a table covered
+with heavily embroidered velvet, and on it were two lamps and several
+brass candlesticks with many branches, each holding a wax candle, so
+that the whole looked rather like an altar in a High church. In the
+window that had fretwork over it was arranged a bank of flowers in
+flower-pots. The centre of the room was clear, except that exactly in
+the middle was a large brass brazier filled with glowing charcoal.
+
+At the far end of the room, away from the Amir, were seated,
+cross-legged on the ground, the chief officers of the army, with the
+exception of the Commander-in-Chief, who was ill.
+
+At about two o'clock in the afternoon the Durbar was over, the
+petitioners and disputants disposed of, and His Highness arose. We all
+stood up.
+
+His Highness did not leave the room, but took another chair in front
+of a small oblong table with a white table-cloth which the servants
+had brought in. I did not know whether I was to stop or go, and was
+debating the point in my mind, when the Armenian, who was standing
+behind my chair, leant over and whispered:--
+
+"Sir, please you stop, Highness wish it."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Sidenote: The Breakfast.]
+
+His Highness sat at his table, and a small table with a table-cloth
+was placed in front of my chair. The officers sat where they were. In
+front of them was spread a large leather cloth, and over it a white
+cloth--I was going to say "table-cloth," but it was on the ground. Then
+lunch, or breakfast, was brought in. The dishes were protected with
+curiously shaped covers, which were perforated in designs. One or two
+were placed upon His Highness's table, and several more in front of the
+officers. His Highness helped himself, and then the dish was brought to
+me. A knife, fork, spoon, and plate were provided for me, though they
+are not used in the East except by Europeans.
+
+I was glad of the fork and spoon, for in those days I had not learned
+how to eat pilau with my fingers. I was just in front of His Highness,
+and the Armenian told me that the servants--who really waited very
+well, considering--were reprimanded rather sharply by His Highness for
+not bringing me a clean knife and fork for each dish: they were not
+used to such things.
+
+First, I had a sort of pancake, tasting something like that ancient
+sweatmeat called a "jumble;" after that some meat, I didn't know what
+it was, cooked in a curious way; then some pilau. Altogether I thought
+it very tasteful. Afterwards, they took away the white table-cloths
+and put others in their place, mine was blue velvet embroidered with
+gold, and fruit was brought, mostly grapes, which had been kept from
+the summer in cotton wool. His Highness lit a cigarette, and I, pulling
+out the silver cigar-case, lit a cigar. For the officers, the native
+chillim or hubble-bubble was brought and handed round to them one after
+another. Each drew a volume of smoke into his lungs and handed back the
+pipe to the servant, who, after blowing the smoke out of the tubes,
+passed it to the next guest.
+
+Then the officers got up, salaamed, and filed off. I did not. I said to
+myself,
+
+"I am a stranger, and it is the Armenian's business to direct me: he
+has not hinted that the time has arrived to withdraw: meanwhile, I am
+very comfortable. If an error is being committed, on his head be it."
+
+There was no occasion to disturb myself. Presently, tea was brought in
+and I had another cigar.
+
+Meanwhile, His Highness was busily engaged: secretaries came in, spoke,
+received their directions and went. Letters or reports were brought
+singly and in bundles. His Highness opened them and generally answered
+each one there and then; writing his answer on the flyleaf of the
+letter or on the back of it. Then he placed it in a fresh envelope,
+fastened it down, addressed it and threw it on the ground. These
+letters were gathered up by one of the secretaries. Other letters,
+after he had read them, he handed over to a secretary to answer, but
+these were comparatively few.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Thoughtful Consideration.]
+
+In the midst of all this business a youngster, about ten years old,
+dressed in tunic, trousers, and turban, came into the room; as he
+entered the silence of the room, he piped out in his young penetrating
+treble the usual salutation,
+
+"Salaam aleicoum," "God be with you."
+
+The Amir, who was engaged reading a letter, answered mechanically,
+
+"W'aleicoum"--"and with you."
+
+Then he looked up to see who it was: when he saw the small Page
+boy he said something in Persian, in which I recognized the word
+"Khunuk"--"cold." The boy disappeared and presently came back with a
+postin on. I was rather struck that His Highness, in the midst of the
+great amount of State business he transacts, should notice and give
+orders about such a small thing as the possibility of a little Page boy
+taking cold.
+
+When the press of work was over, His Highness turned and addressed
+some very kind remarks to me. He said, among other things, that he
+had examined and found that I was more intent upon doing my duty and
+serving him faithfully than upon anything else. In future, I was not
+his servant only but his friend.
+
+He appointed a time for me to vaccinate the little Prince Mahomed Omer,
+and--which concerned my comfort considerably--he, at a suggestion
+from the Armenian, ordered the Afghan bath-rooms attached to my house
+to be heated any or every day, whenever I wished. This is rather an
+extensive operation, and one to which, considering the price of wood,
+my income hardly stretched. Wherefore, I was duly grateful. I had some
+more tea, finished my cigar, and then asked permission to withdraw.
+Before I left, His Highness desired me to visit the Commander-in-Chief,
+who was ill with fever. I bowed and retired. We came away at half-past
+four, and the Armenian was jubilant at His Highness's kindness and
+condescension. With Oriental exaggeration he said that no man had been
+so favoured as I.
+
+"Highness very kind upon you: very much wish you," he said--meaning
+"like you," I suppose.
+
+We visited the Commander-in-Chief, drank the necessary tea, and then
+I got home rather fatigued by the excitement and the exercise out of
+doors. I took off my furs and lit a pipe for a quiet evening, but had
+to go out again to see a Page boy who was very ill with fever.
+
+I was on the watch that evening and the next morning to see if I should
+have any return of fever myself. As there was none, I had my horse
+saddled, and started, after breakfast, on a visit to the Hospital,
+where I had not been able to put in an appearance for several weeks.
+
+I enjoyed being out on horseback again. I was riding a young horse that
+the Amir had given me. He seemed to enjoy being out also, for presently
+he began to toss his head and snort and plunge.
+
+The Armenian said, sagaciously,
+
+"Sir, he very fool horse."
+
+The plunging was not sufficiently satisfying, and he commenced rearing
+and kicking. Unfortunately the fever, in addition to making my legs
+shaky, had taken a large slice off the normal amount of pluck that one
+ordinarily possesses, so that in proportion as his jubilation increased
+mine diminished.
+
+The road was very lumpy and frozen hard, and it seemed to me that the
+"fool horse," in his lunatic caperings, must inevitably slip down and
+break my leg. There was an evil time to come. We had got through the
+Bazaar without any serious mishap when, just outside, we happened to
+come alongside of another man on horseback. This was what my "fool
+horse" desired; the very thing he was waiting for--he always was a
+regular bulldog for worrying with his teeth, and was a ruffian at
+striking: up he reared and simply pounced on the other horse. He caught
+him by the neck and shook him, and drove him up against a wall. Both
+reared upright, and then commenced the screams and the strikings of
+two incensed stallions. The other man was even less happy than I, for
+my brute was getting the best of it. I wondered which of us would be
+killed, and began to think it would be the other man.
+
+The Armenian shouted,
+
+"Sir, please you hit him with spur."
+
+I hadn't a spur to "hit" with, for, knowing the horse would be "fresh,"
+I had not put any on. I tore at his mouth with the curb, and hit him
+over the head with my fist. It seemed to astonish him, for he let go
+the other horse, and settled on his four feet again. It was all the
+other man wanted: he was out of sight round the corner before you could
+say "Parallelopipedon."
+
+We got outside the town and had a large open space to cross. Some
+horses in the distance were neighing, and, of course, mine answered
+them shrilly and fiercely, and he tried to be off at a furious gallop
+to get another little boxing match. This I was able to put a stop to,
+fortunately, for the ground was much broken up and very slippery.
+Having nothing better to do, therefore, he reared and kicked again. We
+reached the Hospital at last, and, with shaking knees and a thankful
+heart, I dismounted.
+
+[Sidenote: The Hospital in the Winter.]
+
+There were a great many sick soldiers at the Hospital, some sixty or
+seventy. I was not yet strong enough to attend to them all, and I chose
+out about a dozen who were very ill.
+
+Some of them were mere lads, and there they lay coughing and panting
+with acute inflammation of the lungs. It was in times like this that I
+missed so frightfully the well-appointed hospitals and the women nurses
+of England. The soldier attendants did their best, no doubt, but very
+few showed any sympathy or gentleness with the sick. In many of the
+cases it was necessary for the patient to sit up for me to listen to
+the sounds of the chest. In England the nurse slips her arm under the
+shoulders and head of the patient and helps him up. Here a curt "sit
+up" was all. One or two could not do it, and I had to lift them.
+
+Coming away I decided that the Armenian should ride the "fool horse"
+and I would take his. He said:--
+
+"Oh, yes, sir, I can ride him, but I 'fraid we make late for your
+lunch. Better this--you take mine, I take soldier's horse. Other horse
+come afterwards. In my o-pinion we get home soon this way."
+
+"Very well," I said, "_I_ can't ride him home; it is too much."
+
+"Yes, sir," he answered, "it is _three_ much! a little you not strong,
+and he very fool horse."
+
+It was a long time before I could make him believe it was "_too_ much,
+and not _two_ much."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+THE AMIR'S CONVERSATION.
+
+    Sent for to the Palace. Fragility of Europeans. The Amir's postin.
+    The Bedchamber. The King's evening costume. The guests. The Amir's
+    illness. School in the Durbar-room. The Amir's conversation.
+    Companies of Khans: the water supply of London: plurality of wives.
+    The Amir is bled. Further conversation. His Highness a physician
+    in Turkestan: an iron-smith: a gold-smith. Drawing. Discussion
+    as to the Amir's portrait. Amir's choice of costume. The Shah of
+    Persia. Portraits of the Shah in ignominious places. The rupee and
+    the Queen's portrait. Cigar holders. Concerning Afghan hillmen.
+    Dinner. The Amir's domestic habits. Amir's consideration for
+    subordinates. Conversation concerning European customs. The new
+    Kabul. Native drugs. Soup and beef tea. The paper trick. Page-boys
+    with fever. The Kafir Page. European correspondence. Vaccination
+    of Prince Mahomed Omer. Afghan women. The Prince's house: his
+    chamber: his nurse. The Prince. The operation. Abdul Wahid. Afghan
+    desire for vaccination. The Armenian's useful sagacity. An Afghan
+    superstition. The dreadful old lady and her suggestion. The nurse's
+    remark. The Agent's secretary. His comments upon Bret Harte: the
+    meaning of "By Jove": the Christian belief in the Trinity. European
+    "divorce" from an Oriental point of view: plurality of wives.
+
+
+That evening, about seven o'clock, a messenger came from the Palace
+saying that the Armenian was wanted at once by Amir Sahib. I was
+a little startled, wondering if anything had gone wrong. About
+half-an-hour afterwards the Armenian, accompanied by a soldier with a
+lantern, returned, and said that His Highness wished to see me.
+
+[Sidenote: Sent for to the Palace.]
+
+Outside it was dark and freezing, and His Highness had been kind enough
+to send by the hand of the Armenian a postin for me, lest I should take
+a chill again and have a return of fever. For, as the Armenian put it,
+"Highness say Afghan is stone man, heat is not hurt it, cold is not
+hurt it; but European very soft man, likes flower, soon cold is take
+it."
+
+The postin, of crimson velvet lined with a valuable fur called in
+Persian, "khuz"--I think a species of marten--was made to fit the
+noble proportions of the Amir. On my lean figure it showed to better
+advantage wrapped round as a cloak.
+
+Guided by the soldier with his lantern, we reached the Palace and
+waited a minute or two in the anteroom: presently a Page boy came out
+and called me in. I wondered what could be the matter. But it occurred
+to me that it could not be anything disagreeable or His Highness would
+not have sent me his own postin.
+
+I was shown into His Highness's bedroom--at least, so I conjectured,
+though it bore no resemblance to our ideas of a bedroom. It was a
+smaller room than the one I had been in at the Tuesday's Durbar, and on
+the other side of the centre hall or passage.
+
+At one end of the room was His Highness, seated on a divan or broad
+couch which was covered with furs. In front of him was what looked
+like a large ottoman covered with a quilt which was partly concealed
+by a cover of Indian embroidery. This was a "sandali," and underneath
+was the charcoal brazier. On the divan were piled cushions and large
+pillows covered with velvet and silk brocades.
+
+His Highness wore a small white turban of Indian muslin: over his
+shoulders was thrown a robe of crimson silk lined with fur and almost
+covered with gold embroidery. The room was brilliant with innumerable
+wax candles. Two brass candlesticks with branches stood on the
+sandali, and many more were placed round the room. It was a very
+striking scene. Several Page boys were standing at the far end of
+the room--there was no talking or whispering--and, at a sign or word
+from His Highness, one of them moved silently to do as he was told.
+Seated on the ground at the side of the room, about midway between His
+Highness and the Page boys, were three of the Court: one was the Sirdar
+Usuf Khan, the Amir's uncle; another was the Master of the Horse,
+Sirdar Abdullah Khan; and the third, my old friend, General Nasir Khan.
+
+I bowed to His Highness and he ordered a chair to be placed for me:
+then tea was brought.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Illness.]
+
+His Highness said that he hoped I should suffer no inconvenience
+from the night air, and that he had asked me to visit him as he was
+suffering from a severe chill. He had studied many Persian books on
+medicine, he told me, and was intending to take certain medicines. He
+took the trouble to show me the medicines and explain their action.
+I asked permission to make an examination of his temperature and
+condition, and found he had four degrees of fever (102.4 F.). Granting
+that the medicines acted as he supposed, he was adopting a rational
+line of treatment, and I told him so, explaining, at the same time,
+that I had not studied the action of the remedies he spoke of. He
+talked to me for some time and told me, amongst other things, that he
+had studied medicine while he was an exile in Russia. He said that he
+never learnt Russian, but that he could talk Persian, Arabic, Pushtu,
+and Turki.
+
+By-and-by sweetmeats and fruit were brought in, pomegranates and
+pears, oranges, grapes, and dried fruit. His Highness offered me a
+cigarette, or rather directed one of the Pages to do so, and I smoked
+while he spoke to me. At about nine o'clock His Highness indicated that
+he felt inclined to sleep, and I was permitted to retire.
+
+The next morning at eleven o'clock I was sent for again. It was snowing
+fast and I had to put a plain cloak over my finery, leaving it, of
+course, in the anteroom when I reached the Palace. I found His Highness
+very little better; he was feverish and still had pain in the shoulders
+and back. He said he had had a very restless night, with much fever.
+The attendants said he had been delirious, but I doubt if they knew
+what they were talking about.
+
+After talking to His Highness for a short time we all retired to the
+Durbar room and His Highness got a little sleep. For us the inevitable
+tea was brought, and I smoked cigars and talked to the Armenian.
+There were several small Page boys in the Durbar room; they were
+seated cross-legged on the ground round the charcoal brazier and were
+receiving lessons in reading and writing. One or two were handsome
+boyish boys, and another was very pretty, but in face more like a
+little Italian girl than a boy.
+
+At half-past one breakfast--in my case lunch--was brought in. It was
+practically a repetition of Tuesday's, except that His Highness was not
+there. After lunch I smoked on till I had finished all the cigars I had
+in my pocket, and then one of the Chamberlain's, my friend, Shere Ali
+Khan, brought me some cigarettes. We had tea again, two sweet cups, and
+half a cup without sugar.
+
+At four o'clock in the afternoon I was called in to His Highness. He
+still had some fever, but felt better. There were several people in the
+room. Beside the Pages there were the two chief Hakims, Abdul Wahid and
+Abdur Rashid, and other people, some of whom I knew and some I did not.
+All were seated on the ground round the room, and everyone was very
+still.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Conversation.]
+
+His Highness addressed his conversation to me. He told me much about
+the customs of the Russians that he became acquainted with when he was
+in exile; and he asked me many questions about London. He seemed to
+know a good deal about it himself. He described, for the benefit of
+the listeners, an English custom in which gentlemen--Khans--of wealth,
+band themselves together for the purpose of trade, and that each band
+is called "a Comp'ny." He asked much about the water supply of London,
+enquiring whether it were a Government undertaking, or managed by a
+Comp'ny of Khans, and he dropped a remark or two that showed me he had
+taken the trouble to secure previous information on the subject.
+
+The conversation drifted to many subjects, and I remember he
+proved--though I do not say entirely to my satisfaction--how much
+better it was to have five wives than one. So that, although I was at
+the Palace purely in a professional capacity, I found myself being
+entertained by the Royal patient in most interesting conversation. At
+last he said I must be tired, having spent the whole day at the Palace.
+I need scarcely say that the enjoyment of listening to His Highness,
+and adding what I could to his stock of information, quite made up
+for any ennui I may have felt while smoking innumerable cigars and
+cigarettes in the Durbar room.
+
+We got home about six in the evening. I had then to go and see my
+neighbour, the Mirza Abdur Rashid, who had sent to my house several
+times. He had fever again. I did not call on the Commander-in-Chief a
+second time while he was ill, as I found he preferred trusting himself
+to the skill of the hereditary physicians of his country, the Hakims.
+
+The next morning I went to the Palace again. His Highness said he was
+better: certainly he had no fever, but he looked uncommonly ill. He
+told me that, feeling very feverish and oppressed in the evening after
+I had left, he ordered a vein in his arm to be opened and a quantity
+of blood to be withdrawn. He expressed himself as feeling considerably
+relieved by the operation.
+
+In the afternoon, at half-past four, when I went again to see him, His
+Highness seemed to have recovered somewhat from the blood-letting, and
+was in very good spirits. He related many interesting details of his
+life when he was in exile in Samarcand and Tashkend. He told me that,
+after having read up the ancient Greek system of medicine as set forth
+in the Persian books at his command, he practised as a Physician among
+the natives of Russian Turkestan: that in his spare time he worked at
+the forge to learn the manufacture of war materials: that he learnt the
+details of gunpowder manufacture, and even worked at the more delicate
+and artistic handicraft of the goldsmith. He said that he tried to
+learn drawing, knowing that the art can be applied to so many uses, but
+that he never was able to succeed. He praised my capabilities in that
+line in the complimentary language of an Oriental, and asked me to show
+those in the room how one began a drawing.
+
+[Sidenote: Drawing and Painting.]
+
+I asked what should I draw? He left that entirely to me. A paper and
+pencil being brought, I made a sketch of a man's head, and handed it
+to His Highness. He looked at it critically, and said that the only
+improvement he could suggest was that the eyebrows should be a little
+heavier. After I had corrected this he approved entirely, and a Page
+boy took the sketch round to every one in the room.
+
+"Wah, wah!" they said, in admiration.
+
+The King had approved; the Courtiers admired.
+
+His Highness then said that the only thing he could ever draw was a
+tree in the winter-time. I asked him if he would honour us by showing
+us how a tree should be drawn. He took the paper and pencil and drew
+two trees excellently. I intended to have asked His Highness to give
+me the sketch, for it was really drawn for my benefit, but one of the
+Courtiers was too clever for me, and he annexed it. I did not like to
+ask then, for I knew the man would get into trouble if I did.
+
+His Highness desired me to commence a portrait of himself as soon as he
+was well enough to sit. I said it would give me very great pleasure to
+do so. There was a discussion then, in which the Courtiers joined, as
+to the size the painting should be. Some suggested that it should be an
+equestrian portrait, life size; others that it should be of the King
+sitting: and many different costumes were suggested, all more or less
+gorgeous. I said that I had only enough canvas for a "head portrait."
+His Highness said that if I would make out a list of anything I wanted
+in the way of canvas, brushes, and paints, he would order them to be
+brought from Bombay at once. I finally suggested that a head portrait
+should be finished first, and if His Highness approved of it, a "full
+length" could be done afterwards. His Highness had never sat for a
+painting, and I think that he scarcely realized what an undertaking it
+is to sit for a full length life-sized portrait. As regards costume,
+His Highness said he preferred a plain coat and a fur busby. Embroidery
+and bright colours, he said, were more fit for women and boys than men.
+
+Afterwards he told us many interesting stories about the Shah of Persia
+and other people. The Shah he did not take at all seriously, and, in
+particular, he laughed at the custom there is in Persia of putting a
+portrait of the Shah on almost everything; even on utensils that are
+used for ignominous purposes. He described the Persians as not at all
+cleanly persons.
+
+[Sidenote: The Queen's Portrait on the Indian Rupee.]
+
+It is to be noted that the Amir will allow no representation of himself
+on vessels, stamps, or coins, and when I learnt this, I confess I
+was surprised that he wished his portrait painted. However, when the
+portrait was eventually finished, it was apparently looked upon as an
+effigy or representation of Royalty, and, as you shall hear presently,
+was treated with some ceremony and no little respect. While he was
+speaking about the Shah, he happened to take up an Indian rupee, and
+was spinning it about on the sandali in front of him. Suddenly he said,
+as he picked it up--
+
+"How old was Queen Victoria when this portrait was taken?"
+
+I hesitated a moment: it was a difficult question to answer. Finally I
+said,
+
+"It is intended to represent the Queen, but it is not a portrait of Her
+Majesty as she is now, nor, I believe, as she was when she was young."
+
+His Highness at once said,
+
+"You are right; every feature is incorrect--eyes, nose, and mouth; and
+even the crown on her head is not the crown she wears."
+
+It was impossible for me to explain, through the Armenian, that the
+impression on the coin was a heraldic decoration, and was not meant for
+an exact portrait of Her Majesty.
+
+Meanwhile, fruit and sweets were brought, and I lit a cigar. When I had
+smoked to the stump, I stuck my pocket-knife in to hold it by.
+
+His Highness said, "Have you no cigar-holder?"
+
+On hearing I had not, he gave some directions to a Page boy. The boy
+disappeared, returning presently with about a dozen cases. His Highness
+opened the cases, examined them, and then, choosing two, gave them to
+me.
+
+They were meerschaum and amber cigar-holders, the case being stamped
+with the name of a firm in Bombay. One was in the shape of a hand
+holding an oval, and the other was straight with a prancing horse
+carved on the top of it. They looked so beautifully pure in colour that
+it seemed a pity to defile them with tobacco smoke. However, aesthetic
+ideas did not prevail, and before long I had coloured them both a rich
+brown.
+
+By-and-bye I began to think it must surely be getting somewhere
+near dinner time, when just then the clock struck--it was ten p.m.
+However, it was not yet the hour for the Amir's second meal, and he
+continued conversing. He told me of the habits and customs of the
+Afghan hillmen; of their agility and hardiness, their great stature and
+bodily strength: that with them meat was a luxury to be obtained only
+by the few and by them rarely; of the weapons they manufactured for
+themselves, their love of fighting, and their love of robbery. I said,
+
+"They must be good stuff to make soldiers of."
+
+"Yes," said His Highness, "but they needed taming."
+
+A little before midnight dinner was brought. The Amir has two meals in
+the day: one about midday and the other about midnight. Occasionally
+the time is varied. He may breakfast at ten a.m. and dine at nine
+or ten p.m. He takes a cup of tea on rising, and, as a rule, some
+biscuits--macaroons and other sweet cakes--are brought, though he
+seldom eats them. At breakfast and dinner he eats as heartily as
+one would expect a robust man to do, but not more so. The _piece de
+resistance_ being pilau, which consists largely of rice, I think
+that the Amir does not eat so much meat in the day as an ordinary
+Englishman. He drinks water only, at meals. Tea he drinks in the early
+morning and in the afternoon, and, curiously enough, tea is usually
+brought half-an-hour before and sometimes half-an-hour after a meal.
+There is no set rule as regards tea drinking. It is taken at all hours
+of the day, except with meals.
+
+When dinner was brought, a tray was placed before His Highness on the
+sandali. A small table was brought for me, and the Courtiers sat on the
+ground.
+
+The Armenian, who had had a little fever the day before, had been
+standing behind my chair all this time--rather more than seven
+hours--and translating. He looked fagged to death. His Highness
+happening to notice him standing while everyone was sitting, said, "Sit
+and eat."
+
+The Armenian, however, did not dare to take the Amir at his word and
+excite the resentment of the Courtiers, the Chief Secretaries, and
+Officers, by joining them, and, moreover, he felt shame at presuming to
+sit eating in the presence of the Amir, so that he made some excuse.
+His Highness, seeing his embarrassment, ordered dinner to be served for
+him in another room.
+
+When dinner was over I asked permission to retire, and His Highness
+gave orders for a guard with lanterns to conduct me to my door. We got
+home at half-past one.
+
+The next day, Sunday, I spent in a similar way at the Palace. I found
+His Highness better. After being with him a short time I withdrew to
+the Durbar room, where lunch was served for me.
+
+[Sidenote: The New Kabul.]
+
+I was called in again in the afternoon and His Highness continued his
+conversation. He spoke much about European customs, and surprised me by
+the extent and accuracy of his knowledge. The Courtiers sat listening,
+dumb with admiration at the "boundless knowledge of the great King."
+He told me of the city of his dreams, the new Kabul, that he hoped to
+build in the Charhardeh Valley, drawing a plan of the city and of its
+fortifications. I enquired whether there were materials for building
+near at hand; and asked where he would get his water supply from, and
+so on, and he entered into all the details most willingly.
+
+He gave me further information about the Afghans as a nation: though
+he described more their obvious characteristics than those that are
+unknown to European investigators. He sent for samples of native drugs
+and plants, and instructed me in their alleged action on the human body.
+
+At dinner, soup was brought for my especial benefit, for the Amir knew
+that Europeans took soup before meat when they dined. The conversation
+then turned upon the making of soup, and His Highness sent for the
+cooking utensils that were used by his cook and described the process
+to me. I did not know how soup was made, but I knew how to extract the
+nourishing properties of meat, and I described the making of "beef
+tea," giving the reasons for each step in the process.
+
+After dinner--I forget what led up to it--I asked for a piece of paper
+and a pair of scissors, and having cut a square the size of the palm
+of my hand, I said to His Highness that I could cut a hole in it big
+enough to put my head through: would he ask his Courtiers if they could
+do the same. One after another they took the paper, and the Amir seemed
+much amused as they turned it every way, and finally declared the thing
+was impossible. It was given back to me and I made the usual cuts. One
+down the middle and others alternately from the middle cut and from the
+outer edge--this fashion. [Illustration] Of course, it would go over my
+head then. The Amir enjoyed immensely the astonishment and discomfiture
+of the Courtiers, and laughed heartily as he mocked and jeered at them.
+
+[Sidenote: The Kafir Page, Malek.]
+
+All this time the little Page boys had to be standing, and they
+looked dreadfully tired. One of them, the Amir's favourite, had fever.
+He was a slave from Kaffristan, about fourteen, named Malek. He was
+fair-skinned and quite like an English boy in face, though he wore two
+large emeralds looped in each ear by a ring of gold.
+
+There was a hard frost that night, and we did not get home till
+half-past two.
+
+The next morning, when I arrived at the Palace, I found His Highness
+was asleep, so I betook myself to Samander's khirgar or wigwam. It was
+as well I went, for I found he had fever. I took the opportunity also
+of prescribing for the favourite Page, Malek. He was a nice lad, and
+I had a chat with him. He seemed to be quite proud that he was not a
+Mahomedan in religion, though he couldn't quite tell me what he was. He
+remembered only a few words of his native language.
+
+Afterwards he became a very good friend to me. He had infinite tact,
+and if I wished to call the attention of His Highness to any matter
+without making a formal report, Malek was always ready to choose the
+fitting moment in which to speak to His Highness.
+
+I did not see the Amir that day, for he was engaged, busily and alone,
+answering European correspondence. I heard, however, that he was much
+better.
+
+On the following day, Tuesday, His Highness held the usual military
+Durbar. He sat at the window of the Palace enveloped in furs. When I
+arrived, he desired me to examine the throat of a woman who was there,
+unveiled, among the petitioners, and diagnose the disease she was
+suffering from. When I had given my report, His Highness invited me
+into the Palace and I lunched with him as before. He asked me why I
+had ceased, since my recovery from fever, from sending to his kitchen
+for lunch and dinner. He desired me to continue sending, so long as I
+remained in the country.
+
+After that the Amir's cook waited upon me daily at my house to receive
+orders.
+
+A day or two after this, on Sunday, January 19th, I was called before
+daybreak to vaccinate the little Prince, Mahomed Omer. The very fat
+man, Hakim Abdur Rashid, came for me while I was dressing; the servants
+prepared tea and then we started. The Prince was not living in the
+harem with his mother, the Sultana: he had a house of his own not very
+far from mine.
+
+The Hakim waddled by my side, talking and talking, and panting, and
+still talking in his unctuous voice, and I stalked on in the darkness.
+Dawn was so near that we brought no lanterns, and before we reached the
+house the light of morning was gleaming on the snow. At the high gate,
+leading to the gardens, was a sentry with fixed bayonet.
+
+Just as we reached the gate an old "sakabi," or water-carrier, was
+passed in by the sentry. Before he was allowed to cross the gardens
+with his leather water-bag to fill the house deghchis, or water-pots,
+the sentry made him unloose his turban and droop the end of it over his
+eyes so that he could see on the ground only.
+
+"Women about?" I said to the Armenian.
+
+"Yes, sir. Highness' sister here and other lady."
+
+"Shall we see them?" I asked.
+
+"Sir. Please you not talk. Perhaps this fat man understand. Highness
+make angry if he hear."
+
+Our eyes were not bandaged, though the Armenian and I were a good deal
+younger than the "sakabi." The fat Hakim did not count. We crossed the
+garden and went up some steps into a lobby and the Hakim called out:--
+
+"Kussi ast?" "Anyone here?"
+
+A door on our right opened and the old Hakim, Abdul Wahid, appeared,
+and raising a curtain ushered us into the room.
+
+The usual charcoal brazier stood in the middle of the carpet, curtains
+hung by the windows and over the doors.
+
+The curtain over a doorway, at the far side of the room, was slightly
+pulled back, and, though we could see no one, it was here I heard that
+the ladies were concealed.
+
+Seated by the side of the brazier was a fair young woman with a baby on
+her knee. These were the little Prince and his nurse. There were two
+older women, also nurses, seated by the fire. None of the women were
+veiled, but each had a cashmere shawl over her head, which she pulled
+slightly across the lower part of the face. All rose as we entered.
+
+[Sidenote: Vaccination of Prince Mahomed Omer.]
+
+The Prince was a bright-eyed healthy-looking little fellow, with a
+skin slightly darker than that of an English baby. He was very much
+swaddled-up in clothes. Over his head was thrown a square of white
+cashmere, which was held back from the face and kept in position by a
+band round the head. A chair and a little table were placed for me,
+and the inevitable tea was brought.
+
+The Hakim and nurses sat on the ground again. The Armenian remained
+standing.
+
+Presently, I said to the Armenian, "I am quite ready now to vaccinate
+the Prince."
+
+It was broad daylight by this time, and I had my lancet and vaccine
+lymph with me.
+
+The Armenian spoke to the Hakim Abdul Wahid, and he directed the nurse
+to undress the child sufficiently to expose the upper arm. The nurse
+commenced to unfasten the innumerable strings and bandages in which
+the Prince was bound up. As this operation needed both her hands, of
+course it was not her fault that the shawl fell back from her face.
+She was really a very pretty girl. She had a little crimson jacket, a
+long white camise reaching to the knee, loose oriental trousers, and
+a little gold-embroidered cap, like a polo cap, put coquettishly on
+one side: the embroidered cashmere shawl draped from the head over the
+shoulders. As she sat with the child on her knee and the early sun
+shining on them, it struck me what a picture they would make for the
+Madonna and Child.
+
+The two old ladies were not so smartly dressed. They had dark-grey
+shawls and a sort of hood on the head. They looked like nuns and acted
+as a "foil" to the nurse.
+
+When the little Prince's arms were free, he waved them about and crowed
+joyously. As he lay on the nurse's lap I was obliged to sit on the
+ground to vaccinate him. The operation did not take many seconds. He
+looked somewhat astonished when he felt the first prick of the lancet:
+possibly it was the first sensation of pain he had ever experienced,
+and he gave a little whimper before I had quite finished. Then his arm
+was bound up and he was dressed again.
+
+When we came away, the portly Abdur Rashid took a ceremonious and
+courtly leave, but Abdul Wahid walked part of the way home with me. He
+did not talk. He was dressed in pure Afghan costume of the plainest
+kind. A loose brown coat or robe reaching to the knee, plain blue
+turban and a thin brown cloak, or lungi, of camels' hair draped in
+classic folds over his shoulders.
+
+I never saw anyone who could throw the end of the cloak over the left
+shoulder so negligently, and yet have it fall in such folds as he could.
+
+[Sidenote: Afghan desire for Vaccination.]
+
+The old Hakim departed on his way home, and we met the "Master of the
+Carpets," Bai Mahomed Khan. He apparently had been lying in wait for
+us, and he begged me to come to his house and vaccinate his infant son.
+As I had plenty of lymph we went on to his house to do so. We waited in
+the porch while he went in to drive all the women away; consequently,
+the child had to be undressed and held by a man-servant. In the
+afternoon, two of the little Prince's Kaffir slave boys were sent to my
+house to be vaccinated; and on succeeding days several more were sent
+for the same purpose.
+
+Many people, even those not attached to the Court, came and asked, as
+a favour, that I would vaccinate their children. Some cases I was, of
+necessity, obliged to postpone until I could get a further supply of
+lymph. In Kabul, I saw many people suffering from the frightful results
+of that dread disease, Small-pox, when it seizes upon those unprotected
+by vaccination. In England, where vaccination is so universal, it is
+rare to see a bad case.
+
+I visited the Prince every day for about a fortnight. Abdul Wahid
+generally met me at the house. He and I were to attend to the Prince's
+health and up-bringing. Abdur Rashid did not appear after the first
+visit. I did not vehemently press European innovations after the first
+day or two, for the Armenian said, with useful sagacity:--
+
+"Sir, suppose you take away bandages and head coverings, and curtains,
+and Shahzada Sahib take cold, blame come upon you. Better you let the
+women do in Afghan custom, then no harm come for you."
+
+I took his advice, and the more willingly, because none of my
+suggestions had, hitherto, produced the slightest effect. For immovable
+obstinacy there is nothing to match the conservatism of an Eastern
+woman.
+
+I soon became friendly with the little Prince, and trotted him on my
+knee, or walked about the room with him in my arms. I never kissed
+him, for I thought it better to consider the religious scruples of the
+Sultana. Being a Feringhi there was always a chance that I _might_ have
+eaten pig.
+
+One day he was very merry, and was laughing when I said good-bye and
+left the room. Immediately one of the old nurses followed me out and
+begged a hair from my head, so that no evil should result from my
+having left him while he was laughing. The hair was burnt with due
+ceremony.
+
+[Sidenote: The Dreadful Old Lady and her Suggestion.]
+
+This old lady asked me one day if I were not very
+"dek"--_ennuie_--living alone in a strange land. She said,
+
+"Why do you not buy a little Kaffir girl with a white skin, and make
+her your wife?"
+
+I said I was betrothed to an English girl.
+
+"England!" she said, "that is a far journey from here. Take to yourself
+a wife in Afghanistan, and your English wife can remain in England."
+
+You wicked old lady! I thought. I said,
+
+"It is not the custom of my country, and is forbidden by our religion."
+
+She laughed.
+
+I began to get afraid of this old lady.
+
+Another day the younger nurse volunteered a remark. She asked me--Were
+there in England any women as beautiful as she, with skin as white and
+eyes as dark.
+
+The old ladies remarked that her question was exceedingly ill-bred, and
+one likely to cause offence to me.
+
+The Armenian told her that she, and such as she, were not fit to carry
+the shoes of an English lady. I said he was quite right: so she was
+snubbed all round. However, she did not seem to mind, for she sat and
+smiled to herself.
+
+Meanwhile, I was continuing my Persian lessons, whenever Munshi Amin
+Ullah, the Agent's secretary, could spare an hour to visit me. One day
+I persuaded him to read "Bret Harte" aloud to me. It was delicious to
+see this highly-educated Mahomedan--he was an excellent fellow--sitting
+cross-legged on the ground, solemnly declaiming the "Heathen Chinee."
+
+As I laughed, I said, "By Jove! it _is_ funny!"
+
+He said he thought it was very difficult and very incorrect English.
+I told him that was just where the joke came in. He smiled politely,
+and asked why I said "By Joe!" He had often heard Englishmen use the
+expression, and knew that Joe was an abbreviation of Joseph, though why
+we should say "By Joe," or who Joe was, he had not heard. I explained
+the origin of the expression, and described Jove as the god of the
+Romans.
+
+I asked him if he had considered the Christian Religion. He told
+me he had studied the Jewish Bible and the Christian Testament. He
+could not understand how a race so intellectual as the English could
+accept the--to him--incomprehensible idea of three Gods. I said that
+Christians believed in one God only, and I endeavoured to illustrate
+the Trinity in Unity by describing the trinity that exists in every
+man: of will, intellect, and deed. To do anything one must first have
+the wish, or will, from that is begotten the thought how to do it, then
+comes the deed. He did not discuss the point.
+
+He said another thing that puzzled and surprised him considerably was
+the custom among the English of selling their wives. I said,
+
+"But Englishmen do not sell their wives."
+
+"Yes," he said, "and, moreover, it is published in the newspapers when
+they do so."
+
+"What on earth do you mean?" I asked.
+
+"I mean this: an English woman becomes wearied of her husband,
+and prefers another to him. The man who is preferred is called a
+'co-respondent.' Straightway they go before the Kasi--the Magistrate,
+and, after much discussion, it is decided at what price the
+co-respondent shall buy the woman. The money is then paid to the
+husband."
+
+This gave me a sort of shock.
+
+"People of my race," he continued, calmly, "do differently. When a
+woman prefers another to her husband--they kill her."
+
+I asked if he were married. He said "No."
+
+[Sidenote: Plurality of Wives.]
+
+"Do you," I said, "consider that a plurality of wives is to be desired?"
+
+"Among people of my race," he replied, "a plurality of wives is lawful;
+but that which is lawful is not always expedient."
+
+"In what way is it inexpedient?" I asked.
+
+"Firstly, there is the question of expense. Secondly, a plurality of
+wives is a source of constant annoyance and anxiety. One wife will live
+in peace with her husband; but with two or more, there is no peace: for
+ever they are quarrelling."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+THE FIRST SITTING.
+
+    Morning prayers. Early tea. The weather. Breakfast. The first
+    sitting for the Amir's portrait: difficulties to contend with.
+    The Courtier's criticism. The Amir's rebuke. The Deputation.
+    Conversation with the Amir: the climate of England and Australia:
+    differences in the time of day: the cause of clouds. Awe of the
+    Courtiers. The favourite Page-boy's privileges. The newspaper
+    paragraph: the Amir's comment. Serious incident at a sitting. The
+    Captain's toothache. Present of a rifle from the Amir. The shooting
+    expedition and its dangers. Courage of the "Burma policeman."
+    The eccentric rider. The singing Afghan. The scenery of Mazar.
+    Salutations in the market place. The meeting with Prince Amin Ullah.
+
+
+A day or two after the vaccination of the Prince, His Highness sent
+word that he would be prepared to give me a sitting for his portrait on
+the following day.
+
+Paint-box, canvas, and easel were therefore taken to the Palace at once.
+
+The next morning I woke up as usual about six, opened the windows of
+the inner room and the top sash of one of the outer windows, to let
+in the light and air. I could hear Hafiz, the compounder, who was a
+Priest, reciting aloud his prayers in the servants' room. It took him,
+as a rule, an hour and a half to two hours to say his prayers in the
+early morning. During my illness I had had the Armenian sleep on the
+floor of my room, and the noise I made in opening the windows woke him.
+
+"Sir, how do you do?" said he.
+
+"I open the windows," I said. "That is how I do."
+
+"Sir, why you not call me? I open windows."
+
+"Open them, then," I said.
+
+"Sir!" said he, "my wish is not I get up."
+
+I went to the door of the servants' room. Hafiz stopped his prayers to
+say, "Sir?" I told him to bring me some tea. He boiled the water, and
+brought me some tea in a very short time, then went on with his prayers.
+
+I wanted to continue a letter home, but it was too dark to see till
+half-past seven. Outside it was snowing fast: there was a dull and
+leaden looking sky, and it was bitterly cold. The weather had been very
+changeable. We had had rainy muggy days, hot sunshiny days, snowy days,
+and bitterly cold, dull, windy days, one after another. The result
+was that people went about sneezing or coughing. At eight I had my
+breakfast, hot bread and milk, and then went off to the Prince's house
+to see that his arm was progressing satisfactorily. From there I went
+on to the Palace. It had ceased snowing, and the clouds had broken.
+
+[Sidenote: The First Sitting for the Amir's Portrait.]
+
+His Highness asked, Where should he sit? I found I had considerable
+difficulties to face. There was no platform to raise my sitter level
+with the eye, nor any way in which I could get a suitable top light
+which would cast some shadow under the eyebrows and chin. I had to do
+the best I could with the ordinary light from a large window. The most
+serious obstacle was the reflection _upwards_ from the snow outside.
+
+His Highness sat exceedingly well, and the Courtiers and Pages
+clustered in a group round, as I made my charcoal sketch of His
+Highness on the canvas. It came very well--I can draw a good deal
+better than I can paint--and the Courtiers said, "Wah! Wah!" One of the
+chief secretaries, however, ventured a criticism on the drawing of the
+eyebrow. When he had finished what he had to say, I bowed and offered
+him the charcoal to continue the drawing. He seemed rather taken aback,
+and said--No, no, he could not draw. The Amir told him not to make a
+fool of himself before an Englishman.
+
+I thought the "drawing in" would be enough for one sitting, and
+when I had just finished, a Deputation of citizens from one of the
+neighbouring towns arrived; they waited upon His Highness to petition
+him concerning a tax that had been imposed. I did not understand all
+the details, but His Highness told them to dig for gold on the banks of
+the Oxus. There is alluvial gold there: for I afterwards bought several
+hundred pounds worth.
+
+When the Deputation had departed lunch was brought in, and afterwards,
+while I was smoking, His Highness asked me much about the climate
+of England, and compared it with that of Australia. He spoke of the
+difference in the time of day in those two countries at any one given
+moment. He also discussed the cause of clouds in the sky, and the
+Courtiers listened in awed astonishment.
+
+I came away about half-past three in the afternoon, and Malek, the
+favourite Kaffir Page boy, came out with me. I had a rough whitethorn
+walking-stick in my hand, that a friend had cut out of a hedge and
+saved for me in England. Malek asked why I carried such a stick, and I
+explained. He thought it a poor stick for a gentleman to carry, and
+ran in and brought me out one of His Highness's walking-sticks. I said
+to the Armenian:--
+
+"Is this correct?"
+
+"Yes," he said, "Malek can do so."
+
+I haven't the stick now, for someone "annexed" it a few months
+afterwards.
+
+The next day one of the Hospital assistants got into trouble. He gave a
+patient too much strychnine: however, he was not punished.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Comment on the Paragraph.]
+
+During a sitting shortly after this, His Highness told me of a report
+he had had from his Agent in Calcutta, concerning a paragraph in a
+newspaper there. It stated that I had given an opinion to the effect
+that His Highness was suffering from gout in the stomach, and could not
+live more than five years. As a matter of fact, I had given no such
+opinion. His Highness told me not to allow my mind to be distressed, as
+he considered either the report or the paragraph to be false.
+
+At another sitting an incident occurred which might have given rise
+to a serious mishap. It occurred in this way: I was working at the
+watch chain, but presently His Highness moved and the chain became
+disarranged. Without thinking where I was--for I was absorbed in
+the painting--and acting as if he were an English gentleman and not
+an Oriental Prince whose life had already been attempted, I walked
+suddenly up to the Amir to re-arrange the chain. There was a dead
+silence, though I hardly noticed it at the time, but I saw that the
+Amir looked very hard at me. Then with a bow I went back to my work.
+Nothing was said.
+
+When we reached home the Armenian told me that he and every one else in
+the Court were exceedingly startled by my walking suddenly up to His
+Highness. He was just as likely to have shot me as not. It was contrary
+to etiquette to approach near uninvited; and the suddenness was so very
+suggestive of evil designs. However, His Highness was not seriously
+annoyed. He saw at once that I meant no evil, nor any disrespect.
+
+When I went to the Prince's one morning, I was informed that the
+Sultana wished me to paint her little son's portrait. He was not to be
+painted as a baby four or five months old, but sitting upright with a
+tunic and busby on, like his father, the Amir. The tunic and busby were
+then being made. This seemed likely to be a difficult task.
+
+I was accompanied back to my house by the Captain of the Prince's
+guard, who had had a very severe toothache for some days, and he came
+to have the tooth out. He was a very large Afghan, much taller than I,
+but he was very nervous about the operation. I sat him in the chair,
+selected my forceps, put my arm firmly round his neck and pushed the
+forceps well home.
+
+He screamed, slid down in the chair, and kicked violently. It was no
+use, however: I had him firmly, and the tooth too. He thanked me very
+profusely when the operation was over.
+
+[Sidenote: The Shooting Expedition and its Dangers.]
+
+At the next sitting, His Highness asked if I were fond of shooting.
+The Armenian at once answered, that it was the one particular delight
+of my soul. His Highness said he would send a rifle to my house, so
+that I might ride out on the plains and have some antelope shooting.
+Accordingly, the next afternoon, when the rifle arrived, the Armenian
+and I, accompanied by a servant, started on our expedition. We rode
+through the city, my horse going beautifully, as quiet as a trotting
+camel, till we reached the plain. Then, suddenly, he gave a scream,
+sprang up in the air, flung out his heels, and----but he did not have
+me off. No! I was not just convalescent from fever then, and he went
+quietly again. But I was on the watch, for I knew his ways. Four times
+he tried that buck. I am not a bold rider, I much prefer a quiet horse:
+but, it was the best I had.
+
+I thought I would try the rifle, and I dismounted and put in a
+cartridge. The gun was a Martini-Henry pattern, made in Mazar, and I
+felt myself rather a dare-devil sort of fellow in venturing to fire
+it off. I aimed at a crow and pulled the trigger: there was a violent
+explosion. I did not hit the crow, but the gun kicked very much and
+cut my lip and made my eyes water. I determined that this should not
+occur again, so, therefore, I held the rifle very tight, shut my eyes,
+drew my head away, and fired. But I did not hit the mark. I asked the
+Armenian if he were sure that the gun was sighted right. He said he did
+not know.
+
+I said, "You had better try it."
+
+He said he had a pain in his arm: so we rode on a little further.
+
+By-and-bye, the Syce (the Burma policeman) summoned up courage and said
+he thought he could shoot.
+
+I said, "Very good. There's a crow over there: you may shoot it."
+
+He was a long time getting ready, for he felt it was a dangerous thing
+to do, and he turned very white. Then he fired, but he did not hit.
+Evidently, the gun was faulty.
+
+Then we thought we would come home. On the way back, we saw a man on a
+young horse. He kept jumping him about the road, first one side then
+the other. The Armenian turned on him in anger and told him he was a
+woman.
+
+The young man seemed indignantly surprised, and stoutly affirmed that
+he was _not_ a woman.
+
+The Armenian rode up to him, caught him by the coat and shouted, "You
+_are_ a woman."
+
+He shouted back, "I am _not_ a woman."
+
+They looked very fierce, and I thought they were coming to blows. But
+the young man snatched his coat away and went off at a gallop. The
+Armenian followed him a little way, then came back looking satisfied.
+
+My horse went back very quietly, but I felt sure his feelings were hurt
+at not being able to run away when he wanted to. He did not often want
+to run: he much preferred walking, as a rule.
+
+That evening, the Armenian went out to dinner to the Page boy's, next
+door, and a creature came in the evening to sing in the servants'
+room. How I loathed him! He had a frightful voice. I told them to shut
+all the windows, but it was no use; I could hear him. He delighted in
+prolonging an upper note on the vowel e-e-e-e. Imagine it! He indulged
+copiously in the trill, which he produced by shaking his head. Then he
+took a run down the scale, slurring one note into the other. When I
+first came to Mazar, he wanted to sing to me frequently; but I thanked
+him and said that, not being fond of music, I would pay him a trifling
+sum _not_ to sing to me. Then he wanted to play to me on the "Rhubarb."
