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 LIBRARY 
 
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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
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 http://www.archive.org/details/atcourtofamrnaOOgrayrich 
 
AT THE COURT OF THE AMIE 
 
C t c .« »•• 
 
 
 WalV»riBoutall.Ph.Sc 
 
 
 I.ojidcn.hirliara Bcntle 
 
AT THE 
 
 COURT OF THE AMIR 
 
 A NARRATIVE 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN ALFRED GEAY, M.B. Loxd. 
 
 Late Surgeon to H.H. The AmIr of Afghanistan 
 
 HAND-MADE AFGHAN RUPEE 
 STAMPED ".AMIB ABDUEKAHMAN.* 
 
 LONDON 
 EICHARD BENTLEY AND SON 
 
 1895 
 
 [411 Bights Reserved'] 
 
if 
 
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, diflScult of access, and 
 hence comparatively unknown, there have been, 
 since that strong man Amir Abdurrahman ascended 
 the Throne, such remarkable changes in the ad- 
 ministration 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. 
 
 229637 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 r 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 On the Eoad to Kabul ... ... ... 1 
 
 The start and tlie wherefore. Unsettled condition o£ Afghanistan. 
 Departure from Peshawur. Jumrtid Fort and the Watch-tower. The 
 Afghan guard. The Khyber defile. Eccentricities of Eosinante. 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 Eiver. Mussaks. Camp at Bassawal. 
 Chahardeh. Mountain road by the river. Distant view of Jelalabad. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 ARRivAii AT Kabul ... ... ... ... 16 
 
 Arrival at Jelalabad. Keception by the Governor. The Palace. The 
 Town. The Plain. Quarters in the Guest Pavilion. The friendly Khan. 
 Tattang and the gunpowder factory. The Eoyal gardens at Nimla. The 
 Suffed Koh Mountains. Arboreal distribution in Afghanistan. Gundamuk. 
 Assassination of Cavagnari : details of the plot. The " Eed bridge." 
 Commencement of mountainous ascent to Kabul. JigdiHk. 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 m. 
 The Reception ... ... ... ... 31 
 
 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 Eeception. Internal arrangement of Pavilion. The earth- 
 quake. Abrupt ending of the Eeception. Other buildings in the Palace. 
 
viii Contents. 
 
 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 Eoberts and the Sherpftr 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 ... ... .. ... 58 
 
 The Besidential streets of Kabul. Their appearance and arrangement. 
 The Police. Criminal Punishments. The Houses. Their internal arrange- 
 ment. Precautions to ensure privacy. Manner of building for the rich and 
 for the poor. Effect of rain and earthquake. The wanning of houses in 
 winter. Afternoon teas. Bath-houses. The Afghan bath. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Kabul Bazaars ... ... ... ... 68 
 
 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 Eoyal Family. Silk 
 and cotton. "Bargaining." "Eestaurants." Tea drinking. Confec- 
 tioners. The baker's oven. Flour mills. The butcher's shop. Postins and 
 their cost. Furs. Ironmongers. Arms. " The German sword." The 
 Afghan tulwar. Eifles 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 ... ... ... ... ... 90 
 
 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 Eeligious Processions. Afghan conception of God. Eeligious 
 and non-Religious Afghans. The schoolhouse and the lessons. Priests. 
 SSyids : descendants of the Prophet. The lunatic S^yid. The Hafiz who 
 was fined. The Dipsomaniac. The Chief of the Police and his ways. 
 
Contents. ix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 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 HabibuUah. Priests as healers of 
 the sick. The " Evil Eye. " Ghosts. 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 Afghan Surgeons and Physicians ... ... 115 
 
 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 Hin- 
 dustani " 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. 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 The March to Turkestan ... ... ... 129 
 
 Jealousy and its results. Sport among the Afghans. The " Sportsmen " 
 among the mountains. Order to join the Amtr 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 Eed 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. 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 The AmIr ... ... ... ... ... 157 
 
 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. 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 Life in Turkestan ... ... ... ... 176 
 
 General Nassir Khan. The Belgian's Bequest. Escape of Allah N(ir : 
 his Capture. The Amir's Decision. The Turkestan Commander-in-Chief. 
 Operation on Allah Nftr. The Armenian's Comments. lUness of Hadji Jan 
 
Contents. 
 
 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. 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 The Inhabitants of Afghanistan... ... ... 193 
 
 Slaves in Kabul : prisoners of war and others. The frequent rebellions. 
 The different nationalities in Afghanistan. Origin of the Afghan race. The 
 Turk SabaktaMn. Mahmtid of Ghuzni. Buddhism displaced by Mahomedan- 
 ism. Border Afghans. Duranis. Ghilzais. Founding of a Dynasty of 
 Afghan Kings. Ahmad Shah. Timfir Shah. The Sons of Timiir. Zaman 
 Shah. The Afghan " Warwick." Execution of Painda. Kebellion of the 
 Shah's brother. Mahm<id 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 D6st 
 Mahomed : A Standing Army established. Accession of Shere Ali. Amir 
 Afzal Khan. Abdurrahman. The Ghilzais. Border Pathans, Afridis, Shin- 
 waris. The Hazaras. Turkomans, Usbaks, The Christian Church. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Birth of Peince Mahomed Omer ... ... 210 
 
 Hazara slaves, KaflSr 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 Ra.shid 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 compKcated. 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 ... ... 225 
 
 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. 
 
Contents. 
 
 XI 
 
 Afghan appreciation o£ 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 ... ... ,,, 251 
 
 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 High- 
 ness 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. Yaccination 
 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 ... ... ... ... 272 
 
 Morning prayers. Early tea. Breakfast. The first sitting for the 
 Amir's portrait. The Courtier's criticism. The Amir's rebuke. The Depu- 
 tation. 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 
 UUah. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Amir as an Art Critic ... ... ... 282 
 
 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. 
 
xii Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Levee on New Year's Day... ... ... 293 
 
 The Mahomedan New Year's Eve. Presents. The "Izzat" medal. 
 Coinage of Afghanistan : Eupees : 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 ... ... ... ... 308 
 
 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 Ramazkn. Overdose of tobacco. 
 The Evening Durbar. Danger if a King fasts ; " Maraz^n." 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 ... ... ... 324 
 
 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... ... ... ... 846 
 
 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. Dan- 
 
Contents. xiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 gerous passes. The Durbar at Shush- Burjali : 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 English- 
 men. 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... ... ... ... ... 361 
 
 The Id festival: salaam to the Amir : the eJucating of Afghans. Pro- 
 ducts of the Workshops. Royal lunch at Endekki : the Invitation : the 
 Brougham : the Palace : the Drawing-room : the Piano. Evening illumina- 
 tion of gardens : dinner. The unreliable Interpreter. A night at the Palace. 
 Commencement of intrigue. Gifts to the Amir. The rebuke to Prince 
 NasruUah. 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 P^te : 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 shoot- 
 ing. The sick chief : his imprudence : his amusements. The will of the clan. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The Amir's Illness ... ... ... ... 38l 
 
 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 UUah. 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. Im- 
 provement 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. 
 
xiv Contents. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIV. 
 EoYAL Patients ... ... ... . . 399 
 
 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 ea 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 ... ... ... ... 410 
 
 Hindustani intrigue : information from the British Agent : offer of 
 assistance : measures for protection : further intrigue. The " Royal manner." 
 The two factions : Habibtdlah : Mahomed Oraer. 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 Naia Il6z 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 ... ... ... ... 426 
 
 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 com- 
 missions. The Armenian's leave. The locusts. Prince Mahomed Omer and 
 his Lala. The Pala<3e gardens. A military Durbar. Amir's thoughtfuLaess. 
 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. 
 
Contents. xv 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 On Leave ... ... ... ... 442 
 
 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. Eetum to India. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 The Welcome to Kabul ... ... ... 454 
 
 Pathan rifle thieves. Dacca. The midnight alarm : the melee. "Bally 
 rascals." The next morning. The terror of the Amir's name. Eunning 
 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. Yisit to the Sultana. Salaam to Prince Habi- 
 buUah. Another visit to the Amir : his appreciation of scenic effect. His 
 answer to the lady doctor's application. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 The Cholera ... ... ... ... ... 465 
 
 EamazAn. The outbreak of Cholera. Precautions. Notices in the 
 bazaars. Eapid spread. European medicine. The overwhelming dread. 
 Processions to the Mosque. Oriental fatalism. The shadow of death. Ee- 
 moval 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 Eoyal illness. 
 Dinner from the Palace : the sealed dishes. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Another Winter ... ... ... ... 479 
 
 A political Durbar : tact of the Amir : a friendly soldier. The banquet. 
 Eoturn of the Cholera. Essay on " Precautionary measures." Health of 
 the English in Kabul. Eeport to the Amir : His Highness's kindness. Visit 
 to Prince Nasrullah : a "worm-eaten" tooth: the operation. Erring 
 
xvi Contents. 
 
 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 ... ... ... ... 497 
 
 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 " inter- 
 preting. 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 ... ... ... ... 612 
 
 Afghan court life from an English standpoint The Afghan Courtier. 
 TJntrustworthiQess. 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 ia Afghanistan. Civilizing effect of the Amir. 
 D6st 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 spreadinj? 
 of knowledge : prizes for good or original work. Personal fascination of 
 the Amir. 
 
I 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Trophy op Afghan Arms On the cover. 
 
 Portrait of His Highness the Amir (from a 
 
 Painting by the Author) Frontispiece. 
 
 Obverse of Hand-made Cabul Rupee of the 
 
 Present Reign On the title page. 
 
 Colossal Figure " Sa-mama " in the Bamian 
 Valley (from a Photograph by Arthur Collins, 
 F.G.S.) Tofacepage 144. 
 
 The Author and the Armenian Interpreter 
 
 (from !i Photograph by Van der Weyde). . . To face page 2Z0. 
 
 Prince Mahomed Omer and his " Commander-in- 
 Chief '' (from a Photograph by Arthur Collins, 
 F.G.S.) To face page 412. 
 
At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 On the Road to Kabfl. 
 
 The start and the wherefore. Unsettled condition of Aighanistan. Departure 
 from Peshawur. Jumrlid 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 SeraL The Shenwari country. Caravan of Traders. Dakka. 
 Dangers of the Kahul Eiver, Mussaks. Camp at Bassawal. Chahardeh. 
 Mountain road by the river. Distant view of Jelalabad. 
 
 It was with no small amount of pleasurable ex- 
 citement that I donned the Afghan turban, and 
 AYith Sir Salter (then Mr.) Pjne 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 appoint- 
 ment. He had returned to England, after his first 
 short visit to Kabul, with orders from the Amir to 
 iDuy 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 
 
 1 
 
2 < ,<. , c . At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 induce- 
 ment 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 
 
Departure from Peshawur. 
 
 heard, too, a great deal about tlie assassination of 
 tlie 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. 
 
 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 re- 
 paired 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 
 • Mllmen. 
 
 The servants, with the pack-horses and tents, 
 took up their quarters in the courtyard, but we four 
 
4 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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, some- 
 where 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 
 
The Khyber Pass. 
 
 or two liad 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 ofl&cers in the Afghan army to shave all 
 but the moustache ; but 1 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. 
 
 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 pro- 
 vided 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 Grovernment that for the pay- 
 ment 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 
 
6 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
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 1" 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 
 
8 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 came up. Pyne remonstrated with me and told me I 
 ought not to have done such a thing, it was not safe I 
 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 
 
Pathans ; their Appearance and Customs. 9 
 
 here and there, with cornfields surrounding themi 
 The villages were fortified. Thej were square, sur- 
 rounded by a high wall Avith 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. 
 
 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, 
 
10 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 pro- 
 tected 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 drag- 
 ging 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 
 
The Shenwaris : Caravan of Traders. 11 
 
 us, and after an excellent dinner, the last I had 
 in British territory for many a long month, we 
 turned in. 
 
 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 
 S hen war i 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 Afghan- 
 istan without much danger, but in the reigns of 
 Shore Ali and Dost Mahomed they had practically to 
 fight their way. 
 
 They go by the name of Povindia, from the 
 
12 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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, JMoscow, 
 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 doAvn tlie 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 tho Amir, and we determined to bathe. 
 
