£76 Journal of a Tour through [Nov. 



Moorcroft's opinion is probably correct. He conjectures that they are the 

 tombs of some persons of great rank, among the ancient inhabitants or aborigines 

 of the country ; and as the religion of the Hindus seems to have been prevalent 

 here in the earliest ages, that they have been erected, as records of the sacrifices 

 of Sattis. But the question cannot be satisfactorily set at rest till one of them 

 is opened. It is odd, that they should have escaped destruction, situated as they 

 are in the full front of Musulman bigotry, and avarice ; and, notwithstanding 

 wbat some individuals assert, their present decayed state seems to be occasioned 

 by age, rather than any attempt to discover whether they contain any thing 

 valuable. A few people say that one of them was opened, and that a small hollow 

 place was covered near its base, in which there were some ashes as of the human 

 body." 



VI. — Journal of a Tour through Georgia, Persia, and Mesopotamia. By 

 Capt. R. Mignan, Bombay European Regt., F. Z#. S. and M. R. A. S. 



[Continued from p. 463.] 

 On the 24th we started early in the morning for Tabriz. The wea- 

 ther continued so very cold, that whatever was moistened by the 

 breath, immediately became ice. Our mustachios were distended into 

 an icicle. During the early part of our march we had some slight de- 

 serts, and afterwards entered a pass surrounded by wild and barren 

 mountains. From an elevated spot we observed the river Augi flowing 

 through a deep valley below, which we shortly after crossed upon a 

 stone bridge of three arches. We found the water of this stream ex- 

 tremely brackish ; indeed, the soil of this region is so salt, that all the 

 streams partake of that quality. At the side of our road we observed 

 immense masses of rock, the surface of which appeared to have been 

 worn by the action of water. Indeed, the whole tract wore the ap- 

 pearance of having been recently abandoned by the ocean, and formed 

 one irregular broken waste which might be compared to the waves of 

 the sea, changed into earth, at the heat of the agitation. The latter 

 part of our journey was unusually rugged, and although I have seen 

 much mountainous scenery, I can remember none that exceeded in dif- 

 ficulty the passes of Karadagh. 



Nothing can be imagined less like the environs of a capital city than the 

 aspect of the country on every side of Tabriz. For several miles, the tra- 

 veller passes over a plain which exhibits little but sterility and abandon- 

 ment. The gardens which at first resemble black spots on the desert, are 

 all that direct the attention to the celebrated capital of Azerbijan. It 

 looks like some older city, long deserted by man. The appearance of its 

 mud walls, arising out of, and surrounded by ruins ; the prison-like 

 houses which seldom exceed one story, without a decent looking win- 



