SHIRAZ TO BUSHIEE. 23 



hold in our estimation. He wore a sort of shawl coat, 

 very short-waisted, and thrown quite open in front. 

 The sleeves and collar were turned down with the 

 black lambskin of Bokhara ; and his trousers, tied at 

 the knee, were more like short petticoats than the 

 article we designate by the name of trouser. He Avas 

 very eloquent on the manifold dangers of the road 

 which he was about to travel with us as escort. 

 "When we told him that it was our custom to travel 

 at least half the march by night, he put on a face of 

 terror ; he vowed that such a mode of travelling on 

 the road we were about to take would involve certain 

 destruction. He said that, if we took his advice, 

 we should never mount our horses till broad day- 

 light ; that if we rode in the darkness of night, the 

 Buktiarees would be down upon us, and their hands 

 on our beards, before we should have time to exclaim 

 a single " Astuffcrillali " a " God forbid you ! " 

 Upon this one of our party, a Swede, with a short 

 whistle that was quite peculiar with him, made a 

 significant sabre-cut with a book which happened to 

 be at hand, and as the gholaum could find no answer 

 to this most forcible argument, he said no more about 

 the Buktiarees. We told him in conclusion, that by 

 the rise of the sun, on the day after the morrow, he 

 and his attendant gholaum were to be in readiness 

 before our gate. He answered, " Belli cheslim "- 

 " On my eyes be it " and then withdrew. As he 

 was tramping heavily away with his big boots through 