Camp at Bassawal. 13 
 
 Mr. Collins, who was a strong swimmer, swam out into 
 the middle : I paddled near the bank where the current 
 was sweeping strongly ujp 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. 
 
 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 circum- 
 stances. 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 
 
14 At the Court of the 'Amir. 
 
 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, Avhere 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. JSText 
 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 moun- 
 tain, 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. 
 
Advantages of Cultivation. 15 
 
 They ride at a quick sliuffling walk : the horse's near- 
 side feet go forward together, and his off-side feet 
 together — a earners walk. It is an artificial pace, 
 but very restful. 
 
 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. 
 
16 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Aerival at Kabul. 
 
 Anival at Jelalabad. Reception by the GoYemor. 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 SuflP§d 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 P^^ss 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 towu 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. 
 
Jelalabad. 17 
 
 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 Avas 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. 
 
 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 Avith 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 
 overgroAvn with reeds. In the summer when the 
 swamp is more or less dried up, one rides through 
 
18 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 1 noticed that 
 
Gunpowder Factory at Tattang. 19 
 
 in spite of being a Mahomedan lie 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, iiat 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. 
 
 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 SufEed 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 
 
20 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 cypresa 
 trees being a striking piece of colour among the 
 blue greys and reds of the mountainous barrea 
 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 surroimded 
 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. 
 
The Suffed Koli, or White Mountains. 21 
 
 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. Tor instance, high up, there 
 are the cone-bearing trees, the various kinds of pine 
 
22 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Kesident 
 in Kabul, was assassinated with the connivance of the 
 same Amir. I heard the whole plot of the assassi- 
 nation wben 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, " Gro to Cavagnari — he is your King." Off 
 rushed the soldiers tumultuously, knowing the English- 
 man 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 
 
Commencement of Ascent to Kabul. 23 
 
 were furiously figliting, thougli no one but Yakoub 
 and bis Sirdars knew wbj. Messages were sent to 
 Amir Yakoub, and tbe answer be returned was, " If 
 Grod will, I am making preparations." The end was 
 the massacre of the British Envoy and all with him. 
 
 About ten miles beyond Grundamuk was Surkh 
 pul, or " The Ked 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 hi 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 
 
24 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 lias killed some 
 of them, imprisoned others, and dispersed the rest. 
 We camped at Sei Baba, a narrow valley of pebbles, 
 
Irrigation Terraces. 
 
 with a small stream trickling througli it. An enter- 
 prising 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. 
 
 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 
 
26 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 Next day we had a high and stony range of 
 mountains to climb — the Lataband Pass, nearly eisflit 
 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 phmging 
 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 
 
The Iron Cage. 27 
 
 so appalling. A few years ago the Pass was dangerous 
 not only in itself — the road in one place rnns 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 
 
28 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 distri3t. The object, of course, was to 
 avoid the climb over the Lataband Pass. I have never 
 been ths route through the Khurd Kabul Pass to 
 Jigdilikj 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. Prom this the Kabul 
 river emerged and took its course in a north-easterly 
 direction across the valley. 
 
 On the south bank of the river near the gorge 
 and at the foot of the Shere Dervv^aza 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. 
 
The Approach to Kabul. 29 
 
 We descended the elevated ground, from which 
 we had a birds-eye view of the valley, and found our- 
 selves 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, con- 
 tinued 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 Shore 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 
 
30 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
The Defences of Kabul. 31 
 
 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 Priuces. 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. 
 
 The city of Kabul, 5,780 feet above the sea, Hes 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 some- 
 what ruined, with towers at intervals, leads up on 
 each side of the gorge to the summit of the Asmai 
 and Shore 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. Eormerly 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 compara- 
 tively unprotected on the east, except by the Bala 
 Hissar fort ; for in those days little danger of invasion 
 was apprehended from India. 
 
32 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 Sherpm^ 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 Shore Derwaza and Asmai mountains, 
 between them and the Paghman hills. Amir Slier e Ali 
 had also the intention of building a new Kabul, and 
 " Shere pur," the " City of Shore 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 xVmir's European Arm foundry has been estab- 
 
Arrival at the Arm Foundry. 33 
 
 lished. This is protected on one side by the river, 
 on the three other sides by high walls. 
 
 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 prac- 
 tised 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 
 
 8 
 
34 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 cere- 
 monial 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. 
 
 After Jan Mahomed Khan had politely asked per- 
 mission 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 canton- 
 ment. We rode from the workshops some little 
 distance along the Kabul river, then skirted the 
 
The Approach to the Palace. 35 
 
 GoYernment 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 
 
36 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 thin iron raihngs. 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 Princes HabibuUali and Nasrullah. 37 
 
 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 Afghan- 
 istan, but were imported from India. The pavilion 
 struck one as an extraordinary piece of architecture 
 in an ornate style. 
 
 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 some- 
 what 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 inucli 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 
 
38 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 mihtary 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 cor- 
 responding 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 
 
The Earthquake. 39 
 
 gold embroidered velvet cover; a carved wood 
 cabinet; a marble table covered with brass candle- 
 sticks 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. 
 
 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 
 
40 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 a short tirae, 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 tlie 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 contain- 
 ing the official quarters of the Princes. Each Prince 
 has also an establishment in the city, where are liis 
 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. 
 
The Out-patient Hospital. 41 
 
 CHAPTEE lY. 
 
 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 Sherptir 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. 
 
 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 lie 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 Govern- 
 ment 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 build- 
 ings 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, 
 
42 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 with thick Trails, and have glazed windows. The 
 buildings do not open into the street but into the 
 gardens, access to which is obtained by the big gate- 
 way 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, car- 
 bonate 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 
 
The Pirst Patient. 43 
 
 promise an easy road to success in treatment, tliey 
 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. 
 
 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 " Hard " 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. 
 
41 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 He was greatly astonished, and shrank back some- 
 what 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 Ms English before I 
 could understand him ; it was quite different from 
 anybody else's. However — about the patient — I said, 
 " Ask this man if lie has any pain." And then I 
 found that my word " Dard " ought to have been 
 pronounced more like " Durrud." I tried " DTirrud '* 
 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 some- 
 what 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 
 
Miraculous Eecovery of the Page Boy. 45 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
46 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 ! " 
 
 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 buildi'ng lies east 
 
The Durbar Hall and Guest House. 47 
 
 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-hal£ 
 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 
 
48 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 bnildings. 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. 
 
 Proceeding on our way we approached the lofty 
 battlemented walls surrounding the Sherpur can- 
 tonment. 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 remem- 
 bered, that was held by the British at the time when 
 Lord Eoberts occupied Kabul during the second 
 Afghan war. 
 
The Sherpur Cantonment. 49 
 
 The Afghans had planned a sndden 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 lead- 
 ing 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 
 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 
 
 4 
 
50 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
Storekeepers and their "Ways. 51 
 
 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. 
 
 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 mlrza, 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 ot 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 
 
62 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 HabibuUah arrived 
 in the afternoon that I was not to attend at Sherpur 
 till he had communicated with His Highness the 
 Amir. 
 
Kesidential Streets. 53 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Afghan Dv\^ellings. 
 
 The Eesidential streets of Kabul. Their appearance and arrangement. The Police. 
 Criminal Punishments. TheHeuses. 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 
 sneering 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. 
 
 To reach his house we rode through the streets 
 in which are the livinof houses of Kabul. I think 
 the most striking peculiarity of these Residential 
 streets is their narrowness, and the height and irre- 
 gular arrangement of the almost windowless walls. 
 Generally, they are simply narrow passages ne- 
 cessary 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, some- 
 times open to the sky, sometimes covered in by rooms 
 belonging to the adjoining houses, and they usually 
 
54 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
The Approach to the Kabul Dwelling-house. 55 
 
 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 a-re 
 all ruined. Mere life is of no great value to an 
 Afghan, and at one time if a man found it incon- 
 venient to kill his enemy himself, he could easily get 
 someone w^ho 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. 
 
 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 your- 
 self 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. 
 
 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 
 
56 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 con- 
 stitute 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 
 
Internal Arrangement of the House. 57 
 
 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. 
 
 Grenerally 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; 
 
58 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 thick- 
 ness 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 
 
The Building of the House. 59 
 
 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 
 
60 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
The Warming of the House. 61 
 
 wait for further developments, hoping your house 
 will not fall on top of you. 
 
 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 fire-place — 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 se.ndali, pulling the 
 
63 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 cross-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 
 
The Bath-house. 63 
 
 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 mv 
 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. 
 
 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, 
 
64 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 ^ath 
 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. 
 
 A good class bath-room is generally octagonal, 
 with a vaulted and groined roof, not much 
 decorated, but displaying a certain amount of 
 
The Process of the Bath. 65 
 
 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 under- 
 stand, 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 
 
 6 
 
66 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 vou 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. 
 
 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 
 
The Lack of Ventilation. 67 
 
 neither exhilarating nor stimnlating. 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. 
 
68 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 The Kabul Bazaars. 
 
 Tlio unpopular Governor and his toothaclie. 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." Tei drinking. Confectioners. The 
 baker's oven. Flour mills. The butcher's shop. Postins and their cost. Furs. 
 Ironmongers. Arms. *' Th^ German sword." The Afgha;i talwar. Rifles 
 and pistols. Bows. Silver and gold-smiths. Caps and turbans. Embroidery. 
 Grocers : tea, sugar, soap, and candles, aad 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 
 
The Appearance of the Kabul Bazaars. 69 
 
 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. 
 
 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 work- 
 shop 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 
 
70 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 shutters, fastening the last shutter with a chain and 
 a curious cyHndrical 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 Avith strips of leather and have the pointed 
 toe turned upwards. Some are elaborately em- 
 broidered with gold. The women's shoes or slippers 
 are generally green in colour, and are made Avith 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 Eussian 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 Govern- 
 ment 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 
 
Copper Workers : Tinning of Copper Pots. 71 
 
 to rent even such a " shop " as this, sit by the road- 
 side in the shade of a wall or a tree and carry on 
 their business. 
 
 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 
 
72 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 jou 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. 
 
 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 m- 
 veterate 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 
 
Tobacco Smoking by the Eoyal Family. 73 
 
 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 tlian 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. 
 
74 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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," 
 
The Kabul Eestaurant. 75 
 
 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 carda- 
 moms. 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 Eussia. 
 Some of the richer men have them from China or 
 Japan. 
 
 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. Eice, 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. 
 
76 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 be- 
 neath 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 
 
The Butcher's Shop. 77 
 
 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." 
 
 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 im- 
 pecunious 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 
 
78 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 ; after- 
 wards it is tanned yellow with pomegranate rind. 
 The leather is beautifully soft, and it is usually em- 
 broidered 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 em- 
 broidered, 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 em- 
 broidery, 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 waist- 
 coat 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 
 
Eurs : Their Cost. 79 
 
 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. 
 
 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 £10 
 for it, but he let me have it the next day for £6. 
 
 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 £6, 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 
 
80 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
.Weapons : Their Nature. 81 
 
 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 beauti- 
 fully 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. For- 
 merly 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 
 
 6 
 
83 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 orna- 
 ments 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. 
 
 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 
 
Turbans and Caps. 83 
 
 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 hand- 
 kerchiefs 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 CDmpared 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 
 
84 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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." 
 
 The candles are of two kinds, tallow and com- 
 posite. 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 Turkes- 
 
Lamps, Candles and Soap. 85 
 
 tan, 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 
 
86 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 vege- 
 tables, 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. 
 
 In a tailor's shop you see one man sitting on 
 
TaUors. " The Railway Guard " Costume. 87 
 
 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 pro- 
 cured 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 
 
88 At the Court of the Amir: . 
 
 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 innova- 
 tions. 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 cummerbimd or waistshawl. 
 It is, however, open to question whether this inno- 
 vation 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 
 
Drugs. 89 
 
 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 Turko- 
 man hat of astrakhan has been familiar to the Afghan 
 for ages. 
 
 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. 
 
90 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Ethics. 
 
 Sir S. Pyne's aJventure iu the Kabul river. The Tower on the bant. Minars of 
 Alexander. Mahoraedan Mosques. The cry of the Priest. Prayers and Reli- 
 gious Processions. Afghan conception of God. Religious and non-Religious 
 Afghans. The schoolhouse and the lessons. Priests. S^yids : descendants of 
 the Prophet. The lunatic SS>id. 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 care." 
 Charms. The " Evil Eye." Dreadful fate of the boy who was impudent. Ghosts. 
 
