o his father, unless he amply revenge his death, for
which cause the party will dispatch the king first, and his eldest son
afterwards, that through their deaths the ambitious and unnatural
Churrum may mount the throne. Every hour new rumours are spread of the
deliverance of Cuserou, which are speedily contradicted; for he still
remains in the tyger's den, refuses food, and requires that his father
may take away his life, and not leave him to be a sport and prey to his
inveterate enemies. The whole court is filled with rumours and secret
whispers; the nobles are sad, and the people full of turmoil and noise,
without any head, having no one to direct their rage to any specific
object. The issue seems involved in dangers, especially for us, as, in
regard to themselves, it matters not who wins. Although the elder prince
have more right, and is of a more honourable character, he is still a
Mahomedan, and can hardly be a better prince than his father, whose
dispositions are good, yet so facile that he allows all to govern at
their will, which is even worse than if he were a tyrant, for we had
better suffer injuries from one prince than from a host of ministers and
subordinate agents.

The 19th of October _Mahomet Reza Beg_, the Persian ambassador, made his
entry into the city with a great cavalcade, partly sent out by the king
to meet him. There were at least an hundred elephants, with many
musicians; but no man of quality went out on this occasion beyond the
ordinary official receivers of strangers. His own train consisted of
about fifty horse in splendid dresses of cloth of gold, their bows,
quivers, and targets being richly adorned. Together with these he had
about forty musqueteers, and about 200 ordinary _peons_ and attendants
on his passage. He was conducted to a room within the outer court of the
palace, to rest himself till the evening, at which time I sent my
secretary to the durbar, to give me an account of the ceremonial. On
coming into the presence, and reaching the first rail, he made three
_tessalims_ and one _sizeda,_ which is prostrating himself and knocking
his head three times against the ground. On entering within the rail he
did the same, and then presented the letter of his master, _Shabas_,
[Shah Abbas.] This the king took with a slight inclination of the body,
saying only, _How doth my brother_? without using any title of majesty.
After some few words, the ambassador was placed in the seventh rank,
clo