CHAPTER XXXVIII.
 
Arrival of the Author at Bender Abbâsi.— Sea voyage from Bender Abbâsi to the coast of Ommân.— He goes to Mascat, and thence returns to Bender Abbâsi.— Removes to the country of Jarôn; and thence to the province of Kermân.— Rebellion of Mohammed Khân.

I ALSO retired with them, until they halted in two villages, in which they held lands and tene­ments, when I chose to separate from them, and after some time arrived at Bender Abbâsi. Here I staid some days; but, being distressed at the sight of the circumstances and situation of the inhabitants, I lost all patience. Every person's tongue, in consequence of the impositions and tyranny of the courts of government, was con­stantly employed in uttering this sentiment:

Arabic Poetry.*
He may be cured with water, who is choked with a bit of meat;
But how shall I be relieved, when it is with water that I am stifled?

My mind was bent on the purpose of bidding adieu to Persia, and of leaving these shores for Basra, whence I would use every possible means of transporting myself to Najaf Ashraf. But as the Great Khan held Bagdad in blockade, and the whole of Arabian Irâk was thrown into confusion by the conflicts of the army of the Kizil Bâsh, and was tossed in the storm of casualties, the people of Basra also were distracted with fear, and most of them were fleeing to the sea; and a terror like that of the day of judgment having fallen on the city, no kind of rectitude or order any longer existed; so that however strenuously I exerted myself to obtain a ship from the people of the coast that I might sail for Basra, it was impossible to succeed. They all excused themselves by telling me, that the people of Basra would seize their vessel to make use of it for their own flight. Having no power therefore to carry my design into execution, I was reduced to the alternative of embarking on board a vessel belonging to the European Company of Dutchmen, and sailed for the coast of Ommân. Having landed at a town in that country, which is situated on the sea-shore and is called Sahâr, I made a stay there of near two months; but from the great inconveniences and troubles with which my heart was distressed it was impossible for me to remain settled, and obtaining a vessel from the tribe Raâb of the wild Arabs inhabiting those parts, I embarked and sailed for the city of Mascat, where I staid above two months. The filthy state of that country, its severe heat, and the unpleasantness of its air and water made me ill and weak.

Lines.*
How happens it, Lord! that my pain finds not a moment's rest;
That my head turns round from weakness, and finds no pillow?

In short, sick and infirm as I was, I embarked on my return to Bender Abbâsi; but as it was the heat of summer, and as the air of that port also is disagreeable in the extreme, I had a most violent attack of a quartan ague in addition, and fresh maladies made inroads on my constitution. On several accounts therefore I could not endure to remain there, and was forced to seat myself in a litter and remove to a place called Jarôn, which is one of the dependencies of that port, and has streams of running water. In the villages of that district I passed some time. My illness was still severe; and from the numberless inconveniences which I suffered, the contemplation of the cir cumstances of the wretched inhabitants, and the importunate prayers and intreaties which they addressed to me, my situation became uncom­fortable to my mind and feelings, and no possibility remained of patiently enduring it any longer. I had indeed no way to retire out of that province; but it came to my thoughts, that a part of the kingdom of Irân which I had not seen was Kermân, and that at present scarcely any person survived of the inhabitants of that country who were my friends and acquaintances: if I should change my dress, and repairing to that city or to the villages in the neighbourhood, choose a corner for retirement, I might perchance pass a few days to my satisfaction. With this idea I made a change in my clothes and outward appearance, and with one or two of my servants set out for Kermân. At that time through the prevalence of my maladies and infirmities I had no longer the strength to bear retirement in an unhabited place, so that having spent a few days in a small village I at last came to the city of Kermân, and seating myself in a solitary corner held no conversation with any one. By little and little some persons became intimate with me, and a great number who had formerly known me, saw and recognized me, until my residence in that city remained no longer a secret. In short, having staid there some months, and the affairs of that ruined country being in utter confusion by reason of the insurrection of a body of the Balôch tribe and other accidents, I determined on departing towards the Holy Meshed; but as winter was come on, and the road to Khorasan lies over a very cold country, and as the violence of my quartan ague kept me extremely infirm and weak, the people interfered to prevent me.

At this period, Mohammed Khan Balôch, com­mander-in-chief in Fârs, having disagreed with the Great Khan Tahmâsb Coli Khan, had, through fear of his life, wrested his head from the rein of obedience, and drawn the line of self appropri­ation over the province of Fars. He had thrown into prison all the commissioners of the Great Khan, and set up a profession of servitude and fealty to Shah Tahmâsb. Although he was not destitute of bravery, he was withal light headed and had no talent for governing. As the people were afflicted with tyranny, and were naturally attached to the exalted Safavean family,* and as he boasted of his devotion to that house, they inclined to his party, and he had an immense army.