 "Whex 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 hjid drank wateo^ 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 liis horse and run to the bank, which was 
 
Advienture in the Kabul Elver. 91 
 
 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 heavv 
 
 V 
 
 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 
 
92 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 in- 
 ducement 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 
 
. Mahomedan Mosques. 93 
 
 a mountain to the east of the Kabul valley ; another 
 can be seen west of Kabul, from the elevation of the 
 Paghman hills. 
 
 Mosques, or, as they are called, musjids, are 
 numerous in Kabul. Some are comparatively large, 
 with a. courtyard and a d6med 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 
 
94 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 pro- 
 cession 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 
 
Afghan Conception of God. 95 
 
 when Mahomedans are in a state of reHgious 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
96 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
The Languages Learnt in Afghanistan. 97 
 
 hooks and to write a Httle. 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 HabibuUah, 
 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, 
 
 7 
 
98 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
The Hafiz who was Fined. 99 
 
 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 
 
100 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 T 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." How- 
 
A Str angler as a Valet. 10 1^ 
 
 ever, 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. 
 
 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 ofl&cial 
 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 
 
102' ' • ' At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 some time, squeezing out of her all the money he 
 could get, and then she would be informed ofl&ciallj 
 that liei* 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. 
 
 The Naib was not a bad-looking man : he had a 
 
The End of the Naib. 103 
 
 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 neces- 
 sitated 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 
 
104 At the Court of the Amtr. 
 
 'I I I Ul 'I " r .1 I 
 
 ocnrect term to apply, for I never saw any service 
 or oeremony 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 j>erf ormed at a 
 death bed* 
 
 When I vras in Turkestan a young officer, a 
 cousin of tlie Sultana's, was ilL The Hakims, who 
 wore attending him, not knowing the use of the 
 stethoscope, could not diagnose the case, and after 
 some day« I was sent for* I found tliat he had had 
 Pneumonia, or Inflammation of the lung, and that 
 instead of clearing up, tlie 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. 
 
 The graves of the richer Afghans have upright 
 headstones of marble or slate carefully shaped and 
 
Bojral Tombs. 105 
 
 ornamented. The writing cm tliem i» in relief, the 
 stone being chippad away from the letters. The 
 tomb of an illnstrioas man is bricked romid, abont 
 two feet high, and corered with a slab of marble. 
 Occasionalljr one is surrounded bj a fence : trees and 
 flowers being planted in the enclosure. The grave 
 of the Amir^s father near Kabul is c^'ed for in this 
 wajr. Othei^ have a sort of small nlbsque or musjid 
 built orer them ; and the deceased, when his name is 
 forgotten, become 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 hare 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 kiD^ 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 brick- 
 work. A huge central dome is surrounded by a 
 series of flat-roofed rooms, the ground plan of the 
 structure being octagonal, ^o 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 
 root Another tomb just outside Kabul is built in 
 the shape of a musjid. Tt is that of a grandson of 
 Amir Dost Mahomed. I knew his son very well. 
 Sirdar Abdul KMus 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 
 
106 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Grovernor of 
 the province of Bamian. 
 
 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 
 
The Proposal of Marriage. 107 
 
 satisfactory. When I arrived at the house, I was 
 conducted through the courtyard into an upstairs 
 room, whero 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 
 
108 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 aflfirmative 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. Tt 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 
 
The Faith Cure. 109 
 
 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 travs 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. 
 
 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 
 
110 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
The Evil Eye. Ill 
 
 a blue bead or ribbon among tlie 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 v^eapon, 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 i sudden! What did he die of?'* 
 I asked. 
 
112 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 " Oh, sir, I poor man — what 1 know ? You looked 
 at him, and he died ; perhaps trouble come for us." 
 
 "Nonsense," I said, "he must have died of some- 
 thing. 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 im- 
 possibility. 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. 
 
 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 :'nto 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 house- 
 
Ghosts. 113 
 
 hold. 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 astonish- 
 ment he saw what seemed to him to be two small 
 
 8 
 
114 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
Machinery Accidents. 115 
 
 CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 Afghan Suegeons and Physicians. 
 
 Accidents from maclimery 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 Weeding. 
 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 diflferent Classes. 
 
 One morning soon after onr 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 
 
116 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 occur^ 
 rence. 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 band 
 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 
 
Afghan Treatment of Dislocations. 117 
 
 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. 
 
 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. Kever 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 indis- 
 criminately; 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 dis- 
 location. 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 
 tocaking the first law of surgery, that no bandage 
 
118 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
The Barber Surgeons. 119 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
120 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 the wounded arm above their heads to prevent the 
 water running into it ! Wet cupping, too, is per- 
 formed 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. 
 
 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.* 
 
 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 
 
 ♦ The commonest affections I met with were granular lids, chronic 
 entropion, corneitis, nyctalopia, and cataract. 
 
Eye Doctors and Hakims. 121 
 
 damaged the patient is tlien 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, travell- 
 ing down to Kabul, and bringing his old mother on 
 a donkey the two hundred odd miles over the moun- 
 tains, for me to cure her eyes. They were past all 
 hope.* 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. 
 
 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 
 
 *• Entropion, with nebulous and vascular cornea in an old woman 
 of seventy. 
 
122 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 satisfactory, and, in some cases, are disastrous. 
 They have great faith in the heahng 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 case3 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. 
 
 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 
 
Treatment of Disease by Hakims. 123 
 
 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 difEerentiate 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 unmis- 
 takably 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, 
 
124 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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, pneu- 
 monia, and phthisis are classed together under the 
 name of su:fa, 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 
 
Treatment of Disease by the People. 125 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
126 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 tlie patient in the hot skin. I do not 
 knoAY that ifc 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. 
 
 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, 
 whicli are just as likely to kill as to cure. A certain 
 amount of weight attaches to this by the often 
 
The Feringhi as a Healer. 127 
 
 unfortunate results of medical treatment bj tlie 
 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. 
 
128 
 
 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
Jealousy : Revenge. 129 
 
 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. AAiong 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 Kurghdn : 
 the Shave and the Hospital. "The Valley of Death." The Plains of 
 Turkestan and the beat thereof. The Mirage. Arrival at Mazar. The House. 
 Story of the death of Amir Shere AH. 
 
 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 
 Afofhan. 
 
 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 
 
 9 
 
130 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 pop^.ars, 
 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. 
 
Mountain '' Sportsmen." 131 
 
 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 
 
133 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 horse- 
 back, 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. 
 
 JSTot 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 engjged 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 Start for Turkestan. 133 
 
 tlie 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 
 ISTaib 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 accom- 
 panied 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 excite- 
 ment, 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 Slier 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, 
 
134 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Char- 
 hardeh valley, circled with mountains. 
 
 The Grovernor 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 
 gir's and musicians were introduced. 
 
 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 
 
The Nautch Dancer. 135 
 
 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 
 
136 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 liofhtnins: : 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. 
 
 The village (Kharzar) was too filthy inside 
 for us to enter, and too cramped in space to ac- 
 commodate 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 
 
Courtesy of Jan Mahomed. 137 
 
 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 pufiing 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 
 
138 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 liead 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 teacupf ul ; 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 vfind 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." 
 
Mountain Climbing. 130 
 
 "I must wear sometliiug," 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. 
 
 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 
 
140 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 peri'ous 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." 
 
 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, 
 
Camp in the Bamian Valley, 141 
 
 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 
 rabarb, the irregular thud of the drums, and the 
 monotonous sound of the singing, brought back 
 
142 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 vividly to me that day in the Bamian valley, when 
 I was a new coiner 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 con- 
 cerning 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 coiv .^ " I asked the Armenian, some time after- 
 wards. " 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. 
 
The Colossal Figures. 143 
 
 therefore I say cow'' The drag6n 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. 
 
 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 doAvn 
 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 peaces 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 
 
144 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 Talley. 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 
 ':yi'hich 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 
 
I 
 
The Pass of the *' Tooth-breaker." 145 
 
 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 delibe- 
 rately, 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 horse- 
 back. "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." 
 
 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 
 
 10 
 
146 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 We often had music when we camped, and one 
 evening I played chess with Jan Mahomed. He 
 beat me. We were then at Grhuzni 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, Tshak was made Governor of the Turke- 
 stan provinces. All went well for some years. 
 
Story of Ishak's Eebellion. 147 
 
 Suddenly, news arrived in Turkestan that His High- 
 ness had had an attack of gout, and had succumbed.* 
 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 Grholam 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. 
 
 ^" 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. 
 
148 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 awa}^ 
 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. 
 
 " 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 treacherouss 
 fanatics. He did not destroy me. He merely rubbed 
 
The Wounded Soldiers in Tasli Kurghan. 149 
 
 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 dwell- 
 ing-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 re- 
 cently this little grip had had the credit of being 
 
150 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
Arrival at Mazar. 151 
 
 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. 
 
 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 after- 
 wards 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 mauy of them kissed the hand of Jan 
 Mahomed, those on horseback dismounting to do so.* 
 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 
 
 * I was very sorry to hear recently, that Jan Mahomed Khan is no 
 longer living : a machine gun exploded and he was killed. 
 
153 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 have been disturbed, the gun was not in the least 
 likely to have been loaded : powder was too expensive. 
 
 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 
 ofl&cials crow;ded 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^ in the shade, and anything you like in the sun, 
 and see. 
 
 Word was brought that His Highness would 
 receive us tho 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 
 
Story of the Death of Amir Shere All. 153 
 
 dinner from the Amir's kitchen ; then poHtely 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. 
 
 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.* 
 
 They say that he was being attended by a 
 Russian physician, and that the pain being very 
 
 • 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 haye 
 looked upon him as a probable successor to the throne ! 
 
154 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 com- 
 menced 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. 
 
 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 
 
The House. 151 
 
 sliady 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 after- 
 noons 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 cham- 
 berlains, Mirza Abdur Rashid. The Mirza was an 
 
156 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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.* 
 
 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. 
 
 * 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. 
 
To be Presented. 157 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Amie. 
 
 To be presented. The Palace gardens. The Palace. The Amir. The Presenta- 
 tion. 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 atiendlants. 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. 
 
 On the appointed day I accompanied Jan Maliomed 
 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 sentrj 
 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 
 
158 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 other ofl&cials 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 
 ia 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, Ji^d 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, 
 
Questions asked by His Highness. 159 
 
 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. 
 
 The Amir welcomed me to his country, and cour- 
 teously 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 know- 
 ledge. 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 
 
160 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 the Armenian became very fluent, and I learnt to 
 understand him. 
 
 Seated some Httle distance from the Amir 
 was another European, Captain (now Major) C. L. 
 Griesbach, CLE. 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. 
 
 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 balieve not ; that the deeds had 
 
Asiatic Motives from European Standpoint. 161 
 
 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 determina- 
 tion 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 Grriesbach 
 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 
 
 11 
 
162 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 precau- 
 tions 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 sig- 
 nificantly 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. 
 
 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, con- 
 stitute the house. Often there are no windows, 
 light being admitted through the door and through 
 
Houses and Plains of Mazar. 163 
 
 an aperture in tlie centre of the domed roof. This 
 last acts also, when a wood fire is lighted, as a con- 
 venient 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. 
 
164 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Eemittent 
 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. 
 
Afghan Appreciation of Medical Treatment. 165 
 
 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 Hindu- 
 stani assistants, but they w^ere 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. 
 
 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 
 
166 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 trans- 
 
The Two Chief Hakims. 167 
 
 lated, but the Hindustani wont 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. 
 
 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 Eoman 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 Eashid, was a fat old 
 
168 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 fool, pompous and ignorant, with many words. He 
 came to see me — but I will relate that presently. 
 The chair lie sat on never recovered. It was 
 rickety ever afterwards. 
 
 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 country- 
 men 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 contradic- 
 tion 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 
 
Hindustani Intrigue. 169 
 
 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 
 
170 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
Amir's Sense of Justice. 171 
 
 surgical operations that I had had to do, when thej 
 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. 
 
 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 accom- 
 panied 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.* 
 
 I felt some amount of nervous disturbance, wonder- 
 ing 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 
 
 • This man has since been executed for treason : he was smothered 
 
172 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Hindu- 
 stanis 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 acknowledg- 
 ment. 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." 
 
