| Drawn by Coke Smyth Esq. from a sletin by J. B. Fraser E Radclyffe. sc A PARTY KOORDS EXERCISING. WTHR 5 TRAVELS IN KOORDISTAN, MESOPOTAMIA, 1 ETC. 1 WITH SKETCHES OF THE CHARACTER AND MANNERS OF THE KOORDISH AND ARAB TRIBES. BY J. BAILLIE FRASER, ESQ. TWO VOLUMES IN ONE. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty. 马​会 ​ wils me wils, ame ALM3309 Ds 48.5 . of 84 1840 CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUM E. LETTER I. Causes of protracted Stay Healthy Climate of Tabreez.--Its Environs and Aspect-Gardens....Fruits.--Yeilaks.-Prosperity. Causes of.---Trade-Mahomed Meerza.his Court.Causes of its Dulness.---The Kaymookâm-his Character and Power... Visit to his Excellency.-- Changes in our social Circle. Visit to the Prince Royal.--Summary Castigation. Page 1 LETTER II. Travelling Reflections and Preparations.Dinner with the Kay- mookâm.-- Details of an Establishment for Guests.Habits of a Minister of State.-Rocket Practice.Leave Tabreez.Deeza- Khaleel.-- Tessouje. 27 LETTER III. 5 Selmâs.--Russian Policy.--Kara-kishlâc. Sportive Damsels. Kereemabâd --Plain of Ooroomia.--Agricultural Improvement. Enter the City. Nejeff Koolee Khan. Palace and handsome Apartment.--City of Ooroomia.-Fortified Houses.---Armenian Church Nestorian Christians their Country. Hakkaree Koords. Other Tribes.---Meer of Rewandoom.Journey of Dr.. iv. CONTENTS. Ross to that Chief.-Contrast between Turkish and Koordish Villages.-Dumdum.-Rewandooz.-Character of the People.- Dress.- Manners.--Blindness of the old Meer.---Brothers of the Meer.- Superstitions.--Inhospitality. Fierceness and Bravery.- Laws and Justice of the Meer.—Summary Punishment.-Army in the Field.- Capture of Accra.--Submission of Amadia.--Dr. Ross goes to the Meer's Camp—his Appearance and Conversa- tion_his Camp.—Dr. Ross returns to Baghdad.-Character of the Meer.-Speculations on the modes of proceeding. Page 46 + LETTER IV. > Leave Ooroomia.Koordish Costume and Weapons.-Dusht-e- Beel.-Ugly Customers. Koordish Mountains.--Plain of Oosh- noo.—Sumud Khan and his Establishment.-Antiquity of the Koords compared with the highland Clans. - State of Coun- try.-A Disappointment.-Ooshnoo. Depopulation.-Buffaloes. Koords on Horseback.-Fishing.– New Mode of Catching Quails. -Leave Ooshnoo.-Blood Feuds.-Suggerân Seyeds.—Negotia- tions for a safe Conduct. Successful Fishing --Koords at Prayer. -Kara Papâks and Bilbâs Koords.— Threatening Appearances.- Bustards.-A churlish Reception.—Retreat to a Caravanserai.- A hospitable Koord. — A Disappointment. — Piscatory Adven- tures. 84 LETTER V. The Khan's Arrival-his Lineage.-Changed Condition of the Koords. Over Taxation.--A Battle Royal, and a choice Morsel. -My Hosts.--Domestic Manners of the Koords—of the Great- of the Ladies.--Discrepancy of Reports.Leave Souje Bulâgh.- Beirâm.- Obstinacy of Guards. — Hussun Aga. - Face of the Country: Pass of Soonâs, and Descent. Nistân. Village evening Meal and Custom.-Aspect of the Mountains and Ride to Seradusht.--Abdool-Sumud Khan.-Dearth of Grain.--Magni- ficent Scenery.—Ascent of Hoomeel.–Ford the Aksu.—Akoorta. ܬܪܪܐ CONTENTS. - Bivouac. - Autumnal Tints. - Burying Grounds. Nezer- Kerdehs.-Koordish Superstitions.---Plain of Suleimaniah.--Town. -Our Lodging Page 110 . LETTER VI. Fate of Suleimaniah. Condition of the Pashah.-His Conversa- tion. --- Fire-proof Seyeds.--- The City.Burying Grounds.A Widow.--Take Leave of the Pashah. Another Disappointment. -Sheherazoor.---The Serteep Khan.--A Koordish Guide.--Cross the Mountains.-Karadagh. Jews.---Koords deficient in imagina- tive Superstition.--Explanation of Nezer Kerdehs.-Jaffs and Ha- madawund Tribes. Derbend of the Sugramah Pass-A Glimpse of Assyria.--Zhallah. A Dwarf.Mehmandaree.-A stony Coun- try.- A fine Oak.--Selim Aga.-Koordish Chiefs.--The Assyrian Empire.--Rustum Aga..General Characteristics of the Koords.-- Kufri. Change of Manners as well as of People. 147 . LETTER VII. Karateppeh.--An Alarm.--Hamrine Hills.--Adinakewy and Joongeer Aga.m-Arab Guides-and Camps.--Anxiety.- Traces of former Prosperity.-Hập-hüp..Desert Partridges.---Plain of Baghdad. -- Unpleasant Intelligence. ---- Baghdad beleaguered. Stoppage at the Gate..Reach the Residency. 196 LETTER VIII. Charms of Rest.-First Impressions of Baghdad. -Walls. Streets.--Houses.---River and its Banks.---Bazaars and Markets. --Buckingham-Descriptive Extract from his Work. Mosques and Minarets.---Private Houses.--Domestic Scenes and Manners. -Turkish Women. Personal Appearance. --Custom of Tattooing the Skin.Georgian Females--their Children difficult to rear.- Population of Baghdad. Costume in the Time of Daood Pashah. - Military.--Bazaars.--Cook Shops. Apathy of Turkish Mer- vi CONTENTS. chants. —Arabs — their Costume. _Loud Speaking. ---Noises of Baghdad. Page 210 LETTER IX. Causes of the present ruin of Baghdad.—Plague appears in the City—its Progress. The Resident quits Baghdad.-Mr. Groves declines accompanying him.-Progress of the Pestilence.--The Water breaks through the Wall and inundates the City-Seven thousand Houses fall at once, fifteen thousand Persons buried.- The Pashah's Distress.-Caravans overtaken by the Flood. Inundation abates, and also the Disease.—Mr. Groves's Family attacked-his Wife and Child carried off. ---Instances of sweeping Mortality, and Causes thereof.—Effects of the Pestilence in other Places.-Baghdad after the Plague.-Two more Plagues in as many Years.-Mortality at Bussora. 233 LETTER X. Political Consequences of the Plague.-Displeasure of the Porte at Daood Pashah.—Capidjees and Firmauns.—Danish Effendi—is murdered by the Pashah's Orders.—The Pashah's Terrors.-Allee appointed Pashah of Baghdad.—The City besieged.--The Pashah gives himself up.—The City treacherously delivered up.—Daood sent to Constantinople. Measures pursued by Allee.—Murder of the Georgiansmand of Saleh Beg.-Character of Allee Pa- shah's Government. 255 pat LETTER XI. Appearance of the City within and without the Walls.-Politics of the Pashah.—The Jerboah Arabs—they invest the City-Retreat. -The Aneiza Arabs called in—dismissed by the Pashah—they refuse to retire—and invest the City.- Engagement between the Pashah’s Troops and Allies with the Aneiza—the former defeated, and the Jerboah Sheikh slain.-All the neighbouring Population titalo CONTENTS. vi driven within the Walls.--White Asses and Black Slaves. Female Costumes and Apartments.-- Jewels.Occupations.--- Visits.--Voices. General Conduct and Character. Page 268 LETTER XII, Visit to the Pashah~-his Appearance. -Murderous Passages.- The Kiayah and his officers.Clamour of Servants for Presents. --The Pashah's Credulity regarding the Transmutation of Metals. -An adroit Adept and successful Experiment.Dervishes --- their three Classes--the Collegiate--the Endemic--the Peripatetic. -Story of Maamoon-ul-Mustapha. -Visit to the invulnerable Dervishes-- their Tricks and Impositions. Visit to the Shrine of Sheikh Abdul Kâder. The “ Alsatia" of Baghdad. - The Nuqeeb and Shrine..The Roman Catholic Church and Vicar. 289 LETTER XIII. re- The City invested by the Aneiza.All Travellers plundered. Turbulent State of the Shrines and Sanctuaries--Reasons thereof. -Excesses of the Yerrim-mâses.Death of the Shah of Persia. -Roads consequently Unsafe.--Reports.Quarrel with the Ageil. - History of the Ageil - their Settlement in Baghdad quired by the Pashah to quit it. They refuse to move. -The Tribe musters.--The Bridge is cut and firing begins across the River...-Various Reports. Continued fighting.-Application for the Resident's Boat the Turks muster and man her and thus draw upon the Residency. The Boat at length taken across.--The troops land.-A Rush made across the Bridge.Uproar and Pil- lage-Night falls. ---Rumours and Reports.Plunder. The Ageil quit the Town.---Loss of Troops-their Atrocities. 317 a fire LETTER XIV. Arrival of Sheikh Waddee and Solymaun Gunnum.-Visit to the scene of Combat.Appearances.---Camp of the Zobeid Arabs.- viii CONTENTS. Appearance, Arms, &c.—Stealing Horses--and Consequences.-- Camp of the Haitahs.-A Boaster.--News from Persia.— Three Kings of Brentford.—Reports from Tabreez.-The Aneiza de- camp.—The Pashah's Arrangements.-Baghdad Police and Justice. --More Reports from Persia.--Sheikh Waddee.-Kauzemein. Page 337 LETTER XV. Arab Tribes of Mesopotamia.--Arab Character and Tastes.- Blood Feuds.—Arab Revenge.-The Vale of Women.—Extracts from the Journal of a Traveller.—Toorkomans of the Euphrates. -Ben-i-Saeed Arabs.-Hamet-ul-Khaleel.—The Women ugly. --Ul-Fadhee Arabs of Racca. - Loud Talkers. Jungle Arabs. - Decamping and Encamping. - Difference between Jungle or Fellah, and Bedooeen Arabs.— The Golden Days of Plunder.- Power of the Sheikhs and their Families. 354 เเนะ Alberto When CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. LETTER I. 1 Leave Baghdad -Seleucia-Ctesiphon. Arab Sheikhs.--Tauk- e-Kesra.- Cross the Jezreerah to Mahâwil. --Ancient Sites. Wandering in the Dark. - Principal Ruins of Babylon. - The Mujellibeh.View from its Summit. El-Kasr. - Hill of Amrân. -Hillah..The Euphrates.--Impressions of the Day.--An Arab Friend. Pilgrim Servants Page 1 LETTER II. The Birs-e-Nimrood. Speculations on the mode of its Over- throw.-- View from its Summit. Conjectures as to its Origin, Use, and Identity with the Tower of Babel... Bursif, or Borsippa. -A disagreeable Surprise.--Insolent Soldiery.-A Friend in Need and a cold Supper. Antiques of Various Eras 20 LETTER III. A New Year's Wish. - Leave Hillah. Turkish Governor and our Arab Host. Contrast between the The Pilgrims return. a 2 iy CONTENTS. Mode of Cultivation. - Al-Heimer.- Fellah Arabs. - A dreary Ride.-Cold New Year's Night.-Hunger and Thirst.—Marsh on Fire.-Singular Chase.-Camp of the Zobeid.-The Sheikh.-Fair Offer.—Cold Quarters.—Iskhuriah.-Feast of an Arab Sheikh.- Hospitable Expenditure . Page 33 LETTER IV. The Guide Nuisance.—Desert Ride and Bivouac.-Alarm.- Display of Arab Courage.--More dangerous Incident and Provi- dential Escape. - Second Bivouac. — Short Commons. -- Friendly Meeting. - Manæuvre. - Reluctant Hospitality.-- Arab Honesty -Threatening of a “Row.”—The Ben-i-Rikâb.—More Attempts at Thieving.—Primitive Husbandry.-Mâdân Arabs.—Their Charac- ter and Abodes.-More ancient Sites.—Serious Obstacle.- Mode of Crossing a deep Creek.- Another Night with the Mâdâns.-Cross- ing the Euphrates.-Um-Ghyer, a curious Ruin.--First Montefic Camp - Origin and present Condition of the Montefic. - First View of the Montefic Camp.— The Sheikh Absent.-His Employ- ment. 58 LETTER V. Sook-u-Shiookh. Its Bazaars.--Difficulty of procuring Lodg- ings.- Trade of the Place.-A Persian Friend.-Mode of Feeding Guests at Free Cost.-Commerce and its effects.-A Character.- Extortion.—The Sheikh's Tent.-Assembly—and Appearance- His conversation and Coffee.—Leaves us in the Lurch.—We lose a Companion.—Beauties of Sook-u-Shiookh.—We follow the Sheikh to Koote.-Speculations regarding our Homeward Course.—Value of a Sheikh’s Promise. -Second Interview with his Highness.- Doings thereat. -Sheikh's Gift.-We Commence our Return.- The Sheikh's Cousin.-Disposal of his Highness's Presents 105 CONTENTS. LETTER VI. Recross the Euphrates.-An Instance of Oppression.-Sunkhera. Workha: Marashedieh Arabs. Characteristic Meal. - A Sleepless Night-Til-Eide. Vast Mounds and Ancient Ves- tiges. -Guttubeh. - Camp of the Toghiah Arabs. Sites. Bivouac.-Great Cold.-Miss the Sheikh Zobeid's Camp, and fall in with that of the Shummur. Bad Conduct of our Guides, and Extortion of our Hosts.--Obliged to retrace our way Southward to the Sheikh's Camp. Sad Confusion and want there.-More Trouble about Guides. – Reach Shamlee. -- Zibliyeh. — Moollah Allee's Simplicity.-- Moving Sand-hills. Course to Mahawil.- Arrive at Baghdad Page 135 LETTER VII. News, on our Arrival at Baghdad, from Persia. State of that Country-Expedition to Ager Kouf-its Height and Construction. -- An Accident. Preparations for returning homewards 160 LETTER VIII. Leave Baghdad.--Caravanserai Chôle. Ferry over the Diala.- A bold Thief well trounced.-Bakoubah. Supposed Site of Des- taghird. A furious Storm. - Shehrewân. Khanakee. Kars-e- Shireen.---Eeliaut Robbers.--Mâdan Arabs near Zohab.-- Pool-e- Zohâb.---Pass and Town of Kerrend. Haroonabad. Reach Ker- mansha._-The Vizier.-Solymaun Khan Gourâun-his House--the Palace--and Prince 166 LETTER IX. Discomforts of Persian Cities in Rain or Snow. Leave Kerman- shah.--Besittoon and its Antiquities.-Inconvenient Hospitality. vi CONTENTS. - Lose our Road.--Snow and Ice.—Prospect of Starvation averted by a strong measure.— Temple of Diana at Kengaver.-Seyedabad. -Cold Lodgings.—Uncomfortable Anticipations.--Pass of Seyeda- bad.-An awkward Rencounter.-—Fray the Second.-Seyeds and Hadjees.—Reach Hamadan.- Comfortless Caravanserai.— Parting with Servants.-Visit to the Tomb of Esther at Hamadan. Page 195 LETTER X. Leave Hamadan.- Beebeekabad.-Frozen Morass.—Wastes of Snow. - Gaugemnar. — Sore Eyes.-Courcys.- Shemereen. Its two Chiefs. The Secret of how to keep Warm.-Severe Mountain March, and Descent into the Plains. — Pleasant Sight of Familiar Objects, and Arrival at Assiaubeg. 224 LETTER XII. Robaut-e-Kereem.-Reach Tehran.-Successful Completion of my Journey.- Aspect of the Capital under its new Master.— Visit to the Sipurdâr and to Count Simonitch.—Members of the Russian Mission 238 LETTER XIII. Some Particulars relative to the late Shah's Death, and the Ac- cession of the young Monarch, Mahomed Shah.—The late King's Journey to Ispahan.-Motives of that Journey.-Its progress. - His death.—The Firmaun Firmaee assumes the Ensigns of Royalty.--News of the Shah's Death reach Tabreez.-Extreme Difficulty found by the British Envoy there to rouse the Prince and Kaymookâm to action.—Great Exertions of the Envoy and British Officers.—Extraordinary conduct of the Persian Autho- rities.- The Army Marches, the Advance under Sir H. B. Lind- 1 CONTENTS. vii r say. “An Army despatched by the Zil-e-Sultaun to oppose the Prince's Progress. Disbands and joins the Prince's Force. His Royal Highness arrives at Tehrân—is crowned King there.- After great Delay a Force despatched to subdue the South of Persia. – King's Subjection to the Authority of his Minister. Page 246 ! LETTER XIV. The Hakeem Bashee. Visit to the Minister.-Meerza Allee. The Kaymookâm.-A promising Conference abruptly broken up.- Another Interview. A tough and wily Argumentator.--Dietetics. -A strange Meal--and an unsatisfactory interview.--Audience of His Majesty.--A last Visit to the Kaymookâm-singular Place of Reception. A strong Dose of Truth.--News from Home. -Speculations.--Hadjee Aga.--- A Persian Breakfast.--A Russian Breakfast.--Ispahan taken by Sir H. B. Lindsay, and the Fir- maun Firmaee's Amy defeated near Muxood Beggee. Continued perversity of the Kaymookâm.-His Character.—England's Re- sponsibility to Persia.--The Shah and the Bone Setters.--News from Khorasan 263 LETTER XV. veen. - - Leave Tehran.--Chupper.--Chupperchees and their Horses.- Suleimaniah.---Mahomedabad. -Lose our way.-Goomree.-Cas- Difficulties of proceeding.--Abhur. -Extreme Cold. Dying Camel.--Sutanieh.--Zenjaun.-- The Hakim of Arma- ghana. – Akhend. - Kafflan-Koh. - Meeana. Severe Stage to Toorkomanchai.-Oujân..Tabreez.-New Route.-The Ameer-e- Nizâm.--Hakim of Khooe.--Hollow Civility.--A weary Stage. Snug Quarters at Khara Ziazeen. Boundary of Armenia. Tedious Progress. Makoo.--Allee Khan.-A bitter night's Ride. -The Jelâlee Koords. --Bayazeed. -- Diadeen.--Kar-Ecclesia.- viii CONTENTS. Topra Kallah. -- Seydee Khan. — Storm-stayed there. - Severe Struggle in the Pass of Deha. —A bitter Gale.—Hassan Kalleh.-- A last Struggle.--Erzeroom. Page 295 LETTER XVI, Preparations.—Measures for putting down Thieves.--Un- lucky Start. — Ashkallah. Irâkh. - An old Halting-place.- Koords.-Snow again.-Elma Dagh.-Chifflick. - Sheerannee.- Familiar Scenery. — A gallop to Kara Hissar. — A nervous Stage to Kulee Hissar. — Disappointment and Delay. — Cold weather. -Coffee. — Baking. - Interesting Scenery. – Niskar. — Tocât. Toorkhal. - A Dilemma. - Drowsiness. - Amasia, Marsteewan. - Drekler Dagh.-Ride in the Dark. — Surmâs-e- Kiayah. — Hadjee Humza. - Successful Remonstrance. — Tosia - Khoja-Hissâr. — Karajurân.-- Karajillâr. — The Hour of Rest. - Humâmloo. — Bitter Night's Ride. Gheriza. Boli -- its Plains and Pass, Ducheh. Severe Stage to Khunduc. Wet Ride to Sabanjah.— Ismîd. - Change of Conveyance.—Cus- tom-house Interference. Rough Driving. - Reach Constan- tinople 344 LETTER XVII. Anxieties of a Traveller.-Interesting Rencounters. Therapia. - Magnificent Plane-tree. — The Bosphorus. — Constantinople.- Mosques. Cisterns. Seraskier's Tower. Madhouse. - The Hippodrome. -- The Serai. - Aqueducts. The Et-Maidaun.- Dancing Dervishes. — March of Improvement. — Gradual Changes affecting even the Ladies.—Turkey and Poland. Speculations. 387 LETTER XVIII. Start from Constantinople.-Sillivria.-Rain and Mud.-Chorli. -Bourgos.--Eskee Baba.-Apsa. - Adrianople.—Heavy Rain.- ! CONTENTS. ix Ibepcheh. — Hermanlee. — Bulgarian Haymakers.-- Simple Bi- vouac. - Eskew.-Philipopoli. -Hard Gallopping.Irresistible Drowsiness. - Ihtumân. - Sopia.- Hard Riding. - Bulgarian Costume.--Khalkhallee.-Expense of Posters.--Ak-Palanka --- A Tumble.--The last Balcan. Robbers.--Tower of Skulls. Nissa. --Frontiers of Servia.--Nightingales. Active Suragee.- Delay at Jagodina. --Trick prevented.- Tedious Ride. - Light- hearted Traveller.--Servian Fare and Music.--Caution to Tra- vellers.-Adieu to Turkish Posting.--Rest Page 409 LETTER XIX. Austrian Guard-houses.-Entrance into Limbo.-Ceremonies thereon.-Lodgings.--Arrangements.-A Day in Quarantine. Description of the Lazaretto. Ceremonies and Arrangements on Exit.-A Supper.---National Dishes and Games.--Arrival of Courier.- Start from Semlin-Bad Roads and Horses.-Car- lovitz. Peterwaradin. Keep the Right Bank of the Danube. Sclavonian Scenery.--Essek its Capital.-Fünfkerkhen. Post- horses found by the Proprietors of Estates.-Grand Kanitza.-- Stein-en-Anger. - Guntz. - Oldenburgh.Reach Vienna.- Ar- rangements.--- Leave Vienna.--Rapid Course to Frankfort, Brus- sels, and Home. 448 VOL. II. 美 ​ TRAVELS IN KOORDISTAN AND MESOPOTAMIA. LETTER I. Causes of protracted stay at Tabreez.--Healthy climate of that place.--Its environs and aspect.-Gardens.-Fruit-Yeilaks. Prosperity.--Causes of. Trade. -- Mahomed Meerza.- His court. Causes of its dulness. The Kaymookâm.-His cha- racter and power.-Visit to the Prince Royal. Summary castigation. > Tabreez, 4th October 1834. DEAR I need scarcely apologize for the compara- tive length of time that has elapsed between the dates of my last and present letter, nor for the con- ciseness of the former communication. You well know the lassitude which succeeds any long sus- tained effort of body or mind; and, in my case, both were so jaded by the time I reached this place, that for many days I could do little but enjoy the repose which it afforded me, and the social comforts to r VOL. I. В 2 SWEETS OF REPOSE. C!** BI which the soul, like a long bent bow, flew back with double zest. I revelled in the full sense of liberty and security, and rejoiced in the kindness and hos- pitality of the many friends who were gathered here together. Our days now flow on in peace, undis- turbed by many causes of excitement, although some such do occasionally occur-and, like the seaman fresh from a voyage of hardship and a dangerous shipwreck, I luxuriate in this quiet though passive enjoyment, and shrink a little from the approach- ing necessity of once more getting into action. My horses, poor brutes, I have no doubt do more than participate in these sedentary tastes, as they are, in fact, the great cause of so long an indulgence ; for until they get into something like condition, their master cannot move. Nor are my servants, worn out with the Ghilânee fever, a bit more desirous to disturb the repose they enjoy, than the master they serve, or the beasts they tend. Were I to select a spot the best calculated for this renovating process—for the recovery of health, or for its preservation,- I know not that I could hit upon any more suited to the purpose than Tabreez at this season, or, indeed, at any season, so far as I am A brighter sky and purer air than those which the inhabitants of this town and its envi- rons breathe and live under, can scarcely be found. To me it seems as if there truly was “ health in the breeze” that blows around me. In fact, the occa- sional excess of this breeze is about the only draw- back here to comfort, so far as atmospheric influence is concerned, for the temperature is delightful. The aware. STEINE are the CLIMATE OF TABREEZ. 3 sun would be hot during the middle part of the day, but that this breeze cools his ardours effectually ; and we must forgive the clouds of dust which it raises, even though they blind and choke the un- fortunates whom business forces to go out during the prevalence of the gale. During the months of June, July, and August, the heat in the town itself is no doubt considerable ; but September relieves the inhabitants in part, and Oc- tober, at times, is actually cold. Both heat and cold are dry and wholesome, quite unlike the stifling alternations which render Tehran and its environs so unhealthy in summer; and the evenings and mornings are at all times heavenly. What skies ! what pure, brilliant ether! It is a delight to escape from the confinement of the mud walls and dusty lanes of the city, even to the broken ground beyond them ; but you have no need to linger in the most disgusting part of the environs of all oriental cities, the immediate vicinity of the walls, where pits and hollows, and irregularities of every sort, burying-grounds with their mouldering tombstones and yawning graves, ruined walls and heaps of rubbish, and carrion and abominations of all de- scriptions conspire to sicken the passenger, and where the hurrying to and fro of mules and asses, yaboos, horses, and camels, loaded and unloaded, with their rude riders and ruder drivers, obstruct and perplex the paths ;-no, get through all this as fast as you can, and by the shortest way, taking all possible care that you fall into no hole, slip from no treacherous bridge into the watercourse below, nor get в 2 A VIEW OF TABREEZ. Hit 4 14 . lost in the labyrinth of broken enclosures into which you plunge, with intent to extricate yourself from some interminable string of camels or jackasses, loaded with weeds for fuel. If If you succeed, you will pro- bably find yourself on a fine hard open plain, where you may give your horse the rein, and permit his pent-up spirits, like your own, to have free scope, and expatiate in the mighty space around you. Then pause as you crown some gentle acclivity, and cast a backward glance on the busy scene you have quitted-on the thronged city--the abode of so much human passion and human woe -- with its little sprinkling of happiness, like the seasoning of a tasteless or bitter dish. And a fair and pleasant sight, with all its faults, you will confess Tabreez to be, as you gaze upon it from some little height to the eastward or north, just far enough removed to lose the sense of its mean mud-built houses, and the imperfections of its ill-kept walls, its old ark, and one or two mi- narets towering above the mingled mass of buildings and trees; for there are several gardens within the place, and a perfect forest of orchards envelope it on all sides, stretching far beyond its precincts into the plain. Then the well-known red hills, with the more distant peaks that tower above them, and the blue mountains that skirt Lake Shahee on the north, and the lofty crests of Sahund, still spotted with snow and gilt and empurpled by the rays of the setting sun, which also edges with flame a mass of low clouds resting on the distant lake ; all this, mellowed and harmonized by the soft GARDENS AND FRUIT. 5 mysterious haze of the hour, forms a panoramic pic- ture which, though deficient in the rich luxuriant beauty peculiar to more western climes, possesses, I assure you, a sublimity and expansive grandeur of its own, which must strike with admiration every únprejudiced observer of nature. The gardens of Tabreez are another pleasant and fertile resource for the indwellers of the city, for their collective extent is immense, and there are many of large size, to which access is easily obtained ; and if one is fond of fruit he may indulge, for the merest trifle, to the fullest excess. Give the Bâghwân, or keeper of the garden, but a single saheb kerán- value one English shilling, and half a dozen of you may revel in the finest peaches, the juiciest necta- rines, the most luscious grapes, pears that vie with if they do not surpass in flavour, the finest Jargo- nelle or Bon Chrétien, or Gloux-morceaux, or any other of the most celebrated kinds of Europe; as for melons of the richest sorts, they are a drug. Fruit in Tabreez, as generally throughout Persia, is, in fact, so plentiful and cheap, that it forms a great portion of the food of the common people, who eat it in quantities that would make any of us in less prolific countries stare : for instance, a Per- sian thinks nothing of eating two mauns—that is, fourteen pounds' weight of either common or water- melon-and scrape their skins clean too. Now, calculating the seeds and offal at a third, the re- mainder will be a pretty sufficient allowance for one individual. How their stomachs can contain and retain so monstrous a burthen of crude vegetable 6 EFFECTS OF EXCESS. 1 matter, it is difficult to comprehend; but it is often not with impunity. The insulted and overtaxed organ frequently gets sulky, and refuses to perform its office, and the gormandizer is punished for his excess by a surfeit, which terminates in a severe fever. Excess in food, particularly in fruit, is, in truth, a chief cause of all the illness which prevails here-for even this favoured spot is far from being exempted from the common doom; people do get ill and die here, as in all other parts of this terrestrial globe, and perhaps there is no more pregnant cause of such afflictions than over indulgence in eating. In Persia, I am sure it is so; for though the Per- sians are generally temperate in their habits, they one and all are given to occasional excess, and prince and peasant suffer alike in this way from the most disgusting debauches. It is not many months since the King nearly made an end of himself, by persist- ing in devouring quantities of a particular favourite soup; and on my way from Khorasan, one of my guards, being furnished gratis--that is, at my ex- pense,—with plenty of good cheer, ate, two nights running, a quantity of pillaw sufficient for five hearty men; the consequence was an illness, from which I doubt if he ever recovered. In like manner two of my own servants brought on a fever at Resht, by immoderate gluttony at a feast which they made with money I had given them. I could give many other instances within my own know- ledge, but the detail would be disgusting. To invalids a change of air is as essential as medicine, more so indeed, I should say, judging Pembe Fato CHANGE OF AIR. 7 from personal experience, even were it from a fine atmosphere to another intrinsically less good. The inhabitants of Tabreez are blessed with the means of such a salutary change, perhaps beyond most others, for its neighbourhood abounds in delightful mountain abodes, where assuredly the air is of an unrivalled freshness and purity. About seven fur- sucks, or twenty-five miles, southward, in the moun- tains of Sahund, there is a village called Leewân, which gives its name to a pleasant valley in which runs a fine clear mountain stream. Perhaps not the least recommendation of this retreat is the fine trout with which this stream is tolerably stored, and which afford both pleasant pastime and food to those who seek its banks ; and hither do the English party often repair and pitch their tents in a climate as cool and bracing as that of the mountains of Scot- land or of Wales. Then in another direction there is the Chunmun, or natural pasture of Oojaun, where the royal camp was wont to be pitched, and where the brood mares of the prince are now kept ; and there is Serâb, an elevated tract on the road to Ardebeel, with its fine trout stream, and the noble highland districts of Khalkhal and Miskeen, if you wish to go further a-field. In short, I look upon Tabreez to be the best situated, as it is in point of fact the first, of Persian cities; for though Ispahan undoubtedly covers infinitely more ground, the prin- cipal part of that ancient capital is a maze of ruins, amongst which the remaining population is thinly scattered, and there is about it an air of decay and fallen state which is exceedingly depressing. Ta- 8 PROSPERITY OF TABREEZ. 19 IN breez, on the contrary, is a city which is every day improving, and its population increasing ; there are few or no ruins in it, but you constantly see the streets blocked up with the materials for building or repairing houses, and there reigns in it an air of bustle and prosperity which, except in Tehran, you observe nowhere in Persia, and not even there, to the same extent. Far be it from me to insinuate that this prosperity has its origin in any uncommon advantage derived from a better system of government; in that re- spect neither Tabreez in particular, nor Azerbijaun in general, has much cause for rejoicing beyond the rest of the country. Abbas Meerza did indeed make some progress in fixing the revenues of the province upon a systematic scale, and, while he resided here, in enforcing their collection, but as- suredly the welfare or prosperity of the Ryots were but secondary objects of his consideration, and though, while he administered affairs in person, there might be less of arbitrary exaction, every village was taxed to the utmost it could well bear. Since the time he left the province, however, and devoted himself to the subjugation of Khorasan, his government of Azerbijaun, subjected to the tyranny of his brothers, who were left in charge, had, Heaven knows, little to congratulate itself on, nor had either citizens or villagers much cause to rejoice in the tender mercies of these princes. No, Tabreez owes its comparative prosperity to that great engine of civilization, improvement, and enrichment, commerce. It is the greatest Puth 1 CAUSES THEREOF. 9 trading mart in Persia. It is the entrepôt where meet the roads from Teflis and from Asia Minor, from east, west, north, and south, whence caravans arrive to pour the wealth of all nations into its lap. From Teflis and from Resht comes all the Russian produce which the western and southern provinces of Persia consume, together with the little foreign trade which the late absurd prohibitory tariff of Russia has left to her Georgian capital. From Erzeroom is poured in the vast and increasing stream of European manufactures--chiefly English goods, which flows to the lately opened port of Trebizond, or arrives by the more tedious land routes through Asia Minor from Constantinople; while, by the avenues and commercial channels of Persia itself, arrive the valuable productions of India, Tartary, Arabia, &c. to fill its bazaars. Where custom-house regulations are so lax, and bribery and corruption so universal, it would be no easy matter to calculate the amount of trade which this capital enjoys; but I have little doubt, from what I could collect, that its European trade, including of course that with Russia, approaches a million sterling, * and that this is at least equalled by its Asiatic and internal commerce; and though the Dons of London, and Liverpool, and Glasgow, and Bristol, may turn up their noses at so petty a concern, let me tell them that it is a very fair amount for a country so poor and ruined as Persia, and a very pretty commencement to a traffic which, * There are now good grounds for knowing that it exceeds this, and is annually increasing. 10 ATTRACTIONS OF TABREEZ. so far as Great Britain is concerned, is yet in its infancy. I fear I must have wearied you with this “ de- scant” on Tabreez, but I have done-you need fear no elaborate account of its public buildings, for it has none worth describing. The old ark or citadel, perhaps the work of Caliph Haroon-ul-Rasheed, frowns in ruins over the modern city, and the re- mains of an ancient mosque or two are all that are seen besides from the top of its battlements, which command a most extensive view. Perhaps one of the most valuable attractions of Tabreez is, its com- paratively close vicinity to Europe, and the facility it affords of getting rapidly out of “the land of Paynimrie” into Christian countries ; for a run of four hundred miles, to Teflis, places you in Eu- ropean society and manners; a journey but little longer will carry you to Trebizond, from whence a snug vessel may waft you either to Constantinople or to England; and if you affect the speed and com- forts of a Tatar trip, the road by Erzeroom through Asia Minor is open, and you may reach the fairest city of Islam at a reasonable expense of time, money, and bodily fatigue. To me, I confess, that these facilities were no trifling recommendation, as I hope in no long time to profit by them, on my return to England. England ! home! what a thrill do these two little words produce in every vein! what a sud- den impulse do they give the blood whenever I think on them! Let the man who growls at the fancied evils and petty annoyances that meet him there, and to which, like every child of Adam, he is bore A PRINCE IN THE GOUT. 11 heir, uproot himself from his native soil, quit the comforts of his home, and roam about for a while in lands like these, and if he does not learn to hate his wayward petulance, and long enthusiastically for a restoration to the blessings he has so culpably undervalued, he deserves to be doomed to perpetual wandering and banishment. You may wonder, perhaps, that in all this effusion about Tabreez, I have omitted saying a word about the young prince whose residence it is the heir apparent of Persia, and his court. The fact is, that at this moment there is little to be said upon the subject. Almost ever since I came here, Mahomed Meerza has been confined with a fit of the gout, and the army is absent on the frontiers of Turkey, and with it most of the officers who would have given glitter and bustle to the court. “ Gout!” you will exclaim,-" a prince of Persia in the gout? what an absurd idea, --what an incongruity !" and so it is, I grant; for with a prince of Persia, or any Persian, one is apt to associate notions of slenderness and ac- tivity, gracefulness and capital horsemanship. The idea of a fat body and swollen legs, seems abso- lutely foreign to the creature. But Mahomed Meerza, although only twenty-eight years of age, is actually a very corpulent young man, and has, from his mother's family, a hereditary taint of gout, which has unhappily been early excited into action by the unlimited indulgence of an excellent appe- tite, for the most difficult task of his royal high- ness's medical advisers, is to induce him to be temperate in eating. Business, too, prevents him, 12 CAUSES FOR DULNESS IN THE COURT. F while living in cities, from taking that extent of exercise which his natural disposition to fulness requires, and thus he is reminded of his excesses, and punished for them, by an occasional sharp fit of gout. But there are other causes which tend to curtail the brilliancy of the prince's court, and of these poverty is one. He has returned from the Khora- san campaigns to an empty treasury, and to find the resources of the province, from whence it should be replenished, exhausted and forestalled by the atro- cious peculations of his brothers, and certain other individuals in whom his father had placed confi- dence. Of the former, two, namely, Jehangeer Meerza, and Khosroo Meerza, have been sent to well-merited confinement in the fortress of Arde- beel. These young men are both so worthless that their own mother declared it impossible to tell which was the worst. There is a yet more curious reason for the quiet- ness of his court. The whole real power in Azer- bijaun is at this moment vested in the person of the prince's prime minister, Meerza Abool Caussim, to whom I have already introduced you under the title of Kaymookârn, and with whom you may re- member I had an interview at Muzeenoon. This minister, as he is one of the most prominent, is also one of the strangest characters in all Persia, nor are his manners and appearance less remarkable than his mental qualities. Conceive a man of somewhat more than middle size, exceedingly heavy and cor- pulent, with much rotundity of paunch, coarse fea- 25 THE KAYMOOKÂm. 13 V tures, small but very prominent eyes, so short- sighted as to suggest the idea of purblindness, yet keen and bright withal; a great ugly mouth gar- nished with long, irregular, prominent, yellow fangs, which an hideous habitual and stupid gape always ex- poses to view-conceive all these, and you will say that they do not compose a very promising exterior; and certainly the external attributes of the Kaymoo- kâm would be more suitable to a stupid village boor, than to the first statesman of an empire. It is true that a good-humoured yet somewhat sarcastic smile at times brightens up the lower part of his coun- tenance, while the upper features are illumined by a quick glance from his glimmering optics; but to my apprehension, there is unquestionably nothing in the outward appearance of the Kaymookâm to herald the talent and shrewdness which it is as- serted he possesses. Nor are his demeanour and personal habits cal- culated to impress strangers, Europeans at least, with more favourable ideas of his character and endowments. He can be civil and even polite when it suits his purpose, but he can be quite as imper- tinent and gross; and it requires a strong and steady hand to restrain him, when his devil tempts him to be insolent or abusive. Like many of the Persian great, he is a monstrously foul feeder, and his feats in devouring melons and cucumbers, as commonly related, seem utterly incredible. I have heard, for instance, of his gobbling up seven mauns, or fifty pounds of melons at a sitting, and it is cer- tain that he indulges in this way to such an excess, 14 THE KAYMOOKÂM. 599 -- Ver as to be for a time incapable of moving. A gentle- man once, in passing over the ground where his excellency had been encamped with a military force, towards the Turkish border, observed a temporary tent formed of some spears stuck in the ground and covered with a few horse-cloths and great coats. On riding up to see who could be there, he dis- covered that it was the minister, who, having gorged so much of a favourite sort of melon that he could not move, had been placed by his attendants under this temporary shelter, erected for the purpose, until his excellency should be able to proceed. As a man of business he stands unequalled in public estimation for universal talent. He is an able financier; understands, and it is asserted can regulate and command, the resources of the country --is well acquainted with the condition of every province; and none, they say, comes near him in knowledge of foreign relations and management of foreign policy. But that for which he is most cele- brated I had almost said notorious,- is the art of political intrigue, so much admired by Persians, and, more shame to the age, not less encouraged in civilized Europe; the art, in other words, of cheating others—of making them believe what the intriguer desires, however wide of the truth, to serve his own purposes—of deceiving and lying through thick and thin to compass the ends he has in view. No one who knows the Kaymookâm expects a word of truth from him, and thus it happens, that even when the honest gentleman may find it his interest to stick to facts, he seldom meets with credit. Yet Land 119 A itori 24 MONOPOLIZATION OF BUSINESS. 15 it is strange how easily so well-known a deceiver does manage to create the impression he desires to make-men are so easily gulled with fair words. It is a principle with the Kaymookâm never to deny any one a request, so that he contrives to send petitioners from his presence soothed and contented, if not confident; for if you ask these very persons how they came to give credit to his fair words, they will reply, "We do not believe them, we don't give credit to a word he has said,” and yet they leave him obviously pleased and ele- vated with this gaseous food. That so systematic a deceiver should expect deception on the part of others is but natural, and, accordingly, we find the Kaymookâm to be the most suspicious of mortals. He can confide in no one, and consequently is forced to perform, or at least to undertake, all manner of business himself, both in gross and in detail. In affairs of political consequence, he will admit of no participation or assistance; for instance, not a soul has been privy to what has passed in the course of certain im- portant negotiations which he has been carrying on of late with the minister of Russia; he receives, reads, and answers all letters connected with them himself. The consequence of this absurd monopoly is obvious; nine-tenths of all that should be done is left unaccomplished, and that which is done, in spite of his great talents as a writer, is imperfectly executed. Of all his qualifications, whether natural or acquired, there is none, next perhaps to his talents as a statesman,--that is, political intriguer,--on 16 MONOPOLIZATION OF BUSINESS. 4 then which he values himself more than his skill at the pen, both in expression and in handwriting - a great object of ambition to learned Persians. He considers himself the first scribe of his day, and freely boasts of it: he confesses himself a personal coward. “I am a coward, I admit it,” he is wont to say; “I hate your swords and guns, and fight- ing; but show me the man who will match me at the pen : I will fight him at that as long as he pleases ;” and, it is true, the minister is by con- stitution, physically and politically, a coward — never was so timid a mortal, though at the pen he is as bold as a lion. He is, moreover, naturally indolent-it is only necessity that stimulates him to activity. Thus, when he has contrived to bustle through one affair, he is so delighted with the breathing-time it gives him, that the application of some powerful impulse is required to set him to work again. The increasing press of business sometimes overwhelms him so that he flies to his underoon, or to his bath, for refuge, and there endeavours to keep the enemy at bay till he can dispose of the most urgent matters. But even there the roar of neglected suitors will penetrate, and he suddenly escapes to a distant village to avoid his persecutors : in vain, they are at his heels ; he dashes off to another - there is no rest; his own people are constrained to join the hue and cry, and, wearied out and in despair, he at length returns to his own quarters, and abandons himself to the badgering, which can no longer be shunned. The consequences of this miserable system are AN APPOINTMENT. 17 can frightful, injustice of all sorts to a terrible extent prevails, and such an outcry is raised against himself and his master, that I cannot imagine that the thing can long go on. With regard to the court, the state of which gave rise to this essay on the Kay- mookâm's character, the effect produced is remark- able ; for the Prince is placed by his minister in a complete state of surveillance. No one approach his person without permission of the Kaymookâm ; and few like to rouse a jealousy that may be fatal to themselves by evincing any de- sire to be much near the person of their sovereign. Hence that sovereign is almost deserted, and little of state or pomp appears either in or about the palace. On my arrival at Tabreez, it was judged proper and respectful to announce my return from Kho- rassan, and my disposition to wait upon his Ex- cellency so soon as he might have leisure to receive me. The reply was, that he had a great deal to say to me, and would see me as soon as he could find a moment disengaged. That moment, how- ever, not having been announced in the course of the ensuing week, I sent to his Excellency some pa- pers, which it had been my intention to deliver per- sonally, with a message expressive of my regret that I should probably have to leave the country without an opportunity of paying him my respects. This pro- duced two appointments running, both of which failed. A third led me to his house one morning about seven o'clock. The servants told me that their master was in VOL. I. 18 A VISIT TO THE MINISTER. kateri 1 to go. the bath. “Oh, very well,” replied I, “then I'm off. I can't wait here two hours on the mere chance of seeing your master.” But they entreated me to stay, as their master would never forgive them if they permitted me to go, &c. and promised that I should not have to wait above half an hour. So I followed them into a poor small apartment, having a table, with six or eight English chairs ranged around it. I had taken the precaution of bringing some business to occupy me in case detention, and after being thus employed for half an hour, a servant brought me a caleeoon. I asked him when his master was coming. “In about an hour he will come out of the bath,” replied he. “ Then I will wait no longer,” said I, and rose No, no, no," exclaimed he, earnestly, “don't go ; the Kaymookâm will be here in a few minutes ;" so again I sat down, and in about fifteen minutes, the bustle of servants and shuffling of slippers announced the great man's approach. In the mean time, however, the court before the windows had become full of people of all sorts and degrees, Khans, Begs, Moollahs, Meerzas, mer- chants, soldiers, peasants, messengers going, and messengers returning, &c. all of whom had some petition to present, or some request to prefer, and to all of whom, with exemplary patience, did his Ex- cellency address some compliment or word of salu- tation, while, with a patience no less praiseworthy, did I stand at the window watching the progress of this comet with the great tail. At length, his eye fell on me, and incontinently did there issue INTERRUPTIONS. 19 from his mouth a whole volley of compliments and inquiries in the Persian fashion, with many assu- rances that “mỹ place had long been empty ;" that “ I had brought light to his eyes, and that "he had a thousand things to say to me.” He then entered the room, scattering compliments like flowers on all sides, took a chair, ordering another to be placed near his own for me-made all the world sit down ; turned to me, and, taking a roll of paper from a secretary, began instantly to write upon it fast, fast, leaving me with my mouth half agape to catch the expected communication, and prepare for my reply. This farce was continued for a considerable time, when up started a fellow at the bottom of the room with a long story about some money he had been sent to collect, but which he swore a dozen men and more along with him, would not be able to wrest from the people. His clamour or energy, to give it no stronger name, aroused the minister's attention ; up went the eye from the paper as if awakened from a dream, and began to blink at the man; but he instantly entered on the business, heard the statement, and directed what was to be done with infinite minuteness. The spell thus bro- ken, papers and notes without number were thrust into the hands of two attendants, who passed them with ludicrous rapidity into the great man's hand, He took them mechanically, as it seemed, and began to read them. His manner of performing this operation is most curious. From extreme short- sightedness, he cannot distinguish a letter unless C 2 20 A READY READER. HLE MIE 1 LLC MHAT e thai 101 2018 the writing be within an inch of his eye; so he draws the paper backwards and forwards, or up and down the range of that organ, touching his very nose ; but as his sight, when the object is within proper range, is extremely quick, the sense of a piece of writing is gathered with a celerity that seems like intuition; and the mechanical part of the business is performed so rapidly, that one would swear he was gravely rubbing his nose with a piece of paper, instead of reading a letter. Such was his occupation for a good half hour, attending to no one except those who came into the room, when, being informed by an attendant of their name and rank, he always politely requested them to be seated. As for me, I sat patiently and much amused, watching the scene, until an Italian physician, with whom I had some acquaintance, came in, and, observing how his Excellency was occupied, gave me a smile, and asking, as much as to say, “Ah, if this is the case, no hope for us." Of this I had become convinced, and availed myself of the little bustle his entrance had occasioned to ask my leave, observing that his Excellency had obviously now no leisure to listen to my communi- cations. But “ No, no, no !” exclaimed his Ex- cellency, rapidly, “not at all — you must not go: I have a great deal to say; and, see, I am quite ready.” So he drew my chair closer, jerking his own, at the same time, nearer to mine, and there we sat, poking our heads at each other in the most con- fidential-looking attitude, till they almost touched. But the fates were adverse; scarcely had his proe- WA he AN OVERWHELMING ATTACK. 21 mium commenced, when a fresh handful of the vile little notes were again thrust forward. His Excellency rejected them. "Don't you see that I am engaged with the Saheb ?” said he to the secretary, in a voice of remonstrance and entreaty, rather than of anger. The secretary smiled, and withdrew the notes. " And what am I to do then, your Excellency?" roared out some Gholaum or Beg, who, with shulwars on, and all his riding geer, was standing at the bottom of the room waiting to be despatched ; " here am I delayed all this time.” The look which this appeal attracted to the speaker was almost instantly diverted to another person, evidently the messenger of some great man, who, in more respectful guise, yet also at the top of his voice demanded, " And what reply to the Khan's letter, my lord ? He fully expects an immediate answer.” —"And let me represent to your Ex- cellency," said an attendant in a low voice, “that this petition requires instant attention.” The poor Kaymookâm looked infinitely distressed, fidgeted on his chair, gazed vacantly first at the note, then at the attendant, as if to see whether he could still evade his fate; then, like the fascinated animal which reluctantly but helplessly throws itself into the snake's jaws, seized the paper, and skimmed its contents. It was but the signal for a general and overpowering attack. Ere a reply had been given to the first, a dozen of other papers were thrust forth, and mechanically grasped as before. His Excellency cast at me a deprecatory look, to which I replied with a bow, dissolving at the same 22 A FAREWELL. NY 201 UW ht time the close union of our chairs. The battle was plainly lost. “The horses are ready, your Excellency, and the road is long; the sun is getting hot,” said an attendant accoutred for riding, who now appeared at the door, and who doubtless had been from the first ordered to come thus to the rescue. It was the signal for breaking up. “I am really very sorry, Saheb Fraser,” said his Excellency to me,-“I am quite ashamed on your account ; but forgive me that I am forced to go — there are some of the Princes, &c. waiting for me. I am greatly ashamed ; but, inchallah, on my return I have much to say and to hear.” I uttered a few astafferullahs ! and inchallahs ! in their proper places, in reply to these self-condemnatory and civil expressions of the great man, and made my bow with a “May your favour never diminish !" -“ Khodah humraee shumah ! Khodah nigahdarit !” — May God be with you ! may he watch over you !" responded he, and we sepa- rated, and thus terminated this strange interview. It was no disappointment to me, for I had nothing to ask nor expect - I had to give and not receive information ; in fact, as to worming information out of the Kaymookâm, no one ever dreams of it; if he did, he would be like him that went to gather wool, but came back shorn - he would surely be well pumped himself. But such is exactly his conduct with others on occasions of still more importance, however pressing may be the business. Even when he can be in- duced to make a khelwut, or private audience, for at bra DIMINUTION OF OUR PARTY. 23 a special purpose, his eunuchs, privileged persons, constantly bring in vile little notes, which he as constantly reads, at times pulling out his pen-case and answering them, to the total interruption of the business on hand. To such an extent does this go, that I have known the gentlemen of our mission forced to break up their appointed interviews, when thus interrupted, in order to testify their sense of the impropriety of such conduct when practised towards them: such is the stuff of which ministers are sometimes made in Persia ; thus are her affairs now managed and her hopes of improvement crushed -and thus is it like to continue, unless some power- ful influence be exerted to put her affairs to rights. I have not yet mentioned that our party of Eu- ropeans has been greatly reduced of late, by the departure of the greater part of our detachment of officers for the Persian camp, which, as I have said, is now on the Turkish frontier, in order to bring to a settlement, by a demonstration of force, certain disputes connected with the respective claims of each country, on certain tribes of Koordish Eeliauts - wanderers in more senses than ne, for, living on the border, upon any cause of dissatisfaction, real or imaginary, from either government, off they go across the frontiers into the territories of the neigh- bouring state, and set at nought the claims of that in which they may previously have been living. While these gentlemen were with us, our British party was strong, mustering, with sergeants and all, about forty persons; and what with sporting parties and dinner parties, we made it out very pleasantly. 24 A SUDDEN DEPARTURE. 2. WAAN But we are now shorn of our beams, and, as is often the case, in such communities, where all men have some specific duty to attend to, a general break up is in the course of occurrence. Thus Macneill has left us at a moment's warning. The commandant of the detachment next, and four of his officers are sent to camp; then unfortunate I am just about to get another kick, which will set me a-spinning like a tee-totum for several months, and so it fares-- fresh faces come and go-" come like shadows, so depart" Macneill's departure was to me a painful affair, for with him I lost the aid and counsel of my best friend; circumstances rendered it necessary that a most confidential person should, at this time, proceed to England with all speed; and, accordingly, to the no small surprise of the British residents here, from whom, as well as from others, the measure had, for sufficient reasons, been kept secret, that gentleman's place was one fine morning, in Persian phrase, “ found empty." empty.” At early dawn I called on him, and found him cramming his baggage into Tatars' bags. In two hours I shook hands with him-saw him mounted on one of my dear old friends, the chupper horses - and off he went, followed by the good wishes of all the party, when they knew of his intended journey. It was one of those rapid move- ments which takes us by surprise ---one of those sudden events which sometimes change the face of the most monotonous societies, and rouse those within its circle of operation, only to plunge them into deeper dulness than before ; nor were matters improved by the desertions that followed. 3.VN SUMMARY EXECUTION. 25 A few days ago I accompanied the envoy to visit the Prince-- the heir apparent of the kingdom. He received us in a rather handsome apartment, plainly dressed, and sitting upon a chair, of which four others were placed for our party. He was perfectly gracious, and apparently desirous to make himself agreeable to us all; but such visits are always stiff, and the thick and rapid enunciation of his Royal High- ness renders it very difficult for a stranger to follow what he says. His countenance is handsome and gracious, but his person, even already, is so fat that he promises to become a monster of corpulence. His disposition, though inclined to indolence, is ami- able ; but like many such tempers, when roused be- comes as violent and determined as it had previously been mild or irresolute. An instance of this oc- curred the other day, when, on occasion of a scarcity of bread, some Moollah, who had made himself very busy, came into the Prince's presence, and forgot him- self so far as to speak with disrespect, and even with rudeness. The Prince bore it for some time, but at length, roused to anger, started up and ordered his attendants to take and strangle the man instantly ; a sentence which was executed on the spot. A si- milar doom was nearly inflicted upon a man of some rank, only the other day. He was a chief of Kara- dagh, who had been rather addicted to taking li- berties with other men's necks, and plundering and pillaging a little on his own account. I do not re- collect the precise exciting cause, but he had been endeavouring to excuse his own deeds to the Prince, in a manner which appears to have produced an 26 AN UNPLEASANT OPERATION. effect directly opposite to that intended; for his Royal Highness, getting into a fury, ordered the Furoshes to tie a rope about the chief's own neck, and drag him for a while about the yard. This opera- tion was performed till the man became insensible, when one of the officers in presence, unbuckling his sword, placed it in the hands of the executioners, as a pledge of reward, provided he would desist till his Royal Highness should be entreated to pardon the culprit. The pardon was granted at the officer's request, but the culprit's recovery from the rude treatment he had undergone was long doubtful. I must close this rambling epistle, as there is a messenger which may possibly catch Macneill, and I must now set about preparing for my journey to Baghdad, in right earnest. Adieu ! Inig na hal ب a of burg Ik 27 LETTER II. Travelling reflections and preparations.—Dinner with the Kay- mookâm. Details of a guest establishment.-Habits of a Minis- nister of State.-Rocket practice.-- Leave Tabreez.-Deeza- Khaleel. - Tessouje. 12th October, Tessouje, a village DEAR on the Lake Shahee. I REPLIED in a very hurried manner to your letters of They found me, as I told you, in the bustle of departure, and somewhat depressed at the prospect of quitting my good friends here to commence another long and toilsome journey. I am one of those who think a good thing is all the better of being enjoyed in company with a friend. “What a fine thing,” exclaims some French author, “is solitude! if we had but some one with us, to whom we might say, 'how beautiful is solitude !"" and so in my opinion is it with travelling. Without a companion to interchange ideas with, to whom we can communicate our ideas with hope of sympathy, the finest country and the grandest scenery at length cease to interest. And when, in addition to the want of such companion, there exist causes of care and anxiety, travelling, like solitude, becomes but a sorry amusement. I know that such a confession will be hooted at 28 TRAVELLING REFLECTIONS. Lizunderan ne that obno FIN JUULI WC ats, by the young and ardent, whose fiery zeal bids de- fiance alike to the chill of doubt, and the depressing influence of anxiety and loneliness; and the day has been when to roam about, almost at will, over coun- tries wild and wide, with just enough of hazard and uncertainty to correct the tameness of perfect se- curity, and with the chance, if not the certainty, of almost daily adventures, would have been ecstacy ! the very height of romantic delight ;- “ Bound where thou wilt, my barb; or speed my prow; Be but the star that guides my wanderings ;—" love of adventure, if you will — danger for danger's- sake. But the sad realties of life have a good deal tempered this quixotic spirit. The hand of time, in passing over the mind, sobers the imagination as it whitens the hair. In speculation, it is true, these pictures of the fancy still wear a fascinating hue, as the most rugged mountains, seen from a distance, display the most bewitching effects-as reading of dangers and adventures charms the happy inmates of the comfortable drawing-room round their blazing fire. But let the rapt admirer of the picturesque ascend these same mountains of purple and gold, and his gay visions will vanish ; let the fire-side traveller leave his slippers on the hearth, put on his boots and cloak, and mounting his horse, ride alone for days and nights in snow, and rain, and sun; resting, when he does rest, in stables and huts, or taking his brief nap with the sky alone for his covering, and I will engage, be he young and ardent as he may, his ro- mance will not last six months. It was with something of these feelings, still THE AN INVITATION. 29 chafed and raw from my disagreeable campaign in Mazunderan and Ghilân, and not improved by the near approach of another rough journey with men and cattle but half recovered from their late hard service, that I replied to your letters, in a tone, I fear, not the most cheerful or grateful for their contents But all these things are past, and here I am, having fairly quitted Tabreez, seated in a queer but not uncomfortable room in this fine village. We have not, however, quite done with that city, and I think, at the hazard of worrying you, I must give you another touch of the Kaymoo- kâm, and tell you of a dinner-party to which he did me the honour to invite me. I hope you are not yet quite weary of this personage, for the scene was so characteristic, that I cannot refrain from bestow- ing upon you whatever tediousness it may possess. Being given to understand that it was his Ex- cellency's intention to make sure of an interview, and provide against the frequent interruptions which had hitherto taken place, by giving me a dinner in private some evening before I left the city, I de- ferred my departure for a day after all had been ar- ranged, and at the time appointed, which was half an hour after sunset, rode to the minister's house. I was shown into the same room as before, which was lighted up with wax tapers; for I found that his Excellency is as sensitive to the gross smell of mut- ton fat, as any fine lady in England, and can detect an expiring candle or other vile greasy smell, at any distance, as well as Sister These torches were lighted on my entrance, and in no long time after- 30 COMMENCEMENT OF AN INTERVIEW. eded to, ? chamber Wir wer ਬਾਈ - wards his Excellency made his appearance with his usual cordial and familiar greeting. In a minute or two we were both seated, and as he informed me that the present private meeting (khelwut) had been contrived as amends for former failures, one might have imagined the time had come for com- mencing, without loss of time, the inquiries I knew he had to make. But such was far from being the case. No sooner had he seated himself and dismissed his attendants, including two very pretty boys, a son and grandson of his own, and given particular orders that he should not be interrupted, than, fixing his chin upon a gold-headed cane, which he held in both hands, and poking out his feet far from below his petticoats, he addressed the only man remaining, his Nazir, or steward, and told him to go to certain of his guests whom he named, and bid thern a thousand welcomes, and make as many apologies on his part, for not having yet been able to wait on them himself. “ Tell them," said he, “ that for the last three days one or other of the Princes have always been with me in the evening, and to-night I am oc- cupied with this Feringee Saheb; but see that they are well attended to; be sure they have all they want." “ And who have I at present in the house ?" continued he, inquiring of his servant; “what guests have I?—who have come to-day ?” The Nâzir re- plied by reciting a long string of names which would in no wise edify you to hear, but to which his mas- ter listened attentively; " and where is such a one སན་ and he HOSPITABLE DETAILS. 31 lodged ?" demanded he; and the question being also replied to, he went through the whole number, re- marking on the propriety of the location of each respectively, and desiring that this Khan should have such a suite of rooms, and this Beg such an outagh, or chamber, and another such a dellán, or ba- lakhaneh; and the tone in which the matter was discussed, showed that it was a subject of customary inquiry Nor were the other wants of these numerous guests less a matter of solicitude and arrangement. One person, for instance, had been regularly fur- nished with food for himself and his servants, but provision for his horses had not been made : the minister desired the omission to be rectified. An- other had his own cook, to whom the requisite ar- ticles were to be furnished for his master's use, and who was to prepare them in a place specially pointed out by his Excellency. Another had been regularly supplied with two dowrees, or trays of victuals from the minister's own kitchen ; but no breakfast had hitherto been sent, and that was to be rectified. And what sherbet do you send with so-and-so’s dinner; is it sweet or sour ?" The Nâzir replied, but not, it seems, satisfactorily, for the minister di- rected that henceforth the sweet sherbet should have souring, either lemon-juice or åbcooreh (juice of sour grapes); “ and let his breakfast consist of one bowl of yekhnee (soup), one stew, and a dish of pillaw, with fruit and sweatmeats : do you hear ? And add another dish of pillaw to Khan's dinner. Where did you say he lodged ?" —" In such a ba- 32 HOSPITABLE DETAILS. a one sima h this zustantial eläiment na etende 2. (NICS chi ft וי lakhaneh,” replied the Nâzir. “ That won't do,” said his Excellency; "he must be accommodated in the little suite near the great sherbet khaneh.”—“But so and so of your Highness's family have these rooms,” said the Nâzir, " That is no matter," replied his master, “let the Khan be put there ; we must find room for my people elsewhere: our guests must be made comfortable, at all rates. What has he for dinner, did you say?" The Nazir mentioned the dishes. “ That won't do neither," said the mi- nister; "you must get lamb pillaw for him.”_" There is no lamb to be had," said the Nâzir. 66 What! none?”—“ None, sir, but a few pet-lambs, which sell at an enormous price.”—“Never mind the price, man; he must have lamh, I tell you : and so-and-so must have chickens."__"Chickens are scarce, too," said the steward ; “ I have only got seven for your Highness's self, from the village, and three of them are too lean to be sent up.". Then send the fat ones to the Khan, and keep the lean ones for me. Where have you put Khan, who came the day before yesterday ?”—“ As yet, sir, he sleeps on the roof of the house, but as the nights get cool, we shall lay his mattress on the room below.”- “ What bed-clothes have you given him ?"_“ A mattress, with two down pillows and a fine chintz lahoff, (coverlit).” -“That 's right: and his people ? Allee Beg——where does he sleep?” -“ They all sleep out, I don't know where.” — " Why, has the Beg a wife here ?” - “ No, sir, but there are so many-five or six of them, and I thought it would hardly do for them to sleep all together NA VAM pare alt ܛܸܬܵܐ The Bi hen PERSIAN ETIQUETTE. 33 in one small room, so I let them find lodgings with- out." In this fashion did this singular Minister of State run on for the best part of an hour, discussing cir- cuinstantially all the details necessary for the en- tertainment of a multitude of guests, even to the minutest trifles, ordering for each the fare, lodging, and attendance, suited to his rank; for one, sherbets and dishes of superior delicacy; for another, ordinary victuals; for some, the rice of Ooroomia; for others, that of Miskeen; while the delicate Amberboo, or amber-scented rice of Mazunderan, was reserved for the most highly honoured. The same attention was bestowed on the furniture of their apartments, which were to be laid with carpets of Herât, or Maragha, or Mishkabad, according to the rank and circumstances of the tenants, nor was any expense to be spared. There can be no doubt of the absurdity of a Mi- nister of State occupying his precious time in such petty details; yet in themselves they are more im- portant than you might at first imagine, for, in Persia, the manner of lodging and furnishing guests is as much a matter of etiquette as the arrange- ment of visits or seats in an assembly : each must be treated according to his rank, and the dishes, and sherbets, and carpets, &c. are carefully gra- duated accordingly. Were such not the case, um- brage and discontent would be the consequence; and the Kaymookâm told an English gentleman who, like me, heard him at this work, that every man in Persia who entertains many guests as he does, is VOL. I. 34 MAGNIFICENT ESTABLISHMENT. upon the INTRA names. 1e exam + but There Tas que PRE forced to do the same. On that occasion the Kay- mookam inquired how many were to dine with him that day? “ Six,” replied the Nâzir, repeating the His Excellency discussed the claims of each individual separately, and it appeared that, ac- cording to strict etiquette, only two of the whole could meet each other at his table, so the rest were put off till another day. To me the whole affair sounded very much like ostentation, but that the minister has an immense establishment for guests and always well filled, is certain. His house is a sort of general rendezvous for all strangers of a certain rank, and his mehman- khaneh, (establishment for guests) is on a scale to correspond with such resort. I have heard it said that no less than fifty-eight Khans and their suites were his guests some time ago, upon no extraor- dinary occasion. All this, of course, entails an enor- mous outlay, and the expenses of his mehman-khaneh alone, are stated at 45,000 tomâns a year, or 22,5001. sterling. As one item, I was informed he had two hundred and eighty sets of spare bed-clothes for guests, together with carpets and furshes (nu- muds and mattresses) in proportion. Whether the Prince allows him anything in aid towards this im- mense expenditure I know not, but the outlay is all in cash, or what is equivalent, namely, corn and straw, sheep, butter, rice, &c. the produce of his villages. At length these weighty matters were dismissed, and the Kaymookâm, dismounting from his chair, but telling me to keep mine, squatted himself down ol TRUTH IN REQUEST. 35 upon the carpet, and pulling out his pencase and several large rolls of paper, took up his usual strong position for writing, by throwing himself forward on his breast, and wrote several notes. Next came the examination of a whole bundle of letters, and then, after the lapse of nearly two hours from my first arrival, he turned to me, and told me he had long wished to speak to me in private, though from his numerous engagements, he had not hitherto been able; but that now there were several things regard- ing which he expected information, and that I must tell him the truth, and the whole truth. Then came a long string of questions, for which I was quite prepared, though I was scarcely so for the positive manner in which he insisted upon having, and clearly desired to have, the full and real state of each case. His questions related chiefly to the state of the provinces of Khorasan, and my opinions concerning that, and the conduct of the persons left in charge there by him; and as this was a theme on which I had little agreeable to say, I should have been better pleased to remain silent. But this would not do with the Kaymookâm. He saw my embarrassment, and frequently said, “Now, Fraser Saheb, I want the truth ; remember, from you I expect it, and have no scruple in coming out with the whole of it.” Thus conjured, I had nothing left but to give my true sentiments, clothed in lan- guage as inoffensive as I could find. The task was a painful one, but my duty was clear, and as there was a hope of some good result, I resolved to per- form it at all hazard or sacrifice. D 2 36 MILITARY DETAILS. taries and with eno fata de meired bur , Say who ICE Our conversation was long; frequently the minis- ter would retire, as it were, into himself, and con- tinue absorbed in thought for many minutes. But after a good while, the Adjutant-General of the army came in, and with him he began discussing the clothing of certain regiments, and entered into the most minute conceivable detail of the fabrication of a serbâz's coat-how much cloth it would re- quire-how many quarters and half quarters, more or less, would be wanted for a vest of some new pattern; whether chúroks, or laced brogues, or boots, or Russian shoes, would be cheapest and best for the soldier in a winter's campaign, and a thousand similar particulars, into which he went with the greatest possible seeming gravity and interest. I could not help suspecting that these details were entered into, before me, in order to impress me with a high notion of his Excellency's care for the com- fort of the troops. All this time, too, his Excellency was roaring out for dinner, which seemed to have been adjourned “sine die.” Interruptions too, began to increase. As a besieged fortress that has long withstood the assault of its foes at length begins to yield, or as a battered and long wave-tossed vessel gives way and admits the water by a thousand chinks--or, take any other simile you like better, provided it be suf- ficiently hackneyed--so did the doors of the Kay- mookâm's khelwut at length give way to the crowd which, even at this hour of the night, besieged them, and in rushed a crowd of Meerzas, or secre- 创​她​一 ​ A HOME CHARGE. 37 taries and writers, with their girdles almost bursting with enormous bundles of papers. The minister cast a desponding glance at the irrepressible inroad, and began mechanically to take and read, in his strange way, whatever was set before him; some received their orders and were bundled off, and others were told to reserve their budgets till a later hour. But there was one cool, determined fel- low, who roundly taxed the great man with having mislaid a paper of consequence, on account of the absence of which Meerza such-a-one was ready to go distracted. In vain did his Excellency deny all knowledge of the document; his accuser respectfully but pertinaciously stuck to the charge -- was it not in his Excellency's pockets ? or might it not have been left in his cast-off clothes of that day?" No, no, I tell you no!” declared his Excellency, impa- tiently; “ I have none of it I know nothing of it -I am as wild about it as Meerza such-a-one can be;" and then, as if in bravado, he commenced in an angry, huffy manner, to jerk out the contents of certain receptacles termed pockets, which, for dimensions, would have beaten those of good old C, and out came a mass of letters and papers that would have covered an acre of ground—they would have set up a petty grocer or snuff-seller for ever--when, behold! to his Excellency's infinite dis- comfiture, last of all, just as if it had stuck there on purpose, like Hope in Pandora's box, out came the very paper that had caused all the rumpus. It was finding the needle in the haystack, with a wit- 38 THE DINNER. mani ran Exce taited the be ER ness; and foolish enough did his Excellency look, as he handed it to the other, who, with very good tact, permitted no emotion to be visible, save that of joy, at finding the document. The disgorged contents of the sack-like pockets then came necessarily into play, and the arrange- ment of them occupied another twenty minutes. During the clearing of this chaos, dinner was pro- duced, and a very good one it proved, although you may scruple a little at the necessity I was under of eating it with my fingers. And well did the Kaymookam do the honours à la mode de Perse, There was no other guest but the Adjutant-General, Hoossein Khan, and plentifully did his Excellency heap our plates—for plates, instead of flaps of bread, he insisted on setting before us“I suppose in com- pliment to me. Observing me tugging away, rather ineffectually, with my fingers at some ornithological specimen, either chicken or partridge - a tough biped whatever its specific distinction he called out “ That's not good! here's a better one!" and seizing by the stiff shank another unhappy sufferer, from the breast of which half the flesh had been torn by his own talons, he conveyed it to my plate and deposited it on the top of the other. “May your favour never diminish!" said I, addressing myself to tear its carcass in sunder. “Here's pickled peppers -do you eat them ?” inquired his Excellency, and plunging his hand into the dish, clutched a quantity and scattered them over the wreck upon my plate, before I could reply. May your wealth increase !” said I, and began to munch the peppers. In like valtake THE DESSERT. 39 manner did he practically recommend all the viands, till at length we came to what you might call the dessert. This consisted of a vast tray of melons, his Excellency's favourites, as I have told you. They were the best Tabreez could produce, of course, and many of them had a flavour that would have won a medal from the horticultural society. But the Kaymookâm is a nice judge, and so more than a dozen were cut open for him to try. Don't be shocked at the extravagance, they scarcely cost three halfpence a piece: all were tasted, two or three approved of and gobbled up, and a few more left to trifle over. This finished the dinner; and if his Excellency, like Sertorius, had dined in the scale of a balance, so as to weigh his food, the amount of increase would have been alarming. In- deed the huge vessel seemed to feel the cargo it had taken in, for in rising from the attitude of feed- ing, it rolled heavily, like a deep-loaded ship in a gale of wind. Before we had well finished, the room began to fill again, and I thought business was about to recommence, as turning to one of the by-standers he said, “Well, what for to-morrow?” This must be to-morrow's first job, no doubt, said I to myself ; his Excellency is going to rest, I presume, or to his harem-I must take leave. But no-"I think we should have some lamb," resumed his Excellency ; ay, some lamb pillaw.” The deuce! thought I- what is he at now --the mehmankhaneh again ? No, the man to whom he spoke was a peish-khidmut, and the mighty affair was his Excellency's next 40 A PRATING CHANGE. NED , ODE C perly a F Keitrea The or day's dinner. Yes,” went he on musing, “and let us have some bådinjáns (vegetable eggs) dressed with más (sour milk) and two côreish's (stews); and mind the sour sauce is not spoiled—let so many onions be put in it, and three-ay, three, or even four cups of vinegar—there will be no harm; yes, that will do ;" and so went he on naming the dishes to be prepared, and even the sauces, to the minutest particular. I own I was not only disgusted but provoked : so far, however, as I was concerned the affair, was terminated. The room was by this time inundated with a crowd of khans, begs, meerzas, eunuchs, &c. all with papers in hand or business in mouth, and I took the first opportunity to ask for leave to depart. “You are going, then," said he; “have you nothing to ask of me?”—“ Nothing," replied I, “ but a continuation of your Excellency's favour, and your commands, if you have any, for me to execute in my new journey. I will gladly do what I can to promote your views and those of his Royal Highness, so far as my humble power ex- tends." Many thanks,” said his Excellency," nothing but to keep your eyes open and look about you, and bring me correct information of all you see and hear. You have spoken little to me, but you have said a great deal, and I have understood it and will attend to it, for I am sure it is true. When you saw me silent and thoughtful before dinner, I was not inattentive,—I was weighing what you had said ; and now do not forget to send me all sort of information and write me, in English, you understand.” As I rose to bid him adieu two di tam MA ROCKET PRACTICE. 41 men, one on each side, took him under the arms to raise him, in spite of my astafferullahs! It was partly a piece of state, partly necessary from the effects of his excessive meal, and notwithstanding my entreaties to the contrary, he went with me to the door, to the astonishment and horror, I dare say, of many of those who witnessed it. So polite do circumstances make the greatest of men in Per- sia, and probably elsewhere! His Excellency de- sired my good word, thought he could make use of me, and paid this price to secure one whom other- wise he would not have condescended to notice such is the way of the world. The only other event worth mentioning at Ta- breez, during my stay, was an experiment in rocket- firing, conducted in the presence of the Prince Royal by a gentleman who had brought out a parcel of Congreve's rockets with the expectation of disposing of them to his Royal Highness. The tenth was the day appointed; and though it was that also of my intended departure, I sent off my baggage and agreed to remain, in order to witness the scene, and follow it next morning It was exceedingly pretty. The Prince, with many of his family and a considerable suite, were on the ground to see the effects of this new missile, which though they did not assuredly act with the full precision which their owner anticipated and gave reason to expect, proved themselves at least a formidable, if not always a very manageable wea- pon in the hands of skilful artillerists. His Royal Highness was in high spirits, and after the practice 42 A CHASE. at astonish medited by xal the The ant laxm als per the whole cavalcade, of full two thousand horsemen, rode forward to look at the places where the balls had struck the hill side. On the way we started a poor hare, and there being two greyhounds belong- ing to some of the party which saw and gave chase, off started every Feringee after them, including two grave missionaries, who had come forth to see the un- hallowed experiments. Away, away scowered every one, like madcaps, Elchee, officers and all, heedless of Prince or Khan, and a very pretty chase it was, especially as the hare took up a steep hill-face just opposite, on which the dogs turned her several times. Up they all went, scrambling and sprawling away, all but your humble servant, who, having a long ride and journey close in view, did not think it quite prudent to blow his horses, so I stopped at the foot, in spite of my steed's eagerness, and saw the whole scramble. The sight of some dozen Franks and their servants, scowering away like devils on horseback up the hill-face, formed a curious con- trast to the gravity of the Prince and his thousands, who never altered their staid and stately pace, and swept like a dark cloud slowly, and gradually up the steep ascent, devouring it, as it were, in their progress. On the other side the course had been short; moving round the extremity of the hill, I saw the little knot of my countrymen at a standstill some five hundred yards distant. Poor puss had been killed, the excitement was over, and we all wended slowly back to join his Royal Highness, who, I dare say, must have been a good deal amused, though Seat ha al FAREWELL TO TABREEZ. 43 not astonished at this burst of Frank enthusiasm for the chase. We then were entertained by the evolu- tions and exercise of some Koordish horsemen, who practised with the spear and skirmished before the line all the way to the gardens that surround the city. This, my last evening at Tabreez, terminated in a very pleasant dinner at the Envoy's, when I bade adieu to a society of friends whom I shall ever regard with attachment and interest. The amusements of the evening had detained me so late that I willingly accepted the Envoy's kind offer of using his horses for the first stage, and sending on my own to await me there ; so, mount- ing by sunrise, I turned my back on the spot where I had spent near a month of very welcome repose, and rode straight on to the village of Mayan, where my people and the baggage had spent the preced- ing night. There, taking my own horses, I pushed forward to Deeza-khaleel, a fine thriving village, where about three in the afternoon I found my people had procured me quarters. It was pleasant in riding through this 'village, with its orchards and gardens, which occupied half-an-hour, to re- mark the apparent prosperity of the place, and the riches, not to say comfort of its inhabitants. It occupies the borders of a fine mountain stream from the range on the north of Lake Shahee, or Ooroomia, and with its gardens covers a very extensive tract of ground. Next morning at sunrise we were in the saddle, and I know not how it was, but I never enjoyed the first early hours of a march more. There is nothing 44 EXHILARATING FEELINGS. Het wou perduce re Ma tom teha a VE 바 ​g into a light ima more curious and unaccountable than the variations of spirits and feelings to which we are subject at times, without any obvious cause. Do they depend on internal or external agencies ? mental oscillations or peculiar states of the atmosphere? The morn- ing of this day was not one bit more lovely, nor could the air be more balmy than those had been on many a previous one; and yet, on leaving Deeza- khaleel, I was conscious of a mental buoyancy which was in strong contrast to the depression under which I had laboured for the few preceding days ; perhaps, it was only reaction after the existence of an unusual state of mind. All seemed smiling and delightful; the lights and shadows on the surround- ing mountains, inexpressibly soft and beautiful, and the blue of the lake as it rose into view could not have been surpassed by that of any Italian piece of water any more than the azure of the heavens above us could be exceeded by the tints of an Italian sky. There was a harmony in all the scene which suited well with the peaceful occupations of the peasantry, who were pursuing their field labours in perfect security. It is now the season of preparation for the great wheat sowing. This goes on during the whole of September and October, and multitudes of ploughs were at work breaking up the fat soil, while the labourers were employed in turning streams of water into the ground thus torn up, and breaking down the heavy clods with their spades, so as to fit it for receiving the seed. I must say, however, that the husbandry everywhere is most slovenly, and that BAD FARMING. 45 with such a subject to work on, a good English farmer would make a very different thing of it and produce very different results. You never see ma- nure applied except upon melon or cucumber grounds near a town; and, in fact, the dung of animals, though carefully collected, is not applied to this purpose, but used for winter fuel. I this day ob- served several boys and women carefully collecting manure where a flock of sheep had lain a night or two before ; but it was to be formed with cow- dung into cakes for burning, not to be thrown on the neighbouring field. The farmers have not, so far as I know, become acquainted even with the use of lime as a stimulant to land. Indeed, as land is generally more abundant than the water which is required to irrigate it, and much must thus remain uncultivated every year, fallows come to supersede in great measure the use of manure, which in our system of farming is so indispensable. The whole of this district, from Tabreez to our present Munzil, Tessouje, is, or might be, one sheet of cul- tivation: it abounds with fine villages, which are generally situated on the gentle declivity of the mountains, and terminates in the flat land that surrounds the whole lake. I shall close here for the present, and address my next from Ooroomia on its western side, through which my road lies. 46 mir , an LETTER III. Piece R vent me babes Selmâs. — Russian policy. — Kara-kishlâc. - Sportive damsels.- Kereemabad.-Plain of Ooroomia.--Agricultural improvements. -Nejeff Koolee Khan.—Palaces and fine apartment.-City of Ooroomia.--Fortified houses. ~Armenian church. — Nestorian Christians - their country.—Hakkaree Koords. - Other fierce tribes.—Meer of Rewandooz.—Dr. Ross's journey to that chief. --Contrast between Turkish and Koordish villages.-Dumdum. -Rewandooz.—Character of the people their dressman- ners.--Blindness of the old Meer.—Brothers of the Meer. --Superstitions. - Inhospitality. - Koordish fierceness and bravery.-Laws and justice of the Meer.—Summary punish- ments.-Army in the field.—Capture of Accra.- Submission of Amadia.-Dr. Ross joins the Meer in camp.—Meer's appear- ance and conversation-His camp.-Character.--Speculations as to proceeding. Ooroomia, 17th October. Three days, dear, have carried me from the village whence my last was dated, to this ancient and beautiful place, supposed to be the Thebarma of antiquity and the birth-place of the celebrated Zoroaster. From Tessouje our way lay through the district and plain of Selmås, one of the finest of Azerbijan. But it has suffered greatly ; in the first instance from the inroads of the Hakkaree Koords, who inhabit the mountains on the north- west ; and, secondly, from the atrocious conduct of Paskevitch, the Russian general, who carried away many thousands of Armenian families from hence, SELMÂs. 47 Bayazeed, Erzeroom, and other districts in this neighbourhood, leaving the whole town of Selmas nearly, and many of its villages quite depopulated. A third cause of decay is to be found in the tyrannical conduct of Jehangeer Meerza, who lived much in this quarter during the stay of his father, the late Prince Royal, in Khorasan, and whose name is heavily laden with curses in these parts. Never- theless, the district of Selmâs is still rich and pro- ductive, and in passing through it you see a number of fine villages, particularly towards the upper end near the mountains. But I was surprised to find that the river Selmâs, instead of being, as I had heard, a stream navigable for boat severals miles from the lake, is at this season a miserable rivulet which scarcely wetted our horses' feet while crossing it. The plain of Selmâs itself, which I should think extended thirty miles inland from the lake, and which may in some parts be ten miles across, has at one time obviously been covered by the lake. Indeed, the gradual recession of the waters of this inland sea is a phenomenon which affords curious matter of speculation. Like all other salt lakes in this part of Asia, and some fresh, it has no outlet, although it is itself a receptacle for the waters of many and considerable streams which flow from the mountains round it. That these were once more abundant sources of supply than at present, appears probable, since, if report on the subject can at all be trusted, the lake, within the memory of man, was much larger and fuller than it now is. Its only drain at present can be from evaporation, unless an 48 SORRY LODGING. de plain de and 출 ​de red a gare abstand er en increased demand of water for irrigation were sup- posed ; but as there is every reason to believe that cultivation has rather diminished than increased, that cannot be the case. However the diminution of waters may be caused, there is no doubt that a gradual increase of land takes place on the margin of the lake, and land of great richness, as is proved both by the crops it yields and by the natural grass it produces, the flocks and herds of the inhabitants being unable to consume the store of herbage in the meadows. We purposed to have made good our way to Dilmaun, a large village, dignified, I believe, with the name of “ town;" but, trusting to my jelowdar's guidance, we lost our way and came to a miserable village named Kara-Kishlâc, which I would recom- mend all future travellers to avoid. My own lodging was in a sort of cock-loft over a mud building, said to do duty as a mosque, but which appeared to have as little just claim to sanctity as it had to comfort; and of the last there was but scrimp share, for it was open to all the winds of heaven. Nor was I better off in regard to food, for though I fain would have had a dinner, the keen air having given me an excel- lent appetite, my rogue of a cook, unaccustomed to work with cakes of dried cow-dung, the only fuel to be had here, spoiled the fowl destined for me, so that a little dry rice, with an egg or two, was all I had to stop my cravings with. My cattle, how- ever, were better off, for they had both shelter and food in abundance, and they were my chief care. Next morning, crossing the plain, we ascended * 1 1 A HOAX. 49 with snow. à valley through certain low hills which separate the plain of Selmâs from another of about twenty miles in length and ten in breadth, also skirting the lake, and backed by the great mountains of Koor- distan, many of whose summits were still spotted This plain was also fertile and well cultivated, and five or six large villages near the hills gave proof that it wanted not its portion of inhabitants. We breakfasted this day in a little valley by a clear stream, disturbing, I am sorry to say, two Koordish ladies who had come there for the purpose of washing clothes, a process which they appeared to be performning in the old Scotch fashion, with legs bare to a pretty considerable height. They were as wild birds as I ever remember to have seen, and appeared much entertained by the spec- tacle which we, or I should rather say 1, afforded them. They came from some black tents above, and on our asking whether there was any milk or cream to be had, they replied, “No milk at this time of day, but the finest cream in the world.” So off started one of my people on horseback to get this delicious cream ; but he only got laughed at for his pains, for it appeared that the damsels had been amusing themselves at our expense, as nothing so redolent of civilized life as cream was to be found in the tents. So I drank my tea without it, leaving my servant to vent his abuse against the Koordish fair (brown) ones for the trick they had played him, and which only made them laugh the more. Towards sunset of this day, finding our horses waxing dull, after a march of thirty-six miles or VOL. I. 50 THE ABODE OF KINDNESS. This as sek did za kare more, as if they should not care how soon they reached their halting-place, we dismounted at a miserable village, the first that came in our way we opened the plain of Ooroomia, named Kereemabad, or the abode of Mercy or Kindness. Very little of either did we find there, for not a place could they or would they give us to stow ourselves and cattle in ; yet, after some consultation, we thought it better to remain where we were, and where food for the animals might be had, as we were informed, than to go further, and perhaps find not even that. So we piqueted our beasts outside the village, collected the baggage into one heap, set a watch, and, after a very moderate dinner, I got under my lahoff upon the dry turf, and slept very tolerably till near the hour of loading in the morning. Before sunrise we were on our way to the city of Ooroomia ; and nowhere, certainly not in the East at least, do I remember passing through a richer country. All around us, in whatever direc- tion we cast our eyes, they fell on sheets of varied cultivation, cotton, rice, millet, castor-oil plant, vineyards, orchards, and great fields, from whence already the heavy crops of wheat and barley had been reaped, prettily divided, and fringed here and there with coppice or rows of trees, willow, poplar, sinjeed (jujube), and others. Numbers of large villages, each encircled with its own gardens, lay thickly scattered about, and the state of those we passed through was conclusive as to the wealth and comfort of their inhabitants. Thus, for at least twenty miles, did we ride through a perfectly rich 2 AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENTS. 51 and cultivated country to the very walls of the city, which were concealed by trees and gardens. This day I observed two agricultural improve- ments which I have seen nowhere else. One was a plough, used to break up the deep soil, of far greater efficacy than the common miserable instru- ment. It was dragged by eight buffaloes and bullocks, the draught being from an axle with wheels of different sizes at either end ; one about twenty inches or two feet in diameter, intended to go in the last-made furrow; the other, not above half as much, to run upon the yet unbroken soil, so that the axle, by this contrivance, was kept upon the level. The other improvement was the adop- tion of a two-wheeled cart, also drawn by buffaloes a heavy clumsy machine, it is true, with solid wheels like the old Highland cart-wheels, which went creaking and bumping along on their most irregular circumferences, but still effective enough engines for carrying straw, and such like light bulky articles. It is not a little remarkable that these carts, or arabas, as they are called, though used in Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia, and even, I believe, at Khoee, should not have been adopted even at Tabreez, at Tehran, or the more eastern and southern provinces of Persia : the pace of im- provement is mighty slow indeed here. Entering the city, I went straight to the house of the Beglerbeggee, or governor, Nejeff Koolee Khan, an Affshâr nobleman of very high rank, the King having married a sister of his father, so that some of the Princes are his cousins. I had sent forward E 2 52 A FEUDAL CHIEF. at wb MAI SUO de the Ed She my letters of introduction to this gentleman with a request to be furnished with lodgings ; but, whether by mistake or intended attention, I was ushered into his presence at once. I found, both at the gates of the Khan's residence in the courts through which they led me, and in his presence, a great deal of real state and observance, more indeed than at the courts of many of the second- rate Princes, and the respect and ceremony which prevailed had nothing in it forced or got up for the occasion - it was the feudal lord truly surrounded by his vassals. He received me with kindness and affability, but did not either rise at my entrance or exit. In fact, he obviously assumed the style of a Prince, or nearly so, for there were several Khans present who did not sit at all; and the attendance, on the whole, was exceedingly imposing. The Khan himself had on a shawl-cloak, which you would have allowed would make a beautiful dress-it must have been worth more than one hundred pounds sterling ; and at his waist he wore a most splendid dagger, with an agate handle mounted in gold, and having at the top of the hilt a fine emerald. After sitting a considerable time, I was told that my rooms were ready, and followed a servant of the great man's to what had been a superb dewan khaneh. It is part of a very extensive palace, built by his father or grandfather, who, I believe, at one time made the idawa-e- sultunut — that is, aspired to the crown ; and, assuredly, this has been quite a regal establish- ment. Like all others in this changing country, both o the A HANDSOME LODGING, 53 where conflicting interests are continually clashing, and where he who was great to-day becomes less than the least to-morrow, it has gone much to decay; but several of the suites are still in perfect order, and remarkably handsome. The apartment, in which I am now sitting, is thirty feet long by fifteen in breadth, about twenty feet high, and handsomely vaulted. The walls are fitted up with very tasteful recesses, both arched and square, and the whole, walls and roof, have been painted of a rich white, picked out with blue, red, and gold, except for about three feet from the floor, which is salmon colour, ornamented with flowers in deeper tints, all done in oil-colours ; and there are some very handsome coloured ornaments on the crests of the arches above. One whole end is occupied by a splendid window of painted glass, terminating in a Gothic arch: I wish I could convey to you the pattern. It is indescribably beautiful, and reminds one of the richest figures shown by the kaleidoscope. In the other end, there are two smaller windows of a similar construction, between which is a fire-place: the floor is of tile; but, when suitably dressed up, is first covered with mats, and over them with rich carpets. The palace contains many smaller rooms of equal beauty, and, in fact, I know few things like it in Persia, except at Ispahan ; for, unlike the buildings of the present day, it is constructed of solid brick and mortar. So for once, at least, I am well lodged. October 19. I have been much pleased with Ooroomia, which I am now about to quit. The 54 NEJEFF KOOLEE KUAN. . LE THIS 1 TOT to be Beglerbeggee has been extremely kind to me, and therefore I think him a very fine fellow. There were some reasons for it, to be sure ; for, inde- pendent of the letters of introduction I brought, I made him rather a handsome present. But some folks do not think it necessary to acknowledge such attentions even with kindness. Nejeff Koolee Khan is a nobleman of high rank, not only by station, but by birth. He is the hereditary chief of the Kossimloo Affshârs, the principal teereh, or division, as he tells 'me, of the tribe, which is probably the most numerous and extensively spread in Persia. Nader Shah was, as you know, an Affshâr; but the Khan seems to think very lightly of this, for, he says, that Nader Shah's division were the servants of the Kossimloos. At all events, his forefathers for eight generations have held the same office as himself- that of Beglerbeggee, or governor of the city and district of Ooroomia. His grandfather, Imaum Koolee Khan, was a chief of so much power and influence that, though only twenty-four years of age, in the troubles succeeding the death of Nader, and before the confirmation of Kereem Khan upon the throne, he became com- petitor with other Khans and chiefs for the crown. But their ambition cost them dear; for most of them were destroyed, and among them Imaum Koolee Khan, who, having met the governor of Khoee in arms, was defeated, and fled back to oroomia, where, arriving much overheated, he called for wine, and died in consequence of the fever it pro- duced. Nejeff Koolee Khan insinuates that he 1 KEEPING AN OATH. 55 owed his end to poison, but there seems to be no sufficient proof of this. His son, Hoossein Koolee Khan, being then a mere child, the late Khan's brother, Mahomed Koolee Khan, either seized upon or was placed in his brother's room, where he continued during the reign of Aga Mahomed Khan; but on the murder of that monarch, when Saduc Khan Sheg- haghee and Jaffer Koolee Khan of Khoee arose in opposition to the present King, the said Mahomed Koolee Khan joined them and shared in their defeat. The fate of the unfortunate Saduc Khan is well known; he was starved to death by being built up in a cell, because, forsooth, the King had taken an oath that he would not shed his blood; and oaths must be kept! With Mahomed Koolee Khan he used less ceremony; for, proceeding to Ooroomia, he took him prisoner, beat him, tortured him by fire and by preventing him from sleep till he gave up his pro- perty and wealth, and then sent him off to Saree in Mazunderan, where he died, or was poisoned. The King then put the son of the former Begler- beggee in his father's place, and there he remained a faithful servitor of the Crown until he died. The King married his sister, by whom he had Malek Cossim Meerza, and some other sons. This lady dying, and his majesty being, as appears, very graciously disposed towards the family, he next took a daughter of the Khan's, consequently, a niece of his former wife, by whom he has also had more than one son ; so that the present Khan, who succeeded his father some fourteen years ago, has 56 CITY OF OOROOMIA. aida and be free Bar ne bas Princes cousin-germans, and Princes at once his cousins and nephews-a pretty medley of kindred. Thus, however, the Beglerbeggee becomes re- garded nearly in the light and rank of a Shah Zadeh, and maintains the state of one. He is served with much the same ceremony, and has a nokara khaneh, or band of music, which plays above his gateway at certain times, &c. In his address, he is affable and polite ; moderate in capacity, I should judge; and in face almost the exact image of our friend and neighbour L-, with the addi- tion of a beard and mustachios; and now, I dare say, you have enough of my friend the Khan. Of the city and its environs, I must say a few words. It has an aspect of more comfort and solidity than any other I remember in Persia. The gardens, which embrace it to the very walls, unite their foliage with that of many trees within them to produce a rich and verdant aspect ; for every house of consideration has its gardens, with rows of chenârs and poplars towering above the inclosure. The streets are wider than in most other towns, and have generally a stream of water running in the midst, so that each house may enjoy at will this necessary of life. Few ruins are visible ; for, where any exist, they are generally concealed by the wall, which incloses each tenement, like a fort. This mode of rendering each house - that is, those belonging to the great -- a sort of stronghold is remarkable, and very characteristic of the state of society which used to subsist in Ooroomia. Situated on the borders of Koordistan, and in the midst of ha M 1 USE OF SAFETY-KEEPS. 57 a “land debateable,” frequented by the fierce tribes and clans of that wild country, most commonly at blood-feud with one another, it became a matter of necessity for each chief to have at least a place of refuge in case of attack from his enemies. When Mookree and Hakkaree, and Affshâr and Zerzaw met here, as on a common neutral ground, how, without such means of defence, could bloodshed and murder be prevented, where the police is weak, or the parties are beyond its power? It was like what we hear of our own Scottish capital in former days: When the streets of High Dun Edin Saw falchions gleam and lances redden --And heard the Slogan's deadly yell ! And thus, I dare say, the streets of Ooroomia have often been the scene of bloody frays, and the Koord- ish spear has many a time and oft clashed against the Affshâr scimitar. Ooroomia, though an ancient city, and known as such even in the days of the Romans, possesses no show of antiquities. An old tower and mosque of Arab architecture, and built about six or seven hundred years back, can scarcely be regarded as entitled to much consideration. An Armenian church, if we may credit the assertion of its pre- sent congregation, has a better claim to attention; for it is said to be one founded by the original Christians of this country. But this claim rests merely on tradition; for, as to the building itself, whatever may have been its original form or size, it now resembles nothing externally so much as a mud hut. The principal part, indeed, is under 58 AN ARMENIAN CHURCH. the- ia the I Numph UNIT MUNK Elija ground, and we entered it through a low door, scarcely large enough to admit a man into the narrow passage beyond : this led us, stooping, into a dark hole, the form of which, even when the eye became reconciled to the obscurity, was hardly to be made out from the quantity of strange hangings that encumbered rather than adorned its walls offerings of the piety, or superstition, or vanity of its frequenters — suspicious-looking garments, like the shifts of women and the trousers of men, hung from the roof and cornices like the tattered banners of some ancient castle hall or chapel, but quite with- out their dignity. On one side of what might be the altar, lay a black bonnet, worn by the priest ; on the opposite side, a tattered copy of the Armenian Bible. Beyond was a room, into which none but the priest was permitted to enter, and in this the woman, who showed the church, said there was a stone with some writing in Armenian upon it. The priest was not to be found, so I made no attempt to enter the sanctuary, as, without his aid, I could have made nothing out had I succeeded—indeed, even with his aid, I doubt if much could have been done, for these khaleefahs, or priests, are very ignorant. Bordering as Ooroomia does upon Armenia, it reckons among its population a great many Arme- nians; and as Assyria, which may be said to be coterminous on the other side, is the chief abode of the Nestorian or Syrian Christians, usually called Nasseränees (Nazerenes), the whole country affords a most interesting field for exploration, not only of antiquities, but of much that regards the history whe No ' I NESTORIAN CHRISTIANS. 59 of the Syrian Church; for there is little doubt that, in the rude receptacles of the Nestorian and Syrian monasteries, in these wild mountains, are to be found, could we but come at them, many ancient, and probably valuable manuscripts, in the Syrian and Chaldean tongues, connected with the early times of our religion, and many monuments and inscriptions on stone, which, if deciphered, might lead to very interesting historical, if not theological, discoveries. The misfortune is, that the whole of this country is in the hands of barbarians, so rude and suspicious, that any search after such literary treasures becomes next to impracticable; for, when- ever inquiries regarding them are made, the univer- sal opinion of the people is, that the object is not to discover literary or religious wealth, but hidden trea- sures of gold and silver--the only ones they recognize as valuable : indeed, to impress them with the belief that either manuscripts or inscriptions can be prized for any other purpose than that of using them for such discoveries would be impossible. Not more than three severe but short days' journey west of Ooroomia, among the lofty and almost inaccessible mountains of Jewar, there exists a population of these Nestorian Christians, who have lived there for ages, and are said to be the descendants of certain Christians of Mesopotamia, who fled to this difficult region for refuge from the persecutions of Jovian. They amount to better than fourteen thousand families, which constitute a sort of commonwealth of their own, separate from the rest of the world, and who yield neither obedi- 60 NESTORIANS OF MOUNT LEWÂR. a EE ta be DAMAR ti Nora 1914- Der pretio W ence nor tribute to any foreign authority, and, though professing, as some say, a nominal adhe- rence to the head of the Hakkaree Koords who lives at Julamerick, are, in reality, subject to none but their own chief or chiefs. The principal of these chiefs, who are patriarchs or bishops, and are termed by them khaleefahs, or caliphs, resides gene- rally in the monastery of Kojannes, and maintains great state. He exercises a perfect authority over his subjects both in spiritual and temporal affairs. Each village has also its khaleefah, or priest, who acts also as magistrate, and there were dubious rumours of prelates of intermediate degrees residing at other places, and some of my informants declared that the country was not entirely occupied by Nesto- rians, but partly inhabited by Koords and Mussul- mans, meaning Sheahs, or Persians. These people are represented as living in great comfort, being rich, and their country abounding in all sorts of produce, vegetable and mineral, having mines of lead, antimony, arsenic, and other metals. They are particularly jealous of their freedom, and very able to defend it, for they are very brave and resolute, have twelve thousand capital toffunchees (or musketeers), and a particularly defensible country, being a cluster of lofty mountains, intersected by deep ravines and frightful chasms, the beds of rapid torrents. These chasms are spanned by a single tree, which can be removed or let down at either end at pleasure, thus absolutely debarring exit or entrance. I have partially described this country “ Travels on the Banks of the Caspian Sea," . in my KAKKAREE KOORDS. 61 and made it the scene of a tale entitled “ Mourâd and Euxabeeth,” which you may remember. Judge then how interesting a spot this must be for the researches of an antiquary, and particularly a theo- logical one ; and judge how unwillingly I turned my steps from this interesting but dangerous-almost impracticable-country. Nor are the immediate neighbours of these Nesto- rians --namely, the Hakkaree Koords,-less danger- ous customers for honest inquirers to deal with. Their country, like that of the Nestorians, is a con- gregation of rugged ravines, covered with jungle, but interspersed here and there with fertile plains, which yield an abundant return to the labourer and pasture for their numerous flocks. Like them, too, they suspect and dislike all strangers, whom they consider as spies and interlopers. They obey none but their respective chiefs; but are not so exclusive in their practice of robbery and plunder, for they strip indiscriminately every one they catch. Even other tribes of Koords, if not too powerful to be touched, are not always safe. This is the country which, it is said, no power has ever succeeded in reducing to subjection; and, certainly, the ruling powers around do not seem likely to achieve the task ; although, I believe, the Ameer-e-Nizâm did penetrate with an army to Julamerick, a strong place in the mountains, where their chief Noor Oollah Khan resides; and the same chief has con- sented to accept a khelut, or dress of honour, from the present heir apparent, and to obey his com- mandsmas Koords are wont to obey. 62 ASSASSINATION OF SCHULTZ. TA THE 11 16 That they are as treacherous as inhospitable has been fatally demonstrated in their conduct to the unfortunate traveller Schultz, a German sçavant, sent into this country by the French Institute, I think, to examine its stores of literary wonders. He had made some very interesting researches in the vicinity of Lake Vân, and the site of the arcient Artemita, and had collected a great deal bearing upon that important desideratum of Oriental inquiry -the decipherment of the arrow-headed characters found on ancient monuments in these countries, as well as at Babylon and Persepolis, &c.* He had even succeeded in making good his way in safety so far through the country of the Nestorian Christians, and had been entertained with apparent hospitality by their Khaleefah Mar Shimoon, and had obtained from him several manuscripts and papers, with which he was proceeding towards Tabreez, attended by a guard of the Julamerick Khan's people,—that personage having, as it is also said, received him with the same show of hospitality,- when just near the frontiers, they enticed him into a narrow ravine, on pretext of showing him some old ruin. The way was mere sheep-path, and he was, un- happily, induced to leave the cafilah, or party with which it appears he was travelling, to see this place; but he had got to a very little distance when he WN TE а * It must be gratifying to all who are interested in this most curious subject that this desideratum has been in a great degree attained by the industry and intelligence of Major Rawingsen of the Honourable East India Company's Service, who has already deciphered several inscriptions in the arrow-headed character. SAVAGE TRIBES. 63 was shot by one of these very guards, who also put to death either one or two of his servants. Another, however, being well mounted, contrived to escape while they were dragging the bodies out of the way; and, getting to Tabreez, told the tale, which is all that is known of poor Schultz's death. This country is, indeed, overrun with savage tribes, the only check on whom is their relative weakness. The Belbâs, a tribe once numerous and powerful, though now much broken, inhabit the hills and plains of Balig and Lahijan, not very far from hence, and every now and then amuse the neighbouring districts of Sooldooz, Serdusht, and even Souje-Bulâgh with a chuppow, as the high- landers used to descend from their hills on the low lands of Moray, “where every gentleman had a right to take his pleasure,” according to their creed. And there are the Rawans and the Harkis, and the Nowchais, and fifty others I dare say, who all have the will, and some of them the power, thus to “ take their pleasure.” Happily, a power has arisen in the West, which, though of the roughest sort, has at least had the good effect of taining some of these fierce marauders, and reducing them to a wholesome and necessary, though tyrannical, subjection, and thus rendering a part of the country permeable and safe on certain conditions. Mehemet Pashah, now better known as the “ Meer of Rewandooz," was not many years ago, like most other Koordish chiefs, lord of a small district, and leader of the warriors of his own tribe, which had no other designation than that of Rewandooz. He 64 THE MEER OF REWANDOOZ. of the me a PE sitel began his career by setting aside his own father, as incapable of conducting the affairs of the tribe in troublesome times. Some say that the old man, being of a peaceable and devout disposition, turned Sooffee, or saint, renounced the world and its va- nities, and placed his son in his own room ; I wish for the Meer's credit that such may be the true version of the story, but it is at best doubtful. In like man- ner he disposed of several of his brothers, I fear, not merely in an arbitrary manner, and fixed himself supreme and firmly at length in his native district of Rewandooz. He then set to work strengthening his power, and raising followers, so as to prepare for future struggles. But the commencement of his true rise dates from the war between Persia and Russia, when the Prince Royal who had made some dispositions to crush the Meer, was forced to with- draw his troops in order to concentrate them against more formidable foes. The Meer, taking advantage of this opportunity, not only retook all the territory of which he had been deprived by the Prince, but extended his arms westward and northward with such success that he has now obtained control over a great part of Upper Mesopotamia, besides the dis- tricts extending from Erbile (Arbela) to Kerkook, inclusive, on the east of the Tigris. It is affirmed that he has fifty thousand men under his orders, of whom the better half are regularly paid and kept in constant work, for he is still ac- tively employed in reducing such coterminous dis- tricts as are unable to oppose him, and thus rapidly increases his dominions. But the most singular part Thi SHARP LAWS. 65 of the story is the great moral change which he has effected in the countries he has thus subjected ; for instead of being, as they were, occupied by a nation, or rather nations, of robbers, who could not see a traveller pass without attempting to stop and strip him, and who, as they say of themselves, would cut a man's throat for an egg in his hand, there is not now a thief or theft in the country. The whole craft and practice of robbery has been cut short by a summary process : whoever is caught possessing himself of the goods of others is punished on the spot, or put to death without mercy. For a first offence, the punishment, according to circumstances, is the loss of an eye, of a hand, or sometimes of the nose; for the next, some other mutilation more severe is inflicted; but a third offence is always punished with death. This is no mere brutum fulmen of a law, stern, but inoperative, which it is at the option of juries to mitigate or explain away, so as to blunt its over- weening harshness; it is a law, the sharpness of which is called for by the circumstances and the state of society which it is intended to restrain-the law of a robber chief, required to control his fierce banditti, and fearlessly and unsparingly enforced ; the people know that there is no appeal from its sentence, no mercy in its justice, and therefore they tremble and obey: anything less bloody and unbending would, under existing circumstances, be ineffectual ; and so effectual has it proved, that, I am assured, were any man in the countries where the sway of the Meer is fully established, to see a purse of gold on the road, VOL, I, F 66 STERN JUSTICE. kte vores 橄​w毗​伽​四脚​_ The te which il at the he would not touch it, but report the fact to the head of the next village, whose duty it would be to send for it and keep it, until properly claimed, making his report at the same time to the Meer himself. It is told of him, that being informed that one of his brothers, rather a favourite too, in riding by 'a poor man's garden put forth his hand and plucked a pomegranate, without asking the owner's permis- sion, he sent for him and charged him with the fact, which was not denied. " And which was the hand you put forth to do the act?” The young man held it forth. “ And with which finger did you pluck the fruit ?"_" With this,” was the reply.—“ Then let that finger be immediately cut off,” said the Meer, and the sentence was carried into execution on the spot. There is another story current which reminds us of a similar one related of Nader Shah, to whom, in fierce remorselessness of character, he appears to bear no small resemblance. The body of a man, mutilated by wolves and jackals, was found near the highway, not far from certain vil- lages. Intelligence of the fact reached the Meer, who caused all the usual inquiries to be made, but without producing any discovery of the murderers. The villagers, when questioned, laid the fault upon the wolves of the neighbouring jungles, who had al- ready devoured a great part of the carcass. “ Then bring those wolves to me,” was the order given in reply to this excuse; and the whole village, knowing the consequence of failure, was in a bustle to catch the wolves. Some were taken, and brought to the Haus Gi AN INVITATION FROM TIJE MEER. 67 great man, who put them one after another to a lin- gering death with terrible tortures, the sight of which, it is affirmed, so terrified the villagers, that they exerted themselves to discover and give up to justice the real murderers, in order to save them- selves from the terrible fate which that of the poor wolves seemed to point out as likely to become theirs. The tale is not very probable, but shows the light in which the dealings of this chief are regarded. To aid in describing a chief who seems fated to exercise an important influence over a large por- tion of this very interesting country, I am tempted to make use of some extracts from a journal kept by Dr. Ross, the medical gentleman in attendance on the British resident at Baghdad, who had the singular good fortune to make a journey through this dangerous country, by invitation of the Meer himself. It appears that Meer Mustapha, the father of the chief, is blind, and that in the hope of restoring him to sight, he had sent to request Colonel Taylor that an English doctor might be sent to try his skill. The opportunity of cultivating relations with this singular man was readily seized on by Colonel Taylor, and Dr. Ross being charged with this in- teresting duty, departed for the country of the Meer under convoy of his uncle Bayazeed Beg, who had been sent to Baghdad on this mission to the British resident. It is necessary first, however, to tell you that in addition to all his conquests, both in Mesopotamia and in the lower parts of Assyria, the Meer had at that time turned his arms against the large and fer- F 2 68 A POPULOUS DISTRICT. duet the per the in Aneh he made a berter, a 四邊 ​tile, though mountainous and difficult, country of Amadia, which lies to the north-west of Rewandooz and to the north of Mousul. This state, or rather Pashalic, for its chief was a Pashah, is spoken of by all in the highest terms of commendation, for its productiveness, beauty, and density of population. Several persons of high respectability agreed in de- claring to me that it contained twelve thousand vil- lages, not petty hamlets, but consisting of from two to three hundred families (or houses) each. A state- ment which must be enormously beyond the truth, as, taking each village at only one hundred and fifty houses, and giving but five persons to each house, the aggregate would be nine millions-a population greatly exceeding that of the whole of Persia : it must therefore be taken only to mean that Amadia is very populous. It was ruled by a Pashah, the descendant of a Koordish family, who received his investure from the Porte; but misrule, and jealousy, and domestic brawls, led to his overthrow. The country became split into numerous petty chiefships, the heads of which paid no regard to the reigning Pashah, a weak and foolish man, who had lost all authority, and who shut himself up in his castle of Amadia, secure in its supposed impregnability, while the Meer was overrunning the country, and one by one reducing all these petty and self-constituted chiefs. At last he laid siege to Amadia itself; and by avail- ing himself of family feuds and treason, bribed his way into that important fortress, from whence he directed his efforts with still greater vigour to re- vetele Berane Therese 1 LA ܐܠܐܐ From Tapice DR. ROSS'S JOURNEY. 69 duce the remaining strongholds of the country. At the period of Dr. Ross's journey, however, Amadia had not fallen, and the Meer was besieging Akra or Accra, a very strong fortress upon the Zàb, about fourteen hours from N.N.W. to N. of Er- bile. It was towards the middle of May, 1833, when Dr. Ross left Baghdad ; and among the first remarks he made, was the great contrast which was ob- servable in point of cultivation and population, be- tween the Turkish and Koordish territories. In the former, all the villages were deserted, the inhabitants having taken flight to avoid the government im- posts. Every creature that remained was open- mouthed in complaint against Allee Pashah of Baghdad, and the moment a man belonging to the government appeared, away they ran to hide them- selves. On the other hand, no sooner did the party reach Altoun-Kupree, than all the people flocked out to meet Bayazeed Beg, wearing flowers on their heads as on holidays, and pressed forward to kiss his hand, and shouted and cheered as he passed along. From Altoun-Kupree to Erbile the plain was co- vered with flowers interspersed amongst the richest verdure, and the country was very populous. The reception of Bayazeed Beg, at the latter place, is described by Dr. Ross as being in the highest de- gree picturesque and beautiful, both from the rich costumes and from the affectionate animation that gave spirit to the scene. On the 19th of May, Dr. Ross left Erbile for 70 DUMDUM. tages der Sara sedicine de up Wu Rewandooz, near which place resided old Mustapha Beg, the object of the professional part of his journey; and traversing a mountainous but very fertile country, much covered with low oak, and wild almond, and surmounting several steep passes, they reached Dumdum, the residence of the old man, from whence they could see the valley and fortress of Rewandooz, the latter not more than an hour's ride distant. Dumdum is a small fort built upon a precipitous promontory of rock one hundred feet high, insulated by a wall built across the neck, and overlooking a small town of one hundred poor houses, in a perfect jungle of gardens filled with every sort of fruit tree. From this place the town of Rewandooz appeared to consist of about two thousand poor houses with a sort of fort situated in a hollow of the mountains, on the south bank of the greater Zâb, over which there was a bridge of trees, resting on two stone piers, and covered with branches and earth. The river was narrow, rapid, rough, and deep, but eight hours further down, kellecks (or rafts of skins) can go across. The Doctor was not permitted to visit Rewandooz, nor to go much about the country, but among other objects of interest which he heard of,' he mentions one in particular; a pillar of marble standing upon a quadrangular base, in all about three spears (thirty to thirty-five feet) high, and covered with inscriptions.* Several Eu- ropeans, at different times, had expressed a wish to visit it, but permission was always refused. It was * It will be found, hereafter, that I also heard of this pillar. od COSTUME. 71 said to be two days' journey from Dumdum, and has been supposed to be a pillar set up by Semiramis. Of Dumdum and its inhabitants, Dr. Ross does not speak with much applause. Of the latter, he says, “ the people appear to know little of the good things of this world. The great folks are miserably dressed, and their houses mere pig-styes. They are sulky savages; they will not give even a draught of milk without growling, and everything further has almost to be forced from them. When I When I gave them medicine they grumbled that I did not furnish bot- tles to put it in.” The dress of the richer men is the same as that of the Baghdadees. The poorer wear a short jacket, with wide camlet trousers, and a felt jerkin without sleeves, cotton shoes and woollen stockings; and on their head, the peculiar Koordish turban. The women wear a blue shirt with wide trousers, tied at the ankles, and a square mantle fastened by two corners hanging down the back. On their head they wear a round plate of silver, from which hang down large drops with a coin fastened to each, round the head and neck or the whole affair is made of silver coins. The inode of salutation is curious; each takes the other by the right wrist, and kisses the forearm. Every evening six or eight of the villagers dined " below the salt,” at the Meer's house, and several old warriors, the friends of his youth. Ophthalmia the Doctor ob- served to be frequent here. His patient, the old Meer (Mustapha,) turned out to be irrecoverably blind. The cause, by his own account, ophthalmia, brought on by putting snow 112700 72 FAMILY OF THE MEER. them Canon ro; istinued der in upon his head, one day when much heated by ascending a mountain, on the top of which he found a bed of it. Report had asserted that he had been blinded by order of his son, by the meel (red hot iron pencil), or the hot iron cup, but this Dr. Ross declares to be assuredly false. The cause of his resignation in favour of that son is less cer- tain. Some assert that his deposition was compul- sory; others, that, being convinced his son was cal- culated to become a greater man than himself, he had voluntarily resigned in his favour. The Meer, or rather Pashah, Mahomed has four brothers living. Two of them, Timoor Khan and Suleiman Beg, are kept in irons in a fort five hours distant from Rewandooz. Another, Ahmed Beg, was governor of Erbile, and the fourth, Rasool Beg, was with the army. The Meer has three wives but no family, nor, as he is forty-five, is he likely to have any, in which case Rasool Beg is re- garded as his successor. The Doctor appears to have been but shabbily treated at Dumdum, from whence he returned to Erbile to await the orders of the Meer. On his way he saw the people of a village bringing their children to a very old woman who happened to pass, and who blew or grunted a prayer over them, and gave them pieces of old rags and coins, which also she blessed, and which were fixed to the caps of the little ones as charms against evil. The Doc- tor found the Koords, like all mountaineers, very su- perstitious; every hill and every ravine has its goblin, and near Rewandooz there is a cavern full 6 FIERCE AND CHURLISH MANNERS. 73 of them.” From thence, in 1831, the roaring of cannon was heard to issue in the direction of the town; and the plague soon followed. The reports continued for a month or two, after which they and the disease suddenly ceased together. Many people of respectability declared this to be a fact. The attention experienced by Dr. Ross, both on his way to Erbile and for some time after his ar- rival there, was by no means of a nature to prepossess him much in favour of Koordish hospitality. It appears that from the moment his first Mehmandar, Bayazeed Beg, had given up his charge at Dumdum, a marked and very unfavourable change had taken place in the treatment he received, there being no one to coerce the churls into decent conduct. “They are pleasant people enough,” says Dr. Ross, “ until they are forced to go to charges, and then out comes their sulky nature—they have neither true gene- rosity nor hospitality-very different from the Arab tribes, who gave what they had with a good grace, and even pressed one before another to offer their gifts;" yet had they not been guided from camp to camp as friends of the Sheikh, the very persons who treated them so kindly, would have been the first to plunder and strip them. At Erbile Dr. Ross saw much of Koords and Koordish manners, and speaks strongly of their fierce and turbulent dispositions. 66 The element of the Koord,” says he, “ is war. He is trained to it from his cradle, and is never happy but in skir- mishes and battles; I have seen boys of twelve and fifteen suffering under the most severe wounds, re- 774 KOORDISH FIGHTS. striking te of A diren act lutah frame wording bezplatio Det er et czen of on his W, SE ceived in recent fights. I understand their battles are very sanguinary. They begin with their rifles, but soon come to use the dagger all in earnest. No Arab blustering-all right hard fighting; and the return of killed and wounded is generally very great. They hold the Baghdad government and its troops in the most thorough contempt, and say, if the city was likely to be of any use to them, the Turks would not stand in their way a day. Erbile and Kupree they found occasion for, and took accordingly; the former in one hour. They depend on no country but their own for the supply of all their wants. Everything they require is produced at home, and while their mountains form impreg- rable defences against foreign invaders, their rugged sides and valleys, with little effort, produce abun- dantly everything they desire to cultivate, and af- ford a never-failing supply of wood, water, and pasture.” The country around Erbile is let out by the Pashah to the Sheikhs, in districts, after the man- ner of the feudal system. The T'hye, or Taee Arabs, are subject to the Pashah, and send a large contingent to his army, which was then at Accra. The Pashah appeared to be well liked, or rather feared ; perhaps on account of his strict mode of government. Theft and robbery are scarcely ever heard of, and no door is ever closed at night; yet punishment by death is seldom inflicted: for theft, a hand is chopped off; for desertion, a foot; and for other crimes, the loss of one or both eyes is held sufficient. Occasionally, however, a severe and Ahmed 1 we cami) Tereid dile on Produk SUMMARY EXECUTION. 75 striking example is made. A Sheikh of the Taee tribe of Arabs, all notorious plunderers, having been driven across the Tigris by the more powerful tribe of Jerbah, took refuge in the Meer's country, where for some time he lived in peace and quietness, ac- cording to the rules and regulations laid down by that chief. But tired out with inaction, the passage of a small caravan close to his camp afforded a temptation too strong to be resisted; he plundered it and possessed himself of the goods it contained. But ere the evening of the second day-ere almost he had time to reckon up his ill-gotten gain, half a dozen of Koords made their appearance, and riding up to his tent, without either ceremony or explana- tion, struck off his head at the door, after which they as quietly departed. While at Erbile, where he was civilly received by Ahmed Beg, the Meer's brother, and governor of the place, and was visited by Sultaun Beg, a chief from the camp. The Doctor learned that the army con- sisted of from fifteen to twenty thousand men, who were idle in camp, Accra having been taken some time before. This stronghold, it appears, is situated on the top of an almost perpendicular rock, approach- able only by one path, so narrow that two men can scarcely mount abreast. The natives believed that no power on earth could take it, nor did the Pashah himself expect it to fall so soon; but it so happened that having been attacked in person during a re- connoitering party, by an ambush, and almost taken prisoner, his people were so furious that he led them next morning against the place, which was 76 DR. ROSS ORDERED TO CAMP. C held fast be a sou . Eibile a England's taby Cor Delit. actually carried in three hours, with the loss of only one hundred and fifty men on his side. The Koords of Amadia were so appalled by this coup-de-main, that it was supposed they would give up the place without any more fighting. On the 30th of May, a letter was received from the Pashah, conveying to the governor his com- mands that Dr. Ross should remain at Erbile till sent for, but should be attended to with the utmost respect ; an injunction which had a powerful effect in improving the comforts of his situation. On the 6th of June information was received that the affairs of Amadia were settled, the former Pashah, Seyed, having decamped, and Moossa Pashah being now placed in his stead; Selim Pashah was placed in Accra, and all the country, having submitted to the Rewandooz government, was in perfect quiet. Yet it was not till the 3rd of July, after many re- monstrances, and frequent detentions, upon false assurances of the Pashah's speedy arrival at Erbile, that an order arrived from his Highness to forward the Doctor tº the camp. That personage, it appears, keeps his movements in the profoundest mystery; no one is ever able to guess when or whither a march may take place, nor, until mounted, even the direction the troops are to take. Dr. Ross crossed the Zâb on a kelleck, or raft of inflated skins covered with brushwood, which he describes as resembling the representation of Neptune's car, and it was towed across by two horses, which, being first driven into the water, were urged across by the people on the raft, who or in 191); 1 A&.2s M CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MEER. 77 held fast by their tails. The party reached Accra by a route of fourteen hours, or fifty-six miles N.N.W. to N.; and Dr. Ross considers both Erbile and Accra as pretty nearly due-north of Baghdad. The Pashah received him well, but sent privately to beg his excuse for not rising up to receive him a compliment due, he was aware, to the King of England's servant, but which, being surrounded by newly conquered people, he was desirous to avoid paying, as implying an acknowledgment of equality which it might not be politic for him publicly to admit. He found the Pashah, a benevolent pleasing-looking man of about forty-five years of age; fair, marked with the small-pox, and blind of an eye, which was depressed and opake. His beard was about twelve inches long, of a light brown colour, the lower half being uncombed and quite felted together : in other respects, he was rather tidy in dress. He was lame of one leg from the kick of a horse, and spoke with a weak voice. He entered into long conversations, more than once, with Dr. Ross, and chiefly on general subjects ; inquired regarding the mode of education in Eng- land; the religion of India and China ---the latter country he thought was ours, as well as the former, He also desired to know what terms we were on with Persia, and with Russia. On another occasion, he made many inquiries as to the uses and effects of medicine ; the state of the pulse in illness ; of the plague, cholera, &c.; then he would pass to more warlike subjects, and speak of guns and 78 STATE OF THE MEER'S ARMY. mentions de froz B a var, at On the ap and - bergh to tik alate pistols, producing an old English double-barrelled gun and a rifle, which, with a sword, a telescope, and an umbrella, a wooden bed, and a few carpets, composed the greater part of his tent furniture. Close to his own tent, there was a large double-poled one, in which he holds durbar in the forenoon, and at night. He never went to bed till after dawn, and slept till nine or ten in the forenoon. A quarter of an hour before the last prayer, a noisy band struck up ; and at prayer-time, a gun was fired. The force, in camp, Dr. Ross understood to be only about ten thousand men, not half the original army, the rest having been sent home for the harvest. The camp itself had no pretensions to military order; the only thing regular was a ring of small tents round that of the Pashah, containing his own guard, in number three thousand. These also act as his servants. The infantry have rifles and daggers ; the cavalry, lances and daggers. Every chief of an ashayer, or clan, had his own tribe encamped about him, separate from the rest, which spoiled the look of the camp, so that it was spread out to an extent which, according to the rules of European castrametation, would contain fifty thousand men ; yet, notwithstanding all this want of discipline, or order, not a sound was heard, and every man could be in one spot in five minutes. The men were of their own accord constantly firing at marks ; and every evening from one to two hundred of the soldiers dined in the Pashah's tent, coming by turns from the different tribes. A natish ఆ . YARISIS Jik A CONTRAST. 79 number of prisoners were remarked in the camp heavily ironed on the neck and legs. The Doctor mentions, that it is the Pashah's custom to pur- chase from the captors every sort of property taken in war, and in general at a price twice as large as any other buyer would give. On the 8th of July, Dr. Ross left the Pashah's camp and took the road to Mosul. On the other side of the Zâb he found one hundred Arabs of the Boo-Selman tribe, ready mounted to escort him through the remainder of the Rewandooz chieftain's territory. He remonstrated against the attendance of such a host; but the leader of the band informed him that his orders were precise, and that he could not abate him one man ; and the Doctor takes occa- sion here to point out the contrast between the customs of officials in the Pashah's and in the Turkish territory. The moment he entered the latter, he was stunned by demands for buksheesh (presents), and, after fleecing him of what he might have about him, the sturdy beggars followed to his home for more. In the territories of Rewandooz the word was never mentioned. In all parts com- parisons were drawn between the government of Allee Pashah of Baghdad and of the Meer, to the greatest possible disadvantage of the former, against whom treason was openly spoken, while the Meer of Rewandooz was as openly extolled. So far the notes of Dr. Ross. The account given by most of the persons whom I met with, best qualified to afford information on the subject, coincided in most particulars with that given in 80 CHARACTER OF THE MEER. trat me il ha being treatment, a sime sti banner as sheep proba ! preten , in 2 g these notes. The character of the Meer is shown forth in his acts. He is inordinately ambitious, and quite unscrupulous in regard to the means of attaining his ends; prudent and far-sighted, but jealous and suspicious in the extreme; strongly im- bued with notions of a stern justice, but practising its dictates rather as a means of further aggrandize- ment than for its own sake. He is careless of spilling blood, but not prone to kill in wantonness, or without a cause; yet never sparing when a cause, however slight, exists. I was informed that a certain tribe of Koords, having opposed him with vigour during the siege of Amadia, and persisted in holding out against him even after the fall of that place, he turned the force of his arms against them; and, having with considerable trouble subdued them, he put to death all that fell into his hands, to the amount of several thousands, as a warning to others. The jealousy of the Meer extends only to strangers travelling in the country without apparent business ; merchants, muleteers, or the inhabitants of circum- jacent countries, require no passport, and are free to come and go; but persons coming from a distance, particularly if from states which have evinced hosti- lity at any time, would run the risk of being stopped and imprisoned as spies. I inquired what might likely be my own case, were I to enter his country without previously securing permission so to do; the reply from all was to the same purpose, that it would be the height of imprudence to attempt such a step; that he was a man of budfikr, evil thoughts, ta Hidered it Le fate wa the hoteles BAD TREATMENT. 81 ho might take it in his head I was a spy, and treat me ill, particularly as coming from Tabreez. On being pressed to explain what they meant by bad treatment, they said I should probably be confined in some strong place till the Meer's pleasure could be known, and then sent out of the country in such a manner as to see as little of it as possible ; that for the sake of his own good name, I might probably meet with no violence in his territories, but that I might very probably fall amongst thieves on crossing the frontier, in my way out of them ; a very easy ex- pedient in so disturbed a country. All this was matter of serious consideration to ine. The character of this remarkable chief, and the rapid progress in power he had made within the last five or six years, together with the important moral change it was likely to effect in this part of Asia, rendered it no less a point of duty than of curiosity, to see and become acquainted with him, and judge how far report had done him justice. With this * The fate of this remarkable man was not just what might have been anticipated. In process of time his progress and ex- ploits on the Turkish territories occasioned a powerful and com- bined movement against him on the part of the Porte. Resheed Pashah, who commanded the army in Diarbekir, and on the side of Koordistan, moved against him on one side, while Allee Pashah of Baghdad, and Mahomed Pashah of Mousul, attacked his terri- tories on the south and west. The Meer defended himself valiantly; and, had his own troops been true, would have laughed the combined forces to scorn. But the Meer was not popular in the conquered countries. His severity had made him more feared than loved. Some of his officers were treacherous ; and it is certain, that those who would have stood by him to the last on common occasions, were dismayed by seeing the sanjack VOL. 1. G 82 A DISAPPOINTMENT. Peturn; furt 11 testing peopard 1 secifice is the core hey lit view, I had received from the envoy a letter, to- gether with certain presents, which it was my object to convey to him in person, as the commencement of a friendly intercourse, which hereafter might prove useful and convenient. My plan was, on my arrival at Ooshnoo, a place two days' journey hence, to which I mean to go, and which is but sixty miles from Rewandooz, to send a letter men- tioning the nature of my credentials, and proposing that, if his Highness saw fit to receive them from my own hands, he should send me a guide and safe conduct under his own hand; but if otherwise, and that he should object to receive me, he might depute some one to receive the presents. You may judge of my disappointment at learning here that the Meer, instead of being at Rewandooz, as I hoped, was full ten days' journey off, in Mesopotamia, where he was prosecuting his conquests. Thus, were I to send to him, at least twenty days must elapse before the answer could arrive, and twenty more would be required for me to visit him and to (colours) of the Sultan arrayed against them. Lingering re- mains of veneration for the successor of the Prophet and the head of their religion, forbade the Koords to oppose in arms the troops of the Sultan. The Meer felt this; and, after losing one after another his best strongholds, about the end of August 1836, he actually surrendered himself into the hands of Allee Pashah of Baghdad. He was sent in irons to Constantinople, where he was kept in a sort of half-honourable confinement for some time, but after a few months was pardoned, and appointed to the govern- ment of his own country, on promise of good behaviour. But he never reached it--why, or how, I know not: he was put to death pon the road, no doubt, by orders of his sublime master and conqueror. si la 1 sl, aftene A SACRIFICE. 83 return; a delay which, as my time has already run short, it is impossible to incur. On the other hand, however desirous I might be to undertake so very interesting an enterprise, there were sufficient reasons existing to deter me from putting life or liberty in jeopardy, so palpably as must be done by en- tering the country of the Meer without his own per- mission. So once more, with extreme reluctance, I sacrificed inclination to duty; and, contenting myself with the best information I could pick up in the coterminous countries about this remarkable chief, to take my way to Baghdad by Soolimaniah. Even this will carry me through a route compa- ratively little known, and show me a good stretch of Koordistan, though nothing in comparison of the other route. But you know not the full extent of my self-denial. Had I gone by Rewandooz, and possibly by Amadia, I should have come down upon Mosul, and visited the site of ancient Nineveh and the tomb of the Prophet Jonas. But this, too, I must give up, and I hope, dear you will give me credit for some consideration and self-control when you hear this; for how easily might I have found an excuse for another month's delay ? but no, -honour bright-a sense of duty, and the “linger- ing chain" of Goldsmith, keep me right in spite of all temptations, and will not suffer me to protract my absence one day beyond what necessity re- quires. G 2 84 ಉರ. | ASE LETTER IV. de moz B Leave Ooroomia.-Koordish Costume and Weapons.-Dusht-e- Beel.-Ugly Customers.-Koordish Mountains.—Plain of Oosh- noo.-Sumud Khan and his Establishment.--Antiquity of the Koordscompared with the Highland Clans.—State of the Country.- A Disappointment.-Ooshnoo-Depopulation of.- Buffaloes--their Usefulness.--Koords on Horseback.--Fishing. -Singular Mode of catching Quails.--Leave Ooshnoo.-Blood Feuds.-Suggerân Seyeds.--Negotiations for safe Conduct.- Success in Fishing.–Koords at Prayer.-Kara Papâks and Bilbâs Koords.--Threatening Appearances.-Bustards.--Churl- ish Repulse.--Retreat to a Caravanserai.—A hospitable Koord. -A Disappointment.-- Piscatory Adventures. w the chef Hotels take an Ooshnoo, 21st October, 1834. If you seek, dear to find the place of my present abode in any map you are likely to have within reach, you will seek it in vain. But if this find you in London, and you should have the means of getting sight of Monteith's map of Azerbijân, &c. you may see it laid down about thirty-five miles S.S.W. of Ooroomia, and to the west of Lake Shahee, that is in the very heart of Koordistan. On the 19th I took leave of Ooroomia and its very interesting neighbourhood, as well as of its kind and polite chief; but that day we only marched twelve miles, taking up our abode at a small village of the Khan's, where we were still entertained as DREAMS. 85 his guests. We were lodged in a large building of mud, used as a mosque, and were well entertained by the chief people of the village, so far as eatables were concerned; but I never passed a more sleepless night. Some how or other I awoke after a couple of hours nap, and got into a train of thought that kept me wakeful. Then came a concert of dogs, baying the moon, which lasted two full hours. Then the labourers of the village, who attend to the irrigation of the rice grounds, assembled behind the mosque just at my head, and struck up a clattering and laughing that might have wakened the seven sleepers. By the time they went off, it was about time to think of going too; but I did fall into that sort of doze in which our dreams are the most vivid, and I had a dream-a dream of home. I had returned --I saw you all, and fain would have mingled with you; but there was an obstacle I could not tell what and there were . . remonstrating with me, and I was still striving to approach with a force and vividness of feeling, that was little short of reality, when in came the people to tell me they were loading, and all vanished, leaving me in the cold dim mosque, to rise for a cold ride, for the wind blew fiercely from some hills on the right, which still were flecked with large patches of snow. Our path, this day, led up a narrow but cul- tivated country, plunging into the very heart of the Koordish mountains, amongst which we soon found ourselves, and every moment were met and passed by parties of wild-looking Koords, with their fine flowing garments and long slender spears. The 86 KOORDISH COSTUME 2012 JUNG dress of these people is by far the most picturesque I have seen, with the exception of some few among the Turkish costumes: indeed, the word “ pic- turesque," applies better to it than to any Turkish dress I know. On their head they wear a large shawl of striped silk, red, white, and blue, with fringed ends, which is wound in the most graceful manner round their red skull-cap. Its ample folds are confined with some sort of band, and the long fringes hang down with a rich fantastic wildness; their true Saracenic features, and bright black eyes, gleam with peculiar lustre from under this head-tire. Their body garments consist of a sort of ample vest and gown, with magnificent wide Turkish sleeves, over which is worn a jacket, often richly embroidered and furred, according to the owner's rank. Their lower man is enveloped in ample shulwars, not un- like those of the Mamlucs, into which, in riding, they stuff the skirts of their more flowing garments. Around their waist, instead of a shawl, they wear a girdle fastened with monstrous silver clasps, which may be ornamented according to the owner's taste with jewels, and in which they stick, not only their Koordish dagger, but a pair of great brass or silver- knobbed pistols. From this, too, hang sundry powder-horns and shot-cases, cartridge-boxes, &c. and over all they cast a sort of cloak, or abba, of camel's hair, white, or black, or striped, white, brown, and black, clasped on the breast, and floating pic- turesquely behind. When riding they carry a small round shield depending from the left shoulder, and grasp in their hand a long slender spear. If in ਤੋਂ de fans ta Tac AND ARMOUR. 87 war-time, and they are going on an expedition, in addition to these arms they carry a gun, and oc- casionally three slender javelins in a case, which they can throw with great precision to the distance of thirty yards. Then they case themselves in ar- mour, like knights of old, either in a shirt of linked mail, such as those in the hall at with helmet and armlets, or with a suit of plate-armour, called Char-Eineh, consisting of four plates of inlaid and Damasked steel, made to fit back, breast, and sides, and which are a defence against anything but a ball striking them directly. From this sketch of Koordish costume, you will comprehend that it is worth seeing, and that the groups that passed us, ever and anon, were in good harmony with the scenery, and well calculated to awaken interest and fix at- tention; but as for the costume, I hope you will be enabled to judge for yourself, as I mean to pro- cure a complete dress, which may serve some day for a fancy ball at home. After breakfasting beside the stream, which we were following up to its head, we continued on till we reached a wide level, or table-land called the Dusht-e-Beel, where the waters separated and ran to either side the ridge; and, leaving the regular road, we struck over this high flat, which was in- habited, we understood, by Eeliaut Koords of a very fierce and lawless character. The path we followed, it seems, was both shorter and better than the regular one we had quitted, but is seldom preferred on ac- count of these same Eeliauts, who make no ceremony about stripping and plundering all whom they are 88 QUESTIONABLE RENCONTRE. Ithe der ME Te mere legpitali in do ther Pe ante able to overpower. While we were listening to this account from our guide, who bade us fear nothing under his protection, I observed six stout fellows in the Koordish dress, but on foot, appear on the brow of a little height, and reconnoitre us with a very suspicious air. Our guide immediately rode forwards to them; and, after a few words had passed, they all came forwards and made their graceful salute, while their leader, an old man, laid his hands upon his eyes, as much as to say, “ you have brought light to these, and are as dear to me as them," and proffered all manner of services and welcomes. The old villain! but for the presence of our guide and our own obvious strength, he would have scrupled as little at possessing himself of our effects and knock- ing us on the head, as if we had been so many jackals ; but a single guide, not to speak of our fire-arms, made them all our humble slaves. On we fared ; and, descending a very rugged and steep ravine, in which ran a fine clear stream, we saw beneath us the fine valley or basin of Ooshnoo, stretching from fourteen to fifteen miles or more each way, in length and breadth, studded with vil- lages and backed by the magnificent chain of Mount Zagros, the backbone of Koordistan, and indeed of this part of Asia, which stretches from the knot of mountains in Armenia where the Tigris and Euphrates take their rise, to the Bukhtiaree moun- tains that run past Ispahan, and passing through Fars, unite with those of Kermân and Mekrân. It was a fine lofty ridge, spotted plentifully with snow, and, I should conjecture very roughly, not less than Perse Allery Larking SASA & & & &. + OOSHNOO. 