The _Aub-dar_, or water-cooler, is scarcely less indispensable than the cook; for, without the exercise of his art, all the delicacies of the table would be of no value. Hot wine, and hot water, are by no means acceptable to those who inhale so rarefied an atmosphere; and who generally prefer such made-dishes as abound in spice. It is true, that, sometimes, a _khedmutgar_, or a _bearer_, may be found, capable of cooling liquors nearly as well as _aub-dars_ of the lower class; but such are rare, and cannot always be depended upon. In saying this, I do not mean to attribute the success of even the best qualified _aub-dar_ to any chemical knowledge, or to much comprehension of the manner, or moment, in which the refrigeration takes place: far from it; they are all the children of imitation, and by keeping within certain parallels, wide enough asunder, hit upon their object; though not without much loss of materials, as well as of time. The apparatus necessary for the operations of this servant, consist of a large pewter vessel, near half an inch in thickness, and in its form not unlike a very thick Cheshire cheese, of which the edges are much rounded off. At the top, a circular aperture, about a foot in diameter, is left, for the introduction of two pewter flasks, (each containing about a pint and a half,) of a spherical form, and furnished with long narrow necks, nearly cylindrical, about ten inches in length, and fitted with caps, of the same metal, that come down about an inch and a half, every where close. The great bason just described is called a _taus_, and the flasks are called _soories_. When water is to be cooled, about a gallon is put into the _taus_; which, by means of a small wooden frame, made for the purpose, or, for want of it, a few bricks, &c. is sloped a little, that the water may lie more towards one side: a handful or two of salt-petre is then put in, and the _soories_, being about two thirds filled with the water to be drank, are moved about in the _taus_, one in each hand, while the salt-petre is dissolving. So soon as that is effected, which is usually in two or three minutes, the _soories_ are laid at rest; their necks projecting out at the opposite side of the aperture, the sphere part being immersed, and a wet cloth laid over the whole of the opening: in that manner the intense cold, generated by the solution, acts upon the water within the _soories_; so effectually indeed, in many instances, as to be unpleasantly condensed. As to cracking the glasses, that is extremely common, but is rather to be imputed to their being somewhat heated by the atmosphere; when the cold water, being suddenly poured in, causes nine in ten, so acted upon, to fly. Wine is always cooled in the common glass bottle wherein it is drawn from the cask, and so soon as taken from the _taus_, which may be in about five minutes after being left at rest, is covered with a petticoat made of _karwah_, or other cloth, well wetted.