, 1880-05-12

0a"uicAS-I NoIy HouIlSHIHS brduo Ill %
country where every one rides who can
afford lt-and the various aItiicers in
wood, iron, and brass, and the ~suppliers of
every sort of household necessaries, from a
basket of nails and old iron to the fantas-
tic shoes worn by the highest class of
Afghan ladies. The course of this long
street is about parallel to the Shor Bazaar,
and crosses the. Cabul river by a rude
bridge old enough to have seen the passage
of Timour Shah's professions, and the
haunt at present of innumerable beggars.
1hls, by the way, is a class which infeSts
every street and lane Of Cabul and it's envi.
rons; and the appeal for aims is in
cessant, and is renewed for every individu-
al passer-by. The appearance of these
unfortunate beggars Is most pitiable; but
! imagine they lave reaped a less album
liant harvest from the English occupation
IMAM any other class Of the population-not
tlat their appeals are wanting in pathos
or addressed to IMPLYING ears, but the
copper coin of tho country is ~inconvenient
TO carry, and the English in Cabul follow
ing the custom in India, rarely carry the
current coin of the realm In their pockets.
This bazaar, like the Sbor Bazaar, is inces-
sanity crowded by buyers, and by horse
men and pedestrians of all classes and it
is no uncommon thing for the whole
moving mass to be brought to a stand for
some minutes by the passage of a long
string OF loaded mules or camels, which
blocks up almost the entire roadway of the
narrow streets. The Char-Chowk Bazaar
was the bazaar in which the body of Sir
William MacNaghten was said to have
been exposed and ~dishonoured in Deem
Der, 1871, and it was therefore selected by
General Pollock for redistribution the follow
ing year. The injury it then received has
been only partially repaired, and in parti-
cular a channel OF running water, with
reservoirs at each of the -four quadrangles,
which was one of its original embellish-
mentS, has ceased t%oeXist, and the reservoirs
which still remain, are dry and choked
with rubbish.
Female figures are rare in the streets of
Cabul. though ghoSt-like forms occasional
~ meet the eye tramping on foot through
thes muddy lanes and buying simple arti.
Gle for household use at the stalls of the
various vendors. The form and appear
ance OF the b0orka, or shro dixie sheet
which envelopes the Afghan woman when
abroad. will be familiar to most readers,
OF all female costumes it is surely the
ugliest and least graceful that ever was
invented but the completeness of the dis
gulse awakenS a certain feeling of curiosity
i'll the behOlder to know what it ~conceals.
l. have little doubt that in 80 cases out of
100, where met with in the streets O fCabul
the boorka c~onceals something which it
would give the beholder very little plea
sure to see. 1t is not to be supposed that
any Afghan lady of good position would
set her delicate feet in the filthy mud of a
Cabul street and the few female figures
which meet the eye are, [ have no doubt,
those of SOM household drudge or house
keeper in humble life catering for the
wants of a mistress or Woodworking hus-
band. 1t is the fashion to fancy that the
bOorka, when worn abroad, always con-
ceaIs some intrigue, and that in countries
where it is used the morals of the female
sex are of the ~loosest kind. 1t is very
commonly forgotten what a dreadful penalty
any indiscretion on the part of woman
carries in strict Mahomedan countries,
and, given the inclination, / greatly
doubt if the danger incurred by indulging
it does not generally turn the scale in
favour of virtue. | do not forget how
Kaye attributed the Afghan outbreak of
184I in a great measure to the immorali.
ties of the English officers. In those
days several officers of the Cabul Army
of Occupation had houses in the city of
Cabul, and possessed facilities for intrigue
which arc certainly not shared by their
successors of the present army, who live,
without exception, in Sherpur. But /
have questioned Intelligent Afghans on