The pay of the troops is very inadequate, considering the dearness of food now to what it used to be. For infantry the pay was eight rupees Kabuli a month, until the present Amir, on his coming to the throne, raised it, to keep the troops contented, to ten rupees a month (6_s._ 8_d._). Cavalry receive thirty rupees Kabuli a month (20_s._), but have to find their own horse and its keep out of that. The Amir’s foot-guards receive thirty rupees a month, and are men envied by the rest of the troops because of their princely incomes. The soldiers were far from content when the Amir advanced their pay by two rupees only, for they expected more, and talked of what they would do if they did not get it; but the Afghans are very much like sheep, and unless there is one to lead the way, they remain where they are, and do nothing but bleat occasionally. For each active service medal a soldier gets a rupee extra monthly, and a soldier therefore prizes his medals; but the loyalty medal given to all the troops by the present Amir, when after two years they had remained faithful to him, and had given no trouble, was in many cases pawned for the value of its silver in order to buy food, for the famine came on shortly after the medals were distributed. During the famine, when flour was unobtainable, the Government gave wheat in lieu of a certain portion of the soldiers’ pay, and continued to do so until supplies from the new crops came in. The length of a soldier’s service is indefinite, and may be regarded as continuing until he is too old for his duties. Many of the soldiers have told me that they had not seen their families for over twenty years, for there are no recognized regulations regarding leave, and when it is absolutely necessary for a soldier to go to his home to settle some private affairs, he is allowed to do so provided he leaves a substitute behind him. In some cases the substitutes are quite young boys, and I have seen several of them in the Jidrani and other regiments of hillmen who were so small that the rifle they carried seemed huge in comparison; but usually they were smart in carrying out their duties, and were quick in attending to orders. What their value would be on active service is another matter. The soldiers are mostly poor men, and some of them have nothing but their pay for themselves and family to depend upon, so when they find that they are growing old and their beards and hair getting grey, they dye them, in order to continue on the active list and go on drawing pay.