ges. I had two vehicles, one a carriage for
myself, and the other a _tarantass_ for my servant and luggage, each
drawn by three horses. There was considerable traffic on the road then,
and the horses had only a few hours in the stable between 'turns.' It
was night when I arrived at the post-house, and though anxious to go on,
I had no option but to remain there till the horses should come back
from the next stage. On their return, after three hours' rest and a feed
of barley, six took my carriage and waggon to the next post-house,
sixteen miles, where again I found an empty stable, the horses which had
gone with the party ahead of me not having come back. On inquiring
judiciously from the post-house master if the horses which had brought
me from the last stage were able to do another, I was told that with an
hour's rest and an extra feed they would be ready to go on. And they
travelled the second stage well, showing no signs of distress. These
horses had done sixteen miles in draught, and sixteen miles in cantering
back to their stable during the evening and night; then thirty-two miles
in draught with me in the morning, and after a short rest were to return
the same distance to their own stable, all in double-quick time.

I had the privilege of again seeing what I consider one of the most
interesting sights in Persia, the stables of his Majesty the Shah. They
contain the very best blood in Asia, and comprise the pick of the finest
horses in Arabia, Persia, Kurdistan, Karadagh, Khorasan, and the
Turkoman country, also the choicest home-breds from the horse-farms
belonging to the late Shah and his sons, the present Shah and the
Zil-es-Sultan, all of them great horse fanciers and breeders. The late
Shah had three breeding establishments: one in the vicinity of Tehran,
another near Hamadan, and the third at Maragha, in Azerbaijan, where the
pasture is good. In each of these there are said to be about one
thousand mares and foals. There is no part of the establishment of a
monarch of Persia to which more attention is paid than his horses. They
are always placed under the care of an officer of high rank, who is
styled Mir Akhor.

The Mir Akhor (Master of the Horse), Mohamed Hussein Mirza, a Prince of
royal blood, shows by his intimate knowledge of the history of each
horse, and the good condition of all and everything under his care, that
he loves his charge well. We were first shown the racing-stud, called
_mal-i-shart_ (r