he kalyan, for
a whiff from which passers-by pay a small sum. Ispahan is noted for
its fruit; apricots, peaches, nectarines, cherries, mulberries, and
particularly fine melons, are abundant in their season.

There is a saying in Persia, "Shiraz for wine, Yezd for women, but
Ispahan for melons."

Since it has ceased to be the capital of Persia, the trade of Ispahan
has sadly deteriorated. There is still, however, a brisk trade
in opium and tobacco. Silks and satins are also made, as well as
quantities of a coarser kind of cotton stuff for wearing-apparel,
much used by the natives. The sword-blades manufactured here are,
in comparison with those of Khorassan or Damascus, of little value.
Genuine old blades from the latter city fetch enormous prices
everywhere; but a large quantity of worthless imitations is in the
market, and unless a stranger is thoroughly experienced in the art of
weapon-buying, he had better leave it alone in Persia. Modern firearms
are rarely seen in the bazaars, except cheap German and French
muzzle-loaders, more dangerous to the shooter than to the object aimed
at.

If the streets of Ispahan are narrow, those of Djulfa, the Armenian
settlement, can only be described as almost impassable, for, although
the widest are barely ten feet across, quite a third of this space is
taken up by the deep ditch, or drain, lined with trees, by which all
are divided. But the town, or settlement, is as clean and well-kept as
Ispahan itself is the reverse, which is saying a great deal.

Djulfa is called after the Armenian town of that name in Georgia, the
population of which, for commercial reasons, was removed to this place
by Shah Abbas in A.D. 1603. Djulfa, near Ispahan, was once a large
and flourishing city, with as many as twenty district parishes, and a
population of sixty thousand souls, now dwindled down to a little over
two thousand, the greater part of whom live in great want and poverty.
The city once possessed as many as twenty churches, but most of these
are now in ruins. The cathedral, however, is still standing, and in
fair preservation. It dates from A.D. 1655. There is also a Roman
Catholic colony and church. The latter stands in a large garden,
celebrated for its quinces and apricots. Lastly, the English Church
Missionary Society have an establishment here under the direction of
the Rev. Dr. Bruce, whose good deeds during the famine are not likely
to be forgotten by the people of Ispahan and Dju