The New York herald., 1879-07-29


our journey and rejoin us gallop when their re-
ligious exercises were done. Behind MS came a
servant bearing gourd OF fresh water and another
with boxes of sweetmeats SO travelled for thirty
mics, passing nothing but ruins, which. as my
guides perpeually assured me- were those of ancient
Bakh. II they were the famous city was colossal III
its dimensions. Everybody met had the air OF
searching il the ground, and was told they were
looking for old coins buried for many centuries. The
OF the villages either hand of us could only
dimly gather from the pronunciation OF my fellow
travellers. had been particularly warned never 70
rouse their suspicious by consulting map. MY
only method OF obtaining intorination on any point
10 simulate the utmost indifference concerning
means OF isostng myself. They pretended. at first.
that this pone for mutual security against
former 1 found nearer home. Ihe cupiaiy anu
rascality of my guides was astonishing.
birds vIKw OF rHE COUNTRY
Wheeled carriages are here unknown. None OF tno
natives but those who have been to Cabul have even
the conception of our modern mode OF locomoaon.
The Governors Envoy was in transports or deight
because he had there seen yellow landau. which
had been imported from England by the Alneer ana
made daily promena.ies along the single carriage
road Of Cabul. Sometimes caravan or
canels swept by, having closed sedans on
both sides. and in each of Them woman.
The beauties of Afehanistan invariably take the air
on camels. and their elders being held in contempt
by public opinion. go on donkey-back In every
village on may little holes drilled in the mud
walls, and these. you learn are the doors OF tho
harems, aud only be entered on all fours. Such
women as saw-and was never allowed TO catch
glimpso of them save at a distancc-had white linen
caps drawn tightly over the head and a long sheet
covering the body with trousers OF colored silk just
peeping underneath. Their faces We're veiled. and
my notions of Afghan womanhood were mainly
modelled certain little girls met. all OF them
being very thin having gold and silver rings in their
lett nostrils and extraordinarily small heads. While
making those discoveries also learned that tho
Governors ambassador had been getting quietly
drunk. and l was trying to profit by his
condition and make him discuss matters OF
state when his conrade interfered, and so
silence had been imposed on them both. Much as
this worried me. III my position as Journalist
hunting for facts, at the sane time remembered
General Rasgonoffs warning and coIlsoed myself
with the hope that the Governor OF Mazarisherif
would be more communicative. Meanwhile l
scrawled the names of all points OF interest pri-
vately my shirt cuff. Once the envoy rose in
his stirrups and waving his arm with theatrical
gesture toward distant wood. cried '.Balkh!" and
then relapsed into instant silence as though the
effort had paralyzed him. At Madam Devel wo
met by new officer. so like an Irishman in
across my mind. 'Do you speak Engllsh? l
whispered. The officer opened his eyes in such
suspicious. would have the new
conner Irishman despite his Afghan tunc
and the Koran verse engraved on his belt. The
English crown worked on his saddle cloth. and
beneath letters of the Twelfth British Hussars.
He called himself Khan, OF course. He gave
to understand that he was attached to my person
the OF tho journey, and with all misgiv-
ings was bound to accept his services; and was
overjoycd when on the point of starting anew, we
were joined by a Bokharan officer whom had pro
viously employed to carry of my letters, and
VINO WAS UNWILLING let luc c1ter
aided and alone.
ON THE CONFINES OF -I-sHEnIFF.
The panorama OF mud villages and arid wastes, OF
zebus ana storks, OF turbans and tunics had gone
on unrolling itself for miles before we nearcd tho
zigzag paths that lead to Mazar-i-sherih. Cannon
were fired at approach, and the smoke cleared
away there emerged from it the similitude OF that
gallant warrior of comic opera, General Boum,
Commander of the Grand Duchess army, being, in
deed, the first fat l had met in the country,
sparkling with gilt rrappings with English cavalry
sabre at his side and star on his breast and hold
eIaApiA
After the usual ceremonies he escorted me
into the city aud ! was shown the house
yard, where tall plane trees arc Inirrored In
stagnant pool. From their branches was suspended
awning OF white calico over high wooden
scaffold, to the right of which q magnificent
garden, to the left residence OF whitowashed
bricks. commanding from its roof m admirable
view of the city. was installed in rckety sofa,
covered with yellow ana crimson satin, and my
friend, General Boum put his troops at my service
for "tew manGuvres. The drummer begins
solo, which sends everybody into raptures The
General, tho Governors envoy and the rest OF us
begin to march solemnly round and round the scat
You can conceive nothing more ridiculous Finally.
raised my straw hat, shouted wildly "Hurrah!'
aud the whole ceremony was brought to an abrupt
private opportunity to tell me OF the risks ran
through having no passport from the Ameer OF
Cabul. "These people have received us without ri-
serve,' he added, ''becauso they iancy we havo
letters for the Ameer Ono such letter 1T is abso-
lutely necessary to concoct." had in my pocket
NV original request for the passport 1 slipped 1t
into am envelope and was handing it to the officer
when General Boum advanced ma1estically and said
that the Governor wished to my credentials.
Not without trepidaton let the party so, my friend
of Bckhara with the letter. tho General with his
troops
THE STORM BURSTS.
II was just hour later that all my staf came
flying in helter-skelter and frightened to death
Their faces were blanched their limbs trembling,
their teeth chatterng. Not word could get from
them. At length the cook. whose culinary functions
were supplemented by those cashier and who was
ted with having the clearest head in the house
hold, explains, after much stammering and hesita-
ton that the senries have just received srictest
instructions from the Governor to cut all heads
off, Not one Of us is to be spared The cook assures
me that he had the soldiers casting lots tor
1. Can he possibly have opened the letter? II he
has. I shall learn 1t from his fellows
faces. As this flashed through i,s my brain h.
house, from which. they told me- the sentries
were clearly in sight. SO. indeed. found it. and
had sooner shown my face upon the housetop
than sentry's musket was levelled at me. judged
from it's direction that the ball would pass ton feet
TO the lett me- therefore stood motionless at
my post OF vantage. The sentrys shout reused his
Comrades who set up adeatening clainor ana urged
him to fire. He hesitated for an instant, then
dropped his muskot and picking up a large stone,
threw it ut my face. and as he did so recognized
him as one OF those who had just now been paying
said l. ana knowing that it Was seess to struggle
unaided against the current of human indignation
to stem inurdatop. fastened to ind my
Bokharan officer.
SHAKING THE DUST FROM PEET.
He had already seen the Governor and learned that
my letter to tho Aneer had been opened by him, and
that my subterruge had been found very little to his
TASTE The officer, with great presence OF mind, had
explained that as soon As the Governor had received
us we would have taken him into our confidence.
and that in any case he was responsible for our
safety. The Governor paid very little attention to
tins explanation. His first intention was to keep mo
for all indefinite time till he heard from the Ameer.
The Bokharan's energy somewhat daunted MIN.
Finally he gave orders that was to make the best OK
my journey home again. No sooner ordered than
executed. There no time Tor arSu-
mcnt. "Up." was the word. and route.
Twenty minutes later, through tho darkness
some half dozen horseInen, We made our hurried
escape doubling the length of each stage lest the
Governor should have time to repent OF letting US
no. Nor did we breathe freely till the Amou Daro
was fairly crossed. Next day wo were at ShiraDad,
seven days later at Tashkend. Then for the hrst
time learned what nobody in Afghanstan seemed
TO know--that the WAS Mt an end with thai
ncws my task closed. had intended to get to
Cabul and that failed no fault of mine. mad
set foot on Afghan soil and that was something.
knew what 1t is like and had brought away from its