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 THE 
 
 ADVENTUKES 
 
 OF 
 
 HAJJI BAB A, 
 
 OF 
 
 ISPAHAN. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET. 
 
 1824.
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BT THOMAS DAVISON, WHITEFRIARS.
 
 PR 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 TO 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 MY esteemed and learned friend, 
 whom I have anagrammatized as the 
 Doctor Fundgruben, having intimated 
 to me that however flattered he might 
 have felt, upon seeing his name pre- 
 fixed to the first Edition of Hajji 
 Baba, yet, so retiring are his habits, 
 and so little ambitious is he of being 
 
 1 )
 
 IV ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 noticed, that he has requested 01' me 
 to abstain for the future from making 
 use of his name in so public a manner. 
 
 I have not hesitated one moment 
 in complying with his request, but as 
 some prologue is necessary to the nar- 
 rative which follows, I must beg leave 
 to relate an adventure which, on my 
 return from Persia, befel me at Tocat, 
 and which gave rise to the following 
 work. 
 
 It was at the close of a fatiguing 
 day's journey, that I and my escort, 
 consisting of two Tatars, two ser- 
 vants, and the conductors of our bag-
 
 SECOND EDITION. V 
 
 gage and post-horses, entered that 
 city. Our approach was as usual an- 
 nounced by the howls of the Surujees 
 or guides, who, I suppose, more than 
 usually exerted their lungs In my 
 service, because. they felt that these 
 sounds, the harbingers of rest and en- 
 tertainment, could not but be agree- 
 able to weary and jaded travellers like 
 ourselves. The moon was shining 
 bright as our cavalcade was clattering 
 over the long paved road leading to 
 the city, and lighted up, in awful 
 grandeur, the turret-topped peaks of 
 the surrounding crags. On entering 
 the post-house, I was immediately 
 conducted into the travellers' room,
 
 VI ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 where having disencumbered myself of 
 my cloak, arms, and heavy boots, and 
 putting myself at ease in my slippers 
 and loose dress, I quietly enjoyed the 
 cup of strong coffee and the chibouk, 
 or amber-headed pipe, which were 
 immediately handed to me, and after 
 that my dish of rice, my tough fowl, 
 and my basin of sour curds. 
 
 I was preparing to take my night's 
 rest qn the sofas of the post-house, 
 where my bed had been laid, when 
 a stranger unceremoniously walked 
 into the room, and stood before me. 
 I remarked that he was a Persian, 
 and, by his dress, a servant. At anj.
 
 SECOND EDITION. VU 
 
 other moment I should have been x 
 happy to see and converse with him, 
 because having lived so long in Persia, 
 I felt myself in some measure iden- 
 tified with its natives, and now in 
 a country where both nations were 
 treated with the same degree of con- 
 tempt, my fellow-feeling for the sec- 
 taries of Ali became infinitely stronger. 
 
 I discovered that the stranger had 
 a tale of misery to unfold, from the 
 very doleful face that he was pleased to 
 make on the occasion, and I was not 
 mistaken. It was this that his ma- 
 ster, one Mirza Hajji Baba, now on 
 is return from Constantinople, where
 
 Vlll ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 he had been employed on the Shah's 
 business, had fallen seriously ill, and 
 that he had been obliged to stop at 
 Tocat,* that he had taken up his 
 abode at the caravanserai, where he 
 had already spent a week, during which 
 time he had been attended by a Frank 
 doctor, an inhabitant of Tocat, who, 
 instead of curing, had in fact brought 
 him to his last gasp, that having 
 heard of my arrival from Persia, he 
 had brightened up, and requested, 
 without loss of time, that I would call 
 upon him, for he was sure the presence 
 of one coming from his own country 
 would alone restore him to health. 
 In short, his servant, as is usual on
 
 SECOND EDITION. IX 
 
 such occasions, finished his speech by 
 saying, that with the exception of 
 God and myself, he had nothing left 
 to depend upon in this life. 
 
 I immediately recollected who Mirza 
 Hajji Baba'was; for although I had 
 lost sight of him for several years, yet 
 once on a time I had seen much of 
 him, and had taken great interest in 
 every thing that regarded him, owing 
 to his having been in England, whi- 
 ther, in quality of secretary, he had 
 accompanied the first ambassador which 
 Persia had sent in modem times. He 
 had since been employed in various 
 ways in the government, sometimes
 
 X ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 in high and sometimes in lower situa- 
 tions, undergoing the vicissitudes 
 which attend every Persian, and at 
 length had been sent to Constan- 
 tinople, as resident agent at the 
 Porte. 
 
 I did not hesitate an instant, though 
 tired and jaded, to accompany his ser- 
 vant ; and in the same garb in which 
 I was, only throwing a cloak over my 
 shoulders, I walked in all haste to the 
 caravanserai. 
 
 There, on a bed laid in the middle 
 of a small room, surrounded by se- 
 veral of his servants, I found the sick
 
 SECOND EDITION. XI 
 
 Mirza, looking more like a corpse 
 than a living body. When I had first 
 known him he was a remarkably hand- 
 some man, with a fine aquiline nose, 
 oval face, an expressive countenance, 
 and a well-made person. He had now 
 passed the meridian of life, but his 
 features were still fine, and his eye was 
 full of fire. He recognized me as 
 soon as seen, and the joy which he 
 felt at the meeting broke out in a 
 great animation of his features, and 
 in the thousand exclamations so com- 
 mon in a Persian's mouth. 
 
 * See,' said he, * what a fortunate 
 destiny is mine, that at a moment
 
 Xll ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 when I thought the angel of death 
 was about to seize me for his own, 
 the angel of life comes and blows a 
 fresh existence into my nostrils !' 
 
 After his first transports were over, 
 I endeavoured to make him explain 
 what was the nature of his complaint, 
 and how it had hitherto been treated. 
 I saw well enough by his saffron hue, 
 that bile was the occasion of his dis- 
 order, and as I had had great expe- 
 rience in treating it during my stay 
 in Persia, I did not hesitate to cheer 
 up his hopes by an assurance of being 
 able to relieve him.
 
 SECOND EDITION. Xlll 
 
 ' What can I say ?' said he. * I 
 thought at first that I had been struck 
 with the plague. My head ached in- 
 tensely, my eyes became dim, I had 
 a pain in niy side, and a nauseous 
 taste in my mouth, and expected to 
 die on the third day ; but no, the 
 symptoms still continue, and I am 
 alive. As soon as I arrived here, I 
 inquired for a physician, and was told 
 there were two practitioners in the 
 town, a Jew and a Frank. Of course 
 I chose the latter, but, 'tis plain, that 
 my evil star had a great deal to say in 
 the choice I made. I have not yet 
 been able to discover to what tribe 
 among the Frank he belongs, cer-
 
 XIV ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 tainly he is not an Englishman. But 
 a more extraordinary ass never existed 
 in this world, be his nation what it 
 may. I began by telling him that I 
 was very, very ill. All he said in an- 
 swer, with a grave face, was, * Mash- 
 allah! Praise be to God !' and when, 
 in surprise and rage, I cried out, ' but 
 I shall die, man !* with the same grave 
 face, he said ' Inshallah! Please God !' 
 My servants were about to thrust him 
 from the room, when they found that 
 he knew nothing of our language ex- 
 cepting these two words, which he had 
 only learnt to misapply. Supposing 
 that he still might know something of 
 his profession, I agreed to take his
 
 SECOND EDITION. XV 
 
 medicine ; but I might have saved 
 myself the trouble, for I have been 
 daily getting worse.' 
 
 Here the Mirza stopped to take 
 breath. I did not permit him to 
 exert himself further, but, without 
 loss of time, returned to the post- 
 house, applied to my medicine-chest, 
 and prepared a dose of calomel, which 
 was administered that evening with 
 all due solemnity. I then retired to 
 rest. 
 
 The next noon I repaired to his 
 bed-side, and there, to my great satis- 
 faction, found that my medicine had
 
 XVI ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 performed wonders. The patient's 
 eyes were opened, the head-ache had 
 in great measure ceased, and he was, 
 in short, a different person. I was 
 received by him and his servants with 
 all the honours due to the greatest 
 sage, and they could not collect words 
 sufficiently expressive of their admira- 
 tion of my profound skill. As they 
 were pouring forth their thanks and 
 gratitude, looking up I saw a strange 
 figure in the room, whose person I 
 must take the liberty to describe, so 
 highly ludicrous and extravagant did 
 it appear. He was of the middle size, 
 rather inclined to be corpulent, with 
 thick black eye-brows, dark eyes, a
 
 SECOND EDITION. XV11 
 
 three days' beard, and mustachios. 
 He wore the Turkish long dress, from 
 his shoulders downwards, yellow pa- 
 bouches, or slippers, a shawl about his 
 waist, and carried a long cane in his 
 hand ; but from his shoulders upwards 
 he was a European, with a neckcloth, 
 his hair dressed in the aile de pigeon 
 fashion, a thick tail clubbed, and over 
 all an old-fashioned, three-cornered 
 laced hat. This redoubtable person- 
 age made me a bow, and at the same 
 time accosted me in Italian. I was 
 not long in discovering that he was 
 my rival, the doctor, and that he was 
 precisely what, from the description of 
 the Mirza, I expected him to be, viz. 
 VOL. i. b
 
 XVH1 ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 an itinerant quack, who perhaps might 
 once have mixed medicines in some 
 apothecary's shop in Italy or Con- 
 stantinople, and who had now set up 
 for himself, in this remote corner of 
 Asia, where he might physic and kill 
 at his pleasure. 
 
 I did not shrink from his acquaint- 
 ance, because I was certain that the 
 life and adventures of such a person 
 must be highly curious and entertain- 
 ing, and I cordially encouraged him in 
 his advances, hoping thus to acquire 
 his confidence. 
 
 He very soon informed me who he
 
 SECOND EDITION. XIX 
 
 was, and what were his pursuits, and 
 did not seem to take the least umbrage 
 at my having prescribed for his patient 
 without previously consulting him. 
 His name was Ludovico Pestello, and 
 he pretended to have studied at Padua, 
 where he had got his diploma. He had 
 not long arrived at Constantinople, 
 with the intention of setting up for 
 himself, when, finding that the city 
 overflowed with Esculapii, he was per- 
 suaded to accompany a Pasha of two 
 tails to Tocat, who had recently been 
 appointed to its government, and was 
 there now established as his body phy- 
 sician. I suspected this story to be 
 fabrication, and undertook to examine
 
 XX ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 his knowledge of physic, particularly 
 in the case of my friend the Persian 
 Mirza. The galimatias which he 
 poured out, as we proceeded, were so 
 extremely ridiculous, and he puzzled 
 himself so entirely by his answers to 
 the plain questions which I put, that 
 at length, not being able to proceed, 
 he joined, most good naturedly, in the 
 horse laugh, from which I could not 
 refrain. I made him candidly confess 
 that he knew nothing of medicine, 
 more than he had acquired from having 
 been servant to a doctor of some emi- 
 nence at Padua, where he had picked 
 up a smattering ; and that, as all his 
 patients were heretics and abominable
 
 SECOND EDITION. XXI 
 
 Musulmans, he never could feel any 
 remorse for those which during his 
 practice he had despatched from this 
 world. * But, caro Signor Dottore,' 
 said I, ' how in the name of all that 
 is sacred, how have you managed hi- 
 therto not to have had your bones 
 broken? Turks are dangerous tools 
 to play with.' 
 
 ' Oh,' said he, in great unconcern, 
 ' the Turks believe any thing, and I 
 take care never to give them medicine 
 that can do harm.' 
 
 ' But you must have drugs, and you
 
 must apply them,' said I. * Where 
 are they?' 
 
 * I have different coloured liquids,' 
 said he, ' and as long as there is bread 
 and water to be had I am never at a 
 loss for a pill. I perform all my cures 
 with them, accompanied by the words 
 Inshallah and Mashallah!' 
 
 ' Bread and water ! wonderful !' did 
 I exclaim. 
 
 * Signor, ',' said he, * I sprinkle 
 my pills with a little flour for the 
 common people, cover them with gold
 
 S! SECOND EDITION. XXlll 
 
 leaf for my higher patients, the Agas 
 and the Pasha, and they all swallow 
 them without even a wry face.' 
 
 I was so highly amused by the ac- 
 count which this extraordinary fellow 
 gave of himself, of the life he led, and 
 of the odd adventures which he had 
 met with, that I invited him to dine ; 
 and were it not for the length which 
 this advertisement has already run, I 
 should perhaps have thought it right to 
 make my readers partake of my enter- 
 tainment by retailing his narrative. I 
 repaid him, as he said, over and above 
 its price by presents from my medi- 
 cine-chest, which he assured me would
 
 XXIV ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 be amply sufficient to administer relief 
 to the whole of Asia Minor. 
 
 I could not think of leaving the 
 poor Persian in such hands ; and feel- 
 ing that I might be the means of 
 saving his life, I determined to re- 
 main at Tocat until I saw him out of 
 danger. 
 
 After three days' administration of 
 calomel, Hajji Baba's complexion was 
 in a great measure restored to its ori- 
 ginal hue, and as he might now be said 
 to be free from danger, and in a fair 
 way of recovery, I proposed proceed- 
 ing on my journey. The poor man
 
 SECOND EDITION. XXV 
 
 could not find words for the expression 
 of his gratitude, and I saw that he was 
 labouring hard to discover a present 
 worthy of my acceptance. At length, 
 just before taking my leave, he desired 
 his servants to leave us alone, and 
 spoke to me in the following words : 
 
 , 
 
 ff You have saved my life ; you are 
 my old friend and my deliverer. What 
 can I do to show my gratitude ? Of 
 worldly goods I have but few ; it is 
 long since I have received any salary 
 from my government, and the little 
 money I have here will barely suffice 
 to take me to my own country. Be- 
 sides, I know the English, they are
 
 XXVI ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 above such considerations, it would be 
 in vain to offer them a pecuniary re- 
 ward. But I have that by me which, 
 perhaps, may have some value in your 
 eyes I can assure you that it has 
 in mine. Ever since I have known 
 your nation, I have remarked their 
 inquisitiveness, and eagerness after 
 knowledge. Whenever I have tra- 
 velled with them, I observed they re- 
 cord their observations in books ; and 
 when they return home, thus make 
 their fellow-countrymen acquainted 
 with the most distant regions of the 
 globe. Will you believe me, that I, 
 Persian as I am, have followed their 
 example hence during the period of
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 my residence at Constantinople I 
 have passed my time in writing a de- 
 tailed history of my life, which, al- 
 though that of a very obscure and 
 ordinary individual, is still so full of 
 vicissitude and adventure, that I think 
 it would not fail to create an interest 
 if published in Europe ? I offer it to 
 you ; and in so doing, I assure you 
 that I wish to show you the confidence 
 I place in your generosity, for I never 
 would have offered it to any one else. 
 Will you accept it ?' 
 
 I leave the reader to conceive my 
 happiness upon hearing this upon at 
 length getting into my possession pre-
 
 ... 
 
 XXV111 ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 cisely the sort of work which may be 
 well esteemed a desideratum in the 
 history of mankind, and which pro- 
 mised to give not only a detailed 
 picture of Oriental manners, but even 
 contrasted portraits of two very di- 
 stinct races, into which a great part of 
 the eastern world may be divided ; 
 distinct in religion, manners, and na- 
 tural character, however resembling 
 one another in a sort of general 
 family-likeness. 
 
 My eyes, I am sure, glistened with 
 pleasure when I expressed my sense 
 of the Mirza's liberality ; and as fast 
 as I refused his offer, (for I thought it
 
 SECOND EDITION. XXIX 
 
 but generous to do so upon the terms 
 he proposed) the more he pressed it 
 upon me. 
 
 As a farther inducement, he said, 
 that he was going back to his country, 
 uncertain if he enjoyed the favour of 
 the Shah ; and as he had freely ex- 
 pressed his sentiments, which included 
 his observations upon England, he was 
 afraid, should he be in disgrace, and 
 his work be found upon him, that it 
 might lead to his destruction. 
 
 Unable to withstand these entrea- 
 ties, I acceded to his request, and 
 became the possessor of the manuscript
 
 XXX ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 which forms the subject of the fol- 
 lowing work. I have done my best 
 endeavour to adapt it to the taste of 
 European readers, stripping it of the 
 numerous repetitions, and the tone of 
 exaggeration and hyperbole which 
 pervade the compositions of the 
 Orientals ; but still no doubt not only 
 much of that deviation from truth and 
 perversion of chronology which cha- 
 racterise them will be detected, but a 
 sort of * peregrinity of idiom,' of which, 
 I fear, I have not been able totally 
 to divest it. However, of the matter 
 contained in the book, this I must say, 
 that having lived in the country my- 
 self during the time to which it refers,
 
 SECOND EDITION. XXXI 
 
 I find that most of the incidents are 
 grounded upon fact, which, although 
 not adhered to with that scrupulous 
 regard to truth which we might ex- 
 pect from a European writer, are yet 
 sufficient to give an insight into man- 
 ners. Many of them will no doubt 
 appear improbable to those who have 
 never visited the stage upon which 
 they were acted ; and it is natural it 
 should be so, because, from the nature 
 of circumstances, such events could 
 only occur in Eastern countries. 
 
 A distinct line must ever be drawn 
 between ' the nations who wear the hat 
 and those who wear the beard;' and
 
 XXX11 ADVERTISEMENT TO THE 
 
 they must ever hold each other's 
 stories as improbable, until a more 
 general intercourse of common life 
 takes place between them. What 
 is moral and virtuous with the one, 
 is wickedness with the other, that 
 which the Christian reviles as abo- 
 minable, is by the Mohamedan held 
 sacred. Although the contrast be- 
 tween their respective manners may 
 be very amusing, still it is most certain 
 that the Christian will ever feel de- 
 voutly grateful that he is neither sub- 
 ject to Mohamedan rule, nor educated 
 in Mohamedan principles ; whilst the 
 latter, in his turn, looking upon the 
 rest of mankind as unclean infidels,
 
 SECOND EDITION. XXXI11 
 
 will continue to hold fast to his per- 
 suasion, until some powerful inter- 
 position of Providence shall dispel 
 the moral and intellectual darkness 
 which, at present, overhangs so large 
 a portion of the Asiatic world. 
 
 Fearing to increase the size of the 
 work, I have refrained adding the 
 numerous notes which my long re- 
 sidence in Persia would have enabled 
 me to do, and have only occasionally 
 made explanations necessary to un- 
 derstand the narrative. In the same 
 fear, I have not ventured to take 
 Hajji out of his own country. His 
 remarks upon England during his re- 
 
 VOL. i. c
 
 XXXW ADVERTISEMENT, &C. 
 
 sidence there, and during his travels, 
 may perhaps be thought worthy of 
 future notice ; and should they be 
 called for, I will do my best endea- 
 vour to interpret his feelings as closely 
 as possible. 
 
 P.P.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Of Hajji Baba's birth and education - Page 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Hajji Baba commences his travels His encounter 
 with the Turcomans, and his captivity - S 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Into what hands Hajji Baba falls, and the fortune 
 which his razors proved to him 22 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of his ingenuity in rescuing his master's money 
 from the Turcoman, and of his determination to 
 keep it - - - - 30
 
 XXXVI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Hajji Baba becomes a robber in his own defence, 
 and invades his native city - - Page 39 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Concerning the three prisoners taken by the Tur- 
 comans, and of the booty made in the caravan- 
 serai - - - 56 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Hajji Baba evinces a feeling disposition History 
 of the poet Asker - 66 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Hajji Baba escapes from the Turcomans. The 
 meaning of ' falling from the frying-pan into the 
 fire ' illustrated - - 77 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Hajji Baba, in his distress, becomes a saka, or 
 water-carrier - - - 91 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 He makes a soliloquy, and becomes an itinerant 
 vender of smoke - 100
 
 CONTENTS. XXXV11 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 History of Dervish Sefer, and of the two other 
 dervishes - Page 108 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Hajji Baba finds that fraud does not remain un- 
 punished, even in this world He makes fresh 
 plans - - 136 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Hajji Baba leaves Meshed, is cured of his sprain, 
 and relates a story - - 1 45 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Of the man he meets, and of the consequences of 
 the encounter - - 158 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Hajji Baba reaches Tehran, and goes to the poet's 
 house .... leg 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 He makes plans for the future, and is involved in 
 a quarrel .... 174
 
 XXXV111 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 He puts on new clothes, goes to the bath, and 
 appears in a new character - Page 182 
 
 , CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The poet returns from captivity. The conse- 
 quences of it for Haj ji Baba - - 190 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Haj ji Baba gets into the service of the king's phy- 
 sician. Of the manner he was first employed by 
 him - - - - 199 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 He succeeds in deceiving two of the faculty, getting 
 a pill from one, and a piece of gold from the 
 other - - 210 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 He describes the manner in which the Shah of 
 Persia takes medicine - - - 221 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Haj ji Baba asks the doctor for a salary, and of the 
 success of his demand - v - - 232
 
 CONTENTS. XXXIX 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 He becomes dissatisfied with his situation, is idle, 
 and falls in love - - Page 239 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 He has an interview with the fair Zeenab, who 
 relates how she passes her time in the doctor's 
 harem - - - 247 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The lovers meet again, and are very happy. Hajji 
 Baba sings - 260 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 The history of Zeenab, the Curdish slave 272
 
 THE 
 
 ADVENTURES 
 
 OF 
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Of Hajji Baba's birth and education. 
 
 MY father, Kerbelai Hassan, was one of 
 the most celebrated barbers of Ispahan. 
 He was married, when only seventeen years 
 of age, to the daughter of a chandler, who 
 lived in the neighbourhood of his shop; 
 but the connexion was not fortunate, for his 
 wife brought him no offspring, and he, in 
 consequence, neglected her. His dexterity 
 in the use of the razor had gained for him, 
 together with no little renown, such great 
 custom, particularly among the merchants, 
 that after twenty years' industry, he found 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 he could afford to add a second wife to his 
 harem; and succeeded in obtaining the 
 daughter of a rich money-changer, whose 
 head he had shaved, during that period, 
 with so much success, that he made no 
 difficulty in granting his daughter to my 
 father. In order to get rid, for a while, of 
 the importunities and jealousy of his first 
 wife, and also to acquire the good opinion 
 of his father-in-law (who, although noted 
 for clipping money, and passing it for law- 
 ful, affected to be a saint), he undertook a 
 pilgrimage to the tomb of Hosein, at Ker- 
 belah. He took his new wife with him, 
 and she was delivered of me on the road. 
 Before the journey took place he was ge- 
 nerally known, simply as ' Hassan the 
 barber ;' but ever after he was honoured by 
 the epithet of Kerbelai; and I, to please 
 my mother, who spoilt me, was called Hajji 
 or the pilgrim, a name which has stuck to 
 me through life, and procured for me a 
 great deal of unmerited respect; because, 
 in fact, that honoured title is seldom con-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 3 
 
 ferred on any but those who have made the 
 great pilgrimage to the tomb of the blessed 
 Prophet of Mecca. 
 
 My father having left his business during 
 his absence to his chief apprentice, resumed 
 it with increased industry on his return ; 
 and the reputation of a zealous Mussulman, 
 which he had acquired by his journey, at- 
 tracted the clergy, as well as the merchants, 
 to his shop. It being intended that I should 
 be brought up to the strap, I should per- 
 haps have received no more educa-tion than 
 was necessary to teach me my prayers, had 
 I not been noticed by a mollah, or priest, 
 who kept a school in an adjoining mosque, 
 whom my father (to keep up the character 
 he had acquired of being a good man) used 
 to shave once a week, as he was wont to ex- 
 plain, purely for the love of God. The 
 holy man repaid the service by teaching me 
 to read and write ; and I made such pro- 
 gress under his care, that in two years I 
 could decypher the Koran, and began to 
 write a legible hand. When not in school
 
 4 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 I attended the shop, where I learnt the ru- 
 diments of my profession, and when there 
 was a press of customers, was permitted to 
 practise upon the heads of muleteers and 
 camel-drivers, who indeed sometimes paid 
 dear for my first essays. 
 
 By the time I was sixteen it would be 
 difficult to say whether I was most accom- 
 plished as a barber or a scholar. Besides 
 shaving the head, cleaning the ears, and 
 'trimming the beard, I became famous for 
 my skill in the offices of the bath. No one 
 understood better than I the different modes 
 of rubbing or shampooing, as practised in 
 India, Cashmere, and Turkey; and I had 
 an art peculiar to myself of making the 
 joints to crack, and my slaps echo. 
 
 Thanks to my master, I had learnt suf- 
 ficiently of our poets to enable me to enliven 
 conversation with occasional apt quotations 
 from Saadi, Hafiz, &c. ; this accomplish- 
 ment, added to a good voice, made me con- 
 sidered as an agreeable companion by all 
 those whose crowns or limbs were submitted
 
 HAJJI BAB A. O 
 
 to my operation. In short, it may, without 
 vanity, be asserted that Hajji Baba was 
 quite the fashion among the men of taste 
 and pleasure. 
 
 My father's shop being situated near the 
 Royal Caravanserai, the largest and most 
 frequented in the city, was the common 
 resort of the foreign, as well as of the re- 
 sident, merchants; they not unfrequently 
 gave him something over and above the 
 usual price, for the entertainment they found, 
 in the repartees of his hopeful son. One 
 of them, a Bagdad merchant, took great 
 fancy to me, and always insisted that I 
 should attend upon him, in preference even 
 to my more experienced father. He made 
 me converse with him in Turkish, of which 
 I had acquired a slight knowledge, and so 
 excited my curiosity by describing the beau- 
 ties of the different cities which he had 
 visited, that I soon felt a strong desire to 
 travel. He was then in want of some one 
 to keep his accounts, and as I associated the 
 two qualifications of barber and scribe, he
 
 O THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 made me such advantageous offers, to enter 
 into his service, that I agreed to follow him ; 
 and immediately mentioned my determina- 
 tion to my father. My father was very 
 loath to lose rne, and endeavoured to per- 
 suade me not to leave a certain profession 
 for one which was likely to be attended with 
 danger and vicissitudes ; but when he found 
 how advantageous were the merchant's of- 
 fers, and that it was not impossible that I 
 might become one myself in time, he gra- 
 dually ceased to dissuade me from going; 
 and at length gave me his blessing, accom- 
 panied by a new case of razors. 
 
 My mother's regret for the loss of my 
 society, and her fears for my safety, derived 
 no alleviation from the prospect of my ex- 
 pected future aggrandizement ; she augured 
 no good from a career begun in the service 
 of a Stini*; but still, as a mark of her ma- 
 
 * It is perhaps almost needless to remind the 
 reader, that the Mussulmans are divided into two 
 inimical sects; viz. Suni and Shiah; and that the 
 Turks are of the former, and the Persians of the
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 7 
 
 ternal affection, she gave me a bag of broken 
 biscuit, accompanied by a small tin case of 
 a precious unguent, which, she told me, 
 would cure all fractures, and internal com- 
 plaints. She further directed me to leave 
 the house with my face towards the door, 
 by way of propitiating a happy return from 
 a journey undertaken under such inauspi- 
 cious circumstances. 
 
 latter persuasion. The Sunies hold, that Omar, 
 Osman, and Abubekr, were the lawful successors 
 of Mohamed. The Shiahs assert that they were 
 usurpers, and that Ali, his son-in-law, was the 
 next in succession.
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Hajjl Baba commences his travels His encounter 
 with the Turcomans, and his captivity. 
 
 OSMAN AGA, my master, was now on a 
 journey to Meshed, the object of which 
 was to purchase the lambskins of Bokhara, 
 which he afterwards purposed to convey 
 to Constantinople for sale. Imagine a short 
 squat man, with a large head, prominent 
 spongy nose, and a thick, black beard, 
 and you will see my fellow traveller. He 
 was a good Mussulman, very strict in his 
 devotions, and never failed to pull off his 
 stockings, even in the coldest morning, to 
 wash his feet, in order that his ablutions 
 might be perfect; and, withal, he was a 
 great hater of the sect of Ali, a feeling he 
 strictly kept to himself, as long as he was 
 in Persia. His prevailing passion was love 
 of gain, and he never went to sleep with-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 9 
 
 out having ascertained that his money was 
 deposited in a place of safety. He was, 
 however, devoted to his own ease ; smoked 
 constantly, eat much, and secretly drank 
 wine, although he denounced eternal per- 
 dition to those who openly indulged in it. 
 
 The caravan was appointed to collect 
 in the spring, and we made preparations 
 for our departure. My master bought a 
 strong, ambling mule for his own riding; 
 whilst I was provided with a horse, which, 
 besides myself, bore the kalian * (for he 
 adopted the Persian style of smoking), the 
 fire-pan and leather bottle, the charcoal, 
 and also my own wardrobe. A black slave, 
 who cooked for us, spread the carpets, 
 loaded arid unloaded the beasts, bestrode 
 another mule, upon which were piled the 
 bedding, carpets, and kitchen utensils. A 
 third, carrying a pair of trunks, in which 
 was my master's wardrobe, and every other 
 necessary, completed our equipment. 
 
 * This is the Persian pipe, made upon the prin- 
 ciple of the Indian hookah. 

 
 10 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 The day before our departure, the pru- 
 dent Osman had taken the precaution to 
 sew into the cotton wadding of his heavy 
 turban fifty ducats, a circumstance known 
 only to him and me, and these were to serve 
 in case of accidents ; for the remainder of 
 his cash, with which he intended to make 
 his purchases, was sewn up in small white 
 leather bags, and deposited in the very 
 centre of the trunks. 
 
 The caravan being ready to depart con- 
 sisted of about five hundred mules and 
 horses, and two hundred camels, most of 
 which were laden with merchandize for the 
 north of Persia, and escorted by about one 
 hundred and fifty men, composed of mer- 
 chants, their servants, and the conductors 
 of the caravan. Besides these, a small body 
 of pilgrims bound to the tomb of Imam 
 Reza at Meshed joined the caravan, and 
 gave a character of sanctity to the proces- 
 sion of which its other members were happy 
 to take advantage, considering in what high 
 estimation persons bound upon so laudable
 
 HAJJI BABA. 11 
 
 a purpose as a pilgrimage are always sup- 
 |X)sed to be held. 
 
 Every man on these occasions is armed, 
 and my master, who always turned his head 
 away whenever a gun was fired, and be- 
 came pale at the sight of a drawn sword, 
 now appeared with a long carbine slung 
 obliquely across his back, and a crooked 
 sword by his side, whilst a pair of huge 
 pistols projected from his girdle ; the rest 
 of his surface was almost made up of 
 the apparatus of cartouch-boxes, powder- 
 flasks, ramrods, &c. I also was armed 
 cap-a-pie, only in addition to what my 
 master carried, I was honoured by wield- 
 ing a huge spear. The black slave had a 
 sword with only half a blade, and a gun 
 without a lock. 
 
 We started at break of day from the 
 northern suburb of Ispahan, led by the 
 chaoushes* of the pilgrimage, who an- 
 
 * Officers whose duties are to find quarters for 
 the pilgrims, establish the prices of provisions, make 
 arrangements for their supply, regulate the hours
 
 12 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 nounced our departure by loud cries and 
 the beating of their copper drums. We 
 soon got acquainted with our fellow-travel- 
 lers, who were all armed ; but who, notwith- 
 standing their martial equipment, appeared 
 to be very peaceably disposed persons. I 
 was delighted with the novelty of the scene, 
 and could not help galloping and curvetting 
 my horse to the annoyance of my master, 
 who, in a somewhat crabbed tone, bid me 
 keep in mind that the beast would not last 
 the journey if I wore it out by unseason- 
 able feats of horsemanship. I soon became 
 a favorite with all the company, many of 
 whom I shaved after the day's march was 
 over. As for my master, it is not too much 
 to say that I was a great source of comfort 
 to him, for after the fatigue of sitting his 
 mule was at an end, I practised many of the 
 arts which I had acquired at the bath to do 
 away the stiffness of his limbs, by kneading 
 
 of march, settle disputes, and announce the time of 
 prayer, &c.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 13 
 
 his body all over, and rubbing him with my 
 ha'nds. 
 
 We proceeded without impediment to 
 Tehran, where we sojourned ten days to 
 rest our mules, and to increase our num- 
 bers. The dangerous part of the journey 
 was to come, as a tribe of Turcomans, who 
 were at war with the king of Persia, were 
 known to infest the road, and had lately 
 attacked and plundered a caravan, whilst 
 at the same time they had carried those 
 who composed it into captivity. Such were 
 the horrors related of the Turcomans, that 
 many of our party, and my master in parti- 
 cular, were fearful of proceeding to Meshed ; 
 but the account he received of the enormous 
 price of lamb-skins at Constantinople was 
 so alluring, that, in spite of every thing, he 
 resolved not to be frightened out of his pro- 
 spect of gain. 
 
 A chaoush had long been collecting pil- 
 grims at Tehran and its vicinity, in the ex- 
 pectation of the arrival of our caravan, and 
 as soon as we made our appearance, he in-
 
 14 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 formed us, that he was ready to join us 
 with a numerous band, a reinforcement 
 which he assured us we ought to receive 
 with gratitude, considering the dangers 
 which we were about to encounter. He was 
 a character well known on the road between 
 Tehran and Meshed, and enjoyed a great 
 reputation for courage, which he had ac- 
 quired for having cut off a Turcoman's 
 head whom he had once found dead on the 
 road. His appearance was most formidable, 
 being in person tall and broad-shouldered, 
 with a swarthy sunburnt face, ornamented 
 by a few stiff hairs by way of beard at the 
 end of a bony chin. Clad in a breastplate 
 of iron, a helmet with a chain cape flapping 
 over his shoulders, a curved sword by his 
 side, pistols in his girdle, a shield slung be- 
 hind his back, and a long spear in his hand, 
 he seemed to bid defiance to danger. He 
 made such boast of his prowess, and talked 
 of the Turcomans with such contempt, that 
 my master determined to proceed under 
 his immediate escort. The caravan was
 
 HAJJI BABA. 15 
 
 ready to depart a week after the festival of 
 the New Year's day, and after having per- 
 formed our devotions at the great mosque 
 of the congregation on the Friday, we went 
 to the village of Shahabdul Azim, whence 
 the whole body was to proceed the next 
 day on its journey. 
 
 We advanced by slow marches over a 
 parched and dreary country, that afforded 
 little to relieve the eye or cheer the heart. 
 Whenever we approached a village, or 
 met travellers on the road, invocations of 
 Allah and of the Prophet were made by 
 our conductors, in loud and shrill tones, 
 accompanied by repeated blows with a 
 leather thong on the drums suspended to 
 their saddle-bow. Our conversation chiefly 
 turned upon the Turcomans, and although 
 we were all agreed that they were a de- 
 sperate enemy, yet we managed to con- 
 sole ourselves by the hope that nothing- 
 could withstand our numbers and appear- 
 ance, and by repeatedly exclaiming, " In 
 the name of God, whose dogs are they,
 
 16 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 that they should think of attacking us?" 
 Every one vaunted his own courage. My 
 master above the rest, with his teeth actually 
 chattering from apprehension, boasted of 
 what he would do, in case we were at- 
 tacked; and, to hear his language, one 
 would suppose that he had done nothing 
 all his life but fight and slaughter Turco- 
 mans. The chaoush, who overheard his 
 boastings, and who was jealous of being 
 considered the only man of courage of the 
 party, said aloud, * No one can speak of 
 the Turcomans until they have seen them 
 and none but an ' eater of lions' (at the 
 same time pulling up his mustaches to- 
 wards his ears) ever came unhurt out of 
 their clutches. Saadi speaks truth when 
 he sayeth, ' A young man, though he hath 
 strength of arm, and the force of an ele- 
 phant, will kick his heel ropes to pieces with 
 fear in the day of battle.' ' 
 
 But Osman Aga's principal hope of se- 
 curity, and of faring better than others in 
 case we were attacked, was in the circum-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 17 
 
 stance of his being a follower of Omar*; 
 and, by way of proclaiming it, he wound a 
 piece of green muslin round his cap, and 
 gave himself out as an emir, or a descend- 
 ant of the Prophet, to whom, as the reader 
 may guess, he* was no more allied than to the 
 mule upon which he rode. 
 
 We had proceeded in this manner for se- 
 veral days, when the chaoush informed us, 
 in a solemn and important manner, that we 
 were now approaching to the places where 
 the Turcomans generally lie in wait for 
 caravans, and directed that we should all 
 march in a compact body, and invited us to 
 make preparations for a desperate resistance 
 in case we were attacked. The first im- 
 pulse of my master was to tie his gun, sword, 
 and pistols on one of his baggage-mules. 
 He then complained of an affection in the 
 bowels, and so abandoning all his former 
 
 * The Turcomans, as well as the Turks, their 
 descendants, are of the Suni persuasion: with them 
 green is a sacred colour; but it is not so among the 
 ShicAf. 
 
 VOL, I. C
 
 18 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 intentions of engaging in combat, wrapped 
 himself up in the folds of his cloak, put on 
 a face of great misery, took to counting his 
 beads, ever and anon repeating the prayer 
 of Stafcrallah, or ' God forgive me,' and, 
 thus prepared, resigned himself to his de- 
 stiny. His greatest dependence for pro- 
 tection he seemed to have placed upon the 
 chaoush, who, among other reasons for as- 
 serting his indifference to danger, pointed to 
 the numerous talismans and spells that he 
 wore bound on his arms, and which, he 
 boldly maintained, would avert the arrow 
 of a Turcoman at any time. 
 
 This double-bladed sword of a man, and 
 one or two of the boldest of the caravan, 
 rode ahead, at some distance, as an advanced 
 guard, and every now and then, by way of 
 keeping up their courage, galloped their 
 horses, brandishing their lances, and thrust- 
 ing them forward into the air. 
 
