CHAPTER XVII

NADIR SHAH'S RECORD—TWO YEARS OF PROGRESS—RELIGION
AND EMANCIPATION—RULE BY POPULARITY

SET an Afghan and you meet a fervid patriot.
Talk to an Afghan, and sooner or later he will
• tell you about his native country; about the
wide sweep of the plains; about the towering, impres-
sive hills; even about the cruelty of the summer sun
and the biting cold of winter. But he will remember
only the refreshment of a cool shaded patch under the
trees at the end of a journey through the dust, when
evening comes, or the welcome of a great wide hearth
after the bitterness of the bare hills in winter.

The expatriate Afghan is seldom at ease. He makes
a poor exile. As he talks to you, the big sensitive eyes
will gleam with the fervour of the man talking about
his own land, the long thin delicate hands will spread
themselves eloquently, and gesticulate freely. He will
be all fire one moment, all sadness the next. And,
sooner or later, he will talk about the new King,

Nadir Khan, now named Mahomed Nadir Shah in

salute to his kingly rank, is talked of by the exile Afghans

as the saviour of their country. He is the idol of the

JGastem mind. He combines all the qualities of the

'strong and brave hunter with the diplomatic skill of

the Westerner. He speaks five languages. He is the

wise man of the East and the experienced man of the

West. Never, in the opinion of the Afghan, has there

been a man at the head of Afghanistan of a type to

compare with King Nadir Shah.

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