THE CHARACTER AND COSTUME OF AFGHAUNISTAN From original sketches by Dr James Atkinson, Superintending Surgeon of the Army of the Indus; written by Captain Lockyer Willis Hart, of the 22nd Bombay Native Infantry; Lithographed by Charles Hague TITLE PAGE - ENTRANCE TO THE KHYBER PASS FROM THE PUNJAB The entrance to this far-famed defile from the territory of thesikhs, with the caste of Futtehgurh erected by Runjeet Sing in 1837, is here represented. The fierce and warlike tribes inhabiting “This Dreaded Pass” have ever claimed and enforced their right of levying tribute from all that traversed it. The great Nadir Shah himself on his march to the conquest of Northern Italy was forced to purchase the free passage of his army from its chiefs, nor were the Doranee Monarchs of Kabul in the plenitude of their power, exempt from the like demand. It has been left to the British Indian army to prove to its wild and lawless inhabitants that neither the natural obstacles of their rugged and precipitous mountains or their artificial defences raised by them could arrest its daring progress. The military skill and undaunted valour displayed by the troops under General Sir George Pollock in April, 1842, will ever cause the forcing of the Khyber Pass to rank as one of the most glorious feats of arms in the annals of Indian warfare. In the foreground is a group of a Khyberee, a Beeloochee, and an Affghan, showing the different costumes of these tribes. The former is seated on the ground, while the latter occupy respectively the right and left hand of the drawing. Plate I KURACHEE, LOWER SINDE - A SINDAN AND ATTENDANTS The chief person of this group was ordered by their Highnesses, the Umeers of Sinde, to accompany the 22nd Bombay Infantry on the part of their government, during its voyage up the river Indus, as when the British troops first occupied that country, the supposed ill-will of its rulers, deterred the people from furnishing supplies without orders from the Court. The head dress worn by him and his followers is the national cap of Sinde. Its form is cylindrical, and the height about eight inches, with a narrow projection rim round the top. They are made of coloured cloth, quilted and lined with buckram: some are ornamented with brocade and velvet. The dress of the attendants is the usual costume of the lower classes. Persons of respectability put on over it a loose garment, reaching nearly to the ankles. The close fitting trousers and short-skirted coat of the principal figures are not common. The use of tobacco generally prevails among the people. An earthenware vessel (as seen in the hand of the servant) is the usual apparatus for smoking; the quantity of water contained in its large bowl, rendering less noxious the compound of opium mixed with the leaf inhaled through it. Idle or employed, the pipe is a Sindian's constant companion. The tailor, the blacksmith, the carpenter, the weaver, all have it by their sides whilst at work: on the boats of the Indus it is placed in front of the helmsman for the refreshment of himself and crew; even the peasant cannot labour in the fields, unless under its exhilarating influence. In so level a county the camel is an invaluable animal. Great numbers of them are reared in all parts, but particularly in the Delta. They are so used, not only for the transport of merchandise and for pleasure, but also for agricultural purpose. Those for riding are groomed with much care, and are preferred to horses for travelling. The saddle is a wooden frame, long enough for two persons to sit on, over which is placed a cushion, so padded as to relieve the rider from the uneasy gait fo the animal. Kurachee, a thriving town of upwards of thirteen thousand inhabitants, is the only sea-port of Sinde. It was taken possession of by the reserve force of Lord Keane's army, under Brigadier Valiant, in February 1839, the small fort of Munora guarding the entrance to its harbour having been previously dismantled by the fire of Her Majesty's ship Wellesley. The place was subsequently restored to the Umeers, but a brigade of troops was cantoned in its vicinity. They have now, however, been required to cede it, as also of Tatta on the Indus is perpetuity to the British Government. Plate II STATE PARBE OF THE UMEERS OF SINDE - A SINDIAN WOMAN - PRIEST AND SOLDIER - ANCIENT CASTLE OF SEHWUN ON THE INDUS The “Durya” or sea of Sinde, as the inhabitants of that country designate their noble stream, is navigated by a numerous class of Mahemodans who may be said to pass their lives on its waters. Their large flat bottomed boats carry in addition to the cargo, the wives and families of the crew, for whose accommodation the after part of the vessel is partitioned off. The large spare sail is placed behind the mast; when there is no wind the boat is tracked by the men with ropes fastened to the masthead. The “Jumtees” or stage barges of the Umeers are commodious vessels: some nearly sixty feet long with three masts and sails made of alternate stripes of red and white cloth. They have two cabins connected with each other by a deck; the one in the bow being considered as the post of honour. It is of a pavilion shape, covered with scarlet cloth, and having screens of silk at the doorways. The individual standing on the river's bank, habited in green, is a descendant of the Prophet, one of the priestly race of Syuds, held in the greatest veneration throughout Sinde. No country in Asia is indeed more perfectly priest-ridden. A remarkable ostentation of sanctity pervades all classes, although unfortunately the moral precepts of their faith exert but little influence on their conduct. Near him is a Sindian militaryretainer. O f them as of the people in general it may be said, that they are a strong hardy race of men, rather more fitted for fatigue than for activity, and mostly tall and dark complexioned. In temper the Sindians are proud and impatient, knavish and mean. Their fanaticism, superstition, and despotism is scarcely to be described. There is no zeal but for the propagation of “the Faith”, no spirit but in celebration religious festivals, no liberality but in feeding lazy Syuds, and no taste but in ornamenting old tombs. The female here represented is an inhabitant of the low country. her heavy nose ring of gold fastened by a plait of silk or hair to the back of the head, to prevent its weight tearing the nostrils, is peculiar to that province. Some of the better classes wear a string of small pearls for the same purpose. The town of Sehwun, situated on a branch of the Indus, is commanded on the north side by a singular ancient castle now in ruins, in all probability as old as the age of the Greeks. It consists of a mound of earth sixty feet high by twelve hundred in length and more than seven hundred in breadth, once surrounded from the very ground by a brick wall. The interior presents a mass of broken fragments of pottery. It is surmised that this is the castle in the territories of Sabus Raja alluded to by Quintus Curtius as having been mined by Alexander on his voyage down the Indus. In after times, the Emperor Hoomayoon failed to capture it, but his son Ukbar having besieged it for seven months stormed and dismantled it. At the present day Sehwun has considerable celebrity and sanctity from its containing the tomb of Lall Shah Baz, a holy man of Khorasan, and the patron saint of Sinde. Thousands of pilgrims flock to the consecrated spot, and the monarchs of Kabul and India have often visited the sanctuary. The intention of the present government of India to take possession of the tract of country along the banks of the Indus, so as to secure its free navigation, verifies the correctness of the judgment of the Umeers, that their true line of policy to enable them to retain their independence, was to prevent our obtaining any knowledge of its course or capabilities. The fear and dread entertained by these jealous potentates of the ultimate design of the British authorities