Porter's Travels in Georgia, Persia, 6^c. 



643 



Jiononr I would give your Excellency a 

 consLdeiatiou of one hundred tomauns." 

 It was an arfi;iuueiit bis Excellency 

 like<l so well, he closed with the pro- 

 posal, and the lime for the solemn in- 

 vesting-dignity was arranged for the 

 next day. The hapy m.an took care 

 not to make his appearance till the 

 divan of the minister was pietty well 

 filled. He then presented himself on 

 the most conspicuous part of the car- 

 pet, big with ideas of the ever-growing 

 honours of whicli that moiuent was to 

 make him master. , He looked proudly 

 round on the rest of the khans, while 

 Mirza Sheffy, iialf raising himself from 

 his seat, by his knuckles, and fixing his 

 eyes gravely on him, to the no small 

 astonishment of the rest of the com- 

 pany, exclaimed, " Is that enough?" 

 The man was so overcome with confu- 

 sion, he hurried fi-om the room ; leav- 

 ing his distinction and his money alike 

 with the minister; but taking with 

 him the useful lesson, that bought 

 honours are generally paid with dis- 

 grace. The laugh for once went with- 

 out doubt of sincerity, with the great 

 man; and. his smiles became of still 

 higher value, since it had been proved 

 that he set them above price. 



PALACE OF ISPAHAN. 



The Cliehel Setoon, or Palace of Forty 

 Pillars, was the favourite residence of 

 tlie latter Sefi kings ; and certainly, 

 when we turned into the grand avenue, 

 asd the palace broke upon us, I thought 

 description was put to silence. Indeed, 

 words can seldom give any thing like a 

 just idea of the very intricate objects of 

 sight ; but, for the satisfaction of my 

 readers, curious in comparuig the taste 

 ef times and countries, I shall attempt 

 some detail of this Persian Versailles. 

 The exhaustless profusion of its splen- 

 did material, i-eflected, not merely their 

 own golden or crystal lights on each 

 other, but all the variegated colours 

 of the garden ; so that the whole sur- 

 face seemed formed of polished silver 

 and mother-of-jHjarl, set with precious 

 stones. In short, as I said before, the 

 scene might well have appeared in an 

 Eastern poet's di'cam, or some magic 

 vision, in the wonderful tales of an 

 Arabian night. 



When we drew near, 1 found the en- 

 tire front of the building open to the 

 garden ; the roof being sustained by a 

 double range of columns, the height of 

 which measured eleven Persian yards, 

 (a Persian yard bi^ng foity-four iuclies) 

 hence they rose upwards of forty feet. 



Each column shoots up from the united 

 backs of four lions, of white marble: 

 and the shafts of the columns rising 

 from these extraordinary bases, were 

 covered with the arabesque patterns, 

 and foliages, in looking-glass, gikling 

 and painting ; some twisting spirally ; 

 others winding in golden wreaths, or 

 I'unning into lozenges, stars, connc^ct- 

 ing circles, and I know not what intri- 

 cacies of fancy and ingenious workman- 

 ship. The ceiling was equally iris-hued, 

 with flowers, fruits, birds, butterflies, 

 and even couching tigers, in gold, sil- 

 ver, and painting, amidst hundreds of 

 interuiingling compartments of glitter- 

 ing mirror. At some distance, within 

 this open chamber, are two more pil- 

 lars of similar taste to the range ; and 

 from their capital springs a spacious 

 arch, forming the entrance to a vast 

 interior saloon ; in which all the ca- 

 prices and labours and cost of Eastern 

 magnificence, have been lavished to an 

 incredible prodigality. The pillars, the 

 walls, the ceiling, might be a study for 

 ages, for designers in these gorgeous 

 labyrinthine ornaments. The floors of 

 both apartments were covered with the 

 richest carpets, of the era in which (he 

 building was constructed, the age of 

 Shah Abbas, and were as fresh is if just 

 laid down ; there needs no other proof 

 of the purity of the climate. From 

 one angle of the interior chamber, two 

 low folding-doors opened into a very 

 spacious and loftj'' hail, the sides of 

 which were hung with pictures of vari- 

 ous dimensions, most of them descrip- 

 tive of convivial scenes ; and the doors, 

 and pannels of the room near the floor, 

 being also emblazoned Mitli tlie same 

 merry-making subjects, fully declared 

 the purpose of the place. But a very 

 odd addition was made to the orna- 

 ments of the wall. Little recesses 

 spotted its lower range, taking the 

 shapes of bottles, flaggons, goblets, and 

 other useful vessels, all equally indis- 

 pensable, in tliose days, at a Persian 

 feast. Veiy diff"erent from the temper- 

 ance which now presides there; and 

 how directly tlie reverse of the abste- 

 miousness and its effects, that marked 

 the board of the great Cynis ! 



Six pictures of a very large size, oc- 

 cupy the walls of this banquettiug- 

 charaber, from the ceiling to within 

 eight or ten feet of the floor. Four of 

 these represent royal entei-tainmejits, 

 given to different ambassadors during 

 the reigns of Shah Abbas the First, 

 aliai the Great ; of his grandson, Abbas 



the 