 At length, what we so much apprehended 
 actually came to pass. We heard some 
 shots fired, and then our ears were struck
 
 HAJJI BABA. 19 
 
 by wild and barbarous shoutings. The 
 whole of us stopped in dismay, and men 
 and animals, as if by common instinct, like 
 a flock of small birds when they see a hawk 
 at a distance, huddled ourselves together 
 into one compact body. But when we in 
 reality perceived a body of Turcomans 
 coming down upon us, the scene instantly 
 changed. Some ran away ; others, and 
 among them my master, losing all their 
 energies, yielded to intense fear, and began 
 to exclaim, * Oh Allah ! Oh Imams ! 
 Oh Mohamed the prophet ; we are gone ! 
 we are dying! we are dead!' The mule- 
 teers unloosed their loads from their beasts, 
 and drove them away. A shower of arrows, 
 which the enemy discharged as they came 
 on, achieved their conquest, and we soon 
 became their prey. The chaoush, who had 
 outlived many a similar fray, fled in the very 
 first encounter, and we neither saw nor 
 heard any more of him. The invaders 
 soon fell to work upon the baggage, which 
 was now spread all over the plain.
 
 20 THE ADVENT1711ES OF 
 
 My master had rolled himself up between 
 two bales of goods to wait the event, but 
 was discovered by a Turcoman of great 
 size, and of a most ferocious aspect, who, 
 taking him at first for part of the baggage, 
 turned him over on his back, when, (as we 
 see a woodlouse do,) he opened out at full 
 length, and expressed all his fears by the 
 most abject entreaties. He tried to soften 
 the Turcoman by invoking Omar, and 
 cursing Ali; but nothing would do; the 
 barbarian was inexorable : he only left him 
 in possession of his turban, out of considera- 
 tion to its colour, but in other respects he 
 completely stript him, leaving him nothing 
 but his drawers and shirt, and clothing 
 himself with my master's comfortable cloak 
 and trowsers before his face. My clothes 
 being scarcely worth the taking, I was per- 
 mitted to enjoy them unmolested, and I re- 
 tained possession of my case of razors, to my 
 no small satisfaction. 
 
 The Turcomans having completed their 
 plunder, made a distribution of the pri-
 
 1IAJJI BABA. 21 
 
 soners. We were blind-folded, and placed 
 each of us behind a horseman, and after 
 having travelled for a whole day in this 
 manner, we rested at night in a lonely dell. 
 The next day we were permitted to see, and 
 found ourselves on roads known only to the 
 Turcomans. 
 
 Passing through wild and unfrequented 
 tracts of mountainous country, we at length 
 discovered a large plain, which was so ex- 
 tensive that it seemed the limits of the 
 world, and was covered with the black tents 
 and the numerous flocks and herds of our 
 enemies.
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Into what hands Hajji Baba falls, and the fortune 
 which his razors proved to him. 
 
 THE distribution of their prisoners which 
 had been made by the Turcomans, turned 
 out so far fortunate, that Osman Aga and I 
 fell into the hands of one master, the savage 
 robber whom I have before mentioned. He 
 was called Asian Sultan** or the Lion Chief, 
 and proved to be the captain of a consider- 
 able encampment, which we reached almost 
 immediately after descending from the 
 mountains into the plain. His tents were 
 situated on the borders of a deep ravine, at 
 
 * The word Sultan, which in Europe is generally 
 used to designate the sovereign of Turkey, among 
 the Tartars, Turcomans, &c. means captain or chief, 
 and is given frequently to subalterns, as well as to 
 those of higher rank.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 28 
 
 the bottom of which flowed a stream that 
 took its rise in a chain of neighbouring 
 hills; and green pastures, teeming with 
 cattle, were spread around as far as the 
 eye could reach. Our other fellow-sufferers 
 were carried into a more distant part of the 
 country, and distributed among the different 
 tribes of Turcomans who inhabit this re- 
 gion. 
 
 At our appearance the whole encampment 
 turned out to look at us, and whilst our 
 conqueror was greeted with loud welcome?, 
 we were barked at and nearly devoured by 
 a pack of large sheep dogs, who had soon 
 selected us out as strangers. My master's 
 green shawl had hitherto procured him some 
 degree of respect ; but the chief wife, or the 
 Banou *, as she was called, was seized, at 
 first sight, with a strong desire to possess 
 
 * Banou implies a female head or chief; thus in 
 the Arabian Nights, Paribanou, or more properly 
 Peribanou, means the chief of the fairies. The king 
 of Persia's principal wife is styled Banou Harem, 
 chief of the harem.
 
 24 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 it ; so he was left with no other covering to 
 his head than his padded caoul; or tiara, 
 which contained his money. That too was 
 longed for by another wife, who said that it 
 would just do to stuff the pack-saddle which 
 had galled her camel's back, and it was 
 taken from his head and thrown, among 
 other lumber, into a corner of the tent. He 
 did all he could to keep possession of this 
 last remnant of his fortune, but to no pur- 
 pose ; in lieu of it he received an old sheep- 
 skin cap, which had belonged to some un- 
 fortunate man, who, like us, had been a 
 prisoner, and who had lately died of grief 
 and wretchedness. 
 
 My master having been installed in the 
 possession of the dead man's cap, was soon 
 appointed to fill his situation, which was 
 that of tending the camels, when they were 
 sent to feed upon the mountains, and, as 
 he was fat and unwieldy, there was no ap- 
 prehension of his running away. As for 
 me, I was not permitted to leave the tents, 
 but was, for the present, employed in
 
 HAJJI BABA. 25 
 
 shaking the leather bags which contained 
 the curds from which butter was made. 
 
 In order to celebrate the success of the 
 expedition, an entertainment was given by 
 the chief to the whole encampment. A 
 large caldron, filled with rice, was boiled, 
 and two sheep were roasted whole. The 
 men, consisting of our chief's relations, who 
 came from the surrounding tents, and 
 most of whom had been at the attack of 
 our caravan, were assembled in one tent, 
 whilst the women were collected in another. 
 After the rice and the sheep had been 
 served up to the men, they were carried to 
 the women, and when they had done, the 
 shepherds 1 boys were served, and, after 
 they had devoured their utmost, the bones 
 and scrapings of dishes were given to us 
 and the dogs. But, when I was waiting 
 with great anxiety for our morsel, having 
 scarcely tasted food since we were taken, I 
 was secretly beckoned to by one of the wo- 
 men, who made me screen myself behind 
 a tent, and setting down a dish of rice, with
 
 26 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 a bit of the sheep's tail in it, which was 
 sent, she said, by the chieFs wife, who pitied 
 my misfortune, and bade me be of good 
 courage, hurried away without waiting for 
 my acknowledgments. 
 
 The day was passed by the men in 
 smoking, and relating their adventures, and 
 by the women in singing and beating the 
 tambourine, whilst my poor master and I 
 were left to ponder over our forlorn situa- 
 tion. The mark of favour which I had 
 just received had set my imagination to 
 work, and led me to consider my condition 
 as not entirely desperate. But in vain I 
 endeavoured to cheer up the spirits of my 
 companion ; he did not cease to bewail his 
 hard fate. I brought to his mind that con- 
 stant refuge of every true Mussulman in 
 grief, 'Allah Jcerim! God is merciful!' 
 His answer was, ' Allah kerim, Allah kerim , 
 is all very well for you Avho had nothing to 
 lose ; but in the mean time I am ruined for 
 ever. 1 His greatest concern seemed to be, 
 the having failed to secure the profits which
 
 HAJJI BABA. 27 
 
 he had expected to make on his lamb-skins, 
 and he passed all his time in calculating, 
 to the utmost farthing, what had been his 
 losses on this occasion. However, we were 
 soon to be parted. He was sent off the 
 next day to the mountains, in charge of a 
 string of fifty camels, with terrible threats 
 from the chief that his nose and ears should 
 pay for the loss of any one of them, and 
 that if one died, its price should be added 
 to the ransom money which he hereafter 
 expected to receive for him. As the last 
 testimony of my affection for him, I made 
 him sit down on a camel's pack-saddle, and, 
 with some water from a neighbouring spring, 
 and a piece of soap, which, together with 
 my razors, I had saved from the wreck of 
 our fortunes, shaved him in the face of the 
 whole camp. I very soon found that this 
 exhibition of my abilities and profession 
 might be productive of the greatest ad- 
 vantage to my future prospects. Every 
 fellow who had a head to scratch imme- 
 diately found out that he wanted shaving,
 
 28 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 and my reputation soon reached the ears 
 of the chief, who called me to him, and 
 ordered me to operate upon him without 
 loss of time. I soon went to work upon a 
 large head that exhibited the marks of many 
 a sword cut, and which presented as rough 
 a surface as that of the sheep dogs afore- 
 mentioned. He who had been accustomed 
 to have his hair clipped, perhaps, with the 
 same instrument that sheared his sheep, and 
 who knew of no greater luxury than that of 
 being mutilated by some country barber, 
 felt himself in paradise under my hand. 
 He freely expressed his satisfaction and his 
 approbation of my services, said, on feel- 
 ing his head that I had shaved him two 
 days' march under the skin, swore that he 
 never would accept of any ransom for me, 
 be it what it might, and that I should, 
 henceforth, be entitled to the appointment 
 of his own body barber. I leave the gentle 
 reader to guess what were my feelings upon 
 this occasion. Whilst I stooped down and 
 kissed the knee of this my new master, with
 
 HAJJI BABA. 29 
 
 every appearance of gratitude and respect, 
 I determined to make use of the liberty 
 which the confidence reposed in me might 
 afford, by running away on the very first 
 favourable opportunity. From being so 
 often near the person of the chief, I soon 
 began to acquire great ascendancy over him ; 
 and although I was still watched with care, 
 yet I could already devise plans, which ap- 
 peared to me to be practicable, for escaping 
 from this hateful servitude into which I 
 was thrown, and I felt in a less degree than 
 another would have done the drudgery and 
 wretchedness of my situation.
 
 30 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of his ingenuity in rescuing his master's money from 
 the Turcoman, and of his determination to keep it. 
 
 ONE of the first objects which I had in 
 view for the furtherance of my plan of 
 escape was to obtain possession of the 
 money which was sewed in the padding of 
 my former master's turban. But it had 
 been thrown into a corner of the women's 
 tent, to which I had no access, and it re- 
 quired much ingenuity to get at it without 
 creating suspicion. I had established my 
 reputation as a barber throughout ours and 
 the neighbouring encampments, and had 
 become a favourite of the men ; but al- 
 though I had reason to believe that the 
 Banou of my master would fain become 
 more intimately acquainted with me than 
 she hitherto had been, yet as neither she 
 nor any of the other women could employ
 
 HAJJI BABA. 31 
 
 me in my profession as a shaver, our inter- 
 course hitherto had been confined to tender 
 glances, occasional acts of kindness on her 
 part, and of corresponding marks of thank- 
 fulness and acknowledgment on mine. But 
 as they knew enough of civilized life to be 
 aware that in Persia barbers were also 
 surgeons that besides shaving and rubbing 
 in the bath, they could bleed, draw teeth, 
 and set a broken limb; the Banou soon 
 discovered that she wanted to be bled, and 
 sent a deputation to ask me if I could per- 
 form that service for her. Looking upon 
 this as a favourable opportunity to learn 
 some tidings of the object of my solicitude, 
 or perhaps to gain possession of it, I imme- 
 diately answered that provided I was fur- 
 nished with a pen-knife, I hoped that I 
 could bleed as dexterously as the best of 
 my profession. The instrument was pro- 
 duced, and one of the elders of the tribe, 
 who pretended to a smattering of astrology? 
 announced that a conjunction of the planets 
 favourable to such an operation would take
 
 32 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 place on the following morning. At that 
 auspicious moment, I was introduced into 
 the women's tent, where I found the Banou 
 seated on a carpet on the ground, waiting 
 for me with great impatience. She was not 
 a person to excite sensations of a tender 
 nature in a novice like me ; for, in the first 
 place, she was of an unwieldy size* (so dif- 
 ferent from the slim forms that we are 
 taught to prize in Persia) that I looked 
 upon her with disgust; and, in the next, I 
 lived in such terror of Asian Sultan, that 
 had I aspired to her favour, it must have 
 been in the constant dread of the loss of 
 my ears. However I was much noticed 
 by her, and received great attentions from 
 her companions, who, looking upon me as 
 a being of a superior order, all wanted to 
 
 * The Turks differ materially from the Persians 
 in their tastes for women, the one admiring cor- 
 pulency, whilst the latter show greater refinement, 
 and esteem those forms which are mostly prized in 
 Europe.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 33 
 
 have their pulses felt. Whilst making my 
 preparations for bleeding the Banou, I cast 
 my eyes about the tent, in the hopes of 
 seeing the prize, which I was anxious to 
 possess. It struck me that I might make 
 the very operation in which I was engaged 
 subservient to my views, and demanding to 
 feel the patienfs pulse once more, which I 
 did with a look of intense meditation, I ob- 
 served that this was a complicated disorder 
 that the blood must not be allowed to 
 flow upon the ground, but be collected in a 
 vessel, that I might examine it at leisure. 
 This strange proposal of mine raised an im- 
 mediate outcry amongst the women ; but 
 with the Banou a deviation from the usual 
 practice only served to confirm her opinion 
 of my superior skill. Here, however, a new 
 difficulty arose. The scanty stock of a Tur- 
 coman could ill afford to sacrifice any utensil 
 by applying it to a service which would de- 
 file it for ever. They were recapitulated 
 one by one, and all found too precious to be 
 thrown away. I was hesitating whether I 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 might venture to go straight to ray point, 
 when the Banou bethought herself of an old 
 leather drinking-cup, which she desired one 
 of the women to search for in a corner of 
 the tent. ' This will never do : you can see 
 the light through it,' said I, holding it up 
 towards the tent-door, and pointing to the 
 seams with the penknife, which I held in 
 my hand, and with which I cut, at the same 
 time, half a dozen of the stitches. s Where 
 is the cap of that old Emir ?' cried out the 
 Banou. * It is mine,' said the second wife ; 
 ' I want it to stuff my saddle with.' 
 ' Yours !' returned the other in a fury. 
 * There is but one God ! Am not I the Ba- 
 nou of this harem ? I will have it." 1 ' You 
 shall not,' retorted the other. Upon this 
 an uproar ensued which became so loud and 
 threatening, that I feared it would come to 
 the ears of Asian Sultan, who very probably 
 would have settled the dispute by taking at 
 once the bone of contention from the con- 
 tending parties. But luckily the astrologer 
 interfered, and when he had assured the
 
 IIAJJI BABA. 35 
 
 second wife that the blood of the Banou 
 would be upon her head, if any thing un- 
 fortunate happened on this occasion, she 
 consented to give up her pretensions. I 
 accordingly prepared to bleed my patient ; 
 but when she saw the penknife, the cap 
 underneath to receive her blood, and the 
 anxious faces of those about her, she became 
 frightened, and refused to permit me to 
 proceed. Fearing after all that I should 
 lose my prize, I put on a very sagacious 
 look, felt her pulse, and said that her re- 
 fusal was unavailing, for that it was her 
 fate to be bled, and that she and every one 
 knew nothing could avert an event which 
 had been decreed since the beginning of the 
 world. To this there was no reply ; and all 
 agreeing that she would commit a great sin 
 were she to oppose herself to the decrees of 
 Providence, she put out her bare arm, and 
 received the stab from my penknife with 
 apparent fortitude. The blood was caught, 
 and, when the operation was over, I ordered 
 that it should be conveyed to a little distance
 
 36 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 from the camp, and that none but myself 
 should be permitted to approach it, as much 
 of the good or evil that might accrue to the 
 patient from bleeding depended upon what 
 happened to the blood after it had flown 
 from the body. I waited until night, when 
 every body was asleep, and then with great 
 anxiety ripped up the lining, where to my 
 joy I found the fifty ducats, which I imme- 
 diately concealed in an adjacent spot, and 
 then dug a hole for the cap, which I also 
 concealed. In the morning I informed the 
 Banou, that having seen some wolves prowl- 
 ing about the tents, I feared that something 
 unlucky might happen to her blood, and 
 that I had buried it, caouk and all. This 
 appeared to satisfy her ; and by way of re- 
 compense for the service I had rendered, 
 she sent me a dish made with her own 
 hands, consisting of a lamb roasted whole, 
 stuffed with rice and raisins, accompanied by 
 a bowl of sour milk with salt in it. 
 
 I must confess that when I became pos- 
 sessed of the fifty ducats, a recollection of
 
 HAJJI BABA. 37 
 
 my poor former master, who was leading a 
 melancholy life in the mountains with the 
 camels, whilst I was living in comparative 
 luxury, came across my mind, and I half 
 resolved to restore them to him ; but by little 
 and little I began to argue differently with 
 myself. * Had it not been for my inge- 
 nuity,' said I, ' the money was lost for ever ; 
 who therefore has a better claim to it than 
 myself? If he was to get possession of it 
 again, it could be of no use to him in his new 
 profession, and it is a hundred to one but 
 what it would be taken from him, therefore 
 I had best keep it for the present : besides, 
 it was his fate to lose, and mine to recover 
 it This settled every difficulty, and I looked 
 upon myself as the legitimate possessor of 
 fifty ducats, which I conceived no law could 
 take from me. Mean while I made an at- 
 tempt to convey to him half of the roasted 
 lamb which I had just received, through 
 the means of a shepherd's boy who was 
 going into the mountains, and who promised 
 not to eat any of it by the wayside. Al-
 
 38 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 though I doubted his word, yet,' after my 
 deliberation about the ducats, my conscience 
 wanted some quietus : ' I cannot do less, 
 said I, ' than make my fellow-sufferer in ad- 
 versity a partaker of my prosperity.' But 
 alas ! the boy had scarcely crossed the deep 
 ravine that bordered the encampment ere I 
 could perceive him carrying the meat to his 
 mouth, and I made no doubt that every 
 bone was picked clean before he was out of 
 my sight. It would have been a useless 
 undertaking to have pursued him, consider- 
 ing the distance that already separated us, 
 so I contented myself by discharging a stone 
 and a malediction at his head, neither of 
 which reached their destination.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 39 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Hajji Baba becomes a robber in his own defence, and 
 invades his native city. 
 
 I HAD now been above a year in the 
 hands of the Turcomans, during which 1 
 had acquired the entire confidence of my 
 master. He consulted me upon all his own 
 affairs, as well as those of his community, 
 and as he considered that I might now be 
 depended upon, he determined to permit 
 me to accompany him in a predatory ex- 
 cursion into Persia, a permission, which, 
 in hopes of a good opportunity to escape, I 
 had frequently entreated of him to grant. 
 Hitherto I had never been allowed to stray 
 beyond the encampment and its surround- 
 ing pastures, and as I was totally ignorant 
 of the roads through the great salt desert 
 which separated us from Persia, I knew
 
 40 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 that it would be in vain for me to attempt 
 flight, as many before me had done, and 
 had invariably perished or returned to their 
 masters, who treated them with more rigour 
 than before. I therefore rejoiced that I 
 now had an opportunity of observing the 
 country we were about to cross, and deter- 
 mined with myself that if I could not get 
 away during this expedition, nothing should 
 hinder my attempting it on our return. 
 The Turcomans generally make their prin- 
 cipal excursions in the spring, when they 
 find pasturage for their horses in the high 
 lands, and fresh corn in the plains, and be- 
 cause they then are almost certain of meet- 
 ing caravans to plunder on their march. 
 This season being now near at hand, Asian 
 called together the chiefs of his tribe, the 
 heads of tens and the heads of hundreds, 
 and all those who were skilled in plunder, 
 and proposed a plan to them of an in- 
 cursion into the very heart of Persia. Their 
 object was to reach Ispahan itself, to enter 
 the city in the night, when all was quiet,
 
 HAJJI BABA. 41 
 
 and to sack the caravanserai, to which the 
 richest merchants were known to resort. 
 Our guide through the great salt desert 
 was to be my master in person, whose ex- 
 perience and local knowledge were greater 
 than that of any of his cotemporaries ; and 
 he proposed to the council that as no one 
 amongst them, except myself, knew the 
 streets and bazars of Ispahan, I should lead 
 the way, when once we had entered the 
 city. This was opposed by several, who 
 said that it was imprudent to trust a stranger 
 and a native of the very place they intended 
 to attack, who would be likely to run off the 
 moment he could do so with safety. At 
 length, after much discussion, it was agreed 
 that I should be their guide in Ispahan; 
 that two men should ride close on each side of 
 me, and in case I showed the least symptom 
 of treachery in my movements, kill me on 
 the spot. This being settled, the Turco- 
 mans put their horses in training, and one 
 was appointed for my use, which had the 
 reputation of having twice borne away the
 
 42 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 flag at their races. I was equipped as a 
 Turcoman, with a large sheep-skin cap on 
 my head, a sheep-skin coat, a sword, a bow 
 and arrows, and a heavy spear, the head of 
 which was taken off or put on as the occa- 
 sion might require. I had a bag of corn 
 tied behind on my horse, besides ropes to 
 tether him with when we made a halt, 
 and for my own food, I carried several flaps 
 of bread*, and half a dozen of hard eggs, 
 trusting to the chapter of accidents, and to 
 my own endurance of hunger, for further 
 sustenance. I had already made a very 
 tolerable apprenticeship to a hard life since 
 I had first been taken, by sleeping on the 
 ground, with the first thing that I could 
 seize for a pillow, and thus I looked upon 
 the want of a bed as no privation. My com- 
 panions were equally hardy, and in point of 
 bodily fatigue, perhaps, we were a match 
 for any nation in the world. 
 
 * The bread here alluded to is haked on small 
 and convex iron plates, and when prepared is about 
 the thickness of brown paper.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 43 
 
 I took previous care to unbury the fifty 
 ducats, which I tied very carefully in my 
 girdle, and I promised my former master, 
 who from fretting had worn himself down 
 to a skeleton, that if ever I had an oppor- 
 tunity, I would do all in my power to make 
 his friends ransom him. 'Ah,' said he, ' no 
 one will ever ransom me. As for my son, 
 he will be happy to get my property ; and 
 as for my wife, she will be happy to get 
 another husband : so no hope is left. 
 There is only one favour I beg of you, 
 which is, to inquire what is the price of 
 lamb-skins at Constantinople.' 
 
 Here I had another struggle with my 
 conscience on the subject of the ducats. 
 Should I restore them ? Would it not be 
 more advantageous, even to my master, 
 that I should keep them ? My ability to 
 take advantage of this opportunity to escape 
 might depend upon my having a little money 
 in my purse and what chance had he of 
 being relieved but through my interference?
 
 44 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 All things considered, I let them remain in 
 my girdle. 
 
 The astrologer having fixed upon a lucky 
 hour for our departure, we mounted at 
 night-fall. Our party consisted of Asian 
 Sultan, who was appointed chief of the 
 expedition, and of twenty men, myself in- 
 cluded. Our companions were composed 
 of the principal men of the different en- 
 campments in our neighbourhood, and were 
 all, more or less, accomplished cavaliers. 
 They were mounted upon excellent horses, 
 the speed and bottom of which are so justly 
 celebrated throughout, Asia; and as we 
 rode along in the moonlight, completely 
 armed, I was persuaded that we looked as 
 desperate a gang of ruffians as ever took the 
 field. For my part, I felt that nature had 
 never intended me for a warrior, and al- 
 though I thought that I could keep up ap- 
 pearances as well as most men in my pre- 
 dicament, and indeed I believe did act my 
 part so perfectly, as to make both my master
 
 HAJJI BABA. 45 
 
 and his companions believe that they had 
 got a very Rustam* in me, yet I dreaded 
 the time when I should be put to the trial. 
 I was surprised to observe the dexterity 
 with which our chief led us through the 
 thick forests, that clothe the mountains 
 which border the plains of Kipchak. The 
 dangers of the precipices and the steep 
 ascents were something quite appalling to a 
 young traveller like me; but my companions 
 rode over every thing with the greatest un- 
 concern, confident m the sure-footedness 
 of their horses. Having once ascended the 
 mountains, we entered upon the arid plains 
 of Persia, and here my master's knowledge 
 of the country was again conspicuous. He 
 knew every summit the moment it appeared, 
 with the same certainty as an experienced 
 Frank sailor recognizes a distant headland 
 
 * Rustam is the fabulous hero of Persian history, 
 so much celebrated in the Shahnameh as a para- 
 gon of strength and courage. His duel with As- 
 fendiar, which lasted two whole days, is the theme 
 of Persian romance.
 
 46 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 at sea. But he showed his sagacity most in 
 drawing his inferences from the tracks and 
 footsteps of animals. He could tell what 
 sort of travellers they belonged to, whence 
 coming, whither going, whether enemy or 
 friend, whether laden or unladen, and what 
 their probable numbers, with the greatest 
 precision. 
 
 We travelled with much precaution as 
 long as we were in the inhabited parts of 
 the country, lying by during the day, and 
 making all expedition at night. Our stock 
 of provender and provisions was renewed at 
 the last encampment of the wandering tribes 
 which we visited before we reached the great 
 salt desert, and when we entered it, we 
 urged our horses on with as much haste as 
 we knew their strength was likely to sup- 
 port. At length, after travelling about 120 
 parasangs*, we found ourselves in the en- 
 virons of Ispahan. The moment for reap- 
 
 * A parasang is equivalent to about three and 
 a half geographical miles.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 47 
 
 ing the Fruit of our fatigue, and for trying 
 my courage, was now at hand, and my heart 
 quite misgave me when I heard of the plan 
 of attack which my companions proposed. 
 
 Their scheme was to enter the city 
 through one of the unguarded avenues, 
 which were well known to me, and at mid- 
 night to make straight for the Royal Cara- 
 vanserai, where we were sure to find a great 
 many merchants, who at this season of the 
 year collect there with ready money to make 
 their purchases. We were at once to carry 
 off all the cash we could find, then to seize 
 and gag each a merchant if we were able, 
 that before the city could be alarmed, we 
 might be on the road to our encampment 
 again. I found the plan so hazacdous, and 
 so little likely to succeed, that I gave it as 
 my opinion that we ought not to attempt it ; 
 but my master, putting on his most deter- 
 mined look, said to me, ' Hajji ! open your 
 eyes this is no child's play ! 1 swear by 
 the beard of the Prophet, that if you do not 
 behave well, I 'il burn your father. We
 
 48 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 have succeeded before, and why should we 
 not be as successful now ?' He then ordered 
 me to ride near him, and placed another 
 ruffian at my side, and both vowed, if I 
 flinched, that they would immediately run 
 me through the body. We then took the 
 lead, and, from my knowledge of Ispahan, 
 1 easily picked my way through the ruins 
 which surround it, and then entered into 
 the inhabited streets, which were at that 
 time of night entirely forsaken. When near 
 the scene of action, we stopped under the 
 arches of one of the ruined houses, which 
 are so frequently to be met with even in the 
 most inhabited parts of the city, and dis- 
 mounting from our horses, picqueted them to 
 the ground with pegs and heel ropes*, and 
 left them under the care of two of our men. 
 
 * A fully-equipped horseman in the east gene- 
 rally carries with him an iron peg, to which is af- 
 fixed a rope terminated by a noose, with which he 
 picquets hi& horse wherever he may alight. The 
 rope is buttoned to the fore leg, whilst the peg is 
 driven into the ground with a stone.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 49 
 
 By way of precaution, we appointed a ren- 
 dezvous in a lonely dell about five parasangs 
 from Ispahan, to which it was determined 
 we should retreat as circumstances might 
 require. Once on foot, we proceeded with- 
 out noise in a body, avoiding as much as 
 we could the bazars, where I knew that the 
 officers of the police kept watch, and by 
 lanes reached the gate of the caravanserai. 
 Here was a place, every square inch of 
 which I knew by heart, namely, my father's 
 shaving shop. Being aware that the gate 
 of the caravanserai would be locked, I made 
 the party halt there, and, taking up a stone, 
 knocked, and called out to the doorkeeper 
 by name : ' Ali Mohammed,' said I, ' open, 
 open : the caravan is arrived.' 
 
 Between asleep and awake, without show- 
 ing the least symptom of opening, ' What 
 caravan ?"" said he. 
 
 ' The caravan from Bagdad.' 
 
 * From Bagdad? why that arrived yes- 
 terday. Do you laugh at my beard ?' 
 
 Seeing myself entrapped, I was obliged 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 to have recourse to my own name, and said, 
 ' Why a caravan to be sure with Hajji 
 Baba, Kerbelai Hassan, the barber's son, 
 who went away with Osman Aga, the Bag- 
 dad merchant. I bring the news, and ex- 
 pect the present.' 
 
 ' What, Hajji ?' said the porter, ' he 
 who used to shave my head so well ? His 
 place has long been empty. You are wel- 
 come.' 
 
 Upon which he began to unbolt the heavy 
 gates of the entrance porch, which, as they 
 creaked on their hinges, discovered a little 
 old man in his drawers with an iron lamp in 
 his hand, which shed enough light to show 
 us that the place was full of merchants and 
 their effects. 
 
 One of our party immediately seized 
 upon him, and then we all rushed in and 
 fell to work. Expert in these sort of at- 
 tacks, my companions knew exactly where 
 to go for plunder, and they soon took pos- 
 session of all the gold and silver that was 
 to be found; but their first object was to
 
 HAJJI BABA. 51 
 
 secure some two or three of the richest mer- 
 chants, whose ransom might be a further 
 source of wealth to them. Ere the alarm 
 had been spread, they had seized upon 
 three, who from their sleeping upon fine 
 beds, covered with shawl quilts, and reposing 
 upon embroidered cushions, they expected 
 would prove a good prize. These they bound 
 hand and foot after their fashion, and forcing 
 them away, placed them upon their best 
 horses behind riders, who immediately re- 
 treated from the scene of action to the ren- 
 dezvous. 
 
 From my knowledge of the caravanserai 
 itself, and of the rooms which the richest 
 merchants generally occupied, I knew where 
 cash was to be found, and I entered one 
 room as softly as I could (the very room 
 which my first master had occupied), and 
 seizing upon the small box in which the 
 merchants generally keep their money, I 
 made off with it. To my joy, I found it 
 contained a heavy bag, which I thrust into 
 my bosom, and carried it about with me as
 
 52 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 well as I could; although, on account of 
 the darkness, I could not ascertain of what 
 metal it was. 
 
 By the time we had nearly finished our 
 operations the city had been alarmed. Al- 
 most all the people within the caravanserai, 
 such as servants, grooms, and mule-drivers 
 at the first alarm had retreated to the roof ; 
 the neighbouring inhabitants then came in 
 flocks, not knowing exactly what to do : 
 then came the police magistrate and his 
 officers, who also got on the roof of the 
 caravanserai, but who only increased the 
 uproar by their cries, exclaiming, ' Strike, 
 seize, kill !' without in fact doing any thing 
 to repulse the enemy. Some few shots were 
 fired at random ; but, owing to the darkness 
 and the general confusion, we managed to 
 steal away without any serious accident. 
 During the fray I was frequently tempted 
 to leave the desperate gang to which 1 he- 
 longed, and hide myself in some corner until 
 they were gone; but I argued thus with 
 myself: If I should succeed in getting away,
 
 HAJJI BABA. 53 
 
 still my dress would discover me, and before 
 I could explain who I really was, I should 
 certainly fall a sacrifice to the fury of the 
 populace, the effects of which more than 
 once I had had occasion to witness. My 
 father's shop was before me; the happy 
 days I had passed in that very caravanserai 
 were in my recollection, and I was in the 
 act of deliberating within myself what I 
 should uo, when I felt myself roughly seized 
 by the arm, and the first thing which I re- 
 cognised on turning round was the grim 
 face of Asian Sultan, who threatened to kill 
 me on the spot, if I did not render myself 
 worthy of the confidence he had placed in 
 me. In order to show him my prowess, I 
 fastened upon a Persian who had just rushed 
 by us, and, throwing him down, I exclaimed 
 that, if he did not quietly submit to be 
 taken prisoner and to follow me, I would 
 put him to death. He began to make the 
 usual lamentations, ' For the sake of Imam 
 Hossein, by the soul of your father, by the 
 beard of Omar, I conjure you. to leave
 
 54 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 inc !' and immediately I recognised a voice 
 that could belong to no one but my own 
 father. By a gleam from a lantern, I dis- 
 covered his well known face. It was evi- 
 dent, that hearing the commotion, he had 
 left his bed to secure the property in his 
 shop, which altogether did not consist of 
 more than half a dozen of towels, a case of 
 razors, soap, and a carpet. The moment I 
 recognised him, I let go his beard, of which 
 I had got a fast hold, and, owing to that 
 habit of respect which we Persians show to 
 our parents, would have kissed h\s hand 
 and stood before him ; but my life was in 
 danger if I appeared to flinch, so I con- 
 tinued to struggle with him, and in order 
 to show myself in earnest, pretending to 
 beat him, I administered my blows to a 
 mule's pack-saddle that was close to where 
 he lay. This while I heard my father mut- 
 tering to himself, ' Ah, if Hajji was here, 
 he would not permit me to be served in this 
 way f which had such an effect upon me, 
 that I immediately let him go, and ex-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 55 
 
 claimed in Turkish to the surrounding 
 Turcomans: 'He won't do for us; he's" 
 only a barber.' So without more ceremony 
 I quitted the scene of action, mounted my 
 horse, and retreated in full gallop through 
 the city.
 
 56 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Concerning' ike three prisoners taken by the Turco- 
 mans, and of the booty made in the caravanserai. 
 
 WHEN he had reached our place of ren- 
 dezvous, we dismounted from our horses, 
 and made a halt to rest them, and to recruit 
 ourselves after the fatigues of the night. 
 One of the party had not forgotten to steal 
 a lamb as we rode along, which was soon 
 put into a fit state to be roasted. It was 
 cut up into small pieces, which were stuck 
 on a ramrod, and placed over a slow fire 
 made of what underwood we could find, 
 mixed up with the dung of the animals, and, 
 thus heated, was devoured most ravenously 
 by us all. 
 
 Our next care was to ascertain the value 
 of our prisoners. One was a tall thin man, 
 about fifty years of age, with a sharp eye, 
 a hollow aguish cheek, a scanty beard,
 
 HAJJI BABA. 57 
 
 wearing a pair of silken drawers, and a 
 shawl under-coat. The other was a short 
 round man, of a middle age, with a florid 
 face, dressed in a dark vest, buttoning over 
 his breast, and looked like an officer of the 
 law. The third was stout and hairy, of 
 rough aspect, of a strong vigorous form, and 
 who was bound with more care than the 
 others on account of the superior resistance 
 which he had made. 
 
 After we had finished our meal, and dis- 
 tributed the remains of it to the prisoners, 
 we called them before us, and questioned 
 them as to their professions and situations 
 in life. The tall thin man, upon whose rich 
 appearance the Turcomans founded their 
 chief hope, was first examined, and as I was 
 the only one of our party who could talk 
 Persian, I stood interpreter. ' Who and 
 what are you? 1 said Asian Sultan. 'I, 
 said the prisoner, in a very subdued voice, 
 ' I beg to state, for the good of your service, 
 that I am nothing I am a poor man." 1 
 
 * What 's your business - 1 '
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 ' I am a poet, at your service : what can 
 I do more ?' 
 
 * A poet I 1 cried one of the roughest of 
 the Turcomans ; ' what is that good for ?' 
 
 * Nothing,' answered Asian Sultan, in a 
 rage; ' he won't fetch ten tomauns*; poets 
 are always poor, and live upon what they 
 can cozen from others. Who will ransom 
 a poet ? But if you are so poor/ said Asian 
 Sultan, ' how do you come by those rich 
 clothe^ ?' 
 
 ' They are part of a dress of honour,' 
 returned the poet, ' which was lately con- 
 ferred upon me by the Prince of Shiraz, for 
 having written some verses in his praise.' 
 
 Upon which the clothes were taken from 
 him, a sheep-skin cloak given to him in 
 return, and he was dismissed for the pre- 
 sent. Then came the short man. * Who 
 are you ?' said the chief: l what is your pro- 
 fession T 
 
 4 I am a poor Cadi,' answered the other. 
 
 * A tomaun is the principal gold coin of Persia, 
 worth about 14s.
 
 IIAJJI BABA. 59 
 
 ' How came you to sleep in a fine bed, if 
 you are poor ?' said his interrogator. ' You 
 father of a dog, if you lie, we '11 take your 
 head off! Confess that you are rich ! All 
 Cadies are rich : they live by selling them- 
 selves to the highest bidder.' 
 
 e I am the Cadi of Galadoun, at your ser- 
 vice, 1 said the prisoner. ' I was ordered to 
 Ispahan by the governor to settle for the 
 rent of a village which I occupy. 1 
 
 * Where is the money for your rent ?' said 
 Asian. 
 
 4 1 came to say, 1 answered the Cadi, ' that 
 I had no money to give, for that the locusts 
 had destroyed all my last year's crops, and 
 that there had been a want of water. 1 
 
 ' Then after all, what is this fellow worth T 
 said one of the gang. 
 
 ' He is worth a good price,' replied the 
 chief, * if he happens to be a good Cadi, for 
 then the peasants may wish him back again ; 
 but if not, a dinar* is too much for him. 
 
 * The dinar is the smallest denomination of 
 money in Persia.
 
 GO THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 We must keep him : perhaps he is of more 
 value than a merchant would be. But let 
 us see how much this other fellow is likely 
 to fetch.' 
 
 They then brought the rough man before 
 them, and Asian Sultan questioned him in 
 the usual manner ' What are you ?' 
 
 ' I am &ferasli] (a carpet spreader) said 
 he, in a very sulky manner. 
 
 ' A.Jerash! y cried out the whole gang 
 ' a ferash ! The fellow lies ! How came you 
 to sleep in a fine bed ?' said one. 
 
 ' It was not mine,' he answered, ' it was 
 my master's.' 
 
 ' He lies ! he lies !' they all cried out : 
 ' he is a merchant you are a merchant. 
 Own it, or we'll put you to death.' 
 
 In vain he asserted that he was only a 
 carpet-spreader, nobody believed him, and 
 he received so many blows from different 
 quarters, that at last he was obliged to roar 
 out that he was a merchant. 
 