induced them in 1830 for a long time perniciously to refuse their permission to Sir A. Burnes, to proceed by the river route to Lahore with the present of horses he was in charge of, sent by the King of England to Runjeet Sing, and their alarm has proved too justly founded. Similar distrust was felt by some of their subjects, as that officer mentions in his travels that among the inhabitants who crowded the banks to see the mission pass, a Syud or Priest, after gazing with astonishment turned to his companions and exclaimed, “Alas Sinde is now gone since the English have seen the river, which the road to its conquest.” In 1839, the first British army landed on its shores, and in 1842, the cession in perpetuity of Kurachee, Tatta, Sukkur, Dukker and Roree has been required from its Rulers. Plate III DADUR - HAJEE EBRAHIM, COMMANDANT OF THE BOLAN RANGERS, AND MEN OF THE BRAHOOEE TRIBE The Brahooces are a pastoral tribe, inhabiting the tract of country south of the Khojuk range, graying their flocks on the tablelands, and in the hills during the summer, and descending to the plains of Kuch Gundava in the winter. Their chief, the renowned Nusseer Khan, was tributary to the Suddozye monarchs, and furnished them with a large quota of troops, but on the decline of that power, many of the districts held by the Brahooees were wrested from them by both Affghans and Sikhs. During the late war, Kelat, the capital of Eastern Beeloochistan was stormed by a force under General Sir Thomas Wilshire, and its ruler Mehrab Khan slain. Some timer after this occurrence, his son Nusseer Khan raised his standard to endeavour to recover the inheritance of his forefathers, and was joined among others by Mahomed Khan, (represented seated on the ground) of the Shahwanee subdivision of the tribe, and chief of the town of Hajee Ka Shuhur, in Kuchee. Subsequent events having placed the Brahooees in alliance with the British government this person served with our troops, and was wounded when with the army retiring from Quetta. Hajee Ebrahim, the Commandant of the Bolan Rangers, a corps raised to keep open the communication through that pass, has his matchlock slung over his shoulder: a Private of the regiment stands near him. On the other side of the drawing is Wsak, Brahooee, (in a dark dress and brocade cap) head of the post-office department at Dadur, and one of his men. The only part of the costume of the Brahooees deserving remark, as differing from that of other tribes in the neighbourhood, is their head dress. The small skull cap is as often worn without as with a turban round it while over the high circular one, nothing more than a loose cloth is ever thrown. They cultivate the growth of their hair with great care, but are by no means cleanly in their persons. Among the poorer class, sandals made of grass are in common use: they protect the foot from stones, and give it a firm hold in climbing the mountain passes. With them the produce of their flocks is their chief food; a wild berry, dried and pounded serving as a substitute for grain. For the winter consumption of those families, which do not migrate to the plains, the carcases of sheep are salted and dried in the sun. The principal bones being extracted, the limbs are extended with small sticks, and these flitches of mutton thus prepared keep wholesome a long time. The town of Dadur, in Kuchee, is situated four miles from the mouth of the Bolan Pass. It was plundered and burnt by the followers of Nusseer Khan, when he came down from the hills in October, 1840, but after the dispersion of this force by the troops under Major Boscawen H. M. 40th Regiment, the people returned to their habitations, and it was soon restored to its former state. Plate IV KAUKERS OF THE BOLAN RANGE The Kaukers inhabit the SouthEastern confines of Afghanistan, the greater part of which country is mountainous and unfertile. They are rude in their manners, and much given to robbery and murder. The Bolan Pass is infested by them: nor at any time could caravans traverse it, unless under the protection of strongescorts. In that neighbourhood they war, during winter, a short close jacket of sheep's skin, with an upper garment or cloak of felt, made with sleeves closed at the end, which they use as pockets to carry provisions in. The felt is manufactured of wool. The women knead it in their hands till it assumes a consistency: it is then spread to size required, and, when finished, is from a quarter to half an inch thick, and soft and pliant. Mutton, or goat's flesh, cut into small pieces and roasted on their ramrods, forms their chief food. When they possess grain, it is pounded and baked by being plastered on a heated stone. The figure on the right hand of the drawing, as also the one with a small cap on his head, are petty Chieftains. The costume of the latter is nearly similar to that of the inhabitants of the plains. The man on the left (naked from the middle upwards as they go during the summer) was sketches while chanting the exploits of a successful leader, their wars with rival tribes being always a favourite theme with this wild people. The march of Lord Keane's army, with its immense train of baggage and cattle through the Bolan Pass, drew to that quarter crowds of Kaukers, Beeloochees, Brahooees, and other plundering hordes: and although they suffered severely when in contact with the troops, numbers of the defenseless camp followers perished at their hands, under circumstances of the most revolting cruelty. The slaughter of an idolatrous Hindoo was considered a meritorious act, as ensuring him a passport to paradise. Mahomedans were murdered on the plea that they had disgraced their creed by serving infidels. When at Quetta, Sir W. Macnaughten ordered a corps of eight hundred men to be raised from the tribes in that vicinity, to be employed in keeping the pass open, but this measure had not the effect desired, and they were subsequently disbanded. Plate V FORT OF KILLEH ABDOOLEH. TROOPERS OF THE AUCHUKZYE HORSE The fort of Killeh Abdooleh, situated in the vicinity of the Khojuk Pass, belongs to Abdooleh Khan, Chief of the Auchukzyes, a branch of the Barukzye tribe, inhabiting that mountain range and the adjoining plains. They are ranked among the wildest of the Dooranees, their only occupations being pasturage and plunder. Besides their vast herds of camels, they breed many horses. They are in general large and strong men, and live almost entirely on mutton and goat's flesh, eating but little grain. Skill in theft, and boldness in robbery, are great qualities with them. In their fierce and frequent attacks on the baggage of Lord Keane's army, they suffered severely. Not only did they keep up an incessant fire on the troops from the shelter of the mountain sides, but occasioned much annoyance and some loss by rolling down large fragments of rock from the craggs bordering the narrow path. To keep open the communication through their country, a body of two hundred horsemen, raised from among them, by Lieutenant Bosanquet, 16th Bengal Infantry, was stationed in the fort. A detachment of the 20th Bombay Infantry was subsequently sent to strengthen the post, but circumstances rendering its withdrawal necessary, the Auchukzyes took advantage of the opportunity to desert the enemy, cutting down some of the Infantry as they went off. In the plate, their Commander, Russaldar Ghoolam Khan, is represented on horseback, while tow dismounted troopers occupy the foreground. Their uniform was a tunic of green cloth, and they were armed with matchlock, sword, and shield. Plate VI A DOORANEE NOBLE AND HIS ATTENDANT AT THE PALACE, CANDAHAR The Nobleman and his attendant here depicted belong to the Dooranee tribe of Afghans, and Candahar, their principal city, was in the reign of Ahmed Shah, the capital of the empire. In the year 1839, it was garrisoned by a force from the army of Lord Keane, under Major General Sir William Nott, and his troops the constantly recurring insurrections