kindness and generosity, sent to cheer us on our way. In a letter from him which we also found here, he informed us that a similar store had been left with the 'naïb,' or postmaster, of each station at which we should sleep between Shahrûd and Meshed, and that his cavalry orderly, Hemmet Ali, would follow slowly in our rear to pick up and carry back to Meshed such fragments as might be left.
Within an hour of our arrival the head steward of the Prince Governor of Shahrûd called, with under-servants carrying large trays of different kinds of sweetmeats and bread. A sheep also was presented to us from His Excellency, which before long was converted into mutton for our dinner that evening. We sent back many civil messages, excused ourselves from calling on the ground that we had nothing but our travel-stained clothes in which to present ourselves, and, having rewarded the bearers of the gifts with money, we terminated our interview with the head steward.
The next morning, Wednesday, 12th of March, whilst waiting for our six o'clock breakfast, we strolled about the clean and
