1 LIFE OF THE GREAT. 275
2 WMit ways of filling it up agreMbtyy for though their lives are more
3 austere than thote of the oomBioii people^ thej delight in hunting and
4 hawking, and hayemany resouroea m reading or hearing books read
5 to than : it ia.evieii a profession to read, and the Shauh Naumeh, the-
6 great heroic poem at Ferdausi, has a large class of roaders) called
7 Shauhnaumeh Klioons, whose bosbiess it is to read it, or recite thq
8 fine passages with proper emphasis and action. Thooe who are not
9 disposed to literature, have Persian and Pushtoo singers, and play at
10 chess, backgammon, or cards. The two first games are nearly the
11 same ours, but the tliird. whic-h is more rare, is played, as in India,
12 with round cards, ami (liffi is in ?nanv respects from what we play.
13 They also have ^iiT dcas near the u>u n, wliere they retire with a few
14 friends, and where tliey sometimes give large parties. On the whole,
15 iiowever, their style ot^ living is very inferior to that of the nobles of
16 Persia, and does not correspond with« the v»at fortuneii wliidi some
17 of them are said to possess.
18 AIJ that I know ot their entertainments may be comnmuicatcd by-
19 a description of one which was given to the British mission at Pcsha-
20 wer, by Me^ Abool Hussun Khaun, the Mdimaundaur of the em«
21 batay. We were first introdiioed into a ]ai]ge oourt, in the centre of
22 which was a pond, surrounded by many rows of small lamps, the li^it
23 ef which was reflected firom the wsAeft where other lamps flcwted en.
24 boards ; many torches were also stuck up round the ooort, and. all-
25 together gave a light as strong as that of day, *and showed the ph»a
26 fiOed with attendants and spectatota.
27 We entered thzoii|^ a Yufjtk gat^ on each side of whkh were some
28 btaOdin^ and over all an opien gallery. Opposite , to ua were the
29 painted pillars and arches of a hall, and on each side were buildings*
30 the lower part of which only contained Otoe or two doors, but whidb
31 I bdieye had windows in the upper story. We were received in the
32 hall opposite the gateway^ which opened on the court, and partook of
33 the illumination. We entered* as is usual* by a door at the lower end
34 of the room, and took our seats at the top. The floor was covered,
35 with nfifih and besntifial carpet; along three sides of the room wetv
36 H N i ■