426 
QUITS BAGDAD. 
untameable race, from the first memorials of their country to 
the present times. The simple arrangements of an Asiatic tra¬ 
veller are soon made. His horse, arms and accoutrements, 
with the like for his people, (safety commanding movement in 
tribes !) being his chief necessaries; and for the incumbrances 
belonging to apparel, taste, and science, they are all packed in a 
portmanteau or two, and swung on the backs of mules. 
The day fixed for my departure was December 2d; and 
having taken my leave of the pasha, who had ordered me a 
mehmandar, and every military protection to the limits of his 
jurisdiction; and said farewell to my kind host and hostess, Mr. 
and Mrs. Rich, in whose society I had passed so many enlight¬ 
ened and delightful hours, I once more found myself in march¬ 
ing order. I had regained my old companion and secretary, 
Sedak Beg, now perfectly restored to health; and accompanied, 
for a few miles, by Mr. Hyne and my friend Belino, set forth in 
a bright morning, with the thermometer at 46 Fahrenheit. We 
bade adieu to Bagdad at the northern gate ; 
Its glittering minarets, and palm-tree groves ! 
and soon after re-entered the arid tracks of the plain on a course 
due north. In about an hour we came to the old lines of Nadir 
Shah, thrown up A. D. 1735, when he invested the city against 
its heroic pasha. Here I shook hands with my British friends ; 
and when they turned their horses’ heads, but for the familiar 
face of my faithful Persian, I should have felt myself rather 
alone amongst my band of Turkish guards. For several 
miles no object of interest broke the dead level, all continuing 
dark and sterile, till, after riding about three hours, we caine 
again upon a sweep of the Tigris. Its width at this point, was 
