292 
ROYAL CHILDREN. 
When we had arrived within a farsang of Casvin, the resi¬ 
dence of Ali Nackee Mirza, and where the Prince Royal meant 
to halt for a day, a new spectacle presented itself; but it was 
another domestic scene. A group of lovely children, five in 
number, the sons of the Prince-governor, stood on the grass, 
attended by their tutors, and servants holding their horses. 
They waited there to salute their uncle as he passed; and when 
he approached, they all bowed their little heads to the ground; 
and then were lifted up in the arms of their attendants, to Abbas 
Mirza, who kissed them with the greatest tenderness. They 
then mounted on finely managed horses, led by their servants, 
and joined the line of march with their cousins. Young as these 
princes were, some of them hardly beyond infancy, it was 
astonishing to see them sit these spirited animals without the 
least alarm or appearance of disuse. Their rich habits, baby 
figures, and large bright eyes, full of childish animation; with 
their lively prattle amongst themselves and their older cousins ; 
and the affectionate smiles of the royal brothers, as they occa¬ 
sionally looked round; formed, altogether, a scene, which beau¬ 
tifully harmonised with that of the day before. 
A very little time brought us within a mile of the town ; and 
the whole of the inhabitants, I believe, issued forth to greet 
the return of its Prince-governor, with his royal brother. These 
loyal subjects thronged over the plain, and lined each side of the 
road in deep ranks, armed with spears, shields, guns, pistols, 
clubs, &c., some clad in mail, others in their best apparel. 
Flags of blue silk, shaped to a point, on which were blazoned 
the lion and sun, streamed in the air, which resounded with the 
shouts of the joyous multitude. The royal cavalcade having 
entered this living avenue, two most extraordinary moving 
