1843.] of the Van jab and Affghanislan. 603 



rupees nominally, the whole sum being seldom realized. The people of 

 Samalzye are noted for bravery ; the cultivation depends chiefly on the 

 Kuram river. 



The tappa of Meeranzye is a dependency of Hangoo, as far as Tal- 

 Meeranzye. i-Bulandkhel. From Cohaut I proceeded to Ustarzye and 

 thence to Marye, where I took up my quarters in a mosque, where 

 a man presented himself, saying, he had two wives, a grown-up son, 

 and a daughter-in-law ; that he had committed some gold and rupees 

 Theft, to the keeping of his senior wife, which had been lost, and 

 requested me, as I was a fakeer, to ascertain who had taken it. I 

 accompanied him home, where I found all the members of the family 

 disputing and interchanging high words. I enquired of the master of 

 the house which wife was youngest. He replied — the one I have just 

 married, and the management of the house is entirely in the hands of 

 the boy's mother. I asked him which he liked best. He replied one 

 has got old, and the other is pretty and young, what more need I say. 

 I requested that they should all assemble. On their presenting 

 Conjuring. themselves, I wrote all their names on separate slips of 

 paper, and folded them up separately, filling all with ashes ; but one, 

 which I filled with detonating powder. I then gave a stone into the 

 bands of the Malik, and ordered him to strike each paper, as I gave 

 the signal during my incantations. On the explosion from one of 

 the papers ensuing, I pretended to read the name of the thief, allow- 

 ing the party the night to consider, before being exposed. Towards 

 night-fall, having occasion to go out, I was followed by the senior 

 wife, who taking hold of my skirt, confessed she was the thief; having 

 Discovery, been driven to the act, in the hope of attaching suspicion to 

 her rival, and thus, estranging her husband's affections from her. She 

 promised to return the articles, provided I would not expose her, and 

 would do something with her husband, so as to induce him to visit 

 Stipulation. her once a week. I promised this, and the articles were 

 brought to me at midnight in the mosque. In the morning I sent for 

 the husband, and presenting him with the missing property, enjoined 

 him to treat his first wife with greater consideration. He after some 

 disputation, agreed to visit her once a month. 



My digression from Cohaut to Peshawur, my return to that place, 

 and my journey to Teera, occupied eighteen days. 



4k 



