The start and the wherefore. Unsettled condition of Afghanistan. Departure from Peshawur. JumrÛd Fort and the Watch-tower. The Afghan guard. The Khyber defile. Eccentricities of Rosinante. Lunch at Ali Musjid. Pathan villages. Pathans, their appearance and customs. Arrival at Landi-Kotal Serai. The Shenwari country. Caravan of Traders. Dakka. Dangers of the Kabul River. Mussaks. Camp at Bassawal. Chahardeh. Mountain road by the river. Distant view of Jelalabad.
Arrival at Jelalabad, Reception by the Governor. The Palace. The Town. The Plain. Quarters in the Guest Pavilion. The friendly Khan. Tattang and the gunpowder factory. The Royal gardens at Nimla. The SuffÊd Koh Mountains. Arboreal distribution in Afghanistan. Gundamuk. Assassination of Cavagnari: details of the plot. The “Red bridge.” Commencement of mountainous ascent to Kabul. Jigdilik. Massacre of British in 1837. Former dangers of the valley of Katasang. Enterprising peasants. Tomb in the Sei Baba valley. Burial customs. The Lataband Pass and the Iron Cage. Distant view of Kabul. The AmÎr’s projected road at Lataband. The approach to Kabul. The Lahore Gate.
Position of Kabul. Its defences. AmÎr’s opinion of the Founders of his Capital. Entry into Kabul. Aspect of the Townsmen. Arrival at the Arm Foundry. Visit of the Afghan Official. His appearance. Absence of AmÎr. To be received at the Palace by the Princes. The approach to the Palace. The AmÎr’s Pavilion. Page boys. The Princes Habibullah and Nasrullah. The Reception. Internal arrangement of Pavilion. The earthquake. Abrupt ending of the Reception. Other buildings in the Palace.
The first attendance at an Afghan Hospital. Its arrangement. The drugs and instruments. The Patients. An Interpreter presents himself. Dispensers. Marvellous recovery of the Page boy. Its effect. Buildings near the Hospital. The Durbar Hall and Guest House. The SherpÛr Military Hospital. Lord Roberts and the SherpÛr Cantonment. Adventure with an Afghan soldier. Arrangement of the In-patient Hospital. Diet of Patients. Attendance of Hakims. Storekeepers and their ways.
The Residential streets of Kabul. Their appearance and arrangement. The Police. Criminal Punishments. The Houses. Their internal arrangement. Precautions to ensure privacy. Manner of building for the rich and for the poor. Effect of rain and earthquake. The warming of houses in winter. Afternoon teas. Bath-houses. The Afghan bath.
The unpopular Governor and his toothache. The meeting in the Erg Bazaar. Appearance of the Kabul Bazaars. The shops and their contents. Boots, shoes, and cobblers. Copper workers. The tinning of cooking pots. Impromptu tobacco pipes. Tobacco smoking by the Royal Family. Silk and cotton. “Bargaining.” “Restaurants.” Tea drinking. Confectioners. The baker’s oven. Flour mills. The butcher’s shop. PostÎns and their cost. Furs. Ironmongers. Arms. “The German sword.” The Afghan tulwar. Rifles and pistols. Bows. Silver and gold-smiths. Caps and turbans. Embroidery. Grocers: tea, sugar, soap, and candles, and where they come from. Fruiterers. Tailors. “The Railway Guard.” Costume of the Kabuli townsmen. Personal effect of the AmÎr on costume. Drug shops.
Sir S. Pyne’s adventure in the Kabul river. The Tower on the bank. Minars of Alexander. Mahomedan Mosques. The cry of the Priest. Prayers and Religious Processions. Afghan conception of God. Religious and non-Religious Afghans. The schoolhouse and the lessons. Priests. SÊyids: descendants of the Prophet. The lunatic SÊyid. The Hafiz who was fined. The Dipsomaniac. The Chief of the Police and his ways. Danger of prescribing for a prisoner. “The Thing that walks at night.” The end of the Naib. Death-bed services. The Governor of Bamian. Courtship and weddings among the Afghans. The formal proposal by a Superior Officer. The wedding of Prince Habibullah. Priests as healers of the sick. The “Evil Eye.” Ghosts.
Accidents from machinery in motion. The “dressers of wounds” in Afghanistan. Their methods of treating wounds, and the results of the same. The “Barber surgeons.” Tooth drawing and bleeding. The Hindustani “Doctors.” “Eye Doctors” and their work. The Hakims or Native Physicians. Treatment of disease by the People. Aspect in which European Physicians are viewed by the different Classes.
Jealousy and its results. Sport among the Afghans. The “Sportsmen” among the mountains. Order to join the AmÎr in Turkestan. Preparations. Camp at Chiltan. The Banquet. The Nautch dance. Among the Hindu Kush mountains. The camp in the Hazara country. Courtesy of Jan Mahomed. Mountain paths. Iron spring. The underground river and the AmÎr’s offer. The Red mountain and the Deserted City. Camp in the Valley of Bamian. The English prisoners of 1837. The Petrified Dragon. The Colossal Idols: The Cave-dwellers. The Pass of the “Tooth-breaker.” Ghuzniguk. Story of Ishak’s rebellion. Tash KurghÁn: the Shave and the Hospital. “The Valley of Death.” The Plains of Turkestan and the heat thereof. The Mirage. Arrival at Mazar. The House. Story of the death of AmÎr Shere Ali.
To be “presented.” The Palace Gardens. The AmÎr. Questions asked by His Highness. Punishment of rebellious in Afghanistan. Asiatic motives from European standpoint. AmÎr’s arrangement for my safety. Bazaars and houses of Mazar. The Suburbs. The Military Hospital. The Patients. Afghan appreciation of European medical treatment. The two chief Hakims. Hindustani intrigue. AmÎr’s sense of Justice. The Trial. A Courtier’s influence. The guard of the AmÎr’s table.
