pied one side, beautiful numuds * and rich carpets were spread above Indian mats on the floor. But the moment these rooms were passed, the bare bricks and unplastered walls stared you in the face; the passages and staircases were so narrow that two persons could hardly pass each other, and every thing looked slovenly and unfinished. The approach from without was by a dirty lane, so narrow, that a man on horseback could not reach the door; on either side of which were heaps of broken bricks and earth, dirt, and pools of green or slimy water. Yet, before the windows, were little gardens neatly laid out in walks, shrubs, and beds of flowers; and beyond the town-wall might be seen a fine prospect of the plains and mountains. The lodging assigned to the principal guest was comfortable enough; but the servants of that guest had hardly a place to lay their heads on, or to protect his baggage from the weather. We dined on good pillaw, but our servants had often not even dry bread to put in their mouths, unless their master gave them money to pay for it; and as to his horses, they had neither shelter nor food, not even a place where they might stand upon dry ground.' pp. 34, 35.

By a fiction of law, the stranger in Persia is said to be the guest of the King, and, wherever he goes, lodging and entertainment are supposed to be provided for him by the public authorities at the expense of the government. But the traveller generally finds this sort of hospitality much more disagreeable and costly than if he were at liberty to make out his own quarters. The host is displeased at having a foreigner, as it were, billetted upon him; and the official people expect in presents ten times the amount of the most extravagant bill which the guest would have had to pay at a public inn, if such an institution were in existence. Sometimes Englishmen have endeavoured to carry into effect their independent practice of paying at private houses for every thing which they required; but the Persians are not yet arrived at this degree of civilisation: they suspect it is but a trick, used for the purpose of inducing them to bring forth their best fare, and they refuse to profit of it. In many respects, however, Ramzaun Beg was an exception to the generality of Persian hosts. Though warm in his temper, and somewhat peevish, he treated his guest with great attention and benevolence.

The province of Mazunderan is governed by Mahomed Koolee Meerza, the third son of the King. Saree, the seat of his residence, is a city of great antiquity, but inferior, both in extent and appearance, to Astrabad. The bazars are miserable, the walls and fortifications contemptible, and the palace far from magnificent. It has five colleges, a number which one is surprised to find in a situation so remote from the capital. Here, also, is a curious tower, resembling, in its style and architecture, those which the author described in his travels through Khorasan. It is hollow through its whole

* Numuds are thick carpets of felt, which are sometimes highly ornamented with flowers, and other devices, in various colours.'

height, which is about one hundred feet; its internal diameter is somewhat less than thirty. Its shape is cylindrical, with a conical roof open in the centre, which seems to have been surmounted by some further work. From inscriptions found upon it, it is supposed, with every appearance of probability, to have been a tomb. Hanway set it down as one of the temples of the ancient fire-worshippers. It is now used as a glass-house. Mr. Fraser mentions a popular tradition concerning it, which is perfectly Oriental.

Among the popular traditions held with regard to this tower, it is supposed to be the repository of a mighty treasure secured by a power-` ful talisman, the secret for obtaining which was discovered by an Indian magician of great skill; but the conditions of the talisman not permitting him to act in person, he employed an agent, like Aladdin, ignorant of the business on which he was sent. To this person the magician entrusted the counterparts of the talisman, which he was carefully to compare with that which he should see in the tower, but he was cautioned particularly against casting his eyes upwards, whatever he might hear going on. The messenger acted according to his instructions, and the moment he had compared the talismans the spell operated; a mighty rushing noise took place, and a prodigious number of pigeons flew out of the open archway. This flight, however, continued so long, that the messenger, wearied with conjecture, forgot the caution, and looked upwards; upon which the flight of birds suddenly ceased, and a quantity of golden coin came tumbling about his ears. The spell had turned the gold into pigeons, which winged their way to the magician's coffers; but it was broken by the curiosity of his agent, and the gold was so suddenly restored to its original shape, that even the portion passing in the air fell to the ground; and no one, since that hour, has been able to discover the remainder of the treasure.'