A Courtier's Influence. 173 
 
 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. 
 
 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 Hindu- 
 stanis. 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 
 
174 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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-Eashid, had a guest. They 
 were drinking tea together in the garden, and invited 
 me to join them. The guest was a tall, very hand- 
 some 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 coimtry where the danger 
 of poison is ever before the King. The drinking 
 water of His Highness is in charge of a trusted page. 
 
The Blind Singer. 175 
 
 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. 
 
 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. 
 
176 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Life in Tuekestan. 
 
 General Nassir Khan. The Story of the Shield. The Belgian's Eequest. Escape 
 of Allah Nur : his Capture. The Amir's Decision. The Turkestan Commander- 
 in-Chief. Operation on Allah Niir. 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 PaviUon : 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. 
 
 There had been brought to His Highness, as 
 a present, a very beautiful shield inlaid with gold. 
 
The Story of the Shield. 177 
 
 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 ISTassir. 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 for- 
 gotten, 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 Kassir trea- 
 sured 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 ! 
 
 12 
 
178 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 "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 regie. 
 
 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 con- 
 dolence ; 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 - Greneral, 
 Afghanistan." The Amir wished to know what was 
 written. I found the card came from the Post- 
 master of some small Belgian town. It was a pro- 
 posal 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 col- 
 lector required : on receipt of his answer they would 
 be forwarded to him. I imagine His Highness 
 
The Escape of Allah Nur. 179 
 
 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. 
 
 Another incident also occurred. There was in 
 the Hospital a soldier named Allah I^ur. He was 
 suffering from disease of the elbow, which had 
 advanced to such a degree that the joint was com- 
 pletely 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. 
 
180 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 " Without doubt the limb must come off," said he. 
 
 " Baraie Khuda ! " said Allah JSTur. 
 
 " Be silent ! " said the Amir. 
 
 " For God's sake, do not. My Lord '' 
 
 The Amir reached out his E,oyal hand and boxed 
 his ear. Allah Ntir 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 Niir, advising amputation. 
 
 " It would appear wise, however," said he, " con- 
 sidering 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 1 e 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 
 chattv, and asked me to visit a Colonel of his who was 
 
The Operation on Allah Nur. 181 
 
 ill. The name of the Turkestan Commander-in-Chief 
 \Yas 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. 
 
 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 
 
182 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 and round, and my eye is hke 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 
 Ntjr had recovered properly from the chloroform and 
 was comfortable, I rode oif 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 ]egs. 
 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 un- 
 
The Haughty Colonel. 183 
 
 successful, 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. 
 
 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 Com- 
 mander-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 oint- 
 ment 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. 
 
184 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
A Day at Takh-ta-Pul. 185 
 
 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 
 
186 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 at Takh-ta-Pul, and must not waste any more time 
 when there were so many sick waiting for treatment. 
 Balkhj "the mother of cities," is situated in a province 
 capable of great cultivation, and was a flourishing 
 city in the time of Alexander the Grreat. 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 impor- 
 tance. 
 
 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 espe- 
 cially 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! 
 
The Amir's Cool-air Pavilion. 187 
 
 One morning His Highness sent for me to 
 examine his ear. He fancied he had some insect 
 m 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 inter- 
 laced 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 con- 
 sented 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 sun- 
 stroke," 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 
 
188 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 ^ : _ 
 
 exposing tlie 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 w^ere any- 
 thing 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 some- 
 what 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 ineifectually 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 be- 
 came covered w4th 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 
 
The Amir's Answer. 189 
 
 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. 
 
 He acknowledged the receipt of my letter of 
 such a date, in which I asked — Had I the Eoyal 
 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, Grod forbid, even 
 with death, then the honourable Government of 
 England might consider in their wisdom that I, Ins 
 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 ho 
 entered more fully, though on the same lines, into his 
 reasons for refusing permission. 
 
190 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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." 
 
 "0, all right," I said, "tell him to lie on the 
 ground." He lay down. I made a longitudinal inci- 
 sion 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. 
 
The Country Cousin among the Court Pages. 191 
 
 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. 
 
 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 Rash id. He was an exceedingly pretty 
 boy, and was, in consequence, very gorgeously dressed 
 
193 
 
 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
Slaves in Kabul. 193 
 
 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. Mahmfid of Ghuzni. Buddhism displaced by Mahomedanism : 
 agglomeration of different strains. Border Afghans. Duranis, Ghilzais. 
 Founding cf a Dynasty of Afghan Kings. Ahmad Shah. Timftr Shah. 
 Danger to the Empire. The Sons of Timlir. Zaman Shah. The Afghan 
 *' Warwick." Execution of Painda. Eebellion of the Shah's brother. 
 Mahmtld Shah. Another brother rebels. Shujah-ul-Mulk crowned : deposed 
 by the Barakzai chief. Exile of Shujah. The Koh-i-nlir. 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, Dsb^ks : their uncouth nature. Other races. 
 The Christian Church. 
 
 The slaves of Kabul are those who have been kid- 
 napped 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 other- 
 wise be. 
 
 Of the Afghans, to commence with, there are 
 
 13 
 
194 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 three chief divisions : the Dnrani or Afghan pro- 
 per, 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 dis- 
 tinct 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 conglo- 
 merate 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 Eajput tribes re- 
 nowned in Indian history. 
 
 In the tenth century was the invasion by Tartar 
 hordes headed by the Turk Sabaktakin, who estab- 
 lished himself in southern Afghanistan, making 
 Ghuzni his capital. 
 
 He and his son, Mahmiid of Ghuzni, founded a 
 dynasty in Afghanistan. They were recent converts 
 
The First Afghan King. 195 
 
 to Islam, and destroying the then dominant rehgion 
 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 Grhilzai 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, 
 
196 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Ilerat, 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 assist- 
 ance 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 out- 
 numbered, 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, 
 takino: the title of Shah. In the midst of the 
 
Downfall of the Empire imminent. 197 
 
 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. 
 
 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, Timiir 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 Belu- 
 chistan. 
 
 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 en- 
 deavour 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 
 
198 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 acknow- 
 ledged 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 ofl&ces 
 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 
 
Shall Shujah. deposed by the Barakzai Chief. 199 
 
 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 com- 
 mencement 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. 
 
 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 in- 
 fluence 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 Run jit Singh, 
 the Sikh Maharajah of Lahore. But Runjit Singh 
 held certain provinces formerly belonging to Afghan- 
 istan, and he would do nothing for Shujah. He, 
 however, extorted from him a valuable diamond that 
 Shujah had guarded through all his adventures. This 
 
200 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 irre- 
 parable 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 Grhuzni 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 com- 
 
The Rule of Dost Maliomed: a Standing Army. 201 
 
 pelled 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 Shu j ah 
 was put on the throne at Kabul ; and Mahmud, with 
 his son Kamran, as successor, acknowledged as 
 Governor of Herat. 
 
 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; mer- 
 chants 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 allegi- 
 ance of the great Chiefs — the Barons — those men who 
 could call into the fieli the thousands of their clans- 
 men to fight for or against the King. Dost Mahomed, 
 though not lacking in generosity towards them, never- 
 theless showed them that it would be both difficult 
 and dangerous to attempt to throw off their allegi- 
 ance. As a check to their power in the field he 
 
202 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 w4th 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. 
 
Origin of the Ghilzais. 203 
 
 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. 
 
 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 Eajput (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 Khojali 
 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. 
 
20 i At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Malimud 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 
 
The Hazaras. 205 
 
 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. Belle w identifies the 
 Baraki tribe of Kabul with the Barkai of Herodotus, 
 Avho were recognized as Greeks by Alexander and his 
 followers. They were a colony of Greek exiles trans- 
 ported 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 in- 
 crease 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. 
 
 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. 
 
206 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 Thej, 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 oppres- 
 sion; 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 
 
Cause of Hazara Eebellions. 207 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 Granges. They it was who supplanted the Turk at 
 Ghuzni, and who overthrew the Eajput dynasty, con- 
 quered 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 Eussian 
 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. 
 
208 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Turk- 
 oman ! 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 wicker work 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 un- 
 veiled, and work in camp and field, and weave the 
 beautiful rugs that are so much in demand in Afghan- 
 istan 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 
 
The Christian Church. 209 
 
 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 Kizilb ashes, 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. 
 
 At one time there was a colony of Armenians in 
 Kabul, brought from Persia by Nadir Shah, and a 
 Christian church w^as in existence, until it was acci- 
 dentally 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. 
 
 14 
 
210 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Birth op Peince Mahomed Omee. 
 
 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 Kashid 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. Con- 
 gratulations 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 pre- 
 sented 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. 
 
Slaves in High Positions. 211 
 
 JSTo one understood tlieir language. It was not 
 ordinary Pushtu, nor Turki, nor Persian. They, 
 however, picked up Persian very quickly. 
 
 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 combina- 
 tion, 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 
 
212 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 slave ; but, speaking generally, the slaves are well- 
 treated, especially among the upper classes. Some- 
 times 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. 
 1 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 mourn- 
 ful quality of which made me think he was the 
 slave. 
 
 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 pur- 
 chaser 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 be- 
 came 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 
 
Hazara Slaves a Glut in the Market. 213 
 
 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 
 ofiicer 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." Asa 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 IVJirza Abdur Eashid, sent for me to 
 
214 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 see him. He also was down with the fever. I pre- 
 scribed 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. 
 
 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 any- 
 one 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 
 
Postal Arrangements for the British Agent. 215 
 
 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 
 
216 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 hke an 
 EngHsh 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 w^as in the country, which may be 
 interesting. 
 
 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 con- 
 sequence 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 
 
The Page Boy and the Sirdar. 217 
 
 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 High- 
 ness is not a man to be played with. He was 
 exceedingly angry, and the punishment was pro- 
 portionately 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. How- 
 ever, 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 
 
218 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 "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 
 Suparsala and Ofiicer, 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." 
 
The Bearer of Good Tidings. 219 
 
 "Well, ouglitii'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 re- 
 ceived the baksheesh. 
 
 We rode off to the Harem Serai to offer my con- 
 gratulations. 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 con- 
 versation: 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 
 
220 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 Hafiz TJllah 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 de- 
 cided 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. 
 
 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 
 
The Accident. 221 
 
 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 eye- 
 lid, 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 disfigure- 
 ment, 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 w^hether 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 dis- 
 qualified for the priesthood if lie has any bodily 
 blemish, and this enlargement in the throat dis- 
 tressed 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 treat- 
 ment; 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 
 
222 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 so, and in which the speech and intellect are 
 curiously affected. 
 
 T 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, more- 
 over, 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 — 
 
 " 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 per- 
 formance. 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 
 
The Amir's Eeplj. 223 
 
 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 Eashid, 
 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 1 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 re- 
 moved. 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 
 
•224 
 
 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 day or two afterwards I said to tlie 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." 
 
Amir's Autograph Letter. 225 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 The Reaeing op the Infant Peince. 
 
 The Amir's autograph letter. Medical consultation concerning the rearing o£ 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 Eoyal 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 
 Highnesa's invention. The Eoyal costume. The bearing of the men brought 
 before His Highness. The Amir's question : the Parable. Arrangement and 
 famishing 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 
 Eashid, and advise as to the best manner in which 
 to rear the infant Prince. This is a literal translation 
 of His Highness's letter : — 
 
 " To the Honourable and Eighteous Dr. Gray, 
 "Be it known to you that my two Physicians, 
 Mirza Abdul Wahid Khan and Mirza Abul Eashid 
 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, 
 
 15 
 
226 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Koman 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 Occi- 
 dentals 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 
 
The Eearing of Afghan Infants. 227 
 
 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. 
 
 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 con- 
 sists 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 
 
228 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 AH. He was exceed- 
 ingly 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 joii forget ! '* 
 
 Then he explained, or rather the Armenian did. 
 When he had delivered the medicine be 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. 
 
Lessons in English. 229 
 
 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 pro- 
 nouns 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 
 
230 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
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Dietary Difficulties. 231 
 
 clouded for the first time, and the weather seemed 
 suddenly to have become autumnal. 
 
 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 my- 
 self 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 Bur- 
 mese 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 
 
232 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 in a great deal more danger of dying than there 
 otherwise seemed any immediate probabiHty 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, beef tea, 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, 
 
 " Einis." " I have written it." 
 
