"بلاد فارس والشأن الفارسي من إعداد السيد المحترم جورج ناثانييل كورزون، عضو البرلمان." [‎٥‎٥] (٧١٤/٨٦)

WAYS AND MEANS 65
would appear to estimate rank by the extent to which the hinder part
of the body is enveloped, if one may judge from the voluminous skirts
that are worn by H.M. the Shah. On the other hand, they care nothing
for head gear ; and the Sovereign is the only man in the country
for an interview with whom a tall hat is de rigueur. Stout riding-
gloves are required ; and I agree with MacGregor in recommending a
double Terai hat. It cannot get smashed, like a helmet; it furnishes
ample protection against any but a summer sun, and when you enter a
city you strip off the outer shell, and appear as smart as if you have
just stepped out of Bond Street. But of all the necessaries of outfit,
commend me, after a long experience, to a suit of dress clothes. Were
I setting out to-morrow either for Lhasa or for Timbuctoo, they should
accompany me ; for I am convinced that I should find them equally
useful were I to meet in audience either the King of the Negroes or
the Dalai Llama of Tibet. ' I remember having heard that Gordon
started in a dress suit from Cairo for Khartum. For outer coverings, I
recommend a covert-coat for everyday wear, a macintosh (if in the
rainy season), and an ulster of the amplest and warmest type, the colo
at nights being sometimes excruciatingly severe.
The Persian chapar-khanehs contain nothing in the least degree resem
bling a bed. If unprovided, the traveller will have to sleep on the mud
floor. By far the best substitute to carry is a big canvas bag,
Beddmg some seV en feet long by four feet broad, with an opening which
can be buttoned up. At every village in Persia, chopped barley or kah is
procurable. Stuffed with this, and stretched out on the floor, the canvas
sack makes the most comfortable couch in the world. A quilt or resai can
be purchased in any Persian bazaar ■ and some good rugs or blankets and
a pillow must be brought from home. A watei'proof sheet, to wrap
round the bedding for transport in the daytime and to spread under it
at night, is also useful. I took linen sheets with me ; but I never once
used them in a chapar-khaneh. The weather was always much too
cold, and I was far too tired to admit of complete undressing at night.
For purposes of ablution, a folding indiarubber bath and basin are an
invaluable luxury ; nor must towels be forgotten. The Persians do not
wash in our sense of the term ; and accordingly their provisions for such
requirements are of the slenderest. As the room in the chapar-khanehs
occupied by the traveller usually has doors on two, and sometimes on
three sides, opening on to the outer air, and as these are always rickety
and frequently non-existent, it is advisable to carry with one a couple
of light curtains and nails, in order as far as possible to \anquish the
inordinate draught.
The traveller who is riding hard will probably find that he eats
very little, and that his needs in this respect are easily satisfied. 1 n
the villages on the road, or at the post-houses, he can always pui chase