+Why the instrument--it is a sort of mandolin--should have the same name
+as that particularly nasty vegetable, I don't know. It has a harsh and
+penetrating sound and I begged to be excused.
+
+Among the natives, however, the "Rubab" is a very popular instrument:
+it is played with the plectrum, a piece of ivory held between the
+finger and thumb. There is another instrument resembling the Rubab,
+which is played with a bow. A third, the "Seithar," resembles a banjo
+with a four-foot arm; it has three strings and is played with the
+fingers. The "Tom-toms" or drums are the same as in India.
+
+Every military camp is provided with a bronze gong on which the hours
+are struck day and night, the time being taken from the noonday gun,
+which is regulated by the Amir's repeater. In Turkestan I was for a
+long time charmed by the sound of the gongs: it resembled so exactly
+the distant church bells of England.
+
+[Sidenote: The Scenery of Mazar.]
+
+As a residential spot Mazar had its drawbacks. The utter absence of the
+picturesque; the bare monotonous plain with scorching poisonous summer
+and icy winter; the hopeless colony of those unhappy outcasts the
+lepers; these surroundings, in spite of the novelty of the situation,
+had of necessity a depressing effect on the health. There were,
+however, certain counteracting elements, for besides the homelikeness
+of the distant bells, there was the goodwill shown by the townsfolk.
+These were mild and inoffensive people who exhibited considerable
+kindliness and courtesy. Riding home one day from the Hospital I
+perceived a small boy "who put his thumb unto his nose and spread his
+fingers out." In astonishment I pulled up to look at him. He at once
+added his other hand, thumb to finger.
+
+"Behold this youth!" I said to the Armenian severely, "he reviles the
+stranger that is within his father's gates."
+
+"No, Sir," said the Armenian, "he give it you very great salaam."
+
+"My son, it behoves not the King's Interpreter to deceive with specious
+words."
+
+"Sir, truly I speak: this is Mazari salaam."
+
+I perceived then that the boy's thumb was at the root of the nose
+between the eyebrows, and that the hands were horizontal. As we
+rode on I noted with considerable interest other salutations in the
+market-place. The Mazari peasants salaamed as did the boy. By others,
+we were greeted by the dignified bow and the "salaam aleicoum" of the
+Afghan. We returned the bow, allowing a polite smile to irradiate our
+countenance and answered "W'aleicoum salaam."
+
+[Sidenote: Prince Amin Ullah.]
+
+Ere reaching our own house we perceived Prince Amin Ullah, aged
+three, accompanied by his tutor. Stopping his palanquin the Prince
+responded to our bow by touching, in the military fashion, his
+astrakhan hat. After politely enquiring each other's health--we made no
+reference to the state of the weather, as is the custom in Occidental
+cities--we courteously took leave of one another, saluting in the
+same manner as when we met. The young Prince has the privilege of
+possessing considerable personal beauty, and, added to that, he is
+very precocious--added to that he shows--he exhibits, a discernment
+and wisdom far beyond his years. Many are the wise sayings attributed
+to this Royal Child (I have forgotten what they were, but they told
+me he was very clever) so that he is indeed a true son of his august
+Papa--Sire (I should say).
+
+Then we rode in at the porch of our house, and dismounting from our
+wearied but sprightly steed, we ascended the steps and sought the
+privacy of our own apartments. I think that winds it up all right.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+THE AMIR AS AN ART CRITIC.
+
+    The "villain" cook. Mental effect of a cold in the head. Portrait
+    of the infant Prince: a way out of the difficulty. The Amir's
+    reflection in the window. The Page boy and the Portrait. The Amir
+    as an Art Critic. The tea tray. Salaams to the King's Portrait. The
+    Amir's toilet. The start on a shooting expedition. Page boys as
+    riders. The mud of Mazar. A make-shift candlestick: the Armenian's
+    comments. The sample case of cigars. The Amir's handwriting. A
+    sunset.
+
+
+The next day I had an awful cold in my head, so that after I had seen
+my patients and had visited the Prince I stayed in. I made a sketch
+of the Armenian, in which he looked precisely like a Salvation Army
+captain. I don't know why, for he certainly had not that look himself.
+Then the Armenian went for a ride. He asked if I wished to go, but I
+said no. I did not feel up to encountering the eccentricities of my
+steed.
+
+I had taken back into service the cook whom I had discharged for
+swindling, and presently he came in. He brought lunch, and I thought I
+might as well eat it as not: it was something to do. I hoped he would
+not speak to me, for I knew if he did I should pour all the fragments
+of languages I had learnt on his head, and then he would say, "Bot
+achcha, Sahib"--"very good, sir." Then I should have sprung up and
+withered him with a look.
+
+He was wise, and did not speak; but he irritated me with his nervous
+servility. One would think that I was violent--I am not. I never kicked
+him, nor threatened to shoot him, or anything. Moreover, I even went so
+far as to tell the Armenian to explain to him, for he could not speak
+English, that I should _not_ tear him into small pieces and grind his
+bones to powder, unless he tried to cheat me again. He pretended to
+smile, but I do not think he believed me.
+
+The roast fowl was tough: but, no, I did not tell him. What was the
+good? There is no satisfaction in saying: "In murgh bisyar sakht ast."
+But if I had flung down my knife and fork with much noise on to my
+plate, turned round on him suddenly--how he would have jumped--and
+said, "Behold! Oh thing, born in iniquity; this fowl is as tough as
+leather." There would have been something satisfying in that; but I did
+not. He would not have understood, and would have said, "Bot achcha,
+Sahib." So I breathed a sigh through my clenched teeth, and ate a
+macaroon.
+
+[Sidenote: Effect of a Cold in the Head.]
+
+I thought I would have a cigarette after tiffin, and I reached to the
+fireplace for a piece of charcoal: of course, I picked it up by the hot
+end, that is just what anyone would do when he had a cold.
+
+Then the Armenian came back from his ride, and, because it was an
+impossibility for me to get any more revolver cartridges, he had been
+firing off my revolver. But that was not all; he must needs add insult
+to injury.
+
+"This revolver is not good," he said.
+
+I asked, with deadly calm, "Perhaps you would be kind enough to explain
+_why_ this revolver is not good?"
+
+"It does not make noise enough," he said.
+
+"If you expect a revolver to make as much noise as a home-made rifle
+that nearly kicks its owner off into space, all I can say is, your
+expectation exceeds your intellect."
+
+But I don't think he followed me in this line of delicate sarcasm,
+because he merely said, "I shot at a crow."
+
+"_Did_ you?" I said; "I hope you apologised."
+
+Then that cook brought some wood for the fire; but he crept cautiously
+to look through the doorway and see if I was quiet before he ventured
+in. I saw him, the villain. I am not a wild beast. Am I a wild beast?
+
+He came in again, and he tried English this time. "Sahib, I want tea?"
+he said, in a trembling voice. The maniac wished to inquire whether _I_
+wanted tea. I thought, "Shall I?--shall I chill his marrow, and make
+his flesh creep?" but I didn't. I merely said "Yes."
+
+My cold disappeared after a day or two, and I made several sketches of
+the infant Prince in my note-book. When the little tunic and busby were
+finished, I borrowed them, and brought them home with me. I buttoned up
+the coat and stuffed it with cotton wool, arranging the sleeves with
+care, and placed the little fur busby in a suitable position. Then
+I set to work to paint them. When I had finished, I painted in the
+little man's face from my sketch-book. It was an odd-looking little
+painting--a man's costume and a baby's face.
+
+I took it to the Durbar and showed it to His Highness. He seemed
+pleased with it, and declared the eyes were exactly like his own. I
+said they were:--in fact, I intended they should be when I was painting
+them. I did another portrait of the little Prince some years afterwards
+that was much more interesting; I must speak of that later.
+
+His Highness, the Amir, could not, of course, spare time to give me
+a sitting every day, so that often a considerable interval elapsed
+between the sittings. However, the portrait gradually progressed
+towards completion.
+
+As a painting, technically speaking, it might have been better: but as
+a likeness it was not at all bad.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Reflection in the Window.]
+
+One day after a sitting, when luncheon was brought, I happened to
+notice His Highness moving his head from side to side. I wondered what
+he was doing; then he turned to me with a smile, and said he saw his
+reflection in the glass of the window, but was surprised to find that
+it did not move as he moved. He could not understand it for a moment.
+Then he saw the explanation. The portrait was standing on its easel in
+the room, and it was the reflection of his effigy, not of himself, that
+he saw. I thought this was a very good sign; it seemed to show that, at
+any rate, I had caught the attitude and general look of the Amir.
+
+After lunch His Highness withdrew, and I put the easel and picture at
+one end of the room and sat down at the far end with a cigar, to take a
+comprehensive look at the thing. It happened to be standing in exactly
+the place where the Amir usually sits. Presently there came running in
+a little Page boy with a message from the Harem serai. He turned to
+the picture at once, and said, "Sahib, Salaam aleicoum." Then he saw
+what he had done, for everyone laughed. He seemed very much taken aback
+and ran out of the room.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir as an Art Critic.]
+
+His Highness often gave me the benefit of his criticisms, and although
+he did not profess to be a painter, his remarks were so redolent
+of common sense, that they were well worth listening to. A painter
+staring at his picture, day after day as it grows under his hand, may
+completely overlook faults that are obvious even to an untrained eye.
+Hence, I always listened to the Amir's remarks with interest. He could
+tell me when a thing struck him as in some way not true, though he
+could not tell me exactly what was wrong, nor in what way to remedy
+the defect. These I puzzled out for myself. As an example: he said one
+day that the paint had become rubbed, showing the canvas through, and
+he pointed to the spot--on the end of the nose. It was not the paint
+rubbed off, but I had put a touch of high light on the spot indicated,
+and the Amir's remark showed me that my "high light" was too white and
+too strong, or it would never have caught his eye. I altered it.
+
+Another day, looking at the picture, he said it needed something, he
+hardly knew what. Suddenly, he sent a Page off to another room and
+the boy returned with a Russian tea-tray which had a picture on it--a
+gorgeous sunset behind some mountains.
+
+"Bibin," said the Amir, "See! something like that is needed."
+
+I was nonplussed for a moment: the tea-tray was too awful for words.
+Then I saw what His Highness meant.
+
+"Sahib! shuma rast megoyed," I said, in admiration. "Sir! you speak
+truly. I will remedy the fault."
+
+In a few minutes I had put in a shadow behind the head, which threw
+it up wonderfully. I had not noticed, till the Amir pointed it out,
+that the head had rather the look of being cut out and stuck on the
+canvas. His Highness saw there was a want of harmony somewhere, and his
+tea-tray showed me where.
+
+It will be understood, therefore, that when the last sitting was
+given and the last touch made, I felt a certain amount of--nervous
+excitement, while I was waiting for His Highness's dictum.
+
+The portrait was placed in a good light. His Highness called for a
+large mirror, which was placed by the side of it, and he sat for some
+time comparing his reflection in the glass with the picture.
+
+Presently he said that the only fault he could find was that I had,
+perhaps, given a little too much colour to the cheeks. He said he had
+that colour when he was younger, but that now he was forty-six (this
+was in 1890), and his face struck him as being somewhat paler. This did
+not take long to remedy, and it was shown him again.
+
+"Darust! darust!" said he--"Right!" and the only fault now was that
+the picture did not speak! He told me that Her Majesty, our Queen, had
+sent him a photograph of himself, but that, in his opinion, it was
+not good: that such a likeness as the one I had painted had never
+before been seen in Afghanistan. This I thought to be quite likely,
+and yet not be very great praise. Altogether, he was, without doubt,
+pleased with the portrait. As regards my own opinion: the technique or
+handling was very amateurish, not that it mattered very much, for no
+one knew any more about "technique" than I did. It was like the Amir,
+certainly; but I often wondered afterwards how I could have painted a
+strong head so weakly. The only explanation I had was that the diffused
+light--reflections from white walls and snow--were factors that I ought
+to have considered more, and in some way or other guarded against.
+
+When the portrait was brought to my house to be varnished, there
+happened to be a crowd of patients outside, and several people,
+soldiers and townsfolk, waiting inside for treatment. The picture was
+escorted by a guard of soldiers: the crowds outside murmured "Salaam
+aleicoum!" as a lane was made for the procession to enter; those inside
+sprang to their feet and salaamed also.
+
+A message came, ostensibly from the Sultana, that the portrait was to
+be conveyed to the Harem for her to see.
+
+The Armenian, with a boldness that surprised me, refused to allow it
+to leave the house unless a written order from "Amir Sahib" could be
+produced--none arrived. Possibly, this may have been a test on the part
+of the Amir to see what I should do: for he guards his personal dignity
+with jealous care.
+
+[Sidenote: The Start on a Shooting Expedition.]
+
+When the last sitting was over we had lunch at the Palace, and I was
+informed that, afterwards, His Highness intended to go out shooting.
+Accordingly, when lunch (or breakfast) was over the Amir's shooting
+costume was brought by the Chamberlain and Pages. The Amir's toilet is
+generally a more or less public function, and I was not required to
+withdraw. The coat was of olive-green cloth, lined and trimmed with
+astrakhan, and ornamented like a Hussar's coat with gold embroidery and
+shoulder knots. The boots were in the pattern of Russian boots, long
+ones of soft leather that can be wrinkled down: they were made in Kabul.
+
+His Highness's horse was waiting outside, a steady strong-looking nag,
+with a padded saddle and a gold-bedecked bridle. Two other led horses
+were in readiness, each with cloth of gold thrown over the saddle.
+There was a small guard of foot-soldiers and several mounted men. One
+carried the Amir's rifle; another a lance and shield--why, I do not
+know; another, the chillim or hubble-bubble, the vase of which was in a
+leather case slung to the saddle. This was for the use of the suite, as
+the Amir rarely, if ever, smokes the chillim, and only occasionally a
+cigarette. There were several Page boys mounted: they were good riders,
+keeping their seat chiefly by balance. Like most boys, they were rather
+reckless, and were ready enough to exhibit their skill for the benefit
+of onlookers.
+
+His Highness came from the Palace. The guard saluted, a stool was
+placed, and His Highness mounted; the bystanders murmuring "Kairi
+Allah!" just as he reached the saddle.
+
+It was a pretty sight seeing them all start, for the day was bright and
+sunny: it had been pouring with rain all the day before.
+
+The Armenian and I went for a ride also, but we did not see His
+Highness. The mud! In some of the narrow lanes, where the sun shone for
+only a few minutes in the day, it was like floundering through a bog,
+and you came every now and again to a seemingly bottomless hole--you
+did not know there was one till you were in it. Out on the plains it
+was all right; the sun had dried the surface hard.
+
+We took "the rifle" with us, but did not get a shot at anything. I
+proposed shooting at a horse that was grazing, just outside the city,
+on the scrubby grass that the rain had brought up, but the Armenian
+seemed to think there was just an off chance that I might hit it, and
+if so I should have to disemburse lucre for same.
+
+In the evening I was sitting comfortably on the ground in front of the
+fire, leaning against an inverted chair. I found I was safer so: my
+chairs were portable ones, and sometimes shut up when it was neither
+necessary nor desirable. The one reliable one had never recovered after
+Hakim Abdur Rashid sat on it. On a box at my elbow I had two nice
+tallow candles, one in a brass candlestick and one in a bottle, and
+I was peacefully smoking and trying to learn Persian. Quite suddenly
+the Armenian pounced on one of my candles, the one in the bottle, and
+hurried it out of sight.
+
+"Hullo!" I said, "what's up?"
+
+"Sir, nothing up, but somebody coming."
+
+"You need not take my light if they are."
+
+"Oh, sir!" he said, reproachfully, "you King's doctor, and people see
+you have candle in bottle! Shame come for you!"
+
+"Where does the shame come in?" I asked.
+
+"Sir, you not know: men of Afghanistan very fool men, a little they
+talk if they see."
+
+[Sidenote: The Sample Case of Cigars.]
+
+The arrival turned out to be a messenger from the Palace with a letter
+and a parcel from His Highness. The parcel was a sample case of cigars,
+and the letter, in the Amir's handwriting, directed me to smoke and
+choose: I was to let His Highness know which were the best, and he
+would order a supply of them.
+
+The Amir's writing is peculiar. He uses a steel pen, not the native
+reed pen: like many other illustrious men, he cannot be considered a
+good penman.
+
+The next day was dull and rainy, but we had a glorious sunset. The
+sky, in its depth, was a perfect blue, which grew fainter and faded to
+primrose as it neared the mountains half hid in the piled up clouds.
+The summits, huge and rugged, had torn through the layers of cloud
+and shone red in the sun: their bold and rigid outlines, casting deep
+purple shadows, were cut off from the calm of the sky by the heavy
+clouds piled up behind them. These great masses, though seemingly
+almost as solid as rock, had softer outlines than the rugged peaks, and
+they showed great billowy waves of red light and deep shadow. Below
+the peaks the clouds hung in drawn-out layers, the lights and shadows
+becoming lost in grey and brown: lower, all was lost in a depth of
+deep purple blue, which mingled with the rich green brown of the
+darkened and foreshortened treeless plain. Sharp against all this depth
+of purple and green were the leafless branches and myriad branchlets of
+the trees of Mazar, red gold in the sun.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE LEVEE ON NEW YEAR'S DAY.
+
+    The Mahomedan New Year's Eve. Presents. The "Izzat" medal. Coinage
+    of Afghanistan: Rupees: Pice: the "Tilla." Levee on New Year's
+    Day. The guests: Maleks and Governors: The British Agent. Presents
+    to the Amir. The Levee as a picture. Lunch. Chess as played in
+    Afghanistan. The great rider among men: his fall. The Amir as a
+    Pathologist. The steam-engine pony: his paces: his wickedness.
+    Sight-seeing with the Princes. The Temple of Mazar. The booths at
+    the entrance to the Temple. The Park of Mazar. Native music. The
+    Afghan dance. The wrestling contests: Turkoman _v._ Mazari. Kabuli
+    wrestling.
+
+
+March 21st is the Mahomedan New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve one of
+the Chief Secretaries was announced. He entered, accompanied by some
+servants carrying two trays with cloths over them. After the usual
+salutations the Secretary gave me a letter. It was from His Highness
+requesting my acceptance of the accompanying presents.
+
+[Sidenote: The "Izzat" Medal.]
+
+The cloths were lifted and I found that His Highness had conferred
+upon me the gold Afghan Medal of Honour and had presented me with five
+thousand rupees.
+
+The medal was for the work I had done among the sick during the past
+year, and the rupees for the portrait.
+
+From the Sultana was a gold English lever hunting watch and chain, and
+six or seven yards of stuff, the prevailing tint of which was Indian
+red, but which was so woven with gold threads that it seemed red gold.
+I heard that the medal was unique: it was the only one of the kind that
+had been struck.
+
+I do not think I have said anything about the coinage of Afghanistan.
+The ordinary medium of exchange is the rupee. It is a smaller coin
+than the kaldar, or Indian rupee, being about the size of a shilling.
+Nominally, it is worth twelve annas, though there is no such coin as an
+anna in circulation. A half rupee is called a kran. The copper coins
+in circulation are called pice. Five pice go to the anna. There are
+sixty or more pice in a rupee, according to the exchange, which can
+always be found out by reference to the money-changers in the bazaars.
+Formerly the coins were struck by hand. Quite recently His Highness
+has established a minting machine in Kabul. I think the new rupee is
+scarcely as artistic as the old: it is Europeanized, and it is said to
+be worth an anna less. Pice, too, are now being made in the minting
+machine. The Amir is introducing the new rupee into circulation by
+paying the soldiers of his army with that coin.
+
+There is no gold Afghan coin in circulation, though the Bokhara
+"Tilla," worth about twelve shillings, is current. Many of the richer
+Afghans hoard their wealth, and for this purpose they buy Bokhara
+Tillas, or bar gold, from the alluvial deposits of the Oxus.
+
+[Sidenote: The Levee on New Year's Day.]
+
+On New Year's day, "Nau Roz," the Amir held a Levee in the Palace
+Gardens. I went about ten o'clock.
+
+His Highness wore a white uniform, and over his shoulders was thrown
+a dark green cloak, slightly embroidered with gold. He wore the otter
+skin busby and diamond star that I painted in the portrait. He looked
+very handsome.
+
+Every one was as gorgeous as he could make himself; some looked
+uncommonly well; a few ridiculous.
+
+There was a great awning of crimson and white, supported on eleven
+masts. Under it were seated, in rows--or rather kneeling, for they were
+in the presence of the King--the Maliks and Governors of neighbouring
+villages and towns, who had come to salaam His Highness. These were
+almost all dressed in native costumes, with turbans.
+
+The Guard, who had new uniforms, were in line, and the people of the
+Court were grouped about near His Highness, who was seated in an
+arm-chair.
+
+I had a chair to the right of His Highness the Amir, and somewhat
+behind him. The rest stood or sat on the ground. The Armenian stood
+behind my chair. The day was cold and the sky grey. I was dressed
+in European costume with an overcoat, on the left breast of which
+the Armenian had with great pride fixed the medal. He wanted me to
+wear the watch and chain outside as well. As there was no sun I wore
+an astrakhan hat of the Royal shape which had been presented to me.
+Bands with European and native instruments played alternately. Tea was
+brought to everyone by the servants, and I had a cigar. Then came cakes
+and sweets. A special tray was brought to His Highness, and he was kind
+enough to send me some from it, otherwise after my first bow and his
+enquiry after my health, I did not occupy much of his attention.
+
+Col. Attaullah Khan, the British Agent, who is a very tall fine man, a
+Punjabi, came escorted by his guard, and attended by his native Doctor
+and his Secretary, the highly educated Munshi Amin Ullah.
+
+He made his salaam, and was invited to sit on the Amir's left, on the
+ground. The Secretary and Doctor were seated away under the awning.
+
+Then presents were brought and laid at His Highness's feet. He seemed
+just to glance at them, and they were taken away. There were all kinds
+of things, the cost depending upon the wealth of the giver: silk
+handkerchiefs, brass work, lamps, vases, fruit, crockery; but what
+interested me most were the products of the Government workshops in
+Mazar--rifles, swords, saddles, boots, sun helmets, and two tables of
+carved wood uncommonly well made, and looking as though they came from
+Europe.
+
+As a picture, the whole scene was brilliant with colour; and the grey
+sky, with the delicate pink and white of the blossoms covering the
+trees and the faint green of the just budding leaves, made a very sweet
+and harmonious background.
+
+Presently the Amir's portrait was brought out and exhibited. Afterwards
+breakfast (or lunch) was brought. His Highness's table was placed in
+front of him, and a little one was brought for me. The rest had theirs
+on the ground, as usual. The chief cook waited upon me. After breakfast
+a copper ewer and basin (aftabah and chillimchi) were taken to the
+chief guests, and they washed their hands.
+
+For the others long narrow damp towels, each reaching from end to end
+of a row of guests, were passed along, so that a dozen or more could
+wipe their hands at the same moment.
+
+After another cigar I rose, made my bow, and retired, much to the
+Armenian's disgust. I think I was the first to go. Many people asked
+to look at my medal, and the Commander-in-Chief, who was some little
+distance from me, gave a congratulatory smile and bow as he touched his
+breast.
+
+I got home about half-past two; some sick people were brought, and
+after a cup of tea I set to work again.
+
+[Sidenote: The Game of Chess.]
+
+In the evening I played chess. I had been playing with different
+people, and had always been beaten. I determined, therefore, to play
+the Armenian. He knew the moves, and we sat down to a game. We played
+rapidly, and he grew very excited. He muttered in Pushtu, or shouted
+in a mixture of Hindustani, Persian, and English. He swooped with his
+Wazir or Queen, and cried "Kisht! check!" I took his Queen with a Pawn,
+at which he was indignant: he said it was not fair, and he wanted his
+Queen back. I began to doubt if he would ever make, so to speak, a good
+player; he was too impulsive: he swooped and slaughtered right and
+left. We had one game where in the end we had nothing left but a King
+and a Pawn each: then he took my Pawn. I told him the game was drawn,
+because I saw he would get across and have a Castle before I could stop
+him; but he said--No, he had won. I appealed to the onlookers, and they
+said politely, "Undoubtedly the game is drawn." However, I consented to
+a compromise, and allowed it to be drawn in his favour.
+
+Chess as played in Afghanistan is slightly different from chess as
+played in England.
+
+In the first move, the Pawn goes only one square. The Queen is called
+the "Wazir," or Prime Minister, and stands on the King's _right_. The
+Bishop is called the "Fil," or Elephant. The Knight is called "Asp,"
+or Horse, or sometimes the "Sowar," that is "Rider," or Knight. The
+Castle is called the "Rookh," and is supposed to be a Redoubt or Fort.
+Sometimes it is called the "Top," or Cannon. There is some slight
+difference in the castling, though I forget exactly what, otherwise,
+the pieces have the same moves as in England.
+
+My "fool-horse"--the fighter, with tooth and nail (that is to say,
+hoof)--developed "cracked heels." This was unfortunate, for I knew
+nothing about horse doctoring, and he got into the habit of stumbling
+and coming down on his nose. Twice did I remain on under these
+circumstances, and proudly I said to the Armenian,
+
+"Behold, now! I am as a great rider among men."
+
+"Yes, sir?" said the Armenian, "I think it you fall off."
+
+But, alas! Pride cometh, then cometh the fall. Then next time he came
+down I went over his head. There was a sentence I had to learn in my
+Persian lesson that day that seemed appropriate, it was:--"Ba zamin
+uftad, Ustoghonash rez rez shud," which means, "He fell to the earth
+and his bones were broken to pieces." Not that mine were, but they
+might have been. I seemed, as it were, to have lost confidence in my
+horse, and I said to the Armenian, "This must not occur again; see to
+it."
+
+"Sir! what _I_ do?" he asked.
+
+"Sell him, or shoot him."
+
+But he said No; he would report the matter to Amir Sahib at the next
+Durbar.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir as a Pathologist.]
+
+Tuesday arrived and we went to the Durbar. After I had saluted
+His Highness, and was seated, a case of epilepsy was brought. His
+Highness described to me the symptoms the man was exhibiting, told
+me the Persian name of the disease, and gave his own views as to
+the pathology. He told me the old books said, that a man in this
+condition was possessed by the Devil, "Shaitan;" but, that this was,
+of course, absurd. He went on to say that he considered the disease
+was due to an organism--probably, animal--having found its way into
+the ventricles of the brain: the irritation caused by its presence
+culminating in a nervous explosion; the outward signs of which were a
+convulsive seizure, a thrusting forward of the tongue, spasm of the
+jaws, a foaming at the mouth, and insensibility. He said, he wished to
+administer a native medicine, but, at the same time, I was to give such
+European drugs as I thought suitable for the case.
+
+I asked, then, if some wooden stethoscopes might be made for the
+Hindustani assistants, as neither of them possessed one. I had been
+giving them some instructions, and had been holding classes in the
+evening for the compounders. I found there was not a great deal I could
+teach the Priest compounder "Hafiz." He was very well up in his work,
+and was an intelligent man, the only one I could really rely on in an
+operation.
+
+Then the Armenian considered that the time had come to speak about the
+horse, and he waxed eloquent.
+
+His Highness said, "Why ride a horse so dangerous; I have many horses."
+
+He told me he had a black horse, a remarkable animal, whose speed
+was like that of a steam-engine. This he would send for. It had been
+coveted by many of the Courtiers: one wanted it for his son, another
+for himself; but His Highness would not give it to anyone. I had never
+seen it. The horse was sent for. I pictured a lovely creature, like
+an Arab, with a small head, slender limbs, and broad chest. Judge of
+my surprise when I beheld a black shaggy pony, all mane and tail. I
+thought within myself: "They are playing it low down upon the stranger
+within their gates."
+
+But, at a sign from the Amir, the head-groom mounted and off the pony
+started. He did not gallop, canter, trot, nor walk: he simply "skated"
+over the ground at terrific speed. They said he could keep the pace up
+for thirty miles without stopping, and could travel from Mazar to Kabul
+in four days!
+
+Hence, if one found it necessary to move from one place to another
+hurriedly, this horse seemed likely to be invaluable.
+
+His Highness said that as this horse was not beautiful I was to choose
+two other horses, handsome and swift. The pony I was to keep at my
+house, and the other two should be kept in his own stable, and when I
+needed them I was to send for them.
+
+That black pony was uncanny. An evil spirit--several evil
+spirits--possessed him. The first thing he did, when we got him home,
+was to deliberately untie his halter, walk off to the "fool horse,"
+though he was only about half his size, and fight him. He went so
+quietly and seemed so gentle--just at first: but he was a fiend. They
+fought furiously, striking, kicking, and tearing at each other with
+their teeth. If we had not succeeded in separating them the "fool
+horse" would have been killed.
+
+[Sidenote: The "Steam-engine" Pony.]
+
+Shortly after that, and without any hurry, he slipped his head out of
+his headstall and walked off to a horse belonging to the Armenian, a
+young one he had lately bought to trade with in Kabul. The young one
+was frightened, and the "Steam-engine," seeing it was an adversary not
+worthy of his steel--or teeth--merely nipped him in the neck and walked
+back again.
+
+The next day I rode him to the Hospital. The Armenian was riding a
+grey--a cross between an Arab and a Kataghani, a swift animal--and
+one of the compounders was on the "fool horse," who stumbled. When
+we got through the bazaars I gave the pony his head, and off he
+skated. I leant back and occupied myself in hanging on. He kept the
+grey at a gallop all the way to the Hospital: about a quarter of an
+hour afterwards the compounder arrived on the "fool horse." I saw my
+patients, cut off a man's thumb at the wrist, then we skated back again.
+
+One afternoon, it was in April, as I was coming back from seeing a
+patient, I met the two little Princes, Hafiz Ullah and Amin Ullah,
+who were aged respectively about nine and three. They were in their
+palanquins, and there was a guard of about thirty soldiers. As the sun
+was hot, a large umbrella was held over each Prince.
+
+I pulled up my horse and saluted, and the elder of the two Princes
+asked if I would not accompany them. The Armenian and I, therefore,
+turned our horses and rode with them. I wondered where we were going.
+
+We marched through the streets and bazaars, the guard flourishing their
+almond sticks to clear people out of the way, till we reached the gates
+leading into the grounds around the Temple or Mosque of Mazar.
+
+Here the Armenian and I dismounted, and I walked by the side of the
+elder Prince's palanquin: the Armenian came behind. The Prince's
+Kaffir Page boys were there, his tutor, and other young men, officers
+of his household. I had never been so near the Mosque before. They
+say it is about two hundred years old. It is truly Oriental in style,
+with cupola, pierced stone (lattice work) windows, and minarets. The
+blue-stone--or porcelain--bricks of which it is built are of different
+tints, the contrasting tints being arranged in patterns. In the
+immediate grounds, or square, of the Temple, were a number of shops, or
+booths, where they sold handkerchiefs, porcelain articles, and strings
+of beads, or rosaries. In the front of each shop was an awning of rush
+matting, supported on two poles. The sun shone brilliantly, and in the
+distance the mountains glimmered shadowy blue in the heated air. The
+crowds of people, and the shopkeepers, salaamed as the Princes went by.
+We marched through and on into the Park of Mazar--the Chahar Bagh. The
+park is about a mile in width each way. We went along the paths under
+the trees till we reached a large open space, where I found there
+was to be a wrestling contest. At one end of the space was a mound or
+platform, about six feet above the level. On it were spread carpets;
+and supported on poles was a brilliantly-coloured awning to keep off
+the glare of the sun.
+
+[Sidenote: The Spectators at the Wrestling-match.]
+
+There were two chairs for the Princes and a chair was given to me. The
+guard was arranged round, the Page boys stood in a line behind us, and
+the others, including the Armenian and the tutor, were seated on the
+ground.
+
+The tutor was a smart young fellow, very polished in manner, who used
+to cheat at cards in the most amusing and barefaced way. I had met
+him before. Around the open space were crowds of spectators, all in
+national costume: most of them with white turbans, long loose coats
+of various colours, and white, baggy pyjamas, tight at the ankle. The
+front ranks were seated, cross-legged, on the ground; behind them were
+rows standing. The ground sloped upwards for about three feet, so
+that all could see. Forming a background were the trees, all covered
+with green, for the summer comes rapidly in Turkestan; the roses were
+blooming in April.
+
+First, the band played. The musicians stood in the centre, their
+musical instruments being drums and pipes, or flageolets. The latter
+were large, black instruments, bound with brass, and with a tone not
+unlike that of the bagpipes.
+
+They played an Afghan tune, most quaint to my ear, and the drums beat
+rhythmically, but with a rhythm quite different from anything I had
+heard in Europe.
+
+Then there came forward about thirty Afghan soldiers, belonging to an
+artillery regiment. They were to dance an Afghan dance. Their dress
+was the usual costume of the Pathan soldier--the conical cap and small
+turban, white vest hanging loose over the white pyjamas, and a short
+jacket. The Princes, by the way, both wore military uniforms and belts,
+with gem-bedecked buckles, and astrakhan hats of the Royal shape. The
+tutor wore a plain grey tunic and an astrakhan hat of a different
+shape. I sported a turban, for I was afraid of the sun, and the turban
+is an excellent protection to the head. The Kaffir Pages had grey
+tunics and trousers and soft grey felt hats. The Princes and their
+suite therefore were European in dress.
+
+The thirty soldiers formed a ring round the musicians; the drums beat
+a sort of slow march, and the dancers walked slowly round singing a
+chant in falsetto--one-half sang a verse, the other half answered.
+Presently the pipes began their shrill wailing, and the dancers moved
+faster, with a step something like a mazurka. Quicker and quicker grew
+the music, and quicker and quicker the dance: turbans and shoes were
+tossed off without a pause. The circle widened and lessened at regular
+intervals, and arms were waved and hands clapped simultaneously. The
+dancers became excited, uttering at intervals a sharp cry. Still
+continuing the mazurka step, every dancer at each momentary pause in
+the music whirled round on his toes to the right, then to the left.
+Some were, of course, more graceful than others. One in particular, I
+noticed--a huge man with a short black beard, and long wavy black hair
+parted on one side; he was a most enthusiastic and graceful dancer. It
+was a curiously stirring sight. One could imagine fiery Afghans worked
+up to a pitch of excitement almost approaching frenzy. In time the
+dancers became exhausted, and dropped off one by one.
+
+[Sidenote: Wrestling: Turkoman v. Mazari.]
+
+Then came a dance by about a dozen boys, aged about thirteen or
+fourteen; they wore their hair long, and were dressed as girls. I was
+not interested. Their dancing was not to be compared with, though it
+somewhat resembled, that of the European ballet.
+
+When the dances were over, tea was brought to us under the awning, and
+then the wrestling commenced. This was excellent.
+
+First came Turkoman soldiers matched against Mazaris. They were
+barefooted, and wore the small skull cap of the Turkoman, short cotton
+breeches, and long loose coat unfastened.
+
+A pair advanced and took their stand a few paces apart, near the
+Prince's platform. They watched each other a moment, then warily sidled
+round. Suddenly one rushed forward and they closed, each seizing the
+other by the collar and elbow. Rarely could a wrestler manage to get
+both his arms under those of his opponent: when he did, the bout was
+over in a moment. By collar and elbow each tried to twist the other off
+his feet or trip him. It was necessary to throw the opponent, so that
+he should be flat on his back on the ground. Often there was a long
+writhing struggle when they both were down, till one could disengage.
+Some of the bouts grew very exciting, but the Turkomans invariably
+came off winners, they were so immensely strong, with such Herculean
+muscles. The Mazaris showed plenty of pluck and endurance, but they
+were no match for the Turkomans. Finally, seeing that the Mazaris were
+out-matched, the elder Prince pitted the Turkomans one against the
+other. The men were not very keen upon wrestling their comrades.
+
+There happened to be two Turkomans of enormous size; the biggest men
+I ever saw. It would have been folly for anyone there to stand up to
+either of them, and the Prince, after some persuasion, induced them to
+have a bout together.
+
+They stood up--great giants--and walking deliberately up to one another
+they grappled. There was no sudden movement. It was a sheer trial of
+strength. At the end of the first round neither had any advantage.
+After that they got warmed to their work, and each grew a little
+jealous of the other. They commenced now in good earnest, and what
+had gone before was play to what came after. The knotted muscles, the
+clenched jaw, and the distended veins showed the enormous strain of
+the mighty heaves. At last, with a supreme effort, one threw the other
+backwards, and, like the fall of two great oaks, the giants came to the
+ground together.
+
+[Sidenote: Kabuli Wrestling.]
+
+Then came the Kabulis, who wrestled stripped except for a cincture
+round the waist. Theirs was a more complicated style than that of the
+Turkomans: they seemed in excellent training.
+
+One Kabuli, a well-built fellow, threw man after man who came forward,
+though each was a practised wrestler. He had wonderful powers of
+endurance. The last man but one who came against him was a strong young
+fellow. He heaved the champion off the ground, carried him a step or
+two and tried to fling him down. He might as well have tried to fling
+a tiger down. How it came about I could not tell, they were so locked
+and writhing, but in a second or two the champion was on his feet and
+the young man down. These men belonged to the artillery regiment that
+had danced.
+
+During the wrestling, when the spectators became excited, and a popular
+champion was in the ring, they shouted for success or groaned for
+failure nearly as much as Englishmen would have done.
+
+Then came the distribution of prizes. To the successful wrestlers the
+Prince gave Turkoman coats of brilliant colours--such as the Oriental
+loves.
+
+While the sports were going on the Commander-in-Chief and some Officers
+arrived. They saluted the Princes and bowed to me; but they would not
+sit on the ground while I had a chair. In the presence of the Amir
+they had, at first, been greatly offended at sitting lower than I, and
+had made some remark on the subject after I had left: they received,
+however, such a severe reprimand from His Highness that they never
+repeated it.
+
+When the sun began to set the air became cool, and the Princes rose
+and took their departure. I accompanied their Highnesses, leaving the
+Commander-in-Chief and the Officers in the Park.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE YOUNG PRINCES.
+
+    Infant Prince as the Sultana's Deputy. Reception by the Prince:
+    the pavilion: the procession: the guard: costume: presents. Visit
+    to Prince Hafiz Ullah: his house: conversation: presents. The
+    wrestling again. Her Majesty's photograph. Lunch with the Prince in
+    the Palace Gardens. The "Royal manner." The third day's wrestling.
+    The mother of Prince Hafiz Ullah. A drawing of the Prince.
+    Adventure with the fat General: his officiousness: the after effect
+    on certain patients: his bullying: the after effect on himself.
+    The power of the Amir's name. The Amir as a Consulting Surgeon.
+    The Fast of Ramazan: effect of the Fast. Overdose of tobacco:
+    wailing. The Evening Durbar: His Highness's remarks: danger if a
+    King fasts: "Marazan." The Durbar as a picture. The "Pig" incident
+    and the explanation. The surgical operation: attempted vendetta:
+    the result: the old lady's sympathy. Flowers in the Palace. The
+    Usbak's artistic design: the Amir's criticism. The Amir's diary.
+    The present of sugar. Official notice of return march to Kabul. The
+    "Cracker." End of Ramazan. Preparations for the Exodus. The guard
+    of Amazons.
+
+
+On the following day, after I had finished my work, I heard that the
+infant Prince, Mahomed Omer, was leaving the Harem Serai, where he had
+been living since his recovery from the vaccination, to take possession
+of a house that had been freshly prepared for him. I sent to enquire
+if he would receive me that afternoon. This may seem a great deal
+of ceremony when a baby is the principal personage, but as a matter
+of fact it was really paying a ceremonial visit to the Sultana. She
+being a Mussulman, of course did not give audience to anyone: her
+son received for her. At the time of which I write the baby Prince
+certainly took precedence of his brothers, the Princes Hafiz Ullah and
+Amin Ullah, who were in Turkestan; but whether he now takes precedence
+of his two eldest brothers, Habibullah and Nasrullah, I cannot say.
+
+[Sidenote: Reception by the Infant Prince.]
+
+I was informed that the Prince would receive me. I started accompanied
+by the Armenian. The house was near the Harem Serai.
+
+We were first shown into an outer garden, containing a house
+in which lived my small friend Mahomed Omer, son of the Deputy
+Commander-in-Chief in Kabul. Mahomed Omer was the infant Prince's
+"Commander-in-Chief." He was dressed in scarlet and gold, and
+marshalling the Kaffir Page boys in military order, he fancied himself
+quite a soldier. From this garden a screened doorway led into an inner
+and larger garden, the Prince's. In this were two adjoining pavilions,
+or summer-houses, one larger and the other smaller. They were open
+and airy, without doors or window sashes, and were carpeted, and
+hung with crimson and white. The larger pavilion had about a dozen
+chairs arranged against the wall: there was no other furniture. It was
+apparently a waiting-room, or perhaps a reception-room for visitors of
+lower rank. As no one had arrived I sat there with the Armenian.
+
+Presently we heard a trumpet, and a few minutes after the hoarse voice
+of an officer as he shouted some word of command.
+
+The Armenian said,
+
+"Shahzada, Sahib, meaiyad." "The Prince is coming."
+
+First entered the Kaffir Pages, marshalled by Mahomed Omer, then came
+the Prince, carried in the arms of the old Hakim Abdul Wahid--the only
+Hakim in the country, so the Amir used to say, who was really learned.
+Then came three of the nurses: the young one I have spoken of and
+two older ones. These were brought from the Harem Serai in a covered
+palanquin: after them two or three officials in uniform, whose faces
+I recognized, though in what capacity they served I did not know; and
+lastly, the guard of a hundred soldiers.
+
+I came outside the larger pavilion to receive the Prince, and followed
+him into the smaller one. In this was a couch covered with silk and
+supported on silvered legs, modelled in the shape of conventional or
+heraldic birds. There was a child's high chair of carved oak with a
+tapestry seat in the room, and a small table with ornaments on it in
+the corner.
+
+The Prince was placed in the chair, and he sat upright like a little
+man nine months old. He wore a tunic of gold-embroidered silk, white
+pyjamas and astrakhan hat, of the royal shape. In his hand he had a
+gold rattle.
+
+A chair was placed for me, and the others stood or sat on the ground.
+After the usual courteous enquiries and some conversation, in which,
+of course, Hakim Abdul Wahid was the Prince's deputy, a large tray
+of sweetmeats with loaves of sugar was placed at my feet. I do not
+quite know the significance of this custom: I know it is symbolical,
+and I think to symbolize the wish of the host that his guest's future
+existence, in this world and the next, may be filled with sweet
+emotions. By and bye, little Prince Amin Ullah arrived, accompanied
+by his tutor, but with very little State, compared with that of his
+brother.
+
+[Sidenote: Visit to Prince Hafiz Ullah.]
+
+After the inevitable tea, I took leave of their Highnesses and
+departed. On the way home, I saw the tutor of Prince Hafiz Ullah at the
+window of his Prince's house. He smiled and beckoned me to come in.
+There was a sentry at the door, and the Armenian and I went in. The
+house was not so good as that of the Baby Prince, nor was it as good as
+mine.
+
+Prince Hafiz Ullah was seated on the ground on a leopard skin, and as
+there were no chairs I also sat on the ground on a sort of mattress.
+The Armenian went off to my house, which was quite near, for some
+cigarettes, and I stayed with the Prince for about an hour and a-half,
+till the heat of the afternoon was less. His Highness courteously
+said that I was not a servant in Afghanistan, but his friend and his
+brother. He asked if I would go again with him to the park to see the
+wrestling, as the sports were not over.
+
+As this was my first visit to little Hafiz Ullah Khan, he asked me
+to accept a present: a leather pocket-book, a pocket-knife, and a
+walking-stick, the best he had.
+
+I have often been somewhat surprised at the inability of most Afghans
+to distinguish a genuine article from an imitation. Merchants make a
+harvest in the country, by taking advantage of this want of knowledge.
+
+At half-past four we started for the park. The wrestling and dancing
+were a repetition of the exhibition of the day before. The Turkomans
+still carried all before them. They were not all such hugely tall
+men, though they were all excessively muscular. There were no Kabuli
+wrestlers this day, but, as I happened to say I thought the Kabulis
+were specially good wrestlers, the Prince gave orders for a display of
+Kabuli wrestling for the morrow.
+
+We got home at half-past seven in the evening, and I sent some
+photographs to the Prince--I had nothing else to give him--one of our
+Queen, one of the Prince of Wales, and two or three more that I had.
+He was pleased, as he is fond of pictures, and he was particularly
+interested in the portraits of the Queen and Prince of Wales.
+
+The next day was Friday, the Sabbath, and the Prince sent me an
+invitation to lunch with him in the Palace Gardens. His Highness, the
+Amir, was away out on the plains shooting, and there was no garden
+attached to the Prince's house. Two soldiers came to escort me--not
+with fixed bayonets, for I was not a prisoner, at any rate, not
+nominally, though perhaps actually; for the position was, with all its
+interest, not very far removed from honourable confinement.
+
+The sun shone brilliantly, and we sat under the almond trees. The
+Prince, in native costume, sat on a sort of divan with carpet and
+cushions. I had a chair and table. The tutor and others were there,
+and the guards were posted around under the trees. I smoked cigarettes
+and talked. It was very pleasant, surrounded as we were by flowers and
+grass, and there were so many trees that we seemed almost in the heart
+of a wood. I actually saw the Prince laugh!--for the first time. He was
+a dignified and polished little man, and has, the Amir says--with one
+other son--the "Royal manner."
+
+At one o'clock lunch was brought.
+
+Afterwards the Prince asked if I would accompany him to the Chahar
+Bagh, to see the sports again. I said I should enjoy doing so, and he
+went away with his tutor to be attired in "purple and fine linen," or
+in other words, in European military dress. They were some time gone,
+and I wandered about under the trees by myself.
+
+When the Prince returned we started. Being the Sabbath there were a
+greater number of spectators than on the previous occasions. So much
+time was taken up in finding suitable Mazaris to oppose the muscular
+Turkomans, that there was no opportunity for the Kabuli wrestlers
+to come into the ring. Otherwise the dancing and wrestling were a
+repetition of the former days.
+
+[Sidenote: The Mother of Prince Hafiz Ullah.]
+
+When we got home the Prince sent me some oranges, and a Russian knife,
+fork, and spoon, in a case, and a Turkestan cap embroidered with
+gold, worked by his mother. This lady, a wife of His Highness's, is
+from Kaffristan. She is said to be one of the most beautiful women in
+the country, and is called, on account of her perfect pink and white
+complexion, "The Pomegranate Flower."
+
+I made a careful pencil drawing of the Prince one day. He is a
+fair-haired little fellow, with good features and dark eyes. It was a
+pretty picture, and I heard that His Highness was very pleased. The
+Sultana, they said, was not so well pleased: the Prince is not her son.
+
+About this time, it was in April, I had some trouble with one of the
+Generals, a fat man--not that I object to fat men unless they interfere
+with me--with a voice like that of a full-grown bull. This fat man
+attempted to bully me.
+
+I reached the Hospital that morning at ten a.m., having seen thirty or
+forty patients at my own place first. General M---- A---- Khan, who was
+visiting the Hospital, enquired why I did not come earlier. I politely
+explained that I was seeing patients at my own house. He said I ought
+to come to the Hospital first, and attend to the others afterwards.
+I was surprised and somewhat annoyed, and looking him in the face, I
+said--
+
+"Chira?" "Why?" He let the matter drop.
+
+We then went into the different wards, or rooms, where the patients
+were, and he said that such and such men had been in the Hospital for
+so long, why did I not cure them and send them out. I said--
+
+"Because their disease does not admit of cure," and added, through the
+Interpreter, "Tell him he can take that, and that, and that man away,
+if he likes."
+
+I had no intention of being cruel to the men; speaking in English it
+did not strike me they would understand, though of course they did when
+it was interpreted. They seemed to give up hope at once. One shut his
+eyes and died the same day, another the next. I could, at first, hardly
+believe the report when I heard it: then I cursed that fat man.
+
+When we had gone the round of the patients we came out into the garden.
