one of the most adventurous journeys that had ever been described before
the Society. Twenty or twenty-four years ago we had nothing but the
vaguest knowledge of Kafiristan, but the country had been gradually
opened out by General Walker and Colonel Montgomery's pundits in
disguise. Foreign geographers had sometimes cast it in the teeth of
Englishmen that their discoveries beyond the frontiers of India had been
made vicariously, but in this case it was an Englishman who had performed
the journey. He believed he was right in saying that no Englishman before
Mr. McNair had ever visited the Swat Valley. It was now inhabited by a
most inhospitable race, who had become Afghanised, but rumours had often
been heard about the Buddhist there. Eighteen or twenty centuries ago it
was one of the most sacred spots of Buddhism, filled with Buddhist
monasteries and temples, but, as far as he knew, no European except Mr.
McNair had ever seen those remains. If further explorations were carried
out there probably most interesting discoveries would result. Passing on
to the Panjkhora river and to Dir, there was very little doubt that those
valleys were the scene of some of Alexander's exploits on his way to
India. Many scholars supposed that Dir was one of the fortresses which
Alexander took, and incidentally the place was mentioned by Marco Polo as
the route of a Mongol horde from Badakshan into Kashmir. He believed that
the earliest distinct notice of the Kafirs was the account of the country
being invaded by Timour on his march to India. When he arrived at Andaráb
he received complaints by the Mussulman villagers of the manner in which
they were harassed by the infidels, and a description was given of how
the great Ameer himself was slid down snow slopes in a sort of toboggin
of wickerwork. He captured some of the Kafir forts, but could not
penetrate into the country. After that very little mention was made of
them in history, till Major Rennell referred to them in his great memoir
on the map of Hindostan, and Mountstuart Elphinstone, who, the Afghans
used to say, could see on the other side of a hill. He always seemed able