A few nights after the Durbar I was awakened about midnight by an extraordinary and mysterious noise that seemed to come “whiffling by.” It was followed in a few seconds by a shorter and sharper noise which literally made the earth shake. I had never felt an earthquake like that before, and I wondered what was coming next. Dogs were barking, horses neighing, and men shouting. The noise woke up everybody. We listened and listened, but there was no repetition, and I went to sleep again. The next morning we heard the solution of the mystery. The rocket and firework factory in Kabul had blown up. It was not very far from the workshops, and Pyne told me he thought he should have been thrown out of bed. I enquired as to the loss of life, and heard that some people had been killed, but no one seemed very interested in that line of enquiry. Nor did I ever hear the cause of the explosion accounted for. Doubtless it was “Kismet.” We had an epidemic of “mumps” in Kabul at the time, I remember, and the Hindustani Hospital assistant, the gentlemanly Dipsomaniac, had it rather badly. In the beginning of October I received an invitation from Her Highness the Sultana to attend the Reception after the wedding of Prince Nasrullah. [Sidenote: Wedding of Prince Nasrullah.] It was quite a fête, and was held in the Baburshah gardens, about a mile and a half out of the town, on the banks of the Kabul river. The Invitation said seven a.m., but I started about half-past nine. The day was bright and sunny, like an August day in England. I rode, accompanied by the Armenian; and the servants walked in front and by the side of the horses after the manner of the country. I put on all my finery, including the medal His Highness had given me. The garden was gay with many-coloured tents and awnings, and crowded with Orientals in gala costume. The green of the grass and trees; the hazy red and blue of the mountains; the gleam and ripple of the river: all these, with the gay colours, made a beautiful picture. The Prince had not arrived, and I went to a large tent where the Commander-in-Chief, the Officers, and Chief Secretaries were, and sat and chatted with them till the Prince arrived. Presently His Highness sent for me. I found him seated under a large awning surrounded by Courtiers, who were standing. There were many others seated cross-legged on the ground in a semicircle in front of him. I stopped outside the circle and bowed with my hat off. A chair was placed exactly in the middle of the circle, opposite to the Prince, and he beckoned me to sit there. I offered my congratulations; the Prince kindly enquired after my health; and complimentary speeches were exchanged. Shortly afterwards the Commander-in-Chief, the Officers, and Secretaries came to salaam His Highness, and I bowed and retired. I was then conducted to a tent on the bank, which was made ready for me, and tea and cigarettes were brought by order of the Sultana, whose guest I was.