REVIEW. — MOORCROFT’S TRAVELS. 335 
town, as if to be in readiness for the morning’s journey, that after 
nightfall they should be conducted to a burying-ground at some 
distance by a couple of trusty persons, who were to act as my 
guides to Talikan, and that I should endeavour to join them as 
soon and as secretly as practicable. The horses were sent off. 
As the evening advanced, the guard was reinforced, and horsemen 
from the town were continually approaching and parading round my 
tent. No time was to be lost. Going forth in my usual attire, and 
inspecting my sentinels, I returned, and in a few minutes threw an 
Uzbek silk dress over my own, with an upper woollen mantle 
commonly worn, put a sheepskin cap upon my head, enfolded at 
bottom by a lungi or turban, one end of which hung loose, and the 
other was brought across my mouth and chin, so as to conceal my 
face and want of beard, and, thus equipped, I sallied forth on foot, 
directing my path towards an unfrequented part of the mountains, 
concealing my person as much as possible by descending into ra- 
vines and hollows. The moon was young, but rain fell, and the 
clouds augmented the obscurity of the night. 
Having walked about half a mile, I with some difficulty made 
out the place where I was to meet my guides, and at last found 
them at their posts, with one of my own people and our three horses. 
We mounted, and galloped to the south until we reached the foot 
of the mountain, when, skirting the adjacent portion of the town, 
we followed the foot of the range for some miles, finding our way 
with difficulty. The path we had taken was little frequented, and 
as the badness of the night was unfavourable to travelling, we met 
with no one upon the road. At Yang Arekh we were embar- 
rassed amongst the ruins, but at last cleared them, and passed 
close to the fort, without being observed. Beyond this place, 
the plain, without tree or shrub, was fetlock deep in water, and 
our horses had great difficulty in making way over the clayey soil. 
At Bash Abdan we were nearly detected ; for my guides having 
imprudently entered to light a pipe, found there a party of Hindus, 
the servants of the Dewan Begi. Luckily, I remained without, 
awaiting their return. At the pass of Shahbagli some uncertainty 
prevailed as to our proper road, and my guides, after some time, 
found themselves at the bottom of a ravine, where it became ne- 
cessary to dismount, and wait the break of day. However, on 
the rain diminishing and the atmosphere clearing a little we re- 
sumed confidence, and discovered a path, by which we crossed the 
mountain just as the day was beginning to dawn. Providential 
it was that we had not traversed the mountain in the night by the 
usual road; for in the grey of the morning we discerned, at the 
eastern foot of the pass, the fires of a party, which must have been 
one of alemans or banditti, as travellers never halt in such a situ- 
