At the Court of the Amîr: A Narrative

by John Alfred Gray

Tea, cigars, and sweets were brought, and after examining the Chief’s condition, I sat and talked to him and his brother for some time. He was an intelligent man. One of his favourite amusements was photography; he dabbled, too, in chemistry, and showed me a scar in his hand, where he had been injured by an explosion when he was learning something about the science. Afterwards, I examined some of his retinue; eight of them were ill with the fever.

This Chief was beloved, or admired—or whatever the corresponding sentiment is in an Afghan’s bosom—by his Clansmen. But in the eyes of His Highness he was as a poppy grown very tall. It was necessary that something be done lest he should overtop all other flowers. He had, I heard, been receiving a subsidy of a lac of rupees a year from the Afghan Government. This was altered: and while he was in Kabul, a new “Governor” was sent to take command in his province. This was not pleasing to the Clansmen: they did not love—or whatever the sentiment is—the Governor as they did the Chief, for he was a stranger. They, therefore, slew him. Another was sent; him they also slew, and the Chief was by-and-bye allowed to return to his Province, though without the subsidy.

CHAPTER XXIII.
The Amîr’s Illness.

Sent for to the Palace. The Amîr’s health: the Liniment. Questions in chemistry. Early breakfast at the Palace. A courtier as a waiter. Called to Prince Aziz Ullah: his illness. Illness of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Illness of the Amîr’s cousin. A visit to Prince Mahomed Omer. The Queen’s brougham: her reverend uncle. The reception. Lunch. The present. The Jelalabad official and his promise. Dinner with Mr. Pyne. Death of Prince Aziz Ullah. The Chief ill again. The weather. The silence at the Palace. December 2nd: the Call. The town at night. Illness of the Amîr. His request: his bodily condition: former treatment. The Amîr’s prayer. Medical treatment. The next morning. Bulletins. Called to the Sultana. The Harem. The Sultana’s illness: her condition. A poisonous dose. Improvement of Amîr: and of Sultana. The innocent plot: betrayal. A present. Musicians. Amîr and Sultana as patients. Annoyances by an interpreter. A shock. The Sultana’s letter: the answer. News from Malek, the Page. Comments. The Amîr’s rebuke. In the Harem: the Armenian’s comments. Quarters in the Prince’s quadrangle. The Amîr’s relapse.

In the early part of November I was sent for to the Erg Palace. When I arrived, His Highness was sitting on a couch or divan covered with a cloth of dull crimson velvet and gold. He was dressed in a robe of green velvet and gold with a white turban. The couch was in the small room that opens on one side into the Octagonal hall, and on the other into the gardens. His Highness said that he still had some pain in the knee and foot, and he would be glad if I would send him a liniment that would take away the pain and enable him to ride.

Questions in Chemistry.

Afterwards he asked my opinion with regard to the action of certain acids of native production, and we tried some experiments upon copper and brass. His Highness wanted an acid that could be procured cheaply, for the purpose of cleaning copper cartridge cases.

The next day I went to the Palace again, taking with me a liniment. Presently Malek, the favourite Page, came out, and seeing me waiting in the gardens among the Secretaries, came up and asked if he should take the medicine in and say I had arrived. He soon came out again, and I was called in with the Armenian. We sat in one of the small rooms or alcoves, waiting. His Highness was not visible when I went in. He was in the room he had occupied the day before, but it was curtained off from the Octagonal hall. Two or three of the Page boys came up and asked when I was going to London. I began to think my “leave of absence” had been mentioned by the Amîr. Just then His Highness appeared; he was fully dressed, and walked with the aid of a stick. We all rose and bowed. A table and chair were placed for him in the room where we were. He spoke to me about his health, and asked me the properties of the liniment, saying it had a pleasant smell.

Presently the “early breakfast” was brought for the Amîr on a silver tray. It consisted of tea, which he drank out of a glass mug set in silver, hot milk, and some cakes and macaroons. A table and tea were brought for me, and I sat opposite to him. The others sat on the ground and tea was carried round to them by the servants. His Highness did not eat anything, and he told one of the Courtiers, Naim Khan, to bring the tray to me. I do not know if Naim liked being a waiter for once in a way, but he obeyed at once. However, he was a good fellow, about twenty-six, and was always a friend of mine, so I do not think he minded very much. He was very smart, with a pale blue—almost grey—brocaded silk postîn and a beaver busby. The Amîr asked me to visit the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Perwana Khan, who was ill.