YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Bought with the income
of the
WILLIAM C. EGLESTON FUND

17

\

A WINTER'S JOURNEY
(.TATAR,)

FROM

CONSTANTINOPLE TO TEHRAN;

TRAVELS THROUGH VARIOUS PARTS OF PERSIA,
&c.
BY JAMES BAILLIE FRASER, ESQ.
AUTHOR OF
" A TOUR IN THE HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS," " THE KUZZILBASH,"

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.

LONDON:
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
$ubKin>r fa <©rtmarj> to Her JKajesitp.
1838.

LONDON :
PHINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY,
Dorset Street, Fleet Street.

CONTENTS

THE SECOND VOLUME.

LETTER I.
Rest. — Effects of Cold. — Visits. — Meerza Abul Hassan Khan.
— The Ameen-u-Dowlut  The Ausef-u-Dowlut. — The Shah's/
health. — Causes of anxiety. — A BoiTYivant. — A Persian Bou
doir. — The Palace. — Monoocheher Khan  The Sipahdar.— Arrival
of the British detachment. — Aga Bahram. — Abbas Meerza, and
campaigns in Khorasan. — Capture of Serrakhs. — His death. —
The Kaymookam and his policy. — Moollah Saleh. — The Dur~
khaneh. — Persian public offices and functionaries. — The Palace and
the Shah. — Visit to Aga Bahram — the Shah's shooting. — Opinions
and complaints. — Shahzadehs. — Ruins of Rhe. — Persian Intrigues, fc-
— A blunt Courtier. — Poet Laureate. — A Persian residence. — The
Zorkhaneh. ...... Page 1
LETTER II.
Excursion to Meerza Abul Hassan Khan's Village. — Beggars.
— Value of Water for irrigation. — • Persian Agriculture. — The
Khan at his Village — Modes of Farming. — Ancient Cities. —
Return, to Tehran. — The Eede. — Return of the Shah front
Koom, and entry into the Capital. — Persian Games. — Picnics.
— A Persian Historian. — Royal Hymeneals. — Scenes in the

tv CONTENTS.
Maidaun. — The Princes. — The Shah's appearance. — Presentation
of Gifts to his Majesty. — Dancers and Tumblers. — Wrestlers,
Buffoons, &c. ..... Page 62
LETTER III.
The Ladies leave Tehran. — Illuminated Bazars. — F6te given
by the Queen to the English party. — The Races. — The Shah's
throne and equipage. — Critical niceties. — Contradictory reports
from Khorasan. — Flight of Khosroo Meerza to Tehran.— The
Shah's displeasure. — His advice to the Zil-e-Sultaun. — His pre
carious health. — Dreams and predictions. — A medical Story. —
State of Khorasan. — Discontents of the Princes. — Preparations
for departure. . . . . . .97
LETTER IV.
Tehran. — Travelling establishment. — Ashelleck. — Geelaur.
— Baughshah. — Firozekoh. — Rugged Pass. — Shameerzadah. —
Plague. — Horse lamed.' . .. . . .120
LETTER V.
— Ruined hunting Seat. — Fate of a tyrant. — Eeliaut encamp
ment. — Tootervar. — Shahrood. -^Mohurrum and Taziehs. —
Kajar justice. — Meyomeid. — Delays. — Persian country life.
¦ — Game. — A mountain ascent. — Vast and singular prospect, —
An ancient Fortress. — Perilous descent. ¦ — Measurement of water
for irrigation. — Kajar encouragement to zeal . .138
LETTER VL
.i Leave Meyomeid. — Magnificent Chinar. _ Halt of a Caravan
for prayer. — The march.— An alarm. — Abbasgabad. — Hajee,
Agha. — Muzzinoon. — The Prince's camp. — Mahomed Meerza.
— Audience with him. — The Kaymookam. —Interview withfv.
him. — Sore eyes and no eyes^— A sad story. — Subzawar. —
Arkoiin Meerza. . , , 167

CONTENTS.

LETTER VII.

- Leave Subzawar. — Kahrez-degez. — Abdoola-gow. — Pastoral
country. — Kallah-Seyedha. — Mr. B  . — A Khorasanee Bor
derer. — Ameerabad. — Ruin of the country  Arrival at Mushed.
— A bore. — Sad dilapidation — Misery. -^Toorkoman prisoners.
—An interesting incident. — Severe punishments. — Breakfast with
the Minister. — Interview with the Prince. — Catching a Tartar. —
Old friends  Mahomed Khan  Reza Koolee Khan. — Ruin and
misery. — A visit from the Vizier. — A theft. — A boaster. — An old
friend. ...... Page 195
LETTER VIII.
Difficulties. — The Uttar Bashee. — Yar Mahomed Khan.; —
Nawab Hindee. — Shuffling conduct. — Yelantoosh Khan. — A
strange introduction. — Cause for caution. — Toorkoman fidelity. 241
LETTER IX.
Audience of leave. — A piece of news. -— Jealousy of the Vizier.
— Route by Kelaat-Naderee abandoned. — Parting with old friends.
— First march. — Grasshoppers. — Radcan. — Poverty. — Moo-
chooloon. — A strong but necessary measure. — Kallah Eussuff
Khan. — Thaveree. — Change in Khorasan. — Choice of roads. —
Descent to Deregez Valley. — Arrival at the Persian camp . 256
LETTER X.
Persian camp-practice, and mode of obtaining supplies. —
Checks upon plundering. — Villages, chuppowed. — Toorkoman al
lies  Negotiations. — Delays. — B— — 's illness. — Decision of
character. — -Way to stop a mutiny. — Camp changes its ground.
— Insects. — Spiders .... 276
LETTER XI.
Account of the quarrel between Abbas Koolee Khan and the
Persian Government. — Emigration. — The Khan's proposals. —
Yelantoosh Khan, the envoy. — Reply. — A counter proposition.

vi CONTENTS.
— Break up of camp — Army marches towards the passes. — We
proceed to Mahomedabad. — An alarm. — Treacherous guide.—
Persian soldiers — their intelligence and powers of endurance.
— Hardships in Khorasan campaigns. — Anecdote of some Ser«
bauz. — The pass. — Mahomedabad. — The Khan. — Intrigues.
— The Attock  A dinner party. — A present  Tricks of
guides  Ascent of the pass. — The Sirdar's camp Page 287-
LETTER XII.
Thaveree. — Wounded cow. — Breeds of horses. — Sheerwan.
— Boojnourd. — Nejeff Allee Khan. — Delays. — Jaffer Koolee
Khan. — Pic-nic party to a garden. — A present. — A great man's
whim, or meanness. — Leave Boojnoord. — Toorkoman doings. — An
impressive view. — A Toorkoman village. — An Alachik or tent de
scribed. — Toorkoman fare. — An old lady's wrath. — Another
Qbah. — Alarming preparations. — Fishing. — Feasting. — Obah
the third. — A moving house and worthy host. — The M6nah
valley. — Semulghan. — A row . . . 316
LETTER XIII.
Leave Kalla Khan. — Escort, r— Breakfast. — Dreary ride  Bi
vouac at Kallah Kahistan. — Superstitions. — A Braggadocio. —
Derreh-e-Kelatha. — Kalbash Valley. — Toorkoman traces. — Old
acquaintances. — Descent into Goorgaun. — Obah of Mahomed
Wullee Beg. — Breakfast. — Toorkoman burials  Obah of Ma-
fiomed Khojah Khan. — Plains of Goorgaun. — Obah of Hyder
Khan. — Striking a Toorkoman camp. — Toorkoman wives.  Di
vision of labour. — Female costume. — Brides and marriage cus
toms. — Female morals. — Appearance — Commutation of blood-
money — Government. — Sirdars. — Ak Sakals. — Obah of Khallee
Khan  Arrive at Senger. •• » . . _ 347
LETTER XIV.
Yamoots. — Obstacles. — Evil reports. — N6-deh  Exalted
sleeping-place. — Coormallee stream and pass  Thelavah.  Ker-
ghaun. — Bad servants. — Tricks upon travellers  Taush.  Yei-
laks.— Shahkoh. — Chardeh.— Chushmeh Allee  Poolad Muhuleh.

CONTENTS. VU
— A resolution — Asseran. — A midnight march — Pass. — Feero-
zekoh. — Baughshah. — Reach Tehran. — Disappointment. —
Illness ..... Page 382
LETTER XV.
A sharp attack of fever. — Parting with servants. — Visit to the
Moatimud. — A singular scene. — Leave Tehran. — Soork Kallah. —
Lawassoon. — Lar, — Trout fishing. — Lose our way. — A Sinehkesk.
— An awkward position  A bad night-fall. — Rough ascent. — Va-
lerood — Demawund. — Descent. — Gilauristook. — Descentin to Ma-
zunderan. — Paresp. — Lost Yaboo recovered. — Flies. — Amol. 411
LETTER XVI.
Balfroosh. — Mushedee-sir. — A contrast. — Izzut Deh. —
Mazunderan. — Travelling therein. — Mazunderanees. — Enter Ghee-
Ian. — Rood-e-Sir. — Fair day. — Costume Gheelanee. — Talish. —
Lankerood. — Plague. — Lahajan. — Dilapidation. — Arrival at
Resht ....... 455
LETTER XVII.
Resht. — Decay and dilapidation. — Illness. — Leave Resht. —
Fomen. — A night march in Gheelib. — Massouleh. — Fevers. —
Majillaun. — Gheelewan. — Shawl. — Khumus. — Insolent demand.
— Persian mule dealers. — Herow. — Elchinek. — Toork. — Thresh
ing floor and harvest. — Toorkomanchai. — Sick servants. — Push
for Tabreez. — Persian quarantine. — Reach Tabreez . 489

A WINTER'S JOURNEY

CONSTANTINOPLE TO TEHRAN.

LETTER I.

Rest. — Effects of Cold  Visits. — Meerzabul Hussun Khan. —
The Ameen-u-Dowlut. — The Ausef-u-Dowlut. — The Shah's
Health. — Causes of Anxiety. — A Bon Vivant. — A Persian Bou
doir. — The Palace. — Manoochehu Khan. — The Sipahdar. —
Arrival of the British Detachment. — Aga Bahram. — Abbas
Meerza, and Campaigns in Khorasan. — Capture of Serrakhs. —
His Death. — The Kaymookam and his Policy. — Moollah Salah.
— The Durkhaneh. — Persian Public Offices and Functionaries. —
The Palace and the Shah. — Visit to Aga Bahram, the Shah's
Shooting. — Opinions and Complaints. — Shahzadehs. — Ruins of
Rhe. — Persian Intrigues. — A blunt Courtier.— Poet Laureate — -
A Persian Residence. — The Zorkhaneh. Tehran, March 1833.
Dear  ,
You will not wonder that I have suffered some
days to pass at this place before beginning a letter
even to you ; that the charms of " idless'' — the
sheer passive delight of rest, after so long a period
of sustained exertion, should have seduced me into
an apparent neglect  But in point of
fact I have not been idle ; my occupations have been
only altered, not suspended, and hearing and speak-
VOL. II. b

2 FATAL EFFECTS OF COLD.
ing, and seeing and writing, have employed me as
closely, though not so laboriously, as during any period
of my journey. I will now, however, try to make up
to you for lost time, and give you some idea of what
is passing here, in so far as it is likely to interest
you ; and for that purpose I know no better me
thod to pursue than to transcribe certain portions of
my journal for your benefit.
The day after my arrival, March the 9th, being
Sunday, was truly a day of rest, and as such did I
most thankfully enjoy it. The sufferings I endured
from cold are not, it seems, uncommon here, and are
often attended with more fatal effects. In talking
over them to-day with Sir J. Campbell, he men
tioned that after the preceding winter, which was
a very severe one, as the snow melted, a number of
dead bodies were found on all the roads. That on
the. arrival of Captain Hawkins, in his way over
land to India, he had sent out a muleteer to bring
in this gentleman's baggage, which had remained
behind. This man, himself severely frost-bitten,<s
observing several stray mules in the vicinity of Sulee-
maniah, without any one to look after them, near
a ruined tower on the road side, went up to it, and,
looking in found six men, of whom five were dead ;
the sixth had life enough to beg the man to lift
him on one of the mules and take him away ; but
the muleteer was unable to dismount himself, far
less to assist another, so he left the poor wretch and
rode on to Tehran, giving notice at the gateway of
what he had seen, and then rode straight to the
Residency, where he remained long under medical
care, having lost some of his fingers. In the same

MEERZA ABUL HUSSUN KHAN. 3
way eight Russians were lost in a snow-drift, and
found there after the melting of the snow.
10th March. — Went this morning with Macniel,
to call on my old friend Meerza Abul Hussun
Khan, who, as you know, formerly enacted the part
of ambassador from his Persian majesty to Eng
land. He is now minister for foreign affairs here, and,
as it is reported, may possibly once more appear in
London in a diplomatic capacity, though I think it
unlikely. The old gentleman recognized me at once,
and received me with great cordiality, which I was
-the better pleased with, as I feared that certain
criticisms on his character and conduct in a former
work of mine, however merited, might have given
him offence. I afterwards found that he had seen
the book, but that a mutual friend had kindly re
moved the dangerous pages, on which, in spite of
his own imperfect knowledge of English, he might
have unfortunately stumbled. He has been much)
offended by the liberties taken with him by Morierj
in his " Hajji Baba." " It was," he said, " very bad,!
sir — very bad ; no true, sir— no honest ; 'pon my i
honour, sir;" interlarding his strange English with;
some more grammatically correct, but not more
complimentary remarks, in Persian. I found the
Khan changed rather in look than in manner ; time
had indeed somewhat thinned his flowing and splen->
did black beard, but his figure was rather plumped
up than bent by its " iron hand." He was indeed. a
jolly Chinese joss-looking old boy ; his features still
handsome, and with the same rapid rattling mode of
delivery as ever; the same abandon and thought
lessness in conversation, mingled with no small
b 2

4 VISITS.
shrewdness of remark, and quickness of perception:
We had a full dish of politics from the old gen
tleman, who, in profession at least, is our staunch
friend, and as anti-Russian as the most patriotic
Persian could wish. But a more detailed account
of our visit, which was of no ordinary length, would
be more likely to weary than to edify you, and so I
spare you its tediousness.
Next morning, the 11th, we called upon Mahomed
Khan Doombellee, a brother of the nobleman I had
met at Khoee, and of high rank, though fallen for
tunes. He is, I believe, Kooller-aghassee, or com
mander of the gholaums, and much respected on
account of his family and tribe, both of which are
very noble ; but he enjoys no great degree of in
fluence. On our way home we called again upon
the old ambassador, or, as he is more facetiously
than reverently termed here, on account of his cor
pulence, " Old Fatty." Both at this time, and in
the former visit, the conversation ran chiefly upon
the aspect of affairs, and the state of the king's
health, on which so much depends. His majesty's
health appears unquestionably to be failing fast, in
great measure in consequence of his own irregular
habits, particularly in his food. He is labouring
under an intermittent, yet eats loads of the most in
digestible things. They say he drank some ten or
a dozen quarts of melon-juice the other day, to
balance which he also took, I dare not venture to
say, how many grains of quinine.
12th March.— Went to call upon my old friend
and ally, Meerza Tuckee Alliabadee, the person who,
you may remember, liberated me from a very disa-

THE AMEEN-U-DOWLUT. 5
greeable limbo at Resht, in Ghilan ; when, during
my first travels in this country, I was confined there
by the orders of the young Shahzadeh. He re
ceived me with great kindness ; but, alas ! time had
laid a heavy hand on him. I remember him a sharp
intelligent-looking man, whose energetic mind ap
peared to harmonize well with his slight but active
frame : he was now a withered old man, with
sunken cheeks, sharp nose, and hollow voice. His
eyes alone retained some share of their pristine vi
vacity, and his countenance was still shrewd and
observant, with, occasionally, so strong a resemblance
to that cast of features attributed to Mephistophiles
as might startle a physiognomist.
In the afternoon we visited the Ameen-u-dowlut,
or chief minister of the state, and son to the late
Hadjee Mahomed Hoossein Khan, Sudr Ameen,
whom I so well remember at Ispahan, when my
poor friend Jukes died there, on his way to the
capital. This nobleman, who enjoys the entire con
fidence of the Shah in his own department, which
is that of revenue and the " home department,"
received us with great simplicity and kindness.
There is nothing distinguished in his appearance ;
but he has an honest openness of countenance,
which, it is said, belongs to his character. He is
sincerely religious, and straightforward in his con
duct ; and has maintained through prosperity and
adversity- a dignity and firmness which have gained
universal respect ; and a preponderance in the coun
cils of the king that has been proof against all
occasional storms. He is, however, remarkably
superstitious, and this was several times displayed

6 A FAL.
in a strong though ludicrous manner, during the
very interesting conversation which occurred on this
occasion. You have heard of the common practice
in Persia of taking a fal, that is, a sort of omen
or response, before deciding on any important step.
This is done by opening at random, either a Koran,
or a copy of Hafiz, and watching the sentence
which first meets the eye — ;the meaning of this sen
tence, properly interpreted, determines the seeker's
conduct. Sometimes the rosary of beads, which
every pious Mussulmaun carries with him, serves
the purpose, by a sort of " odds or evens ?" process,
the person who seeks a response grasping it at
random after muttering a prayer, and then counting
the number of beads so separated from the string.
The rosary was scarcely ever out of the Ameen's
hand for this purpose. Before every fresh remark
to the Envoy, we saw the catch of the fingers, and
the movement of the lips ; and this was equally
done to decide whether he should take a second
cup of tea, or communicate some important fact,
connected with the welfare of both Persian and
British interests, to the ambassador of the latter
power. 15th March.— Visited Allah Yar-khan, Kajar,
Ausef-u-dowlut, the first subject as regards rank
in Persia, after the princes of the blood royal;
being the head of one great branch of the Ka
jar tribe, and brother-in-law to the late Abbas
Meerza, by marriage ; that prince having married
his sister, and thus united in the persons of his
children the two branches of the tribe — namely,
the Eucharee-Bash, and Ashagha-Bash. It were

. AUSEF-U-DOWLUT. 7
to be wished, that this nobility of blood were ac
companied with a corresponding dignity of soul ;
but unhappily the very reverse is the case, as, for
falsehood, deceit, and treachery, according to general
report, he has scarcely his equal in Persia — and that
is a large word. His object is power, let who will
be king; and to preserve power there is nothing
he will not do. As for English or Russians, the
highest bidder is sure to have the Ausef — so he
intrigues as deep as he can with both parties, and
would sell either to the other — or to the arch
enemy himself, to gain a tomaun of cash or a
point of power. Still he is one of the politest
and best-bred noblemen in Persia ; and did he not
lie so grossly and gratuitously, his conversation
would be very agreeable. His impudence, too, is
quite equal to his other qualities. In the course of
this conversation, he took the bull completely by
the horns, and precluded all possible challenge on
the score of veracity, by appealing a dozen times
to the Envoy, to vouch for his truthfulness ; and
putting it to him, whether he, Sir John, ever heard
a word of doubtful or double meaning issue from
his mouth ?
The king is understood to be better to-day. The
native physicians, alarmed, waited on Mr. MacneiJ,
to state to him the old monarch's case, which had
been egregiously mismanaged. A single effective dose
of medicine administered by that gentleman's advice
changed the face of affairs, and relieved the Shah,
who, in consequence, was able to come out and
receive his ministers in a room in the garden.
17th March. — My friend Bonham, and Captain

8 THE SHAH'S HEALTH.
Macdonald arrived to-day from Tabreez, having.
set out two days after me, and staged it at their;
leisure. We all rode out to meet them, and with/
gholaums and servants made rather a brilliant caval
cade. What a different thing it is to ride a capital
horse at your own pleasure, from being forced to
mount a miserable jade, just at night-fall, and whip
and spur it on a long weary stage, with the com
fortable prospect of having to repeat the same game
at the end of it !
20th March. — The poor old king appears to be
breaking fast, in mind and body both. His health
has been varying for the last few days ; and this
morning, they say, he broke out into violent abuse of
his physicians, and drove them from his presence.
They had been remonstrating with him about his
excesses in eating, both as to quantity and quality ::
his majesty asked them what he should eat. — '¦
" Chicken broth," they said ; upon which he got into
a passion, swore that they wanted to kill the king ;
that they had been purging and working him till his
inside was all gone, and now they would give him
nothing but warm water. At last his fury rose
so high, that he seized a book to throw at them ;
but instead of the person aimed at, it hit a gool-
dan, or flower-stand, which was thrown down,
and water, flowers, and all were spilt. This made
matters worse ; he called for his sword, but it for
tunately was out of the way upon a shelf; so he
seized his stick, sprang up, and was proceeding to vent
his wrath on the medicos with his own hand, when
one of them fainted from terror, and the chief phy
sician whisked out of the room with more haste than

CAUSES OF ANXIETY. 9
dignity. Some have it that this last personage stood
firm, and remonstrated with the Shah, saying, it
did not become a king to speak or conduct himself
in such a manner ; but that he (the physician) was
sensible that it was not the Shah, but his disease
that spoke ¦ — and with that he quitted the apart
ment. Be this as it may, his majesty felt rebuked ;
order was restored, and on the morrow he sent for
and apologized to his physicians.
All this, however, the very precarious state of
the king's health, and the equally unsettled situation
of the succession and of public affairs, give rise to
many a serious and anxious reflection in all of us
English here, particularly in those whose public
duties throw upon them a high degree of respon
sibility, or who have families here within the walls
of Tehran. There is too much truth in what my
friend, Shereef Khan, of Casveen, says, that Tehran
is no safe place in case of such a political ferment
as the king's death might cause. Nothing is talked
of but the state of the country, and the civil wars
that are expected to arise from the struggles of the
several princes, aspirants for the throne. Indeed,
the existing state of circumstances within the capi
tal is such, that a tumult at the very least, and
probably a state of siege, may be looked for imme
diately on his present majesty's demise.
Of all the more powerful princes, whose preten
sions would be supported by a share of public
opinion, as well as by their own dependents, not one
is in or near the capital. That important ground
is occupied by Allee Shah Meerza, the full brother
of the late prince royal, entitled Zil-e-Sooltaun, or

10 CAUSES OF ALARM.
" the Shadow of the King," who is governor of the
ark, or palace of Tehran, the dwelling of the Shah,
and repository of his treasure. Of this fortress he,
who is also a pretender to the throne, would, as a
matter of course, hold possession ; and on that trea
sure he would seize so soon as the breath is out of
the king's body ; so that the city would, probably,
be placed in a state of siege by the adherents of
some of the other princes. But this is not the worst
of the prospect. Tehran, like every other capital
city, is the rendezvous of a multitude of advenk
turers, rogues, and vagabonds, who thrive best in
times of trouble, and who would not, assuredly, lose
so splendid an opportunity of driving their trade as
would be afforded by the state of effervescence con
sequent upon the death of the king ; from them no
one would be safe, and the general good will of the
inhabitants would prove no protection. The proba
bility is, that every house holding forth a prospect!
of plunder would be assaulted by these looties, or
blackguards of Tehran ; and the belief that much
treasure is always to be found in the English Resi
dency would, doubtless, tempt them "thither at a
very early period. Even the friendships of its in
mates with numerous distinguished natives would
but increase its danger, as many would be apt, in
case of disturbance, to seek for themselves and their
treasure an asylum within its walls, as being the
safest place from the violence of party rancour. To
deny such an asylum might not, in every case, be
possible; and thus would be increased the attrac
tions for violence and rapine.
It is true that more than one — nay, many of the

. PRECAUTIONS. 11
influential and powerful chiefs resident in Tehran,
from motives of private regard have often assured
the Envoy and inhabitants of the Residency, that
they and their adherents would personally guard the
English party in case of danger ; but, however gra
tifying this expression of good feeling might be, . it
was but too well known that many things might
occur to render their good intentions unavailing.
In short, it is an anxious time, and as each day
and hour brings its report, and the occurrences
within the palace become dimly noised abroad, you
will not be surprised that our own critical situation
becomes a frequent subject of conversation; and that
the measures to be taken in case of the worst, as
well as our means of defence, come often under
consideration. One thing is felt by all, and that is,
the expediency of getting the ladies and children
removed out of harm's way. Various considerations
have induced the Envoy and Macneil to resolve
on sending their respective families home, and this
resolution has been confirmed by the alarming cha
racter of the approaching juncture ; so that we shall
probably soon lose in Lady Campbell and Mrs.
Macneil the most agreeable part of our social circle,
and the source of our most serious anxiety, together.
21st March.— This day and to-morrow are the
chief days of the Eede, or festival of the no-Roz,
the new year of the Persians, being the vernal
equinox, and usually a great day in Persia. It
had been a question ever since the time of my
arrival, whether his majesty was likely to be well
enough to keep this festival, or would do so accord
ing to use and wont, even if he were. It has at

12 ROYAL ECONOMY.
length been resolved to postpone the public cele
bration of the Eede until the period fixed for the
marriage of one of the king's sons, by his favourite
wife or queen, the Taj-u-dowlut, whose nuptials are
to be celebrated with great splendour. His ma
jesty, with his usual economy, thinks that as he
must give many thousand kheluts, or dresses of
honour, on this occasion, and go to great expense,
he may as well save those usually given on the Eede,
and make the one outlay do for both. Indeed, he
means, it is understood, to cram in a good many
subordinate royal weddings of cousins and second
cousins, like entremets in a feast, and so get over the
whole at one coup. Thus, when Bonham and I
went this day to ride through the bazars, in hopes
of seeing a brilliant display, we saw little worth
looking at. There were a few pageants of coloured
paper and gold leaf, and sweetmeats, made into the
shape of gardens, and groves, and palaces, something
in the fashion of our Twelfth-night exhibitions, car
ried about ; and great trays of confectionery, covered
with gold cloth and shawls, were paraded on men's1
heads ; and a quantity of coloured eggs, gilt apples,.
and tinsel, were displayed in the shops ; but there
was nothing like the bustle usually seen on this
occasion. In fact, great anxiety on the subject of
the king's health appeared to be the predominant
feeling. One great Armenian merchant expressed
himself very strongly : « We are all in a scrape,"
said he ; " as for me, I have all my fortune, nearly
one hundred thousand tomauns, out and at stake :
if the Shah lives awhile I shall do well ; if not, why,
we have all put our foot in it."

SCANDAL. 1 3
We called on old Meerza Abul Hussun Khan, to
wish him " a happy Eede" but we found him laid up,
suffering sadly from mischievous boils in the fattest
parts of his fat carcass ; he was full of pain and
scandal, which last, of a political nature, he loves as
well as ever an old maiden at home does a bit of secret,
family, or personal history : you know we can have
none here in which the ladies are concerned, and
there would be but poor amusement for your home
scandal-mongers ; but it does not languish for want
of the beverage which is said to be so great a pro
moter of it in England, for we chat here over a
capital dish of tea, too sweet for home palates, per
fect syrup, and generally without milk, but excel
lent in flavour.
The old gentleman is truly a sad abusive person ;
he has no measure in talking of those he dislikes,
and many a bitter sarcasm he vented to-day, and
many an absurd anecdote did he tell in his strange
mixture of Persian and English. Among other
things, however, he mentioned a rather spirited
" on dit " of the old king. The Prince Governor
of Fars, Hassan Allee Meerza, who, like many of
his royal brothers, is very remiss in revenual matters,
has suffered so long a time to elapse without even
the smallest apology for a remittance, that the
Shah has at length lost all patience, and threatens
to go himself to Sheerauz and collect the money.
A day or two ago, it is said, he broke out with
perfect fury, and ordered the following message to
be forthwith sent to the Prince : — " Either you are
yaghee (in a state of rebellion), or you are not ;
if the latter, send all arrears due without delay —

14 A BON VIVANT.
if the former, say so honestly, and come and meet
the Shah with your army. The Shah will be on
the road to Fars after the mohurrum. — Bismillah f
come to Khooskizurd, and fight it out there ! "
23rd March. — A cold frosty wind— water frozen
out of doors. While the Envoy was receiving a
visit from the Malek-ul-Shaer, or poet-laureat, son
and successor of old Futeh Allee Khan, from whom
I had formerly received great kindness, we were
informed that a certain nobleman, a cousin of the
king's, Hassain Allee Khan, Kajar, was in the
garden of the Residency, and meant to call upon
the Envoy. This gentleman, who is the son of
Mustapha Koolee Khan, a brother of Aga Mahomed
Khan, is a very fine dashing fellow. It was he
who, by a spirited charge on the heights of Aberan
during the last war with Russia, was chiefly instru
mental in causing a battalion of Russian regulars;
to lay down their arms : but he has one great
fault; he is not only a khoosh goozerdn, or bon
vivant, but a downright drunkard. Hours and days
does he pass in drinking; and as the garden of ther
Residency is one of the pleasantest spots within
the walls of Tehran, this jolly Khan frequently
honours it with his presence, and spends the live
long day under the shade of its cypresses, glass in
hand. On this occasion, after paying his respects
to the Envoy, he retired to his favourite retreat,
with a store of good liquor which he had provided-,
and, piercing cold though it was, commenced his
orgies. Even so late as near eight o'clock at night,
when we were all sitting after dinner over our
sober glass of wine, we heard he was still there..

AN EXCHANGE. 15
We had just then taken a sip of delicious rum-
shrub as a liqueur, and somebody observed, " How
Hassan Allee Khan would smack his lips at this !"
" Let us send it to him," said the Envoy. " By all
means :— say we have just been tasting it, and
having approved of it, we send it to the Khan, in
hopes he may take a glass." In a very short while
the Khan returned for answer, " that the Elchees'
wine was excellent, and that in lieu thereof he
sent a bottle of his own, with his respects, and
hoping that it would prove to the taste of the
gentlemen." It turned out to be very tolerable
Tehran wine, of a bright light Madeira colour,
and a flavour which, if improved by a few years'
keeping, would have been excellent.
Next day, March 24th, we went to visit this de
termined toper, who received us in one of the pret
tiest rooms I have seen in Persia. It is what is
called a zere-%emeen, or vaulted cellar, underground,
somewhat in the form of a cross, the walls of which
are fitted up beautifully with mosaic work, in lack
ered tiles, for about three feet from the floor, and
the rest with plaster, cut into tdkchehs, or sundry
little niches and reeesses, all neatly ornamented.
In each take heh there was a bouquet of waxen flowers,
imitating lilies, jonquils, gilder and tube-roses, &c. ;
and a quantity of oranges and lemons, ornamented
with gilding, were ranged round the surbase of the
apartment. There was but one window at the top
of the cross, and under this there were pots and
frames of flowers and green things, and fruits
were placed all round it. The fire-place was oppo
site, at the bottom, and on either side of it we sat.

16 A PERSIAN BOUDOIR. x
The roof was of a pure white shining plaster, orna
mented with a carved pattern, and the corners were
cut curiously into a multitude of little arches, prop
ping each other, after a form common in the country,
but difficult to describe. The whole thing had a
most pleasing effect, and I am told that it is the
coolest room in Tehran in summer, and the warmest
in winter. The Khan does not let the beauties or
comforts of this pleasant apartment be lost for lack
of use ; for I am informed that he occasionally has
most capital rechercM dinners here, followed by
symposia, at which there is no lack of his favourite
amber- coloured liquor ; and I have heard of his
giving a feast of this sort to his English friends,
with the whole floor of the room spread three or
four inches deep of rose-leaves ! There is a poetical
flight of a Persian Khan for you ! They say, poor
man, that a soft substratum to recline upon is
quite necessary, as before the feast is over he is
generally fast asleep upon the. floor, unable to move
a limb. 26th March. — This forenoon accompanied Macneil
to visit Manoocheher Khan, the Moatimud-u-dowlut,
or " trusted of the state ;" the confidential minister
and most particular favourite of the king. This
man is an eunuch, and his history is remarkable.
At the age, as I have heard, of eighteen, when he
had already been sometime married, and was a father,
he, together with Khosroo Khan, both Georgians by
birth, were taken prisoners in war, and both inhu
manly reduced to their present situation. They
were afterwards both taken into the service of the
king ; and, strange as it may seem, instead of bear-

THE PALACE. 17
ing an eternal and unquenchable hatred to the
author of their misfortune, they became his most
faithful and confidential servants. Manoocheher Khan,
in time, was raised to the rank of Khojah Bashee, or
chief eunuch of the harem, in which he was every
thing ; but lately he has been promoted to the rank
of minister, as I have said, and has been also intrusted
with the government of Ghilan, where he resides a
good deal. He still, however, appears to retain the
chief charge of the harem, and is, perhaps, the most
influential person about his majesty. He is one of
the ablest, and, as I hear, of the most respectable
men about the court ; and if not absolutely free from
Persian vices, is at least far more upright and honest
than the great majority of Persian courtiers.
The Khan has apartments in the palace, which,
on this visit, I entered for the first time. On pass
ing the durkhaneh, or gateway, which opens from
the great Maidaun, or Place, we observed the Nas-
sakchee Bashee, or Provost-marshal, seated in a little
room, with several of his men in attendance; and
turning to the left through a vaulted passage, in
which were several guard-rooms, hung with the
accoutrements of the guards, all shabby enough, we
made another turn to the right, which took us into
a court, or garden, of about one hundred and fifty
to one hundred and sixty yards long, by fifty or
sixty wide. This is divided about the middle by the
Dewan Khaneh-e-Aum, or public hall of audience,
a brick building, consisting, as it appeared, of a large
hall and several smaller apartments. Outside this
building is poor enough, but within it is highly
ornamented, in the usual Persian fashion, with paint-
VOL. II. c

18 THE DURKHANEH.
ing, gilding, enamel work, small mirrors, and bits of
looking-glass, all so disposed as to have a pretty,
though a fragile effect. Within this hall is the
great throne, a structure of Maragha marble, sup;-
ported on figures grotesquely carved out of the same
material, and exhibiting the forms of Gins, Deeves,
and women, who, whether meant for fairies or hoo*
ries, are monstrously ill-favoured and fantastic.
That part of the garden in front of the Dewan
Khaneh is divided by a canal df very dirty water,
with fountains in it, having on either side paved
walks, and rows of tall Chinar trees trimmed into a
brush at top. Beds of shrubs and trees fill up the
rest of the space, and a similar plan of division is
pursued behind the building.
On either side of this Dewan Khaneh, as we
passed, were groups of men of all ranks and sta
tions, some seated in little knots, laying their heads
close together in earnest talk ; others lounging aboutj
and standing against the walls and terraces. All
were evidently on business dr duty, or waiting to be
employed, or forming the suite of some man of rankj
who had been admitted to the interior. The whole,
certainly, exhibited much the air and appearance of
a princely Durkhaneh.
An open sort of arcade, to the left of the Dewan;
Khaneh, gives admission to the suite of buildings;
and offices which surround the upper divisidn of the
court i On the right, as we passed through this
arcade, there was a doorway adorned with coarsely;-
enamelled tiles, at which several officials were seated,
and which leads, as we learned, to the Shah's private
apartments. Under the sill of this doorway lie the

MANOOCHEHER KHAN. 19
bones of Nader Shah, taken up from his tomb at
Mushed by Aga Mahomed Khan, the present mo
narch's uncle. He also took up the remains of the
good Kereem Khan Zund, in order to submit them
to the same indignity ; but they were restored to
their resting place again. I understood that the
harem was behind the buildings then in view.
We found Manoocheher Khan in a small upper
apartment, which we reached by passing through
one or two ruinous courts, and by mounting, a mise
rable staircase : a multitude of slippers at the top
gave token of a number of guests within. The
Khan, who of course occupied the highest seat, is
a large fair man, with Georgian features, strongly
marked, and a face which, though perfectly devoid
of beard, is not at all wrinkled : in fact, he is not
more, I believe, than forty years of age, although,
like all eunuchs, he looks older than he is. The
expression of his countenance is good-humoured, and
his voice has nothing of the cracked or squeaking
tone which belongs to persons in his situation. He
was surrounded by a number of persons of distinc
tion — the place next himself was occupied by the
Sippurdar or Sipahdar* a young man of twenty-five
or twenty-seven years at the most, very good-look
ing, with features small and delicate, even to effe
minacy, a perfect beauty of a beard curling round
his dimpled chin and cheeks, glossy black musta-
chios and side-locks, and small yet brilliantly glancing
eyes. He was most gorgeously clad in a yellow silk
* The first means the shield-bearer; the second, the commander
of the troops : the title has been interpreted both ways to me.
c 2

20 A PERSIAN DANDY.
kabba, or dress, with a white-spotted shawl round
his waist, in which was stuck a splendid jewelled
dagger, the string of which terminated in a tassel
of pearls. His cloak was of fine shawl, lined with
very handsome fur : in short, he was a perfect
Pelham of a Persian. But in spite of somewhat of
the coxcombry of youth, he bears a good character,
and is much respected. His father was a Georgian
slave, who rose, as such people often do, so high in
the confidence of the Shah, that he bestowed upon
his favourite the government of certain central dis
tricts of Irak, which furnish the principal part of
the king's standing army. This trust he discharged
so well, that his district became one of the best
ordered and prosperous in Persia ; but he did not
altogether overlook his own interest, for, in the
course of his administration, he amassed treasure, it
is said, to the amount of 300,000 tomauns, or rather
better than £150,000 sterling. This, at his death,
according to the equitable custom of Persia, was
claimable by the king, who, had any attempt at
concealment been made, would have assuredly
pounced upon the whole. So the son, the present
Sipahdar, made a virtue of necessity, and tendered
the whole to his majesty. The sequel is variously
related Some say that the king received the offer
graciously, but desired the young man to keep his
treasure till the Shah should claim it, and be as
good a servant as his father had been. Others say,
that his majesty made a fair division, taking half
and leaving half. Probably, the treasure did not
amount to nearly so much as was said, and still,
more probably, the whole property was by no means

A CONJUROR. 21
produced. Be that as it may, the young man has
retained his father's government, together with the
command of the army ; a most lucrative appoint
ment, by which he must soon have made up for
what the king may have taken. He is said now to
be immensely rich, and yet he keeps his ground in
the king's confidence and favour.
Among the company was old Meerza Abul Hussun
Khan, quite upon his good behaviour, and my friend,
Mahomed Khan Doombellee, who graciously acknow
ledged me ; but soon there entered, with some fracas,
an old, blind, ill-looking man, with a great turban, to
receive whom all rose up, and who took the highest
place : this was the Sheik-ool-Islam of Tehran. His
presence seemed rather to annoy some of the com
pany, and among the rest our friend Fatty, who got
up and went away. It interrupted, too, and changed
the tone of conversation, which had been before
light and amusing. Among other things there was
some talk of magic and conjurors, and Manoocheher
Khan told us a story of a man he had seen, who
performed some extraordinary feats and tricks with
a handkerchief, which he held spread out with both
hands, while voices came from under it, and it waved
and moved up and down in an extraordinary man
ner, without any apparent agency of his. " The
fellow," said the Khan, " declared that it was a
Gin he had under command, which produced these
appearances and noises ; but I saw it was a trick,
and watched him till I detected how he managed it,
with a horn and a little bit of stick :— ' Ai khaneh-
khrab, (you bankrupt rogue,) said I to him, ' why
do you tell a lie, and say you have a Gin or Deeve to

22 ARRIVAL OF THE DETACHMENT.
do this ; are not your own cleverness and skill more
marvellous than that would be ?' "
28th March. — We have had accounts of late, from
tiihe to time, of the approach to Tehran of the de^
tachment of British officers and sergeants, which
were solicited from the Bengal government by the
late Prince Royal, and which have only lately landed
at Bushire from India. Yesterday a messenger from
their camp announced their arrival at Kinaragird,
one stage from Tehran ; and the whole English
party, with the Envoy and suite at our head, fol.
lowed by all our servants and attendants, rode out
to meet and escort them into Tehran. We made a
very tolerable show upon the whole, and having met
the new-comers some ten miles from the city, our
combined parties formed a most respectable and
imposing, though not a very regular, line of march.
It was an interesting incident, the meeting of so
many countrymen in a strange land, and one which,
as you may imagine, gave no small fillip to the
life of our party at the Residency, It is not alone,
at so remote a place as Tehran, that the addition of
Seven pleasant people to a small society/would create
a sensation. 29th March. — In company with Macneil and Mr.
Brandt, consul of Trebizond, (now on a visit here,) I
went to. call on Manoocheher Khan, and to explain
some improvements, suggested by the silk-dealers
in England, as applicable to the preparation of
the Ghilan raw-silk for the English market. The
difficulty of introducing improvements into any of
the manufactures of an ignorant people is at all
times great, but must in Ghilan be particularly so,

AGA BAHRAM. 23
from the peculiar state of relation between the land
lords and cultivators, as well as by the state of the
silk trade generally. The Moatimud, however, as
governor of the province, anxious for its welfare,
and himself a great speculator in silk, is the most
likely person to bring such projected improvements
to the test of experiment at all events ; and, if good,
they will force their own way, as, I am told, has
been the case with the silk at Brousa, in Asia
Minor, which in consequence of a certain change in
the mode of reeling has nearly doubled in value.
But I dare say you would not be much amused by
a dissertation on the silk trade, so I will spare it for
the present at least.
At the Khan's apartment we saw, among other
distinguished personages, a very remarkable indivi
dual, Aga Bahram, a great favourite of the king's,
and holding almost the highest rank, if not the very
highest, among the eunuchs of the Anderoon. This
person, most singular to tell, was born of neither
sex, and yet, as the Persians say, when young, was
possessed of more beauty of face and form " than
the Almighty ever gave to any other human crea
ture." This account is, in great measure, confirmed
by those who remember Aga Bahram some fourteen
or fifteen years ago ; but certainly, whatever beauty
he had, has now departed, although he is not above
forty years of age. He has no beard, but the upper
lip is covered with soft down, like those of some
women, and the features, particularly the mouth,
have much of feminine softness ; yet the voice is very
much that of a man ; and though brought up chiefly
in the harem, and having some feminine points of

24 ROYAL FAVOURS.
appearance, the Aga is anything but effeminate in
his habits. On the contrary, he excels in all martial
and manly exercises; is the best rider and keeps the
best horses in Tehran ; is most expert at the use of
the sword and spear, and one of the best, if not the ^
very best, shot in Persia. He is, besides, a most
pleasant and gentlemanly person, and bears in all
respects a very good character.
The king, we hear, is greatly better ; so much
so, that he has ridden out several times, and this
morning actually went to hunt, and killed an ante
lope near Shemroon. Such an occasion for screw
ing a little cash out of his rich nobles' pockets was
not to be omitted ; so, selecting four individuals,
worthy of the royal favour, he sent a quarter to
each, and received back an hundred ducats a piece
for this mark of distinction from the Shah-in-ShaL
Such in Persia is the blessed fate of the man " whom
the king delighteth to honour !" I hear, too, he had
a shooting match yesterday, on his favourite ground
at the Durwazeh-dovolut, when he fired twenty:
shots and killed five sheep. No doubt his majesty
got more than mere Mash-allahsl on tne occasion,'.
lst April. — I am now here nearly a month ; yet
my plans for moving are still uncertain, further than
this, that I am to proceed first to Khorasan, where
Mahomed Meerza and his minister the Kaynw
mookam still remain, and where it is possible I
may still find them, as their movements depends
upon intrigues at this court, the event of which
no one can foretel. I have abstained from borings
you much with the state of politics in this country;
which, however interesting to those on the spot,

PROJECTS OF THE PRINCE ROYAL. 25
would probably be voted a nuisance, like other
" parish business," by those who are not in the
secret ; but to enable you to comprehend what I
may have to talk about, and to follow me where
I may have to go, I must, I believe, request your
attention to some explanations which will involve a
little both of politics and intrigue.
Abbas Meerza, the late ; Prince Royal, died, as I
have told you, in Khorasan, while pursuing his
advantages in that country, and endeavouring to
achieve the conquest of Herat, from the Affghan
prince who holds it. The result of the Russian
war of 1827-8, so disastrous to Persia, and in
which the Prince Royal had been so much and so
unsuccessfully engaged, had determined him, as soon
as his military establishment was somewhat re
organized and repaired, to attempt some exploit
in which the chances of success might be greater,
in order to efface from the minds of his subjects
and the country the impression of his late failure.
After due deliberation, he resolved to undertake
the reduction of Khorasan, a remote province, full
of chiefs who considered themselves as virtually
independent, and inhabited by a fierce population,
who agreed together in nothing so well as in an
utter detestation of the whole Kajar race.
But his royal highness was impelled to the con
quest of Khorasan by other motives besides that
of effacing from his military reputation the stain
of defeat and loss, and of reducing to subjection
a rebellious province. The Toorkomans of the
desert and the Oozbeck states still carried on a
system of man-stealing, which depopulated the

26 MOTIVES
north of Khorasan, and consigned the Persians
Sheahs to slavery with Soonnee masters. This was
to be put a stop to ; the Toorkomans were to be
repressed, the Oozbecks punished. The state of
Khyvah, to which he asserted his claim as part
of the Persian empire, was to be reduced to ac.
knowledge the Shah's supremacy ; and the trade
not only in Persian, but in Russian captives, which
had given a just cause of remonstrance to Russia,
was to be abolished to all futurity ; a measure
which would remove all pretence for aggression;
or encroachment from that power on the side of
Orenburgh ; and finally, he should establish his
character as an orthodox and"zeatoijs Mussulman^
which some had ventured to douJA, by rescuing
from the dread of sacrilegious profanation the holy
shrines of Mushed, and relieving ali pious and true
believers from the dangers heretofore incident to a
pilgrimage to that saintly place.
Such were the purposes with which Abbas
Meerza commenced his progress eastward; direct
ing his march first towards Kerman, then governed*
by one of his rival brothers, Hoossein Allee Meerza,
who was formerly governor of Khorasan. This
place was redueed after considerable resistance,'
and the army then proceeded to Khorasan. 1 1 do»
not mean to inflict upon you a history of the
campaigns that followed, although an account of
the events which took place might not be deficient
in interest, for there is much in them of adventure*;
and incident, of hardship and suffering, of bold
deeds and daring enterprize; but it is sufficient!
for my present purpose to say, that in the course

AND SUCCESS. 27
of little more than two years, every chief of con
sequence in Khorasan was either taken prisoner,
or had been forced to do homage to the Prince
Royal ; every strong place had been taken by siege,
assault, or capitulation, and the country reduced
to a desert by pillage, famine, and disease. The
military fame and character of his royal highness
were fairly established, though at a fearful price, inso
much that, had the king at this time taken leave
of the world and of his throne, there is every pro
bability that the prince would have succeeded to it
without a struggle.
Not content, however, with his successes in Persian
Khorasan, Abbas Meerza resolved to inflict a severe
blow upon the Toorkomans of the neighbouring de
sert, and to annex the city and dependencies of Herat
to the crown of Persia ; or, at least, to force its master
to do him homage, and pay him tribute. The first he
effected by a masterly attack upon Serrakhs, a town
inhabited by Toorkomans, lying upon the skirts of
the Moorghab hills, to the eastward of Mushed, and
which he took by assault. This was an enterprize
which it appears the prince had long kept in view.
Several years before this period, in a familiar con
versation with our friend Macneil, when his high
ness was indulging in many a speculation regarding
his future prospects and projects, and among other
subjects was adverting to the condition of Khorasan,
and the Toorkoman practice of man -stealing and
selling, he said, " There is a place called Serrakhs,
where a great number of these people dwell, and
which they have made a depdt for their booty.
Some day or other, Inshallah ! I will go and capture

28 CAPTURE OF SERRAKHS.
it, and you shall go with me, and we shall get
great plunder ; for I have good information about
the place, and they say there are whole sacks and
khoorgeens full of gold, and precious stones, and
bales of shawls and rich stuffs, the plunder of many
caravans — now, remember : it is a bargain ; we gov
there together." Macneil laughed, and soon forgot
the whole affair.
In November 1832, Macneil, having gone on duty
to Khorasan, joined the army of the prince at
Akderbund, about two days' march from Serrakhs,
from the capture of which place they were just
returning. On waiting on the prince, almost the
first words with which he was saluted by his royal
highness were, " Oh, what a lazy fellow you are!
here have I been waiting three days at Serrakhs to
keep my word with you, and not a bit of you
made your appearance. Have you forgot our bar
gain ? Do not you remember that on such a night
we spoke about this country, and I said then that
I would take Serrakhs, and you should go with
me, and that we should have lots of plunder: what
became pf you? why did you not come in time?"
And to be sure his royal highness made his words
good; and his attack on this devoted place was
managed with admirable skill and judgment. After'
the fall of Cochoon, the stronghold of my old friend
Reza Koolee Khan, his royal highness made somC
marches from Mushed, suffering it to be thought
by every one that he meant to march against Maho
med Khan Kar&wee, at Toorbut ; when, suddenly
turning sharp to the left, he made for Serrakhs,
which he found totally off its guard, and at once

REJECTED OFFER. 29
invested it. Despising and rejecting an offer of one
hundred and fifty thousand and then of two hundred
thousand tomauns of ransom, which was offered by
the inhabitants, (a refusal to which the extreme scar
city of cash in his treasury at the time gives a high
value,) he resolved, cost what it might, to root out
this nest of man-stealers. The place was invested,
breached, stormed, and taken in little more than
a day. The town was given up to plunder, and
afterwards reduced to ashes. Many of its inhabit
ants were slaughtered, and three thousand of the
remainder were carried off as prisoners. The booty
was enormous — incalculable — perhaps greater than
in any capture of recent times. There were literally,
as the prince had said, whole khoorgeens (sacks)
of gold, and piles of rich goods of every sort and
kind. It was a true robbers' den, upon an immense
scale : the amount of specie alone has been vaguely
estimated at from three to four hundred thousand
pounds sterling, and the greater part of this fell
into the hands of the soldiery.
During the whole of these campaigns the Prince
Royal appears to have displayed infinitely more
talent and ability, more acuteness of observation
and soundness of judgment, than any one had
previously given him credit for. Most of the grand
coups that were struck during the war were under
taken by his royal highness in direct variance with
the opinions of his ministers and council, whose pro
positions were of a far more timid and vacillating
nature than suited the energetic system of the
prince; and the address with which he managed
to keep the army in good humour, and to maintain

30 DEATH OT ABBAS MEERZA.
discipline under circumstances of extreme privation
and distress, — nay, even to quiet their murmurs
when want of pay or food had induced them to
take sanctuary at Mushed, impressed every one
who was witness of the facts with a high opinion
of his sagacity and military talents, as well as of
his vigour and promptitude of action.
But the hardships and exposure of these cam
paigns increased a complaint with which his royal
highness had for some years been afflicted ; and I
believe it was while thus weakened in mind as well
as body, that he permitted the ambitious and ava
ricious councils of his minister, the Kaymookam;
to outweigh the more wholesome advice of his
English friends, and he proceeded to reduce Herat;
Considerable progress had been made towards the
attainment of this object, when the illness of his
royal highness increased so much as to confine him
entirely to his couch, and to leave no doubt that
his end was at hand. But the approach of death
seems to have had no terrors for the prince ; on
the contrary, that hour which tries the stoutest
mind appears to have proved that of his royal
highness to have been nowise deficient in firmness.
Seeing his minister and principal officers collected
about his couch, he said to them, " Why do ye all
stand here gazing on a corse? — leave me, and go
to my son : he is now your master ; guide, assist}
and advise him as ye have hitherto done me!" and
he actually forced them to leave him to the cares
of his mere domestic attendants.
The death of the prince, which occurred before
operations against Herat were complete, occasioned!

THE KAYMOOKAM. 31
an immediate change on the face of affairs. The
Kaymookam, a minister of little political firmness
and no personal courage, immediately took the part
of retreating; a loose arrangement was made with
Camran Meerza for the payment of the stipulated
tribute, and the army with Mahomed Meerza re
turned to Mushed, where the prince has since re
mained inactive.
This minister, the Kaymookam, so frequently
mentioned, was the son of a very eminent person
named Meerza Buzoorg, who also, under the title
of Kaymookam, held the situation of vizier and
most confidential adviser of the late Prince Royal ;
indeed, while he Uved, the government of Azerbijan
was conducted almost entirely by him. That person,
at an advanced age, was swept off in 1822 during
the first visit of cholera in Persia, and while I was at
Tabreez ; and he was succeeded by his son Meerza
Abool-Cossim, the present Kaymookam, on whom the
king bestowed the title as well as the office of his
father. He has the reputation of being an acute and
able man, but imperious and jealous of the smallest >
interference from others ; and it is said he often dis
gusted the late Prince Royal by an appearance of,
and in fact an attempt at domination, which no
absolute prince of even common abilities could
brook. The consequence was frequent quarrels,
which however, from a sense of mutual convenience
if not of dependence, were as often made up ; and
they went on like cat and dog, snarling and spitting,
but never coming to extremities until the end of his
master's life, when, as a matter of course, the son
fell into the minister's hands : as a matter of course,

32 THE AUSEF-U-DOWLUT.
too, the ambitious and crafty minister did not let
slip so fine an opportunity of making a wide stride
towards absolute power, as was afforded by the
accession of a young and comparatively inexperi
enced prince to the government and position in
which he himself had so long struggled to hold the
first place in real power and influence. The prince,
we are told, is nothing — the minister everything.
To use the phrase of a person who has just come
from Khorasan, and saw how matters are going on,
" The prince dares not get his clothes without the
Kaymookam's leave."
It is not to be wondered at that a man so ambitious
and so able, occupying a position so commanding
about the person of the heir presumptive to the
throne, should be an object of suspicion and jealousy
to the majority of both ministers and courtiers about
the court of Tehran ; and such is actually the case.
The Kaymookam has few friends here, and a mul
titude of enemies. Of these, the principal are the
Ausef-u-dowlut, who being maternal uncle to the
prince, and a most subtile and unprincipled as well
as a most ambitious man, views with extreme un
easiness the ascendancy of any other person where
he himself seeks to rule. Another is the Ameen-u-
dowlut, who in the failing health of the king prog
nosticates his own overthrow and the Kaymookam's
exaltation, so soon as his old master shall depart
this life, and Mahomed Meerza succeed to the
throne. The Zil-e-Sooltaun, the prince's full paternal uncle,
also opposes the Kaymookam, because he is the chief
support, as he believes, of his nephew, whom he (the

kaymookam's policy. 33
Zil) wishes to supplant as future king : and thus,
and from various other causes which it would be
tedious to explain, there is, throughout the whole
court and employes at Tehran, a decidedly hostile
feeling towards Mahomed Meerza as heir to the
throne of his grandfather.
Under these circumstances, it is scarcely marvel
lous that the Kaymookam should hesitate to come
himself to court, or permit his charge to leave
Khorasan, where he has an army to support his
measures, and resources sufficient to maintain him
self, however inadequate they might possibly be for
enabling him to play the higher game. But in fact
the Kaymookam has other reasons for remaining in
Khorasan. Every one who has arrived from that
province, gives a most lamentable account of its
condition. Exhausted by a three years' scarcity and
consequent mortality of the inhabitants, it can fur
nish neither money nor food, so that the troops are
starving — bread and barley are at unheard-of prices,
and thus not only are the people ready everywhere to
break out in revolt, but the discontent of the troops
is so great, that if they were relieved from the re
straint imposed by the presence of the prince and
his minister, there is room to fear that the army
itself might become totally disorganized. On the
other hand, the Toorkomans of the Desert, backed
by the Oozbecks of Khyvah and Bockhara, are re
commencing their chuppows, which during the life
of the Prince Royal, and after his successes at
Serrakhs, had been discontinued ; and thus, although
for many reasons it is desirable that either prince
or minister should repair to court according to the
VOL. II. D

34 MOOLLAH SALEH.
king's wish, it appears impossible that either can do
so, at all events, until the new corn shall come in,
and enable them to feed the troops and re-establish
fitting discipline. Thus, too, as for various reasons
my movements eastward must depend upon theirs,
it appears probable that I may be detained yet some
time longer in this place. I. am to have an audi
ence of his majesty to-morrow, in order to be in a
condition to start fair, with the royal permission,
whenever the fitting time may come.
In the mean time, I do not neglect any means in
my power of rendering myself more fit for the duties
I have to perform. I find myself every day regain
ing lost ground in the language; and to aid me
further, I have got an old Moollah, a most simpk-
minded worthy creature, who has had several Euro
peans through his hands, to read with me, and, what
is better, to converse with me ; and you would be
mightily amused with his conversation at times.
You know that the Orientals in general, and par
ticularly the learned among them, love to make use
of little stories, and apophthegms, and parabolic illus
trations in explaining their ideas, in giving lessons
on moral subjects, or in inculcating the precepts
or practice of virtue. Yesterday, when old Moollah
Saf eh came in, he found me fashioning the mould of
a little article in wax, which I wished to have made
in silver. Long did he look and admire, but never
said a word, till at length I told him what it was
intended for. " See now," said he, with a most tri
umphant smile, — " see what a good thing is patience !
-Men times was I on the point of asking you what
you were about, but I restrained myself, saying

VALUE OF PATIENCE. 35
inwardly time will show ; — and, behold, now you
tiave told me yourself. This is just like the story
of Huzrut-e-Daood and Loeman : do you know it ?"
Of course I said no, and as you may be ighorarjft
even of whom these personages' were, I wiH tell you
that Huzrut-e-Daood is no less a personage than
King David the son of JeSse, and that Loeman is
their Esop, a personage brought in as the half wit,
half sage, in all their fables and tales, and on all
occasions, and some of them, like this, are very sin
gular ones. "Loeman," said the Mddllah, " was a
particular friend of King David's, and came in one
day while he was employed in making a suit df
link-armour. David, you know, Was one of the
best armourers that ever existed : well, Locmah saw
him twisting and turning the metal, and fashioning
rings and links, and joining them together ; and
much he longed to know what all this was for.' At
length Huzrut-e-Daood finished his work, and hav
ing put on the coat-of-mail, he said to Loeman, ' Do
you see this armour? is it not an excellent Jthing?
how well it defends a man in the day of 'Battle !" —
"Ay,' replied Loeman, 'but do you see how ex
cellent a thing is patience ? — here have I been for
days watching What you were about, and never asked
what it might be for, and, lot now .you have told it
me yourself ! ' "
You may perhaps, like me, fail of appreciating the
exact value of such self-control in the case in ques
tion; but if you had lived in Persia for softie time
you could have no doubt as to the indispensability
of possessing, and the necessity of daily and hourly
exercising, the said most excellent virtue of patience.
d 2

36 OFFICIAL CONTRAST.
2nd April.— Went according to appointment, after
breakfast, to the Durkhaneh, as it is called par ex-
cellence— namely, the gate of the royal dwelling.
When we arrived, it was understood that the Ausef
and Ameen-u-dowlut were in the presence ; so until
his majesty should be ready to receive us, we took
a seat in the office of the keeper of the wardrobe,
where soon after entered the Ameen, and the Moon-
shee-ul-momalic, (the chief secretary, who frames
and registers all firmaun s,) a coarse-looking, ill-
favoured personage as need be, with a number of
' Moostofees and Meerzas, who took their seats and
began forthwith to transact business. On looking
round, I could not help admiring the scene that was
passing, and contrasting mentally this office of the
Prime Minister of Persia with the spectacle afforded
by that of one of the secretaries of state, or first
lord of the treasury, in Downing Street. Assuredly
it was a sight that would have astonished a Euro*
pean ; and I wished, as I have often done, that I
could stamp upon paper the image impressed upon
the retina, that you might see it as in a camera
• obscura ; for to describe it, so as to convey a just
impression of its various parts, is impossible ; it de
pended too much on peculiarities of country and"
costume, and fugitive traits of character, to be ren
dered into language.
The room was a miserably poor apartment, of
some fifteen or sixteen feet square, with shattered
windows, loaded with cobwebs and dust, situated
at one side of a most blackguard-looking court, to
which entrance was only to be won through the
immundicities of a passage " to match." At the

PERSIAN FUNCTIONARIES. 37
Upper window sat the Ameen, in his scarlet cloak
and shawl cap of state, just as he came from the
king's presence, with Macneil seated opposite him
in his full uniform. Next the Ameen was the
Moonshee-ul-Momalic, and, with some other func
tionaries intervening between them, a certain Meerza
Asker, nicknamed Beenee-kej, or twisted nose, a
clever ugly dog, who, it is said, having his own
nose crooked, is trying to put that of the Ameen-u-
dowlut out of joint with the king by intrigues and
misrepresentations. Below him sat Zohrab Khan,
Sundookdar, or master of the wardrobe ; and, to ba
lance all these, on the side opposite the window were
ranged a thick row of personages, each more ill-
looking and blackguard than another. I sat next
Macneil, and below me were ranged another squad,
all in some way or other employed in, or connected
with, business. In short, the room was filled in a
moment, and the court below was nearly as much
crammed with people, all eager about some affair or
another. The Ameen soon set the secretaries and writers
to work, and four or five of them sitting down upon
their heels in front of the numud, on which the
great people were ranged, began to scribble away
upon papers on the palms of their hands, which, as
soon as finished, they gave to be read over and
sealed. It was matter of no small interest, too, to
listen to the contents of these papers. Many of them
related to subjects of great importance, and pro
vinces or districts of vast extent, or involved trans
actions of much consequence, which were " familiar
as household words" in the mouths of all around

38 THE PALACE OF CRYSTAL.
us ; so that, iii spite of the homely appearance of the
place and people, one felt oneself really in an atmo
sphere of state, dominion, and power.
At length a message came from Meerza Abul
Hussun Khan, who, as minister for foreign affair^
attends to introduce foreigners into1 the royal pre
sence, to say, that the Shah had inquired for us;
so off we went, in our full-dress coats and red
stockings, to have our eyes illumined by the efful
gent beams of rpyalty- Introductions to the King
of Persia are now so common as to be scarce worth
describing ; yet I fancy you would scarcely forgive
me, if I were to pass over the interview in utter
silence ; but .1 wiH be as little tedious as possible. .
Leaving the" apartment we had been sitting in
jjy.a mean gateway, surmounted by a ruinous " balla
khaneh," we arrived by a tortuous passage at a
garden, in the same style' as those without. A Kootia
Feringhee, or octagonal building, of sun-dried brick,
occupies the centre of this garden ; and at the upper
end there is another, containing a pretty large hall
and some smaller apartments, called the " Imarut-e-
Bilour," I suppose from the nature of its finishing
and contents ; for walls and roof are completely
inlaid with mirrors and gold painting, and enamel-
work, which has a very brilliant effect, though far
from so solid and imperial-looking as that of many
palaces in India, which are built of marble, and
adorned with rich mosaic, and gold and azure
flowers.. However, the thing was pretty enough;
and the floor, on the rich carpets of which were
ranged a multitude of splendid glass-ware, vases,
lustres, and a thousand nondescript articles of cut

APPROACH TO THE PRESENCE. 39
crystal, made a glittering though a fragile show ;
yet, what a strange semi-barbarous idea to turn the
floor of a regal hall of audience into a cut crystal
warehouse !
In the midst of all this finery, at the upper end of
one of the great windows, that occupied the whole
front of the hall, and opened on the garden, sup
ported by a pile of silk cushions, sat Futeh Allee
Shah ; and, spite of his age and rank, there was a
frivolity in the whole affair and its machinery that
one could not help feeling extremely ridiculous.
He looked like a spoiled child, sitting amidst its
playthings; and the respect which the venerable
appearance and station of the monarch would un
questionably have commanded was diminished by
the accessories intended to increase them. But we
are discussing his appearance before making our
approaches ; and this was done in a solemnity of
form which, to strangers, must add to the absurdity
of the whole proceeding. Our fat leader, the minis
ter for foreign affairs, led us round the garden, until
we came in sight of the Shah, whom, however, I
could not discern amidst the glittering frippery
where he was seated. We bowed, advanced half
way up the walk — bowed again — left our slippers,
and advanced in our red stockings to the corner :
stopped ; — bowed again — -then, at some signal, which
was not very perceptible, advanced to the steps
leading to the hall, — 'ascended them deliberately, — -
bowed at him from the passage, — entered ; walked to
the corner diagonally opposite to the window corner ;
bowed again, and then stood erect in the presence
of Futeh Allee Shah.

40 TBE AUDIENCE.
The King then pronounced the Khoosh Amcdeed,
or welcome, to Macneil — asked who I was, said
some civil thing in return to the reply, and there
matters stopped, until the minister took up the word
and told his majesty that I had visited and travelled
in Iran before, and had written a book about it, in-
which I had praised the country highly. " Aha !'*
said his majesty, pricking up his ears, " has he so?
He seems a fine young man." — " Oh, very much so !
kibleh-dlum, — very wise, prudent, accomplished," and
so forth. Upon which the " Point of the world's
adoration " deigned to ask where and when I was
going ; and on being informed that I proposed pro
ceeding to Khorasan, to pay my respects to Ma
homed Meerza, and see the wonders of the land,
his majesty was graciously pleased to order that a
suitable person should be provided to accompany
me. His majesty then made inquiries respecting
the officers that had arrived ; their ages, ranks,
qualifications, &c. ; and on being informed, and a
hope expressed that his majesty would find them, in
all respects, such as would give satisfaction and do
credit to their country, the King said, " Certainly ;
there can be no doubt of that ; they are English
men, and all the English are good." There were
some slight remarks hazarded by the minister upon
other topics, but the presence of the Ausef, who had
planted himself, like a post, immovable at the bot
tom of the room, acted as a damper on his majesty,
and the audience was terminated by the King calling
for his calleeoon, and soon after giving us the nod of
dismissal. This day my friend Bonham left us, to return to

NUZZUR ALLEE KHAN. 41
Tabreez, and I parted with him with much regret.
We had made a long and perilous journey together,
under circumstances calculated to try both temper
and fortitude ; and never in any case did I see
either the one or the other fail. Many a hard
mile we rode side by side, and many a weary hour
we spent in snow, and storm, and darkness ; and
I must say, that the equanimity and good humour
of my companion were a support and relief at all
times, and often when but for that I should have
been comfortless enough. I please myself with the
thought that we parted with mutual good wishes
and esteem.
3rd April. — Went this morning to call upon Aga
Bahram, the King's favourite, whom we found sitting
in deshabille in a plain apartment looking into a
garden, with half-a-dozen other persons, amusing
himself with shooting at sparrows and other small
birds with a pellet-bow. Among the company was
Nuzzur Allee Khan, an Affshar nobleman of Ooroo-
mia, who on some former occasion had accompanied
a Persian embassy to Paris, had seen Napoleon and
his fine army, with the "jolies dames" of the
French capital, of all of whom he spoke in terms
of rapturous reminiscence. He had learned a little
French, which he blattered out intermingled with
Persian ; could still roar a stave of a French chan
son, especially when half-seas over, a state he is
very apt to get into when there is good liquor to
be had ; and he had seen much of Persian life,
which he is wont to describe in a string of tales,
anecdotes, and adventures, often more amusing and
wonderful than true. Isfundiar Khan, a Georgian

42 AGA BAHRAM.
by birth, and formerly Topechee Bashee, was. an
other ; and Mahomed Hoossein Khan, who. com
mands a dusteh, or corps of troops, from Feerozekoh,
a third. We found the most of them, seated on
chairs, English fashion — a proof, if you will, of. the
advancement of innovation, if not of civilization;
The Aga's occupation was an odd one, you will
say ; but his expertness, both with the pellefcrbawi
and with the rifle, is wonderful. Perhaps at the
former he has no equal. When in practice,, he
would place before him on the ground a dozen or
t wo of walnuts, some twelve or fifteen paces dis
tant, and knock them off one after another, calling
out which he meant to aim at before shooting.
He tried this feat for our amusement, and though
not in good practice, he made some wonderful
shots ; some of the best were at single walnuts,
put upon a stick some ten or twelve inches high;
which he seldom missed. The sparrows, were more
difficult subjects, as not only did they alight much '
further off, but kept constantly in motion, as if
they suspected mischief.
With the rifle the Aga is also first rate, although
the old king is almost, if not quite, his equal.
Macneil put him in mind of a shot he had once-
made at an egg placed upon a mound of earth,
and at so great a distance that he could but just
see it. He missed it, I think, the first two shots,
one hitting on the one side, the other on the other,
from some error in not allowing for the wind, but
broke it to shivers the third. The Aga's eyes
glistened at the recollection, and he produced im
mediately the gun with which it was done. But

THE SHAH'S SHOOTING. 43
two feats of the Shah were mentioned which were
nearly as capital. Macneil was several years ago
attending his majesty upon a hunting expedition,;
when some antelopes were seen ; and, as usual,
means were taken to drive them towards the king,
who dismounted in order to shoot at them. They
took a course rather wide, however ; and his majesty,
in order to have a chance of a shot, had to run
pretty smartly round a hillock, behind which they
were passing. Just as they came in sight, about
two hundred paces off, the king looked round to
see who might be near, and observing none but
Macneil, who chanced to be pretty close, he called
out, " Mark the buck," threw his long beard with
the left hand out of the way, over the left shoulder,
and levelled his rifle with the speed of thought-
crack went the shot, and down came the fine black7
buck antelope, tumbling over and over, shot through
the body while at full speed. Another time his
majesty, while sitting one day in the garden of the
Tucht-e-Kadjar, with a loaded rifle in his hand,
which he was examining, chanced to observe a
small bird alight on the very summit of a tree,
some ninety or one hundred yards' distance ; he
instantly levelled, fired, and knocked the poor little
creature's head clean off. These might be chance
shots, but such chances are frequent with the Shah.
To return to the Aga. I told you, I believe,
that he is one of the best horsemen in Persia, and
he prides himself moreover in having some of the
very best horses procurable. Some of these he
produced for our pleasure ; and one of them, an
Arabian, was certainly one of the most beautiful.

44 CONVERSATION
creatures I ever saw ; it was a treat to look upori
it; and he mentioned several performances of his
steeds, which were confirmed to me from other
quarters, and which would make the knowing ones
of the turf in England stare. The narrative of
these exploits naturally brought on a conversation
on such matters, and I was led to remark how
disappointed I had been at seeing so little of horse-1
manship and feats of arms practised in the country
now, so different from heretofore — no jereed-bazee
or neiza-bazee (jereed or spear exercise) to be seen,
nor any display of troops or horsemen. On this,
old Nuzzur Allee Khan and Isfundiar Khan broke
out : — " No, to be sure you do not ! who is there"
now to think of such matters — who is there that
has dil-o-dimagh, heart or spirits for such things?"
" Here am I," said Isfundiar Khan ; " I used to
keep a good horse, and could ride it too ; but it is
twelve or thirteen years since I have gone outside
the city walls ; what is there to tempt me out ? —
how am I likely to ride now ? — and such is the case
with all of us ; all the good nowkers (servants
military in particular) have grown old and useless."
" But how is that ?" said I ; " this is the same Iran ;
these are men of the same stock that, in the time of
Nader, conquered half of Asia !" " Ay," replied the"
Khan, shaking his head in the peculiar Persian man
ner, " you see what Iranees can do ; you see where
Nader got to : twelve years did he enjoy the throne,
and in these he went to India and took Shahjeha-
nabad; to Khivah, to Bockhara, to Goorjistaii."
" Ay," returned I, " the Toorkomans did not dare
to make their chappows then ; there were no ala-

AND COMPLAINTS. 45
mdns in those days." " The Toorkomans ! tuh-bei-
resh-ish ! I spit on their beards ! what were they ?
Ryotee mekeerdund, they were obedient vassals then.
Yes," continued he, after a pause, " it is the same
people ; we are the same men now as then ; but
— do you know what it is we want? it is leaders —
officers." "What?" said I, laughing, "how can
you say that there is a want of officers when you
have the Khan there beside you,1' pointing to Nuzzur
Allee Khan, who was writing some notes upon his
knee. This opened the Khan's mouth with a long
flourish about good services ill rewarded, and made
the conversation, which had hitherto been confined
to ourselves, general ; for Nuzzur Allee's voice was
none of the gentlest or lowest, especially when ex
cited ; and he repeated what had been said to the
company at large, especially my observation, that
there were now no good nowkers in Persia.
This set the Aga and Mahomed Hoossein Khan
a going, and the latter poured out a volley of words
as rapid and unmanageable as the fire of his own
dusteh, the purport of which was to point out the
impossibility of making men good servants, or dis
posing them to the performance of great exploits,
when their hearts are broken by disappointment and
neglect, and their bodies are wasted by hunger and
want. " Here am I for one," said he ; "I have a
thousand men : who ever thinks of furnishing them
with arms or clothes ? Not one of them has bread,
far less powder or ball ; and as to wages, they have
forgot what they are ; and yet they are expected to
do service— to be good nowkers ! Wullah ! I have
been feeding and clothing them at my own expense

46 COMPLAINTS.
till I can do so no longer. Allah-il-ullah ! there are
plenty of good soldiers to be had in Iran, if you
will but pay them ; but without pay or arms what
can men do ?" " Ay," said another, " there are
plenty — a hundred — yes, three hundred good wm-
kers, if you want them." " Three hundred !" re-
peated the Aga contemptuously ; " say two crores',
if you need them.'' " Ay," replied another, " and
yet they let the Russians eat up our money, and
take our land from us ! there are seven erores- taken
from the king's treasury, all to be devoured by these
Russians and Abbas Meerza."
Thus did the galled place show itself, and the
general detestation of the Russians, and dislike of
Abbas Meerza, whom the court of Tehran accuse"
(very unjustly) of having been friendly to the Rus
sians, break out, as all strong feelings do in Persia,
into open and undisguised expression. It was ob*
vious, too, that the new regulations emanating from
the Azerbijan government, and particularly the in
stitution of a regular army, were not at all to their
taste; but if they disliked the nizam, or regular*
troops, their disgust at the innumerable host of royal
descendants, who devour the produce of the countfj^
was still more inveterate, and was expressed with "al
least equal strength and openness. " How well we
are off for kings in Iran !" observed one : " we have
enough of them at any rate !" " Yes, a hundred
thousand of them to spare," replied another. " Ba-
rik-illah," exclaimed a third ; " and well they go
vern it ! great help at need are they ! Dust on their
heads !" " Do you know what Yermoloff said aboflf
them?" said Nuzzur Allee Khan ; and then he told

SHAHZADEHS. 47
a long story, the amount of which was, that General
Yermoloff one day, in the presence of Abbas Meerza,
having inquired what number of sons the king had,
a person who stood by, intending to astonish the
general by exaggeration, related a circumstance
which was calculated to convey an idea that the
multitude of them was immense. " Are there so
many?" replied Yermoloff, with an expression of
great disgust ; " then, my shame be upon them
all ! Of what use are they, when they eat up all
the country, yet cannot lend it any aid in the day
of need."
" I once," continued the Khan, " went to pay my
respects to the Prince of Mazunderan. He was
seated in a great room with a multitude of his bro
thers, extending in two long rows from one end of
the room to the other ; and the subject of their
discourse was the payment of so much good money
to Russia, and the loss of so much good territory ;
and they asked one another why this should be suf
fered, and blustered about it not a little. ' May I be
your sacrifice, princes,' said I ; ' there is no reason
why it should be endured. The remedy is simple.
Here is a goodly assemblage • of you Shahzadehs —
Mashallah! near a hundred of you ; praise be to
God ! Now, your slave would represent that you
have only to raise a thousand good men apiece, and
the thing is done. Enough ! No need to give Russia
any more money then ; you may set Paskeviteh and
all his troops at defiance, or fight him if he dares to
, stand.' ' Why,' said Mahomed Koolee Meerza (of
! Mazunderan,) ' I have already given the Shah much
more than one thousand ; I have given seven thousand

48 TACT. ,
men.' ' Yes, prince,' returned I, '-and of a pretty
sort they were ! What did they do ?' " But here the
Aga interrupted the discourse by snatching up his
bow to shoot at a bird. Nuzzer Allee-khan had
blundered on tender ground ; for he did not know
Mahomed Hoossein Khan, whose Feeroze-kohees
were in that very corps of seven thousand, against
whom the drift of his story was about to bear ; and
the Khan himself, who had been getting fidgetty from
the very commencement of the tale, was just about
to explode, when the Aga, with excellent tact, broke
off the conversation. Indeed, a moment longer and
it would have been too late ; for the peppery little
commander of the Feeroze-kohees had already got
flushed with anger ; and his fiery eyes, and his po
sition, leaning forward with his hands on the arms
of his chair, as if ready to fly at the maligner of
his men, showed that in another instant he would
have been off like a sky-rocket. Quiet was soon
restored, and the discourse flowed off into other
channels; but what I have given you may serve
to show not only the feelings of people here, but the
openness with which they are uttered. Here was
a company of employes, and a favourite of the king's?
who, the moment the lead was given them, broke
out open-mouthed against the weak yet grasping
sway of the royal house, and the ruin which their
conduct had entailed upon the country.
7th April. — Afinefresh spring-like day. — The whole
party, civilians, officers, sergeants, and all, rode out,
a motley but joyous crew, to the ruins of Rhe, about
three or four miles distant from Tehran, to see the
remains of this ancient city, the Rages of the Book

RUINS OF RHE. 49
.of Tobit and— to look for a hare. In the latter
object we failed. The two last severe winters have
destroyed most of the game in this part of the
couutry. In the former we succeeded of course, and
had, besides, a delightful ride ; the air perfectly
delicious ; the breeze so exhilarating, that disap
pointment, even in sport, could not disturb the equa
nimity of the party.
We ascended a ridge, which appears to have been
part of the citadel, and which was crowned by a
wall ; from hence we had a perfect view of the
whole site of Rhe, the extent of which is consider
able — probably six miles in circuit ; but never, per
haps, were ruins with less to satisfy the appetite of
the antiquary. Nothing is seen but heaps of pot
sherds and rubbish, crumbled into small fragments,
well dug over and excavated for all the fire-burnt
bricks they might contain among the mud-walls and
towers of, probably, many cities ; for who among
the amorphous masses can now detect the old from
the more recent ? One half-executed sculpture of the
Sassanian aera, cut on a tablet of rock, has been
effaced to make room for an execrable bas-relief of
the present king spearing a lion ; and a half-ruined
tower of fine brick- work points to the period of the
Arab sway in Persia.
A piece of information was communicated yester
day on better grounds than that of mere report,
which, whether true or false, may serve to give you
some idea of the nature of Persian intrigue. The
Ausef-u-dowlut, who has been using all his influence
with the king to ruin his rival, the Kaymookam,
has, it is asserted, made an offer to his majesty to
VOL. II. E

50 PERSIAN INTRIGUES.
pay, within a certain time and for a certain purpose,.
a no less sum than a crore of tomauns — that is, about
250,000/. sterling, provided the Kaymookam' be
delivered over into his (the Ausef's) hands, with
power to make him account for his disposal^ the
revenues of Azerbijan for a certain number of yeah
back. It is added, that the king has consented to
this bargain ; which amounts, as a matter of course,
to the utter ruin of, and, possibly, loss of life to the
absent party. Now, could you imagine that such a
transaction, so nefarious in all its parts and bearings,
could be proposed by a minister to, and listened to
by, a sovereign? Yet such affairs are of common
occurrence at the Persian and Turkish, and, I be
lieve, at all other Oriental courts. In the present
instance, however, the consequences of the purposed
intrigue are calculated to occasion the most disas
trous consequences to Persia ; for the Kaymookam,
who, of course, will have the earliest intelligence of
the intrigue against him, will assuredly keep in Kho
rasan, where he has power and;means, and the in
habitants of which, together with the neighbouring
countries, he might secretly stir up to revolt; white
preserving the appearance of doing all in his power
to maintain order. Every man of any property
would be alarmed, and the ultimate consequence
might be the subversion of the present dynasty,
which, as you have seen, is more feared than loved
here. Yet all this is the Ausef prepared to risk in
order to destroy a rival : as for the old king, he is
too much blinded by his avarice to see or dread'
anything that leads to its gratification. This day
there are further grounds for believing in the truth

REPORT OF TUMULTS. 51
of this reputed intrigue. The temptation of pluck
ing the Kaymookam, who is reputed to be very
rich, is too great to be resisted by the avaricious
devil of his majesty.
10th April.-;— Unpleasant reports have arrived
from Tabreez, of a popular tumult having occurred
there, in which the mob first assaulted the Russian
palace ; but being repulsed there, they plundered the
house of a certain Meerza Izaak, a relative of the
Kaymookam, swearing that he was a Russian in
his heart, and was implicated in a design to sell the
country to Russia, on consideration of which they
gutted his house. Some damage was done to the
English palace, and a few caravanserais are said to
have been plundered. This does not look much like
devotion to Russia — on the part of the people, at
least. In this place the dread and hatred felt for
that power display themselves in many ways, and
scarcely a day passes without some proof of it. This
very day, a gentleman of the British mission re
ceived from aKajef ilobletnan of the first influence,
and holding a most important office, a note to this
effect :— " I hear you have quarrelled with Mahomed
Meerza ; if so, I am your friend — at all events I
Will take the side ydu take ; therefore, inform me
of the facts and your intention, that I may prepare
myself accordingly." The objection of this gentle
man to Mahomed Meerza was, that he is considered
to be in the hands of the Kaymookam, who has
been supposed to lean to Russian interests.
This mdrning a room in the palace took fire, and
before it could be extinguished about three thousand
tdmauns, or 1500/. worth of shawls, &c. were con-
E 2

52 INTRIGUES.
sumed ; and the flames had nearly reached a grea$;
ambara, or warehouse of oil, butter, sugar, and" such'
combustibles, which, if once they had caught, would
have been the means of consuming the greater part
of the buildings of the interior — an ominous event in
these ticklish times.
12th April. — This day the detachment of
British officers were received by the Shah, who
displayed a greater degree of state and pomp on
the occasion than had ever been the case on similar
ones. Fresh intrigues and rumours of intrigues. It is
this day reported, cotrfidentially , that the Ausef and
the Kaymookam — the two mortal foes— the one of
whom had bought the other from the Shah for the
avowed purpose of annihilating him — these foes are
said to have arranged their differences ; the former
consenting to act under the other, for securing the
great object of Mahomed Meerza's accession to the
throne, and certain other political objects. This in
formation rests upon the authority of a certain Meerza
Yussuff, the Sheikh-ul-islam of Hamadan, an inde
pendent and well-esteemed person, who obtained a
sight of certain documents that left no doubt of the
fact. This person related a curious anecdote of him
self, which shows what liberties are sometimes taken
in Persia even with the persons of princes. Being
one day in the mujlis (assembly) of the Prince of
Kermanshah, along with other princes and indivi
duals of his friends, the prince mentioned his reso
lution of trying his fortune in an attempt for the
throne. " You, prince !" exclaimed the Meerza;
" never !" " No ?" demanded the prince ; " and why

A BLUNT COURTIER. 53
not — why should I not try as well as others? I
have as good a right as any one, and make the at
tempt I will." " Gou viikhooreed: you are eating-
dirt, prince," was the Meerza's elegant retort. " Do
I ?" replied the prince more temperately ; " your own
brother, Meerza Abool Cossim, (minister to the prince,)
differs from you then ; he advises me to make the
attempt." " Eeen hum gou mikhoorid: then he
also eats dirt," said the Meerza resolutely ; upon
which the patience of his auditors being at length
exhausted, no doubt, they fell upon the poor man,
and gave him a severe beating. " But," observed
he, " were I to hear them talking such non
sense again, I would just make them the same
answer.7' This day I visited the son of my old friend, the
Poet Laureate, and you would have been amused
with the strangeness of his domicile ; the holes and
heaps of rubbish which we had to make our way
through are not to be told — it was " up stairs, down
stairs, to my lady's chamber," with a witness : for
we got at last to the little room at the top of the
house, which was the private reception chamber, or
khehout, of the poet, by scrambling almost over the
roof of a neighbouring hummaum, and there was
half a dozen ups and downs besides on the way.
The room itself was true Iraunee ; small, that is,
not more than twelve feet square ; its walls all
cut into tdkchehs, or little niches, in which were
stuck or thrust books, rose-water bottles, calleeoon
gear, pistols, and daggers, small steel-bound Russian
boxes, articles of dress, a gun and a sword in one
corner, a pillow, with ajubbah or gown over it, in an-

54 A POET'S APARTMENT.
other, curtains of Indian chintz, with patterns of- huge
trees, and a fine border round them, over each, door-:
way, one of which opened upon the roof of another
part of the building, and appeared to be the depo
sitory .for the recht-e-khwdb, or bed-clothes* The
opposite side of the room was divided into three
large windows, looking out upon a garden... We
were kindly received by the brother and son of my
old friend, the latter of whom is not only a poet,
like his father, but a great carver in wood and
ivory ; and he produced to us several very neat spe
cimens of his handiwork.
13th April. — We had this day an opportunity of
seeing a much choicer khelwut, or private cabinet,
than that of the Poet Laureate. The king,, it ap
pears, has taken the resolution to make a journey to
Koom, a city which contains many shrines of great
sanctity, and where he intends his own old bones to
repose when they shall have done their work.. He
goes partly for change of air, and to get rid of all
sorts of business and intrigue ; partly as a matter of
religious observance, and partly, as I believe, to see
his own tomb, which is in progress of erection there.
This custom of princes and men of rank, choosing
to build their own last dwellings, is common in the
East ; though I fear that the motive, if critically exa
mined, would be found rather to flow, from vanity
and desire of posthumous distinction, than from a
wholesome spirit of humiliation, or of discipline to
the mind by an habitual contemplation of the ine
vitable doom of mankind. Well, during the period
of the king's absence, as no business can be done,
many of the officials of the court, not included in

A PERSIAN RESIDENCE. 55
the royal cortege, take the opportunity to visit their
villages and country retreats, as members of parlia
ment in England do during a recess ; and, among
others, our friend, Meerza Abul Hussun Khan, takes
his ponderous flight to a property of his, some thirty
miles distant from the city, in the district of Vuro-
meen. To this place he has invited my friend
Macneil, who is not sorry, in the vacation from busi
ness, to breathe a little fresher air ; and I have been
asked to accompany him. This is just what I like ;
for it is in the country, and in the domestic circle,
so far as that can be penetrated in Persia, that you
catch the real manners of the people. Accordingly,
in the evening we went to see the Khan, and to
make arrangements for our little excursion.
We found him in his khelwut, and a jewel of a
place it is. Indeed the whole of his dwelling is the
most perfect specimen of a Persian nobleman's
house I know anywhere : larger ones I have often
seen, although this is very extensive, but certainly
none in such good order, or laid out with so much
attention to convenience. The point in which it
chiefly differs from others, however, is that there
are no ruins in or about it — a very uncommon
thing indeed here.
The entrance is by a respectable gateway, from
a small bazar which belongs to the Khan, and you
at once enter a good-sized court, surrounded as
usual With buildings ; that at the bottom containing
a large dewan khaneh, or hall of reception. Of
these courts there are more than I can remember,
the entry from one to the other being through
small doorways and narrow passages; but one of

56 INTERNAL DECORATIONS.
them contains a hall which may really be called i
superb. It is from thirty to thirty-five feet long,r
by eighteen wide, with a recess on one side of
some eight or ten feet more, and is adorned with
carved work in plaster, painting, gilding, and all
the customary Persian decorations, in a better style
than usual ; there are pictures,; too, by native
artists, painted on the walls, — rather fearful per
formances, — of Persian and European beauties in
various shapes and attitudes, and several vile prints
gaudily framed. These do not add much to the
elegance of the place; but every one would admire
the beauty of the windows, which are formed of
coloured glass, cut into small pieces, and disposed
in figures that appear just like the exquisitely
arranged spectra exhibited by the kaleidescope.
Nor would you, I am certain, be insensible to
the richness and beauty of the carpets — real Herat,
which are almost an inch thick, yet firm and smooth,
and of the gayest and most pleasing colours.
The room to which, on this occasion, we were
introduced, was far smaller, yet still more exquisite
in its way. It was not more than fourteen feet
square, or perhaps sixteen by fourteen. The walls
were adorned with flowers of gold mingled with
scarlet and blue upon a white ground, like the
finest illuminated old MSS., and the corners and
niches were filled with mirrors in the usual Persian
taste. The worst part of it was the paintingsyi
being vile attempts at nude or very slightly-clothed • >
beauties, with fearful red cheeks, deadly black eyes/
brows like twin bows of ebony, and all manner of
extraordinary charms ; but the painted windows,

PERSIAN PEHLEWANS. 57
the carpets and numuds, and the rich silk-covered
down-stuffed pillows, with their slight muslin slips,
would have put you wild with delight ; and well
did the portly figure of the Khan, in his comfort
able deshabille, become the luxurious heap on which
he sat embedded. Our business, so far as it referred
to our intended excursion, was soon settled ; and
we agreed to be ready two days hence to ride
with him to his village. The news from Khora
san are contradictory with regard to the move
ments of the prince and his minister, but all most
unsatisfactory as to the state of the country —
Toorkomans chappowing right and left. I must
wait, at all events, until something is known as to
the prince's intentions.
14th April. — This morning a party of the officers
and myself went to see the pehlewans wrestle at
the Zorkhaneh. Who ? — what ? — where ? — I think I
hear you say. Why, the pehlewans are the wrestlers
or prize-fighters of Persia, and the Zorkhaneh, or
" house of force," is the gymnasium or theatre
where they exhibit ; and a famous half-retired
wrestler named Hussun Allee, who kept such a
place, had given me, through one of my servants, an
invitation to witness the performance.
You must know that in Persia there are a set of
choice spirits who are amateurs in these sports, as
young noblemen and gentlemen in England used to,
rather than do, (for I believe, to the credit of the
nation, the vile taste is gone out,) take delight in
boxing matches, bear-baitings, and other such ele
gant exercises. In Persia it is not unusual for re
spectable persons to entertain pehlewans of their

58 THE •• ZORKHANEH.
own, and many have private zorkhanehs, or theatres
for athletic exercises, which they take pleasure in
attending, and in attracting to them all the most
celebrated prize-fighters in the country. Hussun
Allee had been a great man in his day, and had now
set up a theatre of his own upon speculation, and
thither we went, piloted by my jeloodar. The place
was like a bath, into which we plunged by a dark
entrance, and after passing some " narrows," found
ourselves in an octagonal vault under a dome sup-
ported by a circle of pillars. Within the circle was
the cock-pit, or arena, which was boarded round to
the height of six feet ; between this and the outer
wall, at a convenient height, were seats for the spec
tators. These were already full all but one, which;
nicely carpeted, was reserved for us. The roof,
which was plastered, was painted all over with fierce
figures of pehlewans performing their various feats
of strength ; and strange shapes indeed were there,
wonderful studies for an artist ! the floor was of clayj
I think, damped, so as not to be too hard for those
who should fall. /
When we entered we found the whole cock-pit
filled with men, who proved to be the pehlewans
themselves, and who immediately thereon cleared
the place, threw off all their clothes, retaining only
a pair of strong dark checked breeches with large
thick patches on the knees, and began to exercise.
This was done by wielding immense pairs of wooden
clubs, somewhat of the shape and size of a pavier's
rammer, and not very inferior in weight. Thesfi
are called meels, and every pehlewan has a pair of
greater or less weight, according to his bodily powers^

THE MEEL EXERCISE. 59
Stripped thus to the waists, these fellows exhibited
very fine models of athletic forms — splendid chests —
the muscles of back and shoulders finely developed ;
but I thought that in general they were deficient in
that fall of the neck and gradation to the shpulders
which is so essential to either masculine or feminine
beauty. Some, however, were better formed in this
respect; and one in particular, in the upper part of
his body and the small proportion which his head
bore to it, was perfectly Herculean. Their waists
were extravagantly small, and the legs of almost
every one were far inferior to the rest of their
frames. The meel exercise was admirably calculated both
to show off and increase the powers of the upper parts
of the body, and though perhaps not very striking
in itself, it served to exercise their powers of muscle.
They next exhibited certain feats of agility, throw
ing themselves at a bound on their hands, head-
dpwnmost and feet in the air, and this part of the
exercise was accompanied with a good deal of foolish
mummery ; but all was intended to bring their joints
and muscles into an active state for the great play
that was to follow, just, as you see a post-horse
spmetimes stiff at setting out, but getting into better
action, and stepping out more freely as his muscles
get heated and his joints more supple.
At length the wrestling began — it was of that
sort which I have frequently seen in India, and, as
I think, fully better performed there. I observed,
that before commencing any feat each pehlewan
made a profound obeisance to the place — as it were,
to the genius loci, — bowing very low, and touching

60 THE WRESTLING.
first the ground and then his head with his right
hand. He then bowed to the company, and then
went up to and saluted the head pehlewan by
touching his hand and head. Then, each pair before
engaging saluted each other, in the same manner as
prize-fighters at home shake hands before com
mencing action. They did the same when the con
test was concluded. These pairs were matched by
the master of the zdrkhaneh, either one or more at
once in the cockpit ; where, taking up their position
opposite to each other, the body stooping and the
arms protruded, as if in act to spring, they looked
like rams ready to butt. Seeking their opportunity
to close with advantage they started forward, and
the great object of each seemed to be to seize the
waistband of his antagonist's breeches ; if they failed
in this there was some severe grasping and grappling
of the naked body, but never, as in English wrest
ling matches, where the combatants close voluntarily
and hug one another, and then endeavour to trip or
throw their antagonists. Here, when the advantage
I have alluded to was gained, the fall of both parties
very rapidly followed ; but this was only the com
mencement of the real struggle. The art is so to fall
that the back shall not touch the ground ; this is the
test of victory or defeat, and it is in the obstinate
firmness with which the pehlewan who falls lower
most sticks with his face to the ground, resisting
all the attempts of his opponent to move or turn
him, whether by twisting his limbs or by sudden
jerks, that his skill and address are known. And,
assuredly, there were some very long and tough
tustles. Now was seen the use of the knee-patches

JAFFER KOOLEE. 61
and the stout waistbands, for they grovelled on all
fours on the ground like frogs— that seems to be a
favourite and strong position — and the other would
get up behind and seize his opponent by the waist,
by the shoulders, first by one leg and then another,
twisting each limb till I expected it would snap ;
but all was endured, and the man generally stuck
firm. When they wrestle before the Shah every
atrocity is permitted ; they may break legs or arms
as they can, and seize by the most dangerous and
sensitive parts of the body — all is fair, even if death
be the consequence ; but on common occasions they
do not go to such serious extremities, contenting
themselves with patient efforts of strength and skill
alone. At this time one man, Jaffer Koolee, threw
most of the field, receiving only two flings himself,
both from the same person ; but this man was also
thrown in the sequel. On the whole, it was a thing
worth seeing, but one which I should never think
of going to witness often. — Adieu ! my next will
probably be commenced from the Khan's country
house.

