290 MEETING OF ABBAS MIRZA AND HIS BROTHER. 
turesque martial costume of the East; the fire of their counte¬ 
nances, the animation of their shouts, and the dexterity with 
which they performed every practice of their various arms, kept 
the eye, and the admiration constantly on the alert. Nine hours 
march thus passed away; and I found that we were nearly 
approaching Siahdan, our quarters for the night, before I thought 
we had compassed half the day’s journey. 
At about two miles’ distance from the place, I observed a 
larger cavalcade than any of the former, coming at a quick pace 
towards us. During its advance, the leader, a fine young man, 
splendidly dressed, dismounted, and ran forward. The instant 
Abbas Mirza perceived him, he threw himself off his horse; 
and in a few minutes they were in each other’s arms. It was his 
brother, Ali Nackee Mirza, Governor of Casvin. The scene 
was a picture; the two princes embracing, between their sepa¬ 
rate bands. But the meeting was more : it could not be beheld, 
by even a stranger’s eye, without touching the heart. Theirs 
was not the cold salute, of mere established ceremony; for 
the custom of male kindred kissing each other, is as old in 
Persia, as the times of the elder Cyrus: and, indeed, it seems to 
be even as ancient as family affections themselves; for older 
historians than Xenophon mention the same action between 
men, who were relations or friends, in greeting or bidding fare¬ 
well. But it was not this custom alone, that we saw in the 
mutual welcome before us : it was the warm, cordial, and repeated 
embrace of two brothers sincerely attached to each other. After 
a few minutes’ conversation, they remounted their horses; and, 
riding side by side, preceded the column, towards the town ; 
and the suite of Ali Nackee Mirza, falling in with that of the 
Prince Royal, the whole went forward. 
