The King Endeavoured To Sooth Them By Fair Words, Protesting That He Had No Evil Intentions Towards His Son, Whom

He promised speedily to deliver from captivity, and even sent his favourite Nourmahal to endeavour to appease the enraged and

Disconsolate ladies; but they refused to admit her visit, loading her with curses and threatnings. The common people universally condemn the king's conduct, saying, that he has not only delivered his son's life, but his own into the keeping of an ambitious prince and treacherous faction, and that Cuserou cannot perish without extreme scandal to 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?

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