62

LETTER II.
Excursion to Meerza Abul Hassan Khan's Village. — Beggars.^--
" Value of Water for irrigation. — Persian Agriculture. — The
Khan at his Village. — Modes of Farming. — Ancient Cities, —
Return to Tehran. — The -Eede. — Return of the Shah from
Koom, and entry into the Capital. — Persian Games. — - Picnics.
— A Persian Historian. — Royal Hymeals. — Scenes in the
Maidaun. — The Princes. — The Shah's appearance. — Pre-'
sentation of Gifts to his Majesty. — Dancers and Tumblers.—
Wrestlers, Buffoons, &c. Jafferabad. I5th April.^t
Dear  . . •
This morning at seven o'clock, having sent our
baggage before, we accompanied the Khan from
Tehran on the way to his property. We were
attended by about a dozen of horsemen, jwha
careered about, leaving us to our own honest host,
who rode soberly on a soft sort of packsaddle, strap
ped on the back of a nice ambling nag. We could
not have had a more delicious morning: the air was
fresh and soft, and the green of the young corn was
delightful to us, who had so long been confined to the
mud walls of the city. In passing along for the first
while we were assailed by crowds of beggars, who
had stationed themselves at different points, aware, no
doubt, of our intended march, and who were clamor
ous for relief. For these the Khan, well accustomet
to the thing, had provided a parcel of small silver

PROFESSIONAL BEGGARS. 6.3
coins, which he distributed as he went along, amidst
the roar of mingled blessings and petitions, for nearly
a fursung from the city.
Many of these were professional beggars from
a particular tribe named Abbas Dousee, or rather
Dubbussee, from the appellation of their founder,
who is said to have been a tanner. Their place
of abode is Ispahan, from whence they send out
their members all over the country. All are pro
fessed beggars and impostors, practising to great
perfection the arts and deceptions which our own
beggars at home have recourse to, in order to excite
pity. They assume the appearance of all sorts of
ailments and bodily imperfections ; and some go so
far as to maim themselves, in order to carry on
trade to better advantage.
One of these, lying on the road-side, as we ad
vanced, arose a miserable cripple, with two club
feet turned almost behind. The Khan, however,
was up to the trick, and called out to him to leave
that nonsense and stand straight, or he would give
him nothing ; upon which, the cripple springing up
at once, a straight and proper fellow came forward
to receive the donation, which the Khan gave with
a hearty laugh.
'" No sooner had he touched the coin than he dis
appeared, and diving into a hollow, ran like a lamp
lighter a-head for a quarter of a mile, and rapidly
Changing part of his rags, presented himself to us
with a new contortion : he was recognized by
several of the people; but the Khan, being in a
charitable humour, and pleased with the fellow's

64 VALUE OF WATER.
cleverness, threw him the other silver abbas. An
other of these rascals came forward, personating
a dumb man, uttering fearful inarticulate howlings ;
but his cure was effected with as much facility as
that of the first : and among many scenes like these
did we win our way to a place among the ruins
of Rhe, named Chushmeh-Allee, from a fine fountain
which rises under a limestone rock, and where the
Khan had ordered breakfast to be prepared for us.
On our way, as we rode along, my attention was
attracted by a stream which irrigates a large quan
tity of land, great part of which was now green
with young corn. This stream is the produce of a
cannaut, or artificial subterraneous canal, of great
antiquity ; it discharges a volume of water, which,
as it rolled over a brick sluice, we could see to be
about three feet broad, by five to six inches deep;
and to give you an idea of the value of water in
these parts, it lets, for irrigation, at a rate which'
amounts to about one thousand tomauns a-year, and
is valued as saleable property at ten thousand to
mauns, that is, ten years' purchase; as much,! I
should conjecture, as any property can well be worth
in a country where law and government are so
unsettled, and security consequently so imperfect.
The fine fountain, at the well-head of which we!
made a capital breakfast, and which formerly must
have been within the- city of Rhe, now belongs to
the neighbouring Imaun-Zadeh, or shrine of Shah-
Abdul-Azeem. From hence we rode on pretty rapidly through
a sheet of cultivation, which extends, as I was

PERSIAN AGRICULTURE. 65
informed, for twelve fursungs on each side of the
city ; and certainly, in the direction we went, vil
lages are very frequent, — scarcely in any part were
we a mile distant from some one or other. It is
a fertile and a populous district; but when the
whole is said to be cultivated, it by no means is
to be understood that all is under crop at one time.
The custom here is to divide the arable lands
of a village into three parts, only one of which is
ploughed down and sown each year. The other
two lie fallow, and follow in rotation. The use of
lime is unknown in these parts, nor is manure
made use of, except close to cities, where the sweep
ings of stables, ashes, the dung of sheep and other
animals, all mingled together, is used for melon and
cucumber beds, and for the egg-plant, of which
great quantities are used in Persia ; but they seem
to know little of the mode of composting manure.
In the country, the only approach I have seen
towards increasing the fertility of land by manure,
is in the breaking down and spreading the earth
of old walls, which, by having been long inhabited,
appear to acquire some stimulating quality ; per
haps it is only the stimulus of a little new soil to
that which is exhausted. Thus, although the ground
may be rich and the soil deep, they cannot afford
to take from it more than one crop running, under
such management.
A little way from the Khan's village, which is
called Jafferabad, and is about twenty-four miles
from the city, the party was met by the male
population, who paid their respects to the Khan
VOL. II. F

66 RECEPTION OF THE KHAN.
with much apparent cordiality; and" a very decent
peasantry they seemed. A sheep or two were de
capitated by the side of the path as we rode into
the village* according to the Persian fashion of wel
coming a great man, so that the poor head was
thrown almost under our horses' feet ; and there
was a glorious clamour of women and children,' all
very right and pleasant, as the Khan rode through
it to his own munzil or dwelling. You are not
to suppose that these village homes of great men,
are by any means splendid affairs. They are built
like the houses of the ryots, of clay and choppeil
straw, edged inside perhaps with plaster, but not
even whitewashed. These courtier Khans, how
ever, like the excitement of what they call roughing
it, in the country, in these humble dwellings^ where
comfortable carpets, and numuds, and cushions, beds
as good as t they have at their city palaces, and
plenty of the best eatables — ay, and sometimes of
drinkables, leave them truly little to wish for. The
dwelling* of the Khan in this instance, which occur
pied considerable part of a square walled inclosure,
that might serve as a temporary fortification, and
which contains his own especial establishment, was
assuredly deficient in none of these appliances; to
comfort. It was quite distinct from the village,
which has no walls.
In the evening, we accompanied our host through
his garden, and round the village ; looked at his
improvements, effected or in progress ; discussed,
or heard him explain, those he projected; and, in
short, went through the whole course which one
has to undergo on a visit to some country; laird

THE KHAN AT HOME. 67
who farms his own property. One thing was well
worth seeing — it was a splendid Oriental plane-tree,
which, having been pollarded by some sacrilegious
hand in its youth, spread out its branches on all
sides with rgreat regularity and beauty; its trunk
must have been seven or eight, feet in diameter a
good wayaboye the ground. A small clay platform
had been built about it, where a carpet can be
spread, and where, in hot weather, the. Khan often
passes the .night. It was pleasant to see such a
tree appreciated — -perhaps it was not a less pleasant
sight to -see the Khan's fat portly figure moving
patriarchallyi along his own grounds, followed -by a
tail surpassing that of any laird of Lochaber or
Badenoch, or the Aird, in the. best times of old,
increasing at every step — giving every here and
there a >good word— a Mashallah to this one, a
Barikillah to another, a good-natured scold to a
third; but evidently quite at home among them,
liking and well liked, and pointing out with= very
allowable pride .all the perfections of his , own
village. It was altogether a satisfactory i day ; and
after a capital dinner, d la mode de Perse, the
cuisine of . which, I, assure you, leaves no room, in
iny, estimation, for regretting that of France or
England^ and a bottle of ibright old Madeira from
the ; Khan's own stores, we went .-to our, comfort
able beds, and the; uepose earned by contented
mind* and pleuty of wholesome exercise. i ; <¦
J6th. April. — This/morning, after taking a dish
of excfellent tea— -a custom which I recommend very
I feannestly to ;all travellers who (do not prefer coffee—
, we .mounted and followed the ^Khan over his estate,
F 2

68 MODES OF FARMING.
which extends full one fursuk and a half/or about
six miles, from the village, till met in fact bythe
lands of other villages ; for . in these rich districts
near the capital, such as Tehran, Khaur, Vuromeeni;
&c, there is not, as in most other places, a large
proportion of sahrah or desert, but every village
has its own land, as regularly meted out and as
jealously preserved as those of any farm or estate
in England. It was comfortable to see the whole
of this land occupied and made use of, in a man
ner that marked the prosperity of the possessors!
There is attached to this village of the Khan's a
cannaut, larger than the one I noticed near Tehran)
said, were it let, to be worth twelve to fifteen hun*.
dred tomauns a year ; but the water is entirely em
ployed in the cultivation of the village, and all that
is in the Khan's hands. He told us that he had
sowed seven hundred tomauns' worth of seed this
year. The returns should be ten for one ; and of
this he gives the ryots one fourth for cultivating it,
he paying all expenses of seed, tools, land, and water-;
so that the ryots are just his hired servants, receiv
ing as wages a clear fourth of all produce. In some,
cases one third is given to them, in others the pro-;
prietor finds land and water only, and the ryots find
seed, tools, and labour, for which they receive one
half the produce. For this village the Khan paid
five thousand tomauns, and it may produce him
about one thousand a year. In the evening we
made an attempt to get to the ruins of an old city
which was in sight, apparently close- by, but it
turned out to be further than we calculated on, and
so we returned without accomplishing our object.' .,«

ANCIENT CITIES. 69
17th April.— We rose early this morning to ac
company the Khan to another of his villages, named
Soorchah, south of Jafferabad, and near the edge of
the Salt desert. Our route lay through the ruins of
another city, said to be the ancient Vuromeen. It
is very difficult to judge of the antiquity of ruins
in Persia, because in so dry a climate decay proceeds
but slowly, and circumstances scarcely perceptible
to the casual observer, may have lent to one building
a greater degree of stability than to another. In
this place there is obviously a blending of the struc
tures of various ages : we find here tombs and build
ings assimilating with those that are met with in
Khorasan, at Bostam, Jorjaum, and at Saree in
Mazunderan, and which have been estimated at
about seven hundred years old : we find a mosque
built by Sultaun Aboo Seyed, the son of Sultaun
Mahomed Khddabundeh, in A. Hej. 720 ; and there
are confused masses of clay-built ruins which may
be of all or any age, besides what was called Kallah
Ghebre, one of these singular forts of solid earth
which are found in this and some districts to the
eastward, and which I believe to be very ancient,
that is, long before the aera of Mahometanism. In
all probability, therefore, these ruins represent the
relics of an ancient city. The gardens are still ex
tensive, part of them being kept in order by the
villagers who inhabit portions of the ruins ; and part,
allowed to run to waste, have become a jungle.
Many ancient fruit-trees, and the hoary trunks of
Oriental planes, hollowed by age and decay, but once
of great magnitude, and now throwing out a fresh
and vigorous growth df saplings from the hollow shells,

70 TRESPASSES.
attest not only the age of the gardens where they
grew, but present singularly venerable objects in
themselves. It is remarkable that the inside of these
shells bears d charred and blackened appearance, ai
if from the action of fire ; a fact which would almost
seem to bear testimony to the truth of that saying
of the Persians with j regard to this' tree,:, namely*
that whenever aChindr (that is, an Oriental plane-
tree) attains the age1 of three hundred year* (I thirik)j
it is consumed by self-combustion. -•'<-': ¦¦};-.
On our approach to this new village, the Khan
was received with the same acclamations and cere*
monies as at the last, and the peasantry appeaml
equally respectable, though I believe the village1 is
not so large; they are, I am told, in this part; nf
the country, very much derived from the Arab
stock. This evening we had an opportunity of ob
serving One of the annoyances" to which village pro>
prietors in Persia are liable. The property of cm
nauts is held perfectly sacred, and the laws regard*
ing them are well understood ; but still they art
sometimes- transgressed like other rules. One of
them binds the owner of any piece of land, whoever
he may be, to leave uncultivated a strip above thi
course of any cannaut, because in irrigation the
water i employed would soak through the soil and
damage the canal below, by makirig the earth of its
roof fall down and fill it up. This dams up the
water behind, which injured the whole course above;
Now the ryots of a neighbouring" village had eoiti-
mitted a trespass of this very sort, and wroth" h>
deed was the Khan as he rode along, and saw the
expensive process which had been necessary to re*

ANCIENT CITY. 71
pair the damage, and vehement were his impreca
tions and terms of abuse upon the fathers and mo
thers, and all the kith and kin of those who had
done the foul deed, as he commanded their corn to
be ploughed up and destroyed. This it seems is the
only remedy and redress to be had in such cases,
unless when the aggrieved party has very high in
terest, for otherwise no court of justice would
interfere : now this village happens to belong
to a person high in power, who is no friend to the
Khan. 19th April.-— Both yesterday and to-day I rode
out, first alone and then in company with Macneil,
to the old city, called by the natives Erij, which we
had attempted to reach from Jafferabad. It is full
eight miles from Soorchah, and strikingly showed
how much in a level country the eye may be de
ceived in point of size and distance. We found it to
be an oblong square, of 1500 paces long by 1380 or
1400 broad, having a gateway in each face, and forty
round towers on the two longest ones. The wall
appears to have been about twenty to twenty-four
yards thick, and is now, where most perfect, about
fifty feet high ; but it has mouldered down from age
and weather, so that the debris form a slope from its
very crest, which is quite sharp, extending to a
considerable distance beyond its original base. Both
wall and towers have been built of sun-dried bricks,
about fourteen inches square by three and a half
thick, and there are arches in its substance between
the towers, as if to allow of the materials to dry in
building, for they do not appear to have been cells
fit for habitations. These bricks exactly resemble

72 ' 4 SPECULATIONS.
those that have been used in all the ancienfo building!
at Babylon ; and at each gateway, and in several
other spots on the sloping debris of the walls, we
discovered masses of the burned and glazed&'Ve
lumps, resembling fire-scathed masonry,* some of
which is seen at the Birs-e-Nimrood. This would
seem to fix the antiquity of the place as very re
mote; and, perhaps, the circumstance of the area
within, the walls being traversed by old cannauts,—
many of which having become useless, others have
been dug alongside them, — may tend, at least, to
prove that it must have been very long totally de
serted as a city. I do not know whether the fact of
there being no great masses of pottery, or furnace^
burned bricks, to be seen within the walls, nor any
very great irregularity of surface, which is always
the case in cities where clay has been taken to torn)
many successions of houses, will be admitted as a
proof presumptive against this one having ever been
inhabited for any long period of time. Macneil
Jeans to the opinion that this may have been the
new Rhages, or Apamea, built by Antiochus, and
called so after his wife, but it is merely a surmises
the subject may be worth the attention of compare^
tive geographers with more knowledge and better
opportunities for inquiry than I possessed.
In hopes of finding a hare we had taken a brace
of greyhounds to the ruins : we were unlucky both
in this and in our pursuit after other game ; but
we started a couple of wolves, which went off, fol-1
lowed by the two greyhounds. Each of these went
boldly up until they received the ominous snark
on which they instantly stopped and came sneaking
back, with their tails between their legs. No grey*

THE EED-UL-KOORBAUN. 73
hound can possibly attack a wolf with any prospect
of success.
On our return to the village we found letters
aw *ting us, letters from England, which were put
in our hands as we dismounted. Alas! for the
uncertainty of human happiness. * * *
In less than an hour we were again on horseback*
and by sun-down reached the city gates, about thirty
miles distant. It was a melancholy ride.
*****
20th April.— I am desirous of seeing everything
that is going on ; and hearing that the celebration of
the Eed-ul-koorbaun was just going to take place,
and a camel to be slain with great ceremony, I
went to witness it this morning. It proved to
be a poor affair, indeed. Nothing, perhaps, more
strikingly marks the decline of prosperity in a
nation, and the broken-hearted indifference of its
people, than a neglect of all customary pomp in the
trappings of state, and the celebration of national
and religious festivals. In Tehran, the capital of
the kingdom, where formerly all was bustle and
movement, everything is now still and dead — there
is neither glitter nor brilliance. The king, super
annuated, like his dynasty and kingdom, cannot
be plagued with pomp. We have seen the Eed-e-
noroze put off for the first time in his reign, and the
impression created by it has been far from favour
able. At this Eed-ul-koorbaun, which is a solemn
festival, — commemorative, as you perhaps may have
heard, of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, — it was cus
tomary for the king himself, or, in his default, for
one of the elder princes, with a grand cortege of the
rest and their followers, to superintend the ceremony,

74 itecline of p.© m e, ¦-
which . consists df a procession to a particular ap
pointed place, where a camel is provided as the
sacrifice. The king, or elder prince^ taking, a knife,
draws it across the animal's throaty which is then
despatched and cut up upon the spot.
I have seen this festival held at Dehlee with great
effect. The old king, and all the princes of his
house and family, attended ; and there was a great
show of magnificently caparisoned elephants and ca
mels, arid horses and horsemen, and much glitter
and show. The king gave the first wound to the
victim, which was highly decked with flowers and
finery ; it was cut up immediately, and a part of the
liver, as the choice morsel, being broiled upon the
spot, was handed about to the most distinguished
persons present. On the present occasion not OBe
of the princes attended, except Saheb-keran Meerza,
a son of his majesty indeed, and commander of the
artillery, — Mashallah! though only about ten -years
of age; nor was he accompanied by a single person
of distinction. The first part of the show which issued from the
gate was a parcel of ragamuffin musicians with
kettle-drums, and horrid screeching pipes, who- pre
ceded a number of mules and horses, strangely
caparisoned and painted, having tawdry trappings
on, and gold and silver tinsel, with ostrich feathers
on their heads ; and along with these came sundry
flags of silk, red, green, and scarlet, and some striped
like shawls ; and the animals were mounted ! and
ridden to and fro at speed by the fellows who
brought them. These, as I understood, were in
tended to carry away pieces of the unhappy camel

THE PROCESSION. 75
when he should be cut up: they were attended
also by a number of dervishes, in their caps and
patched robes. Next came six of the king's ker-
nelehees, or trumpeters, in their scarlet coats, with
spears and horns ; then came three or four led horses ;
then a couple df hundred topechees, or artillerymen,
in two lines, forming a street, through which rushed
thirty or forty furoshes with sticks, and gholaums with
shields. After these came the little prince, gallantly
-dressed in a scarlet coat, well bedizened with em
broidery of pearls and diamonds, his sword-belt to
match, and having handsome diamond ornaments in
bis cap and on his breast, and a pretty little sabre de
pending from his side. He was mounted on a fine
horse, which seemed to know its duty, and went
steadily ; and the little man sat upright and grave as
a judge. Whatever else they may be taught, these
scions of royalty, a«d, indeed, all youngsters of rank
in Persia, learn early the forms and ceremonies of
society, and to conduct themselves according to their
rank and station.
Behind the prince, at due distance, came a rabble
of horsemen, toft'unchees, &c. ; but scarcely was there
a respectable-looking person amongst the wholes
nor anything like even an affectation of much
state ; one or two horsemen ran a maidaun or two,
and shook their spears or threw a jereed, as we
moved along in a cloud of dust to the Nigaristan,
a garden and palace of the king's, before the gates
of which, upon a little height, the poor camel lay
bound and ready, surrounded by a crowd of black
guards. Here the toffunchees formed their street
afresh, through which the little prince came on,

76 THE CEREMONY.
holding a spear. A dervish, who was in attendance,
uttered a long howling prayer over the beast, in
which the name of Futeh Allee Shah was sono
rously remarkable; and then, the spear being di
rected by the commandant of the party of topecheesj
the prince ran it into the poor creature, which was
immediately despatched by a butcher, who was there
for the purpose. A piece of its quivering flesh wai
instantly cut out and stuck upon the spear, whichs*
having received and shouldered, the prince turned
his horse and rode off. The camel was then hewn
in pieces, and a mighty scramble for the smallest
morsel terminated the spectacle, which, on the
whole, was so wretched and paltry, that I could not
help saying to one of my servants, " Pooch, pooch f
<—" shabby work, shabby work ! " upon which an old
topechee, who had overheard me, turning his head,
exclaimed, " Rast megooed, pooch ust ,•" — " he says
the truth ; it is a shabby affair."
24th April. — Just returned from seeing the king
enter the city, on his return from Koom. Half the
town went out as peshwdz to welcome his majesty;
the other half lined the bazars, to make a show upon
his entrance: they had already taken their places
at eleven o'clock, when we left the gates. It was
a lively scene enough, but the king was still far
distant. Laden mules indeed came in by threes and
fours, and sometimes in strings of a dozen, with
yekdauns and carpets, mingled with mounted men,
many of them on miserable lame horses — no doubt
pressed for the occasion ; others on long, lank brutes*
all legs and head, which seemed to complain that
forage was scarce at Koom. Now and then a well"

THE shah's arrival. 77
mounted gholaum would spur past, and peish-khid-
muts, led horses, and tucht-rawans urged on their
way, shoving everything else aside, all with a su
preme contempt of any sort of order ; but still the
" point of the world's adoration" was afar off.
As the principal group approached, better mounted
horsemen came on, and the officers appointed to keep
the ground came forward to make every one stand
aloof; among these a brother of our friend, the
minister for foreign affairs, came up, and assisted us
with great empressement to obtain good places. A
confused assemblage of horsemen of all ranks and
distinctions, from whom were continually issuing in
dividual pairs to skirmish and show off, were fol
lowed by those of more respectability — gholaum-
peish khidmuts, nassakchees, and personal attend
ants on his majesty ; then a number of shatirs, or
running footmen ; and then, after a long vacant
space, came Futeh Allee Shah himself, mounted on a
horse, which no doubt might be possessed of most
admirable qualities, but which most people would
have guessed to be chosen rather for its quietness
than its beauty ; to me it seemed ewe-necked, leggy,
and with poor quarters. His majesty wore the same
orange-coloured barounee, or cloak, which he had
on when I saw him in the Imdrut-e-Bilour ; on his
arms were the bazu-bunds, containing his two cele
brated diamonds. In his cap was a jewelled jika,
and his grand black beard was as grand and well-
trimmed as ever, but I think his person was some
what less erect than it has been.
Behind, at due distance, came a group of princes
and nobles, and among them, in a sky-blue velvet

78 HIS ENTRY INTO TEHRAN.
riding-dress, rode the Syf-ool-Moolk, " sword of the
state," the son of the Taj-u-dowlut^and Prince of Is"-
pahan, the bridegroom of the nuptials that are about
to take place. Our guide, the Khan's brother, not
only pointed him out to our notice, but got a person
to ride up and engage him in conversation, so as to
separate him from the crowd, that we might get a
good look at him, mounted as, he was on the Shafts
own horse, lienna-stained all over belly and tail
A dense crowd of horsemen, gholaums, jeloodars,
peish-khidmuts, and servants of all sorts, brought
up the rear, crossing the road and country in a line
at right angles to the line of march ; from these it
was that most of the skirmishers issued, and it was
the liveliest part of the show. Proceeding as we
did slowly, it was very pretty to see them, in pairs
or singly, darting from the dark mass, "like light?
ning from the thunder-cloud," tearing across the
plain, and firing guns and pistols at each other or
at nothing at all, and showing off some very fine
horses with great spirit and address. The key-kaj
exercise, and that .of the jereed, at all times exciting
and lively, was now performed in very good style;
and, altogether,, there was something in ,the. whole
affair that approached to the glitter of old times. >
Having neared the town, we dashed on, crossed
the front, of the great body, and tearing over some
ploughed, fields, galloped up to the gate which was
soon to be entered by the old monarch. Here was
the best part of the show ; I never saw, any Persian
bazar so gay. The whole,— and a great extent of
it there is, from the Shah-Abdul-Azeem gateito
the ark, or palace,— was dressed out ;not only with

THE BAZARS. 79
the best of every ware the owner possessed, but
with a multitudinous quantity of coloured paper
ornaments and streamers, mingled with gold tinsel
and foil, which hung over-head, and fluttering from
frames along the door-posts and uprights of the
shops, made a very glittering show, paltry and frail
as it was in reality. Every sort of shop was ap
propriately adorned, and a very pretty sight of the
kind they formed. But the best part of it, after
all, was the multitude of happy human faces-
happy and eager on the occasion at least. The
Persians, whatever be their faults, are a light-
hearted, good-humoured, easily -pleased people, who
enter with amazing facility into all sorts of amuse
ment, and whom the great want of glitter and
gaiety which marks the present period, does not
suit at all; thus they are ready to hail anything
that promises a little relaxation, or affords an oppor
tunity of enjoyment, as a spring long held back is
to return to its natural position. All Tehran was
agog; and beggars and fakeers, shopkeepers and
labourers, Meerzas and Moostophees, Khans and
employes, were bustling and buzzing about, :and
filling every alley that led to the bazars, just as
but a few minutes before they had spread over the
open space before the walls. I should think that
euery soul, male and female, old and young, that
Tehran could disgorge from its dwellings, was on
this occasion in these public thoroughfares, crowding
(©n each other's shoulders, and clustering on every
.knob and vantage ground they could hold on by.
Had Satan himself thrown his net over the city,
iexcluding the palace and the bazars, I do believe

80 THE ARK.
he would not have caught a single creature ; and
through this dense living mass did we force our
way to the Maidaun within the palace.
Here, as yet, there were only preparations. The
way from the Bazar to the Ark -gate was lined with
toffunchees, most of them dressed in their common
garb; near the gate were ranged the nassahcheti
and yessawuls, in their scarlet cloaks and shawl-
wound turbans ; and close to it was seated the
Zil-e-Sooltaun himself, as governor of the ark, in a
similar dress. Indeed, so much did he resemble
those around him, that we never remarked him, and
were guilty of the indecorum of riding by without
acknowledging his highness by a salute. In the square
there was a street formed of toffunchees on one side,
and topechees and serbaz on the other, stretching*
from the gate of entrance to that of the palace*
keeping out an indiscriminate rabble on either hand.,
The ministers, in their court-dress, sat in a niche on
one side of the palace-gate ; and the Ameen-u-dow^-
lut, on seeing us enter, sent to say, that being merely
spectators, unless we desired to be unpleasantly con
spicuous, we had best dismount. This we did of
course, and had not stood long before a flourish of
trumpets announced the royal approach.
The Shah came as before, preceded by gholauras
and skaters* and followed by the same heterogeneous
crowd of princes, nobles, and attendants, as on the
march. He rode erect and slowly, turning his head
gently to one side or other ; the troops saluted,—
ill enough ; he entered the ark — and the show was
over. There was no shouting, nor any bowing of
the people, that I observed ; and, on the whole, the

PERSIAN GAMES. 81
scene, though animated and amusing, could scarcely
be called striking or impressive. The Persian garb,
so much more sober than that of most other Oriental
countries, is opposed to glitter or show ; nor is the
deficiency of colour and splendour in any degree
compensated by regularity of arrangement, or the
imposing appearance of numerous and well-disciplined
troops. In the evening we went to see the spear and jereed
exereise, which is practised on every Thursday at the
Shah-Abdool-Azeem gate. There were some very
good performers ; but I was more amused by watch
ing the inferior games which were played by the
crowd around. One of these was just a Persian
edition of " Hunt the Slipper ;" others there were
which I could not understand at all ; but there was
one which consisted in tossing a boy in a blanket,
and which appeared to me to involve no small de
gree of risk to the person principally concerned.
They threw him up full ten feet above their heads*
and it was laughable enough to the spectators to see
the poor little fellow sprawling aloft, and coming
down head over heels in the air ; but I suspect it
was poor amusement to him. They assured me that
it was done' with the boy's perfect consent ; but
certain remonstratory exclamations seemed to hint
at a contrary tale, and they admitted that a leg or
an arm was broken occasionally. Very pretty sport
truly !
Another Persian amusement, which I have cause
to remember well, as the first time I saw it my
horse started so that he nearly threw me, consists in
the use of a sort of swing, or rather round-about^
vol. ir. g

82 PICNICS.
which I think is known at fairs in England. An
upright frame, of two posts, is joined near the top
by a cross beam, on which revolves a sort of ma
chine like a large reel, or the barrel over which the
rope of a well is made to move. On each bar of
this reel is swung a sort of chair, the top of the
back of which revolves, in its turn, round the bar;
so that when the reel is turned round, each chair,
to the amount of four or five, makes the circuit
with it, preserving, however, its erect position, from
the manner in which it is swung. In each of these
chairs a person sits, and great is the glee that pre
vails as they mount and fall with the revolutions
of the machine.
25th April. — It is a common thing here, as spring
advances, to make little excursions and picnics to
the neighbourhood of the town, especially to two
villages, Shemroon arid Khand, which are pleasant
from their gardens and clear waters. In order to
see the former, and to try how my own establish
ment worked before setting forth on my journey,
I sent them out this morning, or rather last night,
with orders to provide a breakfast for as many of
our party as would go. It rained in the morning,
which frightened two or three of the party ; but the
rest, with myself, proceeded to the place which my
servants had chosen, and we were recompensed,. for
our perseverance by its turning out a lovely day.
My cook proved himself a capital artiste, and gave
us a breakfast that would have almost thrown high
land fare into the shade — for we had pillawsand
stews, and kebaubs, and omelettes without end.
There are two splendid chinars here, one I believe,

A PERSIAN AUTHOR. 83
in point of girth, surpassing almost any other in
the country, being about twenty-four English yards
at three feet from the ground, and the other oif
great height and exceeding beauty ; — they alone were
worth going the distance to see, but we had a deli
cious day of roaming among the green gardens and
heath-like hills around the village.
26th April. — I went this morning to call upon
my friend Meerza Tuckee Alleabadee, who promises
me several useful letters for my journey to Khorasan.
I found him seated in conclave with several persons,
among whom was a Kajar chief, Furz-Allee Khan,
a relative of the king, Meerza Buzoorg, and a cer
tain Moollah Hussun, all profound critics, and the
subject of their conversation was the epitaph which
the Meerza is writing for the king's tomb. The
several sentences of this performance were separately
brought before this board of critics and formally
discussed. They all met with infinite commenda
tion, and, after a while, there was a unanimous call
for the Meerza to bring forth a certain history, which,
it appears, he is employed in writing, of the reign of
Futeh Allee Shah.
• With a decent show of that becoming reluctance
which authors consider it necessary to assume on
such occasions, he complied with their wishes, and
soon was prevailed on himself to recite a portion of
the work, which is written in a sort of poetical
prose. I am pretty well acquainted with the in
flated style which the Persians admire, and the
¦exaggerated praise which they bestow upon eminent
living characters ; but this " bate Bannacher," as
Paddy would say. I had always conceived Futeh
G 2

84 FLATTERY.
Allee Shah to be a quiet sort of peaceable, riioney
and women loving king, with no particularly great
qualities or talents, and as little as might be of a
warrior or conqueror. Judge of my surprise to find
myself quite mistaken in this opinion, and to find
the Shah a perfect fire-eater — a slayer of men and
conqueror of states, at whose feet kings bowed, and
whose . dominion was spread far and near, by the
feats of his indomitable warriors. My mistake was
confirmed by the impartial Furz-AUee Khan, who;
after the most unmeasured and rapturous commenda
tions of the work, summed up his eulogium by de
claring, that the best of all was that, " By the head
of the king, — by his own head, and by the death of
his friend, no one could say there was one word of
lie in the whole of it." I much regretted that my
want of knowledge prevented me from feeling the
delicacy of their criticisms, and partaking in the
delight they evidently derived from discussing the
merits of the composition.
27th April. — This morning, calling on the Malek-
ul-Shaerd, (Poet Laureate,) who, like his father, is to
give me letters to Khorasan, I heard some strange
stories which gave rise at first to hope that the long-
looked-for desideratum of geologists, the existence
of human organic remains in secondary formations,
was discovered in Persia. The first was a very
obscure and confused story of a human skull having
been found imbedded in a stone ; I presume that it
was a mistake or a fabrication, as I could trace no
particulars regarding it of time, place, or fact. An
other narrated, that in the second year of the pre
sent king's reign, in digging for the foundation of

ORGANIC REMAINS. 85
a boorj, or tower, at the Kasr-e-kajar,* certain
skulls were discovered of a size corresponding with
that of those huge earthern vessels used by tailors
in Persia for crimping and ironing their clothes
upon, that is, I should say, about eighteen inches in
diameter. The rest of the bones of the human
skeleton were also said to have been found in com
pany with the skulls, though not in such complete
preservation ; and the joints ; such as neck, fingers,
knees, vertebrae, &c, were clamped together with
iron pins. The relater, who was the poet himself,
declared that he went to the place and saw them,
after which the whole were thrown into a hole and
re-buried. Meerza Zein-ul-Abedeen, his uncle, men
tioned another matter, which turned out to be more
of a fact, although not exactly what the Meerza be
lieved. Having drained a piece of stagnant water
at or near Hamadan, some seven or eight years ago,
for purposes of cultivation, he found there what he
believed to be an enormous human skeleton, . the
teeth being full six inches long and thick in propor
tion, and the rest of the bones to match : a single
tooth had been preserved to show the king, but he
did not know what had become of the rest. Mac
neil however, who saw the tooth, states that it cer
tainly was that of a graminivorous animal, instead
of being that of a man ; and if an elephant, it must
have been a small one. But he mentioned a curious
fact, namely, that poor Schultz, the German savant,
Who was murdered in the Hakkaree country, assured
him, that having heard many tales of gigantic human
remains being found in the country near Van in
* A royal palace near Tehran.

86 PREPARATIONS.
Koordistan, he had procured leave to open a tumu
lus or barrow there, and found in it a human ske
leton, the cranium of which measured about three
times the solid contents of the common run of hu
man skulls. The whole skeleton was there, little
disturbed, and the slight disturbance that existed
had probably been occasioned in digging it up : the
skull was sent to France.
28th April.— This day was the commencement of
the rejoicings for the marriages at court, and par
ticularly for that of the Syf-ool-Mook, to witness the
pageantry of which all the English have received
an invitation ; we therefore went this afternoon to
the great square before the palace, where the show
is to take place, and on the wall of which a tent had
been pitched for our accommodation. It was really
a gay spectacle when we arrived ; at first one could
only distinguish a great crowd of people scattered
over it, but in riding along you discovered that
there was a double line or street of soldiers extending
all the way from the entrance to the gate of the
palace ; on one side serbaz, on the other toffunchees;
on the right, as you entered, there were about a
dozen of guns, chiefly English, I think, in good order,
attended by the proper complement of topechees, with
all suitable apparatus ; on the other side the whole
maidaun was stuck full of the swivels of the camel
artillery in somewhat irregular rows, each with its zim-
boorukchee, or swivel-man, standing by it, lintstock in
hand ; several other teeps, or battalions, were paraded
in the square, and the crowd filled all unoccupied
places, permitted as yet to go freely everywhere.
Notwithstanding the dust blown in our faces by

SCENE IN THE MAIDAUN. 87
a fierce wind, which they somewhat strangely call
Sheheryar, or " friend of the city," and which an
noyed our eyes and faces exceedingly, we amused
ourselves with gazing at the grotesque or gay figures
that were flitting everywhere about.
But the Persian costume, as before observed,
is not the liveliest ; the colours used in dress are
for the greater part sober — blues, browns, greens,
greys, chiefly of Neem-rungs, or middle tints, as
they are called ; and for this reason a crowd in
Persia does not make by any means so fine a
show as one in India or Turkey, for example. But
among these grave hues, a spot of crimson, bright
yellow, orange, or sky-blue, tells with double force ;
and such there were in pretty fair abundance scat
tered among the crowd. The incidents were prin
cipally confined to the arrival of some Prince or
Khan, whose sowaree* made a little current of its
own among the thickening throng; and as it ap
proached you might distinguish the illustrious cha
racter by the handsome horse tossing its proud
head, adorned with the fine Kajar bridle ; by the
rich shawl-dress worn by himself, or the glitter of
his jewel-hilted poniard. Again, when the crowd
pressed forward too familiarly on the space which
even already was partly kept clear before and
around the palace-gate, you might see a furosh or
two start, stick in hand, from the mass that was
gathered together, close to that sacred entrance, and
dash among the populace, laying on to right and
left, while the congregation fled and scattered before
* Train, attendance— Scottice, following.

88 ARRANGEMENT OF OFFICIALS.
them in all directions— only to return again the
moment the backs of the officials were turned. •.
As the eye became familiarized with the moving
scene, and took in its several features, it discovered
first, about fifteen paces in front of the palace gate
way, a large square stage erected over a tank which
occupies that spot, and covered with carpets and
numuds, upon which the dancers and musicians of
the king were to exhibit. In the centre of the
square, and half way between the gate of the palace
and that of entrance to the square, just opposite,
were two large guns, by which stood two standards,
tall pikes, with square silken flags, bearing the in
signia of Persia ; and around these were clustered
the officers of the serbaz corps, in their red frock
coats, or kabbas, and those of the topechees, or
artillery, in their blue ones, both plentifully adorned
with gold lace, and bearing stars or orders indicative
of their rank upon their breasts. Around the stage,
and between it arid the centre, stood numbers of
nassakchees and yessawuls, (a sort of marshals-
men,) in their red barounies and shawl-wrapped
caps, the latter having brass ornaments in these
caps to distinguish them. There were also the
dark-looking body of furoshes — and there, too,
stood the truculent-looking fnroshd-e-ghuz%ub —
that is, furoshes of wrath, with their black scyme-
tars of office, murderous weapons, girt over the right
shoulder, and hanging close under the left arm, in
stead of at the waist, and a dagger stuck in their
girdles ; that dagger-knife with which they dig out
the eyes and crop the ears, or noses, or tongues, of
unhappy criminals, for they are the real ministers

PRESERVATION OF ORDER. 89
-'of vengeance, the actual executioners who perform
these bloody duties.
As the time for the Shah's appearance approach
ed, you saw these fellows more actively employed in
¦pressing back the crowd, and might hear the heavy
blows which they rained on the heads and backs of
all they reached ; yet, on the whole, little mischief
was done, for the Persian caps and skulls are stout,
and the thick fur Kuleejehs and cloaks break the
force of a good blow ; and I must say for the fu
roshes, that they themselves oftener threatened than
hit hard. But it is equally certain that their blows
descended with great partiality ; the miserable-look
ing blackguards, the ragged and tough wretches,
that forced their way among the more decent of the
community, received, and seemed to expect, their
own share of hard knocks ; but the stick seldom fell
on the head of a well-dressed, or elderly, or, as the
Persian term goes, a mootshukhus (i. e. respectable)
person, and never upon women, of whom there was
a monstrous proportion present ; but of whom, as
they were all closely covered with the chadder, or
blue check envelope, worn by every female who
appears in public, we saw nothing more than this
forbidding costume. There was, too, an obvious
system of favouritism. On the two huge guns on
either side the gateway, guns cast by Nadir Shah
and Lootf Allee Khan Zund, there was always a
great cluster of people mounted, with four times as
many aspirants for the exaltation as could possibly
find sitting or standing room : those on the right
hand being directly under us, we could see every
thing that passed ; and I observed that one of the

90 A SQUARE FORMED.
furosh-e-ghuzzubs, who had undertaken to clear
these guns, although he struck many individuals
hard enough, yet singled out his men, permitting
some to remain unmolested, and even directing
others to climb up and occupy the vacated places.
At all events so it was, that the guns were always
crowded with gazers, every wheel-spoke had its
hanger-on ; the fellies were beaded with them, the
long body of the gun exhibited a thick row a-strad-
die, and even the spaces between the gun and the
wheels were studded as close as they could possibly
stand. I wonder how the old rotten carriages did
not crumble, under the weight, into the dust of
which they seemed chiefly to consist.
After a while the drums and fifes struck up : the
nizdm, as the regimental and regular serbaz are
called, stood to their arms, fbrmecTand marched into
their places to complete the square of troops ; the
rest rose from the sitting posture they had assumed,
and stood at " order arms." The zumboorekchees
ranged themselves each by his swivel, which was
pointed right up in the air ; the topeechees took up
their proper places at their guns, and you saw the
space between the stage and the flagstaff's clearing,
and the crowd dispersing to either side, until at
length it formed a square, of which the side facing
the palace was formed of nassekchees and yessawuls,
together with the furoshes ; that opposing its back
to the palace being the stage, under and beside which
still lingered many a one who had no business there :
the other two sides were formed of the troops. But
it was not yet complete— for now came Princes and
Viziers, in their court dresses, who ranged them-

THE PRINCES. 91
selves with the yessawuls in front of the window,
from which his majesty was soon to look down upon
this busy scene ; and the Zil-e-Sooltaun, Sooleeman
Meerza, the Ameen-u-dowlut, and the Ausef, came
forward in rich garbs. That of the Zil was parti
cularly conspicuous, consisting of a deep yellow satin
or velvet kabba, over which was a scarlet kuleejeh,
or vest, of a peculiar form, worn only by the royal
family, and called a koordee, the back, shoulders,
and breast of which were splendidly mailed with
pearls and precious stones ; a magnificent dagger was
stuck in his exquisite shawl girdle, and a cimeter,
adorned thickly with jewels, hung in an equally
splendid belt by his side ; and as he is an uncom
monly fine-looking man, with a magnificent beard
and noble features, in short, a capital specimen of
the handsome Kajar stock, his appearance was truly
prince like.
Solimaun Meerza was more soberly, though
scarce less richly attired : he wore a barounee, or
cloak, of the most costly dark-coloured shawl ; in his
girdle glittered a resplendent dagger, and he wore
an ornament to his sword, called gool-e-shumsheei\
which was a tassel of valuable and glittering jewels.
The little Saheb Keran Meerza, my friend of the
Eed-ool-koorbaun, colonel of the topechees, was
flourishing his small sword with a most soldierly air,
and directing the furoshes to turn out interlopers ;
and several other great characters were flitting about
on foot, like the common herd.
At length a flourish of trumpets announced that
the king had come forth ; the soldiers shouldered
arms, and every one drew himself up into the atti-

92 THE SALUTE TO THE SHAH.
tude of dutiful attention. In another moment a
great gun in the square poured forth its column of
fire and smoke ; the king was seated ; off went the
whole of the zumbooreks, first with a tat-tar-at-tat-
tat, and then in a great salvo, which shook every
building in the square. The artillery, on the other
side, replied ; the troops presented arms ; the officers
saluted ; rattle rattle went every drum, squeak went
each fife, and flourish went every horn and trumpet.
When the rapid breeze cast aside the smoky veil, the
troops shouldered, and then ordered arms; and every
man of every rank stood mute and still, with eye
turned to the " point of the world's adoration," who^
from his open lattice, looked proudly down on all his
slaves below.
The business of the day began with a sight that,
for once, was well enough worth seeing. It was the
presentation of an immense quantity of presents from
the Syf-ool-Moolk to his royal sire. We had ob
served in the square a multitude of camels and
mules, which I presumed to belong to the camel-
artillery corps and the troops, but it turned out that
these formed part of this same present. We now
saw the Syf himself, bedizened and bejewelled in
the most gorgeous manner, issue from the palace,
towards which he soon returned, heading a whole
army of furoshes — two hundred at the least, I
should think, " all in a row," — with trays on their
heads — the first containing sweetmeats and sugar-
candy, enough to have furnished a dozen wholesale
confectioners' shops ; then came kudducks, a sort of
cotton manufactures, in great abundance ; then silk

PRESENTATION OF GIFTS. 93
stuffs ; then brocades, shawls, and all manner of rich
goods, though in less profusion. These were all pa
raded before his majesty, with the Syf at their head,
and then sent off to the sundook-khaneh, or offices
of the wardrobe. Then followed the camels, which
were supposed to have borne these gifts, in another
endless line ; and, lastly, the mules, all of which
were walked off to their proper destinations ; and
thus terminated this act of the comedy.
All this time the minstrels and dancers had been
standing on the stage, " still as a slave before his
lord," looking for the nod of authority which was to
break the bonds of silence, and give life and motion
to the whole scene. The construction of the square
of troops, that were set to guard the sports as well
as the person of the monarch and his servants from
insult or treason, had undergone some change : they
consisted of no less than four double rows of armed
men. In front stood the kajars, servants of the
royal tribe, well and respectably clad, and armed
with their swords alone, extending all the way from
the nassackchees to the guns in front of the palace-
gate. Behind these were a double file of gholaums,
well armed with Persian guns and swords ; next
them a double file of the nizam, in red jackets and
white drawers, with muskets and fixed bayonets ;
and, last of all, a double line of toffunchees, or na
tive musketeers, called karachoghas, from the dark
coats they wear. On the other — that is the right
side, topechees were substituted for the nizam. A
single row of topechees, with drawn swords, com
manded by little Saheb-keran Meerza, formed the

94 COMMENCEMENT OF THE SPORTS.
whole guard at the palace-gate ; but there stood
there also many princes and officers of state, the
whole still as death .
The signal was at length given; down squatted
the minstrels; a clash and a yell burst from their
instruments ; forward sprang the dancers with a
bound and a tumble ; the crowd awoke from tbe
spell which had bound it for a while, and all was
buzz and eager curiosity. The show commenced in
earnest. Above the line of nassekchees rose several
poles, with tight and slack ropes stretched from one
to the other ; and in a moment were seen sitting on
these rope-dancers, some of whom began to walk
along the uncertain footing with their balancing
poles, others to swarm up tbe poles, on the top of
which they twisted and writhed like apes; others
again caught at the cross poles, and turned in and
out, over their arms and through them, playing all
the tricks and antics of the most supple monkey
or bear. Close to the gate came two fellows who
balanced brass basins on long sticks, giving them a
spinning twist, and adding joints to the stick until
they rose to a great height. Then came two men
dressed like huge birds, with long necks and beaks,
which they flourished and twisted about in a very
ludicrous way, picking their feathers and pluming
themselves after the manner of birds. It was a
poor exhibition ; and that of a man in armour,
who rose to an enormous height by means of adding
joints to the pole which elevated his head, under
his painted mail-shirt, was still poorer ; indeed, the
furious wind alone would have defeated the efforts
of a more clever exhibitor. Then came a very stupid

TUMBLERS. 95
and indecent pantomime, consisting of an old man
and two old women, strangely masked — very mise
rable editions of our clown and pantaloon. This
again was followed by as vile an imitation of Punch
and Judy, with other despicable buffooneries, equally
deficient in wit, humour, and decency.
During tbe whole of this time the dancers were
dancing, and the musicians tearing away on their
instruments ; and certainly the tumbling performed
by the dancers was the thing of all others best of
its kind, had there not been too much of it. There
were four boys, I think, and a little creature scarcely
seven years old, as it appeared to us ; and they not
only danced, but tumbled and twisted their figures
into every shape that suppleness of imagination
could teach to suppleness of joint and muscle.
They performed what is called the " scorpion," in
India, — that is, lay on their bellies on the ground,
and bent up back and legs till their heels touched
their head, and every joint of the back in succes
sion downwards, like a scorpion flourishing its tail ;
— they leaned backwards on their hands, bending
their bodies till their faces were on the ground, or
looking through between their legs, and in this
manner they tumbled and twisted about like balls ;
they twisted themselves like ball and socket, from
the small of their back upwards, and in this way
performed sundry tumbles and somersets. Then
they would stand upon their hands, feet in air, and
kiss the ground ; or, crossing their legs, roll about
the platform one after another. Then again they
would go in pairs, wreathing themselves together
into a grotesque ball, and tumble over and over

96 ROPE-DANCERS AND WRESTLERS.
as if with an involuntary impulse. In short, there
was scarcely a conceivable leap, attitude, contortion,
prank, or posture, which they did not practise or
assume. The performance of the rope-dancers, too, was
excellent, particularly that of the man who swarmed
up the pole. He lay on the top, back, and belly ;
clung to it by the mere twisting of his feet ; re
covered himself to an upright posture from hang
ing thus head downmost ; went through between
his own arms while grasping the top ; performed
the sword-exercise while holding on only by grasp
of leg and thigh ; fired and loaded a gun, &c.
The slack-rope dancers were not a whit behind
in their feats. Last of all came the pehlewans, who
wrestled before his majesty, and, as you may believe,
in their best style : nor were some accidents, I
believe, wanting to interest those who take delight
in such things, for there were some tough matches
and fearful falls ; but you would not relish a minute
account of these, and I have already described to
you this most exquisite of spectacles. With the
performances of these the sports of the day ter
minated. His majesty, who sat with great and
praiseworthy patience, doling out pieces of coin to
those who performed well, at length retired, and we
all followed his example. Adieu ! till my next.

97

LETTER III.
The ladies leave Tehran  Illuminated bazars  Fete given by
the Queen to the English party. — The races.— The Shah's
throne and equipage. — Critical niceties. — Contradictory re
ports from Khorasan.— Flight of Khosroo Meerza to Tehran.
— The Shah's displeasure — His advice to the Zil-e-Sultaun.—
His precarious health. — Dreams and predictions.— A medical
story. — State of Khorasan  Discontents of .the Princes 
, Preparations for departure. lst May.
Dear  ,
This day was marked by an event, which, though
we have been looking for it for some time, has made
a sad change in our social circle here — Lady Camp
bell and Mrs. Macneil have left us, on their way
to England ! You know the sad feeling which the
break-up of a family always creates, and this to
us all was the more sad, because we have not,
as in most other countries, a resource in an ex
tensive male society. We were truly bereaved;
and if we felt it, what must have been the feelings
of those more immediately concerned in the loss ?
Well, it is all in the day's work, as they say, and
my own share is fast approaching; for my pre
parations to proceed to Khorasan are now nearly
complete, and a few days will see me en route.
We all went through the bazars this night, which
were brilliantly illuminated, in expectation that his
majesty would honour them with his presence either
VOL. II. H

98 A FETE GIVEN
this night or to-morrow : this was done chiefly by
multitudes of little lamps and candles, placed in
many-coloured lanterns, with a turn-about inside,
painted with strange figures, which whirled round#
by the effect of the heated air. All the best wares
were displayed, and the quantity of gold and silver
foil and tinsel-paper, glittering in the blaze of lights,
made a very brilliant show. But the best thing of
all was a caravanserai belonging to the Moatimud,
which was fitted up with mirrors and candles in
wall-shades, girandoles, and lustres. Some of the
mirrors were placed in swinging frames, and moving
to and fro, reflected the whole brilliant affair in a
very fantastic manner ; and some of the outaghs,
or chambers of the merchants, were hung both
outside and in with shawls and brocade, and with
a Turkish silk stuff spangled all over, and very
showy. This was all for his majesty!
We halted here for a while, to eat cakes and
drink sherbet, on our return from seeing the display
of fireworks in the Maidaun, which were very bril
liant ; — showers of rockets of all colours ; fountains
of fire, red, white, blue, green, and yellow ; grand
Roman candlesticks, and a monstrous number of
what they called zumboorehs, I fancy, because they
make as great a noise as the swivels, after which
they are named. They gave me a headache, and
I was glad to get out of the noise and the stink
they occasioned.
4th May. — The rejoicings and amusements still
proceed ; but after witnessing them once or twice,
they got terribly tiresome, and we only went one
or two of us at a time to keep the old Shah in good

BY THE QUEEN. 99
humour, and not to appear to neglect his well-
meant politeness in providing accommodation for
us. This evening we were to partake of a novel
entertainment, in the shape of a fete, given by the
Taj-u-dowlut to the English party at Tehran. It
was, I apprehend, the first thing of the kind that
had been done, and we had a good deal of curiosity
as to the mode that would be taken to carry the
lady's hospitable intentions into effect. You will
not, of course, imagine that the queen herself would
preside, but the question was, whom she would ap
point to do the honours ; and thus was it managed.
The preparations were made in the house of the
Ausef-u-dowlut ; and a spacious and beautifully-
painted hall, with a large court before it, were
appropriated for the scene of the banquet. Over a
tank just in front of the windows was erected a
stage of wood, spread with numuds, and covered
with a tent for the musicians and dancers ; the
middle and side walks of the garden were hung
with lamps displayed upon a sort of scaffolding,
and the high wall in front was adorned with
figures and devices in lights, as were the surround
ing walls and the roofs of the other courts.
The hall itself was lighted with wax-lights, in
English glass shades and girandoles, and fitted up
with two tables ; one set out according to the
English fashion, with plates, and knives, and forks ;
the other having merely a cover over it, and bowls
of various sorts of sherbets. I wish I could give
you an idea of the painting of the room. Its panels
and taukchehs (or arched recesses) were adorned
with devices resembling the most exquisite illumi-
h 2

100 SINGING AND TUMBLING.
nations, in scarlet, white, azure, and gold; and a
few mirrors, with several vile Persian pictures, filled
up the rest ; but the effect was altogether rich and
beautiful. The floor was covered with the finest
carpets and numuds, and nothing could be more
imposing than the coup d'ozil, as we sat upon our
chairs in this gorgeous hall, and looked forth into
the illuminated garden. Already were the musi
cians and dancing boys ranged on the sides of the
stage opposite to us ; the last in brilliant dresses of
spangled stuff, and hundreds of figures, in all sorts
of costumes, were flitting about among the illumi
nated walls. It put one more in mind of the
Caliph Haroon-ul-Rasheed, and his feasts and fro
lics, than almost anything I remember to have
seen. Here we were received by the Moatimud and
the Sipahdar, who were selected by her majesty
to act as her deputies and our Mehmaridars on the
occasion : the only other natives present were our
friend Meerza Abul Hussun Khan, and his nephew
Meerza Mahomed Allee. The entertainment began
by the performances of the musicians and dancing
boys, of which I have already given you an account,
so that I need not repeat it, although it would be
wrong to omit that his majesty's chief and favourite
male singer almost roared his lungs out and deaf
ened us with his efforts to delight our ears. The
tumbling, however, was on this occasion superior,
and they performed several new and difficult featSi
the most extraordinary of which, I think, was lying
down flat upon their backs and suddenly springing
up so quickly, that the eye could scarcely catch the

THE DINNER. 101
motion, to a position in itself difficult enough, being
that of standing on their hands with the head down
ward, and the feet in the air or hanging backwards ;
„it really was like magic — an astonishing exertion of
.agility. Afterwards came all the miserable mummery
that we had seen in the Maidaun, with several very
tiresome and abominable pantomimes, and some
tolerable mimicry.
The dinner was a much better concern ; it was
a most plentiful and excellent display of the best
native dishes, capitally cooked, and followed by a
dessert of sweetmeats also a la mode de Perse; to
wash down which we had excellent Madeira, very
good wine of Ispahan, and a sort of champaign,
which I believe was Donsky wine, a very pleasant be
verage, in which we toasted the health of the Shah-
in-shah, to the great amusement — I hope, too, to the
satisfaction — of the Khans, who dined by them
selves at their ease at the other table, not making
use, as we did, of the vulgar appliances of knives
and forks.
I need scarcely attempt to describe to you the
various excellent dishes we discussed — of the naringe
pillaw, and the kajaree pillaw, and the aush pillaw,
and the subzee pillaw, or the mootanjdn, or the Jizen-
jan, or the various nioosommahs or stews ; the fowls
and partridges stewed to rags in sweet and sour
sauce ; the multitude of cookoos or omelettes, and
the sweetmeats and pickles to relish them ; for
though your mouth might water, I should despair of
conveying to you an idea of their conjoint or indi
vidual excellencies ; but I dare say you will com
prehend the luxury of the great bowls of sherbet,

102 THE KING'S THRONE
orange, lemon, cinnamon, or rose-water, with lumps
of ice floating in them, and of the very nice shapes
of cream and water-ice which terminated our refec
tion, in a hot night of May, rendered more stifling
by the heat and glare of a thousand lamps. The
evening's amusements terminated with a most bril
liant and varied display of fire-works, representing,
as they said, cypress trees and chinars, and many
other shapes, in most profuse and dazzling abun
dance ; but as no description can convey an idea of
these things, I spare you the tediousness of one, and
will only say that we returned all, as I believe, very
well satisfied with our evening's amusement, which
certainly was most kindly meant and liberally pro
vided for.
6th May. — The races, which close the rejoicings
on these marriages, took place to-day, and we went
to see them. These races, as you probably know,
are not like ours. Horses in Persia are trained to
long runs, and those in question, this day, were to
start from a distance of about sixteen miles from
the winning post, and come in as they best might :
there are no heats. The race takes place upon the
road leading towards Casveen, and a tent in which the
King sits is the winning point. When the English
party rode out, which we all did in full dress, we
found the King already seated in this tent by the
way-side, upon a throne, or chair of state, high-
backed and ample, enamelled with gold, and jewelled
all over, the back being adorned with very large
stones, particularly emeralds, and several red ones
like rubies. Many emerald pendants hung at the
arms of this chair, and under his majesty's feet were

AND TENT, ETC. 103
a lion and sun, the arms of Persia in gold enamel :
altogether it was a handsome thing.
The tent in which he sat was lined with gold
brocade, with panels of the same, and of mirrors,
rather handsome. In one corner lay a mattress,
covered with a white satin gold-embroidered coverlit
and a pearl-worked pillow. Here at the open front
his majesty sat alone, plainly dressed in a koordee of
French grey shawl over a vest of brocade, with red
Russia leather boots on his feet, and a few jewels
about his cap and dagger. On one side, a little
way in front, stood the bridegroom, the Syf-u-
dowlut, splendidly attired in a dress of yellow silk
and gold tissue ; and there were several others of the
princes, little fellows, also richly clad, in rows on either
hand. Behind these, at the sides of the tent, stood
the officers of state ; in front, at some distance, were
the ministers, but before them played the eternal
musicians, and tumbled and danced the never-tiring
dancing boys. A line of troops extended on either
hand along the road, and the khans and nobles who
attended the spectacle stood a good way off in front,
but a little removed to the right and left, so as to
leave an unoccupied space before his majesty. As
for us, we stood on a little rising ground a short way
to the King's left, but in such a position as enabled
us to see all his majesty's movements.
There was a good deal of gaiety and movement,
but little splendour. The camel band, with their red
trappings and uniforms, and little flags on a stick at
the hinder part of their saddles, made as good a show
as anything. The zunboorukchees were on foot,
and carried their own swivels on their shoulders, a

104 INTERVIEW WITH THE KING.
heavy enough load, and fired on the King's mount
ing and dismounting. There were abundance, of
princes on the ground, but not to be distinguished
among the crowd of khans and nobles ; and there
was a good deal of horsemanship and spear and
jereed exercise until the horses began to approach,
when all eyes were of course turned to them. But
there was no interest in the race : the jaded horses
came in one after another, and no one felt curiosity
enough even to ask who had won.
When the race was over, the King beckoned for
some of our party to approach, and made some civil
inquiries at us all. Among other things he asked
where I had been travelling, and when I was going
to Khorasan ? He seemed a good deal surprised
. at hearing that I had been many years in South
America (Yengi-dunia, as they call it — that is, the
New World) ; and on learning that I proposed set
ting out for Khorasan without delay, he recom
mended me by all means to pay my respects to
Mahomed Meerza, and to go about everywhere and
see the country. He directed that letters should be
given me for some of the princes on the way, and
that a proper person should be sent with me to
ensure good treatment ; so you see I have the royal
permission, at all events, for my journey, whatever
that may be worth, and I shall speedily put it to
the proof.
In the evening I accompanied Macneil to visit
and take leave of Meerza Tuckee Aliabadee, whom
we found surrounded by much the same conclave of
critics as before. In the course of conversation he
attacked Macneil for having, when he, the Meerza,

NICETIES OF STYLE. 105
was Moonshee-ul-Moomalic, denied, as he said, his
superiority and skill in Persian composition, although
he acknowledged his talents and abilities in business ;
" and," added he, good-humouredly, " I meant to
have gone to your house to demand an explanation."
Macneil denied his having ever made any such
sweeping assertion, as he had seen much to admire
as specimens of composition in several letters written
by the Meerza for the court of London ; but that in
one of those he certainly had observed a defect, which
he did not expect to find in any production of his.
" So important was the error," continued Macneil,
" that I found it necessary to rectify it myself, or
return it to the minister for foreign affairs to have it
.rectified. In consideration to you I preferred the
former alternative, and effected the alteration by the
change of a single word." " And what was this
error ?" inquired the Meerza, in some anxiety. " It
was," replied Macneil, " in a letter to the King of
England, in which, after having said all that was
polite and kind, you concluded the epistle by re
questing the King of Great Britain, in all matters of
state, to communicate with the ministers of this go
vernment." " You are right," said the Meerza ; " it
was an error. How did you rectify it ?" " By
changing the words communicate with into command,
with the consent and approbation of the Tabreez
government," replied Macneil. The Meerza de
clared his conviction that the error had originated
in the carelessness of the transcriber, repudiating the
idea that he could ever have been guilty of a mistake
which affected his reputation as a Moonshee, and,
therefore, as a man of learning and minister of state ;

106 EPITAPH FOR THE SHAH'S TOMB.
and the whole discussion was carried on with an
earnestness of tone which showed the importance he
attached to the subject.
The inscription he is composing for the King's
tomb again came under consideration. It was pre
pared, we found, by order of the Shah himself, and
is to be in prose, consisting of a number of words,
equivalent to five hundred couplets, written in the
first person, as if spoken by his majesty of himself,
and will contain an epitome of his life and reign,
in the form of an autobiography. This mode of
writing in the first person the Meerza seemed to
consider as something quite original and admirable,
and, I believe, was not overpleased when Macneil
told him that the same had been done, as was said,
by Kai Khosroo,* and that the inscription had been
preserved in a Greek translation, but that it did not
occupy five couplets. He replied by quoting some
Arabic verses ; the meaning of which was, that a
noble theme made a poet speak nobly ; but that he
who could enoble an ordinary or vulgar theme was
the most skilful and exalted of poets ; in the one
case he borrowed nobility — in the other he conferred
it. You can have no idea of the delight which such
conversations and discussions, and actual disserta
tions, on the most trifling matters of style and com
position, give the Persians ; but I am wrong in
saying so ; both you and I have witnessed as much
learned trifling in countries that pretend to high
literary advancement, as ever took place in a Per
sian mujlis.
Our news from Khorasan still continues most
unsatisfactory and contradictory ; unsatisfactory, as
* Cyrus.

FLIGHT OF KHOSROO MEERZA. 107
to all that regards the pacification and tranquillity
of the country, — contradictory and uncertain as to
the movements of the prince and his minister. In
trigue and treachery of every sort and description
appear to have taken up their quarters in that de
voted province, and among those who have any
concern with it at court. Even among the brothers
of his blood have traitors sprung up against Mah
mood Meerza ; his foes are those of his own house
hold. It is but two or three days ago that Khosroo
Meerza, the worthy brother by the same mother
of Jehangeer Meerza, of whom you may remember
me to have written you, and both half brothers of
the prince, arrived in Tehran from Khorasan under
circumstances of something more than suspicion. It
is said that Khosroo Meerza had been detected in
tampering with the fidelity (to Mahomed Meerza)
of the battalions of Khoee and Ooroomia (districts of
Azerbijan), and had made some impression upon the
men ; but that the officers who discovered the in
trigue, had instantly reported the facts to the prince
and his minister. Khosroo, having heard of this step,
immediately fled. His own story is different, of course.
He denies all intriguing with the men, but says,
that hearing of the intended journey of his brother
and the minister to Tehran, and that its object was
a settlement of the succession to the throne, he had
been seized with a desire to be present in the capital,
in order to protect the interests of himself and his
brother Jehangeer. Permission having been refused
he went to Mushed to remonstrate, when hearing
that it had been determined to seize him, and being
secretly informed that the guards had been changed

108 CAPTURE AND ESCAPE.
at the gates with a view to this purpose, he had fled,
without reporting his arrival, at once to Nishapore.
At that place some of the Khoee regiment were in
garrison, and having outridden a courier from Mu
shed, he had directed them to seize him on his
arrival. The order was obeyed ; and among the
letters thus obtained he found (by his own account)
a letter in the Kaymookam's hand, announcing the
intention of having him seized on the very night he
had fled. He therefore left Nishapore, and having
passed Subzawar, and finding his horse fatigued, he
had laid down on the road-side to rest and feed the
animal ; when, awaking at a commotion amongst his
people, he found himself surrounded by a hundred
men, commanded by Mahomed Reza Meerza's son.
Having surrendered to these, who afterwards were
joined by another hundred, headed by Kahraman
Meerza (another full brother of Mahomed Meerza),
he agreed perforce to return to Mushed, after he
should have rested from his fatigue.
On the following day he made a short march with
his captors ; and his horse having recovered its
strength, he began exercising it in front of the
party ; a manoeuvre which at first roused their sus
picions ; but having repeated it several times, and
always returned at their desire, they ceased to re
gard him so jealously ; and at length, having great
confidence in the speed of his horse, he took ad
vantage of a wider wheel to gallop off towards
Tehran. He was pursued for several miles and fired
ats but in vain : he distanced his pursuers, and
got clear off.
The account, he gives of the performance of both

DISPLEASURE OF THE SHAH. 109
horse and man in this flight is calculated to justify
the character given of him by his own mother, — viz.
that he was the greatest liar on earth ; he declared
that he made out the distance from Muzzinoon to
Shahrood, thirty fursuks, or about one hundred and
twenty miles, in eight hours, his horse having pre
viously had hard work. At Bostam he was supplied
with another horse by Ismael Meerza ; he came to
Tehran attended by one servant, whom he says he
had previously despatched, but had overtaken on the
way ; and, on his reaching Tehran, he took refuge
in the house of his uncle, the Zil-e-Sooltaun.
The Shah, when he heard of his grandson's arrival,
is said to have evinced great surprise and displea
sure, and to have severely rebuked the Zil-e-Sooltaun,
who made an attempt to plead in his favour, and
particularly besought the Shah not to deprive the
young man of his countenance, so far as to debar
him from partaking in the rejoicings then going on.
The King said that he felt much pain at this appli
cation, as it must proceed either from dishonesty or
extreme stupidity in the Zil. That unless he laboured
under a greater portion of the latter than he, the
Shah, had before suspected, it must be obvious that
countenancing such conduct as that of Khosroo
Meerza was not the way to preserve tranquillity in
the empire, but to sow the seeds of dissension and
strife. " Is this," continued the Shah, " the mode
you take of convincing me of your fitness to suc
ceed me in preference to others. If so, you are greatly
mistaken ; but in that case I can only repeat what I
have before said — go to Azerbijan, tranquillize that
province, organize its resources, and thus show your-

110 THE SHAH'S PRECARIOUS HEALTH.
self capable of governing. As for Khosroo, he is
with you — there let him stay — give him a room
and food, and let him have a couple of furoshes to
attend him, but let him not attempt to enter the
presence of the Shah." Were his majesty to act
with as much firmness and decision on all such
occasions, Persia would have more cheering pros
pects ; the government would be better conducted,
and the condition of the people be less wretched.
The allusion to Azerbijan, made by the Shah in
this reply, referred to a former conversation with the
Zil, who had pestered him on the subject of the
succession. " Why do you trouble me thus?" said
the old monarch. " If you mean to set up as my
successor, go to Azerbijan ; the heir to my throne
must make that province his residence — it is the
frontier of the kingdom, and the proper post for its
protector. Bismillah ! go in God's name — try your
fortune ; but, remember, if you go, you go for good
and all ; the moment you leave the ark I appoint
another of my sons as its governor ; and do not flatter
yourself that I shall appoint a mere shadow, some
one whom you believe you may be able to influence
or control, Allee Nukee Meerza, for instance. No !
I have my reasons against appointing him. I shall
make Hassan Allee Meerza governor of the capital,
and you will do well to recollect that his brother
is governor of Fars, and his son that of Kerman."
The Zil did recollect it, and knew well, moreover,
that he himself was in no good odour in Azerbijan ;
so he seems resolved to stick fast by the ark and
the treasure it contains, as his best supports in case
of troublesome times.

u.ii >, i

PREDICTIONS AND DREAMS. Ill
These times of danger would seem to be fast
approaching, for the King's health, and even his life,
is assuredly very precarious ; nor does he seem in
clined to submit to any privations in the way of
'regimen, in order to prolong it. An indigestion,
lately, brought on from eating inordinately of trout,
then riding about in the sun, next going to the
bath, and drinking freely of butter-milk mixed with
minced cucumbers, had occasioned great alarm in
the palace. Such attacks are now becoming fre
quent, and every one in it seems to be preparing for
a crisis. The uncertainty of the prince's arrival
from Azerbijan, an event which even those opposed
to his pretensions now desire, on account of the pro
tection they hope to receive from the presence of the
regular troops that will accompany him, increases
the public uneasiness. Macneil, on going to the pri
vate apartments of the palace, found servants every
where cleaning and preparing arms. The gunsmiths'
shops were crowded ; every man who could afford
it purchased arms for himself and his servants.
Powder was bought at any price. Yet nothing was
said openly ; each man seemed providing separately
and selfishly for his own safety, as if he feared his
neighbour ; and even among the best disposed there
was no concert or union for mutual protection. Suspi
cion and ill-concealed alarm were to be discovered in
every man's manner, and conversation, and conduct.
Independently of the positive illness of the Shah,
there is, it appears, another cause for this alarm.
There is a prediction, which has met with general
credence, that he will not outlive this month. It
was uttered originally, they say, by a famous astro-

112 REMARKABLE COINCIDENCES.
loger, and confirmed by a Seyed of great sanctity,
who had derived his information from another source.
A further confirmation is to be found in a dream
which the Shah himself mentioned many years ago
as having had. He dreamed that a man brought
him a sword, or a suit of armour, to buy which
his majesty bargained until he at length reduced
the price of sixty tomauns originally demanded to
forty. The man gave the armour, but told the Shah
that he had just shortened his own reign by so much
as he had reduced the price, for that he should reign
a year for every tomaun he had given. This is the
fortieth year of his majesty's reign, so that the coin
cidence is alarming. Macneil says that Hassan Allee
Meerza told him the month in which the prince
royal, Abbas Meerza, would die, long before his
decease, and he did actually die in the month so
predicted ; and he added, that the Shah would not
outlive the present new year, namely, 1250 of the
Hejira. These are singular coincidences. It ap
pears that his majesty, whether he knows of and
believes in these predictions or not, keeps a firm
countenance and expresses no apprehension. Strange>
if he feels alarm, that he should not be more prudent
and careful of his health.
Feeble as he may be, however, he finds means to
maintain his dignity, and to punish the smallest ap
pearance of neglect or disrespect in his servants. A
person, named Meerza Fazil-oollah Alliabadee, was
sent for by his Majesty on business of importance.
The Meerza had the temerity to excuse himself on
the plea of indisposition. The Shah sent to say, that
as he understood the Meerza was able to go about, he

PUNISHMENT OF DISRESPECT. 113
must come to the presence. The Meerza again ex
cused himself on the same plea; upon which the
Shah, having ascertained that he was not in his own
house, but sitting, in apparent good health, in that
of the Ameen-u-dowlut, directed him to be brought
by force ; and seeing him, on his arrival, well, and
not collected enough even to pretend sickness, or
dered him to be blinded, but commuted that punish
ment for a fine of thirty thousand tomauns, and a
desperate bastinadoing, which he actually received.
Nor did the Ameen escape without a severe rebuke,
and even a volley of abuse, for having in some sort
countenanced the Meerza in his disrespectful con
duct. This harsh language, however, his Majesty
afterwards explained away, on receiving from the
Ameen a present of five hundred ducats, while on a
visit of conciliation to that nobleman. A pleasant
sort of footing for a minister to be upon with his
sovereign !
But I must season these grave occurrences with
a spice of something lighter. We had a ludicrous
incident here the other day in the medical depart
ment. Curiosity and love, of physic, and advice
gratis, are two ever-ruling passions in a Persian
breast — male and female. Accordingly, whenever a
new medical man arrives he is sure to be pestered
out of his life by people coming to stare at him, and
get medicine out of him if they can make out a
pretext ; and however stout they may seem, few-
there are who cannot invent some imaginary ache
or ail of their own, or some of their family, to
entitle them to a dose : you would swear that there
was no such thing as health here, or that the pos-
VOL. II. i

114 LOVE OF PHYSIC.
sessors of it detested it. The gentleman who has
arrived in medical charge of the British detachment
has had his share of this annoying practice, and
being at length extremely incommoded by the num
ber of persons who flocked on those pretences to his
dwelling, he resolved to give a check to such imper
tinence on the first fitting opportunity. One day, on
returning home, he found, more to his surprise than
his satisfaction, two men, strangers, quietly praying
on the carpet of his apartment. They proved to be
two Persians, one of them himself a doctor, who had
come to look at the new " Hakeem Ferengee," but
who, finding him from home, had resolved to await
his arrival. In the mean time, being overtaken by
the hour of prayer, they had coolly taken out their
mohurs, or praying-pats of clay, and, popping them,
down on the doctor's carpet, had commenced this
most mechanical duty of lip-deep devotion.
The doctor, pretty considerably exasperated at
this freedom, demanded somewhat sternly what they
wanted. The men, taken unawares, and frightened
at the doctor's obvious displeasure, stammered out
that they were sick persons desiring his assistance.
" Very well : what are your complaints ?" The one,
who at some former time had had some ailment,
delivered a narrative of symptoms, to which the
doctor listened with grim gravity. — " And you," said
he, turning to the other somewhat fiercely, — " what
have you to say ?"
This one, who was the medico, frightened out of his
wits, began a statement of the case of a patient of
his own, on which, as he said, he wished to consult
with his Ferengee brother; but all this he enun-

EXHIBITION OF PHYSIC. 115
ciated in so stammering and confused a manner that
the doctor, who did not understand a word, was con
firmed in his suspicions of their being impostors.
He therefore sent for his hospital assistant, a smart
little Armenian. " These fellows," said he, " are
humbugging, I am sure of it ; but at all events a
good dose of the black draught will do them no
harm : give them one a-piece ; and mind, — see that
they take it — do you hear ?" " Be chushm — by my
eyes !"• said the little man, and off he went, followed
by the two unwilling patients, pale, trembling, and
longing to make a bolt ; but they were too well
watched for that : into the fatal apartment they were
forced to enter.
A few minutes passed in awful preparation, during
which the small apothecary was busily employed
with his drugs. " Bismillah !" said he at last,
presenting the unlovely potion. " Excuse me, not
the least occasion," stammered the patient. "No
excuse — drink you must," says the pestle-man firmly,
and the liquor was bolted. " And now for you,
friend," says he to the doctor, meting out to him
a handsome allowance. " I beg to represent that
I am not the patient," timidly but earnestly utters
the man of skill. " Pshah ! — no patient ! — then why
came you here? — that's all nonsense. No repre
sentations; my orders are precise — take it you must,
and shall!" And the unlucky sage, frightened
from further remonstrance, made a rueful grimace
and swallowed his potion. " Now," says the apo
thecary, who was resolved to complete the affair in
a business-like manner, " now you must pay me
for my physic — come — five sahebkerans a-piece —
I 2

116 A GOOD STORY.
down with the dust." Here the remonstrances
became more earnest and strong, and history sayeth
not which party prevailed in this appendix to the
previous contest ; but that the dose was effectual
there is no room to doubt, for the poor physi
cian, who was an acquaintance of one of the mem
bers of the mission, came to call on him almost
immediately afterwards, and soon got upon the
subject that was uppermost in his mind, if not in
his stomach. " He is a strange person, that new
hakeem of yours," said he with an expression of
terror still lingering in his features ; " very skilful
no doubt, but a little hasty or so, don't you think?
I have a capital story to tell you about him, but,"
clapping his hands suddenly upon his abdomen, as
if caught by a twinge of pain, " I havn't time to
tell it now, I must be off — may God protect you !"
and off he scoured, as if he feared he might already
be too late.
7th May. —My hour, at length, draws nigh. I
have resolved to set out to-morrow for Khorasan.
I have made my final visits of leave-taking to Khans,
Ministers, Meerzas, and friends, received my letters
of introduction and my instructions, and made all
my own arrangements. My establishment is com
plete, and, in addition to the requisite number of
servants, I have engaged a young Persian Meerza as
a sort of travelling companion, in order to improve
myself in the language by conversation, as well as
to perform any duties in letter-writing to natives
that may become necessary ; for letter-writing, with
all the various forms of address to the sundry grades
and classes of society, is a science of itself, which no

STATE OF KHORASAN. 117
one who has not been regularly brought up to it
can comprehend. I expect both delay and anxiety
in this trip, for there is no doubt that the country is
most disturbed, and the road far from safe. The
remaining chiefs of Khorasan, since the death of the
Prince Royal, have yielded a very dubious obedience
to the commands of his son. Nujjuff Allee Khan,
of Boojnoord, my old friend, who had played rather
a double game with the prince, has excused himself
from going to Mushed on the plea of illness. Abbas
Koolee Khan, of Deregez, had collected a body of
Koords and other malcontents about him, it was said,
and was preparing to resist the authority of Mahomed
Meerza; and a force had been detached against
him. It had been found necessary to place garrisons
in several of the strongholds, to guard against bands
of marauders ; and the inroads of the Toorkomans
are, it is asserted, becoming daily more systematic
and destructive. These are all serious matters, and
would form an unanswerable argument for the
Prince and his ministers remaining there for the
security of the province ; but unhappily the com- «.
plicated system of intrigue, which has been working
against his interests at court, equally demands his
presence here. The Princes, indeed, one and all, are
not only opposed to the elevation of their nephew,
an event which they hold to be tantamount to their
own ruin, but they openly declare that they never
can bow the head to one who will inevitably be ruled
by the Ausef, or the Kaymookam, and must there
fore, in either case, be but a vassal of Russia. They
have talked of going off in a, body to India, with
their families and property, in such an event ; this

118 DISCONTENT OF. THE PRINCES.
was when they were most moderate ; but it is cer
tain that, at the present moment, their thoughts are
not so humble, and they are bent upon the most
active opposition. Yet, I suspect, there is not the
smallest confidence or concert between any of them ;
every one is for himself, and hopes to retain some
thing, at least, of what he may seize in the scramble.
Of all his rivals, undoubtedly Hussun Allee Meerza,
formerly governor of Khorasan, is the most popular.
-y He is a thoughtless, unprincipled man, who* when I
was in Persia before, was held in no estimation, and
affected peculiar sanctity. Since then, I know not
how, he has obtained a name for courage ; and having
scattered money, when he could get it, to right and
left among his troops, has gained credit for an open-
handed liberality too. For this prince the people of
Khorasan and Irak have taken a fancy, and would
flock to him, in case of a row, in preference to Ma
homed Meerza, of whom, and of his Azerbijanees,
the inhabitants of the capital and central districts of
Persia have always entertained a remarkable jea
lousy. Reports vary every day regarding the movements
of the prince and his minister ; but it is now be
lieved that the Kaymookam has actually left the
city on his way hither, and has taken up his abode in
a garden, the first external demonstration which a
great man makes towards a move ; and it has been
added that the prince comes with him — with him,
mind ; not he with the prince. Such is the language
held here regarding the prince and his minister
respectively ; and this disrespectful language is not
more an index than a cause of the contempt or

STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING. 119
dislike in which the prince is held. This state of
'things is not, on the whole, an encouraging one for
a traveller ; but it is on many accounts desirable that
I should see the prince, if possible, before his de
parture from Khorasan, or, at all events, meet him
on the road ; so, " tuwukku-be khoda ! " as the Per
sians say, trusting in the Almighty for assistance, I
start, as I have said, to-morrow. I bid you, then,
adieu, for a while. Where my next may be dated
from, Heaven only knows ; but I shall endeavour to
write a little each day as I go along, and transmit it
as opportunities may offer. God bless you, dear  .
I feel rather low at parting with the good friends I
have here — it is a second tearing up from home, and
to encounter what ? — I scarcely know ; but " Naba-
clish," as they say in Ireland — never mind it ! the fit
will soon pass off, and, once in route, " Richard's
himself again !"

120

LETTER IV.
Tehran. — Travelling establishment. — Ashelleck. — Geelaur. —
Baughshah. — Feerozekoh  Rugged pass. — Shameerzadah.— •
Plague. — Horse lamed.
Geelaur, a village about forty miles E.N.E. of Tehran,
9th May, 1833.
Dear  ,
Behold me at my second stage from Tehran. You
will look in vain for the village in the map, for this
road is little known to Europeans, although prefer
able, at present, to the lower one, because it is less
hot, and less exposed to attack from plunderers ; it
has also the charm of novelty to me, who have
already travelled the other. At eleven o'clock yes
terday I bade adieu to my friends at Tehran, and
convoyed by two of them, who wished to see me
fairly launched, was soon beyond the gates : but the
day was close and sultry ; a black storm was brew
ing in the hills ahead ; so we shook hands and
parted ; they returning to their humdrum life within
the walls of the capital, while I, once more setting
my face to the blast, recommenced my wanderings.
Do you expect from me an account of the capital
I have just quitted, after a residence so much longer
than I anticipated ? Verily, I have little more to
say of it than has already escaped my pen. It is
a fortified place — that is, encompassed by a mud
wall, about four miles in circumference, with towers

TEHRAN — BAZARS. 121
and a formidable ditch, but possesses scarcely one
attractive or marking feature. As in all Persian
towns, its bazars are the only streets it can boast
of; its other paths of communication are but crook
ed and winding alleys, so narrow that it is danger
ous to meet even with a loaded ass : sometimes
these alleys have a paved gutter in the centre, flank
ed with high and irregular banks ; in other places,
from the unsound condition of a water-conduit be
low the surface, holes are frequent, a circumstance
which is pregnant with evil and broken legs to many
a horse and mule. In all cases they are full of nui
sances and abominations, not the smallest of which
is the number of squalid beggars who lie just under
your horses' feet as you pace along.
The bazars are extensive, and tolerably well filled
with goods as well as people, yet they make but
little show : there is not a minaret or tower in the
"place to give effect to the distant view ; and of the
two domes which it possesses, that belonging to the
Shah's mosque is alone to be perceived by the ap
proaching traveller, from having a little gilded cap
upon its head. Tehran, in fact, like the dynasty
and government, is exhibiting those premonitory
symptoms of decay, which prognosticate a total
breaking up of the body politic, unless prevented by
speedy aid. There is no brilliancy — no splendour —
no bustle of youth about the place. Like its King,
it is becoming old and careless about such things ;
and, like his government, it is falling to pieces. The
ruins, occasioned by time or earthquakes, remain
unrestored, and little of the hum of business, or the
excitement of enterprise, is to be heard or seen.

