also, were ordered by their commander to bathe; and as many of them had never frequented oriental public baths, it was easy to remark the horror of the natives at the carelessness with which the soldiers stripped for the bath.

The baths, as well as the modes of bathing are pretty much the same in all oriental countries. In those at Shiraz, there is a basin in the inner chamber, of hot water, into which the bathers desceud after having gone through all the different processes of hand rubbing, cracking of joints, and friction, with a camlet bag. Here they remain as long as they can bear the heat, and then call for fresh towels, and after being a second time rubbed, issue into an outer room, where there are servants ready to assist in putting on their clothes.

On this occasion, the Persians were extremely curious in inspecting the dresses of the English. One of the serjeants, an old veteran, wore a wig, a convenience quite unknown in Persia. It is impossible to describe the extreme and amusing astonishment of the surrounding spectators when they saw this man, at one pul, take off the whole hair of his head, and walk away to the bath totally unconcerned.

Some days after, Captain Blisset and his companion were invited to witness the Prince of Shiraz invested with a dress of honor, which his father the King had sent to

nim. This has always been looked on by the Persians as a ceremony of the greatest importance; and indeed in a country where the favourite of to-day may be bastinadoed to death on the morrow; a circumstance which demon. strates the regard of the sovereign deserves to be highly prized. A common kalaat or dress of honour consists of a coat, a zone or girdle, a shawl for the head, to which sometimes a sword or dagger is added. To the Prince was given a suit of the richets furs, a horse with a golden bridle, a golden chain, and a golden sword, besides which it was sent by a nobleman of the highest rank, and accompanied by a royal decree, containing the kindest terms of affection for the prince. The day was introduced by discharges of artillery, and by the sounds of drums and trumpets; and the Prince himself escorted by all his principal officers, and preceded by a number of led horses, was conspicuous above all, by a parasol being borne over his head, which is a privilege allowed only to royalty. Nothing, however more strongly denoted his rank, than the whole distance from Shiraz to the spot where he was invested with the dress, about three miles, being strewn wish roses and watered, and at many frequent intervals, glass vessels filled with sugar being broken under his horses feet.

The nobleman who had been the bearer of this dress from the king to his son, had it also in charge to conduct the English to Ispahan; accordingly their former Mehmander being thus superseded, they set out on the following morning, having taken a formal leave of the Prince. It would be tedious to describe their course, which presented nothing remarkable, except the inconvenience which they suffered from the excessive heat, and from the bites of musquitoes; we canuot omit, however, to mention the oppressive conduct of their Meh, mander towards the peasantry of the districts through which they were travelling. There was a small village on the way called Kemeen, the inhabitants of which had been laid under such heavy contributions a short time before, by the nobleman to whom it belonged, that the approach of the English, under the care of a Mehmauder, had caused all the male inha bitants to fly to the mountains. The Mehmander's servants, however, soon forced them selves into the houses, where they found a few women concealed, and from these he exacted as much corn as sufficed for the whole party and their cattle; and not content with that, he persisted in raising forty tomaums in cash, about £30. each toma um being fifteen shillings, as his own perquisite; this demand created great lamentation amongst the women, and brought them in crouds out of their houses,

beating their heads and lifting their hands to the skies; their grief, however had no effect. upon the Mehmander, for what he could not get in money, he took in kind, his men forci bly carrying away what little furniture the poor creatures had left, and at the same time using the stick against them without remorse. To all Captain Blisset's remonstrances he paid no attention; but it is creditable to the English who were the causes of this exaction to say, that a subscription set on foot by William and the serjeants of the detachment, and to which all contributed without exception, enabled them, unknown to the Mehmander to indem. nify the poor people for their losses.

On the 9th day of their journey northwards to Ispahan, the whole party whose eyes had been wearied by resting only on plains of sand, were as much surprized as delighted on arriving at a spot called Keleel, where they observed the plum tree and the walnut, both of equal size, spreading their branches into the most beautiful forms; several scattered spots also were abundantly watered by small rivulets; and here the verdure was most grateful to the sight; at home, as was remarked, they would have passed it almost without observation, but to those who had seen nothing for days but plains of sand, parched with the sun, it seemed R earthly paradise.

Six days after this, having pitched their tents at Komeesha, still advancing northwards to Ispahan, Captain Blisset was in no small de gree delighted with the arrival of his old friend Murza Abul Hassan Khan the Persian Ambassador, whom he had accompanied to Bombay from England two years before, who had come thus far from Ispahan to meet him; he seemed greatly pleased to see so many English, and adopted the Persian mode of salutation, which consists in inclining the body over each others neck, and then touching cheek to cheek.

As the party approached the capital, the Governor sent one of his confidential officers, accompanied by several other men of respecfability to welcome them. They were soon after met by the youngest son of the Governor, a boy of thirteen years of age, who received the strangers with all the ease of an old cour tier-men of consequence in the city after. wards, at different intervals, presented themselves, and as they proceeded, two brothers of the Governor, arrayed in brocade coats, with shawls round their caps, paid their respects to Captain Blisset. This succession of persons whose rank increased as the party approached the city, brought to Captain Blisset's mind the Princes more and more honourable, which Balaak sent to Balaam, Numbers xxii. 15.At length the Governor himself came out a mile from the city to meet the Ambassador,