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110 joke. Picnic parties are often arranged on holidays. They are very fond of amusements. They play the flute, the rubab, a sort of lute or guitar, and the tanboor. But the centre of Afghan life is the tea-house, hundreds of which dot every roadside. These are often clean open shelters which serve as clubs for the village people and passers-by. Here they gather round a big boiling samovar, quaffing tea, chat- ting and discussing their social and economic problems in a friend- ly atmosphere. Afghans are very fond of tea, especially green tea, drinking sometimes 15 to 20 cups in an hour. These tea- houses are seldom without a rubabi (one who plays on the rubab) with a large number of eager listeners making a circle around him keeping time with the music and nodding their heads in apprecia- tion. The Afghans love stories very much. The old men and women are great story-tellers, and the young folk listen with great interest to these stories, most of which are concerned with the deeds of national heroes or those of genii and fairies. Dur- ing winter they generally gather round the Sandali (a sort of stove) or the hearth, listening attentively to the grandma, who is an expert story-teller. The basis of Afghan society is patriarchal, as it was in the days of yore. Father or grandfather (generelly called Mushar or Spingere—the venerable old man) is the head of the family. He must be consulted on all important family matters. No one should marry without his sanction. Permission to marry a daugh- ter of his family is asked of him by the suitor through the mediation of an intimate friend or elders of the locality. It is a long and tedious process and sometimes takes weeks and months before an agreement is reached. The selection of the