 At different times salaams and messages of con- 
 dolence 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 
 
The Eojal Visit by Deputy. 233 
 
 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. 
 
 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 kind- 
 nesses 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 hin. 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. 
 
234 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 for- 
 get 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 wrap- 
 ping 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 
 
Attempt upon the Life of the Amir. 235 
 
 stick, I hobbled off with the Armenian for the Palace. 
 The snow was not very deep, not more than six or 
 seven inches. 
 
 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 khir- 
 gars, came in and also the ofl&cial 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 
 
236 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 wizzed 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 dis- 
 patched 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, 
 
An Earthquake. 237 
 
 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 tempera- 
 ture 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. 
 
 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. 
 
238 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Shore AH, 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. 
 
 Shore 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 trans- 
 lated them to Shore Ali in Persian. Shore Ali 
 generally laughed, though I fancied 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. 
 
Generosity of the Amir. 239 
 
 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. 
 
 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. 7 write, 
 you not write." 
 
 Sure enough he did write. I confess I was rather 
 ashamed when His Highness sent me ten boxes of 
 most delicous Turkish cigarettes, four boxes of cigars, 
 and a silver cigar-case and match-box. 
 
 His Highness had forbidden me to go out till I 
 
240 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 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, 
 
The First Winter Durbar. 241 
 
 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, delight- 
 fully 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 con- 
 tinued 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 
 
 16 
 
242 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 a seal to give to one of the secretaries. A fur rug 
 was thrown over his knees, and he wore a beaver 
 busbj ornamented with a diamond star. 
 
 It was interesting to note the bearing and appear- 
 ance 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 start- 
 ling, 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. 
 
 The room we sat in looked not unlike an Eng- 
 lish drawing-room. The windows, however, were 
 
The Dining-room. 243 
 
 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 some- 
 what 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. / v 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 candle- 
 sticks 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 
 
244 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 was arranged a bank of jBiowers 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." 
 
 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. 
 
The Breakfast. 245 
 
 One or two were placed upon His Highness' s table, 
 and several more in front of the oJ0&cers. 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 ra- 
 ther 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 
 
246 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 business to direct me : he has not hinted that the time 
 has arrived to withdraw : meanwhile, I am very com- 
 fortable. 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, receit-ed their direc- 
 tions 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. 
 
 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, 
 
 "Waleicoum" — "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 " Khuniik'*^ 
 — "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 
 
The Amir's Thoughtful Consideration. 247 
 
 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 any- 
 thing 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 exten- 
 sive operation, and one to which, considering the 
 price of wood, my income hardly stretched. Where- 
 fore, 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, 
 
248 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 com- 
 
The Hospital in the Winter. 249 
 
 menced the screams and the strikings of two incensed 
 stalHons. 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 ofE 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. 
 
 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 
 
250 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 best, no doubt, but very few showed any sympathy or 
 gentleness with the sick. In many of the cases it wa& 
 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." 
 
Sent for to the Palace. 251 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 The AmIr's Conversation. 
 
 Sent for to the Palace. Fragility of Europeans. The Amir's postin. The Bed* 
 chamber. 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 hill- 
 men. Dinner. The Amir's domestic habits. Amir's- consideration for sub- 
 ordinates. 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. Th& 
 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 com- 
 ments 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 tlie 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, accom- 
 panied by a soldier with a lantern, returned, and 
 said that His Highness wished to see me. 
 
 Outside it was dark and freezing, and His High- 
 ness 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 
 
252 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 ante- 
 room : 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 dis- 
 agreeable 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 brilUant with 
 innumerable wax candles. Two brass candlesticks 
 
The Amir's Illness. 253 
 
 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. 
 
 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 P.). G-ranting 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. 
 
354 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 mj 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, Shore Ali Khan, brought 
 me some cigarettes. We had tea again, two sweet 
 cups, and half a cup without sugar. 
 
The Amir's Conversation. 255 
 
 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 Eashid, 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. 
 
 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 "aComp'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 Eoyal 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 
 
256 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 felt while smoking innumerable cigars and cigarettes 
 in the Durbar room. 
 
 We got home about six in the evening. 1 had 
 then to go and see my neighbour, the Mirza Abdur 
 Eashid, 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 here- 
 ditary 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 with- 
 drawn. 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 
 
Drawing and Painting. 257 
 
 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. 
 
 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 High- 
 ness. 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 
 
 17 
 
258 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 It is to be noted that the Amir will allow no repre- 
 sentation 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 e^gj 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 ? " 
 
The Queen's Portrait on the Indian Eupee. 259 
 
 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 
 
260 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 mid- 
 day 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 be- 
 fore 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 
 
The New Kabul. 261 
 
 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 OflB.cers, by 
 joining them, and, moreover, he felt shame at pre- 
 suming 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. 
 
 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 admira- 
 tion at the "boundless knowledge of the great 
 Xing." He told me of the city of his dreams, the 
 new Kabul, that he hoped to build in the Charhardeh 
 Yalley, drawing a plan of the city and of its forti- 
 fications. 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. 
 
262 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 conversa- 
 tion 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 an- 
 other 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. q|j|,|, | , | 
 Of course, it would go over my head then. I ^ ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 'l 
 The Amir enjoyed immensely the astonishment and 
 discomfiture of the Courtiers, and laughed heartily as 
 he mocked and jeered at them. 
 
 All this time the little Page boys had to be 
 
The Kafir Page, Malek. 263 
 
 standing, and they looked dreadfully tired. One of 
 them, the Amir's favourite, had fever. He was a 
 slave from Ka&istan, 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 oppor- 
 tunity 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 atten- 
 tion 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 cor- 
 respondence. 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 
 
264 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 I had given mj 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 Eashid, 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. Be- 
 fore 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. 
 
Vaccination of Prince Mahomed Omer. 265 
 
 " Sir. Please you not talk. Perhaps this fat 
 man understand. Highness make angry if he 
 hear." 
 
 Our eyes were not bandaged, though the Arme- 
 nian 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. 
 
 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. 
 
266 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 coquet- 
 tishly 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 
 "foir* 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 
 
Afghan desire for Vaccination. 267 
 
 take many seconds. He looked somewliat aston- 
 ished 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 qnite 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. 
 
 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 
 
268 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 vac- 
 cination is so universal, it is rare to see a bad case. 
 
 I visited the Prince every day for about a fort- 
 night. Abdul "Wahid generally met me at the house. 
 He and I were to attend to the Prince's health and 
 up-bringing. Abdur Uashid 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. Por 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. 
 
The Dreadful Old Lady and her Suggestion. 269 
 
 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 KaflB.r 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 for- 
 bidden 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 ex- 
 ceedingly 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 ! " 
 
370 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Eomans. 
 
 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 TJnity 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 
 
Plurality of Wives. 271 
 
 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." 
 
 "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." 
 
272 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 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. 
 
The First Sitting for the Amir's Portrait. 273 
 
 " 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 change- 
 able. 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. 
 
 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 
 
 18 
 
274 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 con- 
 cerning 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 after- 
 noon, 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 
 
The Amir's Comment on the Paragraph. 275 
 
 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. 
 
 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. 
 
276 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 wa& 
 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. 
 
 At the next sitting. His Highness asked if I 
 were fond of shooting. The Armenian at once 
 ans;wered, 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 
 
The Shooting Expedition and its Dangers. 277 
 
 have some antelope shooting. Accordingly, the next 
 afternoon, when the rifle arrived, the Armenian and 
 I, accompanied by a servant, s-tarted on our expedi- 
 tion. "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, 1 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) sum- 
 moned up courage and said he thought he could shoot. 
 
 I said, " Yery good. There's a crow over there : 
 you may shoot it." 
 
278 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Arme- 
 nian 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 on& 
 note into the other. When I first came to Mazar,. 
 
The Scenery of Mazar. 279 
 
 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 vege- 
 table, 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. 
 
 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, how- 
 ever, certain counteracting elements, for besides the 
 homelikeness of the distant bells, there was the good- 
 will shown by the townsfolk. These were mild and 
 
280 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 inoffeDsive people who exhibited considerable kind- 
 liness 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 " Waleicoum 
 salaam." 
 
 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 
 
Prince Amin Ullah. 281 
 
 of possessing considerable personal beauty, and, 
 added to that, lie 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. 
 
282 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Amir as an Art Critic. 
 
 The " villain " cook. Mental eflfect 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 candle-^ 
 stick : 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 
 
Effect of a Cold in the Head. 283 
 
 good, sir.'* Then I should have sprung up and 
 withered him with a look. 
 
 He was wise, and did not spsak ; 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 pre- 
 tended 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 under- 
 stood, and would have said, " Bot achcha. Sahib." So 
 I breathed a sigh through my clenched teeth, and ate 
 a macaroon. 
 
 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. 
 
284 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 I asked, with deadly calm, " Perhaps you would be 
 kind enough to explain ivhy 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." 
 
 " Bid 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. 
 
The Amir's Eeflection in the Window. 285 
 
 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. 
 
 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 compre- 
 hensive 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 
 
286 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
The Amir as an Art Critic. 287 
 
 too awful for words. Then I saw what His Highness 
 meant. 
 
 " Sahib ! shuma rast megoyed," I said, in admira- 
 tion. "Sir! you speak truly. T 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 
 €anvas. 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 
 <3ertain 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 
 
288 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 the one I had painted had never before been seen 
 in Afghanistan. This I thought to be quite Hkely^ 
 and yet not be very great praise. Altogether, he 
 was, T\rithout 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 pro- 
 duced — ^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. 
 
The Start on a Shooting Expedition. 289 
 
 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. Accord- 
 ingly, when lunch (or breakfast) was over the 
 Amir's shooting costume was brought by the Cham- 
 berlain 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 orna- 
 mented like a Hussar's coat with gold embroidery 
 and shoulder knots. The boots were in the pattern 
 of Eussian 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. 
 
 19 
 
290 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 sur- 
 face 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." 
 
The Sample Case of Cigars. 291 
 
 " 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." 
 
 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 
 
292 
 
 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 of deep purple blue, which mingled with the rich 
 green brown of the darkened and foreshortened 
 treeless plain. Sharp against all tliis depth of 
 purple and green were the leafless branches and 
 myriad branchlets of the trees of Mazar, red gold 
 in the sun. 
 
The "Izzat" Medal. 293 
 
 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 wresthng. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 hunt- 
 ing watch and chain, and six or seven yards of stuff 
 
294 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 the prevaiHng 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 intro- 
 ducing 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. 
 
 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 
 
The Levee on New Year's Day. 295 
 
 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 him- 
 self ; 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 pre- 
 sence 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 Euro- 
 pean 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. 
 
296 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 Col. AttauUah 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 High- 
 ness'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 
 
The Game of Chess. 297 
 
 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. 
 
 In the evening I played chess. I had been play- 
 ing with different people, and had always been 
 beaten. I determined, therefore, to play the Arme- 
 nian. 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 in- 
 dignant : 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 T 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. 
 
298 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 Chess as played in Afghanistan is shghtly 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 
 " Eookh," 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 stumb- 
 ling 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." 
 
The Amir as a Pathologist. 299 
 
 " 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. 
 
 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 exhibit- 
 ing, 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 organ- 
 ism — 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 com- 
 pounder " 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 
 
300 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 come to speak about the horse, and he waxed 
 eloquent. 
 
 His Highness said, "Why ride a horse so dan- 
 gerous ; 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, hand- 
 some 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 — 
 
The " Steam-engine " Pony. 301 
 
 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. 
 
 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 occu- 
 pied 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 
 
302 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 con- 
 trasting tints being arranged in patterns. In the 
 immediate grounds, or square, of the Temple, were 
 B, number of shops, or booths, where they sold hand- 
 kerchiefs, 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 
 
The Spectators at tlie Wrestling-match. 303 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
304 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 Eoyal 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 Kafl&r 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 simul- 
 taneously. 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 
 
Wrestling : Turkoman v. Mazari. 305 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
 20 
 
306 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 endurance, but they were no match for the Turko- 
 mans. 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 deliber- 
 ately 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. 
 
 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 
 
Kabuli Wrestling. 307 
 
 to fling him down. He miglit as well have tried to 
 fling a tiger down. How it came abont I could not 
 tell, they were so locked and writhing, bnt 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, 
 isuch 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 Com- 
 mander-in-Chief and the Officers in the Park. 
 