89 from eight to ten thousand feet high above the level of the sea; but the loftiest knot of the chain, that of Jewâr, the habitation of the Nestorians, lay hid from us to the west. It was a noble sightma fer- tile theme for thought and speculation—but the hours of daylight were passing away, and we were forced to haste towards the town, or rather large village of Ooshnoo, which we reached just as the sun sank behind the lofty peaks of granite, and where we were received by Sumud Khan, chief of the place and tribe of Zerzaw, with all possible kindness and hospitality Ooshnoo, the first truly Koordish abode I have been domiciliated in, differed not externally from other Persian villages; but the costume of its inha- bitants imparted to its interior a character which no Persian village could present. The Khan him- self was habited in the common Persian garb, which, I observe, is adopted by all men of rank, whatever their tribe or country, who have seen something of the world, in the same manner as our Highland Lairds, now-a-days, leave the kilt and the tartan to their followers or clan, and seldom affect the sin- gularity of wearing it, unless upon some particular occasion. The whole of his household and all the other inhabitants, however, retained the Koordish costume, with all their native wildness, and stood gazing at the stranger as if he were a man of other mould than they—other I say, not better ; for no Celtish Laird or loon can think more highly of him- self, his family, or his clan, than did these Koords of their blood and tribe ; and certainly, so far as 90 KOORDS. te chara Lighland teacher a bra the was ram, in tely , by antiquity has claims to regard, they have good title to consideration ; for they are probably the descen- dants of those who flourished in the days of Cyrus and Xenophon, of Julian and Heraclius, and just as proud, independent, and thievish as they. In fact, the similarity between these Koords, as they are, and the highland clans as they were, not many centuries ago, is wonderfully strong. They are as devotedly attached to their mountains as any Scotch or Swiss highlanders for their lives can be. Like the first, they are divided into clans and septs, ac- knowledging the supremacy of chiefs, who are re- garded with as much devotion and followed with the same blind zeal, and all on the same grounds, protection and kindness in return for fealty and ser- vice. They are proud, haughty, and overbearing, exactly in proportion to their ignorance, and, like our highlanders of old, despise more or less all arts but those of war and plunder--all professions but that of arms. They have their feuds with their neighbours, and make raids on the poor industrious lowlander; and woe betides him who should at- tempt to “ ascend the pass of Ballybrugh,” or enter the “ country” of any Koordish “ Donald Bean Lean,” without guide and safe conduct. The same love of enterprise and plunder has been inherent in both, each nation has been stained by like atrocities and fearful instances of revenge, and has been famed for the profession, and generally for the practice of hospitality,—the same professed regard for word once pledged — for the sanctity of the promise of pro- tection. But the parallel stops here, for certainly claire ch tellung malen 9 ANOTHER DISAPPOINTMENT. 91 the character of “highland hospitality” is deservedly far higher than the practice of it, at this day, among the Koords; and I cannot assuredly recollect in highland story any such infamous instances of treachery, of violation of the sacred character of host towards his guest, on the most frivolous pretexts, such breaches of the spirit of a promise while the letter was kept, as have occurred in Koordistan. With regard to myself, however, on this occasion I had no cause to complain. A short time saw me fairly lodged in a comfortable chamber, not so su- perb as my quarters at Ooroomia, but clean and warm, in which I was soon in conference with Su-. mud Khan, regarding the state of the country ge- nerally, but especially as relating to the affairs of Rewandooz. The result of this conversation was conclusive on the subject of my projected visit to the chief of that place. To proceed in it would be folly; I found that the condition of the country was such as even to compel me to relinquish a lesser project, of the success of which I had hitherto en- tertained no doubts. I had been informed that at the top of a pass on the road to Rewandooz, some sixteen or twenty miles from Ooshnoo, there was to be seen a stone pillar inscribed with writing in some language unknown to any of the people of the country; and the desire of seeing what might have proved a very interesting monument, would have induced me to brave any reasonable risk to be incurred in getting at it. But the Khan assured me that it would be the height of madness to at- tempt it ; that but a few days before, a caravan 92 DEPOPULATION OF OOSHNOO. either KE utin of de 1720 dited fi be pe bettet . proceeding to Rewandooz, had been plundered by the Bilbâs, and that nothing short of a very power- ful party could venture on that road, and such a party he could not supply me with. By way of alleviating my disappointment, I suppose, he in- formed me that a gentleman, whom I take to be the unfortunate Schultz, had some time ago actually gone to see the stone, and on his return had de- clared the inscriptions to be illegible from age and defacement, but that they related only to matters of boundary between the two countries, and had nothing to do with concealed treasure. Whether or not this inconsistent tale were entirely a fabrication of the Khan's to prevent me frorn further pressing the point, I cannot determine ; but it was easy to see how his own ideas pointed, and therefore, as it would have been dangerous, if not impossible to achieve the adventure without his good will, I gave it up with a good grace, hoping that some other traveller more fortunate, and with more time at his command than myself, may soon decide what this monument of antiquity really is. Next morning I took a stroll about the town, or rather on the heights above it, and a pretty place it looked, surrounded with a large extent of orchards just tinged with red and yellow by the autumnal tints. Ooshnoo some years ago contained, they say, five thousand families ; but “the plague” and “the Kajars,” these two desolaters of Irân, have sadly reduced its numbers. Four thousand individuals were swept off by the former, and the latter have occasioned an almost general emigration from the at any 10, bis With the challe SHORT-SIGHTED POLICY. 93 valley. I must observe, however, that the Koords are a race who willingly would pay tax or duty to neither King nor Kajars, and who esteem the ex- action of either the height of tyranny ; so that if the tyranny of the Kajars rested solely on their report, it would assuredly require confirmation. Unfortunately this is not the case, and the short- sighted folly of a race, who seem incapable of suit- ing their measures of government to the exigencies of the occasion, and the feelings and peculiarities of the people to be governed, is the more to be lamented, as it compromises the happiness and prosperity of the nation. Were the present reign- ing family, for instance, to take the trouble of con- ciliating these tribes - from whom it is difficult to wrest anything by force--and to offer the slenderest encouragement in the way of pay, they might com- mand, by a comparatively trifling concession, and small outlay, an almost unlimited number of hardy horsemen and toffunchees, who, in an emergency, would be sure to turn the scale in their favour against any opponent. With its population, the productiveness of Oosh- noo has of course greatly decreased. The town has still about three thousand families, they say, - I should not believe near so many,--and the valley about twelve thousand; but the cultivation is greatly reduced. What I took for stubble-fields proved, on approach, to be meadows of dry grass; and a few green spots here and there marked the small pro- portion of wheat, which was to form the following harvest. I remarked that buffaloes are a good deal 94 USE OF BUFFALOES. Legs to Dith ETING steder TUNGU wird, & employed on this side of Lake Shahee ; and here they appear to supersede the use of all other animals for purposes of agriculture. They plough, they drag carts, they carry loads, they give milk, they are killed and eaten ; and, I must say, that where water is not scarce, they appear to me the most useful domestic animal possible. They are far stronger than bullocks, and not less docile, and they carry full as great a load as a good camel, while their keep is not more expensive than, and their milk is nearly if not quite as good as, that of the cow. It is true that they cannot do without water, and that, like the water-spaniel, whenever they come to a pool they are apt to lie down in it, to the great detriment of loads and discomfort of drivers or riders. The other day I saw a pair of them coming along, ridden each by a Koord ; a pool of black mud lay in their path, and down they both lay, as if by mutual consent, nearly smothering their two gay riders before they could disengage themselves. But on the previous day I witnessed a wonderful proof of the strength and sagacity of the creatures. Four of them were dragging a heavy-loaded cart through a perfect slough; the foremost pair had reached the firm earth of its margin, but, instinctively aware that if they clambered up to the elevated bank they would lose their power of draught, they actually knelt upon it, and continued dragging on their knees until the latter pair, or wheelers, had also got to terra firma. They then rose; and, both uniting their forces, tugged the cart out of the mire. The price tuted hi tema Het is 15 KOORDISH HORSEMEN. 95 of these useful creatures runs here from thirty shil- lings to two pounds each. Both yesterday and to-day I rode out in the fore- noon with the Khan's son, a fine youth, professedly to fish the river, which winds through the Ooshnoo valley; but, in reality, to have an opportunity of ob- serving something more of my Koordish friends, and inquiring into their manners and customs. It was an animating sight to see the young fellows, who accom- panied us, careering along the plain at speed, as free, it seemed, as the beasts they chased, winding and turning their well-trained horses as they went through their spear-exercise to amuse me. Truly yon mounted Koord, as he flies along as steady as a rock upon the spirited little animal he bestrides, is a gallant ob- ject; his splendid turban gleaming in the´sun, his wide mantle floating away behind him, and the long slender spear quivering like a reed as he shakes his bare arm, the loose sleeves of his tunic and jacket waving like streamers in the wind. I assure you that as a dozen of these wildly picturesque figures were careering around us, I felt myself and my three or four Kuzzilbashes, in our sober garbs, cut but a sorry figure. On they would come up to your very breast, their keen steel spear-points glittering like sparks of lightning, when a swerve of their arm, or their body, imperceptible to you, would send them just clear of you, to wheel round with the speed of thought upon the other flank. It was a delightful representation of the admirably described combat between the Scottish knight and 96 FISHING. Nilit ed the 16 out means the Saracen warrior at the “ Diamond of the Desert," which opens that delightful tale “ The Talisman," and strange enough it seemed, to find one's self amidst the very people there described. We had little sport in fishing, but a great deal of fun and laughing ; for the Koords were too im- patient to endure the slow and quiescent process of luring the fish with the bait. The Khan's son, so soon as he saw a shoal of them darting about in the still water, spurred his horse at them, spear in hand, as he would have done at a Bilbâs or a Kuzzil- bash, if his foe, shouting out “ Ah-ah! ah-ah! look at them! look at them !” and chasing them hither and thither as if he could have caught them by speed of foot. Then all the party dashed into the water girth-deep, splashing, and poking, and shout- ing out to me to look at the fish-to come here or there-here was the place to catch them--here were the large ones. It was in vain to attempt explain- ing that all my art lay in quietly enticing the fish to feed -- that success depended entirely on perfect stillness, and keeping out of sight of the water. There they would all stand or ride along the banks, or sit upon them, striking with their spears at the fish as they darted by, till a hand-net that had been sent for was brought, when I gladly put up my rod and tackle and looked on, laughing at the childish delight with which the Khanzadeh (Khan's son) saw each fish that was entangled in the net taken out of the water. Nor was his delight less on the second day, when, the net having failed of success, I found a pool in which they could not ride, and e tires ht a side & Det Page Dito QUAIL-CATCHING. 97 succeeded in hooking and landing several tolerable fish. At length the rod broke, and there was an end of the fishing, but not of the sport; for we next rode across the country after quails and ducks—any- thing that afforded an object, or excuse, for a chase, now and then putting up a grand bustard by way of variety; and I was made acquainted with a curious enough way they have of catching quails, and which I do not remember to have seen described. A man, choosing a place where they abound, spreads a net upon the grass or stubble, in such a manner that the birds can run into but not through it; and then, taking his cloak, he spreads it above his head by means of two sticks, in such a fashion as to double in appearance his natural size and stature. Thus disguised, he goes poking along until he sees a quail upon the ground, when, bending forward, he drives it before him, and the spectre-like hood he carries, overshadowing the creature, so terrifies it, that it does not dare to take wing, but keeps running forward ; a movement of the hood to one side or other serves to direct the course of the unfortunate bird, which soon runs right under the net, and is caught. In this odd manner a great many quails are taken, and one may see dozens of men with their cloaks stuck over their heads, in the manner I have described, employed on a fine evening in the fields at this pastime. October 22. - This morning I despatched a messenger to the Meer of Rewandooz with the Envoy's letter and presents, and a letter from my- VOL, I. H 98 LEAVE OOSHNOO. mustreinat Ir the mic buna cert parts and । You are to ander of Sere Erfan i i te people the land, a potection tb- and 2014 ther in his self, explaining the reason of my not proposing to present them in person, and expressing my great regret at the want of time which deprived me of the opportunity of paying my respects to a chief of his celebrity. This piece of duty being per- formed, and having breakfasted, I took leave of our good host, and quitted the place with feelings of great kindness to all of its inhabitants with whom I had come in contact, and pleased with the country, as well as with our entertainment. I have some reason to hope and believe these feelings were reciprocal —perhaps they were a little aided on the part of my friends by some trifling remem- brancers, in the shape of presents, which it seemed good to me to bestow. Our first stage was a short one. The good folks of these countries, who themselves set no value upon time, and consider case and enjoyment as the only true ends of life, if you leave them to fix the stages of your journey, will, assuredly, not distress you by their length; and the first is always particularly short. But there was another reason, as it ap- peared, for the Khan's fixing my first day's munzil, on this occasion, at a village only nine or ten miles from Ooshnoo : it was the last in his country, and separated from the neighbouring district of Sooldooz only by a little rising ground. A portion of the Bilbâs tribe occupied that part of the Sooldooz district, and with them his clan had a blood-feud. When, therefore, the guide he gave me reached the village in question — Humza Hussan, I think, was its name, --- he signified to me that either I actual safe what is inter In this 1 it was t way that t se to 1 Spill to 1 wie belle 1 SUGGERÂN SEYEDS. 99 must remain there all night, and get fresh guides for the morrow, or wait until he should procure from a certain Seyed, who was Lord of the Village, a pledge of safety for himself, to insure him free ingress and regress from the inimical country. You are to understand that all individuals of that order of Seyeds, called Suggerán, - that is, who can boast of an indisputable descent from the daughter of the prophet in the male line, untainted by less holy blood, are held by the Koords, as well as the Toorkomans, in especial reverence. Not only are their own persons exempt from violence, but the protection they extend to others is respected. Nay, should any one, whose life is forfeit as a murderer, either in his own person or that of his kindred, be on the eve of execution, he must be released at the request of such a holy person. They grant effectual safe-conducts, and frequently become the means of intercourse between hostile tribes when all other is interdicted. The chief of the village, where I was this night to lodge, was one of these Seyeds, and it was therefore understood to be in his power to grant the needful safe-conduct, if he chose ; but it appeared that he made difficulties. Perhaps he knew that the feud was a fierce one, and did not choose to risk compromising a power, which, like all conventional authority, is liable to break down if put to too rude a test, or perhaps he desired to secure for himself the profits of guidance; for after some thoughts and looks, in which I knew not whether annoyance or self-sufficiency predominated, he told me, “I must go with you myself_these H 2 100 MORE FISHING. of their furth the w Inow he call from t the uttere ba es guides ERHVUS T- Te-watered la by sist elled the re te Kara P Hociat people are not to be trusted ; and if anything were to befall you, I should have to answer for it.” I re- plied, “Of course, whatever you say is right; but I would not wish to put you to so much trouble ;" and, rather alarmed at a proof of attention which prognosticated a serious attack upon the purse, I contrived to get the office of guide deputed to his brother, who, though no small man in his own esteem, was not likely to refuse the offer of money in however moderate a form it might be made. These knotty points being settled, and the day as yet little spent, I resolved to try my luck at the river in a quieter and more private fashion than on the two last days, as I was persuaded that sport was to be had if sought after in a proper way. Privacy, however, was unattainable. The moment my intentions were comprehended, every man and child in the village, young boys and grey beards, high and low, flocked out to see the fun; but I con- trived, by means of any old guide, to keep some order, and, to the great delight of all, succeeded in landing some very fine fish, among which was one of at least four pounds weight: I do not know their kind; but, though too full of bones, they were by no means despicable food. For the benefit of my sporting friends, be it known, that they were taken with worm, and the best of them in the back- water of a smart stream. . Our lodging, as usual, was in the mosque of the place, which seems to do duty, in these parts, for a mehman-khaneh, or guest-chamber; and it was interesting in the evening to see these rude Koords avan by 1 te dose of le finest d Astealing 1 whective) pins remai Tex, har . cel Mare Hal ಪfilled TURBULENT TRIBES. 101 assembling at the call of the Muezzin, and lifting up their voices together as the Peishnumâz gave forth the prescribed form of prayer. I sought not to know how many, or how few, might follow the call from the heart, but the sound had something in it solemn and soothing, and I gave credit to those who uttered it, for a sincerity which may only be questioned by Him from whom no secrets are hid. In the morning, after being detained as usual for our guides, we sallied forth, and soon crossed the dangerous barrier of Sooldooz. In this fine, rich, well-watered district, which has an extent of twenty iniles by sixteen, chiefly of fertile flat land, are found settled the remains of two broken tribes of Koords, the Kara Papáks and the Bilbás, of which it would be difficult to determine which are the most despe- rate thieves. The former tribe were brought from Erivan by the late Prince Royal, as I think, about the close of the late Russian war, to this one of the fairest districts of his government, where, how- ever, as I am informed, they still think much more of stealing and plundering than of cultivating their productive lands. The Bilbâs are a portion of the poor remains of one of the most turbulent and fierce, though also one of the bravest, of the Koordish tribes, that have fallen greatly into decay Their daring attacks upon their neighbours, particularly on the side of Ooroomia and Maragha, roused the wrath of the late Prince Royal, who, by the help of a chief of Maragha, inveigled them from their strongholds, and seized and put to death many of their leading men. Their of late years. 102 STRICT POLICE. Pemore fr ther- baur The first presed , was and forth har under their sword discomfiture was completed by the Meer of Rewan- dooz, who, exasperated at their fickle and treacher- ous habits, sometimes pillaging his territories, and sometimes professing obedience in order to obtain his protection, at last attacked and carried off the greater part of the Mammish division of the tribe, as prisoners, to Rewandooz. Not less than forty of the heads of the principal families were in chains there when the plague broke out; and, as almost every one fled from the place except their keepers, they conceived it a good opportunity to make their escape. Accordingly, whether by the connivance of these keepers or not, they did escape from prison; but so strict is the Meer's police, that none of the villagers would venture to give them protection, and the most of them were arrested and sent to the great man, who put every one of them to death, without exception or ceremony, including in the execution those who had had the charge of them at Rewandooz, and all who were believed to have assisted in the escape of such as got off. The poor remains of the Mammish are now principally settled in Sooldoozma few are said to live in Balek, a moun- tainous district belonging to the Meer, and in Lahi- jân, a fine large plain lying westward of Souje Bulâgh. The whole tribe, including its three divi- sions, Mammish, Menkoor, and Peeraun, are re- duced, it is said, to less than two thousand families, the greater portion of whom acknowledge the Meer's authority ; but a considerable number still exist, unapproachable in their wild haunts, and intangible from the facility with which they can the coa pea quit troul bom the PLEASANT WELCOME. 103 / remove from the bounds of one jurisdiction to another--a terror to all their more peaceable neigh- bours. The first village of Sooldooz, through which we passed, was tenanted by a certain number of families of these same Mammish, and, certainly, as they issued forth at our approach, from the crypts of their underground cells, congregating on the tops of some of the houses which commanded the road, their aspect was anything but pacific or agreeable. Big and little, laird and loon, forward they came, their swords girt on, their ready spears in hand, the red beards of the elders vying with their gallant turbans, and the black eyes of the younkers gleam- ing like those of snakes at the thought, or the hopes, of mischief. Even the beldame females loured a threat upon us, which reminded me of the farewell of the crones of " Aberfoil” to the English party when quitting the “ clachan” to proceed up the glen, as related in “Rob Roy.” And no doubt the cloud would have emitted some of its thunder as we passed but for the presence of our Seyed ; at his word their fierce looks and “ questions high” were turned into “ Khoosh-ámedeeds” and “Bala- chesh’ms,"— "you are very welcome — upon our your safety," and such like salutations; and on we fared harmless in the midst of evil. It would have vexed the heart of a duller sports- man than I flatter myself I can yet be esteemed, to see the flocks of noble bustards that frequent these fine plains rising around us, actually in hundreds, from the dry pasture of the meadows, like crows eyes be 104 A FLYING SHOT. zproached, guests were guests were ca our haldi Lacortish se to go about in t any more wird. Av to terminate strusion wa her recher Li instead of table rebuff from off a piece of fresh-ploughed land, and sailing harmlessly away, without our having the power of forcing any of them to stop; but neither time nor place was suited to delay. We could not linger in a place where even our guide showed symptoms of uneasiness, and we had thirty long miles between us and our night's lodging ; but I did make one effort to get a shot at the creatures. As I had no time to stalk them secundum artem, I watched two or three that had lighted on a bit of stubble, - rode slowly towards them as far as I dared, then pushed my horse at them full speed, got pretty close before they could get their heavy bodies on the wing, and fired, but was not so fortunate as to bring any of them down. It was near sunset ere we descended into the deep valley, near the top of which, on a fine stream, lies the nice town of Souje Bulâgh. I had sent forward a man to deliver my letters of introduction, and to secure me lodgings ; but there awaited me, on arriving, a specimen of the manner in which these matters are managed in Persia, which I was not prepared to expect - I say in Persia, for I must do Koordistan the justice to say, that in no other place within its bounds have I met with the like. A mounted Gholaum was sent by Moossa Khan, the Naib, or lieutenant-governor of the place, in absence of Abdoolla Khan, its governor, to welcome and take me to a lodging ; and, accordingly, he did take me to the house of one Abbas Aga, a rich man of the place, it seems, where guests are often lodged. The rooms were lighted up in an inviting manner, as we to the a dll fall dete: half late taken "Very par serta i non settle ym please 14 leth fest , and patently spectacle 1 uten at SURLY RECEPTION. 105 approached, and preparations for the reception of guests were obviously in progress. But that these guests were not us, we very soon found out; for, on our halting at the gate, one or two grand-looking Koordish servants came up and told our Gholaum to go about his business, for that there was no room for any more guests, so that we could not be re- ceived. A very unseemly altercation then took place, to terminate which I turned to the man who seemed the chief of our opponents, assured him that the intrusion was none of my seeking, and that I would far rather lie in the street than enter a house where, instead of welcome, I had met with such an inhospi- table rebuff; and then I told my servant to lead the way to the next caravanserai. • The caravanserais are all full,” said some one; you will get no room there : half the pilgrims of the caravan for Kerbelah have taken up their quarters on the river banks.” ~Very well,” replied I ; "there will I go also, if need be." "No, no," roared the Gholaum, “let your servant go with me to Moossa Khan ; we shall soon settle these gentlemen's business."--"Go where you please," replied I; “but to this house I return not, be the consequence what it may.” So off they went, and I sat upon my horse, waiting, not very patiently, for the arrival of my messengers — a spectacle to all the gaping Koords whom idleness gathered round us. For full half an hour did I remain in this un- pleasant predicament, despatching one man after another to trace out my “corbie messengers,” and when at length they did return it was with an 106 CHANGE OF LODGING. anal or áher out ved by pe U bonse :1 hesitate e disturbed 00" vehement ore great o put dark, at I should increased force, and a still stronger order to provide us an abode in the same house of Abbas Aga, from whence they had been just expelled. We still stood near the gate, and I saw a battle royal commencing; on the one hand the Khan's men, on the other the Aga's servants, and some stout blows were given and taken; but I would not stay to witness the result, and calling to my own people, bade them find out the nearest caravanserai. Thither we went, leaving the combatants to settle the affair as they pleased. At the caravanserai, admittance was, as I anti- cipated, refused ; but I also knew the power of money; and the promise of a reward, joined to a knowledge of who we were, gained me, first en- trance, and then a sort of chamber, in which we were bestowing ourselves and our goods, when a bustle was heard at the gate, and two good-looking Koords, followed by a host of others, entering, came up to me, and said. “What are you thinking of doing here?--you are my guests - my house is prepared for you." " What!” said I, “ the house from which I was so unceremoniously thrust ? no, thank you, I'll none of it; I find myself marvel- lously well here." “No, no," replied they, “not that house--nothing to do with it,—this (pointing to the principal person) is the Darogha (magistrate) of the town, he has just heard of your arrival, and has come to pay you his respects." Very much obliged to the Darogha,” said I, bowing to him, “ but I am quite well where I am; I want no better lodging." “No,” said the Darogha, “ that This turi w thers of 1 tres , helio il stare me vabadin Hest KOORDISH HOSPITALITY. 107 can't be. Listen to me, I did not know of your arrival, or I should have been here sooner. Now, either cut my head off, (suiting the action to the word by pointing to his throat,) or go with me to my house. Do not dishonour me by a refusal." I still hesitated, and indeed was exceedingly sorry to be disturbed, as it would be necessary to reload all our baggage ; but my friend, the Darogha, insisted so vehemently, that I saw persisting in refusal would give great offence, so I consented, and taking up my traps, walked off with my friends, who, it being now quite dark, insisted on holding me up on either side, lest I should stumble, as we walked through a suc- cession of crooked and winding alleys, to the apart- ments prepared for me. This turned out to be in the Darogha's own dewan-khaneh, or that of Azeez Beg his brother, and which, as such, was open to all the Koordish brothers of the place: and even this very night, late as it was, before all had been arranged, a number came in to stare at and ask questions about the stranger guest. These questions, however, being chiefly in Koordish, which I could not understand, the time passed wearily enough until the desultory confabu- lation was put a stop to by the entrance of a dinner- tray, with a good pillaw and sundry savoury ad- juncts, to which I was disposed to do all possible justice. This having been terminated, my hosts, concluding I might be ready for repose, left me to enjoy as much of it as was to be obtained on the well-peopled floor of this public saloon. Next morning I was prevented from sallying 108 A DISAPPOINTMENT. the fish were are not Isaa their the d 03 efter a choice carling unde tered thither tho were & tinal dres Kargilinc De to do forth to view the lions of the place, by an expec- tation, which was generally entertained, of the ar- rival of Abdoollah Khan, governor of the town, lately appointed by the Prince Royal, and chief of the Mookree tribe of Koords, of whom this town is the head quarters. A grand peshwâz or proces- sion was prepared to meet him ; all had mounted to go forth from the town, and as the entry of a Koordish chief into his government promised to be interesting, I resolved to see it. But we were doomed to disappointment, for the Khan sent to say he was unavoidably detained, and should not enter before the morrow. The day thus broken, and having amused my new friends with all I had to show them ; detonating fire-arms, lucifers, Pro- metheans, and all, I went out in the afternoon to look at the gardens above the town, and took with me my rod, to try the river, which was full of fish. That such an exhibition could interest my grave and respectable hosts, I never dreamed; but to my surprise, who should propose to be my guide to the best pools but the long-bearded Azeez Beg himself, who, as we passed through the town, picked up a very gallant tail of worthy Seignors, and great was the anxiety that sat on each man's brow as my pre- parations went on. Their delight was not less marked when, after a few throws, I brought up a fine fish which flapped its tail almost in the face of a most vinegar-mouthed one-eyed Moollah. The Moollah growled and withdrew; but the rest closed in around me, and dinned me with their various opinions, of which were the best pools, and where in the poor i the fair Here was a done art A DELICATE ADVENTURE. 109 the fish were the most plentiful. Koords, however, are not Isaac Waltons, and I found my own expe- rience of more value, in the piscatory line, than theirs ; the day's sport producing for my host a very good dish of handsome-looking fish. Nor was it altogether barren of other adventures. In seeking after a choice bit of stream, which I had rernarked curling under some willow bushes, I came plump upon a fine bevy of Koordish damsels, who had re- tired thither to "lave their beauteous limbs," and who were at that moment clothed much in the original dress of mother Eve. I had observed the men avoiding the spot, and one of them made signs to me to do the same, but I understood him not, and thus fell plump into the scrape, and almost into the pool; for I must say that the discomfiture of the fair ones was scarcely equal to my own. There was a little squalling and huddling together, and one or two plumped into the water, while others tried to shuffle on a pair of inexpressibles, or get hold of some convenient garment; but there was more laughing than anything else, and they all took a good glance at the intruder, who, on his part, in order to avoid the fate of Acteon, or any- thing resembling it, took himself off as fast as he could. As for the men, they appeared by far more amused than displeased at the accident. 110 . Beats and t bith of the c La dess of and which i Sonje Bu LETTER V. This dress nib silver, brand to in hence 17h a sig The Khan's Arrival.-His Lineage.-Condition of the Koords.- Over Taxation.--A Battle Royal, and a choice Morsel.—My Hosts.--Domestic Manners of the Koords—of the Great-of the Ladies.--Discrepancy of Reports.-Leave Souje Bulâgh.-Beirâm. -Obstinacy of Guards.--Hussun Aga.--Face of the Country- Pass of Soonâs and Descent.--Nistân. – Village evening Meal.-- Aspect of Mountains and Ride to Seradusht.-Abdool-Sumud Khan.-Scarcity of Grain.-Magnificent Scenery.--Ascent of Hooneel.Ford the Aksu. Akoorta.---Bivouac.-Autumnal Tints.-Burying Grounds.- Nezer-Kerdehs.--Koordish Super- stitions.--Plain of Suleimania. axyling wat gitter Besti , on tradered : Пер {"tist- is zogibal OCTOBER 26. — Yesterday, after a world of wait- ing, the Khan came in. It was, on the whole, an interesting sight, though not so brilliant as I had anticipated. About a thousand horsemen en- tered with the Khan, accompanying him from a distance of several miles. As the cavalcade ap- proached the city, the horsemen began to show off their horses and skill, and you constantly saw ca- valiers issuing forth full tilt “like lightning from the thunder-cloud” from the veil of dust which wrapped the main body, shaking their spears, and wheeling and turning with a rapidity which was im- posing at least if not absolutely astonishing. It was when the wind occasionally blew aside the cloud of dust, that you could distinguish the gallant appoint- lume KOORDISH CAVALCADE. 111 ments and the fine horses of those who formed the pith of the cavalcade. The Khan himself, clothed in the dress of honour bestowed on him by the Prince, and which formed his investiture of the government of Souje Bulâgh, sat erect upon a fine Arab charger. This dress of honour, a shawl-cloak embroidered with silver, cost the chief, some say three, others six, thousand tomâns, or half as many pounds sterling ; from whence it may be inferred that to be governor of such a province is no bad thing. On the whole, it was a sight worth seeing, and assuredly superior to anything seen at the inferior or provincial courts, more glittering perhaps than the cortege of the Shah himself, on any but great occasions; for be it re- membered that the whole male population of Souje Bulâgh went forth, clad in their best, to meet this cortége, and the women mustered in force, upon the house-tops, to see it pass by. Abdoolla Khan, present governor of Souje Bu- lâgh, is the head of the Koordish tribe of Mookree, one of the most powerful as well as ancient of that aboriginal people. He is son to the well-known Boodha Khan, who was treacherously blinded by Mahomed Koolee Khan of Ooroomia, as you may read in one of the volumes of Blackwood, (for the year '25 or '26, I think,) in our friends Visits to the Harem.” Boodha Khan used, when need was, to ride to the “ trysting-place," with his thousand horse “armed in proof.” But these days are passed; the Koordish tribes nearest the seat of government, have by force, or treachery, or domestic disputes, been constrained to yield an unwilling obedience to 112 CHANGE OF TIMES. Men whe ben , by oa very that it we har bort “ Souje ile besig them of a slet of eniment Luned to e In the the ruling power, and the Mookrees now pay tax and tribute for the lands where their fathers roamed free, unheeding of Shah or Shahzadeh. This change of condition sits ill on all of them, and many and bitter were the complaints which I heard of the misery to which the present heavy rate of taxation has reduced the people. “In the days of Aga Ma- homed Khan," said Baba Khan Beg to me, Bulâgh was assessed at 1000 tomâns. Now, with the district of Seradusht, it pays 25,000 to the King, and we (meaning the chief and his family) are forced to extract 10,000 more for ourselves, in order to keep up the necessary appearance; no wonder the people are poor and discontented. The plague has swept away more than half, and the remaining half are forced to do the work of all, and pay the whole assessment. Nay, since this coming and going of the army to and from Suleimania we pay 10,000 more in Soursaut and Mehmandaree, (sup- plies of provisions and maintenance of guests,) how are we to stand it?” I happened to commend the abba, or Arab cloak, commonly worn here, as a dress conveniently suited either to warm or cool weathers. “ Ay!” replied Azeez Khan; “but the abba is not our regular dress, it is an adoption of recent days. We get them from Baghdad, or make them here now. They are cheap, and we are poor. Formerly no one ever dared to appear in the presence of a great man without a handsome cloak of broad cloth ; but now, go to the Khan's dewan-khaneh, and nothing but abbas will you see.” There is no doubt that much of this grumbling ziters fo as of Ko by which w if it CUSTOMARY OFFERING. 113 proceeds from the discontented feelings natural to men who, once free of master and of impost, have been, by force, saddled with both; but I do believe that the people are by far too heavily taxed, and still more, that the demands of government are collected in a very oppressive manner : and I am convinced that it would not only be just, but politic, to lighten their burthens. They are a people accustomed to little beyond necessaries, so that the difference to them of a very small increase or decrease of taxation is that of mere suffering, or actual starvation; and it is painful to see a race, who have many qualities to recommend them, ground to the dust by exaction, or forced to emigrate in order to preserve their misera- ble lives, On the evening of the Khan's return, I was wit- ness to one incident which, were I inclined to strain matters for the purpose of supporting my opinions, I might have quoted as a proof of poverty and want of actual food among the people, though I have no doubt it was rather attributable to the natural gross- ness of Koordish manners. On the entry of great men into their abodes or governments in Persia, it is cus- tomary to bring sheep, or even oxen, into the by which he must pass, and sacrifice them, by cut- ting off their heads at the moment of his approach. An unfortunate cow which, to judge by appearances, had its natural demise but little anticipated by the process of summary decapitation, underwent this ce- remony on the Khan's arrival, and close to his own house. The Khan ordered the carcass to be given to the dervishes, of whom a great number had joined VOL. I. I 114 A CHOICE MORSEL. evliding i Abdoelle 1 a brothe High rank wdr much oh where pistrep the procession ; but the townsfolk, considering this as rather an infringement on their right, arose and went forth to do battle for the choice morsel. They attacked the dervishes, who manfully defended their prize, and there was a battle-royal. Victory, for some time doubtful, at length declared for the right. The dervishes, armed with their heavy iron-shod sticks, laid about them so valiantly that the others gave in, and, seeing no hope for themselves, en- deavoured to destroy the subject of their contention in order that their adversaries might have no benefit from their conquest,--so they threw dust and dirt of all sorts on the carcass, already more resembling carrion than meat. But the dervishes, like the heroes of the Greeks and Romans contending over bodies of the slain, at length rescued their prey ; and in this way did I see the disgusting mass dragged along the filthy street. “What can they do with it now they have got it ?” said I to the Darogha, as we stood looking at the strange scene. “Surely they can't eat it?" “Not eat it !” said Baba Khan Beg; "they would eat its father. You don't know the Koords--they are beasts; these dervishes are all Koords, and in two hours there won't be a morsel of that old cow left undevoured." However strange or untoward the origin of my acquaintance with my hosts, or however compulsory or otherwise their hospitality to me at its commence- ment, it is certain that the one became more plea- sant and the other more cordial every hour of my t more fa bao dot அடி delen 1. TV Aristons Honde KOORDISH CLANSHIP. 115 stay. The stiffness of first intercourse with a stran- ger changed speedily into a comfortable ease and confiding openness, and I got from them a great deal of information regarding the history of the tribe and the manners and custoins of the Koords. Azeez Beg and Baba Khan Beg were near relations of Abdoolla Khan their chief, in fact, cousins, sons of a brother of Boodha Khan, and of course held high rank in the place. They therefore had not only much influence in the tribe, but an extensive acquaintance; and their house, that is, the dewankha- neh where I lodged, was a rendezvous for all, both of country and city. This did not add much to pri- vacy or comfort, but it brought before my eyes a sort of peristreptic panorama of the country, which made me more familiar than I could otherwise have been with its inhabitants. In a community so closely resembling that of the highland clans, it was interesting to observe the demeanour observed towards relatives and friends, and to trace the respective degrees of estimation assigned to various grades of kindred or connexions. The mode of reception to each was varied and accu- rately defined, but the manner was kind and polite to all. The masters of the house yielded place to all visitors of equal or superior rank, but the arrange- ment of giving and taking places appeared to me to be conducted upon a kinder principle than reigns in the same ceremonial in Persia. It was obvious that precedence was not yielded to riches alone, for I observed several persons of mean figure and 1 2 116 DOMESTIC MANNERS Persian zstic m flicts ab al prestions THAT tuld sa eziher su SI shabby apparel admitted to a high place in the as- sembly. When a friend or relative arrived from the coun- try, the heads of the family went to the door, or be- yond it, to embrace him—the sons or nephews had probably given the first welcome when he dismount- ed: if not, they came in and saluted him each in turn; and there was in the welcome an empressement, a sort of pleasing eagerness, which put me quite in mind of old highland times; and, really, the more I saw of the Koords, the more did the resemblance they bore to the old highlanders strike me. The respect of the young for the old was particularly remarkable: the son never sat down in the father's presence, nor the nephew in that of the uncle, except by special desire, and then in a distant part of the room. Yet there appeared no want of tenderness on the part of the elders nor of willing and ready obedience, or filial affection, on the part of the young. At meals, though trays of victuals were brought in by servants who performed the more menial offices, the sons of the host waited on the guests and attended to their wants ; handed water to drink, assisted them to such things as were out of their reach, trimmed the lights and exerted themselves to increase the comfort of all. The servants, too, were treated with great considera- tion and even familiarity, insomuch that it was some time before I could distinguish between the relatives of the family and its upper domestics. . The great, it is true, (that is the higher chiefs,) affect more state. The Khans have their « lords in waiting,” their Nazırs, or stewards, their head Peish- s back , al blend hendt ese me the i Le Journ SAYA particula AND SIMPLE MINDEDNESS. 117 khedmuts, head Furoshes, &c., &c., like the higher Persian noblesse ; but I am now speaking of do- mestic manners, and these were marked by kindness and good feeling. There was an openness and sim- plicity about many of these Koords that was very refreshing, and which often showed itself in their questions in a manner that amused while it pleased me. Among these Azeez Beg was remarkable; not that his simplicity was at all indicative of weakness ; it was rather the overflow of a guileless, or, as we would say in Scotland, of an aefauld heart, which neither suspected others of deceit, nor desired to con- ceal a thought of its own. His wonder never ended at hearing that my country was more than twelve hundred hours distant, and he very naturally asked me if I did not feel as if I could never get all that way back, and if I did not weary to see my home and friends again. Neither he nor others could com- prehend that any one should come so long a way merely for the sake of seeing the world; and they gave me credit, I am persuaded, for more motives to the journey than I chose to avow, in spite of my cross-questionings on the subject of trade and com- merce. Such conversations usually terminated in a very minute inquiry into our habits and customs, particularly in regard to such matters as interested them most. A strong expression of admiration at our Nizám and Zabiteh, as they call our military, fiscal, and general legislative arrangements, and of a wish that they could go to us or we should come to them and take their country in charge, was generally the result. 118 VISITS AND ASSEMBLIES. at Suje factory abo a base of features or deles 17when t precated E destrs , or In the 1 des were I used occasionally to amuse them by telling them that I was myself a native of a country not unlike Koordistan; mountainous and divided into tribes, often at war and feud with one another in times of old, and as fond as Koords could be of a chuppow upon their lowland neighbours; and they listened with interest and pleasure to my descriptions of the attachment of the clansmen to their chief, and the habits of the highlanders of old; and the compa- risons I drew, or tried to draw, between the high- landers and Koords gave me the means of eliciting more from them than I could otherwise have manag- ed to draw without offensive inquisitiveness, and brought to light some traits of manners that might otherwise have escaped me. In the course of my stay at Souje Bulâgh, I saw the Khan in the state of his audience-hall surrounded by his turbaned clan, dealing out law, if not justice, to those who came for it, and served with a state which princes only assume, I visited and was visit- ed by Moossa Khan his uncle, the ex-governor, and became convinced that in Koordistan, as elsewhere, there is a vast deal of difference between the Ins and Outs of place. Twice, in particular, we had grand mujelises, or assemblies of the tribe, at my lodgings, and very mortifying it was to me that I did not un- derstand the conversation which was carried on en- tirely in Koordish. I could sometimes just trace the subjects, for there is much Persian in Koordish, but it was only enough to tantalize without satisfying or instructing me. To this slight sketch of what I saw the Koords who jg the sti et mot arist give WÁM an DIFFERENCES OF OPINION. 119 at Souje Bulâgh, I wish I could add anything satis- factory about the ladies; but this, I am sorry to say, is out of my power. In cities the women of the bet- ter class expose themselves to view almost as little as those of Persia. Occasionally, I might see pretty features or fine dark eyes beaming forth from an un- veiled face; but in general, although I saw multitudes of females, particularly on the day of the Khan's en- try, when they covered the tops of the houses, they presented little more than a host of blue and checked chaders, or wrappers,-or figures in the ordinary cos- tume of Persian peasants. On the last night of my stay, the guests of Azeez Beg were increased by two Koords from Sulima- niah, but of Mookree blood, and relatives of our host, who had come in the suite of one of the Pashah of Sulimaniah's family proceeding on busi- ness to Tabreez. I made inquiries of them regard- ing the state of the country they had left, and the Meer of Rewandooz. It was curious to observe the wide difference between the report of these people and that of the Zerzaw Koords of Ooshnoo, or the Mookrees at this place. These, Koords themselves, are not ill-pleased to see a power of their own na- tion arising in a quarter which will act as a coun- terpoise with the government of Azerbijân, and induce it to treat them with more consideration, or give them a support to fall back upon, in case of continued and extreme severity from their Persian rulers. With them, therefore, the Meer is described as a noble character, just, though strict, seizing every means of increasing his own power and the 120 REVERSE OF A PICTURE. brevers declare , t. or activit- busy as AS CYLCHLY theres , L. if terror fixed to power of iad agar stich th prosperity of his country; and rapidly succeeding, as leader of fifty thousand good soldiers, and lord of a rich and extensive country, completely obedient to his will. On the other hand, the retainers of Suli- maniah represent him as an unprincipled tyrant, who, more by dint of good fortune than judgment, has suc- ceeded in wresting from others, when weakened by intestine disturbances, possessions which he is accu- mulating into an extensive but ill-organized state. Formerly, they say, he was the Ryot, — that is, a subject, of Sulimaniah,— from which Pashalic, during the late disputes between the present Pashah and his brother, he revolted and took Khoee, with several other districts. Amadia they admit to be a rich and populous but distracted country; its Pashah, a weak fool ; each dozen of villages being governed by different lords, at variance with their neighbours, all of whom, from want of concert, thus fell an easy prey: yet the country, they declare, is far from acknowledging the authority of their conqueror. They deny the truth of his successes in Mesopotamia, or of his having even marched against Sinjâr; and aver that he has not more than from twelve to fourteen thousand soldiers, instead of fifty thousand, and these are all ignorant, undisciplin- ed men, pressed from villages, neither paid nor clothed; one thousand, whom he calls his Gho- laums, alone receive pay. Instead of being a mild tax-master, according to them he seizes every- thing he can lay hold of, from all ranks, permitting no one besides himself to accumulate riches; and, in place of encouraging fidelity in his servants, and precate of i carded 1 ounces these a 29 st deprci be plus POSSIBILITY OF ATTACK. 121 bravery in his troops, these Sulimaniah Koords declare, that the most dangerous thing a follower of his can do is to display extraordinary courage or activity ; because he is then regarded with jea- lousy as a dangerous character, and generally put to death as such. They acknowledge that the country is free from robbery and uninfested by thieves, but attribute this immunity to the effects of terror, thousands of people having been sacri- ficed to make the impression required, as he has neither justice nor arrangement. They asserted that it was impossible he could withstand the power of the Azerbijân government, if it should send against him its regular troops — a point in which they were fairly at issue with the Koords of both Ooshnee and Souje Bulâgh. These, —who deprecate as the greatest possible misfortune the march of an army through their territories to attack the Meer, and who would very ill bear to see the spell of imagined impracticability, which has hitherto guarded their mountains from invasion, broken by a successful expedition against their neighbours, these all treat with contempt the notion that any power of the Persian government could avail against the Meer and his Koords in their own fastnesses, and therefore they exaggerate the power and resources of the Meer as much as the others depreciate it. The possibility of the thing will soon be put to the test; for it appears that a force is now mustering to proceed to Sulimaniah in order to act against Rewandooz. October 26.-I had my audience of leave from 122 A KIND PARTING. raber per un the bet para and could po 00 2 MIRO WIN with the E I may Luar war the Khan, and about noon bade adieu to my kind hosts, who spoke of the pleasure they had received from my visit, and their regret at my quitting them so soon, in terms of greater sincerity, I hope and think, than usually breathes in such expressions. I am sure that, for my part, their courteous hospi- tality had created in me a feeling of warm good- will, which I should be mortified to suppose not reciprocal. In justice to myself, however, I must observe that, knowing the expense to which my entertainers were put on my account must be considerable, and perhaps to them inconvenient, I always, on such occasions, contrived to leave behind me an equivalent compensation. further say, that the expense of such remuneration renders travelling, on this system, by far more costly than when you intrude on no one, and merely pur- chase what you require ; but, in that way, you cannot purchase kindness, which, according to the French expression, is impayable ; and he who would not consent to some extra cost to secure such a jewel, must love money more than I do. Our lodging for the first night was in the mosque of a poor village, Beirâm, not more than twelve miles from Souje Bulâgh, to reach which we traversed a sharp highland country, the hills of which, mode- rate in height, were covered with dry herbage, crested with black rocks, and divided by narrow valleys. The village itself was wedged into the bottom of a very deep cleft, through which ran a stream of clear water; above and below were gar- dens, but the houses were mere hovels. It was parfed leged to etness 16 NO Talous 4 HERN A SEVERE MARCH. 123 rather provoking to lose a whole fine afternoon at so miserable a place, when we had a very long journey before us for the next day; but such had been the Khan's disposition of things, and there was no altering it; and the less so as my matter-of- fact guards understood no language but their own; and could not, or would not, comprehend my wishes to go on and halt at a more advanced point of our course. We rued their obstinacy, horse and man, on the morrow ; for the march was a severe one. On it also, as we discovered, we had to come in contact with the Bilbâs Koords, who have a spot of ground in our way; and our guard, which had been changed, would not venture to proceed without a Bilbâs guide; so we stopped at a collection of huts, dignified by the name of Hussan Aga's village, and changed them for men of the place. Hussan Aga himself came out to meet us, and with hospitable alertness to offer all he had a little bread and sour milk," and such small gear," and to wonder at the outfit of the strangers. He seized upon the little double-barrelled pistol I wore at my waist, as if it had been an unheard-of treasure, and great was his astonishment at its detonating locks; but there was no hint expressed of desire to retain that or anything else : on the contrary, every disposition was evinced to “Welcome the coming-speed the going guest," and we parted on the best of terms. Hitherto, that is for about twenty miles or more, we had traversed 124 SHARP ASCENT. the evening Manded L that I had mountains DUA cha retern sid kaikes , wh. eitt pass di profound | saptourist unde , ure a country like that of the preceding day, that is, earthy hills covered with dry herbage, with black rocky ridges issuing from their sides, and crowning their tops. We had passed through a pretty valley with a village and fortified hillock, named Yalte- meer, and had traced up the bed of a fine stream, called, I think, the Tetawah, which finds its way towards Marâgha. We now approached a bolder and loftier range of mountains which rose in front, opposing themselves to our progress; and these were to be crossed before nightfall; an enterprise, I assure you, of no unformidable aspect, especially as the afternoon was far advanced. We did, how- ever, as we had often done before, “ set a stout heart to a stae brae," and plunging into the ravine which still intervened between us and them, soon reached the projection which formed our ladder of ascent. It was a desperate pull; and our labour was not lessened by the frequent admonition of our guides to make the best of our speed, as the place was very unsafe, bands of plunderers, from the neighbouring Bilbâs districts, being much in the habit of coming hither to pick up stray caravans. Up, therefore, we puffed, and blew, and scrambled. I make a point of sparing my horses in such pinches, and therefore insisted on my people dismounting, show- ing them the example myself; so you may figure the effect of a two hours' and a half pull, upon us all, your humble servant included, up such a per- pendicular ladder as this proved, at the tail of a long hot day's work. We reached the top just at five in inery , at This ra terzstier tested werd de ܐܐ Ohr des W the A GLORIOUS VIEW. 125 the evening, a short while before sunset, and were rewarded by a glorious and extensive view. The general aspect of the coup d'oeil, reminded me of what I had seen from the tops of some of the lower mountains of the Himâlâ range, where the grand snowy chain of peaks was not in sight; for the western side of the mountains is covered with oak bushes, which, in the uncertain light of evening, might pass for forests, and the dell at our feet was as profound as those of the Indian mountains, re- minding us of the severe descent we had yet await- ing us. The sinking sun enforced the admonition ; so, after having made such observations on the neighbouring country as the situation enabled me to do, we plunged downhill, like the departing lu- minary, and were soon half lost amidst the rocks, and the bushes, and the darkness of the descent. This range of mountains, which I could trace in a direction N.W. and S.E. for full sixty miles, is, I believe, a branch of a still larger and more lofty one which we saw rising before us, the same I had seen from Ooshnoo; and we could discern from this elevated spot the very gorge over which, on the second day's journey from hence, we expect to pass. Our descent occupied nearly two hours, a great part of it being in the dark, stumbling among rocks and stumps, and groping our way along the edge of very ugly precipices; but, thank Heaven, we reach- ed the bottom without tumbling over them, and at length found ourselves at Nistân, a village belonging to the Peishkhidmut Bashee, of the late Prince Royal, Furrookh Khan. It was no easy matter to 126 A GOODLY ASSEMBLAGE. the various lower end war fire gran ing the pla lists in the ristog WHE be some fe timular occa estom not in general , azmble to pick our way among the passages of this said village, as, the houses being built on terraces on the hill- side, their roofs were on a level with the path above them, and it required a sharp eye to keep the horses from the risk of paying the inmates an unexpected visit from above. At last we made good our way to our munzil, which, as usual, was the mosque of the place --a tabernacle of clay like the rest, but large and spacious; and we were kindly received by the Naib of Furrookh Khan, who had a fine blazing fire ready for us by the time we alighted. On entering the outward aisle, or verandah, of the mosque, a sight presented itself which, for a while, arrested my steps by its singularity. The whole verandah, which was of great length, was occupied by a double row of men, sitting face to face, with a space of seven or eight feet between them. I thought, at first, they were praying, and listened for the intonations of the Allah-hu-Akber! but it soon appeared that they were engaged in more worldly occupation — they were eating their dinner, in fact; and a goodly assembly of them there was. Old and young were equally busy - beards black, red, and grey, were in that amusing motion which is so well described in the words of a organ steze thei rate meal. Ord à Kas sprea here the I know is ale upon A kere this the song, “'T is merry in hall, when beards wag all,” which you may believe recurred to my memory at the sight. It was just like the primitive hall of some rude chief of the olden time, and you might have fancied the different ranks of his retainers in hihetetlen SOCIAL CUSTOMS. 127 the various grades of company visible, from the lower end to the top of the room, where sat four or five grand-looking grey-bearded Koords, occupy- ing the places of honour. There they were--all fists in the dish, and hands to the mouth, fast dis- cussing what was before them. I supposed it might be some fête du village given by its lord on a par- ticular occasion; but on inquiry I found it was the custom not only of this, but of the Koordish villages in general, that after the labours of the day the men assemble together in the mosque, or some other public building, say their prayers together, and each bring- ing what he may have of fare, they eat their dinner in company. They then gossip together till it is time to separate, when all retire to their own homes, where their wives and children have had their sepa- rate meal. If they have guests, they bring each his own along with him, and these have generally mats spread for their accommodation in the mosque, where they sleep. I know not what you may be disposed to think of this custom ; it may certainly appear to trench a little upon domestic society, but there is so little dis- position to that in the East, that I was pleased to ob- serve this kindly appearance of sociality even among the males of the village. Had the females been ad- mitted to the coterie, I own, whatever the Koordish lords of the creation may think, it would, in my opi- nion, have been an improvement. I was glad, too, to find, that whatever may be the case in other places, here at least the people seemed to have good food to eat. There was neither want of good wheaten 128 AN INTRUSION. leares , diatrast drough covered terugh 000000 it the bread nor meat, nor even, I understand, of a good rice pillaw. I fear, however, this is not general : at the previous night's lodging, though I was the Khan's guest, there was not a grain of rice to be found; I was obliged to furnish my own dinner, and the servants got nothing but a bread composed of barley and arzun,-a small grain, I believe of the millet species. My lodging, this night, was very comfortable, nor was I disturbed by the inopportune piety of the inhabitants or servants of the place, as on the former night, when a Moollah very unceremoniously came in, and throwing his cloak down upon my carpet, without “ with your leave, or by your leave,” com- menced his numâz in a Stentorian voice. My ser- vants remonstrated, but it was not without some difficulty that he was convinced of having com- mitted an unjustifiable intrusion, and induced to seek another oratory. In truth, however, he might be said to have most right on his side. Morning showed us our resting-place, and a cu- rious one it was, dropped, as it were, in the bottom of a deep chasm, in an amphitheatre of mighty mountains which rise, sprinkled with oak bushes, for some thousands of feet above it, and terminate in the dark crags which form the crests of all in these parts, and which here are remarkably lofty and precipitous. The immediate banks of the lower dell were sprinkled with fine trees, and bushes of oak, barbary, and thorn, among which the grape- vines, now turning to a vivid crimson, and the fruit-trees, just commencing to shed their yellow het bety berage WOODLAND SCENERY. 129 leaves, made a beautiful variety. It was a pleasant contrast from the bare country we had marched through from Tabreez; for though the wood which covered the glens and the mountains was rather like coppice than forest, it still imparted to them a clothed and smiling aspect compared to the arid rocks that frown around the lake of Ooroomia. Yet, after all, it was but an apology for the beauties of a wooded country: the stunted trees and bushes through which we wound our way, had nothing in common with the deep impervious luxuriance of a Mazunderan, or a South American forest, nor with the striking magnificence of those primeval woods which clothe the mountains of Himâlâ, nor even with the amenity of a Scotch or English wood. They resembled rather those low extensive jungles in India, so well known to the weary traveller, in the hot season there, beneath which all is brown if not bare. Not that the hills here are deficient in herbage; for the quantity of dry grass which covers the surface, shows how luxuriant must be the spring growth which yields such an autumn stubble: but all is of the pale yellow of straw, on which the deep green of the oak tells with singular and rather harsh effect. We descended the glen, for about a fursung, among craggy knolls covered with this sort of cop- pice, sometimes passing over rocky promontories, when the path along the bank of the stream was diverted by the meeting and precipitous cliffs; but at length we left it altogether, and crossing the shoulder of a hill, found ourselves in the deep valley VOL. I. K 130 SERADUSHT. humour: surprised fishe store t bait arzt Tanted in the ci i populatico கவரப்படி of Seradusht, and near the bed of a considerable river, named, I think, the Aksû, which rises in the district of Lahijan, and, as do all streams in this quarter, hastens to join the Tigris. The valley it- self is of no great breadth, not unlike a Scotch strath, varied by height and hollow, and knoll and fall, and appears once to have had a great deal of cultiva- tion, now abandoned and grown over with the yellow grass that covers all the country. Before us rose the huge mountain of Hoomeel, with which we were to wrestle on the morrow; and at its feet, on an inferior rising ground, stood the fort of Seradusht, our lodging for the night; on the right, far away, might be seen the snow-spotted mountains of Ooshnoo. We forded the river by a sharp and difficult ford, in preference to trusting ourselves upon a bridge of wood and wickerwork, erected by the inhabitants of the neighbouring village in the spring, and now almost useless. The rest of our way, which ex- tended to five or six miles, led us up a curious succession of broken country, in which we had to round the forks of some very deep rocky ravines. In these we found small villages, consisting of two or three houses, perched like ravens nests among the cliffs, and almost hid in the foliage of their vines and fruit trees. On gaining the height of our ascent from one of these clefts, we found ourselves unexpectedly at the gate of Seradusht, after a ride of not more than sixteen miles. Abdool Sumud Khan, the governor of this dis- trict, received us with perfect cordiality, and wel- comed us in all due form. He was a jolly, good- from AN IMPOVERISHED COUNTRY, 131 humoured, rather ignorant man, who asked a num- ber of strange questions, and who was as much surprised and delighted with the few things I had to show him, as any wild Koord of his suite. He furnished us with sufficient food for ourselves, but swore that there was not as much barley in the place as would feed our horses — that his own, which was worth a hundred tomâns, got nothing but arzun, and ours must fare like his. In the end, however, he did procure barley; but when I wanted to get a supply for the next day's march, in the course of which I understood there was no population, my jeloodar had great difficulty in find- ing six or seven mauns, about half our day's con- sumption ; and for himself and the people, not a cake of bread was to be had. I found the people themselves ate a mixture of barley and arzun, and this it was which made the former so scarce. The people complained, indeed, of great distress, and one man, the Khan's Isheck Aghassee, or cham- berlain, declared that the Azerbijân government would depopulate the country altogether, if they continued to exact from it as much as they do at present. “ What do you think ?” said he: “they take from five to six thousand tomâns a year from these ruins you see here, and there are not one hun- dred families in the village ; besides, we are just on the highway, and we pay almost half as much in soorsaut, besides what the serbâz rob and plunder from our villagers! and all this from a miserable set of Koords, who, at best, have scarcely enough to eat, and the greater part of whom the plague K 2 132 MOUNTAIN SCENERY. bel seatter such si ds for büurset BIN STOC shore ba carried off three years ago!” That this man spoke much that was truth, I fear is certain; that the statement may be exaggerated greatly, is not only possible but probable ; but much will, after all, re- main to move compassion for the miserable appear- ance of the villagers, as well as for their fewness, I can answer. October 29.-A delicious morning : just as the sun shot forth its first rays above the eastern moun- tains, did we issue from the gate of Seradusht to cross the pass of Hoomeel. I would that I could convey to you a vivid idea of the scenery we pass- ed through this day, it was so grand and impres- sive. But descriptions, in such cases, seldom suc- ceed in suggesting any distinct notion of the truth; and for this plain reason, that all mountainous scenery wears a strong family likeness, and the shades of difference between the features of va- rious mountain ranges, or coups dæil, are just the very niceties that escape, in attempting to embody them in a description. For instance, what idea do you gather from being told that we ascended gra- dually among hills covered with oak, looking down on either hand into dells of great depth and beauty ; or, that after such an ascent, we found ourselves on the brink of a dark chasm of immense depth, carved in the solid rock, among the fragments of which, at the bottom, foamed and twisted a boiling torrent. These are all very good set phrases, and, so far as they go, tell the truth ; but I defy any one, in poetry or prose, to convey to a third person the sense of grandeur with which this peep into the Laparat ex maits I from Te were three th iginal ALPINE CHAIN. 133 bowels of the gigantic Hoomeel impressed me, as I gazed down into the abyss, and upwards at the shattered grey cliffs that rose far above, as the novel writers have it, “ in stern sublimity.” When such sights come across me, I do long for a touch of the pen of a Byron ; they are well suited to his wild and wayward moods, and he might have painted them in Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn." As for me, it will not be ; and I must have re- course to very plain prose to apprise you that we now stood high amid that lofty chain which forms, as it were, the backbone of this part of Asia, from whose bowels rush the springs that feed the mighty Euphrates and not less noble Tigris, whose loftiest summits wear perpetual snows, and reach a height of from ten to fifteen thousand feet. The ridge we were now about to cross forms the crest of this great chain, which may be said to embrace in its breadth the whole of Koordistan, and contains in itself a system of numerous valleys and basins, which once were, and might again become, popu- lous and productive, the people of which are abo- riginal, and, with the exception of the change in their religion, remain much the same in character and customs as they were two thousand years ago. This crest asserts its primitive character in a geological sense, by the huge granitic peaks and masses which rise above the lower heights, and impart to it that square and angular aspect so distinctive of primitive rocks. In fact, during our 134 ASCENT OF HOOMEEL. Qur tedious places trent on czupiec On the 0915, dining palouts , first ascent and descent we passed over whole hills of quartz in blocks and masses of original rock; and though the dark white-veined limestone of the low- er country abounded both in the ravine and on the sides of the mountain as we ascended, it was mingled with still more of siliceous and schistose rocks, which form the greater portion of the Hoomeel mountain. From the river, which flowed through the deep chasm we had crossed, we entered a tributary glen which led us, by a winding route, first, as it seemed, into the very bowels of the mountain ; and then by a sudden sharp pull up the hollow in which it terminated, we attained the summit of the gorge. Our first ascent and descent, which, after all, were the most rugged and laborious, occupied three hours - that of Hoomeel itself was completed in half that time. The view from the gorge was such as might be expected from our elevated position and the nature of the country it commands,-grand and im- posing. The Aksu, which, after traversing the district of Seradusht, takes a sharp turn and bursts right through the chain by a very narrow black chasm, was seen winding far below us like a silver thread: and the whole scene carried me strongly back to a view I once enjoyed in the Indian mountains from a point near the village of Comharsein, below which rolls the Sutledge, just such a thread as the Aksu seems from Hoomeel; but then there was wanting that unique, that inexpressibly majestic finishing to the picture, the Himâlâ, capped by their eternal te bank TINS 0 Sith Potatis Tas big The real the snows. mena DEPOPULATED COUNTRY. 135 Our descent from these altitudes was exceedingly tedious and painful, and to the loaded cattle in some places sufficiently dangerous. As for ourselves, we went on foot nearly the whole way, which, as it occupied three hours and a half, was pretty fatiguing. On the way we met a large caravan of bullocks and cows, guarded by, I dare say, fifty armed Koords, coming from the hills about Suleimaniah, loaded with gallnuts, butter, arzun &c. and bound for Souje Bulâgh. They were most fierce truculent-looking fellows, and appeared quite as likely to rifle as to guard a caravan; and though my people blustered and swaggered a little when they had passed by, about the “ dogs of Koords,” I am of opinion that, had we not had a Koordish guide, we should have fared very ill. At the foot of the descent we found ourselves on the banks of the Aksu, through the bright green lim- pid waters of which we passed without difficulty, and a mile's ascent of the opposite bank carried us to what had once been the cultivated grounds of the village Akoortah. During the whole day we had not seen one peopled village, although we had passed by the ruins of many that were deserted. The only one which still could boast of some half dozen inha- bitants, besides being too distant from our path, was higher up among the mountains, and only to be reached by what seemed no better nor safer than a goat-track. At Akoortah we hoped to pro- cure both bread and corn; but not intending to remain there, I merely sent a servant to get what we wanted, waiting ourselves the while, and pastur- HỦES OF DEATH. 137 enough between what might be called two gigantic strata of the mountain. The crest of the height on our left was broken and abrupt, while that on our right rose in steep but gradual acclivity to the top, the western face of which was rocky and pre- cipitous. Nothing could exceed the ground of this valley in point of beauty and variety of form ; and had it not been for the sickly faded yellow of the grass, the colouring of the landscape would have been enchanting ;-it was that of gorgeous autumn. But alas! for those splendid but short- lived tints—those bright and lovely hues which, like the hectic flush upon the pallid cheek of consump- tion, are but the harbingers of death and decay. I cannot say I ever could bring myself to love that season—at least not since the spring-tide of life has passed by. It reminds us too painfully of what has passed, and is passing daily around us ; far, far more painful than any thought of what we must ourselves come to. The beauties of autumn are like the days that precede a painful separation, when every one tries to look cheerful but has not the heart to do so, and forces a melancholy gaiety to cheat the time both to himself and others. I never see them glow- ing on the rich woods but I think of the lines of Moore - “Ne'er tell me of beauties serenely adorning The close of our day, the calm eve of our night ; Give me back, give me back, the wild freshness of morning, Her tears and her smiles are worth evening's best light." Nay, far better do I love the stern rough aspect of winter, which flatters not, but tells us honestly of 138 AUTUMNAL TINTS. Kord- pada Mail situatio selectio Eitle he lains i | cemeterie plich ha all we have lost, yet gives a surly promise of brighter days to come. Here, however, autumn glowed lord of the ascen- dant in his most brilliant garb, and again I long for a poetic fit to describe his splendours ; but as I should certainly break down in the attempt, I must go on in unadorned prose, to declare to you that the lemon and scarlet of the numerous pear-trees; the vivid green and gold and crimson of the beautiful sumach bushes, which here have been planted like vineyards; the bright pink, the pale amber, and blood-red purple of the grape vines, which grow wild in abundance, as well as in cultivated patches, and which clothed the lips of the ravines, and in many places the whole mountain sides, showing “where once a garden smiled,”-these, I say, form- ed an Iris of brilliant colours which I have seldom seen equalled, and never surpassed ; and which em- broidered, as it were, with inimitable magnificence the less gorgeous, but scarcely less rich clothing of oak that covered the hills as with a robe of brown and yellow, mingled with deep green. Another feature in the landscape of yesterday and to-day, which peculiarly attracted my attention, was the number of ancient burying-grounds which oc- curred in the course of our march, far from any present habitation of man, but pointing out, doubt- less, the sites of villages whose people had long since ceased to be. We had remarked them, indeed, ever since quitting Ooroomia ; but here these monuments of forgotten generations are far more strikingly dis- tinguished by the groves of oak trees with which paticula ar Whe BURYING GROUNDS. 139 they are surrounded, and often closely covered. The Koords, fierce and rude as they are, appear to have paid a singular and affecting attention to these re- ceptacles of the dust of their kindred : even the situation appears to have been the object of careful selection ; for they are generally pleasantly placed on little heights or knolls, overlooking the fields and plains in which the deceased may have delighted; as if the spirits could be soothed with the objects thus loved while animating their fleshy tabernacles. These groves are still evidently the objects of regard if not of veneration, for you never see them touched. I observed a party of men engaged in one of these cemeteries in digging a grave-it was that of a child which had died in a neighbouring village ; this, they said, was the place were its fathers had been interred, and it was meet that its little dust should moulder with theirs. I remarked, too, in these burying-grounds, vestiges of peculiar care. Graves surrounded by little walls of stone, as if they were the property of some particular family, or perhaps the tomb of some elder of high estimation and sanctity. Some were grey and moss-grown, and told of a long lapse of years; but in other cases, heaps of thorns and brushwood piled in the enclosure, denoted the care of the living to guard the reliques of their lately deceased relatives from the attacks of wolves, hyenas, or jackals, the only resurrectionists known in these parts. But I am getting prosy, so we shall waive the remainder of the subject for the present, and descend from the pleasant valley which partly suggested the above lu- cubrations, to a fine rapid stream that here cuts one 140 NEZER-GAHS. Koor Bitch Rosss lite A ques 2510 L ther di- friends peared much a thousan of the gigantic strata I have mentioned, right in two; and after running for some miles in a deep dark chan- nel, returns to intersect the same stratum and regain, as it were, its former course, which terminates in join- ing the Aksu near the place of our last night's bivouac. These capricios of mountain streams are often, as in this instance, as remarkable as unaccountable. On our descent, my attention was attracted to another set of objects, which in various parts of the country had often engaged it, and to which I may for a moment direct yours. They were large heaps of stones, piled on either side the way, mingled with smaller pyramids of pebbles and tall single stones, with a smaller one on its top-all, of course, placed there by the hand of man. This was what the Per- sians call a Nezer-kerdeh, or Nezer-gah ; that is, some spot which has been rendered holy, or at least venerable, by the attention of some saint or sage who may have stopped here and performed a miracle, or eaten his breakfast perhaps; or, as I suspect, it has fully as often originated in a murder or an accident, -a place where blood has been shed, and the dead been buried. It was provoking that I could never come at any of the histories or traditions of these Nezer-gahs. In general, the guides, when question- ed, could only tell me that it was a highly regarded spot--a very old affair, they knew not how ancient, and that all people as they pass still throw a stone to the heap, or tie a bit of rag to any bush that grows nigh, as a propitiation to the spirit of the saint or of the place. I have been sadly disappointed, however, by these dents as a unde to listen light Just the dis SUPERSTITIONS. 141 Koords in the matter of their superstitions-of faerie, witchcraft, and the like. In spite of all that Dr. Ross says, they either, so far as I could see, have but little genius for these things, or it comes little out. I questioned some of the old Mookrees very closely as to their belief in spirits, but I could not even in- terest them in the subject. I asked them whether they did not believe that the images of their dead friends occasionally came to visit the earth, and ap- peared to them: they said no; only in dreams. In such a country one would have expected to find a thousand picturesque superstitions and diableries ; but all seems to be confined to the clumsy fancies of lucky and unlucky hours--the influence of the evil eye-a few omens drawn from such unpoetic acci- dents as sneezing once or twice when on the eve of an undertaking, &c. &c. Yet still I am not without hopes ; I prefer believing that the error is rather in my dulness at discovering facts, than in lack of facts to discover ; but we shall see—in the mean time let us get on. Just at the entrance of the dark chasm formed by the disruptured rocks where the river passes through this slice of the mountain, a bridge had in the olden time been thrown across from cliff to cliff, but a por- tion of the mason-work of the piers was now all that hinted at the former existence of such an accommo- dation. Some fiercer flood than ordinary had swept away the fabric, for which good-natured purpose it must have taken the trouble of rising at least sixty or seventy feet. In after times, a person whom my guide designated as Baba Keir-Aga Coshan, had 142 KOORDISH BRIDGES. was o knew truth was to Saj , s steward sercon τε το the public spirit to erect another; but distrusting the ancient foundation, he chose one some twenty or thirty yards higher up, just where the water spreads before plunging in between the rocks. This site of course demanded a far greater span, and ac- cordingly there were built four tall piers, two being in the course of the stream. Of these, from twenty to twenty-five feet in height are still extant, but the fabric they supported, which I take to have been only of wood, has, like its neighbour below, been long since carried off, and passengers are now left to find their way, like us, as best they may. Perhaps these piers may have been only intended to support a temporary fabric of branches and wicker- work, such as is used in other parts of the country, and which seldom last above a season; and it often happens that from their disrepair and the state of the roads in spring, these routes become impassable; in winter they are wholly so, from the quantity of snow that lies on the mountains. To cross Hoomeel, for instance, is never attempted; and the passes of Coorteck and Soonâs, by the latter of which we came, are fatal to many men and cattle every Last year, I think it was, nearly two hundred serbâz, who were proceeding from the village of Nistân by Soonás, together with upwards of two hundred yaboos and asses, were lost in one day. The sun shone clear in the heavens, and the weather below was fine, so that the men tempted to proceed on their way. But in these lofty hills the wind often blows hard while a calm reigns below, and it seems a gale was blowing in Leiden aperte F mother season. Bils which [ ។ desa di were TE SNOW-STORMS. 143 the pass, which raised the dry snow in clouds; this was observed from several points below, but no one knew of the unhappy caravan, and even had the truth been known, what mortal aid could have availed ? The whole were buried by the snow-clouds, and frozen to death by force of the wind alone. I was told that nearly a thousand living creatures, men and cattle, had perished that season at Seradusht. Nay, so severe is the winter there, that the Khan's steward told me he had frequently been storm-stayed in the Khan's house, so that he could not get to his own for days; and that communication between the villagers was frequently cut off, so that all general intercourse ceased for months. What a season must winter be in such an elevated region! no wonder the waters swell when the snow melts, and that bridges are carried off. At this time, however, we experienced no difficulty, for the water was easily fordable just above the last-built bridge. From hence we ascended by a zigzag path to another valley, where were the ruins of several large villages, and whole sheets of vines and sumach bushes left to utter neglect. It was truly a beau- tiful spot ; but after passing through it, we descended once more into the bed of the river, the water of which was as clear as crystal, and fuller of fish than any stream I ever saw before. The shallows were absolutely covered with great monsters basking, many of them at least thirty to thirty-six inches long, and they swarmed also in the streams. I was so ex- cited at seeing them, that about ten o'clock, when we came to a halt for breakfast, I put up my rod to 144 VALLEY OF SULEIMANIAH. the Pa in utter There piad a t- Fard to picki False o mud but been i the Pa will not to curselv try if they would rise to the fly, the only bait at hand; but they would not look at it-at least the big ones would not stir, so that they certainly were not trout. I think they were of the same sort that I had seen also in shoals at Souje Bulâgh, and of which I caught a few very handsome fish, but full of bones, of the species of which I am ignorant. A long winding ravine full of abandoned villages, which terminated in a hollow and sharp ascent among the mountains, brought us to the geddook or pass of Kawiận, from whence we overlooked the plain, or rather broad valley of Suleimaniah; for it is anything but a plain, being exceedingly furrowed by ravines and hillocks of earth. On the right hand we looked up a long hollow to a very wild mass of mountains which were in the Rewandooz Pashah's country. In front we overlooked a ridge of low hills, beyond which were Erbile and Kerkook, and many other celebrated places of ancient Assyria. Further to the left lay our route to Baghdad; and under us, at the distance of about ten miles, lay the town of Suleimaniah, scarcely visible from its situa- tion in a hollow. The descent was gradual, down the bare side of a hill; and we reached the place about half an hour before sunset, without having passed through a single inhabited place from the time we left Sera- dusht. If the depopulation on the road was de- pressing, there was little to cheer us on approach- ing or on entering the town. I never beheld a more miserable collection of hovels and ruins. We rode through masses of rubbish, up to what had been i mond; 4 quare "e alter me HATAY NI pated FOL LODGINGS AT SULEIMANIAH. 145 the Pashah's house, or palace, if you will. It was in utter ruin, uninhabitable, except one small corner, where his harem was bestowed. He himself occu- pied a tent outside the town. I had sent a man for- ward to secure us lodgings ; after a while he found us picking our way among the rubbish and broken walls, seeking for some one who might tell us where any body might be. He led us to the place ap- pointed for us, (a perfect wreck,) through a labyrinth of mud-heaps, that had been houses. Our lodging had been the residence of some great man, a relative of the Pashah, who, at this time, was absent at Ta- breez. It was well for him; for here, at least, he could not have lived. We had it all, such as it was, to ourselves and our cattle. It was one great mass of mud; a dozen open spaces that had once been chambers, surrounding a large rambling hall, with a square hole in the middle, intended for a cistern. Here was our stable; I occupied a corner of one of the outer spaces, open to all winds, but fortunately none blew strongly. The Pashah sent a thousand civil messages and a good dinner from his own table, and so closed evening the first at Suleimaniah. Assuredly the impression created by these two last marches has been anything but cheering; there never was a sweeter country more withered by the hand of the spoiler. That it had once been the site of many a happy home was obvious, from the roofless houses of numerous villages, pleasantly seated in sheltered nooks, shaded by noble walnut and mulberry trees, with sweet little murmuring streamlets, and surrounded by vineyards, run wild. VOL. I. L 146 DESOLATION. It was painful to see that all was silent and de- solate, and more so to see that it was from no natural decay; it was like gazing on the face of the dead, who have been wasted by suffering and disease. Nothing was there of the mingled ten- derness and melancholy with which we look on the placid features of those whose ends has been peaceful, “ Before decay's effacing fingers Have swept the lines where beauty lingers." Here there is no “rapture of repose:”-it is verily the “ abomination of desolation;" and though per- mitted by the Almighty for his own wise purposes, his agents have been chiefly the violence and ra- pacity of man. To all my inquiries as to how this universal depopulation arose, the same answer was always returned :—“The plague came three years ago and swept the country, and it was fol- lowed by the Persian army, which has consumed what the plague had left, and has ravaged every village on the road, so that none now remain." Farewell, for the present: my next shall tell what remains to be said of Suleimaniah. T L Peach ADU Ite th 147 LETTER VI. Fate of Suleimaniah.--Condition of the Pashah.--His Conversa- tion.-- Fire-proof Seyeds. — The City.-Burying-grounds.—A Mourner.--Take Leave of the Pashah.-Another Disappoint- ment. Sheherazoor.— The Serteep Khan.--A Koordish Guide. --Cross the Mountains.-Karadagh.- Jews.-Koords deficient in Imaginative Superstition.-Explanation of Nezer-Kerdehs. -Jaff and Hamadawind Tribes.-Derbend of the Sugramah Pass.-A Glimpse of Assyria.-Zhallah.-A Dwarf-Mehman- daree.-A stony Land.-A fine Oak. Selim Aga.-Koordish Chiefs. Reflections regarding the Assyrian Empire.--Rustum Aga.--General Characteristics of the Koords.-Kufri.-Change of Manners as well as of People. Suleimaniah, 1st November. DEAR Two days ago I closed a letter for you, which, however, I must take on with me to Baghdad, as there is no London post here. Yesterday, after breakfast, some of the Persian officers who command the Azerbijân troops here, came to visit me. They gave a wretched account of the state of things here, but not more so than appearances warranted and confirmed. I afterwards went to wait on the Pashah, whom I found in his tent, surrounded by a number of good-looking Koords, but with no great show or state --poor man ! he can't afford it. The small state, or Pashalic, of Suleimaniah, never either very rich or powerful, has of late been the L 2 148 CAUSES OF RUIN. hin kin . lete banan ad pea prey of an accumulation of misfortunes, which have reduced it to extreme misery. First came family disputes, civil war-two brothers striving for the supremacy This brought in foreign intervention, as a matter of course ; and the Pashalic, which before had been dependent on that of Baghdad, fell into the hands of the Persian Prince of Kermanshah, Mahomed Allee Meerza. Intestine struggles and commotions, however, still continued, and weakened both parties so much that, after the death of Ma- homed Allee Meerza, their neighbour, the Meer of Rewandooz, thought fit to overrun, and appro- priate a considerable portion of the territory to himself. This brought on his head a war with the Azerbijân government, which had assumed au- thority over these parts, and on unfortunate Su- leimaniah the maintenance of a Persian army, in addition to the payment of a Persian tribute. Then came the plague, which carried off more than half the people of town and country; and, of the remaining half, all that could, seeing there was nei- ther relief from its inflictions nor any remission of imposts on the part of government, emigrated to places where the burthens are lighter---to Rewan- dooz, to Kerkook, Erbile, and other districts in the low country. Thus does improvident Persia strengthen the hands of her enemies while weaken- ing her own. But the Pashah, poor man! is of all the people the man who has it least in his power to escape the storm; and there he sits in the wreck of former greatness, puzzled and perplexed in the ex- treme to comply with all the demands made upon big ni dvent tres brani MO & THE PASHAH. 149 him, yet unable to resist them. Enviable condition ! Thus you will not be surprised that I saw little of pomp or magnificence, or even of bare comfort, around him. His people inquired of mine whether I had carpets and numuds to spread upon the mud floor of my lodging, as they were rather scarce in the place ; and sure enough not one was supplied me,- for the best of all reasons, because they were not ! I found the Pashah a pleasant and, for a Koord, a well-informed person ; having more, indeed, of the Osmanloo than of the Koord in his appearance. He asked me a world of questions about the state of Europe, the relations of each power with the others, and particularly those between the Porte, Russia, and Mahomed Allee Pashah. With the affairs of America he appeared tolerably well acquainted, put- ting right some of the Persians who were in the assembly, and also some of his own people in their odd notions regarding it. The condition of India was discussed, and a great deal said about modern inventions, particularly of a warlike description. The improvement of percussion locks introduced a discussion about the various modes of producing fire, and that, in return, the best mode of controlling or resisting it. These matters led to the mention of a subject to which I had more than once before heard allusion made, and which affords a curious spe- cimen of the superstition of the people of credulity on one side, and impudent quackery on the other. Seyeds, as you know, are the descendants of Ma- homet; but they are divided into several classes, some of which enjoy a higher portion of reverence 150 FIRE-PROOF SEYEDS. hati L" Ihe WUN MIN ning 20 boris than others, as being possessed of certain attributes derived, as is believed, from their venerated origin. Of these, one which is only arrogated by some few families, is the power of enduring the action of fire unharmed. At Souje Bulâgh it was said that a family thus endowed resided at a village not far off ; but unfortunately, when a desire to witness this miracle was expressed, no one could be produced to perform it. It is asserted, that these gifted persons will go into a sort of oven called a tendour, around which fire is heaped until it is red hot, and that they will heap fire upon their heads, and yet still call out “I am cold!”—and walk out unhurt. They will take a piece of redhot iron out of the fire without injury to their hands; and in short, if we believe what is said of them, they are fire-proof. To laugh at this absurd fable would have been equally useless and offensive ; for, as all such stories, whatever their origin, have been confirmed by the traditionary belief of ages, there is no confuting them except by the test of experiment—a test that is al- ways shunned by the parties professing, where detec- tion is likely to ensue. When, therefore, assurances of the truth of these miraculous powers were pressed on me from all sides, I merely replied that, such might be the case; but that to believe it impli- citly was out of my power, until I should have seen with my own eyes some irrefragible proof of the fact; such as one of the gifted persons taking from a furnace, with his bare arm, a piece of redhot iron, and holding it for some time in his fingers—this would satisfy me of his being endowed with some o there alu we fhat * A1 immt ARGUMENTS. 151 miraculous power. “But,” replied the whole assem- bly, with one voice, “there can be no doubt of the fact; we all know it for a truth.”—“Well," insisted I, “when I see the redhot iron in the Seyed's hand, 1, too, shall believe, and admit that such a power must have come from God, be the purpose for which it is given what it may.”—“You will ?” said a Per- sian Meerza, who had been busily, but vainly, endea- vouring to entrap me into a religious discussion : " and will you then agree to anything he shall say?" -"Suppose,” said I," he should declare to me that there is no God, would you have me agree to him in such a doctrine?"__"No," replied he; “but that is an impossibility.”-“Not at all,” replied I ; " for you have had among yourselves instances of men declar- ing themselves to be God and yet pretending to mi- raculous powers, and of others who deny the exist- ence of such a being altogether ; therefore you must see that no one can safely promise to believe all that another may say before he hears it, and knows whe- ther it be fit to acquiesce in.”—“Right,” said the Pashah ; "it is contrary to reason to do so." So the Meerza said no more. “And now, Pashah," said I, “ permit me to ask if your Highness has ever seen one of these Seyeds per- form the extraordinary feats ascribed to them." The reply was in the negative. “ And have you, then ?” said I, turning to an old man who had been very eager in the discussion. "No," replied he; “but I have seen one take fire into his mouth.”_" That," said I, “is what any Hooqu-bâz (juggler) with us will do ; it proves nothing but that the whole is pro- 152 CANDOUR OF THE PASHAH. and Gold 1 wa one Leima think Dfare. m ticep View CU 11. bably a trick.” “ He says the truth," observed the Pashah again ; " I have seen such tricks performed by these fellows myself.” I then turned to each and all of the assembly who had joined in the con- versation, but not one of them could say he had ever personally witnessed anything of the sort; so, with an air of indifference, I remarked to the Meerza, that, as nothing further than hearsay had been brought to prove the asserted miracles, he could not expect me to surrender my judgment or belief, which, accordingly, I should retain until he was ready with better evidence. On the following morning, (Nov. 1st,) I strolled out to see the town, and acquire a better idea of its condition, than my first cursory glance of it en- abled me to do. Certainly the impressions excited by that slight view, were in no degree weakened by further observation. All was misery, and filth, and wreck, and abomination. Not a decent habi- tation was to be seen. None of the people, high or low, have had heart, or means probably, to re- pair their ruined houses, so that the huts that have arisen upon the rubbish of the old ones, are of a meaner description than usual. The earth, too, of Suleimaniah, which forms the houses, is of so friable a nature, as to offer but little resistance to the action of the weather, mouldering down as soon as it is left to itself; so that by the operation of various causes, the town has alınost disappeared. The bazaars presented a better show than I ex- pected, from the state of the rest ; for though most of the shops were occupied by hucksters and retailers the i behi ing 071 1 } VIEW OF THE TOWN. 153 of trifling wares, they still made some appearance, and in the open spaces, where country produce was sold, a good many people might be seen collected. I was told there were still from one thousand to one thousand five hundred families resident in Su- leimaniah ; but to judge from appearances, I should think that the first mentioned number, which im- plies a total of at least five thousand souls, was nearest to, if not beyond, the truth. The town itself, lying in a hollow, cannot be seen except from some surrounding height, and the best view is to be had from two hillocks used as burying- grounds far, far better tenanted than the town it- self. Descending from one of those which I had mounted to obtain a view of the surrounding coun- try, I heard a female voice in loud lamentation, and saw, at some distance among the tombs, a woman sitting by a new-made grave, over which she was weeping and bewailing with gestures of the deepest distress. We went up to observe her, but she was too much absorbed in her grief to take any notice of us, if indeed she could have seen us, which was not likely, as we approached from behind. She was busied in ornamenting the grave in a fanciful manner, common to the poor, by plac- ing little white stones in curious figures upon it; but ever and anon she would desist, and, wringing her hands with an air of perfect despair, give vent to more frantic tones of anguish, as if she felt the utter vanity of such offices of affection. sionate grief attracted the notice even of the ser- vants who were following me, hard-hearted fellows Her pas- 154 A REAL MOURNER. More moba guests IT SE [Ret 111 BE dropre 66 It right certain UE they Opon IM enough, on ordinary occasions ; for it was obviously no got-up scene no sorrow for the public eye : there she sat, poor soul! all alone in her misery, far from the sight or hearing of any mortal, except such casual passers by as ourselves, pouring out her sorrow in the ear of Him alone, who had seen fit to send the affliction that caused it to flow. “Now that poor creature has lost a husband or a son, who was her only support,” said one of the servants ; " for you see, sir, none but such as have no other help, give way to grief like that; those who have families sit still and cry in the house.” is true,” remarked another; "and you see she minds nothing. It is only them, sir, whose hearts are filled with one thought that lament thus; she can think of nothing, poor soul! but of what she has lost.” I sent one of them to learn what loss it was that had occasioned so bitter a grief: it was her son — her only son--all she had in this world to look to for comfort or support, for she was a widow ! and her agony was increased by the question. She was obviously poor; so I gave her some money, which she took, and blessed me : but it was ob- viously for the sympathy rather than the relief, that she was grateful ; for the money lay neglected on the grave, while, with upraised hands, she blessed me, and prayed that God might be with me where- ever I went. This day I took leave of the Pashah, having no motive to continue my stay in his capital, and he, poor man! being too much occupied with his own They dar, from ls the 1 op DISAPPOINTMENTS. 155 1 affairs, to have much attention to bestow upon guests. He had taken occasion, however, to hint to my servant, that if I had any guns or pistols to dispose of, in exchange for good horses, he should be glad to see them; and as I should have had no objection to increase my number of horses, by the addition of one of good Koordish blood, I sent for his Highness's inspection a spare rifle and a dou- ble-barrelled pistol. Perhaps the hint had been dropped in the hope that some of these articles might find their way to him in the shape of a gift, certain it is that he did not approve of them in the way of exchange, or perhaps of the rate at which they were valued, for they were returned to me; upon which I sent a few smaller articles, such, as I believed, might prove acceptable as a present. They were received with a gracious speech; but a slight diminution of cordiality in my reception this day, led me to suspect that his Highness's expec- tations had not been quite satisfied, and deterred me from a repetition of the visit. I was forced, also, this day, to submit to another of these mortifying disappointments which fall to the lot of travellers in disturbed countries such as this. There is an extensive plain about twenty to twenty-five miles from Suleimaniah, in which the long valley that takes the name of the town ter- minates, and which is said to contain certain anti- quities, hitherto little, or not at all, explored by Europeans. Among other conjectures which give interest to this plain, is that of its being the site of a city called Siazurus by the ancients, the ruins 156 SHEHERAZOOR. mga I might their DTOT 1 i red ke of to opC A taE Tould of which, to this day, are known to the natives by the name of Sheherazoor. You will at once see what a delicious field of speculation so close a resem- blance of name affords to the etymologist. Had not my friend Macniell been carried off to England by duty, it was my hope to have enticed him thus far, and to have explored with him the antiqui- ties of Sheherazoor. But when that project was knocked on the head, I promised to him and to myself, that I should go there if possible, and learn what was to be seen. On arriving here, I made ap- plication to the Pashah for permission and a guide to visit this part of his territories. At first he made no objection, beyond observing that there was no- thing to be seen except some tuppehs (mounds), with bits of brick and pottery; neither buildings nor sculptured rocks : but he admitted that the mounds were very large, and that there were several groups of them at considerable distances from each other. This was not calculated to decrease my de- sire to see the place; judge, therefore, of my mortifi- cation when, on sending my servant to ask for a guide to this place, the Pashah said, if I was determined to go and see Sheherazoor, he would not forbid it; but that it would be quite contrary to his advice and wish, if I should make the attempt. That it was a great rendezvous of Eeliauts from all parts, and if, which God forbid, any accident were to befall one of my horses, he would be dishonoured by a cir- cumstance which it would be out of his power to remedy or prevent. They were Koords, he said, -beasts,--and who could answer for what they PET CE Tha th Site PERSUASIVE REMONSTRANCES. 157 their grasp. might do under the temptation of seeing, as they might imagine, great wealth falling in a manner into In short, if go I would, it must be on my own responsibility, not his. This is a strain of remonstrance the value of which is well known in the East, and which is freely made use of on all occasions where the object is to dissuade from, and prevent, an undertaking without appearing to oppose it actively. It has all the force of a com- mand without the ungraciousness of one : it throws all responsibility on the head of the adventurer who should persevere in spite of fair warning, and excul- pates those who warn him from the consequences of his rashness-consequences which all who are ac- quainted with the Oriental character well know would, in all probability, be accelerated by these very considerate advisers. I had some reason to suspect that one cause of the Pashah's reluctance to my visiting Sheherazoor, was the fear he entertained that this visit might tend to defeat his endeavours to appear as poor as possible in the public eye, and particularly in that of the Azerbijân government: for that district is said to be one of the richest in his Pashalic; and it was pro- bably by no means to his mind, that a stranger should have it in his power to report upon its pro- ductiveness. Be that as it may, it is certain that, after trying every method to effect an alteration in the Pashah's view of the case, and even applying through the general of the Persian troops stationed here,--a person who of necessity has great influence, and who laughed at all objections to the trip,- I was 158 ANTIQUITIES. could tiquit TE Anlei GUNS E tar forced to abandon my project. The Pashah insisted that the risk was so great, that he could not give his countenance to the attempt; and I was constrained to leave the adventure of Sheherazoor to be achieved by some more fortunate champion. I afterwards heard that the Pashah was so far in the right that, at this particular season, the place is full of thieves, who flock to it from the mountainous parts of Ker- manshah, and Hamadân, and Ardelân; so that when robberies are committed, it is difficult to discover, and still more so to punish, the offenders. In the course of conversation I heard but few more particulars respecting Sheherazoor, which briefly ran as follow :- The plain is bounded on the east and south by lofty and very rugged mountains, and it contains the sites, or remains, of five or six old towns or cities. One of these is called the Kallah, or fortress, and is a large lofty mound; then there are Yasseen tuppeh, Goolumber, Arbut, Kharabeh, and some others. The last appellation means merely ruins. I was informed by one or two persons, that stones of large size, bearing inscriptions in what they believe to be European (quære, Greek) letters, are occasionally dug up in these plains; and they say that a Baleoos (or high functionary) from Tabreez, on his way to Baghdad, saw one of the stones at Arbut. I heard, too, that another stone of this sort had been unearthed at Burdaker, a village at the foot of the south-western hills of this valley; and a Shiekh told me of a Bootkhaneh, or image temple, being found somewhere else in the plain, with a stone in it covered with characters which no one in the country [a] Har am A PERSIAN GENERAL. 159 could decipher ; thus it would appear, that this dis- trict may probably turn out a mine of unexplored an- tiquities. The whole plain below is said to be cover- ed with vestiges of old buildings; but there seldom is anything found in them except bricks, pottery, &c. This day also I had an interview with Mahomed Khan, Serteep, or general, of the Persian forces in Suleimaniah, this force consisting of something under four hundred men and eighty artillery-men, with five guns and two small mortars. It is a small command; but quite sufficient for the duty of devouring the coun- try, and plundering when they cannot get enough otherwise. The fact is, that no part of Persia, or the neighbouring countries, is able, in its present state, to support the eating ulcer of a standing army. The prince endeavours to maintain this province against the Pashah of Baghdad, to whose govern- ment it properly belongs; and in attempting to do so with least expense to his own government, he ruins his acquisition. Mahomed Khan, however, were his own account to be taken, is a hero fit to maintain his master's power in arms against the world. Give him but means and permission, and he will extirpate the Meer of Rewandooz, and shut up the Pashah of Baghdad within his bounds of Mesopotamia. With only three hundred serbâz and half that number of horse, he swept the Germián, or low country, if you will believe him, from Mosul to Khanakeen, from Kermanshah almost to the gates of Baghdad; and was only stopped from effecting something very tremen- dous indeed, by the Pashah sending him handsome presents and many conciliatory remonstrances. The 1 160 A PLEASANT GASCONADER. rathe 此 ​being sadell Path | In be a to me dep , Higher DP NODE pilar little Serteep Khan, in truth, belongs to a very numerous class of Persians, so well described by Morier, who are the most arrant boasters in nature, and who are yet far from being deficient in courage, like the boasters of inost other countries. They are di- verting enough, if one has patience to get through the quantity of froth that floats on the good liquor below : and while I listened to the Khan's account of his own exploits—to the praises he had received from the King of Kings, with a khelut from his own majestic person to the grand speeches of the Prince Royal, and his Royal Highness's promise of a gold- mounted sword, all from the same indubitable source of authority-to his bitter complaints of unrewarded merit-of having neither pay nor allowances, nor leave of absence to visit his family, (from which he had been separated five years,) but on the contrary, being about to be packed off upon some other ex- pedition, because none could do the work so well as Mahomed Khan; in short, to the obvious truth that the government knew they had a good servant in the honest Serteep, but did not know how to use him --while I listened to all this, I picked up in the course of it much that was interesting, much that I wished to learn, about the country and its enemy the Re- wandooz Pashah, and was also greatly amused- besides which, I think I pleased the honest Khan, who is really a hearty old cock, and takes his glass like any one of us. November 1.- Zhallah, a miserable Koordish vil- lage of six or eight houses. I write, dear —-, at this wretched hole, because I have a spare hour Ang THE PASHAH PERPLEXED. 161 to rather than because I have any great matter to tell. I left Suleimaniah yeterday, about eleven A.M., after being kept waiting, with beasts loaded and horses saddled, from seven in the morning; because the Pashah had not performed his promise of appointing me a guide towards Baghdad, which he had made to me the day before. Great men forget, and go sleep, and no one would venture to awaken his High- ness; so I sat in my harness, kicking my heels and fuming with wrath, until the usual hour for his Highness's coming forth from his chamber, when he told my servant that my business had escaped his memory! Thus does the inconsiderateness of the great entail inconvenience, and often loss, upon the little. Poor man! he had some excuse ; for he was sadly embarrassed about his own affairs. I dis- covered afterwards that, on the day I had taken leave, he was sitting in perplexed conclave with his Agas, debating on how to provide certain necessa- ries in the shape of soorsaut, for a party of Persian troops, amongst which a sum of two hundred to- mâns appeared to annoy them most — they could not, it was said, raise so much in Suleimaniah. This may account, perhaps, for some portion of the coldness which I thought appeared in the Pashah's demeanour on that occasion. The guide, when he did appear, was a right good one, and his instructions were very precise as to my safety and comfort. He was to see me to Kufri, and answer for my safety, in Eastern style, with his head. Such are the forms of missives given as in- troductions to travellers from potentates to the VOL. 1. M 162 A RICH AND VARIED COUNTRY. buma cuiree DET TOUS w thirds friend in the garies fins a governors of places in their line of route, or of in- structions to the guides who take them thither. Thus Abdoollah Khan, in writing by me to his bro- ther Summud Khan, at Seradusht, and other heads of villages, desired that I might be sent through the bounds of their respective jurisdictions in safety and in honour; and that should a drop of blood be drawn from one of my horses, the forfeit should be five thousand tomâns. November 3.—Under the guidance of Ul-Khider Aga, about eleven o'clock, we quitted Suleimaniah ; and, crossing the plain, ascended the western hills which inclose the long valley of its own name, and which, including the plain of the Sheherazoor, may be seventy to eighty miles in length. From the summit of the pass, the eye ranged over a singu- larly rich country, inclosed between the range on which we stood, and a particularly craggy ridge at a considerable distance, which forms, in fact, the boundary between the high and low country. I should have called the intervening space a valley, because it was lower than the bounding hills; but it was, in truth, a mass of the most rugged hills and dales, spotted with oak bushes here and there, and with walnuts and fruit trees in places where villages had once been ; and the vine, the pomegranate, and the sumach were still growing wild and luxuriant. Across this rugged and difficult country we made our way to a village, Karadah, which was to be our lodging-place for the night, and the dwellings of which were as singularly scattered among cliffs of sand-stone and gravel, and clefts and ridges, as any hy Thea 邮​侧 ​邮​姻​w師姐 ​ KOORDISH IMAGINATIONS DEFECTIVE. 163 human abodes I ever saw. We were hospitably re- ceived, however, on the strength of the Pasha's order; but recommended to be strictly on our guard against thieves, who were represented as particularly nume- rous and active. This village has one other pecu- liarity,-out of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred houses of which it consists, no less than two- thirds are Jews. I find the Koords and Jews coalesce together wonderfully well. I have already told you of my desire to rescue my friends the Koords from the imputation of deficiency in the imaginative faculties, and in those mental va- garies which give so much interest to the supersti- tions of other highlanders; and I never omitted any fair opportunity of making myself acquainted with their notions regarding ghosts, elves, and witches ; but I have in all cases been wofully disappointed. In fact, were I to give implicit credit to those whom I have questioned on the subject, I should have to report the Koords as utterly void of anything in the shape of faerie, or even goblinerie—a sad blot in their national character! Finding my guide Ul-Khi- der Aga an intelligent and communicative fellow and able to speak tolerable Persian, I tried him on the subject, and put a number of questions to him in various shapes. But the result was altogether un- satisfactory, “ What !” said I at length,“ have you Koords no faith either in Gins or Peries, or ghôls or spirits ?"_" Ahi, sir! what would you have ?” was the reply, accompanied with a sort of apologetic shrug worthy of a French marquess of the ancien ré- gime. “ The Koords are asses, sir !--they have no M 2 164 NEW CAUSE OF SUPERSTITION. the known DONE Rom learning—they have never read any books to teach them; and what should they know of such matters? The Moollahs and Ahons, indeed, may know some- thing regarding them ; but what are you to look for from the rest ?-in fine, they are Koords.” This was assuredly putting the subject in a new and amusing light-among us, ignorance is supposed to be one principal cause of superstition ; but here it was attributed to knowledge and learning, while the want of it was imputed, as a defect, to the stupifying power of ignorance. It was a curious perversion of received principles. “Well,” insisted I, “but have they no fear of evil spirits ?--no belief in such things?”—“ Nothing, the beasts!" replied he, in a tone of contempt ; “not one word did they ever hear about such matters.”—“Suppose," said I, desirous to alter the form of interrogation so as to catch any stray ideas on the subject—"suppose one of these Koords had occasion to pass through a burying- ground at midnight, would he have no reluctance to do so-no fears ?”—“No; none at all. Why should he?” was the Aga's reply. “I don't mean of the living," insisted I, “ but of the dead. Would he not fear that those who lay buried there might appear and do him harm ?" The grin of absolute incom- prehension which this question elicited from the muscles of the honest Aga's face, formed the most satisfactory reply possible to my questions ; so I abandoned the inquiry in despair. Behold the effect of education, or rather the want of it, in the present case! a decided dread of ghosts and evil spirits is, I apprehend, by one means or other, made a part of Doe ord lle MIRACULOUS FOUNTAIN. 165 the education of every child of woman born in most known countries, as well as in our own dear land. Perhaps, could I have penetrated the harems and nurseries of the great, where, according to my friend VI-Khider Aga, they are better informed, I might, among the ladies' coteries, have picked up some tales of Peries and enchanters; for these, no doubt, keep their ground among the Persians, as well as ghols and gins, to a considerable extent, with the power of magic, virtue of the philosopher's stone, and such other fables. But I had no such good fortune; and so far as I am concerned, the degree of such belief in Koordistan, and the prevalence of these super- stitions, must rest in darkness. If matters be as I have described, I cannot help regarding it as a foul blemish in the national character of the Koords. One sort of superstition, however, does assuredly reign in Koordistan as well as in most other places ; for where is the belief that miraculous influences are inherent in certain objects or places not found to exist? Persia has its Kudum-gâhs and shrines, and miraculous fountains, and so has Koordistan. I have mentioned its Nezzer-kerdehs ; and this day we found, scarcely a furlong from the city, a fine copious fountain bursting forth from the ground, and pos- sessing, as we were assured, the virtue of curing all illnesses.-Alas ! had we not that very moment passed through the two crowded burying-grounds, of which I have already spoken. Its well-head has been sur- rounded by a stone dike ; and in the wate thus inclosed, there are a number of fish which, as they are not disturbed by the inhabitants, swim about and ! 166 NEZZER-GÂus. inhal tihe 1 land disport themselves fearlessly. The Russian soldiers sent hither from Azerbijân have, however, thinned their numbers, in spite of the denunciation of death which was pronounced by the people against the sacri- legious offence. They assert, however, that some of those who ate of them died in consequence. I attacked our guide to-day on the subject of the Nezzer-gâhs; his explanation of them was simple enough. “When a sick person,” said he, “ in a dream, sees any of the saints or Imaums appear- ing as in a particular spot, he repairs thither; and if he receives the relief he expected he marks the place with such heaps of stones as you see, in token of his gratitude, and as a means of pointing out the holy spot to others. This has the effect of bringing other invalids, and even those who only pass by add their stone to the heaps, in token of respect ; so that in time these become numerous and large. Those who have been benefited, too, frequently tear shreds from their shirts or trousers, and tie them, as you observe, to the bushes around.” The graves of great men, or of persons murdered by robbers or by treachery, are not thus marked, he says, nor do they meet with this species of reverence; but a pole with a flag upon it, is occasionally raised, or some other signal is placed near, to point out to good Mussulmans the place where they should utter a prayer for the dead. On the morrow, about seven, we started; and in our way passed the sites of several deserted villages, which had once given life and beauty to their own little nooks and vales ; but population has fled from baran WA Phyu ahal di HAMADAVUNDS AND JAFFS. 167 1 this ill-fated country with prosperity and peace, leaving it a prey to tyrants and robbers. Of vio- lence and feuds we had proof enough in our path this day : for in the course of twelve miles' distance we twice changed guards and guides ; the inhabitants of one village not daring to enter the boundaries of the next; and our guide Ul-Khider Aga mentioned, as a curious circumstance, that the tribe of Hamadavund, which occupies some ground in this neighbourhood, and which he assured me did not number more than five or six hundred fami- lies, had rendered themselves so formidable to an- other tribe called the Jaffs, who can muster from ten to twelve thousand houses or tents, that not a Jaff dared to approach their precints—if he did, he was infallibly put to death ; while the Hama- davunds, riding in parties of twenties and thirties, would go and plunder the Jaffs in their own houses. I think there must be some exaggeration in this statement, since the Jaffs can give the Pashah one thousand good horsemen in time of need. They inhabit chiefly about Sheherazoor, but are scattered all along the border line; one of these unhappy Jaffs took advantage of our convoy to carry his nobility safe out of the dangerous tracts. Our last change of guards took place at Jefferân, close to the foot of the Suggramâh pass, one of the principal gates of Koordistan in this quarter; and as two stout robber-like loons accompanied us from thence, our guide observed that they were worth a score of horsemen. " The thieves are afraid of them, and will not dare to attack us; but we must 168 SUGGRAMÂH PASS. Tha DANS The but the : their the serei 10 ha be on our guard nevertheless : let the baggage all keep close, and we will send one of these fellows on in front.” Thus admonished, my fellows, who have a vile trick of lagging, but who also entertain a most reverend care for their own persons, closed up, and we soon reached the jaws of the pass. These are very striking. The mountains of which I have spoken, as forming the boundary be- tween the highlands of Koordistan and the plains of Assyria, which extends to the banks of the Tigris, here form a line which runs about S.E. and N.W. and are composed of many strata of limestone and calcareous conglomerate, with beds of gravel and in- durated sand intervening. Of these strata, one of enormous size and great height rises on their north- eastern face; and running as straight as a line from forty to fifty miles, or more perhaps, separates them from the irregular valley (of which I have before spoken) at their feet. Its crest rises thin and sharp, broken into a variety of the most fantastic forms; and the angle of its dip (to use the technical phrase) is so near a right angle, and its face is so free from soil that, at a little distance, you would take it for an unbroken precipice of sheer hard rock. But continuous though it appears, the ledge is not unbroken. There are gaps in several places, made by the streams which arise in the range, and which have forced an outlet for their waters. Be- fore one of these we now stood, collecting our forces, watering our horses, and tightening the bands of our loads, preparatory to grappling with the ascent which awaited us. The ledge or stratum shol OPEN who be MON 10 2 ma D at # 0 THE GORGE. 169 I have mentioned, narrowed to an apparent thick- ness of not many yards; and shooting up at once, like a gigantic flagstone, from the broken soil at its foot, had been shattered and severed to an extent in breadth, which above might be a hundred yards, but beneath was only sufficient for the passage of the stream. A bridge, under which the waters find their way, and which gives passengers and caravans the means of crossing the boundary, unites the dis- severed stratum, the wounded sides of which rise in the most grotesque and jagged forms to the height of several hundred feet above. Just beyond this bridge, other strata, divided in the same man- ner, but whose edges protrude less prominently, rise in forms to the full as picturesque, and the whole was spotted with oak bushes, rich in their autumnal tints. Behind this barrier the mountain opened into a basin covered thickly with oak trees, which rose almost to its crest. It formed, on the whole, a wild and grotesque, rather than a magni- ficent landscape ; for it lacked the moisture and consequent verdure which is so essential to beauty in mountain scenery : still it was striking ; and I was glad that the short halt enabled me to take a rapid sketch of the lines of this singular natural gateway, which, by the natives, is well termed Derbend. The ascent occupied us an hour and a half; and at length we stood upon the top, looking back to the wild mountainous country we had passed through, on the one hand, and on the other, over the lower lands we had yet to traverse before we could reach the 170 ASSYRIA. belian who EXTTE 1. whic HISTIE MIRE exce was cover mon the ng celebrated capital of the Caliphs : lower, I say, not level ; for the country which now presented itself to our eyes, was anything but level, although in relative altitude far inferior to that which we had left. Low ridges of dark craggy hills rose in a succession, the termination of which the thickness of the atmosphere prevented us from discovering ; and the space between them appeared, in like man- ner, to be intersected by smaller hillocks and ra- vines. It was a black and dreary prospect ; yet this was the land of Assyria Proper, the cradle of mighty empires, and the birth-place of great mon- archs in the olden time. Certainly no one, re- garding it as we now did, could have imagined this scorched and rocky desert to be the proper country of the great Semiramis, or the luxurious Sardanapalus, however it might be the fit abode and domain of “ Nimrod the mighty hunter ;" yet such as we saw, is, I believe, the greater part of the country on the left bank of the Tigris near the hills, from Mosul, or Nineveh, the ancient Assy- rian capital, down to Khaneken and Mendali, the southern boundary of the province so named. Around Mosul itself, as round Erbile, Kerkook, and several other considerable places, there is a circuit of much richer country ; but a large proportion of the whole is desert, and scarcely fitted by nature to be otherwise, A desperately rocky and stony descent, and a course of a few miles along the lower country I have described, took us to this place Zhallah ; a most miserable place, as I have said ; indeed a poorer all E PP bor an WO th be A DWARF. 171 lodging place I have seldom seen. The first person who came forth to receive us, was a creature whose extraordinary appearance fixed the attention of us all, impressing us with that indefinable sensation which unnatural deformity, in any shape, almost instinctively produces at first sight. It was a human being of the size of a stout boy of twelve or fourteen years of age, perfectly well made in all respects, except the head. This member, on a second glance, was observed to be preternaturally small, and the moment the creature turned its face to us, we dis- covered at once that sense, if not soul, was want- ing there.” It was the exact face of an ape or monkey; the compressed nose, the protruding mouth, the flat retreating brow, and projecting eyes — the small conical skull, with “ woful lack of brains," all bore the stamp of the beast which mocketh the form of man. Forward it came the moment we approached ; and seizing the bridle of one of the horses stood gazing, first at us, and then at the animal, with sundry grimaces, just as a monkey would have done, but uttering no intelligible sound; and the whole appearance and bearing of the poor idiot, who was almost entirely naked, suggested the idea of a brute, rather than that of a human being : it was an extremely painful sight. We learned that, though so young in aspect, he was actually thirty years of age, and therefore of course come to his full size : there he remained un- progressive; a stunted fruitless being, alone in the world, for father or mother he had none : left to the compassion of his more fortunate fellow mortals, 172 MEHMANDAREE Na Wid the e ana has make 20017 co reall expec and affording cause of thankfulness to those who enjoy an ampler share of the blessings which Pro- vidence had seen fit to deny him. At this place, as at the munzil of the last night, we have been annoyed and disgusted by a dispute between our mehmandar and the villagers regarding a supply of corn and straw for our horses, and food for ourselves. I have more than once alluded to the custom of the country, by which foreigners of any dis- tinction, or persons introduced by letters from friends or from the ruling authorities, are considered as public, not private guests, and are supplied with food and lodgings, nominally at the expense of govern- inent, or of the Khans and governors of the places in their line of route. This is a distinction which has far more inconvenience than advantage. Without it, it is true, a traveller would come little into con- tact with the better or upper classes of society, and might go through the country without having an opportunity of seeing anything of their manners and customs : but then it often proves an incon- venient shackle upon a man's progress and arrange- ments; for he cannot make those which may be necessary, either for proceeding, or for remaining at a place, without the acquiescence and assistance of his host, whose views differing, perhaps, from those of the traveller, may, with the best inten- tions in the world, be calculated to thwart or in- terfere with the traveller's most earnest wishes. Again, it is not over pleasant to find oneself thrust nolens volens into the house or on the charges of a stranger, whatever be his means or character. It S have ille the art ar 6 AND ITS EVILS. 173 is a violence done both to one's independence and feelings of delicacy. A traveller unacquainted with the custom, shrinks from placing himself thus under an actual pecuniary obligation to one on whom he has no claim, and to whom he conceives he can make no fitting return; and this feeling is often aggravated by the unpleasant conviction that he really is a burthen, that his host can ill bear the expense--and by the most indelicate discussions which arise between that host and his own servants, as to the mode of entertainment and amount of provision required for their master and themselves. These discussions do not, of course, occur with well-bred people, or with men of liberal feelings and handsome fortune: but it becomes extremely painful to find yourself thrust upon poor villagers, on whom their richer master imposes the burthen of his ostentatious hospitality; for although it may have once been customary to admit such outlays, as offsets in account with the village, this is now seldom attended to in practice. With the great, the guest finds a means of com- pensating the master by presents of money to his servants, which, if he be poor or avaricious, he un- scrupulously shares with, or takes from them. If the sojourn has been long, and the expense con- sequently considerable, a present of some valuable article may be made to himself. But it is not so easy to reimburse the common villagers for such articles as they, upon compulsion, have provided ; for if you do so openly, ten to one the guide or mehmandar who accompanies you, will wrest it 1 174 LAMENTATIONS. alte M coul 1 mod niah's guest. CONNE taigh W! This from them on his return ; and if you give it secretly to any person of the place, it is more than probable that the Kelkhodah, or Zabit, or head man, what- ever he be, will keep it all to himself, so that the true sufferers get nothing. In the present case, I was the Pashah of Suleima- Etiquette required that I should continue so while within his territories ; but as this would have been more onerous than agreeable, his villages were made to bear the expense ; or even if that were charged to his Highness by his servants, the poor villagers would be none the better, as these servants would themselves, in that case, pocket the amount allowed by their master in account with his Ryots. Last night, after all that could be done by Ul-Khider Aga, the villagers would not produce grain enough for my horses, so I told my own servants to purchase it. Whether they did so or not I know not, but the money for it was paid by me. This evening there went through the village an absolute wail and lamentation -- all the poor old wives of the five or six families it contained were deprived of their little hoards of grain; and one of them came to my lair, roaring and crying to reclaim a fowl, her only chucky, which had been forcibly abstracted to enter into the composition of my pillaw, and just saved it as the knife was at its throat. A few pence procured another, but the mehmandar stepped in ; his honour was at stake to see me fed free of all cost, save what he himself might expect. So he forced the money from the unlucky owner of the old cock, and returned it to me. I made several IS SWT be 8 REMUNERATION. 175 attempts to settle all difficulties by purchase of what was required ; but, though money was secretly offered, the people were too much afraid of the mehmander to take it. At length, when all that could be squeezed out had been extracted, the only mode I had to avert the curses of the pillaged community, was to send a servant secretly and at night, to the houses of the sufferers, and to pay them for what had been taken, and a little more. This was trusting to the honesty of my own men - a frail reed no doubt; but there was no alter- native, and, I believe, he must have executed his trust in part, at all events, as most of the people next morning, when I was mounting, came forward with kind wishes and farewells. Kufri, November 4.-From Zhallah, the place of my last date, a march of from twenty-two to twenty-four miles, took us to Ibrahim Khanchee, the village of a Koordish chief, where we were to pass the night. The first five or six miles of our course led us over one of the most singularly stony tracts I ever saw; but the quantity of herbage that had nevertheless sprung up in spring and summer was astonishing. Part of this still remained, while the greater part having been burned, had left a wide black surface thickly speckled with grey stones — a most unlovely prospect. We next ascended a very rocky hill of consider- able height, the last of any consequence between us and the Tigris. It was bare of every thing except grass, but on its summit grew one magnificent spreading oak, the last of a forest which no doubt 176 SELIM AGA. are WO to be what rith tat Silves "O der once covered all this country. It owes its preser- vation to some tradition, which I could not exactly make out — it had probably been lost in the lapse of time; for now, all that could be gathered was, that travellers resting under its shade after the ascent are speedily relieved from their weariness, and strengthened to proceed — no extraordinary effect of rest and shade and free air after a tough pull up hill. It was surrounded by a wall of stones, and was called Daur-ul-Mandeh. A few miles beyond the rocky descent of this hill, we stopped to breakfast at the miserable "Koordish village of Jânreze, the dwelling of Selim Aga, chief of the Daloo Koords, a branch of the Bebahs of Suleimaniah. On approaching the village, we ob- served spears and saddled horses; and on arriving there found the Beg just preparing to go forth on a hunting-party, for he was surrounded by attend- ants equipped for the saddle, holding greyhounds in the leash, and hooded hawkes on the fist. A word from the guide, who preceded us a few yards, procured us a courteous reception from this chief, who was a pleasing-looking person, just past the middle age, with a grizzled beard and mild, though firm features. He disclaimed the apology I had tendered for our intrusion, which had ob- viously interrupted his projected expedition ; and swore by the head of the Pashah and his own eyes, (to which he said we had brought light and delight,) that we were welcome a thousand times. He only regretted that his accommodation was so poor, and his fare so bad, that he was ashamed of receiving 1921 ܕ ܕ CHANGED TIMES. 177 us in such a manner. “But we Koords," said he, “ are rough fellows at best; we live in the plains or on the hills, and never, at any time, had much to boast of, and now the little we had is gone -- what between Prince and Pashah we are in a fair way to want bread. See,” continued he, taking up one of the black cakes they had just set before us, with a little sour milk, on a tray,_"see what we eat !-our horses and we fare just alike. Once we could give a guest a cake of good wheaten bread, but that is all over now, and we must content our- selves with arzun," “Once," continued he, pursuing the subject as I drew him out by questions or monosyllables of ac- quiescence and sympathy,—“once we Koords were soldiers, and we thought of nothing but riding, and exercising with the spear and the sword, and of hunt- ing and hawking, and such sports; for we had enough to live upon, and our Ryots cultivated our grounds for us : but now every man is forced to lay down sword and spear and take to the jooft (the pair of bullocks that drag the plough); and what is a soldier good for, sir, when once he has put his hand to the plough? but the Pashah and the Persians will have all their demands, and what is the con- sequence - what is left the Ryot but ferår (flight), and away they go to Rewandooz or Kermanshah, or Mosul, or anywhere rather than stay where their burthens are intolerable—so the country becomes quite depopulated as you see.” The Beg was particularly inquisitive respecting the English and Russians, though his ignorance VOL. I. N 178 A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING, tan. THE OWI has to f sot! not e bes men dige regarding both was very great, and I left him, as I hope, well pleased with my visit ; for, after gratify- ing him with a display of the power of my fire-arms, particularly of my small pistols, which, till he wit- nessed their effects, he had despised, I made him a present of some articles of English manufacture which took his fancy mightily, and we parted the best of friends. “Now, this very mild and civil gentleman,” said I to Ul-Khider Aga, our guide, as we rode away, “this Aga who has given us so kind a reception, and made us so welcome,suppose neither you nor any other guide from Suleimaniah had been with us, aud we had met with him and his train in the Sahrah (open plain), I suppose he would have made no scruple of attacking us, and robbing us, if he could ?"_“ By the head of Suleiman Pashah," re- plied the guide, laughing heartily,—" by your own life, sir, you seem to know the man as well as I do myself — you have hit it exactly. Selim Aga is just the man for such a job. He would eat bread with you as your host, and after the Khoosh Amedeed, and Khodah Hafiz (the welcome and fare- well), he would tie up his beard, alter his turban, and disguise himself and his people so that you should not know them, and gallop off ahead and waylay and strip you all naked, and leave you there. He is the completest napåk (scoundrel) in all Koor- distan — the most remorseless ruffian. Why, sir, that fellow has stripped women and left them naked in the desert - he would take from them their shift, if it were worth threepence, even if they had not another rag." 3 Na hor KOORDISH ROBBERS. 179 " And is not this held infamous even in Koordis- tan?” asked I. “So infamous," replied the guide, " that I have not words to tell you how bad it is in our estimation. But this Selim Aga is a beast, that has neither shame nor feeling. He has some forty to fifty horsemen, and with these he stops the road, so that neither caravan nor pilgrim to Kerbelah can páss; and all whom he catches he strips.”—“But what says the Pashah to all this?” demanded I. “ Ís not the Aga his Highness's servant ?”—“To be sure he is,” replied Ul-Khider, " and the Pashah 'burns his father' when he does such things : but what shall I say, sir ? the Pashah has enough to do at home we never keep a governor long enough in his place to get so firm and strong as to keep the country per- fectly quiet ; so we can but do our best ;- but as for this Selim Aga, he is the most unprincipled rascal :- he showed you his arm, sir;" (it was covered with a herpetic eruption, which he wished me to cure)—“We say here, sir, that this was sent by God as a punish- ment for his misdeeds; and I believe it is the case. May his father's tomb be defiled!” • Well," said I, “but this Roostum Aga, to whose house we are going this night, inshallah! what sort of a fellow may he be ? Would he not do much the same as Selim Aga-would not he also strip us if he could?” __“There is a little of that sort, indeed, sir," replied he. “Roostum Aga is a powerful man; he is chief of the Zengeneh tribe ; but ulhumdulillah ! praise be to God! he is Suleiman Pashah's servant, nevertheless, and, inshallah! he shall send you safe to Kufri,”-" Inshallah, inshallah !” replied I; “but 66 N 2 180 CONSEQUENCE OF CIVIL BROILS. be troz erer the of the dig from what I see, it seems plain that every one of these chiefs of Teerehs (divisions of tribes) in this country would play the same game -- that is, they would stop, rob, and strip us, or any one they meet with in the sahrah without a guide or means of resistance." “ Ahah Barikillah ! bravo, sir! you have said the truth --not one of them is to be trusted. After all, they are but Koords, and we are all of us brutes. But it was not always so, sir : in the days of Abdul Rahman Pashah, the father of Sulei- man and Mahmood Pashahs, there was nothing of all this ; you might have walked with jewels on your head and gold in your hand from one end of the Pashalic to the other. From Seradusht to Kufri- from Koee to Bauna, and no one would have asked you where you were going ;--it was Selaam-ul-Alee- koom and Aleekoom-is-salaam : but it is the quar- rels between the brothers that have brought on our misfortunes and ruined the country. Sometimes it is Mahmood and sometimes it is Suleiman--never the same master three years together. And then in come the Ajemees (Persians) to settle the disputes, and they take the country to themselves and eat it up with their army, living at free quarters. Next comes the plague, and then the famine, which to- gether sweep away the people, but leave us our enemies. Then, when a robbery occurs, each party charges it on the other, its opponent. The servants of Suleiman impute the outrage to those of Mahmood, while those of Mahmood fling back the charge on the people of Suleiman; and truth to say, the Pashah has not power to punish all par- 侧​毗​迦 ​the 201 fort db ASSYRIA. 181 he may see or know to be in fault, nor to con- trol the ill-disposed ; for as the Persians devour everything they can lay hold of, the honest men are forced to run away, and the country is left to the thieves." There was nothing to be said against this plain and too true statement, so on we rode to the village of Ibrahim Khanchee. . We were now fairly in the country of ancient Assyria, which indeed we had entered when cross- ing the last gorge by which we descended to the plain of Suleimaniah. And verily there was little in the aspect of the country to suggest ideas of great and powerful empires. Even one's reason refused to be persuaded that the wide tracts of gravel and black earthy hillocks, with the rock cropping out from their sides and summits, and intersected by dry ravines, which lay stretched far and near around us, all obviously unproductive, except of a scanty pasturage-could ever have been the theatre of those mighty events which history relates of the empire of Semiramis and her descend- ants, where innumerable hosts of warriors struggled for victory and boundless dominion ! In fact, the mind while contemplating scenes which have been the cradles of greatness, is apt to labour under a striking fallacy. It attributes to the spot of ground which may have given birth to the founder of a dynasty, the splendour of that dynasty itself. Thus Alexander, conqueror of the world, is still Alexander of Macedon. Mahmood, the conqueror of India as well as central Asia, is still Mahmood of Ghiznee; 182 MISTAKEN NOTIONS. rons Why migl 00012 bunda almos bits : and the empires of Babylon, of Nineveh, and of Per- sia, still retain the names of their respective dynasties or of the parent state, while their greatness, their riches, and their splendour were derived, not from the petty provinces from whence their founders issued, but from those rich and vast countries which were subdued by those founders or their successors. It was not Macedonia alone, nor Ghiznee, nor Me- sopotamia-fertile and prolific though it was, nor rocky Assyria, nor barren Persia, which furnished that wealth and supported that splendour; but the wide realms of Asia, which fell a prey in turn to each comparatively ephemeral sovereign of the period. Thus no one can conceive, that the rugged arid tracts on which we were treading could ever in themselves have been either productive or populous ; but both these and the Koordish mountains that frown over them did formerly, no doubt, as now they might, afford supplies of hardy soldiers, who under a bold leader, such as the “ mighty hunter," were admirably qualified to overrun and possess themselves of the more fertile plains and provinces adjoining them, and thus acquire the means of con- solidating those fabrics of power which are the wonder of later times. What mattered it to Nine- veh—surrounded by her multitude of gardens, water- ed by the Tigris, the Ghazer-su, and the Zab, with the fat plains of Mesopotamia, the fertile valleys of Syria, the rich and varied realms of Armenia and Asia Minor to satiate the luxury of even a Sarda- napalus,—whether a black and howling wilderness stretched on one side almost up to the very envi- I holde filmse ing fe E 1 ROOSTUM AGA. 183 rons of the capital ? but surely this same wilder- ness has little to do, except in name, with the mighty empire of Assyria ! Whatever may have been the virtues or endow- ments of these old Assyrian warriors, their successors, like the dwellings they inhabit, we found to be rude enough in all conscience. Ibrahim Khanchee, the abode of Roostum Aga, was a collection of about a hundred huts constructed of mud and grass; and the dewan khaneh, as it was called, of the chief, into which we were introduced, was in so frail a state that I almost expected, should a breeze of wind or shower of rain come on in the night, that we should be buried in its ruins. We were received by his son, a fine young lad, but inquisitive and far from over bashful, and, like them all, with fingers like fish-hooks, laying hold of every thing they come near. Roostum Aga himself came in the evening, a jolly, good-humoured, dark-looking man, with a round face and a hardy sort of “ devil may care” laugh, who received us with boisterous civility. He was one of that kind of savages who are wonderfully good when they are not "countered," as the Scottish nurse said of her spoiled child-all smiles when he had his own way ; but the sudden drawing up, and the cloud on his face the moment he was contradicted, seemed intended to hint, “ I can be a devil if I please, and a tyrant when I will.” We were a little reserved at first ; but as I inake it a point on all occasions to conciliate as much as I can, we soon came to an understanding, and fell into a familiar chat; but he commenced after a 184 FREE AND EASY 61 li We oft int Ghid ber curious fashion. Almost as soon as compliments were over, he called to my servant, who was stand- ing in the room, and asked, " What is your name? --where are you from ?--how long have you been with the Saheb ? Do you receive wages, or did any one send you with him ? --are you pleased with his service ?” and, after receiving replies to all these important queries, he added, in a good- humoured but blunt way, which showed him to be unaccustomed to denial, “What pistols has your inaster ? ---- bring them to me.” I made him a sign to bring the pistols, which were instantly in the chief's hands. When he saw that the holster pistols had percussion locks, he threw them aside with con- tempt, saying, “I know these things; two of your taifeh (tribe) came here some time ago and had such. They offered me a pair, but I would not have them : of what use would they be to me? These are what I like;" and he produced a good but much-worn pair of Mortimer's duelling-pistols. “If you had had any of this kind,” said he, « I should have got them from you ; but these of yours are pooch (trash). Now, what else have you ? - the things I am fond of are pistols, shawls, and coats, such as this ;” and he pointed to his own cloak, which was of scarlet cloth. “ Have you any cashmere shawls ? like this -- see !” pointing to an old one, fringed with silver, on his head. I told him that, being travellers as we were, going post to Baghdad, it was not likely we should have such things with us, nor had I: in fact, I had nothing but my own bed and body clothes. “ What! nothing ?” be ON Tu che WC bi 0 i ! CONVERSATION. 185 said he. " See what these Ferengees I spoke of, gave me among many other things, and he produced a good sportsman's knife of English manufacture. “Look at it,” said he ; "it is of your country ; but I must go to prayers — never mind me.” So he spread his carpet on the numud beside me and com- menced his numáz ; but by much the greater part of the time was passed in questions or orders to his people, and inquiries of my own servant about my- self, all close at my own ear. At last he finished and turned to me. I had in the mean time taken out a capital clasp-knife, which I had set aside for myself, and which I now presented to him as a weapon of great use, either for peaceful or warlike purposes, and of the best manufacture of England. It was graciously re- ceived, and appeared to open his heart a little, for he became quite facetious. “ Where got you this numud ?" demanded he, pointing to the felt carpet on which we were both then sitting. “ What did you give for it?” I told him. “ You have been cheated,” said he; "it is a poor affair — it is not worth more than half that sum at Baghdad — capi- tal numuds and carpets to be found there." I asked him whether his tribe made carpets. “They have begun to do so," said he, “and there is an excellent one here now." I asked to see it, observing, that if for sale, and that I approved of it, I should pur- chase it. No, no,” said he ; “if you like it, it - I will find the money.”