ur. No stipulations were made as to the terms upon which he
was to be received, and unlimited promises of protection were held out
to him. "If the pasha," said the prince, "claims you and your tribe, as
the property of his government, and sends me a request that I should not
admit you into mine, I will burn his father, and laugh at his beard. The
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 happened. A very short time after
our arrival an officer from the pasha appeared at Kermanshah, bearing
a letter, making a formal demand, that my father, with the whole of
his tribe, should be sent back to his territory; and stating all the
circumstances relative 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 demanded to be instantly restored;
and in case it were not, threats were made that immediate 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 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 treasure 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 sufficient to excite the hatred and execration of every good
sectary of Ali; and every probability 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.

'Before my father left us to attend the Prince's summons, he had given
secret orders that the mare should be put into some place of safety,
in case he should be obliged to deny that he possessed her; but on his
return we found