'Through Persia on a side-saddle' [‎34] (63/360)

THROUGH PERSIA ON A SIDE-SADDLE
had sufficiently mastered Persian to be able to housekeep
on my own account.
All the servants looked most picturesque on the road.
Hashim, for example, tied a gorgeous red, yellow, and
purple drapery over his astrachan kolah, wrapping it round
his ears and under his chin; and was, moreover, huddled
in a shapeless, cinnamon-coloured garment, lined with vivid
green silk; completing his costume with big top-boots
and two pairs of purple, woollen gloves. Another man
wore a European ulster, which contrasted oddly with his
felt skull-cap, swathed in a magenta silk handkerchief, the
long fringe of which was for ever hanging into his eyes.
Each servant saw that his mule was loaded with his
bedding and personal property, then mounted on to the
pile with some difficulty, seized the rope attached to the
animal's head, and started off, steering his steed with this
and kicking his legs against its sides to hasten its move
ments. The cook was our boldest rider, and frequently
came to grief, as he insisted on galloping, and as often as
not was seen flying over the head of his mule, which he
would then capture and remount good-humouredly, in spite
of the chaffing of the other servants, who looked upon his
mishaps as a sign that he had not attended to his religious
duties that day!
All Persians muffle up their heads in winter, tying them
in so many wraps that it is useless to address a question to
any of them on the march. They do not seem to feel the
cold in other parts of their bodies, and I have often seen
cotton-clad peasants riding barefoot on donkeys, yet with
their heads and faces so covered up that only the eyes were
visible.
My maid and Diana, my dog, travelled in the takht-i-