“Left at six P.M., over a level plain and splendid road; stopped at Faizabad, twenty-four miles, at twelve midnight, and taking the best house, a very good one with two rooms overlooking a garden, slept again in the open air; much warmer here; meat to be got again; we are now out of the wilderness; had a really comfortable rest here; left at ten P.M.
“Reached Abadeh, sixteen miles, at two A.M. Our groom had lagged behind with the horse-clothing, and the other two men had lost their way; so we, the cook and the bedding, arrived alone. C⸺ had to tie up the horses as best he could, and we took an hour to get to bed. The road was good, and in the morning we got a fair mutton steak, but no fruit was to be had. Left at ten P.M. Abadeh is a large place enclosed in a mud wall, the post-house being outside; it is celebrated for spoons carved in wood in a wonderful manner, but they are useless and dear. Here Mr. Carapet, of the Department, hospitably entertained us and gave us a capital dinner, and a leg of mutton for the road.
“Over a long plain, twenty-four miles to Shūrgistan; put up in the guest-house of the shrine; arrived at half-past three. Nothing to be got here; so hot that we had to go downstairs—the lower rooms are cooler. Left at half-past eight P.M., and over a long plain to Yezdikhast, twenty miles, where we arrived at one. A fine caravanserai; got a good room on the roof. People here report the king’s death, and there is a panic. The place is peculiar, being built on a high cliff which is in the middle of a deep gorge nearly a mile wide, a small river running down the middle. Our gholam left us here, this being the frontier of Fars.
“Left at six P.M. with three guards on horseback, the road reported to be not safe. This stage is where C⸺ was robbed, and where the Bakhtiaris make their incursions. Twenty-six miles to Maxsud Beg: a long road. Arrived at two A.M. Took the guards the whole way, or we should never have found the chupper-khana, which is off the road. Got some good bread here at a small village. Found a load of ice sent us from Kūmishah; a welcome present from the inspector there. A good room twice the usual size, very cool; a high wind all day and night. Left at half-past seven for Kūmishah, sixteen miles, a fair road, wind very high and cold. Arrived at half-past eleven, after much trouble in a rocky valley, servants losing themselves and coming to grief. The brown horse went lame (from a projecting nail) and had to be led. Were hospitably entertained by the inspector, Sergeant McIntyre, who gave us a breakfast of many dishes. A large place, but in ruins; very cool; a fine shrine and resting-place for pilgrims, accommodating some thousands.
“Left at half-past five; twenty miles over a dreary plain to Mayar, a large caravanserai, and a village which is the Shah’s personal property (in ruins); arrived at half-past eleven. No beds, as we had got in two hours before the loads. I was so tired, I lay down and slept in my habit. We were all too tired to eat, and the servants were dead beat; so we went without dinner, ordering a good breakfast to be served as soon as we should wake. Being determined to try and get into Ispahan (or rather Julfa) to-morrow, an early move was necessary; we started at five P.M., and reached Marg caravanserai, twenty-eight long miles, at two A.M.; here my husband determined to halt for a few hours, and I slept till dawn in a wretched hole. There were good quarters in the chupper-khana (post-house), and the post-house and caravanserai are all that Marg consists of; but we were told that glanders had been rife there, and we were afraid to trust our horses in the place.
“At dawn our caravan arrived; the muleteers and servants swore they could do no more, but a little persuasion and a promise of a present got them off, after feeding their mules, and we cantered on, reaching our quarters at ten A.M., after a hot ride in the sun. By this forced march we escaped the meeting with new friends, who otherwise, had we arrived the next day, as was calculated, would have ridden out to meet us. I lay down at once, and the mules and their riders dropped in one by one, each man on his arrival seeming to shout louder than his predecessor.
“But our journey was over, and I trust I may never again have to march three hundred miles at night.”
CHAPTER XXXIII.
JULFA.
Hire a house—Coolness of streets—Idleness of men—Industry of women—Stone mortars—Arrack—Hire a vineyard—A wily Armenian—Treasure-trove—The “Shaking Minarets”—A hereditary functionary—A permanent miracle—Its probable explanation—Vaccination—Julfa priests—Arrack as an anæsthetic—Road-making—Crops of firewood—Fire temple—Huge trees—The racecourse—Disappearance of ancient brick buildings—Donkeys—Healthiness of Julfa—Zil-es-Sultan—His armoury—Prospects of the succession to the throne—Bull-terriers—Mastiffs—Politeness and rudeness of the prince.