'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.' [‎123] (154/582)

OF TAUK-E-BOSTAN. 223
plied the Chief, somewhat embarrassed by this remark, " it is not
precisely the eloquent 4 Bism Illah' of the Prophet, but it is a
prayer to exactly the same effect, with which the Franks of the
West commence all they do, and which the great mass of the
Giaours write 4 In Dei nomine,' but the English express by the
words 4 Shipped by the grace of God !'"
The Latin and the English formulae were each expressed im
perfectly, but with sufficient distinctness for me to recognise them
both; though how this man could have learned these two, applied
generally to such opposite purposes, was still to me unintelligible.
My Dervish, who knew the man well, explained it perfectly how
ever, by telling me that he was a Russian, who had been in the
service of the Turks, and having embraced Islamism, had risen
by progressive gradations to be the Mutesellim, or Governor of
Bussorah, which station he had filled for several years. Rustan
Aga, for that was now his name, becoming obnoxious to the Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
of Bagdad, as all the servants of the great in the East are sure to
do when they are supposed to become too wealthy, he was re
called to the capital, stripped of his riches, and at last banished
from thence, on which occasion he had recently come here to Ker-
manshah as a retreat. In his capacity of Mutesellim at this sea
port, frequented by English ships, he might have learned to dis
tinguish the Roman character from others, perhaps by the occa
sional-sight of their package-marks, or papers ; and from the last
alone, he must have remembered the pious formula of " Shipped
by the grace of God," with which all our English bills of lading
are still commenced.
When we had talked of the Caves, and the visitors had de
cided that the large one was for Khosrou, the bench at the end
for him to enjoy the caresses of Shirine, and the adjoining smaller
cave for the servants and Cawajee Bashi, or chief of the coffee-pre-
parers, a repast of fruits was served to us in numerous baskets of
freshly gathered grapes and peaches from the neighbouring gar
dens, of which Rustan Aga and myself first partook, and afterwards
r 2