WI7EKSIT7 ft * NARRATIVE OP A MISSION TO BOKHARA, IN THE YEARS 18431845, TO ASCERTAIN THE FATE OF COLONEL STODDART AND CAPTAIN CONOLLY; BY THE REV. JOSEPH WOLFF, D.D., LL.D. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, 82 CLIFF STREET. 1845. (^ TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR STRATFORD CANNING, BRITISH AMBASSADOR AT CONSTANTINOPLE, WHOSE SINCERE FRIENDSHIP, DISTINGUISHED PRO- TECTION, AND KIND HOSPITALITY, I AM PROUD TO ACKNOWLEDGE ; TO CAPTAIN GROVER, MY WARM AND ZEALOUS FRIEND, THE PRESIDENT OF THE STODDART AND CONOLLY COMMITTEE; AND TO THE GENTLEMEN OF THAT COMMITTEE, EQUALLY ESTIMABLE FOR THEIR TRUE ENGLISH PHILAN- THROPY AND CHRISTIAN COMMISERATION FOR THEIR BRETHREN IN DISTRESS AND IMPRISONMENT; I DEDICATE THE FOLLOWING PAGES. JOSEPH WOLFF. PREFACE. FEW words will suffice to lay so simple a story as the causes which led to the production of the Work now before the public. In 1843 I undertook, at the desire of the Stoddart and Conolly Committee, to ascertain the fate of these officers. It will, I trust, appear that I have realized what I then undertook. I claim no further merit than having kept my word to them. They supplied me with pecuniary means to undertake the journey. I have to thank the Foreign Office for furthering the object I had in view, by all points short of making me a British Envoy. The exertions of the Envoy at Teheraun, it will be seen, in procuring a letter from the Shah, saved my life. I owe that, undoubtedly, twice to the friendly Power of Persia. It will be further fully apparent, from the letters of Colonel Sheil, our Envoy at Teheraun, that he dared not venture on writing to me, since that step would proba- bly have occasioned my death ; so that my danger at Bokhara may be distinctly gathered from that circumstance alone. I have to acknowledge on my wanderings, the kindness of Ad- miral Sir Edward Owen, Sir Patrick Stuart at Matya, Mr. Ste- vens at Erzroom, my generous and noble-minded friend Colonel Williams, Mr. James Brant, and Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse ; and also that of Colonel Sheil at Teheraun. But most especially must I thank Sir Stratford and Lady Canning, for their great kindness during my stay at Constantinople : nor must I omit to mention Their Excellencies Count and Countess Sturmer, Count Von Me- dem, and Monsieur Titow. For the quietude of soul of the friends of those murdered offi- cers, Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, I have to observe that they were both of them cruelly slaughtered at Bokhara, after en- during agonies from confinement in prison of the most fearful character ; masses of their flesh having been gnawn off their bones by vermin, in 1843. The cause of these foul atrocities being prac- tised on them, the positive agent of their entire misery, was the Nayeb of Nasir" Ullah Behadur, Ameer of Bokhara, ABDUL SA- VI PREFACE. MUT KHAN. I charge on that pretended friend of the English nation this foul atrocity. I wish that this open declaration of mine should find insertion in the Persian newspapers published at Lahore and Delhi. I wish it to reach the Ameer of Bokhara, in order that that Sovereign, whose ear has been much abused by that foul miscreant, should perceive that he has been led to act under false and erroneous impressions with regard to the real ob- jects at heart of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, and that Abdul Samut Khan intended to have added me to their bloody graves. I appeal to his understanding, whether a letter from Eng- land then received from any of our Authorities, would not also probably have led me, a simple traveller, to share the fate of these Diplomatic Agents of England. I assert that Abdul Samut Khan, the Nayeb, wished me further to give him thirty thousand tillahs, to effect the death of the very Sovereign who has so highly hon- oured him. These are grave charges, let the Persian come into the lists and disprove them. In the progress of this Work, I have to acknowledge my obliga- tions to Professor Haughton, for the translation of a valuable Per- sian paper in the Appendix, written by Captain Conolly : to the Reverend H. G. Williams, for the translation of the paper of my Mirza, Abdul Wahab : to Major Ouseley, for the translation of several letters : to Professor Forbes, for aid in the Narrative of Abdul Wahab : to the Reverend C. J. Smith,* and my friend the Reverend Christopher Bird, Rector of High Hoyland, for their united exertions in a valuable digest of a portion of the Oriental Liturgies. To Mr. Vigne I have also to return my thanks for the Portraits of Abdul Samut Khan and Muhammed Shah Nakshbande. Also to Mr. Frank Macnaghten, brother-in-law of Captain Conolly, for his care of my son during my absence. But most of all are my acknowledgments due to my excellent, kind-hearted, and learned friend the Reverend J. W. Worthington, D.D., who arranged and corrected most kindly the whole of my Narrative, and took besides such a warm and brotherly interest in my welfare as I never, never can forget. June 30^, 1845. * The portion of this gentleman's labours forms APPENDIX No. I. CONTENTS, CHAPTER 1. Mysterious state of the Pagan World. Life of Dr. Wolff: converted to Christiani- ty ; banished from Rome ; begins his Missionary Labours in 1821. From 1821 to 1826, occupied hi Missions among the Jews in Palestine, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Crimea, Georgia, and Ottoman Empire. From 1826 to 1830, similarly occupied in Ireland, Holland, and the Mediterranean ; commences a fresh Mis- sion in 1831. In Asia Minor meets with Armenians ; passes thence to Kurdis- taun. Adventures with the Head Tearer, Muhammed Kale Khan Kerahee. Is made a Slave ; saved from Captivity by Abbas Mirza. Arrives at Meshed ; goes to Sarakhs, Mowr, Karakol, and Bokhara, where he is well treated by the Ameer. Crosses the Oxus to Balkh ; thence to Peshawr ; enters the Punjaub ; proceeds to Simlah. Kindly received by Lord and Lady W. Bentinck. Crosses into Cashmeer ; Conversation with Fakeers, Brahmins, and Muhammedans. Reaches Delhi ; then Agra. Cawnpore ; meets here with Lieutenant Conolly ; Kindness of Lieutenant Conolly. Lucknow ; disputes with the Muhammedan Mullahs before the King of Oude. Benares ; Remarks on the Buddhists. Visits Calcutta ; Masulipatam ; Hyderabad. Seized with Cholera Morbus. Reaches Madras ; Trichinopoly ; Cochin ; meets here with Black and White Jews. Goa ; Poonah ; Bombay ; Mocha ; Jiddah ; Suez ; Cairo. Reaches Malta, March 20th, 1834. Prepares his Travels for Publication Page 23 CHAPTER II. Embarks from Malta for England, March, 1835. Leaves England for another Mis- sion, October, 1835. Proceeds to Malta ; Alexandria ; Rosetta ; Cairo. From Cairo to Mount Sinai. Monastery of St. Catherine ; Trappist M. J. de Geramb. March 29, 1836, at Tor; thence to Suez. Embarks for Jiddah. Proceeds to Mosawah on the African coast. Adventures in Abyssinia ; Languages, Chronol- ogy, and Religion of that Country. Zaasega ; Tigre ; Axum ; Gondar ; Mount Senafe ; Mount Halay. Return to Jiddah. Jeisaun ; Beduins. Beni Hobab. Shereef Aboo Mesameer; his Cruelty. Loheya. Ibrahim Pasha. Saneef. Proceeds to Sanaa. Meets with the Rechabites ; their kind treatment of him. Saves the Caravan from being pillaged. Jews of Yemen. Sanaa. Beaten by the Wahabites. Reaches Mocha. Attacked with Typhus Fever. Embarks for Bombay ; proceeds thence to the United States of North America. New York ; Vlii CONTENTS. enters tne Anglo-Catholic Church ; ordained Deacon by Bishop Doane. Indians not proved to be Descendants of the lost Ten Tribes. Leaves New York, January 2nd, 1838. Arrives in England ; receives Priest's Orders of the Lord Bishop of Dromore ; takes the Incumbency of Linthwaite, Yorkshire ... 