256 
PROGRESS OF THE CAVALCADE. 
and when any thing similar is done to persons of less rank, 
such as showering sweetmeats upon them, it must then be con¬ 
sidered a pledge of hospitality. With regard to the slaughter of 
the animal, the persons I addressed could give no account, only 
that it was an old custom, and, probably from the days of 
paganism. Two explanations, seem to present themselves ; either 
that the immolation was originally intended as a grateful tribute 
to the gods, for the honour of the royal visit; or, that the act 
was one of idolatry to the Prince himself. If we are to take it in 
the latter sense, we may, perhaps, date the practice from the 
time of the Sassanian kings; who, styling themselves “ a race of 
the gods,” might accept with favour, such homage, as due to 
their divinity. The victims devoted vary in value, from a camel 
to a lamb, according to the consequence of the town or village 
that makes the oblation. 
Signals from a bugle regulated the movements of the caval¬ 
cade, each time that we left our place of rest. It sounded thrice. 
The first signal was for the baggage to set forward; the last sig¬ 
nal, which sounded generally about two hours after the departure 
of the first division, gave notice that the Prince’s foot was in 
the stirrup. According to this rotation of movement, we set 
forward at an early hour from Bosmeech, and proceeded in the 
order of the preceding day. 
Our course lay about S. 50 E. through the snow, and over a 
very narrow road, beaten into a path by the caravans which had 
travelled that way during the winter. Owing to the hilly line 
of the country, and the depth of the snow in the valley where 
the road was, the whole multitude of these caravans were obliged 
to range themselves in file, and so follow man after man, between 
the walls of snow, which had become too condensed to allow of 
