The people repeat the name of God in all other things they do besides making flesh lawful. The workmen before commencing any work, or starting a new machine, or pouring molten metal into a mould, say the name of God that a blessing may attend the work and make it successful. They do the same before and after eating, and when naming a child, first they call the name of God in its ear, and then the one the child is to be known by. When the wife of an official presents him with a child, he takes a present of sweetmeats to the Amir and informs him of the fact, and then asks him to choose the name that is to be given it. It is customary for the Amir to name the children of the officials and those round him, excepting when a female child is born, for then the Queen-Sultana chooses the name. On the birth of a son the Amir gives presents to the father if he happens to be in favour, or if he wishes to do him honour, for the birth of a son is a matter for rejoicing. In the case of a girl, the birth is passed over in silence, for women are of small account in Afghanistan, and sometimes the father will not go near the mother for several days when a daughter is born, in order to show his displeasure and mark his resentment for the woman not better acting up to his desires and wishes. When one of the Amir’s wives is expected to give birth to a child, preparations are made for the firing of guns and fireworks, and the feasting of all and sundry, in case it is a boy that comes into the world, but if it turns out to be a girl nothing in the way of rejoicing happens, and the mother is left to weep alone in the disappointment of her hopes; for all women desire and pray for a man child, because then the father will visit her, and she is made much of, and everybody else fusses over and congratulates her, so that she enjoys a small triumph.