1828.] Hajji Baba in England. 607 



too numerous now to mention. The mehmandar then told us, that this was 

 to be our habitation for the present; and added, that, whenever we wanted 

 any thing, we had only to pull a string pendant from the wall, when slaves, 

 ready to obey our orders, would appear, quicker than ever the gins did to 

 Aladin. 



" But what was still more extraordinary, we had remained in this state of 

 surprise not a few minutes, when in came a fair-faced daughter of England, 

 asking us, through the mehmandar, whether we should like to ' see our beds ;' 

 at least so we understood her. We knew of no other beds than those which 

 we carried about and spread on the floor, and, therefore, we all willingly 

 pressed forwards to the sight ; and here our wonder was again excited. The 

 shah's throne, on which he sits to administer justice, and to make the extremi- 

 ties of the world tremble, was not more magnificent than the bed intended for 

 the ambassador. It must have been constructed upon the famous peacock 

 throne of the Moguls. Upon four pillars of curiously- wrought wood was raised 

 a canopy of rich stuffs, from which were suspended curtains as ample as those 

 which screen the great hall of Tehran. The seat was overlaid with the softest 

 and most luxuriant mattresses ; and pillows to recline upon were raised, one 

 above the other, in heaps. Here our moon-faced conductress proposed that 

 the ambassador should pass the night ; and the invitation, as may be expected, 

 was greedily accepted ; an event to which she appeared perfectly accustomed ; 

 inasmuch as it was settled without the least indication of a smile or a blush 

 on her part. e Allah ! there is but one Allah !' exclaimed Mirza Firouz ; ' I 

 am in a state of amazement. To eat dirt is one thing, but to eat it after this 

 fashion is another !' " 



The dinner at the caravanserai delights the travellers even more than 

 that on board ship. Their satisfaction at the appearance of so much 

 plate, glass, china, &c., is. at first unbounded; but is afterwards a little 

 abated by the production of that nuisance which, the Persian historian 

 observes, " meets strangers, go where they will in England a bit of 

 paper, covered with hieroglyphics, called " the bill !" After a few 

 hours, the novelty being over, the time at the inn begins to hang somewhat 

 heavy on the hands of the strangers, but is relieved by the " diversion of 

 pulling the strings which hang near the fire-place, to try whether such a 

 ceremony will actually produce the appearance of the slaves, or servants, 

 of the caravanserai :" and fe sure enough they came," says the Hajji, 

 " and tired enough they seemed to be ; till, at length, our pulling had 

 no farther effect ; and the charm we supposed was broken by our too 

 frequent repetition/' Some of the party too are lucky enough to dis- 

 cover a small room, " in which the water is made to rush and disappear 

 as if by magic, in a much more extraordinary manner than through the 

 pipes of the Persian fountains; and the jelotvdars and stable-boys find 

 much amusement in making the waters play in this place," to the great 

 annoyance of the Franks, &c. 



The embassy then proceeds to London, where the ambassador finds 

 himself much disgusted on account of the little respect shewn to him both 

 on the road and on his arrival. No turnings out have been made of 

 troops, or deputations sent to bid him welcome ; and the crowds gathered 

 in the streets,, instead of " uncovering the head," when the embassy 

 approaches, t( point the finger/' It is horrible, he says, that an ambas- 

 sador from the Shah of Persia, should meet with a reception no more 

 ceremonious than that of an " ass load of old rags." The arrange- 

 ments of the Frank houses, too, when they reach the capital, the whole' 

 party find to be, in many points, inconvenient : 