43 CHAPTER III. Quits Linthwaite for the Curacy of High Hoyland. Hears of the Imprisonment of his Friend Conolly at Bokhara. Writes to his Family, offering to proceed thither in 1842. Leaves High Hoyland. Receives from his Congregation a Testimonial of Respect. Puts a Letter in the Morning Herald, July, 1843, stating his willing- ness to go to Bokhara ; Captain Grover replies to it. Dr. Wolff goes with his Family to Bruges. Correspondence with Captain Grover. Arrives in England. Interview with Stoddart and Conolly Committee. Public Meeting convened: Address of Dr. Wolff; Speech of the Chairman, Sir J. Bryant, detailing former Intimacy between Dr. Wolff and Lieutenant Conolly. Embarks on the Mission, October 14, 1843. Arrival at Gibraltar. Character of Bishop Tomlinson. Malta Athens. Interview with the King and Queen of Greece. Dardanelles . 59 CHAPTER IV. Constantinople. Interview with Sir Stratford Canning. Doubtful reports at Con- stantinople about Stoddart and Conolly. Interview with the Charge" d' Affaires of Naples relative to Signer Naselli, who had visited Bokhara. Nature of Evidence as to the Existence of Stoddart and Conolly procured at Constantinople. Official Papers from the Sultan, the Sheikh Islam, and others. Visits to Count Sturmer. Attempts made by certain Parties to deter Dr. Wolff from proceeding to Bokhara. Kindness of Sir Stratford Canning ; His Excellency pays all Dr. Wolff's Expenses to Trebizond. High Opinion entertained by all Parties of Captain Grover. Embarkation for Trebizond 85 CHAPTER V. Arrival at Trebizond. Singular Report of Signor Gherei. Interview with Pasha of Trebizond. Subscription to Mission at Trebizond. Departure for Erzroom ; ter- rific Route ; Gumush Khane". Conviction of the Turks that their Empire is sink- ing. Murad Khan Oglu ; Balahor ; Bayboot. Kob ; curious Story of a Derveesh at this Village. Ashkaleh. Elijehtebbe. Warm Springs. Erzroom. Dispute between Turks and Persians on Frontier Question. Mr. Brant, the Consul ; his Kindness. Interview with Pasha of Erzroom. Etymon of Erzroom. Pasha of Erzroom pays Dr. Wolff's Expenses to Persian Frontier. Letter from Erzroom to Captain Grover. Baptism of a converted Jew. Proposed Route. Detention at Erzroom by inclemency of Weather. Kindness of Colonel Williams and Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse. Letter to Captain Grover. Letter from Colonel Williams. Public Address to the Muhammedans. Letters to England. Contribution to Mission from a Gentleman at Trebizond. Address to the Armenians . . 97 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. Departure from Erzroom, December 27. Kerujak ; Hassan Kaleh ; Komassor ; Dehli Baba ; Armenian Marriage at this last Village. Taher, a Kurd Village. Mullah Soleiman, an Armenian Village. Kara Klesea ; Kolaseur ; Utah Kelesea ; Diadeen ; Ghizl-Deesa. Tremendous Snow Storm. Awajick ; Karaine ; Sehr Abad ; Khoy Tashwish ; Tawsar ; Tabreez. Visit to an old Acquaintance in Prison, Muhammed Khan Kerahe. Autograph of the Khan, giving his Descent. Birth of Ghengis Khan. Timur ; the Derivation of his Name. Falsity of the Statement of Saleh Muhammed. No certain Information of Stoddart and Con- oily. Letters of Introduction to Bokhara. Letter to Stoddart and Conolly Com- mittee. Armenian Festival and Khatshauran, or Washing of the Cross. St. Nierses of Lampron ; Life and Writings of this learned Armenian Prelate. Decay of Muhammedanism. Departure from Tabreez, January 20th. Seydabad. Tek- metash. Awful Storm. Kulagh. Conversation with Derveesh. Tata Sultan, Kemaalee Howdbeen. Opinions of Mussulmans changed with respect to the Gia- ours. Turkman-Jaa ; Miana ; Sanjoon ; Khoramtarah ; Chaldreans ; Meeting with their Metropolitan ; their Descent from Israel. Ceremonies and Doctrine of the Chaldsean Church. St. Thomas the Apostle. Siyadehen ; Kasween ; Sephir Khaja lia CHAPTER YIL Arrival at Teheraun. Interview with Colonel Sheil. Interview with Meshedee- Rajab. Colonel Stoddart's Servant. Bokhara Eljee. Account of Latif. Ba- renstein. Preaches before the Embassy. Audience with the Shah. Letter of Shah to the Ameer of Bokhara. Interview with the Vizier of the Shah. Am- bassador of Bokhara tells Dr. Wolff that Stoddart and Conolly are alive. No cer- tainty at Teheraun as to their Death. Ambassador of Khiva. Dilatory Conduct of Colonel Sheil. Borowsky, the Jew. Most distinguished Generals in the East, Jews. Sefaweya Dynasty. Departure from Teheraun. Visits Palasht ; Darey Khur ; Deh-Namak ; Surkhak. Enters Khorassaun. Interview with Prince Seif Ullah Mirza at Semnan. Route through Aghwan ; Khosha ; Damghan (re- ported to be the oldest City in the World) ; Deh-Mullah Sharoot ; Miyamey ; Miyandasht ; Meher ; Khosroejerd. Sebzawar ; Tower of Human Skulls built by Tamerlane at this place. Route continued Safran ; Germ-Ab. Letter re- ceived by Dr. Wolff from the Persian Viceroy of Khorassaun. The Assaff-ood- Dowla. Route continued Nishapoor : Report here of Stoddart and Conolly be- ing alive. Route continued Kadamgah ; Shereef-Abad ; Askerea ; meets here with Mullah Mehdee ; Saleh Muhammed ; the Akhund-Zadeh. Muhammed Ali Serraf, the Agent of Colonel Stoddart ; suspicious Conduct of this Agent . 