56 
CHAPTER IV. 
The embassy reached Shiraz on the 7th April, and after some nego- 
ciation the Vizier of the Prince came out to meet the Ambassador, 
He was attended by most of the principal men of the city, and when 
the two parties joined company the crowd became immense. The 
Minister was on one side of the Ambassador and the Mehmandar on 
the other. When all the usual routine of first compliments had been 
gone through, and repeated over and over again, the Mehmandar said 
to the Minister, “ How well the Elchee talks Persian !”—“ Well,” said the 
Minister; “he talks it admirably. He is superior to any Mollah. We 
have never yet seen such an Elchee; none so accomplished, none so 
clever, none so learned. Sahib Kemal (an accomplished gentleman); 
Sahib Akl (a man of sense); Sahib Kalem (a good penman); Sahib Fiker 
(a man of reflection)to all this there was a chorus around, of belli^ belli, 
belli. Then the Minister turned to another man on the other side of 
him, and said, loud enough and expressly for the Ambassador to hear, 
“ Did you ever see any one so charming as the Elchee; so much better 
than all other Elchees?” The Ambassador, in praising the climate of 
Shiraz, said, “ It is so fine, that I should have thought mankind never 
died here, had I not seen those tombstones,” pointing to some that we 
had just past. “ Barek allah ! wonderful! wonderful!” exclaimed the 
Mehmandar; “Did you hear that?” he roared out to the Minister; “What 
a wit is the Elchee !” Then he repeated the joke to the Minister, who 
again cried out, “ Wonderful! wonderful!” as did all the others. In this 
sort of conversation, which was broken in upon only by the handing 
about and bubbling of kaleoons, we reached our encampment at the 
Bagh Jehan Nemah, close to the city walls. However impertinent 
this sort of bare-faced flattery appeared to us, yet in their eyes it would 
be a want of the common forms of politeness did they omit it. I was 
present once, when the Prime Minister gave instructions to a man who 
was sent to greet a Russian officer on his arrival, and his principal 
