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5 intelligent, hospitable and self-reliant. They have a very strong sense of nationalism. Indeed, pride of race and love of country are instilled in an Afghan from the cradle, and nothing induces him to surrender that love of independence that seems to be the essence of his nature. There is no caste in Afghan society; every Afghan thinks himself as good as another. In fact, the political atmosphere of the country is healthier for the delicate plant of democracy than anywhere else in the East. Afghanistan occupies a very important position in the strategy and politics of Central Asia. Geography has made it the great crossroad between North and South, East and West. Its location, its strategic importance, and last though not the least, its invigorating climate and the grandeur and beauty of its mountain system make it one of the most interesting places in the world to visit. Even to those who have neither hobbies nor enterprise, but want rest and recreation in a lovely country with a pleasant climate and an abundance of delicious fruits, Afghan- istan would undoubtedly prove one of the best health-resorts in the world. It is among those countries, which are still totally unsophisticated and unspoiled. Here are towns and villages where one may sleep or dine in comfort, and yet be surrounded with the atmosphere of a culture as old as history itself. The jaded visitor from the parched plains of the neighbouring count- ries may regain health in its beautiful emerald green valleys, which, having escaped the contamination of manufacturing life, retain up to this day an ideal sylvan scenery and mediæval tranquillity. Afghanistan, once the crossroads between the East and the West, after centuries of eclipse when the seas became the more