+There he stood, this man, surrounded by his staff, and he commenced to
+take me to task. He said I was to give the patients _good_ medicine
+and see that I cured them--one had Bright's disease, another advanced
+Phthisis, and so on! and was continuing his tirade, when it struck me
+quite suddenly--for I am a mild man--that I was being ill-treated. At
+once I thirsted for his blood with a dreadful thirst--the effect of the
+climate probably--and I desired greatly to assault him with fire arms
+or with steel. Fortunately, I had neither at hand, or the situation
+might have become complicated. The Persian I had learnt went back on
+me, as it were, and I had to speak English.
+
+[Sidenote: The Power of the Amir's Name.]
+
+"Does this son of a pig, whose ancestors were pigs for many
+generations; this iniquitous mass of vileness, with much body and
+little brain, does he----;" but this was enough for the Armenian, he
+guessed at the rest, and he turned on the General.
+
+In vituperation--for volume of sound and rapidity of words--I never met
+the Armenian's equal. I have heard talk of the ladies of Billingsgate,
+and I should like to put one in the ring with the Armenian.
+
+It grew alarming. I thought so, and so did the General. He backed and
+looked exceedingly uncomfortable. He tried feebly to stem the torrent:
+he might as well have tried to stop the Kabul river when swollen by the
+melting snows. Then he essayed the playful, he smiled an apologetic
+smile and offered me a rose: and still the Armenian foamed:--The
+whole matter should come before Amir Sahib, he was the only master in
+Afghanistan; if he had a complaint let him bring it then, and so on.
+Many times the General tried to speak, to explain, to remonstrate, but
+straight ahead went the Armenian, never pausing one moment. At last the
+General thought he had better go, and he went.
+
+He had not escaped yet: a letter from the Armenian followed him. In
+it he was solemnly warned never to attempt that sort of thing again
+(he never did), that a European will not bear it, and that this
+particular European would proceed at once, on the slightest attempt at
+a repetition of the offence, to "very much kick and blow."
+
+At the next Durbar the General happened to be standing not very far
+from my chair, and the Armenian said to him--
+
+"The English doctor wishes to speak to Amir Sahib about that little
+affair at the Hospital."
+
+The General said, "For God sake don't let him. I am not his master; I
+am his slave, his dog, his anything!"
+
+So the matter ended.
+
+While the Amir was out shooting on the plains, one of the Page boys
+was thrown from his horse and the inner end of his collar-bone was
+dislocated upwards. His Highness on seeing the displacement said there
+was no need to send for the English doctor.
+
+"Bandages," he said, "are useless. Leave it alone." He was quite right.
+
+On April the 22nd, began the Mahomedan fast, "Ramazan." They fast for a
+month, neither eating, drinking, nor smoking during the day. Directly
+the twilight commences, however, that is when they can just no longer
+distinguish a white from a black thread, they commence, and go on
+pretty much all night.
+
+Fortunately, the year had been very cool; cloudy, windy, and rainy, so
+that there was much less sickness than usual in the month. Generally
+both during and after Ramazan there is a great prevalence of fever
+and bowel complaints. The first thing an Afghan does, when he breaks
+his fast in the evening, is to light the chillim and fill his lungs
+with tobacco smoke. It is a tremendously big dose, and often produces
+serious consequences, such as giddiness, vomiting, and insensibility.
+During the fast they brought a man to me one evening on a charpoy. He
+was a great big fellow, and they said he was insensible from smoking.
+He was dead. The dose of tobacco he had taken had been too much for
+his heart. As soon as I said he was dead, the brother and the other
+soldiers who had brought him were greatly upset. They wailed and wept
+aloud.
+
+[Sidenote: The Evening Durbar.]
+
+The first Durbar I went to after His Highness's return from his
+shooting expedition on the plains was during the month of Ramazan. The
+Durbar was, of necessity, held in the evening, at seven o'clock, and,
+the weather being fine, it was held outside the Palace, in the gardens.
+
+For some reason or other His Highness, I could tell, was pleased
+with me. For instance, in addressing me, he used a familiar form of
+expression, such as one uses to a friend. He said, it was quite a long
+time since he had seen me. He enquired if the Hindustani assistants
+were working well, and congratulated himself that the year was cool and
+healthy compared with the last. He said he himself did not fast during
+Ramazan: that there were duties a King owed to his people, for when a
+man fasts he has not that control over himself and his temper that a
+King, with life and death in his hands, should have. He said, "Ramazan"
+should be called "Marazan."--"Maraz" meaning "disease."
+
+Then the Armenian brought forward two or three people on whom I had
+had to operate for "stone," and exhibited them with much pride. His
+Highness was pleased, and gave presents to the patients. One, I
+remember, received a horse and a hundred rupees.
+
+The Durbar was one of the most striking and picturesque sights I have
+seen. The background was formed by the deep shadows of the trees:
+under a brilliantly coloured awning, lit up by a multitude of lamps,
+sat some two hundred officers, in every kind of uniform, resplendent
+with gold embroidery; and at intervals, around the awning and Palace,
+stood an Afghan soldier in native costume, holding a blazing torch in
+one hand and an oil flask in the other, and the gleam from the torches
+on the billowy masses of leaf gave those soft touches of light in the
+background which prevent it being heavy.
+
+We had dinner somewhat early, as the men had been fasting all day. When
+we got home the Armenian gave an explanation as to why the Amir was so
+particularly charming. It was this:--During the shooting expedition,
+a great deal of wild pig had been killed, and the chief Cook sent a
+messenger to enquire whether I would have roast pork for dinner. I was
+highly indignant, thinking, that as the pig is unclean, an insult was
+intended. I ordered the messenger to be thrashed--he was the bearer
+of evil tidings--and threatened direful things if such a message were
+repeated. The Sultana then sent for the Armenian and enquired if I
+would not like a young pig or two, and whether it were not a fact that
+Christians ate pig.
+
+The Armenian said that Christians were indeed allowed by their
+religion to do so; but that neither Christian Priests nor Christian
+Doctors ever suffered anything unclean to pass their lips!!
+
+[Sidenote: The Attempted Vendetta: the Result.]
+
+The same evening a man was brought on a charpoy suffering great pain
+from a "strangulated hernia." To save his life it was necessary to
+operate that night. He was moved to the Hospital, where all the
+instruments were, and I did the operation by the light of two or three
+tallow candles. The next morning the brother of the patient was lying
+in wait for me at the Hospital with several large knives, seeking to
+slay me. He said I had killed his brother!
+
+"On the contrary," I explained, "I have saved his life."
+
+Then the Armenian came forward in all his strength.
+
+"Harem Zada!" he shouted, "thou base-born scoundrel, thy _Father_ could
+not speak in the Sahib's presence!" and he laid his stick across the
+man's shoulders with such vigour and energy that presently he broke
+it. He then flung the pieces at him and told him to "get"--"Birau" in
+Persian. He "got" accordingly.
+
+Coming back from the Hospital we met an old lady walking. She was well
+dressed but wore no veil. I knew her very well to speak to, but who she
+was I didn't quite know. I had heard that she was nurse to the Amir
+when he was a child. She seemed equally at home in the Harem and in the
+Durbar. The Armenian related the incident at the Hospital, and she was
+suitably indignant and sympathetic. Perhaps she did not treat me with
+that profound respect one would think was the due of a distinguished
+Foreigner, for she called me "Buchcha," "Youngster"!!! I overlooked
+it; for the opportunity of speaking to a lady was rare, and I enjoyed
+it in direct proportion to its rarity.
+
+The next Durbar evening during Ramazan was cold and showery. His
+Highness sat at the window of the Palace. I was invited inside. The
+scent was sweet from great clusters of roses arranged in vases. After
+dinner (we had two kinds of ice pudding, among other things) an Usbak
+was ushered in, bringing a design he had drawn on paper for a wall
+decoration--flowers and leaves treated conventionally.
+
+His Highness examined the design and said it was not bad and it was not
+good. This just about expressed my own opinion. The drawing was good
+but the colours were gaudy and clashed with one another. His Highness
+said he had some work of that kind done by a Kabuli which he would show
+me, and he sent for it.
+
+It was an illuminated Manuscript book, and the cover inside and out was
+painted with flowers and birds treated decoratively. It was beautiful.
+The drawing was excellent; the colouring was quite harmonious, and the
+balance of each design was, to my eye, perfect. I said I had never
+seen anything of the kind better. The book itself, I was told, was His
+Highness's diary.
+
+During the evening some presents were laid at His Highness's feet.
+Among them were two huge loaves of white sugar, about 20 lbs. each.
+These he directed to be given to me. Knowing something about the
+meaning of the custom, I was very pleased.
+
+Before we left, His Highness said that shortly after the termination of
+Ramazan we should leave Mazar for Kabul.
+
+His Highness had promised me leave of absence for some months after his
+arrival in Kabul, and when I got home that night I grew enthusiastic
+in my description to the Armenian of the wonders and sights of London.
+After talking some time, I said I had seen a man seize the back of a
+chair with his teeth, hold it out straight, and put another on the top
+of it. The Armenian was not to be outdone. He said he had seen a man
+take a charpoy--a bedstead--balance it on one leg on the tip of his
+tongue, and then dance! He also described to me a curious European
+sweetmeat that he had met with in his travels.
+
+"I saw him in Lahore," he said. "Like this you catch him, tear him up,
+and he is call 'Bang'!"
+
+I concluded that he wished to describe the ordinary Christmas cracker.
+
+[Sidenote: End of Ramazan.]
+
+On the evening of May 20th the fast of Ramazan was over, and a certain
+number of guns were fired. The next day was a Festival. It was
+intensely hot, and His Highness held a Reception in the Palace Gardens.
+Wishing to lay a present before him, for those I ordered from London
+had not arrived, I painted a portrait of myself, which His Highness
+was pleased to accept. He sent me some apricots from his own plate by
+Malek, the favourite Page boy.
+
+In the course of the morning the infant Prince, Mahomed Omer, was
+brought to the Reception. His Page boys, of whom there were a dozen
+or more, were dressed in _Scotch_ dress with kilts and white solar
+helmets. Everyone stood as the little Prince was carried up to the
+Amir. This caught my attention at the time, for it was not usual for
+all to stand when the other two little Princes entered.
+
+When I left I went on to the gardens of the Harem Serai to pay a
+complimentary visit to the Sultana. Here a tray full of sweetmeats and
+sugar was laid at my feet, and the Armenian took care it should be
+conveyed to my house and promptly devoured.
+
+A day or two after the termination of the Fast, I saw my neighbour
+opposite, the Mirza Abdur Rashid, superintending the packing of some of
+His Highness's valuables--diamonds, shawls, and furs, for transport to
+Kabul. Accordingly, I gave orders at the Hospital to pack up certain of
+the drugs and instruments; those that I needed. Some were left for the
+use of the Hindustani who was to remain behind and attend to the sick
+of the regiments which were to garrison Mazar.
+
+The Armenian then set to work to pack all my household belongings,
+including the carpets; and he obtained from His Highness the necessary
+orders for pack-horses, both for my baggage and the Hospital stores.
+
+On the 24th of May I heard cannon firing; on that day the troops
+marched out of Mazar to camp on the plains, on the first stage to
+Kabul. I endeavoured to ride to the Hospital to attend the sick, but
+every road was so crowded with loaded camels, pack-horses, and mules,
+that there was no way of getting there, and I had to return. The same
+day the Amir sent me a beautiful little bay horse to share with the
+"Steam-engine" pony the labour of carrying me to Kabul.
+
+[Sidenote: The Guard of Amazons.]
+
+A fortnight after the troops had marched out on to the plains, the
+Sultana with the other ladies of the Harem left Mazar. They started
+soon after daybreak. Their guard consisted not only of a body of
+the Amir's soldiers, but of a regiment of mounted Amazons, some two
+hundred, the female slaves and servants of the Harem. These rode on
+men's saddles, were veiled, and wore on the head, over the veil, solar
+helmets, or felt hats. Each was armed with a sabre and a carbine. A
+syce, or groom, was told off to look after each three horses.
+
+Two days afterwards His Highness and the Court, including myself,
+started on the journey. We saw little or nothing of the Harem and
+guard, for they kept two days' march ahead of the main body during the
+whole journey.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+THE RETURN JOURNEY TO KABUL.
+
+    Loading up: the start. The first camp. Tropical heat: the
+    whirlwind. The Amir's khirgar. Scanty rations. Midnight marching.
+    The numbers on the march. Dangers in the pitchy darkness. Fever.
+    Stopped on the road. The hut: impure water: sleep by the road
+    side. The scream. Daybreak. The second camp. Lost on the plains.
+    Naibabad: the rain. The march to Tash Kurghan. A sketch of
+    the Khulm Pass. Sight seeing from the house tops. The Durbar.
+    Punishment of the unjust townsfolk. The Amir's health. The eclipse
+    of the sun. On the march again: the dust: jammed in the valleys.
+    Ghuzniguk. An Afghan "Good Samaritan." A poisonous sting: the
+    Amir's remedy. A block on the road: dangers of by-paths in mountain
+    and valley. The tiger valley. A drink of milk. The dust. Haibuk.
+    Adventure with the elephant: the somnolent Afghan. The aqueduct.
+    Discomforts of a camp in an orchard.
+
+
+It was June 13th when we started. The Armenian and I were up before
+daybreak superintending the loading up of the medical stores and my
+own baggage. We hoped to get well on the march before the heat of the
+day commenced, but the men, from want of practice, were so slow and
+clumsy in loading the pack-horses, that our start was delayed till nine
+o'clock. It was then getting very hot.
+
+[Sidenote: Tropical Heat: the Whirlwind.]
+
+The first march was short, and soon after midday we reached the camping
+ground on the plains, some few miles out of Mazar. I had thought my
+first ride over these plains when I came to Mazar was a hot one; that
+was in May--this was in June!
+
+I dismounted and stood in the sun while some of the servants commenced
+unloading the horses, and others attempted to put up my tent. They
+were Asiatics, in their native climate: I was a Londoner, and I raised
+my sun helmet every minute or two, hoping to catch a little breeze on
+my head, but there was not the slightest breath. After standing some
+time, I began to wonder, in an abstract way, which would give out
+first--the heart or the nervous system--that is to say, whether it
+would be a faint or a sun-stroke. The Armenian, seeing my distress,
+brought me the portable iron chair that the fat Hakim had ruined, but
+I found one might as well seek rest on the bars of the kitchen grate
+when a dinner is in process of preparation. I therefore stood up
+again--suddenly.
+
+"When, oh, when, will they get my tent up?" I asked of my secret soul.
+Receiving no answer, I begged the Armenian to hurry the men, calling
+his attention to the fact that I was a European, "very soft man likes
+flower, and heat is hurt it." At last the tent was up, and thankfully I
+staggered into its welcome shade.
+
+"Great Scott!" I gasped, "carry me out." For the tent, put up on the
+red-hot plain at midday, felt like a baker's oven on Good Friday eve. I
+have never been in a baker's oven on Good Friday eve, but I know what
+it is like.
+
+They did not carry me out, but the Armenian brought me a charpoy, also
+burning hot. I lay quite still on it, simmered gently, and waited for
+death.
+
+At last, it must have been after several years, I fancy, a wind came:
+it was a scorching one; there was no "healing in its breath," and
+I dried up still more. Then a whirlwind and a pillar of dust came
+sweeping across the camp, tearing out the tent-pegs and overturning
+the tents in its course. This roused me, and I crawled to the door
+of the tent to see if the Amir's wigwam had escaped. His Highness
+was not in a tent, but in a khirgar that had been prepared some days
+before. It was interlaced with shrubs; and water had been brought, with
+considerable trouble, in a trench or stream from Mazar. Men outside the
+khirgar were constantly throwing up the water with wooden shovels on to
+the leafy covering. The khirgar had escaped the whirlwind.
+
+The Armenian went off to try and get me something to drink or eat,
+for we had had no breakfast. All that the chief of the Commissariat
+Department could give him was a small piece of bread. He begged us
+not to inform His Highness, and promised that everything should be in
+readiness the next day. After a search, the Armenian discovered that
+my rascally cook had concealed some mutton in a dirty cloth: this he
+brought me, with some brown-looking snow water, and a little whiskey
+from the medical stores. I ate, drank, and was thankful.
+
+At four in the afternoon a piece of ice arrived--the ice is saved from
+the winter in ice pits--and half an hour afterwards the Amir sent me
+some ice pudding, which I devoured rapidly before it all became water.
+At five came dinner, but then I was at one mind with the Armenian: he
+said, "My wish is not I eat: very much drink I take it."
+
+At seven in the evening the troops marched off again, for the Amir had
+decided to travel at midnight to escape the heat. There were a great
+many of us: the Court, the Harem, the army, and the baggage of us all.
+For some time before, notice had been given to the towns and villages
+on the route to lay in stores of grain and firewood, and to gather in
+their flocks from the mountains. There were of us about eight thousand
+men, ten thousand horses, three thousand camels, and three or four
+elephants.
+
+[Sidenote: Midnight Marching: Stopped on the Road.]
+
+When the troops had gone my men commenced loading up the pack-horses
+again. They took three hours over it, and many of the packs fastened up
+in the dark slipped and fell after we started: this necessitated a halt
+each time to reload. I was not in a cheerful state, either of mind or
+body, for the heat had been too much for me. I had fever rather badly,
+and was aching in every bone.
+
+It was pitch dark; I could not see my horse's head nor my own hand
+held up. Before we got out of the camp on to the road I heard a
+pack-horse that had broken loose tearing about like a mad thing. We
+could tell where he was by the clattering of his chain. Once, in the
+darkness, he rushed close by me. I was convinced he would charge into
+some one, probably me, because no one could set my leg when it was
+broken. However, we got on to the road at last: we could tell it by the
+different ring of the horses' hoofs.
+
+The baggage slipped and a pack tumbled off so frequently, that at last
+I had not patience to wait with the baggage men while they loaded up
+again, and the Armenian and I rode on accompanied by a soldier. I had
+operated on this man some time before; he therefore politely came two
+days' journey with me.
+
+We had not ridden very far when suddenly out of the darkness came the
+challenge in Pushtu,
+
+"Su-ke?" "Who goes there?"
+
+It was a sentry with orders to allow no one to pass till the Amir had
+gone by!
+
+"When is he going?" I enquired.
+
+"Khuda medanad!" "God knows!" was the answer.
+
+This was cheerful; and I said a great deal in English. There we sat in
+the dark: we couldn't go on, for the man would not let us. The annoying
+part was that his General, who had a tent somewhere near, was that very
+man who tried to bully me in the Hospital. I said to the Armenian,
+
+"Tell him to report to the fat scoundrel who I am." The man then
+shouted to someone whom we could not see to take the report. After some
+minutes, word was brought back that the General was asleep!
+
+"Wake the devil, then!" I shouted, for I was burning and aching with
+fever, and we had been waiting already half an hour. They did not dare
+to, they said. The sentry communed within himself, and presently said
+that, as I had attended him in a severe illness and had given him good
+medicine and made him well, he would therefore risk punishment for
+my sake and let me pass. He hesitated about letting the Armenian and
+soldier go by too, but finally yielded, on its being explained to him
+how impossible it was for me to travel alone. I never heard that he was
+punished.
+
+We rode on again, and on for four hours, and I had to hang on to the
+pommel of the saddle. At last, after trying to moisten parched lips
+with a dried-up tongue, I said to the Armenian:--
+
+"Look here! You will have to make some different arrangements from
+this. I can't stand it. It is all very well for you fellows: you are as
+hard as nails and are used to it. I am not."
+
+"Sir, I very sorry. What _I_ do."
+
+"I don't know. You must do something; or else I must appeal to the
+Amir."
+
+[Sidenote: The Hut: Impure Water.]
+
+I was miserable, and, like a child, struck at the nearest. The Armenian
+asked if I would lie down and sleep for an hour, for, as far as he
+could judge, we had come only about half-way. A little further on we
+saw something darker than the sky, and riding up we made out that it
+was a hut, a little way off the road. We could hear a trickle of water,
+and by feeling around found a ditch or irrigation channel, or something
+of the sort--we couldn't see what--near the hut. With feverish haste I
+dismounted, scooped up three or four cupfuls and gulped it down. "Here
+go the microbes," I thought. I drank knowingly; who would not? burning
+with fever, in a tropical heat: but that drink nearly cost me my life.
+However, the "microbes" lay low for a few days. The Armenian then went
+off to the hut and hammered at the door. After some time he roused the
+inmates, and we heard them moving and speaking. Presently the door
+opened, and a Turkoman, with a lamp in his hand, appeared.
+
+The Armenian told him to light a fire at once and make some tea, as
+there was a Sirdar of the Court outside with fever. Very soon the tea
+was brought, and I drank several cupfuls of the hot liquid. Then I took
+off my spurs and helmet, and lying on the ground by the stream, put my
+revolver wrapped in a cloak under my head, went off into a heavy sleep.
+
+By-and-bye I heard a cock crow, and dimly saw that the moon had risen.
+Later on, I was dreamily conscious of a trampling, and trampling, and
+an incessant neighing. I remember thinking how wearisome it was, that
+incessant neighing.
+
+Suddenly there was a terrific scream, and I was broad awake in a
+moment. I found, in the dim light of dawn, that several other people
+had stopped where we had, and were sleeping. Two of their horses had
+got loose from their tether ropes, and were reared upright striking at
+one another.
+
+The Armenian and I were close under them, and he was still sound asleep.
+
+I woke him, and we sprang up. A little way off was the soldier holding
+our horses. We mounted, while the others tried to separate the
+screaming and fighting stallions by shouting and throwing sticks and
+stones at them.
+
+It was four o'clock, and we heard the larks singing overhead. Along the
+road an incessant stream of baggage-horses was passing, trampling and
+neighing. We had come a great deal more than half-way, for we did not
+have far to go before we reached the camp. After half an hour or so my
+tent and baggage turned up.
+
+It was Gur-i-Mar where we camped: we had travelled slowly in the
+darkness. The Amir, riding on horseback, arrived with his guard soon
+after dawn, but it was hours before the stream of pack-horses and
+camels and elephants had come in.
+
+I had breakfast as soon as the tent was up: cold mutton, biscuit, and
+tea, and then lay on the ground with a pillow, and went to sleep again.
+The fever had disappeared. Towards midday it grew frightfully hot, but
+I did not suffer so much, for my tent was put up in the early morning
+over cool ground.
+
+In the afternoon the hot winds blew again, and we had a violent dust
+storm. We did not have the difficulty in procuring food that we had had
+the day before, and I received also a fair supply of ice.
+
+While the hot winds blew, the rim of the glass I drank out of, though
+containing iced water, was quite hot to the lips. I slept a good deal
+during the day. At one in the morning I was called, and I dressed by
+the light of a candle. When I got outside I found the men were loading
+up. We started about three a.m. His Highness, I found, had gone on. It
+was excessively dark, and the Armenian and I got off the road and lost
+our way on the plains. We rode on trusting to our horses, but they were
+as much at fault as we. We wandered about, down in hollows and up on
+ridges, for the plain here was undulating, like downs. We were in the
+neighbourhood of the Abadu Pass--the valley of death.
+
+It seemed to me we were getting too far to the left, so we branched
+to the right. Towards dawn it became very windy and dusty. At four
+o'clock it became lighter and lighter, and the larks began to sing,
+and after some trouble we found our way back to the road. To my great
+relief the sky was cloudy, and the morning comparatively cool. I had
+tucked a biscuit in the top of my boot, and I munched it with great
+satisfaction: the Armenian nearly went to sleep on horseback. We camped
+at Naibabad. Soon after the tents were up it began to rain: it was
+delicious to hear the water come pattering down.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir Lost on the Plains.]
+
+I found we were not the only ones who had lost their way. At dawn the
+Amir himself, with his guard, was found wandering off towards Russia.
+
+That day my demoniacal black pony untied his ropes with his fore foot
+and teeth, and walked off. He was not found till late in the afternoon,
+when he was brought in looking a miserable wreck.
+
+The fourth day was windy and comparatively cool. We started at five
+a.m. His Highness rode in a palanquin at the head of the army, and I
+rode level some distance to the right. The mountains lay to the right
+of us, the south, for we were nearing Tash Kurghan: to the north was
+the plain, and the dust was frightful. We arrived at Tash Kurghan at
+eight. We went very short stages, for when I had come to Mazar with Jan
+Mahomed Khan, we did the journey from Tash Kurghan to Mazar in the day.
+
+I sat in the tent of one of the Chamberlains, and the Page boys came
+and chatted and drank tea with me. They none of them seemed any the
+worse for the journey. At eleven o'clock I went to my own tent, which
+was erected on a mound outside the town, near the tent of the British
+Agent. A good many sick people were brought: some with fever and other
+illnesses, another with snake bite. The snake had bitten two men,
+the first one died, but the other recovered. There were a good many
+surgical cases, too, chiefly from horse kicks: broken legs, internal
+injuries, and crushed fingers were the commonest. I turned in at eight
+p.m.
+
+We stayed the whole of the next day at Tash Kurghan. I was awakened
+at six in the morning by the bugles, and after breakfast, finding I
+had a good view of the Khulm Pass, I made a careful sketch. One or two
+people called upon me, and then, after dressing suitably, I mounted
+the little bay horse the Amir had sent me, and rode off to salaam His
+Highness.
+
+[Sidenote: The Durbar: The Amir's Health.]
+
+The town seemed very lively and full, compared with what it did when
+I first came through with Jan Mahomed. Gay-coated Courtiers and Page
+boys were riding about, and soldiers were marching here and there. The
+townspeople sat on their walls and stood on their housetops to see the
+sights.
+
+His Highness was occupying a large house in the town. He was very
+gracious when I made my bow, but did not look at all well.
+
+While I was there, the chief townsmen brought presents to His Highness.
+There was a good deal of talking, to which I did not pay much
+attention, till I noticed that His Highness became angry. Presently,
+the men who had brought presents were taken outside and thrashed
+severely. I was somewhat astonished, and possibly looked so, for His
+Highness turned to me and explained why he had ordered the men to
+be thrashed. A report had reached him, which he found on enquiry to
+be true, that these men had extorted gifts from those poorer than
+themselves, and had laid them before him as their own.
+
+After lunch I asked His Highness if he were feeling quite well. He said
+no: the sudden alteration in his habits, and the heat of the journey,
+had upset him. He seemed pleased that I had asked.
+
+I left the Durbar soon after lunch to see a man who had been seriously
+injured on the march. He had a broken leg: a frightful smash it was:
+compound and comminuted. While I was on the way there, at three p.m., I
+noticed an extraordinary darkness or twilight coming over everything.
+The horses and other animals seemed frightened, and made curious
+noises. I glanced up and found we had a total eclipse of the sun. This
+was on June 17th, 1890. Everyone was very alarmed, imagining that the
+eclipse betokened some serious calamity, either to the King or the
+Country.
+
+I was up at four the next morning, for the Armenian wanted my breakfast
+over, so that the tent could be packed as soon as possible. I had some
+cold meat and bread, which my cook had wrapped in a piece of paper
+overnight--this kept it from becoming disagreeably dry. Plates, knives,
+and forks were packed, and, in lieu thereof, I used my pocket-knife and
+fingers. The baggage was loaded up while I breakfasted: my tent being
+left till last.
+
+His Highness started at five, and we an hour afterwards. I had no
+adventures this day worth recounting. We were among the mountains
+again: winding-paths, ravines and bridges being the predominant
+features. There were so many thousands on the march together that
+divers discomforts arose. First, the dust was choking, making the eyes
+and throat smart. Then "blocks" occurred, and we got jammed in some of
+the passes. Under these circumstances the horses at once begin kicking
+and fighting, and you have to look out for your shins. I had to stop by
+the wayside frequently to bandage up some unfortunate who had become
+damaged. I carried bandages and one or two splints with me.
+
+We got into a series of valleys, and in one, which was regularly
+cup-shaped, with precipitous mountains around it, we were jammed for
+about an hour. It was quite an experience sitting in the dust and heat
+among the kicking horses. However, there is an end to most things if
+you wait long enough, and we got out of the valley eventually. At ten
+a.m. we arrived at the valley of Ghuzniguk, where Ishak fought against
+the Amir's soldiers. His Highness himself, I heard, was not present at
+the battle: his illness prevented him leaving Kabul. Here we camped.
+
+[Sidenote: An Afghan "Good Samaritan."]
+
+When I rode into the town I saw the tent of my neighbour, the Mirza
+Abdur Rashid, already erected, and as my baggage had not yet arrived
+I dismounted and entered it. It was empty, and I lay on the carpet to
+rest. A soldier, whom I did not recognize, brought me a pillow, some
+iced water, and a piece of bread. I thanked him, and when I had eaten
+and drank I lay down again: he stood and fanned me, whereat I was
+thankful, till finally I fell asleep. I woke by-and-bye and found the
+kindly Afghan had departed. I was sitting cross-legged, leaning against
+the pillow, with a look of pensive melancholy on, when the Mirza and
+some others entered. After shaking hands we sat down again, and the
+Mirza said,
+
+"Doctor Sahib bisyar manda shud." "The Doctor Sahib is very tired."
+
+I could not admit this before the others, and I broke out into Persian:
+"Ne manda na shudam--gurisna shudam." "Nay, I am not tired, I am
+hungry."
+
+In those days I so rarely would attempt to talk Persian that they
+laughed; and I had used the colloquial Afghan-Persian _gurisna_ instead
+of the correct _gursina_. A tray of cold meat cut up into cubes, and
+some bread, was brought, and we helped ourselves with our fingers.
+
+In the afternoon the Armenian sent word that my tent was up, and I
+went off there and slept again for a couple of hours. After that the
+Armenian suggested my using his tent one day and my own the next, so
+that a tent could be sent on beforehand and made ready by the time I
+arrived. Dinner came, as usual, from His Highness's cook, and I turned
+in at eight. The Armenian and the servants slept on the ground outside
+the tent.
+
+[Sidenote: The Poisonous Sting.]
+
+The next morning, June 19th, I turned out at three, and had breakfast
+at four o'clock: it was dawn. Soon after, I was sent for to see a man
+who had been stung in the night by something or other. What it was
+I couldn't quite make out, for the Armenian's knowledge of English
+names was limited. He described a creature with many legs attached to
+a central body. I suggested a "crab." He said he thought that might
+be it; on consideration I thought it hardly likely: and centipede and
+poisonous spider occurred to me. Whatever it were, the patient was in a
+state of "collapse." Perspiration stood on his face, he had a weak slow
+pulse, headache, and burning pains in the limbs. I was about to give
+medicine and port wine when His Highness came riding by on a trotting
+camel, followed by his guard on horseback. Seeing a group around a man
+on the ground, and me in the middle of it, he stopped to enquire what
+was the matter. They carried the man to him and explained. The Amir
+asked a few questions about the symptoms: whether the man's eyeballs
+ached, and whether he sweated. When he heard that the skin was acting
+he turned to me and said:--
+
+"Inshallah, jour meshowad." "If God will, he will become well."
+
+He told me he had a native medicine, an excellent remedy for poisonous
+stings: this he was about to administer: if it were not effectual he
+would wish me to give European medicine. He gave an order in Persian
+to one of the attendants, who presently brought him a little inlaid
+box. His Highness unbuttoned his coat and took a small key which was
+hanging by a chain round his neck. He opened the box and took out a
+little egg-shaped casket of gold, and from that a stone. He directed a
+little of the stone to be scraped off, mixed with water, and laid on
+the wound. This stone, I was informed, was from the gall bladder of an
+antelope. Then he rode on, and by-and-bye I followed. The man was to
+stop at Ghuzniguk that day and be brought on in the evening. I left two
+or three doses of medicine and some wine, in case they were needed.
+
+That day's march was pleasant: being among fields of clover and corn,
+it was refreshing to the eye, and there was very little dust. We camped
+at eight a.m. There was a cool breeze blowing all day, and I lay in my
+tent reading Shakespeare and drinking iced-water. The night was cool,
+and to me it felt almost cold. At midnight, I was called up to see
+the man who had been stung: they had brought him on. He was certainly
+better, but had retention, and I passed an instrument. The men looking
+after him had thought they would be on the safe side, and they gave
+him all the medicine and wine I had left, in addition to applying His
+Highness's remedy.
+
+I went to bed again for two or three hours, and then got up and had
+breakfast. We started at five. Hitherto, I had been riding the black
+pony, "Steam-engine," but this day, as I heard the road was good, and
+through valleys, I rode the young bay horse His Highness had given me.
+I found the road was not all valley.
+
+[Sidenote: Dangers of By-paths.]
+
+We reached a ravine where the road branched into two. One branch ran to
+the left of the ravine, the other wound up the face of the mountain to
+the right. When the Armenian and I arrived at the division, we found
+there was a block on the left road, and, therefore, took the one on the
+right. We had got some distance up when a block occurred here also.
+The Armenian, who was leading, at once took a little by-path which ran
+along the edge, a little below the main road, and I followed. I did not
+like it. Looking directly down I could see the bottom of the ravine,
+and on the other side, down below, I could see the other road crowded
+with cavalry and baggage-horses, indiscriminately mixed. Imagine
+yourself riding along the sill of your bedroom window on a young
+untried horse, and you will get an idea of what I am trying to explain.
+The path was barely three feet wide. The situation in itself was
+unpleasant, and I did not know how my horse would behave in mountain
+climbing. Some young horses are frightened, and instead of keeping
+their attention fixed on what is before them, they look about--mine
+did, and neighed when he saw the horses below--slip, become frightened,
+plunge and slip more: then--various complications arise.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Suddenly, I saw the Armenian pause a second--he was riding a steady
+old mountain pony--glance up to the road above and put his horse
+straight up the slope. There was a scramble, a scatter of sparks,
+as the hoofs struck the rock, and he was up on the road. I saw why,
+when he was gone, and my turn came. The path ended: rounding off into
+nothing. There was no room to turn back, nor to dismount; I could not
+stay where I was, and I put him at rocky slope. The horse looked up: a
+little touch of the spur, and I grasped his mane with both hands: he
+reared straight up, gave a spring from his hind legs, and in a moment
+was on the slope. I lived a long time in the next few seconds, for it
+flashed into me that, if we ever got up, the crush on the road above
+would leave no room for us, and we must inevitably slip back. But,
+no! he scrambled like a cat, and darting into a gap in the stream of
+baggage-horses, we were safe on the path. I hoped I didn't look very
+sickly: I felt so. Presently, we were able to escape from the stream of
+traffic by riding along a narrow ridge, then we descended a horribly
+steep slope. This, however, was earthy and stony, not bare rock, and it
+afforded a firmer foothold: the bay went down sideways, like a crab.
+In the place where we scrambled up, the rock was rough and somewhat
+irregular. If it had been smooth, this probably would never have been
+written.
+
+Then we got on to a wide road in a valley; presently there was another
+block, and the Armenian turned off the road to the right. I shouted
+angrily,
+
+"Look here! I am not going along any more of your infernal paths.
+I would rather sit in a block for an hour: we are not in such a
+tremendous hurry."
+
+He called back, "Sir! he is all right here."
+
+The ground was broken-up by huge cracks, seven or eight yards wide!
+A man rode out from the crush and looked, then turned his horse back
+and re-entered the crowded road. Away across the broken-up plain we
+could see a road running along the foot of a mountain. It was not very
+crowded, and, after all, we were not on a mountain with only bare rock
+under foot, so we went for it. Scrambling down the cracks or miniature
+ravines, some fourteen or fifteen feet deep, we waded, or rather rode,
+through pools of water, and scrambled up the other side. I don't know
+how many we climbed into and out of--but a good many. The Armenian's
+horse, though a good mountain-climber, was afraid of water, and he
+refused and shied, but had to go. When he was plunging the Armenian's
+turban tumbled off into a pool, but he fished it out and clapped it on
+his head again, wet, and cursed his horse in Persian.
+
+At last we got on to the road at the foot of the mountain, and went
+some distance; but it became excessively stony and rough.
+
+The Armenian said, "He is become worse, you go further."
+
+We, therefore, branched off to the left from the road, and found
+ourselves in a marshy valley. In the mountains, on the left, I saw the
+openings of several caves, and there were waterfalls tumbling down the
+rocks. This valley was infested with tigers, but there were too many
+people about, and too much noise for that to be a danger.
+
+[Sidenote: A Cheap Drink.]
+
+Then we got among cornfields again. Where all the other roads led to I
+don't know, but we found a great many people riding along here, though
+we were not badly crowded. I came alongside of the Page boy who used
+to live next door to me in Mazar, but we lost him again in the crowd.
+We went on and on through villages, where trees and vegetables were
+growing--a refreshing sight after a life in Mazar. Further on, the
+roads apparently converged, for the lanes became more and more crowded
+and more and more dusty, till I was compelled to tie a handkerchief
+over my nose and mouth. In one valley seeing a few cows and goats
+feeding near some huts, we branched off to try and get a drink: the
+peasants brought some milk in a wooden vessel which the Armenian poured
+into my cup and handed to me. He preferred drinking whey, of which the
+peasants had a plentiful supply, for it is a popular drink, but advised
+me not to drink any as it is apt to disagree. We had as much milk and
+whey as we wanted for two pice, that is a little more than a farthing.
+
+Finally, we neared the suburbs of the town of Haibuk. The crush became
+greater and the dust awful. Everyone's hair, beard, eyebrows, and
+eyelashes were white. Those who had started as youths in the morning
+looked grey-haired men, and were hardly recognizable.
+
+The people of the town turned out, and regardless of the dust and the
+heat of the sun--they were used to it, I suppose--sat on their garden
+walls to look at us.
+
+I had another scare: it was in the town. As we were going along we
+saw an elephant in front of us. Horses are generally frightened at
+elephants, but mine went quietly enough, so long as the elephant was
+going away from him, and he could see him; but just before we reached
+the river we passed him. The river is not very wide, perhaps fifteen
+feet, but it has very steep rocky banks. There was a narrow bridge
+across, and the Armenian being ahead of me, leading the way, got
+across at once. Before I reached the bank, a man sitting between the
+packs of a baggage-horse, got on the bridge and went slowly. My horse
+having the elephant behind him plunged furiously, and as the elephant
+advanced, kept shying round, sidling nearer and nearer to the edge of
+the bank. I could not get on to the bridge, because the fool on his
+pack-horse blocked it. The Armenian and others, seeing the danger I was
+in, shouted at the man; he did not hurry: I doubt if he understood.
+When we had got to the very edge of the bank--only just in time, the
+bridge was clear, and my horse darted across. The bridge was a narrow
+affair, about four feet wide, made of trunks of trees and cross-bars,
+with earth levelled on the top. I could not take my horse on till it
+was clear, for I knew he would charge the pack-horse, and the _best_
+I could hope for then would be a leg broken against one of the mule
+trunks. I am a mild man, as I said before, but if I had happened to
+have had a hunting crop in my hand, I would have woke up that somnolent
+Afghan. The whole business did not occupy a minute, not half a minute;
+but when a horse is frightened, I need scarcely say he does not look
+where he is going.
+
+Riding through the town we came to an embankment covered with grass,
+an aqueduct, along the top of which ran a stream of very clear water.
+I dismounted, and sat under the shade of the trees by the stream and
+washed the dust off my head and hands. It was delightfully cool and
+breezy, and there was an excellent view of the fort, a part of the
+town, the mountains, and the river down below.
+
+[Sidenote: Camp in an Orchard.]
+
+The Armenian went on with the servants to find the place where the
+"Quartermaster" had given orders for my tent to be pitched. As I sat
+alone by the stream several people, whom I knew, went by and saluted.
+After about an hour, one of the servants came back to conduct me to
+the tent. We descended the embankment, and rode down a lane leading to
+the river. My tent was in an orchard on the other side. The river was
+rather wide but shallow, and we forded it on our horses. We got into
+the orchard by scrambling through a gap in the wall.
+
+I found there were other tents besides mine in the orchard, and some
+horses were endeavouring to graze. The Armenian ordered the horses out
+and the other tents to be moved further away.
+
+My tent was put up on a mound about six feet high, and I went in and
+sat on the carpet. It was stifling after the breezy hill. The trees
+and high walls of the orchard kept off the breeze without sheltering
+my tent from the sun. There was no view, except of dusty leaves and
+brown earth--the grass was withered. I was tired, thirsty, and hungry;
+there was nothing to drink or eat, and I had no tobacco. I growled at
+everybody who came within reach; and the ants crawled down my neck and
+up my sleeve, and black grasshoppers jumped in my face and walked up
+my back. As soon as the cook arrived, which was some time afterwards,
+he hurried off to the bazaar. He came back in about half an hour with
+two teapots full of tea: I gulped down ten or eleven cupfuls, and then
+made an enjoyable meal off some cold mutton that the cook fished out of
+the baggage; after that I unearthed a cigar from one of the trunks, and
+felt more at peace with the world; for the crawling creatures did not
+sting, though they were disagreeable.
+
+These are the ordinary everyday incidents of a march. As a rule
+one does not find the opportunity to write them down, and they are
+forgotten the next day. I, however, happened to write a letter home
+that evening and I have just copied it.
+
+There was no meat to be obtained in the bazaar, and I gave the Armenian
+four shillings to buy a sheep; for although my meals came from His
+Highness's kitchen, those of the servants and the Armenian did not.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+THE ARRIVAL IN KABUL.
+
+    The Durbar in Haibuk. "Rustom's throne." The ancient caves. The
+    wounded Governor: Kabul dentistry. The Amir and the sketches:
+    His Highness' joke. Another Durbar: the Amir's prescription. The
+    erring Hakim. Courtesy of His Highness. "Microbes." Illness.
+    Elephant riding. A grateful peasant. Dangerous passes. The Durbar
+    at Shush-Burjah: the hot river. Accidents on the "Tooth-Breaker."
+    Akrab-Abad. The quarrel of the cooks: the result. The camp of the
+    camels. A pet dog. Pushed over the edge. Evil results of "temper."
+    Kindness of Amir. A cheap banquet. Coal. Arrival of Englishmen.
+    Durbar at Kalai Kasi. The Amir again as a physician. Approach to
+    Kabul. Reception by the Princes. The "High garden." The Pavilion.
+    Malek the Page. Arrival of the Amir: greeting of the Princes. The
+    Reception. Arrival at the Workshops. Hospitality.
+
+
+We remained in Haibuk for nearly a fortnight, the army being camped
+on the mountain. I sat all day in the stifling tent drinking iced
+water and reading Shakespeare. At intervals during the day, sick and
+injured people were brought and I attended to them. But those wretched
+"microbes" that I had swallowed in my fever on the plains began to work
+their wicked will on me, and I became ill.
+
+[Sidenote: Durbar in Haibuk.]
+
+Four days after we arrived His Highness held a Durbar. After I had seen
+my patients I mounted the bay and rode through the town to where His
+Highness was sitting. This was in a rather large garden attached to a
+house. There were some big trees and a good many flowers in the garden.
+Among the latter, I remember noticing the "Fleur de Lys," or French
+lily. A pond or tank, supplied by an irrigation channel, was in the
+garden, and near it sat His Highness on a couch covered with silk and
+cloth of gold. The couch was shaded by a large red and white awning.
+The Courtiers and Pages stood near, and all around were cornfields. I
+had taken with me a catalogue of revolvers from a London firm (Colt's)
+that His Highness had asked me, with the help of the Armenian, to
+translate. When he had examined the translation he spoke of the city of
+Haibuk, and explained how he intended to fortify it, and how the water
+supply would be ensured. He told me there was a remarkable ancient
+monument near Haibuk, and some ancient caves of considerable interest.
+He advised my riding out to see them, as they were not very far from
+the town. Lunch was brought, and afterwards His Highness gave me a
+plateful of nectarines as big as peaches.
+
+I rode out the next day with the Armenian and some others, to see the
+ancient monument.
+
+[Sidenote: Rustom's Throne.]
+
+I found that a small rocky hill, or spur, at the foot of the mountains,
+had been rounded at the apex into a cupola: the rock all around it
+being cut away as a sort of trench, or moat, some twenty feet deep
+and eight or nine feet across. On the top of the rounded cupola was,
+apparently, a tiny temple, flat-topped, with a doorway on one side
+flanked by pillars, which, to the best of my recollection, were Greek
+in style. We got across the trench, or moat, and were able to examine
+the structure on the top. Apparently, it was cut out of the rock. The
+doorway was cut inwards for about two feet, and ended in flat rock.
+Writing from recollection--it was in 1890 I saw it--I should say the
+"temple" was about seven feet high and five or six feet square at the
+base. The rounded cupola was, perhaps, thirty feet across. This they
+told me was called "Rustom's Throne."
+
+We then went to see the caves, which were near. They opened on the face
+of the mountain. The largest--used then as a storehouse for grain--had
+an entrance level with the ground, and a larger opening some twenty
+feet higher up. It was, therefore, perfectly light inside. The roof
+was domed and ornamented in the middle with a huge sunflower, treated
+decoratively. The same style of decoration was repeated on the walls.
+The other caves were smaller and dark.
+
+I made sketches of the caves, and of Rustom's Throne.
+
+The next morning His Highness sent for me to see the Governor of
+Haibuk, who had been wounded some time before by a bullet through
+the roof of his mouth and upper jaw. After the removal of pieces of
+necrosed bone, I suggested that a gold plate should be fitted into the
+roof of the mouth. His Highness said there was a man in Kabul who had
+been taught by an English dentist, Mr. O'Meara, how to take the model
+of the mouth in wax: he could make a suitable plate, and, if necessary,
+fix on artificial teeth. I was about to retire then, but His Highness
+invited me to stay and drink tea, and a chair was placed for me near
+him. He said he should much like to see my sketch-book, as he had heard
+I had made a drawing of Rustom's Throne. The Armenian at once galloped
+off to my tent to fetch it. His Highness was much amused at some of
+the sketches, particularly of one of the Armenian where he lay on the
+ground in front of the fire--I had drawn it one evening in Mazar. He
+said he looked as though he were--to put it mildly--suffering from
+alcoholic intoxication.
+
+As the Armenian was a Christian, and therefore not forbidden to drink
+alcohol, this mild joke amused everybody except the Armenian, and the
+more ashamed and angry he looked, the more they laughed. Of the other
+sketches His Highness recognized whom they were meant for: but those
+of Rustom's Throne, the caves, and the sketch of the Khulm Pass, His
+Highness admired so exceedingly, that I had to cut them out of the book
+at once and give them to him. That is the reason I have to describe
+Rustom's Throne from memory.
+
+His Highness then showed me a block of very beautiful clear ice, which
+he said had been obtained from a cavern near Haibuk. He asked me to
+take the block away and test its purity.
+
+There was another Durbar on July 1st, and by this time the "microbes"
+had got firm hold of me. I went to the Durbar. His Highness had heard
+that I was ill, and I told him I had not with me the medicine I wished
+to take. His Highness asked, Would I take native medicine if he
+prescribed it? I said I should be most grateful to His Highness if he
+would honour me so far. His Highness gave some directions to a Hakim,
+who presently brought a small jar. The Amir told me it contained a
+medicine he was himself taking. With a little silver spoon he took some
+dark-looking confection out of the jar, made a bolus of it, and gave
+it to me. It tasted hot and very nice. There was no more in the pot,
+and he sent the Hakim away to make some fresh. It was then that my mind
+became troubled within me, for I knew the Hakim loved me not.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Courtesy.]
+
+Presently the jar was brought back, and as they were about to give
+it me, His Highness asked for it. He scooped a little out with the
+spoon, and was raising it to his lips, when the Hakim stopped him and
+whispered in his ear. The Amir turned and looked at him, and the Hakim
+hurried away with a very red face. By-and-bye he returned with the jar.
+Again the Amir took it, and, looking at me, he raised a spoonful to
+his lips and swallowed it. He then gave the jar into the hands of the
+Armenian, who immediately brought it to me.
+
+One need not live in the East to understand the courtesy and kindness
+of the Amir's action; but to appreciate fully the honour he did me, one
+must be conversant with Oriental customs. To taste a medicine before
+handing it to the patient is the duty of an Oriental physician when
+he is attending the King. I was a servant--but also a stranger and a
+guest--and the Amir treated me as though I had been a Prince.
+
+I cannot say whether the medicine would have cured me or not, for in
+two days' time we had to be on the march again: which was bad for me.
+
+Then came a time, the details of which I do not care to recall too
+vividly to my mind, for the "microbes" were just as venomous and wicked
+as if they had been Hindustani Interpreters at the Afghan Court, and
+that is saying much.
