270 
ANECDOTE OF A GREEK MERCHANT. 
to all appearances, would have died of a bilious fever, if he had not 
been relieved by the surgeon of our embassy. He had been taken ill 
on his journey from Astrachan to Bagdad, to which place he was travel¬ 
ling to sell saffron and caviar, altogether worth three thousand roubles, 
and had undertaken this expedition without knowing a single word of 
any language but his own. The Armenians had taken him under their 
care, and he was lodged in their church, which is a great act of charity 
from them, who look upon the Greeks as heretics. 
The climate of Hamadan has the same reputation now for coolness 
in summer, as Ecbatana had in the days of the ancient Persian kings, 
who are said to have passed their summers there, and their winters at 
Susa, in the same manner as the present King leaves Teheran and 
passes the heats at Sultanieh. We found the weather very sultry in 
our tents, but there is no doubt if we had lived higher up the mountain 
in good houses, that we should have found the heats by no means 
oppressive. 
