CHAPTER XXXII.
The Argument.
Afghan court life from an English standpoint. The rise and fall of the Afghan Courtier. Untrustworthiness: the inevitable result. Intrigue: a similar result. Question of “cause” or “consequence.” Possibility of raising the moral plane: reasons in favour of. The Amîr’s obvious opinion. His Highness’s great work. Certain evils. Former condition of the middle classes: present condition: opening of the eyes: comparison with similar class in India. Progress in Afghanistan. Civilizing effect of the Amîr: his influence. Dost Mahomed’s rule: his character: comparison with Abdurrahman. Altered condition of country. The Amîr’s civilizing measures: drastic measures. Peaceful measures: education: the teaching of handicrafts: of art: the spreading of knowledge: prizes for good or original work. Personal fascination of the Amîr.
Though I have endeavoured, by detailing my own experiences in the country, to give an idea of the present condition of Afghanistan and the character of the ruler, one must not forget that we English in the service were on an entirely different footing, as regards the Amîr, from any of the natives of the country. As outsiders we noted, sometimes with amused, sometimes with painful, interest, many occurrences which, however, concerned us only in the abstract and not in any personal way.
Rise and Fall of the Official.
For instance, I have shown that the Amîr has raised men of the lowest rank, even slaves, to positions nearly the highest in the kingdom. Similarly, men of the highest rank are degraded in a day to nearly the lowest. A high official is one day riding through the streets dressed in velvet and gold, with a great retinue of servants around him: a day or two afterwards, in a shabby coat, he is creeping from door to door to beg a little bread, and I wondered if this state of things were the consequence, or is it the cause, of an Afghan’s utter untrustworthiness, when he is put into a position of responsibility.
As an example:—A man is made Governor of a Province on a very moderate salary, and presently the Amîr sees him in gorgeous attire, and surrounded by crowds of servants and horses. We, foreigners even, could see that the pay did not run to it—it was impossible; how much more clearly, therefore, could the Amîr see it, and yet the custom was invariable. After a few years the man is recalled to Kabul to make out a statement of accounts as regards the revenue and taxes of the province. He cannot do it. Forthwith his ill-gotten wealth is put in the Treasury, his finery, and the shawls and diamonds of his wives, in the Government stores, and he finds himself, as he deserved, a beggar or in jail. The sufferers—the men who have been squeezed—are the peasants and traders. When “gentlemen” behave in this way it is not to be wondered at that the Amîr makes a slave a gentleman.
On the other hand, there are cases, perhaps, as numerous where a man owes his fall not to any rascality of his own, but to the combination and intrigue of his enemies. This, I suppose, must necessarily be under a despotic Government, where one man has supreme power. Be he ever so wise and just a man he cannot know everything, and there being only one man to work upon, a clever scoundrel, who has the entrée to the Durbar, and who studies that one man’s disposition and moods, can oust a better man than himself, if he works long enough. Sometimes a man compounds with his enemies: each party knows something incriminating about the other, and both keep silent from mutual fear. This state of things has existed not in the reign of the present Amîr only, but for generations.
As a spectator I have watched the play many a time; it is interesting, as I said, though apt to be depressing. Sometimes it is simply a comedy; but more often the ending is tragic.