8 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



were highly suggestive of trout, a fish the Persians 

 have, I believe, only lately begun to appreciate for the 

 use of the table. The Mehmandar, who had been 

 some days awaiting in this camp the arrival of the 

 Minister at the frontier, was asked whether any fish 

 had been taken in the stream. " Fish ! by Allah ! " 

 a fish that very morning had been taken by his 

 people such a fish as he had not seen for many 

 a day. He gave us, in fine rolling language, the 

 length, the depth, and the breadth thereof, the 

 number of strokes on his back, and the colour of his 

 belly ; in fact, he entered so minutely into the detail, 

 and swore so emphatically " Becheslim " by his 

 eyes to every particular regarding the capture of 

 the prize, that I, for one, never dreamt for one mo- 

 ment but that the whole of the statement was true. 

 On making inquiries afterwards, we learned that no 

 fish had been taken by any of the Mehmandar's 

 people, and what was more, the inhabitants of the 

 neighbouring village assured us that no fish had ever 

 been known in the stream. Four weeks' journey 

 brought us to the capital. We rode in, smothered 

 Avith dust ; the Minister in front, riding on a tall, 

 maneless, Turkoman horse, presented that morning 

 by the Shah, and decked out in turquoise beads and 

 gold and silver trappings. Beside him rode the Per- 

 sian officer of state, who had ridden out the prescribed 

 number of miles not a yard beyond to meet the 

 English Minister, and escort him to the gate of the 



