He was dressed rather gorgeously in a cashmere tunic, gold-bedecked belt, trousers, high boots and turban. When I got to know him better, I thought he was not such a villain as he looked. This gentleman conducted me, accompanied by the Armenian, to a house near the Palace. We passed through a covered porch, guarded by a pair of heavy gates, into a garden surrounded by high walls: went along the stone-paved paths, up some steps into a suite of rooms on the north side of the garden. The rooms were beautifully carpeted, and looked very bright and handsome in the setting sun. The “Bashi” informed us that he had orders to send dinner from the Amîr’s kitchen; then politely saying “Binishinēd”--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 entrées--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 Amîr Shere Ali lived--and died--in the very room I was dining in. [Sidenote: Story of the Death of Amîr Shere Ali.] Amîr 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 Amîr 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 Amîr Shere Ali did not receive the help he expected from Russia, and he fled to Mazár-i-Sherif. Here he was seized with his old enemy, gout--a disease that is hereditary in this reigning family.[5] [5] There is a saying in Kabul that only those of the family suffer from gout who afterwards occupy the throne; and since Prince Nasrullah, the second son, has had twinges of pain in one of his lower limbs, some have looked upon him as a probable successor to the throne! They say that he was being attended by a Russian physician, and that the pain being very severe the physician introduced some medicine beneath the skin; then escaping by night to the Oxus he crossed into Russian territory. In the morning Amîr Shere Ali was found dead. For some days his death was concealed, but finally the fact was betrayed by a serving woman.