MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE’S SISTER. 
391 
the marriage of his sister to a Cajar nobleman; and as it is the custom 
in Persia for brothers not to appear at the rejoicings which take place 
on such an evenC His Royal Highness had surrendered his palace in 
the city to be used for the celebration of the nuptials, and had taken 
up his residence in a pleasure house, surrounded by extensive gardens, 
situated without the walls. On my arrival, I informed the Prince, that 
as Mr. Willock was bearer of a letter and a present to him from His 
Royal Highness the Prince Regent I requested he would appoint a 
suitable hour for receiving us, that we might present these marks of 
friendship in due form. 
We were appointed to come on the following day in the morning, 
which we did in great procession. On reaching the Prince’s dwelling, 
we found all the disciplined troops in his pay, then at Tabriz, drawn 
up in front of it. The room in which he was seated was entirely open 
on the side facing the troops; and as soon as Mr. Willock and I entered, 
the one bearing the Prince Regent’s letter and the other the present, 
he immediately stood up, and when he advanced towards us, the whole 
of his troops presented their arms, their colours were lowered, and mili¬ 
tary music resounded in all parts of their line. We had always re¬ 
marked, that every time we returned to Tabriz, we were struck by 
some new step towards the manners and civilization of Europe, and this 
mark of the Prince’s attention, so neatly and appropriately displayed 
towards our own Regent, gave us the greatest pleasure, and we did not 
fail to make our consequent acknowledgements for it. 
Our time was taken up during the few days that I remained at Tabriz, 
in attending the different entertainments given by the Persian noble¬ 
men on the occasion of the marriage. The Governor of the city, Fatteh 
Ali Khan, gave a breakfast, where dancers and jugglers were intro¬ 
duced. On the day in which the marriage was to be consummated, 
Abbas Mirza made a distant excursion to hunt, and did not return until 
* The present was composed of a gold snuff-box, superbly set in brilliants, with a picture of 
the Prince Regent on the lid. 