of the Chieftains in the neighbourhood have given ample employment. To overawe the disaffected in this district, it was the intention of Shah Shoojau to have himself visited the city, but circumstances not permitting him to leave Cabul, he ordered two of his sons thither. Instructions were at the same time given to embody two corps of Cavalry from among the Dooranees. Previous, however, to the arrival of the Princes, a party of the Shah's troops collecting tribute near Giriskh, were defeated with the loss of their guns, and Captain Woodburn of the 44th Bengal Infantry was in consequence sent out with a detachment, which on the 3rd of July, 1841, gained a complete victory over the insurgent Chief Uktar Khan and his Dooranee force near the river Helmund. Speedily recollecting his scattered troops, this Chieftain again appeared in arms, only to experience on the 17th of the following month another signal defeat near Secunderabad, by a brigade under Captain Griffin, 24th Bengal Infantry. In January, 1842, Prince Sufter Jung fled from the British camp and joined the rebels, but he and his Dooranee allies were speedily put to flight. Making common cause with their hitherto inveterate enemies the Giljees, in March they again advanced, and on a part of the garrison moving out to attack them, they detached a large body to assault the city, but were driven back with great loss. During the absence of Colonel Wymer's detachment to relieve Kelat-e-Giljee, the Dooranees made another and desperate effort to obtain possession of the place. They were, however, met by the British beyond the walls and dispersed with great slaughter. Many of theChiefs then surrendered themselves, but orders having lately been issued for the withdrawal of the garrison, they have been left to fight for supremacy among themselves, and the country is now in a complete state of anarchy. The interior of the Palace, as seen in the drawing, is adorned with elaborate carving in wood, and has, like most of the houses of the rich, its walls plastered with stucco. It is of light summerhouse construction, and its courts are embellished with trees and fountains. Plate VII FORT OF KELAT-E-GILJEE, A CHIEFTAIN & FEMALE OF THE GILJEE TRIBE & HUZZAREH PEASANTS The Giljee tribe, one the most celebrated of the Afghans, although reduced to subjection by the Dooranees, have not yetforgotten their ancient rivalry. Their insurrections under the Kabul Monarchs, have been both bold and frequent; nor after the restoration of Shah Shoojau, when many of their forts had been destroyed and Chiefs captured by a force under Major Outram on his return from Kabul the end of 1839, as a punishment for their hostility to the army on its advance, did they cease disturbing the tranquillity of the country. In a tribe where every man capable of bearing arms is a soldier, for a disaffected Chieftain to collect followers is an easy task. In May 1840, Captain Anderson, 59th Bengal Infantry, defeated a large body of them in rebellion against the Shah. In November, the following year, their continued revolts rendered it necessary to detach more troops under Colonel Wymer to reduce them, and after experiencing another reverse at his hands, the fort of Kelat-e-Giljee (eighty miles from Candahar, and one hundred and fifty from Guznee) in the heart of their country, was ordered to rebuilt and garrisoned. Kakur Khan (whose portrait is here given) an influential Chief of the Shaboodeen Khail, at this time surrendered himself to Major Leech; but others of the tribe, awed yet not subdued, attacked and overpowered, between Guznee and Kabul, a small party under Captain Woodburn, 44th Bengal. Infantry. During the late insurrection, the garrison of the fort under Captain Craigie, 20th Bengal Infantry, was completely isolated; and, after the fall of Guznee, and imprisonment and destruction of its defenders, fears were entertained for its safety. The desperate assault of the Giljees on the 20th May 1842 was however, so gallantly met, that they were repulsed with great slaughter. A few days afterwards, a force from Candahar relieved them, and the place was evacuated and destroyed. The dress of the Giljee female, as here shown, is that of the poorer class. It is remarkable for the peculiar manner in which their hair is made to act a partial veil, by being brought over the forehead, plastered with gum, and then wound in a flat circle round a piece of green grass. The Huzzareh are inhabitants of villages near Guznee. Their dress of “urruk,” (a kind of coarsev cloth,) over which, in winter, they wear a sheep's skin pelisse, and the close fitting skull cap, distinguish their costume from that of their Giljee neighbours. One of the group has a charm written by some holy person as a preventive against sickness, folded up in a piece of silk, and sewn on the back of his garment. It has the policy of their Afghan rulers to reduce to insignificance the Huzzareh Chieftains, so that at the present period, notwithstanding their numbers, but few of this tribe have wealth: none power in the state. Plate VIII EXTERIOR OF THE TOMB OF SULTAN MAHMOOD, GUZNEE- ABDOOL RUSHEED KHAN-YACOOB BEG, TOORKUMUN, AMBASSADOR FROM KHIVA TO CABUL About three miles from the fortress of Guznee, in a garden on the Cabul road, walled round and full of mulberry trees, is situated the sepulchre and shrine of the renowned iconoclast Sultan Mahmood. It has been suffered to fall to ruin, and broken fragments alone attest the former beauty of its courts and fountains. A pathway of flat stones leads from the gate to the building, which contains the tomb. Fronting is a pointed archway, covering a narrow vestibule, with flat stone seats on either side. Above it are three lozenge shaped ornaments, painted red with white lines. Several pieces of Hindoo sculpture in white marble, some of them said to be fragments of the idol of Somnath, lie scattered in the portico. Strings of ostrich eggs, interwoven with peacock's feathers embellish the upper part of the arch. the vignette at the top of the plate is a representation of the door-way in attested records of this being a portion of the identical relic carried off from India by Mahmood, its peculiar shape and decorations, so essentially different from that of any modern structure, may be considered as worthy of attention. The mace of the conqueror was supposed to have been secreted by the priests under the apprehension that it might be carried off by the British army. It was described to the officers who visited the spot, as an iron bar with a globe at the end, studded with angular points and of great height. Abdool Rusheed Khan, a nephew of Dost Mahomed, fled from Guznee on the advance of the British army, and joined Shah Shoojau, when tow marches from that fortress. The information he was able to afford relative to the preparations of the garrison was of much importance. He afterwards resided at Cabul and was on terms of intimacy with many of the officers but his name does not appear in the records of late events in that quarter. It is probable that like most of the other minor Chieftains, he was obliged to side with the strongest party. In the year 1840, the Khan of Khiva, sent this Toorkumun, by name Yacoob Beg, as an ambassador to the British authorities in Cabul, to request their assistance to enable him to repel the expected attack of the Russians on his capital. His pelisse of dark colour and high sheep-skin cap, called a "Tilpack," mark him as a Toorkumun of the desert. After the battle of Bameean Captain Arthur Conolly, Sixth Bengal Cavalry was deputed to return with him and passing through the Huzzareh districts they reached Khivain safety. It appears that unaware of the calamities which had befallen the British arms in Afghanistan, that confinement, together with the unfortunate Colonel Stoddart, so long a captive in the hands of the merciless Umeer, Buhadoor Khan. The Bnokhare ruler is said to have been instigated to maltreat these British officers by