 But I, who judged from the appearance 
 of the man that he could not be a merchant,
 
 HAJJI BABA. 61 
 
 but that he was what he owned himself to 
 be, assured my companions that they had 
 got but a sorry prize in him, and advised 
 them to release him ; but immediately I was 
 assailed in my turn with a thousand male- 
 dictions, and was told, that if I chose to 
 take part with my countrymen, I should 
 share their fate, and become a slave again 
 so I was obliged to keep my peace, and 
 permit the ruffians to have their own way. 
 
 Their speculation in man-stealing having 
 proved so unfortunate, they were in no 
 very good humour with their excursion, 
 and there was a great difference of opinion 
 amongst them, what should be done with 
 such worthless prisoners. Some were for 
 keeping the Cadi, and killing the poet and 
 the ferash, and others for preserving the 
 Cadi for ransom, and making the ferash a 
 slave ; but all seemed to be for killing the 
 poet. 
 
 I could not help feeling much compassion 
 for this man, who in fact appeared to be 
 from his manners, and general deportment,
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 a man of consequence, although he had 
 pleaded poverty ; and seeing it likely to go 
 very hard with him, I said, ' What folly 
 are you about to commit ! Kill the poet ! 
 why it will be worse than killing the goose 
 with the golden egg. Don't you know that 
 poets are sometimes very rich, and can, if 
 they choose, become rich at all times, for 
 they carry their wealth in their head ? Did 
 you never hear of the king who gave a fa- 
 mous poet a miscal* of gold for every stanza 
 which he composed ? Is not the same thing 
 said of the present Shah? and who knows? 
 perhaps your prisoner may be the King's 
 poet himself.' 
 
 ' Is that the case ?' said one of the gang ; 
 ' then let him make stanzas for us imme- 
 diately, and if they don't fetch a miscal each, 
 he shall die.' 
 
 ' Make on ! make on !' exclaimed the 
 whole of them to the poet, elated by so 
 bright a prospect of gain ; ' if you don't, 
 we '11 cut your tongue out.' 
 
 * Twenty-four grains make one miscal.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 3 
 
 At length it was decided that all three 
 should be preserved, and that as soon as 
 they had made a division of the booty, we 
 should return to the plains of Kipchak. 
 
 Asian then called us together, and every 
 man was obliged to produce what he had 
 stolen. Some brought bags of silver and 
 others gold. Nor did they confine them- 
 selves to money only; gold heads of pipes, 
 a silver ewer, a sable pelisse, shawls, and a 
 variety of other things, were brought before 
 us. When it came to my turn, I produced 
 the heaviest bag of tomauns that had yet 
 been given in, which secured to me the ap- 
 plause of the whole company. 
 
 * Well done ! well done ! Hajji,' said 
 they all to me ; * he has become a good 
 Turcoman : we could not have done better 
 ourselves.' 
 
 My master in particular was very loud 
 in his praises, and said, ' Hajji, my son, 
 by my own soul, by the head of my father, 
 I swear that you have done bravely, and I 
 will give you one of my slaves for a wife,
 
 64 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 and you shall live with us and you shall 
 have a tent of your own, with twenty sheep, 
 and we '11 have a wedding, when I will give 
 an entertainment to all the encampment.' 
 
 These words sunk deep in my mind, and 
 only strengthened my resolution to escape 
 on the very first opportunity; but in the 
 mean while I was very intent upon the 
 division of the spoil which was about to be 
 made, as I hoped to be included for a con- 
 siderable portion of it. To my great mor- 
 tification they gave me not a single dinar. 
 In vain I exclaimed, in vain I entreated ; 
 all I could hear was, ' If you say a word 
 more, we will cut your head off.' So 1 was 
 obliged to console myself with my original 
 fifty ducats, whilst my companions were 
 squabbling about their shares. At length 
 it became a scene of general contention, 
 and would have finished by bloodshed, if a 
 thought had not struck one of the com- 
 batants, who exclaimed, ' We have got a 
 Cadi here; why should we dispute? He 
 shall decide between ua.'
 
 HAJJI BABA. 65 
 
 So immediately the poor Cadi was set in 
 the midst of them, and was made to legislate 
 upon goods, part of which belonged in fact 
 to himself, without even getting the per 
 centage due to him as judge. 
 
 VOL.
 
 66 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Hajji Baba evinces a feeling disposition History 
 of the poet Asker. 
 
 WE made our retreat by the same road 
 we came, but not with the same expedition, 
 on account of our prisoners. They some- 
 times walked, and sometimes rode. 
 
 The general appearance of the poet had, 
 from the first moment, interested me in his 
 misfortunes; and being a smatterer in learn- 
 ing myself, my vanity, perhaps, was flattered 
 with the idea of becoming the protector of 
 a man of letters in distress. Without ap- 
 pearing to show any particular partiality 
 to him, I succeeded in being appointed to 
 keep watch over him, under the plea that 
 I would compel him to make verses; and 
 conversing in our language, we were able
 
 HAJJI BABA. 67 
 
 to communicate with each other with great 
 freedom without the fear of being under- 
 stood. I explained my situation, and in- 
 formed him of my intentions to escape, and 
 assured him that I would do every thing in 
 my power to be useful to him. He seemed 
 delighted to meet with kind words, where 
 he expected nothing but ill treatment ; and 
 when I had thus acquired his confidence, he 
 did not scruple to talk to me freely about 
 himself and his concerns. I discovered what 
 I had before suspected, that he was a man 
 of consequence, for he was no less a per- 
 sonage than the court poet, enjoying the 
 title of Melek al Shoherah, or the Prince 
 of Poets. He was on his road from Shiraz 
 (whither he had been sent by the Shah on 
 business) to Tehran, and had that very day 
 reached Ispahan, when he had fallen into 
 our hands. In order to beguile the tedious- 
 ness of the road through the Salt Desert, 
 after I had related my adventures, I re- 
 quested him to give me an account of his, 
 which he did in the following words :
 
 X 
 68 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 ' I was born in the city of Kerman, and 
 my name is Asker. My father was for a 
 long time governor of that city, during the 
 reign of the eunuch Aga Mohammed Shah; 
 and although the intrigues that were set 
 on foot against him to deprive him of his 
 government were very mischievous, still such 
 was his respectability, that his enemies never 
 entirely prevailed against him. His eyes 
 were frequently in danger, but his adroit- 
 ness preserved them ; and he had at last 
 the good fortune to die peaceably in his 
 bed in the present Shah's reign. I was per- 
 mitted to possess the property which he 
 left, which amounted to about 10,000 to- 
 mauns. In my youth I was remarkable 
 for the attention which I paid to my studies, 
 and before I had arrived at the age of six- 
 
 O 
 
 teen I was celebrated for writing a fine 
 hand. I knew Hafiz entirely by heart, and 
 had myself acquired such a facility in making 
 verses, that I might almost have been said 
 to speak in numbers. There was no sub- 
 ject that I did not attempt. I wrote on
 
 HAJJI BABA. 09 
 
 the loves of Leilah* and Majnoun ; I never 
 heard the note of a nightingale, but I made 
 it pour out its loves to the rose; and 
 wherever I went I never failed to produce 
 my poetry and chant it out in the assembly. 
 At this time the king was waging war with 
 Sadik Khan, a pretender to the throne, and 
 a battle was fought, in which his majesty 
 commanded in person, and which terminated 
 in the defeat of the rebel. I immediately 
 sang the king's praises. In describing the 
 contest I made Rustam appear standing 
 in a cloud over the field of battle; who 
 seeing the king lay about him desperately, 
 exclaims to himself, ' Lucky wight am I to 
 be here instead of below, for certainly I 
 should never escape from his blows.' I also 
 exerted my wit, and was much extolled 
 when I said, that Sadik Khan and his 
 troops ought not to repine after all; for 
 
 * The loves of these personages has been treated 
 by various oriental writers. Majnoun is looked 
 upon as the model of a lover, and Leilah as the 
 most beautiful and perfect of her sex.
 
 70 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 although they were vanquished, yet still 
 the king, in his magnanimity, had exalted 
 their heads to the skies. In this, I alluded 
 to a pillar of skulls which his majesty had 
 caused to be erected of the heads of the 
 vanquished. These sayings of mine were 
 reported to the Shah, and he was pleased 
 to confer upon me the highest honour 
 which a poet can receive; namely, causing 
 my mouth to be filled with gold coin in 
 the presence of the whole court, at the 
 great audience. This led to my advance- 
 ment: and I was appointed to attend at 
 court, and to write verses on all occasions. 
 In order to show my zeal, I represented to 
 the king, that as in former times our great 
 Ferdousi had written his Shah Nameh, or 
 the History of the Kings, it behoved him, 
 who was greater than any monarch Persia 
 ever possessed, to have a poet who should 
 celebrate his reign; and I entreated per- 
 mission to write a Shahin Sliah Nameh, or 
 the History of the King of Kings ; to which 
 his majesty was most graciously pleased to
 
 HAJJI BABA. . 71 
 
 give his consent. One of my enemies at 
 court was the lord high treasurer, who^ 
 without any good reason, wanted to im- 
 pose upon me a fine of 12,000 tomauns, 
 which the king, on the plea that I was the 
 first poet of the age, would not allow. It 
 happened one day, that in a large assembly, 
 the subject of discussion was the liberality 
 of Mahmoud Shah Ghaznevi to Ferdousi, 
 who gave him a miscal of gold for every 
 couplet in the Shah Nameh. Anxious that 
 the king should hear what I was about to 
 say, I exclaimed : ' The liberality of his 
 present majesty is equal to that of Mahmoud 
 Shah equal did I say? nay greater; be- 
 cause in the one case, it was exercised to- 
 wards the most celebrated poet of Persia ; 
 and in my case, it is exercised towards 
 the humble individual now before you. 1 
 
 ' All the company were anxious to hear 
 how and when such great favours had been 
 conferred upon me. ' In the first place,' 
 said I, * when my father died, he left a pro- 
 perty of 10,000 tomauns; the king per-
 
 72 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 mitted me to inherit it; he might have 
 taken it away there are 10,000 tomauns. 
 Then the lord high treasurer wanted to 
 fine me 12,000 tomauns ; the king did not 
 allow it there are 12,000 more. Then the 
 rest is made up of what I have subsisted 
 upon ever since I have been in the Shah's 
 service, and so my sum is made out.' And 
 then I took to my exclamations of ' May 
 the king live for ever ! may his shadow 
 never be less ! may he conquer all his 
 enemies P all of which I flattered myself 
 was duly reported to his majesty : and some 
 days after I was invested with a dress of ho- 
 nour, consisting of a brocade coat, a shawl 
 for the waist, and one for the head, and a 
 brocade cloak trimmed with fur. I was also 
 honoured with the title of Prince of Poets, 
 by virtue of a royal firman, which, accord- 
 ing to the usual custom, I wore in my cap 
 for three successive days, receiving the con- 
 gratulations of my friends, and feeling of 
 greater consequence than I had ever done 
 before. I wrote a poem, which answered
 
 . 
 
 HAJJI B ABA. 73 
 
 the double purpose of gratifying my re- 
 venge for the ill treatment I had received 
 from the lord high treasurer, and of con- 
 ciliating his good graces ; for it had a 
 double meaning all through : what he in 
 his ignorance mistook for praise, was in 
 fact satire; and as he thought that the 
 high-sounding words in which it abounded 
 (which, being mostly Arabic, he did not 
 understand) must contain an eulogium, he 
 did not in the least suspect, that they were 
 in fact expressions containing the grossest 
 disrespect. In truth, I had so cloked my 
 meaning, that, without my explanation, it 
 would have been difficult for any one to 
 have discovered it. But it was not alone 
 in poetry that I excelled. I had a great 
 turn for mechanics, and several of my in- 
 ventions were much admired at court. I 
 contrived a wheel for perpetual motion, 
 which only wants one little addition to 
 make it go round for ever. I made dif- 
 ferent sorts of coloured paper ; I invented 
 a new sort of ink-stand ; and was on the
 
 74 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 high road to making cloth, when I was 
 stopped by his majesty, who said to me, 
 4 Asker, stick to your poetry : whenever I 
 want cloth, my merchants bring it from 
 Europe.' And I obeyed his instructions; 
 for on the approaching festival of the new 
 year's-day, when it is customary for each 
 of his servants to make him a present, I 
 wrote something so happy about a tooth- 
 pick, which I presented in a handsome case, 
 that the principal noblemen of the court, at 
 the great public audience of that sacred day, 
 were ordered to kiss me on the mouth for 
 my pains. I compared his majesty's teeth 
 to pearls, and the tooth-pick to the pearl- 
 diver ; his gums to a coral-bank, near which 
 pearls are frequently found ; and the long 
 beard and mustachios that encircled the 
 mouth to the undulations of the ocean. I 
 was complimented by every body present 
 upon the fertility of my imagination : I was 
 assured that Ferdousi was a downright ass 
 when compared to me. By such means, I 
 enjoyed great favour with the Shah; and
 
 HAJJI BABA. 75 
 
 his majesty being anxious to give me an 
 opportunity of acquiring wealth as well as 
 honours, appointed me to be the bearer of 
 the usual annual dress of honour which he 
 sends to his son, the prince of the province 
 of Fars. I was received at Shiraz with 
 the greatest distinctions, and presents were 
 made to me to a considerable amount; 
 which, in addition to what I had levied 
 from the villages on the road, made a hand- 
 some sum. The event of last night has de- 
 prived me of all : all has been stolen from 
 me, and here you see me the most misera- 
 ble of human beings. If you do not ma- 
 nage to help me to escape, I fear that I shall 
 die a prisoner. Perhaps the king may be 
 anxious to release me, but certainly he will 
 never pay one farthing for my ransom. The 
 lord high treasurer is not my friend ; and 
 since I told the grand vizier, that with all 
 his wisdom he did not know how to wind 
 up a watch, much less how it was made, I 
 fear that he also will not care for my loss. 
 The money, with which I might have pur-
 
 76 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 chased my ransom, the barbarians have 
 taken ; and where to procure a similar sum 
 I know not. It is my fate to have fallen 
 into this disaster, therefore I must not re- 
 pine ; but let me entreat you, as you are a 
 fellow Mussulman as you hate Omar, and 
 love Ali let me entreat you to help me in 
 my distress.'
 
 HAJJI BABA. 77 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Hajji Baba escapes from the Turcomans. The 
 meaning of ( falling from the frying-pan into the 
 fire illustrated. 
 
 As soon as the poet had finished his nar- 
 rative, I assured him that I would do every 
 thing in my power to serve him ; but I 
 recommended patience to him for the pre- 
 sent, as I had not yet devised the means of 
 procuring my own liberty, and foresaw 
 great difficulties in saving him at the same 
 time. It would be impossible to evade the 
 watchfulness of our masters, as long as we 
 were in the open desert : their horses were 
 as good as mine, and they were much better 
 acquainted with the country than I was. 
 To run away from them under these cir- 
 cumstances would be madness; therefore
 
 78 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 it was only left us to watch any opportunity 
 that might be given us of escape. 
 
 We had reached the limits of the Salt 
 Desert, and were about crossing the high 
 road that leads from Tehran to Meshed, 
 about twenty parasangs to the east of Dam- 
 gan, when Asian Sultan made a halt, and 
 proposed that we should remain concealed 
 for a day in the broken ground that bor- 
 ders the road, in the hopes that fortune 
 might throw us in the way of a passing 
 caravan, which it was his intention that we 
 should pillage. At the very dawn of the 
 following day, a spy, who had been stationed 
 on an adjacent hill, came in great hasie to 
 report that he saw clouds of dust rising in 
 the direction of Damgan, and approaching 
 towards us, on the road leading to Meshed. 
 
 Immediately we were all upon the alert. 
 The Turcomans left their prisoners, bound 
 hand and foot, on the spot where we had 
 rested, with the intention of returning to 
 take them up as soon as we should have 
 rifled the caravan, and, fully equipped, we
 
 HAJJI BABA. 79 
 
 sallied forth with great caution, determined 
 on blood and plunder. 
 
 Asian himself proceeded before the rest, 
 in order to reconnoitre ; and calling me to 
 him, said, * Now, Hajji, here is an oppor- 
 tunity for distinguishing yourself. You 
 shall accompany me ; and you will observe 
 the precautions I use previous to showing 
 our whole body, which it may be necessary 
 for you to know, in order that you may be 
 able to conduct such an enterprise yourself 
 on some future occasion. I take you with 
 me, in case I should be obliged to use an 
 interpreter; for frequently in these cara- 
 vans, there is not a person who understands 
 our language. We will approach as near 
 as we can, perhaps have a parley with the 
 conductor, and if we cannot make terms 
 with him, we will fall on with our whole 
 party. 1 
 
 As the travellers approached, I perceived 
 that Asian "Sultan became uneasy. ' This 
 is no caravan, I fear,' said he ; * they march 
 in too compact a body : besides, I hear no
 
 80 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 bells ; the dust is too great in one spot. I 
 see spears ! it is an immense cavalcade 
 five led horses ! this is no game for us.' 
 
 In fact, as they approached, it was easy 
 to discover that it was no caravan, but some 
 great personage, the governor of a province 
 at least, who was travelling, attended by a 
 numerous escort of horsemen and servants, 
 and with all the pomp and glitter usual on 
 such occasions. 
 
 My heart leaped within me when I saw 
 this, for here was an excellent opportunity 
 for escape. Could I approach near enough 
 to be taken prisoner by them, without ex- 
 citing any previous suspicion in my master, 
 I should be safe ; and although I might be 
 ill treated at first, still I trusted to my elo- 
 quence to make my story believed. Ac- 
 cordingly, I said to my companion, ' Let 
 us approach nearer ;' and, without waiting 
 for his permission, I excited my horse on- 
 wards. He immediately followed, with an 
 intention of stopping me ; but we had no 
 sooner cleared the small elevated ground
 
 HAJJ1 BABA. 81 
 
 behind which we had posted ourselves, 
 than we came in full view of the whole 
 party, and were scarcely a bow shot from 
 them. As soon as we were discovered, some 
 six or seven of their best horsemen were 
 detached from the rest of the body, and, at 
 the fullest speed of their horses, came to- 
 wards us. We turned about to fly: as 
 much as Asian urged on his steed, so much 
 did I restrain mine ; and by this manoeuvre 
 I was very soon overtaken and seized. To 
 be knocked off my horse, disarmed, plun- 
 dered of my fifty ducats, my razors and all 
 my other effects, was but the business of a 
 few seconds; and although I assured my 
 new masters that I was in no intention to 
 leave them, still they persisted in tying my 
 arms behind me, with my own shawl, which 
 they took from round my waist for that 
 purpose. Thus pinioned, and receiving 
 blows every now and then, because I did not 
 move fast enough, I was dragged before 
 their chief, who had made a halt, sur- 
 rounded by his attendants. 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 82 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 From the sort of attentions which he 
 received, and the low inclinations of the 
 body that were made before him, I ima- 
 gined that he must be a royal personage, 
 and I was soon informed as much, when I 
 came near ; for several blows on the head 
 were given me, as hints to make me pro- 
 strate myself before a shahzadeh, or prince. 
 A large circle being made, he ordered me 
 to be released, and, as soon as I felt myself 
 free, at one bound I disengaged myself 
 from those near me, and seizing upon the 
 skirt of his cloak, as he was seated on his 
 horse, exclaimed, * Penah be sltahzadeh ! 
 protection from the prince.' One of the 
 guards rushed forward to punish my au- 
 dacity; but the prince would not allow the 
 sacred custom to be infringed, and pro- 
 mised me his protection. Ordering his ser- 
 vants not to molest me, he, at the same 
 time, commanded me to relate how I came 
 to be placed in the predicament in which 
 I now stood. 
 
 Falling on my knees, and kissing the
 
 IIAJJI BABA. 83 
 
 ground, I related my story in as con- 
 cise a manner as possible; and, to cor- 
 roborate all that I had said, added, that 
 if he would order his horsemen to at- 
 tack the party of Turcomans, who still 
 were close at hand, they might release the 
 king's poet, with two other Persians, who 
 were prisoners in their hands, and they 
 would fully confirm all that 1 had as- 
 serted. 
 
 I had no sooner said this than the horse- 
 men, who had pursued Asian Sultan, re- 
 turned, with looks of great dismay, swear- 
 ing by Ali and by the head of the king, 
 that an immense body of Turcomans, at 
 least 1000 strong, were marching down 
 upon us, and that the prince must prepare 
 to fight. In vain I explained to them that 
 they were only twenty in number, nobody 
 would believe me ; I was treated as a spy 
 and a liar, and every one said that if the 
 Turcomans did attack, they would put me 
 to death on the spot. The party then 
 proceeded onwards at a good pace, look-
 
 84 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 ing about in all directions for the expected 
 enemy, and betraying all those symptoms 
 of apprehension which the very name of 
 Turcoman excites throughout the whole 
 of Persia. 
 
 My own horse had been taken from 
 me, and I was permitted to ride upon 
 a baggage mule, where I had time to 
 ponder over my wretched fate and mi- 
 serable prospects. Without a farthing in 
 my pocket, without a friend, I saw no- 
 thing before me but starvation. I had 
 not yet become a sufficiently good Mus- 
 sulman to receive comfort from predes- 
 tination, and I absolutely sobbed aloud 
 at my own folly, for having voluntarily 
 been the cause of my present misery. 
 That fond partiality for my own country- 
 men, which used to predominate so power- 
 fully in my breast when I was a prisoner, 
 entirely forsook me here, and I cursed 
 them aloud. 
 
 1 You call yourselves Mussulmans !' said 
 I to those around me : ( you have not the
 
 HAJJI BABA. 85 
 
 feelings of dogs. Dogs did I say ? You 
 are worse than Christian dogs the Turco- 
 mans are men compared to you. 1 
 
 Then when I found that this sort of 
 language only produced laughter in my 
 auditors, I tried what entreaty would do. 
 ' For the love of Imam Hossein, for the 
 sake of the Prophet, by the souls of your 
 children, why do you treat a stranger thus? 
 Am I not a Mussulman like yourselves ? 
 What have I done that I should be made 
 to devour this grief? I sought refuge 
 amongst you as friends, and I am thrust 
 away as an enemy.' 
 
 For all this I got no consolation, ex- 
 cepting from an old muleteer, by name AH 
 Katir, who had just lighted his kalian, or 
 water pipe, and giving it to me to smoke, 
 said, * My son, every thing in this world is 
 in the hand of God.' Pointing to the mule 
 upon which he rode, he added, ' If God 
 has made this animal white, can Ali Katir 
 make it black ? It one day gets a feed of
 
 86 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 corn ; on the next it browzes upon a thistle. 
 Can we contend with fate? Smoke your 
 pipe now and be happy, and be thankful 
 that it is no worse with you. Hafiz says, 
 4 Every moment of pleasure that you en- 
 joy, account it gain : who can say what 
 will be the event of any thing ?' 
 
 This speech of the muleteer soothed 
 me a little, and as he found that I was as 
 well versed in Hafiz as he, and not back- 
 ward in permitting myself to be comforted, 
 he treated me with much kindness, and 
 made me a partaker of his mess during 
 the remainder of the journey. He in- 
 formed me that * the prince, into whose 
 hands I had fallen, was the Shah's fifth 
 son, who had lately been installed in the 
 government of the province of Khorassan, 
 and was now on his road to Meshed, the 
 seat of his jurisdiction. He was escorted 
 by a greater number of attendants than 
 ordinary, on account of the alarming state 
 of the Turcoman frontier, and it was said
 
 HAJJI BABA. 87 
 
 that he had instructions to commence very 
 active operations against that people, as 
 many of whose heads as possible he was in- 
 vited to send to Tehran, to be piled up be- 
 fore the gate of the royal palace ; and you 
 may account yourself very fortunate,' added 
 the muleteer, ' that yours was not taken off 
 your shoulders. Had you happened to be 
 fair, with little eyes, and without much 
 hair, instead of being a dark man, as you 
 are, you certainly would have been put to 
 death, and your head have been pickled, 
 and made to pass for that of a Turcoman.' 1 
 When we had reached our resting-place 
 at night, which was a lonely caravanserai 
 half in ruins, situated on the skirts of the 
 desert, I determined to endeavour to pro- 
 cure admittance to the prince, and to make 
 an effort to regain my fifty ducats, and my 
 horse and arms, which I made no scruple 
 in claiming as my own, notwithstanding a 
 certain little voice within me, which told 
 me that another had almost as much right 
 to them as I had. I accordingly watched
 
 88 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 an opportunity, just before the evening 
 prayer, of presenting myself to him. He 
 was seated on a carpet that had been spread 
 on the terrace of the caravanserai, reposing 
 himself on his cushion, and before his at- 
 tendants had time to beat me off, I ex- 
 claimed, ' Arzi darum, I have a petition 
 to make. 1 Upon which he ordered me to 
 approach, and asked me what I wanted ? 
 I complained of the treatment I had re- 
 ceived from his servants who had first seized 
 me related how they had robbed me of 
 my fifty ducats ; and then entreated that 
 my horse and arms might be restored to 
 me. He inquired of those surrounding 
 him who the men were that I complained 
 of, and when their names were mentioned, 
 he sent his chief tent-pitcher to conduct 
 them to him. As soon as they appeared, 
 for they were two, I recognized the ag- 
 gressors, and affirmed them to be such to 
 the prince. 
 
 ' Sons of dogs/ said he to them, 'where 
 is the money you stole from this man ?'
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 
 
 89 
 
 ' We took nothing,' they immediately 
 exclaimed. 
 
 ' We shall soon see that,' answered he. 
 ' Call the foraekeSy said he to one of his 
 officers, ' and let them beat the rogues on 
 the soles of their feet till they produce the 
 fifty ducats/ 
 
 They were immediately seized, and 
 when their feet were in the air, strongly 
 tied in the noose, and after receiving a 
 few blows, they confessed that they had 
 taken the money, and produced it. It 
 was forthwith carried to the prince, who 
 deliberately counted it over, and, putting 
 it under the cushion upon which he was 
 reclining, released the culprits, and said in 
 a loud voice to me, * You are dismissed.' I 
 stood with my mouth wide open, hoping 
 to see the money handed over to me, when 
 his master of the ceremonies took me by 
 the shoulders and pushed me away. I ex- 
 claimed, * And my money, where is it ? 
 
 ' What does he say ?' said the prince : 
 'give him the shoe if he speaks again.'
 
 90 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 When the master of the ceremonies, taking 
 off his high green slipper, struck me over 
 the mouth with the heel of it, shod with 
 iron, saying, ' Do you speak to a king's, 
 son thus ? Go in peace, and keep your eyes 
 open, or you'll have your ears cut off;' 
 and so I was pushed and dragged violently 
 away. 
 
 I returned in utter despair to my mule- 
 teer, who appeared not in the least sur- 
 prised at what had happened, and said, 
 ' What could you expect more? After all, 
 is he not a prince ? When once he or any 
 man in power gets possession of a thing, 
 do you think that they will ever restore 
 it ? You might as well expect a mule^to 
 give up a mouthful of fresh grass, when 
 once it has got it within its mouth, as a 
 prince to give up money that has once 
 been in his hands.'
 
 I1AJJI BABA. 91 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ajji Baba, in his distress, becomes a saha, or 
 water-car rier. _,,_ ( _ 
 
 WE reached Meshed in due time, and 
 the prince made his solemn entry amidst 
 all the noise, parade, and confusion, at- 
 tendant upon such ceremonies. I found 
 myself a solitary being, in a strange city, 
 distant from my friends, and from any 
 creature to whom I might look for assist- 
 ance, and without even a pair of razors to 
 comfort me. When I looked at my pre- 
 sent means, I found that they consisted of 
 five tomauns, which I had managed to 
 secrete from the sack I had stolen in the 
 caravanserai, and which I had put between 
 the lining of my cap of a brown woollen 
 coat, of a sheep-skin jacket, a shirt, a pair 
 of trowsers, and a heavy pair of boots. I
 
 92 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 had lived upon the muleteer as long as he 
 enjoyed the daily allowance of provisions 
 that he received during the time when he 
 was attached to the suite of the prince; 
 but now that he and his mules were dis- 
 charged, I could not expect that he should 
 continue to support me. I thought of 
 again taking to my profession ; but who 
 would trust their throats to a man who 
 had the reputation of being a Turcoman 
 spy ? Besides, although I might purchase 
 razors, yet my means were not large 
 enough to set up a shop, and I was deter- 
 mined not to become a journeyman. 
 
 My friend, the muleteer, who knew the 
 ways and means of Meshed, recommendfd 
 me strongly to become a saka, or water- 
 carrier. ' You are young, and strong,' 
 said he: ' you have a good voice, and 
 would entice people to drink by an har- 
 monious cry. You have besides a great 
 talent for cant and palaver, and for laugh- 
 ing at one's beard. The number of pil- 
 grims who come to Meshed to perform
 
 HAJJI BABA. 93 
 
 their devotions at the tomb of the Imam 
 is grear, and, charity being one of the prin- 
 cipal instruments which they use for the 
 salvation of their souls, they give freely to 
 those who promise them the best reward. 
 You must sell each draught in the name 
 and for the sake of Imam Hossein, our 
 favourite saint. Always offer it gratis ; but 
 be sure you get money in hand before you 
 pour it out; and when your customer has 
 drunk, say, with great emphasis, ' May 
 your draught be propitious ! May the 
 holy Imam take you under his protection ! 
 May you never suffer the thirst of the 
 blessed Hossein !' and such like sort of 
 speeches, which you must chant out so 
 loud that every body may hear you. In 
 short, to devotees who come some hun- 
 dreds of parasangs to say their prayers, 
 you may say any thing and every thing, 
 and you will be sure to be believed. I 
 myself have been a saka at Meshed, and 
 know the trade. It has enabled me to buy a 
 string of mules, and to be the man you see.'
 
 I followed my friend's advice. I forth- 
 with laid out my money in buying a leather 
 sack, with a brass cock, which I slung round 
 my body, and also a bright drinking cup. 
 After having filled my sack with water, and 
 let it soak for some time, in order to do 
 away the bad smell of the leather, I sallied 
 forth, and proceeded to the tomb, where 
 I immediately began my operations. The 
 cry I adopted was ' Water, water ! in 
 the name of the Imam, water. 1 This I 
 chanted with all the force and swell of 
 my lungs, and having practised under the 
 tuition of the muleteer for two days be- 
 fore, I was assured that I acquitted my- 
 self as well as the oldest practitioners. As 
 soon as I appeared, I immediately drew 
 the attention of the other sakas, who 
 seemed to question the right I had to 
 exercise their profession. When I showed 
 myself at the reservoir, to draw water, they 
 would have quarrelled with me, and one 
 attempted to push me in ; but they found 
 I was resolute, and that my resolution was
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 95 
 
 backed by a set of strong and active limbs, 
 and therefore confined themselves to abu- 
 sive language, of which being the entire 
 master, I soon got the lead, and con> 
 pletely silenced them. Nature, in fact, 
 seemed to have intended me for a saka. 
 The water which I had a moment before 
 drawn from a filthy reservoir, I extolled 
 as having flowed from a spring created 
 by Ali in person, equal to the sacred well 
 of Zem Zem, and a branch of the river 
 which flows through Paradise. It is in- 
 conceivable how it was relished, and how 
 considerable was the money I received 
 for giving it gratis. I was always on 
 the watch to discover when a new set of 
 pilgrims should arrive, and before they 
 had even alighted from their mules, all 
 dusty from the road, and all happy at 
 having escaped the Turcomans, I plied 
 them in the name of the Prophet with 
 a refreshing draught, and made them re- 
 collect that, this being the first devotional
 
 96 THK ADVENTURES OF 
 
 act which they performed on reaching Me- 
 shed, so out of gratitude for their safe ar- 
 rival, they ought to reward me liberally ; 
 and my admonitions were scarcely ever dis- 
 regarded. 
 
 The commemoration of the death of 
 Hossein, which is so religiously kept 
 throughout Persia, was now close at hand, 
 and I determined to put myself into train- 
 ing to appear as the water-carrier, who on 
 the last day of the festival, which is held 
 the most sacred, performs a conspicuous 
 character in the tragedy. This was to be 
 acted in public before the prince in the 
 great open square of the city, and I ex- 
 pected to acquire much reputation and 
 profit from the feat of strength which I 
 should perform, which consists of carrying 
 an immense sack full of water on the back, 
 accompanied by additional exertions. I 
 had a rival, who accomplished the task on 
 the last festival; but as the sack I was 
 about to carry contained infinitely more
 
 HAJJI BABA. 97 
 
 water than he could support, my claim to 
 superiority was not to b^ disputed. How- 
 ever I was advised to be on my guard, for 
 he was of a jealous character, and would 
 not lose an opportunity of doing me an in- 
 jury if he could. When the day arrived, 
 the prince being seated in an upper room 
 situated over the gate of his palace, and 
 the whole population of the city assembled 
 to witness the religious ceremonies, I ap- 
 peared naked to the waist, with my body 
 streaming with blood, slowly walking under 
 the weight of my immense sack. Having 
 reached the window at which the prince 
 was seated, I attracted his notice by loud 
 exclamations for his happiness and pros- 
 perity. He threw me down a gold coin, 
 and expressed himself pleased with my per- 
 formance. In my exultation I invited se- 
 veral boys, who were near at hand for the 
 purpose, to pile themselves upon my load, 
 which they did, to the astonishment of the 
 crowd, who encouraged ve^ by their cries 
 and applause. 1 called for another boy, 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 when my rival, who had watched his oppor- 
 tunity, sprung forwards and mounted him- 
 self on the very top of all, hoping, no doubt, 
 to crush me : but, exerting myself to the ut- 
 most of my strength, I carried by burthen 
 clean off, amidst the animating shouts of 
 the staring multitude. But although in 
 the heat of the exertion I felt no incon- 
 venience, yet when I was disencumbered I 
 found that my back was sprained so se- 
 verely, that I was totally unfitted for the 
 trade of a water-carrier for the future. I 
 therefore sold my sack and other articles, 
 and, with the money that I had gained in 
 water-selling, found myself well off, com- 
 pared to the deplorable situation in which 
 I was on my arrival at Meshed. My friend 
 the muleteer had departed some time be- 
 fore the festival with a caravan for Tehran, 
 so I was deprived of his counsels. I should 
 have demanded justice for the injury done 
 me by my rival, and might have dragged 
 him before the cadi ; but I was assured that 
 in the Mohamedan law there is no provision
 
 HAJJI BABA. 99 
 
 made for a sprain. It is written an eye for 
 an eye, and a tooth for a tooth ; but there 
 is no sprain for a sprain. Had I had some 
 powerful protector, who would have prose- 
 cuted the business for me, perhaps I might 
 have got redress ; but a miserable creature 
 like myself, unknown and unfriended, I 
 could have gained nothing, and should 
 perhaps have stood a chance of losing the 
 little money I had acquired.
 
 100 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 He makes a soliloquy, and becomes an itinerant 
 vender of smoke. 
 
 I HELD a consultation with myself as to 
 what I should do next for my livelihood. 
 Various walks in life were open to me. 
 The begging line was an excellent one in 
 Meshed, and, judging from my success as a 
 water-carrier, I should very soon have been 
 at the head of the profession. I might also 
 have become a luti*, and kept a bear; but 
 it required some apprenticeship to learn the 
 tricks of the one, and to know how to tame 
 the other : so I gave that up. Still I might 
 have followed my own profession, and have 
 taken a shop; but I could not bear the 
 
 * The luties are privileged buffoons, usually 
 keeping monkeys, bears, and other animals.
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 101 
 
 thoughts of settling, particularly in so re- 
 mote a town as Meshed. At length I fol- 
 lowed the bent of my inclination, and, as I 
 was myself devotedly fond of smoking, I 
 determined to become an itinerant seller of 
 smoke. Accordingly I bought pipes of 
 various sizes, a wooden tray, containing the 
 pipe-heads, which was strapped round my 
 waist, an iron pot for fire, which I carried 
 in my hand, a pair of iron pincers, a copper 
 jug for water, that was suspended by a 
 hook behind my back, and some long bags 
 for my tobacco. All these commodities 
 were fastened about my body, and when I 
 was fully equipped, I might be said to look 
 like a porcupine with all its quills erect. 
 My tobacco was of various sorts Tabas, 
 Shiraz, Susa, and Damascus. It is true 
 that I was not very scrupulous about giving 
 it pure ; for with a very small quantity of 
 the genuine leaf I managed to make a large 
 store, with the assistance of different sorts 
 of dungs. I had a great tact in discover- 
 ing amongst my customers the real con-
 
 102 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 noisseur, and to him I gave it almost ge- 
 nuine. My whole profits, in fact, depended 
 upon my discrimination of characters. To 
 those of the middling ranks, I gave it hall- 
 mixed; to the lower sort, three-quarters; 
 and to the lowest, almost without any to- 
 bacco at all. Whenever I thought I could 
 perceive a wry face, I immediately exerted 
 my ingenuity in favour of the excellence of 
 my tobacco. I showed specimens of the 
 good, descanted on its superior qualities, 
 and gave the history of the very gardener 
 who had reared it, and pledged myself to 
 point out the very spot in his grounds where 
 it grew. 
 
 I became celebrated in Meshed for the 
 excellence of my pipes. My principal cus- 
 tomer was a dervish, who was so great a 
 connoisseur that I never dared to give him 
 any but pure tobacco ; and although I did 
 not gain much by his custom, as he was not 
 very exact in his payments, yet his con- 
 versation was so agreeable, and he recom- 
 mended so many of his friends to me, that
 
 ,s<t 
 
 HAJJI BABA. 103 
 
 .' n "<>": 
 
 I cultivated his good will to the utmost of 
 my power. 
 
