MAY 10.--I went out very early with some cavalry and the Political Officer, and scoured the country round, but of course found no traces of the party who had fired on the officers, and all the surrounding villages absolutely denied any complicity in the affair, so we had to return to camp, having been unable to accomplish anything. In the afternoon I went out again with an escort of cavalry, and accompanied by 5 or 6 officers, and we went to Kokeran and hunted the hills all round, but saw no one. No doubt we threw away our only chance in deferring till to-day what ought to have been done yesterday.
[Sidenote: Installation of Shere Ali Khan as Wali.]
MAY 11th.--I attended a great durbar (or court) at the palace of the Governor, in the city, at which the letter appointing Shere Ali Khan, Governor of the Province of Kandahar, on behalf of the Queen, was to be read. Although it was very like what all such affairs in India are, it was quite worth seeing, and I should have enjoyed it very much if I had not been obliged to eat and drink so many nasty things as Persian etiquette on such occasions absolutely requires one to swallow. The proceedings commenced with small cups of tea, without milk or cream, being handed round, then there were speeches and the presentation of the Viceroy's letter, and of the presents sent by the Queen, and the affair wound up by trays of Afghan sweet-meats and iced sherbet being brought in, of which all, even the soldiers on the guard of honor, were required to partake. Iced sherbet sounds nice, but when it is flavoured with musk, it is apt (at least as far as I am concerned) to act very like an emetic. The sweet-meats I dare say I should have appreciated better about 30 or 40 years ago, and my Orderly Officer certainly seemed to find them very much to his taste. I send a capital account of the whole affair which appeared in the _Kandahar News_, and which can be read by those curious in such matters at this point....
On the 13th of MAY the new Governor, or as he is called here, the Wali, which is the Persian word for _Governor_ of a province, announced his intention of coming to pay a return visit of ceremony to General Primrose, and as Government wished us to show him all possible honor we had the whole garrison out (about 5,000 men) and lined the streets of the town and the roads between his palace and General Primrose's house. The troops turned out wonderfully well and smartly, and we hear the Governor and his people were much impressed by their appearance. After seeing all right along the line of the procession I returned to General Primrose's house, where all the staff were collected to assist General Primrose in receiving his guest. The Wali (or Governor) arrived about 1/4 to 6 o'clock, accompanied by a very ragged looking lot of followers. He sat between General Primrose and me, and we had to carry on the usual uninteresting exchange of compliments through an interpreter, as none of us could speak Persian, and none of the Afghans could speak Hindustani. After a short time tea was handed round, and to our relief the visit, which was necessarily a very stupid affair, ended. According to Eastern etiquette, the Governor ought to have brought return presents with him, and each of us who were there should have had some present, but our Government do not allow us to accept anything of value, so nothing was offered. Since then, however, the Governor has sent us each, as a memento of the occasion, one of the new gold coins which he has struck for general issue. It is rather a pretty coin, of quite pure gold, and will do very well as an ornament for a watch chain.