THE SKETCHES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2310, 9 June 1898, Page 49

THE SKETCHES.

THE AMEfcR AS I KNOW HIM.

Told by his Lady Physician, Lillias Hamilton, M.D., in Pearson's Magazine.

I first saw the Ameer about three days after my arrival in Cabul. It is his custom to let guests, newly appointed Government officials and others, recover from the fatigues of their journey before he receives them, and I, for one, was very thankful for the respite. He was then occupying his favourite town residence, and, as the weather was bright [ and warm, I was received in the upstairs verandah overlooking the garden, which I reached without going inside the house at all, as the principal staircase is outside, and leads straight from the garden up to one of the ante-rooms. The Boston Serai, as it is called, is little more than a villa, but, being only intended for the Ameer himself and a few pages and servants, there is ample room in it to meet every requirement. Downstairs, besides the servants' rooms and offices, there is a large reception room, generally as a waiting room, and leading from that :s the Ameer's own private winter apartment, along one side of which, is the flower room, taking the place a conservatory would in our houses, though it is built on totally different principles. In the spring he moves upstairs, so as to be able to look out on the garden, and watch the shadows on the snow-covered hills. I never met anyone . more fond of i scenery, or, indeed, of anything that is beautiful, than is the Ameer. He occupies much of' his spare time in gardening, and cultivates Japanese pumpkins on account cf their bright colours, and carrots for thsir foliage ; but for flowers, especially sweetscented ones, he has a perfect passion, and contrives to have plenty all the year rounX It may seem strange to many that a man •with his reputation for cruelty should occupy himself so much with the refinements and elegancies of life, but it is nevertheless one of his chief characteristics. Besides his love of flowers, he is very fond of singing birds, which he keeps in wonderful French cages in all of his verandahs.

He is very particular in the arrangement of his household. There is nothing of that slatternly untidiness, combined with lavish expenditure, in the Ameer's establishment that characterises the residences of Indian princes. Except on state occasions, when he dresses in a sort of European uniform, he wears a long loose coat made of some lovely pale coloured French brocade or satin, line 5 in winter with fur — sable, stone-marten, or red foxes' feet, perhaps — and in summer with the shot glace silks that come from Bukhara. Harmonising with these, but seldom matching them, are his skull cap and handkerchief, the whole making a charming mass of colour with his couch, which is draped in the most elaborate style, and is constantly being altered. In summer it is generally covered with silks and satins, and in winter with Cashmere shawls, furs, etc., and has a velvet valance bordered with a massive gold fringe. I have constantly seen him throw off a shawl that offended his eye because it did not harmonise with the rest and order another j and when he chooses his handkerchiefs for the day (never less than three or four, for he snuffs, as do most Afghans) he mechanically, as it were, holds first one and then another up against his coat, and, if he does not fancy the shade, throws that one down and takes juksi»afc]ier.v aftA §£ pa u&iil fc& & satisfied*.

talking all the time, as if he were hardly conscious of what he was doings What struck me most in his personal appearance was that; he was too broad for his height. He would have been a very fine man indeed had he only been four inches taller. I should say he was about five feet nine or ten ; but he looks less, partly on account of his extreme breadth, and partly because he is so much crippl.'d with gout. His black, bushy beard, heavy eyebrows, and bright colour on an olive complexion have been described by everyone who has written about him. His courtesy and kindliness with which he bids one welcome "to his far-away capital impresses the nsw comer most deeply 4 These are the times when lie unbends, when he is (,hc nimute gentleman, and not the stern ruls>r~ v'a>in"bQ inquires after one's parents and one's fcom?, and'expresses the hope that his visitors wiil be happy and comfortable, and will let him know if there is anything they will fcpeciaily require. Tea, fruits, and sweets were brought in, according to the custom of the country, I and he and many of his courtiers and pages partook of some refreshment ; there was no sort of ceremony, though one felb his presence all the time, and was conscious that everyone else did the same. During the whole of my stay at the palaie [I felt I was not only living in a strange , country, but in strange times — as though I j had gone back hundreds of years, to the days •of Saul or Solomon, when Ijhe servants , reasoned with their masters,- and were on , quite a familiar footing with them, until per- | chance they neglected their duties — suddenly ' to find themselves thrown out of favour and possibly into prison. I got into the habit of treating them in the same way myself ; I indeed, I should have gained nothing if I . ' had tried to keep them in what we would '' , call "their places." They would not have [ understood it ; they were not accustomed to l ; it. Moreover, you could never be quite sure j j of what their places were, they changed ] about, so. I shall never forget my surprise i when one day I met the Ameer's old door- , ; keeper, riding some distance outside Cabal, i I surrounded by quite a retinue of servants, i ■ He was on his way to Kandahar, of which [ t'ity he had just been made • Governor ! I Several of the Ameer's own relatives ar3 table servants ; that is," indeed, rather a ) coveted post, as it' often means advancement. | But when they have laid v the cloth — on the floor, of course — and placed the dishes upon it,, they sit down and partake 'of the repast with the rest of the courtiers. The Ameer has his meal on a couch. ' • I soon discarded my cook, who professed to have been trained in India, and often had my principal meal with the courtiers in true Afghan style, for the Afghan food is delicious when properly prepared, though it is so rich I could only take a few mouchfnls at t a time. There is no sort of regularity in the ; Ameer's household. When he is ready in the morning, work begins ; when he is tired, work ceases ; when he wishes to eat, dinner [ is served; when he feels inclined to sleep, '< the court is closed. He seldom rises before noon, but he may be astir by 8 or 9, or even sooner, and then everyone is expected to Ye in instant attendance. The most important of the officials keep a servant waiting at the Court door, e>o that he may leap on to his horse and fly off to his master with the news the moment the Ameer wakes ; for, unless there is some good excuse, he would be sure to be^ censured if absent when wanted. One day when I had been sitting with him, I noticed by the clock that it was about my lunch 1 time, so I got up and went out, explaining where I was going. [ "Are you hungry?" the Ameer said. "No [ I can't say that I am," I said. Had I en- , tered into full particulars, I might have added : " But lam deadly tired." " Then why are you going to eat? What j a strange idea 1" he said. " This is my lunch hour," I explained. "Lunch time? Who made it your lunch time? And what has time to do with it?" he asked. " I should have thought appetite was what had to be consulted, no*, time." I tried to explain the principles on which our households in England are carried on. He was much amused. "Ah!"' he said; "I understand now. You eat when it suits the servants. A strange idea that. Do all English people eat when the servants bring the food, whether they are hungry or not? Do the Queen and the Prince of Wales submit i lo these regulations ?" ! Ko explanation that I could give ever satisfied him. It was the subject of perpetual chuff every time I went to a meal. -