reproaches addressed to him by the Affghan insurgents, tainting him with dreading the consequences should he rid himself of his unhappy prisoners, and contrasting their won bold conduct in having so fearlessly driven the intruding Europeans from their capital. Thus stimulated, the Umeer no longer hesitated to put the final stroke to his cruelty, and the offer of life on the degrading terms of becoming converts to Mahomedanism, having been indignantly rejected, these lamented gentlemen were beheaded by his orders in the yard adjoining their prison. Plate IX INTERIOR OF THE TOMB OF SULTAN MAHMOOD, GUZNEE-KHAN SHEEREEN KHAN, CHIEF OF THE JUWANSHEER KUZZILBASHESHAJEE KHAN, KAUKER The interior of the building, which contains the tomb of this far-famed conqueror, is about twenty-four feet in length by fourteen in breadth. The tomb itself is of polished white marble, and of the usual Mahomedan shape. The inscription on it gives the date of the Monarch's death A.H. 421, or A.D. 1005. At each end is a wooden post adorned with peacock's feathers, supporting a silken canopy of pale blue, variegated with gaudy colours, but now faded and in a tattered condition. Upon the white washed walls are written distichs in Arabic and Persian. Priests dare daily in attendance reading the Koran in honour of the illustrious dead. All sorts of votive offerings are hung up and spread out on the wall: among them is the preserved skin of a large tiger. The door, said to be made of sandal wood, and to be that brought by Mahmood from the Hindoo Temple of Somnath in Kattywar, when he sacked and desecrated that shrine, is in panels, carved and well joined. Each half is formed of two folds hinged together. In height it is about fourteen feet, and the entire width nine. This is the relic which the Sikh Chieftain Runjeet Sing so much coveted as to wish to make its restoration a condition to his affording aid to the cause of Shah Shoojau, but that Monarch replying that his compliance with the demand would disgrace in the eyes of his nation, the request was not insisted on. It has now, however, been brought to India under orders from the Governor General, Lord Ellenborough, by Major General Sir William Nott's force, as a record of the triumph of the British arms, and the humiliation of the Afghans. It is to be restored to the Temple whence it was originally taken. KHAN SHEEREEN KHAN-The Juwansheer tribe of Kuzzilbashes occupies a separate quarter of the city of Cabul, called the Chansoul, which contains nearly two thousand five hundred families within its walls. Their Chief, Khan Sheereen Khan not considering the camp of Shah Shoojau with two thousand of his clan. So long as the King's authority was acknowledged throughout the country, his tribe remained steadfast in their allegiance, but as their small numbers necessitate them to succumb to the paramount power, the successes of the insurgent Chiefs forced them to join their ranks. Kjan Sheereen Khan was present at the conference held by hem with Sir William Macnaughton to treat for the evacuation of the country by the British troops, but was not permitted to attend when his murder was decided on. On the renewal of negotiations subsequent to that melancholy event, this Chieftain was allotted twenty thousand pounds out of the sum required by the insurgents for escorting the force as far as Peshawur. After the murder of King, Pronce Futteh Jung established himself in the Bala Hissar, but was, ere long, forced to give up a tower of that citadel to each of the contending tribes. Khan Sheereen held one on the part of the Kyzzilbashes. At this time, in association with the more moderate party, he endeavoured to open a negotiation with General Sir George Pollock for the liberation of the prisoners, but the defeat of his opponents by Akbar Khan obliging the Kuzzilbashes to acknowledge his authority, put an end to their influence. On the day of the arrival of the British force in Kabul, seven hundred Kuzzilbash horsemen marched towards Bameean under Sir R. Shakspear to their rescue, and the General reports that to the active co-operation of Khan Sheereen Khan, and others of his clan, their escape from captivity may be in a great measure attributed. HAJEE KHAN KAUKER-Taj Mahomed Khan, more generally known as Hajee Khan, belongs to the Kauker tribe of Afghans, near neighbours to the Beeloochees to the south eastward. A soldier of fortune, he was originally in the service of a follower of the Khan of Kelat, then in that of Nuwab Jubbar Khan, and having brought himself to notice during the struggles of the Barukzye brothers for supremacy, became an adherent of Sher dil Khan, one of the Sirdars of Candahar. But the influence of the Kuzzilbash faction in Cabul, being favour of Dost Mahomed Khan, the Hajee justly concluded that he would succeed in establishing himself in power; and being aware of the determination of his brethren to seize and blind their most formidable rival, he determined on founding a claim to his gratitude, and accordingly warned Dost Mahomed by a sign to retire when he was about to enter the apartment, where his fate would have been sealed. To avoid accompanying the Candahar Chiefs when quitted Cabul, he retired to a shrine, and assumed the garb of a religious mendicant, avowing his determination to renounce the world, but no sooner had they left the city than the persuasions of Dost Mahomed to assist him with his advice prevailed, and the district of Bameean was conferred on him as a reward. The consummate treachery by which he inveigled into his power and murdered the Huzzareh Chief of that country rendered his ultimate intentions suspicious to Dost Mahomed himself, and intimation of this feeling on the part of his chief reached the Jajee, in doubt of the reception he might meet with should he place himself in his power, he deemed it prudent ot retire to Koondooz, but after remaining there for some time with Moorad Beg, he himself decided on returning to Kabul. On his arrival, the Umeer at once dismissed him his service, and he was in consequence driven to seek employment under Peshawur Chiefs. Their fortunes declining on the capture of that city by the Sikhs, he once more joined Dost Mahomed, but unable to recover his last position, he proceeded to Candahar, where notwithstanding his faithless conduct on a former occasion, he was honorably received by the Sirdars. In their employ he remained until the advance of a British force induced him to proffer his allegiance to Shah Shoojau, and he was by that monarch ennobled by the title of Nusseerood Dowla and a large estate at the same time bestowed on him. During the halt of the army at Candahr, he intrigued with the Giljee Chiefs to ensure himself in case of a reverse, but after the capture of Guznee, he expressed himself so hostile to Dost Mahomed that it was supposed he would gladly complete the ruin of a man he apparently so much detested. Under this impression he was ordered to accompany a small party of British officers under Major Outram, sent in pursuit of the flying Umeer, but his backwardness and duplicity plainly shewed he had no intention of allowing his former chief to be captured. For his treachery on this occasion, the king placed him in confinement and afterwards banished him to Honoostan. Late events have induced the Indian government to determine on the release of all the Affghan prisoners, and Jajee Khan willthus have an opportunity of again entering the political arena, but wether the good fortune which has hitherto befriended him throughout his long career of perfidy and dissimulation will still attend him, may be doubted. Plate X SHAH SHOJAU OOL MOOLK The career of this ill-fated Monarch has been one of vicissitudes unparalleled in the modern history of Asiatic Princes. Defeated in his first attempts to mount the throne of his ancestors and forced to seek refuge among the Khyber tribes, he there collected troops, which enabled him to drive his rival from Cabul, and secure the object of