their praise that the verse was composed, which says, “The people of Tabríz, though given to pleasure, are as pure as the glass of a mirror; and if you say they are not true to friends, you must know that the mirror only reflects the object before it as it really appears.” _General Praise of Tabríz._ The first and most agreeable properties of Tabríz is the abundance of water, by which means the streets are washed and cleansed from all dust, as though it was continually New Year’s day. The second praiseworthy circumstance is, that the Sherífs or descendants of Mohammed do not give their daughters indiscriminately to servants, but only to their equals. They proposed the following nice point to me, saying:—“You take Infidel girls as women, because you say that the man plants the seed, and that is very well; but you also give your own daughters to Moslíms, who were first Infidels and afterwards converted; now if this new Moslím relapses into his former error, what then becomes of the children, who though their mother be a true descendant of the Prophet, may become apostates and fly into the land of the Infidels?” I answered, with the tradition of the Prophet, which says, “that even the children of Christians and Jews are born true Moslims, but that they are afterwards seduced into error by their parents.” There was no reply to that. The third good thing is that all sales are transacted with Persian money coined in the country, and that no foreign coin is received. Money is coined in seven towns, viz. at Erdebíl, Hamadán, Baghdád, Isfahán, Tiflís, Nehávend, and Tabríz. The inscription on one side is, “There is no God, but God, and Mohammed is the Prophet, and Alí the friend of God;” on the reverse is the name of the Sháh, with the epithet of Alí’s dog: their small coins or pennies are called Kázikí, they bear only the place of the coinage on one side, and the date of the year on the other: on their measures and weights are also written the words, “There is no God but God,” and who dares to cheat in the name of God is blinded by a heated stone drawn over his eyes. Before their shops and markets, scales of yellow brass are suspended, which are never taken away, but always remain, and all eatables and drinkables are sold by weight according to the fixed market prices; even corn and wheat are sold by weight. The fourth good things are the cookshops, fitted-up with china and furnished with plates of the same material; they are opened with prayer as usual in the morning, and then filled with all kinds of pilaws, and stewed meat (Herisse), which are also sold by weight. The waiters, clean and smart, stand with pewter dishes under their arms, on which are inscriptions like the following: “No nobility above the Islám;” “The nobility of the place depends upon who occupies it;” “The nobility of the house depends upon its inhabitants; and the nobility of the inhabitants upon their generosity.” After dinner these waiters bring clean basins and cans for