Sir R, Ker Porter's Travels.in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, &c. 
last,” seem tobe yet hovering ovenus; 
she heat.standing at,90, and, has, been 
trom that. to 93, on an average, ever since 
my-arriyal.,.. When the NeahaRproad es 
ten. degrees beyond this point, the, inha- 
bitants betake themselyes,to the nefuge 
of,certain, arched apartments called the 
Zardaub; constructed deep ia.the foun- 
dations, of the house, .for this very pur- 
pose: ,From, their situation, they can 
have.no,windows ; thercfore catch, their 
glimpse of daylight.as it may, glimmer 
through, the;.doors, from, the, chambers 
aboye,,... Thin matting supplics.the place 
ofscarpets, and, every precaution, and 
methods pursued that,can bring cool- 
ness. to;these.sloomy,abodes.; where the 
chief partof the natives.of Bagdad pass 
the,whole of, the,suliry day, while the at- 
mosphere. without .retains its..more 
scorching fires.;, Atsun.set, cach family 
issues,.from their subterranean shelters, 
and,ascending to the, top.of the house, 
take, theirevening repast bencath the 
arch; of; heaven.,;,.And under.the same 
free, canopy,,..“‘fanued, by tepid airs,” 
they, spread, their, bedding. along the 
variously disposed divisions of the roof ; 
whose uregular forms are so. contrived, 
fo catch, every zepbyr’s. breath that 
passes.,,.Jn these.elevated apartments, 
the «natives repose, until the close of 
Oetober;; at which, time the days be- 
come comparatively.cool; and sudden 
blasts blowing up during the night, from 
the, north, and. south-east, render sleep- 
ingein, the, open, air, chilling and dan- 
gerous., Hence, at these nocturnal hours, 
the.good people, begin. to nestle into the 
warm corners within.the house; but dur- 
iug the.day,, they; describe the atmo- 
sphere, to be every thing that is cclestial; 
so clear, so, balmy, so inspiriting, as to 
yield;suflicicnt excuse to the great mo- 
narehs of Persia, for, deserting the arid 
regions, ef their own kingdom at this 
season, to, take up.a temporary abode in 
the salubrious gardens of Amyites, |. 
f efoolip CUSTOMS, IN BAGDAD« aad 
.» From, some, sad warp: in the present 
goverpment, hardly.a year clapses with- 
ont making an, apparent necessity, under 
the. plea of apprehended , scarcity and 
consequent; dumults, for driving, some 
handreds of, the poor inhabitants, from 
within, the walls, to seck their bread, on 
chance; beyond them, That such fears 
are not gronudless, is certain; want, of 
grain creating high prices, and high 
prices, exciting famishing poverty to 
despair and revolt. Such scarcity arises 
from two, causes, Kirst, oppression in 
excessive taxation on the husbandman, 
Monroy Mac. No. 870. 
' 
593 
by, robbing him, of ,its fruits, paralyses 
his industry ; and, relaxing bis labours, 
less, corn, is grown, less profit is pro- 
dueed to the revenue; exaction then 
comes in. the place of due, payment: and 
the peasantry, driven to desperation, 
abandoning their villages, seek employ- 
ment in the city. There the defalcation 
of grain makes itself speedily known ; 
and the new ingress of claimants renders 
the want more apparent eyery. hour. 
To obviate this difficulty, the summary 
measure is resorted ‘to of annually 
banishing the most miserable of the in- 
habitants; to starve in the desert, to 
wander to the mountains; or, abiding 
nearer home, to league themselves with 
robbers, and support themselves and 
families by plundering and murder. 
We sce poverty and distress in the 
Christian countries of Europe; but we 
must come to the East to witness the 
one endured without pity, and the other 
only noticed to have fresh aflictions 
heaped upon it. Ido not mean to say, 
that there are not amiable exceptions to 
this remark ; but where charity is not a 
leading principle of duty, the selfisliness 
of human nature readily turns from the 
painful or expensive task of sympa- 
thising with the miserable. General 
hospitality, and universal benéyolence, 
arise from totally different motives; and 
are, often, as completely distinct ‘in 
their actions. The one is bestowed on 
grounds of probable reciprocity of be- 
nefit; the other, when not cofnmanded 
by religion, can only arise from:the com- 
passion of adisintcrested heart. ‘Hence, 
though we find individual instanées of 
this species of beneyolence in all’ coun- 
tries, it is only where Christianity pre- 
vails, that care of the poor fs practisedas 
a national concern. In the midst of the’ 
scenes just described, acting within and 
without the walls of Bagdai,’ luxury 
grows, as rankly round the rich, as in 
the most prosperous cities; aid the ex5 
pences lavished on “singing-men, ‘and 
singing-women,” brought from afar, are 
equally enormous. ‘The ladies of’ Bag- 
dad, in particular, appear to be singu- 
larly, inclined, to festivity; and their as- 
scmblies, like those of our own country- 
women, are, generally held during the 
Jater hours of the twenty-four. “They 
usually mect, by invitation, at the harem 
of some one of the wives of the chicf 
officers of state ; where due care has been 
taken to provide the best female 
dancers, singers, and musicians, that the 
city affords; and thither, abont sun-set, 
the seyeral hidden gcuésts assemble, in 
Te the 
