218 TKAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



Turkomans, and shook me dreadfully. We stopped 

 at two places on the road, one for a cup of tea and 

 the other for a few hours' sleep. The first seventeen 

 miles of the road are truly beautiful ; you cross over 

 the crest of the hills, which must be, I should say, 

 at an elevation of 7000 feet. There are hundreds of 

 hills sloping off in all directions, and covered with 

 the most luxuriant grass ; every variety of colour was 

 to be found in the weeds, and every little valley had 

 its own peculiar stream of the purest water. The 

 Heratees may well boast of the beauties of Budghis 

 (as this part of the country is called) in spring. The 

 remainder of the road is in some places destitute of 

 water. Saw several khails with large flocks of cattle. 

 When we passed the khails old Brutus was very 

 anxious to make some little show, so the troopers fell 

 into something like order, the mules got an extra 

 hint to step out, and my running footman was re- 

 quested to dismount and place himself ahead of his 

 master. This was all very grand, as the little boy's 

 book has it ; but, alas ! all the men of the khails were 

 absent, and the women and children hardly deigned 

 to come out of their black tents to look at us. Brutus, 

 however, had the satisfaction of passing in state a 

 considerable kaftlah bound for Herat. A rather 

 amusing conversation took place between Brutus and 

 an old Turkoman who had joined our party. The 

 latter ventured to hint that the nether garment of 

 the Afghans was a little too large, and by this remark 



