PERSEPOLIS TO ISPAHAN. 
149 
tents were blown down and much damaged. Notwithstanding tlie 
fury of the tempest we did not omit to put up our prayers and thanks¬ 
givings for all the blessings bestowed upon us; and the storm around 
only added, I hope, to the solemnity of our devotion. The very fine 
weather with which we have been blessed was certainly a theme of gra¬ 
titude. We had not had even a shower since our first departure from 
Bushire; and the oldest inhabitants of this part of the country utter 
constant ejaculations of astonishment at the extreme moderation of 
the season, which they are pleased to attribute to the good luck 
of the Envoy. 
Mieza Abool Hassan, a Persian of much influence at court, ar¬ 
rived in the course of the day from Teheran , and was the bearer of a 
letter from the King to the Envoy. This letter was nearly to the same 
effect as the first, giving details of the victory over the Russians. We 
went forward to meet it as before, and adopted the former ceremony 
of giving it a solemn reading. 
23d. Although the violence of the wind had fallen in the morning, 
very heavy clouds still covered the summits of the mountains, and 
threatened a renewal of bad weather. We proceeded, however, on a 
fine hard road (on the bearing of N. 40 W. during the whole march) 
and arrived in safety at Surmek in five hours and forty minutes after 
our departure from Khona Khorreh. The people of the country 
reckon this day's journey at six long fursungs, though to us it ap¬ 
peared a smaller distance. The Persian fursung is indeed so indeter¬ 
minate a measure, that no calculation can be safely formed from it, 
and no man can give a satisfactory account of its real length. On the 
whole, we found that the reputed distances in the line of our march 
are rather over-calculated than under-rated. The road leads on the 
right of a plain which widens at its northern termination. The moun¬ 
tains on both sides of it run N. and S. taking indeed a transverse E. 
and W. direction at both its extremities; and beyond the first range on 
the west of the route is another, and a parallel chain of much greater 