his ambition. After a precarious tenure of a few years, during which time the mission of the Honourable M. Elphinstone visited his Court, he was again overpowered and necessitated to seek the doubtful aid of the Sikh Chieftain Runjeet Sing. Subjected to many indignities by that wily potentate, he only escaped from confinement at Lahore, by creeping through the public drain of the city. Obtaining an asylum and a pension for himself and relatives in the British station of Loodiana, he not long afterwards filed in an attempt to take Peshawur. The interval of fifteen years, subsequent to this disaster, he passed in repose in the bosom of his family, but in 1833, he was once more in arms. Ill fortune still attended him, and he fled from Candahar before the victorious troops of Dost Mahomed, to seek protection, after an eventful campaign of two years at his former quarters in India. In 1838, the policy of the British Government inducing it to espouse his cause, opened once more the prospect of sovereignty to him, or, as he emphatically expressed it, “enabled him, before he died, again to see Cabul”. Although conscious of the unpopularity of the means employed to recover his kingdom, he was unable to remedy his position. His endeavors to conciliate his subjects, and, conduct during the late insurrection has been much commented on, but what ever may have been his errors, his fate is deserving of sympathy. Early this year he was induced, by the representations of the Chiefs, to quit the protection of the fortress of the Bala Hissar, and pitch his tents outside Cabul. When proceeding to the camp at Seeah Sung, he was waylaid and shot by a party of matchlock men under Shjau Dowla, eldest son of Nuwab Zuman Khan, in revenge, it is said, for having instigated one of his followers to attempt to assassinate Ukbar Khan at the time he was besieging Jellalabad. It is worthy of remark, that the King was present at the birth of his murderer, on whom, in compliment to the parents, he conferred his own name. He often received his European visitors in a standing posture, and at such times used a staff of antelope's horn to lean on as a support. His “Choga,” or outer garment, hanging loose over his shoulders, is ornamented with jewels at the loops-a slit is made on one side for the end of his dagger to pass through. From the corners of his cap of black velvet hang emerald pendants. The expression of his countenance is grave and care-worn, and frequent exposure to the weather had given a dark hue to his complexion. SHAHZADU TIMOOR-Prince Timoor, the eldest son and heir-apparent of Shah Shoojau was, when his father accompanied the Head Quarters of Lord Keane's army via Guznee, escorted by Sir Claude Wade through the Khyber pass and joined the King after his entry into Kabul. The following year he went to Candahar, but his presence was of no avail in quieting the turbulent Dooranees in that neighbourhood. During the late insurrection, he remained under British protection in that city, and preferring a life of repose to the doubtful allegiance of such unruly subjects as the Afghans have shown themselves to be, he has accompanied General England's force to Sinde on his way back to India. Over his upper garment the Prince wears a “Neemchu” or short jacket lined with fur and worked over with striped silk. His gloves are of the manufacture of Cashmere. SHAHZADU SUFTER JUNG-This Prince is the Shah's youngest and favourite son. It is rumoured that his mother is a Hindoosstanee dancing girl, and his features warrant the supposition. His dissolute and faithless conduct has lost him the respect of both the British and his father's subjects. Sent to Candahar, he remained with our troops until he saw them encompassed by enemies on every side, when, joining the insurgents, he marched with them to attack the city. Driven back at all points by General Sir William Nott, he again advanced but only to experience a more severe defeat. On the 29th of May last he made a final and desperate effort, equally unsuccessful with his former ones, for so signal was the victory gained by the British on that occasion, that he and several of his adherents believing their cause to be hopeless, surrendered themselves the General. Candahar, for six months the object of his futile attempts to secure by force of arms, has, on its being evacuated by our troops, been given over to his charge, and he is now left to dispute for supremacy with his Barukzye rival, Mahomed Kolee Khan. His costume differs from that of his brother, in his wearing a Persian cap, a head dress not at all in favour with the Afghans. The person without his shoes in attendance on him, is his “Pesh Khidmut” or confidential servant. Plate XI 1. MEER ALUM KHAN, UMLEH BASHEE 2. DOST MAHOMED KHAN, CHAHOOSH BASHEE 3. UMEER ALEE, UMLEH BASHEE 4. SURFURAZ KHAN, IKAB BASHEE OFFICERS OF THE KING'S HOUSEHOLD This group of four of the principal “Bashees” or Chiefs of departments of Shah Shoojau's household is introduced to exhibit some specimens of the strangely formed caps worn by them when in attendance at the Palace. They are made of red cloth, bound with gold lace, and their variety and whimsical shapes baffle all description. It was during the duty of the Chaoosh Bashee to present persons admitted to pay their respects, as also to dismiss the Court and communicate orders. The Rikab Bashee had to attend at the King's stirrup when he rode out. The Umleh Bashee acted as criers to announce the titles and business of those admitted to the Hall of Audience. The number of these attendants and the form s required before entering the King's presence, was one of the principal causes of his unpopularity with the Chiefs. With this Monarch, royalism was indeed a rooted passion, and on points of etiquette he was to the last inflexible. The high heeled Tatar boots of these Officers of the Court were always worn by them when on duty, but uniformity in their upper garments was not considered necessary, some having them handsomely embroidered with gold, and others quite plain. Plate XII UMEER DOST MAHOMED KHAN Of the abilities of this chieftain as a ruler, no doubt has ever been expressed, and his whole career tends to the supposition that had he not compromised himself with his late powerful opponents, his authority would ere long have extended over the whole of Afghanistan. Although one of the younger of the twenty-two sons alive at his father's death, his energy and talent, even while untutored and illiterate, enabled him to seize opportunities of advancing his fortunes, and by a firm reliance on his own resources, to secure after many struggles, the paramount power of Kabul. Twice did Shah Shoojau experience defeat at his hands at a time when the envy and ill-concealed attempts of his brothers to supplant him, required his utmost care. By the lower classes under his rule, he was held in much estimation, but his relatives and dependant chiefs considered his pretended moderation and love of justice as mere cloaks to his ambitious policy. Abandoned by his followers when he advanced to Urghundee to oppose Lord Keane's army, and forced to seek refuge in Toorkistan, he baffled the designs of the King of Kokhara to secure his family, and escaping in disguise from that city, proclaimed a holy war, and induced many of the Uzbek chieftains to espouse his cause. But defeated at Bameean by Colonel Dennie, and doubting the fidelity of his allies after the skirmish at Purwan Durreh, he surrendered himself to the British Envoy, and was sent a prisoner to India, where he has been treated with that consideration due to his fallen fortunes. It is reported that he admits having committed two errors in his career: one that he dismissed Sir Alexander Burnes, and the other that he did not slay Jajee Khan Kauker. The recent successful operations of the British army in Afghanistan has induced the Governor General of India to permit him to return to his country, where his name and influence will doubtless soon