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gth. The last and most splendid entertainment was given this evening to the envoy by our Mehmandar, Mahomed Zeky Khan.. His own house was not large enough to contain us and our numerous attendants; he received therefore the prince's permission to give it in that of Aga Besheer, the queen's head eunuch. The apartment, into which we were introduced, was still more elegant than any which we had yet seen, and if it could have been transported to England, would probably have excited universal admiration, and a new taste in the interior decoration of rooms. almost all the public rooins or dewan khonéh of a Persian house, it was in shape a parallelogram, with a recess formed by a Saracenic arch, in the centre of the superior line of the figure. The ground of the wall was of a beautiful varnished white, and richly painted in gold in ornaments of the most neat and ingenious composition. The entablature, if it may be so called, was inlaid glass placed in angular and prismatic positions, which reflected a variety of beautiful lights and colours. The ceiling was all of the same composition. In the arched recess was a chimney-piece formed in front by alternate layers of glass and painting. The whole side fronting the arch was composed of windows, the frames of which opened from the ground; and, though of clumsy workmanship compared with frames in England, yet aided by the richness of the painted glass intermixed with the gilding of the wood-work, they filled up the space splendidly and symmetrically.

"This fête corresponded in all its parts with the others that I have described; except that there was a greater variety of entertainments.

Besides the rope-dancer waterspouter, dancing boys, and fireeater, we had an exhibition of wrestlers, a combat of rams, and a sanguinary scene of a lion killing an ox. The wrestling was opened by two dwarfs, about three feet and a half in height: one with a beard descending to his girdle, with deformed arms and hands, but with strong and muscular legs. The other, with bad legs, but with regular and well shaped arms. Both had the appearance of those animals represented in mythological pictures as satyrs, or perhaps of the Asmodeus of Le Sage. The figure with the beard was the victor, and fairly tossed his antagonist into an adjoining basin of water. The professional wrestlers succeeded; .the hero of whom threw and discomfited eight others, in most rapid suc cession. In this the combat of rams resembled that of the wrestlers: one bold and superb ram, belonging to the prince, remained the undisputed master of the field, for although a great number of his kind were brought to meet him, none dared to face him after the first butt.

"The scene of blood next begun. A poor solitary half-grown ox was then produced, and had not long. awaited his fate, when a young lion was conducted before us by a man, who led him with a rope by the neck. For some time he seated himself by the wall regardless of the feast before him. At length, urged by the cries of his keepers, and by the sight of the ox, which was taken close to him, he made a spring and seized his victim on the back. The poor brute made some efforts to get loose, but the lion kept fast hold, until he was dragged away by his keepers. Both were again brought before us, when the

ox fell under a second attack of the lion. An order was at length given to cut the throat of the ox, when the lion finished his repast by drinking heartily of his blood. A very small cub of a lion, not larger than a water-spaniel was carried out, and the vigour with which he attacked the ox, was quite amusing. He fed upon him, after he was dead, with a relish which showed how truly carnivorous were his young propensities. This bloody scene was pleasing to the Persian spectators in general, although I thought that I perceived some who sympathized with us for the helplessness of the ox.

"In the course of the morning the prince's present to the mission was brought by Ismael Beg. It consisted of a sword and two horses to the envoy, and to each of the gentlemen kalaats, or dresses of gold brocade, a sash, and a shawl. Our appearance, when we wore our new dresses, which had not been made on purpose for us, was probably very ridiculous. We put the rich brocade Persian vest over our English clothes, having only taken off our coats: then wound the brocade sash round our waists, and lastly, put our shawls either over our shoulders, or fastened them into our cocked hats. This, with our red cloth stockings and green highheeled shoes, completed the adjustment, in which we appeared before the prince. The morning of the 9th had been fixed for our parting visit; dressed in these gifts with which he had honoured us, we were introduced to the prince in a room called the private audience, in the Bagh-a-Vakeel. On walking

through the garden we met one of his brothers, a little fellow about six years old, and who could just totter under the weight of the brocades, furs, and shawls with which he was hugely encumbered. Several khans and men of consequence were standing before him, in the same attitudes of respect and humility, as they did before his elder brother, and attending to all his little orders and whims, with as much obsequiousness, as they would have shewn to a full-grown sovereign. It was singular that no notice was taken of an inadvertence which we committed: the dresses which we had received were honours to which a Persian looks forward through his whole life; but as they happened to be extremely inconvenient to us, we threw them off as soon as we left the prince's presence. An Englishman just invested with an order, would hardly so throw off the ribband at the gate of St. James's. In strictness, the kalaat of Persia should be worn three days, as we afterwards learnt, when again we had received a similar distinction at Teheran, and treated it with similar disrespect.

