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mained till our party was ready to proceed; here we drank coffee, smoked our pipes, and ate sweet limes, which we found truly refreshing, as the heat was very oppressive. That curious optical delusion, called by the Persians the Saharaub,* was so strong that we were deceived into a belief that we were close to the Diala long before we reached it.

From the ferry we rode about two miles along the banks of the river, and arrived at Bacoubah, our second day's march. This appears to have been a very considerable place, but has been laid almost entirely in ruins by the army of Coords, under the command of Mohummud Ali Meerza, late Prince Governor of Kermanshah, whose head-quarters had been established here for some time. The cholera morbus breaking out among them caused their speedy return to Kermanshah, where the Prince soon after died.

* Literally, "water of the desert."

The time he wasted at this station saved the Pashalick; had he marched immediately to Bagdad, it is the general opinion that he would have obtained possession of it, so great was the terror his former successes had occasioned.

Two or three attempts were made to-day to frighten us into a belief of robbers, and to urge the necessity of a guard of twelve men. In the evening, we were informed that three fine horses had been carried off the night before, from the very spot where we were encamped. Aboo Nasir, upon hearing this, volunteered to keep watch, and sent to us for a bottle of brandy to keep him awake; whether owing to his vigilance, or not, certainly no robbers came.

April 10.—As Aboo Nasir was to leave us this stage, he came to us in the morning and asked us to give him a written character, which he might show to any of our countrymen pursuing the same route. As soon as he had obtained the document, he said to us, "I can't think of asking you for any liquor; I therefore,

ABOO NASIR'S REQUEST.

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positively, shall not accept more than five bottles of spirits." Such an appeal it was impossible to resist; so we gave him the five bottles, and he left the tent, his drunken eyes gleaming with anticipated enjoyment.

We were setting off on the journey, when, as we had premised, it was intimated that a present would be very acceptable to the silver-stick bearer; but we were so disgusted at this additional attempt at extortion, by one we had treated so well, that we unanimously resisted his demand, advising him to go for payment to him who had sent him on so fruitless an errand. As we were about to depart, Aboo Nasir, drunk as usual, came rolling in his saddle to bid us good-bye; his jolly scarlet face being humorously contrasted with the serious disappointed demeanour of his companion of the silver-stick.

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ILLYAUTS.

CHAPTER XII.

Ruins of Artemita-Historical Notice of ShehrebanRuins of Apollonia-Crossing the Diala-Ancient Tradition-The Hamerine or Carduchian Mountains.

WE started at three P. M. that we might have time, before dark, to examine ruins which lay on one side of the road, two hours' journey hence. Our road was N. E., over grass plains highly capable of cultivation, with numerous encampments of Illyauts, through two of which we passed, and were treated by the wanderers with the greatest attention and respect.

Seven miles E. of Bacoubah we came upon ruins, which I consider to be those of the ancient city of Artemita, the favourite residence of Chosroes, King of Persia, the rival of the

Emperor Heraclius. The first was a square mound of bricks facing the cardinal points, resembling in form the Gubri Bina on the road to Babylon: it was called by our guides Hud Mootsir, and is probably the site of some temple in the suburbs of the ancient city. A mile beyond this temple, the ruins themselves commence, which, from the regularity of the mounds, appear to have been built with much taste and judgment: a succession of longitudinal mounds, bearing N. and S., and traversed by others E. and W., show the regularity with which the streets must have been formed. In the western extremity of these ruins, in a situation that would have constituted the principal street, is a mound higher than the rest, which we suppose to have formed the royal residence. Before it is a grass plain, about as large as Lincoln's Inn Square, which I shall call the park or garden of the sovereign of this, the circumstance that the grass grows in every place but where it is impeded by the founda