Page:The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier.djvu/181

great earthen Vessels bak'd in an Oven, either glaz'd, or else smear'd over with the fat of a Sheeps rump, stop'd up with wood'n Covers, cover'd over again with a great piece of red Calicut, that lyes over all the lids of the Pots.

The King and his Lords have other sorts of Cellars for magnificence, where they treat such as they invite. These are four square Rooms not above three or four steps deep, with a Well in the middle, the floor being spread with Turkie Carpets. Now at the four corners of the Well stand four great Bottles containing twenty Pints a piece, the one of White, the other of Claret. Between the great Bottles stands a row of lesser Bottles fill'd, a Bottle of White, and a Bottle of Red. In the Cellar-Wall are several niches one above another, and in every nich a Bottle, still vary'd Gules and Argent; a very pleasant sight to good Companions in a Room, which is as light as day.

As for Herbs and Roots they have very good in Persia, but above all, most excellent Roman Lettuce. But there is no sort of Pulse, nor can they find a way to make Pease grow among them. The Carmelites carry'd Asparagus, Artichoaks, and Succory, which were never seen there before, but now begin to thrive very well.

As for Turquoises and Pearls I shall speak thereof in my discourse of Jewels, toward the end of my Indian Travels.

The Beasts for service in Persia, are Horses, Mules, Asses, and Camels. The Horses of Persia are but of an ordinary stature, less than ours, very narrow before, but very swift and light. They carry their heads very ill in running, by reason of the custom to which the Persians use them. For they have got a trick of managing their Horses, yet never getting upon their backs; they teach them to Amble by tying their feet with two Cords of an equal length, to the middle whereof are fasten'd two other Cords that are fasten'd to the Saddle, which two Cords keep their feet so, that they cannot stir but at such a distance; and so they deal with their Mules upon which the old men generally covet to ride. The Horses of Persia are very docible, and easily brought up. They give them nothing else from one Evening to another but a Sack full of chopt Straw, with a measure of Barley which they mingle together with the Straw, to the end they may eat both together. When the Barley is newly ear'd, they give it them for fourteen or twenty days together to purge their bodies, as we for the same end put out Horses to Grass in the Spring. The Persian Horses hold out very well 'till eighteen or twenty years of age; but they never cut their Stone-Horses in that Country. In the Winter, they never take off their Shooes, but only Frost-nail them. Their Furniture is very light and handsomly made. And this is further observ'd, that whereas we keep Goats in our Stables and Inns, the Persians keep Hogs.

There are two sort of Asses in Persia. Those that are bred in the Country only serve to carry burthens; but there are a sort of Arabian Asses that are swift and very handsom, excelling in price the common sort of Horses. The Merchants of Ispahan keep these Asses in their Country Houses, taking it for a great piece of Grandeur to Ride every Morning to their Shops.

Some parts of Persia are perplex'd also with wild Beasts, as Lyons, Bears, and Leopards, but there are but very few; nor have we heard that ever they did any great mischief. Porcupines they have also and I my self saw brought before the King two men, the one of which was Shot through the Thigh, and through the Leg with a Porcupine's Quill. The second was kill'd, the Porcupine having darted his Quill a little above his right Pap through his Brest. As for their Fish, there are an abundance of Carps, Trouts, and Pikes in the River Aras; but in all the other Rivers of Persia there is but one sort of Fish, which is a kind ofBarbill,