131 ^^^ fumsasn CONTENTS. CHAPTER YIII. Arrival at Meshed. Visited on arrival by the Heads of the Mosque. Distance trav- ersed by Dr. Wolff. Dr. Wolff reported to be a Mullah two hundred years old. The improbability of Saleh Muhammed's Statement clearer shown by further ex- amination of him. Muhammed AH Serraf, a Villain. Haje Ibrahim, brother of Abdul Samut Khan. Aga Abool Kasem. Letters of Sir Moses Montefiore for the Jews of Bokhara detained by Muhammed Ali Serraf, and not forwarded to Bokhara. High Priests of the Mosque. Arrival of the Viceroy, the Assaff-ood- Dowla, at Meshed. The Viceroy commends Dr. Wolff to the care of the Turko- mauns. New Rooz, New Year's Day of the Persians, March 20th. Advice given by the Assaff-ood-Dowla to Dr. Wolff. The Viceroy sends Presents by Dil Assa Khan to the Ameer of Bokhara. Turkomauns. Delays used by the Turk- omaun Chief, Dil Assa Khan. Letters sent to the King of Khiva. Interrogation of Saleh Muhammed by Dr. Wolff. Dr. Wolff quits Meshed. Extortion of Dil Assa Khan. Arrival at Jehaar Gunbaz. Threat of Assaff-ood-Dowla to Dil Assa Khan. Route through Rabat, Mahel, Masteroon, Karagosh, Gonbazli. Arrival at Mowr. Hospitably received by Abd Arrahman, the Khaleefa of the Turkomauns. High Character of the English in Mowr. Description of Abd- Arrahman. Anecdote of the Protection of the Khivites by the Khaleefa. Danc- ing Derveeshes. The Khaleefa offers Dr. Wolff the means of escape and dis- suades him from going to Bokhara. Conversation with the Derveesh of Kashgar. Letter to Captain Grover. Sensation created at Bokhara by Lord Ellenborough's Letter to the Ameer. Letter to Lady Georgiana. Schools in the Desert. Ghen- gis Khan. March of the Russians to India 149 CHAPTER IX. Departure from Mowr. Letter to Captain Grover. Ameer Sarog. Vile Conduct of Dil Assa Khan. First serious Apprehensions of the Death of Stoddart and Conolly. Mode of Capital Punishment altered at Bokhara from Strangling to Beheading. Dr. Wolff entertains serious Alarm for his own Safety; adopts Measures accordingly. Letters of Sultan and Sir Moses Montefiore never for- warded to Ameer by Muhammed Ali Serraf by order of Colonel Sheil. Distant manner of Colonel Sheil disadvantageous to the British Interest in Persia. Khosrow Khan. Dr. Wolff makes up his mind to die. Letter from Kalja in the Desert to his Friends. Writes from this place to the " Philanthropists of Europe." Fall of Snow. Conversations in the Desert with Turkomauns. Their account of Timur Kurican. Timur's Pyramid of Skulls ; Love of Truth ; Bodily Strength ; Inflexible Character ; Death ; believed by the Jews of his time from his Warlike Character to be the Messiah. Nadir Shah. Route. Rafitak. Dr. Wolff escapes Death from an incursion of the Khivites ; his Death reported. Jehaar-Joo. Silly Conduct of Ameer Sarog ; his wish to add a fourth Wife to his Harem resisted by the other three. Dr. Wolff robbed by Dil Assa Khan and his Followers. Shah Kamran. Yar Muhammed Khan; puts to Death his Sovereign Shah Kamran; his treacherous Conduct to Dr. Wolff; sends three Ambassadors to CONTENTS. XI the Ameer of Bokhara requesting the Ameer to put Dr. Wolff to Death, hut af- fects to be well disposed to him. Dil Assa Khan the Servant of this Yar Mu- hammed Khan. Dil Assa Khan escapes from Yar Muhammed Khan, and be- comes the Servant of the Assaff-ood-Dowla. Letter from Dr. Wolff sent on from Jehaar-Joo to the Ameer of Bokhara. Visit from Jews of Bokhara. They warn Dr. Wolff of his Danger; recommend Flight to Organtsh, and tell him of the Death of Wyburt, Stoddart and Conolly, and five other Englishmen. Derveesh tells him to proceed . . . . 173 CHAPTER X. Arrival at Karakol. Dr. Wolff is abandoned by his Servants. Motives for the con- duct of Dil Assa Khan. Shahr Islam. Shouts of Populace on Route. Descrip- tion of Usbekistaun. Kaffer Seeah Poosh. Their Language ; Worship ; Dress. Reception of Dr. Wolff on entering into Bokhara. Roofs of Houses thronged. Thousands to witness the entry into the City. Bible held open in his hand; brought up to the 'King. Interview with the Makhram. Inquiry whether he would comply with the Ceremonies used in Presentation to Ameer ; assents to them. Ordered to send up Letters ; sends Letters from Sultan, Shah, Haje, Count Medem, Sheikh Islam, Assaff-ood-Dowla. Dr. Wolff and Dil Assa Khan intro- duced to the King of Bokhara. The King thinks Dr. Wolff an extraordinary Per- sonage. Person of the King. History of Ameer ; gains the Throne by Hakim Beyk ; murders all his five Brothers except Omar Khan. Dr. Wolff meets Omar Khan a Fugitive in the Desert of Mowr, who is there recognised by a Derveesh. Omar Khan shares the fate of his Brethren, and dies in battle against Behadur Khan. Ameer supposed also to have murdered his Father. History of Hakim Beyk ; becomes Goosh Bekee ; raises the Character of the Nation ; supplanted in King's favour by Abdul Samut Khan, whom he had raised from a low station. Imprisonment of Lieutenant Wyburt ; the Goosh Bekee intercedes for him ; the King promises to reform. Doctrine of Passive Obedience and Non-resistance laid down by the Reis ; the Ameer acts on it. People believe that the King can do no Wrong ; seizes Wives of his Subjects. Goosh Bekee resists ; is exiled ; recall- ed; and executed . .,.,.,. ... ... , ?- ;*.:,. . ,,->'.-; - 183 CHAPTER XI. Passive Obedience the feeling of the People of Bokhara. Bad Character of the Mervee. King's Touch supposed to cure Disease. His Wives ; his mixed De- scent from a Persian Mother and an Usbeck Prince ; nursed by a Cassack Wo- man. Dr. Wolff's Interview with Shekawl. Equivocation of Dil Assa Khan. Dr. Wolff explains his Mission. The Makhram sent in the Evening with Ques- tions for Dr. Wolff to answer. Appearance before Ameer on the following day. Makhram sent to Dr. Wolff with another Question. Visit to Abdul Samut Khan ; history of him. Nayeb receives Dr. Wolff with apparent cordiality. Long Con- versation relative to the Death of Stoddart and Conolly. Private Conversation with Nayeb afterwards ; he affects to have befriended Stoddart and Conolly ; shows Testimonials from them and Sir Alexander Burnes. Dr. Wolff hears " God Xll CONTENTS. save the Queen" played by the Ameer's Band ; writes to Lord Aberdeen about the Russian Slaves in Bokhara. Nayeb gives Dr. Wolff three thousand Tillahs : Dr. Wolff objects to receive them. Dr. Wolff explains to the Nayeb the Object of the Stoddart and Conolly Committee. Nayeb demands how much Money Dr. Wolff would pay for his Ransom. King deeply affected at Report made by the Makhram of Dr. Wolff's Interview with Abdul Samut Khan. Letter to Captain Grover - 194 CHAPTER XII. Colleges of Bokhara. Manner of Lecturing. Derveeshes fed by Ameer. Jewish Synagouge at Bokhara. The King of Bokhara attached to the Jewish Religion. Bokhara and Samarcand. Singular Report of Dr. Wolff, that he understood seventy -two Languages, knew seventy-two Religions, and had conversed with seventy-two Nations, and that he had come from Sulmistaun to convert the Bok- harese. Makhram sent from the Ameer with a Question, How the Authenticity of the Christian Religion is shown? Answer. Makhran^sent again, with a Re- quest that the History of Muhammed, as related by the learned Men of Europe, should be written by Dr. Wolff, and transmitted to the King. Dr. Wolff consents, on the condition that he should not be forced to embrace Muhammedanism. Dr. Wolff writes the Life of Muhammed. Life of Muhammed . . .208 CHAPTER XIII. Sensation produced by the Life of