156 
PERSEPOLIS TO ISPAHAN. 
accumulated by that of every neighbouring village, came out to greet 
us, betraying indeed their own wretchedness by the poverty of their 
clothing, and every comfortless circumstance of their appearance. 
They have a manufacture of cloth in Komeshah called kaduck , a 
better sort of that coarse linen called kerbas , which is made in every 
village. 
The Envoy, according to the common custom of the country, sent a 
present to the Governor of the place, with this difference, indeed, that 
it was much larger than the rank of the party entitled him to expect. 
It consisted of cloth, fine chintz, &c. The Governor however, when it 
was brought to him, indignantly snatched one piece of chintz, and told 
the bearer to take the rest as unworthy of his own acceptance, in the 
hope that the Envoy would hasten to atone for his disrespect by 
doubling the gift. Sir Harford, with great indifference, desired the 
servant to keep what he had received, and congratulated him on his 
good luck. In vain did the Governor entreat to have the original gift 
restored, in vain did the Mehmandar mediate, the Envoy was inflexible, 
and the Governor, to the laugh of every one, remained with his 
single piece. 
29th. At a mile and a half from Komeshah , on the left, is the tomb 
of Shah Reza, and near it an extensive burying ground; over one of 
the tombs is the remains of a lion in stone: whatever it may mean, 
it is certain that it dates from the remotest antiquity, being evi¬ 
dently prior to the Arabian conquests, and to the establishment of 
the Mahomedan religion in Persia. The ruined forts, the towers 
for pigeons, and other signs of habitation and cultivation which are 
seen on the plain to the Northward of the town, prove that Kome¬ 
shah has shared the prosperity of the better days of Persia. Our 
weather continued most delightful, nor did I indeed recollect to 
have ever seen an atmosphere so lucid and so soft. The moun¬ 
tains to the Northward, which shewed their distant summits over the 
ridges of the nearer hills, although crowned with snow did not seem 
