It may, I think, be interesting or useful to some of my readers if I append here a list of the Anecdotes occurring in the Qábús-náma, with a reference to the chapter and page in the Ṭihrán lithograph of A.H. 1285 in which they occur.

1. Brutal rejoinder of a rich pilgrim to a poor one (ch. iv,
p. 20).
2. How the Caliph al-Mutawakkil's favourite slave Fatḥ was
saved from drowning (ch. vi, p. 28).
3. Anecdote of Plato, and his grief at being praised by a fool
(ch. vi, p. 34).
4. Muḥammad b. Zakariyyá ar-Rází, the physician, is alarmed
because a madman smiles at him (ch. vi, p. 45).
5. Anecdote of Núshirwán and his Minister Buzurjmihr (ch. vi,
p. 37).
6. Autobiographical, on the inexpediency of making improbable
statements, even if they be true, unless they are susceptible
of speedy proof (ch. vii, p. 39).
7. On the importance of phraseology: Hárúnu'r-Rashíd's dream
and the two interpreters thereof (ch. vii, p. 42).
8. On the same subject: remonstrance of a favourite slave to a
libertine master (ch. vii, p. 42).
9. Repartee of Buzurjmihr to an old woman who blamed him
for not being able to answer her question (ch. vii, p. 43).
10. How a young 'Alawí of Zanján is discomfited by an old Sunní
(ch. vii, p. 45).
11. The tailor and his jar (ch. ix, p. 52).
12. The old hunchback's reply to a youth who mocked him
(ch. ix, p. 53).
13. The old chamberlain and the horse (ch. ix, p. 56).
14. The Ṣáḥib Isma'íl b. 'Abbád and his guest (ch. x, p. 59).
15. Anecdote of Ibn Muqla and Naṣr b. Manṣúr at-Tamímí
(ch. xii, p. 65).
16. How a criminal condemned to death by al-Mu'taṣim saves
his life by means of a cup of water (ch. xii, p. 67).
(The same story is commonly told of the Persian Hur-
muzán and the Caliph 'Umar. See Ṭabarí's Annals, Ser. i,
vol. 5, pp. 2558-9.)
17. The Prophet and the old woman (ch. xiii, p. 70).
18. Anecdote of Shamsu'l-Ma'álí Qábús b. Washmgír, the author's
grandfather (ch. xiv, p. 74).
19. Anecdote of Sulṭán Mas'úd of Ghazna (ch. xiv, p. 75).

20. Anecdote of 'Amr b. Layth (ch. xx, p. 85).
21. The deposition and murder of Qábús b. Washmgír (ch. xx,
p. 87).
22. Instance of honour in thieves (ch. xxii, p. 94).
23. Anecdote of Aḥmad-i-Faríghún (ch. xxv, p. 111).
24. Autobiographical, on the advantages of swimming (ch. xxvii,
p. 115).
25. Anecdote of Gushtásp (ch. xxvii, p. 118).
26. Anecdote of Shahrbánúya and al-Ḥusayn (ch. xxvii, p. 120).
27. The death of Socrates (ch. xxviii, p. 125).
28. Anecdote of al-Muhallab (ch. xxix, p. 127).
29. Sayyida, the mother of Majdu'l-Mulk, and Sulṭán Maḥmúd
(ch. xxix, p. 128).
30. Dhu'l-Qarnayn's instructions as to his burial (ch. xxix, p. 131).
31. Anecdote of Mu'áwiya (ch. xxx, p. 135).
32. How the Qáḍí Abu'l-'Abbás Rúyání cites a tree as witness
(ch. xxxi, p. 143).
33. Anecdote of a merchant and a dealer (ch. xxxii, p. 150).
34. How retribution overtakes a dishonest milkman (ch. xxxii,
p. 154).
35. Anecdote of Faḍlún, King of Ganja (ch. xxxvii, p. 177).
36. Another anecdote of Faḍlún (ch. xxxvii, p. 179).
37. Anecdote of al-Ma'mún and the Qáḍí 'Abdu'l-Malik of 'Abkara
(ch. xxxix, p. 184).
38. Anecdote of the Ṣáḥib Isma'íl b. 'Abbád (ch. xxxix, p. 184).
39. Reply of the Caliph al-Qádir bi'lláh to Sulṭán Maḥmúd's threats
(ch. xxxix, p. 185).
40. Anecdote of Abú 'Alí Símjúr's discerning secretary 'Abdu'l-
Jabbár Khújání (ch. xxxix, p. 187).
41. Anecdote of Rabí' b. al-Muṭahhar al-Qaṣrí (ch. xxxix, p. 191).
42. Anecdote of a Persian King and his Minister (ch. xl, p. 193).
43. Anecdote of Fakhru'd-Dawla and Isma'íl b. 'Abbád (ch. xl,
p. 195).
44. Anecdote of Abu'l-Faḍl al-Bal'amí and Sahl of Khujand
(ch. xl, p. 197).
45. Anecdote of Ṭughril the Seljúq (ch. xlii, p. 204).
46. Anecdote of Sulṭán Maḥmúd and Abu'l-Faraj al-Bustí
(ch. xlii, p. 206).
47. Anecdote of Sulṭán Mas'úd of Ghazna (ch. xlii, p. 207).
48. Anecdote of Fakhru'd-Dawla and 'Aḍudu'd-Dawla (ch. xlii,
p. 210).
49. Anecdote of Alexander the Great (ch. xlii, p. 213).
50. A problem for thieves (ch. xliv, p. 220).
51. Anecdote of two Ṣúfís (ch. xliv, p. 223).