308 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Young Peinces. 
 
 Infant Prince as the Sultana's Deputy. Keception by the Prince : the pavilion r 
 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"Eoyal 
 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 Eamazin: effect of the Fast. Overdose of tobacco: wailing. The 
 Evening Durbar : His Highness' s remarks : danger if a King fasts : 
 "Marazin." 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 Eamaz^n. 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. 
 
Reception by the Infant Prince. 309 
 
 Hafiz Ullali and Amin Ullah, who were in Turkestan ; 
 but whether he now takes precedence of his two eldest 
 brothers, Habibullah and Nasrullah, I cannot say. 
 
 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, con- 
 taining 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 
 
310 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 conven*- 
 tional 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. 
 
Visit to Prince Hafiz UUah. 311 
 
 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 exhi- 
 bition of the day before. The Turkomans still car- 
 ried all before them. They were not all such hugely 
 tall men, though they were all excessively muscular, 
 
312 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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.'* 
 
The Mother of Prince Hafiz UUah. 313 
 
 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 repeti- 
 tion of the former days. 
 
 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 
 Highnesses, 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 
 
314 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 soon! 
 and was continuing his tirade, when it struck me quite 
 
The Power of the Amir's Name. 315 
 
 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. 
 
 "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^ 
 G-eneral. He backed and looked exceedingly uncom-^ 
 fortable. 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 solemnl}^ 
 
316 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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, " Eor 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 up- 
 wards. His Highness on seeing the displacement 
 said there was no need to send for the English 
 doctor. 
 
 " Bandages," he said, " are useless. Leave it 
 ^lone." 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 sick- 
 ness than usual in the month. Generally both 
 during and after Ramazan there is a great prevalence 
 
The Evening Durbar. 317 
 
 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. 
 
 The first Durbar I went to after His Highnesses 
 return from his shooting expedition on the plains 
 was during the month of Eamazan. 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 address- 
 ing 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 Eamazan : 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, " Eamazan " should be called 
 " Marazan." — " Maraz " meaning " disease." 
 
318 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 ^ 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 Arme- 
 nian 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 
 iDeen 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 
 
The Attempted Vendetta : the Eesult. 319 
 
 allowed by their religion to do so ; but that neither 
 Christian Priests nor Christian Doctors ever suffered 
 anything unclean to pass their lips ! ! 
 
 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 instru- 
 ments 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 
 
320 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 it ; for the opportimitj of speaking to a lady was rare^ 
 and I enjoyed it in direct proportion to its rarity. 
 
 The next Durbar evening during Eamazan wa& 
 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 TJsbak 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 har- 
 monious, 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. 
 
End of Eamazan. 331 
 
 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 descrip- 
 tion 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 sweet- 
 meat 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. 
 
 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. 
 
 21 
 
322 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 When I left I went on to the gardens of the 
 Harem Serai to pay a compHmentary 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. 
 
 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. 
 
The Guard of Amazons. 323 
 
 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. 
 
324 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 1 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. 
 
 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 
 
Tropical Heat : the Whirlwind. 325 
 
 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 
 
326 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 some- 
 thing 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 giveni 
 
Midnight Marching : Stopped on the Road. 327 
 
 to the towns and villages on the ronte to laj 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. 
 
 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 sHpped and fell after we started : this neces- 
 sitated 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. Howevef, 
 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 there- 
 fore politely came two days' journey with me. 
 
 We had not ridden very far when suddenly out of 
 the darkness came the challenge in Pushtu, 
 
 " Sa-k^ ? " " Who goes there ? " 
 
328 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 It was a sentry with orders to allow no one to pass 
 till the Amir had gone by ! 
 
 " When is he going ? " I enquired. 
 
 " Khudamedanad!" "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 Greneral, 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 G-eneral was asleep ! 
 
 " "Wake the devil, then ! " I shouted, for I was burn- 
 ing 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." 
 
The Hut : Impure Water. 329 
 
 " Sir, I very sorry. What I do." 
 
 " I don't know. You must do something ; or else 
 I must appeal to the Amir." 
 
 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 
 hy 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 ham- 
 mered 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 
 
330 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
 fi ghting stallions by shouting and throwing sticks and 
 
 stones at them. 
 
 It was four o'clock, and we heard the larks sing- 
 ing 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. 
 
The Amir Lost on the Plains. 331 
 
 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 daj 
 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 out- 
 side 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 neighbour « 
 hood 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 satis- 
 faction : 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. 
 
 I found we were not the only ones who had lost 
 their way. At dawn the Amir himself, with hi» 
 guard, was found wandering off towards Russia. 
 
332 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
The Durbar : The Amir's Health. 33S 
 
 suitably, I mounted the little bay horse the Amir had 
 sent me, and rode off to salaam His Highness. 
 
 The town seemed very lively and full, com- 
 pared with what it did when I first came through 
 with Jan Mahomed. Gay-coated Courtiers and Page 
 boys were riding about, and soldiers were march- 
 ing 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 
 giffcs from those poorer than themselves, and had 
 laid them before him as their own. 
 
 After lunch I asked His Highness if he were feel- 
 ing 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 : com- 
 pound and comminuted. While I was on the way 
 there, at three p.m., I noticed an extraordinary 
 darkness or twilight coming over everything. The 
 
334 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Ar- 
 menian wanted my breakfast over, so that the tent 
 could be packed as soon as possible. I had some 
 €old 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 after- 
 wards. 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 
 
An Afghan " Good Samaritan." 335 
 
 •among the kicking horses. However, there is an 
 end to most things if yon wait long enougli, and we got 
 ont of the valley eventually. At ten a.m. we arrived 
 at the valley of Ghuznignk, were 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. 
 
 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 
 ^nd 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 
 iDroke out into Persian: "ISTe 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 
 
336 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 tenfc 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. 
 
 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 know- 
 ledge 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." 
 
The Poisonous Sting. 337 
 
 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- 
 
 22 
 
338 
 
 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 bed- 
 room 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 T 
 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. 
 
Dangers of By-paths. 339 
 
 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 
 
340 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
A Cheap Drink. 341 
 
 Then we got among cornfields again. Where all 
 the other roads led to I don't know, but we found 
 JSb 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 
 Sb 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 com- 
 pelled 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 eye- 
 lashes 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 regard- 
 less 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 
 vye were going along we saw an elephant in front 
 
342 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 hap- 
 pened 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 embank- 
 
Camp in an Orchard. 343 
 
 ment covered with grass, an aquednct, along the top 
 of which ran a stream of very clear water. I dis- 
 mounted, 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. 
 
 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 
 
3M At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 crea- 
 tures 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. 
 
Durbar in Haibuk. 345 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 The Areival 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." Hlness. Elephant riding. A grateful peasant. 
 Dangerous passes. The Durbar at Shush-B^irjah : 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, tlie 
 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. 
 
 Four day s 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 
 
346 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 the latter, I remember noticing the " Fleur de Lys,'* 
 or French lily. A pond or tank, supplied by an ir- 
 rigation 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 ex- 
 plained 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 nec- 
 tarines as big as peaches. 
 
 I rode out the next day with the Armenian and 
 some others, to see the ancient monument. 
 
 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 
 
Eustom's Throne. 347 
 
 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, there- 
 fore, 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'& 
 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 Hi& 
 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 fetcK 
 
348 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 lie looked, the more they laughed. Of the 
 other sketches His Highness recognized whom they 
 were meant for : but those of Eustom'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 Eustom'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 
 
The Amir's Courtesj. 349 
 
 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. 
 
 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 imme- 
 diately 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 medi- 
 cine 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 
 
350 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Core'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. 
 
Dangerous Passes. 351 
 
 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. 
 
 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 preci- 
 pice 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 
 €rawled 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 
 
353 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 warm in the winter. I had kmch 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 Yalley, 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 
 
The Camp of the Camels. 353 
 
 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. 
 
 We rode through the Bamian Yalley 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 occa- 
 sionally, 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 
 
 28 
 
354 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 occa- 
 sion 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 speci- 
 mens 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 
 
Kindness of the Amir. 355 
 
 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, 
 iDut 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 
 SbJid a half. After dinner they rode back with a 
 guard to Kabul. 
 
 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 re- 
 medies, and gave me advice as regards diet. He would 
 
356 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 " Riikhsat,'* 
 or permission to depart, for I was feeble. I re- 
 turned 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 some- 
 where 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 Highnesses two eldest sons, the 
 Princes HabibuUah 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 
 
The " High Garden." 357 
 
 Habibullah, turning to the Armenian, said in Persian, 
 ■*' He looks very ill, what is the matter ? " 
 
 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. 
 
 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 tlie Pavilion. 
 
 By-and-bye there was a rattle of kettledrums, a 
 
358 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 High-- 
 ness'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 vibra- 
 tion 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. 
 
The Eeception. 359 
 
 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 un- 
 suitable food. He tried to brighten me up by 
 taking me about the workshops and showing me 
 
360 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
The " Id " Salaam. 361 
 
 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. Eoyal 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 iatrigue. 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 FSte : 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. 
 
 Four days after our arrival in Kabul, namely on 
 July 28tlij the Maliomedan Festival of Id commenced, 
 and His Higlmess 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 High- 
 ness, seated in an arm-chair, was almost alone in the 
 
362 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 hav- 
 ing 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 work- 
 shops. 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 TJsuf 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. 
 
Lunch at Endekki. 36a 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
364 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 
The Unreliable Interpreter. 365 
 
 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 pro- 
 vided, and waiters attended upon us. 
 
 We left directly after breakfast the next morning, 
 the brougham taking us back. Pyne had quite re- 
 covered, 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 mis- 
 led 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 
 
366 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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; 
 ^nd 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 HabibuUah, 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 NasruUah 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. 
 
 Then the presents were examined. They were 
 
The Noah's Ark. 367 
 
 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 de- 
 corated 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 me- 
 chanical 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 ISToah'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, drag- 
 ging 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 High- 
 ness 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 
 
368 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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, espe- 
 cially 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 ipecacuanhas 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 
 
Illness of Amir. 369 
 
 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 under- 
 stood one another. We discussed anatomy, climate, 
 diamonds, marriage ; and I remember we compared 
 the customs of European ladies with those of Oriental 
 ladies. Shore 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. 
 
 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 Mili- 
 tary OjQ&cers 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 
 
 24 
 
370 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 T 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. 
 
 That night I was awakened suddenly by an awful 
 
The Earthquake. 371 
 
 -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 Hght 
 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, 
 ithe 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 
 <;ould 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 
 
372 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 th§ 
 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 ofl&cials 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 de- 
 scribed 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 fre- 
 quently, and that when the pain in liis 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,. 
 
The Amir's Perplexity. 373 
 
 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. 
 
 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 per- 
 plexed. 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 under- 
 stood, 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. Mean- 
 while 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 won- 
 dered what was coming next. Dogs were barking, 
 horses neighing, and men shouting. The noise woke 
 
374 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 up everybody. We hstened 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. 
 
 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. 
 
"Wedding of Prince Nasmllah. 375 
 
 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 com- 
 plimentary 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 
 
376 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 sweet- 
 meats 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. 
 
 At the Hospital the work was getting rather over- 
 
Troubles of a Euler. 377 
 
 whelming. 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 back- 
 ache 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 Ofiicials : heavy fines were imposed, and there 
 were extensive alterations lin the higher appointments. 
 I did not want to add to his annoyances by resign- 
 ing; 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 
 
378 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 direc- 
 tion 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 
 
The Sick Chief. 37^ 
 
 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 
 vis, 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 back- 
 ground of the Bala Hissar, it made a striking sight. 
 
 At the end of October, the Chief, whose brother 
 was at the Court of the Amir as hostage, came ta 
 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. 
 
380 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 The province belonging to the Chief has a very- 
 hot cHmate. 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 some- 
 thing 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 Govern- 
 ment. 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 senti- 
 ment 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 
 ivithout the subsidy. 
 
Questions in Chemistry. 381 
 
 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 Azia 
 UUah. The Chief ill again. The weather. The silence at the Palace. 
 December 2nd : the Call. The town at night. Illness of the Amir. His re- 
 quest : 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 tlie early part of November I was sent for to tlie 
 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. 
 
