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CHAPTER XXL 
Every step of the way from the day of our entrance upon the Serdar’s 
territory had been marked by his attentions, and on arriving at Erivan 
he put forth the whole of his endeavours to welcome and honour his 
guests. We set olF very early on the 13th in order to escape if 
possible the Istakball; but we were not so fortunate, for the morn¬ 
ing had scarcely began to dawn before large parties of horsemen 
appeared, headed by different chiefs, who made their obeisance to the 
Ambassador. Among the most remarkable was a large body of Gourds, 
whose extraordinary dress and appearance, so different from that of the 
Persians, gave a novelty to the scene, that was extremely amusing. 
Their habits, their arms, the accoutrements of their horses, and general 
appearance resembled that of the Turks, but they have a wildness and 
ferociousness of air, which is highly characteristic of their wandering 
life. The Serdar has a large body of them in his pay. Their chief 
Hossein Aga was a stately dignified man, riding upon a beautiful white 
horse, and dressed in a large cloak of crimson cloth thrown loosely 
about him in the finest folds. 
The contrast between the Gourds and the Persians, taken separately 
or in a body, was highly in favour of the former. The lively colours of 
their dresses, composed of cloth, silks, and velvets, far surpass the 
sombre hues of the Persian cotton and sheep skins. The Gourds amused 
us with a representation of their mode of warfare, gallopping before us 
in large masses, shaking their spears, firing their pistols, and making 
loud shouts, which fully came up to our ideas of their barbarous en¬ 
counters. 
On approaching the town, we perceived the Serdar making his way 
towards us, surrounded by an immense host of attendants. He ad¬ 
vanced three hundred paces from a tent placed on the occasion, at 