 Dervish Sefer (for that was his name) 
 was a man of a peculiar aspect. He had a 
 large aquiline nose, piercing black eyes, a 
 thick beard, and a great quantity of jet 
 black hair flowing over his shoulders. His 
 conical cap was embroidered all over with 
 sentences from the Koran, and holy invoca- 
 tions : the skin of a red deer was fastened 
 loosely upon his back, with the hairy side 
 outwards : he bore in hand a long steel staff, 
 which he generally carried on his shoulder, 
 and in the other a calabash, suspended 
 by three chains, which he extended when- 
 ever he deigned to ask the charity of pas- 
 sengers. In his girdle he wore large 
 agate clasps, from which hung a quan- 
 tity of heavy wooden beads; and, as he 
 swung himself along through the streets 
 and bazars, there was so much of wildness 
 and solicitude in all his words and actions, 
 that he did not fail to inspire a certain 
 awe in all beholders. This, I afterwards
 
 104 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 learnt, was put on, in order to suit the cha- 
 racter which he had adopted ; for when he 
 smoked my pipes, if no one chanced to be 
 present, he was the most natural and unre- 
 served of beings. Our acquaintance soon 
 improved into intimacy, and at length he 
 introduced me into a small circle of der- 
 vishes, men of his own turn and profession, 
 with whom he lived almost exclusively, and 
 I was invited to frequent their meetings. 
 It is true that this did not suit my views in 
 the smoking line, for they amongst them 
 consumed more of my good tobacco than 
 all the rest of my other customers put to- 
 gether; but their society was so agreeable 
 that I could not resist the temptation. 
 
 Dervish Sefer, one evening when we had 
 smoked more than usual, said to me, ' Hajji 
 Baba, you are too much of a man to be a 
 seller of smoke all your life : why do you 
 not turn dervish, like us ? We hold men's 
 beards as cheap as dirt ; and although our 
 existence is precarious, yet it is one of great 
 variety, as well as of great idleness. We
 
 HAJJI BABA. 105 
 
 look upon mankind as fair game we live 
 upon their weakness and credulity; and, 
 from what I have seen of you, I think you 
 would do honour to our profession, and in 
 time become as celebrated as even the fa- 
 mous Sheikh Saadi himself.' This speech 
 was applauded by the other two, who 
 pressed my entering upon their profession. 
 I was nothing loath, but I pleaded my ig- 
 norance of the necessary qualifications. 'How 
 is it possible, 1 said I, ' that a being so ig- 
 norant and unexperienced as I am can at 
 once attain to all the learning requisite for 
 a dervish ? 1 know how to read and write, 
 'tis true ; I have gone through the Koran, 
 and have my Hafiz and Saadi nearly by 
 heart; besides which, I have read a great 
 part of the Shah Nameh of Ferdusi, but 
 beyond that I am totally ignorant.' ' Ah, 
 my friend,' said Dervish Sefer, ' little do 
 you know of dervishes, and still less of hu- 
 man-kind. It is not great learning that is 
 required to make a dervish : assurance is 
 the first ingredient. With one-fiftieth part
 
 100 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 of the accomplishments that you have men- 
 tioned, and with only a common share of 
 effrontery, I promise you, that you may 
 command not only the purses, but even the 
 lives of your hearers. By impudence I have 
 been a prophet, by impudence I have 
 wrought miracles, by impudence I have re- 
 stored the dying to health by impudence, 
 in short, I lead a life of great ease, and am 
 feared and respected by those who, like you, 
 do not know what dervishes are. If I chose 
 to give myself the trouble, and incur the 
 risks which Mahomed himself did, I might 
 even now become as great a prophet as he. 
 It would be as easy for me to cut the moon 
 in two with my finger as it was for him, 
 provided I once made my hearers have con- 
 fidence in me ; arid impudence will do that, 
 and more, if exerted in a proper manner.' 
 When Dervish Sefer had done talking, his 
 companions applauded what he had said, 
 and they related so many curious anecdotes 
 of the feats which they had performed, that 
 I became very anxious to know more of
 
 HAJJI BABA. 107 
 
 these extraordinary men. They promised 
 to relate the history of their lives at our 
 next meeting, and, in the mean while, re- 
 commended me strongly to turn my thoughts 
 to a line of life more dignified, and fuller of 
 enjoyment, than that of a vagabond seller 
 of adulterated smoke.
 
 108 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 History of Dervish Sefer, and of the two other 
 dervishes. 
 
 WHEN we had again collected ourselves 
 together, each with a pipe in his hand, 
 seated with our backs against the wall, in 
 a room, the window of which opened into 
 a small square planted with flowers, Der- 
 vish Sefer, as the acknowledged chief of our 
 society, began his story in the following 
 words : 
 
 * I am the son of the Luti Bashi, or head 
 Merry-Andrew of the Prince of Shiraz, by 
 a celebrated courtezan of the name of Tciou-?, 
 or the Peacock. With such parents, I leave 
 you to imagine the education which I re- 
 ceived. My principal associates, during my 
 infancy, were the monkeys and bears that 
 belonged to my father and his friends, and,
 
 AJJI BABA. 109 
 
 perhaps, it is to. the numerous tricks in 
 which they were instructed, and to the fa- 
 cility with which they learnt them, that I 
 am indebted for the talent of mimickry 
 that has been of so much use to me through 
 life. At fifteen I was an accomplished luti. 
 I could eat fire, spout water, and perform 
 all sorts of sleight of hand, and I should 
 very probably have continued to prosper in 
 this profession, had not the daughter of the 
 prince's general of camel artillery become 
 enamoured of me, as I danced on the tight- 
 rope before the court on the festival of the 
 new year's day. A young camel-driver un- 
 der his orders had a sister who served in the 
 harem of the general : he was my most inti- 
 mate friend, and his sister gave him the in- 
 telligence of the effect my appearance had 
 produced upon her mistress. I immediately 
 went to a mirza or scribe, who lived in a 
 small shed in a corner of the bazar, and 
 requested of him to write a love letter for 
 me, with as much red ink in it as possible, 
 and crossed and re-crossed with all the com-
 
 110 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 plication he could devise. Nothing could 
 be better than this composition for at the 
 very outset it informed my mistress that I 
 was dead, and that my death was owing to 
 the fire of her eyes, that had made roast 
 meat of my heart. Notwithstanding this 
 assertion, I ventured at the end to say that 
 as I had never yet seen her, I hoped that 
 she would contrive to grant me an inter- 
 view. In the joy of my heart for the pos- 
 session of such a letter, in great confidence 
 I told the scribe who my charmer was, 
 Avhich he had no sooner heard, than hoping 
 to receive a present for his trouble, he went 
 forthwith and informed the general himself 
 of the fact. That the son of the Luti Bashi 
 should dare to look up to the daughter of 
 Zamburekchi Bashi was a crime not to be 
 forgiven, and as the latter had influence at 
 court, he procured an order for my instant 
 removal from Shiraz. My father did not 
 wish to incur the prince's displeasure, and 
 fearing, from my growing celebrity, that I 
 should very soon rival him in his own pro-
 
 HAJJI BABA. Ill 
 
 fession, rather urged than delayed my de- 
 parture. On the morning when I was about 
 quitting Shiraz, and was bidding adieu to my 
 friends the monkeys, bears, and other ani- 
 mals under his care, he said to me,' Sefer, my 
 son, I should be sorry to part with you ; but 
 with the education which you have received, 
 and the peculiar advantages which you have 
 had of living almost entirely in the society 
 of me and my beasts, it is impossible but 
 that you will succeed in life. I now endow 
 you with what will ensure you a rapid for- 
 tune. I give you my chief ape, the most 
 accomplished of his species. Make a friend 
 of him for your own sake, and love him for 
 mine; and I hope in time that you will 
 reach the eminence to which your father has 
 attained.' Upon this he placed the animal 
 upon my shoulder, and thus accompanied I 
 left the paternal roof. 
 
 4 I took the road to Ispahan, in no very 
 agreeable mood, for I scarcely knew whe- 
 ther to be happy or sorry for this change 
 in my circumstances. A monkey and inde-
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 pendence were certainly delightful things; 
 but to leave my associates, and the places 
 that were endeared to me from my infancy, 
 and, above all, to abandon that fair un- 
 known, whom my imagination had pictured 
 to me as lovely as Shireen herself, were cir- 
 cumstances which appeared to me so dis- 
 tressing, that by the time I had reached the 
 hut of the dervish, at the Teng Allah Akbar^ 
 my mind sank into a miserable fit of de- 
 spondency. I seated myself on a stone, 
 near the hut, and, with my monkey by my 
 side> I gave vent to my grief in a flood of 
 tears, exclaiming, ' Ah wahi ! Ah wahi f in 
 accents the most piteous that can be ima- 
 gined. 
 
 ' These brought the dervish out, and 
 when he had heard my tale, invited me into 
 the hut, where I found another dervish, of 
 much more commanding aspect than the 
 former. He was clad nearly in the same 
 manner that I am now, (indeed, the cap 1 
 wear was his); but there was a wildness 
 about his looks that was quite imposing.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 113 
 
 ' At the sight of me and my companion, 
 he appeared struck by a sudden thought. 
 He and the other dervish having talked to- 
 gether in private, he proposed that I should 
 accompany him to Ispahan, promised that 
 he would be kind to me, and, if I behaved 
 well, would put me into the way of making 
 my fortune. I readily agreed, and after 
 the dervish of the hut had given us a pipe 
 to smoke, we departed, walking at a good 
 pace, without much being said between us 
 during some time. Dervish Bideen, for that 
 was his name, at length began to question 
 me very closely about my former life, and 
 hearing in what my accomplishments con- 
 sisted, seemed to be well pleased. He then 
 descanted upon the advantages attending 
 the life of a dervish, proved them to be su- 
 perior to the low pursuits of a luti, and at 
 length persuaded me to embrace his pro- 
 fession. He said, that if I would look upon 
 him as my master, he would teach me all he 
 knew, and that, he assured me, was no small 
 portion of knowledge, inasmuch' as he was 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 114 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 esteemed the most perfect dervish in Persia. 
 He began to talk of magic and astrology, 
 and gave me various receipts for making 
 spells and charms, to serve on every occa- 
 sion in life ; by the sale of which alone I 
 should be able to make my fortune. The 
 tail of a hare, placed under the pillow of a 
 child, he assured me, produces sleep; and 
 its blood, given to a horse, makes him fleet 
 and long-winded. The eye and the knuckle 
 bones of a wolf, attached to a boy's person, 
 give him courage ; and its fat, rubbed on 
 a woman, will convert her husband's love 
 into indifference : its gall, used in the same 
 manner, produces fruitfulness. But the 
 article which bore the greatest price in the 
 seraglios was the kus Jceftar, the dried skin 
 of a female hyena; which, if worn about 
 the person, conciliated the affection of all to 
 the wearer. He discoursed long upon these 
 and such like subjects, until he gradually 
 excited so much interest in my heart, by 
 thus placing my fortune apparently in full 
 view, that at length he ventured to make a
 
 HAJJI BABA. 115 
 
 proposal, which he easily judged would be 
 disagreeable. 
 
 * ' Sefer,' said he to me, ' you know not 
 the treasure you possess in that ape, I do 
 not mean as he stands now alive, but dead. 
 If he were dead, I could extract such in- 
 gredients from him to make charms, which 
 would sell for their weight in gold in the 
 harem of the Shah. You must know, that 
 the liver of an ape, and only of that par- 
 ticular species which you possess, is sure to 
 bring back the love of a desired object to 
 the person who may possess it. Then the 
 skin of its nose, if worn round the neck, is 
 a decisive preventive against poison ; and 
 the ashes of the animal itself, after it has 
 been burnt over a slow fire, will, if taken 
 internally, give all the qualities of the ape, 
 cunning, adroitness, and the powers of imi- 
 tation.' He then proposed that we should 
 kill the beast. 
 
 ' I was certainly alarmed at the proposal. 
 I had been brought up with my ape ; we 
 had hitherto gone through life together in
 
 116 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 prosperity as well as in adversity ; and to 
 lose him in this barbarous manner was more 
 than I could bear. I was about to give a 
 flat refusal to the dervish, when I observed 
 that his countenance, which hitherto had 
 been all smiles and good humour, had 
 changed to downright furiousness; and 
 fearing that he would take by force that 
 which I could not protect, I, with all the 
 reluctance imaginable, consented to the exe- 
 cution of his project. We then deviated 
 from the road ; and having got into a so- 
 litary glen, we gathered together some dry 
 stubble and underwood, made a fire, striking 
 a light with a flint and steel, which my com- 
 panion carried about him. He took my 
 poor ape into his hands, and, without far- 
 ther ceremony, put it to death. He then 
 dissected it ; and having taken from it the 
 liver, and the skin off its nose, burnt it in 
 the pile we had made ; and when all was 
 over, carefully collected the ashes, which 
 having packed in a corner of his handker- 
 chief, we proceeded on our journey.
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 117 
 
 4 We reached Ispahan in due time, where 
 I exchanged such parts of my dress as be- 
 longed to the luti for the garb of a dervish, 
 and then we proceeded to Tehran. Here 
 my master's appearance produced great ef- 
 fect; for no sooner was it known that he 
 was arrived, than all sorts of people flocked 
 to consult him. Mothers wanted protection 
 for their children against the evil eye ; wives 
 a spell against the jealousy of their hus- 
 bands; warriors talismans to secure them 
 from harm in battle. But the ladies of the 
 king's seraglio were his principal customers. 
 Their most urgent demand was some power- 
 ful charm to ensure the attention of the 
 king. The collection of materials for this 
 purpose, which the Dervish Bideen had 
 made, was very great. He had the hairs of 
 a lynx, the back bone of an owl, and bear's 
 grease in various preparations. To one of 
 the ladies, who, owing to her advanced age, 
 was more pressing than the others, he sold 
 the liver of my monkey, assuring her, that 
 as soon as she appeared, wearing it about
 
 118 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 her person, his majesty would distinguish 
 her from her rivals. To another, who com- 
 plained that, she was never in favour, and 
 frustrated in all her schemes to attract no- 
 tice, he administered a decoction of the 
 monkey's ashes ; and to a third, who wanted 
 a charm to drive away wrinkles, he gave an 
 ointment, which, if properly applied, and 
 provided she did not laugh, or otherwise 
 move the muscles of her face, would effec- 
 tually keep them smooth. 
 
 4 I was initiated into all these mysteries, 
 and frequently was a party concerned in a 
 fraud, whenever my master was put to the 
 necessity of doing something supernatural 
 to support his credit, if by chance his spells 
 were palpably of no avail. But whatever 
 profit arose either from these services, or 
 from the spoils of my monkey, he alone was 
 the gainer, for I never touched a ghauz * 
 of it. 
 
 ' I accompanied the Dervish Bideen into 
 
 * A ghauz is a small copper coin.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 119 
 
 various countries, where we practised our 
 art: sometimes we were adored as saints, 
 and at others stoned for vagrants. Our 
 journeys being performed on foot, I had 
 good opportunities to see every place in 
 detail. We travelled from Tehran to Con- 
 stantinople, and from that capital to Grand 
 Cairo, through Aleppo and Damascus. From 
 Cairo we showed ourselves at Mecca and 
 Medina ; and taking ship at Jedda, landed 
 at Surat, in the Guzerat, whence we walked 
 to Lahore and Cashmire. 
 
 ' At this last place, the dervish, accord- 
 ing to custom, endeavoured to deceive the 
 natives ; but they were too enlightened for 
 us, and we were obliged to steal away in 
 disgrace ; and we at length fixed ourselves 
 at Herat, where we were repaid for our 
 former want of success by the credulity of 
 the Affghans, who were good enough to admit 
 all that we chose to tell them. But here, as 
 the dervish was getting up a plan to appear 
 as a prophet, and when our machinery for 
 performing miracles was nearly completed,
 
 120 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 
 
 he, who had promised eternal youth to thou- 
 sands, at length paid the debt of nature 
 himself. He had shut himself up in a small 
 hut, situated at the top of a mountain near 
 Herat, where we made the good people be- 
 lieve he was living upon no other food than 
 that which the Gins and Peris brought to 
 him ; but unfortunately he actually died of 
 a surfeit, having eat more of a roast lamb 
 and sweetmeats than his nature could sup- 
 port. For my own credit, I was obliged to 
 say, that the Gins, jealous of us mortals for 
 possessing the society of so wonderful a 
 person, had so inflated him with celestial 
 food, that, leaving no room for his soul, it 
 had been completely blown out of his body, 
 and carried away into the fifth heaven by a 
 strong north-east wind, which was blowing 
 at the time. This wind, which lasts for 120 
 days during the summer months, and with- 
 out which the inhabitants would almost die 
 with heat, I endeavoured to make them be- 
 lieve was a miracle performed by the der- 
 vish in their favour, as a parting legacy to
 
 HAJJI BABA. 121 
 
 them and their descendants for ever. The 
 old men, indeed, who recollected the wind 
 ever since their youth, were incredulous; 
 but their testimony bore but little weight, 
 compared to the influence which we had 
 acquired. He was buried with the greatest 
 honours ; and the prince of Herat himself, 
 EslieJf Mirza, lent his shoulder to bear his 
 coffin to the grave. A mausoleum was 
 erected over it by some of the most pious 
 of the Affghans, and it has even since been 
 a place of pilgrimage from all the country 
 round. 
 
 * I remained at Herat for some time after 
 the death of my companion, in order to 
 enjoy the advantages which might accrue 
 to me from being the friend and disciple of 
 one of such high reputation, and I did not 
 repent of my resolution. I disposed of my 
 spells at great prices, and moreover made a 
 considerable sum by selling the combings of 
 my deceased friend's beard, and the cuttings 
 of his nails, which I assured my purchasers 
 had been carefully preserved during the
 
 122 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 time of his retirement in the mountains; 
 although in fact they were chiefly collected 
 from my own person. When I had sold of 
 these relics enough to make several respect- 
 able beards, and a proportionate quantity of 
 nails, I felt that if I persisted in the traffic, 
 notwithstanding the inordinate credulity of 
 the Affghans, I might be discovered for a 
 cheat, therefore I took my departure, and, 
 having travelled into various parts of Persia, 
 I at length fixed myself among the Hezareh, 
 a large tribe, living for the most part in 
 tents, and which occupy the open country 
 between Caboul and Candahar. My success 
 among them was something quite beyond my 
 expectation, for I put into practice what the 
 Dervish Bideen had planned at Herat, and 
 actually appeared in the character of a pro- 
 phet.' 
 
 The Dervish Sefer then, laying his hand 
 upon the shoulder of the dervish who sat 
 next to him, said, ' My friend, here, was 
 my accomplice on that occasion, and he will 
 remember how ingeniously we managed to
 
 HAJJ1 BABA. 123 
 
 make the Hezareh believe that we possessed 
 a caldron which was always full of boiled 
 rice a miracle which even the most incre- 
 dulous did not fail to believe, as long as 
 they got their share of it. In short, I am 
 the celebrated Hazret Ishan himself; he of 
 whom you have lately heard so much in 
 Khorassan ; and although my sacred cha- 
 racter was not proof against the attacks 
 made upon it by the arms of the Shah, yet, 
 while it lasted, I collected enough from the 
 zeal and credulity of my disciples to enable 
 me to pass the remainder of my life in com- 
 fort. I have lived at Meshed for some 
 time; and it is but a week ago that we 
 contrived to perform the miracle of giving 
 sight to a blind girl ; so now are held in 
 the highest veneration.' 
 
 Here the Dervish Sefer ended his hi- 
 story, and then called upon his next neigh- 
 bour to give an account of himself. 
 
 This was the dervish who had been his 
 accomplice among the Hezareh, and he be- 
 gan 1 as follows :
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 ' My father was a celebrated man of the 
 law, of the city of Kom, enjoying the re- 
 putation of saying his prayers, making his 
 ablutions, and keeping his fasts more re- 
 gularly than any man in Persia ; in short, 
 he was the cream of Shiahs, and the model 
 of Mussulmans. He had many sons, and we 
 were brought up in the strictest practice of 
 the external parts of our religion. The 
 rigour and severity with which we were 
 treated were combated on our part by cun- 
 ning and dissimulation. These qualities 
 gradually fixed themselves in our character; 
 and without any consideration for our cir- 
 cumstances, we were early branded as a nest 
 of hypocrites, and as the greatest cheats and 
 liars of our birth-place. I, in particular, was 
 so notorious, that in my own defence I be- 
 came a dervish, and I owe the reputation 
 which I have acquired in that calling to the 
 following fortunate circumstance. 
 
 f I had scarcely arrived at Tehran, and 
 had taken up my quarters opposite to a 
 druggist's shop, when I was called up in a
 
 HAJJI BABA. 125 
 
 great hurry by an old woman-; who informed 
 me that her master, the druggist, had just 
 been taken exceedingly ill, after having eat 
 more than usual ; that the medicine which 
 he had taken had not performed its office ; 
 and that his family wished to try what 
 a talisman would do for him : she therefore 
 invited me to write one suited to his case. 
 As I had neither paper, pens, nor ink, I 
 insisted upon going into his andertin, or 
 woman's apartments, and writing it there, 
 to which she consented. I was introduced 
 into a small square yard, and then into a 
 room, where I found the sick man extended 
 on his bed on the ground, surrounded by 
 as many women as the place could hold, 
 who cried aloud, and exclaimed, ' wahi, 
 ivaJri, in the name of God he dies, he dies!' 
 The implements of medicine were spread 
 about, which showed that every thing had 
 been done either to kill or save him. A 
 large basin, which had contained the pre- 
 scription, was seen on the shelf; the long 
 glass tube, that instrument of torture, was
 
 126 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 in a corner; and among other furniture, 
 the doctor himself was seen seated, uncon- 
 cernedly enjoying his pipe, and who, having 
 found that human means were inefficient, 
 had had recourse to supernatural, and had 
 prescribed, as a last resource, the talisman, 
 which it was my fate to write. A new der- 
 vish excited new hopes, for I saw that I 
 produced much stir as I entered the sick 
 room. I asked for paper with an air of au- 
 thority, as if I felt great confidence in my 
 own powers, (although, in fact, I had never 
 written a talisman before), and a large piece 
 was produced, which seemed to have been 
 the wrapper to some drug or other. Pen 
 and ink were also given me ; and then call- 
 ing up all my gravity, I scrawled the paper 
 over in a variety of odd characters, which 
 here and there contained the names of Allah, 
 Mohamed, Ali, Hassan, and Hossein, and 
 all the Imams, placing them in different 
 anagrams, and substituting here and there 
 figures instead of letters. I then handed it 
 over with great ceremony to the doctor, who
 
 HAJJI BABA. 127 
 
 calling for water and a basin, washed the 
 whole from off the paper into the basin, 
 whilst the bystanders offered up prayers for 
 the efficacy of the precious writing. The 
 doctor then said, ' In the name of the pro- 
 phet, let the. patient take this ; and if fate 
 hath decreed that he is to live, then the 
 sacred names which he will now swallow 
 will restore him: but if not, neither my 
 skill, nor that of any other man, can ever 
 be of the least avail.' 
 
 f The draught was administered, and 
 every eye was immediately fixed upon the 
 wretched man's face, as if a resuscitation 
 was expected to ensue. He remained for 
 some time without showing any symptom 
 of life ; when, to the astonishment of all, 
 not excepting myself and the doctor, he 
 groaned, opened his eyes, raised his head 
 on his arm, then called for a basin, and at 
 length yomited in a manner that would 
 have done credit to the prescription of Abu 
 Avicenna himself. In short, he recovered. 
 
 In my own mind, I immediately attri-
 
 128 THE ADVENTUHES OF 
 
 buted the happy change to the drug which 
 had once been wrapped in the paper, and 
 which with the nausea of the ink, had pro- 
 duced the effect just described ; but I took 
 care to let the bystanders know that the cure 
 was entirely owing to the interference, and 
 to the hand writing of one of my sanctity; 
 and that but for me he would have died. 
 
 ( The doctor, on the other hand, took all 
 the merit of the case to himself; for as soon 
 as his patient had opened his eyes, he ex- 
 claimed, ' Did I not tell you so?' and in pro- 
 portion as the draught operated, he went on 
 exulting thus: ' There, there, see the efficacy 
 of my prescription ! Had it not been for me, 
 you would have seen the druggist dead be- 
 fore you.' 
 
 ' I, however, would not allow him to pro- 
 ceed, and said : ' If you are a doctor, why 
 did you not cure your patient without call- 
 ing for me? Keep to your blisters and to 
 your bleedings, and do not interfere with 
 that which doth not belong to you.' 
 
 ' He answered, ' Mr. Dervish, I make no
 
 HAJJI BABA. 129 
 
 doubt that you can write a very good talis- 
 man, and also can get a very good price for 
 it ; but every one knows who and what der- 
 vishes are ; and if their talismans are ever of 
 use, it is not their sanctity which makes 
 them so.' 
 
 ' ' Whose dog are you,' exclaimed I, in 
 return, ' to talk to me after this manner ? I, 
 who am a servant of the prophet. As for 
 you doctors, your ignorance is proverbial : 
 you hide it by laying all to fate : if by chance 
 your patient recovers, then you take all the 
 creditof thecure to yourselves; shouldhedie, 
 you say, God hath decreed thus ; what can 
 the efforts of man avail ? Go to, go to ; when 
 you have nearly killed your next patient, 
 and then know not what more to ordain, 
 send for me again, and I will cover your 
 impudent ignorance by curingTiim as I 
 have just done the druggist.' 
 
 ' ' By my head, and by your death,' re- 
 turned the doctor, ' I am not a man to hear 
 this from any one, much less from a dog of 
 a dervish f and immediately he got up, and 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 
 
 approached me in a threatening attitude, 
 making use of every epithet of abuse that 
 he could think of. 
 
 ' I received him with suitable expressions 
 of contempt, and we very soon came to 
 blows : he so effectually fastened upon my 
 hair, and I upon his beard, that we plucked 
 out whole handfuls from each other : we bit 
 and spat, and fought with such fury, heed- 
 less of the sick man and the cries of the wo- 
 men, that the uproar became very great, 
 and perhaps would have terminated in 
 something serious, if one of the women had 
 not run in to us, in great agitation, assuring 
 us that the Darogah's officers (police men) 
 were then knocking at the door of the house, 
 and inquiring whence proceeded all the dis- 
 turbance. 
 
 ' This parted us ; and then I was happy 
 to find that the bystanders were in my fa- 
 vour, for they expressed their contempt of 
 the skill of the physician, whose only object 
 was to obtain money without doing his pa- 
 tients any good, whilst they looked upon
 
 HAJJI BABA. 131 
 
 me in the light of a divine person, who in 
 my hand-writing alone possessed the power 
 of curing all manner of disease. 
 
 ' The doctor, seeing how ill matters 
 were going for him, stole away with the 
 best face he could ; but before he left the 
 room, he stooped down, and collecting as 
 many of the hairs of his beard, which I 
 had plucked from him, as he could find, to 
 which he cunningly added some of my own 
 hair, he brandished them in my face, say- 
 ing, ' We shall see on whose side the laugh 
 will be when you are brought before the 
 Cadi to-morrow; for beards are worth a 
 ducat* per hair in Tehran, and I doubt, 
 with all your talismans, whether you can 
 buy these that I hold in my hand.' 
 
 ' It was evident, that when his anger was 
 cooled, out of regard to his own reputa- 
 tion, he would not put his threat into exe- 
 cution ; so the fear of being dragged be- 
 
 * A beard is held so sacred in the East, that every 
 hair which grows upon a Moharaedan's chin is pro- 
 tected from molestation by a heavy fine. 
 
 K 2
 
 132 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 fore the justice gave me no uneasiness, and 
 I therefore only considered how to make 
 the most of the fortunate circumstance which 
 had just taken place. The report that the 
 druggist (who was the first in Tehran) had 
 been brought to life, when on the point of 
 death, by a newly arrived dervish, was soon 
 spread about, and I became the object of 
 general concern. From morning to night 
 I was taken up in writing talismans, for 
 which I made my customers pay according 
 to their means, and in a short time I found 
 myself the possessor of some hundreds of 
 piastres. But unfortunately for me, I did 
 not meet with a dying druggist and a piece 
 of his paper every day ; and feeling myself 
 reduced to live upon the reputation of this 
 one miracle, which I perceived to my sor- 
 row daily diminished, I made a virtue of 
 necessity, and determining to make the tour 
 of Persia, I immediately left Tehran. To 
 whichsoever city I bent my steps, I managed 
 matters so adroity, that I made my reputa- 
 tion precede my arrival there. The drug-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 133 
 
 gist had given me an attestation, under his 
 seal, that he had been restored to life by 
 virtue of a talisman written by my hand, 
 and this I exhibited wherever I went, to 
 corroborate the truth of the reports which 
 had been circulated in my favour. I am 
 now living upon this reputation : it supports 
 me very tolerably for the present, but when- 
 ever I find that it begins to fail, I shall pro- 
 ceed elsewhere.' The dervish here ended 
 his history. 
 
 When the third dervish came to his turn 
 to speak, he said : ' My tale is but short, 
 although story-telling is my profession. I 
 am the son of a schoolmaster, who, per- 
 ceiving that I was endowed with a very re- 
 tentive memory, made me read and repeat 
 to him most of the histories with which our 
 language abounds ; and when he found 
 that he had furnished my mind with a suf- 
 ficient assortment, he turned me out into the 
 world under the garb of dervish, to relate 
 them in public to such audiences -as my 
 talents might gather round me.
 
 134 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 ' My first essays were any thing but suc- 
 cessful. My auditors heard my stories, 
 and then walked away without leaving me 
 any reward for my pains. Little by little 
 I acquired experience. Instead of being 
 carried away, as I had at first permitted 
 myself to be, by the interest of the story, 
 I made a pause when the catastrophe drew 
 near, and then, looking around me, said, 
 ' All ye that are present, if you will be 
 liberal towards me, I will tell you what fol- 
 lows;' and I seldom failed in collecting a 
 good handful of copper coin. For instance, 
 in the story of the Prince of Khatai and 
 the Princess of Samarcand, when the Ogree 
 Hezar Mun seizes the prince, and is about 
 to devour him ; when he is suspended in 
 the ogre's mouth, between his upper and 
 lower jaw; when the princess, all dishevelled 
 and forlorn, is on her knees praying that 
 he may be spared; when the attendants 
 couch their lances, and are in dismay; when 
 the horses start back in fright; when the 
 thunder rolls, and the ogre growls ; then I
 
 HAJJI BABA. 135 
 
 stop, and say, 'Now, my noble hearers, 
 open your purses, and you shall hear in 
 how miraculous a manner the Prince of 
 Khatai cut the ogre's head off!' By such 
 arts, I manage to extract a subsistence 
 from the curiosity of men ; and when my 
 stock of stories is exhausted in one place, I 
 leave it, travel to another, and there renew 
 my labours.'
 
 136 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Hajji Baba finds that fraud does not remain un- 
 punished, even in this world. He makes fresh 
 plans. 
 
 THE dervishes having finished their nar- 
 ratives, I thanked them for the entertain- 
 ment and instruction which they had af- 
 forded me, and I forthwith resolved to learn 
 as much from them as possible, in order to 
 become a dervish myself, in case I should 
 be obliged to abandon my present business. 
 Dervish Sefer instructed me in the numer- 
 ous tricks which he practised, to impose 
 himself upon the world as a person of great 
 sanctity ; I learned the art of writing talis- 
 mans from the second ; and the story-teller 
 taught me some of the tales with which his 
 head was stored, lent me his books, and 
 gave me general rules how to lead on the
 
 HAJJI BABA. 137 
 
 curiosity of an audience, until their money 
 should insensibly be enticed from their 
 pockets. 
 
 In the mean while, I continued to sell my 
 tobacco and my pipes ; but owing to my 
 intimacy with the dervishes, who smoked 
 away all my profits, I was obliged to adul- 
 terate the tobacco of my other customers 
 considerably more than usual ; so that in 
 fact they enjoyed little else than the fumes 
 of dung, straw, and decayed leaves. 
 
 One evening, when it was dusk, and 
 about the time of closing the bazars, an old 
 woman in rags, apparently bent double 
 with age, stopped me, and requested me to 
 dress a pipe for her to smoke. She was 
 closely veiled, and scarcely uttered a word 
 beyond her want. I filled her one of my 
 very worst mixture: she put it to her 
 mouth ; and at her spitting, coughing, and 
 exclamations, half a dozen stout fellows, 
 with long twigs in their hands, immediately 
 came up, seized me, and threw me on my 
 back. The supposed old woman then cast
 
 138 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 off her veil, and I beheld the Mohtesib* in 
 person. 
 
 * At length, wretch of an IspaJianl !' said 
 he, ' I have caught you you, that have so 
 long been poisoning the people of Meshed 
 with your abominable mixtures. You shall 
 receive as many strokes on your feet as you 
 have received shahies^ for your pipes.' 
 ' Bring ihefeleJc^ said he, to his officers, 
 ' and lay on till his nails drop off.' 
 
 My feet were instantly inserted into the 
 dreaded noose, and the blows fell upon 
 them so thick, that I soon saw the images of 
 ten thousand Mohtesibs, intermixed with 
 ten thousand old women, dancing before 
 
 * The Mohtesib is an officer who perambulates 
 the city, and examines weights and measures, and 
 qualities of provisions. 
 
 + Twenty shahies make the groust or piastre, 
 which is worth about two shillings British. 
 
 J The felek is a long pole, with a noose in the 
 middle, through which the feet of him who is to be 
 bastinadoed are passed, whilst its extremities are 
 held up by two men, for the two others, who strike.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 139 
 
 my eyes, apparently enjoying my torture, 
 and laughing at my writhing and contor- 
 tions. I implored the mercy of my tor- 
 mentor by the souls of his father, mother, 
 and grandfather by his own head by 
 that of his child and by that of his prince; 
 by the Prophet by Ali and by all the 
 Imams. I cursed tobacco. I renounced 
 smoking. I appealed to the feelings of the 
 surrounding spectators, to my friends the 
 three dervishes, who stood there stirring 
 neither limb nor muscle for me ; in short, I 
 bawled, cried, entreated, until I entirely lost 
 all sensation and all recollection. 
 
 At length, when I came to myself, I 
 found myself seated with my head against 
 the wall on the side of the road, surrounded 
 by a crowd gaping at my miserable situa- 
 tion. No one seemed to pity me. My 
 pipes, my jug. and every thing that I pos- 
 sessed, had been taken from me, and I was 
 left to crawl to my home as well as I was 
 able. Luckily it was not far off, and I
 
 140 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 reached it on my hands and knees, making 
 the most piteous moans imaginable. 
 
 After I had remained a day in horrid 
 torment, with my feet swelled into a mis- 
 shapen mass of flesh and gore, I received a 
 visit from one of the dervishes, who ven- 
 tured to approach me, fearful, as he told 
 me, of being taken up as my accomplice, in 
 case he had come sooner to my help. He 
 had, in his early career, undergone a similar 
 beating himself, and, therefore, knew what 
 remedies to apply to my limbs, which, in a 
 short time, restored them to their former 
 state. 
 
 During my confinement, I had time to 
 reflect upon my situation. I determined to 
 leave Meshed, for I felt that I had entered 
 it at an unlucky hour. Once my back had 
 been sprained, and once I had been basti- 
 nadoed. I had managed to collect a small 
 sum of money, which I kept carefully buried 
 in a corner near my room ; and with this I 
 intended to make my way to Tehran by the
 
 HAJJI BABA. 141 
 
 very first caravan that should be on its de- 
 parture. I communicated my plan to the 
 dervishes, who applauded it ; and, more- 
 over, the Dervish Sefer offered to accom- 
 pany me ; * for,' said he, ' I have been 
 warned that the priesthood of Meshed are 
 jealous of my increasing influence, and that 
 they are laying a plot for my ruin ; and, as 
 it is impossible to withstand their power, I 
 will try my fortunes elsewhere.' 
 
 It was agreed that I should put on the 
 dress of a dervish ; and having made my 
 purchases, in the bazar, of a cap, some 
 beads, and a goat's skin, which I slung 
 across my shoulder, I was ready to begin 
 my journey at a moment's warning. 
 
 We became so impatient to depart, that 
 we had almost made up our minds to set off 
 without any other companions, and trust to 
 our good fortune to find our road, and 
 escape the dangers of it ; but we determined 
 to take a fall* out of Saadi, before we came 
 
 * Saadi, Hafiz, and the Koran, are the three 
 books to which the Persians most willingly refer
 
 142 THE ADVENTUKES OF 
 
 to a resolution. Dervish Sefer, after making 
 the usual prayer, opened the book, and 
 read : ' It is contrary to reason, and to the 
 advice of the wise, to take medicine without 
 confidence, or to travel an unknown road 
 without accompanying the caravan.' This 
 extraordinary warning settled our minds, 
 and we determined to be guided by it. 
 
 On making inquiries about the departure 
 of caravans for Tehran, I was delighted to 
 meet my friend Ali Katir, the muleteer, 
 who had just arrived at Meshed, and was 
 then making a bargain with a merchant, to 
 convey merchandize, consisting of the lambs' 
 skins of Bokhara, to the capital. As soon 
 as he saw me, he uttered an exclamation of 
 delight, and immediately lighted his nargil, 
 or water pipe, which he invited me to smoke 
 with him. I related all my adventures since 
 we last parted, and he gave me an account 
 of his. Having left Meshed with a caravan 
 
 for this mode of divination. Its resemblance to 
 that of the Sortes Virgilianae must occur to every 
 reader.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 143 
 
 for Ispahan, with his mules loaded partly 
 with bars of silver, and partly with lambs' 
 skins ; and having undergone great fears on 
 account of the Turcomans he reached his 
 destination in safety. That city was still 
 agitated with the recollections of the late 
 attack of the caravanserai, of which I have 
 given an account; and the general belief 
 was, that the invaders had made their ap- 
 proach in a body, consisting of more than a 
 thousand men ; that they had been received 
 with great bravery, and that one Kerbelai 
 Hassan, a barber, had, with his own hand, 
 wounded one of the chiefs so severely, 
 that he had escaped with the greatest dif- 
 ficulty. 
 
 I had always kept this part of my ad- 
 ventures secret from every body ; so I hid 
 any emotion that might appear on my face 
 from the muleteer, by puffing out a sufficient 
 volume of smoke in his face. 
 