 Afterwards he asked my opinion with regard to 
 the action of certain acids of native production, and 
 
382 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 lie 
 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 belore, but it was curtained off from the Octa- 
 gonal 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 
 
Prince Aziz XJUah. 383 
 
 JSTaim liked being a waiter for once in a way, but 
 lie obeyed at once. However, lie was a good fellow, 
 about twenty-six, and was always a friend of mine, 
 so I do not think lie 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. 
 
 I returned to the Hospital, but in the afternoon 
 was sent for again bv His Highness. He asked 
 me to examine and prescribe for his infant son. 
 Prince Aziz Ullah, who, the Hakims informed him, 
 ^as 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. 
 
384j At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 The same day I received a letter from Prince 
 Habibullah asking me to attend Sirdar RessM Khan, 
 the Amir's cousin, son of Sirdar Usuf, who is the son 
 of Amir Dost Mahomed. Sirdar Eesstil 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. 
 
 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,J|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 
 
Visit to Prince Mahomed Omer. 385 
 
 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 conver- 
 sation 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 
 
 25 
 
386 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 for me in Jalalabad. 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 intes- 
 tinal 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. Yery 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. 
 
The Call at Night. 387 
 
 I went about my daily work in Kabul, seeing 
 patients, performing surgical operations where neces- 
 sary ; 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. 
 
 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 oc- 
 casional 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 Arnlenian 
 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 
 
388 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 HabibuUah and NasruUah, 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. 
 
 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 enlarge- 
 ment 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 
 
Illness of the Amir. 389 
 
 lie 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 faint- 
 ness, 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 OfGicer 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 com- 
 passionate," 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 
 liim. I ought to say that His Highness, with a 
 €ourtesy that never leaves him, gave orders for 
 
390 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 after- 
 wards. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
Illness of the Sultana. 391 
 
 the silent quadrangle, and passing np 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, cande- 
 labra, 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, mu- 
 sical voice. I bowed and advanced. A chair was 
 placed for me near the curtain, and tea and cigar- 
 ettes 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 cur- 
 tain the bubble of the chillim. The Sultana 
 then commenced descHbing her symptoms, but the 
 Hindustani Priest-doctor had an imperfect knowledge 
 of English, and he asked that an Interpreter 
 migbt be sent for. A messenger was at once sent 
 for the Armenian, who presently entered saying. 
 
392 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 accus- 
 tomed 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 ! 
 
The Innocent Plot. 393 
 
 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 tempera- 
 ture was normal: the vesical irritability had dis- 
 appeared : 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. 
 
 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. 
 
394 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 1 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 cor- 
 rections or interference : that the Armenian was my 
 Interpreter ; and that he could hold his tongue till 
 he was called upon to speak. 
 
The Sultana's Letter : the Answer. 395 
 
 That night His Highness was restless, and in the 
 morning (Sunday) to my amazement he said he wonld 
 take no more European medicine ! I was aghast I 
 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. 
 
 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 mis- 
 translation 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 treat- 
 ment, and would resume his medicine when the suit- 
 able time arrived. 
 
 That night Malek, the Page, came to me. He 
 
396 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. 
 ^NTevertheless, 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 ex- 
 perience 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 condi- 
 tion, overdoing this line of treatment. His Highness 
 rebuked me and said. 
 
The Amir's Eelapse. 397 
 
 "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 quad- 
 rangle 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 
 
398 At tte Court of the Amtr. 
 
 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 Eussia. 
 
 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. 
 
 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. 
 
Concerning the Hindustani. 399 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 Royal Patients. 
 
 Cogitations concerning the Hindustani Interpreter : coUoid 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 photo- 
 graph. 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. 
 
 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 : — 
 
400 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 " Sir, you not kill it. You big man, he very small 
 man. Your wish, you can slioot 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. 
 
The Sultana as a Hostess. 401 
 
 Every niglit 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. 
 
 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 sug- 
 gested 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 photo- 
 graphs : 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 
 
402 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Hlustrious Lady." She, however, told me 
 at once that her name was Hahma, 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. 1 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 
 
The Tea-cup and the Thermometer. 403 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 Pahr.! 
 
 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 Pahr. 
 
 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 re- 
 fused to increase the dose of chloral, and endeavoured 
 to substitute other soporifics. 
 
 The result was, that after about a fortnight Her 
 
404 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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." 
 
The Amir's Fainting Attack. 405 
 
 He produced a corkscrew with suspicious readi- 
 ness, 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 j&zz in it? 
 It is beastly. 
 
 " What's wrong with it ? " I asked the Armenian, 
 when he had tasted it. 
 
 " JSTo-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 in- 
 different to the opinion of the Afghans. 
 
 About midnight they departed, and rode back, 
 'escorted by a couple of soldiers, to their rooms at the 
 i^rorkshops. 
 
 Two days after this His Highness had a fainting 
 
406 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Yodki, 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 ren- 
 dered 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 
 
Effect on the Physician. 407 
 
 Highness, and explained how it shonld 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. 
 
 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 Yodki, or whatever the 
 Russian abomination was, followed by a whisky peg, 
 was not a good thing for a Physician to drink, fast- 
 ing. I said to His Highness, that being unaccus- 
 tomed 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 
 
408 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 alarming head symptom. He described his feehngs 
 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 sub- 
 sided, 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 con- 
 siderably, 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 Govern- 
 mental work. Sitting for hours nearly every day, 
 he held Durbars and gave decisions in cases of dis- 
 pute. 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-MuUah 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. 
 
Duties of the Princes. 409 
 
 The duty of Prince NasruUah 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 attend- 
 ance 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." 
 
410 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 A Kabul Winter* 
 
 Hindustani intrigue : information from the Britisli 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 gi-and 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 
 NaA Il6z levee. Salaam to the Sultana. Amir in the Salaam Khana : recep- 
 tion 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. 
 
 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 
 
Hindustani Intrigue. 411 
 
 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 what- 
 soever. 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 thaji 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 tho 
 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 year'., 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 com- 
 pelled to suffer. 
 
 The Hindustani then made another move. How 
 
412 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 he worked it I do not know, but some weeks after- 
 wards 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 
 
/>< 
 
 'J Lcm 
 
 I'faJwrmd^ (%fuvrwndJuJ {MmyrtumJ&r-^^ny 
 

The Two Factions. 413 
 
 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. 
 
 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 " Grnat," 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 
 
414 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. HabibuUah, 
 with the moral support of an English Resident osten- 
 sibly 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 accus- 
 tomed to the presence of Feringhis in their midst. How- 
 ever, 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 engi- 
 neers, 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. 
 
 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 
 
Divers Discomforts. 415 
 
 scarce and hard to get, for the Eoyal 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 
 
416 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 t 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 yeara 
 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 
 
The Question of " Bleeding." 417 
 
 of water checked at the bridge piers wculd over- 
 flow the workshops and swamp part of the town. 
 Future events proved the accuracy of the Annr'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. 
 
 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. 
 
 27 
 
418 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 On the 1st of March the Amir disbanded a regi- 
 ment 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 Stinnis. 
 
 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 Habi- 
 bullah 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, 
 
Sabbath : the Amir's Decision. 419 
 
 brown with black points, to be brought from the 
 stables, and asked me to accept it. 
 
 Shortly after this, the interesting Hindustani In- 
 terpreter — the Gnat — endeavoured to prejudice the 
 two English engineers, Stewart and Myddleton, in His 
 Highnesses 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 Inter- 
 preter 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 en- 
 deavoured 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. 
 
420 At the Court of 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 
 
Tent-pegging : Lemon Slicing. 421 
 
 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. 
 
 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 up- 
 right 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 
 
423 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 ISTasrullah 
 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 Pritice 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 swords- 
 men, 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 o& consider- 
 ably. 
 
 The next day was "ISTau 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 Bun- 
 galow there. On the way I met Mahomed Omer and 
 complimented him on his skill with the lance. He 
 
New Year Congratulations. 433 
 
 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 mes- 
 senger, " 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^i 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, 
 calne 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 
 
424 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 cabi- 
 nets, 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 HabibuUah 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 HabibuUah was always courteous, and 
 struck me as having much more savoir vivre than 
 Prince NasruUah. 
 
 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 
 
" White-beard ; " His Age. 425 
 
 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 after- 
 wards, 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. 
 
426 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER XXYI. 
 A Kabul Spring. 
 
 Spring clotliing : 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. Ramazkn. 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 con- 
 tinued 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 Naii 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 intelli- 
 gent articles, for if at any time food should be put into 
 
A Haunted House. 427 
 
 tliem 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 discern- 
 ment, 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 ta 
 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." 
 
 It was a dreadful book. Eead 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 (anatomic 
 cally 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 mem- 
 brane as a matter of fact. The door moved slowly 
 on its creaking hinge, and — 
 
428 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 " 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 infor- 
 mation. 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, 
 
Called to the Palace. 429 
 
 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 travel- 
 ling became easier. I saw about a hundred and 
 thirty cases daily. Some came great distances — from 
 Turkestan, Kandahar, Herat, and the borders of 
 Kaffristan. 
 
 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 
 
430 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 travel- 
 ling 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 en- 
 quired 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 per- 
 mission 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 
 
Geologists in the Service. 431 
 
 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 ! 
 
 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. Dis- 
 gusted 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 speci- 
 men, from the same place an official in his ignorance 
 took what he considered to be a similar specimen: 
 
432 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 this was to act as a check on the geologist! After 
 a few months Mr. ColKns, 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 re- 
 signed. 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 con- 
 sidered 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 
 
The Locusts. 433 
 
 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 oppor- 
 tunity for acceding to the Armenian's request, and 
 taking him to London with me : he could attend to 
 these matters better than I. 
 
 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 
 
 28 
 
434 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 all who killed these birds were to be fined. As, how- 
 ever, 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, 
 
Amir's Thoughtfulness. 435 
 
 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. 
 Por 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. 
 
 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 
 
436 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 thing; 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 : — 
 
The Arrest. 437 
 
 " 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." 
 
 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. 
 
438 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 com- 
 pleted, 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 think- 
 ing it over, my remark struck me as being somewhat 
 beyond the truth. 
 
 It was the month of Ramazan, the yearly Ma- 
 homedan 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. 
 
The Amir's Comment. 439 
 
 In the night, the river, which, owing to the melt- 
 ing 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 Anur. 
 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 — 
 
 " 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 HabibuUah 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 
 
MO At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 chin to give an effect of relief, and I asked His High- 
 ness 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 NasruUah'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 wa'S 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 some- 
 what 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: — 
 
 " Behold ! it is handsomer than it was ; and if I 
 
Nasrullah's Comment. 441 
 
 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. 
 
442 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 appoint- 
 ments, 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 
 
Adieux. 445 
 
 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. 
 
 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 HabibuUah, 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 High- 
 ness 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 exces- 
 sively 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* 
 
444 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
Played Out. 445 
 
 at last my bodily powers gave out. This, by the 
 way, was the road that Brydon went over. 
 
 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. Never- 
 theless, no one, who is not a Salamander — an amphi- 
 bious 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 horse- 
 back 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 per- 
 ceived 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 
 
446 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 accom- 
 plish it. 
 
 Staggering boldly to the stream, I allowed my- 
 self 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 ex- 
 periencing 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. 
 
Unwelcome Guests. 447 
 
 Furtlier 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 un- 
 welcome 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 
 
448 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 o.f 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 establish- 
 ments 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 " difl&cult hot " place (saJcht^ 
 hard, difl&cult, severe) between Lalpur and Dacca, the 
 
The Despatch. 449 
 
 sky was cloudy, and a strong wind blew. The dust 
 was awful, but safer than the sun. 
 
 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 im- 
 prisonment 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 Secre- 
 tary kindly gave me a translation of it. This is how it 
 runs : — 
 
 (Copy.) " FoEEiGN 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. 
 
 29 
 
450 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 " 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 dis- 
 posal. 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 
 
The Armenian in London. 451 
 
 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. 
 
 I think the study of character and the endeavour- 
 ing 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 lie behaved as if he knew all about it. 
 However, I thought, when we get to the sea and 
 the great floating Hotel, the P. & 0. boat, the 
 education will begin. He will be astonished. Perhaps 
 
452 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 lie 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 Grovernment for him 
 to visit the Mint, Woolwich Arsenal, and other 
 places, and he compared them to similar establish- 
 ments 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 ; 
 
Eeturn to India. 453 
 
 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. 
 
