Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-12-05

| into a rule, 20 wash as little as possible
! travelling across Persia. Certainly W.
never touched water In the morning FOL
! in the dry desert air our faces woulC
| lave skinned to tatters. Occasionally Q
| little lukewarm water in the evening wa:
| agreeable. OF bedding there was none
| Therefore, for a week or ten days at q
| time we slept in our clothes. only re-
! moving them 10 change, or TO battle ou'
| legs in some rivulet. Naturally our cos
tunes got very tattered. For pocket t.
| be torn from Jacket H. nothing. 1t Wa
when knickerbockers were slit at tn.
knee, and there were great rents In tn,
hinder parts-when thread refused -
bind and canvas, fastened With tire
repairing solution, refused to hold, and
our bare toes peeped through-that we
began 10 feel disreputable. At Teheran,
where kindly welcome was extended I'd
us by the English residents, We walked
clrcumspectly till slow-working tailors
had provided new suits. II was necessary
always TO retire backwards from the pre-
sence of ladies.
One could not go into the streets OF Te-
heran without an enormous crowd gath
ering. Yet there was never anything but
good humor. We had the pleasure OF see
ing the Shah, and being entertained at the
palace. where all the dazzling royal
Jewels were unfolded for the sinister pur-
pose Of making us blind and filing US
with envy. At Isfahan we had an inter
esting afternoon within the Zil-i-Sultan,
who Is the Shah's brother. We rode about
the palace grounds, and his Royal High
ness who is as round as tub, was 30
shaky with mirth, that he rolled about
like an animated barrel.
Now, ride down that path as hard az
you can" he said to me. i did. 1 won
eered why he was nearly having an apo
pIectic tit from laughing. Then 1 saw.
At the end OF the path was a sudden
drop Tight went the brake, and l jump
ed from the wheel. The III was disap-
pointed. A broken neck and a broken
wheel would have been so diverting.
"Ah, how vonderfulw his Highness
said; "how suddenly you can stop the
bicycler'
There was one thing that puzzled him.
How was 1t that a bicycle kept on end
when 1t was running, but when still top
pied over? A bicycle was turned round
so that the wheels were In the air. The
fore wheel was given spin, and II ran
for seven minutes. That also was curl
Gus. He could not comprehend the work
ing of ball bearings.
Neither could he understand the gpirit
which prompted US to cycle In foreign
countries when America Is so beauti-
full land, why do you want to leave it?"
he kept asking. Adventure does not APP
peal TO the Persians.
Though there are no roads in Persia,
and though there was many mile OF
rough trampng, very often we got mag
nihcent runs. The ground was hard,
gritty, and sun-baked, just like cinder
track. Once We left a place with pros
pect OF snow and siush, and we expected
to walk most OF the way. Suddenly we
came on to splendid ground and what
we reckoned would occupy three Gays we
covered I'm six hours and a half. AS II
was winter. and we traversed very high
hills. the cold and the snow troubled U.S.
When we were on n mountain called the
Kohl Kush, which meont "the shoulder OF
DEATH" we were lost. and spent dread
full night struggling through drifts, till
we felt weary and faint. BY the time we
reached q village the next morning, we
were in a tolerably fsmished state, for
we had been exposed to storm, 1900
feet up a mountain side, and had had no
thing TO eat for twenty hours. Wolves
often prowled round US, and once we met
bears. One, q big. black, ferocious brute,
looked like attacking. but he thought bet
ter OF II, and scampered of to a wood.
To be honest, one must not describe
Persia as either beautiful. or romantic.
or poeticAL And yet In saying this.
must make exceptions.
shiraa "ths garden II love-" Is an ex-
quisite spot. renowned for its rose gar
dens. its orangeriss. Its myrtle
groves. The scenery IN charming,
and all Is fragrance and delight. To-
wards tho south coast. after dropping
from tho great Persian table-land, there
are palms and shady bowers; folks dress
gaIly and are merry: and one did, in
deed. feel that the scene was eastern.
There were to be seen the marvellous
ruins OF Persepolis. tho great palaces
built by Darius. the audience chamber