Chap, II, of the Inhabitants of the Empire of Persia. 893 
Heads, fome white, and others ftriped with red or 
other Colours, and the Great Men have Flowers of 
Gold and Silver woven or marked on the Cloth. They 
have alfo a Scull-cap under their Turbant, and all to- 
gether does not wefgh Ids than feven or eight Pounds, 
fometimes a great deal more. Next to their Skins they 
wear a Shirt of colour’d Silk or Calico, generally blue, 
which they feldom or never wafli •, this Shirt has an 
open Bofom, bur neither Neck nor Wriftbands, and is 
made clofe to the Arm j they have alio a Pair of 
Breeches, or rather Drawers, clofe before, they reach 
half down their Legs ; their Stockings are made of 
woollen Cloth, but not at all fhaped to the Leg ; over 
the Shirt they wear a Wailfcoat, and upon thele a Coat 
with clofe Sleeves, and Buttons and Loops before, tied 
with a Salh j this is wide at Bottom, and hangs a little 
below their Knees ; befides this, they put on another 
Coat frequently, without Sleeves, the uppermoll Coat 
being the fhorreft, and in the Winter Time over all 
they have another looie Coat lined with Furrs : Inftead 
of Shoes they have piqued Slippers, turned up at the 
Toes, and made of Turkey Leather, which are neither 
tied nor buckled, aud when they ride, they have Boots 
of yellow Leatner j their Bridles, Saddles and Houfino- 
are immoderately fine, being almoll covered with Gold; 
the Houfing is lo large, that it almolt hides the hin- 
der Part of the Horle, and whether on Foot or on 
Horfeback, they wear a broad Sword, and a Crice or 
Poniard. Their Ladies have alfo a Dagger at their 
Sides, efpecially thofe of high Rank. 
3. The Garb of the Women is not very different 
from that of the Men, except it be, that the Women 
neither wear Turbants on their Pleads, nor Safhes about 
their Waifts, and their Coats or Veils reach almoft 
down to their Heels. If ever they go into the S:reets, 
which Women of Qiiality feldom do, they have a 
white Veil which covers them from Head to Foot. The 
Girls wear a ftifned Cap upon their Heads, turned up 
like a Hunting-Cap, with a Heronfs Feather in it, their 
Hair being made up in Treffes, and falling down their 
Backs to a very great Length, and the Quality have Pearls 
and Jewels interwoven and mixed with their Hair. The 
married Women comb their Hair back, and having 
bound it about with a broad Ribbon, or rich Tiara^ fet 
with Jewels, which looks like a Coronet, let the reft of 
their Hair fall gracefully down their Shoulders, than 
which there cannot be a more becoming Drefs. As for 
Gloves, neither Men nor Women ever wear them, but 
their Arms and Fingers are ufually full of Rings and 
Bracelets enriched with Jewels. 
As black Hair is the moft common, fo it is in moft 
Efteem, and the thickeft and broadeft Eye-brows are 
thought the fineft ; the Women, if their Eye-brows be 
not black, will colour them, and commonly paint their 
Faces; they rub their Hands and Feet with an Orange- 
coloured Pomatum. Some will have Feathers ftand up- 
right in their Tiara^ and others have a String of Pearls 
or precious Stones faftned to it, which hangs down be- 
tween their Eye-brows ; they wear alfo Jewels in their 
Ears, and Rows of Pearls fall down their Temples, as 
low as the Neck, and in fome Provinces bordering on 
India., they have Jewels in their' Noftrils, which to the 
Europeans do not feem very becoming, for hanging 
down to the Mouth, it makes them look as if 
they had Hare-Lips, but the Ladies of Ifpahan, never 
wear thefe Nofe-Jev/els. Their Necklaces are either 
Gold or Pearl ; they fall upon the Bofom, and there al- 
ways hangs a little golden Box to them, filled with moft 
reviving Perfumes. 
As their Clothes are of the richeft flower’d and bro- 
caded Silks, it appears that their Drefs is no inconfidera- 
ble Article in Perfia, where People of mean Fortunes 
endeavour to vie with the Quality, and will . have fine 
Clothes, though they want Food. An ordinary Turbant 
cannot be purchafed under Ten Pounds, and they fre- 
quently give twice as much, and they muft have Variety 
of them, left they fhould be known by their Clothes. 
