The rest of the costume is composed of the “tūmbūn,” or “shulwar;” these are simply short skirts of great width, held by a running string; the outer one usually of silk, velvet, or Cashmere shawl, often trimmed with gold lace, according to the purse of the wearer; or among the poor, of loud-patterned chintz or print. Beneath these are innumerable other garments of the same shape, and varying in texture from silk and satin to print. The whole is very short indeed; among the women of fashion merely extending to the thigh, and as the number of these garments is amazing, and they are much _bouffée_, the effect of a lady sitting down astonishes the beholder, and would scandalise the Lord Chamberlain. As the ladies are _supposed_, however, to be only seen by their lords in these indoor dresses, there is perhaps no harm done. Indecency, too, is very much an idea, for a Persian lady, who will thus expose her extremities and the greater part of her trunk, will carefully veil her face, showing nothing but the eyes. The ladies of rank, however, have no shame of any kind, and display very redundant charms. The indoor costume of the Persian lady is in fact exactly that of the _corps de ballet_, but shorter: while in winter, an over-mantle like the “kolajah” or coat of the man, and with short sleeves, lined and trimmed with furs, is worn; this gives the costume a peculiarly graceful appearance. [Illustration: OUTDOOR DRESS OF PERSIAN WOMEN. (_From a Native Drawing._)] Leg-coverings are now being introduced, and the last princess of the blood royal I saw added to her comfort, though she destroyed the poetry of her appearance, by a tightly-fitting pair of black cloth “pants” with a gold stripe! This garment will doubtless soon become general. In ancient days the Persian ladies always wore them, as may be seen by the pictures in the South Kensington Museum. In those times the two embroidered legs, now so fashionable as Persian embroideries (“naksh”), occupied a girl from childhood to marriage in their making; they are _all sewing_ in elaborate patterns of great beauty, worked on muslin, in silk.