266

CABOOL.

BOOK II.

doubling the price of provisions, which is a sure in-
dication of their scarcity. A large army might
still find a comfortable quarter in the city of Cabool,
and draw the supplies which it required, additional
to the resources of the country, from Peshawur and
the valley of the Cabool river, near Julalabad.
Forage for cattle is most plentiful; artificial grasses
are cultivated to a great extent, and prove a most
nutritious food to horses. There are likewise exten-
sive meadows both at Cabool andGhuzni. One, called
Nawur, in particular, near the latter place, would
supply a force of 20,000 cavalry. The city of
Cabool has been described elsewhere: it has a
population of about 60,000 souls, and a bazar of
nearly 2000 shops : each trade has a separate divi-
sion of the town. Cabool furnishes a supply of
articles far beyond what its size would indicate; for
it is a mart, the entrepot of a great trade, and in-
creases daily under the fostering care of its present
ruler.

As a place of defence, Cabool is contemptible ; the
city-wall, which has never been good, has fallen
down ; the summits of the hills that environ the
town are crowned with walls, but they are a useless
ornament. The Bala Hissar, or citadel, which
stands on the eastern side, is a place of no strength,
and the other Bala Hissar below it is even more
defenceless. The former building, which stands
on an eminence, commands a noble view of the
surrounding country, and might be made to com-
mand the city, which lies at its base.