Their Saflies alfo are brocaded, and coft from twenty 
to a hundred Crowns, and over this they have frequently 
janother of Camel’s Hair, of which the Workmanfhip 
VoL. IL N® 130. 
is fo curious, that it feldom cofts lefs. Thofe who wear 
Sables, which they will not be without if they can 
purchafe them, feldom pay lefs than a hundred Pounds 
for a clofe bodied Coat; all this, with the rich Furniture 
and Equipage they have, when they ride out, amounts 
to a yaft Sum ; and this, as it well may, keeps them ex- 
ceeding poor. The common Mode of living is thus : 
4. Early in the Morning they ufually drink a Difli 
of Coffee.| About Eleven they go to Dinner, when they 
eat Melons, Sweetmeats, Fruit, Cheefe, Curds, or Milk, 
but their principal Meal is in the Evening, when you 
may depend on a Dlfli of Pilo, which is boiled, Rice 
well buttered, and feafon’d with a Fowl, a Piece of 
Mutton or Kid ferved up with it ; they have an excel- 
lent Way of boiling their Rice all over the Eaft, the 
Water is perfedly dried away, by that Time the Rice 
is enough, after which they feafon it with Spices, 
and mix Saffron or Turmerisk, with it, giving it a yel- 
low, or what other Colour they think fit ; but there is 
very little Variety either in their Food, or Way of Dref- 
fing it ; if they have a large Joint, it is baked, in- 
ftead of being roafted, but their ufual Way is to cut 
their Flefh into little Slices, and ’Spitting or Scuring 
them together, roaft them over a Charcoal Fire, and 
whether they boil or roaft, it is always done to Rags, 
or it would be impoflible to pull the Meat to Pieces with 
their Hands, as they do without Knives or Forks. Pork 
is never eaten here any more than Veal, nor do they 
eat Hares or other Animals prohibited to the Jews., 
Beef but feldom ; they do not deal much in Venifon, 
Fsfh or wild Fowl, they drefs only plain Difhes, being 
Strangers to Haflies, Ragouts and other Compounds, 
and feldom have any other Sauce than a Slice of Le- 
mon, or fome Pickles. Bread they have baked in thin 
Cakes the Moment they ufe it, but eat much more 
Rice. They ufe no beaten Pepper, only whole, and not 
Abundance of Salt in their Seasoning, nor is there any 
brought to Table: Meat is never falted before it is 
dreffed. They ufually kill their Meat and Fowls the 
fame Day they ufe them, and fet by nothing to be 
eaten cold. 
They fit down crofs-legg’d at their Meals, and a 
Cloth is fpread upon the Carpet. Then one of the 
Perfons who has the Provifion before him, diftributes 
Rice and Flefh to the Company. They ufe no Spoons, 
except for Soup and Liquids, but take up their Rice bv 
Handfujs. They feldom fit above half an Hour at Ta- 
ble. They wafli both before and after their Meals, ma- 
king ufe of their Hankerchiefs inftead of a Towel. 
The common People of Ifpahan[k\diom drefs their Vidu- 
als at Home, but when they have fliut up their Shops of 
an Evening, go ftrait to the Cooks, of which there are 
great Numbers in that City, and buy Pilo for their Fa- 
milies. The Cooks have Kettles or Coppers fixed in 
Brick-work, in their Shops, and Stoves, over which 
they drefs moft of their Meat, making fcarce any Ufe of 
Chimnies. It is remarkable of the Perfians, that thev are 
fo far from fliutting their Doors at their Meals, that they 
invite every one to eat with them, who happens to come 
to their Houfes. 
5. When a Perfon makes an Entertainment, 
it is ufually a Supper, notwithftanding which the 
Guefts generally corrie at nine or ten in the Morning, 
•and fpend the v/hole Time at the Place to which they 
are invited. They difeourfe, they fmoke, eat Sweet- 
meats; and pafs away the Time with a thoufand Amufe- 
ments ; fometimes they hear Poems repeated in Ho- 
nour of their Prince, fometimes the Singing Women 
are introduced, who fing, and dance, and play, and 
fhow antick Tricks, to divert the Company ; and if anv 
one of the Guefts are difpofed to withdraw with any of 
thefe Dancing-Girls, they are fliewn into a private 
Room, and when they return Nobody takes any No- 
tice of it. When Supper is ferved up, the Son or 
fome Relation of the Mafter of the Houfe, takes the 
Honours of the Feaft upon him, and helps the Guefts 
to their Meat. 
They generally provide Variety of Sherbets on thefe 
Occafions, their ufual Drink being nothing but fair 
Water, and even this, it feems, they drink with Ice ; 
10 S it . 
