116 THE PERSIAN POST-ROAD. 



flowed gradually narrowed and deepened, and after leaving 

 the station where we first changed horses, we fairly 

 entered the hills. The track was rough, the pace slow, 

 and the jolting mcessant. The second station was in a 

 considerable village; the houses, one-storied and flat- 

 roofed, were built up the hillside in an angle of the 

 beautiful valley, the windings of which we were now 

 following. Up to this point the scenery had reminded us 

 of some of the more richly-wooded parts of Wales on a 

 larger scale — henceforth it grew bolder, castellated crags 

 alternated with forest-clad slopes, snow-streaked summits 

 appeared in the background, the stream danced and 

 sparkled at our side ; every prospect was pleasant, and the 

 road alone was vile. The mountain-sides were abnipt and 

 picturesque, and the richness of the vegetation suggested 

 a comparison with the neighbourhood of the Italian lakes. 

 "We were struck by a very curious rock-formation, which 

 at a distance gave the face of the cliifs and the porj^hyry 

 fragments strewed at their base the appearance of masonry. 

 At oui' third halting-place, a. solitary house, no horses 

 were to be had for two hours. During our compulsory halt 

 here we were amused by a struggle between a horse and its 

 master. The animal bolted into the stream to escape 

 capture, and was carried down for some distance by the 

 force of the cm-rent ; on regaining its feet it came wisely 

 to the conclusion that captivity was better than a watery 

 grave, and quietly surrendered to its owner. We walked 

 on for five versts, leaving the men to look after our traps. 

 This stage was very heavy and hilly, and even after our 

 conveyances caught us up, we often preferred to walk, ex- 

 cept when for a few versts we had the advantage of a 

 finished piece of the new road. The valley now opened 

 out, and everything shosved we were approaching a more 

 elevated region. We passed a hamlet on the side of a 



