62 THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE EAST, 



proprietor no longer existed, I could not discover into whose 

 hands these precions antiques passed ; and thus, in alJ 

 probability, the invaluable contents of the Bactrian scroll 

 will be lost for ever to the scientific world ! Besides the 

 antiques which I sold in earlier years to different private 

 persons at Cairo and Alexandria^ the various cabinets in 

 St. Petersburgh, Vienna, Paris and London, possess a 

 number of those which I collected. 



At Cabul I opened a great many cupolas ( tombs );, 

 under the protection of the Nawaub Djubber-Khan, and 

 by so doing aroused the suspicion of Dost Mahomed, who 

 thought that I was carrying immense riches out of the 

 country. Although I was so prudent as to deliver all the 

 articles I extracted to Dr. Gerard, who was then at Cabul, 

 on his return from Bokhara to India, requesting him to 

 hand them over to General Allard, at Lahore, that he might 

 convey them to Bordeaux, yet Dost Mahomed gave orders 

 to the Governor of Bamian to have me plundered at the 

 frontiers ; and thus I was robbed of all at the fortress of 

 Akrabad ; but I again received my property by the inter- 

 ference of the Nawaub Djubber-Khan and General Avitabile, 

 the latter being then Governor of Peshawur. Fearing the 

 cruelty of Mir Muradbeg, at Koondoos, I delivered at Cabul 

 all my luggage to the caravan ready to set out for Balkh ; 

 and dressed in the costume of the Affghan people, I 

 proceeded incognito, accompanied by ten men, some of 

 them my own servants, and some belonging to the Nawaub. 

 My guide was the old grey-beard, Kheiat, the same who 

 conducted Alexander Burnes and Dr. Gerard to Bokhara. 



We left Cabul in November ; it was excessively cold, and 

 we lost, during a heavy fall of snow and a strong wind, on 

 the highest summits of Mount Caucasus, two of our people, 

 but we happily met with them again at Bamian. The ill- 

 repute to which my opening the tombs had given origin, 

 preceded me. The Affghans and Hozaras hunted after 

 us, when they ascertained who I was. Arrived at Bamian, 

 we got a room in the fortress, by presenting the letters of 

 recommendation which Dost Mahomed and the Nawaub 