—“ By no means, Aga," replied I; "that was far from my meaning I really do wish to purchase such things." is yours 186 FISHING OBSERVATIONS. der kai capire "ti bunt eithe darbie idean "Ah," said he, laughing, “I see; you are afraid that if I give it to you, you will have to give me something ; but no, you are mistaken: I want nothing." —"Nay, Aga, you yourself are wrong there," said I. “What I have to give, I give with pleasure ; but a traveller is seldom well provided with spare articles, and it is contrary to my custom and wishes to receive valuable presents without return.” A good deal in the same strain passed between us, from which I gathered clearly enough that the Beg was fishing. He alluded several times to the hand- some presents he had received from other travellers, and took occasion to mention the articles which would be most acceptable ; and as I was desirous to make as many friends as I could for the benefit of future passers by, at a moderate expense, I took the opportunity of his abusing a blunt pair of Persian scissors with which he was in vain attempting to cut a piece of paper, to present him an excellent pair of English ones. This increased the satisfaction he seemed to receive from my previous gift of the knife, and drew forth a long eulogium upon the English and their excellent commodities; but I heard no more of the carpet. The next subject he attacked me about was eating the flesh of swine. “I saw," said he, “a whole herd of them as I returned just now; but the sun was low, otherwise I should have killed one or two. --“Why should you have done so ?” asked I ; " you do not eat them, do you ?” — “ Astafferullah ! God forbid !” exclaimed he; “they are nejes (un- 1 해 ​110 oby > 1 a CLEAN AND UNCLEAN ANIMALS. 187 clean)."-" True,” replied I; “but you eat hares, don't you ?”_"By all means,” replied he; "and capital things they are for a stew."_“And foxes too ?” said I, interrogatively,-—"No, no," replied he; “ it is only a few poor devils who eat them.”—“Well; but both are eaten here,” insisted I, “and both are forbidden by your law,” The Beg could not deny either point. “ Well now," said I, “we won't talk about the lawfulness of the thing; they are all alike forbidden meats, and there's an end of it. But let us come to the reason of the thing. What do wild hogs live on, Aga ?"-"Why, on grass, acorns, and roots,” replied he.-"Good; there is nothing un- clean or disgusting in that.”—“No; by no means.” “Well ; what do foxes feed upon, and herons, and the other large waterfowl you eat?”—“Why, the foxes eat birds and small beasts, and the others eat fish and worms.”_"Well, then," said I, “which is the cleanest animal ?”—“ He says the truth,” observed the Beg, turning to some of those about him.--"Wullah! if I had known you were coming here, I should certainly have killed one of these wild hogs and brought it to you."—"No, no, Aga,” said I," that would never do. When I am with Mussul- mauns, I neither eat hogs nor drink wine. Why should I do what would be disagreeable to my hosts.” “ Not at all, not at all,” said he somewhat hastily ; your own people should have cooked it; and as for wine, will you have any ? I can give you both wine and brandy." I excused myself from either, a good deal to the honest Beg's disappointment, I suspect, though he swore that he had given up 188 JOKES. its TE gulni firme tisa. gbosi the eithe tot MUE Dit Tere drinking entirely - he had made the tovah, or vow of repentance, and renunciation for the sin ; but the joke about the hog's flesh was kept up all the night. When the pillaw came in, my portion was, as usual, in a separate dish, and he swore he had ordered his cook to put pork in it for me, and that pork it was; and afterwards, when we drank tea out of my cups, he affected to wash the one he used before drinking out of it. “Ah !” said I in reply, , “ this is all very fine, Aga, in my presence; but I have strong doubts upon the subject. I would not be a piece of one of these same fine fat hogs you saw to-day, and in your way, just arriving at your munzil after a long march.”—“No, no; by your head,” replied he, laughing," I assure you we don't eat such things.” '_“Well, you say so; but if you do not, Aga, many do. There now, that fierce-looking old fellow opposite me,” pointing to à most truculent-looking, white-bearded, old Koord; “I would take my oath that there are three things he is a capital hand at-fighting, drinking wine, and eating pork.” “ He! the old fool,” said the Beg, laughing still more heartily," he fight! I don't believe he has a bit of liver at all—if he has, it has not a drop of red blood in it: he would not fight a child. Do you know that I cannot depend upon that old Resoul Aga even to obey orders ; when I tell him to push his horse one way, he always spurs him another, and that is always away from the enemy : is it not, Resoul ? For the wine, he only drinks it whenever he can get it; and as for the pork, Wullah Billah! I believe he would eat T TOLS strani TD ol A PERTINENT COMMENTARY. 189 its father;" and so we went on all in excellent humour. The conversation next turned on ghosts and goblins, and to my disappointment the Beg con- firmed the neglect of this part of Koordish educa- tion. I explained to him our traditions concerning ghosts, which teach the superstitious to believe that the spirits of murdered persons appear on earth, either hovering about the place of their murder, or to others, to tell the crime and point out the per- petrator, or to the murderer himself, to drive him to confession or distraction. He was much struck with this idea, and exclaimed, La-illah-il-ullah ! “ if such were the case here, who would ever com- mit murder or robbery !” a pretty pertinent com- mentary on the moral principle which doubtless first gave origin to the belief among ourselves. The fact is, that Roostuin Aga, with all his roughness and predatory habits, has a plentiful share of superstitions, if not of religious scruples a very common case with rogues and plunderers. He asked me anxiously whether the buffalo-horn handle of the clasp knife I had given him were not negis, or unclean? if he might say his prayers with ? Perhaps you do not know that all Mahomedans, when they say their prayers, ought to lay aside every weapon of war, and every article of gold or silver, and even of silk, from their attire, as being contrary to the humble tone of mind in which addresses to the Deity should be uttered. Even the Beg's joke about the hog's flesh had some- thing of a scruple in it, and he would not even it on his person 190 RUFFIAN SCRUPLES. ai lo th NE UCC al tre 211 bett tare mount his horse to go on a party of robbery and murder without ejaculating “ Bismillah irruhman irruheem!"-"In the name of the most merciful and most compassionate God!” Thus the Wahabee cuts the throat of the prisoner who has submitted, to the prayer or ejaculation of “ Allah-hu-Akber !” “God is great!” and thus the holy robber, with his bloody hands filled with the booty of his last préy, kneels before the image of the Virgin, and offers part of the unclean spoil, together with his prayers, to “The Mother of God!” Assuredly the day of repentance, in the matter of bloodshed and plunder, does not appear as yet to have come to Roostum Beg. He dwelt upon the many frays he had been in, and the plunder he had taken, with a zest and eagerness which showed how strong the devil was yet in him. He told me he had been wounded at least a dozen times, in spite of the best of armour. 66 I have ar- mour of every sort,” said he, “and I used to wear it always; but I have learned to put very little trust in it-my trust is in Heaven !” said he, with as firm and satisfied a tone as if his cause was the most righteous upon earth. He joined with others in lamenting the evil days on which the present race of Koords had fallen. “ The golden times of Koor- distan are gone,” he said ; “ride over the country, and what brilliance, what spirit will you find ? all the good horsemen and stout soldiers are dead, or have fled the land, or have taken to the plough per force, to make as much money as will pay the Pashah and feed their wives and children ; ಜ. ಆ ಆ A PLEDGE FOR SAFETY. 191 and what is a soldier good for when once he has touched a plough ?" I agreed with him in thinking that the country had lost all appearance of pro- sperity, and the people all spirit and brilliancy : but it did not appear that all had taken to peaceful occupations; the dangers of the road sufficiently proved that. “Ah !” said he,“ that is all a trifle; a few looties here and there,-no gallant bands of horsemen now; but rest contented, I, Roostum Beg, am pledge for your safety; nothing shall touch you between this and Kufri-you are a good fellow- an excellent fellow--I like you—by your head I do !--you are not like some of your countrymen I have seen, who could do nothing but eat and sleep; your eyes are open and you have sense : be satisfied, to-morrow you shall see Kufri in safety.” I dare say you have now enough and to spare of Roostum Aga; but as an excellent specimen of the wild Koordish chief, I have been tempted to describe him at full length. In the morning he gave us a guide and a letter to Kufri, swearing once more by his head and eyes, and by the life of his guest, that that life was as the light of his soul, and that not a hair of his head should be touched so far as his word was obeyed. Here, too, for the pre- sent, we take leave of our rough friends the Koords, of whom likewise you may, perhaps, be nearly tired. Like other men and nations, they are creatures of circumstance and education, but possessed of na- tural qualities that might be turned to good ac- count. Bold they are, and hospitable after a fashion; but this last virtue has been sadly dimmed 192 KOORDISH CHARACTER, MO 2.E que but 1 V Dose end of late years by poverty and oppression. Like most pastoral and patriarchal people, they are distin- guished by a strong love of kindred and tribe, which renders them fierce and violent in their quarrels, each adopting the feud which has arisen from offence to a clansman, and perpetuating it by a series of remorseless murders. Far from cruel by nature, these feuds, and their fondness for war and warlike occupations, tend to make them reckless of spilling blood, and cause them to hold human life at less account than it is rated at in more peaceful coun- tries; yet their wars are not deadly, and the very consciousness of the interminable consequences of shedding blood, operates as a wholesome restraint upon their passions, when mere feelings of pity or a moral sense of crime, would be too weak to pre- vent murder. Such, in fact, is ever the case among semi-barbarous tribes, when no superior and com- petent power is present to exercise a proper control ; and, as I have already hinted, if any one would form a pretty close idea of the Koords, the Toork- mans, or even the Arabs, so far as social intercourse and strife are concerned, let him turn to the condi- tion of our own Scottish highlands some couple of MO WAU T MI centuries ago In person the Koords are well made and active; differing perhaps but little essentially from their neighbours the Persians. But the national features are strikingly peculiar. The cast of countenance is sharp, the form of the face oval, the profile remarkable from the prominence of the bones of the nose, and the comparative retrocession of the KOORDISH FEATURES AND MANNERS. 193 mouth and chin, which communicate to its outline a semicircular form. The eyes are deep set, dark, quick, and intelligent; the brow ample and clear, but somewhat retreating, completing the shape as- signed to the profile; and the general mould of the features by far more delicate than those of the Persians, which usually are somewhat too strong. In Koordistan you would look in vain for a snub nose. The petite nez retroussé is unknown among them. The mouth is almost always well-formed, and the teeth fine. The hands and fingers small and slender. In short, there is something of ele- gance about the Koordish form, which would mark them as a handsome nation in any part of the world. The same remarks apply to the women, so far as I have had opportunities of observation. When young they are exceedingly pretty ; but when old, or even at what we should call maturity, the sharp prominence of feature, which characterises them in common with the men, is assuredly unfavourable to beauty, and they soon appear old and withered. I had sufficient opportunities for observing these particulars, as they do not wear veils like the Per- sian women, the utmost practised in this way being to bring the end of the handkerchief, with which their heads are covered, across their mouths and chins; but I regret that it is little in my power to follow them into their privacy, and describe them in their domestic duties. From what I do know, however, I have reason to believe that their life, duties, and occupations, resemble, in all respects, VOL. I. o 194 KUFRI. Th for hi well 1 LUCI the was org closely those of the tribes of Persia. The women of the richer classes, living in towns, remain in the harems of their husbands or fathers, and veil when they go abroad. The poorer, and even those of the higher orders, living in villages or tents, per- form the same duties as I have described those of the Toorkomans and Eeliauts to do. Behold us then at Kufri, having passed over about twenty-five miles of dreary uninteresting country, resembling much the former stage, only that the plains became more extensive in propor- tion to the heights; but the general conflagration to which they appear to have been subjected, im- parted a peculiarly forbidding aspect to the whole surface, nor did we see a single village the whole way. Human beings we were by no means de- sirous of seeing, as none likely to be met with in these wilds could be desirable companions. Kufri lies at the entrance of a gorge in a range of hills, which are low, but as naked and barren as sheer rock and stones can make them. They consist of the crests of very remarkable strata, which rise above the plain, scathed, as it were, by primeval fire; but the town itself, which is walled around, presented a pleasant and inviting aspect, as seen through the opening by which we approached it. The date-trees rising above the walls, the first we had seen, proclaimed our entry into Arabestán; and the change in the costume and aspect of the people, confirmed the fact that we were now within the Turkish dominions. We made our way to a house, which we under- tion TURKISH WELCOME. 195 stood to be our munzil, outside of which, upon some carpets, sat several grave-looking Osmanlees, who welcomed us with courteous gestures, but with few words. The servants were Turks, and every- thing around us announced a change of country as well as of people. This evening, for the first time, there was no dispute about the corn and straw for the horses, or provision for ourselves. Everything was furnished, fully and freely, without either word or question. There is only one custom disgusting : instead of waiting for what your courtesy may offer, the servants, one and all, rush forward at your departure, to demand, rather than beg for, bukhsheesh (presents): on this occasion even the very keeper of the prison, I know not on what pretence, was among the applicants. I found the only way was to give at once what I considered sufficient, and then to disregard all further peti- tioners or petitions. 0 2 196 TSY TE NE LETTER VII. WISE Kara Karateppeh.--An Alarm.--Hamrine Hills. --Adinakewy and Joongeer Aga.—Arab Guides—and Camps.-Anxiety.-Traces of former Prosperity.-Hûp-hûp.--Desert Partridges.Plain of Baghdad.-- Unpleasant Intelligence.-Baghdad beleaguered.- Stoppage at the Gate.--Reach the Residency. Baghdad, 13th November. Here we are, dear at length in the great city of Baghdad, the capital of the Caliphs -- the seat of Haroon-ul-Rasheed and his beautiful Zobeede -of Jaffer the Bermecide, and Mesrour the chief Eunuch, and all the Abul Hassans, and Ali Kho- jia's, and ladies, and porters, and enchanters, and enchantresses of the “ Arabian Nights' Entertain- ments :” alas ! how fallen; but let us not anticipate. Our host, Selim Aga of Kufri, furnished us with a guide to the next stage, but dissuaded us so strongly from commencing our journey before morn- ing, that we did not set out till the dawn had broken. It was, in truth, a rather awkward stage; for, lying just upon the border between Koord and Arab, the road was liable to pillage from both par- ties, while to detect the culprits might be very diffi- cult; and I half expected a rencontre with our old friends, Selim Beg or Roostum Aga, who, now we were clear of their respective dominions, might take CAUSE FOR CAUTION. 197 a fancy to a more accurate examination of my pro- perty than could be effected while in their hands. There were many points favourable to ambuscade, particularly the bed of a reedy river, and some ravines in a range of low hills which we had to cross; and our guide made us prime our fire-arms and ride prepared to use them. We escaped clear, however, as on many former occasions, and reached Karateppeh, a small and squalid village, after a march of twenty miles. That there was some cause, however, for the caution of our host was proved by the fact, that a caravan had been plundered but a week or ten days before, at the river I have mentioned ; upon hearing which, Selim Aga of Kufri, mounted, as he told us, with fifteen horse- men, overtook and cut up some six or seven of the robbers and took an equal number of them pri- soners. By way of confirmation, I suppose, he showed us the horse on which he had performed this feat. It was a beautiful bay, four years old, for which, he told me, he had refused 100 tomâns, that is 501, sterling. I would readily have given him that sum if he would have parted with the noble animal. This night also I purposed starting for a long march ; but Allee Aga, the Zabit of the village, declared that he could not let me start before morning, for the same cause as stated by our last host—the insecurity of the road. I compromised the matter by mounting at half-past two in the morning ; but we might as well have stayed till dawn for all the progress we made. Scarcely had we proceeded half a mile from 198 EXPECTED AMBUSCADE. But . Tore AL 18 te 2. SK i leo the village when, missing an article of baggage, we despatched a horseman back for it. On inaking inquiry at our lodging, the owner denied all know- ledge of it ; “ but,” added he, “there were ten horse- men passed this door just after you left it, and per- haps they may have taken it.”—“Ten horsemen!” said our messenger in alarm ; “from whence did they come, and where were they going?”—“That I don't know," replied the man; “but they appeared to be following you.” This was far from pleasant tidings, and they had an obviously sedative effect upon our guide, who immediately struck out of the regular road, and led us for more than an hour through the open plain, which, however, was so free from obstacles that we proceeded without difficulty. At length, however, he halted and said : “You must be aware that I have been leading you along by-paths hitherto ; and I must now tell you that I am by no means satisfied about these horsemen who were seen at the village following us. If they are enemies, there is a place a little way on by which we must pass, and where they will wait for us—we must have daylight to do it by; so I think we should remain quietly here till dawn: dismount, and lie down-don't speak a word, and, God is great! we may escape them.” Here my servants broke in, and took up the discourse in the usual boasting tone of Persians. Why should we halt and lose time?--what cared they for Koords or Arabs, with “burned fathers”?-dogs! beasts !- who were they, that they should stop us ?-let them Tere these these 6 th f HAMRINE HILLS. 199 try, and they should be taught that there were Irau- nees there—men who only valued their lives as they could protect their master. What were ten-what were fifty Arabs ?---Goor-e-pidurish! and so forth. But, as I observed that the guide was really alarmed, I overruled this burst of heroism, and we accord- ingly remained perdue for a full hour, and very cold and disagreeable it was. About that time the guide, either struck with a fresh view of the subject, or taking heart of grace, agreed to proceed; and we did so, keeping the side of a small deep river, which took a very winding course. We passed an Arab encampment, luckily for us on the other side of the stream; the dogs of which, roused, set up a furious chorus of barking; but we were not otherwise disturbed. A weary while it was till daylight broke, when, crossing the stream, we held our way on to a low tract of mounds, or rising grounds, which in this place skirted the plain. These were the Hamrine hills, which are a branch of those that stretch down from Koordistan, and join the greater Gordian range. A long and dreary ride through the intricate and arid ravines which furrow these hills, was terminated by an equally fatiguing progress over a wide unvaried plain, which stretches from their feet to the Tigris, and along its banks to the Persian Gulf; for we had now cleared the last rocky boundary, and were in the great unbroken alluvium, formed by the Tigris and Euphrates. The Caravanserai of Dellee Abbas, and the date-trees of several villages were now descried in the far horizon, 200 JONGEER AGA. and towards the most northerly of these we now dator bent our way. 町​咖​网 ​tar det mante le th It proved to be Adinakewy; a fine village, and our munzil for the night, where we were extremely well received by the old Zabit (chief), Joongeer Khan, a right honest and hospitable old Turk. There was no stint of food here for horse or man. Our servants had full permission to take what they required both for themselves and the cattle ; and the Zabit himself took care I should have a capital pillaw to my own share of the spoil. This Joongeer Aga was by birth a Georgian, who, when a boy, in the days of Aga Ma- homed Khan, had been taken prisoner, and had risen in the service of several masters, till at length he had become renter of this village, for which he pays to government some two or three hundred tomâns. Like others, he complains of the hardship of the times, and of the tyranny and extortion of the government; but really there seemed in his house to be no want of comfort, and what he had he appeared heartily well disposed to share with others. To such a man it was a pleasant duty to prove that English travellers were not inclined to be ungrateful for attention, and the present which I made him accord- ingly rather exceeded than fell short, I am inclined to believe, of his expectations. I must say that the Turks hitherto have far outshone the Persians, or even the Koords, in their character of hosts, both in point of courtesy and liberality. There is but one point which, in some cases, I could have wished amended :—they consider it a part of their hospitable TURKISH HOSTS. 201 duty to bestow much of their company upon their guest, which, should he understand their language, may be all very well, as it may afford opportunity for gaining much good information ; but if, as in my own case, he has the misfortune not to understand their language, it becomes a serious inconvenience ; for their presence prevents him from doing a variety of things which he otherwise would be glad to get out of hand during the time thus lost. In the present case, by means of one of my ser- vants, who acted as interpreter, I managed to scrape a little information from my friend Joongeer Aga, who was as communicative as he was courteous and kind. I learned somewhat of the improvident course which the government of Baghdad pursue in farm- ing out the lands of the Pashalic, and received con- firmation of that confusion and disorder, and conse- quent depopulation, to which our own eyes and ears had borne testimony ever since we had entered its limits. Such was our good host's opinion of the disorders and dangers of the road, even so near the capital as we now were, that he absolutely refused to permit of our proceeding that night, saying that for a thousand tomâns he would not have us start before daylight, as I, always anxious to push on, wished to have done as soon as our horses were rested. The whole country, he declared, was over- run with roving Arabs, and that moving in the dark, or without suitable guides, would be madness. De- pendent as we were on him for a guide, without 202 ARAB. GUIDES. 7. KOM UL the shoe Tel. than which to proceed in a country intersected by canals, and without any regular roads, would be impossible, we had but to acquiesce, stipulating only for an early hour of starting. To furnish proper guides, however, appeared to be a matter more easily talked of than performed. The important personage who was to conduct us did not make his appearance till half-past six, and there was a strange shuffling about who was to go and who was not to go, which I did not understand; but at last we got into motion, and, about a mile from the village, reached an Arab encampment, where our guide came to a halt, to procure the escort of two horsemen as he told us, without whose presence he could not advance a step-such were his orders. It now appeared that our host had deemed the escort of Arabs safer than that of Osmanlees, particularly as there was great alarm caused in the country by the arrival of a large body of Arabs, who had encamped on the low grounds between us and the Tigris. So away went our guide with one of my servants to negotiate this matter with the Arabs, whose tents we had reached, leaving us sitting on horseback on the bank of a canal. They were all sitting in quorum before their tents, smoking their pipes and drinking their coffee, and at every tent-door stood a fine mare, ready saddled, with the owner's spear stuck in the ground beside her. I was told that this camp could turn out forty or fifty good and well-mounted horsemen ; but whether from unwillingness to en- gage in the service, or from habitual indolence, it Ol 이 ​ar the The buy ARAB GUIDES. 203 was a full hour before we could obtain one; a loss of time which was sufficiently provoking. The amount of delay, however, was, I presume, made commensurate to the dignity of the result the servant returned accompanied by two sheikhs or elders of the camp; nothing less, they declared, would satisfy them of the security of so precious a charge, and one of them, galloping up to me, shaking his spear, as might have been thought by a stranger, with very threatening action, swore by his head, that whoever or whatever might be in the way, he would see me safe to my munzil. All this sounded very well, though I own I had my suspicions that it was rather the expected present, seen in dim perspective, than anxiety on our account, that had moved the two sheikhs to mount their steeds. On, then, we fared ; but I was somewhat startled at finding that our village guide did not intend to accompany us further. But to my remonstrances he replied, that his presence was utterly useless—that the Arabs were not only sufficient, but the only guides who could take us through the country. The worst was, that these guides understood no- thing but Arabic, of which we were quite ignorant; but there was no help for it, so we rode on through the village cultivation, among dry and wet water- courses, until coming upon a deep, though narrow stream of water, which I afterwards discovered to be the Khâlis canal, we continued upon its winding bank for many miles. A fursuck from the village we passed the station of Dellee Abbas, with a bridge over the Khâlis, 204 GUIDES IN ALARM, tua! and 008 ther ance man CONCE strip Thic and the Nor Lot guide which, to my surprise, our guides left upon our left, keeping the northern bank. I was not aware till afterwards of the cause of this seeming deviation from the direct route. We then passed several villages watered by the Khâlis, but, as it appeared to me, inhabited by Arabs, and, all but one, on the southern bank. Near one of these there was a very large Arab encampment, between which and our- selves I was right well pleased to see the river inter- vening. There were other camps scattered far and near to a great distance, and it was obviously to avoid these that our guides had so long held the northern bank. Just before reaching this village one of my ser- vants called me back from the front of our line of march to watch, as he said, the two guides, whose conduct had become strange, if not absolutely sus- picious. They had been joined by another Arab, mounted on a fine spanking mare, and it had been intimated to us that this was another Sheikh, whose anxiety for our safety would not permit him to stay behind: but now he went off, as was said, because he found the country disturbed, and could not permit the camp to be left without one of its three elders to look after its interests in case of accidents -- the hesitation and hanging back of the remaining two guides was what had alarmed my servant. On remonstrating with them for their inattention, they explained, with considerable trepidation, that there were many Arabs, their enemies, abroad; and made sundry strong demands for bukhsheesh, or presents. Unable to remonstrate, or explain my meaning effec- and they the t sta be The one ani 2 N A PROSPECT OF SAFETY. 205 tually, I thought it best to make a show of firmness and indignation, while one of my servants threw in a coaxing word or two: between the two we induced them to proceed, which they did with great reluct- ance, intonating many an inshallah! and evincing many symptoms of alarm. All this was ill-calculated to quiet the fears of my own people, who could not conceal their uneasiness at the thoughts of being stripped and beaten, if not put to death-an alarm which the approach of several horsemen who rode up to the side of the canal with no friendly aspect, and of more than one small body of Arabs scouring the country at a distance, did not tend to decrease. Nor was my own mind much more at rest; I could not judge how far the suspicious conduct of the guides proceeded from real and well-grounded alarm, and how far from a desire to make the best bargain they could by acting on our fears; and I own that the three hours which elapsed from our passing the Arab encampment, till the date-tree groves of the village where we were to lodge arose above the horizon, were not the most comfortable I ever spent. They did pass, however, like many other anxious ones, and it was a relief to hear our guides at length declare that we had passed the dangerous district, and could now proceed in safety. It appeared to be a relief to them as well as to ourselves, for they now seemed as eager to press forward-no doubt to touch their reward-as they had just before been reluctant to move. What vast plains of rich and cultivable land did we this day traverse and see on every side,-land 206 A VILLAGE ON THE TIGRIS. I SONCE Bar star Qur hori the | duce Pena that had once been all well cultivated, now utterly waste! What numbers of canals and water-courses did we observe--the traces of former irrigation ! What capacity for agricultural riches and dense population utterly neglected! It was really a me- lancholy prospect, and it was no small relief to turn the weary eye from scenes of departed industry and wealth to the comfortable abode of existing popula- tion where we were to pass the night. We entered Hûp-hûp, one of a cluster of villages upon the Tigris bank, about an hour before sunset; and after some explanation, were very civilly received by the Naib or deputy of the Zabit, Ismael Aga, a Seyed, who provided abundantly for all our wants. The village itself is situated among extensive groves of date-trees each house has many of them in its court: the scenery reminded me of some parts of Bombay. During our ride of to-day we put up a great quan- tity of game-black and grey partridges, in particu- and saw plenty of antelopes at a distance : but the multitudes of desert partridges, which passed us in flocks, was among the most astonishing things of the kind I ever saw. They came in clouds, like locusts; and one, in particular, which was several minutes in passing, formed an arch overhead, the ends of which reached on either hand beyond our sight--there must have been myriads in this flock alone. There are two kinds of this bird common to the plains of central Asia-a larger and a smaller sort, and these were of the latter ; but I never be- fore saw them congregated in such multitudes, or, as they apparently were, in a state of migration. bir lar; ti 9 이 ​I 1 FIRST SIGHT OF BAGIIDAD. 207 I resolved, if possible, to make up for lost time; and being informed that there was no cause for rea- sonable apprehension on the road from hence to Baghdad, we secured two Arab guides on foot, and starting from Hûp-hûp at half-past one in the morn- ing, made the best of our way to the great city. Our course led us over ground entirely level, and we passed through several villages before morning, the first beams of which showed us the domes and minarets of Baghdad rising afar off just above the horizon. The plain of Baghdad throughout its extent, appears to be the perfection of fertility ; but the application of water is required to render it pro- ductive. In former times the magnificent system of irrigation, of which the traces so abundantly exist, rendered it a garden ; but now, except the bitter apple, which tempts the eye with its rich orange hue, and the soda-yielding plants which are fit only for the food of camels, nothing was to be seen grow- ing on its vast surface. Although we rode at a good pace, it was a weary while ere the walls of the city rose to sight and with them once more came anxiety and doubt ; for we learned that a tribe of hostile Arabs had encamped in their vici- nity, and that the Pashal's troops were stationed opposite the enemy, - that several skirmishes had already taken place, and that plundering parties were out all over the country, so that it was by no means certain we should be permitted to ap- proach the walls unmolested, even though so near in view. Though this is a state of things too common in 208 ARRIVAL THERE. Kail QUELL these parts to occasion much surprise to the inhabi- tants, I own I was startled by the intelligence, which seemed to be confirmed by the discharge of several cannon and a dropping fire of musketry from the very point indicated as the position of the hostile camps : but there being nothing for it except to get as soon under shelter of the walls as possible, we pushed on still faster; and, although met or passed by several small parties of armed Arabs, arrived at the Kirkook gate unmolested, to the no small joy of the whole party. A stoppage, sufficiently provoking, occurred at the gate, whence a caravan was issuing forth, and the Pashah's officers were collecting the duty. The assurance that we were English, and then on our way to the dwelling of the Baleoos, or Resident, was sufficient to liberate us from the importunities of the officers; but to extricate ourselves from the throng of mules and yaboos was a less easy matter, and occupied more time than my impatience was pleased with. At length, however, the pass was won; a guide was procured to show us the Resi- dency; and, after a journey through streets and bazaars, that was tedious enough under the circum- stances, we reached the goal. I recognized with a thrill of pleasure the Indian Sepoys at the gate -- they were as old friends in a strange land -- and in five minutes more I was seated at the breakfast- table of Colonel Taylor, with the comforts of a warm welcome and a good meal to greet and re- vive me. I need not say that the remainder of the day was passed in most interesting conversation with the friends I had now joined, for much was to be REST, 209 learned and communicated ; but as these communi- cations would not convey the same interest to you as they did to me, I will spare you them at pre- sent, and commend you to that sound rest which failed not this night to visit my pillow. VOL .1. Р 210 DIE CIE Com LETTER VIII. TENE ht Charms of Rest. - First Impressions of Baghdad-its Walls- Streets-Houses.—River Tigris and its Banks.-Bazaars and Market-places. - Mr. Buckingham's Description of the City.- Mosques and Minarets. Private Houses.- Domestic Scenes and Manners. -Turkish Women.—Personal Appearance. Custom of Tattooing the Skin.-Georgian Females-Their Children diffi- cult to rear. — Population of Baghdad.--Costume.-—Brilliancy in the Time of Daood Pashah. - Military.--Bazaars.-Cook Shops. Apathy of Turkish Merchants. Arabs-their Costume. Loud Speaking.-Noises of Baghdad. > DEAR The first two or three days after a journey of considerable length, and on arriving at a strange place, are apt to pass in a sort of feverish and dreaming whirl, which is anything but favourable to the acquisition of correct information or just notions of what surrounds us. Inquiries and re- plies are rapidly interchanged ; but some know- ledge of the localities is necessary before the mind can rightly comprehend the information communi- cated. Rest, too, — simple rest and quiet—is so delightful, after fighting our way through a difficult country and along a weary road, that we can hardly consent for some time to rouse ourselves to the effort required for seeking after wonders and see- ing sights. Every one in such circumstances must, OBJECTS OF INTEREST. 211 I think—I hope--have felt this ;– felt the delicious sensation of such “idlesse," and experienced the same strong reluctance that I did to break the spell. My situation, it is true, was one which admitted not of long indulgence. Much was yet to be tra- versed, and little time could be spared for sight- seeing or lingering over objects of mere curiosity. Yet here was the classic Tigris flowing under our window, enlivened with boats and rafts, and spanned by the well-known bridge of boats that unites its banks. Around us rose the domes and minarets of mosques, and the mausoleums of saints, telling of days long past, when Baghdad was the centre and the might of Islam; Babylon, and Seleucia, and Ctesiphon, were close within our reach; and the whole country around teemed with objects of in- terest that claimed both attention and exploration. So rousing ourselves to make the best of our short time, we commenced our rounds; and here goes for first impressions. To those who come from Persia, and especially who have been sickened with such a succession of ruin and desolation as that which had wearied our eyes, the first sight of Baghdad is certainly cal- culated to convey a favourable impression; nor does it immediately wear off. The walls, in the first place, present a more imposing aspect --con- structed as they are of furnace-burned bricks, and strengthened with round towers, pierced for guns, at each angle, instead of the mean-looking, mud- built, crenelated, and almost always ruinous in- closures which surround the cities of Persia. Not P 2 212 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BAGHDAD. the pare ther that the wall of Baghdad is perfect far from it. I speak only of its external appearance ;-and the gates also, though in a very dilapidated condition, are certainly superior to those of their neighbours. On entering the town, the traveller from Persia is moreover gratified by the aspect of the houses, which, like the walls, are all built of fire-burned bricks, and rise to the height of several stories : and though the number of windows they present to the street is far from great; yet the eye is not constantly offended by that abominable succession of mean, low, crumbling, irregular, zigzag masses of mud, divided by dirty dusty clefts, undeserving even of the title of alleys, that make up the aggre- gate of a Persian city. It is true that the streets, even here, are for the most part mere alleys, and abundantly narrow, un- paved, and, I have no doubt, in wet weather, deep and dirty enough ; but in riding along them, par- ticularly in dry weather, one is impressed with the idea that the substantial walls to the right and left must contain good, weather-tight, comfortable do- miciles; while the stout, comparatively well-sized, iron-clenched doors with which the entrances are defended, adds to this notion of solidity and security. In Persia, on the contrary, the entrances to most houses, even those of persons of high rank, is more like the hole of some den than of a dwelling for human beings, and the rickety, open-seamed, mise- rably-fitted valve with which it is closed, does assuredly ill merit the appellation of a door. Nor are the streets of Baghdad by any means 8C 1 l 1 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BAGHDAD. 213 totally unenlivened by apertures for admitting light and air. On the contrary, not only are windows to the streets frequent, but there is a sort of oriel, or projecting window, much in use, which over- hangs the street and generally gives light to some sitting-room, in which may be seen seated a few grave Turks, smoking away the time; or, if you be in luck, you may chance to find yourself illu- minated by a beam from some bright pair of eyes shining through the half-closed lattice. These sit- ting apartments are sometimes seen thrown across the street, joining the houses on either side, and affording a pleasing variety to the architecture, particularly when seen, as they often are, half- shaded by the leaves of a date-tree that overhangs them from the court within. There was something in the general air of the tout ensemble—the style of building—the foreign costume--the mingling of foliage, particularly the palm-leaves, with architec- ture, when seen through the vista of some of the straighter streets - which called up a confused re- membrance of other and better known countries; yet I could scarcely say whichấa touch of Madeira -of the West and East Indies, all commingled- something, at all events, more pleasing than the real scene before me. When would anything in a Per- sian town have called forth such recollections? Such were the impressions received from what I saw in passing through the town; but the banks of the river exhibited a very different and far more attractive scene. The flow of a noble stream is at all times an interesting object ; but when its 214 BANKS OF THE TIGRIS. WIE of e CONTE place ୩ altre his 2000 lang baile mate banks are occupied by a long range of imposing, if not absolutely handsome buildings, shaded by palm-groves and enlivened by hundreds of boats and the hum of thousands of men, and its stream spanned by a bridge of boats, across which there is a constant transit of men and horses and camels and caravans, and a great traffic of all sorts, the coup d'ail formed by such a combination can hardly fail of producing a very animated picture : and such, undoubtedly, is the view of the Tigris from any one of many points upon its banks, from whence you can command the whole reach occupied by the present city. The first sight of the Tigris was not certainly what I expected : I cannot just say I was disap- pointed, but I had expected a broader river. I believe, however, it is better as it is, for now the eye commands both banks with ease. With the river façade of the town, I was agreeably sur- prised. We saw few blank walls, as most of the houses have numerous lattices and oriels, or pro- jecting windows, looking out upon the stream. There is a handsome mosque, with its domes and minarets, close to the bridge, itself a pleasing ob- ject; and altogether there is an agreeable irregu- larity, and a respectable loftiness in the line of build- ings that overhang the stream upon its left bank, which imparts an interesting variety to the view. The right, or western side is by no means so pic- turesque in its architecture; but its large groves of date-trees, mingled with buildings, render it also a pleasing object from the more populous side. bayi tai 9 BAZAARS OF BAGHDAD. 215 1 With the bazaars of Baghdad, however, I must confess myself disappointed. It is not their want of extent, for they are extensive enough ; nor is there a lack of traffic, for they are often sufficiently crowded, and exhibit a far more gay and varied costume than is usually seen in Persian inarket- places ; but there is, in their construction, a po- verty of design and meanness of execution, and an appearance of dilapidation, which doubtless is part- attributable to recent misfortunes, but much of ly which is matter of original defect. Some, and amongst them a very extensive triple or quadruple range, the work of the late Daood Pashah, are well built of fire-baked brick and mortar, and shaded from the sun by lofty arcaded roofs of the same materials; but others are very ruinous, and their roofs are formed merely of beams of wood irregularly and temporarily placed, and covered with date-tree branches, or thatch of reeds. The shops themselves are poor, and frequently in disrepair; many are un- occupied ; and there is in most places to be seen that air of neglect and reckless squalidity, which so strongly indicates a tendency to general decay. There are, in various parts of the town, several open spaces where particular sorts of goods are sold, and which have taken their respective appel- lations therefrom; as the “Thread Market," the “Muslin Market," the “Corn Market,” &c. Of these the largest and the gayest is that close to the northwest, or Mousul, gate ; but none of them have any pretensions to splendour, or even to cleanliness. The last-mentioned is, in fact, the . 216 GRAND 66 PLACE.” depi = ham TOUL has inchi IN ON ETELE mor the 30 great "place" of the city. Horses are here ex- posed for sale ; it is surrounded by coffee-houses, which are constantly filled with an assemblage of all sorts of people; smoking, drinking coffee, &c. : and it is the general place of exhibition, and of execution too, for here criminals are punished with decapitation, hanging, or mutilation ; and some- times passengers are greeted by the sight of a head- less trunk or two, exposed for the day, as a warn- ing to evil-doers. The grave Turk, however, in- sensible to the horror of the spectacle, smokes his pipe quietly, or passes by with indifference, or only a muttered “ Allah-il-Ullah!” Even this place of all uses, contains, as I should think, not more than an acre and a half of ground. Baghdad, both from ancient fame and present importance, deserves a far more accurate and de- tailed description, than I am prepared to give you: and as I think you might possibly be disappointed were I to leave you quite in the lurch in this mat- ter, I am tempted to borrow a little assistance from other sources, in order to give you a better idea of what this celebrated city is, or rather was very lately, before its late awful visitations. The de- scription given by Buckingham in his “ Travels in Mesopotamia," appears to me so good that, as you may not have access to the book, I shall make no scruple of using it where convenient. I wish I could say the same of his views of the place given in the same work ; but really they are so perfectly fanciful, that I cannot recommend them as afford- MO More a 1 1 BUCKINGHAM'S DESCRIPTION, 217 ing true representations of what they purport to depict. “ The interior of the town,” says Mr. Bucking- ham, "offers fewer objects of interest than one would expect from the celebrity which its name bas obtained as an Oriental emporium of wealth and magnificence. A large portion of the ground, included within its walls, is unoccupied by build- ings, particularly on the north-eastern side ; and even where edifices abound, particularly in the more populous quarters of the city, near the river, a profusion of trees are seen; so that, viewing the whole from the terrace of any of the houses within the walls, it appears to be a city rising from amid a grove of palms, or like what Babylon is supposed to have been a walled province rather than a single town. “ All the buildings, both public and private, are constructed of furnace-burned bricks of a yellowish red colour, small size, and such rounded corners as proved most of them to have been used repeatedly before, being taken, perhaps, from the ruins of one edifice to construct a second ; and from the fallen fragments of that, to compose a third. In the few instances where the bricks are new, they have an appearance of cleanliness and neatness, never pre- sented by the old; though even those are still much inferior to stone. The streets of Baghdad, as in all other Eastern towns, are narrow and un- paved, and their sides present generally two blank walls, windows being rarely seen opening on the 218 MOSQUES. LE PE ho th RE TEE ICO be 2 public thoroughfare, while the doors of entrance, leading to the dwellings from thence, are small and mean. These streets are more intricate and winding than in many of the great towns of Turkey, and with the exception of some tolerably regular lines of bazaars, and a few open squares, the interior of Baghdad is a labyrinth of alleys and passages.” “ The mosques, which are always the promi- nent objects in Mahometan cities, are here built in a different style from those I have seen in most other parts of Turkey. The most ancient is thought to be that called “Jameh-ul-Sookh-e-Gazel,” or the mosque of the cotton-thread market; but little re- mains of this beyond a thick heavy minaret, and part of the outer walls." The minaret has but one gallery ; the projection for which, as Mr. Buckingham says, springs from below the centre of the column, going up in a series of pointed arched niches, and dropping ornaments like stalactites, which gradually swell outwards, and terminate in the gallery at about two thirds of the height of the shaft. The termination is round and inelegant, and the whole has a clumsy aspect. This gallery affords the highest attainable point from whence the city can be viewed ; and, in fact, it overlooks most of the terraced roofs and courts for a long space around. I was surprised, in truth, to find that they admitted infidels like ourselves to a height which gave us so unfair an advantage over the 66 faithful.” Our ascent was rendered somewhat difficult by darkness, and the accu- HE f ; ! DOMES AND MINARETS. 219 mulated dung of bats and pigeons, to which latter bird the fret-work of the niches, and the crevices made by time or violence, afford shelter in thousands ; that part of the minaret, when viewed from below, appeared actually tessellated with them. This mina- ret and its ruined mosque are said to be above six hundred years old ; but as I am doubtful whe- ther a minute description of the mosques of Baghdad would very much amuse you, I shall con- tent myself for the present with observing that the number of these sacred edifices is believed to exceed, or once to have exceeded, a hundred, though not above twenty or thirty are in any degree deserving of notice; of domes I do not think you see above a dozen of considerable size, and I am certain that the number of minarets are under four-and-twenty. Several, both of domes and minarets, are covered with lackered tiles, chiefly green, white, yellow, and black, disposed in mosaic, to represent flowers, figures, and letters, which, as Mr. Buckingham remarks, have a gay rather than a grand or mag- nificent effect. On the whole, the mosques and shrines of Baghdad are as inferior to those of the principal Mahomedan cities of India, as its build- ings in general are superior to those of the cities of Persia. Of the bazaars, I have already spoken, and quite agree with Mr. Buckingham in regard to their comparative meanness. Of the Khâns and baths, I can as yet say little; but those of the former, which I did see, appeared poor enough. “Of the private houses of Baghdad,” says the author already quoted, “I saw but little excepting 220 A BIRD'S-EYE PEEP. 1 aired Amor raised sk being wile groue respeto each dowe their exterior walls and terraces. It struck me as singular, that throughout the whole of this large city, I had not seen even one pointed arch in the doorway to any private dwelling. They were all round or flat, having a fancy-work of small brick above them; and even in those parts of the old bazaars and ruined mosques in which the pointed arch is seen, its form is nearer to the Gothic than to the common Saracenic shape, which I had also observed to be the case at Mousul; so that Baghdad could not have been the original seat of Saracenic architecture, which probably took its rise much farther in the West. “ The houses consist of ranges of apartments open- ing into a square, or inner court; and while sub- terraneous rooms, called serdåbs, are occupied during the day, for the sake of shelter from the intense heat, the open terraces are used for the evening meal, and for sleeping on at night. From the terrace of Mr. Rich's residence, which was divided into many compartments, each having its separate passage of ascent and descent, and forining indeed so many unroofed chambers, we could command, at the first opening of morning, just such a view of Baghdad as is given of Madrid in ‘Le Diable Boiteux, showing us all the families of the houses round with their sleeping apartments unroofed, often in sufficiently interesting situations. From this lofty station, at least eight or ten bedrooms in different quarters were exposed around us ; where, as the families slept in the open air, domestic scenes were exposed to our view, without our once being per- cal birt 21 ak th 1 a a a DOMESTIC SCENES. 221 1 ceived or even suspected to be witnesses of them. Among the more wealthy, the husband slept on a raised bedstead, with a mattress and cushions of silk, covered by a thick quilt of cotton, the bed being without curtains or mosquito netting. The wife slept on a similar bed, but always on the ground,—that is, without a bedstead, and at a respectful distance from her husband, - while the children, sometimes to the number of three or four, occupied one mattress, and the slaves or servants each a separate mat on the floor, but all lying down or rising up within sight of each other. Every one rose at an early hour, so that no one continued in bed after the sun was up; and each, on rising, folded up his own bed, his coverlet and pillows, to be taken into the house below, excepting only the children, for whom this office was performed by their mother or a slave. “None of these persons were as much undressed as Europeans generally are when in bed. The men retained their shirt, drawers, and often their kaftan, a kind of inner cloak. The children and servants lay down with nearly the same quantity of clothes they had worn in the day; and the mothers and their grown daughters wore the full silken trousers of the Turks, with an open gown, and, if rich, their turbans ; if poor, an ample red chemise, and a simple covering for the head. In most instances we saw, the wives assisted, with all due respect and humility, to dress and undress their husbands, and to perform all the duties of a valet. "After dressing, the husband generally performed 1 ! 222 FAMILY WORSHIP. hent she indi 16 and nati bon Com i has COU the his devotions, while the slave was preparing a pipe and coffee ; and on his seating himself on his carpet, when these were ready, the wife served him with her own hands, retiring at a proper distance to wait for the cup, and always standing before him, sometimes indeed with the hands crossed, and even kissing his hand on receiving the cup from it, as is done by the lowest attendants of a house- hold. While the husband lounged on his cushions, or sat on his carpet in an attitude of ease and indolence to enjoy his morning pipe, the women of the family generally prayed. In the greater number of instances they did so separately, and exactly after the manner of the men ; but on one or two occa- sions the mistress and some other females, perhaps a sister, or a relative, prayed together, following each other's motions side by side, as is done when a party of men are headed in their devotions by an Imaum. None of the females, whether wife, servant, or slave, omitted this morning duty; but among the children under twelve years of age, I did not observe any instance of their joining in it. “ Notwithstanding the apparent seclusion in which women live here, and indeed through the whole Turkish empire, there is no want of real liberty, which, sometimes, as in other places, is sufficiently abused; nor can it be denied that the facility of clandestine meetings is much greater in Turkish cities between persons of the country, than in any European metropolis. The disguise of a Turkish or Arab female in her walking dress is so complete, that her husband himself could not recognize her 1 TATTOOING. 223 beneath it; and consequently, let a lady go where she will, no suspicion of the truth can attach to any individual. Among the women of Baghdad, the Georgians and Circassians are decidedly the handsomest by nature, and the least disfigured by art. The high- born natives of the place are of less fresh and clear complexion, while the middling and inferior orders, having brown skins and nothing agreeable in their countenances except a dark and expressive eye, are sometimes so barbarously tattooed as to have the most forbidding appearance. With all ranks and classes the hair is stained with henna, and the palms of the hands are so deeply dyed with it as to resemble those of a sailor covered with tar. Those only, who by blood or habits of long intercourse are allied to the Arab race, use the blue stains so common among the Bedooeens of the desert. The passion for this method of adorning the body is carried in some in- stances as far as among the ancient Britons; for, besides the staining of the lips with that deadly hue, anklets are marked round the legs, with lines ex- tending upwards from the ankle, at equal distances, to the calf of the legs; a wreath of blue flowers is made to encircle each breast, with a chain of the same pattern hanging perpendicularly between them; and among some of the most determined belles, a zone, or girdle of the same composition, is made to encircle the smallest part of the waist, imprinted indelibly upon the skin. There are artists in Bagh- dad whose profession it is to decorate the ladies with wreaths, &c. of the newest fashions." 1 224 GEORGIAN LADIES. BE TE bat 2nd Obat and ME ܒܒ Mai ang Allee unde So far Mr. Buckingham; and as I do not know any better account of the ladies of this quarter, I have given it nearly entire. It is certain that the women of Georgia and Circassia are the best look- ing and most esteemed here, but they are much more rare than formerly. Turkey can no longer encourage the slave trade of these oppressed and miserable lands : they are now writhing under the grasp of a still more ruthless tyrant, namely, the Autocrat of all the Russias ; and depopulation pro- ceeds with quite sufficient rapidity—not, however, rapidly enough to satisfy the usurper; for, when I was at Tabreez, it was understood that an ex- pedition was about to be sent from Teflis against the Abbassians with the professed intention of ex- tirmination. Nor is the Georgian race likely to be perpetuated here ; for it is a singular fact that few of the females of that country can rear a child here. They gene- rally die before they are three years old, and some attribute much of this mortality to the injudicious indulgence of the mothers themselves, who stuff the little creatures with sweetmeats and other improper sorts of food. The population of Baghdad was estimated by Mr. Buckingham when there, at from fifty to one hun- dred thousand souls. He considers it as less than that of Aleppo, yet greater than that of Damascus, so that he fixes on eighty thousand as being probably near the mark. Assuredly, however, in the time of Daood Pashah, it experienced a great increase, and previous to the plague of 1830, could not have theo T dal that 1 tin , 1 POPULATION OF BAGHDAD. 225 1 been less than one hundred and fifty thousand souls. The greater number of these were Turks and Arabs, but there were also many true Baghdadees; a some- what peculiar race, having a mixture of Persian and Indian blood infused into the principal stocks. Most of the merchants are of Arab descent, and at that time there was a number of Jews, Armenians, and Christians of the Catholic and Syrian churches. Koords, Persians, and Bedoueens, are to be seen in abundance in the bazaars; but the last do not like to pass the night within the walls ; and the greater number of Persians, who for the most part are pilgrims to the shrines of Kerbelah and Meshed- Allee, either repair at once to Kazemeen, a village and shrine about four miles distant on the western bank of the river, or encamp without the walls on the north side of the city. Mr. Buckingham describes the costume of Bagh- dad, as being far less splendid at that time than that of Egypt or Constantinople. Of that I cannot judge ; but certainly the show of dress and accou- trements at present is far from brilliant. In the time of Daood Pashah, I have been assured it was otherwise. That chief retained a splendid court and establishment, and his military array was ex- tremely glittering and imposing. His eight hun- dred Georgians, gorgeously dressed and armed, and mounted on fine Arab steeds, splendidly capari- soned, must of themselves have made a very gallant show; and his officers, taking the tone froin their master, vied with each other in the magnificence of the equipment and number of their followers. VOL. 1. 226 MILITARY DISPLAY. the p Leight ಗಂಗಳಿ! hood , Vighte they DieT OL ads At present, nothing of all this exists. The wretched handful of military now here is confined to a few Haitahs, or Albanian horsemen, mingled with others of the country, most shabbily dressed and equipped, and a detachment of the Nizâm, or new regular troops, as exquisitely ir-regular a corps as imagina- tion can figure, whose semi-Europeanised dress has robbed them of the portly look of Turks without bestowing on them the smartness or business-like appearance of the European soldier. There are but a few hundred of these anomalous heroes, whose slovenly outfit, with the red fez (the head-dress worn by all who own the Sultan's authority), re- minded me more of the French prisoners of old, with their red nightcaps and rusty coats, than anything else I can recollect. About the Serai, or Pashah's palace, there is no bustle nor show, and the mean and corrupt officials of the wretched being who does duty here as Pashah, follow the example of their master in shabbiness and poverty of attendance as well as in all other respects. Still, in the bazaars there is something of a glit- tering stir; for both Turks and Arabs are fond of red in all its shades, and of other gay colours, and their furs and embroidery, and shawled turbans, and flowing garments, with the silver-hilted daggers and pistols at their waists, make up a lively and pleasing picture. Riding through the bazaars is, however, a service of some danger. Though forming the common tho- roughfares, they are so narrow that you are con- stantly stopped by trains of loaded camels or mules, tails , TE plati 汕​阳江 ​bad TIC TO CROWDED BAZAARS. 227 the packages on whose backs are apt to break either your head or your knees, according to the height of the passing quadruped ; and you have enough to do in steering your course between them and the crowd of ruffian-like Arabs that beset every street and passage. The trains of asses, loaded with wood, reminded me of the lady in the “ Arabian Nights' Entertainments,” who, by falsely attributing the wound in her cheek to a blow from the pan- nier of one of these animals, endangered the lives of the whole respectable community of wood-drivers; and sundry rents in my trousers, more than once vindicated the plausibility of the lady's tale. I wish I could say that the cooks' shops, in like man- ner, recalled the image of that of Simmoustapha and his delicious cream-tarts : but, in fact, the smell of rancid butter, and of the frying fat of sheep's tails, was the very reverse of attractive ; nor are the confectioners' shops by any means so tempting as those of Constantinople. Among the things which strike a stranger, is the imperturbable stillness and apathy, as it seems, with which the Turkish merchant sits on the raised platform at his door, smoking his pipe in the midst of the bustle around him, as if he heard it not, or had nothing of a trader's interest in the sale of his wares. Does a customer approach, he slowly and silently displays the goods required, and serves him if they suit-- if not, he smokes on. A Persian would have asked you a dozen times what you wanted ; showed you fifty things successively, that you did not want; and jumped from his seat, and sat Q 2 228 BEDOUEEN ARABS. NMD rang semble ui ( the tect ng their shen ba dant down upon it again, as many times, while the grave indifferent Turk is taking his chibouk from his mouth to speak to you. It must be owned, how- ever, that the Jew and Armenian dealers compen- sate, by their quickness and volubility, for the tor- por of the Turks; they are active enough, in all con- science, in ascertaining and supplying the wants of their customers. Another remarkable feature to a stranger, in the streets and bazaars of Baghdad, is the multitude of Arabs, both Bedoueens and residents in the city, to which I have already alluded. Their dress con- sists of a coarse shirt, over which the better sort wear a wrapping gown of some sort of silk, or cotton stuff, generally striped ; and all throw an abba or cloak of peculiar form, wide, armless, but with holes to thrust the arms through, and made of close- woven worsted, striped with broad white and brown perpendicular bars, but sometimes black or white. This is the peculiar national dress -the regular Arab mantle. The head-dress is not less peculiar. It is not, as many believe, a turban, nor anything like it. It consists of a sort of square thick-woven handkerchief of silk, in large bright yellow and red stripes, the woof of the ends being twisted into cords, like a fringe of great length. This being doubled triangularly, is thrown over the head in the fashion of the old highland women, two ends hanging down before the shoulders, while the other two (in one) hang down the back. Around the crown of the head, thus covered, is wound a wisp of brown camel's hair, partially twisted, two i tha Never ther bras ho THEIR HEAD-DRESS. 229 or three times, so that, with their loose cloaks and strange head-dresses, they at first sight rather re- semble witch-like women than men. Without a drawing it is impossible to convey to you a full idea of the singular effect of this head-gear, aided as it is by a pair of dark piercing eyes, looking out from among their black elf-locks; for the Arabs do not, like other Mahomedans, shave the head; but plait their long, coarse, coal-black hair (which falls down over their shoulders and back) under the handkerchief. It is, however, a capital head-dress for the desert ; neither heat nor cold can penetrate it, especially when they wear under it, as most do, a scull-cap like a Welsh wig, made of camel's hair; for, in cold weather, they wind the ends of the handkerchief about the throat and jaws, and throw it over the face and eyes when the heat of the sun is oppressive, so that it forms an excellent protection in both cases. Nevertheless, these Bedoueens are burned to an al- most sooty blackness; and singularly wild figures they inake, I assure you, scowering along on their little blooded steeds, their clothes flying wide in the wind, and their long spears shaking over their shoulders. Even in the city one is apt to regard them as dangerous persons to encounter, as they brush along with an air of fierce independence ; for the Arab comports himself everywhere as lord of the soil, and, in fact, he is here very nearly, if not absolutely so. Then their shouting and their roar- ing, as they go along, might lead one to believe they were about to plunder every one they meet; for the Arab never talks except at the top of his 230 ARAB SINGING, The 1 street- pales in the loured dhe of do base drive COUNE and E ಬd | 1 voice; and so deafening is that voice, that strangers are apt to suppose they are quarrelling when, in fact, they are merely conversing or relating some trivial occurrence. This peculiarity has sometimes led to ludicrous mistakes. There was an Indian Nawab here, who had imbibed a great horror for the cholera, insomuch that he never went without a bottle of laudanum and a box of cholera pills in his pocket ; one day, soon after his arrival, being in a coffee- house, or some public place, an Arab, who was present, was either asked or volunteered to sing; but the labour of this musical effort produced such fearful shrieks and horrible contortions, that the good Nawab, who was ignorant of the language, imagined that the man was seized with cholera, which just then was said to have made its appear- ance at Baghdad. Up jumped the Nawâb-out came the bottle and pills. “ Here, my good fellow," said he, running to the musical Arab; " swallow these pills then and take a gulp of this bottle ; never fear, you will do well enough, only take the physic.” The astonished singer stared, of course, and repelled the proffered doses, exclaiming “ la, la, la !” no, no, no! but the Nawab persisted, and I am not sure, before he was convinced of his error, whether he had not persuaded his unfortunate patient into swallowing his remedies. But it is not the Arabs alone that habitually make this clamour; it is general in Baghdad, which, I think, of all places I ever was in, is the most remarkable for every imaginable sort of noise, and its inhabitants the most intolerably obstreperous. or Z DOS of wa he up th AND VARIOUS NOISES. 231 The room I now occupy has a balcony over the street, with two windows; so that everything that passes under, is as well heard as if it were going on in the room. Before day I have a concert of cocks and hens from a neighbouring yard ; this is fol- lowed by the lively beat of the “reveillez" from the Sepoys' quarter, which, in its turn, rouses a host of dogs; these keep up a very industrious running base of barking, till the donkeys begin to bray. By that time the neighbouring Arabs who have been driven into town by the disturbed state of the country beyond its walls, have shaken their ears, and begin to drive out to pasture the flocks of sheep and herds of cattle and camels they have brought in with them for security. Assuredly Arab sheep and cattle have the deafest ears to the voice of the charmer, of any animals on earth, or they are grievously abused by their drivers : for such a rout- ing and roaring as is made to induce the beasts to move along, I never heard in any other place; nor could one imagine that so extraordinary a variety of guttural sounds could be uttered by the lungs of man. Flock after flock, herd after herd, are to be heard approaching from afar ; the uproar swells upon the ears, dinning and confounding them till the drums of the said organs are well nigh cracking, and just when it begins to retreat, and you are venting a silent expression of thankfulness for the relief, another burst of vociferation arises in the dis- tance, so that the same torture continues generally for two hours. By that time the rest of the biped inhabitants are astir. The quiet Turk shuffles si- 232 BABEL! low OUVO - Pert lently along, nor do the Christians or Jews commit any violent trespass upon the sense of hearing ; but there are more Arabs—ay, this street is their great thoroughfare, and here and everywhere they rush along in droves, like the less brutal animals they drive or ride, hallooing to each other and to all they pass, often maintaining a conversation at the top of their tremendous voices, with some equally clear-piped brother, at a quarter of a mile's distance : as for approaching nearer for convenience of com- munication, they never dream of such a thing; lungs are cheaper than legs, it is clear, at least in Baghdad. Then there is—but I spare you the further detail of town criers, Saints routing out their pealing ejaculations, beggars and fakeers thun- dering forth their petitions in the name of Allah and the Prophet; and, worse than all, professed singers practising their voices as they pass along. In short, Hatchett's in Piccadilly when all the mails and coaches are under despatch-Cockspur Street and Charing Cross, when the season is fullest and the cries are loudest,—or Smithfield on a special market-day,-or Billingsgate, or all of these to- gether, must strike, and yield the palm for variety and intensity of noise, to Baghdad, the true legi- timate successor of old Babel ! ME YA DEA Bae TH and al 233 1 LETTER IX. Causes of the ruinous State of Baghdad. -- Plague appears in the City—its Progress. The English Resident quits Baghdad - Mr. Groves declines accompanying him.- Progress of the Pestilence. The water breaks through the Wall and inundates the City-seven thousand Houses fall at once, fifteen thousand Persons buried.--Distress of the Pashah.-Caravans overtaken by the Flood.—Inundation abates, and the Disease also.- Mr. Groves's house attacked by the Disease. His Wife and Child die. Instances of sweeping Mortality, and Causes there- of.—Effects of the Pestilence in other Places.-Baghdad after the Plague and Inundation.—Two more Plagues in as many Years.-Mortality at Bussora. DEAR In following Buckingham, I have described Baghdad as it was in the days of Assad Pashah ; I have also adverted to its increase in population and brilliancy under Daood; and were I to stop here, you might remain under the impression that such still remained its condition: alas ! how lament- ably would you be mistaken !-" How are the mighty fallen !" — Baghdad is now, comparatively speaking, a ruin and a desert! and the change has been effected by as signal and remarkable a succession of calamities, as any modern city perhaps has ever ex- perienced. Plague, inundation, and famine, in their worst shapes, destroyed the population and over- 234 PLAGUE APPEARS IN BAGHDAD. wickets i unde papers à and fun Tell we measure robbed reduced combine rents th fact, th escaping turned the walls and buildings of this great city; and the tyranny of man, worse even than those scourges of the Almighty, has been and is fast sweeping off the remnant left by them. Towards the end of the career of Daood Pashah, that is, in the year 1830, his enemies prevailed in the councils of the Porte, and his downfall was re- solved upon ; but so firmly had he established him- self in his place, that not all the power of Constan- tinople would have been able to effect his over- throw, had not a mighty arm interfered to pull him down. Daood had long applied himself to the formation of an efficient army, and had succeeded so well that he might have laughed to scorn all the military array which the Sultan could have sent against him. Thus stood matters when, in the commencement of 1831, the plague which had been desolating Persia, made its appearance in Baghdad. Insulated cases had occurred, it was said, so early as the preceding November, but they were con- cealed or neglected ; and it was not until the month of March 1831, that the fatal truth of the plague being in and increasing in Baghdad, became no- torious and undeniable. On the last day of March, Colonel Taylor shut up his house, in accordance with the painful but necessary custom of Europeans, who find, by expe- rience, that if this precaution be taken in time, they generally escape the malady which appears to be communicable only by contact or close approach to leeward of an infected person. On such occa- sions all articles from without are received through d at natal In s at for perish thers desert bass from stdal ) it , Cats a Inn mor con bir AL 1 PRECAUTIONS AGAINST IT. 295 wickets cut in the wall, and are never touched till passed through water. Meat, vegetables, money, all undergo this purifying process, and letters or papers are received by a long pair of iron tongs, and fumigated before being touched by the hand. Well were it for the natives of the country if they could be prevailed upon to submit to the same measures of precaution—the disease would then be robbed of half its terrors, and its victims greatly reduced in numbers; but indolence and indifference, combined with a dim belief in predestination, pre- vents them from effectual exertions, although the fact, that thousands fly from the city in hopes of escaping the pestilence which had penetrated into their dwellings, proves indisputably that their faith in fatalism is by no means firm or complete. In some cases this flight was made in time, and the fugitives escaped, though too often only to perish at another period and in another place. In others, they carried the disease along with them, spreading its poison, and dying miserably in the desert. Even all the care observed by Europeans has sometimes been insufficient to preserve them from contagion. The virus is so subtile that the smallest possible contact suffices for communicating it, and the smallest animal serves to convey it. Cats, mice, and rats are, for this reason, dangerous inmates or visiters; and cats in particular, as being more familiar with man, become more dreaded, and consequently are destroyed whenever they are seen by those who have faith in the value of seclusion. An instance of the fatal consequence of contact with 236 BRITISH RESIDENCY ATTACKED. who 1 SO, DO! and out of Th the and hed of lis Conne dir TANO thate such animal occurred in the house of a native Christian attached to the British Residency, who had the good sense to follow the Resident's ex- ample in shutting up his house on a former occa- sion. A cat belonging to the family was touched by his eldest child, a girl of fourteen or fifteen. The animal had either been abroad itself, or had received the visit of a neighbour, for the contact brought the plague — the child took it and died of it. Poor thing! from the first moment she was aware of her danger and fate. “I have got the plague,” she said, " and I shall die;" the fatal spots and swellings soon proved the justice of her appre- hensions, and in four days she was dead. It was probably by some such casual means that the disease was brought into Colonel Taylor's house, although he and all its inmates conceived it to be almost hermetically sealed from its approaches. On the 10th of April, a Sepoy died of it, and four of his servants were attacked. By this time the disease had made such progress, that seven thousand persons had died of it in the eastern half of the city, which contains the residence of the Pashah, the British Mission, and all the principal inhabi- tants. From the other side, the accounts were not less disastrous, and the distress of the inha- bitants was further aggravated by the rise of the waters of the Tigris, which, having burst or over- leaped the dams made upon its banks higher up, had inundated the low country to the westward, and even entered the town, where two thousand houses were already said to have been destroyed. Many 1 17 T 1 1 1 RESIDENT LEAVES BAGHDAD. 237 who would have fled, were prevented from doing so, not only by this spread of the waters, but by the Arabs, who had now congregated around the city, and who robbed and stripped naked all who came out of it. Thus pent up, the pestilence had full play, and the people fell beneath it with incredible rapidity; and Colonel Taylor, finding his own house infected, had nothing left but to use the means in his power of flying, while a possibility remained of so doing. His own boats, in which he and his family had come from Bussora, remained always moored be- neath the walls of the Residency, and in a state of readiness for immediate service. In these he resolved to embark; and one great advantage was, that being in a manner confined to the precincts of the Residency, and so much raised by the height- ened waters, that the deck of the yacht was on a level with the postern-door of the house, its inmates could make their preparations and get on board without being subjected to any foreign intercourse whatever. Matters being thus arranged, Colonel Taylor invited the Reverend Mr. Groves, a mission- ary, whose name is familiar to you, with his family, to accompany his party to Bussora, where, in a house in the country, sanguine hopes were enter- tained that they might avoid the contagion. Mr. Groves, however, on mature deliberation, declined availing himself of Colonel Taylor's offer. The reverend gentleman had undertaken the care of a certain number of young persons, the children of Christian families of Baghdad, and motives of 238 SELF-DEVOTION. thosele should came CE replied , body of told Mr being ca hundred the inh They sa by what tec water-ca duty prevented him from taking a step which ap- peared to him like a desertion of his duty. He re- solved to remain at his post ; and, putting his trust in that Almighty Power which had sent the dreadful affliction, and who, he well knew, could save as well as destroy, he shut up his house, in which were twelve persons, including an Armenian school- master and his family, and calmly awaited the issue. It is from this gentleman's journal that the best ac- counts of this dreadful period are to be collected; and from it therefore, so far as the plague and inundation are concerned, I shall take the liberty of quoting occasionally in the following short account of the condition of Baghdad. Colonel Taylor left Baghdad on the 12th of April. On the previous day the number of deaths was understood to amount to twelve hundred, and on that day it was ascertained that one thousand and forty deaths had actually taken place on the east side of the river alone. Next day, Mr. Groves had the pain of becoming aware that the disease had entered the house of his next-door neighbour, where thirty persons had congregated, as if for the very purpose of supplying it with victims. That same day, the report of deaths varied from one thousand to fifteen hundred, and that exclusive of the multitudes who died beyond the walls. On the succeeding day, the deaths increased to eigh- teen hundred ; and so terrified were the survivors, that they scarcely could be prevailed on to stay and bury their dead. Many prepared for the fate they anticipated, by providing winding-sheets for Fe is from mortalit sationa angula MCUITE pupils , the po ! daugh touche and 1 worse niver Anun 0 the GREAT INCREASE OF MORTALITY. 239 themselves and family, before the increased demand should consume the whole supply. Water also be- came scarce ; for every water-carrier when stopped, replied, that he was taking his load to wash the body of some dead person. An Armenian girl told Mr. Groves, that she had counted fifty bodies being carried for interment within the space of six hundred yards. Not a single effort was made by the inhabitants, who appeared utterly confounded. They sat at home waiting for death, as if stunned by what was passing, and scarcely a soul was to be seen at this time in the streets except the bearers of the dead, or persons carrying grave clothes, and water-carriers bearing water to wash the bodies. For several days together about this time, that is, from the 16th to the 20th or 21st of April, the mortality, so far as could be known, remained stationary at about two thousand a day ; but many singularly distressing cases of individual distress occurred. In the family of one of Mr. Groves's little pupils, consisting of six persons, four were ill with the plague—the father and mother, a son and a daughter, leaving but one son and a daughter un- touched. Of the Pashah's regiments of seven hun- dred men each, some had already lost five hundred ; and the report from the neighbourhood was still worse than in town. The water, too, in the swollen river was fast increasing, and the danger of a total inundation became every day more imminent. On the 21st, the water burst into the cellars of the Residency, and reached to within a foot of the embankments around the city; and Mr. Groves, 240 PAINFUL SCENES. is pare efort of Armenia sugar for sighbou tre , w by their nedente which the sight the mos okres it in hopes of being able to render assistance, went to the Residency. The scenes he witnessed on the way were most distressing, nor was help to be ob- tained for the sufferers on any terms. One had a wife, another a mother, in the agonies of death : a third was himself forced to carry water to wash a dead child : for now no regular water-carrier was to be found; or if seen, he was accompanied by some servant, driving him to a place of death. The yard of the mosque was already full of fresh graves, and they were burying in the public roads. “Death,” says Mr. Groves, “has now become so familiar, that people seem to bury their nearest relatives with as much indifference as if they were going about some ordinary business!” Nor were the prospects nearer home less painful and depressing. Opposite the windows of Mr. Groves's house there was a narrow passage leading to eight houses, and from this small spot day after day they saw dead bodies carried out until the number amounted to seventeen. On the 23rd the mother of the Seyed, who was Mr. Groves's landlord, died in her own house, and no other help being to be had, she was there buried by the hands of her two female servants, who themselves soon after died; and no one being aware of their fate, there they lay, their bodies tainting the air, until the house being soon after plundered and the door broken open, the fact became known. On this same day, a little girl of twelve years old was seen passing by with an infant in her arms; and on being asked whose it was, she said she did not veghe | then snal ten da Nor y wire doo ABANDONMENT OF INFANTS. 241 1 know - she had found it in the road and heard that its parents were dead. This was a very common effort of charity, especially on the part of the females and not unfrequently proved fatal to them. An Armenian woman, who had come to beg for some sugar for an infant thus found, mentioned that à neighbour of hers had, in the same manner, rescued two, which she discovered thus abandoned in the street. Both these infants died, and were followed by their charitable protectress. Of all the painful incidents that attended the benevolent expeditions which Mr. Groves occasionally made from home, the sight of the number of infants thus exposed was the most distressing. When parents found them- selves infected they would take the future orphans and lay them at the doors of the houses in the neighbourhood, "exposing them," as Mr. Groves says, “to the tender mercies of strangers at a time when every feeling of nature was deadened by per- sonal misery. Many,” continues he," of the hun- dreds of infants thus exposed were not more than ten days old ; and I have seen in my walks to the Residency as many as eight or ten in this condition. Nor was there any help or human hope for them, save that those who laid them there might again return and pick them up when they saw no stranger would do so. All my efforts, and they were earnest and anxious, failed in providing any effectual relief for these little innocents, which my own family were not in a condition to afford, even had I dared to hazard the risk of bringing infection within my doors." VOL. I. R 242 PROGRESS OF THE DISEASE. LG Arb aly ste thy Ft Bre, we upon hi Surroun bodies ved Thanh The By the 24th almost all the cloth for winding-sheets was consumed ; so that the survivors were forced to bury the dead in the clothes they had worn. Water was not to be liad at any price, though the river was so close, and the mortality was estimated at thirty thousand souls within the walls - yet still there was no diminution in the number of daily deaths. Not one in twenty of those attacked are thought to have recovered. On the 25th the fall of a wall in the Residency from the sapping of the water induced Mr. Groves again to visit that place. Not a soul did he meet in the streets, except those who carried dead bodies and persons infected with the pestilence. Bun- dles of clothes, the reliques of the dead, were thrust out at many doors. The yard of the great mosque was shut up — there was no more room to bury them, and they were digging graves in the way-sides, in the roads themselves, and in any va- cant spot. While conversing with the only servant of Colonel Taylor remaining alive in the Residency, information was brought to the man that his aunt, the eighth of his near relatives who had been seized by the contagion, had just died like the rest. One of the principal sellers of cotton for burying- clothes (who had taken advantage of the times to raise his price exorbitantly) this day died him- self. There was then no more of the stuff in the city. The price of rope, too, had become quadru- ple. Instead of formal burial, the bodies, even of persons of considerable wealth, were now just laid across the back of a mule or ass, and taken Was ཀ ། hate it tel bare | plat INUNDATION. 243 to a hole, attended, perhaps, by a single servant. Mr. Groves mentions the gesticulations of the few Arab women whom he met in the way as particu- larly striking - they seemed to demand of Heaven why Franks and Infidels like him, were suffered to live, while so many of the faithful died. The effect upon his mind was peculiarly startling and painful ; surrounded as he was by the dead and the dying, the growling of the dogs that were mangling the bodies (scarcely waiting till life was fled to begin their horrid feast), united with the cries of the ex- posed miserable infants, formed a scene of horror which he avers--and no wonder-can never be eras- ed from his memory. The mortality, meantime, increased. On the 26th, it was affirmed at the Serai, that the deaths had reached five thousand in one day!--there seems no doubt that they exceeded four thousand, and this out of a population which at that time did not exceed fifty or sixty thousand; for at least one-third of the late inhabitants had, first and last, quitted the city. The water, too, had risen frightfully, and the anti- cipations in case of its breaking into the city were terrible. Dreadful as they were, however, they were more than realised on the two following days. That night a large portion of the wall fell, and the water rushed in full tide into the city. The quarter of the Jews was speedily inundated, and two hundred houses fell at once. A part, also, of the wall of the citadel fell; nor was there much hope that any house or wall which the water had reached, could stand, owing to the very dissolvable nature of R 2 244 EFFECTS OF THE INUNDATION. them. of most Emself dort new no May nig 3 porti Rezident the place be found | ure mec grs Mr. the cement with which the greater part was built. By the following night the whole lower part of the city was under water ; and seven thousand houses are said to have fallen at one crash, burying the sick, the dying, and the dead, with those still in health, all in one common grave. It is said, and upon no mean authority, that not less than fifteen thou- sand persons, sick and well, were overwhelmed on this occasion alone; nor, when the crowded state of the yet habitable part of the city is con- sidered, - the people prevented from flying by the inundation without is the calculation at all in- credible. The few who escaped from the ruins, brought the shattered reliques of their families to the houses yet remaining in the higher parts of the city, emptied by plague or desertion, and thus furnished fresh food for the pestilence that lurked in the infected habitations which they occupied. “Nothing,” says Mr. Groves, “can give a more impressive idea of the intensity of individual misery at this period, than the fact that this fearful event, which at another time would not only have occu- pied every tongue, but called forth the most active exertions in favour of the sufferers, passed off almost without remark, and without an effort to relieve them.” The difficulty of obtaining provisions had now be- come extreme. Very respectable persons would now present themselves at the door to beg for some of the commonest necessaries. The number of the dead, too, left in the streets had increased to a frightful degree; nor was there a possibility of removing uten in | kath ha and that Tere hu Gre the Det chos | Hat the th I have THE PASHAH'S DISTRESS. 245 them. This extremity, of distress was shared to the full by the ruler of the smitten city. The Serai of the Pashah was by this time like the dwellings of most of his subjects~a heap of ruins, where he himself remained in the utmost terror and perplexity. He declared to a servant of Mr. Groves's that he knew not where to sleep in safety. He dreaded every night being buried in the ruins of the remain- ing portion of his dwelling. He sent to request the Resident's remaining boat that he might fly from the place; but of its crew only one man was to be found alive, and even the Pashah could not pro- cure men to man her. * Fear of him is passed,” says Mr. Groves, “and love for him there is none." Even in his own palace he was without power: death had been full as busy there as elsewhere; and that authority which was absolute in times of mere human agency, had shrunk into nothing be- fore the effects of an Almighty mandate. Out of one hundred Georgians that were about him, four only remained alive. All that could be done was to throw the dead out of the windows into the river that they might not shock or infect the living. The stables of the palace, like the palace itself, fell in pieces, and all the Pashah's beautiful horses were running wild about the streets, where they were caught by any one who could, and most of them were sold to the Arabs. “ If the Pashah were thus destitute of help,” observes Mr. Groves, “what must have been the misery of the great mass who were left to die alone!” During this frightful mortality around, the home 246 FRIGHTFUL MORTALITY. paratirel up for the them and where la rember their cha had 3 high them. In the persons, camed t more than meding-p A upon prospects of Mr. Groves and his family, although they had hitherto been providentially exempted from actual disease, were sufficiently gloomy and distress- ing. From the little passage opposite they had seen twenty-five bodies carried out, and they knew of several persons being ill. In one of the houses which had contained eight inmates, one only re- mained alive ; and in like manner of another house- hold of thirteen, but one solitary individual survived. Nor were these by any means uncommon or singular cases: of eighteen servants and sepoys left by Colonel Taylor, in charge of the Residency, by the end of the month only four remained, and of these two were affected and afterwards died. There were five teachers of Arabic and Armenian, connected with Mr. Groves's establishment, and every one of these died. Nor, with all this continued mortality did the virulence of the disease abate, nor the number of daily deaths decrease. The remaining population, crowded into smaller and smaller compass by the increasing inundation, presented, as it were, a more sure and deadly aim to the shafts of the pestilence. The influx of new inhabitants into infected houses supplied fresh objects, and their dead remained, poi- soning the air, in all the court-yards and areas, and literally encumbered the streets. Nor was this fearful destruction of human life confined to the city. A large caravan for Damascus had left Baghdad at the commencement of the mor- tality ; but it carried the deadly contagion along with it, and met, moreover, with an enemy scarcely less destructive, in the inundation. They gained a com- nad-side ANTON : Wors sinds w the i Desco will to makin down, bunyit 啊 ​伽 ​them. to re FATE OF CARAVANS. 247 paratively elevated spot where they remained pent up for three weeks, the water constantly gaining on them and their numbers daily thinning, the kafilah- bashee (or leader of the caravan) being among the number who died. Many tried to return and take their chance at home; but boats were rarely to be had, and the few to be procured were held at so high a price that few could avail themselves of them. In the same manner a caravan of two thousand persons, who left Baghdad for Hamadân, in Persia, carried the pestilence along with them, and lost more than half their number on the road. At each resting-place, from sixty to seventy carcasses were left upon the ground, and numbers died during the march upon their horses and mules, or were knock- ed off them when taken ill, and left to die by the road-side, while their effects were plundered by the survivors. Worse even than theirs was the situation of thou- sands who attempted too late to fly, and were caught by the inundation. Retreating to the highest ground they could find, they remained watching the water as it rose, till it got half a yard high in the very tents. They had neither food nor the means of making a fire. Neither sick nor well could lie down, and worse than all, they had no means of burying their dead, who rapidly increased among them. Some, half-frantic with despair, attempted to return that they might die at home; but the waters left no way, and boats were not procurable at any price. To aggravate the miseries of these 248 THE STILLNESS OF DEATH. repas three praye Fi impre whic mado that endu and the tires It stee nost fugitives, those who did escape the waters were almost certain to fall into the hands of the plun- dering Arabs, who stripped all they caught, women and men indiscriminately. During all this accumulation of human misery nothing was more remarkable than the death-like stillness which reigned throughout the city. The Moollahs ceased to call to prayer - the mourners to lament for the dead. “ It was so striking,” says Mr. Groves," that a sickness came over the heart when one thought of the cause." The first glimpse of relief in this complication of suffering, was the subsiding of the waters, which occurred about the beginning of May. Soon after- wards a little rice was brought from the other side of the river. The monopolists of fire-wood, who had made their harvest of the necessities of the poor inhabitants, had by this time themselves fallen victims to the pestilence, so that fuel was to be had for the taking ; and wretches who for a long while had not tasted wholesome food, were enabled to cook a decent meal. Soon afterwards, namely, on the 4th of May, some prospect appeared of mitigation in the plague itself. The previous days had been beautifully fine and clear, and the increasing heat gave promise of a check to its virulence. On that day, the number of new cases, as well as that of deaths, decreased; while the list of recoveries augmented. “Our eyes,” says Mr. Groves, “were gladdened by the sight of three or four water- carriers, the first we had seen these ten days; and many more people have been seen passing and One hou left clai the m: a 1 STRIKING INSTANCES OF MORTALITY. 249 repassing ; and this night, for the first time these three weeks, I have heard the Moollahs call to prayers." From this time the accounts of the city gradually improved; but, unhappily, on the 7th the disease, which hitherto had spared the house of Mr. Groves, made its appearance there, and, as is well known, that excellent man and devoted Christian had to endure the heavy affliction of the loss of his wife and child. * Only two other persons were there attacked, and these died also one of them was the schoolmaster, who had already lost forty rela- tives out of forty-four. It would be endless to relate the instances of sweeping mortality that marked the course of the pestilence. Hundreds of families were carried wholly off; and of others of twenty to thirty persons, only one or two survived. An Armenian told Mr. Groves, that in his quarter, out of one hundred and thirty houses, only twenty-seven of the inhabitants were left alive. The son of Mr. Groves's Moollah de- clared, that in the quarter where he resided not one remained - all were dead; Seyed Ibrahim, the only surviving servant of Colonel Taylor, re- mained alone out of a family of fourteen; and as a single instance of the mortality in other quarters * Since this was written, the Journal of Mr. Groves' has been published, and to that most interesting work we beg to refer those who desire to see the simplest and most touching picture possible of Christian fortitude, submission, and piety; and to learn what the high Christian motives of zeal for the Most High and love to his brethren will induce the true follower of Christ to undergo. 250 EXCITING CAUSES OF MORTALITY. adopt to per assure ako I partic more other and perie Koot did of the Pashalic, I may mention, that scarcely an individual was left in the town of Hillah, which before the pestilence possessed a population of ten thousand souls. From all I have been able to collect, as well as from the opinion of Mr. Groves, it appears but too probable, that of the population of Baghdad, not less than two-thirds were carried off by this awful plague, and that the number of dead fell little short of, if it did not exceed, one hundred thousand persons. Assuredly the mortality was greatly increased by the unfortunate coinci- dence of the inundation, first in the country, which prevented flight and hemmed the great mass of the population within the walls, and afterwards by the entrance of the waters into the town itself, whereby not only were thousands drowned or buried in the ruins of houses, but the remainder became huddled up together into greatly diminished space upon the dry spots, and forced into infected houses in twenties and thirties, surrounded by corruption, and without clothes or provisions, or the means of making a fire. The multitude of unburied dead, too, added greatly to the effects of the pestilence, by tainting the air and rendering it still more noxious. Yet even in the absence of such contingent causes, such a pestilence as this must have an effect upon an Eastern town, which, in a European city, in our days at least, it could not exercise under the operation of a regular police. The bene- fit of shutting up and insulating houses from con- tagion has been proved beyond dispute. Few of the Europeans in Constantinople, or elsewhere, who one. city towa CENY of ana INC ter tal fe V PLAGUE IN OTHER PLACES. 251 adopt this precaution suffer; and were it possible to persuade the natives to adopt similar measures, assuredly the fatality, and probably the duration also, of the disease would be greatly diminished. I have spoken of the plague of Baghdad in particular, because its effects have been pressed more home upon my observation than that in other places ; but there is scarcely a city of Persia of which nearly the same tale, with the exception of what refers to the inundation, might not be told, and where misery in the same ratio was not ex- perienced. Kermanshah, Hamadân, the whole of Koordistan, lost even in a greater proportion. So did Mazunderan and Asterabad. The population of the whole province of Gheelan was reduced to one-fifth-its own people say to one-tenth. The city of Resht was utterly depopulated ; so were the towns of Lahajan, Fomen, Teregoràm, &c. Con- ceive this sweep of human life !-this awful mass of human suffering, chiefly attributable to ignorance and mal-administration ! and think of the bless- ings of civilisation--that by a well-organised sys- tem of government, and enforcing the measures dic- tated by sense and experience, the weight of this fearful visitation might, by God's blessing, be diminished, if not totally averted. Would to Hea- ven that even this were the full extent of cala- mity entailed upon our brethren of the East by tyranny and mal-administration ! As for Baghdad, the plague at length fled before the increasing heat of summer; by the 26th of May cases had ceased to appear. Mr. Groves 252 EFFECTS ON THE CITY. but o the se rapaci vicinit animai tion , but su objecte more thouse List mas opened his house soon after, and the few remain- ing inhabitants issued forth to gaze upon the wreck of their city. Melancholy enough was the scene: of all the buildings of Baghdad there remained standing but a small knot upon the banks of the river where the ground was highest, with a mosque or two, the walls and foundations of which had been more securely built than those of the others; and even of those that did remain scarce one had escaped damage. Even after the waters had sub- sided, houses continued to fall from the effect pro- duced upon the materials and from the sinking of the ground. Beyond this cluster stretched on all sides a vacant space up to the very walls, marked with vestiges of broken walls and the ruins of more than two-thirds of the city; and here and there lay a great lake, left by the receding waters in the lower parts of the ground. Of the long lines of ba- zaars, many had shared the general wreck, and long it was before those that remained began to fill, and shops to re-open in any numbers. Most of the merchants, and almost all the artificers were dead. Even now, if you require some article of manu- facture, for which the place was formerly celebrated, the answer is, “Ah! you can't get that now, for all those who made it are dead of the plague.” Whole trades were swept away ; and it was some · time before the common necessaries of life - food and clothing, were to be had for the surviving population. Then came the foul fiend Famine, who carried off a portion of those whom the pestilence had left, tercou infect the I lish 1831 Dit disu Стор dan thai diff of ma th di bir ! OTHER ATTACKS. 253 but on which we need not dwell. The ruin of the surrounding villages, and effects of war and rapacity in driving away the inhabitants of the vicinity to seek shelter in the town, by degrees re- animated the skeleton of Baghdad with a popula- tion, small indeed compared with what it had been, but sufficient, with occasional supplies, to afford objects within the three succeeding years for two more attacks of the plague, and the loss of five thousand and seven thousand souls thereby. The last of these, which only terminated in May last, was introduced into the city entirely by the avarice of its present ruler, who, rather than forbid all in- tercourse with Kermanshah, which was at that time infected, and thus lose the tribute he exacts from the Persian pilgrims, although warned by the Eng- lish Resident of the consequences, exposed the city to a visitation which might have rivalled that of 1831. Whether the nature of the malady was in itself less virulent, or that there was a deficiency of suitable pabulum, as soils exhausted by one heavy crop seldom yield a succeeding one of great abun- dance, the mortality was far less in proportion than in the first case. One cause of this fortunate difference was undoubtedly, the freedom of exit which the people enjoyed, from the first appearance of the malady. No opposition was made either by man or by water to their quitting the city, and they took full advantage of the liberty; whole districts moving off, bag and baggage, on its first breaking out. The Jews, in particular, went off in a body, and all who did so were providentially 254 MISTAKEN MEASURES. preserved. On the first occasion, the Pashah in- terfered to prevent the people from moving, in hope of checking the panic with which all classes were seized on its first appearance in the city; and sub- sequently the inundation effectually detained them. A like attempt had been made at Bussora. The city gates were closed, and the consequences were most disastrous ; for fear and consternation ex- acerbated the effect of pestilence on the pent-up community, and the mortality exceeded in propor- tion that of Baghdad. Among the victims was the mistaken governor himself, whose indiscretion thus brought its own punishment. Political the dered pointe delive Shah Thr scarcel to the on the Dead Porte, xeling awake resols athi vian It is EN w 255 LETTER X. Political Consequences of the Plague.- Displeasure of the Porte at the Pashah.-Capidjees and Firmauns.—Danish Effendi is mur- dered by the Pashah's Orders.— The Pashah's Alarm.-Allee ap- pointed Pashah of Baghdad. - The City besieged.-The Pashah delivers himself up.—The City treacherously given up. Daood sent to Constantinople.- Measures pursued by Allee.-Murder of the Georgians--and of Saleh Beg.--Character of Allee Pa- shah's Government. The political consequences of the pestilence were scarcely less important, and it may be said fatal, to the Pashalic of Baghdad, than its physical effects on the population. I have already observed that Daood Pashah had fallen under the displeasure of the Porte. The dangerous spirit of independence and self-aggrandisement displayed by him, had long since awakened the jealousy of the Sultan, and led him to resolve upon his doom on the first fitting opportunity ; but the immediate offence which roused its indignation at this particular time, was no less than the murder of an officer sent by it on a mission to the Pashah. It is true that the object of this mission was his ruin-probably his death, but the act was not the less a murder, and treason to the Sultan his mas- ter; for in Turkey, whether his Highness is pleased to send a dress of honour, or a bowstring, it is the 256 CAPIDJÉES AND PASHAHS. wie to shu every once lingeri strong: dentia guards execut danger the Ca therefo pa etiquette to receive the messenger with equal re- spect, and a point of duty to bow the head with equal readiness to either. This, however, is a perfection of obedience which can only subsist while the power of the superior is paramount, and must cease when that power de- clipes ; and such being too much the case with Sultans in these degenerate days, it has become rather the fashion to neglect his Highness's least agreeable commands, and, however respectful the outward mode of reception, to treat them with real contempt. Still appearances are kept up; for there is still throughout the empire a lingering senti- ment of veneration for the Sultan's name and au- thority, when brought prominently forward, which scarcely any chief or Pashah, however powerful, would care to outrage. Thus, when it is known that a capidjee or messenger is on the road, pro- vision is made for his reception according to the nature of his commission, which is generally intimat- ed to its object, long before his appearance, by some friend in his pay at court. If that be favourable, the messenger's reception is honourable and cordial; if otherwise, measures are usually taken to retard his arrival, until an opportunity occurs for putting him out of the way-an arrangement generally ma- naged so as to have the appearance of accident; a matter not very difficult in a country teeming with banditti and predatory tribes. The Capidjees themselves, well aware of the danger of their missions, make their own prepa- rations, and a regular display of tactics on either bis mai Dao ventee wet discip illlers to be thus iura mea pos NICE TACTICS. 257 side is the consequence; the Pashah endeavouring to shun the encounter, whilst the Capidjee makes every effort to reach the presence; for should he once do so, respect for the Sultan's firmaun, that lingering awe I have just alluded to, is still so strong, that if the Capidjee could produce his cre- dentials to the Pashah, surrounded even by his guards, these guards themselves would assist his executioner : but the attempt is pregnant with danger, for failure is alınost certain destruction to the Capidjee, who therefore usually provides him- self with two sets of firmauns. If he finds the Pashah too powerful for attack, and his own danger therefore correspondingly great, he produces an order for investiture, to serve as a blind until a favourable opportunity of executing the true will of his master may occur. Daood Pashah had enjoyed the Vizierut for se- venteen years, and had employed that time indus- triously in consolidating his power. He had an army of full thirty thousand horse and foot, from five to six thousand of whom were tolerably well disciplined, and supported by a very efficient ar- tillery. His income from the Pashalic was known to be very large; yet, during all this time, he had remitted little or nothing to the Sultan's treasury : thus the government of Constantinople very na- turally conceived that Daood was following the steps of Mahomed Allee Pashah of Egypt, and meant to render himself independent ; it therefore, as I have said above, came to the resolution of de- posing him, and despatched a messenger, by name VOL. I. S 258 A DANGEROUS GAME. ing the nicate going fure o The to hay the in what came. was to you ar adviser pected of him Dânish Effendi, to endeavour to effect that object, while the intrigues of Allee, then Pashah of Aleppo, succeeded in procuring for himself a nomination to the expected vacancy. Whatever may have been the suspicions or secret precautions of Daood, it does not appear that he was quite prepared for the blow, at the time it Danish Effendi succeeded in reaching Bagh- dad, and the communications he made to the Pashah were calculated to mislead him as to the true na- ture of his instructions : but the Capidjee, conscious of the danger of his position, and, like all traitors, mistrustful of others, declined taking up his quar- ters in the Serai, where he felt he should be more in the Pashah's power, and was accordingly accom- modated in the house of an officer high in the Pashah's confidence, named Mahomed Effendi, better known by the designation of Mussruff. In the mean time, he looked around him for in- struments to assist him in the discharge of his dan- gerous commission; and he fixed upon another officer, also high in the Pashah's favour, his Meer Achór, or master of the horse-a man of very con- siderable talent; and to him he communicated the Sultan's order, offering, at the same time, to confer the investiture of the Pashalic on himself, provided he should assist in securing the person of his master. But the Meer Achôr, though a man of abilities, had not nerve enough for the enterprise thus proposed to him. Let us hope, too, that an honest regard for an indulgent master had its share in determin- persua which chinus That they VISIT the wh A DESPERATE CHOICE. 259 ing him in the course to be pursued. He commu- nicated the fact to the Mussruff; and both together, going to the Pashah, informed him of the true na- ture of the Capidjee's errand. The Pashah, whose moral courage appears not to have equalled his abilities, was confounded with the intelligence, and appeared unable to decide on what course he should pursue. But the juncture was too momentous to be trifled with ; “ Either you and we must go, or that Capidjee,” said his two advisers. " If the nature of his errand is but sus- pected, you are lost - now, and now only is your time.” The Pashah, utterly perplexed, and unable of himself to resolve on any course of action, was persuaded to sanction, if not to order the measure which his Mussruff and Meer Achôr suggested. These two officers immediately left the presence ; and, taking with them a gigantic fellow of a chiaoosh, repaired to the quarters of the Capidjee. That personage, who had retired to rest, was na- turally alarmed at the unceremonious manner in which he was roused from his sleep, and in a voice sufficiently expressive of his alarm, demanded what they wanted ? adding, that he trusted their untimely visit portended nothing of harm. “That," observed the Mussruff,“ you will soon discover; and the airs which you thought fit to assume towards me yester- day, shall be paid off to you to-night.” The poor wretch, thoroughly terrified, had recourse, it is said, to the most abject entreaties ; but the Musruff called in the huge chiaoosh, who, quietly unwinding the s 2 BAGHDAD INVESTED. 261 V 31 II e d. El e 0 t By the plague the military power of Daood Pashah was utterly annihilated; some idea of the complete destruction of his army may be formed from the fact, that out of the corps of one thousand men disciplined on the English model, and at one time under the command of Colonel Taylor, one man only was found surviving. The Pashah was actually left alone in a house to which he had re- tired when his palace fell, and from whence, as you will see hereafter, he was taken by one Saleh Beg, a man connected by blood with some of the former Pashahs, and who entertained, at the time, a notion of becoming Pashah himself. Scarcely had the disease abated, when the par- tizans of Allee, Pashah of Aleppo, who had pre- viously obtained the investiture from the Porte, and secured, as he believed, the assistance of Cossim Aga, Pashah of Mosul -Suffook, Sheikh of the Jer- boah Arabs - and Solymaun Gunnum, an adven- turer of some abilities, who had gathered together a rabble of followers - advanced towards Baghdad with the avowed purpose of taking possession of the Pashalic for Allee : but the inhabitants were not, it appears, disposed to receive him; and the allies sat down before the town, which they at- tempted to win, partly by fighting, partly by ne- gotiation, and partly, as it turned out, by treachery. It appears, too, that some at least of these allies were playing a double part, intriguing with Daood and probably with Saleh Beg, while affecting to be devoted to Allee. With 'these mingled views, the three persons named, entered the town, Cossim 262 FLIGHT OF DAOOD. receiy master advers he noe ness, Dac known aspirin person his pe Womers he sho ferent that P person Pashah professing himself to be the Kiayah (or minister) of Allee : but the people rose upon them, and Suffook and Solymuan Gunnum were forced to make their escape, the former from a house upon the river which he swam. Others were seized, and Cossim Pashah, when off his guard, was pitched into a well by Ahmed Aga, the Toffunchee Bashee (commander of the musketeers) of Daood. These violent measures confirmed Suffook and Solymaun Gunnum as friends of Allee. They be- sieged the town for three months, and the cannon of the new Pashah, who by that time had reached the camp, fired into it in all directions. At length the patience of the people got exhausted, and a mer- chant, by name Hajee Khaleel, having communi- cated with Allee, let his forces, one night, into town by the southern gate. During these proceedings the unfortunate Daood, suffering from the effects of plague which he had caught, but miraculously recovered from, and the wounds consequent on which were still open- abandoned by all that remained of his people, even his women, except two of his wives, who adhered to him to the last,-lay concealed in the house of a Baghdadee, known by the nick-name of Kara- Biber, to which, as before observed, he had fled when his palace fell. Previous to that time he had subsisted chiefly through the services of one Seyed Hindee, once a boatman on the river, but of late a sort of useful hanger-on about the Re- sidency. This man used, once a day, to bring his Highness a mess of pillaw, for which he generally come worth time There mass taken DOW DOW NOME captar this af an HE IS TAKEN. 263 received a piece of money; and thus was the former master of thirty thousand troops sustained in his adversity and abandonment by a poor boatman he now owed life and support, under pain and sick- ness, to a humble shopkeeper. Daood's place of concealment, however, becoming known to Saleh Beg, who has been mentioned as aspiring to the dignity of the Vizierut himself, that person sent people to bring the fallen Pashah into his presence. The master of the house, and the women, alarmed for the consequences, proposed that he should escape by a door that opened into a dif- ferent street, and offered him their assistance for that purpose. But life, embittered as it was by personal suffering, the sense of his mighty losses, and the necessity of constant concealment, had be- come too valueless to the ill-fated Daood, to be worth a further struggle. “No,” said he,“ the time for resistance or for flight is past; I will go wherever, or to whatever fate I am summoned." He was set upon a horse (he could not walk), and taken to the house of Saleh Beg, which is that now occupied by the Resident, and in which I am now a guest. He was received with respect, but immediately made acquainted by his host, or rather captor, with his purposed attempt upon the Pa- shalic, which he was called upon to aid. Some notion of the powers of Daood's mind and faculties of persuasion may be formed from the fact, that this conference, which commenced in so threatening a form for the ex-Pashah's interest, terminated in an arrangement, by which Saleh Beg consented to 264 DAOOD MILDLY TREATED. th f and SUC the PE ware but in aspi hm front there dira his restoration to the Vizierut, and to act himself as his Kiayah or minister. But these arrangements were all broken up by the treachery of Hajee Khaleel. Allee was now master of the city ; his troops occupied it, but he did not choose as yet to trust his own person in it; and immediately sending for Daood Pashah, whom he received with all possible courtesy, told him that his life was safe; but that he must pro- ceed to Constantinople, where also he would find his person secure : nay, he informed the fallen Pashah that he was at liberty to take what part of his property he pleased, and to see any of his family who remained alive. There is no doubt that this forbearance towards his late enemy was in conformity with orders from Constantinople; but let us not deny to Allee the merit which is his due. He might have fulfilled these commands with less of courtesy – he might, even without com- mitting himself, have rendered them ineffective, save in so far as life was concerned; but he forbore, and Daood no doubt carried off a considerable property, which Allee, by pursuing another course, might have secured to himself. It was, however, comparatively small — perhaps a politic sacrifice. His game at the time was certainly to conciliate- subsequent confiscations amply indemnified him. Allee, thus fixed upon the musnud, assumed, as I have said, the tone of conciliation ; but his first object was to remove all acknowledged partizans of the late Pashah ; and to effect this, he unscru- pulously resorted to the usual Oriental means of part awa slay the hat al for ap S d 1 1 ORIENTAL POLICY. 265 treachery and murder, so seldom varied in their form of application, and yet, spite of all experience and the jealousy created by their use, so constantly successful. Of the surviving Georgians who formed the body guard, or who had been officers of Daood Pashah, several, anticipating the storm which after- wards burst upon their comrades, had fled the city; but there still remained some eighteen or twenty, in which number was included Saleh Beg, the late aspirant to the Pashalic. These were summoned together one day on pretext of hearing read the firmaun of their pardon, said to have lately arrived from Constantinople ; and almost all, except Saleh Beg, who was either unwell or suspicious, and who therefore kept away, attended at the Pashah's divan. They were received with perfect courtesy, partook of coffee and pipes, and the firmaun was just about to be read, when the Pashah was called away to breakfast. This was the signal for slaughter. One Allee Aga, who had charge of the execution, and a fitter operative could not have been pitched upon, now rose and called upon a party of Arnaouts who had been posted ready for the work. These, however, unwilling, or appalled by the nature of the service, remained inactive and irresolute. “What is the matter ?” demanded Allee Aga, — "why do you hesitate ? Strike ! - it is them or you ;” and he himself, drawing his sword, struck the Georgian who sat next him. The devoted men, too late alarmed by the order and the act, were rising and drawing their swords, when Allee Aga threw himself on the 266 MURDER OF THE GEORGIANS. It detail that the di 8000 those ent acher except the w merce this almost man he had wounded before the latter could draw his weapon, and the Arnaouts at the same moment fired their pieces, and fell upon those who remain- ed unwounded by the discharge. The struggle was short : all the Georgians were put to death, some where they sat, others in flying, and after making a formidable resistance; and thus did Allee Pashah rid himself of the last of Daood's Gholaums. It may appear almost incredible that men in their situation should not have forseen some such attempt, and one and all sought for safety in flight: but, in the first place, it must be recollected that flight from the capital of a distant and hostile country has its dangers; and, secondly, it appears that a more than ordinary share of pains was taken on this occasion to blind the victims. To judge of the degree of treachery and deceit made use of, it may be mentioned that the first person struck down in this scene of blood was a man who had fled from the service of Daood to that of Allee, at Aleppo, and who had accompanied him from thence as his Kiayah, or minister, in which capa- city he was sitting in the Pashah's divan when the murder took place—such is Ottoman faith, and the reward of service in Turkey ! Nor did Saleh Beg escape long. He, in like manner, was blinded by a shower of favours, and walked on in a dream of delusive security, till one day, when passing from the office-chamber of the Kiayah to that of the Pashah, into whose presence he had been summoned, he was suddenly seized in a narrow passage, and drawn aside and strangled. Peren have ment Cipti MEASURES OF ALLEE PASHAH. 267 1 It would be no pleasant task to describe in detail the tissue of treachery, crime, and rapacity that succeeded these events, nor do I pretend to the honour of being Allee Pashah's historian. So soon as prudence permitted, all the property of those in any manner connected with the late Pashah was confiscated, and seizures go on to the pre- sent day. These are events too customary upon a change of governors to attract much attention, except from the parties concerned. But this is not the worst : heavy duties were imposed on com- merce; the peasantry were abandoned to the ex- tortions of the Pashah's servants ; and so atroci- ously bad has been the general character and effects of his administration, that the country has become almost a desert, overrun by the Arab tribes, who swarm up to the very gates of the city; and his revenues, as far as they depend upon agriculture, have been reduced comparatively to nothing, while terror and detestation of his person and his govern- ment pervade all ranks of the people, with the ex- ception of his own immediate creatures. 268 was they the LETTER XI. Pain cond 1 Appearance of the City within and without the Walls.-Politics of Allee Pashah.. The Jerboah Arabs – they invest the City -Retreat.—The Aneiza Arabs called in— dismissed uncere- moniously by the Pashah — they refuse to retire --- and invest the City.- Engagement between the Pashah's Troops aided by their Arab Allies and the Aneiza—the former defeated, and the Jerboah Sheikh slain. All the neighbouring Population driven within the Walls.—White Asses and black Slaves.-Female Apartments and Costumes.-Jewels.- Occupations.—Visits Voices.-General Conduct and Character. cuple bank aby Pash De core prince The UNDER the circumstances related in my last letter, you cannot suppose that Baghdad wore much appearance of prosperity when I entered it. The first ride through the city betrayed its wretched condition, and brought into view the deep traces of that flood of misfortune which had so lately passed over it. Immediately beyond the comparatively small knot of buildings left standing by the inundation, lay the wide waste of ruins it had left, with here and there a new house starting up like a ghost from amidst the relics of a buried population. Large spaces of ground had sunk, strangely enough, under the pressure of the water, forming deep hollows among the gardens, which fill up a considerable space in the southern part are HA ch a APPEARANCE OF THE CITY. 269 of the city. I should think that nearly two-thirds of the whole area on the eastern side of the river was thus divested of habitable buildings; and even those which remain exhibit the effects of the water on their foundations in many ominous cracks; while the façade to the river, though looking well and im- posingly at a distance, is really in a very shattered condition. The palace of Daood Pashah, which oc- cupied a very extensive site, stretching to the river bank, is utterly ruined; and the Pasha, who lives in a house that had been occupied by one of the late Pashah's sons, has lately begun to rebuild the wall, in order, as I understand, to convert it into a barrack for his troops. On the other side the river the scene is not more enlivening. That portion, which is now principally occupied by Arabs, but which formerly contained the houses of many opulent Turks, is still more ruinous than this upon the eastern side. There you ride through little else than fallen and falling walls, and the débris of what once was a dense mass of dwellings. The wall of the town on both sides of the river is shattered and totter- ing, and the great gaps by which the water entered are still in the same condition as the inundation left them in. Without the walls, the prospect is peculiarly cheerless it is, in fact, a type of the present condition of the Pashalic. Excepting the banks of the river, which to the extent of about three miles each way are fringed with date-tree groves, a naked plain, bounded only by the horizon, 270 ALLEE PASHAH'S POLICY, The 80 nane upper late Pa robbers had rem opinion from to on this Suffook high die stretches on all sides to the very gates. It is true that at this period this desert is enlivened by tents and camps of Arabs, by flocks of sheep and cattle, herds of camels, and a considerable succession of comers and goers on foot or on horse- back; but even this temporary show of life and bustle is owing to the particular and most unwel- come pressure of external circumstances. I mentioned that on my arrival near the town I had learned that a tribe of hostile Arabs was en- camped in the neighbourhood; I did not, however, know how near we had been to witnessing an Arab battle. It It appears that the politics of Allee Pashah, which like that of his predecessors and many sove- reigns of the East as well as West, are grounded on the Jesuitical maxim of “ Divide et impera," always a dangerous one — had broken down in the present case, and left him sorely in the lurch. It had been the practice of his predecessors, few of whom were powerful enough to control collectively the numerous tribes of Arabs by whom they were surrounded, to foment discord between them, and when threatened or pressed by one tribe to bring up another to oppose them. This, I say, is dan- gerous policy, unless when backed by a force suffi- cient at a pinch to render the politician indepen- dent of untoward contretems. If such be not at his command, the chances are that, as in the case of Allee Pashah, incroachments are made by each party, who by turns play the part of friend and foe, until from servants and allies they become masters. the upp istence strippet late ma with hi For and th- this he being a had ne fime, scarcit and of its haun petiti the tribe boral AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 271 The tribe of Jerbah or Jerboah (from the animal so named) had originally been brought into the upper part of the Pashalic in order to assist the late Pashah in turning out some other race of robbers; and the service which their chief, Suffook, had rendered to Allee, entitled him, in his own opinion, to some further indulgence or concession from that Pashah. But Allee thought differently on this point from his late coadjutor ; he rejected Suffook's demands and threatened him with his high displeasure; on which the Arab first retired to the upper part of Mesopotamia, where he stopped all intercourse upon the road, plundered caravans and stripped travellers, and next, by way of giving his late master a specimen of his power, he came down with his whole tribe and invested Baghdad itself. For three months was the city held in blockade, and the neighbouring villages plundered at will by this hardy robber, without the smallest opposition being made on the part of the Pashah-indeed he had no means of making any. At the end of that time, whether from failure of forage and increasing scarcity of plunder, or some other cause, the Arabs suddenly broke up their camp and disappeared ; and Baghdad, one fine morning, found itself free of its troublesome visiters. Suffook retired to his haunts in Upper Mesopotamia ; but promised a re- petition of his visit in the following year--a threat so alarming to the Pashah, that he sent to call in the assistance of the Aneiza, another very powerful tribe, to whom he promised the lands of the Jer- boah, upon condition of turning them out of them. 272 JERBOAH ARABS. PO city whi SNE oft ME with nival men lare Te bute and Not trusting to this means alone, the Pashah also contrived to create a division among the Jer. boah themselves; and, using the power arrogated by his predecessors, however nominal in his own case, of creating whomsoever he chose as Sheikhs, or chiefs of the Arab tribes, he nominated a young man, rejoicing in the euphonious name of Schlaush, to the dignity of Sheikh of the Jerboah. Only a small number of the tribe, however, paid attention to this nomination, while the greater and most re- spectable portion adhered to their old chief Suffook. In the mean time the Aneiza, whose mouths water- ed at the prospect of revelling in the rich pastures of the Jerboah, came as required, with no less than thirty-five thousand fighting men, making sure of annihilating their opponents. But by this time the alarms of the Pashah and his protégé Schlaush were quieted by the retreat of Suffook, from some cause or other, to a still safer distance; and his Highness sent to inform his new allies that their services were not now required. You will not wonder that the Aneiza, whose hopes were high, and who had come from distant regions, where little fat was to be found on the bones of the land, should take this cavalier mode of treatment in anything but good part. They flatly refused to leave the place, until the Pashah should have complied with his part of the agreement, as they had performed theirs ; and they took up a position across the narrowest part of the jezirah in the vicinity of the city, calculated to lend em- phasis to their determination. The Pashah, again alarmed, now called upon his IN L. 賣身​”言 ​lad Pasi ERE op BATTLE OF THE ARABS. 273 protégé Schlaush, to come and aid in defending the city and send the Aneiza about their business ; while on his part he mustered his own troops, con, sisting of some hundreds of Albanian horse, and of the Nizâm, or regular infantry, which, with his artillery, he sent out to show front to the Aneiza. Schlaush obeyed the sunions, and brought his division of the tribe to the vicinity of the city, and with characteristic Arab feeling, even Suffook, his rival Sheikh, sent a detachment of two thousand men to his assistance on the occasion. " You and I are enemies," was his message to Schlaush, “and we may settle our quarrel at a convenient season ; but at present the honour of the tribe is concerned, and I will not see it endangered without yielding my assistance to preserve it." The aid, however, was sent in vain, for the Aneiza were too powerful to be successfully attacked by the Jerboah, had even the whole tribe been mustered for the purpose. Some skirmishing at first took place with small effect on either side, but on the very day preceding that on which I reached the city, one of these brushes had brought on a general engagement—such at least as goes by that term among Arabs. In this the Pashah and his allies were entirely defeated, and even their cannon remained for a while in the hands of the Aneiza ;-but the brunt of the action and of the loss fell on the Jerboah, whose new chief, Schlaush, was cut to pieces, and who lost more men, it is said, than have fallen in an Arab battle for many a year. From some lingering respect to the Sultan's authority, the Aneiza spared the Pashah's VOL. 1. T 274 FORBEARANCE OF THE ANEIZA. Tersec I visite Amor baidah Barmer a a sing sume, point regard bluntec te ver with et nisen i troops and turned all their vengeance against their Arab enemies. The cry was—“Let alone the Ni- zâm and kill the Jerboah,"—which accordingly they did as long as they stood. As for the cannon, the ignorant rovers of the desert did not seem to under- stand what they were ; at all events, they knew not how to use them : so they remained on the field until the Pashah's troops, encouraged by the forbearance of their foes, took possession of them unopposed, and retreated with no small rapidity to the shelter of the city wall. Such was the state of things when I reached Bagh- dad. Fear of the Aneiza had driven in every vil- lager and gardener, and all the petty Arab tribes that were wont to encamp in the country around, within the walls ; and all who had flocks of sheep or herds of cattle, or camels, in the vicinity, took refuge there also in the ample empty spaces left by the inundation. This adds assuredly to the populousness and life of the place, but it also adds most disagreeably to the uproar and confusion of its streets. It is these flocks and herds to which I have alluded as passing and repassing my window every morning, and making their presence known by such a din; and when we attempt early of a morning to pass through certain streets, or to issue from the gates, it is well if our patience be not quite exhausted before a passage can be effected. Is not this a pretty picture of a pro- vince which should be one of the most flourishing and productive of the whole Turkish empire ? November 20.—Since my last date we have rid- den and walked about a good deal. We have tra- beauty much & my Stern maste Ws is has once REDO A 6 It TOMB OF ZOBEIDAH. 275 versed all the habitable quarters of Baghdad, and visited most of the objects worthy of attention. Among others, the tomb of the fair and witty Zo- beidah, the wife of Haroon ul Rasheed. I have little, however, to remark about it, save that it consists of a singular obelisk-like spire, set upon a very ugly, tall, octagonal base, the lower part of which, I pre- sume, contains the place of sepulture, but I did not go in to see. They make a work about these things here, which I wished to avoid, and my curiosity regarding Mussulmaun mausolea has been too much blunted by disappointment, on most occasions, to be very keen upon this. upon this. Nor shall I entertain you with either the raptures or musings that may have risen in my mind at the tomb of this celebrated beauty, to whose name we all attach some pleasing youthful recollection, and which is connected with much juvenile amusement, though assuredly, so far as my elderly imagination would permit, the days when she sat and amused herself, like her lord and master, with listening to tales and adventures, failed not to rise before me. But the palace of the Kha- lifs is gone-even its sight is unknown ; the glory has departed from the land, and the spirit which once inspired its sons and daughters, has fled to other realms, --so leave we the dust of Zobeidah to its repose, and turn to other scenes. Amongst the objects, which next to the number of wild-looking Arabs, are apt to arrest the observa- tion of a stranger in his walks through Baghdad, I think may fairly be placed the multitude of white asses, and intensely black and exquisitely ugly negro T2 276 WHITE ASSES. , thick-lip exceedid staring He it fie Light ar she a but assuu kelligence Here , h other of ther gli kad at it suff slaves that swarm in all the streets and bazaars. For the former there is quite à craze here;—white is your only colour for a donkey, and you scarcely meet any person of respectability, man or woman, mounted on anything else than these spotless quadru- peds-except, indeed, the more warlike classes, who despise anything under the grade of an Arab steed. Most of the learned and holy professions prefer the meeker animal, and so do all the ladies ; so that the number in use is very great ; and as women of the higher ranks seldom move without a multi- tude of attendants similarly mounted, when such a visit is made at the house of a neighbour, the bray- ing concert becomes intolerable. These asses are, I believe, of a particular breed, and fetch very high prices—from forty to fifty pounds sterling being no uncommon sum for one of great size, good blood, and fine paces. They are magnificently caparisoned, and every one of the poor animals has its nostrils slit, a practice prevalent also in Persia, and which is said to make them longer winded. - Heaven knows their wind is long enough when they begin to bray. The rage for black slaves here is quite as uni- versal as that for white donkeys, and, judging from appearances, I should suppose that the uglier th are, the more they are valued-like an isle of Skye terrier, whose beauty consists in its especial and per- fect ugliness. These dark beauties, male and female, come chiefly from Madagascar and Zanzebar, and are supplied for the most part by the Imaum of Muscat -a very staunch and worthy ally of ours, in whose hands nearly all of the trade rests. They are all Tards and not gues d their indulge i lust listinc LUME Berghad MISES ad that BLACK SLAVES. 277 thick-lipped, have broad faces, high cheek-bones, exceedingly depressed noses, small peaked chins, staring white eyes, and atrociously black skins. Far be it from me to advocate the opinion that a few slight anatomical differences prove negroes in general to be a race intellectually inferior to the whites; but assuredly, if these are endowed with much in- telligence, Providence was never pleased to enshrine high mental powers in a less inviting tabernacle. Here, however, you find them greatly preferred to all others as servants, both in the Harem, and for other offices. The streets swarm with them, and their glossy skins, fat shining faces, and gay apparel, lead at once to the conclusion that they fare well ; a fact sufficiently notorious from the well-known par- tiality of Turks, in common with most Orientals, towards their slaves ; and the impudent swagger, and not unfrequently insolent language of the dark rogues as they pass you in the street, leaves no doubt of their being the spoiled favourites of some over- indulgent master. The enjoyment of this species of luxury is, however confined to the faithful ; no Christian or Infidel, of whatever cast, being by law permitted to own any slave. Nor is this the only distinctive prohibition ; for hy law neither Christian nor Jew ought to appear riding in the streets of Baghdad. In the days of Daood Pashah they did not dare to show themselves mounted, either on horses, mules, or donkeys; but in the more lax times of Allee, these rules are sometimes broken through and trespasses overlooked. I need scarcely add that Englishmen, indeed Franks in general, are 278 WOMEN'S WALKING DRESS. Ye the fic inexh kragic draina sors ARE shroud exarte the we exempted from these restrictions, and may ride as freely as they please. Another and scarcely more pleasing feature in the crowd which frequents the bazaars, appears in the visions in dark blue with black masks, which slip about in little yellow boots, and which you are told are women. Heaven knows, disguised thus, they appear like anything rather than the fairest part of the crea- tion. Their great wrappers of dark blue, or blue and white cloth enveloping the person from head to foot, effectually conceal both figure and dress, while a veil of black but thinly woven, horse-hair, protects the wearer's face completely from the regard of passers by, at the same time that she can see perfectly all that passes before her. I have laughed when acci- dent has occasionally removed one of these dark skreens, to see behind it a face still blacker than the friendly mask; but sometimes it does also happen that the lovely face of some youthful Georgian lurks under the envious veil, and I have felt a strong in- clination to stretch forth a sacrilegious hand, and withhold for a moment the eclipse of a vision so delightful, yet so rare in these parts--the sight of female beauty ;-in fact no better disguise than these hideous shrouds, with which females when they go abroad deform themselves, could have been invented by Oriental jealousy to scare away prying eyes and damp the spirit of libertinism. In them youth and age, deformity and beauty, wear the same aspect, and the idea suggested by every female thus clothed is that of a frightful old hag; clad in the garb of poverty and meanness. apartina KOID, share ] depen IN K Guld ing that કુનું MO INTERIOR OF THE HAREMS. 279 Yet does this uninviting exterior, in fact, protect the forbidden fruit from longing eyes ? Alas! the inexhaustible tales of love and of intrigue, with the tragical catastrophes which generally close these dramas of romance and crime, tell a far different story, and prove, too surely, that the maddening force and consequence of pent-up passions in these, as in all other countries, is the same. In fact, full well is it known that these forbidding veils do often shroud the choicest beauties of the harem-young and lovely women, and, whether fair or otherwise, as gorgeously apparelled as the means of father or of husband can afford. It is on the persons and apartments of his women that the Turk lavishes the wealth he fears to display abroad. His public apartments may be mean, the carpets old and worn, the cushions soiled and threadbare, nay, the shawl which wraps his head or waist may be shabby, or only an imitation of the true Cashmere; but, depend upon it, the chambers of the forbidden place are not only comfortably, but luxuriously furnished. Could you enter there, you would see the carpets of Herât and Kermanshah, the numuds of Khaeen and Tuft; the chintzes of India or of England; the broad cloths of Yorkshire and Gloucestershire, and the silks of China, of Yezd, or of Cashân, ornament- ing, or rendering comfortable the apartments of his women. You would see their heads covered with the finest shawls of Cashmere, or the richest bro- caded handkerchiefs of Lyons; their persons clad in the most gorgeous velvets, and wrapped in the most expensive furs. You would observe their 280 AND FEMALE HABILIMENTS. some broid Wet hid b hine their ladies expen lez , worn ears, their foreheads, and their necks, glittering with jewels; their hair entwined with pearls, their fingers covered with sparkling rings, and their whole appearance, as well as all around them, denoting wealth and luxury. Nothing, indeed, can be more splendid in colour or material, than the dress of the Turkish ladies of Baghdad ; but I fear that, without accurate draw- ings, it would be almost impossible to convey to you an idea of their costume. So far as I can learn, the Turkish fair one wears, in the first place, a long chemise of some fine gauze-like stuff of silk of various colours, which opens in front nearly to the girdle being clasped at the neck with some rich jewel. This chemise is very handsomely embroidered round the neck and down the bosom, and its long loose sleeves, which appear hanging out from the open wrists of the vest, are beautifully worked with gold and silver and various-coloured silks. Over this, when not sufficiently rich, a sort of front still more exquisitely adorned, and extend- ing from the neck to beneath the waist, is worn by some; but I suspect this piece of dress is chiefly used to conceal a deficiency of fineness in the shift. Over the chemise, is worn a long-skirted vest, fitting tight to the shape, so far as the waist, with tight sleeves, which, however, are left open nearly as far as the elbow. This is made of all sorts of rich stuffs, silks flowered and plain, brocades, shawls, velvets, &c. and ornamented with embroidery of every kind, according to the taste of the wearer. Over this some wear a short jacket of similar stuff, lined with Canal red fie ika neral &DE chen Issun int ines chie star fab d HEAD-DRESS. 281 some fine fur, sable or ermine, and also richly em- broidered: but I am told it is now more fashion- able to use the kiurk, as it is called, or long gown of fur. The large long trousers, which are nearly hid by the rest of the dress, are usually of some fine and gorgeously coloured silk. But it is in their head-dress and jewels, that the Turkish ladies chiefly show their taste for elegance and expense. The former, which is here called Bash- logue, is usually formed of either one or two silk handkerchiefs, or a shawl, wound round the fez, or red cap, the national covering for the head, worn by all Turks, Christians, and Jews, male or female, under the Sultan's rule. It is composed of red felt or cloth, having a large tassel of blue floss silk at top, and those worn by the ladies are ge- nerally very tastefully embroidered with pearls. Sometimes the colour of both tassel and cap is changed to suit the wearer's fancy. Around this the shawl or handkerchiefs are wound in forms assuredly far superior to any I have seen exhibited in the toques or turbans of ladies at home. The finest handkerchiefs made use of are, I believe, chiefly from the looms of Lyons, although very beautiful ones are made and embroidered at Con- stantinople ; but I can neither describe to you nor exaggerate the exquisite taste and delicacy of their fabric. They are of all textures and hues, covered in the most tasteful manner with wreaths of flowers, embroidered in every shade of delicate colour, min- gled with gold and silver. These are so twisted and disposed, by winding them round the head, as to 282 JEWELS. and CE down ween abund uzspea? waist is a boss of the poor ce are, or W] nas , ti make display the embroiders to the best advantage, and yet without the smallest appearance of art or constraint, and the end is made to hang down, on the left side, with an easy and peculiarly graceful fall. The shawls used are always the finest Cashmeres, and are fringed with gold and silver ornaments, or pearls and other jewels. In putting on this head- dress, the hair is so platted and wound about the turban as to form of itself an ornament, and one or two long braids hang down behind, and end in a tassel of gold coins or jewels. On one side, under the turban, but so as to come partly into view, a rope of strings of pearl, looped together with pre- cious stones, is hung and twisted with the hair ; and quantities of pearls, in various forms, are hung around' besides, according to the taste or caprice of the wearer. As to the jewels most commonly worn-how shall I describe them in all their variety of form, and place, and colour! There is the jikah, or pine-shaped ornament placed on one side, and the teeta on the other, and the Aeen-e-goonee in front, depending towards the forehead, all of dia- monds, and rubies, and emeralds. And then there are a thousand smaller butterflies, and clasps, and pins, and pendants, not to be enumerated or de- scribed. In short, the Turkish lady's head-dress, with its full portion of jewels, forms a rich and dazzling whole, which strikes you at once as gor- geous, beautiful, and tasteful, but which mocks description. Then the ears are furnished with pendants, and a number of necklaces, diamonds, emeralds, pearls, every stand If hands like perm and- pret dere cept nich to bue to THE TOUTE-ENSEMBLE. 283 and chains of gold, encircle the throat, and fall down upon the bosom. The arms, midway be- tween the shoulder and elbow, are bound with ba- zubunds, or armlets, which are generally of great value; the wrists, in like manner, glitter with an unspeakable quantity and variety of bracelets. The waist is encircled with a zone of velvet clasped with a boss of gold and precious stones, the zone itself, of the rich, being set round with diamonds; the poor content themselves with less valuable stones and fine work in gold. To conclude, the fingers are, one and all, covered with innumerable rings, set with stones of finest size and rarest water, nay, the very toes are jewel-clad, and if they do not, like those of the lady in the nursery rhyme, make music, they at least sparkle and glitter with every movement, and thus doth the Turkish lady stand' or move, a thing of dazzling light and lustre. I forgot to mention, among the ornaments of the hands and feet, a curious sort of ring worn upon the thumbs and great toes, it is shaped somewhat. like half a thimble, the broad side being worn up- permost, and set with brilliants or other jewels; and-I beg pardon, there are the slippers—the pretty little useless. slippers—equal to those of Cin- derella, but you shall see a pair. These are sus- ceptible of any ornament which suits the taste or riches of the beauty whose feet they scarcely serve to protect from the rich carpet on which she treads, but as they are only used in moving froin one room to another it is of less consequence. Froin all this, you will perceive that the dress 284 MENTAL QUALIFICATIONS. great visits 2 can be who women seldom with bild. aunts , and IL or sma friend enterte Warnie Tisit of a Turkish lady not only is very gorgeous and magnificent, but that its cost may be indefinitely increased according to the owner's means, as its style of ornament may be varied according to her taste. I wish I could add that the minds of the fair wearers were as highly adorned by accomplish- ments as their persons are by dress. But from all the accounts I have been able to gather, this is far, very far being the case. In fact, the ignorance, frivolity, and indelicacy of the women of rank in Baghdad is stated to be painfully remarkable, nor is it easy to conceive how it should be otherwise ; for what opportunities of improvement can they have, either from example or precept? What mo- dels have they to imitate? Trained up to please a master, who, in his domestic character, is often little better than a brute; to dress, and paint, and smile, and constrain themselves to suit the humour of their lord, who could not, and would not value any exhibition of intellect or mental power in his married slave, what better is to be expected than that they should, for the most part, become soulless, mindless puppets ? So far as I can ascertain, they have no occupa- pations, at home, except those, if such they can be called, of dressing, arranging their clothes and jewels, smoking, and drinking coffee, gossiping with their slaves, or with the Jew women who come to furnish them with stuffs, toys, and jewels. They play with their children when they have any, but they have no notion of educating them ; that duty is left to the share of nurses and gouvernantes. Their plies tation from O chan or h worte begi the hou the ang VISITS. 285 great pleasure is in visiting one another, and their visits are sufficiently characteristic, if such an epithet can be justly made use of in speaking of beings who nearly make good the libel of Pope upon women, by having “no characters at all!” They seldom, if ever, proceed to a visit alone, or even with but one or two attendants. A whole house- hold, of perhaps two or three wives, with sisters, aunts, cousins, daughters, slaves, servants, children, and nurses, make a move at once like a little colony or small flight of locusts, and settle down upon some friend or neighbour, who must bide the brunt and entertain the whole flock- a matter which, as due warning is not always given, especially when the visit is made by the great, is frequently no easy task, so that there is no small hurry-skurry and runnings to the bazaars and to neighbours for sup- plies of the requisites for an entertainment. A visi- tation of this sort does, not unfrequently, include from forty to fifty of these gay souls. On such an occasion whatever business there may chance to be must come to a stand the hostess or hostesses and their slaves must perforce strike work, and it becomes a general holiday. Then begins the clatter of tongues and the laughing and the gossip; for, roused from the ennui of their own house, or the constraint of their husbands' presence, the Turkish fair ones can at least be gay enough; and being gay, there are not more noisy beings in the world. I really have no wish to be unjust or justly, severe - nor indeed to say aught but the truth; but the voices of the women here seem all 286 LADIES AND DONKEYS. mar and than time hear ties, form of of with more encore are Euro to be formed on one scale, and that is, the roar of an Arab who converses with a friend at the other extremity of a crowded bazaar. They all scream and halloo at such a pitch, that when they all speak together, as is generally the case, the effect somewhat surpasses the uproar made by their donkeys below, which is not saying a little, — yea, verily, I suspect on the whole, that of the donkeys is the more sufferable of the two; and this I do not take altogether on information ; for, in passing in the street by a house honoured by the presence of a female party, I have listened to the noise of both, and really the palm appeared to rest with the ladies. But they are not altogether content with their own noise, nor with the delights of their own conversation. They must have singers and dancers to assist ; and, to be sure, when these are in full swing, and the chorus of applause bursts from the assembly, it is the very perfection of uproar-old Babel in its confusion was but a joke to it. I wish their noisy and untuneful voices were the worst point in the beauties of Baghdad. But, un- educated as they are, it is their indelicacy, their meanness, and gross inquisitiveness that are most calculated to disgust persons of more cultivated minds. It is dangerous to let a party of them loose among choice and curious things; for they fall upon them tooth and nail, put them in utter dis- order, or pull them to pieces ; long for them,—nay, ask for them, and sometimes very unceremoniously, -occasionally even by stealth, possess themselves of what they admire. As for their conversation, it is bless for they to } turt Giac MU I hei th th so to MORAL QUALITIES. 