122 EQUIPMENT *
Even when the King is in the palace, its great
square exhibits scarcely any movement ; where the
bold gholaums of Aga Mahomed Khan were wont
to glitter, and his victorious troops to muster, you
see some straggling and fagged toffunchees crawling
about ; or a few horses-^those of the ministers and
officials in attendance — lobbing their heads in the
sun under the sleepy influence of the place, with
a lazy groom in the saddle. An air of dilapidation
is stealing even over the royal dwellings, and^ there
is scarcely a house in the palace, so far as I have
seen, that is kept in thorough repair. The late
shows and amusements were an effort called forth
by a particular occasion, and will probably but
deepen, by contrast, the monotonous dulness that
will succeed them.
I believe I have not yet described to you my
equipment. I have got with me five horses and
as many mules. Four of these horses are capital ; *
for how can I expect my servants to help me at
a pinch, unless they have the means of doing so in
their hands? All are fit to fight or run away, as
occasion may be; two are for myself, one for a
jeloodar, and one for a sort of factotum peish-khid-
mut, or personal attendant. The fifth, a stout Arab
pony, is ridden by the Meerza, whom I told you
I had engaged as a companion : if he turn out as
well as my old friend, Meerza-Abdul-Rezak, I shall
have nothing left to wish for on that score.
Of the mules, one carries my bed-clothes, carpet,
and all the articles required to be at hand, including
my writing materials. An English portmanteau,
containing medicines, English clothes, and a Com-

AND ARRANGEMENTS. 123
plicated assortment of odds and ends, occupies one
side of a second mule, the other being devoted to
the accommodation of the Meerza and my servants.
The horse-keeper has one for the horse-clothing and
gear, on the top of which he himself sits perched ;
'another is, in like manner, devoted to the muleteer
and his apparatus ; and the fifth is occupied by the
cook, his batterie de cuisine, and stores of provision
for the journey. There is always some trouble and
some struggles with new servants, and it yet remains
to be seen how I am appointed : my jeloodar I do
not much like — but all jeloodars are knaves, and
steal the horses' corn and straw : my peish-khidmut
is a hard-working fellow, who attended my friend
Macneil in his tremendous journey towards Bussora,
and back by Baghdad, in winter ; he was then a
perfect devil of activity, and promises well in the
same way now. My cook, most unlike his brethren
at home, is a quiet, patient, hard-working creature,
very much like poor Cossim, who acted in that
capacity to me last journey ; the others are of the
common herd of menials. It is now that I miss my
faithful John, who was so capital a hand on a march,
and who used to look after so much which I now
must see to myself, whether weary or not ; and I
shall have enough to do upon the whole : but, after
all, how great will be my comfort when compared
with my late trip from Constantinople ! I shall have
the night to sleep in, and decent food to eat ; never
theless, I often wish it were all well over : yet how
shall I brook the change from this bustling life of
journeying and excitement, among kings, and princes,
and ministers, and khans, and caravanserais, and pa-

124 FIRST STAGE.
laces, by turns, to the quiet retirement of  if it
pleases God I ever do return there ? In the mean
time let us get on.
We held right up a long valley that opens from
the Elburz, and at the mouth of which lies Tehran ;
till, winding among a maze of earthy hillocks, we
descended rapidly upon the bed of the Jajerood river,
a rapid stream now swelled with melting snow. We
crossed it with some difficulty, but more successfully
than did a party of Mazunderan serbaz, who were
returning to their homes, and who were preparing to
ford it just as we passed. I was distressed to learn
afterwards, that one of them had been swept away
by the stream and drowned.
No sooner had we gained the other side than the
heavy black clouds, that had been mustering all day,
came down with a plash that soaked the Meerza,
who was with me, to the skin, through a smart new
cloak. Nor could my " Mackintosh" keep out a
great portion of what was blown in our faces by a
mighty wind. Weary and wet we reached our
munzil, the village of Ashellek, some twenty-four
miles from Tehran, where we had a most indifferent
lodging, and found neither bread for the people nor
corn for the horses. Even fire was scarcely to be
had to dry our wetted clothes, and the place was
so full of muleteers' cattle, that one could scarcely
get decent shelter : so, after a moderate repast,
which we had taken care to provide at Tehran, we
betook ourselves to rest, grumbling not a little at
our first day's luck.
All night it thundered, and rained, and blew, but
towards morning the storm abated, and never did

CONTRAST OF FEELINGS. 125
the sun rise in a lovelier sky. Strange how much
we poor mortals are the sport of circumstances — the
slaves of physical agents ! There were many things,
which I cannot explain, that tended to damp my.
spirits on leaving Tehran — nor do I ever remember
?commencing a journey in a less comfortable frame of
mind. Alas ! might not advance of years, diminished
elasticity of mind as well as body, of itself account
for those more sober anticipations with which the
veteran contemplates an enterprise, that would have
been viewed with unalloyed exultation by the ardent
youth ! However this may be, certain it is, that
yester-evening I experienced a depression which, had
I lent an ear to its suggestions, would have per
suaded me to turn my face the other way. How
changed was all to-day ! Not the contrast so forcibly
described by Crabbe, in his " Lover's Walk," could
be stronger. There was a balmy elasticity in the
air, which gave its own healthful tone to the mind,
and I could fancy the little breezes that played
around me, were whispering words of encourage
ment and good tidings in my ear. A thousand larks
were singing aloft, and myriads of swallows were
darting, like lines of swiftness, through the air in
all directions. Even the rude country we were tra
versing assumed a green and happy tinge, after the.
gracious and long-wished for rain. In mounting
my horse, I felt, as in days of yore, among the
Highland hills, when booning myself for the muirs —
and, in truth, so lovely did the rugged hills around
us appear, half shrouded in fleecy vapour, or tinged
with the purple and gold of the rising sun, that but
for the figures around me I might have fancied

126 SPRING FLOWERS.
myself, for a moment, in Strathglass or Stratherrick.
Had I so far forgot myself, I should have soon been
awakened from my day-dream by the fervour of the
sun, which poured down its rays so fiercely, that I
was scarcely sorry when, about one o'clock in the
day, we reached our munzil at this place, a sweet,
green, cultivated nook, surrounded with quantities of
gardens and orchards.
You would have been pleased with our ride of
to-day ; for though the country, for the most part,
was grey and barren enough, there were many
pretty spring flowers shooting up among the scanty
withered herbage of prickly shrubs with which all
these hills are covered. Some of these were bulbs,
whose blossoms were not fully blown. Others, I
think, would have figured in your favourite genus,
Flocc ; some, again, were of the ranunculus tribe;
and there was a little beauty clad in rich yellow,
with a brown velvet-like centre, like a miniature of
that splendid annual with the unpronounceable name
Eschaltzia California, I think, that would, have quite
delighted you.
It was pleasant, too, to see the cattle of the
Eeliaut tribes, who have now begun their wander
ings, dotting all the plains and slopes, while the
black tents of their owners lay nestling in many a
sheltered nook. They need shelter, indeed, for more
comfortless dwellings you cannot well conceive. The
coarse hair-cloth which forms them is drawn tight
over certain ridge-poles, placed across low uprights ;
but it does not extend to the ground on either side ;
and the only appliance, instead of walls, to shut out
the prying eye of curiosity, or the bitter blasts of

BAUGH SHAH. 127
spring, are screens of split reeds tied together so
loosely that both wind and vision penetrate them in
every part. I can imagine nothing more cheerless
than the life of a great portion of these wanderers,
passing the winter like dormice, and when spring
calls them into life again, spending the livelong day
among their weary hills, and huddling into such
wretched quarters at night. Many of them, how
ever, live in good comfortable villages during winter,
where a portion of the tribe always remain for the
duties of agriculture, the rest seeking eagerly the
return of spring to enjoy this fresco in their yeilaks
and mountain pastures.
10th May. — Baugh Shah. Here we are, after a
short comfortless march, in a miserable hovel at the
gate of a monstrous old ruinous garden of Aga Ma
homed Khan's, instead of having halted at a very
pretty village a little way behind, among gardens,
and streams, and pleasant green spots, which it would
have done one good to gaze upon. I do not know
whether it is mischief, or want of sense, that made
my servants do this, but I was very angry with
them, and am in no good humour now. The wind,
too, that has buffeted us all day, is rising into a per
fect gale, driving whirlwinds of dust into the loath
some hole in which I am sitting ; so that every time
Master Mushedee, my valet, quarter-master, and
steward of the household, comes in, I greet him with
a growl, which he meets with a deprecatory whine
of apology. " One night is not a thousand," says
he, and a more absolute truth cannot well be stated ;
nor is the inference that we must stay where we are,
and bear it, one bit less obvious, as the rain has now

128 BAD HUMOUR.
begun to pour, and all my baggage has been hastily
carried in and piled up in my narrow and unsavoury
quarters. I am, therefore, just letting off a little of
my bile in these idle lines to you, dear  ; a most
necessary vent, for there are many annoyances to
excite it at the commencement of a Persian journey.
Here, on arriving, I find one of my best mules dead-
lame, from a kick, they say, received at our first
night's lodging ; and I have cause to do more than
suspect that my jeloodar is a villain, for I caught
him giving short grain to my horses and mules last
night. Besides which, I find that these horses and
mules, instead of being in good training for long
marches, which it was his duty to have effected by
proper exercise while at Tehran, are all so soft that
they are unfit for hard work. This is especially
vexatious, as it will occasion me to consume a longer
time than may be convenient on my way to Mushed.
And now that I have got rid of a little of my ill
humour, and the loneliness of evening steals on, what
would I give to be with you for a while at the com
fortable fire-side where I trust you are seated : but
no — that cannot be. Allowing for the difference of
longitude, and consequently of time, I conceive that
you may just now, after all the duties of the forenoon
are over, be putting on your things for a walk, a
lounge in the garden, or a trip to  If the
day be cold or wet, I think I see you seated at your
writing-desk. F  in his arm-chair, and M 
at her work. As for me, suppose a little hole in the
mud, having certain recesses in the rude walls, but
no windows, and only a gap for the door, with other
orifices, the work of time, that admit more rain and

A SKETCH. 129
wind than light : among these is the fire-place, in
geniously contrived to let in water enough to drown
the more genial element, — for it now rains hard.
On one side of this apartment, which is just fourteen
feet by ten, is spread my numud and carpet, with
the bed-clothes already to shake down ; and on it
fancy me squatted, cross-legged, inditing this effu*
sion to you ; on the other side is the Meerza's lair,
from a sound nap in which he has just risen, and is
now scrawling Persian characters for exercise and
amusement on a piece of paper, smoking a calleeoon,
and intonating "La illah-il-ullahs — Rebbiehs /" and
such like precatory ejaculations, by turns. Our bag
gage and riding gear occupy more than one corner :
the taukchehs, or niches in the wall, are full of guns
and pistols, swords and accoutrements of war, joals
and journals, and all the paraphernalia of personal
equipment. The earthen floor is full of holes, and,
though swept out for the occasion, is deep enough
in dirt ; and about three yards from the door, in a
still smaller and more open hovel, we can see our
artiste preparing a savoury pillaw to comfort us.
Further still are ranged our cattle, the hopes of our
journey, munching at dry straw until the proper
hour for giving them their more substantial food in
the shape of good barley. Suppose all this, and con
ceive me sitting in my place undistinguishable in
point of dress from the natives around me, and with
the difference of a larger or smaller, a worse or>
better berth, whether in village or caravanserai, you
will not go far wrong in painting to your mind's
eye my accommodations and condition during every
halt on the way to Mushed, where, inshallah ! I hope
VOL. II. k

130 ROAD TO FIROZEKOH.
tp arrive in fifteen days from this. It has set in for
a rainy night, and my fire is giving more smoke
than heat, so we shall try to warm ourselves with
dinner, which is just coming in, and after a cup of
tea, to bed ; so good night.
13th April. — I have not written for two days,
because we have had two heavy journeys, and plenty
to do without scribbling. In spite of good inten
tions the rain delayed us from starting till past five
in the morning, and we left Baughshah with most
gloomy prospects of weather. But it turned out
better than its word, for the early part of the day
was lovely, and I greatly enjoyed the fine savage
scenery through which our road led. It was truly
a highland country, and I might easily have fancied
myself in some part of Argylshire, or among the
peaks of Assynt or Lochinver, but that the tone of
colour was too universally grey, and the bare rock
too predominant. Instead of heather we had only
a scanty sprinkling of thorny shrubs, with a few
green sprouts just showing themselves, and here and
there a gush of wild tulips of a glowing crimson, like
drops of blood spotting the mountain side, and some
times imparting to it quite a ruddy tinge. I climbed
a height near the road in order to take a sketch of
the singularly wild features of the pass through
which we were winding, and found hundreds, both
of red and yellow tulips, with hyacynths and gera
niums, all bursting into flower amongst thickets of
wild almond-bushes all rich in blossom : it was ex
ceedingly beautiful.
A few dark spots upon the more distant moun
tains had for some time attracted my attention, and

FIROZEKOH. 131
as we got deeper into the pass, I discovered that they
were trees of that species of cedar which is com
monly called Arbor vitae, the same I had seen so
plentiful in Anatolia and Armenia. As we advanced
they became more numerous, and, mingled with
barberry bushes, wild roses, and wild almonds, formed
often a very pretty fringe of wood. The mountains
too, closing in on all sides as they did, without being
divided by those wide and arid plains that so com
monly weary the eye in Persia, were pleasant to the
sight, in spite of their indescribably ragged and fan
tastic shapes — nay, they pleased the more for that
very reason.
We crossed two rivers, one of them the Dalloo*-
chai, a strong rapid stream, and threaded the wind
ings and sharp ascents and descents of a long pass,
ere we reached a tract, which was, comparatively
speaking, a plain, consisting of undulating land with
out hills ; but ere we did so a thunder shower came
on, which again defied the vain attempt at defence
made by my Mackintosh cloak ; and the soaking
process was completed by a keen drift of " Scotch
mist," blown right in our faces by a fierce wind,
known in these parts as the " Bdd-e-Firozekoh," for
this was now the highland plain of Firozekoh, and
in a little time we were well pleased to find our
selves in the village of that name. It is one of the
most singularly situated places you can imagine ; its
gardens fringe the course of two small streams ; and
where they meet, there is a bold and fantastic cliff
of some six hundred feet in height that beetles over
the houses clustered round its skirts. I made an
effort to take a sketch of the whole coup d'aeil, but
k 2

132 DEAD AND LIVING WIVES.
the cold was so great that I could not stand out long
enough to do it any justice.
This day we met a whole cavalcade of women in
march : we understood that they were the wives
and family of Mustapha Khan of Talish, returning
from a pilgrimage to Mecca or Kerbela, and a great
noise they were making. I suppose it was the
season of religious jaunts for the ladies of those
parts, for on the preceding day we met two
who had been the wives of some great man of
Mazunderan, on their way to the holy shrine of
Koom ; but they, poor women, were quiet enough^
for they were in their coffins ; and, however lovely
they may have been in their lives, they were most
unsavoury in their deaths ; for on getting by chance
to leeward, as they passed us, the gale which blew
over them was anything but " redolent of sweets ;"
I must say, it furnished a powerful reason in my
mind for the expediency of " letting the tree lie
where it falls."
We were lodged in the house of the Khan of the
place, who was absent ; and a cold berth we had
of it; for the wind continued bitter all night, and
the drizzling rain turned into snow, so that by day
light all the hills were covered. When we rose next
morning to pursue our journey, the whole air was
heavy, with a small drift that blew right in our
front, and promised us a feeding storm; and to
encourage us, the people of the place declared, that
in a certain mountain-pass which lay in our route,
we should meet a wind so fierce and cold as to
turn us black in the face, were we as fair as the
fairest. I shuddered a little at this account, and at

A STEEP PASS. 133
the grim look of the weather ; for I had rather a
more fresh than comfortable recollection of such
winds, and had not forgotten Deha and Kasleegeul ;
but putting on the warmest things we had, for
defence against the cold, away we went.
For twenty miles we rode up a valley ugly and
barren enough, enclosed by hills covered with snow
and mist : more than once we lost our way, which
led us next through a mass of moderately sized
hills, and over a series of trifling ascents, each of
which in turn we hoped might be the predicted
haunt of tempest ; but, alas ! we were woefully mis
taken. We had risen considerably from the bed of
a stream, and were slanting across the brow of a
hill, when some one of the party observed a huge
dark mass which seemed to reach the sky, looming
like the ghost of some mighty mountain among the
mist that enveloped the whole country around us.
It soon appeared that a very deep and narrow
ravine lay between us and this mountain ; into this
we slid and sprawled through very muddy ground,
at the risk of breaking our necks, and out of it we
scrambled as best we could up a perfect precipice
of clay, for road we could find none, to a ledge,.
narrow and nervous, where we stood to take breath
after our sharp burst. Then came so desperate a
tug by a zig-zag path up the rest of the clay wall,
that the boldest of us dismounted lest his horse
should slip backwards and tumble over with him.
The ascent terminated in a severe scramble up a
torrent's bed, fully as steep, and very stony, but
not so dangerous : indeed the unmounted horses
had enough to do, and how the loaded mules got

134 A RUGGED DESCENT.
up, I scarcely know ; but Persian mules will do
anything. I never was more thankful than when I
saw them all safe at the top, ready to commence
the descent. And here again we suffered ourselves
to be deceived. Some muleteers whom we met
with a little way below the crest of the pass, de
clared that we were close to the village where we
meant to put up ; but after a long descent, the
first part of which was easy, but the latter extremely
steep and rugged, we still looked in vain for the
place. I never saw a more rugged and rocky pass than
this ; we had to scramble over huge cairns of frag
ments and along rocky ledges, so narrow, that my
flesh crept as I passed them ; and peak, and cliff,
and mountain rose all abrupt and barren from the
bed of the little stream, and started to the very sky
in jagged masses, their sides bristling with little
spires of rock, like rows . of sharks' teeth. One
might have fancied himself amongst the broken and
disjointed bones of a world that had been shivered
to atoms, and left till all the soil had rotted from
its bleached skeleton : not a bit of vegetation was
discoverable ; for the few stunted wild almond and
barberry bushes that clung here and there in crevices,
looked more like black spots than vegetable produce
tions ; indeed, neither leaf nor blossom had yet
ventured to show itself in these inclement regions.
After something more than two miles of this
savage but impressive scenery, we burst from the
narrow gorge into a valley of greater breadth, filled
with orchards ; this was the commencement of the
village where we were to remain for the night.;

SHAMEERZADEH. 135
and had the daylight not almost failed us, we should
have enjoyed exceedingly the mile that remained,
among those splendid groves of fruit-trees, and
forests of walnuts and chinars, ash and poplars of
immense size, All around us was magnificent wood,
and sparkling, dashing, falling waters, which make
a Persian paradise ; but our cattle were weary, and
we were too anxious to get lodgings for them and
for ourselves, to receive full pleasure from the
scenery. So extensive is the place, that we wan
dered for a long time about, unable to discover
where our avant courier had gone ; and we might
have gone on till morning, had not he sent people
in all directions to find and conduct us to the
lodging he had taken for us, where we arrived
about eight o'clock at night, after having been
more than twelve hours in the saddle.
This village is called Shameerzadeh ; you may
perhaps remember my alluding to it, in my first
journey to Khorasan, as a place celebrated in the
neighbourhood for its delicious apples and pretty
women — the latter of whom are said to have bor
rowed from the fruit the blushes on their cheeks.
It is mentioned in my route from Tehran to Sem
noon, from which city it is only some few fursuks
distant, and lies embedded in a huge cluster of the
barren mountains I have just described ; open only
on one side to a bit of barren plain, from whence
it gleams like a beautiful emerald in its bed of
rock : you cannot see the houses for the orchards
and gardens, and the dashing and murmur of the
plentiful waters make it quite a delightful retreat
in summer.

136 EFFECTS OF PLAGUE.
Alas ! delightful as it is, it could not escape the
hand of the destroyer : scarcely four years ago, when
the plague for the first time visited Persia, it was
brought here by some Mazunderanees, and raged
with such fatal violence that nearly the whole in
habitants were carried off. Some assert, that Sha
meerzadeh, before this catastrophe, could reckon five
thousand souls, others go the length of eight thou
sand ; now, it can scarcely muster five hundred,
small and great ; and truly, the thickly filled bury-
ing-grounds seem well to attest the truth of the
tale. Thus few of its rosy-cheeked damsels remain
to support the fame of their village, and its apples
were out of season.
The place has been one of ill luck to us, for I find
my finest horse, a magnificent large bay, dead-lame
this morning ; and that one of my mules, which re
ceived a kick at Ashelleck, is just as bad. Besides
this, my muleteer met with an accident yesterday
which had nearly been fatal : the breeching of one
of the mules having gone wrong in going down a
hill, he attempted to put it right, on which the
animal lifted its foot and struck him right in the
belly : the man reeled a few steps, and fell on the
ground, as I thought in the agonies of death, for he
began kicking and rolling convulsively like one who
has received the coup de grace. Nevertheless, after
being deadly sick for a while, we hoisted him, all
doubled up, on a mule, and got him to the stage : to
day he is better, though still a little pale and stu-
pified. - This evening I effected an exchange of my lame
mule for one of much less pretension in point of

HORSE LAMED. 137
appearance, but stout and strong, and precious, in the
muleteer's sight, who, no doubt, together with my
friend the jeloodar, has not failed to touch a trifle
on the transaction. My poor horse is a worse con
cern ; whether from bad shoeing, or some other cause,
his hoof was found, on examination by the knowing
ones, to be in a sad state, so that it became, accord
ing to their report, necessary to separate the dis
eased part from the sound, an operation which was
performed in anything but a chirurgeon-like style ;
and thus disabled, I have been forced to leave him to
the very questionable care of a functionary of the
place, sending notice of the circumstance to my
friends in Tehran. Had it not been for these unto
ward events, and for the loss of time, which is every
day becoming more and more precious to me, I
should have enjoyed my day's lounge about Sha-
meerzadeh greatly, and might have added to the
few sketches which I made of this singular place.

138

LETTER V.
Ruined hunting seat. — Fate of a tyrant. — Eeliaut encamp
ment. — Tootervar. — Damghaun. — Shahrood. — Mohurrum
and Taziehs. — Kajar justice. — Meyomeed. — Delays. — Per
sian country life. — Game. — A mountain ascent. — Vast and
singular prospect. — An ancient fortress. — Perilous descent. —
Measurement of water for irrigation. — Kajar encouragement to
zeal. 16th May, Daurghaun.
I date, you see, from another old quarter of mine,
which, though only seventy-two miles distant from
my last place of abode, it took me three marches to
reach. Having being detained all the morning of
the 14th by heavy rain, I left Shameerzadeh by an
hour or two after noon, and marched to a ruined
village about three fursucks, or twelve miles, dis
tant. It was a hunting seat of Zulfecar Khan, a
noble of these parts, a noted character when I was
here before. I think I have adverted in my first
travels to certain traits of barbarity and tyranny
committed on the unfortunate inhabitants of his
district. He seems, however, like many other ty
rants, to have displayed a magnificent spirit in his
undertakings, for this hunting seat has been a per
fect castle. It is a fort of about one hundred and
fifty yards square with towers at each corner, and
an outer wall containing a caravanserai, with accom
modation for an immense suite. Within there was
a hummaum, and an endless variety of suites and

A HUNTING SEAT. 139
courts of Chambers, with every convenience for the
accommodation of both ladies and gentlemen. All
is built indeed of raw bricks or mud, but more
substantially than usual, and the outlay must have
been very great ; but, like all other fine establish
ments in this unlucky country, its day passed away
ere it had well begun. Zulfecar Khan, who, besides
being governor of the district, held a considerable
command in the King's army, fell under the sus
picion or displeasure of his majesty. In fact, I be
lieve the extravagance of his conduct led to sus
picions of the sanity of his intellect, and the Shah
recommended a journey to Mecca, in returning from
which he died. In the mean time Bahman Meerza,
one of the King's sons, was placed in the Khan's
government, and, coming or sending to this hunting
seat, hastened the work of decay by tearing every
beam or stick of wood which formed its frame or
support out of the building. The consequence has
been, that now there is not a roof on one of the
numerous suites or chambers of which it once con
sisted, still less can they boast of doors or windows —
a melancholy change from its former condition ; but,
as the people of the country say, there was some
thing unhallowed and of evil omen about it from the
first. The Khan, according to report, employed one
thousand Toorkoman prisoners in chains on its con
struction. This the good folks of the district would
have forgiven, for they were enemies ; but they
add that he let them go when it was finished, and
this act of grace was by no means to their taste, and
the less so as they themselves were heavily taxed to
furnish the materials. " Ay," said some of them,

140 EELIAUTS.
shaking their heads, " we paid for it, and now, be
hold, it is a ruin !'' It was so in fact, and so com
plete, that, after searching every corner, we were
forced to take up our quarters in a niche in one of
the gateways about seven feet by nine, where the
wind blew on us with villanous fierceness, without
our being able to shelter ourselves from its violence.
While this delectable den was being swept out,
and matters prepared for our accommodation, the
Meerza and I went to visit an encampment of
Eeliauts, who had pitched their black tents close by,
and a most thief-like, gipsy-like set they proved to be.
The men and boys clustered round us in a moment,
like a parcel of wild monkeys or baboons, chattering
and mowing in a most unintelligible lingo, and paw
ing us after a very disagreeable fashion. One caught
at my sword, another at my pistol, and one little
rascal, making a snatch at my gun, desired to know
for how much I would sell it? On my merely
laughing, he persisted more earnestly. " Would I
take five sheep ?" " No, nor ten," said I ; " but sup
pose you gave me this little fellow in exchange?"
taking hold of another small wretch, his younger
brother I believe. " Agreed — I give him you," said
the imp—" take him ! " and with that he tried to
wrest the gun from me, and run off with it.
There were about a dozen of tents, and at the
doors of four or five of them stood a triangle of
poles, to which was suspended a great black hair
bag, full of milk, in each of which a fellow was
churning with a big stick — a most unlovely sight.
He was all bespattered with the butter-milk ; and I
have no doubt there was in each a Mrs. Macclarty-

EELIAUT WOMEN. 141
like abundance of " cannie coo's hairs" and sheep's
wool too, for the milk of both quadrupeds is min
gled in the same vessel. I must own that I would
rather not knowingly have eaten of the produce,
but it was a curious sight to see. We wanted to go
nearer to some of the tents, but the fellows called
out that the women were there. Pretty women,
God wot ! for, though nearer I did not go, I caught
a view of certain elf-locks, and mahogany and parch
ment features, pertaining to some of the she-baboons
peeping out inquisitively from the crannies of their
dismal dwellings.
Returning to our miserable quarters, I half en
vied the black terits themselves, and ensconced my
self in the bed-clothes as my only preservative from
cold. The Meerza, not content with this arrange
ment, fell to work, and, building a temporary fire
place with fragments of sun-dried bricks, succeeded
in producing a roaring blaze from some cattle-dung
and chips of the demolished fort. In a little while
a capital dinner was set before us. I had shot some
birds of the ortolan species, and we had bought a
lamb for about 2s. 4,d. sterling from the Eeliauts ;
and out of these my cook had contrived to dress
more dishes than we had vessels to put them in :
so we ate and were filled, and after a good dish of
tea retired again to our fire and our bed-clothes until
the time of marching, which we had agreed should
be about two hours after dark. It is always, how
ever, a bad plan to permit your people to retire to
rest in the evening, if you mean to march early in
the night : it is never easy to rouse them, and ten

142 EFFECTS OF A GOOD MEAL.
to one but some excuse will be found to keep you
on your ground till morning. On the present oc
casion our guide, very probably tutored by the ser
vants, declared that there was a part of the road so
bad from deep mud, that there was every probability
of our losing the mules in it, unless he had daylight
by which to find the right path. I know not whe
ther to attribute it to that indisposition to motion
which steals over our senses after a good meal, or to
the dislike of facing a fierce wind, which blew from
some snow-covered mountains close by ; but the fact
is, that this news, which in the forenoon would have
filled us with indignation, sounded by no means so
intolerable to our ears now ; and uncomfortable as
our quarters were, no one showed any great incli
nation to quit them. I agreed, therefore, to defer
ring the march until morning, with a better grace
than was altogether creditable to me ; and the more
readily as I found that, move when we would, we
should not be able to make a double march ; so that,
on the whole, little time would be lost. One of my
principal objections, indeed, to passing the night at
this place, was the neighbourhood of the Eeliants,
who, I apprehended, would not fail to pilfer, if they
could, during the darkness. But we made things as
snug as we could, got the arms and valuables in
beside ourselves, ranged the heavy baggage in front
to prevent surprise, and then went to a rest, which
proved to be, on the whole, very sweet and sound.
My poor servants were the worst off, for they had
no shelter, and but little clothing to protect them
from the cold ; but no men know how to rough it

SHAHROOD. 143
better than Persian servants; there was no grum
bling ; and even the groaning was chiefly on my own
part on their account.
We were in motion with the first peep of dawn,
and a bitter dawn it was, the wind freshening in
stead of falling, and freezing everything it touched.
The water had all turned to ice in the night, and
the low hills close to us, which in the evening had
been shrowded with mist, were this morning white
with snow. In fact, the place stands in a high
bleak desert country, which is colder and fully as
forbidding as Driemuacher,* and in some respects
not unlike it. Our march to-day led us for thirty or
thirty-two miles over bare uninteresting downs, and
along the course of a snow-swollen stream to a very
nice village, named Tootervar, which we reached
about one p.m. ; and glad was I to be at rest, for
I had got one of my worrying headaches, which had
not been bettered by the wind. So as soon as pos
sible I crept to my lowly couch, and groaned and
writhed there as usual till about seven o'clock, when
the fiend quitted me. To-day I rose fresh and well,
and proceeded by the common high road to this
place, where we were hospitably received by Ma
homed Wullee Khan, a friend of my friend Macneil.
And now, good night for the present.
19th May. — Shahrood. — I rather think, dear  ,
that twelve years and more ago I addressed you a
letter from this very place, where I spent a weary
fortnight on my way to Mushed. It is the point
where the road is considered to become unsafe, from
the Toorkoman inroads, and I am sorry to find that
* A well-known pass in the Scottish Highlands.

144 DANGERS OF THE ROAD.-
such is the case at present. Ever since the death
of Abbas Meerza, who punished and frightened
these semi-savages, they have taken fresh courage,
and beset the two or three next stages. Khorasan,
in short, is all disturbed, and never will be quiet
except under the rule of a vigorous and severe go
vernment. I arrived here the day before yesterday,
having been delayed at Deh Moollah, a village six
teen miles distant, by the lameness of another of my
mules ; and I am now waiting the result of an ap
plication to the Prince of Bostam for a guard, which
is necessary even to the next stage, before I proceed.
So you see I take good care of myself, and have no
mind to be sent to herd camels in the deserts of
Khyvah or Bockhara. Last time I was here I was
detained by the delay attendant upon assembling a
caravan. There is one now here, but they do not
mean to move until after the occurrence of a cer
tain holiday, or, rather day of mourning, observed
by the Sheahs ; and, in fact, I do not wish to en
cumber myself with them if I can get proper pro
tection otherwise.
This period of mourning is that of the Mohurrum,
of which no doubt you may have heard. It com
memorates the melancholy fate of Imaum Hoos-
sein, the grandson of Mahomed, who, with his fa
mily, perished miserably, more by thirst than by the
hands of his foes, on the plains of Kerbelah, and in
sight of the Euphrates. You will see the story
beautifully told by Gibbon in his eighth volume,
I think, where he treats of the rise of Mahometanism,
and a most affecting tale it is. Among the Sheahs,
or sectaries of Allee, they keep the month in which
the murder happened as one of mourning. You

THE MOHURRUM. 145
know Hassan and Hoossein were sons of Allee, by
Fatimah, the daughter of Mahomet : places are pre
pared in every city, town, and village, hung with
dark cloths or shawls, and furnished forth with other
emblems of mourning. In these places, from a mim-
ber, or pulpit, a moollah reads every day a portion of
the story, or the events which led to it, with com
ments of his own, and much action, in a singing
tone of voice. In fact, it is a sort of recitative, in
which, as he comes to the affecting parts, he works
himself and his auditors up, till either in reality, or
in appearance, he and they get into a passion of
tears and distress.
After being thus excited there is a sort of pageant
or theatrical exhibition, brought forward upon a
stage erected for the purpose, in which some one
act of the tragedy is represented by persons dressed
for the occasion. These performances are generally
got up according to the fancy of the moollah, who
leads the festival, and are rather ideal and imaginary
affairs than accurate representations of what they
shadow forth. Thus the tyrant Yezeed, whose people
put Hoossein to death, is sometimes introduced,
although, in reality, he was far from the scene of
slaughter; sometimes, on the other hand, his gene
rals alone are brought forward. They even strain
matters so far as to introduce Europeans in one
shape or other — generally as deploring the cata
strophe ; in short, the whole business is left much to
the discretion of the author ; but Imaum Hoossein,
his brother Abbas, his sister Zeinab, and wife She-
herbanoo, his daughters and other children, with the
infamous Shimmur, who at length slew him, are
VOL. II. l

146 TAZIEHS.
always principal personages ; and the actors read,
or rather sing their parts, from papers they hold in
their hands. Thus there can be little of theatrical
illusion, but there is neither a want of energy nor
of action, for they sing and read with great emphasis.
In the evening, or rather at night, the people as
semble again in the same places, which are called
Tekkiehs, and continue for hours sighing, and crying,
and beating their bare breasts, roaring out, " Ai
Hoossein ! Ai Hoossein !" and reading between
whiles some funereal poetry. These performances are
called tdzieh, or mourning, and continue generally
ten days — in some places still more; and where
the people are very holy, or would be thought so,
as at Koom and Mushed, they are kept up for forty
days. I have been looking at them in several of
the villages through which I passed, and miserable
enough they were, but characteristic of the people
and their customs ; they resemble, no doubt, the
wretched mimes and pageants of the old Roman
Catholics, in which scriptural events were clumsily
and often ludicrously represented.
Periods of delay like this which I am now suffer
ing under are particularly irksome, for not only do
they retard the fulfilment of my duty, and conse
quently the period of my return, but they give time
for fancy to take her flights, and these are full often
more productive of pain than pleasure. Anticipa
tions of evil, or fears for the future — are they not
the same? — will overshadow the mind in moments
of weakness, and add perplexity to well-grounded
anxiety : motion, motion, is what I now require.
Business is the atmosphere I thrive best in at pre-

SHUFFLING ANSWERS. 147
sent ; and, thank God, I am quite equal to all bodily
exertion ; never did I enjoy better health ; it is the
mind, if anything, that feels its wear and tear : a
little less there may be of that buoyancy and elas
ticity which, belong to youth alone ; but I trust that
what it may have lost in spirits it has gained in
firmness, and that it will carry me well through all
I have undertaken.
Meyomeid, 23d May. — Again at another of my
old munxils. It was here, you may recollect, that a
fellow insulted and struck me with a heavy stick,
and that poor black John rushed forward to my
defence. Things are changed since then, and I am
here upon a better footing, having letters to the
Khan, or lord of the village, both from Macneil and
from Ismael Meerza, prince and governor of Bostam.
To this prince I had letters not only from our
envoy, but from the ministers of state, desiring him
to forward me without delay, and to provide the
necessary guards. The first reply to my application
was a shuffling one, assuring me that the roads were
quite safe so far as the place I now date from, and
enclosing a letter to Allee Asker Khan, resident
here, With an order for toffunchees (musketeers) to
see me past the next two dangerous stages. Not
satisfied with this I wrote again, accompanying my
letter with the Shah's own firmaun for the prince's
satisfaction, in which his majesty commanded all his
governors and officers to aid and assist me in tra.
veiling. This produced two apologies ; one from the
prince, on account of the delay I had suffered, and
repeating his assurance of the security of the road to
Meyomeid, and of the certainty of receiving all pos-
L 2

148 KAJAR JUSTICE.
sible assistance from Allee Asker Khan. The other
was from the minister, who told me he certainly
would have come to see me, had he not been hin
dered by the duties of the Mohurrum. The prince
told a bit of a fib in this matter, and knowingly too,
particularly as regarded the power of Allee Asker
Khan to give me guards ; but nevertheless, on the
strength of his assurances that the road was safe, I
resolved to start for Meyomeid.
In the mean time another of my mules had fallen
dead-lame, and I was forced to part with her to a
muleteer for a stout yaboo and a small sum in cash.
It was a poor bargain, for the yaboo turned out to be
diseased ; but travellers must lay their account with
such contingencies — the yaboo did carry its load, the
mule could not. We were lodged, during our stay at
Shahrood, in a small garden-house of the prince's,
the history of which affords a specimen of Kajar
justice. A poor man who came to see us, told us
that the ground we were on was his ; that the Shah
zadeh had occupied it forcibly, and built the house
we were living in, without offering a farthing of
compensation ; that it had been a garden which he
cultivated himself, and on which he lived by selling
its grapes and other fruit to the pilgrims who put
up at Shahrood, on their way to Mushed, but that
now he was ruined. What could we say ? — These
things are too common to excite much sensation.
While I was at Tehran, under the very nose of the
Shah, the Vizier of the Zil-e-Sultaun, an unprin
cipled debauchee, seized and plundered the house of
a seller of earthenware, because he had complained
to his majesty that this profligate had forcibly car-

AN EFFICIENT ORDER. 149
ried off a member of the poor man's family. What
wonder that a dynasty, which winks at such crimes,
should be on the high road to decay ; the wonder
is, that it should have existed so long.
We left Shahrood at a little after five in the
afternoon, and travelling all night reached Meyomeid
without accident. I recognized with great interest
many points on this road which had been the scenes
of incidents or alarm in my last journey ; but it is
altogether a desolate and unlovely tract, and I was
glad, on the whole, to get it over. Allee Asker
Khan received us with politeness and hospitality,
giving me at once a lodging in his own house,
and insisting on entertaining my establishment until
he could send me away in safety. " And that,"
said he, " I am sorry on your account cannot be
soon. The prince has sent me here an order to fur
nish you with toffunchees ; the prince dishonours
me, and he knows it ; this is not the first time. It
is true I have nominally the command of one thou
sand toffunchees, but not one have I within call —
how can I ? Not a tomaun of wages does he give
either to them or to me ; nor food, nor arms, nor
ammunition, nor the means of obtaining any of these
things ; and yet he expects that I am to have men
equipped and ready for every service he thinks fit to
have performed. My shame on such a Shahzadeh !"
and his terms of abuse were neither few nor choice.
At length, after having blown off a little of his
spleen, he added, " There is but one way for. you
to do, and it is this. I am going immediately to
Bostam to the prince, to see if I can't get something
out of him. I will return by the third day from

150 DELAY MADE TQ.LERABLE.
this, or the fourth at the furthest, and will then
certainly send you on. As to your going without
people, it is out of the question. I could not let you
go, were it only for my own honour. So you must
content yourself here, and be my guest till I re
turn." To me, who feared delay of every sort, more
even than the Toorkomans, you may conceive what
wormwood this was, and I remonstrated ; but was
met always with the same argument. " I cannot
take the responsibility of suffering you to go alone ;
you might get safe, but it is equal chances you are
taken, and then where are you, and where am I?
No ; if go you will, give me a letter declaring it to
be your own act, and against my advice — taking all
the responsibility on yourself, and which I can show
to the Elchee and the Prince, and then, Bismillah !
go in God's name ; otherwise I cannot let you go
without forty or fifty guards — that's all." So off
went the Khan, and here I am fixed till his return ;
but it is not so irksome a delay as many others to
which I have been subjected. The place is pleasant,
in the full pride of early summer. Wheat and barley
are in the ear — the fruit all set. There are a num
ber of gardens all luxuriant in foliage — noble Chinars
(plane trees), of one of which, in particular, I have
taken a drawing ; pleasant people, attentive, and full
of information and anecdote about the country. In
short, the delay rather tends to forward all my
objects than otherwise, and therefore I like it. But
it does appear strange to myself that the wretched
spot which formerly, in the depth of winter, did
look so hideous, should now be so pleasant and re-

A COUNTRY LIFE. 151
freshing — another proof of how much we poor worms
are the slaves of circumstances and physical causes.
All around the oasis, made by a comparatively trifling
rill of water, is bare and desert as ever ; but that
stream which irrigates the cultivation and gardens
of the village, and murmurs over fifty little pebbly
beds, together with the fine season, converts the iso
lated spot into a delightful abode.
We live here a truly country life, as different as
possible from that of the town. The pastimes and
amusements are all of a pastoral or rural character ;
we go out to watch the progress of cultivation, the
division of the water for irrigation, to look for game,
if not absolutely to hunt, and to canter along the free
Sahrah, and enjoy its morning or evening breezes.
All we eat is the produce of the farm, as we should
say at home. For breakfast we have milk in nu
merous shapes, very fair butter, boiled and clotted
cream ; slip-down and pressed curds, with or with
out sugar ; mas, or sour, coagulated milk ; a sort
of pottage made of milk and flour ; a very simple
kind of salad, with bread, and occasionally eggs, all
very neatly served up. At dinner we have chillaw
and pillaw (rice in various shapes) ; mutton, stewed
or roasted ; game from the hills, treated in the same
way ; vegetable omelettes ; pickles of onions, or car
rots and turnips, &c. &c. ; and to drink we have
buttermilk and water, or grape vinegar and water,
with or without sugar. All this, with exception of
the sugar, is the produce of the place, and that
alone they buy.
In like manner every one is clothed in the village
manufactures. They plant cotton, and they have a

152 COUNTRY FABRICS.
few mulberry trees for silk-worms. The former
they spin and weave into clothes of various tex
tures, chiefly coarse, when it is called kherboz, which
the peasants use for shirts and girdles. Mingled
with a little silk, and more elaborately wrought, it
forms a stuff called aleejah, of a striped pattern, of
which they make long-skirted vests (called ulqalucks),
or exchange them for money and other articles with
the Toorkomans. The wool of their sheep and
goats is woven into coarse grey or fawn-coloured
stuffs, for winter and common wear. All hands are
occupied, men, women, and children ; and the Khan's
son told me that his wives (and female servants)
make some forty to fifty tomauns, or about that
number of pounds sterling a-year, by their work.
The Khan himself is an excellent specimen of his
class, a country laird in these semi-savage regions,
partly polished by a little friction with the court,
but preserving the frank blunt manners of the soldier
and the simple habits of the villager. He is a sharp,
keen-eyed little man, without . the most distant ap
proach to affectation either in voice, phrase, or man
ner. He had just issued from his castellated man
sion as I arrived a little after day-break, and was
dressed in plain " Hoddin-grey," — " wrought by no
hands, as ye may guess," but those of Mrs. Allee
Asker and her handmaids. The introduction was
an easy affair, and then he called for a horse-cloth,
which being thrown down upon the top of a great
bank of earth near the gateway, we all sat down
and talked away until the sun became hot enough
to drive us in-doors.
The young Khan, who does the honours in his

A MOUNTAIN FORTRESS. 1.53
father's absence, while entertaining me with an
account of his hunting excursions, and describ
ing his adventures in the mountains, mentioned
bis having fallen in with a singular fort, or rather
an ancient city, on the top of one of them ; and his
account of it so strongly stimulated my curiosity, that
I was seized with a great desire to visit it myself. This
desire was a little abated upon his pointing out the
hill on which the ruins were situated — it looked so
desperately high and steep as considerably to cool
my courage. On the morrow, however, having rid
den with the young man to see the hunting ground
near it and look for game, I took heart of grace,
and thinking it would be a mighty shame to know
of such a place existing in the neighbourhood, with
two days' leisure upon my hands, and not to make
an effort to see it, I boldly told the Khan, that if
he would provide me a guide, I would attempt the
adventure, and try to scale the mountain. Shaggy,
indeed, it looked, and abrupt and precipitous as the
hand of time, acting on sheer bare rock, could make
it : road, or path, or vantage-ground, for ascent, I
could discover none — no more than on the face of
our own " Raven-rock," or rock of " Rebeg ;" but
the Khan had more than once been at the top, and
the Shikarchees, or hunters, maintained that there
was a tolerably practicable track, so I had no excuse,
and the next morning was fixed for the undertaking.
We saw no game this day — that is, nothing of
what the natives dignify with the name of hill-
game ; namely, the wild mountain sheep and goats.
The male of the former is a noble animal, with a
curly neck and mane that would become a lion, and

154 GAME.
prodigious curling horns : the latter has immense
horns curving backwards. Antelopes occasionally
visit the hills, though they rather affect the plains;
tigers and leopards are not uncommon ; wolves
and hyenas, of course, abound ; and of birds there
are the red-legged partridge, called here the kebk,
and a smaller sort called teehoo, which run like very
devils. In the plains, besides antelopes, there are
plenty of the goor-khur, or wild ass ; wild hogs and
hares ; ahoobarehs, or bustards, &c. &c. Although
we were unlucky ourselves to-day, yet two hunters,
who had been sent out early to drive the game our
way, if they could, were more fortunate, for they
shot a wild sheep just above the ravine in which we
were, and almost within our sight. — But to my ad
venture. Early next morning I prepared for the escalade
by divesting myself of all heavy clothes, retaining
only a thin pair of drawers and an equally light
kabba, or cotton gown, the skirts of which were
tucked up into the slight shawl that bound my
waist ; so that I somewhat resembled a washer
woman, or a matron preparing to encounter a dirty
lane, with her gown-tail drawn through her pocket-
holes. In this guise I rode to the foot of the hill,
which I reached a very little after sunrise. Very
grim and stern, indeed, it looked, as you shall see,
if it please God to spare me until I finish a drawing
from the sketch I made : less than three thousand feet
of sheer and almost perpendicular height it could
not be, and if I said four thousand I might be nearer
the truth — a serious subject of essay for a gentleman
of a certain age, which need not be particularized.

A MOUNTAIN ASCENT. 155
But I felt confident and in good spirits ; so dis
mounting at the foot of the hill, and giving my rifle
to one guide and my spying-glass to another, off we
went. The first pull was but child's play, along the ridges
and necks of certain tuppehs, or hillocks, formed of
debris from above, which stood like dwarf guards
around the foot of their gigantic parent ; very decent
hills they would have been considered in some coun
tries. They were composed principally of shivered
fragments, scantily covered with the mould into
which these in time resolve themselves, and were
thinly sprinkled with thorny shrubs and aromatic
herbs. Next came the tug ! — and let all your Ben
Nevis's and Ben Lomonds, and Scoorooras, and
Scourna-lapicks, and Scoore-vullians, and every other
unpronounceable Ben and Scoor, hide their diminish
ed heads, and those who have climbed them say no
more about it till they have ridden five thousand
miles to climb the Koh-e-Meyomeid. Talk of a
forty-five degrees ascent ! sixty-five degrees would
scarcely measure the angle of elevation at which
your unhappy friend was forced to breast up this
unblest mountain. And as for road ! a road for a
cat or a panther there certainly was, with free liberty
to choose it where she would; but, assuredly, no
thing except cats and their kind, and the mountain-
goats and sheep, which we saw in abundance about
us, could have been suspected of making their way
where we clomb,—- yet the guides declared to us
that this was the easiest way of ascent !
For the first fifth of the ascent, perhaps, I made
shift with little hand-work to keep my feet; and

156 THE SCRAMBLE.
when I was just pretty ready for a first rest, two
or three mountain-sheep which were observed, saved
me from the dishonourable necessity of calling a
halt, by inducing my guides to squat behind a rock
in order to watch their movements. But I fancy
they had winded us, for they began slowly and ma
jestically to move up the mountain in a rugged
ravine — how I envied them their wind and legs !
Off started one of the Shikarchees in chase, hoping,
by climbing under cover of the ridge on which we
were perched, to head and get a shot at them ; and
on his rejoining us, he declared that he had got
within range/but that, having my rifle, he found,
when he pulled the trigger, it would not go off, and
reason good, it was only on half-cock ! After wait
ing here for near half an hour on we went again,
and then came the cat's work ; hands and feet — not
a step could guide or guided take without the use
of both, and really we had now to make our way
amongst most perilous places. I have not a bad
head among hills, nor had we much of that moun
tain-work which is most alarming, namely, scramb
ling along narrow ledges on the verge of lofty
precipices ; but the rock was so steep, that had
any of us lost footing, we should probably have rolled,
if not been dashed, down a sufficient space to an
nihilate us, and among crags and peaks that would
have rasped us like a cucumber to pieces, as with
a gigantic grater. Often had we to clamber up
the face of high slabs of rock, inclined at a
very small angle from the perpendicular, and under
which extended this pretty sort of mountain file for
about five hundred feet in depth ; and it was for-

THE BEST SHOES FOR IT. 157
tunate that I had put on a sort of shoe used in the
country, the soles of which, being made of cotton
rags, clung to the surface of the rock ; and this also
being as rough as weather could make it, and full of
projections, afforded a tolerably secure footing. But
we had occasionally to take very disagreeable leaps
from one crag to another, where a false step might
have been a last one, and sometimes the rock over
hung us in a most ugly fashion, so that we had to
trust chiefly to our hands to clamber up. Should
any of your friends or acquaintances take a fancy
to such work, I would advise them to eschew all fine
shooting shoes, whether stubbed or iron-bound, of
whatsoever make or fabric, and use what is used
in the country, namely, the charuk, (a sort of raw
leather sandal, much like the old Highland brogue),
or the cotton-soled shoes, here called geeveh, much
worn by muleteers, and such hard-walking persons.
They stick to the stones like wax, and will nei
ther slide nor move except according to orders, —
a quality not inherent in those of English fabric.
They have but one defect, and that arises from the
upper part of the shoe being formed of woven cotton,
and therefore easily penetrated by any pointed sub
stance. Now as the greater part of the herbage on
these hills consists of thorny shrubs of most diabo
lical acuteness, you may imagine the condition of
my poor feet and toes before we were half way up.
Well ; we continued climbing in this way, and rest
ing very duly every two or three hundred yards, or
sometimes oftener, according to the severity of the
pull, until, perfectly winded, we reached a point near
which I had been told we should find a delicious

158 THE LAST TUG.
cold spring of water, where we might drink and
breakfast. From this place we could see the spot
where we had left our horses nearly three hours
before, just as it seemed under our feet. I verily
believe a stone let loose would have gone smack in
amongst them ; and the top of the mountain was
right above our heads. The guide now proposed
that we should make for the spring, but I was not
a little indignant at finding he had carried us full
two hundred yards too high ; and as two hundred
yards of such a cat's-ladder, in addition to what we
had already mounted, was no joke, and I had begun
to have a few twinges of cramp about the knees
and thighs, I signified to the guide that he and the
spring might go to the deuce together if he liked,
for that I would not descend a step towards it ; on
the contrary, in the energy of my indignation, up I
sprang to gain the summit. Luckily for me I had
always accustomed myself to refrain from drinking
on such expeditions, so that, notwithstanding exhaust
tion by perspiration, my thirst was not excessive,
and they told me we should certainly find either
snow or water on the top — the villains !— so on I
went, and brought up, panting, on the summit, just
four hours after starting. Of these about one and
a half were probably expended in halts for breath,
or in looking at game, so that it was exactly two
and a half hours of hard work to reach the top.
Here we rested : I opened my bosom to the de
licious breeze, and sat down to contemplate the
vast scene which now presented itself as a reward for
our toils. To the west lay the country I had quitted,
and our last four-and-fbrty mile stage seemed di-

AN EXTENSIVE VIEW. 159
minished in appearance to scarcely ten, across the
brown expanse of desert. Extensive regions vanish
ing in distance stretched out on the north and east,
those districts which are now rendered the abode of
anxiety and fear by the Toorkoman inroads. No
living thing was seen, nor sign of life ; two or three
darker spots marked the sites of villages which,
intrenched within these walls, islanded the waste ;
but all was bare, brown, arid, save to the south, where
a prodigious tract of country, riven into millions of
small low hillocks and ravines, all utterly unfit for
the abode of man, was bounded by the shining white
surface of the yet more hopeless Kuveer, or Salt
Desert. Through one portion of this waste our
future route was visible, winding like a snake to
the east until lost in haze and distance. Altogether,
it was an imposing but yet a depressing spectacle,
and I rather gladly turned from it to view through
my glass the herds of mountain sheep and goats,
that, warned by their sense of smell, were making off
from our vicinity, at more or less speed, to places
where instinct told them they might be secure ; there
they would stand still upon some point or slab of
rock, resembling it so nearly in colour as scarcely to
be distinguishable without the glass.
After a sufficient rest, I turned my attention to
the very singular place we had reached. The top
of the mountain consisted of a narrow ridge, with
three principal risings of greater breadth : two of
these, the easternmost, had been crowned by forts,
the stone walls of which were not only visible, but
in some places remained still ten feet high. Of
these, the westernmost embraced an area of fifty to

160 THE FORTRESS.
sixty yards square, the interior of which had been
occupied by a number of small houses or chambers,
now all in total ruin. A round water tank, built of
stone, and plastered inside, about ten feet in dia
meter, and half filled with rubbish, had at one time,
no doubt, afforded water to the inhabitants. The
easternmost and principal fort was about seventy
yards by sixty in area ; I speak roughly, for the
ground was too uneven to be paced. Its walls were
about five feet thick, and the interior appeared to
have been principally occupied by a building, or
series of buildings, consisting of seven chambers forty
feet long by about fourteen broad : around these, be
tween them and the walls, there was a space of some
fifty feet, which on the south-east appears to have
been vacant, but on the north-west was filled with
smaller apartments of twenty feet by eight or ten,
all now quite ruinous. Here, too, was the principal-
tank, constructed of stone and cement, and arched
with burnt bricks, about twenty feet long by ten
broad, and having still a depth of twelve feet, clear
of rubbish. The entrance to this fort was by a gate in the
stone wall, arched with burnt bricks, and about
eight feet high under the centre of the arch. The
bricks are formed of the scanty soil of the hill, which
is partly calcareous and partly argillaceous, and were
burned, no doubt, with the weeds and furze which it
produces. They are quite square, by one and a
half thick, and the kiln in which they were burned
is still visible, though I did not go to look at it.
These two forts, which may be from five to six
hundred yards asunder, have been joined by two

NARINGE KALLAH. 161
walls embracing the neck or ridge of the hill, in
closing a space which in some places is not above
twenty yards broad, and in no part above sixty, but
which appears to have been studded thickly with
buildings, all small, like those in the western fort.
The walls in some places are not more than two
and a half to three feet in thickness, in others have
been founded upon the huge rocks of the mountain
itself, and there have been of greater size ; the mason
work is far from good, and the cement throughout
of clay. No dressed stone is to be seen. I cannot
find that either money or antiques have been found
here, but there is plenty of broken pottery strewed
about ; and arrow heads of large size, both of iron
and brass, have been picked up, much like those
now in use among the Toorkomans. Outside of the
walls may be seen the vestiges of what seem to have
been graves, formed much in the present Mahometan
fashion with headstones, but very rude. I think
this is all that can be said about this place, which is
chiefly curious from its situation :
" The thing we see is neither rich nor rare,
But wonder how the devil it got there ! "
That the ruins are of ancient date is not to be
doubted ; but to determine to what period its origin
or existence should be assigned, is probably impos
sible. In this dry climate stones remain for cen
turies unchanged in external appearance, yet the
stones of these buildings that have fallen are co
vered with yellow and grey lichens. Perhaps it is
from the colour of the former, that people have
given it the name of " Naringe kallah" or the
Orange fort ; and as mighty few persons, except
VOL. II. M

162 SPECULATIONS.
sportsmen, ever think of coming here, the ruin is
assuredly attributable to the hand of time and not
of man, unless indeed it may have been effected at
once by the act of an enemy. I should myself be
disposed to refer the building to some very distant
period, when the wars between Iraun and Tooraun
were carried on upon a greater scale than now, and
when consequently the necessity of remote and in
accessible retreats was greater than now. Every
practicable pass and point were defended by a kind
of stone bulwark, and several boorjes, or look-out
towers, are still visible. The graves alone might be
thought to point to a later era, for they seem to be
Mahomedan, and the Ghebres did not bury their
dead in that fashion ; but the place may have ex
isted previous to the Mahomedan era, and have after
wards been inhabited by Mussulmauns. They say
that there are, in another part of the mountain,
vestiges of an artificially fabricated and paved road,
by which cattle are supposed to have ascended. I
did not see it, and if any such exist it must be
upon a part of the mountain very different in cha
racter from any I saw.
But let this old place have been what it may, I
dare say you have had enough of it ; and perhaps
you may have some curiosity to know how I de
scended from my altitudes. It was with much toil
and difficulty, I assure you. The guides promised to
take me down by an easier way ; but whether it was
that their ideas of ease and mine differed essentially,
or that they wandered from their intended path in
pursuit of game, I know not ; but the issue was, that
a more tremendous and diabolical route, to be prac-

THE DESCENT. 163
ticable at all, could scarcely have been picked out.
We slid down great slabs of stone, on the debris of
which at their foot we rumbled and tumbled along
with the small stones, grasping at rocks and thorn
bushes in our too rapid descent, and bruising ankles
and shins, not to talk of danger to necks. Then we
came to a gorge, the bed of a torrent in the time of
melting snows, but now a succession of falls and pre
cipices, down which we had to swing ourselves from
ledge to ledge. At one or two points it was so bad
that the guide had to undo his girdle and tie it
round my waist to let me down the precipice to
reach safe footing. You may form some conception
of the severity of this descent when I tell you that
we were three hours and a half in effecting it,
besides the time spent in rests. When I reached
the bottom, my feet were so sore that I could
scarcely bear stepping on the gravel, and my knees
and thighs felt as if they had been well beaten with
sticks. I had strong symptoms and apprehensions
at one time of getting cramped ; but, thanks be to
Heaven ! that kept off, and I reached the horses
with no evil greater than a pretty good fag. Re
turning home, I lay down for a couple of hours, and,
after bathing my feet and getting the thorns picked
out, could have gone fifteen or sixteen miles upon
even ground well enough, had need been. I think
all this is pretty well for that same gentleman of a
certain age aforesaid, who, however broken into rid
ing, has certainly of late been not much in the habit
of walking. This day I dedicate to repose and to
writing down what I have seen and heard. To
morrow, I trust, we are to be off; for though well
M 2

164 DIVISION OF WATER.
pleased with this place, which is like a jewel in a
toad's head, I cannot afford to throw time away.
Reports are nearly as rife here as they were at
Tehran about the movements in Khorasan. They
say the Kaymookam has come to Subzawar, and
is not to move for several days. A courier, too, from
Tehran brings intelligence that the King has recom
mended the Prince not to quit the province until all
is safe. It is said that Nujjuff-allee, Khan of Booj-
nud, is yaghee (rebellious), and that the Kaymook
am has sent two regiments to that quarter to watch
his movements. I weary of these rumours, and long
to get at facts.
I was amused to-day with seeing the way they
have of measuring out the water of the little stream
to its different owners. It is divided into wu%uns,
or measures, which are the property of individuals,
and as such may be bought and sold. These are
meted out by time, but having no clocks or watches,
they use a brass vessel with a hole in the bottom,
which, being placed floating on a pool in the stream,
fills gradually in a certain time, and then sinks.
The water is permitted to run to each man's field
during the filling of this basin for a certain number
of times, corresponding with his property in it ; and
this measures the extent of his cultivation.
Did I tell you that most of the milk here is that
of sheep and goats, and principally from the former ?
Each sheep gives about three and a half pounds, or
about three quarters of a Scotch pint of milk per
day. The cows give from twenty to forty pounds
daily. It was a custom in Scotland many years
ago to spoil the ewes' inilk with salt : that is not

ENCOURAGEMENT TO ZEAL. 165
done here; it is used fresh and sweet, or is con
verted without adulteration into butter and curds.
The Khan's son gave me many additional traits
of the mad misrule of Ismael Meerza of Bostam. It
is wonderful that these Kajars are not swept from
the country by one indignant burst of its inhabit
ants. So far from encouraging zeal by praise or
reward, it is those who exert themselves most who
are surest to be losers by their services. It is not
long since the Khan's son here, whose father nomi
nally commands a large body of men, but who, as I
have already observed, receives neither pay nor allow
ances for this duty, hearing that a certain number
of Tekeh Toorkomans had come from the desert
on a plundering party, and taken the way to a vil
lage called Bearjumund, mounted with such horse
men as he could muster, and coming up with them,
managed to put four of them to death, and capture
five or six horses, among which were some fine
mares. The heads of the Toorkomans were sent to
the Shahzadeh, but so far was this from satisfying
him that, instead of reward for the exploit, he de
manded all the horses and accoutrements, even to
the whips of the riders. This demand was resisted
for a while, but at length complied with ; and then
he sent an order to deliver up the swords of those
who had been killed. " Why," said the young
Khan, " should I expose my own life and that of
those about me, and their property also, in a service
where there is neither profit nor thanks?" Now
there may possibly be some exaggeration or misre
presentation in this and many similar stories which
he told me ; but when the same sort of thing is

166 ATTEMPTED THEFT.
heard from all quarters we are compelled to believe
that there must be truth at the bottom of it ; and
there is scarce a Shahzadeh in Persia of whom simi
lar complaints are not made.
24th May. — The Khan has returned. No hope,
I fear, of toffunchees, but he has promised to do
his best, and, in case of failure, to gather a few
horsemen, and attend us himself to Abbassabad.
Strange people these ! Simple though they be, they
are too much in the world to have avoided the vices
of their neighbours, and occasional breaches of the
eighth and tenth commandments. In coming down
the mountain the other day, I missed my spying-
glass, and as I had not carried it myself for any part
of the day, there was no doubt it had been lost or
concealed by one of my guides. They denied it,
and insisted that I had left it on the top of the
mountain, where we breakfasted. This I knew
could not be, as I had only twice made use of it on
the hill, and reminded one of the hunters of his hav
ing taken it out to examine a distant herd of moun
tain sheep after we had got some distance down
wards. They persisted however, and this morning
brought me the glass which they pretended, to have
found on the spot they had indicated, and brought
with them some shells of the eggs I had been eating
there as a token. I knew it to be a falsehood, but
the glass was recovered, and I pushed the thing no
further, as I was certain that it was not for them
selves the shikarchees had attempted the theft.

167

LETTER VI.
Leave Meyomeid. — Magnificent Chinar. — Halt of a caravan
for prayer. — The march. — An alarm. — Abbassabad. —
Hajee Agha  Muzeenoon  The Prince's camp. — Maho
med Meerza  Audience with him  The Kaymookam. —
Interview with him. — Sore eyes and no eyes. — A sad
story. — Subzawar. — Arkoun Meerza. Subzawar, 28th May.
Another of my old stages, some one hundred
and fifty miles to the eastward of my last date.
The fears or predictions of the Khan were correct.
He could get no toffunchees. He swears that the
prince will not give one farthing for their outfit,
and that without it not a man will move ; yet the
whole corps of near two thousand men, called the
Irak Ajemees, under command of Furij Oolla Khan
Arab and Allee Asker Khan, have been ordered
to Khorasan, and are expected there to reinforce
the troops. What government can prosper under
such management, what enterprise succeed, exposed
to such thwarting disappointments ? Perhaps mat
ters may have been a little exaggerated by the Khan
to increase the value of the aid which he ultimately
afforded me, for it is scarcely possible that in such
a village as this he should not be able to muster
twenty toffunchees.
About one o'clock, p.m. of the 24th, he sent to
me to say that he meant to see us to Abbassabad

168 A CHANGE OF SCENE.
himself, and that we should start, if I pleased, im
mediately ; but that, in order to avoid the heat of
the day, it would be better not to move till just
before sun-down, when we might mount, and pro
ceed to a spot about eight miles distant, called
the Dehineh Zeyder, and there await his coming.
As for him, he meant to sleep a couple of hours
longer, say his prayers, eat his dinner, and join
us at the aforesaid place. It was not exactly the
spot which I should have chosen for a halt, as the
Cheshmah-e-Zeyder, just above, is one of the most
notorious places of rendezvous and ambuscade for
the Toorkomans upon the road. But the Khan
guaranteed our safety until he should come up, so
we gave notice to the zowdrs, or pilgrims, who had
come from Shahrood, and wished to avail themselves
of our convoy, examined our arms and accoutre
ments, and, having loaded our cattle, started from
Meyomeid about half-past five in the evening.
At one fursuck, or four miles on, we halted for
a while at a spot well known to me and to you
too, — for it is that portrayed in a certain drawing
of the " Evening Halt of the Caravan," and marked
by a single magnificent plane-tree, and an old tower,
the ruin of a mill. On my former journey I had
been attracted by the singularity of its lonely situ
ation ; it was at that time the solitary inhabitant of
a vast desert. The scene had undergone a change
since then ; a fortified village had been built on
the little stream, some hundred yards below ; a few
gardens of apricot and apple-trees and vines had
been planted, and willows and mulberry-trees were
growing on its banks. Cultivation was green still

A NOBLE TREE. 169
lower in the plain, and the place altogether wore a
less desert aspect than when I saw it before, in the
dead of winter. But my old friend the sycamore
was unchanged ; there he stood in his beauty, ex
panded into a world of foliage, the privileged wit
ness of the many revolutions which time, or the
capricious hand of man, had effected around him ;'
for, thank Heaven ! no sacrilegious touch has as yet
dared to mutilate his honours. You know my de
light in fine trees, and I cannot well express to you
the feeling which the sight of so splendid a gem
of the vegetable world, left alone as it were in the
wilderness, and marking it with one green spot of
beauty, produced on my mind, combined with the
tide of old recollections that memory conjured up.
I greeted it really and truly as an old friend ; went
and viewed it from the place from whence I first
sketched it, and thought I could still distinguish the
very spot of earth and identical tuft of furze on
which I sat to do so. I even pleased myself with
a fanciful conviction of reciprocity on its part as I
sat at a little distance, and took my dinner in the
shadow which it cast.
But really I am getting prosy ; so I must leave
my favourite tree, merely stating, that I measured
its girth, and estimated its height by that of a man
standing beside it. It is just nineteen feet in girth
at about five feet from the ground, and about ninety
feet in height. Allowing for difference of character
in foliage, it resembles not a little our big ash-tree at
Rebeg. Its age is unknown ; but, no doubt, it dates
from the era of Shah Abbas, the planter of most of
the fine chinars in Persia.

170 THE EVENING HALT.
From this place, now named Ibrahimabad, we pro
ceeded to the Dehineh Zeyder, which is a gorge
among inconsiderable hillocks, through which the
water of the fountain makes its way, and is con
ducted to Ibrahimabad. In a little plain, on the
further side of this rill, we found the pilgrims halted
for evening prayer. The halt of a caravan for this
purpose is always an impressive sight — peculiarly
Asiatic. It was a glorious evening. The heat of a
most oppressive day was now tempered by a fresher
air. The western sky was glowing with orange,
and amber-tinted clouds were sailing here and there
over the pure blue above. The camels and mules
and other beasts of burthen were straying at will
over the little valley, cropping the scanty .herbage,
while their owners and drivers, in groups of threes
and fours, were prostrated in prayer in all the more
open spots, or stood or sat in the contemplative
attitudes which the forms of their service prescribe*
Even the kajawahs, or camel-baskets for passengers*
poured out their female tenants, who, in their dark
blue veils and white roo-bunds* were performing
the duties of the Numdz. The horsemen and ser
vants were leading the riding-horses about, their
arms ever and anon glancing in the declining light,
awaiting their turn for performing the evening de
votion. The deep intonations of " Allah-ho-Akber !"
and " La-illah-il-ullah !" resounded at times through
the calm air, above the low murmuring of the other
prayers, the tinkling of camel and mule bells, the
* Covering of the face ; the blue veil, or chadder, is a sort of
mantle that envelopes the whole person.

DANGEROUS TRACT. 171
roaring of the camels, and the frequent neighing of
horses. Evening closed in as we resumed our way. The
orange-tinted sky took its dying tone of green ; and
before the cavalcade was all in motion, the stars
were gleaming through the grey vault above our
heads. It had been arranged that we should wait
here for the Khan ; but prayers were over, and he
came not, and the caravan, getting uneasy at its
exposed position, would wait no longer. So on we
went irregularly enough for a while, no one taking
a lead, but the horsemen spurring on in front,
or cantering to the right and left to the tops of
hillocks to reconnoitre. The country for the next
sixteen miles is one continuous maze of heights
and hollows, through which the road Winds, afford
ing every possible facility for ambuscade and sur
prise, and it is, therefore, a tract of special dread
and danger. Seeing, therefore, so little of plan or
order, and sensible that our numbers, as things were,
only tended to increase confusion and danger in case
of attack, I kept my party together about the mid
dle of the caravan, the mules and horsemen being
in front, and the camels, with their drivers, in our
rear; so that, in case of either extremity of the line
being attacked, I might have time to prepare for
fighting or for flight.
During the ensuing hour and a half several false
alarms were given, which had no other effect but
to make the foremost of the cavalcade proceed with
greater rapidity, thus weakening our line, which, by
being kept together, would have been more strong.
At length a real alarm occurred ; one of my people

172 ALARM AND CONFUSION.
riding out to the left, along with another person,
observed three or four horsemen upon a little height,
who soon disappeared. The news spread in a mo
ment, and the caravan sent forth a buzz of alarm.
Other horsemen then dashed forth, and another
of my people, in whom I had more confidence,
having ridden out a little further in the same di
rection, returned with an account he had seen ten
or twelve horsemen, which he believed to be but the
advanced guard of a larger body. This confirmation
of the presence of an enemy served but to complete
the confusion of the caravan. All, as by one con^
sent, halted where they were, just in a little hollow
surrounded by hillocks, none of which were well
calculated for a place of retreat ; and every one
came forward with counsel and advice. One was
for proceeding as rapidly as possible, in order to gain
a plain which was still ten miles off, but where
surprise was less likely. Others were for remaining
where we were, closing, and awaiting the first shock
upon our ground. Others again proposed placing
the armed men in front and flanks, and proceeding
slowly in a body. I was myself for waiting where
We were until the Khan should come up, and in
this opinion I was joined by the most experienced of
the party.
All this while there was a noise kept up, which,
had it not itself been so expressive of alarm, might
have frightened the fathers of all the Toorkomans of
the Attock. Some roared, others hallooed, others
remonstrated against so much noise in a tone still
louder than those whom they rebuked; and ever
and anon might be heard the half-stifled sobs and

PREPARATION FOR A DEFENCE. 173
cries of the poor terror-stricken women, who ex
pected nothing less than death. Meantime, though
the reports which came in left no doubt that there
were horsemen on our flank who could not be
friends, no absolute attack was yet made, and by
degrees the caravan assumed a better attitude of
defence. The mules and loaded horses stood still
and closed up, with some armed horsemen about
them ; the camels were caused to kneel down, so
as to form a breastwork to fire over, and behind
them stood their drivers and riders, all armed men,
who, with their toffungs or muskets prepared, held
themselves ready to give a volley when the Toork
omans should appear. I and my party, with some
other horsemen, guns in hand, took post behind
those to watch where the shock should light, and
there to give assistance. And thus matters con
tinued for some time, the noise subsiding gradually
into a tolerably orderly silence, interrupted only by
conjectures regarding the appearance and numbers
of our expected assailants.
But these, it appeared after a while, did not mean
to make their attack in front ; they kept about five
or six hundred yards to our left, in a line parallel to
that of our course, and I myself saw to the number,
perhaps, of eight or nine, moving along the crest
of a little hillock between us and the rising moon.
It was then surmised, that, distrusting their own
strength, or ignorant of ours, they had gone on to
head us at a pass not far off; and I suggested the
expediency of continuing the halt until the Khan's
arrival should give us not only strength, but a leader
of experience to confide in ; yet the alternative of

174 IMPROVED ARRANGEMENTS.
proceeding was adopted, with such precautions as
could be taken to guard against surprise.
On, therefore, we went — but this time better order
was preserved — fear is a powerful enforcer of dis
cipline : the horsemen, with guns, of whom there
might be fifteen or twenty, being in advance and in
the rear, and the toffunchees (chiefly camel-men, of
whom there were forty,) proceeding on our left with
matches lighted and all prepared for action. You may
think this rather a strong body to show fight with,
but I am satisfied that if ten resolute and practised
horsemen had come boldly on at first, they might
have scattered and dispersed the whole cafilah, and
helped themselves as they chose. We proceeded
thus disposed, jealously scanning every hill and
valley, sending horsemen a-head to each little pass,
and often mistaking the bushes on the heights, as
they loomed large in the moonlight, for Toorkoman
caps and riders. But the frequent pauses which we
made to close up from the rear, the silence pre
served, the sober steady pace of the toffunchees,
with their lighted matches glancing in the darkness,
and the frequent coming and going of the horsemen
scouts, denoted the wholesomeness of the lesson that
had been given, and afforded some hopes of an
available resistance in case of attack.
The proof of this improved state of things ap
peared on the next alarm. Our scouts came in,
declaring that a body of horsemen were now cer
tainly coming on our rear ; the caravan halted im
mediately, and formed with far less confusion than
formerly ; the kneeling camels once more afforded a
good breastwork across the road, behind which stood

THE KHAN'S ARRIVAL. 175
the toffunchees all in readiness, and the horsemen
took post on either flank. Fortunately, this time,
the alarm was converted into an occasion of gladness,
for the horsemen sent forward to reconnoitre came
galloping back to report that it was our friend the
Khan, who had just come up with a party of twelve
or fifteen stout and well-armed men. This news,
however, did not satisfy some heroes of our party,
who, to show off their courage, thought fit to fire
their muskets in the direction of the new comers, —
no doubt, with intent to show how they would have
burned their fathers, had they been Toorkomans.
The rest of this long and weary march passed off
without further alarm. The Khan sent some horse
men a-head, and kept with the rest in rear till we
reached the plain of Mian-dusht, where there was,
at least, no chance of ambuscades. The enemy,
whoever they were,* discovered, probably, that we
were too strong to be attacked with success, for we
saw no more of them ; and it was supposed that
they belonged to a party of from fifteen to twenty
Toorkomans, who were known to have been lurking
in the country, and who had probably been at the
Chushmah-e-Zeyder, from whence they had followed
the caravan in hope of cutting off stragglers. We
passed through the Dehineh Alhak, also a notorious
Toorkoman resort, just as the sun was getting hot,
and next morning were scorched almost to a cinder
by nine o'clock, when weary with sleeplessness and
heat we reached Abbassabad.
* We afterwards heard that they were a party of twenty Toor
komans, who, deeming themselves too weak to attack us, left u&
to go and plunder a village some ton or fifteen miles distant, in
which they were successful.

176 ABBASSABAD.
As we. approached the village, we were assailed by
old and young, who came open-mouthed to offer us
accommodations. It put me in mind of the crowd
of waiters, who, in some places, pour down from the
various hotels to secure the passengers of some
newly-arrived steamer. I found, too, that whether
from alterations in the state of the country, or from
some better understanding with their former enemies
the Toorkomans, the condition of my old friends at
Abbassabad had rather improved since my last visit
twelve years ago. They could now boast of two or
three gardens instead of their one fig-tree, and there
was a little corn growing just below the village ; and
though the place looked dreary and desolate enough,
its aspect was not quite so forlorn and hopeless as
formerly. It was not so with the fine caravanserai.
In addition to the slow dilapidations of time it had
suffered severely from the shock of an earthquake,
and much of it was assuming a ruinous appearance,
very different from the comfortable condition in
which I remembered it.
In one of the upper chambers of the gateway we
found Hajee Aga Allee Asker, a person once of no
small importance in Azerbijan, since for a while he
enjoyed the rank and exercised the power of chief
minister to the late Prince Royal, who, for some
reason or other, displeased with his present premier,
the Kaymookam, degraded him and gave the seals of
office to the Hajee. But the star of the Kaymookam,
or his talents, at length prevailed against his ene
mies, and the Hajee, in his turn, gave way perforce
to his former superior. The Hajee, who had attend
ed his master into Khorasan, had on this occasion

HAJEE AGA. 177
been sent in advance with a division of the Russian
corps of Prince Mahomed Meerza's army, and two
guns, to clear the ground of Toorkomans, for the
passage of the Prince, who now, we learned, was on
his. way to Tehran with his minister Kaymookam :
we have seen that they had for some time been
expected at the capital.
We visited the Hajee, who received me with great
cordiality. He had been for many days at Abbassabad,
he told us, without seeing a soul to speak to, which
to a man fond of society was truly a tolerable pe
nance ; and happy was the honest Hajee to get hold
of any one who could give him a little information
about what was going on in the world. He had always
been on the best terms with the English gentlemen
of the mission, he said, and claimed from us an
account of all that had been going on both at Tehran
and Tabreez, a demand we were very happy to
comply with. It was quite delightful to hear the
devoted affection with which the old Aga spoke of
his late hiaster, and the zeal which he expressed for
his family and their cause ; and, abundant as deceit
and falsehood are in this country, I do believe that
he was sincere. Allee Asker Khan, who had accdm-
panied us to the visit, was complaining of the an
noyances he had suffered for his adherence to the
cause df the Naib-ul-sultunut and his family, and the
difficulty of his position under Ismael Meerza, who
was so opposed to the Prince's claims. "Khan,"
replied the Hajee, with a mild benevolence of tone
and expression, which kindled into enthusiasm as
he went on—" lam an old man— older and more
broken than you, and less able for service; but I
VOL. II. N

178 FAMILIAR MUSIC.
have served the Naib-ul-sultunut — may God give
rest to his soul ! — long and faithfully. I was with
him at his death, and I saw him buried ; and never
will I abandon the service of his son so long as I can
perform my duty. What matters it if the work be
a little longer or shorter, if we have a trifle more or
less of vexation ? Please God all will be well yet, and
our faces will be white !" He took leave of us with
much kindness, assuring us that his patrols were all
abroad, and that if we only waited till morning no
danger could befall us betwixt that place and Muz-
zinoon. The evening was sultry, and we preferred a horse*
cloth on the earth, outside the fort, with the Khani t
to our close apartment within its walls. While
sitting thus, and listening to some marvellous ad
ventures of our host and companion, (one of which
was an encounter of his with eighty Toorkomans^
with whom he maintained a running fight, and
whom he at last drove off,) the drums and fifes, of
the Russians beat for evening parade. I started, at
the sound, for it was a Scotch quick-step they were
playing, and I cannot express the sensation excited
by the well-known air in so wild and remote a place.
These troops still preserve in the foraging cap a
relique of their former costume, and their features*
and light, sandy hair, would alone have sufficed' to
declare their country and race.
, On the morrow we mounted before sunrise, and
crossed a corner of the Salt Desert to Muzzinoon,
still in company with Allee Askert Khan and his
myrmidons, who, it appeared, had not been moved
to this expedition solely from regard to us; the

MAHOMED MEERZA. 179
Khan being desirous of paying his court to the
young Prince and his minister in their camp at
Muzzinoon. On the way we saw a number of the
Hajee's horsemen on the look-out for Toorkomans
among the tuppehs that bordered the road ; and
breakfasting under a nice little awning of the Khan's,
we pushed forward and reached our ground about
noon. The camp of the Prince and his minister
occupied a small plain near the village of Muzzinoon,
but we passed it by and applied for a lodging to
Mahomed Khan, governor of the place, who accom
modated us to the best of his ability, a matter not
very easy in a small village overrun with military.
., Having learned that it was the Prince's intention to
march westward in the morning, I lost no time
in transmitting my letters to his highness and the
minister ; and the result was an audience in the
evening with the first, and a long interview after
wards with the latter.
Prince Mahomed Meerza, eldest son of the late
Prince Royal, is, as I think I have told you, the
worthiest of all the numerous descendants of Futeh
Allee Shah, particularly in point of morals and
private character. He is religious and conscientious
in the discharge of his duties, unstained by many
of the grosser Persian vices, and disposed to justice
and good government. In talent, his claims may
not .be very high ; but there are few of his family,
now living, who much surpass him in natural
abilities, while in ¦ military affairs he bids fair for
competence at .least. Take him for all in all, as
a Prince and a Kajar, he is a rarity in Persia ;
and it is devoutly to be hoped that the King may
N 2

180 THE PRINCE'S APPEARANCE, MANNER,
confirm the expectations already entertained" by ap
pointing Mahomed Meerza to be his successor in
the throne.*
In appearance the Prince has less to recommend
him than many others of his very handsome race.
He is stout — rather too much so ; his features ap
proaching coarseness, but well provided with that
marking family attribute, the beard. He speaks
thick, and, as one might be apt to think, some
what affectedly ; but his tone is pleasant, and / at
least found him gracious and smiling in his manner,
void of all that blustering assumption of greatness
which is so offensive in many of the royal family.
I believe, indeed, it is the Prince's nature to be
gracious; but at this particular time it was his
interest to conciliate the English; and though I
carefully avoided and disclaimed all pretensions to
an official character, his knowledge that I had
brought out despatches to the Envoy, and was soon
to return to England, rendered him naturally de
sirous to show me favour. Receiving me at all,
indeed, under all circumstances, after a fatiguing
march, with the business of the succeeding day to
arrange, and a march of twenty-eight miles in
prospect for the morning, was a strong proof of
his good will. The audience was unusually long,
although, as the Prince entered on no topics of
business, the subjects of interest were limited ; and,
in fact, his rapid manner of utterance rendered it
rather difficult for a stranger to follow him ; and I
was more than once forced to put his highness to
the trouble of repeating his words.
* This, it is well known, his majesty did soon after the period
in question.

AND CONVERSATION. 181
He inquired much about the members both of
the late and of the present administration in Eng
land, particularly about the Duke of Wellington,
and what he was doing ; of the powers of Europe,
how they stood with each other ; of the war in
Portugal and Spain. He praised the province of
Khorasan ; entered into a sort of discussion regard
ing its superiority to Azerbijan and Irak, which I
rather questioned ; and in short he did what a
prince so placed might do to support a conversa
tion which paucity of subject on the one hand,
and deference, combined with a lack of facility in
expression on the other, tended to render heavy.
At last, darkness having closed in, the hour of
prayer came to his relief, and he dismissed me,
saying, that he must retire to his devotions. He
had very little state ; was plainly dressed ; seated in
as plain a tent ; surrounded, as is the custom with
all of the royal family, with red serperdahs, or
screens, that had evidently seen no small length
of service. When I entered, he was writing ; and
on one side lay an English writing-case of Russian
leather; on the other was a book, I believe, the
Koraun. From the Prince's tent I went to that of his
minister, the Kaymookam, a very different cha
racter. Meerza Abool-Caussim, son of the late
Meerza Buzoorg, and prime minister to Abbas
Meerza, one of the most eminent nobles of the
kingdom, is a person whose heavy, gross-looking ap
pearance gives small promise of talent ; nor does the
talent which he does really possess beam forth in
his peculiar, prominent, yet half-closed eye; for
he is so short-sighted that he cannot read a letter

182 THE KAYMOOKAM.
unless it touches his nose, nor can he distinguish
one person from another at two . yards' distance.
But, according to general report, it is no less a fact
that his wits are as acute as his sight is indifferent ;
and though the abilities of his father were allowed
to be first-rate, they are said to be surpassed by
those of the son. After the Arneen-u-dowlut, this
minister holds the first rank of any subject in Per
sia, and has purposely been placed by the Shah
in superintendence, under his own son and then
under his grandson, of the rnost important govern
ment and duties in the kingdom. The Kaymoo*
kam is a true Persian diplomatist, acute and wily,
far-looking; but, judging of others by himself, he
not unfrequently over-shoots the mark in finesse,
and finds himself outwitted by the greater simpli
city of another. By the death df his late master
the Prince Royal, and a chain of political events
consequent upon that occasion, he has been placed
(as I have more than once hinted at above) in
circumstances of peculiar difficulty, from which it
is yet to be seen how he will extricate himself.
A knowledge of the state of parties,' arid the general
feeling of men towards his new master and himself
at the court of Tehran, whither he was now pro
ceeding, was therefore of the utmost importance to
him; and as he had reason to believe me acquainted
with these, he was disposed, as you may imagine,
to give me a very favourable reception. The nature
of our conference, under these circumstances, differed
greatly from that which had just taken place with
the Prince ; but as you would not be greatly edified
with the particulars, I shall spare you the detail.

OFFICIAL SIMPLICITY IN PERSIA. 183
The lodging of the minister was in a small ob
long tent, which, in Bengal, they call a routee ;
his large tent having been struck to be sent on
in advance. When I was announced, he came to
the door without ceremony, and pulled me in by
the hand. There was none there but a secretary
or two, and two or three persons like gholaums,
who seemed to be waiting for orders. Nothing can
be more striking to those who have been accustomed
to the imposing details of office in England or in
India, particularly in the latter, than to witness the
simplicity with which business is despatched in the
office or the tent of a Persian minister. In India,
a number of large-sized rooms are seen opening into
each other, all filled with natives or Europeans,
with their noses at their desks, writing away as if
for. dear life, among a most imposing mass of books,
and papers, and official forms. Here, you enter a
court, at the further end of which are several roomSj
the large windows of which open on the area. Be
fore one of these, the least in all probability, you
may see some ten to twelve servants in attendance,
with a number of people who have come upon
business. At the window above sits an old man
wrapped up in a shawl cloak, and his head covered
with a black lamb-skin cap ; before him, seated on
their heels, may be two, or perhaps three secretaries,
either writing, to the minister's dictation, on bits of
paper held in one hand and supported on one knee,
or holding in their hands bundles of papers neatly
done up, which await his hearing and approval.
Around the room, with their backs to the wall,
and upon the numuds or felt carpets which border

184 CONFIRMATION OF. DOCUMENTS.
it, are seated more or fewer persons, arrived on
visits of ceremony or business, each placed accordr
ing to his rank. The minister addresses these occaT
sionally, and at other times listens to his secretaries,
who read letters that have arrived, replies to which
he dictates, or those replies which have been written
in compliance with his orders. These, when ap
proved, are confirmed by receiving his seal, which
he takes from a little bag, generally kept in a side-
pocket under the arm, and tosses to the writer, who
performs the operation at once in his presence — a
far simpler business than the confirmation of an
official document at home.
It would amuse a European statesman to hear
the heterogeneous details, the odds and ends of
business, great and small, that come before a minister
on such occasions ; and all receive more or less
attention too. At one moment an affair of a few
tomauns, the arrears of some poor village, or its
claim for deductions or immunity, comes to be de
bated ; in the next, you may hear the returns of
a whole district or province treated with as little
ceremony. Next may come the despatch of a
gholaum, and the details of how he is to be
mounted and provided for his journey, and then
the arrangement of soorsaut and provision for the
march of a division of the royal army. I have
been more than once myself in the prime minister's
apartment while he was transacting business, and
the hour of prayer arrived. He left his seat,
loosened the sleeves of his dress, laid aside all gold
or silver articles, — and dagger if he had one, —
called for the aftaubeh, or water-ewer, and washed.

PETTY DETAILS. 185
•himself; took out his mohur, or little pat of ker-
belah clay, on which they press their foreheads
when prostrating themselves, and went through his
prayers with all proper emphasis and action. This
process by no means interrupted business ; the secre
taries got out of his way and went on writing, and
he between whiles continued dictating to them, or
cast .his eye over a paper or account which they
handed to him, or listened to the story of some
one whom he beckoned to,1 or called to the window
for that purpose.
The simplicity and absence of show or form in
these matters among the Persians is the more sin
gular, as it seems altogether opposed to their really
uncandid and artificial character, — perhaps it is not
unworthy of imitation. But to return to the Kay
mookam. I was surprised to hear the variety of
petty details with which he suffered himself to be pes
tered. He had given out the order of the morning's
march for the army, which, independent of the
Prince's attendants and his own, consisted of a regi
ment of the Russian guards and six guns, together
with a detachment of horse — and his commands were
as clear as if he had been adjutant-general all his life —
when in came a host of fellows, one telling him that
his yaboo was lame, and that he could get no other ;
a second wanting to know where he was to get
money for corn and straw ; a third wanting camels to
carry a tent ; a fourth a saddle, &c. &c, to all of whom
some reply was given after due consideration of the
case ; and then in came his meerachor, or chief of
the stable, to give an account of his Excellency's
hqrseSj — which was lame, which was galled; which

186 TEAZING TRIFLES.
was in training, which was not ; which were fit for
use, which would be so by and by, and there they
went over the whole of his Excellency's stud. Next
came a whole host of complainants — one had had his
little crop cut for horse-meat by the Prince's gho-
laums, another his horse carried off and himself, well
beaten by some sowars ; a third had his wife and
family insulted, and his own ears threatened. I was
astonished to observe the imperturbable attention,
if not good humour, with which this beset minister
listened to all these interminable details, and could
not help expressing my surprise, that he who had
the business of the state upon his shoulders should
permit himself to be perplexed by the trifling and
teazing annoyances of others, and the petty affairs
of the camp. " Ay, ay," was his only reply, with a
rueful shake of the head ; " these little things are far
more bitter than the big ones."
Just then a complaint was made against one of
the Prince's peish-khidmuts, for cutting some of the
village corn for his horse. The minister sent for
the culprit, a fine dashing youth, and having heard
the case, commanded him to be beaten. This, as /
heard, was done, and the youth was then brought
back to the presence of the minister. On his en
trance, the great man, who had been holding forth
about the difficulty of keeping folks in order, and
"making them good," turning to me, continued;
" You see I am sometimes forced to break a friend's
head to make them good," glancing his eye to the
sufferer as he made the remark. " Come hither,
Ramazaun Beg," said he then to the youth: he
came and kneeled before the minister, who, taking

GENTLE CASTIGATION. 187
him by the two ears, pulled forwards his face and
gave him two gentle cuffs on the cheeks — I suspect
it was the only beating he gdt,-^-while at the same
time he whispered something low in his ear: he
then drew the youth forward once more, kissed his
neck, and said, " Now go about your business, and
don't do so again." It was just as I have seen a
kind papa do to one of his little boys that had been
naughty, and it was pleasant to see this great man
thus exercising a sort of patriarchal right over his
erring charge.
All this sort of work consumed a vast quantity of
time, and there was, besides, a world of letters to
tiwrite, and read, and despatch. It was curious to see
him at the latter work, for although from his short
sightedness he was forced to hold the paper close
to his nose, he moved it across the line of vision,
gathering its contents as it went, with a rapidity
quite astonishing, just as a clever dairy-maid would
skim a dish df cream. At length, however, all was
over, or he thought fit to terminate the scene, for he
sent one person one way, and another another, till
we two alone remained in the tent, when rapidly
turning to me he said, " And now, Fraser Saheb,
I have made a khelwut* for you : what have you got
to say ? — I know you have a great deal to tell me ;
tell it at once." This was to the purpose, at least ;
and so without any further ceremony I complied,
and we conversed for a long time.
When we had concluded he ordered dinner, which,
however, did not come for a good while, and in the
mean time we had a repetition of the same work as
* That is, made the room private.

