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109 Another peculiar custom is known by the name of "Tega-Ikhodil", that is "Laying the Stone". The rival tribes and families, in times of national emergency forget their mutual jealousies and strife, unite together against their common foe, and promise to respect the treaty and carry on the struggle till the national aim is achieved. A strange custom in vogue in Kabul and the hilly districts goes by the name of Barfi (Barf means snow). On the occasion of the first fall of snow, friends address congratulatory letters to one another, containing a short Persian couplet which runs thus: My dear, snow has come, Snow is mine, but Barfi is yours. Everybody on such occasions is on his guard and instructs his servants and family members not to receive any letter before first knowing the contents of it. Everyone tries to catch hold of the deliverer of such letters. If he is caught, he gets a good thrashing, and then is turned over to his master or the head of his family with face blackened. This means that the sender of the letter has lost the game—the Barfi, as it is called. He is then bound to arrange for a grand feast and to invite the winner and his friends to it. On the other hand, if the letter, by mistake, is received by the addressee and the deliverer makes good his escape, the addressee is to pay a similar penalty. The Afghans pay much attention to good manners. Hand shaking and embracing are considered an important part of good manners. Even a stranger will be greeted with a hearty welcome and a hand-shake at any meeting. The Afghans are light-hearted and sociable poeple. They do not laugh often, but they talk a good deal, and love a decent