Besides these anecdotes, many of which are at once apposite, original, and entertaining, the Qábús-náma contains many verses Verses cited in Qábús-náma. of poetry, most of which are quatrains composed by the author. Amongst the other poets cited are Abú Sa'íd b. Abi'l-Khayr, Abú Shukúr of Balkh, Abú Salík (of Gurgán, who is cited as the inventor of a certain musical air or mode), 'Asjadí, Farrukhí, Labíbí, and Qumrí of Gurgán. One verse in the Ṭabarí dialect is also quoted (p. 86), with a Persian rendering by the author.

Persons mentioned. The persons mentioned in the anecdotes include the ancient Greek sages Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen, Alexander the Great; of the Sásánian Royal Family and ministers, Núshirwán, Buzurjmihr, and Shahrbánú, daughter of Yazdi-gird III, who was taken captive by the Arabs and married to al-Ḥusayn; of the House of the Prophet, besides al-Ḥusayn, 'Alí, and al-Ḥasan; of the Umayyads, Mu'áwiya; of the 'Abbásid Caliphs, Hárúnu'r-Rashíd, al-Ma'mún, al-Mutawakkil, and al-Qá'im; of past Muhammadan rulers and ministers of Persia, 'Amr b. Layth, Sulṭán Maḥmúd and Sultán Mas'úd of Ghazna, Abu'l-Faḍl al-Bal'amí, the Ṣáḥib Isma'íl b. 'Abbád, Abú 'Alí Símjúr, Ṭughril the Seljúq, Núshtigín, Ḥasan-i-Pírúzán the Daylamí, Shamsu'l-Ma'álí-Qa'bús, Sharafu'l-Ma'álí, and many persons of less note. Of himself the author does not tell us very much. His genealogy, which he traces up to Núshirwán, is, of course, known from other sources, and we also learn that he made the Pilgrimage to Mecca in the Caliphate of al-Qá'im, and that he had engaged in wars for the Faith both in India and in Georgia and Armenia. He also tells us incidentally a good deal about his ancestors and kins­men of the House of Ziyár, giving, for example, a very full narrative of the deposition and murder of his grandfather Qábús, and mentioning how two of his predecessors, Washmgír and Sharafu'l-Ma'álí, were accidentally killed while hunting.

The style of the Qábús-náma affords an excellent example of simple, straightforward Persian prose, being less rugged and Style of the Qábús-náma. unpolished than the Siyásat-náma, but much less ornate than books like the Gulistán. It has a good deal of character and humour, and abounds in pithy proverbial sayings, of which the following may serve as specimens: “Every bird flies with its like” (p. 45); “A man within his own four walls is like a king in his own dominion” (p. 61); “A daughter is best unborn; if she be born, either give her to a husband or to the grave” (p. 120: this proverb is still current); “The house with two mistresses is unswept”; “A sparrow in the hand is better than a pea­cock on promise”; “No man dies till his time is come, but till his time is come he does not go to Barda' * in summer” (p. 179); “It is a very shameful thing if the watcher should need a watcher” (p. 199); “Into whatever affair thou desirest to enter, look first how thou may'st emerge therefrom” (p. 202); “One cannot all at once trust the cat with the fat” (p. 204). The author's ideas display a curious mixture of craft and simplicity, of scepticism and piety. Thus he dwells on the ethical, as apart from the spiritual, value of prayer, fasting, and other religious exercises as means to cleanliness, humility, and temperance; and advocates con­formity with the laws of Islám “because there is no State stronger than the Commonwealth of Islám.” The prescrip­tion of the Pilgrimage to the rich seems to him a valuable method of compelling persons of condition to see the world, and in concluding his observations on religious observances he recommends his son not to inquire too deeply into the funda­mental doctrines of the faith, “for,” says he, “with the why and wherefore thou hast nothing to do.” Excellent also is his advice to consider one's poor rather than one's rich neigh­bours, since this will conduce to thankfulness to God instead of breeding envy.