place him once more at the head of affairs. In the plate the Umeer is represented seated on a carpet; an attendant is holding an umbrella over him. In his dress he was distinguished by his plain white attire, in remarkable contrast to the dashing gold embroidered cloaks and vestments usually worn by the Chiefs about his Court. On his right hand stands the notorious Persian intriguer Abdool Samad, whose double dealing being discovered after Dost Mahomed's unsuccessful campaign against the Sikhs in 1837, was dismissed his service, and retired to Bohara, where his baneful influence with the Bokhara ruler is supposed to have operated to the prejudice of that lamented officer Colonel Stoddart. The next figure is Umeer Khan, a Chiefof the Lohanees, a pastoral and migratory tribe, numbers of whom proceed annually to India, to purchase merchandize for sale in Afghanistan. Reclining on the carpet with a Meerza, or secretary on his right hand, is Jabbbar Khan half brother to the Umeer usually styled the Nuwab; although hospitable and considerate to Europeans, he is, like the rest of his family, rapacious and intriguing. During the time he was in charge of Cahmeer, the valley was attacked by the Sikhs, and the Nuwab after being badly wounded in a vain attempt to arrest their progress, was forced to evacuate it. In consequence of Dost Mahomed depriving him of the government of the Giljee country, he intrigued with Shah Shoojau on his advance to Candahar in 1832, but the defeat of the King put an end to his hopes of being restored to it. After the capture of Guznee he was sent on a mission to the British camp, but not succeeding in making terms for his brother, he accompanied him on his flight to Khooloom, and was left there in charge of their families when Dost Mahomed and his son Ukbar Khan, sought the aid of the King of Bokhara. At this time the British authorities having entered into negotiations with him, he brought the families to Urghundee, whence they were sent to Guznee, while he and his followers were allowed to take up their residence near Kabul. In the late insurrection, he took no very active part. His liberality in supplying the unfortunate Hindoostanees begging their bread in the capital, with took, is mentioned in the late accounts from that quarter, in high terms of praise. To the left of the Umeer, are Abdool Ghuneh Khan and Abdool Ghufoor Khan, two of his infant sons, who were with their father when a captive in India. Plate XIII AGA JAN, AN OFFICER OF THE KOHISSTAN RANGERS.-MEER HUMZU, TROOPER OF THE FIRST REGIMENT, JANBAZ CAVALRY.-A SERJEANT OF AFFGHAN INFANTRY.-AHMED KHAN, PRIVATE KOHISTAN RANGERS. Aga Jan, a Jemedar, (Officer,) belonged to the regiment raised in the Kohistan, and commanded by Lieutenant Maule, Bengal Artillery. They were stationed at Charikar, a small mud fort ever memorable, for the gallant though unavailing defence made in it against thousands of the Kohistanees by a few British Officers and the Shah's regiment of Goorkhas under Captain Codrington, 49th Bengal Infantry. On the fort being attacked, the Rangers deserted and joined their countrymen in the destruction of the British force. In the year 1840, some regiments of Afghan Cavalry denominated “Janbaz,” (A Persian word signifying “Players with life or Desperadoes.”) were raised in Cabul for the service of Shah Shoojau. Meer Humzu, here represented in his full equipment, was a private in the 1st corps commanded by Captain Golding, 2nd Bengal European regiment. They were ordered to Cadahar the following year, and served with the troops employed against the Dooranees. Soon after the commencement of the insurrection, when detached on service with their Commandant and Lieutenant Pattenson, 2nd Bengal Infantry, they entered the tent where these officers were reposing to murder them. Captain Golding they killed on the spot, and left Lieutenant Pattenson for dead witheleven severe wounds. Intelligence of their treachery having reached the British Camp, Captain Leeson with a party of his horse was detached in pursuit, and succeeded in cutting up many of the murderers before they could make good their escape. The Havildar (Serjeant) belonged to a regiment of Afghan Infantry, commanded by Captain Hopkins, 27th Bengal Infantry. When Dost Mahomed advanced with a force of Uzbek on Bameean, he was led to believe that the Janbaz Cavalry and other Afghan troops in the Shah's service would join his standard. Captain Hopkins' corps formed part of the re inforcements sent from Cabul to strengthen that outpost, and in the action, which took place on the 18th September, 1840, one company did desert to the enemy. Many of these men paid a severe penalty for their treachery, being seized and sold as slaves by the defeated Uzbeks on their retreat. The remainder of the regiment was in consequence disarmed and disbanded. One of its Officers who went over to Dost Mahomed on that day, received charge from Ukbar Khan of the European prisoners taken on the retreat of the army, with orders to escort them from Kabul to Bameean. The successes of the troops under Generals Sir George Pollock and Sir William Nott induced him when on the march to listen to the offers made by the prisoners of a large pecuniary reward, should he restore them to their friends, and on an agreement being arranged at the latter place to ensure him the sum of 2000 at once, and a pension of 1200 a year, he set out with them for Cabul, and on the 17th of September last delivered them over, after a captivity of 231 days, into the hands of Sir Richmond Shakespear. Ahmed Khan, Private, Kohistan-Rangers.-This man belonged to the same regiment as Jemedar Aga Jan. His dress and equipment is the summer costume of the inhabitants of the Kohistan, a district celebrated for its loveliness and fertility, but unhappily equally so for the turbulent disposition of its inhabitants. Their matchlocks are small yet handy, and in lieu of swords they carry a long knife, capable of inflicting severe wounds. In addition to the power horn and bullet pouch, the Jemedar has also in his waistband, and a bag of ready filled cartridges hang by a cord round his neck. Plate XIV CABUL-A FULLOODEH STALL, WITH HUZZAREH'S CARRYING SNOW, &c., TO MARKET. The stall where this delicacy is sold is very neatly and tastefully fitted up. A pillar of snow stands in one corner, a fountain plays behind it, while pots of flowers and loaves of sugar are arranged on either side. The month of May is the season for the Fulloodeh, which is a white jelly strained from whet, and drunk with sherbet and snow. So fond are the people of ti that they call it “Rahut-i-jan,” or the solace of life, and in the hot season a draught of it si truly refreshing. One of the Huzzareh's in the foreground is carrying snow for sale. In the winter these people collect it in pits, lined with chaff, where it is rammed down and covered over. When required during the summer, it is cut in pieces, and taken to market on men's back. Another with a bpole slung over his shoulders supports a pile of earthenwarevessels filled with butter-milk separated from each other by slips of wood. A third hods a bag containing “root,” (dried curds pressed into hard lumps) some of which he is bargaining to exchange for bread with the baker's boy seated near him. Plate XV CASTLE OF ZOHAUK-I-MARAN-THE BRITISH COMMANDANT OF SHAH SHOOJAU'S SECOND JANBAZ CAVALRY, AND AFFGHAN TROOPERS OF THE CORPS. The dress worn when on service by the British officers of Shah Shoojau's Janbaz Cavalry, was similar to that in which captain Lockyer Willis Hart, twenty-second regiment Bombay Infantry, who raised and commanded the second corps, is here represented. Afghans, Kuzzilbashes, and Toorkumuns, were enlisted at a fixed monthly allowance finding their own horses, arms and clothing. Many of the men held grants of land on the tenure of this military service, and it was expected that under British control they would gradually acquire a tolerable degree of discipline, and