He took me to a spacious new residence, 14 feet by 14 feet inside, and 18 feet high.
"It is a fine house, is it not, Sahib?"
"Yes, very fine."
"It cost me exactly two tomans, four krans (about nine shillings) to build it, as it stands."
Enumerating the various items of expenditure on the tips of his fingers:—"Sun-baked bricks 1 kran (5d.) per thousand," he continued; "carpenter 1 kran a day for 5 days, and mason 1 kran a day. The people who helped were not paid as they were relations!"
The dome of this house was very scientifically constructed, as can be seen by the diagram, and formed a very strong vault. To make these vaults, four workmen begin at the four corners of the quadrangular base to lay bricks in successively enlarging concentric arcs of a circle, each higher than the previous one, till each section meets the two side ones. The small portion that remains above is filled in with bricks, laid transversely, and these vaults are really of remarkable strength.
Vault, shewing how Bricks are laid.
