34 PERSIA. 



room, they all give a strict attention to his words. They are temperate, 

 but use opium, though not in such abundance as the Turks ; nor are 

 they very delicate in their entertainments of eating and drinking. 

 They use great ceremony towards their superiors, and politely ac- 

 commodate Europeans who visit them, with s:ools, that they may not 

 be forced to sit cross-legged. They are so immoderately fond of to- 

 bacco, which they smoke through a tube fixed in water, so as to be 

 cool in the mouth, that, when it has been prohibited by their princes, 

 they have been known to leave their country, rather than be debarred 

 from that enjoyment. The Persians are naturally fond of poetry, 

 moral sentences, and hyperbole. Their long wars, and the national re- 

 volutions, have mingled the native Persians with barbarous nations, 

 and are said to have taught them dissimulation ; but they are still 

 pleasing and plausible in their behaviour, and in all ages have been 

 remarkable for hospitality. The great foible of the Persians seems to 

 be ostentation in their equipages and dresses t nor are they less jealous 

 of their women than the Turks and other eastern nations. They are 

 fond of music, and take a pleasure in conversing in large companies : 

 but their chief diversions are those of the field, hunting, hawking, 

 horsemanship, and the exercise of arms ; in all which they are very 

 dexterous. They excel, as their ancestors the Parthians did, in ar- 

 chery. They are fond of rope dancers, jugglers, and fighting of wild 

 beasts ; and privately play at games of chance. 



There are places in Shirauz, Mr. Francklin observes, distin- 

 guished by the name of Zoor Khana, the house of strength, or 

 exercise, to which the Persians resort for the purpose of exercising 

 themselves. These nouses consist of one room, with the floor 

 sunk about two feet below the surface of the earth, and the light 

 and air are admitted to the apartment by means of several small 

 perforated apertures made in the dome. In the centre is a large 

 square terrace of earth, well beaten down, smooth and even; and 

 on each side are small alcoves, raised about two feet above the 

 terrace, where the musicians and spectators are seated. When all 

 the competitors are assembled, which is on every Friday morning 

 by daybreak, they immediately strip themselves to the waist; on 

 which each man puts on a pair of thick woollen drawers, and takes 

 in his hands two wooden clubs, of about a foot and a half in length* 

 and cut in the shape of a pear : these they rest upon their shoulders; 

 and the music striking up; they move them backwards and for- 

 wards with great agility, stamping with their feet at the same 

 time, and straining every nerve, till they produce a very profuse 

 perspiration. After continuing this exercise about half an hour, 

 upon a signal given, they all leave off, quit their clubs, and, joining 

 hands in a circle, begin to move their feet very briskly in unison 

 with the music, which is all the while playing a lively tune. 

 Having continued this exercise for some time, they commence 

 wrestling ; in which the master of the house is always the chal- 

 lenger, and, being accustomed to the exercise, generally proves 

 conqueror. The spectators pay each a shahee in money, equal to 

 three-pence English, for which they are refreshed with a calean to 

 smoke, and coffee. This mode of exercise must contribute to 

 health, as well as add strength, vigour, and a manly appearance to 

 the frame. It seems to bear some resemblance to the gymnastic 

 exercises of the ancients 



The Persians, with respect to outward behaviour, are certainly 



