llage, the head man of which I did not know
personally, though it appears he knew me well. He was not satisfied
until I consented to occupy his bed, which he had just vacated for me,
while he went off to make himself a shift elsewhere. The acceptance
of such an offer might not always prove very attractive among those
Afghans whose ideas of cleanliness are not the same as ours, but to
refuse it would--at least, on the part of a missionary--be an act so
discourteous as to injure the attainment of those relations with the
people which he should desire.

The head man will at once call for some of his attendants, who,
except at the busy time of sowing and harvest, are probably lounging
about the chauk, and they at once bring a number of the plain wooden
bedsteads of the country, which are almost universally used, even
by the richer classes, in preference to chairs. Rugs and pillows are
brought, and perhaps a carpet may be spread on the floor. Tea is then
ordered, and an attendant brings in a tray on which is a very large
teapot and a number of very small saucerless cups, called in these
parts balghami, and used all over Central Asia for tea-drinking. The
whole is covered by an embroidered cloth, which is removed by the
attendant. Sugar is added to the teapot to a degree which to many
Western palates appears nauseating. Cardamoms, and sometimes other
spices, are also added. The milk, too, is usually added to the teapot,
although some hosts, who have learnt by experience the peculiarity of
Western taste, leave the milk and the sugar to be added by the guests
themselves. Tea is poured out and handed round, and drunk usually very
hot; and if the guests drink it with very loud smackings of the lips,
it is supposed to indicate that they particularly appreciate it. The
cups are filled repeatedly, and when the guest wishes to indicate
that he has had enough he turns the cup upside down.

By this time the news of our arrival has spread through the
village. There are probably a number of old patients there, who
have once or oftener been inmates of the base hospital, and they
help to collect all the blind, the halt, the maimed, and the sick
of the village, and we proceed to unpack our medicines and commence
prescribing and physicking.

Then will come the Mullah of the village, with his Quran under his arm
and his rosary in his hand, and with a very sanctimonious and superior
kind of air. He has come to see that the faith of the floc