In spite of his amiability Habib Ullah does not possess a very secure seat upon his throne, the intrigues of the queen-mother and the jealousy of his brothers disturbing his position. Nor does he receive the confidence of his people or reveal sufficient strength of character to dominate the situation. Afghanistan needs the firm hand of a man, who is as much a maker as a ruler of men. Habib Ullah is weak-willed; and, in a country where the authority of the priest is a law in the land, his subserviency to priestly control and his subjection to the influence of his brother Nasr Ullah Khan have attracted universal attention. Nasr Ullah and the Queen Dowager, Bibi Halima, wife of the late Amir and the mother of Sirdar Mahommed Omar Jar Khan, are the stormy petrels in the Afghan sea of domestic politics. Habib Ullah in some measure understands the situation; and, doubtless, it is out of respect for their dignity that Bibi Halima and Omar Khan are closely protected by a strong detachment of the Imperial Bodyguard--so closely, indeed, that they are practically state prisoners. [Illustration: HIS HIGHNESS PRINCE NASR ULLA KHAN] It is more difficult for the Amir to assail the position occupied by Nasr Ullah, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the Afghan army in the early days of Habib Ullah’s accession. Little attempt therefore is made by the Amir to curb the masterful will of his brother. Nasr Ullah Khan, who has become a Hafis or repeater of the Koran, also held the office of Shahgassi, or Gentleman Usher to the King. Just before the advent of the Dane Mission at Kabul he was created an Itwad-ul-Dowlah or Pillar of the State. In his dual capacity he threw into the scales already settling against the Mission the whole weight of his influence, ultimately securing its complete discomfiture. He is not, perhaps, the most reliable prop to the policy and rule of his brother, since he aspires to the throne for himself; and, there is no doubt that when opportunity offers, he will make a bid for it. At the moment neither his plans nor his partisans are prepared, but events move with such swiftness in Afghanistan that no one can gauge more than approximately the varying fortunes of the situation. Serious family quarrels have compelled the Amir to exercise his authority in the arbitrary way common in Afghanistan. The first step taken was in 1904, when the Omar Jar was deprived of his bodyguard, the men being sent back to their regiments. The next step was to remove him from his office as head of all Government officials, an appointment in which he had succeeded Nasr Ullah Kahn in 1902. These proceedings caused much excitement in the capital and public feeling increased when it became known that the Bibi Halima had refused to accept the allowance assigned to her for the upkeep of her household. Matters became further complicated by an incident which roused the Amir’s anger against the “Queen’s” faction.