287 marked by anything rather than reserve or delicacy, and in point of subject can of course soar no higher than the limited sphere of their education and scope of their minds. A lady-like carriage they are some- times said to have, and many of them are kind- hearted and good-humoured ; and I fancy these quali- ties, with individual exceptions, which no doubt exist, form the chief sum of their social virtues. The germs of others may have been born with them, but have withered through neglect, or been smothered by the more luxuriant growth of hypocrisy, and frivolity encouraged by the state of society to which they are unhappily confined. Well may the women of Europe, and of England in particular, bless that kind Providence which has preserved them from so degraded a condition, and well may the men of these more favoured realms be thankful for the blessing they enjoy in partners fitted in all respects for the high state of intellectual refinement which they have attained. Let both lay these blessings to heart, and be cautious how they consent to dis- turb too far or rashly a social system which, under God, has been the means of bestowing on them so much happiness. I have said nothing of the lower orders of women here, because they are more or less the drudges which necessity makes them in all countries. As they rise in the scale of wealth and ease they imitate their superiors. In the streets, you see the Arab women going about unveiled and in very mean garb, covered with the eternal abba, their persons stained with innumerable blue tattooed marks, and 288 MEN'S ATTIRE. PE 01 a the married ones bearing on the side of one nostril a gold or silver ornament, like an immense filigree- work button, and anklets and bracelets of silver or brass, according to their means. The Armenian and Catholic women dress, I believe, pretty much as the Turks do; but the Jewesses have a different attire, of which I am ignorant, and the Armenians of other places have also their peculiar costume. All the female costumes of Baghdad vary, I am inform- ed, considerably from those of Constantinople. After this long treatise on female dress, you will probably excuse me from entering into a particular detail of that of the men. The two predominating costumes are those of the Turk and of the Arab. The former wears a loose vest tied round the waist with a shawl, over which is thrown a benêsh, or cloak of broad cloth, generally embroidered. In cold weather he wears a jacket, or coat lined with fur beneath this, and a large turban of white muslin or shawl round his head, The Arab dress, I have already described ; and have only further to add, that the mixture of garbs and colours, with the glitter of arms and appointments, make a tolerably amusing and lively display. ac to 0 289 prostril igree er or 7 and eh as Ferent nians All LETTER XII. orm- will ular Visit to the Pashah-his Appearance and Character.-Murderous Passages.— The Kiayah and his officers.—Disgusting Clamour of Servants for Presents. The Pashah's Avarice and Credulity regarding the Transmutation of Metals.-An adroit Adept and a successful Experiment.—Dervishes-their three classes the Collegiate - the Endemic – the Peripatetic. - Story of Maamoon-ul-Mustapha.- Visit to the invulnerable Dervishes- their Tricks and Impositions. Visit to the Shrine of Sheikh Abdul Kâder. - The Nugeeb. - The Shrine and Mosque. - The Roman Catholic Church and Vicar. ting Lrab. waist 7, 01 lo with slin ive . che oly I HAD almost forgotten to mention to you, that a day or two after my arrival here, I went to wait upon Allee Pashah, for whom I had brought a letter from a certain Sheikh-ul-Islam, or some very ortho- dox person at Tabreez. I met with a reception courteous enough ; but assuredly nothing less ex- pressive of state could well be imagined than the attendance about his Highness, nor of dignity than his manner and appearance. The entry to his dwelling, for palace it could scarcely be called, is as mean as possible, and the attendants that appeared were quite in keeping with the place --- a few shabby-looking Albanians, some Turks smoking, and a knot or two of ill-clad ill- looking officials ; nor was the person who ushered VOL. I. U 290 THE PASHAH. I was info Mop! tend the beaten ari de regul Har him, sides of t o late terthele runder bandred la fit us into his presence much better. We found there a fat man about fifty years of age, clad in a fur beneesh, with a fez upon his head, sitting in a very moderately furnished outer apartment, open on one side entirely to the court. There was a tolerable carpet on the floor, and the cushions and musnud we sat on were covered with crimson silk. The Pashah was a fat man, as I have said, with a good deal of the Tartar countenance, but not an unpleasing manner. He conversed with me a good deal, speaking Turkish to my Persian ; and on the whole, was well enough for a Pashah : but there were too many persons present to admit of his open- ing out, as I was told he was likely to have done had we been alone. The room was well filled with persons in Turkish, Arab, Persian, and Koordish dresses, and there was no want of talkers; but as little is to be gained from such conversation, I rose as soon as propriety permitted ; and, taking leave of his Highness, went to call on the Kiayah, who sat in a dark room down a passage sombre enough looking, at some distance. It is in these dark pas- sages, in the serais of Princes and Pashahs, that so many murders are committed. A poor fellow, suspecting nothing as he passes along them, has a shawl thrown round his neck from behind, is jerked on his back, and strangled before he can utter an « Allah !” or an Albanian from a side-door dis- charges a blunderbuss into his abdomen, or shoots a pistol-bullet through his brain, and no more about it till the headless trunk is seen exposed in the maidaun. Something of this sort had occurred, as A veru smoked and I tuleh mather t vrstar ST TAN YG tere & pletely fine W sha Teat THE KIAYAH. 291 I was informed, but a short while since in this very passage; I got through it safely, however, and found the Kiayah, who had been the general of the beaten army, sitting in his corner, with a colonel of the regulars and an officer of the Albanian horse near him, besides a host of nondescripts lining three sides of the room, come to congratulate him upon his late exploits, I suppose ; for by their own ac- count, it would appear, that though they fled they nevertheless performed great things. The com- mander of the artillery swears that he fired five hundred rounds from his guns, and that each round killed fifteen of the enemy. He does not say more, as he likes to be within the mark, and to be be- lieved : nevertheless, somehow or other, they were forced to retreat that he admitted. A very short visit here sufficed : we took coffee, smoked a pipe or two — at least they did, not I- and I made my retreat from the serai, beset by a whole host of his Highness's servants with demands rather than requests for presents, preferred in the most importunate tone. This, both here and at Constantinople, is a most disgusting nuisance; but it is worse here. All the servants of any great man you may visit here expect to be fed, or to re- ceive some present from the stranger, and so com- pletely has this abominable custom become part of the system, that servants lay their account with such fees as part of their wages, and to avoid com- pliance is impossible. Every one has some point to gain, and pays accordingly. Employés fee the great man's servants that they may secure friends U 2 292 MORE OF ALLEE PASHAH. propen respone Ama derated spends trepic ba cFerred ogle that se catre Dit , O present tuned at court, while they in turn are tipt by their own hangers on; and thus has it become so universal a custom, that one cannot make a common visit with- out feeing the whole household. At the serai, it is absolutely abominable : the numberless attend- ants beset one like banditti; and to such an extent is the compulsion carried, that the soldiers on guard will sometimes cross their bayonets and refuse to let you pass until you come down with your coin. I know not whether I should return to the subject of the Pashah, as it is one on which I have little agreeable to say ; but a sketch of Baghdad, however slight, would be very incomplete without a few strokes of the pencil devoted to describe its present master. The exterior of Allee Pashah I have al- ready given you. His mind is not more attractive than the casket which enshrines it. He is weak of judgment, infirm of purpose, irresolute in action, gross in his appetites, selfish and avaricious. It is said that he is not naturally disposed either to cru- elty or injustice, but dislikes so much to have his mind disturbed by exertion of any sort that, rather than submit to such annoyance, he will suffer others, unchecked, to commit the grossest crimes ; so that his servants take advantage of this weakness and his avarice to oppress the people, assured that he will quarrel with nothing which brings him money and leaves him at rest. He is said to be good- natured and possessed of considerable literary ac- quirements; and I have heard from good authority that his Turkish verses are far from despicable ; but he is altogether a person of low and grovelling :X the bel bis $ ALCHYMY. 293 propensities, and totally unfit for the high and very responsible situation he holds. Amongst other pursuits, the Pashah is greatly devoted to the science of alchymy, and it is said spends much money upon Dervishes, Kalendars, and other adventurers, who pretend to be adepts therein. If report may be trusted, it is not altogether spent in vain ; for there is a man now here, who, it is averred, has actually succeeded in transmuting brass into gold, and lead into silver. You may be sure that such a report was enough to awaken curi- osity, and I resolved, if possible, to see the alchy- mist, or at least some one of the persons in whose presence the transmutation had been performed. It turned out, upon inquiry, that the experiment had been made before the Pashah himself and an Italian, a M. de Marquez,* who had charge both of the mint and the arsenal, under the late Pashah, and has been continued in the same by the present, and who is moreover an exceedingly clever person. From this gentleman I received an account of the business, which, if it does not absolutely confirm all that was reported, at least serves to prove that the Pashah has to deal with no common impostor. The man, who is an Arab, and who had been working in the laboratory for several months past in preparing his elixirs, &c. and who had received a good deal of money for the purpose of carrying on the work, at length announced that he was ready to make trial of his art. More than sceptical on the subject, or * I do not know whether I have written this gentleman's name correctly or not. 294 THE EXPERIMENT, ing bra rtglied had no gitar and con ih DETEC we fou mbole and SU believing only in the roguery of the adept, M. de Mar- quez resolved to watch the process very closely, in order to detect the imposition, weighed with his own hands and put into the crucible the brass which was to be transmuted, and which he himself had provided ; the charcoal made use of he likewise examined; and the process was conducted with the apparatus and in the laboratory of the mint. In the course of the work, the man required a certain and very small portion of white and yellow arsenic, and M. de Marquez, in order to prevent possibility of any trick, sent for the article to a shop that he could depend upon for providing it genuine. He even put it into the cru- cible himself, nor did the adept approach it at all except to put in a small quantity of a certain powder --less than that of a small pinch of snuff-which he took from a little box with a small spoon, like an ear-picker. M. de Marquez himself poured out the melted metal when ready, and took possession of it. On examining it when cool, he saw that a portion of it, which adhered to the mass in clots and pervaded it in lines, had actually become gold. This mass he weighed; and finding it somewhat heavier than the brass which he had put in, he demanded of the Arab how this had come to pass. The man in- stantly put him in mind of the arsenic which had been added, and which, united with the brass, would make up the exact amount. M. de Marquez after- wards performed the same experiment himself, and found that the result was as the adept had said. The mass was then submitted by M. de Marquez to the action of aqua fortis, which dissolved the remain- as such are pi Bull m his AND TRANSMUTATION. 295 1 ing brass but left the gold untouched-this being weighed proved to amount to one-third of the whole mass. On being requested to state why the whole had not undergone transmutation, the adept ex- plained that the process was only an experiment and consequently imperfect, being but the second (I think) he had made with these materials. The next he expected, if not quite complete, would leave little imperfect; and that when by these means he should have found the just proportions of his materials, the whole mass subjected to their influence would un- doubtedly be transmuted. The gold being assayed and subjected to the touchstone in the Bazaar, proved to be perfectly good and marketable metal. No was M. de Marquez's general character ren- ders it absurd to suppose that he should connive at such a fraud as we must suppose this Arab to have practised — his place and profits being too valuable, independent of character, to risk for the paltry advantage he could expect to realize from such unworthy means-I find myself bound to credit his story, and do, in fact, implicitly believe it, although it may only serve to show the extreme adroitness of the legerdemain which could baffle the acuteness of a remarkably clever person so fully on his guard to detect it. M. de Marquez was too cautious to venture a decided opinion on the sub- ject ; he only declared his resolution of watching the adept's movements, particularly in the course of a still larger experiment which was to be made in a few days. I expressed a strong wish to be present at this experiment, but on inquiry and 296 THE ALCHYMIST. De been i attemp sile meside greatly which lered dne Of cants Narcit onger consideration' the attempt was given up, as it could not have been done without the risk of exciting the Pashah's jealousy in a point on which he was peculiarly sensitive. I afterwards learned that the result had been rather à failure, and the man ex- pressed a desire for permission to go to the Koordish hills I think, to gather certain materials of which he was in want; but the Pashah refused to let him leave the city, suspecting, no doubt, that he might not find his way back. A strange thing this mix- ture of faith and mistrust! The Pashah hopes and strongly believes in the success of the man's attempts; and yet, overlooking the very things that should open his eyes and destroy these hopes, he clings to them in the face of his better judgment. We went one day to visit the alchymist in his workshop. He was a stoutish common-looking fellow, with nothing of genius in his looks or of boldness in his address. He had just taken from the furnace a crucible of white-hot stuff, a dose for the prince of the lower regions himself, in point of abominable stench, and it threw out a succession of brillant scintillations, as if it had a mind to destroy us all for our impertinent curiosity. The man was at the time in a sort of honourable confinement, and I suspect that if he does not soon manage to return some of the Pashah's money in the shape of gold ingots, he may as well turn his inquiries to the discovery of rendering him- self invulnerable, or proof against the bowstring; as in all probability, a more protracted disappointment of his Highness's expectations, may lead to an in- timate acquaintance between his neck and that in- strument. 酬 ​聊聊​伽​融​财​网 ​叫​M 丽 ​they part WO Wb to TI of FAKEERS, DERVISHES, ETC. 297 De Marquez told us, that several such persons had been induced by the Pashah's avaricious credulity to attempt the same game; of these some had fallen into the net they had spread for his Highness, while others had succeeded in cheating him of considerable sums. He lamented this credulity greatly, while he obviously despised the weakness which caused it; and it was evident that he be- lieved the adventurer of whom I have been speak- ing, would turn out at least as much of an impostor and rogue as the rest. Of Fakeers, Kalendars, Dervishes, and mendi- cants and vagabonds of all descriptions, there is no scarcity in Baghdad - it is indeed their proper and congenial home; and though they do not all pro- fess to make gold, they contrive to pick a com- fortable enough livelihood out of the charity and superstition of the faithful here. There are, besides the wandering brethren, several colleges of these people here, as at Constantinople, and these, too, handsomely endowed. The members of these so- cieties do not openly or clamorously beg, although they do not refuse the gifts of the charitably dis- posed ; but they elicit money by various means, particularly the performance of pretended miracles. Not only do they give charms against illness, wounds, and evils of all kinds; but there is a class who assert that they themselves are invulnerable to steel and incapable of being burned by fire. These fellows assemble every Friday at the tomb of a certain saint of their order, and exhibit their miracles to the wondering people, who come and 298 CLASSES OF DERVISHES. sharp í furnishe Jaduce Athe hrmn i lar me death and go E QUE 叫​批 ​wo and 600.- gaze upon the saintly conclave. But before giving you an account of a visit I myself paid to these fanatics, I am tempted to transcribe for your edifica- tion a few particulars respecting the Dervishes of Baghdad, which I abridged from some papers of a friend upon that subject. Of Dervishes in this place, it appears that there are three great bodies : -- first, The Collegiate, or endowed Dervishes ; secondly, The miscellaneous mendicants, who may be termed Endemic ; and thirdly, The Kalendars or Peripatetic saints. The Collegiate Dervishes are maintained by reve- nues, which are respected by even the worst of governors; some of them are men really devoted to study and contemplation, others are fanatic enthu- siasts, while the greater number are sensualists, drunkards, or eccentric fools. They wear a conical felt, or quilted cotton, cap, fringed occasionally with coral, or adorned with needle-work of coloured thread, a dark coat and sandals. They carry occa- sionally an iron mace or axe, and a black vessel hollowed from the fruit of a species of palm, which they suspend by a leathern thong. They are also marked on some part of the body with the sign peculiar to their avocation and order, and have a particular sign and countersign. The members of their respective colleges are bound, on every Friday eve at least, to assemble in a circle before their superior, in a place which is open to the numerous devotees and curious spec- tators of the city. In the middle are placed brasiers of lighted charcoal, with swords, daggers, and long 10 and WINCI sh krat pers the and the the ing DANCE OF DERVISHES. 299 sharp iron spikes fixed on thick handles of wood furnished with numerous movable iron rings, which produce a jingling sound when agitated. A brother of the order sings to a mournful measure some hymn in praise of the Deity, expressed in dim pecu- liar metaphysical terms; or a sacred elegy on the death and sufferings of some martyr, accompanied and governed by the vibrations of a tabret sounded by some other of the fraternity. For a time all is quiet and solemn; but at length one or more of the brethren slowly rises, and slightly rocking to and fro, repeats the words “ Haq! haq! Hoo! hoo!- Hoo-ul-Haq!” meditating at the same time on the perfections of the Divinity, his movements become accelerated, and form themselves gradually into gyrations, until from the velocity of his motions and the violent rapidity of his exclamations, his lips become covered with foam, his eyes closed and pro- minent, his long locks form a sort of halo round his head, his face becomes livid by exertion, and at length he falls exhausted, inanimate, and bathed in perspiration. Excited by the sight, others follow this example of adoration, until the profane spectators around, inflamed almost to frenzy, rush forward to inhale the breath and receive the blessing of the superior; and seizing the swords, daggers, and spikes, cold or heated, on the brasier, brandish them aloft with the dance and gestures of Bacchanals, and striking their bodies with the weapons, or passing the burn- ing irons over their own faces, with invocations to some patron saint or martyr, or the word Hoo! 300 FRENZY AND CRAFT, You veral ile dan in wor pretend allusion The Vic- large , assume fame, objects texto are as at length fall to the earth, some wounded and streaming with blood, some unhurt, but rolling like men possessed, some torpid and immovable. The wounded in this conflict of knavery with enthu- siasm and devotion, are held to have suffered for unexpiated sins; while the pure, aided by the breath and blessing of the superior, have escaped unhurt. Serious accidents often arise from these exhibitions, which are repeated at the will and caprice of any scheming Seyed, whenever he may choose to tax the sincerity of his disciples, or increase the influence of his saintly character and spiritual authority. Begging is rare among this order ; but when they do condescend to solicit alms, it is merely by the repetition of the word “ Haq!” or “Hoo !” in a sharp or deep sonorous tone, and few disregard the sacred appeal, such refusal being supposed to be invaribly followed by misfortune to some of the family. They alone can gain access into the inmost court or recesses of a dwelling, fearless of punish- ment and regardless of hinderance; and hence their power of depredation or of gaining information which sometimes appears miraculous. miraculous. Some of this order have been so completely led away by the force of imagination, and perhaps by the effects of repeated assumption of supernatural power, as publicly to assert themselves to be the Divinity himself, ex- claiming continually “ An-ul-Haq!” — “I am the Truth!”—that is, the Eternal Author of truth. But this audacity, when incurable, has always been punished by the temporal powers of Islam with death. spare beard. lina la ande elera tione pour to BEGGING DERVISHES. 301 You will observe that these observations include several sorts of Collegiate Dervishes—that is, both the dancing and whirling Dervishes, often described in works on Constantinople ; "the howling Der- vishes," who are also found there ; and those who pretend to invulnerability, to whom I have made allusion above. The second class, which has been termed En- demic,--that is, spread abroad among the people at large, is to be found in most Eastern cities. These assume numerous garbs and guises, suiting their cos- tume, manner, eloquence, and gestures to the different objects from whom they hope, by these instruments, to extract alms. Their appearance, therefore, and air are as various as possible : one, for instance, a quaint spare creature, with skin deeply embrowned, black beard, and mustachios nicely trimmed, neatly attired in a clean white cotton turban, brown camel's wool vest, bare feet, and staff in hand, but eyes sightless and sunken in a still expressive face, advances with elevated visage, although with doubtful and cau- tious gait; and in a pleasing tenor voice, chants forth as follows :-"O ye debtors of the Almighty ! give to me of his bounty and he will release you from your debts ! — ye that are sorrow-laden re- joice the heart of his servant, and he will temper your griefs.” His audience mingle their gifts with jokes and sneers, which the Dervish receives with patience, and retires with the alms he has obtained to his corner in the mosque, at once his place of abode, of meditation, and of prayer, and where he 302 BEGGARS. in a ba this and ac The lendar as wel mce. the m Their mi morale over soon recovers the use of his eyes, until it becomes necessary again to stimulate the faithful to an ex- ertion of their charitable sympathies. A second, a squat and well-conditioned fellow, with a thick, short, grizzled beard, a chubby face, and small oblique grey eyes overshadowed by shaggy brows, a large thick-lipped mouth, with huge straggling omnivorous fangs; his person clad in white cotton, over which he wears a white Arab abba, stops at the gate of some wealthy-looking mansion, and from his deep lungs bellows forth a eulogy on the Prophet, combined with praise of divine benevolence, and charity to the naked, the hungry, and the needy. He is sure of his mark, two Nubian slaves, a male and female, rush forth towards the portal with different purpose- the first to drive away the intruder, the second to afford him assistance. The clamour of the dis- putants is added to the howlings of the mendicant'; but the female prevails, and the good things of the mansion's owner are poured into the ready wallet of the sturdy beggar. A third may be seen, a lank shadowy being, with loose sinewless limbs-a perfect skeleton, a speci- men of how, nearly the living may resemble the dead. Toothless, hairless, dim-eyed, clothed in a bundle of rags, without a staff to sustain his trem- bling limbs, he drags his half-inanimate carcass from door to door; and, extended on the earth, he leaves appearances to plead his wants. Pitied and relieved, he is at length sent to his wretched home TOW They the p MAN mau moni Wulo That T TOU W sh he of PERIPATETICS. 303 race. in a basket ; but it is only to return on the morrow to his haunts, again to move the public compassion, and again to be relieved. The third class, that of the Peripatetics, or Ka- lendars, is composed generally of the best-informed, as well as the most energetic and youthful of the These are the alchymists, the astrologers, the mantists, the schismatics of the pauper world. Their fortune is ever changing, but their presence of mind is ever found equal to every emergency. They are generally mystics in religion, of pliant morals, quick apprehension, ready wit, firm courage, and vigorous frames. They are fond of throwing over their shoulders the untanned skins of lions, tigers, or antelopes. They suffer their locks to grow at will, or twist them up into fantastic shapes. They are seldom without arms; and counting on the proneness of devotees to a belief in the super- natural, they are always well provided with the means of producing some striking chemical pheno- mena; with philtres, charms, and various instru- ments of divination, to aid their pretensions to pro- phetic skill. The history of Seyed Maamoon-ul-Mustapha, a young man born in one of the valleys of Assyria, affords a good specimen of the spirit of this class. While under process of being educated for a Mool- lah, he was seized with a desire to travel; and in spite of the remonstrances of his family, left his house. He was a tall, stout, fine-looking youth, of fair complexion, and dark eyes, and he entered 304 SEYED MAAMOON-UL-MUSTAPHA. fected to ma invisib humar galder titione Tas ad Dany Thi Naam Sonne theid duced on his travels with a light heart and bright anti- cipations of future joys and wonders. After long wanderings among the Maugrabins, the supposed magicians of the Moslems, he was on his way to- wards the Joghees and Brahmins of India, when he entered Baghdad, and took up his abode in the college of Moostanser, attending the theological lectures at that time particularly delivered to zeal- ous sectarians. His mind, however, remained unsa- tisfied, his reason unconvinced. He felt himself superior to those around him; and at length, rest- less and objectless, he retired into the recesses of a neighbouring mosque, where he continued some days without tasting food. The keeper of the mosque, attracted by so sin- gular a piety, endeavoured to rouse him to go abroad in search of sustenance; but the result of the interview was, that he believed he had been dealing with a saint, and he declared himself a de- voted disciple of the ascetic, to whom he not only brought food, but inlisted the feelings of the neigh- bourhood in his favour. Maamoon contrived to maintain the deception of his miraculous nature of existence, by feeding on a very slender portion of the ample stores set within his reach, and his fame increased daily. Barren women craved his blessing and his charms, the blind besought him to restore their sight, the lame that he should restore the use of their limbs. The disappointed alchymist entreated for an effectual elixir ; neglected wives kissed his feet for attrac- tive philtres, and seekers after the supernatural ex- ibant che guch Ich Ingu mat 20 th be di h T SUCCESSFUL DECEPTION. 305 pected from him those miracles usually attributed to magic, such as riding in the air, the power of invisibilityof breathing flame-of transforming human beings into quadrupeds or birds — dust into golden sand, or counters into coin : but the strangest part of the delusion was the belief which each pe- titioner entertained, that what he himself wanted was actually granted, and the voice of the believing many drowned the murmurs of the doubting few. Things were in this state, when the assistance of Maamoon was solicited by a merchant, to recover some stolen property and point out the thief. A degree of modest diffidence only served to persuade the merchant of the holy man's power, and pro- duced an offer of large gifts to aid his previous en- treaties. But the saint was still coy, and the mer- chant's offers rose till they terminated in a surrender of house, establishment, and child, to the man of such pre-eminent sanctity and wisdom. Installed in the merchant's dwelling, Maamoon made minute inquiries into all the circumstances of time, place, and person, connected with the robbery, and inti- mated to the merchant that, on a certain day, he should assemble all his servants, in order to under- go the effect of certain incantations, which he then departed to prepare. Secluding himself from the whole family during the interval, he appeared at the appointed time before the subjects who were to undergo his exor- cisms, clad in garments of black silk, and wearing his own raven locks loose and dishevelled, so as nearly to conceal his face, bearing in one hand a VOL. I. X 306 AN INCANTATION. muscle Irco makin: culate The the sp oach orer ale ofer pour Th brazen pot of fire, and in the other à small dark- looking pouch of drugs and amulets. Of the drugs he silently threw a small portion on his censer, from whence there arose a dense smoke, and highly penetrating odour, which, acting in conjunction with the moral excitement of the scene upon his audience, who till then had been seated, caused them all simultaneously to start up with an ejacu- lation of “ Allah !” Even the owner of the stolen property, smitten with compassion for the terrible fate which seemed likely to await the yet unknown thief, bent forward, as if to arrest, if possible, the progress of the incantation ; but awe kept him silent, and the magician proceeded. Taking now from his pouch several dark-coloured billets, he steeped them in the perfume arising from the censer, and uttered in hollow tones, the follow- ing invocation :" Lord of all worlds! thou mighty Providence of nature! whose sacred essence per- vadeth all matter, grant to me now a portion of thy energy!” With these words he advanced to- wards the suspected persons, who had now become a prey to intense emotion. The symptoms were various, but striking in all; one remained standing upright, but his stiff arms, convulsively fixed to his sides, hard-shut mouth, fixed eyes, dry skin, and livid circle round his compressed and colour- less lips, betokened his mental agony. Another writhed like a snake, and every muscle worked convulsively, while drops of perspiration poured down his skin. In a third, every extremity was in motion, the lips worked involuntarily, and the man's thes herer Ver NOT the Wh DETECTED THIEVES. 307 muscles of the scalp writhed as if violently pulled by cords. A fourth fell upon the floor, foaming at the mouth, rolling in frightful agitation, and making ineffectual efforts, as it seemed, to arti- culate. The agony of the culprits, and the emotion of the spectators, warned Maamoon to bring the scene to a close. Leading, therefore, the merchant apart, he said, “ Permit a charitable veil to be thrown over guilt so clearly proved, and so severely pu- nished. Let each man, at midnight, cast a lapful of earth in the angle of the court beneath the polar star, and on the rising of the sun seek there for your property." The search was probably successful, as the holy man's fame, and the belief in the power of his spells, increased so greatly, that the first men of the state were numbered among his devoted ad- herents. Secrets of alchymy, charms against wounds or the chance of misfortunes, or loss of royal favour or of office, were eagerly demanded of him, with full confidence in their efficacy, and splendid rewards were offered by others for permission to partake in so enviable a species of power : but this was not the mystic's game; his power he declared was incommunicable, and unattainable by any, save those who were especially favoured by Providence. Such excuses, however, did not satisfy all ; and there were some who, disappointed or envious, resolved to watch the sage's proceedings more closely. Un- fortunately for himself success made him bold, and led him to practise his deceptions with less caution. X 2 308 PRESUMPTION PUNISHED. w il or hi hotel place dition are 1 knop fe HE anoth Suspicion aroused, soon increased, and circumstances came to light which led to conclusions very adverse to his character. A thirst of gain, too, growing by what it fed on, seduced him into acts of gross pe- culation and fraud, for which the confidence reposed in him by his disciples and other dupes, gave him ample scope : but the spell of his influence was al- ready broken ; exposure at length took place, and was rapidly followed by disgrace, punishment, and ruin. So much for the notes of my friend: I return to my own observations. I mentioned a visit which, in company with some of my Residency friends, I paid to a shrine frequented by the Dervishes who pretended to invulnerability, After a certain number of the Dervishes had as- sembled, and a very moderate audience, the former took their seats in a circle, remaining quiet and as in meditation for a while, when up started one of them, who stripped himself naked to the waist, and going into the tomb where the swords, daggers, and pikes were deposited, he seized two of the second, and began to parade up and down a small space surrounded by his brethren and the spectators. At first his motion was slow, as if wrapt in medi- tation ; but after a while he accelerated his pace, and began brandishing his weapons, until gradually his movements became leaps and bounds, and his arms were flourished about with a rapidity which almost mocked the sight. On watching him, how- ever, you saw that the daggers, at each movement, were raised and brought down upon his own person, 1983 Uya edig DOC the of # ar C 1 i | INVULNERABLE SAINTS. 309 as if he designed to wound his head, his shoulders, or his belly : but the daggers were curved, so that the points did not strike fairly; and he dexterously hit his sides with his arms, so as to stop the edge of the weapon from coming down directly upon the place aimed at. Besides, no one examines the con- dition of the weapons, which doubtless are not over sharp. With all these precautions, however, wounds are received, whether accidentally or by design, I know not; but when I saw the farce, one of the fellows was bleeding from the skin of the abdomen. He next seized a sword, or two, and the same frantic exercise was repeated, pretending to cut himself in various places. Nay, having placed the edge of the sword upon his stomach, he permited another to seize it by the hilt and point, clasp- ing him round the waist, and pressing the edge upon his person, and thus he actually raised and swung him round and round, the whole of his centrifugal force pressing his stomach against the edge of the weapon. It is asserted that they occasionally place the edge of a sword upon the stomach of one of their brethren, while lying on the ground on his back, and stamp upon the back of the weapon, and yet no wound is produced ; but this I did not see. Neither did I see them thrust- ing iron spikes, red hot or cold, into their eyes and other tender parts, as generally they affect and appear to do, without sustaining harm, so that I cannot say how that part of the exhibition is ma- naged; nor did I see any of the fire-proof miracles at all, such as seizing the said spikes while red hot, 310 SHEIKH ABDOOL KÂDER. degre arran saint. troop thous bred Moda E of to ty nou : and rubbing them over their bodies and faces; but I saw enough to convince me that the whole was a very impudent farce, got up to impose upon a most gullible auditory, and that the odium of ap- pearing to lack faith must be a very efficient pro- tection for these sanctified cheats, against the dan- gers of a too impertinent inquiry. On another occasion we paid a visit to the shrine of a very celebrated Soonee saint ; named Sheikh- Abdool-Kâder, to whose honour a most superb tomb and mosque have been erected here. To this shrine flock all the Indian pilgrims, as well as those from Affghanistan, Bockhara, and Toorkestan. It was not without some difficulty, or at least some questioning, that we obtained permission to view the interior of this holy edifice, which is under the control of a certain clerical officer, called a Nugeeb, or head of the saints of the place, and who is under- stood to be a lineal descendant of the original saint himself. It is a situation which once was far more important than since the inundation and the accession of Allee Pashah. Before these events, this quarter was inhabited by all the vagabonds and scoundrels of the place; fellows who, feeling in danger even of the lame arm of Baghdad jus- tice, sought refuge under the shadow of this great saint. It was here that all thieves and rogues were to be found all bullies and assassins. It was the “ Alsatia” of Baghdad, over which, and its worthy inhabitants, our friend the Nugeeb generally exer- cised a pretty fair portion of control; and they re- paid his protection by yielding him a certain limited In sh those rufia inide have It of ? be al 1 A NEST OF DESPERADOES. 311 degree of obedience, and by guarding the precincts of his dominions against all interlopers. In fact, few of the Pashahs dared ever to interfere with the arrangements of this nest of desperadoes and their saintly protector, far less to send either officers or troops against them. Even Daood Pashah, al- though a man not to be trifled with, as he showed by deposing the Nugeeb, and occasionally firing cannon into the quarter, in order to quell the spirit of turbulence that reigned their-even Daood could by no means work his will there; nor did he think fit to run the risk of rousing too far the spirit of religious fanaticism, by measures of extreme severity. In short, none dared to enter the quarter, except those who could make themselves welcome to the ruffians who resided there ; and as for a party of infidels like us approaching it, we might as well have proceeded against an army of mad bulls. It is true that Mr. Rich not only visited the Nugeeb, but was permitted to go through the place; but his way was smoothed by handsome presents to that great man, and since then only one party of Franks, we were assured, had ever entered its walls; and that since the period I have alluded to. But the scene had greatly changed—the plague had made a clean sweep of the ruffian inhabitants, and the inundation had dealt equally freely with almost every house in the quarter except the shrine itself and its immediate dependencies, which has experienced an increase of celebrity and sanctity for an immunity which it owed, no doubt, to the depth and solidity of its foundations—all else re- 312 THE NUGEEB. INC 110 2 MO 13 apa tea can whi DELE PK ad it maining were ruined walls, and the few new houses which have since arisen. The impudent defenders of the quarter are no more, and the quarter itself is open and free to whomsoever pleases to visit it. We were ourselves the third party who proposed to view the place, and the Nugeeb at first stickled for the same presents which he averred he had re- ceived from Mr. Rich; on my informing him, how- ever, that we were mere travellers who, though desirous of gratifying our curiosity, had no idea of paying so high for it, he returned a gracious message, and we went. He received us with a sort of condescending civility, in a miserable little room, the walls of which were of raw unplastered brick. If this was a show of humility, it was ill supported by his personal equipment, which was handsome and costly ; for he was clothed in rich silks and fine furs, and had on his head a magnifi- cent turban of cashmere shawl-somewhat incon- sistent in a dervish ; but saints and wullees are now- a-days privileged people, and this man is said to be extremely rich. His conversation was somewhat con- strained, and he uttered some sentiments expressive of self-denial, which assuredly did not come from the heart, as he is at bottom a notorious breaker of the law, especially in the article of strong liquors, of which he is a great admirer. Indeed, I take it, that when this Alsatia was in its glory there was more wine and arrak consumed here than in all the rest of the city put together. In person the Nugeeb was a large, tall, fair-complexioned Turk, with a high and nep ito ma M an1 bis $ fi THE SHRINE AND MOSQUE. 313 nose and prominent blue eyes, and his manner was not ungraceful. After pipes and coffee, the unfailing attendants on a Turkish visit, we repaired to the shrine and mosque, which were worth the trouble. The tomb is placed under a dome in an octagonal (or square) apartment ornamented as usual with laquered tiles, bearing verses from the Korân, and tolerably well carpeted, It is placed under a canopy of green silk and inclosed with a high railing of solid silver, which, strange to say, was the gift of a Jew. This person was the Serraff, or banker of one of the Pashahs, who one day accompanying his master on a devotional visit to the shrine, was informed that it was usual for strangers to make an offering, and asked what he was prepared to give. “Why,” replied he, “if such is the custom, I must follow it no doubt. Let me see-this railing is at present made of copper,—I will have it exchanged for one of silver.” The Jew's liberality was highly applauded, and he probably lost little by it in the end. The mosque is a very large building, partly occu- pied by verandahs and lateral oratories; but having in the centre a space right under the dome occupied by a fine large apartment of great altitude. This room, which is a square of, I should think, from seventy to eighty feet each way, is well lighted from above by windows, and furnished for night with a number of lamps depending from the ceiling. The lower part of the side-walls and mectáb, or read- ing place, are ornamented with laquered tiles, and 314 OLD MINARET. mai PE mot sorte the buil and som it is handsomely carpeted, so as altogether to have more the comfortable air of a gentleman's drawing- room than the chill solemnity so common to such places of worship. It is said that this mosque can conveniently accommodate three thousand persons at once at prayer. It is surrounded by a square of building, containing cells, like a caravanserai, in which pilgrims from various parts may dwell, and where they are fed from the revenues of the esta- blishment, which are said to be very large. Among the various Indians that were here I looked for some from those parts of the country with which I was acquainted, and particularly from Dehlee; but there were few such to be found. One only hailed from thence, and he had not been there since the days of Ochterlony ; but he had known the two Skinners, and a few others of my acquaintance ; and had it not been for a taint of that impudent air of assump- tion which these Dervishes so constantly assume, and which savours much of the ancient spirit of the quarter, I could have regarded him as a sort of old friend. Another of our peregrinations led us to ascend the old minaret already alluded to by Buckingham, from the top of which we had a capital view of the tops of the houses of Baghdad and some of the market places near, which were crowded with people; but as such a bird's-eye view of an Eastern town can- not be very interesting, except, perhaps, early in the morning, it did not detain us long, and so we went from thence to the house of a French clergy- www吼 ​咖​咖​加​邮 ​赋​加​础​姐 ​阿加 ​hola but tha tal S 1 FRENCH VICAR-GENERAL. 315 man, who is vicar-general of all the Catholics in this part of the world. His flock here, indeed, is small, not exceeding a thousand souls in Baghdad, of all sorts and ages : nor do the prospects or circumstances of the church of Rome appear to be improving in the East ; for he tells me that, of no less than five convents in Ispahan, there is only one that is not in ruins, and that one is, I believe, occupied by two servants. In the church here, a very poor building, there was but one object worth seeing ; and that was a picture which had been brought some considerable time before from Bussora, and which, so far as I could judge, was very beautiful. It was a Virgin and child, the latter standing and holding some flowers, or a bird, I think, in his hand; but the light was so bad, and it was so ill-placed, that there was no examining it without having it taken down. It appeared to me the style of Anni- bal Caracci, and was probably a copy from one by that master. I understood that it had been brought to Bussora by the Dutch some hundred years ago. Our friend the vicar was a pleasant enough but most talkative little man, who bemoaned himself sadly at having been left so long in this savage country, where he enacts not only the part of head of the Romish church, but that of agent to the Pope and for the French Government. But they all appear to be very bad paymasters, for he is forced to eke out his means by other methods. To this end he keeps a very tight hand over his flock, 316 A CONSCIENTIOUS PRIEST. and not a soul gets out of purgatory without a hand- some douceur being paid to the terrestrial agent. Nay, there is one family among them whom he contrives to keep pretty constantly in that uneasy state in this world, by denying to the head of it, who lately died, all exit from that limbo of puri- fication, until they pay him down a swinging sum for masses he declares that the man was a great sinner, and that his conscience will not permit him to release his poor soul without signal reparation. The and RE the it- QUE 00 the PL del bir an by S a 317 LETTER XIII. The City invested by the Aneiza.—Disorderly State of the Shrines and Sanctuaries—Causes thereof.Excesses of the Yerrim-mâses. -Death of the Shah of Persia. Roads infested by Banditti.- Reports. —Quarrel with the Ageil. - History of that Tribe- their Settlement in Baghdad—required by the Pashah to quit it. They refuse to move.— The Tribe musters.— The Bridge is cut and fighting commenced. - Various Reports. -- Application for the Resident's Boat - manned by the Turks. Fire drawn on the Residency.—Boat crosses.—Troops land.—A Rush along the Bridge.--Pillage and Uproar.-Rumours and Reports.- Plunder.--Ageil quit the Town.—Loss of the Troops—their Atrocities. Wednesday, 28th November. The game which was played by Suffook and his Jerboah is now in course of being played over again by the Aneiza. Baghdad, since our arrival, has been in a state of actual blockade. None can go beyond the walls for any distance without the greatest pro- bability of being plundered, particularly on the west side of the river. I was anxious to go to Agerkoof, a remarkable old ruin, contemporary with those of Babylon, and believed by Colonel Taylor to be the actual site of the Accad of Scripture; but our friends the Aneiza have made it one of their points d'ap- pui, and we dare not venture there. They have now stretched themselves across the Jezirah, from 318 PREPARATIONS AND NEGOTIATIONS. sian crea Alle zeal tre with there Bot mos Tu erer 200 doo bab? the f the Tigris to the Euphrates, occupying the road to Hillah, so that no one can go in that direction and in fact none is secure, for not only they, but every scoundrel, Arab, and thief belonging to and in the neighbourhood of Baghdad, is out plundering under their name. Many poor creatures have come in stripped naked, and no caravan that is not of great strength will proceed in any direction. The Pashah is said to be negotiating, and, ac- cording to his old policy, endeavouring to sow dis- sensions between the several divisions of the tribe ; he has called in another tribe too, as usual, the Zobeid (or Zuboid), to his assistance : this is de- struction to himself and to the country ; but it is his wretched policy. The Aneiza, however, or those who take their names, appear to pay little attention to these negotiations. Several of the Pashah's own officers have been stripped close to the gates, among others, one Eussuff Beg, who held the office of Bâb- ul-Arab - the gate of the Arabs, that is, the official means of communication between them and the government, and who was one of the Pashah's Musahebs, or privy counsellors; and this has so ex- asperated his Highness that he now says he will not treat at all. Only two days ago, too, firing was heard on the west side of the river, near Zobeidah's tomb: it turned out to be an Aneiza plundering party, that swept the country of camels, sheep, and cattle, up to the very walls. All this is severe on travellers, to whom, like myself, delay is both inconvenient and distressing. It is also particularly so upon the numerous Per- shr 11 ]] 0 $ 1 STATE OF THE SHRINES. 319 sian pilgrims, who come from distant parts, poor creatures ! to visit the tombs of Hoossein and of Allee at Kerbelah and Nujjeff Ashruff. Some whose zeal had tempted them to brave the clutches of the Arabs, have returned stripped to the skin, and without seeing the shrines; and if they did reach them, it appears that their chance of safety is not much improved. It is a singular fact, and a most pregnant proof of the utter weakness of the Turkish government in this province, that almost every shrine of peculiar sanctity has been made, and continues to be a sanctuary for the most aban- doned and worthless of the community. This pro- bably originates in the indiscriminate nature of the protection they afford, and which, as a matter of course, is principally claimed by the worst of offenders ; but it is a privilege of which the moot- wullee (or governor), and priests or servants of the shrine are too jealous, to permit interference with, by the secular arm, on any pretence whatsoever. Thus evil characters accumulate - probably they pay well for protection — till they are able to com- mand it, as in the case already related of the quarter of Sheikh-Abdool-Kâder in Baghdad itself. This state of things had obtained to a far worse extent both at Nujjeff and Kerbelah : the multitude of disorderly persons collected there had increased so much, that neither the governor of the place nor the authority of the Pashah could control them; and they not only did just what they pleased, but ex- acted from the pilgrims who came to the shrine, the most unreasonable concessions, and in default of 320 YERRIM-MÂSES. has beer but ing for thou make who mise A rum fart compliance plundered and stripped them, and often took their wives and daughters from them. The evil became at length so crying that Daood Pashah sent a force against Nujjeff and succeeded in reduc- ing it to obedience, so that though still a disorderly place, the blackguards who infest it do not go such lengths as formerly. Kerbelah is still rebellious. The Yerrim-måses (literally careless reckless fellows), or ruffians and bul- lies of the place, who amount to a large number, not only repulsed the Pashah's army, but have now so completely got the upper hand, that no one can either disobey or offend them with impunity. They have established a secret mode of communication which none but the initiated understand, and by which they can rally a force at a moment's warning on any given point ; and all the respectable inhabit- ants stand so much in awe of them that they dare not attempt any measures for opposition or even for self-protection. It is not long since an Indian Nawâb, connected with the family of the Carnatic, who had for some years taken up his abode at Kerbelah, fell under their displeasure. They assem- bled, took and plundered his house, and destroyed his whole effects without any one being able to pre- vent it, and he himself was forced to fly for his life from thence to Baghdad, where, I believe, he still remains. They even carry their audacious libertinism so far, that whenever they hear that a pilgrim has a pretty wife or sister with him, they will send for her; and if refused, either steal her away by stratagem or take her by force; and it lity i will Mee payi Ispa Wei SUE DEATH OF THE SHAH. 321 has frequently happened that men's wives have been thus missing for a week, and have returned in a wretched condition. I heard one Persian my- self complaining of having had his wife carried off, but I cannot say that his grief appeared overwhelm- ing. Is not this a state of things that calls aloud for vengeance and reform ? -- it is only one of a thousand instances of the misrule and anarchy that make their strong appeal to the observation of those who pass through the country, proclaiming the misery of its people. Another affair, which some days ago was but a rumour, but which has now been confirmed as a fact, touches me still more nearly. The Shah of Persia is dead, that is past doubt; and the probabi- lity is, that all the roads to and through that country will now be impassable. All we have yet heard goes to confirm the belief that Hoossein Allee Meerza, the Prince of Fars, who had gone to meet his father at Ispahan, and whose backwardness in paying the tribute due from that province to the Shah was the cause of the old man's journey to Ispahan, has seized upon the crown and jewels that were along with the king, together with the trea- sure; and, having struck coin and assumed the ensigns of royalty, has declared his intention to assert his claims to the throne of Persia. This may have a powerful effect upon my movements, and may occasion very serious detention. We 1 shall see. December 1.--The Arabs still remain at Ager- kouf and on the Hillah road, so as to prevent all VOL. I. Y 322 REPORTS. a 60 be DEN excursions on that side ; but they are certainly quarrelling amongst themselves, whether from the effects of the Pashah's policy, or from the increasing scarcity of forage and plunder, is uncertain, yet they beat up the country unopposed to the very gates of the town. Letters from Shuster have come to hand, which state the country to be in a most turbulent condition; that several caravans have already been plundered, and that no more will venture on the road ; accounts from Hamadân and Kermanshah correspond with this; but little more is actually confirmed than the fact of the Shah's death at Ispahan. December 3.--The accounts from Persia seem all to confirm the report that Hoossein Allee Meerza has proceeded to Tehrân and proclaimed himself King, and that being joined by his brother, Hassan Allee Meerza, the latter had drawn the sword in earnest and cut off the heads of sundry of the Princes who either bad refused to acknowledge his brother or were suspected of having views of their own ; that the Ameen-u-Dowlut had joined him with some of the powerful nobles, and that he had got possession of the ark or palace of Tehrân, with the treasure ; that not a word had been heard of the . heir-apparent, Mahommed Meerza, and that all as yet was quiet at Kermanshah ; but that the tribes had broken out and were plundering to right and left, so that there was no safety for travellers. One of the cossids, or foot couriers, who brought in the news, meeting near Baghdad with a caravan in which was one of the old Shah's daughters, who W1 let th REWARD FOR EVIL TIDINGS. 323 was returning from a pilgrimage to Kerbelah, that Princess ordered his nose and one finger to be cut off as a reward for his evil tidings, and in this con- dition he reached Baghdad. December 4.-The tedium and uniformity of our lives has this day been broken by the excitement of an unexpected incident- no less than a regular Arab fight within the walls of Baghdad; but be- fore describing the battle, I must explain what led to it. Matters between the Pashah and the Aneiza had been hourly getting worse, and the disturbance of the country kept increasing, so that as I have already mentioned, people even of respectability were plun- dered at the very gates; the tribe itself becom- ing also divided into parties, there was reason to fear that the other Arab tribes around might be induced to take part in the dispute, and the whole of Mesopotamia be thus set in a flame. At length, it so happened that several of the Pashah's own officers were plundered close to the city, and the outrage being traced to some Arabs of the Ageil tribe, who lived in the western portion of the city, his Highness was so much enraged at the insult that he determined upon taking immediate and sig- nal vengeance on the perpetrators. These Ageil Arabs are part of a tribe said to be very large and powerful in Nejd, or the high cen- tral land of Arabia, who, in consequence of an arrangement entered into with Solymaun Pashah some sixty years ago, have monopolized the trade of guarding and guiding the caravans which go Y 2 324 THE AGEIL ARABS. pur exes city by Bac Pas CUTE trib der ara the Du between this place and Aleppo and Damascus. In order to furnish the guides required, this tribe have always been in the babit of keeping a certain num- ber of their people at Baghdad under a Sheikh, but till lately they had not been permitted to reside within its walls; within these two or three years, however, a quarrel, originating in rivalry, has arisen. Not contented with driving away their opponents, the Ageil, seizing a rich caravan which their rivals had conducted from Aleppo to the vicinity of Bagh- dad, declared, that if their demands were not com- plied with, they would plunder the caravan and leave the country. The Pashah, too weak to pro- tect the caravan, the arrival of which was im- patiently looked for in the city, and the duty on which to come into his own pocket would, he knew, amount to a considerable sum, complied with all they required, and among other indulgences granted permission for a detachment of the tribe to reside in Baghdad, provided they remained exclusively on the western side of the river. The Ageil came accordingly, and since that time have been perfect masters of that half of Baghdad. Like the Yerrim-mâs's of Kerbelah, and of the Sheikh Abdul-Khauder's tomb, they protected from the arm of the law all vàgabonds and reprobates who took shelter with them, and not a soul could reside on that side of the river, but such as they chose to permit. In short, they, and not the Pa- shah, were the governors of their quarter; and his Highness had long writhed under the sense of their insolence, resolving, yet not daring to repress and of t and ho pid SOI be Na TOKENS OF RESISTANCE. 325 punish it, when this last affair occurred, and, as I have observed, roused him to an extraordinary exertion of ire. He sent them word to quit the city at once, peaceably, on pain of being turned out by force ; but it is not the fashion in the Pashalic of Baghdad to obey the Pashah's commands; so the Ageil refused to move, unless on terms which the Pashah did not see fit to comply with. This oc- curred yesterday morning, and the Sheikh of the tribe, probably alarmed at this unusually strong demonstration, went himself to the Serai to remon- strate with his Highness. In the mean time the tribe mustered together, to prepare for the worst, and when we assembled together at breakfast at the Residency, we remarked from its windows an unusual degree of disturbance on the opposite side of the river: people were running here and there, and collecting together in groups; and our glasses showed us that they were armed. By the time breakfast was over, we saw the bridge becoming crowded with people : gooffus, the round basket-boat used upon the river, were ra- pidly passing and repassing. There was evidently a great commotion, and it appeared that some per- sons were trying to cut the bridge on the western side of the river. Colonel Taylor and Dr. Ross immediately predicted a battle. “ You will pro- bably see them begin . just there, on the bridge,” said the Colonel ; “ it was exactly so they did last year, when Suffook came against the place :” and, sure enough, scarcely had he spoke the words when the bridge was divided, and a shot froin the oppo- 326 THE BATTLE BEGUN. V an OL f ho th of P2 SH bor MON S site side showed that the battle was begun. It was followed by half a dozen more, and the bridge was soon cleared, when the fire was immediately answered from our side the water. A party of regular infantry then ran across the standing part of the bridge, and taking post in the boats which protected them, kept up a fire upon a coffee-house opposite, from whence the Arabs discharged their pieces; and then a pretty lively rattle of musketry took place. This continued for perhaps two hours, during which time the only victim we heard of, was a poor old woman, who caught a stray shot as she was hobbling over the bridge as fast as she could. Various were the reports that now poured in: some declared that the Pashah had seized the Ageil Sheikh, and with him his own goomrookchee, or custom-master, a notorious scoundrel, and put them both to death; others asserted that the Sheikh was safe in his own house on the other side, and that the Arabs were only waiting to assemble in force for a grand attack. About noon we heard that the Pashah had re-instated the Sheikh, and put his own shawl about his head, and that there was to be nothing more but peace and good-humour; and sure enough the fire, which had fluctuated till then, freshening up and slackening by turns, nearly ceased. But just as Aga Minas, one of the people of the Residency, was telling us of this good news, a salvo of cannon was heard. " Ah !” said Dr. Ross; “ there go the guns; that is a salute for the happy termination of hostilities.” But the quick me bis 1 1 ha A 0 1 BOLD ATTACKS OF THE ARABS. 327 rattle of musketry and a continued fire of cannon which succeeded and increased, told another tale, and we all ran up to the top of the house to learn ; if we could, what was going on. The date-trees, however, hid the combatants from our view, al- though the smoke of the guns and the sharp roll of musketry, convinced us that there was some earnest fighting We learned, then, that the fray had first been oc- casioned by a report reaching the Ageil that their Sheikh had been executed by the Pashah's orders; on which they had divided themselves into two bodies, one of which came down to cut the bridge and fire upon the town, while the other rushed out of the northern gate, to attack the troops who were encamped there, and surprise the guns. In the mean time the Pashah, whatever might have been his first intention, alarmed at the explosion, had given the Sheikh, as we had heard, a dress of honour, and sent him back to quiet his people, while secretly he sent over word to the commander of his troops, on the western side, to attack the Arabs in the rear-indeed, we saw the boats pass- ing with the Turkish officers to the camp; but the Arab movement had anticipated the effect of this order, so that the messenger, when he came, found the troops already engaged with the Arabs. So sudden had been the rush of the latter, that before the troops, or their commander, knew whether those who so rapidly advanced were friends or foes, they had got possession of one of the guns. then flew to arms, and the Arabs were in turn The troops 328 AN UNPLEASANT REQUEST. OL 21 in th all th WE az 0 SE th driven off by the rapid fire of the other cannon, and the musketry of the Nizam; a running fight took place round the walls to the Hillah-gate, which both parties entered pell-mell together. This was the cause of the sharp renewed firing we heard, and, to judge by the rattle, it was, I assure you, what Captain Dougald Dalgetty would have called a very pretty onslaught. About two o'clock p.M., while this was going on, and a regular cannonade was kept up, both on the western side, near the Hillah-gate, and from two cannon on the eastern side, which played upon the opposite end of the bridge and the coffee-houses that were filled with the Arabs, an officer came from the Pashah, to beg that the Resident would lend him his large English-built yacht, to carry over a reinforcement of troops and ammunition to his people, who were engaged with the Arabs on the other side. It was by no means an agreeable request, as, if complied with, it might appear like interfering in the local quarrels of the place; but as the Ageil were certainly in open rebellion against the Pashah, it seemed but right, as friends, to as- sist the legitimate authorities as far as might be possible, so the boat was cleared and made ready for their use. The Turks are slow animals ; they took a long time to get their men into the boat, and when on board, she was found to be aground and would not stir. But the boat's berth being just under the Residency's windows, and the troops assembling there being speedily observed by the Arabs on the TE fo S A NARROW ESCAPE. 329 opposite side, they mustered strong upon the beach and buildings there, and kept up a hot fire upon all in and about the boat across the river. It is true that the breadth here was at least two hundred and fifty yards, but the balls came smartly along the water, sometimes ricochetting, and often strik- ing the Residency. One of them, indeed, hit the wall within a few inches. of Colonel Taylor's head, as he stood looking over the parapet with his glass, and several of the troops in the boat were killed or wounded ; so that we were fain to shelter our- selves from their effect behind projecting parts of the terrace wall. After all, we were in little dan- ger, for by watching the flash, we could generally draw back so as to avoid the ball. This sort of amusement continued for more than two hours, when the boat, being at length got afloat, fell down the stream and delivered us from the somewhat uncomfortable notice of our friends on the opposite side. I must say for the Turkish soldiers, that, awkward as they were about the boat, I saw no appearance of flinching among them, even when the shot came pretty thick, and hurt several of them; and in the same way on the bridge, more than one attempt was made to reunite it and to cross, and parties continued all day firing at the Arabs from the boats where they were very im- perfectly sheltered. At length the yacht, after frequently grounding and drifting a good way, made good its transit to the opposite bank, where, strange to say, no oppo- sition was made, and the troops, to the number of 330 THE FIGHT RENEWED. m. al at ON po in the PE TI SIC ti about one hundred and fifty, landed and soon dis- appeared behind the date-groves at that side of the town. The firing of cannon and musketry, which had continued both within the body of the western portion of the town and from the eastern side across the river, now began to relax ; the Arabs probably had been much incommoded by a great gun from the castle, which had been brought to bear upon their position, and were more cautious of exposing themselves; the sun too had got low before the troops had landed, and there was an interval of suspense, only interrupted by an occasional shot here and there, and by the drums and fifes of the Nizam, On a sudden, however, the loud rattle of musketry and the roar of the cannon at once re-commenced a loud shout proclaimed that the troops had joined their comrades. The noise, too, approached the river, and, looking at the bridge, we observed troops inustering on that also ; in another moment they made a rush forwards, firing rapidly. The fire was sharply returned from the other side for a few mo- ments, and then it ceased; but as the columns were not twenty yards asunder, it must have done much execution. We saw a little basket-boat push across the gap, and the bridge was re-united : the mass of men evidently crossed, but by that time it had become too dark to see more, and there was an interval of deep suspense; this, however, did not continue long. The firing ceased, but in its place there arose a wild yell—shouts of men mingled with cries of women, and all the sounds of terror and confusion and despair. In another 1 1 a 1 THE CATASTROPHE. 331 minute the river was covered with the basket-boats, called gooffahs, which ply upon the Tigris, and which at the beginning of the fray had been hawled up on the bank. It was clear that the troops were in possession of the town, and plundering and pillaging in all directions. Dropping shots still continued, but they were only the wanton discharge of muskets by riotous soldiers, blowing open a locked door, or putting to death some wretch uselessly resisting. The uproar came nearer and nearer to the water- șide, and we soon counted more than thirty gooffahs or basket-boats crossing at a time, filled with fugi- tives. It soon became pitch dark, but the noise con- tinued unremittingly for three hours, mingled with shrill shrieks, after which all was silent, and the city became as still as if no such event as we had witnessed had occurred to disturb its tranquillity. We heard it was the Toffunchee Bashee that spirit- ed up his men to make the dashing movement along the bridge, and which was worthy of better troops. The Arabs, on seeing their resolution, had given way, and the troops passed. The bazaar near the bridge was plundered in a moment, and the work of pillage now began. It is said the Sheikh has sent terms to the Pashah, with offers to quit the town to- morrow, provided certain Arabs shall be protected, and this, they say, he has agreed to; others say he has sent for the Aneiza to enable him to 'keep the town : it would be like his strange temporizing policy ; but we shall see to-morrow. December 5.--This morning, at an early hour, the streets were thronged with fugitives, many of 332 THE PILLAGED TOWN, at IUD POWE 1 cert fam stra behe Pas 0011 MO plus op them almost naked; others, more fortunate, were carrying whatever they had been able to bear off on the first alarm. The women were wringing their hands and sobbing and wailing; the men, sullen and sulky, or clamorous and abusive, were carrying their guns and other arms. The quantity of cattle in the town had become increased, and every lane and passage was crowded. Reports vary as to what has become of the Ageil ; but the most probable state, that when the rush of the troops over the bridge was made, they found themselves between two fires, and fled on all sides, retiring muskets in hand to their houses to guard their property. The troops discovering this, and knowing that they probably had little to lose, quitted pursuit, and turned their attention to the bazaars and the houses of merchants and wealthy individuals, which they gutted clean, setting fire to the bazaars. Thus the blow fell heaviest on the town's-people, and not, it is said, undesignedly, as all of them are pretty well known to have taken part with the Ageil, and to have fired upon the Pashah's troops. Half past nine, A. M.---Parties still hurrying past our door, stripped to the skin and weeping and wailing : the streets crowded with Arabs from the other side, both men and women ; but no certainty what has become of the Ageil. Some say they are still in their houses, musket in hand, while the troops continue plundering the houses of the towns- folk —others think they have fled altogether. It is also said the Pashah has sent orders to the troops to desist from plunder, and has himself taken post 를 ​ma loc th US th 2 TIJE FLIGIIT.-PLUNDER. 333 at the bridge to prevent them from bringing their spoil across ; but he might as well try to stop the run of the river — they laugh at him, and he is powerless. Two o'clock, P. M.-We hear the Ageil have certainly fled — moved out of town with their families and property, and, it is added, have gone straight to the Aneiza ; but their Sheikh remained behind, and has taken shelter at the door of the Pashah's harem, an inviolable refuge, and he has been permitted to live as a private individual on condition of remaining quiet. During the whole morning and day, we have seen fellows passing with plunder - one dragging a sheep; another, a parcel of fowls tied by the legs; a third, a lot of pots and pans, bedding, or carpets; a fourth, who had made his way into the women's apartments, had got hold of a bundle of female gear, ornamented looking-glasses, gowns, handkerchiefs, &c. One of the Nizam brought for sale a horse, which he told us he had taken, and was surprised we would not purchase a bargain ; another was driving two or three asses well loaded with great bags containing a mixture of all sorts. Gooffahs are still crowding on the river. The Pashah, it appears, had taken his station in the coffee-house at the other end of the bridge from which the Arabs had been firing, and, as we heard in the morning, to stop the plunder ; but this is said to be a mistake, for it is alleged now that he is encouraging the troops in their excessés, addressing the pillaged inhabitants with taunts and 334 LOSS OF THE TROOPS. 21 di W MI ta cha br 105 the shrugging his shoulders as he says, “ You see what you have brought on yourselves — it is your own fault, not mine." Accounts of the loss on either side, in this affair, are as yet too vague to be relied upon ; but it must have been pretty sharp on the Nizam and Alba- nians, for one of the Residency people, who was at the Pashah's yesterday while the business was going on, heard a person who had come from the other side make a demand for cotton cloth enough to shroud twenty-four dead bodies, and this only out of one detachment. The commander of the gallant rush on the bridge, we heard, was shot through the head, and several of his people killed and badly wounded. The loss at the Hillah-gate must have been great on the side of the troops, as they stood exposed to the fire of the Arabs, who, fighting from behind stone walls, probably suffered but little : no estimate of their loss was attempted to be made. The chief mischief is in the town. The atrocities of the troops, though perhaps not greater than those committed by the more polished soldiery of Europe when a town is taken by storm, are shocking enough. The women were were horridly maltreated, and this day the body of one was brought over who had been shot by a brute of an Albanian, while firmly resisting his violence. The bearers laid her down at the threshold of the Sheikh's tomb, and the Nuzeeb ordered that she should be buried with the honours of a martyr. Another of these miscreants, while plundering the harem of an Arab, being annoyed by the cries of a child, took and 00 de d to O M o 1 ! 1 THEIR BARBARITI ES. 335 threw it, as he thought, into a well. This exploit, of which he made boast, having come to the ears of the mother, she returned, when she dared, to look for the remains of her infant. They dragged the well for it, but in vain, and were about to abandon the search as fruitless, when their attention was attracted by a faint cry; and, seeking about, they discovered the poor little thing lying in the tendour, which is a sort of oven dug in the ground and lined with pottery, for baking bread, into which, mis- taking it for a well, the villain had chucked the child. It was but little hurt, and scarcely bruised by its fall, and you may conceive the poor mother's joy. One could not have imagined the populousness of the western side from its appearance on ordinary occasions. The bazaars are almost impassable from droves of mules and asses, loaded with furniture, with their drivers, although the shops continue closed from dread; and the bridge from one end to the other is a perfect sight, so thronged with crowds hurrying to and fro. The whole eastern shore was covered with groups arriving from the opposite side. The Haitahs are swimming droves of mules and asses across the river, and we see them still driving them down to its banks on the other side. It is a perfect scramble, and would be most laughable if it were not for the misery pro- duced by it. One fellow pounces on a sheep while its unlucky owner runs away with its lamb on the other side. A woman in one corner might be heard rending the air with cries for her son or husband 336 OUTRAGE AND PILLAGE. 1 who had been shot or drowned for many of the gooffahs sank with their freights; another was bemoaning scarcely less piteously for the loss of her household goods, in the hands, perhaps, of a ruffian close by, who had pillaged her dwelling before her eyes. In short, outrage and plunder is general throughout the city, and the weakest everywhere suffers. W fo 1 i 337 LETTER XIV. - Arrival of Sheikh Waddee and Solymaun Gunnum.— Visit to the Scene of Combat.— Appearances there. – Camp of the Zobeid Sheikh.--Costume. - Arms of the Arabs. -Stealing Horses its Consequences.-Camp of the Haitahs.-A Boaster.—News from Persia. — Three Kings of Brentford. — Reports from Ta- breez.--The Aneiza Decamp.-The Pashah's Arrangements.- Baghdad Police and Justice. More Reports from Persia. Sheikh Waddee.-Kauzemein. DECEMBER 6.—This morning the Zobeid Sheikh Waddee and a party of his Arabs, together with Solymaun Gunnum, both of whom had been sent for, express, on the late emergency, arrived in the vicinity of the city. The latter, whom I have mentioned before as an ally of Allee Pashah's, is a bastard Arab of the Jerboah stock, who some time ago had been employed to convoy and guard caravans across the desert to Damascus during the time of a quarrel with the Ageil ; but these, who had felt the sweets of the monopoly, took the mea- sure I have already mentioned, of capturing a cara- van under his charge, and making terms with the Pashah for being reinstated as guides and conductors of caravans-on the old principle, I presume, of set a thief to catch a thief." The Zobeid Arabs are a tribe who possess a part of the country below VOL. 1. z V 338 THE PILLAGED CITY. à | OE OD do the line of the road to Hillah; they were once very powerful, but are now, from various causes, on the decline. Both these chiefs, being enemies of the Ageil, willingly obeyed the Pashah's call, which was made in the true spirit of his customary policy -- it remains to be seen how he will arrange matters with them now that their services are not required. In the forenoon we crossed the river to look at the scene of combat. The effects were less striking at first sight than I expected; for, in fact, the west- ern division of the town was so squalid and ruinous that scarcely anything could make it look worse : but when you came to the bazaars and thoroughfares -the more inhabited spots—there you saw the mischief. Every door was burst open, and gene- rally torn off its hinges; and at several of these sat a few old women, wringing their hands and beat- ing their breasts as they gazed into their gutted houses--- the dark, empty look of which was, God knows, depressing enough : the men who still re- mained, were sitting motionless along the sides of the streets, or stood listlessly gazing about them. A few of the coffee-houses, emptied of their con- tents, were occupied by men who, from their ap- pearance, I judged to be merchants and shopkeepers, who had lost all they had possessed. Loaded mules and asses were still passing through the streets, generally driven by the Haitahs; and the streets themselves were strewed with broken furniture, feathers of pillows and bolsters which had been ripped up for their silk or brocaded covers, the ci bi PLACE OF CONFLICT. 339 cotton and wool of mattresses too heavy to be car- ried off, and quantities of grain and provisions that had been thrown about. The Bazaars betrayed the sorest tokens of violence. The burned roofs had fallen in, and the ashes were mingled with grain, dates, groceries, water-melons, pumpkins, and other vegetables all things not valuable enough to be carried away; and the debris of what had been spoiled in carrying off, or left, was trodden under foot, with the broken shreds of the vessels that had contained it, into one disgusting mass of dirt, amongst which some dozens of almost naked children were paddling and groping, no doubt for something to eat. The cells and shops were all staring open, doors and shutters having been torn down and lucky was it for the city that the greater part of it is built of mud and bricks, as, otherwise, the whole would have been burned to the ground by the wanton madness of the incendiaries. We went to see the principal places of conflict. At the end of the bridge the damage was less than I had expected, as there were two heavy guns play- ing upon that point all day. It was at the Hillah gate that the chief tokens of the fight were to be seen; for here the chief struggle was, as here the troops entered pell-mell with the retreating Arabs. There is an open space inside this gate, where the troops and the guns took up their position, while the Arabs flew to the houses and gardens, from behind the walls of which they kept up a hot fire---it is a work they understand; while on their side the z 2 340 ARAB CAMP. h lo b 0 hu th SO 10 W artillery fired, it is said, five hundred rounds at their unseen antagonists. The houses and walls, con- sequently, are well bored with cannon-shot, whilst the gate has been soundly peppered with musket- bullets; but the troops suffered most, and would have been forced to retreat, their ammunition being expended, when the supply of that and" of men, opportunely arrived by the Residency boat, and gave them fresh means and renewed courage. . From this scene of destruction we went to visit the Zobeid camp, which certainly was a sight worth looking at. In all my experience of Toorkomans, Koords, or wandering tribes, I had seen no such wild-looking savages. Their lank black hair hung around their black visages; and the only points of relief in the wild countenance which loured from under their strange head-dresses, were the dark piercing eyes and the white teeth. What would many a gentleman and lady in Europe give for such a case of incisors! There were at least one thousand horses and as many men, all mingled higgledy-piggledy together- a huge living mass of quadrupeds and bipeds, from among which rose a thick bristle of spears. The dress, if dress it could be called, of these Arabs, was the regular Buddooee, or desert cut - the yellow and red handkerchief bound round the top of the head with a thick rope of camel's hair the coarse hair or canvass shirt and the abba of every sort and quality : the most of them were very filthy and greasy. Some had no trousers, others no vest; some appeared to have no other covering than the tattered abba girt round as 10 CE ol a COSTUME AND APPEARANCE, 341 the waist with a bit of hair rope. . Some wore their hair lank and loose, au naturel, some plaited in long streamers; and the features of all were high and sharp. They were all long lean men, looking hungry enough for prey; but nothing savouring of such propensity was permitted to appear towards us, though in an instant they clustered about us in hundreds, as we made our appearance : yet though they evinced an excessive curiosity, it was quite unmixed with rudeness ; on the contrary, when some of them pressed too close upon us, others would remonstrate, and then all would fall back to make room for our seeing the object at which we appeared to be looking ; and here appeared the difference between the town or Fellah (husbandman) Arab and him of the desert, the Buddooee - or, as we call them, the Bedouin. The former is a boor, the latter a gentleman. Really, notwithstand- ing all their wild and fierce appearance, there was in their actions and demeanour a sort of native po- liteness, the more remarkable from the contrast, pro- ceeding, no doubt, from the same indomitable spirit of independence which breathes in and produces a similar effect in the North American Indians. We talked for some time very amicably together, and asked them how they would treat us if it should chance that we came in their way, whether they would not strip and plunder us. They af- fected to be shocked at the bare idea; and placing their hands upon their heads and eyes, declared that we should be as welcome and as dear to them, as these precious organs. 342 ARAB ARMS. be P. & an po th fra COE Cold though the weather was, especially at night, these men were all encamped upon the bare ground, with no other covering than the abba which they wore. Not a tent, except that of the Sheikh, was in the party, and that was a very small one. They lay all at random among the horses, looking like bundles of dirty rags blacken- ing the ground. Most of them were armed with swords of the usual scimitar-shape, and a crook- ed dagger at the waist. Some had heavy iron maces, and many the herbah, or iron javelin, of five or six feet long, for throwing. The jereed, a still shorter javelin, made of iron, hung at many a saddle bow, to the number sometimes of six on each side, and these they throw with great force and dexterity. Some of them carried small hammers; and a few had sticks, of about a yard long, armed with iron hooks, with which they can pick up anything fallen to the ground, or pull a man from his saddle when at full speed. There were also a few guns amongst them, wretched clumsy engines; but the great weapon, after all, is the spear, of which, as I have said, there was a perfect thicket sticking in the ground, and without which no Arab thinks himself complete. It was generally planted close to the owner's horse. Their horses disappointed me much ; I scarcely saw one of decent appearance among the whole. No doubt the best had been taken with the Sheikh, who had gone to wait upon the Pashah ; but I did expect to see more of the common order worth looking at. But they were not only small and lean, th th 81 8 1 1 DARING THEFT. 343 but ill-formed, and deficient in all the characteristic good points of the Arab. In fact, the Zobeid, it appears, are by no means celebrated for good horses. If you ask them how this happens, they reply, “Oh! when we want fine horses, we go and plunder the Aneiza.” This they once did, sure enough; but it nearly cost them their existence as a tribe. They wished, it seems, to gain favour with the Pashah's Meerachor, or master of the horse, by giving him a handsome present; but not having any horses of their own good enough for the pur- pose, or, at least, not choosing so to employ them, they did contrive to steal away some dozen of the finest of those of the Aneiza, with whom, at that time, they were on the best terms. These soon dis- covered the robbery, and were at no loss to guess the thieves. They sent to the Zobeid, and taxed them with the theft. “ We have been," said they, as brothers with you, and we desire so to con- tinue; we have had our horses stolen, and you are the thieves — we know it, so don't deny it, but return them to us, and be our brothers as before ; if not, henceforth we are your enemies.” The Zobeid swore by all that was sacred that they were wrong- ed that they knew nothing of the matter, and in- vited the Aneiza to send and look at all their horses. Now there is nothing in which an Arab is more dexterous than in disguising a stolen horse,—he would beat Yorkshire at that, and they had suc- ceeded so well with these, that the Aneiza could not distinguish their property among the others. But they remained unsatisfied. “ It signifies no- 1 344 CONSEQUENCES OF THE THEFT. 1 S ma- SE 10 Sending, SE 10 li thing," said they, you, and no others, are the thieves; and since you have thought fit to injure and insult us, and then to brave our anger, be it so; we are now your foes.” The Aneiza were as good as their word; and being a much more powerful tribe, soon naged to distress and persecute the Zobeid so much, that they became weary of the business, and resolved to set matters to rights if they could. therefore, to the Meerakhor, they besought him, for God's sake, to let them have back the horses on any terms. They then received and sent them to the Aneiza, with a humble acknowledgment of their error, and a request to be re-admitted to the privileges of friendship as before. The Aneiza refused : “ No, no," said they ; you have proved yourselves to be men without faith--pitiful scoun- drels, with whom it would be disgrace to associate ; you have found it expedient to restore your stolen goods ; but you never can regain our esteem – we continue enemies still." In truth, this quarrel with the Aneiza has very much tended to acce- lerate the decay of the tribe Zobeid. From the bivouac of the Zobeid we went to the camp of the Haitahs, a little way off. This was another curious scene: it was full of plunder, which the captors were packing up and securing as well as they could. Every tent was stuffed with a mass of heterogeneous articles; and reed bedsteads, bedding, caldrons and cookery-pots, ba- sins and ewers, men and women's apparel, &c. were piled in every corner, and gathered in heaps C $ I CAMP OF THE HAITALIS. 345 a around the bivouacs of the men, while the frag- ments of what had been destroyed, covered the ground. Multitudes of stolen animals were wallow- ing in heaps of stolen straw, and great bags of grain . stood beside them : the creatures never were so well fed before. One of the fellows was driving a most stubborn pack of jackasses, who appeared by no means pleased with their change of masters ; second had caught two capital mules ; and others were bestriding horses, followed by the poor owners, who besought the robbers to restore their plunder - a hopeless prayer — it was well when the reply was not accompanied by a wipe with the yatagan. Of order, or appearance of discipline, there was little, and not a symptom of military vigilance. Every one was looking after his own affairs, and the officers did not seem to possess the smallest control over their men; indeed half of them were still abroad looking after more plunder, or disposing of that already obtained. Any moderately active body of Arabs might have surprised and cut up the whole camp; not a sentry was there either here or at the gate of the town; and even in the camp of the Nizam, which was in the act of being struck, there was an equal absence of watchful- ness. At the tent of the commander of the Haitahs, we took pipes and coffee. By his own account, he was the hero of the fight; but, indeed, so was each individual to whom we spoke, insomuch that we might have been sorely puzzled had we not known the sort of gentlemen with whom we had to deal. 346 NEWS FROM PERSIA. and The doo the mer all le WE I PrF the BE Our friend in question did not appear to relish the praises we bestowed on the Nizam; nor would he even admit the merits of his own comrades who made the charge along the bridge. The men of his own dusteh, or troop, he assured us, bore the whole brunt of the action, and of them he had lost sixteen or eighteen during its course. He admitted, how- ever, as did every one, that matters would have gone very ill but for the reinforcement of men and ammunition, sent across by the Resident's boat, and which arrived in the very nick of time. He told us that about two hundred had been killed and wounded on both sides; and as this agrees with other estimates, from various quarters, it is probably near the truth. The news from Persia continues most unpro- mising. A caravan, eleven days from Hamadan, has arrived, with horsemen from Tehran, Cashan, Ispahan, &c. The report from the latter part is, that when the old king died, his son, the Prince of Fars, assumed the regal insignia, and proclaimed himself King. That the Ameen-u-Dowlut, one of his late Majesty's ministers, took the crown and the celebrated armlets containing the Koh-i-noor and the Deria-noor diamonds, and made them over, together with the royal treasures to this Prince, who, paying the troops a year's advance, had taken the way to Tehrân. At that place we learn that the Zil-e-Sultan, a brother of the late Prince Royal, who was governor of the Ark, had shut the gates of that citadel and seized the royal treasures there, proclaiming himself King by the title of Allee Shah, par be de h } STATE OF THE COUNTRY. 347 and striking coin with the legend “ Yah Allee !” The Prince of Fars, Hoossein Allee Meerza, has done the same, substituting “Yah Hossein!” for the other. So here we have three Kings, Maho- med Shah, Allee Shah, and Hoossein Allee Shah, all at once in Persia. We only want Hassan Al- lee Shah to complete the family party, and that we shall probably soon have in the person of the Prince of Kerman, who bears that name with the glorious title of Shujaat-u-Dowlut. The south of Persia is in a melancholy state. All the towns between Sheerauz and Bushire have been plundered by the Eeliaut chiefs; and a son of the Prince of Fars is playing the same game at Bushire itself. All the merchants and persons of property are quitting that place as fast as they There are many reports of princes and nobles being blinded or put to death, but nothing to be depended on. December 6.-A man, forty days from Tabreez, has arrived, who declares that Mahomed Meerza and the English envoy were still then in that place; but that while he remained at Hamadan, inform- ation had been received that both had advanced as far as Zenjân on their way to the capital. Other reports are rife, but they tend only in a vague way to confirm what we have already heard - the only thing certain is, that the country is greatly dis- turbed. December 11.- This day, reports which have for some time prevailed of the Aneiza Arabs being divi- ded among themselves, and on the wing from the can. 348 ARRANGEMENT WITH THE AGEIL. been arrar Acce the 1 mere and and ever Mr. the the 20 Jezirah, are confirmed. It is positively stated that they are off, and that in a few days hopes may be entertained that the roads around the capital will be free from plunderers. The Pashah has arranged the business with the Ageil tribe by investing Soly- maun Gunnum, the adventurer already frequently mentioned as Sheikh, for the purpose of guiding caravans; while the Ageil Sheikh has received per- mission to reside here, provided he consents to live as a private person. This is an arrangement quite in consistence with the Pashah's usual measures ; for this Solymaun Gunnum being an illegitimate descendant of a Shummur Arab by a slave womam, no true Arabs will coalesce heartily with or yield him obedience; nay, as I have said before, he failed on a former occasion when similarly empowered, these very Ageil having driven him off as he was in charge of a large and important caravan close to Baghdad itself : but this is all forgotten, and consequences are disregarded — the present moment alone is provided for and considered. Mr. Finlay, who has been our very pleasant inmate, and my companion in all my rides and walks, tired of waiting for the road being clear, resolved to try and prosecute his journey by the river; and, having made his arrangements, started in a boat bound for Bussora. But his first outset has been unpromising ; for the boat had not pro- ceeded five miles before she was stopped on pre- tence of having on board some horses that had not paid duty. A characteristic scene took place on this occasion: it appeared that the duties had WC of fo BAGHDAD OFFICIAL JUSTICE. 349 been paid ; but, in consequence of some official arrangements or changes, not to the right person. Accordingly, two Haitahs appeared on the part of the new functionary; and without either question or mercy fell at once upon the boat's crew, passengers, and all who happened to be on shore, belabouring and abusing them, and ordering them to turn out every horse on board. Dr. Ross, who accompanied Mr. Finlay to see the boat off, interfered in behalf of that gentleman's horse, and brought the fellows a little to reason ; and an express being sent to the Resident, a messenger was soon despatched to the scene of action, who coolly walked the two disappointed rascals off without further question. Had it not been for the accidental circumstance of an English gentleman being on board, the boat would certainly have been pillaged, and the owners of the horses have lost their property, or have been forced to pay high to get them back. This is Bagh- dad police and justice ! December 17.-Packets from England have come in with letters and intelligence down to 19th Octo- ber - none for me of course, for who could expect to catch a drop of quicksilver like myself — here to-day and gone to-morrow, and now only detained by ill-luck : yet I could not refrain from a twinge of disappointment, and something like envy, as I saw others perusing letters from friends while I had nothing. I greedily looked over the lists of deaths, however, and thanked God there was no familiar name among them. Mr. Finlay has returned: the boat having come-to 350 REPORTS. JE but ple bel the 1 at DD ere at night was left aground by the rapid fall of the river, which at this time of year fluctuates much, even from hour 'to hour, according to falls of rain in the hills. He will now probably accompany Dr. Ross and myself on our purposed visit to Sook- u-Shiookh and Wassit. The news from Persia is still vague and con- tradictory ; some say that Hassan. Allee Meerza has sent ten thousand men to help his brother of Fars, who is playing King at Ispahan ; others, that he has taken his course to Khorasan, and is to set up for himself. It is alleged that the Prince of Mazunderan on being asked by Allee Shah (the Zil-e-Sultan, who is governor of Tehrân,) whether he had any intention of preferring a claim to the throne, replied, “No: that he was old and infirm, with one foot in the grave, and that for hiin to think of the throne would be folly : all he asked was to be left alone to die quietly in his own pro- vince, and that so far as his support went, he had no objection to bestow it on the Zil.” We hear not a word of Mahomed Shah and the English party. Mahomed Hossein Meerza of Kermanshah is said to have written to the three aspirants, the Princes of Fars, of Tehrân, and Azerbijân, offering allegiance to each as a measure of precaution: his father, Mahomed Allee Meerza, the bravest of the late King's sons, would not have done so; but he and all the petty princes are keeping quiet in their governments, waiting the result of the struggle be- tween the greater ones. The roads are by some reports infested every- do 18 9 1 THE ZOBEID SI EIKII. 351 where by robbers, others declare them to be all quiet--- probably each man speaks as he found them; but there is no doubt that several caravans have been plundered in the neighbourhood of Ispahan, and between that and Shuster and Kermanshah ; and that the Lour, Feilee, and Buchtiaree tribes have risen, and gone forth to catch what they can in the troubled waters. This day we called on the Zobeid Sheikh, from whom I hope to obtain convoy and guidance for at least the outset of our Arab trip. The Aneiza have certainly retired - at least far enough to be no longer objects of immediate dread; and a cara- van is preparing to start for Hillah, so that we have every reason to hope that we may now proceed down the Jezeerah in safety. We found the Sheikh in the house of Mahomed Aga, the governor of Hillah ; a jolly good-looking fellow he was, fatter than Arab beseems, and far more addicted to good living than Arabs usually are ; indeed, the only reason why we had not before waited on this chief was his inability to receive us from the effects of his debauchery. Every night he is the guest of some one in the town, with whom he gets dead drunk, and is consequently seldom able to hold his head up till the succeeding afternoon. This vice of drunkenness is getting not merely common, but almost universal in Baghdad. In the days of Daood Pashah, it was at least concealed ; but now the Pashah himself leads the van in the drunken squad, and is seen scarcely able to walk, returning of an evening from his debauches in the 352 MAUSOLEUM AT KAUZEMEIN. SE WI inn an we par nese gardens. The Zobeid Sheikh seems to take very kindly to this sort of life; and, assuredly, his con- versation, as interpreted to me, was neither deli- cate nor even decent. He, however, promised us all manner of assistance and perfect security in his own country, with guides and guards when we should require them to other quarters. In the evening we rode to Kauzemein, a village about three miles north of Baghdad, where is the mausoleum of Imaum Moossa Kauzim, the Imaum of the Sheahs, who was beheaded, I believe, by Haroon-ul-Rasheed. He was confined in a dun- geon, which is still shown, and from whence he is said to have escaped miraculously ; others assert that his head was cut off by order of the caliph, yet that he may be seen occasionally to this day seated on his old seat in the dungeon. The mausoleum appears to be a large place, with a couple of fine gilt domes and four handsome ininarets; the former gilt by Nader Shah, who appears to have resorted to this mode of decorating the tombs of saints as an expiation for his other enormities. resort of Persian pilgrims — all those who go to Kerbelah paying their devotions here also ; and, like all such places, it is thriving from the outlay made by them, and full of vagabonds and outcasts, who court the protection which, as a religious sanctuary, it extends to such characters. I did not attempt to enter, having seen quite enough of these, and being desirous to avoid the fuss made when strangers seek to visit them. December 19.—This day we learn that Mahomed It is a great EXAGGERATIONS. 353 Shah has positively moved from Tabreez on Tehrân with twelve thousand serbauz and twenty thousand irregulars - an exaggeration of numbers no doubt ; and that on hearing this, the Prince of Fars has run away from Ispahan to his own country ; but we hear nothing as yet of the English or Russian parties, or the share they have taken in the busi- ness--yet how interesting all this to us! VOL. I. 2 A 354 the the the itis LETTER XV. tot boat mad Tafes Arab Tribes of Mesopotamia.-Arab Character and Tastes.- Blood Feuds and Arab Revenge.— The Vale of Women.—Ex- tracts from the Journal of a Traveller.-Toorkomans of the Euphrates. - Ben-i-Saeed Arabs. Hamet-ul-Khaleel. - The Women ugly. - Ul-Fadhee Arabs of Racca. Loud Talkers. -Jungle Arabs.- Decamping and Encamping.–Difference be- tween Jungle or Fellah, and Bedooeen Arabs.— The Golden Days of Plunder.—Power of the Sheikhs and their Families. severe but Zilei lezee pace IS OCCE B depen theo AZN DECEMBER 22.--We have at length completed our preparations for a trip through the Jezeereh, or Lower Mesopotamia : and as you are now to accompany us through a land inhabited entirely by Arab tribes, you may perhaps be glad to be made somewhat better acquainted with the nature and character of these people, before being per- sonally introduced to them.. : You are aware, I presume, that the country of Mesopotamia, that is, the tract lying between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates, though forming no part of Arabia Proper, is principally occupied by Arab tribes; who, originally tempted, doubtless, by the fertility of the soil so much more productive than their own deserts, have overrun not only the greater part of the country, more immediately in question, but have also taken possession of most of the mana Liem Xhes who LOCATION OF ARAB TRIBES. 355 the low lands on the left bank of the Tigris from the shores of the gulf, even up to Mousul. Thus the upper part of Mesopotamia, or the Jezeereh, as it is called by the Arabs, from the river Khabour to the vicinity of Baghdad, is occupied by the Jer- boah tribe, of whom frequent mention has been made in the foregoing pages. The Delaim tribe infest the immediate neighbourhood of the city ; several tribes, varying in power and respectability, but the dominant and principal one of which is the Zobeid, possess the country from thence to the Skat-ul-Hye, a canal or river which crosses the Jezeereh, connecting the two great rivers. The space from that canal to Kerna, where they meet, is occupied in like manner by many tribes, of whom the Ben-i-Rubbiyeh, relatives of the Montific, are the principal. In fact, all the others are but dependants of these two last-mentioned powerful tribes. On the right bank of the Euphrates the great tribe of Aneiza, with whom you are already in some measure acquainted, rule the country and oppress or protect, as the case may be, a multitude of smaller tribes, who are found along the river all the way from Beer to Anah. From Hillah to Se- mavah, the marshy tract formed by the overflow of the Euphrates, including what are called “ the Lemloon Marches," is held by the large tribe of Khezail, powerful from the nature of their country, who are agricultural as well as pastoral, living much on the produce of large herds of buffaloes, reared on the rank vegetation of the marshes, and who 2 A 2 356 ARAB CHARACTER. pre 21 TL pla tas late ficie hare tiva resi. erer three degy hare are especial savages and faithless plunderers to boot. From Semavah to the sea, the whole country be- longs undisputedly to the great tribe of Muntefic, who range upwards, occasionally, as far as Hît and Anah, on the confines of the Aneiza, and who give shelter to a number of dependent petty tribes. All these, excepting the Aneiza, are, nominally at least, subjects of the Pashalic of Baghdad. On the left bank of the Tigris, above Baghdad, the country is overrun with various small tribes of Koords and Arabs, as you have partly seen, all robbers, who plunder travellers, and commit every kind of depredation. Below Baghdad is found the powerful tribe of Ben-i-Lâm who range the lower parts of Susiana to the Keerkah; and beyond that river the Chaab Arabs have possessed themselves of all to the sea. A glance at the map will enable you to understand the localities of these various tribes. Now all these petty tribes being descendants of the same stock as their brethren of Arabia Proper, or wherever else the race is to be found, resemble them in all essential points of character. They all lay claim to the virtues of generosity, hospitality, justice, incorruptible integrity, and fidelity to their words or oaths, as well as to the high qualities of courage, independence, and love of freedom; and acknowledging themselves to be plunderers and rob- bers, obviously attach no discredit to the act of appropriating the property of strangers who may not have bargained with them for the safety of their persons and goods. In fact, like their great dece days: bare knop their fire Tray nero May forc for 4 ITS VIRTUES. 357 progenitor, their hand is against every man, until, at least, its aid or its forbearance be purchased. They love the roving and pastoral life, moving from place to place, within certain bounds, in search of pasture for their flocks and herds; though, of later years, finding a difficulty in procuring a suf- ficiency of grain by barter, a portion of each tribe have betaken themselves to agriculture, and cul- tivate a portion of its land for the behoof of the rest. These Fellah, or cultivating Arabs, are, how- ever, held in low estimation by their roving bre- thren, who despise all such menial employments, as degrading to their free and noble race. Whatever virtues the Arabs of former times may have possessed, it is to be feared that few have descended to their progeny of these degenerate days, at least in those parts to which Europeans have had access. As the iniquitously acquired knowledge of our first parents opened their eyes to their nakedness, so the perception of his compara- tive poverty has awakened in the Arab's mind a craving for riches--a feeling which is directly sub- versive of the practice of either hospitality or ge- nerosity ; because the easiest way-indeed, the only way--for one of his habits to acquire them, is by force and rapine, by taking the property of others; and, accordingly, the existence of these virtues is found proportionably rare. The same may be said of integrity and fidelity. The man who is un- scrupulous as to the means of acquiring riches, will pay little regard to his promises or oaths. Accordingly, nothing is more common than instances 1 358 ARAB VICES. away the fato nuing was SUFET of Arab faithlessness and treachery. The sacred tie of “ bread and salt” becomes an empty form which is easily evaded. The pledge given by one chief is disregarded or broken, when it suits his purpose, in the person of his brother or his uncle, who declares his own independence and right of plunder ; and we hear even of a host, after enter- taining travellers as his guests, and guarding them in safety on their journey to a prescribed point, himself waylaying and stripping them. Courage, like many other qualities, is the child of circumstances, and flourishes in proportion as these call it forth. The stout resistance of the Ben-i-boo-Allee tribe to the British arms at Raus- ul-Khymah, the determined courage of Arab mer- cenaries in India on many occasions, and the daring (though often atrocious) exploits of the Wahabees, may serve as proofs, among many others that might be quoted, of Arab gallantry; yet so much is the reverse the case in the countries we are now speak- ing of, that the cowardly, yet bullying, character of the Arabs is notorious. Of this there are numer- ous instances. On a certain occasion, when Colonel Taylor was journeying by boat from Bussora to Baghdad, the Arabs of a certain village, on the bank of the Tigris, taking some offence at the conduct of a boatman, assembled in great numbers, and with such hostile demonstrations that, after sundry vain attempts to parley, it was judged necessary to fire a small gun over their heads, with a volley from the party of Sepoys on board the boats. The effect was instantaneous, every man fell down or ran prepa outt enplan The taken which till . down dema ca Stor i. A the i ness pi whel is o fatal not Thi Wit mi VALUE OF FIRMNESS. 359 away, and the women of the village, or camp in the rear, instantly struck the tents and retreated into a swamp behind. The hostile symptoms conti- nuing, and the crowd increasing, a party of Sepoys was landed, on which the Arabs, though greatly superior in numbers, were so intimidated at the preparations made to resist them, that they called out they were willing to treat; and, accordingly, explanations took place, and harmony was restored. The Arabs afterwards confessed that the that they had taken the Resident's boats for a fleet of native craft, which they were accustomed to bully and fleece at will. In the same way, a friend of ours going down the river, was attacked by the Arabs who demanded an arbitrary custom; but the discharge of a shotted gun over their heads, and the exhi. bition of a resolute face, brought the party clear off. A little firmness will almost invariably bring the Arabs of Mesopotamia to reason; but this firm- ness must be guided by judgment and discretion, or it may lead to painful results. If blood be drawn where the superiority on the part of the opponents is overpowering, the consequences are sure to be fatal; whereas, when resistance in such situations is not offered, the Arabs seldom, if ever, murder. This was exemplified in the case of three English- men who were travelling, not many years since, with a caravan from Baghdad to Constantinople. At a point near Mardeen, the caravan was sur- rounded by a large party of armed Arabs, who de- manded a sum of money by way of custom. The 1 360 CONSEQUENCES OF RASHNESS. with there OCCUE prese A feud forgo side bono EngE ceived of the inmal affair would have been speedily arranged by the payment of part of this demand, but these gentle- men, who were a little way apart at the time of the attack, either dreading the result or scorning the idea of submitting to be robbed by Arabs, re- tired to a little rising ground, where they were speedily surrounded by a well-armed troop. Threats and furious gestures ensued, and in the scuffle, by some unfortunate chance a pistol, discharged by one of the gentlemen, shot the son or relative of the Sheikh. The consequence was an instant assault, and the unfortunate travellers were cut to pieces in a moment. You have already seen that these battles are al- most ridiculously bloodless — a victory is not unfre- quently gained without the loss of a man; but it is to be observed that, in addition to the shy- ness of individuals to expose their persons to hazard, there is a wholesome apprehension of the conse- quences of a blood feud, which forms a powerful check upon any indiscreet propensity to violence. In the battle with the Ageil, however, this principle did not come into operation, and yet you have seen how comparatively small a loss the Arabs sustained on this occasion, and how little they exposed them- selves to danger. These blood feuds among the Arab tribes, preg- nant though they are with atrocities and horrors, differ little in character from those of other nations, including even our own countrymen in the times of old. Volumes of details might be written on the subject; but I dare say you will be satisfied to re brish hoste ther ricti beau it is whit 263 COM to pit ARAB BLOOD-FEUD. 361 with one or two instances by way of sample, and there is one which I am tempted to relate, as having occurred within the knowledge and partly in the presence of one of our countrymen. A branch of the great tribe of Ben-i-Lâm were at feud with another tribe of Arabs, whose name I have forgotten, and much blood had been shed on either side to satiate individual revenge and vindicate the honour of surviving relatives. It happened that an Englishman, travelling through Khuzistan, was re- ceived and entertained in the tent of the Sheikh of the latter tribe, his entertainer, the only member of the family at home being a daughter, who acted as hostess in her father's absence. At night, the inmates of the tent, including the stranger, retired to rest; but towards morning he was awakened by shrieks, and distinguished the voice of his young hostess exclaiming that she was murdered! All rushed to the spot, where they found the unfortunate girl in the agonies of death, her breast pierced with three deep stabs of a dagger. While gazing on the dying victim and offering vain assistance, a voice was heard from a height close by, exclaiming : “Yes, it is I! I have done it — praise be to God, I have murdered her!” All eyes were turned to the spot, where there was seen an old woman standing and gesticulating with vehemence. A rush was made towards her, and she either ran or was borne back to the brink of the river on which the tents were pitched, from the high bank of which she fell into the deep stream; and, whether she perished or escaped, was seen no more. 362 ARAB REVENGE. 1 cious Orri Time the the che patie not u Teat her TH EVEN Tole On inquiry, it appeared that this Sheikh, who now had to mourn the loss of a daughter, had once had a son, who in some former fray had been put to death by a pehlewan (or champion) of the other tribe ; an event which called forth all the virulence of the existing feud. Some short time afterwards, a stranger entered the camp and was received with the customary cordiality of Arab hospitality. Un- fortunately he was recognised by some of the tribe as the very pehlewan who had put to death the son of their Sheikh. What was to be done ?-He was now their guest, and by all the laws of hospi- tality and by Arab customs could not be touched. The Sheikh himself was absent; and the arguments of good faith and mercy were preponderating, when the young woman now in question entered the as- sembly and upbraided the men with cowardice and cold-heartedness towards their chief. 66 What!” said she, “shall the murderer of your Sheikh's son be in your hands and yet escape ? Never let this be said-put him instantly to death, or renounce the name of men !” Still, however, a reluctance to infringe on, in so direct a manner, the laws of host and guest, restrained the hands and weapons of the men, in spite of the wrath that was boiling in their breasts, and possibly the force of that consideration might have prevailed, when the young girl herself, maddened at the sight of her brother's murderer and the idea of his escaping, seized a sword and smote him. The sight of blood was irresistible- in a moment every weapon was drawn, and sheathed in the body of their unfortunate guest-he was lite- rally cut in pieces. remot powe dead vaile desp dau arm 1 sport But bur the ere Cor EXTERMINATION OF A TRIBE. 363 The Sheikh returned, and shocked at the atro- cious violation of hospitality, was furious at the perpetrators : fain would he have recalled the act or repaired the injury ; but that was impossible. Time passed on, and the murder, like others of the sort, was forgotten by the tribe ; but not by the mother of the slain. Resolved upon revenge, she had followed the hostile camp for years, and patiently watched an opportunity, which she found not until the fatal night when the Englishman who relates the story, was by chance a guest in the tent of the Shiekh, and witness to the consummation of her savage vengeance. The following still more dreadful tale of Arab revenge is taken from some memoranda of Colonel Taylor, respecting the Arab tribes, and refers to a remoter period : -- the tribe of Montefic, to whose power I have referred, derive their chief strength originally from two principal clans, the Mâlik and the Ajwad, who, though now united, were once at deadly feud. Their quarrel was for the right of pasturage over certain tracts, and the Mâlik pre- vailed -- the Ajwad were exterminated; excited to desperation by the songs and encouragements of the daughters of their tribe, every male of the Ajwad armed himself for battle, and fell in defence of the spot where his fathers had pastured their flocks. But even this sanguinary triumph was insufficient for the cautious forecast of Suleiman, the leader of the Mâlik ; he dreaded future retribution, should even a single individual, especially a male, of the conquered tribe survive. So he adopted the atro- Y 361 THE VALE OF WOMEN. beca mon liho mac cha and Eur man the the was D. Kar one NO cious expedient of putting to death every surviv- ing female, and securing the loss of progeny by the most horrible means. This diabolical act was per- petrated. One alone, who had thrown herself at the feet of a Mâlik chief, was saved by his com- passion at the risk and almost by the sacrifice of his own life, for he was wounded, and nearly cut to pieces in defending his protégé. Of this young woman, who was pregnant at the time, was born Abdallah, afterwards the founder of a tribe which, from the peculiar origin of its head, received the appellation of “the Orphans' Tribe.” The scene of slaughter was one of those pleasant glens which even in the sterile and rocky soil of Arabia are found among the mountains; where water may be everywhere obtained near the surface, and which in spring and early summer are covered with a rich verdure, affording excellent pasturage. It is there the wandering Arab loves to encamp; and so plea- sant are those lovely spots, in contrast with the desert around, that no wonder can be excited at any struggles to maintain the right over so delight- ful a retreat. The valley in question is to be seen some fifteen miles to the south of modern Bussora, and to this day retains the name it received on that fatal occasion, being known as the Wadi-ul- nissa, or the Vale of Women. The following extracts from the journal of a traveller, who resided much among the Arabs of the Euphrates, and which I obtained by the favour of Colonel Taylor, afford some amusing peeps at Arab manners; and I give them with the less scruple CPOL rem mai can gui feel mer ori Te th 0 ADVENTURES OF A TRAVELLER. 365 because the traveller himself, I regret to say, is no more;* and I do not hear that there is any like- lihood of his journals, if they were preserved, being made public. This gentleman was travelling in the character of a Dervish, with one or two companions, and had arrived at a point near Racca, on the Euphrates, when he fell in at first with a Toorko- man encampment. On reaching the tents, a son of the chief Topal Mustapha, threw himself on the ground before them, and they marched into the tent over his body. “Who are ye, fathers ?” was the first question put to them by the chief. "Dervishes, going to Racca, to the tomb of Wasil Karanee may God be satisfied with the act !- and one of us is a doctor and surgeon," was the reply. No sooner was this said than forward came a crowd of invalids and ailing persons, to whom remedies were given gratis, the only stipulation made being for a guide to take them to the next camp, and an ass to carry their knapsacks. “I will guide you myself,” said the chief's son.—"May the feet of all Sheikhs (that is holy men) be on my neck.” “ Having said so," observes the traveller, " he took medicines for at least six different dis- orders and remained puzzling about for something yet to ask.” The chief wore a countenance of great suspicion, and made many inquiries as to whether they had any money. A mess of turmoose was given them to eat : this * His name was Elliot, a very eccentric but very enterprising person, whose life and adventures, if an account of them could be obtained, would form a work full of interest and information. 366 NATIONAL DISH. JAC KO pla cat trit ma fer= 1 thr Cla los lon bea is made of itheree, a sort of millet, coarsely ground and thrown into boiling water, and stirred round till it assumes the consistence of paste. The caldron is then turned over into a wicker-tray, and the con- tents made into the shape of bread, being baked on heated wood-ashes, or stones, brushwood being heaped and kindled over all. A quarter of an hour suffices for baking the loaf, which is broken to pieces in the wicker-tray, and then placed in a wooden bowl. Yelaun choorbeh, a sort of soup maigre, is poured upon it, and it is eaten very hot. The master of the tent or his son knelt and fanned the dish with the tail of his shirt, while his guests ate the contents : it is a mess, that from its laxative qualities frequently disagrees with strangers. This Topal Mustapha, notwithstanding his profes- sions and those of his son, cheated the travellers about the ass, and it was with difficulty they procured a guide towards Racca. The writer considers them as a race more false, thievish, and cruel by far than even the Koords, from whom he appears to have suffered also. They next reached the precincts of the Ben-i- Saeed tribe, the northernmost Arabs on the Eu- phrates at Shereen, and were received by Hamet- el-Jassin, the Sheikh of a part of them, with the same religious honours as at the camp of Topal Mustapha, the Sheikh himself throwing himself on the ground on their approach, and remaining pro- strate while the supposed Dervishes passed over him. Nay, to increase his satisfaction, Omar, one of our traveller's companions, remained standing on the de be th th 1 1 HAMET-UL-KIIALEEL. 367 poor man's loins while repeating a portion of the Korân. He rose, at length, and saluting each by placing his hand in theirs, invited them into the catacomb in which he lodged. The chief of the tribe, however, was Derweesh-ibu-Fakh-ul-Saeed, a man held in high and universal esteem even by the powerful tribe of Aneiza, who pay respect to few : in fact, our traveller speaks highly of the Ben- i-Saeed tribe generally, and states that he passed through their territories without suffering any mo- lestation. One person of this tribe he honours with espe- cial mention, Hamet-ul-Khaleel, or Hamet the Be- loved, an old man of striking appearance, whose long white beard waving in all directions, and bald head, half covered only with the black silk hand- kerchief that bound it, gave a venerable air to his aspect; while “his tall gaunt figure and gallant deportment proclaimed that in his youth he had been that common character, a martial Arab dandy : the hearty welcome and the frequent rounds of right good coffee, declared him to be what in truth he was, a generous, noble-hearted old fellow; and the term 'a father to the poor,' applied to him by the guide, exactly described his character.” The ladies of the tribe do not come off so well in our traveller's description : he says that the Arab women from Shereen to below Anah are in general tall and very plain, having an awkward and even masculine appearance; the old ones are absolutely hideous. “Unlike their pretty lively neighbours, the Koords, they are grumbling and discontented in the 368 BEDOOEEN LADIES. THE ners hin Aga dres was elle tatic OF Dec ? duties of the tent, and have nothing of that natu- ral elegance which at first sight so much recom- mends the Bedooeen ladies and the Arab women below Anah: their unbecoming habits, and the rude screeching manner in which they converse, render them very repulsive to a stranger — not one decent- looking woman did I see among the hundreds who go uncovered during the Bairâm in the streets of Anah.” The ladies of the Ben-i-Saeed, he adds, go covered with gold and silver coins and trin- kets, of which a large thick silver ring, a foot in diameter, having silver rings fixed to it by chains, and a gold and silver belt of five inches broad, were the most conspicuous. The men, he observes, took the greatest care of their accoutrements. They studded the straps from which they suspend every article, with small round brass bosses, so that they seemed as if covered with armour; their bullet-bags and powder-flasks are lengthened with numerous long thin slips of leather, twisted round with brass at various distances, to give them a glittering appearance, and courie-shells are added according to the wearer's fancy : their dress is a shirt and an abba (Arab cloak); if cold, two abbas. Furs are seldom seen, and not more than one in thirty wears a kind of high shoe — the rest, both horsemen and footmen (segmaun) go barefoot. On an expedition of sudden emergency, one and all, horse and foot, rush out in their shirts, tucking the skirts into their belts ; and baring their arms by tying the ends of their sleeves over their shoul- ders, they stream away to the point of attack. M哪​師​侧​如此​帥 ​ere Day CAMP OF THE UL-FADHEE. 369 The travellers next arrived at the camp of Mus- tapha Hajee Mahomed Sheikh of the Ul-Fadhee Arabs at Racca, and he thus describes their man- ners in society :—“When we entered, the fat Koord himself (Allee Sinjar, a person sent from Eyoob Aga, chief of a powerful Koordish tribe, with a dress of honour for the Sheikh of the Ul-Fadhee) was in the place of honour where the Sheikh him- self should have been seated. After the first salu- tation, I said, 'Is this the Sheikh ?' and taking from my pocket the letter directed to the Sheikh of the Ul-Fadhee, the Koord put forth his hand, and as no one said to the contrary, I gave it him. He opened and read it, and then addressing me in Turkish, asked the news from Beer. At this mo- ment in came Sheikh Mustapha Hajee Mahomed attired in his robe of honour, made of the worst kind of French cloth. He brought an enormous crowd with him, who all spoke at once; but the Stentorian voice of the Sheikh was heard far above the rest - to my astonishment he even at times addressed persons in another tent. Here things ap- pear different to what they are in other tribes, where everything is settled by the number of adherents a man possesses. They all spoke together, and it seem- ed to me that the loudest voice carried the argument. “Whoever first enters the tent, comes to the place, or fixes his eye on where he intends to sit — the sig- nal is Salaam Aleicoum!' on which room must be made in that particular spot; the man saluting then wedges himself down into his seat. Each fresh visiter is thus accommodated; even though he had 2 B VOL. I. 370 LOUD TALKERS. à a been sitting in the same tent and at a distance from the fire, he may come with his “Salaam Alei- coum!' and thus obtain a seat by the fire. This Salaam' is never given at the entrance of the tent, but only on the spot which the person fixes on for a seat. There is no respect shown either to age or person, unless it be to those who have the most impudence, and who thus obtain a good seat. “ The Koord, Allee Sinjar, gave the letter to the Sheikh, who, being himself unable to read, sent for the Moollah ; he, after much difficulty, read it through. The Sheikh then, turning to me, bawled out in a tone far above the voices of the rest, each individual of whom was at the same time roaring out his opinion and favouring me with directions about my future route. I never before witnessed such a scene of uproar; but it was one I had to witness every day and hour from this to Anah. Five or six persons would ask me questions all at the same moment; and while I was replying to one of them, the rest would, on conjecture, answer their own inquiries, for the purpose, as it seemed, of say- ing something--the sheer love of talking. "Talk, as my companion Dervish Hussein observed, “is their fire, their clothing, and their pillaw ;' and, in fact, the Aneiza had left them little else, coming on them at all times with demands for itheree, cattle, clothes, and other things, which they dare not refuse. “ The Sheikh gained the day, however, bellowing out, as I said, at the top of his voice, as follows: - Beyond the great jungle there are no encamp- ments for two days' journey; and if you sleep out, # 1 C 1 1 woke in the inorning found half his crop eaten up, AN EFFECTUAL RETORT. 371 you will be eaten up by the wild-beasts--you had better go to the opposite bank of the river: I will give you a letter to a Sheikh under me lower down, where some of my people are going to-morrow- he is carrying over itheree on kellicks (rafts). I will also give you letters to the Sheikh of the opposite bank, who will forward you to Deer.” Next came a “row” upon religious subjects with the Moollah, who was called to write the letters ; this was going rather against the travellers, when a person addressed the priest as follows, with an arch look :-"I can't read myself,” said he," and therefore cannot judge which of the parties is cor- rect; but this I know, that the paper which you gave last year to a poor fellow to keep the pigs out of his itheree while he slept, was worth very little. The man did go to sleep, and when he and your paper which he had pegged down amongst it, torn, trodden under foot, and defiled by the un- clean beasts - so much for your being a Moollah!” This closed the Moollah's mouth, and put an end to the debate. “I was much fatigued,” he continues, “by the incessant noise and crushing of people before the fire. A circle three or four deep had been formed, which completely filled up the tent : beyond this many knelt, while others stood up. The Sheikh lay within the circle at full length before the fire ; his son, a spoilt monkey of fourteen, sat upon our toes, turning round, and nudging us with the point of his fingers (a common practice) as often as he could 2 5 2 372 MEDICAL PRACTICE. T fc à V be f TE F frame questions to put to us. The crowd was so great, that when I tried to sit cross-legged, they sat upon my knees, so that to prevent this I was forced to draw them up to my chin and allow myself to be crushed like a wedge. I was much fatigued, and begged Omar to act the physician in my stead. The Koord Allee Sinjar, who retained the place of honour, and sat raking the ashes with a crooked stick, first thrust forth his great wrist. Omar pro- nounced his case to be one of the reeah, or the humours.' • He is right,' said the Koord,—that is exactly my complaint;' so Omar gave him a grain of calomel, four of colocynth, and three anti- bilious pills ; but, instead of payment, he received only a request for a similar dose for a friend. “We had divided our medicines into five grand portions; the first for the reeah, or humour; the second for headach, &c.— but the last, which was prolific pills, was in most request, and the next morning the Shiekh's brother seduced Omar away into another tent to exhibit these to his lady, under the tempting promise of a good mealno small boon; for all had become well acquainted with hunger. One meal in the morning and another at night was our best luck, and we had to carry between us a heavy knapsack. When we arrived at an encampment, we had generally to wait for our sup- pers till after dark, as Hoosseen said, that we might not see the abominable trash they fed us with. It was always the eternal itherce turmoose, with false soup, of which, such was its effects upon our stomachs, the more we devoured, the more a a 1 1 1 1 IMPORTUNATE PATIENTS. 373 we required.--unsatisfying to the appetite and dis- tressing in its effect. Tempted, then, by the promise of a meal of good food, Omar went to the appointed place at dawn; and when the time came for his starting with the cara- van, he found himself literally mobbed, complaints being made that he had taken inoney and tobacco for medicines which he had not given. Some com- plained of utter neglect; others wanted to give back the medicines they had received-others to exchange them-others again would not only have their me- dicines but their money or tobacco returned. The women were the most clamorous of all. To some of these I was forced to give what they wanted; but at length getting hold of the medicine-box, I gave it to a deaf man, who wanted some of its contents, and motioned him to gallop off with it while we should follow as we could. So away we went, the crowd following us, and plucking us back by our poosts (skin dresses) for a full musket-shot from the tents. Such were the scenes that occurred every day, whoever of us played the physician. The money we got for our medicines, was generally expended in paying guides, or was pilfered from us; and as for tobacco, my comrade Hoosseen dis- posed of that ; his pipe being seldom empty, to coun- teract, as he said, the ill effects of the itheree.” The next stage of our traveller was to the jungle district, which, from Racca to Ul-Kaim, he found very dense, and in some places impenetrable. The jungle Arabs he describes as the lowest dregs of the human species —"worse than Russian boors, 374 DECAMPING. TL bez Us, eve ter for sha sta hee hie Bashkirs, or Calmooks”- their manners brutal, their conversation indecent. The women as bad as the men-modesty unknown. At the ferry, the wives of the Sheikh Allee-ul-Kelb and his lieutenant stripped before the travellers, and crossed the river on inflat- ed skins — their whole conduct was equally indecent and disgusting. As among other wandering tribes, he found that the women were the principal labourers, striking and packing the tents and household stuff, &c. in the following manner :- they first packed up the baggage, then drew up the tent-pegs and threw down the tents : next they rolled up the side and harem screens, made of tall reeds, being only assist- ed by the men in loading the oxen that carry them. They have only oxen and asses ; there are no camels at all in this quarter; and Abd-ul-Arâr, the second Sheikh of this tribe, was the only man who possessed a horse, and a very indifferent one it was-the Anei- za had disposed of all the rest; neither did our tra- veller observe any poultry-a single cock in the chief's tent served as a clock and a pet for the children. The process of decamping scarcely occupied one hour though there were about three hundred tents, in two divisions, to strike. On arriving at the new ground, the men com- menced cutting down and clearing the wood that covered the spot, making a fence of loose branches, about five feet high. Two openings or more were left, which they call bub-ul gunnum (gates for the sheep) ; spare branches were left to shut up the whole at night, being withdrawn in the morning. OM 20 put ol 1 ENCAMPING. 375 This is done as well to keep out thieves as wild beasts. Lions, in particular, as Allee-ul-Kelb told us, were abundant, and one came to the encampment every night and carried off cattle of some sort. From night till morning the shout went from one tent to another; the dogs are the best guards, for when one of these begins to bark, some of the men of the encampment generally join and shout and hoot till the barking ceases. Even in the midst of conversation in the evening, it con- stantly occurred that one or other of the party, hearing a growl or a bark, would instantly shout aloud, and this was most frequent in the tent of the Sheikh. The ground being cleared, each individual takes his station exactly as in the last encampment, in order that the cattle may find their respective homes without difficulty; yet they say that, even were the position of each to be altered, the oxen, sheep, goats, and asses would go to their owner's tent of their own accord without being driven. The tent is then opened out and beaten ; the men only drive the pegs and raise the poles, the women set up the screens and finish and arrange the rest. The inside of the tent is then brushed to take off the soot: stakes are driven in, a rope drawn across at the fur- ther end, and halters fastened for the oxen; then itheree stalks are collected and thrown in, in readi- ness for the cattle. Then forage is collected, wood cut down, and water drawn by the women. The boys attend the flock, while the men scarcely do anything and are the laziest people on earth. For 376 FRIENDLY EXAMINATION. t I six weeks in the year they attend the cherd (or machine by which water for irrigation is raised by oxen), there being usually five tents to one cherd, and consequently ten days' labour to the men of each tent. The embankments on which the water-courses run are only three, four, or five feet high, accord- ing to the declivity of the soil. Cherds are only required below Racca. They have no ploughs ; two men dig with a large spade, one driving it into the ground, after which the other pulls it towards him with a cord a yard long. “One day,” says our traveller, “as I went to the ferry, two men with asses were seen at a distance, on which Allee-ul-Kelb, and five others who were present, ran to see who they were. They brought back the young men stripped, having left them only the patched and rotten garment with which every man travels. Allee then inquired of them to what tribe they belonged, a question they evaded, as it hap- pened that they were of a hostile tribe, which, had it been known, would have caused their being put to death upon the spot. When sent to the tents to be fed, however, they were recognised by Abd- ul-Arâr, the second Sheikh, who, although they were enemies, procured for them the release of their property. The Arabs, in fact, make little distinc- tion between friends and enemies with respect to plunder, robbing both indiscriminately, they even pillage one another in their encampments. One day when a robbery of this sort had occurred, the owner came; and, borrowing a large green byrak, or flag, tied a copper vessel of ablution and a Koran 1 THEFTS. - PUNISHMENTS. 377 in a bag to the spear end of it, and, going round the camp, exclaimed aloud : O hearers of this cry; O Mahomed and Allee! this is the religion of the flag and of God--the truth is here present—whoever has got my stolen sheep, let him come and restore it.' The theft of a sheep was common, they said the thieves ate the flesh in secret, and kept the skins for kellicks to cross the river upon. If de- tected, there is no punishment; but if the sheep were already eaten, the thief was forced to replace it by another of equal value. If a man commits murder, he has only to go and reside at another encampment of the same tribe, and is not afterwards molested.” Our traveller, at length, accompanied a person sent by Allee-ul-Kelb to Dair (or Deer), but was forced to pledge his Arabic vocabulary (made, I believe, by himself) to make up the sum required by that Sheikh for guidance, and he crossed the river with great difficulty on an inflated skin im- pelled by the swimming guide. In quitting the jungle Arabs, he reviles them again for the veriest wretches on earth, and arrant scoundrels to boot, of whom a single shot would frighten hundreds ; indeed he mentions a circumstance scarcely worth relating, which occurred to himself, and which cor- roborates his assertion. Their worst battles and wars terminate, he says, in abuse, or, at most, in a few blows and accidental wounds. Not so does he talk of the Aneiza, and the tribes of Bedooeen or Desert Arabs. He particu- larly dwells on the difference in manner and appear- 378 BEDOOEEN ARABS. 0 l ance between them and the fixed Arabs, such as the jungle and Fellah Arabs ; describing the former as naturally noble and gentleman-like, of a manly carriage, and animated features ; the latter as clownish in manner, awkward in deportment, and ill-favoured in face and figure. “A stranger," says he, would scarcely be offended at being plun- dered by the Bedooeen, while even a compliment from the cultivating Arab is disgusting: I know no better way to express the contrast.” Nay, it appears that even in enforcing their demands upon the subject tribes, however absolute they may be, their manner is still dignified and polite; "as if they were taking their own.” In short, " the Bed- dooeens may be termed the nobility and gentry of the Arabs, while the cultivators are the boors of their country.” This is indeed the description of an enthusiast in the cause of Arab politeness. Assuredly, nevertheless, this mode of helping themselves to the goods of their less refined though more industrious neighbours, however politely ma- naged, is a serious evil to the subject country; for we are told, “ they (the Aneiza) come in bodies of three or four thousand men, and cut, thresh out, and carry away the corn which others have sowed, and consequently the lands above and below Anah remain uncultivated.” Hît and other towns have forts to protect them, and therefore their harvests are more secure. These are not the only or the most profitable depredations which are practised by the roving Arabs; rich caravans are frequently placed under A RICH BOOTY. 379 heavy contributions, and sometimes fall entirely into their hands, and occasionally large booty is made by surprising parties of rich travellers. Not even the Sultan's and the Pashah's officers escape, when they are overtaken by the Arabs in sufficient force. A friend of mine, journeying near Erbile, met with an Arab who narrated to him, with much glee, several of his plundering adventures. Among others he mentioned his having, in company with a small party, stopped an officer of the celebrated Daood Pashah, by name Yussuff Aga, near a place called Daltowa, and robbed him of a considerable sum in gold and silver. The thing that turned out best for him, was a ring which he took from the finger of one of the plundered party. When he saw it first, the ignorant Arab thought it was a bit of glass set round with other smaller bits, and he took it for the sake of the gold setting alone; but having occasion, some months afterwards, to go to Mousul, he went to the goldsmiths' bazaar to get some coins valued, and there he saw people looking at glass or stones like the one he had, and putting a great price upon them; so he thrust his hand in with the ring on it, and asked a jeweller what it was worth. The jeweller took it off, and putting it on his own finger, turned it in all directions ; called one or two other persons, who did the same, and then told him it might be worth 8000 piastres. This news, he said, brought his heart to his mouth, but he kept his countenance, and boldly told the other he should not have the ring under 20,000 piastres. They then set to bargaining in earnest, 380 PURCHASE OF FORBEARANCE. 66 That and at last struck for 10,000. The money was counted down, and when he saw 800 chânies (about 80 or 90l.) all his own, he got quite con- founded, tied up the money in a corner of his cam- leen, forgot all his other business, went to his khan, mounted his horse, and never halted or stayed till he got to his tent next morning. Even then he could hardly believe his senses, but the sight and feel of the hard coin brought him to. ring,” added he chuckling," was the making of me,—the best day's work ever I saw ! Ah ! those were the times! when we wanted money or any- thing else, we had only to go to the road side and wait for the first caravan !" As I have observed above, however, these cara- vans were not always game. On the contrary, it was customary in districts where the Arabs had the sway, to compound for the safety and free passage of these rich marching magazines of mer- chandise, as in the case of the caravans from Da- mascus and Aleppo, which have, for many years, been conducted by the Ageil tribe through the Desert to Baghdad. These pay a tribute to the Aneiza for their forbearance, as the caravans pass chiefly through their territory. Yet even this pre- caution occasionally fails of its object; and caravans, whether from accident or design, are occasionally stopped and even plundered, in spite of their guards. A circumstance of this sort, related by the traveller I have already quoted, affords a curious and interest- ing proof of the power of the Sheikhs and their family over their tribes. A party of the Aneiza POWER OF THE SHIEKHS, 381 who had come, in their usual cavalier manner, to supply themselves with grain, from their unfortunate dependants, the tribe of Ul-Fadhee, on their return, fell in with and stopped a large caravan coming from Aleppo to Baghdad, under conduct of a Sheikh of the Ageil, the recognised guides. The result was a negotiation, and the caravan was de- tained fifteen days in this unpleasant situation, before the question of customs could be settled. , In the mean time, though property was to be re- spected pending the negotiation, certain Jew mer- chants of the caravan complained that they had lost a tin box of British printed cottons, and the Ageil Sheikh, represented this to Abdallah Haddal, the Sheikh of the Aneiza. A little boy, the son of Abdallah, who was present, heard the complaint and immediately said, “ Father, these men say they have lost a tin box; let them find it.” This reply of the child decided the fate of the men's property. Though the caravan was surrounded by Abdallah's people, the box was soon found and re- stored, which certainly would not have been the case had the Sheikh not been moved by his son's words to comply with what, after all, was but ad- hering to his word. I do not know whether these somewhat desul- tory observations, these “ shreds and patches” of description and character, may serve to amuse, or afford you any idea of the people among whom I was now to travel. Less independent and unso- phisticated than the free tribes of Nejd, the Arabs of Mesopotamia have lost much of the frankness 382 POWER OF THE SHEIKHS. and generosity which are understood to characterise their nobler brethren ; yet in manners and deport- ment, as little do they approach in gross brutality the Arabs of the jungle, or the oppressed cultiva- tors of the upper banks of the Euphrates; but I need say no more about the matter here, for the account I am about to give you of what I heard and saw among them, will, I hope, enable you to judge for yourself of their character, manners, and customs. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 1 LONDON : PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, Bangor House, Shoe Lane. rise ort- City va- I he ed LI 110 E.Radclyffe. J.B.Fraser, del BAGBDA) FROM TE NORT) = KC TRAVELS IN KOORDISTAN AND MESOPOTAMIA. LETTER I. Leave Baghdad. - Seleucia.-Ctesiphon.— Arab Sheikhs.—Tauk- e-Kesrà. — Cross the Jezreerah to Mahâwil. - Ancient Sites.- Wandering in the Dark.-Principal Ruins of Babylon.--The Mujellibeh.-View from its Summit.—El-Kasr.—Hill of Amrân. -Hillah.— The Euphrates.- Impressions of the Day.-An Arab Friend. --Pilgrim Servants. > Hillah, or Old Babylon, 28th December. HERE we are, dear once more in motion, thank Heaven ! and on our intended route. On the 22nd everything was in readiness; but : we were detained chiefly by a high southerly wind, which raised such a surge in the river that they have been obliged, as on all similar occasions, to open the bridge of crazy boats, lest they should sink and the fabric be destroyed. We tried to get the horses over in gooffahs, but they would not look at the clumsy conveyances, so that we were forced to en- dure the delay. On the 23rd, our patience was simi- VOL. II. B 2 OUR PARTY AND GUIDE, b an no larly tried : the wind blew a perfect gale, so that we were forced to content ourselves with our comfort- able quarters at Colonel Taylor's. On the 24th, the bridge having been re-united, our horses and baggage were enabled to pass, and hav- ing left the town by the Hillah gate at nine o'clock in the morning, we directed our course towards the ruins of Seleucia and Ctesiphon. A goodly caval- cade we formed in all ; for, with Mr. Finlay, Dr. Ross, and the servants, together with the Arab guide, we numbered not less than fifteen persons. This guide, who is furnished by the Zobeid Sheikh, is a tall, gaunt, meagre negro, with thick lips, great buck teeth, and prominent white eyes ; remarkably grave and stupid-looking, and silent withal, save when, with- out either rhyme or reason, or any apparent cause, he bursts out with Stentorian voice into a most selcouth roar of song! The morning was foggy; but when, after some hours, the fog had cleared away, it was a delightful relief, after the long confinement in Bagh- dad, to find ourselves at large in the open expanse, even of the desert :-desert it may be called in so far as it bore no traces of man, but the soil was fit for anything : it was, in short, the fat alluvial soil of Me- sopotamia, the garden of the world of yore, though now only producing some bushes of a species of dwarf acacia (mimosa agrestis ?-the seed of which is called St. John's bread), capers, and certain salsuginous herbs. Our ride was only varied by crossing the bed of an ancient canal, now dried up; and in five hours and a half, we found ourselves entering the circuit of old Seleucia, part of the walls rup the : do ing th CTESIPHON AND SELEUCIA. 3 of which still remain, and are of a very considerable height. The two cities of Ctesiphon (or Ul-Madain), and Seleucia, were built on each side of the river, and opposite each other, though flourishing at different periods. Of the latter, the only remains are the mounds of a great wall which, in fact, embraced both banks, and which inclosed an immense space of ground, over which are scattered abundance of other mounds of various dimensions ; but all alike bearing testimony to having been once the abodes of man, in the fragments of brick, pottery, broken glass, and other such relics, with which they are thickly strewed. By the mere passing traveller, who can- not afford time to wander over and examine such ruins with the science and patient perseverance of an antiquary, little is to be gained from inspecting them, beyond the power of having to say that he has seen them, and has actually been on such and such a site, with the feelings which such vestiges of un- doubted antiquity may give rise to -- yet assuredly this is something, and something, too, worth toil- ing for. The ruins, or rather ruin, of Ctesiphon (for there is but one relic of that once rich and noble city), is calculated to excite far different sensations ; for no one can view the Tauk-e-Kesra without being strongly impressed with the gigantic grandeur of the building, of which it must have formed a part, and the magnificent conceptions of the monarch who raised it. There is no Eastern palace with which I am acquainted, which possesses such a façade, B 2 THE TAUK-E-K ESRA. 5 you think we are men to be plundered for nothing ;" and he showed him my double-barrelled detonator and a brace of double-barrelled pistols--a sight which had an evident effect upon his courage, and as obviously increased his respect. He examined the gun par: ticularly; and on returning it, said bitterly—“Ah! the curse of God be on the gun that shoots with- out flint or fire!” He however followed us ta the river side, and remained hovering about till we crossed. I will not here attempt an elaborate description of the Tauk, but only say that it consists of a façade of more than three hundred feet long, in which there is an archway one hundred and six feet high, enter- ing into what must have been one of the noblest halls in the world; the rest of the façade on either side being embellished with four tiers of pilasters, and small arches like windows. This is almost all that remains of the building, and even this, though formed of the most exquisite brickwork, has suffered so severely from the hand of time, that we can only guess at the character and appearance of the whole when complete. It is surrounded by a number of mounds, and the country, to a great extent about, bears everywhere vestiges of ancient sites, in the broken bricks, glass, pottery, Porcelain, &c. that abounds. While we were looking around us, an Arab came up and offered for sale a rock-crystal cylinder and antiques of various sorts which he had picked up not far from the place where we stood ; coins, intaglios, brass images, and such things are frequently found by the wandering Arabs, or shep- 6 VESTIGES OF FORMER POPULATION. TE ei te la herds who graze their flocks here. I took two views of this interesting ruin, which, I regret to say, is going rapidly to decay from the assaults both of man and of the seasons, and left it, after linger- ing and admiring it for several hours ; but we were unfortunately pressed for time, being anxious to reach a khan or caravanserai named Mahầwil, before nightfall-So, after re-crossing, we took a hasty breakfast, and were on our horses by half an hour after noon. Our ride, so long as daylight lasted, served at least to convince us how populous the land must have been in times of old; for scarcely did we tra- verse a mile of it without passing over the site of some ancient city, or town, or village. Some- times we found a whole tract covered with frag- ments of bricks, pottery, and glass; and it was re- markable, that all of these sites are utterly bare of vegetation, so that, even independent of the ap- pearance of débris, we could tell when we were crossing one. Mounds, also, of the same substances were numerous; but low, and altogether shapeless. Sections of funereal vases and coffins, which we ob- served protruding from them, marked them as re- ceptacles for the reliques of the dead. We likewise crossed a number of old canals, all dry and useless now; and, in short, no one, who has had any ex- perience in these matters, could doubt, from the vestiges so thickly spread over this day's march, that, either some immense city had once flourished here, or, what is more probable, that the whole country, from Seleucia to Babylon, had once been 9 be de al J { EXTENSIVE ENCAMPMENT. 