FERTILITY OF COUNTRY NEAR SHIRAZ. 
709 
while ; and before the whole month is past, many fall sacrifices 
to the rigour of their faith; when this happens, the surviving 
relations rejoice over them, believing that so dying they go 
directly into the presence of the Prophet, and have a place at 
his side. According to the Mahomedan regulation of the year, 
the Ramazan is a movable fast; and besides its general sanctifi¬ 
cation to Mahomed himself, the twenty-first of the month is 
held here with peculiar severity, watching, and prayer, in memory 
of the death of their favourite Ali. The twenty-third, par¬ 
ticularly, is noted as the anniversary of the very day in which 
the angel Gabriel brought the sacred book to the founder of the 
faith ; and, when the month closes, joy breaks out “ like the full 
moonfeasting, revelling, and mutual congratulations filling the 
whole country. 
The present summer has been unusually hot, and the feverish 
state of my frame made me feel it more so; but the inhabitants 
of this beautiful vale told me, that Shiraz is generally esteemed 
the most moderate climate in the southern division of the em¬ 
pire ; that its summer noons may be warmer than is pleasant, 
but the mornings and evenings are delightful; but when Sep¬ 
tember commences, the weather becomes heavenly; and continues, 
until the end of November, with a perfectly serene atmosphere, 
of a most balmy and agreeable temperature; and a sky whose 
soft hues are reflected from every object. The earth is covered 
with the gathered harvest, flowers, and fruits; melons, peaches, 
pears, nectarines, cherries, grapes, pomegranates; in short, all 
is a garden abundant in sweets and refreshment. The vales of 
Ouroomia, and of Salmos, which lie north-west of Tabreez, are 
the only places in the empire that compare with Shiraz and its 
autumnal bounties. And, thus fortunate in the fruits of the 