Muhammed ; Copies of it circulated through Balkh, Khoollom, Mazaur, and Cabul ; Remarks of the Sheikh Islam on it. Yar Muhammed Khan advises the King to behead Dr. Wolff. Ak Muhammed Beyk appointed Ambassador from Bokhara to England. Mischief occasioned by the Ser- vants of Colonel Stoddart. Colonel Stoddart ends his Diplomatic Relations with Yar Muhammed Khan by kicking him down stairs. Questions by the Makhrams. King's Remarks on Dr. Wolff's Personal Appearance. The people call Dr. Wolff Khoob Ademee, " The Good Man." The King gives him three Names. High rep- utation of Sir Moses Montefiore among the Jews of Bokhara. Further Questions put by the Makhrams by order of the Ameer to Dr. Wolff; Dr. Wolff's Reply to each. The Dastar Khanjee a Disgrace to Manhood. Dr. Wolff demands the Bones of Stoddart and Conolly. Peculiar Character of the Post at Bokhara. The Ameer reads all the Letters of his Subjects. Interview of Dr. Wolff with the Ameer. The King threatens to send Dr. Wolff's Bones to England. Dr. Wolff hears of the Villany of Abdul Samut Khan from various Persons. Refused per- mission to depart by reason of the Detention of the Bokhara Ambassador in Per- sia. Writes to Colonel Sheil. Russian Slaves refused Liberation. Conversation with the Officers of the Nayeb. Hassan Shirazi ... . 220 CHAPTER XIY. Disasters of the Seikh Army in Lassa. Csoma de Koros ; his Researches ; publishes a Dictionary of the Thibet Language. The Surveillance over Dr. Wolff grows CONTENTS. Xlll more rigid. Barhurdar, an Armenian, ordered not to visit Dr. Wolff by the Ameer. Nasir Khayr Ullah, a Kaffer Seeah Poosh, mistaken for Colonel Stoddart from the fairness of his complexion. Conversation between Dr. Wolff and the Nayeb. Letter of Sir Richmond Shakspeare. The Nayeb detains in his possession the Letter of Lord Ellenborough to the Ameer. Nayeb alarmed ; advises Dr. Wolff to communicate to the Ameer the fact of the Letter having arrived ; Dr. Wolff does so. Hassan Caboolee dispatched. Dr. Wolff discovers that, though appa- rently sent, he did not really go. Affghaun Bear Leader imprisoned as a Spy ; he tells Dr. Wolff that the Ameer sent a Lion to Russia as a Present to the Czar, for which his Ambassador was munificently rewarded ; but that the Czar refused after the Execution of the British Officers to hold any further Intercourse with the Ameer. The Ameer goes to war with Khokand and Oratepa ; orders in his absence the Guards over Dr. Wolff to be doubled, and tells him that his Departure will depend on the success of his Expedition. Dr. Wolff writes to Lady Geor- giana and his Son. Conversations with Dil Assa Khan, Abdullah, and others. Dr. Wolff bribes the Guards. Previous War with Khokand ; King made Prisoner and put to death by the Ameer of Bokhara ; his Wife and Child barbarously murdered. Abdul Samut Khan the chief Agent in the Slaughter. At the news of the Death of Stoddart and Conolly the Inhabitants of Khokand renew the War. The Ameer retreats before them and the Khivites. Dr. Wolff contrives to acquaint the British Envoy at Teheraun of the movements of the Ameer, and warns the Town of Shahr Sabz of the King's intention to attack them. Ameer says that nothing prospers with him since the Death of the English Officers. The King of Khokand offers Dr. Wolff an Asylum in his Dominions . . 239 CHAPTER XV. The Mervee wish to know the Story of Napoleon ; Dr. Wolff Recounts it in an Oriental fashion. He amuses the tedious hours of Captivity by telling various Anecdotes. His Anecdote of the Arabian Derveesh reaches the ears of the Daster Khanjee, who reports it to the Ameer. The Kasi Kelaun assures Dr. Wolff that the British Officers were put to death, and that the King deeply repented of the act. The Kasi Kelaun warned the Ameer of the Consequences. All the Jews knew of the Execution the same day, and the Inhabitants of Bokhara, in town and country, speak of it as a matter well known. Dr. Wolff tells an Anecdote of Frederick the Great of Russia. Dr. Wolff laughs at Ameer Sarog's Vanity, and tells him the Tale of the Derveesh with the White Beard . . 243 CHAPTER XVI. Abdul Samut Khan told Dr. Wolff that he was the chief Instigator of the Slaughter at Khokand in the first War ; his Motives were to create a Feud between the States, which he trusted would end in the Death of the Ameer. Abdul Samut Khan said that the first Expedition against Khokand was by the advice of Rus- sia. People of Khokand have since made an Alliance with Russia. Policy of Russia was to bring this about by urging the Ameer to war on them when they would require Aid. Russians intend to erect a Fortress at Hasrat Sultan. People from Cabul, Kashmeer, and Scinde call on Dr. Wolff; they praise highly Sir XIV CONTENTS. Charles Napier. Affghauns from Cabul ascribe the Disasters of the British Army to the Immoral Conduct of the Officers. Determined Conduct of Major Raw- linson ; he puts to Death an Affghaun for Murder. Manners and Customs of the Muhammedan Mullahs. Diligence of Muhammedans in copying the Koran; Propaganda and British and Foreign Bible Society discharge the same Office by the Christians. The Bible would be nearly extinct in the East but for these Societies. Arrival of Abbas Kouli Khan, the Persian Ambassador ; he tells Dr. Wolff that the Shah, Haje, and Assaff Muhammed Izhak Kerahe of Torbad Hy- darea, the Rustam of the East, was the most remarkable for ferocity. At Sangerd the caravan was attacked by robbers ; one of them seized my horse, crying out, "Pool!" (money) ; I gave him all I had. I was soon surrounded by others, stripped even of the shirt on my back, and had a rag covered with vermin thrown over me, and was brought out into the highway, where all my fellow -travellers of the caravan were assembled, weeping and crying, and bound to the tails of horses. The robbers were twenty-four in number. We were driven along by them in continual gallop, on account of the approach of the Turko- mauns ; for if the Turkomauns had found them out, our robbers would have been made slaves by them, they being Sheahs themselves. Du- ring the night three prisoners escaped. At two in the morning we slept in a forest. They had pity on me, and gave me a cup of tea made of my own ; they then put a price on me and my servant, valu- ing him at ten and myself at five tomauns. They took his money from him, by which I found that he had previously robbed me of six- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 27 teen tomauns. After this we were put in irons. They consulted about killing me, but did not do so, from fear of Abbas Mirza. The promise of a good ransom at Torbad Hydarea saved my life. The first question put by the robbers openly before the people of Torbad was, " How is the tyrant Muhammed Izhak Khan going on ? Is he not yet dead ?" They replied, " No ; but one of his sons is dead." Rollers. " A pity that he died not himself, then we should be free from that tyrant, and not be obliged to plunder people in the path, and eat the bread of blood." We saw hundreds of blind persons, of both sexes, near the gate of Torbad. The robbers turned to me, and said, " Do you see these blind men and women ? their eyes were taken out by that eye-cutting and head-tearing tyrant Muhammed Izhak Khan, of Torbad Hydarea.