A RIDE TO TEHERAN IN 1888. 321 



to follow the sound. An armed guard brought up 

 the rear. Mairand is a large village scattered over 

 a well-irrigated plain, consisting of the usual flat- 

 roofed mud houses, each with its own garden and 

 enclosed orchard, producing splendid fruits in the 

 season. Starting early we accomplished the remain- 

 ing two stages and entered Tabreez before sundown 

 next day. 



Only one incident worth mentioning occurred on 

 the way which was, to me, of a very amusing 

 character. The Armenian gentleman who was my 

 fellow-traveller had come straight out from Paris, 

 and was " got up" regardless of expense. In a hat- 

 box was a new grey hat, for the safety of which he 

 was particularly anxious. As we were crossing a 

 broad stony torrent-bed the baggage-horse slipped, 

 and finally fell down and broke the precious hat- 

 box, but without doing any damage to the contents. 

 However, the Armenian immediately attacked the 

 post-boy with his heavy Persian lash, and the sight 

 of these two men belabouring each other with a rain 

 of blows in the midst of a vast, treeless, rocky desert 

 was a very peculiar one. 



We made the final stage into Tabreez at a gallop, 

 across a wide plain, with Urmia, the great salt lake, 

 in sight upon our right. 



Tabreez is a very curious and fanatical place, far 

 more so than Teheran and other cities farther south, 

 yet foreigners or Christians are quite safe, and sub- 

 jected to no more annoyance than the fact of being 



Y 