in time form an efficient body of national Cavalry attached to the monarchy. The troopers in the background are in the uniform latterly adopted by the second regiment. This corps served with credit at the battle of Bameeau, was present at Purwan Durreh, and afterwards formed part of Prince Sufter Jung's escort when he was sent to the southward. They accompanied Captain Woodburn's detachment when he defeated the insurgent Dooranees near Giriskh, and were honorably mentioned in the despatches for their spirited behaviour in the action at Secunderabad. Being stationed at Candahar during the insurrection, anxiety for the fate of their families in Kabul induced them to disband themselves, and set out for the capital, but their desertion was not preceded by the commission of any atrocity as in the case of the first regiment, the men of which so treacherously murdered their officers. The extraordinary mass of ancient towns and buildings on the summits of many eminences, called “Zohauk-i-Maran,” or Zohauk of the serpents, is situated on the road between Kabul and Bameean. Although bearing the name of a tyrannical Persian king, cursed, as the legend runs, with a living serpent springing from each shoulder, requiring human brains for their daily food, it is inferred by Mr Masson that like other analogous edifices in similarly secluded sites in Afghanistan, it was a place of sepulchral and religious privacy where the ashes of the illustrious dead of the land were deposited. Springs of water are found all over the mountain, but tradition is silent respecting the period when it was inhabited. Plate XVI BAMEEAN. TAJUKS OF BAMEEAN AND THE KOHISTAN. The term Tajuk is applied to all people of Afghanistan, whose vernacular language is Persian. They reside in villages and are essentially cultivators, never leaving a pastoral life. In general they form the most peaceable class of the population, but in the Kohistan the case is reversed. Turbulent and vindictive their blood feuds are there endless. It is rare to see a man go to hunt or even ride out without being attended by some of hisclan as a guard. To the north of Akrobat, towards Toorkistan, also, they bear no high character. In that quarter, the Tajuk Chiefs, like the notorious Mahomed Ali Beg, of Syghan, often engage in forays into the Huzzareh districts for slaves to sell to the Uzbeks. Some years ago, one of them, the ruler of Kamurd, having been unsuccessful in his “chappaos” for human beings in the territory of his neighbour, deliberately seized the whole of the inhabitants of one of his own villages, and presented them to the Koondooz Chief. The figure on the left hand of the drawing, is a Kohistan Tajuk in his winter dress the child also belongs to that district, as does the cotton cleaner with his basket on his back, on the opposite side. A man and woman of Bameean, complete the group. The scanty dress and squalid appearance of this female, and the dejected look of her helpmates, indicate but too faithfully, the miserable state in which those “Troglodytes” exist in their subterraneous dwellings. Bameean, so celebrated for its two colossal idols, (of which the smaller one is here seen) and innumerable excavations, forming the residence of the greater part of the population, was the station of a British detachment, and the scene of the defeat of Dost Mahomet by Colonel Dennie.It has latterly acquired an additional interest in British estimation, owing to the mud fort at the foot of the mountain being that in which the officers, ladies, and children, captives to Ukbar Khan, were confined when on their march to hopeless slavery in Toorkistan. Happily the Chief in charge of the party was won over to their cause by the promise of a large reward, and restored them to their country and friends. Plate XVII MAHOMED UMEEN KHAN-WALEE OF KHOOLOOM, WITH HIS MINISTER AND ATTENDANTS. This sketch was taken on the summit of the pass of “Dundan Shikun,” (the Tooth-beaker, so called from its steepness and difficulty,) on the occasion of a meeting between the political agents, Dr. P. Lord, and the Walee, to arrange the terms of a treaty of peace. The Uzbek Chief, impressed with a dread of our conquests extending beyond the Affghan frontier, secretly promoted a confederacy among the petty states of Toorkistan, with a view of repelling any encroachments to the North of Bameean, and espoused the cause of Dost Mahomed, after his escape from Bokhara, on the promise of being made his minister in case of success. But that Chieftain having been defeated by Colonel Dennie, the Walee deemed it expedient to request an interview with the British authorities. Each party was to consist of only ten persons, but the Uzbek's dread of treachery induced him to keep a body of two hundred of his followers within call. A carpet was spread on the ground, and the attendants having been ordered to a distance out of hearing, a viva voce treaty was concluded. The features of this man-selling Chief are not prepossessing. He is short in stature, and his habit of keeping one eye closed gives a sinister cast to his countenance. Unlike the generality of this tribe that have but few straggling hairs on their faces, his beard is rather full. The custom of wearing as many as fourof five “chuppuns” or cloaks, gives him a stout appearance. Moola Wulee Shah, his minister, stands by him. Both are dressed in the striped chintzes so universally worn in Toorkistan. Their legs are encased in rolls of cloth in lieu of stockings, over which are drawn thin boots without soles, and then the large heavy ones always worn when out doors. The two attendants holding Jazaeel's (long matchlocks) are clothed in shirts of mail, capable of resisting the cut of a sword. The one with a broad belt round his waist, carries the Walee's tea service in the leathern cases attached to it. Without the means of drinking his favourite beverage no Chieftain ever travels. They partake of it with salt, instead of sugar, and sometimes mix it with fat. The Uzbecks are inveterate slave dealers, (a traffic abhorred by the Afghans,) and the inhabitants of the Huzzareh villages on the frontier are in constant dread of their merciless forays for this purpose, the rapidity of their movements and overwhelming numbers depriving these wretched people of all hope of successful resistance. The Walee of Khooloom took no part in the late insurrection in Afghanistan; but since the flight of Ukbar Khan before the victorious armies of Generals Pollock and Nott, he has furnished him with a strong escort of Uzbeck horsemen to enable him to return to Kabul as soon as they have evacuated the country. Plate XVIII CABUL-RETINUE OF SHAH SHOOJAU OOL MOOLK-MAHOMED SHAH GILJEE, CHIEF EXECUTIONER, GHUFOOR, A MUTILATOR The immediate retinue of Shah Shoojau was composed ot attendants wearing the extraordinary and fanciful costumes here depicted. To each class separate duties were assigned, and when the King appeared in public, a strong body of them in addition to the usual guards were always in attendance. Those having caps with imitation antelope horns at the sides cleared the way in front, others dressed entirely in scarlet and bearing standards of the same colour with the ends tucked into the back of their waistbands to prevent their flapping, moved in lines parallel to his Majesty-the rest either ran alongside or followed in the rear. This form and ceremony so hateful to the Afghans was the King's foible, and sometimes carried to an absurd extent. Mahomed Shah Giljee, who held the office of Chief Executioner, was, as is usual in all despotic states in Asia, one of the household, but the exercise of his duties was rarely required of him, for among his many faults Shah Shoojau cannot be tasked with bloodthirstiness. He had indeed in former years followed the example set him by his competitors for the throne, and rid himself of his enemies when they were in his power, many of his after troubles would have been spared him. The occupation of