7 covered with the abodes of men, in every various shape and form of city, town, and village. For more than an hour before sunset, we had observed the desert dotted with many herds of camels, which with their drivers appeared all bend- ing their steps to one point; and just a little be- fore the sun disappeared, on mounting one of the tills --as the mounds of ancient sites are called by the Arabs - in order to look round us before dark, we found ourselves overlooking the first extensive Arab encampment I had seen. It stretched to the right and left on the plain below us, as far on either hand as we could see, a confused mass of tents, and human beings, and animals, while the latter were still streaming towards it from various quarters ; I never saw so many camels together before; I am confident there must have been hun- dreds of thousands of these, besides other animals, and tents for four or five thousand people; they absolutely blackened the earth. These were the Jerboah Arabs, who, driven southward by the Aneiza, had come down to the upper grounds of the Zobeid, poking about for what they could pick up in the way of pasture, until their own country should be free from the enemy : it was a very pic- turesque and interesting sight. Night fell, and the crackling of the potsherds under our horses' feet told us that we were still trampling on what had been human habitations ; but the night grew dark and cloudy, and as with- out stars or compass, or land-mark of any sort, nor even the slighest track to guide him, even an Arab 8 LOSE OUR WAY. must be at fault, the natural result was, that we lost our way, and for several hours we wandered about in cold and darkness, stumbling over broken ground, plunging into dry canals, and scrambling over mounds, till at length we held it advisable to call a council of war, when our guide gaped in astonishment at finding that, for some time past, he had been going nearly north instead of south. We now took the matter into our own hands; and knowing the direction of the Hillah road, pursued it so nearly that a muleteer of the party discovered where we were, just within two hundred yards of the Nasseriyeh khan, or caravanserai, to which, weary, chilled, and hungry, we forth with adjourned. But our troubles were not yet ended; for it was not without much difficulty, and a regular row, that we got lodged at all, and then we were likely to go supperless to bed, in consequence of a quarrel among my servants, among whom the apple of discord ap- peared to have been thrown, and who required some sharp chastisement before order could be restored. While sitting thus, comfortless and cold, with scarcely a handful of weeds to make a blaze and warm us, you will not wonder that thoughts of the pleasant doings of this merry season, in our own well-beloved land, should rise to our remem, brance, and of the circle of dear ones that might be gathered round the fireside of our homes, thinking, no doubt, upon their absent travellers. How might it fare with them? In the many chances of this changeful world, what breaches might not have been made in these family groups, even since we bade 1 FIRST VIEW OF THE RUINS. 9 them adieu : it was an anxious thought, and one which it does not do for travellers to dwell upon; so we cheered ourselves as well as we could, swal- lowed our scanty ineal as soon as our sulky ser- vants would give it to us, and stretched ourselves to sleep upon our carpets for the night. Next morning, the 26th, after a more regular court-martial on my servants, followed by some well-merited punishment, and a good dose of ad- inonition to the whole, on the subject of peace and unanimity, which, I doubt not, met the usual fate of such homilies, we left the khan and pushed on towards the ruins of the mighty Babylon. Already were we within the precincts attributed to its walls, and the vestiges of mounds and débris soon in- creased upon us. By and by the huge form of the Mujellibeh rose to our view, overtopping the inter- vening banks of several dry canals. This ruin is one of the principal reliques supposed to belong to ancient Babylon ; but, before going further, it may be proper to mention what are the most re- markable and important of these remains, though without entering either into any minute description, or attempting to reconcile the various opinions that are entertained by the learned regarding their ori- gin and identity with the celebrated structures of antiquity. For these matters I must refer you to the works of more able and laborious travellers ; nor can you be at a loss with the learning of Rennel and D'Anville, and many other sages, in their closets—the observations of Rich, Buckingham, and Porter, besides other travellers of greater antiquity, 10 RUINS OF BABYLON. c a C D ti S fi al ea ma upon the spot: I shall only think of relating what I saw. The ruins of Babylon, as they are supposed to be, then, consist of an immense extent of low rounded (or amorphous) mounds, of the same na- ture as those I have described in our last march, and of which, upon the right or west bank of the Euphrates, the lofty mass, called the Birs-e-Nimrood, is pre-eminent. On the left, there is, first, the Mujellibeh, which we have just reached ; secondly, directly south of this is the Kasr, a heap of build- ings, supposed to represent the great imperial pa- lace with the hanging gardens, close to which is a considerable mass of mounds, which some imagine to be a smaller palace. Still further south is the hill of Amrân; a more extensive, though less lofty mass than the last, which must comprise the re- liques of many and important edifices. To the E.N.E. at the distance of about six miles from the Mujellibeh, is found an insulated and lofty conical mound, named Al-Heimer; and, lastly, a consider- able conical mound called the Tuebo, and by some considered to be the N.E. angle of the ancient city, stands about fifteen miles to the north of those just enumerated. There are, besides, a vast num- ber of inferior heaps, some of which indicate the courses of canals that irrigated the country, or supplied distant quarters of the city with water, and some are the remains of ramparts which probably inclosed and defended the principal edifices. To proceed. The Mujellibeh is a solid quad- rangular mound, the sides of which face the car- h h ti I } 1 THE MUJELLIBEH. 11 dinal points. Its height I was not inclined to estimate at more than ninety or a hundred feet in the loftiest part; but I observe that Sir. R. Porter assigns to it that of one hundred and forty feet, and another traveller (Mignon), since his time, calls it one hundred and thirty-nine; so that I must, no doubt, have been deceived, having had neither time nor means to measure it. In the same man- ner travellers differ as to the dimensions of its base. Sir R. Porter sets down the length of its sides at five hundred and fifty-two and five hundred and fifty-one feet, for those to the north and south, and two hundred and thirty each for those to the east and west. Mignon says he measured them carefully, and that the visible north face is two hundred and seventy-four yards; the south, two hundred and fifty-six; the east, two hundred and twenty-six; and the west, two hundred and forty, Believing that all this had already been settled by Rich, Buckingham, Porter, and others, I confess I did not measure any of the faces; and, my time being limited, so that I could not hope to make new discoveries, or add to the light which it is supposed has been shed over these ruins, and the dark subject of their origin and history, by the laborious inquiries of antiquaries, I restricted my examination to the satisfaction of my own curiosity, and can therefore tell you only what I saw. This in the Mujellibeh was little enough. It is now but a mass of crumbled and crumbling bricks, both raw and fire-baked, mingled with the usual débris of pottery, glass, and slag, in a confusion worthy of 12 VIEW FROM ITS SUMMIT. A and thou: MOUE palac for there DOWS its name which, according to some, is a corruption of Mukalibeh, or « the overturned.” Indeed, so completely have the form and structure of this remarkable mass been destroyed by time and sea- son, and the hand of man, that, to a passing ob- server like myself, it seems vain to conjecture with any hope of correctness at its former shape, extent, or uses. The under part appears to have been pierced by continuous rows of small vaults or cham- bers, which may have merely served to support the superstructure, though some bear the resem- blance of habitations. Mr. Rich found in them earthenware, coffins with skeletons, and urns, which favour the opinion that it had, at some period, been used as a receptacle for the dead. It is furrowed by the rains into thousands of little ravines, and the slope is, in most places, so easy as to make the ascent to its top a matter of no difficulty. The platform of the summit is very unequal, and riven, like the sides, into holes and furrows, in some of which can be seen the form and structure of the brickwork, both sun and fire- dried, of which it is composed. From hence, too, a wide and desolate view is obtained. A multitude of mounds and canals stretch on all sides as far as the eye can reach. On the one side rose the red cone of Al-Heimer and on the other, at a greater distance, the still more imposing form of the Birs. The modern town of Hillah, distant between three and four miles, was almost lost among the mounds of antiquity, and chiefly discernible from its date- tree groves. potte alone into the RF the that abur Muj SOM bric almi ano! Ovei bric hen anc the the ha EL-KASR. 13 After lingering an hour or two about this singular and grisly monument, we passed on to the less lofty, though more extensive and still more disturbed, mound, known by the name of El-kasr, or the palace; supposed by some to have been the site of the royal palace of Nebuchadnezzar, and the hanging gardens of his queen Amytis. If so; alas for the change! Whatever beauty or splendour there may have been in the original fabric, it is now buried in ignoble heaps of broken bricks and pottery; an utterly shapeless mass of rubbish alone remains, cut into numberless ravines, and dug into great holes, in both of which the hands of the Arab has assisted the effects of weather. Sir R. Porter calls it seventy feet in height, and, from the sections made into its substance, it appears that fire-burned bricks have been used in far greater abundance in its construction than in that of the Mujellibeh. There are, indeed, remaining still erect some fragments of walls composed of most exquisite brickwork, so firmly cemented together that it is almost impossible to separate the bricks from one another. The whole of this mass has been turned over and over by the Arabs for the sake of the bricks it affords, and which are transported from hence to Baghdad, where they fetch a high price; and in some of the holes formed in extracting them, and dug nearly as deep as the foundations, I observed large masses of stones, broken up by the Arabs for their own purposes, which must have formed part of the original building. In one of these cavities lay the lion of black or grey 14 HANGING-GARDENS. at date and to brid in the Bab exte an Eur granite, which was discovered by Mr. Rich, and still remains one of the lions of the place; but it is fast sinking back into the rubbish from whence it was dug, and probably will, ere long, be covered up from view.* Here we picked up various fragments of alabaster vases, and of glazed tiles, having figures of various things, men and animals, in their proper colours, enamelled on them in relief. These are supposed to have formed part of the ornaments of the hang- ing gardens, described by Diodorus, Quintus Curtius, and others, which are said to have been embellished by a range of hunting-scenes, representing the chase of various birds and beasts. I also found several fragments of brass and rock crystal, but nothing of much value. After looking at the solitary tree (a species of tamarisk), which the Arabs pretend grew in one night to shelter Allee (who fled there from the battle of Hillah) from a peg which he stuck in the ground to fasten his horse to, we quitted these singular and shapeless ruins to glance at another mass of still more extensive but totally amorphous rubbish, known as the hill of Amrân. There was nothing here to detain us. We were not able to examine the bank overhanging the river, which is filled with sepulchral vases, as the water was so high as to wash its foot with a rapid and whirling current ; but by leaning over from the top, we could discover some of the vases protruding from its face. By this time the day was far spent, and we rode said river boue from Wate disa But of t of tha by rat to 10- 1 1 * This lion, I have since heard, turned out to be an elephant, with its snout broken off. HILLAH. 15 at a rapid pace to Hillah, through a fine tract of date-gardens, which formed a handsome avenue ; and, crossing multitudes of canals which here seem to have been conveyed to a point, we rode over a bridge of boats, not above half the length of that in Baghdad; but in better condition, and entered the modern representative of the ancient capital of Babylonia. The town, though sadly shattered, has externally a neat and rather inviting appearance for an Asiatic city. It extends on both sides of the Euphrates, the two parts being joined by the afore- said bridge ; and the view, both up and down the river, though not very extensive, being varied with houses and date-groves intermingled, is pleasing, from its verdure and the life it receives from the water and boats. I was surprised and somewhat disappointed at the first view of the celebrated Euphrates. It is, certainly, not above half the size of the Tigris; and at a point a little below the bank of the sepulchral vases, it could not have been more than from seventy to eighty yards broad. On examining the impression left on my mind by what we this day had seen of these ruins, or rather vestiges, of the celebrated Babylon, I find it to be just what I had anticipated. I could have made a drawing of the Mujellibeh from the accounts I had heard of it, and what I had seen of other ruins of a similar character. The Kasr disappointed me sadly in height and lack of imposing appearance- not in extent, for it is more extensive than I ima- gined ; and as for the rest, you might just as well have looked upon any similar extent of rough, barren, 16 IMPRESSIONS. 1 imp of whi terl this plac hun spec crew Ocea storia skele tinge that alrea galla irregular ground. The long mounds indicating ca- nals, and branching off to a great distance, were in- teresting through the ideas they suggested ; and there was something striking in the solitude and desert aspect of the coup d'ail which was obtained from the summit of the Mujellibeh, that undoubtedly recalled to the spectator's mind the remarkable fulfilment of the numerous prophetic denunciations of Divine wrath, which we find throughout the Scriptures; but the manner of their being recalled was not so impress- ive as might be supposed.-Babylon, though utterly ruined, and the haunt of loathsome creatures, is not altogether deprived of the vestiges of man's vicinity -you see villages and date-groves, and cultivation in various places around, and the walls of Hillah remind one that something of a city exists within view : so that the image of utter desolation is dis- turbed, and the frame of mind with which the scene is viewed is apt to suffer a corresponding re-action. On the whole, I was certainly deeply interested by the view of these relics of what once was one of the won- ders of the world; but as to all those indescribable emotions which travellers seem to hold it a duty to feel in such places, and particularly on this spot, I must plead guilty to a sin against feeling and proprie- ty, if such it be; for truly I experienced little of them. The truth is, that those who are accustomed to scenes of wide-spread barren nature, and whose ima. ginations have been somewhat dulled by the hard and matter of fact realities of life, require something more intrinsically striking and tangible than anything that appears at Babylon, to call forth their enthusiams; and such, I confess, was the case with me. I was more wave TI ment citing strea ing: thing days gene pout the itas stre call hea alo 1 THE EUPHRATES. 17 impressed with the solitary ghastliness of the old city of Eerij, at Vuromeen near Tehran, with its old, white, furrowed wall standing almost entire, but it- terly tenantless and deserted, than with all I saw this day. The one was like the skeleton of a mighty place-it still retained some fearful connection with humanity – it put one in mind of the terrible spectre-ship of Coldridge, which, deserted by her crew, had drifted for years and years over the ocean, till bleached to fearful whiteness by the storms of an unknown period. The other is that skeleton mouldering into dust, which we cannot dis- tinguish from other clay-like the stranded vessel that has rotted on the beach, and whose timbers, already fallen to pieces, suggest no notion of the gallant ship that, long instinct with life, breasted the waves of the ocean. The Euphrates, notwithstanding my disappoint- ment in its size, was a far more interesting and ex- citing object. There is something in the living stream which you can commune with: ever chang- ing and yet still the same, it speaks to you as a thing of life and says—“I am the same as in the days of old-since time was I alter not. I have seen generations pass away, and yet I remain fresh and youthful as ever.” The Euphrates is the same as in the days when the captive children of Israel sat by its stream and wept, and assuredly the sight of that stream had by far more power, on me at least, to call forth associations with sacred writ than the heaps of dust, however gigantic, that lay scattered along its margin. VOL. II. с 18 AN ARAB FRIEND. P. SE p th We had sent our people on before us--they had jogged on through the mouldering heaps as uncon- cerned as if Nebuchadnezzar, or Cyrus, or Darius, or any of the worthies that have figured here of old, had never existed. We found them established in a very ruinous and very dirty, but very extensive and once splendid, house, which had been built by the former Allee Pashah for one of his wives; and scarcely had we established ourselves in one corner of our suite, when an old Arab friend of the Doctor's came to remonstrate with him for taking up his quarters anywhere but in his house, and declaring that not one of us should eat or drink an article while at Hillah except what he should provide, at the same time desiring to know what we most relished. In accordance with this declaration he sent 'us forth- with a very fine dish of dates, sour milk and cream, with some meat ready cooked, and bread enough for all our servants. This evening I had another specimen of the plea- sures of travelling in a very disagreeable affair with my servants. We were now within a day's journey of Kerbelah, one of the holiest places of Sheah pilgrim- age; and all my Persian servants being of that persua- sion, and having been prevented, by the troubled state of the roads, from visiting the shrine while remaining at Baghdad, they came to me in a body and request- ed permission to do so now. Such a request proved the small consideration they had for my convenience, and I made no scruple of letting them know my sentiments on the occasion. Here was I to be left to myself in a strange place, without a soul to look CONSIDERATION OF SERVANTS. 19 after eleven horses and mules, and take care of my own baggage, while these fellows should go to gain the appellation of “ Kerbelaee” (one who has made a pilgrimage to Kerbelah)—for, as to true devotion, I cannot give them credit for a grain of it. I told them flatly that if all went, all might stay there for me; for that I would give no permission, and that by so doing they would forfeit all the rewards to which, by remaining with me, they might entitle themselves; that, however, as I did not wish to be considered un- reasonable or tyrannical, I should permit any four, that was, one half of them, to go, provided they pledged themselves to be back on the evening of the second day. The result, after a good deal of dis- pute, was, that the required partition was made, and that two of the old servants and two I had hired in Baghdad remained with me, while four of the Persians, including three of the most efficient, went next morning to Kerbelah. C 2 20 LETTER II. The Birs-e-Nimrood. Speculations on the Mode of its Overthrow. - View from its Summit. - Conjectures as to its Origin, Use, and Identity with the Tower of Babel. Bursif, or Borsippa.--A disagreeable Surprise. -- Insolent Soldiery. - A Friend in Need and a cold Supper.--Antiques of Various Eras. 1 1 t I 1 The arrangements rendered necessary by the de- parture of my servants, detained us in the house later than should have been the case; but after an excellent breakfast, chiefly provided by our Arab friend, in which a dish of clotted cream that might have challenged Devonshire, made a principal figure, we mounted and rode to see the Birs-e-Nimrood, which, as you are aware, is supposed to be the remains of the original Tower of Babel, though others are at a loss to reconcile its situation with that assigned by ancient writers to the temple of Belus, built by Nebuchadnezzar; and which they presume to have been identical with that built by the early post-deluvians, in defiance of the Almighty. We rode to it over a perfect flat, bordering on a swamp, but all cultivated ; and reached its base in little more than two hours, having stopped to shoot at game more than once by the way, so that I estimated the distance at eight miles. The view on the Hillah side is intercepted by the very large THE BIRS-E-NIMROOD. 21 mound of Ibrahim-ul-Khaleel. Having cleared that by ascending it or going round its base, the Birs is seen as a lofty irregular pillar, built upon an earthen hill, and rising from a vast level desert; for though there are numerous mounds of various sizes, far and near around it, and the ground is covered with bricks and potsherds, the general sur- face is as flat as water. The height of mound and pillar, taken together, seemed to me about one from hundred and eighty to two hundred feet ; but I understand that this is short of the truth, the for- mer alone rising two hundred feet above the level of the plain, while the latter attains a height of thirty-five feet more; in all two hundred and thirty- five feet. On nearer approach, you discover that this supposed earthen mound is in reality a mass of sun-dried bricks, mingled with fragments of kiln-burnt bricks, of various colours, yellow and red, out of which protrudes a lofty mass of the most exquisite brick masonry possible, which is the pillar aforesaid. To trace the design, or original form, of the structure seems to me impossible ; be- cause both top and sides are covered with the débris that ages have caused to moulder down, leaving only the corners of the solid brickwork here and there peeping out. That the complete subversion must have been very ancient appears from this, that the fragments of brick, which now form a sort of M‘Adamised pavenient over the whole top and upper parts of the sides, are covered with a lichenous coat, like those of an ancient cairn -a very slow process in so dry a climate ; and the 22 FORMATION OF THE BIRS. to MO are ma de are he you 1 le ra ha ai a superiority of the bricks used in the upper part of the structure, to those below is equally obvious from the fact that, the former do not crumble into dust, while the under ones, which are of larger size, do. I saw no sun-burned bricks used in the centre part of the building, which may be more properly termed the tower. On the south-east side, or that next to Hillah, there is a very large mass, formed of sun-dried bricks, now joined to the lower part of the centre ; but to me it appears as if this had originally been distinct, and that it had been united by the washing down of débris, from both having filled up the space between them. There is no corresponding projection on the other sides. But it is on mounting this mass of brick débris that one begins to comprehend the vastness of the original structure, and the utterness, and extraor- dinary nature, of the ruin that has overtaken it. On arriving at the summit, you find yourself at the base of a fabric, built, as I have said, of the most singularly beautiful masonry, the bricks being joined with layers of cement, so thin that you are at a loss to understand why you cannot easily separate them from one another ; but on trying, you find it next to impossible to do so. This mass, which I estimated at fifty (but which I have since learned is only thirty-five) feet in height, has been rifted in two by a crack through which you can see, and its breadth bears so small a proportion to its height that, were its foundation not connected with the original fabric below, it must long since have given way; as it is, the elements and seasons appear 이 ​W 0 f 1 VITRIFIED MASSES. 23 to have little effect upon it, and it defies the yet more destructive hand of man. The most striking objects, I think, of the whole, are the remarkable blackened and partly vitrified masses which lie at the foot of the fragment just described, and which, from the disorder in which they are found, appear to have fallen from some greater height than any that now remains. On examination, you find that they consist of brickwork, but so much influenced by the action of fire as to have lost their original character. Even the texture and division between brick and brick has been so much oblite- rated as to be often indiscernible, and the whole has been converted into a solid mass of the hardest and, with the exception of a few air-bubbles here and there, the closest texture conceivable— I know of no rock so tough and hard. Having no hamıner, with a fragment of itself I tried to break off a bit, obviously a single brick, which projected a little from the rest, but with all my force I was unable ; and was obliged to take specimens from what was lying about. The question instantly suggests itself— What have these fire-scathed masses been ? and by what means came they to be exposed to so overpowering a de- gree of heat as they must have undergone ? I conceive nothing less than the continued heat of some glass furnace, sufficient to produce the ef- fect apparent here, - and how could that have been applied at the height they must have occupied when in their proper place ? There is nothing to lead to the idea, that much wood could have can 24 SPECULATIONS. been employed in the construction of this fabric, and calculated, as it obviously was originally, to endure for ages, it is highly improbable that any large proportion of so perishable a material should have been used ; yet the combustion of some such substance is the only means one can conceive by which such heat could have been here applied. The effect is evidently partial. The tall mass of brickwork that stands upright bears no mark of fire-how is this? how is this? We have no Scriptural authority for believing that the Temple of Belus was destroyed by any miraculous manifestation of Divine power; but the Arabs have a tradition that the Birs was destroyed by fire from Heaven. Thus we have but a choice between the belief of some most extraordinary and inexplicable natural agency, and that of a miracle, to account for the appearances now manifest on this wonderful ruin. The effects of lightning are sometimes tremendous — we hear of its fusing large bolts of metal by a single flash ; but terrible, indeed, and nothing short of miraculous inust have been those flashes (if lightning it was), that shivered, fused, and overthrew the blackened fragments that strew the summit of this mighty mass of ruins ! The view from this elevated station is correspond- ingly extensive and impressive. On the one side we could distinguish Nujjeff Ashreff, and on the other Kerbelah, and at five hours' distance appeared a mo- dern building, erected over the tomb of the prophet Ezekiel, a place to which the Jews go on pilgrim- age, but where there is nothing to see worth the CORRECTION OF MISTAKES. 25 journey and the risk. To the west, and stretching from north-west to south, further than the eye could reach, and, in fact, nearly to Bussora, lay a wide waste of water, occasioned by the bursting of the embankments that confined the Euphrates and canal of the ancient Pallacopas. This occurred many years ago, and now the traffic of the country is carried on by means of this inland sea, which is called the Baher-ul-Nujjeff, and Nujjeff and Ker- belah are supplied by it with goods shipped near Bussora. On the whole, the Birs is a most striking ruin; and viewed, as we saw it, from the mound of Ibrahim Khaleel, rising from its desert plain, and backed at no great distance by a waste of wa- ters, it formed a truly impressive spectacle — the only monument of ancient Babel that excited in me something like a sense of her former magnifi- cence and power, and of her tremendous fall. It is, indeed, ruined greatness abandoned to utter desertion-truly the “ abomination of desolation.” I must, however, here correct a mistake into which I had fallen myself, and into which, therefore, it seems to me likely that you and others may fall, in re- gard to the state of these ruins. From what I heard, I had taken up an idea that they were surrounded and covered by a wilderness of bushes, weeds, and thorns—the rank vegetation which often mantles over ruined buildings. Perhaps I was led to this idea from hearing them also spoken of as the haunt of wild beasts — " the home of the lion and the adder." Now, so far as jungle and rank vegeta- tion is concerned, I can aver that nothing of the 26 TOWER OF BABEL. a { $ is C SI kind is the case. One of the most unerring marks of an old site is the utter want of vegetation; and so decidedly inimical to the growth of any vege- table is the remains of building here, that I have known the foundations of an old brick wall, though far under the surface, discovered in a garden, by the seeds or plants refusing to grow above it. On none of the mnounds I have described, nor on any of the numerous lesser ones that surround them, is there any vegetation whatever; and the whole amount of bushes or herbage on the tract occupied by the ruins, consists of no more than a few salsuginous plants, or a bit of tamarisk on the side of a canal. There can, therefore, be no shel- ter for the larger and nobler beasts of prey. Lions require thick cover, and love not to expose them- selves too far from it; neither do they relish remain- ing so near the haunts of men, as they would be at the Mujellibeh, or Kasr, which are so close to Hillah and Mahâwil. Hyenas, jackals, and wolves there may be, and no doubt there are ; but I suspect Sir R. Porter inust have been under a mistake when he talked of seeing three lions taking the air upon the Birs. Lions are not in general so social, and seldom appear more than one at a time. I have already adverted to the opinion entertained by some, that the Birs represent the Tower of Babel and the ancient Temple of Belus; and, certainly, if height and magnitude were the only points to be considered in the question, the Birs has it hollow; but there is great difficulty in reconciling the scraps of information we glean from ancient authors with F fi 0 S t 1 ! EXTENT OF ANCIENT BABYLON. 27 the localities of Babylon, and there are, no doubt, some strong arguments against, as well as for, the title of the Birs to the distinction claimed for it. The first difficulty, perhaps, is to establish what is the plain of Shinâr and what the plain of Dura, on which the tower was built. Again, with reference to heathen authorities, Herodotus and Strabo mention the temple of Belus as being within the city ; they also mention the city as being divided by a branch of the Euphrates; but they do not say on which side this great temple was situated. Now the Birs is at least six or seven miles distant from the present course of the Euphrates, and full nine miles from the Kasr and great knot of ruins on the eastern side. How may this agree, in point of probability, with its having been within the walls of ancient Babylon? Herodotus assigns to the walls of the city a square form, and a circumference of sixty miles. A friend of mine, who has given inuch attention to this subject, taking these data to work on, has ventured the suggestion, that of this square, the Birs may have formed the south-west angle — Al Heimer, which is just about fifteen miles distant, the south- east angle - the Tueba, rather more, the north-east, -leaving the north-western lost in the marshes, which on that side still, as in foriner tirnes, sur- round that portion of the supposed site. This, it is true, would include the Birs within the ancient precincts, and leave the Euphrates in its present channel; but it would thrust the celebrated Temple of Belus or Bel into a corner, which can scarely be 28 CONJECTURES. admitted as probable ; and accordingly his mind, so far as I can discover, is by no means made up as to the identity of the Temple of Belus and the Birs. He has even ventured on another suggestion, which is worth the attention of the learned. The vast city of Babylon, in time, became divided into districts : in one of these, named Bursif (the Bor- sippa of Strabo, and other geographers of antiquity), inhabited by Chaldeans (the remains of the Chaldeo- Babylonian empire), and probably by their priests and learned men, this great temple had been raised to their god, which may belong to a somewhat later period than that built by Nebuchadnezzar, and there. fore presents a larger mass of ruins. Should this, or something of the sort, be founded on truth, it would account for the otherwise unaccountable name of the Birs, which has no signification in Arabic, but which may, without any of the violence so commonly per- petrated upon words by etymologists, be derivable with ease from Borsippa of the Greeks, and Bursif of the Chaldeans. After all, the subject is so dim in the mists of ages, and the glimpses of light thrown upon it by history are so faint and far between, that I fear all the force of human reasoning and ingenuity applied to an arrangement of the known facts, and assisted even by a personal acquaintance of the local- ities at the present time, will scarcely add much to our knowledge, or afford the means of deciding with greater preciseness the limits of ancient Ba- bylon, or the nature and description of the struc- tures which are represented by the heaps of rubbish that excite our curiosity and astonishment upon her site. 1 1 AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE. 29 After lingering several hours upon and round this venerable pile, and taking sketches of it from various points, we turned our horses' heads to Hil- lah, where a most disagreeable surprise was in pre- paration, to bring us down from any altitude of en- thusiasm to which our visit to the Birs might have conducted us. An event had occurred, in our ab- sence, which afforded us a very clear, but most inconvenient, illustration of the nature of the go- vernment of this country. The new governor of Hillah, to whom we had been introduced when at Baghdad, and who had promised us every possible help and accommodation, had arrived at the place, bringing with him a rabble of Arnaout horse or Haitas, some fifty or sixty of whom, being in want of quarters, had coolly come to our house; and, turn- ing servants, cattle, &c. out neck and heels into the street, had quietly taken possession of it themselves. So, on our return at sunset, instead of finding, as we had reason to expect, a good hot dinner ready to renovate our frames and cheer our souls, we found ourselves not only without food, but without even a roof to shelter us for the night. The Doctor, on hearing how matters stood, went instantly to the Beg with his complaint and the Pashah’s firman, but all the reply he could get was, that the great man had gone to his harem, and could not be disturbed until the morning. It now appeared, that when the scuffle first took place, one of our servants had gone to the serai to complain, and that the governor had actually sent his chiaoosh to tell the Arnaouts to give up our house; but they 30 A FRIEND IN NEED. wa tou: was pra: 1 ther we ove “Why tiq for froz abl inte Wh vac CH had informed him, in the broadest and grossest man- ner, that he might go to the devil and take his master along with him; so having now a shrewd suspicion of what was in reality the fact, namely, that the governor had no power over his own troops, we were forced to subinit to our fate, at least for the night, and seek for lodgings where best we might. This, as the sun had set, was no very cheering or hopeful prospect, but our Arab friend came forward in our dilemma, with prompt assistance. did you not come to my house at first ? ” said he; “ and then nothing of all this could have happened ; but come now, all is ready, with a hearty wel- come;" and, suiting the action to the word, he him- self lent the first hand to loading the horses and mules with our luggage, which lay scattered about in the street. And though we sorely felt the want of our Kerbelah pilgrims, we contrived, without any loss of consequence, to transport all our effects to the house of our good friend, which, though smaller, proved, in fact, a better and more com- fortable lodging than that we had been turned out of. Once settled, we swallowed our choler as best we might; and making a supper upon a fish which would have been capital when warm, but which, in its cold state, was not well calculated to smooth down our ruffled tempers, we went to bed mutter- ing vows of vengeance against all the Haitas in Mesopotamia. I should not forget to say that our most attentive friend, even while our baggage was being removed, had got his wife to roast for us three desert partridges, which I had shot on the ari BA di ti 01 V ( ANTIQUES. 31 way to the Birs, but they proved so indomitably tough, that we stuck to the cold fish, which we washed down with that never-to-be-sufficiently- praised beverage, good tea. Next morning was threatening and dull, and there was nothing to tempt us out of doors; but we had enough of amusement within, in looking over and making selections from the parcels of an- tiques found about the ruins, and brought to us for sale, principally by Jews, who purchase them from the Arabs. Nothing proves more unanswer- ably the antiquity of these ruins, or presents a more interesting view of the succession of nations by whom they have been tenanted, than the distinct varieties of antiques and relics found amongst them. Cylinders and seals, marked with the uniform, or arrow-headed characters, common to the bricks of Babylon, the ruins of Persepolis, and those of Koor- distan and Armenia; the more choice, and some- times most exquisitely executed, cameos and inta- glios of the Greek artists, together with coins and ornaments of the same era; others, the subjects of which indicate them as productions of the Roman chisel, and the well-known costume and characters of the dynasty of the Sassanides—all are found in abundance, good, bad, and indifferent (though, cer- tainly, the two last qualities predominated), and were offered for our acceptance in exchange for our coin. Then we had our journals to bring up, and our disordered baggage to arrange, so that the time wore on imperceptibly, until the approach of evening, when we had to look for the return of our pilgrim- 32 ANTIQUES. servants; but we looked for them in vain, so, after an excellent dinner, furnished partly by my own artisté, and partly by our Arab friend, we took to our couches in fear, rather than in hope, as to the chances of starting to-morrow. This morning has settled the question ; for, independently of the non-arrival of my truants, torrents of rain set in, through which, in this deep loamy soil, it would have been madness to attempt making our way, so I took to my writing and drawing-never-failing resources on such occasions, coloured in some sketches of the Birs, and hoped for better luck to-morrow. A 1 mé pi a 1 ani ani las of De W a fo I f 33 LETTER III. -- A New Year's Wish. - Leave Hillah. Contrast between the Turkish Governor and our Arab Host. - The Pilgrims return. -Mode of Cultivation.—Al-Heimer.— Fellah Arabs. — Dreary Ride. - Cold New Year's Night. — Hunger and Thirst. Marsh on Fire. — Singular Chase. – Camp of the Zobeid. The Sheikh. Fair Offer. —- Cold Quarters. Iskhuriah. Feast of an Arab Sheikh. ---Hospitable Expenditure. 3rd January, 1835. A THOUSAND kind wishes, Dear and as many returns of the season as may be for your hap- piness and comfort ; but I breathe these wishes from a strange place - an Arab camp, in greater cold and discomfort than I trust you are exposed to, and far from all those with whom I love to pass such seasons. We left Hillah on the date of my last, by ten o'clock A.M., but only made a short stage of less than ten miles, to a camp of Fellah Arabs, near the last of the Babylonish ruins considered worthy of a stranger's attention, namely, Al-Heimer, a conical mound so called from its red colour. I forgot to mention to you that, on the morning fol- lowing our trip to the Birs, the governor's treasurer called upon us, professedly as a piece of attention from himself, but, in fact, to feel our pulses on the subject of the insult of the preceding evening. He VOL. II. D 34 TURKISH GOVERNOR AND ARAB HOST. ( 1 1 h bi of pl assured us, in confidence as it were, that the Pashah himself has no authority over these Arnaouts, nor any power to punish them, as, if pressed, they would probably turn and serve him worse than they had done us. He wished to persuade us to think no more about it, declared that they were hywâns (beasts), not worth our notice; in reply to which very consolatory observation, we intimated to him that the insolence we had suffered and the incon- venience we had been put to, were not dimi- nished by the brutality of those who had committed the outrage; that with us, when beasts misbehaved we punished them; and that being, as we were, under the protection of the Pashah and his Excel- lency, nothing less than condign punishment on them would satisfy us, and in case this satisfaction was denied us here, we should appeal to the Pashah. The treasurer departed, promising we should hear from his master; but that not being the case, on the morning of our quitting Hillah, I wrote an ac- count of the whole affair, and transmitted it by a special messenger to the Resident, Colonel Taylor, at Baghdad. How different was the conduct of our Arab friend and host Rujub ! his kindness and considerate atten- tion were unwearied — he anticipated every want and provided every comfort. Dish after dish of good things did he send to tempt our appetites, and hovered about us with an anxious yet not offi- cious zeal to promote our slightest wish; what we should have done without him, under all circum- stances, I really do not know ; and yet nothing ni for th bre the nie: ma ID TI th fre in fa SIMPLE HUSBANDRY. 35 would he accept in the way of remuneration! Such disinterestedness deserves mention, if only for its rarity; for few Arabs indeed did we find resembling Rujub. My servants arrived on the afternoon of the 29th, drenched to the skin, but glorying in the odour of sanctity they had acquired with the revered title of Kerbelaee ; and so inflamed with their holy zeal was one of my grooms who had remained with me, or so alarmed at the prospect of the duty he had undertaken with me in a journey into Ara- bistan, that he insisted on taking leave, and setting off immediately to Kerbelah. Our way lay right across the country, which was plashy with the late rain, but gave us an opportu- nity of seeing the process of preparing the ground for crop. It was primitively simple : they scratched the ground so lightly that the bushes of St. John's bread (mimosa agrestis) were scarcely disturbed, and then sowed the seed broadcast; yet such is the rich- ness of the soil, that this strange culture produces magnificent crops. We had enough to do to clear the deep mud near the town, and not a little trouble in getting over sundry water-courses in our way. To save time on our march for the morrow, as the hour was still early, we rode at once to exa- mine Al-Heimer, which was not more than a mile from our night's resting-place. It is a conical mound, as I have remarked, composed, as would appear, of furnace-burned bricks; but of a quality inferior to those of the Birs, so that they moulder faster by exposure to the weather. There is little D 2 36 A FELLAH ARAB HOST. a to attract attention in this mound except a certain white powder, which is found in layers hetween the bricks at unequal intervals of three, four, five, six, and seven courses, and which has puzzled the learned; some taking it for a species of cement in decompo- sition ; others for layers of reeds, rotted by time and exposure; but, if the latter, why do they decay here more than in other places? While standing on the summit of this cone, I looked carefully to- wards the Birs and the Tueba for the continuous line of mounds which should have marked the site of the wall, had this, as some suppose, been the south-east angle of ancient Babylon ; but nothing of the sort was to be seen, the mounds in view being, in fact, chiefly to the south and east of it, and thus must have been the remains of buildings without the line of the supposed wall. The day had now become bitterly cold-a piercing wind blew along the plain, and we gladly retraced our steps to the camp, where, however, our reception was not calculated to comfort us. Our host, if host he might be called, who provided us with nothing --not even a shelter for the night—was a Fellah Arab of the Zobeid tribe, and a relative, as we were told, of Sheikh Waddee, who is at Baghdad. He received us with the most repulsive coldness, until he learned that there was a doctor among us, and then he brightened up, and came out with a whole catalogue of maladies and a most earnest request for medicines. This is a key on which every Orien- tal may be touched with ready effect. Medicine and medical advice gratis are so tempting that, if WE ? 1 BAD START AND BAD HUMOUR. 37 they have not diseases in reality, they will feign complaints, and solicit remedies even for those which may by possibility hereafter afflict them. The miserable hovels of this camp could lite- rally not afford us shelter, so I pitched a little tent which, by way of precaution, I had brought-just large enough to hold our three little mattresses, or ourselves in a sitting posture upon them, and here we stowed ourselves, wrapped up in all the cloaks we could muster. Our hosts would neither give nor sell us anything, but by and by let us know that our wants might be supplied for a present ; so we got some food and made the best of it. Our servants were worse off —they were all in ill humour from the bad roads and the bad start we had made, and their bad quarters did not mend matters; they had scarcely any shelter; and as the night cleared up to a hard frost with a bitter wind, the poor wretches were frozen to the very bone. On the morning of the 31st the ground was as hard as iron and covered with hoar, and every puddle was a solid piece of ice. The sun rose like blood, and with a fierce wind that pierced us to the marrow — all the wrappings we had provided were insufficient to keep it out, and the people, with their benumbed fingers, could scarcely load the mules -- this, too, in Mesopotamia, where in summer the heat is insupportable! It was seven o'clock ere we started ; and long, long and tedious was the tramp we now had right across the desert-a true, bare, and joyless desert, void of all vestiges of man and nearly so of vegetation! The only variation to 38 A DESERT RIDE, 1 1 t the monotony of the scene was where we passed over a mound or the site of an ancient town or city, of which not less than four large ones, together with several canals, occurred in this day's march of about thirty-two miles. In fact, scarcely had we passed one, when another appeared ; and it might be safely said, that we did not go over a square rood of the whole day's journey without seeing vestiges of former habitations, in fragments of brick, glass, and pottery. A great part of the ground was perfectly barren-much of it cracked so desperately as to make riding very unsafe. Where vegetation did exist, it only consisted of a few caper bushes, St. John's bread (mimosa agrestis), some salsuginous plants, or grass, of which we sometimes saw large tracts, that, having been overflowed, had shot up to a fine growth. About three o'clock in the afternoon we were first greeted with the sight of a camel or two upon the horizon, generally the earliest and sure sign of approach to an Arab encampment; but this time it deceived us - they were the camels of the Jerboah Arabs, some of which had wandered down thus far in search of pasture. Early in the day, too, we saw smoke, which we believed to arise from the camp of the Zobeid, to which we were bound, and which gave us hopes of reaching our resting-place for the night early; but hour after hour passed on and never a bit the nearer did they appear. At length, towards evening, we fell in with more camels, and next a flock of sheep; so we thought all was right at last, and we held on for a weary time, a d d & ܒܟܦ a ll 1 TANTALIZATION. 39 but still nothing was to be seen. At length, away darted our long stupid guide upon his lean gaunt mare, “ like bolt from bowstring,” to the top of a mound from which he expected to see the wished for camp; but still our lot was disappointment - there were only three or four miserable small tents which belonged to the same Jerboah Arabs, who had been driven below the line of Baghdad by the Aneiza, and whom you may remember we fell in with on the way to Hillah. It was, in fact, a small camel-grazing farm, and these were shepherds, or rather camelherds, servants of persons who had lost the greater part of their all. From such persons there was little to be expected-not even water ; for of that their camels require but little, and they themselves partake in some degree of the nature of their beasts : but they told us that the camp of the Zobeid was only an hour distant, so on we pushed again to a height from whence we were assured the tents might be seen. When we reached it, however, there was nought but the blank dreary desert, with the flare of a huge fire, still at a great distance - obviously arising from burning-grass. Our guide now took his part at once like a man of mettle, and, with a loud grunt meant for a "ya-ullah!” away he struck his course back towards the tents of the Jerboah shepherds, waving for us to follow; this we did, and about an hour after sunset reached the place. We found them as poor as our worst anticipations could imagine: not a bit of bread nor a drop of water was to be had, and it was with the greatest 1 40 CHURLISH HOSTS. 1 difficulty we could extract as much barley as would afford a few mouthfuls a-piece to our hungry horses. It was the stuff of which they made their own bread. In fact, I thought at first we should have had a fight for the liberty of even encaiping ; for, as we reached the miserable dwellings, a parcel of the roughest possible monster's rushed out, as it seemed, rather to knock us down than to welcome us, as every one carried a heavy club in his hand. As for bread, whether they had it or not, they would neither sell nor give it to us ; it was a disgrace, they said, among Arabs, to sell bread: the corn we had to pay for at three times its value. They offered us a sheep at about ten times what it was worth ; but there was no fuel to cook it with, and neither straw nor water was to be had at any price. As for ourselves, we had rice and a little meat reserved from the pre- ceding day ; but our servants must have fared ill enough without either food or shelter. A few bad dates, and perhaps a little camel's milk, bad and bitter enough, were all that they could possibly have had to eat. Such sulky ill-favoured rogues were our hosts, that I caused it to be intimated to our negro guide, that a requisition should be made for watchmen during the night. The reply was :-"Be content everything is as safe as if it were in your own house;" and as a proof of the truth of this assertion, while one of our servants was bargaining with the people for the required watchman, one of them seized his girdle and ran off with it before his face. The night passed, however, without further mo- 1 1 1 1 PERSIAN GOOD HUMOUR. 41 lestation, and indeed with less noise than is usual in an Arab camp. Our servants, having no tent, kept watch, three and three, all night long. Mer- ry, light-hearted rascals are these Persians after all : as they sat round the embers of a fire scantily kept up with weeds, we heard them singing in chorus a sort of rhyme, which ran something like this, —"A strange place to travel in is Arabestan! --the horses can get neither straw nor grain--the servants neither meat nor drink-not even bread or water—a wonderful place is Arabestan !-a fine place is Arabestan !” and then they would all burst into loud fits of laughter; and thus did they wel- come in a new year! It was, indeed, the last night of 1834, and our eyes on the morrow opened on the first of 1835~—the second of these festive days which I have passed, since I left you, in toil and travel, on this various and anxious journey. Cold, cold did it dawn upon our little tent, and cold the welcome it gave us on the wide plains of Chal- dea, and among the wild Jerboah Bedooeens. The whole plain was white as snow with hoar-frost, and the blood-red sun arose in a cloudless orange sky, as we made our way towards the Tigris' banks, now, as we found within three hours of us; yet notwith- standing the hunger and cold, and the knowledge which our people had, that no relief from either could be had until we should reach the tents of the Zobeid, we were not en route till a quarter past seven. Our way lay first through a grass hore, or reedy marsh, now dry and sedgy; and after scrambling through this for two hours, we began to see strings 42 SYMPTOMS OF THE CAMP. of camels rising in the distance. It soon became apparent that they were loaded, and in movement towards the right ; and an Arab herd informed us that these were actually the camels of the Zobeid, who had changed their ground only the previous evening. This was unfortunate so far, that we should find the camp rather in confusion, and less in con- dition to afford us comfortable means of sustenance or accommodations; but the thing was to find it at all, and procure something for our starving horses and people. The welcome sight of three masts be- longing to as many boats, served at once as a proof that the river was near, and a mark to lead us to it; a joyful matter for our thirsty horses, which we could scarcely prevent from plunging into the deep mud on the bank. An interminable string of camels now appeared on the right, loaded with the goods and chattels of the Zobeid ; cutting this line, we held on towards an equally long line of smoke, which was pointed out as the place where the tents were in the act of being pitched; but do not imagine that these fires were in the act of boiling the flesh-pots to fill our empty stomachs-- with the new year had commenced the new moon, and with it the Ramazan or Mahomedan Lent, and all were fasting It was a picturesque thing to see the whole hori- zon covered with camels, which looked like moving trees in the mirage ; but a still more picturesque sight awaited us when, turning a piece of lofty reeds, we came at once upon a large hore in a blaze, the grass presenting a burning line of vivid flame of A COUNTRY IN FLAMES. 43 more than three miles long. This was the fire we had seen the evening before, and which had slum- bered in the heavy dew till called into fiercer action by the breath of morning. The Arabs have a cus- tom of burning the dry grass of the marshes that a new and sweet growth may come up for their cat- tle in the proper season; and thus we had the mag- nificent spectacle of a whole country in flames. As we rode along the edge of the conflagration and over the smoking ground, it was splendid to see the forky. tongues of flame licking up the sere herbage and springing into the air in most fantastic shapes tossing whole sheets of fiery vapour to the sky; it looked like a mighty army, vomiting forth volumes of smoke and flame. We had to coquet a little with this conflagration, rather more closely than was com- fortable, as the path led through the heart of a great half - burned patch. The fire roused a good deal of game which was couched in the long grass. . A large antelope started up under the feet of our guide's horse, and it was striking to remark the effect of this incident upon his habitual phlegmi at once the automaton started into life; and putting his scarecrow mare into motion, set off in chase, brandishing his spear; and so embarrassed was the an- telope in the long matted grass where the taller ani- mal had an advantage, that there appeared every chance of his spearing it, for it turned several times, and always towards the thick grass. Unfortunately, a little wretch of an Arab boy started up unex- pectedly, and gave the animal a wrong turn, so that it got into a thinner spot, and thence into the open 44 CURIOUS CHASE. plain, where it escaped ; but it was a spirited little burst. Our black leader was more fortunate in another, and, as some might have supposed, a less easy chase; a black partridge (or Francolin) rose, and after a short flight alighted. Away, as formerly, darted the guide, spear in hand and his mare tail on end, roused the bird again and chased it into a little thicket. After it he dashed once more; saw the poor frightened and then wearied bird cowering under a bush, and speared it as it lay; then jumping from his horse, twisted its wings together in a most savage manner behind its back, and thus presented it to me. This happened almost in the camp, where we arrived at noon, having, besides our adventures with fire and water, passed over several ancient sites by the way : in a few minutes after noon we were in the Sheikh's tent. Our welcome, however, was not, as it appeared, of the warmest, considering the fame of Arab hospi- tality. The Ramazân, in fact, is a miserably uncom- fortable time for travelling or for visiting. The peo- ple fast strictly all day and sit up all night to eat ; thus clothing a necessarily wearisome season in a still more forbidding dress. Fasting themselves, they dream not that others may require to feed ; so when we came to inquire into the chances of obtaining food, we discovered that the Sheikh was asleep, and consequently nothing was to be had. So far as actual craving of appetite was concerned, we satisfied it with a few remaining dates and a morsel of bread, washed down with a cup of good tea, and our servants got some pickings of the same THE SHEIKH. 45 stop-gap kind. We then conversed for a while with a very gentlemanly Koord, a guest of the Sheikh (who, I suspect, was in hiding), until that chief made his appearance in person. This occurred not till about half an hour before sunset. His worship issued forth from a huge black tent at a little distance from ours, in which he took up rather a low seat. The manners of this man, as well as of his elder brother, Sheikh Waddee, were remarkably pas- sive and quiet--a peculiarity observable, I believe, in most tolerably civilized Arab chiefs, when not ex- cited into action by some powerful cause. Neither in his reception of us, nor in the welcome he gave us, or his subsequent conversation, was his demean- our expressive of animation or frankness; and judging of it by other and similar occasions, I should deem it cool. His curiosity to see the various rarities he heard I possessed was keen enough ; he called for my pistols, gun, and spying-glass, and was delighted with my Lucifer and Promethean matches. . A four-barrelled pistol belonging to Mr. Finlay, tick- led his facy hugely ; and when the way to fire it was shown him, nothing would satisfy him but to dis- charge the whole four himself. One of our people, Seyed Hindee, informed him, that I with my gun could kill birds upon the wing, and did so as often as they rose. The Sheikh expressed a great desire to witness this feat, and I looked about for a bird to sa- crifice to his curiosity; none, however, making its appearance, I told Seyed Hindee to throw up a piece of brick to fire at, and fortunately struck it in the air so hard that it flew in pieces. It was a lucky 46 A FAIR OFFER AND WARNING. a t a 1 1 hit, and had a very wholesome effect in impressing the Arabs with a high opinion of the power of our arms and means of defence. The Sheikh himself was quite delighted, and, surprised out of his de- mureness, seized me by the hand and cried :-“Come, come, you 're a good fellow; you had better become a Mussulman and live with me." “ How can that be, Sheikh," said I, “when I have left a wife and family and all my friends and relatives at home?” — “Oh, give these up,” replied he: "only turn Mus- sulman, and I will give you all those and more, here.” On my again excusing myself, he turned to those around him with an air of compassion, and said :-“What a pity, now, that these poor fellows must go to jehannum (hell)! are you not afraid of your soul ?---will you not think of saving it?" I replied that my belief on that subject was, that whoever lived well, according to the faith he pro- fessed and the dictates of his own conscience, would be regarded by the Almighty Creator with favour, and find mercy and reward hereafter. To this he made no immediate reply ; but a little after- wards, observing me rubbing my hands from cold, he said :-“See now, you can scarcely bear this little cold to-day-how will you bear the pains of hell to-morrow?” I smiled, and, resolved to enter into no religious controversy, especially with a bigot whose language I did not understand, I dropped the subject. The sun just then going down, the Sheikh somewhat hastily took leave, taking with him the Koordish gentleman, who had on this occa- sion acted as my interpreter. They went to enjoy i COLD OF CHALDEA. 47 a most excellent and plentiful meal in the Sheikh's tent, sweetened by a previous fast of eleven hours, and one in which we would willingly have joined; but the good Sheikh would seem to have fancied either that Christians had no appetites, or that they would not eat with Mahomedans ; for he expressed himself somewhat surprised when he heard we would eat things even killed by them. People may talk of Canada, or Siberia, or Iceland, for cold; but I must say that I have seldom suffered more from low temperature, than for these few days past on the plains of Mesopotamia, and particularly during last night in our tent. Five tedious hours it deprived me of sleep; I could not warm my bed, my feet and knees were numbed to insensible lumps, and during the whole night I felt the wind piercing through all the coverings I could muster, into my very bones. In the morning, the water- proof cloak which was thrown over the bed was frozen stiff from the congealed steam of my body, and the water in the matarás, or leathern bottles, and the nargeels, or water-pipes, was frozen into solid lumps !--- So much for Chaldea in January. As for Arab hospitality and courtesy to guests-“Oh, breathe not its name; let it sleep in the shades!” into which it appears, in these degenerate days, to have retired ; and let those who value their comfort stay at home during the Arab Ramazân. When we awoke this morning, there was neither wood nor fire, nor meat nor bread, nor even water, to be had ; and when, after a powerful effort to extort ther, they were promised---each article was produced so slowly, 48 ISKHURRIAH. er lar NE tu from th ha loc sta par Or an or car and with such long intervals between, that they were jointly and severally almost useless for the purposes for which they were required. It was ten o'clock be- fore we could get a cup of coffee, and one in the afternoon ere breakfast could be achieved. Most of this time was passed in bed, from sheer inability to maintain any reasonable heat otherwise ; for there was no fire, and the searching north wind still pierced through and through our slender coverings, in defiance of the bright sun overhead. After breakfast we rode out about an hour's dis- tance from the camp to examine a group of mounds called by the Arabs Iskhurriah, or “ the Stony," from their being covered over with multitudes of dark-coloured stones of a singular texture. The Arabs have it on tradition, that this was the coun- try of Lot (or Loot, as they call him), and that these stones were rained from heaven by the Al- mighty in wrath, to destroy the wicked inhabitants of the place. There, indeed, we found the stones in abundance, sufficient to have destroyed any city, and covering a number of mounds, varying from fif- teen to thirty-five feet in height, and extending in various directions for more than a mile, besides sprinkling the plain for a considerable distance be- yond them. They were all of a black and heavy, though porous, nature, mingled with olive and sul- phur-coloured scoriæ and vitrified matter, and are probably the remains of some immense brick and pottery manufacture of the times of old. I never myself saw the Staffordshire manufactories, but one of the party who had, observed that he had seen SOC his WE WE CO == 8 si li 1 THE SHEIKH'S TENT. 49 even larger mounds of such scoriæ there. The large size of some of the black stones is puzzling. Millstones are fabricated from them, and I suspect that they formed a particular species of manufac- ture in themselves; they were seen in blocks of from four to five feet long, and six to ten inches thick. It is certainly a curious place, and must have been situated in a populous district ; for on looking around from the top of the highest of these stone-covered mounds, we could scarcely see any part of the horizon unmarked with others of greater or less size ; sites, probably, of cities or towns, and villages, which were built from the produce of, or were customers to this great manufactory. We returned to camp just as the Sheikh himself came in from an unsuccessful hunting party; and soon after, the sun having set, accompanied him to his tent, where, his worship having discovered that we had no objection to mess with Mussulmans, we were invited to share his evening's repast, and ac- cordingly did partake of a truly partriarchal and primitive feast. I wish I could do justice to the scene in description -- you must assist the attempt with your imagination. The tent of this Arab Sheikh was of dark brown hair-cloth, some fifty or sixty feet long, supported in the centre by a row of poles, none of them more than nine feet high; thus limiting the extreme height to that pitch, while the. side to windward was pinned down by ropes to within three feet of the ground, producing a sharp pent; the opening being closed by a wall or screen of the same material, which, though thin and pervious VOL. II. E 50 THE GUESTS tu W 0 ba M SU OC th fe 2 be SCE to light, formed a tolerable protection against the wind. The other, or leeward side, was open in all its extent; the outer extremity, which should, like the other, have been pinned down to the ground, being elevated by poles of about six feet in height, the ropes being proportionally relaxed. The space thus covered over head might be from sixteen to twenty feet broad, by the length already stated; though, if closed, it would not have exceeded twelve or fourteen. It contained neither goods nor furni- ture, save towards the upper end, where there were some pillows and a few carpets disposed for seats, and where the chief received visiters in form. The rest could boast of no other carpet than the tufts of grass that chanced to be on the ground when the tent was pitched. Near the lower end was a fireplace on the ground, marked only by the ashes of successive fires. At this time there was a huge blaze flaring in the faces of as wild a set of savages as ever surrounded a cannibals' feast ; and who, to the number of twenty or thirty, were seated on their heels, most of them with shirts and abbas tucked up, to permit their long breechless limbs to rejoice in the general heat. They fed the flame from a great heap of brush- wood behind them, which occupied the extreme bot- tom and part of the side of the tent--it was a very Robinson Crusoe-like spectacle indeed. The chief, and my friend the Koord, received us standing ; but so soon as a rag of carpet had been thrown down for our convenience at one point of the circle, we took our seats according to orders, and they also assumed the “ Dance Kirkuddy” atti- On ki ke 1 AND ATTENDANTS. 51 tude of the rest ; holding up their hands before their faces to defend them from the scorching heat which was so agreeable to the lower extremities. It was indeed so intense, as sometimes to force us to draw back, and get a ragged Arab between us and its blaze. The chief saw this; and remembering the success of his attack on me the previous day, recom- menced his well-bred religious admonitions with the observation, “Ay, ay, you wince under this, but this is nothing to the heat of hell, which you will feel to-morrow.” None of us would take up the gauntlet thus thrown down, as we feared disturb- ing the present harmony; and, indeed, I was glad to be allowed to gaze uninterruptedly on the singular scene around me. I think I never saw anything so perfectly savage on so large a scale. The Koords are perfect gentle- men in appearance to the Arabs. Even the Toor- komans stood in advantageous contrast with these ragged and wild children of the desert. The greater number were but half clothed. I do not believe there were three pair of trousers in the whole party; a shirt or an abba was the full dress of most, with a headkerchief that could boast of no particular co- lour; and the Arab eye, always wild and bright, though fine, gleamed with scintillating fierceness in the blaze, from amongst their long black elf-locks be- neath their contracted brows; and a stranger, judg- ing from their looks and gestures, and from the loud tones of their voices when they spoke, would have imagined they were just about to use their weapons -sword or dagger, or large clubbed stick, which E 2 52 THE FARE. C th 01 is. an pre bu Sk is every one held in his hand or in his lap, or which lay beside him on the floor. I had not much time to dwell upon the ever- varying aspect of the group, for the cawachee, or coffee preparer (a sort of very dishevelled butler) of the great man, now stepped forward; and first sitting down in the circle and warming his hands like the rest, began to pour out from two ample brass vessels near the fire, a sort of liquor, with which it seems these Ramazan ascetics break their fast, and which is generally presented also to guests. It was a com- position of hot-water and sugar flavoured with a lit- tle ginger and spice. Of this, a small cup not bigger than a dram-glass, was handed to each, and then the signal was given that dinner was ready, so we all went to the other end of the tent where it was laid out. Assist me, ye powers, to describe it! In the centre of the space just in front of the cushions (dirty and greasy they were) which was covered for the occasion with coarse canvass grain- bags, I believe, by way of tablecloth, there was raised a sort of platform of wood some six feet in diameter, and on this, in an immense copper dish, smoked between two and three hundred pounds' weight of rice. Around this grand centrepiece were ranged smaller platters, filled with various prepara- tions of meat (mutton) and pastry. The former was boiled and stewed, and dressed up in forced- meat, with plums and raisins and other good things ; the latter was in still more numerous shapes, and, though rather greasy, all exceedingly good. Most of the dishes, indeed, were swimming in inelted but- str in TU de M a THE ORDER OF THE FEAST. 53 It ter and rich saučes, and the whole exhibited a truly chief-like profusion. Around this hecatomb-looking feast sat down about thirty of the savages before de- scribed, with their long, coal-black, platted and disor- dered locks hanging over the dishes; and behind these stood or sat a still more extensive outer circle of expectants; for it seems that the order of the day is, that when any one has filled his maw, he rises and gives place to another; and thus the succession proceeds until the whole party, often amounting to hundreds, has been fed, or that the viands are ex- hausted. In this primitive assembly did we take our places, which were assigned to us at the cushions, the Sheikh sitting below us, but still eating with us. is not customary for the host to sit down with his stranger guests; but as the house and feast were in point of fact Sheikh Waddee's, as head of the tribe, the brother who, though acting the part was virtually not our host, broke through no established rule by thus sitting down with us. It would have done your heart good to have witnessed the vigorous set-to that was made by one and all, the moment the “ Bismillah” was uttered. In a second, every hand was plunged arm-deep into the caldron of rice, and each man vied with his neighbour in the size of the balls he made of it, mingled with the grease and sauce of the stews, and the dexterity and rapidity with which he stuffed them into his throat ; where, down they went, whatever their magnitude, fast as ever schoolboy bolted stolen gooseberries. Our Koordish friend, who sat near us, pointed out 54 CURE FOR DYSPEPSIA. fa fia Up he W wa ME an kn thie ou! us LORE dos what he considered the nicest dishes, and really, greasy though they were, I found them capital. Instead of applying to your Abernethys and your Jepthsons, and other stomach doctors, I recom- mend all gentlemen with poor appetites and weak digestive powers to take a trip into these countries, and if heartburns, and aches, and ails are not soon cured, I am no prophet : the weakest of them would eat a live sheep and thrive on a draught of melted rancid butter before two months were over. The Sheikh, though he did not forget his own share in the feast, was by no means neg- lectful of his guests. He took large lumps of the meat and pastry, and threw them down before on different parts of the superficies of the rice-mountain, which now exhibited sundry great ravines and hollows in its sides, from the rapid and sustained attacks of its assailants, and poured whole dishes of sauce and melted ghee over it to increase its savouriness. The burst was too earnest to endure long. Anon, we observed several members of the circle rise, and quit the repast with apparent reluctance and difficulty ; but the hiatus was so speedily filled up as to cause no perceptible inter- mission in the assault, and the circle was always complete. I found it was understood that when any one of the guests had enough, or had employed a reasonable time in the business of repletion, he should rise and make room for another; and those who thus retired, washing their hands, sat down by the fire at the other end of the tent. To some it was a sore duty to withdraw from the good sug ita thi OU) OUI to he G St re Ta W ACCOMMODATING STOMACH OF AN ARAB. 55 fare: your Arab, like most savages, has a wonder- fully accommodating stomach--he can go for days upon a handful of dates ; or, if these are not to be had, he will do without anything till food casts up; but when it does come in plenty, Sir Dougald Dalgetty was nothing to him in the way of stowing in provende - he will devour as much as eight or ten moderate men : nothing surprised our Arab guides more than the small quantity of food which we consumed. I am not myself, you know, a despicable hand at the knife and fork, nor were my companions, to do them justice, greatly behind me; but when the Arabs saw the plate of pillaw and stew usually served up for our dinner, they used to declare it was not half al- lowance for one man ! The drink provided to wash down this solid feast was a sort of sherbet, made of sugar and water acidulated, and very agreeable; and it appeared to be as abundant as the eatables. When we had sufficiently amused ourselves with this strange and characteristic scene, and satisfied our own more moderate appetites, we rose, washed our hands, and retired to the withdrawing-room- to wit, the fire at the other end, around which there had already congregated a circle of our primitive friends, and where we were soon joined by the Sheikh himself. By this time the cawachee had resumed his seat at the fire-side, having before him a row of at least eight large coffee-pots, from which we were soon served with small cups of that beve- rage, and the dose was repeated every ten minutes while we remained. This cawachee was a mise- rable scarecrow, with a face like a reaping-hook, a 56 COFFEE AND CONVERSATION. ragged shirt and gown, with head-gear of unspeak- able squalidity; and his coffee, which was excellent and well flavoured with cardamoms, was handed about by bare-legged Ganymedes, in canvass shirts of nearly a similar colour. As the chief guests, we were served first, and afterwards the whole party in- discriminately, the cawachee helping himself and his ragamuffin cup-bearers as regularly as the rest. During the whole business there was an incessant gabble of tongues, à l’Arabe, and the humour of the scene was heightened by the settlement of a matter of business, which the Sheikh had to arrange in the course of the evening. It appeared that among the guests were two or three Arabs of another tribe called Baeej, who had in some way or other rendered themselves obnoxious to government, and the Pashah had directed the Zobeid to reduce them to order, a duty which was readily undertaken. In the discharge of it the Sheikh of the Baeej, it appears, was killed and a favourite mare captured. The first injury might have been got over ; but the latter was an unpar- donable offence against property, which restitution alone could atone for, and the persons in question had been deputed to negotiate this knotty point. They shared the feast and were honourably treated; but, if we were to judge by the violence of action, and loudness of tongue, with which the succeeding negotiation was carried on, it did not appear to be of a satisfactory nature. In fact, I afterwards understood that it failed altogether, and that the threatened vengeance of the injured tribe, had been DAILY CONSUMPTION OF THE SHEIKH. 57 treated by our hosts with scorn and defiance. I learned too, that the scene I had witnessed here this night, so far from being uncommon, was one of every day occurrence. When the Sheikh is alone, the regular consumption at his table is from two to three sheep a day, and three Wuzuns (about three hundred pounds) of rice, with other things in proportion, such as butter, sugar, &c. When he has company, the consumption increases to eight, ten, or fifteen sheep, and a proportionate quantity of other eatables. A certain worthy already spoken of, by the name of Solymaun Gunnum, was his guest some time ago ; and during his stay, which continued for months, the expenditure of barley for his horses amounted to a toghår, equal to two hundred and forty Tabreez mauns, or near a ton a-day, worth here about five pounds sterling! 1 58 pi to it CE fc ti LETTER IV. W a P 1 The Guide Nuisance. Desert Ride and Bivouac. An Alarm, - Display of Arab Courage. — A more dangerous Incident, and Providential Escape.-Second Bivouac. --Short Commons. - Friendly Meeting. — Manœuvre. - Reluctant Hospitality. - Arab Honesty. Threatening of a “Row.” The Ben-i- Rikâb.-More Attempts at Thieving.-- Primitive Husbandry. -Mâdan Arabs their Character and Abodes. · More an- cient Sites. Serious Obstacle. Mode of crossing a deep Creek.—Another Night with the Mâdans.-Crossing the Eu- phrates.-Um-Ghyer, a curious Ruin.— First Montefic Camp.- Origin and present Condition of the Montefic.—First View of the Montefic Camp.-The Sheikh absent—his Employment. 1 1 2 DEAR Ar intervals during the feast, described in my last letter, it had been settled that we should re- sume our journey on the morrow; but the various preparations and arrangements were not concluded until half past nine A.M. when we took leave of the camp. These arrangements were not effected with- out difficulty ; and, in fact, I found among the Arabs much of the same annoyance I had met with in Persia. They would not sell us anything in the shape of corn or bread, nor could we wring from them enough for our wants as guests, so we found it necessary to coquet about it, and send a fellow to DIFFICULTIES ABOUT GUIDES. 59 purchase secretly at twice the real price, or agree to take it as a gift, presenting the giver with twice its value in return. As to guides, no confidence can be placed in any promises that may be made for furnishing them; for while any doubts are en- tertained respecting the chance of payment, those who are equal to the task are apt to keep back; and when, at length, it is understood that the em- ployment is likely to be profitable, it becomes the object of a job, and numbers, all equally ill-qualified, press forward to obtain a slice of the cake. It was signified to us that two men were appointed by the Sheikh to take us to Sook-u-Shiookh ; but I found they expected me to mount them. When they found that would not do, they declared that all they could muster was a young camel, instead of two horses; and, after infinite trouble and worry, four men presented themselves, three being mounted on horses and one on a camel. Against this strange attendance I protested, and refused to move until the Sheikh's man or men should come forward and prove his title. This produced such a quarrel among them, that I thought it would have ended in all leaving me; but the thing righted itself after a few minutes of storm and fury, and we all proceeded on our way good friends. Our way lay over a desert sprinkled with St. John's bread, camel's thorn, &c. till four o'clock, without seeing a soul; when observing no symptoms of tents or Arabs, and finding a pool containing a little standing water, we came to, among some tamarisk-bushes and encamped for the night. I 60 BITTER APPLES. ter an ou in fre DE it ai Q believe I have mentioned my having provided a little tent, quite a diminutive concern; it was now a great comfort: for the night set in with hard frost, and the water was soon turned into ice; but our little tent kept us snug, and we slept soundly in the wilderness, after a good dinner furnished from the materials we had brought with us. The servants were exposed to the whole rigour of the wind, which was very biting; and the horses had no other sustenance than their feed of corn after their march; but there was no help for it. Our direc- tion during the day was pretty nearly on a line S.S.E. Among other desert herbs, to-day we again met with the Colocynth, or bitter apple, in such plenty as sometimes to cover the ground. To a stranger it appears so like a fine ripe orange, that I am told some have been so much deceived as to dismount and taste it, an experiment which I engage they will never repeat. We also passed several sites, and a large canal or two, almost obliterated : one of the sites was by the Arabs called Aweineh, and another Okuhther. This morning (January 4th) was so bitterly cold, that there was no getting the people into motion till late. It was a quarter past seven before we left our ground : as the sun rose and the wind was on our backs, we got into warmth by degrees, and should have enjoyed our ride had there been anything to see; but the scanty sprinkling of bushes which accompanied us yesterday, decreased to-day to a single tuft here and there, at long in- ( ( 1 1 AN ALARM. 61 tervals, leaving the earth absolutely bare between, and often rent into deep cracks, which gaped under our feet. This barrenness arose from no poverty in the soil, but from the circumstance of its being frequently overflowed with water, and at other times baked with heat, so that any seed that hap- pened to fall upon it, was probably destroyed before it could take root. About two hours after starting, we had a very amusing alarm, and were treated with a fair spe- cimen of Arab courage. Our party had been in- creased by four men on foot, who would all have made it out that they belonged to the guide de- partment, till I reduced them to their proper deno- mination that of fellows desirous of profiting by the protection afforded by our party. Some of these persons had hung behind; and on climbing a mound on the wayside, to look for them, we became aware of a party of mounted men, far on our left, which threw our friends into some confusion. In order, partly, to allow our party to close up, and partly to inquire who the strangers might be, we halted, while one of our guides pricked forth at speed to- wards them. Our glasses had already shown them to consist of some twelve or fourteen men on camels, and others on foot, being armed with three spears and some guns; and when our reconnoiter quitted us, they were about a mile and a half off. We saw him join the strangers, and then separate from them, returning towards us, while they rode on their way. By this time our lingerers had come up; and as the other party were moving off, obviously 62 ARAB BRAVADO WIE WO bre OCE sig WE M CO SV fre hi ca without any desire for a rencounter, our heroes, both Persian and Arab, thought this their oppor- tunity for exhibiting most vehement valour. They swore that the strangers were no better than the dust under their feet, and that they would drive them like that before the wind. When our mes- senger joined us, and all, as I thought, had ex- pired in that flash of heroism, I was surprised by seeing the guide who had remained with us, fall into a most desperate taking. He flung his abba and headkerchief upon the ground, and stamped about with wild grimaces, while tucking up the long sleeves of his shirt to his shoulders, leaving the arms all bare, and uttering strange and inar- ticulate sounds. Something was obviously wrong, but so great was the ferment that it was not with- out some difficulty I could get at the fact. It ap- peared, at length, that the people whom we still saw, were of the Shummur, or rather Jerboah tribe, coming from Heaven knows where, and who were, he said, his enemies. They had robbed him, mur- dered his people, and I know not what besides, so he swore he must go after them and put them all to death. And then he went on girding up his loins, examining his matchlock and ammunition- pouches, taking from one of them a parcel of bul- lets which he tossed into his mouth, to be handy for prompt service, and uttering the while most desperate threats, to which his comrade responded, though, as it seemed to me, with far less vehemence and front of resolution. On inquiring of our Arab friend, Seyed Hindee, EASILY PUT DOWN. 63 roes, por her the rive nes ex by fal oba med he ar what might be the meaning of all this folly, that worthy only shrugged his shoulders, and treated the bravado with contempt, as it deserved ; but as it was occasioning very useless and injurious delay, I took the liberty of interfering, and made the interpreter signify to the guides that if this was the mode in which they meant to perform their duty to us, I must return to their Sheikh and inform him of their conduct. This, with a suitable display of displea- sure, had the desired effect; our guide dismounted from his war hobby, untucked his sleeves, resumed his head-gear and abba, and began to account for, and excuse his conduct, by a long detail of the causes of his enmity against these Shummurs. Now the fact is, as you may have suspected, that he never had the slightest idea of meddling with them at all. It was but a flourish got up to impress us with a formidable idea of his courage. Had the strangers indicated any disposition to at- tack us, he, probably like other boasters, would have been the first to turn tail. This incident led to a conversation between the Arabs, which was reported to me by my interpreter, and which shows the importance of assuming an appearance of strength, and permitting it to be seen that one carries the means of defence. They were discussing the chances of success in case we had come to blows with the strangers, and the valiant one was insist- ing on it that we should have assuredly prevailed. “ Not a doubt of it,” said he; “ we should have plundered them to a certainty, and carried off all their property. They (indicating us with a sign) ) 1 64 WHOLESOME FEELINGS OF RESPECT. ca: 66 How “ Why, the for che COL sli sh ar Or TE se liE CO h would have put them every one to death." do you know that ?” demanded the other. who were they, the dogs, to stand before them," was the rejoinder : “ did you ever know people armed in such a manner ? did you ever see such an atish-khaneh ? (literally fire-house, establishment of fire-arms); one of them has a pistol with four barrels; the other, two double-barrelled ones, and a double-barrelled gun that never misses; he would have shot every man of them, as he shot the wild duck yesterday” (I had been lucky enough to asto- nish them by bringing down a wild duck on wing). “ Do you think he would ever have ventured to be so angry with me if he did not know his own strength ?" The other acquiesced, and the convers- ation went no further ; but I remembered that just when, at one time, there seemed to be some chance of the two parties coming into collision, this same guide had told me to spare no one, to put a ball through every one of the fellows: it was a whole- some feeling of respect, which we certainly saw no good cause to diminish. This incident places the character of Arab cou- rage in these parts in its true light, - Ex uno disce omnes,” they are all alike, braggadocios, and generally cowards. I by no means would be meant to assert that the Arab will on no occasion put his person in jeopardy; far from it. When his blood is well up, he cares as little for danger, and will risk life as freely as any one; but in ordinary cases he is neither very forward to spill his own blood, nor that of his enemy. He has nothing of that T fi 0 MORAL RESTRAINTS ON PASSION. 65 "How - Why, them" people uch an ment of h four es, and would we wild asto- wing to be own nvers- Ct just Ehance calm, sustained, effective courage which animates the regularly trained soldier of Europe, or which we find, modified, perhaps, by constitution and national character, but still strikingly illustrated in the conduct of our disciplined troops of India. The slightest loss disheartens him, and the smallest show of resolute opposition drives him back. Arabs are only formidable when in overwhelming numbers, or when driven to despair, like the stag at bay. The fact is, that the Arab, though sufficiently fiery and quarrelsome, is restrained from shedding the blood of his countrymen (as I have already ob- served) by a dread of the consequences. No one likes to involve his family or tribe in all the in- conveniences of a blood-feud, nor probably would he find support from them without sufficient cause. Thus, even in the most lawless states of society, we find checks, originally created by necessity and sub- sequently established by common consent, as cogent on its members, if not as perfect in principle as the more formal enactments of civilized nations, an irrefragable proof of the necessity of these legal restraints upon human will and passions. . Dr. Ross and myself had an adventure of a dif- ferent sort, towards the close of this day, and one that had well nigh terminated tragically for us both. The horses of ourselves and servants had become maddened by the presence of the mares ridden by our Arab guides, and like young bucks of the human race were ready to quarrel with each other for the favours of ladies who cared not a whit about them. Among the rest the Doctor's horse, and that which same ball hole no COU- ៣០ and ant his vod 7ill ses id at VOL. II. F 66 A DANGEROUS PREDICAMENT. a IF C ť h fi 8 d I rode this day, thought fit to take offence at one another; and on coming rather carelessly near the former, notwithstanding his repeated warning, shrieks, and snorts, he made a sudden snatch with his teeth at my thigh, but caught hold of my abba and trousers only. I jerked my horse round just at the very moment when the Doctor pulled his the same way, so that the head of mine was brought close to the other's flank; and he returned the com- pliment by seizing the Doctor by the leg, with so much violence, as to pull him from his seat. The animal, thus freed from restraint, rushed teeth and hoofs at mine, pawing with so much fury that had I received one of the blows aimed at me it would have been enough, while my steed returned the attack with interest, in spite of all I could do. In my efforts to pull him round, and so to get free, the bridle broke; and seeing myself now powerless, I took the opportunity of his rearing to slip off behind, hoping to roll clear of all : but somehow or other I got right among his hind feet, and there lay the Doctor and I sprawling under the two pawing, and rearing, and biting brutes, as pretty a group for a battle-piece as a sculptor could desire to have. In a moment or two, however, not re- regarding us, off they set after the mares, but grappling with each other on the way, down they fell together, and were caught and secured by the grooms. In the mean time I rose from the ground, asto- nished to find myself unhurt, and looking round, observed the Doctor also rising, and limping, as it # ti a f 1 RISKS OF TRAVELLERS. 67 appeared, with pain. I feared he must be dread- fully injured, for I could have sworn to at least half a dozen horse tramps on his body : but he also had most providentially escaped with compa- ratively little hurt. The teeth of my horse had caught and torn through abba, and gown, and riding breeches, and drawers; but stopped short of the skin. One of their hoofs, however, had struck him on the hand and head, severely bruising one finger, and giving the latter a slanting blow, which, had it not been well defended by his Arab head- gear, might have been very serious: but the Fez and headkerchief, &c. defended him well; and al- though some pain and confusion were felt for a day, the accident produced no further ill conse- quence than that of disabling the right hand for a week. Still we could not exclude a passing reflec- tion on what our situation would have been in this wide desert, får removed from help, without even a drop of water, had one of us received some serious injury, or had a leg or an arm been broken in the fray ; but a traveller should not, any more than a soldier, think of or anticipate such casualties, further than as he considers them inseparable from his calling; all he has to do is, to place his trust in that Providence who protects those who call on Him in sincerity and truth, and not to tempt danger wantonly. So we mounted our pugna- cious steeds again, and proceeded on our way, taking special care, however, to keep them, for the future, at a respectful distance. For some time previous to this accident, we had F 2 68 BIVOUAC a ta d ir id SO ni entered upon a tract totally devoid of herbage, having only here and there, at long intervals, a tamarisk, or a caper-bush, or a bunch of the soda- plant, and being cut up by deep ruts, like canals, made by the subsiding waters of the annual spring overflow, or the occasional rains of winter. On our left we saw smoke, probably rising from Arab tents, but very distant and quite out of our way. Our guides told us there were Arabs ahead also, but we saw no signs of them. The day was drawing to a close, and a short time before sunset we reached some puddles of water left by the rains; so a council was called, and we came to the resolution that it was better for the horses that they should fast for the night even after a day's severe work, than that they should be urged further on at an uncertainty, perhaps to miss the camps, and then be forced to bivouac under still less favourable circumstances and in darkness. There was a little bit of grass, too, which would afford our mules a bite, the horses we did not dare to turn loose from the certainty of their fighting ; so we took up our quarters under the lee of a small tuft of tamarisk bushes, and picketted our beasts. The aforesaid puddles secured us against thirst, but to provide against the assaults of hunger was not an easy matter. We could not muster above two handfuls of rice with a few dates, and our party amounted to seventeen, besides interlopers. For ourselves, I got up a mess of portable soup, thickened with a handful of rice, and plenty of onions and seasoning, which, with a good dish of tea, sent us not ill off to our beds. de SC ar 01 CC li d 1 i ! AND SHORT COMMONS. 69 The servants had fifteen dates a-piece, and a small bag of flour, which had been put up at Baghdad for the cook's use, was brewed into a sort of pottage which gave their stomachs something to do. As for the Arabs, to fast is no unusual thing with them; they feed like famished wolves when they have food, but can endure a day or two's fast as well as any North American savage. The horses were worst off; but Dr. Ross's servant had fortunately taken the precaution to put up two instead of one day's feed for his beasts, and this was doled out into just two handsfuls for each animal, which had to chew the cud upon it till morning. There was some talk of lions coming from the bed of the Hye river, or canal, from which we could not be far distant, and they might have a mind to taste some of our horse-flesh ; but we treated this lightly, and one of the guides observed to his companion, “ Talk of lions to people who can bring a bird on wing down with a ball! What are they likely to care about wild beasts ?." Good simple souls ! they little knew that the feat was performed with small shot! No lions came, however, we laid ourselves down to rest, confiding in that protection which had preserved us in real perils, and passed the night in safety and in peace. The march of this day produced little to claim our attention. In the morning we passed some sites, and the ground, as on former marches, was everywhere strewed with relics, brick, pottery, or glass, which declared it to have at one time been in- habited; but as we advanced to the southward, and 70 COMFORTS OF A TENT. à a E a T a ti r fd 0 W af 0 approached the tract of land, annually overflowed by the Hye and other rivers, these vestiges dimi- nished in frequency, and at length wholly disappear- ed ; all solid and heavy substances sink, no doubt, in the mud produced by the inundations. Our situation was in nowise so agreeable as to tempt either ourselves or our people to morning in- dolence. Hungry as they were, our servants were obliged to keep watch by turns, and sleep was in- deed rendered almost impossible from the bitter, bit- ter cold. How often did we hug ourselves at the chance, for it was rather that than actual foresight, which had led us to provide the dear little tent which now proved so great a comfort. Thin and slight as it was, and not above six feet by nine, and five feet high, while the light was burning in it, and our dinner smoking on the carpet; it served in some degree to insulate us from the cold air, and keep us lapt in a little atmosphere of our own. But no sooner had we laid ourselves down and there was just room for each of us Tchelebees to do som than the cold penetrated through every covering we could muster, and we scarcely dared to turn, be- cause in so doing we came in contact with the chil- led garments around us. In the morning, there- fore, as soon as dawn appeared, we rose and loaded. The tent resembled a little hill of snow from the hoar frost which covered it, and a withering hard wind chilled our very marrow. We now found out, or rather guessed, that our course had been too far to the eastward; so we took first a S.S.W., and then a southerly e p T ( ] FRIENDLY GREETINGS. 71 lowed dimi ppear doubt as to were was in , bit- t the sight , tent and and it , -rved and course, in order to clear the northward bulge of the Hye. About nine o'clock, A. M. we descried camels and men at some distance. They ran away at our approach—they, not we, were the frightened party this time ; but as we sought not to create dread, and on the contrary wanted assistance, their panic was inconvenient. So we detached one of our horsemen to satisfy them of our pacific intentions and bring them to speaking terms. In the mean time, three horsemen more, armed with spears, ap- peared upon our right; and after flourishing about for a while, came forward at full gallop. Another of our Arabs dashed forward to meet them : down went the butt-ends of their spears on the ground; and after a few seconds' converse, we had the satisfaction of seeing the leader and our man lean forward and embrace as they sat on horseback. All fear of as- sault was thus at an end, and our hopes of a hos- pitable reception were warranted by the welcome which they gave us as they advanced and joined our party. These hopes, however, were rather fallacious. The horsemen, indeed, rode along with us towards some tents, which now appeared in the distance; but we found a sort of natural canal running between them and us, filled partially with mud and water, and they told us that the occupiers of them were only poor devils unable to entertain us, adding an offer to take us forward to the tents of the larger and richer members of the tribe. This, it appeared, was but an artifice to inveigle us away from their own homes ; for, one after another, they slunk away as we ad- But here we be 2017 . jert- ded. the card our SO orly 72 NEGOTIATIONS. vanced, till we found ourselves alone with our guides. In the mean time, we saw the country beyond the water course, quite studded with black tents and cattle, while on our side not one appeared. The water, too, had increased to such a depth as to be fordable only with difficulty ; so, seeing ourselves fairly cheated by those who had met us first, we called a halt opposite to the largest group of tents in sight, and resolved to send one of our guides across to negotiate for our reception. It was obvious that doubts or dread were enter- tained respecting us — - perhaps our party was too formidable in numbers to be received by any single division of the tribe ; so our guide had directions to assure them not only of our good intentions, but of our ability and will to remunerate our entertainers either by actual purchase of necessaries, or by a pre- sent equivalent to what we might consume. To sell food to the traveller is quite against the laws of Arab hospitality ; but an enterchange of presents is admissible. So, after a considerable length of nego- tiation, arising more, I fear, from mistrust than de- licacy, the scruples of Arab etiquette, and Arab ava- rice were got over, and we passed the canal, which was here breast deep for the horses, and twenty-five or thirty yards across. Our baggage cattle, how- ever, had to retrace their steps for nearly two miles, in order to reach a ford practicable for them. So much again for Arab hospitality and fidelity of guid- ance. We now got barley for our poor horses ; and in less than an hour a plentiful supply of hot bread A THEFT. 73 and dates strewed with melted butter, was set before ourselves and servants for the Arabs make no dif- ference between master and man. All sat down to the same repast—a solecism in the eyes of my Per- sians which they could not at all get over. After a rest of two hours, we resumed our march ; but just at starting, discovered that a gun belonging to one of my servants was missing. The whole of our arms had been piled in a heap behind the place where we were sitting. I had seen them altogether myself, so that there was no doubt of the theft ; but the people of the tent all denied it with strong assevera- tions, and an air of deep indignation at the affront of supposing they could be guilty of such a breach of hospitality. . Our servants, however, persisted in the charge, and our guides, whose duty it was to protect our property, interfered with a high hand, declaring that we were persons proceeding in charge of presents to the Sheikh of the Montefic (whose Rayahs or tributaries these Arabs were), and that he would exact severe retribution for any loss we might sustain at their hand. Still they were obsti- nate. They protested -- the guides grew violent, and my servants blustered, and began to threaten some of the men, who took to their large sticks, while the women commenced screaming and cack- ling like a flock of gulls before a storm. In the mean time, our old host had disappeared ; but just as matters were assuming a serious aspect, out he came from behind one of the tents, mounted on his mare, and bearing in his hand the missing weapon, which he declared he had found behind the tent 74 DOUBTS AND IRRESOLUTION. where we had breakfasted. There was no use in urging the charge of theft further. The gun was recovered, and the best possible sermon against a breach of the commandment would have been lost upon fellows who make a trade of thieving. So we gave the old man a Barik-illah! for his trouble, and accepted his services as guide upon our way to the camp, where we were to pass the night: but these services were faithless as his hospitality was false ; for he left us just as we reached a very dif- ficult position, and we saw no more of him. Our way lay along the canal which we had just crossed, and which, as we understood, we were to re-cross in order to get to the tents of the Ben-i-Ruf- feyeh, which were on its banks further down. An hour's ride brought us opposite to them; but the canal was not fordable, and the only means of cross- ing it was by a kellick pulled across by a rope. This would not suit our cattle and baggage, at least, without much loss of time; so our guides were at fault, and a long conversation with the Arabs on the other bank, ensued, with much roaring and bellowing across the canal The result was, that we were not to cross, nor go among the Ben-i-Ruffeyeh at all, but to keep the left bank; and this I was not sorry for, as the Ruffeyeh have rather a bad name, and do not profess allegiance to the Montefic, so that while in their country we should be entirely at their mercy. It was somewhat alarming, however, to discover so much ignorance on the part of our guides ; and the more so, as Arab courtesy in the matter of guidance had already been proved a frail 1 AN ARAB MESS. 75. -Swore reed to trust to. I therefore spoke to them rather sharply, on the score of their incapacity to perform the duty they had undertaken; and whether this put them more on their mettle, or that they had ga- thered confidence from some source unknown to me, they suddenly assumed an air of assurance they knew the country well enough that there was plenty of Arabs of the Ben-i-Rikâb (“ sons of the stirrup,” the tribe of our late host) a-head, with whom we should pass the night, and fare like princes. The quantity of sheep and camels which made their appearance as we advanced, confirmed this ac- count; and sure enough, about three o'clock we reached a parcel of tents inhabited by cultivating Arabs — poor devils enough, but able to give us what we required ; and who, on being made easy on the score of recompence, received us readily. In- deed, we were forced this night to rely on the skill of one of their women for a dinner, our cook being indisposed or sulky; and a truly Arab mess she made of it, being a pillaw, or rather mash of itheree -a kind of large millet, seethed with part of a poor kid, purchased by my orders, chiefly for my servants, to compensate for their fast of the preceding night. It is a provoking thing in these Arabs that they never can do a service without disgusting the party obliged, and effacing the value of it by some abomi- nable dirty attempt or another. Our hosts really behaved well to the best of their ability this night, and I had prepared for them a handsome present ; but fortunately, I made it a practice never to be- 76 IRREPRESSIBLE THIEVERY. stow such rewards until everything was found to be right, and we were ready to depart. On this occa- sion (on the morning of the 6th of January), after the baggage had been packed and loaded, the great coat of one of the servants, who had laid it down while giving us coffee, suddenly disappeared. The alarm was given, and the scene of the preceding day was acted over again to an iota. Our guards be- came clamorous and violent, and I declared, that un- less the great coat were instantly given up, I should seize the three best abbas in camp, and perhaps burn a tent or two by way of example. It was a brutum fulmen, but had its effect ; for no sooner was the first abba seized, than the great coat was found under a heap of brush-wood; where it had been put, they said, " by one of the children in mis- take.” The fact is, that the tendency to pilfering among these petty Arabs is as irrepressible as the love of open plunder is among the Bedooeens. In both it is invincible, except when controlled by the fear of superior power. Such thievish attempts are made on travellers generally during the bustle of de- parture. It costs them nothing; for detection occa- sions no shame, and some shallow excuse or subter- fuge is always ready, as in the cases I have related, to shift the guilt from their shoulders, while the chances of success are always worth the taking. I read them a vain lecture about the folly, as well as dishonesty, of their conduct; contrasting it with that which I was about to pursue towards them, and pointing the moral by a liberal donation, for which I received in return, a kiss on the hand from the ARAB HUSBANDRY. 77 old sinner of a host; to be followed, probably, by an execration, as soon as I was out of hearing, for not having given him more. I tried here in vain to get a guide of the country; for we had heard that there were swamps of water in the way, and feared the consequence of losing our road; but our guides would listen to nothing, and even prevented those who would have come with us from joining the party. They forced our old host, indeed, to accompany them some two miles, to point out the direction of our route; after which, they trusted to such information as they could gather from those they met. The nature of the country in some measure justified them, for it was populous and cultivated, comparatively speaking - that is, there were clumps of Arab tents scattered about, and a large extent of land, sowed or prepared for seed. But such prepara- tion! such tilth! What would a Norfolk or a Lothian farmer have said to it? The cultivated parts are chiefly in what are called hores — that is, low marshy land, periodically overflowed, on the edges of perennial marshes, the centres of which are co- vered with water and reeds. These are generally void of vegetation, exhibiting when free from water, a moist surface of clay or loam, much traversed by cracks. On this the seed is scattered without any previous agricultural operation. A great portion is picked up by birds; but such as falls into the cracks takes root, and sends up large stools of stalks that afford a plentiful crop. In some spots where the surface may be too entire to warrant so summary a process with hopes of success, and also on the 78 SEED TIME AND PRODUCE. all bu never was so COI frc de sm dis it, th ed ap mu he highest parts of the hores, the soil is very slightly scratched with a crooked stick dragged by two bul- locks, and doing duty for a plough simple and primitive an instrument seen. It inflicts a scratch about two inches deep; such as a gardener would make with a common large-toothed rake. These scars are made about nine inches apart, the rest of the surface being untouched, and, where there are weeds, leaving them all standing. I have seen large fields so treated, with the camel-thorn and St. John's bread left standing, high and thick as before the operation, but already sowed with barley, and they never fail of producing a most abundant return. What would not good management make of such a subject! The grain is sowed in December and January, and the crop is ripe and reaped by April, before the ground becomes covered with water; nay, so fast does the blade grow, that they turn cattle and sheep on to eat it down, for a month at least, after which it is left to throw up the ear. This process probably increases the size of the stools, for in general, there are said to be from fifteen to forty stalks from each seed, and the ground becomes thus covered before the time of ripening. Through these marshes did we make our devious and very winding way for several hours, till at length, crossing a singular ridge of sand hillocks that stretched across the line of our march, we descended into a very large hore, quite uncultivated, and covered with reeds and tufts of large coarse grass, much of which had already been burned, in order to encourage an early growth of young pas- fo MÂDAN ARABS. 79 ture. The smoke of these conflagrations was seen on all sides. They are apt to prove not only tantalizing, but dangerous to persons unacquainted with the country, who are misled by imagining them to arise from the camps of Arabs not far off. Nothing, in- deed, is so deceitful in point of apparent distance, as smoke by day or fire by night. You will see smoke distànt three days' journey, which, as you approach it, seems constantly close to you. The rule by which those familiar with this deception, judge when smoke is really near at hand, is when they can observe its eddying motion upwards. The hore which we had now reached, was one appropriated entirely to pasturage for buffaloes, ani- mals which delight in mud and water, and immense herds of which are kept by a peculiar race of Arabs, well known along the banks of the river by the name of Madan. They are fixed, not migrating like other Arabs; they exist upon the produce of their buffaloes which, with a few sheep and cows, form all their property, and live in huts formed of split reeds, along with the animals that form their support, and which they scarcely exceed in intellectual endowments. It is from the notorious uncouthness and brutality of their habits that the other tribes of Arabs give the name of Madan, that is, ignorant, from two Arabic words, signifying not wise. They have also the reputation of being the most inveterate thieves of the whole country, and probably they are not a whit behind their neighbours in the art of petty larceny ; but to say that they exceed them is, I suspect, going too far, 80 HOUSES OF THE MÂDAN ARABS. and doing the nation at large a piece of gross injus- tice: indeed, wild and brutal as they are, I did not, I confess, discover so great a difference between them and the other tribes. They received us rather sullenly at first ; but after a few words of explanation, all went on smoothly enough. They did not profess to entertain us, any more than did we to consider ourselves their guests; but they gave us what we required at tolerably fair prices, and assisted us in getting water, wood, &c.: moreover, they pledged themselves for the safety of our cattle, keeping watch themselves, upon the understanding that this service should be considered in the present they were to receive on our depart- SU ca ure. spi NE an MA Or CO As for themselves, they and their domiciles were certainly curiosities. The last were like large cages made of reeds, like split rattans; anything but wea- ther-tight; nor did it appear to me that the largest exceeded eight or ten feet long by six or eight broad. As for a division of chambers for men and women, nothing of the kind appeared to be dreamt of: even the young buffaloes made common property of the frail tenements, nor am I sure that the old ones were altogether excluded. Each shed was surround- ed by a little space inclosed by split cane-work, and walls of brushwood which served for defence as well as for fuel. Indeed, from a distance, little was visi- ble but the piles of brushwood and thorns, some seven feet high ; and even an enemy might have been puzzled to take undue liberties with such a defence, if prohibited from the use of fire. A single 21 a 1 THEIR APPEARANCE. 81 spark, however, you would suppose would be enough to set the whole in a blaze; and it is astonishing that such an accident does not oftener occur; for there are fires of this very substance burning in numbers every night and morning in and among the inclosures. It was curious to see the great droves of these huge buffaloes returning home in the evening, each going straight to its master's hut without driving or constraint of any kind ; and a pretty pickle you may believe both huts and inclosures are made by such inmates. Indeed, the whole plain round the camp was in a state of dirt and defilement not ex- ceeded by the dunghills of a farm-yard at home. The human animals that issued from these dens of abomination at our approach, bore certainly as much the appearance of the dregs of the human species as can well be imagined. Many of the adults were scarcely clothed--of the children, numbers were entirely naked ; and as for their mothers, really I am at a loss for words to convey an idea of their farouche appearance. I however won the heart of one of the she-bears by a present of some copper coins to her two cubs, who had at first ran screaming away from me, and I do believe this very moderate donation had no small effect in smoothing the way to our subsequent welcome ; for the woman became active in procuring milk and such things, and I heard her chattering away to the men about us at a great rate ; but it brought upon ine a whole host of petitioners for similar favours, who came holding up their naked shrieking younglings to attract my attention and partake of my coin. Of the men, how- VOL. 11. G 82 ASTONISH THE MÂDANS. ever, I must say, that there were many who had as good a claim to decency of appearance as the Arabs of the petty camps and tribes we had hitherto seen, particularly those of the Fellah or cultivating tribes. It was not surprising that these savages, who had never seen strangers of our appearance, should be much astounded at the arms and paraphernalia we displayed; but it was a little curious to find that my sketch-book and pencil, which I took out to make a sketch of some of their strange figures, ap- peared to be the object of most admiration; I pre- sume, because they comprehended with surprising quickness somewhat of their use; and when they did do so, it was truly amusing to see them first come forward to have their portraits taken, and then, like a coquettish child, hiding their faces and running away, or pushing others of their friends into what I suppose they thought a scrape. To complete their wonder I took out one of my Prome- thean matches, and lighted it by a stroke of my knife upon my pistol-butt. They had clustered thick around me; but this feat made a speedy scatter, and the creature opposite to the jet of flame staggered back as if he had been shot; then all rushed for- ward again and gazed upon the brightly burning paper as if it had been lighted by a miracle. I must not forget to mention that we passed seve- ral old sites of importance to-day, marked by the usual mounds of brick, glass, and pottery in frag- ments, and, at some distance, very large and exten- sive remains belonging to a place called by the Arabs Yôkha, or Jókha; besides several others not far from AN OBSTACLE. 89 the camp, bearing each some trivial name, but which tradition says belonged to one large ancient city : there were some also obviously of Mahometan origin. We saw the mounds of Sunkhera, bearing about south-west from us. Workha (the ancient Orchoæ, of which more hereafter,) was said to bear north- west, about a day's journey. January 7. We were up and on horseback at half- past seven, that is, after having breakfasted. The natives clustered round us as we ate, encompassing us as one of my people said, “ like the setting of a stone,' and received the present I gave them quietly, and without much appearance of satisfaction or the con- trary. Our course lay to the S.S.W. through the marsh, and, after two hours' march, we reached an obstacle which occasioned much difficulty and delay, and, indeed, nearly stopped us altogether in this direction. This was a watercourse, some thirty or forty yards wide, and, as it seemed, very deep, known to the natives by the name of the Shut-ul- kâr, which we were informed had its origin at a point some two days' journey, to the north-west, and which runs into the marshes fed by the river Hye. We afterwards learned that it communicated even with the Euphrates, probably near Semâva, and that boats formerly used it as a channel of traffic. It was a sad stumbling-block to us at the present time; for there was no boat to be had, and it was too deep, where we first reached it, to be forded. We rode along its course for some time, conducted by two Mâdan Arabs, whose services our obstinate guides on this occasion, convinced of their own ignorance, G 2 84 EMBARRASSMENT. condescended to accept, to a spot which they de- clared to be passable ; but on trying it, which was done by one of the Arabs, who stripped himself naked for the purpose, the water was found to reach his arm-pits, and consequently to be too deep for loaded mules to ford. This mischance the Arabs informed us had occurred from a sudden rise in the rivers, of which they were not aware, as two days before, they assured us, the water did not reach their knees. It was fast increasing, too, as we our- selves could see while standing on the bank. No time was to be lost—that was clear; yet what, after all, could we do ?-how was our baggage to be got across ? Such was our question to our guides. “ These two fellows will carry it on their heads," was the reply: but neither they nor the Mâdans offered to stir a step in the affair. Then there was, as usual, a long and noisy consultation, and another trial on horseback to ascertain whether the horses would answer the purpose of transporting the bag- gage across; but the experiment only served to show that the tallest of my Toorkoman horses could not keep his back dry—so we were once more at a stand. The obstacle itself was not so formidable in itself, as the fear that it might only be the first of a series of a similar nature and still more insur- mountable, from the character of the country ; but, as our guides assured us that it was the worst we should have to contend with until we should cross the Euphrates itself, I told them to lose no time in sending to the next Mâdan village and procuring for hire as many men as would enable us to get our 1 1 THE OBSTACLE OVERCOME. 85 baggage across, without delay. The offer of hire had a magical effect : “Oh oh!” said the guides, “if it is a question of pay, bismillah! here are we ready and willing to work, and we'll soon have the baggage over;" and so at the word, our two guides, the two Mâdan Arabs, and two others of our company, stripped to the skin ; and seizing the baggage, began to wade the water with it on their heads : but the operation on a cold day was so un- pleasant, that two of the volunteers gave up after a couple of trips, and the rest soon became exhausted ; for we were obliged to divide the whole of the large packages into small parcels, in order that it should be light enough to be carried, and every saddle and pack- saddle of the twenty horses and mules in company, had also to be thus ferried over, so that I thought the business would never end, and in effect every one of the workmen did strike work while seven loads still remained on the bank. Some persuasion and a little firmness, however, secured the completion of the unpleasant job, and at length I saw everything across. It was most fortunate that this day was warm in comparison with those that preceded it; had the contrary been the case, I do not think we should have made out the crossing at all. As for ourselves, cold though it was, we had also to strip to our shirts, that we might swim if necessary; and take our chance of a ducking, on horseback; but we, too, got across without accident, and in two hours and a half we had the pleasure of re- suming our journey, after rewarding all our water- inen on the spot for their trouble. 86 OUR PROGRESS. Once more we held our way across the hores which were fast filling with water, through the rising of the river we had just crossed; but at length we reached a sandy ridge, along which we travelled in comfort for a considerable distance. About two o'clock we passed a camp of the Arab tribe (Ul- Dour); but our guides had set their hearts upon taking up their quarters with another tribe close by, called Ben-i-Othman (children of Othman), with whom we also fell in, too soon indeed to come to a halt for the night; so with some difficulty I urged them onwards, in hopes of reaching the banks of the Euphrates, and making arrangements for crossing next morning The whole country here was covered with the flocks and herds of Arabs, whose tents were scat- tered over it in small groups of twos and threes ; and at each small encampment we had a fresh bat- tle with our guides, who thought only of securing themselves a good dinner; a thing which, if we persisted in thus pressing onwards, they began to despair of. At length, near sunset, we were forced once more to take shelter among a little knot of Mâdan huts, situated upon a high bank, having on one side the river bank, and on the other a large hore, to the great annoyance of the Arabs of our party, who knew they could get nothing from these people, without paying for it; whereas, with the other tribes they were certain of a good feed for themselves, and plenty for their horses, free of cost. This sort of living at free quarters, which the ! i BANK OF THE EUPHRATES. 87 for money. Madan Arabs do not comprehend, causes the ap- proach of the Bedooeen, or wandering Arabs to be much dreaded, and it was not without difficulty we got admittance, or even an answer from the inmates of the huts; but our guides from the last stage being Mâdans, gave us so good a name, that we got every assistance, and all we wanted, To restore the good-humour of our own guides, I ordered a sufficiency of every re- quisite to be furnished them at my expense, and all went smoothly again. Meat, indeed, was not to be had, for they had no sheep. I was offered a calf of about a year old, which I might have pur- chased for about three shillings and eightpence ; but we could not make use of it. JANUARY 8. The morning rose foggy and cold; flashes of lightning towards the east, last night, told of rain or snow on the Persian mountains, and the threat of the weather was likely to be made good against us to-day in a good drenching. It cleared, however, as we set ourselves to the serious work of crossing the Euphrates, on whose bank we were now encamped . It was here broader than in most other parts, but varied irregularly by pools and swirls, sometimes swelling out to the breadth of one hun- dred and fifty yards, and then contracting its cur- rent within a space of half that extent. We had engaged our host, on the preceding evening, to supply us with a boat to ferry over the baggage ; the horses were, of necessity, to take their chance in swimming ; but the machine at first produced was only a small canoe quite unequal to the duty; 88 CROSSING THE EUPHRATES. the whole day would not have sufficed to carry over in it our baggage alone. The magical word buksheesh (a present), however, procured the pro- mise of a larger vessel ; and accompanying our host a few miles down the river, we were gladdened by the sight of a good-sized boat, which had been stowed away out of view in a creek communicating between the river and the hore. This boat was built of a coarse sort of basket-work, nailed to a few stronger timbers, and coated outside with bi- tumen, some two inches thick ; but she was suf- ficent to contain twenty men, and soon transported our goods to the other bank. The passage of the horses was a more nervous affair; for none of mine were accustomed to the water, and they backed and reared like wild colts, when urged to take to it. The method adopted on such occasions is, to drive into the water as many horses as the boat may be fit to tug across. One person for each horse sits in the boat, holding the animals' heads above water; and all being shoved off together, the horses, when out of their depth, take to swimming, and if they cast the right way, rather assist than retard the motion of the boat to the opposite bank. The whole is an operation of great nicety; for if you do not get the horses to move all at once, and to take kindly to the water, the boat cannot get off, and the rest keep fruitlessly kicking and swim- ming about. On the other hand, should one or more take the wrong direction when afloat, it is ten to one that he pulls the boat down stream, or back again ashore; and unless both boatmen and horse- CROSSING THE EUPHRATES. 89 keepers have great presence of mind, the boat may be upset, or the horses strangled and drowned. Again, when all have got well afloat, the right holding of the animal's head is a point requiring no small skill; for if it be held too high, he cannot swim, and sometimes falls over and breaks his neck ; and if too low, he may get too much water, and, when the transit is long, may choke before reaching land. If I have succeeded in giving you an idea of the business we now had in hand, you will comprehend that it was rather an anxious one, and my horses seemed inclined to let me feel it to the utmost. They kicked, and reared, and plunged, and went every way but the right one. Twice did they turn the boat after it had got mid-channel, and drag it back; and several times I thought they would have staved in her side with their pawing. Patience and perseverance, however, prevailed, as they usually do; the Arabs were particularly useful in this bu- siness, and after three hours' hard fighting, we had the satisfaction to see everything, animate and in- animate, safe on the opposite bank without hurt or loss. · About half an hour after noon, having loaded our dripping beasts, we proceeded nearly south, over good sound ground sprinkled with tamarisk bushes, to a small camp of wretched Arabs, who were pitched in a plain as bare as the palm of my hand. This was wide of our true course, but we understood that this round was necessary in order to avoid a large hore that lay between us 90 UMGHYER. th TE e ta and Arjah, or Arria, a village of reeds, which should have been our place of rest for the night. From our first crossing the river we had observed a great mass of mounds, with a lofty ruin, obviously of brick masonry, on the top of the largest one, and our halting at this camp gave us an opportunity of examining it, which otherwise we should not have had. So, after seeing our people fixed pear a group of Arab tents, and all things in a fair train for procuring a supply of the necessary provisions, we set off at a canter to examine the ruin. It proved to be about three miles from the camp, was called by the Arabs Umghyer, or Mughyer, and was altogether one of the most interesting relics of antiquity I have seen in the country. It consisted of a large square-shaped building, of furnace-baked bricks, springing out of a mound of rubbish formed unquestionably of its own débris ; and I have not a doubt that were the débris re- moved, the remainder of the building would be found rising through it from the surface of the plain. The sides of this structure, which in figure was an oblong square, faced the cardinal points, and rose in two distinct stories to the height of at least eighty feet from the level of the ground. Those sides facing the east and west were the largest. I paced the western and northern sides : the former, with its débris, was eighty-seven paces. The building alone, of the northern, I made out to be forty-seven. Dr. Ross did the same, taking merely the square of the building, as far as he could judge. His paces were very long, and he ITS FORMATION. 91 made the west side fifty-nine, and the north side thirty-nine, equal, probably, to sixty and forty yards respectively. This differs somewhat from my measurement, but exactness in so cursory an exa- mination is not to be expected, and allowance must be made, not only for the difference of paces, but also of judgment, the lower portion of wall being entirely concealed from view. The structure of this mass, in general, resembled that of the Birs; but there was none of that ex- quisite brick masonry so remarkable in the tower there. Like the Birs, however, it appears to have been built in solid square masses, somewhat de- tached and pervaded by small apertures, the use of which is not understood. The bricks of which it is built are of a coarser and softer fabric than those of the central pile of the Birs : many of them were stamped with the arrow-headed charac- ters met with in the buildings of old Babylon ; and, in most places, they were laid together in thick beds of bitumen, which bore the impression of the matted reeds that doubtless were also in- terposed. The masonry, although inferior to that at the Birs or the Kasr, was still very good, and much of it very perfect, as no bricks appear to have been abstracted from it by the Arabs, as at Babylon. On the summit I observed a circular hole of some ten feet diameter, at present filled with rubbish, but which may descend into the body of the build- ing. There was no appearance of internal division into chambers, nor other symptom of its having in any way been destined for the use or habitation 92 SIZE OF UMGHYER. of man. The division into stories, one above another, diminishing in size, as in an Indian pagoda, was most conspicuous on the north and west sides, the other two being more ruinous; but even in them the bricks exposed were so shattered and corroded by age and weather, that it was impossi- ble to decide with certainty, whether those that met the eye were or were not those of the original exterior coating, a circumstance which adds to the uncertainty of the measurement. Looking from the summit, we could detect the traces of a wall of brick, which appears to have formed an inclosure round the structure. Its foundations were of no great thickness, and the north side measured one hundred and eighteen of Dr. Ross's paces, say one hundred and twenty yards at least. Of the corners only three were visible; but near that to the south- eastward there was a pretty large conical mound, resembling the ruins of a bastion. I am not con- vinced by any means, however, that this wall is co-eval with the original fabric. Its apparent dis- proportion in magnitude and solidity, in my opi- nion, seems to indicate a subsequent and far more recent date; and there were near it the remains of walls constructed from the fallen bricks, that were evidently modern. As for the structure itself, everything about and around it, indicates it to be co-eval with, and con- structed for the same purpose as, the Birs at Baby- lon. The bricks with the arrow-headed writing ; the bitumen cement, and reeds; the sepulchral vases, several of which, broken in pieces, were ob- ITS PROBABLE USE. 93 served protruding from the heaps around, and the débris of the same well-known character-all leave no doubt as to the period it belongs to. It It may be mentioned that we saw little or no glass; but flints, pebbles, pieces of agate, &c. and fragments of old copper in abundance. Nor was there any of the vitrified masses of brick, so remarkable at the Birs, although vitrified scoriæ, like those of a brick-kiln, were abundant as elsewhere. What may have been the use and object of these mighty buildings, many more of which, no doubt, than we are yet aware of, exist in these countries, I leave it to the learned among the antiquaries to determine. For my own part, I have little doubt that they all, including the Birs, were temples for the worship of the gods of that day. If the Birs be indeed that celebrated temple built by Nebu- chadnezzar and described in Holy Writ, and men- tioned by ancient historians as the temple of Belus, there is little doubt, that all the rest were structures for the same purpose; nor is it improbable that what were originally Chaldean temples, became sub- sequently dedicated to the fire worship of Zoroaster, which is but a modification of the ancient Sabæan religion professed by those Chaldeans. This is in- deed the belief and tradition of the country regard- ing several of those structures, and there is one of them near Hoomaenee on the Tigris, which we did not see, which they call Bâb-ul-Nár, or the gate of fire. Around this building the country is strewed with mounds, denoting an ancient site, particularly to the 94 OUR RESTING-PLACE. south-east; but these we had no time to examine, as it was close upon sunset ; indeed, they offered no object of interest beyond dozens that we had seen, and a mere cursory view could have produced no useful result, so we turned our horses' heads and gallopped back to the camp. I forgot to mention, that around the building we observed several large fragments of a compact black stone, resembling that which forms the well known lion at the Kasr in Babylon; and which, from the rounded polish of some parts, appear to have belong- ed to some colossal statue. It is well known, that the early Mahomedan conquerors broke or defaced every image they found representing men or ani- mals; a practice in which they were imitated by their successors of more modern times; and this may account for the rarity of such objects of art in this and most Mahomedan countries. On return to our people, we found ourselves do- miciliated with as miserable a set of wretches as any that had yet cast up. They may treat the Mâdans with contempt; but these fellows, though real Monte- fics, were to the full as wild and ignorant as the others, and not one half so civil and hospitable. They did not even affect a show of hospitality, but sold us what we took from them at most exorbitant prices ; nor were they even able at that rate to supply all our wants. So well did even the women understand the value of money, and overrate what they had to ex- change for it, that I found it impossible to purchase certain antiques and cylinders offered for sale, al- though I tendered four times the value for them. MONTEFIC ARABS. 95 as Jan. 9.-A cold frosty morning succeeded the rain of yesterday, and the ground was white with hoar we mounted at a quarter past seven. Our march to the south-east led us with our backs to the wind and our faces to the sun, so that we soon got comfortably warm. A few hours' march, first over a bare-nibbled plain, and then through a dry hore, brought us back again to the river's banks, and opposite to the reed houses and black tents of the great encampment of the Montefic Arabs. Every one who has heard or read of these countries, must be aware that the Montefic is one of the largest and most powerful tribes in this part of Arabia. It ori- ginally consisted of two principal stocks,--the Ajwad and Ben-i-Malek, who are both in turn deducible from a very ancient tribe called Zahtân, whose summer haunts appear to have been much the same as those of the present tribe; extending from Ghurrâf to Wassit in Lower Chaldea, on the left, and from Se- måva to Sook-u-Shiookh, on the right bank of the Euphrates. Hostilities arising between these two branches, chiefly from a dispute about pasturage, pro- duced that bloody catastrophe at the Wadi-u-nissa, or Vale of Women, which I have related to you in another letter. The Ajwâd being reduced by their rivals to a state of vassalage about two hundred years after the Hegira, were united with them, and the tribe then first took the name of Montefic, or the " united." For a long time the Montefic derived their pecu- niary resources only from the produce of their own lands; but about the year 1744, they obtained the 96 HISTORY OF THE MONTEFICS. to OC T do fo sa SE right of dominion and taxation over a small tract of country above and below Sook-u-Shiookh, themselves, at the same time paying a stated sum to the Sul- tan's treasury. One of their Sheikhs, Saadoon, how- ever, thought fit to refuse this tribute, and advanced in hostile guise against Bussora. He was surprised by Suleiman,-a Mamlook officer of the Pashah, sur- named Aboo Leila, or the “Son of Night," from the rapidity of his movements,--his army cut to pieces, and himself slain ; minarets of the heads of the slain being built on the field of battle. But the victor was generous to the family of the vanquished, and the Montefic once more lifted their heads from the depths of adversity. Taking advantage of the trou- bles of the Pashalic, and the threats of coterminous states, the Sheikhs of the Montefic, particularly Sheikh Hammeed-ul-Thameer, contrived to acquire a great increase of power, and appropriated the whole country from the mouth of the Shut-ul-Arab to Sâmava, defying the repeated attempts of succes- sive Pashas to recover their lost possessions. The late Pashah, Daood, at length, by his intrigues, induced Ajeel, nephew of Hummeed, to revolt against his uncle, and elevated him to the chieftain- ship of the tribe. He was also so fortunate as to succeed in getting both Hummeed and his brother Hashed into his possession, by which means he once more broke the power of the Montefic and reduced them to comparative obedience, in which they still remain. They still occupy the banks of the river from Semâva to Bussora, extending southward and westward far into the desert, from Shagra to the B- for la PI P { 1 CHANGE FROM PASTORAL LIFE. 97 Vale of Hameer, west of Semâva, &c. possessing, too, all the country between the Hye and Koorna, with some tracts to the west of the former. Of the present numbers of the tribe and dependent clans it is difficult to obtain any correct account, as jealousy or ignorance gives rise to such contradictory state- ments, that there is no trusting to what we hear. There is, however, good reason to believe that they do not fall short of from twenty to thirty thousand families. Their contingent to government in case of need, but which they never supply, is twelve thou- sand horsemen; and it is said, they could, without much difficulty, muster nearly double that number, Since the fall of Daood Pashah, they have regained so much ascendancy over the weak government of Baghdad, that they are again in possession of the finest and most fertile tracts of the country, for which they pay nothing; but these acquisitions are fast producing the inevitable effects of such pro- perty; its new masters find themselves obliged to re- side upon and protect it, and thus to make the first step from a nomadic to fixed life--from a purely pastoral to an agricultural people. Instead of wan- dering from place to place, the Montefic now con- gregate and linger far within the bounds I have spe- cified, and generally near the rivers, cultivating ex- tensive tracts, and planting groves of date-trees along its banks. Still, however, so strong is the Arab prejudice against a fixed life, that only the lowest and least esteemed branches or individuals among them, will condescend to be Fellahs, or ope- rative cultivators: the rest continue under tents, VOL. II. н 98 FIXED LIFE. S d U G d ve moving about within a contracted space, sending their flocks and herds to feed over the wide tracts that, under present circumstances, are unfit for cul- tivation, but which, in times of old, were like a garden. Yet these proud wanderers, the real owners of the soil, though scorning to labour themselves, not only condescend to enjoy the comforts derivable from agriculture, but exact them to the utmost from the serfs. They make the Fellahs work hard for them, or each little Sheikh, or head of a family, lets out to the cultivators such portions of land as may have been assigned to him, screwing out of them as high a rent, and exacting as much extra value as he can get, while he wanders at will, enjoying the lazy life he delights in. The consequence of all this must, sooner or later, be a complete change in the ha- bits and state of these Arabs. In time, they must become all and wholly agriculturists. The govern- ment of the Pashalic cannot continue for ever feeble and ineffective, yet tyrannical, as it now is. It must either improve, or the country pass into other hands, who will force the Montefic and other Arabs to quit their usurped possessions, or become regular subjects, acknowledging its supremacy, and paying a suitable tribute for the land they may be permitted to retain. They will have become too much wedded to their acquired comforts to relinquish them for the life they have gradually abandoned ; a struggle or a sacrifice must bring the question to an issue, and they will lapse into quiet husbandmen and farmers. In fact, were the system of the Turkish govern- CO ar de A ti ti MODE OF CHANGE. 99 ment even to undergo no alteration, some such con- summation would still of necessity take place. Nejd, as the interior of Arabia is called, swarms with other tribes as powerful as the Montefic, and not like them, as yet enervated by comparative ease and desuetude from active strife. These will one day or other pour down from their deserts, as the Scythian hordes were wont to do on civilized Eu- rope, or as the Jerboah and the Aneiza have lately done in these parts, and hemming in the tribes of the Euphrates, force them to concentrate themselves upon their cultivable lands; trusting to the aid of Government to assist in retaining these, while the distant pastures will fall into the hands of new ad- venturers. Such successive waves have, in fact, constantly appeared, and confirm the voice of reason and analogy by the proof of experience and prece- dent; but it is a sad and mortifying prospect -a wretched doom for the fairest portion of central Asia; and surely it is a subject of earnest and vir- tuous hope, that some happy revolution may speedily take place, which shall restore prosperity to Mesopo- tamia and Chaldea, and cause the garden of this an- cient paradise to bloom once more. We were now about to see a portion of the Mon- tefic in one stage of this transition state. The eastern bank of the river for miles and miles was co- vered with small houses, made of split reeds; just as those of the Mâdans, but larger and more carefully constructed, and surrounded by inclosures of the same material. Many of these houses were built really with great taste, having long arched roofs and H 2 100 REED-HOUSES. a sort of turret at each corner, which gave them the appearance of little gothic-built churches. The con- struction is simple enough. Tall reeds, perhaps fif- teen or twenty feet high, are taken and bound in clusters with withies, or rope-bands made of them- selves, and planted in the ground like posts, in two rows, at proper distances; the small ends are then bent till those of the opposite clusters in each row meet, when they are bound together by other smaller bundles laid longitudinally, and tied to each post and on the roof. This framework is covered, both sides and roof, with mats made of the same reeds, split and ornamented with neat lattice-work, accord- ing to the fancy and skill of the artist. One would imagine that such slight structures were but ill calcu- lated to resist storms of wind and rain; but I am in- formed they do so very effectually, and certainly they are more comfortable than tents. But what a piece of affectation it is to prefer such flimsy concerns to the more solid huts and houses of clay inhabited by the peasantry of villages ! because, forsooth, they are but temporary, and therefore involve a slighter deviation from the erratic habits of the true Bedooeen Arab. Among the reed huts I did, it is true, see a few clay-built houses; but I was told these were only store-houses belonging to the Sheikhs, and some merchants, as safety-keeps in case of fire-- another symptom of approaching fixation, not to be over- looked in the aggregate. At this place which was called Koote, or the fort, from the ruins of an old fort near it, and Shiookh, from its being the dwelling-place of the Sheikhs, SHEIKHS. 101 were assembled the greater part of the immediate clan and relatives of Sheikh Issaw, the chief of the tribe: and here, also, resided his uncles and bro- thers, and cousins to several degrees—all Sheikhs by courtesy to the number of one hundred and forty, or one hundred and fifty, I was told. Each of these has a tract of land of greater or less extent, accord- ing to rank and favour, assigned him, which he either cultivates on his own account, or lets out to Fellahs. On the produce of this they live, and feed besides their own families a number of retainers, all of whom have some further property in flocks and herds. The principal expense of an Arab chief consists, in fact, in his daily consumption of victuals. Most of them provide according to their means an even- ing meal for those who are particularly attached to their person, and there never is any want of mouths to consume the victuals, which are placed upon the board, whatever their amount. Thus, the late Sheikh Ajeel is said to have killed from twelve to fourteen sheep for daily consumption, and the ex- penditure of rice and other articles of food was in proportion. Besides this, whenever he had a guest whom he desired to treat with distinction, it was his wont to slaughter a camel for the feast. The present Sheikh is not so liberal ; and I have reason to suspect that this flaming account of plen- teous feasts is considerably exaggerated; but some such expenditure is absolutely necessary to maintain the popularity of an Arab chief, and each of the small Sheikhs emulates his superiors as far as he 102 ARAB EXPENSES. can. te S I t of As for their other expenses they are few and small. They do not, like the Turks, lavish large sums upon the dress or ornaments of their women. The wives even of the Sheikhs may be seen clad in some common blue or checked stuff, hard at work cooking dinner, or baking bread for the evening's re- past, their heads swathed in two or three cotton or silk handkerchiefs; and as for ornaments, a large gold filigree button in the nose, and a parcel of coins and beads strung round the neck and tied amongst the hair-perhaps some rude earrings, ban- gles and anklets of silver, with some other trifling trinkets, these, so far as I can ascertain, form the sum total of an Arab lady's bijouterie. On their own persons they are not more lavish. A fur kiurk, or jacket, a finer silk or scarlet cloth gown, and a better abba, or a head-dress with some gold thread-work, alone distinguish them from their dependants. They keep hawks and grey- hounds; but the expense of these must be a trifle ; and as for their horses, or rather mares, for they sel- dom ride any other, they are a source of no small profit, as all the male produce is sold to supply the demand from the neighbouring countries. Mares they will very seldom part with ; and it is certainly no exaggeration to say that they value a favourite mare far above the most favoured wife--the one, if lost, may be replaced, the other cannot; and some of the bitterest feuds between Arab tribes have arisen from the theft of a mare. When we approached this temporary town, for we learned that in a few days more it was to be t f CONDITIONS OF LAND TENURE. 103 abandoned for another position, with some difficulty we procured a boat and sent over to inform the Sheikh of our arrival, and learn how we were to proceed. In a short time we were told what had before been rumoured, that Sheikh Issaw was absent with a party of his tribe, repairing a sud or dyke, to retrain the waters of the Euphrates from overflow- ing the country; but that he was expected back to Sook-u-Shiookh next day, so that we, therefore, should proceed to that place immediately, to meet him, when in the mean time, a person was prepared to supply all our wants. To explain this rather singular occupation of the Sheikhs, I must tell you, that among the conditions of tenure by which the Montefic hold possession of the Shamieh, or western bank of the Euphrates, there is a condition that they shall at all times maintain in good and sufficient order, the dykes from Semâva down to Bussora, on both sides, by which the waters of that river are restrained from overflowing and destroying the country : and this, as on it depends the preservation of their own culti- vation, they performed for several years. But the great flood of 1830-1 not only rose above, but actually swept away the greater part of the suds, so that the country behind the river bank became a swamp, down to Bussora; which place, from being once remarkable for its healthiness, has since then, from the effluvia exhaled by the stagnant waters, be- come as notorious for disease. The tribe, for their own sakes, are gradually renewing these suds, but, I believe, in a very inefficient manner, and they, 104 SUSPECTED FALSEHOOD. consequently, are always going wrong. It was in repairing one of these near Koorna, that Sheikh Issaw had been for some time occupied : as for his return, we were so accustomed to Arab lying and in- hospitality, that we suspected the story of his return had only been got up by Sheikh Bunder, his brother and lieutenant, in order to send us away and get quit of the expense of entertaining us; but there was no help for it; we were ordered to Sook-u- Shiookh, where, it was said, a house and all things should be made ready for us, so we re-loaded our beasts, which had been already picketted out in a date-grove, and rode on to Sook-u-Shiookh, } 105 in Sikh bi 11- uri ther LETTER V. here -k-12 . sings Our in a Sook-u-Shiookh.--Its Bazaars.-Difficulty of procuring Lodgings. -Trade of the Place.—A Persian Friend.-Mode of feeding Guests at free Cost.-Commerce and its Effects.-A Character. Extortion. The Sheikh's Tent.--Assembly—and Appearance- his Conversation—and Coffee.—Leaves us in the Lurch.- We lose a Companion.—Beauties of Sook-u-Shiookh.—We follow the Sheikh to Koote.-Speculation regarding our homeward Course.- Value of a Sheikh's Promise. -Second Interview with his Highness.—Doings thereat.-A Sheikh's Gift.—We com- mence our Return.— The Sheikh's Cousin.—Disposal of his Highness's Presence. The town, or rather large village of Sook-u- Shiookh, the name of which signifies, “ The Market- place of the Sheikhs," as being the great trading mart of the Montefic country, was just two hours, or about eight miles down the river from Koote. The whole banks as we passed, and far beyond our march, were fringed with date-groves, mostly going to decay; and exhibited a succession, almost unin- terrupted, of ruined walls of former villages, among which were several square mud enclosures, filled with the huts of the Fellah Arabs. The ground was cut up by rude water-courses, which held the place of the ancient magnificent system of irrigation, and form very annoying obstacles to the progress of the 106 SOOK-U-SHIOOKH. br CO in di th to ta it fo W m TE ID id passenger. I understand that the whole bank of the Euphrates, often on both sides, from Semâva to Bussora, exhibits these evidences of former dense population and cultivation, mingled with the spu- rious and rude attempts of the Montefic Fellahs, and dotted thickly with the reed villages and camps of the Arabs. What a country it would be under a wise and steady government ! Sook-u-Shiookh itself, is a walled town of consider- able size, which once contained, perhaps, six or seven hundred families. Its appearance from a distance is rather neat and attractive, embosomed as it is in thick date-groves, among which its houses are seen to advantage ; but a nearer approach makes the de- ception apparent. It is almost a mass of ruined houses, among which a few, still tenanted, contain the survivors from the plague which lately depopu- lated Baghdad, and which did not spare the Mon- tefic. Of all human communities I have seen, I do think this the most filthy and abominable. It was al- most impossible to walk the streets without contami- nation; and the smell of the butcher's shops render- ed all approach to them impossible to civilised nos- trils. The Bazaar was rather extensive, but sparely tenanted. Most of the shops were filled with arti- cles suited for the Arabs alone; spears, daggers, swords and shields, saddles, abbas, tent-ropes, &c. There were plenty of grocers and druggists : loaves of white sugar, coffee, and coarse spices were abun- dant, as well as the common articles of brown sugar from India, dates, soap, &c. &c. ; but I looked in vain for a china or earthenware cup to replace our t 1 SEARCH FOR LODGINGS. 