FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 
41 
afforded. In the climate of Persia, a life passed in tents is, perhaps, on 
the whole, more agreeable than passed in houses ; and it is easy to 
conceive, that those who are accustomed to the freedom that accom¬ 
panies the former, can ill bear the restraints and confinement of a 
town. 
The reception of the Ambassador was as grand as it was in the power 
of the Governor to make it; and after we had endured all the miseries 
of barbarous noises, dust, confusion, and tedious ceremonies, we at 
length found ourselves installed each in his tent, with a long desert of 
sand, terminated by the sea, in front of us, and a long desert of sand, 
terminated by high mountains, in our rear. The desert which, as I said 
before, was cheered by no other living creature than the Arab and his 
ass, and the Arab and his camels, was now become a busy scene ; and 
Englishmen, Indians, Arabs, and Persians, were constantly seen passing 
to and fro, making preparations for our journey into the interior. 
It would, perhaps, be impossible to give to an inhabitant of London 
a correct idea of the first impressions made upon the European stranger 
on his landing in Persia. Accustomed, as his eye has been, to neatness, 
cleanliness, and a general appearance of convenience in the exteriors of 
life, he feels a depression of spirits in beholding the very contrary. 
Instead of houses with high roofs, well glazed and painted, and in neat 
rows, he finds them low, flat roofed, without windows, placed in little 
connection. In vain he looks for what his idea of a street may be; he 
makes his way through the narrowest lanes, incumbered with filth, 
dead animals, and mangy dogs. He hears a language totally new to 
him, spoken by people whose looks and dress are equally extraordinary. 
Instead of our smooth chins and tight dresses, he finds rough faces 
masked with beards and mustachios, in long flapping clothes. He 
sees no active people walking about with an appearance of something 
to do, but here and there he meets a native just crawling along in slip 
shod shoes. When he seeks the markets and shops, a new and original 
scene opens upon him. Little open sheds in rows, between which is a 
G 
