'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.' [‎136] (167/582)

FROM KERMANSHAH
The Dervish Ismael insisted on it that the destinies were
against us, as we had had such a succession of misfortunes and
disappointments in all our attempts to see the Caves alone, during
our stay at Kermanshah ; he therefore urged my abandoning the in
tention altogether. We might still have gone there, however, on a
second visit this morning, notwithstanding this unexpected party;
but our presence would have been an intrusion on these great people,
which their politeness would perhaps have suffered for a while;
although taking notes on the spot would have been impossible, and
that was the only object I wished to accomplish in a second visit.
We accordingly yielded to the supposed destiny of our case, and
returned at once into the high road, to overtake the party of
horsemen whom we had agreed to meet at the khan of Bisitoon,
from which we were to go on together towards Hamadan.
Our course lay nearly east, across the plain, in which we saw
villages on each side of us, with a numerous peasantry, and abun
dance of cattle. In about two hours after our leaving the gate of
Kermanshah, we came to the Choaspes, or Kara Soo, which was
here flowing at the rate of about two miles an hour to the south
ward. Across it was a lofty and well-built bridge, of six pointed
arches, with buttresses, the foundation of large hewn stones, and
the upper part of burnt bricks, with a good pavement above the
whole. We sounded the stream below this bridge, as it was not
more than a hundred feet wide, and found it to be not more
than three feet deep in any part. The water was beautifully
transparent, and flowing over a dark pebbly bed ; it still deserved
its modern name of the Black Water, as distinguishing it from the
muddy yellowness of rivers in general.
In continuing our march on the same easterly course, the
crowds of passengers whom we met coming from the eastward
were much greater than I had ever noticed on the Bagdad road,
and were almost equal to those seen on the great roads near Lon
don, though there appeared to be no particular cause for a greater
concourse now than on any ordinary occasion. The number of