 From Ispahan he carried cotton stuffs, 
 tobacco, and copper ware to Yezd, where 
 he remained some time, until a caravan was
 
 144 THE ADVENTUKES OF 
 
 collected for Meshed, when he loaded his 
 mules with the manufactures of the former 
 city. Ali Katir agreed that Dervish Sefer 
 and I should return with him to Tehran, 
 and that whenever we were tired with walk- 
 ing, he would willingly assist us, by per- 
 mitting us to njount his mules.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 145 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Hajji Baba leaves Meshed, is cured of his sprain, 
 and relates a story. 
 
 WHEN I had cleared the gate which 
 leads out of Meshed to Tehran, I shook 
 the collar of my coat, and exclaimed to my- 
 self: * May Heaven send thee misfortunes !" 
 for had I been heard by any one of the pil- 
 grims, who were now on their return 
 it very probably would have gone ill with 
 me. My companion, Dervish Sefer, whom 
 I knew to be of my mind, entered into my 
 feelings, and we both vented our spleen 
 against the inhabitants of that place ; I for 
 the drubbings which had been inflicted upon 
 me, he for the persecutions he had under 
 gone from the Mollahs. 
 
 * As for you, my friend,' said be to me, 
 * you are young ; you'have much to suffer 
 VOL. i. , L
 
 146 1 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 before you gain the experience necessary to 
 carry you through life: do not repine at 
 the first beating ; it will probably save you 
 many more, and will teach you another time 
 to discover a Mohtesib, although hid under 
 a woman's veil: but (taking hold of his 
 beard) for a man of my age, one who has 
 seen so much of the world, to be obliged to 
 set out upon his travels again, is truly a 
 great misfortune.' 
 
 ' But it would have been easy for you, 1 
 said I, i to remain at Meshed, if you had 
 chosen it: had you been regular in your 
 prayers and ablutions, you might have bid 
 defiance to the Mollahs.' 
 
 ' That is true enough,' said the Dervish ; 
 ' but the fact is, that the festival of the 
 Ramazan is now close at hand, when 1 
 should have been more closely watched 
 than ever by them; and as I cannot and 
 will not fast (smoking being as necessary to 
 me as air, and wine as daily bread), I have. 
 thought it better to make a journey during 
 that time, for the sake of the indulgence
 
 HAJJI BABA. 147 
 
 which is permitted to travellers. I might 
 perhaps have deceived them, as I have fre- 
 quently done before, by eating and smoking 
 in secret ; but one so notorious as I, who 
 lives by the supposed sanctity of his cha- 
 racter, being narrowly watched, cannot take 
 such liberties.' 
 
 We arrived at Semnan without the oc- 
 currence of any thing remarkable, except- 
 ing, that a day or two before we reached it, 
 when I was helping my friend Ali Katir to 
 load one of his mules, I sprained my back 
 again in its old place : the pain was so 
 great, that it became impossible for me to 
 proceed with the caravan, and I determined 
 to remain where I was until I was cured; 
 particularly, as all danger from the Turco- 
 mans having passed, it was needless to make 
 myself any longer a dependent upon a ca- 
 ravan. Dervish Sefer, who was anxious to 
 get to the wine and pleasures of the capital, 
 continued his journey. 
 
 I took up my abode in a tomb on the 
 skirts of the town ; and having spread my
 
 148 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 goat's skin in a corner of it, I proclaimed 
 my arrival, according to the custom adopted 
 by travelling dervishes, blowing my horn, 
 and making my exclamations of //a, Hu, 
 Allah Akbar, in a most sonorous and audi- 
 ble manner. I had allowed my person to 
 acquire a wild and extravagant appearance, 
 and flattered myself that I did credit to the 
 instructions which had been given me in the 
 arts of deception. 
 
 I was visited by several women, for whom 
 I wrote talismans, and they repaid me by 
 small presents of fruit, milk, honey, and 
 other trifles. My back became so painful, 
 that I was obliged to inquire if no one at 
 Semnan could afford me relief. The barber 
 and the farrier were the only two supposed 
 to possess any medical talents; the one 
 &killed in bleeding, drawing teeth, and 
 setting a limb ; the other, from his knowledge 
 in the diseases of horses, being often con- 
 sulted in human ailments. There was also 
 a gis sefid, or gray wig, an old woman of a 
 hag-like and decrepit appearance, who was
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 149 
 
 looked up to as an oracle in all cases where 
 the knowledge of the barber and farrier was 
 of no avail, and who had besides a great 
 many nostrums and recipes for all sorts of 
 aches. Each came to me in succession : all 
 were agreed that my disorder proceeded 
 from cold ; and as fire was the hottest thing 
 in opposition to cold that they knew of, they 
 as unanimously agreed that the actual cau- 
 tery should immediately be applied to the 
 part; and the farrier, on account of his 
 dealings in hot and cold iron, was appointed 
 operator. He accordingly brought a pan 
 of charcoal, a pair of bellows, and some 
 small skewers; and seating himself in a 
 corner, made his fire, and heated his skewers : 
 when they were red hot, I was placed on 
 the ground flat on my face, and then, with 
 great solemnity, my back was seared with 
 the burning iron, whilst all the by-standers, 
 at every touch, exclaimed, with great ear- 
 nestness, * Khoda shefa midehed,' God gives 
 relief. My medical attendants, in their 
 united wisdom, out of compliment to the
 
 150 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 prophet and the twelve Imams, marked nu 
 in thirteen different places ; and although, 
 when I had endured half the operation. 1 
 began to cry out most lustily with the pain, 
 still I was not let off until the whole was 
 gone through. It was long before the 
 wounds which they had inflicted were cured ; 
 and as they never would heal unless I was 
 kept in perfect quiet, I confined myself to 
 my cell for a considerable time ; at the end 
 of which, my sprain had entirely, taken its 
 leave, and strength was restored to my whole 
 frame. Of course, my recovery was attri- 
 buted to the thirteen worthies, who had pre- 
 sided over the operation, and all the town 
 became more than ever persuaded of the 
 efficacy of hot iron; but I could not but 
 think that long repose had been my best 
 doctor an opinion which I took care to 
 keep to myself; for I had no objection that 
 the world should believe that I was a pro- 
 tege of so many holy personages. 
 
 I now determined to pursue my journey 
 to Tehran ; but before I ventured to pro-
 
 IIAJJI BABA. 151 
 
 dute myself as a dervish upon that stage, 
 I resolved to try my talent in relating a 
 story before a Semnan audience. Accord- 
 ingly, I went to a small open space, that is 
 situated near the entrance of the bazars, 
 where most of the -idlers of the town flock 
 about noon ; and making the sort of ex- 
 clamations usual upon such occasions, I 
 soon collected a crowd, who settled them- 
 selves on the ground, round the place 
 which I had fixed upon for my theatre. A 
 short story, touching a barber at Bagdad 
 (which I had heard when I was myself in 
 that profession), luckily came into my me- 
 mory; and, standing in the middle of a 
 circle of louts with uplifted eyes and open 
 mouths, I made my debut in the following 
 words : 
 
 * In the reign of the Caliph Haroun- 
 al Rashid, of happy memory, lived in the 
 city of Bagdad a celebrated barber, of the 
 name of Ali Sakal. He was so famous for 
 a steady hand, and dexterity in his pro- 
 fession, that he could shave a head, and
 
 152 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 trim a beard and whiskers, with his eyes 
 blind-folded, without once drawing blood. 
 There was not ,a man of any fashion at 
 Bagdad who did not employ him ; and such 
 a run of business had he, that at length he 
 became proud and insolent, and would 
 scarcely ever touch a head, whose master 
 was not at least a Beg- or an Aga. Wood 
 for fuel was always scarce and dear at Bag- 
 dad ; and as his shop consumed a great 
 deal, the wood-cutters brought their loads 
 to him in preference, almost sure of meet- 
 ing with a ready sale. It happened one 
 day, that a poor wood-cutter, new in his 
 profession, and ignorant of the character of 
 AH Sakal, went to his shop, and offered 
 him for sale a load of wood, which he had 
 just brought from a considerable distance 
 in the country, on his ass : Ali immediately 
 offered him a price, making use of these 
 words, i jor all the wood that was upon the 
 ass' The wood-cutter agreed, unloaded 
 his beast, and asked for the money. ' You 
 have not given me all the wood yet,' said
 
 HAJJI BABA. 153 
 
 the barber ; * I must have the pack-saddle 
 (which is chiefly made of wood) into the 
 bargain ; that was our agreement.' ' How !' 
 said the other, in great amazement < who 
 ever heard of such a bargain? it is im- 
 possible.' In short, after many words and 
 much altercation, the overbearing barber 
 seized the pack-saddle, wood and all, and 
 sent away the poor peasant in great distress. 
 He immediately ran to the Cadi, and stated 
 his griefs : the Cadi was one of the barber's 
 customers, and refused to hear the case. 
 The wood-cutter applied to a higher judge : 
 he also patronized Ali Sakal, and made 
 light of the complaint. The poor man 
 then appealed to the Mufti himself; who, 
 having pondered over the question, at length 
 settled, that it was too difficult a case for 
 him to decide, no provision being made for 
 it in the Koran, and therefore he must put 
 up with his loss. The wood-cutter was 
 not disheartened ; but forthwith got a scribe 
 to write a petition to the Caliph himself, 
 which he duly presented on Friday, the
 
 154 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 day when he went in state to the mosque. 
 The Caliph's punctuality in reading pe- 
 titions is well known, and it was not long 
 before the wood-cutter was called to his 
 presence. When he had approached the 
 Caliph, he kneeled and kissed the ground, 
 and then placing his arms straight before 
 him, his hands covered with the sleeves of 
 his cloak, and his feet close together, he 
 awaited the decision of his case. ' Friend,' 
 said the Caliph, ' the barber has words on 
 his side you have equity on yours. The 
 law must be defined by words, and agree- 
 ments must be made by words: the former 
 must have its course, or it is nothing ; and 
 agreements must be kept, or there would 
 be no faith between man and man ; there- 
 fore the barber must keep all his wood; 
 
 but ' Then calling the wood-cutter close 
 
 to him, the Caliph whispered something in 
 his ear, which none but he could hear, and 
 then sent him away quite satisfied. 
 
 Here then I made a pause in my narra- 
 tive, and said (whilst I extended a small tin
 
 HAJJI BABA. 155 
 
 cup which I held in my hand), ' Now, my 
 noble audience, if you will give me some- 
 thing, I will tell you what the Caliph said 
 to the wood-cutter. 1 I had excited great 
 curiosity, and there was scarcely one of my 
 hearers who did not give me a piece of 
 money. 
 
 ' Well then, 1 said I, < the Caliph whis- 
 pered to the wood-cutter what he was to do, 
 in order to get satisfaction from the barber, 
 and what that was I wiH now relate. The 
 wood-cutter having made his obeisances, 
 returned to his ass, which was tied without, 
 took it by the halter, and proceeded to his 
 home. A few days after, he applied to the 
 barber, as if nothing had happened between 
 them, requesting that he, and a companion 
 of his from the country, might enjoy the 
 dexterity of his hand; and the price at 
 'which both operations were to be performed 
 was settled. When the wood-cutter's crown 
 had been properly shorn, All Sakal asked 
 where his companion was. * He is just 
 standing without here,' said the other, 'and
 
 156 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 he shall come in presently.' Accordingly 
 he went out, and returned, leading his ass 
 after him by the halter. ' This is my com- 
 panion,' said he, 'and you must shave him/ 
 ' Shave him !' exclaimed the barber, in the 
 greatest surprise ; * it is enough that I have 
 consented to demean myself by touching 
 you, and do you insult me by asking me to 
 do as much to your ass ? Away with you, 
 or I'll send you both to Jehanum;' and 
 forthwith drove them out of his shop. 
 
 ' The wood-cutter immediately went to 
 the Caliph, was admitted to his presence, 
 and related his case. * 'Tis well,' said the 
 commander of the faithful : ' bring Ali Sakal 
 and his razors to me this instant,' he ex- 
 claimed to one of his officers ; and in the 
 course of ten minutes the barber stood be- 
 fore him. ' Why do you refuse to shave 
 this man's companion ?' said the Caliph to 
 the barber : ' was not that your agreement ?' 
 Ali, kissing the ground, answered : ' 'Tis 
 true, O Caliph, that such was our agree- 
 ment ; but who ever made a companion of
 
 HAJJI BABA. 157 
 
 an ass before ? or who ever before thought 
 of treating it like a true believer ?' * You 
 may say right,' said the Caliph : ' but, at 
 the same time, who ever thought of insist- 
 ing upon a pack-saddle being included in a 
 load of wood ? No, no, it is the wood-cut- 
 ter's turn now. To the ass immediately, or 
 you know the consequences.' The barber 
 was then obliged to prepare a great quan- 
 tity of soap, to lather the beast from head 
 to foot, and to shave him in the presence of 
 the Caliph and of the whole court, whilst he 
 was jeered and mocked by the taunts and 
 laughing of all the bystanders. The poor 
 wood-cutter was then dismissed with an 
 appropriate present of money, and all Bag- 
 dad resounded with the story, and cele- 
 brated the justice of the Commander of the 
 faithful.'
 
 158 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Of the man he meets, and of the consequences of the 
 'encounter. 
 
 I LEFT Semnan with a light heart my 
 sprain was cured I was young and hand- 
 some twenty tomauns, my savings at 
 Meshed, clinked in my purse I had ac- 
 quired some experience in the world ; and 
 I. determined, as soon as I reached Tehran, 
 to quit the garb of a dervish, to dress my- 
 self well from head to foot, and to endea- 
 vour to push my fortunes in some higher 
 walk in life. 
 
 About a day's journey from Tehran, as 
 I was walking onward, chanting, with all 
 my throat, a song on the loves of Leilah 
 and Majnoun, I was overtaken by a courier, 
 who entered into conversation with me, and 
 invited me to partake of some victuals which
 
 HAJJI BABA. 159 
 
 he had brought with him. The heat of the 
 day being overpowering, I willingly accepted 
 his invitation. We settled ourselves on the 
 borders of a rivulet, near a corn-field, whilst 
 the courier took off his horse's bridle, and 
 permitted it to feed on the new wheat. He 
 then groped up, from the deep folds of his 
 riding trowsers, a pocket handkerchief, in 
 which were wrapped several lumps of cold 
 boiled rice, and three or four flaps of bread, 
 which he spread before us, and then added 
 some sour curds, which he poured from a 
 small bag that hung at his saddle-bow. 
 From the same trowsers, which contained 
 his shoes, a provision of tobacco, a drinking 
 cup, and many other useful articles, he drew 
 half a dozen raw onions, which he added to 
 the feast; and we eat with such appetite, 
 that very soon we were reduced to the me- 
 lancholy dessert of sucking our fingers. We 
 washed the whole down with some water 
 from the rivulet, and only then (such had 
 been our voracity) we thought of question- 
 ing each other concerning the object of our
 
 160 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 respective journeys. From my dress, he 
 perceived me to be a dervish, and my story 
 was soon told: as for himself, he was a 
 courier belonging to the governor of As- 
 terabad, and, to my joy and surprise, was 
 carrying the happy intelligence of the re- 
 lease of my former companion, Asker Khan, 
 the Shah's poet, from his captivity among the 
 Turcomans. I did not let the courier know 
 how much I was interested in his errand, 
 for experience had taught me how wise it 
 was, in the affairs of life, to keep one's own 
 counsel; and, therefore, I pretended igno- 
 rance of even the existence of such a person. 
 My companion informed me that the 
 poet had managed to reach Asterabad in 
 safety, and that, being destitute of every 
 thing, he, in the meanwhile, had been de- 
 spatched to give intelligence of his situation 
 to his family. He showed me the letters 
 with which he was entrusted, which he drew 
 forth from his breast, wrapped up in a hand- 
 kerchief; and being a very inquisitive fellow, 
 though unable to read, he was happy to find
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 161 
 
 in me one who might give him some account 
 of their contents. The first which I inspected 
 was a memorial from the poet to the King 
 of Kings, in which he set forth, in language 
 the most poetic, all the miseries and tor- 
 tures which he had endured since he had 
 been thrown into the hands of the Turco- 
 mans : that the hunger, the thirst, and the 
 barbarous treatment which he had expe- 
 rienced, were nothing, when compared with 
 the privation of the all-gracious and re- 
 fulgent presence of that pearl of royalty, 
 that gem of magnificence, the quintessence 
 of all earthly perfection, the great King of 
 Kings ! that as the vilest reptile that crawls 
 is permitted to enjoy the warmth of the 
 glorious sun, so he, the meanest of the 
 king^s subjects, hoped once more to bask 
 in the sunshine of the royal countenance ; 
 and, finally, he humbly prayed, that his 
 long absence might not deprive him of the 
 shadow of the throne ; that he might aspire 
 to re-occupy his former post near his ma- 
 jesty's person, and once again be permitted 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 162 
 
 to vie with the nightingale, and sing of the 
 charms and perfections of his lovely rose. 
 
 The next letter was addressed to the 
 prime vizier, in which that notorious mini- 
 ster, decrepit in person, and nefarious in 
 conduct, was called a planet among the stars, 
 and the sheet-anchor of the state, and in 
 which the poet sues for his protection. 
 There was nearly a similar one to his 
 former enemy, the lord high treasurer. I 
 then inspected the letters addressed to his 
 family, of which one was to his wife, an- 
 other to his son's tutor, and a third to his 
 steward. To his wife, he talked of the in- 
 terior arrangements of his anderun ; hoped 
 that she had been economical in her dress, 
 that she had kept the female slaves in good 
 order, and desired her immediately to set 
 herself and them about making clothes for 
 him, as he was destitute of every thing. 
 
 To the tutor, he enjoined great attention 
 to his son's manners; hoped that he had 
 been taught all the best forms of cant and 
 compliment ; that he never omitted to say
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 163 
 
 his prayers ; that he was by this time able 
 to sit a horse, to perform the spear exercise, 
 and to fire a gun on the full gallop. 
 
 To his steward, he gave some general 
 instructions concerning the administration 
 of his affairs enjoined great economy ; 
 that he should daily go and stand before 
 the prime vizier ; praise him to the skies ; 
 and make all sorts of professions, on his 
 part, to his excellency ; that he should keep 
 a good watch upon his women and slaves ; 
 that his wife should not go too often to the 
 bath ; that when she and her slaves went 
 abroad to take the air, he should accompany 
 them. He hoped that no intriguing old 
 women, particularly Jewesses, had been ad- 
 mitted into his harem ; and that the walls, 
 which surrounded the women's apartments, 
 had always been kept in good repair, in order 
 to prevent gadding on the house-top with 
 the neighbours. He ordered that his black 
 slave, Johur, was now no longer to be 
 allowed free access into the andervin ; and 
 if ever seen to be familiar with any of the 
 
 M 2
 
 164 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 female slaves, he and they were to be 
 whipped : finally, he desired the steward to 
 give the courier a handsome reward, for 
 being the bearer of such good news to his 
 family. 
 
 I folded up the letters again; those 
 which had been sealed, I again sealed*, 
 and returned to the courier. He seemed to 
 reckon a great deal upon the reward that 
 he was to get for bringing the first intelli- 
 gence of the poet's safety, and told me that, 
 fearing some other might get the start of 
 him, he had travelled day and night; and 
 added, that the horse, which he now be- 
 strode, belonged to a peasant, from whom 
 he had taken it forcibly on the road, having 
 left his own, which was knocked up, to be 
 brought on after him. 
 
 * A Persian letter is folded up like a lady's thread 
 paper, and fastened in the middle by a slip of ad- 
 hesive paper, which is moistened with the tongue, 
 and then stamped with the seal of the writer. 
 Thus, letters are frequently opened and reclosed 
 without detection.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 165 
 
 After we had conversed a little more, he 
 seemed entirely overpowered by fatigue, 
 and fell into a profound sleep. As he lay 
 extended on the grass, I looked upon him, 
 and I began to reflect how easy it would be 
 to forestall him. I knew the whole of the 
 poet's history ; in fact, I was in some mea- 
 sure identified with it. I began to think 
 that I had a right to the first relation of it. 
 Then as to the horse, it was as much 
 mine as his ; particularly since the peasant, 
 with his own, must now be close at hand : 
 so without more ceremony, I unfolded 
 the handkerchief, which still lay in his lap, 
 and taking out the letter tc the steward, I 
 mounted the horse : I applied the stirrups* 
 to his sides; I galloped off; and in a very 
 short time had left the sleeper far behind me, 
 and had made considerable progress on the 
 road to the capital. 
 
 * The stirrup which is a sort of iron shovel, 
 sharp at the edge, in Persia as well as in Turkey, 
 is used by way of spur.
 
 166 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 As I rode along, I considered what was 
 now my best line of conduct, and in what 
 manner I should best introduce myself to 
 the poet's family, so as to make my story 
 good, and secure for myself the reward 
 which had been destined for the courier. I 
 calculated that I should have at least a good 
 day's start of him ; for when he awoke, he 
 probably would be obliged to walk some di- 
 stance before he got another horse, should 
 he not regain his own, which was very 
 doubtful ; and appearing on foot as he did, 
 it would be an hundred to one if any body 
 would believe his story, and he, most pro- 
 bably, would now be refused the loan of a 
 beast to carry him on. I resolved, therefore, 
 immediately upon reaching Tehran, to sell 
 the horse, and its accoutrements, for what 
 they would fetch ; I would then exchange my 
 dervish's dress for the common dress of the 
 country ; and making myself up as one come 
 from off a long journey, present myself at 
 the gate of the poet's house, and there make
 
 HAJJI BABA. 167 
 
 the best story I could, which would be a 
 sufficiently easy matter, considering how 
 well I was acquainted with every circum- 
 stance relating to him.
 
 168 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Hajji Baba reaches Tehran, and goes to the poet's 
 house. 
 
 I ENTERED Tehran early in the morn- 
 ing by the Shah Abdul Azim gate, just as 
 it was opened, and immediately exhibited 
 my horse for sale at the market, which is 
 daily held there, for that purpose. I had 
 proved it to be a good beast, from the rate 
 at which I had travelled since taking my 
 hasty leave of the courier; but a horse- 
 dealer, to whom I showed it, made out so 
 clearly that it was full of defects, that I 
 thought myself in luck, if I got any thing 
 at all for it. It was chup* it had the 
 
 * The Persians have a particular aversion to 
 horses which have white legs on one side, which
 
 HAJJI BABA. 169 
 
 ableh it was old, and its teeth had been 
 burnt ; in short, it seemed to have every 
 quality that a horse ought not to have. I 
 was therefore surprised when he offered me 
 five tomauns for it, provided I threw him 
 the bridle and saddle into the bargain ; and 
 he seemed as surprised when I took him at 
 his word, and accepted of his offer. He paid 
 me down one half of the money, and then 
 offered me a half-starved ass in payment of 
 the remainder ; but this I refused, and he 
 promised to pay me in full when we met 
 again. I was too much in haste to continue 
 bargaining any longer; so going straight- 
 way to the bazar, I bought a black cap, 
 laid by my dervish's tiara, and having 
 equipped myself in a manner to be taken 
 for one come from off a journey, I inquired 
 my way to the house of the poet. 
 
 It was situated in a pleasant quarter of 
 
 they call chup; and they also very much under- 
 value a horse that has the ableh, which consists of 
 white leprous marks on its nose, round the eyes, 
 and under the tail.
 
 170 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 the town, surrounded by gardens filled with 
 poplars and pomegranate trees, and in a 
 street through which ran a stream of water, 
 bordered by beautiful chenars *. But the 
 house itself Seemed indeed to speak the ab- 
 sence of its master : the gate was half closed ; 
 there was no stir about it ; and when I en- 
 tered the first court, I could perceive but 
 few indications of an inhabitant. This 
 looked ill for my promised reward. At 
 length, making my way to the upper room, 
 that was situated over the gate, I there saw 
 a man of about fifty years old, seated on a 
 felt carpet, smoking his Kalian, whom I 
 found to be the very person I was in search 
 of, viz. the Nazir or steward. 
 
 I immediately exclaimed, ' Good news ! 
 the khan is coming.' 
 
 ' Yani cheh ? what do you mean ?' said 
 he ; * which khan ? where ? when ?' 
 
 When I hatl explained myself, and had 
 presented the letter addressed to him, he 
 
 * The chenar tree is a species of Sycamore.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 171 
 
 seemed to be thrown into a mixed state of 
 feigned joy and real sorrow, amazement, 
 and apprehension. 
 
 ' But are you very sure, 1 said he, ' that 
 the khan is alive ?' 
 
 ' Very sure,' returned I ; ' and before to- 
 morrow is over, you will receive another 
 courier, who will give you many more par- 
 ticulars of his safety, and who will bring 
 letters to the king, viziers, and others.' 
 
 He then began to make all sorts of inco- 
 herent exclamations ; * This is a wonderful 
 business ! What dust has fallen upon our 
 heads ! Where shall I go ? What shall I 
 do?' 
 
 When he had a little recovered himself, 
 I endeavoured to persuade him to give me 
 an explanation of his emotions on this oc- 
 casion, and tell me why he felt so agitated, 
 and apparently 'distressed, at what ought 
 only to be a matter of joy. All I could hear 
 from him was, * He must be dead ; every 
 body says he is dead ; his wife dreamt that 
 she had lost her largest tooth, the one that
 
 172 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 gave her such aching pain, and therefore he 
 is dead ; besides the king has settled it so. 
 He cannot be alive ; he must not be alive.' 
 
 ' Well,' said I, ' if he is dead, be it so; 
 all I can say is, that he was one of the true 
 believers at Asterabad, not six days ago; 
 and that he will soon prove in person, by 
 showing himself at Tehran, in the course of 
 another week. 1 
 
 After the Nazir had sat, and wondered, 
 and ruminated for some time, he said, ' You 
 will not be surprised at my perplexity when 
 I tell you of the state of things here, in con- 
 sequence of the report of my master's death. 
 In the first place, the Shah has seized all his 
 property: his house, furniture, and live- 
 stock, including his Georgian slaves, are to 
 be given to Khur Ali Mirza, one of the 
 king's younger sons: his village now be- 
 longs to the prime vizier : his place is about 
 to be bestowed upon Mirza Fuzul ; and, to 
 crown all, his wife has married his son's 
 tutor. Say, then, whether or no I have not 
 a right to be astonished and perplexed ?'
 
 HAJJI BABA. 173 
 
 I agreed that there was no disputing his 
 right ; ' but, in the mean while,' said I, 
 ' what becomes of my reward ?' 
 
 ' O, as for that,' answered the Nazir, * you 
 cannot expect any tiling from me ; for you 
 have brought me no joy ful tidings : you may 
 claim it from my master, when he comes, if 
 you choose, but I can give you nothing.' 
 
 Upon which, promising to return on some 
 future day, I left the Nazir to his own re- 
 flections, and quitted the house.
 
 174* THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 He makes plans for the future, and is involved in a 
 quarrel. 
 
 I DETERMINED to wait the arrival of the 
 poet, and through his interference to en- 
 deavour to get into some situation, where I 
 might gain my bread honestly, and acquire 
 a chance of advancing myself in life, with- 
 out having recourse to the tricks and 
 frauds which I had hitherto practised : for 
 I was tired of herding with the low and the 
 vulgar ; and I saw so many instances before 
 me of men rising in the world, and acquiring 
 both riches and honour, who had sprung 
 from an origin quite as obscure as my own, 
 that I already anticipated my elevation, 
 and even settled in my own mind how I 
 should act when I was a prime vizier. 
 
 ' Who,' said I to myself, ' was the Shah's
 
 HAJJI BABA. 175 
 
 i 
 
 chief favourite, Ismael Beg tellai, or the 
 golden, but afcrash, or a tent pitcher ? He 
 is neither handsomer nor better spoken 
 than I ; and if ever there should be an op- 
 portunity of comparing our horsemanship, 
 I think one who has been brought up 
 amongst the Turcomans would show him 
 what riding is, in spite of his reputation. 
 Well ; and the famous lord high treasurer, 
 who fills the king's coffers with gold, and 
 who does not forget his own who and what 
 was he ? A barber's son is quite as good as 
 a green-grocer's, and, in our respective 
 cases, a great deal better too ; for I can 
 read and write, whereas his excellency, as 
 report says, can do neither. He eats and 
 drinks what he likes ; he puts on a new coat 
 every day ; and after the Shah, has the choice 
 of all the beauties of Persia ; and all this 
 without half my sense, or half my abilities : 
 for to hear the world talk, one must believe 
 him to be little better than a Jchur be tesh- 
 deedy i. e. a doubly accented ass. 
 
 I continued wrapt up in these sort of
 
 176 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 meditations, seated with my back against 
 the wall of one of the crowded avenues 
 which lead to the gate of the royal palace, 
 and had so worked up my imagination by 
 the prospect of my future greatness, that on 
 rising to walk away, I instinctively pushed 
 the crowd from before me, as if such re- 
 spect from them was due to one of my lofty 
 pretensions. Some stared at me, some 
 abused me, and others took me for a mad- 
 man ; and indeed when I came to myself, 
 and looked at my tattered clothes and my 
 beggarly appearance, I could not help smiling 
 at their surprise, and at my folly ; and 
 straightway went into the cloth bazar in 
 the determination of fitting myself out in 
 decent apparel, as the first step towards my 
 change of life. 
 
 Making my way through the crowd, I 
 was stopped by a violent quarrel between 
 three men, who were abusing each other 
 with more than ordinary violence. I pushed 
 into the circle which surrounded them, and 
 there, to my dismay, discovered the courier,
 
 HAJJI BABA. 177 
 
 whom I had deceived, seconded by a pea- 
 sant, attacking the horse-dealer, whom they 
 had just pulled off the horse, which I had 
 sold him. 
 
 1 That is my horse,' said the peasant. 
 
 * That is my saddle,' said the courier. 
 
 ' They are mine,' exclaimed the horse- 
 dealer. 
 
 I immediately saw the danger in which 
 I stood, and was about to slink away, when 
 I was perceived by the horse-dealer, who 
 seized hold of my girdle, and said, ' This 
 is the man I bought the horse of.' As soon 
 as I was recognised by the courier, imme- 
 diately the whole brunt of the quarrel, like 
 a thunder-cloud, burst on my head, and I 
 was almost overwhelmed by its violence. 
 Rascal, thief, cheat, were epithets which 
 were dinned into my ears without mercy. 
 
 ' Where 's my horse ?" cried one. ' Give 
 me my saddle,' vociferated the other. 
 * Return me my money,' roared out a 
 third. ' Take him to the cadi,' said the 
 crowd. 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 In vain I bawled, swore, and bade de- 
 fiance; in vain I was all smoothness and 
 conciliation : it was impossible for the first 
 ten minutes to gain a hearing : every one 
 recited his griefs. The courier's rage was 
 almost ungovernable; the peasant com- 
 plained of the injustice which had been done 
 him ; and the horse-dealer called me every 
 sort of name, for having robbed him of his 
 money. I first talked to the one, then 
 coaxed the other, and endeavoured to bully 
 the third. To the courier I said, ' Why 
 are you so angry ? there is your saddle safe 
 and sound, you can ask no more.' To the 
 peasant I exclaimed, ' You could not say 
 more if your beast had actually been killed; 
 take him and walk away, and return thanks 
 to Allah that it is no worse.' As for the 
 horse-dealer, I inveighed against him with 
 all the bitterness of a man who had been 
 cheated of his property : ' You have a right 
 to talk indeed of having been deceived, 
 when to this moment you know that you 
 have only paid me one half of the cost of
 
 HAJJI BABA. 179 
 
 the horse, and that you wanted to fob me 
 off with a dying ass for the other half.' 
 
 I offered to return him the money ; but 
 this he refused : he insisted upon my pay- 
 ing him the keep of the horse besides : upon 
 which a new quarrel ensued, in which argu- 
 ments were used on both sides which con- 
 vinced neither party, and consequently we 
 'mmediately adjourned to the daroga or 
 police magistrate, who, we agreed, should 
 decide the question between us. 
 
 We found him at his post, at the cross 
 streets in the bazar, surrounded by his 
 officers, who, with their long sticks, were 
 in readiness to inflict the bastinado on the 
 first offender. I opened the case, and stated 
 all the circumstances of it; insisting very 
 strongly on the evident intention to cheat 
 me, which the horse-dealer had exhibited. 
 The horse-dealer answered me, and showed 
 that as the horse did not belong to him, it 
 being stolen from another, he had no right 
 to pay for its keep. 
 
 The question puzzled the daroga so
 
 180 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 much, that he declined interfering, and was 
 about ordering us to the tribunal of the 
 cadi, when a decrepit old man, a bystander, 
 said, ' Why do you make so much difficulty 
 about a plain question ? when the horse- 
 dealer shall have paid the Hajji the remain- 
 ing half of the price of the horse, then the 
 Hajji shall pay for the keep of the beast, 
 as long as it was in the horse-dealer's pos- 
 session.' 
 
 Every one cried Bank Allah ! Bank 
 Allah ! Praise be to God ! and whether 
 right or wrong, they all appeared so struck 
 by the specious justice of the decision, that 
 the daroga dismissed us, and told us to de- 
 part in peace. 
 
 I did not lose a moment in repaying to 
 the horse-dealer the purchase-money of the 
 horse, and in getting from him a receipt in 
 full : it was only after he had settled with 
 me that he began to ponder over the merits 
 of the decision, and seemed extremely puz- 
 zled to discover why, if he was entitled to 
 the horse's keep at all, he was not entitled
 
 HAJJI BABA. 181 
 
 to it, whether he had paid me half or the 
 whole of the money ? He seemed to think, 
 that he for once had been duped ; and very 
 luckily his rage was averted from me to 
 the daroga, who he very freely accused of 
 being a puzzle-headed fool, and one who 
 had no more pretension to law than he had 
 to honesty.
 
 182 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 He puts on new clothes, goes to the bath, and appears 
 in a new character. 
 
 I NOW looked upon myself as clear of 
 this unpleasant business, which I had en- 
 tirely brought on my own head, and con- 
 gratulated myself that I had got off at so 
 cheap a rate. I again made my way to the 
 cloth bazar, and going to the first shop 
 near the gate of it, I inquired the price of 
 red cloth, of which it was my ambition to 
 make a barium, or cloak ; because I thought 
 that it would transfer to me that respect 
 which I always felt for those who wore it. 
 The shopkeeper, upon looking at me from 
 head to foot, said ' A baruni indeed ! and 
 for whom do you want it, and who is to 
 pay for it T 
 
 1 For myself, to be sure,' answered I.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 183 
 
 ' And what does such a poor devil as you 
 want with such a coat ?' said he : ' Mirzas 
 and Khans only wear them, and I am sure 
 you are no such personage.' 
 
 I was about to answer in great wrath, 
 when a dalal or broker went by, loaded 
 with all sorts of second-hand clothes, which 
 he was hawking about for sale, and to him 
 I immediately made application, in spite of 
 the reiterated calls of the shopkeeper, who 
 now too late repented of having driven me 
 off in so hasty a manner. We retreated to 
 a corner in the gateway of the adjacent 
 mosque, and there the dalal putting his 
 load down, spread his merchandise before 
 me. I was struck by a fine shot silk vest, 
 trimmed in front with gold lace and gold 
 buttons, of which I asked the price. The 
 dalal extolled its beauty and my taste ; 
 swore that it had belonged to one of the 
 king's favourite Georgians, who had only 
 worn it twice, and having made me try it 
 on, walked around and around me, ex- 
 claiming all the while ' Mashattah^ Mash-
 
 184 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 allah r Praise be to God ! I was so pleased 
 with this, that I must needs have a shawl 
 for my waist to match, and he produced an 
 old Cashmerian shawl full of holes and 
 darns, which he assured me had belonged to 
 one of the ladies in the king's harem, and 
 which, he said, he would let me have at a 
 reasonable price. My vanity made me pre- 
 fer this commodity to a new Kermdn shawl, 
 which I might have had for what I was 
 about to pay for the old worn out Cash- 
 mere, and adjusting it so as to hide the de- 
 fects, I wound it about my waist, which 
 only wanted a dagger stuck into it, to make 
 my dress complete. With this the dalal also 
 supplied me, and when I was thus equipped 
 I could not resist expressing my satisfaction 
 to the broker, who was not backward in as- 
 suring me, that there was not a handsomer 
 nor better drest man in Tehran. 
 
 When we came to settle our accounts, 
 the business wore a more serious aspect. 
 The dalal began by assuring me of his 
 honesty, that he was not like other dalals,
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 185 
 
 who asked an hundred and then took fifty, 
 and that when he said a thing, I might de- 
 pend upon its veracity. He then asked 
 me five tomauns for the coat, fifteen for the 
 shawl, and four for the dagger, making al- 
 together twenty-four tornauns. 
 
 Upon hearing this, my delight subsided, 
 for I had barely twenty tomauns in my 
 pocket, and I was about stripping myself 
 of my finery, and returning again to my 
 old clothes, when the dalal stopped me, 
 and said, * You may perhaps think that 
 price a little too much, but, by my head 
 and by your soul, I bought them for that 
 tell me what you will give T I answered, 
 that it was out of the question dealing 
 with him upon such high terms, but that 
 if he would give them to me for five to- 
 mauns I would be a purchaser. This he re- 
 jected with disdain, upon which I stripped, 
 and returned him his property. When he 
 had collected his things again, and ap- 
 parently when all dealings between us were 
 at an end, he said, ' I feel a friendship for
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 you, and I will do for you, what I would 
 not do for my brother you shall have 
 them for ten tomauns.' I again refused, 
 and we stood higgling, until we agreed that 
 I should pay him six, and one by way of a 
 dress for himself. This was no sooner said 
 than done. 
 
 He then left me, and I packed up my 
 bargain, with the intention of first going to 
 the bath, and there equipping myself. On 
 my road, I bought a pair of high-heeled 
 green slippers, a blue silk shirt, and a pair 
 of crimson silk trowsers, and having tied up 
 the whole in my handkerchief, I proceeded 
 to the bath. 
 
