petitions direct from any one whomsoever. The occasions on which Persian villages suffer most are when governors or princes pass through a district on their way to their posts, accompanied by a numerous train of exacting followers. A royal progress, too, is a source of no small loss to the population of those parts of the country through which the king passes. His Majesty, it is true, pays liberally for all the provisions supplied to his numerous travelling establishment, but it is to be feared that the money so given by the king never finds its way into the pockets of those whom he intends to be its recipients. The king is for ever on the move, and it occasionally happens that when he announces his intention of honouring some particular province with a visit the inhabitants, so far from feeling elated, send his Majesty a large present in money in order to induce him to spare them the intended honour.
The Persian peasants' recreations are the yearly-recurring festivals, when work is wholly or partially suspended. These are the new-year, the gathering of the harvest, and the seasons appointed for observance by the religious authorities. Every village in Persia is supplied with a bath, which is a source of great enjoyment to the villagers. An ice-house is attached to each village. The houses occupied by the Persian peasantry are sufficiently comfortable, and generally contain felts or carpets, and such articles of domestic furniture as are necessary for the use of a family. Although slavery exists in Persia all field-labour is free, the slaves being only employed in domestic service. Persian Mahomedan peasants are not even tied down to one spot, but can go from one village to seek work in
