THE COURT OF THE AMBER.* THE new edition of this
interesting book makes a timely .appearance. The death of the Ameer has reminded us of the dangers and difficulties which one day may threaten us in Afghanistan. Not even South Africa can turn our eyes away from the country, whose despot is but just dead, and whose policy is once more uncertain. Meanwhile, Dr. Gray does little to solve the mystery. This book is rather picturesque than profound, and though no doubt he produces the im- pression he intends, he says little to explain the ambitions of the Ameer or of his people.
But one thing he makes very clear: Afghanistan is a strange mixture of old and new, of East and West. The modern inventions of Europe are introduced into a society which recalls nothing so vividly as the Arabian Nights. The electric light of London obscures the tallow candles of Kabul. An English tailor supplies the Afghans with ready-made clothes, and the ancient headgear was long since exchanged for felt hats made in London, or the astrachan caps of Russia. But this confusion of habits, trivial as it may seem, is important because it reflects a like confusion of thought Although the Ameer was ever anxious to consult an English doctor, he preferred the advice of native Hakims ; and in spite of an acquired enlightenment, he never forgot that he was a despotic Monarch with a power of life and death over the greatest of his subjects. The savagery of the punishments inflicted by him may well appal our Western consciences. To cut off a hand and plunge the stump into boiling pitch seems to have been the most frequent remedy for a breach of the Jaw. Yet far worse is another form of punishment said to have been introduced from Russia. Malefactors were tied
in the bitter winter of Turkestan naked to a post ; water was thrown over them and they were left to freeze: a strong man would last two days." But hideous as is this cruelty, we must not misunderstand it to the discredit of Abdurrahman. The Ameer, as Dr. Gray says, was simply proclaiming, in language which Asiatics understand, his determination to be King in Afghanistan. He won his country by the sword, and by the sword he kept it. When first he established himself on the throne, the savage tribes who haunted the country, making peaceful pursuits impossible, had to be suppressed with a strong and brutal hand; clemency would have been taken for weakness; and the Ameer's policy of rapid justice and stern punishment has been abundantly justified.
But the Ameer would not have been the great ruler he was had he not been the father, as well as the chastiser, of his people. As Dr. Gray tells us, should a Kabuli "wish to start business for himself he had but to apply to the Aral; who • At the Court of C. Anat. By J. A. Gray, N.B. London: Macmillan and Co. [Cs.) would lend him a sum sufficient for his purposes, and this without interest." Moreover, he educated not only the Court pages, but all others whom he destined for command in his army. Nor was he ever indifferent to the numerous handl. crafts practised in his workshops. He took personal interest not only in the munitions of war, but in all kinds of work in leather and metal. Above all, his attitude to his people was precisely the same as that which we imagine was adopted by his illustrious ancestors Baber and Akbar. An anecdote related by Dr. Gray will make this attitude clearer than much argument :-- "There had once been brought to his Highness as a present a very beautiful shield inlaid with gold. Every one in the Durbar Hall feasted his eyes upon this beautiful thing, and the courtiers edged anxiously nearer the royal chair in the hope that Amtr Sahib might perhaps, as he sometimes did, bestow the present upon a faithful and deserving slave. The Amtr slowly cast his eyes round the ring, and each heart beat high as the Amtr's eyes rested a moment on this man or that. Suddenly the Amir called out, Nasal; Pesh bier, come forward.' Out of a far corner came
Nassir. The Anile turned to the anxious circle, and said Look upon this man. He was with me in Samarcand.' The hearts of the courtiers sank ; Nassir then was to be the recipient of the shield. He was with me in Samarcand, and for a little thing he turned and cursed me. These were his words,' and the Amtr repeated the curse. 'Is this thing so P ' he said to Nassir. The old man hung his head in shame. He cursed me ; he half drew his sword on me his master. What is this man worthy of ? ' There was a dead silence. The shield was forgotten, for behold Nassir's day had come. It had, but not in the sense anticipated. Give him the shield,' said the Arai"; he was with me in Samarcand.' "
In style and in intent this anecdote is wholly characteristic of the East, and of the Ameer, who, despite his severity, always displayed the tactful courtesy which is the privilege of Kings. Once, indeed, his politeness saved the life of Dr. Gray. An envious Hakim had been ordered to give the doctor a native medicine. The Ameer, justly suspicious, was on the point of tasting the medicine, when the Hakim whispered a word in. his ear. The would-be assassin hurried away, to return with a fresh jar, which was not given into the hands of the English- man until the Ameer had tasted it without ill effect. This act of condescension not only paid a conspicuous honour to Dr. Gray, it saved his life; and the book is full of similar acts of grateful courtesy.
But despite the Ameer's noble character, Dr. Gray appears to have left his service without regret. He confesses that while he cherished a strong attachment to Abdurrabman, he and his colleagues felt "as the years passed that they were but as pawns on the chessboard of the Prince, to be swept off with an unshrinking hand when a move in the game might need it." But the Ameer is dead, and Habibullah reigns in his stead. Of him we get but a blurred image in Dr. Gray's pages. We gather that he resembles his august father, though be has not that Monarch's strength and energy. He suffers from an impediment in his speech, the result, said the Ameer, of poison administered when he was a child ; but despite a certain nervousness he is intelligent and experienced. For many years he has directed the foreign affairs of his country, and if only he be strong enough to hold the throne against the factions, which have always proved the weakness of Afghanistan, he should prove the worthy successor of his father. Had Abdurrahman lived a few years longer his youngest son Amin Think might have had a closer claim on account of his birth. He is besides wise beyond his years, and deeply beloved by the people. But he is a child, and Habibullah has the start of him. And for the sake of England we may hope that Habibullah will keep the throne which he has won, for he is well skilled in policy, and is said to be most anxious to retain and to respect the English alliance.
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