107 broken tea-cups; and, stranger still, there was not a cooking-pot either of earthenware or brass, to be had in the place. When we approached this emporium, which we did through a succession of stinking pools of water, the guide, sent us by Sheikh Bunder, made us come to a halt until he should have provided us a lodging to go to. His search was at first unsuccessful, as it seemed, for forth again he issued from the gate, followed by several Turk-like and turbaned Arabs with whom there was a mighty palaver in a very noisy key, and much gesticulation, à l'Arabe. The result was, that they took us, not into the town, but into a yard surrounded by a reed inclosure and contain- ing a reed house, the whole in so beastly a condition that we immediately left it with indignation, and proposed to encamp outside. But this did not accord with their ideas of hospitality, or their orders, I sup- pose ; for they opposed the motion strongly, and led us, like a string of wild geese, into the town. Here, also, however, it seemed to be a failure, and we stood, staring and stared at, for another quarter of an hour, when it came into our heads to inquire whether there was not a caravanserai in the place. This struck them all as a bright thought, and away they hurried us to the caravanserai-but alas ! for their good intentions, it turned out to be such a place ! A long dark passage, with still darker cells, opening into it, and these mostly occupied by mer- chants, who sat there all day. They proposed clear- ing one for us; but we might as well have thought of taking up our quarters in the middle of the 108 THE QUAY OF SOOK-U-SHIOOKH. On to th fo SC th $0 te re 0 at Bazaar, so we resolved, come what Inight, to take to our own tent and put it up in the best place to be found. When they saw us resolved, they requested us to follow them to a spot which they declared to be the best, and accordingly we trudged after our leaders, bag and baggage, quite round the town to the river- side, where, indeed, we saw spaces of ground cu- riously enough occupied. In every quarter there were what appeared to be large heaps of mats, six or seven feet in height, and spreading out to a breadth of fifteen or twenty. These, we learned, were chiefly heaps of merchandise, sugar, dates, corn, &c. landed from the boats that trade between that place and Bussora. Some were houses--hovels where people had their temporary habitation, and pigged in together while transacting their business. There were sheds and inclosures, too, where reeds and other lumber were sold and stowed; and along- side the river bank, to the top of which the water had almost risen, were fourteen or fifteen large boats lately arrived from Bussora, or returning there with produce. In fact, the trade of this place is very considerable ; the quantity of sugar, coffee, drugs, indigo, and all sorts of Indian produce which passes up the Euphrates, in spite of all dangers and imposts, is surprising ; and much of several articles such as hinna, indigo, sugar, &c. go all the way to Damas- There really was somewhat of a bustle here. Dates are a great staple from Bussora, and were sold at very low prices. They were packed in bags, or rather inats, which must, I think, have held about is ic 11 t. t 1 cus. 1 A PERSIAN FRIEND. 109 one hundred pounds, and were sold at from a shilling to one and threepence each. On this sort of esplanade, which extended between the town wall and the river, a space was pointed out for ourselves and our cattle to occupy--a dirtier could scarcely have been imagined ; but it was clear now that dirt and discomfort were the order of the place, so there was no help for it. Here we pitched our tent and picketted our cavalry, and were soon sur- rounded by the usual crowd of Arabs; but every one seemed thinking of himself—not of us; and I believe, in spite of mehmandars and guides, and abundance of fair promises, we should have come but scurvily enough off this night had we not fallen in with a Persian acquaintance of the Doctor's, who instantly attached himself to us, and bustled about in our service. He had been a species of adven- turer in Baghdad, and either, in consequence of tricks or misfortunes, had found his way hither, where, by flattery, complaisance, and a readiness at accounts and letter-writing matters which the Arabs are rather deficient in - he made his way, first in the favour of the late Sheikh Ajeel, and since in that of the present one, Sheikh Issaw. We found he had become a bankrupt in trade, and he complained grievously to us of the losses he had sustained, besides the plunder of two houses in the late affray at Baghdad. But he laboured so hard to convince us that he was the Sheikh's fac-totum, that we begun to doubt whether he had anything to say to him at all: to us, however, he was of use. He soon procured grain for the horses 110 MODE OF PROVIDING FOR GUESTS. FE dE ni th à ha DE ca and promised victuals for ourselves and the people. The governor, a wretched-looking fellow, now came and assured us that all we could want was at our service; accordingly, as a commencement, a plen- tiful supply of grain made its appearance; but we soon had an unpleasant intimation of the way in which the supplies were obtained here, for scarcely had our horses began to masticate the barley, when an outcry was heard, and a man appeared at our tent door, venting the most furious imprecations and using the most violent gestures. It turned out that he was some corn-merchant from whose shop one of the governor's men had unceremoniously, and with out either form or promise of payment, taken the grain which we imagined had been meted out from the stores of Sheikh Issaw. He denounced us, together with the Sheikh, governor, and all con- cerned, as tyrants and robbers -- swore that the grain so taken was not Huláll (lawful), and, in short made a desperate row. It was with some difficulty I could pacify him so far as to wait till the morning, in order to have time to inquire into the matter, when, I promised if the matter turned out to be as he represented it, I should pay him for his grain-but I heard no more of the business and know not how it was settled. In the matter of provende for the biped portion of our party we were less fortunate. After waiting for hours in vain, we desired one of the governor's men in waiting to be asked when dinner was com- ing. “Dinner !” said he —" do these fellows want dinner ? — what do they eat? — fowls? mutton ?”— p ( 39 A SPLENDID DINNER." 111 people. came at our plen- ut we ay in arcely when ct our s and t that une of svith the From us, “Yes," replied our Persian ; "and you had better send some camels ; they will eat them up, and perhaps you too !” Then returning to us, he desired us to be of good cheer, for he would get us a splendid dinner. Assuredly nothing had been done in the matter before ; for it was not until two hours after, that is, past eleven at night, that three or four ragged Arab footmen rushed into the tent, bearing a pile of boiled rice, with a bunch of yellow, tough, hard-boiled fowls, four our five in number, tied all together, for our use. We now learned that the Sheikh was really ex- pected to arrive on the succeeding day; a report which proved correct ; for before the evening he came, and encamped on the outside of the town not far from where we were pitched ;- for, with the prudish affectation I have already alluded to, this Sheikh of the Montefics makes it his boast that he never was, and never will be within the walls of this, his market town, or, indeed of any town. The dislike of all Bedooeen Arabs to walls is as great as their love for thire black tents -- from these they can get out when they like ; but brick, or even mud walls, form, occasionally, inconvenient restraints upon liberty of action. In the mean time, on the morrow (the 10th), we looked about us, and enjoyed the repose and loung- ing inaction which is so sweet after a long fag. Nor was the day uselessly spent ; for it afforded us an opportunity of adding to our information, and seeing some amusing characters who made their appearance in our presence. COD- the d, in some into rned o for and tion ting hor's om- "ant 112 BENEFICIAL INFLUENCE OF COMMERCE. d a th th th 1 an В. ca It would have delighted a political economist to detect, as we did, even in this rude place, the bene- ficial influence of commerce, and the glimmering of knowledge and civilisation it was spreading amongst the wild inhabitants. e met with seve- ral of them who had traded to Bussora, Bushire, and even to Bombay, who had had their eyes in some degree opened by glimpses of these foreign parts—who had met with Englishmen, and now, when they heard of our arrival, came forward with offers of assistance, which were neither empty nor unacceptable. It was strange to hear English words enunciated by an Arab mouth, yet more than one of these people addressed to us several English phrases, and understood still more of that tongue, while Hindostanee was common; and I own that I hailed with a sort of brotherly feeling, the accents of that language which were once, and have ever continued so interesting to me. It was pleasant, too, to listen to the high praises which these Arabs paid to our nation, from their own experience with individuals of it in commercial dealings; and it was amusing to hear the magnificent and exaggerated accounts they gave their staring countrymen of our power and wealth, and influence: in fact, it was a very pretty specimen of Arab romancing. Mr. Finlay was made out to be a general-officer of artillery ; and as for me, I was some high functionary sent by the Sultan of Room (Turkey), with a dress of honour and presents to their Sheikh. The display of our fire-arms and pyrotechnics served to confirm the charm; and when they heard that our king possessed several vessels WA fo be W DI th d P 1 1 A CHARACTER, 113 mounting one hundred and twenty guns and carry- ing from twelve to fifteen thousand men, their won- der was at its height. I fear, however, that their avarice kept pace with their astonishment, and that the predominant feeling with the majority was regret that they could not appropriate our goods and riches. Among the characters I have alluded to was one well known at Baghdad. He was by birth an Ita- lian; but by some strange chance he had fallen into the hands of the Lesghees, from among whom, by I know not what succession of events, he escaped, and came into the service of my acquaintance, Borouski,* now an officer in the Persian service, and I believe it was in that capacity he first be- came known here. With Borouski, I think, he went to India, and there he attempted several plans for pushing his fortune ; but all, it would appear, had failed, for he is still a poor devil, living by his wits. One of his last essays was as a commander, or rather an adjutant of Sepoys in the service of the present Moosellim of Bussora, who set him to drill some newly-raised troops ; but he kept the poor man fourteen months, only giving him one month's pay, so “that would never do for him.” He has since then entered into a sort of partnership with a horse-dealer of Bussora, in which he enacts, so far as we could comprehend, the part of servant, and he was waiting for his partner-master when we saw him. He appeared to be a clever fellow, talked Italian and a little French, besides Persian, Hindos- tanee, and Arabic; in fact, he is more of an Asiatic Subsequently killed at the siege of Herât. VOL. II, I 114 MODES OF PROCURING A DINNER. 0 SE do ar SE than a European, and now gives himself out as a Mahomedan and a Hajee — keeps his fast and his secret-says his Numáz, and is received everywhere with distinction and perfect good faith, as a true follower of the Prophet. Our Persian friend now made a mighty work about our introduction to the Sheikh, canvassing the “how” and “when," with great seriousness. There was, he affirmed, such a crowd and a noise and a bustle about the great man just then, that he considered it better for us not to think of visiting him till a late hour, when he should have dined and retired to his privacy_in the mean time, his wor- ship had sent for the presents of which we were in charge. These we delivered ; and though to some it might be matter of regret to lose a sight of the wild beast at feed, we contrived to comfort ourselves by a good dinner prepared by our own cook, and which we flattered ourselves would be lighter of digestion than that of the great man, inasmuch as it was honestly paid for, while the materials of his worship's repast had, we learned, been seized as required, from various shops in town, without form or even promise of payment, like the barley sent our horses on the previous night. No wonder that the good citizens and dealers expressed no parti- cular anxiety for the frequent repetition of their lord's visits. On further inquiry, we found that this sort of arbi- trary extortion was quite the fashion here—that the Sheikh, or his officers, which is the same thing, sup- plied themselves just at free quarters with everything se ec re W a a 1 1 AN EXTORTIONER. 115 E as a od his Where true work assing usness. noise He en- siting d and Wor ere in some of the they wanted, never thinking of reimbursement to the owners. The governor of the place, in parti- cular, was infamous for such practices. His injus- tice and extortion had already driven away many persons from the town, and the general observation was that, if he were not removed, it would be soon totally ruined. Nor did his master profit by his exactions. “ That fellow,” said the Meerza, “will put to the Sheikh's account three times the quantity of provisions he has supplied you with ; and yet, you see, he has not paid for a fraction of it." deavoured to engage me to represent this matter and the manner in which it was spoken of, to the Sheikh, when I should see him ; but this I declined as an office unbefitting a stranger and guest, remark- ing, at the same time, that were the principal him- self known as a just and equitable man, well-ground- ed complaints against his servants would not fail of reaching his ear by ordinary channels—the very fact of their not doing so was to me evidence that it was “ like master, like man." Our watches pointed nearly to eleven, and we were just turning in for the night, when the Meerza entered our tent, and told us that only then was the bustle over, and the great man able to receive us in a suitable manner. Accordingly, we sallied forth, and I wish I could convey to you a lively idea of what we saw. The Sheikh had a tent-a white tent-part of the present investiture sent by Allee Pashah to these chiefs. He had pitched it, too; but not in this did he receive his friends and the public; it was only his sleeping-place. We found him in selves , and ter of ch as of his ed as form 22 7 seat r that thei arbi- at the sup- thing I 2 116 SHEIKH OF THE MONTEFIC. a b 0 to th రం SL tic a temporary hut of reeds knocked up for his wor- ship’s accommodation, after a fashion at which these people are very adroit and which I have already described. To erect such a domicile requires scarce- ly more than fifteen minutes : to be sure it is not very substantial, but it serves as a shelter from the sun and wind, if not too violent--as for rain, we shall only say that the less there falls of it the better for the inmates. In one of these structures, as rude as can be con- ceived, there was placed on the bare ground, round the sides, a narrow border of mats; across the upper end was laid, in like manner, a ragged strip of carpet. A dim, dirty, broken and torn linen lantern, which hung from one of the reed posts, shed a most dismal and uncertain light upon two dense rows of savages, , whom, I think, I might defy Africa, New Zealand, Kamschatka, or the Esquimaux to surpass in dirt and wildness of aspect, seated with their backs to the matted walls, and barely rendered visible a huge bundle of clothes which was raised a little above the assembly on a rickety thing like an old hen- coop. A fissure in the upper part of this bundle of indescribable apparel disclosed a proboscis and glit- tering eyes, which might have belonged to almost any other animal as well as to an Arab, for all we could tell — they were, however, the property of the Sheikh of the Montefic himself. He did not rise to welcome us, but the superior portion of the bun- dle nodded and disclosed a mouth in addition to the other features, the teeth of which emitted a white lustre, while a guttural sound rose above fe li in hi 2 1 1 1 HIS APPEARANCE, 117 the hum of the assembly, enunciating the words of welcome. With some difficulty did we make our way up- wards over a whole row of pipe sticks, to the right hand of the hencoop, where we sat ourselves down; after which, for a while, nothing further passed. It so happened that the great man upon the roost discovered that one of his guests was an M.D.; and no sooner had he done so, than he appeared to be animated by a new spirit. Whisking himself round in his crib, he began a most animated detail of his numerous ailments, and ended with a demand to know whether the Doctor would feel his pulse that night, or the morrow? Like certain other great men, however, he replied to his own ques- tion; and thrusting a bony arm from beneath the mass of his coverings, he nodded to the Doctor to feel away at once. This the Doctor did accord- ingly, and it was not easy to tell whether the chuck- ling laugh with which he received that gentleman's intimation of there " being nothing the matter with his worship, that he could discover," was one of approval or disappointment. Till the protrusion of this paw we had seen too little of the fleshy tabernacle of the Sheikh, to enable us to judge whether he belonged to the fat or the lean kine. There was, to be sure, a great round protuberance of a nose, a pair of thick blub- ber-lips, and heavy cheek-bones, which rather led to the conclusion of his being of the fat-favoured breed : but the gauntness of the arm and wrist told against this surmise; and the truth still lies hid among the 118 SHEIKH'S CONVERSATION. is ample swathes of the Sheikh's cloaks and shulwars, nearly as deep as in the draw-well where the per- sonification of that fair virtue is said to dwell in these iron times. The state of the great man's health having been amply discussed, and he having made a demand upon the Doctor's stores for sundry medicines, which need not be specified, he began to unlock the stores of his own wisdom and information on other sub- jects. The affairs of Persia having, by some one, been brought under observation, and a remark made that the news of the Shah's death had been con- firmed, the Sheikh made inquiry, 66 Who is the Shah ?” On being satisfied in this particular, and moreover being informed that the said Shah had given up the ghost at Ispahân, the chief of all the Montefics repeated the word, “ Ispahân?” said he ; Ispahân ?-where is it?--what is it ?-a city ?- a country ?-or what ?” On this head also infor- mation was afforded him, and his worship continued in the most condescending and amiable manner to enlighten his own ignorance, and gather knowledge without the least of that affectation under which some are apt to cloak their deficiency of knowledge. In the mean time ginger tea, and bitter coffee, were handed about from certain caldrons, superintended by as black an imp of a slave as the arch fiend himself, who looked still more Satanic as he bent over a smothering fire of charcoal, which served to keep his liquor at the proper simmering point. I must mention, by the way, that there were few things about Sook-u-Shiookh so good as this 8 h 0 1 HIS TEA AND COFFEE. 119 per- Il in been hand hich cores sube one, nade CON- the and nad the he; ?- ifor- led ginger-tea, which is made of, what we call at home, ginger-tablet,” dissolved in hot water to a good thickish syrup, and sometimes flavoured with a little cardamom or cloves. The Arabs, indeed, appear fond of cardamoms, and generally use this spice with their coffee. When you enter the tent of a petty Sheikh, or head of a family, and coffee is got ready before you, you may generally observe your host, just before the pot boils for the last time, or about that stage of the process, take from his own private purse or pocket, a few grains of something which he hands to the cahwachee to be infused in the beverage; they are grains of cardamom, and it is held, I believe, as an indispensable compliment to a guest whom they desire to honour. The Sheikh's coffee, like all you get from the Arabs, was as strong as brandy, and as bitter as gall, but fine, warm, refreshing stuff. When we had sipped one or two of their thimble-full cups of it we rose and withdrew. It was just upon mid- night, and we were not sorry to get to our couches. With regard to the time and mode of our re- turn, the great man vouchsafed us scarcely a word. The Persian Meerza, however, who had been in the presence, standing at a humble distance, told us the Sheikh meant us to remain there next day, when he would arrange our affairs, appoint us guides, and, in short, put everything in such a train as such a Sheikh should do. Judge of our surprise when, on waking in the morning, we learned that the great man had carried off his nobility at an early hour, leaving us directions to to dge rich dge . mere ded end tent to ere his 1.20 PARTING WITH A FRIEND. follow him at leisure, to the very place we had left two days before, to meet him here. This appeared a rather cavalier sort of proceed- ing, very opposite to all that previous accounts of Arab courtesy to guests had led us to expect; but we had nothing for it except to get out of the country of so churlish a chief, with all convenient despatch. In the mean time, we were to part with one of our companions. Mr. Finlay had hired a boat to go from hence to Bussora, and we accom- panied him a little way down the river to see him on board. We do not part with a friend who has been our partner in the desert, in fatigue and anxiety, if not in peril, in the same indifferent manner that we take leave of a coach compa- nion, and, I believe, all parties were sorry to say farewell, and carried good wishes of the rest re- spectively along with them. A fine, stiff, north- westerly breeze soon carried the vessel from our view round a reach of the river; our friend was gone, and the Doctor and I returned to our little tent, more sad than we left it. On our way thither we had a view of the greater part of the female population of Sook-u-Shiookh washing clothes and drawing water at the river side ; and, oh, Venus! what a display !-all-every one of them, were negresses, of a black so intense as mocks that of jet or pitch,—deep, dark, and dead- like ; and as for features, each seemed to vie with the others in the degree of grotesqueness of her ugliness. What beauties were the comely West India Quashebahs to these! many a one have I SABLE BEAUTIES. 121 had ceed. its of pect; of the enient with ed a com- e him who and erent apa- say seen in that ill-fated land, that were really pretty and interesting ; but here! O ye gods! what noses ! what lips! what cheeks! what forms! Verily Sook- u-Shiookh may bear away the palm for female hideousness from every place of my acquaintance. I was told, indeed, that the fashionable Arab belles, thinking it inconsistent with their dignity to expose their own persons to view, send their sable at- tendants to do duty in their room. The whole of this part of Arabia, as well as Sook-u-Shiookh, and indeed the whole Pashalic of Baghdad, is supplied with these choice specimens of our race, by that special and extensive dealer in human flesh, our worthy friend and ally, the Inaum of Muscat. By four o'clock P.M. we had turned our backs upon this Arab metropolis, and were entering a split-reed domicile at Koote, with the Persian Meer- za for our Mehmander. And soon and decidedly did he commence the exercise of his functions as provider for the table ; for on the other side of the reed fence which divided us from the family, a bustle was almost instantly heard, shrill sounds arose, in which the howls of females, and the screams of poultry struggled for the ascendency, and before we could well articulate an inquiry as to what all this might mean, four of the screamers — not the women, but the fowlslay headless before us, their “ shrill clarions” silenced for ever! Not so easily were the clamours of their unfortunate owners quieted; and one old lady, in particular, was so vociferous, that I insisted on knowing the cause. It was soon explained: the hopes of her household lay bleeding cle- 3rth- OUT was ittle ater lokh 'lver iery 2050 cado with her 'est ;) 122 CHANGE OF ROUTE. 0 st th D our H d o P before us. There was but one way to pacify the storm, I paid her twice the value of her feathered pets, and thus soon converted her imprecations into blessings. The great point with us being always to get on, with the least possible delay, the Meerza was de- spatched across the river to discover what might have been already done towards expediting movements. It had been our wish to return by a route to the east of the Hye, to visit Wassit, the ancient Cascara, and crossing at Koote-ul-Amâra, to proceed to Baghdad by the left bank of the Tigris. This, however, we soon found to be out of the question. Below, or to the east of the Hye, the hores or marshes are larger even than to the westward, and Wassit was by this time surrounded by a sea. Like Ophelia, however, we had had too much of water, and, in fact, the discomforts of the journey generally, being much disproportioned to its value in point of information, we only now thought of returning by the easiest and safest route. Whether this were by the east or west of the Eu- phrates was next the question, and this we left to the Sheikh's decision. In choosing the route to westward of the river, we should have to pass through the country of the Khezail Arabs, a race who dwell among niarshes like the Mâdans, but who are fierce and indepen- dent, and extremely jealous of all strangers who approach their haunts. They have generally with- held obedience to any Pashah, and yield neither tribute nor allegiance to the present one. It was a 1 1 THE KHEZAIL ARABS. 123 fy the thered as into met on, -as de might gour by a 7, the mara , e out Hye , the ded i too otherways in the days of Solymaun the Great, that stout-hearted soldier, and dreaded chief, whom I have already mentioned as known to the Arabs by the name of “ Abu Leila,” or “the Father of Night," from the rapidity and murderous success of his night expeditions. He found the means of teach- ing these amphibious savages to know their master. He cut off the sources that fed their marshes, drained them dry, and thus opened a way to attack them in their fastnesses; for, on former occasions, the Khezail had only to efface certain marks which might have guided an enemy as well as a friend, and to cut through a few dams or rising grounds, along which part of the road through their country passes, and retiring into the centre of their hores, like the otter to his den, set the invader at de- fiance. It is remarkable that a people living among bogs and fens, should be the stoutest, fairest, and come- liest of all the Arabs; yet such, I am assured, is the case; and that the Khezail women are, many of them, very light-coloured and beautiful. Among them, however, it was not our fate to go. Their Sheikh is mighty independent, and, I suspect, on but questionable terms with the Montefics; but whether it were distrust of his power to secure us a good reception, or some other equally cogent reason, the chief of the last-mentioned tribe did not think fit to advise our proceeding by that route, on the contrary, after holding a short conversation with the two Jeshâm Arabs who had guided us hither, he resolved not only that we should return f the d to DOW ute. Eu- left iver, the shes pen- who ith- her was 124 A CHANGE OF RESOLUTION. nearly the same way we came, but with the self- same guides. During the interview we had had on the preceding evening with this august person, among the few words he had dropped concerning our route, he declared he would send along with us six of his own horsemen, and that we might go by what way we chose. This liberal resolution had now shrunk into the donation of a coarse old gown, by way of a khelut, or dress of honour, to our former guides, and a charge to them that they should see us safely back to the camp of the Zobeid chief. It was late before the Meerza returned, and all he brought us was a tray of pastry from the Sheikh, or his harem, with the tidings that the great man had only arrived in time for dinner, having come by water, and his trackers not having been able to drag him sooner up stream. This, although accompanied by a promise to arrange mat- ters immediately, was discouraging ; for we knew, by experience, the meaning of immediately in Arabic, and, indeed, in most eastern languages; but there was no help for it, so we ate our pastry and com- posed ourselves to sleep. We had this evening, however, a visit from another and more respectable person than our Meerza, who was nothing better than an empty pretender and parasite. This was a man who had, at one time, been custom-master not only at Bussora, but over all the tolls levied by government on the Euphrates ; but who now, by party animosity, had been reduced to the charge of that alone which is levied at this place of Koote. He had been befriended, in times of danger, by the SECOND VISIT TO THE SHEIKH. 125 sel dou l'son, h us by NOW , by us. mer see and the the er, -ng mis, nat- English Resident; indeed he owed his life to that gentleman's protection, and he was grateful, and desirous to be of use to any of that nation, so far as lay in his power. He came and sat with us this evening and promised every possible assistance in speeding us on our way. Jan. 12.--The morning brought no news to cheer The hours passed on, and neither Meerza nor guide from the Sheikh. Noon came, and we learned that he was still fast asleep in his harem. No one would venture to rouse the sleeping bruin, and so we were forced to chew the cud of patience. Some time after noon, our new friend the Goomrookchee (or custom-master) came; and seeing our distress, good-naturedly went over to the Sheikh's camp to see what could be done. It was near three in the afternoon when he returned, with apologies from the great man; he had been weary, he said, and went to sleep and forgot us. He was sorry, very sorry ; but if we could come over after dinner, we should re- ceive the letters he was writing, and our leave, and everything we wished. In the evening, accordingly, we crossed the river in a canoe of the Goomrookchee's and proceeded to the dwelling of the Sheikh. We found him seated in a reed-house, differing from the last only in the neatness of its structure. Along its sides were seat- ed a row of abba'd Arabs, thick as they could stick, while at the top, where was spread the identical strip of ragged carpet of the former hut, sat the same mysterious bundle of clothes as before, in the şaine twilight, formed by the same ragged lantern EW, NIC, re m- 19 ble ter ras cer by DY of C. le 126 THE SHEIKH'S QUESTIONS. that shed its obscure effulgence over the former assembly. At the lower end, too, was seated just as formerly, my old Satanic-looking friend over a simi- lar roasting-fire, with a most formidable batterie of coffee-pots and pans. It was no easy matter to get a seat in this closely- wedged assembly, which, if the truth were known, felt jointly and severally, I dare say, no great readi- ness to give place to two infidels, such as we; but at length a vacancy was made for me at the Sheikh's right-hand, and another, somewhere on the other side, for the Doctor, and then coffee, as deep in hue as the slave who brewed it, was handed to us from the seething caldrons at the fire. Scarcely had we swallowed it, when the Sheikh, who seemed to have nothing in his head but to make the most of the God-send he had got of a doctor, set himself to cross-question that gentleman respecting the uses and properties of certain medicines which he had begged and received ; and full twenty minutes was his worship, I am sure, a summering and wintering the methods of taking a tartar-emetic vomit, and speculating upon its effects. This delectable theme being exhausted, he con- descended to make some inquiries as to the political state of Europe ; desired to know how many kings were in Fereng, (the land of Franks,) — which of them was the most powerful?- whether the Rus- sians or we were the strongest ? - with a hundred other questions of like depth and shrewdness, involv- ing the most ludicrous mistakes imaginable ; which the Meerza and others of his counsellors, (I presume,) i of ARAB HABITS. 127 mer st as simi ie of osely . own, readi- but at other hue from we Ehave of the -If to made worse by their attempts at rectification or con- cealment. In the mean time, there was some despatch of bu- siness. An old man, a Meerza or secretary, in his Highness's service, had taken his seat in front and a little to one side, and was employed in writing or preparing letters, which the great man sealed with his own signet after having read them. In order to perform this, however, he was obliged to order down from its perch the old lantern, and give to view its contents, which proved to be a farthing candle. This flaming minister being soon consumed by the searching wind which blew through the hut, it was replaced by another, in that simple inartificial man- ner, which, no doubt you may have seen used by chambermaids who are chary of their labour, name- ly, by sticking a fresh candle into the socket which still contains the smoking half-extinguished remains of its predecessor, trusting to the remaining heat for an amalgamation of their substance. Ever and anon, too, the Sheikh had recourse to his pipe - a tremendous long one, the bowl of which protruded beyond the range of the old carpet. The smoke ap- peared to have a powerful effect upon the salivary glands, as well as on the lungs of his Highness, pro- ducing a very copious and constant expectoration ; regarding the disposal of which, he was so far from careful, that it was quite impossible for the servants, and even for some of the assembly, to escape this sort of defilement. Indeed, in this as well as many other respects, the Arabs are a most filthy people. uses had was ring and con- itical rings Rus- fred alr- nich ne) 128 THE SHEIKH'S DONATION. b I a ed a m W W m S he In one point this assembly differed from most Arabian meetings I had seen. They seemed to feel that they really were in the presence of their chief, for silence and comparative order was preserved. Scarcely a word was heard, although many talked together apart; and each individual as he entered, came in a respectful manner to pay his respects to the Sheikh before taking his place, and bade him good evening” on leaving it. At one time two of his brothers entered, when all, including the Sheikh himself, rose up and remained standing till they had saluted him. After an hour and a half's enjoyment of this agree- able society and pleasant converse, we received our letters and our leave. On our way to the boat the Meerza, who had followed us, and was pouring out a descant high upon the Sheikh's kindness and con- descension, arrested our progress suddenly, and pointing with his hand to a small four-legged animal which stood by the way-side, exclaimed, “ And look, here is a horse which his Highness presents, and de- sires your acceptance of.” Taken by surprise, I could only make the usual reply, “May the Sheikh's favour never diminish. But as to the horse," conti- nued I, “what am I to do with it here, where I have too many already.” While uttering these words, I cast my eyes upon the Sheikh's donation. I had, in fact, observed at the door of the inclosure a small ill-favoured yahoo, which I supposed belong to some of the servants, and was now not less amused than astonished to find that this was the identical animal which the Sheikh of the noble d is 1 to THE SHEIKH'S PRESENT. 129 om most -d to feel eir chiel , -reserved y talked entered spects to bade him ne two of e Sheikh they had is agree- Gred our > boat the Ting out and con- tribe of the Montefics had destined as a present to be divided between my companion and myself. The moon shone bright as day, so that I had the full means of comprehending the extent of his bounty. It was a beast I should have been ashamed to see among my servants — small, lean, ragged, and gall- ed; like a cast muleteer's drudge. I looked at it, and then at the Meerza, with a significant air, as much as to say, “A pretty concern it is !” but said with my lips, “ Meerza, this is all very well; but as we have no means of taking care of more horses, I must just leave this one here. It is all one, you know; the Sheikh's property is ours, and ours is the Sheikh's, so we shall just commit this horse of ours here to his care." No, no, no!" replied the Meerza, " that won't do at all; the Sheikh would be much displeased. It is his custom always to bestow a khelut on those who bring him presents; to persons of your rank he gives a horse, so take it you must.” “ As to the Sheikh's customs, Meerza," said I, they are not binding upon us; we did not come here to get a horse, but to see the Sheikh of the Montefic; to place in his hands certain presents of courtesy from the English Bâleoos Beg (Resident), and to pay him a friendly visit on our own parts. If the Shiekh considers it requisite for his own cha- racter to mark his friendship for the Bâleoos Beg, or for ourselves, by the present of a horse, it is well ; but it is not our custom to receive such presents without returning an equivalent. We are travel- lers, unprovided with anything fitting to return for. VOL. II. zly, and 1 animal nd look, and de- prise , I Sheikh's " conti- shere1 these pation. closure ied to ot less IS the noble K 130 ALTERCATION. such horses as the Sheikh of the Montefic should give, and therefore cannot receive any. As for such a creature as this to be divided among two of us, it looks more like an affront than a compliment - to receive it is out of the question ; and it will not add to the good name or credit of the Sheikh to have made an offer of the sort-if, indeed, it be not some trick of his servants, which I very much suspect. We can neither receive this brute, nor anything else upon this occasion.” A vast deal of altercation now took place between the Meerza and the man who brought the horse, and repeated attempts were made to change my resolution; but we resisted them all with some show of indignation, and the affair ended in the horse being left, and the Meerza returning in some per- plexity, to report, as he said, what had taken place, to the Sheikh ; while we crossed the river to take a cup of coffee with our friend the goomrookchee be- fore going to bed. On the 13th in the morning, we rose as usual on marching days, and were busy loading, when our friend the Meerza came up once more, puffing and blowing with fat and zeal, and begging us, for Heaven's sake, not to think of starting till the Sheikh was up, as he had ordered two fine horses, one a- piece, for us, which we must wait for and accept, without further demur, as otherwise, his Highness might be much displeased. We had heard this morning, that the whole was a trick of this very gentleman's. He was desired, we were informed, to provide two horses, but thinking the opportunity GUIDES AND TRAVELLERS. * 131 should For such of us, ent-to not add to hare not some suspect . ning else between e horse, nge my be show e horse me per- -n place , take a for making a trifle too good to be missed, he got this sorry yahoo from a friend and palmed it on us as the Sheikh's present. So you may be sure we now laughed at him, and soon after started for Arjah, a reed village on the river side, which was to be our first stage homewards. On inquiring into the matter of guides, I found that the magnificent offer of six horsemen had, in fact, come down, as I before mentioned, to the same old guides, who, one and all, were ready enough to return just as they came ; nay, so at- tractive did our party prove that, even a boy, who had, as we imagined, only taken our convoy to Sook-u-Shiookh on his own affairs, was found this day at our stirrup on his way back to the Zobeid. In fact, these fellows, having nothing to do at home, are sometimes glad of an excuse for a little gadding; and the smallest pretence will suffice. anywhere and back again," with them; and the hopes of getting a handkerchief or a spear half a shaumie (a shilling) cheaper, would induce them to go from their camp all the way to Hillah or Sook- u-Shiookh: it costs thein nothing but time, which is of no value; their horses and themselves are at free quarters wherever they go ; and as for the discom- forts of a journey, they feel it not,-it is much the same as at home. The Sheikh had, however, been persuaded, it seems, to send a man to see us safe across the river; this was the amount of guidance and assistance furnished by him. We reached Arjah soon enough; it being not above twelve or fourteen miles distant from Koote, It is just 66 hee be- zual on en our ng and us for Sheikh one a- accept ghnes d this 3 very rmed unity K 2 132 PRESSING A GIFT. and the road being good. Our host, who was a Sheikh, and a cousin of the great man, when he saw our company, and supposed that the cost of entertaining us was to fall on him, took alarm and tried to induce us to go further up the river, as- suring us we should meet with plenty of Arabs to lodge with nearer the place of crossing; but no sooner was it intimated to him that a present might be expected, than the tune was changed, and we were accommodated with all we required. While sitting at this gentleman's fire, we spied two horse- men . coming up to the camp, and were informed that they were riding the horses which the Sheikh had selected for us, and sent after us on hearing of our departure. On casting our eyes on them, one proved to be the very rejected yaboo of the preceding evening, and the other a quadruped of the self-same description; neither was worth ten shillings. It was a very annoying business, as having been sent after us by the Sheikh, it might be taken as an affront should we return them. I proposed to give them to the people who brought them, as to take them with us was impossible ; but the men told us that to accept them, or to take them back at all, was as much as their heads were worth. Their orders were to follow me till they found me, and place them in my hands, should they even have to go to Baghdad for the purpose. Still we declared that to take them with us was out of the question, and I appealed to the assembly round me, the Sheikh's cousin included, whether THE SHEIKH-UL-MUSHAEEKH. 133 I should not more consult that chief's honour by leaving his horses than by taking them with me. “ What would be said of the Sheikh Montefic in Baghdad," I asked, “ were we to enter that city mounted on such animals, and show them as the gift of that great Arab chief? would they exalt his name?” I must do them the justice to say that every man of the company agreed with me, and hung his head in shame at the transaction; but the two messengers still entreated me to con- sider their safety, and not to expose them to the Sheikh's anger, as they could not possibly return to his presence with their faces so blackened. So I compromised the matter by writing a letter to the Sheikh, acknowledging the receipt of his horses ; but requesting permission to leave his bounty in his care, as I had not people enough to take care of the horses I already possessed. I trusted to rumour to do the rest, and put this great Arab chieftain to shame, if he were susceptible of such a sensation, and thus ended my intercourse with this mighty personage, the Sheikh-ul-Mushaeekh, or Sheikh of Sheikhs, as he is termed in letters ad- dressed to him by the government, giving us a fair ground to estimate the value of Arab liberality, as well as their hospitality, in these degenerate days; for I ascertained that there was no trick of servants in the case; the Sheikh had, with his own eyes, seen the beasts and approved of them ; thus, what- ever may have been the Meerza's part in the shabby transaction, the disgrace of it fairly lies at his mas- ter's door. 134 SPORTS. The rest of the day passed pleasantly enough: we went out with our guns to get a dinner, and I never saw so many black partridges. Had I been in my shooting-jacket, I should have bagged eight or ten brace, I am persuaded; but the Arab cos- tume is unfavourable to free action, at least to an unpractised stranger, and so I only got a few, which gave us a luxurious dinner for the morrow; that of the passing day was dressed and served from the kitchen of the Sheikh ; and, together with food for horses and servants, was paid as regularly as if furnished from a hotel in Europe : the present, indeed, was given to the servants, but it was imme- diately taken possession of by the right owners. E 135 LETTER VI. Recross the Euphrates.-An Instance of Oppression.-Sunkhera.- Workha.--Marashedieh Arabs.- A characteristic Meal.-A Sleepless Night.-Til-Eide..Vast Mounds, and Ancient Ves- tiges.-Guttubeh.-Camp of the Toghiah Arabs.--Sites.-Bi- vouac --Great Cold.—Miss the Sheikh Zobeid's Camp, and fall in with that of the Shummur.-Bad Conduct of our Guides, and Extortion of our Hosts.Obliged to retrace our way South- ward to the Sheikh's Camp.-Sad Confusion and Want there. ---More Trouble about Guides.-Reach Shamlee.-Zibliyeh. Moollah Allee's Simplicity.-Moving Sand-hills. — Course to Mahawil.Arrive at Baghdad. On the morning of the 14th, we were on foot by half-past seven ; and after a sad work of wading and threading our way among hores and water-ruts, got into our old track, which led us precisely to the same spot upon the river's bank, at which we crossed before. Our guide had preceded us, in order to prepare a boat, and we were disappointed at finding him produce two small canoes, which, as it seemed to us, were so slight that the least jerk of a horse, even while in the water, would upset them. One of them, indeed, had a great gap out of its side, which was patched with no more solid material than mud, and both were fabricated only out of straw and bitumen; yet such was their buoyancy, that they crossed and recrossed much faster than 136 A BEAUTIFUL COLT. the larger boat would have done, and thus, though fewer horses could be towed over at a time, we actually got the whole across in less time than on the former occasion, and, thank Heaven, with- out accident. I had, indeed, another charge which gave me some anxiety, in a beautiful colt I had purchased to fulfil a commission, and which I was most desirous to get safe to Baghdad; but the creature, though only two years old, swam beauti- fully, and all passed off to my wish. We were just two hours in effecting the passage; and resuming our march, we rode on till about four o'clock, when meeting a camp of mingled roving and Madan Arabs, we came-to for the night, after a journey of about twenty-two miles. The history of the colt I have just alluded to, affords a specimen of the oppression which may exist even in a community of free and independent Arabs. The tribe of Montefic are the great sup- pliers of the best Arab horses for the Indian markets, and so large had been the supply sent to Bombay during the last two previous years, that we could not find for sale an animal fit to look at, far less to suit for the commission I had it in charge to fulfil; But when our friend, the goomrookchee, heard of my desire, he told me with some degree of mystery, that he had a beast which he was sure must suit me, if he were but old enough, for that he was in- deed a horse (emphatically), though only two years old. The beauty of the creature and its extreme and playful docility, for it had been brought up like a pet dog in the family tent, left nothing to be A CASE OF OPPRESSION. 137 desired, nor was its price at all extravagant, indeed it was so small as to strike me with surprise. It appeared, however, that the honest goomrookchee was glad to get anything for his pet, for the Sheikh had been collecting, in a very summary way, all the best horses he could find ; and it was said had got wind of this one, which, had he demanded it, the goomrookchee was too much in his power to re- fuse; so he was glad to touch a good sum of cash in hand, rather than run the risk of losing colt and price and all. As we alighted at the camp this night, an old wo- man brought a young infant in her arms, and passed it three times under the belly of one of our horses. We were told that it was regarded as lucky to do so with a horse of a stranger guest. Our host this night warned us to look sharp after our property, as the Mâdan part of the camp were by no means scru- pulous in point of honesty. I heard that these, in turn, retorted on the rovers; but it was clearly our part to keep a good look out, which we did, particu- larly over the precious young colt. Fortunately, we had no loss to complain of. Jan. 15.-We were on horseback by a quarter past seven, and held a course somewhat to the west of north till noon, when we reached Sunkhera; a mound from fifty to sixty feet high, obviously of great antiquity, and built, as it seemed, of fire-baked bricks of the coarser kind. We saw none fine, nor any with arrow-headed characters; but there were quantities of broken pottery, flints, agate, and cor- nelian fragments and scoriæ. I observed no glass, 138 SUNKHERA. the whi this wa uni and W11 CELT WT ho- an on fro but picked up several bits of copper extremely cor- roded. The mound is one of a number forming a sort of circle, all of which exhibit similar appear- ances, and in some the bricks are more entire. Many of these bricks were fourteen inches square. I cannot say that we saw any sun-dried bricks; but there was much mud or earth which probably was formed of their débris. In several parts of this circle were traces of the foundations of buildings, squares of houses and courts, but all level with the earth, and of no considerable thickness. On one of the heaps, too, we observed a number of bricks put to- gether, as it appeared, without mortar or any sort of cement. I suspect, however, that all this is modern; that is to say, Mahomedan ; but the site itself has every appearance of antiquity. Taking the space both without and within this circuit, the whole was considerably more than a mile across. The ground around it was very unequal, with many heights and hollows; but whether these represented the sites of former buildings or not, I cannot say. From hence we held right north for a clump or two of date-trees, which we remembered having seen from our former line of route, and believed to be on the river's bank, but which we now found to be about the head of the water we crossed on the 7th. On approaching them we found plenty of Mâdan Arabs, and saw that this part of the country had formerly, and at no very distant period, been well cultivated and populous. The remains of many date-gardens were scattered over an extent of more than three miles and a half, and the whole surface of ca ti ! 140 A COLD NIGHT. E a t t Boshieman; it was a mingling of what is told of the feasts of the Esquimaux and the Abyssinians. When nearly finished, he threw some of the half- picked ribs with a handful of dates, to the guide who had come with us from the last stage - a lean, miserable, hungry-looking biped, who sat watching him, as you have seen a dog do his master at dinner. Short work did the creature make of the fragments - never were bones more thoroughly polished — never did the said hungry dog gnaw them more assiduously. Jan. 16.-A dismal cold night ushered in a des- perate morning-a bitter north-wester exasperated a hard frost: it was no wonder the people could not be got to start early. Nor were we ourselves much refreshed by sleep: the sheep of the Arabs were gathered around our tent, and the dogs were watch- ing outside of them : they kept up such a barking, that to sleep was impossible. One, an old worn-out superannuated cur, labouring under a desperate sore- throat, established itself on the outside of our tent just by my pillow, where, unable to perform its duty by honest barking, it worked hard to redeem itself, in its own opinion, by maintaining a constant snarling growl, swelling occasionally into a hoarse grunt, which seemed so habitual, that it continued it even in its sleep; and to dislodge it was im- possible, without risking the doing battle with the whole canine forces of the camp. It was half-past seven before we were in the sad- dle, and even then were detained by the breakfast arrangements of our guides. A wretched cold ride ( 1 ! ANCIENT SITES. 141 we had through tamarisk jungle, alongside of our old friend the Shut-ul-kâr. In about an hour we reached a number of high continuous mounds, which at first I believed to be natural, but afterwards I was led to suspect they might be the remains of the walls and buildings of an immense old place, which we soon after reached. From one of the loftiest of these mounds, we saw a sharp, insulated, lofty ruin, called by the Arabs, Ul-Eed, or Til-Eed; the ground around it was rough, as if covered with ves- tiges of old sites. Our guides then pointed out a building some two or three miles distant, as we thought, which they told us was very ancient, and not much out of our way, so we allowed the baggage and cattle to go on and went to see it. It proved to be, at least, five or six miles distant, and we rode to it the whole way, over mounds and flats, strewed with the usual débris of the most ancient sites. Glass of several colours was particularly abundant, but chiefly of green. The building proved to be the remains of a very large bastion, formed of sun-burned brick; in struc- ture exactly like the Mujellibah, having layers of reeds between each tier of bricks. icks. The bricks were large and thick, exactly like those of that remarkable ruin. The building, or bastion, had split into four parts; each rent reaching to the base of what re- mains of the building, above the mound on which it stands, so that you may enter by them. Whether the structure was hollow or solid, I cannot say. It may have been the former, and the centre partly filled up with débris from above - it may have been 142 ANCIENT SITES. the latter, and the centre washed out by the rains of centuries. Including the heap, or mound on which it stands, and which, no doubt, has been formed by its own débris, it stands full fifty feet above the plain - the building itself comprising half that height. This bastion formed, apparently, the north-east corner of the place we had ridden over, and which originally must have been a square of from five to six miles each side ; but it was impossible to judge correctly, as we only saw the east and north sides, which were distinctly traceable by heaps and frag- ments, and at right angles to each other. Whether the mounds first mentioned this day as being like natural ones, formed part of this enormous old place or not, I venture not to say ; we saw no broken tiles or potsherds on them, though these were plentiful in other parts. But then, if they were the walls, and formed of sun-dried bricks, the mouldering earth of these might have covered such fragments. On the other hand, although the mounds in question were abrupt enough on the southern side, I could discover no signs of building : perhaps part' may have been natural, part artificial; yet how mounds of solid loam, from twenty to thirty feet high above the surface, could be naturally formed in an alluvial country like this, let geologists say. We continued in a course almost due west along the north wall for more than an hour--certainly for nearly five miles—to join our servants, who had proceeded nearly north from where we quitted them, and had gone slower than we. There was much of that bare baked earth, which indicates former GUTTUBEH. 143 building, to the north as well as to the south of the wall ; and the whole was thickly sprinkled with the usual relics, particularly glass, and there were here and there great slabs of the slag stone observed so abundantly at Iskhuriah. The greater part of the whole area was bare, and there were plenty of Arabs encamped upon it. Beyond what we took to be the north-west corner, there ran a long line of mounds, a very little to the west of north, for about three miles; and, in pursuing a similar direction, we cross- ed a range of hillocks running east and west, from the top of which extensive ruins were seen stretch- ing westward. For this wide district of ruins, far surpassing in extent anything we have seen since quitting Babylon, we could find no name; the Arabs call the country Guttubeh. From hence, crossing a river bed, which I believe to have been the Kâr again, we passed through a thick belt of tamarisks, of which we had seen a good many to-day; and passing several camps and through large droves of camels, reached a tract of higher ground covered with the tents of the Jesham and Toghiah Arabs. At the tent of the Sheikh of the latter tribe, at about half-past two P.M., we came-to for the night, our course having been on the whole a little to the west of north, and the distance gone about twenty-five miles. It was a severe march, however; for the wind continued so bitter all day, that our Arabs were quite knocked up by it, and were every now and then stopping to light a fire and warm themselves. The Sheikh, rather a respectable- looking man, received us more hospitably than we 144 PRIMITIVE WAYS. 1 had been accustomed to, and warmed us with good coffee, and supplied us with all we could desire. But we found his people sad rogues, and detected one of them in an attempt to rob the Doctor-indeed, the Sheikh himself, seeing our things lying carelessly about at first, came up and remonstrated, saying that if we were so careless, he would not be responsi- ble for our property ; his people, he said, were but men, and had best not be too far tempted. We took his hint, and looked sharper after our goods. January 17.--Another cold night. The morning was but a shade less numbing than that of yesterday -the wind one degree less violent; yet we did not get off till half-past seven. Strange primitive ways these Arabs have, to be sure. All the space before the tent was, as usual, covered with sheep and cattle, which took such liberties with our tent ropes that I every moment expected to have the fragile tene- ment down about our ears. The Sheikh's tent was divided into two parts-one for the women; the other, the hall of audience, for the men. The lambs slept with the women ; the hall of audience, where we had been received the evening before on very decent carpets, was filled during the night with calves and young heifers that made a pretty place of it before morning. Our tent being struck, we purposed spreading a carpet there, on which to eat our breakfast before starting ; but we could with difficulty get a decent corner, and scarcely had we begun to eat when the said heifers made a rush upon us, and some of the calves saluted us in a manner that forced us to change our quarters. The Arabs only laughed at the interruption. 1 SITES AND RELICS. 145 Almost immediately on leaving the camp we en- tered a hore, one of the roughest I remember to have ever crossed. In about two hours and a half we reached the grounds of some Mâdan Arabs, where we watered our cattle and filled the matáras (lea- thern bottles), having heard that we should find no more water till we reached the Zobeid. From hence we proceeded north by west, passing some large mounds and extensive sites, with all the debris com- mon to the oldest. Glass was exceedingly abundant, and sepulchral vases and earthenware coffins, both round and oblong, were seen protruding from the ground everywhere; several appeared to have been recently broken ; and beside one of these I picked up a human front tooth, the only one whole of several that had been thrown out; but the enamel soon split into strips and the whole tooth fell to pieces. We passed to-day at least four important sites ; and the ground all the way between them was covered with broken tiles, pottery, and glass. We also crossed a considerable tract of sandhills; the sand is obviously drifted by the wind, but whence it comes I cannot say. Much of our way was over a desert with scarcely a single bush; but towards evening we reached a tract covered with camel-thorn and the usual desert vegetation, and sprinkled with tamarisk bushes ; so about half-past four P.M., we came-to for the night under the lee of a tamarisk thicket, after making a march of nine hours, or full thirty-two miles. The servants had been so profuse of the water, or so careless with the matâras, that not a drop of water was left except VOL. II. L 146 COLD.-A ROYAL VISIT. a little for tea; and Seyed Hindee had shot a hare, which he grilled for us on the fire à l'Arabe, and the cook got up a dish of kid and rice for us, which, washed down with our capital tea, sent us comfort- ably to bed. Our people paid for their carelessness by having nothing at all to drink. January 18. The coldest night and coldest morn- ing of all. Long before the hour of call, my feet were so benumbed that I was glad to get up—we were on horseback by twenty minutes to seven. Such is the stimulating effect of discomfort, of cold and thirst; for doubtless it was the desire of getting to inhabited regions that made our people so unusually alert. On quitting our ground, some of the Arabs observed the foot-prints of a lion ; but whether we had been in reality visited by his forest majesty during the night, or that those traces were antecedent to our arrival at the bivouac, is uncertain; at all events, he did us no harm. So intensely cold was it when we started that we were forced to walk a great deal to keep up the circulation, and to dismount more than once for the same purpose, after trying to sit on horseback. The wind was of that low but heavy sort, loaded with spicula of cold, which penetrated every limb and joint-one might have fancied it the breath from a huge mouth of ice-till nine o'clock my musta- chios remained frozen into one solid mass. We kept a N.N.W. course until we got upon the ground of our former route, and recognised the spot where we had been alarmed by sight of the camel- men, and next the place where we had passed the first night A SEARCH IN THE DESERT. 147 hare, , and hich mfort- ssnes morn с were Te 03 is the Fhirst; bited On the I in aight, rival Tid us after quitting the camp of the Zobeid. We then bent our course more to the northward, the guides thinking that the Sheikh Zobeid might have changed his ground, and we proceeded in great uncertainty till towards one o'clock, when, from the top of a mound, we saw camels and descried Iskhuriah, the place we visited from the Zobeid camp. Pushing on for these, we learned from some shep- herds that the Sheikh Zobeid was behind us ; that the camels we saw belonged to the Shummur (Jer- boah) who had taken up the Zobeid's ground. On this the guides wished us to turn back; but a horse- man who came up at the moment, told us he had been looking all day in vain in that direction for the camp; so they at length agreed to follow us to the tents of the Shummur, who, though not enjoying a very high character, received us civilly. The acci- dental arrival of the camel-keepers, with whom we had spent the first night after quitting Al-Heimer, and who spoke well of us as pay-masters, completed the disposition in our favour ; but we had soon good reason to suspect their honesty as well as their con- science in the matter of making charges, which the sequel did not belie. In the mean time we were to have a dispute with our guides—everywhere a troublesome class of peo- ple, and particularly so in these parts. No sooner were we settled in our quarters, than they came and told us they must leave us ; that their orders were to carry us to the Sheikh Zobeid, and this they were still ready to do, but not go amongst the Shummur; they dared not do so, they averred, without the that p the r the The with and from usta. We pund here and ight L 2 148 A DISCUSSION. Sheikh's order. This was a view of the matter which did not suit us at all ; our object was to get to Baghdad as soon as possible, and to go back to the Sheikh's camp would now be just so much out of our way, a thing we were resolved not to submit to. A discussion, therefore, arose on the subject, to which my reply was brief: they had undertaken, certainly, to guide us from the Montefic to the Zobeid—they had made an error in hitting the camp of the Sheikh; but were we to be the losers for their mistake ?-certainly not; on the contrary, we expected them to conduct us clear of the Sheikh Zo- beid's country, and that country extends to Baghdad. This I adhered to, and assured them I should not take my hand from the Sheikh's skirt, nor free them from responsibility until this should have been done. The Sheikh's honour was implicated in the affair, and they must beware how they compromised it. After a good hour's palaver, the guides replied that both of them would accompany us, provided we would pay them their reward to this point, as if the service for which they had engaged had been fully performed, and that what was to come should be separately considered. The murder was thus out - it was greediness that had stood in the way; but our host was hungry too, and now proffered to guide us to Baghdad himself. The extent of his appetite might be measured by the price he demanded for a very sorry sheep — just three times that of the dearest we had yet purchased among any of the Arabs : and the character of our hosts was revealed by themselves in a conversation overheard by one of 1 A DILEMMA. 149 our people. “What a pity it was,” said they, “that they had not had intimation of our approach; they might in that case have ridden out to meet and strip us ere we came; but now, what use to think of such a thing !- we were guests, and they could do nothing to us!” Pleasant speculations these to learn, knowing ourselves entirely in their power! January 19.-—“Man proposeth,” saith the pro- verb, “but God disposeth ;” and certainly in a jour- ney among Arabs, no one should count upon what he may do to-morrow. I was not without secret misgivings about the arrangements of the previous evening; and sure enough my presentiments were borne out by the event. In the morning when ready to proceed, our guides came forward and demanded their pay, or rather present, thus far, be- fore they should start with us. I well knew that were this demand complied with, there would not be a chance of getting them to go on with us to Bagh- dad, so I positively refused to comply; a measure which called forth a world of altercation, but I stuck to my point, and so did they; for they swore they would not go without it. On this I called to our Shummur host to come according to his own offer, and leave the others to their meditations; but he, probably from some private understanding with them, took the same tone, and declared that he would not not move a step until he saw the others satisfied. This was an awkward dilemma ; nor could we be certain that there was not in the matter some deeper treason than met the eye or ear; so there was but one way to act — any attempt to proceed to 150 MORTIFYING ALTERNATIVE. Baghdad without a guide would have been but to abandon ourselves to robbery and plunder ; we were still as yet under the eye of the Sheikh Zobeid, and from him only could we be sure of obtaining the protection and guidance we stood in need of. To him, therefore, we resolved to go, whether guided or not, for the mere intimation of this intention would prove a safeguard, if it did not force our recusant guides into the performance of their engagement; while we made no doubt of seeing them punished by the Sheikh for their misconduct. Off we set, therefore, in the direction which had been pointed out to us the day before, our guides fol- lowing us sulky and useless : and, falling in with some camel-men who were going also to camp, we were pre- vented from going far astray; but our luck in meeting this same Sheikh was fated from the first to be bad. When we arrived at the spot where the camp had been, we found he had just loaded his camels and departed for another place—so here were we, by the wickedness of our guides, forced to go a full day's march backwards, and to reach a point at least two days' distance from Baghdad, just when we should have been entering that city. String after string of camels did we pass, and group after group of tents did we leave behind us, and noon had passed, and another hour had gone by, and still we were told the Sheikh was a-head. Arabs, of all people, are the worst to gain local information from: if you ask where such a place is, they will tell you “just a-head,” with a significant movement of their own head towards the quarter meant to be indicated ; A CAMP IN CONFUSION. 151 nor will any cross-questioning elicit further or a more precise reply. On this occasion the indicial member was protruded to different quarters by different per- sons, and it was not without the greatest difficulty and abundant uneasiness and trouble that, about half- past two in the afternoon, we at length saw the white tent of the Sheikh, half-pitched, fluttering in the wind on the verge of the horizon. Towards it, however, we now pressed with vigour, and were received by Sheikh Hameed with perfect cordiality, We found the camp in a miserable condition, however, in regard to comfort. The Sheikh him- self was sitting on a black rug, without a drop of water to give us, tents not yet pitched, no bread, no meat, no wood, nothing whatever to be had, worse than at our first visit. It was near sunset when some meat, butter, and rice, were sent us; but neither wood nor water to cook it with. In another hour a small skin of the latter arrived, with a caution to make the best use we could of it, as we could get no more; as for the servants, all they could get were a few dates and a little bread, scarce enough to stay their hungry stomachs—it was a miserable business. The only thing in plenty was barley, and of that they sent enough to feed the beasts; but they had to go some seven or eight miles to water. We sent word to the Sheikh that, if he pleased, we should be glad to dine with him, rather than alone; but found that he and his party were break- ing their fast on dates fried in butter, and bread; probably they did not wish us to be witnesses of their 152 DISMISSION OF THE GUIDES. for us. fare, whether good or bad, so we did the best we could on dates and bread, with a little kebaubed mutton, which, with a dish of tea, were quite enough The Sheikh himself came to our tent while we were at dinner, and drank tea and coffee with us, and was as civil and polite as possible. We mentioned to him the conduct of the guides; but he told us they were not of his tribe, and that he had only employed them from their being connected with the tribes down the country; so all he said to them was, that they might go to the devil their own way, out of his sight. So they forfeited his favour and our coin, which we thought was but a slight punishment for the embarrassment and annoy- ance they had caused us; for now, it appeared, we must take the way round by Mahâwil, and the Hillah road, instead of by the Tigris. I suppose the Zobeid do not wish to have anything to do with the Jerboah, who, though beaten by the Aneiza, are still a more powerful tribe than themselves. So the Sheikh promises us a guide, and we start to- morrow; we shall see how it turns out-hitherto we have been sadly unfortunate in this camp. January 20.-My malison on all Arabs and Sheikhs, jointly and severally, for a set of miserable wretches ! They hospitable! they liberal ! The words of Burns, mutato nomine, describe their coun- try exactly. “ There's nothing here but Arab pride, And Arab dirt and hunger; If Heaven it was that sent us here, It sure was in an anger !” ARAB PROMISES. 153 Ewe ubed will We but Et he ! cted said heir his at a oy- ed, Ehe Water is far off certainly, but one might have thought the Sheikh would have been able to afford a sufficiency for his guest at least : but no; beyond the miserable skin sent us last night, little was to be had, although the Sheikh himself told his ser- vants, for God's sake, to go from tent to tent to search for a little. He had promised my servants a good repast at midnight, but it never arrived, and they went to bed, as I feared they would, with empty stomachs: they have truly fared ill for these several days past. Next, as to the guide: we had made the Sheikh two requests on this point; first, that the man might be appointed and sent us this night, as otherwise, on the morrow, he would be sleeping when we should be starting; next, that the man so appointed, should be a Zobeid, and not of any other tribe. These things he promised “ on his head," before he left us; yet, after all, who should he appoint but the very Jerboah rascal who had taken part with our old guides on the preceding day, and whom I had especially stipulated with the Sheikh, might not be sent with us. This promised ill for our progress, and we augured still worse when we heard this same guide inquiring of every one which was the way, and confessing he had never been at Shâmlee, our intended resting-place for the night: but there was no help for it, as the Sheikh would certainly not be awake before noon, and that would make us quite too late for Shâmlee. So, putting our trust in Providence, on we fared. We made it out better than there was reason to ose are to- we nd he IN- 1 154 ARRIVAL AT SHAMLEE. hope for, under all circumstances. Some horsemen were found to have preceded us, and until we came upon their tracks I had the comfort of seeing our guide assume a steady demeanour. He took his course, and never deviated an inch from it; and after we fell in with the tracks, all became easy, though we had not the comfort of feeling confidence until, from a high mound, we saw the old khân of Shâmlee, scarcely five miles ahead. In two hours more we were comfortably housed in our little tent, behind the huts of Moollah Allee, an officer of the Zobeid Sheikh, who had the charge of a cultivating branch of the tribe living at this place. Here we had the comfort of plenty of water; a luxury which our horses shared, much to their satisfaction, poor creatures! as we knew they had tasted none for thirty hours. We were exactly eight hours on the road; and as we went, all the time, at a round pace, our march could not be less than thirty-two miles, on a course of W.N.W. Our route, this day, lay over one continued chain of sites. No sooner had we passed one series of mounds than another appeared ; and not a yard of ground was free from potsherds and glass. The most remarkable object was a group which, with the relique-covered surface belonging to it, covered many miles of ground. Of the visible ruins the chief were four high pyramidal mounds rising quite abruptly from the surrounding earth; but from a corner of one of them appeared part of a building, certainly of sun-dried brick. Their height might be from forty to fifty feet; but apart, from three ZIBLIYEH. 155 to four miles distant, their stood a still more im- posing object. It was a sort of tower or bastion- shaped building, rising from the top of a mound of ruins, to the height of seventy or eighty feet in all. The exterior of this building was of sun-dried brick, exactly similar to the Mujellibeh, and like it pierced with holes through the building; but the interior has been formed of furnace-baked bricks, built with mortar like those of the Birs and other such ruins, We could trace the walls in one part; and there were plenty of bricks displaced, mingled with the dust on the top. The sun-dried brickwork was deeply furrowed by the rain, and had obviously furnished the matter of the hillock which is at their foot; singularly enough, we found on the top of this mound a human skull, bleached white and bare, but evidently modern. It is to be remarked that this ruin, like the Birs, Um-Ghyer, and others, has its faces turned to the cardinal points. The Arabs gave it the name of Zibliyeh, and they also gave a trivial name to each of the smaller pyramidal heaps. Just beyond this place, a mile to the westward, we crossed the bed of a very large elevated canal, running about north and south, and three or four others of less dimensions, immediately after ; indeed, between this place and our munzil, the ground ap- pears to have been formerly quite cut up by these channels of irrigation. Not far from the largest canal there was another remarkable ruin ; a square, of a third of a mile or more on the side, inclosed by a double wall of mud, still very high-in some 156 A WAG'S TRICK. places full forty feet; but we could see no building in any part of it. The Arabs called it Deher. Our hosts of this night were wonderfully and amusingly ignorant. My servant asked for candles, or fat, to burn in their room, as is usual, in a lamp for the purpose, but could not make them under- stand what was wanted. Having found a piece of fat, which was solid and white, Moollah Allee watched the servant as he was cutting it into the burner, and exclaimed, “ Ah, I understand -- that is a thing for making tea — I have seen one with Sheikh Waddee." Yes,” replied the servant, who was a bit of a wag, “it is just so; and see, here is the sugar,” giving him a bit of the fat. The Arab took it and put it into his mouth. “ Ah, no," said he, making a wry face, you are cheating me; this is not sugar." January 21.-- Last night, or rather this morn- ing, we had the pleasant variety of a shower of rain, which tried our frail tent, though we were more frightened than hurt. The tent, however, got very heavy. We were on horseback by half-past seven, and held on at first N.N.W. but soon turned more to the westward, till we got into a tolerably well- trodden track which carried us very near the river. I thought the guide was taking us, for his own pur- poses, nearer to Hillah than was necessary, and, upon my remonstrating, he struck into the desert in a line right for the village Iskunderiah, a mea- sure which soon entangled us in a wide tract of sandhills, that were actually in motion under the action of a strong southerly wind, and from which, MOVING SANDHILLS. 157 after some danger and much difficulty, we were glad to escape back to the beaten road which skirts them : the surface of the sand was actually rolling like waves on a piece of water. There was a mon- strous extent of them stretching away eastward, and the cloud of sand-dust raised from them by the wind made the atmosphere so thick that we could not see half a mile ahead. At length Al-Heimer hove in sight, on our left, and we then took our departure from it right for Mahâwil. This day we passed many large antique canals, and, near Al-Heimer, several mounds just like the rest; indeed the whole country was covered thick with pottery, &c. It was worthy of observation, too that, as we rode along nearly in the line of what should have been the wall of Babylon, if Al-Heimer and Tueba are to be taken as the S.E. and N.E. corners, the vestiges of former habitations were more abundant on our right hand, that is without the supposed line, than on our left, which was within it, and that there was no continuous line of mounds at all to mark the traces of a wall. Both to-day and yesterday too, we passed through a great deal of cultivation, all belonging to the Zobeid Arabs. Observed on either hand several camps of Fellah Arabs, and whole squads of their squaws going for water—hideous wenches, with blue chins and lips, tattooed limbs, tattered garments, and each bearing on her head, folded up like a flat cap, the empty water-skin she was going to fill — truly sweet spe- cimens they were of womankind ! At a quarter to five P.M., made the village of 158 THE TUEBA. Mahâwil, after just nine hours' march, which, as we rode quickly, gives fully thirty-six miles. We were well-received at the village, and entertained as guests of the Zobeid Sheikh, and the governor waited po- litely on us to make offer of his services. January 22.-Our hosts were noisy, as Arabs are wont to be, and remained with us late from sheer politeness; a courtesy we could have dispensed with, as we had resolved to rise betimes in order to make one stretch for Baghdad. Accordingly, having roused our servants and got the horses fed by two in the morning, we were in the saddle an hour after, and left Mahàwil with a brilliant moon. In two hours we reached Nasseriyeh caravanserai, just where we did on our first unpropitious march across the Jezireh. A like time brought us to Iskunderieh, just at daylight, so that I could see to sketch the Tuebah, which is near that place. It is a small pyramidal mound not above thirty-five feet high above the plain, certainly of the same character and date as the Mujellibeh and such other mounds, as appears by the sun-dried brick-work and the débris. There are a great many mounds around it, all co- vered with fragments of brick and potsherds, but, as at the other end, there are more of these mounds without than within the line between it and Al- Heimer, and particularly three large ones stretching away in a N.W. direction. It is unnecessary to mention the numerous canals we passed on this oft-described road, they were many and large ; but the wind was bitter, and we rather thought of the rapidity with which we were ARRIVAL AT BAGHDAD. 159 nearing Baghdad, than the obscure antiquities that we passed on the way. It is all desert like the rest; but charitable people have built caravan- serais at every two hours space along the line of road. From Mahâwil we passed these in succession, viz. Nasseriyeh, Iskunderieh, Bernous, Khanzadeh, and another in ruins. At Khanzadeh, which is but four hours from Baghdad, the Doctor and I quitted our people and baggage, and, trotting briskly on, found ourselves, soon after two o'clock in the after- noon, once more under the comfortable and hospi- table roof of Colonel Taylor in Baghdad, a powerful contrast to the hard work and rude fare which had been our portion for the last month. 160 LETTER VII. News, on our Arrival at Baghdad, from Persia.—State of that Country.--Expedition to Ager Kouf-its Height and Construc- tion.--An Accident.-Preparations for returning homewards. The tidings which awaited us after our month's absence, were important and stirring enough to ex- cite us, notwithstanding our desire for rest of mind and body. It appears that Mahomed Meerza is now Ma- homed Shah. The English envoy and Russian am- bassador had urged him into action, and the former had advanced money to enable him to march at once upon Tehran. On his approach to that place, Allee Shah (the Zil-e-Sultaun, his paternal uncle,) had sent out an army to oppose him, but the soldiers, on approaching the young king's troops, seized their commanders and delivered them bound, into his hands. On learning this, the Zil fled to sanctuary at the shrine of Shah Abdulazeem, and sent word to his nephew that he was ready to renounce his pretensions to the throne, provided his life and a decent provision were secured to him. The former was promised: and we hear the new Shah entered Tehran, and obtained possession of the treasure of his grandfather, though woefully diminished. MOVEMENTS IN FARS. 161 The Firmaun Firmaee, (Prince of Fars,) having heard of these proceedings, retired to Sheerauz, from whence, it is affirmed, that he sent in his ad- hesion to the new Shah, and all things were sub- siding into order and tranquillity in that quarter. The Buchtiarees, Lours, Feilees, and all the wan- dering tribes, were drawing in their horns; and even the Ben-i-Lâm, who had commenced a system of plunder had withdrawn, “ As wintry waves from wasted lands Sweep back to ocean blue." The Mahmoodsennee, or Mamasenni, a powerful tribe of robbers, in the neighbourhood of Cauzeroon, had been giving trouble; but the Firmaun Firmaee had sent his son Timour Meerza against them, who succeeded in defeating them and killing the son of their chief, Wullee Khan ; on which they retired to their fortress, the Kallah Suffeed. But the Prince sent them word that they would gain nothing by this, as he was resolved to follow them, even to hell. And according to report, his movements must have been sufficiently energetic, for they sent him word that there was no need of more force they were ready to obey his comniands, and become good sub- jects. On this, Wullee Khan, the chief, was sent for and invested with all that district of country from Dalakee to beyond Cauzeroon, superseding the authority of the Eelkhanee, or Lord of the Eeleauts, a powerful chief, who had 'hitherto governed it, and who, accordingly, became the mortal enemy of the Prince and his family. It appears that Mahomed Meerza (now Shah) VOL. II. M 162 MOVEMENTS IN KERMANSHAH. had sent his brother, Bahram Meerza, against Ker- mansha, who, in passing by Suleimaniah, had called upon Suleiman Pashah for his contingent. That the Pashah had marched with his Royal Highness to the frontier, when, pretending alarm on account of the Rewandooz Beg, he returned. He had even refused all assistance to Ismael Khan, an officer of the Azer- bijan force, charged with the conveyance of some muskets sent for its use from India, and who, on his way from Baghdad to Tabreez, required carriage for his charge; so that that officer was left adrift with it somewhere upon the frontiers. Bahram Meerza had pushed on towards Kermanshah with a consider- able force, and Mahomed Hoosein Meerza, the Prince, heretofore governor of that district, had taken sanctuary with the Peish Numaz, or head of the clergy at that place. It is said, Bahram Meerza has actually entered Kermanshah. So far with regard to the affairs of Persia, which interest me intimately, both as pertaining directly to matters of duty, and as having an influence on my further movements. The internal politics of this Pashalic would be less intelligible to you, and little was to be made of them beyond a gradual progress in evil, and signs and tokens of the designs which Ibrahim Pashah and his father Allee, have upon this part of the Sultan's dominions. You remember our affair with the Haitas at Hillah, who turned us out of our lodging there. The Resident had waited on the Pashah and stated the circumstances. His Highness was extremely in- dignant, and wrote instantly to the Beg of Hillah to REPRIMAND TO THE HAITAS. 163 Ker- Ethe the the 1sed zer some his for with erza der- the had of erza order the men who had been-guilty of the insult, to be given up and duly and severely punished. Some of them had been found and severely spoken to, (not punished,) and warned against a repetition of such conduct that was all. The fact is, that neither Governor nor Pashah venture to exercise the right of punishment at present — they cannot. The Haitas are masters of the place, and do as they like; plundering and pillaging, and insulting all those who are not of their party ; and they will continue to do so, no doubt, until the arrival of the regular troops, (or Nizam,) who are expected, and then there will most likely be a row and a battle, which will terminate the business. The Pashah said as much to the Resident. “Only let the regular troops come, and, inshallah! we shall shave these fellows' beards !” During the six days I remained at Baghdad, I did little more than reduce to form the information I had collected during my trip into the Jezeereh, and prepare for my return to Persia. The work of one day only merits notice, and that was a ride to Agerkouf, Akerkouf, or Minâr-e-Nimrood, as it is variously called; nor was the time thus occupied mispent. It is a very lofty building, constructed of raw bricks, like the rest of its class; but the quan- tity of fire-burned bricks scattered all around it prove clearly that at one time it must have had a revêtement of that material. Between the bricks there are layers of reeds, it is said, at every seventh tier ; but I saw them indifferently at the fifth, sixth, and seventh; and, instead, a single layer crossed : hich y to my this little 37033 hich spor ; at lere ated in h to M 2 164 AGERKOUF. the reeds are in some places two inches thick ; and so fresh are they, that the Doctor, having pulled down a brick or two, and thus exposed a parcel of the reeds, his horse began to eat them just as if they had been straw. At present, it presents the appearance of a tall amorphous mass, resting, as it were, upon an elevated base of the same materials as itself; the layers of reeds, which protrude from be- tween the bricks on all sides, giving to the profile a serrated aspect as it cuts the sky. There is a win- dow, at least an opening on the south side, about half way up, and a sort of hole, that looks as if it would lead to something, on the east. This last, however, is, I believe, nothing more important than a jackall's den ; as for the other, it was entered with some difficulty by Captain Willock, I think, and Co- lonel Taylor's son, who found a small chamber; but the dust produced by an immense quantity of bats' dung under foot, and which they in vain attempted to clear away, prevented any discoveries ; probably there was none to be made. Dr. Ross remarked, that this mass must have been square, and that the sides, as usual, fronted the cardinal points : but the figure is now very im- perfect. I have little doubt that it was just such a building as the rest of these singular and lofty edifices--a temple for the religious worship of that time. The most singular and imposing thing about Agerkouf is its height, which must be very great. An Italian surveyor, who took the height both of this and the Birs, I understand, found Agerkouf the highest of the two; but I should doubt the truth of this. A MISCHANCE. 165 We found about the place an encampment of the Ben-i-Saeed Arabs, some fifty or sixty of the men of which were clustered round the base of the tower. A fellow, calling himself their Sheikh, came forward, and was very importunate for a present, which we very unceremoniously refused; but had they deemed it safe, I doubt not they would have tried to put the matter to issue. On the way home I had an adventure of another kind, which had nearly cost me a horse or two, and a double-barrelled pistol. In leading my own horse over the bridge of a canal, he put his foot through it, fell over into the water, and was carried under by the stream. After a good deal of plunging and struggling, and a complete sousing, he scrambled out; and then another horse played the same prank, and was rescued with still more difficulty. One of my pistols was thrown from the holster, and got so buried in the mud, that it was not till after an hour's paddling in the water that one of the servants found it. The time had now arrived when I was to make the first step homewards, in my long pilgrimage, and you may believe the preparations for doing so are any- thing but irksome. But they require some time, and I must therefore now close in order to complete them. Adieu! My next will be dated from some point on my way to Tehran. 166 LETTER VIII. Leave Baghdad.-Caravanserai Chôle.—Ferry over the Diala.- A bold Thief well trounced.-Bakoubah.--Supposed Site of Destaghird. - A furious Storm.--Sheherawân.—Khanakee. Kasr-e-Shireen.-Eeliaut Robbers.-Mâdan Arabs near Zohâb. - Pool-e-Zohâb.-Pass and Town of Kerrend. Haroonabad.- Reach Kermanshah.-The Vizier.--Solymaun Khan Gourâun -his House-- the Palace and Prince. January 29th 1835. At length, Dear — we have turned our backs upon the city of the Khalifs, with its venerable recollections, and present wretchedness, its relics of antiquity towering above its modern hovels, in spite of plague, inundation, and oppression; its shadow of a government, its pageant of a Pashah, and its Prætorian Haitas, its noisy squalid Arabs, its noble and beautiful river, disgraced by its bridge of shattered boats, and the ruinous walls reflected in its waters; in short, on modern Baghdad; and, but for the kind hospitality of the Resident and his excellent lady, and the comfort I had enjoyed in the society of the Residency, it would have been without a shadow of regret. In fact, as the last of my cattle crossed the bridge over the ditch at the Aathem-gate, at half-past seven o'clock of a fine, though cloudy morning, and as I felt the elastic CARAVANSERAI SHÔLE. 167 step of my horse as he bounded over the bare desert that stretches to its very walls, my heart did make a little bit of a bound too, and a prayer of thank- fulness did escape it on the occasion, for was it not the first step, please God, of return to home and to all I hold dear on earth? Our way to Bakoubah, our resting place nine hours distant, lay across this same dead flat, the only variety displayed at this season being the change from bare earth to the rank dry grass which occupies the morasses. Half way there is a cara- vanserai, built by some charitable individual for those travellers who may not be able to proceed the whole stage at once; and it has encouraged a settle- ment of some three or four families of most misera- ble Arabs who sell a few necessaries to these tra- vellers and pilgrims-pilgrims, I say, emphatically, for this is the great route for pilgrims from Persia to Kerbelah, and the resort of these is immense. The caravanserai and its village are called Chole, which, I suspect, means Shóle or Showl, that is desert. Nor could a more appropriate name have been devised, for a more perfect desert than that around it cannot be imagined. Yet, that all was once thickly in- habited and well-cultivated is proved, not only by the presence of the usual débris, but by abundance of canals which cross the way, or accompany the road in numbers. One of these, within about an hour of Bacoubah, was at least thirty yards in breadth; and still nearer that place we crossed the bed of the Nahrawân; the most important of the ancient canals on this side the Tigris, which was 168 FERRY OF THE DIALA. from fifty to seventy yards broad ; in fact, as large as the Euphrates in most places below Hillah. Bacoubah is situated on the banks of the river Diala, here a fine rapid stream. We crossed it by the only well-regulated ferry I remembered to have seen in these countries. A large boat constructed on purpose for cattle and horses, plies across, traversing upon a rope fixed on either side. The animals enter by means of a sort of brushwood pier built at the same points, which, though not very solid, answers the purpose sufficiently well; and the capacity of the boat was such as to take in the whole of my twelve beasts, along with their riders, at once; had they been the cattle of muleteers they would have been stowed still closer. When we reached the side of the river, one of my servants began to roar out lustily to the Turks on the other side, desiring them to make haste and not to keep us waiting; a flourish of the imperative mood, which they received with true Turkish phlegm. “ Softly, softly,” growled one of them at last, "are you bringing a head?” Yet, surely, we could not complain of much delay, when from the time of our arrival on the brink of the river, to that of landing on the other shore, was scarcely eighteen minutes. I was so much pleased that I intended bestowing on the superintendent a handsome pre- sent; but he spoiled his own chance, by a most im- pudent demand of just twelve times the regular fare, and made it under pretence of its being a duty on merchants leviable at this place. My re- ply was, that I was no merchant, and paid no cus- A BOLD THIEF. 169 tom or duty; and throwing to the boatmen some coins, comprising four or five times their due, I rode away without hearing or speaking another word. The imperturbable phlegm of the two offi- cial Turks at this receipt of customs, was neither affected by our remonstrances against their unjust demand, or our subsequent retreat, which they never attempted to oppose. I forgot to mention a specimen we had, this day, of the audacity of the petty thieves who infest the vicinity of Baghdad, and are the terror of foot- passengers and ass-drivers, whom they strip with- out mercy. A party of some five or six of these fel- lows, dressed like Arabs, and armed with bludgeons, had passed us on the road not far from Chôle; all but one of them went on their way; but on looking back I saw one of my people, who had lingered behind, in conversation with him who had stopped. In a moment or two I heard them at high words, and saw the fellow raise his stick to strike my ser- vant, who, on his part, made a blow at the other with the butt-end of his gun. I instantly gallopped back to know what was the matter, and called to the fellow to desist; but so far was he from being daunted, that he turned, club in hand, upon myself. Another of the servants by that time coming up, struck him with a stick, and thus diverted his at- tention from me, which I was not sorry for : I had put my hand to one of my pistols, and might, in self-defence, have done that which I should have had reason to regret. But no sort of fear did the gen- tleman show on the occasion; on the contrary, he set 170 SOUNDLY PUNISHED. the wre rad had bee bei me "E pa to ma at of I ali the whole of us at defiance, brandishing his stick at one and striking at another, as they came forward and tried to get a hit at him. Had the horses not shyed, as the riders pressed forward, the fellow would soon have had enough; but, frightened at his frantic gestures, they reared and jumped aside, and so prevented the blows from telling, and the man, had he been so disposed, might have possibly got clear off : on the contrary, he provoked the fight and stood his ground, till one of the horse- keepers, jumping from his mule, ran in and hit him a right down blow with a bludgeon, on which they closed and both came to the ground. The foolish fellow's chance was now ended,—the people rushed upon him, and beat and kicked him to his heart's content. No cat and dog hate each other worse than the Arabs and Adjems (Persians), and they never miss an opportunity of showing their mutual spite ; but as the latter are the weaker party in these parts, so good a chance as the pre- sent seldom occurs, and was not, I assure you, lost; I was forced to interfere authoritatively to save his life, and had hard work to succeed. On inquiring the cause of the fray, it appeared that the servant, who was first attacked, had over-' heard the man observing to his companions, in good Turkish, that the Aga had passed on, so they might easily knock down and strip some of the laggers.” He had taxed the man with this, and had received an impudent answer, which oc- casioned the fray: I know not if this was exactly the truth, but it is probable enough, and certainly ai h: 1 HIGH HOPES. 171 the fellow paid for his impudence; never did a poor wretch get a better drubbing; yet had all his com- rades been as stout-hearted as he, we should have had enough to do, and probably blood might have been shed. I cannot express to you the pleasure I felt at being now quit of Arab hospitality and all sorts of mehmandaree, and being once more at liberty to "take mine ease in my caravanserai," seeking and paying only for what was required-under obligation to no man. There was, indeed, a small attempt made on the part of the Khånchee, or hostel-keeper at Bacoubah, to make me his “guest,” in the hope of reward; but I insisted on paying for every thing I took, and the charges were high enough; yet, after all, mine host was amazingly disappointed, he said, at not receiving a couple of ducats, or tomauns for his “attentions." The village itself was once large and flourishing ; but, under the influence of plague and extortion, it is now little better than a heap of ruins, in a jungle of date and pomegranate-trees. I observed orange-trees, too, but the cold frosty wind of the preceding fortnight had given a desperate nip to their leaves, one half of which were already quite brown. On the succeeding morning, the 30th, we started a little before seven, proceeding by a very winding path, crossing many old canals and modern water- courses, which perplexed us a good deal. The hills we were approaching were now plainly discovered, the tops of the highest being covered with snow. 172 A STORM. In the course of this day's march, which was only twenty-eight miles long, the ancient city of Dustagird, the celebrated residence of Khosroo Purveez, is by some supposed to have been situated ; but, though there were plenty of the usual vestiges of brick and pottery scattered everywhere over the surface, and in some places, fragments of buildings crossing the very road, with many ancient canals running in all quarters, I could not discover any mounds, or other remains, extensive enough to represent the site of so large and comparatively recently existing a city--for Khosroo lived in the seventh century, and his capital was taken and himself driven from it only A. D. 628. But, in truth, for better than the last half of the way, the wind, which had increased since morning, blew so furious a tempest and raised such clouds of dust, that our view was limited to a very small compass, nor did we see the date-trees of Sheherawan, our stage for the night, until within less than a mile of them. It was a bitter storm, and made the comforts of a good caravanserai doubly ac- ceptable. January 31.—The storm raged all night and terminated in a slight fall of rain ; and the sky was so threatening when we rose, that the muleteers who had intended to accompany us, would not load, and I had some misgivings myself on the subject of quit- ting our shelter. In fact, just as we did leave the khân, a heavy plump came down ; but I had resolved not to be arrested by anything short of extremity in the weather, on my way to Kermanshah ; and as there was a caravanserai and village about twenty KIZZIL ROBAUT.-KHANEKEEN. 173 . miles on, I resolved to make that much of distance, at all events : so on we fared. We got pretty well to Kizzil Robaut, and it was rather a pleasant ride after the rain ; but soon after we left that place, some angry thunder-clouds gather- ed round, and gave us a fair sample of their con- tents — at one time the rain fell by pailfuls. We had to wind a good deal among canals, which, had the previous rain been heavier, would have proved serious obstacles from their mud; and in the course of the day's march we crossed at least three ranges of hills, or rather hillocks, many of which consisted entirely of gravel or the conglomerate from which it had been formed. One long broad ridge of red and grey sandstone, very soft and destructible, resembled some of the Hâmrine Hills, near Dellee-Abbas. Most of the pebbles belonging to the conglomerate were of jasper and porphyry of various colours. In spite of the rain we pushed on, and reached the village of Khânekeen, when we could no longer see, and just in time to avoid a heavy storm of thunder and rain, which fell during the whole night. How I did congratulate myself and thank Provi- dence for having permitted me to gain this shelter! for you can have no idea how perplexing to travel- lers in these countries is a heavy drenching. Beasts suffer as well as men, and the loads get so soaked that the mules can hardly carry what before was scarcely a burthen. We had, however, to ford a deep and swollen stream in the dark, just below what appeared to be a capital bridge, too, but which, like all things in this Pashalic, had been suffered 174 THIEVES. to go to decay : a flood had carried away one of the arches, and neither government nor individual has thought fit to repair it. The same might be remark- ed of the caravanserai ; but it is a solid, though a mo- dern building as well as the bridge, both being, as I believe, constructed by orders of the late Mahomed Allee Meerza, and the former, if no positive violence be offered it, may last for many years. That decay had already begun its approaches, however, became soon known by a caution given us on the part of its keeper. He told us that the Koordish thieves in the neighbourhood were in the habit of finding their way through holes and breaches in the walls during the night, and cautioned us to be on our guard against them. The warning was not superfluous : in the course of the night we were awakened by a shot fired within the building, succeeded by a great up- roar; and, on inquiring, found that some of these thieves had actually stripped one of the mules be- longing to a muleteer, and was carrying off his prize when discovered by the owner. February 1.-In the morning, the yard of the khân was afloat with the rain that had fallen during the night, and which still fell; but in the course of half an hour the clouds broke, and left the face of heaven clear, blue, and promising : so off we set a little after seven. We paid, however, for the rain by having to wade for several miles through deep mud. Yesterday we had made acquaintance with hills again, and the gravel of which they were mainly composed afforded relief to our beasts of bur- then. To-day the hills increased in size, and the KASR-E-SHIREEN. 175 greater part of our march wound through a continu- ous succession of them. Pebbles of agate or jasper, red, yellow, brown, and grey green, of every shade, were found in the gravel exposed on their sides, and I have no doubt that the pebbles we saw both at Babylon and on all the ruins in Mesopotamia, have been brought from this range of hills, which have furnished also the agates, both transparent and opaque, that were used in their antiques, though I did not observe any of the latter in riding along. It was a tedious work, winding through these meaningless tuppehs; and the ride was only lightened by one object, which I regret that time and circum- stances did not permit me to examine with the attention it merits. This was the Kasr-e-Shireen, supposed to be the dwelling of the celebrated and beautiful Shireen, wife or mistress of Khosroo. This whole line of country, indeed, is rife with mementoes of this royal pair, from Ctesiphon to Hamadân. The palace in question must have exhibited an admirable example of his magnificence in these structures, although situated in a singularly forbidding country. But we must not judge Orientals by our own rules of taste. This edifice, though now recognised as the palace of Shireen, was no doubt built in great measure with a view to the tastes and pleasures of her royal lover. It was in all probability one of his hunting quarters, where he could enjoy the plea- sures of the chase without being deprived of the society of his mistress. All that Oriental sovereigns regard in such residences is that sort of luxury which accords with their habits within the walls 176 ORIENTAL TASTES. spacious gardens and pleasure-houses to retire to with their ladies ; beyond these they care not how mean or desolate may be the prospect. Their women, their nobles, and attendants make a society and little world wherever they go; and as their chief out-of-door enjoyment is the chase, the more desert the country is around them, the better for their sport. For all such purposes, the Kasr-e-Shireen appears to have been well enough placed; the country around abounds at this day with game. We saw large flocks of antelopes, with plenty of winged- game, both land and water-fowl. There are the re- mains of immense inclosures of strong stone and lime walls, which the people of the country say extend for more than three fursungs, and which may probably have contained preserves as well as extensive gardens. The fields now cultivated by the villagers, who inhabit the ruins of the present caravanserai, may, in all likelihood, have been these very gardens. Water was carried to the palace from a distance, for we saw the remains of an aqueduct, and large marble-pipes and troughs, by which it was conveyed across the hollows. The principal remains of building are a large mass of ruinous walls and arches, called the Kasr; and another, still more in decay, at some distance, called the munzil (or residence) of Shirowiyeh, the son of Khosroo. The Kasr contains several large apartments, and some passages and ranges of vaults, which I could not examine; but the principal object is what is now called the tomb of the fair Shireen DANGEROUS NEIGHBOURHOOD. 177 Gre to how Their ociety their more I for bears ntry saw ged re- und ay uch herself, but which I take to have been a gateway and vestibule to the palace. It has four archways; three leading from without, and the fourth into the building. These archways have been handsome structures, but of the rest no judgment can be formed, because the whole having been built of the rouble-stone and large pebbles of the country, what- ever of ornament there may originally have been, has fallen off with the external coating, so that only a dark and forbidding core of rude stone and lime remain. The walls and inclosures are built of the dark-grey sandstone of the hills around, which, when exposed, decays; so that, though several conside- rable masses remain, none are in a perfect state. At the caravanserai, the whole inhabitants were seen basking out in the sun. I inquired of them what certain ruins on our right were, and was told they were those of the village which, about two months ago, when the news of the king's death arrived, was plundered and destroyed by the Eeliauts of the neighbourhood. The robbers even sat down around the caravanserai in which the inhabitants had taken shelter, besieging them, and plundering all pilgrims or other travellers who came to the place, ignorant of what was going on. We had our- selves just an inkling of what they were disposed to do, had circumstances permitted. On turning an angle of the road, not three miles from the caravan- serai, we observed six or eight men seated on the top of a hillock, apparently watching our motions. We had along with us a man on foot, who had taken our convoy from Khanekeen to this place, and they de- as by ent ese ice an by og ೪ се, he ts, Ct 21 VOL. II. N 178 A RASH CHALLENGE. tached one of their body to question him as to who we might be. He told them a long story about my being an Elchee (envoy) from Baghdad to the new king, to which they replied, that it was well. But they maintained so threatening an aspect, that one of my servants foolishly enough called out in bra- vado, “ What are you doing there? if you are for fighting, come down, and we will give you enough of it !" One of them, who was just retiring, on this looked back, and shook his stick with a flourish, saying, “ Bismillah ! coine on then; we are as ready as you !" But I interfered to stop this folly, and making the baggage close up, pursued our way, taking the rearward myself to prevent further colli- sion. Had we attempted to pass this road but a month before, we should have been stripped to a certainty, perhaps murdered ; but since the known and acknowledged success of Mahomed Shah, and the advance of Bahram Meerza to Kermanshah, the boldness of these reivers has been something quell- ed, and they restrict themselves to smaller game, stripping only footmen or small parties, and leaving caravans alone. I own I was rendered somewhat uneasy by this specimen of the road, knowing that intelligence flies here as fast as ever fiery cross sent it in the days of Roderick Dhu; and that if harm were purposed in the line of our march, we should not escape a brush ; but at the caravanserai I found a servant of Solymaun Khan Gourâns, chief of the Eeliauts in this quarter, just come from our intended stage of Pool-e-Zohâb, who assured me that there was nothing in the way to do mischief or cause MÂDAN ARABS. 179 alarm. Another of that chief's servants joined the party of his own accord, and proffered himself as our guide; but he did not show himself so confident of the security of the road, for we had to pass a fort inhabited by notorious thieves of the Kelhôre tribe, and he hurried us on that we might leave it behind us before nightfall. I was glad enough when I saw the walls of the caravanserai in a valley below us, just tinted by the beams of the setting sun. We had now entered well within the lofty ranges of Lour and Kermanshah mountains, which frowned above us in snow, and somewhat tended to shorten the period of daylight; yet we contrived to get our- selves housed in the vaults of the Khân before dark, after a march of nearly forty miles in bad stony road. It was a little singular that we here fell in with a colony of our old friends, the Mâdan Arabs. Our attention was first attracted by large herds of buffaloes grazing in some marshy ground, and soon after came upon a village or camp of their owners, housed in reed-huts, much the same as those in the Jezeerah. I learned that they had in effect come originally from thence periodically to this val- ley in search of pasture, but had now become sta- tionary, and were numbered among the Eeliaut po- pulation of the country. Here we learned for the first time with something like certainty, that Bah- ram Meerza had actually entered Kermanshah ten days before. February 2.-In spite of every effort to be early on foot, it was close upon seven o'clock of a most pleasant morning when we left the caravanserai, N 2 180 A CHANGE OF SCENERY. and entered the fine though stony valley of Bee Shiwah, by a gap in the rocks, through which the water of Zohab escapes to the country below. The air was mild and genial; a thousand larks were singing over head; we had lost sight of the weary plains that had lain so long like a load upon the soul, and of the uninteresting tuppehs of the two preceding marches. Hills rose on every side once more, in varying shapes, and their skirts, now of a fine verdant hue, were thronged with flocks and herds and men; and here and there a little village, or a clump of tents of the Louree tribes, gave token that we had once more got into something like a peopled country. But the pleasures of our march were of no long continuance. The plain itself was stony enough, and we soon got to the foot of a pass as rough, if not as steep as most I have seen; it was, in fact, like a great torrent's bed, with this differ- ence, that sometimes we were on a height, at others in a hollow ; and even after the sharpest of the ascent was over, we continued rising and falling among most uneven ground for full three fursungs. The heights were heaps of stones, so that we had nothing but clattering and scrambling along till at the top of the pass, where we issued on a long plain, lying between two ridges of hills, and in addition to the still continuing plague of stones, found that of deep mud. At this place snow and I once more shook hands, not, as I dare say, to part again for a a weary while. The melting of this snow had so soaked the soil, that all was a complete bog, and I know not that THE PASS OF GERRAW. 181 the horses suffered less from sinking amongst the mud mingled with stones, than from the rocky ascent itself. Although our day's march did not exceed seven fursungs, or twenty-eight miles at most, we were full ten hours about it, and the sun had almost set when we reached the caravan- serai of Kerrend. This pass bears also the traces of Khosroo Purvees. At the foot there is a cara- vanserai built by him, now ruinous, but remarkable for being wholly covered in; a mode of building these edifices, for the most part, unusual in Persia. And about half way up, there is an arched recess called the Tâk-e-Khosroo, or Tâk-e-Gerraw, built of marble slabs of large size, and the ornaments of which, though very much defaced, are quite in the style attributed to this king. Little sculp- ture indeed remains ; but there are some large slabs in the back of the arch which appear to have been intended to receive some design. There is also a twisted rope-like border with several fragments of cornices which look like the Roman school; but the whole is too ruinous to admit of its design being more accurately traced. What the arch What the arch may have been intended for, it is now hard to guess. Perhaps it may have recorded the date when this road was repaired or made more easy by the great Khosroo, for even yet it bears traces of former care and labour, in the removal of points of jutting rock, and the remains of bits of parapet; and doubtless that monarch and his court, from the neighbourhood of Ctesiphon and Dustagird, must have made great use of this road. Possibly it may have marked a 182 KERREND. spot where Khosroo himself rested in his ascent, and where he desired that others should have the power of doing so at their ease. It is, at present, quite detached from any other building, an iso- lated piece of mason-work, but telling of power and skill beyond what is met with in these degenerate days. I should have remarked before that the whole of this pass lies through a thin oak jungle, like what we found at the Sugramah, and which sprinkled the hills on either side. The town or large village of Kerrend, is gro- tesquely, rather than picturesquely placed at the mouth of a gap in the northern hills, that bound the valley ; it looked neat, and its handsome caravanserai, though somewhat distant, added to the imposing effect produced by the whole. Had time permitted I should have been glad to take a sketch of the place; but the sun was setting and my fingers were like ice. It froze hard during the night, and was so cold in the morning (of the 3rd) that my servants could not be got into mo- tion before seven. We had had some hard day's marching, which reconciled me to a short journey this day, so their indolence was of the less conse- quence. We only made five hours, or about twenty miles, to the caravanserai and village of Haroon- abad ; but the mud and stones made even this dis- tance fatiguing, and we were more than six hours of time about it. Our way led first along the plain of Kerrend, and then across a trifling ascent into that of Haroonabad, where we put up with one of CHANGE OF COSTUME. 183 a dozen of the villagers who pressed the use of their houses on us, in hope of the trifling reward we might probably bestow, and the gain they hoped to make by supplying us with corn and straw. There is a large caravanserai here, which, like others on the road, was built by Hadjee Hashem Khan, father of the Ameer-e-Nizam, and a man who appears to have passed his life, and spent his fortune in works of benevolence and charity; and who was reward- ed lately by the loss of his eyes, which Mahomed Hoossein Meerza put out, on I know not what pretext. We had now got rid of all that connects itself, either in appearance, or in fact, with Turk or Arab; and I was not sorry to exchange the Fez, the headkerchief, and the turban of these gentry, for the black lamb-skin caps of my old acquain- tances the Persians. In dress, however, we have not quite regained our former costume. Here the national outer covering is a white felt great coat, cut like an Oemah, or Persian riding-coat, and good, as is said, for excluding both cold and wet. But it is too stiff, I should think, for the first purpose, as it does not lie close to the body, and the wind must consequently pass under it in all directions; besides which, they appear to make no use of the sleeves, putting the arms through the holes left under the arm-pits, and the breast, like that of all Persian dresses, is open, so that it is difficult, one would suppose, to imagine a less efficient covering than this ; yet all, from the Khan to the peasant, wear 184 DISAGREEABLE MARCH. it. The peasantry also wear a cap of felt, which does duty for the kajar, black cap, and is not less efficient. Determined to get into Kermanshah at one march from Haroonabad, we made an effort, and were on foot by six on a fine thɔugh nipping morning. The mud was frozen into hard lumps, which scarcely improved matters for the horses' feet, nor did things mend when these softened under the influence of the sun, and turned again to mud. In fact, we soon reached the snow which was melt- ing in streams, and rendered the whole country mass of earth in a state of solution. A more disagreeable march, as regarded what was under foot, could not well have been contrived; nor were matters improved by a fierce north wind, which blew hard in our faces, and rendered an otherwise fine day very comfortless; never were poor devils more teazed, both men and horses. Our march was good ten hours of distance, or forty miles, which we performed in eleven hours of time, ar- riving at the gates of Kermanshah just at five in the evening. The road lay along a succession of plains and passes. Of the first, that of Mahedusht, where there is a caravanserai, six hours from Ha- roonabad, was the finest and most extensive; but though lower, as I should imagine, than that of Kerrend and Haroonabad, it had far more snow than either. The latter part of our way led through a most tantalizing maze of hillocks; from the top of each, as we reached it, we expected to see the city, but were as constantly disappointed, till, at KERMANSIIAH. 185 length, turning an elbow, we found ourselves just upon it. The situation of Kermanshah is the most pic- turesque, and finest, in point of effect, of any city I remember seeing in Persia. For hours before we reached it, the lofty range of Besittoon appeared, towering in great peaks and masses above the spot where we knew that it lay; and so huge do those mountains appear, that the valley below them seems to be but a strip. On approaching, as we did, from the south-west, the gardens to the south of the city are the first objects which meet the eye, and when the town itself comes into view, you see it sur- rounded by gardens, and orchards, and vineyards, which stretch up a little hollow behind it in a pic- turesque variety, that put me in mind of some spots in happy England itself. The city is built upon rising grounds which are connected with the hil- locks behind, which we had crossed, and it wore a very imposing aspect in the haze of the evening, which was fast thickening around. In fact, for some hours the face of the sky had been overcast and threatened snow, so that we were right glad to get comfortably housed before it came on, in a caravanserai built, like all the others, by Hadjee Hashem Khan, and where a good fire and a few kebaubs, hastily brought from a cook’s-shop in the bazaar, and a cup of green tea, made us forget everything but thanks at being secure from the storm, which soon raged without. The morning of the 5th was ushered in by a whirlwind of snow and sleet, worthy of the night 186 ACCEPTABLE NEWS. which it succeeded. But as I earnestly hoped that the weather might clear and enable us to start on the morrow, I resolved to send without delay and offer a visit to Meerza Tuckee Ashtianee, the Vizier, or minister of Bahram Meerza, and to place my- self at his service for carrying any despatches the Prince or himself might have for Tehran. An Englishman was not likely, at the present moment, to meet with any other than a kind reception, con- sidering the prominent part which the representa- tive of his government had just taken in placing the young king upon his throne, and especially from a brother of that king. Meerza Tukey sent instantly to express his readiness to receive me, and in a short time I waited on him. I had much to learn of what had passed since I quitted Tabreez, and many friends and acquaintances to inquire after, and if I had cause for disappointment in the conduct of some, (I am now speaking of native friends only,) it was pleasant to know that others, of whom I had entertained a good opinion, ap- peared to have conducted themselves just as they should have done. But how much more perfect was the satisfaction and pride with which I heard the names of my own countrymen mentioned in terms of the highest esteem and regard, and the willing acknowledgment that the rapid and decided, and better than all, the bloodless triumph of the new and legitimate monarch, was attributed wholly to the assistance of my own nation, and the prompt and efficient aid tendered to the heir in his hour of need. We had a very long conversation, with SOLYMAUN KHAN. 187 which it would be impertinent to trouble you, and I left his Excellency to visit Solymaun Khan Gou- rân, an Eeliaut nobleman to whom I had letters, and with whom I meant to stay until informed that the Prince was ready to receive me. This Solymaun Khan, chief of the Gourân tribe of Eeliauts, affords in his own person a sad example of the cruel policy of the Kajars : a policy which has rendered them so detested throughout the country that, but for our interference, Persia would at this moment have been a slaughter-house of their princes. The Khan is a brave warrior and a man of sense and judgment— two qualities which the late king, and most of his family, held to be incompatible with loyalty and their own safety. The Khan, however, was to Mahomed Hoosein Meerza, as he had been to his father, a faithful servant, and had been, as I have heard, very instrumental in promoting the suc- cess which had attended the measures of the Prince in reducing the tribes of Louristan and Shuster to obedience. But he was too influential among the Eeliauts ; perhaps, being disgusted by certain slights on the part of the prince, he may have expressed himself as dissatisfied : how that may be I know not, but Mahomed Hoosein Meerza, by treachery, as usual, got possession of his person and put his eyes out, thus depriving himself of a noble retainer, and alienating from his own cause and fortunes the great body of the Eeliauts of Kermanshah. The Khan retired to his tribe, awaiting his oppor- tunity, and then repaired to Tabreez to lay his com- plaints and the offer of his services at the feet of 188 A PROMISE OF REVENGE. Mahomed Meerza. He had just left Suleimaniah at the time I entered it on my way to Baghdad, and got to Tabreez in time to witness the heir to the throne put himself en route to take possession of his rights. That heir received him with all possible distinction. I was assured that the prince, taking the blind man's hand in his, said, “Solymaun Khan, I swear to you that I shall not rest until I have placed in your hands the eyes of the man who plucked out yours.” He accompanied Bahram Meerza back to Kermanshah, where he is now honoured and consulted. , I found him, poor man, his sightless eyes covered with a green silk shade, seated in a darkened room, which looked a picture of discomfort, having the windows darkened, and, instead of a cheerful fire, an article in the middle of it called a courcy, or stool, for keeping the company warm. This is a frame, like a low table, placed over a hole, square or round, dug in the floor, and having blankets, or a coverlid, thrown over it: a pot of fire is placed in the hole, and round it carpets and cushions, on which the inmates of the house sit, drawing the long skirts of the said blankets over their knees and thighs, and thus they remain smoking or conversing away, perhaps the whole day. The darkened state of the apartment and the wretched air of everything about it seemed in unison with the bitter feelings of its owner, whose life, by one atrocious piece of tyranny, has been rendered a blank and a burthen. He received me with all possible courtesy, and regretted he had not had an opportunity of paying A CONTRAST. 189 me those attentions which he could have wished, and have better shown in his own country ; but made offer of everything in his power here, guards and safe conduct to the boundaries of Kermanshah, and all I might require on the road, and, in return, requested me to make certain communications on his part when I should arrive at Tehran ; this I of course promised, and soon took leave ; for there was an atmosphere of gloom around the ill-fated chief which was sadly lowering to the spirits, and which no consolation in my power was in any degree likely to remove. Far different had been the cheer in the Vizier's snug apartment. Well and warmly carpetted, a roaring fire of wood flamed in the grate, the charred cinders from which, being taken out red-hot, were thrown into a menkal, or chafing-dish, at the lower end near the door ; curtains hung at every entrance, so that no cold air could penetrate-indeed, any that might still find its way through chinks in the large windows that lighted the apartment, was rather wel- come than otherwise, for the heat was actually too great for comfort ; yet both these houses, externally, were true pictures of Persian inconsistency, and ig- norance of what we should term comfort, or even decency. Meerza Tukey occupied the house formerly in- habited and built by his predecessor in the Vizierut, Meerza Abul Kassim, the minister of Mahomed Hoossein Meerza. The approach to it was by a narrow passage, among crumbling mud walls leading from the square before the palace. I could hardly 190 APPROACHES TO PERSIAN HOUSES. get to it on horseback because of the heaps of snow in the lane, and when I entered it, had to make my way amongst such a maze of walls and suites of apartments, some in ruins, some but half-finished, and through passages choked up with fallen bricks and mud, that I marvelled how any one could find his way through them twice by the same route. We went up stairs and down stairs, and across one suite and past another, and then up and down again, till at last, descending into a sort of well where sun- dry servants were seated round the dear pan of char- coal, inhaling its healthy fumes, we were ushered into an ante-chamber in good repair, and from thence into the snug khelwut of the great man. The way to Solymaun Khan's house, led from the same great square, through a ruined archway, the entrance to which was so choked up with the rub- bish from a bath, I believe, and with snow, that I had barely room, by stooping as low as possible, to get through, and nearly broke my back by trying to perform the same feat in the doorway which led more directly to his domicile—all outside was filth and rubbish, and all within desolation and wretched- ness. From the Khan's house I went straight to the ark, or palace, which was built by Mahomed Allee Meer- za, the late king's eldest son, and which had at least an imposing exterior. The gate, which rises from one side of the great square, is built on a height which adds to the effect of its own altitude, and it gave entrance to an arcaded passage, from which, by several traverses, a large court was gained, in which AUDIENCES OF THE PRINCE. 191 was the Dewan Khaneh, or hall of public audience of the prince, and subsequently of his son the late reigning prince. It seemed in good repair, and, for a Persian palace, very respectable. My way, how- ever, led to a khelwut, which was approached by the usual number of passages and turns, but which saved me the repeated bows and salutes customary on public audiences. I was at once shown into the small apartment where his Royal Highness was seated in a chair to receive me. This, no doubt, was a little bit of state which the princes of Persia have of late assumed in consequence of the English having permission to sit in their presence. It be- came a matter of courtesy to offer them chairs, and, of course, the prince receiving them felt it not con- sistent with his dignity to sit lower than his visitors, so he perched himself in a chair also; now, whether their guests have chairs given them or not, I observe they commonly make use of one. He received me, however, very graciously, and conversed most affably and unreservedly; he went over much of what his minister had said, and again and again expressed the obligations they all were under to the English Elchee and officers, who had, he said, offered and pressed all possible aid upon the Naib-ul-Sultanut, and forced him, even against his own opinion, to hurry on to Tehran, and take upon himself the style and title of King; from which good advice, resulted his peaceable accession-never was such a miracle! But the great drift of his wishes were to obtain some English officers, and some of the muskets which were on the way from Baghdad 2 192 PUBLIC MEASURES. to the King's army. He wanted to have a capital army himself, and to have them drilled in the Eng- lish fashion. He was a great drill himself, he said; delighted in military matters, and admired the Eng- lish Nizam beyond everything ; and he begged me to try and induce the Envoy to plead with the King for the required complement of officers for him. In return, I paid him some compliments upon the good effects which the country had already experienced from his presence. That from being completely dis- turbed and impassable for travellers, it was now safe and free for all to pass to and fro: and I expressed my conviction, that the whole of the country under his government would soon be in the same happy condi- tion. Ay,” replied the Prince, “I have been here only a few days. I had great difficulty in getting here at all. My artillery-horses died of fatigue, the guns got fast frozen up in the snow, and the men could scarcely extricate them; we all worked alike, and many men lost their feet and hands; but by the mercy of God, here we are, and, Alhumdulillah, we have done something. The country was, as you say, in a sad state; but I caught some dozens of the rogues and punished them; but how, do you think? I did not put their eyes out—that's a bad and useless plan—we have had too much of it here already ; no, I did as the Russians do -- put them in chains--that is a much better way. What is a man good for when he is blind? These can be made to work. So I put half-a-dozen to death, and put the rest in chains. My people were all astonished when I ordered so many irons to be made ; they could RUINOUS ASPECT OF THE PLACE. 193 not imagine what I was going to do with them; but it was a good thought—it will frighten others. Per- sians must be frightened !” Thus did he rattle on at score for a considerable while, keeping my faculties on the stretch, for his Royal Highness has something of the family failing of speaking thick and fast, so that I could not always follow what he said : and at last I thought it best, though contrary to strict etiquette, to make a move to retire, upon which, he gave me my leave with great courtesy. He is one of the least well-looking of his handsome family, but bears, I believe, a fair character as a man, and a good one as a soldier. The weather during the whole day was in the highest degree tempestuous and rough. A constant pour of rain or fall of snow, driven by a furious wind. I never saw anything look more grand and awful than the Besittoon mountains, glooming dark- ly as they did in the storm. Luckily for my dress- coat and cloak, the way led almost entirely through covered bazaars, so that, except where they were ruinous, we had shelter the whole way from the caravanserai to the Palace-square. These gaps, it is true, occurred frequently; nearly half of the whole way was in ruins or empty, and few places had any appearance of prosperity. How, indeed, could they ? Till within these three or four months, the place has been constantly ravaged by the plague, which clung to it for three years uninterruptedly, and carried off nine-tenths of the inhabitants. The first object we observed on approaching the place, was an extent of acres, absolutely, of fresh graves — that is, all within VOL. II. 194 GRAVES AND ROOFLESS' WALLS. these two years. The next were the roofless walls of the houses whose inhabitants now tenanted these graves. The gate of the town itself was fallen in, so as scarcely to leave a passage for our horses, and we rode along almost entirely through ruins to the caravanserai, where we put up. Darkness on the first night, and storm on the succeeding day, hid the rest of the city from our view ; but I fear the gene- ral aspect of Kermanshah will not bear out the pleas- ing impressions which, even in its winter garb, a first, but distant view gave rise to. 195 LETTER IX. Discomforts of Persian Cities in Rain or Snow.—Leave Kermanshah. -Besittoon and its Antiquities.—Inconvenient Hospitality.- Lose our Road.-Snow and Ice.--Prospect of Starvation.- Averted by a strong measure.— Temple of Diana at Kengaver. --Seyedabad.—Cold Lodgings.—Uncomfortable Anticipations.- Pass of Seyedabad.-An awkward Rencounter.-Fray the se- cond.-Seyeds and Hadjees.-Reach Hamadan.--Comfortless Caravanserai.—Parting with Servants.- Visit to the Tomb of Esther at Hamadan. FEBRUARY 6.—The night set in dubiously after the storm of the day, and it was blast and lull till midnight, when a fall of rain set in, which threat- ened to put a stop to our intended movements this day; it literally roared on the roof and court of the caravanserai. Towards daylight, however, it abated, and about six, when I looked forth from my cell, it was fair, although huge ragged masses of white clouds flitting past overhead, gave no good hope of its long continuing so. Indeed, my servants appeared to have made up their minds to remaining this day, so that it was a matter of some difficulty to get them to move in earnest. Great activity was on this occasion of less consequence, as I was still forced to wait for letters promised the preceding night by o 2 196 A PERSIAN CITY IN SNOW. the prince and his minister, and which had not yet arrived. I must do his Royal Highness the justice to say, that his were the first that did come, and that the minister, or rather his secretary, who had neglected his master's orders, had to be called out of bed to get the others ready. They did reach us, however, and the guide sent us by Solymaun Khan Gourân, had also made his appearance, so that a little after eight we were clear of the gates of Ker- manshah. Our way to them lay through a ruined bazaar and many lanes of ruinous houses, and we overlooked others in like condition beneath us. And, oh! for the misery and dirt, and discomfort of a Persian city in rain or snow; the streets knee- deep in mud, torrents pouring down from every house; heaps of snow, six to ten feet in height, over which, both horse and foot-passengers must climb at the risk of slipping down into the gulf of mud at their feet, or toppling over the wall of some dwell- ing, overlooked by the snowy mountain on which they tread. The sky black and louring, or pouring out its contents in addition to the other disagree- ables. The bazaars half open, the owners of the shops cowering at the doors of their cells, and shiver- ing over a pot of charcoal in their sheep-skin clothes, passengers soaked and steaming as they go along- you are literally drowned in discomforts. Then within doors, matters are little better-all is wet and cold and dirt. Those who can stay at home sit in darkness with closed windows, over a Menkal, or huddle in with their women round a courcy. In short, all comfort seems suspended, except in the BESITTOON. 197 ot yet Listice and had ut of US , Shan at & her- ned we us. of ee er at houses of the great, who can afford plenty of fire-. wood, and have glazed windows in their khelwuts and principal rooms; and even in their mansions all beyond the apartments of the master himself is as bad as in other places. It was through scenes like these that we paddled this morning. And yet, in spite of present wretched- ness, I hold to my first opinion, that Kermanshah in its prosperous days must have been one of the most pleasing as well as picturesque cities in Persia. Even when we cleared the walls we were not much better off, for we got into a wide field of mud, where our horses sunk at every step over the pasterns, and sometimes over the knees. Nor did the road im- prove all the way to Besittoon. This lofty rock, which appears to overhang Kermanshah itself, de- ceives every one in regard to its distance from the city. Had I been told that the caravanserai at its foot was twelve miles from its gates, I should have disbelieved the report; yet it took us just six hours to reach it; and, as we must on an average have exceeded three miles and a quarter per hour, it must be from twenty-one to twenty-two miles of real distance. On passing the foot of this celebrated rock I took a glance at the antiquities of Besittoon; but these have so often been described that I shall not detain you with a long account of them. They consist of three principal objects; the large artificial scarp on the face of the rock, from which some persons con- tend the place must have derived its name of Be-Sit- toon—that is, “without pillars,"-next the compara- at -1. ch to he T- 'S, 1 it r 0 198 ANTIQUITIES OF BESITTOON. are so. . tively small tablet, containing, I think, fourteen figures, surrounded by several other tablets, bearing a good deal of arrow-headed inscription; and, thirdly, an arch, or Tåk, now bearing a Persian, or Arabic in- scription, and surrounded by several figures, much effaced. Of these three, the two former are assured- ly the most remarkable, indeed, the only ones that The first is chiefly worthy of attention for the magnitude of the artist's purpose. It is a vast surface of rock supposed to have been artificially cleared, cut, and partly smoothed ; and the fact of its having been done by the hand of man is not doubtful, because there are marks of the instruments, like traces by a gigantic chisel, to be seen all over the cleared surface, and because of the fragments below, which have apparently been hewn from it. Besides, there is a curious passage running along the top, eighty feet from the ground, which, beyond all question, is artificial. That this surface was intended to bear the repre- sentation of some great national event, such as the sculptures at Shahpore and Nakshee Rustum, is most probable; but, in all likelihood, the artist or the sovereign, lived not to complete his design, for there is only one human face, and that rudely, outlined, to be discovered in this whole work. Several insulated fragments that may have been intended to be formed into figures, are to be detected on certain promi- nences both above and below, but nothing that can lead to an idea of the artist's intentions. Beneath lie a number of large blocks of stone, partially or wholly squared, as it would seem, with the same gigantic SASSANIAN AND BABYLONIAN ERAS. 199 chisel, and scattered all the way from the base of the rock to the road. Some of the smallest of these have been used as grave-stones in the cemetery of the neighbouring village. This monument of anti- quity would appear to belong to the Sassanian era. The second ; that is to say, the tablet of fourteen figures, may with fully more certainty be referred to the Persepolitan and Babylonian era: or that when the arrow-headed character was in use, whenever that may have been. This is as clear from the dress of the figures and the style of the sculpture, as from the writing itself. To what. subject of history it relates, can probably be ascertained only when the arrow-headed characters are deciphered and the language they express shall be translated ; and he who shall endure the labour and exert the patience requisite to copy the voluminous inscriptions which fill the tablets around these figures, will, with a view to such deciphering, undoubtedly render equal ser- vice to the world of letters and to antiquarian re- search. Sir Robert Kerr Porter, in his drawing, appears to me to have rendered with great fidelity the spirit and character of this piece of sculpture, but certainly the drawing conveys to one who has not seen the ori- ginal, the idea of far greater magnitude than the truth. The tablet is placed far above any point which can be reached, in an odd angle of the rock, and does not, I should think, exceed nine or ten feet in length; nor do the figures appear above two feet in height. I came to this conclusion after examining the tablet from below, with a good telescope ; but its power 200 INCONVENIENT HOSPITALITY. would not have enabled me to copy the writing with accuracy. The third-mentioned work is undoubtedly Sassa- nian, and probably of the age of Khosroo, though much defaced. The barbarism of effacing the in- scription of an ancient tablet to make room for a modern Arabic one, need create no surprise when we see the still more wanton defacements committed by the propagators of Islam, in all cases where they met with any work of art not Moslem. After a rapid examination of these antiquities we proceeded about three miles further, and partly out of the direct road, to a village of Solymaun Khan Gourâns, where the guide furnished by that chief insisted on making us his master's guests. By this unwished-for exertion of hospitality, we were forced to leave a comfortable caravanserai, where the accom- modations were at least ample and convenient after their fashion, in order to put a whole village in a fright and uproar, turn the Ketkodah's house up- side down, and his women fairly out of it, and take up most indifferent quarters for ourselves and horses ; such is generally the value of mehmandaree in Persia, even where best meant. The houses of the peasants in these parts are far ruder and less snug than any I have seen in other parts of Persia. They have no fireplaces, and are generally heated by a courcy, or a tendoor, in the floor, and which serves as well to bake bread as to warm the inmates of the habitation ; but as there are no chimneys, the smoke finds its way (as in some other parts of the world) through holes left in the roof and COMFORTLESS QUARTERS. 201 sides for the purpose of admitting light and air. These can be but imperfectly stopped by a stone or a clod, or anything that comes to hand, and the smoke appears monstrously unwilling to trust itself to such passages, so that they answer neither purpose well—so the inhabitants have just their choice of starving of cold, or suffocation by smoke; and it is wonderful how well they endure the last alternative without the usual consequences. As for me, after for some time submitting to the effects of the acrid fumes, I found it would neither do for lungs nor eyes; so I was forced to huddle on whatever I could muster of clothes, and bear the cold rather than blindness or being stifled ; and I assure you the cold was no joke this night, for scarcely had I crept into my nest, which I did sooner than usual, to escape it, than on came such a tempest of snow and wind and rain as I verily thought would have carried away the roof at least, of our lowly dwelling. My bed was well drenched by showers from the aforesaid holes, and the place was altogether so comfortless from the dust as well as the wet that drifted about in its interior, that if a light could have been kept in, I should have been tempted to get up and nestle under my cloak in some less exposed corner than where I lay ; but that was impossible, and the night passed off as all nights do in a given number of hours ; at six in the morning, however, the storm was as violent as ever, and for a while we had before us the pleasant pro- spect of another day and night in our seducing quarters. About eight o'clock, however, the clouds broke and the sun shone forth, and, though the wind 202 FORD A RIVER. continued high, it was in our backs; and, all things considered, I resolved to take my chance of getting on were it only to Saheneh, a large village three fur- sungs further upon our road—so, about nine we were loaded, and off we set. The day improved rather than otherwise, so that we resolved to continue our course four fursungs further, to Kengaver; but we had to commence the day's jour- ney by fording up to the saddle flaps a broad and rapid stream, and the mud for most part of the way was so deep, that it was full half-past one when we entered Saheneh. The stream we crossed takes its rise in the mountains, north of the plain of Choochoo- lân, where our last night's lodging was situated, and, being joined by the Gamechoo, or Gaumesoo, from Nahawund, they both unite with the Karasoo, some fursungs below Kermanshah. This river, which rises in the mountains between Kermanshah and Sennah of Ardelân, and which is crossed near the former city by a good old bridge, runs through Lou- ristan and becomes the Karasoo, or Kerkha that flows by the ancient Susa and enters the Shât-ul- Arab below Koorpa. On our way to Saheneh we met a number of our old friends, the Mookree Koords, from Souje- Bulâgh, who, at the call of the Prince, were repair- ing to Kermanshah. Amongst them was mine host of the village of Beirâm, first stage from Souje- Bulâgh, who recognised me, though I did not re- member him. They were to be sent, I understood, towards Shustee, on some duty connected with the pacification of the province of Kuzistân, and I own LOSE OUR ROAD. 203 I did not envy them their journey. They were well-fenced, it is true, in the rough hairy Merghooz abbas, and were no doubt accustomed to endure cold ; but any military movement at such a season must be attended with great suffering. The way to Saheneh lay through a fertile plain, or rather succession of plains, which, at this season, are notorious for the depth of the roads, and in summer for clouds of musquittoes. The village it- self is a large one, surrounded with gardens, and is a regular caravan stage, so that our guide never thought we would dream of going further this day. But I had only one object, that of getting on, and that was by no means to be attained by journeys of three fursungs; so learning that the road was a plain one, and less encumbered with mud, and some of my own people professing to be perfect guides, on the way, I dismissed my Gourân guide, who was to go no further, and pushed on at once for Kengaver, four fursungs further on. The road did indeed become harder, but we had not proceeded far when I observed one of my best mules to be dead lame, and, in the next place, we soon came to deep snow, which increased so much in the way as to make me rather doubtful of reaching our stage before dark. To add to our perplexity the path divided, and none of my promising guides could tell which was the one to take. Accordingly we took the wrong one, and lost nearly an hour in regaining the right track, by a perilous short cut across a valley filled with snow, and with several deep water-courses, in which my mules fairly stuck 204 EMBARRASSMENTS. fast. Even after we did effect our passage, the wind drifted the snow so fast, that I feared the whole caravan track would be obliterated and leave us in the lurch before dark. In short, it was my old work of the pass of Deha and the Khazlee-Goul, over again. We cleared the height of the pass, however, just as the sun set, and went on in full confidence; but, as it fell dark, the ground became so spotted with black and white patches that we again lost our way while four or five miles from our munzil, and got adrift in a villanous maze of water-courses, and landed in a swamp. Had the frost been less intense, this would have fairly baffled us; but the ice was strong, as we discovered, and nothing remained but to make a bold push across a large sheet of frozen water, for it turned out that there was also a river here, with an old broken bridge, near which was a ford. For this we shaped our course, and, thank Heaven, reached the shallow water before the ice broke: had any of our beasts gone through they must have been lost. seem trivial evils, but they are effectual obstacles to a traveller, and no pleasant things to encounter in a cold winter's night, and in a strange country, where not one of us knew whither to go for aid, in any extremity that might occur. Once passed the ford, however, we got on bravely, and about eight o'clock our eyes were gladdened by a sight of the poplar trees of the village gardens, relieved against the clear sky; but our trials were not yet at an end. In the first place the gates were shut, and These may VALUE OF IMPUDENCE. 205 our hallooing and shouting being, for a long time, unanswered, we had the pleasant prospect of still passing the night sub diu; but at length our out- cries awakened one inhabitant, who had the charity to arouse the gate-keeper, and after half an hour's more delay, we were admitted. Still, however, lodgings were to be sought; and, to our discomfiture, we learned that not one of the many caravanserais had room to receive us. But here the bullying inso- lence of my Persian servants, though so often pro- ductive of annoyance, turned to account; for, re- solving not to sleep in the open air, they ferretted out a small hospitium, which was full of muleteers and ass-drivers, with their beasts and goods, got hold of the owner, made him open the doors, and by fair means or foul, a soft word, and a hard blow, by lies, or by truths, Heaven knows how, they ab- solutely turned the whole set into the street, grum- bling and mumbling, but not daring to resist with force; and in we marched, securing thus not only the lodging, but the reversion of an exceedingly respectable fire, around which the poor fellows had been sitting, and which to us, chilled as we were, was the most comfortable thing we could have stumbled upon. It was a most atrocious proceed- ing, but one which I could as little prevent as ap- prove, for it took place whilst I was sitting on horse- back, waiting what I innocently believed to be a negotiation with the men to pack closer, and thus make room to receive us. In fact, my fellows, suspecting certain scruples of conscience on my part, took care I should know nothing of what was 206 TEMPLE OF DIANA. going on, till all was accomplished; and then what could I say? It was the only alternative between us and starvation, while our ejected precursors got pigged some into one place, some into another, for the night, so that all was soon right. For the assistance given to my people by the Khânchee, in this affair, I had to pay the enormous sum of four shillings sterling, but the rogue took his profit out of me in the price charged by him for corn and straw. On awaking next morning (the 8th February) and looking out from our sleeping-place, the first object that struck my view was the remains of a Roman temple, for which this place is celebrated among European travellers, and which is supposed to have been dedicated to Diana. There were the lower frustrums of nine columns, standing on some fine solid masonry, all of marble, every slab being of noble dimensions : but the whole had been built up into the wall of an Imaumzadeh, and some private houses of the Goths who reside here. What a barbarism in the eyes of the antiquary! and indeed, it must be confessed, of all who pretend to any taste. I inquired whether there were any more such remains about the village; but the replies I received to this seemingly plain question, were so at variance with each other, that I could not tell what to believe. The only other ruins I ob- served were a few fragments of the wall, and a piece of one of the columns built into another wall, and some fine large squared stones, at some dis- tance, resembling part of a foundation. In fact, BABA KHAN'S CIVILITY. 207 everything was so covered with snow and rub- bish, that nothing, except the objects most exposed, could be examined to any good purpose. We had reached the place, and got housed so late, that we were far from alert on the succeeding morning. It was eight o'clock before we got clear of the gates, and had made but little way when I was informed that the governor, Baba Khan, was coming after us to see me. This gentleman is an Affshâr of one of the highest families of that tribe, and brother to Amân-Oolla-Khan, Nassakchee Bashee, and both are on the best terms with the English in Tehran. He complained, good-naturedly, of my not having come at once and taken up my quarters with him on the preceding night, and said he should have expected me rather to remain with him some days than thus to hurry past his house without a word. To all this courtesy I replied, as in duty bound, urging my anxiety to get to Tehran, in excuse for behaving thus to one whom I felt bound to regard as a friend; but offered my services as bearer of anything he might wish to send to his brother. He told me that he was himself proceeding to the capital, and gave me several in- teresting particulars of what had been passing there. Such men as Baba Khan, are worth securing as friends; and the day may come when the good- will of these Affshâr lords might be valuable to those of our countrymen who may be then in the country. We were informed at Kengaver, that for the next stage to Seyedabad, we should find neither snow nor 208 MONOPOLY AND EXTORTION. difficulty; and as it was but five fursungs distant, we expected an easy march. The fact was, that our horses required rest; as, whether from want of care, or being cheated in the quantity of their food by the Jeloudar-a common custom with Persian servants, or from the very wretched condition of the roads, or all these causes together, the whole cattle were fall- ing off, and I was forced to curtail my journey, far more than my anxiety to reach the capital would have otherwise led me to do. Had roads and wea- ther permitted, I should have made but one stage from Kengaver to Hamadan; but as we advanced, the snow became so deep, in spite of what we had been told, that to proceed beyond Seyedabad would have been madness. So having waded through a great field of mingled snow and ice, about half-past three, we came-to at the house of a person at Seyed- abad, who, as usual, solicited the honour of our com- pany, that he might fleece us at his convenience; but so exorbitant was the charge he made for barley and straw, that I sent a man to Kelb Allee Khan, naib of the governor, who was absent, to represent the im- position which his townsman was attempting to prac- tise on a stranger. But I found that this very naib had sold to our host a monopoly of the bazaar; thus not only authorising, but forcing him to squeeze to the utmost, all travellers coming that way. In ef- fect, we found that no person in the bazaar would dare to sell us anything, and we consequently were forced to submit to the extortion of our rascally host. This, truly, is the way to encourage trade and pro- mote general prosperity. In fact, the naib and he COLD QUARTERS. 