AMANULLAH

I had it translated afterwards. He told of his trip
to the West. He told them of his triumphs and his
honours.

" Your King," he said, " has been the recipient of
every honour that the Western nations can bestow on
him. He has seen the military might of Italy, Prance,
England, and Russia. He has dined with kings and
rulers, and every nation has vied with the other in doing
him honour. He has taken their homage as a tribute
to the new Afghanistan stirring in the East.

" On every hand good wishes and compliments have
been offered for the future of the new regime. The
world is watching us, and it behoves you, as members
of a great and martial and progressive race, to justify
the hopes that are entertained for your future. We
meet this day to celebrate the glorious victory which
gained for my country its Independence and its liberty.

" In celebration, I have summoned the first free
Afghan Parliament. It is formed of your own repre-
sentatives, who will direct your own path towards
victory and greater liberty. You see before you the
representatives of every State in my country. They are
gathered here to voice the wishes of the people, and to
lead you rapidly out of the mists of ignorance which
have clouded my beloved land for so many centuries ____ "

The black-coated delegates listened shyly. They
understood only a part of what their ruler was saying,
for they were still petrified by their importance, and in
any case, between them they were accustomed to a score
of dialects. They had travelled many miles for this.
They had been casually selected from their native vil-
lages, some because they had business to do in Kabul,
some because they were natural leaders, some because
they were the only ones to be spared from the work of
their hills and valleys. They shifted uneasily now under

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