CABUL, a very ancient city, and at present the capital of Afghanistan, surrounded by a brick wall about a mile and a half in circumference, with towers at the angles, and scarcely any ditch. It stands on the eastern side of two united hills of a semicircular form, in the midst of an extensive and fertile plain, well watered, and interspersed with walled villages. A stream runs through the town, and has a small bridge over it. Through the plain runs the Cabul river, over which, at the distance of four or five miles to the southward of the city, is a bridge of brick. The houses are built of rough stones and clay, and make but a mean appearance. Four spacious bazars were erected here in the centre of the city, by Ali Murdan Khan, a celebrated Persian nobleman, who for many years governed these western provinces. These are now occupied by the meanest order of mechanics, and the fountains with which they were supplied are choked up with filth. The citadel, called Bala-Hissar, or Upper Fort, is situated on a rising ground in the eastern quarter of the city, and it contains the palace and other public buildings. The climate, from the vicinity of the great central range of the Hindoo Coosh Mountains, covered with perpetual snow, inclines to cold, and is liable also to sudden variations. Cabul is a great resort of trade, and the great bazar is frequently crowded with Usheek Tartars, and with Hindoos from Peshawer. This city is mentioned by the Arabian historians in the seventh century as the residence of a Hindoo prince. It was for some time the capital of the Emperor Baber, and in the year 1739 was taken by Nadir Shah, who, after abandoning it to plunder, annexed it, along with the province, to his Persian dominions. On his death Ahmed Shah Abdally took possession of it, and in the year 1774 it was constituted the capital of Afghanistan by his son Timur Shah. The travelling distance from Delhi is 839 miles, from Agra 976, from Lucknow 1118, and from Calcutta 1815 miles.