DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.15174#0074
58
ENTRANCE INTO PERSIA. chap. xiii.
it signifies nought that she may have another hus-
band, since she is surely born again who comes out
of the hands of the Toorkmuns. This was a leap
year; but a lady may be there allowed at all times
to fall in love. The fair one of whom I speak made
a set at the first merchant who visited her; and
stated, as an inducement to her purchase, that she
would join any creed they liked. This Persian
girl is not the first of her sex who has changed her
doctrines with her name.
We halted in the afternoon at a cistern, eighteen
miles distant from Shurukhs, the fort of which was
yet visible ; for we had travelled over a level country,
broken in some places by gravelly hillocks. At the
third mile we crossed the dry and pebbly bed of the
small river of Tejend, which rises in the neighbour-
ing hills, and is lost in the sands. This is not the
Herat river, nor is it the Ochus ; for no such great
river as appears in our maps has existence. Its
pools were saline, and much of the soil was also salt.
There were remnants of civilisation, but neither
fields nor inhabitants. We again set out about
eight at night with a full moon ; and, after an ad-
vance of seven or eight miles, entered among defiles
and hills, and found ourselves at Moozderan or
Durbund, the frontier post in Persia, a little after
sunrise, and forty-five miles from Shurukhs. The
whole of the latter part of the route lay in a deep
ravine, where there is imminent danger in travelling,
from the " Allamans" of the desert. We pushed
on with great celerity and greater fear: every instru-
ment of war was in requisition; every match was lit,
ENTRANCE INTO PERSIA. chap. xiii.
it signifies nought that she may have another hus-
band, since she is surely born again who comes out
of the hands of the Toorkmuns. This was a leap
year; but a lady may be there allowed at all times
to fall in love. The fair one of whom I speak made
a set at the first merchant who visited her; and
stated, as an inducement to her purchase, that she
would join any creed they liked. This Persian
girl is not the first of her sex who has changed her
doctrines with her name.
We halted in the afternoon at a cistern, eighteen
miles distant from Shurukhs, the fort of which was
yet visible ; for we had travelled over a level country,
broken in some places by gravelly hillocks. At the
third mile we crossed the dry and pebbly bed of the
small river of Tejend, which rises in the neighbour-
ing hills, and is lost in the sands. This is not the
Herat river, nor is it the Ochus ; for no such great
river as appears in our maps has existence. Its
pools were saline, and much of the soil was also salt.
There were remnants of civilisation, but neither
fields nor inhabitants. We again set out about
eight at night with a full moon ; and, after an ad-
vance of seven or eight miles, entered among defiles
and hills, and found ourselves at Moozderan or
Durbund, the frontier post in Persia, a little after
sunrise, and forty-five miles from Shurukhs. The
whole of the latter part of the route lay in a deep
ravine, where there is imminent danger in travelling,
from the " Allamans" of the desert. We pushed
on with great celerity and greater fear: every instru-
ment of war was in requisition; every match was lit,