EX-KING OF AFGHANISTAN

If news were to be officially circulated, its inferences
and its details were at the mercy of possibly dishonest
local officials. News was, furthermore, subject to the
approval of the priests. We can indeed picture the
scene in the village square or main street, when the
carrier of news arrives with his message. He is weary
and footsore. He is the natural prey of the hospitable
gossips of the village. He must impart to them first
the portent of his news, request them to summon those
of the villagers who are willing to hear his voice, and he
must be content with the sparse crowd that collects
round him when he is ready to begin.

The drum, a rough skin stretched over a more or less
circular wooden rim, is beaten monotonously at sun-
down. The curious get up from their doorways, anxious
for news from the great and wicked capital. Why, the
last messenger came in the depths of winter, when the
snow was thick in the passes, and it seemed as if the
winter nights would never end, never relent in their
severity. Now it is summer, and the sun blazes down,
fiercely and as remorselessly as the frost gripped them.
What news ? What news ?

It is the old cry. For all these months they had
existed on the tales of travellers, the picturesque fables
of those who had come into the village for trading. They
had heard again the old folk tales from the mouths of
the priests. They had listened to expansive liars and
romancing guests who thought to repay hospitality by
the glibness of their tongues.

The time comes for the ixeed of authenticity, even
among people who have lived their lifetimes on legend
and rumour. If there is need for a parallel, you may
see it every day in the streets of London. " Official,"
add the newspaper placards to a terse piece of news,
though for days past the same sheets have been averring

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