1 a vizier's daughter - Hazara.net

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30 A VIZIER’S DAUGHTER – A TALE OF THE HAZARA WAR All that actually transpired was that the Ameer had granted the envo ys several public interviews, when they had set at one end of a long room, while he had sat on his couch at the end of the other; that he had been gracious and courteous, but had also been firm. “The Hazaras,” he said, “were excellent, useful, hard-working people, people whose value he appreciated, and whom he was most desirous of having as friends, but they were aliens, and therein, no doubt, lay the cause casus belli. The y had been planted in Gaur, part of the territory proper of Afghanistan, by aliens who had retreated into the regions from which they had sprung, leaving these cuckoos behind . There they have lived and multiplied, in the land of the Afghans, without even owning allegiance to the prince whose territory they occupied. Other aliens, taking advantage of the disjointed conditio n in which the countr y had been for centuries, had done the same thing. The Hazaras were by no means the only offenders, nor were the y serious offenders. The Ameer had laughed and joked and told them they had been wise and had done well, but the time had now come when all this was to be set right. This state of affairs had been proved disadvantageous to the cuckoos as well as to the hedge-sparrows, as the Afghan hed ge-sparrow, unlike the feathered one, had resented the strangers and had shown fight. So he, the Ameer, the generous, the wise, having leisure now to devote to this important question, had reviewed the whole matter in his mind, and had decided that an alternation must be made, and that for the future there was to be but one ruling sovereign in the countr y of Afghanistan, one capital and seat of government, one military centre, and, in consequence, of course, one royal treasury. The cuckoos were, however, to be allowed to retain the nests in which they had established themselves so long ago (provided, of course, the y proved themselves lo yal subjects to the lawful owners and therefore worthy of the consideration shown them), but they would now be required to pay rent, in the form of taxes, for the land and houses which they occupied . Nothing could be fairer. These taxes, moreover, would be used for their own benefit for the making of roads through their own country, and for the support of an army and police for their own protection. It had all sounded so plausible that the third member of the Hazara mission to Kabul could detect no flaw in the argument, and only shook his heavy head wisely, sa ying, “True, true.” Ghu lam Hossain said nothing, but wrote on a piece of paper requesting a private interview with His Majesty, when neither Afghans nor the other two Hazara envo ys should be present. He received for answer that his request should be considered . Sayad Mir Hassan said nothing, so it was taken for granted that his feelings were friendly, and that he was disposed to follow the lead given by his companions, and having been about an hour in the presence chamber the y were given leave to depart. Never had any of those three mountaineers been surrounded with so much magnificence. The Sa yad moved on in front, little affected by it.
31 A VIZIER’S DAUGHTER – A TALE OF THE HAZARA WAR The third member of the mission was lost in wonder – and perhaps admiration, who knows? – as he stood in front of a handsome pier-glass and contemplated his own squat little figure. That was all he saw of the magnificence of an eastern court, but it was quite sufficient, he was deeply impressed . Ghu lam Hossain gazed everywhere, saw everything, and dreamed an ambitious dream. As he stood thus for a moment lost in thought, a tall thin man, wearing the usual Afghan court dress, came up to him, and, unnoticed b y any one, whispered something in his ear. Little harm, would have been done, however, had they noticed it, or had even caught what he said; it was only this, “Come to my house to -night, after evening prayers; my servant will be at the door of your house, and will co nduct you.” Ghulam Hossain’s heart beat quicker and he held his head higher. Here was his chance, this man, whoever he was, must have received instructions to take him to the Ameer, and once there, what might not be arranged? This was just what he wanted. He went home with the others, but was very silent during the few hours that intervened between his return from Durbar and the hour for which the next appointment had been made. He was thinking, turning over in his mind, ever y conceivable course that would be open to him. As usual, however, when the time came, the offers made him were just such as had never entered his head. CHAPTER VII A DIPLOMATIST AT WORK WHEN the hour of his appointment drew near, Ghulam Hossain went to the outer door and stood a moment in the street. A curious narrow street with high, irregular mud walls on either side, broken only b y a very occasional window, which windows were in the upper storey, and for the most part projected out some six feet or so across the public thoroughfare, supported b y stout roughly hewn pillars, placed at either of the two projecting corners, or by thinner logs placed at an angle of forty-five degrees between the wall, and the outer edges of the window.
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