These impromptu entertainments are most enjoyable: there is no sense of restraint, and their absolute suddenness, absence of formality, and true hospitality, form a remarkable contrast to the more formal pleasures of European life and the regularity of entertainments which hang over one, till their very thought becomes insupportable. Of course, such entertainments are only possible in a country where the gardens are freely thrown open to everybody. CHAPTER XXIX. PERSIAN CHARACTER, COSTUMES, AND MANNERS. Character of the Persians—Exaggeration—Mercifulness—Anecdote—Costumes of men—Hair—Beards—Arms—Costumes of women—Jewellery—Glass bangles—Nose-rings—Painting of the face—Tattooing—Hair—Outdoor costume—Dress of children—Their manners—Strange custom—Love of mothers—The uncle—Cousins—Slaves—Servants—Slavery. The character of the Persian, as it appears to me, is that of an easy-going man with a wish to make things pleasant generally. He is hospitable and obliging, as honest as the general run of mankind, and is specially well disposed to the foreigner. He is very kind and indulgent to his children, and as a son his respect for both parents is excessive, developed in a greater degree to his father, in whose presence he will rarely sit, and whom he is in the habit of addressing and speaking of as “master;” the full stream of his love and reverence is reserved for his mother; and an undutiful son or daughter is hardly known in the country. Home virtues among the Persians are many. No act of serious import is ever undertaken without the advice of the mother; no man would think, for instance, of marrying contrary to his mother’s advice; and by the very poorest the support of their parents would never be looked on as a burden. Respect for the aged is universal; “this grey beard” is a common term of respect; and an aged man or woman will frequently give an opinion unsolicited, and such advice is often requested, and always listened to as valuable. The peculiar honesty of the Persian servant towards his master in respect to his goods and chattels has been previously remarked; and in commercial morality, I fancy that a Persian merchant will compare not unfavourably with that of the European generally, if he does not always attain the high standard theoretically adopted by the Englishman. To the poor, Persians are unostentatiously generous; most of the rich have regular pensioners, old servants, or poor relations who live on their bounty, and though there are no workhouses, there are in ordinary times no deaths from starvation; and charity, though not organised, is general.