PERSIAN COSTUME. 
439 
at Ispahan, had occasioned the first embarrassment; and who, 
from the same motives, by various subterfuges, sought to im¬ 
pede my departure. During these discussions, and hinderances, 
I occupied my vacant hours in copying some of the costumes 
from the old pictures in the banqueting hall of the Chehel Se- 
toon ; which, in almost every particular, differ from that of the 
Persian of the present day. The rich and gay brocades, worn 
by the nobles of the court of the Sefi race, as their ordinary 
habits, are now changed for European cloths; the costly shawl 
for the head, or tissued turban, are replaced by a plain cap of 
black slieep-skin : in short, the alteration is from head to foot. 
But every detail of the modern dress, being so minutely given 
by Mr. Morier, I need not repeat them here. Besides, it is the 
less necessary to present a regular description of costume in my 
sketch of the manners and customs of these people, since dif¬ 
ferent parts of it have incidentally been noticed throughout the 
volume. But, to any person who has read the valuable work 
on Persia, referred to above, this apology is unnecessary ; and, 
for the satisfaction of those who have not, and yet would wish 
for more of the detail than I have given, I shall subjoin, in one 
of my volumes, drawings of the habits of both men and women. 
In the course of a morning stroll, after leaving my copying 
amusement in the solitary hall of the Great King, and passing- 
through its gates into the umbrageous avenues of the Chaher 
Bagh, I turned my steps along a sequestered walk, which con¬ 
ducted me to one of the still existing colleges, out of the many 
which Ispahan boasted in its day of royalty. Chardin mentions, 
that forty-eight of these establishments were in a flourishing 
state when he visited the city. The one which I saw was called 
Medressy Jeddah. Its portal is filled by two immense folding- 
