MISCELLANIES. 



^17 



of Shiraz; but it has not so many 

 public edifices ; and, as it is built 

 of bricks baked in the sun, the 

 »vhole has a mud-like appearance. 

 Of the mosques, the principal is 

 the Mesjid Shah, a structure not 

 yet finished. There are six others, 

 small and insiufnificant : and three 

 or four medresses or colleges. 

 There are said to be one hundred 

 and fifty caravanserais, and one 

 hundred and fifty hummnms or 

 baths. There are two Maidans ; 

 one in the town, the other within 

 the ark, a square fortified palace, 

 which contains all the establish- 

 ments of the king, is surrounded 

 bj' a wall and ditch, and is entered 

 by two gates. 



The Harem is most numerous, 

 and contains a female establish- 

 ment as extensive as the public 

 household. All the officers of the 

 king's court are there represented 

 by females. There are women 

 feroshes, and there is a woman 

 ferosh bashee ; women chatters, 

 and a woman chatter bashee; 

 there is a woman arz beggee, and 

 a woman ish agassi ; in short, 

 there is a female duplicate forevery 

 male officer ; and the King's ser- 

 vice in the interior of the harem is 

 carried on with the same etiquette 

 and regularity, as the exterior 

 economy of his state. The women 

 of the harem, who are educated to 

 administer to the pleasures of the 

 king by singing and dancing, are 

 instructed by the best masters that 

 the country can supply. An Ar- 

 menian at Shiraz was unfortunate- 

 ly renowned for performing excel- 

 lently on the kamouncha. The 

 fame of his skill reached the king's 

 ears, and he was immediately 

 ordered up to court on ".the charge 

 of being the best kamouncha player 



in his majesty's dominions. The 

 poor man, who had a wife and 

 family and commercial concerns ut 

 Shiraz, was during our stay de- 

 tained at Teheran expressly to teach 

 the king's women the art of play- 

 ing on the kamouncha. 



The king's family consists of 05 

 sons. As they make no account 

 of females, it is not known how 

 many daughters he may have; 

 although he is said to have an equal 

 number of both sexes. It some- 

 times happens, that many of his 

 women are delivered on the same 

 night, and (if we might give credit 

 to a Persian) one of these happy 

 coincidences occurred during our 

 abode in the capital, when in one 

 night six of his women were 

 brought to bed, four of sons and 

 two of daughters. The Ameen- 

 ed-Doulah had one, indeed, of the 

 babes at his house ; and a present 

 was sent for it from Ispahan, com- 

 posed of four mules laden with all 

 sorts of rich clothes. 



The Tahkt-a-Cadjar is a pleasure 

 house built by the present king, 

 about two miles to the N.E. of 

 Teheran. At a distance it presents 

 a grand elevation, apparently of 

 several stories; but these, on a 

 nearer view, are the fronts of suc- 

 cessive terraces. The entrance is 

 through an indifferent gate, at tiie 

 top of which is a summer-house. 

 It leads into a spacious inclosure; 

 in the middle is the principal walk, 

 bounded on each side by some 

 young cypress and poplar trees, 

 and intersected at right angles in 

 the centre by a stone channel, 

 which conducts a stream at several 

 intervals to small cascades. The 

 building which stands on the first 

 terrace is in form octagonal, crown- 

 ed by a small flat roofed elevatio;i. 



It , 



