ts flavour for ten years. The Persians are a courteous
and gentle people, liberal and generous towards each other, and kind to
strangers, as I found by experience. While here, I met with a Persian
merchant to whom I was known in the year before when at Mecca. This man
was born in the city of _Eri_ in Chorozani, and as soon as he saw me he
knew me again, and asked by what fortune I had come into that country.
To this I answered, "that I had come thither from a great desire to see
the world." "Praised be God, said he, that I have now found a companion
of the same mind with myself." He exhorted me not to depart from him,
and that I should accompany him in his journeys, as he meant to go
through the chief parts of the world.

[Footnote 55: In the rambling journey of Verthema, we are often as here
unable to discover the meaning of his strangely corrupted names.
Chorazani or Chorassan is in the very north of Persia, at a vast
distance from Ormuz, and he pays no attention to the particulars of his
ten days journey which could not have been less than 400 miles. We are
almost tempted to suspect the author of romancing.--E.]

[Footnote 56: Supposing that the place in the text may possibly mean
_Shiras_, the author makes a wonderful skip in three days from the
Euphrates to at least 230 miles distance--E.]

[Footnote 57: What is named _Castoreum_ in the text was probably musk,
yet Russia castor might in those days have come along with rhubarb
through Persia.--E.]

I accordingly remained with him for fifteen days in a city named
_Squilaz_, whence we went in the first place to a city named _Saint
Bragant_[58], which is larger than Babylon of Egypt and is subject to a
Mahometan prince, who is said to be able to take the field when occasion
requires with 60,000 horsemen. This I say only from the information of
others, as we could not safely pass farther in that direction, by reason
of the great wars carried on by the Sophy against those Mahometans who
follow the sect of _Omar_, who are abhorred by the Persians as heretics
and misbelievers, while they are of the sect of Ali which they consider
as the most perfect and true religion. At this place my Persian friend,
as a proof of his unfeigned friendship, offered to give me in marriage
his niece named _Samis_, which in their language signifies the Sun,
which name she well deserved for her singular beauty. As we could not
travel any farther by reason of the wars, we returned to the city