188 THE MINISTER'S TALENTS.
before. As. for the minister, he excused himself from
eating, saying he was much out of sorts, and had a
great deal to do. So during the time we were satis
fying our appetites-^— and mine was pretty sharp-— his
Excellency employed himself in writing, stretched
out at his length upon the carpet, with his breast
ripon a pillow, and his eyes close to the paper and
to the candle. At length he rose, evidently much
exhausted, and I also got up to retire, observing that
I had trespassed too long on his time, and that he
should go at once to sleep, seeing that he had a
fatiguing march for the morrow. " Sleep !" said. he,
with a languid smile ; " how am I to sleep ? No,
no ; there is no rest for me this night." It was
twelve at night when I left him, they were to march
at four in the morning, and I had to write to Tehran
by a courier, who was to be despatched in advance ;
so I took my leave at once, and quitted the Kay
mookam, satisfied that he was a man of no mean
abilities, but with a suspicion that . he lacks that
most important talent which methodizes business,
separating generals from details — that grasp of mind
which embraces the whole scope of a subject with
out embarrassing itself with particulars, and occu
pies itself with great results, leaving minutiae to
clerks and officials. And yet he seems to. be the man,
as I myself had proof, to cut short both ceremony
and circumlocution when time presses, and come
as directly to the point as any man of business. I ever,
knew. Next day, however, I was prevented from starting
early, as I had intended, by the non-arrival of certain
letters and ruckums which his Excellency had pro-

SORE EYES AND NO EYES. 189
mised to send me for the authorities in Mushed, and*
as they did not reach me till late in the evening,
(he had sent back a horseman express with them,) I
could not march till then. On the whole, the delay
was of use in more ways than one; for not only did
it enable me to refresh rriy horses after their long
march, but to attend to my eyes, which had become so
much inflamed by the heat and dust of the preced
ing day's march, that I doubt if I could have en
dured it to-day, so I kept all day bathitig them with
rose-water. In the afternoon I saw a poor wretch
Who was iri a far worse plight than I was, for he
had no eyes at all. He was one of those unfor
tunate instances of Persian cruelty which were less
frequent in the earlier part of this King's reign than
of later years, since his sons have grown up, and
filled all Persia with the seeds of future mischief.
Koolee Khan, the son of Lootf-Allee Khan, chief of
Komeish, a district between Toorsheez and Sub
zawar, was lord or hereditary governor of three Bal-
looks, each comprehending some eight or ten villages,
and from ten to twelve thousand houses of Eeliauts.
Like all the other nobles of Khorasan, he was fonder,
of his own way than of his lawful master's ; and so,
when Hassan Allee Meerza was governor of Kho
rasan, and his sori Arkoun Meerza his lieutenant at
Subzawar, Koolee Khan intrigued with my old friend
Reza Koolee Khan of Khabooshan and others, to get
possession of Subzawar, and this, notwithstanding
that his sister was one of the young Prince's wives,
and then actually in his harem.
There were other Khans who took part with
Arkoun Meerza, among whom were Ibrahim Khan,

190 BREACH OF FAITH.
of Soffeeabad, and Allee Nukee Khan, of Baum.
After some fighting and much intriguing, the de
tails of which would not greatly interest you,
Koolee Khan was taken, according to his own ac
count, by treachery — that is, inveigled in by false
assurances of pardon and forgiveness — or, as an
adherent of the Prince told me, captured while
pursued by Arkoun Meerza himself. Be that as
it may, he was brought to Subzawar, where he
was thrown into prison, and the Prince threatened
to put him to death. His sister, the Prince's wife,
hearing of this event, interceded for . his life ; and
her request was so strongly supported by the other
women, that the Prince promised to spare his life ;
they never thought of mutilation, and knew not
of the act till too late to petition against it. The
poor man's own story was more painfully particular.
" The Prince and Ibrahim Khan," said he, " had
been drinking together till they knew not what they
did, and I was brought before them from the bourje
(tower) where I had been confined. They had al
ready taken all they could find of my property,
amounting to about four thousand tomauns; and
when I besought them to abandon their intention
of blinding me, or to put me to death at once, the
Prince said, that if I could produce another one
thousand tomauns he would forgive me. My friends
brought money and goods to the amount ; but
Ibrahim Khan, who was rny bitter enemy, would
not hear of my being pardoned, and threatened to
abandon the service of the Prince if he let me go.
So they took me out into the court before the

A BARBAROUS OPERATION. 191
stables, and brought a drunken fellow, who knew
nothing of his business, to cut out my eyes. The
fellow sat down upon my breast, and, taking out a
knife big enough to kill a cow, began to cut my
right eye to pieces, but still he could not get it
out. There are two veins (reg), or sinews, to the
eye, one here and the other here," continued the
poor creature, pointing out the spots he meant in
his eyeless face; " and if these are cut, the eye
will come out almost of itself; but the fellow knew1
nothing about that, and went on mangling me at
a terrible rate. At last they called for another
Furosh ; and in the mean time I got up with my
one eye out, called for a calleeoon and smoked it,
and then held up my left eye to the new fellow,
begging him to give me as little pain as possible.
But he was as bad, or as ill-disposed towards me
as his companion, for the whole affair took up three
hours, and there was I sitting up and smoking, with
the blood running down over rny beard to the skirts
of my garments. After all was done," he went on,
"they took me away, and sent surgeons to me,
who applied something to my wounds. I would
at that time have thanked any man to put me
to death ; but I have changed my mind since, and
am now content to live as long as it pleases God
for me to do so. I have already lived to witness
retribution on most of my enemies, for of twelve
who were most active on that occasion, only one
survives; the rest have all suffered violent deaths.
Ibrahim Khan was taken by Rezakoolee Khan,
and slain by him at Khabooshan ; and Arkoun

192 DISGRACEFUL ROBBERY. '
Meerza got sent to hell by a musket-bullet at Ker-
maun,* while I, a poor blind wretch, still exist.
God is great ! The late Naib-ul-sultunut showed
me favour, and gave me back part of my land and
villages ; but my cousin, Gholaum Allee Khan, is
governor in my room, and will not let me culti
vate myJ ground, so it is of no use to me. Four
out of five of my brothers were caught by Arkoun
Meerza, who put out one of the eyes of each, and
took away all they had, and the fifth, made a
beggar, like myself, escaped. Prince Mahomed
Meerza pitied me, and after inquiring info rny
ease, ordered a yearly pension of fifty tomauns of
money and thirty khurwars of grain to be made
out for me, and he issued a ruckum to that pur
pose; but though I besieged the minister for a long
time, it was only just as he was mounting for the
march this morning that I got it from his secretary.
I could not read it of course, nor get any one else
to do so for me until they were gone ; and now
I find it is only made out for fifteen tomauns and
six khurwars of grain. It is rank robbery no
doubt, but what can I do ?"
The poor man related all this with much energy
and action, and his unhappy plight was calculated
to interest every one in his favour ; but there are
two sides to every story, and I find that Kholee
Khan did, in reality, do much to provoke the Prince,
who was hasty, but fearlessly brave, in a manner
very little calculated to bring matters to a favourable
issue ; and that Arkoun Meerza did no more than
* It tore his thigh in a dreadful manner, and he died of morti
fication after great sufferings.

FATE OF -TURBULENT NOBLES. 193
most, if not every one, of his own family would have
done in his place. The deed, however, alarmed his
adherents, and the first to desert his royal highness
was that very Ibrahim Khan, the instigator of it,
who, thinking himself unsafe, fled from the place.
Next Allee Koolee Khan, another of his highness's
adherents, took fright and went off, and the seces
sions became so numerous that the prince, fearing
to be left alone, shut the gates to prevent further
desertion. In these ways it has come to pass that
the nobles of Khorasan are almost extinct ; but they
have themselves to thank for it, for none of them
were ever content to obey a ruler; all would be
independent, and all great at his neighbour's ex
pense ; and the consequence of this disunion and
treachery to each other has been their fall, one after
another, to any power a little stronger than them
selves individually. The fable of the old man and
the bundle of rods or arrows was never better il
lustrated. The same night, at half-past five, we mounted
and left Muzinoon, and never drew bridle till we
reached this place, Subzawar, at nine o'clock the
next (that is yesterday) morning, having ridden
from fifty-six to sixty miles. Subzawar, unlike
most other cities of Persia, has increased in pros
perity and population since I was here twelve years
ago. This is the consequence of being the residence
of a prince-governor, who, though he may scathe the
country around, brings people and traffic to the town
itself. In visiting the ark, or palace, which had
been built, by, and was the residence of, Arkoun
Meerza, I met with a former servant of that Prince,
VOL. II. o

194 A SERIOUS VEXATION.
who showed me the place and, among other things;
the stable-yard where unhappy Koolee Khan lost
his eyes : all was now in ruins, destroyed after the
place was taken, with the usual mixture of impro
vidence and bad feeling which appear always to actu
ate Eastern conquerors. This man gave a somewhat
different edition of Koolee Khan's conduct and mis
fortunes, and was high in praise of Arkoun Meerza,
not only for his courage and resolution, but for his
wisdom and abilities. He summed up his eulogy
of the Shahzadeh, and his account of the state of
Khorasan, by saying, " They may tell you what
lies they please, sir, but depend upon it, whoever
may come here as an enemy of the Kajars, and
particularly of Mahomed Meerza, will be well re
ceived by all Khorasan ; they hate them all but
Hassan Allee Meerza, and were he to appear they
would follow the hoof-prints of his horse ; but they
are a sad race these Khorasanees — not to be trusted —
always yaghee — always rebellious against him who
has once obtained authority Over them, be he who
he may."
A serious vexation awaited me here. This morn
ing I found my favourite horse dead lame — whether
from mere accident, or from the fault of my jeloo
dar, I know not, but my luck has been small since
he has been my servant. I fear I shall have to leave
him here with the horse, and proceed to Mushed
without him ; a serious inconvenience, but still
better than indefinite delay. These are the vex
ations of travelling, and the larger your suite is the
greater your chance of encountering them.

195

LETTER VII.
Leave Subzawar. — Kahreze-degez. — Abdoolagow.— Pastoral coun
try. — Kallah-Seyedha — Mr. B  . — A Khorasanee borderer.
— Ameerabad. — Ruin of the country — Arrival at Mushed  A
bore. — Sad dilapidation. — Misery. — Toorkoman prisoners. — An
interesting incident — Severe punishments. — Breakfast with the
Minister. — Interview with the Prince. — -Catching a Tartar. —
Old friends. — Mahomed Khan. — Reza Koolee Khan. — Ruin
and misery. — A visit from the Vizier. — A theft. — A boaster. —
An old friend. Mushed, 5th June,
Yes, dear  , I am at Mushed, the scene of
so many difficulties and of so much interest in times
of yore ; so well remembered, so much detested, and
now revisited under circumstances and with feelings
so different ! Here do I sit once more in the hot
bed of Sheah bigotry, but under better auspices than
formerly. I waited another day to see whether my horse
would recover ; but finding he could not put his
foot to the ground, I left him and the rascally je
loodar together, to come on as they best could ; and,
starting at five in the evening, for the weather was
burning hot, made a march of thirty-two miles to
a miserable village, named Kahreze-degez, situated
on the border of a vast plain, which extends up
wards of^one hundred and thirty miles in length,
with a breadth of from ten to thirty. The skirts
o 2

196 AN EXTENSIVE PLAIN.
of the hills on either side were studded with vil
lages, on the banks of little mountain streams ; and
the green spots of their cultivation extended, in
some instances, into the centre of the plain. But
the villages were all forts, and the deficiency of
gardens declared the unsettled state of the country.
This plain forms one part of the rich district of
Nishapore, so famous for its fruits and wine. In
crossing it we saw flocks of deer, and plenty of
other game ; but our sober mode of marching would
not allow us to pursue them. A narrow and sus
picious pass, called that of the Forty Pehlewans,
or champions, admitted us into this spacious plain.
It owes its name to the legend of a desperate fight
between forty champions of Subzawar, who chal
lenged a celebrated hero, named Allee Zengee, but
who were all slain at a particular spot, where their
graves are shown. The men of Subzawar, however,
took their revenge, and fell upon this hero, and slew
him in another pass on the opposite side, where his
grave is also pointed out. This pass we threaded on
the succeeding night ; amost cut-throat looking place
it is, and does not bely its appearance ; for it is the
greatest resort of thieves in the whole country,
especially of a particular tribe of Koords, who in
habit the hilly parts around it.
The accommodations hereabouts were not the
most comfortable; indeed, so poor is the district,
and so much have the inhabitants been harassed by
the military and by plunderers, that necessaries
were scarcely to be had. At Kahreze-degez we look
ed long in vain fdr a lodging, till at lpt an old
woman, taking pity upon me, let me into a sort of

SWALLOWS. 197
hole in the ruins of some old houses, that served her
for parlour, for kitchen, and all. It was the dairy,
too, and the smell from skins of rank butter and
stale butter-milk was scarcely endurable : the eternal
cackle of hens and crowing of cocks was not. So
I was forced to shift my quarters into an old roofless
mosque, which my servants got swept out, and
Spread a numud for me, and in which I had to play
at bo-peep with the sun and change my position
every half hour.
At the next place, Abdoolla-gow, we had another
mosque for a lodging ; but it was roofed, as a thou
sand swallows, which had taken possession before
us, could testify ; and to their loud chatter was
added a species of compliment rather in the Persian
taste, for as we Slept from sheer weariness, our
beards, and even our faces, as well as our clothes,
Were defiled by the impudent little animals, who sent
whole showers of what were not perfumes upon us
below. It was curious, too, that their chattering was
all by fits and starts, or periodical, not continuous.
The whole community, after a ten minutes' vigorous
concert, would rush out as if the mischief drove
them, and, after a like period of absence, would
return with their bills full of mud for their nests ;
but the instant these morsels were properly disposed
of, which happened to all just about the same mo
ment, out they would all burst with a twitter, and
a skirling enough to frighten away sleep from the
eyes of Morpheus himself.
This village of Abdoolla-gow is close to Sultan-
meidaun, a place laid down in my map as lying
behind Subzawar ; and no one, who has only seen

198 ABDOOLLA-GOW.
the arid parts of Fars, and Irak, and Azerbijan,
would or could imagine that there could be so much
verdure and herbage in Persia as is to be seen here.
We entered the district by a narrow but flat-botr
tomed valley, between hills that reminded me of the
pastoral hills in the south of Scotland, arid which
itself consisted of either rich natural meadows or
cultivation. It was a cold but lovely morning ; the
dew glittered on every leaf of grass, and a thousand
pretty flowers were blowing under our feet. As
we entered the broader strath, or what in Scotland
would be called the braes of the country, there was
a bustle of pastoral life as pleasing as it was uncom
mon. Hundreds of cows and horses were scattered
over the meadows, and thousands of sheep were on
the hills ; and the smoke, which arose so thickly,
was not from villages alone, but from parties of
shepherds or workmen, all busy at their morning
labour. A few hours more saw numberless pairs of
ploughs at work ; and men and women, and boys
and girls, were all gaily busy at the sheep-shearing,
the season of which had already commenced.
The people of this village were of the Amarlee
tribe of Koords, which consists, they say, entirely of
thieves. We lost nothing, however, and a little be
fore sunrise pursued our way across the plain, and
down a fine green valley, till we fell into that which
I knew so well of old, which runs from Mushed to
Khabooshan. All was green, and we stopped several
times to refresh our panting horses with the fine
pasture of the meadows. Here, however, in a coun
try by nature so favoured, the effects of war and
disturbance were far more visible. Many of the vii-

KALLAH SEYEDHA. 199
lages were utterly depopulated and in ruins, and for
twenty miles of road together there was not one
that could give us shelter We arrived late, that is,
about five in the afternoon, after a scorching fourteen
hours' ride, at a small fortified village named Kallah
Seyedhd, or the fort of the Seyeds. Here I found a
party of artillery and serbauz encamped, on their
way to Khabooshan, where a force of some three
or four thousand men were assembling to proceed
against Deregez.
The Khan of that place, who, like the rest, is
afflicted with the Khorasanee epidemic of yaghee-
geeree, or rebelliousness, had just evinced symptoms
of one of the periodical returns of his malady, or
rather mania ; and the Prince very properly resolving
to let no such lunatics go at large, ordered this force
a-field to cure, or catch and confine him. I found,
too, that it was to be confided to the charge of Mr.
B  ,a Polish gentleman, with whom, by reputation,
I was well acquainted. On hearing that an English
man had arrived at the village, Mr. B  sent to
learn my name, and then came to see me. It was
some time before he became aware that I was the
person who had formerly visited Khorasan, and had
inflicted on the public an account of his travels,
which he declared himself to have read with much sa
tisfaction. When he did, his compliments and gratu
lations at a rencontre so unexpected and strange,
and, as he was pleased to say, so delightful, knew no
bounds. Well — I asked him to take part of my
traveller's fare, to which he gladly assented, as he
had just Qome chupperee from Mushed, and conse
quently was but poorly provided ; and was desirous,

200 MR. B— .
as well as I, of having a little talk together. And
talk we did most volubly till the night was far
spent. Now, I can imagine your curiosity about this
same B  , and your fancying him something like
our delightful friend S  . But you would be far
wide of the truth — no two men can well be more
different. B  , as he makes no scruple whatever
of declaring, is the natural son of a Polish noble
man of high rank, and from some cause, of which I
am ignorant, was tossed into the world at an early
age to play his part and make his fortune as he
might, very indifferently provided with either means
or friends. The impulse, whatever it was, sent him
flying through almost every country in the world-
America, India, Arabia, Egypt, Persia, he has seen
and travelled through, besides European countries,
picking up a little of the language and a good deal
of fighting, by his own account, in each. He -is,
indeed, a wonderful linguist, knowing French, Ger
man, and English, the latter remarkably well, besides
his own language, and that of Russia and Persia,
Turkish, and the modern Hebrew, now used by the
Jews. He is also a nearly universal genius : a sol
dier and an engineer, he is not only up to drilling
and commanding troops, but is possessed of wonder
ful presence of mind in cases of difficulty or danger ;
can make his own powder, could cast his own guns,
besieges and takes fortified places with surprising
facility, &c. &c. &c. On the other hand, he is hot-
tempered, overbearing, and impetuous, as ready to
quarrel as to fight, either with friend or foe ; a great

MR. B  . 201
intriguer and — , but it is an ungracious thing to
enumerate the failings of a person so highly talented,
and lam apt to believe he affects more hot-headed-
ness and less of prudence than belongs to him ; and
makes these the excuse of errors and ebullitions to
mask a great deal of keen observation and deep
design. At one time, from certain parts of his
demeanour and conduct, suspicions were entertained
that he might be a spy of Russia ; but of this, for
many reasons, I am inclined entirely to acquit him.
At all events, B  is a very clever, well-informed,
and talented fellow — these Poles are all so talented !
and though neither so elegant, nor amiable, nor hand
some, as our accomplished friend, I enjoyed his
society and the evening exceedingly. He fought
over the battles of the " Kuzzilbash" with me, re-
Cognized every spot, and promised me materials
enough to make ten stories. We shall see whether
he perforins his promise.
Among other anecdotes descriptive of the country
and people, he gave me some traits of a man of the
Amarlee tribe, the very people I had lodged with
the night before, which are so characteristic, that I
will give you them just as he told them to me. The
man's name was Beggee, and he had been for some
time in B  's service. Among a tribe and in a
country which teems withr bold and hardy thieves,
he was remarkable for feats of daring and dexterity.
Reza Koolee Khan of Khabooshan, the principal chief
of these parts, and of Beggee's own tribe, had offend
ed this worthy by seizing and beating his uncle,
and he swore to be revenged. Not that he cared a

202 A KHORASANEE BORDERER.
whit for his uncle, but the steam of his thieving
propensities was up, and he wanted some excuse for
letting it off in a manner congenial to his tastes.
The Khan had a particular favourite mare, for
which, as he wanted to breed from her, he had pro
cured a celebrated Toorkoman horse of the Akhal
race, and Beggee could think of no better or more
suitable retribution than to steal these valuable ani
mals. The mode he adopted to put this scheme in
execution, affords about as good a proof as possible
of the man's fearless audacity. The Khan was en
camped at the Tuppeh Kholasseh, near Khabooshan,
with about five thousand horsemen ; and the mare
and horse, both for superior security, and in order to
*be nearer the master's eye, were picketed before his
tent. Yet in this state of things the fellow entered
the camp alone, contrived to loosen head and heel
ropes of both, and mounting the mare rode off, with
the horse following hirn, in the face of the whole
camp. There was a pretty commotion you may
believe, and a number of the horsemen mounting,
pursued the thief with hue and cry on the road to
wards Nishapour. Beggee was sure enough of the
mare, for he knew her speed; but he wanted to
secure the horse also, and this retarded his move
ments so much, that the best-mounted of his pur
suers came up with him. This man he slew as he
approached, and did the same by the second, driving
their horses on before him ; the bulk of the rest were
far behind, but as any one came up, he gave him
battle; so after blowing their horses, and getting
several of the party killed or wounded, they gave up

A DARING EXPLOIT. 203
the chase, and Beggee got his prizes all safe into
Nishapour. Soon afterwards, Reza Koolee Khan took Nisha
pour, and Beggee in it. Resolved to punish his daring
robbery, yet not willing to destroy so clever a fellow,
he compromised the matter by putting out one of
his eyes, and retaining him in his service, which the
fellow, strange as it may seem, entered with alacrity,
for he delighted in troubled times, and Reza Koolee
Khan was now at war with the Prince Royal. To
the Khan, on the other hand, his services were of
the highest value, for there were few on whose cou
rage and activity he could rely so securely.
These qualities were particularly conspicuous at
the siege of Ameerabad, where he was often made
the medium of intelligence between the besieged
and their friends without ; and it became so much
a matter of consequence to the besiegers to catch
him if possible, that they spared no pains for the
purpose. One night, after the place had been com
pletely invested, the tramp of horses' feet was heard
rapidly approaching ; an alarm was instantly spread,
a fire of musquetry was directed towards the quarter
from whence the sound came, and even the guns of
the battery were fired once or twice with grape, in
the belief that a body of Reza Koolee's horse were
approaching. But the night was so dark that no
distant object could be seen, and B  , who had
then a command in the besieging troops, stopped the
firing until they should discover whether there really
were or were not an enemy to fire at.
It was then that a single horseman was seen ra-

204 A DARING EXPLOIT.
pidly threading his way towards the gate of the
invested fortress, shouting out the Koordish war-
ery of Loo-loo-loo- loo ! which caused an immediate
hurrying of the besieged to the bastion walls, and
elicited from them a heavy fire upon the lines ; an
equally heavy and incessant fire was kept up by the
serbauz upon the horseman, who having reached the
crest of the glacis, not ten yards' distant from the
advanced parallel of the besiegers, fell dead, as it
seemed, to the ground. There he lay, but the
strangest thing was, that the horse had disappeared;
yet as the man had fallen close to the ditch, it was
thought possible the animal had tumbled in. Still
the heap seemed too large for the man alone, and
there was something which roused B  's suspi
cions. So as the fire from the fort did not permit
them to quit the trench, he told the soldiers to keep
a good look out upon the dead body. They had not
watched it long before the heap started into life;
both man and horse rose up, the former mounted,
dashed along the glacis amid the shower of balls
poured from the muskets of the serbauz, gained the
gate, which was instantly opened for him, and sprung
through it unharmed.
On the capture of Ameerabad this worthy was
found by B  , who proposed to retain him in his
service; the man consented, and B  proceeded
to talk about clothing and mounting him, for neither
horse nor apparel had Beggee : " Oh," replied this
valuable retainer, "be under no uneasiness about
that ; upon my head be it ! You shall soon see me
clothed and mounted to your liking." Accordingly,
when Khabooshan was invested, soon after, all but

A BOLD EXPEDIENT. 205
one gate, near which a number of the enemy's horse
were posted, ready to enter in the morning, our
adventurer coolly repairs to that gate, and lays him
self down to sleep till dawn. We may presume,
however, that he slept but with one eye, for as the
first horseman, a straggler, ahead of the rest, ap
proached, up starts Beggee, catches the unconscious
sowar by the leg, tilts him over in a trice, and
before he could well open his mouth for a cry, beats
out his brains with a stone. Then coolly but rapidly
stripping off his arms and his dress, which were good,
he mounted and rode off to camp. " I have brought
these things," said he to B  , and pointing to the
man's clothes and harness, " to convince you that
I did not steal the horse, but took him fairly by
force of arms."
But Beggee was nothing in the piping times of
peace ; it was only in scenes of danger and enter
prize that he throve. When the campaign was at
an end, he came to B  and asked his leave.
" Why, what is the matter?" said B  ; "are you
not contented ?" " Oh yes," said the man ; " quite
content with you, but not with your service ; I can
not stay — these quiet times don't suit me at all ; so
long as you had work to do, I was glad to do it, but
if I am not doing something for my master, I must
be doing a little business for myself ; so, sir, I should
probably be robbing you — I could not help it, I must
still be doing, so we had best part while I am honest.
As for me, sir, there is no fear that, wherever I am,
I shall be well armed and mounted. Were I taken
and carried to Khyvah to-morrow, I would suffer
you to take off my head if I did not return within

206 A PARTING.
two months, better mounted and appointed than
before :" and off he accordingly went. This is one
of a class of Border heroes, of which there were once
many more in Khorasan, resembling greatly the
ancient Border worthies of our own country who
" Sought the beeves that made their broth
In Scotland and in England both."
Next morning B  and I parted on horseback.
He went west, I east, probably never to meet again :
— yet who can tell ? This world is full of strange
coincidences and unexpected occurrences ; and one
of these, no more singular than that which threw us
together to-day, may bring us into contact again.
I marched but a short way, for my horses have felt
the effects of heat, of insufficient food, and bad at
tendance, and I must spare them ; so I halted at a
place called Goonahbad, intending to start again at
midnight, and march in next morning to Mushed.
During a halt we made for breakfast in a green mea
dow, where there were a number of cannauts, or
under-ground canals, I amused my companion the
Meerza, and the people, by catching a dozen of fish
out of one of the cannaut wells, which were full of
them. They were a leather-mouthed fish, which
seldom exceeded nine inches in length, and were
hardly worth eating.
Passing onwards, we marched close by the walls
of Ameerabad, a very strong fortress built by my old
friend Reza Koolee Khan and another chief, Kereem
Khan, who was his creature, in order to establish
their power in this district. But the troops of the late
Prince Royal, under the command of some English
officers, and my friend B  , took and destroyed the

WAR IN THE EAST. 207
place after a short regular siege. The ditch of this
fort was then about ninety feet deep and of a pro
portional breadth ; and the faces or curtains of the
four sides were defended by projecting bastions.
Our march to-day was indeed one scene of ruin
and devastation, — a good specimen of what war and
conquest are in the East. Hundreds of ruined vil
lages were in sight, with scarcely one sign of inhabit
ants. As for gardens or orchards, there were none
whatever ; all had been cut down by the soldiery for
military purposes and for fuel. " I have myself de
stroyed some dozens of orchards," said B  to me,
speaking of the state of the country : " what help
was there for it ? We wanted fuel; — were we to
starve ? No ; I took what came to hand. I wanted
fascines for the works at Ameerabad. The Prince
had just built a temporary bath : without saying a
word to him I unroofed it, and took the materials
for my fascines. It is true enough, as you remark,
that the country is sadly depopulated and laid waste ;
but what better can the Khorasanees expect ? they
never will be quiet." " No," replied a Sodltaun, or
captain of artillery, who had come along with B 
to dine with me, " not one of these Khans can bear
a master, let him be Turk or Kajar. If there were
no one now to control them, they would be fighting
with one another." " He says the truth," observed
B  ; " they have always been a yaghee race, and
never will be better. What fault is it of ours, then,
if the country be wasted?" "After all," said the
Sooltaun, " the Prince has done them one good turn
at least. Before he came, not a man could go from
hence to Mushed without running nine chances to

208 PROTECTION.
one of being robbed and plundered by the way.
Travellers were forced to wait till a party of thirty
or forty could be formed ; but now they can go in
peace, one or two at a time — just as they like —
Bismillah ! " " Ay," retorted B  laughing, " pro
vided the serbauz (soldiers) of that same Prince do
not strip and plunder them on the way!"
And it is all true. The worst customers a poor
fellow can meet with on the road are the soldiers of
the royal army ; they strip every foot-passenger
they can catch who is worth the trouble ; they have
destroyed most of the villages on the road from
Azerbijan to Mushed, and the approach of a detach
ment, while the corn is green on the ground, is more
dreaded than a flight of locusts. Khorasan is now
the next thing to a desert ; and it may be a question
whether the condition to which it has been reduced
by the arms and conquest (temporary only, it is to
be feared,) of the Prince Royal, be not more grievous
to the people, and pernicious to the country at large,
than its former disturbed and unsettled state, — pil
laged and devastated by the Toorkomans, and op
pressed by ambitious nobles. The Prince, indeed,
has ruined or extirpated the race of rebellious
Khans ; but, in rooting up the tares, he has torn up
most of the wheat, while the most noxious weeds, or
rather exotics, the Toorkomans, flourish and exhaust
the soil by continual chuppows.
On the morning of the fourth of June, by three of
the clock we were in the saddle, and by eleven in
the forenoon we reached the gates of Mushed. It
was with a strange mustering of old recollections
that I saw again the golden dome looming through

ARRIVAL AT MUSHED. 209
the haze, and recognized each once familiar object as
it rose to memory through the mists of long past
years. But many a change had taken place. The
country, however destroyed at a distance, had im
proved near the walls, and villages have increased in
number, though each is encircled with its wall and
towers. Several gardens have been established, and
a sheet of rich cultivation extends for some dis
tance around ; but the watch and safety towers that
have been everywhere erected amongst it, declare
too surely the insecurity of the husbandman as he
labours in his field, even close to the gates of the
capital. I was detained for some time in the great street
that divides the town in two parts, while my servant
went to procure me lodgings ; and even after having
taken possession of a house indicated by a man of
the Vizier's, we had still to fight a battle with a per
son who came in a rage to turn us out, swearing that
he had hired the place, and have it he would. I said
nothing, but allowed the servants to carry on the war,
which they did " ingenti clangore" — with much
noise and violent abuse, till our rival, who turned
out to be Prince Kahraman Meerza's nazir, or
steward, discovered who I was, and that. I was a
guest of the Vizier's. On this he instantly altered
his tone, and begged I would by no means incom
mode myself, but remain where I was as his guest.
The only reply I made to this equivocal hospitality
was an expression of rny regret at interfering in any
way with the arrangements of another person ; and
observing, that if the case was really as he stated it,
I should by all means endeavour to find another
VOL. II. P

210 A BORE.
lodging. This resolution was as strongly opposed
by the pretended owner as by the Vizier's man who
had pointed out the place to me : but I nevertheless
made the attempt, fruitlessly as it proved, and was
at length forced unwillingly to keep possession of
my quarters. I learned, after all, that this same
nazir had told a falsehood: that he had not hired
the house, but, knowing it to be empty, intended to
take possession of it as a retirement for wine-drink
ing and such irregular pleasures as he dared not en
joy at his own lodgings within the palace.
I had proposed to myself a stroll this evening to
look at some of my old haunts ; but a person who
came on the part of Mahomed Reza Khan, the
Vizier, declared that his master intended to call up
on me, and I therefore did not choose to be out of
the way. Whether my friend had only spoken
from conjecture I cannot tell, but the Vizier came
not ; and his envoye sat down upon me during the
whole evening with the most imperturbable perse
verance, until at last, perfectly enraged at the intru
sion, I rose up and desired the Meerza to give the
man a hint that such close attention was neither
expected nor liked by Europeans. It was well that
I took the step, for it appeared that the incuba
tion of to-day was but a prelude to good things
to come. He declared that having by the Vizier
been instructed to attend upon me, he considered
it his duty to come every morning early and brood
over me thus till night, hoping by such unremit
ting attention to earn a title to a very handsome
reward on leaving me. The Meerza very speedily
undeceived him as to the grounds of his hopes, and

OLD HAUNTS. 211
intimated that the amount of any consideration he
might receive would probably be influenced by such
conduct in a ratio directly the reverse of what he
seemed to expect: the consequence was his imme
diate disappearance, and we have not seen him since,
except when called for.
Early this morning I sallied forth with a guide,
for I found I could not do without one, so much
had the place been changed, or rny memory failed
me. I passed through the same bazars which I had
so often traversed ; I even walked close to my old
habitation, but I could not discover the exact spot,
although most of the objects around became gra
dually familiarized to my recollection. The bazar
was scarcely open ; but I made my way to the
Sahn, or great square, once forbidden to me, — now
open to all Europeans ; but I scarcely knew it
again ; all its beauty was gone ; its glory had de
parted. The gilding was dimmed or smirched ;
the tiles in many places had fallen off, leaving
great clayey gaps in the middle of the rich gold
work. The beautiful lackered work of glazed
tiles* resembling vivid mosaic, here called Cdshee,
had been rubbed or worn off beneath, and in many
places had peeled from the walls to a great extent,
betuaying the bricks and mud. All the glitter and
brilliance which formerly made the place look like
a bijou fresh from the maker's hand had vanished,
leaving but a patched and shabby-looking ruin be
hind; The beautiful minaret of azure and gold
erected by Shah Ismael, had been so shook or
damaged, that for fear of its falling they had taken
it down; and the splendid azure-lettered inscrip-
p 2

212 SAD CHANGES.
tions on the neck of the golden dome, were turned
to a dusty grey. The beautiful gateways at either
end of the Sahn had suffered a corresponding dilapi
dation. The tiles were everywhere peeling off, and
the freshness of their colours quite tarnished. Even
the exquisite succah-kaneh, or water-house, in the
centre of the square, constructed of a kind of fili
gree work in gilded wood, was falling to pieces,
and all its gilding was gone.
A like degree of delabrement was observable in
all the public buildings ; they were tumbling to
pieces without exception. Not one was in decent
repair ; not a caravanserai nor a medressa was
there which did not afford visible proofs of the
spoiler's hand ; and twelve years seemed insufficient
to account for the rapid progress and great extent
of decay. The college commenced by the present
King, in some of his more pious and less miserly
moments, had been left just as when I last saw it,
so far as the monarch was concerned ; but time
and weather had been more active, and made woe
ful gaps and desperate approaches even to utter
demolition. As to inhabitants it had none, except
some miserable outcasts, who, having no home of
their own, took shelter in its half-ruined cells as
beasts do in their dens. Nor were the symptoms
of adversity among the inhabitants less striking
than in their dwellings. In the bazar many shops
were shut up altogether. In the Sahn, which used
to be crowded, scarcely one was occupied. I went
to the caravanserai Uzbeckee, where I used often
to go and sit with an old friend, Caleb Allee Mervee ;
but there was not a dozen of its chambers tenanted;

¦FRIGHTFUL WANT AND MISERY. 213
that of Shah Verdee Khan, the best and most fre
quented in Mushed, was undergoing a very partial
repair. In fact, everything I saw seemed, like the
country itself, crumbling rapidly into decay.
To witness all this, as I did, in the compass
of a morning's walk, was lamentable enough ; but it
was nothing to the heart-rending scene which a
similar stroll in the evening presented. On first
entering the city, I had remarked, both in the
avenues leading to the gates for the length of a
fursuck outside, and in the streets and lanes through
which I passed, a prodigious number of beggars ;
but I had no conception of the swarms that really
existed here. Hundreds and thousands of the most
miserably squalid objects beset every approach to
the shrine, waylaying the pilgrims who flock to
worship, principally in the evening. Old men and
women in the most abject states of want, and
Wretchedness, and sickness, pressed upon us at
every step, beseeching for relief in the name of
all the Imauns; but what was that — what was
all the misery of manhood, or even of age, to the
sufferings of withering childhood and helpless in
fancy ! The way was actually strewed with crea
tures that could not, many of them, be more than
from three to four years old ; not standing or
sitting by the wayside, but grovelling in the dust
#and dirt, naked, like the vermin we were treading
under foot. Living skeletons they were ; more like
the starved young of animals than human creatures ;
there they lay, strewed in the very paths, so that
you could scarcely help trampling on them ; some
crying and sending forth piteous petitions, with

214 INFANT DESTITUTION.
their little half-quenched voices, for help — for bread !
others silent, lying like dead things, or only giving
symptoms of life by the sobs that would now and
then issue from their little breasts, or the shudders
of pain that shook their wasted frames. Some sat
listless and motionless, with half-closed eyes, and
countenances on which death seemed already to
have put his seal; while the wolf-like glare from
the sunken eyes of others, gave terrible evidence
of the pangs of hunger which gnawed them. Many
of these wretched little creatures could not, as I
have said, be more than from three to four years old ;
yet, though hardly able to speak, and left at that in
fantine age, alone in , the world, to live or to die —
deprived, by accident or famine, of all relatives,
misery and want seemed to have sharpened their
faculties to an astonishing degree of precocity, for
you heard them squeaking out sounds which con
veyed a petition for food. " Has this miserable
little creature no one to, look after it ? " asked I
of some bystanders in one of these pathways, and
pointing to a thing which lay, utterly naked, in
the dust, more like a large frog, or a starved puppy,
than one of the children of men. " Who should it
have but God ?" was the reply. " Good Heavens !"
said I, " is it lying here to die, then?"-^" Oh no,
they don't die." " How? — what does it do? — how
does it live, then ?" said I. '« The passers-by give it
a piece of copper money, or a bit of bread," said
one of the men, " and at night it creeps into a hole ;
there are hundreds, ay, thousands, that do the same:
see what a number of them are about us now."
" But how can that infant know the use of money?"

WHOLESALE BEGGARY. 215
said I. " Oh ! well enough," replied he ; " give it a
copper coin, and it will go and get bread." I gave
the creature a little piece of silver, and it clutched it
with a grasp that sufficiently proved it to be accus
tomed to the use of money, and uttered some sound
which it had probably been taught, as indicative of
thanks : but it remained still lying where it was, I
know not whether from weakness, or waiting for
similar donations from others ; for by this time a
perfect multitude of the most miserable and disgust
ing objects that imagination can conceive had gathered
round me — tottering old women, whose rags scarce
covered a fifth part of their frames ; men, both old and
young, perfect walking skeletons ; blear-eyed boys and
girls carrying things like starved cats in their arms,
all squalling out for bread or money. What I had I
gave, and then made away with all speed from the
sight of wretchedness which I had no power to relieve
or even to alleviate ; for the numbers rendered all
present aid unavailing, and the Orientals, though ge
nerally charitable, have no sort of system in their
mode of bestowing alms. For half a mile was I pur
sued by this crowd of spectres, but though at last I
made my escape from their sight, it was far less easy
to escape from the sickness of heart which so extra
ordinary an exhibition of human misery had created.
To witness the sufferings of men and women is bad
enough, — but that of childhood — of helpless infancy,
particularly when to relieve it is beyond one's power,
is what I cannot endure. Never shall I forget this
day in Mushed.
Of the objects I have described, many are the sad
remains — the wives and children of the Toorkomans

216 THE TOORKOMAN PRISONERS.
who were killed at Serrakhs, a town on the borders
of the great Northern Desert, which I have already
mentioned as having been taken and sacked some
three years ago by the Prince Royal. Of three or
four thousand prisoners the majority were women
and children, who, after the rest were ransomed,
having no husbands, nor fathers, nor brothers to
ransom or protect them, and no homes to go to, re
mained thus helpless and penniless in the place to
which their captors had brought them. Here, un
provided with the means of subsistence, they con
tinued a burthen on the city, where they dragged out
their miserable existence by beggary, or, possibly,
by thieving. A two years' famine, or a dearth
nearly amounting to famine, relieved it of many,
but reduced numbers of the inhabitants to a like
miserable condition ; and they are the children not
only of the Toorkomans, but of the towns-men who
died of want or of disease, that now linger out
their miserable lives in the way I have described —
slowly sinking into that grave where their parents
have at least found rest. Heavily indeed have the
Serrakhsees paid for the woes which they have
helped to inflict on Persia. Multitudes perished in
defence of their homes ; and I have heard my friend
Macneil give a dreadful account of the miseries en
dured by the prisoners, — for all the surviving inha
bitants, to the number of more than three thousand,
were brought to Mushed in chains.
Of these the greater part were confined in the
Oosbeck caravanserai, where Macneil found them
huddled together in a dreadful state, in want of
everything, not having had a morsel to eat for days.

HUNGER. 217
They surrounded him immediately, and the heart
rending appeals of all, particularly of the women and
Children, drove hira with a bleeding heart to the
presence of the young Prince Khosroo Meerza, at
that time governor of the city, whom he had known
from his childhood. His vigorous representations
at last wrung from the Prince or his minister the
means of a present supply, — a great matter at the
time, when bread was scarcely to be had for the
troops, — and Macneil, having himself emptied the
bakers' shops, carried the food to the starving Toor
komans. Hunger is selfish, and there was a rush,
as you may suppose, towards the food, in which the
strongest pressed first to be relieved ; but when Mac
neil addressed himself to the men, mingling his re
monstrances with some taunts at their impatience,
and entreaties that they should keep back till the
women were served, they all and at once obeyed,
retreated, and gave place to their poor women and
starving children ; nor did they again come forward
until called to receive their portion.
Many of these died of hunger and misery where
they were — others were ransomed, and you have
seen the fate of the rest. Heavy are the ills which
the Toorkomans have heaped on Khorasan, and well
have they deserved punishment ; but the infliction of
so lingering, so dreadful, and so indiscriminate a
retribution, is surely more than belongs to man. It
is only to that Being, who visits the sins of the
fathers upon the children, that belongs such terrible
vengeance, and we must regard the author of these
calamities as but an instrument in his hands.
A singular and somewhat touching incident, con-

218 STORY OF A YOUNG TOORKOMAN.
nected with these Toorkomans, occurred at this time.
Dr. Gerrard, who was at Mushed when the prisoners
were brought in, recognized among them a young
man, who had been the instrument of preserving the
liberty, if not the lives, of Captain Burnes and him
self. It appears, that during the passage of these
gentlemen through the Desert, from Bockhara to
Mushed, it had been deliberated in this young man's
tribe, whether they should be seized or permitted
to pass ; upon which he instantly stepped forward,
drew his sword and said, that if the slightest moles
tation was to be offered to these persons it must be
after putting him to death, for that he was pledged
for their safety, and would redeem his pledge should
it cost him his life. Macneil, without hesitation,
applied to the Prince Royal for the release of this
individual, as a boon that would be very gratifying
to his Royal Highness's English friends, and which
might prove the cause of saving lives in future in
similar cases, and the Prince at once complied.
Some time afterwards Macneil saw the young man
along with Dr. Gerrard, and congratulated him on
his escape, while applauding him for the conduct
that had obtained it ; but he was surprised to find
the young Toorkoman by no means responded to his
congratulations, and on inquiring the cause he re
plied, " You have set me at liberty — but of what
value is that to me while there remain in bonds at
Mushed my father and mother; old people — two
more of my father's wives — the widow and child of
my brother, who was killed---and my own wife and
child ? — I cannot leave them, and of what use is
liberty to rne ?" This was a touching and interesting

TOORKOMAN PLUNDERING. 219
tale ; but what hope was there that the Prince, who
was bitter against the Toorkomans, would listen
to ,,a request for the release of so many ? Macneil
was staggered, but at length resolved, at least, to
mention the circumstance to his Royal Highness,
and state the young man's resolution not to abandon
them. It is gratifying to think that his boldness
was successful. The Prince, to his honour, on hear
ing the story, inquired, " Has the young man any
more of his relations here? — if so, let him name
them, for every one he declares to belong to him
shall be free — he deserves it for his spirit and right
feeling." Then, sending for the youth, he said,
" Remember, my friend, it is the English that have
set you at liberty, not me. I have done it for their
Sakes — but you seem to be a fine trustworthy fel
low ; here is a rukum* from me — if you choose to
earn an honest livelihood by bringing in caravans
as guide and guard, Bismillah! this will protect
you — but mind my words, if you are caught chup-
powing, you shall have no more mercy shown you
than another."
Well were it for all parties if the Toorkomans
would but take warning by the example made at
Serrakhs. But this is far from being the case. The
Tekehs of Alhak, and the Thejen, although severely
handled in several affairs, and particularly by Nujjeff
Allee Khan, of Boojnoord, return continually in
parties of from fifty to a thousand, or even in still
stronger bodies, especially since the death of the
Prince Royal, and have repeatedly plundered several
districts, carrying off the inhabitants as slaves. Even
* Rukum, a royal grant or appointment.

220 PUNISHMENT FOR PLUNDERING.
the Toorkomans from Merve, and the neighbourhood
of Serrakhs, have come again in such force as to alarm
the good folks of Mushed, who shut their gates in
sheer fright. On several occasions they have been
met with and beaten, and lost a good many pri
soners ; but still they return to the charge, for the
plundering trade is too profitable to be lightly aban
doned. The late Prince Royal, resolved to check
this inhuman warfare, determined to give no quarter
to those who were taken prisoners ; and on one
occasion, when about forty were brought into Mushed,
among whom were many persons of wealth and dis
tinction, he ordered them all to be put to death.
Deputies from the tribes offered great sums for their
ransom, as they stood surrounded with soldiers in
the court before the palace ; but the Prince was deaf
to all entreaty. He declared he would have no deal
ings with sellers of men ; so, making a sign to the
serbauz, they fell upon the unfortunate captives, and
literally hewed them to pieces before the eyes of the
deputies. The repetition of such examples did, as
suredly, check the Toorkoman chappows for a time ;
but, after his death, they soon recommenced, and
just about the time I passed Abbassabad a party
from that place of two hundred plundered a village
not very far distant. On their return, however, they
were met by Nujjuff Allee Khan, who took twenty-
two prisoners, with a number of horses, and sent
eight heads of slain to the Prince at Mushed. Only
yesterday, too, we heard that a party of four hun
dred, who went to chappow in the direction of
Toorbut, had been followed and defeated, losing
several of their number, prisoners as well as killed.

KAHRAMAN MEERZA. 221
Unfortunately, the two Persian commanders are said
to have been wounded and carried off prisoners by
the Toorkomans — this does not look much like vic
tory. In short, Khorasan is in a sad condition, and
to reduce and re-organize it will require more dis
cretion and resolution than I fear its rulers possess.
8th June. — The day before yesterday I went, by
appointment, to breakfast with the Vizier, Mahomed
Rezakhan ; from whence, after a meal, capital d-la-
mode de Perse, I went to pay my respects to the
Prince, Kahraman Meerza, full younger brother to
Mahomed Meerza, at present governor of the city,
and, indeed, of the province, in his brother's absence.
I was introduced with less ceremony than usual,
for it was a sort of private audience, and I found
him a fine pleasing young man, exceedingly disposed
to be gracious, yet scarcely knowing how to conduct
himself with strangers. He cannot, indeed, be above
twenty or twenty-one years of age ; for his beard is
scarcely out, and he certainly is not yet competent
to the high duties he has to perform. But all Per
sian noblemen, Princes included, are remarkable for
self-possession, good manners, and an early acquaint
ance with the conventional forms of society and
distinction of rank. So he went readily enough
through the customary routine of polite phrases ;
hoped that I was well and comfortable, and would
remain his guest as long as I pleased, &c. &c. ; but
as for conversation there was but little attempt at
it, and, in truth, in these visits of ceremony there is
seldom much opportunity for anything of the sort.
Luckily for me an officer arrived to my aid, with
accounts of the affair of Toorbut, which I have

222 AN EQUIVOCAL VICTORY.
already mentioned, and which occupied the attention
of all present. You may imagine, that in an ac
count given to a prince of the success of a party of
his troops, truth was not likely to stand in the way,
especially if disagreeable ; so that I took what. I
heard in with some grains of allowance. It appeared
that the Toorkomans, after having struck their
blow, made off and were pursued by a party of
serbauz, or regular infantry, together with some
irregular horse. These intercepted the robbers, en
cumbered with booty, at a place called Pool-e-kha^
toon, or the " Ladies' Bridge," and attacked them,
it is said, with so much effect, that they were put
to flight, with the loss of several killed and some
prisoners. But it so fell out that the two comman
ders, Allee Khan and Mehdee Koolee Khan, who
were standing on a height, with only a few men,
encouraging their soldiers, were surprised by a party
of the Toorkomans, and, along with several other
people, made prisoners, Mehdee Koolee Khan having
been severely wounded. It is asserted that several
of the Toorkomans were killed, and others made
prisoners. Now, according to savage custom, all
heads of the slain are brought in to be laid at the
foot of the Prince, but neither living nor dead have
made their appearance, and only three sorry jacjes of
horses, probably left behind when worn out : so
that I suspect this is only a victory Persian fashion,
which is something very like a defeat : truth will
come out at last. Having listened to a grand dis
cussion on this brilliant affair, I looked at the master
of ceremonies, who relieved both the Prince and
myself, for it appeared his Royal Highness scarcely

AN OLD FRIEND. 223
knew how to give the signal of dismission ; but, on
taking leave, he very kindly bid me come to the
Salaam and see him as often as I pleased.
Next morning I paid a more interesting visit.
It was to an old friend, Caleb Allee Meroee, a mer
chant, who had been very kind to me when I was
here before. Old, indeed, I may well call him ; for
he was now on the verge of ninety years, yet in
perfect possession of his memory and mental facul
ties. When he knew who I was he received me
with most affectionate cordiality, and bade me wel
come a thousand times. He was seated in a plea
sant little chamber overlooking a court filled with
roses and green shrubs, and shaded with fruit trees,
where now, 'freed from the cares of business, he
passes his time, surrounded by his grandchildren.
We soon got talking of old times, but it was a
melancholy conversation ; for of those I had known
here how few remained in life, and of those who did
remain how changed was the condition ! At last
the old man begged me to say no more about the
matter, for his heart was broken by the state of the
country, and the fate of those it had contained.
The country, he said, from famine and misrule, was
utterly destroyed — he knew it, but he could not
help it, and why should he vex his latter days by
dwelling on irremediable evils ? For his part he went
out little, perhaps once a week to the mosque, and
left alone as he was, why should he meddle with
the affairs of others ?
In speaking of the late Prince Royal, Caleb Allee,
perhaps from knowing the interest taken by the
English in his Royal Highness, spoke only in terms

224 INTERESTING VISITS.'
of praise. He lamented his premature death as of
one who had at heart the welfare of Khorasan, and
would have laboured to restore its prosperity ; he
scouted the idea that Mahomed Meerza could ever
supply his father's place. But it was upon the
Kaymookam that the weight of his anger fell ;
that minister, he said, thought only of raising money,
indifferent as to the means of doing so, or to the
extent of misery these means might inflict, or whe
ther the country were depopulated by them or not.
He denied the excessive turbulence of the nobles, or
that they never would be contented with a master —
give them Hassan Allee Meerza, or the Firmdun
Firmaee of Fars, and they would be contented. I
listened, but to these positions I could not agree ;
for I am sure that if they do like either of these
princes, it is because they think they would be more
their masters than their subjects.
On the same evening, and the succeeding mornipg,
I paid two other visits of a similar nature. One
was to Meerza Reza, the Vizier of Reza Koolee Khan,
of Khabooshan, with whom I had been very intimate
during my former stay with that chief. The other
was to Ismael Beg, the Khan's principal sirdar or
general, and my mehmander during my residence
at Khabooshan. Both these visits were of the same
melancholy cast as that to Caleb Allee, for both my
friends had fallen from their palmy state, and dis
tress and illness, no less than years, had borne hea
vily on each. Whatever may be the truth, Meerza
Reza assumes the appearance of poverty in his es
tablishment and personal appearance, for he lives in
a ruinous tumble-down house, with nothing of com-

A BRAVE AND HONEST SOLDIER. 225
fort about him. Certainly he cannot have the power
or the means which he enjoyed as factotum of Reza
Koolee Khan; but I should have supposed he had
laid up enough for the evil day, as he did not share
his master's fate. The truth is, that the Meerza
stands suspected of having connived at the destruc
tion of his former master with his enemies; and
though he escaped the consequences of adhering to
a falling cause at the time, he probably has expe
rienced, like others in similar cases, tbat " we hate
the traitor while we hug the treason," and that his
ill-earned favour with his new master quickly fell
into the yellow leaf. He attends at the salam, and
stands in the presence as nudeem or hum sohbut (that
is companion) of the Prince, but enjoys little influ
ence or respect. He received me with great kind
ness, but I could not talk to him with equal freedom
as to the true and honest Caleb Allee, to whom no
thing of guile or suspicion attaches, and who is in no
way mixed up with the intrigues of the place.
With Ibrahim Beg it was different. He was a
brave soldier, and fought to the last faithfully, so
that there was no drawback to the pleasure with
which I met him, and it seemed to be reciprocal ;
for the old man expressed his delight at seeing me
repeatedly, and with fervour. It was a meeting,
he said, so totally unexpected ; he had made so
many inquiries about me in vain. " And now, at
last," said he, " you have brought light to my eyes,
and joy to my heart." I do not think I have men
tioned to you the fate of his master, my old friend
and entertainer, Reza Koolee Khan. When the late
Prince Royal entered Khorasan, and summoned its
VOL. II. Q

226 FATE OF REZA KOOLEE KHAN.
chiefs to submit themselves to his authority, and
come to court and do service as liege subjects,
several of the leading ones in the north, fearing
to commit themselves, and possibly not rightly es
timating the Prince's power, held off, and would
do neither one thing nor other. Of these Reza
,Koolee was the principal, and by far the most pow
erful ; he was also the most simple-hearted. The
rest promised him their assistance in case of his
holding out against the royal arms ; but when the
time came, he found himself forced to fight the
battle almost alone. His relative, Nujjuff Allee
Khan, who was likewise connected with him by
marriage, sent him indeed three hundred horsemen ;
but they were withdrawn on some pretext or other
at the moment when they were most required. The
royal troops were making great progress in the siege
of Khabooshan itself; a mine was sprung which
made a practicable breach; and the assault was
ordered, when Reza Koolee Khan was persuaded to
surrender, and accept the royal grace. Hostages were
required and given ; but, after a while, the Khan
himself was taken, and sent, first to Tehran, and
then to Tabreez. What share in these proceedings .
was taken by Meerza Reza, I do not exactly know ;
it was said, and I believe with truth, that his master
was, to a certain extent, deranged, and that this
consideration weighed in determining his conduct;
but this cannot excuse treachery. As to Reza Koolee
Khan, disappointment and chagrin, acting on an
already disordered brain, brought on an illness, of
which he died at or near Miana, before reaching
Tabreez. Nujjuff Allee Khan made terms, and of-

MAHOMED KHAN KARAWEE. 227
fered service ; and Mahomed Khan Karawee, who
held out for some time longer, gave in at last,
surrendered his strongholds, and is now a state-
prisoner in the ark of Tabreez. These were the
three foremost chiefs of northern Khorasan, whose
story, were it given in more detail, would not be
found devoid of interest.
Of Mahomed Khan Karawee I have been assured,
on the best authority, that he is one of the most
polite and best-bred gentlemen possible, gifted with
the highest and most varied powers of conversation,
particularly well versed in Persian literature, as well
as in the Koran — a knowledge which he fails not to
turn to account on all available occasions. So persua
sive and insinuating is he said to be in his address',
that he rarely fails of attaining his ends by dint of
eloquence and impressive appeals ; yet this peculiar
mildness and fascinating softness of manner serves
but as a veil to the most unprincipled perfidy and
treachery. He is said to be the most wantonly
cruel and capricious villain alive. There is not the
smallest dependence to be placed on his word, and
it was his well-known constant practice to invite
-quests, receive them with hospitality and kindness,
dismiss them with favour, and yet to send forth a
party to waylay and plunder them. Of this there
are many instances, but I heard none particularly
worth relating. Of his fiendish and wanton cruelty
the following two traits may suffice. There is a par
ticular mode of hunting practised in Persia, in which
antelopes, or stags, being found, are driven towards
a person who lies concealed, and who thus has an
opportunity of getting a shot at them. Mahomed
q 2

228 THE KHAN'S CRUELTY.
Khan one day had gone forth to hunt iri this man
ner, and had concealed himself behind a rock, to
wards which his horsemen were driving the deer,
when a poor villager, who had gone out to the Sahra
to gather fuel, and who had fallen asleep beside his
load, aroused by the noise and outcry of the hunters,
started up in amazement and frightened away the
game. Up sprang the Khan in a passion, and with
out more ado ordered the man to be bound on his
load, and the load to be set on fire, and there they
held him till he was burned to death.
On another occasion, when in the bath, his bathing
attendant, or barber, took the opportunity to dilate
to the Khan upon the straitened state of his cir
cumstances, and to complain sadly of his large fa
mily, for whom he was at the greatest loss to
provide. " How many have you ?" inquired the
Khan. " Nine or ten," whined the barber. " Well,
bring them to me when I leave the bath, and I will
see whether I cannot provide for some of them,"
said the Khan. Away went the barber, overjoyed
at what he doubted not was a grand stroke of good
fortune : but it so happened that, with the view of
exaggerating his distress, and further moving the
Khan's compassion, he had overstated the number
of his progeny ; so, to make up the tale, he bor
rowed from his. relatives a sufficient number, and
carried them, as well as his own, to wait upon the
Khan. " Barikillah /" said the Khan, casting- his
eye upon the children, " you have done well. Are
these all ?"— " All, protector of the poor," responded;
the shaver. " Very well," said the Khan, and beck
oning to an agent of the Toorkomans, who was by,

TRICKS UPON TRAVELLERS. 229
coolly sold the whole lot to him before the poor
man's eyes. The real parents, as well as the barber
himself, were too much thunderstruck at first to
speak or move ; but when the Toorkoman merchant
began to lead their little ones away, they awoke
from their trance and the truth came out. " These
are. our children!" cried they : "dust on our heads!
they are ours— give us them back !". " No, no !" said
the Khan, " that 's nonsense ; they are the barber's,
they are all the barber's — he is happy, no doubt,
poor man, to be so well rid of them."
My friend, Reza Koolee Khan, comparatively ho
nest and simple-hearted as he was, appears occa
sionally to, have been capable of playing some cu
rious tricks, in what he, no doubt, held to be his
trade, namely, plunder. The brother of the late
King of Oude, by name Jelall-u-deen Khan, was
passing through the northern part of Khorasan on
his way to Kerbelah. He was known to be in pos
session of some very valuable jewels, but he was
met by a party of Toorkomans, plundered of all he
had, and taken prisoner. Reza Koolee Khan hear
ing of this, sent with all haste to have him released,
paid a high ransom for him, and having brought
him to Khabooshan, treated him with the greatest
distinction, furnished him with horses, and servants,
and fitting apparel, and sent him on his way re
joicing. This generous act coming to the ears of
the British envoy, he sent a letter to the Khan
conveying his thanks, in the name of his govern
ment, for his attention to a friend of the English.
Some time afterwards it came out, and was proved
beyond dispute, that Reza Koolee Khan himself had

230 MELANCHOLY REMINISCENCES.
instigated or sent the Toorkomans to waylay the
Nawab, and had come in for the lion's share of the
plunder, at the very moment he seemed using his
power to assist his highness : the story of the ran
som, of course, was all "fudge." Nevertheless, I
lamented the fate of Reza Koolee Khan, for how
ever rude and unpolished, or false to others, he had
been kind and hospitable to me, and was, on the
whole, a kind, good-hearted man.
On the whole, these were two days of melancholy
reminiscences ; melancholy by contrast of the pre
sent with the past. I strolled to the Char Baugh,
my first lodging when I was Meerza Moossa's guest
of yore ; assuredly, there was nothing left by which
I could recognise it. I made my way over a mass
of shapeless ruins, through passages that once led
to courts and suites of apartments, and found myself
at length in an extensive piece of ground full of
rank weeds, among which some fine old chinars and
fruit-trees were still flourishing. In the middle of
it were the walls of what had been a pleasure or
summer house, where the occupant of these gardens
once used to retire to rest from the fervent heat
of noon ; its roof had fallen in, and a few pieces
of broken wood pointed out where its windows
had been. This was my old lodging ; and though
cold in winter, might be a sweet enough re
tirement in summer: but it was gone. I turned
to the right, where, above a gateway, had been
the cheerful little khelwut where I used to dine
or sit with Meerza Moossa. I saw a ruined wall
and a heap of bricks and rubbish ; behind was a

UNOBTRUSIVE POVERTY. 231
still greater maze of broken walls, which had been
those of his anderoon and harem.
In one part of the garden I saw a man employed,
with an iron hook in the almost hopeless task of
• clearing a little spot of earth from the gigantic
weeds that grew there. He told me he was the gar
dener ; that he was trying to make a clean spot for
some vegetables, in order to give food to his family,
for he could get nothing else to give them. He had
been seven years in that garden, he said, but for
the last four he had received no wages, and had
no means of getting bread. The fruit had failed,
and had there been any crop there was no one to
buy it : the scarcity had deprived men of the means
to procure even the necessaries of life. " Why,"
said I, "do you go on working without wages ?
why not remove to some better place?" " Where
is it?" was the reply; "all places are alike, or worse
to me ; and many of us rather stay here and die,
than make an attempt to leave their old homes : we
have neither the heart nor the strength to move."
While we were speaking, a pretty little girl, of about
seven, came up crying, and taking hold of her fa
ther's knees, said something to him which I did
not understand. " There," said he, " she is one
of six ; she is asking for bread, and I have none
to give her ; she is hungry, poor thing ; so are they
all; they have had nothing to-day, and I have
nothing for them ; everything I had I have sold
to buy food. I had carpets, and numuds, and
clothes, but piece by piece all went ; then I sold
our mattresses, and next the coverlids; we have

232 VISIT FROM THE VIZIER.
nothing to cover us now ; see, I have no shoes —
nothing on my feet — and, look at her !" In truth
the poor little thing was almost naked. " At last,"
continued he, " I was forced to sell even the lock
that was on my door, and then the door itself.*
I have nothing left now. God is great !"
Now this man was no beggar ; he never asked
for money ; never hinted at his poverty till I en
tered into the story of his occupations, and drew
him out. It was a place where no strangers were
likely to come ; he could have expected no one ;
therefore, it was no scene got up for show. When
I gave the little girl some money, the man looked
surprised, and bade her kiss my hand. There are
hundreds, if not thousands, of persons in a similar
condition — enough and to spare of such distress in
Mushed. I have seen a good deal of Persia, but
I never witnessed anything like it before there or
elsewhere. In the afternoon of this day the minister paid
me a visit. I was out when he arrived, but soon
came home, and found him busy in an active survey
of all my things. He had ferreted out my fishing
rod, and had even managed to put it up. He had
examined my guns and pistols, and had already
taken a liking to one of the former and a pair of
the latter, and he began to talk of bargaining with
me for a horse; but I told him I was rather out
of conceit with fine and expensive horses, having
found that snug compact animals of inferior value
did their work much better. I took this opportunity
of talking with the Khan about an object which I
have much at heart ; and it is no less than visiting

PLANS AND PROJECTS. 233
and becoming acquainted with these savage Toorko
mans, the Tekehs in particular, in their own desert,
and their own tents there. My plan is to get some
of my friends here, who I know did of old, and
probably still do, maintain a degree of intercourse
with the chiefs of the Attock, to give me introduc
tions and pledges for my security before I venture
into their power. I had already propounded this
project to Caleb Allee, Meerza Reza, and Ismael Beg,
who, I must say, did not give me much encourage
ment. There is a certain Yelantoosh Khan, one
of the few remaining border-chiefs of this province,
a sort of amphibious link between the Koords and
Toorkomans, who lives in his castle and naturally
fortified valley of Kelaut, — the celebrated strong
hold of Nadir Shah, — and keeps in a medium state
between rebellion and obedience. It is from this
or from another, Abbas Koolee Khan, of Deregez,
that I hope for a welcome and assistance ; and from
the friends I have mentioned I solicited advice, and
their opinion as to the prudence of trusting to these
worthies, and of the chance of safety I should have
in committing myself to the care and hospitality of
the wanderers of the Attock and desert. The reply
from all was nearly the same. " To go to the Toork
oman country without introductions and pledges for
your security, would be madness. Perhaps Yelan
toosh Khan may be able to send you there with
safety if he wishes it ; but it is very probable that
he may decline your visit altogether from jealousy,
lest you should be coming as a spy ; but whether
he may be able to send you further or not, if he says
' Bismillah !' you may trust yourself to him."

234 ADVICE.
When I proposed the scheme to the Vizier, he
told me that on the morrow he himself was going to
meet Yelantoosh Khan, who had come from Kelaat ;
that on his entering the place, I should have the
means of learning from himself the practicability of
my plan. That if the Khan, sent me to Kelaat
while he himself should remain in Mushed, all would
be well, and he did not seem to anticipate any ob
jection on the part of that chief to permit me to stay
a night at Kelaat on my way to the Attock. Till
the result of this conference between the minister
and the chief is known, however, and till the temper
of the chief towards myself is ascertained, I cannot
determine on my future proceedings. There is one
Moollah Mehdee here, a Jew, and the Ketkhodah,
or chief of the Hebrew quarter in Mushed, who, I
believe, is likely to stand me in better stead as an
adviser and assistant than any man in the place. He
was recommended to me by my friend B  . Jews
have dealings, and consequently access, everywhere,
and being necessary as brokers and merchants to all
classes of people, they have their brethren or agents,
and are known and have influence in all quarters ;
and if any man could introduce me safely among
these savages of the Desert, or ransom me if unfor-
tuately taken, it would be Moollah Mehdee. To
him I applied on this occasion ; but his advice and
opinion were much like that of the rest. " Do not
venture without a sufficient pledge ; if that is given,
then, Bismillah !" Now I am a little at a loss
about this : neither on public nor private grounds
should I choose to run more risk, and yet the object
is worth a struggle. The upshot of the matter is

ADVANCE OF YEARS. 235
delay ; but Persia is the country of delay — I cannot
hope to change it.
11th June. — My birthday, remembered for once ;
I dare say it will not be forgotten at  if all
be well there, which God grant. Nor will  ,
who has a great fancy for putting me in mind that I am
no chicken, forget to tell you my exact age. Alas !
I need no other information on that subject than the
very intelligible hints which advancing years convey
to all. Perfect as my health is, thank God, and
sound in wind and limb as I feel, it is certain that
neither mind nor body can boast of the same elas
ticity and play which they possessed, some ten or
twelve years ago ; and though I may sometimes
believe that this imagined slowness is the effect of
fancy, I fear truth would tell another tale — that it
is all in the course of nature, and neither matter of
astonishment nor concern further than as a warning
of the lapse of time, and the necessity of preparation
for more serious changes still.
Yesterday I had a specimen of the tricks of my
friends the Persians upon travellers. Having a few
spare hours, and hearing that the Mushed river,
about half a fursuck distance, was full of fish, I pro
posed taking my fishing rod there in the afternoon
to try and catch some of them. On reaching the
gates of the city, however, I was stopped : it appear
ed, that in consequence of the number of persons
of distinction who are now here, either in confine
ment or in the condition of hostages, no one is per
mitted to leave the city without a written order
from the colonel or the officer commanding the troops
on guard. An application for this document occa-

236 A THEFT.
sioned a delay, which prevented my fishing expedition
for that day, but which brought me a visit from
the serheng, or colonel of the regiment of serbauz
in charge of the gates. He came attended by a
gallant tail of a dozen fellows, who all entered my
apartment. Next morning, when I arose to go forth
on my piscatory expedition, and looked for my rod
and fishing reel, which had lain in a niche of the
apartment, behold ! both were gone, and no one had
been here besides the said colonel and his people.
There is no doubt that some of these had imagined
it to be a spying-glass, (it was in a leathern case,)
and carried it off, and as yet I have heard nothing
of it.
Disappointed of my fishing, I went out to stroll
about the town. In passing through a finely orna
mented though small square, in front of the beau
tiful mosque of Gauher Shahed, among the various
squalid objects that were soliciting charity, or rather
a little removed to one side under an archway, I
observed one or two persons bending over two ob
jects on the pavement. These were two infants, one
of which was perhaps two years old, the other not
one ; both were gaunt with famine, and a man was
trying to feed them, awkwardly enough, with some
sort of pottage which he held in a bowl. I went up
to discover what he was about, and on asking whose
children they were, he told me, " Heaven only
knew;" he had seen them there lying in the sun,
covered with flies — that he had removed them into
the shade, and was trying to feed them — " but I am
only a poor pilgrim, sir — what can I do ? — God help
the poor things !" As he said this, up came two

CHARITY AND REFINEMENT. 237
women in their chaders or veils, and many were
their exclamations of pity and sympathy as they
looked at the little creatures trying to suck in the
food they required so much, but which the good
pilgrim was rather unskilfully presenting to them.
The elder of these women made some attempts to
assist, but upon moving the younger infant and find
ing the little creature in a very filthy condition, she
desisted — " Ah ! " said she; "I would have taken
the poor thing home, but how can I even touch it ?
— it is nejis" (unclean,) and away she went. As
suredly, I honoured her sense of cleanliness more
than the fervor of her charity. I tried to find out
whether the poor infants had any parent, as it was
impossible they could have conveyed themselves
there ; but whoever had placed them in that spot,
they would not avow it even when called upon with
the offer of money — so I left what I could with the
charitable pilgrim, who, as well as a passer-by, pro
mised to have them looked after, which / was un
able to do myself. I understood that such an ex
posure of infants in spots where they must attract
the attention of passengers, was often had recourse
to by those who were unable to feed either them
selves or their offspring.
Shocked at the constant recurrence of these scenes,
I inquired whether no charge was taken either by
the authorities of the city, or the priests of the
shrine, or by the executive government, of the mul
titude of starving creatures that haunt the streets
and throng the public places of Mushed. I was
answered that nothing of the sort was attempted,
that the people of the place did actually nothing —

238 A GASCONADER.
they were callous to the constant sight of misery—
that neither prince nor minister would do any
thing — that the mootwullee and leading moollahs of
the shrine, thought of nothing but making them
selves comfortable, and that the only relief which
the poor objects of the place and those which flocked
to it from far and near, received, was from the
pilgrims who visit the shrine in great crowds, and
who, continually arriving and departing, brought
with them an unfailing, if not a very plenteous or
effectual stream of charity.
This afternoon I had a number of visitors, among
others, a yauver, or major of artillery, the Topechee
Bashee, or commandant in Mushed, who entertained
me with a most animated account of his own gallant
deeds in the Prince's campaigns. This officer is a
brave soldier, I am told, but so notorious for gas
conading, that the late Prince Royal used frequently
to amuse himself at his expense. On one occasion
when Assad-Oollah Khan, the name in which the
hero rejoices, was reporting some exploit of his men
to the Prince, and was descanting on his own and
their valour, he wound up his encomium; by declar
ing, by the head of the Shazadeh, that he was un
equal to do them justice — that Shah Nameh himself
alone could do that (personifying the poem instead
of its author, Ferdousee). "Mashallah!" exclaimed
his Royal Highness ; " no need of that : Assad Oollah
Khan is worth twenty Shah Namehs himself."
Another was a more interesting visitor. You may
remember that during my former stay at this place,
as I was sitting one evening in my munzil, a person
came in and- addressed me by saying in English,

A PLEASANT SURPRISE. 239
" Good morning, sir ! " and afterwards proved an
agreeable acquaintance : well, this very afternoon
in walks my old friend Moolla Eussuff, with his
" good morning, sir," to my no small pleasure. This
man had once been employed in an English office at
Bombay, where he acquired a few words of the lan
guage, and a strong predilection for English ways
and English money ; and it was his intention, when
I last saw him, to return to enjoy the sweets of
Bombay official dignity again. " But," said he,
" my friends here all got round me, and my mother
and my brothers ; and they entreated me, and
brought me a wife — the daughter of that Moollah
Abdool W&hab with whom you used to hold astro
nomical disputations before the Prince twelve years
ago. Well, I married her — next came children ; that
settled the matter. The mother and the brothers
I could have got free of; but the wife and the
young ones, that was a chain I could not break, —
so away went my Bombay projects, and here I am,
Reaching in the Medressa and praying in the mosques
of Mushed." I afterwards went and saw Meerza
Eussuff at his own house. He was on duty in the
mosque, but hearing of our visit (my own Meerza
was with me) he hurried over prayers, as he told
us, and we soon heard him shuffling after us in the
street. " Come," said he with a glad air, as we en
tered his dwelling, in a small court, overshadowed
by one fine large mulberry tree, " come in — there 's
no one here, — the women are all away to-day — we
have the whole house to ourselves — enter freely."
And Moollah Eussuff himself, opening the forbidden
apartments, bustled about to provide for his friends

240 A FRIENDLY RECEPTION.
with an alacrity which an evil observer might have
referred not to hospitality alone, but to a certain
relief which he obviously felt from the absence of his
better half or halves. *¦
I have just heard of an opportunity for Tehran^
so I shall close this volume of a letter, only to begin-
another. I fear you are more likely to tire of read
ing than I of writing ; in the mean time God bless"
you, and grant us a happy meeting in his own good
time.

241

LETTER VIII.
i if

tin,

Difficulties. —The Uttar Bashee. — Yar Mahomed Khan.— Na-
; wab Hindee. — Shuffling conduct. -— Yelantoosh Khan. — A
strange introduction.— Cause for caution.— Toorkoman fidelity.
Mushed, 15th June.
A few days since, dear  , I sent off a packet
of several closely-written sheets, with some doubts
whether they may ever reach your hand — when
shall I know ? — My movements are as uncertain as
ever, and delay is still the order of every day. The
principal cause of my detention at present is want
of cash, a serious evil anywhere, a desperate one
.here. I have a credit on a merchant here, who
admits the validity of the bill, and says, " Chushm .'"
to all I require, but adds, that though I am welcome
to a thousand toiriauns in goods, he cannot furnish
me with ten in coin ; and what are goods to me? —
JBut patience !
As to my intended route from hence, the direc
tion _of which I hinted at in my last, it is still un
fixed'; my wish was to have gone from hence to
Serrakhs, the Toorkoman town which was destroyed
by the Prince Royal, but which has already begun
to arise again from its ashes, (Toorkoman towns are
soon rebuilt,) and from thence to have gone round
by what is called the Attock, or skirt of the hills,
among the Toorkomans, to Asterabad, far to the
VOL. II. R

242 DOUBTS AND DIFFICULTIES.
northward of my former route, thus not only getting
a glimpse at these curious though dangerqus people,
and ascertaining somewhat of their feelings towards
Europeans generally, but fixing the geography. of
that hitherto untouched and unknown part of the
country. I also hoped, as I have already told you,
that in virtue of certain introductions which I pos
sessed to Yelantoosh Khan of Kelaat-e-Naderee, I
might get access to that very remarkable place, as
yet unvisited by Europeans, and little known even
to natives except by fame. I have cause, however,
to fear a disappointment in these objects, and this
on several accounts. It is on the whole an unlucky
juncture for such an enterprise. In the first place,
in consequence of the capture of Ameerabad, Kha
booshan, and several other places, particularly Ser
rakhs, effected so much by the assistance of Euro
pean officers, these have become objects of dislike
and fear to the border tribes, and especially to the
Toorkomans ; so that, without excellent security
and guides, it would be highly imprudent to trust
ourselves among these semi-savages ; and even if
such pledges and guides were to be had, the transit
from one tribe or camp to another, among people.
where there are no chiefs of power or consequence, is
attended always with hazard and delay.
In the second place, it is confidently asserted that
Shujah-ool-Moolk, the ex-King of Caubul, long a
recluse at the British station of Loodheana in India,
has come forth with great power to assert his claims
to the throne again ; and he has already got posses
sion of much of the country, including Candahar.
This he is said to have accomplished by means of

NEEDFUL CAUTION. 243
English assistance arid troops, who, it is also affirmed,
are still with him ; and a thousand idle reports are
prevalent regarding the amount of this force. Now
the Persians lay claim to certain parts of the Aff
ghaun country, including Kandahar ; and silly as the
reports may be, it is obvious that not only the peo
ple, but the authorities here, are alarmed and an
noyed at this supposed aid granted to Shujah. I
even can see that this jealousy extends in some
degree to myself. The minister Mahomed Reza
Khan, indeed, in a conversation which I had with
him, lately taxed me flatly with having come to spy
out the nakedness of the land, and declared his be
lief that the English had taken Caubul, and would
proceed hither, to meet and fight the Russians, who
are, he averred, on their way to India. They were
the words of a foolish ignorant man, but they indi
cated the sore place ; and this no doubt may prove
a serious stumbling block in my path. Besides,
some of my old and well-informed friends in Mushed,
assure me that the fact of Shah Shujah's progress
has spread consternation even among the Toorko
mans, and that it would in consequence be more
than ordinarily hazardous for any Frank to appear
among them. All disguises are attended with risk,
and it is not my business to run any. What I can
do in the way of duty I am bound to do, but to
render this available I must bring myself safely
back : nor am I forgetful of home ties, of those who
look for my return ; neither do I disregard life so
much as to make me careless of personal danger.
In fact, I have grown very careful of myself, and
shall do nothing that a due regard to duty and
R 2

244 THE UTTAR BASHEE.
prudence may forbid ; so dear  have no dread
for me.
In the mean time my days do not pass without
incidents of interest. I was sitting alone one after
noon, half asleep from the intense heat, when one of
my servants came running in to tell me that the
TJttdr Bashee was coming to see me. " And who
is the Uttar Bashee ? " you will ask, as I did when
I first heard the name, or rather title, for such it is.
It means chief apothecary, or druggist, and the per
son who bears it is a man of great consequence at
the court of Herat, having continued for some time
past the principal favourite of Prince Kamraun, the
present ruler of that city. The cause of the eleva
tion of this person to power, as it was stated to me,
is singularly characteristic of the Prince he serves.
Kamraun Meerza, who is a capricious and danger
ous tyrant, happens also to be very fond of getting
drunk, and particularly with an intoxicating prepa
ration of the hemp plant, which in India is called
bang. Now to such a person the honesty of the
individual employed to prepare this narcotic drug
must be a matter of primary importance, and such
an honest compounder did the ruler of Herat dis
cover in this Uttar Bashee, who was, until he be
came honoured with this exalted patronage, an ob
scure druggist in the bazar of that city. The ex
cellence of his " stuff," I believe, formed the first
attraction, and his honesty or art has been the
means of maintaining him ever since high in his
master's favour. When Prince Mahomed Meerza
after his father's death entered into a treaty with
Prince Kamraun, the latter engaged to pay in money

A FELLOW SUFFERER. 245
and goods the amount of a specified number of to
mauns ; and a certain person of his court, named
Yar Mahomed Khan, was accredited from Herat to
conclude the negotiations.
Some time afterwards this same Uttar Bashee was
sent with a sum of money and some shawls in part
payment of the stipulated sum, but so far short of
expectation did it prove, that Yar Mahomed was sent
back, attended by a person from this court on the
part of Mahomed Meerza, to collect the remainder,
while the Uttar Bashee was courteously detained as
a sort of pledge until the money be paid. Such was
the personage whom on this occasion I was taught
to expect ; but it turned out to be only his principal
meerza or secretary, who came to pour out his com
plaints regarding this breach of hospitality, in hopes,
I believe, that I could and would take up their cause
with government, and procure the restoration of
their liberty, with compensation for loss and ex
penses during their detention ; or, if not that, at
least a provision for their maintenance here during
their compulsory sojourn. Already, according to
this person's account, they had spent all their ready
cash, and have lived for some time on the sale, first
of horses and camels, and then of shawls and orna
ments, till now they are reduced to great difficulties.
And what could I do ? Of course nothing but pity
them, and express my sorrow that I could be of no
assistance. The Meerza took his leave, requesting
to know when it would be convenient for me to re
ceive the chief apothecary himself, who wished to
pay his respects. But several days passed without
this august visit, and I began to believe that his ex-

246 YAR MAHOMED KHAN.
cellency, finding he was likely to get nothing more
than a cup of tea, had changed his mind. But I was
wrong : for at length a poor, shabby-looking, ill-dressed
creature, attended by a rabble of grey-eyed Affghans,
did come, and paid a mortal visit of two hours, dur
ing which he scarcely uttered two sentences, and I
scarcely gathered one idea, except from the tongue
of his mouth-piece the Meerza, his avant-courier.
This gentleman appeared to be at least as much of
a romancer as my friend the Commandant of Artil
lery ; and, according to his account, it was well for
the Persian (or Kuzzilbash army, as he called it,)
that they had him in secret for a friend ; they would
have been destroyed else in a hundred different
ways. His master and he had even incurred the
displeasure of Prince Kamraun for this undue partial
ity to the Kuzzilbashes ; " and this," said he, " is my
reward, — they keep us prisoners and let us starve."
I heartily wished that the worthy Topechee Bashee
had been present to hear his gasconades outdone ;
what an explosion there would have been ! three of
his own guns would have been nothing to it.
Of Yar Mahomed Khan, the true Vizier and gene
ral of Kamraun Meerza, a very different account was
given. He is an Alekkozehee, and as brave a man
as possible. It was told me, that on a late occasion,
when returning with Yahia Khan, an officer of the
Prince Royal's, to Herat, and while resting in a
caravanserai, a party of Toorkoman horse came gal
loping in upon their baggage, which they at once
began to plunder. Yar Mahomed, who had not
more than twelve or fifteen horse, mounted the mo
ment he heard of the attack, and, drawing his sword,

A SURPRISE. 247
rushed right among the Toorkomans, cutting down
all that he came across. The robbers, astonished at
the violence of the assault, drew up, halted, and
called out, "Who are you, in the devil's name?"
A dozen voices called out, " The Vizier, the Vizier !"
on which the Toorkomans exclaimed, " We have eat
en dirt ! we did not know you ; for God's sake ! take
your baggage and leave us alone — we will not mo
lest you." So great is the Vizier's name for courage
and prowess in these parts.
On the succeeding day I had another surprise in
the visit of a very handsome gentlemanly man, who
walked in unannounced, and introduced himself to
me as a person who had been much in India, and
was well acquainted with many of the Saheb-logue
there. I did not at first well know what to make
of him, but on trying him as to certain individuals
I found that he could not be altogether an impos
tor. I found he was acquainted with Mr. Elphin-
stone and my brother,* intimately as he assured me ;
and when I told him that Mr. Fraser of Dehlee was
my brother, he started, and declared that he was
about to ask me whether he was related to me, the
likeness was so strong. Still, however, he waved
telling who he was, and after some general conver
sation he got up and left me.
Next day my new friend returned at the same
hour, and soon produced documents which not only
* Chief Revenue Commissioner of the Dehlee territory, and
since assassinated there by an agent of the Nawab of Feerozpore, in
consequence of certain proceedings, which, as chief magistrate of
the Dehlee district, came before Mr. Fraser in the course of his
duty, and which were likely to have gone against the Nawab.