209 were partners in the booty, and the former was so complete a brute, that it was impossible to have any communication with him; so we paid the money, and contented ourselves with assuring him of a sharp complaint against his dealings to the Khan, his mas- ter, at Tehran, To add to our good humour, we never had more uncomfortable lodgings. lodgings. The room was open to the four winds of heaven, and the fuel being wet, gave forth more smoke than heat. Dirt and vermin abounded; everything we touched was frozen, and the cold penetrated through all our coverings, so that even bed, my usual resource, was no sufficient refuge, for if I turned from one spot which had become comparatively warm, all was ice again. There was an inveterate damp in the floor that struck upwards through numud and carpet and all with a death-like cold ; and I am convinced, had I not been on a journey, when nothing seems to hurt me, the effect would doubtless have been serious. Nor did the night pass without its anxieties as well as its discomforts. There is a lofty and difficult pass across a shoulder of the great Elwund moun- tain, in the course of our morrow's march, which at this season is very dangerous, and occasionally proves fatal to travellers. While taking my bit of dinner, information was brought, that certain mule- teers, coming from Hamadan across this pass, had been caught in the booraun, or whirlwind of snow and drift, and had been obliged to throw down their loads on the snow; and leaving them, to run down the mountain themselves for fear of being over- VOL. II. P 210 CAUSES OF ANXIETY. whelmed. With us the day had been comparatively calm ; but no one can judge of what may be passing in those aërial regions from the state of the weather below; and it was obvious from this account of things, that difficulty at least, if not danger, was to be apprehended in the passage of the morrow. To complete my uneasiness, the night set in thick and dirty, so that we all went to sleep in a rather appre- hensive mood. Early on the morning of the 9th, on peeping from my lair, I observed the sky quite overcast, with every appearance of a fall of snow. I ordered the mules to be loaded, nevertheless; but before this was completed, the snow came down in earnest, and I was beginning to doubt what had best be done, for though the air was mild (too mild, indeed) below, there was no saying what might be going on in the Alpine regions above us, and too well did I know the freaks that are often played there when all is calm in the plains—when I learned that a chupper, or messenger, from Hamadan had actually arrived in the course of the night, and reported the pass practi- cable. Just as this was told me, a man of Baba- khan's, who had joined us the evening before, came to tell us that several cattle and people had already started, so that the way would be clear for us, as we should have the advantage of their tracks. These muleteers being the best guides and assistants we could have, I resolved to follow them, hoping that we might be favoured with two or three hours of calm weather, which, in spite of snow, would see us over the crest of the mountain. “Tuwukkeh-be-kho- 212 THE DESCENT. snow, and mist, before two hours more had passed we reached the top—that was one point gained ; but in these geddvoks, as such passes are called in Turkish, it is not the weather, but the lee side, that is most dangerous; for the snow blown from the high cliffs settles down in the hollows and fills them up to many yards of depth, overwhelming everything that happens to be in the way. So it proved in this case; no sooner did we leave the bare crest, than down we plunged into a snow-wreath up to the girths. The traces of our friends in front were still discernible, and they appeared to have had a de- sperate struggle ; nor was ours a less severe one. It was a taste of Deha, and of the still more formid- able Casleegeul, near Bayazeed; but at length we floundered through the worst of it, and then it was a slide and a scramble, and a roll and a tumble down a steep plain of snow, in a sort of trough made by our predecessors. This sort of sprawling work lasted for some two hundred yards, the mules picking their way with admirable sagacity, and we bipeds leading each man his horse, which it was no easy matter to keep from floundering over him; twice had mine his hoof upon my leg, mercifully without injuring it. In truth, as the Persians say “ Khoda Ruhm- kerd ust !” (God had mercy upon us in all ways;) for we got down the most difficult part of the descent without any more severe struggling; and, in fact, considering the place, with wonderful facility. To- wards the bottom of the geddook, we found the unhappy muleteers, who had been terrified into INCONVENIENT MEETINGS. 213 leaving their loads yesterday, now reloading their beasts in order to ascend : and certainly I did not envy them their job in prospect, although our own, still remaining, was no slight one; for the geddook terminated, as these passes generally do, in a ravine, at the bottom of which, at other times, goes the road, but which was now filled with snow, and we had to keep high on the bare parts of the hill, having every now and then to plunge into hollows of snow, through which the beasts struggled with infinite toil. We were picking our way along this dubious road, as best we might, when an incident occurred which was like to have proved serious in its con- sequences. You will easily comprehend that in these narrow tracks made by caravans in snow, it is always disagreeable, and often dangerous to meet with another party proceeding the contrary way. Cross one another you must; jostling sends both parties into the ditch, and the party forced to give way has generally to pick some of his floundering beasts out of the deep snow, and to reload them; so that the question of who shall give way is frequently settled by blows, in which case the weaker party comes, of course, by the worst. When both leaders are reasonable old stagers, the matter is commonly arranged by a little pre- fatory shouting and hollowing, which leads to an understanding that one party shall draw aside, wherever the ground suits best, that is in a spot, if such be found, where the snow is shallow, and where they stand till the others pass; and when 214 A RENCOUNTER. such a spot is not to be found, it becomes difficult to manage matters quietly, however placable the dis- positions on both sides, Now it so happened that two persons, whom I afterwards understood were Sultauns, or captains of artillery at Tabreez, followed by some five or six mules and servants, met us in a place where the snow lay very deep. The leaders stood to one side to give us the road, and I was conversing with them and asking the news from Tehran, from whence they had just come, when an uproar was heard in the rear, in which the voice of one of my servants, vociferating to the rest for help, was especially audible. On looking round I saw one of my mules upset in the snow, with its load under its belly, and a sort of row and skirmishing around it. Another cry told us that the strangers had assaulted one of the maters (or grooms) and were beating him, and he called out lustily for assistance. I turned to the person with whom I had been conversing, and requested him to call off his people. « Oh, never mind them," said he, “it is nothing worth your attention—what is it?—it is past.” But I thought otherwise, and so did the complainant whose cries continued, so I spurred as quickly as I could to the spot, and found one of my servants still struggling with one of the strangers, who, the rest declared, had struck the first blow. Three of my people had by this time come up, and the other party, now finding themselves likely to be the weaker, tried to back out of the scrape by excuses and soothing words, admitting that their com- A FRAY. 215 ult to dis tains e or here one sing Tom was was ine er ad rade had been to blaine, and entreating us to pardon him, at the same time keeping fast hold of my head mater, Jaffer, (the hero of the conflict near the Shôl caravanserai,) who, brandishing his long heavy club, had taken on himself the office of champion, and was making furiously at the culprit, who, being now thoroughly frightened, was, I be- lieve, adding his own apologies to the rest, when the other two of my servants, making in with their sticks, put an end to all negotiation by a storm of blows. There was now a general mélée. The men who had hold of Jaffer let their grasp, in order to defend themselves, while he, thus released, fetched one downright stroke at the fellow's head, which floored him like an ox in the shambles, and down he went amongst the snow with two or three others on top of him, all struggling together. As for my- self, so deep and treacherous was the snow, and so rapidly did all this pass, that I could not get up to part the combatants till after many a severe blow had been given and received, and I very nearly came in for the “ redding strake,” in attempting to interfere. At length, by dint of hands and lungs, I did get them asunder, quite unassisted by the two gallant captains, who maintained the same in- difference as at first; and the poor wretch who had caused the uproar, rose slowly from his snowy and gory” bed, bleeding plentifully at the head; and I feared that Jaffer's mark was likely to be serious. It turned out, however, to be but a bloody nose after all, for the blow had alighted upon that feature, I suppose, and had, to be sure, sadly mal- ad ere le . mit at 23 IS į of now E 216 AN INJURED FEATURE. treated it. He was a portentous figure; no second- rate lad of the “ fancy," just turned out of the hands of a Crib or a Belcher, could have showed a better mauled countenance. “ The very mother that him bore, Would not have known her son !" I dare say, had he come with such a face; and he appealed to me in very moving fashion, casting up the injured visage, at the same time, in proof of the ill-usage he had met with. All I could say, how- ever, was that he had brought the infliction on himself by striking first, and offering him the very excellent advice, to be less ready in future with his weapons. Strong symptoms of pugnacity appeared on both sides, even after the fray had been quelled, and while refitting damages, especially among my own fellows, who thought themselves the stronger ; and one of the others, a topechee, or artilleryman, put his hand to a pistol in his waist-belt, in a threatening manner; but I quietly hinted to him that he had better let that game alone, as more than he could play at it, for I had two somewhat more efficient weapons, of the same sort, quite ready for service, on which he drew in his horns, begged my pardon, and retreated; yet I found it prudent to remain upon the ground till the two parties had quite disentangled themselves, and were out of reach of each other's hands or ears. Scarcely had I got rid of these, and was walking on, leading my own horse and driving a loaded mule A CONVINCING ARGUMENT. 217 cond the owed dhe up the OW 01 ery This th nd before me, in front of all the party but one (the champion Jaffer) when, at the turning of a rock, we encountered another group, consisting of two green- turbaned gentry, Seyeds, no doubt, and Hadjees as they called themselves, with two or three other men leading their baggage mules. They contrived to pass Jaffer well enough, and one of them got clear of me without damage given or received; but the next in turn, in his zeal for his reverend master, took the halter of the mule I was driving and whisk- ed the animal right round into the snow below the road, where it sunk at once up to its load, and reply- ing at the same time to my remonstrances, “Never fear! never fear!” Not a little nettled, I snatched the halter out of the fellow's hand, hitting him at the same time a rap over the face with a little switch I carried. What reply he might have made to this practical rebuke I know not; for his words and actions were both cut short by the bludgeon of the ready Jaffer, which laid him sprawling before me. This was a check so much more severe than I desired, that I turned upon the excited Jaffer ; who, however, could scarcely be kept from his victim, on whom he stood glaring like a bull-dog, torn by force from the throat of his antagonist, while the unlucky wight, getting up, commenced a world of apologies, extorted by fear of a repetition of the dose, and murmured something about Hadjees and Seyeds, by way of excuse. “With the Hadjee or Seyed,” replied I, “I have nothing whatever to do; let them pass on their way and I will go on mine; but what possessed you to touch another person's I'; EN, à re at at ch e COMFORTLESS LODGINGS. 219 kerd said int; No; tect PIPE low orts his ad bre -I he 7- MI procured. During the latter part of our ride, it had been piercing cold; we were wet with snow and water up to the knees; and the clouds which had congregated on the top of Elwund, sent down every now and then blasts as fierce and icy as ever came from Kâf, and threatening to terminate in something more serious still. Nor was it long ere these threats were fulfilled; for scarce had darkness closed in when with it came a snow-storm that before morn- ing left a foot of additional depth on the ground. It continued the whole of next day, and heartily did we rejoice and thank Heaven, not only for our pre- servation through the dangerous pass of this day's march, but also for having emboldened us to ven- ture; for the geddook would, after this night, have become impassable, nor could any one dare attempt it until opened by a caravan strong enough to force the pass in safety. I look, I assure you, for your sympathy in my situation here. You know my antipathy to cold. Figure me, therefore, to yourself, seated in a cell of brickwork, burnt black with the smoke of my pre- decessors, and from nine to ten feet square; the side by which entrance is gained being closed by a win- dow of wood-work which, when lowered, excludes light but not wind, leaving to the inmate the choice of sitting in cold and darkness, or in cold alone. Conceive me seated on my felt carpet, wrapped in every covering I can muster, all insufficient to serve the purpose of retaining vital heat, and submitting, as the only alternative against starvation, to sit over a pan of lighted charcoal, at the expense of a severe at be ht es, ed ES et d 1 220 AN UNPLEASANT DUTY. headach, and, for pastime, gazing out upon a pile of snow as high as the window of my cell, a narrow passage being cut between to permit of egress and ingress. Imagine two days spent thus, eyeing the constantly falling snow during the whole of the first, and looking with longing eyes at the glimpses of sun- shine that invited me out on the second, whilst the world of snow, that now lay everywhere and on everything, denied all exit. In fact, all my resting- places since leaving Baghdad, have been of the most comfortless description ; and such must be the case in all winter journeys in these parts, unless a man travels with far greater means and appliances, and time at his command than I have. These, again, have their inconveniences; for they impede progress : so let those who can, during such seasons, stay at home. On the day succeeding my arrival I had an un- pleasant duty to perform. Satisfied from the ap- pearance of my horses, and from inquiry instituted in consequence, that my jeloodar had been playing me and them false in the matter of provender, I transferred the charge of purchasing supplies for the horses to another servant, intending to see it admi- nistered to them myself. This day the jeloodar came and asked for his leave-being degraded, he said, he could no longer serve me; so I paid him his wages, treated him to a lecture and a curtailed pre- sent, and dismissed him. Yet it was not without pain : that he cheated me I was certain, and the fact once being notorious, I could not have retained him; but he was a respectful servant, and, though his DELIGHTS OF SNOW. 221 flattery was too gross to be agreeable, the appearance of good will and zeal which it produced was not without its effect. Add to this, we had been nearly seven months together in sickness and health, in danger and difficulty, in labour and toil,—and how can one part, even from an animal which has been one's companion in a long and harassing journey, without a pang ? On the afternoon of the second day, after seeing all my horses and mules newly shod, and completing all my little arrangements, from very weariness of spirit, I resolved to go forth at all events, to pass an hour away, and as, among the antiquities of Hama- dan, the tomb of Mordecai and Esther is pre-emi- nent, I paddled through the snow to see it. Our way lay through a succession of streets, and bazaars, and caravanserais, and passages, all choked with snow, which lay piled in hillocks as high as the house-tops, from whence much of it had been thrown. Passages between these mountains and the houses, scarcely sufficient to admit two persons to cross, had, in some places, been cut; but, in others, the passengers had to scramble over them the best way they could; and all horses and mules were forced to do so, at the risk of sinking into and sticking in their substance, which many do, till help is brought and the animals are dug out. In the covered bazaars, which were dripping with wet and knee-deep in mud, each mise- rable devil of a shopkeeper sat crouching over his pot of charcoal; yet in spite of the weather there was a considerable number of passengers in their poosteens, , or thick numud cloaks, moving to and fro. As to 222 HAMADAN. among the tomb, I only saw the outside ; the snow had ren- dered it unapproachable, and the Jew moolah, or priest, who keeps it, was torpid with cold. This was the case with more than him. I had a letter to Mahomed Hoossein Khan the Salâr, go- vernor of the place, which I sent on the morning after my arrival; but not one of his people would for a long time carry it in to him. He was in qoorooq, as it is called—that is, in private, and denied to every one, on account of the cold-snug his women. At last, a person who knew my servant, ventured to intrude, and returned with a complimentary message and an invitation to come whenever I liked. I replied to the messenger, that the weather was not fit for paying visits, particu- larly as his Highness's house was at a considerable distance, and that, therefore, I should neither put him nor myself to the annoyance of a visit. With regard to Hamadan I can, as you may conceive, say very little. Internally, it appeared to be like all other Persian cities; perhaps, less ruinous than most. Its bazaars, though mean- looking and ill kept, seem numerous and extensive. There are a great many caravanserais, and much appearance of bustle and trade. As to externals, it is situated at the foot of the vast and noble-looking mountain Elwund - the ancient Mount Orontes, which teems with villages, and has many pleasant recesses, I dare say, in the glens and fissures which furrow its ample bosom. The city itself is surround- ed by a forest of gardens, and its vineyards and HAMADAN. 223 ren ?, ON orchards extend behind it far up the skirts of the mountain. It has no wall; but since the news of the Shah's death, barricado-gates have been placed at the entrance of the principal streets, to guard against any passing or predatory attack. ad a go- ៗ ning puld and ា nug my a me at - e ut 1 S - 224 LETTER X. Leave Hamadan.-Beebeekabad.— Frozen Morass.-Wastes of Snow.-Gaugemnar.-Sore Eyes.-Courcys.Shemereen. Its two Chiefs.— The Secret of how to keep Warm.-Severe Moun- tain March, and Descent into the Plains.—Pleasant Sight of Familiar Objects, and Arrival at Assiaubeg. On the morning of the 12th of February we left Hamadan, after a provoking detention by the usual plagues of Persian travelling-guides, servants, and caravanseraidars. As we looked back at the noble Elwund, now spotlessly white, like a huge Christmas cake, furrowed by numberless hollows, and all su- gared over, I would fain have taken a sketch of its outline and of the position of the city, but the cold was too intense for holding a pencil. Let it be re- membered, that on the plain we now were traversing, water often freezes into a solid mass in the month of August. What then was it likely to be on the 12th of February ? Yet Hamadan boasts of as fine fruit in its season as any in Persia. The plain is very extensive, and well sprinkled with villages, many of which are surrounded with a multitude of gardens and orchards. Our march was one of good thirty miles to Bee- beekabad, having been forced by the quantity of snow to make a detour of about six miles. The A FROZEN MORASS. 225 snow was deep all the way, and about two o clock the cold was heightened by a bitter north wind and keen frost, which made our arrival at our munzil, about five P.M., a matter of great satisfaction, though it was only to the customary enjoyments of cold and smoke, and vermin. Our lodging was in a stable, and I hoped that the heat of the horses would be of use to their masters in tempering the intense cold ; but I cannot say it had much effect; and you may judge of the rigour of our atmosphere within doors, from the fact, that a sparrow which had found its way into the room about dusk, and which had roost- ed upon our baggage, was found frozen to death in the morning. Such is the climate of Hamadan in winter. May Heaven preserve ine from any more such winter journeys ! Anxious to get on, we were early astir. We had an additional motive for alertness to-day; we had to cross a morass, which they told us had been the grave of thousands of mules and camels, and even of horses and men, and which at times in spring is impassable, and in winter, only safe when hard frozen over. We found that a caravan of mules and asses had started at midnight, in order to reach the place before the sun should be high enough to soften the ice which they hoped to find there, and we hurried off with the same purpose. Misguidance and ignorance of the road lost us nearly an hour on starting from the village, and I never before remember on any winter's day being so un- willing to see the face of the sun-so much did we all fear this dread morass. VOL. II. 226 A HALT PER FORCE. There was no need, it seemed. Never was a colder night-never an intenser frost. Some horse- men whom we met, told us we might make our- selves quite easy, for the ice was as strong as a rock. During the whole morning, and more than half the day, did we proceed on foot to keep up vital heat; and so hard was the ice, and so thick the snow, that we scarcely discovered when we passed the dan- gerous morass, or a dull-running river, close by it. Our progress was greatly impeded by the depth of the snow, and the more so, from the track having been worn into steps of ice by the footsteps of pre- vious caravans; and so great was the consequent delay, that although we did everything in our power to urge on our cattle, it was noon—that is, six hours from starting, when we made Zerreh, a small village, which I intended to have passed without halting at. Hearing, however, that our proposed munzil of Gaugemnar was at least as far off as the village we had left, and that, when there, we should probably be able to procure neither corn nor bread, considering also the fatigue our cattle had already undergone, and that two of my mules were lame, I judged it too great a risk to take the chance of arriving chilled and exhausted, after a march of thirteen or fourteen hours, at a place where we might find neither food nor lodging, and very reluc- tantly gave the order to unload and come-to for the night, in lodgings quite similar to those we have of late been used to, in the said village of Zerreh, a miserable ruined place. The price of barley and food was higher than we had yet found it-it cost A MISERABLE NIGHT. 227 was a horse Ee our a rock E, that dan. brit . aving Epre- uert ower SIK mall hout posed Ethe TA something like half-a-crown a-head to feed each of my twelve horses and mules. On inquiring into the cause of this dearth, I was informed that Kelb Allee Khan of Seyedabad, had come here with an army on his way to join the King, and plundered and utterly destroyed this and several other villages in this neighbourhood. Of a truth, I must say they appear to have picked the carcass and left but the dry bones. I think you would laugh if you could see me now as I write this. My room is larger than usual, but that is all the worse. It has two large light-holes, which do not add to its snugness; but it boasts of a fire-place, which enables me to burn wood without being quite smoke-dried, and I have spread my car- pet like a rug close to this fire-place. We are not troubled with fenders or grates. I am blowing at the embers of some vine-stalks and cowering over them--sometimes writing, and sometimes breaking off to warm my fingers. How I wish I were with you now in the snug drawing-room at M_! February 14.-Among many a miserable night and cold lodging, I shall not forget those of the 13th of February, 1835. No appliance, either of fire or covering, could exclude the cold from my sieve-like It was worse almost than being in the open air, for the whole heat of the fire was carried up the chimney by drafts from all quarters, which of course took me in their passage, abstracting all the little caloric my body could generate. Had there been fifty dozen of sparrows instead of one, as last night, they would all have been frozen into a mass. 1 Pady ame, of id room. the ed ܕܐ and Ost Q 2 228 DREARY WASTES OF SNOW, shivered under every covering I could heap on, and though head and all were under the coverlet, my mustachios were covered with ice from the air- hole by which I breathed. When we got on foot by half-past seven,—and how the men contrived to load the beasts, Heaven knows — I had to walk as fast as possible to gather vital heat, and I never suffered so much torture from my hands. I really began to fear that one of them was gone, for a numbness be- gan to succeed the pain. There was a heavy rime or mist arising, I believe, from the bed of some river near, that obscured the sun, and added to the in- tensity of the biting frost. The whole of this stage, which was only between five and six fursungs (though from winding about to avoid bad steps, it was probably a good deal more,) led through very deep snow. The hills looked like huge lumps of sugar through the fog, which sometimes thinned away a little, and added greatly to the vastness and desolation of all around. There is something unspeakably oppressive to the spirits in these long and dreary wastes of snow, which rise day after day, and march after march, in endless succession. We love not to be reminded of our own insignificance, and man never feels so helpless and so little as when his puny arm is opposed by the overwhelming might of the elements. How forlorn and wretched a thing, for instance, does a little boat appear, adrift on the vast ocean! or a solitary being wading through an endless waste of snow! But He who "giveth snow like wool and scattereth his ice like morsels- whose way is in the sea and his path is in the great GAUGEMNAR. 229 POL verlet the air bot be load s fast ffered waters," heareth his creatures when they call upon him in their trouble, and preserves and brings them to their desired haven. In the mean time, however, it is right painful travelling when, to take a liberty with the words of Coleridge, an to time river ve in. ungs uit Fery 5 d ned ness “ The sky and the snow, and the snow and the sky Lie like a load on the weary eye.” The snow had, in fact, laid its load upon my eyes; for, in spite of a black crape shade which I used, the glare from the white and glistening sur- face produced its usual effect of inflammation, an evil that was aggravated by the smoke of our mun- zil, and I was blind for the rest of the day and evening. Short as was the stage, our cattle had a sore time of it; and as the latter part lay among small ravines and inequalities, which were filled with drift, the toil was often doubly severe. In fact, I do not think we should have made it out had we not been preceded by a strong caravan or two, which opened the way for us : but as these caravans, consist entirely of heavy-laden mules and asses, which take short steps, and each of which treads in those of its precursor, the track becomes a succession of deep holes and heights, over which it is very painful for longer-legged animals to walk; so that we paid in one way for the assistance af- forded us in another. We passed Marach, another of the villages plun- dered by Kelb Allee Khan on his march, and reached Gaugempar, which had also suffered, and which is as forbidding a looking place as I have ning har Te ce, as 0! 11 JO h 230 A COURCY. seen, being a square inclosure of four walls, with a tower at each corner, set down in a waste of snow, without a garden or even a tree near it, to give it the aspect of a human abode. It took us in, however, and I got a small room for my lodging, in which, instead of a fire, I resolved to try the courcy, as used by the natives, and had no reason to repent of the experiment. After the dense smoke, at first generated, had cleared away, and the flame had subsided, the hole in the floor was closed by a large flat stone; a frame of wood, forty inches square by eighteen high, was placed over it, and a thick quilted coverlet thrown over that. Beside this, I spread my carpets, and sat with my feet under the carpets, as warm as a pie. It com- municated, besides, a genial heat to the room, which kept the air comfortable; and so long did its effects last, that, in the morning, when I was rising, the space beneath the stool was still quite warm--in fact, it acts like a stove. I little enjoyed my good lodging, however; for the pain of my eyes prevented me from doing anything but sitting with a cloth, dipped in cold water, over them; an ap- plication which greatly relieved them. To my an- noyance of this night, however, were added the tidings that my two mules, which were lame, can go no further, so I am forced to leave them here with my muleteer, to follow at more leisure. Though the morning of the 15th proved cloudy and threatening, we got on foot at seven, and marched through a succession of small ravines and hillocks, and over undulating plains to Shumereen, SHUMEREEN. 231 more. called by the natives but five fursungs distant, (twenty miles,) though we consumed ten hours in going them. I believe the stage to be fully seven fursungs, and with the windings to avoid snow-wreaths, still The wind was in our back and the air comparatively pleasant; a great change from that of yesterday, but a change that scarcely boded us good, for we are yet among the hills, and a heavy fall of snow might effectually stop us for several days. The snow and caravan tracks delayed us much until within two fursungs of our munzil, when the former greatly diminished, and a glance down the valley cheered us, by showing that there was still less below. We had yet to cross a range of hills, however, and accordingly, from the sort of high valley in which we had been travelling, the road struck upwards and ascended among a weary tract of earthy hillocks till about five in the evening, when we came down upon the large village of Shu- mereen. It was full time. The clouds, which had threat- ened us all day, closed in toward dusk, and after a few slight skiffs of snow, one of which we had the benefit of, began to empty their contents in a fall which lasted, without interruption, the whole night. As to lodgings, we are, comparatively speaking, not ill off, and, success to courcys, they are warm A fire was kindled for me when I came in last night, and I am still, eighteen hours after, sitting writing with my feet under the quilt as warm as a toast. I had much pain yesterday from my eyes, but to-day, thank God, by the use of ones. 232 RUSSIAN FUGITIVES. cold water, they are so much better that I can bear to write. It is well for me that I have some occupation; for the snow continues falling with a perseverance which leaves no hope of getting away to-day, and certainly “ idlesse” would not tend to increase the comforts of my present séjour. Last night two Russians, who are domiciliated here, came to see me: they are fugitives from the army of the Caucasus, and had served for some time in the Russian battalion in Abbas Meerza's pay.. They have now turned Mahomedans, taken wives, and settled here, like many of their countrymen who are scattered throughout these parts and the central districts of Persia, having taken refuge from what they consider a more oppressive service - to wit the Russian. They are, for the most, tradespeople, and are encouraged by the Persian men of rank, in whose villages they reside. One of these, who came to me, spoke a little French, and told me he was a shoemaker, and met with good encourage- ment from Reza Koolee Khan, Khallige, chief of this village and district. Poor creatures ! sad must be their situation in their own service, when it induces them to renounce not only religion, but family, friends, and country for ever, and to seek the precarious protection of a Persian Prince or Khan. Here they appeared to be comfortable; but their colour, as well as their cast of features, plainly pointed them out as a very different race from those among whom they dwelt. February 16.---The snow continued falling till late in the day; and even when it ceased, appear- PREVENTIVE AGAINST COLD. 233 I can some with etting iated the time par ires who tral hat sit ne, nk, ho ances gave no good promise for the morrow. The only alleviation to the ennui of my confinement, was a visit from the secretary of Reza Koolee Khan, one of the lords of this district-one, I say, for the chieftainship is disputed by two cousins, who have their different supporters in the two courts, and who both aim at full possession of their petty sovereignty. The Meerza, a sensible man, gave me a deplorable account of the state of matters in the district, both as related to the peasantry, and the military contingent which it supplies; for, in the old king's time, it was on those central districts that his Majesty relied for one part of the élite of his infantry. I suspect the young Shah will have his hands full for a while, in attempting to restore matters to the condition they once were in, and in which his grandfather believed them to remain. During the night, snow continued to fall; and even in the morning the air was heavy and thick enough to cause uneasiness; but hearing that some muleteers had taken the road, and having secured the services of an excellent guide, we got on foot about five in the morning, and commenced ascending a ravine behind the village which leads to the pass. The softness of temperature which attends a fall of snow, gave place, as we increased our altitude, to the cold produced by a keen wind, but fortunately in our backs; and, thanks to the courcy, we had left the village as warm as a pie. Believe me, there can be no greater mistake than to imagine that those who are about to be exposed to cold should avoid the fire previous to going out. There is no preventive he of ast it ult Or mit dy 1 234 CRUELTY TO CHILDREN. to the effects of cold so effectual as a thorough warm- ing before exposure to it. What do the Russians and inhabitants of northern regions do in such cases ? -do they keep away from the fire ? By no means -covered in their warm sheep skins, they sit close to the stove, in an atmosphere at 80°; and then, when need is, out they rush into the open air, which may be at 10° or 15° below zero, with perfect impu- nity. The secret is simple-keep up a stock of heat -keep the blood in circulation without perspiring, and exercise will then enable you to maintain enough of animal heat to defy the blasts you may be expose ed to. Children are very cruelly used in these mat- ters. They are told not to come near the fire before going to walk, because they will be cold-and when they come in, poor little wretches, blue and pinched with the bitter north wind, and often most insuffi- ciently clothed, they are told, “ Don't come near the fire, dears; you will have your hands frost-bit- run about and warm yourselves,”—while papa and mamma and all the big ladies and gentlemen are sit- ting round the blazing grate, absorbing all the heat it gives forth. I remember myself, when a child, being always told : " Don't go to the fire, my dear; you will feel the cold all the more when you do go out ;" and so thus were I and others kept shiver- ing in a corner, instead of absorbing a good stock of heat to set the blood into vigorous motion before being exposed to the sedative effects of the cold. Verily, the big ladies and gentlemen, papas and mam- mas inclusive, have a great deal to answer for, for their inflictions in this way on the poor little folks of the family DESCENT TO THE PLAIN. 235 Scarcely had we gained the heights, when the fresh snow, driven by a violent wind that had sprung up, soon obliterated every track that had previously exist- ed, and left us to pick our way as best we might; so we floundered along at a sad rate, and well it was for us that our guide was both a sure and an able leader. As to his powers of enduring fatigue, they appeared quite indomitable—he ran and jumped away before us, I presume, to show his vigour and keep himself warm; often plumping over head and ears in snow and drift, and thus serving as a beacon by which our loaded mules were saved many a severe struggle, and ourselves the unpleasant work of picking them out of the snow. When we had reached the top of the ascent, our way lay along an interminable narrow plain--a frequent form of ground among these mountains, and which again reminded me unpleasantly of the Cazlee-Geul. This was the most laborious part of our stage; for when we had passed this — which, thank God, we did, without any serious accident—the snow diminished in depth, and, after passing several small gorges and defiles in the Zeraw mountain, we found ourselves in a glen which gradually led us down to the village of Khooshkeh, at its mouth; a good twenty miles from our last night's quarters. A great plain now lay before us; and I need scarcely tell you our delight at observing that, though all the surrounding mountains were covered with snow, the plain itself was altogether free from it, and of a most enticing brown hue. This was the plain of Zerend, a large district comprehending 236 FAMILIAR SCENERY. a number of fine villages, and one of the central ballooks which furnished the late Shah's army. Our way lay across this flat, which, to our addi- tional joy proved to be hard and gravelly, and free from the mud, which experience had told us was often left by the melted snow; and we trotted along - in great comfort another twenty miles to Assiawbeg, one of a cluster of villages belonging to the ballook. We had now entirely changed our climate. No sooner had we cleared the gorge and got out of the immediate influence of snow, than the air became mild and genial : it breathed of spring, and I could see in many places the little crocusses and other bulbs sprouting forth and just breaking the moist earth. But scarcely less pleasant to my eyes was the sight of the great Elbruz chain of mountains all sugar-white as they were ; for they heralded my near approach to the capital, where were my friends and associates, where I should hear of home and relatives, and where, as I trusted, all my anxieties and perplexities were to cease. I recognised several familiar summits -- the noble mountain of Sheme- roon, and those more immediately above the Jajerood river, were pre-eminent—but the grand Demawund had veiled his face in clouds. We found all the villages of this district nearly deserted and utterly despoiled of corn and straw, and almost all the means of sustenance for man and beast. The horses of the Royal Artillery had been quartered here ; and having, like locusts, eaten the place bare, had taken flight to devour another dis- trict. I was concerned to hear that no account had ASSIAWBEG. 237 been taken of the grain and fodder thus seized for the king, and that the villagers despaired even of having it brought to their credit in the settlement of their annual taxes. It is true that I have learned to distrust, in a great measure, the complaints and ex- parte statements of Persian Ryots: I know that there is almost always a contest of finesse between them and their masters - on the one part to conceal, on the other to extort; but the aspect of the villages told too surely a tale that ought not to have been heard at the commencement of a new reign, and which cannot but tend to alienate the minds of men from the young sovereign. Distress, however, had not increased the honesty of the villagers of Assiaw- beg—their charges for all I had of them surpassed even the most exorbitant demands we had yet been subjected to. 238 LETTER XII. Robaut-e-Kereem.-Reach Tehran.--Successful Completion of my Journey.- Aspect of the Capital under its new Master.— Visit to the Sipurdâr and to Count Simonitch.- Members of the Russian Mission. February 19th, Tehran. THANK Heaven! I can once more date from the capital, and from under the roof of countrymen and friends. Dangers and difficulties are, I trust, at an end - fatigue, and discomfort, and cold I may yet have to struggle with; but the assurance that every step made good and every day that goes by lead directly to a re-union with all that is dear and valu- able to me in this world, will make these light. The day before yesterday we crossed the plain of Zerrend, and one or two trifling ranges of moun- tains, a march of good thirty-eight or forty miles, to a village named Robaut-e-Kereem, about twenty-five distant from the capital. It was a fine thing to see the lofty Demawund towering over all the range before us, and growing in size and grandeur at every mile; but some feeling for our wearied cattle forced me to control my own impatience, and induced me to take a few hours' rest at this village. In fact, had our horses been fresher, it would have been easy to reach Tehran before the closing of the gates ARRIVAL AT THE CAPITAL. 239 for the night. We were early on foot, however, and at day-light next morning found ourselves only twelve miles distant from the city. All being now safe, I left the baggage to come up at leisure; and trotting on upon my favourite, the never-failing Gougercheen, reached the British Residency in good time for a capital breakfast, to which I was well disposed to do all manner of justice. You can imagine with what eagerness I drank in the various information which all were ready to afford, and heard of changes, mighty changes, both in England and in Persia ; and still more can you figure the avidity with which I seized on a packet of home letters and devoured their contents..... It was a day of great excitement, and to me, of in- finite comfort and satisfaction. My travels, painful and anxious as they had been, were now terminated. Since the time I quitted this place last year, I had ridden in all seasons and weathers, nearly four thousand miles, through provinces and countries, scarcely one of which was in a state of tranquillity, and where, hardly one night could I lay my head upon my pillow in perfect peace and security. It is gratifying, at least, to reflect that this has been effected without the loss of life or property : that of the men and animals of my party not one has been lost or destroyed, though some of the latter have been sold or left behind from accidental lameness. Nor, if you knew what has happened to others in similar circumstances, would you, perhaps, be dis- posed to charge me with unduly arrogating some credit for conduct and management in these mat- 240 EFFECTS OF RASHNESS. ters; for instance, I may mention a fact which came to my knowledge since, of a large caravan on the way from Kermanshah to Hamadan having been plundered and many on both sides killed, by the Eeliauts of those districts, but three days before I passed the same road. They suffered chiefly from not listening to proper advice and honest warnings ; and in another quarter, that an Englishman of the name of Tod had been murdered by the Buchtiaree robbers, on his way from Ispahan to Sheerauz, whither he insisted on proceeding, contrary to all advice, and knowing the road to be beset. Assured- ly, I render, as is most due, my most grateful thanks to the Almighty for the protection he has vouchsafed to me in all these wanderings; but cer- tainly, had I been more rash than I have been, the result might have been very different. So far then, I hope I have fairly performed the duties with which I was charged; there remains to carry home in safety the fruits of my labour, and that, by the continued blessing of God, I trust to be enabled to do. You will comprehend the desire which I felt to view the capital under its late change of masters, and to mark the traces of a revolution so bloodless and pacific-so unstained with the cruelties which have almost invariably attended the succession of a sovereign in Persia. In fact, so unproductive of dis- aster or disorder had the late change been, that there was little to be seen, and that little was as- suredly of a gratifying character. The bazaars, when you had gained access to them, through the 242 THE KAYMOOKÂM. the untrodden aspect of their deserted gateways gave a significant hint of the altered condition of their owners. On the day after my arrival I had an opportunity of witnessing many signs of the times, in making an attempt to wait upon my old friend the Kaymookảm, now prime minister; and afterwards, in accompany- ing the Envoy on a visit to the Sipahdar, and to Count Simonitch, the ambassador of Russia at this court. The Kaymookâm, you are to understand, is not only prime-minister, but at present, beyond all question, the first man in Persia, not excepting his Majesty himself; for he is in the leading-strings of his Vizier, who owes his exaltation, in my opinion, rather to a fortunate combination of circumstances than to the force of his own abilities. His star has been in the ascendant-his Taaleh, as the Persians have it, has been great. Such a personage at such a period, may well, you will say, be difficult of ap- proach ; and the more so, as he still hugs his old be- setting sin of monopolizing all business in his own person. On this occasion I found he had gone to the King, and of course was not to be seen. From his residence, which had been that of one of the Princes of the blood, and which consists of an interminable series of courts and passages, I went to meet the Envoy at the Sipahdar's. I think I have told you formerly, that this young nobleman was esteemed as one of the most respectable at the court of the late Shah, with whom, both his father and himself were great favourites, although, assuredly, he abused the favour and trust of his master, par- THE SIPAHDAR. 243 ticularly in respect to the army of which he was the commander. The pacific character of the late reign was but too favourable to such practices. The men, seldom called out, and still seldomer paid, were permitted to remain quiescent in their villages, while a small number, eked out as occasion re- quired, by a muster of all the rogues and vagabonds of the capital, represented the large military force of the central districts; the pay of whom went to swell the money-bags of the Sipahdar. The love of accu- mulation, it is well known, increases by indulgence, and I have been assured that this nobleman, re- spectable, and comparatively liberal as he is said to be, has of late years had recourse to the most atrocious oppression to swell his store. Not only is he accused of torturing men and women to extort money, but even of extending his barbarities to widows and orphans. I hope this is exaggerated ; but much, much of disgusting and horrible in this sort, is perpetrated even by those who are regarded as most respectable in Persia. Since the late Shah's death, the Sipahdar who took the prudent part of acquiescence in the suc- cession of Mahomed Meerza to his grandfather, and who came to do homage to the young monarch while on his march to the capital, has remained undisgraced at least, but unemployed, any further than as he is permitted to retain his government and the command, at present only nominal, of the central forces of Irâk. We found him in the lodgings of his great friend and associate, Manoocheher Khan; and though less R 2 RUSSIAN ATTACHÉS. 245 of equally pleasing manners, and a highly cultivated mind, with this special recommendation, that he speaks good English. You may imagine that I had pleasure in meeting such a person; who, though not so handsome and with less animation, put me somewhat in mind of your favourite St-y. Baron Korf, the second Secretary, or attaché, is also a fine young man, lately arrived; he speaks good French, sings an admirable song, and hates Persia cordially. The interpreter, Mr. Khotshkow, a Pole, is, I take it, the chief diplomat of the party, al- though he seems to play an inferior part. He also is a well-informed and intelligent man, though I would not rely on him, in all respects, so securely as on his friends. We were received by Monsieur Le Comte with all possible kindness; and after a conversation, which turned principally on the pre- sent condition of the country and government, and in which the sentiments of both envoys were of one accord, we returned home. 246 LETTER XIII. Some Particulars relative to the late Shah's Death, and the Ac- cession of the young Monarch, Mahomed Shah.--The late King's Journey to Ispahan.-Motives of that Journey.-Its Progress. –His Death.---The Firmaun Firmaee assumes the Ensigns of Royalty.--News of the Shah's Death reach Tabreez.-Extreme Difficulty found by the British Envoy there to rouse the Prince and Kaymookâm to action.--Great Exertions of the Envoy and British Officers.—Extraordinary Conduct of the Persian Autho- rities. The Army marches, the Advance under Sir H. B. Lind- say.-An Army despatched by the Zil-e-Sultaun to oppose the Prince's Progress.Disbands and joins the Prince's Force. His Royal Highness arrives at Tehrân—is crowned King there. - After great delay a Force despatched to subdue the South of Persia.—King's Subjection to the Authority of his Minister. ALTHOUGH I have spared you, in general, the parish business” part of Persian politics, as neither being likely to amuse you, nor always of a descrip- tion to be told, I think you must certainly feel an interest in the revolution which has taken place in the country through which you have accompanied me, and be desirous to learn some of the particulars connected with it. This information there can be no cause for withholding, and the best form I can afford it in is, I think, by giving you the substance of a journal kept by a native, who accompanied his Majesty to Ispahan, and was there at the time 248 MOTIVES TO THE JOURNEY. be disproved by the successful performance of such a journey. Secondly, The increased audacity of the Buchtia- ree mountaineers, who were constantly robbing and plundering caravans and travellers, and who had even dared to seize on a convoy of the royal treasure on its way to Tehrân from Ispahan, be- tween Moorchacoord and Soo. Thirdly (and above all), The insubordinate and contumacious conduct of the princes and governors of distant provinces and districts, who, daily ex- pecting the tidings of the King's death, withheld all tribute and revenue. From Fars alone near 600,000 tomauns (more than 300,000l. sterling) were due, and the total failure of every effort to compel a settlement, convinced the Shah that force alone would bring the Prince to reason, and this he resolved to make use of. Accordingly, in the month of September last (1834), orders were issued to prepare the royal camp, and the king moved out to the Nigaristan to complete his preparations, while at the same time he sent messengers to the Firmaun Firmaee, either to advance to meet the Shah at Ispahan with the full sum due, or prepare for that monarch's ap- pearance in Sheerauz with an army to demand it. A force of thirty thousand horse and foot were accordingly collected, and Allee Nukee Meerza, Imaun Verdee Meerza, Abdoolla, Mabomed, Reza, Suleimaun, Kai-Kobad, Keyomurz, and Saheb Ke- ran Meerzas, were appointed to attend the royal person. Two ladies of the harem, the mother of THE MARCH. 249 such ance. chtia bling Total , ben and THUIS EN. held lear to ce Fath-oolah Meerza, and the Zea-ool-Sultanet, with suitable retinues, were also directed to be in attend- The Taje-u-dowlut (long the reigning fa- vourite) was already at Ispahan. The remainder of the princes, with the royal Harem, under the superintendence of Khosroo Khan, remained in Tehrân, where two thousand serbauz, four guns, and a large body of zumboorukchees, yessawuls, and toffunchees were left to protect the city. On the 14th, Jumåd-ul-Awul, the royal camp, made its first march. The King's Nazir (steward), Ibrahim Khan, not having come up with the royal kitchen, his Majesty was forced to become the guest of Isfundiar Khan and the Moatimud one day, and of the Mazunderan chiefs, another : on the third, the Nazir came up, and was delivered over to the Meer- e-ghuzub (head executioner) to receive five hundred strokes of the bastinado, after which he was conduct- ed to Koom, riding naked upon a camel. At Koom, his majesty halted two days, and visited the tomb which he had ordered to be prepared, and was so soon to fill. Finding it still unfinished, as if anticipating the early period at which it would be required, he ordered it to be forthwith completed. At Shurâb (a stage further on), the disgraced Nazir was received into favour again, and pre- sented with a dress of honour. Ibrahim Khan is brother of the Ameen-u-dowlut (the King's prime minister)! So delighted was the Shah with the Bagh-e-Feen at Cashân, containing a palace of the Suffavian mo- narchs, that he halted there eight days, during which bis 20 th I 2 3 al of 250 ENTRY INTO ISPAHAN. time the whole royal household were entertained at the expense of the Sipahdar, in whose government Cashân is situated. At Cashân he feasted the men- dicants and bestowed a piastre on each. Chuppers from the Firmaun Firmaee, with pre- sents, arrived at Cashân, bringing also excuses for the non-payment of their contingent of revenue, in consequence of alleged insurrections. But the King was not to be deceived, and dismissed the messen- gers with a reply, that the Firmaun Firmaee might please himself in regard to his future movements, as the Shah was now resolved to visit Sheerauz in person. During all this time the King appeared in excellent health, and constantly amused himself with practising at a mark and witnessing exhibitions of wrestling On the 27th the camp moved again, and on the 3rd of next month entered Ispahan, near to which he was met by the whole mass of the population ; and he took up his quarters in the gardens of Saa- dutabad (one of Shah Abbas's palaces) which the Seif-u-dowlut had prepared. Pa-undazes* and pre- sents in plenty were awaiting his Majesty; and, in return, the nobles, Moollahs, and Seyeds of the city, were presented dresses of honour, and received many testimonies of the royal favour. The Shah continued in excellent health and spirits, holding a public Salaam twice a day, and in the even- ing generally riding out to take the air. One day * These are the spreading of rich cloths, shawls, or brocades, on the ground for the King to walk upon when he alights from his horse to enter a palace or house. KING'S DISPLEASURE AT THE PRINCE. 251 iment men: . pre Sfe king ven sure. ents z in din ith of he' entered the city in state, and paid visits' of cere- mony to the Oolemåh and Mooshteheds of the place. Six days after the Shah's arrival, the Firmaun Fir- maee arrived from Fars ; but having deceived the Shah by a promise of the whole arrears being on the way, while only thirteen thousand tomauns ac- tually arrived, the favour with which he had at first been received was changed to high displea- His Majesty dissembled, however, until he had received the thirteen thousand tomauns; but that being safe, he abused the Prince, and threatened him, and finally appointed commissioners to take de- cisive steps for collecting all the arrears, ordering the Prince, meanwhile, to be confined till they should be realized. These commissioners were Meerza Abul Hussein Khan and the Sipahdar. Mahomed Tuckey Meerza made much intercession for his royal highness with the King, but in vain, and at length Ameen-u-dowlut was ordered to proceed to Fars with ten thousand horse and foot, and four guns, for the purpose of set- tling the country, and levying contributions from all districts withholding their assessments, and forcing the Firmaun Firmaee to come to an equitable adjust- ment of the claims against him. A war of extermi- nation was to be waged against all recusants - the country was to be ravaged by fire and sword — the crops destroyed - the villages burned and the cat- tle plundered; and after kella-minárs (pillars, or towers of skulls,) being made of the skulls of the inhabitants wherever plunder had taken place, the survivors, both Eeliauts and cultivators, were to be the ich OD; 12 the 18 in DI its 20 3 M 252 THE SHAH'S INDISPOSITION. borne off captives to Tehran. The Shah having decided on these measures for coercing a settlement, became indifferent to the movements of the Firmaun Firmaee, who set out for the south. On the 14th of the month, the Shah, at the Sa- laam (public audience), after destributing several kheluts of honour, addressed the assembled princes and nobles in these words: “Whoever among you have been by me entrusted with the administration of provinces or districts, towns, or even villages, dis- miss from your minds the crude idea that I am old and unable to exert myself for the purpose of realiz- ing the revenue, for the collection of which I have placed you in your respective commands you shall find that I have vigour enough to enforce payment from every one of you, even to the uttermost far- thing, and whoever presumes to withhold from me my dues, on his head be the consequence !"- Soon, indeed, was the vanity of these words to be demon- strated. The arrangement of full powers or instructions for the guidance of the Ameen-u-dowlut, and prepa- rations for his expedition into Fars, occupied the Shah for a few days, during which he held a Salaam as usual, twice a day, and appeared in his usual health, even amusing himself with riding and shooting at a mark; but on the 17th, in conse- quence, as was supposed, of eating some indiges- tible food (zerneck), he suffered an attack of fever, but so slight as to occasion little apprehension. On the 18th, however, the indisposition increased, and the physicians pronounced that an affection of the HIS DEATH. 253 lungs had also taken place; yet on this day his majesty held his court, as usual, and gave the Ameen-u-dowlut his audience of leave. On the 19th, the Shah, for the first time, did not appear at the Salaam; and during the whole of the day his illness visibly increased. Still, however, he continued to transact business, calling the royal eunuchs on several occasions, and sending them with messages to the different officers of government. When the hour of evening prayer arrived, he tried to raise himself up, and join his hands in the atti- tude of devotion; but the effort was too much-his hands dropped powerless by his side, and he was scarcely able to call out to the Taje-u-dowlut (his favourite wife), the only individual in the apartment: “Place my feet towards the Zibleh !” As her high- ness ran to his assistance he again called out: “Alas! I am gone!” and expired without a groan, a struggle, or even a sigh. Thus, half an hour before sunset, on the 19th day of Jamåd-ul-Sänee, A. H. 1250 (23rd October, 1834), died Futeh Allee Shah, king of Per- sia, in the eightieth lunar year of his age, and for- tieth of his reign. So far my native friend's MS. It was continued for some time longer, and gave an interesting ac- count of the confusion and troubles which immedi- ately succeeded the King's death; but, unfortu- nately, I could obtain no more of it before quitting Persia. The Firmaun Firmaee, immediately on hearing of the event, returned to Ispahan, and taking possession of the crown jewels, assumed the style of King, and was, I believe, crowned by the Ameen-u- 254 INDECISION AT TABREEZ. dowlut, aided and abetted by Hadjee Seyed Maho- med Baukher, the Sheikh-ul-Islam of Ispahan. In the mean time the English Envoy, aware how soon the hour might come when the young heir- apparent would be called on to assert his rights to a vacant throne, lost no opportunity of representing to the Kaymookâm the importance of preparing for ac- tion, and particularly of putting the arsenal into a proper state. Yet notwithstanding all advice, and the obvious and imperative necessity of such mea- sures, nothing would the minister do; and the Envoy at length, as the only means of preventing the consequences he dreaded, actually made ad- vances from his private resources, to set the work- men in the arsenal a-going. It was solely by these means, and by the activity of Sir Henry Bethune Lindsay, and the superintendant of the Ordnance, Mr. Nesbitt, that some progress was made in preparing various sorts of stores and ammunition. It was on the 7th of November, after various fly- ing reports had for some time prevailed, that the Envoy received official information from the Kay- mookâm, of the Shah's decease at Ispahan ; but the knowledge of that event did not appear to awaken any energy in either monarch or minister; and, as the author of the Journal from whom I quote ob- serves, now was the conduct of the Kaymookâm and that of the British Envoy placed in striking contrast to each other. Had the latter not taken the active part he did, not a thousand musket car- tridges would have been ready at this crisis. Again did he represent in the most forcible language the EXERTIONS OF THE BRITISH ENVOY. 255 Jahe. hor heir at. ad ing t. necessity for paying up the troops, and giving money for the carriage of stores, &c.; but even still, the minister would do nothing. “ We have not horses to drag the guns,” said the Kaymookâm to the En- voy, at one of these conversations; "and I have not the means of procuring them.” “ I will give all my horses," said the Envoy, “and every one of the mission-every Englishman will do the same.” “ Allah-il-Allah !” ejaculated the minister ; “but what will you do then ?-you must go with us- you must not stay behind.” “No, we will accom- pany you on foot,” was the Envoy's reply; which produced one of his Excellency's keenest stares, and many “Barikillahs,” but little other effect. Perceiving that no assistance was to be expected from the Kaymookâm, Sir John took his own part at He gave more money for the arsenal, and went there frequently—often three and four times a day, to hasten the preparations. To each artillery- man and foot-soldier he presented from two to three tomauns, and thus not only soothed the troops, who, many of them, were more than half mutinous for want of pay, food, and clothing, being three years in arrears; but by such means, and fair words, got them to consent to march. His exertions, and those of Sir H. Bethune, were really great and un- remitting ; and it was wonderful how much was done in so short a time, and with means so limited. On the 10th November, Sir H. B. Lindsay left Tabreez for Meeana, where the troops were to con- centrate. Fourteen or fifteen guns and one infantry corps, intended to form the advance of the young once. . 7. e 3 256 CONTINUED EXERTIONS OF THE ENGLISH. Shah's army, had previously left Tabreez. Yet, though the Envoy had pressed the necessity of the troops under Colonel Passmore being ordered in im- mediately from Khoee, they did not arrive until the 15th. The Persian authorities, after giving two tomauns a-piece to some Serbanz, declared they had no money. This treatment was not calculated to satisfy any of the men; and had the Envoy not taken the lead now also, in offering money for the emergency, the troops would certainly not have moved from Ta- breez, The Envoy and officers of the mission and detachment went to the Maidaun, and with their own hands paid the men their wages, and spoke to and reasoned with them with so much effect, as to decide numbers of them to follow Sir Henry and the fortunes of their Prince. The fourteen guns which accompanied the force, and which form- ed a most influential part of the expedition, were equipped entirely by the exertions of the Envoy, Sir H. Bethune, Mr. Nesbitt, and the officers of the detachment. In fact, his labour and anxiety conti- nued incessant and unceasing ; for not only could he obtain no assistance whatever from the government anthorities, but the merchants demurred at giving money for bills on India, so that after much nego- tiation he was forced to give bills on Constantinople. On the 16th November, his Majesty, the Kay- mookâm, and all the court, left Tabreez without any intimation to the Envoy of their intentions - without paying or attempting to satisfy the troops, or making any arrangement for the despatch of either SH. PROFFERS OF RUSSIA. 257. Yet of the until jauns DRY. ny of lead the Ta and oke as TY men or stores ; leaving Sir John not only to find money for these exigencies, but to arrange all the details himself, without a single native authority in the town to refer to, or in the Ark, to render as- sistance. Probably, such conduct under similar cir- cumstances, and on such an occasion, is without a parallel; and if left to itself, must have inevitably produced failure and disgrace; but the Envoy of England did his duty by standing up for the in- terests of the Shah, and the credit of his own coun- try, when deserted by both Shah and ministers-and he succeeded. At this time the Russians offered troops to put the Shah upon the throne, without expense or trou- ble, but refused every other species of assistance, and even encouraged the men of the Russian battal- ion in the Persian service to desert (a captain and ten men in one morning took the protection of the Russian Envoy, and were immediately sent across the Arras); so that everything, in effect, fell upon the Envoy of Great Britain. After the King's departure, the Kaymookâm re- turned to the vicinity of the city ; but hid himself in gardens, changing his place of concealment every day, so that the Envoy could never effect a meeting with him. Still, however, under the superintend- ance of the latter, the work at the Arsenal went vigorously on. On the 24th, Colonel Pasmore marched to join the rendezvous of the troops at Meeana ; all the re- giments having gone on, except the Russian battal- ion, which also march this day. The force gone, een ere . at VOL. II. S 258 PROGRESS OF THE SHAH, amounts in all to between four and five thousand serbauz, and twenty-four guns, &c. The advance, under Sir H. B. Lindsay, has proceeded to cross the Kafflankoh, and will take up a position at Zenjân. Nov. 26.-This day the Envoy, after seeing everything ready, and all the soldiers en route, left Tabreez to join the Shah, who is to wait at Meeana for the British and Russian missions, which will ac- company him in his expedition. Nov. 30.--Having this day crossed the Kafflan- koh we joined the Shah's camp at Ak-hend. He had only four hundred infantry and two swivel-guns with him, the main army having gone the low road by Sirchum. Sir H. B. Lindsay is at Zenjân. We know that the Zil-e-Sultaun, who has proclaimed himself Shah, has sent a force from Tehran, under Imaum Verdee Meerza, to oppose the advance of the Shah. This day, Allee Nuckee Meerza, who left Tehran as an adherent of the Zil-e-Sultaun, and for the pur: pose of seizing the district of Khumsa, seeing the strength of the King and the Elchees (Envoys) with him, came in and submitted to his Majesty. He was kindly received. This was the first decided in- stance of defection from the Zil. Next day another son of the late Shah, Abdoolla Meerza, who had tried to seize Zenjân, came in and tendered his submission. After this, chiefs, and tribes, and princes, came in numbers. As Sir Henry's outposts, on his ap- proach towards Casveen, were observed by those of Imaum Verdee Meerza, who was advancing 260 CORONATION OF THE SHAH. The King sat, this day, on the small jewelled throne in the presence of all the people and both missions. No lucky hour for his Majesty's entry into the city being found by the astrologers until the 2nd of January, 1835, he remained till then in the Ni- gahristan, and, on that day, at six o'clock A.m. he made his entry. On the 31st of the same month, being the Eede or feast after Ramazan, and the hour being pro- pitious for the coronation of the Shah, that cere- mony was performed. The Zil-e-Sultaun himself, having enacted the part of King for thirty-five days, now assisted at the coronation of his nephew. The importance of securing the city of Ispahan for the Shah, without delay, was constantly pressed upon the Kaymookâr, as well as on his Majesty ; yet, notwithstanding the representations of the Envoy and the exertions of Sir H. B. Lindsay, who was now deservedly in high favour, such was the dila- toriness of the authorities, and their extraordinary reluctance to part with money, or to attempt to soothe the soldiery into good-humour, even by par- tial payments, that it was not till the 3rd of February that Sir Henry was enabled to depart with the force destined to subdue and secure the south. This force consisted of three battalions of serbauz--say two thousand five hundred to three thousand regular infantry—and sixteen guns, and a small number of horse; but there are more men said to be at Kashan. A fortnight afterwards the Moatimud-u-dowlut (Manoocheher Khan) set out with reinforcements to assist Lindsay, and take POWER OF THE KAYMOOKÂM. 261 rone IS. the NE 1. he Tade pro- cere. mself -five ahan wed yet, nvoy charge of Ispahan and the districts to be subdued in the south. It is said he will have eight thousand men in all. Such were the principal events which had taken place at the time I reached Tehrân. The English, as well might be the case, were in high favour; at least nothing could be more courteous in all ex- ternals than both King and minister. But it soon appeared how little the former had to say, either publicly or privately, in matters of state or of his own affairs. The power which the minister had monopolized, at the time when I saw the Prince and his Excellency in Khorasan, and afterwards in Tabreez, was increased to so exclusive and enor- mous an extent that his Majesty, it was averred, dared scarcely give a command to his body-servants, without the consent of his minister. Of this many ludicrous instances were told. I have been assured that, during the period of anxiety after the King's death was known, he had scarcely a Peishkhidmut left with him, and could hardly get a horse made ready to ride on. In fact, he was, people averred, lit- tle better than a prisoner in the hands of the Kay- mookâm, who, when he was about to quit the city for Oujân, sent him his horses and grooms, with orders to mount and follow within the hour. They say that so severely did he feel this his condition, that he actually wrote to the Ameer-Nizâm, begging him, for God's sake, to send him a few troops if only to take care of him. But let the Kaymookâm beware; the Shah, from indolence of disposition, may endure such domination for a while, for the was dila. inary ot to Hd part the hrnce men the 262 A DANGEROUS GAME. sake of the ease it gives him. But he has a fierce and violent temper, which may be some day roused against his arrogant master, and sweep him away as a leaf is borne off by the torrent; for the Kay- mookâm has few friends and many enemies, who, at the first word, would be the ready ministers of vengeance. 263 LETTER XIV. The Hakeem Bashee.- Visit to the Minister.—Meerza Allee.- The Kaymookâm.-A promising Conference abruptly broken up.—Another Interview.-A tough and wily Argumentator. -Dietetics.-A strange Meal—and an unsatisfactory Inter- view.–Audience of his Majesty.-Last Visit to the Kaymoo- kâm.Singular Place of Reception.—A strong Dose of Truth. -News from Home-Speculations.-Hadjee Aga.-A Per- sian Breakfast.--A Russian Breakfast.— Ispahan taken by Sir H. B. Lindsay, and the Firmaun Firmaee's Army defeated near Muxood Beggee.-Continued Perversity of the Kaymookâm- his Character. -England's Responsibility to Persia. - The Shah and the Bone-setters.--News from Khorasan. February 22, Tehrân. I WENT this morning to call on Meerza Baba, his Majesty's chief physician, a person in whose ac- quaintance and conversation I take great pleasure. To the liberal feelings which he imbibed in England, where he received his medical education, and which good seed fell in good soil, he joins a sincere desire for the amelioration and prosperity of his country, which renders him a most valuable counsellor in all affairs that regard the joint interests of England and Persia. I had been particularly desirous to see this gentleman previous to my promised inter- view with the minister, as there were several points regarding which it was desirable to be informed THE MINISTER'S CABINET. 265 Inary akeen mto le Un. 2 Way rance 1 his that on or ectly ikest ths the to handed to him by a servant, whom he occasionally interrogated, with a laugh or a joke at its contents. So utterly at variance with all rules of good breed- ing was his conduct, that the Meerza, who had already been regretting some of the unlucky failings in the minister and his family, which had made him many enemies, turned to me, and observed in English, shaking his head. 66 This will never do! This boy will ruin all — he will disgust every one !” It was a great relief when a servant came and announced that his Excellency was ready to receive me. I found the minister in a very small and dark apartment, warmed by a blazing fire, and apparently just awakened from sleep, for he was sitting under a wrapping cloak of fur, his immense circumference unshackled by shawl or girdle. In his hand he held, as usual, a world of notes, while many more, read and to be read, lay on the ground, and swelled out the cincture of a secretary who stood before him. Two other attendants stood at the door, and near it sat a man whose stained garments declared him to be a chupper or courier, just arrived from service. We had been admitted into this khelwut (private cabinet) through a narrow passage, guarded by furoshes and eunuchs, orders had been given to admit no one, and thus there was reasonable hope of a quiet and uninterrupted audience. The minister, always courteous, received me with cordiality, even making the motion to rise from his seat as I entered, which was more than his saucy son did ; and having sat down near him I waited والal this eat, PH wn car, 1 5 266 INTERVIEW INTERRUPTED. for him to open the conversation. But the chupper was first to be disposed of: he proved to be from Khorasan; and then the multitude of notes, many of which were from the late King's ladies, and all of which, I must say, duly received replies; the Kay- mookâm is, at least, thus far a gallant man. All this occupied, at least, three quarters of an hour, after which the good man shook himself free, as it were, of what remained, dismissed every person but one secretary, and then turning to me began to question me respecting my journey, and desired to know what I had observed in the course of it. According to his Excellency's request I had com- municated to him in writing, from time to time, such facts as I had observed and thought could be useful for him to know, or what seemed likely to tend to the amelioration of the country; these letters he acknowledged with thanks, and I was preparing to follow up these details in a manner that might impress them properly, when in came a eunuch, in haste, to say that two of the late King's sons, Imaum Verdee Meerza, and Allee Nuckee Meerza, were on their way to see him, and would take no denial. In fact, scarcely had the eunuch well delivered his message, and the Kaymookâm vented an expression of vexation, when the two Princes, just named, entered the khelwut. Up jumped the minister, fat as he was, and up rose 1-for it was clear that our confab. was at an end for that time. His Excellency muttering a few apologetic phrases, ran out to put on his shawl girdle ; for it is highly indecorous to appear before a superior VISIT THE SECOND. 267 upper from mang all of Kas . after rere, one 20W ne, ре TO here with the loins ungirt — and I, after staring and being stared at for a minute or two, and seeing no refuge but in retreat, quitted the room, and found the minister in a great bustle in the passage, fum- bling with his shawl: I just seized the opportunity to throw in one word on a subject which I had much at heart -his Excellency replied with another ejaculation of regret--and so I left the house. February 23.-This day I accompanied the En- voy and Dr. Reach to visit the minister, and listen to a discussion connected with a matter of consider- able moment to both countries; and thus I had an opportunity of seeing this singular man in another point of view. When we arrived, which was about eleven o'clock, A.M. we found that his Excellency had been scarcely an hour arrived from a tough interview with the Ausef-u-dowlut - no friend of his - and was fast asleep. He had been roused, how- ever, and, in the mean time, we were shown into the same snuggery where I been on the previous day, from which, just as we entered, we saw a female escaping, and a bed, loosely folded up, lying in the corner. The subject to be discussed was not by any means agreeable to him, and it was amusing to observe how, for the first half hour, he eluded all questions put, or shrouded himself in' affected drowsiness. As the argument pressed on him, however, he warmed up to the battle-opened his eyes, and stood the charge that was made upon him, and charged again, like a lion roused from his lair. Neither the subject of discourse nor the arguments on either side were ese cas de te se E, e AND CONVERSATION. 269 to to in and Ex: and high pris re of iking DOE 21. con- hese CUS tly nd, her sweet limes ?” “Certainly not, Kaymookâm.”— “ Nor mâs (sour milk) ?- nor buttermilk ?”—“ All these things are equally bad for you, Kaymookâm, and you know that yourself—why do you ask me?” -“Wullah ?” (is it so ?) grumbled the minister, with a half laughing, half peevish expression. “Ah, Kay- mookâm ! you will gain nothing by going that way to work with the Doctor,” said I ; "he has an ugly fashion of telling the truth, and nothing but the truth; he fears no human being.”—“Why should I fear?" said the Doctor; “I say nothing I should be ashamed of, and what, then, have I to fear?” - “What? you fear none then ?”—“No, Kaymookâm, I neither fear you, nor your King, nor my own King: I have just one way of speaking and of acting - and otherwise I can neither do nor say, come what will." —“Ay,” observed I, there is but one whom the Doctor fears." _“And who may that be?”—“ God," said I ; "he fears to offend Him who made Kings and ministers, and all men, by saying one word the reverse of truth.”_" Barikillah !" said the mi. nister, after looking at us for a moment or two, and wincing a little, as I thought and wished, under the pointed expression of the words which had not been said without a reference to the foregoing argument- Barikillah !”—if I had a country surrounded by the sea, and an army of some hundreds of thousands of men, and powerful fleets, and plenty of money, so that I could give an answer to (meaning set at defi- ance) any that should offend me, I should fear no one either; but —” “But Kaymookâm,” interposed the Envoy, “you have not replied to my last ques- DET gon 0 de 1 of or 270 REMONSTRANCES. tion,”—and he repeated it. “In the name of Allah," exclaimed the minister; “have you also, Elchee, a mind to kill me? Here am I, spent and hungry, faint for food, and one of you forbids me to eat every- thing I can fancy, while the other will not give me time to devour a morsel if I had it before me; and there—there stands that rascal — he'll not budge, a foot, to bring me a bit of food. What have you got for me, sirrah?”—“Nothing, my lord.” — “What! nothing ?”—“No, Aga; the time of meals is over, and there is nothing now prepared.”—“By your own head, Kaymookâm, the fellow must be making game of you,” said I, laughing, “ when he tells you such a story. What! the house of the Kaymookâm, whose mehmankhaneh (establishment for the enter- tainment of guests) is the largest in Persia, without the means of giving its master a breakfast ?”—“Ah," replied the minister, “the mehmankhaneh is quite a distinct affair—its accounts are all kept separately- but here, you fellow ! can't you get me some eggs? -I may eat eggs, Doctor ?”_"Certainly, Kaymoo- kam." _“And cheese.”_"Hum ! the less of that the better.”_“Umph!-well, then, get a large lot of eggs and bread, and a little cheese, too; do you hear- the Doctor says you may,"—with a quizzical look at the Doctor-and having thus issued his orders for the repast, he began to joke away and frolic in his discourse just like a boy escaped from school for an hour-quite delighted to get rid, even for a few minutes, of the subject which was so disagreeable to him. In due time the breakfast came a huge plate of A MINISTERIAL MEAL. 271 Lllah, let, à Sery e me and de a ge u got over, TOWE sing Tou er- out 1," boiled eggs, a small one of cheese, with fine white bread, and in addition, there was a great bowl of broth with the meat in it, which had, we were told, been thus opportunely sent by some lady of the King's harem. But his Excellency attached himself to the eggs, which he devoured with admirable per- severance, confining himself, however, to the yolks. It was not a pleasant sight, I must say, though suffi- ciently ludicrous. A Peishkhidmut chipped the shells, and peeling the eggs, handed them to his mas- ter, who, leaning down, cocked his short-sighted eyes close into them, like a magpie into a bone, and drag- ging out the contents with his finger, from the whites, devoured them with bread, but without salt. “ What think you, Doctor? have I had enough ?” demanded he, after a considerable period of this em- ployment; “see, I am four eggs short of the dozen, “ The Kaymookâm best knows the capacity of his own stomach,” remarked the Doctor with an arch smile; “but among us, one-third of what you have eaten would be considered a very sufficient meal.”—“Wullah?” again ejaculated the minister with a sort of interrogative grunt. 66 But I dare say,” added the Doctor, laughing, “if the Kay- mookam desires it, another yolk will not do much more harm.”—“No, no !” replied his Excellency, “I could, but I'll not; and see, I have scarcely touched this yekhnee, for fear of you ; I consider myself as keeping fast on this occasion, under your direc- tions." At length the breakfast things were cleared away, and with a sorely unwilling air and mind, the minis- yet !” Do 3 272 TERMINATION OF THE INTERVIEW. ter turned his attention once more to business; and I wish I could explain to you the innumerable diplomatic twistings and windings to which he had recourse, in order to avoid giving plain answers to plain questions. The affair remained unarranged; but his Excellency appointed another audience with the Envoy, at which none were to be present; and gave vent to a sort of threat, which showed many more difficulties in the vista beyond. We left him thoroughly wearied and worn out, ourselves being little less so, after a worrying-match of full four hours. I dare say I have imparted some of the fatigue we felt to you, and that you will not be sorry that the interview is over. But these scenes appear to me to afford curious peeps into Persian man- ners and character, and therefore to be worth giving. They amused me, too, from the whimsical compari- sons they afford between society here and its cor- responding grades and ranks in more civilized coun- tries. Fancy, for instance, Lord Melbourne or Lord Palmerston gabbling such trash, or eating eggs with his fingers, or cracking jokes with a page or a foot- man, during an interview with a foreign ambassador on important business. What a ludicrous turn does it give to the whole affair ! February 25.—This day I accompanied the Envoy to wait upon the Shah. His Majesty received us very graciously, in the Imarut-e-Bilour, or Crystal- palace; so called, from the quantity of cut-glass and crystals with which it is ornamented, and with which, in the time of the late King, it was nearly as much filled as the shop of Blades or Phillips. AUDIENCE OF THE KING. 273 nese had te ged with and nany four the - be Enes 20- The King sat upon the ground, plainly, though handsomely, dressed, and beside him stood the beau- tiful jewelled throne, on which, on state occasions, his grandfather used to sit. Nothing occurred during the conversation, calculated to raise our opinion of his Majesty's abilities or penetration; but, in fact, what can be made of these audiences of ceremony, where nothing passes beyond the mere expression of common-place sentiments, and the enunciation of general questions and replies ? His Majesty made inquiry as to the countries I had seen since I left Tabreez, where he was gra- ciously pleased to recollect having seen me, as well as at Muzzeenoon; and hearing that I had been travelling among the Arabs, favoured us with an opinion, that these Arabs were a wonderfully brave, powerful, and enterprizing people. His Majesty is not, perhaps, the only great man who makes this mistake. A more interesting interview was in store for me in the evening, and yet I hesitate to take you there, lest you throw down the paper in disgust, for “ Lo! where he comes again!" It was still with my friend, as he is pleased to designate me — the Kaymookâm. You may pass it over if you please; but as it had its peculiarities, and more especially as it is the last, I will tell you what occurred as concisely as I can. The Hakeem Bashee, Meerza Baba, called upon Dr. Reach and myself in the afternoon; and after some conversation connected with what had passed at the former interview with the minister, informed me that he desired to see me. The fact simply was, ari- COP cord OT cale und th els VOL. II. T 274 THE MINISTER'S RECEPTION-ROOM, that knowing me to be on my way to England, and desirous to be represented to the government of that country by every Englishman in a favourable light, he wished, if possible, to conciliate my good will and secure my good word. I believe he desired to see me alone, from the con- sideration that it would be easier to deal with one than with more; but a circumstance having oc- curred which rendered Dr. Reach's presence in that quarter necessary, I was too thankful to have his company, and we went together. When we got to his Excellency's house, we found that he had taken refuge in his bath - fairly run away from the overwhelming crowd of applicants for his attention, and the accumulating mass of business which seems to appal him, even while he courts it. To the bath, therefore, we went, preceded by the Hakeem Bashee, who went in to announce our arri- val, while we waited in the ante-chamber. This was a dark vaulted apartment, like a dungeon, dilapi- dated in many places, and half swimming in water, while from the arched roof drops of the same col- lected from the steam that issued from the inner apartment, fell here and there with a plash upon the rugged stone-floor. One thought of the dungeons of Chilon, or the prison of Ugolino and his wretched children, as he looked around the dismal hole. A raised stone bench, some seven or eight feet broad, on which those using the bath undress and leave their clothes, ran round the apartment; and on this, until the minister should emerge from the interior, we took our seats almost in utter darkness, for even- AND APPEARANCE. 275 8, and of the light , Ill and e con h one elis found - run Es for + ness - the ing had already fallen, and the two or three bot- toms of glass-bottles stuck in the roof, which ad- mitted a crepuscular light during the day, served now but to exclude the little that remained. In the course of a few minutes out came his Ex- cellency, very slenderly clad, but having a large fur cloak thrown over his shoulders, and down we all four sat upon a little strip of carpet spread on the bench; his Excellency looking very much like an owl in an ivy-bush. He was evidently rather dis- concerted at seeing the Doctor, but he recovered himself so as to express great pleasure at his having come; and after a few writhings and wincings, and digressions, occasioned by his reluctance to approach an unpleasant subject--as a boy makes wry faces before taking a dose of physic, he gulped down his disgust, and opened on the business in hand. The conversation now became a repetition of the same puerilities and contemptible evasions both of reason and of argument, that marked the last; and seeing that we were but working in a circle, and making no real progress, I put an end to the dis- cussion by a proposition, which had the good fortune to find grace in his Excellency's sight; upon which, instantly dismissing both the unwelcome subject and the clouded brow it had occasioned, he became lively and chatty, and appeared quite delighted to inquire about my late journey, and the state of the countries I had passed through. This was an opportunity not to be lost ; we seized it greedily, and both the Doctor and I commenced an account of what each had seen and heard in the arri s mas ilapia Fater, colo coner the ched A are his hor , Ten T 2 276 A FAIR SET-TO. course of our peregrinations, and let the minister into a few truths concerning the state of the country, and the manner in which both he and the new King were spoken of-such as he had not listened to for many a day. Indeed, I must say that he solicited it from us, and when, after his having several times warned me to conceal nothing, I said, “Kaymookảm, are you serious ? Do you really desire to have the truth, and the whole truth?” the answer was ready and emphatic. “ I do— by your head, I do!" Then,” said I, “ you shall have it,” and we began ; and the poor man sat between us, turning first to the one and then to the other, as we each gave him a broadside-just as I have seen in some dramatic piece a poor henpecked fellow do, who has got be- tween two termagants that din him in each ear by turns, while the Hakeem Bashee sat looking on, un- certain, I believe, how to take it, and whether to stop us or let us go through with the business : it was a scene for a comedy, I promise you. It length, having nearly exhausted our battery,- at least, so far as we deemed it prudent to go,mwe begged him to excuse the trouble we had put him to, and asked leave to go. He assured us, by our own heads and his death, that he had been quite delighted with the conversation,—that it was not often he heard so much truth,ấhe wished he could hear it oftener, &c., which was all, perhaps, words of course; yet, if he was acting, I must do him the justice to say he did it well, and maintained the most admirable semblance of truth that can be imagined ARRIVAL OF A COURIER. 277 On our return home, we found that the interest of the day was not yet at an end; for a courier had arrived from England, bringing letters to many of our party from family and friends. I was not among the fortunate. In expectation of an earlier departure from Persia, I had already directed my letters to be detained at Constantinople, and thus deprived myself of this treat. But I was not the less interested in the great changes which the public prints announced, and of which only indistinct ru- mours had hitherto reached me. The whole minis- try had been changed; the measures would probably be also changed. This could not but affect myself; but that was a trifle, as, thank Heaven, I did not feel dependent on any party ; but as an individual keenly alive to everything affecting the interests of England in the countries I have been visiting, and to the great object of combining an ameliora- tion of their condition with the most beneficial line of policy for Great Britain, I could not but contemplate with anxiety every prospect of a change of system. I cannot express to you the deep in- terest I feel in this vast and most important subject, it is as if my own private and dearest interests were actually mixed up with the success of those projects which, in conjunction with others, I have been so long and earnestly suggesting for the re- novation and future prosperity of this most interest- ing quarter of the world. But to what good pur- pose should I weary you with the speculations to which the news, conveyed by this packet, gave birth ? like the “ bubbles on the fountain," they were 278 BREAKFAST WITH HADJEE AGA. . vain and empty, for all the questions they involved or depended on must have been set at rest long ere the news had even reached us; but what Englishman can hear of a political event, without spinning out of it a whole web of fanciful conse- quences ? February 27.- There is an old man here of whom I once before made mention, as having met at Abbasabad, on my way to Khorasan, Hadjee Aga, a eunuch belonging to the harem of the late Abbas Meerza. Ever since our rencounter in that wild place, we have been great friends, and the old gentleman has bestowed upon me a high share of his favour. I had seen him several times at Ta- breez, and he had intimated his wish to give me a breakfast there; but certain occurrences, which compelled him to leave his house for a time, pre- vented this exercise of hospitality. It was partly to make good his promise, and partly, I believe, to give the Doctor and myself an opportunity of conversing with him regarding the state of the Shah's affairs, that he asked us both, this day, to breakfast, and certainly, so far as the first motive was concerned, he did redeem his promise, for his breakfast was an admirable A true Persian breakfast, one which you are bid to, (for the Per- sians, when alone, are particularly moderate at this meal), yields in nothing, as you may have heard, to even a highland déjeuné, either in point of copious- ness, or variety, or excellence of the viands; and I doubt not, were one of the Hadjee Aga's morning meals transferred by the waft of a wand to any one. 280 RUSSIAN BREAKFAST. Meerza and his court, that the present minister, the Kaymookâm, having fallen under his master's displeasure, Hadjee Aga was selected to fill his place as premier, which for some time he occupied ; but finding the people whom he had raised to employments, caballing against him and conduct- ing themselves ill, he conceived it to be more for his master's benefit that his rival should be recalled to power; and accordingly, the Prince, mainly through the Aga's persuasion, was prevailed upon to restore the Kaymookâm to office. Even now he is regarded as one of the most able and honest men near the person of the Shah, and has been placed in command of the capital as governor. But the Kaymookâm is so completely all-powerful, and jealous to boot, that I fear the Hadjee does not meet with fair play, even in performing the duties of his office. I forgot to mention another breakfast to which the whole English party were yesterday invited, and which was excellent in its way. This is car- nival time with the Russians, and Count Simonitch asked us all to breakfast on a national dish pecu- culiar to the season, of which they are all very fond. It is a sort of pancake, somewhat like our crumpets, but thinner, lighter, and richer, being made of rice flour, and it is eaten with clear melted butter and caviare. It was certainly very good, but was far from being the only good thing which graced the Count's table. I had had practical proof of old of the excellence and abundance of a Russian breakfast, or rather dinner, for it is their principal A PIC-NIC PARTY, 281 inister , naster's fill his cupied ; sed to induct ire for E called mainly upon NOW onest been rnor. erful, not auties meal, and is served about noon; nor was the one in question at all inferior to those which still lived in my remembrance. In return, the Count and his suite dined at the Residency to-night, and after dinner we had a rich treat in the shape of several songs, by the Baron Korf, whose voice, a splendid bass, did full justice to many fine pieces of music, among others, to that exquisite composition, the Russian Vesper Hymn, one of the most beautiful pieces of religious music I am acquainted with, and to the still more magnificent strains of that part of their liturgy which contains the blessing of the Emperor and the Royal Family. On the following day (the 28th) the whole Eng- lish party joined Count Simonitch and his suite in a pic-nic expedition to the Tucht-e-Kajeria, or throne of the Kajars, a large garden and palace belonging to the King. It was as yet too early for verdure, though some violets were gathered and presented to the chiefs of the party ; but the weather was charming, the air balmy and spring-like, and every- thing contributed to render the expedition pleasant. It was delightful, in fact, to get beyond the dull mud walls and bog-like streets of the town, and give our horses free head in the open country. We were truly a gallant company to make a show withal; and when we reached our ground we found there, all in readiness, a breakfast worthy of the appetites we had acquired. But I have said so much of break- fasts that you will fancy that I have actually got over fond of creature comforts ; a charge which, if made, I' most uncompromisingly repudiate and deny. hich sted car itch CCU- ters OUT sing Ited vod , ich jan pal 282 A ROYAL TUMBLE. I can, it is true, make a very respectable figure upon occasion, at a well-covered table, or sofra, and, doubt- less, long privation does in no degree diminish the relish for good food ; but of any undue inclination to gourmandise, I declare myself perfectly innocent. Alas! these petty comforts offered but small conso- lation for the detention which circumstances have occasioned here to my progress homeward — here is now the last of February, and I hoped by this time to have been well on to Tabreez, if not past it. On our way back to the city, we encountered his Majesty, going forth to take the air on horsback. He did not look amiss himself; but I think our own cavalcade was the more brilliant of the two. Poor man! that same afternoon, on showing off his horse- manship, and displaying his dexterity in firing at a vulture or a kite, when, at full speed, "the point of the world's adoration " came to the ground- and as large bodies, whether of kings or of clowns, fall heavily, that of his august Majesty received a sharp contusion on the arm. March 4.—This evening, while the Envoy was engaged in conversation with the Kaymookâm at the Residency, a courier arrived from Sir Henry B. Lindsay, with despatches confirmatory of a report which had reached us the day before, of that officer having gained a most complete and important vic- tory in the South, on the borders of Fars, over the troops of the Firmaun Firmaee, commanded by his brother Hassan Allee Meerza, the Shujaat-ul-Sul- tunut, that is “the valour of the State." A FORCED MARCH. 283 upon Soubt Eh the nation ocent. CONS have – here fort his back. own oor T'se It appears that this Prince, having collected the troops of his brother, to the amount of some five thousand men, of whom eight hundred were infantry and the rest cavalry, with only three guns and one howitzer, marched towards Ispahan, with intent to occupy that city for the Firinaun Firmaee. That city, ever since the King's death, had been a prey to the utmost confusion and disorder. The looties that is, the rogues and vagabonds of the place-a large body, had commenced a systematic plunder of the inhabitants, and had made the great mosque one of their chief storehouses of the spoil. In this it appears they were encouraged by the Sheikh Ul- Islam, a person of immense religious influence, but of a very turbulent and indifferent moral character, who, siding with the Ameen-u-dowlut, the late King's minister, was opposed to the cause of Mahomed Shah. Sir Henry, when he reached a village about eighty miles from Ispahan, became acquainted with this state of things, and heard, moreover, that the army of Fars was hourly expected to occupy the city ; on this he made a forced march, such as has not often been heard of, performing the whole distance and entering the city in little more than thirty hours. It was full time, for disorder had reached its height; but on his approach every lootie at once disappeared --order and tranquillity were restored, and the city preserved for his Majesty. Sir Henry had not been a week at Ispahan, when certain intelligence was brought of the approach of the troops of Fars, and that the advance under at oint - E'NS, 1 2 Tas at It er 284 PROMPTNESS AND DECISION, Nujjeff Koolee Meerza* had reached Abâdeh. It appears that Hyder Koolee Meerza, one of the Princes then resident at Ispahan, had immediately proceeded to acquaint Nujjeff Koolee Meerza with the presence of Sir Henry B. Lindsay and his force, on which the former halted till the whole army under his uncle the Shujaat-ul-Sultunut came up. On receiving this information, Sir Henry, with that characteristic promptitude and energy which has not only gained him the confidence of the troops, but has hitherto insured success, put his force in motion to meet the enemy. Much did the Persian authorities entreat him to pause for reinforcements - to wait till even one more regiment should come up. “I did all I could," wrote Meerza Abul Cos- sein, a functionary of high rank, “ to get him to stay till the next day, when he might have had the Maragha regiment to join him—but in vain ;"—a proof either of the said Meerza's incapacity or trea- chery ; but in one hour Sir Henry's drum beat, and with two regiments of regular infantry, a few Tof- funchees and horsemen, and twenty guns—not four thousand men in all — he was speedily in march to oppose the Princes of Fars. On hearing of Sir Henry's approach, the Shujaat, who had with him six Princes of the blood, changed his route, and endeavoured to turn his opponent's flank by taking a less frequented road among the hills, by which manoeuvre he hoped to reach Ispahan unperceived. . But Sir Henry's information was too * The second of the three Persian Princes who afterwards came to England, called the Wâli. AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES. 285 eh. It of the diatel la with force, ' under which troops s'ce in ersian mients come Cos- stay the - accurate to admit of this ruse succeeding—he made another forced march; and crossing the bed of a river, cut off the troops of Fars and forced them to con- front him at a place between Komaishah and Mux- ood Beggee. In fact, the Shujaat did not appear to decline engaging. He arranged his army in six divisions, placing two to guard the baggage, while with the other four he faced his enemy. The in- fantry he posted behind the ruined wall of a deserted village in order that they might at their ease pick off their opponents, who, it was taken for granted, would advance to dislodge them. But Sir Henry wisely de- clined giving them such an advantage ; and, on the contrary, took one himself, by bringing up his guns and knocking the wall about their ears with round- shot. These ugly missiles also brought down, killed and wounded, some forty or fifty of the men thus ensconced; and the rest, finding out their mistake, attempted to fly, but were all overtaken and made prisoners. The horsemen, seeing this, scattered right and left and dispersed, losing also some prisoners. The Shujaat, wounded, as some assert, in the arm, fled with his six Princes and about fifty horsemen, carrying off about ten thousand tomauns ; but all the baggage, baggage-cattle, horses, camels, and mules, with guns, stores, and all valuables, remained a prize to the victors : and thus ends a Persian con- test for the crown between two of Futeh Allee Shah's descendants; for the power of the Prince of Fars is so utterly broken by this event, and he hiinself is so unpopular, that there is scarcely any chance of his showing a front again. and TE for 7 to red the an 500 me INJUDICIOUS PROCEEDINGS. 287 deed a chiel , may f mer o well king when not , Spe? Per. ittle ews temporary immunities nominally granted to districts that had suffered by the march of the army, have, in many instances, been recalled, or neutralized by subsequent and inconsistent measures. Thus, whole districts of the utmost fertility remain uncultivated; because the villagers are either afraid to risk the loss of what little remains to them in sowing for another crop, or really have not seed to put into the ground, nor the means of labouring it. The consequence must be a continuation of that scarcity, and even famine, which has for so many years borne hard on Persia. The troops, particularly the irregulars, remain in arrears; and they, as well as all other ranks, have their hearts full of discontent. Complaints, and just ones, are made, that no access is to be had to either king or minister, and this hiding of the royal countenance from the people, especially at the commencement of a new reign, is, in Persia, equally impolitic and disgusting: yet will this minister mono- polize not only all power, but all work; for he is too suspicious to trust any one, and will do everything himself except what he gives in charge to his son, a youth possessed of neither talents nor discretion, but filled with presumption, and perfect only in the arts of venality and peculation. In fact, as I have before observed, I do think the character of this minister has been strangely misun- derstood. Skilled in the ways and characters of his countrymen he may be, and I believe is-and that he possesses a certain degree of acuteness and turn for business, I also admit; but that he is gifted with any of the great qualities which fit a man to be a statesman him ating SON- ade fact , des, had the mah mot 501 mas ON he 288 CHARACTER OF THE KAYMOOKAM. and the chief counsellor of a great kingdom, I do not and cannot believe. He is restless and ambitious of power to the highest degree ; but nothing can afford stronger proof of his littleness of mind than the apprehension and jealousy with which he regards all men and all measures not emanating from himself ; in fact, he openly confesses himself physically and morally a great coward, and it would not be difficult, I think, to prove, undeniably, a narrowness of politi- cal views, an excess of prejudice, and a deficiency, or perversity, of judgment, quite sufficient to entitle him to the benefit of a strait-waistcoat for daring to assume so absolute a power, and others to the same for submitting to it. At this moment, assuredly, he does bestride the whole kingdom, King and all, like a Colossus; and the slaves that walk under his huge legs are afraid even to look up towards the monster for fear of a pat that may annihilate them. His only maxims of govern- ment, practically speaking, would appear to be- “ Take all you can from all men, when, and by whatever means you are able,” and “Give to all and several as little as possiblemeven where more is justly due-nay, even when sound policy might prompt you to be liberal.” Such is the ruler Persia has at present, and whom, in point of fact, England has bestowed upon her; for England it was, most assur- edly, that placed Mahomed Shah upon the throne, knowing that the Kaymookâm was his master. No doubt England, in so doing, acted conscientiously for the best ; for the Shah, in disposition and character, at all events, is the best of his family, and hopes were 290 SEQUEL OF THE WAR IN FARS. The sequel of the war in Fars may here be as well related. After the decisive victory near Muxood- beggee, Sir Henry pushed on towards Sheerauz, fol- lowed at more leisure by the Moatimud and his troops. He reached that city with great expedition, and found it a prey to internal commotion, and quite unable to make any resistance. The Elkhanee of Fars, Mahomed Allee Khan, who had been affronted and pillaged by the Prince and his family, and who burned for revenge, chose the hour of distress for gratifying his thirst; and having heard that Sir Henry was close at hand, seized the avenues and gates of the city, and thus caught the Firmaun Fir- maee, with his brother the Shujaat, and some half dozen more princes, fast as in a trap. These were speedily sent off, under guard, for Tehran, to have their fate decided by his Majesty. On arriving with- in three fursungs of the capital, the eyes of the latter were put out, he being regarded as a dangerous cha- racter, while his brother Hoossein Allee Meerza, Firmaun Firmaee, being justly considered as a fool, and therefore innoxious, was suffered to go at large within the walls of Tehran among the other princes. This, however, did not last long. Together with his brother, and the Zil and others, he was sent to Ardebeel, but died of cholera on the way; the rest * It was at this moment, and just before the gates were finally closed, that the three Princes, Reza Koolee Meerza, Nijeff Koolee Meerza, and Timour Meerza, who afterwards made their way to England, escaped, together with some of their brothers and uncles, as related in the narrative of their residence in England by the au- thor of the present work. CAPTURE OF ALL THE PRINCES. 291 Z. fol quite cated Ibu s for and Fi hall геге are Tith tter reached their destination. Others soon joined them in that state-prison. About the 1st of July, eight of the royal uncles were seized and sent off ; among them were Allee Nuckee Meerza and Imaum Verdee Meerza, who had taken so conspicuous a share in support of the Zil, together with the Prince-go- vernors of Bostam Kerman, Kermansha, (Mahomed Hoossein Meerza,) Malayer and Booroojeerd; so that nearly every one of the royal blood from whom danger was to be expected, except, perhaps, Hoo- lakoo Meerza, son of the Shujaat, were now pri- soners; but there was no bloodshed, nor any more extirpation of eyes; and thus may be said to have terminated the struggle for the throne, which re- mained in the quiet possession of Mahomed Meerza. March 5.—This day we all accompanied the En- voy to congratulate his Majesty on the important news from Fars; in fact, his Majesty invited the visit. There was a great crowd, both within and without the palace, but nothing of consequence took place at the salaam. His Majesty was good- humoured and weak as usual, and was dress- ed in shawl-clothes of sober colour, and without jewels. He affects much of the dervish, and, con- sequently, a contempt for finery. The hall of au- dience is certainly beautiful; the glass fountain in the centre, lustres hanging from the roof, and the walls all hung with large mirrors, bad though they be, made a fine glittering show; but the beautiful moorusseh (gold-enamelled) throne was absent, and in its place stood a sort of table, formed of Bombay inlaid-work. 1 58 90 ber ito Test U 2 292 THE SHAH AND THE BONE-SETTERS. His Majesty is by no means recovered from the effects of his fall : last night he sent for Dr. Reach, who found his patient in the bath, naked, head and all, except a waist-cloth—a strange fat figure. There were native bone-setters with him, and it was to see them and look at his arm, and to pro- nounce whether the elbow-joint was dislocated or not, that the Doctor was sent for. Dr. Riach, and the Hakeem Bashee, who were also in attendance, again examined the august arm, and once more expressed their opinion that the joint was uninjured ; and the former represented to his Majesty, that from the nature of the hurt and the inflammation consequent upon it, the cure must be somewhat tedious—ten days at least, but that all was going on as well as possible. His Majesty then asked whether there could be any harm in letting the bone-setters exa- mine the arm and try their skill upon it.. “ None whatever, your Majesty,” was the Doctor's reply, “ if you wish to be put to a little more needless pain.” The King laughed, and going into the hot water, held out his arm to the bone-setters. After a short while, however, the pain they gave him was so great, that he called out,“ Hold, hold! enough! The Doctor then repeated his explanation and cau- tions, and left his Majesty, by no means confident that he would not again have recourse to his na- tive surgeons : such is the satisfaction to be de- rived from attending on natives in Persia. This day I was gratified by a visit from my good friend Moollah Mehdee, the Kerkhoda of the Jews, in Mushed, of whom I wrote you from that place - 294 THE SHAH'S RESOLVES. choose to recognise as their chief. This is a spe- cimen of the Khorasanees, and the Shah will have enough to do to put a sufficient bridle in their mouth. He declares, however, he will try, for at the very last audience he told the Envoy that, inshallah ! he means soon to move from Tehran. Farewell, dear; I must close. Where my next may be dated from I know not; but it will, inshallah, be en route, and my resolves are, I suspect, more to be depended on than those of his Majesty, for I am more master of my own actions, and have a spur both in the head and the heart, which will put even the jades of Persian chupper-khanehs on their mettle and to their speed. 295 a spe I have 1011th Ey las beans LETTER XV. com / than sian el Leave Tehran-Chupper.-Chupperchees and their Horses. Su- leimaniah.—Mahomedabad.---Lose our way.--Goomree.--Cas- veen.—Difficulties of proceeding.—Abhur.-Extreme Cold.- Dying Camel.Sutanieh.—Zenjaun.—The Hakim of Arma- ghana. - Akhend. --Kafflan-Koh.—Meeana. Severe Stage to Toorkomanchai. - Oujân. Tabreez. New Route. The Ameer-e-Nizâm. Hakim of Khoee. Hollow Civility. - A weary Stage. -Snug Quarters at Kara Ziazeen.---Boundary of Armenia. - Tedious Progress.- Makoo.-Allee Khan.—A bitter night's Ride.—The Jelâlee Koords.-Bayazeed.—Dia- deen.—Kar-Ecclesia.–Topra Kallah.-Seydee Khan.-Storm- stayed there. -Severe Struggle in the Pass of Dehâ.— A bitter Gale.-Hassan Kalleh. A last Struggle.--Erzeroom. Casveen, March 10, 1835. At length, Dear I have fairly broken ground upon my return. I have turned my back upon Tehran and its Shah, Ministers, Princes, Khans, and Meerzas, and all the Nowkerbåb, busily engaged in preparations for the coming festival of the Noroz, and have got so far upon my journey. You may believe that it is not without strong qualms of anticipation that I have committed my- self once more to the tender mercies of " A Winter's Journey Tatâr," for it is still winter here, and the concomitant agrèmens, of lodging in stables and post-houses, of dirt and vermin, of hunger and 296 Ą LONG RIDE IN PROSPECT. sleeplessness; but I have, as you know, many strong motives to urge me onwards, besides those of a private nature, and more connected with duty than I can with propriety explain ; so behold me in for another ride of near three thousand miles through snow, and mud, and rain. And all this I should almost willingly endure, could I only make fair progress; but the delays and disappointments at- tendant on the season, and the state of these coun- tries, add mental to bodily sufferings, and make fatigue doubly painful. The late military movements having, as I have already mentioned, made a desert of the country between Tehran and Casveen, I was obliged to hire horses to go the whole distance, which is one hundred miles. This promised no great speed, nor was the prospect brightened by a sight of the animals which were to carry myself, my servant, and baggage. One would have thought that the necessity of keeping up an uninterrupted line of communication between the capital and the most important frontier province of the empire, the de- pository of the arsenal and stores, the nursery and recruiting-ground of the army, and the chief re- sidence of the King's friends, would have induced the Shah and his ministers to establish and maintain a well regulated chupper-khaneh, or system of post- houses, between Tehran and Tabreez; but no such thing has been the case, and nothing can afford a better illustration of the manner in which all im- portant matters are now conducted in Persia, than the state of this establishment. Although there POST ESTABLISHMENT IN PERSIA. 297 ny strong nose of luty the ne in fur through I should ake fair ents at e coun | make I have puntry ed to - one - nor the are chupperchees, or post-masters, appointed at due distances between Tabreez and Casveen, yet scarcely one shilling of the stipulated pay do they receive to maintain the number of horses required, con- sequently there is not one post-horse on the line. From Casveen to Tehran there never was any,—the old King would give himself no trouble about the inatter; and when I received an order for four horses, on the post-master at Tehran, he came to me to say, that he had not one; that they owed him two hundred tomâns; if I could procure him payment of a part of that, he would get me as many horses as I liked, but without money he could do nothing, and so saying, off he went to bust, i. e. sanctuary. You will ask, then, how it is that the constant intercourse by chupper, maintained be- tween Tabreez and the capital, is carried on? It is done by all manner of expedients, by coaxing, pressing, and sometimes hiring or promising to hire a horse, from station to station. When a chupper- chee, by either absconding, or making a strong re- presentation, obtains attention from the minister, an order is sent, perhaps, upon some unhappy village to furnish himn with so much corn and straw, or money ; and though he can seldom extract the whole, a little is in this way obtained, with which a horse may be inaintained or hired on occasion. Then the situation gives a degree of influence, which enables the post-master sometimes to procure horses from individuals, and at others, assisted by the gholaum who is sent on the errand, he presses any he can get hold of, in the King's name; and thus drags Frant , the pdf jost de- and l'e- ced ain ost th ca 11 21 re 298 A WRETCHED EQUIPMENT. and lags on this most miserable system. As for me, neither choosing to press, nor having the means of doing so, I was forced to hire, and you may con- ceive the condition of Tehran, when I tell you that all my servants' exertions, backed with the requisite money, could only procure three miserable animals in all the town. The fact is, that the price of pro- vender is so excessive, that no one maintains more horses than he requires within the city,-all extras are sent to the villages, and even muleteers, so soon as they have delivered their loads, leave the place, loaded or unloaded. An objection, moreover, is naturally made to hiring horses for a chupper journey, from its severity upon the animals ; so I was fain to put up with the refuse of the stable, at the hazard of being left with my baggage on the road. On the 8th instant then, all being prepared, I took leave of my friends, comforted myself with a last good breakfast, and after considerable delay, left the gates at nine in the morning, with an equipage which it would have done your heart good to behold. The piece of carrion on which I was to ride, staggered as I got upon his back, and I thought I could feel its poor bones grating to- gether under me, as it moved along with difficulty. My servant had a larger animal, but with some frightful sores on the back, (indeed in no long time I received a hint that mine was in little better case), and my Turkish post-bags, or eibehs, were thrown across the back of a mule, which had no pack-saddle. Such was the set-out in horse-flesh ENTRANCE AND EXIT. 299 As for means ly con nu that quisite nimals of pro- more xtras Soon alace . 11 sper SO le, he with which, after having for twelve months been accustomed to excellent animals, I was forced to take my chance of traversing one hundred miles of desert country; but Allah Kereem ! as the Persians say, off we went, I and my various paraphernalia almost hiding the thing I bestrode, and my servant lead- ing the mule, after a vain endeavour to drive it the way he wanted, without that troublesome cere- mony. It was just that day twelvemonths I had entered Tehran by the same gate. What a busy period had the interval been ! how much of bustle, and move- ment, and anxiety! It was now at a close, I was going to reap the fruits of my toil, and I must say, that as I quitted that same Casveen-gate, it was with little desire of ever entering it again. The air was pleasant and springy, although threatening showers which did now and then fall; but free of the choky sensation of city confinement, we should have gone merrily on, had our beasts been able to do so. They could not, and we were forced to content ourselves with a very sober pace. Passing Suleimaniah, a very decent village when I last saw it, we would have fed our cattle, but it was de- serted; two men sat guard over the entrance to what was a palace of the late King, but they had nothing to give us; so we pushed on, deviating a little from the regular route, to Mahomedabad, a small village which had been deserted likewise, but a part of its inhabitants had returned to it that very day. From them we got some grain, a mix- ture of rice and wheat, intended for their own food, 1 à 1, 7 $ I 300 LOSE OUR WAY. at the enormous price of two sahib-kerâns, or shil- lings per maund, and having thus refreshed our cattle, we went on about midnight, in the hopes of reaching another village, Kishlac, by morning. After plunging and floundering for some hours, however, among certain morasses and much deep mud, we lost our way in spite of the fine moonlight, and were forced to come to and unload, and take up our quarters on the bare ground till morning; and cold quarters they were. The beauty of the matter was, that we were close to a village, which, from the barking of dogs and the voices of men, we knew to have some inhabitants; but we found a deep muddy rivulet running between us and it, which we could not cross, nor was any reply made to our frequent shoutings; so that we were forced to content ourselves with the open field. When morning came, we found not only a crossing quite close to us, but that we were within a very short distance of the road which we had wandered from, so we had lost time and expended the strength of our horses to very little purpose, and with very bad fortune. Wearily did the hours drag on now till twelve o'clock; and often were we forced to dismount from our failing and hungry horses ; but at that hour we reached a village about three miles to the left of our road, and the same distance from Kishlac, which we hoped to have reached in the morning; and here we procured refreshments for ourselves and corn for the beasts. It was wonderful the number of useless lies which the people we met ALARM OF THE INHABITANTS. 301 or shil ed one upes of 1 hours deep nlight , take ning f the hich men, ound and poly ere upon the road told us, with regard to time and distance, and the false representations they made, as, I believe, with a view of misleading us from the yet peopled villages; for they looked upon us as people belonging to the King or army, and expected nothing but oppression at our hands. When we got to Goomree, the village in question, we found all hands in doubt and fear, and more disposed to run away from us than to supply our necessities. Cultivation, as yet, was at a stand; they knew not whether to risk their labour and their seed, lest another visitation might destroy their hopes again. “ First,” said they, “ came Imaum Verdee Meerza and his army, and he took what he liked ; then came Mahomed Shah's troops and licked up his leavings ; so we all took to the hills, and you will not find another village with people in it up to the gates of Casveen.” The villages thus gutted and abandoned, became a prey to any one who was destructively inclined, and to the shame of their countrymen be it said, there were enough found to prey upon the skeletons thus left. I met whole strings of camels and mules loaded with the wood that composed the roofs and doors of the houses, which the drivers had stripped and cut up, as they came by unloaded, to sell in Tehran. The poor people who eagerly inquired for news from the ca- pital, were but half re-assured by what I told them, and seemed more inclined to save the little seed they had for food, than to risk it in a crop that might be devoured while green, before their eyes. The exhausted state of the cattle and a bad head- EV h E 1 302 DISPOSITION OF THE PEOPLE. ache of my own, induced me to make a long halt here, so that it was past nine o'clock at night ere we got into movement again. We travelled till past three in the succeeding morning, when we again be- came uncertain of our route, and, tying the horses together, halted till daybreak. We then believed ourselves not more than three and a-half fursungs, or fourteen miles, from Casveen; but whether we mis- calculated the distance, or the rate of our horses' going, I know not; it was half-past ten when we en- tered the gates of that city, which, though not so completely deserted as the villages, seemed nearly in as great confusion and uncertainty. This excite- ment of feeling gave us an opportunity to observe somewhat of their political bias, which, assuredly, was not in favour of the reigning monarch. They en- quired eagerly regarding the events in Fars, of which, it appeared, false rumours had studiously been propagated; for they were not only asto- nished, but evidently disappointed to hear of Sir Henry Bethune's success. Nay, some would not believe at all in the total discomfiture of Hassan Allee Meerza and his troops. The fact is, they spoke as they wished it to be. A very large party in Irak, including the capital, are strongly disposed to favour the pretensions of Hassan Allee Meerza, and are of course opposed to the present Shah; and it is only the firm support of the Eng- lish, with the known and declared disposition of Russia, that have prevented their taking arms here in his favour-even the expressions of those who affected to be loyal, were uttered in a tone that STATE OF CASVEEN. 303 ing halt ere we ill past zain be horses velieved Fe mis . Jhorses ' Te en 70t so The in cite- serve dly , en- betrayed their falsity. This feeling of uncertainty and doubt, together with the absence of many of the leading men, had paralyzed the city-nothing was doing. As a specimen of the state I found matters in, I may mention, that sending to the bazaar for some kebaubs for breakfast, none were to be had ; and I learned that there had been no fresh meat for sale in the city for six days before. I found the chupper khaneh in possession of three King's gholaums, who had been waiting for horses some days; there were none, and they would not hire any. My arrival put them on the qui vive, and horses were hired or pressed, and in two hours time they were off. This did not expedite my bu- siness, however; I had from the first proposed to hire, but such rips alone were brought me as were scarce fit to crawl, till towards evening, when better cattle were produced; next, it was intimated that the road was not safe—that the Eeliauts had of late com- mitted considerable robberies ; thirty of a gang, who had robbed a silk caravan coming from Gheelan, had been taken, and were to be sent for punishment to Tehran; but still daylight was held to be better than night, to make the first stage. I compromised the matter, and started at three on the morning of the 11th, and crossing the plain after a ride of seven fursungs got to Gheriskeh, a village in the hills, about half-past nine. In two hours we resumed our route, which led among a very dreary course of rising grounds until we reached a good deal of deep snow, which greatly impeded our way. Issuing from the hills, we came right down upon the large of USNY asto SI not san пеу THE gly lee ent 12 Pre ho rat 304 A ROBBERY. among thieves. village of Abhur, situated in a perfect bog, from the overflow of its numerous water-courses, now all stop- ped and distracted with ice. The distance gone might not be much above five fursungs, but so bad was the road, that we were full six hours about it, and glad enough to get into a small warm hole in the village, where we got a comfortable pillaw cook- ed for our supper. All went well enough; horses were promised us, and, perhaps, it was well enough for our limbs that we did not get off until three o'clock next morning, when I found that we had fallen While we slept, a spying-glass, which had been my constant attendant since I set out, was carried off ; and though we denounced all vengeance of Kings, ministers, and Elchees against the master of the house and village, it remained un- restored. This affair detained us an hour, so that it was four in the morning before we entered upon the maze of water-course and bog with which I have said the village is surrounded for miles; but a hard frost had set in and bound the whole in icy chains, so that we passed over what otherwise had been im- practicable, and entered on the long dreary plain that leads to Sultanieh-all deep, deep in frozen snow. Oh! the misery of these long, dark, foggy hours that precede the dawn! never did I suffer more from cold than on this morning : not only was the frost intense, but there was a wind, and such a wind, blew full in our faces over the tracts of snow, as seemed to enter the very bones and marrow, through all the coverings we could put on. besides my ordinary warm clothing, a heavy afghaur I wore, INTENSE COLD. 305 on the stop gone about blei cook Orses ough three allen Elass set " all inst poosteen, or pelisse of thick sheep's skin, and my head was wrapped in various bindings of shawl and puttoo; yet the wind came through all, striking the face and forehead like a sledge-hammer, with stun- ning violence; and as to extremities, nose, fingers, toes, one hardly knew whether one had them or not; and then that fearful numbing of the senses which intense cold produces, without rendering them insensible to pain; that deadly drowsiness of the very soul, which you cannot resist, although peo- pled with dreams of torture. They may talk of the comparative ease of dying of cold; but if the piece is to be judged of by the sample, so far as comfort goes: I, for my part, should chose some other mode of de- parting this life. Even sunrise produced but a very partial alleviation of our sufferings; for when it is wind you have to do with, there is no shutting it out or preventing its effect; and the only relief we had all the way to Sultanieh, a march of seven or eight, fursungs, which, from the depth and diffi- culty of the snow, took us nearly twelve hours to perform, was, from occasionally getting off and walking, a measure not easily adopted when the footing was so bad, wrapped up as we were. Numerous proofs of the difficulty of the way, had they been wanted, were to be gathered as we passed along, in the skeletons of horses, and asses, and ca- mels, recently picked, that had given up in the deep snow; and we saw one poor camel whose case was even still more deplorable. It had fallen down, unable to proceed, and been abandoned to its fate; but, had so far recovered as to sit up, though not to rear itself tit the are ard 18, 11. in W. INS ine à T, N, ľ, ir VOL. II. х 1 306 ANTICIPATED RIGHTS. upon its legs, and a host of ravens and crows had already pitched on its back, anticipating their rights, by beginning to eat the creature, still alive. They had picked great holes in its hump and back, and the glitter of its eyes, probably, alone had prevented these from being scooped out; yet it could scarcely move its head, and seemed insensible to what was going on, though perfectly alive. Had I had a gun, I should have bestowed a charge upon the poor creature to put it out of its misery; not having one, I abandoned it to its fate, which, no doubt, would be soon consummated, as the night approached, by the wolves and the jackals. I think, after this really desperate day, you must give me some credit for resolution and determin- ation, when I tell you, that having got horses at Sultanieh, I started again that night, or rather at one o'clock in the morning, upon the same snowy plain, which leads to Zenjan. Fortunately, the wind was less severe, and more in flank, so that we felt it less ; and the road was better, so that by nine o'clock we reached the city. Zenjan, seated at the opening of a mountain glen, and looking down its own long valley, has a neat and comfortable air, which, like most other Persian cities, is desperately belied on close inspection. It has suffered, too, greatly from plague, and from a fever, within the last twelve months, which carried off numbers of its inhabitants. Fortunately for me, I was not long detained here. Though horses are generally difficult to be had, money produced them quickly, and in three hours we were in the saddle again for Armaghaneh, across 308 AN UNLUCKY START. when we started. Our intention was to have broken ground three hours earlier, so as just to reach Miana by daybreak-sooner would have been useless, as to get fresh horses at night, in the present state of the country, would have been impossible. It was nearly as well as it was ; for the horses being pretty good, we performed the six or seven fursungs in about eight hours, crossing the Kafflan Koh and the river Kiz- zilozun, and reaching Miana about half-past seven on the next morning. At this place, celebrated for its bugs and fever, as you have already learned, and sorely harassed by the passage of the troops, we were fortunately detained but a very short time; horses, such as they were, were immediately pro- cured, and, after a hasty breakfast, we set forth, just at the commencement of a snow-storm that had been brewing all the first part of the morning, upon one of the longest and most wearisome stages of the whole road. It is a succession of heights and hollows, deep and abrupt, for the first dozen of miles, and then a very irregular but constant ascent to a higher district, which at this season is always deeply covered with snow. It would have been better for our speed and comfort had we waited an hour longer to get better nags; for no sooner had we put ourselves en route than it became obvious that those we had would never carry us to Toorkomanchai. The drizzling sleet and snow that blew in our faces, too, did us anything but good; for it soon rendered the road so greasy and slippery that neither man nor horse could get along it without the greatest labour. One of our horses did actually give up by the time we had PLEASURES OF CHUPPER TRAVELLING. 309 made two-thirds of the way, and my servant had to walk half of it that his might not do the same : yet, at the outset, had we not interfered, their humane and judicious owner would have got upon the back of the loaded horse in addition to the heavy burthen it already bore. Oh ! little can those who have not suffered under such an infliction, conceive the mental weariness and bodily distress of sitting ten or twelve mortal hours in cold and wet, flogging on a parcel of miserable yaboos, galled and lame, and lean, and lazy ; himself bestriding one of the same class, every moment expecting them to give up the ghost, or their work, at least, in the middle of a long, dreary, desert stage, with night and a storm coming on, and no hope of help nearer than the village he has left some fifteen or sixteen miles behind, or that he seeks, rather than hopes to reach, Heaven knows how far ahead. The situation itself, independent of bodily discomfort, is perplexing enough ; for what, after all, is to be done in case of the worst occurring ?-but, when this unceasing source of dread is aggravated by the uncomfortable fancies and fears that will arise in the mind from ugly anticipations, and when, in- stead of sitting at ease upon a decent-going animal, your every muscle is kept in agitation, corresponding with that of the mind-kicking, thumping, whipping on the half-dead beast you bestride—the aggregate of distress becomes by no means jesting matter, parti- cularly when your only consolation is, that, should the result be better than your hopes, and should you reach your stage in safety, you have just the prospect of a repetition of the same work, with the additional 310 BETTER PROGRESS. agrémens of night, and the aforesaid storm to aid you in your efforts. On the present occasion, after sore fighting through mud and melted snow, we reached our munzil of Toorkomanchai about six in the evening, minus one horse ; and, pending the production of fresh cattle, lay down to take a little rest ; and as my servant had been a good deal worn out by bustling for horses at the past stages, he naturally overslept himself, and it was two in the morning of the 16th before we were in the saddle again. It was still snowing, and we had be- fore us that long and weary stage to Thikmadash, so well known to travellers on this road, and to me, in particular, as you may remember, which lies on the southern skirts of the lofty hills of Khalkhal and Heshtrood, and consists of a never-ending succession of deep hollows and rapid rises. Here, too, we had again to contend with deep snow, which, at a point well known to me of old, the caravanserai Dawat- geer, was exceedingly perplexing. The horses floun- dered sadly, for the old tracks had been filled up by the new snow and drift, and the guides had to prick with their sticks for a path. We should have made bad work of it, after all, had we not, most fortunately, met with a large caravan of mules just beyond the caravanserai, and in their tracks, after passing them, we proceeded with comparative ease. The seven fur- sungs, nevertheless, occupied us ten hours, for it was noon when we reached the village of Thickmadash, weary enough, and glad to set foot to ground, even for an hour; in fact, we only rested two-horses were procured here with only that much delay, and REACH TABREEZ. 311 we went merrily on to Oojan, three fursungs further, on a beaten track. Here we fed our nags; and, re- suming our way about eleven, found ourselves, by dawn of the morning of the 17th, just coming down upon the village of Bosmeitch, not above ten miles from Tabreez. The consciousness of our vicinity to that desired goal seemed to inspire our jaded horses as well as ourselves with vigour; and by a little past nine, I had the pleasure of finding myself comfortably seated at the breakfast table of my friend Captain Shiel. As there is no rest for the chupper traveller any more than for the wicked, I could only afford myself a snatch of this comfort. The ensuing day saw the arrangements for the next stage of my jour- ney complete; and by a little after five on the morn- ing of the 19th, I was once more on horseback, pass- ing through the gate of Tabreez on my way to Erzroom. This track of country, in length four hundred miles at least, and leading over some of the highest land both in Azerbijân and Armenia, had been the scene of so much suffering and delay on my former journey, that I resolved, if possible, to vary my route, and to go by a lower road which had been indicated to me at Bayazeed, upon that occa- sion, but on which it was feared there might be a difficulty in obtaining horses. There had been, it is true, some disturbances arising from the discon- tents, or rather the despair, of the Jelallee Koords, who having, in consequence of their depredations, become objects of displeasure and dislike to the three powers whose territories meet about the base of 312 A CHANGE OF ROUTE. mount Ararat, viz. Persia, Russia, and Turkey, and driven like wild beasts from the more habitable re- gions belonging to them all, had taken up their abodes among the snows and rocks of Ararat and the neighbouring mountains; and who, issuing from them, infested the roads and plundered such tra- vellers as they fell in with. On inquiring of the authorities of Tabreez, I was informed that these had been entirely put down ; the Ameer Nizam him- self, governor of Azerbijân, told me that all was quiet; that troops were regularly stationed there for the protection of the roads; and that he would give me letters which would insure a supply of horses on the way. Thus fortified, I set out with hopes san- guine, though chastened by the constant experience I had had of the inefficacy of great men's assist- ance, as well as the fallacy of their promises ; but the Ameer Nizam was a frank gentlemanly person ; he was, moreover, somewhat interested in my speedy progress, and should be lord paramount in his own domains: and so I did trust somewhat to his prof- fered aid. We reached Khoee, one hundred miles, with ease, in two days, on the same horses; and I de- livered, without delay, my letters from the Ameer Nizam to the governor Hâtim Khan. It would have been far better had I let it alone. The great man received me with a most offensive parade of condescension ; professed himself my devoted slave; listened to my request for horses, and a lodging to occupy till they should be ready; and then having, with the same mock humility, requested to HÂTIM KHAN. 313 know if there were any other services he could per- form, sent a furosh to take us to the ketkhodah of the town, who was instructed, in mercantile phrase, to do the needful.” This functionary, somewhat like his master, made a great fuss and many pro- fessions ; but after we had stood half an hour in the street, and threatened to go to a caravanserai, (which we ought to have done at first,) the matter terminated in our being thrust into a dirty old lumber-room of some half-ruined house belonging to government, where I was left to my own cogitations. Not the smallest assistance was afforded in the way of horses, and it was the unaided efforts of my own servant that procured me food, and horses for the next day. It was eleven o'clock before we left this city, which is surrounded by a number of pleasant gar- dens, and much cultivation ; in fact, Khoee is one of the finest districts of Azerbijân. Along this cultivated plain we held our way to the mouth of a valley that wound through the left-hand hills, and which exhibited a bottom flat and gravelled with the debris of the surrounding mountains : it was an inclined plain which led us gradually up- wards to a pass nowise difficult, and which horses of common strength would have surmounted with- out the least fatigue. But ours were not common horses ; they were the very refuse of Khoee, and the baggage-horse gave so many hints of tendering his resignation, that, in an evil hour, we resolved to turn out of the way to replace him, if possible, at a village not far distant. It so happened that the 314 A BREAK DOWN. little bit of mountain path which separated us from this village, was so much worse and more impeded with snow than anything we had yet encountered, that it did completely knock up our poor bat-horse; and on reaching it we found that no animal of any sort, except an old cow, was to be had for love or money ; so that, after losing one precious hour and a half, we had nothing left but to shift the load to the horse ridden by my servant, scarcely a bit bet- ter, leaving him to the pleasure of riding the done- up yaboo. This soon refused to tolerate his weight, and so, lest worse should befall us, after two hours and a half more work, we came to the resolution of stopping at a village on the road, to recruit our worn-out cattle, intending to proceed to the next stage before daylight. These good resolutions proved, as usual, more easily made than executed. We had at first been introduced into a sort of stable, or rather sheepcote, full of fleas and dirt ; but a little expostulation with the Khetkhoda, and the exhibition of a little coin, procured our admission into the large and warm family apartment. I regretted to find that I was the means of displacing the ladies, who took to flight at my entrance, catching up as many of the young ones as they could in their retreat; but as I took up my quarters in one of their snug nests about the courcy, I found more than one of the chicks, which the hen birds had dropped in their haste, and which were not reclaimed until long after, when the little creatures awaking, and finding themselves alone, set up a roar that discovered their place of retreat. MOUNTAIN SCENERY. 315 It was daylight ere we could gather our party, and then we went down a sort of valley into which we had entered, for about four miles, to a fine large village on the banks of an ample stream, which waters an extensive plain. The village was named Kara-Ziazeen, and contained, perhaps, two hundred houses, the plain, that of Char-Pareh, and the river, which, I believe, took the same name, issued from a dark pass to lose itself in another below. Look- ing back, we saw the smaller village of our last night's lodging lying at the foot of a noble, lofty, snow-clad mountain, or rather range of mountains, called Sheeree-Khaneh, which, I believe, at this point separates Azerbijân from Armenia : we had now entered the latter. Prosperous and large as our village appeared, and fortified as we were with letters and attendants from all the authorities, we, nevertheless, were re- fused horses on our first application; and it was not until the production of coin in a visible and tangible shape had convinced the villagers that we intended to pay honestly for all we got, that two sorry yaboos, and a good mule for the baggage, were brought forth, so that it was eleven o'clock before we were again under weigh. Our ride, for a long time, was most uninteresting, over and among a succession of gravelly hillocks and hollows, until rising to a considerable height we saw, lying on our left hand, the dark and lofty mountains of Karabaugh, wildly clustered together, with their heads capped with snow and clouds, and the huge black crag of Eilung Dagh, or the Serpent Moun- 316 STRUGGLES. tain projecting out before them like some gigantic champion stepping forth from a host to challenge an attack. In front, stretched out the plains of Nakshiwan and Shereer, which I well remembered traversing; as also the heights of Aberân, in the distance. The mighty Ararat had veiled his face in storm; and retired from the scrutiny or ad- miration of mortal eye, in a threatening mass of clouds. About five o'clock we entered the village of Sooffian, which is scarcely six fursungs from Kara Ziazeen, although it was with difficulty we got our wearied nags to the place, and I can scarcely ex- press to you the annoyance of thus being forced to fight our way, inch by inch, winning from chance, as it were, every stage we attain, and looking forward to every succeeding one as to a like struggle, when every motive possible, both private and public, are leagued to press one forward. “ Oh, that I could but reach some land where a regular conveyance, however humble, however fatiguing, exists !” was a prayer that was often breathed by me during these weary marches. After the customary difficulties, refusals, denials, and persuasives of sundry sorts, we got once more on foot at four on the succeeding morning; and though we rode fast during the early part of the stage, it was noon ere we reached Makoo, one stage, which I therefore consider as good seven fursungs, or twenty- eight miles from Sooffeean. The first part of our march led through deep irregular ground, ravines, cut in a singular sort of rock, exhibiting strata like sandstone, but full of selenite and other forms of ARARAT. 317 gypsum, and decomposing into a species of fat clay. The fragments stood insulated in castellated shapes upon the summits of the hills, like battlements and towers, in very striking variety. Ararat was now seen in all his glory, with his two white cones re- lieved against a deep blue and cloudless sky, and was an object of himself sufficient to lighten the tedium of a weary way. I never tire of gazing on this mountain. We continued mounting and descending alter- nately until we reached a small village on the banks of a considerable stream, which we forded at this point. Here, also, we met with a tribe of Koordish Eeliauts on the move, and saw three of the prettiest girls, assuredly, I have ever seen in these countries, who were employed in driving on some of the cattle, while the men walked lazily behind. During the latter part of the stage, we followed the windings of this stream upwards, along a narrow glen, in the rocky floor of which it had hewed itself a trough, so as to be quite invisible, except on close approach. In- deed, I suspect it sometimes runs under natural arches in the rock, as I observed a woman and two men pass it at a point where either bridge or ford could scarcely have existed. A little before mid-day we reached a spot where the glen contracts to a mere ravine, and this appears to have been held as one of the points of defence of the strongholds to which we were approaching : for two towers which have been built here, command the road and passage upwards. Turning the shoulder of the rock beyond these, we came right upon the place of Makoo, and 318 MAKOO. a singular place it is, although, perhaps, not equal to what a lively imagination may have painted it from description. On the left bank of the stream the rock rises in a scarp, to the height of some four or five hundred feet; and from a point, or rather line, about forty or fifty feet below the summit of the bank, there is a cavern or recess, formed by an in- ward sloping of the rock, to the depth of, perhaps, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet, by five or six hundred in length. Across this recess, at about fifty or sixty feet within a line, dropped perpen- dicularly from the overhanging rock, has been built a wall of stone and lime, which uniting with the rock at either side, forms the fort. In this space have been built houses, some of them being attached to the inside of the wall, which afford accommodation to the Khan and part of the garrison. The fort thus formed, is between two and three hundred feet above the level of the narrow valley, and beneath its wall, upon the slope, has been built the town or village, among the rocky ruins that have fallen from time to time from the scarp. The whole is sur- rounded by a stone wall, which meets the scarp on either side, and is strengthened with square bastions. The space between the wall of the fort and the back of the rock does not appear greatly to exceed sixty or seventy feet in depth, so that the accommodation it can afford for residence must be small. But there is in the rock itself a second hollow, rendered in- accessible by a smooth scarp of some fifty or sixty feet, and which, therefore, can only be reached by the help of ropes. This gallery leads to a series of I A SINGULAR STRONGHOLD. 319 caverns formed in the rock, and capable, as I was as- sured, of accommodating one thousand, or as some say three thousand men, and having immense granaries, which are always kept full, and a perennial stream of water rising in the rock itself. The inaccessibility of this interior stronghold, and its inassailibility by shot or shell, renders it, as is believed, impregnable ; and no doubt, to capture it, if resolutely defended, would be no easy matter. Within, and carved on the rock, are said to be many inscriptions in an unknown language, and which have never been seen by any one capable of forming an opinion upon the subject ; for the possessor of this stronghold, it is affirmed, receives it from his predecessor, under an oath, never to permit strangers to mount into the in- terior, or see the caverns. A friend of mine, Major Rawlinson, who was the guest of the present owner, Allee Khan, for several days, sought in vain to obtain this permission; for, though never positively refused, an excuse of some kind or other was always ready whenever the proposition was made. The rock of which the bank consists is lime- stone, and the caverns are probably some of those extensive ones so common in calcareous formations, aided, no doubt, in more or less degree by art; but to what extent the outer recess may be natural or artificial, is very uncertain. Tradition attributes it to the work of the old Armenians in times of perse- cution, and, certainly, it has very much the appear- ance of a place of refuge from such evils. That it does not afford its inmates security from all mishaps, however, is proved by the following incident which 320 A FORTUNATE ESCAPE. I heard on the spot. A boy who was sleeping with the rest of the family in a house within the fort, awoke one night in great alarm, and though several times put to sleep again, would neither be pacified or quieted, although he could not describe the cause of his uneasiness. The family partaking in his singular alarm removed from the room, and scarcely had they done so, when a huge mass of rock fell from the overhanging roof upon the spot they had occupied. So alarmed were the garrison at this accident, that they fired upwards of a hun- dred of the small guns of the fort, by way of trying whether any more loose pieces would fall; but none would move, nor have there been any more oc- currences of the sort since then. Allee Khan, the lord of this singular fortress, to whom I had letters from the Ameer Nizam, paid just as little attention to them, or to my wants, as Hâtim Khan of Khoee. He swore that there was not a single head of horses in the place, but that, if I would be his guest till the morrow, he would send to the villages and try to procure them. This not suiting me, whose purpose was to reach Baya- zeed that night if possible, I sent my servant, Ker- belae Hussein, into the town, who soon returned with three horses, hired at a ducat a piece, it is true, but good stout beasts, capable of even a longer stage; so by three o'clock in the afternoon, no thanks to the Khan, we were under weigh. Accompanied by a Euzbashee, or captain of the Khan's, as guide, the only proof of his attention to the recommendation of his superior at Tabreez, and VOLCANIC ROCKS. 321 one for which I paid soundly, we held up the glen for a while; then turning up a ravine which is said to have been miraculously opened, upon some occasion, by the sword of Allee, we descended upon a springy plain, full of knobs and ridges of a sort of lava or scoria-like rock, which everywhere protrudes through the ground. This was accounted for by the vicinity of Ararat, to which we had approached very close, and whose sides everywhere show the same black crests of rock cropping forth, just as we saw them at Dema- wund. Having advanced nearly to the other end of this plain, we halted at a village called Bazer- gaun, the last in the Persian territories on this side, and the native place and property of my friend, the Euzbashee, who signified his desire to make me his guest for a part of the night, promising to waken me in such good time as should enable me to reach Bayazeed by sunrise. He also informed me that from this village it would be necessary to take some horsemen as guards ; for the Jelallee Koords, in spite of the efforts of the Persian soldiery who were sent hither to protect the country, con- tinued to infest the roads; and had, only a few days before, robbed and murdered some travellers on this very stage. To all this I had nothing to do but to consent, which I did the more readily as the sun was already set, the night very cold, and there could be no use in reaching Bayazeed, where we knew there would be a sore battle for horses, be- fore daylight. Accordingly we dismounted at my friend's house, where every possible attention was VOL. II. Y 322 BITTER MORNING'S RIDE. shown us. A rousing fire illuminated the huge apartment, where the whole family, from the great- grandfather downwards, were assembled, and we were, in due time, all entertained with good rice pillaw. After a few hours sleep, we mounted, accom- panied by six horsemen of the Euzbashee's, about one o'clock in one of the bitterest mornings I ever remember to have felt; for not only did it freeze intensely, but a fierce wind blew right in our teeth, so that by no precaution could we defend ourselves from its effects. Even the hardened Koordish horsemen could not stand it; but would stop, in spite of the dangers of the road, to make a fire and warm themselves, and they walked on foot till daybreak. As for me, I endured it as I have done many other desperate days and nights-grinned and bore it, but was at length forced to get off and walk too. When day dawned, we found ourselves proceeding along the foot of Ararat, and nearer to it than I had ever been before ; for there was only a strip of marshy land and water, which seems to run quite round his skirts, and one or two ridges of the aforesaid black rocks, between us and the rise of his base. We continued thus to coast, as it were, this mighty mountain, for several hours. Great mountains, like great men, are, for the most part, seen to the best advantage from afar ; a nearer ap- proach only serves to discover those pettinesses and imperfections which distance concealed. Besides, they lose the value of contrast, which is scarcely less powerful than mystery in producing effect. Ararat, SECOND VISIT TO BAYAZEED. 