 No one took notice of me as I entered, 
 for one of my mean appearance could 
 create no sensation, and I comforted myself 
 by the reflection, that the case would be 
 changed as soon as I should put on my new 
 clothes. I deposited my bundle in a corner, 
 where I also undressed, and having wrapt 
 myself round with a towel, I entered the 
 bath.
 
 HAJJ1 BABA. 187 
 
 Here all ranks were on a level, in ap- 
 pearance at least, and I now flattered my- 
 self that my fine form, my broad chest, and 
 narrow waist, would make me an object of 
 admiration. I called to one of the daldks 
 (bathing men), to wait upon me, and to go 
 through the different operations of rubbing 
 with the hand, and of the friction with the 
 hair bag, and I also ordered him to shave 
 my head, to get ready the necessary ma- 
 terials for dying my beard, mustaches, and 
 curls, as well as my hands and the soles of 
 my feet, and also to prepare the depilatory ; 
 in short, I announced my intention of un- 
 dergoing a complete lustration. 
 
 The dalak, as soon as he began rub- 
 bing me, expressed his admiration at my 
 broad chest by his repeated exclamations; 
 and bearing in mind the influence which 
 new clothes were likely to create, I behaved 
 like one who had been accustomed to this 
 sort of praise and attention. He said that 
 I could not have come at a luckier hour, 
 for that he had j ust operated upon a Khan,
 
 188 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 who having received a dress of honour 
 from the Shah, upon the occasion of bring- 
 ing the first melons from Ispahan, had been 
 sent to the bath by the astrologers at this 
 particular time, as the most fortunate for 
 putting on a new dress. 
 
 As soon as all was over, the dalak 
 brought me some dry linen, and conducted 
 me to the spot where I had left my clothes. 
 With what pleasure I opened my bundle 
 and inspected my finery ! It appeared that 
 I was renovated in proportion as I put on 
 each article of dress. I had never yet been 
 clothed in silk. I tied on my trowsers with 
 the air of a man of fashion, and when I 
 heard the rustling of my vest, I turned 
 about in exultation to see who might be 
 looking at me. My shawl was wound about 
 me in the newest style, rather falling in 
 front, and spread out large behind, and 
 when the dagger glittered in my girdle, I 
 conceived that nothing could exceed the 
 finish of my whole adjustment. I indented 
 the top of my cap in the true Kajari or
 
 HAJJI BABA. 189 
 
 royal style, and placed it on my head con- 
 siderably on one side. When the bathing 
 man at length brought me the looking-glass, 
 as a signal for paying the bath, I detained 
 him for the purpose of surveying myself, 
 arranging my curls to twist up behind the 
 ear, and pulling my mustaches up towards 
 my eyes. I then paid him handsomely, and 
 leaving my old clothes under his charge, I 
 made my exit with the strut of a man of 
 consequence.
 
 190 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The poet returns from captivity. The consequences 
 of it for Hqjji Baba. 
 
 I TOOK my road towards the poet's house, 
 in the hope of gaining some intelligence 
 ahout him. From the head of the street, I 
 perceived a crowd surrounding the gate, 
 arid I was soon informed that he had just 
 arrived, and had gone through the ceremony 
 of making his entrance over the roof instead 
 of through the door ; for such is the custom 
 when a man who has been thought dead 
 returns home alive. 
 
 I immediately pushed through the crowd, 
 made my way into the room where the 
 poet was seated, and with every demon- 
 stration of great joy, congratulated him 
 upon his safe arrival. He did not recog-
 
 IIAJJI BABA. 191 
 
 nise me, and even when I had explained 
 who 1 was, he could scarcely believe that 
 one so trim and smart as I (hen was could 
 be the same dirty ragged ruffian whom he 
 had known before. 
 
 The apartment was filled with all sorts 
 of people, some happy at his return, 
 others full of disappointment. Among the 
 latter, and those who paid him the finest 
 compliments, was Mirza Fuzul, the man 
 who had been nominated to succeed him 
 in his situation, and who did not cease ex- 
 claiming, ' Your place has been empty, 
 and our eyes are enlightened,' as long as 
 he remained in the room. At length, a 
 great bustle was heard, the doors were 
 opened, and an officer from the king was 
 announced, who commanded the poet forth- 
 with to repair to the presence, which he did 
 in the very clothes, boots, dust and all, in 
 which he had travelled. 
 
 The party then broke up, and 1 left the 
 house in the determination of returning 
 the next day ; but as I was going out of
 
 192 * THE AD VENTURES OF 
 
 the yard, I met the Nazir, with whom I 
 had had a conversation as before related. 
 He did not appear to me to be among the 
 happy ones. ' In the name of Allah,' said 
 I, ' you see that my words have proved 
 true: the Khan is alive !' ' True enough/ 
 answered he, with a sigh ; < he is alive ; 
 and may his life be a long one ! but God is 
 great !' and then making two or three more 
 similar exclamations, he left me, apparently 
 full of care and misery. 
 
 I passed the remainder of the day in 
 strolling about, and building castles in the 
 air. I walked through the bazars, went 
 to the mosques, and lounged among the 
 idlers, who are always to be found in great 
 numbers about the gate of the royal pa- 
 lace. Here, the news of the day was the 
 poet's return, and the reception which he 
 had met with from the Shah. Some said, 
 that his majesty, upon hearing of his ar- 
 rival, had ordained that it could not be; 
 that he was dead, and must be so. Others, 
 that, on the contrary, the king was happy
 
 HAJJI BABA. . * 193 
 
 at the intelligence, and had ordered ten 
 tomauns to be given to the bearer of it, 
 The truth, however, was this ; the king 
 had been disappointed at the poet's resur- 
 rection, because it destroyed the arrange- 
 ments he had made with respect to his 
 house and effects, and he was not disposed 
 to give him a good reception ; but Asker, 
 who well knew his majesty's passion for 
 poetry, and particularly of that kind which 
 sings the royal praises, had long since fore- 
 seen the event, and had provided himself 
 with an impromptu, which he had com- 
 posed even when he was living an exile 
 among the Turcomans. This he repeated 
 at the proper moment ; and thus the tide of 
 the king's favour, which was running full 
 against him, he entirely turned, and made 
 it flow to his advantage. In short, he had 
 his mouth filled with gold for his pains, 
 was invested with a magnificent dress, and 
 was reinstated in his situation and his pos- 
 sessions. 
 
 I lost no time in again congratulating my 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 194 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 adopted patron, and did not miss a single 
 morning in attending his levee. Finding 
 that he was favorably inclined towards me, 
 I made known to him rny situation, and en- 
 treated him either to give me a place in his 
 household, or to recommend me as a ser- 
 vant to one of his acquaintance. I had 
 found out that the Nazir's despondency at 
 his master's return proceeded from the fear 
 of being detected in certain frauds which 
 he had committed on his property ; and, as 
 I hoped that I might eventually succeed 
 to his situation, I expressed the greatest 
 zeal for the poet's interest, and disclosed 
 all that I knew concerning the delinquency 
 of his servant. However, I did not suc- 
 ceed ; for whether he had a clearer insight 
 into characters than I gave him credit for, 
 or whether the Nazir managed to prove his 
 innocence, and make me suspected, I know 
 not ; but the fact was, that he kept his place, 
 and I continued to be an attendant at the 
 levees. 
 
 At length, one morning Asker called me
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 195 
 
 to him, and said, ' Hajji, my friend, you 
 know how thankful I have always expressed 
 myself for your kindness to me when we 
 were prisoners together in the hands of the 
 Turcomans, and now I will prove my gra- 
 titude. I have recommended you strongly 
 to Mirza Ahmak, the king's Hakim Baski, 
 or chief physician, who is in want of a 
 servant ; and I make no doubt, that if you 
 give him satisfaction, he will teach you his 
 art, and put you in the way of making your 
 fortune. You have only to present your- 
 self before him, saying that you come from 
 me, and he will immediately assign you an 
 employment. 
 
 I had no turn for the practice of physic, 
 and I'ecollecting the story which had been 
 related to me by the dervish, I held the 
 profession in contempt: but my case was 
 desperate ; I had spent my last dinar, and 
 therefore I had nothing left me but to ac- 
 cept of the doctor's place. Accordingly, 
 the next morning I proceeded to his house, 
 which was situated in the neighbourhood of 
 
 o 2
 
 196 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 the palace ; and as I entered a dull, neg- 
 lected court yard, I there found several 
 sick persons, some squatted against the wall, 
 others supported by their friends, and others 
 again with bottles in their hands, waiting 
 the moment when the physician should 
 leave the women's apartments to transact 
 business in public. I proceeded to an open 
 window, where those who were not pri- 
 vileged to enter the room stood, and there 
 I took my station until I should be called 
 in. Within the room were several persons 
 who came to pay their court to the doctor 
 (for every man who is an officer of the court 
 has his levee), and from remarking them, I 
 learnt how necessary it was, in order to ad- 
 vance in life, to make much of every thing, 
 even the dog or the cat, if they came in my 
 way, of him who can have access to the ear 
 of men in power. I made my reflections 
 upon the miseries I had already undergone, 
 and was calculating how long it would take 
 me to go through a course of cringing and 
 flattery to be entitled to the same sorts of
 
 HAJJI BAB A. ly< 
 
 attention myself, when I perceived, by the 
 bows of those near me, that the doctor had 
 seated himself at the window, and that the 
 business of the day had commenced. 
 
 The Hakim was an old man, with an eye 
 sunk deep in his head, high cheek bones, 
 and a scanty beard. He had a consider- 
 able bend in his back, and his usual at- 
 titude, when seated, was that of a project- 
 ing chin, his head reclining back between 
 his shoulders, and his hands resting on his 
 girdle, whilst his elbows formed two tri- 
 angles on each side of his body. He made 
 short snappish questions, gave little hums 
 at the answers, and seemed to be thinking 
 of any thing but the subject before him. 
 When he heard the account of the ail- 
 ments of those who had come to consult 
 him, and had said a few words to his little 
 circle of parasites, he looked at me, and 
 after I had told him that I was the person 
 of whom the poet had spoken, he fixed his 
 little sharp eyes upon me for a second or 
 two, and then desired me to wait, for that
 
 198 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 he wished to speak to me in private. Ac- 
 cordingly, he soon after got up, and went 
 out of the room, and I was called upon to 
 attend him in a small separate court, closely 
 walled on all sides, except on the one where 
 was situated the Jchelwet, or private room, in 
 which the doctor was seated.
 
 HAJJ1 BABA. 199 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 j 1 Buba gets into the service of the king's phy- 
 sician. Of the manner he was first employed by 
 him. 
 
 As boon as I appeared, the doctor in- 
 vited me into the room, and requested me 
 to be seated ; which I did with all the hu- 
 mility which it is the etiquette for an infe- 
 rior to show towards his superior for so 
 great an honour. 
 
 He informed me, that the poet had spoken 
 very favorably of me, and had said that I 
 was a person to be depended upon, particu- 
 larly on account of my discretion and pru- 
 dence ; that I had seen a great deal of life ; 
 that I was fertile in expedients; and that if 
 any business in which circumspection and 
 secrecy were necessary was intrusted to me, 
 I should conduct it with all the ability re- 
 quired. I bowed repeatedly as he spoke,
 
 200 
 
 and kept my hands respectfully before me, 
 covered with the border of my sleeve, whilst 
 I took care that my feet were also com- 
 pletely hid. He then continued, and said 
 * I have occasion for a person of your de- 
 scription precisely at this moment, and as I 
 put great confidence in the recommendation 
 of my friend Asker, it is my intention to 
 make use of your good offices ; and if you 
 succeed according to my expectations, you 
 may rest assured that it will be well for you, 
 and that I shall not remain unmindful of 
 your services. 1 
 
 Then requesting me to approach nearer 
 to him, and in a low and confidential tone 
 of voice, he said, looking over his shoulders 
 as if afraid of being overheard ; ' Hajji, 
 you must know that an ambassador from 
 the Franks is lately arrived at this court, 
 in whose suite there is a doctor. This in- 
 fidel has already acquired considerable re- 
 putation here. He treats his patients in a 
 manner quite new to us, and has arrived 
 with a chest full of medicines, of which we
 
 HAJJI BABA. 201 
 
 do not even know the names. He pretends 
 to the knowledge of a great many things 
 of which we have never yet heard in Persia. 
 He makes no distinction between hot and 
 cold diseases, and hot and cold remedies, as 
 Galenus and Avicenna have ordained, but 
 gives mercury by way of a cooling medicine; 
 stabs the belly with a sharp instrument for 
 wind in the stomach*; and, what is worse 
 than all, pretends to do away with the small- 
 pox altogether, by infusing into our nature 
 a certain extract of cow, a discovery which 
 one of their philosophers has lately made. 
 Now this will never do, Hajji. The small- 
 pox has always been a comfortable source 
 of revenue to me ; I cannot afford to lose it, 
 because an infidel chooses to come here and 
 treat us like cattle. We cannot allow him 
 to take the bread out of our mouths. But 
 the reason why I particularly want your 
 
 * This alludes to tapping in cases of dropsy ; an 
 operation unknown among the Persians, until our 
 surgeons taught it them,
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 help proceeds from the following cause. 
 The grand vizier was taken ill, two days 
 ago, of a strange uneasiness, after having 
 eat more than his usual quantity of raw 
 lettuce and cucumber, steeped in vinegar 
 and sugar. This came to the Frank am- 
 bassador's ears, who, in fact, was present at 
 the eating of the lettuce, and he immediately 
 sent his doctor to him, with a request that 
 he might be permitted to administer relief. 
 The grand vizier and the ambassador, it 
 seems, had not been upon good terms for 
 some time, because the latter was very 
 urgent that some demand of a political na- 
 ture might be conceded to him, which the 
 vizier, out of consideration for the interests 
 of Persia, was obliged to deny ; and, there- 
 fore, thinking that this might be a good op- 
 portunity of conciliating the infidel, and of 
 coming to a compromise, he agreed to ac- 
 cept of the doctor's services. Had I been 
 apprised of the circumstance in time, I 
 should easily have managed to put a stop 
 to the proceeding; but the doctor did not
 
 HAJJI BABA. 20-3 
 
 lose an instant in administering his medi- 
 cine, which, I hear, only consisted of one 
 little white and tasteless pill. From all ac- 
 counts, and as ill luck would have it, the 
 effect it has produced is something quite 
 marvellous. The grand vizier has received 
 such relief, that he can talk of nothing else ; 
 he says, ' that he felt the pill drawing the 
 damp from the very tips of his fingers;' and 
 that now he has discovered in himself such 
 newness of strength and energy, that he 
 laughs at his old age, and even talks of 
 making up the complement of wives per- 
 mitted to him by our blessed Prophet. But 
 the mischief has not stopped here ; the fame 
 of this medicine, and of the Frank doctor, 
 has gone throughout the court; and the first 
 thing which the king talked of at the selam 
 (the audience) this morning, was of its mi- 
 raculous properties. He called upon the 
 grand vizier to repeat to him all that he had 
 before said upon the subject; and as he 
 talked of the wonders that it had produced 
 upon his person, a general murmur of ap-
 
 204 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 plause and admiration was heard through- 
 out the assembly. His majesty then turned 
 to me, and requested me to explain the rea- 
 son why such great effects should proceed 
 from so small a cause, when I was obliged 
 to answer, stooping as low as I could to hide 
 my confusion, and kissing the earth < I am 
 your sacrifice : O king of kings, I have not 
 yet seen the drug which the infidel doctor 
 has given to your majesty's servant, the 
 grand vizier ; but as soon as I have, I will 
 inform your majesty of what it consists. 
 In the meanwhile, your humble slave be- 
 seeches the Centre of the Universe to recol- 
 lect, that the principal agent, on this occa- 
 sion, must be an evil spirit, an enemy to 
 the true faith, since he is an instrument in 
 the hands of an infidel ; of one who calls 
 our holy Prophet a cheat, and who dis- 
 owns the all-powerful decrees of predestina- 
 tion.' 
 
 ' Having said this, in order to shake his 
 growing reputation, I retired in deep cogi- 
 tation how I might get at the secrets of the
 
 HAJJI BABA. 205 
 
 infidel, and particularly inquire into the 
 nature of his prescription, which has per- 
 formed such miracles; and you are come 
 most opportunely to my assistance. You 
 must immediately become acquainted with 
 him; and I shall leave it to your address 
 to pick his brain and worm his knowledge 
 out of him; but as I wish to procure a 
 specimen of the very medicine which he 
 administered to the grand vizier, being 
 obliged to give an account of it to-morrow 
 to the Shah, you must begin your services 
 to me by eating much of lettuce and raw 
 cucumber, and of making yourself as sick 
 to the full as his highness the vizier. You 
 may then apply to the Frank, who will, 
 doubtless, give you a duplicate of the cele- 
 brated pill, which you will deliver over to 
 me. 1 
 
 . * But, 1 said I, who had rather taken 
 fright at this extraordinary proposal, ' how 
 shall I present myself before a man whom 
 I do not know? besides, such marvellous 
 stories are related of the Europeans, that I
 
 206 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 should be puzzled in what manner to be- 
 have : pray give me some instructions how 
 to act.' 
 
 ' Their manners and customs are totally 
 different to ours, that is true,' replied Mirza 
 Ahmak, ' and you may form some idea 
 of them, when I tell you, that instead 
 of shaving their heads, and letting their 
 beards grow, as we do, they do the very 
 contrary, for not a vestige of hair is to be 
 seen on their chins, and their hair is as 
 thick on their heads as if they had made a 
 vow never to cut it off: then, they sit on 
 little platforms, whilst we squat on the 
 ground ; they take up their food with claws 
 made of iron, whilst we use our fingers; 
 they are always walking about, we keep 
 seated; they wear tight clothes, we loose 
 ones ; they write from left to right, we from 
 right to left ; they never pray, we five times 
 a day ; in short, there is no end to what 
 might be related of them ; but most certain 
 it is, that they are the most filthy people on 
 the earth, for they hold nothing to be un-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 207 
 
 clean ; they eat all sorts of animals, from a 
 pig to a tortoise, without the least scruple, 
 and that without first cutting their throats; 
 they will dissect a dead body, without re- 
 quiring any purification after it, and per- 
 form all the brute functions of their nature, 
 without ever thinking it necessary to go to 
 the hot bath, or even rubbing themselves 
 with sand after them.' 
 
 ' And is it true/ said I, ' that they are 
 so irascible, that if perchance their word is 
 doubted, and they are called liars, they 
 will fight on such an occasion till they 
 die?' 
 
 ' That is also said of them,' answered the 
 doctor ; 'but the case has not happened to 
 me yet; however, I must warn you of one 
 thing, which is, that if they happen to ad- 
 mire any thing that you possess, you must 
 not say to them, as you would to one of 
 us, ' It is a present to you, it is your pro- 
 perty,' lest they should take you at your 
 word and keep it, which you know would 
 be inconvenient, and not what you in- 

 
 208 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 tended ; but you must endeavour as much 
 as possible to speak what you think, for 
 that is what they like.' 
 
 But then, if such is the case,' said I, 
 c do not you think that the Frank doctor 
 will find me out with a lie in my mouth ; 
 pretending to be sick when I am well; ask- 
 ing medicine from him for myself, when I 
 want it for another ?' 
 
 ' No, no,' said the Mirza ; ' you are to 
 be sick, really sick, you know, and then it 
 will be no lie. Go, Hajji, my friend,' said 
 he, putting his arm round my neck : ' go, 
 eat your cucumbers immediately, and let 
 me have the pill by this evening.' And 
 then coaxing me, and preventing me from 
 making any farther objections to his unex- 
 pected request, he gently pushed me out of 
 the room, and I left him, scarcely knowing 
 whether to laugh or to cry at the new pos- 
 ture which my affairs had taken. To 
 sicken without any stipulated reward was 
 what I could not consent to do, so I re- 
 traced my steps, with a determination of
 
 HAJJI BABA. 209 
 
 making a bargain with my patron; but, 
 when I got to the room, he was no longer 
 there, having apparently retreated into his 
 harem; and, therefore, I was obliged to 
 proceed on my errand. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 10 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 He succeeds in deceiving 1 two of the faculty, getting a 
 pill from one, and a piece of gold from the other. 
 
 I INQUIRED my way to the ambassador's 
 house, and actually set off with the inten- 
 tion of putting the doctor's wishes into exe- 
 cution, and getting, if possible, a writhing 
 disorder on the road ; but, upon more ma- 
 ture reflection, I recollected that a stomach 
 ache was not a marketable commodity which 
 might be purchased at a moment's notice; 
 for although lettuce and cucumber might 
 disagree with an old grand vizier, yet it was 
 a hundred to one but they would find an 
 easy digestion in a young person like me. 
 However, I determined to obtain the pill 
 by stratagem, if I could not procure it in a 
 more direct manner. I considered that if 
 I feigned to be ill, the doctor would very 
 probably detect me, and turn me out of his
 
 HAJJI BABA. 
 
 house for a cheat, so I preferred the easier 
 mode of passing myself off for one of the 
 servants of the royal harem, and then 
 making out some story by which I might 
 attain my end. I accordingly stepped into 
 one of the old clothes' shops in the bazar, 
 and hired a cloak for myself, such as the 
 scribes wear; and then substituting a roll 
 of paper in my girdle instead of a dagger, 
 I flattered myself that I might pass for 
 something more than a common servant. 
 
 I soon found out where the ambassador 
 dwelt. Bearing in mind all that Mirza 
 Ahmak had told me, I rather approached 
 the door of the doctor's residence with fear 
 and hesitation. I found the avenues to it 
 crowded with poor women, bearing infants 
 in their arms, who, I was told, came to re- 
 ceive the new-fashioned preservative against 
 the small-pox. This, it was supposed for 
 political reasons, the Franks were anxious 
 to promote ; and, as the doctor performed 
 the operation gratis, he had no lack of pa- 
 tients, particularly of the poorer sort, who
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 could not approach a Persian doctor vvith- 
 ottt a present, or a good fee in their hand. 
 
 On entering, I found a man seated in 
 the middle of the room, near an elevated 
 wooden platform, upon which were piled 
 boxes, books, and a variety of instruments 
 and utensils, the uses of which were un- 
 known to me. He was in dress and ap- 
 pearance the most extraordinary looking 
 infidel I had ever seen. His chin and 
 upper lip were without the vestige of a hair 
 upon them, as like an eunuch as possible. 
 He kept his head most disrespectfully un- 
 covered, and wore a tight bandage round 
 his neck, with other contrivances on the 
 sides of his cheeks, as if he were anxious to 
 conceal some wound or disease. His clothes 
 were fitted so tight to his body, and his 
 outward coat in particular was cut off at 
 such sharp angles, that it was evident cloth 
 was a scarce and dear commodity in his 
 country. The lower part of his dress was 
 particularly improper, and he kept his 
 boots on in his room, without any con-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 213 
 
 sideration for the carpet he was treading 
 upon, which struck me as a custom sub- 
 versive of all decorum. 
 
 I found that he talked our language ; 
 for, as soon as he saw me, he asked me 
 how I did, and then immediately remarked 
 that it was a fine day, which was so self- 
 evident a truth, that I immediately agreed 
 to it. I then thought it necessary to make 
 him some fine speeches, and flattered him 
 to the best of my abilities, informing him 
 of the great reputation he had already ac- 
 quired in Persia ; that Locman * was a fool 
 when compared to one of his wisdom ; and 
 that as for his contemporaries, the Persian 
 physicians, they were not fit to handle his 
 pestle for him. To all this he said nothing. 
 I then told him that the king himself, having 
 heard of the wonderful effects of his me- 
 
 * Locman is the most celebrated of the Eastern 
 sages, and is supposed by some to be the same as 
 ^Esop. The title usually given to a doctor in 
 Persia is Locman al zeman, the Locman of his 
 day.
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 dicine upon the person of his grand vizier, 
 had ordered his historian to insert the cir- 
 cumstance in the annals of the empire, as 
 one of the most extraordinary events of his 
 reign, that a considerable sensation had 
 been produced in his majesty's seraglio, for 
 many of the ladies had immediately been 
 taken ill, and were longing to make a 
 trial of his skill, that the king's favourite 
 Georgian slave was, in fact, at this moment 
 in great pain, that I had been deputed by 
 the chief eunuch, owing to a special order 
 from his majesty, to procure medicine 
 similar to that which the first minister had 
 taken, and I concluded my speech by re- 
 questing the doctor immediately to furnish 
 me with some. 
 
 He seemed to ponder over what I had 
 told him ; and, after reflecting a short 
 time, said that it was not his custom to 
 administer medicine to his patients with- 
 out first seeing them, for by so doing he 
 would probably do more harm than good ; 
 but that if he found that the slave was in
 
 HAJJI BABA. 215 
 
 want of his aid, he should be very happy 
 to attend her. 
 
 I answered to this, that as to seeing the 
 face of the Georgian slave, that was totally 
 out of the question, for no man ever was 
 allowed that liberty in Persia, excepting 
 her husband. In cases of extreme ne- 
 cessity, perhaps a doctor might be 'per- 
 mitted to feel a woman's pulse, but then it 
 must be done when a veil covers the hand. 
 
 To which the Frank replied, ' In order 
 to judge of my patient's case I must not 
 only feel the pulse, but see the tongue 
 also.' 
 
 * Looking at the tongue is totally new in 
 Persia,' said I ; ' and I am sure you could 
 never be indulged with such a sight in the 
 seraglio, without a special order from the 
 king himself; an eunuch would rather cut 
 out his own tongue first.' 
 
 ' Well, then, 1 said the doctor, f recollect, 
 that if I deliver my medicine to you, I do 
 so without taking any responsibility upon
 
 * 216 THE ADVENTUEES OF 
 
 myself for its effects ; for if it does not cure 
 it may perhaps kill.' 
 
 When I had assured him that no harm 
 or prejudice could possibly accrue to him, 
 he opened a large chest, which appeared to 
 be full of drugs, and taking therefrom the 
 smallest quantity of a certain white powder, 
 he mixed it up, with some bread, into the 
 form of a pill, and putting it into paper 
 gave it me, with proper directions how it 
 should be administered. Seeing that he 
 made no mystery of his knowledge, I be- 
 gan to question him upon the nature and 
 properties of this particular medicine, and 
 upon his practice in general. He answered 
 me without any reserve ; not like our Per- 
 sian doctors, who only make a parade of 
 fine words, and who adjust every ailment 
 that comes before them to what they read 
 in their Galen, their Hippocrates, and their 
 Abou Avicenna. 
 
 When I had learned all I could, I left 
 him with great demonstration of friendship
 
 HAJJI BABA. 217 
 
 and thankfulness, and immediately returned 
 to Mirza Ahmak, who doubtless was wait- 
 ing for me with great impatience. Having 
 divested myself of my borrowed cloak and 
 resumed my own dress, I appeared before 
 him with a face made up for the occasion, 
 for I wished to make him believe that the 
 lettuce and cucumbers had done their duty. 
 At every word I pretended to receive a 
 violent twitch, and acted my part so true to 
 life, that the stern and inflexible nature of 
 Mirza Ahmak himself was moved into some- 
 what like pity for me. 
 
 ' There ! there,' said I, as I entered his 
 apartment, * in the name of Allah take your 
 prize:' and then pretending to be bent 
 double, I made the most horrid grimaces, 
 and uttered deep groans : ' there ! I have 
 followed your orders, and now throw my- 
 self upon your generosity.' He endeavoured 
 to take the object of his search from me, but 
 I kept it fast ; and whilst I gave him to un- 
 derstand that I expected prompt reward, I 
 made indications of an intention to swallow
 
 218 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 it, unless he actually gave me something in 
 hand. So fearful was he of not being able 
 to answer the king's interrogatories concern- 
 ing the pill, so anxious to get it into his pos- 
 session, that he actually pressed a gold 
 piece upon me. No lover could sue his 
 mistress with more earnestness to grant 
 him a favour than the doctor did me for 
 my pill. I should very probably have con- 
 tinued the deceit a little longer, and have 
 endeavoured to extract another piece from 
 him ; but when I saw him preparing a dose 
 of his own mixture to ease my pain, I 
 thought it high time to finish, and pretend- 
 ing all of a sudden to have received relief, 
 I gave up my prize. 
 
 When once he had got possession, he 
 looked at it with intense eagerness, and 
 turned it over and over on his 1 palm, with- 
 out appearing one whit more advanced in 
 his knowledge than before. At length, 
 after permitting him fully to exhaust his 
 conjectures, I told him that the Frank doc- 
 tor had made no secret in saying that it was
 
 HAJJI BABA. 219 
 
 composed ofjivch, or mercury. ' Mercury, 
 indeed !' exclaimed Mirza Ahmak 'just as 
 if I did not know that. And so, because 
 this infidel, this dog of an Isauvi*, chooses 
 to poison us with mercury, I am to lose 
 my reputation, and my prescriptions (such 
 as his father never even saw in a dream) 
 are to be turned into ridicule. Whoever 
 heard of mercury as a medicine ? Mercury 
 is cold, and lettuce and cucumber are cold 
 also. You would not apply ice to dissolve 
 ice ? The ass does not know the first rudi- 
 ments of his profession. No, Hajji, this 
 will never do; we must not permit our 
 beards to be laughed at in this manner.' 
 
 He continued to inveigh for a considera- 
 ble time against his rival ; and would, no 
 doubt, have continued to do so much 
 longer, but he was stopped by a message 
 from the king, who ordered him to repair 
 forthwith to his presence. In the greatest 
 trepidation he immediately put himself 
 
 * Isauvi, a follower of Jesus.
 
 220 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 into his court dress, exchanged his com- 
 mon black lamb's skin cap for one wound 
 about with a shawl, huddled on his red 
 cloth stockings, called for his horse, and, 
 taking the pill with him, went off in great 
 hurry, and full of the greatest apprehen- 
 sion at what might be the result of the 
 audience.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 221 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 He describes the manner in which the Shah of Persia 
 takes medicine. 
 
 THE doctor's visit to the king had taken 
 place late in the evening ; and as soon as 
 he returned from it he called for me. I 
 found him apparently in great agitation, 
 and full of anxiety. ' Hajji,' said he, when 
 I appeared, * come close to me;' and having 
 sent every one else out of the room, he 
 said in a whisper, ' this infidel doctor must 
 be disposed of somehow or other. What 
 do you think has happened? The Shah has 
 consulted him ; he had him in private con- 
 ference for an hour this morning, without my 
 being apprised of it. His majesty sent for 
 me to tell me its result ; and I perceive 
 that the Frank has already gained great in- 
 fluence. It seems that the king gave him 

 
 222 THE ADVENTUBES OF 
 
 the history of his complaints of his de- 
 bility, of his old asthma, and of his im- 
 perfect digestion, but talked in raptures of 
 the wretch's sagacity and penetration ; for 
 merely by looking at the tongue and feel- 
 ing the pulse before the infidel was told 
 what was the state of the case, he asked 
 whether his majesty* did not use the hot- 
 baths very frequently; whether, when he 
 smoked, he did not immediately bring on a 
 fit of coughing ; and whether, in his food, 
 he was not particularly addicted to pickles, 
 sweetmeats, and rice swimming in butter ? 
 The king has given him three days to con- 
 sider his case, to consult his books, and to 
 gather the opinions of the Frank sages on 
 subjects so important to the state of Persia, 
 and to compose such a medicine as will en- 
 tirely restore and renovate his constitution. 
 The Centre of the Universe then asked my 
 
 * This is the most approved form of speech 
 among well educated Persians, whenever any allu- 
 sion to the mysteries of the harem is intended.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 223 
 
 opinion, and requested me to speak boldly 
 upon the natures and properties of Franks 
 in general, and of their medicines. I did 
 not lose this opportunity of giving utter- 
 ance to my sentiments ; so, after the usual 
 preface to my speech, I said, ' that as to 
 their natures, the Shah, in his profound 
 wisdom, must know, that they were an un- 
 believing and an unclean race; fpr that 
 they treated our Prophet as a cheat, and 
 eat pork and drank wine without any 
 scruple; that they were women in looks, 
 and in manners bears ; that they ought to 
 be held in the greatest suspicion, for their 
 ultimate object (see what they had done in 
 India) was to take kingdoms, and to make 
 Shahs and Nabobs then- humble servants. 
 As to their medicines,' I exclaimed, ' Hea- 
 ven preserve your majesty from them ! they 
 are just as treacherous in their effects as 
 the Franks are in their politics : with what 
 we give to procure death, they pretend to 
 work their cures. Their principal ingre- 
 dient is mercury (and here I produced my 

 
 224 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 pill); and they use their instruments and 
 knives so freely, that I have heard it said 
 they will cut off a man's limbs to save his 
 life.' I then drew such a picture of the 
 fatal effects likely to proceed from the 
 foreign prescription, that I made the Shah 
 promise that he would not take it without 
 using every precaution that his prudence 
 and wisdom might suggest. To this he 
 consented ; and as soon as the Frank shall 
 have sent in the medicine which he is pre- 
 paring, I shall be summoned to another 
 interview. ' Now, Hajji,' added the doc- 
 tor, * the Shah must not touch the in- 
 fidel's physic ; for if perchance it were to 
 do good, I am a lost man. Who will ever 
 consult Mirza Ahmak again ? No, we must 
 avert the occurrence of such an event, 
 even if I were obliged to take all his drugs 
 myself.' 
 
 We parted with mutual promises of 
 doing every thing in our power to thwart 
 the infidel doctor; and three days after 
 Mirza Ahmak was again called before the
 
 HAJJI BABA. 225 
 
 king in order to inspect the promised or- 
 donnance, and which consisted of a box 
 of pills. He, of course, created all sorts 
 of suspicions against their efficacy, threw 
 out some dark hints about the danger of 
 receiving any drug from the agent of a 
 foreign power, and, finally, left the Shah 
 in the determination of referring the case 
 to his ministers. The next day, at the 
 usual public audience, when the Shah was 
 seated on his throne, and surrounded by his 
 prime vizier, his lord high treasurer, his 
 minister for the interior, his principal se- 
 cretary of state, his lord chamberlain, his 
 master of the horse, his principal master of 
 the ceremonies, his doctor in chief, and many 
 other of the great officers of his household, 
 addressing himself to his grand vizier, he 
 stated the negotiations which he had en- 
 tered into with the foreign physician, now 
 resident at his court, for the restoration and 
 the renovation of the royal person ; that at 
 the first conference, the said foreign phy- 
 sician, after a due inspection of the royal 
 VOT,. i
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 person, had reported that there existed se- 
 veral symptoms of debility. That at the 
 second, after assuring the Shah that he 
 had for three whole days employed himself 
 in consulting his books and records, and 
 gathering from them the opinions of his 
 own country sages on the subject, he had 
 combined the properties of various drugs 
 into one whole, which, if taken interiorly, 
 would produce effects so wonderful, that 
 no talisman could come in competition with 
 it. His majesty then said, that he had 
 called into his councils his Hakim bashi, 
 or head physician, who, in his anxiety for 
 the weal of the Persian monarchy, had 
 deeply pondered over the ordonnances of 
 the foreigner, and had set his face against 
 them, owing to certain doubts and appre- 
 hensions that had crept into his mind, 
 which consisted, 1st, whether it were politic 
 to deliver over the internal administration 
 of the royal person to foreign regulations 
 and ordonnances; and, 2d, whether, in the 
 remedy prescribed, there might not exist
 
 HAJJI BABA. 227 
 
 such latent and destructive effects, as would 
 endanger, undermine, and, finally, over- 
 throw that royal person and constitution, 
 which it was supposed to be intended to 
 restore and renovate. ' Under these cir- 
 cumstances,' said the Centre of the Uni- 
 verse, raising his voice at the time, * I have 
 thought it advisable to pause before I pro- 
 ceeded in this business ; and have resolved 
 to lay the case before you, in order that you 
 may, in your united wisdoms, frame such 
 an opinion as may be fitting to be placed 
 before the king: and in order that you may 
 go into the subject with a complete know- 
 ledge of the case, I have resolved, as a pre- 
 paratory act, that each of you, in your own 
 persons, shall partake of this medicine, in 
 order that both you and I may judge of its 
 various effects.' 
 
 To this most gracious speech the grand 
 vizier and all the courtiers made exclama- 
 tions, ' May the king live for ever ! May 
 the royal shadow ilever be less ! We are 
 happy not only to take physic, but to lay
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 down our lives in your majesty's service ! 
 We are your sacrifice, your slaves ! May 
 God give the Shah health, and a victory 
 over all his enemies! Upon which, the 
 chief of the valets was ordered to bring the 
 foreign physician's box of pills from the 
 harem, and delivered it to the Shah jn a 
 golden salver. His majesty then ordered 
 the Hakim bashi to approach, and deliver- 
 ing the box to him, ordered him to go 
 round to all present, beginning with the 
 prime vizier, and then to every man accord- 
 ing to his rank, administering to each a pill. 
 This being done, the whole assembly 
 took the prescribed gulp ; after which en- 
 sued a general pause, during which the 
 king looked carefully into each man's face 
 to mark the first effects of the medicine. 
 When the wry faces had subsided, the con- 
 versation took a turn upon the affairs of 
 Europe ; upon which his majesty asked a 
 variety of questions, which were answered 
 by the different persons present in the best ' 
 manner they were able.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 
 
 The medicine now gradually began to 
 show its effects. The lord high treasurer 
 first, a large coarse man, who to this mo- 
 ment had stood immovable, merely saying 
 belli, belli, yes, yes, whenever his majesty 
 opened his mouth to speak, now appeared 
 uneasy, for what he had swallowed had 
 brought into action a store of old com- 
 plaints which were before lying dormant. 
 The eyes of all had been directed towards 
 him, which had much increased his per- 
 turbed state ; when the chief secretary of 
 state, a tall, thin, lathy man, turned deadly 
 pale, and began to stream from every pore. 
 He was followed by the minister for the 
 interior, whose unhappy looks seemed to 
 supplicate a permission from his majesty 
 to quit his august presence. All the rest 
 in succession were moved in various ways, 
 except the prime vizier, a little old man, fa- 
 mous for a hard and unyielding nature, and 
 who appeared to be laughing in his sleeve 
 at the misery which his compeers in office 
 were undergoing.
 
