Amir Habibullah Khan takes an interest in tennis and cricket, but mostly in cricket, for it resembles the national game of toop bazee, which is also played with a ball and flat stick. Another amusement the Amir is interested in besides cooking is the magic lantern, for which he has thousands of slides, including those which give photos of all the most interesting places in the world. I presented him with a cinematograph, first giving, on two successive nights, an exhibition in one of the durbar rooms in Arak. The cinematograph was installed in an ante-room, the audience, with the Amir, being in the large durbar room with a wetted screen placed in the doorway communicating between them on which to project the pictures. The first evening, when everything was ready, the Amir was informed and came into the room where I had the apparatus fixed, and asked me to show him the working of it. I did so, and he then retired to the larger room to witness the performance; but before allowing the entertainment to proceed he charged an entrance fee to all who were allowed to come into the room of ten rupees each for those provided with seats and five rupees for those who had to stand. When I heard this I thought it probable that I should be given a share of it as a reward for giving the entertainment; but he kept it all, and it rather typifies the character given him by his people. CHAPTER IX PRISONS AND PRISONERS Kotwal and Kotwali (magistrate and police court)—Policemen as thieves—Description of prisons—Description of how prisoners are treated and their irons—The old well in Bala Hisar—The spy system—Cutting a man’s throat—False reporting—Fanah (wedge) tortures. The position of Kotwal (city magistrate) has from time immemorial been an office of high standing in the East. In some countries, the Kotwal has the power of ordering death, but in Afghanistan only the Amir can punish by the extreme penalty. One of the duties of the Kotwal, however, is to see that all executions, public and private, are carried out, also to conduct those tortures which are inflicted to make men confess their crimes, or the names of their confederates, and to see that all punishments for offences committed are properly administered. In addition he has to look after all city arrangements, to superintend the police, to try all cases brought before him, either criminal or civil, to receive the reports of and supervise the street kalanturs (headmen), and keep a record of births and deaths.