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��order of the emir, who sent worH that he would be happy to receive them. The rtay following, the fViendly recejilion, the Rnssiaii ainbAssador examined the presents sent liy the govcrnor- gi'iieral of Turkestan to be delii'ered to the chietlain. and found to bis great dismay that they consisted of almost worthless things. According to the author, they were shabby to behold, and beyond the most indulgent criti- cisto. Gen. Stolettolf, anxious to prevent the reputation of hia country from being dam- aged by a fraudulent governor, selected three of hia best liorses given him by the emir of Bokhara. lie had tbem provided with richly ornamented Bokharinn saddles, with brocade blankets, and the officers cheerfully added their silver tea-set, most of their plate, some costly fire-arms, and various other valuable objects. The erair graciously accepted these gitts, sendiug in return 11,000 rupees, which. «ner some remonstrance, had to l>e accepted by the liussians in order nut to ofl'end the princely donor.
During their sojourn at Kabul, two evcnls of imiwrtancc took place. The heir to t)ie throne of Afghanistan died alter an illness of only a few days. In consequence thereof, the para- graph in the projected A fg ha no- Russian con- vention, that "Uie imperial Russian govern- ment recognizes Abdullah- Dshan as heir to the throne of Afghanistan," was changed as follows: "The Russian government is ready to recognize as heirs such persons as may be nominated by Emir Shir-Ali-Khau."
Shortly afterwards the emir received the unexpected message that an Knglish embassy was under way to pay their respects to him, and that he should receive them " according to the usage of hospitality becoming to a good neighbor of India." This piece of news was surprising, for two years previous the emir had entirely fallen out with the English. Under these conditions, he could by no means receive the cmbassj-. Like a goixl diplomate, be used the recent death of his son as a pre- text, and informed them that he was in mourn- ing; but to no elTect. The English insisted upon being received. After holding a con- sultation with the Russian general, he sent thera the only possible answer: he emphatically declined to receive them.
On the llth of August, Gen. Stolettoff. ac- oompauied only by the author and a numlier of Cossacks, suddenly lell Kabul. Twenty days later, they again reached Samarkand, after an absence of almost fideen months. The rest of his stalf had been directed to remain at Kabul to awnit further orders.
��NU£ |VoL. v., No. in.
We regret that we can dwell no longer upon this interesting and timely work, but we hope that we shall soon have an oppoitunity of reviewing the second volume, which has not reached us. We wish the translator might have displayed a little more artistic taste. That he has performeil his work with minute correctness, cannot be denied; but his Ger- man style is by no means elegant. Sentences like the following. — ' Idi wollte furchtbar schlafeii,' or ' Sie vierden ticli zeracldagen, ' (p. 137), — remind us loo vividly of the idiom used by Senor Pedra Caroline in his ' English as she is spoke.' It is true that he states in his pi-eface that he had attempted to render his translation as correct as )>ossiblc; but we are far from even admiring the language of his introduction. We are, however, indebted to him for a better track-map than the one in the original, though the orthography of the names in the text does not always agree with that ou the map.
��No higher compliment c-ould be paid to Mr. Marvin's little book than the fact, that, within ten days oiler it appeared, it formed the basis of leading articles on the Afghan dispute in nearly all the principal papers in the country, and in most of them without any acknowledg- ment. No one but a man who had made a most careful study of the subject could have condensed so much, and such timely, infor- mation in such small space and on such short notice. The preface bears the date of March 23: and the book gives the clearest possible insight into the pragresa of Russia's advance from the Caspian during the last few ycai-s. the purgwse and aim of her movements, the origin of the boundary dispute, and its con- dition on the date named. With the aid of this book, the telegrams in the daily papers become clear and intelligible, and any one can follow the development of events hereafter with a clear understanding of them.
Mr. Marvin has passed a considerable part of his life among the Russians, and under- sLinda their language. While he is naturally alarmed at Russia's progress, and opposed to her intentions, yet be writes in a culm and moderate tone. He always strives to be Just, and comes as near Iwing so as is possible when one is a party to a controversy. In his inlcr-
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