Ghufoor, the Mutilator differed from that of his comrade inasmuch as he never destroyed life, while the other's blow was always fatal. The punishments he inflicted were cutting off noses, ears, &c., Moola Shukoo, the Prime Minister suffered the latter penalty, when long since he had incurred the King's displeasure, and this circumstance afforded a fertile theme for ridicule to the discontented about the Court but little calculated to elevate the representative of Majesty. Plate XIX CABUL-AFFGHAN AND KUZZILBASH LADIES The costume of the Afghan ladies is simple, nor dies it in any way confine the free motion of the body. Their wide trousers are made out of cloth, silk, or other coloured material; and their upper garments consist of loose yellow, blue, or red jackets, (the outer one edged or embroidered with lace,) which hangs down below the waist. To the arrangement of their hair they devote much of their time. It is plastered down in front with gum, in various forms, while behind they plait it into numerous tails hanging over the shoulders and back. From the lobes of their ears hang large ear-rings, and smaller ones decorate the outer margins. They use rouge, and tip their eyelids with antimony. Their necks and chest are dotted over with shapes of flowers and stars. Pendant over the forehead hang filigreed vinaigrette, containing otto of roses, or other scent. When going out of doors they draw on leggings of cloth, footed with horse leather and gartered at the knee, and envelope their persons in a large garment, called a “Boorka posh,” having eyelet holes in front, which completely prevents their being recognised in the streets. The dress of the Kuzzilash females is, at home, similar to that of the Afghan sisters, but abroad they are distinguished by wearing a veil of black horse hair. The ruddy complexion of the children gives them an interesting appearance while young, but as they grow older they loose it. Plate XX CABUL-A "KUTTAR" OR STRING OF BLIND BEGGARS In Kabul, as in most Asiatic cities, beggars of all degrees of wretchedness abound, and their appeals in the name of the Prophet for relief are both loud and incessant. Among them the “Kuttars” or strings of blind men are the most remarkable. The better to make their way through the crowded streets, as also to select proper persons for solicitation, a one-eyed lad is chosen as leader. He receives the contributions of the charitable, but only to hand them over to his companions: and his tattered habiliment, when compared with the more comfortable clothing, plainly shows that he can appropriate but little to his own benefit. The other figures belong to that numerous vagabond tribe who prefer a life of idleness to one of labour, and fit their profit in so doing. This sketch will recall to mind the story related by the barber in the Arabian Night's Entertainments of his blind brothers companions beating each other mercilessly with their sticks, in the belief that they were chastising a thief who had introduced himself into their dwelling to rob them of their savings. Plate XXI CABAUB SHOP-CABUL The busy scene here depicted, is, to strangers, one of the most striking of the many vocations carried on in the Bazaars of Kabul. The proprietor (a Cashmerian) is seated in the centre of his shop superintending the cooking and serving his customers. In one corner, a Huzzareh servant is engaged in chopping the meat into small pieces, preparatory to its being fixed on wooden skewers for roasting. This operation is carried on in public view to satisfy purchasers of its good quality. The little boy standing in front is fanning the charcoal fire through the irongrating on which the cabaubs are placed. For the convenience of those who do not choose to eat their meals seated, like the poor man in the open street, a room at the back of the shop is appropriated. From it a lad is protruding his head for a fresh supply of the savoury viands, specially requesting that they be given while hot. To the middling and poorer classes of Afghans, who live mostly out of doors, these shops (in the vicinity of which a baker's is always to be found) are a great convenience, as at them a good meal may be obtained for a trifling sum. Plate XXII ATMARAM, PRIME MINISTER OF THE CHIEF OF KOONDOOZ- NAIB MAHOMED SHUREEF-GHOOLAM MAHOMED, BARAKZYE-JAN FISHAN KHAN, PERGAMEE-THE PLAN OF BEGRAM, REG RUWAN AND PART OF THE KOHISTAN Atmaram, a Hindoo, and native of Peshawur, is the Dewan Begee, or Prime Minister of Meer Moorad Beg, the celebrated Chief of Koodooz in Toorkistan, so justly styled by travellers the first hussar in Asia. To his sinister counsels, much of the ill treatment experienced by Mr. Moorcroft, at the hands of this Chieftain, is ascribed; it being well known how largely he profited by the sums of money extorted from that unfortunate gentleman. He was in power when Sir Alex. Burnes visited Koondooy in 1832; and after the surrender of Dost Mahomed in 1840, was sent by his master on a mission to the British authorities in Kabul. He has risen form the meanest origin to his present high estate; and although Hindoos are generally despised by the Uzbeks, nor even permitted to wear turbans, he has not only secured that privilege for himself and his servants, but numbers no less than four hundred slavs in his household. Sir A. Burnes, in his travels, speaks in warm terms of his merits, for to him the merchant is indebted for the protection of his property from plunder, and his person form bondage. The peculiarly folded turban is the only part of his dress which marks him as an idolater, the rest of his costume being that of an Uzbek Chieftains. NAIB MAHOMED SHUREEF.-This well-known individual was first brought to the notice of the British public by the favourable report made of him by Sir A. Burnes, who he accompanied from Peshawur to Kabul, as conductor, in 1832. During the occupation of Afghanistan by the English army, he resided at the capital, and gained the esteem o fall ranks by his hospitality and bonhomie. Fond of good living, and in appearance a very Falstaff, he delighted in giving fetes champetre at his country seat, and nothing could exceed the agreeable manner in which he entertained his guests on these occasions. At the outbreak of the insurrections, his most praiseworthy conduct in committing to the earth the remains of his lamented patron, Sir A. Burnes, and his brother Lieutenant Burnes, is deserving of honourable mention. When the successes of the Shah's opponents rendered Kabul an unsafe residence for friends of the British, he retired to his estate at Kurgha, but latterly returned to the city to endeavour to raise a party in our favour among his own tribe, the Kuzzilhashes. In the struggle for ascendancy, after the murder of the King, he does not appear to have borne a very conspicuous part; but his known good feeling toward Europeans, inducing him to doubt the treatment he might experience from the Afghans, should he remain in the country after its evacuation by the mary, he has accompanied General Sir George Pollock's force on its return to India, and thrown himself on the liberality of the British Government for his future support. GHOLAM MAHOMED BARUKZYE.-Gholam Mahomed was one of the insurgent Chieftains of this great subdivision of the Dooranee tribe, which, when the late Wuzeer Futteh Kahn was at its head, made a more conspicuous figure than any other among the Afghans. Their numbers are estimated at not less than thirty thousand families. He joined the notorious Atta Khan on his approach to Candahar as the avowed champion of Islam. After the flight of Prince Sufter Jung from that city, the Barukzyes made common cause with the Dooranees, in the belief that Shah Shoojau connived at the rebellion to free himself from the control of the British authorities. But the repeated defeats of their united forces by the troops under General Sir William Nott, and the secession of the Prince from their ranks, so dispirited their followers, that t