146 TABREEZ. 



them shaded by trees, and planted with rose-bushes. The 

 owner charges a small sum for admission, and your own 

 servant brings the materials for your picnic. Though 

 there is no attempt at the refinements of European gar- 

 dening, they are pleasant places enough to while away an 

 afternoon in, and are much resorted to for this purpose 

 by the townspeople. The Persians are great lovers of 

 flowers : while we were at Tabreez the single roses, red and 

 yellow, came into bloom, and were hawked about in large 

 nosegays; the pipe-stems at the eating-houses were wreathed 

 with them, and they were made use of in the most tasteful 

 way by the common people. We met a boy carrying 

 round a dish of small trout for sale ; the fish were laid out 

 in a pattern on green leaves, with lumps of ice and roses 

 placed between. 



The day after our arrival was the Shah's birthday, and 

 we were much interested in witnessing the departure of 

 the high officials from a levee held by the Crown Prince 

 in honour of the occasion. They were mounted on gor- 

 geously-equipped steeds, but were themselves dressed in 

 quiet although richly- coloured robes. We also saw a turn- 

 out of troops in the courtyard of the palace — scarecrows of 

 soldiers, scarcely worthy of a minor theatre. We were 

 told that the men are personally brave when well led, and 

 are capable of enduring great fatigue on very little food. 

 They have only a pretence of uniform, are little drilled, 

 and in consequence do not present a very imposing appear- 

 ance. There are now, it is said, 500 percussion muskets 

 in the whole force, and the conversion of flint and steel 

 pieces is regarded with the same interest as that of muzzle- 

 loaders among ourselves. 



The little European colony at Tabreez soon found us 

 out, and showed us the greatest hospitality ; indeed, we 

 dined out every night but one of our stay. The mixture 