* God curse him and curse his house, curse him in his getting up, curse him in his lying down ! God curse his wife, and the fruit of her womb ! and may he that has made many widows, may he die, that the dogs drink his blood, that his wives may be widows, and his children orphans." Though naked, they examined us narrowly as we entered Torbad, thinking we might have money concealed about us. I exclaimed, JjjmD 1 ' SEE, " Hear, Israel," (a common exclamation of my country, men throughout the world,) and was soon surrounded by Jews. They pledged themselves that I shquld not run away, received me to their homes, where I preached to them the Gospel of Jesus. They were quite ignorant of his history, sufferings, and death, which also con- vinces me that the Jews of Khorassaun and Bokhara are of the Ten Tribes who never returned to Palestine after the Babylonish captivity. Therefore there still remains to be fulfilled the prophecy recorded in Ezekiel xxxix. 28 : " Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God which caused them to be led into captivity among the nations, but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there." The next day I was desired to go back to the robbers, when I was suddenly put into irons, and chained with the rest of the slaves. One of the slave sellers, a malicious Kurd, squeezed the irons over my legs crossways, to pain me still further. My fellow slaves, though bound in one common chain, cursed me in- cessantly. The director of the police said, " To this infidel you must give neither water to drink, nor a galyoon to smoke, for he is nedshas (unclean). If he is thirsty, he may go to the well and drink like any other dog." Suddenly, in the midst of my persecutions, a man ap- * He places his hands on the head of his subjects, and literally, from his enor- mous strength, rends the scalp, and it is said sometimes the skull, of his victims. 28 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION peared, who exclaimed, " Is any Englishman here ?" " Yes, yes," was my exclamation. The chains were removed, a soldier of Abbas Mirza had arrived with a letter for Muhammed Izhak Kahn, ordering him to release me. He gave instant orders to that effect, and basti- nadoed the robbers, wishing the whole matter to appear as done with- out his consent. I was brought before him. He is a tall stout man, with very large eyes, of black complexion, never looking into your face, but with a down glance, a deep thundering voice. His sword, they say, is continually girt about him, and he does not lay it aside even in the bath. No one knows where he sleeps. He was seated upon a high throne, all others standing at a distance, terror in every look. He demanded what sum had been taken from me. I replied, Eighty tomauns. He got it from the robbers, but kept it himself. He then said, " You came here with books in order to show us the right way ; well, go on." This personage I shall again introduce to my readers on my second visit to these regions, which has led me to be thus ample in my present statement. On my arrival after these matters at Meshed, I had long interviews with my nation. The Jewish Sooffees of this place acknowledge Moses, Jesus, Muhammed, and 124,000 Prophets. They are under small moral control. They have a poem in Persian, written with Jewish Persian characters, called T&ussuf-u-Zuleika, Joseph and Zuleika, describing the love of Potiphar's wife for Joseph. They have Hafiz in a similar character. They speak of an exoteric and esoteric religion, like the philosophers of old. I reasoned with them on their flagitious violations of morality, and the insincerity of their conduct. That they knew' that they were in the wrong, and that they stood in need of faith in Jesus Christ in order to be saved. They observed that I was the second Englishman they had seen, who was attached to the Book ; THE FIRST WAS LIEUTENANT ARTHUR CONOLLY. How singularly have I followed his steps, even up to the hour almost of his death! He was at Meshed in 1829. I wrote of him before I knew that I should be so singularly connected with the inquiry into his death, as follows : " He is an excellent, intrepid, and well-principled traveller. The misfortune of this gentleman was, that he had no in- terest with great men, on which account he was not remunerated for his journeys to Meshed, Heraut, and Candahar." After this it will again and again be seen, how closely I have followed my pious and excellent friend's path in the various regions he has trod. At Meshed, His Royal Highness Abbas Mirza ordered me to be brought before him. After kind inquiries of my health, he deeply re- gretted my captivity in Khorassaun ; and told me, when I went to OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 29 Bokhara, to assure the Ameer that he had no intention of taking his country, but that he was determined to put a stop to slavery. He wrote with his own hand both a pass for me and certificate of the ob- ject of my journey to Bokhara. Meshed is a grossly immoral place, despite its holy character. The number of pilgrims that arrive at the tomb of Imam Resa amounts to twenty thousand. From Meshed I proceeded through Tflrkistaun; and first let me speak of Sarakhs, a place of doubtful origin in its etymological root. Some derive it from the Arabic zara, sowing ; others from sarak, to steal. It is the country of slave-stealing, and therefore this latter etymon is not improbable. Eighteen hundred families of Turko- mauns, of the celebrated tribe of Salor, live there. I lectured on this spot with deep earnestness to the Jews, and I believe, made many permanent impressions, which I found confirmed on my second visit. All the Jews of Turkistaun assert that the Turkomauns are the de- scendants of Togarmah, one of the sons of Gomer, mentioned in Genesis x. 3. The Turkomauns have no mosque : they pray apart from each other, either in the field or the tent. Twice in the year they assemble in the desert, and prefer their prayer. I passed hence to Mowr, and thence to Jehaar-Joo, two places of which I shall discourse at greater length when I enumerate them on my last tour in that direction. I passed thence to Karakol. The governor of this place, Muham- med Hussein Khan, was formerly a Guzl-Bash slave, but gained the favour of Shah Hydur, and was exalted to the position of Ameer and governor of Karakol. When I told him that my object was to