to each other; and as it is customary for those visited to offer their guests tea and refreshments on such occasions, the cost of doing so is a heavy tax on most of them; but it must be done if a man wishes to retain his respect among his fellows, even though he gets into debt thereby. On Shab-i-barat, a festival similar to our All Souls, fireworks in the evening are the order of the day, and men invite their friends to have food with them, and afterwards witness the firework display, and this is followed in the wealthier houses by music and dancing-girls, when the entertainment is kept up until a late hour at night. When a man invites another to dinner in the evening, it is understood that the guest shall stop the night, and, as it is only on special occasions that guests are invited, the proceedings are always kept up until late. On the night of Shab-i-barat it is believed by the people that the souls in purgatory are visited by angels in order that their papers may be examined to see how much longer they are to stop there, and to release those whose time is up and take them to Paradise. Pilgrimages to Mecca, or the Haj, as it is called, are undertaken by those who are religiously inclined, and can afford the time and expense incurred. To the Afghan the Haj is a great undertaking, and the chances of return from so perilous a journey are looked upon as very small, so those who undertake the pilgrimage do so more or less convinced that they will never return, and therefore make their wills and settle up their affairs in the same manner as they would do so on the approach of death; for foreign countries inhabited by enemies of their religion and therefore of themselves have to be traversed, and should they get through this ordeal safely, there is still the sea with its storms and other perils to be faced. They have many queer legends of the sea and its inhabitants, some of which will swallow up a ship when they come across it; and a man needs to be thoroughly infatuated with the desire to undertake the holy pilgrimage before he would dare face all the terrors and dangers which have to be encountered. When, however, after safely passing through the perils of the journey, the pilgrim finally returns, entitled to the distinction of being called “Hadjee” for the rest of his days, his friends and relations make much fuss and rejoicing over his return, and for many months after he does little else but relate his travels and adventures, and the sights he has seen, to an eager crowd of listeners, who never seem to weary of hearing all that there is to be told them. I have heard some of them relate their experiences, and I must say their stories do not lose in the telling.