'Travels in Assyria, Media, and Persia, including a journey from Bagdad by Mount Zagros, to Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana, researches in Ispahan and the ruins of Persepolis, and journey from thence by Shiraz and Shapoor to the sea-shore. Description of Bussorah, Bushire, Bahrein, Ormuz, and Muscat, narrative of an expedition against the pirates of the Persian Gulf, with illustrations of the voyage of Nearchus, and passage by the Arabian Sea to Bombay.' [‎21] (52/582)

TO KESRABAD, OR DASTAGHERD.
21
of God and his Prophet has been supported by persecution and
oppression ; and in the East, as well as in the West, devotion and
dishonesty are thus often found to go hand in hand.
On the discovery of my loss, strict enquiry was made about
it, but without leading to restoration ; for we were not sufficiently
strong to insist on searching the baggage of the suspected, nor
sufficiently rich to bribe the proper officer for this duty ; so that
no hope remained of our recovering the stolen Scripture,
During the day, we heard of a place near this having been
already attacked by Arabs, on the news of the state of things at
Bagdad; and so many particulars were given in the details of this
affair, that we could not refuse it credit. A few hours afterwards,
however, a caravan arriving here from the eastward contradicted
the report, as they had passed by the very spot named without
hearing any thing of the matter. These, however, on now learn
ing the news of the Bagdad road, which had given rise to the
report on which we questioned them, made their determination
to halt here for a while ; though the news thus learnt from us
might, for aught we knew, have been as ill-founded as the
rumour which they themselves had so satisfactorily contradicted.
As we were now positively assured of our way being safe, I
expected that we should suffer no more delay; but the majority
of our party, to whom despatch seemed of no great consequence,
still determined to prolong their halt. In an evening stroll,
about an hour before sunset, under the guidance of one of the
natives of the place, and accompanied also by my Dervish, we
came upon a large and remarkable heap of ruins, about a mile to
the north-east of the town. It was in form and extent nearly
like that of the Makloube, the supposed castellated Palace at
Babylon, except that it was less in height, and whatever build
ings had once occupied this site had been rased nearer to the
ground. It was still, however, sufficiently high to form a con
spicuous object on the plain, even from a distance, its highest
part being forty or fifty feet above the common level.