P. 44.

The climate of Mazunderan is said upon the whole to be humid. The heaviest and most continued rains fall from December to April, but the accessions of heat or cold are extremely capricious. Sometimes in what is called the winter, the heat is so excessive, that the inhabitants are obliged to throw off their furs, which, on the other hand, they are often compelled to resume in the midst of summer, on account of the severe cold which prevails. This extreme uncertainty of the climate produces many diseases, the most common of which are rheumatisms, dropsies, and complaints in the eyes. The disposition of the inhabitants is represented as by no means amiable. They hold a " Kaffer Feringhee," an unbelieving Frank, as unworthy of their slightest attention. They look upon themselves as persons of infinite importance, which is not to be wondered at, as they are ignorant of every thing that exists beyond their own province. Their colleges, therefore, must be founded on a narrow system of education, or rather, perhaps, they are too much devoted to those metaphysical speculations about the mysteries of our nature, which have long been such favourite subjects of meditation in the East. Their intolerance of any form or even

idea of religion, save that which they themselves practise, is carried to a degree always dangerous, and sometimes even fatal to strangers. The Moollahs, or learned men, are particularly ingenious in engaging a foreigner in theological controversy, and spare no means to have the best of the argument. The inhabitants of Mazunderan are of a more swarthy complexion than those of the more southern provinces of Persia. The features of the peasantry are high, hard, and brown, and remind one of the Highlanders of Scotland.

Mr. Fraser gives some curious and interesting particulars of the private life of his host Ramzaun Beg, who, it appears, in religion, was prone to sooffeeism, or free-thinking, and in politics somewhat of an oppositionist. He had been formerly a wealthy person, but the frequent spoliations of the Prince-Governor diminished his wealth very considerably.

"I was rich and happy," he pathetically complains to his guest, " and he (the Prince) has reduced me to poverty and wretchedness. I had houses and possessions; I had thirty capital horses in my stable; with gold and silver furniture to match them. I had a thousand pieces of china in my warehouse; with rich silk, shawls of Cashmere, carpets of Herat, dishes and equipages of gold and of silver; in short, every thing complete in my establishment. I was happy to be always surrounded by my friends, and to entertain strangers as my guests. I delighted in making rich presents, and in returning threefold what was presented to me. But now, all is gone, and the mortification of having suffered so much ingratitude alone remains. I am disgusted at seeing my substance constantly devoured by those who neither cared for me hor were even invited by me, and have pulled down my stables, and disposed of my horses. I have also given up all my houses except this small one, and permanently reduced my establishment, which I could no longer afford to maintain. And now my heart is cold; I have done with the world; I neither seek nor will accept of service. They call me nazir of the zenanah; but I do not act, nor does the Prince care that I should. He has plenty of new and more favourite servants, and dislikes the sight of one whom he has so deeply injured, and from whom he can now hope for no advantage. I have no more money, nor do I wish to obtain it. I live as I can, on the wreck of my possessions, and do not desire to hoard that which would at last go only to enrich an ungrateful master."-p. 60.

During his stay at Saree Mr. Fraser was called upon to display his skill as a physician (a character which he occasionally found it useful to assume) in behalf of the Prince's sister, who was supposed to be in a dangerous state of illness. He of course could do nothing for her without seeing her, but the Prince and her husband would not permit this. Indeed it was evident that they would rather allow her to be taken to the other world than to be seen by a

*Seraglio, female establishment.'