248 MEERZA GIRAUMMEE KHAN.
declared who he was, but also proved him to be en
titled to high consideration. It appeared that he
was an Affghaun nobleman, though of Persian origin,
whose fathers from the time of Ahmed Shah Abdallee,
founder of that dynasty, had held the chief offices in
the state ; and in the time of Shah Shujah, and the
late Mahomed Shah, he himself had filled that of
Vizier, or Chief Meerza. In that capacity it would
appear he had stood when Mr. Elphinstone arrived
at Peshawer, on his mission from the British govern
ment of India ; and he showed me a paper under
that gentleman's hand, declaring not only his rank
and station, but that he had always proved himself
a firm friend to the English. Of this same letter he
had a copy authenticated by Mr. Stirling, Secretary
to the Bengal government in the Persian depart
ment ; and he showed me, moreover, a Persiari let
ter bearing my brother's signature. In short, he
seemed to have detected my want of confidence on
the preceding day, and to have come resolved to
disperse my doubts, and convince me of his being a
true man. The name of this gentleman was Hoos
sein Allee Khan, but he was better known in his
own land by that of Meerza Giraummee Khan, and iii
Mushed by the appellation of Nawab Hindee — (that
is, the Indian Nawab) — and a very fine-looking fel
low he is, with a black beard long and thick enough
to raise the envy of the Shah himself. We soori
became cordial, as you may suppose ; and I gained a
good deal of information of a very interesting nature
regarding the state of Affghanistan and the contermi
nous countries. One circumstance I listened to with
painful interest, for it confirmed my own suspicions

GOOD ADVICE. 249
of the death of poor Moorcroft. He said there was
no doubt that this gentleman died by poison, and
entirely in consequence of his own imprudence in
displaying the riches he possessed. " What had he
to do," observed the Meerza, " with money, and
pearls, and fine horses ? He displayed quantities of
the two first, and bought many of the last, and so
raised the cupidity of the savage Hazaras." A se
rious and important lesson to all travellers in these
lawless regions. " If you do go among these Toor
komans," said he to me, " go as a poor man, and
carry nothing with you ; take but one servant ; live
. as they do ; eat dry bread, and eat it with your ser
vant ; wear the Toorkoman dress — that is your only
chance — and by so doing there will be little danger.
What do they want ? It is not your blood, but
your property ; if you have none of the last, the first
runs little risk."
These were pleasant incidents to sweeten much
that was vexatious and disappointing. Distress too
often, instead of opening the hearts of men, makes
them more selfish and hardened. The times are
hard here, and have long been so ; and I never in any
part of the world saw a community so exclusively
and shamelessly devoted to the furthering of their
own interest by all means — honest or otherwise.
Truth appears utterly banished from the place. I
cannot trust a word that is said, be it by Khan or
Meerza, merchant or tradesman, master or man ; not
only are professions made, but the most solemn pro
mises given, without a thought of fulfilment. I told
you of the letter of credit which I had upon a mer
chant here — that its validity was acknowledged, and

250 PROVOKING DISAPPOINTMENTS.
its value, or ten times as much, proffered in goods.
Mashallah! Well — this Hadjee, with the most im
perturbable gravity, keeps saying " Chushm" to my
requests — declares I shall have some ducats to-morrow
— then swears he has not a tomaun in the house —
next says he has sent an express to Nishapore for
the amount, but that I must wait ten days for it ;
and so drives me to the necessity of trying other ex
pedients, which all terminate in further disappoint
ments. Hearing that two gholaums had a parcel of
ducats in charge to carry to Tehran — a great risk, as,
the fact being known, it afforded a greater tempta
tion for the Toorkomans to attack them, — I offered
them my bill, which the Vizier and every one acknow
ledged to be perfectly good ; but no — there was no
profit to be derived from such a transaction, and nei
ther the minister nor the Hadjee, who heard of the
matter, could bear to permit so considerable a sum in
gold (it was 150 ducats) to pass by their hands with
out a pluck. But they quarrelled about the spoil.
The gholaums were dissatisfied with the share offered
to them, so off they carried the money without fur
ther parley, for fear of what might happen, leaving me
in the lurch.
The Vizier, to whom I applied, promised by my
head and his own soul that I should have all the
money I required, if he should pawn his cap for it,
and made a thousand and one promises, confirmed
with as many oaths ; but hitherto not one stiver has
been produced. Meerza Giraummee Khan, having
heard that I had been applying for money, promised
to exert himself to help me, although I know his own
circumstances are very far from easy: he hoped

A STRANGE INTRODUCTION. 251
through some Kandahar merchants to procure a sum,
but has not yet succeeded. Last night he told me
he had spoken to the Vizier on the subject, on which
that worthy functionary expressed great surprise. —
" How !" said he, " does he want more ? — I sent him
150 ducats yesterday!" — This was pretty strong, for
unless he alluded to the money which was in the
gholaums' hands, and which they carried off, I do
not know what he meant.
In the mean time Yelantoosh Khan, by whatso
ever arguments persuaded, not only met the Vizier,
but actually agreed to come into Mushed, where he
was to receive a khelut, or dress of honour, from the
Prince, and then return to his own country again.
The day after their arrival I went to call on the
Vizier in the morning, and found Yelantoosh Khan
in company. He was a poor-looking man, with
Tatar features, small eyes, a reddish yellow com
plexion, and a disagreeable expression of counte
nance. After conversing with the Vizier for a while,
I begged him to introduce me to Yelantoosh Khan,
reminding him of the hopes I entertained from that
personage. " By all means," said he, and he did
so in words to this purpose : — " Khan, here is an
Etiglish gentleman who wishes to go and see Khe-
laat and the Toorkomans, to take account of the
cot,huls, and passes, and the roads, where guns can
go, and by which an army may come, that the
English may come and take the country : — what say
you?" It would be hard to say whether the Khan
or I were most taken aback by this strange explo
sion, which was followed up by a great deal more in
the same strain, accusing the English government

252 SINGULAR CONVERSATION.
of having assisted the ex-King of Caubul not only to
recover his throne, but to invade Persia, and possess
himself of part of her acknowledged dominions ; and
all given in a tone which, although intended to
appear like jest, had something too bitter and sar
castic in it not to be wondrous like earnest.
At first I replied in a light and jocular strain,
such as it seemed to be the minister's wish to
assume ; but as his jests grew keener I changed my
tone, and told him, that if such were his real senti
ments, — if he did, in truth, believe me to be a spy,
— I should not, and could not, persist in any desire
to see the countries I had purposed visiting, entirely
from curiosity, but would return as I had come.
" Oh no, no," said he ; " all I have said was in jest,
— all for the sake of conversation (sohbutee) — go
wherever you like, Bismillah ! and welcome. But
ask the Khan there whether you can do so safely.
My own opinion is, that this affair of Shah Shujah,
who, they say, has taken Kandahar, will so much
alarm the Toorkomans, that not a Frank of any
nation can venture in among them."
The Khan, thus schooled, echoed, as a matter of
course, the minister's words, adding that the Toork
omans had now left the Attock, and retired to the
banks of the Thejend, to Merve, and other distant
points, in consequence of the Kuzzilbash chappoWs,
or inroads upon them ; so that, though still exposed
to their attacks, I should find none of their encamp
ments to receive me, in the course I purposed
taking. All this was unpleasant and depressing
enough, and the conversation was put a stop to by
the entrance of two or three persons, among whom

HOSTILITIES AGAINST DEREGEZ. 253
was one Meerza Yussuff, the nazir, or steward, of
the late Prince Royal, who had just come in from
the border districts, with a brother of the rebellious
chieftain, Abbas Koolee Khan, of Deregez. This
young man, who now entered with the nazir, came
to try and accommodate matters on the part of that
chief — it seems a question whether he will be per
mitted to return. The army ordered against that
place, and which B  was going to join when I saw
him at Kallah SeyedhS, has now entered the Jool-
geh, or valley of Deregez, and commenced ope
rations, it appears, both against the Khan and against
the Toorkomans, one party of whom, by a letter
which I received from him, he has cut up, killing
seven and taking twenty-two, with some horses,
prisoners ; the heads have come in here as proofs of
the fact.
"All these things are against me," but I do not
so much mind the false words of the minister, or
the forced testimony of the Khan, as I do those of
my sincere friend, Meerza Reza, and of the blunt
and honest Ismael Beg, my former host, neither of
whom, so far as I can discover, can have any motive
to deceive me. The latter, who lives quite retired
and unconnected with any party, said to me the
other evening, with great earnestness, " I was your
friend of old, and am so still, believe me. I cannot
bear to see you expose your head to certain destruc
tion. I have warned you because I love you, be
cause you have not forgotten an old and feeble man,
now that he has fallen into decay. We have eaten
bread and salt together ; do not let me have the pain
of hearing that your blood has been shed. Do not

254 INSTANCE OF TOORKOMAN FAITH.
go among these Toorkomans ; they have neither faith
nor honesty ; they have neither chief nor government
to answer for them ; they will cut a throat for four
pool-e-siahs (farthings), and if they take it into their
heads that you are a spy, they will show you no
mercy." I fear I may have to abandon this part of my
plan ; and yet there are not wanting instances of
fidelity even in Toorkomans. I was told of one
where a Toorkoman bargained with a Persian mer
chant to carry him to Kyvah and back, for a spe
cified sum. This being paid in advance, the Toorko
man took his charge to Kyvah, where leaving him
at his lodgings, he went out, got drunk, and was
beaten by the Oozbe,cks. The merchant hearing
the row, and imagining his conductor to be in bad
odour with the town's people, took fright, and hid
himself in the house of some one with whom he
had become acquainted, and with whom he subse
quently went to Ourgenje, where his business lay.
One day, while sitting in his caravanserai with his
friend, who should burst in but his Toorkoman
guide, who, on recognizing him, flew at and kissed
him, bursting into tears of joy. On being asked
what was the matter, he explained, that after his
debauch, on coming to himself, he became bewil
dered with apprehension for his charge, and looked
far and near for him in vain. He had pledged him
self for his safety; they had eaten and drunk to
gether, and lived long on the best of terms ; and
the thought of his having, perhaps, been taken and
sold as a slave distracted him. He had heard, by
chance, of a Persian merchant having gone to Our-

BAD SERVANTS. 255
genje, on which he lost no time in repairing thither,
and he blessed his God he had found him. This
story was told the friend from whom I had it by the
merchant himself to whom it happened, and who
told it as a proof that Toorkomans do sometimes
keep the oath of " bread and salt."
I fear, too, I should have great trouble with my
servants were I to attempt a route so hazardous as
this. They are a bad set ; I have discovered several
pieces of villany, common enough here, and not,
perhaps, confined to Persian servants, and have been
forced to dismiss my muleteer. The rogues cannot
even agree amongst themselves ; and though their
disputes afford me the means of detecting their ras
cality, this does not improve my condition much,
as it would be very difficult for a stranger to change
for the better in so remote a part of the country.
My lame horse has, however, arrived safely from
Subzawar, and that is a satisfaction, as, from the diffi
culty of procuring money, I should have found it
no easy matter to replace him.

256

LETTER IX.
Audience of leave. — A piece of news. — Jealousy of the Vizier. —
Route by Kelaat Naderee abandoned. — Parting with old friends.
— First march. — Grasshoppers. — Radcan. — Poverty. — Moo-
chooloon. — A strong but necessary measure. — Kallah Eussuff
Khan. — Thaveree. — Change in Khorasan. — Choice of roads.
— Descent to Deregez Valley. — Arrival at the Persian camp.
17th June.
After a most teasing and sickening succession
of fruitless negotiations for money, with which I
should be sorry to worry you, after innumerable
disappointments and vexations, I have at length, I
believe, succeeded in wringing from the Hadjee,
on whom my bill was given, the sum of fifty to
mauns, that is, about 25/. sterling. This will do for
necessaries, and I am not in a temper to be nice.
Anything that sets me at liberty will be welcome.
I have still a sort of shuddering recollection of the
delays and persecutions I endured here of yore.
I was just going to the Hadjee about these same
tomauns, when a furosh came to tell me that the
Prince was waiting to see me, and I was of course
obliged to attend the royal mandate. The audience
was equally long as the former, but not so tedious
or stiff, for I wore my Persian dress, and was alto
gether more at ease. In the course of conversation,
when my departure was spoken of, the Prince him
self suggested my going by the way of Kelaat-

AUDIENCE OF LEAVE. 257
Naderee and Deregez, and proposed my accompa
nying Yelantoosh Khan, who, it seems, is to return
to his stronghold with his robes of honour in a few
days. I thanked his Royal Highness for this per
mission, and observed that I was glad to find him
too enlightened to entertain the same opinion of
me as his minister, who had insisted on it that I
was a spy, instead of a simple traveller. That in
my former travels I had taken some pains to make
myself acquainted with the country, for geographical
purposes, and that then, perhaps, the ignorant might
have had some pretext for believing me to be a spy;
but that now I had not even a single instrument
wherewith to take an observation, so that it was ut
terly absurd to make svich a charge against me. He
laughed at hearing of the conversation I had had
with the minister, and said it was all nonsense ; a
mistake (ghullut mekunid) ; but that if I had such
views I was perfectly welcome to take the altitude
and shape of every hill and valley, and views of
every place : we might send as many engineers as
we liked for the purpose. One piece of news he
told me that interested me much ; it was the arrival
of Sir Henry Bethune Lindsey at Tabreez, and you
may suppose my speculations on such an occur
rence. When I took leave of the Prince I found the
minister with a crowd of hangers on, Khans, Begs,
Meerzas, and Gholaums, at the Durkhaneh. I had
seen him on entering, long enough for him to tell
me half a dozen lies about his exertions to get me
money; he swore he had sent me fifty tomauns
of his own, pretended extreme astonishment when
vol. n. s

258 MINISTERIAL OPPOSITION.
I told him that I had not received them, and held
forth to some of the bystanders in a strain that
must have led them to believe he had been labour
ing at no allowance in my service. On meeting
him thus again, I told him what the Prince had
said, and the encouragement I had received from
him to go by Kelaat and Deregez. " To Kelaat !"
repeated he; "to Kelaat! impossible — ft is not
prudent; I do not think it advisable at all. Sulah
neest — Sulah neest ; it will never do for you to go
there;" and he reiterated his objections with great
emphasis and considerable agitation. " Why, Khan,"
replied I, "it is the Prince's own proposition; I
never even hinted at it." " The Prince !" repeated
he, rather contemptuously ; " what does the Prince
know about the matter ? But go — you may go ; I
forbid it not ; but remember, it is against my advice
— quite against my advice ; I will be answerable for
nothing." " Why," said Meerza Baukher, the officer
who had presented me, " it is all true ; I heard
the Prince myself say the words, and so did Meerza
Reza, who was by ;" but the minister kept to his
text, and, looking as black as night, still persisted
in declaring that he was utterly averse to my going
to Kelaat. " But there is Yelantoosh Khan him
self," said he at last, pointing out the Khan among
the crowd — " hear what he will say: as for me,
I will have nothing to do in the matter; I wash
my hands of it." •»
Apologizing to Yelantoosh Khan for not before
observing him, I adverted to what the minister
had said, and declared, that if he approved of my
accompanying him, through his favour and that of

A FAVOURITE SCHEME ABANDONED. 259
the Shahzadeh, I should fear nothing. Now I had
sent the Meerza on the previous evening to the
Khan, having made a vain attempt to get access to
him myself, in order to discover his true sentiments
on the subject ; and if a grain of truth is in the
man, my suspicions of his having been influenced by
the minister's language when I met him at the house
of the latter, were perfectly well founded, for he gave
me through the Meerza a hearty invitation to come
with him to Kelaat. Thus when appealed to by
the minister now, and after such a prologue, it was
no wonder that the poor Khan should stammer and
be confused. He mumbled some unintelligible words,
and the matter dropped for the time. But this puts
the finishing blow to my projected visit both to
Kelaat-Naderee and the Attock. It is obvious that,
from some cause or other, it is not the minister's
wish that I should proceed by that route, and such
being the case on the part of the highest acting
authority in the province, (for that of the young
Prince is merely nominal,) it would be little short of
madness for me to defy him by persistence, and as
suredly most culpable to act in direct contravention
pf his declared opinion. Should the minister, for
instance, resolve to prevent me from reaching my
destination, how easy in so disturbed a province to
give a hint to the Khan himself, or to any other
chief, that a little imprisonment in a secluded place
would do me no harm, while my ransom might do him
good. And were I to be so entrapped, what would
be the minister's reply to any application in my be
half? " Why, I told the Saheb openly and repeat
edly, that I disapproved of the step he was taking,
s 2

260 CONSEQUENCES OF OPPOSITION.
and could not be responsible for its consequences. — >
Yelantoosh Khan is well known as a robber and a
plunderer, yet with him he would go : what had he
to expect? — I warned him, and I am blameless."
Nay, might not the very plunder of my property, and
the ransom to be expected in case of capture, tempt
the minister himself, a mere upstart, to go' halves
with the Khan in the booty ? So much for the mi
nister. Then might not Yelantoosh Khan himself
betray me, which, possessed as he is of an impreg
nable stronghold, having all its resources within
itself, he could do without hazard of consequences ?
Might he not take it into his head, in spite of appear
ances, that I was encouraged by the Vizier and the
Prince to go and examine Kelaat, and bring back
intelligence of its weak points for evil purposes to
him ? In case of such a suspicion, no ransom, however
great, would probably suffice to set me free.
What cause could have inspired the minister with
a jealousy towards the English, so unusual in his
countrymen, I cannot imagine. He was obviously
discomposed by the success of Shujah-ool-Moolk,
which he attributes, however erroneously, to English
assistance; and possibly he might be stupid enough
to suspect me of desiring to intrigue with the border
Chiefs. But all this seems scarcely sufficient to ac
count for the equivocal nature of his conduct towards
me. It was hinted to me afterwards that a bribe
might have smoothed all difficulties, and that the
affection which he evinced at an early period towards
a rifle and pair of pistols of mine had not been dis
played without a motive. Be that as it may, there
were so many concurring causes to induce me to

PARTING BLESSINGS. 261
forego the route I had proposed, and not to risk what
was important for that which was less essential, that
very reluctantly I did for the second time, and for
ever, no doubt, abandon the hope of examining the
famous fortress of Kelaat, and rest satisfied with see
ing Deregez, and such parts of the Attock as might
be safely traversed.
This course agreed with the advice of my old
friends here, especially of old Caleb Allee Mervee,
who has been brought to the brink of the grave by
illness since I have been here. Yet his heart was as
warm and kind as ever ; he came out to bid me fare
well, and said God had sent me here just to see him
before he dies,— and I felt that the blessing he gave
me as he took my hand, no doubt for the last time,
had a virtue in it. From my old host, Ismael Beg,
I received a like and a most sincere benediction ;
but my parting with Meerza Reza was more painful
still. Whatever his faults to others, he had always
been a fast friend to me, and the attachment which
had been felt for me by his worthiest son, whom he
still bitterly laments, had given something almost
paternal to his feelings. I do believe that the em
brace which, after a little interchange of trifling
remembrances, he gave me on saying the Khodah
Hafiz, and the tear which started as he said, " that
his eyes would never be enlightened by seeing me
more," were both warm and sincere. It is indeed
true, in all human likelihood, that I never shall see
these men again, but as little shall I ever forget
their kindness to the stranger of a distant land : it
is one of these sweet green spots in the weary way
of life which it warms the heart to think of.

262 LEAVE MUSHED.
At length " all was accomplished :" I had received
my money from the Hadjee, minus a handsome de
duction for exchange and bonus, — I had shaken
hands with the worthy Moollah Mehdee, the Jew
Ketkhodah, who had been most unwearyingly and
disinterestedly attentive, and with Meerza Ge-
raummee Khan, whose conversation had cheered me
in many an hour that would else have passed heavily
enough away : my letters of introduction from the
Prince were received ; I had neither hopes nor fears
to detain me longer, so I ordered my servants, much
to their surprise, to load, late though it was, re
solved to clear the city at all events this night, and
convince them that I was in earnest. No one came
to say " God speed us," except the poor old Hadjee
Seraidar, who kept the house we lived in, and had
been our most active servant : I had given him but
a ducat, but his gratitude was such, that he would
have followed us to the Khabooshan gate, by which
we quitted the city, with blessings, had I permitted.
It was near four in the afternoon of the 18th (this
day) when we cleared them and quitted Mushed,
as I verily believe, and fervently hope, for the last
time, and took the same road which twelve years
ago conducted me in like manner towards home.
It seems not to be my fate to quit Mushed with
regret, and certainly I was not ill pleased to leave
it now. A first march in Persia is never a long one ; but
the start serves to get your people together and
complete those arrangements in the disposition of
your baggage which are seldom perfect till you get

A BIVOUAC. 263
free of the town. We only went about ten miles to
a little chummun, or meadow, beyond the village of
Khooshmeitee, where our horses could graze, and
ourselves rest for the few hours that shall intervene,
before resuming our march ; it is a true bivouac,
our horses are feeding around us, our goods are
beside us ; the sky is above and a numud under
me, and a dish of tea with a morsel of bread for
my supper ; but the warmth of the weather makes
it delightful — darkness however closes in, so good
night. 20th June. — We mounted yesterday morning at
half past two, that is, not more than half an hour
before the first glimmer of dawn ; and, until that
appeared, had the advantage of a brilliant moon.
Twenty miles onward we took breakfast at another
green spot where the horses could feed as well as
we. We were now, in fact, in a country celebrated
for its fine pasture, in the chummun or meadow,
where the famous horses of Mammush Khan Zaf-
feranloo were bred ; but we had still a long way to
ride before reaching Radcan, our intended Munzil;
and the heat having been intense all day, and the
sun getting low as we reached a remarkably fine
spot of grass, near some Kara- chaders, or black
Eeliaut tents, we resolved to bivouac once more, and
came to, about five p. m, after a march of forty-two
miles. Milk and firing were procured from the
tents, together with some bread for the servants;
and a good pillaw, followed by that ever-welcome
cordial, a dish of tea for myself, sent us all comfortably
to sleep under our coverlids ; for the air of the mea-

264 GRASSHOPPERS AND INSECTS.
dow was too damp and cold to admit of our sleeping
totally uncovered ; in fact, our clothes were found in
the morning to be soaked with dew.
The only thing remarkable in this day's march,
was the multitude of grasshoppers that abounded
everywhere-^ — they were like the sand of the desert,
numerous as locusts ; yet locusts they were not,
although the peasants declared that they did con
siderable injury to the crop. The horses at every
step knocked up thousands of all sizes and hues, and
some which, when at rest, looked like pieces of brown
stick, when roused, expanded wings of the loveliest
colours, particularly a beautiful pink. The whole
plain was alive with them, and with butterflies and
dragonflies of the most gorgeous tints ; and what
with them and the numerous flowers that were
springing among the corn and the herbage, there
was enough to amuse the eye, though the other senses
might be oppressed with heat.
This morning, the 20th, we were on foot a little
after four, and reached Radcan, all dying of hunger.
It is a village, or rather a small fortified town, of
considerable antiquity, and the seat of one of the
Koordish chiefs in this quarter. But it bore strong
marks of the ruin which has overtaken the whole of
this great province within the last three years, from
the combined scourges of war and scarcity. Its
houses were almost all empty ; part of its men had
accompanied their chief, Ibrahim Khan, to the siege
of Deregez, before which the Persian army has
taken up its position ; the rest, terrified at the very
sight of a party of horsemen, crept away into hiding

WANT OF NECESSARIES. 265
holes, so that we could scarcely find a person to
anwer an inquiry.
Our demands were, bread, and mas, (sour milk,)-
barley, and a guide. Of these necessaries, none
were to be had except the last ; and he was pro
duced only with the greatest difficulty, and a com
bination of threats and promises : but neither love
nor money would purchase bread or barley. For
many days, the villagers assured us that they had
existed by roasting the half-ripe barley or wheat,
and then boiling it up with a little grass of some
sort or other from the fields. That the harvest had
not been more than two days begun, and every grain
threshed out was devoured as soon as obtained.
That all their bullocks, yaboos, and even their asses,
had been seized upon for the use of the army, and,
in short, that they were in every way a wretched
and depressed set of people. They assured us, how
ever, that there was a fine village only two fursucks
further on, where bread and barley would be easily
obtained, as the harvest was further advanced than
with them ; and accordingly, finding we could screw
nothing but a guide out of the Radcanees, we pressed
forward to Soohoon, where, after a world of negotia
tion, we obtained a promise of bread and corn ; but
the former was to be baked, and so we had to wait
for it. After all, only one-half of the quantity we
required could be obtained.
Our stage for the night was Moochooloon, a plea
santly situated village, where we arrived early in the
evening. Here also they made all manner of asse
verations and vows of poverty and destitution. In

266 DULNESS OF COMPREHENSION.
spite of fair words and proffers of fairer coin, even
in advance, for all we might require, we could force
nothing from them except an obstinate and dogged
refusal. They declared they lived themselves on
grass, or half-ripe barley, and had nothing to give us,
so at last I was forced to have recourse to harsher
means. There is here a fine spring, or rather a can
naut, which comes to the surface close by the gate
of the village, at the very door of our lodging. This
I perceived to be full of fish, of which I was resolved
to have a dish : and though, alas ! my poor fishing
rod was gone, I made a shift to rig up a line and
hook, with which I was pulling the creatures out as
fast as I threw in, when one of my servants came to
tell me that unless I would permit force to be used,
neither horses nor people would have anything to
eat. The people, they said, unaccustomed to gen
tleness, attributed the tone I had assumed to irreso
lution, and could not even comprehend the meaning
of so novel a sort of treatment.
I had myself begun to suspect that I was talking
a language which the people did not understand, and
that my fine ideas of justice and generosity were
above their comprehension, — to discover, in short,
that when at Rome one must do as the Romans do :
so quitting my sport I returned to my lodging, girded
on my sword, stuck a pistol in my belt, and accom
panied by two armed servants entered the village.
There I found the people clustering together in a
state of uncertainty between fear and desire of resist
ance; but leaving them no time to deliberate, I
stalked up to the first respectable-looking man I saw,
seized him by the collar, and conducting him out-

STRONG MEASURES. 267
side the gate, gave him in charge to another of my
servants. I then returned, and finding my two ser
vants struggling with some others, one of whom, a
serbauz or toffunchee, had made himself particularly
conspicuous, I seized him, and having with some
difficulty made him likewise a prisoner, I turned to
the rest and said, " I spoke to you as men, kindly*
and promised you full price for all I might require.
I have in my pocket papers which would warrant
my seizing such supplies as I need without paying
you a farthing, but it was my wish to get them by
fair means, and pay you their fair value. I now.
find you to be beasts, and tell you that if you do
not furnish me immediately with all I want, I will
take them by force, and not a farthing shall you re
ceive." You should have seen the change of tone which
this little show of energy produced. At once, as if
by magic, every angry look and word ceased. " What
was the meaning of my displeasure ? " asked one of
them in a voice of most insinuating mildness, " when,
wullah billah, they only required to know my desire
in order to comply with it, and were in all respects
my most humble slaves. Everything I wanted should
be procured, if they dug in the very earth for it :
only let my anger be appeased, and let the people I
had taken hold of be set at liberty, and all should
be right." I told them that when all was right, and
not till then, should their friends be set at liberty.
So leaving the fellows, who had received some pretty
sharp kicks and thumps in the fray, under a guard
with a drawn sword, I quietly returned to my fishT
ing.

268 AN ANCIENT TOWER.
I had no more trouble. Bread, corn, and a lamb,
with grass for the horses, and all the needful et ceteras
for man and beast, were immediately produced ; and
then, and not till then, did I release my captives. A
plentiful dish of fish was added to the fare, and the
night passed off well for all parties ; for I took care
to pay every man with my own hand, that the vil
lagers might have no just cause of complaint against
us. I forgot to mention that at Radkan there is a
tower of the Arab architecture and sera, resem
bling the Goombuz-e-kaoos in Jorjaum, and several
mounds indicating the site of an ancient city. I
picked up at our bivouac of the preceding night a
piece of stone rudely carved in the Persepolitan
fashion. 2ist June. — Trusting to the servants, we were two
hours behind our time of starting; that is, we were
in the saddle by four in the morning. Our route
yesterday had been along the skirts of the right-hand
hills, which are spotted with trees of the arbor vitee.
But after pursuing the same course for ten miles to
the ruins of a miserable little village, where we break
fasted, but which could supply us with nothing but
a little fuel, we turned to our right, and, plunging
among the low hills that skirt the mountains, thread
ed some pretty green valleys ; until after a ride of
about twenty-eight miles we reached a fortress, or
fortified village, known by the name of Kallah Eus-
suf Khan. Here we made the same application as
at other places, for bread, barley, and a guide. Now
there was resident at this place a person of some
respectability, who could not deny himself; but he

WANT OF BREAD AND CORN. '269
waved compliance with my demands, sending by my
messenger a guide, and two loaves or cakes of bread,
with an assurance that it was all he had for himself
in the place ; and that as for barley, not a maun of
it had as yet been got in.
This story, in a place of from two to three hun
dred houses, was so utterly improbable that I resolved
upon questioning the governor myself. I found with
him a person who perfectly recollected me in former
times at Khabooshan ; and though this circumstance
was insufficient to procure me bread or corn, it had
the effect of producing a better guide, and a more
decided order than had before been given for our
reception at the village of Thaveree, some eight or
ten miles further on. We found the country in con
siderable alarm from the report of a chuppowing
party of a thousand Toorkomans, said to have passed
through the Deregez valley on their way to plunder
the environs of Khabooshan. Now one of the best
and most easy of their routes was that very one by
which we were about to proceed ; for the valley of
Kallah Eussuf Khan leads into that of Khabooshan,
which place was actually within sight, so that it be
came a little awkward to move forward. On we
went, however, through much fine cultivation of
wheat and barley, and up the course of a fine stream;
the Yeich, until we reached a curious and narrow
defile, bounded by bare limestone rocks, and of a
good many miles in length. At a point in this ra
vine where the mountains seem utterly to close up
further progress, the stream has broken through
them by a gorge, which admitted us into one of the
prettiest and greenest little valleys possible, with two

270 FEARS OF THE VILLAGERS,
or three picturesque and fortified villages, surrounded
by a noble sheet of wheat and barley, still green, but
of the finest possible growth. One of these villages
was Thaveree, our quarters for the night.
And now again commenced the customary wrangle
for provisions. Nothing proves more strikingly the
lamentable alteration in the state of the country
than this extreme reluctance to supply travellers
with necessaries. When I was formerly in Khora*
san, I never came to a village, where, if there was
no regular Mehman-khaneh, the Ket-khodah or
Reish-seffeed hirnself did not offer, or find me a
lodging, and where I was not sure of corn for my
horses, and a good cake of wheaten bread for myself,
if not a well-buttered pillaw. But now, since the
late wars and the exactions of the military, so terri
fied are the people at the sight of strangers, that the
first thing they think of is to make their escape from
extortion. Watchmen are planted on the towers or
heights around to give notice of any horseman's ap
proach, and the alarm they give is the signal for
the Ket-khodah to make himself scarce. Off he
goes with most of the respectable villagers ; and on
inquiry being made for him by the stranger, the re
ply is that he has gone to some distant place, and
that all the people are in the mountains with their
sheep and cattle. All that can be concealed is put
in hiding-places ; and if you chance to see some pro
per fellows lounging about, you are told that they
are only strangers or travellers. In short, the trick
is that you shall find no one of whom to demand
what you may require. You tell those you see that
they shall receive payment for what is wanted : it

AND CAUSES THEREOF. 271
is in vain ; they have been cheated in this way be
fore, and swear stoutly that there is nothing to be
had. If you ask what they eat themselves, they
tell you grass, or herbs. This you know to be a lie,
so you produce money, and offer to pay beforehand
for all you take. Still it is in vain ; the serbauz
and their officers have had recourse to the same ex
pedient to lure them into producing their stores, and
then have taken back the money by force ; so they
still persist in affirming that they have nothing. In
fact, the oppression they have suffered seems quite
to have confounded their intellects, so that they can
not reason, and stand like over-driven asses in stupid
dogged obstinacy to bear the blows that are rained
on them, for the matter generally ends as it did
with me yesterday. The traveller must have neces
saries, so he catches and threshes the first man he
can lay hold of. Thus, from their countrymen, they
suffer both the licking and the loss ; the first of
which, and probably part of the second, they might
have avoided by more prudent conduct. From me,
and I hope from Europeans in general, they receive
the price of what is taken ; but they lose the dona
tion which civility would have obtained, and gain
the blows instead.
In the present case, I am happy to say, matters
were not pushed to such extremities. The Ket-
khodah, it is true, had absconded; but our guide,
whom we paid liberally, conveyed to the rest the
orders of their superior, and money and fair words,
coupled with a few implied threats of consequences
in case of recusancy, produced what we required.
We slept on the roof of a house, for in the very

272 CHOICE OF ROADS.
heart of chuppows and plunder it is unsafe to pass
the night in bivouac, and in the morning found our
coverings soaked with the heavy dew. Our fare
to-day also has been assisted by my piscatory skill ;
again I got up my mutilated apparatus, and, with
a branch of a tree for a rod, caught some fish which
would have made some of our sporting friends stare ;
they are, I think, a species of barbel.
Hitherto, the country from Mushed had been
pretty level and the roads good, but we had now
plunged into and had to cross a range of lofty moun
tains, which promised haraer-ivork. Of three roads
in our option, one led by the pass of Alla-hu-Akber,
a tremendous affair, and in which report said there
was a chance of meeting fifteen hundred Toorko
mans, coming to plunder Khabooshan, so we would
have none of it ; the second was very far round
about ; so we resolved to take the third, leading by
the pass of Tooinge, which, though very rough, was
a nearer way, and more likely to be clear of evil
company. We were in the saddle by five in the morning,
and soon entered a rocky pass which led to the top
of the first ridge. Descending by a deep arid tor
tuous ravine, we reached another and very beautiful
valley, with a village perched on a rocky eminence,
and surrounded by orchards of apricot and walnut-
trees, and overlooking a splendid field of wheat ; but
all was deserted : tyranny and extortion had driven
the inhabitants away to take shelter with the rebel-,
lious Khan of Deregez. The encouragement given
to such deserters is one of the causes of complaint
against that chief. The northern boundary of this

FIRST SIGHT OF THE ATTOCK. 273
valley was a mountain, which rose before us in
rather alarming majesty; for up it we knew we
must go, though how was a question, as neither cleft
nor ravine appeared on its perpendicular face. Our
surprise was not lessened at sight of our path, which
led in the most uncompromising zig-zag right up
the precipice. It was a toilsome business, and the
more so, as, from a desire to save our horses' feet,
we walked upon our own nearly all the way to the
top. Once there, however, the severest of our la
bours were at an end, for after traversing the uneven
summit of the mountain, and reaching the top of the
descent, we found ourselves overlooking the valley
of Deregez, which lay below us, and divided from
the Attock by only one low ridge of hills — that
Attock I had longed so much to see, and which now
was spread almost at my feet like a dark sea, fading
into distance till the horizon blended with the sky.
We could not afford to gaze long on this interest
ing scene, however, for a tremendous descent lay
before us, and our resting place was far away ; so,
without more ado, we plunged down the northern
face of the mountain, and after half-slipping, half-
tumbling, for some miles over black rocks and green
slopes, found ourselves in a ravine, the dry bed of
some former torrent, for the agency of water was
evident in the frequent rifting of the solid rock.
Yet the remarkable disturbance which these moun
tains exhibit, has, probably, not been produced by
water alone ; for the contortions of the strata would
puzzle any geologist alive. The whole range is
composed mainly of secondary limestone, which may
have been confused by the upward projection of the
VOL. II. T

274 THE VALLEY OF DEREGEZ.
primitive rocks that here and there make their
appearance at the summits. I have heard of no
volcanic appearances in this quarter.
Through this narrow gulley, in which there was
not a drop of water, we wound for eight miles ; and
it was only on issuing from it, by climbing its left
bank, that we perceived, still about fifteen miles
distant, the Persian camp, to which I had resolved,
in the first place, to wend my way, as there I should
be sure of learning the best course of proceeding.
The day was already far spent, and a weary extent
of waving downs lay between us and our journey's
end. Yet even weariness could not render me
indifferent to the features of the country we had
reached, and which, for Persia, were certainly fine.
It was a noble valley, perhaps fifty or sixty miles
long, divided longitudinally by several ridges of
rocks, and studded everywhere with fine large for
tified villages surrounded with gardens. I counted
twenty of them at once in view, and there were
others hidden by the rocks and in the ravines. The
sheets of cultivation, all ripe and crying out for the
sickle, were quite astonishing, and we looked, as we
passed, for the reapers, but none were to be seen ;
and in the villages through which we passed for
inhabitants, but only a few stragglers were there;
all, they said, had left their homes for the shelter of
Mahomedabad (the capital), where the defence was
to be made ; indeed, fear of the army and its law
less excesses would of itself have driven them there.
The camp had that morning moved its ground to a
fresh village ; and when, about seven o'clock at
night, I reached its outskirts, I saw the horsemen

ARRIVAL IN CAMP. 275
'and serbauz stationing their horses and yaboos in
the *green crop, and cutting that which was ripe for
their own use and that of the horses in camp. All
was bustle ; but without pausing I made my way
through it to the tent of B  , who received me
with open arms.
On inquiry, I learned that all differences with
Abbas Koolee Khan were in a fair way of being
settled amicably, and that my own business might
also be arranged so as to insure the provision of a
satisfactory method of crossing the Attock, among
the Toorkomans themselves, in perfect safety. But
to- accomplish this would require the delay of a day
or two, and I was not sorry to have that time to
examine the economy of a Persian camp, and collect
what information was there to be gathered respect
ing the adjacent countries. Next day, however,
brought news that threatened not only a longer
detention in camp, but promised the sight of a little
Khorasanee fighting. The Khan delayed fulfilment
of his part of the convention, and the return of the
deputies sent to treat was looked for as the signal
for an advance upon Mahomedabad, a movement
which certainly would not be made unopposed by
the Khan.

t 2

276

LETTER X.
Persian camp-practice, and mode of obtaining supplies. — Checks
upon plundering. — Villages chuppowed. — Toorkoman allies.—
Negotiations. — Delays  . B  's illness. — Decision of cha
racter. — Way to stop a mutiny. — Camp changes its ground. —
Insects. — Spiders.
This morning I paid my respects to Noor Ma
homed Khan, a brother of the Ausef-u-dowlut, who
is the official general of this army, though the mili
tary arrangements are principally conducted by my
friend B  . Here we picked up a good deal re
specting the state of the country and the camp.
That of the latter was, in truth, pretty apparent;
There being no commissariat — no regular supplies
of food and necessaries provided for the men, they
were of necessity permitted to range about at will
in search of what they could find ; and you con
stantly saw parties of from five to a dozen coolly
mounting their horses, and taking their spears in
most business-like style, fare forth, as the old bor
derers were wont to do, in search of what they
might pick up. In due time, if on the watch, you
might observe the same parties returning home with
some unfortunate cow, or a parcel of sheep across
their saddles ; or, at worst, a mountain of wheat
or barley, shorn with their swords, for the use of
themselves and their cattle.
Indeed I found myself forced to adopt similar

CAMP MODES OF SUPPLY. 277
measures, and to follow camp fashions as well as
other fashions, in order to support my own people.
One of them came this day to tell me they could
get no fuel ; I told him to cut some branches from
the next trees for that purpose. — -" Oh ! no," said
B  , " that will never do — they won't burn ;
let him go to the nearest house in the village and
pull it to pieces ; that will supply them with as
much as they want." " Be Chushm !" said my
fellow, and off he set. In less than an hour back
he came with a yaboo load of wood — doors, win
dows, &c. — the spoil of some unhappy domicile.
Numbers of the husbandmen, who had stolen from
their retreats to view the wreck of their property,
took courage from despair, and came to B 
with pitiful complaints. " What can I do, men?"
would he reply ; " point me out the thieves, if you
can ?" " How can we do that among so many ?"
" Well, then, how am I to help you ? And even
if they were found out and punished, would that
restore to life your cow or sheep, or build up your
house again ?" A party of such complainants beset
him this morning as we were out riding, beseeching
him to save their corn from a troop of serbauz,
who were then busy cutting it. " Go, go," replied
he ; " I will send from camp when I reach it." When
we returned I put him in mind of his promise.
''Why, who should I send?" replied he: " if I
send a party of horse, or more serbauz, it will be
but adding to the thieves ; and if I send a gholaum,
or one of the sirdar's (general's) furoshes, he will
first squeeze from the people the few koroonees
(money) they may have — then eat and drink his fill

278 MODE OF STOPPING FIRES.
at their expense ; and by the time these preli
minaries are settled the whole mischief will have
been done ; and, after all, our fellows must eat:
we did not come here to starve."
It was sad, however, to see the waste and wan
ton mischief often committed in procuring the re
quisite food. One night the whole plain, south of
the camp, appeared in a blaze; it was discovered
that a fine sheet of wheat and barley had been wan
tonly set on fire by some serbauz. " This will never
do," said B  ," we shall have the camp burned
next;" and he instantly addressed himself to dis
covering the culprits. Having learned their regi
ment, he went at once to the general's tent. " We
must stop this work," said he ; " we must cut off
a few ears — that will do the business." Whether the
ears were cropped or not, I know not, but I saw no
more fires.
These predatory parties, however, did meet with
occasional checks of another sort, and several indi
viduals became the victims of their own cupidity,
and of the rage of the inhabitants. The first night
I was in camp two serbauz went out to cut wheat ;
the field was scarcely beyond the lines. One of them
returned, but the other did not ; and the next morn
ing his headless trunk, found upon the spot, explain
ed the reason of his absence, as well as of a slight
struggle which his companion then remembered to
have heard, but thought nothing of at the time.
The head had been sent to Abbas Koolee Khan.
Two days afterwards, four Deregezees seized a man,
who, no doubt, had been marauding, and, dragging
him apart, proceeded to slay him. But they fell

ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS. 279
out about the honour of shedding the first blood;
and the poor fellow, finding himself disregarded for
a moment, and not conceiving himself bound to
await the arrangement of their dispute, started up,
and made for the camp. Being hard pressed, how
ever, he threw himself into the well of a canaut
which lay in his way, and his pursuers believing
him killed, or, at all events, out of their reach, made
off. Fortunately, he received little injury in his
fall, and finding hiriiself in the underground canal,
he pursued it to its mouth, and then emerging, walked
quietly back to camp. The truth of this tale rests
on the man's own word. I do not answer for it,
but it is believed in camp.
Nor are other stirring incidents wanting to en
liven the present period of inaction. Abbas Koolee
Khan, our opponent, had sent for assistance against
the Persian army to the Toorkomans of the Attock.
Of these, fifteen hundred made their appearance, and
sending their Reish Suffeeds (elders) to the Khan,
proposed to make a diversion in his favour by chap-
powing Chinnaran, or Boojnoord, or even Mushed
itself, provided he would give them ten heads of
the best families in Mahomedabad, as hostages
that no molestation should be offered them during
their retreat with the booty. It appears that the
Khan could not, or at least did not, agree to this
proposal; and the Toorkomans, determined not to
return empty-handed, sent one party to plunder a
village of the Khan's within three miles of our
camp, and another to perform the same office in the
neighbourhood of Khabooshan. The first party did
their work so cleverly, that not a word was heard

280 PACIFIC APPEARANCES.
of it till all was over, when seven persons were
found to have been killed, and twenty carried off
prisoners. A similar fate befel another village, some
two or three miles more distant : the dead alone
remained to tell the tale.
Next day, however, matters assumed a more
peaceful aspect. Wheat, barley, and a number of
sheep were sent into camp, so that we had no lack
of food ; but the principal terms of the proposed con
vention remained still uncomplied with. It would
weary you were I even to touch on the pros and
cons, the quibbles and quirks, and the whole de
tail of intrigue, which marked each step of the
negotiation ; yet, if well done, it would afford a
rich specimen of the pettifogging character of Persian
diplomacy. Each day brought its fresh difficulty
and fresh delay, until my friend B  , who is not
the most patient of mortals, swore he would quicken
their apprehensions by marching straight to the ca
pital; a measure which was only averted by the
arrival in camp of a new mediator — no other than
my friend, Yelantoosh Khan, who came from Kelaat,
not I fancy to facilitate, but rather to embroil mat
ters. A delay of three days more was thus, much
to my discomfiture, produced. But what can I do ?
The country is in no state for travelling, and, non-
combatant though I may be, I should run the same
risks as others, were I to leave camp at present ;
on the other hand, were I to go to Mahomedabad,
Abbas Koolee Khan might very possibly take a fancy
to detain me there as a means of extorting better
terms, or under the belief that my friends would
use money or influence largely for my liberation.

B  'S ILLNESS. 281
The evil might only, perhaps, amount to delay;
but to me delay is serious, and such a faux pas
might increase it indefinitely.
Another cause of anxiety, perhaps of delay, has
arisen. B  , my best friend for all purposes in
camp, has fallen ill, and the pain he has been in for
these last three days, has incapacitated him from
attending either to business or to guests. I have
been obliged to nurse him, and feel that it would be
inhuman to leave him, in such circumstances, to the
care of ignorant and possibly ill-disposed people,
who, were he quite disabled, would little care what
might become of him. Nor can I be insensible to
the possible effect which any accident to him might
have upon my own position ; for as he is the soul of
the expedition, such an event might produce a panic
which would disorganize the army and turn the
tables in favour of the enemy. But " Khodah Bu-
zoorgust !" God is great ! — as the Easterns say, and
I confide in his goodness and mercy !
The truth is, that- B  is more feared than
loved here — envied and hated by his rivals and fellow
officers, and dreaded by the men for his severity.
It is singular what an ascendency he has acquired
over their minds, in spite of the questionable support
which he receives from the higher powers. Just
the day before I reached camp, a regiment mutinied
for some reason or other, and rising upon their
officers, were about to put them to death, when the
hubbub reached the ears of B  . It was an emer
gency just calculated to call forth all the energies of
his fearless mind ; — seizing his sword, he threw
himself among the mutineers, and laying about him,

282 THE WAY TO QUELL A MUTINY.
cut down one, ran another through the body, and
a third through the thigh, before they could well
look round them to see what was the matter. It
was touch and go — kill or cure ; but the result was
fortunate and decisive. Fear came upon them all, —
the drums beat to arms, and the mutineers them
selves, at B  's word of command, formed a hollow
square, in the centre of which he stood alone. The
instruments of punishment were ordered forth, some
of the ringleaders were flogged upon the spot, and
the rest were pardoned on promise of good conduct.
A whit less of promptitude and decision might have
been fatal ; but B  is happily well gifted with
these qualities, which in the service he is engaged in
are, of all others, the most indispensable.
30th June. — Two days ago the army, having de
voured all in its neighbourhood, struck its tents and
marched to another village, which crumbled at its
touch into ruin, like the rest. The horses were
tethered in the green corn/ the ripe crop was trodden
down, the trees stripped of their unripe fruit and
branches ; and you might hear the crackling of the
houses as they fell, pulled to pieces for the wood
they afforded. I saw a whole rabble of serbauz
and camp followers rush into a vineyard full of un
ripe fruit. It withered before them as if fire had
passed over it, and the sour grapes were borne off
in horse loads ; my servants brought me a quantity,
of which the juice squeezed out made excellent
sherbet. Next day reinforcements, to the extent of more
than three thousand men, came to add to the force
and brilliancy of the camp, now between seven and

PERSIAN CAMP. 283
eight thousand strong, and to assist in eating up the
country. The Toorkomans have chuppowed two
more villages of Deregez, but, it is said, have been
repulsed in an attempt upon Kooshkhaneh, (the
Hawke'S Nest,) a village of Khabooshan ; thus we are
not likely to go to sleep for want of excitement, and
in truth there is enough to amuse one even within
the camp. I only wish I could describe it all with
out being tedious, but that could only be done by
the pencil; for so much depends on costume and
character, that to convey an idea of the scenes con
stantly passing before our eyes as we sit in the open
tent, would be impossible.
Nor are the sounds that every now and then
break upon the ear less curious and interesting. On
the very first evening I started from my seat at
hearing the drums and fifes, and a sort of regimental
band playing English marches and Scotch tunes
in the middle of the camp— think of my sensations
on recognizing " Cease, rude Boreas," the Scotch
trumpet tune, and several reels and quick steps
played by Persian fifers in the middle of the valley
of Deregez, within sight of the great Toorkoman
Desert, and being awakened every morning by the
reveillez of the cavalry bugles !
The next thing that attracted me was a prodi
gious clapping of hands and shouting, which com
menced just about dark, and continued for many
minutes with a measured cadence. This, I was told,
was a charm uttered by the whole camp against the
bite of venomous insects, and especially of an enor
mous spider, of whom more anon. All day the
camp resounded with the grinding and beating of

284 CAMP NOISES.— INSECTS.
Corn, which thus, inostly thrashed out by hand and
roasted, formed a large portion of the soldiers' food.!
But the most hideous and annoying noise of all
arose from the asses, which swarmed in the camp—
true four-footed asses, I mean, which, tied by threes
and fours together in every quarter, kept up a most
inconceivable braying. It came periodically, that isj
every quarter of an hour some abominable, brute set
up his throat, and was instantly joined by his neigh-*
bours ; this awakened the next group, and so it
went on throughout the ; whole ; and no sooner did
the distant sound give promise of a truce, than up
got some friend close by, fresh and clear as if he had
not uttered one bray that day, and then was sound
ing his trumpet for dear life. I never suffered a
more diabolical vocal persecution^
Then we had the insects, hideous and fearful of
aspect — countless in multitudes, to contend with;
flies of every sort and size, slaters of extraordi
nary plumpness, beetles as large as humining-birds;
ants and spiders in myriads, with clouds of grass*
hoppers, assaulted us in every possible way. At
tracted by the lights at night, they entered "the
open tents, jumping into our sherbet and pillaws at
dinner, drowning themselves in our tea, and entering
our very mouths as we opened them to drink it.
-They crawled all over us in thousands, and made
their abode in our garments. But worst of all.
was that enormous spider to which I alluded just
now, and which, in Persian, is called the rooteil, or
shutoorzen, (camel stinger,) and by the learned, T
believe, the phalangium. Some of these are yellow;
some black, and of an immense size — perhaps, in-

SPIDERS. 285
eluding legs, not less than five inches of spread, and,
the latter particularly, hirsute and hideous of aspect.
Now as the carpets of the tent are spread on the
bare ground there is no manner of preventing the
ingress and egress of these monsters, and we were
frequently more surprised than pleased by the sudden
approach of a formidable rooteil galloping in upon us,
or perhaps over us. One morning I had just dressed
-myself, and was putting on my boots preparatory to
fiding out, when I became aware of a strange scratch
ing within my wide Persian trousers. I gave a con
vulsive stamp or two with my foot, when down fell
a thumping fellow who had unceremoniously crawled
into that forbidden region. You know my abhor
rence of the whole race of spiders, and can conceive
the shudder with which I viewed the intruder, whom
I valiantly severed in two with my sword, the only
weapon within reach, as he was making off at speed.
You shall see his picture, which was taken on the
gpot, immediately after his execution. But I had
not done with spiders for that day, for while seated
at dinner I felt something like a crab scrambling up
my neck ; and, on putting up my hand, pulled down
another of these amiable reptiles, which fell upon
the cloth before me ; — him I finished with my knife.
The most absurd affair with these creatures, how
ever, occurred on the next evening, when B  , a
Persian colonel, the Meerza, and I, were seated on
the carpet at dinner. The Meerza happening to
look round, caught sight of such a monster entering
the tent, that up he started, incontinently, with a
cry of horror ; up shot the colonel in no less haste,
and I was not slow in following. B  , unable from

286 AN INTRUDER.
illness to move, alone kept his ground ; but all stood
for a moment aghast, as the monster, like a mount
ed dragoon, charged right in amongst us, galloped
over the cloth, scaled the mountain of pillaw which
smoked in the centre, and then suspecting, from the
bustle, perhaps, that his presence might be unwel
come, made for the opposite side, where he was lost
in the darkness : for although every one grappled at
something wherewith to slay him, and sundry blows
were aimed at his person, he seemed to bear a
charmed life ; and as to treading such a giant under
foot with our slipperless soles, we might as well
have thought of crushing a huge lobster. The worst
of the matter is, that the sting, or rather bite, of
these huge insects, is said to be very dangerous ;
the Persians affirm that it sometimes is mortal, and
they fear them exceedingly. It is obvious, however,
that the animal seldom makes use of this dangerous
power, as otherwise, considering their numbers, acci
dents would needs be very frequent indeed, which
is far from being the case.

287

LETTER XI.
Account of the quarrel between Abbas Koolee Khan and the Per
sian Government. — Emigration. — The Khan's proposals. —
Yelantoosh Khan, the envoy. — Reply. — A counter proposition.
— Break up of camp — Army marches towards the passes. —
We proceed to Mahomedabad. — An alarm. — Treacherous
guide. — Persian soldiers — their intelligence and powers of
endurance. — Hardships in Khorasan campaigns. — Anecdote of
some Serbauz. — The pass. — Mahomedabad  The Khan. —
Intrigues. — The Attock. — A dinner party. — A present. —
— Tricks of guides. — Ascent of the pass. — The Sirdar's camp.
Mahomedabad of Deregez. July 1 st.
Here I am, at last, in the " Tod's-hole," — in the
stronghold of the enemy — heaven send me safe out
of it ! The arrival of the fresh troops gave spirit
to our proceedings and quickened the movements of
the Deregezees. Yelantoosh Khan had come to
camp with a proposal from his friend, which was
agreed to by the Sirdar, provided he would stand
security. But, by way of shortening my story, I
may as well tell it you in order, and explain the
cause of the expedition, which is characteristic
enough of this curious country and people.
Abbas Koolee Khan, formerly called Reza Koolee,
is the son of the late Begler Khan, hereditary chief
tain of Deregez ; one of a race of border chiefs
nearly as celebrated here as were the Douglasses,
the Percies, the Scots, the Kerrs, the Musgraves,
&c. &c. of Scottish and of English border story.

288 KHANAT OF DEREGEZ.
Deregez itself is a small khanat, or district, situated
on the very edge of the Attock, and close to the
country of those formidable Toorkomans of whom
you have so often heard. When Begler Khan died,
he left as heir this, the son of his noblest wife ;
but the young Reza Koolee found it difficult to
protect his rights from the encroachment of his
brothers ; and these family squabbles drove him from
his paternal property, of which the revenue does
not exceed 2,500/. a-year, to seek protection in
Khyvah. After the fall of Reza Koolee Khan, of
Khabooshan, who had taken great part in the affairs
of Deregez, the late Prince Royal sent for the
fugitive Reza Koolee, treated him with great kind
ness, restored his dominions to him, and suggested
that as his name of Reza had been unfortunate, he
should change it for that of Abbas, being that of
his royal protector. This was a mark of high favour,
and complied with, of course ; but the change of
name produced no change of character. Rash and
thoughtless, the young chief, by various acts of folly,
obtained the appellation of Dellee-Kkan, or the mad
Khan, by which he is still known, and in which he
seems to take pride.
By one of the arrangements made with the Princej
the Khan was bound at all times to entertain and
hold in readiness a certain contingent force of horse
and foot, which, together with certain specified sub
sidies, limited in amount on account of the expense
entailed on him by his exposed situation, and con
tinual attacks from the Toorkomans, formed the
whole assessment imposed on him. But it appears
that since the death of his patron, the young man

CAUSES OF EMIGRATION. 289
has neglected the performance of these engagements,
and imagining himself a great chief, confident, too,
in the strength of his country, he has been rash
enough to refuse compliance with the demands of
government : perhaps incited to do so by others,
who fain would try its strength without exposing
themselves. But there are other grounds of com
plaint. Since the reduction of the Koordish states
in this quarter, governors, on the Prince's part, have
been put in charge, who, probably not expecting a
long reign, have sought by extortion to make the
most of their time. The Ryots, accustomed to the
patriarchal and comparatively milder sway of their
own chiefs, got alarmed at this change, and many,
in order to avoid its effects, fled into neighbouring
districts — some went to Boojnoord, some to Sub
zawar, and many to Deregez. They speak of one
thousand families from Khabooshan alone. These
were all well received by the Khan, who located
them in villages and gave them lands.
Now, in Persia, the seduction of peasantry from
one district to another is held a deadly crime ; for
where a population is already half erratic in its
propensities, were acts of oppression to be always
followed by such emigrations, there would be no end
to changes and loss of revenue in consequence ; at
least, so reason the Persian economists. All such
attempts, therefore, are put down, where possible,
by force, and bitter quarrels amongst neighbours are
often the consequence. The runaways were de
manded from Abbas Koolee Khan, who either could
not collect them or would not — the latter was, pro
bably, the truth. All Khorasan, a seething pot of
vol. n. u

290 NEGOTIATIONS.
discontent, was looking on, and any symptom of
weakness on the part of government would have
been equivalent to a cession of the country. This
was felt, and produced a vigorous effort. The army
was set in motion, and B  , who was chosen for its
practical commander on the occasion, by a sudden,
and really a masterly manoeuvre, turned the guarded
passes, and entered the valley of Deregez by an un-
thought-of route, before the inhabitants dreamed
that he could have reached the defiles, in which they
hoped to annihilate his force : the rest you know.
The Khan had agreed to give up the runaways, to
pay his assessment, and furnish his contingent. He
promised, moreover, to collect and give up the fugi
tives before the end of ten days, provided the Persian
troops should immediately quit the julgeh (valley).
This, however, as the army was living at free
quarters on the enemy, by no means suited the
politics of its commanders, and it was to arrange
these matters that Yelantoosh Khan had come to
camp. The proposals he brought were in substance
much as above, and Yelantoosh Khan offered to
pledge himself for their fulfilment. The reply to this
proposal was simple. "All this is well, Khan, but
who is to be your security? Will you agree to
remain in camp for these ten days, until the whole
runaways shall be given up ?" This took the Khan
all aback ; he was evidently unprepared for a reply.
But reduced to choose between appearing as art
and part with his friend in a trick, and running the
risk of remaining a prisoner till that friend should
be able or willing to redeem the pledge demanded,
he embraced the latter alternative and consented to

BREAK UP OF THE CAMP. 291
remain, trusting to some ruse or chance for extri
cating himself. This resolution was of some use to
me, as the security possessed in the Khan's person
would cover all risk I might be supposed to run in
venturing into Deregez. I therefore took advantage
of the truce, and resolved to join a party of horse
men who were bound for Mahomedabad.
Meantime the camp broke up, according to agree
ment, and marched to the foot of the hills, intending
to cross them next day. But B  , who still had
his doubts, resolved to occupy the pass with a
thousand men and some guns, and not to move
downwards until all should have been concluded,
and I agreed with him that I should return to his
camp, if possible, on the third day. It was a pic
turesque and stirring sight, this breaking up of a
large camp in the morning ; tents striking, baggage
packing, troops forming on the ground, its ad
vanced guard streaming away in a long line in one
direction ; parties hurrying in on all sides from
reconnoitring or from plunder, while the main body
and its baggage more leisurely left the ground, pro
tected by the rear-guard. The plain was covered
with groups of horsemen, spurring here and there,
and as our own small party rode along, after sepa
rating from the army, we often had to detach a
single person to examine some approaching body,
and learn whether they were friends or foes.
There is within two miles of Mahomedabad the
chief fortress and residence of the Khan, whither we
were bound, a ridge of hills, or rather rocks, which
rise to a height of two hundred and fifty to six
hundred feet, and in the centre of which there is a
u 2

292 AN ALARM.
gap caused by the course of a stream. Through
this gap, which is called the Derbend of Mahomed
abad, the road passes ; and as we were approaching
it, we were alarmed by observing a cloud of dust
arising, and next a large body of men issuing from a
hollow very near it. It proved, however, to be only
a Persian regiment, who were escorting the gunsj
and whose guide had misled them purposely from
the right way, in the hope of creating some dis
turbance thus close to the approaches to the fortress;
His attempt so far succeeded as to throw the Derege-
zees into violent commotion, for we saw the rocks
and heights bristling with armed men ; every hole
showed two or three heads, and there were three or
four men behind every hillock — there must have been
from six to eight hundred people thus scattered about
these rocks. The colonel commanding the regiment
was exceedingly displeased with the rascally guide,
and some horsemen of our party rode forward to
quiet the apprehensions of the Deregezees ; but they
did not succeed, for the clamour increased every
moment ; a sort of warning shout rang from cliff to
cliff, and I verily expected to see the matchlocks
pointed at us, and hear the whiz of their balls. But
the course of the line of march being altered, the
alarm gradually subsided, and our party were per
mitted to approach unmolested.
The villany of the guide might have produced
very serious results, for the soldiers were exaspe
rated by the death of some of their comrades who
had been killed while marauding, while the Dere
gezees were equally enraged by the damage done to
their villages and crops. A single shot from either

PERSIAN SOLDIERS. 293
party would, I am convinced, have set all in a blaze ;
and the row once begun, who can say where it
would have ended ? It might have happened, too,
at an unlucky moment for the troops, for their false
line of march having taken them close to a village
as yet untouched, the gardens filled with fruit were
a sight they could not resist. Nearly a third of
their number broke from the ranks, and spread over
orchards and vineyards, which they soon stripped of
apricots, and even grapes, cucumbers, &c. ; nor was
it until a halt was made, and the trumpet sounded
loud and long the recall, that the greater part re
turned to their colours. And here I cannot help pay
ing a just tribute to these Persian soldiers, in spite
of this little specimen of irregularity. I never saw
more light-hearted, willing, active creatures, nor men
who more cheerfully put up with, or better sus
tain, privations and hardships. During the greater
part of the time I was in camp, the chief, if not the
only food they had, was parched corn cut by them
selves, — for the sheep and cattle of the neighbour
hood were soon swept away either by them or by
their owners, — but there were neither murmurs nor
complaints- In the performance of duty they were
alert and ready, and no European troops could have
handled their heavy field-pieces better in difficult
ground. On this and on other marches I have seen
the twelve-pounders stick fast in a slough, or in the
mud, so that no horses could drag them out, when
the men instantly yoked to, and with an intelli
gence and perseverance which did them the greatest
credit, extricated them with wonderful quickness,
and this several times running within a very short

294 POWERS OF ENDURANCE
space. In fact, the passes over which, both in
coming and going, they dragged their heavy guns,
with little aid from pioneers or tools, would have
made an European artillery officer stare. We saw
the tracks of the guns where one wheel had gone
actually over the top of the precipice, and traced
them among huge blocks of stone, and on a declivity
which seemed calculated to defy all attempts at
forcing a passage. Let no one after this say that
any road is impracticable for guns.
But it is not from my own knowledge that I
speak thus highly of the powers of endurance of the
Persian troops. I am borne out by the experience
of those who accompanied them in their arduous
winter campaigns in Khorasan, when half clad,
without shelter at night, and little or no food during
the day, they performed the severest duty — investing
fortresses, making forced marches, and often having
to fight hard, with scarcely a murmur. But then
they had their Prince with them, undergoing the
same privations, and saw all their officers, both na
tive and European, cheerfully sharing their hard
ships. Mr. Macneil, who accompanied the Prince, has
told me, that his Royal Highness frequently had
not a thing to eat but what he could get by the
chase, and they have more than once gone together
out to hawk game for dinner, when, on returning,
the Prince would make a fair division of the spoil.
On other occasions, when his Royal Highness knew
that there was no fuel in camp, the ground being
covered thick with snow, he would send for Mac
neil and say, " I know you have no fire — here are a

AND GAIETY OF THE TROOPS. 295
few bouttehs (tufts of weeds) or sticks— come, let us
warm ourselves." In such extremities, with a cold
many degrees below Zero, the poor soldiers would
huddle together, and try to keep each other warm
by close contact, and make the best of what could
not be avoided. I have heard some of them talk in
terms of great horror at their sufferings during this
time, particularly when on guard. Among others
my friend, Mahomed Tukey Khan, junior, of Mey-
meed, gave me a most vivid account of his first
essay in the winter campaign at Khorasan. Yet
these men never lost their spirits, nor, still more
strange, did they fall into insubordination, or break
out into any* acts of violence. In their bivouacs,
after the severest marches, when grouped together,
their conversation would turn, not on their suffer
ings, but upon the operations of the campaign, on
the probabilities of success in their operations against
such a fortress, or in such an expedition, and in
discussing the merits or the abilities of their several
commanders. The march was marked by no sulky
silence ; on the contrary, the line often resounded
with laughter at the jokes that were passing : there
was little straggling, and though gaunt with hunger,
there never was the smallest attempt at pillaging the
stores or provisions belonging to their officers ; but
if a camel or a bullock did happen to drop down on
the march, it was generally found incapable of rising
again, and the poor beast's bones were picked, and
kebaubs often made upon the spot with ramrods and
bayonets, in a roar of fun and laughter.
Nor was their courage inferior to their other qua
lifications, as the history of the sieges and sacks of

296 A DARING ATTEMPT.
Toorsheez, Sultan Meidan, A meerabad, Khabooshan,
Serrakhs, &c. would testify, were they fairly nar
rated, — but I am forgetting that at present I am on
the way to Deregez.
As we cleared the gardens of the village, among
the groups which still dotted the ground between
us and the rocks, we remarked four men armed,
and on foot, who, from their dress, appeared to be
serbauz, making their way through some irregular
ground towards a party upon a little eminence,
composed of men, women, and children, perhaps,
thirty to forty persons, most of whom were also
armed. Thinking that they were soldiers who had
lost their way, we sent a horseman to tell them that
their bugles had sounded the recall, and to point
out the road the regiment had taken ; but we ob
served that the messenger had some difficulty in
making them change their direction. They did so
at last, however, and, on joining us, we found that
they were really serbauz, who were bound on a
curious and characteristic errand. One of their
companions had been put to death about three
nights before, when the camp was at a village called
Chushnabat, by the Deregezees, who had surprised
him while plundering ; and they confessed that they
were proceeding towards the group we had seen,
in order to retaliate — no matter on whom. — " Wul-
lah !" they said ; their hearts were burning for the
loss of their comrade, and they were resolved to
put as many to death as they could (four at least)
by way of revenge ; and having seen these people
on the tuppeh, whither they had fled from the vil
lage, they thought it as well to take them as any

DUTY OF SOLDIERS. 297
others. The odds were against any one of them
selves returning, yet we could scarcely prevail on
them to desist. While I spoke to them, and point
ed out their folly, their eyes were burning with
excitement ; and though perfectly respectful in their
manner, they remonstrated against being recalled,
as if they had been interrupted in the exercise of
an undoubted right. They went off grumbling ; and
I feel persuaded, from the direction they took, that
they were resolved still to try their luck before re
joining their regiment ; and some of our party not
only seemed to think the same, but to consider them
as perfectly in the right ; for when I was remon
strating with the men, one of them said, " Let them
alone, sir ; it should be so with them : were a soldier
always to calculate odds in danger, would he ever
do his duty as he ought ? would he ever charge a
battery, or face a superior foe ? No, no ; these men
just feel and have done as they ought to do." He
was right. But who says such men are not good
stuff for soldiers ? Long live the Persian serbauz,
say I ; pay them and command them well, and the
Shah need not fear the Russians.
As we plunged into the pass, we could better
than before appreciate the amount of resistance
which the assailants would have had to encounter ;
for the barren rocks were all instinct with life, and
every stone, cleft, and hollow poured forth its de
fenders, musket in hand, like the ambushed High
landers of Rhoderick Dhu, as our cavalcade passed
on. Our way lay by the walls of the former capital,
Dustgird, which, in the time of Nadir Shah, was
a considerable place ; but being commanded on all

298 THE FORTRESS.
sides it was found untenable, so that the residence
of the Khan was removed to the new fortress of
Mahomedabad, while only the gardens of the former
place remain. As we approached that place the
glacis, or esplanade outside its ditch, presented a cu-*
rious spectacle, being covered with monstrous heaps
of corn-sheaves, piled up in all directions to within
pistol-shot of the wall. The crop was everywhere
ripe, and every man that could be had, had been
employed to cut and carry the produce to this place
of security under the guns of the fort. Some of the
masses, I suspect, contained grain ready thrashed
out ; at a distance I really thought that they were
some new defences in progress; but the measure
would have been dangerous in the face of an active
enemy, as the heaps might easily have been set fire to.
On entering the town, however, I saw little that
would have led one to suppose it was threatened
with a siege, nor did I remark many persons bear
ing the aspect of able defenders within its walls.
The fort itself is a square, defended by' a double
wall, the outer of which is in fair repair, having a
ditch some sixteen or eighteen feet broad, and a
hak reze, or blind of earth, outside of it. Between
this and the inner wall, a space of from sixty to
eighty yards, was filled with dwellings. The town
itself was laid out by streets in regular compart
ments, but appeared mean and poor, and few of
the shops were open. We traversed it in our way
to the arh or citadel, which was a square castle
with round bastions, on a height, and were conducted
to a lodging, the same, I learned, as had been occu-

ABBAS KOOLEE KHAN. 299
pied by Yelantoosh Khan, whose empty place I thus
filled, and some of whose people were still here. , ,.
Soon after came breakfast — for it was scarcely
noon — and then came the Khan himself to pay his
respects and give his welcome. He proved to be
a little insignificant man, with much the air of
a simpleton, and certainly one of the last persons
to whom I should, from appearance, have applied
the epithet of dellee — mad — that is, madly rash and
brave. Nor did his conversation go far to give me
a more favourable impression of his intellect. His
whole desire and object seemed to be to see my
guns, and pistols, and European curiosities ; and
his whole soul was soon so absorbed in admiration
of them, that I almost feared he would not be easily
induced to part from them ; indeed, there was no
satisfying him ; for, after seeing everything, he
longed for more, and seemed fretted when told there
was nothing else to see. In the evening I had a
pleasanter visit in the person of one Meerza Cossim,
brother of my friend, Meerza Reza of Khabooshan,
whom I had known there, and who brought to see me
a Persian colonel, on duty here from camp ; so that
my first evening at Mahomedabad passed pleasantly
enough. But my comfort was abated by a piece
of information communicated by the colonel, which
was calculated to excite uneasiness, if not alarm.
Yelantoosh Khan, it appeared, had returned to
camp, according to stipulation, about the time I left
it ; and it had been discovered by this colonel, that
the Khan had it in charge to induce the Sirdar
(Noor Mahomed Khan) to come to Mahomedabad,

300 APPEARANCES OF TREACHERY.
to refresh himself and take the bath, &c, under
the pretence that Abbas Koolee Khan would, at his
personal solicitation, not only comply with all pro
posals, in consequence of the honour so done him,
but would return with the Sirdar to the camp.
Now it appears that this was but a trap to induce
the Sirdar to come to Mahomedabad, and the colonel
was not without apprehension that the intention
might be to detain him as a prisoner there, in order
to extort better terms : at all events, compliance,
on the part of the Sirdar, would have been a boot
less and impolitic measure, which the colonel was
desirous of warning him against. Other suspi
cious circumstances, too, had been remarked, such
as doubling the guards at the gate of the citadel,
and posting others where none had formerly been ;
and the whole affair wore so bad an aspect, that the
colonel begged me to write a note to B  in
English, to guard against the chances of intercep
tion, acquainting him with all that had transpired
and was suspected. This I accordingly did ; and
it has just been sent on pretext of being a requi
sition for some medicine required for a follower
of Yelantoosh Khan, who is ill. Now this is a
pleasant affair, is it not ? For if the Khan means
treachery, I may be as well included in its operation
as others. Even the sight of my European arms
may have moved his cupidity ; and there is no
calculating on what a dellee Khan may take into
his head. If he entraps the Sirdar, there is no
doubt we too shall be detained ; but B  will
not quit camp, and such an outrage would induce

A CHUPPOW. 301
him instantly to invest the place, so that I may
have the pleasure of hearing, if not seeing, a siege.
As for the Attock, if I can see it to-morrow from
a distance, it is well; but I will not commit myself
to the keeping of the Khan's guides, who might play
his game in this way even more safely than if I
remained in the fort. Besides, there are unpleasant
news from thence to-day. It appears that it was
the party of Toorkomans destined for Khabooshan
who attacked Khooshkhaneh, (the Hawk's Nest,) a
village close upon the Attock, from which, in spite
of a sharp opposition, they carried off some men and
cattle, putting several of the old people to death.
These prisoners were, however, retaken by a party
of toffunchees, who lay in wait for the Toorkomans
at a pass, and killed six or eight of them. Unfor
tunately for themselves, elated with this success, the
Kooshkhanees, collecting about seventy horsemen,
pursued the Toorkomans with such imprudent ar
dour, that only a part came up with the enemy,
and these with their horses blown. The Toorko
mans, five or six hundred in number, immediately
turned, and, killing some, took the whole of the rest
prisoners, together with their horses, and includ
ing Hussun Khan, son of Shereef Khan of Koosh
khaneh, a remarkably fine youth, and — what is un
usual for them — slaughtered the poor fellow and all
the rest in cold blood upon the spot. This is said
to have been done at the instance of Hoossain Koolee
Khan, son of my old friend, Reza Koolee Khan of
Khabooshan, who had a deadly feud with Shereef
Khan, and had accompanied the Toorkomans on
their chuppow. With these affairs occurring around

302 AN INROAD ON THE TENTH COMMANDMENT.
me every day, it would be madness to think of
attempting that quarter of the Attock.
Next morning brought an early visit from the
Khan, who again made the survey of my arms;
and such was his admiration of a small double-
barrelled pistol which I wore in my belt, that I
thought it prudent to present it to him, to save the
rest. He had set his affections most fervently on
my double-barrelled Purdey, and told the Meerza
that by any or all means it must be his — that he
would give horses to any amount for it, but have it
he would. The Meerza replied that it was out of
the question — he might as well ask me for my wife,
so he might set his heart at rest on that score. I
had already given him an article which he did not
believe I would have parted with to any one, which
marked my estimation of his friendship, and that it
would never do to make a further application of the
sort. In the mean time my desire to ride out and
view the Attock was instantly complied with, and
after breakfast, that is, about two o'clock, I went
forth attended by two horsemen of the Khan's, who
took me to a high pass about six miles distant,
named the Kizzel cothul, or Red pass, from whence
I looked right down upon this celebrated plain, which
opened out to right and left in a vast expanse of
sand, extending even to the banks of the Oxus.
I think you have heard me say that the Attock, so
notorious as the abode of these rapacious Toorko
mans, is nothing more nor less than the skirt of the
hills which bound the higher regions of Khorasan on
the north, and here sink into the desert which forms
the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. Formerly

THE ATTOCK. 303
this skirt, which is watered by the streams from
their numerous valleys as well as the plain of Ser
rakhs, was one of the fairest and richest districts of
the Persian monarchy. Every one who has seen
this fine plain, which, with the whole banks of the
Merve-rood and those of the Moorghab up to Bala
Moorghab, and from thence again down the valley
of the Heri-rood to Herat, is richly cultivated by
Toorkoman tribes, speaks in the highest terms of its
extraordinary fertility. At Serrakhs they do not
plough the ground, but wait until the rains of spring
have inundated the plain, and then they scatter
their wheat upon it, and receive eighty to one hun
dred returns without labour. The melons and other
productions of Merve are equalty surprising. It is
a common saying that two melons of Serrakhs are
a camel's load. A friend of ours assured me that
they surpassed a mule load. He has seen them so
large, that one of their little jockeys getting a stride
upon one of them, could not nearly touch the ground
on either side with his legs. The Prince sent our
friend a present of two when he came to meet his
Royal Highness near Serrakhs, and he assured me
none of his servants could singly carry either the
one or the other, but they were coarse. The water
melons are from twelve to fifteen inches through,
and run to six feet in length, and these are very
good. These Toorkomans, the Tekeh, the Sdlour, the
Sdruch, and other tribes, build hissars, or mud-walled
forts, in these districts, round which they pitch their
tents ; and it is obvious that they are in the transi
tion state from an erratic to a fixed and agricultural

304 TRANSITION STATE.
people. It is the natural progress of all such tribes.
From their warlike habits they expel the fixed in
habitants of the countries they invade, or make
slaves of them, but for a while pursue their pastoral
occupations in their new abodes. But the advan
tages of agriculture, every year more apparent, draw
more and more to pursue it ; and in time they be
come fixed like those they displaced, no doubt to
be themselves overrun at some future time by tribes
who have the same course to go through. All the
Eeliaut tribes in Persia are more or less in this state
of transition, in which the predatory propensities
still remain : well were it for Khorasan if these
were worn out among the Toorkomans of Serrakhs
and the Attock. But " revenons a. nos moutons."
In the days of Nadir this district was well peopled
with Persian subjects, and its fat soil was made to
bear luxuriant crops ; but in every feeble reign its
vicinity to the homes of the Toorkoman tribes have
rendered it a precarious and dangerous abode, and
of late these have almost utterly eradicated the fixed
inhabitants, destroying towns and villages, and very
imperfectly occupying the ruins. The vigorous
measures of the late Prince Royal drove back the
depredators for some space ; but they still swarm on
the banks of the Thejen, and in the well-watered dis
tricts of the Akhal and Archumun. Even yet, too,
a few of the former inhabitants linger in their old
abodes, and the Khans of Kelat, Deregez, Khabooshan,
and Boojnoord, had power enough to protect several
border villages in their respective countries. Perhaps
the Toorkomans themselves felt it their interest to

A PRECARIOUS EXISTENCE. 305
respect this small remainder to a certain point as
affording means of commercial intercourse, and had
no wish to drive matters to extremities ; but these
villagers lead a sad life of danger and alarm ; scarcely
three days together pass without some attack, and
never a week elapses without prisoners being made
and lives lost. They cultivate their fields with their
match-locks at their backs, and their swords girded
on ; and when they reap, as at this season, they go
in parties and all on horseback ; one holds the horses
and looks out, while the rest set to work ; on an
alarm being given, they all mount and scour away
to the villages. If they cannot reach them, they
make for one of the towers that stud the whole
plain like great pigeon houses and astonish a stranger,
and, abandoning their horses, shut themselves up,
light their matches, and keep their enemies at bay
as long as they can. If they are taken, no help for
it ; if they are relieved, Alhumdulillah ! thank God
for it ! — A miserable existence this — a bitter daily
bread ! No wonder inhabitants are scarce in these
parts. Even as we gazed on the vast expanse, my guides
kept looking out for the dust which announces their
coming ; for not even the very vicinity of Mahomed
abad is safe from their sudden visits and persevering
attacks. They come by night, and lie concealed
within a fursuck of the town, and seize men or
cattle, and are off before the horsemen, who are
always on the watch, can come up to prevent them.
Thus all these districts are perpetual scenes of war
fare and alarm, and you scarce can meet with a
VOL. II. x

306 AN EXPEDITION DEFEATED.
person who has not either been made prisoner him
self, or has suffered loss in wife, children, or rela
tives. Nor are the Toorkomans the only enemies which
they have had to contend with. About five years
ago, Allee Koolee Khan, the ruler of Khyvah, crossed
the desert, and came against Deregez with a large
army and several guns, and took one of its forts ;.
but it seemed as if the hand of Providence had been
lifted against so wanton an aggressor, for the cho
lera, which for the first time had appeared in Kho
rasan, broke out in his camp, and slew, it is said,
eighteen thousand souls, besides an immense number
of camels and horses ; so many, at all events, that the
army was annihilated, and the Khan fled back to
Khyvah almost alone. With all these things full in
my mind, and the guides beside me pouring out
volumes to the same effect concerning it, you will not
wonder that I viewed with intense interest this great
desert, which spread before me like a vast brown
sea, losing itself in boundless space.
On my return from this interesting ride, I
found one of my servants, who had been sent from
camp with a note from B  , to say, that in con
sequence of my information, the Sirdar had given
up all thoughts of going to Mahomedabad; upon
finding which, Yelantoosh Khan had made an effort
to quit camp, but had been detained according to
his own pledge ; that several of the Deregez hos
tages, already on their way, had been recalled by
Abbas Koolee Khan, and that all things looked like
a break up of the negotiations. As for me, the sooner

A FULL-GROWN CHILD. 307
I made my way back to camp, he thought, the
better, and that as a lust after my enviable double-
barrelled Purdey might prove a strong motive for de
taining ray person, he sent me an old musket in a
case, which I might exchange, and so smuggle the
precious article out of danger. The latter part of
the scheme was rendered abortive in consequence of
the servant having omitted to bring the musket case
or cover: as to the rest, I communicated the con
tents to the Colonel, (Hussun Allee Khan,) who told
me I need be under no apprehensions as to myself,
for that the Khan meant nothing but fair play and
honourable treatment to me.
He had scarcely said so when the Khan entered,
and remained with me the whole evening, and took
dinner with me, in which he was joined by the
Colonel and Meerza Cossim. The evening passed
on pleasantly enough until a messenger came in with
the news to the Khan of the detention in camp of
Yelantoosh Khan. This greatly changed his cheer,
but he recovered and consoled himself with continu
ally snapping the caps of the pistol I had given him,
and occasionally firing it off, just like a child with
a new plaything. His conversation this night had
no tendency to raise him in my opinion ; I gathered
indeed some desultory information from it, for he
had been at Khyvah, and knew something of the
circumjacent countries; but his conceit was most
ludicrous; he imagined the whole safety of the
border districts to rest upon his sole exertions, — that
he had performed what no one else could have done ;
and he talked of giving up the charge, of expatriat-
x 2

308 A GIFT HORSE.
ing himself, leaving his country to the Kajars to
make the most of, if they will but give him bread,
and predicts that they will then learn to understand
the greatness of their loss. While dining in the open
air in the court before my lodging, we had another
unwelcome visitation, like that I have described in,
camp, in the shape of a monstrous black scorpion,
which animals grow here, it seems, to an enormous
size ; he ran right among us, and over the cloth and
dishes, brandishing his tail above him and putting
us all to flight, like a parcel of children, colonel,
Khan, pistol and all.
I had mentioned to the Khan ray desire to take
leave of him on the morrow, to which, after politely
pressing me to remain for some time and see the
amusements of the place, he consented, and I pre
pared accordingly. Next morning, as I was visiting
the Colonel, who should make his appearance in the
yard before the Deewankhaneh but the Khan, rid
ing on a black horse with a fine saddle and bridle,
which, dismounting, he handed over to his meer-
achor, who in turn showed off and vapoured away for
a while. I then was given to understand that this
horse was intended as a present to me in return for my
pistol. It certainly was no great things, but there
is an old saying about "gift horses," so I only thanked
the Khan for his kindness, and begged leave to de
part. This was immediately given, together with a
promise of guides ; and a request was preferred for
a letter expressive of my satisfaction with the chief's
behaviour to myself. This I readily gave, for /
had no personal cause of discontent, whatever the
Persian government might have ; and bidding adieu

SHUFFLING CONDUCT. 309
to the colonel, who promised me an escort of two
horsemen, I left them, that I might breakfast and
get ready.
These matters being soon adjusted, I sallied forth
with two guides, who were to conduct me to the
gates, where the appointed guard was said to be
awaiting me. On reaching it, however, no one was
to be seen, and my worthy guides stood gaping
about, well knowing, no doubt, that we were look
ing for what had never been ordered. Here there
fore we stuck, for to proceed without some escort in
the existing condition of affairs would have been
folly ; and I began to suspect some evil design, when
a person whom I recognized as the Khan's Jeloodar
came up, and, after. " burning all the fathers" of the
imaginary guides, swore he would guide us himself.
Accordingly, catching hold of a yaboo which was
passing, he threw himself upon its back, and clap
ping heels to its sides, summoned us to follow. Too
happy to be quit of the place on any terms, we
rashly trusted to his word, and off we went. The
first irregularity he committed was taking up a per
son behind him, which undoubtedly impeded our
movements. But scarcely had he gone a mile, when
up came a man who proved to be the yaboo's owner,
and who, after a sharp wrangle, fairly dispossessed
our guide of the beast, and left him on foot. This
was all a trick. Up came the dismounted cavalier
with a rueful face to complain that he must now
proceed on foot. " On foot then be it," said I ; " for,
as you have undertaken the task, depend on it you
shall go through with it." But fearing that he
might bolt, I placed him on one of my own yaboos,

310 A BOLT.
and on we went. But scarcely had we got again
into niotion, when meeting another man, he jumped
off, and seizing hold of him, said, " Here is your
mark ! this fellow is a capital guide — just the man
you want ; — he will show you the way to camp ; as
for me, I must return home." " Not one bit of you,"
said I ; " what you have undertaken you must per
form. What do I know of this fellow? — how am
I to know whether this is truth or a lie?" The
wretch then began to kiss my foot, and entreat to
be let off; swore that the Khan would want him,
that he was a mourner for his brother who was just
dead, and a dozen other lies, till the Meerza,' quite
out of patience, silenced him by hitting him some
sharp cuts with his whip. I wa.s just going to seize
and make him mount the yaboo again, when the
fellow, watching his time, dropt my skirt which he
was holding, and leaving his own slippers in the
middle of the road, bolted like a shot over a garden
wall on our left. Angry as I was, I could not help
laughing at seeing the great man's servant, no small
man himself, bounding off barefooted like a frightened
hare. . I drew a pistol and swore to shoot him if he
did not stop ; but he never heeded, and scudded and
twisted on among the bushes till we lost sight of
him. I did think of giving him a dose of small shot
in the rear, just to tickle him, but I desisted ; and
turning to the other fellow, a real country bumpkin,
who stood staring aghast at what was going on, told
him that as the Jeloodar had played him this trick,
there was no help for it — he must guide me. The
poor creature cried and begged like a whipt child ;
but as I really did not know my way, and was still

THE PASS. 311
within the derbend, where, for all I knew, I might
be stopped, I thought it necessary to have some one
with me who knew the country ; so off we went, he
still sobbing and entreating, and I threatening and
promising him by turns.
At length the formidable gates were passed with
out question : ray way was clear, and I dismissed
my unwilling guide, who was as abject in his thanks
as he had been in his fears. The behaviour of the
Jeloodar was truly Persian. The Khan was not in
fault ; he had given his orders, but his rascally ser
vants had forgot, or did not think fit to execute
them, — perhaps they wanted a bribe, — and when
they saw me resolved on returning to head quarters,
which would have procured them the bastinado.
They had nothing for it but to try, as they did, to
wheedle me out of the place, and trust to getting
out of the scrape with me afterwards as best they
might. It nearly cost the Jeloodar a dose of number
six on his posteriors.
In three hours we traversed the plain, and by a
little before sunset had ascended the lofty pass of
Allah-hu-Akber, from which, as from the top of a
wall, we overlooked the plain of Deregez, with all
its wave-like hills and surrounding mountains, and
the Attock, dim, vast, and misty, the appropriate
abode of these devastating savages, who sweep like
a blasting wind from it over more favoured regions.
It was a most impressive and magnificent scene.
On the way up I passed some eighty or ninety fami
lies of the runaways, returning according to treaty
from Deregez to their abandoned homes : part of
the thousand families claimed by the government

312 B  S CAMP.
of Khorasan — poor, worn, and weak they seemed,
certainly no loss to Deregez, and as little gain to
others. It was painful to see the miserable crea
tures driven, toiling up the mountains with their
wives and baggage, under a guard. It reminded
me of the gangs of slaves I have seen of yore, re
moving from one place to another in the West
Indies ; and a more disgusting sample of the opera
tion of despotic rule could not have been witnessed
than this hounding and herding a body of human be
ings, like cattle, against their will, from the habita
tions they had selected, to others which they had
fled from.
Perched on the top of the pass, I found my friend
B  encamped with twelve hundred men and
some guns to watch the progress of the negotiation,
With him I passed the night, and was rejoiced to
find him greatly recovered from his illness. Heaven
knows the heat of Deregez could be wholesome for
no one. Next morning we parted, and I own I felt
no small pain at bidding adieu to an individual of
so much talent and so many noble qualities, left thus
friendless and alone among people who neither felt
his value nor appreciated his services ; — many of
whom had of necessity become his enemies, and none
of whom would care much what might become of
him if disabled ; who tolerate him only while he is
useful, and who, in order to secure continuance of
his services, hold back from him his justly-earned
rewards, lest from disgust and despair he should be
tempted and have the means of quitting them. The
fate of poor B  with all his errors, and he has
many no doubt, made my heart bleed : it is a theme

FREAKS OF FORTUNE. 313
to moralize on, had I not too much conscience so to
tax your patience ; but I could not help reflecting,
as I quitted him, on the strange freak of fortune that
had thrown two individuals so different in character,
in country, and circumstances, and assimilating only
in one point — that of being equally strangers in this
distant land — to pass a night together on the top of
a remote Persian cot,hul, overlooking the vast plains
of Tartary. What foot-balls of chance do we appear
to be ! — how little control have the wisest of us over
our own destiny ! and yet every hair of our heads
is numbered ; every step we take is foreknown and
guided by a hand that cannot err. The sure know
ledge of this it is that constitutes the traveller's
comfort. An hour's descent of a most rugged and steep
pass brought me to the camp of the Sirdar Noor
Mahomed Khan, who had pitched in a pleasant val
ley by a stream at the southern foot of the moun
tain. This great man, in the true Persian spirit,
took upon himself the whole credit of what had been
done. When first I called on him, I found Yelan
toosh Khan seated in the tent, and he could say little ;
but no sooner had that worthy retired than he sent
for me again, and opened out his plans for the rest
of the campaign, as he wished for my good word at
Tehran. After making many inquiries as to what
I had seen at Mahomedabad, he observed, " We have
gained several great points by the conduct / have
pursued. In the first place, we have got hold of
one Shaitdn" (devil) — meaning Yelantoosh Khan.
" When he came into us at Mushed, we could not
detain him, as it would have been a flagrant breach

314 THE SIRDARS POLICY.
of faith ; but now he is taken upon his own hoojjut
(pledge), and until that is redeemed, inshallah ! we
shall not part with him. We shall send him to
Siberia," added he laughing, meaning thereby the
state-prison of Ardebeel, " or perhaps we may put
him to death for his past sins. Kelat he never shall
see again, unless the treaty to which he is party be
fulfilled ; and then we gain on the other hand, for,
in the first place, we get back our runaway families,
thereby weakening the Deregez men ; then we secure
the sirhud (frontier), which otherwise we could not
do ; and, please God, that fool will some day or other
put himself again in our power ; and then, if he flies,
as you say he threatens, we have his kinsfolk here,
and his brother will answer our purpose as well as
he, though, mad as he is, the present man is the
best. As for the other fox, he- too, inshallah! will
soon run his head into another noose if he escapes
this time : yes, yes, you will see, their day is nearly
done. In the mean time, matters do not go on
badly ; the army is at free quarters, grain in abun
dance, and in two days, if all is not right, down shall
go the guns again, and we shall burn his very father
in Mahomedabad."
He then gave loose to a powerful stream of abuse
against the intrigues of his enemies in Mushed,—
and assuredly the whole of this affair exhibits as
pretty and complicated a specimen of Persian poli
tics, or rather low cabal, as one could desire to see.
The Vizier at Mushed, jealous of the influence which
the Sirdar would acquire should he succeed in the
object of this expedition, thwarts and cripples his
measures so far as he can. The colonel, a Peish-

INTRIGUES. 315
khidmet of the Prince's, and Meerza Cossim, the
Sirdar's envoys at Mahomedabad, are, on the one
hand, cheating the Sirdar their employer, and taking
all manner of bribes from the Khan, whom, on the
other hand, they betray into useless procrastination
and ruinous resistance. The Khan again plumes
himself on the cleverness with which he is humbug
ging the Sirdar, and has cajoled him into quitting
the julgeh (plain) of Deregez. He told my Meerza
with great glee that they were all his dupes, — yet
he was a good deal startled at hearing of the deten
tion of Yelantoosh Khan and the occupation of the
pass of Allah-hu-Akber by B  . Yelantoosh Khan
perhaps is the only one who thinks himself cheated,
and his followers complained bitterly of the sacri
fice he had made of himself for one who was playing
so double and selfish a part. As for the Sirdar, he
feels confident in his own dexterity, and trusts that
the same ability, to which solely he attributes his
success hitherto, will enable him to discomfort all
his secret as well as his open foes. In the mean
time the country is ruined, according to the most
approved method of Kajar policy ; they destroy in
stead of conciliating the old families ; they depopu
late district after district, and then call it quiet, —
pacificated : " Desertam faciunt, pacem appellant,"
was never more fully illustrated.