323 viewed from a position so close to his base, lost greatly in grandeur by the fore-shortening of his height, and presented only a huge mass of snow and rock, without any noble features, or deeply-marked ravines or hollows, rising into a rounded top: his bulk was rather oppressive than majestic. No sooner had morning broke, than our guide became urgent with us to push forward. We had seen the fires of the Jelallees on the skirts of the mountain, just across the frozen sheet of water, and prudence warned us not to risk the chance of their crossing to question us; so away we went, sometimes gallopping, sometimes at a round trot, our guards pricking on a head to look out, or running races with each other and exercising with their spears, to warm both themselves and their horses. Fortunately we fell in with nothing dis- posed to molest us, although we did encounter a small detachment of some wandering tribe or other on the move, which, for the moment, threw us into alarm. A little before eight o'clock we reached my weary old quarters of Bayazeed, which I did not behold again without something of a shudder. We were in better luck this time : a long price got us horses by noon; and I rode down the hill rather glad to escape the inquiries of my old friends, who might possibly have made some attempt to saddle me with the death of poor Saduk Beg, who, when I was here before, forced himself on me as a patient. I did not even ask after my old unreasonable Armenian host, Ohan; but gladly saw the romantic town and handsome Y 2 324 OLD QUARTERS. room. castle of Bayazeed vanish in the distance, as we cross- ed its plain towards Diadeen. The road was worse than that of the last stage ; for there was more snow, and much of it in a melting state: but we, nevertheless, got on extremely well, reaching Dia- deen exactly at sunset, and making out a seven fursung stage in a little less than six hours of time. At Diadeen I found Khodadad Khan, Envoy from the Shah of Persia to the Court of Constan- tinople, who had left Bayazeed just before myself, intending to proceed on the morrow towards Erze- This was unlucky, as he had already se- cured so great a number of baggage-horses, that we found there was little chance of procuring any for ourselves. So we came-to for a few hours, I think in the very same quarters which Bonham and I occupied, little more than a twelvemonth ago, and shut out the rigour of the night, for a while, by a rousing fire. March 25.-With great difficulty and at a high price, an arrangement for horses was made for this morning; and about four o'clock, of as bitter a day as ever dawned, we took the road again, in spite of the guide, who refused to move till sunrise, on account of the cold. A long miserable road it was in deep snow, worn into caravan-steps, or over frozen puddles, the horses slipping and stumbling at every step, and every now and then plunging shoulder deep into holes in the snow. A most tedious twelve hours' stage-all snow and mud, which we performed in lit- tle less than thirteen hours, first proceeding along the KOORDISH VILLAGE. 325 course of the Euphrates, here called the Moraudsu, and then among an endless succession of heights and hollows, into the great uneven valley of Topra-Kallah. A snow-storm came on to better the business, and it was long past four o'clock ere we saw Kar Ec- clesia, a place noted in my first journey as a munzil- khanch, like a great dung-yard, with heaps of manure smoking and steaming in the half-melted snow. It would have done a Lothian farmer's heart good to see it : but he would have been disappointed on a nearer approach, at finding the heaps of dung-like substances turn out to be pyramids of fuel on the round roofs of houses, whose goodly entrances, when you get among them, stare at you like the Cy- clop's eye. I have described these spacious semi- subterraneous mansions already, so I need not re- peat it here. Upon asking for horses, I was told they were at my service whenever I pleased, but that there were so many bad steps, and so much mud in the next stage, that if we persisted in proceeding at night, and particularly as the snow was falling fast, there was little chance of our getting through; on the contrary, that we should but knock up the horses, perhaps lose our loads, and make far less speed than by waiting quietly till the morning. It was plain to me that the affair was settled from the first, and indeed the weather was enough to frighten any guide, even if we ourselves chose to run the risk. So I agreed to remain till an hour before day; and after a very sober repast and a dish of tea, went to rest, warmed by the breath of a multitude 826 PECULIAR PHYSIOGNOMY. of cows, calves, buffaloes, and other quadrupeds, as well as bipeds ; in fact, the place grew so hot and airless, that I was forced to rise and get the air- hole above opened in order to breathe. The people of the posthouse here were particu- larly civil, and I remember that they were so on our journey outward last year. They partake somewhat of the Turkish manners, and shave the beard like them ; this, perhaps, is owing to their being govern- ed by a Turkish Beg, who rules, I have an idea, with pretty full authority. I found that not even a lodging was to be had without the assistance of their chiaooshes, and the person with whom we were to deal for horses was pointed out by these officials. Their physiognomy, I think, is different from that of the Koords of Persian Koordistan—the nose is larger and coarser, though still aquiline, and the under jaw and jowl particularly full. They wear on their heads conical felt caps, wound round with handkerchiefs of blue, with red or white spots, often crossed by a se- cond of some other gay colour. Their huge and often highly-embroidered shulwars reach almost to the shoulders, enveloping all the person, and meeting the little Mamluc jacket, while their legs are cased either in wide boots or sandals, called chârokhs. March 26.--A most ill-timed search for a pack- saddle, which, in spite of the perfect state of prepar- ation boasted of by the postmaster last night, proved to be wanting, consumed a precious morning hour, so that it was near six ere we mounted ; and a more wretched set-out to perform a villanous stage we never had. The load-horse gave up, and fairly lay down 328 AN ARBITRARY EJECTMENT. the track, and which retarded us sadly. When, per force, we came-to for the night-for there was no at- tempting to cross the mountain excepting with day- light, we were accommodated, as usual, in a stable, turning out some half dozen of Tabreez muleteers. We, however, had not any cause to complain of cold, Heaven knows it is heat and vile air that plagues us in these close over-tenanted lodgings. It, however, saves the need of many coverings; and fortunately so in the present case, for mine were all thoroughly wet with the splashing of mud and snow-water. I could not help being struck this evening with the wonder- ful readiness, if not perfect good humour, with which these same muleteers turned out of their warm nests at the bidding of my servant and the master of the house ; and this was the more remarkable, as they had scarcely any other place to go to, but took up their berths among their own horses and mules in the stable of which my little chamber formed a part. Habitual deference to anything in the shape of a great man, qualifies even the brutality and dis- position to gross insolence which too often character- ize that class of men in Persia ; and this with an indifference to comfort, brought on by their labo- rious profession, made the sacrifice of leaving a com- paratively clean and convenient apartment for the immundicities and filth of a stable, comparatively light. For the credit of my own humanity I must say, that I protested against the arbitrary ejection of those who had a prior right to the room; but this was not listened to for a moment by my host, who calculated, no doubt, on a handsome remuneration for his ser- LOVE OF TEA. 329 vices. The rogues were more particular, however, in what related to the accommodation of their inte- rior. The only thing they stipulated for, was per- mission to boil a vast black pot upon the fire that roared in the chimney of my berth ; and from the bowels of this caldron, in due time, they extracted a pillaw of fine white rice, seasoned with excellent butter and other condiments, which made my mouth water as they transferred it, with all possible sym- ptoms of satisfaction, to their own receptacles for food. I, for my own part, was obliged to put up with some- thing far humbler, seasoned, however, with a good dish of tea ; the leaves of which, after I had done with them, were boiled and re-boiled and strained and re-strained to furnish forth a pittance for mine host and his other guests. Verily my sugar also suf- fered no small diminution from their attack; but for this I had in some measure prepared myself. I had ob- served that a cup of tea was one of the most accept- able compliments to the postmaster and persons with whom I usually lodged during my journey-it was also one of the easiest paid ; for if it was sweet, no matter to them how weak it might be; so I laid in a good store of sugar; and, after extracting what I re- quired for myself from the pot in which I boiled my tea, I filled it up again, and throwing in a sufficiency of sugar, gave the whole concern up to their discre- tion—it was always completely and thankfully drain- ed to the dregs. March 27.—When we arrived last night, the sky, which had been thick and cloudy all day, threatened snow so much, that I had a strong presentiment we 330 A PROVOKING DETENTION. should be stopped in the morning, and so, in fact, it proved. It snowed hard all night; and when at four in the morning we saddled in order to be ready, the snow was falling so fast, that it would have been madness to proceed until we should know how matters were likely to turn out. The muleteers who had also loaded with the hope of pushing through, and who did leave the village about six, were actually driven back, and came in, saying, that the snow was coming down as if from an ambár (granary, or store-house). So here I am once more fairly stuck in the snow, fortunately under roof, though, if it continue to fall, with the prospect of having the pass blocked up, and thereby losing seve- ral days; but “ Khoda Buzoorg !” God is great ! as the Persians say—we shall see. The snow continued all day, with squalls of wind at intervals, so that I was forced to make up my mind to pass the day here, rather than in a snow- wreath in the pass of Dehâh, as would probably be the case were we to attempt to move. The night closed in with little better prospects. March 29.-These last have been two bitter days indeed; thank Heaven, we are well through them. Yesterday morning I was awake at four o'clock. Snow had fallen all night, though not heavily, and was still falling ; so we waited another hour to see if the weather would improve, and whether the mule- teers would make a start. At the end of that time the guide came in to say that the weather was better-that the air was khoosh (mild), and recom- mended an immediate start. I had heard a roaring A DUBIOUS COMMENCEMENT. 331 2 at ady , lave 20W pers ing sis, hat vir ore of , of e- c! in the chimney, and suspected that the wind was rising; and on going out to see, discovered that such was the case ; for there were occasional gusts even among the houses, and sighings among the hills, such as presage a storm, and I ventured to hint that there might be a booraun (a storm of wind and drifting snow) in the mountain. But the guide, and another Koord who had joined us on the preceding march, said no— there was no booraun; so I bowed to their better experience, and we mounted just at six. Wind there was sure enough, however, and it often brought sharp gusts of rain and snow ; but the air was not very cold, and the snow below the hills was too soft to drift, so that the path was not oblite- rated. On the contrary, like that of the preceding march, it was deep in mud and snow-water, so that we made slow progress to Koord-Allee, a small vil- lage, two hours or fursungs on. At this place. we learned that a small caravan, tempted by the mildness of the air, had gone on in advance, so we flatter- ed ourselves with an easy march, as the path would be opened for us by them. Woefully were we dis- appointed. Before making out half a fursung, we overtook the rear of the câfilah, struggling hard in deep snow, their beasts falling at every step. We passed them by a great effort, several of their cattle having been plunged into the snow in the encounter, and ours being extricated with much difficulty. In the same way we passed three different de- tachments; but by this time we had proof of the existence of a boor aun to some purpose ; for not only d у t 332 THE BOORAUN, did we see the snow drifting from all the white ridges above us, but many of the blasts that swept by ourselves came charged with frozen snow as large and as hard as small shot. As we were clear- ing the last party, which happened just at the cross- ing of a stream, the bed of which was filled with snow, in which we plunged and floundered for a full half-hour, these blasts came quicker and stronger, and the air was filled with frozen glittering particles which pricked us like needles, when dashed by the wind against the skin. From the hollow we had just passed, there ex- tended before us a sloping ascent of some two or three miles, along which the path might still be traced like a thread, and we had learned that there was still a small party a-head, unconnected with the caravan, whose foot-prints were visible in the snow. But no sooner had we emerged from the hollow, and opened out this exposed track, than down came the gusts, sweeping with tenfold violence, and so sud- denly, that some of us, who were off our guard, were forced from the path into the deep snow beside it. As we increased our altitude and neared the peaks and ridges by which we were surrounded, these blasts increased in frequency and power, to a degree I have seldom known equalled—it was like the blast from the mouth of a cannon; so swift and fierce, that several of the horses and their riders were fairly blown down upon their haunches, or overthrown in the snow, and showers of ice came pouring on us from a distance, with a force that no one could face, so that we were often forced to halt and turn round PRICKING FOR A PATH. 333 till the squall had blown past. All this time, too, the path was being filled up, so that we had to hasten onwards for fear of losing the track of our predecessors. After a while we overtook them, to the number of some fifteen or sixteen, and as many loaded horses and mules, all at a stand, just at the foot of a sharp ascent, evidently deep in drifted snow. Here all traces of former paths had been lost, and they had sent forward two people who, they told us, had been pricking for it with sticks for a long time un- successfully. They were just on the point of giving up the matter in despair, and turning back to the village they had left in the morning, when our ap- pearance revived their spirits, from the hope that we might prove better guides than any they had with them. Their prac- The young Koord and our own guide professed themselves able and willing to trace out the path, and I must say they set their shoulders to the work in a most gallant and scientific manner. tised eyes soon discovered where the old track must have run, and the young man leading forward his own horse, a powerful chestnut, set him at it, and he dashed and floundered through the first hollow in a very spirited style; but the figure which the animal cut after its tussle, and the fearful depth of snow which its track discovered, offered no great hope for those who had loaded beasts, of being able to follow, particularly, considering that we had the prospect of eight miles more of the same sort of work before reaching the top of the Geddook. In fact, so dis- 334 A STRUGGLE. couraging did matters appear, that the party we had overtaken, who were merchants, still talked of going back, and I began myself, with no very enviable feelings, to calculate upon the probable powers of en- durance of my own poor rats of horses. But the guides still continued confident; and taunting and encouraging by turns, prevailed on the merchants to hold on and try their luck. You would have laughed, had you been there, to see the dispute which now arose as to who should go first in the path of difficulty ; each man hung back on the plea of humility-respect for his superiors—it was not for him to precede — and when that shallow pre- tence failed, it was ludicrous to mark the transition from overstrained politeness to excessive abuse, which terminated in an attempt, by blows, to drive each other's horses to the task. Dire was the row, and many were the fathers that were burned, and mo- thers and wives abused black and blue; but as time was precious, we interfered and brought about an arrangement for the riding-horses, unmounted, to take the lead, after which it was hoped that the loaded beasts might follow. Our own were then dragged forward, as a forlorn hope, to lead the at- tack; and in spite of the snow being trampled down as much as possible by all the people on foot, the plunging and floundering were quite terrible. Some of them went quite out of sight, except the head, which was held up while the united strength of all parties was applied to dig the beast out. By degrees, however, the track became wider and the snow more solid; and after a delay of two full hours, this formi- A PROSPECT OF HELP. 335 dable barrier was forced through, at a desperate ex- pense of time and animal vigour. All this time the storm of wind was increasing ; the squalls were longer and at shorter intervals from each other, and my apprehension became strong that when we should come to ascend the steep slopes above, the quantity of drift snow which was pour- ing down from the heights would envelope us as we slowly mounted, and bar retreat as well as ad- vance. While we thus plodded on, speculating upon what was to happen, none daring to whisper his fears to his neighbour, a glad sound was heard mingling with the gale, in the tinkling of mule-bells, and in a few minutes more a few black dots appear- ed turning the corner of a height above us—it was the first group of a large caravan that was coming down the pass, diminished in size to mere points, by a distance which the universal whiteness and drift- mist prevented us from being able to appreciate. One of the curious effects of absolute monotony of colour, especially in snow, is to deceive the eye with regard to distance, so that dark objects of consider- able size, a long way off, appear like perfect dots close to the eye. Distant as they were, it was a joy- ful sight to us, for it promised us a well-opened path- way for the rest of our stage. Only one puzzle remained, and that was how we should pass this great body without being trampled down or overset into the unknown depths of snow that lay upon the slope where we must meet ; but, fortunately, just as the first of the strangers turned the shoulder next 336 A TERRIBLE HOUR. us, we found ourselves at the foot of a little hillock, the summit of which had been almost cleared by the wind; and thither, although there was scarcely stand- ing room, the whole party scrambled up to let the great advancing body pass without jostling. I do not remember ever suffering more than I did upon this occasion. For more than an hour, while nearly three hundred loaded mules came up, made their way, and passed on, did we stand fully exposed to a blast which, for fury, I never saw equalled on land. The squalls came upon us swift and resistless as lightning, fraught with ice and frost, which mock- ed all coverings to scorn: so fierce were they that many of the horses were blown down, and others kneeled of themselves to escape their violence; yet so small was the surface clear of deep snow that there was no stamping about or taking exercise to keep our- selves warm. Oh! how often, as these wild blasts and clouds of drift swept past us, threatening first to an- nihilate and then to bury us -- how often did I think of that deservedly celebrated and disastrous event that terrible retreat from Moscow, and of the thou- sands of human beings who suffered in it the ex- tremity of what I now shrunk under, even with many alleviations! How often did the gloomy idea cross my brain that we might soon ourselves be- come "petits monticules” of snow, like those which alone and speedily marked the resting-place of the numbed and worn-out soldiers of France in that dreadful flight !---I shudder yet to think of all we that day endured. The caravan at length had passed ; and knowing, 338 DELLEE BABA. awhile, and got six times engulfed over head and ears. The guides then tried it with like success; yet the errors of one served as a warning to the others; and by dint of unwearied perseverance we surmounted these dangerous banks, one after another, and reached the height of the gorge: Here, though the wind would scarcely allow us to stand, we were in comparative safety-our toils were in a manner over; for all the fresh snow having been drifted to the side we had ascended, that which lay before us was almost bare, and the path in the old snow remained visible and open, so that we had little difficulty in reaching the miserable village of Dehâ, a long way down the mountain. At that place the snow was softer and less in quantity, so that though the wind continued violent and the night became bitterly cold, we were able to push on briskly to Dellee Baba, which we reached about six o'clock, after a most weary march of twelve hours, the dis- tance gone from Zeiderkan being about thirty-six miles. Dellee Baba, which we passed through at night on the journey outwards, appeared, as we approached it this night, a poor village, which, as we were told, had been much ruined by the frequent passage of troops when the Seraskier was stationed at Bayazeed in August and September last : but the houses seemed comfortable, though, like those of all Armenian vil- lages, built chiefly underground; and such of the inhabitants as I saw had a substantial and wealthy appearance. On dismounting at the house where we were to be accommodated, I desired that horses 340 ARMENIAN HOUSE. largest houses I had yet seen. It was, like the rest, under ground; but had an extent and number of apartments that was quite surprising, and the wood-work and finishing were of a very superior de- scription. There were at least four huge stables and cow-houses, opening into each other, each full sixty feet long, lofty, and roofed with admirable timber. They were much better lighted, too, than usual, and each had a chamber of dais railed off for the bipeds of the family, and raised a little above the rest. At the time we were there, the whole domicile was swarming with men, women, and animals of all sorts, that had taken shelter from the weather, and that formed a curious admixture. Skirting the Arras, which we crossed by a fine, though ruinous, old bridge, and then pursuing our way over an irregular plain, we contrived to reach Hussein Kallah, by great exertion about four o'clock in the evening, flogging on evening, flogging on our wearied horses, and often walking ourselves, both to ease them and to keep ourselves from being frozen to death with cold. We were ten hours of time about this stage, which is, in fact, I believe, just that number of hours long, instead of nine, which it is called. At Hussein Kallah we reached the first regular posthouse of Turkey, and it was with sincere pleasure that I hailed the first appearance of my old friends the true professional Suragees. Horses were ready at call, and at the regular charge; but the postmaster told me that, though it was all one to him when I went, he would recommend me not to attempt crossing the plain till morning; for DETENTION. 341 that the path had been so totally obliterated by the snow and drift of the preceding day and night, as to make it impassable until a caravan should open it afresh. A Tatar of the Pashah's, who came in about sunset, confirmed this account. He had been out from Erzeroom, only six hours' distant, since dawn, he said; and though unencumbered with loads, had only managed to reach Hussein Kal- lah, after twelve hours' hard work. He added, that it was through the mercy of Providence that I had not started before he came, as the snow was breast-high in many places, and I never could have made my way out. The keen wind which still blew gave force to his arguments, and I consented to stay where I now write from, at Hussein Kallah, for at least a part of the night. March 30.-— Alhumdulillah ! at length, thanks be to God! I can date from Erzeroom; and although my last stage to this place has been one of the toughest bits yet, I am encouraged to hope that the worst of my struggles are over, and that I shall now get on with much greater rapidity. We were out an hour before dawn, in a morn- ing quite as bitter as usual. The first part of the plain that we crossed, was covered with ice; but we trotted on at the risk of our necks, till stopped by the deep snow that lay further on. The sur- face of this snow was frozen, but not hard enough to bear the loaded horses, which accordingly sunk through the crust up to the shoulder; and though we ourselves got off and walked, this did not help the load-horse, which was soon utterly knocked up. 342 ERZEROOM. We shifted his load to the Suragee's horse; and this also, after falling more than a dozen times and being cut to pieces with the ice, at last lay extended, as if dead, upon the snow; yet we were not half through the worst. The most provoking part of the bu- siness was to see, scarcely half a mile on our flank, a large cäfilah going quietly and easily along the caravan road to Erzeroom; but what was this to us ? we had no wings with which to clear the intervening snow; so all that remained was to per- severe in the way we were going. A wretched three hours we had of it indeed, con- stantly digging out the horses, and dragging the loads across the worst places, and shifting them from one poor jaded beast to another: but patience and perseverance will prevail, and by dint of these we at length brought our weary animals to the point where the road we were pursuing joined that of the caravans. All then was easy; our horses recovered their spirits, and we trotted along in the track, passing party after party, as we could, till about noon we reached the pretty-looking, but dis- appointing, town of Erzeroom. On entering the gates I was stopped by the custom-house people-a new fashion towards Eng- lishmen, and my baggage was carried to the custom- house, until released by the kind intervention of the consular agent, M. Zohrab. By this gentle- man I was received, as on former occasions, with his customary kindness; and solaced myself, for a few hours, with the comforts of his abode for the hardships of the previous fortnight. On inquiring CONSEQUENCES OF SMUGGLING. 343 into the cause of the impediments I had met with from the officials of the custom-house at the city gates, M. Zohrab informed me that the couriers in the service of the natives, as well as of the English authorities, had made their charge of des- patches so often a cloak for eluding the payment of duty on the cash and valuables which they carried for merchants to the capital, that the authorities at Erzeroom had determined no longer to suffer this infringement of their rights, but to search the baggage of all couriers. The abuse of confidence might warrant such a measure ; but M. Zohrab very justly observed, that it did not excuse dis- respectful conduct to an English traveller, and as- sured me that the affair should be properly repre- sented to the Pashah. 344 LETTER XVI. Preparations. Measures for putting down Thieves. - Un- lucky Start.--Ashkallah.— Irakh.—An old Halting-place.- Koords.-Snow again. -Elma Dagh.-Chifflick.—Sheerannee.- Familiar Scenery.—A gallop to Kara Hissar. — A nervous Stage to Kulee Hissar. — Disappointment and Delay. - Cold weather.—Coffee. — Baking.— Interesting Scenery.—Niskar.- Tocât. Toorkhal. - A Dilemma.- Drowsiness.-Amasia.- Marsteewan.—Drekler Dagh.—Ride in the Dark.-Surmâs-e- Kiayah.—Hadjee Humza.-Successful Remonstrance.—Tosia. -Khoja-Hissâr.–Karajurân.–Karajillâr.—The Hour of Rest. Humâmloo. — Bitter Night's Ride. Gheriza.- Boli - its Plains and Pass. - Ducheh. Severe Stage to Khunduc.- Wet Ride to Sabanjah.—Ismîd. Change of Conveyance.-Cus- tom-house Interference. Rough Driving. - Reach Constan- tinople. Constantinople. DEAR You can imagine, though I cannot express, the delight with which I announce to you the safe arrival of all that is left of me once more on the right side of the Bosphorus, and can hail dear civilized Europe again ; I say, all that is left me, for I as- sure you that the fatigues of a second Tâtar journey, in addition to hard work before, have left me little of the “stout gentleman” you once remember me: and grateful, fervently grateful, am I to the Al- mighty power who has thus vouchsafed to con- CHANGE OF PROSPECTS. 345 duct me through a maze of difficulty and danger that I could never have anticipated, and has given me the hope — the rational hope of joining once more all that I hold dear on earth! I have said civilized Europe; perhaps I should in strictness have said semi-civilized, at all events until the reforms of Mahmood shall have been completed, and even then the claim of Turkey to a less qualified epithet will depend much upon the schoolmaster who shall suggest and guide the great change now in progress. Leaving these speculations for the present, let me proceed with my journey, which at Erzeroom as- sumed quite another character. Delay and danger had almost ceased, and speed and hard work were to come into play. My first object on reaching Erzeroom was to provide for speedily leaving it, with the best chance of rapidly reaching “Stambol ;” and I thought that this had actually been effected within the first two hours of my stay there, by securing the services of a well-known Tâtar, Cossim Aga, for a very moderate But the court of the Seraskier is not less fruitful of intrigue than that of his master the Sul- taun, or any other sovereign you please ; and my ar- rangements were all turned topsyturvy before the evening, by a cabal in the serai, in favour of another Tâtar, and against my chosen Cossim Aga. A stranger could, of course, make no head against the decree of so great an officer as the Tâtar Aga, or head Tâtar of Erzeroom, who pretended that it was not Cossim Aga's turn for a job; but who, in fact, I believe, wanted a larger bribe than Cossim could sum. 346 MEASURES AGAINST ROBBERS. afford to give. I might, it is true, have disappoint- ed him by taking a private Tâtar, who would have done the business cheaper; but as security and the protection of a government courier were things es- sential in my circumstances, I was forced to pay the price for them, and to accept of the services of Gunje Aga Tatar, at a rate considerably higher than the terms of my contract with his rival. I was happy to hear at this place, that the Se- raskier (or Pashah of Erzeroom), who is a sort of governor-general here, on the part of the Sultan, and-a rare thing in a frontier governor-said to be faithful to his master, has taken some strong mea- sures to restrain the excesses of the Jelallee and other predatory Koordish tribes in this quarter ; among which has been the very decided and some- what hazardous one of displacing Behlole Pashah, the hereditary chief of Byazeed, and sending Demir Pasha, late of Van, to govern there. Much is ex- pected from the prudence, as well as from the firm- ness, of Demir Pashah, who, it is said, is in fact the contriver of the measure, and who purposes to con- fine his operations to keeping the roads clear of these robbers during the ensuing summer and autumn, by means of his own troops and of negotiation; but to hem them up, as winter approaches, between an armed cordon and the snow, so as to extirpate or force them to terms; and the success of this receives some colour of likelihood from the fact, that Hus- sein Aga, the principal Jelallee chief is now in prison here. By his agency, they hope not only to recover many of the goods plundered from the great caravan, DIFFERENCES OF OPINION. 347 so as to relieve a part of the Seraskier's bond for 80,000 tomauns, but to bring the whole tribe to favourable terms. But many doubt his being able to effect this : they doubt the co-operation of any clan of Koords in the destruction of another; and aver that no troops but Koords are fit for the service. They predict, too, that he will have to contend with a great many more enemies than the mere professed thieves, and that the introduction of a stranger, however able and conciliatory, in place of a hereditary Koordish chief, however weak and inefficient, will be unpopular all over Koordistan; the allegiance of any part of which is at present more than questionable: in short, the croakers prog- nosticate nothing but evil from the measure; while the retainers of the Pashah, on the other hand, are in high spirits about it, and speak of the Jellalees as if already exterminated. On the way I heard a good deal said about the business, particularly about Topra Kallah, and, as- suredly, the measure was very unpopular. Demir Pashah will have, to say the least of it, a very delicate and difficult game to play ; and instead of rendering the road safer, I should not be astonished at hearing that travelling was rendered more precarious than ever, by his efforts to make it secure. Time alone will show. As to the Pashah here, he is, I suspect, little better, so far as regards talent and firmness, than an old woman. At three o'clock on the 31st of March, having bid adieu to the hospitable M. Zohrab, I left the gates of Erzeroom. Besides myself, the party consisted 1 348 START FROM ERZEROOM. of the Tâtar Gunje Aga, and two Suragees, one being extra, and not on my account; and I had reduced my baggage so much, that we had only one load-horse. The plain before us was nearly clear of snow ; and though we understood that there was plenty in the mountains a-head, it was all long fallen, the track would be clear and the road hard, and, excepting “chamoor”-mud, from the melting snow, or from rain, we had every hope of making good progress. Our start was not a lucky one. There was great delay in bringing the horses, and scarcely bad we got fairly into a swinging trot in the plain beyond the gates, than the horse of the leading Suragee fell and rolled over, horse and man; and upon their separation, the former started off on his return to town, leaving the latter not a little bruised upon the ground. To catch him again, as he ranged free over field and plain, cost us an hour : but we made him pay for his prank; for it was then, on, on! along the banks of the Karasu, one of the branches of the Euphrates, through mud and spots of snow, to Ash Kallah, a ten hours' stage, which we reached at half-past ten; say in six hours and a half: it had cost us a sad cold nine hours on my journey out. In one hour I had swallowed a few fried eggs and bread and milk, mounted fresh horses, and was on the way to Iråkh, a sixteen hours' stage. A heavy proceeding it was ; for the road was not such as we could trot at night, and there was a vile freezing wind that came from the side gulleys, so that the night passed anything but agreeably. Neverthe- OLD ACQUAINTANCES. 349 less, both Tâtar and Tchelebee slept a little, and only wakened well up at six in the morning of the 1st of April, at the old caravanserai, whence, on my first journey, I indited a pencilled note. It was at this time occupied by as ragged a gipsy- looking tribe of Koords as ever I saw. They made a gallant blaze of weeds and brush-wood, at which we warmed ourselves, while their ladies were making their somewhat simple toilet; and then push- ed on, leaving a small matter in the hands of the squalid and tattered patriarch, which called forth, his blessings. Our way had lain almost wholly in the valley of the Karasu ; but about the twelfth mile it crosses the sharp ascent, where I remembered the Tâtar's quarrel with the Suragee, on which occasion we spent an uncomfortable night in a thievish Koord village ; and then turned right up the valley to Kara Koulagh, or Irâkh, which we reached a little after twelve, having travelled the sixty-four miles in some- what more that twelve hours. Hitherto, we had not been troubled with snow-a precious exemption ; but here the valley was full of it, and the hills in our front were like loaves of sugar. In the twelve-hour stage on which we were entering, too, were our two old friends, the passes of Ootloogh Belem, and Elmah Dagh ; so there was something to put us on the “ qui vive.”. We left the village of Iråkh at one P.M. with rather inferior horses, but got capitally up the val- ley and over the long waving ascents and deep snow of Ootloogh Belem, with a few occasional flounders ; and scowering across the intervening plain, and up a 350 FAIR PROGRESS. long stretch of rising valley, entered upon Elmah Dagh just as the light failed us. He did not let us pass without showing a spice of his ancient grudge; for we had some very hard work in the ascent, and lost our way more than once on his summit. It would have been a serious affair to remain there all night, as there seemed at one time to be a pro- bability of doing, for the wind was very cutting ; nor was it a pleasant thing to wind, as we were forced to do upon the frozen snow, along the ledges of the almost precipitous bank, which looked more formidable in the darkness of night. But the same kind Providence that had led me safe through so many dangers, protected us in this also, and we reached the valley at the bottom of the pass in perfect safety. Here again, however, I was out in my calculation, for I thought the village was but two hours further on. It turned out to be fully five - a weary length to get over with exhausted cattle. But it is wonderful what done-up Turkish posters will do; for we trotted the last three hours in capital style, and reached Chifflick at one in the morning, which was just an hour of time for every hour of space in this weary stage. April 2. - On coming in, we went to sleep for three hours, desiring to be waked to breakfast ; but Tâtar and all slept right on, and it was near five in the morning when I awoke myself and made a noise that soon brought the rest to their legs. The posthouse had been partly occupied at our arrival by a Euzbashee, or captain of the new Turkish Nizam, and his servants, going to Kars; so that FAMILIAR SCENERY. 351 not only was my berth second best, but it fell to my share to be last despatched in the morning. The Euzbashee, very courteously, and in regular high- land fashion, asked me to take a dram, holding forth at the same time the wherewithal, in guise of some stiff rákkee, and, on my declining, swallowed a good dose himself. He also invited me to par- take of his breakfast; but it looked so exactly like “cat's meat” in London, that I had not appetite enough to do it due honour; and after they were gone, the Tâtar contrived to procure some nice hot puffs, or fritters, that answered the purpose much better. Off we set, a little after six, with miserable-look- ing cattle; but they belied their appearance, carrying us over the six hours' stage to Sheeranee in three. The morning was pleasant, and the country pretty. It put me in mind of many parts of Scotland. The hills have a reddish brown tinge that looks like hea- ther; and the arbor vite, or perhaps red cedar, with a species of fir, like the Scotch, sprinkled about in patches, with oak coppice here and there, gave it much the appearance of some highland places about Elgin and Forres ; so did the stony soil and patch-like cul- tivation—but not the lofty hills !—not the snow-clad ridges that reared their heads beyond the closer land- scape-they wakened remembrances of a more distant land and broke the day-dream into which I often fell. Spring was making rapid approaches - thousands of crocuses and other bulbous-rooted flowers were spring- ing around — it was altogether a pleasant ride, and oh, how different from the last few weeks ! 352 KARA HISSAR In half an hour we were on horseback again, and entering on the long and well-remembered sixteen hours' stage to Kara Hissar. Now it was mud, not snow, which we had to dread; for the whole low country was by this time clear of its winter garb. On our journey out we had been forced by the snow to take the higher route to avoid the drift-filled valleys; but now we took the low and regular road down the course of the chief branch of the Kizzil-Irmak river, which rises in these hills. The scenery was splendid -around us lay a fine, varied, forest scene, chiefly of pine and arbor vitæ, which were scattered all over the country, and clothed some of the hills to their sum- mits, very like a Scotch forest — reminding me of Rothiemurchus and Glenmore. Beyond, on the right, rose the lofty and very noble range of Geu- mish Khâneh, that lies between this district and that of Trebizond, and a spur of which we cross. There were green, pretty, Armenian villages in every nook; and at our feet and in our path there was abundance of spring-flowers. The first half of our ride was delightful; during the latter half cold and rain came on, and we had much ascent and descent among very wild scenery. Then came the well- known mountain of our former journey, with mud as deep and disagreeable, if not as dangerous as its snow was then; and a weary way we had of it at last to Kara Hissar, with some sharp gallopping over vile ground, which made my sides ache again. We per- formed the stage in twelve hours exactly, reaching Kara Hissar at half-past ten of as black a night as ever gloomed. A change of horses, even on the 354 DELAY. ticular, a species of Hepatica I think, shone like crimson gems, or drops of blood, scattered among the withered herbage; and crocuses, lilies, and prim- rose varieties were abundant. It was ten o'clock on the third of April when we reached Kulee Hissar, doing the twelve hours in eight and a half; some hard gallopping and trotting on level bits of road made up for our loss of time on the dangerous part during the night. We hoped to continue uninterruptedly at this rate, and for that purpose hallooed out for horses as soon as we reached the posthouse. But no assenting echo answered to our call: the postmaster, with a thousand polite- nesses and soft words, assured us by his head that he would do all in his power to serve us, but that horses he had not; remonstrance was of no avail--the Tatar went out to see what could be done-but neither he nor the postmaster could make horses, and so all that remained was to stay until they could be collected from the neighbourhood. In the mean time an hour or two's sleep was not to be despised, particularly as it could be spatched with a safe conscience. While we slept the weather changed, and so violent a storm of wind and rain commenced, that the people began to demur about trusting their horses at all on a dangerous stage, the greater part of which, from the growing lateness of the hour, would have to be performed in the dark. Stories, too, confirmatory of the perils connected with night- work on such a road, began to be raked up, and we were told, in particular, of one Tâtar who had perished a very short time before, by falling from LAND-SLIPS. 355 one of the precipices into the river below. My own Tâtar, too, although he undertook the last stage by night, appeared unwilling to attempt this one ; and while these matters were discussed, and horses were still wanting, evening came on with an in- crease of the storm, so I was forced to make a virtue of necessity, as I had frequently done before, and consent to remain until an hour after midnight, provided the postmaster, on his part, should engage to have all ready by that time. April 4.—My acquiescence in the plan of re- maining, removed, I suspect, the chief obstacle to the production of the horses; yet, as usual, all hands overslept themselves, and it was myself that awaken- ed them at three in the morning, though we were not in the saddle until a quarter past five. The morning was coarse and showery, with a cold wind blowing as we left the village, nevertheless it looked beautiful in its strange little hollow, houses and orchards mingled together, with many of the fruit- trees in full bloom. After an exceedingly steep de- scent, we rode along the banks of the river smartly for eight hours, among earthy mountains, very lofty, but mean in form, and thinly wooded with pine, arbor vitæ, and oak coppice. Little rock was visible, and that little very destructible. marked several singular land slips of immense patches of ground from the face of the mountains, and some of them by no means very precipitous, down the river side. In some places, where the slip was incomplete, the earth had sunk in great hollows. This is a mining district. We found mines I re- 2 A 2 356 A VILLAGE SHOP. 66 Will worked by a wild-looking debauched race, who in- habit a miserable village, by the way-side. The metals worked are copper and lead, I believe ; but I had no time for inquiry. The Tâtar did halt, however, and going into a house which appeared to be the public-house and shop of the village, gave the black-looking landlord a wink which brought out a bottle of fine clear Rákkee. you have some of this coffee,” said he to me smiling; “ this is always the sort I drink when the weather is cold.” He quaffed two large cups of it, and I just tasted one, and found it far from unpalat- able. This shop, which might be known as such by the assemblage of heterogeneous articles displayed in its interior, tobacco, dirty skins of rancid-looking butter, &c., was also the bakehouse of the esta- blishment. The operation of baking was being car- ried on while we were there, by myrmidons as black as the cyclops; and a very disgusting one it was. One fellow whose hands, to judge by appearances, could never have been washed since his birth, was breaking into loaves, from a huge mass of dough, great lumps which he was marking with his skin, while another reeking operative was thrusting them into a monstrous oven; the whole had a most unappe- tizing effect. We passed several pretty villages, snugly perched in the clefts of the mountains, embowered in forests of peach and fruit-trees all in perfect blossom.' It is curious that in passing over this stage, on our way out, we saw no villages ; but then, we had PICTURESQUE COUNTRY. 357 not either time or spirits to look about us, for the cold. At eight hours of space we left the river-bed, crossing it by a bridge to a little village from whence we ascended the left-hand hills by a precipitous path, among earthy mountains sprinkled with pines and oak. Then through a mean but thick forest of fir-trees to a more open and very pretty country, well cultivated, with a number of pleasant villages, among groves of walnut, apple, and pear-trees, some of which were scattered about the fields and left in clumps, as if placed by the most correct taste. In one place there was a little blue mountain lake, bordered by pastures, among the sedges of which hundreds of wild ducks and their broods were sporting. We passed through one village very romantically situated, between two streams at the bottom of a steep descent among fine forests, the name of which I forget ; but I remarked in it a curious specimen of the science of hydraulics, in the carriage of water from a great distance, and over most irregular ground, in wooden pipes constructed of short pieces inserted one into the other. This must have been for the purpose of conveying some water of a peculiar nature, probably that of a fine spring, and perhaps for some particular purpose ; for there was common water in abundance all around the place. Our load-horse knocked up before we reached Iskee Soor, which we did in ten hours of time, and we started from thence at four o'clock in the afternoon, upon an eight hours' stage, to Niskar, over a cold, bleak, black, mountainous country, with 358 A · WEARY STAGE. a wet soil and sprinkled with miserable fir-wood; it reminded me of the ugliest part of Upper Ba- varia in winter. There was snow all around, and a little in our path ; but mist and mud annoyed us more than the snow, We lost ourselves in the first, and had a sore fight with the second, as we de- scended the long extent of wooded mountain that led us to Niskar. It was a weary stage, occupying full nine hours of time, and tried the sure-footedness as well as bottom of our posters. Two of them seemed scarcely able to go when we set out, and one had a leg like a mill-post; yet, after the severest ascents and descents, we gallopped them, helter-skelter in the dark, over full seven miles of the vilest roads, among stones, and stumps, and copse-wood, without their ever coming down, or even making a false step. We reached Niskar at one in the morning, and were told there was such a flood in the river below, through the melting of the snow, that there was no passing it without a boat, and a boat was not to be had till daylight. Whether this was the fact, or a tale made up between the postmaster and the Tâtar, in order to get a few hours' sleep, I could not tell ; but reminded him that his reward depended on his good behaviour, and that daylight must show the truth or falsity of his representation. “On my head be it," said he ; and accordingly we made ourselves at home in a most comfortable apartment of the postmaster's, got a so-so supper, and went to sleep. April 5.--It was broad daylight when I awoke and roused the snoring Tâtar. A vile breakfast 362 A DILEMMA. sleepy-headed as his rider, and would show no indi- cation of a disposition one way more than another- if anything, he was rather inclined to stand still. I was really at a loss : to take either way might be to increase my distance from my party and the road; so I stood still at the crossing of the roads, and took to hallooing again with might and main. Full half an hour had passed in this way, and I had become truly uneasy, when I heard, as I thought, my halloo repeated – it might be thieves, no uncommon folk in these parts, so I prepared my only pistol, and “loos- ened in its sheath my brand.” But in a little while longer, my doubts were resolved, by the Tâtar riding up to me, and asking me what in Allah's name I was doing there.—I explained the matter to him, and then he entered into a long description of his despair when he missed me, and his resolution to search the whole country to find me. The truth was, that he and his companion had been so closely engaged in conversation that they never thought of looking behind them until sleep overtaking them also, Gunje Aga had awakened suddenly- looked for Tchelebee, and lo! he was not — upon which, of course, he had gallopped back to look for his charge. A hard break-neck gallop over most rough and diffi- cult country, in which I never should have been able to find my way without a guide, broke the spell of drowsiness and soon brought us up to the rest of the party; and it was a lesson to me in future to avoid sleeping, so far as might be possible, in such untoward situations--I say, so far as possible; for to combat the leaden power of sleep at all times IRRESISTIBILITY OF SLEEP. 363 is physically impossible - the fit will have its way, and you might as well tell a blind man to pick his steps, or a deaf one to listen attentively, as a tho- roughly worn-out and drowsy man to abstain from sleep. Often have I put myself to all manner of tortures in the saddle to force myself to keep awake -sleep surprised me in the act or the conception of the means to rouse myself. I have got off my horse to walk, and have slept upon my feet while stagger- ing along-no; it is better to yield for a while, and the fit, when a little indulged, will in time go off, or become fainter. We had two rests for coffee this night, and much sharp gallopping; and I think I never felt so much refreshed by a cup of tea as at one of these halts; it wakened me up, and made me feel as strong as if I had but that moment mounted : let all travellers use tea! In the morning, a long sharp ascent and a descent by the remarkable narrow pass I have formerly mentioned, led us to Amasia, just at six A.M.; completing the stage of twelve Turkish hours in eight and three-quarters. A strange, wild, rocky, peculiar place Amasia!- Last time I saw it frowning in clouds, and rain, and snow-now, it was all smiling in spring; the nar- row bed of its fine river one plot of blowing peach- trees—its rocks covered with blooming shrubs, and its sweet, green, little meadows, all so different from the wide-spread beauty and grandeur of Tocât; yet all so well worth lingering in, and sketch- ing, and taking away. Alas! - As we clattered through the town, I observed the remains of what OSMANJIC. 365 d ], $ t 1 in the management of their horses; but I am linger- ing on this stage longer than we were in riding it. A long delay in getting horses, at this Marstee- wan, which is a large dirty village, with more than the usual proportion of burying-grounds about it, detained us till half-past three; when scouring down the valley with the bad horses they gave us, we did the stage of twelve hours to Osmanjic, in nine, reaching that place at half-past twelve night. In this stage was my old friend Drekler Dagh, of fear- ful and dangerous memory. It was fine—very fine -a desperate chasm to be sure, with lofty, savage, strangely-contorted rocks, and I have no doubt, even in daylight, would prove to be one of the most striking pieces of that kind of scenery imaginable ; but a bright night, and the absence of mist, and snow, and ice, had robbed it of part of its horrors- the danger and mystery were lessened, in fact, and the feelings were less excited. From hence, down the stream to Osmanjic, at as hard a pace as the frequent bad steps and fordings of the river would permit. The noble castellated rock-one of the finest of the kind I can remember-rose in the plain on the banks of the Kizzil-Irmak, (not the same river as at Kara Hissar,) conspicuous, even in a pitch-dark night, for clouds had overspread the sky, and rain began to fall soon after we cleared the There are three of these rocks close to each other, called the “ Three Black Brothers," of which, that which is fortified, and is surrounded by the town of Osmanjic, is the largest and most com- manding Drekler pass. 366 DANGEROUS NIGHT'S RIDE. At this place we were detained two hours, and took our way down the glen of the Kizzil-Irmak at half-past two in the morning of the 7th of April, as gusty and disagreeable as the preceding day had been pleasant. The Tâtar had presaged rain from the heat of the weather, in crossing the plain of Marsteewan, and it came now with a witness. So dark had the night become, that none of us could see two yards before us, even after our eyes had recovered the effect of the glare of the posthouse; and had not the Tâtar rode a white horse, I think I should have lost my party, over and over again, for not a foot of the road was perceptible: indeed, from the roughness of our course, there did not ap- pear to be much of one at all; so I kept my eye fixed upon the white back of the Tâtar's horse, wrapped my Arab abba as well around me as the furious wind would permit, and contented myself with thinking that morning must come, and that rain does not last for ever. In some parts our road was very alarming, and we heard the roar of the swoln river close under us, while forced to trust to the sagacity and sure-footed- ness of our horses alone. I cannot imagine how our villain of a Suragee managed to keep to the path at all; it was better, perhaps, that we did not see our danger. Morning had dawned before we passed my other old friend Soormas-e-Kiaya, or as my present Tâtar called it, Erma-Sheikh. This, as well as the pass of Drekler Dagh, was robbed of something of its terrors, by the absence of ice and snow. It is very fine, certainly four or five THE TÂTAR IN A PASSION. 367 d it 1 1 f son. 1 hundred feet perpendicular above the stream ; the whole rock must be twelve hundred feet high. Perhaps, the number of mountain passes and pre- cipices I have seen since crossing this one last year, detracted something from its majesty, by compari- Both these passes are tolerably paved and pa- rapeted, evincing an appearance of attention to the safety of travellers, which belongs, no doubt, to the better days of the empire. We entered Hajee Humza, completing the stage of eight hours, wet and weary, at eight in the morn- ing. After being detained here an hour and a half for horses, they brought us the most wretched ani- mals with which we had yet been insulted, soothing my easy Tâtar with flattering words, which induced him to accept of them in spite of my remonstrances. But his own steed made a stumble on leaving the town, and our Suragee came out with some obsery- ation, which I did not hear; the combined effect of both, however, was to throw Gunje Aga into a passion. “ Back, back !” said he to me, with an ominous flourish of his long whip; “you shall see what I will do with these kuipe-oglan; anna senna, baba senna !” So back we went to the post-house ; where, alighting with a bound, but without a word, he seized the head Suragee by the collar, and drag- ged him away, whip in hand, the fellow pale with terror, and jabbering remonstrances or excuses all the way. Where he led the man, or what he did I know not; but the effect was a rapid production of capital beasts, brought by the head Suragee, now 368 TOSIA. quite humble and meek, and we made a second start with better prospects of speed. I saw little of Hajee Humza; but its grim old castle, and nice gardens and orchards on the river side, seemed to promise something worth the travel- ler's lingering for; as for us, away we went in rain and wind, down the stream, which, however, we soon left, for a race up and down uninteresting tuppehs and hills, that brought us to Tosia. The stage is called nine hours—I do not believe it is thirty-six miles; for we performed it in little more than five hours, in spite of much and very slippery mud. We passed several fine villages and plains to the left, on a tributary of the Kizzil-Irmak, all smiling among their luxuriant and blossoming gardens : but what shall I say of Tosia, with its romantic town and lovely valley, its splendid cultivation, its green picturesque hills, and its multitude of waters? What a contrast to Persia! what a contrast to all the scenes of the last twelve months ! We scarcely entered the town itself, but I was struck with the solid appearance of the buildings. The mosques, and many of the houses, constructed of stone, and rising one above another, in irregular groups and terraces, showed to much advantage, and looked very like a European town: and as a little before five in the afternoon we rode forth again upon our way, I could have believed myself travelling in some of the sweet orchard districts of dear England itself. All was laid out into little fields and paddocks, interspersed with orchards and gardens, divided by walls and hedges: the first built of mud and thatched, and PLEASING RESEMBLANCES. 369 partly overgrown with herbage; the last, formed of barbary bushes and other thorns, with pollard elms and oaks, and willows, and here and there a glorious old tree, just as at home. The pretty lanes, too, and the banks, and the general keeping up, all bespoke a better state of things. The irregular ground and little sweet romantic ravines, so varied and so lovely, quite went to my heart. I could have thought I was actually riding through some part of Worcester or Herefordshire, or Kent — somewhere about Seven Oaks, or Cooper's Hill. So complete, indeed, was the illusion, aided by the little red-tiled houses, with their whitewashed walls, thickly scattered about, that for “some moments, ay, one treacherous hour," I could have lost remembrance of where I was, and believed myself transported to the better and happier land. But there were the Tâtar and Suragees with their picturesque but incongruous costumes, riding before my eyes, and ever and anon would pass a Turkish peasant in his wide Dutch-like breeches and short jacket, or a long be-robed and be-furred horse- man, with his decided turban, would come stalking by, to break the harmony of the scene, and bring me back to Turkey. But, in truth, I talk “foolishness," for the poignant and increasing desire I feel to be “at home,” would have strangled the illusion in its very birth; and I only mean by such terms, to ex- press the strength of it. Ah, if all Turkey were like Tocât and Tosia! so prosperous-looking and happy! Are they so in reality ?—there lies the question, and the rub, I fear. Are there not grinding Pashas and Mutsellims, and their myrmidons, to squeeze the VOL. II. 2 B 370 PERSIAN PRIDE AND VANITY. miserable Ryots ? Yet the oppression must in some places be less severe, or they could not look so prosperous. Where in Persia do we see anything that bespeaks a degree of confidence and security like what seems to be felt in these beautiful districts. I wonder what my friends, the Persians, would say to this scene-whether “ Irân-e-Azeez" would still be the greatest and finest country in the world in their eyes ? But, indeed, I need scarcely wonder about it; for they, the French of Asia, conceive the glory of the “great nation” is never to be equalled, as it is never forgotten by its sons. Even if they should feel the truth, pride would prevent their ad- mitting it. I do not make this allusion with any in- tention of sneering at the French, whose country and nation are really things to be proud of; nor would it be fair, perhaps, to make light of the Persians, for a prejudice which may be thought to smack of pa- triotism ; but, alas! there is more of personal vanity and gasconade in every such expression that is heard from the mouth of a Persian, than of real honest love for his country. Too soon did we quit this beautiful place, which, in a fine spring evening, would have been all that is delightful, with its cowslips, and its primroses, and hyacinths, and rich copsewood banks, and true English lanes; and which, even in the snow-storm that now came on, was fair and lovely to behold. We had a bitter cold stage of ten hours, or forty miles, to Kojah Hissar, which we performed in six hours and a half, in spite of the rain of last night and this day. I know little of the road, but AFFECTED DEVOTION. 371 that it was wearisome and uninteresting in spite of the rate we went at. We reached Kojah Hissar about half past eleven, where I laid myself down for an hour in the hopes of mounting again at the end of that time; but on waking, I was informed that it was the night of the Bairam, and the Suragees were accordingly ab- sent without leave, so that no guide was to be had ; and after the usual amount of objurgation and abuse, I just lay down where I was, in a most miserable coffee-house, nor did I awake till day- light of April 8th, chilled through and through with my wet clothes of yesterday, which I had slept in. We were delayed till eight o'clock with the pretended devotions of these rascals. Now had all this proceeded from any truly religious motive, no one could have blamed it, however mal-apropos for travellers in a hurry; but to find these knaves sheltering themselves from a bad night's ride un- der pretext of devotion, was rather too bad. Al- though it was infinitely provoking to have important matters delayed by such mean and villanous in- struments, there was nothing for it but to muster up my philosophy and bear it as I might. In fact, the night did turn out desperate cold, with snow showers, and a high frosty wind; all the water in the vessels was frozen into lumps, so that we should have had a sad time of it. The country here is altogether bleaker, and less inviting than that we so lately passed. The next stage to Kara-jurân, a. nice village in a bare uninteresting country, is called eight hours, 2 B 2 TEMPLE-LIKE FOUNTAIN. 378 led pall gain Eted at est. are dur ef , ed th il . a! e. , ! heart and freeze the blood, and cut a body through ; yet, thanks be to God, we bore it, gallopped when we could, and entered Gheriza a little after five, where we found every creature asleep. Heaven grant that this may be the last of these killing nights ! for the strength of man cannot stand many of them. April 9.-We had ridden yesterday near one hundred and twenty miles in twenty-one hours, and in killing roads and weather; no wonder Tâtar and all were done up, and that we slept two hours instead of one. We were on horseback about half past seven, and held down a pretty oak-clad glen, and then dashed like madcaps along a small marshy plain, next down a very pretty valley, with the sweetest possible intermixture of wood and cultiva- tion to a Rahdâr, or police post, about half way, where we took coffee. Here there was a delicious fountain, over which was built a pretty temple-like structure, adorned with two Greek pillars, each of which bore, very plainly, engraved inscriptions, but I had not time to read them. A word of remon- strance to my Tâtar, this morning, had transformed hirn into a very devil of activity, and he did nothing but whip on the load and the Suragees' horses, leaving me to follow as I might Away we went from this station, dashing along narrow paths, among stumps of oak and deep ruts, and passing another of these picturesque fountains, also adorned with pillars, besides many other fragments in vari- ous places. All this time it was bitter “cold ; my old enemy, 874 BOLI, the frosty wind, was again at work; and long icicles were hanging to the horses' ears and nostrils, as well as to our mustachios, all the way from Ghe- riza. It certainly was not Spring with dewy," but with " icy fingers cold,” and I began to wonder whether she would ever again think of giving us a breath of “the sweet south.” Millions of white, and purple, and yellow crocuses, which giving the season credit for a proper state of forwardness had popped out their sweet little heads, and had paid for their rashness with their lives. A gradual descent which we made short work of by a gallop, brought us down upon the noble plain of Boli, where the climate improved a little with the day; and I should have enjoyed the ride through it, but the fury of Gunje Aga was here at its height, and the hoop, and the hollow, and the whip never ceased ; it was one succession of hard bursts with scarcely a moment's interval between, till we clattered into the pretty town of Boli, finish- ing the twelve hour stage in six and a half. If Tosia was lovely, Boli and its plain were mag- nificent. It was one sheet of cultivation, inter- spersed with villages, and the rising grounds with which it was sprinkled, and the great mountains with which it was surrounded, were covered, the latter up to the roots of the forests, with fields, inclosures, coppice, gardens, and orchards, villages, or houses. It was like England on a large scale, all but the lofty and snow-topped mountains so deeply clothed with pine forests, and all so green, so very verdant, it did the eyes and the heart good AND ITS PLAIN. 375 ils f . Us ته ne e e to look at it. It was really a splendid specimen of Asia Minor; something one never expected to see; for who could have imagined that the cold bleak snow-covered waste, we had suffered so much in passing over in the preceding winter, was the same rich, verdant, smiling valley that was delight- ing our eyes in its present garb of spring. The cultivation, too, was good, though some of it, I must say, was carried on in an unusual man- ner; for, in several places, I saw the seed sown broad cast on the unwrought land, which was then ploughed down to cover it. I saw the same rude process practised among the cultivating Arabs in Mesopotamia, and successfully, I believe, by both. All this ground, I suspect, would be interesting to the antiquary; for not only did I observe Greek columns and tablets at the two fountains already mentioned, but every burying-ground, of which there were multitudes, was full of cylindrical stones, which appeared to be fragments of pillars belonging to ancient edifices. We entered Boli, which was gay with the crim- son and glitter of the rich Turkish costumes, at two in the afternoon, and left it exactly at three, to pass my old friend the Boli mountain, the last high ground intervening between us and Constan- tinople. The first part of the stage led through a beautifully varied country of field, and coppice, and village, and little hamlet, till ascending the well- remembered mountain, we again plunged into snow and mud, and forest; indeed I never remember 376 WILD RIDING. seeing the admixture of the two former more ex- quisitely perfect. But it was all one to us wild riders ; away we went, gallop, gallop, gallop; Tramp, tramp, across the land we ride, Splash, splash, across the sea, Hurrah! we Tâtars ride apace! Dost fear to ride with me? Stopped for a cup of coffee at our old guard-house, on the top of the mountain ; then down-hill as fast as legs could carry us, pulled up at the foot to tighten girths, and then gallopped the remaining twenty miles to Ducheh, through bush and brier, through mud and stream, over bank, and through river, scarcely drawing bit. We did the whole stage of ten hours, or forty miles, exactly in six hours of time, arriving at Ducheh at nine o'clock, in full vigour, and hoping for quick despatch. But we were doomed to be disappointed, as every one will be who travels Tâtar in these parts. We were told that we must wait till the horses were fed and shod, so I went to sleep for two hours; and on awaking about midnight and rousing the Tâtar, received for answer to my remonstrances an as- surance that no horses could be got till morning, and that if they could, the roads were so deep in mud, that it would be madness attempting to move until daylight. There were times when such a reprieve would have been welcome to my weary limbs and stiff joints; but from some cause or an- other it happened that I was remarkably fresh at this time, and particularly anxious to push on. Impatience, indeed, generally increases as we ap- 378 BETTER PROGRESS. tivated; multitudes of magnificent walnut-trees, with peaches, apricots, cherries, and other fruit- trees, in full blossom ; hedges of the “stake and rice" sort, like those in England, and such a per- fect carpet of verdure! What a country this might be under a good and firm government! The latter part of the stage lay among rising grounds of deep earth, covered with forest of oak, and beach, and hornbeam, with underwood of rhododendron and thorns, and such gushes of primroses and violets! As to mud, it was bad enough certainly. In the forest we followed no path in particular, but each took the best he could find; had it been a day or two earlier, that is, immediately after the snow and rain, I do believe we should have stabled our horses in it; as it was, plunging and sprawling through when we got into the bog, and gallopping or trotting when there was a hard bit of road, we contrived to get cleverly over the twelve hours in six and a half, arriving at Khunduc at two P.M. We were off again in an hour, and on better beasts than our last jades ; and got well over the first eight miles, after which the whole country became a marsh covered with water, and the speed of our progress was checked. I never saw such a march as this. It was one continued plunging through thick mud covered with water, till we came to the wooden bridge of Oozun Kupri. This, though ra- ther dangerous, was passable enough; but when we had gone a few hundred yards along the cause- way, with which it communicates, the Suragee turned sharp off, plunged into the water alongside CHAMOOR CHOUK." 379 er ht ter ep nd s! D a 1 it, belly deep, with the horses, and took right across the fields through a perfect sea, that covered them far and wide. We continued this strange sort of work for an hour, often plunging so deep that we were up to the knees as we sat upon our horses, particularly in passing from one field to another, till at length, wearied with the fatiguing and end- less work, I demanded “ why we had quitted the causeway. “O! châmoor chouk," was the reply, “quantities of mud.” “ And what do you call this !" roared I, in somewhat of a rage, “is not this châ- moor chouk ?” The fellow grinned and shook his head, but on he went, until at length the water diminished, and after a great deal more wading in thick mud alone, we reached and crossed the river Sangarius by a wooden bridge which I well re- member on our former journey. On the other side of this bridge the ground became more firm, and we had some hard gallopping until we reached the shore of the Sabanja lake. We gallopped along its sands, sometimes wading for a mile at a time in the water, and then emerging on its bank, till about ten at night we reached Sabanja, having done the ten hours in seven, spite of mud and water. A fair supper, which we much needed, detained us for two hours and a half, when, getting capital horses, we cantered along, though often plagued with mud, to Ismîd (Nicomedia), six hours, which we reached at five in the morning of April 11.–At this place we became aware of a change that had been effected by the orders of the 380 POSTAS." Sultan in the mode of posting. It appeared that a grand new road had been constructed from Sartari to Ismîd, a distance of eighteen hours, or about seventy- two miles; and that little carts drawn by four horses each, were provided for transporting travellers upon this grand highway. Accordingly, so soon as we had aroused these sleepy-headed maitres de post, two of these machines were produced, and precious con- cerns they were. Little larger than a good wheel- barrow, they were on four wheels, but without springs of any sort ; so that you may fancy the sort of motion they had upon the torrent-bed-like pave- ment of the towns, and the scarcely better surface of the road. In some there was a seat where you might sit as much at your ease as you could ; in others you had to place your baggage so as to serve for a support to the seat of honour. Each cart holds but one person with a very moderate share of bag- gage ; so the two were fully necessary, one for the Tâtar and one for me. These precious vehicles are called postas, and are used in Bessarabia, Wallachia, and other of the north-western states of the empire, and much resemble the little Kibitkas you may see on the roads in southern Russia. No less than four horses are attached to each of these minute concerns, in a very simple manner, and they are driven by one postilion, who sits upon the near wheeler, and flou- rishes his whip after a most business-like fashion. Considering the disproportion of the thing drawn in bulk as well as weight to the power applied to draw it, the slight nature of the harness, and the manner in which, by consequence, it stots and bounds TURKISH CUSTOM-HOUSE. 381 along the irregular surface of the pavement or road, the whole concern very forcibly reminds one of a cat with a skillet, or a dog with a cannister tied to its tail, and driven along a rough-paved street by the hooting of wicked boys. I must, however, say that the horses and drivers were capital of their sorts. There stood the little beasts, scarcely thirteen hands high, as round as apples, arching their little necks and pawing the ground with as much pride as a war- horse, and up got the smart-jacketed drivers with their business-like whips, and gathered the ribands with an air of knowing experience that in some de- gree quieted the natural apprehension which you felt at being thus abandoned, like a pea upon a drum- head, to the mercy of four wild horses. Just as we were mounting our cars, an embargo was laid upon our equipage until we should have satisfied the custom-house demands, and I thought we should have had a row about the affair; for the official, who brought the order and authoritatively commanded us to halt, was very much disposed to be impertinent when I complained of his taking such a moment to make his demand, after we had been more than an hour in Ismid. In fact, I remonstrated against the whole proceeding as being an insult to a British gentleman, charged with despatches, and some warm words were passing, when up came a very respectable-looking Turk, who, on hearing the affair, delivered me out of the hand of the Philistine, and told me “ Bismillah !”—go on. Now the fact is, that, though I believe it is a new thing to search the baggage of English or European travellers at the 382 ENGLISH WRONG-HEADEDNESS. entering custom-houses of Turkey, it is a right which the Turkish government do assuredly possess, and may exercise without just offence being taken — for does not every European state do the same ?- no courier, whatever be his rank or title, is exempt from this disagreeable ceremony in England, in France, or Austria, or Russia -- a Turk would be equally sub- jected to it in these countries, and on what plea can the subjects of these countries plead a right of ex- emption in Turkey. The truth is, that in former times it never was inforced, from a sort of respect to the English ; and their Tâtars and others, perhaps, have brought the thing upon themselves, by becom- ing carriers of dutiable articles, such as pearls, pre- cious stones, shawls, and even cash--thus defrauding the farmers of the Government customs, who have every right to levy their dues on all. But we Eng- lish have too often a wrong-headed way of acting in these matters. I know not whether it be from national bluntness, or feelings of independence, or a contempt of “the natives,” and “the black fellows," imbibed, perhaps, from our position with regard to the popula- tion of the East and West Indies, or whether this con- tempt (which, as I fear, it does) spread to all other lands and nations beyond our own—certain it is that we do conduct ourselves often in a manner not only very little calculated to increase the affection or regard of foreigners towards us (whatever it may their fears); but, on the other hand, to give the impression of a : brutality and overbearance which I should be very sorry to think was really characteristic of the na- tion; and I do wish that every British subject who THE START. 383 travels abroad could be impressed with the feeling that upon him and his conduct may depend much of the national honour and character in the eyes of strangers, and that not only the fate of future travel- lers, but the interests of this country may be com- promised by a folly or an indiscretion committed by himself. But I forget that we are seated in our post-chaises, and that Stambol is still more than seventy miles off. Crack goes the whip—“ Igh, igh, igh, hu-ooah !” howls coachman, and away go the little steeds, spurning the ground and very nearly carrying away the corner of a house at the first turn; but the postilion has them well in hand— they keep the middle of the zigzag streets; it is only the living freight that feels it, and the two or three first jerks very nearly unshipped us both before we could lay hold of the rails of our vehicles. There is a little stream crosses the street-surely he will stop, and go soberly over the gutter! Deuce a bit!-he redoubles his speed, whips his too willing horses, and goes at it like a battering-ram. Hugh! what a shock !-- has the poor fellow no bowels ?-mine seem turned up- side down-but the rogue only casts back a glance at the wheels, (to see if all four are still on, I suppose,) a triumphant look at me, as much as to say, “isn't that cleverly done?” a fierce, knowing nod of the head, a flourish with the whip hand, the finger pointed quaintly upwards, while the whip hangs from the wrist —and away, away, up the hill! I had piled all my felts and cloaks upon the sitting-board, with a down saddle cushion, an old travelling friend, above all, but the whole were thrown into confusion before we had 384 HARD WORK FOR THE BONES. gone a hundred yards. When we had cleared the town and “got off the stones," and the cart had righted a bit, I managed to get myself jammed into an attitude to resist, as much as possible, the re- iterated shocks, drew a long breath and looked about me; and certainly the scenery and country in which we were thus tearing along were well worth gazing on; the blue gulf, with its green shores and distant mountains and white sails sparkling on its surface, was a delightful novelty to one who longed for a sight of the ocean ; and the rapid advance of spring gave everything a double charm; but, alas ! there was no enjoying it—another jolt that dashed my jaws to- gether made me hold on for dear life with both hands ; my teeth rattled in my head, my poor loose bones in their sockets: and how the carts did not go to pieces I cannot tell : it was not the mercy of the drivers that spared either them or us. Whenever there was a deep rut, a large stone, or a heap of gravel, at it they went, with a "yah ullah!” always looking back for applause when they had succeeded in toss- ing you a yard high. Ah! how often did I wish my- self on the back of a quiet poster again !—the stiffest gallop or the roughest trot was down and feathers to the “postas. About ten or fifteen miles on, up came the Tâtar along-side—the two drivers were running a race. I turned to look at him, and as our eyes met he gave me such a look of dismay, despair, and agony! Never had his four quarters been upon four wheels before, and that look seemed to embody a vow that never should they be so disposed of again. ARRIVAL AT STAMBOL. 385 Well, on we drove, up hill and down dale ; the new road seems to have been made with a noble contempt for the science of engineering, going right over every height in its way; as for its surface, it was little better than that of the soft. earth freed from its covering of turf; and the metal, where metal had been placed, was far from being of a sort that Macadam would have approved of, or such as in any degree afforded ease to the pain of our sore bones. We changed horses three times, and once at a sort of new hotel, built by the Sultan as a post- house, where the officials in the European surtouts and swords of the new Nizâm, and the regular office, like the booking-place of a coach-office, gavė such a Europeanized air to the whole, that I did really feel myself to be approaching that well-beloved continent. Its shores were now in sight across the head of the sea of Marmora, and soon did we see the spires of the august city rising in the distance. We swept past the dark forest of cypresses and tombs at Scutari, while the setting sun was gleaming through their melancholy boughs; but ere his disk had disappeared beneath the waves, we had stopped, weary, sore, and splashed from head to foot, at the door of the last posthouse. A most unwelcome delay in procuring porters and a caique; and, oh, how welcome was the moment when I found myself once more afloat upon that beautiful and narrow strait which separates the Asiatic from the Euro- pean world! It was past seven o'clock when I set foot ashore at the Topkhaneh, and a few minutes more saw me welcomed by my kind friend the 2 C 1 VOL. II. 386 A WELCOME REST. consul general at Pera, and installed in all the com- forts of his hospitable abode. Much was there to hear and to ask, and many were the topics that fell under discussion, so that in spite of weary bones it was late before I retired to the first regular bed I had lain in since quitting Tâbreez. When you recollect what I had done within the last month, you will scarcely be induced to deny my title to a good night's rest; for not to speak of sufferings by cold and wet and wind and frost, in a ride of eight hun- dred miles from Tehrân to Erzeroom, I had ridden the whole way from the latter place to Constanti- nople,—that is, a distance of 1,100 miles,-in eleven days, two of which I was detained against my will, on pretence of want of horses, or for other causes, thus riding at the rate of rather more than a hun- dred and twenty miles in the twenty-four hours, and, with the exception of these stoppages, seldom halting night or day for more than three hours at a time. I know that it has been done even quicker by Euro- pean gentlemen as well as Tâtars, and it was not my fault on this occasion that it was not performed in seven days; but mud and water and want of horses are things that cannot be contended with. I have seven hundred and fifty miles yet before me, and I heartily pray that this may be my last Tâtar trip, and so good night for the present. 1 1 387 LETTER XVII. Anxieties of a Traveller.— Interesting Rencounters.-- Therapia.- Magnificent Plane-tree. — The Bosphorus. - Constantinople.- Mosques. — Cisterns. Seraskier's Tower.- Madhouse. The Hippodrome. — The Serai. — Aqueducts. The Et-Maidaun. - Dancing Dervishes. — March of Improvement. - Gradual Changes affecting even the Ladies.—Turkey and Poland. Spe- culations, Constantinople. I VENTURE one letter more, dear from this interesting place, where business has detained me longer than I at first expected, and even yet I can- not tell to a day when I may be despatched. On the day after my arrival, I found my left eye, which had been much inflamed by sun and wind, (having lost the screen I used with my Persian cap,) so painful that I did not venture out. But the certainty of utter and instant blindness could scarcely have withheld me from examining the packets of letters from home which had awaited my arrival in the hands of my friend the consul. What a time had elapsed since the dates of my last! how much might have happened in the interval ! Ah! this is a part of the traveller's cares and pains of which little care is taken by those who profit 2 c 2 388 TRAVELLER's LENGTHENING CHAIN.” by his labours or are amused by his adventures. Even his own nearest and dearest friends, who are filled with anxiety for him, think little of the weight and irksomeness of that " lengthening chain,” which he, the object of their solicitude, drags along with him; of the painful doubts and presentiments that oppress him when his thoughts take a homeward flight; of the dark images of misfortune and be- reavement that beset his soul in hours of exhaustion and gloom, and put thorns under his sleepless head as he lays it on the ground, or the cold floor of the lonely caravanserai after his toilsome day! Much cause have I, in particular, had to thank the Almighty in all sincerity of gratitude and hu- mility for support and protection, in a journey teeming with greater sufferings, mental and bodily, than you can comprehend ; and still more for the preservation of those whose life and welfare were more to me than my own, and who, had they not been waiting to welcome my return, there could to me have been neither welcome nor re- ward, nor further object; and if there have been some painful events, some "gems” dropped from the social or the family circlet, let us bless and kiss the hand that has sent the trial but spared us deeper sorrows. Among many letters of domestic interest, -- those from yourself, dear included, and which I shall not think of answering at present,--there was one from our friend B. H. which gave me the greater pleasure, as it was totally unexpected. A two years' absence from home sets us sadly back THE EUXINE. 391 and, assuredly, I know not where these are more fully to be enjoyed than in the polished elegance of Lord Ponsonby's domestic circle, and the com- forts of his Excellency's hospitable home. Business detained me a most willing guest for several days at Therapia, and I cannot tell you what a delight it was to feel once more at rest even for a season, without the constant moral strug- gle of mustering up resolution to face the cold blast that even now continued to pour down mist and rain from the grim jaws of the Black Sea. Yet we had one or two bright blinks during my stay at this beautiful place, and in one of these I accompanied his Excellency and Lady Ponsonby up the shores of the strait, till we looked into the wide- expanding Euxine ;-very dark and frowning he was, and well worthy of his name ;-so, having taken a look, in passing, at the celebrated castles and batte- ries which guard this end of the Bosphorus, (very crazy concerns they seemed, both in point of general repair and the artillery they were armed with,) we turned towards the beautiful village of Buyook-De- reh; and having coasted along its pleasant shores, landed to look at a group of most magnificent plane trees which are to be seen in a pretty meadow near it. There are five or six stems in this group at pre- sent, but it is said they are all parts of one original tree, the centre of which has been destroyed by fire or decay, leaving these separate fragments of the huge old trunk, like a father bequeathing his pro- perty in shares to his children, and, in fact, the circular form of the stems do suggest something 392 THE BOSPHORUS. like a confirmation of this tradition; though, if the old trunk filled up the whole space which these par- tially encircle, what a tree it must have been ! Beautiful as the Bosphorus always is, I shall never forget its loveliness on the morning after this bad weather, when, after an early breakfast, I stepped into a caique and rowed down from Therapia to Pera : certainly there is nothing so splendid and capti- vating in its way as this natural canal. The gale had broken, the sky was unblemished azure, and the air like the breath of May. You felt yourself inhaling gulps of health and spirits at every breath. The mountains and hillocks were overspread with an emerald sheen—even the trees and bushes were assuming their vernal livery, and contrasted most happily with the multitude of picturesque build- ings that bordered the shores like a thick fringe of pearls, and clustered on every height, or swarmed in every retiring creek and bay. Hundreds, nay, thousands of vessels of every sort and size, from the ship of 100 guns, to the light Greek skiff, studded the shores and coves; and their sails loosed to dry, or sheeted home and hoisted to the influence of a scarcely perceptible western breeze that was carrying them towards the Black Sea, fretted the whole scene, land and water, with brilliant white spots that min- gled happily with the dark cypress groves and the red house-tops. The old Genoese castles frowned in still more picturesque grandeur, closing over the strait, in which their huge forms were reflected as the caique glided down, till it opened the reach from which the multitudinous and glittering edifices of the STAMBOL. 393 august city, and its extensive suburbs, bursts upon the eye. Assuredly, I never saw a spot which unites with so many beauties, such evidences of a teeming popu- lation-so much of the bustle of human life in the multitude of animate and inanimate objects around you, as this view of Stambol. London, Liverpool, and Glasgow, are shrouded and blackened by smoke their beauties, whatever they may be, are conceal- ed by a sable veil; Calcutta, Madras, and all Indi- an cities, are enveloped in a green one, and seldom afford a panoramic picture. Bombay, with its splen- did harbour and its fair dwellings, its palm trees and blue mountains, is the only place I have seen that resembles this scenery.- But where can you see such clusters of various and picturesque build- ings, such an harmonious union of gardens and orchards, of pleasure-houses and palaces, such tiers and fleets of gallant vessels, such multitudes of boats and barks of all sorts, dancing upon the blue and glittering sea, and all under so brilliant a sky that looks smiling down on everything beneath - ah! there is nothing like Constantinople ! No wonder that the Northern Autocrat should cast the eyes of desire upon it; and, if it were merely from a long- ing after its beauties, I, for one, would be apt to hold him excused. I did not neglect the opportunities I enjoyed dur- ing the few days of my stay at Pera, of seeing a little more of the wonders of this great capital, and, accom- panied by D and another friend, and conducted by our old pilot Mustapha, we took more than one 394 MOSQUES. ramble through its streets and bazaars. The principal objects that attracted my attention were the mosques, assuredly the finest in the world. Of these, the largest is that of Suleimania, and a splendid structure it is. I cannot pretend to describe it; but the interior building is a square, under a lofty and highly orna- mented dome. A gallery, running round, is divided from this by a range of arches, on most magnificent granite columns, of thirty-six feet high, I should think, each being of one solid stone. There is a large square without the mosque, surrounded inside by an arcade upon pillars of the same substance, and of marble, all of which were taken, I believe, from various Chris- tian churches, by the monarch by whose command this mosque was built. And there are various projec- tions, recesses, and outworks clustered about the body of the structure, all in the same style of ornament, and composed of materials so solid as to give a high notion of the power and magnificence of its founder. I like, too, the external form of these edifices, so different from the long extension, but narrow breadth, of most of the Indian and Persian mosques. It is a clustering of domes over domes, of columns and mina- rets, all grouped about the great rising cupola, which form a great, consistent, and imposing whole--the one in question is a noble work. We visited several other mosques, all less than this, though much resembling it in plan of con- struction, and all teeming with objects of interest- splendid columns of marble, or Egyptian granite, or serpentine. Massive and highly ornamented gate- ways and porches, and handsome courts and cisterns 398 THE HIPPODROME. interested by the fine Egyptian obelisk, brought from thence by Constantine, and set up in this place. Its shaft is a splendid stone of fine granite, with hieroglyphics on all its sides; but the sculpture on the fine marble pedestal, though still to be traced, as well as the inscriptions beneath, is greatly defaced. There are also in this Madaun the remains of an ancient stone-built column, said to have been once covered with brass, and to have supported some brass figures. Perhaps, however, one of the most curious and interesting relics of all is the twisted serpent-formed shaft of bronze, which supported the trident of the Delphic oracle. The mosque in this At-Maidaun, built, I think, by Sultaun Mahmood, is a fine square structure, in the same style with the rest, and having a court surrounded by marble co- lumns; but we did not enter the interior. At the bottom of the pedestal of the obelisk, while we were there, sat an insane person, not in the garb of a Dervish, but well dressed, in a red cloak and Fez, who was bellowing out a continual chant of something like prayers, which he enunciated with infinite effort, but in so inarticulate a manner, that I suspect he had had his tongue cut out. There was a crowd around him, and he was evidently regarded as something holy; for the women came and kissed his hand, and brought their children to be kissed by him, which he willingly consented to; but when any one came and stood in front of him, or the crowd closed too much before, he waved them im- patiently away. I could not learn who he was; but apprehend that such scenes are very common oc- THE SERAI. 399 currences, not only here, but at all the shrines and mosques of Constantinople. From hence we went to the Serai, through the Bab-e-Hoomayoon, or exalted gate—the gate which gives to this court the appellation of “ Sublime Porte," as that from whence issue the decrees that “rule the destinies of the world;" and where the heads of the rebellious and disobedient are sus- pended to wither in the sun and rain—there were none there now. We continued through a court, which with its white-washed buildings, offices, paved area, and streets, looked quite like that of a Eu- ropean fortress, to the second gate of the Serai, through which we were not permitted to pass with- out an attendant: but six piastres, about fifteen pence, soon procured us one, and we saw the royal kitchen-a beastly place enough, but there was a savory-smelling dinner, on a large scale, just being carried out of it; and the hall where the foreign ambassadors are received, and served with dinner- “ let the infidels be fed !” - a curious and richly ornamented place, built of marble, but disfigured with paint -- how inferior to the simple beauty of the unique Dewanee Khâs at Dehlee! We stopped before the last gate of the Serai, which gives entrance into the body of the palace, and through which, of course, no one can go without a firmaun. It was handsome and simple in form, constructed of marble, with a far-projecting canopy-like roof, very richly adorned with gilding and painting, though a little out of repair. These far-projecting roofs are much in use here; they are very handsome, and 400 THE AQUEDUCTS. two or three fountains so constructed, are remark- ably beautiful. The same style of architecture is found in India, in the buildings of the time of Akber, Shah Jehan, and Aurunzebe ; but which borrowed from the other, I am not prepared to say ; I suspect Constantinople affords the original pattern. The Sultaun does not now dwell in this ancient imperial residence. He resides in his other palaces on the Bosphorus, which are numerous, and this venerable dwelling is consequently neglected. We next visited the house and offices of the Grand Vizier, which are built of wood, are like a huge pile of European houses without any plan of architecture, but with multitudes of windows. The Dewan Khaneh, or public hall of audience, is a long, large, lofty room, somewhat resembling a country ball-room, with a recess on the side opposite the door, where the great man sits ensconced, and which is not unlike an orchestra. We examined in a very cursory way the remains of those mighty aqueducts which, constructed by the Roman emperors in the days of the glory of the lower empire, conveyed water from the distant springs that still supply the city. They are now ruined and broken, but stand monuments of the splendour and munificence of their founders. But that which interested us not less as having reference to recent events was, the ruined and deserted Et- Maidaun, or Meat Market, the site of the barracks of the Janissaries, which attracted our notice from the Seraskier's tower, and where, as I have already mentioned, ten thousand men were destroyed un- THE ET-MAIDAUN. 401 relentingly by cannon and by fire. Its ruined, fire- scathed mosques and buildings bear gloomy testi- mony to this fearful execution ; for not only were cannon brought to play from every avenue upon the assembled wretches, but all the surrounding build- ings were set on fire to hem them in and prevent their escape; so all perished, either by fire or by shot. Seventy thousand men are said to have fallen vic- tims to this dreadful measure of policy; dreadful, even if rendered necessary, by the turbulent insub- ordination and arrogance of the body. But this amount, by some, is said to be exaggerated, and the number is limited to forty thousand. The mas- sacre was not confined to Constantinople, the un- happy men of the proscribed class were hunted like wild beasts through the provinces. The waters of the Bosphorus, the harbour, and the Sea of Mar- mora, were covered for weeks with the mutilated and strangled corses of those men who were once regarded as the bulwark of Islam—the strength and support of the Ottoman empire. On our way home one day, we looked in upon another scene of interest, but of a different kind; it was the Mausoleum of the imperial family, where many a son and brother of the royal stock lay re- posing under marble gravestones covered with rich Cashmere shawls, and with jewelled turbans of cloth of gold above their lowly heads : it was an impres- sive scene after the stirring ones we had been view- ing, but all too gay and painted up for the solemn purpose to which the place was dedicated. There was one other sight which we went to see, VOL. II. 2D TURKEY AND POLAND. 407 reforming breeze, which is about to rattle over the Turkish empire. Heaven grant that it may be but to clear the political atmosphere, and give it health and elasticity, and not to wreck the body politic itself! But the petty matters of which I have now taken notice, are mere trifles to the serious impending dangers which have been muster- ing and thickening over her devoted head, every now and then sending forth a warning flash that betrays the fierceness of the coming storm-a storm which, if permitted to burst, will not destroy Turkey alone, but will shake all Europe. Heaven grant that those who have the power to avert it, may have the eyes of their judgment opened to their duty! and that Turkey, unlike poor, prostrate, mangled Poland, may find “ a generous friend," if not " a pitying foe;" and “ strength in her arms, if not, “ mercy in her woe.” Assuredly the little I have seen of this country, and its obvious great capabilities, suggest ideas of strength and importance, that cannot fail to place it, in the mind of the beholder, at once in the rank of great nations in spite of its present fallen con- dition; and cold and heartless indeed must he be who would not wish to assist in the regeneration of such a nation. Coming, as I did, from the misery and barrenness of Persia, the evidences of refine- ment and cultivation, far beyond that of most other Mahomedan states, were particularly striking; and as to the comparative merits of their capitals, Con- stantinople is as far above Ispahan, or any of the other cities of Persia, as they are above the reed 408 SPECULATIONS. huts of an Arab tribe. Yet, do not mistake me, fallen, degraded as Persia may be, she is still a noble subject to work upon; and among the bene- fits which Great Britain prides herself on dispensing to the world, it is to be hoped she will not shrink from extending the hand of protection to a nation with which she is connected by strong political ties, while, at the same time, she fulfils the great moral duty of promoting the happiness of a large portion of mankind, and of emplanting the seeds of good order and national prosperity, and ultimately, with God's blessing, of true religion in a spot from whence they may be dispensed to all our brethren of Asia, who now sit in disquietude, and danger, and darkness. But it is time to close these speculations, and rid you of Stambol and its magnificence, of which, I fear, I may have given you enough, and more than enough, ad nausea musque, so let us to the road again, for I am impatient to be at home. This day all has been concluded, I am to accom- pany a cabinet courier, Mr. C—, who is now here; our horses are bespoken, our despatches are to be here to-morrow, and then, Inchallah! I set foot in stirrup again for the last time this trip_it is a pretty step indeed, only seven hundred and fifty miles! but give us good weather, and there is ño fear of us. My next will probably be from Semlin, till when adieu ! 409 LETTER XVIII. Start from Constantinople.--Sillivria.—Rain and Mud. Chorli.- Bourgos.- Eskee Baba.-Apsa.-Adrianople.—Heavy Rain.- Ibepcheh.-Hermanlee.—Bulgarian Haymakers.—Simple Bi- vouac.—Eskew.-Philipopoli.--Hard Gallopping.- Irresistible Drowsiness. - Ihtumân.-Sopia. - Hard Riding. - Bulgarian Costume.- Khalkhallee.--Expense of Posters. --Ak-Palanka. -A Tumble.--The last Balcan.-Robbers - Tower of Skulls. -Nissa.-Frontiers of Servia.--Nightingales.-Active Suragee. --Delay at Jagodina.- Trick prevented. - Tedious Ride. - Light-hearted Traveller.-Servian Fare and Music.Caution to Travellers.-Adieu to Turkish Posting.-Rest. Quarantine, Semlin, 7th May, 1836. 2 HERE am I, dear in limbo, as you see ; but congratulate me, for never man was better con- tented to be so. I am now on the right side of the Danube. Done with Asia, and, above all, with the discomforts of Tatar journeys; I am in a Chris- tian land, and within reach of many of the com- forts, if not the luxuries of life : verily I believe that few have often quitted the walls of their prison with better will than I and my companion entered these I now date from. I told you, in my last, that it was arranged that Mr. C--, cabinet courier, and I should proceed together to this place, where we were to await the 410 THE START. arrival of further despatches, which should be sent off to us from Constantinople, so as to reach us by the time our quarantine should have expired, so as to delay neither us nor the public business. Accordingly, on the 22nd of April, I took my last dinner with my good friend, the Consul-general, whose kindness I shall not easily forget ; and we had just finished our bottle, when Mr. Cand the packets arrived. So shaking hands with my kind host, and girding on my harness once more, we were soon in a boat crossing the noble basin of the harbour of Constantinople. We passed many a gallant ship, saw others repairing or on the stocks, looked up one or two of the thousand exquisite little ravines which run inland from the barbour and sides of the Bosphorus, filled with beautiful gardens and nest-like dwellings, and landed precisely at the same wooden pier at which I had arrived, some sixteen months before, on my way out. Here our horses were in waiting. Our baggage was landed and arranged upon the load-horses —we dismissed old Mustapha, who had come to see us fairly off, and remained to pursue our own devices. I was far better off than on my first scamper: my companion, an experienced traveller, was par- ticularly well acquainted with this road, having made the journey from Semlin to Constantinople no less than eight times ; and the practised acti- vity with which he exerted himself to get all right for a first start, proved, that while he had profited by experience, he had lost nothing of his energy. By eight o'clock in the evening we were mount- 414 ADRIANOPLE. somed calmia, of exquisite hue;. but whether of that class, or a rhododendron, I could not stop to deter- mine. The next stage of the same distance, which brought us to Adrianople, we discussed still more summarily, gallopping every foot of it in two hours and a half. This was a most beautiful stage. I think the first view of Adrianople from a gap in a certain height about six or seven miles distant, is about as beautiful a coup d’æil as can be imagined. The valley covered with cultivation and foliage is traversed in its long extent by the noble river Mee- rich, the various reaches of which gleamed like so many little lakes among the wood; and the town rises on the gentle slope of a hill, with all its shining minarets and domes, from among a vast extent of orchards, vineyards, and gardens. Like all other Turkish towns, you approach it through forests of tombs; but they are not here shrouded in their customary grove of cypresses. There is a mosque here which I am told is worth seeing, and which, from the distant view we had of it, I believe to be so. But we had no time for sights; so gallopping along the causeway in a whole ocean of mud, scarcely waiting to pick up our head Suragee, who got a desperate somerset in the midst of it, we paid a flying visit to the Consul's lady, to give her good news of her lord, snatched a' hasty repast (some very tolerable blanche mange and cream, by the by nicely coloured, and sold in the streets), and mounted fresh horses again at a quar- ter before twelve. A DRENCHING. 415 In leaving this place, however, our good fortune failed us. As we rode along the noble valley of the Meerich, the clouds which had been gathering above, began to pour down their contents, and not only drenched us, but rendered the roads so deep and muddy, that our wretched horses could scarcely make way along them. Nevertheless, we did the nine hours to Ibepcheh in a little less than six, and then held a council of war as to the expediency of proceeding. The rain was a serious obstacle in a dark moonless night, and on a road by no means either clear .or free from danger. But as the first part of the road lies across a plain, and as a few hours would have just made the difference of reach- ing Philipopoli next evening, or not-a great step towards getting onwards, we resolved on pushing forwards, at least to Hermanlee. Calling, therefore, for horses, we set our faces to the blast; and, gallopping on, neck or nothing, we actually got into Hermanlee by a little after eight. Farther than this we did not dare to venture in so stormy a night, as the road from hence crosses a mountain intricate with ravines and broken ground, fording twice or thrice a river, the state of which we could not know, and winding along its banks so close as to be quite inundated in time of flood. Thus the Suragees held the road to be so dangerous that they would not undertake to guide us in rain and darkness, and we accordingly consented to re- main here till two hours before daylight. By this arrangement we should have six hours' sleep our- selves, and our horses as many of rest; so that 416 WEAKNESS OF HUMAN NATURE. we had every reason to hope they would finish the stage rapidly in the morning. All this sounded well; but alas for the weakness of human nature !-and Tâtar and Suragee nature in particular-we had even feed the Cahwajee of the coffee-room to call us in proper time, but it was all in vain ; he, too, failed in shaking off the bonds of sleep, and the first thing that awoke us was the light of day, shining through one of the broken oil- paper windows of the coffee-room. Up we started, but it was not till a little before five that we were on our horses. The rain had ceased; the dawn was. fast chasing away the last stars from a cloudless sky, and the fine dome of the ruined khan of Her- manlee and its tower and minarets rising from the pretty valley, were glowing in the yellow light as we ascended the coppice-covered hill behind it - the first of the numerous Balcans in this part of Turkey. We found that the road, though pretty enough in the daytime, would, in truth, have been an awk- ward one at night ; and the river, though not so much swollen as the heavy rain led us to appre- hend, would have given us quite enough to do in the night, particularly with the little nags on which we were mounted. We were now in Bulgaria, and found villages more numerous, and population, as it seemed, more dense; but many of the habitations seemed to be of a temporary nature, being formed only of “ wattle and dab," and thatched with grass ; the village, however, though its individual dwellings BULGARIAN HAYMAKERS. 417 are frequently renewed, continues, I believe, in the same site and is occupied by the same families. During several of the preceding stages we had met with numbers of Bulgarian peasants in their little black caps, and sheepskin or coarse felt jackets, pro- ceeding, generally escorted by a Turk or two on horseback, towards Constantinople. Some of them were mounted on “shaggy nags of ponies, with a pound of hair at every heel, and harness wonder- fully resembling the primitive garniture you have seen in our own highland hills; but the most were on foot. I understood that they were a sort of con- scripts, pressed to go and take care of the Sultaun's horses while at grass, cut the hay, and perform other duties connected with the management of the Impe- rial stud. Each man carried a scythe, with the blade strapped to the handle; and I could not help thinking what a formidable band these might prove, if met with hostile intentions; but nothing of hostili- ty had they, poor devils ! in their heads; on the con- trary, all with them was good humour and boisterous mirth. Each party had some oddly-dressed fellows among them, who acted the buffoon, and a bag- pipe player, who, whenever he saw us, set up his pipes and played a national air; on which the buf- foon came forward with mopping, and mowing, and antique gestures ; and, dancing and throwing on the ground his dirty cap, demanded, or begged, with a rather importunate air, some small donation. It reminded me of our highland bands of shearers, going southward for work, or returning from it, who VOL. II. 2 E 418 A SIMPLE BIVOUAC. do just the same. A little matter-some few paras, satisfied them ; but the parties were so numerous that, had we given to all, our purses would soon have been emptied. We also saw numerous flocks of sheep here, both black and white. Many of them were already shorn, but in so slovenly a way that it would have moved the spleen of any highland sheep-farmer. Thousands of lambs were skipping among them, and we had shepherds in abundance, playing very sweetly on their reed pipes. We also met whole caravans of four-wheeled waggons, drawn by bullocks, many of which, even in the rain of yesterday, were turning in among the coppice by the road-side to their bi- vouac for the night. The drivers and owners just turned the stern of the waggon to the wind, the bullocks stood or lay down under its lee, and the people, having made a fire and cooked what they might have to eat, just turned in, “all standing," and kept each other warm as they might. Simple covering enough! The distance from Hermanlee to Eskew is six hours; we trotted it in three and a half, but at the expense of leaving two of our horses on the road a few miles from the stage, and “one shall never rise again.” It is sorry work, after all, riding these poor wretched hacks to death ; but there is no help- ing it; on we must get. Eskew looked beautiful in the morning sun, with its bright white minarets and buildings glittering among its gardens. We left it a little before nine, with a sun which shone fiercely enough upon us as we tore away down its splendid PHILIPOPOLI. 419 valley, covered with cultivation and sprinkled with fruit trees, many of which were sheets of blossom ; indeed, the pear-trees all along were numerous, and often perfect pyramids of snowy flowers. We passed several fine villages, and the road being level, though often very heavy, we trotted or gallopped a good deal, till, on the banks of the Meerich, within two hours of Philipopoli, we were arrested by a heavy thun- der-storm that had been for some time gathering. In spite of this, however, we reached the town, twelve hours from Eskew, in ten hours of time, that is, a little before seven in the evening, our horses quite done up, but having carried us bravely through the mud and water. Philipopoli, as I think I have told you before, is a considerable town, very picturesquely situated at the foot of a rock, which is also crowned with buildings and castellated ; but I cannot say much for its clean- It was here that a large army of Albanians, Servians, and Bulgarians was assembled at the latter end of the war with Russia, ready to have pounc- ed upon the weakened troops of that power who were moving on Adrianople, when their politics did what their arms might have failed of doing, in ob- taining the terms of the treaty of Adrianople. Here, too, are many interesting traces of antiquity to be seen, in causeways, old walls, and facings of mason- work, to defend the city and banks from the river's encroachments; but we only saw them at the gallop, as we entered and left the place. At eight o'clock in the evening, after a good Turkish dinner, into which, by the by, not a particle of animal food en- Þess. 2 E 2 1 420 HARD GALLOPPING. tered, we rattled across the old bridge which spans the river Meerich, and scoured away a six hours' stage to Tâtar Bazarchick in three and a half, in a night nearly as dark as pitch. I must confess that however good the roads may be, this “hey-go-mad” gallopping in the dark is far from pleasant; for, although the horses we ride are amazingly sure- footed -- more so, indeed, upon the whole, than any cast of horse I know, it is impossible that they can always be on their guard against the roughness and holes that must often occur in an unmade track; and, assuredly, a fall when going at such a rate would, in all human probability, tend to an abrupt termina- tion of your journey. How they did it I can hardly tell ; but, between sliding, and slipping, and stum- bling, and recovering themselves, and good hard hearty gallopping, ventre à terre, we did the job with whole necks. It cost us an hour, that is, till half-past twelve at night, to get inounted at Tâtar Bazarchick, and at that hour we started on a twelve hours' stage to Ihtumân. So rapid had been our pace from Phi- lipopili, that to sleep on horseback as we rode along would have been impossible ; but being forced to save our horses during the first part of this long forty-eight mile stage to Ihtumân, we all got in tolerably drowsy, in spite of the sleep we got at Hermanlee. In fact, such rest is seldom refreshing in proportion to the time of its duration ; for the mind gets provokingly active, sometimes even to an utter defiance of sleep ; and even when the body does slumber, the busy spirit will be running a tilt in IRRESISTIBLE DROWSINESS. 421 all directions, as in our case last night, when I am sure both my companion and myself were as hard at work whipping and spurring, and heying on our weary jades, as if we had still been bestriding them. Be it also remembered, that we had ridden near a hundred miles since quitting our hard pallets at Hermanlee. Thus, as we slowly wound up the long gradual ascent beyond Tâtar Bazarchick, both of us, as well as the Tâtar, did nod most deter- minedly in our saddles. I do not remember ever being more overcome with sleep. I have slept upon my feet as I staggered along the path, having dis- mounted to keep myself awake by walking ; but on this occasion I am sure I should have fallen down asleep without an effort, had I attempted to do so. In fact, when we stopped for a moment at Yanikew, a village some twenty miles on, I fell fast asleep as I threw myself down upon a bench at the door of the coffee-house. My companion, determined bravely to resist the overwhelming influence, would not lie down at all, but leant against a post, where, in a moment, he was as sound as I was. We tried to speak to one another, but you would have died of laughing to hear the inarticulate sounds that issued from our throats - it was so ludicrous that we both laughed, and fell asleep again with the laugh in our mouths. The Suragees called out for us to re-mount, and I never shall forget the misery of moving the leaden weight of my limbs from the bench on which I lay, to the horse. Both my com- panion and myself agreed that no price could com- pensate for such torture of exertion. 422 IHTUMÂN. Not even the song of the numerous nightingales that chanted all night from every bush, had power to dispel this deadly drowsiness, which lasted till daybreak; indeed, till a good while after it, when, a little before six, we found ourselves near the top of the first ascent, in a dell wooded with oak coppice, with a fine retrospective look at the plain we had quitted, and a grand view of the snow-clad ridges to the right and left of us. At this point there is the remains of a Roman arch, which, perhaps, formed part of a gateway to some works for the defence of the pass, and here we refreshed ourselves with a cup of coffee, made by the hands of some guards esta- blished at the pass. It was just twenty-four hours since we quitted Hermanlee, and we had completed one hundred and forty-five miles within that time; pretty fair going, I hope you will admit. It was a glorious morning as we dipped from our halting-place, crossed a hollow, and then ascended a gorge in the Ihtumân Balcan, from whence we drop- ped like birds down into the beautiful little plain of that name. The town, which, like most other Turkish towns, glitters with its whitę bụildings and minarets from afar, stands in the midst of it. The skirts of the hills that bounded this valley were as lovely as anything in England with variety of sur- face, coppice and wood, field and inclosure, orchards, gardens, and little villages, in nooks of sweet retire- ment. The plain itself was cultivated like a gar- den. Along it we swept like a whirlwind, gal- lopping up to the very posthouse door with a fury SOFIA. 423 that gave emphasis to the rapidly delivered order to “ bring out fresh horses !” In less than an hour we had swallowed our simple breakfast, and were sweeping along the remainder of the same lovely plain towards Sofia, another forty- eight mile stage. A gradual ascent, and a rapid trot over an unequal tract of rising ground, sprinkled with coppice of oak and blackthorn, all bursting into bloom, brought us to a point from whence we over- looked the magnificent plain of Sofia, rising at its further end into another Balcan; but we had a long, long, weary work of whipping and spurring, ere we reached the town, which lay like a dusky line far off, near the distant mountains. The plain below us was a sheet of verdant fields, studded with villages, gardens, and fruit-trees; what a contrast to the cold bleak desert! I remembered it on passing here before : and how beautifully opposed to the snow-capped hills by which it was now bound- ed! I had had too much of snow of late to admire it, even at a distance. Yet I observed many plea- santly situated villages in far retired valleys, just below its line. Away we cantered and gallopped, and trotted, and halted, and then cantered again, attending to little but our horses and ourselves, so that we rattled off the twelve hours in six and a half, entering Sofia by a quarter past two. Sofia, as I believe I have told you before, is one of those towns which, sparkling with minarets and domes, and white buildings, dotted with many win- dows, looks well at a distance, but which, when you SHOOTING FLYING. 425 Rain upon to great advantage. The Turkish men, who are much smaller in person and plainer in dress, with their women, who flit about in their indigo-coloured shrouds, like the ghosts of departed Blues, make but a poor figure beside the stout Bulgarians. As I observed, we must shoot flying — for one hour and we are off-off on a sixty-four mile stage, with a storm brewing right a-head, which caught us before we had ridden an hour of space, and not only moistened us thoroughly, but our road, so that our progress became slow and difficult. a journey is a sad discomfiting thing. It not only drenches yourself and puts an end to comfort, de- stroying the horses' footing so that they cannot get on, but it soaks all the loads and cloaks and accou- trements, so that they become heavy and unma- nageable-real impedimenta. We had now been nearly forty hours in the sad- dle, with only the relief of changing horses: we had before us six hours, or twenty-four miles, from Sofia to a village, Khalkhallee, and it became a question whether it might not be wise to halt for a few hours there, and feed our horses, which already felt the effects of the deep mud, and refresh both them and ourselves before completing the remainder of this long stage, or to push on and cross the mountain by a bad road and in the darkness of a starless night. That we took the prudent part, and resolved to halt, was certainly less from any serious feeling of fatigue than from a belief that we should on the whole rather expedite than retard our journey by so doing; for I declare that I was in many 426 SORE EYES. respects fresher than I had been at earlier parts of the trip, and far less worn out than I felt in the morning between Tâtar Bazarchick and Ihtu- man. But there was one consideration that recon- ciled me to a few hours' rest, even if we should lose them entirely as regarded progress : my eyes, which had been frequently troublesome of late, had become so much inflamed within the last two days, that I was forced to keep them shut, often for hours together, letting the horse pick his way as he could, and when I tried to open them the lids were so glued together that I could not. On leaving Sofia they were particularly painful, so that a few hours sleep would be no ungrateful thing, and accordingly we resolved to take it. But on reaching Khalkhal- lee before dark, and mistrusting both our own pow- ers as well as those of the Tâtar to awaken us in fitting time, should we go to sleep so early in the night, we forced ourselves to proceed onwards some three hours, or twelve miles further, to a coffee- house at the top of the ascent. The road was execrable. The rain had fallen heavily here, so that it was one continued splash ; and it was so pitch dark, that we had to trust rather to the sagacity of the horses than our guides' knowledge, to find the path. The remains of an old causeway which crosses the mountain afforded us sometimes a little assistance, but oftener, by fail- ing us all at once, betrayed us into deep mud- holes and pools of water. After all, it was but little after nine o'clock when we reached the cof- fee-house, and so little were we fatigued that it 428 EXPENDING POST-HORSES. among gardens the white buildings of the town, or large and pretty village of Sakew. Towards this, after clearing the gorge, we pricked on with vigorous intent; but after a sharp gallop of se- veral miles were brought up by the giving in of no less than three of our horses. Taking forward, therefore, the remaining baggage-horse and one Suragee, we left the other with the Tâtar to bring up the disabled beasts, while we gallopped on to order fresh cattle. We completed the seven hours, or twenty-eight miles from the coffee-house we slept at, in three and a half hours; but, as appeared, at the expense of one horse, which, poor brute, gave up the ghost where he fell, and nearly killing two more which made their way into Sakew an hour and a half after we had entered it. The fact, as I believe, was, that although we paid hand- somely for the corn said to have been given on the previous night to our steeds, they never got a grain of it nor any care, and consequently were not in a condition to bear our rapid progress in the morn- ing following ; but the Sultaun's horses are all fair game to these devils of Tâtars. At half-past eleven on we went again along a green, rich, well-cultivated plain, at the end of which we ascended a wooded spur of the Balcan, and dipped down upon the still more lovely valley of Ak-Palanka, with its river winding through a variety of fields and enclosures, and its little tower and fort- like caravanserai lying just under our feet. The de- scent was rapid and stony; and as we trotted down with more speed than wisdom, down came the A TUMBLE. 429 Tatar, horse and all, upon as cruel a heap of stones as the unlucky brute could well have pick- ed out for the occasion. I was only a little be- hind, but saw nothing but a sudden disappearance of the Tâtar's green and gold jacket, a roll and tumble, and then the poor fellow upon the ground, separate from his prostrate steed, writhing, appa- rently in great pain. I jumped off to assist him, but he motioned us away, and continued rolling and twisting in such a manner, like a scotched snake, that I made no doubt he had sustained some serious injury; and it was ten minutes at least before he would suffer us to help him to his legs. When we did, he could not stand, which confirmed me in the opinion that some bone was broken : but such, fortunately, did not prove to be the case. The injury was ob- viously in the right hip and thigh, and the utter powerlessness it occasioned afforded a convincing proof of its severity. Nevertheless we had no al- ternative but to lift him on his horse; and after all he got better down to Ak-Palanka than we had reason to expect. There we proposed to leave him; but the poor man, anxious to perform his contract, and thus to earn the hoped-for gratuity, would go on, and in half an hour he was lifted again to his horse, and on the way to Nissa, though almost fainting with pain. After scampering for a few miles along this beau- tiful plain, by the full and red river, we turned sharp up a pretty and gradual ascent to cross the last Balcan. The road, devious enough, and very A KELLA-MINÂR. 431 away, away we scoured along the beautiful plain of Nissa, all cultivated like a garden, the town itself rising in the purple distance, with its domes and minarets all glittering in the setting sun. Scarcely did we stop for a moment to see what they call in Persia a Kella-minár, or tower of skulls, which the humane Osmanlees constructed near the eastern entrance of the city, of the heads of the Servians whom they slew, in their war with that people. Many of them still occupy their places in the niches of the tower into which they have been built; but still more have fallen out from the effects of time and weather, or have been picked out by the people of the country; so that, in no long time, it is probable that this ghastly and disgusting trophy will cease to exist. We reached Nissa a little after seven in the evening; and having ordered horses and a dinner, proceeded to solace our weary limbs in a Turkish bath; the best thing possible to restore circulation, and remove that soreness of muscle, which long and hard riding is sure to give. Our bath proved better, in its way, than our dinner, which, after no small promise on the part of our host of the posthouse, turned out to be nothing better than a dish of plain boiled rice, with a little butter, which the good folks of the coffee-room honoured with the respectable appellation of pillaw : a sad misnomer. Our Tâtar had by this time discovered that he was unable to proceed, and thus perforce consented to remain behind : and after a vain attempt, on our part, to procure a substitute for him on reasonable AN ACTIVE SURAGEE. 433 the 28. popped down upon the pretty Servian town of Razna, having made our forty miles in six hours. Our rapid and pleasant progress, during this stage, was greatly owing to the spirited exer- tions of a fine active fellow of a Suragee, who took on himself the part of Tâtar, and did certainly whip on the nags in good style : it was pleasant to hear his cheerful voice Haidee-ing on his less mer- curial companion, and vying in loudness, if not in melody, with the nightingales around us; we could see him, notwithstanding the darkness, every now and then casting back a look for approbation, and then there was another yah ullah ! and on again. He would fain have induced us to promote him to the rank of Tâtar for the trip to Belgrade, and commenced aping the Tâtar way of tying his head- gear; but it would not do, so rewarding him with a present that left him no cause for discontent, after only an hour's detention we mounted again for an- other forty miles' stage, to Jagodina, the capital of the country The country was beautiful, forest and cultivation, hill and dale, the day fine, and our horses good ; so we fared on merrily, stopping at a very nice village, Pannakeen, to breakfast on some capital kebaubs, and wine. The latter was very good, and, oh! what a country for a drunkard ! only about three halfpence per bottle. In passing through this and others of the Servian villages, we could not avoid being struck by the appearance of rapid im- provement which both they and the country ex- hibited. Not only were there no ruinous buildings VOL. II. 2 F A TRICK PREVENTED. 437 stables, where, in spite of the postmaster's assurance to the contrary, there were some five or six animals that looked neither sick nor sorry, my companion thought it well to watch them. At length, however, they also appeared to acquiesce in what could not be avoided, and one, at least, went to sleep; upon which my companion, satisfied that all was safe, lay down to take a nap, while I remained on guard against surprise. It was well I did so, for not half an hour had elapsed when I saw a horse brought to one side of the coffee-house where we sat, and the Tâtar who had not gone to sleep, with the head Suragee, commenced loading him with a pair of large bags. This was clear treason; so I reluctantly wakened my companion, who had need of rest, but who instantly arose, and sallied forth to the scene of action. His appearance there was anything but opportune for the two conspirators, who were thus attempting to steal a march upon us : for he at once forbid the bans; and, taking hold of the horse's halter with one hand, and of the rope with which they were tying on the load with the other, swore that, first come should be first served, and that not a horse should start from that post till we English couriers, and first comers, had been served and expedited. This interruption was as unwelcome as unexpected to the Tâtar and his friend, who tried, first by treating us with contempt, then by remonstrating, and then by rude blustering and force, to get rid of our in- terference and proceed with their operations; but they found themselves resisted with a firmness that rendered this impossible, and I had, moreover, got AN ARRANGEMENT. 439 thing they said, that if they had anything to say against him, they must address themselves to the proper authority; as for him, he insisted on having the matter decided by the postmaster, who had not showed his face during the row, though, it turned out, that he was no further distant than the stables. “Go you to the Baleoos, (consul),” retorted the Tâtars, giving this appellation to some magistrate or other in the town,-—" go you to the Baleoos, we will stay here-no doubt he will give you justice, if you complain of injustice.” The contemptuous laugh with which we received their cool proposal of thus abandoning our post and the field to them, enraged them to the utmost, and assuredly there never were more angry men than our two opponents. At length, the postmaster, who was discovered in the stable, seeing the worst of the battle over, and a sulky truce prevailing, took heart of grace, and came forward at our summons. Upon being taxed by us with the impropriety of his own and his Suragees' conduct, he excused himself, and assured us that he had made arrangements by which both parties should be despatched by sunset, and ours first. So, having ascertained so far as possible that he was sincere in his professions, and seeing the active little Tâtar himself assume the horizontal position, we too made ourselves as comfortable as possible until the promised hour of departure. During the whole of this row, which perhaps you may think I have related at greater length than it merits, not a soul bearing the slightest appearance of authority made himself visible. The fact is, that TEDIOUS RIDE. 441 , wine, and then out they went to help to load our horses, which they did with most bustling ac- tivity. We did not stop to inquire whether we had got the best as well as the first horses, and bad inust those of the two Tâtars have been if they were worse than ours : that of my companion, stumbled at every step. Off we went, about six o'clock, after a detention of nearly seven hours, not in the best of humour, to commence a very bad bit of road, through forest, in a louring evening. Oh, what a weary way was it through the black wood to Battachino! a village about halfway on our stage, the wind rising, the rain beating, our only Suragee drunk, and my friend's horse stumbling at every step. It is not always the quantity you have done that causes lassitude and exhaustion. — We had only ridden between one hundred and fifty and one hun- dred and sixty miles from Khalkhallee, where we slept some six or seven hours, to Jagodina, where we also halted nearly seven ; but this halt, far from being a rest, was more of a fag in mental exertion than had we continued all the time on horseback; so that an anxious and painful ride of nearly six hours to Battachino made us very ready to come-to for a little, and avoid the danger of sticking in a road where we could scarcely see our way, and a drenching from the fast-falling rain. I shall not easily forget how eagerly, in passing along, I scanned every tree, that rose like a giant on the dull leaden sky, in hopes of seeing the peculiar form of one which my companion informed me stood near the entrance 442 A LIGHT-HEARTED TRAVELLER. 1 1 of the village, and how ill I took each petty dis- appointment, as one after another deceived our hopes. Our refuge from the road and from the storm, was in a great rude house, warmed by the charred limbs of a huge oak stump that lay half consumed at one end. By the side of this we stretched our- selves among the half-sleeping inmates of the family, and after having refreshed ourselves with a capital pot of tea, slept as well as our reeling heads and excited spirits would permit for about four hours- that is till four in the morning of the 29th April. But it was six before we were on horseback; for we had to fight a stout battle for better horses. We trotted it in three hours and a half to Hassan Pa- shah Palanka, through a fine country, with lovely breaks in the forest, and cheered by the lively song of our Suragee, who was also the Cahwagee or coffee-maker of the establishment; a merry fellow, with a capital voice, and inexhaustible good hu- mour. The oak was just here and there bursting into leaf, but the multitude of thorns were all in full blow, and the air was delicious. About half way on, we overtook a person walking at a good pace in the dress of a Frank, who turned out to be a Frenchman, who had come from a distant part, I forget where, in the East, but was last from Con- stantinople, and all the way on foot. At Adriano- ple, he had been seized with a severe fever, and detained by its effects for two months ; but by the blessing of the “ Bon Dieu," he had recovered, and was so far on his way to Belgrade, from whence he 1 448 LETTER XIX. + Austrian Guard-houses. Entrance into Limbo.-Ceremonies there- on.—Lodgings.—Arrangements.-A Day in Quarantine. De- scription of the Lazaretto.- Ceremonies and Arrangements on Exit.—A Supper.—National Dishes and Games.—Arrival of Courier.—Start from Semlin.-Bad Roads and Horses.-Car- lovitz.—Peterwaradin.—Keep the Right Bank of the Danube.- Sclavonian Scenery.—Essek its Capital.—Fünfkerkhen.—Post- horses found by the Proprietors of Estates.—Grand Kanitza.- Stein-en-Anger.-Guntz.-Oldenburgh.—Reach Vienna.— Ar- rangements.- Leave Vienna.-Rapid Course to Frankfort, Brus- sels, and Home. 1 DEAR I BADE adieu to you just as I was going to prison. As it is generally more convenient to do one's own business than to have it done for one, we provided, so far as we could, for our confinement, by laying in such necessaries and conveniences as were more easily to be procured here than at Semlin. After these arrangements and a good breakfast, we got into a boat and rowed across the Savah to Semlin. The perfect liberty of egress and ingress which one enjoys at Belgrade, and generally in Turkey, forms a strong contrast to the annoyance that awaits the traveller upon landing upon the Austrian shore. the bank you see guardhouses raised on wooden piles or stone, in which watchmen are stationed to prevent All along REPULSIVE REGULATIONS. 449 intercourse of any kind with the opposite shore, to keep infection aloof and hinder smuggling. A cir- cumstance happened not long ago, which has occa- sioned a preference for guardhouses of stone rather than of wood. In winter and early spring, the whole low tract on the right bank of the Savah is overflowed by the melting snow, so that there is no communication between these insulated and elevated posts except by boat. One night one of them took fire, and the unfortunate guard had before them the chance of being burned or drowned. They clung, however, manfully to the timbers, in spite of the fire which consumed them nearly to the water's edge, and were actually saved ; and since then, all new ones have been built of stone. We tracked up the river, and by a little after nine we landed, received by a guard, with sticks to keep us off, and marched to the quarantine. The cold and inhospitable character of this reception, occasions dis- gust to strangers, and I heard of one English gen- tleman who took fire at the action of an Austrian officer, to whom he had inconsiderately approached too near, and who started back, and presented the point of his stick to the unconscious transgressor. Our countryman forgot, or rather did not know that had he accidentally but touched the other, it would have subjected him to ten days' quarantine. “These are your Frank customs," observed a Tatar, who had come to deposit his charge in the Lazaretto; “this is your Frank hospitality!--who comes here to bid you · Khoosh guelden suffa guelden?'—there is nothing here but keep off! and the bayonet point!" Never- VOL. II. 2 G CAUSE OF THIS STRICTNESS. 453 who carry the law into effect, think less of the in- convenience they may create, than of strictly com- plying with their instructions ; unless, indeed, when some still more forcible consideration is brought to bear upon the question, and change the light in which they had previously viewed it. At this time, the exhibition of such considerations would have had anything but a favourable effect ; for there had lately been a quarrel among the officials, which tended to let out some ugly facts, and led to certain changes that, for the time, deranged the accommodating economy of the establishment, and occasioned a degree of strictness which was the very reverse of convenient to us. There is also a more than ordinary strictness ob- served here, with regard to strangers in custom- house matters : for the smuggling trade between Turkey and Hungary is carried on to such an ex- tent, as to make the government particularly jealous of every one who crosses the frontier; and truly the temptation is sufficiently great in some articles: for instance, the tobacco which you may smoke for a few pence a pound in Turkey, will cost you in Austria, from duty alone, about as many shillings. But of all articles which are brought from Turkey, the Austrian government is the most scrupulous about shawls. These articles of dress are manu- factured in Austria, and therefore the lieges of that country are permitted to wear none of any other fabric. Even the transit through the country of such goods as are prohibited is accompanied with no small difficulty. The way adopted, gene- 462 NATIONAL GAMES. the variety of whisks given to the inflammable substance by the tail of him of the iceberg, and the dashing about of the candle, tallow and all, in the vain efforts of the incendiary to effect his purpose. Another ridiculous game, was “ Putting the cock to sleep."-One of the party represented a cock, and began to crow with all his might. After some rigmarole tale, or explanation, one of the company sat down upon a chair, while the cock, kneeling before him, placed his head between the other's knees; and the point of the game consisted in his trying to catch the head of the said cock between his two hands, as it was jerked up and down, rapid- ly and unexpectedly, always uttering a loud “cock, cock, cock !” It was sad buffoonery like the other game, but one could not help laughing at seeing the grave and energetic efforts of him who sought to put the cock to sleep,” while the nimble fellow, who represented chanticleer, crowed triumphantly at each successful jerk, just like children playing at patting each other's palms and trying to catch the hand of the hitter. We were glad enough to retire from the revelry long ere it came to a close, for we knew that it could not be long until our orders should arrive, and it was necessary we should prepare to obey them. Our presentiment was fulfilled this morning, for just as we sat at breakfast, we learned that the courier had arrived at the quarantine, and my com- panion went to receive and pass the despatches, while I employed myself in packing. We found that the courier, Mr. H. had had very bad weather, 464 RIGHT BANK OF THE DANUBE. kept the right bank of the Danube, and reached the village of Cherowitz two posts on, at six, where we took a hasty breakfast, and then on to Susseg, one post. Here no posters being obtainable, we took four peasant's horses on to Illock, which we reached by eleven o'clock, where, the cattle being out, and a little delay being unavoidable, we took the oppor- tunity and had something to eat. This is the road for seeing Hungary and Sclavo- nia to advantage, provided the season be favourable. The country, though flat, is verdant and charming; villages occur on the road every five miles, and there are many visible on either hand. Then you come, every now and then, upon the bank of the Danube, and look across upon the rich country that lies beyond it, prettily wooded, and studded with numerous towns and villages; with the beautifully winding river glancing every here and there, some- times dotted with islands, sometimes in one deep broad stream. I counted about twenty steeples within a small space, all at once in view. In seve- ral parts the roads were bordered with avenues of trees, many of which were mulberries; and we saw numbers of women and girls climbing them, and stripping them of their leaves, I think — for they seemed sadly deficient in leaf— no doubt to feed silkworms. Our dinner at Illock was but moderate. The horses they gave us proved capital. There were four, for which we paid the price of three; and the best whip in England might have taken a les- son from our ragged and tough coachman as he HEAVY ROADS. 465 drove, in an hour and a half, over a road of some intricacy to Oppotowitz. The weather was hot, though cloudy. The roads, which hitherto had been very deep in mud, were now drying up a little. All the trees, elm, beech, and mulberries, were in leaf, the country beautiful, and we in high spirits at getting on so fast and so comfortably. O what a contrast to the first part of my jour- ney!—to the dreary night rides in frost, and snow, and misery! Well, let us be grateful.. The good-looking horses we got at Oppotowitz proved real slugs; and the road being bad, we were two hours in performing the one post to Vurcovar. There is now always a fight about taking four horses, but hitherto we have got off by paying for three. We required them all, indeed, on the road to Vera; for it was execrable. The country has now become a dead flat of deep black loam, which retains all the water that falls on it; so that ruts and ridges never dry. The track of our wheels, too, does not suit those of the small Hungarian carts, which makes our draught heavier than it should be. The country is everywhere well culti- vated-much Indian corn, or maize, is grown; and we passed through a good deal of fine forest, evidently preserved. We still see the mulberry- trees, and women in every one of them. A sulky postmaster at Vera; but we got on with four horses about eight in the evening, and reached Essek, the capital city of Sclavonia, by eleven at night, “after paddling through a road half under water and of very tenacious mud. The whole 2 H VOL. II. 468 RAPID PROGRESS. stuff, which we did not fail in doing justice to.- It was capital ! like a very good wine of the Hock character, with fine flavour. Dinner, coffee, wine, and all cost us, I think, about eighteenpence each; and after an hour's rest, we rattled on to St. Lau- rent, also a mansion of Prince Esterhazy, who has all the fine intervening country. We saw fine flocks of Merino sheep upon the pastures, both to- day and yesterday, and many other symptoms of a highly improved state of agriculture. The Prince “ horses" this and several other stages on this road; a measure adopted by him and other noblemen, for the purpose of encouraging trade and traffic, and consequent improvement in their several countries. In ten minutes a pair of splendid greys, horses you would have gazed at in Hyde Park, were yoked to our little carriage; and away we went one post in an hour and twenty minutes to Seegatz, through alternate forest and cultivation and low swelling heights, with so many sweet villages and steeples--beautiful! The road, too, was excellent, made by Esterhazy; and there were hundreds of people, with thousands of their little Hungarian carts, drawn by bullocks, at work upon it. Indeed, we have got on swimmingly from Sikloss, for the road is all a well-made chaussée. The road continued fine till near Isvanlec, which we reached about six o'clock in the evening, and where there was a villanous bad bit. Beyond this we entered a tract of sandhills and forest; dread- fully heavy work, but we had a pair of splendid black horses to drag us through. The forest much NOBLEMEN'S HORSES. 469 to-1 e Hoci e, Wine e each St. Lar sho has IW fine oth to ns of: other m and raging ent in air of at in and resembled some parts of Scotland; fragrant birch, alder coppice, fern, and heather-capital cover for cocks! I can say little about the night; for the roads being fair, we slept a good deal between the stages. We were very hospitably treated by an old militaire at Baboiza, who, hearing us express a desire to purchase some bread, invited us to par- take of his supper, one dish of which was aspa- ragus, of immense size, done with white sauce, and most delicious it was. At this place we got a pair of capital horses from the stud of a nobleman, through whose property the road passes; these animals are, I think, far su- perior to our coach cattle in England, although we take more out of them in pace than they do here. We had now one or two stages, I forget which, through forest, and by an indifferent and dangerous sandy road, to Grand-Kanitza, a large but straggling town, which we reached a little after four in the morning of May 14. From thence, still through forest, but the last quarter of the way through a wide and beautiful valley, to Harost, which we reached by seven. Here, greased wheels, took coffee, and off again in forty minutes to Szala—a beautiful drive through a fine valley, on the heights surrounding which the forest was grouped, and scattered, and spread, with all the effect of park scenery. Szala, which we reached about half-past ten, has a fine church or castle, and some fine houses ; but the streets, like those of most Hungarian towns, are wide, and miserably deep in bad weather. We were not detained here more than a quarter of renty E and many road, here heir ork rom hich and ond ead- adid uch 474 WURTZBURGH.--THE RHINE. rather the property of an individual than the king- dom of a sovereign, that such minutiæ are best at- tended to; except where the whole community are sufficiently enlightened and public-spirited to exer- cise a local jurisdiction in promoting these laudable purposes. At six in the morning of the 20, reached Wurtz- burgh. I was much struck with its splendid pa- lace of red stone ; how much superior to any of our English palaces, excepting Windsor ! Its grand castle, its churches, and saint-crowned bridge are all well worth stopping for; but on we go, and reach Frankfort about eight at night, after passing through the new and thriving town of Ofen, erected by Bavaria as a sort of rival to the former. After calling at the British embassy, and a late dinner, off to Mayence, which I reached by a little after three on the morning of the 21. and remained to embark in the steam-boat which sails every morn- ing, I believe, from hence, at six, and goes down the Rhine to Cologne in about twelve hours. The voyage was delightful, although the day was cold. The scenery altogether fascinating ; but how should I, travelling post, and shooting like an ar- row down the stream, attempt to describe this well- known and splendid panorama of rock and wood, town, village, and castle ; vine-covered hills and rich plains; with its classic associations and its ro- mantic traditions ; its tales of love and war; its Drackenfels ; its Ehrenbreitsteins, that remind you of “ Roland the Brave” and a thousand other spirit- stiring heroes and heroic events ; far be it from me 1 COLOGNE.BRUSSELS.OSTEND. 475 king stat- y are exer. lable irtz . of IM are ed er I, to put a patch on the work which has employed so many bright geniuses—I hurry on; for home, for home and you, dear So, reaching Cologne with its seven kings and fine cathedral, about six, and picking up a few bottles of Jean Maria de Farina on my way to the posthouse, behold me off before seven, whisking through St. Juliers and Aix la Chapelle, as fast as Prussian exactitude and steady Prussian drivers would permit; reaching Liege by seven in the morning ; passing through a beautifully waved and rich country, but with a vile mist and blighting wind, through St. Trond and Tirlemont to Brussels; a more comfortable drive than in my miserable break-down rattletrap of a carriage on my way out. Hearing that a government steam-boat was to sail at eight next morning from Ostend for Eng- land, I resolved to try and overtake it. So, instead of proceeding to Calais, after a good dinner at the Belvue Hôtel, off I went again to see what a little extra pay would do in quickening the movements of Flemish postilions. And, truth to say, they did well; for at five in the morning of the 23. May, I overtook the ambassador's courier, and at seven entered the Hôtel d'Angleterre, kept by a widowed Englishwoman, in the town of Ostend. nothing of the flat rich country we bowled through -cut as it was into innumerable small inclosures, nor of the towns of Ghent and Brüge, each so well worth looking at; for we have only time to snatch a bit of breakfast, and get on board the packet, a nice little vessel, which sailed about half-past eight. er ) I say 476 THE PASSAGE. DOVER. Oh ! how how I snuffed the dear salt air, and hailed the muddy water of the narrow channel that now alone divided me from « mine own countrie." The said muddy water, I suppose, owed me somewhat of a grudge; for it soon grew rough; and I, on plea of requiring repose, took my berth upon a locker on the lee side of the cabin, from whence I did not lift my head till we were close in with the cliffs of Dover, thereby avoiding a fit of sea-sickness. After a fine passage of seven hours and fifty minutes I had the heart-felt delight of feeling my foot once more press solid British soil, after an absence of more than eighteen months, during which time assuredly I had more than once cause to fear I might never have that happiness again. The ceremonies of our blessed custom-house, and other matters, occupied some time; so, it being useless to reach London before next morning, I ordered horses at one A.M. and prepared to spend the intervening hours as comfortably as might be. But comfort or even rest to a mind so excited as mine was impossible. I looked out upon the people passing to and fro, “mine own countrymen," and my heart warmed with a thousand feelings, of which impatience was not the least. I went to bed, but no sleep came; and I cannot tell you what a relief it was to me when the “ ostler" came to call me at the appointed hour. Away we drove like lightning ; it was no heavy German or phlegmatic Belgian that wielded the whip now—these were not Turkish nor Hungarian roads : all was English, and so was the pace we went at. Canterbury was 1 HOME! 477 hailed t now The ewhat 1 2 plea soon passed ; so was Rochester and Dartford ; and there, there at last, is the river with its multitudi- nous shipping--there is the dear coal-smoke—there is the grand dome of St. Paul's looming large through it. Hurrah ! We dash over Westminster Bridge once more. Away to Downing Street, and, thanks be to God, home, home ! er ob over, fifty 21 ing Ise THE END. E LONDON : PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, Bangor House, Shoe Lane. 3 1954 PCO1250 BOO 3