oath of allegiance, but there
are other obligations not less sacred. To respect an oath is a duty
which the individual owes to society. Yet, who would by his evidence
send a brother to the gallows? The ties of nature are older and take
precedence of all other human laws. When the Pathan is invited to
suppress his fellow-countrymen, or even to remain a spectator of their
suppression, he finds himself in a situation at which, in the words
of Burke, "Morality is perplexed, reason staggered, and from which
affrighted nature recoils."

There are many on the frontier who realise these things, and who
sympathise with the Afridi soldier in his dilemma. An officer of the
Guides Infantry, of long experience and considerable distinction, who
commands both Sikhs and Afridis, and has led both many times in action,
writes as follows: "Personally, I don't blame any Afridis who desert
to go and defend their own country, now that we have invaded it, and I
think it is only natural and proper that they should want to do so."

Such an opinion may be taken as typical of the views of a great number
of officers, who have some title to speak on the subject, as it is one
on which their lives might at any moment depend.

The Sikh is the guardian of the Marches. He was originally invented to
combat the Pathan. His religion was designed to be diametrically opposed
to Mahommedanism. It was a shrewd act of policy. Fanaticism was met by
fanaticism. Religious abhorrence was added to racial hatred. The Pathan
invaders were rolled back to the mountains, and the Sikhs established
themselves at Lahore and Peshawar. The strong contrast, and much of the
animosity, remain to-day. The Sikh wears his hair down to his waist; the
Pathan shaves his head. The Sikh drinks what he will; the Pathan is
an abstainer. The Sikh is burnt after death; the Pathan would be thus
deprived of Paradise. As a soldier the Pathan is a finer shot, a hardier
man, a better marcher, especially on the hillside, and possibly an even
more brilliant fighter. He relies more on instinct than education: war
is in his blood; he is a born marksman, but he is dirty, lazy and a
spendthrift.

In the Sikh the more civilised man appears. He does not shoot naturally,
but he learns by patient practice. He is not so tough as the Pathan, but
he delights in feats of strength--wrestling, running, or swimming. He is
a much cleaner soldier and more careful. He is frequently parsimonious,
and always thri