316

LETTER XII.
Thaveree. — Wounded cow. — Breeds of horses  Sheerwan. —
Boojnourd. — Nejjeff Allee Khan. — Delays. — Jaffer Koolee Khan.
— Pic-nic party to a garden  A present. — A great man's whim;
or meanness. — Leave Boojnourd. — Toorkoman doings. — An im
pressive view. — A Toorkoman village. — An Alachik or tent de
scribed. — Toorkoman fare. — An old lady's wrath. — Another
Obah. — Alarming preparations. — Fishing. — Feasting. — Obah
the Third. — A moving house and worthy host. — The Monah
valley. — Semulghan. — A row.
Taking a guide from the Sirdar's camp, I pushed
on to Thaveree, where I had spent a night on my
way to camp, and it was as curious as pleasant to
remark the altered reception which I now met with.
The moment we were recognized, men, women, and
children came out to welcome us ; they assisted us
to dismount, had our old lodging ready in a mo
ment, and the little fellows who had gone a-fishing
with me before, were all agog to be at the sport
again ; they even brought me the very rod I had
used before. I indulged them, and we caught a
capital dish of fish. But I was seriously incom
moded here by the state of my own establishment,
which was now sadly reduced. At Mushed I had
been forced to get two new servants, a groom and a
muleteer ; the first, a rascal in grain, had been
punished for some faults committed in camp, and

ACCIDENTS. 317
had refused to go any further ; and the second, who
had got a severe tertian fever in camp at Deregez,.
was unable to go beyond the Sirdar's camp, where
I left the poor fellow shaking as if he were fall
ing to pieces in a desperate ague fit. With this
reduced muster of servants I had to look after an
increased number of horses, which, distrusting as I
did my jeloodar, was a serious matter, without ta
king into account the country which I was about to
traverse, where every armed man I could carry was
required ; but these are among the accidents which
a traveller must make up his mind to, and he who
cannot do so had best stay at home.
On the following morning we took our leave, fol
lowed by the good wishes of the whole village, who
regarded us as excellent people, because we paid our
way and did no injury. One old woman, indeed,
made an attempt to disturb the harmony that pre
vailed, by producing with much outcry her cow,
which exhibited a severe cut on its hinder parts, in
flicted with some sharp weapon. She fain would
have laid this assault to the charge of one of my
servants; but it was obvious upon inspection that
the cut was not fresh, and a little inquiry traced it
to a party of serbauz who had passed through the
place on the previous day. The effect, or rather
absence of apparent effect, of this severe cut upon
the poor creature's movements, might be received as
testimony in proof of the correctness of a passage in
Bruce's Travels, which has been the subject of con
siderable doubt, for the wound gaped as widely as
if a substantial steak had been taken out, and yet

318 BREEDS OF HORSES.
its action in walking did not appear to be at all
impeded. Our way lay through some pretty green valleys
leading into each other by small passes, and each
having its little system of forts and villages; but
many of these were deserted, the inhabitants being
among the persons who had fled to Deregez, and
many and eager were the inquiries which were put
to us respecting their friends. This series of valleys
was formerly apportioned out by Nadir Shah to his
Koordish followers, whose descendants, where not
swept away by later tyranny, still hold their pater
nal property ; many were at this time on service in
the camp. It is a great horse-breeding country ;
and in some of the julgehs, as they call these fertile
valleys here, we saw a number of mares and young
horses feeding knee-deep in the rich natural grass.
Several very fine colts were offered me for sale ;
and had I had more dependence on the honesty of
my servants and more ready cash, I might have been
tempted to carry off with me some of the beautiful
creatures. The whole of Northern Khorasan, especially the
districts we were now traversing, used of old, and
in the days of Nadir particularly, to be famous
for its breed of horses ; here were the celebrated
horses of Meer Goonah Khan of Chinnaran, and
the Koor Ogloo, the Sheer, the Bee-izzdd, the Kem-
Ydl, the Chupraslie, the Akhdl, and many other
breeds, of which, though the most of them are now
extinct, and have given way to others, the feats and
general excellence are still the theme of every
tongue. The original Toorkoman and Khorasanee

FEATS OF HORSES. 319
breeds were greatly improved by Nadir by a large
admixture of Arab blood, which increased their
powers of endurance as well as their beauty. In a
former work I have alluded to exploits of the horses
of this country, and I could now amuse you or your
jockey friends with more of the same sort ; but the
value of such stories depends on their perfect authen
ticity, and where that cannot exactly be ascertained,
it is useless to relate them. I must, however, correct
one error which I fell into in the work alluded to. It
is there mentioned, I think, that Dr. Macneil, having
received accounts of Dr. Jukes's illness at Ispahan,
took three horses from his own and the envoy's
stables, and mounting immediately, rode without
stopping, except to feed, two hundred and forty
miles. He performed it in sixty-seven hours, of
which full fourteen were consumed in halts, — that
is at the rate of ninety miles a day. The jeloodar
who carried the news to Tehran performed the
journey on one horse in seventy-eight hours, and
rode him back to Ispahan in about ninety, arriving
somewhat less than twenty-four hours after Dr.
Macneil. I am tempted to mention to you one feat of an
Arab horse, the property of a person who has more
than once been mentioned by me in these letters,
Aga Bahram, and which has not, so far as I know,
been ever doubted. This animal came from Shi-
rauz to Tehran, five hundred and twenty miles, in six
days, remained there three days, went back in five,
remained at Sheerauz nine, and returned again to
Tehran in seven days. This same gentleman told
me that he had once rode another horse of his own

320 DOWLUT KHANEH  SHEERWAN.
from Tehran to Koom, twenty-four fursucks or about
eighty-four miles, between the dawn of a morning
near the vernal equinox, and two hours before
sunset, that is, in about ten hours ; this too is good
going, but Aga Bahram had always the best horses
in Persia.
After a hot march, which led us, among other
places, by the village of Dowlut Khaneh, which but a
few days before had been plundered by the Toorko
mans, we reached another village, Karacheh, situ
ated in a beautifully verdant valley, with a fine
stream, near which we bivouacked for the night,
picketing our horses and mules in the most delicious
grass, and spreading our own carpets upon the same,
under a brilliant evening sky. The mountains
around were rocky and barren, and the stratification
they exhibited was of a very remarkable, and often
grotesque character.
5th July. — We were on our horses at four of a
delicious morning, which turned to a very hot day.
Our road to Sheerwan, about twenty-five miles
distant, lay among and over groups of lofty hillocks.
on the skirts of the mountains forming the northern
boundary of the great valley of Khabooshan and
Sheerwan. We had left the green and fertile julgehs
for a higher and more barren tract, a change which
our horses felt to the full as much as ourselves, for
there were no sweet bites of grass to be had during
our occasional halts, and we arrived hot and parched
at Sheerwan, (an old halt of mine, but in very dif
ferent weather, for the ground was then deep in
snow,) where the lameness of a mule obliged us to
terminate our march for the day. Sheerwan, once

INTERESTING LOCALITIES. 321
a well fortified place, is now a ruin ;— it had once
three thousand inhabitants ; there are not now, I
should think, three hundred.
9th July. — Boojnoord. Another of my old stages.
Sheerwan was in a stir from a threatened attack of
Toorkomans upon a fort in its vicinity ; but we could
not afford to be over prudent and pushed on for this
place. Our way lay through a dangerous country,
and we rode with arms prepared for action. Two
passes, the Cothul of Aldk-habund, and the defile of
Derreh Shoor, the Salt Valley, are particularly in
fested by thieves ; and by another in sight on the
right, that of Kallah-Zooh, which leads without any
considerable obstacle" direct from the Attock, the
Toorkomans commonly enter these districts. All
this had to me a peculiar interest, for I well re
membered the leading features of the country ; and
the tales of border story and pillage, which gave each
spot a local celebrity, invested the whole scene with
a hue of romance which it is impossible to commu
nicate to others. Harvest had everywhere com
menced, and in many places was far advanced : in
some of the fine valleys, and particularly on the plain
of Hazar jereeb, which is covered with Daimeh cul
tivation, (that is, produced without artificial irriga
tion,) all the bullocks and asses were in requisition
for carrying home the corn in shock. In other
places you saw a plundered or deserted village with
its corn all standing, and a painful look of desolation
and abandonment brooding over it. A sharp ascent
by the Ak-Cothul, or White Pass, and a winding
descent among waving hills, brought us at five
o'clock in the afternoon, and after a march of about
vol. n. Y

322 NEJEFF ALLEE KHAN.
thirty-eight miles, to the pleasant and well-known
valley of Boojnoord, where, after some delay, I got
lodgings in the house of the Khans Naib.
Nejeff Allee Khan of this place, the only one of
the Khorasanee chiefs who has had prudence and
luck sufficient to maintain his ground in the late
sweep made by the Persian government, is now an
old and broken man, far different from what I re
member him on my former journey. He recollected
me however, and after allowing me a day to rest,
a sort of etiquette sometimes observed, gave me the
meeting yesterday. But he is one of your hard
politicians who never express strong feeling, and
perhaps have none, so that I received no great plea
sure from the interview. He told me that the
thousand reports of chuppows effected and threaten
ed by the Toorkomans, had certainly some founda
tion in truth ; that no doubt preparations were being
made in the desert, and that mischief would be done.
He confirmed the news I had heard at Deregez of
the cold-blooded murder of Shereef Khan of Dow-
lut Khaneh's son, and told me that any attempt to
visit the Tekeh country at present was out of the
question, as he expected them to come in force
every moment upon his own frontier. . He pro
mised, however, to give me a sure guide through the
Monah valley to the Goklan tribes of Gourgaun, and
from thence among them and the Yamoots to Aster
abad ; but nothing in these parts is done speedily,
and so I foresee considerable delay at this place. I
found here a very different, and I suspect a truer
version of the boasted victory over the Toorkomans
which had been reported at Mushed, in which Allee

Toorkoman retribution. 323
Khan and Mehdee Koolee Khan, the Persian leaders,
were taken prisoners. It appears in fact to have
been a defeat, in which a very considerable number
of serbauz, as well as irregular horse, were killed ;
and what was still more painful, Mehdee Koolee
Khan, who had been wounded, was put to death in
cold blood on the retreat by the Toorkomans, in re
tribution for one of their leaders, who also died of his
wounds. 10th July. — Last night our future guide waited
on us, to talk over the prospects of our journey.
He is a favourite servant of the Khan's, and is said
to be perfectly acquainted with the whole country ;
but I was rather unfavourably impressed by the
manner in which he boasted of his own perfections.
This morning I visited the Khan in hopes of taking
leave ; but he told us that the fact of a thousand
Toorkomans having mounted and made for this
quarter, had now become so certain, that he could
not permit us to depart until he could be sure where
the blow would fall ; that we were his guests, the
light of his eyes, and that were anything to befall
us his honour would be utterly lost, — so that we
must just make ourselves contented where we were,
and ride out and divert ourselves until he should
consider it safe to dismiss us. All we could do or
say was to acquiesce in the Khan's arrangements,
which, no doubt, however distasteful to me, are
really well meant, — for what interest can he have in
detaining persons with whom he has no personal
connection, and whom he considers it imperative on
him to maintain at his own expense? Accordingly
we rode out that afternoon to a garden a little way
Y 2

324 JAFFER KOOLEE KHAN.
from the town, where we amused ourselves with
eating apricots, and seeing Jaffer Koolee Khan, the
old gentleman's son, shoot sparrows with an air-gun
cane. This Jaffer Koolee Khan, however, does not always
make sparrows his game. He is one of the bravest
fellows and best soldiers in Khorasan, and a deadly
successful foe to the Toorkomans. While I was at
Mushed, some prisoners and heads were sent in,
taken by him in a sharp attack upon a superior
party of Tekehs, and he has frequently turned the
tables upon them, beating up their quarters on the
banks of the T,hejen or Akhal with a body of his
border horse. I was very desirous of cultivating an
intimacy with this young man, to whom I had
letters from a friend ; but this very circumstance, I
apprehend, militated against my wishes; for the
father, who is evidently jealous of his rising fame,
remarked to my companion the Meerza, that he was
surprised the letters had not been addressed to him.
— " Why write to Jaffer Koolee, while I myself am
here ?" said he. To this jealousy I attribute not
only a reserve on the part of the son, but a cer
tain stiffness, if not coolness, on the part of the
father, which surprised me much in one from
whom I looked for a more cordial reception ; but
such jealousy is not uncommon with chiefs who
feel themselves on the wane, either physically or po
litically. 11th July. — The young man asked me to ride
with him out to a garden about three miles distant,
to spend the day in greater comfort than the heat of
the dusty town would permit. It was a rambling

A TRAIT OF HOSPITALITY. 325'
wilderness of apricot, peach, and apple trees, and
vines half smothered in grass and weeds ; but was
pleasant from its freshness and shade. There was
a summer-house in the centre, in which played a
fountain and cascade ; and here we sat and ate ex
cellent kebaubs for breakfast, with sherbet of sour
grapes, and plenty of half ripe apricots, — after which
we talked for a while, and then they all fell asleep
except myself, who set to work at writing. In the
evening we received the grateful intelligence that
the Khan had agreed to let us depart on the morrow,
and would, before we started, give us his " Khodah
Hafiz " in person.
I must here mention a circumstance which tells
as much for the kindness and hospitality of our
friend the Naib, our mehmander, as it does against
our host, his master. The former, during our stay
in his house, had certainly done his best to render us
comfortable, while we, on our parts, endeavoured to
give as little trouble as possible, and the best under
standing existed between us. He heard that I
had been inquiring about good Toorkoman horses,
and proposed presenting me with a horse of his own,
which was, he said, a prime one, as a mark of his
esteem. Whether or not he presumed that such a
present would assuredly elicit a return, I am unable
to say ; but it appears there was no chance of his
profiting by the transaction in any way : at all
events, I did not leave him in doubt on this subject.
The horse was sent ; I refused it as a present, but
offered to purchase it, to which the reply was, that
the horse was mine at all events ; I might put what
price I pleased upon him. I did not dislike the

326 A TRAIT OF MEANNESS.
animal, but I did the nature of the transaction ; so, to
try the man, I sent him fifty ducats, which I con
sidered its full value at Tehran, although it was
more highly estimated here, with a request that if
that sum was not enough the horse might be re
ceived back. This was not done, however; the
Naib remarking, that had I offered twenty ducats,
it would have been the same to him.
It turned out to be so in reality, for when the
Khan heard of the sale he asked the poor man how
much he had got for his horse : the Naib told
him. " Where is the money ? " demanded the
Khan. " Here," said his servant, handing him the
bag. The great man took it, and, deliberately di
viding the gold into shares, kept twelve for him
self, gave seven to one of his own sons, five to
another, and so on till only four were left ; these
he graciously gave back to the Naib, who received
it as a high mark of favour.
"What of it?" was his reply to my burst of in
dignant astonishment at hearing the story ; " is not
all I have from the Khan ? If I eat (that is, appro
priate, consume) a hundred tomauns of his goods, he
says nothing to me ; I am very well off with what
1 have got, for, after all, the horse was peishcush-e-
sahib," (a present to you, sir,) and no doubt the
Khan will make it up to me in some way or other."
I was as much amused as provoked with this affair,
and spoke to the Meerza of it in high terms of dis
gust. " Ah !" replied he, " great men do these sort
of things often : the Naib says true ; — who can tell
but to-morrow he may give him a horse worth sixty
tomauns ?" But I retained my own opinion of the

PRECISE ARRANGEMENTS. 327
Khan's conduct. As for the poor Naib, I had made
up a small present of English knives and scissors,
and some common jewellery for his wife, on which
he came and reproached me for making hira ashamed,
as he said ; and, in an hour, the lady sent me little
nick-nacks of the country in return, certainly worth
three of my small donation. Surely this man was
disinterestedly kind and liberal ; — his name, which
I shall not forget, was Nej jeff Beg.
12th July. — Once more in motion, thank Heaven !
In the morning the Khan insisted on seeing us, and
was wonderfully gracious. He certainly did appear
to have made all possible arrangements for our com
fort, but was almost ludicrously particular in laying
down our course and stages, leaving us less dis
cretion in the matter than I could have wished. It
was the habit of command mingling with the tedious
pertinacity of age, but it was all well meant, so we
made no wry faces on the occasion. Our first stage
being only to a village some six miles distant from
the town, we did not move till after breakfast, when,
bidding our kind host adieu, we mounted our horses
and departed. Lenger, our resting-place, is a plea
santly situated village, and we bivouacked for the
night under a grove of apricot and apple trees, our
horses having almost enough grass for the night at
their pickets. Wherever we go, the atrocities of the
Toorkomans, and the sufferings of the villagers, are
the pregnant theme of interest. This place, some
years ago, even so close to Boojnourd, had been the
scene of a horrid tragedy. The village being sudden
ly attacked, a number of the people took refuge in a
large tower : the Toorkomans resolved to drive them

328 TOORKOMAN TREATMENT,
out, piled straw, and wood, and grass beneath, and
set fire to it. Some preferred death, even by burning,
to such a captivity ; others attempted to escape by
leaping down on the side opposite to the fire, and,
breaking their limbs, met with a miserable death.
From twenty to thirty suffered in this manner ; the
rest were dragged away captives, and the blackened
tower still stands a memorial of the atrocity.
One of the villagers, who had lately been a prison
er, came to see me. He was a horseman in the
Khan's service, and had been taken by the Toorko
mans in a skirmish at a place called Pool-e-Khatoon,
or the Ladies' Bridge. He says he was slightly
wounded in the action, but after that was over, re
ceived no wanton ill treatment. But they tied his
hands before him and his elbows behind his back,
and put a chain round his neck, and forced him to
walk thus hampered, and with naked feet, for twelve
days and nights, to Merve. His feet, he says, were
all one wound from the stones and thorny herbs, and
his neck and arms chafed into sores by the friction
of the ligatures. At Merve he was confined for
three months, with his feet in the stocks, lest he
should run away ; and his food was bread and water,
with, occasionally, a little meat soup; After that
time he persuaded his captors to take him to Akhal,
a place near his own country, where he could treat
for ransom, which was fixed at a sum of about 60/.
sterling. But how was this to be raised ? All he had
was sold by his orders, but the deficiency was still
great. There was but one other resource — one sa
crifice more to be made. At the taking at Serrakhs
the Khan had presented him with a female captive,

A PAINFUL CHOICE. 329
*' a very pretty woman," he assured me, and he had
got very fond of her, and would fain have kept her :
but what was to be done ? while a slave himself she
was lost to him ; so to gain his liberty he was forced
to part with the solace of his life. She was valued at
about 20/. ; his other property made up the rest ;
he bade adieu to love and welcomed freedom. " And
now, sir," said he, " I am a poor fellow without a
decent coat to wear in your presence !"
13th July. — We were on foot before the sun, and
ascended a rocky pass to a green spot called Ahdr,
where there is a spring of the coldest and most de
licious water I ever tasted. It is a favourite resort
of the Khan, who goes thither, and pitches his tents
in the heats, to enjoy the fresh mountain breezes.
Fresh air there is indeed in abundance, for the ele
vation is very great ; but it deserves attention for
another reason ; for from a height close to it may
be enjoyed a coup d'ceil, which, much as it has been
my fate to see of Persian scenery, I have never
beheld equalled — no, not even by the view from the
top of Koh-e-Meyomeid. Far on the left stretched
the valley of Seraulghan, bounded on one side by
the huge mountain ridges of Aladaugh and Yeman,
beyond which rose the still loftier peaks of Q'oorq'oot ;
at our feet, beyond an intervening ladder of descents
and irregular ground, lay the fine valley of M6nah,
which drains a great part of the country, and forms
the bed of the infant Attruck. Into this, on either
side, other ravines open, each conveying its tributary
rill, while further on the broader vale of the Attruck,
in which the strath of the Monah is lost, was seen
winding away till lost in distance, the course of the

330 AN IMPRESSIVE VIEW.
stream being marked by a green stripe in the arid
breadth around it. But the broad space to the right
formed the most impressive part of the scene — im
pressive from its aspect of total and utter desolation.
The hills, which in this part separate the valley
of the Attruck from the Attock or Desert, are low
and broad, and divided into numerous ridges which
have no pretensions to picturesqueness, and, like
many other districts of minor hills in Persia, suggest
ed the idea of petrified waves ; but each ridge was
again subdivided, and each subdivision furrowed and
reticulated to an infinite degree, so that the whole
surface, viewed as we saw it from a height, assumed,
on a magnificent scale, just the appearance of a
sandy sea-beach, fretted by winds and waters into
wave-like ridges ; and that verse of " The Ancient
Mariner" came forcibly to my recollection, —
" For thou art long, and lank, and brown,
As is the sea-ribb'd sand."
No words, at least none that I can command,
will convey to you a just idea of the powerfully im
pressive effect produced upon the mind by so pro
digious an extent and succession of, not .sea-ribbed,
but weather-ribbed mountains, stretching away into
misty dimness : one felt its utter desertness like a
load upon the heart. No water blesses this intricate
maze of hillocks save two or three small springs,
that are absorbed almost as soon as they appear, and
a few salt wells. The former are well known to the
Toorkomans, and as these " Hurduls," or "Teppehs,"
as such hills are called, are everywhere pervious to
mounted men, this district is found to be one of

AN IMPRESSIVE VIEW. 331
those which suffer most from their attacks. The
knowledge of this fact, — the consciousness that these
vast and dreary wastes might at that moment be rife
with such lurking savages, as the scorpion haunts
the ruin, or my friends the rooteils the smooth
and verdant sahrah, — deepened the interest with
which we gazed on the striking scene ; and I could
not refrain from taking on the spot a slight and
feeble sketch as a memorandum of one of the most
remarkable scenes of savage nature I ever saw.
In the fore-ground — that is, in the fine valley of
Monah, just at our feet as it seemed, but far, far below
us, lay two or three small villages, each surrounded
by an encampment of wooden houses. These were
the homes of certain tribes of Goklan Toorkomans
to which we were to go ; and thither, accordingly,
we hastened, to try if haply we might find something
wherewith to assuage a certain gnawing, which, no
doubt assisted by that same keen air of the moun
tain, had begun to attack us all with violence. The
descent was long and rough enough to try our patience
as well as our stomachs ; but at length we approached
the obah, or camp of Alachiks, or cannauts, as their
wooden houses are called, near which we were met
by all the reish suffeeds, or elders of the tribe, who,
having heard of our approach, came out to welcome
us. This they did by taking my hand between
theirs, and they led our horses by the bridles to the
tent which had been prepared for us, and where we
found all the women drawn out to receive us. They
were a fearful set of hags as ever represented the
sex; but they saluted us courteously, by placing
their hands upon our arms, as though they would

332 A TOORKOMAN ALACHIEK.
have embraced us, and we as courteovtsly received
their greeting, after which we entered.
The tents or houses of these tribes have been, I
believe, already described ; but as these descriptions
may not be within your reach, a short sketch may
perhaps be acceptable. Conceive a circular chamber
of fourteen feet diameter, with walls five feet high,
and a roof rising in a flattened cone to about four
feet more ; a door to the north, and a hole at the
top to let in light, having fitted to it a piece of black
felt, which is shut by a cord when the sun peeps in
too powerfully. The frame-work of the walls is
formed of slips of wood, half an inch thick by an
inch broad, and seven or eight feet long, which cross
each other diagonally, being tacked together at each
crossing by a thong of hide ; these, when stretched
out, form an open lattice work, but, when put up,
fold into very small space. It would not be easy,
without a drawing, to explain the ingenious manner
in which the roof is formed by similar wood slips,
rising, as I have observed, into a sort of flattened
cone. The wall frames are then girt round with a
worked strap of woollen stuff of about a foot wide,
which gives therii solidity, and over this is rolled
the sheet of thick black felt which forms the true
shelter from heat or cold. Above this is bound a
slight frame-work of split cane, placed upright and
laced together. One or two or more pieces of thick
felt, well secured with woollen ropes, are drawn over
the roof, and the house stands complete, and so
firm that no wind will shake it ; yet it can be taken
down or put up, should time press, in a quarter of
an hour.

THE INTERIOR. 333
The interior ornaments of this dwelling were as
characteristic as its fabric. All abominations and
family trash had been removed in honour of the
strangers. At the side opposite the door, upon an
elevated stage of wood, was piled the bedding of the
household, from which a heap of pillows were taken
for us to lean upon. The floor was spread with a
home-made carpet and coarse felts ; around the
walls were hung little square and oblong carpets,
gay in colour, and in pattern of the size and shape
of picture frames, which had a very pretty effect ;
and some of which, as red and white predominated
in their fabric, reminded me of the Canadian and
Indian ornaments which one occasionally sees hang
ing in halls at home. A few scimeters and such
arms were the only other things visible.
The tent was soon and unceremoniously filled, for
almost every one who was led thither by curiosity,
that is to say, the whole obah, sat down without
reserve, ceremony being a thing of which the Toork
oman tribes have no sort of idea. Fresh bread, with
butter-milk and water, were brought in plenty, and
on these some of the party fell at once to work. But
as I had a hint that a junta of three old ladies were
at that moment busy at work upon a certain dish in
tended as a treat to us, I had the great virtue to
abstain for a full hour. At the end of that time
in came three wooden trays filled with a particular
composition, which by them is called cdtlemdh, and
is in fact a species of paste or pie-crust made of
flour and butter, which, after being well kneaded
and baked, is thrown hissing hot into a dish of
melted butter, all of which it absorbs. It is mon-

334 AN OLD LADY'S INDIGNATION.
strously rich and greasy, as you may imagine, but to
a well-sharpened appetite it was no bad thing, and
this I practically demonstrated by the impression
which I made on the store that was set before us.
To each of the old ladies who cooked it I then
had to make a donation ; but their expectations were
not unreasonable, and having thus refreshed our
selves and discharged our duty, we mounted in order
to proceed towards another obah. I found, how
ever, that liberality will not always insure universal
content, for on inquiring what had moved the wrath
of a certain old dame, who seemed highly excited; it
appeared that her indignation had been kindled at
my servant because he had refused her a piece of
white sugar, an article of which they are extremely
fond, bat of which, unfortunately, I had very little
left. " What ! " said the worthy dame, " to go and
not leave me one bit of sugar to sweeten my teeth !"
Her teeth indeed ! I doubt if she had one left to
sweeten. The next obah was scarcely a mile off, and I
would fain have dispensed with halting at it ; but
it appeared that the Khan had directed that we
should be paraded through every village as we
passed, and our guide was too matter-of-fact a
person not to obey orders and insist on our obe
dience too; besides, the people expected us, so go
we must, and go we did, hoping that an hour's halt
and a dish of tea to the elders would be the extent
of our sacrifice. But no, we must stay and eat;
they made a point of it. Eat ! with the catlemah
of the last village still sticking in our throats ? — I
objected the impossibility of the thing; but that

ALARMING PREPARATIONS. 335
was no rule — or rather the objection was overruled*
Eat we must ; to leave the obah without using teeth
and claws would be an insult not to be thought of ;
at worst, I .presumed it would be but another dose

of catlemah, so down we sat. Good simple souls !
-little did we know what awaited us ; but, pending
the appearance of the viands, my guns and pistols
underwent a strict examination, and I astonished
the good folks by the sight of some Promethean and
Lucifer matches, &c. &c.
While this went on, I was startled by some omin
ous sounds, and observed certain preparations that
brought the perspiration on my brow : the sounds
were the bleating of a dying sheep, the prepara
tions the erection of a triangle before one of the
doors, from which a huge caldron was suspended
above a newly-kindled fire ; and into this receptacle
three most desperate business-like witches — three
seems to be the magic number — poured three skins
full of water. There needed no ghost to tell what
all this indicated, and, smitten with horror at the idea
of such a feast as these extensive preparatives fore
boded, I once more lifted up my voice in earnest
remonstrance ; it was drowned by a loud gabble of
indignation from all sides, and one person, — not a
Toorkoman, I believe, — told rae in Persian that there
was no use in resisting ; the thing must needs be, so
I had better let them have their own way. " But I
can't eat," said I ; " not a morsel could I swallow."
" Never mind that," said my friend ; " if you can't,
others can ; you won't want help ; many a one is
gaping greedily for what seems to distress you so
much," " Oh, very good," said I, mightily relieved ;

336 TOORKOMAN COOKERY.
t
" I understand ; if such be the case, Bismillah ! so I
am not forced to choke myself, let others do as they
please." Meantime the delectable process proceeded, and
right under our noses : the washing and the seeth
ing of the rice was all well enough, but when the
whole cut-up limbs of the unfortunate animal, yet
"palpitating with life, were unceremoniously tumbled
into the black caldron, the matter began to as-
'sume so truly cannibal and Polyphemus-like an ap
pearance, that I cast about for the means of
getting out of the way ; and there were the three
operators hurrying "about it, and about it," like
Macbeth's witches, only that all was done in the
very heat and eye of noon-day, instead of midnight,
while we, surrounded by all the " rank and fashion"
of the camp, beheld the abominable process from
under a slight canopy scarcely eight feet distance,
from the spot. It was too much for human nature
to support, so I contrived a method for avoiding for
a while the stifling heat and immundicities of this
august assembly. There was a fine though muddy
stream running through the village, and I proposed
to show the Toorkomans how to catch fish. I had
rigged up a tolerably decent rod, together with a line
and hooks, each separate article of which was a
source of fresh amazement to this generation of semi-
savages, and forth I fared to try my luck.
How transported would a Highland laird, of the
olden time, have been with the tail I had on this
occasion ! All the " ragged and tough" of this
ragged and tough encampment, were at my heels
in a moment ; man and boy, greybeard and child,

-A DILEMMA. 337
followed me like a stream, stopped when I stopped,
and formed a crescent around me on the river's
bank Where I began to fish. Unfortunately, the fish
were not animated by a like spirit of curiosity — or
they, too, had already been stuffed with catlemah —
or they were startled, perhaps, by the multitude
of feet which beat the bank above them, — for bite
they would not ; and thus, unhappily, the zeal of
my attendants was excited in vain : their curiosity
remained unsatisfied, for we returned without a
single fish, but with abundance of laugh, and noise,
and uproar.
When we regained our tent, behold, the witches'
labours had terminated ; the feast was ready, and
in another minute it smoked upon the floor in at
least six huge wooden platters, near two feet in
diameter each. A most unlovely show indeed it
made to men who were already satisfied, and most
savagely was it discussed. A looker on in the secret
would have died of laughing had he watched the
Meerza and myself coquetting with the great gobbets
which they set before us with earnest and reiterated
entreaties to devour and spare not ; and the furtive
looks we cast about to see how best we might evade
this compulsive self-immolation, or exchanged with
one another in rueful dilemma. But help was at
hand. " Eat, eat, for Heaven's sake," whispered the
Meerza to our guide, who had his huge hand in the
same dish ; " do help me off with some of this stuff."
" Oh ! is that it?" replied the guide ; " no trouble
at all;" and, suiting the action to the word, he
clutched a prodigious handful smoking from the
dish, and deposited it in the willing paws of a mon-
VOL. II. z

338 A GRACE.
ster just behind him. Another mass filled another
gaping pair of jaws ; the bone followed ; and, before
you could well say, " La-illah-il-ullah !" the platter
was cleaned. My dishfellow was less quick at dis
covering my distress, so that with me the coquetting
process continued longer; but when he did com
prehend what I would be at, then, hey presto ! my
platter was clear in a moment ; a dozen dirty paws
fell like harpies on its contents, and they vanished.
Then did loaves of bread and dishes glance rapidly
to and fro, and dirty arms were tossed on high, and
" came and went, and came again, wild and dis
orderlies' until, in a space of time incredibly short,
the whole provant was consumed, the bones picked,
the platters licked, and the operators, all panting
with exertion, stood staring around them for lack
of work : then there was an eldrich laugh, as at
a mighty feat ; and then one of the company — a
Seyed, bless the mark ! — sat up upon his seat, and,
assuming a serious air, intonated the Fdteheh, or
first chapter of the Koran, namely, that of " Thanks;"
each clause of which was repeated in chorus by the
whole assembly in the same singing tone, every man
holding out his open palms, and every cadence ter
minating in an " Ameen ! Ameen !" after which
the assembly broke up. I inquired whether this
was the usual grace after meat ; they said, No ; but
that such was always the custom after any unusual
meal or feast, as they deemed this to be. It had
a quaint and strange rather than a solemn effect;
more like the •' Merry may we a' be !
Ill may we never see !" &c. &c.

THE THIRD OBAH. 339
which used to be sung on a Christmas night of old
in Scotland, with hands all joined round the supper-
table, than a real prayer.
All being concluded, our hosts requested us to
remain their guests for the night ; and, on our
declining, and urging the necessity there was for
our proceeding, the elder of them said, " Well, if
you won't stay, what can I say more ? A guide
awaits you — may God be with you !" So we re
warded the witches for the contents of their caldron,
made an additional present to the good woman of
the house, and off we went to a third obah, our
purposed resting place for the night, which was not
more than six miles distant.
The first of the camps we had visited was inhabited
by Goklans of the Meerza Boyloo tribe, who, being
pressed by the Tekehs, had been brought by the
Khan from a place called Chunder, lower down the
Attruck, to be more under his wing. The second was
an encampment of the same cluster ; but the third,
to which we proceeded down the river-side among
natural meadows, though also Goklan, was an en
campment of larger size of the Akjah-karnass tribe,
the chief of which, Allee Khojah Beg, had served,
and seen something of the world, and received us
accordingly very cordially, with the same ceremo
nies, but less wildly performed. It had been a
broiling ride, and we were right glad to get out
of the sun under the fly of a tent, pitched for the
purpose at the door of the Beg's kannaut, or wooden
house. I never tasted anything more delicious than
the first draught of cool butter-milk and water,
which was instantly handed to us under its shade.
z 2

340 A MOVING DWELLING.
The chief understood a little Persian, so that I
could communicate with him directly ; he was also
most hospitable and kind ; and though disabled a
little by lameness, bustled about most manfully to do
ns honour. In the course of half an hour, as we sat
under our shade, we observed one of their wooden
houses proceeding, as if self-moved, along the plain,
from a distant cluster, and approaching to where
we were. But as this singular phenomenon came
nearer, we detected the twinkle of many feet be
neath it, and discovered that it was our friend the
Beg, who, with half a dozen people, was thus bring
ing an old house upon his shoulders for our private
accommodation ; and there they placed it, right in
the middle of the plain, just as you would put a
bell-glass over a plant — all tight and ready ; and
into it straight we walked, and found it a most
comfortable concern. The black felt walls were
lifted a little from the ground on all sides, to admit
the soft breeze, and there we were at once plea
santly housed. In a few minutes more a second
habitation made its appearance for my servants, who
were not gentlemen to overlook their own com
forts : the horses and mules were picketed between
the two, and before the afternoon we were all at
home with the honest old Beg, who laughed like
a child at the various marvels which I displayed
for his amusement. We cracked the prometheans —
whisked the lucifers into light ; and, to complete
his delight, I shot two kites, that were hovering
overhead, with my percussion gun, which to him
had no visible means of producing fire. The whole
camp were well disposed to deify me, and still more

THE CAMP. 341
to possess, if they could, the wonderful articles that
were exhibited to them, but I put the Beg off with
a knife and scissors, adding a coarse shawl and
some trinkets for his wife ; while he laid at my
feet a suit of horse-clothing, such as the Toorkomans
manufacture. In the afternoon I walked once more to the river,
but the fish and I did not understand each other ;
I lost a large fellow, the only one who came near
me, and one or two hooks, and gave up ; but I
saw more of the camp, which consisted of full three
hundred kannauts, or alachiks, (wooden houses,) and
was pitched in a fine chummum, or natural mea
dow, a good way from the village which is con
nected with it, and which contains the fixed part
of the tribe. There was far more appearance of
order and decency than was observable in the other
camps, and I saw many of the women employed
in weaving those carpets which the Toorkomans
make so well, and the process of which I now
watched with interest.
In the evening we had another feast, which,
though more private and on a less scale than that
of the forenoon, was not much more refined. That
for the mobility was separately served. My own
cook had dressed some dishes, which were highly
approved of and gobbled up with great gout ; but
the huge wooden platters also graced the board,
and a fellow espying the head of an unhappy lamb
in one of them made a snatch at it, and opening the
skull at the neck part stuffed in a little salt, and
turning the brains upside down with his finger, how
clean I shall not say, just as one mixes an egg with

342 A TOORKOMAN MINSTREL.
a spoon, scooped out the savoury mess with said
finger, exactly as I have seen a little boy steal jam
or honey out of a pot. After all was done, and the
Fdteheh duly said, the well-greased cloth was re
moved ; but so awkwardly, that sundry fragments
fell upon the carpet on which we sat. The honest
Beg, however, nowise disconcerted, immediately
clawed off his rough hairy cap, which, using as both
mop and brush, he soon removed the nuisance ; after
which he quietly replaced it on his head, as if no
thing had happened.
After dinner we removed into the tent to hear a
minstrel, who had been summoned to entertain us.
He was blind, and performed with as much zeal
and action as any blind scraper of catgut at home ;
and I wish I could remember some of the airs, the
cadences of which were extremely good and very
peculiar, as were also the choruses ; but sleep weigh
ed heavily upon our eyelids, and, at length, it was
found expedient to dismiss our friend and retire to
our own nest ; so to sleep we went, weary of sight
seeing, but not of the sights.
14th July. — The first beams of the sun saw us
merrily progressing down the Mdnah valley, where
we observed some fine villages, particularly that
which gives its name to the place ; and the ruins of
several others, victims to the inveterate hostility of
the Tekehs. Mdnah in former times was populous
and happy, but like the rest of this border country
had gone utterly to decay, " clean into captivity,"
as the old woman said, in the full sense of the term-,
when Nejjeff Allee Khan, feeling the importance of
this frontier outpost, partly forced and partly coaxed

VALLEY OF SEMULGHAN 343
a tribe or two of Goklan Toorkomans, who had been
beaten from their old haunts, to settle here and join
with the old Koordish inhabitants of the valley in a
bond of mutual protection. Here, therefore, they
are domesticated, as we saw, and have their summer
and winter quarters, their chummums, or meadows,
for flocks and herds, and a quiet life, in considera
tion of providing for the Khan's service a certain
number of horsemen when required.
From Mdnah, crossing over a high neck of land,
we found ourselves in the fine broad valley of Semul-
ghan, which touches upon Persian classic ground,
for it was one of the haunts of the celebrated Roos-
tum, and the scene of some of his superhuman feats
and amours. It is besides remarkable for some
natural beauties rare in Persia. The lofty mountain
of Aladaugh, which commences behind Boojnoord,
sends a lengthened chain down to a point behind
Kalla Khan, a fort of Semulghan, on which is seen
the first real forest we meet with on approaching Goor
gaun, This spur, which shows a very rugged and
picturesque crest of limestone, is most beautifully
varied with green meadow forest and cultivation,
which creeps up to the very top. Above rises the
still wilder and equally well- wooded ridge of Yamun-
daugh, and these are lost in the huge sharp tooth of
Q'oorq'ood, the loftiest and most rugged mountain
in this part of the country. It is destitute of forest
timber, but, like others near it, is more or less
thickly sprinkled with tufts of arbor vitee, thorns ;
barberry bushes, and a sort of dwarf maple. Kalla
Khan, situated on an artificial mound, and backed
by these noble mountains, ruinous as it is, still forms

344 A SQUABBLE.
an object worthy of notice, and I could not refrain
from making a sketch of it in memory of old times ;
for from here it was that in my former journey we
started to tempt the perils of the most dangerous
part of all my route.
On our way hither, as we passed through a village
named Mahomedabad to take up a guide, who, with
a party of horsemen, was appointed by the Khan, to
see us to Gourgaun, a young fellow, little more than
a boy, entered the place, and sat down with the
usual salutation of peace. But it appeared in the
sequel that his intentions were anything but pacific ;
for after talking a while in Koordish, which I did not
understand, he grew warm, and so did our guide,
Mahomed Baukher Beg, and at last they came to
blows. Who struck first I do not know, but the
little fellow fought manfully till hurried out of the
way by the bystanders, after a vain attempt to draw
first his sword and then his knife. The abuse on
either side was choice — that is, what I understood
of it, and it was some time before order was re
stored. But the cause of the squabble was the most
curious part of it. The lad Was a native of Deregez,
that is, of a village originally from thence, but now
planted close by that in which we then were, and he
had a countryman, though no relation, who had en
tered the service of Mahomed Baukher Beg. This
he conceived to be a degradation, why, we could not
exactly learn, but it was one to which he had
determined not to submit, and he came professedly
resolved to force his countryman and elder from the
service he had taken, and from the very village of
his master. " Just think of the young fellow's

A DISCREET RESOLVE. 345
madness !" continued Mahomed Baukher Beg, as he
finished this account : — " and now I would not say
but that his fellow-villagers will make an attempt to
intercept us, for they are all as crack-brained as he,
and they would betake themselves to toffung and
shumsheer, and, perhaps, have a man or two killed ;
but I shall disappoint them — there is no use in a row ;
we will go by a roundabout way." There assuredly
was more of discretion than of valour in this resolve,
but as I had no great desire for fighting myself, I
followed his lead, which proved to be a very bad one,
for it took us through morasses and among water
courses so fatiguing to the horses, that I grumbled
many a malediction both upon the impertinent little
wretch who had led us this dance, and on his over-
prudent antagonist. We heard nothing of the Dere-
gezees, however, and arrived in safety at Kalla Khan
of Semulghan, where formerly I had been the guest
of Beder Khan, then a young man in the prime of
life — now a broken old one, residing at Boojnoord.
Beyond this place the danger of travelling is so
great, that no one ever attempts to cross the country
to Goorgaun without a strong guard ; and our
friend, Nejjeff Allee Khan, had provided for our
safety by directing his Naib, or lieutenant, here, to
give us an escort of thirty horsemen and twenty
toffunchees, or matchlock men. But such orders
are generally more for show than use in Persia :
the Naib told us that though with some diffi
culty he might be able to make up great part of
the horsemen, he could not command a single tof-
funchee. It was the harvest time, he said, and not
a man would stir. That it was harvest time was

346 HARVEST IN PERSIA.
plain enough to us as we came along. At every
village mountains of shocks ready for treading out
were piled near the gates, and bullocks and horses
were everywhere at work on the threshing floor.
In the steady climate of Persia, where a shower out
of season is a thing almost unheard of, the harvest
does not cost half the trouble that is taken about it
with us. Once fit for cutting the grain gets as dry
as possible — the men (never women) cut it, bind it
into sheaves, which are either piled up at once in
the field, and there trodden out, or are carried on
the backs of cows, or asses, to the village, and thrown
on the house-tops, or made into a heap somewhere,
till it can conveniently be threshed out. No fear of
heating ; both grain and straw are so dry that the
former is at once fit for the mill.
At this welcome labour were all the men em
ployed, so that, in spite of the remonstrances of
Mahomed Baukher Beg, our guard assembled slowly
and reluctantly. Provisions were less grudgingly
supplied, and our baggage was seriously increased
in weight by the quantity of grain which prudence
forced us to lay in for our two following desert jour
neys, of which I shall tell you in my next.

347

LETTER XIII.
Leave Kalla Khan. — Escort. — Breakfast.— Dreary ride. — Bivouac
at Kallah Kahistan. — Superstitions. — A Braggadocio. — Derreh-e-
Kelatha.T-Kalbash Valley. — Toorkoman traces. — Old acquaint
ances. — Descent into Gourgaun. — Obah of Mahomed Wullee
Beg. — Breakfast. — Toorkoman burials  Obah of Mahomed
Khojah Khan. — Plains of Gurgaun. — Obah of Hyder Khan. —
Striking a Toorkoman camp. — Toorkoman wives. — Division of
labour. — Female costume. — Brides and marriage customs. — Fe
male morals. — Appearance  Commutation of blood-money 
Government. — Sirdars. — Ak Sakals. — Obah of Khallee Khan. —
Arrive at Senger.
15th July. — We were on foot by dawn, but the
wantof men rind the fiddling preparations of those
we had, detained us till six o'clock, when, attended
by above thirty horsemen, with a few miserable tof
funchees, we pricked gallantly over the plain and
along the skirts of the huge Q'oorq'ood. But a few
years ago, and no one could cross even the narrow
strip of cultivation which lies between the Kalla
and the skirts of this mountain without an even
chance of being caught by a Tartar: but of later
years they have become less bold, as the chance of
success diminished with the diminishing population,
and a better look-out was kept ; and for some time
past no labourer had been made captive so close.
But the late inroads had excited fresh alarm, and our
guards, as we advanced, galloped about prying into
every cleft and hollow, and peering over every height

348 A DESERTED VILLAGE.
to ascertain the safety of the ground before proceed
ing. When we had advanced in this manner about
four miles, the Naib, who had accompanied us so far,
drew off with his own guard, not certainly the worst
appointed of the party, and took his leave. We were
left with only twenty horsemen besides our own peo
ple, and four people on foot, whom, proving more a
hindrance than a help, we dismissed also.
About ten o'clock we came to a sweet little glen
that wound upwards into the very heart of the stony
mountains, and in which ran a clear brawling brook,
bordered with willows and fine walnut trees. This
had been the site of a fine village belonging to the
Gereilees, a powerful Turkish tribe that had come
in with Timour. But the Gereilees had fallen from
their high estate, and the village had been destroyed
more than fifty years before by the Toorkomans,
and there lay the ruins looking sad and dreary on a
little height above the stream. The place was called
Zurd, and must have been a considerable one in its
day ; for on an opposite height there were four or five
buildings, constructed of stone, and lime, and brick,
which seemed to be tombs of great men, perhaps
Seyeds or Imaumzadehs, the saints of the village.
Each had vaults underground, but whether meant
as receptacles for the dead, or for the living in the
great heats, I cannot tell. A stone wall had once
enclosed the whole.
Here we breakfasted under the shade of a fine
walnut, while our horses grazed by the side of the
stream. But prudence forbade a long indulgence,
so on we went again, leaving the more level ground
on our right, and holding straight forwa rd among a

A WILDERNESS. 349
cluster of smaller and rocky hills which defended the
approaches of Q'oorq'ood as outworks do a mighty ci
tadel. It was a hot, dreary, weary ride, among crags
and hollows, spotted only with the dark arbor vitcs
and thorns, exhibiting little of either dignity or beau
ty. The only advantage this line of route possessed,
as our guide told us, was security ; that he promised
us; and certainly I think no Toorkoman would dream
of seeking for travellers in the wilderness where we
wandered this day. Road there generally was none,
nor was there a symptom of living inhabitant except
the deer which we frequently startled ; or the wild
hogs, the routings of whose noses we observed in
the soft places ; or the tigers and leopards, whose
traces we came now and then across, and who, no
doubt, looked upon said deer and hogs as their own
peculiar property.
At length we opened out a fine long broad valley,
the name of which is Insha, and which we knew to
be inhabited, partially at least, by our friends the
Goklans. But to approach so near the semi-civilized
part of the country, and, by consequence, to the
haunts of the Toorkomans, was utterly inconsistent
with safety, and so our guide turned sharp up a
steep and savage-looking glen that led into the very
heart of Q'oorq'ood, the highest peak of which was
seen just overhanging it. After a desperate scramble
for half an hour over rocks and brush-covered preci
pices, down at length we plunged into a ravine, for
all the world like to our own R — g, and down the
face of a rock not much less perpendicular, by a little
goat-track which wound among huge blocks of stone
to the bottom. There ran a stream as clear as

350 THE CASTLE OF KAHISTAN.
crystal, and large enough to turn half a dozen mills ;
a little river in a hollow, which seemed shut out by
lofty rocks from all the world. Immediately above
us, a rocky promontory crowned with a ruined castle
jutted into the ravine. Its position reminded me
of Castle Campbell in the Ochil hills, but the moun
tains in the back ground were infinitely finer. This
was the castle of Kahistan, another old seat of the
Gereilees ; the stream was the water of Insha, near
its source, and here was our resting-place for the
night. And, undoubtedly, it was a resting-place, both
singular and secure enough in all conscience ; not a
trace of the hand or foot of man was anywhere to
be seen, for though fragments of walls denoted that
a large village had once existed immediately above
the castle, the whole valley, as well as the rocky
promontory, was overgrown with a prodigious growth
of grass, and weeds, and brambles, scorched into
perfect dryness by the intense heat of the sun, and
the foot of horse and man was rendered insecure by
the holes and ruins thus concealed by the dry herb
age. It was a spot obviously never visited, and
therefore afforded nothing for our wants, but wood
and water for ourselves and grass for our cattle:
This, however, was all we required, so dismounting
and unbitting our horses, we all took to making
ourselves snug for the night. Sentinels were placed
on the heights to guard against surprise, and with
our arms beside us, we commenced a very pleasant
bivouac. Our journey of to-day has been about
twenty-eight miles.
I was amused this evening with a trait of Persiari

SUPERSTITION. 351
superstition. The place of our bivouac was shaded by
a number of fine trees, and particularly walnut trees :
when it grew dark I got my carpet and coverlit
laid under one of the latter, which had sheltered me
all the afternoon, and was preparing to lay myself to
rest, when Mahomed Baukher Beg besought me to
remove. " No man in his senses," said he, " sleeps un
der a walnut tree : it is certain death." — " How so ?"
inquired I. — " Why, he is sure to be smitten by the
Gins," replied he. — " By the Gins !" repeated I, " and
here have we been sitting for hours under this very
tree without harm — how comes that ?" — "Ah! you
were awake," said he, " and the waking eye of man
scares away all evil spirits — they dare not approach it;
but the moment it closes in sleep, they take their re
venge, and the man they catch under a walnut tree
asleep, will never leave it in health ; if he be not
crushed on the spot, he will be smitten with some
severe malady which will put an end to him in a few
days." I laughed, and reminded hira I had been
sleeping under the dangerous tree during the after
noon ; but the poor man was so earnest, that, know
ing how superstitious these tribes are, I did not like
to offend their prejudices, as, had anything unfortu
nate occurred during the march, it would assuredly
have been attributed to my obstinacy ; so I left my
comfortable berth for a more open spot, where I
passed the night. In preparing this, the guide was
particularly active ; he removed my slippers, which
had been deposited near my pillow, to a place near
the foot of my bed-clothes, telling me it was unlucky
to have the foot gear placed near the head, and dis
posing of my arms in what he considered to be the

352 A BRAGGADOCIO.
best and readiest manner in case of need, he took
his leave and retired.
I found that this notion about the danger of
sleeping under a walnut tree is common in Persia.
There is a story of some sage having once declared
to a certain king, that whoever should eat barley -
bread with mds (sour milk) of a cow, and having
so eaten, should sleep under a walnut tree, would
certainly be Gin-struck. That a fakeer offered to
try the experiment, and did so without suffering
any evil consequences. On this, the king taunted
the sage as a false prophet, and said that he by
rights should be the victim instead. " Well," replied
the sheikh, or sage, " if your majesty will consent
to let the experiment, as proposed by me, be tried
by the prince, your eldest-born son, and heir to your
throne, I am content to lose my head should he es
cape ; but if any accident befall him, let it be re
membered that / am free from all blame." The
king, it is said, agreed, the prince complied, and next
morning was found dead : since when, the charm
has been thoroughly credited, and no one in Persia
sleeps under a walnut tree.
By this time, however, I had discovered that my
good guide was not only absurdly superstitious, but
a most lying and unblushing braggadocio. His sto
ries this night of his own exploits were extravagant
even among Persian boastings. On one occasion he
had put fifty horsemen to flight by his single arm.
On another, out of seventeen horsemen he had
brought home six horses and seven heads, single
handed. His blows were like those of Roostun, his
aim unerring, his sagacity unfailing, and he summed

ABSURD BOASTINGS. 353
up the amount of his own merits by declaring that
when the Toorkomans discovered the hoof-prints of
his horse, they quailed and retreated ; and that the
name of Mahomed Baukher Beg was a watchword
among them with which mothers would still their
babes. He did not condescend to inform us how
his horse's foot-prints were distinguishable from those
of any other animal ; but talked on with a vein of
self-satisfied and imposing gravity, which, had it
not been so gross as to excite contempt and disgust,
would have been irresistibly ludicrous. I regretted
it, for the man really knew the country, and much
interesting matter might have been picked out of
him had one known how far to trust him : but no
sooner did you encourage him by a single question,
than off he went full tilt, digressing to some feat of
his own or of Roostun's ; indeed, he seemed scarcely
to distinguish the one from the other, for he jumbled
his own actions with those of the great Persian hero
in such a manner that no one could tell which was
which. Next morning, the 16th, having no preparations
to detain us, we left our mountain nest by a glorious
dawn, but not without a memorial of our presence ;
for some of the people, having crossed the stream, had
carelessly set the grass on fire, and during the whole
night we had been treated with the most splendid
illumination. When we departed, the whole moun
tain opposite to us was burning ; and as we looked
back during our march, we still saw the smoke as
cending into the pure azure of heaven till lost in
distance. Our path still carried us high among the
mountains, over rocky and barren ground sprinkled
VOL. II. 2 A

354 A CAUTION.
with dwarf maple, thorn, and barberry bushes ; till
sweeping round a lofty brow, we saw beneath us a
long valley proceeding from the western end of
Q'oorq'ood. This was called the Derreh-e-keldthd, or
Valley of the Forts, from a cluster of small forts that
once existed here. This we reached by a sharp and
rough descent, which brought us to the bed of a
small stream at the foot of the mountain.
We had now reached the most hazardous point
of our journey, as along, or rather across, this valley
lies the track of those Toorkomans who plunder
Jahjerm, Meyomeed, Abbassabad, and the rest of
that country, and there are few days in the year in
which it is entirely free of marauders. We break
fasted quietly by the water side ; and after having
refreshed our horses, our guide told us to mount
again, adding, " Now let every man who has a mus
ket carry it primed and cocked in his hand, and let
those who have matches light them, for no man can
tell out of what hole or bush his enemy may start."
All this sounded very business-like, as did the orders
for carawuls, or videttes, to gallop out in front,
and rear, and flanks ; but for my part I could see
no such immediate or pressing danger, in daylight,
upon a wide plain where nothing bigger than a cock-
pheasant could well have lain concealed, and I
thought it savoured somewhat of the braggadocio
fussiness I had remarked in the Beg's character ;
but I unslung my " Purdey," looked at its caps, and
did as others did, so  " On we fared,
Each silent — each upon his guard."
Our way lay at first down a rocky hollow by the

TOORKOMAN TRAILS. 355
banks of the stream, named Baud-bure, from a se
vere wind which is said to blow here, and which led
us into a lower part of the plain, named the Kalbash
valley, separated* from tbat of Armootlee only by a
low ridge, the tail of Q'oorq'ood : this last plain
stretches almost uninterruptedly to Jahjerm and
Bostam, and thus penetrates the very centre of Per
sia towards Cashan and Ispahan. In crossing the
Kalbash, we found numerous pathways which the
people recognised as those of Toorkoman plunderers;
on many of them the hoof-prints were fresh, but we
saw none of the horses that had made them. The
frequent foot-tramps of the wild ass, too, where they
had assembled upon some soft height, and beat and
pawed the ground, might have misled men less ex
perienced than my guards ; and it was very inter
esting to watch their sagacity, sharpened by constant
practice like that of the American Indians, in detect
ing and pronouncing on the various trails (Persice
Redd) which presented themselves to our notice
during the whole of this anxious forenoon. How
freshly did it call to my remembrance the day,
twelve years before, when I made nearly the same
journey from and to the same point, but on a paral
lel course ; and you may conceive how much I was
interested at discovering among my present guards
some of my old companions on that occasion. You
may remember my mentioning in my first travels
a chase after a wild hog in the plain of Armootlee,
in which one of my guards killed the animal by a
kick of his horse, just as it was getting away
from us all ; well, this very man was now with us,
and was delighted when I mentioned the circum-
2 A 2

356 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.
stance to some of the others, as a feat which I had
admired on that occasion. He rode up, and gazed
earnestly at me ; shook his head at observing the
grizzled hue of my beard, — his own was of the same
colour, — and abusing himself for a beast for not re
collecting me, swore that, as an old companion, his
life was at my service. Several of the other guards
then recognized me, so that I had special service
enough for the rest of the journey. It was a plea
sant occurrence in so remote a spot ; and I made
inquiries for more than one old acquaintance. Alas !
death, or the Toorkomans, had accounted for most
of them. I put my friend in mind of an elderly
man who rode a splendid chestnut horse, which he
had refused to sell because he was the same on
whose back his only son had been speared but a
few weeks before, in a chuppow. The horse was
gone — that was no wonder ; and the man had gone
to join his son much in the same way — that was no
marvel either : life, everywhere precarious, is here
continually staked in a game where the odds are all
against it.
We had a weary work threading our way through
this valley, which opened at sofne distance into that
of the Insha, and from that into the wider strath of
the Attruck ; and our fatigue was increased by the
alarm or ignorance of our guide, who, in courting
concealment and security, lost his way. On nearing
the mouth of the valley, and seeing, or pretending
that he saw, some suspicious objects, he consulted
for a while with the leaders, and the result was that
we retraced our steps, and got entangled among
some broken ground and hillocks, and lost much

APPROACH TO THE LOW COUNTRY. 357
time : in vain, as it appeared, for we were all wrong,
and had once more to try back, and descend into
the body of the valley. The guards themselves now
began to turn their leader into ridicule, and one of
them swore we had " all turned Mamamlees — a
tribe whose life is passed in going first round the
tuppeh, and then back again." The matter termi
nated in a very long and wearisome tramp up hill
and down dale, till we came to another long valley
opening on the Attruck, at the top of which was a
wide tract of rich ripe corn, belonging, it appeared,
to our old friends the Goklans. The rising grounds
were sprinkled with fine forest trees, and some noble
wooded peaks, lifting their heads above the bound
ing heights of the valley, gave token of what we
were approaching. This was the point of safety, and
nearly the resting place, after our labours, for the
night. A more splendid sheet of wheat and barley than
now met our eyes no Lothian farmer could wish to
see ; but it would have moved both his spleen and
his envy to observe the style of agriculture, and the
small pains which the production of this noble crop
had cost. Scarcely had the rich soil been scratched
by a crooked stick, and yet the return to the sower,
for his scanty sprinkling of seed, could not be less
than from forty to sixty fold, and no trouble in •
irrigation — the moisture from Mazunderan, close by,
did the business of itself. But we were too desirous
of rest for our weary horses and ourselves, after
thirteen hours of a burning sun in the saddle, tp
speculate much upon Goklan farming, so we pushed
on to the gap where commenced the descent that

358 A SPLENDID PROSPECT.
was to carry us to our halting-place; and there,
indeed, we stood fixed, in spite of ourselves, in
admiration of the splendid prospect which one mo
ment opened to our view.
The brown and arid hills over which we had
been toiling, the waving sheet of corn, with its few
sprinkled trees, had vanished, as if by the touch of
an enchanter's wand, and a scene of the most ma
jestic and varied woodland appeared instead. Rich
green grass sprang up under foot, forests of primeval
size and denseness clothed the loftier heights, whilst
groves and coppice, and groups of the happiest form
and position, interspersed with fields and glades, and
patches of rich pasture, clothed the lower slopes in a
garb of loveliness which there is no describing. It
was a park of nature's own cunning handiwork, on
the most magnificent scale, a park such as no noble
man on earth can boast of possessing — such oaks,
such limes, such elms, such sycamores ! What would
your " lords and dukes, and noble princes," have
given but for a specimen of them ? It was a sight
to put even old Windsor to shame, with all its
ancestral magnificence — for where at Windsor are
the tall aspiring mountains, clothed in the same
gigantic forests that adorn its waving slopes and
glades ? But it is impossible to convey the smallest
notion of the grandeur of the scene, or of its effect
upon us ; it was the change — the change from utter
barrenness and desolation to inexpressible fertility
and richness that was so striking, and which, per
haps, can in no place on earth be so strongly and
suddenly exhibited.
We stood, as it were, upon a ridge : looking over

A PANIC. 359
one shoulder we saw the grim brown rocks and
grey plains we had passed through, stretching out
in cheerless and colourless solitude to the misty
Attock ; turning to the other all was smiling love
liness — the display of varied rural beauty I have so
inadequately sketched. No wonder that even the
Meerza, provokingly apathetic as he generally seem
ed, was here struck with amazement, and stared
about, as if he had got into a new world, in uncon
trollable delight. As for our hungry horses, they
had their share of enjoyment on the sweet grass — ¦
there was no getting them along — no wrenching up
their heads from the juicy herbage and verdant turf,
which was spreading a feast for them under their
feet. While gazing and progressing alternately, and
threading our way among the natural groves and
cultivation, which formed a sort of pretty patchwork
around, we were attracted by a shrill cry and the
sight of two or three men scampering off. " Aha i'1
exclaimed one of the horsemen, " they are fright
ened — they have seen us, and take us for the
Yamoot plunderers — hark ! they are calling us
Yaghee." And sure enough the word Yaghee (or
rebellious) did resound from bank to brae, and we
discovered on the heights above us a number of
persons, men and women, on horseback as well as
on foot, all making off as fast as they could. One
or two of our people now pushed forwards, roaring
out words of reassurance to the fugitives; but it
was exceedingly difficult to get them to halt, and
still more so to persuade them that we were not
enemies. At lerigth, observing the loaded cattle,

360 THE DESCENT.
they took a little courage, and waited till our guide
Went up and explained our business; upon which
a most ragged-looking rapscallion came forward and
expressed his regret at not being able to receive us
here, but said that if we would only go on about half
a fursung further to the tents of his brother, we
should have the " best entertainment possible for
man and horse." This raggamufiin was the brother
of Mahomed Wullee Beg, the chief for whose tents
we were bound, and, accordingly, without further
delay we took our way towards them.
This way lay through as dense a forest as the
woods of South America themselves could produce,
and down as steep a descent as any Persian Cothul
need display ; and it was a weary while before we
issued from the wood upon a green glade in the glen
below. Fortunately the path was dry — as had it
been wet and muddy, I know not how the wearied
beasts would have stood it out. From hence we
threaded a succession of splendid scenery, which
sometimes reminded me of Europe, and at other
times, from its luxuriant vegetation, of the West
Indies ; but I do not think it was so exquisitely
lovely as I remembered it formerly at another pass,
Where the wild fruit-trees were more abundant and
all in one sheet of blossom ; but it was deep and
dense, and darkly green and rich. After a longer
space than at the late hour we should have desired,
Several clusters of the wooden houses greeted our
sight, still some distance below us; and in a short
while we were seated under a shade or canopy,
made with boughs, before the tent, or rather ala-
chick, of Mahomed Wullee Beg.

A DUBIOUS RECEPTION. 361
This chief, a strange, ragged, and tough-looking
personage, received us with that mixture of shyness
and frankness which, I think, marks the alteration
that has been taking place in Toorkoman charac
ter. It seemed to say, " I know I ought to press
my hospitality upon you, and to feel the desire of
making all possible sacrifices for my guest, but I
can't for the life of me do so ; and truth to say, I am
half afraid of you — half sorry you have come — what
am I like to get out of you ?" Down we sat, how
ever, among a most thief-like crew, who had come
to welcome, that is, to stare at us ; and while some
straw and grain were preparing for our horses, we
took a hearty drink of butter-milk and water, and
tried to have patience until something more sub
stantial should be prepared for us. But they were
so long of getting even a lamb to be slain for us,
that the night would have been well nigh spent
ere it could have been cooked ; so I contented my
self with a little bread and tea, with an egg, and
soon stretched my limbs on the numuds that were
spread for us in plenty. Our poor horses fared
worse — they had only straw to eat, instead of grass,
which, having tasted the latter, did not please them
at all, so they remained empty and hungry.
After a night rendered almost totally sleepless by
the howling of fierce dogs, the fighting and neighing
of horses, the roaring of men and women, with
the screaming of a poor infant suffering under in
flammation of the eyes, by way of interlude, I wil
lingly left my bed, as the soft dewy morning broke,
and sallied forth to view the site of the encamp
ment ; and, certainly, never did a tribe of savages

362 ' A DELICIOUS SPOT.
fall upon a lovelier spot. The glen,' in itself a beau
tiful thing, at this point opened out a little, and,
joined by another which furrows the same mounr
tain, formed a little basin of rich land, which was
one sheet of cultivation, mingled with trees and
enclosures. Above, the well-wooded hills retired
gradually, almost into the very clouds, exposing in
many places great seams and ridges of white and
red rock, to contrast with the rich green foliage.
On gazing at this pleasant prospect, there was some
thing about it which, I scarce could say why, sug
gested to my mind the idea rather of an African or
West Indian settlement, than a village in any part
of Central Asia — certainly it was most unlike to
Persia. It was, perhaps, the luxuriance, rather than
the nature of the foliage, that gave rise to this illu
sion ; and yet the mantling vines, the broad leaf of
the maize, the palma-christi, and the cotton plant,
unquestionably strengthened the impression that we
had some how or other got between the tropics.
Taking a slight sketch of this fascinating scene,
with its singular mixture of savage and domestic
nature, I returned to breakfast at the Obah ; and,
doubtless, long will the Obah remember that break
fast. A few boiled eggs being prepared, my servant
handed me a spoon to eat them with, a sight that
excited* much amazement. Being desirous rather
than otherwise of making an impression, I called for
a knife and fork to aid me in discussing some rare
tough goat mutton that made its appearance next.
This completed their astonishment. In less than a
minute the shed was surrounded, as well as filled,

FEMALE MOURNERS. .363
and, at least, one hundred and fifty persons assem
bled to see the Feringee (Frank) eat. Their shouts of
applause were quite outrageous, and even the chief
could not suppress the laughter forced from him by
his delight. Then came the customary examination
of arms and accoutrements, and next the no less
customary interchange of trifling presents. After
which we left our host and his obah to take a burn
ing ride down the glen, which landed us in the
plains of Gourgaun, and at the large obah of Ma
homed Khojah Khan.
While waiting, after breakfast, for the loading of
our baggage, I was startled by a loud sound of female
lamentation — of women uttering passionate cries ;
and on looking out, I observed two elderly females,
almost naked, with their black hair all loose about
their ears, and beating their breats, run by with
frantic gestures. They were followed by six or eight
others, who sought to restrain their excess of emo
tion, and to bring them back, as it seemed, to the
house they had quitted. These women, as I learned,
had lost a brother ; the body had just been carried
from the tent for interment, and the poor creatures
followed the custom of their people, and, no doubt, the
feelings of their own heart, in thus expressing their
grief. I asked where the body had been carried to
— where they buried their dead. I was told that it
must be taken to a distance of nearly fifty miles, to
the original burying place of the tribe upon the
banks of the Attruck, a journey which would require
two or three days, and through a country now over
run with their enemies. " And if they are caught

364 MEMORIALS OF THE DEAD.
by these enemies in the: performance of this pious
duty ?" inquired I. " They will be put to death every
one of them," was the reply. This is paying a high
regard to old customs indeed !
I had observed round the obah, and indeed in
every open space and on every prominent point,
heaps of earth or stones, with poles or a tall stone
stuck upright in the centre, much as in our old
cairns. From former inquiry I was aware that these
were memorials of the dead, but being desirous to
learn further particulars, I now renewed my ques
tions. I was informed that these were not burial
places, nor even the spots where a body has been
washed, as I formerly understood, but monuments
strictly in memory of the dead. A Goklan dies, his
body is washed ; the earth where this process has
been performed is gathered, and, together with some
scrap of his old apparel, is buried in a conspicuous
place near one of the usual stations of the obah to
which he belonged. - But the body is carried to the
ancient burying ground of the tribe, which generally
is near the grave of some holy man, the former spiri
tual guide or prophet of the obah, and whose reliques
are supposed to hallow the spot. Necessity of some
sort may have compelled succeeding generations to
abandon the haunts of their forefathers ; but they
still are regarded as the only meet resting places
for the dead ; and surely there is something touch
ing in the thought of these rude wanderers still
turning at the last to the homes of their fathers, and
braving every danger to lay their dead where their
progenitors repose, and where they also look one day
to rest in peace.

DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD. 365
The Toorkomans are indeed scrupulously parti
cular regarding the disposal of their dead. If a man
be killed in a plundering expedition, they invariably
carry back the body to the obah, where it is re
garded as that of a martyr. They do not wash the
blood from it, for the lustre of martyrdom hallows
all those stains from which another corse would
require to be cleansed ; such immundicities indeed
are supposed to impart a peculiar savour of sanc
tity, and the honoured corse is committed to the
sacred earth without effacing one trace of those
honourable wounds which have secured to the soul
the unquestioned right of instant admission into
Paradise. Little worth relating passed at the obah of Ma
homed Khojeh Khan. It was the same routine of
question and reply, of display and astonishment : my
pyrotechnicks produced the usual applause, as did
the murder of two poor kites on the wing with
the detonating gun: The Khan was an honest fel
low, who, after witnessing my wonders, swore an
eternal friendship, declared that we were brothers ;
and sure enough we wanted nothing which he could
give us. We came to anchor in one of the comfort
able round houses, which was brought " all stand
ing," as before, for our accommodation, and there
was the same gross feasting as in the obahs of
Monah. On the following morning, the 18th, my
host brought me a horse as a present ; but I found
that no offence would be taken if I went through
the formality of accepting him, and then re-present
ing him to his master, retaining only the clothing,

366 PLAINS OF GOORGAUN.
as a memorial of friendship ; and this course I adopt
ed, requiting the horse-cloth with a fully more
valuable donation.
A ride of three hours along the open plains of
Goorgaun, brought us to the obah of Hyder Khan,
chief of the Qurruck, or principal tribe of Goklans.
These plains, which in spring and early summer are
covered with herbage in which a horse goes girth-
deep, were now burned up and bare from heat, and
our horses had to put up with dry stubble instead
of green pasture. On the east rose the hills we had
descended, all wooded and furrowed with numberless
hollows and ravines. On the north a long visionary
range ran out towards the Caspian Sea, and in the
south arose the dim gigantic mountains of Mazun
deran and Asterabad. Numerous clusters of the
Toorkoman tents dotted the plain with their snug
shapes, and the cattle of their inmates, sparsedly scat
tered over it, looked like grains of black powder on
the yellow surface. All was level as a polished
mirror, the Turkish name actually given to one part
of it ; but the rivers of Goorgaun and Sarasoo, with
many other smaller streams, have ploughed its rich
alluvial soil into deep and broad ravines, in the
bottom of which, as on plains of a lower level, the
waters have their channels.
As we approached the tents of Hyder Khan, an
old woman, holding in her hand a pan of live coals,
came forth and threw them down beneath my horse's
feet. I learned upon inquiry that it is a super
stitious compliment paid to those to whom they
desire to show respect, and which amounts to a prayer
that, while dwelling in their tents, you may be free

HYDER KHAN. 367
from the influence of the evil eye. The ceremony
cost me a present, of course : the trait of national
manners was worth it all. The Khan, it seems, was
not at home when we reached camp, but the ladies
of his household did the honours perfectly ; especially
his two wives, the last married being a fine, tall,
good-looking woman, who, though in the family way,
worked like a very horse. For this lady we learned
that the Khan had given a large sum of money, and
she seemed resolved that he should not repent his
bargain. While breakfast was preparing the Khan himself
came home ; a coarse, fat, ungainly,- sulky sort of
personage he was, apparently so much taken up with
his own greatness, that he scarcely would conde
scend to welcome his guests. But he, like the rest,
was surprised out of his grimness by the sight of my
arms and rarities, which my guide took care to call
on me to produce, and he was pleased to smile at
some little presents which I made to a very pretty
boy of his, whom the mother brought to me in her
arms, no doubt with some hopes of the sort.
At length the day became intolerably sultry ; the
wind roared hot and furious, bringing with it clouds
of dust ; the crowd of gazers slunk one by one away,
and left us to repose ; the Khan retired into his tent
just behind where we lay, and there we saw him,
like a great hog, lying upon his wife's knees (the whole
front of the tent being open), while she, with per
fect and unceremonious simplicity, relieved his under
garments from the superabundance of vermin which
had collected there ; a moderate quantity being
rather affected, as exciting a pleasing degree of

368 STRIKING A TOORKOMAN CAMP.
titillation. It was a most unlovely, though a
thoroughly characteristic exhibition.
In the evening, on my return from bathing in the
river and an ineffectual attempt at fishing, we were
treated with the sight of striking a Toorkoman
camp. The station of the obah having become both
bare and dirty overmuch, the Khan had resolved to
move to another spot some two or three miles fur
ther down the river. Some of the tents had already
been struck, and on approaching the Khan's quarters,
there were his wives, with two or three other females,
all working hard at taking the houses to pieces,
packing up the frames in neat bundles, and stowing
all the goods and chattels of the family into their
various joals, or cases, ready to be loaded on the
camels. Not a man put his hand to anything ; the
women did all, and it was wonderful to see the quiet
yet active neatness with which the poor creatures
went through this hard work, while their lazy lords
and masters lay stretched on numuds, smoking be
fore their doors. As for . the Khan's wife, unless it
were to have the harder work to do, I saw no privi-;
lege that she enjoyed. By daybreak in the morning
I observed the same lady working energetically at
churning milk in a huge skin before the site of the
tent she had herself packed up the preceding even
ing, and half an hour later she was loading sundry
camels with the property of the family. This all
sounds and seems extremely wrong ; but such is the
division of labour among these tribes. Everything
connected with domestic matters, such, for instance,
as the work I have alluded to, and all that belongs
to the flocks and herds and their produce, is in the

EMPLOYMENT OF TIIE WOMEN. 369
female department. The labour of cultivation falls
to the share of the men. They plough, sow, and
irrigate ; they watch the ground, construct the water
courses, and reap the crop. In these occupations
you never see a woman employed. Thus the labour
of the men is pnly periodical, while that of the wo
men is incessant.
In the morning early the whole milk from flocks
and herds is brought and thrown into a huge pot
to be boiled, along with a portion of sour milk to
turn it ; when a little cold and coagulated, it is
poured into the skin of some animal, sewed up so
as to form a bag, and then being suspended from
a triangle of poles at the door of each tent, one of
the women, with a stick armed at the end, beats and
works at it until the butter comes to the top. This
butter is never well tasted ; — how could it be so
under such a system ? — indeed, as the milk of sheep,
goats, and cows is all mingled together, it cannot
but be a heterogeneous mass. It is white, sour,
tallowy, and has little taste beside, save that of
smoke. They melt or boil it to get rid of the re
maining whey and impurities, and, pouring it into
skins, it is kept like the ghee of India for sale or
family use. The buttermilk, however, is the article
in more general use. This being separated from the
butter is also kept in skins, (the only receptacle they
possess for storing liquids,) and is drunk mingled
with water at all meals. It is presented to every
guest as he arrives, and is, in fact, a very agreeable
acid beverage. Such portion as is not used while
fresh is thrown into a coarse woollen bag, from which
the whey runs off, and the mass thus become solid
VOL. II. 2 B

370 FEMALE" COSTUME
is either dried for winter use, or kept for other
occasions, and in either case retains its peculiar
qualities, becoming, when mixed with water, the
acid buttermilky drink called in Persian db-e-doogh.
j Mds, again called Yagourt in Turkey, is milk cur
dled in the same way, but set to cool -without sepa
rating the butter from it, and forms a principal
article of food, not only among the wandering tribes,
but among all classes of the population of these
countries. You may be curious to know how these hard
working ladies dress. Nothing can be simpler than
the costume either of men or women. The latter
consists of an ample shift, which covers them from
neck to heel, open from the throat to the bottom of
the bosom, but capable of being buttoned up there
also. It is usually made of red or blue and red
striped silk, or silk and cotton, according to the
means or fancy of the wearer ; some of the poorer
class wear it of blue or white cotton. The sleeves
are long and wide, and some gird it around the loins
and lower part of the stomach with a strip of white
cloth or coarse shawl. To have a good shawl for
this purpose is a point of great ambition with the
Toorkoman women ; others, that is those, I presume,
who possess no such girdle, wear the chemise loose
flowing about them. Beneath theywear a pair of
drawers of the same stuff, silk, or cotton or of both,
and sometimes a very pretty striped silk manufacture
called Aleejah. These drawers are much narrower
at the ankles than those of the Persian women, and
indeed so low does the shift come that they are but
little seen. In cold weather they add to this cloth-

AND ORNAMENTS. 371
irtg a wide open wrapping gown called a jubba, like
that of the men, generally made of silk and cotton
stuff, and sometimes quilted, besides which sheep
skin cloaks or jackets are used. On the head
they throw a sort of scarf, which binds the brow,
and hangs behind, not ungracefully, the ends be
ing stuck in the girdle. It conceals the hair,
which is plaited and adorned with silver ornaments,
and coins, and stones, and shells. These scarfs are
of various colours, but yellow I think seems most
preferred. Over this scarf they tie a white fillet,
which confines the other to the head, and over the
mouth and chin they tie a red and white cotton
cloth or handkerchief, which is hooked behind by
silver clasps, like the Roobunds of the Persian ladies.
Such is the catalogue of their usual clothing ; but
the most curious part of their personal equipment is
what they call their yirdk, or harness ; and indeed
it more resembles harness than female ornamental
gear. It consists first, among the rich, of a heavy
cincture of silver scales, or linked joints, elaborately
sculptured, disposed upon a leathern strap, and fast
ened by a handsome clasp to match. This girdle,
which is about three inches broad, supports a massy
plate of silver, round, oval, or heart-shaped, cut
sometimes aujour into figures, sometimes solid, but
always ornamented with chasing or carving, and
stories, as cornelians, agates, turquoises, or with
flowers ingilt. This, which is really a gorgeous
barbaric ornament, but fitter for a horse than a
woman, hangs down behind. The clasp is equally
rich, and from it depends in front a corresponding
article, but often varying in shape and in device.
2 B 2

372 A. BRIDE'S DRESS.
Heavy silver armlets, bracelets, and anklets, with
earrings, and various nondescript articles, in the
same taste, according to the means of the wearer,
complete the personal equipment of a Toorkoman
lady in the jewellery department, who thus has no
trifling weight to carry.
When a bride, her head-dress is of a most gor
geous, though nondescript character. It consists of
an enormous castellated-looking structure, formed
of a cane framework, covered with red silk, and or
namented with all manner of coins, and stones, and
shells, which rises from the head to a height of from
fifteen to eighteen inches, expanding gradually in
breadth to the front. The young girls wear rather a
graceful cap, ornamented with feathers like a Peruvian
Princess, and it is pretty to see them coming and
going from the water-side carrying their water-skins,
and clothed in this gay apparel. The children are
dressed much like the women, but on the head is put
a neat Tartar-looking cap of silk or chintz, which is
adorned with the same sort of silver ornaments, and
crowned with a kind of bell-shaped turret in which
a feather may be stuck. They also dress their
favourites in small jubbas, or robes, like their father's,
of silk stuffs, and load the little creatures with
weighty silver harness like that of their mother's.
But the most singular customs of these people
relate to marriage. The Toorkomans do not shut
up their women ; and there being no such restraint
on the social intercourse between the sexes as in
most Mussulmaun countries, love-matches are com
mon. A youth becomes acquainted with a girl ;
they are mutually attached, and agree to marry.
But the young man does not dare to breathe his

MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. 373
wishes to the parents of his beloved, for such is not
etiquette, and would be resented as an insult. What
then does he do? He elopes with the girl, and
carries her to some neighbouring obah, where, such
is the custom, there is no doubt of a kind recep
tion ; and there the young people live as man and
wife for some six weeks, when the Reish-suffeeds,
or elders of the protecting obah, deem it time to
talk over the matter with the parents. Accordingly,
they represent the wishes of the young couple, and,
joined by the elders of the father's obah, endeavour
to reconcile him to the union, promising, on the
part of the bridegroom, a handsome bashlogue, or
price, for his wife. In due time the consent is
given ; on which the bride returns to her father's
house, where, strange to say, she is retained for
six months or a year, and sometimes two years,
according, as it appears, to her caprice or the pa
rents' will, having no communication with her hus
band, unless by stealth. The meaning of this strange
separation I never could ascertain. People said that
it was allowed to the bride as time to prepare her
outfit ; but this they admitted was not the true
cause. It seems to be a period of freedom given
to her by custom, previous to her resigning her
liberty for ever, and lapsing into the slavish con
dition of a Toorkoman's wife ; and they do not
scruple to affirm that it is made use of by these
young ladies for the worst and most abandoned
purposes. Afterwards, the marriage presents and
price of the wife are interchanged, and she goes
finally to live with her husband.
The accounts I gathered of the morals of the
OoH-n women, even among their own obahs, were

374 CHARACTER OF THE GOKLAN WOMEN ;
anything but favourable to. their characters. Among
the Yamoots and Tekehs, they say, particularly among
the latter, it is a shade better ; but delicacy, or even
strict virtue, appears to be unknown and unappre
ciated. A lapse on the part of a young woman
is not attended with much degradation, as it is
generally repaired by marriage. A similar error
on the part of a wife, if detected in such a manner
as to lead to public exposure, is punished by death ;
but unless thus publicly forced upon the husband's
observation, he generally pockets the wrong, and
says nothing about it : a Toorkoman wife is too
valuable an animal to have her head cut off for
every breath of scandal. In fact, it is the work
of a wife, more than anything else, that a Toorko
man looks to when he marries, unless when he is
a rich man, and marries for connexion ; and it is
this which gives rise to the singular fact, that they
will pay more for a widow than a maiden wife.
The widow is presumed to have learned her trade
— the girl has not ; and if the widow possess a
character for activity and strength, her value is
sometimes enormous, and the competition for her
very high. Hyder Khan is said to have given a
sum equal to 200/. for his last and favourite wife,
who was a widow ; but she belonged to a family
of powerful connexions, a union with which in
creased greatly his patriarchal influence in the tribe.
I have heard the same thing told of soldiers in bar
racks ; a widow of any capabilities, be she as ugly
as sin, need never remain a widow longer than she
likes. In justice to the Toorkoman ladies, I should
mention that I have heard other and more favour-

THEIR APPEARANCE. 375
able accounts of their conduct than those I gathered
in this expedition among their own obahs. Allee
Asker Khan, of Meyomeed, denied that they could
justly be charged with incontinence more than those
of other tribes ; there were good and bad, he said,
of all. He denied that light conduct in a girl be
fore marriage would be easily overlooked, and af
firmed that an undue intimacy between young people
of opposite sexes is not a common occurrence ; and
that, if discovered, the parties would run the risk of
being put to death. He gave the same account of
their marriage customs, however, as I heard here,
and his testimony confirmed the strange and un
accountable custom of the separation which takes
place between a bride and bridegroom for a year
or more, after six weeks' cohabitation at first.
Matches are also made occasionally by the parents
themselves, with or without the intervention of the
Reish-suffeeds ; but the order and ceremonies of the
nuptials are the same. There is a regular contract
and a stipulated price ; the young people are per
mitted to enjoy each other's society for a month or
six weeks ; and the bride then returns, as in the
former case, to spend a year or more with her
parents. Of the looks of the women I have to remark,
that many of the girls I saw were beautiful, having
delicate features, fine skins, and healthy though
yellow complexions. Of the married women few
had retained their good looks, and the old women
were absolutely frightful, both in form and feature.
Perhaps the Goklans may owe a portion of their
comparative comeliness and want of Tartarian fea-

376 PRICE OF BLOOD. — GOVERNMENT.
tures to their greater vicinity and intercourse with
the Kuzzilbashes ; but I have been told that the
Tekeh girls are also very pretty, and the inter
mingling of blood in their case must be greatly
less.* It is not uncommon among the Goklans, and I
believe, too, among the other tribes, to commute
the price of blood, in case of a murder, for a girl
and her portion, paid by the family of the offender
to that of the injured. This price varies greatly.
Among the Tekehs it is so low as four slaves ; that
is captives, Kuzzilbashes, or others. Among the
Yamoots and Goklans it is more, from one to two
thousand tillas — that is, from 100/. to 200/. sterling
being sometimes paid.
The government of these tribes is, as you know,
entirely patriarchal. There is no hereditary no
bility ; every one conceives himself on an equality
with the rest, except with those whose superior age
and wisdom have won them a peculiar respect,
Those only are regarded as chiefs who have shown
themselves worthy of being followed, or who have
accumulated great riches, and those only are looked
up to as ak-sakdls, or elders, whose wisdom has
* It is a common occurrence among the Toorkomans, as in other
Eastern countries, to have children by their female slaves; but
such offspring are regarded rather as slaves than children, and are
termed Do-reg — that is, of two bloods, (veins,) or bastards. In
fact, so much more valuable are slaves than children, that most
Toorkomans prefer the former to the latter ; insomuch, that it is
not uncommon, when a slave-girl proves pregnant by her master,
to marry her to a slave, on purpose that the offspring may be im
puted to the last connexion, and so pass as the slave instead of the
child of her master.

*'* I

SIRDARS. — CHAPPOWS. 377
gained them the confidence of the tribe, and whose
numerous descendants and connexions give them a
powerful influence in the obah. This sort of pa
triarchal influence is one great object of every rich
Toorkoman's ambition ; and I have mentioned it as
one motive for the high price which Hyder Khan
gave for his wife. As for the sirdars, or leaders,
their influence also arises from their individual me
rits. A young fellow, pricked by ambition or the
desire of plunder, proclaims a chappow, or plunder
ing party. He ties a flag to his spear, sticks it in
the ground before his tent, pickets his horse, all
prepared on one side, and sits ready accoutred on
the other, and calls for volunteers to join his purposed
expedition. This being the customary preliminary
attracts attention, and some one soon comes forward
to inquire about it, and asks who is to be the bellat,
or guide ; the aspirant answers, " Me !" Then
come the questions of, " What do you know about
the country ?" " Who knows you as a leader ?"
" What claims have you to our confidence ?" If
these inquiries are answered in a satisfactory man
ner, he is sure to muster a party, according to the
prospects of success. If these are realized, and a
handsome booty obtained, he at once gains a name,
which if he is fortunate enough to maintain by an
exhibition of prudence and gallantry, he can at all
times be sure of commanding a strong party for
a chuppow, and thus becomes a sirddr, or leader,
a title only to be won by valour and merit. Such
sirdars, when old, become ak-sakdls, or elders, (white
beards literally,) and counsellors of the tribe.
But we have lingered long enough in the obah

378 AN OLD FRIEND.
of Hyder Khan, which is now moving off. Let
us proceed on our journey. Next morning, the
19th, after the customary exchange of tokens, we
each went our way. Our regular stage that day
should have been Pisseruc, one of my former halt
ing places ; but having heard that my old host,
Khallee Khan Goklan, with whom I had spent a
day of yore, was encamped not far from our road,
I resolved to pay him the compliment of a visit ;
and the rather, as I heard he had fallen into the
yellow leaf of favour as well as of years, he having
been heavily visited by the Prince of Asterabad, as it
was said, for his adherence to the interests of the
late Abbas Meerza, and of his son, Mahomed
Meerza. Khallee Khan recognized and received me like
an old friend, welcomed me heartily, and caused
the women to bake the rich catlemah for breakfast.
I found, however, that oppression, far from opening
his heart, appeared to have made it more grasp
ing, for such a race of sturdy beggars as his family
were I have not often met with. Everything we
had was the object not only of their desire, but of
their solicitation. The shawl I wore round my
waist, and that of the Meerza, were begged for
by the sons, mothers, and wives ; and the Khan
himself, among many sad complaints about the
poverty he was reduced to, gave numerous hints that
the smallest donation would be thankfully accepted;
Disposed as I was to be friendly, I was so much
disgusted by this conduct, that I gave less than I
had intended, and resisted all entreaty to remain
for the night ; in fact, after what I had both seen

MEANS OF EXTORTION. 379
and heard, I scarcely knew whether to regard myself
as safe in the camp.
It is true that the Saheb Ikhtidr, as he is called,
Buddehazeman Meerza, wrho is governor of Astera
bad, has been extremely severe upon the Toorkoman
Eeliauts, and some say not without reason, for they
are a truculent and rebellious race, who require a
strong hand. But it is nevertheless likewise true,
that the Prince has resorted to the meanest and dir
tiest tricks to extract from them what he can. Thus,
if he hears of a good horse, a promising colt, a fine
greyhound or pointer, he finds means of picking a
quarrel with the owner, whom he persecutes till the
coveted animal is surrendered as the price of recon
ciliation and renewed favour. The finest horse I saw
among the Goklans was one belonging to Hyder
Khan, who was so frightened lest the Prince should
get wind of its value, that he fired its two fore legs
as if the horse had broken down, satisfied that with
such a blemish the Prince would never think of him.
In the same way Khallee Khan besought me to pur
chase of him one of two fine colts he was secretly rear
ing, in order, as he said, to provide for his own neces
sities, and to get the beast out of the Prince's way.
I was amused at the care they took of these colts.
The flies at Gourgaun were at this time particularly
troublesome, as my poor cattle could testify ; they
almost kill the horses that are exposed to their at
tacks, so they clothe their favourites ; and I saw one
little crea ture, ofbut two months old, clad in a com
plete suit of coarse cotton cloth ; little trousers he
had on his drumstick, legs both in front and rear,
" with a hole behind for his tail to go through," and

380 THE CAMP OF KHALLEE KHAN.
a jacket and covering for its little abdomen, and all;
it looked for all the world like a dancing-dog dressed,
or a monkey tricked out to perform the " sailor's
hornpipe." Perhaps it would be difficult in the whole range of
Asiatic scenery to find a sweeter spot than that in
which the camp of Khallee Khan was pitched, situ
ated as it is in a fine well-watered plain at the foot
of a range of noble hills, and opening out to the
whole extent of mountain, plain, and woodland that
stretch toward Asterabad. Among the finest of
these is the Neel-e-koh, a grand wooded mass, cele
brated in Persian story as one of the abodes of the
Mazunderan giants, who were at length subdued by
Roostum. Nothing could exceed the loveliness of
this scene as we approached it all fresh and dewy
with the first light of morning ; but tjhe haze became
too powerful by noon, and the heat sot great that there
was no starting till late : as for the' flies, they were
like the plague of Egypt— -they permitted neither
man nor beast to rest. We were glad when the
approach of evening permitted us to move, when,
guided by the Khan's son, we made our way across
a very intricate piece of country, so intersected by
water-courses for irrigating the rice grounds, that, as
a welcome to Asterabad, we almost lost some of our
cattle in crossing them. The sun had set ere we
reached our abode for the night, but our way lay
through the noblest possible groves of ancient oaks,
and among rich meadows, lighted by a moon worthy
to embellish such scenery ; and about ten o'clock at
night we arrived at Senger, a village, or rather a
great straggling collection of houses, dropt as it were

A COMFORTABLE MUNZIL. 381
at random in a gorge, at some distance from the
plain. Here we were most politely received by
Meerza Saad Oollah Khan, a nobleman who had
lately been appointed governor of the district, and
Darogha, or chief of the Toorkoman tribes in this
quarter; and in due time we sat down to an ex
cellent and plentiful supper, with the addition of
what was no mean luxury in so broiling a climate,
namely, iced sherbet, and lumps of fine clear ice, ad
libitum, to cool our boiling stomachs.