+
+Instead of being in bed, I had to jog along on horseback half the day.
+Instead of a sick man's diet, I got a little cold meat and bread when
+and how I could; sometimes after a fast of ten or eleven hours. Under
+these circumstances, of what use could the Amir's or anyone else's
+medicine be?
+
+The first day's march was very beautiful: by the banks of a river which
+ran through cultivated valleys and ravines: and here and there were
+cascades. At the end of the march I was faint, and the Armenian rushed
+off to the medical stores for some brandy. He then sent a report in
+to the Amir, and the next day His Highness kindly sent me his Shikari
+elephant. Riding the elephant was much easier work than horse riding: I
+could take a supply of suitable food, and I picked up again. We started
+at four in the morning, before the others: for an elephant goes slowly,
+and cavalry and baggage-horses shy, and then on the mountains, or in a
+crowd, accidents happen.
+
+I was rocked along through gorges and valleys and villages. In a
+village, if a wall were in the way, the elephant kicked it over with
+his foot, and walked across the garden or orchard, as the case might
+be. We started at two the next morning, for the road was hilly. The
+cavalry horses were still tethered in line, and, as we passed them,
+they struggled and pulled against the foot-ropes to escape the awful
+creature. It was moonlight, and the deep shadows and gleaming rocks
+and peaks were the reality of Dore's fantastic ideas. When we camped,
+patients were brought to me from the villages as well as from the army:
+one peasant who had brought a sick child presented me with a lamb.
+
+The day after--Sunday--we had to make a long detour to avoid a gorge
+that was too narrow for the elephant to get through.
+
+On Monday morning I turned out at half-past four. It felt bitterly
+cold, and I put on an ulster. We waited awhile, but no elephant turned
+up. Some said he was ill with fever; others said the Sultana had sent
+for him. They therefore saddled the black pony and I mounted.
+
+[Sidenote: Dangerous Passes.]
+
+We had such awful mountain passes to traverse that the camels and
+pack-horses were compelled to go another and much longer road. One path
+I remember on the side of a mountain: it was about five feet wide: in
+one place it had crumbled away, and was hardly two feet wide, with a
+precipice going sheer down. The path went steeply up and steeply down,
+and was covered with little loose stones. It was no good trying to
+ride it, for on account of the loose pebbles, a horse could not climb
+it with a man on his back. I got off, put the bridle over my arm, and,
+scotching my feet on firmer pieces of rock, managed to get up, the
+horse scrambling after me. Though I was ill and weak, I could not help
+a burst of laughter at the Armenian as he crawled up on all fours.
+
+On Tuesday, at ten a.m., we reached Kamard or Shush-Burjah, and my tent
+was put up in an orchard. I lay under a walnut-tree all day and saw
+patients. We stayed here three days, and His Highness held a Durbar. I
+went, and His Highness told me about the source of a river there: how
+it came from a tunnel at the foot of the mountain, and the water was
+hot; and how it rendered the valley warm in the winter. I had lunch
+with His Highness, and then went to attend to a man with a broken thigh.
+
+On the Friday, we started again and crossed that awful mountain, the
+"Tooth-breaker," Dandan Shikan. I found that the road had been greatly
+improved since I was last there. As it was, however, there were a great
+many accidents. We went on to Saighan, and they brought one old fellow
+of seventy to me, the uncle of the Chief Secretary, or Dabier-ul-Mulk.
+His horse had slipped sideways on Dandan Shikan, and he had broken
+his right arm just below the shoulder and his right thigh just above
+the knee. I put him up in splints, and he was carried the rest of the
+journey in a sort of cradle slung on a camel; another injured man being
+on the other side. The old man quite recovered.
+
+We camped one day at Akrab-abad, and though it was the middle of July,
+the night was excessively cold. The winter there is bitter, hence the
+name--Akrab meaning a scorpion. It is about ten thousand feet above the
+sea.
+
+We reached the western extremity of the Bamian Valley, and His
+Highness's chief cook had a row with mine. Between the two I received
+some beef-tea that was sour. The Hakim Abdur Rashid, having been
+sent by His Highness to enquire how I was, the Armenian, with much
+vigour and energy, detailed the iniquities of the cooks. The matter
+was reported to His Highness: he sent for the cooks and informed
+them that if I did not recover he would blow them to pieces from the
+cannon's mouth. My cook bolted before we reached Kabul. I suppose his
+"prognosis" of the case was unsatisfactory. I don't know where he went
+to, and I did not see him again till I was better.
+
+[Sidenote: The Camp of the Camels.]
+
+We rode through the Bamian Valley and passed the colossal Figures,
+the Caves, the ancient Cities, and the modern fortified Villages. It
+was very beautiful, and I really fancied I was better. There were
+cornfields, beanfields, grass, trees, and river.
+
+The soldiers camped at the end of the valley, beyond Zohak-i-Marhan,
+where it is narrow. There were some camels camped here also, and
+their weird moans and bubbling cries echoing back from the rocks were
+horrible to hear. They sounded like the hopeless cries of the damned:
+at least, I thought so--I was evidently morbid.
+
+Here a soldier of the Amir's bodyguard quarrelled with a comrade and
+killed him. I don't know if he were hanged.
+
+I saw a little brown spaniel leading a camel along by a rope. I
+really do not know whether a dog is "unclean" or not, but the Afghans
+occasionally, though rarely, make pets of them. They more often make
+pets of partridges--a speckled bird, with a curious rippling cry--and
+train them to fight. I have often seen a bird trotting along after his
+master: it looks very odd.
+
+We went through the ravine where the water dashes down and enters a
+tunnel in the rock. Further on, a camel in the crush was pushed over
+the edge and fell with his load down the ravine. Its young one sprang
+after it. The Amir passing some time afterwards with his guard, halted
+to look at the place. The horse of one of the guard was frightened,
+and backed away from the precipice: the man, incensed, cut it violently
+with the cruel doubled-lashed Afghan whip; the horse gave a bound
+forward, and he and his rider disappeared over the edge.
+
+From here the road led over high mountains, and it was very cold and
+rainy. I had to have occasional doses of brandy from the medical stores
+in order to keep going, and at one place His Highness, when he arrived,
+was kind enough to stop at my tent to enquire how I was. The next day,
+he sent his palanquin to me, and I was borne along on the shoulders of
+four sturdy Afghans. I was not a heavy burden, unfortunately, and they
+hurried along up hill and down dale, over rocks and through defiles at
+a pace that was to me, in my feebleness, terrifying.
+
+We camped at Gardandiwal. This was the occasion I referred to some way
+back, on which I gave a banquet to a dozen men--the relays of palanquin
+bearers--which cost me rather less than sixpence a head. I ought to say
+that the men refused at first, lest the fact might reach His Highness's
+ears and displease him.
+
+Here His Highness sent me some specimens to test for coal. I am not a
+geologist, but, as far as I could judge, from my rough tests, there
+was, in the specimens he sent me, some coal and a good deal of stone.
+
+After this I became very ill, and His Highness sent several times
+to enquire how I was. One day he sent for the Armenian and gave him
+directions as to the diet I should have. He hoped I should be better
+on the third day from then, as he wished me to ride into Kabul with
+him. He said that brandy was not good for me, as it tended to produce
+congestion of the liver.
+
+The next day we arrived at Kalai Kasi, within a few miles of Kabul,
+and Mr. Pyne and the two other English engineers rode out from Kabul
+to welcome His Highness. Afterwards they came to my tent. I was very
+pleased to see them. They were the first English I had seen since
+Captain Griesbach left Mazar, more than a year before. They were very
+jolly, but their vigorous energy was, to a poor debilitated mortal,
+rather overpowering. I remember Pyne enquired why I sat on the ground:
+I explained that I had no chair, it was broken. He also asked why I did
+not have my hair cut: I told him there was no barber, and that we had
+been on the march a month and a half. After dinner they rode back with
+a guard to Kabul.
+
+[Sidenote: Kindness of the Amir.]
+
+Early the next morning His Highness held a Durbar, and at five o'clock
+I girded up my loins, mounted a horse, and rode to His Highness's
+quarters. Outside the khirgar, or wigwam, where His Highness slept,
+there was erected a large red and white awning. Under this, in the
+shade, were several chairs and two or three portable tables covered
+with fruit and flowers. Several people, Officers and Courtiers, were
+sitting there, and I joined them. Soon, we heard that His Highness had
+risen, and I was sent for into the khirgar. His Highness was sitting on
+the couch, and on a little table by him were some biscuits and fruit,
+and a cup of tea. He enquired very kindly after my health, suggesting
+various remedies, and gave me advice as regards diet. He would not
+hear of my riding on horseback into Kabul, but said I must be carried
+in the palanquin. He said many kind things, and finally gave me
+"Rukhsat," or permission to depart, for I was feeble. I returned to the
+tent till we were ready to start.
+
+The lanes, cornfields, fruit trees, and general freshness and greenness
+of the suburbs of Kabul reminded me of England, and were most grateful
+to the eye after the dusty barrenness of Mazar.
+
+Presently we turned off from the Kabul road; and some way off I saw a
+hill with crowds of people on it. There were rows of spectators on each
+side of the road leading to it. Evidently the grand reception was not
+to be in the town. I had hoped to get away somewhere and rest.
+
+I became conscious that I was not shaven, and that my collar was an old
+one and frayed. I had one, among my much-tattered linen--the Afghan
+washermen dash your linen on a stone to wash it, and starch it with
+flour--I had one, carefully saved for this very event, but, alas! it
+was in a portmanteau!
+
+The Armenian said, "Sir, you not care it. Highness know you ill. Other
+men, who is!"
+
+There was no help for it, and we reached the top of the hill. Here,
+under a large awning, was a circle of Orientals, in their robes and
+turbans, seated on the ground. They were the Maleks and Chiefs from the
+Kabul province. At one side of the circle seated on chairs were His
+Highness's two eldest sons, the Princes Habibullah and Nasrullah. I got
+out of the palanquin and walked feebly into the middle of the circle
+and bowed to the Princes.
+
+They enquired politely after my health, and Prince Habibullah, turning
+to the Armenian, said in Persian, "He looks very ill, what is the
+matter?"
+
+[Sidenote: The "High Garden."]
+
+Then he gave orders for me to be taken to the "Baghi Buland," or "High
+Garden," on a hill close by. Accordingly I was carried there. This was
+where the reception of His Highness was to take place.
+
+[Sidenote: The Reception.]
+
+There was a temporary pavilion erected, gaily adorned with hangings of
+crimson and white, and with large bouquets of flowers. It was furnished
+with carpets, couches, tables, and chairs. There was a part raised
+some three steps, which commanded a view from the window of a little
+artificial waterfall, a fountain, trees, and the lovely Baghi Shah
+Valley. This valley lies outside Kabul, just north of the Chahar Bagh
+Valley, and separated from it by the Asmai Mountains.
+
+A few people were collected in the Pavilion, and the Armenian brought
+a chair for me. I knew no one, and felt rather out of it. Presently
+Malek, the Amir's favourite Page, entered, and everyone stood to
+receive him. He took no notice of anyone, but rushed up to me and
+enquired how I was. At once the manner of those in the Pavilion
+altered. When a European in Kabul has become of interest to the Amir,
+every one bows the knee--metaphorically speaking--and he has a good
+time. But once let His Highness's interest wane, and, as it struck me
+then, the said European would be likely to have a very middling time.
+
+A crowd began to collect on the Baghi Buland Hill, some entering the
+Pavilion.
+
+By-and-bye there was a rattle of kettledrums, a confused murmur of
+many voices--but no cheering as in England--and the Amir approached,
+riding on horseback. There was a great deal of bustle, and suddenly
+the two Princes appeared just outside the Pavilion. The Amir, having
+reached the top of the hill, dismounted: the crowd opened, and the two
+Princes advancing, knelt and kissed His Highness's feet. He raised each
+one and kissed him on the forehead. The Amir then entered the Pavilion;
+walking with a stick. I took off my solar helmet and bowed with the
+rest, and His Highness went up the steps to the raised part of the
+hall. The Armenian whispered--
+
+"Follow Highness."
+
+The Amir took his seat upon a couch near a large window: in front of
+him was a small table with some lovely roses on it.
+
+The Courtiers, the more important Chiefs and I, were standing near. His
+Highness caught sight of me almost directly, and most kindly ordered a
+chair to be placed in a particular spot near the couch, to the right,
+and a little behind where he sat.
+
+Then a salute of several guns was fired: the vibration of the air
+making the Pavilion shake, we adjourned temporarily to another room.
+
+On our return Mr. Pyne and the two other Engineers arrived. Pyne looked
+very smart in a European frock-coat, with a flower in his button-hole:
+the two other Englishmen were neatly dressed in corduroy riding-suits
+and long boots.
+
+The Amir shook hands with Mr. Pyne, spoke to him for a few moments, and
+then chairs were placed for them near mine.
+
+About midday I began to feel dreadfully tired, and as some people had
+already taken their departure, I turned round and asked Pyne if he
+cared to go then.
+
+He said that the Prince had given orders that we were to wait till the
+roads were clear, and I waited a little longer. Presently, as I began
+to feel giddy, I said to the Armenian--
+
+"I am going."
+
+He said: "Shahzada Sahib said, a little you stop till----"
+
+"Can't help it," I said.
+
+I stood up, stepped to the Amir's couch and bowed.
+
+"Rukhsat?" said His Highness. "Are you going?"
+
+"Bali, Sahib," I said. "Yes, sir."
+
+His Highness kindly said, "Bisyar-khob. Ba aman-i-Khuda." "Very well.
+Good-bye."
+
+I bowed and retired.
+
+Outside the Pavilion I got into the palanquin and was carried to Pyne's
+room at the workshops.
+
+I found him there: he had left soon after I had, and, galloping into
+Kabul by another road, had arrived before me.
+
+He said I looked ill at the Durbar, and he made me drink a tumblerful
+of sparkling hock at once. I stayed with him a fortnight, till my house
+was ready. He was exceedingly hospitable, and with well meant, but
+somewhat mistaken kindness, forced upon me whisky, beer, hock, and all
+sorts of unsuitable food. He tried to brighten me up by taking me about
+the workshops and showing me what progress had been made since I had
+left Kabul, and in the evening he told me yarns and stories without
+number. Once or twice it was almost too much, and I became giddy and
+faint. He was very kind, but I was thankful when I got to my house and
+could lie down.
+
+With proper diet and medicine I began to improve, but it was months
+before I quite recovered.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+LIFE IN KABUL.
+
+    The Id festival: salaam to the Amir: the educating of Afghans.
+    Amir's visit to the Workshops: under the mulberry tree: the Amir's
+    speech. Products of the Workshops. Royal Lunch at Endekki: the
+    Invitation: the Brougham: the Palace: Lunch: the Drawing-room:
+    the Piano. Evening illumination of gardens: fireworks: dinner.
+    The unreliable Interpreter. A night at the Palace. Commencement
+    of intrigue. Gifts to the Amir: the presentation. The rebuke to
+    Prince Nasrullah. The barking dog. Noah's Ark: the nodding images.
+    Illness again: the Amir's advice: the effect thereof. An afternoon
+    call: conversation. Illness of the Amir: the visit: His Highness's
+    question: the Amir's good breeding. An earthquake as an experience.
+    Report on Kabul brandy: Mr. Pyne's opinion: the Interpreter again:
+    the Amir's perplexity. The Hindu's objection. The mysterious
+    midnight noise: the solution of the mystery. Mumps. The wedding of
+    Prince Nasrullah: invitation from the Sultana: the Fete: a band of
+    pipers. The Prince and his bride. Overwork at the Hospital. One of
+    the troubles of a Ruler. Scenery near Bala Hissar. The Amir duck
+    shooting. The sick chief: his imprudence: his amusements. The will
+    of the clan.
+
+
+[Sidenote: The "Id" Salaam.]
+
+Four days after our arrival in Kabul, namely on July 28th, the
+Mahomedan Festival of Id commenced, and His Highness held a Durbar
+in the "Salaam Khana." I went, accompanied by the Armenian. I should
+have been better in bed. We waited in the large hall, I talking to
+one of the Chief Secretaries. Presently we heard the rattle of drums,
+indicating that the Amir had arrived. He did not, however, come in,
+and I was wondering where he was, when a Page came and spoke to the
+Armenian, and he and I and the Secretary were conducted upstairs to the
+Guest House that I have already described. His Highness, seated in an
+arm-chair, was almost alone in the room. After I had made my bow an
+arm-chair was placed for me opposite the Amir, so that he could speak
+to me conveniently. His Highness had been talking some little while
+when Mr. Pyne arrived; he continued talking to us both for some time.
+He referred to the work we both of us had done: said that it was a
+means of educating his people; referred to my having become ill in his
+service, and promised me some months' leave of absence that winter, in
+order that I might recover my health in my own country.
+
+Presently, lunch was served, and he ordered for me broth thickened with
+rice--"Shola."
+
+Three days after this, the Amir visited the workshops. I did not join
+the party until the Amir had finished inspecting the machinery, but
+went to see two or three people who were sick. When I returned to the
+shops I found His Highness had finished inspecting. He was seated in
+the grounds under the shade of a huge mulberry tree. A table was placed
+in front of him on which were fruit and sweetmeats.
+
+There were seated at the table, on the Amir's right, the two eldest
+Princes. Opposite His Highness were Sirdar Usuf Khan, the Amir's uncle;
+Mr. Pyne; and the Dabier-ul-mulk, or Chief Secretary. I bowed to His
+Highness, and he ordered a chair to be placed for me on his left.
+We ate some sweets and fruit, and His Highness expressed his great
+satisfaction at the progress that had been made in the workshops. His
+saying of "My money, your work, and God's help will produce what I
+need" has become proverbial.
+
+There were stationary engine, steam-hammer, steam-saws, cartridge
+plant, a minting machine, and a blast smelting furnace.
+
+Big guns, machine guns, rifles, swords, leather work, soap, candles,
+and coin, were made by the busy hands of hundreds of men, Afghans and
+Hindustanis, under the direction of Mr. Pyne and his assistants. Since
+then more machinery has been added to the shops, but they have been so
+recently described in the public press that I need not go into further
+detail.
+
+When His Highness had finished speaking he shook hands with Mr. Pyne,
+and acknowledging the salutations of the others, he departed.
+
+I heard that a soldier was detected slipping a cartridge into his rifle
+just as His Highness entered the shops, but that he was seized before
+he could do any mischief, even if he desired.
+
+Four days after the Royal visit to the workshops His Highness became
+the guest of the two eldest Princes at the Palace of Endekki. This is
+about six miles out of Kabul, in the Chahardeh Valley.
+
+[Sidenote: Lunch at Endekki.]
+
+About two o'clock in the afternoon came a letter inviting the
+Englishmen, Mr. Pyne, myself, and one of the two Engineers, to meet His
+Highness there. A small brougham was sent for us. The roads about Kabul
+are good, and His Highness and the Princes have several carriages.
+
+The Palace of Endekki is at the top of a small hill. In the distance
+it has rather the appearance of a Greek temple with pillars around
+it. After climbing the hill one mounts a flight of stone steps to a
+terrace, from the centre of which rises the main body of the Palace. A
+few more steps, and one enters a lobby which leads into the long hall.
+This has a row of pillars in the centre supporting the roof, and is
+lit on each side by three large windows. It was furnished somewhat
+elaborately in the European style; resembling very much, though it was
+smaller than, the Salaam Khana, or great Durbar Hall in Kabul.
+
+Lunch was brought soon after our arrival, and we three English sat at a
+table by ourselves, being waited upon by the chief Hindustani cook.
+
+After lunch His Highness invited us into a small room opening into
+the long hall at the opposite end from the lobby. This was a very
+pretty little room: one side of it was bowed or rounded, and had three
+large windows in it overlooking the valley. The room was furnished
+like an English drawing-room, even to the Collard and Collard piano.
+His Highness asked if either of us could play, and Mr. Pyne sat down
+and played some hymns. It seemed very strange to hear "Abide with Me"
+in Afghanistan, among Mussulmans. Shortly after this Mr. Pyne felt
+rather faint and ill. There was no whisky nor brandy to be had, and
+the Amir suggested champagne, but Mr. Pyne thought he would rather go
+back to the shops. He therefore made his adieux to the Amir and the
+Princes; and the Armenian was sent with him. To interpret for me was a
+Hindustani--a man with more polish of manner than the Armenian.
+
+In the evening we accompanied His Highness and the Princes into the
+Palace gardens, and arm-chairs were placed for us on the terrace. As
+soon as it was dark the gardens and the grounds around the foot of the
+hill were lit up with innumerable little coloured lamps. Rockets were
+let off from the valley, and we leant back in our chairs and admired.
+
+[Sidenote: The Unreliable Interpreter.]
+
+Later on we had dinner out in the gardens. Afterwards the engineer,
+Mr. Myddleton, asked me if we could not leave, as he wanted to get to
+his work early in the morning. I accordingly told the Hindustani to
+enquire. He answered that he was sure His Highness wished us to stay
+the night at Endekki. We were exceedingly doubtful about this: there
+seemed no reason why we should stay; but the Hindustani was so certain
+about it that finally we yielded, especially as the Hindustani hinted
+that probably His Highness would be offended if we asked. The real fact
+was, as we suspected, that the man wanted to stay himself.
+
+A comfortable little room was given us in a block of buildings
+attached to the Palace and built on the side of the hill. Charpoys and
+cigarettes were provided, and waiters attended upon us.
+
+We left directly after breakfast the next morning, the brougham taking
+us back. Pyne had quite recovered, and was at work in the shops. He
+took the Engineer to task somewhat for remaining at the Palace all
+night. I explained how we had been misled by the Interpreter.
+
+This man presently began to pay court to me. He came frequently to see
+me: was very deferential and polite: wished to teach me Persian; and he
+dropped occasional innuendoes and slighting remarks about the Armenian.
+He was always hanging about the Palace whenever I went there, and with
+a smile edged in a word of correction whenever the Armenian translated.
+It annoyed me. I did not want his corrections. I quite understood the
+Armenian, and knew enough Persian to tell whether he were giving me
+the meaning of the Amir's words honestly or not. When, on the other
+hand, the Hindustani translated my words to His Highness, he spoke such
+flowery Persian and worked in so much Arabic that I could not follow
+him. I foresaw trouble, for he was one of those who say the thing which
+is not.
+
+About this time a box containing presents, that I had written home for
+from Turkestan, arrived, and I sent to enquire when I might have the
+honour of laying them before His Highness. A day was appointed; and
+after I had amputated a man's leg, which happened to be arranged for
+the same day, I went to the Erg Palace. His Highness received me most
+graciously. He was sitting in the Octagonal Hall that contained the
+pictures of the Houses of Parliament. The portrait that I had painted
+of His Highness was also hanging there. It had been sent to India to be
+framed and glazed. The Amir had had plate glass put over it, ordering
+a looking glass to be bought large enough and the silver to be scraped
+off the back.
+
+Prince Habibullah, one or two Secretaries, and several Page boys were
+in the room with His Highness when I arrived. I sat on a couch in a
+convenient position, and presently Prince Nasrullah entered. I stood up
+and bowed as he went by. I do not know whether the Prince recognized
+me: he did not return my bow. He went to His Highness and salaamed.
+His Highness said something to the Prince that I did not hear, and the
+Prince was kind enough to return at once to where I was sitting and
+enquire if I were well. I thanked His Highness the Prince for his kind
+enquiries, but I did not rise.
+
+[Sidenote: The Noah's Ark.]
+
+Then the presents were examined. They were not of any consequence,
+but were such as I could give. It had struck me that a writing-cabinet
+and paper stamped with the Royal name, might be a convenience to the
+Amir. I had sent for one, therefore, and had directed the cabinet to
+be decorated with an original design in metal by an artist friend.
+There were various other things, all of which His Highness examined.
+For the little Prince, Mahomed Omer, were several mechanical toys. The
+Page boys gathered in a cluster behind the Amir, as he was examining
+these. Among them was a mechanical dog that jumped and barked, and the
+boys were much interested, and there was a good deal of laughter, when
+one of the Page boys snatched his hand away as the Amir made the dog
+jump at him. Then came a Noah's ark, with some well modelled animals,
+all of which His Highness stood up on the table. A model steam-engine
+excited a good deal of interest, as did the little tin men, who walked
+rapidly along, dragging their little tin carts. A toy sword and rifle
+the Amir decided to put by till the Prince was older. For the Sultana,
+there were various novelties in the way of brooches and fans; but these
+were not examined at that time. Some nodding china images amused the
+Amir very much. Altogether, His Highness must have been three hours
+examining everything, for I went to the Palace at one and got back home
+at five.
+
+The excitement of the various Durbars and dinners did me no good, and
+during the month of August--the bad month in Kabul--I was confined to
+my bed. Just at that time, His Highness sent a carpenter to me for
+instructions, so that a framework might be made for the canvas of a
+full-length portrait. I am sorry to say the portrait was never painted.
+
+Mr. Pyne called two or three times to ask me to go for a ride with
+him. That being an impossibility, he sat down and told me some amusing
+stories.
+
+One day, the Armenian was sent for to the Durbar, and when he returned,
+he told me that His Highness had been enquiring as to my diet. I was
+not to have any more beef-tea, and no brandy or whisky: I had not drank
+them in Mazar, why should I drink them in Kabul. I was to have rice and
+sago only.
+
+Sago boiled in water for breakfast and rice boiled in water for dinner
+is abominably nasty, especially if you can vary the diet only by
+putting salt in one day and leaving it out the next. I never knew what
+real unadulterated hunger was till then. I dreamed of Roast-beef and
+Yorkshire pudding, of Duck and green peas, but being powerless in bed,
+I had to put up with the rice and sago and--became better. I have hated
+them ever since, which--in the abstract--seems ungrateful.
+
+One day they brought a man into my bedroom, who looked even more of a
+scarecrow than I did. I looked at him, asked a question or two, and
+said feebly to Hafiz, the compounder,
+
+"Recipe, pulveris ipecacuanhae grana viginti, statim sumendus"--"boiled
+rice and sago--bed." He got well before I did: he was used to the diet.
+A little girl of eleven, who had had fever for six months, was brought
+by His Highness's orders: all she needed was quinine.
+
+Shere Ali Khan, my friend of Mazar, called to see me one day while
+the Armenian was out, and we had a long and amusing conversation in
+Persian, supplemented occasionally by signs. We quite understood one
+another. We discussed anatomy, climate, diamonds, marriage; and I
+remember we compared the customs of European ladies with those of
+Oriental ladies. Shere Ali defended polygamy. We had an earthquake in
+the evening--not that it had anything to do with the conversation. At
+different times many people called. Some of them were ill and wished to
+be prescribed for.
+
+[Sidenote: Illness of Amir.]
+
+In the beginning of September, I heard that His Highness was ill with
+gout, and I wrote to ask if I should come and see him. The answer came
+that I was to visit him the next day. Accordingly, I gathered myself
+together, mounted my horse, and rode slowly to the Erg Palace. The
+Armenian had brought me a walking-stick, so that I could get across the
+Palace gardens. I found His Highness was in one of the upper rooms.
+Getting upstairs was rather breathless work, and I had to take my time
+over it.
+
+In the lobby outside the room were several Military Officers and
+Secretaries seated on the ground. Through the open door I saw His
+Highness lying on a couch. I bowed, and he called me in. The room
+was very small, and a chair was put for me near the head of the bed.
+Tea was brought for me in a glass mug set in silver. His Highness
+then described to me his symptoms. He had gouty inflammation of the
+right foot and knee; pains in most of his joints, and sciatica: he
+was feverish and shivering. I told him what treatment I should adopt
+if I had charge of the case. His Highness said that the Hakims, who
+were attending him, had bled him, and had leeched the inflamed joints.
+I said I hoped the treatment would not make him worse afterwards.
+By-and-bye I took my leave.
+
+I went the next day to see His Highness, and he expressed himself as
+feeling much better. The pain was nearly gone. He told me that he had
+procured an oil from the colchicum plant, and this had been gently
+rubbed into the inflamed joints.
+
+Two Page boys were in the room. One was "massaging" His Highness's
+painful leg, and the other waving away flies with a fan. His Highness
+spoke very kindly to me, and suddenly asked if I intended to marry when
+I went to England on leave. I was rather taken aback when he asked,
+whereat the Page boys smiled; but, summoning up courage, I said yes.
+His Highness promised me a very substantial wedding present. Later on,
+after we had had tea, I heard the hubble-bubble going round in the next
+room, and mechanically pulling out a cigar I began cutting the tip off.
+Suddenly it struck me I was in the King's bedroom. I felt somewhat
+ashamed, for I had not been invited to smoke. However, His Highness had
+seen me take the cigar out; and I rather lamely asked if he minded the
+smell of smoke. He said, "Not in the least," and, seeing my confusion,
+he at once put me at my ease by calling for a cigarette, which he lit
+and smoked.
+
+The next morning early my house was found to be on fire: fortunately it
+was discovered in time, and the neighbours were _not_ fined for setting
+it alight.
+
+[Sidenote: The Earthquake.]
+
+That night I was awakened suddenly by an awful earthquake. The
+heaving of the floor, the creaking of the beams, and the rattling of
+the windows increased and increased. I sprang out of bed and tried to
+light a candle. I could not find the matchbox; then I found it, opened
+it, took a match hurriedly, and broke it: took another and tried to
+strike the wrong end, then another, and I began to think whether I
+hadn't better make a bolt for it at once. At last I got a light and the
+candle caught: it was half-past one. I stood a moment or two with the
+candle in my hand, and presently I fancied the rocking and creaking
+was becoming less: then it occurred to me that, after all, the house
+had stood so many earthquakes, that may be it would stand another, and
+I waited a little longer: it really did become less, and finally died
+away. The shocks lasted several minutes. Afterwards I walked round with
+my candle to look for cracks. There was only one of any consequence;
+but that I could put my hand into. However, I did not think it mattered
+very much, for the beams went the other way, and if the worst came,
+only the end of the room would fall out: so I went to bed again.
+
+After this I got to work again at the Hospital. I attended regularly
+at a certain hour in the morning; the patients daily increased so in
+number, to nearly two hundred a day, that at the end of the week I
+became feverish with a Hospital throat. This was very annoying, for
+I had to stop away for a couple of days. I was afraid His Highness
+would begin to think he had made a bad bargain in engaging a Doctor
+who was generally ill, or fancied himself so. However, I was soon
+better, and on the following Sunday went to the Palace to lay a report
+before the Amir. His Highness had asked me to test the purity of the
+spirit, "Brandy, Whisky, and Old Tom," that was being made in the Kabul
+Distillery.
+
+I found His Highness downstairs in one of the small rooms of the Erg
+Palace that open from the Octagonal hall. He was lying on a fur-covered
+couch heaped with pillows. He looked better than he had done, though he
+still had some gouty pains in the right knee.
+
+The room was small, but very pretty. There were mirrors let into the
+wall, which made the room seem larger.
+
+Outside the large wide window opening into the gardens was erected a
+crimson and white awning. Here were grouped the officials who had to
+see His Highness on business. I sat inside, near the Amir's couch,
+and the air was sweet with scent from the clusters of roses which
+filled the vases in the room. A few Page boys were there. His Highness
+described to me the trouble he had had in getting down stairs with
+his gouty knee; and he gave me further details as to the treatment he
+was undergoing for the gout: how that he had been bled and leeched
+frequently, and that when the pain in his foot was very severe it had
+been necessary to plunge the foot into iced water!
+
+Tea was brought in: His Highness said that green tea was not good for
+me in my state of health; he therefore ordered black tea to be brought,
+and he made me a present of several pounds.
+
+I then gave my report as to the Spirit. It was made from the
+fermentation of raisins, and distilled in a proper still; but the
+so-called Brandy, Whisky, and "Old Tom" were simply the raw spirit
+coloured and flavoured with native drugs: none of it was fit for human
+consumption, and those who drank it became ill.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Perplexity.]
+
+Presently, Mr. Pyne was announced. He also gave an opinion concerning
+the spirit: he said it was not good, but at the same time admitted that
+it would sell in Peshawur. The Hindustani interpreted for him: I do not
+know what he said, I could not follow the Persian, but His Highness
+seemed perplexed. He said that since the opinion of two of his European
+servants disagreed he would send the spirit to Calcutta to be tested.
+
+The maker of the spirit was a Hindu, who, I understood, had been
+imported into the country by the Hindustani Interpreter.
+
+I remember that one of the objections the Hindu and the Hindustani
+made to my report was that I had said "Gin" instead of "Old Tom." They
+said the spirit was not gin (they were quite right), but that it was
+"Old Tom"! I let the matter pass: it seemed too absurd to argue on the
+point. Meanwhile the making of Spirit was to be continued, but that of
+"Brandy, Whisky, and Old Tom" to be stopped till further information on
+the subject was obtained.
+
+A few nights after the Durbar I was awakened about midnight by an
+extraordinary and mysterious noise that seemed to come "whiffling by."
+It was followed in a few seconds by a shorter and sharper noise which
+literally made the earth shake. I had never felt an earthquake like
+that before, and I wondered what was coming next. Dogs were barking,
+horses neighing, and men shouting. The noise woke up everybody. We
+listened and listened, but there was no repetition, and I went to
+sleep again. The next morning we heard the solution of the mystery.
+The rocket and firework factory in Kabul had blown up. It was not very
+far from the workshops, and Pyne told me he thought he should have
+been thrown out of bed. I enquired as to the loss of life, and heard
+that some people had been killed, but no one seemed very interested in
+that line of enquiry. Nor did I ever hear the cause of the explosion
+accounted for. Doubtless it was "Kismet."
+
+We had an epidemic of "mumps" in Kabul at the time, I remember, and
+the Hindustani Hospital assistant, the gentlemanly Dipsomaniac, had it
+rather badly.
+
+In the beginning of October I received an invitation from Her Highness
+the Sultana to attend the Reception after the wedding of Prince
+Nasrullah.
+
+[Sidenote: Wedding of Prince Nasrullah.]
+
+It was quite a fete, and was held in the Baburshah gardens, about a
+mile and a half out of the town, on the banks of the Kabul river.
+
+The Invitation said seven a.m., but I started about half-past nine. The
+day was bright and sunny, like an August day in England.
+
+I rode, accompanied by the Armenian; and the servants walked in front
+and by the side of the horses after the manner of the country. I put
+on all my finery, including the medal His Highness had given me. The
+garden was gay with many-coloured tents and awnings, and crowded with
+Orientals in gala costume. The green of the grass and trees; the hazy
+red and blue of the mountains; the gleam and ripple of the river: all
+these, with the gay colours, made a beautiful picture.
+
+The Prince had not arrived, and I went to a large tent where the
+Commander-in-Chief, the Officers, and Chief Secretaries were, and sat
+and chatted with them till the Prince arrived.
+
+Presently His Highness sent for me. I found him seated under a large
+awning surrounded by Courtiers, who were standing. There were many
+others seated cross-legged on the ground in a semicircle in front of
+him. I stopped outside the circle and bowed with my hat off. A chair
+was placed exactly in the middle of the circle, opposite to the Prince,
+and he beckoned me to sit there. I offered my congratulations; the
+Prince kindly enquired after my health; and complimentary speeches were
+exchanged.
+
+Shortly afterwards the Commander-in-Chief, the Officers, and
+Secretaries came to salaam His Highness, and I bowed and retired.
+
+I was then conducted to a tent on the bank, which was made ready for
+me, and tea and cigarettes were brought by order of the Sultana, whose
+guest I was.
+
+Directly I had arrived at the garden I had sent in my salaams to the
+Sultana. She, with the bride and the attendants of the Harem were in a
+small walled garden apart. His Highness the Amir was not present. He
+was still suffering somewhat from the gouty attack.
+
+By-and-bye Mr. Pyne and the Engineers arrived, and they came to my
+tent. At noon the Sultana gave orders for lunch to be served to us.
+It was cooked in the native fashion, and consisted of pilau and the
+various other native dishes.
+
+After lunch Mr. Pyne and the Engineers went to pay their respects to
+the Prince and then started for home again; but the Sultana sent a
+request for them to stay longer.
+
+The Armenian enquired if we should like some music, and he sent for a
+band of pipers. They marched with their bagpipes up and down in front
+of the tent playing Scotch and Afghan tunes. There were several other
+bands about the garden--brass bands and native string bands--playing
+military and native music. There were dancing boys, conjurers, and
+nautch girls.
+
+The chief men lunched in tents and the crowds of people had a picnic on
+the grass; pilau and bread being provided for them.
+
+About two the Sultana sent a huge tray of sweetmeats with which we
+regaled ourselves. At half-past two the fete was over and we came away.
+The roads were lined with troops, for the Sultana, the ladies, and the
+Princes had not yet left.
+
+For a few days before and after the wedding volleys of musketry were
+fired at intervals, and bands were playing nearly all day.
+
+I heard a story at the time about the Prince and his Bride which is
+interesting. When the Prince was very small he was very fond of a
+particular girl in the Harem--a gentlewoman--and he said that when he
+was old enough he would make her his wife. The girl was considerably
+older than he was, and it is said that in the course of years the
+Prince's views changed. His Highness the Amir, however, decided that
+since he was a Prince, and had passed his word, he should certainly
+keep it. In due time the word was kept. This was the wedding.
+
+[Sidenote: Troubles of a Ruler.]
+
+At the Hospital the work was getting rather overwhelming. I was
+not strong yet, but if I appeared at the Hospital at all, I had to
+see everyone. At the hundred and twentieth or thirtieth patient the
+backache came on horribly. If I did not go the patients crowded round
+the door of the Hospital and said, "When is the Doctor coming; ask
+him to come for God's sake." What could I do? I was obliged to go. If
+I had been strong I should have enjoyed it, but the overwork delayed
+my recovery, and I became much depressed. I thought of resigning and
+coming away, but I knew His Highness was not yet well, and in addition
+he had just then the annoyance of finding evidence of intrigue and
+swindling among some of the higher Officials: heavy fines were imposed,
+and there were extensive alterations in the higher appointments. I
+did not want to add to his annoyances by resigning; but to my last
+day I shall never forget the weary drag of that and the immediately
+succeeding time.
+
+On Friday, the Sabbath, I went for a ride with the Armenian. We rode
+east from Kabul past the Bala Hissar, where Cavagnari was, and round
+the huge marsh or lake that lies in the middle of the Kabul Valley. All
+around were the mountains, and between them and the lake were fields
+of clover, stubble where corn had been, gardens, trees, and fortified
+country houses. The lake is in some parts very deep and in others
+shallow. Here the rushes grow thick, making a cover for huge numbers of
+wild duck that flock to Kabul in the autumn and winter. A great deal
+of the land about the marsh belongs to His Highness' sister. We passed
+her country house--a fort. We saw also the tomb where the Amir's father
+is buried. At the extreme east of the lake, near the village of Bini
+Hissar, the road took us a little up the foot of the mountain. I pulled
+up a few minutes to admire the view.
+
+In the foreground, on the margin of the lake, was one tree coloured
+golden-yellow by the autumn: near it were others still green. Beyond
+were brown rushes and the lake. Further, on the opposite bank, the
+trees, massed together, were tinted all shades of green, brown, and
+yellow. Then rose up the hazy purple mountains, range beyond range, dim
+and shadowy in the distance, and above, the blue of the sky flecked
+here and there by little white clouds.
+
+I was charmed--but I could not rouse any enthusiasm in the Armenian.
+Like most Orientals he looked upon an afternoon ride as an unnecessary
+and laborious nuisance; still he would not consent to my going alone.
+
+In the autumn and winter the Amir and the Princes ride duck shooting
+through the shallow parts of the marsh.
+
+One day, some two or three years after the time of which I am writing,
+I was riding in this direction with Mr. Collins, the geologist, when,
+just as we rounded the corner of the Peshawur Road, which leads off
+directly opposite the Bala Hissar, we heard the rattle of kettledrums.
+We pulled up, knowing that the Amir must be at hand. Presently, there
+came in sight right opposite the Bala Hissar the Amir's mounted guard
+of Barakzais. Then came the drummers, who rode just in front of His
+Highness. We dismounted as the Amir approached. He was seated in his
+palanquin, and the bearers scuffled along rapidly, leaning on the pole.
+His Highness carries a walking-stick when he rides in the palanquin,
+and if the pace is not speedy enough, the nearest bearer receives a
+reminder in the shape of a prod in the back. His Highness, when he saw
+us, halted the cavalcade and enquired if we were well. He told us he
+had been duck shooting on the Bala Hissar marsh.
+
+It was a pretty sight. The young Page boys in their gold-embroidered
+uniforms scampered about on their horses. The guard rode steadily, and
+the servants, with their turbans and many-coloured garments--one with
+the chillim, another with a charcoal brazier, a third with a samovar
+for tea, a fourth with the Amir's chair, and so on--these followed in
+great numbers. Altogether, with the background of the Bala Hissar, it
+made a striking sight.
+
+[Sidenote: The Sick Chief.]
+
+At the end of October, the Chief, whose brother was at the Court of the
+Amir as hostage, came to Kabul to salaam His Highness. The brother,
+whom I knew in Turkestan, called one morning upon me to say that the
+Chief, who had wished to come and see me, was ill with fever; would I
+visit and prescribe for him. Accordingly, I accompanied my friend to
+the house the Chief had taken in Kabul. A large following of dependants
+and servants had arrived with him. They treated me with great respect,
+and I was shown in an upper-room, where the Chief lay ill with fever.
+He was a broad-shouldered stout man, about five feet seven inches in
+height, and I should say about thirty-five years old. He was not alone:
+the room was nearly full of people; I think an Afghan hates nothing
+more than his own company: he is bored in no time.
+
+The province belonging to the Chief has a very hot climate. It lies in
+the south-east. In Kabul, at this time, though the sun was still hot,
+there was a cutting wind blowing, and the Chief and his people did not
+wrap themselves up as they should have done.
+
+Tea, cigars, and sweets were brought, and after examining the Chief's
+condition, I sat and talked to him and his brother for some time.
+He was an intelligent man. One of his favourite amusements was
+photography; he dabbled, too, in chemistry, and showed me a scar in his
+hand, where he had been injured by an explosion when he was learning
+something about the science. Afterwards, I examined some of his
+retinue; eight of them were ill with the fever.
+
+This Chief was beloved, or admired--or whatever the corresponding
+sentiment is in an Afghan's bosom--by his Clansmen. But in the eyes
+of His Highness he was as a poppy grown very tall. It was necessary
+that something be done lest he should overtop all other flowers. He
+had, I heard, been receiving a subsidy of a lac of rupees a year from
+the Afghan Government. This was altered: and while he was in Kabul, a
+new "Governor" was sent to take command in his province. This was not
+pleasing to the Clansmen: they did not love--or whatever the sentiment
+is--the Governor as they did the Chief, for he was a stranger. They,
+therefore, slew him. Another was sent; him they also slew, and the
+Chief was by-and-bye allowed to return to his Province, though without
+the subsidy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+THE AMIR'S ILLNESS.
+
+    Sent for to the Palace. The Amir's health: the Liniment. Questions
+    in chemistry. Early breakfast at the Palace. A courtier as a
+    waiter. Called to Prince Aziz Ullah: his illness. Illness of the
+    Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Illness of the Amir's cousin. A visit
+    to Prince Mahomed Omer. The Queen's brougham: her reverend uncle.
+    The reception. Lunch. The present. The Jelalabad official and his
+    promise. Dinner with Mr. Pyne. Death of Prince Aziz Ullah. The
+    Chief ill again. The weather. The silence at the Palace. December
+    2nd: the Call. The town at night. Illness of the Amir. His request:
+    his bodily condition: former treatment. The Amir's prayer. Medical
+    treatment. The next morning. Bulletins. Called to the Sultana. The
+    Harem. The Sultana's illness: her condition. A poisonous dose.
+    Improvement of Amir: and of Sultana. The innocent plot: betrayal.
+    A present. Musicians. Amir and Sultana as patients. Annoyances by
+    an interpreter. A shock. The Sultana's letter: the answer. News
+    from Malek, the Page. Comments. The Amir's rebuke. In the Harem:
+    the Armenian's comments. Quarters in the Prince's quadrangle. The
+    Amir's relapse.
+
+
+In the early part of November I was sent for to the Erg Palace. When
+I arrived, His Highness was sitting on a couch or divan covered with
+a cloth of dull crimson velvet and gold. He was dressed in a robe of
+green velvet and gold with a white turban. The couch was in the small
+room that opens on one side into the Octagonal hall, and on the other
+into the gardens. His Highness said that he still had some pain in the
+knee and foot, and he would be glad if I would send him a liniment that
+would take away the pain and enable him to ride.
+
+[Sidenote: Questions in Chemistry.]
+
+Afterwards he asked my opinion with regard to the action of certain
+acids of native production, and we tried some experiments upon copper
+and brass. His Highness wanted an acid that could be procured cheaply,
+for the purpose of cleaning copper cartridge cases.
+
+The next day I went to the Palace again, taking with me a liniment.
+Presently Malek, the favourite Page, came out, and seeing me waiting
+in the gardens among the Secretaries, came up and asked if he should
+take the medicine in and say I had arrived. He soon came out again, and
+I was called in with the Armenian. We sat in one of the small rooms
+or alcoves, waiting. His Highness was not visible when I went in. He
+was in the room he had occupied the day before, but it was curtained
+off from the Octagonal hall. Two or three of the Page boys came up
+and asked when I was going to London. I began to think my "leave
+of absence" had been mentioned by the Amir. Just then His Highness
+appeared; he was fully dressed, and walked with the aid of a stick.
+We all rose and bowed. A table and chair were placed for him in the
+room where we were. He spoke to me about his health, and asked me the
+properties of the liniment, saying it had a pleasant smell.
+
+Presently the "early breakfast" was brought for the Amir on a silver
+tray. It consisted of tea, which he drank out of a glass mug set in
+silver, hot milk, and some cakes and macaroons. A table and tea were
+brought for me, and I sat opposite to him. The others sat on the ground
+and tea was carried round to them by the servants. His Highness did
+not eat anything, and he told one of the Courtiers, Naim Khan, to
+bring the tray to me. I do not know if Naim liked being a waiter for
+once in a way, but he obeyed at once. However, he was a good fellow,
+about twenty-six, and was always a friend of mine, so I do not think
+he minded very much. He was very smart, with a pale blue--almost
+grey--brocaded silk postin and a beaver busby. The Amir asked me to
+visit the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Perwana Khan, who was ill.
+
+[Sidenote: Prince Aziz Ullah.]
+
+I returned to the Hospital, but in the afternoon was sent for again
+by His Highness. He asked me to examine and prescribe for his infant
+son, Prince Aziz Ullah, who, the Hakims informed him, was suffering
+from disease of the ear. I went off to the Harem Serai at once, and
+presently the child was brought out into the waiting-room. He was
+carried in the arms of an old man. The child was about two years old,
+and was the son of one of the minor ladies of the Harem. He was a
+pretty little fellow, with large dark eyes and a fair skin. I looked at
+him as he was being brought out, and saw a dusky livid appearance about
+the lips; and that the nostrils worked at each breath.
+
+"A bad ear!" I thought. "If that is not lungs, I am an Afghan!"
+
+I put my ear on his back, and the bubbling and crackling of the air as
+it was sucked through the inflamed bronchial tubes was loud enough for
+even a Hakim to hear. I asked how long he had been like that. Twenty
+days! He was suffering from broncho-pneumonia following measles. The
+ear was a trivial matter.
+
+Perwana Khan was suffering, the Hakim said, from colic. I found he had
+a stone in the kidney.
+
+The same day I received a letter from Prince Habibullah asking me to
+attend Sirdar Ressul Khan, the Amir's cousin, son of Sirdar Usuf, who
+is the son of Amir Dost Mahomed. Sirdar Ressul had a crippled arm: he
+had injured it some time before while out duck shooting.
+
+I was told that the liniment relieved the Amir's pain at once; but I do
+not know--it may have been merely Oriental politeness that led them to
+say so. I did not see His Highness for some days, as he was the guest
+of the Dabier-ul-Mulk.
+
+[Sidenote: Visit to Prince Mahomed Omer.]
