MOUNTAIN OF TACKT-I-BOSTAN. 
165 
sians in my suite, to the camp, to inform the chief magistrate of 
our arrival. The great man returned with my messenger, and, 
so far from looking hostile at a stranger seated at home in his 
house, he bade me hearty welcome, and with all the easy bounty 
of the most finished courtesy, told me, that not only his house 
was mine, but the whole village into the bargain. Meaning to 
stay some days, to complete the investigation of the objects of 
interest that brought me there, I soon settled the terms of my 
acceptance of all this munificence, and allowed him to return 
perfectly in good humour to his tented followers. 
I was now in the province, and even in sight of the capital of 
Mahmoud Ali Mirza, the eldest son of the Shah, and the openly 
declared enemy of Abbas Mirza, the monarch’s publicly announced 
heir. The particular regard with which his royal highness the 
crown-prince had distinguished me, would have made my ap¬ 
pearance at the court of his rival something more than disre¬ 
spectful ; therefore, to avoid all probable occasion of being called 
upon to do any thing offensive to either brother, I did all in my 
power to conceal from the inhabitants of Kermanshah my resi¬ 
dence in their neighbourhood. Hence, I refrained from using 
his majesty’s firman, which commanded my free quarters through¬ 
out his dominions, and purchased every thing I wanted for my 
people or cattle, of the peasantry around the village. 
The mountain of Tackt-i-Bostan, the derivation of which means 
Throne of the Garden , is noted through all this part of the world 
for its magnificent sculptures ; which, together with its delicious 
fountain and streams, are said by the natives to owe their origin 
to the loves of Khosroo Purviz, and the beautiful Shirene. This 
fairest of the fair, they tell us, was first seen by the prince while 
he was an exile at her father’s court, the renowned Maurice, 