382

LETTER XIV.
Yamoots. — Obstacles.— Evil reports. — N6-deh.— Exalted sleeping-
place. — Coormallee stream and pass. — Thelavah. — Kerghaun.
— Bad servants. — Tricks upon travellers. — Taush. — Yeilaks. —
Shahkoh. — Chardeh. — Chushmah Allee. — Poolad Muhuleh. —
A resolution  Asseran. — A midnight march. — Pass. — Feero
zekoh. — Baughshah. — Reach Tehran. — Disappointment. —
Illness. It was our wish to proceed upon the morrow,
with all possible expedition, towards Asterabad, where
I had some business, and meant to repose for a few
days. But, " God disposes," though " man pro
poses." We met here with an obstacle which we
had by no means anticipated. It appeared that a
large proportion of the Yamoot tribe of Toorkomans,
who had occupied the districts of Asterabad near
the Caspian Sea, and the lower banks of the rivers
Attruck and Gorgaun, whether in consequence of
increased exactions on the part of their rulers, or
from a natural disposition to turbulence, or both
causes combined, had of late thrown off the yoke of
the Saheb- Ikhtedr, and declared themselves rebels
both by word and deed. The tribe, thus divided,
had taken possession of the two sides of the Attruck ;
those still professing obedience remaining on the
south, while the rebels occupied its northern bank.
But the fact is, that neither portion was at all to be
trusted, for the division even descended to families ;
and whenever a murder or a robbery was committed,

REBEL YAMOOTS. 383
and traced to a certain house, the reply was sure to"
be — " It may be so ; our father, or brothers, or uncles
are with the rebels on the other side ; they doubtless
may have committed this act, which we regret, but
know nothing off — we are innocent." Thus, as in
all cases of border outrage, the perpetrators of crime
escape with impunity, and are encouraged in the con
tinuance of practices which a feeble government is
unable to check. There are, however, always two
sides to a story, and probably the Yamoots, if ques
tioned on the subject, would make out a good case of
provocation to account for their conduct. The fol
lowing circumstance, which came to my knowledge
from good authority, leads me to suspect they had
no small cause of complaint against their Persian
rulers. Khojah Verdee Khan, one of their most gal
lant chiefs, had brought his contingent of men, and
was in regular attendance upon the person of the
Prince Royal in Khorasan. But it appears that
some of his countrymen were not so loyal, for tid
ings of chuppows upon the Persian districts reached
the ears of the Prince, who sending for the Khan
upbraided him severely, making use of very hard
words. The independent spirit of the Yamoot was
roused ; he asserted his own innocence, denied being
responsible for the misdeeds of others, and complain
ed bitterly of the abuse which had been heaped upon
him. " How," said he, " can your Highness expect to
be served with zeal if this is the reward of fidelity ?"
The Prince appears either to have been in a bad
humour, or to have entertained some grudge at the
Khan, for he continued taunting him so bitterly,
that in high indignation he said, " Prince, you use

384 A TALE OF TREACHERY.
me as if you meant to drive me also to chup-
powing.'" "How is that, Ghorumsaug?" said the
Prince in wrath ; " what do ybu dare to tell me ? Be
gone ! — instantly quit my presence !" The Khan did
so immediately, and striking his tents, went with
his followers to encamp at a little distance. The
Prince's jeloodar was sent to negotiate with him,
with the apparent object of bringing him to terms, but
probably only to detain him for a convenient space,
for it was known that a chupper of his Royal High
ness left camp and rode in haste towards the desert.
The Khan, after three days' detention, took his way
homeward, and having arrived within a short dis
tance of his camp, was pushing on with four or five
attendants, when at night-fall he was met and chal
lenged by a large party. From their drawing up
on either side of the way the Khan suspected mis-
ehief, so desiring his people to stand to their arms, he
demanded of the strangers what they wanted. " Are
you Khojah Verdee Khan ?" was their reply to his
question. The Khan unslung his bow, for he never
carried a gun, contenting himself with the arms of
his country, and having fitted an arrow, he replied,
" I am Khojah Verdee Khan : and now what do
you want with me ?" The immediate discharge of
half a dozen muskets was the only reply, which too
plainly told their errand. The Khan, wounded, fell
from his horse, but recovering himself, managed,
though they closed around him, to dive under his
horse and get to his spear, with which he defended
himself so fiercely for a while, that no one could touch
him ; but loss of blood overcame him ; he sank at

DARING ATTACKS. 385
length upon the ground, and they instantly cut his
throat in cold blood.
The ravages of these Yamoot rebels had of late, in
particular, become so atrocious as almost entirely to
put a stop to travelling. Whole villages at the foot
of the hills, and on their skirts, have been destroyed,
so that the road from Asterabad to Gourgaun, a strip
of country which, when I passed through it before,
was populous and prosperous, was now become a wil
derness. Not a day passed without a visit from these
plunderers, who in parties, varying from five to two
hundred, would issue from their haunts to beset the
highways and village by-paths. The Goklans, when
caught by them, were always put to death upon the
spot ; the Persians they carried off as slaves for sale
at Khyvah ; but as resistance was sometimes attempt
ed, murders were frequent. The road from Senger to
Asterabad leads through a dense jungle, with much
intricate ground, all of which is so completely suited
to ambuscades and surprises that no precaution is
sufficient to ensure safety ; for while a part of your
guard might be looking out in advance and another
bringing up the rear behind, you might yourself be
pounced upon and carried off by the sudden assault
of half a dozen ruffians in flank, without its being
possible to receive assistance ; nay, there are in
stances of individuals of the guard themselves being
thus spirited away while employed in escorting
others. Only the day before our arrival at the village,
four men had been found murdered on the road;
and prisoners had been made within the week at the
vol. n. 2 c

386 A FORCED DETOUR.
very gates of Asterabad. Of all these circumstances
Meerza Saad-oolla Khan now informed me, and added,
that however desirous he might be of promoting
my views, and honouring the introductions I had
brought, it would not be in his power to ensure my
safety by the route of Asterabad, and he therefore
besought me to give up thoughts of proceeding by
that place. " I would send one hundred toffunchees
with you to the limits of my jurisdiction," said he,
" were I satisfied that such a measure would suffice ;
but I am not, and even if I were, there is a tract
intervening between that limit ancLAsterabad, where
I know you could obtain no guard. Be advised by
me then, — take the road by the mountains. It will
carry you two days' journey round, it is true, but it
is safe and sure. I will give you guides and every
necessary, and you may start to-morrow morning."
To this there could be no reply, as we were not
prepared for a visit to Kyvah, or even for the thrust
of a Yamoot spear ; but it was mighty provoking.
Here we were within two days' journey of Astera
bad, and our horses, more than ourselves, required
rest ; yet we saw ourselves forced to take a route
which would lead us over some of the worst ground
and most rugged mountains of Persia, and occupy
us five days instead of two. We were also not a
little struck by the apparent inhospitality of so readily ¦
sending us away without even the option of a day's
rest. But this was afterwards explained. It appear
ed that a report of the King's death had come from
Tehran, a piece of news which had set the restless
Eeliauts into such a ferment, that the Khan expect
ed immediate commotions, and wanted no strangers

DELIGHTFUL SCENERY. 387
to embarrass his movements. We found, too, that
the pestilent boaster and busy-body, our guide, had
been one of those who picked up and propagated
this false report ; and though Meerza Saad-oollah had
reprimanded him for this indiscretion, and sought to
tranquillize us by an assurance that he did not be-
believe the report himself, as, if true, his brother
would surely have sent him immediate information,
it could not fail to weigh with me, and sharpen the
desire I felt to reach a place where the truth might
be ascertained.
Accordingly next day, the 20th, after a due ex
amination of our cattle, and particularly of the state
of their feet, we started from Senger, attended by
a guard of fifty mounted toffunchees, for Nodeh,
a village only twelve miles distant, retired within
the hills, beyond the reach, as was understood, of
Yamoot depredation : even in this short space we
came upon tracks of about fifteen of the ruffians, but
our party was too imposing for attack, and we es
caped unmolested. To speak of the scenery on our
road would be but to repeat the descriptions I have
attempted ever since I introduced you to Gourgaun.
Noble woods of primeval oaks shading carpets of
verdure enamelled with flowers ; open glades of still
richer pasture, and green banks exquisitely inter-
' "spersed with coppice and groups of the most mag
nificent limes, or elms, or sycamores ; sweet streams,
over-arched with high trees, and fountains ever cool,
even in the intense heat we were suffering under ;
Paradise itself could not exhibit more various beauty
— it was reserved for man to profane it with violence
and strife. 2 c 2

388 A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY.
Nodeh was situated on the bank of a small river
among lofty rocks crowned with wood, in the gorge
of a glen that penetrated into the heart of the moun
tains. Like all the Mazunderan villages, it was
buried in wood, chiefly mulberry trees, so that it was
difficult to see more than one or two houses at a
time. The moisture of the climate forces the in
habitants td resort to various expedients for preserv
ing themselves from it's effects, and one of these is
that of sleeping upon stages raised high above the
ground upon posts. On one of these were our quar
ters for the riight ; and the croaking of frogs, and
the grinding and chirping of crickets, with the thou
sand insects we heard and saw crawling about, re
minded me strongly of the West Indies. I cannot
believe the place to be healthy, and the wan looks
of my host's family, though one of the prettiest I
have seen, confirmed me in this opinion. The young
lads were remarkably well looking, and several of
the daughters, all of whom were unveiled, were de
licately beautiful.
Next morning (the 21st) we were on foot by
dawn, and commenced our journey up the bed of
the river Coormallee, which exhibited every possible
variety of that species of close scenery; alders of
enormous size shut out the light of day from the
stream, and we had continually to cross and recross it,'
to the no small distress of our baggage cattle, as the
bed was extremely rough, and the stones very slippery.
This, notwithstanding, is one of the great thorough
fares for caravans from the upper country to Gour
gaun and Asterabad when the road is safe ; but at
every step the decay, and not the increase, of pro-

RENOVATION AND DECAY. 389
sperity and population meets the eye. We passed the
site of a village named Shutoor Serai, a large place in
the days of Nadir, when this glen was well peopled ;
but no vestige of it remains except the burying-
ground, through the tombs of which the road winds,
and trees of from sixty to eighty years' growth had
sprung up from the very graves, mocking, as it
were, the mouldered dust with their green and lusty
strength. Man goes to his long home and decays,
and is at rest, but nature never stands still ; her works
rise and flourish in uninterrupted succession over the
relics of frail humanity.
A little further on we passed a shrine, the tomb
of some departed saint, which possesses the quality,
assuredly an invaluable one in this moist region, of
curing the rheumatism. The prescription is to sleep
in it a night with faith and to let blood ; and if this
be observed, its efficacy is complete, they assert, even
at the present day. Tracing up the stream to its
forks, we gradually, yet rapidly arose, exhausting its
volume of waters as we passed the mouths of the
subsidiary glens, and left behind us the dense forests
of Asterabad and Mazunderan ; the mountains be
came rocky and more scantily clothed with bushes
of oak and thorn instead of mighty trees, until we
at length returned to our dry old acquaintances, the
arbor vitce, maple, and barberry bushes. About half
past two we reached Thelavah, a village in a hollow,
surrounded by bare lofty hills, and forming in all
respects a most perfect contrast to our last night's
lodging-place ; for while the people of Nodeh were
in all things ready and obliging, at this place we
could get neither assistance nor lodgings, and scarcely

390 UNPLEASANT DISCOVERIES.
enough of food for ourselves and our cattle, even
on the most exorbitant terms, — all the result of dis
tance from control — of irresponsibility: we were
nominally guests, but so unwelcome, that they starved
us ; and we were forced, as usual, to purchase ne
cessaries in the teeth of our mehmandar, who was
unable or unwilling to procure us what we wanted
otherwise. To add to our disagreeables, we found
all our cattle getting lame from the rough roads ; nor
was it pleasant to find, on comparing my bearings
with the map, that we had just marched so much
out of our direct route.
This truth became more apparent on the succeed
ing march (on the 22nd), which led us by a weary and
uninteresting route over some high hills and a long,
barren, undulating plain, thirty-four miles to Ker-
ghaun, a village not more than five miles distant from
Bostam. My old friend the Koh-Meyomeid was
visible from this plain only about forty miles distant :
you may remember my weary ascent to its summit
on my way to Mushed. It was not agreeable to re
cognise all these features of a country we hoped we
had done with ; but there was no help for it. The
next march was to have taken us direct to Astera
bad, but circumstances occurred which changed my
views and the course of our journey.
Early in the progress of this journey, I had per
ceived that my servants were far from respectable or
trustworthy : their object was not my comfort or in
terest ; nor did they look to the rewards of honest ser
vice, but to pillage and profit — unfair profit. Aware
of this, I endeavoured to check the system of plunder,
and was aided in this to a certain degree by the co-

PLOTS. 391
operation of my companion the Meerza ; but the ser
vants were aware of their advantage on a long and
hazardous journey, and appeared inclined to use it;
those who were less thievish were more insolent, so
that several times I had half resolved to turn them
about their business, and trust to chance for replacing
them ; but, encumbered as I was, with a dozen of
animals, how could I take such a risk ! The hard
work from Boojnoord completed, probably, the disgust
which disappointment of their schemes of pillage had
first created, and they began to speak of me among
themselves, and even in the Meerza's hearing, in
terms which not only were in the highest degree dis
respectful, but seemed to imply a resolution to com
pensate themselves at all hazards, one way or other,
for their imaginary wrongs. The Meerza told me
this, which only confirmed my own observations, and
opened my eyes fully to the truth. He explained
to me that his suspicions had been roused from the
first, and that in order to try their correctness
he had feigned to enter into their schemes to rob
me, and the result was, that not one was honest.
He advised me to take into my own keeping several
valuable articles, as one of the plots was to pretend
that they had been lost, trust to my indulgence for
forgiveness, and then sell them and divide the money.
Some instances of intended villany were this day
communicated to me, and confirmed by a person in
company, quite unconnected with them, and who,
perhaps, not seeing any hope of sharing in the profit,
thought it useless to conceal what had come to his
knowledge. Now, though I shrewdly suspected some . part of

392 ANXIOUS REFLECTIONS.
this, and was satisfied that one of the men, at least,
was up to any degree of rascality, yet the proof of
it all coming upon me in so overwhelming a man
ner, and at a time when, from the state of my
cattle, I required the best assistance of all my
people, — the conviction that in so remote a spot, so
far from assistance of any kind, I was in the hands
of a band of robbers, who, if they dared, would cut
my throat for the clothes I possessed, — you will
scarcely be surprised, created a strong anxiety to
reach a place of safety with all possible speed.
The King might die— the whole country might be
in a ferment, and then, where was I ? — My horses
were nearly worn out by hard work, heat, flies, in*
sufficient food, and bad attendance. If I were to
follow up my first intention and go to Asterabad, it
would not only be moving further from my re
sources, and committing myself more to the power
of my dangerous servants, but placing myself in
the power of the Saheb Ikhtiar, who being inimical
to Mahomed Meerza, the heir-apparent, and know
ing the friendship of the English for that Prince,
might, in case of his Majesty's death, think fit to
detain rae from joining my countrymen till the result
of the expected struggle for the throne should be
past. All these considerations I rapidly weighed
against the motives there were to lead me to Aster
abad, and the result was that all my objects would
be best attained by repairing to the capital with the
utmost possible speed ; so thither I resolved, accord
ingly, to bend my way. There was another consi
deration that confirmed my resolution — Asterabad
was at this particular season extremely unhealthy —

A SUSPICIOUS FRIEND. 393
so much so, that all its inhabitants, who could, had
left it for their yeildks, or summer quarters ; so
that I "should not, in all probability, have met with
those who alone were qualified to yield me the
information I sought.
No sooner had I taken this resolution, and pre
pared to pursue the road to Tehran, than there
occurred a singular confirmation of one part of my
suspicions, in the detection of an attempt to dispose
of one of my guns to a notorious thief who had
come to our encamping ground, and who was caught
with it under his arm. My jeloodar, who had the
charge of it, endeavoured very awkwardly to ex
plain the suspicious circumstance, and declared that
his accidental acquaintance with this fellow had been
the means of saving some part of our baggage. The
man, he said, belonged to a gang of thieves, who
had watched us for several days, in hopes of being
able to purloin something ; but having now become
a guest of my servants, he felt it would be a breach
of honour to attack us — so he not only forswore the
attempt himself, but put us on our guard against
his associates. I need not say how this story was
received, or that its only effect was to make me
redouble all precautions, and leave as little property
as possible in the power either of my servants or the
thieves. 23d July. — This morning, thank Heaven, we got
rid of our gasconading, important, and impertinent
guide, Mahomed Baukher Beg, who had accompa
nied us thus far, not, as he would have had us be
lieve, for our own exclusive convenience, but because
he was going on business of his own to the camp of

394 FALSE DISINTERESTEDNESS,
the Saheb Ikhtiar. According to his own account
he was hand and glove with half the princes of
the blood, and all the ministers, and on the best
terms with the old Shah himself, who, he declared,
whenever he approached the presence, used to salute
him and welcome him by the honourable title of
" Peerahun-e-tun-e-Shah, which being interpreted
means " the shirt of the King's own body," meaning
thereby the most confidential and nearest of his
Majesty's " gardes du corps." During the whole
way he was endeavouring to impress me with no
tions, not only of his great importance, but disin
terested independence ; he even threatened remotely
to present rae with the horse he rode, a gallant
Toorkoman, worth ten of its master any day. But
that went off, and when I presented him with what
I considered a handsome donation for his trouble, I
discovered that he was utterly disappointed. My
friend, Shah Verdee Beg, the hog-killer, was more
reasonable, and we parted excellent friends.
Just as we were preparing to start, we had a
specimen of Persian tricks upon travellers. We
required a guide to Tehran, and had entered into
negotiations with a man, Khoda Verdee, who had
joined us on the way to Kerghaun, an honest fellow
as he seemed, and who professed himself our humble
slave. Having declared that he sought no better
than to follow us for love, we conceived that for
moderate wages and his food he would be glad to
guide us to Tehran, whither he seemed desirous to
go. And at last, after much work, he did agree to
go with us for three tomauns, and a present con
tingent on good behaviour ; on our also consenting

ATTEMPTED TRICKS. 395
to take into our employment his brother, as a
muleteer, instead of our own, who had misbehaved.
All seemed right ; the man went, as he said, to get
his horse ready, and we were talking of dismissing
our old muleteer, when, suddenly, the scene changed.
We were told that there was outside a gholaum of
the Prince, who demanded to know who we were,
and whether we had his Highness's permission to
depart, as, failing that, he could not permit us to
leave the place.
To this piece of insolent absurdity we at first sent
a contemptuous reply ; but fearing some trick, we
desired the fellow to be brought, and gave him his
defiance by word of mouth. We now discovered
that Khoda Verdee was also a gholaum, and his
comrade probably thought, that by teasing or fright
ening us, if we should turn out to be raw travellers,
he might make something out of the business. In
this he failed, of course ; but whether his influence
on our proposed guide was stronger than that of our
promises, or that the man repented of his bargain, I
know not, but he, from this time, only communi
cated with us by shuffling messages, and finally
disappeared at the very moment we were about to
start ; and we should have been put to great incon
venience had not another man stepped forth and
proffered to guide us to Taush, our next stage. I
had little doubt that the whole affair originated
with our rascally servants, who wished to detain us
for another night where we were — no doubt for their
own good purposes.
It required the whole day at Kerghaun to rest and
repair damages ; and our disappointment of a guide

396 SKETCH OF THE COUNTRY.
detained us so late, after every thing else was ready,
that it was past eleven at night before we mounted
by the light of a brilliant moon. We travelled all
night, upon our guard, to Taush, through a valley
and broken ground of little interest in itself, but in
sight of a fine wild rocky range of mountains called
Topal. The village itself is small, the situation
high and cold, and everything was exorbitantly dear.
Our lodging was in a mosque, and for dinner we
had kebaubs of a noble mountain sheep, killed by a
hunter that morning. Both these and other game,
including tigers and leopards, are said to abound in
the hiUs around.
25th July. — Just as we were starting at dawn, a
gholaum of the Saheb-Ikhtiar rode up, with the
compliments of that Prince, who, haying heard of my
being on the way to Asterabad, had sent this man to
attend me through his government ; and the gho
laum, hearing that I was in reality proceeding to
wards the capital, insisted on escorting me to the
next munzil at Chardeh. I should mention here,
in order to give you some conception of the country
we were traversing, that the great range of moun
tains which I have designated as the Elburz, and
which stretch along the whole north of Persia, are
curiously broken in numerous points of their extent,
being sometimes divided longitudinally by fine large
valleys, and sometimes transversely by deep hollows
and ravines, or regions of a depressed level. Be
tween these lower regions, groups of peaks and
rugged masses shoot up, occasionally to a great
height, and it is among these that the finest and
coolest yeilaks, or summer quarters, are to be found.

SHAH-KOH. 397
We had now approached Shah-koh, which is one
of those clusters to which the Prince of Asterabad
retires in summer ; and had consequently to cross
some very lofty and difficult passes, in one of which
is the village of Shah-koh itself, probably one of the
highest fixed abodes of man in Persia. On inquiring
at Taush respecting our road to the next stage, we
found great difficulty in ascertaining correctly which
was the best of several that branched off from the
village. This difficulty did not proceed from ill-
will, but from sheer ignorance, which prevails to an
astonishing extent in many of these remote places,
even with regard to their neighbours in the next
glen — so it was well we had the gholaum with us.
Singularly wild was the scenery through which our
way led us this day, and steep and weary were the
cothuls, and long the valleys, in which fine culti
vation was mingled with tracts that were altogether
barren. When we reached the glen of Shah-koh, the cas
tellated village of which towers high above the hol
low on a hill to the left, we observed the chief, Aga
Meerza Allee himself, who had been warned of our
approach, coming down from his hills with a prodi
gious tail, a welcome, and a capital breakfast. This
last, which consisted of a lamb roasted whole, with
eggs, butter, mas, &c. &e. we discussed with much
gout by a well of the most deliciously cold water in
a little meadow, which feasted our horses also ; and
thus revived we thanked our kind host, and rode on.
The country became still wilder, and the scenery
still more striking, all around us. On one side were
the lofty wooded mountains of Asterabad divided

398 CHARDEH.
into sombre glens and mysterious hollows, with
some of their peaks still streaked with snow ; on
the other rose the arid rocky ridges which form the
more southern portions of the range — lofty, sharp,
and fantastic, bare of wood except where spotted
with the arbor vitce trees, but in many points exhi
biting gigantic proportions both of height and hol
low. The pass, which at length took us down into
the Chardeh valley, was one of the sharpest and
dreariest I ever remember ; and the lofty crags that
rose around us, though half shrouded in mist, were
savage and terrific as imagination could well picture.
The stage, though only thirty-six miles, occupied us
fourteen hours of incessant toil ; and happy we were
when at length we found ourselves at night-fall sit
ting under a group of fine willows before the door
of a mosque in the thriving village of Chardeh.
This village, it seems, is held free of taxes by a fir
maun of the King, on condition of furnishing three
hundred men to the Daurghan regiment, and the
inhabitants, in consequence of this immunity, are all
very rich. I wish I could say that this prosperity
had liberalized their dispositions, but the fact is that
more arrant churls and extortioners I never met
with. Everything we required was charged at a
price beyond all bounds ; but to remonstrate was in
vain ; nothing was to be had without money in hand,
and money I was accordingly forced to tell down at
no allowance. In addition to this the necessity of
watching the deviltries (as old Hawk-eye would call
them) of my rascally servants occupied me most
disagreeably. I had tolerable proof that some of
the horses and mules did not come fairly by their

CHUSHMAH-E-ALLEE. 399
lameness, and I began to think that there was a
combination against my ever reaching the capital.
I was therefore right glad when I found myself once
more in motion, although it was noon of the 26th
before we broke ground.
Our march was only sixteen miles, along a valley,
to Chushmah-e-Allee, or the fountain of Allee, a
source which I have alluded to in my former travels
as one regarding which the story goes, that if any
unclean thing be thrown therein, it sends forth a
wind so violent as sometimes to destroy the crops
and the country round. This, however, turns out
not to be the exact fact ; that is, the story as told
at a distance differs from what we hear on the spot,
as often happens. The sensitive fountain is at some
distance from Chushmah-e-Allee, and it appears that
only certain sorts of impurities, and these thrown in
by a certain class of persons, have the power of ex
citing so violently the wrath of its protecting numen;
nor could I learn that any living being had actually
witnessed the miracle. The Chushm ah-e-AHee, on
the other hand, is a very quiet and innocent, but
most splendid rush of water, which, bursting from
under a bed of sandstone and gravel, does nothing
but fertilize the district through which it flows. It
gushes forth at once a little river, and as, like most
such remarkable sources, its origin has been attri
buted to a miracle, it has become a place of pilgrim
age, and his present Majesty has thought fit to
surround it with a wall, and has had the space thus
inclosed planted with trees : he has also built a sort
of palace, and otherwise improved the natural capa
bilities of the place so much that it is a delightful

400 FINE RESERVOIRS — FISH.
spot to halt at. The gush of water, clear as crys
tal, is received first in a square basin, perhaps thirty
paces by twenty, from which it rushes in two swift
streams , under the palace or summer-house into an
other reservoir, about one hundred yards long,
surrounded by tall poplars and other trees. But
the noble sycamores which overshadow the upper
basin are the pride of the place, drooping as they do
over it till their leaves actually float upon the sur
face of the bright water. It was under the largest
of these, round the root of which a platform has
been built, that we took up our quarters for the
night ; and we should have been most comfortable,
but for the great distance of the village from whence
we derived our supplies ; for the poor Seyed who.
keeps the garden has nothing to give or to sell, en
joying only from his Majesty the liberal donation of
the half of eight tomauns a year, the other half de
volving on a comrade.
These reservoirs are full of fish, chiefly of the
leather-mouthed sort, common throughout the coun
try, and some of which here have attained an im
mense size. They are preserved from religious
motives, and are so tame that they will feed almost
from the hand. We would not of course offend the
prejudices of the people by killing any of them ; but
the Meerza was so wild at the sight of their numbers
that he insisted on having one cast with my line. He
instantly hooked and drew out a thumping fellow,
which, having satisfied our curiosity by examining, I
threw back into the water again.
27th July. — Starting a little after five a.m., we
made a march of thirty-six miles, through long.

A DETERMINATION. 401
barren, uninteresting valleys, to Poolad Muhiileh, a
populous and thriving village, but the people of which
partake in the churlish nature of most of the inhabi
tants of this quarter. We had no lodging, but bivou
acked in a field, having our horses and cattle picketed
close to us, and with difficulty procuring either
forage for them or a guide to take us on to the next
stage. Here two of my mules, which had for a long
time been lame, gave up entirely ; and the rest of my
cattle, from hard work and indifferent treatment,
were all more or less knocked up. But this only
increased that anxiety to get to Tehran, which had
also been excited by another circumstance. On our
way to Poolad Muhuleh we met two of the Shah's
gholaums going to Bostam, to make Ismael Meerza
surrender a flute belonging to Mahomed Meerza,
which that prince had thought fit to pilfer or de
tain. It proved, at all events, the favour which
his majesty evinced towards his future successor ;
but to me they communicated a more interesting
piece of news, namely, that the English mission was
still, as they assured me, at Tehran.
This set me a thinking ; — why should I linger on
the way, when a day might make the difference of
catching my countrymen at Tehran or not ? And
the result was a determination to push forward for
the capital at once ; — to accompany my people only
to the next stage, and after resting there three hours,
to proceed with one servant and my best horses, with
out halting, to Tehran. There would all my damages
best be refitted, and a kind welcome from my country
men would soon salve all sores. The distance was
but one hundred and seventy miles, and this I hoped
VOL. II. 2 D

402 PUZZLING DIRECTIONS.
to make in little more than two days ; so that, while
saving much in time myself, I should be in condition
to send out help for my disabled party.
On the 28th of July, after much trouble and de
tention, we left our lame mule in care of the ketkho-
dah of the village, and hiring a guide, with much
ado, together with a pony to carry corn for us, pro
ceeded on our journey. The road to Asseram, from
thirty-six to forty miles, was universally hilly, and
had one or two very steep ascents and descents ; but
I pushed on to our resting place, in order that my
horses might have three or four hours rest before
commencing their long march. There was some
magnificent scenery on the way, and the lofty peak
of the Koh-e-auran, towering from out a sea of
mist over one of the finest passes into Mazunderan,
all black and dismal as the pit of Acheron, was
singularly striking.
It was near nine in the evening before matters
were so arranged that I could start, myself and
jeloodar riding my best horses, with one lad, a
groom, upon a stout yaboo. It was pitch dark,
and the only guide I could procure would accom
pany us but a short way ; he assured us, how
ever, that the road was excellent, and that we could
not miss it, as by keeping ahvays to the right hand,
we should never go wrong. This did not prove to
be quite the case, as you shall hear ; for the road,
after becoming very rough and uneven for some
miles, led us into a very intricate succession of
heights and hollows which fairly puzzled us. At
last it distinctly branched into two. " Which shall I
take ?" asked the jeloodar. " The right, of course,"

A SLIGHT ASCENT. 40&
replied I ; and on we went, though the sudden rise
made by the path, when we could see it, created
some suspicion in our minds. Our guide, however,
had warned us of a slight ascent. Now, as this is a
term that varies according to the ideas of individuals,
it was impossible to say that the sharp and long
ascent in which we found ourselves involved might
not be the Sineh-Kesh alluded to by the guide. We
first wound up a steep slope, then ascended along
the lip of a black-looking glen, then crossed its gorge
into another valley beyond, after threading which,
loftier peaks appeared beyond ; then another gorge,
which we mounted and crossed, and which admit
ted us into as wild and terrific a piece of broken
scenery as I ever saw. We had obviously managed
to clamber up to the higher regions of a huge cluster
of mountains, and were crossing one after another
the upper ends of the deep chasms that furrow their
sides. It appeared equally evident, too, that this
could not be the plain and simple road and slight
ascent of which our guide spoke, so that the un
pleasant conclusion was now forced on us, not only
that we had lost our road, but that we had wan
dered into a savage wilderness, from which, in the
darkness of night, it would be hard to extricate
ourselves, and which might involve danger of more
kinds than one.
The moon, it is true, had risen, but her uncertain
light, deepening by contrast the grim shadows where
it did not fall, rather added to than diminished
our bewilderment. We had risen, as it seemed, to
the seventh heaven, and were skirting along pre-r
cipitous braes and spurs, separating ravines, all of
2 d 2

404 DANGEROUS PATHS.
which proceeded from a noble cliff above us, and
lost themselves in a huge glen below, too deep and
dark for the eye to penetrate its mysteries, but
rising from which here and there a few prominent
and insulated points, illuminated by the moon, shone
like islands of brightness in a grim ocean. Loftier
peaks appeared beyond, and beneath them, on the
bosom of the glen, lay a cloud like a shining sea,
hiding everything under its bright but impenetrable
veil. It needed no ghost to tell us that in pursuing
our right-hand course, we had just toiled up to the
very height and heart of the noble mountains we
had seen on our right during the day's march, and
were now looking full down one of the deep passes
into Mazunderan.
The dubious pathway still led us upwards till we
reached the wall of highest cliffs, around the but
tresses of which, of most unpleasant steepness, we
wound, by a goat-track so narrow that I often
shrunk and shuddered at the black abyss over which
we seemed suspended in air. This interesting sort
of path, leading, as the Persians have it, by the
cummer or waist of the rock, continued for full two
hours, alternately sinking into darkness or emerging
into light, as we rounded a salient angle or fell into
its corresponding recess, till at length we found
ourselves on a narrow neck, looking back with
thankfulness at the nervous escalade we had per
formed, only as it appeared to plunge again into the
jaws of another gulf enclosed on all sides by ranges
of serrated cliffs. But here, after a sharp and long
descent, our ears were greeted with the comfortable
sound of a sheep-dog's bark, and a little further on

A STAND -STILL. 405
we discovered the Eeliaut tent from whence this
welcome intimation of the vicinity of man had
issued. We derived little benefit, however, from the rude
inhabitant of this black dwelling. He was an old
man, who was with difficulty roused from his layer ;
and who, while he told us we had gone far astray,
and had landed among the yeildks of Feerozekoh, in
stead of keeping the low and regular road to that
place, refused for any consideration to guide us to any
point from whence we might reach it. All we could
extract from him was an assurance, that our road now
led up the left of two valleys we should presently
reach, and that by so proceeding we should fall in with
other tents, where we might be further instructed.
Very reluctantly leaving the old man to resume his
broken slumbers, we addressed ourselves to grope
out our way along a very tortuous glen, and suc
ceeded in gaining another gorge, where, I suspect,
we made another mistake ; for, observing a path
branching to the left, we again preferred the right of
two ravines, and made a rapid descent into another
long weary glen. Here we were at length brought
to a stand-still by a wall of rock, in which the
cliffs on either side appeared to terminate, shutting
up all means of egress except by a narrow chasm,
through which ran the bed of a torrent now quite
dry. Dismounting, we entered, groping our way in
darkness, but soon lost all traces of the path in an
impenetrable mass of thorns and fragments of rock,
while just beyond we could see the precipitous de
scent of what, in rainy weather, must be a very
pretty waterfall. This could not be the horse -path

406 A HALT.
at all events, so we returned to look for another.
Above us rose a rocky promontory, over which a
track might possibly wind ; but the waning moon
light did not enable us to make it out, for there was
so little herbage and many stones, that the footsteps
of animals or of men left no traces ; so, after looking
at my watch, and finding that it wanted but two
hours of dawn, I came to the sensible resolution of
waiting where we were till the light should come to
our assistance. We could not have gone less than
seven fursucks, — say twenty-eight miles, — and our
horses were hungry enough ; unbitting them, there
fore, we left them at free liberty to choose the most
digestible of the stones around them, and wrapping
myself in a horse-cloth (it was very cold) I went
quietly and willingly to sleep.
I awoke within a few minutes of the proper time,
for the dawn was grey and cold in the east ; and be
fore our horses were caught and bridled, there was
light sufficient to show that the track, as I suspected,
wound above, and that the water-course was imprac
ticable for horses. Thus once more in motion, we
descended again, and reached the tents of which we
had heard during the night ; but it cost us four long
hours to reach the point we should have gained by
the time we were forced to stop, had we not gone
astray at first. I calculate, therefore, that we added
full three fursucks, or about twelve miles, to our
night's ride, besides the extra severity of exertion to
which our horses were subjected in climbing the
cot,huls and various ascents among the yeildks.
Refreshing ourselves and our horses with breakfast
at a little village in the mouth of the glen, we push-

A RAPID RIDE. 407
ed on, and passed Feerozekoh without stopping, in
tending to feed again at a place sixteen miles further
on ; but in this we were disappointed, as not a grain of
corn was there to be had for our horses, nor a bit
of bread for ourselves ; — so, hungry as both were, we
mounted again, after a halt of near an hour, and rode
about twenty miles more, burning hot, to Baugh-shah,
and there stayed three hours to feed and to refresh.
About eleven at night we mounted once more, break
fasted at Gilaur, some twenty miles from Tehran,
and then, rather quickening than slackening our pace,
reached the gates between half past twelve and one
of the afternoon.
That our horses were not done up by this sharp
work was testified by a freak of the one I rode, which,
on quickening my pace rather suddenly, when near
the walls, actually ran away with me until brought
up by the bit. As to the riders, so much cannot be
said for them, for we were all nodding in our saddles
during the night ; and after breakfast, when the
jeloodar and myself had revived, so completely over
come was the lad who was with us, that it was im
possible to keep him one moment awake, and he was
forced to stop till evening at a place about ten miles
from town. We had just been fifty-five hours from
Poulad Muhuleh, of which better than fourteen had
been expended in halts, feeding, &c, so that we
went the one hundred and seventy-six miles in forty-
one hours of travelling, and great part of it over most
difficult ground.
I cannot express to you the anxiety I felt during
the latter part of the way, not only to arrive, but as
to what might be the news awaiting me : were my.

408 A " JACK IN OFFICE."
friends still in Tehran or not ? — should I receive let
ters frpm home, and what might be the colour of
their contents ? Musing on these things I reached
the Doolaee gate, and was pushing rapidly through
it towards the English palace when a ragged fellow
of a furosh started up and demanded who we were,
and whence we came ? I replied to both ques?,
tions. — " Well," said he sharply, " whoever you may
be, you must come with me to the durkhaneh,
and give an account of yourself there." This I
quietly declined, and rode on towards the British
residency, telling the man to follow if he pleased.
He did so, and I thought nothing of it, but be
ing extremely hot and thirsty, purchased some
Sultana grapes at a stall, and ate them as I went
along ; but when I came to a turning, the man
stopped me again, observing that this was not the
way to the durkhaneh, and that to the durkhaneh
go I must. I remonstrated again, claiming exemp
tion as an Englishman from rules which could only
apply to natives. But others came up and joined
him, and insisted, though more respectfully, on turn
ing my horse, tired as I was, to the palace. A
squabble must have ensued had I resisted further, so,
still strongly protesting, to the palace I went. A
longer time than was decorous elapsed before a re
sponsible official appeared to release me, and to him
I spoke sharply in complaint of the indignity which
had been offered me.
At length I took my way again to the residency.
A cold thrill came over me, as, in passing Macneil's
door, I saw that it was locked, and I turned with
painful anticipation to the main entrance, which was

A DISAPPOINTMENT. 409
opened to me by the old seraidar with many a wel
come ; but there was no sign of inhabitants, and his
answer to my first question confirriied all my fears,—
all the English had left Tehran a month before, and
there was not in the place one countryman to wel
come me from my pilgrimage. There had been
reason to think this might happen, but the news I
received near Poolad Muhuleh had raised a contrary
hope, if not a conviction in my mind, and the disap
pointment was greater than it ought to have proved
to one who was bound to depend principally on his
own resources. But the mind will not always be
reasonable ; I had nursed up the hope of enjoying
here comfort, and counsel, and pleasant communion
with my fellows ; and, reason or no reason, the disap
pointment was distressing.
Hot and faint, I begged the seraidar to get me a
room and some iced sherbet immediately ; but,
whether it was the excitement at the palace, or the
effects of disappointment operating on an overheated
and wearied frame, or the grapes which I had sud
denly and profusely eaten, I know not ; before, how
ever, he could procure me either, I became so ill that I
was forced to lie down on the bare ground, and after
suffering half an hour's violent sickness, I was re
lieved from one cause at least of my disorder ; but its
effects left me weak as an infant, scarce able to crawl
from the spot. Uncertain what all this might tend
to, I sent notice of my arrival to my old friend the
minister for foreign affairs ; and soon after, while
lying listless enough upon a carpet, was gratified by a
visit of his nephew, also a very pleasant friend of mine.
One cannot know the full value of sympathy and

410 AN OPPORTUNE VISIT.
attention, of the promise of aid and relief, until the
total want and hopelessness of such blessings have
been felt. I was just in that case when the arrival
of Meerza Mahomed Allee brought me comfort.
From him I learned all that was to be known re
garding my friends, and received promise at least of
whatever assistance I might require; but, thank
God ! my illness went no further, and after a night
and day of very willing starvation, I rose, weak in
deed, but free from disease, and able to perform my
duties, and resume needful occupations.

411

LETTER XV.
A sharp attack of fever — Parting with servants  Visit to the
Moatimud. — A singular scene. — Leave Tehran  Soork Kallah.
— Lawassoon. — Lar. — Trout-fishing. — Lose our way. — A Sineh-
kesh. — An awkward position  A bad night-fall. — Rough as
cent — Valerood. — Demawund. — Descent. — Gilauristauk. —
Descent into Mazunderan. — Paresp. — Lost Yaboo recovered.
— Plies.— Amol. Tehran, 11th of August.
I resume the pen, dear  , with a feebler hand
than when I closed my last to you — feebler from
illness, although, thank God ! the danger is now
past ; and with a heart most truly grateful to that
good God, who has sustained and protected me
hitherto, for being able to say that such is indeed
the case. Illness, when alone and far from friends,
is a sad, depressing, and heart-sinking thing. Per
haps I was too presumptuous, too confident from
long experience in my own power and strength ;
and yet I am conscious of no obvious indiscretion,
no particular imprudence, and though experience
of my own strength of constitution may have led to
imprudence in trying it, it assuredly never gave
birth to the shadow of a thought irreverent to the
power of him who gave it. No : I have ever been,
and am, most thankful for these blessings, and re
ceive this lesson as a warning, perhaps too much re
quired, to remember our own utter helplessness —

412 A WARNING TWINGE.
our absolute dependence on the Almighty will and
protection, and that " in the midst of life we are in
death." I hope it will prove effectual.
So, however, it was, that after some long labor
ious days of writing — of sending visits and other
occupations, I breakfasted on the 5th of this month,
by invitation, with my friend the Meerza. There
were present a number of his friends and some of
mine, and we ate an excellent breakfast, and en
joyed ourselves for near three hours — all but the
poor Meerza himself, who told me that the day
before he had been attacked by a fit of fever com
mencing with ague. I condoled with him upori this
misfortune, observing, that as for myself, I never
had been better than I then was ; and turning to
Meerza Tuckee, a friend of mine, I said it was re
markable that I never was ill while travelling ; that
in all my former journeys, in India and in Persia,
I never had had a day's illness beyond a temporary
headache, and that I trusted to completing my pre
sent excursion upon the same terms. Well, we
separated ; I, shaking hands with my friend the
Meerza, and telling him to keep his ague at the
stave's end, went home, and wrote till near dark,
when, having finished my despatches, I went to the
stable to see my horses.
Till then I had been perfectly well and strong,
but on rising I thought I perceived the slightest
sensation of a swim in the head, which, if I thought
of it at all, I attributed to the length of time I had
been worrying over my weary letters ; but on going
out, a slight thrill of something between heat and
cold, and a little obscure shoot down one leg, gave

A FIT OF FEVER. 413
me a mental twinge, and made me pause artd look
up to ascertain if the feeling belonged to the night,
or to my own frame. " Have I caught cold ? "
thought I. On returning from the stable the case
became clearer. The hot uncomfortable eyes, and
one or two thrills in the head, with some other
shootings and twitchings about the pracordia, de
clared the disagreeable truth too plainly for mistake.
I was in for a fit of fever, and that not six hours after
asserting that I never got ill while travelling. I im
mediately set to — finished closing, sealing, address
ing, and despatching my packets ; refused all dinner
except a cup of tea ; took seven grains of calomel,
and was in bed by ten.
That night was restless and feverish in the ex
treme; wild dreams and startings anxiety and
pain of head and limbs, and all those miserable feel
ings with which I have been but too familiar of old,
told me that my precaution had not been premature ;
and in the morning, on removing my mattress from
the roof of the house, where I had slept for coolriess,
to a room below, I made every preparation for an
obstinate attack. Yet there was little in my power
to do ; my situation was sufficiently forlorn. Under
the promise of receiving a supply of cash, I had ex
pended, in paying up wages and repairs of establish
ment, the few ducats that had remained of what I
had brought from Khorasan ; and I then found the
knave who had promised to furnish my wants drew
back, unable or unwilling to do so. Thus I was
literally without coin to the value of two shillings
in the house. In consequence of this want, I had
not been able to dismiss or change all my servants,

414 PREPARATIONS FOR THE WORST.
so that, as I could not employ the defaulters about
my person, and had procured but one new and trust
worthy man in their room, who could only attend
me in the day-time, I never found myself so much
forsaken. That morning I laid out and prepared the medi
cines which might become necessary, and, taking
such other precautions as prudence suggested in
case of my head or strength failing, lay down sorely
oppressed upon my couch. Hot — hot and restless
I was — burning skin and weather — but I had by
my side a blessed huge bowl of sherbet with ice
floating in it, from which I sipped from time to
time, and cooled my unhappy interior. By an hour
after noon I discovered that stronger means were
needful, and forthwith adopted them ; but, in spite
of the good effects of certain vigorous measures, I
had another terrible night of high fever and great
oppression, and I was beginning to think it was go
ing to be a bad business, when towards morning I
fell into a disturbed sleep, from which, when I awoke,
I found my head less affected, and that I had per
spired a little. By breakfast-time a sensible amend
ment had taken place, and although the fever was
by no means gone, I began to hope that the first
brush at least was past, and that some interval
would be given in which to work, and guard against
relapse. In the mean time, not a human being came near
me. I had sent to my friend Meerza Mahomed
Allee, old Fattey's nephew, to tell him my pecuniary
difficulties. He sent word that he would do what
he could to help me, but he came not; and very

IMPROVEMENT. 415
gloomy images began to present themselves to my
imagination. I was aware that, from certain politi
cal events occurring just at this time, it was very
possible that the English name was not quite so po
pular as it had been — things might be even worse
than I anticipated. My friends here, however well
disposed to me personally, might not feel it con
venient to show me a countenance which might in
fluence their own interests prejudicially. In short,
the gloom of illness had affected my mind, so that
everything appeared in dark colours and distorted
shapes, far beyond what sober reason would have
warranted. More than once I thought of sending
for my friend Macneil, but no express would have
reached him in less than six or eight days, and he
could not, by the greatest exertion, have come in
less than four or five, the distance being four hun
dred miles ; so I swallowed my impatience, and bore
the blue devils as best I could. Thank God ! by
the evening of the third day I was decidedly better.
A dose of antimonial powder, with a little opium, in
creased the tendency to perspiration, and procured
me a far quieter night's rest than the former ones ;
and, though the fever did not quit me till the eve
ning of the fourth day, I was able to read a little,
and enjoy a visit from Meerza Mahomed Allee, who
at last brought a merchant to relieve my pecuniary
wants. Since then, Alhumdulillah ! I have recover
ed gradually, without any tendency to relapse, and,
though weak, am quite free from disease. I have
given you this full account of my attack to convince
you not only that I conceal nothing, but that I do
take very good care of myself; and the weather

416 PARTING WITH SERVANTS.
being now at its hottest, I think it probable I shall
escape any more attacks. Tehran, to be sure, is at
this season as hot a hole as I ever was in ; but I
shall soon quit it, inshallah ! for the healthy yeildks
of Lar and the mountains. And now I must men
tion some few matters that occurred after my arrival,
but previous to my illness.
The three days succeeding my arrival were spent
in writing, visiting, and reorganizing my shattered
establishment. I had a painful work to perform in
dismissing my evil-doing servants, but it was a
necessary one ; and having a full conviction of their
guilt, I cut home and spared not. I was reduced
to the services of a single person, who was sent
by Meerza Mahomed Allee to fill the place of jeloo
dar, but who served me also as peishkhidmut, or
body-servant, during my illness. I know nothing
more distressing than thus parting with persons who
have gone through much with you, and whom you
were well disposed to regard, and feel kindly for,
if they would let you — nothing, except parting
With truly valuable servants — men who have really
exerted themselves to serve you — and that was as
suredly not the case here ; yet some of them af
fected a kind of zeal too ; perhaps they were not all
utterly worthless; but there was no choice, and I
had a new set to get on chance, and the old story
to go over again.
Among the visits I paid was one to Manucheher
Khan, the Moatimud-u-Dowlat, or " trusted of the
state ;" the favourite of the King, one of his prin
cipal ministers and counsellors, and chief eunuch
and superintendent of his majesty's enormous ha-

AN AUDACIOUS THEFT. 417
rem ; and there I was witness to a scene which
I think worth describing for your amusement.
The Khan had already chosen a fortunate hour for
leaving the city to proceed to Resht, the seat of
his government ; and while completing his prepa
rations had encamped, according to Persian fashion,
in a garden near the town. I went in the morning
to a sort of unceremonious levee, in which his friends
and acquaintances came to take their leave of him,
and wish him a happy journey ; and the first thing
that struck me was the dishevelled appearance of the
party, most of whom were persons of the first dis
tinction, but scarcely one of whom was fully apparel
led. The weather was warm indeed ; but though the
great man himself might choose to sit in dishabille,
and with his loins ungirded, it was scarcely con
sistent with etiquette for visitors to come either in
their night-caps, or without their shawl girdles. The
enigma was, however, soon explained. The greater
part of the company had been the Khan's guests on
the preceding evening, and had remained in the sum
mer-house, where his Excellency resided, all night ;
but thieves had entered while they slept, and re
lieved all the party of some portion of their habili
ments. Some had lost their caps, some their shawls,
some their coats, some everything. Not a few watches
and jewelled waist-daggers had been spirited away,
with a handsome sum of the minister's own money ;
nay, the rogues had not spared his Excellency's own
proper cap and shawl-girdle. In short, the whole
party, though surrounded by the minister's servants
and guards, in addition to a high garden-wall, had
been most completely and adroitly fleeced. All this
vol. n. 2 E

418 A SINGULAR SCENE.
was related and discussed with much good humour
and many jokes, and elicited more than one narra
tive of similar adventures, while the great man
himself went through a very prolonged process of
ablution and an elaborate toilet, sitting in his own
place at the head of the assembly.
During this process one of the servants brought
in the carcass of an unhappy lamb, which had un
dergone the several operations necessary to prepare
it for the hands of the cook, but retaining its ghastly-
looking head, which grinned most piteously at a
mixture of onions and other stuffing intended to
replace its ravished intestines, but which, for the
time, lay heaped close to its nose on the dish. I
naturally imagined that this must be some offering
sent for the minister, all ready to put to the fire;
and expected, as usual in such cases, that his Ex
cellency would acknowledge the compliment, and
then dismiss it from his presence. But such was
not the case. , On the contrary, at the signal of
Aga Bahram, a very agreeable and accomplished
person, one of the King's favourite eunuchs, who
was seated close to the Khan at the top of the
room, the unseemly delicacy was placed before him.
He then requested the loan of the waist and pocket
knives of every person in the room in turn, and
having chosen the two sharpest, proceeded delibe
rately, in concert with another man of very high
rank, to cut up the raw carcass, dismember it, and
strip every bit of flesh from its bones.
Very zealously and knowingly did they execute
their work ; no Mrs. Glass nor Mrs. Rundell could
have excelled them either in skill or application.

AN EPICUREAN DISH. 419
Every choice morsel was preserved, while, with
reeking, greasy fingers, they tore away arid rejected
the less delicate bits. The process was long — it
occupied an hour or more, proceeding simultaneously
with the great man's ablutions. The seasoning, of
a strength that brought the water to my eyes, was
then applied, and the whole apparatus was sent
away with most special directions as to the mode
of cookery, and the time required for dressing it.
I half expected to hear the charcoal pots ordered
into the presence, that the guests might see with
their own eyes the preparation of the epicurean dish.
Now, only think of such a scene passing at the
levee of a European minister of state ! Conceive
the sensation it would create in the audience cham
ber of my Lord Grey or Melbourne, or the Duke
of Wellington, or Prince Metternich ! Yet such
ploys, like our pic-nics, are not uncommon here ;
but, certainly, I should never have anticipated see
ing one in the audience chamber of the Moatimud.
It was a good trait of national manners.
17th August. — Lawassoon. — Thank heaven, I am
again in the saddle, and with hopes of advancing
once more both in health and on my journey. If
you were to ask me whether I felt bold and con
fident in turning my face to one of the hottest re
gions in Persia at this burning season of the year,
I should, in candour, have to reply, not entirely ;
nay, there were times when I doubted my powers
of performing this part of my duty altogether. But
I knew, from experience, the magical effect of change
of air and scene on myself in particular, and trusted
to the healthful stimulus of travelling. Nor did I
2 E 2

420 BREAKING GROUND.
prove too sanguine in my calculations. The very
leap of joy which my heart gave within me, as I
spurred my horse through the Shah Abdool Azeera
gate of Tehran, seemed to toss from my breast
half the load which had weighed it down, and which
had not been decreased by the thousand and one
little irks and obstacles which embarrass the com
mencement of a journey with new servants— ay,
or even with old ones.
From the day the fever left me I had pressed
forward my preparations, and by the kindness of
Meerza Mahomed Allee, procured some people of
respectable character to supply my former attend
ants. My horses, though still thin, had a little re
covered their strength. I paid my last farewell
visits on the 15th, and resolved to commence my
march on the morrow. Whether Saturday be a
lucky day or not for breaking ground, according
to old saws, I know not, but I was determined not
to sleep another night in Tehran. Yet, even in
this, I was like to be baffled ; for not till past noon
of this day did I touch the cash which I required
and had drawn for ; and it was six in the evening
before my loads were fitted, and I bade adieu to the
deserted Residency and the dull hot capital, and
with still shaking limbs clombe into the saddle. Not
one of my new people knew the road or country in
which we were to travel; so, after some consul
tation, it was agreed to proceed only as far as
Soorkh-kalleh, twelve miles distant, this evening, and
from thence, in the morning, to procure a guide,
and make the best of our way by Lawassoon and
Lar to Balfroosh, in Mazunderan.

EFFECT OF MOUNTAIN BREEZES. 421
We reached Soorkh-kalleh about nine, where,
after a cup of tea, I lay down upon my numud in a
field close to the village, and rose the next morning,
lorig before daylight, a new man. Our road had
hitherto been that leading towards Feerozekoh;
biit quitting it we followed the upward course of a
little river, which carried us into the heart of the
great mass of mountains behind Tehran, and to this
village, which lies like a nest in a nook between two
masses of rock, as bare as if a drop of dew had never
fallen upon them. And yet their hard bosoms pour
forth numerous springs, which form various peren
nial streams, watered by which Lawassoon and its
dependent villages repose in the shade of a forest
of splendid old walnut and other fruit trees, while
the terraced cultivation of the inhabitants covers the
whole valley below.
19th August. — Our march yesterday from Lawas
soon, which from the difficulty of getting a guide
did not commence till six a.m., began by an ascent
up the shoulder or neck of one of the bounding hills
of the valley — a tug which the position of the village
led us to anticipate. Steep, long, and rapid as this
ascent proved, when I tell you that I contrived, not
without toil indeed, to make my way to the top on
foot, you will be able fo appreciate the effect of a
change, even for two nights and a day, from the hot
air of the capital to the cool breezes of the moun
tains, upon my frame. . The ascent occupied us two
hours, and then we looked down from the height we
had attained upon the valley of Lar, one of the finest
yeildks in this part of the Elburz range.
It is nearly the highest valley of this part of the

422 MOUNTAIN STREAMS.
mountain, and collects the waters of many of i the
loftiest peaks, which it transmits through a '.deep
gorge to Mazunderan. It is famous for its air fe and
its grass, which tempt not only the regular wander
ing tribes from below, but many parties from ithe
court and city, to spend a part of the hot months
here, drink the cool water, and enjoy the hunting
and other attractions on which Persians put so high
a value. To us Scotch folk it possesses another charm, for
its rivers are well stored with the fish of our native
hills. Some of the mountain streams of Persia, and
those of Lar, in particular, abound in fine trout.
I will not allow that it was this which tempted me
to prefer this route, for the result of all inquiry had
previously led me to determine on it as the best and
the shortest to the point for which I was bound ;
but certainly the prospect of a little fishing spoiled
nothing. Here, alas ! I missed my fishing rod and
reel, which, as I told you, had been stolen from me
at Mushed, and I was obliged to make clumsy shift
by cutting down a young Lombardy poplar, of which
plants are to be found in almost every garden. A
splice from the twig of another did duty for a top,
and to this I attached a sufficiency of line, with two
capital flies.
Having reached what appeared a most capital
pool, and one which the old guide assured me
abounded in fish, I dismounted, left the people and
horses on a grassy spot, the one to prepare my
breakfast, and the others to make sure of theirs,
put together my clumsy apparatus, and descended
with all the glee of a young hand to the river's

TROUT FISHING. 423
brink. I care not who knows, or who riiay laugh
at the thrill of mingled pleasure and expectation
with which I made my first cast, nor the disappoint
ment I felt at finding that and the next dozen of
throws all utterly unsuccessful; for with more of
sanguine folly than became my gravity, I had made
up my mind not only that fish must be plenty in
these streams, but that the Persians not being fly-
fishers, these fish would not be shy, and conse
quently would rise with avidity to my bait ; — that,
in short, I should certainly hook a trout the first
throw, and pull them out by dozens afterwards.
Unfortunately, though Kelly and O'Shaughnessy are
names unknown to Lar, — though the fame of Mac
kenzie, dear to all Highland loch-fishers, has never
reached these regions, nor have the peaks of Dema-
wund, or the glens of Akjah and Valerood, resounded
to the praises of Bond and the artists of Crooked-
lane, — the knaves who dwell there have discovered
that nets will catch fish even better than hooks, and
it appears that there is usually a heavy drain of this
sort on the stream. Thus neither in my first or
second pool could I stir a fish ; but in the tail of the
third, a sweet lively stream as ever gladdened an
angler's heart, I was electrified by the first rise;
many succeeded, and I was rather pleased than an
noyed at finding one of my flies carried off by the
fourth or fifth, as, though a libel on my skill, it
proved that my friends of the stream were of a good
size as well as in earnest.
At length, to my no small pleasure, and to the
delight of my people, who were all looking on, I
hooked and landed a moderate-sized fish, which

424 PRIME SPORT.
proved to be a real red-spotted trout. I could have
half devoured him raw — as I afterwards did when
broiled— out of sheer boyish gladness. This was
but the beginning. Whether it was that at first I
had not hit on the good places, I cannot tell, but I
now had capital sport, dragging out about two dozen
in the course of little more than an hour — good
weighty fellows too, of a pound and a half I dare
say, that made my crazy tackle shake again. After
breakfast, at which I managed to discuss several of
my victims, I went to it again, intending to fish
down the stream in sight of my baggage, which
was to move on slowly, and for a time I was very
successful. But about three in the afternoon, the
river had become milky from the action of the water
on some clayey banks, so that the fish would not
take any longer ; it was getting late too, and as we
had not quite agreed upon our halting-place for the
night, I thought it as well to put up my rod and
push onwards.
Should any of your friends, to whom you may
read this account of my day's sport at Lar, be
inclined to yawn at it, as perhaps you may do, rest
assured they are no true sportsmen, or they would
sympathize in the delight which such a chance in
such a scene could not fail to beget in the heart of
every brother of the angle. For the guidance of
those who are of this respectable fraternity, and who
may take a fancy to go and try the Lar, I will say,
that my success was entirely in the running streams
and tails of pools — not in the deep pools themselves,
however great the swirl ; and that the common
Scotch flies, red and black hackles, with drake's

A WHITE STREAM. 425
wing, seemed the favourites ; but one forenoon's
work gives me no title to judge decidedly on their
tastes. By this time my baggage had got far ahead, and
I was plodding on on foot, with one servant, wishing
to be once more mounted, when my jeloodar came
up with my horse and we pushed on, my other
servant still following on foot. Where could the
baggage have gone, was the question ? — there was no
appearance of it to be seen, and the guide was along
with it ; so, though it might be safe enough, it was
otherwise with us, for we knew not even the direc
tion of our purposed route. The last orders given
were that the baggage and people should push on till
within an hour or two of sunset, and then come to
for the night in the first grassy spot which would
afford pasture for the beasts. This was all we had
to trust to, except that we heard there were black
tents and a river, which would serve as a mark to
steer by ; so on we went, nothing doubting.
We had proceeded but a moderate way when we
reached a rivulet, the waters of which, though per
fectly limpid, appeared, as they ran in their bed,
to be as white as milk. This singular phenomenon
was produced by their being so strongly impregnated
with calcareous matter, that they had deposited a
crust of pure white lime not only on the banks, and
all the large stones, but even on the gravel and sand,
so that everything was bound together, and the
stream ran in a bed like pure white marble full of
blocks of the same. The water itself, though quite
clear, had also a white tinge, as we see the streams
which run through' peat-moss tinged with a fine clear

426 AN ERRING CHOICE.
brown. I have no doubt that wood or grass im
mersed in this stream would very soon become
petrified. As we crossed this river the road sepa
rated into two, and on looking up the stream we
did observe one or two black tents ; but, judging
from the short distance we had gone and the mean-
ness of the encampment, and seeing nothing of our
people, we concluded that the path to the right
must be the one for us ; and the more so as the
direction seemed nearer the true one, and the pro
mise of grass was infinitely better. There was not,
indeed, a blade near the wretched tents, which we
now left far on our left.
The road we chose pointed towards a shoulder of
the mighty Deraawund, which rose towering before
us in very imposing majesty, and over a part of which
we knew we were to cross. On we pushed there
fore, nothing doubting, but wondering nevertheless
as much at seeing neither tents nor grass, as at the
good speed our baggage must have made ; for I
promise you, that though one of us was on foot, we
none of us let the grass grow under our feet. At
length, after proceeding about ten miles from the
white river, and just as the sun was declining, we
were brought up by a deep rocky ravine, at the
bottom of which ran a torrent evidently coming from
the vast shoulder of Demawund, which we had been
approaching, and the roar of which came up threat
eningly from its abyss : dark, and grim, and formi
dable I assure you it looked, as its water foamed and
twisted far below out of reach of the sun's slanting
beams. But as no imaginable chasm can be too
deep or difficult for a Persian road, we never doubt-

A DUBIOUS PATHWAY. 427
ed that in this cavern, dark and drear, our way was
to be found. The path, however, which we hitherto
had followed, and which of late had been diminish
ing in importance, seemed to lose itself near the
edge of this gulf in the bare site of some former
encamping ground of the Eeliauts, who graze this
country in early summer. But with some difficulty
we detected a dark and dubious track, leading along
the face of a scaur, rather dangerous and dishearten
ing to be sure, at the decline of day, and not very
clear in its direction or object — yet there was no
thing else for it. We had heard of a cot,hul too, a
short ascent, and the craggy mass, which rose full two
thousand feet above us, seemed to promise us, "that
at least:" — your Persian highlanders have no bowels
for those of lower regions, and what most people
would term a devilish steep ascent they call a sineh-
kesh (a pull upon the breast), or a little up and
down ; so we still presumed that all was right, and,
setting our breasts to the hill-side, up we went.
We were soon dismounted, for neither regard for
our own safety nor consideration for our poor tired
horses would permit us to keep on their backs ; and
we took to clambering on foot up a mass of rock and
mingled weeds, which in spring forms a torrent's bed.
Sometimes the presumed pathway, — for it had be
come very dubious whether it were a path or not, —
led us up a projecting nose where the marks of ani
mals gave us fresh hopes, — nay, one of the people
was ready to swear to the foot-marks of one of our
own yaboos ; but the next turn threw us into doubt
again, for all trace and track were lost amongst stones
and withered vegetation ; yet still on we toiled,

428 WE LOSE OUR WAY.
panting and tugging at our wearied horses, and
dripping with perspiration in spite of the height
and increased cold of the locality.
I cannot, or rather will not, attempt to describe
to you all our turnings and windings on this mis-
adventurous evening, though they are well engraven
on my own memory ; but begging for due sympathy
on a desperate quantum of panting and fatigue, I
will carry you at once to the utmost height, which
we arrived at just a few minutes after the sun had
set, and saw ourselves perched upon the verge of
what appeared an unfathomable hollow, walled in
on all sides by impervious precipices, with the huge
Demawund staring full upon us, as rash intruders,
from the opposite side. On one of these walls, the
practicable side of which we had expended so much
labour to scale, we now found ourselves, looking over
a scarped rock of at least a thousand feet high into
this precious gulf, and with the shades of night just
falling round us. I shudder now more than I did
then at the bare recollection of the sight, which at
that time awakened more anxiety about our lost
road than terror at our danger.
That we had lost our way needed no proof, for
nothing without wings could have proceeded any
further in that direction, and our wearied steeds
were no Pegasi, heaven knows. The only question
now was, what's to be done? and that was more
easily put than answered. And here I must beg to
point out the difference which exists between theory
and practice in common life as well as in philo
sophy— between matter of fact and matter of specu
lation — between real "and fictitious distress. In a

REAL AND FICTITIOUS DISTRESS. 429
well-told tale now, as one sits in his snug parlour
before the bright fire, a foot on each hob, and a de
canter of old port or madeira at one elbow, or read
aloud by some good-natured brother or papa at a
busy round table covered with work and surrounded
by fair listeners, — in such a tale an incident like
this, of benighted wanderers, would bring delight to
all the hearers ; it would be the awakening point of
interest, the signal for open ears and outstretched
necks, the sure token of approaching adventure— of
robbers and caverns, of remote fastnesses, of rough
but hospitable chieftains, of secluded but captivating
and interesting damsels at the very least — of a
hermit or dervish, appearing like a convenient
heathen deity to help and relieve the way-lorn tra
vellers. Alas! how little of -such interest does the
homely truth in cases like these most commonly
possess — how different the feelings of the sufferers
from the pleasurable excitement experienced by the
listeners to their distress.
Romance and its miracles apart, we were out of
reach of all human aid. The wandering tribes hav
ing eaten these hills bare, had left them tenantless<
It was the old marks made by their cattle, when
grazing weeks before, that had misled us ; and the
place, nay, the whole range within our ken, afforded
nothing fit to sustain the life of man or beast, unless
it were a mountain sheep or goat, or the tiger who
generally follows in the track of these animals, and
whose traces we had remarked in the ascent. How
welcome would have been the bark of a dog, the
sound of a bleating sheep ! but all was still as death
except the roar of a cataract which ascended hoarsely

430 A DESCENT FROM OUR ALTITUDES.
from the gulf below our feet. I directed my spying-
glass around, while yet there was light, to detect, if
possible, some sign of the abode of man ; but the
darkness settled thicker down upon the country, and
nothing could be made out — not a spark of fire, how
ever distant, to mark the site of an encampment.
One thing only was clear, and that was, that we
had no business there. The cold was great, a keen
wind had arisen, and not one of us had even a
cloak ; so in far less time than I have taken to write
this we turned our steps downwards, leading our
horses as before, at the imminent danger of their
tumbling over upon us, which mine once or twice
narrowly missed doing.
In a dangerous and rapid descent, I do not know
that the toil and pain to the limbs are not greater
than in the corresponding ascent : one is a shorter
time about it, but the knees and thighs suffer more.
We had ascended in an hour and a half; perhaps
we were not more in descending, but the risk of slip
ping and falling was greater, and I do not think we
could have accomplished it without accident, but for
the light of a glorious moon which rose to our aid
before we were half way down. I shall never forget
the ghastly, death-like effect of its light upon one
half of the beetling crags around us, while the rest,
together with the deep abyss beneath, lay buried in
utter darkness. At length we reached the bottom,
and after consulting on the expediency of remaining
there, cold, hungry, and exhausted as both horse and
man were, we resolved that it was better to return
ten miles to the point where the roads separated,
on the chance of finding that our people had gone

A WEARY NIGHT MARCH. 431
the other way, and at all events in hopes that the
owners of the tents we had seen there, could give
us assistance and refreshment ; corn for our poor
horses we knew they had none, but grass we trusted
might be procured. You will remember that one of
us was on foot all this time, so that to proceed fast
was impossible, had even the exhausted state of our
horses admitted of it ; yet the condition of him on
foot was in some respects better than that of the
mounted men, for the sharp wind chilled us through
our thin clothes, moist with perspiration. Never
theless we took heart of grace, and pursued our weary
way steadily towards the tents.
I know nothing more wearing out than the slow
lapse of time on such occasions, when every long-
drawn minute and second falls on the tired senses
like the slow but constant dropping of water on a
stone ; only that the stone is insensible, whereas the
mind is more nervously sensitive than at other times,
and feels each division of time as it goes past with
torturing acuteness ; but the weariest hours will
pass away, and in time we made our point. The
tents had been struck, and the shepherds, having
eaten the place bare, had collected their flocks in
order to leave it. They told us that our people had
in fact passed that way, and that we should find
them about four or five miles further up the glen.
I shall say nothing regarding this additional toil ;
we reached the spot at last, and found that nothing
whatever was to be had for our poor horses; the
others, with the baggage cattle, were nibbling on a bit
of bare meadow at the stumps of the grass, which the
sheep of the Eeliauts had previously consumed, and

432 A COLD BIVOUAC.
we turned ours to the same profitable occupation..
As for ourselves, we were better provided for ; a
little boiled rice, with part of a wild duck I had
shot, and some of my own cold trouts, awaited me,
and about one in the morning I turned in under my
coverlet, which was insufficient to keep out the
bitter cold that even at this season reigns in these
high regions. And now having, as I hope, imparted
to you, dear  , a little of the weariness which
this long day's work had inflicted on myself, you
will probably, like me, be glad of a few hours*
repose. There was little to induce us to make a long halt
in this inclement region of starvation. A sense of
what was due to our poor horses was of itself a suffi
cient inducement to carry them to where they might
get food, so after three hours' rest, that is at four
o'clock this morning, we were on foot again. The
beginning of our day's work was a tough one, the
road leading us up a cot,hul, more distressing from its
roughness, it being one mass of large rocks and
stones without any intermixture of earth, than front
its height, though that was far from despicable, and
from its crest we overlooked as wild and rugged a
country as Salvator's mind ever imagined, or his
pencil delineated ; but not a tree nor bush was to
be seen. There were, however, here and there a few
Eeliaut tents, the cattle belonging to which were
doing as ours had done last night ; tearing with
teeth and hoof at the well-gnawed stumps of the
herbage they had already devoured. A little further
on, however, we found a greener strip, where we
permitted our beasts to graze for a while. Another

VALEROOD. 433
small winding ascent brought us to a height from
which we looked down into a valley rather greener
than those we had just left, at the further end of
which rose our old friend Demawund, now smiling
in the morning light ; laughing, I dare say, at the
trick he had played us the night before.
It was now plain that we had been forced to
make an immense detour of twenty miles at least,
to turn the rocky ridge which we had attempted to
scale last evening, but found, as others had before us,
impracticable ; and as we now descended into the
valley, and reached its other extremity, just under
Demawund, we found ourselves exactly below the
crags which had baffled us, the northern face of which
was little less precipitous than their southern exposure,
— and upon the bank of the stream which, bursting at
this point through tbe ridge, had formed by a bend in
its deep bed the gulf on whose brink we had stood.
We breakfasted and grazed our horses in the valley,
which, as well as the banks of the stream, was occu
pied by the Eeliauts. It forms a favourite yeilak,
known by the name of Valerood, the stream being
called the Ab-e-valerood. I saw the beautiful trout
glancing through its crystal waters, but our resting
place for the night was far off, so that I could not
stay to secure myself a dinner from among them.
Our course from hence lay right up an inclined
plane to the base of the great cone of Demawund.
This cone is volcanic, and composed entirely of such
materials as volcanos throw forth, pumice-stone and
dark basalt ; and sulphur exhales from numerous
crevices, and aggregates in masses, which are gather-r
ed by the people of the neighbourhood for sale. The
vol. n. 2 F

434 DEMAWUND.
plain we traversed was one mass of basalt and
pumice. It was a dreary and gradual ascent, in
cluding more than one rocky pass, short but tough*
and led at length to the highest western shoulder of
Demawund itself. I wish you could have seen the
spectacle that opened on us from this elevated
position. The close view of a lofty mountain is at
all times one of the most imposing sights in nature,
and we here enjoyed it in very rare perfection. The
cone of Demawund, a vast uniform mass, rose upon
our right to the height of at least five thousand feet
above our heads, we being eight thousand more
above the level of the sea.* Full three thousand
feet beneath the spot on which we stood, lay a vast
basin-like hollow, descending from his northern
bosom, so that from the summit, looking northwards,
we had a sheer, unbroken, and very precipitous
descent of from seven to eight thousand feet : one
felt himself catching his breath, as if falling, while
gazing downwards. Beyond this hollow, in front,
lay a confused mass of mountainous crags, the intri
cacies of which the eye was at a loss to unravel,
forming the yeilaks of Larijoon, seen rising over
those of Arjumund, while further to the left we just
peeped down the steep passes that lead into Mazun
deran : I could distinguish the summits of its wood?
ed mountains, and the heavy mass of vapours that
brooded over the Caspian Sea.
* Subsequent barometrical experiments have proved the apex
of this cone to be fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea,
so that the estimated heights in the text are under, not over the
truth.

DEMAWUND. 435
You will ask, perhaps, why I did not attempt to
sketch this magnificent coup d'osil? I reply, that
even had the bitter cold wind and waning day per
mitted me to attempt it, I had neither materials
nor courage to try such a work. A long day
would have been required, with the talents of a
Turner or a Stanfield, to have gone to the task with
any prospect of success; so I just gazed and ad
mired as long as I could, and then addressed my
self to descend with all convenient speed from my
altitudes. There was little snow upon the cone of Dema
wund on this side, and that which there was did not
form a cap, but lay in long streaks and patches ex
tending almost from top to bottom. The cone itself
seemed to the eye to be formed of loose scoriae and
gravel, out of which stared the black basalt in
masses which from a distance appeared like bushes
and coppice-wood on the grey surface. The deep
northern face was riven into hollows by the winter
torrents, and each hollow had its corresponding
height or ridge, as we found to our cost when we
began to cross them below. The bottom of the basin
indeed, which appeared smooth and level from above,'
was found to be one most rugged mass of craggy
and uneven ground, covered with vast fragments of
dibris from the huge bosom of the mountain. I
could gain little information from the people here or
elsewhere regarding the formation of, or phenomena
exhibited by, this huge peak. I saw no vapours hover
ing about, or issuing from it, as is said to be often
the case, nor could I hear of any considerable cratea
2 F 2

436 PERSIAN MOUNTAINS
at the summit.* The few who have succeeded in
reaching it report that the cone, as is obvious frorii
below, so nearly reaches a point that there can be
little space upon its top ; that there is a small hollow
in which the snow-water lodges and becomes ice, but
to no great depth ; the person who described it to me,
said it might take a man up to his middle ; but
added, that there were in it the creatures called
kirm-e-yek, ice-worms, which it is asserted exist also
on Mount Ararat, blue, transparent, ice-like creatures,
from six inches to a foot long.
In all my attempts at describing to you the moun
tain scenery of this country, I feel quite at a loss
to convey to you a just and vivid idea of Persian
passes or cot,huls, since (our notions being necessarily
formed from objects previously seen) I remember
nothing which has met your eye that can suggest a
true image of what I would impress upon your mind,
albeit you have seen some scenes of great grandeur*
You must remember that we were now crossing the
highest portion of the highest mountain range in this
country, at least eight thousand feet above the level
of the sea. Suppose this range to consist of a suc
cession of naked rocky ridges, not rounded, like most
European hills, by a clothing of soil, but rising from
the separating valleys, themselves very elevated, in
sharp serrated cliffs, with sides extremely steep and-
ploughed into innumerable ravines by the action of
winter torrents. The huge, bare limestone rocks, of
* There is no crater at the summit, but a cave just beneath,
which emits sulphurous fumes, and the temperature of which is
always high.

AND MOUNTAIN SCENERY. 437
which for the most part they consist, yield no pas
ture and are void of vegetation ; but where the action
of the weather has decomposed this rock and worn
it into soil, which has been washed down to their
bases, it forms a lower region, which in its turn is
infinitely subdivided by torrents, and which, when
fertilized by the presence of water, yields grass and
herbage in abundance. The innumerable hillocks
into which this detritus is worn, form another very
remarkable feature in Persian mountain scenery.
Among them springs are frequently found, which
joining, form the mountain streams, and in their
vicinity and course it is that the richest herbage
sprouts. Such are the spots that have tempted
villagers to settle and cultivate the lower parts of
these narrow valleys ; while the Eeliauts, when they
have exhausted the scanty pasture which the rain of
spring calls forth, proceed to the higher grounds and
settle for the summer around the meadows in the
loftier mountains, which are nourished by the re
moter sources of these streams. Thus we find the
whole of these mountains peopled, though sparsely,
and the communication between villages and dis
tricts has formed pathways in all directions. But
these paths remain exactly as nature made them
— no hand of man has ever removed a stone or
smoothed an obstacle to ease the feet of his beast or
of himself; moreover, as no Persian peasant nor Per
sian muleteer ever dreams of saving his own labour
or that of the animals he drives, but only thinks
of taking the shortest way from one given point to
another, it signifies nothing to him how steep or
how rough the ascent may be; he knows that his

438 PERSIAN COT,HULS.
mule or his yaboo can climb almost like a cat, and
.ifiit can make out the pass he is satisfied, be the ex
ertion severe as it may. Should a more than com
monly bad step occur, he unloads his beasts, drags
them up or down, by the tail perchance, transports
the loads, taken to pieces, on his own back across the
dangerous point, or swings them down by a rope,
and reloading, quietly proceeds as before. It is only
in cases where roads of great traffic, sanctioned by
immemorial use, have been rendered impassable by
accident or the effects of weather, that human la
bour is occasionally employed to facilitate the transit
of passengers or merchandise, and then impassable
obstacles are removed, or a rude attempt may be
made to build up the pathway destroyed by the
washing of a stream, or the slip of a rock ; but so
frail and insufficient are such repairs in general, that
one would imagine the intention had rather been to
lay a trap for travellers than provide for their secu
rity. Thus you must endeavour, when travelling
with me up and down these passes, to discard from
your mind all notion of a road, or imagine at best
such a goat-path as you may have seen on the side
of one of our own Highland hills : suppose, for in
stance, the steepest hill-face on Loch-Ness side ex
alted to twice its height, and bared of wood or
verdure, and a caravan winding its way upwards
among the stones and rocks of such a precipice, or
in one of the torrent beds that indent its breast, and
then you may have a chance of accompanying me in
imagination across the Elburz mountains.
And certainly, from the crest where I have kept
you shivering so long in the cold wind, we had to

DESCENT FROM DEMAWUND. 439
commence as severe a descent down the shoulder of
Demawund as any I have lately seen. Like birds
taking wing from a pinnacle, we boldly, launched
ourselves forth from a projecting point down an al
most perpendicular cliff, winding in and out among
its, sinuosities like lizards crawling on its surface.
Long use had worn pathways in the stone so deep,
that they resembled galleries cut by art, and so nar
row that my loaded mules refused to go through,
and we were forced to unload them and carry the
things ourselves. After pursuing this perilous zigzag
for about a thousand feet perpendicular, we found
ourselves upon a more inclined descent, formed en
tirely of masses of pumice and basalt, among which
an equally tortuous and most tedious path brought
us to the bottom of the basin which we had seen from
above. No one dared to mount his horse, each
man led his own ; and when, having accomplished the
descent to this level in about an hour and a half,
we looked .upward, it was provoking to see the
cliffs from which we had dropt beetling over head so
close that we seemed to have done nothing. In fact,
the greater part of the descent lay still before us ;
but it was gentle compared with what we had ac
complished, although the path lay over a mass of
fragments that did no good to the horses' feet.
A long and most fatiguing track across the bottom
of the basin, which is formed of the matter vo
mited from some former crater of Demawund,
and of dehris from his side, and which was torn
into a most irksome succession of sharp, though
petty heights and hollows, brought us, weary and
longing for rest, just about sunset, to our munzil, a

440 GILAURISTOOK.
small village in a hollow, just above the pass into
Mazunderan ; and when you remember that our
poor horses and mules neither this day nor the pre
vious one had had a morsel to eat, except their scanty
pickings on the way-side during the hours of break
fast and very short halts, and that this day's journey
of thirty miles in distance was equal in fatigue and
duration to fifty upon plain road, you will have
some grounds for judging of the powers of endurance
of Persian cattle, as well as of the trials their mettle
is sometimes put to. Our resting place is one of a
cluster of small villages, which compose a ballook or
district called Gilauristook, the chief of which, Allee
Koolee Beg, an officer of the Kara-chogees of Lari-
joon, received me civilly enough, particularly after
being convinced that I was an Englishman and not a
Russian, as the villagers at first imagined. But this
did not prevent them from fleecing me handsomely
in the rriatter of provisions for horse and man, and
in plaguing me with their tricks about a, guide ; nor
could I, weary and exhausted, afford to dispute the
matter with them.
: 21st August. — Amol, another of my old stages.
The fatigue of the two preceding days, together with
the usual delays incident to procuring a guide, detain
ed us at Gilauristook till seven o'clock, when we com
menced our descent. It was then, and not till then,
that we became better acquainted with the character
of this curious district — a character, indeed, which ap
plies to all those of similar relative situation in this
range of mountains. From the level of the basin
which we had reached, the country becomes still more
broken than above ; the valleys degenerate into nar-

SINGULARLY PLACED VILLAGES. 441
row, but very deep and abrupt ravines, or rather
clefts, of which the wedge-like bottom is entirely oc
cupied by the streams that have formed them. This
want of level the inhabitants supply by making
ledges everywhere to retain such soil as can be
scraped together, and forming terraces, to which, by
courses, they lead, the waters of the springs or rivers,
and- cultivate their rice, their gardens, orchards,
vines, and other fruits or vegetables suited to the soil
and situation ; and you cannot imagine what strange
positions have been chosen for these villages ; we saw
them perched on little ledges of rock overhanging a
giddy precipice, or crowning a small projecting height
among their fine old trees, or cradled like crows'
nests — perhaps rather like those of sea-fowl, in clefts
to which, for the life of us, we could not imagine
how they had got.
; The village where we slept was placed on one of
these sharp projecting points, dividing two deep clefts,
the streams of which met at its termination. These
being united, joined my old friend the Lar, which
now, swelled by contributions from a multitude of
valleys into a furious torrent, rolled along under the
name of the Herauz. On looking on either hand
into these ravines, the head was made giddy by the
depth to which they so suddenly sunk, and the ab
solute precipice on which you found yourself stand
ing. Yet at the very bottom of these abysses, where
you would imagine the sun could never penetrate,
you saw small groups of houses, each surrounded by
its mass of green foliage like little emeralds shining in
the brown rock. It was like something ideal — not
real ; one could not imagine such a thing in nature ; I

442 A MAZUNDERAN PASS.
do assure you that the ravines were scarcely so broad
as that of R  , and at least six times as deep,
and utterly bare of all wood or verdure, except at
the sites of these villages, and these shone like gems.
What words shall I use to give you a notion
of our descent from this point? I cannot forget,
though I may fail in describing it. For four miles
it ran along the crest or edge of this nose-like pro
montory; sharp as a knife, with the horrible pit
on either hand to receive us if we should make a
slip ; sometimes it preferred a slanting line, no
broader than your hand, down one side of the long
projection, which, however, was fortunately earthy
in part, and thereby afforded a better footing to our
horses and beasts of burthen : I need not say we
led them down the whole of it. In all my expe
rience in Persia I had seen nothing like this day's
descent, nor, I may add, like that of yesterday ;
and the scenery around me was quite of a novel
character, in which the savage and majestic were
singularly united. After the eye had adapted itself,
in some measure, to the gigantic and contorted fea
tures of the scene, and had rested wondering on the
tiny spots which betokened the abode of man, one
began to wonder by what means the adventurous
inhabitants communicated with their homes and
their fellow men ; nor was it till after a close in
vestigation that we detected certain lines, of colour
lighter than the ground, traversing the face of such
declivities, and ascending such precipitous-looking
slopes, that, but for the zigzag direction they so
often assumed, no mortal would have believed them
to be pathways.