+
+A day or two afterwards, as I had not seen the little Prince, Mahomed
+Omer, since my illness, I wrote to the Sultana for permission to visit
+him.
+
+He was living with the Sultana, at a place about ten miles out of
+Kabul: the country house of one of the Chief Secretaries, Mir Ahmad
+Shah, having been placed at Her Highness' service.
+
+The Sultana was kind enough to send her brougham and pair for me. The
+roads were very good, and I felt very important riding rapidly along in
+the Queen's carriage.
+
+We reached the Prince's quarters. He had a separate establishment from
+the Sultana, and I was conducted to a crimson and blue tent. Tea,
+cigars, and sweets were brought while my salaams were carried to the
+Prince and word was taken to the Sultana that I had arrived. After
+staying there about an hour, we got into the carriage again and drove
+about half a mile further on to the Port, where the Sultana was living.
+Here I was received in a large many-coloured silk tent by the Sultana's
+uncle (on her father's side). This gentleman is a Seyid and Priest,
+and is addressed by the title of "Pir" or Reverend.
+
+My chair was placed at the end of the tent, by the side of that of
+the Reverend gentleman, on a cloth of gold. The others, including the
+Armenian, sat on the ground along the sides of the tent, some distance
+from us. I perceived that the Sultana did things in style. Many polite
+speeches were made, and kind messages brought from Her Highness. Trays
+of sweetmeats then appeared, native ones--and delicious. I went for
+them vigorously, for since my illness I had an intense craving for
+sweets, butter, and all fattening things. Cigars and tea followed, and,
+after an interval, fruit. There were apples, pears, grapes, quinces,
+melons, and other fruit. Then came lunch, an elaborate one, in the
+native style, and uncommonly good I thought it. More cigars, fruit, and
+conversation followed.
+
+I did not see the little Prince after all, because the weather was
+considered too cold to bring him out.
+
+I then asked permission to retire, but before I went Her Highness
+presented me with a beautiful little Kataghani horse, which, I was
+informed, she had chosen herself.
+
+We entered the carriage again and drove back to Kabul, arriving home at
+five p.m.
+
+I then went to the Harem Serai to see little Prince Aziz Ullah, but the
+chance of his recovery was small.
+
+Then I saw an old gentleman, named Saif Ullah Khan, one of the high
+officials of Jelalabad, who was on a visit to Kabul. He had fever. He
+was a very gentlemanly old man, and asked if he could do anything for
+me in Jelalabad. I said he could send me some honey if he wished; for a
+delicious honey is obtained from a village near Jelalabad. He promised;
+but did not send it.
+
+I dined with Mr. Pyne soon after this, and an excellent dinner he gave
+me. He had brought a large stock of tinned provisions from India during
+his last trip. Pastry, asparagus, green peas, cheese, cocoa, and Swiss
+milk were novelties to me. He was lucky enough to get away every cold
+season, and generally journeyed to England for more machinery.
+
+It had been thought that little Prince Aziz Ullah was becoming somewhat
+better, but in spite of colour in the cheeks he had the greyness about
+the nostrils that is so ominous of evil in a child, and I sent word to
+his mother that his life was in great danger. He died the next morning;
+five days after my first visit.
+
+The Chief with fever became well, but he would not take advice and
+wrap himself up. Either from that, or some other cause, he developed
+acute intestinal catarrh; and the Amir sent word to me to visit him. He
+became well eventually, and went back to his province.
+
+Just at this time--the end of November--the weather was most
+disagreeable. There were heavy clouds and constant rain. This is bad
+enough in England, but in Kabul it is abominable. The rain made havoc
+with the roads and houses. Very few of the roads were in any sense
+"macadamized," and one splashed and slipped along through quagmires and
+pools. The houses, especially of the poorer people, slightly built of
+mud with wooden supports, were, some of them, literally washed down.
+
+I went about my daily work in Kabul, seeing patients, performing
+surgical operations where necessary; and in the evenings I smoked and
+read my old books over and over again, little knowing that the Amir
+had had a severe return of gout and was lying dangerously ill at the
+Palace. News leaks out in time, chiefly by means of the Page boys, but
+it is little outsiders know at first of what is going on in the Palace.
+
+[Sidenote: The Call at Night.]
+
+On December 2nd, at nine p.m., just as I had turned in, there came a
+hammering at the gates. Presently one of the soldiers of the guard came
+hurrying to my room and said, in Persian,
+
+"Rise! Amir Sahib calls you."
+
+I pulled on my boots, threw on a postin, and in a very few seconds
+was in the porch. Quick as I had been, I found my horse saddled and
+bridled. I rode rapidly along the dark deserted streets, slippery
+with wet, the puddles glistening in the light of an occasional lamp:
+a soldier was in front and a soldier behind me. Then I heard the
+clatter and splash of other horses, and looking back saw the Armenian
+advancing rapidly, accompanied by the soldier who had called him. This
+was somewhat of a relief to me, for I did not know the soldiers, and
+the Armenian was always a protection. I guessed now that the Amir was
+ill, and that the time had arrived when he wished to undergo European
+medical treatment. Presently we arrived at the Erg Palace, and, leaving
+our horses at the gate, were at once admitted by the sentry. We hurried
+across the gardens to the Amir's Pavilion. Entering at once we passed
+through the Octagonal Hall, and in the small room opposite the entry I
+saw the Amir lying back on the pillows of his couch. He was rolling
+his head from side to side and groaning in great pain. Malek, the Page,
+was kneeling on the couch rubbing His Highness's knee. The two eldest
+sons, the Princes Habibullah and Nasrullah, were in the room with the
+Amir, as were Perwana Khan, Jan Mahomed Khan, the Dabier-ul-Mulk, Mir
+Ahmad Shah--in fact, most of the principal officers of the Kingdom
+who were in Kabul at the time. These were kneeling around the room.
+Everyone had a look of strained and anxious attention.
+
+It was obvious that the Amir was very ill, and I said in English to the
+Armenian,
+
+"Enquire if His Highness wishes to place himself under my medical care."
+
+His Highness, turning his head and looking at me, said, "Bali! I wish
+it."
+
+I laid down my turban, removed the spurs from my boots, and set to work
+to examine His Highness's condition.
+
+[Sidenote: Illness of the Amir.]
+
+He had acute gouty inflammation of the right shoulder, elbow, wrist,
+and knee, and shooting neuralgic pains in the left calf. There was
+coarse crepitation of the left axillary base, with cough; some
+enlargement of the heart; extreme vesical irritability, and faucial
+congestion; and albuminuria to the extent roughly of a fifth. His
+temperature was 102 degrees Fahr.: the pulse weak; and I was informed
+that he had had no sleep for several nights.
+
+I sat down a minute to consider what I would do. The condition was
+serious: for the Amir had been ill, on and off, to my knowledge, since
+September the 9th, and possibly longer. The medical treatment to which
+he had been subjected by the Hakims for his complaint was, to my mind,
+unscientific, and even dangerous. He had been bled, I was informed,
+nearly to faintness, and leeched freely several times: he had been
+purged violently and often: and his gouty foot had been plunged into
+iced water. What else was done I do not know; but this was enough.
+
+A lantern being procured, I went at once to the Hospital, which is
+at the edge of the Palace gardens, and obtained such medicines as I
+needed. I was accompanied by the Hindustani Priest-doctor, who was
+accused of murdering his Superior Officer in India, and who, as I have
+mentioned, was not under my orders. We returned to the Palace, and the
+medicines were placed in charge of a trusted Page.
+
+I weighed and measured the medicines in suitable doses, and when they
+were dissolved I handed the glass to His Highness. It did not enter
+my head to taste a dose of the medicine in front of His Highness, nor
+did he ever require me to do so. His Highness took the glass, and,
+murmuring,
+
+"In the name of God--the merciful and compassionate," he drank the
+contents.
+
+I fomented the inflamed joints with hot water, applying suitable
+medicines, and finally bandaged them gently in cotton-wool and tissue.
+I then requested as many as I could ask, to withdraw, in the hope that
+His Highness might sleep; and I went into an adjoining room. I did not
+give His Highness any opiate or other sleeping draught, wishing rather
+to trust to the effect of the medicines I had given him. I ought to say
+that His Highness, with a courtesy that never leaves him, gave orders
+for meals and suitable accommodation for sleeping to be prepared for
+me in the adjoining room or alcove. In half-an-hour His Highness slept.
+The Princes left very quietly about two hours afterwards.
+
+I need not say that, though a couch, covered with silk and gold
+embroidery, had been prepared for me, I did not lie down. I had supper,
+which was brought silently by the chief cook: and then, at intervals
+during the night, stole in to look at the Royal patient. Exhausted
+by suffering and want of rest, and relieved by the action of the
+medicines, he slept soundly for three or four hours.
+
+In the early morning His Highness woke: he expressed himself as nearly
+free from pain, and was most grateful to me. I administered the
+medicines, again applied the fomentations and regulated His Highness's
+diet.
+
+Everyone made much of me, from Prince to Page boy. Daily I was required
+to send a written report of the Amir's condition to Her Highness, the
+Sultana, and to Prince Habibullah.
+
+[Sidenote: Illness of the Sultana.]
+
+The next day, I was called to the Harem Serai, for the Sultana was very
+ill. The Amir directed me to attend Her Highness.
+
+I, therefore, left the Amir's Pavilion and, by His Highness's order,
+was accompanied by the Priest-doctor, to the Harem Serai. The great
+gates were opened by an old white-bearded man, and we were admitted
+into a covered portico. The old man left us a moment, and on returning,
+he ushered us into a large paved quadrangle surrounded by high white
+buildings. No one was to be seen. We crossed the silent quadrangle,
+and passing up some steps entered a building on the north side.
+
+An open door led from the lobby at the top of the steps into a long
+corridor, curtained and carpeted, but otherwise empty. At the end was a
+door, to enter which we ascended three steps. We now found ourselves in
+a large room at right angles to the corridor, and lighted by a window
+at the end. Towards the other end of the room a thin crimson silk
+curtain was stretched entirely across. The room was furnished very like
+an English drawing-room. A carpet was on the floor, curtains by the
+windows, pictures on the wall, and several tables by the side of the
+wall, on which were vases, candelabra, and china ornaments. In nearly
+the centre of the room there was standing on the floor a large and very
+ornamental glass candelabrum, about six feet high. There were three or
+four little Page boys in the room, about nine or ten years of age.
+
+As we entered, a voice from behind the curtain pronounced the usual
+Persian salutation of welcome. It was the Sultana speaking. She had
+a deep, musical voice. I bowed and advanced. A chair was placed for
+me near the curtain, and tea and cigarettes were brought. After I had
+tasted the tea, Her Highness requested me to smoke. Accordingly, I lit
+a cigarette, and I heard from behind the curtain the bubble of the
+chillim. The Sultana then commenced describing her symptoms, but the
+Hindustani Priest-doctor had an imperfect knowledge of English, and
+he asked that an Interpreter might be sent for. A messenger was at
+once sent for the Armenian, who presently entered saying, with a bow,
+"Salaam, Aleikoum." He took his stand near me.
+
+The Sultana raised the curtain sufficiently to pass her hand
+underneath, and I examined the pulse. It was rapid (133), and weak. I
+perceived that she was lying on a couch--and that the hand was white,
+and was that of a young woman. I described the use of the clinical
+thermometer, and handed it to her. When she returned it to me the
+indicator marked a temperature of 105 degrees Fahr.
+
+She complained of cough, and with some little difficulty I managed, by
+asking her to stand, to listen to the sounds of the chest through the
+curtain, using a straight wooden stethoscope. Not knowing the height of
+Her Highness, I nearly struck her in the face in endeavouring to find
+the position of the chest, and she cried out: however, she laughed when
+she heard of my difficulty.
+
+She had bronchial catarrh: there were no morbid cardiac sounds; and she
+had Malarial fever. I enquired as to the history of the illness, and
+the habits of the patient, and heard that she was accustomed to inhale
+tobacco-smoke from the chillim pretty much all day; and that in order
+to procure sleep she was accustomed to take sixty grains of chloral
+nightly!
+
+I advised the cessation of smoking for a time, and the Sultana laughed.
+
+After about an hour, I asked permission to retire. I prescribed quinine
+and a cough mixture; but in the evening, to my horror, I was called
+upon to weigh out the usual dose of chloral, tie down the cork of the
+bottle, and seal it with my own seal. Sleep! of course I did not
+sleep. If a lie had been told me about the dose, the Sultana would be
+found dead in the morning.
+
+Meanwhile the Amir was distinctly better that day, though of course
+he was still very ill. The temperature was normal: the vesical
+irritability had disappeared: there was no difficulty in swallowing;
+and the pain in the joints was less.
+
+The next morning the Sultana was somewhat better. The relief to my mind
+cannot be described: I will not attempt it. In my visit to the Sultana
+that day I again urged upon her the advisability, if she wished to get
+rid of her cough, of ceasing to smoke,--at any rate for a time. She
+would not listen.
+
+[Sidenote: The Innocent Plot.]
+
+I explained to the Amir my difficulty with Her Highness, and he
+arranged a plan in which she could be beguiled into smoking less. I
+weighed out a little less chloral that evening.
+
+I visited the Amir every two or three hours during the day, examining
+his condition. He still had some pain, though vastly less than he had
+had, and the cough was better.
+
+At two in the morning I was sent for by the Sultana. She detailed to
+me the whole of the innocent plot that had been arranged to draw her
+from the chillim, and laughed at me for thinking she could be so easily
+beguiled.
+
+I concluded there were certain in the Amir's court who brought minute
+details of what occurred there to the Harem Serai.
+
+The Sultana did not seem angry, for she ordered to be brought for me a
+present of Cashmere shawls, embroidery, and furs.
+
+The Amir that day had some burning pain in the hand and foot, but it
+yielded to treatment, and he was quite bright in the evening, laughing
+heartily several times. Musicians and dancing girls were sent for and
+many of the chief Officials visited the Palace. His Highness did not
+sleep well that night.
+
+The next day--the fifth of my attendance--the Amir felt better, there
+was very little pain, and the cough was less. He could not sleep,
+however; and in the afternoon there was a return of pain in the knee.
+
+Meanwhile I was nearly worn out with want of sleep and anxiety. The
+Amir was a good patient, considering that he was an Oriental King. He
+would take what medicine and food I advised, but I could not regulate
+such matters as the number of visitors he should receive, nor even such
+a thing as the admission of musicians.
+
+The Sultana, on the other hand, was anything but a good patient. She
+would not do as I advised, and she wished me to give her just what
+medicines she thought best.
+
+Added to all this, I was greatly embarrassed and annoyed by the
+Hindustani Interpreter, whom I did not trust. He was always at the
+Court; and he constantly interrupted the Armenian before the Amir, and
+corrected him when there was no need. I told him to "Chup!"--"shut
+up"--once or twice, but it was not enough, and the fifth night I called
+him into my room, and in a low voice told him--I admit, harshly--that I
+did not need either his corrections or interference: that the Armenian
+was my Interpreter; and that he could hold his tongue till he was
+called upon to speak.
+
+That night His Highness was restless, and in the morning (Sunday) to
+my amazement he said he would take no more European medicine! I was
+aghast! He was much better. What had displeased him? But I was worn
+out, and I went to my room and lay on the bed in my clothes--I had
+never taken them off--and went sound asleep.
+
+By-and-bye I was aroused; the Sultana had sent for me as soon as she
+had awakened from the sleeping-draught.
+
+The Armenian told her that His Highness had ceased taking European
+medicine. She was astonished and alarmed, and at once wrote a letter
+to the Amir. She asked him what it all meant--she read the letter to
+me--asked whether he were a King or a boy. At one time he said the
+English Doctor was all that was wise and learned, and the next he
+ceased taking his medicine: was he going back to the Hakims who had
+killed his father and his father's father! Why was this?
+
+The answer from the Amir arrived: the Sultana read it to me.
+
+[Sidenote: The Sultana's Letter: the Answer.]
+
+His Highness said he was a King and no boy; but he added that there
+was quarrelling between two Interpreters and he feared there would
+be a mistranslation and that he should suffer. For this reason he
+considered it better that he should cease taking European medicine for
+the present. He was not angry with the English Doctor: on the contrary,
+he realized the benefit he had received from his treatment, and would
+resume his medicine when the suitable time arrived.
+
+That night Malek, the Page, came to me. He said that the Hindustani
+had crept to the Amir in the morning, and had whispered this story: He
+had implored me to give _good_ medicine to the Amir: and that at once
+I had wished to kick and strike him; that I was giving His Highness
+alcohol in all his medicines, and it was this that lulled the pain,
+though it would afterwards make him worse: that he had heard me say I
+had only this one medicine that could affect His Highness!
+
+I could not find it in my heart to blame the Amir. Wearied out
+with months of suffering, he lacked the keen judgment that is his
+characteristic. Nevertheless, in a matter of such vast importance, the
+fact, that _any_ condition could place one at the mercy of an obscure
+intriguing Hindustani, gave such a shock to my confidence that I never
+entirely recovered it while I was in the service of the Amir. Once in
+a lifetime was enough for such an experience as I had been through;
+for had the illness of either Amir or Sultana terminated fatally,
+while they were under my care, _my_ fate would have been sufficiently
+appalling.
+
+I was to visit His Highness daily, although he was under the care of
+the Hakims. His manner to me was never so kind as now. I examined his
+condition as before, and he described to me the treatment the Hakims
+were subjecting him to.
+
+They had no specific medicine, but administered drugs that produced
+frequent and copious alvine evacuations. I said one day--in my
+anxiety--that I feared they were, in His Highness's feeble condition,
+overdoing this line of treatment. His Highness rebuked me and said,
+
+"When I am under the care of Hakims, I do as Hakims say; when under
+your care, as you say."
+
+I continued attending the Sultana. She was much better and was very
+kind. She read poetry to me, and commenced teaching me to talk Persian.
+One day she said in Persian,
+
+"Say this ----" and she repeated some sentence.
+
+In my weariness, for it was in the middle of the night, I mechanically
+repeated after her, "Say this ----" and I gave the sentence. At once
+the Page boys and the girls behind the curtains burst out laughing.
+
+As we came away I said to the Armenian, "Why were you so sulky
+to-night?"
+
+He had sat very glum in the Harem Serai. He said--
+
+"Sir, you European, and, perhaps, no harm come for you--but for _me_,
+Amir Sahib blow me from gun if Her Highness laugh while I there."
+
+I was considerably taken aback.
+
+Meanwhile, I was working down the chloral: I had got fifteen grains
+less; but I couldn't stop the chillim.
+
+There was no longer any necessity for me to live in His Highness's
+Pavilion, and he gave orders for quarters to be prepared for me in the
+Prince's quadrangle near by, so that I could be on the spot in case of
+necessity.
+
+The room was curtained and carpeted, and wood for the fire provided.
+My servants came to wait upon me. An arm-chair of His Highness's was
+sent, a table, and candelabra. My friend, Shere Ali, came to see me
+frequently; and the Page boys at all hours. I visited the Amir twice a
+day. Sometimes, he invited me to sit on the very couch he was lying on,
+and he told me many interesting stories of his adventures in Russia.
+
+For a few days His Highness continued about the same. The albumen had
+nearly cleared away (sp. gr. 1012), though crystals of lithic acid were
+deposited, and occasional tube casts could be seen.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Relapse.]
+
+A day or two afterwards, His Highness had a return of pain, and when
+I went to see him he said that he felt weaker, and admitted that the
+Hakims had overdone the form of treatment I spoke of.
+
+The next day he was worse: the pains were more severe; he had not
+slept, and he told me he had had shivering and fever in the night.
+
+The day after, the albumenuria returned, to the extent, roughly, of a
+twelfth in the morning, and later in the day a fifth (sp. gr. 1016).
+The left ankle commenced swelling at five p.m., the pulse was 100 and
+weak; Tr. 97.2.
+
+Out of doors it was very cold. The snow had commenced, and it was
+freezing hard.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+ROYAL PATIENTS.
+
+    Cogitations concerning the Hindustani Interpreter: colloid and
+    crystalloid: the Armenian's comments. Cogitations concerning the
+    position: the engineers' comments. The Amir as a host: the Sultana
+    as hostess. The Amir's photograph. The Sultana's name. Sirdar, the
+    girl-boy. The sleeping draught. The tea cup and the thermometer.
+    The release from a dangerous position. The Christmas dinner:
+    the guests: the festive board: the menu: the wine: music. The
+    Amir's fainting attack: the remedy: effect on the physician: the
+    substituted remedy: further effect on the physician; the Amir's
+    prescription. The Amir's alarming nervous symptoms. Hospital cases.
+    Duties of the Princes Habibullah and Nasrullah.
+
+
+[Sidenote: Concerning the Hindustani.]
+
+I thought of the Hindustani, and gnashed upon him: for the Hakims had
+done much evil already, and I thought they would surely complete their
+work.
+
+"He has allowed his petty spite to place the life of the Amir in
+danger," thought I; "to say nothing of my life and that of the two
+Europeans here."
+
+Mr. Pyne had fortunately been able at this time to obtain leave, and
+had departed for India with an order for more machinery.
+
+The idea occurred to me in a colloidal form that perhaps I ought to
+destroy this Hindustani gnat. I say "colloidal," for I doubt if the
+idea would ever have crystallized into action. When one has been long
+trained in the art of saving life, killing does not come readily. I
+fancy, however, I must have expressed the idea aloud, for the Armenian
+said:--
+
+"Sir, you not kill it. You big man, he very small man. Your wish, you
+can shoot Commander-in-Chief or Dabier-ul-Mulk; you not kill two pice
+Hindustani--dog's son. Other small man catch it and kill it for you."
+
+The employment of assassins, however, did not appeal to my imagination
+as a suitable line of action, and I determined to await the course of
+events.
+
+For some little time afterwards, if I heard much commotion or bustle
+outside, I said to myself,
+
+"The hour has come. The Amir has joined his fathers; now for the last
+fight."
+
+Then, again, I thought this over. What was the good of fighting.
+Granted that my revolver gave me six lives--why should I take six
+lives? It would not save my own. And, query again: Was my life worth
+six others? I rode to the workshops and discussed the matter with the
+engineers, Stewart and Myddleton. They were good fellows; but they did
+not agree with me. They said they should make a fight for it; that they
+were worth a good deal more than six Afghans. Anyway, they did not
+mean to sit down and wait for their throats to be cut like a couple of
+bullocks.
+
+This _did_ rather appeal to my imagination. There was the fierce
+excitement and delight of battling for one's life, in place of the
+sickening emotion of waiting to be murdered. I determined, therefore,
+to waive the point as to whether my life were worth six others, and
+discuss it afterwards if we escaped, which, by the way, I did not think
+very likely. I did not so much mind the idea of a bullet through the
+brain or heart--it would be a momentary emotion; but a bayonet stab--it
+does not kill at once; and a cut throat I always had a horror of: I
+have seen so many.
+
+Every night a dinner in European style was brought me, and one day
+His Highness asked me if I liked fruit. Forthwith, two large trays
+were brought every night: one of fresh fruit--sweet lemons, grapes,
+pomegranates, and apples; and one of dried fruits and nuts, far more
+than any one person could eat; and my servants had the benefit.
+
+[Sidenote: The Sultana as a Hostess.]
+
+I continued attending the Sultana. She showed me her crowns: they were
+heavy, of beaten gold, worked in intricate designs, and lined with
+velvet. One had ostrich plumes on it, another had common artificial
+flowers tucked in round the top. I suggested that flowers were
+unsuitable on a crown, and Her Highness tore them out. She showed me
+her hats and bonnets, handing them to me under the curtain. Most of
+them were English, of an old-fashioned shape. I said they were scarcely
+fit for a Queen, but she said that the Amir liked to see her wear them.
+One was a fur cap--seal, I think--trimmed with a sable tail. It was
+very pretty, but artificial flowers had been added. I said that flowers
+grew in the summer and fur was worn in the winter, perhaps it would
+look better without the flowers. Her Highness removed them at once. She
+showed me a photograph album: it contained a few photographs: among
+them was a copy of a painting of Queen Catherine of Russia. It was a
+very beautiful face, and the Sultana spoke in admiration of the Queen.
+
+Her Highness asked me to choose a photograph and she would give it me.
+I had noticed hanging on the wall of the room a photograph, framed in
+wood, of His Highness the Amir. I said that as I had none of my Royal
+Master I should like that one, if Her Highness could spare it. At once
+it was taken down by one of the Page boys and handed to me.
+
+The Sultana asked me if I knew the names of the Princes, the sons of
+the Amir. When I had repeated them she asked me if I knew her own name.
+I had imagined it was not correct for anyone, not of the family, to
+know a lady's name. I therefore told Her Highness that, before me, she
+was spoken of as "the Illustrious Lady." She, however, told me at once
+that her name was Halima, so that my prevarication was unnecessary.
+
+She showed me a star and a sword His Highness the Amir had given her.
+The Amir was away fighting, and a rebellion arose in Kabul; the young
+Sultana at once issued from the Harem, veiled, took command of the
+troops in Kabul, and quelled the rebellion.
+
+The messenger Her Highness sent when she called me was apparently a
+lad of fifteen or sixteen, called Sirdar. I was informed that it was
+not a boy but a girl. She was dressed in trousers, tunic, and turban,
+and considered herself, as indeed did other people, a man. It seemed
+a little odd to me at first when she came to my room in the middle of
+the night to call me to attend the Sultana, and coolly sat on the couch
+while I dressed. I gave her a pair of braces. She had to be on duty
+night and day, and was worn-looking from insufficient sleep, and she
+threatened to box my ears if I did not increase the dose of chloral I
+was giving the Sultana: I had worked it down to forty grains.
+
+I told her I was afraid to increase the dose, as the medicine was
+a deadly poison, and that its prolonged use in large doses was
+productive of considerable harm.
+
+The Sultana, not knowing the danger of the medicine, had learnt the
+habit from the Hindustani medical attendant, who was my predecessor.
+This man had managed, when he had acquired considerable wealth,
+to escape from the country. The Amir told me he was an utter
+scoundrel:--which is possible.
+
+The Sultana usually sent for me as soon as she woke, about one or
+two o'clock in the early morning, for the chloral apparently did not
+procure her more than four or five hours' sleep.
+
+[Sidenote: The Tea-cup and the Thermometer.]
+
+One night, after having as usual handed her the clinical thermometer,
+I found, to my horror, that the indicator marked a temperature of over
+106 degrees Fahr.!
+
+I at once asked Her Highness to allow me to examine the pulse. She
+passed her hand under the curtain. It was cool, and the pulse was
+steady--seventy beats a minute. There could be no fever with that
+pulse. I looked at the Armenian, and he pointed silently to the tea cup
+by my side. I heard some smothered laughter behind the curtain, and the
+truth flashed upon me. The thermometer had been dipped for a moment in
+the hot tea--hence 106 degrees Fahr.
+
+Concerning the sleeping draught, Her Highness the Sultana never
+spoke to me, but Sirdar, her messenger, urged upon me frequently the
+necessity of increasing the dose, saying that Her Highness could not
+sleep, and was becoming angry with me. I refused to increase the dose
+of chloral, and endeavoured to substitute other soporifics.
+
+The result was, that after about a fortnight Her Highness refused
+European medical treatment. So far from worrying me, this was an
+absolute relief to my mind; for the position was not without its
+dangers.
+
+A week after this came Christmas day. I gave instructions to the Chief
+Cook, and then invited Messrs. Stewart and Myddleton to dine with me in
+my rooms at the Palace.
+
+It was a clear sunny day; bitterly cold, with a hard frost. My guests
+arrived on horseback about six p.m., their servants bringing knives,
+forks, and plates, cigars, and a bottle of whisky. I hadn't such a
+thing as whisky, but I produced with great pride a quart bottle of
+champagne that I had found in the medical stores, and which I had the
+Amir's permission to use.
+
+We sat down to dinner. My brass candelabra, each with three candles,
+lit up the festive board: a wood fire blazing on the hearth threw a
+warm glow over the room: the white walls cast back the light; and the
+cosy room, with crimson curtains drawn over door and windows, made us
+almost forget Afghanistan, and we lost, if only for a time, the feeling
+of insecurity in which we were living.
+
+We had soup, tinned salmon, partridges, roast mutton, anchovy toast,
+plum pudding all blazing, and fruit. Then came the champagne. With
+subdued but proud excitement we cut the wire and waited for the cork to
+pop--it did not pop. We eased it a little with our thumb, and waited.
+We patted the bottle gently; then shook it--and still waited. The
+Armenian, standing by, smiled.
+
+"You might bring a corkscrew," I said, carelessly; "the cork is
+evidently hard."
+
+He produced a corkscrew with suspicious readiness, and I proceeded
+to carefully insert it. Oh, yes, the cork came out easily enough. It
+was not the fault of the cork. But the champagne!--Did you ever taste
+champagne that hadn't any fizz in it? It is beastly.
+
+"What's wrong with it?" I asked the Armenian, when he had tasted it.
+
+"No-thing, Sir!" he said. "He in Hospital 'leven years, all his
+strength gone away."
+
+We "passed" the champagne; whisky was good enough for us.
+
+I told the Armenian that it was only blue-blooded Dukes like himself
+who could drink flat champagne.
+
+"Sir, he is not flat; very good sherbet he is; I like him."
+
+But after he had been to England he wouldn't drink champagne that had
+been eleven years in the Hospital.
+
+After dinner Myddleton sang with great taste, and in a sweet tenor
+voice, some old English ballads--"The Thorn," "The Anchor's Weighed,"
+and a Christmas carol; Stewart occasionally putting in a seconds. I
+enjoyed it immensely: it was such a treat to hear music again. I did
+not sing myself, for some of my servants were Afghans and they were in
+the room: I should have lowered myself in their eyes if I had sung; my
+guests, however, were indifferent to the opinion of the Afghans.
+
+About midnight they departed, and rode back, escorted by a couple of
+soldiers, to their rooms at the workshops.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Fainting Attack.]
+
+Two days after this His Highness had a fainting attack; at least he
+described it as such to me. He said he had been so ill that it had
+been necessary to give him wine to restore his senses. He desired me
+to examine the wine and ascertain if it were a suitable stimulant for
+him. A bottle was handed to me and I poured some out into a wine-glass.
+It was a clear amber-coloured liquid--may be Chablis, I thought. I was
+about to drink it, when His Highness said,
+
+"Khubar dar!"--"Take care, it is strong;" and he suggested my adding
+some sherbet.
+
+"Chablis and sherbet!" I thought; "No, I am not a Mahomedan," and I
+smiled and tossed it off.
+
+Sword of Damocles! It was liquid fire! I swallowed and swallowed and
+blinked and gasped.
+
+As expressing a rapid succession of complicated emotions my face must
+have been a study, for the Amir leant back on his pillows and roared
+with laughter. As soon as I could get my breath I coughed out that it
+was a very bad wine and not at all suitable for His Highness. It was
+Vodki, I believe, or a Russian spirit of some sort--neat.
+
+I went on to say that for the complaint His Highness was suffering
+from, every kind of wine was more or less harmful; but that, if
+faintness rendered it necessary, the best he could drink would be good
+old whisky. I knew that Pyne had brought a supply to Kabul, and when he
+went away on leave, he had let Stewart and Myddleton have the residue.
+I therefore rode off to the shops to beg a bottle. When I returned to
+the Palace, I placed it before His Highness, and explained how it
+should be taken:--One ounce of whisky to two of water, or, in extreme
+cases, in equal quantities. His Highness desired me to show him how
+to take it. It was the first and only "medicine" the Amir asked me to
+taste before him. I poured out an ounce, added two ounces of water, and
+drank it. Then I sat down.
+
+[Sidenote: Effect on the Physician.]
+
+Presently, I began to feel a little giddy; not that I was
+uncomfortable--on the contrary; and it struck me what a good thing
+it would be to tell the Amir an amusing story that I had suddenly
+thought of. I remembered, however, in time that he did not understand
+English, and thought that probably the point would be lost, or at any
+rate blunted, if it had to first penetrate an Interpreter's head. And
+then it occurred to me that Vodki, or whatever the Russian abomination
+was, followed by a whisky peg, was not a good thing for a Physician
+to drink, fasting. I said to His Highness, that being unaccustomed to
+Shrab (alcohol), the doses I had taken were beginning, I was afraid, to
+affect my wits: would he allow me to withdraw.
+
+"Be not disturbed," His Highness said. "I can cure you."
+
+He ordered a cup of strong tea, with a lemon squeezed in it, and
+directed me to drink it at once. It certainly did clear my head in a
+wonderful way. By-and-bye, I got away to my room and went to sleep in
+the arm-chair.
+
+The Amir approved of the whisky, and requested me to write at once to
+Mr. Pyne to order three casks. In due time they arrived.
+
+A day or two afterwards the Amir had an alarming head symptom. He
+described his feelings when I went to see him. There was a sort of aura
+passing from the feet to the head, buzzing in the ears, headache, and a
+feeling of great heaviness in the head. I was afraid the symptoms might
+be the forerunners of an apoplectic, or some nervous seizure. Happily,
+however, the head symptoms gradually subsided, and two days afterwards
+the pain had returned to the limbs.
+
+Meanwhile, I had got to work again at the Hospital. The severer cases
+had accumulated considerably, and I had several surgical operations to
+do. One was a Stone operation on a small boy, which interested Prince
+Habibullah very much. The boy got well very quickly, and I took him,
+with a Workshop accident case that had recovered, to the Durbar that
+the Prince was holding in the Salaam Khana.
+
+During the Amir's illness, Prince Habibullah had relieved His Highness
+of a great deal of Governmental work. Sitting for hours nearly every
+day, he held Durbars and gave decisions in cases of dispute. He was the
+Chief Civil Magistrate of the town. Minor cases were decided by the
+"Kotwal," or Chief of the Military Police of Kabul.
+
+In addition to these Civil Magistracies there is an Ecclesiastical
+Court, presided over by the Chief Priest, the "Khan-i-Mullah Khan," for
+the Priests are those who are learned in the Mahomedan law. There is
+always, however, the final right of appeal to the Sovereign: though I
+have heard the Amir himself apply to the Khan-i-Mullah for instruction
+on certain points of law.
+
+[Sidenote: Duties of the Princes.]
+
+The duty of Prince Nasrullah was to superintend the management of
+the Government offices, and the work of the numerous scribes and
+secretaries--the Mirzas. Both Princes worked hard, and one met them in
+all weathers, in the blazing sun, in the hissing icy winds, the heavy
+snow fall, or the pouring rain, riding on their way from their houses
+in the city to the Durbar Hall, or the Mirza's offices, in the Erg
+Palace. With their regular and daily attendance upon their duties, they
+shamed many of the high officials of the Kingdom, and were a living and
+daily lesson to the ordinary Afghan, whose motto is ever, "To-morrow,
+or after to-morrow."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+A KABUL WINTER.
+
+    Hindustani intrigue: information from the British Agent: offer of
+    assistance: measures for protection: further intrigue. The "Royal
+    manner." The two factions: Habibullah: Mahomed Omer. The question
+    of succession. Return to the City House and English Society: divers
+    discomforts: the cold of Kabul. The naked beggar boy. The old Kabul
+    bridge. The question of "bleeding." Disbanding of a Shiah regiment.
+    Amir's advice to his sons. The oncoming spring: improvements in
+    Amir's health. The Hindustani again: Sabbath: the Amir's decision.
+    The Afghan noble as workshop superintendent. New Year sports. The
+    grand stand: the crowd: refreshments. Horse-racing: collisions.
+    Tent pegging and its dangers. Lemon slicing. The greater skill
+    of gentlemen. Displays of horsemanship. Amir's absence from the
+    sports: the result. The Nau Roz levee. Salaam to the Sultana.
+    Amir in the Salaam Khana: reception of the Maleks and merchants:
+    presents. The Princes standing before the Amir. Reception of the
+    English engineers: the "White-beard:" his age: the Amir's surprise.
+
+
+[Sidenote: Hindustani Intrigue.]
+
+The interesting Hindustani whom I have designated the "Gnat," and who,
+by the way, was giving lessons in English to Prince Habibullah, began
+to spread reports in the bazaars concerning my personal character. As,
+however, I had done nothing to reproach myself with, I did not bother
+my head about the matter, until one day the Secretary of the British
+Agent, that highly-educated Mahomedan I have spoken of, called upon me
+and told me the nature of the rumours. Then I was more than a little
+annoyed. It was so abominable. Only the vile mind of this creature
+could have conceived the indignity of charging me--not openly, but by
+a whispered word here and there--with impurity. What could I do? To
+attempt to defend myself against a charge that was not formulated, that
+only lived, like the typhus poison, in filthy corners--invisible--was
+to accuse myself.
+
+The Agent's Secretary very kindly enquired whether there were anything
+he could do that could in any way give the lie to the rumours.
+
+So far as I could see, the utmost that could be done was to refuse
+absolutely to allow the man to interpret or translate for me on any
+occasion whatsoever. I said as much to the Agent's Secretary, and he
+advised me to write at once to the Amir and inform him of my decision.
+
+I therefore wrote to His Highness, saying I did not trust the
+man--though of course I had nothing very definite to accuse him of; and
+I ended my letter by saying that rather than have this man interpret
+for me before His Highness, I would ask His Highness' permission to
+leave his service.
+
+Lest the Amir might think I had been instigated to write this letter by
+the Armenian, I asked the Agent's Secretary to translate it for me. His
+Highness did not answer my letter in writing, but whenever I was called
+before him the Hindustani was not there.
+
+Events in after years, however, showed me that the Amir _did_ look upon
+the matter as a quarrel between two Interpreters, an effort on the part
+of each of them to trip the other up. He never knew the discomfort and
+mental distress that I was compelled to suffer.
+
+The Hindustani then made another move. How he worked it I do not know,
+but some weeks afterwards I received a letter from Her Highness the
+Sultana in which she desired me to again attend her. I was, however,
+to bring the Hindustani to interpret. I at once wrote to Her Highness
+and refused; sending also a letter to the Amir acquainting him with the
+facts of the case. His Highness answered that I might be accompanied by
+another Interpreter if I wished. I informed the Sultana of the Amir's
+decision, but, as might be expected, she being a woman, I was not sent
+for--much to my relief.
+
+For some weeks His Highness appeared about the same. He was better
+for a day or two, then worse again. I visited him frequently, though
+I did not prescribe for him. He sent, however, to Bombay for certain
+medicines I thought suitable for his case.
+
+One day, while I was there, little Prince Mahomed Omer came to salaam
+his father, and the Amir was much amused at the authoritative way the
+Prince--he was not yet two--ordered about the little boys by whom he
+was surrounded. He frightened one of them so much that the child began
+to cry. The Amir laughed, and gave the Prince an orange.
+
+"The youngster has the manner of a King," said the Amir.
+
+One can only guess what the future may bring forth. The past has shown
+us that when the great Amir, Dost Mahomed, departed from this world
+he deputed a younger son, Shere Ali, to succeed him, and this because
+he was, on both mother and father's side, of Royal descent. The elder
+sons, not so happy, were passed over. The successes and reverses of
+Shere Ali, in his contests with his brothers, is an old story.
+
+So far as I know, Amir Abdurrahman has never openly said whom he would
+wish to succeed him. I think, however, there are many indications
+leading one to infer that if His Highness continue to reign for another
+ten years, Prince Mahomed Omer will be looked upon as the heir.
+
+[Sidenote: The Two Factions.]
+
+There are in Kabul at the present time two distinct and opposing
+factions: that of the Sultana for her son's sake, and that of Prince
+Habibullah.
+
+Much as I desired to avoid being drawn into intrigue or any appearance
+of being attached to either party--for the matter was of no possible
+interest to me--I know I was looked upon as belonging to the Sultana's
+party, chiefly, I believe, because of my dislike to the Hindustani
+"Gnat," who belonged to the opposing faction. Nevertheless, Prince
+Habibullah was always most courteous and kind.
+
+The Sultana had a very powerful following. She is the "favourite"
+wife, and is most liberal and generous to those with whom she comes in
+contact. She is of the same blood as the Amir, and is not unlike him in
+decision and strength of character.
+
+Habibullah is a man of ability, kindly and genial, but his mother was
+the handmaiden to one of the Queens (daughter of the Mir of Badakshan),
+who, having no children, said, "Go in unto my maid, that I may have
+children by her." Habibullah cannot sit in the presence of this Queen
+without permission: a fact which weighs with Afghan people.
+
+I do not know what line the Indian Government would take; but the
+probabilities are that when the eventful moment arrives the matter
+will be decided before ever the British could reach Kabul. Judging by
+the past, I imagine the principals of one party or other would, before
+many days were over, be in jail, or otherwise _hors de combat_.
+
+Should the Amir live till the little Prince attain adult age and the
+Prince fulfil the promise of his childhood, I imagine he would hold
+the throne alone. He is of the type of his father. Habibullah, with
+the moral support of an English Resident ostensibly keeping in the
+background, would, I take it, rule wisely. A Resident, I think, would
+not need a large escort, for a man of tact would be the friend, not the
+rival, of the King; and the Afghans are now accustomed to the presence
+of Feringhis in their midst. However, I am talking of things that do
+not concern me.
+
+At the end of January I asked permission to move from my quarters
+in the Palace and return to my house in the city. I saw more of the
+English engineers, Stewart and Myddleton, at this time, and it was
+infinitely refreshing to live again in an atmosphere of wholesome
+English ideas, rather than breathe the air of an Oriental Court reeking
+with intrigue.
+
+[Sidenote: Divers Discomforts.]
+
+Though I had my house to myself, and was not liable to be intruded upon
+at all hours of the day by the Page boys and Chamberlains, there were,
+nevertheless, I found, certain bodily discomforts and inconveniences to
+undergo, arising chiefly from the intense cold. Owing to the numerous
+doors and windows in the house, there was not a room that we could keep
+the bitter wind out of. I had been called to the Palace in the early
+winter, and had only a small stock of wood in my house. This was soon
+gone, and now wood was scarce and hard to get, for the Royal workshops
+had the first claim. The only way, therefore, to keep warm was to sit
+crouched on the floor close up to the charcoal sandali, and draw the
+quilt up to one's chin, wearing, at the same time, postin, overcoat,
+and hat. After several hours this becomes monotonous. In order to hold
+a book and read, or at meal times to use one's knife and fork, it was
+necessary to protect the hands with thick woollen gloves. One day, in
+February, the weather struck me as being warmer than usual, and I found
+the temperature in my sitting-room had gone up to 20 degrees Fahr. This
+was not so bad, and my thermometer would register it; but when it was
+really cold, I was not able to find what the temperature was, for the
+mercury shrank into the bulb.
+
+At dinner time it is exceedingly inconvenient to find you can neither
+break nor cut your bread: and to be obliged to break up your drinking
+water with a hammer is irritating. There is, I have heard, a large
+trade in frozen meat between England and New Zealand, and in this
+country I have eaten the erstwhile frozen sheep with great enjoyment.
+In Kabul it was not so. The joint came smoking from the fire, brought
+in over a pan of charcoal, but the centre, near the bone, was icy and
+raw: this was not nice. Frozen pickles are useless: and the same may
+be said of frozen ink: my letters, therefore, were written in pencil.
+Why the damson jam should not have advanced beyond the glutinous stage
+of freezing, I do not know, but it never froze solid. This worried
+me at the time: there seemed something unnatural about it. I dislike
+being hurried, and to be obliged to drink my morning cup of cocoa at
+once to prevent it freezing, almost made me regret my rooms at the
+Palace--Pages, atmosphere of intrigue and all: but I overcame this
+weakness.
+
+Going to bed was a function; and I dressed carefully for the purpose.
+Over the woollens came a tennis coat and a sheepskin waistcoat; there
+were two pairs of wool socks, a dressing-gown, a pair of gloves, and a
+hat. The cotton wool mattress was laid on the earth-beaten floor: it
+was warmer than a charpoy--but harder. A buffalo rug, a fox-skin rug,
+and a quilt finished the arrangements. One of the soldiers of the guard
+had to come and put my candle out when the performance was over.
+
+I do not know how many people died of cold, but there were a good many
+among the poorest. Going to the Hospital I used often to see a beggar
+boy of about fourteen lying naked on the snow monotonously droning,
+
+"Az barai Khuda, yak ticca nan bidde!"--"For the sake of God, one piece
+of bread give me!"
+
+I was told he had gone about naked all his life. I missed him one day,
+and thought he must be frozen to death; but, no, I saw him again a year
+or two afterwards. Though he lay on the snow, he always chose a place
+sheltered from the wind, and where the sun was shining brightly.
+
+There was an unusually heavy snowfall that winter, and the Amir gave
+orders to remove the old brick bridge over the Kabul river. The bridge
+was very solidly built, and was said to be two hundred years old. It
+was situated below the mountain gorge, and just outside the workshops.
+His Highness considered that when the snows were melting, the great
+volume of water checked at the bridge piers would overflow the
+workshops and swamp part of the town. Future events proved the accuracy
+of the Amir's prognostication.
+
+In the workshops the engineers had the greatest trouble to keep the
+steam up. Dry wood could not be got, and with wet wood the fires could
+not be kept going. The pipes carrying the water supply to the boiler
+were constantly freezing solid, and at last work with steam machinery
+came to a standstill.
+
+My visits to the Amir continued. His manner was exceedingly kind. He
+described his symptoms daily, and frequently spoke of again placing
+himself under my care. He promised me leave of absence, and said many
+other things that were very pleasant to hear.
+
+[Sidenote: The Question of "Bleeding."]
+
+The Hakims, however, bled him again and again, and his recovery was
+exceedingly tedious. I explained to His Highness how harmful bleeding
+was in Gout, and advised him not to be bled again: His Highness was
+displeased with me. Some days afterwards, however, he informed me that
+the Indian, English, and Russian newspapers, in commenting upon his
+case, had expressed views in regard to bleeding in harmony with mine.
+He has been bled many times since then.
+
+Towards the end of February the cold began to break. I did not see
+any skating during the winter, so that as Kabul is the capital of the
+country, I doubt if this is a sport among the Afghans. Not realizing
+that cold in that country is so intense, I had left my skates in
+England, otherwise I would have astonished the natives. I have no doubt
+about that, although I cannot skate.
+
+On the 1st of March the Amir disbanded a regiment of Shiah Mahomedans:
+he himself is a Sunni. This created a good deal of sensation in Kabul
+at the time, for there is one part of the town, Chindawal, devoted to
+Shiahs, though the majority of Afghans are Sunnis.
+
+Two days afterwards I heard there was some trouble at the Palace. I do
+not know all the details, for, as I said, news from the Palace filters
+out slowly and imperfectly. The Amir was depressed, I take it, by his
+long and tedious illness, for he called his sons to him and told them
+that he had only some ten years to live; and that in all probability
+neither Habibullah nor any other of his sons would succeed him.
+Ishak, on the one hand, and Ayoub on the other, were candidates for
+the Throne, and it behoved the Princes, his sons, to be amicable one
+towards the other: a bundle of branches bound together was strong, but
+taken separately they could be easily broken.
+
+The sun began to grow powerful, and the snow melted rapidly. Fires and
+the sandali became unnecessary; one had only to sit in the sun if one
+felt the cold.
+
+On March the 10th it was comparatively warm. As it was my birthday, I
+went in the afternoon to the Palace to visit the Amir. His Highness was
+at dinner. He sent me some grapes, and I sat in one of the side rooms,
+or alcoves, and waited. After dinner I talked to His Highness. He told
+me he was better, and could walk a little. He was not so thin as he had
+been. After talking to me for some time, he ordered a beautiful little
+Kataghani horse, brown with black points, to be brought from the
+stables, and asked me to accept it.
+
+[Sidenote: Sabbath: the Amir's Decision.]
+
+Shortly after this, the interesting Hindustani Interpreter--the
+Gnat--endeavoured to prejudice the two English engineers, Stewart and
+Myddleton, in His Highness's eyes. He reported to Sirdar Usuf Khan,
+the Amir's uncle, who, nominally, superintended the workshops, that
+the Englishmen, though Christians, did no work on Friday. He being the
+only Interpreter they had, they rode to my house one evening to inform
+me. I directed the Armenian to write to His Highness and explain that
+the Engineers had given up _their_ Sabbath to His Highness's service;
+had His Highness any objection to their keeping the Mahomedan Sabbath
+instead of their own.
