which they have been subjected. Bokhārā is not a whit in advance of medieval Europe in its treatment of this forlorn colony. The time, indeed, has gone by when Jews might be savagely assaulted by a true believer, and even killed with impunity. But they are still relegated to a filthy and crowded Ghetto. They are forbidden to ride in the streets, and must wear a distinctive costume, a small black cap edged with two fingers' breadth of sheep-skin, a dark dressing-gown of camels' hair, and a rope girdle, a survival of a time when it might at any moment be required for its wearer's execution. This tyranny, tenfold worse than that endured by the Tajiks, has ranged the Jew on the side of the white man.

In the earlier days of their empire in Central Asia the Russians received a good deal of valuable information as to popular feeling from these despised auxiliaries. The blind hatred which superiority excites in minds of the lower type is universal in Bokhārā, and the Jews of the Khanate still groan under disabilities which are more degrading to their oppressors than to themselves. The Persian element is a strong one, and the slim figures, dark eyes, and regular features of the children of poor worn-out Irān are conspicuous in the motley crowd that fills the streets. They are descended from slaves sold. by Turkoman raiders, or from 40,000 Persian families transplanted from Merv by Amir Murad in 1784. Being Shi'as, they cordially detest the Uzbegs and Tājiks, who belong to the rival Sunni sect.1 Under former Amirs, notably the treacherous Nasrullah, who murdered

1 As is well known, the Mohammedans everywhere are ranged into two sections. The Sunnis are the orthodox, and owe their name to their adhesion to the traditionary teaching, Sunna, of the Prophet. The Shi'as reject it; and are also champions of the claim to succeed Mohammed of 'Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, and of his sons in their turn, Hasan and Husayn. With the exception of the Persians, who are Shi'as, almost the whole of the Mohammedan world is Sunni. The two sects hate each other with the true odium theologium.

our countrymen Stoddart and Conolly, the Persians gained commanding influence.1 They are now peaceable traders, whose patriotism stops at day-dreams of reviving the glories of the greatest and most ruthless of their royal line, Nādir Shāh. Broad-shouldered Afghans, lithe bright-eyed Arabs, who have the secret of dressing the real Astrakhan lamb-skin, and Indian subjects of Her Majesty, are common in Bokhārā. The latter are styled by the natives Multānis, though most of them hail from Haydarābād in Sindh. They are betrayed by their dark complexion and the flame-shaped caste-marks on their swarthy brows. The Hindu shares with the Jew the immense profits derived from money-lending, which is forbidden to true believers, and they are eager and rapacious traders. The large commerce in tea is in the hands of some wealthy Peshawar Mohammedans. The Indian colony devote a few years to money-grabbing, living the while in serais of their own, consisting of a courtyard surrounded with unfurnished cells, in which the traveller spreads his bedding, while his goods and camels occupy the centre of the square. They profess to be well satisfied with the existing order of things at Bokhārā, but have some reason to complain of the absence of any British consular agency.2

The variety of features shown by a Bokhāran crowd hardly extends to the costumes. The wealthier wear gorgeous khal'ats, or long dressing-gowns of cashmere or cloth of gold. In the middle class the universal garment

1 These unhappy victims were British officers sent to Bokhārā on diplomatic service. After a long imprisonment they were cruelly beheaded by order of the Amir Nasrullah in 1843. See Wolff's Bokhara, passim.

2 This neglect of one of the chief duties of government-the protection of its subjects abroad-is universal in Central Asia. We have no consul farther east than Baku. The Russians excuse their persistent refusal to grant an exequatur to a consul at Tiflis by the allegation that we would not permit them to establish such agencies on our Indian frontiers,

is of coloured silk, with a curious pattern of concentric lines; while the populace is content with blue or striped cotton. All have huge turbans of white muslin, the size of which is an evidence of their wearers' rank. Sometimes

as many as twenty yards are used. It is a curious fact that, in spite of crushing protective duties, the produce of Manchester looms is preferred by all who can afford the luxury. The feminine element, which gives the greatest charm to the crowds of Western cities, is entirely absent in Bokhārā. Such women as venture into the streets are muffled in a hideous smock 2 and a thick horse-hair veil. It must be admitted that the beauties thus concealed lie chiefly in splendid dark eyes, the lustre of which owes much to the aid of henna, and arched eyebrows which are deemed indicators of passion, and therefore heightened by artificial means. The emancipation of women has not begun in Bokhārā. Marriage is a sale conducted with as little delicacy as the cattle-dealer imports into his transactions. The child-wife never gains her husband's love or confidence, and is deserted while her charms are at their zenith. Custom, in fact, moulds the Bokharan's inmost being, and the degraded position assigned to women by its teaching places him beyond the pale of civilisation. Home-life in the Central Asian Khānates exists no more than it did in ancient Rome. The citizens' houses are ranges of dark and cheerless cells surrounding a central courtyard, and presenting blind walls to the street. The intense cold of the winter months is mocked rather than mitigated by charcoal braziers.3 Music is unknown in the cheerless interior,

1 The local phrase for turban is "salla." A Russian-made one costs roubles; the cheapest Manchester turban being 34, and the dearest 15 roubles.

* Called "paranji.” It has balloon sleeves meeting at the shoulders.

3 Bokhārā stands in lat. 39° 46′ N., in the same parallel as Northern Spain, Naples, and Philadelphia. It is 1200 feet above sea-level, and exposed to