The sudden change from the glare outside almost blinded one.

The appearance of a Farangi is evidently rare in Yezdi-Ghazt, for I was immediately surrounded by a crowd, who, however, were evidently inclined to be friendly, and escorted me to the house of the head-man, under whose guidance I visited the city.
The houses are of stone, two-storied, and mortised into the rock, which gives them the appearance, from below, as if a touch would send them toppling over, while a curious feature is that none of their windows looks inwards to the street--all are in the outside wall facing the desert.

I took coffee with the head-man on his balcony--a wooden construction, projecting over a dizzy height, and supported by a couple of rickety-looking beams.

It was nervous work, for the flooring, which was rotten and broken into great holes, creaked ominously.

I could see Gerome (who had evidently missed me) bustling about the post-house, and reduced, from this height, to the size of a fly.