with the ample and splendidly dressed persons by whom
they were surrounded. And they stood their ground, not in the least
abashed by the refulgent presence of the great king; but their attitude,
manner, and expression of countenance, would have made us suppose they
were as good and as undefiled as ourselves.

The speech made on the occasion by the elchi was characteristic of the
people he represented--that is, unadorned, unpolished, neither more nor
less than the truth, such as a camel-driver might use to a muleteer;
and had it not been for the ingenuity of the interpreter our Shah would
neither have been addressed by his title of King of Kings, or of the
Kebleh of the Universe.

It would be taking up the pen of eternity were I to attempt to describe
the boundless difference that we discovered between the manners and
sentiments of these people and ourselves. Some of our sages endeavoured
to account for it upon philosophical principles, and attributed much
to the climate of those dark, watery, and sunless regions in which they
were bred and born: 'for,'said they, 'how can men living surrounded by
water, and who never feel the warmth of the sun, be like those who are
never a day without enjoying the full effulgence of its rays, and do
not even know what the sea means?' But the men of the law settled the
question in a much more satisfactory manner, by saying 'it was owing to
their infidelity that they were doomed to be cursed even in this life;
and that if the ambassador, his suite, and even his whole nation, would
submit to become Mussulmans, and embrace the only true faith, they would
immediately be like ourselves, their defilements would be washed clean,
and they even might stand a chance of walking in the same story of the
heavens as the genuine children of Islam would in the world to come.

CHAPTER LXXVIII

Hajji is noticed by the grand vizier, and is the means of gratifying
that minister's favourite passion.

The transactions just recorded were all propitious to my advancement.
Owing to the knowledge I was supposed to have acquired respecting
Europe, I was employed in most of the affairs which concerned the Franks
in Persia, and this had furnished me with many opportunities of becoming
known to the grand vizier, and to other ministers and men in power.

The Mirza Firouz was not rich, and the maintenance which he received in
his public character ceasing as soon as he returned to Tehran, he could
no longer