Afghan court life from an English standpoint. The Afghan Courtier. Untrustworthiness. Intrigue. Question of “cause” or “consequence.” Possibility of raising the moral plane. The Amîr’s obvious opinion. His Highness’s great work. Certain evils. Former condition of the middle classes: present condition: opening of the eyes: comparison with similar class in India. Progress in Afghanistan. Civilizing effect of the Amîr. Dôst Mahomed’s rule: comparison with Abdurrahman. Altered condition of country. The Amîr’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 Amîr. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. TROPHY OF AFGHAN ARMS PORTRAIT OF HIS HIGHNESS THE AMÎR (from a Painting by the Author) OBVERSE OF HAND-MADE CABUL RUPEE OF THE PRESENT REIGN COLOSSAL FIGURE “SA-MAMA” IN THE BAMIAN VALLEY (from a Photograph by Arthur Collins, F.G.S.) THE AUTHOR AND THE ARMENIAN INTERPRETER (from a Photograph by Van der Weyde) PRINCE MAHOMED OMER AND HIS “COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF” (from a Photograph by Arthur Collins, F.G.S.) AT THE COURT OF THE AMÎR. CHAPTER I. ON THE ROAD TO KABUL. The start and the wherefore. Unsettled condition of Afghanistan. Departure from Peshawur. Jumrûd Fort and the Watch-tower, The Afghan guard. The Khyber defile. Eccentricities of Rosinante. Lunch at Ali Musjid. Pathan villages. Pathans, their appearance and customs. Arrival at Landi Kotal Serai. The Shenwari country. Caravan of Traders. Dakka. Dangers of the Kabul River, Mussaks. Camp at Bassawal. Chahardeh. Mountain road by the river. Distant view of Jelalabad. It was with no small amount of pleasurable excitement that I donned the Afghan turban, and with Sir Salter (then Mr.) Pyne and two other English engineers, started from Peshawur for Kabul to enter the service of the Amîr. I had made the acquaintance of Mr. Pyne in London, where I was holding a medical appointment. He had returned to England, after his first short visit to Kabul, with orders from the Amîr to buy machinery, procure engineering assistants, and engage the services of an English surgeon. I gathered from his yarns that, for Europeans at the present day, life among the Afghans was likely to be a somewhat different thing from what it was a few years ago. In the reigns of Dost Mahomed and Shere Ali it was simply an impossibility for a European to take up a permanent residence in Afghanistan; in fact, except for occasional political missions, none was allowed to enter the country.