+
+The Amir answered that he had not the slightest objection; and he wrote
+to the Sirdar that it was folly to expect the men to work every day
+in the week. The Sirdar was a courtly old gentleman, but in the Shops
+there were constant frictions. He no more understood the nature of an
+English workman than he understood Physiology or any other Science. I
+think Sir Salter--then Mr.--Pyne was also somewhat of a puzzle to him.
+Pyne has strong characteristics and decided views, and the Sirdar Sahib
+had not the former, though he assumed the latter, and on a subject in
+which he was but ill informed.
+
+When the thaw commenced, the Engineers endeavoured to make up for time
+lost during the frost by frequently working all night. There was a
+certain amount of work to be got through by the Mahomedan New Year's
+Day, in order that a good show of arms and ammunition could be laid
+before the Amir.
+
+The last day of the old year was a Friday, and the holidays began then.
+At the foot of the Asmai mountains horse-racing and sports were held.
+Crowds of spectators lined the road, and the Grand Stand was the grey,
+old, rocky mountain: he had put on his holiday garb; all the lower
+half was crowded with gaily-dressed Afghans, sitting or standing in
+thousands in the blazing sun.
+
+For the Princes and richer men tents were erected on any sufficiently
+level rock, and the servants, lighting a wood fire near, served them
+with tea, and cakes, and sweetmeats. For the poorer people there were
+itinerant cake merchants, sweetmeat vendors, and the Sakabi, with his
+water-skin and wooden cup; and for those who could afford it, there
+was iced sherbet--lemon, orange, or rose, in tumblers. There were toy
+sellers, too, with paper flags, whistles, and cheap walking-sticks from
+India; these were bought by the crowds who thronged the streets on
+their way to the mountain.
+
+The horse-racing, over a course some five hundred yards in length, more
+or less, according to the fancy of the riders, and on a hard road, was,
+compared with what we call horse-racing, somewhat of a caricature.
+There were no prizes and no starters: anybody could gallop up and down
+the road who wished. As many did wish, and as there was no sort of
+order and much reckless riding, collisions were frequent. Sometimes,
+a horse and rider would be sent spinning. I do not know if there were
+many breakages, I did not go and see: I concluded they would fetch
+me if they wanted me. One considerable smash occurred just opposite
+where I was, and the friends came and gathered up the fragments that
+remained. They threw water in the face of the riding fragment, and he
+presently recovered: the ridden fragment limped painfully away.
+
+[Sidenote: Tent-pegging: Lemon Slicing.]
+
+There was "tent-pegging," or something in a sense equivalent. There was
+no tent-peg, but a boy's cap was put on the ground, and the soldiers
+charged at it with lances. The owner of the cap was not distressed
+mentally: his cap was fairly safe. The riders were very skilful in
+scoring the ground near, but only one or two touched the cap, and then
+a murmur went up from the spectators. The way the small Afghan boys
+gathered near to see the sport was rather horrifying: I fully expected
+to see one skewered: however, it was not so written in the book of Fate.
+
+There was also "lemon-slicing." A lemon was stuck on the end of a rod,
+which was planted upright in the ground. The soldiers dashed up one
+after another, flourishing their sabres, and looking very fierce and
+terrible; but they did not often hurt the lemon.
+
+Occasionally, some man of position would join in. These were, as a
+rule, more skilful with both lance and sword than the soldiers were:
+possibly, they devoted more time to practice. My Turkestan friend,
+the Mirza Abdur Rashid, rode in: he was not at all unskilful with the
+lance. I saw, though not on this occasion, the Sirdar Abdul Kudus Khan,
+son of the Amir's cousin, and Naim Khan, the Courtier, tent-pegging
+and shooting at a mark while going full gallop: they were exceedingly
+skilful.
+
+My small friend, Mahomed Omer, son of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief,
+rode in on a little white Arab. He was about thirteen, but he must have
+practised considerably, for he picked up the cap on his lance the first
+try.
+
+The small boy who accompanied Prince Nasrullah on his visit to England
+this year, was the younger brother of Mahomed Omer. He had grown so,
+that I did not recognize him on the platform at Victoria, when the
+Prince arrived, until he came up and spoke to me.
+
+There were displays of horsemanship: standing on the saddle and
+holding on to the reins, with the horse at full gallop; picking up a
+handkerchief from the ground while at a gallop, and so on: however,
+there was nothing but what I had seen done in England, and with greater
+skill. I had imagined that the Afghans were born riders, skilful
+swordsmen, and deadly shots; but whatever the hillmen, as a class, may
+be, the soldiers certainly are not remarkable.
+
+The Princes were at the "tomasha," but His Highness the Amir was,
+of course, unable to honour the sports by his presence. I was told,
+indeed, that he now very rarely does so; and the result has been that
+the sports have fallen off considerably.
+
+[Sidenote: New Year Congratulations.]
+
+The next day was "Nau Roz," or the New Year's Day. I was informed that
+His Highness would be able to receive me at three p.m. In the morning,
+therefore, I rode to the Babur Badshah Gardens to salaam the Sultana,
+who was staying in the Bungalow there. On the way I met Mahomed Omer
+and complimented him on his skill with the lance. He is a bright
+little fellow, and he seemed greatly pleased at being complimented. He
+was gorgeous in scarlet and gold, and was at the head of a troop of
+cavalry, in his exalted post of "Commander-in-Chief" to Prince Mahomed
+Omer.
+
+At the gardens we had tea and cigarettes in a tent while our
+congratulations were taken in to the Sultana. I did not, of course, see
+Her Highness, and she sent the New Year greetings by her messenger,
+"Sirdar"--the girl-boy.
+
+By the time we had returned to Kabul it was three o'clock, and I rode
+on to the Palace.
+
+When I arrived His Highness was being conveyed in a palanquin to the
+Salaam Khana, where there were arranged for his inspection, rifles,
+sabres, cartridges, sword-sticks, rupees, and other productions of the
+workshops.
+
+His Highness was kind enough to stop and enquire how I was. He
+evidently remembered--as I did--that at the last big reception of this
+kind _I_ had been the invalid, for he asked if I had had any return of
+the illness. I was happy to tell him I was well, and that my greatest
+wish was that he might soon be the same. While His Highness was
+speaking. Col. Attaullah Khan, the British Agent, came and stood near
+me; by the side of such a splendid man I felt a stripling, for I am but
+a meagre six feet with my boots on.
+
+When the inspection of arms was over, His Highness, followed by the
+Princes and the Courtiers, entered the Salaam Khana and took his seat
+on the couch in one of the end rooms. He kindly allowed me to be
+seated, though everyone else stood, and taking some cigars from a box
+he sent them to me by a Page boy, and invited me to smoke.
+
+Presently, the Maleks, and Merchants, and others, who wished to make
+New Year's offerings, were admitted. They stood just inside the
+doorway, and round the lower end of the room. The Court attendants took
+the presents and laid them on the ground in front of the Amir.
+
+There were rolls of silks and satins; lamps, musical-boxes, Russian
+boots, vases, Japanese cabinets, sugar, sweets, inexpensive
+writing-cases, pocket-knives, flowers, and in the midst of the medley I
+noticed a pair of trouser stretchers.
+
+His Highness did not seem very much interested in the presents, though
+Prince Habibullah occasionally took up an article and examined it.
+
+When the offering of presents was completed, chairs were brought for
+the Princes and they sat down. Why I should have been allowed to sit
+while the Princes stood, I do not know, unless it were, as I sometimes
+thought, that the Amir wished to guard the Princes from the danger of
+acquiring a too exalted notion of their own personal importance.
+
+Prince Habibullah was always courteous, and struck me as having much
+more _savoir vivre_ than Prince Nasrullah.
+
+[Sidenote: "White-beard;" His Age.]
+
+At five p.m. Messrs. Stewart and Myddleton were received by His
+Highness. Chairs were placed for them and tea was brought. After the
+usual polite salutations His Highness asked Stewart how old he was. The
+question, no doubt, was suggested to the Amir's mind by the fact that
+Stewart's hair and beard were silvery white. Afghans, when their hair
+turns grey, almost invariably, unless they are Priests, dye it black
+or red. His Highness's hair and beard were very grey when he was ill,
+but were blue-black afterwards, and I could not help connecting this
+remarkable fact with the many bottles of hair-dye I saw in the stores.
+
+His Highness was surprised to hear that Stewart was only forty-eight.
+He laughed when he heard it, and said he thought he must be a hundred.
+
+After we had drunk tea permission was given us to withdraw, and we rode
+home. During the reception the Armenian had translated. Waiting outside
+and expecting to be sent for, was the Hindustani, but though Prince
+Habibullah asked where he was, no one answered.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+A KABUL SPRING.
+
+    Spring clothing: a grateful Afghan. Poison bowls. The dreadful
+    book. A haunted house: the skeleton in the garden. Increase of
+    patients. Called to the Palace: Amir's costume: flowers: Amir's
+    generous proposal. Troubles of a Ruler: Secretary in disgrace.
+    Amir's plans for the future. Geologists in the service: their
+    difficulties. Occidental _v._ Oriental. Mercantile commissions. The
+    Armenian's leave. Delay. The locusts. Prince Mahomed Omer and his
+    Lala. The Palace gardens. A military Durbar. Amir's thoughtfulness.
+    A portrait. Amir's opinion of his people: education of his
+    soldiers. The arrest: murder of the prisoner: the Amir's decision.
+    Other portraits. Ramazan. Rising of the river. The Id Festival.
+    The Physician's plans: the Amir's comment. Prince Habibullah's
+    portrait: the Shaghassi's criticism. Prince Nasrullah's portrait:
+    his remark.
+
+
+The holidays lasted a week. The sports were continued at Asmai, and in
+the evening fireworks were let off in the town.
+
+Whatever the weather may be, postins and winter clothing are never left
+off till Nau Roz, and never continued afterwards. The weather, however,
+in Afghanistan behaves more according to rule and is less eccentric
+than in England. I became clothed in a tunic of camel's hair and a
+leather belt. Around the brow the awe-inspiring turban was wreathed in
+many folds--heavy but picturesque and protecting. The camel-hair cloth
+was given me by a grateful Afghan because I cut off his little son's
+toe. He also gave me two ancient China bowls. These were intelligent
+articles, for if at any time food should be put into them containing
+poison they would at once break themselves into a thousand pieces--at
+least, so I was informed; I did not, however, put the bowls to the
+inconvenience of exhibiting their power of discernment, for it seemed
+better to keep them as they were than to take them home in a thousand
+pieces.
+
+At this time I found that the Engineers had got a book, and I borrowed
+it, having had nothing new to read for many months. The book was that
+ancient and gruesome collection of stories called "The Night Side of
+Nature." The narratives in it were similar to those that the _Review
+of Reviews_ laid before Seekers after Truth, under the title of "Real
+Ghost Stories."
+
+[Sidenote: A Haunted House.]
+
+It was a dreadful book. Read it alone in the haunted wing of a house,
+and in a town full of the memory of murders and midnight assassins;
+where in the dead silence of the night unaccountable noises force
+themselves upon the startled ear; and see how you like it.
+
+I knew my house was haunted, because I had been told so.
+
+One evening, absorbed in reading, I became conscious that the windows
+rattled, a door slammed, and suddenly, right over my head, there was a
+sound as of a heavy body rolling rapidly along; and a horrible shriek
+split the air. The awe-inspiring volume slipped from the nerveless
+fingers (anatomically this is not accurate), and palpitating with a
+wordless horror, I sat powerless. For a long minute all was still: then
+the sound as of stealthy footsteps struck on the straining ear--on the
+tympanic membrane as a matter of fact. The door moved slowly on its
+creaking hinge, and--
+
+"Kist!" "who is it!" rang in my ears.
+
+It was my own voice, hoarse and unrecognizable, uttering the cry. I
+clutched the ready revolver and cocked it.
+
+"Sahib! dead man, all is buried in garden. His bones me see."
+
+It was my Indian cook who brought the information. This, then, was the
+cause of the unnatural manifestations. Doubtless, the house had been
+the scene of a horrible murder, and the criminals had hastily hidden
+the ghastly proof of their deed in the garden; but murder will out, and
+the unrestful spirit of the victim was wandering around.
+
+Now I had studied Forensic Medicine and had read Gaboriau. It behoved
+me, therefore, to work out this crime, track the murderers, and bring
+them to justice.
+
+"Ustughonha biya inja,"--"Bring hither the bones," I said.
+
+I know the human bones, every ridge, furrow, and knob, from the fifth
+Metatarsal to the Sphenoid. Many a night in the years gone by had I sat
+poring over a bone, while the stars twinkled in the heavens--at least,
+I expect they did; not that it matters.
+
+The servant returned, and with horror and disgust depicted on his
+swarthy face laid a small bone on the table in front of me.
+
+"But where are the others? Bring the skull, man--the head."
+
+"Sahib, other me not see."
+
+With an eagle glance I pierced him, and he shrunk back.
+
+"Drivelling idiot, son of uncleanness, scoundrel, whose heart is
+blacker than his face--this is not a man's bone. Bring me human bones."
+
+"Sahib, other me not got."
+
+"Get some, then, and at once;" and he fled from the room.
+
+Was I to be trifled with in this way; to be made small and of no
+account? I was prepared to unravel the mystery, and was I to be turned
+aside by a servant--an Indian servant--a black Indian servant?
+
+But I cooled down afterwards, and by-and-bye, when he came in to
+enquire if I wanted anything, I said, No! he could go to bed.
+
+In April, the weather was beautiful, sunny and bright, without being
+too hot. The number of patients coming to the Hospital increased as
+travelling became easier. I saw about a hundred and thirty cases daily.
+Some came great distances--from Turkestan, Kandahar, Herat, and the
+borders of Kaffristan.
+
+[Sidenote: Called to the Palace.]
+
+On the 5th of April, His Highness sent word that he wished to see me.
+When I arrived at the Palace I found His Highness alone, but for one
+Secretary and the Page boys. He looked much better and stronger than he
+had done for a long time. He was attired in native costume, in a bright
+coloured silk robe, a small white turban wound round a gold-embroidered
+cap, and loose white Oriental pyjamas.
+
+I stopped some distance from the couch and bowed: His Highness beckoned
+me to a chair near him and enquired if I were well. Then he continued
+reading a letter the Secretary had just written, and cigarettes were
+brought me. It seemed a pity to smoke, for the air of the Palace was
+sweet with the scent of freshly-cut flowers, hyacinths, wallflowers,
+and narcissi.
+
+Suddenly, His Highness looked up and asked me when I should like to
+start for England: he said the weather would soon be hot and unsuitable
+for travelling in India; and before long, storms at sea were to be
+feared.
+
+I replied that I was awaiting His Highness's orders. He asked me how
+long leave I should like; and when I said I left that entirely to him,
+he enquired whether six months would be sufficient.
+
+His Highness said also, that he would let me know before my return
+in what part of the country he was to be found, whether in Herat,
+Kandahar, Turkestan, or Kabul, so that I could join him. He desired me
+to draw the plans of a house such as I should like to live in, and he
+would build it for me.
+
+If my wife, after I were married, wished to return with me, he
+should be pleased; and should she after some months find the climate
+uncongenial, his permission would be granted her to return to
+England. Should she, however, prefer to remain in England, leave of
+absence would be granted me every two years. His Highness also told
+me many interesting things: among them the reason why Afghanistan is
+poverty-stricken and powerless, and he sketched methods in which the
+resources of the country might be developed if only his people had
+sense enough to follow out his directions; but, as he said, there were
+so few he could trust.
+
+This very man before him, the Secretary, could not be trusted even to
+write a letter correctly; and yet, he said, this man and his brother
+were secretaries to Amir Shere Ali; and more, they had the keeping of
+the King's Signet. Why, therefore, with such men in power, should not
+the country have become weak, poverty-stricken, and on the verge of
+ruin!
+
+[Sidenote: Geologists in the Service.]
+
+One of his designs, he told me, was to again employ an English
+geologist, and when the presence of valuable minerals was made known,
+to open up roads and start mining operations.
+
+His Highness's words were words of wisdom: but looking back, as I do,
+with a knowledge of the past, I am greatly in doubt as to whether
+the nature of the Oriental will allow to any European geologist in
+the Amir's service anything like a fair chance of success in his
+endeavours. From the outset his good faith is doubted. I heard from
+Captain Griesbach, C.I.E., how hampered he had been on every hand; how
+impossible it was made for him to do any useful work; for the whisper
+had been spread--even I heard it--that he carried a note-book, and if
+he found a mineral of value it was not the Amir to whom the fact was
+reported, but the British Government. Disgusted that his efforts should
+be so curtailed and his powers made useless, the Captain left the
+service.
+
+The next geologist who entered the service was Mr. Arthur Collins,
+F.G.S., who was recommended to the Amir's Agent by the Home Office.
+His experiences were very similar to those of Captain Griesbach. He
+was followed about rigorously by a guard, and from whatever place he
+took a specimen, from the same place an official in his ignorance
+took what he considered to be a similar specimen: this was to act as
+a check on the geologist! After a few months Mr. Collins, new to the
+country, photographed some interesting geological formations that he
+saw. At once it was reported that the new geologist was a political
+agent spying out the nakedness of the land. He was recalled to Kabul
+and kept, as Captain Griesbach had been, for months doing nothing,
+till, in disgust, he also resigned. Whether any other able man will in
+the future consider it other than waste of time to work against such
+obstacles--petty, intangible, but real--I know not. The game seems
+hardly worth the candle: unless, indeed, one thinks fit to descend and
+meet the Oriental on his own ground: to employ bribery; or, having
+learnt the language, to indulge in intrigue and trip his enemies one
+by one:--not a difficult matter--for that any educated Englishman of
+ordinary intelligence is a match for an Afghan or Hindustani I have
+not a doubt, granted that he cares to employ his brain in such unclean
+work. Pitch, however, is proverbially defiling, and the triumph is lost
+if one comes out of a game besmeared.
+
+His Highness desired me to inform him as soon as I had finished the
+arrangements I wished to make at the Hospital to enable the Hindustani
+assistants to carry on the work during my absence; then I was to start
+on my journey home. He said many kind things to me; among others,
+that he considered me a man worthy of trust. He added that there were
+certain orders he should commission me to execute in London.
+
+These, I found, were to be the sending out of materials--silks,
+satins, and cloth; and jewellery of various kinds. My education,
+however, having been medical, I was not in any sense a business man,
+and it occurred to me that this was a suitable opportunity for acceding
+to the Armenian's request, and taking him to London with me: he could
+attend to these matters better than I.
+
+[Sidenote: The Locusts.]
+
+A few days afterwards, therefore, I wrote to His Highness, and asked
+permission for the Armenian to accompany me to England. His Highness
+granted my request, and, when the time arrived, generously gave the
+Armenian two thousand rupees to pay his expenses.
+
+We did not, however, start on the journey so soon as I had expected,
+for His Highness desired me to paint his portrait again. Accordingly,
+a few days afterwards I went to the Palace, but I found on examination
+that His Highness had not recovered strength sufficiently to enable him
+to undergo the fatigue of sitting for a portrait. This seemed likely
+to put a stop to my home going for an indefinite time; until a thought
+struck me--why should not I paint a portrait from the photograph that
+the Sultana had given me. I said nothing to His Highness, but set to
+work.
+
+While I was working at this portrait I saw some extraordinary clouds
+come quivering along just above the tree tops. They seemed almost as
+though they were made up of myriads of little birds. I learnt what
+they were soon enough. The locusts had come. The year before I had
+seen in Turkestan swarms of little black birds, the only birds, they
+told me, that feed on locusts. The Amir had made an order that all
+who killed these birds were to be fined. As, however, they had a habit
+of devouring mulberries as well as locusts, many of them were killed.
+Curiously enough the locusts did not settle in Kabul, though on the
+outskirts of the town one occasionally saw a tree leafless. They came
+from the direction of Peshawur, and at Jelalabad and other places on
+the way they had worked havoc.
+
+Towards the end of April the portrait was finished, and I went to the
+Palace to lay it before the Amir.
+
+Entering the Palace gardens I met little Prince Mahomed Omer riding out
+on horseback surrounded by his guard, with his Lala or Tutor walking by
+his side. He looked very dignified and proud as he sat his horse alone.
+The Lala whispered to him, and he answered my bow by touching his cap:
+he was a year and eight months old. When I reached the Palace His
+Highness sent a Page to conduct me to one of the gardens where he said
+he should be sitting very shortly.
+
+We went through a passage under the wall of the fort, across the moat,
+and round to the gardens on the west side of the Palace. There were
+several tents erected, but the Amir's, which was a gorgeous one, lined
+with crimson and white, with glass doors, was pitched on a circular
+piece of ground, surrounded by a narrow artificial stream, edged with
+Pampas grass. The circular stream was fed by a perfectly straight
+stream, edged thickly with Pampas grass, and the water flowed away by a
+similar stream on the right. All around were flower-beds and trees, and
+in the distance, to the west, the Paghman Mountains, capped with snow.
+Behind was the Palace. In front of the Amir's tent a large awning was
+stretched.
+
+Here on the carpets the Chief Officers of the army were seated chatting
+together. Crossing the stream by a little bridge, I joined them, and
+a chair was brought. For the Amir, was an arm-chair covered with blue
+velvet and old gold coloured satin, and in front of it a tiger skin
+footrug. Out in the garden two or three hundred soldiers were drawn up:
+it was a military Durbar.
+
+Presently the Officers jumped up and joined the soldiers, and I found
+the Amir was approaching. He came in a palanquin with a guard of
+soldiers, and in front marched the Page boys, each armed with a small
+rifle. His Highness was dressed in a grey military uniform embroidered
+with gold, and a grey astrakhan hat with a diamond star. He looked very
+handsome, but rather pale.
+
+[Sidenote: Amir's Thoughtfulness.]
+
+When His Highness drew near I stood up and took off my turban:--this
+is not a difficult matter, one seizes the top of the conical cap round
+which the turban is tightly wound. The Armenian who was with me said,
+"Salaam aleikoum," and when His Highness looked up I bowed. He asked me
+how I was, and then descending from the palanquin he walked slowly to
+the chair. I was very glad to see him walking again. It was a cloudy
+and windy day, and presently His Highness turned to me and desired me
+to cover my head lest I took cold.
+
+Then the portrait I had just painted was brought forward for His
+Highness to see. He was pleased with it, and surprised that I should
+have painted it without a sitting. He told me it required certain
+alterations, chiefly in the colouring, and he gave directions for the
+portrait I had painted in Turkestan to be taken down from the Palace
+and brought to my house to correct this one by;
+
+"For," said he, "that is an exact likeness."
+
+I was at the Durbar about three hours, and His Highness told me many
+things; among others was this:--There were out in the garden several
+companies of soldiers drawn up before him, young men and lads, perhaps,
+300. Of these there were about twenty of whom he wished to make
+officers. He said:
+
+"These men are gentlemen; their fathers and their grandfathers were
+gentlemen and men of position, but such is the ignorance of the people
+I govern that not one of them can read or write: they know nothing.
+What work can they do? None. They can quarrel and fight; it is all they
+are fit for."
+
+He told me that he had given orders for them to be taught, so that they
+would be able, at least, to write and read a letter.
+
+He had a regiment of boy soldiers--the "Mahomedan Regiment," these also
+he had directed to be taught reading and writing.
+
+One incident occurred which may be interesting:
+
+A soldier of the guard, a man whom I had attended in Mazar, a handsome
+fellow who seemed to be always laughing, came up to His Highness to
+report an arrest he had made. He said that while he was on guard over
+His Highness's tent an intruder approached and he challenged him. No
+answer being returned he tried to persuade him to go away, saying:--
+
+"Sahib, this is Amir Sahib's tent; the tent of the great King; come not
+here I pray you."
+
+But the intruder, treating him with silent contempt, advanced. Once
+more he tried persuasion. Humbly taking off his turban he implored:--
+
+"Sahib! Barai-i-Khuda! For God's sake, approach no nearer; it is Amir
+Sahib's tent."
+
+[Sidenote: The Arrest.]
+
+This last request being no more effective than the other, he determined
+to act boldly and arrest the intruder be he whom he might. Throwing
+down his rifle he pounced upon him, overpowered him, and then proceeded
+to make him fast. Driving four tent pegs into the ground he fastened
+his legs to two of the pegs and his head to the other two--in the
+manner that unruly horses are fixed in Afghanistan.
+
+He felt he had done his duty, and taking up his rifle he continued his
+march in front of the tent. But, wai, wai! that he should have to tell
+it, when his back was turned, up came two of the gardeners and murdered
+the prisoner as he lay.
+
+"Ah?" said the Amir, with a gleam in his eye; "bring hither the body."
+
+The soldier withdrew, and presently returned bearing the body of the
+victim. It was a little mouse.
+
+The Amir looked at the soldier a moment and then burst into a hearty
+laugh. Everyone joined in--except the gardeners. They were called
+up--forty of them--and after being reprimanded for allowing mice in the
+garden, were ordered each of them to pay a fine of a certain number of
+mice every year.
+
+The next day when the Turkestan portrait arrived I set to work to
+correct the new one by it; and when that was finished I copied the
+first, since His Highness approved of it, on another canvas.
+
+At the beginning of May, when both were completed, I took them to
+the Palace. Hearing, however, that His Highness was not sitting, I
+was coming away, when he sent for me back again. He was much pleased
+with the paintings, and taking a cigarette out of his case he fitted
+it in a holder and gave it me to smoke. He also said he should be
+greatly pleased if I would paint a portrait of the two eldest Princes
+before I left. I said that nothing would give me greater pleasure: but
+afterwards, on thinking it over, my remark struck me as being somewhat
+beyond the truth.
+
+It was the month of Ramazan, the yearly Mahomedan fast. The Prince
+could not sit fasting: Religion would not allow him to eat in the day
+time; and my capabilities would not allow me to paint in the night,
+and we were at a standstill. Instead of sitting for his portrait,
+therefore, the Prince took unto himself another wife, and invited me to
+the wedding. I have described the Reception after the wedding, in an
+early part of the narrative.
+
+On May 9th the Fast of Ramazan ended, and on the 10th was the festival
+of Id. It was a bright sunny day, which, after the most unusual storms
+of hail and rain we had been having, was delightful. The hailstones of
+the day before were as big as the end of one's finger--I brought some
+in to examine.
+
+In the night, the river, which, owing to the melting snows and the
+rain had been rapidly rising, became so swollen as to be a source of
+no little danger to a part of the town. Fortunately the bridge had
+been almost cleared away, but as it was a regiment of soldiers were
+sent out to strengthen the embankment of the river. There was no moon,
+and they worked away all night by torchlight; otherwise, as the river
+roared along with great force and at a tremendous speed, the Chindawal
+division of the town would have been flooded and the houses washed away.
+
+Id being a festival everyone was dressed in his smartest, and the
+servants all had clean white turbans and white clothes. According to
+the custom of the country I gave presents and a feast to my servants
+and guard, and went to the Durbar to salute the Amir. I told His
+Highness that when I was in England I would take pains to perfect
+myself in the Persian language: that I found difficulty in doing so in
+Kabul, as I had neither dictionary nor grammar. His Highness laughed:
+he said--
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Comment.]
+
+"I think not. You will take unto yourself a wife, you will visit your
+friends, but you will not learn Persian."
+
+He was quite right.
+
+Two days after this Prince Habibullah gave me the first sitting for
+his portrait. He sat in the Salaam Khana, and when I arrived I found
+him in the upstairs room, the Guest-house, which has large windows all
+round. As the light came in every direction, painting there was an
+impossibility.
+
+I could not get any shadow under the brow or chin to give an effect
+of relief, and I asked His Highness if he would sit in another room.
+As the Prince had studied the art of photography he understood the
+difficulty, and we moved at once to one of the lower rooms. Here, by
+shutting the shutters of one window, and hanging a curtain over the
+lower part of another, we managed to get a very fair light.
+
+There were several of the Prince's suite in the room, and when I put in
+the preliminary charcoal sketch the Prince's Shaghassi said:--
+
+"Al-lah! What a colour he is making the Prince. The Sirdar Sahib is not
+black!!"
+
+If I had known that I should find photographs of these portraits of
+the Princes in possession of the _Graphic_ when I arrived in London,
+and that woodcuts of them would be in many of the illustrated London
+papers, I should probably have postponed my holiday for a time and
+put more work into the paintings. As it was, Prince Habibullah's was
+painted from four sittings and Prince Nasrullah's from three. That of
+the elder Prince was the better likeness. Prince Nasrullah's portrait,
+on being carried from my house to the Palace after I had painted His
+Highness's name on it, met with an accident and was badly scratched.
+It was sent back to me, therefore, to repair. When I had it again, it
+struck me that one part was not quite correct in drawing, and I worked
+at it somewhat without the sitter. When it was dry I sent it in again.
+The Prince approved of the alteration, and he desired to send it back
+to me yet again, for he said:--
+
+[Sidenote: Nasrullah's Comment.]
+
+"Behold! it is handsomer than it was; and if I send it a third time
+may be it will become still more beautiful."
+
+By the time the pictures were finished Mr. Pyne had returned to Kabul
+from India, bringing with him an English tailor. The day Mr. Pyne
+arrived I joined the English party at the Workshops, and we had dinner
+together.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+ON LEAVE.
+
+    The last Durbar: the Amir's remark: a wedding present. Adieux.
+    The journey down. An awful day: "difficult hot:" the walk. Played
+    out. The stream and the wall. Triumph: exhaustion. The work of
+    the locusts. Unwelcome guests: a rejected plan. The breeding
+    establishment: a study in colour. A want of tact. An illegal march.
+    Simla. The despatch. Dinners and dances. The study of character:
+    an education. The Armenian in London. The "hub" of the universe:
+    return to India.
+
+
+On the last day in May I went to the Durbar, for I thought that surely
+now I had finished all there was to do before I started. His Highness
+received me most kindly.
+
+I said that in my life I had filled other appointments, but that His
+Highness's kindness to me had exceeded all that I had met with before.
+He said:--
+
+"Why should I not treat you kindly? You are a 'Friend of my Heart.' I
+say this not to give you pleasure, but because I mean it."
+
+I replied that I felt the honour he did me deeply, for I was his
+servant and he a King. He said:--
+
+"I have seen many men: high and low; rich and poor; men of noble
+descent, and men of obscure birth; but I call no man a friend of my
+heart till I have watched his deeds. I judge a man by his deeds, and
+not by his words, and again I address you as a Friend of my Heart."
+
+His Highness desired me to take eight months' leave; my pay was to
+continue during my absence, and, in addition, he gave me as a wedding
+present an order upon his Agent with the Government in India for a
+considerable sum of money.
+
+The Armenian, who was to accompany me, received written instructions
+relating to the commissions the Amir wished executed in London. During
+his absence his salary would be paid to his wife in Kabul.
+
+[Sidenote: Adieux.]
+
+The next day my packing was done. Firmans for pack-horses, tents, and
+guard procured, and I took a formal leave of His Highness the Amir.
+
+I visited Prince Habibullah, who received me most kindly, and after he
+had conversed with me for about an hour I took leave of him. I then
+rode out to Aliabad, a few miles out of Kabul, where Her Highness the
+Sultana was staying, and sent in my salaams to her and the little
+Prince Mahomed Omer. Her Highness sent a large tray of sweetmeats, and
+presented me with some very beautiful embroidered cashmere.
+
+On June 4th, after a good-bye to Mr. Pyne and the other Englishmen, I
+started on my journey home. I will not trace the journey in detail: it
+was excessively hot, and I will merely mention one or two incidents
+that occurred.
+
+One day the march was particularly trying. We were at Borikab. I
+had breakfast at dawn--three small poached-eggs and some tea. The
+baggage and tents were sent off, and when the sun rose we started
+gaily. Gaily--_I_--poor fool! little did I know--but you shall hear.
+We trotted and trotted, and shuffled and climbed by mountain and
+gorge, over pebble and rock, until at midday we reached Jigdilik. We
+descended, and sat in the valley in the cool shade of the big trees
+and had lunch. Mine was a hard-boiled egg from my holster, a piece
+of native bread, and some tea. I thought the march was over, and lay
+basking in the shade. Was ever mortal so deluded!
+
+"Sir, please you get up and start; a long way we go to-day,"--thus the
+Armenian after an hour.
+
+"Start!! man alive, we started hours ago: you are not going any further
+to-day, surely."
+
+"Sir, we must make haste. Between Dacca and Lalpur, this month is very
+difficult hot: and slowly by slowly it makes hotter. Better this, we
+get through it soon: you European."
+
+Immortal Pluto! not the Turkestan plains over again!
+
+"Come along, then," said I, jumping up, "let us start at once," and we
+started.
+
+Along the narrow rocky ravine we rode--just after midday in June--and
+the sun shot down at us. It dried our blood, and the glare burnt into
+our brain, at any rate, into mine; I don't know about the cast-iron
+Afghans.
+
+Up the long winding gorge we climbed, and at the summit the breeze
+struck us. We caught a few long breaths of coolness, then plunged into
+another long winding descent with precipitous rocks on either side. On
+and on we trudged, hour after hour, still at last my bodily powers
+gave out. This, by the way, was the road that Brydon went over.
+
+[Sidenote: Played Out.]
+
+Ride further I could not, for I had not recovered my strength since
+last year's illness. Nine stone five pounds is not adequate for a man
+of my height: it does not leave enough available muscle. Nevertheless,
+no one, who is not a Salamander--an amphibious animal, allied to the
+newts, and capable of living in fire--can comfortably rest on burning
+rocks. There was no shade of any sort, not a tree, nothing, but glaring
+rocks and stones. I got off my horse therefore, and walked. I was
+conscious at the time that the Afghan guard thought the sun had made
+me mad, and as they eyed me suspiciously, I tried to assume a fierce
+aspect, and stalked along down hill at the rate of five miles an hour.
+The change of motion rested the muscles, and the guard on horseback
+came shuffling along hastily behind me. Then came a climb, and I got on
+again refreshed and perspiring, but more internally weary, as I found
+after riding twenty minutes. Over the rest of the march I will draw the
+veil of forgetfulness. It was too terrible for words.
+
+In the evening, we reached Gundamuk. I perceived that my tent was
+being put up in a garden, and between me and that garden were a stream
+and a wall. I had dismounted, my horse had been led away, and I was
+standing on my own legs. I had but little faith in them, for they
+seemed inclined to fail me in my hour of need. There was the wall,
+staring me in the face, to say nothing of the stream. True, the stream
+was but a foot wide, and the wall had a gap in it, nevertheless, they
+were difficulties to be overcome. There were two courses open to me:
+one was to sit on the ground where I was, and wait until someone could
+come and help me across: another was to take time by the forelock and
+get across myself somehow or other. Everyone was busy with the baggage
+and tents, and no one seemed to perceive my dilemma: therefore, being
+resolute by nature, I determined upon the latter course, and stood for
+a time considering how I would accomplish it.
+
+Staggering boldly to the stream, I allowed myself to fall forwards till
+I caught the wall with both hands; clinging on and clenching my teeth I
+gave a vigorous heave to one leg, and in a moment was astride the gap:
+nerving myself for another violent effort I swung the other leg over.
+
+I had conquered, and, moreover, without experiencing the loss of
+dignity that a fall in the stream would have occasioned. Exhilarated
+by my success, I reeled into the tent and sank on the carpet. "Sank,"
+perhaps, hardly gives the correct impression, for as soon as the legs
+were bent at the knee I sat down with disagreeable suddenness. I
+then proceeded to drink large quantities of liquid--tea, water, and
+sherbet--and when my charpoy was brought into the tent I climbed on
+to it and lay down, hoping to lose my senses in forgetfulness. It was
+without avail, and I rolled from side to side seeking rest and finding
+none.
+
+In the course of three hours the unwilling fowl was caught, killed, and
+cooked, and I made a tough, moist meal. But now I could rest, and no
+longer in vain did I court the Goddess of sleep.
+
+[Sidenote: Unwelcome Guests.]
+
+Further on in our march we found the locusts had been at work. Around
+Jelalabad the country in spite of the heat had the appearance of
+winter: the trees were bare. In the Palace gardens the oranges hung
+nearly ripe, but every leaf had gone. When we arrived there we had
+afternoon tea in the Guest-house at the Palace, and afterwards rode on
+some few miles beyond Jelalabad, where we camped.
+
+I had dinner in the open and then went into my tent to lie down: but
+I came out again--quickly. The locusts had invaded it and had crawled
+up inside the tent and over the charpoy, so that all was green--a
+beautiful green shot with pink: but it gave me no pleasure, the colour
+seemed out of place. Moreover, I could not lie down without crunching
+my unwelcome guests; and no host, I take it, cares to lie upon the
+mangled remains of guests, be they never so unwelcome.
+
+We had noticed that day as we travelled along that a careful peasant
+had dug a shallow pond at the foot of a beautiful mulberry tree. The
+locusts had perforce spared that tree: they might have tumbled off and
+they cannot swim; but they had spitefully nipped off every leaf that
+spread beyond the water. A shallow pond, therefore, was dug some little
+distance away in the hard-baked earth for my charpoy to stand in, and
+since we could not get the locusts out of the tent, we determined to
+take the tent away from the locusts. On further consideration, however,
+it seemed likely, and indeed the Armenian insisted very strongly on the
+point, that if I lay all night with my bed in a pond I should wake
+up in the morning with fever or rheumatism, or something disagreeable
+which would be likely to hinder our journey.
+
+We left the pond, therefore, and moved away to a bare open space
+with never a blade of grass nor a leaf anywhere near. Here my tent
+was pitched, and with a feeling of restful security I sat upon my
+charpoy and enjoyed the cool of the evening. A tickling sensation at
+the back of the neck caused me to raise my hand, and I brushed away
+a great locust. Ach! the beasts were all over me: they seemed to be
+evolved spontaneously out of nothing. They were not so, however, for
+on the mountains outside Kabul we saw myriads of the young locusts
+about the size of black ants hopping about in the warm sand. This was
+one of their breeding establishments where the eggs are hatched. The
+life-history of the locust may be looked upon as an interesting study
+in colour, for when he is a babe he is black, as a youth he is pink,
+and in adult age green. Two and a-half inches is his length, but he
+looks longer: he is all legs and wings. As a creature that crawls I
+object to him.
+
+I called for assistance, and the tent was cleared: but they have no
+tact, these Locusts, and they came in again and again like so many
+Afghan Page boys, welcome or not. I spent an active and shuddering
+evening brushing them off my neck, shoulders, and wrists. At last in
+despair I covered my head over with a sheet and went to sleep, dreaming
+I was being crawled over by scorpions and centipedes.
+
+When we got to the "difficult hot" place (_sakht_, hard, difficult,
+severe) between Lalpur and Dacca, the sky was cloudy, and a strong
+wind blew. The dust was awful, but safer than the sun.
+
+[Sidenote: The Despatch.]
+
+We went through the Khyber on a closed day, which, I found afterwards,
+is illegal. The chief of the Khyber Pathans had been a friend of the
+Armenian's father, and he ordered out the guard of the Pass for us,
+so that we could travel on instead of waiting two or three days. At
+Jumrood, the end of the Pass, we were stopped by the order of the
+British Frontier Officer, and I heard that, if I had been in the
+service of the Government, I should have been liable to imprisonment in
+the fort for travelling on the wrong day. However, we were allowed to
+proceed.
+
+In Peshawur I got rid of my horses: tipped my Afghan guard, and took
+the train to Simla to deliver a Despatch to His Excellency the Viceroy
+that His Highness the Amir had entrusted me with.
+
+The despatch contained nothing political, but simply concerned me
+personally. The Foreign Secretary kindly gave me a translation of it.
+This is how it runs:--
+
+  (Copy.) "FOREIGN OFFICE, INDIA.
+
+"Translation of a letter from His Highness the Amir of Afghanistan and
+its Dependencies to the address of His Excellency the Viceroy, dated
+the 24th of Showal, 1308 H., corresponding to the 2nd of June, 1891.
+
+"After compliments.
+
+"I have the honour to inform your Excellency that Dr. John Gray has
+asked me for some months' leave in view to proceed to England and
+celebrate his marriage, and, after settling his own domestic affairs,
+to return to me.
+
+"I have, therefore, given him eight months' leave, and it has been
+settled with him that he should come back to Kabul at the appointed
+time.
+
+"This has been written only for your Excellency's information, so that
+your Excellency may be aware of the circumstance and the manner of
+leave of Dr. Gray. Of course, he will do everything which he thinks
+necessary for his domestic affairs during the period of his leave, and,
+having satisfied himself, he will, at the approach of the appointed
+period, start to come to Kabul in a happy and hopeful state of mind."
+
+It will be unnecessary to give details of the gay time we had in Simla.
+Colonel Wali Ahmad Khan, the Amir's Agent with the Government of India,
+had received orders from the Amir to invite me to the bungalow that the
+Government had placed at his disposal. I stayed with him, therefore,
+taking the Armenian and my Indian cook. I had my formal interview
+with the Viceroy, dined with His Excellency: went to several dances
+at the Viceregal Lodge: was introduced to Lord Roberts, Lord William
+Beresford, the Quartermaster-General, and other gentlemen: went to
+numerous dinners, and, after a fortnight's gaiety, departed for Bombay,
+where, accompanied by the Armenian, I took ship for London.
+
+In India I had been struck by the remarkable whiteness of an
+Englishman's skin: in London I thought I knew every second man I met.
+However, I soon came to the conclusion that it must be the type I was
+familiar with, not the individual.
+
+The next thing that appealed to me, after I had got over the
+strangeness of seeing "Sahibs" drive cabs, heave baggage about, and
+take "tips," was the quaint irregularity of an Englishman's features:
+I do not remember noticing that English ladies appeared in the same
+light: on the contrary,--and the Armenian agreed with me.
+
+[Sidenote: The Armenian in London.]
+
+I think the study of character and the endeavouring to form conclusions
+as to the course of action that will probably be taken up by any
+given individual under different circumstances, is one of the most
+fascinating of studies. Here was a case at hand, under my own eye, as
+it were.
+
+I had studied the Armenian for a couple of years or so and had come to
+conclusions. I knew what he would do, and I would watch the development
+of his character under the altered circumstances of life in England. I
+would observe the enlargement of his mind as I gradually fed it with
+greater and greater wonders.
+
+In India I had thought I would spare him as much as possible on the
+journey, lest he became bewildered by the traffic and the bustle of the
+railway, but, somehow, it did not seem to be necessary.
+
+He bought a satchel, slung it over his shoulder, asked for the
+money--which he kept--took my ticket; paid the hotel bills; looked
+after my baggage; chose the best seat in the railway carriage for me;
+bullied other people's servants if they tried to take the seat for
+their masters,--I heard one man, a Civil Service official, say, "I
+fancy the Amir in all his glory must be coming down in this train"--and
+altogether he behaved as if he knew all about it. However, I thought,
+when we get to the sea and the great floating Hotel, the P. & O. boat,
+the education will begin. He will be astonished. Perhaps he was, but
+I did not see it. He took everything as a matter of course; apparently
+he knew it all before; doubtless in some other cycle of existence. He
+wasn't even sea-sick.
+
+London, with its thousands, its grandeur, its turmoil of business, this
+will take him aback: the wonder of it must needs appal him.
+
+Appal! He hadn't been in London a fortnight before he could tell me
+what 'bus to take and what the fare was. He knew all about the "Inner
+and Outer Circles," which is more than I do; and before long could give
+an opinion on the relative merits of a considerable number of the music
+halls and theatres in the Metropolis.
+
+It was I who was bewildered, not he. What manner of man is this, I
+thought, will nothing astonish him?
+
+I got orders from the Government for him to visit the Mint,
+Woolwich Arsenal, and other places, and he compared them to similar
+establishments in Afghanistan, to the disparagement of the English
+ones! I took him to Whiteley's, saying, in a casual way, "This is an
+English shop." He took it quietly, but before he left he had accepted
+an invitation to a banquet at the Metropole that the employees at that
+establishment were giving. Moreover, at the dinner he got up and made a
+fluent speech!
+
+At my wedding he created a great sensation. He appeared before us on
+that occasion in Afghan costume, and attracted, next to the bride,
+by far the greatest amount of attention: _I_ was a necessary, but
+unnoticeable appendage: a sort of after thought; and all the little
+girls fell in love with him. After the ceremony he came into the Vestry
+and signed his name, in Persian, in the Register as witness. He said it
+was Persian, but it was hard to tell. He explained the peculiarity of
+his writing by stating that a warrior is not a clerk.
+
+[Sidenote: Return to India.]
+
+It came though--the wonder and the awe: and I look back with pride upon
+that day.
+
+I took him to the Crystal Palace and showed him the display of
+fireworks at Brock's benefit.
+
+"Is this anything?" I asked, feebly and almost in despair. He admitted
+it: "Yes!" he said,--this was really fine: even his father had never
+seen anything like it.
+
+It was _my_ education that was being completed, my mind that was
+developing, and as I sat and looked at the Oriental, I felt that
+perhaps this great London was, after all, _not_ the "hub of the
+Universe." I was bewildered. What was the "hub!" Was it Kabul?
+
+When my leave drew to a close, I bade adieu to my little wife, and
+sailed for Bombay. It was as well for the Armenian that we went, for,
+somehow, he seemed almost a wreck when we got on board. I said as much
+to him, and he accounted for his condition by saying that the climate
+of England was too strong for him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+THE WELCOME TO KABUL.
+
+    Pathan rifle thieves. Dacca. The midnight alarm: the melee: the
+    accident: rescued. "Bally rascals:" attempted explanation. The
+    next morning. What it was all about. The terror of the Amir's
+    name. Running postmen. Kabul post. Arrival. Armenian's opinion of
+    London. Changes in the English "staff." Visitors: letters. Lady
+    doctor's application. Salaam to the Amir. His Highness's welcome:
+    his conversation. The military Durbar. Presents. The new British
+    Agent. Visit to the Sultana. Salaam to Prince Habibullah. His
+    conversation. Another visit to the Amir: his appreciation of scenic
+    effect. His answer to the lady doctor's application.
+
+
+At Peshawur I found a very kind letter from His Highness waiting for
+me, with an order for as many horses as I needed. The guard were to
+meet me at Lundi Kotal Serai.
+
+I will not trace the journey in detail, though one incident that
+occurred may be worth relating, showing as it does what miracles may
+be worked by the magic of the Amir's name. I had some English firearms
+with me--a couple of rifles and a shot gun--packed in cases, which I
+wished to present to the Amir, and when we reached Dacca the Armenian
+was considerably disturbed in his mind concerning the safety of these
+weapons. The neighbouring Pathans, he said, were exceedingly clever
+thieves, and they had a curious passion for English rifles.
+
+In the evening he told me several interesting stories, laughable in
+their cleverness, of the way in which these Pathans managed to obtain
+from Peshawur weapons of English manufacture.
+
+[Sidenote: The Midnight Alarm.]
+
+The tents had been put up facing the river on the edge of the high
+bank, in order to catch as much breeze as possible. The Armenian's tent
+was just at a corner where a nullah or dry water-course cut the bank;
+mine was next. The nullah was perhaps twelve feet deep, and the bank of
+the river some twenty feet above the surface of the water.
+
+I turned in about ten o'clock and slept soundly till about midnight,
+when I was awakened suddenly by the sound of a scuffle. Instantly it
+occurred to me, "the Shenwarris are after my guns."
+
+I threw a cloak round me and stepped out of the tent. It was very dark,
+but there appeared to be a free fight going on. I could dimly make
+out a body of men struggling, could hear the thuds of blows and the
+Armenian's voluminous voice roaring in manifest rage. There were no
+reports of firearms, but it occurred to me as an advisable precaution
+to be possessed of a revolver before entering the _melee_. Mine, a
+heavy one, had been carried by the Armenian the day before, and since
+he was not using it I concluded it must be in his tent. Hastily,
+therefore, so as not to be out of the fun, I made for his tent.
+Remembering the high bank and the rapid river below, I groped round the
+back of the tent, stumbling over the ropes, until--down I went. I had
+forgotten all about the nullah. Instinctively throwing out a hand, I
+caught a tent-peg. It cracked dangerously at the sudden jerk, and for
+a moment I was hanging over the edge at arm's length on this rickety
+concern; then I found my feet resting on a ledge. I was very annoyed
+at being so entirely shelved, and was considering how I could get out
+of the position with dignity and honour, when I heard the sound of some
+one running and the Armenian's voice calling,
+
+"Sir! Sir! Where are you?"
