174 
AMBASSADRESS VISITS THE QUEEN. 
The throne upon which the King sat : was ascended by steps, upon 
which were painted dragons. It is surrounded by a balustrade, and the 
whole of .it, which is overlaid with fine gold, beautifully enamelled, we 
were told cost one hundred thousand tomauns. The throne of Solomon 
was ascended by steps — there were stays on each side of the sitting place; 
and, what is its principal feature of resemblance, was overlaid with pure 
gold. 2 Chron. ix. 17. 18. 
This audience passed off like that which I have before described in 
my former journal; and I will therefore proceed to relate that the 
Ambassadress also paid a visit of ceremony to the King of Persia’s 
chief wife, called the Banoo Harem, whom, for want of a more appro¬ 
priate title, we styled the Queen of Persia. The Ambassadress was 
introduced into a large open room, at one corner of which was seated 
the Queen, dressed out in truly Persian splendour. Large gilded knobs 
appeared on her head-dress, which was of a great size ; and the other 
parts of her attire, like that of Zobeide, the Caliph’s favourite in the 
Arabian Nights, were so loaded with jewels that she could scarcely walk.. 
In a corner of the room stood some of the King’s children, so stiffened 
out with brocade, velvets, furs, and jewellery, that they almost looked 
like fixtures. Great numbers of women were arranged in rows without 
the room, all ornamented with jewellery ; and on the whole there appears 
to have been a great display of magnificence, although it did not amount 
quite to what the Persians would have made us to conceive. The Am¬ 
bassadress presented the Queen of England’s picture, most beautifully 
set round with brilliants of the purest water, to the personage before 
whom she was seated, who was quite unconscious of the beauty of the 
workmanship ; but we afterwards learnt that it was greatly admired by 
His Majesty, whose discrimination in these valuables is very acute. 
Whilst the Ambassadress partook of some refreshments, her two maids 
were led out by the attendants to do the same; but no sooner were they 
amongst them than the Persian women fell upon them like harpies to ana¬ 
lyse their dress, of which they expressed the most unbounded curiosity. 
It is agreed by the Persians that the dress of our females is in every way 