"Before we left Shiraz, the merchants were all displeased with the envoy, for they had been accustomed in former missions to sell immense quantities of their goods at exorbitant prices; while now all their offers were refused, as most of the presents which were given by Sir Harford in our progress, were made in coin. The amount of those presents indeed was not always satisfactory to the receivers."

recommenced his journey towards Teheran. The prime minister, and the chief secretary, Mahomed Has san Khan (the commander of the Karaguzloo tribe), the prince's lord chamberlain, and Mahomed Zeky Khan, our former Mehmandar, with Abdulla Khan, who had succeeded to that office pro tempore, accompanied us about the distance of a mile from Tengui Ali Acbar, and then all took their formal leave, except our late and present Mehmandars.

At the distance of a quarter of a mile beyond the gate of the pass departing from Shiraz, one of the most compact of distant views presented itself. As we saw it from an eminence, the foreground was formed by the two bold acclivities, (which close into the pass and are connected by the gate), and the interval in the distance is filled up by part of Shiraz, the campagna and the mountains in the horizon. As our tents and baggage were still considerably behind us, we stopt and drank coffee at a hut, where is a reservoir of ice constructed by the prince on a plan which to us seemed simple and good. A deep trench of about fifty paces in length, and fifteen in breadth, is cut into the ground; other dikes are cut transversely, which, as they fill with water, are emptied into the reservoir. When this first layer of water is congealed, another draught is made from the dikes, and thus the ice is accumulated. A wall is built the whole length of the reservoir to screen the ice from the south wind,

time Captain Sutherland ascended the highest point of the mountains to the west, and returned with the most brilliant account of the view: Shiraz and its plain were at his feet, the gardens and the whole delineation of the mountains and surrounding lands, laid out as if on a map.

"After we had quitted our late Mehmandars and their company, and had been joined by their successor Mahomet Khan, we begun to wind in the hills, and rode by the banks of the little stream of Rocknabad, until we came to a station of Rahdars, which is called Kalaat Poshoon, from its being the spot where the prince puts on the kalaats, with which the king is frequently pleased to honour him. The country through which we passed, is hilly and open; scarcely a shrub enlivens the brown mountains, which here and there are varied by the capriciousness of their stratification into forms as extravagant as they are inhospitable. The source of the Rocknabad is about twelve miles from Shiraz, into which its waters find their way, after meandering in a variety of directions in their progress towards it. There was nothing particularly interesting in the march of the day. Large flocks of pigeons, now and then flew over our heads, and the road here and there was occasionally strewed with ruined castles and caravanserais, which, though they bore a name, yet being uninhabited, are no longer worthy to be marked in the topographical history

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the salute of a few miserable fusileers, had heard the recitative verses of one or two poor Mollahs, and had trampled over two or three bottles of sugar-candy, we arrived at our encampment at Zergoon.

Zergoon, when first seen, looks a respectable place: a mud wall surrounds it; but, as it was broken down in many places, it was not difficult to observe that the greater part of the houses within were mere shells, and their inhabitants proportionably wretched. It is situated close at the foot of a range of mountains at the southern extremity of a small plain, which is of the finest soil, and towards the town not ill cultivated. We calculated our march to have been thirteen miles from our tents at the Bagh-a-Vakeel at Shiraz, and on an average our route lay north-east.