inquire into the state of the Jews, and hold friendly intercourse with the Mu- hammedans at Bokhara, he advised me to do nothing without consulting the Goosh-Bekee, or vizier. He also demanded my opinion about the mullahs issuing Fetwa, or Bulls, that the Turkomauns should make slaves of the Guzl-Bash. I replied that I disapproved of it. He then, after many cautions, requested me to write him out a prayer for his devotions, which I did, in Persian, and advised him to read it daily. After this I entered Bokhara. I then presented my letters, under- went much rigid questioning from the Goosh-Bekee on various points, such as whether Muhammed was predicted in our sacred books, my belief in Jesus, and the objects of my journey. I then explained to the Jews my mission, read in their synagogue the law of Moses, but dis- continued any further participation in their services. The king, Behadur Khan, was then twenty-eight years of age. He spends his mornings in reading the Arabic writings of Jelaal and By- dawee with the mullahs, visits the grave of Baba Deen, a sanctified derveesh of Bokhara, and hears causes of dispute during the remainder 30 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION of the day among his subjects. He is terribly dreaded by his min- isters. The Jews in Bokhara are 10,000 in number. The chief rabbi assured me that Bokhara is the Habor, and Balkh the Halah, of the 2nd Kings, xvii. 6 ; but that in the reign of Ghengis Khan they lost all their written accounts. At Balkh the Mussulman mullahs assured me that it was built by a son of Adam, that its first name had been Hanakh, and afterwards Halah, though later writers called it Balakh, or Balkh. The Jews, both of Balkh and Samarcand, assert that Turkistaun is the land of Nod, and Balkh where Nod " once stood." In this land of Cain the Jews bear a mark, by order of the King of Bokhara, in order that no Mussulman may give them Salaam Peace. To Rabbi Joseph Mooghrubee, an African, the Jews of Bokhara owe the restoration of their ancient customs ; they had nearly lost all trace of them, in their sojourn among Muhammedans. This great man, I was assured by his son-in-law, Rabbi Pinehas Ben-Simha, used to say, " Oh, Lord, when will the time come that the followers of Jesus will take possession of these countries ?" This son-in-law is now a Christian, and was converted by me ; and so are many others of the Jews at present in Bokhara. Jews came to me here from Samarcand, Khokand, and other places. The total population was then about 13,600. I found the Epileptic convulsion, which produced such an effect for Muhammed among a people who call " gasping," inspiration, currently handed down ; and I have little doubt that, like madness and idiotcy, they were no mean agents of his power among a people that look on the victims to these maladies as the inspired of God. The tradition is an old one at Bokhara, that some of the Ten Tribes are in China. I tried the Jews here on various points of Scriptural inter- pretation, particularly that important one in Isaiah vii. 14 nai* Virgin. They translated it as we Christians do, and they are in total ignorance of the important controversy between Jews and Christians on that point. I obtained a passport from the King after this most interesting so- journ, and then crossed the Oxus, and arrived after a few days at Balkh ; and from that city, where I also communed with the dispersed of Israel, I proceeded to Muzaur, the spot where Ali's camel disap- peared miraculously at his tomb. Hither came pilgrims from Aff- ghanistaun, Cashmeer, Khokand, Shahr-Sebz, Hindustaun, Khiva, and Bokhara. Hence I proceeded to Cabool, in AfFghanistaun. Some Affghauns claim a descent from Israel. According to them, Affghaun was the nephew of Asaph, the son of Berachia, who built the Temple pf Solomon. The descendants of this Affghaun, being Jews, were OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 31 carried into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, from whence they were removed to the mountain of Ghoree, in Affghanistaun, but in the time of Muhammed turned Muhammedans. They exhibit a book, Majmooa Alansab, or Collection of Genealogies, written in Persian, My readers will find these examined in my former work*, but here I shall only allude to it. There is a great air of vraisemblance about it, and their pedigree is sometimes traced, like our Lord's, through the female branch, which proves how futile is the Jewish objection on that head to our Lord's descent. Hence I passed to Peshawr. Here I had also the singular book read to me of the origin of the Affghauns, the Poshtoo Book of Khan Jehaun Loote. The account in this book agrees with that given in the MSS., Teemur Nameh and Ketaub Ansabee Muhakkek Toose. I thought the general physiognomy not Jewish, but I was wonderfully struck with the resemblance that the Youssuf Szeye and the Khaiba- ree, two of their tribes, bear to the Jews. The Kaffre Seeah Poosh, if AfFghauns, vary widely from the rest of their nation. Many trav- ellers have thought them the descendants from Alexander's army, but they do not say so. They have no exact account of their origin. Their rites are most singular. In a large house called Imr-Amaf, they offer a cow and sheep in sacrifice. They sprinkle the blood upon an idol seated upon a horse. They have a throne of stone, upon which some words are written, taken from the Taurat, the Pentateuch of Moses. They hold distinctions of clean and unclean animals. When a child is born they turn the mother out of the village, in order that it may not be unclean. The mother and the child remain three days in the fields. They worship a God Imra, and pictures of their dead. They offer sacrifices to both. They put fire in the Imra-Tan, i. e., the place where God is worshipped, and another blazes before the idol. They offer butter and flour, which they pour upon the idol, exclaiming, " Hehamaj Otu" Accept it ; and before the place of their God (Imra-tan), they say, " Hehamaj Imra" God accept it. The whole congregation exclaims, " Hehamaj." After this the Otu, or priest, reads prayers. These are not remarkable for their charity : one is, " Increase us our property ; do not make us sick ; and kill the Mussulmans." After every prayer they say, " Hehamaj," and then kiss their fingers. Their idols are of wood and stone gigantic hu- man figures. They know but little of a future state, and their rites * Researches and Missionary Labours among the Jews, Muhammedans, and other Sects. By the Rev. Joseph Wolff. Nisbet, London, 1835. t I verified on my last visit at Bokhara the exactitude of this account, for Imra is God, and Ama, House. 