+
+I answered, as it were, from the bowels of the earth, and when he had
+localized my whereabouts he hauled me up. I had to leave my dignity
+behind. He said--
+
+"Sir, please, you go back, you not trouble; _I_ manage these bally
+rascal: these dogs' sons. A little I afraid you get hurt."
+
+Of course, I was not going back to my tent until I knew what the row
+was all about.
+
+A light was brought. The Colonel commanding the station, and a crowd
+of people, all more or less excited, were to be seen. They pulled
+out a charpoy from one of the tents for me to sit on, and tea was
+brought--why, I don't know. When we had drank tea everyone began to
+explain at once. The Colonel in Persian; the soldiers in Pushtu; and
+the Armenian in involved English. The Colonel and the soldiers spoke
+very fast and loudly, constantly interrupting one another, and I caught
+only a word here and there. What the Armenian wished to express I could
+not imagine. A man was then brought forward with his arms bound behind
+his back.
+
+The Colonel and the Armenian seemed much disturbed that I had fallen
+down the nullah, but what the explanation of the bound man was I could
+not make out: only this, that he was _not_ a thief after my rifles. I
+went to bed again.
+
+[Sidenote: The Next Morning.]
+
+In the morning, after breakfast, when every one had cooled down, I
+heard the explanation. The Colonel, it seems, had stationed the guard.
+All went quietly for a time until the Armenian, before he turned in,
+made a round of the sentries. He found one point improperly guarded,
+and ordered one of the soldiers to move his position. The man refused
+with a Pushtu oath: and high words followed. In this the soldier was
+no match for the Armenian, and being exasperated at receiving harder
+words than he could return, he endeavoured to stab his bayonet into the
+latter.
+
+Such a line of action not meeting the Armenian's views as to the
+eternal fitness of things, he closed with the soldier. His "education"
+in England had not been without effect, and scorning to use a knife,
+like a native, he proceeded to punch the soldier's head. The magnetic
+effect of a "fight" caused other people to run up, and the thuds and
+scuffle of the _melee_ aroused me.
+
+After the explanation, the unfortunate man, with his hands bound, was
+brought forward, and the Colonel begged me to pronounce sentence upon
+him. He said he would carry out any punishment I chose to impose;
+whether of fine, imprisonment, or death. He offered me his revolver,
+that I might have the supreme delight of killing the man myself; or,
+if that did not meet my views, he would himself shoot him at once.
+All this excessive politeness arose from the fact that I expressed
+to the Colonel my sense of dissatisfaction that a distinguished
+foreigner could not travel through his district without being exposed
+to annoyances of this kind. I asked whether he thought Amir Sahib
+would be satisfied with his administrative power. At the mention of
+His Highness's name, the Colonel became greatly disturbed in his mind,
+and desired me to look upon himself as my dog. I said that I was not
+in need of a dog just then, and that these words did not please me. As
+for judging the man, I was not a magistrate in the country, how could I
+take upon myself to judge him. With a damp forehead and a dry tongue he
+begged me, as a friend to the poor, not to report the matter.
+
+I began gradually to be appeased, to soften the severe aspect of the
+countenance, and unbend the knitted brow, for, as I have frequently
+remarked, I am a mild man. The Colonel perceiving his advantage ordered
+tea to be brought instantly, and waited upon me with both hands.
+"Slowly by slowly" the threatened storm blew off, and the Colonel,
+with joy in his heart, accompanied us miles on the journey, telling
+many yarns and amusing stories, whereat we laughed. We are now great
+friends--he and I: for had I not stood by him in an hour of trouble,
+when his heart melted within him, and his interiors were as water!
+
+Riding along we met one of the "running postmen": a tall, gaunt hillman
+without an ounce of superfluous fat on him. These men run for a certain
+number of miles with the sealed leather post satchel, and then pass it
+on to the next. There are rough sheds by the wayside where each remains
+till his turn comes. They carry a long bamboo lance tipped and shod
+with steel, and with a small bell fixed just below the blade. The post
+for India leaves Kabul on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and that from India
+arrives on Sundays and Thursdays.
+
+At the stage before Kabul I had received a letter from His Highness
+directing me to take possession of the house I formerly occupied in
+the town: to rest for a day; and on the following day to come on to
+Endekki, when he would receive me.
+
+[Sidenote: The Arrival.]
+
+We arrived at Kabul on a Sunday morning, in March, 1892. It was a
+proud day for the Armenian as he rode through the bazaar with his
+solar helmet on one side--no miserable native turban for him now.
+His hand was on his hip and his elbow pointed outwards: his uplifted
+head desired to strike the stars. With a lofty pity, not unmingled
+with contempt, he gazed around at the admiring faces of the salaaming
+Kabulis. Was he not a traveller of renown: one who had crossed the
+great river and penetrated to the very heart of the Feringhi country!
+
+Mr. Walter, the tailor, rode out to meet us; he said to the Armenian:
+
+"Well, did you like London?"
+
+"Sir, what _d'you_ think! But London is very good place for rich man,
+very bad place for poor man. Kabul is good for poor man."
+
+"What did you do in London?" asked Mr. Walter.
+
+"O, Sir! A little I walk this way and that, and upon ladies I pinch
+eyes."
+
+By this I fancy he must have meant he winked. It was a revelation to
+me, and I looked at him severely. What other remarkable development
+might I not detect!
+
+I heard from Mr. Walter that the two engineers, Messrs. Stewart and
+Myddleton, had departed, and their places were taken by two Scotchmen.
+Mr. Pyne had gone to England on leave and had not yet returned. He was
+to bring out several other Englishmen.
+
+The Armenian had the house swept out, the carpets down, and everything
+straight in a very short time. Several people called in the afternoon.
+Some of the Armenian's relatives: the Compounder; and some Afghans whom
+I knew. I found half-a-dozen letters waiting for me, one from my wife,
+whereat I rejoiced, and one from a lady missionary in India who wished
+to enter the Amir's service as medical attendant upon the Harem.
+
+I had met another lady in Peshawur who also wished to enter the Amir's
+service. She was attached to the Afghan Mission in that town, and spoke
+Persian, Pushtu, and Hindustani, and had had some medical training.
+She told me she was intending to travel to Kabul, in disguise, with
+the Koffla, the travelling merchants. She was young, and I endeavoured
+to point out some of the dangers she would be exposed to from Afghan
+ruffians, and did my best to dissuade her from such a rash undertaking.
+It seemed to me the conception was an utterly mad one, but that if she
+desired greatly to enter the service the best thing would be to write
+and apply to His Highness. However, she did not write that I know of.
+
+The other lady missionary who wrote was much older, and in due time I
+had her letter translated and laid before His Highness. How the Amir
+received the application I will relate presently.
+
+The day after our arrival I rode to the Endekki Palace to salaam the
+Amir. In the great hall I met many of the Court whom I knew, and
+chatted with them. As soon as His Highness rose I was called to the
+inner room.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Welcome.]
+
+I found His Highness seated on a couch of crimson and gold. He was
+dressed in a black morning suit, with an ordinary English shirt and
+collar: he looked very European, and his hands, on which were some
+beautiful rings, struck me as being singularly white. He had picked up
+wonderfully since June, when I saw him last, was nothing like so thin,
+and looked exceedingly well. The room had the appearance of a lady's
+boudoir, with flowers, vases, embroideries, piano, and so on.
+
+I bowed as I entered the room, and His Highness smiled and beckoned me
+forwards. He held my hand some minutes while he made kindly enquiries
+as to my health; and he asked was my wife well and the other members of
+my family.
+
+He said he was exceedingly pleased to see me again, and he thanked God
+that I had returned safely. He then allowed me to be seated.
+
+He enquired the date of my wedding, and on hearing that my married life
+had lasted only for three months and a-half, he said: "How sorrowful
+your wife must be, how sorrowful she must be." Presently he said--
+
+"I will grant you leave of absence again soon; you shall go to your
+home when the winter comes."
+
+He promised, with great kindness, that every preparation should be
+made for the reception of Mrs. Gray in Kabul, and desired her to be
+accompanied by two English maidservants, whose salaries he would charge
+himself with. When she felt a longing to return to England she should
+go: if, however, she did not care to accompany me back to Kabul, he
+would from time to time give me leave of absence at short intervals. As
+regards transmitting pay, he said he would order any proportion of my
+salary that I wished, to be paid either in London or to my bankers in
+Bombay.
+
+He told me that both coal and iron had been found in the country, and
+he said that it was his intention soon to visit England himself. He
+referred to the death of Prince Albert Victor, and spoke highly of him,
+and I remember he told me an anecdote in the life of the Prince. He
+spoke some little time on other matters, and then tea and cigarettes
+were brought. There had been no one in the room with His Highness
+during the interview, except myself, the Armenian, and one of the
+Page boys. After being with His Highness four or five hours, I asked
+permission to withdraw, and then visited Malek, the Page, who was ill.
+He seemed very pleased to see me.
+
+The next day, Tuesday, was a military Durbar, and I visited His
+Highness again, taking with me the rifles I had brought, as I wished to
+present them to him. His Highness received me kindly, and accepted the
+present I laid before him. I had also brought for Prince Habibullah a
+plumed helmet, such as an officer in India would wear. The Prince was
+at the Durbar, and His Highness, after examining the helmet, kindly
+allowed me to present it to the Prince.
+
+There were a great many of the Afghan military officers present:
+they were seated along the side of the room, and among them was the
+new British Agent, the Sirdar Mahomed Afzal Khan. The former agent,
+Colonel Attaullah Khan, having been long a resident at the Amir's
+Court, had withdrawn. Lunch was served, and at five o'clock I came away.
+
+The next day the fast of Ramazan commenced, and I got to work at the
+Hospital.
+
+A few days afterwards I rode out to the country house where Her
+Highness, the Sultana, was living, and sent in my salaams with a
+present of silks and so on that I had brought for her and the little
+Prince Mahomed Omer. A kind message was received in reply, and after
+the usual tea, cigarettes, and sweets, I rode back to Kabul.
+
+[Sidenote: Salaam to the Prince.]
+
+A day or two afterwards, I paid a formal visit to Prince Habibullah. He
+was living in the bungalow of the Babur Gardens.
+
+It was a pretty garden with fountains, flowers and trees, situated
+on the slope of the mountains outside Kabul, in a sort of natural
+concavity in the hills.
+
+The Prince received me most kindly, and talked for some time, asking
+me many questions about London. He desired me also to paint another
+portrait of himself; which, by the way, I never had the opportunity of
+doing.
+
+One afternoon in the next week I again visited His Highness, the Amir,
+taking with me the letter of the lady missionary who desired to enter
+the Amir's service.
+
+While I was waiting in the great hall, smoking cigarettes, my old
+friend, General Nassir Khan, came and chatted with me, saying how
+pleased he was to see me back again. Another friend also came and
+spoke to me, the Brigadier Hadji Gul Khan. I do not know if he was as
+pleased to see me as the General, for he had been living in my house
+while I was in London, and had to turn out when I came back; however,
+he expressed himself as delighted.
+
+It was late in the afternoon when I arrived at the Palace, and when
+I was called in to the Amir the dusk of the evening had fallen. As
+soon as I entered the room, His Highness called my attention to a
+most picturesque evening effect that could be seen from his window.
+A brilliant gleam of light appeared between the clouds in the sky,
+the mountains could be seen shadowy but distinct; the middle ground
+was in deep shadow, and in the foreground were the Palace gardens and
+fountains lit by the light from the Palace.
+
+His Highness read the translation of the lady missionary's letter, and
+said, that at present the country was too unsettled in condition for
+it to be a suitable field for the efforts of an English lady doctor.
+When, however, Mrs. Gray accompanied me to Kabul, the lady might travel
+with her. His Highness spoke some time, and told me that in future,
+when I wished to see him, there was no need for me to write and make
+an appointment: he would receive me at any time, day or night. I got
+home at nine o'clock in the evening and wrote to the lady missionary,
+telling her as nearly as I could His Highness's words. Mrs. Gray never
+went to Kabul, nor I believe did the lady missionary.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+THE CHOLERA.
+
+    Ramazan. The outbreak of Cholera. Precautions. Notices in the
+    bazaars. Rapid spread. European medicine. The overwhelming dread.
+    Processions to the Mosque. Oriental fatalism. Exodus of the Court.
+    The shadow of death. Cases. Removal of the Court to the mountains.
+    Closure of the Workshops. The Armenian as an Inspector. The
+    Prince's chamberlain. Death of the Dabier-ul-Mulk. The mortality.
+    An incident. Afghan appreciation of British motives. Arrival of
+    an Englishman with thoroughbred horses. Dying out of the Cholera.
+    Visit to Paghman. The soldiers in chains: their iniquities. Anger
+    of the Amir: his decision: the choice. An earthquake: the Amir
+    as a scientist. Illness of the "Keeper of the Carpets." Arrival
+    of Mr. Pyne and other Englishmen. Another visit to the Amir. His
+    Highness's description of a Royal illness: the cure: the comment,
+    and the other patient. Dinner from the Palace: the sealed dishes.
+
+
+[Sidenote: A Fatal Ramazan.]
+
+Four days after this was Good Friday, April 15th, and three cases of
+cholera occurred in the town. It was "Ramazan," when good Mahomedans
+fast all day and eat enormously at night. Knowing as I did something
+of the careless nature of Asiatics: of the awful condition, sanitarily
+speaking, of the town of Kabul: of the insufficiency and impurity of
+the water supply: it seemed to me that the disease _must_ spread with
+deadly rapidity.
+
+The conjecture was only too correct.
+
+The Europeans in Kabul readily understanding the serious condition of
+affairs, were easily induced to take suitable precautions, such as the
+avoidance of fruit and uncooked vegetables; the drinking of water only
+after it had been boiled and filtered; and the careful abstention from
+any kind of excess in either eating or drinking.
+
+For the natives, I ordered to be posted about in the bazaars, notices
+in Persian advising similar precautions; and described a simple filter
+in which after water had been boiled it could be run through sand and
+charcoal; for sand and charcoal were both of them to be easily obtained
+in the town. I sent an inspector--my Burma policeman--with a band of
+soldiers to examine if the city scavengers did their duty, and to order
+the removal from the town of all filth that they could get access to. I
+brought forth all the barrels of disinfectant powder that the Hospital
+contained, but which was of necessity pitiably insufficient, and
+ordered its free use in all suspicious places.
+
+At first, cases among the soldiers were reported to me, and I attempted
+isolation: but soon this was utterly impossible, for the men fell
+in numbers that increased alarmingly day by day. In the town the
+disease, as is usual with cholera, was most erratic in its onslaughts.
+I endeavoured to institute the reporting of cases to me as soon as
+they arose, but it was a useless attempt, and scores died before I
+even heard of them. Two days after the commencement, namely, on April
+17th, it was reported, that between six a.m. and six p.m. there were a
+hundred and eighty-five corpses carried out of Kabul for burial. The
+number of deaths was, I heard, reported daily to His Highness, though
+to me this was of less importance than the daily number of fresh cases.
+The sick soon ceased calling for Hakims, and their friends came in
+increasing crowds to my house for European medicines.
+
+I gave them pills containing opium and acetate of lead, to be taken at
+certain intervals, to the number of three. No food nor drink was to
+be taken; but to allay the intense thirst the patient might suck ice.
+For the severe abdominal pain mustard poultices, and for the agonizing
+cramps in the limbs massage, were to be employed. This was the general
+treatment, varied of course for special cases and complications.
+
+[Sidenote: The Dread.]
+
+Day by day the great shadow deepened over the city. A sickening dread
+was in the heart of each; for who might not be the next victim? Men
+gathered together and cheered themselves with forced gaiety, and bhang,
+or sat with terror-stricken faces waiting for death. Wailing was in
+every house, and one could not ride ten yards without meeting parties
+of mourners carrying out fresh victims to the graveyard.
+
+"The cholera is in the air," they said.
+
+The Amir ordered processions to march to the Mosques with banners and
+music and pray for deliverance. Can one believe it! but such was the
+paralysing effect of "Kismet," or of terror, in the town, that the men
+were driven to the Mosques with sticks by the soldiers ere they would
+move.
+
+With the fatalism of their nature it was not to be hoped that they
+would take the precautions to avoid infection--ordinary and simple
+though they were--that I had pointed out.
+
+The bodies of the dead were washed in the Kabul river, from which most
+of the drinking water of the town was obtained! They were carried
+through the gorge by the river-side and buried near the road at the
+foot of the Asmai Mountain.
+
+If a man were thirsty he drank whatever water was at hand: out of an
+irrigation ditch fouled with wayside filth, from a polluted well,
+or the Kabul river. So far from avoiding fruit and vegetables the
+townspeople ate of them largely.
+
+When men dropped down in the Durbar, and the Palace attendants were
+seized, the Amir and the Court moved from Endekki to Rish Khor, in the
+direction of the Paghman Hills.
+
+As I was needed among the sick, His Highness did not withdraw me from
+the town. I was living between Chandawal and the gardens around Timur's
+Tomb, and soon the cholera spread its wings over us. The houses near me
+were made desolate, and one of my servants lay dying in the garden.
+
+This man was an Afghan hillman, a good fellow, cheery, and really, it
+seemed to me, honest. No one told me when he was first taken, for he
+said--
+
+"Why should the Doctor Sahib be troubled for such as I, he has enough
+work with others."
+
+The next day when the pains and the cramps came on, one of the servants
+reported the matter to me. I went to the man at once, but it was too
+late; he was collapsed, with sunken eyes, his nose was peaky and blue,
+the skin of his body cold and his hands shrivelled. I looked at the
+other servants and asked why I was not told of this before.
+
+None of them answered. The man seemed grateful that I had seen him, but
+he died in the night.
+
+I visited a good many at their houses. It would have been absurd to
+wait for an order from the Amir at a time such as this; sometimes I
+took the Armenian to translate, at other times I went alone, for I
+knew enough Persian to get along with. My guard--often a single or a
+couple of soldiers--waited outside the house while I went in. A guard
+was really superfluous, for no one was likely to hurt me: on the
+contrary, I was welcomed with every sign of gratitude.
+
+As regards the form of treatment I had adopted, I found it successful
+in a great many cases, though the proportion of those who recovered,
+compared with the number of deaths in the town, was doubtless
+excessively small. Hundreds, however, took the medicine whom I never
+saw. Some would carry out the instructions I gave them to the letter,
+others would take the medicine but consult their friends as to the
+instructions. These cases did not do so well, and I ceased attending
+where I was not obeyed.
+
+[Sidenote: Exodus of the Court.]
+
+On the 21st of April, the cholera spread to Rish Khor, and there was
+an exodus of the Court to the Paghman Mountains. Here the water was
+good, tumbling down in many little cascades from the hills. One day I
+was seized with vomiting and was ill, and the Amir hearing of it sent
+to enquire how I was. Happily by the time the messenger arrived I was
+better. Soon the road between Paghman and the infected city was closed,
+and sentries were posted to cut off all communication.
+
+In the Arm Foundry the native workmen dropped down at the benches, and
+work was stopped for want of men to do it.
+
+I was called to see one of the storekeepers of the foundry, Gholam
+Nuksh Ban, who was seized. I had hopes for him, and the second day he
+was better. After that he ceased following the instructions I gave,
+and took the advice of Hakims and friends. I found him drinking curds
+and whey, and large quantities of water: I left him therefore. Vomiting
+returned with excessive violence and he died. Before he died, however,
+he gave into my hands a magazine rifle that I had bought for the Amir
+in London, but which had been detained at the Frontier and afterwards
+sent on.
+
+The Armenian went the round of the bazaars to inspect the food sold. He
+was not a skilled inspector, but he could at least distinguish rancid
+butter, sour milk, putrid meat, or decomposing vegetables, when he saw
+them.
+
+At this time the Hazaras broke out in rebellion, and the locusts
+invaded Kabul again. The latter, wise creatures, did not stay; they
+passed on.
+
+I received an order to attend one of the Chamberlains of Prince
+Habibullah, and I went to his house. To see a stranger in the grip of
+cholera is bad; but to see a man you know, is a horror that catches
+you in the throat. There were the shrunken features and ashy-grey face
+of a dreadful ghost of the man I knew. I tried hard to save this man's
+life. Visiting him time after time, I made his men do as I said. The
+look in the eyes of a man when he greets you, feeling the dread phantom
+loosening its hold and his life coming back to him, is a thing to
+remember.
+
+The Dabier-ul-Mulk, Chief Secretary to the Amir, and the man, I
+suppose, most trusted by His Highness, was seized. I was sorry I
+received no order to attend him. He died.
+
+Of the four Englishmen who were in Kabul at the onset of the disease
+none were ill--with the exception of my own slight attack.
+
+At the end of six weeks the cholera lessened in severity in the town
+and spread more in the surrounding villages. It returned, however,
+again and again, and the mortality was excessive. By the beginning of
+June I was informed that eleven thousand deaths had been reported to
+His Highness in Kabul and its neighbourhood.
+
+Among other stories I heard at the time was one of a man falling and
+dying just outside the town, near the execution ground. The body was
+not seen till the following morning, when a man riding by saw the
+pariah dogs that prowl in that neighbourhood snarling and worrying over
+something.
+
+[Sidenote: "British Motives!"]
+
+Another story, less hideous and perhaps more interesting was this: A
+man coming up to a group standing in the street said--
+
+"A relative of mine is ill with this disease."
+
+Said one of the group--
+
+"Why go you not at once to the English Doctor, he is giving medicine."
+
+"Nay," answered the man, "the British Government sent him here to
+poison as many as he can."
+
+"Khair," said a third, "not so. To my wife, ill with this disease, he
+gave a medicine: she is now well."
+
+"Beshak," said a fourth. "Undoubtedly; but the Sirkar-i-Engrez send him
+that by curing us he may gain our friendship. Thus they hope to draw
+away the people and the country from Amir Sahib, that they may come
+themselves and rule us."
+
+Meanwhile another Englishman, Mr. Clemence, had arrived. He brought
+with him from England two or three thoroughbred stallions and some
+hackneys, for the improvement of the Amir's stud. He had, however, been
+directed to make a detour and avoid Kabul, and had been conducted to
+Faizabad, where he took up his quarters. Shortly afterwards he rode
+into Kabul to visit the other Englishmen: a woeful time to arrive in a
+strange town.
+
+About the middle of June we had violent thunder storms and heavy rain,
+a most unusual occurrence at that time of the year, and the weather
+became cool, much cooler than it was in April.
+
+The cholera now appeared to be dying out, and men began to draw their
+breath again and to recover from the oppressive dread. I wrote to His
+Highness and enquired his health. He replied that he was well, and
+invited me to visit him at Paghman.
+
+It is a beautiful ride of about fifteen miles. First there is the
+Chahardeh Valley, with cornfields, hedges, and gardens; then the
+incline at the foot of the mountains; the Paghman Valley, and a last
+steep climb to the Royal residence.
+
+It was very cool at Paghman; there were trees, flowers, and waterfalls,
+but the corn instead of being ripe was green. Almost directly we
+arrived at the Palace I was shown into the room where His Highness was
+sitting, and he greeted me most kindly. He referred to the cholera, and
+reminded me that I had told him at my last interview how very little
+sickness there was, so that Doctors and Hakims had very little to do.
+
+Tea and cigarettes were brought, and His Highness directed the Pages
+to offer me the cakes and biscuits that were brought for his own
+breakfast.
+
+By-and-bye there were some soldiers brought in, in chains. His Highness
+called my attention to them, and told me the story of their offences.
+
+[Sidenote: Anger of the Amir.]
+
+It was quite a long story. They had formed a conspiracy against their
+Captain, whom they had accused of oppression and other evils. His
+Highness dilated at some length upon their iniquities, and finally
+said--
+
+"What can one do with such men?"
+
+They threw themselves on the ground, crying--
+
+"Tobah! tobah!"--"Alas! alas!"
+
+The Amir said--
+
+"Nay! the time is past for 'tobah.' You have admitted before the Priest
+that the accusation you made against your officer was false."
+
+One began to say that he was "Amir Sahib's servant."
+
+"What word is this?" thundered the Amir, "my servant!! This General
+is my servant, this man and this (the Treasury Officer and the Deputy
+Commander-in-Chief), these are my servants. You? You are the dog of my
+servants!"
+
+"What shall I do to you?" he said, as they stood quaking. Then he added,
+
+"You shall be taken from here to a room apart, there shall you sit and
+debate among yourselves what your punishment shall be, and to-morrow
+you shall again be brought before me."
+
+Then they were hurried away.
+
+What the choice of each one was I do not know, but I had occasion to
+learn the choice of some of them. A few days afterwards on visiting the
+Sherpur Hospital I saw four or five of the men. They each greeted me
+with a wan smile and held up the left arm--the hand had been severed at
+the wrist joint.
+
+His Highness then continued talking to me concerning the causes of
+cholera, and he ordered a specimen of Paghman drinking water to be
+brought. While I was examining it, the windows commenced rattling, and
+I thought vaguely that the wind must have risen very suddenly. Hearing
+a bustle I looked up and saw the Pages hurrying together and the Amir
+standing. I jumped up at once. A moment or two afterwards His Highness
+sat down again, motioning me to do the same. He said--
+
+"Did you not recognize the cause of that noise?"
+
+"No, Sir," I answered, "I thought it was the wind."
+
+He laughed and said--
+
+"It was an earthquake! Another time you must be quicker and get out of
+the house." He said that the motion of the earth in an earthquake, at
+any given spot, was in a vertical, not a horizontal direction. Were
+it in a horizontal direction, he said, the very mountains would fall.
+Being in a vertical direction the pressure on the beams of a house,
+owing to the weight of the roof, becomes excessive, and they are likely
+to give way. For this reason it is advisable to get out into the open
+when an earthquake commences.
+
+Soon after this His Highness wrote a few words on a slip of paper,
+and calling the Armenian to him he handed him the paper. When the
+Armenian returned to me he whispered that the Amir had increased my pay
+considerably. I commenced to thank His Highness, but he smiled, and
+silenced me by raising his hand.
+
+About four o'clock, dinner was brought. For me a European one was
+provided, the only peculiarity of which was that the soup followed the
+fish.
+
+After dinner, His Highness asked me if I was returning to Kabul that
+night, or whether I would remain at Paghman till the morning. As I had
+six horses with me I decided to return. His Highness asked me before I
+left to visit the "Ferrash-bashi," or "Keeper of the Carpets," who was
+ill. This was the gentleman I met first in Turkestan, who struck me as
+being "not such a villain as he looked."
+
+Accordingly, I called upon him at his house in Paghman, which was some
+distance down the hill.
+
+I found he had had a stroke, and was paralyzed on one side. I gave him
+advice, and said I would ride over in a day or two to see him again.
+Night came on as we were riding home, and we had to do the last two or
+three miles at a walk.
+
+[Sidenote: Arrival of English.]
+
+At this time Mr. Pyne was on his way back to Kabul after the
+termination of his leave; and two days after my visit to Paghman he
+arrived in the town, bringing with him Mr. Arthur Collins, who had
+entered the service as geologist. Being well mounted they had ridden
+the last two stages in a day, arriving in Kabul in the evening. Coming
+so quickly they were ahead of their baggage, and had had nothing to eat
+since the early morning. A dinner was soon provided, and I sent them
+plates, knives, and forks; and blankets for the night.
+
+Several other Englishmen had entered the service, who arrived the
+next day with the baggage. There were two more assistant engineers;
+a mining assistant to Mr. Collins; a gardener, and a lapidary. The
+last did not stay long, as it was found that the native lapidaries
+could do ordinary work; and extraordinary work, such as the Amir hoped
+for, was, I understood, only possible with special machinery. About a
+month afterwards two other Englishmen arrived, a tanner and a currier
+from Yorkshire: so that at this time there were no less than fourteen
+Englishmen in Kabul.
+
+The day after the arrival of the Englishmen I rode over to Paghman
+again to see the Ferrash-bashi. Mr. Walter, the tailor, who wished to
+try a coat on the little Prince Mahomed Omer, accompanied me. I found
+my patient no worse, and after lunching off some delicious Paghman
+cherries I went on to the Palace to salaam His Highness.
+
+After salutations, tea, and cigarettes, His Highness told me the story
+of a severe illness he suffered from when he was a youth. He was a
+General in his father's army, and was so ill that he had to be carried
+to the wars on a charpoy. He was hoisted on to men's shoulders, or on
+to a house top, or hill, to see the battles. The Hakims told him that
+the illness he suffered from was due to the presence of a large worm or
+snake in his stomach. Medicine after medicine was used without avail:
+and large quantities of iced water were drunk with the intention of
+chilling the creature and driving it out. This being unsuccessful an
+idea struck the Amir: he abstained from food for many hours, and then
+ordered to be prepared a very delicious and savoury dinner, and he sat
+with this in front of him hoping to tempt the worm. It was successful,
+and feeling the creature crawling up his throat he waited; then seizing
+the head he drew it forth.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Comment.]
+
+"Thus did I succeed in getting rid of the vile creature," said the
+Amir, and, suiting the action to the word, he appeared to be drawing a
+rope from his mouth, hand over hand.
+
+In a serious and profoundly interesting account of a Royal illness and
+cure, it was exceedingly improper for me to be affected by the humorous
+side of the narrative; but, try as I would to prevent it, a shadow of a
+smile appeared. His Highness noticing it looked very straight at me and
+said--
+
+"I tell you this for your own guidance. I have here a man suffering
+from the same disease. Him I desire you to examine. Administer such
+medicines as you deem suitable, giving also due weight to the narrative
+I have related of my own sufferings and cure, that thus his recovery
+may be ensured."
+
+I found that the patient was suffering from a disease that was,
+perhaps, less interesting than that His Highness suffered from: he
+had cancer of the stomach. I am sorry to say I was of necessity less
+successful in treating him than His Highness had been in treating
+himself.
+
+After some further talk with His Highness, I retired and rode back to
+the Ferrash-bashi's. It seems that the last time I had gone to see His
+Highness, he had ordered tents and dinner to be brought for me to the
+patient's house: they arrived about half-an-hour after we had left.
+This time, therefore, we stayed. The tents were put up on the grass in
+the cherry orchard: a couch, covered with yellow and purple silk, was
+brought from the Palace and dinner arrived. The dishes had been taken
+before His Highness for approval: the tray was then covered with a
+white cloth and sealed before him. I was informed of the arrival of
+dinner: the seal was broken in my presence; and the dishes made hot at
+a fire on the grass outside my tent. I dined: then after more cherries
+and a smoke, I retired to my gorgeous couch, well-pleased with myself
+and everybody else.
+
+The next morning, after breakfast, we rode back to Kabul. I was going
+down the long slope from the Paghman Hills at a smart trot, when I
+heard a sudden exclamation, and, looking back, saw the Armenian and his
+horse go headlong: he was riding the brute of mine that stumbled. I
+shouted to a soldier to catch my bridle, and sprang off to see what the
+damage was, for the horse had rolled over the Armenian's leg. He was
+crushed and bruised a good deal, and the skin scraped off his leg, but
+there were no breakages. He had, however, a bump on his head big enough
+for all practical purposes. We sat for a little by the wayside till he
+had recovered, then he got on another horse, and we went the rest of
+the way at a walk.
+
+After dinner, I luxuriated in a long chair opposite the window. The
+view was the sky and an apple-tree laden with fruit: beyond were vines,
+apricot, and almond trees; in the distance over the tree-tops was the
+purple and shadowy summit of a mountain. The doves were coo-cooing, and
+the sparrows chirping. Later, the moon came out and the hoophoe cried
+"Hood-hood."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+ANOTHER WINTER.
+
+    A political Durbar: tact of the Amir: a friendly soldier. The
+    banquet. Return of the Cholera. Essay on "Precautionary measures:"
+    its fate. Health of the English in Kabul. Serious illness of
+    the gardener: lying rumours. Report to the Amir: His Highness's
+    kindness. Visit to Prince Nasrullah: a "worm-eaten" tooth: the
+    consultation: the operation: the present: effect of example. Erring
+    Englishmen: the Amir's remedy. Amir as a chess-player: the unhappy
+    Courtier. The far-sighted Armenian: winter quarters. End of the
+    Cholera. Invasion of Small-Pox and Erysipelas. To Paghman: Portrait
+    of Prince Mahomed Omer: present from the Sultana. The sketch of
+    the Prince: his amusement: resemblance to the Amir: his costume:
+    arrangement of the group. Present of a slave boy: embarrassment.
+    A lesson in courtesy to the Page boys. Native dinners. Visit of
+    Mr. Pyne: the sandali. Completion of the portrait. Kept waiting
+    at the door: the "Gnat." The Amir's remark. Sultana's gift to
+    the Paghmanis: Afghan mode of slaughtering: cogitations. Ride
+    to Kabul: the mud. Money bothers: the Afghan Agent: the "Gnat."
+    Sent for to the Palace: a Landscape Commission: postponement of
+    leave: disappointment: the Amir's remedy: gratification and pride.
+    Christmas dinner at the shops. The "Health of Her Majesty."
+
+
+[Sidenote: Political Durbar.]
+
+A week after this, July 4th, was the Festival of Id, and in the morning
+I rode with the Armenian to Paghman to salaam His Highness. The other
+Englishmen followed later in the day. We arrived about eleven a.m.
+The review of troops and prayers were finished, and His Highness had
+just taken his seat in the Durbar Hall. I was admitted at once into
+the presence, and bowing said, through the Armenian, that I wished His
+Highness all happiness. A chair was then ordered to be placed for me
+in a bay window: it was not so near His Highness as usual, and I was
+wondering why, when the Armenian whispered--
+
+"It is a Durbar of Chiefs and Maleks."
+
+Presently the hall began to fill, but His Highness allowed no one to
+be placed between himself and me, and even ordered a vase of flowers
+on the table in front of him to be moved so that he could see me
+distinctly.
+
+The visitors were Army Officers and Chiefs from all parts of the
+country; Turkomans, Hazaras, and Afghans. I rather wished myself out of
+it, fearing that my visit had been inopportune.
+
+At the end of the room in an arm-chair by an open window sat His
+Highness. Outside were the guard and a crowd of some hundreds of
+people. In a chair on the Amir's left, and at some little distance,
+sat Prince Habibullah: he was attired in a scarlet uniform with plumed
+helmet. Everyone else sat on the ground. On His Highness's right were
+Prince Nasrullah, Sirdar Usuf, the Amir's uncle, and the British Agent:
+then came the principal military officers; and all round the room the
+Chiefs and Maleks.
+
+Seeing the British Agent I was relieved, feeling sure that, after all,
+my visit was not an intrusion. I could not but admire His Highness's
+tact in the way in which, having allowed me to be present unofficially
+in a State Durbar, he considered the European feeling of dignity in
+allowing me a chair with no one between himself and me; and considered
+also the jealous pride of the Afghans in placing me in the window, and,
+as it were, outside the circle.
+
+His Highness addressed his audience for some little time, chiefly in
+Pushtu but partly in Persian. It did not concern me, and I paid no
+attention. Glancing out of the window where I was sitting I saw one of
+His Highness's guard stationed there with fixed bayonet. As he caught
+my eye he salaamed and smiled. I could not think at first who he was:
+then I remembered I had attended him in Turkestan for double pneumonia
+when he was very dangerously ill. He had recovered, and I saw no more
+of him till this day: he had grown so plump that at first I did not
+recognize him.
+
+[Sidenote: The Banquet.]
+
+When the talking was over sweetmeats were brought, and His Highness
+sent me a plateful from his table. Outside were bands of music: at one
+time a native band with flageolets and drums was playing, then would
+follow a brass band, afterwards the bagpipes playing Scotch tunes. In
+the Hall at the lower end were dancing boys, singers, and musicians.
+These continued their performances during lunch, which was brought in
+at three o'clock. For me there was a slight innovation. His Highness
+ordered a dinner-napkin to be placed on the little table in front of
+me. The waiter did not quite understand the management of it, for he
+insisted upon one edge of it being put on the table under the plate and
+the other on my knees: finally, however, I was allowed to have it my
+own way, chiefly by the Armenian's instrumentality: learning all about
+these things was part of his education in England.
+
+After dinner came fruit--cherries and mulberries, and finally
+cigarettes and tea. Then I asked permission to withdraw and came away.
+
+In August the cholera, which had returned to Kabul, began again to
+attain serious proportions. I had drawn up with some care a Paper on
+the precautions to be adopted to prevent a return of the disease. I was
+perforce compelled to allow the Hindustani Interpreter--the Gnat--to
+take possession of it for the purpose of translation. I need scarcely
+say that I never saw or heard anything of the paper afterwards. The
+Armenian at this time was very busily employed in translating for some
+others of the Englishmen, for the supply of Interpreters was lamentably
+small. In the Hospitals I, of course, could manage without one, but for
+conversations with His Highness or for the translation of writings my
+knowledge of the language was inadequate.
+
+Though none of the English were seized with cholera, the climate of
+Kabul affected the health of most of them deleteriously. Some had
+fever severely: others bowel complaints; and the gardener, Mr. Wild,
+a Yorkshireman, who had been working very hard in the sun, laying out
+gardens and digging, went down with heat apoplexy. He was dangerously
+ill, and I attended him; but some interesting and engaging scoundrel
+spread the report that he was shirking his work and lying intoxicated
+in his room. As he received an order to leave the service I wrote to
+His Highness detailing the facts of the case. His Highness at once
+desired Wild to be brought to Paghman, as soon as his condition would
+allow. When he was taken there His Highness most kindly kept him in
+the cool air of the mountains until he recovered. After this Wild, by
+my advice, wore a turban in the sun instead of a solar topee. A pith
+topee would have been a sufficient protection, but there was none to be
+got in the bazaars, and sending money to Peshawur for anything was a
+procedure of doubtful success.
+
+[Sidenote: Illness of Prince Nasrullah.]
+
+One day a soldier on horseback arrived at my house to call me to visit
+Prince Nasrullah who, he said, was ill. His Highness at this time was
+living in a bungalow set in a beautiful garden on the slope near the
+Paghman Mountains. I started off immediately. After a nine or ten
+miles' ride we reached Prince Nasrullah's bungalow, and at once I was
+shown into the room where the Prince was sitting. It appeared to be
+full of people--Officers, Hakims, Pages, and Chamberlains.
+
+After the usual salutations a chair was placed for me, and tea and
+cigarettes brought. The Prince held a polite conversation with me for
+some little while, and I began to wonder if I had not misunderstood the
+messenger, when he said His Highness was ill. Presently, however, the
+Prince explained that he was suffering great pain. I enquired where
+the pain seized him. He said that a worm had partly eaten one of his
+teeth, and this caused him pain. I thought it quite likely that this
+would be painful, and asked, might I examine the tooth. An arm-chair
+was placed in a convenient position facing the window, and His Highness
+seated himself, politely opening his mouth to allow me every facility
+in examining the worm-eaten tooth.
+
+After a careful examination I gave my opinion that the tooth should be
+removed. The Prince at once consented to the operation, and a soldier
+was sent galloping off to the Kabul Hospital for the case of tooth
+instruments. The Prince conversed with me cheerfully for a time while
+I smoked. By-and-bye he seemed to become thoughtful, and presently he
+said he was a little doubtful about the advisability of removing the
+tooth: perhaps the application of a suitable medicine might relieve the
+pain and check the disease. I explained that the immediate pain might
+indeed be removed by a medicine, but that it would probably return,
+and that the disease had made such progress that the tooth would, if
+left, be a source of constant annoyance. His Highness was silent for a
+time, but presently he expressed his doubts as to the possibility of
+extracting the tooth; so far as he could judge there was nothing but a
+shell left: was it not exceedingly likely that the shell would crush
+up and leave him in a worse plight than he at present was? I said that
+a calamity of that nature was of course possible, as he, in his wisdom
+had foreseen, but that my hopes and prayers were that it might not
+occur. By-and-bye the messenger arrived with the tooth-case. The Prince
+again weighed the matter carefully, and he desired the two chief Hakims
+in the room to consult and give their opinion. I do not know what they
+said but they looked unutterably wise.
+
+After a considerable amount of discussion, in which I took no part,
+the Prince suddenly decided that the operation should be performed. He
+seated himself in the chair: a Page at my request held His Highness's
+astrakhan hat: another held the chillimchi or spittoon: and a third a
+silver cup containing water.
+
+I suggested that His Highness should seize the arms of the chair and
+hold them tight; then he opened his mouth. An attendant handed me the
+forceps, which had been warmed: I fitted them round the neck of the
+offending member and pushed them well home: a twist of the wrist and
+the tooth was out. His Highness made no remark during the operation,
+but at the critical moment he patted his feet on the ground. He was, I
+believe, exceedingly gratified that the operation was successful, for
+not only did he present me with a suit of clothes, which unfortunately
+were much too small for me, but he politely said that the operation had
+not hurt him.
+
+[Sidenote: Effect of Example.]
+
+Glancing up as soon as it was over, I saw that the soldiers of the
+bodyguard had formed themselves in double line from the window down the
+garden, and were forming an interested row of spectators. Immediately
+afterwards several of them begged me to perform a similar operation
+upon them. I glanced at the Prince for permission, which he kindly
+granted: then, seating the men on the ground one after another, I
+removed such teeth as they desired. One reservation alone I made: when
+a tooth had not the slightest appearance of disease--not a speck--I
+refused to extract it, at any rate that day. The unfortunates who could
+not have their teeth out seemed quite hurt: why should I draw other
+men's teeth and not theirs? I promised, therefore, to do them this
+favour as soon as they could prove to my satisfaction that their teeth
+were "worm-eaten."
+
+One day, a fortnight or so after this, I went with Mr. Pyne, Mr.
+Collins, and some others of the English, to Paghman to hold a
+discussion before the Amir concerning two of the Englishmen who had
+allowed their disgust of Oriental life to influence their conduct,
+and being _ennuie_, had for some time indulged unduly in alcoholic
+stimulant. His Highness treated the whole matter as a joke. One of the
+workmen being unnecessary was allowed to resign. The other was to stay.
+As the latter was exceedingly well acquainted with the manufacture of
+war material His Highness decided that if he would work two days in the
+week he might employ the other five as best pleased him. This decision
+had a beneficial effect upon the man, and he worked well; previously
+his excesses had had a very serious effect upon his nervous system.
+
+During the conversation that followed the discussion Mr. Collins
+happened to mention the game of chess. His Highness said he should
+much like to see the game as played by the English. Mr. Collins at
+once challenged me. It was years since I had played regularly, and the
+last game I had had was in Turkestan, when my opponent, after beating
+me ignominiously, had finally given me a game out of courtesy: I never
+was any good at chess. I said I would play Mr. Collins if His Highness
+would give me the benefit of his advice.
+
+The Amir said certainly he would do so. Accordingly the chessmen were
+brought. A table was placed in front of His Highness, Mr. Collins sat
+one side and I the other, and the game began.
+
+I soon found I was no match for Mr. Collins, and I relied almost
+entirely upon the Amir. I wish I could remember the details of the
+game, but I simply made, mechanically, the moves that the Amir
+directed. We won the game. Mr. Collins said His Highness played a bold
+game with his Castles, and that he would take a good second class among
+the chess players of London.
+
+After that Collins played one of the Courtiers and beat him. This old
+man was reckoned to be one of the best players next to His Highness,
+and the Amir made such unmerciful fun of him for losing, that the old
+man wanted to go out and hang himself. However, he was not allowed to
+do so, for His Highness challenged him to a game and beat him. Mr. Pyne
+and the others not interested in chess had departed. For us who stayed,
+dinner was served, and we left the Palace at two in the morning.
+
+[Sidenote: Foresight of Armenian.]
+
+Meanwhile the Armenian had been for some little while preparing winter
+quarters for me in the west wing of my house, which faced south and was
+protected from the winds.
+
+I had told him that there was no need to make these elaborate
+preparations, as I was going away on leave for the winter. He answered--
+
+"Per-haps! Per-haps not! I make him ready."
+
+As the Autumn was drawing to a close I began to wonder whether
+leave would indeed be granted to me for the winter according to His
+Highness's words. I wrote, therefore, to enquire. His Highness answered
+that in view of the fact that the cholera, though doubtless dying out,
+was still lurking in the town, he should wish me to remain in the
+country till the following spring.
+
+I was glad of my Winter Quarters.
+
+Work at the Hospitals went on as usual until November, when I was sent
+for to Paghman to paint the portrait of Prince Mahomed Omer.
+
+Cholera had died out, but small-pox invaded Kabul, and in its train
+came erysipelas.
+
+In Paghman I was located in a khirgar--the Turkoman wigwam I have
+described. It was also my studio, the light being obtained by moving a
+flap of canvas from the top.
+
+Before I commenced the portrait Her Highness the Sultana sent me a
+present of sweets and cashmere embroidery, and when all my preparations
+were complete the little Prince, accompanied by his tutor and Page
+boys, came for the first sitting. He asked me to make a sketch of him
+on paper before I began the painting. I did so, and handed it to him.
+It seemed to amuse him highly, for he threw back his head and laughed
+heartily. Whether the act was a childlike mimicry of his father or
+not I cannot say, but it reminded me most strongly of the Amir. After
+that when he came for a sitting he was always merry and bright, and I
+managed to get a really expressive likeness of him. He was dressed in a
+gold-embroidered military tunic, hussar fashion, trousers, high boots,
+and a fur busby. On the breast was an emerald surrounded by pearls. The
+belt was profusely adorned with diamonds, as was his watch chain; and
+on the busby was a large emerald. His sword hilt and scabbard were of
+gold. He was seated in a tall chair, made especially for him; over the
+knees, as the weather was cold, was a beautiful fur rug. On one side of
+the chair stood his "Commander-in-Chief," Mahomed Omer, son of Perwana
+Khan, and on the other a Page boy--a slave taken in war, who had a
+singularly pretty face. This boy, however, had not the intelligent
+expression of the Prince, nor had his eyes the brilliancy of his
+master's. It was simply a pretty, weary, mournful face, and therefore
+in the picture it did not take from the beauty of the Prince's face.
+The "Commander-in-Chief," though intelligent looking, was plain, so
+that in looking at the picture the eye was caught immediately by the
+Prince's face.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+_Prince Mahomed Omer and his Commander-in-Chief_
+
+_from a photograph by Arthur Collins, F.G.T._]
+
+One day the Prince presented me with a slave boy, telling me to choose
+which of his Pages I preferred. It was rather an embarrassing offer,
+for one cannot refuse a gift from a member of the Royal Family, nor in
+fact from any Afghan, without offending the giver. Of what use was a
+small slave boy to me? True, I could sell him, or give him away, but my
+principles were not in accordance with that line of action. I therefore
+told His Highness that I was busy just then with the painting, but that
+I would consider the matter and let him know in the course of a day or
+two which boy I preferred. His Highness forgot all about it, as I hoped
+he would.
+
+[Sidenote: A Lesson in Courtesy.]
+
+Another time he heard one of the Page boys speak of me as "the
+Feringhi." It was remarkable to see the Prince's look of indignation
+and anger, it so exactly resembled the Amir's. He called the boy up and
+spoke very severely to him, ordering him in the future to address me as
+"Doctor Sahib." As a punishment he made him bow to all the other boys
+and call them "Sahib." The Prince was a little over three years of age
+at this time.
+
+As there were three portraits instead of one to paint I was some time
+at Paghman, and became skilled in the art of eating pilau and kourma
+with my fingers, and eschewing forks and knives, for the Sultana
+had insisted upon my being the guest of the Prince. I brought with
+me, beside my guard, the Priest Compounder, who knew some English,
+and only one servant, an Afghan. Accommodation for servants was
+limited in Paghman, and though one could allow an Afghan servant to
+sleep on the ground in one's tent, one could not have a Hindustani
+in the same position. In the evenings, after dinner, the Prince's
+"Commander-in-Chief," little Mahomed Omer, came in. He sat on the
+ground and chattered away, eating grapes while I smoked and aired my
+Persian.
