" ' What kind of person was she? Was she
handsome? '

"' Very.'

"' The colour of her eyes ?'

"' Dark, almost black.'

"'And her hair? '

"' Brown; the colour of this lady's' (pointng
to the wife of my friend).

"' If you see her likeness, in miniature, do
you think you could recognise it? '

"' If it were a faithful likeness, I could.'

"The Affghan put his hand into the breast
pocket of his chogah, and produced a greasy
leathern bag, into the mouth of which he
inserted his finger and thumb, and presently
produced a small tin box, round and shallow,
which he very carefully opened. Having
removed some cotton, he handed the box to
the Major. All of us instantly recognised
the features of the unfortunate lady who had
perished by the side of her husband, in
Affghanistan. Who could possibly forget that
sweet feminine face of hers, which had been
painted for her husband by one of the most
distinguished miniature painters of the age?
The production of the likeness in the
presence of the boy (who appeared to take little
interest in what was going on), had a sad
effect upon the Major. He sat down upon a
chair, covered his manly face with his hands,
and wept bitterly.

"' And do you know this, Sahib ? ' asked
the Affghan, when the Major had somewhat
recovered his violent emotion: placing in his
hand poor Percy's seal.

"We all recognised the seal, the crest of
which, of course, corresponded with the crest
on the signet-ring of the Major.

"' And this? ' asked the Affghan, holding
up a bracelet which we had seen Mrs. Percy
wear many and many a time.

"' And this? ' holding up to our gaze a
small brooch she used to wear constantly.
And, amongst numerous other things, he
exhibited to us a little pocket-book, in
which she kept her memoranda, such as:
' November ninth. Cut the ends of my dear
little boy's hair. Sent mama a small portion.
November twelfth. Had a long talk
to the old ayah, who swore to me that she
would ......... and I believe her, for
she has been a good and constant creature
to us, in our clangers and our difficulties.'

"' And this? And this? And this? and
this? ' said the Affghan, withdrawing from
the leathern bag its entire contents, every
article of which was instantly identified.
'There, Sahib, take them all, and the boy,
into your custody. The money, which was
left with him, I will restore to you to-night.
It is at present in the bazaar, in the charge
of my camel, whom no one dare approach,
except myself and this boy.'

"Here a very extraordinary and painful,
but perhaps natural, scene occurred. The
boy who had been comparatively passive,
now broke out into a vehement expostulation,
and spoke with a rapidity which was
truly amazing, considering that he distinctly
enunciated every syllable to which he gave
utterance. 'What!' he exclaimed, 'Will
you then leave me in the hands and at the
mercy of these unbelievers? What have I
done to deserve this ? '

"' Be quiet,' said the Affghan to the boy
in a gentle tone of voice.

"' How can I be quiet? ' cried the boy,
clenching his fists convulsively, and drawing
himself up, whilst his eyes glared, and his
nostrils dilated, with uncontrollable passion,
and something like foam stood upon his
crimson lips. There could be no doubt whose
child he was, so wonderful in his wrath was
the likeness that he bore to his father, who
was very seldom provoked to anger, but
who, when it did happen, was perplexed in
the extreme: in short, a perfect demon until
the paroxysm was over.

"' Baba (child)! ' said the Major, ' listen
to me.'

"' Don't talk to him now, Sahib,' said the
Affghan, compassionately. ' In his anger
his senses always leave him, and he cannot
hear what you say. Let him exhaust his
fury upon me. He will be powerless presently.'

"And so it was. After a brief while, the
boy sat down on the carpet, gasped for
breath, and was seemingly unable to move
or speak. The lady of the house offered
him a glass of water, but he shrunk back,
and declined to receive it from her hand.

"The Affghan took the Major aside, spoke
to him in private, and then left the room.
Here another very painful scene ensued.
The boy, exhausted as he was, attempted to
follow his late master; he was restrained, of
course; whereupon he uttered the most
heartrending shrieks that ever I heard. The
Major had him conveyed to his bungalow,
where a room was set apart for him, and a
servant and an orderly had him in their
keeping. It was a month before the boy
could be reconciled to his ' fate,' as he called
it; and soon afterwards arrangements were
made for sending him home to his
grandfather and grandmother, who are persons of
a lofty position in life and very wealthy.
They received him with extreme affection,
and on the death of his grandfather, he will
succeed to a title and an estate worth eleven
thousand a-year. The Affghan, who was
very fond of the boy, corresponds with him
regularly, and they exchange presents, as
well as letters.

"Kelly, of the Sixty-second, who was
killed at Ferozeshah, and who formerly
belonged to the Thirteenth Foot, when they
were in Affghanistan, told me a more curious
story, of a little girl, than the one I have
related to you of this boy."

"What was it?" I asked.

"My dear fellow," said the Lieutenant,
"I cannot talk any more just now. You