In appearance the Amir looked about forty-five years of age, although nearer sixty, and this was due to his hair and beard being died black, making him look younger than he was. In person he was very stout and broad, with a rather long body, and short legs. His eyes were very dark, almost black, and looked out from under his heavy brows with quick, keen glances, while in complexion he was sallow, but his skin was not darker than the average Portuguese. The Amir had a full set of false teeth, and these he would take out at times and polish with his handkerchief, while continuing to speak, but the difference in his pronunciation made it difficult to follow him. He once handed his teeth to me to examine, and explained that one of his own men had made them for him, having learnt the art from an English dentist. Around the Amir were slave boys ready to attend his least want, and in front of him, standing round about the room, were officers and officials, and at the door were two men of the royal bodyguard with bayonets fixed, while the captain of the guard, carrying an unsheathed sword, stood by them. The audience chamber was a large one, and the floor was covered with fine Persian carpets, but it was bare of furniture, save the velvet-covered armchairs and small round-topped tables which were ranged at intervals along the wall round the room. On the walls were oil paintings representing landscapes only, for figure paintings are not allowed in a room where prayers are said, and this applies to all rooms, for Mussulmans say their prayers wherever they may happen to be, and the reason for this is, they say, that to pray before a pictured figure would give the appearance of idolatry. Walking up the durbar room I stood before the Amir, and bowed; and he asked, according to the usual greeting, if I was well, and took off his glove to shake hands (the gout in his right hand necessitated his wearing a glove in cold weather), saying that it was not etiquette among the English to shake hands with gloves on, and then, after the many salutations usual in Persian, he told me to be seated, and thereafter talked to me for several hours, and told me anecdotes of his career and life in Russia, and generally showed me honour in the gracious courtly manner he could so well assume when it pleased him. After sitting down, a small table was placed near me, and tea, fruit, and cigarettes were brought in. My tea was served in a Russian cup, which consisted of a glass tumbler fixed in a gold holder with handle, and carried on a gold saucer, a fashion the Amir had adopted from the Russians.