32 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION are largely Pagan. I always thought that the Kaffre Seeah Poosh were descendants of Israel ; and some of the learned Jews of Samar- cand are of my opinion. From Peshawr, I entered the Punjaub, May 29th, 1832. The Seiks have a high veneration for our Lord. In their holy book they have written, that rays like the sun went out of the hand of Christ. At Jehaungeer, Serdar Hung Singh welcomed me in the name of the Maharajah. He was surrounded by his officers and soldiers. To him I had the satisfaction of reading the sermon of Jesus on the Mount, which all listened to with great apparent delight. This man was a devout person. My conversation, after quitting Lahore, at Umritzer, with the Lion of the Punjaub, the Maharajah Runjeet Singh, my readers will find detailed at length in the work I have previously quoted. Runjeet Singh dismissed me with handsome presents. Crossing from the country of Runjeet Singh, the Punjaub, which will soon become a British possession, much to the advantage of the Seiks, I visited our first British station in that direction, Loodianah, on the utmost northern frontier of India, and the hospitable dwelling of Captain Wade, now Sir Claude Martin Wade. Arriving hence, after one station, at Roopor, and Budde, I was received in the most cordial manner by my friend, now of many years, Sir Jeremiah Bry- ant, and proceeded thence to Simlah, where I was also most hospitably received by Lord and Lady William Bentinck, and invited to be their guest. Here I entered into a, most interesting correspondence with Captain Riley, the best Arabic scholar in India, and also with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Agra. The points I mooted were the aid Muhammed received in composing the Koran, the monk Boohyra, the Jews of Khybur who were nearly exterminated by him, the great Muhammedan divisions of Sunnees and Sheahs, the Jewish estimate of the Book of Daniel, also on the black and white Jews of Cochin and Malabar, and the extent of Muhammedan knowledge. Captain Riley, I was surprised to find, looked on the Affghauns as of Jewish descent. He pointed out to me two important forms, in which all ref- utations of the Koran ought to be shaped, and numerous other equally interesting questions were discussed by this true believer, in a most learned and Christian spirit. Obtaining leave to pass into Cashmeer from Runjeet Singh, by means of Lord William Bentinck, I crossed accordingly first to Be- laspoor, where I found its Rajah luxuriating in having apes trampled to death under the feet of elephants ; and little worthy of note passed until I reached Nadown. Here the Rajah on horseback, surrounded "Hfc WI7BRSIT7 SHLMH IJ MURSHEF.D Oh TURKIS1AUN OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 3| by soldiers, was performing his devotions before three naked Fakeers. I immediately entered into conversation with them, and inquired of one of them how long he had been a Fakeer. He replied, " that he lived in God, and should never die ; for that as old garments were exchanged for better, so the man of God lays aside his old body and puts on a new one." A beautiful answer ; but when I wished to re- ply, he kept exclaiming, " Be silent and listen." I seized, however, despite of him, on an opportunity to point out the truth of our revela- tion. An unhappy peevishness marks all these ascetics. St. Jerome was not free from it. True peace of mind dwells not necessarily in caves and grottoes, on the pillar of a Simon Stylites, or in the deserts of the Thebais with Antony. Active energy in promoting truth and virtue is worth all the sedentary graces of Fakeers, Monks, or Solita- ries. I do not impugn their merits in their peculiar path, but it is ob- viously not one of general obligation. Simon Stylites, however, was more practical than is commonly supposed ; he preached to thousands of Arabs, as did Antony also. I cannot detail the numerous interesting conversations on the Vedas, and other works, which I entered into in this country, with various Hindoos, until I reached Cashmeer, the city of the Genii, who bore Solomon through the air to see its magic beauty. I was disappointed with its present state. I inquired out the chief mullahs, and com- menced various conversations with them : with a descendant of the false prophet M uhammed Shah Nakshbandee especially. He received me with great .cordiality. He actually read, in Persian, to his disci- ples, the 24th and 25th chapters of Matthew, and I then spoke of re- generation, and they read the third chapter of John. All the Brah- mins I met with had an unlucky habit of affirming that what I said was in the Shastar, and used no further argument. Perceiving this, I demanded on one occasion of the venerable Brahmin Sheuram, " In how many Gods do you believe ?" Sheuram. " There is one God ; but he has many names. The whole earth stands upon the serpent Sheshnag ; she has 1000 teeth and 2000 tongues ; with every tongue she pronounces every day a new name of God ; and this she has done for centuries on centuries, never repeating a name once pronounced." A similarly wild account was given in reply to a question on the his* tory of the creation, with confused traces of truth in it. I must, however, observe, that there is far more of original truth in the Vedas than in the Koran. I see in the Koran nothing else but a pretended prophet without miracles, a faith without mysteries, and a morality without love. A shallow Deism, which takes hold of the heart, but does not make it better, but worse. Hence the intolerant 5 34 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION fanaticism which has produced nothing but death and destruction. M uhammedanism has been founded by the sword, and Muhammedan- ism shall be destroyed by the sword. The Hindoos will be converted, but Muhammedans destroyed. We find hundreds of Hindoos already converted by the zeal of Roman Catholic and Anglo-Catholic missionaries, but we do not find six Mu- hammedans, especially among the Turks. I can only trace two Per- sians, and one Arab. Buchanan was misinformed wholly by the in- famous apostate Sabat. While here, Moulavie Khyr Addeen, writer of the History of Cash- meer, came to me. With him I had a discussion for four hours, about the divinity of Jesus, and it did small credit to his knowledge of mod- ern history. One of his proofs for the truth of the Muhammedan re- ligion was, that all the Christian powers are subjects of and give trib- ute to the Sultan of Constantinople. I settled that point by alluding to Sir E. Codrington's Settlement of the battle of Navarino. The Brahmins and Pundits listened with great attention. It was my intention to have passed into Thibet, but the snows pre- vented me. I left Cashmeer on October 21st, 1832. On our route we were accompanied by fugitives from Cashmeer, flying from the oppression of Runjeet Singh. Women, walking destitute of every- thing, carrying their children on their