172 JOURNEYS IN PEESIA LETTER sxv

relieve the tedium of the long wait during the pitching of
my tent, and of the hour's rest which I am obliged to
take on my bed after getting in, I was " doing " a large
piece of embroidery from an ancient Irish pattern,
arabesques on dark, apricot-coloured coarse silk in low-
toned greens, pinks, and blues, all outlined in gold. This
work has been a real pleasure to me, and I relied on it
for recreation for the rest of my journey. Gone too,
with all the silks and gold for finishing it! Now I have
nothing to do when the long marches are over, and as I
can scarcely write with this pen and have also lost my
drawing materials, a perspective of dulness opens out
before me. If Sharban had not disobeyed orders and
stayed behind with my tent all this would not have hap-
pened. I now realise what it is to be without what to a
European are " the necessaries of life," and I can scarcely
replace any of them for three weeks.

The caravan came in at nine, and I soon got into my
tent and spent much of the day in making a head-cover
by rolling lint and wadding in handkerchiefs and sewing
them up into a sort of turban with a leather-needle and
packthread obtained from Mirza. I was able to get from
a villager a second-hand pair of ghevas,—most service-
able shoes, with " uppers " made of stout cotton webbing
knitted here by the women and among the Bakhtiaris by
the men, and with soles of rag sewn and pressed tightly
together and tipped with horn. These and the " uppers"
are connected with very stout leather brought to a point
at the toe and heel. Ghevas are the most comfortable,
and for dry weather and mountain-climbing the most
indestructible of shoes. Thus provided I have to face
the discomfort caused by the other losses as best I may.
" It's no use crying over spilt milk!"

The day before, when the charvadars pulled Mirza off
his mule and he threatened them with the agreement,