In the caravanserai at Miandasht, Abdul’s failure to appreciate our whilom and egotistical friend, the la-de-da telegraph-jee, at his own valuation comes near resulting in a serious fracas.  One of Abdul’s most valued services is keeping at a respectful distance the crowds of villagers that invariably swarm about us when we halt.  In doing this he sometimes flogs about him pretty lively with the whip.  As a general thing the natives take this sort of thing in the greatest good humor; in fact, rather enjoy it than otherwise.

At Miandasht, however, Abdul’s whip happens to fall rather heavily upon the shoulders of the telegraph-jee’s farrash, who is in the crowd.  This individual, reflecting something of his master’s self-esteem, takes exceptions to this, and complains, with the customary Persian elaboration, no doubt, to the consequential head of the place.  The consequence is that a gang of villagers, headed by the telegraph-jee himself, gather around, and suddenly attack poor Abdul with clubs.  Except for the prompt assistance of R------and myself, he would have been mauled pretty severely.  As it is, he gets bruised up rather badly; though he inflicts almost as much damage as he receives, with a hatchet hastily grabbed from the fourgon.  The fact of his being a Turk, whom the Persians consider far less holy than themselves, Abdul explains, accounts for the attack on him as much as anything else.

A new surprise awaits us at Mijamid, something that we are totally unprepared for.  As we reach the chapar-khana there, a voice from the roof greets us with “Sprechen sie Deutsch.”  Looking up in astonishment, we behold Colonel G------, a German officer in the Shah’s army, whom both of us are familiarly acquainted with by sight, from seeing him so often at the morning reviews in the military maiden at Teheran.  But this is not all, for with him are his wife and daughter.  This is the first time European ladies have traversed the Meshed-Teheran road, Teheran being the farthest point eastward in Persia that lady travellers have heretofore penetrated to.  Colonel G has been appointed to the staff of the new Governor-General of Khorassan, and is on his way to Meshed.  The appearance of Ferenghi ladies in the Holy City will be an innovation that will fairly eclipse the introduction of the bicycle.  All Meshed will be wild with curiosity, and the poor ladies will never be able to venture into the streets without disguise.

There is furor enough over them in Mijamid; the whole population is assembled en masse before the chapar-khana.  The combination of the bicycle, three Ferenghis, and, above all, two Ferenghi ladies, is an event that will form a red-letter mark in the history of Mijamid for generations of unborn Persian ryots to talk about and wonder over.