foreigner. After examining the little that was worthy of attention in Saree or its vicinity, our traveller quitted it on the 4th of May, and proceeded on his course westward, still by the causeway, which he here found in a deplorable condition. The horses were frequently immersed to the girth in water, as the road had sunk below the level of the surrounding country, which was a universal marsh, owing to the great supply of water necessary for the irrigation of the rice-fields that extend as far as Balfroosh. This town, which is about thirty miles from Saree, is remarkable for the bustle and show of business which it exhibits. It is peopled chiefly by merchants and mechanics, and is marked by appearances of commercial prosperity which are rarely to be seen in Persia. Yet, as the author remarks, it is not particularly favoured in point of situation. On the contrary, every thing would seem to conspire against it; the country around it is low and swampy; the roads are even in fine weather almost impassable, and its port on the Caspian, which is about twelve miles distant, is little better than an open roadstead. The plain, however, in which it is situated, is extremely fertile, and 'it is centrically placed with regard to Casween, Tehran, Shahrood, and the interior of Persia, (being near two principal passes through the Elburz,) as well as to Resht, the capital of Gheelan, also a place of very extensive trade.' Another great advantage which it possesses consists in its freedom from the interference of the oppressive rulers of the country. It is governed by a merchant, and moderately taxed. How long it may remain so is a question which the author is unable to solve. He thinks such a state of things is too happy to last long in Persia. The town is compared to Ispahan for size by the inhabitants. Mr. Fraser calculates the population at two hundred thousand. Its bazars are more extensive than those of Ispahan, and much better filled. It has between twenty and thirty colleges, and is celebrated for the number and eminence of its learned men. During his stay at Balfroosh our author's medicinal skill was put to the test by crowds of sick people soliciting his advice and assistance. He observed that affections of the eyes were particularly prevalent, owing, it is supposed, to the continual and exclusive use of rice as food,— a cause which is said to produce similar effects in Egypt. The Moollahs he found tinctured deeply with the principles of sooffeeism. Their conversation chiefly turned on the extraordinary. and involuntary passions which so peculiarly mark and belong to this state of mind,' and upon the existence of such aspirations in the land of Franks, particularly among the mysterious brotherhood of free-masons!'

6

From Balfroosh Mr. Fraser proceeded on the 10th of May, on his way to Resht, the capital of Gheelan, passing by Amol, the classic scene of Ferdoussee's heroic poem, and along the sea-beach through Alleeabad. Our traveller remarks, that during this jour ney on its banks he frequently tasted the water of the Caspian, and

found it in most instances barely brackish, and sometimes so fresh that his horses would drink it readily. This is doubtless owing to the numerous large streams which flow into it from the mountains of Mazunderan and Gheelan, though it has been said by persons who have made passages to Astrakan' that even in the parts furthest from shore the water is by no means very salt.' In the course of his progress towards Resht Mr. Fraser learned some particulars of the method used for producing rice in this country, which may not prove altogether uninteresting to the reader.

After the ground is sufficiently pulverized by repeated ploughings, the number of which is regulated by the nature of the soil, water is turned into the field, and, when thoroughly soaked, it undergoes another ploughing, during which stage of the operation the ground is so soft that the cattle go up to their bellies in the soil. After this, a wooden instrument, forming the segment of a circle, is drawn over the surface, with its straight edge resting on the ground; this serves not only to smooth it, but to break any clods, or pick up whatever grass and weeds may have accidentally been left. The women then take the rice plants, which have been raised from the seed in separate beds, and beginning at one end, plant them in rows five or six inches apart each way; and this they do with wonderful quickness and dexterity, retreating backwards, and smoothing at the same time, with their hands, all irregularities on the surface that may either have been left by former operations or caused by their own feet; so that when they have done, the field appears perfectly smooth, covered with a sheet of muddy water, above which the rows of green plants can just be seen, tinging it slightly of their own colour. A few days afterwards, when the water becomes clear, it looks like a green mirror, and has a very beautiful appearance. When weeds spring up, which occurs soon after planting, the women are again sent over the field to gather them; which, having performed, they again smooth the surface with equal rapidity as before, and the rice is then left to its natural rapid growth.

'The large fields, for the greater facility of irrigation, are divided into small compartments, either square, or in a succession of terraces following each other, something in the form of fish-scales; a method generally adopted when the field lies upon a slightly inclined plane, in which case, each division being itself level, sinks lower in succession than the one above, from the one end to the other, and is irrigated in a similar manner; the water, after having flooded the upper one, passing to the next by a small opening at the lower end. Looking from a height over the country, these green and regular mirrors, glancing on all sides amongst the forest, have a pleasing effect. This forest is not an uncultivated waste; the greater part of it consists of mulberry gardens and fruit trees. At this time the silk worms were feeding, and every one was busy attending to these insects, the source of riches to Gheelan and its inhabitants.' pp. 119, 120.

Mr. Fraser arrived at Resht on the 20th of May; and in the cold reception which he experienced there he had an earnest of the sufferings which he was destined to undergo in Gheelan, He was fortunate in meeting Meerza Mahomed Reza, one of those youths who had been sent a few years before to England by Abbas Meerza,