t and most powerful of the military tribes. These
come from all quarters of the empire, and are headed and officered by
members of the most influential families, so that they may be regarded
as hostages for the loyalty and fidelity of the chiefs. All are changed
from time to time, and thus a system of short service prevails, to give
as many as possible a term of duty with the royal guard.

The term _gholam_, or slave, has always been given as a title to the
personal guards, and everyone who is admitted to the corps claims the
envied distinction of Gholam-i-Shah. This guard has a very ancient
origin, and service in it is highly prized as giving opportunities of
attracting the attention and gaining the favour of the King. The great
Sovereign Sabuktagin, who reigned in the tenth century, was said to have
risen from the ranks of the royal guard. All the couriers of the foreign
legations at Tehran are styled Gholam, and the title is accepted as an
honourable one, meaning a mounted servant of courage and trust, who is
ready to defend to the death all interests committed to his charge.

The total strength of 'the guard' is twelve hundred and fifty, of whom
two hundred are the elite, called _gholam peshkhidmet_ (personal
attendants) and mostly belong to the Kajar, the Shah's own tribe, with
which his Majesty always identified himself in the most public manner,
and thus made every man proud of his clanship with the King. I here
allude to the royal signature, 'Nasr-ed-Din, Shah, Kajar.' These
superior guardsmen have all the rank of gentleman, and may be called the
mounted 'gentlemen at arms' of the guard. They have the customary right
of appointment to Court and palace posts, such as door-keeper, usher,
messenger, etc. Their service is for life, and is hereditary, a son
succeeding his father, and taking his place in the guard when promotion,
age, illness, or death creates a vacancy. They have distinctive
horse-trappings with silver neck-straps, breastplates, and headstalls,
which pass from father to son, and have become highly prized heirlooms.
The Shah was most partial to the representative tribesmen of his guard,
and his happy characteristics as a King of nomadic taste and camp-like
ways, in familiar acquaintance with all about him, were well shown at a
military review which I witnessed at Tehran some years ago. The review
was a special one, held in honour of the Swedish officers deputed by
King Oscar II. of Norway and Sweden t