A Doctor's Visit in Persia.

Southland Times, Issue 8062, 17 July 1885, Page 4

A Doctor's Visit in Persia.

The frou-frou of silk to heird. Three ladieß | enter the room. Their feet and legs are bare to the knee, forthey have cart eff thtir shoes at the doof ; but all the rest of them is •hrouded in a large sheet of dark blnesilk, thVouter Tefl of tbe Perrfaniftdy. Owcrful y they link down into heaps in a semicircle opposite us. < Salaam, Sahib ; you aie welcome? Tea, tea for the Sahib I' I respond in the customary way, and inquire after the health of my veiled hostesses. One only replies, in a confident tone- she U evidently of middle age, and self-possessed ; the other two blue heap* shake with inrard mirth, but are silent, ."t cannot be, it is too hot I' the lady continue*, as ehe casts off her dark-blue enTelope— an example immediately followed by heriompanions. freartf«.delight 'hastily folds up the ftiee yeile ; and a plump, middle-aged I&y, very comely, aud her two wnocentlooking daughters;' handsome joung women, fair as any English girl," with round chubby ' faces and magnificent eyes, are disclosed to Tiew in all the splendour of Che Persian lady s indoor dress." The costume of all is the same, Tarying only in colours, and tbeae are of the sajest: short and voluminous skirts of silt, much bdeffe, reaching to the knee; shirts (the Persian word, like the French chemise, is applied to'the garment 'of bath sexes) of. transparent silk gauze ; tiny zouave jackets .of gayly embroidered velvet, just covering the ■boulders and the top of the^back, (of these the sleeves are unbnttoned from the elbow, hanging down and showing the gay linings of pale-coloured but brilliant silk); the top of the head and the ears are hidden by gorgeous ■ilk kerchiefs, embroidered in gold.; and there is no more clothing to describe, unless the numerous bracelets of the bangle form, of cold and of glais, which jangle as the ladies moveJtheir arms, may be called clothef,- The ladies chat ; tbe younger ones only to each other in an undertone, for maiden modesty prevents their ad ressing thedoctor; bat Aey giggle and titt. t a good deal, and are duly reproved for it by the elder lady. Tea in delicate old china cnp«iß served; we all ■moke hubble-bnbbles, and fonr of them are brought" by Heait's-deiight and thre© other black female slaves Presently, I hear a tittering behind me, turn, and instantly there is dead silence as a bright curtain of shotrsilk quickly falls, but pot before 1 have observed an amused bevy of gayly-dressed women and children. 'Excuse them, Dr. Sahib ; they are so dnlli so dull.' Conversation turns upon the curious customs of Europeans. lam asked if lam married. I have to admit that I am not; and am duly pitied. But then, * After ail, you are right. Where there is a woman there i? discord,' says my hostess. More tea ; mare pipes. Sweet cakes, confectionery, and conserves are handed ; iced sherbet, in Bohemian g^ass tumblers, gilt and of gaudy colouM.is served. I insinuate something to the effect that this is a professional visit ; my hostess smiles. I repeat the remark, and then the \*&y, rising to bid farewell, replies •' We were dnll ; we "were bored ; you nave d63ennuy6 us. Wallah I 1 — with a little laugh — 'I have forgotten why we sent for you, ..Ycur Jootsteps, however! have been fortunate, for^oni hearts are no longer sad.' So here was an end. of my vißit, We shook .hands Heartily, and. the lady gave me a huge bouquet of narcissus as I left. At I rode home' through the glaring streets I felt all the more clearly that I had been merely sent for out of curiosity. But the handsome little carpet I afterwards received as afeerec^nciled me to the experience, and caused me to remember that it is not in .Persia alone that ladies summon a doctor simply because they are bored.