One person in Kabul with whom English people are greatly brought in contact is the interpreter. There are several interpreters, but only one who is appointed to interpret between the Amir and the English residents, and this post is one which involves a good deal of work, for the man, in addition to interpreting whenever the Amir or the princes require his services, has to translate all letters from the English to the Amir, and _vice versâ_. The Government correspondence with other countries is translated by others, who are specially appointed for the post, and they are not encouraged to mix with the English people in Kabul. To be an interpreter a man must be quick at catching all inflections of meaning in the two languages, and must be ever ready to put in a word of his own in case he fails to hear something which is said on either side, for the Amir is impatient of having anything repeated. He must also be, in a measure, conversant with the subject under discussion, as otherwise technical words would bring him to a standstill, and very often such English words require several sentences of Persian to explain them, as they have no equivalents except those adopted from other languages of late years. But particularly must he be able to interpret all that is said quickly and without mistake, otherwise he will be put aside and another man taken on in his place, and to him this means disgrace for always. CHAPTER XIII SOLDIERS AND ARMS Clothing—Reviews—Drill—Uniforms of Amir’s bodyguard—Arms—Pay—Medals—Length of service—Substitutes—Barracks—Mode of life—Gambling among soldiers—Different tribes forming regiments—Thief tribe and regiment—Officers and promotion—Bands—Afghan anecdotes of incidents during war 1879-81—Afghan Army as a fighting machine—Condition of country for warfare—Illustration of one side of Afghan character.