+
+While the painting was in progress Mr. Pyne visited Paghman to hold an
+interview with the Amir; he came and stayed with me. It was snowing
+when he arrived, and I found he had fever. As he sat shivering,
+unable to get warm, I recommended the "sandali," which he had never
+yet tried. The charcoal was brought all glowing in the brazier; the
+wooden framework and the quilt were arranged, and we sat on the carpet
+amidst the large pillows, drawing the quilt over our knees. There is
+no need to be shaking with fever in order to appreciate a sandali:
+nevertheless, when one _is_ in that unfortunate position a sandali
+seems one of the wisest inventions of man. Mr. Pyne thought so at the
+time. I would not, however, say that a sandali is to be recommended
+when more sanitary means of becoming warm are to be procured. A dose or
+two of quinine and Mr. Pyne was soon all right.
+
+We went for a ride the next morning up the mountain: the snow was not
+thick and the sun shone brightly. We reached a gorge sheltered from
+the wind, where we could feel the heat of the sun, and got off and
+smoked a cigar. I did not get much painting done while Pyne was my
+guest, for the spirit moved him to talk much.
+
+In the dusk of the evening the Priests came and intoned their prayers
+near my wigwam. "Allah hu, Allah-il-Allah, Ressul Allah!"
+
+When the portrait was finished I sent it to Her Highness, the Sultana,
+for approval. She was delighted with it, but suggested that I had
+perhaps made the cheeks too pink: accordingly, I altered it. She wished
+me to show it to His Highness, the Amir.
+
+[Sidenote: Waiting at the Door.]
+
+The next day I took it to the Palace. The only available Interpreter
+being the "Gnat," this gentleman took the opportunity to prevent--as
+I afterwards found--the report of my arrival from being taken to the
+Amir, and I was kept waiting some hours, till at last I got up and
+was leaving the Palace when I saw His Highness descending the stairs.
+I waited, therefore, until he approached, and then bowed. He seemed
+surprised to see me and asked how I was. I showed him the picture which
+my servant was carrying. He was very pleased with it, and said it was
+faultless: he added--and this pleased the Sultana exceedingly--that the
+portrait of the little Prince was exactly like that I had painted of
+himself, except that it was smaller.
+
+The Priest Compounder, who was with me, mentioned that I had been
+waiting some hours at the Palace. His Highness seemed both surprised
+and annoyed. He told me that no report had been made to him of my
+arrival, and that there was no reason for my having been kept waiting.
+
+His Highness's words concerning the painting were, of course, reported
+at once to the Sultana, and she sent word to me that she would be
+pleased if I remained at Paghman a day or two longer: the Amir,
+herself, and the Prince would then be departing for Kabul, and she
+desired me to accompany the Prince. I was myself to take charge of the
+picture on the journey, and when she summoned me I was to formally
+deliver it at the Harem Serai. Accordingly, I waited.
+
+On the morning of our departure six or seven bullocks were slaughtered,
+by order of the Sultana, and presented to the Paghmanis. The manner
+of slaughtering was peculiar. The butcher seized the nostril and one
+horn of the victim, twisted the head sideways over the neck and threw
+the animal down. Putting his knee on the horn to extend the neck, he
+drew his short knife and cut the throat: the inevitable "Allah akbar"
+being shouted at the same time by the crowd. It was a striking but
+disagreeable sight to see the blood hiss on to the snow: it was so
+unpleasantly suggestive of what might happen to oneself under certain
+circumstances. The hopeless position of the creatures as they stood
+"waiting to be murdered," rather shook my nerves. However, it taught me
+one thing--that my health was more affected by the climate than I liked
+to think: for on my arrival in Kabul, finding there were two delicate
+eye operations waiting for me to perform, I felt I must postpone them
+for a day or two.
+
+As the whole Court was moving to Kabul the traffic was enormous. We
+had first snow, then sleet, then rain, and the road became a quagmire:
+mud--we on horseback were plastered from head to foot. The Royal family
+drove in carriages, and those of the Courtiers who possessed them, in
+buggies and tongas. There were several blocks on the road, but when we
+got through them we galloped. The picture was put in a palanquin of the
+Sultana's under the charge of my Afghan servant. The man was greatly
+amused at a beggar woman by the wayside addressing him as "Bibi Sahib,"
+and asking alms.
+
+For some little time I had been rather worried about money matters,
+for although acting upon the Amir's suggestion, I had in August sent
+a firman for six months' pay to my bankers in Bombay, with orders to
+collect from the native Agent in that town; up to now, December, none
+of it had been paid. I wished, therefore, to see His Highness and
+inform him.
+
+[Sidenote: The "Gnat."]
+
+The Armenian being engaged in interpreting for the other Europeans,
+I had no one to make an appointment for me with His Highness except
+the Hindustani Gnat. A day or two after our arrival in Kabul this man
+called at my house, informing me that His Highness would see me that
+evening. Knowing that the truth was to him as naught, I doubted the
+accuracy of this information. I was correct in my supposition: he had
+made no appointment. However, it was quite as well I did not see His
+Highness, for a day or two afterwards I received a letter from my
+bankers saying that at last the Agent had disgorged: they were able,
+therefore, to transmit the money to London. I sent no more firmans to
+the Agent.
+
+Just before Christmas I was sent for by His Highness. I managed to
+obtain possession of the Armenian, and taking him with me I went to
+the Erg Palace. It was on a Friday, and there was no one at the Palace
+except the Amir's uncle, Sirdar Usuf, and the ordinary attendants. His
+Highness was seated at the sandali. He was not dressed in European
+costume, but was wearing a silken robe and a small white turban. I was
+afraid His Highness was unwell and had sent for me on that account.
+Happily it was not so. After tea had been drank he told me that in the
+Palace when prayer-time came many people prayed, and that there were
+hanging on the walls pictures representing people--the English Houses
+of Parliament, and also the portrait of himself that I had painted in
+Turkestan. In the Mahomedan religion, he explained, it is not allowed
+to pray in any room where there is a pictorial representation of a man.
+He said that he wished, therefore, to hang these pictures in another
+room, and he desired me to paint three large pictures of scenery to
+take their place: the pictures were to be painted on leather, so that
+they might last as long as the Palace itself!
+
+He desired me, for the second time, to paint a full-length portrait of
+himself, and expressed his intention of sending to me four of the most
+accomplished artists that the country could produce in order that I
+might give them instruction in portrait-painting. Also, he informed me
+that my leave of absence would be granted before "Nau Roz," March 21st.
+
+It occurred to me at the time that with all these commissions on hand,
+Nau Roz and after Nau Roz would see me still in Kabul.
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Turban.]
+
+I do not know what emotion my face expressed, but as I sat holding
+my turban on my knee, His Highness suddenly desired me to bring
+him the turban that he might examine it. It was a good "Lungi," of
+fawn-coloured Cashmere, embroidered on both sides, which had been given
+me by a patient, one of the Court Pages. His Highness said he was
+wearing a better kind that he had lately sent for from Cashmere, and
+he directed a Page to bring it. It certainly was better than mine; a
+white Cashmere delicately embroidered with silk. It was wound in the
+Amir's careless fashion round a Turkestan cap of bright colours. I was
+admiring it when, to my surprise, His Highness directed me to put it on.
+
+After a moment's hesitation at being covered in his presence I did so,
+and His Highness desired me to keep it.
+
+Gratification and pride were now the dominant sensations;
+disappointment vanished into the haze of the past. No longer was "leave
+of absence" remembered. What was "Nau Roz" or "after Nau Roz?" Was
+I not wearing the King's turban! The congratulations that everyone
+offered when I withdrew from the Presence were received with a lofty
+dignity suitable to the situation.
+
+I had only a strip or so of canvas, and I painted a head on leather
+to show His Highness how difficult it was, for me at any rate, to
+get anything like an effect on that material, and I pointed out the
+fact that a skin of leather large enough for a landscape was almost
+impossible to obtain. A message, therefore, was sent to Bombay for
+canvas and paints.
+
+On Christmas Day, Mr. Pyne and the other English called upon Mr.
+Collins and myself, who were living in the town, and after a ride in
+the afternoon, we all dined together in the Workshops, drinking the
+health of the Queen, standing. A congratulatory message also was sent
+to Her Majesty from the Kabul Colony, to be telegraphed from Peshawur.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+ADIEU TO KABUL.
+
+    Afghan artists: their "style." Presentation of the little Prince's
+    portrait. His quarters at the Palace: presents. The Prince as a
+    host. After dark, a walk in the Kabul Bazaars. Before the Amir: the
+    shock: the result, landscapes. A fresh commission. The "Gnat's"
+    interpreting. The Amir's answer. Cogitation: decision. Art pupils
+    before the Amir. His Highness's criticism. The Amir's kindly
+    remark:--an interpretation thereof. The miner's dog: other dogs:
+    shattered nerves and surgical operations. The worries of Kabul
+    life. To Paghman: the glens: the spy, and his reception. Sketches.
+    Before the Amir. A fresh commission. Completion. Adieux.
+
+
+[Sidenote: Afghan Artists.]
+
+Two days after Christmas the most skilled of the artists arrived at my
+house to learn portrait-painting. They could all draw, and one of them
+showed talent of no mean order. The first thing, I found, was to teach
+them to draw a head life-size: formerly, they would do one the size
+of the thumb nail. The next, to teach them to draw heads in different
+positions, and not in the one conventional position to which they were
+accustomed; after that to show them how to put in their shadows crisply
+and with decision, having due regard to the relative value of each. For
+models I called up my Afghan servants and the soldiers of the guard.
+I have brought away with me many of the drawings of these artists,
+so that I have an interesting series of "types" of men born and bred
+in Afghanistan. The most skilful of the artists gave an almost
+Holbeinesque look to his drawings. They were perhaps somewhat hard,
+though he began to acquire, before I left, a freer style of drawing.
+
+How they would have turned out as colourists I do not know, for we
+never got on to painting.
+
+At the beginning of January I received an order from the Sultana to
+present formally to the little Prince Mahomed Omer the portrait I had
+painted of him in Paghman.
+
+Accompanied by the Armenian, I went to the Erg Palace. The little
+Prince's quarters were in a part of the Palace to which I had never
+before been admitted. It was a recent addition, built at the extreme
+west, behind the enclosure of the Amir's Pavilion, and high up
+overlooking the moat. I had noticed the building in progress when I
+was attending the Amir, and had wondered whom the apartments were
+intended for. We were conducted up a flight of winding stone steps,
+along corridors and through ante-rooms, till we reached the Prince's
+quarters. There were both "winter" and "summer" rooms, and the little
+Prince himself conducted me in a dignified manner to the different
+apartments, and showed them to me with great pride.
+
+The winter rooms, where he was at that time located, were warmly
+curtained and carpeted, and on the hearth, at either end, a great wood
+fire was blazing. The summer room, more elaborately decorated, opened
+on to a stone platform or balcony, some twenty feet above the moat,
+and from here was a splendid view across the Shahbagh Valley to the
+Baghi-Buland, where the Amir was building himself another Palace. In
+the distance was the Paghman offshoot of the Hindu Kush range.
+
+Sweets, tea, and cigarettes were brought, some Cashmere embroidery was
+given me, and a large tray of sweetmeats for the servants to carry
+away. The Sultana also desired me to accept a present of a thousand
+rupees as soon as it was collected from the "tax-payers." I, however,
+left the country before it was collected, but I have heard since that
+the Amir was so annoyed at the delay that he fined Her Highness an
+equal sum in consequence.
+
+[Sidenote: The Little Prince as a Host.]
+
+The little Prince was very smart in a crimson velvet coat, with emerald
+and diamond ornaments, white cloth trousers, patent-leather boots, and
+a fur busby.
+
+The accommodation in the Palace for the little man was more elaborate
+than that provided for any of his elder brothers, and he was deputed at
+this early age to receive visitors on behalf of the Sultana.
+
+He received Mr. Collins and myself in these rooms some time afterwards,
+when we paid a ceremonial visit to Her Highness, and after ordering
+tea and cigarettes to be brought, he proceeded to entertain us in
+the way that struck him as most suitable--he sent for his toys. They
+were mechanical ones from London and Paris. There was a musical cat
+that played the violin, another that sprang from a basket, and so
+on. He gave a demonstration of their working, watching our faces at
+the time to see if we were amused. We were duly amused. He seemed
+highly delighted, for he suddenly ordered us to laugh once more. We
+promptly obeyed. He asked us then if we would like some sweets: on
+our assenting, called for pen and paper and wrote an order upon his
+storekeeper for a tray full.
+
+The writing, however, was understandable only by those who had heard
+the order given. When the sweets were brought he warned us not to eat
+them too fast lest we should be ill. He seemed not disinclined to join
+us, but his tutor hinted to him in a whisper that he had eaten enough
+already.
+
+He spoke in Persian, and I asked if he understood Pushtu. The tutor
+said that he did not at present speak that language, but that he was
+learning. The Prince, eager to show his knowledge, said that, on the
+contrary, he could speak Pushtu, and he gave us an example. He had
+apparently picked up the words from some of his attendants, for it was
+not language such as a Prince should use. When we asked permission
+to withdraw, the Prince shook hands with us, politely saying,
+"Khush-amaded," "Welcome," and we bowed ourselves out.
+
+In January the frost making the ground so hard and slippery that it
+was dangerous to ride on horseback, Mr. Collins and I went for long
+afternoon walks. One day, having made rather a longer round than usual,
+we arrived at the suburbs of the town just as night fell. It was a part
+of the town I had never been in before; however, there was a moon,
+and we had a soldier with us. The streets of Kabul, as I have already
+said, are not straight and neatly paved and lighted. They are most
+eccentric in their general arrangement, and are lit by an occasional--a
+very occasional--oil lamp, a saucer of earthenware with a wick thrown
+in, which gives but a dim smoky light. There were a great many people
+about, but few took any notice of us or we of anyone. Occasionally
+some one would say, "The English Doctor," or "English," and though I
+wore native costume with turban and cloak, Collins was dressed as a
+European, with fur cap and coat. A few years ago a walk in the dusk in
+Kabul would certainly have been fatal to two Europeans, but now--we had
+no weapons and needed none. There seemed really less danger than there
+would have been in walking through some of the back streets of London.
+
+At the end of February when my three landscapes were finished, I took
+them, with some drawings that my pupils had finished, to show to the
+Amir.
+
+His Highness was occupying a suite of rooms in the Erg Palace that at
+one time was Prince Habibullah's Harem Serai. We were shown into a
+large, well-furnished room with a wood fire burning on the hearth. A
+small scent-fountain was playing on the table, and the room was crowded
+with flowers, some cut and some growing in pots. The Amir being fond of
+flowers, his Palace is supplied during the winter from Jelalabad, where
+the climate is always hot.
+
+[Sidenote: A Shock.]
+
+There were not many people in the room--some half-dozen of the chief
+officials of the country and several Page boys. The Amir himself did
+not look well. He was dark under the eyes and thinner, and he looked as
+though he had been bled.
+
+I asked if he were not well, and he said he had been troubled with gout.
+
+This gave me a shock, and when I found that he had again called the
+Hakims to attend him, I at once determined to leave his service at
+the first opportunity. I had a very vivid recollection of my former
+experiences under similar circumstances, and had not the slightest
+desire to have them repeated.
+
+His Highness was very kind and courteous, and he was pleased with the
+landscapes. He desired me however, to paint two more, one of them to be
+a view of Paghman, including the Palace and the Harem Serai.
+
+I was surprised at this and far from pleased, for the snow lay thick
+at Paghman, and sketching there would be an impossibility for weeks to
+come. I said to His Highness that there were as yet no leaves on the
+trees, but he said--
+
+"Khair ast!" "That is nothing--you can paint leaves on the trees in the
+picture!"
+
+I showed him the work of the art students, and he was greatly pleased
+with their progress.
+
+As the Armenian was ill with fever I had been compelled to take the
+Hindustani Gnat to translate, and I said to him:
+
+"Seeing that His Highness has been ill and has not desired me to treat
+him, he probably does not wish me to return to this country when my
+leave expires. Enquire if this is so."
+
+The Interpreter said in Persian to His Highness: "The Doctor asks
+whether it is Amir Sahib's wish that he bring Mrs. Gray with him to
+this country when he returns?"
+
+I had not asked this. His Highness answered:
+
+"Most certainly; I said so before," and addressing me he said:
+
+"I look upon you as one of my household; I wish you and your wife to
+live here permanently: going to England for a time and again returning."
+
+He then repeated his promise of defraying the expenses of the journey
+and that of the two English maid-servants who were to be brought;
+he indicated the position where a house was to be built for us, near
+his own Palace, and talked for some time as to the arrangement of the
+house; and he said as regards the veil over the face, that it was, for
+a European lady, entirely optional.
+
+[Sidenote: Cogitation: Decision.]
+
+It was very kind of His Highness to make these promises, but of what
+use were they to me? I had returned to the country after my first leave
+because I had promised to do so: I had imagined, and, indeed, had been
+given to understand, that having tested my good faith, the Amir would,
+if he were taken ill, not keep me as a sort of _dernier ressort_,
+but call me to attend him before he was maltreated by the Hakims.
+Apparently this was not his intention. Such being the case, his service
+appeared to me to be no longer desirable, at any rate for a married
+man. The risks were too great.
+
+I set to work and painted one landscape, and when that was finished and
+I was waiting for the weather to allow me to go to Paghman, I painted
+for my wife a portrait of myself in costume, for I guessed I should
+never paint another portrait of myself in Kabul.
+
+About the middle of March I had again an interview with His Highness:
+I wished to show him the progress of my art pupils, and to exhibit the
+fresh landscape. He was then occupying the "Bostan Serai," a new Palace
+or bungalow which was just completed. It was situated outside the South
+Gate of the Erg Palace.
+
+I had set the artists to draw a portrait of the Armenian (to ensure at
+the interview the presence of an Interpreter whom I could trust), and
+of the sergeant of my guard. They and the pupils accompanied me to the
+Palace, the Hindustani Gnat attaching himself to our train.
+
+After passing through a courtyard where there were soldiers and Page
+boys, we entered the garden of the Palace. I sat on a seat there while
+His Highness was informed of my arrival.
+
+Some military Officers and Secretaries came through whom I knew and
+shook hands with. Presently came the two little Princes, Hafiz Ullah
+and Amin Ullah, pretty boys, with fair hair and white skins. They
+stopped and spoke to me, and the elder, Prince Hafiz Ullah, showed
+me some photographs of himself that were taken by an itinerant Hindu
+photographer who had recently come to Kabul: they were very badly done.
+The Princes then shook hands and went in to salaam His Highness. They
+were accompanied by their tutor and several Page boys.
+
+In a few minutes I was called. His Highness was seated in an easy-chair
+in the porch overlooking the garden. Everyone was standing. The porch
+was three or four steps higher than the terrace where I stood. After
+the usual salutations I showed the landscape. His Highness was very
+interested in it, and I then exhibited the portrait of myself. This he
+said was faultless. He added, laughingly,
+
+"You have painted the fur the same colour as the moustache, and the
+turban the same colour as the eyes."
+
+By his direction it was then fixed up on the wall in front of him.
+
+When the drawings of the pupils were brought forward the Armenian and
+the sergeant had to stand in position in order to be compared with the
+drawings. Some of them His Highness praised, some he found fault with,
+but he expressed himself as being very pleased with the progress the
+artists had made, and stated his intention of giving each of them a
+present. Before I came away I said to the Interpreter:--
+
+"If His Highness will accept the portrait I have painted of myself I
+shall be honoured, but, if not, will he kindly allow me to send it to
+my wife in London?"
+
+[Sidenote: Amir's Kindly Remark.]
+
+His Highness said:--
+
+"I would rather see your face here for many years to come than have the
+best portrait that ever was painted."
+
+I was gratified by the kindness of the remark: but it occurred to me
+that His Highness had received information concerning my intention of
+leaving his service.
+
+At this time the English miner returned from Jigdilik, where he had
+been superintending the Spinel Rubies mines. As there was no room in
+the Workshops I offered him quarters in my house. He lived in the wing
+that Mr. Collins occupied.
+
+A day or two afterwards he bought a half-bred bulldog of a man in the
+bazaar, and he tied it up in my garden. Every evening he went off to
+the Workshops to play cards with the other men, and the dog lifted
+up his voice and howled continuously. Looking at the affair from
+my own personal standpoint, the dog was undoubtedly an abominable
+nuisance, but from the miner's point of view, probably this was not
+so. I considered in my own mind whether it would purely be selfish if
+I told him to take his dog with him, or otherwise dispose of it: I
+felt sorely tempted to do so, but I refrained. I did casually remark
+that the dog mourned greatly when he was away; the hint did not have
+the desired effect, for the miner shouted cheerily, "Did he?" and he
+laughed a stentorian laugh. It was an experience to go through, when he
+and the Armenian shouted jokes at one another in my small winter room.
+However, he was my guest at the time; but I confess I looked upon it as
+a special mercy that he was fond of cards and the society of the other
+English workmen at the shops.
+
+But the dog! I remember it. He began with a short yelp, which he
+prolonged into a whining howl. Then he began another howl, and ended up
+with two or three sharp yelps: there were many changes and variations
+all painfully distinct in the silence of the night. One evening it was
+almost too much for me, and I nearly gave way: I was about to send a
+note to the shops, thus:--
+
+"DEAR MINER,--What is the price of your dog? I want to buy it,
+so that I can, without evil motives being assigned to me, poison it. My
+nervous system is becoming slowly shattered. Don't apologise.--Yours,
+very truly,----"
+
+But then, from the miner's point of view this would, doubtless, be a
+very selfish and heartless letter, and I decided not to send it.
+
+Distinctly there were dogs enough in the neighbourhood. The Armenian
+had a dog, and he would bring it sometimes in the morning and tie it up
+all day. This also mourned: I do not like dogs. It struck me afterwards
+that perhaps I was thought to enjoy their music. If the muscles of the
+face, in an unguarded moment, twitched spasmodically at a more than
+usually penetrating howl, I endeavoured to change it into a pleasant
+smile. To a medical observer I should imagine one's appearance at these
+moments would be interesting.
+
+The day I was nearly forgetting the duties of hospitality in sending a
+note to the miner, I had had an operation to perform, the removal of an
+eye: the day before to take a tumour from the forehead: also to put up
+the broken wing of a heron in splints. Prince Habibullah had shot the
+bird, and finding it was not killed, he sent it to me to be surgically
+attended to. In the morning I had to visit and prescribe for a sick
+tiger: this patient, by the way, broke loose from the attendants, but
+was too ill to do any harm.
+
+I was not yet able to start for Paghman on account of the rain and
+the violent storms of thunder and lightning. It was bad enough in
+Kabul with the road like quagmires, but up in the hills it would be
+infinitely worse. It was rumoured that I was to start for home directly
+the Paghman picture was finished; it was also rumoured that I was not
+to start till the end of the summer.
+
+[Sidenote: Shattered Nerves.]
+
+Mr. Collins had for some time been considerably disturbed in his mind,
+in that he had not been for several months sent on any geologising
+expedition. He was "severely let alone," and was heartily sick of Kabul
+life in consequence. The reason of this I have mentioned in an earlier
+part of the narrative, where I have drawn a parallel between his and
+Captain Griesbach's experiences. The difficulty in Kabul is to avoid
+worrying one's self into misery. It is galling to think that a spy can
+whisper what he likes behind one's back, and one can do nothing: for
+being never accused one has nothing to answer; knowing, nevertheless,
+that some mischief is working. As for rumours, one can believe as
+little or as much as one pleases, for a report is just as likely to be
+false as true: there is, however, generally some substratum of fact
+upon which the structure is built.
+
+At the beginning of April, I received the order to proceed to Paghman.
+
+His Highness gave me a firman, ordering the Governor of Paghman to
+provide a house; food at the price His Highness pays, and anything else
+I wanted. Pack-horses were procured, and I sent off the servants with
+camp-bedstead, table, chair, kitchen utensils, and so on, including
+tea, sugar, and candles, and corn for the horses, for in Paghman, at
+this time of the year, there was little to be got from the villagers
+except meat and bread.
+
+The next day, after breakfast, I rode to Paghman, accompanied by Mr.
+Collins and a guard. The snow was still on the mountains, but had
+disappeared in the valley of Paghman. We were quartered in the house
+of Sirdar Usuf Khan, the Amir's uncle. It was, of course, empty,
+except for the furniture I had sent over. We spent the rest of the day
+wandering about the hills and glens, seeking a suitable spot from which
+to make my drawings. Mr. Collins brought a gun and shot a few birds,
+among them was a kestrel. I noticed the wild tulips were in bloom; they
+had six pale pink petals, each with a darker median streak.
+
+After walking and climbing a good many miles we found the best view of
+the Palace and Harem Serai was to be obtained from a hilly offshoot
+of the mountains bounding the north side of the valley: from the
+Pir-i-Buland peak.
+
+[Sidenote: The Spy of the Gnat.]
+
+When we got back to the house, one of my Afghan servants told me
+that an _employe_ of the Hindustani Gnat was hanging about in the
+neighbourhood, and that while we were away he had attempted to enter
+the house. After we had had dinner, Mr. Collins and I walked in the
+garden, and I caught sight of the man spoken of. I knew his face at
+once as a spy. Apparently he had "squared" the guard, for he was
+creeping in at the entrance. What his object was I never knew, unless
+it were to peep about and carry a report to his master of what he saw.
+Mr. Collins and I suddenly stepped in his path and asked him what he
+wanted. He seemed rather taken aback and said he wanted nothing.
+
+I told him that, as we could not have the supreme happiness of being of
+service to him, we would not detain him longer; nor would we trouble
+him to call again lest he should be put to the inconvenience, not to
+say danger, of being shot at. He did not appear again.
+
+In a couple of days I had finished my sketches, and we rode back to
+Kabul. I then set to work to paint my picture. Meanwhile, the Hospital
+work had to go on as usual, and operations to be performed, so that it
+was the beginning of May before the picture was finished.
+
+I then took it to the Bostan Serai Palace, which His Highness was still
+occupying, to show him. He was very pleased, and went over all the
+details of the picture with interest. The usual tea and cigarettes were
+brought, and His Highness sent me a plate of sweetmeats from his table.
+He talked for some time afterwards on natural history and philology,
+and said he was intending to build another Palace at Paghman. I showed
+him some vesical calculi I had removed by operation, and then asked
+when he would wish me to start for England. From the expression of His
+Highness's face, I saw I had made a mistake in asking. However, the
+expression was only momentary, and His Highness said I should start at
+the beginning of the next month. One thing, however, he had overlooked;
+the pictures--he liked them exceedingly, and would hang them in the
+Palace he was then using--but for the Erg Palace, for which they were
+painted, they were the wrong shape; these were longer from side to
+side; they should have been longer from above downwards. This was
+indeed the fact, as I saw directly he called my attention to it, and I
+determined, therefore, to paint three more before I left. But, tobah!
+tobah! I was very sick of it all. I set to work again and called in the
+art students to see how the deed was done.
+
+To find what you really can do, work with the "spur" well in. I painted
+better than I had ever done--though, may be, that is not saying very
+much.
+
+As soon as one picture was finished I began another, working all day
+and every day. The Hospitals I left in the hands of the Hindustani
+assistants and the Hakims; but I was sorry for the patients. One or two
+cases, however, I attended to;--a Page boy, whom His Highness sent,
+and whose finger it was necessary to amputate: and one of the keepers
+of His Highness's menagerie, who had been badly mauled by a tiger: a
+lithotomy operation that had to be performed, and a few others.
+
+While I was at work I received a letter from His Highness, directing
+me to inform him as soon as I was ready to start, in order that the
+firmans for pack-horses, tent, and guard might be made out.
+
+[Sidenote: Adieux.]
+
+Towards the end of May the pictures were finished. I had at this time
+the pleasure of congratulating Prince Nasrullah on the birth of a son;
+and after the pictures were presented, His Highness's thanks received,
+and my adieux made, I started on my long-deferred but greatly-desired
+journey home. Mr. Collins, at the same time, sent in his resignation
+and accompanied me. Just as I put my foot in the stirrup two patients
+arrived:--the Page boy from the Palace, whose finger I had amputated,
+and a girl from the Harem Serai, sent by the Sultana. However, I was
+not very long in attending to them, and at last we were really off.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+THE ARGUMENT.
+
+    Afghan court life from an English standpoint. The rise and fall
+    of the Afghan Courtier. Untrustworthiness: the inevitable result.
+    Intrigue: a similar result. Question of "cause" or "consequence."
+    Possibility of raising the moral plane: reasons in favour of. The
+    Amir's obvious opinion. His Highness's great work. Certain evils.
+    Former condition of the middle classes: present condition: opening
+    of the eyes: comparison with similar class in India. Progress
+    in Afghanistan. Civilizing effect of the Amir: his influence.
+    Dost Mahomed's rule: his character: comparison with Abdurrahman.
+    Altered condition of country. The Amir's civilizing measures:
+    drastic measures. Peaceful measures: education: the teaching of
+    handicrafts: of art: the spreading of knowledge: prizes for good or
+    original work. Personal fascination of the Amir.
+
+
+Though I have endeavoured, by detailing my own experiences in the
+country, to give an idea of the present condition of Afghanistan
+and the character of the ruler, one must not forget that we English
+in the service were on an entirely different footing, as regards
+the Amir, from any of the natives of the country. As outsiders we
+noted, sometimes with amused, sometimes with painful, interest, many
+occurrences which, however, concerned us only in the abstract and not
+in any personal way.
+
+[Sidenote: Rise and Fall of the Official.]
+
+For instance, I have shown that the Amir has raised men of the lowest
+rank, even slaves, to positions nearly the highest in the kingdom.
+Similarly, men of the highest rank are degraded in a day to nearly the
+lowest. A high official is one day riding through the streets dressed
+in velvet and gold, with a great retinue of servants around him: a
+day or two afterwards, in a shabby coat, he is creeping from door to
+door to beg a little bread, and I wondered if this state of things
+were the _consequence_, or is it the _cause_, of an Afghan's utter
+untrustworthiness, when he is put into a position of responsibility.
+
+As an example:--A man is made Governor of a Province on a very
+moderate salary, and presently the Amir sees him in gorgeous attire,
+and surrounded by crowds of servants and horses. We, foreigners even,
+could see that the pay did not run to it--it was impossible; how much
+more clearly, therefore, could the Amir see it, and yet the custom was
+invariable. After a few years the man is recalled to Kabul to make
+out a statement of accounts as regards the revenue and taxes of the
+province. He cannot do it. Forthwith his ill-gotten wealth is put in
+the Treasury, his finery, and the shawls and diamonds of his wives, in
+the Government stores, and he finds himself, as he deserved, a beggar
+or in jail. The sufferers--the men who have been squeezed--are the
+peasants and traders. When "gentlemen" behave in this way it is not to
+be wondered at that the Amir makes a slave a gentleman.
+
+On the other hand, there are cases, perhaps, as numerous where a man
+owes his fall not to any rascality of his own, but to the combination
+and intrigue of his enemies. This, I suppose, must necessarily be under
+a despotic Government, where one man has supreme power. Be he ever so
+wise and just a man he cannot know everything, and there being only
+one man to work upon, a clever scoundrel, who has the _entree_ to the
+Durbar, and who studies that one man's disposition and moods, can oust
+a better man than himself, if he works long enough. Sometimes a man
+compounds with his enemies: each party knows something incriminating
+about the other, and both keep silent from mutual fear. This state of
+things has existed not in the reign of the present Amir only, but for
+generations.
+
+As a spectator I have watched the play many a time; it is interesting,
+as I said, though apt to be depressing. Sometimes it is simply a
+comedy; but more often the ending is tragic.
+
+Are these rapid rises and falls to be looked upon as the _consequence_
+or are they the _cause_ of the moral condition of the Afghan? The
+question is an important one, if we are looking forward to a civilized
+Afghanistan.
+
+Does an Afghan in power, knowing the certainty of a fall, deserved or
+undeserved, say to himself,
+
+"I have authority now, but sooner or later somebody will undermine me
+in the Amir's regard. I had better make the most of my power while it
+lasts: get all I can out of other people, and enjoy myself. The evil
+day may be long deferred."
+
+Looking at it in this way, it is possible to imagine that the condition
+of things is the cause of his behaviour.
+
+On the other hand, is the moral nature of the Afghan utterly hopeless?
+I do not mean does he lie, steal, murder, and betray, for we know he
+has done that for ages; but I mean, is the nation incapable of being
+raised to a higher moral condition?
+
+[Sidenote: The Amir's Great Work.]
+
+Their frank open-hearted manner and sense of hospitality; their love
+of liberty and of home; their faithfulness (sometimes) to a friend in
+adversity,--I have seen this in spite of widespread treachery; the
+graceful gratitude for a favour conferred: all these seem to show that
+the moving spirit of the race was once on a far higher moral plane than
+it is now, and one would think, therefore, that they _are_ capable of
+being raised to a condition vastly superior to their present state.
+
+That the Amir thinks so is clear, for he has commenced to raise them by
+a system of education.
+
+To say that Abdurrahman did not come to the throne by chance is to
+utter a platitude. There was a work to be done that doubtless he only
+could do. It was essential that the power of the "Barons," the great
+chiefs with rival interests, should be broken and their constant feuds
+ended; that the country should be united under one head; that there
+should be respect for authority, and thus a possibility established
+of drawing the people from the slough of ignorance in which they are
+wallowing. The Amir has done and is doing, in this country over which
+he has acquired nearly absolute control, a grand civilizing work.
+
+Still, one cannot be blind to the fact that the usual evils of
+a Despotic Government exist:--the instability of every official
+appointment: the great evil of the "place-seeker" to which I have
+referred: the oppression of the poor; and the grinding down of
+the peasants and traders. These are enough to sap the life of any
+government, for there can be no strength where there is no mutual trust.
+
+It is impossible for the Amir, though like Napoleon he employs a
+complicated system of espionage, it is impossible for him to know
+all the evil that exists. In the preceding reigns the oppression of
+the middle and lower classes (the backbone of every country) was far
+greater than it is now, but the people had the continual excitement of
+constantly-recurring intertribal wars, when every Afghan is a soldier,
+to draw their attention away from their own miserable condition. Now,
+they have time to think, and though their condition is far better than
+it was, they are beginning to see how bad it is--to make comparisons.
+
+That Afghanistan has during the last ten years made considerable
+strides toward civilization, there can, I think, be no doubt in the
+minds of those who have had the opportunity of collecting sufficient
+facts upon which to base an opinion. And that this progress has been
+entirely due to the remarkable Prince who is now occupying the throne
+of Afghanistan--Amir Abdurrahman--requires but little proof.
+
+We have only to compare the condition of the country and the "bent"
+of the people at the present time with their condition a few years
+ago, to bring out, in a very clear light, the civilizing effect of a
+far-seeing, strong man's personality.
+
+[Sidenote: Personal Influence of the Amir.]
+
+Amir Abdurrahman is absolute autocrat of Afghanistan. His is now the
+only influence that has any lasting effect upon the people. There is no
+Press to guide public opinion. The influence and power of the Priests
+has been enormously curtailed. The Chief Priest--the Khani Mullah Khan
+himself--though treated with respect by His Highness, the Amir, has
+scarcely more power, nor does he receive a greater share of attention
+than one of the Civil magistrates. The opinion of the Amir, delivered
+in open Durbar, is the keynote from which all tunes are played. It
+is caught up by the Chamberlains, the Court Officials, and Pages; it
+reaches the bazaars, and soon the people join in the chorus. It is woe
+to the man who utters a discordant note: people look at him askance and
+draw out of his neighbourhood. Attention is directed to him, and unless
+he alters his note he is--dismissed from the choir.
+
+The Amir is, as I have said, the Chief of the powerful Durani tribe.
+This tribe has been from time immemorial more tolerant and more
+civilized than any other of the tribes of Afghanistan: and from it
+the native rulers of the country have been invariably drawn. When we
+consider the Amir's marvellous personal influence, we can but see it is
+a happy thing that his leaning is towards civilization and justice.
+
+That it is so can be shown.
+
+What was the condition of Afghanistan no further back than the time of
+his grandfather, Amir Dost Mahomed, the great Amir--"Amir-i-Kabir"--as
+the Afghans called him?
+
+Dost Mahomed was Amir of the Kabul Province; his brother Ramdil
+occupied Kandahar: and Herat was held independently by Shah Mahomed,
+brother of Shah Shujah. This was in 1835. These chiefs were constantly
+intriguing with Persia and Russia; and their conflicting interests and
+personal jealousies brought the country into a condition so unsettled
+as to be little better than Anarchy. War, and in its train, robbery
+and murder were so constantly carried on, that it was most unsafe for
+Afghans, and quite impossible for foreigners, to travel from one city
+to another. So suddenly did fighting break out, that when travelling,
+one found one's self in danger of falling into the thick of it.
+Caravans--such as ventured to start--made long and wearisome detours
+to avoid battlefields. The more savage of the Afghan tribes delighted
+in nothing more than the chances thus offered of unpunished highway
+robbery and murder.
+
+About the year 1850 Dost Mahomed succeeded in annexing Turkestan, and
+in 1854 he managed to evict Ramdil from Kandahar. Meanwhile, in Herat,
+Shah Kamran succeeded his father, Mahmud; and at his death came his
+minister, Yar Mahomed. The Persians at once advanced and took Herat:
+Herat being the key of India--this necessitated British interference.
+Sultan Jan, brother of Dost Mahomed, was put in possession. He died
+in 1862, and there were many claimants for the Chieftainship, each of
+whom appealed to Persia. Dost Mahomed therefore advanced with an army,
+besieged, and took Herat. This was his last act, for he died in his
+camp a few days after.
+
+While Dost Mahomed was on the throne it was allowable in Kabul to
+revile and curse the British openly, and although as a successful
+Warrior, with bluff, hearty manners, and a free accessibility to his
+people, he was a popular Monarch, nevertheless, there was not a single
+act he did which in any way increased the material prosperity of his
+people. To use the words of a skilled and indefatigable observer
+of facts, Dr. Bellew, of whom one still hears much in Kabul--"Dost
+Mahomed, during his long reign, did nothing to improve the condition
+or advance the domestic welfare of his people, nor did he introduce a
+single measure of general benefit to his country. He kept it a close
+borough of Islam, stationary in the ignorance of the Middle Ages, and
+pervaded with the religious bigotry of that period, and, to the close
+of his life he defended that policy as the only one whereby to maintain
+the independence of the country. His great merit is that he had the
+sense to perceive his own interest in the British alliance, and he
+reaped the fruits of his good judgment in the ultimate consolidation of
+his kingdom. But he was a barbarian, nevertheless."
+
+[Sidenote: Abdurrahman and Dost Mahomed.]
+
+Attention has been drawn to a certain resemblance existing between Amir
+Abdurrahman and Dost Mahomed.
+
+The Hon. G. N. Curzon, speaking at the Society of Arts, remarked that
+the Amir seemed to possess some of the strongest characteristics of his
+grandfather, Dost Mahomed. Without doubt this is so; and one may add
+that to the strong character of Dost Mahomed, Abdurrahman unites a high
+degree of education and considerable stores of information--scientific,
+artistic, and general--acquired from books, from conversation, and
+from observation during his travels. To the simple manners and free
+hospitality of Dost Mahomed, he adds a dignity and kindly courtesy of
+manner most remarkable in a man of his strong passions, and in one who
+is constantly surrounded with adulation and flattery. He is readily
+accessible to his people: and even when suffering from the pangs of
+gout will listen patiently to the petitions of the poorest of his
+subjects, and give rapid though just judgments in the cases brought
+before him.
+
+From my narrative may have been gathered some idea of the steps
+that the Amir has taken to civilize his people and advance
+them in prosperity. Highway robbery and murder are no longer
+common in the country; nor is murder or theft in the town.
+Englishmen--Feringhis--have been, for the last six or seven years,
+travelling constantly between Kabul and Peshawur, and never has there
+been the slightest attempt to injure or annoy them. Indeed, for myself
+I may say that at every halting-place when the villagers brought
+their sick for me to attend to, I went among them freely, unarmed and
+unguarded.
+
+That the Amir should have used drastic measures to bring the diseased
+state of the country into a condition nearer approaching health, was
+without doubt a necessity; mild measures would have been misunderstood
+and completely disregarded. The savage tribes who haunted certain parts
+of the highway and gave rise to such by-words as "the valley of death,"
+were either killed by the Amir's troops, captured and executed, or
+dispersed.
+
+On the other hand, should a Kabuli wish to start business for himself,
+he has but to apply to the Amir, who will, for a certain number of
+years, lend him a sum sufficient for his purposes, and this without
+interest.
+
+I have related in my narrative how that the Amir was educating, not
+merely the Court Pages and the boy soldiers of his Mahomedan regiment,
+but many others, the sons of gentlemen, whom he was intending for
+officers in his army.
+
+[Sidenote: The Teaching of Handicrafts.]
+
+The educational influence on the Afghans of the Amir's Kabul workshops
+must be, and is, immense. The natives work in great numbers in the
+shops, being taught by the English engineers who have from time
+to time been in the service of His Highness, and by the Hindustani
+_mistris_, who have been introduced from Lahore and Bengal.
+
+Not only is war material produced in the workshops, but various
+handicrafts are practised there. One body of men is doing leather
+work--copying English and Russian boots of various kinds; making
+saddles, bridles, belts, and cartridge pouches, portmanteaux, and mule
+trunks. There are workers in wood--from those who manage the steam saws
+to those who produce beautiful carved work for cabinets and chairs.
+There are workers in brass, making vases, candelabra, lamps, and many
+other things both useful and ornamental. There is another department
+where they produce tin ware--pots, pans, and cans. The most artistic
+are perhaps the workers in silver. They make for the Amir or Sultana
+very beautiful things: cups, beakers, beautifully embossed tea-pots,
+dagger and sword handles, and scabbards. Their work is, however, rarely
+original. The Amir shows them a drawing or gives them a good English
+model to copy from.
+
+Everything European is now fashionable in Kabul, and European clothing
+has become more universally worn by the Kabulis than it used to be
+even at the time I entered the service of the Amir. His Highness,
+therefore, finding that his tailors, though they soon learnt the shape
+of European garments, had not mastered the difficulties of "fit," sent
+for an English tailor to teach them. Classes were held on the subject
+in the workshops and demonstrations given, with the result that such of
+the Kabuli tailors who attended greatly improved in their system of
+"cutting," and obtained much better prices in the bazaars.
+
+I have already related how that the Amir desired me to start an Art
+class, and with what success the artists learnt to draw.
+
+It would be tedious and almost impossible for me to enumerate all the
+different kinds of work carried on in the shops; but I think I have
+said enough to show that the effects of the workshops, apart from the
+output, must be immense. There are some thousand or fifteen hundred men
+at work in them; these scatter to their homes at night and carry the
+wonderful stories of all they see and do to their friends. In fact, the
+most popular song of the day is one depicting the life of a lad in the
+shops. It is supposed to be sung by the mother; but it ends somewhat
+significantly by the workman being caught in the machinery and killed.
+
+One must remember that this educational system of civilizing is being
+carried on among a race of men who have been known hitherto simply
+as fighters and robbers, semi-savages, and who, unlike so many of
+the races of India, have shown but little if any sign that they were
+capable of being converted into useful producers.
+
+When I say, finally, that the Amir offers prizes, and of considerable
+value, for the best or most original work produced either in the shops
+or elsewhere, it will be easily understood how much he has at heart the
+desire to advance his people in knowledge and civilization.
+
+[Sidenote: Personal Fascination of the Amir.]
+
+For a man of ordinary intelligence, such as myself, to attempt to
+analyze the Amir's character would be both presumptuous and futile.
+His intellect, though perhaps more subtile than profound; and his
+wide knowledge, though more superficial than real, raise him high
+above those by whom he is surrounded, and by contrast he shines as a
+brilliant light among the dull flames of his Courtiers. European in
+appearance, hearty in manner, with a robe of educated civilization, His
+Highness is Afghan--an Afghan of the Afghans, and perhaps the finest
+specimen of his race--but yet an Oriental.
+
+We English in his service, dazzled by the glamour of his strong
+personality and charmed by the kindly courtesy of his manner, grew to
+feel an attachment strong and personal to His Highness; but there were
+those among us of the more observant who felt, as the years passed,
+that we were but as "Pawns" on the chess-board of this Prince, to be
+swept off with an unshrinking hand when a move in the game might need
+it.
+
+Nevertheless, though life at an Oriental Court offers so little that
+is congenial to the tastes of an educated Englishman; where, indeed,
+each man strives to harm his neighbour; where truth is not, nor
+honour; where Vice and Villainy walk at noonday unveiled, such is the
+fascination of the Man that, had one none to consider but one's self,
+the temptation, for his sake, to re-enter the life would be almost
+irresistible.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+SIMMONS & BOTTEN, LIMITED, PRINTERS, LONDON.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+
+The following apparent errors have been corrected:
+
+p. x "Usbaks," changed to "Usbaks."
+
+p. x "Painda" changed to "Painda"
+
+p. xii "khirgar," changed to "khirgar."
+
+p. xiv "ea cup" changed to "tea cup"
+
+p. 88 "costume, First" changed to "costume. First"
+
+p. 90 "au assassin" changed to "an assassin"
+
+p. 103 (header) "Naib" changed to "Naib"
+
+p. 168 "the service" changed to "the service."
+
+p. 171 (note) "smothered" changed to "smothered."
+
+p. 189 (header) "The Amir's" changed to "The Amir's"
+
+p. 193 "Painda" changed to "Painda"
+
+p. 256 "Samarcand" changed to "Samarcand"
+
+p. 293 "The Amir" changed to "The Amir"
+
+p. 311 "muscular," changed to "muscular."
+
+p. 335 "were Ishak" changed to "where Ishak"
+
+p. 362 "His Highness" changed to "His Highness"
+
+p. 394 "advised,:" changed to "advised,"
+
+p. 427 "new ta" changed to "new to"
+
+p. 436 "many thing;" changed to "many things;"
+
+p. 450 "mind.'" changed to "mind."
+
+p. 451 "my baggage" changed to "my baggage;"
+
+p. 493 "I send" changed to "I sent"
+
+p. 495 ""Nau Roz" changed to ""Nau Roz""
+
+p. 506 "<sc>Dear Miner</sc>" changed to ""<sc>Dear Miner</sc>"
+
+
+The following possible errors have been left as printed:
+
+p. 258 ignominous
+
+p. 316 For God sake
+
+p. 339 I put him at rocky slope.
+
+p. 399 the physician;
+
+p. 494 been drank
+
+
+The following are used inconsistently in the text:
+
+Babur and Babur
+
+backbone and back-bone
+
+Badshah and Badshah
+
+Bali and Bali
+
+bathroom and bath-room
+
+beeftea and beef-tea
+
+bodyguard and body-guard
+
+By-and-bye and By and bye
+
+countermove and counter-move
+
+darust and darust
+
+Dost and Dost
+
+Ghuzniguk and Ghuzni guk
+
+goldsmith and gold-smith
+
+Id and Id
+
+kaimaghchai and kaimagh-chai
+
+Khyber and Kyber
+
+Kudus and Kudus
+
+Kurghan, Kurghan and Kurghan
+
+Lala and Lala
+
+lungi and lungi
+
+maidservants and maid-servants
+
+Mahmud and Mahmud
+
+Maliks and Maleks
+
+matchbox and match-box
+
+Mazar-i-Sherif and Mazar-i-Sherif
+
+Mazaris and Mazaris
+
+Mir and Mir
+
+mirza and mirza
+
+Nau Roz, Nau Roz and Nau Roz
+
+nowadays and now-a-days
+
+Ramazan and Ramazan
+
+Ressul and Ressul
+
+Seyid and Seyid
+
+Shere Derwaza and Sher Durwaza
+
+Sherpur and Sherpur
+
+sunstroke and sun-stroke
+
+Suffed Koh and Suffed Koh
+
+Sunni and Sunni
+
+sweatmeat and sweetmeat
+
+Takh-ta-Pul and Takh-ta-Pul
+
+teapots and tea-pots
+
+watercourse and water-course
+
+Wazir and Wazir
+
+Zohak-i-Marhan and Zohak-i-Marhan
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's At the Court of the Amir, by John Alfred Gray
+
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