 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. 
 
454 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 The Welcome to Kabul. 
 
 Pathan rifle tliieves. Dacca. The midnight alarm : the melee : the accident r 
 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 effects 
 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 
 
The Midnight Alarm. 456 
 
 which these Pathans managed to obtain from Peshawur 
 weapons of English manufacture. 
 
 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 mani- 
 fest 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 con- 
 cluded it must be in his tent. Hastily, therefore, so 
 as not to be out of the fun, I made for his tent. 
 Eemembering 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 
 
456 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 cbarpoy 
 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 for- 
 ward with his arms bound behind his back. 
 
 The Colonel and the Armenian seemed much dis- 
 turbed 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. 
 
 In the morning, after breakfast, when every one 
 
The Next Morning. 457 
 
 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 scufile 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 
 
458 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 with his administratiye 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 imbend the 
 knitted brow, for, as I have frequently remarked, I 
 am a mild man. The Colonel perceiving his advan- 
 tage 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. 
 
The Arrival. '459 
 
 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. 
 
 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 out- 
 wards : 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. 
 
 " 0, 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. 
 
460 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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. How- 
 ever, 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 
 
The Amir's Welcome. 461 
 
 them. As soon as His Highness rose I was called to 
 the inner room. 
 
 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 
 
462 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 per- 
 mission 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 examin- 
 ing 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 
 
Salaam to the Prince. 463 
 
 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 re- 
 ceived in reply, and after the usual tea, cigarettes, 
 and sweets, I rode back to Kabul. 
 
 A day or two afterwards, I paid a formal visit 
 to Prince Habibullah. He was living in the bun- 
 galow 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 ISTassir Khan, came 
 and chatted with me, saying how pleased he was to see 
 me back again. Another friend also came and spoke 
 
464 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 atten- 
 tion 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 moun- 
 tains 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 mis- 
 sionary, telling her as nearly as I could His High- 
 ness's words. Mrs. Gray never went to Kabul^ 
 nor I believe did the lady missionary. 
 
A Fatal Bjamazan. 465 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 The Cholera. 
 
 Eamaz^n. The outbreak of Cholera. Precautions. Notices in the bazaars. Rapid 
 spread. European medicine. The orerwhelming 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. Dimier from 
 the Palace : the sealed dishes. 
 
 Four days after this was Good Friday, April 15tli, 
 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 
 
 30 
 
466 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 pre- 
 cautions ; 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 con- 
 tained, but which was of necessity pitiably insuffi- 
 cient, 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 t(3 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 com- 
 mencement, 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. 
 
The Dread. 467 
 
 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. 
 
 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. 
 
468 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
Exodus of the Court. 469 
 
 Armenian to translate, at other times I went alone, 
 ior 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. 
 
 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 
 €ut 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 
 
470 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 better. After that he ceased following the instruc- 
 tions 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 Chamber- 
 lains 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 
 
" Britisli Motives ! " 471 
 
 onset of tlie 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 sur- 
 rounding villages. It returned, however, again and 
 again, and the mortality was excessive. By the begin- 
 ning 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. 
 
 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 Govern- 
 ment 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 
 
472 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 two or three thoroughbred stalhons 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 High- 
 ness 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. 
 
Anger of the Amir. 473 
 
 By-and-bye there were some soldiers brought in, 
 in chains. His Highness called my attention to them, 
 ^nd told me the story of their offences. 
 
 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 1 " 
 
 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 Com- 
 mander-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 
 
474 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 con- 
 cerning 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 
 
Arrival of English. 475 
 
 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. jSTight 
 came on as we were riding home, and we had to do 
 the last two or three miles at a walk. 
 
 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 bag- 
 gage. 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. 
 
476 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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, accom- 
 panied 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 Greneral 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 
 orawling up his throat he waited ; then seizing the 
 head he drew it forth. 
 
The Amir's Comment. 477 
 
 " 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 im- 
 proper 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 
 
478 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 re- 
 tired 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 oppo- 
 site 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." 
 
Political Durbar. 479 
 
 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 NasruUah : 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 Ma- 
 homed 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." 
 
 A WEEK after this, July 4tli, was the Festival of Id, 
 and in the morning I rode with the Armenian to 
 Paghman to salaam His Highness. The other Eng- 
 lishmen 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 hp-ppiness. 
 A chair was then ordered to be placed for me in 
 a bay window: it was not so near His Highness as 
 
480 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
The Banquet. 481 
 
 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. 
 
 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 bag- 
 pipes 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 per- 
 mission to withdraw and came away. 
 
 In August the cholera, which had returned to 
 
 81 
 
482 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 Kabul, began again to attain serious proportions. I 
 had drawn up with some care a Paper on the pre- 
 cautions to be adopted to prevent a return of the 
 disease. I was perforce compelled to allow the 
 Hindustani Interpreter — the Gnat — to take pos- 
 session 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 Inter- 
 preters was lamentably small. In the Hospitals I, of 
 course, could manage without one, but for conversa- 
 tions with His Highness or for the translation of 
 writings my knowledge of the language was inade- 
 quate. 
 
 Though none of the English were seized with 
 cholera, the climate of Kabul afected 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 
 
Illness of Prince Nasrullah. 483 
 
 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. 
 
 One day a soldier on horseback arrived at my 
 house to call me to visit Prince Nasrullah who, he 
 eaid, 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 mis- 
 understood 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 
 
484 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 unutter- 
 ably 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 High- 
 ness'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 
 
Effect of Example. 485 
 
 opened liis moutli. An attendant handed me the 
 forceps, which had been warmed : I fitted them round 
 the neck of the offending member and pushed them 
 ifvell 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. 
 
 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 
 
486 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 ex- 
 ceedingly 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 dis- 
 cussion 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. Accord- 
 ingly the chessmen were brought. A table wa» 
 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 sim- 
 ply made, mechanically, the moves that the Amir 
 directed. We won the game. Mr. Collins said His 
 
Foresight of Armenian. 487 
 
 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. How- 
 ever, 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. 
 
 Meanwhile the Armenian had been for some little 
 while preparing winter quarters for me in the west 
 wing of my house, which faced j^outh and was pro- 
 tected 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. 
 
488 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 mj 
 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 
 
A Lesson in Courtesy. 489 
 
 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 
 iu looking at the picture the eye was caught immedi- 
 ately by the Prince's face. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
490 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
Waiting at the Door. 491 
 
 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 hii, 
 Allah-il- Allah, Ressul Allah ! " 
 
 When the portrait was finished I sent it to Her 
 Highness, the Sultana, for approval. She was de- 
 lighted 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. 
 
 The next day I took it to the Palace. The only 
 available Interpreter being the " Gnat," this gentle- 
 man took the opportunity to prevent — as I after- 
 wards 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 sur- 
 prised and annoyed. He told me that no report 
 had been made to him of my arrival, and that 
 
492 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 ^imal down. Putting his knee on the horn to ex- 
 tend 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 
 
The " Gnat." 493 
 
 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 Eoyal 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. 
 
 The Armenian being engaged in interpreting for 
 the other Europeans, I had no one to make an appoint- 
 ment for me with His Highness except the Hindus- 
 tani 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 accu- 
 racy of this information. I was correct in my sup- 
 position : 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 send no more firmans to the Agent. 
 
494 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 repre- 
 senting people — the English Houses of Parliament, 
 and also the portrait of himself that I had painted 
 in Turkestan. In the Mahomedan religion, he ex- 
 plained, 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 pic- 
 tures 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 accom- 
 plished artists that the country could produce in 
 order that I might give them instruction in por- 
 trait-painting. Also, he informed me that my 
 leave of absence would be granted before "Nau 
 Eoz," March 21st. 
 
 It occurred to me at the time that with all these 
 
The Amir's Turban. 495 
 
 commissions on hand, Nau E.6z and after Nau Roz 
 would see me still in Kabul. 
 
 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 with- 
 drew 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 
 
496 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Peshawnr. 
 
Afghan Artists. 497 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
 82 
 
498 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 almost Holbeinesque look to his drawings. They were 
 perhaps somewhat hard, though he began to acquire, 
 before I left, a freer style of drawing. 
 
 ITow 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. 
 
 Accomp^^nied 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 attend- 
 ing 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. 
 
The Little Prince as a Host. 499 
 
 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 High- 
 ness an equal sum in consequence. 
 
 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. 
 
500 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 The writing, however, was understandable onlj 
 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 dis- 
 inclined 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 horse- 
 back, 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 
 
A Shock. 601 
 
 '" 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 
 i}he 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 Habi- 
 bullah'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. 
 
 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 oppor- 
 tunity. I bad a very vivid recollection of my former 
 •experiences under similar circumstances, and had not 
 the slightest desire to have them repeated. 
 
503 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 Haremi 
 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 
 
Cogitation: Decision. 503 
 
 maid-servants wlio 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. 
 
 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 inter- 
 view 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 
 
504 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 High- 
 ness 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 photo- 
 graphs 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 High- 
 ness. 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 
 
Amir's Kindly Remark. 505 
 
 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 ? " 
 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 
 Hubies mines. As there was no room in the Work- 
 shops 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 
 
506 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 ex- 
 perience 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 
 
Shattered Nerves. 507 
 
 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. 
 
 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 bave drawn a parallel between his and 
 Captain Griesbach's experiences. The diflBculty in 
 
508 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 sub- 
 stratum 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 oft 
 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. 
 
The Spy of the Gnat. 509 
 
 After walking and chmbing 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. 
 
 When we got back to the house, one of my 
 Afghan servants told me that an emjploye of the 
 Hindustani Gnat was hanging about in the neigh- 
 bourhood, and that while we were away he had at- 
 tempted 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 incon- 
 venience, 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 
 
510 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 philo- 
 logy, 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 I tobah ! 
 I was very sick of it all. I set to Avork 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 Hos- 
 pitals 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 
 
Adieux. 511 
 
 l3oy, wliom His Higliness sent, and wliose finger it 
 "was necessary to amputate : and one of tlie 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. 
 
 Towards the end of May the pictures were 
 finished. I had at this time the pleasure of con- 
 gratulating 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, 
 ^nd at last we were really off. 
 
512 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 The Aegument. 
 
 Afghan court life from an English standpoint. The rise and fall of the Afghao 
 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 Higbness'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' a 
 rule : his character : comparison with Abdui-rahman. 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, how- 
 ever, concerned us only in the abstract and not in any 
 personal way. 
 
 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 
 
Else and Fall of the Official. 513 
 
 streets dressed in velvet and gold, with a great 
 retinue of servants around him : a day or two after- 
 wards, 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 invari- 
 able. 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 
 
 88 
 
514 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 im- 
 portant 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 some- 
 body 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 ? 
 
 Their frank open-hearted manner and sense of 
 
The Amir's Great Work. 515 
 
 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 re- 
 spect 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 Grovernment exist : — the instability 
 of every ofl&cial appointment : the great evil of the 
 "place-seeker" to which I have referred: the op- 
 pression 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 
 
516 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 espionage, it is impossible for him to know all the 
 evil that exists. In the preceding reigns the op- 
 pression 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 pro- 
 gress 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. 
 
 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 
 
Personal Influence of the Amir. 517 
 
 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 Ofl&cials, 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 
 
518 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 
 
Abdurrahman and Dost Mahomed. 519 
 
 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 consoli- 
 dation of his kingdom. But he was a barbarian, 
 nevertheless." 
 
 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 grand- 
 father. 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 sur- 
 rounded 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. 
 
520 At the Court of the Anur. 
 
 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. English- 
 men — 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 con- 
 dition nearer approaching health, was without doubt a 
 necessity ; mild measures would have been misunder- 
 stood 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 in- 
 tending for officers in his army. 
 
 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, 
 
The Teaching of Handicrafts. 521 
 
 being taught by the Enghsh 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. 
 
 N'ot only is war material produced in the work- 
 shops, 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, port- 
 manteaux, 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 
 
 34 
 
522 At the Court of the Amir. 
 
 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 depict- 
 ing the life of a lad in the shops. It is supposed to 
 be sung by the mother; but it ends somewhat sig- 
 nificantly by the workman being caught in the ma- 
 chinery 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. 
 
 For a man of ordinary intelligence, such as myself, 
 
Personal Fascination of the Amir. 523 
 
 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. 
 
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