This is the district of Gahab, which I am told includes at present 33 villages, and has evidently at some former period been a most populous tract.

November 12.-We travelled over a smooth plain,* where presently all cultivation ceased; and at the 5th mile, entering upon a kevvir or salt tract, we proceeded for 2 miles across it. Small streams intersecting this plain flow eastward. The surface is white with the salt or soda, and the soil frequently soft and rotten, or firm, but utterly barren. After the 13th mile we reached a fine dry, gravelly tract, free from traces of salt, and with a sprinkling of shrubs and thorns; and here we gave chase to a considerable herd of antelopes. At the end of 20+ miles we alighted at the village Vertan, where I was accommodated in an apartment which the owner assured me had been occupied by Mahomed Shah about 9 years before. The villagers stated that his Majesty's troops and suite had plundered them of nearly everything they possessed, and the appearance of the place certainly indicated great poverty. These poor people, however, did not blame their Shah, and the European traveller in Persia cannot fail to remark the general feeling of loyalty which appertains to all classes, and the patience with which oppression and wrong are submitted to. This wretched village contains about 20 families, with some gardens and trees. It is situated in the district of Kuh-pah, and at a bearing of N. 25° E., at a distance of about 5 miles, at the foot of the mountains. Some hot springs of various temperatures are found, covered by a building-as usual, ascribed to Shah Abbass. Nothing can be more dreary than the view from this place, not a village or habitation being visible over a wide extent of plain; the mountains which bound the latter on the N. and S., and running E. and W., are perhaps 40 to 50 miles apart. The district itself contains 19 villages, and extends 12 fursacks E. and W. by 8 N. and S.

November 13.-Our path led us in a direction of 100° over a hard, gravelly plain, by a gentle ascent; and towards the end of the 5th mile we passed to our left, at a distance of about 3 miles, the village Zifreh, situated under the mountains at the opening of a valley at the 6th mile occurred a reservoir of good water, and at the 9th we changed our direction to 90°. Towards the end of the 11th mile we reached the mezraeh Durgheré, consisting of a small plantation of trees and a sheepfold, but no habitation. Here we breakfasted after a cold ride, and, lighting a fire, thawed our benumbed extremities. The path thence led in a direction 90° for 2 miles, to a second mezraeh, called Karuse, a pretty spot of cultivated land, and trees covering a considerable space; and about two-thirds of a mile beyond brought us to the village Feshark, which I had not expected to reach so soon, the distance from Vertan having been said to be full 5 fursacks, though it really does not exceed 14 miles. I was vexed at making so short a stage, but no spot at which we could procure provisions is found within a reasonable distance beyond it. Feshark is a pretty village of some 50 or 60 houses, situated close under the mountains and surrounded by gardens and groves. Partridges abound. Wheat crops in this part are sown in autumn and reaped in June, yielding six to ten-fold; the ground is then sown with Zohret Seffid (a species of Indian corn). Barley is sown in spring and reaped about the same time as the wheat; but there is a later kind, called sour barley, which had only just been gathered in.

November 14.-From Feshark* the road led in a direction over low hills extending from the foot of the mountains, and, as the direction altered frequently, I give the various bearings, the rate of travelling varying from 3 to 4 miles per hour. At 5 miles we reached the hamlet of Jebbel, consisting of a few huts amid gardens and trees. Far off, in a S.E. direction, a long streak of salt kevvir was shining brightly in the sun, and having the appearance of a lake. This is the marsh of Gav-Khaneh, where the waters of the Zaenderud, after passing Ispahán and flowing between two parallel ranges of mountains visible from hence,

are absorbed. The village Kuh-pah, situated in the centre of the plain at some miles distance, bore from hence 170°, and between Jebbel and it are situated 5 mezraehs.

Leaving Jebbel, we soon reached the plain, after gradually receding from the mountains, and at 84 miles we came to Akhord, another hamlet like the preceding. At a mile beyond was that of Kiki, situated 2 miles on our left; at a similar distance to the E. of which is the village Dakhobad. At 12 miles we reached Jizzeh, formerly a large village, but now partly in ruins; and at the 16th mile we came to Mush Kynan, a large but very ruinouslooking village. Thence we came, in a direction of 100 for

of a mile, and of 90° for 2 miles, to the hamlet of Tu Dishk, situated at the foot of some hills, which, springing from the main range on the N., extend some 12 miles into the plain in a southerly direction. Distance travelled about 20 miles.

I obtained good accommodation at this little place in a wellbuilt house belonging to Mirza Hussein, khan of Náin, and to which he resorts in the summer to escape from the heats. Two men came to me here, saying that, having heard that in my country the services of Persians were in requisition, they were anxious to proceed thither in quest of employment, since there was no good to be done by remaining in Persia. I asked what their acquirements might be, to which they replied that they could ride, fight, and plunder, and they seemed to be disappointed in finding that such accomplishments were not greatly in request in England.

