  I would not have thought of inflicting a book on my long-suffering fellow-countrymen, but for the wish expressed by my publishers: for “Every fool describes in these bright days His wondrous journey to some Foreign Court.” In Afghanistan however, difficult of access, and hence comparatively unknown, there have been, since that strong man AmÎr Abdurrahman ascended the Throne, such remarkable changes in the administration of the country, and such strides towards civilization, that it was thought a narrative of life there, throwing, possibly, some light on the personality of the Monarch, and on the “bent” of the people, might be of general interest. The book has been written in the intervals of professional work, and, with its shortcomings of diction and style, the only merit it can claim—that of “local colour”—is due to the fact that it was compiled from the letters I wrote from Afghanistan to her who is now my wife. Wadham Lodge, |
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