The Persians neither resemble those of old, nor their neighbours the Indians, in effeminacy of dress. The king, I believe, is the only person in the empire who wears any kind of jewels; and he only does so on state occasions. They greatly ridicule the fondness the Indians have for female ornaments; and they relate a story of one who was travelling in Persia, whom the Rahdars took for a woman, and would not be convinced to the contrary, until they had taken him to the Hakim. The pompous and high sounding titles of India are likewise a fund of amusement to them; for, excepting the dignity of Ihtimad ood doulu, which is given to their prime minister, and the hereditary honour of Khan, there are no other marks of distinction among them.*

It is the custom for the military men to press their caps down on one side; the Mirza, or civil officers, twist a shawl about them; and the artificers, tradesmen, &c. wear their cap upright.†

Shah Ubas, who wished to make the merchants very frugal, issued an order, that they were always to wear shawl turbans, and robes of broad cloth. This he thought would be the cheapest dress they could wear, as the shawl would last their lives, and descend to their children, and the cloths would last some years. Although the Persians bathe so often (which is rather a luxurious enjoyment than an act of cleanliness), they are a very dirty people. They very rarely change their garments, and seldom before it is dangerous to come near them. The Persian who accompanied me slept in his clothes until we reached Kazroon, although it was the hottest season of the year; and I believe then was only induced to

In India you may purchase a title for a very small sum. The wisdom of Soloman has often been bought, I believe, for a hundred rupees.

+ This custom will explain the following two lines of Hafiz :

ته هر که طرفي کلاه کج نهاد و تند نشست

کلاه کوشه به این دلبري بشكن

change his dress at my recommendation.* It is thought nothing in Persia to wear a shirt a month, or a pair of trowsers half a year.

A Persian soldier, armed cap-à-pie, is of all figures the most ridiculous. It is really laughable to see how they encumber themselves with weapons of defence: their horses groan under the weight of their arms. These consist of a pair of pistols in their holsters, a single one slung in their waist, a carbine, or a long Turkish gun, a sword, a dagger, and an immense long spear; for all these fire arms they have separate ramrods tied about their persons, powder horns for loading, others for priming, and a variety of cartouch-boxes, filled with different sized cartridges. If they are advancing towards you, they may be heard a long way off. I should really suppose that their saddle and arms would weigh about eighty pounds, an enormous addition to the horse's burthen. Yet they consider themselves as light armed troops, ridiculing the Turkish cavalry, who, they say, can take care of little else than their big boots and cap. The arms of the Persians are very good, particularly their swords, which are highly prized by the Turks. They are full of Jouhur, or what is called damask; which, however, does not express the meaning of the word, for the Jouhur is inherent in the steel. Tavernier says that none but Golconda steel can be damasked; but in this he is mistaken, as the Khorasan swords are more valuable than any others, the blade often alone costing twenty or thirty guineas.

The Hindoo, who bathes constantly in the Ganges, and whose heart equals in purity the whiteness of his vest, will allow this same white robe to drop nearly off with filth before he thinks of changing it. Histories composed in the closet, of the manners of extensive nations, may possess every beauty, for as facts do not restrain the imagination, nor impose rules on poetical licence, the fancy of the historian enjoys an uninterrupted range in the regions of fiction. + Mr. Eton enters into an examination of the advantages of the broad sword, and the Turkish or Persian scymitar; he gives the preference to the latter. Eton's Turkish Empire.

The dress of the Persians is very expensive, frequently amounting to sixty or one hundred guineas; but which, of course, must be in proportion to their capacity to bear this expence. The poor people wear no cap, and very little clothes; when the cold weather comes on, they make dresses out of sheep skins, &c,