We have a slave merchant here now. We learn that men sell for forty-six rupees, and women for twenty-two, each: they are sent off to Khoolloom. 400 Hindostanees have been entrapped at Cabul, under an assurance of safe conduct to Jellalabad.
14th.—People have come in from the Lughman valley, who report that the wheat and barley there are ripe, and also the mulberries. Here the crops have not attained the height of six inches.
The booming of heavy guns heard: on which the guard here said the Kulma; hoping that it was something in the Sirdar's favour.
It is reported that Futteh Jung is King, the Sirdar Wuzeer, and Zeman Khan Sirdar-i-Sirdaran. About thirty shots were heard in the night.
15th.—More of Mahommed Rufeek's people have come in from Cabul: they say that Mahommed Akbar Khan is proclaimed King, until his father's return; that he resides at present in the Ben-i-shehr; and that Amenoollah has free ingress and egress to and from him, for the purpose of meeting with Futteh Jung. The Sirdar has sent for all our horses, ponies, &c . The Naib Shureef has sent Mrs. Sturt and me tea and sugar:—a kind attention and great comfort.
Akbar says he will fight our army. This is expressed in a letter written to Suballan Khan, the captain of our guard. Dost Mahommed Khan asserts that it is Major Pottinger who retards our release: but he is as much a prisoner as ourselves.
16th.—I kept the anniversary of my marriage by dining with the ladies of Mahommed Shah Khan's family; who told us that Futteh Jung was King, Mahommed Akbar Khan Wuzeer, and Mahommed Shah Khan the Sirdar-i-Sirdaran. It was an extremely stupid visit. We had two female servants to interpret for us. Three of Mahommed Shah Khan's wives and some of Dost Mahommed's, with the mother of the chiefs, and two of their unmarried sisters, were present. They were, generally speaking, inclined to embonpoint, largely formed, and coarsely featured; their dress inelegant, and of the coarsest materials. The favourite wife, and the best dressed, was attired in a common Cabul silk, with a coarse piece of chintz inserted behind, evidently for economy's sake. The dress, which covers the whole person, nearly resembles a common night-dress; and has tacked on to it coins, or other pieces of silver or gold, such as crescents, &c ., all over the sleeves, the front and sides, from the shoulders to the feet. A breast-plate is worn, commencing at the throat, of coins strung together: this descends far below the waist; and when they sit down, it hangs in festoons on the lap. Only the favourite wore gold coins; those of the other ladies being of silver. They had nothing in the way of jewels, properly so called. About seven common-sized pearls surrounding an emerald full of flaws, the whole set as a nose ornament, was the handsomest thing I saw in the trinket way. Some of them had very inferior earrings of gold and silver. They wear their hair in innumerable small plaits hanging down: these are arranged once a week after taking the bath; and the tresses are then well stiffened with gum. The unmarried women bend their hair in a flat braid across the forehead touching the eyebrows; which gives them a very heavy look. These said eyebrows, whilst they are maidens, remain as nature formed them: but when they marry, the hair of the centre is carefully picked out; and the arch, thus most unnaturally raised, is painted. The Cabul women are much addicted to the use of both white and red paint; and they colour not only the nails, as in Hindostan, but the whole hand up to the wrist, which looks as though it had been plunged in blood, and to our ideas is very disgusting. A particular plant is often used for this purpose. The upper part of the leaf sparkles, and resembles the ice plant; but the lower side is red, and on being pressed gives a fine dye. A chuddah is thrown over the head and shoulders in the house, as in Hindostan; and when they go out they wear the bourka, ru-i-bund, and legwraps: high-heeled iron-shod slippers complete the costume. After a time an extremely dirty cloth was spread over the numdas in front of us, and dishes of pillau, dhye or sour curd, and férnéz or sweet curd, were placed before us. Those who had not taken a spoon with them, ate with their fingers, Affghan fashion;—an accomplishment in which I am by no means au fait. We drank water out of a tea-pot. A dinner was given to the gentlemen by Abdoollah Khan at his tents about two miles off, nearer the snow.
In the evening Capt. Mackenzie arrived; and I received a letter from Sale.
There seems to be no present prospect of release.
We hear that the force under Gen. Nott has been reinforced by Brig. England; who had nevertheless been beaten back in the first instance:—that Gen. Nott was to march towards Cabul as yesterday (the 15th); and that Gen. Pollock was still awaiting orders from Lord Ellenborough; but that whether they arrive or not, we must now wait until Nott's force gets near to Cabul to make a simultaneous attack. Now as Akbar only boasts of 12,000 men against us, and as we have fully that number at Jellalabad, with 18-pounders, Pollock's force would easily capture Cabul in the present position of affairs. A short time ago it would have been still easier, as there was then more division among the Affghan troops.