324 
THE BEAUTY OF THE PERSIAN PRINCES. 
right of the throne. His brothers followed, till they nearly 
closed upon us. Directly opposite to this elder rank of princes, 
all grown to manhood, their younger brothers arranged them¬ 
selves on the other side of the transverse water ; and as they 
were marshalled according to their age, I recognised my little 
travelling companion in the last. They were all superbly 
habited, in the richest brocade vests and shawl-girdles, from the 
folds of which glittered the jewelled hilts of their daggers. Each 
wore a sort of robe of gold stuff, lined, and deeply collared with 
the most delicate sables, falling a little below the shoulder, and 
reaching to the calf of the leg. Around their black caps, they 
too had wound the finest shawls. Every one of them, from the 
eldest to the youngest, wore bracelets of the most brilliant rubies 
and emeralds, just above the bend of the elbow. The personal 
beauty of these princes, was even more extraordinary, to the eyes 
of a traveller, than the splendour of their dresses; there was not 
one of them, who might not have been particularised any where 
else, as most eminently handsome. A fine line of features, large 
dark eyes full of lustre, graceful stature, and a noble mien, made 
them, indeed, an object of admiring wonder in themselves. 
At some distance, near the front of tho, palace, appeared an¬ 
other range of highly-revered personages ; moullahs, astrologers, 
and other sages of this land of the East, clothed in their more 
sombre garments of religion and philosophy. Here was no 
noise, no bustle of any kind ; every person standing quietly in 
his place, respectfully awaiting the arrival of the monarch. At 
last, the sudden discharge of the swivels from the camel-corps 
without, with the clangor of trumpets, and 1 know not what con¬ 
gregation of uproarious sounds besides, announced that His 
Majesty had entered the gate of the citadel. But the most 
extraordinary part of this clamour, was the appalling roar of two 
