76 JOURNEYS IN PERSIA LETTER xvm

ad nauseam, lies under a blazing sun and in a hot dust
haze like that of the Indian plains. The ridge is only
just wide enough for the camps, and falls down in
abrupt descents to the source of the Ab-i-Sefid. Tre-
mendous precipices and the naked peaks of the Kala
Kuh surround us, and to the east the Zard Kuh and the
long straight-topped range of the Kuh-i-Gokun (or
Kainu ?), deeply cleft, to allow of the exit of the Ab-i-
Gokun, wall in the magnificent prospect, woods and
streams and blue and violet depths suggesting moisture
and coolness. The ridge has a remarkably rich alpine

Life is now only a " struggle for existence" on the
lower altitudes, with their heat and hubbub; there is
no comfort or pleasure in occupation under 9000 feet.
Here there are only the sick people of the camps to attend
to. The guides and guards all need eye-lotion, one bad
wound needs dressing, and the Khan's brother has had
fever severely, which is cured, and he offers me as a
present a boy of five years old. Aslam Khan's face of
Judas is not for nothing, but his brother is beautiful, and
has the face of St. John. I. L. B.