_, as white as snow; then the _pilau_, with a piece of boiled
lamb smothered in the rice; then another pilau, with a baked fowl in it;
a fourth coloured with saffron, mixed up with dried peas; and at length,
the king of Persian dishes, the _narinj pilau_, made with slips of
orange-peel, spices of all sorts, almonds, and sugar: salmon and
herring, from the Caspian Sea, were seen among the dishes; and trout
from the river Zengi, near Erivan; then in china basins and bowls of
different sizes were the ragouts, which consisted of hash made of a fowl
boiled to rags, stewed up with rice, sweet herbs, and onions; a stew,
in which was a lamb's marrow-bone, with some loose flesh about it, and
boiled in its own juice; small gourds, crammed with force-meat, and done
in butter; a fowl stewed to rags, with a brown sauce of prunes; a large
omelette, about two inches thick; a cup full of the essence of meat,
mixed up with rags of lamb, almonds, prunes, and tamarinds, which was
poured upon the top of the chilau; a plate of poached eggs, fried in
sugar and butter; a dish of _badenjans_, slit in the middle and boiled
in grease; a stew of venison; and a great variety of other messes too
numerous to mention. After these came the roasts. A lamb was served up
hot from the spit, the tail of which, like marrow, was curled up over
its back. Partridges, and what is looked upon as the rarest delicacy in
Persia, two _capk dereh_, partridges of the valley, were procured on the
occasion. Pheasants from Mazanderan were there also, as well as some
of the choicest bits of the wild ass and antelope. The display and the
abundance of delicacies surprised every one; and they were piled up in
such profusion around the king, that he seemed almost to form a part
of the heap. I do not mention the innumerable little accessories of
preserves, pickles, cheese, butter, onions, celery, salt, pepper,
sweets, and sours, which were to be found in different parts of the
tray, for that would be tedious: but the sherbets were worthy of notice,
from their peculiar delicacy: these were contained in immense bowls
of the most costly china, and drank by the help of spoons of the most
exquisite workmanship, made of the pear-tree. They consisted of the
common lemonade, made with superior art; of the _sekenjebin_, or
vinegar, sugar, and water, so mixed that the sour and the sweet, were as
equally balanced as the blessings and miseries of life; the sherbet of
sugar and water, with r