 230 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 When the Shah perceived that the me- 
 dicine had taken effect, he dismissed the 
 assembly, ordering Mirza Ahmak, as soon 
 as he could ascertain the history of each 
 pill, to give him an official report of the 
 whole transaction, and then retired into his 
 harem. 
 
 The crafty old doctor had now his rival 
 within his power ; of course, he set the 
 matter in such a light before the king, that 
 his majesty was deterred from making the 
 experiment of the foreign physician's or- 
 donnance, and it was forthwith consigned 
 to oblivion. When he next saw me, and 
 after he had made me acquainted with the 
 preceding narrative, he could not restrain 
 his joy and exultation. ' We have con- 
 quered, friend Hajji,' would he say to me. 
 ' The infidel thought that we were fools ; 
 but we will teach him what Persians are. 
 Whose dog is he, that he should aspire to 
 so high an honour as prescribing for a king 
 of kings ? No, that is left to such men as I. 
 What do we care about his new discoveries?
 
 HAJJI BABA. 231 
 
 As our fathers did, so are we contented to 
 do. The prescription that cured our an- 
 cestors shall cure us; and what Locman 
 and Abou Avicenna ordained, we may be 
 satisfied to ordain after them.' He then 
 dismissed me, to make fresh plans for de- 
 stroying any influence or credit that the 
 new physician might acquire, and for pre- 
 serving his own consequence and reputation 
 at court.
 
 232 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Hajji Baba asks the doctor for a salary, and of the 
 success of his demand. 
 
 I HAD thus far lived with the doctor more 
 as a friend than as a servant ; for he per- 
 mitted me to sit in his presence, to eat with 
 him, and even to smoke his pipe, whilst at 
 the same time I associated with his servants, 
 eat, drank, and smoked with them also; 
 but I found that this sort of life in nowise 
 suited my views and expectations. The 
 only money which I had received from him 
 was the gold coin aforementioned, for which 
 I was indebted to my own ingenuity ; and, 
 as things went, it appeared that it would be 
 the last. I was therefore resolved to come 
 to an explanation with him, and accordingly 
 seized the opportunity when he was elated 
 with his success over the European doctor, 
 to open the subject of my grievances.
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 
 
 He had just returned from the imperial 
 gate, after having seen the Shah ; who, by 
 his account, had been very gracious to him, 
 having kept him standing without his shoes 
 only two hours, by the side of a stone 
 fountain, instead of six, which he generally 
 does. f What a good king he is ! ' he ex- 
 claimed, ' how affable, how considerate ! 
 It is impossible to say how much kindness 
 he shows to me. He gave abuse to the 
 European doctor, all out of compliment to 
 my abilities, and said that he is not fit to 
 hold my shoes. He then ordered his fa- 
 vourite running footman to bring me a pre- 
 sent of two partridges, which were caught 
 by the royal hawks.' 
 
 I observed, * Yes, the king says true. 
 Who is your equal now a-days in Persia ? 
 Happy Shah! to possess such a treasure. 
 What are the Franks, that they should talk 
 of medicine? If they want learning, science, 
 and skill, let them look to Mirza Ahmak.' 
 
 Upon this, with a smile of self-compla- 
 cency, he took the pipe from his own mouth
 
 234' THE ADVENTUB.ES OF 
 
 and gave it to me, pulled up his mustaches, 
 and stroked his beard. 
 
 ' Inshallah! may it please God,' I con- 
 tinued to say, ' that I also may share in the 
 glory of your reputation ; but I am like a 
 dog, I am nothing, I am not even like the 
 piece of clay, which was scented by the com- 
 pany of the rose.' 
 
 ' How !' said the doctor ; ' why are you 
 out of spirits T 
 
 1 I will leave you to judge, and relate a 
 story/ said I. ' Once upon a time there was 
 a dog, who in looks and manners was so like 
 a wolf, that the wolves used to admit him 
 into their society. He ate, drank, and killed 
 sheep with them, and, in short, was every 
 thing that a wolf ought to be ; at the same 
 time, he lived with his fellow dogs like a 
 dog, and was admitted to all their parties. 
 But, little by little, the dogs perceived that 
 he associated with wolves, and became shy 
 of him ; and it also happened that the wolves 
 discovered that he was in fact a dog, and 
 did not like to admit him any longer into
 
 HAJJ! BABA. 
 
 285 
 
 their circles; so between both, the poor 
 dog became neglected and miserable ; and, 
 unable to bear his undefined state any 
 longer, he determined to make a decided 
 
 O * 
 
 effort to become either a dog or a wolf. I 
 am that dog!' exclaimed I: 'you permit 
 me to sit and smoke with you, who are so 
 much my superior ; you talk to and consult 
 me, and I am even admitted to the society 
 of your friends ; but what does that benefit 
 me? I am still a servant, without enjoying 
 any of the advantages of one : I get nothing. 
 I pray you therefore to appoint me to the 
 situation you wish me to hold in your ser- 
 vice, and to fix a salary upon me.' 
 
 ' A salary indeed I 1 exclaimed the doctor : 
 ' I never give salaries. My servants get 
 what they can from my patients, and you 
 may do the same ; they eat the remains of 
 my dinner, and they receive a coat at the 
 festival of the JVb Ruz* what can they 
 
 The No Rtiz, or the new day, is the great Per- 
 sian festival, which takes place every spring, when 
 the Sun enters Aries. It is not of Mohamedan 
 origin, and dates from very remote antiquity.
 
 236 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 want more ?' At this moment entered the 
 Shah's running-footman, bearing in his 
 hands a silver tray, upon which were placed 
 the two partridges that his majesty had pre- 
 sented to the doctor, and which in great 
 form he gave into his hands, who, rising 
 from his seat, carried the tray to his head, 
 and exclaimed, ' May the king's kindness 
 never be less ! may his wealth increase, 
 and may he live for ever !' 
 
 He then was called upon to make the 
 bearer a present. He sent first five piastres *, 
 which the servant returned with great in- 
 dignation. He then sent one tomaun : this 
 also was sent back, until at length in despair 
 he sent five tomauns, which, it was intimated, 
 was the sum proper to be given. This dis- 
 agreeable circumstance dissipated all the 
 pleasure which such a present had produced, 
 and the Hakim, in his rage, permitted him- 
 self to use such expressions, which, if re- 
 ported to the king, would have brought 
 him into considerable trouble. ' A present, 
 
 * A piastre is about two shillings.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 
 
 indeed!" 1 said he; * I wish such presents 
 were in the other world ! 'Tis thus we pay 
 the wages of the king's servants a set of 
 rapacious rascals, without either shame or 
 conscience ! And the worst of it is, we must 
 pay them handsomely, or else whenever it 
 happens that I get the bastinado on the 
 soles of my feet, which come it will, they, 
 who perform the operation, will show me no 
 mercy. Let me not forget what Saadi says, 
 that you can no more depend upon the 
 friendship of a king than you can upon the 
 voice of a child ; because the former changes 
 on the slightest suspicion, the latter in the 
 course of a night.' 
 
 Upon this reflection, the doctor began to 
 be alarmed at what he had said at the out- 
 set of his speech ; and, with all the terrors 
 of thefelek before him, he seemed quite re- 
 conciled to the loss of his five tomauns. 
 
 I found that this would not be the best 
 moment to resume the subject of my ex- 
 pectations, and therefore reserved it for some 
 future opportunity ; but I had heard enough
 
 238 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 to settle in my own mind, that I would 
 leave the ' Locman of the age,' whenever 
 an opportunity should offer, and for the 
 present to content myself with being neither 
 dog nor wolf.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 239 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 He becomes dissatisfied with his situation, is idle, 
 and falls in love. 
 
 DISCONTENTED with my present lot, and 
 uncertain as to my future prospects, my 
 days passed on in total idleness ; and, as I 
 had no inclination to pursue the profession 
 of physic, which many before me had done 
 quite on as slender a foundation as the one 
 I had acquired, I cared little for those pur- 
 suits which engaged Mirza Ahmak. I 
 should very probably have left him in- 
 stantly, if a circumstance had not occurred, 
 arising from the very state of unprofitable- 
 ness in which I lived, which detained me in 
 his house. The feelings to which it gave 
 rise so entirely absorbed every other con- 
 sideration, that I became their slave ; and 
 so violent were the emotions which they 
 created, that I verily believe that Majnoun,
 
 240 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 in the height of his phrensy, could not have 
 been madder than I. After this, it is need- 
 less to mention that I was in love. 
 
 The spring had passed over, and the 
 first heats of summer, which now began to 
 make themselves felt, had driven most of 
 the inhabitants of the city to spread their 
 beds and sleep on the house-tops. As I 
 did not like to pass my night in company 
 of the servants, the carpet-spreaders and the 
 cook, who generally herded together in a 
 room below, I extended my bed in a corner 
 of the terrace, which overlooked the inner 
 court of the doctor's house, in which were 
 situated the apartments of the women. This 
 court was a square, into which the windows 
 of the different chambers looked, and was 
 planted in the centre with rose-bushes, jes- 
 samines, and poplar-trees. A square wooden 
 platform was erected in the middle, upon 
 which mattresses were spread, where the 
 inhabitants reposed during the great heats-. 
 I had seen several women seated in different 
 parts of the court, but had never been par-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 341 
 
 ticularly struck by the appearance of any 
 one of them; and indeed had I been so, 
 perhaps I should never have thought of 
 looking at them again ; for as soon as I was 
 discovered, shouts of abuse were levelled at 
 me, and I was called by every odious name 
 that they could devise. 
 
 One night, however, soon after the sun 
 had set, as I was preparing my bed, I per- 
 chance looked over a part of the wall that 
 was a little broken down, and on a slip of 
 terrace that was close under it I discovered 
 a female, who was employed in assorting 
 and spreading out tobacco-leaves. Her 
 blue veil was negligently thrown over her 
 head, and as she stooped, the two long 
 tresses which flowed from her forehead hung 
 down in so tantalizing a manner as nearly 
 to screen all her face, but still left so much 
 of it visible, that it created an intense desire 
 in me to see the remainder. Every thing 
 that I saw in her announced beauty. Her 
 hands were small, and dyed with TcJiena* ; 
 
 * This dye is used throughout the whole of 
 VOL. I. R
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 5 
 
 her feet Tvere equally small ; and her whole 
 air and form bespoke loveliness and grace. 
 I gazed upon her until I could no longer 
 contain my passion ; I made a slight noise, 
 which immediately caused her to look up, 
 and before she could cover herself with her 
 veil, I had had time to see the most en- 
 chanting features that the imagination can 
 conceive, and to receive a look from eyes so 
 bewitching, that I immediately felt my heart 
 in a blaze. With apparent displeasure she 
 covered herself; but still I could perceive 
 that she had managed her veil with so much 
 art, that there was room for a certain dark 
 and sparkling eye to look at me, and to en- 
 joy my agitation. As I continued to gaze 
 upon her, she at length said, though still 
 going on with her work, ' Why do you look 
 at me? It is criminal.' 
 
 Asia, and produces a strong orange, or auburn co- 
 lour. The Persians dye the whole of their hands 
 as far as the wrist with it, and also the soles of 
 their feet. The Turks more commonly only tinge 
 the nails : both use it for the hair.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 
 
 ' For the sake of the sainted Hosien,' I 
 exclaimed, ' do not turn from me ; it is no 
 crime to love : your eyes have made roast 
 meat of my heart : by the mother that bore 
 you, let me look upon your face again.' 
 
 In a more subdued voice she answered 
 me, ' Why do you ask me ? You know it 
 is a crime for a woman to let her face be 
 seen; and you are neither my father, my 
 brother, nor my husband ; I do not even 
 know who you are. Have you no shame, 
 to talk thus to a maid ?' 
 
 At this moment she let her veil fall, as 
 if by chance, and I had time to look again 
 upon her face, which was even more beau- 
 tiful than I had imagined. Her eyes were 
 large and peculiarly black, and fringed by 
 long lashes, which, aided by the eollyrium 
 with which they were tinged, formed a sort 
 of ambuscade, from which she levelled her 
 shafts. Her eyebrows were finely arched, 
 and nature had brought them together just 
 over her nose, in so strong a line, that there 
 was no need of art to join them together.
 
 244 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 Her nose was aquiline, her mouth small, 
 and full of sweet expression; and in the 
 centre of her chin was a dimple which she 
 kept carefully marked with a blue puncture. 
 Nothing could equal the beauty of her hair ; 
 it was black as jet, and fell in long tresses 
 down her back. In short, I was wrapped 
 in amazement at her beauty. The sight 
 of her explained to me many things which 
 I had read in our poets, of cypress forms, 
 tender fawns, and sugar-eating parrots. It 
 seemed to me that I could gaze at her for 
 ever, and not be tired; but still I felt a 
 great desire to leap over the wall and touch 
 her. My passion was increasing, and I was 
 on the point of approaching her, when I 
 heard the name of Zeenab repeated several 
 times, with great impatience, by a loud 
 shrill voice; upon which my fair one left 
 the terrace in haste, and I remained riveted 
 to the place where I had first seen her. I 
 continued there for a long time, in the hope 
 that she might return, but to no purpose. 
 I lent my ear to every noise, but nothing
 
 HAJJI BABA. 
 
 was to be heard below but the same angry 
 voice, which, by turns, appeared to attack 
 every thing, and every body, and which 
 could belong to no one but the doctor's 
 wife ; a lady, who, as report would have it, 
 was none of the mildest of her sex, and 
 who kept her good man in great subjection. 
 
 The day had now entirely closed in, and 
 I was about retiring to my bed in despair, 
 when the voice was heard again, exclaim- 
 ing, ' Zeenab, where are you going to? Why 
 do you not retire to bed ?' 
 
 I indistinctly heard the answer of my 
 charmer, but soon guessed what it had 
 been, when I saw her appear on the ter- 
 race again. My heart beat violently, and 
 I was about to leap over the wall, which 
 separated us, when I was stopped by see- 
 ing her taking up a basket, in which she 
 had gathered her tobacco, and make a 
 hasty retreat; but just as she was disap- 
 pearing, she said to me, in a low tone of 
 voice, ' Be here to-morrow night.' These 
 words thrilled through my whole frame, in
 
 246 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 a, manner that I had never before felt, and 
 I did not cease to repeat them, and ponder 
 over them, until, through exhaustion, I fell 
 into a feverish doze, and I did not awaken 
 on the following morning until the beam? 
 of the sun shone bright in my face. 

 
 HAJJI BABA. 247 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 He has an interview with the fair Zeenab, who 
 relates hoic she passes her time in the doctor's 
 harem. 
 
 * So/ said I, when I had well rubbed ray 
 eyes : ' so, now I am in love ? Well ! we shall 
 see what will come of it. Who and what 
 she is we shall know to-night, so please it ; 
 and if she is any thing which belongs to the 
 doctor, may his house be ruined if I do not 
 teach him how to keep a better watch over 
 his property. As for marriage, that is out 
 of the question. Who would give a wife 
 to me ; I who have not even enough to buy 
 myself a pair of trowsers, much less to de- 
 fray the expenses of a wedding ? Inshallak, 
 please God, that will take place one of these 
 days, whenever I shall have got together 
 some money; but now I will make play 
 with love, and let the doctor pay for it.'
 
 248 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 With that intention I forthwith got up 
 and dressed myself; but it was with more 
 care than usual. I combed my curls a great 
 deal more than ordinary ; I studied the tie 
 of my girdle, and put my cap on one side. 
 Then having rolled up my bed, and carried 
 it into the servants' hall, I issued from 
 home, with the intention of bathing, and 
 making my person sweet, preparatory to my 
 evening's assignation. I went to the bath, 
 where I passed a great part of my morning 
 in singing, and spent the remainder of the 
 time, until the hour of meeting, in rambling 
 about the town without any precise object 
 in view. 
 
 At length the day drew towards its close, 
 my impatience had reached its height, and 
 I only waited for the termination of the 
 sham, or the evening's meal, to feign a 
 head- ache, and to retire to rest. My ill 
 luck would have it, that the doctor was de- 
 tained longer than usual in his attendance 
 upon the Shah, and as the servants dined 
 after him, and ate his leavings, it was late
 
 HAJJI BABA. 249 
 
 before I was at liberty. When that mo- 
 ment arrived, I was in a fever of expecta- 
 tion : the last glimmering of day tinged the 
 western sky with a light shade of red, and 
 the moon was just rising, when I appeared 
 on the terrace with my bed under my arm. 
 I threw it down and unfolded it in haste, 
 and then, with a beating heart, flew to the 
 broken wall. I looked over it with great 
 precaution; but, to my utter disappoint- 
 ment, I saw nothing but the tobacco spread 
 about in confused heaps, with baskets here 
 and there, as if some work had been left 
 unfinished. I looked all around, but saw 
 no Zeenab. I coughed once or twice ; no 
 answer. The only sound which reached 
 my ears was the voice of the doctor's wife, 
 exerting itself upon some one within the 
 house, although its shrillness pierced even 
 the walls ; yet I could not make out what 
 was the cause of its being so excited, until 
 of a sudden it burst into the open air with 
 increasing violence. 
 
 * You talk of work to me, you daughter
 
 250 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 of the devil ! Who told you to go to the 
 bath ? What business had you at the 
 tombs ? I suppose I am to be your slave, 
 and you arc to take your pleasure. Why 
 is not your work done ? You shall neither 
 eat, drink, nor sleep, until it is done, so go 
 to it immediately; and if you come away 
 until it be finished, wallah! billah! by the 
 prophet, I will beat you till your nails 
 drop off'.' Upon this [ heard some pushing 
 and scuffling, and immediately perceived 
 my fair one proceeding with apparent re- 
 luctance to the spot, which not a moment 
 before I had despaired of seeing blessed 
 with her presence. Oh what a wonderful 
 thing is love ! thought I to myself: how it 
 sharpens the wits, and how fertile it is in 
 expedients! I perceived at a glance how 
 ingeniously my charmer had contrived every 
 thing for our interview, and for a con- 
 tinuance of it without the fear of interrup- 
 tion. She saw, but took no notice of me 
 until the storm below had ceased; and 
 then, when every thing had relapsed into '
 
 IL\JJI BABA. 251 
 
 silence, she came towards me, and, as the 
 reader may well suppose, I was at her side 
 in an instant. Ye, who know what love is, 
 may, perhaps, conceive our raptures, for 
 they are not to be expressed. 
 
 I learnt from my fair friend that she 
 was the daughter of a Curdish chief, who, 
 with his whole family, including his flocks 
 and herds, had been made prisoner when 
 she was quite a child ; and that, from cir- 
 cumstances which she promised hereafter 
 to relate to me, she had fallen into the 
 hands of the doctor, whose slave she now 
 was. 
 
 After the first burst of the sentiments 
 which we felt towards each other had sub- 
 sided, she gave way to the feelings of an- 
 ger, which she felt for the treatment that 
 she had just experienced. ' Ah P she ex- 
 claimed, * did you hear what that woman 
 called me ! woman, without faith, without 
 religion ! 'Tis thus she always treats me ; 
 she constantly gives me abuse; I am be- 
 come less than a dog. Every body rails
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 at me ; no one comes near me ; ray liver is 
 become water, and my soul is withered up. 
 Why should I be called a child of the 
 devil? I am a Curd; I am a Yezeedi *. 
 'Tis true that we fear the devil, and who 
 does not ? but I am no child of his. Oh ! 
 that I could meet her in our mountains: 
 she would then see what a Curdish girl 
 can do.' 
 
 I endeavoured to console her as well as 
 I could, and persuaded her to smother her 
 resentment until she could find a good 
 opportunity of revenging herself. She de- 
 spaired at that ever coming to pass; be- 
 cause all her actions were so strictly 
 watched, that she could scarcely go from 
 one room to another without her mistress 
 being aware of it. The fact was, so she 
 informed me, that the doctor, who was a 
 man of low family, had, by orders of the 
 king, married one of his majesty's slaves, 
 
 * The Yezeedis are a tribe of the Curds, who ar 
 said to worship the devil.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 253 
 
 who, from some misconduct, had been ex- 
 pelled the harem. She brought to the 
 doctor no other dowry than an ill temper, 
 and a great share of pride, which always 
 kept her in mind of her former influence 
 at court ; and she therefore holds her pre- 
 sent husband as cheap as the dust under 
 her feet, and keeps him in a most pitiful 
 state of subjection. He dares not sit down 
 before her, unless she permits him, which 
 she very seldom does ; and she is moreover 
 so jealous, that there is no slave in her ha- 
 rem who does not excite her suspicions. 
 The doctor, on the other hand, who is 
 very ambitious, and pleased with his ex- 
 altation, is also subject to the frailties of 
 human nature, and is by no means insensible 
 to the charms of the fair creatures, his 
 slaves. Zeenab herself, so she informed 
 me, is the peculiar object of his attentions, 
 and consequently that of the jealousy of his 
 wife, who permits no look, word, or sign to 
 pass unnoticed. Much intrigue and espion- 
 age is carried on in the harem ; and when
 
 254 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 the lady herself goes to the bath or the 
 mosque, as many precautions are taken 
 about the distribution of the female slaves, 
 with respect to time, place, and opportunity, 
 as there would be in the arrangement of a 
 wedding. 
 
 Having never seen more of the interior 
 of an anderun than what I recollected as a 
 boy in my own family, I became surprised, 
 and my curiosity was greatly excited in 
 proportion as the fair Zeenab proceeded in 
 her narrative of the history of her life in the 
 doctor's house. ' We are five in the harem, 
 besides our mistress,' said she: ' there is 
 Shireen, the Georgian slave; then Nur 
 Jehan *, the Ethiopian slave girl ; Fatmeh, 
 the cook; and old Leilah, the duenna. My si- 
 tuation is that of hand-maid to the khanurn f, 
 
 * The Persians give most magnificent names to 
 their Negro slaves. Thw'N4tyehan means, light 
 of the world. 
 
 t Klianum is the title usually given to a Persian 
 lady, and is equivalent to madam.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 255 
 
 so my mistress is called : I attend 
 her pipe, I hand her her coffee, bring in 
 the meals, go with her to the bath, dress 
 and undress her, make her clothes, spread, 
 sift, and pound tobacco, and stand before 
 her. Shireen, the Georgian, is the aandiik- 
 dar, or housekeeper; she has the care of 
 the clothes of both my master and mistress, 
 and indeed of the clothes of all the house ; 
 she superintends the expenses, lays in the 
 corn for the house, as well as all the other 
 provisions; she takes charge of all the 
 porcelain, the silver, and other ware ; and, 
 in short, has the care of whatever is either 
 precious or of consequence in the family. 
 Nur Jehan, the black slave, acts asferash, 
 or carpet-spreader: she does all the dirty 
 work, spreads the carpets, sweeps the 
 rooms, sprinkles the water over the court- 
 yard, helps the cook, carries parcels and 
 messages, and, in short, is at the call of 
 every one. As for old Leilah, she is a 
 sort of duenna over the young slaves': she
 
 256 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 is employed in the out of door service, 
 carries on any little affair that the khanum 
 may have with other harems, and is also 
 supposed to be a spy upon the actions of 
 the doctor. Such as we are, our days are 
 passed in peevish disputes ; whilst, at the 
 same time, some two of us are usually 
 leagued in strict friendship, to the exclu- 
 sion of the others. At this present mo- 
 ment I am at open war with the Georgian, 
 who, some time ago, found that her good 
 luck in life had forsaken her, and she in 
 consequence contrived to procure a talis- 
 man from a dervish. She had no sooner 
 obtained it, than on the very next day the 
 khanum presented her with a new jacket ; 
 this so excited my jealousy, that I also 
 made interest with the dervish to supply 
 me with a talisman that should secure me 
 a good husband. On that very same even- 
 ing I saw you on the terrace. Conceive 
 my happiness ! But this has established a 
 rivality between myself and Shireen, which
 
 HAJJI BABA. 257 
 
 has ended in hatred, and we are now mortal 
 enemies : perhaps we may as suddenly be 
 friends again. I am now on the most inti- 
 mate terms with Nur Jehan, and at my 
 persuasion she reports to the khanum every 
 story unfavourable to my rival. Some 
 rare sweetmeats, with baklava (sweet cake) 
 made in the royal seraglio, were sent a few 
 days ago from one of the Shah's ladies, as 
 a present to our mistress; the rats eat a 
 great part of them, and we gave out that 
 the Georgian was the culprit,' for which 
 she received blows on the feet, which Nur 
 Jehan administered. I broke my mistress's 
 favourite drinking-cup ; Shireen incurred 
 the blame, and was obliged to supply an- 
 other. I know that she is plotting against 
 me, for she is eternally closeted with Leilah, 
 who is at present the confidant of our mis- 
 tres's. I take care not to eat or drink any 
 thing which has passed through her hands 
 to me, for fear of poison, and she returns 
 me the same compliment. It is not, that 
 our hatred amounts to poison yet, but such 
 VOL. i. s
 
 258 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 precautions are constantly in use in all 
 harems. We have as yet only once come 
 to blows : she excited me to violent anger 
 by spitting and saying, * lahnet be SheitanJ 
 curse be on the devil, which you know to 
 the Yezeedies is a gross insult ; when I fell 
 upon her, calling her by every wicked name 
 that I had learnt in Persian, and fastening 
 upon her hair, of which I pulled out whole 
 tresses by the roots. We were parted by 
 Leilah, who came in for her share of abuse, 
 and we continued railing at each other 
 until our throats were quite dried up with 
 rage and exhaustion. Our violence has 
 much abated since this conflict; but her 
 enmity is undiminished, for she continues 
 to show her spite against me in every man- 
 ner she can devise.' 
 
 Zeenab continued to entertain me in this 
 manner until the first dawn of the morn- 
 ing, and when we heard the muezzin* call 
 
 * The priest is so called who invites the Maho- 
 raedans to prayers from the minaret, or from the 
 roof of the mosque.
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 259 
 
 the morning prayers from the mosque, we 
 thought it prudent to retire ; but not until 
 we had made mutual promises of seeing 
 each other as often as prudence would 
 allow. We agreed, that whenever she had 
 by her stratagems secured an opportunity 
 for meeting, she should hang her veil upon 
 the bough of a tree in the court, which 
 could be seen from my terrace ; and that if 
 it were not there, I was to conclude that 
 our interview on that night was impossible.
 
 260 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The lovers meet again, and are very happy. Hajjl 
 Baba sings. 
 
 ON the following evening, I ascended the 
 terrace in the hope of seeing the signal of 
 meeting ; but in vain ; no veil was visible ; 
 and I sat myself down in despair. The 
 tobacco, and all the apparatus for cleaning 
 it, had disappeared, and all was hushed 
 below. Even the unceasing voice of the 
 doctor's wife, which I now began to look 
 upon as the most agreeable sound in nature, 
 was wanting ; and the occasional drag of a 
 slipper, which I guessed might proceed 
 from the crawl of old Leilah, was the only 
 sign of an inhabitant. I had in succession 
 watched the distant din of the king's band, 
 the crash of the drums, and the swell of 
 the trumpets, announcing sunset. I had 
 listened to the various tones of the Muez-
 
 IIAJJI BABA. 261 
 
 zins, announcing the evening prayer; as 
 well as to the small drum of the police, 
 ordering the people to shut their shops, and 
 retire to their homes. The cry of the sen- 
 tinels on the watch-towers of the king's 
 palace was heard at distant intervals; night 
 had completely closed in upon me, and still 
 the same silence prevailed in the doctor's 
 harem. 
 
 ' What can be the reason of this ?' said 
 I to myself. ' If they have been to the 
 bath, they cannot have remained thus late : 
 besides, the baths are open for the women 
 in the mornings only. Some one must be 
 sick, or there is a marriage, or a birth, or 
 perhaps a burial ; or the doctor may have 
 received the bastinado ; in short, I was kill- 
 ing myself with conjecture, when of a 
 sudden a great beating at the door took 
 place, and, as it opened, the clatter of slippers 
 was heard, attended by the mingled sounds 
 of many female voices, amongst which the 
 well-known querulous tone of the khanum 
 was prominent. Several lanterns passed to
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 and fro, which showed me the forms of the 
 women, amongst whom, as they threw off' 
 their veils, I recognised that of my Zeenab. 
 I determined to watch, in the hope that I 
 might still be blessed with an interview ; 
 and, in fact, it was not long before she ap- 
 peared. She stole to me with great pre- 
 caution, to say that circumstances would 
 prevent our meeting on this occasion, as 
 she should not fail being missed ; but that, 
 certainly, ere long, she would contrive to 
 secure an interview. In few words, she in- 
 formed me that her mistress had been 
 called upon to attend her sister (one of the 
 ladies in the Shah's seraglio), who being 
 taken suddenly ill, had expired almost im- 
 mediately (it was supposed by poison ad- 
 ministered by a rival), and that she had 
 taken all her women with her, in order to 
 increase the clamour of lamentation which 
 was always made on such occasions ; that 
 they had been there since noon, rending 
 the air with every proper exclamation, until 
 they were all hoarse ; that her mistress had
 
 HAJJI BABA. 263 
 
 already torn her clothes, an etiquette which 
 she had performed however with great 
 care, considering that she wore a favourite 
 jacket, having permitted only one or two 
 seams of it to be ripped open. As the 
 burial would take place the next day, it 
 was necessary that they should be at their 
 post early in the morning to continue the 
 lamentations, a service for which she ex- 
 pected to receive a black handkerchief, and 
 to eat sweetmeats. My fair one then left 
 me, promising that she would do her utmost 
 to secure a meeting on the following even- 
 ing, and telling me not to forget the signal. 
 On getting up the next morning, I was 
 much surprised to see it already made, and 
 to perceive Zeenab below, beckoning me 
 to go to her. I did not hesitate imme- 
 diately to descend from the terrace by the 
 same flight of steps which she used to 
 ascend it, and then of a sudden I found my- 
 self in the very centre of the harem. An 
 involuntary tremor seized me, when I re- 
 flected that I was in a place into which no
 
 264 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 man with impunity is permitted to enter ; 
 but, fortified by the smiles and the uncon- 
 strained manner of my enchantress, I pro- 
 ceeded. 
 
 ' Come, Haj ji,' said she, ' banish all fear ; 
 no one is here but Zeenab, and, if our luck 
 is good, we may have the whole day to our- 
 selves.' 
 
 ' By what miracle,' exclaimed I, ' have 
 you done this? Where is the khanum? 
 where are the women ? and, if they are not 
 here, how shall I escape the doctor ?' 
 
 ' Do not fear, 1 she repeated again ; ' I have 
 barred all the doors ; and should any one 
 come, you will have time to escape before I 
 open them : but there is no fear of that ; 
 all the women are gone to the funeral ; and 
 as for Mirza Ahmak, my mistress has taken 
 care to dispose of him in such a manner, 
 now that I am left by myself, that he will 
 not dare to come within a parasang of his 
 own house. You must know then,' said 
 she, ' for I see you are all astonishment, 
 that our destinies are on the rise, and that
 
 HAJJI BABA. 265 
 
 it was a lucky hour when we first saw each 
 other. Every thing plays into our hands. 
 My rival, the Georgian, put it into the kha- 
 n urn's head, that Leilah, who is a professed 
 weeper at burials, having learned the art, in 
 all its branches, since a child, was a person- 
 age absolutely necessary on the present oc- 
 casion, and that she ought to go in pre- 
 ference to me, who am a Curd, and can 
 know but little of Persian customs : all this, 
 of course, to deprive me of my black hand- 
 kerchief, and other advantages. Accord- 
 ingly, I have been left at home; and the 
 whole party went off an hour ago to the 
 house of the deceased. I pretended to be 
 very angry, and opposed Leilah 's taking my 
 place with apparent warmth ; but, thank 
 Heaven, here we are, and so let us make the 
 most of our time.' 
 
 Upon which she went into the kitchen to 
 prepare a tray, containing a breakfast for 
 me, whilst she left me to explore that which 
 is hidden from all bachelors, namely, the 
 interior of the harem.
 
 266 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 I first went into the apartments of the 
 khanum herself. It opened upon the garden 
 by an immense sash-window, composed of 
 stained glass ; and in the corner was the 
 accustomed seat of the lady, marked by a 
 thick felt carpet, folded double, and a large 
 down cushion, covered with cloth of gold, 
 with two tassels at the extremities, and 
 veiled by a thin outer covering of muslin. 
 Near this seat was a looking-glass, prettily 
 painted, and a box containing all sorts of 
 curiosities; the surme (collyrium) for the 
 eyes, with its small instrument for applying 
 it ; some Chinese rouge ; a pair of armlets, 
 containing talismans ; a ton zoulfeh, or an 
 ornament to hitch into the hair, and hang 
 on the forehead ; a knife, scissars, and other 
 things. A guitar and a tambourine lay close 
 at hand. Her bed, rolled up in a distant 
 corner, was enclosed in a large wrapper of 
 blue and white cloth. Several pictures, 
 without frames, were hung against the walls, 
 and the shelf which occupied the top of the 
 room was covered with different sorts of
 
 HAJJI BABA. 267 
 
 glasses, basins, &c. In a corner were seen 
 several bottles of Shiraz wine, one of which, 
 just stopped with a flower, appeared to have 
 been used by the good lady that very morn- 
 ing; most likely in order to keep up her 
 spirits during the melancholy ceremony she 
 was about to attend. 
 
 ' So,' said I to myself, ' the Prophet is 
 not much heeded in this house. I shall 
 know another time how to appreciate a 
 sanctified and mortified look. Our doctor, 
 who calls himself a stanch Mussulman, I see 
 makes up for his large potations of cold 
 water and sherbet abroad, by his good 
 stock of wine at home.' 
 
 By the time I had satisfied my curiosity 
 here, and had inspected the other rooms, 
 which belonged to the servants, Zeenab had 
 prepared our breakfast, which she placed 
 before us in the khanum's room. We sat 
 down next to each other, and reposed upon 
 the very cushion of which I have just given 
 the description. Nothing could be more 
 delicious than the meal which she had pre-
 
 268 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 pared : there was a dish of rice, white as 
 snow, and near it a plate of roast meat, cut 
 into small bits, wrapped up in a large flap 
 of bread ; then a beautiful Ispahan melon, 
 in long slices ; some pears and apricots ; an 
 omelette warmed from a preceding meal; 
 cheese, onions, and leeks; a basin of sour 
 curds, and two different sorts of shefbet: 
 added to this, we had some delicious sweet- 
 meats, and a basin full of new honey. 
 
 ' How, in the name of your mother, 1 ex- 
 claimed I, as I pulled up my whiskers, and 
 surveyed the good things before me, ' how 
 have you managed to collect all this so soon ? 
 This is a breakfast fit for the Shah.' 
 
 * Oh, as to that,' she replied, ' do not 
 trouble yourself, but fall to. My mistress 
 ordered her breakfast to be prepared over- 
 night, but on second thoughts this morning 
 she determined to make her meal at the 
 house of the deceased, and has left me, as 
 - you see, but little to do. Come, let us eat 
 and be merry.' 
 
 Accordingly, we did honour to the break-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 269 
 
 fast, and left but little for those who might 
 come after us. After we had washed our 
 hands, we placed the wine before us, and 
 having each broken the commandment by 
 taking a cup, we congratulated ourselves 
 upon being two of the happiest of human 
 beings. 
 
 Such was my delight, that taking up the 
 guitar which was near me, and putting aside 
 all apprehension for the present, and all care 
 for the future, I tuned it to my voice, and 
 sang the following ode of Hafiz, which I 
 had learnt in my youth, when I used to 
 charm my hearers in the bath. 
 
 What bliss is like to whisp'ring love, 
 Or dalliance in the bowers of spring ? 
 
 Why then delay my bliss t' improve ? 
 Haste, haste, my love, the goblet bring. 
 
 Each hour that joy and mirth bestow 
 
 Call it treasure, count it gain ; 
 Fool is the man who seeks to know 
 
 His pleasure will it end in pain !
 
 270 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 The links which our existence bind 
 Hang not by one weak thread alone; 
 
 Of man's distress why tease the mind ? 
 Sufficient 'tis we know our own. 
 
 The double charms of love and wine 
 Alike from one sweet source arise : 
 
 Are we to blame, shall we repine, 
 
 When unconstrain'd the passions rise ? 
 
 If, innocent in heart and mind, 
 
 I sin unconscious of offence, 
 What use, O casuist, shall I find 
 
 In absolution's recompense ? 
 
 Hermits the flowing spring approve; 
 
 Poets the Sparkling bowl enjoy: 
 And, till he 's judged by powers above, 
 
 Hafiz will drink, and sing, and toy. 
 
 Zeenab was quite in ecstasy : she had 
 never heard any thing so delightful in her 
 life, and forgetting that both of us were but 
 wretched individuals, she a slave, I the 
 most destitute of beings, we did and felt 
 as if all that surrounded us was our own, 
 and that the wine and our love would last 
 for ever.
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 271 
 
 Having sang several more songs, and 
 emptied several cups of wine, I found that 
 my poetry was exhausted as well as our 
 bottle. 
 
 It was still quite early, and we had much 
 time before us. ' Zeenab,' said I, ' you 
 have long promised to tell me the history of 
 your life, and now is a good opportunity ; 
 we are not likely to be interrupted for a 
 long while, and, as our meetings at night 
 are very uncertain, an hour cannot be better 
 filled up than by the recital of your adven- 
 tures.' She assented to my proposal with 
 much good-humour, and began as follows.
 
 272 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 The history of Zeenab, the Curdish slave. 
 
