, 1880-05-12

NAJ Va
wilful destruction, and the building i'm
what is known as the Ameer's garden in
the Bala Hissar, from which General
Roberts proclamation was read on the
first arrival of the troops, was all but des-
troyed by fire.
1t is difficult to convey to the untrayel-
led western mind an idea of what Cabul is
like; though easy enough to any one who
has wandered as far east as Cairo. 1t
would not help the former class of readers
to say it resembles Bagdad, which it does,
subtracting the various Christian churches.
and MahOmedan tombs of Bagdad and the
really handsome barracks and public build
ings which the Turks have erected. In
truth, all ASiatic cities have the strongest
family resemblance, and have little to dis
tlnguiSh them from one another, unless the
introduction of foreigners as permanent
residents, or the free adoption of Western
ideas by the native population, has reNolu-
tionized the native ideas of comfort and
convenience. Cabul is as yet free from
either of these elements of change and i'm
proyement, and remains to this day just
what we may suppose it to have been IN
the days when Timour Shah first made it
his capital. In its general aspect it is q
mere conglomeration of mud walls and
houses, most of the latter OF the meaneSt
class, but all constructed with a view to
privacy and concealment, as is usual IN
Mahomedan countries. 1t is permeated
by filthy and narrow lanes, which at this
season are ankle-deep i'll mud and snowy
SluSh, and are always the natural resting
place for such filth and refuse as the lnha-
bitants, who are not very nice, hnd too
offensive to retain within their OWN walls.
Cabul is an unwalled town, but the want
of walls is supplied to some extent by the
style in which the outlying houses are
generally ~built-namely, with blank outer
walls enclosing open courtyardS, round
which the rooms occupied by the family
find place. The ambition of the lower
classes is satisfied with q single storey only,
but the better class always have q second
storey, and each house then becomes a
regular fortress. A more undesirable
town, chiefly for this reason, and from the~
n%arr0wnesS and intricacy of its lanes, for
troops to have to act in it would be lmpoS-
Sible to find. The roofs of tho houses are
all fiat, and of mud, and generally made
private by a parapet SIT. or Att. high round
the outer circumference This gives IL
strange uniformity of appearance to the
0Wn when viewed from the hills above,
and impreSSeS the observer with the little
IN NhICh "OuAI w pAOAVSNN upOH ohO
place by artillery fire from however advan-
t~ageOuS a position.
There are two exceptions to the general
~ tOrtuOuS character of the Cabul streets,
and they are to be found i'll the part deVOt-
ed to business. The first of these is the
ShOr Bazaar, a long straight street running
nearly east and west, and divided the city
into two unequal parts. This bazaar is
devoted to the sale of every description Of
article of luxury, from the silks and tinery
of the Zenana to the China teacups which
are such an Indispensable appendage to
even the most mo1est Afghan household.
The wares arc exhibited, in the fashion
common to the East, in a narrow %verandah,
elevated about BIT. above the level OF the
street, with perhaps a scarcely larger
enclosed space behind, where the bulkier
articles are stored. The owners of the
shops sit cross-legged on the ground, with
a pan of hot GOALS at this season to keep
life in their fingers and toes; and it Isl
popularity with them that they show no
eagerness whatever to sell their wares,
such as is generally observable in Eastern
bazaars, where a supposed customer is
sometimes almost torn in pieces by rival
dealers; but after quietly exhibiting any
article demanded, and asking for it an
obviously ridiculous price, they return it
to it's shelf without a word OF remark or a
hint at abatement, and are quite inditfer-
ent if the customer betakes himself
straightway to the adjoining rival shop.