November 14.-The morning was bitterly cold, sleet and snow had fallen around us, and the latter continuing with a cold northerly wind and cloudy weather, rendered the ride most disagreeable. At the 1st mile, in an easterly direction, we passed a small mezrach of three or four huts, and then proceeded through hills, by a slight ascent, gradually bearing to the N. of E., to about 70° to the mezraeh Pa Brehneh, which is a little fort, with a spring of water. Passing this, the road led E. over an open space between hills. At the 5th mile we reached the mezraeh Yezde, after which the road led, by a gentle ascent through hills, in an easterly direction, until the 7th mile, when we commenced a gradual descent in a direction of 130°, passing two more mezraehs situated to our right, the cold obliging us occasionally to alight and walk. At the 9th mile we passed on our right the mezraeh Lar Rudeh, beyond which, at about a fursack distant, is situated the village Mehrabad. At 9 miles we reached a spot where two roads branched off, one leading to Náin, the other in a direction of 90°, which latter we followed by an easy descent, still through mountains. At 10 miles we entered a narrow valley, passing immediately a little mezraeh; and a few hundred yards farther

on, another, called Lagherch, both inhabited and belonging to Náin; the direction was 70° to the latter, then 90°, and 100° to a third at the 12th mile; and afterwards it was 110° to Hadgiabad, a hamlet at the 13th mile. Half a mile lower down the valley, in a direction of 120°, brought us to another Hadgiabad, from whence, between the points 100 and 130°, the path led us to the village Ishretabad, at the 15th mile. The valley, which latterly had widened considerably, opens here into a small uneven plain, in which Ishretabad, with its mound and little fort, is situated. From thence to Eliabad, another small village one mile distant, the direction is 80'.

The mezraehs, which I have so frequently alluded to above, are generally tenanted during the whole year by a few families; in the summer, people from about Náin resort to them for a cooler climate. A mezraeh with inhabitants may be termed a hamlet; without them it is merely a detached spot of cultivated land and groves.

From Eliabad we proceeded eastward towards the great plain of Náin, reaching, at of a mile, the Kaleh Pudaz, a little village and fort, from whence our bearing was 70 for 3 miles, which brought us to the hamlet of Kudunu. Here we were fairly in the plain of Náin (having mountains on our right), the soil of which at this part is hard, dark, and gravelly, and covered with low tufts. Mountains bound it on the N. and S., and at its western extremity. From the above hamlet the direction led in 70° for a short space, then E.-in all 24 miles; after which, on a bearing of 100°, we reached, at 24 miles farther on, Bánviz, a desolate-looking village, of some forty or fifty families, where we experienced difficulty in obtaining shelter. Here we found several caravans, which had been detained some days, in fear of proceeding on their way to Yezd, having heard that fifty Bakhtiari horsemen held the road.

From Bánviz there are two roads to Aghdá; one leading by Nu Gumbez, 3 fursacks off, and thence 9 fursacks to Aghdá; and one by Arakán, a ruinous and uninhabited mezraeh. Nu Gumbez, which belongs to Aghdá, has a caravanserai, village fort, and tower, but at present no inhabitants. Twelve fursacks make a long stage; and, when danger is apprehended from Bakhtiari or Belúch plunderers, caravans steal along by night, but are frequently plundered on this road.

November 16.-I determined on visiting Náin, though somewhat out of my road.* Proceeding in the direction noted in the

bearings, at the 7th mile we reached the small village fort of Bafran, thence Mezraeh Shah at the 9th mile; and a mile beyond to Mahumedieh, a rather large village; we reached Náin at the 10th mile, passing outside it a handsome Imámzadeh and a good brick-built caravanserai, the latter of which is, as usual, referred to Shah Abbass. Náin is a small town, rather less than a mile in circumference, enclosed by a dilapidated wall and ruinous ditch, and is entered by five gateways. It is situated on an uneven part of a great plain, a short distance S. of some mountains which intersect the flat country at this part. With the exception of some trifling patches of cultivation and a few gardens of fruit trees, the environs appear perfectly sterile, and the aspect of the place is rendered still more wretched by the ruins of mudwalls which surround it. I was kindly received by the governor, Mirza Seyed-Mahomed-Khan, for whom I had a letter from his superior, Khan Baba-Khan-Serdar, governor of Yezd, but residing at Tehran. He accompanied me over the place, which possesses a small bazar of some seventy or eighty miserable shops, in which petty trades are carried on, such as smiths, dyers, makers of felt, cotton beaters, &c., and I observed one shop in which Manchester manufactures were sold. The place contains nothing else worth remarking, unless it be the principal mosque, which is built on an unusual plan, and contains an ancient pulpit, bearing the date 721 A.H., that is, 544 years since. A ruined mud fort stands within the town, which latter possesses, according to the governor, some 400 to 500 houses. Its inhabitants speak a dialect of their own, which the governor told me is the ancient language of the Guebres, who occupied this place at no very remote period. Náin is the principal place in a district extending from S.E. to N.W. about 54 miles, and from N.E. to S. W. about 77 miles, in which space there appear to be 8 villages and some 300 mezraehs; many of the latter are hamlets, tenanted each by a very few families. The productions of the district consist of barley, wheat, cotton, all in trifling quantities; and fruits, such as melons, grapes, and pomegranates.

The revenue in this part of the country is taken according to an estimate of the value of the water in the villages or lands. This revenue is called Bunicheh, and is of ancient custom. In consequence, I believe, of the difference in the value of money, each toman of bunicheh is now reckoned at 15 tomans. Thus the bunicheh, or revenue of the Náin district, is 107 tomans 1-605 tomans present value, a miserable sum to be derived from so large a tract of country; but the district, owing to the scarcity of water, is not a fertile one, and it is much exposed to the forays of Bakhtiari and Belúch, by whom, it is stated, 27,000 sheep were last year driven off.

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