 ' I AM the daughter of a chief, well known 
 in the Curdistan by the name of Okous 
 Aga. Who my mother was I do not pre- 
 cisely know. I have heard that I am the 
 produce of one of the secret meetings at 
 Remind*; but as such mysterious doings 
 are hushed up among the Curds, I have 
 never dared to question any body concern- 
 
 * This no doubt relates to certain mysterious 
 and obscene customs, which are said to be practised 
 among the Yezeedeis, at the village of Remind, in 
 the Curdistan, and peculiar to the tribe of Nusiri, 
 commonly called Chiragh Kush, or -lamp extin- 
 guishers. Antiquarians pretend in them to trace 
 a resemblance to the abominable worship of Venus, 
 as practised by the Babylonians, a-nd recorded in 
 Herodotus, Book I. cxcix. sec.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 273 
 
 ing them, and cannot, therefore, ascertain 
 whether the reports about my birth be true 
 or not. It is very certain that I never 
 looked up to any one as my mother ; but 
 was brought up at hazard among our wo- 
 men, and that my earliest friend was a foal, 
 that lived as an inmate with us. It was 
 born in the very tent which my father's 
 wives occupied ; and its dam, of the purest 
 Arabian blood, was treated more like one 
 of the family than a quadruped : in fact, it 
 received much more attention than any of 
 the wives ; it enjoyed the warmest place in 
 the tent, was beautifully clothed, and in all 
 our journeys was the first object of our 
 cares. When the mare died, an universal 
 lamentation ensued throughout the encamp- 
 ment. The foal lived to be my father's 
 war-horse, and is to this day the pride of 
 the Curdistan. But would to Heaven that 
 we had felt less affection for these animals .' 
 then I might still have been a free woman ; 
 for, in truth, the many vicissitudes which 
 we have undergone originated in the pos- 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 274 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 session of a mare, of which you shall hear 
 more hereafter. 
 
 f You must know, that although the 
 Curds do not allow that they are subject to 
 any power, yet our ancestors (and so did 
 my father to a certain time) grazed their 
 flocks and pitched their tents in that part 
 of the Curdistan mountains belonging to 
 Turkey, which are situated in the govern- 
 ment of the Pasha of Bagdad. Whenever 
 that chief had any war on his hands, he 
 frequently called upon our tribes to afford 
 him supplies of horsemen, who being cele- 
 brated throughout Asia, were always fore- 
 most in the battle. My father, from his 
 strength, his courage, and his horseman- 
 ship, was a great favourite with the Pasha, 
 and in high request on such occasions. He 
 was a majestic figure on horseback; and 
 when his countenance was shaded by the 
 back part of his cap thrown over his brow, 
 his look inspired terror. He had killed 
 several men, and was consequently honoured 
 with the distinction of bearing a tuft of hair
 
 HAJJI BABA. 275 
 
 on his spear. But it was when clad in ar- 
 mour that he was most to be admired. I 
 shall never forget the grandeur of his ap- 
 pearance, when, with his horse curvetting 
 under him, I saw him in the midst of a 
 thousand cavaliers, all dressed in shining 
 cuirasses, peacock's feathers streaming from 
 their helmets, and their spears glittering in 
 the sun, preparing themselves to join the 
 Pasha. From the result of this expedition 
 we date part of our misfortunes. The Wa- 
 habi had advanced into the territory of 
 Bagdad, and even threatened that city, 
 when the Pasha thought it high time to call 
 the Curds to his assistance. He took the 
 field with a considerable number of troops, 
 and immediately marched against the enemy . 
 In a night attack, my father happened to 
 fall in with and slay the son of the Arab 
 Sheikh himself, who commanded the Wa- 
 habi; and, having despoiled him of his 
 arms, he led away with him the mare which 
 his antagonist had mounted. He too well 
 knew the value of such a prize not immecli- 
 
 T 2
 
 276 THE ADVENTURES OP 
 
 ately to take the utmost care of it ; and, in 
 order to keep his good fortune from the 
 knowledge of the Turkish chieftain, who 
 would do every thing in his power to get it 
 from him, he sent the beast to his encamp- 
 ment, with orders that it should be carefully 
 concealed, and lodged in the tent which his 
 harem occupied. His precautions were use- 
 less, because the feat which he had per- 
 formed, and the circumstances attending it, 
 were soon known to every one ;* but as the 
 Pasha had a great esteem for him, and there 
 being no reason to suppose that the mare 
 was more than an ordinary one, he made 
 no inquiries about her. However, not very 
 long after the war had ceased, the Wahabi 
 having been driven back into the desert, 
 and the Curds having retired to their moun- 
 tains, we were surprised one morning by a 
 visit from one of the Pasha's chief officers, 
 viz. the Mirakhor, or master of the horse, 
 who came escorted by a handsome train of 
 ten men, well mounted and armed. Every 
 body was immediately on the alert to do
 
 HAJJI BABA. 277 
 
 them honour. Their horses were taken to 
 the nearest pasture, and picketed with plenty 
 of grass before them : the horsemen were led 
 into the men's tent with much ceremony, 
 where they were treated with coffee and 
 pipes ; and a large caldron of rice was set 
 on the firg to make a pilau. Two lambs 
 were immediately killed, and cooked into a 
 savoury dish by the women, who also baked 
 piles of bread on the occasion. In short, 
 we did all in our power to put into practice 
 those obligations of hospitality which are 
 binding upon the wandering tribes. 
 
 1 As soon as my father was apprized of 
 the approach of his visitors, even when they 
 were first espied at a distance, it immedi- 
 ately occurred to him what might be their 
 object, and he ordered his eldest son to 
 mount the mare without a moment's delay, 
 to take her into a neighbouring dell until 
 he should hear further from him. Our 
 tents were pitched in a line, on the brink 
 of a mountain torrent ; and it was there- 
 fore easy to steal away unperceived in the
 
 278 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 deep bed through which it flowed ; and the 
 high mountains in our neighbourhood, with 
 the intricacies of which we were well ac- 
 quainted, afforded good shelter to us in 
 cases of disturbance. 
 
 ' I recollect the whole circumstance just 
 as if it were yesterday ; for we women could 
 peep into the place where the men were as- 
 sembled, and our curiosity led vis to listen 
 to what they said. The Mirakhor and two 
 other Turks were seated ; the others stood 
 at the entrance of the tent, resting on their 
 arms. My father placed himself at some 
 distance, on the carpet, with his hands be- 
 fore him, and his feet tucked under him, 
 looking very humble, but at the same 
 time casting his eyes very sharply around 
 him. 
 
 ' ' You are welcome, and you have 
 brought happiness with you,' exclaimed 
 my father. 
 
 { ' Happily met, 1 answered the Mirakhor ; 
 it is long since we have seen each other ;' 
 and when they had repeated these and
 
 IIAJJ1 BABA. 
 
 similar sorts of compliments over and over 
 again, they relapsed into silence; their 
 pipes, which they smoked until the place 
 was darkened with the fume, holding them 
 in lieu of conversation. 
 
 ' ' Our master, the Pasha,' said the MJT 
 rakhor, ' sends you health and peace ; he 
 loves you, and says that you are one of his 
 best and oldest friends. MashallaJi! praise 
 be to God ! You are a good man ; all Curds 
 are good; their friends are our friends, and 
 their enemies our enemies.' 
 
 * An old Turk, who was standing, the 
 foremost of the attendants, applauded this 
 speech by a sort of low growl ; and then 
 my father, shrugging up his shoulders, and 
 pressing his hands on his knees, answered : 
 ' I am the Pasha's slave ; I am your slave ; 
 you do me much honour. II hem dillah, 
 thanks to Heaven, we eat our bread in 
 peace under the Pasha's shade, and put our 
 caps on one side without fear. God give 
 him plenty.' 
 
 ' After a short pause; * The business of
 
 280 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 our coming, Okous Aga,' said the Mirak- 
 hor, ' is this : The Wahabi (curses be on 
 their beards !) have sent a deputation to our 
 chief, requiring from him the mare upon 
 which the son of their Sheikh was mounted 
 at the time that he was killed. Although 
 they say that his blood is on our heads, and 
 that nothing but the Pasha's life, or that of 
 his son, can ever redeem it; yet that sub- 
 ject they will for the present waive, in 
 order to regain possession of her. They 
 say, she has the most perfect pedigree of 
 any in Arabia; that from generation to 
 generation her descent is to be traced to 
 the mare which the Prophet rode on his 
 flight from Medina; and, in order to re- 
 gain her, they offer to throw money on the 
 board until the Pasha shall say stop. Now 
 all the world knows that you are the brave 
 he, who overcame and slew the Sheikh's 
 son, and that yours is the spoil of the mare. 
 My master, after consulting with the nobles 
 and the chief men of Bagdad, has determined 
 U> take the offer of the Wahabi into con-
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 281 
 
 sideration ; and since it is become a business 
 of government, has sent me to request you 
 to deliver her up into my hands. This is 
 my errand, and I have said it.' 
 
 ' Wallah! billah! By the' Pasha's salt 
 which I have eat, by your soul, by the 
 mother who bore you, by the stars and the 
 heavens, I swear that all the Wahabi say is 
 false. Where is the mare they pretend to 
 have lost, and where the miserable jade that 
 fell to my lot ? I got a mare, 'tis true, but 
 so lean, so wretched, that I sold her to an 
 Arab the day after the battle. Y"ou may 
 have the bridle and saddle, if you please ; 
 but as for the beast, I have her not.' 
 
 ' ( Allah, Allah T exclaimed the Mirakhor, 
 ' this is a business of much consequence. 
 Okous Aga, you are an upright man, and 
 so am I. Do not laugh at our beards, and 
 send us away without caps on our heads. 
 If ive do not bring back the mare, our faces 
 will be black to all eternity, and the doors 
 of friendship between you and the Pasha
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 will be shut. By my soul, tell me ; where 
 is the beast ?' 
 
 ( ' Friend, 1 answered my father, ' what 
 shall I say ? what can I do ? The mare is 
 not here the Wahabi are liars and I 
 speak the truth.' Then with a softened 
 tone, he approached the Mirakhor, and 
 spoke to him for a long time in a whisper, 
 with much animation and apparent per- 
 suasion ; for, at the end of their conversa- 
 tion, they appeared to be well agreed. 
 
 ' The Mirakhor then said aloud : ' Well, 
 if such is the case, and the beast is not in 
 your possession, Allah kerim, God is merci- 
 ful, and there is no combating against fate. 
 We must return to Bagdad.' 
 
 ' My father then rose from his seat, and 
 came into the women's tent, leaving his 
 guests to smoke their pipes and drink 
 coffee, preparatory to the meal which was 
 making ready for them. He ordered his 
 wife, who was the depository of his money, 
 to bring him a bag of gold, that was care-
 
 IIAJJI BABA. 283 
 
 fully wrapped in many a piece of old cloth, 
 and deposited in a trunk, which, with his 
 rich horse furniture, the parade pack-saddle, 
 and other things of value, were placed in a 
 corner of the tent. He took out twenty 
 Bajoglis (ducats), which he tied into the 
 corner of a handkerchief, and thrust them 
 into his bosom ; and then giving his orders 
 that the victuals should forthwith be served 
 up, he returned to his guests. Little was 
 said until the hour of eating came, and the 
 few words that were uttered turned on 
 horses, dogs, and arms. The Mirakhor 
 drew from his girdle a long pistol, mounted 
 in silver, which was shown around to all 
 the company as a real English pistol. An- 
 other man exhibited his scimitar, which was 
 assured to be a black Khorassani blade of 
 the first water ; and my father produced a 
 long straight sword, sharp on both edges, 
 which he had taken from the son of the 
 Arab Sheikh whom he had slain. 
 
 * The dinner being ready, the round 
 leathern cloth was placed before the Mi-
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 rakhor, upon which many flaps of bread, 
 just baked, were thrown, and water was 
 handed about for washing the right hand. 
 A mess of chorba, or soup, was served up 
 in a large wooden dish, and placed in the 
 centre of the cloth. My father then said 
 aloud, * Bismillah,' in the name of God ; 
 and all the party, consisting of the Mirak-- 
 iior, his ten followers, my father, and three 
 of his attendants, settling themselves round 
 the dish, with their right shoulders advanced 
 forwards, partook of the soup with wooden 
 spoons. A lamb roasted whole succeeded 
 the mess, which was pulled to pieces in a 
 short time, each man getting as large a 
 portion of it for himself as he could. The 
 feast was closed by an immense dish of rice, 
 which was dived into by the hands and 
 fingers of all present. As fast as they were 
 satisfied, each man got up and washed, 
 saying, Shukur Allah, thanks to God ; and 
 Allah bereJcet versin, may God restore you 
 plenty. The remains were then rolled up 
 in the leathern cloth, and taken outside
 
 HAJJI BABA. 285 
 
 the tents, where my father's shepherds soon 
 made an end of them. 
 
 ' The Mirakhor being anxious to sleep 
 at a village in the plain, expressed a wish 
 to depart, and his suite went to prepare 
 their horses, leaving him and my father in 
 the tent. I, who had narrowly watched the 
 whole of the proceedings, was determined 
 to see what should take place between them, 
 and lent an ear to what they said. 
 
 1 My father said, e Indeed ten ducats is all 
 I can give we are poor where shall I find 
 more ?' To which the Mirakhor replied, ' It 
 is impossible : you know perfectly what will 
 happen if I do not receive double that sum : 
 the Pasha, when he finds that we have not 
 brought the mare, will order me back again 
 to seize you, and will take possession of all 
 your property. I am indeed ordered to do 
 that now, in case you refuse his request, 
 but shall not touch you, if you come to my 
 terms, which are twenty gold pieces. So, 
 my friend, decide.' Upon which, my father 
 took the handkerchief from his bosom, and
 
 286 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 taking out the money from it, counted 
 twenty ducats into the Mirakhor's hand, 
 who, when satisfied that they were all good, 
 untied the white muslin that was wound 
 round his turban, and placing them in the 
 folds of it, twisted it round his head again. 
 ' Now/ said he to my father, * we have eat 
 salt together; we are friends; and should 
 the Pasha attempt any thing, I will inter- 
 fere. But you must send him a present, or 
 otherwise it will be impossible to prevent 
 him from molesting you.' 
 
 ' ' Basliem ustun, upon my head be it !' 
 answered my father. ' I possess a famous 
 greyhound, celebrated throughout the whole 
 of the Curdistan, which can seize an ante- 
 lope at full speed ; a creature the like of 
 which the Shah of Persia's father never even 
 saw in a dream. Will that do ?' 
 
 ' ' Perfectly well for one thing ; but that 
 is not enough. Consider of what conse- 
 quence it is that my master should be 
 pleased with you. 1 
 
 ' ' I tell you what/ said he : * a thought
 
 HAJJT BABA. 287 
 
 has struck me; I have a daughter, more 
 beautiful than the moon, round, large 
 hipped, and greatly inclined to corpulency. 
 You mxist say to him, that although the 
 Yezeedies are infidels in his eyes, and as 
 the dust under his feet, yet still he may 
 perhaps be anxious to possess a beauty, 
 which even the houris of Mahomed's Para- 
 dise would be jealous of, and I am ready 
 to send her to him.' 
 
 ' The Mirakhor clapped his hands in 
 ecstasy, and said, ' Aferin ! Aferin ! well 
 said ! this is excellent ! I will make the 
 offer, and no doubt he will accept it ; and 
 thus you will have a powerful friend in his 
 harem, who will get you out of this scrape, 
 and protect you for the future.' Upon this 
 they seemed agreed. I, who it appears was 
 to be the victim, left my watching-place to 
 ruminate upon what was likely to be my 
 future destiny. At first I was inclined to 
 weep, and to lament over my fate; but 
 after a little consideration, I exclaimed, 
 ' O my soul ! . am I to be a Pasha's lady ?
 
 88 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 am I to wear fine clothes ? am I to be borne 
 in a litter ? Oh ! the delight of a litter will 
 be too great ! How all the girls of the 
 mountains will envy me !' 
 
 * After some time had elapsed, looking 
 from the tents into the open country, I saw 
 the Mirakhor and his party, who had not 
 failed to take the greyhound with him, 
 duly dressed out in its gayest trappings, 
 making their way along the side of the chain 
 of hills which bordered our camp. I then 
 heard my father expressing his thankful- 
 ness and gratitude for having so well got 
 rid of such unwelcome visitors. 
 
 ' As soon as they were fairly out of sight, 
 he despatched one of his shepherd's boys to 
 his son in the mountains, ordering him to 
 bring back the mare ; and when the animal 
 was safely lodged in the women's tent, he 
 called together the elders of his tribe, con- 
 sisting of his own and his wives' relations, 
 who Were encamped in our vicinity. He 
 explained to them the situation in which he 
 was placed ; showing that his and their de-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 289 
 
 struction was inevitable should they con- 
 tinue any longer in the territory of the 
 Pasha, who would not fail to seize this op- 
 portunity of levying fines and exactions, 
 and reducing them to want and beggary. 
 They were assembled in the men's tent, 
 to the number of ten persons ; the place of 
 honour, the corner, being given to my fa- 
 ther's uncle, the elder of the tribe, an old 
 man, whose beard, as white as snow, de- 
 scended to his girdle. 
 
 ' ' You know,' said my father, * that we 
 are Yezeedies ; and you also know the ha- 
 tred which all Mussulmans bear to us : the 
 Pasha has hitherto pretended friendship to 
 me individually, because I have fought his 
 battles, because I am a lion in the fight, 
 and drink the blood of his enemies ; but his 
 love of money is so great that nothing can 
 satisfy it ; and rather than lose this oppor- 
 tunity, he would see me, my father, my 
 grandfather, my great-grandfather, and all 
 my race grilling in eternal fires. We are 
 too few to resist him, although, by that great 
 
 VOL. i. u
 
 290 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 Power whom we all worship, if we had not 
 wives and children to protect, I, with a 
 spear in my hand, my sword by my side, 
 and mounted on my mare, I would not 
 fear to encounter the whole host of his 
 dastardly ragamuffins, and I should like to 
 see the cherJcaji* that would face me. I 
 propose, therefore, that, without a moment's 
 delay, we abandon the Turkish territory, 
 and migrate into Persia, where we shall not 
 fail to meet with welcome and protection. 1 
 
 ' ' Okous Aga, 1 said his uncle to him, 
 whilst every one seemed to listen with great 
 respect to what he would say, ' Okous Aga, 
 you are my brother's son; you are my 
 child ; you are the head of our tribe, and 
 our best support and protection. If I were 
 to advise you to give up the mare to the 
 Pasha, you would think me unworthy of 
 
 * The cherkqjis (literally wheelers about], in 
 oriental armies are skirmishers, who are thrown out 
 from the main body to engage in the fight, and arc 
 generally esteemed the most expert horsemen and 
 the best soldiers.
 
 HAJJI BABA. 291 
 
 being a Curd and a Yezeedi ; and even 
 were he now to get 'possession of her, we 
 should not be spared ; for such is the ex- 
 perience I have of Turkish governors, that 
 when once they have a pretext in hand 
 for oppression, they never fail to make use 
 of it. Therefore, I am of your opinion, 
 we cannot remain here. Old as I am, and 
 accustomed as I have been from my earliest 
 infancy to graze our flocks and herds upon 
 these mountains, to see the sun rise over 
 yonder hill and set in that distant plain, 
 much as I love these spots upon which our 
 ancestors have been bred and born ; yet it 
 shall not be said that I have been the cause 
 of the ruin of our tribe. I am, therefore, 
 for immediate departure : delay now would 
 be dangerous. In two more days we shall 
 be visited by the Pasha's troops, who will 
 take from us hostages, and then here shall 
 we be fixed, and here will ruin overwhelm 
 us. Let us go, my children ; God is great 
 and merciful. The time may come when 
 you will be restored to your ancient seats,
 
 292 
 
 and when you may again range from your 
 summer pastures to your winter quarters, 
 and from your winter quarters to your pas- 
 tures, without fear and apprehension.' 
 
 ' When he had done speaking, an old 
 shepherd, who had great experience in all 
 that related to the seasons, and considerable 
 knowledge of the country between our 
 mountains and those of Persia, spoke as 
 follows : ' If we go, we must go imme- 
 diately, for a day's delay might stop us. 
 The snows on" the mountains are already 
 beginning to melt, and the torrents will be 
 so swoln in another week, that we shall not 
 be able to get the sheep across them. Be- 
 sides, it is now about three weeks to the 
 day when the sun enters the sign of the 
 Ram, at which time our ewes will, inshallah, 
 please God, bring forth in plenty; and 
 they ought to have performed their journey 
 ad be at rest long before that time. We 
 ought to settle beforehand in what tract of 
 country we shall fix ourselves, because the 
 Persian wandering tribes are very tenacious
 
 HAJJI BAB A. 293 
 
 of their rights of pasturage ; and should we 
 trespass upon them, without proper autho- 
 rity from the government, our shepherds 
 and theirs would not fail to come to blows, 
 and God only knows the consequences.' 
 
 ' ' He speaks true,' exclaimed my father : 
 then turning to the shepherd, he exclaimed, 
 ' Well said, Karabeg ; well done ! you are 
 a good servant, and you have given good 
 advice. Before we think of establishing 
 ourselves in Persia, one of us must go to 
 Kermanshah, and ask leave of the Prince 
 to appoint us to a good country ; and when 
 once we have got out of the Pasha's reach, 
 I will perform that service, and return to 
 you in time to prevent strife with the other 
 wandering tribes.' 
 
 f The assembly being unanimous for im- 
 mediate departure, my father gave his 
 orders, that the cattle should be called in, 
 the tents broken up, and the oxen in readi- 
 ness to receive their loads ; that the camels 
 should have their pack-saddles put upon 
 them, and that every thing should be in 
 readiness to depart by midnight, in order
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 that we might reach our first stage about 
 an hour after sunrise. His mare, which 
 was now become an object of the first con- 
 sequence, was to be mounted by my father, 
 in person, whilst his chief wife, with her 
 children, were to travel in the cqjaveh or 
 panniers; the camel which was to carry 
 them being ornamented with trappings in- 
 laid with beads, set off by red cloth trim- 
 mings, and a thick profusion of tassels. 
 
 ' As soon as this was known by the wo- 
 men, they set up shouts of wailing and 
 lamentation. The evil appeared to them 
 greater than it really was ; for they ex- 
 pected nothing less than the immediate 
 approach of the Pasha's troops to seize 
 upon the tribe, and carry them all into 
 slavery. 
 
 1 As for me,' said Zeenab, ' my misery 
 arose from another cause ; for ever since I 
 had overheard the conversation between my 
 father and the Mirakhor, I could think of 
 nothing else than of the charms of being a 
 Pasha's lady. My dream was now over, 
 and instead of the rich dresses, the sump-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 295 
 
 tuous palaces, the gilded litters, and the 
 luxury of state, which I had flattered my- 
 self was to be my future lot, I had now 
 nothing before me but my old drudgeries, 
 the loading of beasts, the packing up 
 of baggage, the churning of milk, and the 
 making of butter. 
 
 * Our whole camp was now in motion : 
 and, as far as the eye could reach, the 
 mountains were swarming with the flocks 
 and herds of our tribe, which were driven 
 by the shepherds towards their different 
 encampments. The tents were taken to 
 pieces, and prepared for loading. The 
 women, who took the greatest share in the 
 labour of departure, were seen every where 
 actively bestirring themselves to pack up 
 the furniture and utensils. The carpets 
 were rolled up; the camel-trunks filled; 
 all the materials for making butter col- 
 lected ; and the pack-saddles of the mules, 
 oxen, and camels, laid out for immediate 
 use. The cattle being arrived, the camels 
 were made to kneel down in a ring, and
 
 296 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 were covered with their pack-saddles ; the 
 oxen had their pads put upon them; and 
 the mules were tied into strings of five or 
 seven each, and ornamented with their bells 
 and thick felt coverings. The sheep and 
 goats, in the mean while, at the close of day, 
 had already began their march, guarded by 
 their watch-dogs, and accompanied by their 
 shepherds, one of whom walked in front, 
 whilst the whole train followed. 
 
 * At midnight the whole camp had cleared 
 y the ground ; and, as the day dawned, our 
 line of march was to be seen to a great di- 
 stance, winding along the mountains. We 
 kept a track little followed, in order not to 
 meet any one, who might give information 
 of our movements to the Pasha ; and, after 
 several days' march, we reached the frontier 
 of Persia, with much fewer accidents, and 
 much less difficulties, than might have been 
 expected. During the journey, my father, 
 in conjunction with the principal men of 
 his tribe, kept a constant look out in the 
 rear, determined, should any of the Pasha's
 
 HAJJI BABA. 297 
 
 people approach us with an intention of 
 impeding our progress, they would, without 
 hesitation, make every resistance in their 
 power. But fortune favoured us, and we 
 saw none but shepherds, belonging to 
 Curdish tribes, who occupied part of the 
 country that we travelled over. 
 
 * When we had reached a place of safety, 
 my father rode forwards to Kermanshah, the 
 seat of government of a powerful Prince, 
 one of the king of Persia's sons, in order to 
 claim his protection, and to receive his per- 
 mission to occupy one of the pasturages 
 situated within the Persian territory. We 
 waited for his return with great anxiety, 
 for in the mean while we were liable to an 
 attack from both Turks and Persians ; but 
 as it is the policy of both countries to entice 
 the wandering tribes into their territory, we 
 met with no molestation from the chief of 
 the Persian town which happened to be the 
 nearest to us. 
 
 c At length my father returned, and with 
 him an officer belonging to the prince, who
 
 298 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 assigned us a tract of country, about ten 
 parasangs within the Persian frontier. Our 
 winter residence was situated in a sheltered 
 nook of the mountains, not far from a co- 
 pious spring of water ; and our summer 
 quarters, about three days 1 journey off, were 
 described as situated in the coolest spot of 
 the adjacent mountains, abounding in grass 
 and water, and distant from any chance of 
 molestation from the Turks. 
 
 My father was well known at Kerman- 
 shah, and when his arrival and the ob- 
 ject of his mission were known, the Prince 
 expressed great pleasure, treated him with 
 much consideration, and dismissed him in- 
 vested with a dress of honour. No sti- 
 pulations were made as to the terms upon 
 which he was to be received, and unlimited 
 promises of protection were held out to him. 
 e If the Pasha,' said the Prince, * claims you 
 and your tribe, as the property of his go- 
 vernment, and sends me a request that I 
 should not admit you into mine, I will burn 
 his father, and laugh at his beard. The
 
 HAJJI BABA. 299 
 
 face of God's world is open to every one, 
 and if man is ill-treated in one spot, he will 
 take himself where better treatment is to be 
 found.' In short, we settled, and returned 
 to our former habits and occupations. 
 
 ' As the Prince had expected, so it hap- 
 pened. A very short time after our arrival 
 an officer from the Pacha appeared at Ker- 
 manshah, bearing a letter, making a formal 
 demand, that my father, with the whole of 
 his tribe, should be sent back to his terri- 
 tory ; and stating all the circumstances re- 
 lative to our flight. My father was called 
 a thief, and accused of having stolen a mare 
 of immense value, which was described as 
 the Pasha's property. The animal was de- 
 manded to be instantly restored; and in case 
 it were not, threats were made that imme- 
 diate reprisals on Persian property should 
 ensue. The whole of these circumstances 
 were made known to my father, and he was 
 summoned forthwith to appear before the 
 Prince. 
 
 ' Consternation seized us as soon as this
 
 300 THE ADVENTURES OP 
 
 intelligence was known amongst us. It was 
 evident that the Pasha was determined to 
 leave nothing undone to regain possession of 
 the mare, and to ruin my father ; nor could 
 it be supposed that a weak and poor tribe like 
 ours was likely to withstand the intrigues, 
 bribes, and machinations of so powerful a 
 chief: besides, the possession of such a trea- 
 sure would of itself be a crime in the eyes 
 of the Persians, and they would certainly 
 endeavour to get her from us, if not now, 
 yet at some more favourable opportunity. 
 It would soon be known that many of us 
 were Yezeedies, a circumstance of itself suf- 
 ficient to excite the hatred and execration 
 of every good sectary of Ali; and every pro- 
 bability existed, even supposing the mare to 
 be out of the question, that we should be a 
 prey to every sort of persecution as soon as 
 time enough should have passed over our 
 heads for intrigue to have worked its effects. 
 4 Before my father left us to attend the 
 Prince's summons, he had given secret 
 orders that the mare should be put into
 
 HAJJI BABA. 301 
 
 some place of safety, in case he should be 
 obliged to deny that he possessed her ; but 
 on his return we found that such a pre- 
 caution was unnecessary. He had been 
 kindly received by the Prince, who had 
 assured him that he was resolved not to 
 accede to the Pasha's demands in any one 
 case ; that my father might enjoy the pos- 
 session of his mare, and depend upon pro- 
 tection and security as long as he remained 
 in his territory. His words were something 
 to this purpose : ' Set your mind at ease, 
 Okous Aga. As long as you remain under 
 our shade you may lay your head on your 
 pillow in full security. What does the 
 Pasha mean by claiming you and your 
 tribe as the subjects of his government? 
 The gates of the palace of my father, the 
 Centre of the Universe and King of Kings, 
 are open to every one, and as soon as the 
 stranger has touched the skirt of his robe he 
 is safe. You have sought our protection, 
 and we should not be Mussulmans if we
 
 302 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 refused it. Go, return to your tents, be 
 happy, and leave the Pasha to us.' 
 
 ' This produced great rejoicings amongst 
 us ; and my father, to celebrate his success, 
 gave a feast to the chiefs and elders of the 
 tribe, where our present situation was fully 
 discussed, and our plans for the future taken 
 into consideration. Every one present was 
 elated with the success that had attended 
 our flight excepting one, and that was the 
 old man, my father's uncle. He had seen 
 much of the Persians, having served under 
 Nadir Shah when a youth, and nothing 
 could induce him to put any faith in the 
 promises and fair words of the Prince. 
 * You do not know the Persians,' said he, 
 addressing himself to the assembly. * You 
 have never had any dealings with them, and 
 therefore you permit yourselves to be lulled 
 into security by their flattering expressions 
 and their winning and amiable manners. 
 But I have lived long with them, and have 
 learned the value of what they say. Their
 
 HAJJI BABA. 303 
 
 weapons are not such as you have been 
 accustomed to meet in the bold encounter, 
 and the open attack : instead of the sword 
 and spear, theirs are treachery, deceit, false- 
 hood ; and when you are the least prepared, 
 you find yourselves caught as in a net ; ruin 
 and desolation surround when you think 
 that you are seated on a bed of roses. Lying 
 is their great, their national vice. Do not 
 you remark that they confirm every word 
 by an oath ? What is the use of oaths to 
 men who speak the truth ? One man swears 
 by your soul, and by his own head, by your 
 child, by the Prophet, by his relations and 
 ancestors ; another swears by the Kebleh*, 
 by the king, and by his beard ; a third by 
 your death, by the salt he eats, by the death 
 of Imam Hosein. Do they care for any one 
 of these things ? No, they feel all the time 
 that they lie, and then out comes the oath. 
 Now in our case, is it to be supposed that 
 we shall be left unmolested, in the quiet pos- 
 
 * The point towards which the Mohamedans 
 turn in prayer.
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 session of this mare, which has brought so 
 much misfortune already on our heads? 
 The Persians are more wild, if possible, on 
 the subject of horses than the Turks, and 
 an Arabian mare in their sight is of greater 
 value than diamonds and rubies. Should 
 the Shah hear of the one we possess, he will 
 instantly send for it, and what are we to do 
 then ? Shall we continue in arms against 
 all the world ? No, my friends. You may 
 think what you please ; but, for my part, I 
 look upon your situation as precarious, and 
 advise you, as a general rule, not to put 
 your trust in Persians, be they who or what 
 they may.'' 
 
 ' The event proved to be precisely what 
 the old man had predicted, and was the 
 cause of placing me where you now see me. 
 
 ' One morning, about an hour before the 
 dawn of day, we heard an unusual stir 
 among the dogs of the camp ; they did not 
 cease to bark and make a most furious noise. 
 As we were accustomed to the attacks of 
 wolves, who were kept at bay by our dogs,
 
 HAJJI BABA. 305 
 
 we did not at first pay attention to the dis- 
 turbance ; but at length my father and his 
 sons arose, and, taking their guns with them, 
 went to see what could have happened. 
 They had not proceeded twenty steps be- 
 fore they saw a horseman, and then a se- 
 cond, and shortly after several more; in 
 short, they discovered that their tents were 
 surrounded. My father immediately gave 
 the alarm, and instantly all the camp was in 
 motion. The horsemen rushed on my fa- 
 ther, and attempted to seize him ; but he 
 shot the first dead at his feet, and with his 
 sword wounded the second. The report 
 of the gun s and the noise of the fray, was a 
 signal to the invaders for a general attack, 
 and in a short time our camp was entered 
 at every corner. Their principal object was 
 evidently the mare; for the women's tent 
 was attacked first, and there they instantly 
 seized the object of their search. 
 
 ' As the day dawned, we observed that 
 our invaders were Persians, and we also 
 soon discovered that they were acting from 
 
 VOL. I. X
 
 306 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 authority. My father had unluckily killed 
 their chief, and that was a sufficient reason 
 for our being made prisoners. Conceive 
 our situation : it was a scene of misery that 
 I shall never forget. My father was treated 
 with every indignity before our eyes ; our 
 property was pillaged, and ' 
 
 Zeenab was proceeding to relate to me 
 how she became the property of Mirza Ah- 
 mak, when a loud knocking at the gate of 
 the house was heard. We both got up in 
 great alarm. My fair one entreated me to 
 take my departure by the terrace, while she 
 went to see who it might be. By the voice, 
 that was ordering the door to be opened, 
 she recognized the doctor himself, and 
 trusting to her own ingenuity for giving 
 good reasons for the appearance of break- 
 fast and good cheer, which he would per- 
 ceive, she forthwith unbarred the gate and 
 admitted him. 
 
 From the terrace I could watch all that 
 was going on. The doctor appeared quite 
 delighted to find Zeenab alone, and made
 
 HAJJI BABA. 307 
 
 her some speeches so full of tenderness, that 
 there was no mistaking how his affections 
 were placed. Looking into the window of 
 his wife's apartment, he perceived the re- 
 mains of the breakfast, and every appear- 
 ance of the room having been occupied. 
 He was asking some questions concerning 
 what he saw, when in came the khanum 
 herself, followed by her women. She en- 
 tered the house so unexpectedly, that she 
 appeared before them ere they could sepa- 
 rate. I shall never forget her look and at- 
 titude at this sight. 
 
 * Selam aleikum! peace be unto ye !' said 
 she, with mock respect, * I am your very 
 humble servant. I hope that the health of 
 both your excellencies is good, and that you 
 have passed your time agreeably. I have 
 arrived too soon, I fear.' Then the blood 
 creeping into her face, she very soon relin- 
 quished her raillery, and fell tooth and nail 
 upon the unhappy culprits. 
 
 f And breakfast too and in my room. 
 Mashalldh! MasJiattdh! It is understood,
 
 308 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 then, that I am become less than a dog ; 
 now that in my own house, on my own 
 carpet, on my very pillow, my slaves give 
 up their hearts to joy. La Allah il Allah! 
 There is but one God! I am all astonish- 
 ment! I am fallen from the heavens to the 
 ground P 
 
 Then addressing herself to her husband, 
 she said, ' As for you, Mirza Ahmak, look 
 at me, and tell me, by my soul, are you to 
 be counted a man amongst men ? A doc- 
 tor too, the Locman of his day, a sage, with 
 that monkey's face, with that goafs beard, 
 with that humped back, to be playing the 
 lover, the swain! Curses attend such a 
 beard !' then putting up her five fingers to 
 his face, she said, ' Poof! I spit on such a 
 face. Who am I, then, that you prefer an 
 unclean slave to me ? What have I done, 
 that you should treat me with such indig- 
 nity? When you had nothing but your 
 prescriptions and your medicines in the 
 world, I came, and made a man of you. 
 You are become something, thanks to me I
 
 HAJJI BABA. 309 
 
 You now stand before a king : -men bow 
 the head to you. You wear a Cashmerian 
 shawl : you are become a person of sub- 
 stance. Say, then, oh, you less than man ! 
 what is the meaning of all this ?' 
 
 The doctor, during this attack upon 
 him, was swearing abundance of oaths, and 
 making ten thousands of exclamations, in 
 proof of his innocence. Nothing, however, 
 could stop the volubility of his wife, or 
 calm her rage. By this time she had 
 worked her passion up to such a pitch, 
 that oath succeeded oath ; and blasphemy 
 blasphemy, in one raging, unceasing tor- 
 rent. From her husband she fell on Zee- 
 nab, and from Zeenab she returned again 
 to her husband, until she foamed at the 
 mouth. She was not satisfied with words 
 alone, but seizing the wretched girl by one 
 of the long tresses which hung down her 
 back, she pulled it till she roared with pain ; 
 then, with the assistance of the other slaves, 
 she was thrown into the reservoir, where
 
 310 THE ADVENTURES OF 
 
 they beat and soused her until both parties 
 were nearly exhausted. Oh, how I burned 
 to fly to her rescue! My body was be- 
 come like glowing fire. I could have 
 drunk the blood of the unfeeling wretches. 
 But what could I do? Had I rushed into 
 the harem, death would have been my lot; 
 for most probably they would have im- 
 paled me on the spot; and what good 
 would that have done to Zeenab? She 
 would have been even more cruelly treated 
 than before, and the doctor's wife would 
 not have been the less jealous. So when 
 the storm had subsided, I quietly stept 
 down from my hiding-place on the terrace, 
 and walked into the open country without 
 the town, to consider upon the course which 
 I ought to pursue. To remain with the 
 doctor was out of the question ; and to 
 expect to enjoy Zeenab's company again 
 was folly. My heart bled, when I reflected 
 what might be the fate of that poor girl ; 
 for I had heard horrid stories of the iniqui-
 
 HAJJI BABA. 811 
 
 ties performed in 'harems, and there was no 
 length to which such a demon as the kha- 
 num might not go, with one so entirely in 
 her power. 
 
 END OF VOL. I.
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY THOMAS DAVISOX, Will I UFRIARS.

 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000139091 3 
 
 M
 
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