"The night was interrupted by the disputes of the mule-drivers and the bustle of feroshes. We quitted Zergoon at nine o'clock, and, at the distance of about two miles, entered into the plain of the same name (confounded with that of Merdasht) of a most delightful soil and partially cultivated, which extends near fifteen miles east and west. We proceeded three miles further, and crossing the river Bend-emir, entered the real plain of Merdasht. The bridge is thrown over the river immediately behind a projecting foot of the mountains; it is called the Pool Khan, and has (besides two Jesser arches, which in this season were unoccupied by water) two principal arches, and another of a second size, through which three the river runs. The Bend-emir is the ancient Araxes, and runs in a general direction from north to south where we crossed it, indeed,

S. W. It does not fall into the sea at Cape Jasques, (now at least, as has been said) though it still enters Kerman. I am told that it goes to Corbal, ten fursungs from Persepo lis, a large place in the province of Kerman, where its waters are re ceived and kept up by a very con. siderable dam called the Bund Emir, i. e. the Bund Emir Timoor, or the dam of Tamerlane. There are several Bunds at Corbal, and in the neighbourhood, each raised by a king. In the balook or district of Corbal, there is a village called Sedeh Nokara Khonéh, about eight or nine fursungs distant from Perse polis; where, in the common story of Persia, Jemsheed kept his royal drums and trumpets: the noise of which, when sounded there, reached his ears at Persepolis. According to the report which we received from the people of the country, the whole plain of Merdasht for many miles round is covered with interesting monuments of antiquity, mostly taking their direction to the southward.

"From the bridge to the extre mity of the plain may be ten miles. At two miles from our encampment, near the remains of 'Persepolis, we turned to the left to visit the ruins and sculptures of Nakshi Rustam. Although they appeared close to us, yet the great variety of the streams (drains from the Bend-emir and another river) which have been made to irrigate the country, obliged us to make a circuitous route of at least four miles.

"The tombs and sculptures at Nakshi Rustam are all contained in the space of about two hundred yards, on the surface of steep and craggy rocks, the fronts of which extend in a line from N. W. to S. E. On the

N. W,

N.W. they terminate abruptly, and take an eastward turn: and this termination is marked by the shaft of a column six feet high, which stands upon the eminence, and is of the very same stone as that on which it rests; though it has not been left in its present position by the excavation of the adjacent parts, for I thrust a kunjur (a dagger) several inches between it and the surface of the foundation rock; in which therefore there is obviously a socket to receive it, The top of the rock (on which the sculptures at Nakshi Rustam are executed) is levelled into a platform about twenty feet square: on this is an elevated feet or throne; the asscent to which is by five steps, i. e. two steps and a landing place, and then three more. I think, however, that I perceived the remains of another step to the landing place. The throne itself is an oblong nine feet by six, and the whole rock is a fine marble.

"Nearly under this column is situated the first and most northern piece of sculpture. It consists of two figures on horseback, and a third on foot. Chardin's description of this, as well as of the other monuments, is sufficiently satisfactory; and I will therefore only mention where I differ from him. He says, that the size of the horses is suited to that of their riders: now to me they seem to be by far too small in proportion; and the best proof of this is, that the riders' feet nearly touch the ground. What he calls bridles of chains of iron did not strike us as such. The whole furniture of the horses is admirably preserved, and I have endeavoured to draw it with the most scrupulous accuracy. The bridle of the horse on the right is exactly the same as those of the horses at Shapour, with

numerous knobs.or buckles on the head-stall: that of the horse on the left is of another species of ornament, yet also with many straps and buckles. Both have a remarkable strap or piece of iron which reaches from the horse's forcheat all down the front part of the face, covers the lips, and is fastened behind near the opening of the cheeks. The breast-plate of the horse on the right is composed of large round plates linked together: that of the horse on the left is ornamented with lions' heads. The man behind the figure on the left, holds (not an umbrella, as Chardin mentions, but) a fly-flap, which is common to almost all the principal figures at Persepolis. Each of these horsemen trample on a body; that under the figure on the right is more correct and well preserved, than the other to the left. A Greek inscription is engraved on the chest of the first horse, composed of seven lines, the three first of which are illegible. Then nearly close under these lines. are some characters, which are extremely effaced, but which I have endeavoured to copy exactly. They are evidently the same as which I saw at Shapour. On the breast of the opposite horse there is also a small but very effaced inscription in the same characters.

those

"The sculpture next to this is composed of nine figures; five on the right side, and three on the left, of a personage at full length, who stands in the centre, holding a sword before him with both hands, and bearing a globe on his head. The figures to the left are beckoning as it were to the others on the right. There is besides another curious figure at full length, behind the rock close to the sculpture, but still making part of the same piece.

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