A DIAMOND IN THE DESERT. 443
But we had better proof that they were really
pathways, for by such a one we at length reached
the bottom of the aforesaid promontory, and dropt
into the bed of the left-hand stream, between two
most rugged and scarred walls of rock, so high, that
the birds of prey, which floated half way up between
them, looked like gnats. Down this strange trough
of rock we descended rapidly along with the stream,
often in great difficulty and no small danger,
till, in the midst of the wildest part of it — in a
chasm like the rift of an earthquake, — we were sur
prised by the sight of a noble walnut tree ; then
came a second and' a third, and then a little turn
in the rock opened out a narrow strip of wood and
numerous fruit trees. It was the village of Kah-
rood, one of these little green spots we had seen from
above, and I cannot adequately describe its beauty.
The houses were hid in a grove of the most mag
nificent walnut and chestnut trees, under whose sha
dow we rode for full half a mile. There were other
fruit trees in abundance, besides willows, and pop
lars, and fine plane trees, with vines climbing up
and mantling them with their rich festoons : un
luckily for us the grapes were not yet ripe ; and,
indeed, we could get no fruit here except a few half-
green pears; so far was the climate behind that
even of Tehran.
Here we breakfasted, surrounded by verdure and
sparkling dashing waters, and under as sweet a shade
of boughs as ever screened a peasant from the sun.
Beyond were everywhere walls of living rock, rising
to a height far beyond our ken. It was a lovely
thing to see ; but Heaven defend me from ever living

444 UNEVEN GROUND.
in such a spot, where I could not stir fifty feet from
my own door on level ground ! A Highland clergyr
man, resident in the parish of Edderachylis, in Su-
therlandshire,. states gravely, in a statistical account
df that parish, that it does not contain naturally as
much level ground as would afford a site for a
house ; now here, as well as in most parts of the
Muhuleh of Larijoon, the assertion would be true
to the letter, for without artificial aid I do not
believe a spot of level ground could be found. In
deed, there is scarcely earth at all ; insomuch, that
I wondered to see the houses built of mud and sun-
dried bricks instead of stone, as I should have sup
posed the mud to have been by far the rarest ma
terial of the two.
Yet it was a sweet spot, and we enjoyed the hour
we rested here — a pleasure deeply paid for by the
toil of our after progress. From hence there were
two roads, we were told ; but one, the shortest, had,
it seems, been rendered impassable by some late slip
of the rock, so that we were forced to make use
of the other, which led over the ruins of some peak
that had been hurled from the wall that towered
above us. Thus we had to mount again once more,
and to sprawl, and slip, and stumble down a still
more desperate descent to the deep bed of our old
friend of Lar, now the Herauz, grown huge and
noisy in its prosperity, like many others. On our
way we saw the track of the road we had been forced
to relinquish, and which, bad as our present path
was, we thanked God, had been rendered confess
edly impracticable. It was indeed terrific : we saw
the stream issue in foam and fierceness from a black

COMFORT 445
gorge above us, and precipitate itself in a succession
of rapids, or rather falls, into the river below ; but
how a road could have ever existed along its course
was past our powers to imagine. In fact, they told
me that in one part it might be necessary to lower
the loads by the mule-ropes, and even to assist the
animals themselves ; yet who of us could doubt the
powers of Persian mules after what they had just
done for us ?
We had now reached the bottom of this perilous
cot,hul, and were in the glen of the Herauz, which
came thundering and tumbling from a chasm, which
made a fool even of that we had descended. Along
the banks of this river it appeared our road was to
wind for the rest of the way ; but I found we had
only changed the nature of our difficulties, and that
those now to be encountered were greater rather than
less, especially for the horses and mules. In truth,
we had been warned of this last night at Gilauris
took, when complaining to the villagers of the bad
ness of the descent from Demawund. " It is para
dise," said they, smiling, " to what you will see
to-morrow." I thought this was said with malicious
intent to alarm us, but they were right. The track
lay all the way upon the stones and gravel of the
river's bed, and nothing could be imagined more
painful to horse or rider. The river being too large
for fording, we could not avail ourselves of the space
on either side as such occurred ; so that, when the
stream swept close to the side, the path of necessity
was carried high above the rock, or passed across its
face above the water. To surmount the rock was
in most cases impracticable, so that advantage had

446 IMPROVEMENTS.
generally been taken of some narrow ledge, and a
path worn or constructed, by which asses or mules,
slightly loaded, could be taken, though not without
great peril.
The frequent accidents which thus occurred oc
casioned some munificent or charitable person to
undertake the improvement of some of these " bad
steps," and in the course of this day's march I
observed more marks of human industry upon the
road than I remember to have seen since surmount
ing the Cothul-e-Dochter, near Kauzeroon. Where
the rock would not otherwise yield, there had been
recourse to quarrying ; in other places to building
a foundation ; some chasms had been filled up, and
a slight parapet wall had been built in one or two
of the worst places ; but in others the repairs
were less substantial, consisting of poles driven into
the crevices of the rock, and beams laid across them
from one projection to another, with branches so
disposed as to support (while they lasted) a floor of
earth or gravel ; a dangerous expedient, being liable
to be washed away with the first heavy shower.
There likewise had been thrown over the river
one or two bridges of a neat and ingenious, but
slender construction, which trembled alarmingly as
our loaded mules picked their way across.
There were vestiges of more substantial improve
ments in some parts, and extending for several miles.
These had been commenced by a liberal noble of
these parts, one Tahmasp Khan, who had projected
a good road all along the right bank of the Herauz ;
but his death put a stop to the enterprize, of the
nature of which, the piers of a substantial bridgey

PERILS OF A ROUGH PATH. 447
and a great deal of building to support the road,
remain as witnesses. The present chief of Larijoon,
Abbas Koolee Khan, has also done something to
wards facilitating the progress of caravans, but no
one has followed up the more munificent intentions
of Tahmasp Khan.
For eight mortal hours after our breakfast halt
did we toil over twenty miles of this torrent bed,
on the huge rounded stones of which our horses
slipped and stumbled, varied by occasional " bad
steps," where we were forced to take off the larger
loads to enable the animals to pass. Twice, in cross
ing the river, our mules became so frightened at
the roar of the stream, that we were forced to un
load and blindfold them ere they would cross ; and
one of the yaboos went fairly over the side, and was
only saved from being dashed to pieces by a slight
projection of the rock, which enabled the men to
recover him, ere it was too late, at the expense of
part of his hide : several other misadventures of less
moment occurred, and the toil we underwent this
day is indescribable. We walked much more than
we rode, and yet the horses went through more
fatigue than on a march of three times the length
on a good road. The sun had nearly set when we
reached P&resp, our place of bivouac, a spot where
the glen opens for the first time, so as to afford
space for a few acres of ground, which are culti
vated with rice. A little grass grows on the borders
of the grain, and here caravans usually halt for the
night, and avail themselves of the scanty picking.
So we brought to for a few hours to rest both our
selves and our horses; fortunately, we had brought

448 COMPARISON OF MOUNTAIN SCENERY.
some corn for the latter from Gilauristook, so that
they had a supper at all events.
We had now made entry into the jungle of Ma
zunderan, and this day's march had exhibited to us
in singular perfection all the changes which occur in
a transition from the high and arid to the low, moists
and rich provinces ; nor can human imagination figure
a more magnificent variety of scenery, so far as can
be produced by rock and mountain, wood and torrent,
in all possible shapes. The savage and wild pre
dominated however, particularly in the earlier part;
of the march ; and I question whether any range of
mountains, even the Himalas themselves, can furnish
a bolder and more terrific landscape, in its peculiar
sort, than the glen of the Herauz and its two sub-.
sidiary streams, with their barriers of loftyrind naked
rocks. The Himalas are more grand, — there are no
mountains so grand, — but they want the savage bar
renness and the sharp serrated severity of these moun
tains of Larijoon. These belong, I suspect, to Persia
and Arabia alone — perhaps to some of the Sierras of
Spain. Next morning we were on foot by three. I had
appointed midnight as the hour for loading, but,
after two weary marches, it was no wonder to find
sleep more powerful than duty. The chief diffi
culties of the pass had been conquered, but there was
still a long track of stones to traverse, and one " bad
step," par excellence, — a worthy termination to such
a defile. The path, for a considerable space, had
been built of beams and boughs along the face of the
rock above the river, but was so narrow and danger
ous that we had to unload all the baggage cattle ;

AN IMPROBABLE STORY. 449
this cost much time of itself, but a worse cause "of
delay occurred while thus occupied, for a pony,
loaded with all my cooking gear, which had foolishly
been tied by the cook to the twig of a bush, was
found to have disappeared. Here was a business, — -
the uproar, and fuss, and inquiry it occasioned, were
so great, that it was some time before I could get the
rascal of a cook to say what had really happened. He
declared at length that he had himself seen the beast,
after a struggle and a neigh or two, break loose, take
to the river and cross it, and consequently that it
was actually on the opposite side. This tale sound
ed so improbable, that every one broke forth in abusej
and swore he was not only a knave, but a liar.
Would any beast in its senses, they said, that could
help it, dream of taking to a stream that would
surely carry it off and drown it ? — the thing was ab
surd. For my part, I set it down as certain that the
horse had been hidden in the jungle, either by a
party of Eeliaut herdsmen who had preceded us,
or by certain Jew merchants who passed us while
entangled in this difficult place, and who had en
gaged my attention by showing me some antiques ;
and I too abused the fellow for a lying scoundrel.
Yet still, while the rest of the people dispersed in
search of the animal, the man remained gazing at
the other side, and stoutly declaring that the pony
had, in very deed, committed the desperate act of
taking to the tumbling water. I was satisfied that
he persisted in this tale only because he knew that
he could not be convicted : my jeloodar appeared to
be of the same opinion as the cook ; for, taking one
vol. n. '2. g

450 A BOLD ATTEMPT.
of the horses, he rode to a point on the bank where
the stream was broader, but less furious, with the
intention of trying to ford it. I stopped him by
telling him, that if he were mad I was not, and did
not mean to risk fifty tomauns, besides a man's life,
for the bare chance of recovering twenty or twenty-
five. He then proposed to try the passage on foot, but I
only gave him an impatient answer, and was turning
to proceed on my way, giving up the beast for lost*
when I observed the guide, who had accompanied us
from Gilauristook, already stripped to the skin and
entering the river. I called aloud upon him to de
sist ; said that even if the cook had told truth, the
yaboo must have been carried off and long since
drowned, — that I gave him up. But he either heard
me not or cared not, for in he went, and I watched
with horror for the moment when he, too, should be
swept away. Such, however, was not the case. To
my astonishment, he not only bore up against the
fierce current, but, by help of a stick, made his way
bravely across, the water not reaching much above
his waist in depth, but leaping up to and even over
his shoulders.
On reaching the other side, after shaking himself
for a moment, away he went in quest of the stray
yaboo up the bank. He seemed to pause for a few
seconds on the top, when off he set at score, as I
thought, to warm himself after his cold bath — for as
to hopes of his finding the beast, never having for a
moment believed the cook's tale, I did not entertain
any. A full hour passed in very unpleasant sus
pense, and a thousand conjectures were made as to
what could have become of the man, when, to end

THE LOST FOUND. 451
them all, lo, and behold ! he appeared quietly seated
on the identical yaboo's back, thus not only proving
the cook's truth, but the yaboo's madness and won
derful strength ; for the place where he plunged in
was a perfect whirling rapid- As to the practica
bility of its passing where the man had forded, he
soon showed that by forcing the brute to carry him
through at the same spot. We received him with
shouts of applause, but he appeared infinitely more
pleased with a matter of five ducats, which I put
into his hand on landing : for once, even the avidity
of a Persian was satisfied.
Blithely now did we resume our way, and the
more so as the rest of the road to Amol was, we
were assured, both plain and good, and, in fact, it
proved to be so. The glen now opened out, and
the path lay along the level ground on the river
bank, sometimes among thick jungle, at others
among fine old open wood and glades of pasture,
and over smooth turf. But little did we know what
a plague was lying in wait for us in this easy and
pleasant-looking road. Last night a muleteer, on his
way to Balfroosh, advised us to get out of the jun
gle, if possible, before the sun should be up, as we
should otherwise be terribly annoyed with flies ;
but little, as I said, did we dream of the reality.
No sooner had the sun burst forth, than, with the
very first of his rays, there rushed from the recesses
of the jungle such myriads of flies as could be likened
to nothing but one of the plagues of Egypt. Flies,
said I ? winged imps rather, of the size of wasps or
garden bees, and which, coming with infinite fury,
settled on every part of horse and man, and wherever
2 G 2

452 A PLAGUE OF FLIES.
they struck their fangs the blood spirted out as
from a lancet wound. But the numbers ! the largest
swarm of bees you ever saw did not equal the cloud
which enveloped every one of us ; head, neck, breast,
belly, and hind-quarters of each horse were black
ened in a moment — the very air was darkened.
They entered the eyes, and ears, and mouths of the
riders, crept into every crevice, and under every
garment, in a way equally wonderful and distract
ing. It was no marvel that the poor animals were
absolutely maddened — the horses kicked, and reared,
and flung in a way which made it difficult to keep
one's seat, while the mules could not be restrained,
and rushed frantically into the bushes, to the utter
discomfiture of their loads, in their efforts to dislodge
the enemy.
Nothing remained for it but flight, that was ob
vious. The way was now plain ; I called aloud for
every one to do the best he could for himself, and
make for Amol ; then giving my own horse the head,
I went on as fast as he chose, which was fast enough,
poor beast, while he bit, and tossed, and kicked like a
devil all the way to get rid of his tormentors. Seiz
ing a towel which happened to be by me, I kept
buffeting him and myself alternately on all sides,
killing and striking off thousands, only to be replaced
by other thousands ; and thus we scoured along
blindly almost through bush and brake, and stream
and bog, for nearly three hours. My towel was
actually steeped in blood, and my poor grey gouger-.
cheen, the dove ! was all, breast, flanks, and belly,
in gore. As we left the heavy jungle, however,;
our enemies gradually quitted us, and the last two

AMOL — A CHANGE. 453
hours or ten miles of our ride were perforfned in
comparative quiet. About ten a.m. I entered Amol,
attended by one servant ; the rest did not make their
appearance for more than an hour after. The mules
had run wild into the bushes, and the servants them
selves, blinded and distracted by the swarms of devils,
could scarcely reclaim or reload them. Had we got
through this space before sunrise, or even had the
vile yaboo not caused us so much delay, we should
have escaped this infliction, for these fiends of flies
during the hours of darkness do not come forth.
Here then we are in Amol, a place I well remem
ber, not indeed as a brilliant or extensive town, but
one that was respectably inhabited, one which was the
residence of a rather promising young prince, whose
little court imparted to the place a bustle and im
portance, which, however ancient, may not at all
times have belonged to it. What was it now ? — a
ruin — a desert. What has caused the change? —
tyranny and plague. Of all the districts which had
been visited in Persia by this fell scourge of man
kind in the east, I knew that Ghilan and Mazun
deran had suffered most, and I was prepared to find
a diminution of population in both provinces ; but
I was not prepared for what I did see here. I rode
through many of the streets which were grown up
with thick jungle, and where the roofless walls, the
broken tiles and bricks — ruins of former houses — alone
told what had once existed there. Not a soul was
to be seen, not a voice was heard ; and I might have
doubted the fact of my arrival at the place, had not
my old friend the monument of Meerza Bozoorg,
Seyed Qnwam-u-deen, stared me in the face. It was

454 SORRY QUARTERS.
a ruin before, but the dilapidations of the last twelve
years were terrible. I dare say we rode hither and
thither for more than twenty minutes before, turning
a corner accidentally, I found myself in what had
been the bazar, but in which now only three or four
shops were occupied. From the half dozen persons
I met collected there, I learned that of the few in
habitants left by the plague, the greater number had
gone to the yeilaks to avoid the heats ; and they
wondered sore at me for having left the high coun
try to come to such a stew-pot as Amol.
It was not without difficulty that I procured the
few supplies I needed ; but of these, excellent melons
and water melons were among the cheapest and
most welcome. But the sight of the place gave
me the blue devils, and I resolved to leave it alone
in its glory by the second hour in the morning, so
as to reach Balfroosh, the point at which I aimed,
by sunrise, if possible, and thus avoid the flies which,
I did not doubt, were on the way. In the mean
time I have taken up my quarters under a walnut
tree in the ruined inclosure of Meerza Buzoorg,
overgrown as it is with the rankest beds of the
" four o'clock flower," or " marvel of Peru," full six
feet high, mingled with the dwarf elder, a shrub
which covers half the country. It has all very much
the feel and aspect of a noisome church-yard ;
but I have spread my carpet on a little bit of green
turf, and shall do well enough till the hour of march
ing. Here I shall close for the present : my next
shall commence, please God, from Balfroosh.

455

LETTER XVI.
Balfroosh. — Mushedee-sir. — A contrast. — Izzut Deh. — Mazun
deran. — Travelling therein. — Mazunderanees.— Enter Ghilan.
— Rood-e-Ser. — Fair day. — Costume, Ghilanee. — Talish. —
Lankerood. — Plague. — Lahajan. — Dilapidation. — Arrival
at Resht. Balfroosh, 24th August.
We loaded about the time proposed, namely, two
hours after midnight, and then started with a guide.
Our way lay across a pretty open country, with a
tolerable road; but the distance was twenty-four
miles good, and our horses were much fatigued, so
that we did not reach Balfroosh till past nine in the
morning. We had some difficulty in getting lodged,
for the governor, to whom I had letters, had gone to
the Prince at Saree ; his deputy was at his village,
and there seemed no small risk that I should be
thrown upon a caravanserai. The alternative was
the empty house of the deputy, which I was in
duced to take possession of, pending his return ; nor
did I repent the step, as he proved to be a right
good fellow, very honest, communicative, and in
telligent. Balfroosh had suffered, as I soon discovered, like
the rest of the country, from the same causes, and
probably much in the same proportion, though the
traces of misfortune were not at first so obvious.
We entered the town by a route which I well knew,
passing the lake and its island with the Baugh-shah

456 CITIES OF MAZUNDERAN.
palace, of which you may remember a drawing.
All this appeared to be in good order. The Maidaun,
or plain between the city and the lake, was over
grown, it is true, with the eternal dwarf elder ; but
cows in abundance were grazing amongst it, and
people from the country were flocking in on all sides
with articles for sale. On entering the long bazar
which opens on this plain we saw ruins, indeed —
but where is the city in Persia which has them not ?
There were many of the shops unoccupied and
closed ; but, though I did not remark so great a
bustle as of yore, there was no apparent deficiency
of population or of the marks of human life. It was
not until I began to walk about and examine — tilL
I had seen and visited, and conversed with some of
the merchants, that I began to comprehend the true
state of the case.
In my former travels in these countries I have
stated, as I think, that the cities of Mazunderan and
Gheelan have no resemblance to those of upper
Persia. The latter may be observed from a great
distance, marking the plain with their walls and
houses, and ruins of mud ; and the gardens and
orchards, which often surround them, serve but to
make them more distinguishable from the surround
ing plain, or, as they call it, Sahrah. In the cities of
these provinces the case is quite different. The trees
and orchards, instead of acting as an index, serve
only, by their quantity, to shroud the houses and
streets from view by blending with the foliage of
the surrounding jungle. Thus when approaching
any city, or town* or village of Mazunderan, unless,
like Saree, it be walled, you have no means by

EFFECTS OF PLAGUE. 457
which to judge of its extent, or indeed to know that
there is a city at all, unless you stumble upon its
bazar. The rest consists of numbers of houses
built of wood or sun-dried brick, with wooden tile-
covered roofs, surrounded by and mingled with
trees, and connected with each other by a few lanes.
Thus all I could by possibility know of the present
state of Balfroosh, was from the reports of its own
people; but these reports were frightful — formerly
the population was said to amount to three hundred
thousand souls, this had now been reduced to scarcely
thirty thousand. The first may have been ex
aggerated, the latter hardly ; and of this awful de
falcation, the greater part is attributed to the plague.
It was remarkable that, in speaking of this scourge,
the inhabitants of each scene of its ravages claimed
in turn the sad distinction of having been the most
heavily visited. It was a melancholy pre-eminence,
but I suspect the palm, or rather the cypress wreath,
must be awarded to the provinces of Mazunderan
and Gheelan in general — always excepting my poor
friends of Shameerzad, who were decimated the
wrong way, nine out of ten at least having been
taken. But Balfroosh had to contend with other
calamities. The zenith of its glory had been reached
already when I was there before in 1822. Com
merce was then the life and soul of the place,
and it was doomed to see a part of that commerce
depart for the bazars of Resht, its rival in Gheelan.
Till that time the trade and produce of Russia found
their way chiefly to its port ; but the Russian
traders discovered that the silk of Gheelan afforded a
better return for their merchandise than the pro-

458 OTHER MISFORTUNES.
duce of Mazunderan or the money of its merchants;
and so, many vessels that used formerly to cast an
chor at Mushedee-sir, the shipping port of Balfroosh,
now go to Euzellee.
Besides this, the Russian trade in the Caspian has
experienced a material diminution, not only because
much of it now goes direct through Teflis from the
fair of Maccarief to Tabreez, but a great deal of it
is superseded altogether by the increased importa
tions of English and Prench goods by the routes of
Constantinople and Trebizond. By all these gra
dual changes Balfroosh has suffered materially — it is
the human lot, and to murmur is vain. They have
also had to bear a new infliction — that of princes
and royal governors, from which they were long
exempt, and who failed not in performing their
locust-like offices. The cholera, which handled it
pretty roughly, preceded the still more deadly
plague ; but last year the city was assailed by a
phenomenon which threatened to complete the work
of destruction. Here, as throughout the greater
part of both provinces, the inhabitants prefer the
water of wells to that of the rivers and streams,
and almost every house is furnished with one for
domestic purposes. Last winter there came a storm
of snow so tremendous, as had not been known in
the memory of man. I heard Manoocheher Khan,
the governor of Resht, himself declare, that it snow
ed for three days and nights incessantly, until the
snow lay three yards deep in the courts of the
bouses, and they could scarce keep open the com
munication between one house and another. There
was then a temporary cessation, he said, after which

AN INUNDATION. 459
it recommenced, and there was a fresh fall of equal
duration ; but a thaw having commenced it melted
below as much as it increased above, so that the
depth, though it did not diminish, was not increased.
In Balfroosh, whether from the sudden melting of
the snow, or some other undiscovered cause, the
whole wells of the place took suddenly to overflow
ing, and the water rose in some parts of the city
to such a height, that the inhabitants were in immi
nent danger of being drowned. The walls of the
houses being built of raw bricks, or clay, began to
give way, and the whole city would soon have be
come a heap of mud had not some wiser heads than
the rest suggested the cutting a trench to the river
Bawul. The inhabitants turned out with good will.
The trench was soon cut, the water gradually ran
off, and the city, sorely maltreated, was saved.
From all this you will comprehend that my visit
to Balfroosh was not of the most enlivening descrip
tion. Almost every person I knew before was gone.
To every inquiry about an old acquaintance the an
swer was sure to be the same. " Ah ! he is dead —
carried off by the plague." It was the same when
I began to walk about. The best buildings were in
ruins, for their owners were dead. The splendid
garden-house of the Baugh-shah, one of the memorials
of the magnificent Abbas, which when I visited it
formerly was tolerably perfect, was now going fast
to decay — a process soon completed in this moist
climate, where every building crumbling into a heap
is, in a year or two, overgrown with rank vegetation.
The lake was little more than an empty hollow,
with a water-lily swamp here and there. This,

460 SAD SENSATIONS.
though chiefly attributable to the dry season of the
year, added strongly to the apparent dilapidation of
the place ; and as I stood again upon the spot
where, twelve years before, I had taken my drawing
of the beautiful scene, and sat under the fine weep
ing willow which I had taken some pains to depict,
but which, like the rest, had fallen from its palmy
state, a sensation of sadness and heart-break came
over me, and I wished myself far from the place*
Nevertheless, there were one or two persons who did
recognize me, and I cannot tell you how much it
pleased me to be accosted by one man in particular,
who, with others, had carried me to a garden near
the city to spend an afternoon. A pleasant one it
was, I well remembered, for all were willing to
please and to be pleased. But my friend was now
the only survivor of that party — the rest were in
their graves.
Having made all requisite inquiries at this place,
it became necessary to decide upon my subsequent
course. To avoid the heats of the low country, I
had thought of mounting again to the yeilaks ; but
the severe work which that would have entailed on
my poor horses, with miserable food and much
exposure, as well as the dreadful plague of flies to
which, in passing through the jungle, they would
always be subjected, frightened me, so I gave up this
aspiring plan and made up my mind to go by the
sea-coast, where the path is at least level, the air
refreshed by sea-breezes, and corn and grass plen
tiful, as I was assured, in every one of the nume
rous villages. In truth, I began to be weary of
constant fatigue of body and mind, and sought no-

MUSHEDEE-SIR. 461
thing so earnestly as the rest which, duty performed,
I looked forward to at Tabreez.
25th August. — Mushedee-sir — the shipping port
of Balfroosh. Last night my honest host, and a
friend of his, kept me up late by a singularly wild
metaphysical disquisition, which would have been
worth taking down for the strangeness of its flights.
I was no match for them, for it required a greater
command of the language than I possess to reply
suitably to their questions and propositions ; luckily,
they were so eager that I had little room to edge in
a word, so I sat and listened while I should have
been sleeping. This morning, however, I was in the
saddle about four, and reached Mushedee-sir, about
twelve miles' distance, a little after seven. It is a
straggling village on the back-water of the Bawul
river, which here finds its way to the sea ; and has
obtained its name, " the martyred head," from being;
the place where a saint, Imaumzadeh Ibrahim, bro
ther of Imaum Reza, the eighth Imaum, had his head
cut off by the Arabs when in possession of these
countries. Our road lay through a string of muhulehs, or
groups of houses, half hid among trees of elm and
oak, willow, poplar, sycamore, hornbeam, fig, &c,
on almost every one of which mantled a grape-vine,
with a foliage still richer than the supporting tree.
Much of the ground was laid out in gardens, patches
of mulberry, cotton, melons, rice, &c. ; but much, too,
is waste, and only covered with a rank growth of
dwarf elder, fern, brambles, and thistles, which have
overwhelmed the sweet grass that would otherwise
clothe the ground. Alder of noble size occupies the

462 A MOOLLAH'S HOSPITALITY.
place of other trees, in the marshes, and on the
sides of the Moorddbs, or back-waters of the rivers.
On our arrival at Mushedee-sir, I was at a loss
to discover a proper lodging place, and applied for
information to a Moollah who was sitting with one
or two other persons in an enclosure. But the holy
man's hospitality was not warm enough to induce
him to rise ; so, after several impertinent questions,
he contented himself with pointing in a rude enough
way to an empty shed, called a tekieh, used for the
solemnities of the Mohurrum, where he informed me
I might take up my quarters, and there accordingly,
it being the only shade I could obtain, I spread my
carpet. In the afternoon this personage came to
see me, that is, to gratify his curiosity, which had
been excited by seeing my horses and baggage arrive
after me ; but he came with such an air of self-
importance that I paid him little attention. Of this1
he complained, and it ended in my producing some
papers which caused him to lower his tone, and we
became tolerable friends.
A little afterwards I went across the back-water
to see the sea-shore, for the sound of the waves
booming on the beach came with a pleasant murmur
on my ear. On traversing a little bit of ground,
half jungle and half garden, which surrounded a cot
tage, we were met by an old man coming out of it
with some fruit in his hand that looked like peaches.
To my inquiry whether they were peaches, he re
plied by frankly putting them in my hands. I
thanked him, and asked if he could tell me where
I might purchase some for use on the road. " Come
with me and we shall see," said the old man, lead-

BENEVOLENT PIETY. 463
ing the way to a part of the garden where there
were a number of trees of a sort called the pushm-
aloo, or woolly peach, growing in a rnulberry patch.
He pressed me to pull the ripe ones, and when at
length I excused myself on the plea of having eaten
enough, he still continued plucking them for me.
" I had some fine hoolloos" (a better sort of peach)
" till yesterday," said he, " but I gave them all
away, and I am sorry for it for your sake ; see —
here are the trees all bare. I give these to any one
who likes to take them — why should I not do so?
they are all from the bounty of God." I replied, as
indeed I thought, that God could not have trusted
his gifts to a better steward, and expressed ray satis
faction at seeing a person so benevolent, in circum
stances which apparently might enable him to exer
cise his kindness of disposition. He thanked God,
he had no reason to complain ; and, making some
further pious and humble remarks, went on to point
out the various trees he had planted, and the vines
and the oranges he had trained. The latter had
all been killed, he said, by the snow of the previous
winter. " It was God's will," he said. " God made
them grow, and he has destroyed them. — God is
great !" And thus he conducted me to the sea
side, conversing with a simplicity and kindliness of
heart which would have delighted you as it did
me. He asked me much about myself, and in
quired whether in my country there was such a
thing as the sea ? The gaze which he fixed on me
had a still deeper interest when I told him that I
had been for six months at a time upon another and
greater sea than that of Mazunderan, and most of

464 A MOIST CLIMATE.
that time out of sight of land. He then inquired
where I had made my munzil, and, on hearing it,
urged me to remove and be his guest that night.
I excused myself upon the plea of intending to de
part at midnight. " Well, well," replied he with
true courteous feeling, " be it as you please ; but you
should have been very welcome, and I should have
been very glad to have had your company." We
parted with mutual kind wishes ; and, as I returned
to my tekieh, I could not help contrasting the be
haviour of this kind old man with that of the churl
ish Moollah ; a green spot it was to rest on in the
waste of selfishness and rapacity with which I had
been long surrounded.
The air here was certainly cooler than at Amol
or Balfroosh ; there the thermometer stood at eighty-
four to eighty-five degrees in the day-time, seventy-
five at night within doors. I did not try it here,
but to the feel it was far less oppressive, and we had
cloudy weather. But it is not the mere heat that
is so distressing in Mazunderan ; it is the great hu
midity, the want of elasticity in the air, which
weighs upon the breast, and produces a sense almost
of suffocation that is very uncomfortable : the per
spiration is not carried off by evaporation, but re
mains clinging about the person like the mists about
the hills, and everything you touch is moist and
clammy. Bengal in the rains, Demerara in the
wet season, Bombay in the monsoon — these were
the recollections that suggested themselves to my
mind ; yet I think Mazunderan far more unpleasant
than either, for the afternoons of Bengal and Bom
bay were fresh and pleasant when the rain was

INCONSISTENT CONDUCT. 465
passed, arid I do not remember the same sense of
suffocation in Demerara or Berbice. But then, in
deed, both body and spirit were more elastic in
themselves; they had not been so hardly trodden
down in those days by the heavy foot of this rough-
trotting world.
26th August. — The difficulty of procuring a guide
detained us till nearly half past two this morning.
Last night an old man came and presented me with
some fine melons. I gave him in return a piece of
silver, which so much exceeded their value, and his
expectations, that he swore he would go with us
anywhere — he would act as guide to Gheelan if we
pleased ; but as darkness came on, his heart or his
courage cooled, for he came very late to excuse him
self, not having been able, as he said, to catch his
yaboo, so we had to bribe another man.
The night air came cool and pleasant off the
waters, and as the sands of the beach were here
hard and smooth, we trotted on with speed and
comfort. As we passed the muhulehs, or divisions
of villages, in the early morning, we saw the sea
covered with hundreds of little fishing canoes, hav
ing each a single man, running out to visit his nets
— a pleasant, lively scene. These nets are stretched
from the shore to a distance of a hundred yards or
so, right out into the sea, so that they catch the
passing fish as our stake-nets do. We saw the
gleam of a fish struggling in one of them, and the
guide went into the water and brought it out. It
was a bright white fish, covered with small scales,
some fifteen inches long, with a sharp nose resem
bling a fish called in Guiana the snook. Its belly
VOL. II. 2 H

466 WHITE FISH.
was large and fat, and it was evidently in season.
They here call it Mahee Suffeedeck, or the whitish
fish, to distinguish it from the white or rather grey
mullet, which comes on shore and is caught in win
ter. I purchased some of these fish, which are the
only ones taken at this time of year. One of them
I had dressed for breakfast, and it ate very well,
though rather dry. In about a month more, salmon
comes into season, and is caught pretty abundantly.
We reached our resting place, one of myoldMunzils,
Izzut-deh, thirty-two miles distant, by an ugly bit
of road through the swamps and jungles, — a speci
men of the country which I could have excused, — •
and took up our quarters under the shade of a tree
on the bank of a stagnant river. This was all very.
well while the sun shone, and we ate our melons
with great gout in this pleasant bivouac. But in
the night came a visitor, not new to this couritry,
in the shape of a heavy shower, which drove me
from my bed to the lee of the tree in my " Mackin
tosh" cloak.
Our marches now resembled one another so much,
that a particular description of each day's journey
is unnecessary ; but a sketch of the country, and
our general mode of travelling on the banks of this
fine inland sea, may not be disagreeable to you.
Mazunderan and Gheelan are, you know, but strips
of low ground on the shore of the Caspian Sea, ly
ing at the foot of that huge chain of mountains
which support on the north the plateau of upper
Persia. Being formed by the detritus carried down
by the rains and rivers that furrow their sides or
pierce them through, they constitute an alluvial for-

AN ALLUVIAL FORMATION. 467
mation of rich and deep soil, or beds of gravel, and
sometimes both commingled, which has at all times
been covered with dense forests and rank vegetation.
The towns and villages to be found in these jungles,
as I have already observed, are never seen in a col
lected form, but are composed of groups scattered
at will in spots selected according to the owner's
taste and wants, and which are approached or have
communication with one another by paths so very
intricate that a stranger would never detect them,
and which in winter and spring are impassable to
any but the inhabitants themselves. These difficult
and swampy situations had of course their origin in
motives of security ; but there are other reasons for
permitting their villages to be thus overgrown with
wood. A vine is planted at the root of almost
every tree, and climbs its bole, mantling over it
with a rich but rank-looking foliage. This may
suit the owner's purpose, which is to have a crop of
grapes without expense or trouble ; but it is a vile
system, as the vines, never being pruned, degenerate
and bear small sour grapes, scarcely superior to the
wild ones : whereas were the jungle cut, and the
vines regularly cultivated, their produce might be
abundant in quantity, and good in quality.
But the produce, par excellence, of Mazunderan, is
rice — that of Gheelan, silk ; all other is adventitious,
and little regarded. And though the best fruits are
indigenous to these provinces, the inhabitants scarcely
think of planting a tree to produce good fruit for
themselves or their families. Even the principal
agriculture of the countries — that of rice and mul-
heny — is carried on in a most slovenly manner. For
2 H 2

468 LACK OF ROADS.
though they fully comprehend the use and value
of irrigation, the system of application is so wasteful
and ill contrived, that the flooding is not confined to
the fields prepared for receiving it, but the whole
country, with its roads and pathways, is frequently
rendered impassable by being laid under water. Nor
is their method of laying out the land for cultivation,
and fallowing, or manuring, a whit better ; for at
least five sixths of the surface appear to be waste,
covered only with thorns, and brambles, and rank
weeds. Certainly, I never saw, nor can I imagine, a
stronger or more impracticable country, in a mili
tary point of view, than these provinces. Roads— '*¦
that is, made roads — there are none, except the great
causeway, made of old by Shah Abbas, and this has
now so nearly disappeared, that it requires a guide
to find it. And, even when found, it would be useless
for military purposes, from the numerous breaks
and gaps in its course, and from the impenetrable
jungle which surrounds it on all sides, and affords
cover for all sorts of ambuscades and surprises. The
surface, where not cultivated, consists of natural or
artificial swamps, overgrown with forest trees and
thorns, particularly bramble-bushes of incredible lux
uriance, and perfectly impervious. Indeed, these
brambles are called by the inhabitants the " Pehle-
wanhd Mazunderdnee," that is, the heroes, or guar
dians of Mazunderan, and well do they deserve the
appellation. Above this flat space tower the mountains, as
suming the appearance of two ranges, the first of
which is clothed with forests as dense as those be-

CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY. 469
low, and which throw forward spurs and shoulders
that sometimes reach the coast. Beyond this wood
ed and buttressed wall, which is traversed in all
directions by the most wild and romantic glens, and
which forms a sort of velvet lining to the principal
range, the peaks and masses of this last are seen
rising in naked, rocky grandeur, and snow-spotted
even in September. It is in ascending these that
you meet with the most desperate passes or cot,huls,
and amongst their recesses, and even on their sum-
, mits, as well as on those of the wooded hills below,
are found the yeildks, or summer quarters, to which
the inhabitants resort in the heats of that season.
The whole of these wooded mountains are pervaded
by paths and passes so intricate, that none but an
experienced guide can find his way from one place
to another ; but the long winding tracks that lead
through these skirts and the low plain are equally
perplexing and more difficult, following, as they do
generally, the windings of streams and rivers that
keep to no particular bed, and involving the traveller
in swamps, creeks, and quicksands, against which,
as they shift with every flood, no experience can
guard. It is these dense jungles and swamps
which are the birth-places of all the ill health and
disease, the hosts of flies, insects, and reptiles, with
all the other abominations that infest Mazunderan.
The beach which bounds this flat is a strip of
sand and gravel, thrown up by the wash of the
surf, which is driven against the southern shore with
great violence by the prevailing wind from the
north. In truth, the whole coast is lined by a chain
of sand-hills, rising sometimes from twenty-five to

470 MOORDABS.
thirty feet in height, and 200 yards in breadth,
behind which lies a morass of stagnant water from
the numerous streams and rivers that, descending
from the mountains, are prevented by these sand
hills from finding their way into the sea. Wherever
a river does force its way through them there is a
continual battle between it and the surf, which latter
throws up a bar that shuts up the channel entirely,
so that its waters will accumulate and spread behind
the sand-hills for miles, sluggish and dead, and only
finding their way to the sea by filtration, or very small
streams beneath the sand, until a flood enables it
to sweep bar and all before it. It is by these stag
nated waters, or moorddbs, (dead waters,) as the
natives call them, that the lakes and harbours of
Salian, Enzellee, Lankerood, Mushedee-sir, Aster
abad, and others, have been formed.
The banks of these dead, or, rather back waters,
to speak more properly, are overgrown with alders
of enormous size, with plane-trees, elms, ashes, pop
lars, and other trees, which love a moist soil; and
in the rainy season the country around is all flooded,
so as to exhibit the singular spectacle of a boundless
forest in a swamp. Yet scattered among these
swamps, behind these moorddbs, and sometimes be
tween them and the sand-hills, the traveller may find
numerous villages, or muhulehs, as they are called,
clusters of houses inhabited by the cultivators of
the rice-fields around. But a stranger would pass
a dozen of these, and never suspect the existence
of a human being, unless he chanced to see the
smoke curling upwards from some of their fires, or

INTRICATE PATHWAYS. 471
to hear the bark of one of their dogs ; and yet from
each of these muhulehs there are always more than
one pathway, which leads to the sea-beach, for the
inhabitants have a considerable traffic, which is car
ried on by sea ; and at certain seasons the people live
on fish, salmon, mullets, and other excellent kinds,
which come to the coast, particularly in autumn and
winter. But for their paths, who, except them
selves, could discover them ? A dense hedge, a per
fect wall of bramble, blackthorn, and thick boxwood,
cemented with wild vines and other creeping plants,
that run up and overtop the trees, lines the range
of sand-hills I have spoken of, where the deep water
does not lie. It is of great thickness, often ap
proaches within thirty yards of the water's edge,
and usually terminates in one of those swamps and
jungles I have described. No one in his senses
would be mad enough to attempt to penetrate it ;
but a guide will show you a " Hole in the wall,''
a crevice, a thing like a rabbit-run, through which he
introduces you to a pathway at first scarcely percep
tible, winding like a snake through the bushes, but
which increases in size as you get on ; not, how
ever, in facility, for it is intersected by at least
a dozen of deep natural creeks, through the' mire
and water of which your horse must flounder ; or
he may have the choice of a precarious bridge of
boughs ; or, for variety, after a little space, you
may have to thread through artificial cuts, made
for irrigation — no less deep and difficult than the
natural creeks, as your poor load-horses soon find
out, and which flood the whole vicinity, so that you

472 PAINS OF TRAVELLING.
travel girth deep in the soil; and thus, if you sur
vive, after a circuitous and perilous pilgrimage, you
reach the muhuleh, or village.
It was along this beach that we had now to
proceed; and in these muhulehs, or close to them,
were to be our bivouacs, as it was from them we
must procure provisions for man and beast. I have
alluded already to my reasons for preferring this
road ; it was the best in a bad choice, no doubt ;
but, in addition to its own peculiar inconveniences,
we were disappointed in some of the advantages we
hoped from it. The sand and gravel were so loose
that the horses sunk fetlock-deep at every step, from
which their progress became so laborious, that no
cot,hul would have been more fatiguing. I am per
suaded that our marches of twenty-five to thirty
miles a day exhausted the poor animals, especially
the loaded mules, more than forty or fifty miles
of average road would have done. But besides this,
notwithstanding all we had heard, there was no pro
curing suitable forage- — that is, straw and barley, such
as they were accustomed to— on any terms ; and even
coarse rice and grass were not always to be had, or
in sufficient quantities, at our resting-places ; so we
were forced to graze them from time to time as we
marched, and pick up a little rice in the husk for them
at night where and when we could. The conse
quence of all this — of bad, insufficient food, hard work,
intense heat, and occasional assaults of the infernal
flies, — was a visible and serious daily falling off of
the whole cattle. Their masters were better off in
the matter of food at least ; the finer sort of rice was

mazunderAn scenery. 473
abundant ; melons and water-melons generally to be
had, and fowls and eggs served in place of other
meat. In all our discomforts we had the refresh
ment of the sea-breeze to temper the sun's wrath
when it was fierce, and to dissipate the heaviness of
the air when his face was veiled in clouds. In
addition to this, there was the pleasure of contem
plating a succession of scenery of unspeakable gran
deur, and which, if similar in character, was ever
varying in form and effect. Mountains in every
shape of crag, and spire, and ridge, and precipice,
rose to an immense height on the left hand ; some
clothed in primeval forests, whose rich, deep foliage
was just showing the first touches of autumnal tints ;
others, bare and soaring into the clouds, that rested,
as it were, upon their shoulders, as if wearied with
the flagging air. Deep mysterious hollows, conjuring
up images of unutterable wildness and dread, were
contrasted with the occasional glimpse of a village
on the verge of a green expanse of rice-fields. On
the right was the sea — the ocean it might have been
—for the view over its surface was as unbounded —
the ever-living, ever-varying ocean, of which I am
quite as fond as ever was Lord Byron for his life —
far — boundless as is the difference between us.
There it lay, stretching out in calm blue majesty,
under the ardour of a mid-day sky — or in the
splendour of a serene sunset, gleaming
 "As when the peacock's neck
Assumes its proudest tint of amethyst,
Embathed in emerald glory I"
or, lashed into green and sparkling waves, it broke

474 A MORNING EFFECT.
upon the shore with hoarse murmurs, well known
and ever welcome, like the voice of a familiar friend.
But, to quit this " Ercles vein," there cannot
be a more beautiful object than the Caspian Sea,
which has a light green tinge, especially in the
morning and at sunset, when the hues of the hour,
orange and flame colour, or purple and gold, are
blended in reflection with its own chaste tint. One
morning I was more than usually impressed with
the enchantment of this effect. It was a splendid
dawn. The sun rose from the sea like a globe of
fire, but with a radiance so tempered as to be quite
beholdable, among a mass of purple clouds, which
now and then flitted across his disk ; and the rich
orange hue, which seemed powdered over the whole,
faded as it rose above the horizon into that in
describable pearly tint which joins such a hue most
fitly with the azure above. Amber cloudlets, with
rich but tender purple shadows, floated over head,
broken into a sort of fleecy, mackerel sky — their
edges tipped with a brightness exceeding almost that
of the sun himself. Below, the sea, regardless as
it seemed of the fiery glory that hung upon it,
exhibited a soft blue tone, which contrasted ex
quisitely with those brilliant hues ; but every little
wave, which a slight rippling air raised on its sur
face, reflected from its hollow the gorgeous purple
and orange of the East, while the sun itself cast
a broad fiery path athwart the whole world of waters
down to our very feet.
The cause of this rather singular phenomenon
was the breeze which came, scarcely perceptible, from
the East, and which, raising a slight curl upon the

TRAVELLING CUSTOMS. 475
water, exposed to us the western side of the wave
let, reflecting the blue of the western sky, while
the opposite side and hollow, not sufficiently de
pressed to be invisible, offered, though less per
fectly, to our view, a reflection of the illuminated
eastern sky. The powerful light of the sun over
came all other tints, and cast the strong reflection
which I have described. You will comprehend this
explanation better if you have ever watched the sea
while agitated by a brisk breeze, coming from the
direction of the setting sun ; but let us proceed,
or we shall take root upon the beach, and the
sun grows hot.
Our custom, while travelling here, was to saddle
and load some two or three hours before sunrise —
to march for four or five hours, and then, choosing
some convenient spot where there was water, and
wood, and shade, with pasture for the horses, to
halt there for a couple of hours to refresh them and
ourselves. I spread my carpet beneath a tree ; had
water boiled, tea made, and took a comfortable
breakfast ; the people provided for themselves —
generally at my expense — while the horses grazed
beside us. We then mounted again, and rode on
to our stage for the day, which we reached, accord
ing to the length and difficulty of the road, by three,
four, or five in the afternoon,— in time to make good
our quarters at some village, or on the banks of
some stream, where grass was abundant. On the
sea-side we were less troubled by the large horse
fly, and though we had mosquitoes enough, they
were not so overpowering as I expected to find
them. But I had taken precautions against them

476 ADVANTAGE OF SEASON.
by providing a crape veil to tie over my face — a
good hint to all travellers; but, indeed, we were
such old friends, or rather enemies, that I almost
defied their attacks. Fortunately for us, the wea
ther continued dry during nearly the whole of our
march to Resht ; although, often threatened, we had
but two. actual heavy showers, and these were both
during the night while in bivouac. You should
have seen how they made us all scamper : as for
me, I do confess that I hate wet in that way almost
as much as a cat does. Another advantage of the
dry weather was, that we had less of mud on the
way, and that the rivers, which in winter and spring
are almost impassable, were now all fordable with
ease, so that we escaped much danger and much
delay in crossing them.
Such was our mode of travelling, with little variety
of incident, for the seven days during which we
journeyed to my old quarters of Resht. On the
third morning, before daybreak, as I was riding in
front of my people, who were nodding in their sad
dles, and lagging in the rear, I came plump upon a
black mass, which was scarcely discernible in the
moonlight, until close to it. It proved to be seven
or eight men, sleeping all in a bunch upon an ele
vated bank of sand, which commanded two paths,
one by the edge of the jungle, and one by the sea
side. At my approach they started up, and be
lieving me alone, two of them came forward to seize
my bridle rein. The sight of a pistol, which I had
drawn on first observing them, cocked and extended
for action, caused them to waver and fall back, but
they mustered and were obviously meditating an

THIEVES. 477
onset when they were again checked by my people
coining up. On this, one of them gave a whistle and
a call, which brought seven or eight more, running
out of the wood to join their comrades. The affair
now looked serious, so I called for my gun, the sight
of which, with that of my servants, satisfied them.
They clustered together, but made no forward move
ment. I called aloud to the servants to be watchful,
as these people were thieves, and as they moved
forward took the rearward myself, to prevent sur
prise or to repel attack. This, however, seemed now
to be out of their heads — they continued gazing at
us, but after being hid by the sand-bank, which we
crossed, we saw no more of them.
These gentlemen were Abdool Malekees, a tribe
of known and professed thieves, who live in the
mountains here, and descend in parties to plunder
passengers or small caravans. They seldom murder,
they only strip people ; and had they thought to-day
that they were strong enough to make an attempt
upon us, we should have had to fight for it; but
they do not like to meddle with guns, or horsemen.
On the fourth morning we passed Sukht-sir (or
Hard-head), a fine bluff point, which terminates a
grand range of mountains, the boundary between
Mazunderan and Gheelan, and thus I quitted the
former province. One would be apt, from my de
scription of it, to imagine that its inhabitants must be
a wretched, puny, and diseased-looking race, with
frames enfeebled, and little energy either of body
or mind ; but this is far from being the case. The
complexions of the Mazunderanees, who remain be
low the hill sduring the hot months, are, no doubt,

478 MAZUNDERANEES.
rather more sallow than those of the men of Upper
Persia ; but the people themselves are, in general,
remarkably stout-limbed and well-formed, with more
than ordinarily handsome countenances. In Bal
froosh I did observe several dwarfs and deformed
children ; but this was not the case elsewhere. The
children were beautiful, particularly the girls, who
were remarkable for a delicacy of feature; and of
the women, numbers of whom I saw accidentally
both in the towns and villages, many, and almost all
the young ones, were handsome.
The* intellect of the Mazunderanees has been de
cried by the rest of their countrymen, as that of the
Boeotians by the Greeks, for stupidity and brutality,
but I suspect on no sufficient grounds. They are
called Mazunderanee Yaboos, a nickname which has
a double meaning, the province being in reality
celebrated for a breed of Yaboos, or small horses,
which are highly esteemed for their powers of endu
rance. The peasants are, to be sure, less acute
than those of Irak, who live in villages near the
great roads ; but I saw no symptoms of extraor
dinary stupidity. As regarded their own interest
they were sharp enough, as we had cause to know ;
and, certainly, in point of curiosity, they do not fall
behind their neighbours. Not a man did we inter
rogate respecting the road, but he insisted on know
ing where we had come from, whither we were
bound, and what our business might be — for all the
world like our Scotch Highlanders, with their "An'
whare may ye be from, sir ?" And when we came
at night to our munzil, we were sometimes cross-
questioned with a degree of earnestness which di-

RELUCTANCE OF GUIDES. 479
verted me much, and which I sometimes would
baffle by assuming an imposing air of mysterious
caution, which sadly inflamed the curiosity of the
querist. Sometimes, but rarely, were the interro
gatories put in a tone approaching to impertinence,
calling for reproof; and I generally made good
friends in the end, by letting out enough to show
them all that there was no mystery whatever, and
no concealment intended, except as a joke upon
them. There was one point about these Mazunderanees
which I never could understand, and that was their
reluctance to guide us on any terms from stage to
stage. The demand for a guide was generally made
in the evening, soon after arriving at night's quar
ters. The subject was discussed — a person usually
came forward to offer his services, and was desired
to name his terms. " Oh, anything," was the general
reply, " anything we pleased ; he was too glad to
serve such as us, were it even for nothing, if such
were our pleasure :" this was always suspicious. The
villain, we soon found, was laughing at or meditating
to deceive us, so he was pressed to name his price,
which generally proved exorbitant, on which others
came forward, or he himself would come down to a
sum which was approved of. This done, the man
was directed to hold himself in readiness — to bring
his yaboo, if he had one, and himself, if on foot, to
the bivouac, and to sleep with the party. Even
this was sometimes acceded to ; — at other times a
promise alone was given. But in either case, when
all was supposed to be settled, the fellow would
sneak up, generally about midnight, always too late

480 PUZZLING CONDUCT.
to open fresh negotiations, and make a thousand
excuses, terminating in a declaration that he could
not go. Sometimes, the only mode in which this
resolution was announced, would be his non-appear
ance in the morning — thus leaving us unceremo
niously in the lurch.
This game was played at every stage between
Gilauristook and Resht : sometimes we succeeded in
getting a guide ; at others, after spending several
hours in vain endeavours to procure one, we were
forced to go on, at all hazards, without. Now, this
conduct did not proceed from any desire to make
the most of us at the pinch — to step forward and
raise their terms on our distress. The men most
commonly went clean off without a word, or, if even
a larger sum was offered, would refuse it. Nor
could it originate in the fear, — as in Khorasan and
Irak, where I have seen similar tricks played, — of
being cheated out of their money by the travellers.
Khans, or military men, who press the people and
give them nothing, are rare in these parts. No
troops pass here, and few nobles who require guides,
and the men had always ocular proof at each vil
lage, that the guide from the preceding one was
honestly and regularly paid. We might, indeed,
have imagined that a matter of four shillings^ for a
day's work, would be a thing eagerly grasped at by
men, who, probably, could not earn sixpence a-day.*
But such did not appear to be the case, and we
were quite puzzled to account for their conduct.
As for selfishness and greediness, alas ! where are
these not to be found ? In fact, the people were so
obviously resolved to make the most of us, that at

COSTUME. 481
length I resorted to the same expedient which is
sometimes practised on the Continent— that of bar
gaining for what we wanted before unloading. This
was sometimes remarkably successful ; but there
were other instances where the villagers refused to
admit or supply us on any terms, and forced us to
go on to the next Muhuleh.
To finish with the Mazunderanees : they are gene
rally a quiet, inoffensive race, but brave and good
soldiers— excellent marksmen with their matchlocks ;
and the twelve or fourteen thousand men furnished
by this province to the King's army are among the
most trusted and trustworthy it can boast of. It is
said that the present King, or probably rather his
uncle, the late Aga Mahomed Khan, used in times
of real danger to sleep surrounded by the Kara-
choghees, or black-garmented men of Larijoon and
the neighbouring districts, whom he called Peerahun-
e-tun-e-Shah, " the shirt of the King's person." — Do
you remember the boast of my boasting guide from
Boojnoord ?
The costume of Mazunderan in this hot weather,
as we met the men moving about, was generally a
pair of blue cotton drawers, with a shirt of the same,
or of common white calico ; a rough hair cap, or
oftener one made of chintz, stitched and ornamented
according to the wearer's means; an ulkdluk, or
vest, more usually slung over the shoulder on a
stick than worn on the person. The same stick
supports a wallet of grass or reeds containing neces
saries: or, if the person were going to market,
crammed with whatever he may have to sell. In
their right hand, or stuck in their girdle, they all
vol. ii. 2 l

482 GHEELAN. — ROOD-E-SIR.
carried a bill-hook of steel, to cut their way through
the jungle. This is the common peasants' only
arm, for Mazunderan is in itself a peaceable country ;
but without this weapon he could scarce make his
way through his friends and guards the Pehlewans,
i. e. the brambles. The better classes wear the usual
Persian dress. — And so farewell to Mazunderan.
It was on a sweet and pleasant morning, the last
of August, after a night which soaked us with rain,
that we got well into the country of Gheelan, and
reached its first town, Rood-e-sir. The mountains
here fall back from the sea ; the jungle diminishes ;
the country becomes more open ; and there was less
of that sense of suffocation which constantly op
pressed me in Mazunderan. The air was soft and
springy ; there were space and sky, and sea and light,
about us. The soul had elbow-room, and the spirits
gambolled as it were in their freedom from con
straint. Have you not felt this mental change on
a transition from gloom and confinement to free
dom, air, and brightness? — The sands were flatter
and harder^- we marched in greater comfort — and
the beach, as we passed along, was crowded with
groups of peasantry all dressed in their holiday clothes,
wallet on shoulder ; for it was a periodical fair-day
at Rood-e-sir, and all the world was flocking to it.
As we approached the scene of action, there were
temporary huts of branches and grass scattered all
over the beach, like booths at a race-course at home,
in which various articles of refreshment were sold,
or a petty traffic was carried on. Heaps of sweet
and water melons lay upon the shore tempting the
passers-by, while their owners directed attention to

PRETTY WOMEN. 483
them by praising their sweetness and flavour — often
suiting the action to the word, and adding example
to precept, by swallowing a huge morsel of one of
them cut up for the purpose. All was movement
and bustle. The magnates and elders of the vil
lages bestrode their yaboos, some carrying their
wives behind them, others their children before them.
Many women were seen riding single, attended by
a man who drove their ponies on — a sign of high or
low rank, as the case might be ; for the man was
sometimes the husband, sometimes a menial. These
ladies often wore their roo-bunds, or veils, up, for
air, until they saw a stranger drawing near, when
they would hurry it down. But I observed that
this was in general more rapidly performed by the
elderly ones, while sometimes the young and pretty
would experience some difficulty in adjusting this
shroud, so as to let a pair of bright eyes, or a pretty
mouth, be seen. But I must do the Persian women
the justice to say that this concealing of the counte
nance is so much a matter of course, and so en
twined with ideas of propriety and modesty in their
minds, that rarely indeed do you see a decent fe
male, however retired the spot, neglect for a mo
ment the natural movement which covers her face
on the approach of a stranger.
As we drew near to Rood^e-sir the crowd in
creased ; and for the first time we observed the
smarter Gheelanee, or Talish costume, mingling with
the more sober garb of Mazunderan, which we were
leaving behind ; though the dress of the low country
peasantry of GheelSn differs little from that of the
sister province. The Talish Highlander, like the
2 I 2

484 GHEELANEE AND LESGHEE COSTUME.
Georgian, wears a tunic of some gay colbur, open
down the breast, tight round the waist, and reaching
to the knee with full skirts. But these are often
trussed into a pair of wide shulwars, or drawers,
tied tight round the ankle, but the bulk of which
above, set the lower man sometimes in strange con
trast with the tight-drawn, slender waist, and broad
shoulders. In absence of this expansive garment
its place is supplied by a dark-coloured pair of trou
sers, easy from the waist to the knee, but tight to
the shape below it. This is Georgian and Lesghee,
I believe. A shirt of red or blue silk, seen to ad
vantage through the open-breasted tunic, — a skull
cap, sometimes conical, of bright-coloured chintz or
shawl with much needle-work, — and a cummeh, or
Georgian dagger, hanging at the waist, complete
the dress of these swashers, who are commonly fol
lowers of some noble of the country.
We observed here an uncommon sight ; several
unveiled women in gay and singular dresses' — and
pretty too ; but I could not learn who they were ;
and there was a whole encampment of Kaleballee-
banloos, the worst and most thieving tribe of gip
sies, pitched close to the entrance of the town. The
town itself, when we reached its little bazar, was
as gay as the Persian costume and the whole dis
play of goods in every shop could make it ; and if
not a very imposing, it was at least a pleasing sight.
It was Sunday too, and by a small stretch of imagi
nation one might have imagined one's self in a country
village at home, with all the world flocking to church.
But the illusion would soon have been dissipated ;
for, instead of " the sound of the church-going bell,"

LANKEROOD. 485
the ear was startled by the rout of a Dervish's horn ;
and the loud cackling laugh of the younger folk had
nothing in common with that decent solemnity which
prevails with us on such occasions. As for dervishes,
I never saw such a collection ; if there was one, we
saw more than a hundred at the bazar, and going to
it ; — the elders, or peers, surrounded and followed
by their mooreeds, or disciples.
Here we breakfasted, and then took leave of the
sea-shore, striking into the country on the sungfursh
or causeway (literally, stone carpet) of Shah-abbas to
get to Lahajan, another town where we meant to
halt for the night ; but such was not our destiny.
We missed our way, — an easy matter in Gheelan, and
lost so much time before we could recover it, that
we thought it prudent to halt for the night at Lenke-
rood, a small town about eight miles distant from
Rood-e-sir, and only half way to Lahajan. It had
been a place of consequence before the plague, but
was quite depopulated by that disease, so that I saw
little but ruins and a miserably-filled bazar, with one
caravanserai, where merchants lodged who came
from a distance on purpose to purchase silk. As
for us, we put up in the verandah of a neat mosque,
where I had no sooner settled myself than a host of
inquirers, all idlers in the place, came pounce upon
me, reiterating a thousand silly questions, until I
was forced to silence some of them by a few sharp
replies ; nevertheless, there were some persons in the
crowd, — traders whom speculation had brought
there, — from whom I obtained some useful infor
mation. The country about Lankerood is more open than

486 A DEPOPULATED TOWN.
most parts of Mazunderan, and the sheets of rice and
mulberry gardens would do one's heart good, were it
not for the deadly swamps and stagnation of air
which they cause. There is no want of jungle
either, as we experienced both in entering and
leaving the town, for next morning, as we proceeded
towards Lahajan, though we could not well miss our
way, we had such a battle with the jungle flies as
our horses will not forget, or I am mistaken. No
wonder that illness should abound — that plague
should be so fatal when it once finds its way into
these dens of filth and moisture ; the wonder is, that
it should ever leave the country ; and yet, I believe,
at least three years have passed since it ceased com
pletely in Gheelan, and Mazunderan, and generally
in Persia.
We breakfasted in Lahajan. It once boasted of
fifteen thousand inhabitants. What it now contained
I know not, but I rode through streets tumbling into
ruins, overgrown with rank weeds, and through a
bazar, where, as a man observed to me, " the grass
was growing in the shops :" and, indeed, there it was
growing thickly on the place where the merchants
used to sit, and peering forth from under the
sills of the closed doors. The place was liker a
charnel-house than a town. But trade — your love
of gain — is a great re-peopler, and the silk of Gheelan
is an irresistible temptation. The former inhabitants
had passed away, it is true, but others were already
flocking to the place, and in no long time the bazars
of Lahajan, as well as of Lenkerood, will be refilled
with bustling merchants. To-day was a market
day, and the market-place was tolerably crowded,
but the rest of the streets were so empty that, on

DILAPIDATION AND DECAY. 487
leaving it, I could scarcely find a person to direct
me on the way to Resht.
The march from Lahajan to Resht was long and
tedious. The way lay through dense alder copses
or forests of the same trees overgrown with grape
vines, or rice fields and swamps of grass ; but there
was not nearly so much water or so much difficulty
as when I passed by this road before ; and as for the
Suffeed-rood, which then was such a wide boiling
flood, and which we crossed with so much peril and
delay, our horses forded it a clear stream, scarcely
belly-deep. One thing painfully and constantly at
tracted my observation, and that was the rapid pro
gress of decay, even since my last visit, of all that
then remained of solid and useful for facilitating the
progress of the traveller. The last traces of the
causeway of Shah-abbas were fast disappearing ; its
capital bridges built of brick and mortar, worn at
length through the very archways, were clumsily
mended by thrusting a log of wood into the holes,
or throwing a plank across them ; and in many
parts a single shower of rain would suffice to cut off
communication entirely between one place and an
other. This very day, dry as the weather has been,
you would be astonished, could I describe to you
the long tracts of mud and water through which,
more than girth-deep, we rode our horses, often at
the hazard of sticking altogether. Now, until the
plague came, Gheelan was considered to be in a high
ly thriving condition ; and its governor, Manoocheher
Khan, is assuredly one of the most sensible men and
best rulers in the service of the Shah. But such is
the genius of Persia, daily bread is all they look to,
repairs for the day are all they ever make ; nothing

488 ARRIVAL AT RESHT.
is ever done until necessity compels, and then only
enough to meet the immediate call ; the future is
left to take care of itself ; — that excellent aphorism
of our boyhood, " a stitch in time saves nine," is un
known to the sages of Persia.
A single instance of solid improvement I did ob
serve, which looked absolutely absurd from its in
consistence with the general ruin. A well-constructed
bridge was in progress over the Shemeerood river —
at whose expense I could not learn — but it is to be
hoped the public-spirited individual may live to com
plete his work, as otherwise, however far advanced,
it will be abandoned to decay.
The sun had almost set before my weary cattle
could complete their journey ; day after day they
had fallen off in strength and flesh, and two of my
people were this day dismounted, — their beasts could
hardly walk alone — so much for hard work, heat, and
starvation. As I passed along, my eye fell on more
than one familiar spot, and many of the buildings
stood there which of yore were readily remembered.
But either my memory was treacherous or great
changes had occurred ; perhaps there was something
of both, for I have had abundant proof of late how
petty localities may be effaced from the recollection.
When we entered the town it was too late to seek
for a private lodging, so I went to a caravanserai for
the night. In the morning, the vizier or lieutenant
of Manoocheher Khan appointed me a lodging, the
Khan himself not having, as I hoped he might have
done, yet reached Resht. It is from that lodging,
and from the scene of my old persecutions, that 1
now indite these lines.

489

LETTER XVII.
Resht. — Decay and dilapidation. — Illness. — Leave Resht. — Fo-
men. — A night march in Gheelan. — Massouleh. — Fevers. — Ma
gellan. — Gheelewan. — Shawl. — Khumus. — Insolent demand. —
Persian mule dealers  Herow. — Elchineck. — Toork. — Thresh
ing floor and harvest. — Toorkomanchai. — Sick servants. — Push
for Tabreez. — Persian quarantine. — Reach Tabreez.
Dear  , September 5th, Resht.
I have been four days here, but have little to
tell you, and nothing, I think, that is not painful.
Resht, like the rest of Gheelan, is but the ghost, or
rather the scarcely animated skeleton of what it was.
The first morning after my arrival, two persons, one
of whom had known me of old, came to call. When
I inquired of this person about my old friends, his
answer was, " Ask about no one, for no one remains."
" Well, but if my friends are gone, I want to see
or hear of their relations, their descendants, sons,
brothers." — "There are none remaining — all are
gone." — " But their houses, — I want to see my old
haunts — the places where I used to sit and converse,
when I was a guest, with the owners — where people
were kind to me." — " They, too, are gone, — all are
in ruins, — you would not know the places ; and if
you think of going to walk by the water side as you
used to do, don't attempt it, for you won't recognize
a single spot ; all is waste or overrun with jungle."

490 THE BAZARS.
These were rather lowering accounts, but they
were nearly correct; and as I passed through the
deserted streets and environs, I remembered the
words of Qutalissi, —
" Their echoes and their empty tread,
Did sound like voices of the dead."
I went and walked through the bazars. This is
the season for purchasing, sorting, and sending off
the silk, and many of the caravanserais were filled
with merchants employed in these pursuits, so that
it was rather a lively and busy scene. Before each
cell or chamber, there is a sort of balcony or open
space where people sit under the shade of the pro
jecting roofs ; and these were crowded with persons
examining the large skeins of silk, picking out the
knots and roughness, and moulding them into the
proper shape for being packed. But these were all
strangers ; scarcely was there one Gheelaoee. The
vacuum created by pestilence had already attracted
an influx of foreigners. The silk trade of Gheelan, as
I before remarked, is too tempting a bait, not to en
tice in defiance of the disease and death that may
lurk beneath it. But in the great bazar which I had
once seen so thronged the case was different — half,
nay, two-thirds of the shops were shut up, and the
rest were either occupied by petty silk-dealers, or by
hucksters of chintzes and piece goods, and the com
mon productions of the country. There was little
remaining of the bustle I so well remembered ; in the
streets scarce a soul or a sound. I inquired for some
of the manufactures for which the place was famed
— there were none to be had — the manufacturers had
been swept away. In fact, when once the plague

DEATH OF OLD ACQUAINTANCES. 491
found its way into a house in Gheelan it seldom left
a living creature in it ; it disposed of the whole family.
When I was in Resht before, it contained certainly
more than sixty thousand people ; the account now
varied from fifteen to twenty thousand, strangers in
cluded ; but even of this there was no certainty.
You may remember hearing, that in my former
journey I cured a boy of a wound inflicted by a
butcher's lad, and that the relatives of the butcher
were very grateful to me for having saved him and
them from the consequences of the murder. The
butcher and all his relatives were gone. Old excel
lent Hajee Moollah Baba, who had given me counsel
and help when they were much needed, and who had
as kind a heart as ever filled a human breast, was
also gone. The young man who had been wounded
by the charge of a gun going through his hand, — a
desperate business, and for whom I had done what I
could, but whom I had left in a very precarious way,
— had recovered of his wound — I had the comfort
to hear that — but, alas ! he too had afterwards
been swept away. The only other one of my former
acquaintances who remained, was my old Mehman-
dar Hajee Meer Ismael, now governor of the town.
Ever cold and haughty, he received me with civility,
but little apparent feeling, — indeed at first he did
not recognise me. He confirmed the account of
death and depopulation which others had given me,
but he was equally uncertain with regard to its
present number of inhabitants.
I had but small opportunity to make many further
inquiries or remarks ; for on the second day after
my arrival, the weather, which had for two months

492 SICKNESS OF SERVANTS.
past been fair and even scorchingly dry, broke up ;
and the clouds, which ever since ray leaving Bal
froosh had been sailing about over head, hither and
thither, coquetting with the mountain tops, now
came bodily down, enveloping them in a livid shroud,
and bursting in heavy showers all over the country.
The second night a long-continued downright pour,
betokened that the rain was in earnest ; and from
that time till now we have never seen the sun —
scarcely have had a fair hour. This is alarming,
for there is no saying how soon the roads may in this
way be rendered impassable. The ground is so dry
that it will absorb all the rain yet fallen, and the
rivers are not yet so swollen as to be unfordable, but
I know too much of Gheelanee rivers. Then I have
another motive for moving, in the illness of one of my
servants — a hint of the effects of Gheelan on strangers
at this time. The sick servant is a villain of a cook
whom I had parted with the day before he was
taken ill of fever and ague ; he would not go further*
Another shows symptoms of illness — two days more
and the rest may be disabled, and myself too; so,
Inchallah, coute qui coute, — rain or no rain, — I start
to-morrow. In place of my cook I have got a negro,
a real black jewel by his own account ; he is called
yabool, (ruby,) and is tall and thin enough to make
a spare fishing-rod, but in the mean time he concocts
my pillaw.
14th September 1834. Tabreez. — Alhumdulillah !
Alhumdulillah ! Thank God, dear  , here I am at
length, safe and sound ; — free, though scarcely scath-
less, from the moist, muggy, villanous Gheelan, with
its marshes, forests, and fevers ! — I have reached

DEPARTURE FROM RESHT. 493
this place, which now for the third time has been
to me a portus salutis, a haven of safety and of rest,
after a weary pilgrimage. I am among friends and
countrymen. I hear familiar sounds, exchange cor
dial greetings, and enjoy the unspeakable delight of
unreserved communication with those who can sym
pathize with my feelings, whether of grief or joy, and
are both able and willing to counsel me with sin
cerity, or aid me with kindness. I cannot express
to you the delight of this relief from that anxious
loneliness, that weary and sustained exertion both of
mind and body, which has harassed me for these
long four months.
I left Resht, as I purposed, on the morning of the
6th instant at nine o'clock, having been detained by
the trifles which invariably retard a first march here
and elsewhere. A recollection of former difficulties
combined with the lowering appearance of the wea
ther, to excite in me an almost nervous anxiety to
get clear of the town ; for I felt as if there were
some spell in it or upon me, which would prevent
or impede my progress beyond its precincts ; and it
was a singular and not very encouraging coincidence
that, while crossing the Subzee Maidaun, the very
place where I was formerly arrested, I should now
be detained by discovering that sundry articles had
been left behind at our lodging. It was not without
impatience that I awaited the return of the mes
senger whom we sent back to recover them, nor
without a glow of repugnance that I eyed the well-
remembered spot ; but, as if to cool my hatred, the
sky, which had lowered all morning, opened and let
down such a pelting shower as would have quenched

494 REMEMBERED SCENES.
the hottest fever — an affusion which did not, I fear,
improve my temper when I thought of the rivers
we should even this day have to encounter.
At length, however, all was right, and we pro
ceeded, passing many spots which I remembered
well in my old adventures here, especially a piece
of water called the Einuc, to see which had been
my pretext for going beyond the town when I made
my escape from it twelve years before. Full well
too did I remember the river which we then crossed
in a cockle-shell of a boat — it was now a roaring
torrent, and we passed with no small difficulty. The
next river was still more troublesome ; not because
of its size, but because we had to cross and recross
it at least a dozen times on our way to Fomen, a
small town which was to be our first stage. We
accomplished the whole, however, in safety and in
very good time, taking up our quarters in a ruinous
mosque so early as to give us hopes of heing able
to start at midnight on our next day's journey.
This, in a moonless night, and in a country of
swamps and jungle, you will probably call a rash,
rather than a bold attempt ; but I had my reasons
— the terrible khur-mughz (ass flies). These formi
dable insects that had assailed us on our entrance
into Mazunderan, infested the broad belt of jungle
and marsh, full eight miles deep, through which we
had to pass, and rendered it almost utterly impass
able after sunrise. It was, therefore, important to
traverse it before that hour. But as the darkness
would have been an almost equally effectual obstacle,
we engaged two men carrying torches fed with
naphtha to light us on our way in addition to our

A NIGHT MARCH. 495
guides. Accordingly, a little after midnight the
word to load was given, and about half-past one in
the morning we moved from our quarters, lighted
by our torch-bearers.
Sorely was their assistance needed. The night
was as black as pitch, except when the lightning,
that flashed from a thunder cloud on one of the dis
tant western hills, occasionally blinded us with its
brightness. The way was most intricate, through
brush and brake, and swamp and pool; but our
guides were sure, and for a while the torches did
their duty. But the cloud approached us fast, and
at length overshadowed us. The thunder crashed,
and a few heavy drops were soon the forerunners
of one of the thickest downpours it was ever my
fortune to 'bide. In spite of every precaution our
torches would scarcely stand it ; they burned so
dimly that it took all our guides' acuteness to feel
out their way. Thus groping, we reached a " bad
step" — a bit of deep clayey morass, in which, though
my own strong horse floundered through, the first
baggage-mule that tried it sunk up to the girths,
and there she stuck. The rain came now in such
pailfuls, as to set all coverings at defiance ; and my
" Mackintosh" cloak, from some cause or other, let
in the water just as fast as a sieve would have done.
The horses, confounded by the rain, and frightened
at the thunder and lightning, became restive ; and
we had every reasonable expectation of seeing our
baggage securely stowed away in the bottom of a
Gheelanee bog, and the cattle " stabled" beside it.
Nothing but the most strenuous efforts of all
hands effected the extrication of the beasts that had

496 ASCENT FROM GHEELAN.
got in ; the rest were taken round by a longer but
safer path, and joined us on the other side of this
miry pit ; and it was worth while to see the guides,
with torches held aloft, dashing before us up to the
breast in the wide pools, seeking out the path with
their feet ; — bolder fellows never were — they richly
earned their hire. Thus did we wade often over
the girths, but now on hard bottom, until day-break,
by which time we had reached the bed of the Zoo-
dil river, up which our course lay. Sweetly swollen
it was, as we had occasion to discover in our nume
rous crossings, but we could not well be wetter, so
that it signified the less.
About 7 A. m. we took a cup of tea and a bit of
bread in an Imaumzadeh, at the foot of the moun
tains, which in an hour after we began to ascend.
This ascent for a time was gradual, keeping pace
with the bed of the stream. The road was all stones
of course, and the scenery resembled entirely that
which other such mountain passes afford. After
following the glen for ten miles or more, the moun
tains closed in, and we had some desperate rises and
plunges over jutting rocks, the stream having burst
its way, as it appeared, through the solid mountain
for a space of about five miles more. This brought
us to the forks of the river, up one of the streams
of which we turned, mounting a sharp rocky cot,hul,
which brought us to the village of Massouleh, one
of the most romantically situated and curious places
I have seen.
It is built in terraces rising on the almost perpen
dicular slope of the western mountain, with a tre
mendous wooded peak towering over it, and a fine

MASSOULEH. 497
lofty ridge varied with wood, and rock, and pasture,
opposite ; while a dozen of little streams " descend
from their hills" in lines of foam to form the small
river beneath the village, which goes roaring away
towards the low country. The houses of this village
differed entirely both in internal and external ap
pearance from those of any other I had seen. They
were, many of them, three stories high, the two
upper ones having each two tiers of windows, the
one tall, the other low, over each other, which pro
duces rather a lively appearance, resembling Eu
ropean buildings. I was told they are built on the
Lesghee model.
The people of Massouleh are all muleteers, or
petty merchants, who trade with the neighbouring
districts, and between the low and high country ;
and we had abundant proof of the attention they
pay to the main chance. They cultivate no grain,
nor indeed anything else except a few vegetables ?
but they are rich in flocks and herds, as we had oc
casion to see. Indeed, we observed blue smokes
curling up from various spots in the jungle, where
the shepherds or cow-herds of the Massouleh pro
prietors were feeding their charges.
The principal cot,hul, or pass, by which travellers
reach the highlands of Khal-khal in Azerbijan, rises
right behind Massouleh, and a very severe one it is.
We started from the very door of our lodging straight
up the high cliff that hangs over it, along the bosom
of which the path zig-zags ; and we followed this
toilsome track for an hour and a half before at
taining the first landing-place. Here, as there were
some tents and log-houses, we breakfasted, procuring
VOL. II. ^ K

498 A CHANGE OF SCENE.
eggs, milk, and wood from their inhabitants, and
then recommenced our ascent by a fine valley, that
led to another desperate pull. The crest we thus
attained is the boundary between Gheelan and Azer
bijan, and a hearty welcome did we give the brown
arid mountains of the latter, as we looked down
upon their confused masses from the top of the Ged-
dbok. It was a strange highland view, — a power
ful, though not to rae unpleasant, contrast to that
which we had just left ; for that, though rich in
wood and pasture, was dark in cloud and storm,
while the cheerful sunshine that lay before us de
lighted me as well as my poor servants, who swore
they had almost forgotten its colour. We enjoyed
it the more too, that the heat was not excessive ;
in fact, after standing still awhile, a little more
warmth would not have been unacceptable, for the
tops of the mountains we were about to leave were
now fast getting covered with a blanket of thick,
woolly clouds, from which such a fierce cold wind
poured down as set us all a shivering. One of my
servants, who had been threatened with ague in Ghee
lan, was here taken with a shivering fit, and another
told me that he had been suffering in the same way
the whole previous night ; so there was evidently
no time to be lost in descending from our altitudes,
and we accordingly made all possible speed to the
village of Majillaun, where, though our march was
only sixteen or eighteen miles, we halted for the
night. We were now fairly free of Gheelan, with its jungle,
and swamps, and forests, — I fain would add, of its
fevers, but these, unfortunately, stuck by us; we

KNOWN GROUND. 499
hoped, however, that the fresh and bracing air of the
Khal-khal yeilaks would drive them also away, and
accordingly before daylight on the following morning
we were in full march westward. Our way led us
across a pretty smart Geddook, or sharp ascent, from
which we descended into the bed of the Shahrood
river. While occupied with the ascent we heard
shouting behind us, and presently saw a man puffing
and blowing, and running after us, without either
cap or coat, and calling on us to stop. He turned
out to be our guide of the former day, who, having
been out of the way, had not received what I meant
for him. We had lodged in his house, and when
departing in the morning the present intended for
both was given to his father ; but the old man had
not said a word of the matter to the son on his re
turn, and the latter, therefore, had made this long
fatiguing stretch to overtake us and recover his due.
You may judge from this trait of the good faith of
these folk, and of their poverty, or fondness for
money. On descending into the valley, I saw to the right
a village surrounded with trees and gardens, the ap
pearance of which was familiar to my eye. On in
quiring its name I found it was Gheelewan, the first
village which I had reached after my escape of old
from Gheelan, and to which also I had been taken
back after being made prisoner. Above it frowned the
mountain nest of Mahomed Khan Massaul, whither
the rogues who arrested my progress forced me to pro
ceed. A little further down the valley was Dees, the
village in which I was sleeping when taken, just on
the other side of the river I had been forced to wade
2 K 2

500 QUESTIONABLE HOSPITALITY.
barefoot. Well did I recollect the tortuous pathway
which led to it among the tuppehs or hillocks; I
could recognize, it seemed to me, the very spot be
hind one of them to which the ruffians dragged me
to rob, and, as I then verily believed, to murder me.
It was a march of strange reminiscences.
We breakfasted at Shawl, a village opposite to
Dees, and then continued our way up the banks of the
Shahrood river, tracing it to its origin from a number
of springs at Khumus, a fine, large, thriving village,:
prettily situated. We had passed several others of
no inconsiderable size, but this surpassed them all ;
and we looked for good fare and comfortable quarters
in so promising a place- In this we were not disap
pointed ; but in the hospitality of its inhabitants we
were grievously so, for in addition to the most exor
bitant charges for corn, straw, and provisions, they
made an enormous demand for lodgings, a thing I
never heard of before. When about to depart in
the morning I gave the usual present for use of a
stable and the room I occupied, and was just going
to mount, when a person, who had not before made
his appearance, came forth and intimated to my ser
vants that he was the master of the house, and ex
pected two ducats (eighteen and sixpence) for my
night's lodging. At such a modest demand I laughed
of course, and was moving off, when the man again re
peated his demand to my people, and hinted that my
mules should not depart until it was complied with.
My reply to this threat might have satisfied him that
he had mistaken his man, but it did not appear so to
do ; for as I was again turning away to go, he began
a tirade of mingled threats and abuse, and seconded

AN IMPUDENT ATTEMPT. 501
them by laying his hand upon the halter of one of the
mules. This was carrying matters too far, so I just
stepped up to him, and hinted, in my turn, the pro
bability of his hand remaining longer where it was
than he might find convenient, unless he speedily dis
engaged it. He neither liked my tone of voice nor
look, for after another bluster he yielded to the people
of the place, who saw that the thing would not do,
and the mules were permitted to move off without
further trouble. Yet my friend, taking a short cut,
met us again at the end of the village and commenced
another attack, half whining, half grumbling, in
which he was supported by the very persons who
had just interfered to prevent his folly, and who now,
acknowledging that he had " eaten dirt," entreated
me to forgive him, and to bestow upon him a khelut
for the use of his room. The only reply I gave was
to laugh in their faces, and to assure them he had
got all the khelut he was like to have from me; and
away we rode, leaving the rogue looking very foolish
at the failure of what he had believed a certain hit.
It was certainly the most impudent attempt at im
position by intimidation I ever met with in a Per
sian village.
The truth is, that, like those of Massouleh and
many others on this road, these villagers are all
muleteers, and have the tricks and habits of jockeys
with the cunning of foxes. Thus they occasionally
overreach themselves, for they can't understand fair
dealing when they meet it, and so lose bargains. I
wanted to purchase a mule from them — for this is a
country famous for these animals — but we could
come to no terms, — they would not give me a trial

502 SLIPPERY DEALERS.
e
of the animals even upon hire, and / could riot, of
course, buy an unknown, untried animal. I proposed
to pay for one of those they offered for sale, all the
way to Tabreez, hiring its owner as a guide, and
promising to purchase it at a stipulated price, pro
vided it turned out well, and the man agreed, but, as
usual, found an excuse to be off before midnight :-—
all this was very disgusting. But it was the same at
Herow, another fine village, or rather town, at which
we breakfasted next day, and which is the capital
of Khal-khal : a dozen of animals at least were
brought to us, — we came to terms half a dozen of
times, and then the owners found out some cause for
drawing back.
That evening we pushed on to a small village
named Elchinek, on the banks of the Serawah river
Our road lay over an elevated and waving country,
uninteresting, except when peeps into the various
valleys afforded views of picturesque villages cradled
among orchards, and stuck like nests in clefts of the
rocks. We reached the bed of the river by a long
descent, and found a few huts grouped together,
among which we procured a stable for ourselves and
plenty to eat for the horses. But so poor and igno
rant were the people, that when I offered them a
golden ducat in payment for what we had had, they
told us they did not know what it was, and begged
for white money.
Our next stage was to Toork, a large but ruinous-
looking village, twenty-four miles distant. The way
lay over a high country of waving hills, with little
rock, principally inhabited by the Shaghaghee tribe
of Eeliauts, which bears but an indifferent repu-

THE KHAL-KHAL DISTRICT. 503
tation for honesty. The extensive district of
Khal-khal, through which our four last days' journey
have led us, although very high and mountainous,
isfar from being so full of stones and rocks as many
districts of the Elburz range. Its mountains, though
very lofty, are neither very abrupt nor precipitous,
and the valleys which divide them, though some
times narrow at the bottom, spread out above, so
that the sides and bosoms of the hills which form
them afford a large space capable of cultivation.
Even the loftier parts of the mountains are seen
covered with Daimeh cultivation, that is, corn raised
by the natural rain and moisture of the soil without
irrigation. This humidity is derived from their own
elevation and vicinity to Gheelan, and the clouds
and vapours of the Caspian Sea.
Some of the valleys, however, are broad, and com
prehend extensive flats, which at this time wore
every appearance of having repaid the labours of the
farmer by a plentiful harvest, for they presented
sheets of fine stubble. In fact, though in the higher
regions there was a good deal of barley uncut, and
here and there a little still green, the harvest was
generally over. The operations connected with se
curing it would astonish an English or Scottish
farmer. The corn, cut with but little regard to
economy of straw, is piled at once in small heaps
to wait the farmer's convenience. No fear has he of
stacks heating, or corn sprouting in the sheaf, for no
drop of rain ever falls at this season, and the corn
itself is commonly so dry before they reap it, that
it might at once be stacked if required. But I
never have seen it so stacked, except when, as a

504 THE THRESHING FIELD
precaution against depredation, it is in some places
carried home and piled on the tops or in the court
yards of the houses to wait the time for being
thrashed. But the khermund, or thrashing place, is the lively
and curious scene. This is generally established on
some hard, flat spot, just outside the gates of the
village, and hither the sheaves are brought on the
backs of cows, bullocks, asses, or yaboos — any ani
mal they can get hold off, and are thrown in heaps,
from whence they are again tossed under the feet
of a number of the same sort of animals, who, driven
round in a circle, tread out the corn. This ancient
and scriptural mode of threshing is picturesque as
well as interesting. A dozen or more of such groups
may be seen, some with the slow oxen moving stately'
round the circle, others with the more lively and
unmanageable horses, sometimes at a canter, some
times at a trot ; then kicking and flinging to get
free from their confined and irksome course, or with
their heads down on the ground endeavouring to
snatch a mouthful of the tempting food they are
preparing for the use of others ; and I believe the
Persian strictly obeys the scriptural inhibition of
" muzzle not the ox that treadeth out the corn."
On the very same ground the operation is com
pleted by separating the corn from the straw, when
there is any wind, with sieve-like machines, such as
were used with us before we learned to " make wind
for ourselves," like the Lady of Tillitudlem, by means
of fanners ; and you may see dozens of people thus
employed in exposing the mingled grain and chaff
to the action of the breeze, while others, with five-.

AND WINNOWING-FLOOR. 505
pronged wooden forks, toss the mass about and faci
litate the process by freeing it from the grosser parts
of the straw. The whole place resounds to the
shouts of the drivers and the long-drawn exclama
tions of the winnowers, as they reply to the direc
tions of the village elders, who, conspicuous with
their red henna-dyed beards, are always standing
by, or moving round the groups to see the work
properly perforined. It is a scene of plenty and
Cheerfulness that is very gratifying; but a really
thrifty farmer would mourn over the waste and
bad economy with which it is attended, and which
is one proof of the abundance that blesses the labours
of the Persian agriculturist.
Khal-khal, however, is by no means exclusively an
agricultural district. Not only are the villages pos
sessed of large flocks and herds, but the yeilaks and
kishlaks unattached to the large settled villages are
pastured by the flocks of Eeliaut tribes, which pro
duce a vast quantity of butter and wool, besides
feeding their owners. Indeed I was greatly struck
by the siriiilarity of some parts of Khal-khal to certain
districts of our own Highlands, where the grazing
of sheep has diminished the original quantity of
heather, and produced that brownish-yellow tint
which is observable towards autumn, and which,
especially seen from a distance, resembles that of
the rounder and less rocky Persian hills. In quitting
this fine district, where, I dare say, you will think
I have lingered too long, I must remark, that the
peasantry, though they universally exclaimed against
the exactions to which they said they were exposed,
appeared everywhere thrivirig and comfortable, and

506 INCREASE OF SICKNESS.
the villages large, with a look of prosperity, and
finely situated, being surrounded with gardens and
orchards. At half past two in the morning of the 12th, we
quitted our bivouac under some fruit trees at Toork,
and by half past ten reached Toorkomanchai, a
village six fursungs on, and famous as the place
where Persia signed her last treaty of peace with
Russia, after the disastrous war of 1827-8, when the
latter took Tabreez, and had advanced thus far
towards the capital, and when the former may be
said, I fear, virtually to have lost her independence.
It was a weary stage, for our guide was constantly
betraying us to disappointment, by assurances that
we were close to our munzil while we were. yet
fursungs distant, and while our anxiety to reach it
was increased by the continued illness of two of my
servants. The negro cook, whom I had taken into
service at Resht, turned out to have a confirmed
fever and ague. I had unluckily engaged him on
his well day, but every second day since we left it he
has been down with his regular fit. At Toork, how
ever, it got so bad that, having some acquaintance
in the village, he begged to be permitted to stay
there, and we accordingly left him shaking like an
earthquake, and roaring Uke a bull under a pile of
great coats and coverings of one sort or other. My
Peish-khidmut had been down ever since crossing
the Gheelan mountains, and now there was a mehter,
or groom, taken ill, so that one way or other I was
in pretty pickle.
These things made me more anxious to put an
end to the journey, and, after some deliberation, I

A PERSIAN QUARANTINE. 507
resolved to leave all the people to come on as they
best could, and, taking a guide myself, to push on for
Tabreez and send them help. We had come twen
ty-four miles already, and had from sixty-five to
seventy more to accomplish, But though my cattle
were sadly done up, I had still one horse fit to work
well, and accordingly, at two o'clock, p.m., after a
three hours' rest, I started. Had I been a Persian,
or regarded omens, I might have been deterred from
this step by the number of obstacles that arose to
my progress ; but anxiety to be with my friends,
and at rest, was stronger than them all, and I pro
ceeded slowly, but regularly, first to a caravanserai,
called Dowatgur, where I fed my horse and ate a
few eggs myself, and then marched all night to
Shiblee, sorely oppressed by sleep, for this was my
second night of wakefulness and journeying. Here
I purposed to breakfast, and then to go straight on
— but judge of ray disappointment at finding that a
quarantine station had been established here, to pre
vent intercourse with the very quarters from whence
I came, in consequence of some illness that had been
prevailing in the city and district of Zenjaun; and
that I must perform a three days' purification before
being permitted to proceed to Tabreez.
I need not say that I was heartily provoked and
annoyed — but there was nothing for it ; the officer
said " it was the order — and you Feringhees, you
know, are stricter in your quarantine laws than in
anything else. — Nizdm, ni%dm ! (discipline) must be
maintained, you know." However bitter the pill
might be, what could I do but acquiesce? — so, after
sitting awhile in grim silence, I took out my writing

508 A PURIFYING OPERATION.
things to send a note to my friends, informing tneiri
of my situation. While this was going on, the
officers, both young men, questioned me more parti
cularly respecting my business with the Elchee, and
the places I came from. On this I produced the
Shah's firmaun, and another from Cahraman Meerza,
at Mushed, which appeared to throw a new light on
the subject, for they now said they would not de
tain, but only smoke me — happy hearing ! To the
fumigation, which was most inefficiently performed
in a little hole under ground, I readily submitted,
and then was declared pure and free ; but an order,
they said, would be needed to pass my baggage,
otherwise it must await the three days' purification.
The whole matter was a pure farce, got up to
extort a little money, which, had they stated at once,
I should gladly have paid. The quarantine had
been in force after this fashion for months, not doing
good, but evil, from the manner in which it was
conducted. But it was past, and I rode gaily on, —
that is, as gaily as my wearied horse would permit
me, — to a village where I fed him and myself, that
he might have strength to reach Tabreez.
Know you not that delightful sensation which
fills the soul after long travel in remote and rude
places, whether at home or abroad, — in the wild High
lands, for instance, where high and rough beallachsf
miserable dirty inns, bad food, uncomfortable lodg
ings, dangerous ferries, &c. have perplexed the soul
and made it long for home, — when the eye first
catches a sight of the well-cultivated, well-peopled
Lowlands, with their woods and inclosures, and farms
and towns, and country seats, where, perhaps, our

HOME — SWEET HOME! 509
own sweet home, or the abode of some dear friend,
is situated ? How the heart warms at the view ! —
how the eyes dance with very joy ! — how eagerly
we peer out for the sight of some familiar form long
before it can possibly be visible ! How dear have
become the delights of social and domestic life,
contrasted with the strong though passing excite
ment of dangerous adventure, and the dear pur
chased pleasure of viewing remote and savage
scenes ; in short, how perfectly convinced we have
become of the comforts of civilization, of the value
of " bigged land" as  would say, and being
once more among one's own people ! Such were
the feelings with which I saw, at length, the well-
known red, rocky hill, above Tabreez, open to view,
then its dark green gardens, then its old ark, and
then its walls and white buildings, each in succes
sion making its appearance as I rose from the defile
in which the road lies, and ascended the little height
which till then had concealed them. Twice before,
as I have said already, had Tabreez been to me a
refuge after hardship and anxiety, nor was it now
less welcome than on those occasions. My poor
horse suffered somewhat from the impatience which
impelled me to clear the space that still intervened
between me and the gates ; but he seemed to parti
cipate in his master's feelings, and to know, at least,
that his resting-place was nigh; for, as I trotted
him along, he bore upon the bit, and once or twice
broke voluntarily into a canter.
Had I not reason to be anxious and impatient ?
Four months and more had passed since I had seen
or heard of my countrymen. Who were living, who

510 A WELCOME.
dead ? What their position in these changing and
critical times ? What news from home — from
England ? What letters ? Oh, who but those who
have wandered far from home, in danger and un
certainty, and who have family and friends to think
of and fear for, can know the mingled feelings of
doubt and eagerness which fill the traveller's mind
at such a time ! At length the town was won, the
gates were passed ; I almost expected to be stopped
at them as I inquired for the house of the Hakeem
Saheb ; — the English jack, waving from the staff,
pointed out the way, and I reached it just as a
party of the officers, then at Tabreez, were sitting
down to lunch. The joyful moment of recognition
and welcome soon was over, and I once more " sat
with good men " at their " feasts," and heard the
sounds of kindness and congratulation uttered in my
own language.
You will believe that there was much to ask and
much to tell — to hear and learn, nor will you
wonder, that after paying my respects to the Envoy,
and returning to a comfortable dinner — a dinner
with tables and chairs, and knives and forks, and
spoons, instead of carpets and fingers, — and in spite
of two nights' fatigue, such conversation should keep
me from my couch till midnight. One only alloy
there was to the comfort I enjoyed. My friends, in
their desire to relieve my anxiety, had sent my home
letters to meet me at Resht : thus they were for
a- while removed from my reach. It was a galling
circumstance, yet there was no help for it. But the
next morning compensated for the temporary trial
of patience, for a servant brought me the precious

all's well! 511
packet, which had never gone to Resht, the person
in whose charge it had been placed not having yet
departed for that place. You may conceive the delight
with which I pounced upon it, and with which, on
eagerly skimming its contents, I found that " all
was well." Adieu ! in due time you shall hear of
our " sayings and doings at Tabreez," and of what is
likely to befal me, if God spares my life, on my
further wanderings.

THE END.

LONDON :
PRINTED BV SAMUEL BENTLEY,
Dorset Street, Fleet Street.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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