588 Journal of a Tour through [Nov. 



We soon descried the rich town and fertile district of Binab, which 

 is distinguished by its extensive orchards, and its hamlets environed by 

 trees and cultivation. From hence not only the great expanse of the 

 lake is seen, but the full extremity of the plain to tbe northward. We 

 stopt the night within the cottage of a tobacconist, and renovated our 

 strength by smoking a choice collection of chibouques. After this we 

 were served with two boiled fowls, lying in a small ocean of the milk 

 of goats thickened with the whitest of rice. " Here's a dish fit for the 

 cousin of the sun," exclaimed our host, rubbing his hands, and smack- 

 ing his lips with expectation. " Bismillah," he added, as a signal for 

 us to commence operations, and his fingers were in the dish in a mo- 

 ment, and in another, the tenderly boiled fowl was dissected limb by 

 limb. " By the mouth of Muhammed, this dish is a savoury meal!" 

 To this I perfectly agreed, for the pilau was capital ; and to do the 

 Persians justice, it must be said, they excel in this dish ; in truth, 

 Persia is the only country where it is cooked to perfection. While we 

 were discussing the fowls, I perceived several damsels looking at us 

 through the crevices of the harem door ; and if I may judge from a few 

 hasty glances, I should say, that my host had a good taste in women. 

 In presenting me a kaleun, I was surprised to see him produce a 

 bottle of wine from a curtained recess, which appeared well filled with 

 jars ; and after taking a few copious draughts, I could easily observe 

 that he was getting fuddled, so I knocked the ashes from the top of his 

 pipe, which he finished with as much satisfaction as if he had only 

 begun it. He then stretched himself out on the floor, and fell asleep. 

 Binab is encircled by vineyards to a considerable extent, which 

 yield a grape celebrated throughout Persia for the good wine it pro- 

 duces. No one was abroad, although it was early day when we departed 

 for Meandab, distant twenty- five miles, over a wearisome country. 

 After toiling over a succession of hills that separated the plains, and 

 looking upon the country below, the eye wandered unreposed over a 

 boundless brown expanse. The hamlets which were spread over the 

 plain, appeared like spots upon the surface of the ocean. As we jour- 

 neyed on, we saw the cultivators on the ground : their agricultural 

 implements were of the simplest description. The plough, for instance, 

 was formed of two wooden beams, one of which was placed athwart- 

 ways, to yoke the buffaloes or oxen together, and at the extreme end, 

 a shapeless wedge of iron was affixed to turn up the earth : thus 

 j££». About noon we reached the banks of the river Jakantu, and 

 found a rude kind of raft constructed of beams placed across in- 

 flated sheep-skins, which was to convey us to the opposite shore. 

 This raft closely resembled the kellek of Assyria, a description of which 



