152 
PERSEPOLIS TO ISPAHAN. 
with earth, producing nothing but thistles and soap-wort. Indeed, if it 
were a finer mould, the want of water would render it of little value 
even to the most skilful possessor. At the distance of three miles from 
a village called Baghwardar we halted ; and I took a meridional obser¬ 
vation of the sun, which gave us a latitude of thirty-one degrees twenty- 
five minutes. We reckoned eight miles from AbadSh to this spot, and 
nine more to Shoolgistoon , the termination of the day’s march. Whilst 
we were waiting until the sun should pass the meridian, one of our 
party picked up the stump of a thistle, and on examining its inside, w r e 
found two torpid wasps, which had formed their recess there, waiting 
the approach of spring once again to issue into life. 
The little fort, mosque, and caravanserai at Shoolgistoon are seen at 
least six miles before they are reached. The plain to the northward of 
our route w'as bounded by a flat horizon, from which every successive 
mountain or building rose, as we advanced, like objects when first seen 
at sea. 
26th. The night was boisterous, the wind blew strong from the south¬ 
ward and westward, and distant thunder rolled over the hills. The 
morning presented a dark and dismal array of clouds and snow-clad 
mountains all around us; and when the trumpet sounded for the Envoy’s 
departure, every thing announced a cold and cheerless ride. The sun 
made several efforts to break through the heavy atmosphere, and suc¬ 
ceeded once or twice, only to cast faint shadows of our troops across 
the road as we paced along; and, when we were about four miles from 
our destined encampment at Yezdikhaust , the rain begun to fall. We 
travelled a distance of fifteen miles in five hours. The road was still 
carried over a gravel soil, till about two miles from Yezdikhaust, when 
we entered a softer ground. The mountains gradually dwindled into 
hills, and seemed to form a termination to this long plain by throwing 
themselves in lessening forms across it. They continued, like those of 
our latter route, barren, brown and inhospitable, without a shrub to en¬ 
liven their rugged masses. On the left of the plain, all were covered 
with snow, while all to the right were as yet untouched. 
