uld very probably
conceive it was my intention to impose upon him.

We then proceeded to the village, where we took up our quarters at the
_mehman khaneh_, or strangers' house, a convenience generally to be
found in every hamlet throughout Persia, and there established ourselves
for the night.

A person of my appearance could not long remain unnoticed, and I was
duly waited upon by the ked khoda, who supplied us with a good supper;
and during the time required for its preparation I related my adventures
to my companion. Their singularity was in no manner thrown away upon
him; and he seemed to die away with delight when he found that all my
present prosperity was at the cost of his old enemy the mollah bashi. As
we sat communicating to each other in the full confidence of our hearts
(for the miserable are ever greatly relieved by talking of themselves),
I discovered that never before had I acquired an insight into the real
character of my associate.

'There must have been an assumed importance in you,' said I to him,
'as long as I was in your service; for how could one really proud be so
amiable as you appear now?'

'Ah, Hajji!' said he, 'adversity is a great alterative. My life has been
one eternal up and down. I have often compared it to those whirligigs
set up by louts in our market-places on the No Rouz, which keep one
dangling between heaven and earth. Unfortunately, I am one of those who
has never adopted the maxim of "spread not your carpet in a wet place."'

'Tell me,' said I, 'the history of your adventures. We cannot better
pass our time, and I hope that you know me well enough now not to refuse
me your confidence.'

'You will hear nothing in my history but what is common to many
Persians, who one day are princes and the next beggars; but since you
are curious to know, I will relate it with pleasure'; and he began in
the following words:--

'I am a native of Hamadan. My father was a mollah of such eminence
that he was ambitious of becoming the mushtehed of Persia; but his
controversies upon particular points of faith unfortunately carried him
so far that a party was created against him, which deprived him of the
elevation he sought. His most prominent quality was the hatred he bore
to the Osmanlies, and to Sunis in general. One of our ancestors is said
to have first introduced into Persia a more universal hatred against
them than ever before existed, by a simple innovation in the education
of the Shiah