172 By Mountain, Lake, and Plain 



hardly recognisable in the distance among others, 

 was pointed out as the famous Kalat-i-Nadiri, 

 the extraordinary natural fortress where Nadir 

 Shah, the Napoleon of the East, collected his 

 incalculable riches of gold and jewels, the sack 

 of India. By Persians the fortress is still 

 regarded as impregnable and the key of their 

 country. But what of Nadir himself? His bones 

 moulder under the gateway of the palace of the 

 Kajars in Teheran, where every day they may be 

 trampled under the feet of those that reign in 

 his stead, while his descendant in tail male occu- 

 pies a menial position in one of the European 

 Consulates in Meshed 



" The elemental surge of time and tide rolls on and bears afar 

 Our bubbles : as the old burst, new emerge, 

 Lashed from the foam of ages, while the graves 

 Of empires heave but like some passing waves." 



As we were looking, the clatter of falling stones 

 drew our attention to matters of more immediate 

 importance. 



A little careful searching revealed a big herd 

 of urial some little distance below us, on a steep 

 stony ridge, and it contained two big rams 

 besides smaller ones. Kegaining the top, we 

 hurried along out of sight of the sheep and 

 then began to scramble down a steep ravine. 

 After going some way, we made for the interven- 



