TEHERAN. 
209 
continued to the roof of the room in which the King was seated, 
making first an angle of forty degrees, and then, in a second flight, an 
angle of fifty degrees, with its horizontal extension. The boy balancing 
himself with his pole, walked up the first steadily, and with very 
little more difficulty ascended the second, while the music below ani¬ 
mated him in his progress. He then, with the same steadiness 
descended, walking backwards, and safely reached the horizontal 
rope. After this a man in a kind of petticoat began a dance of the 
most extravagant attitudes. A large elephant which had been in 
waiting amid the crowd, was next brought forward, was made to give 
a shriek, and then to kneel down, paying as it were his selaam to the 
King. A company of wrestlers succeeded ; and every one, who threw 
his antagonist on his back, ran before the King and received a tomaun. 
When ten such feats had been successively performed, a man led in a 
bear, with which in his turn he wrestled. But the bear always had the 
advantage; and when his antagonist attempted to throw him into the 
basin of water, the bear got so much out of humour, that if he had not 
been deprived of his teeth, he would probably have demolished the 
unlucky assailant. Then rams were brought into the arena, and in 
several couples fought for some time with much obstinacy. A poor 
ox was next introduced, and after him a young lion. The scene, 
which we had witnessed at Shiraz, was here repeated. The ox was 
scarcely suffered to walk, before the lion was let loose upon him; 
twice was the lion dragged off, and twice permitted to return to the 
charge, which he always made in the rear, and of which the success 
was secure and easy. A less bloody display succeeded; a bear was 
brought forwards by a company of looties or mountebanks, and 
danced for some time to the rude noise and music of its leaders. 
Then came a man who, on his bare head balanced, among other things, 
two high vases full of water, which another was to break with his cane. 
To all these different performers, the King threw different sums, as 
he was severally pleased with their tricks and feats. At sunset his 
Majesty retired to say his Namaz, (prayers) when his Nokara Khanah , 
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