heads. They told me, in their powerful language, that they inherited the beauty of angels, but that all beauty had withered under the dominion of the Seiks. They told me, en route, many a singular legend of the celebrated Fakeers, that died at Cashmeer. Ameer Kebeer, king of Hamadan, forsook the world, and became a Fakeer in Cashmeer. Huzrut Mukhdoom Sheikh Hamsa had three hundred thousand disciples. Shah Kasem Akhanee said, " When you shall see corn growing upon my grave, then the day of resurrection is nigh at hand." The people of Cashmeer assured me that corn had begun to grow upon his grave, and therefore they consider my words to be true, that Jesus will come. After various journeys I reached Delhi on December 6th, and was introduced to the Mogul, who gave me a robe of honour. While at Delhi, in the presence of several thousand Muhammedans, I conversed with the grand mullah, a man of great scientific renown, Muham- med Izhak. He sent me a letter at some length, detailing the grounds of his belief in the Koran, of the ascent of Muhammed into heaven, of his return, that he was the last of the Prophets, and stated to be such by the Prophets. To this I simply replied, that I wanted proof of two things. 1st. That Muhammed went to and returned from Heaven. 2nd. Those prophets who had prophesied his mission. To OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 35 this he replied, that Muhammed's mission was clear from the nume- rous miracles he worked ; next, from the divine and superhuman per- fection of the composition of the Koran, the bodily strength of the Prophet, his numerous adherents; and he concluded by demanding what proof I had that Jesus was the last of the Prophets. I replied, 1st. That none of these numerous miracles were recorded in the Koran. 2nd. That a mere matter of critical style, such as the com- position of a book, could not be considered as a grave argument, and that the most learned Muhammedan scholars of Shiraz were by no means of opinion that the composition of the Koran was unrivalled, and if so, still a good composition even might convey untruth. 3rd. That, as we denied the authority of the Koran, that could avail no- thing in argument. 4th. That Goliath had a bodily strength equal to any, nay, superior to any in his day. 5th. That Buddhism had more adherents than Muhammedanism, if numbers went for anything ; but that information in arts and sciences, in which Europeans were con. fessedly great, on their own showing, was a much more certain cri- terion. Lastly. That the proof that Jesus was the last of the Prophets was not a question with us. I did not undertake to show that abso- lutely, but Jesus was the end of the law to us, that if even an angel preached a new Gospel, he should be held accursed, and that, there- fore, I could not believe in Muhammed. From Delhi I passed to Agra, and thence to various places until I reached Cawnpore. HERE I MET WITH LIEUTENANT CONOLLY. When I travelled first in Khorassaun, in the year 1831, I heard at Meshed, by the Jews, that an English traveller had preceded me there, by the name of Arthur Conolly, as I have already mentioned. They de- scribed him as a man who lived in the fear of God and of religion. The moment I arrived he took me to his house, and not only showed me the greatest hospitality, but, as I was at that time short of money, he gave me every assistance in his power ; and not only so, he re- vised my Journal for me with the most unaffected kindness. He also collected the Muhammedan mullahs to his house, and permitted me not only to discuss with them the subject of religion, but gave me most substantial assistance in combating their arguments. Conolly was a man possessed of a deep Scriptural knowledge ; a capital text- uary ; and I bless God that he enjoyed that comfort in his captivity, that inward light, when the iron of tyranny in his case as in that of holy Joseph entered into his soul. Various enemies are always found to attack the lone missionary. Nobly and well did this gallant soldier acquit himself in the church militant, both in deeds of arms, and deep devotion to the cause of Christ. In 1838 I again met with him in 36 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION England. Here our friendship was renewed. At Constantinople I learnt he expressed his deep affection for me to Count Sturmer. I often wished to repay him my debt of gratitude ; and the instant the new* reached me of his captivity in Bokhara, I offered my aid to release him in letters to his family. When I reflect on our past intercourse, it brings with it the pleasing reflection that the spiritual element was mainly dominant in it ; that we were together to become daily holier and better men ; that our hands did not join in deeds of iniquity, but were upraised to God our Maker and Saviour. His firm conduct at his dying hour reminds us forcibly of the bearing of those brave sol- diers who died in the persecution of Decius and Diocletian. I hope to see my Conolly among them at the hour of Christ's coming in glory. I cannot speak more of Cawnpore, for it is embittered to my mem- ory, and shall pass on to Lucknow. Here I was introduced to the King of Oude, and His Majesty gave me ten thousand rupees, one thousand pounds sterling. With which money I repaid to John Hook- ham Frere, now residing at Malta, my excellent friend, the sum of five hundred pounds, which he had generously advanced to me to de- fray the expense of my mission ; and equally happy should I feel to be enabled to repay my noble friend Captain Grover, the four hundred pounds, which he has spent out of his pocket, which that miscreant Abdul Samut Khan extorted from me. But, alas, I am not able, for I am out of pocket four hundred pounds, paid with the money of my dear wife, Lady Georgiana M. Wolff. For proof of which circum- stance, I can refer to Messrs. Drummond, Bankers, Charing Cross. His Majesty said he would appoint a day for the mullahs to hear my faith discussed. I held disputations with several Mussulmans of the Sheah persuasion, and lectured here on the prophecies of the sec- ond coming of our Lord. On February the 2nd, in the presence of the King, clothed in royal robes, with a crown on his head, I entered into my appointed disputa- tion with the mullahs. Major Low, and my most beloved friends Sir Jeremiah and Lady Bryant, were there also. I cited, in proof of my belief, the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. All the mullahs opened their Bibles, and I stated the argument for the Trinity. A discussion took place on the twenty-first chapter of Isaiah, whence, to my astonish- ment, they attempted to show from the " Burden on Arabia," the mis- sion of Muhammed. This is erroneously translated in the Arabic Bible, " Prophecy on Arabia." I proved to them, however, that it meant a prophecy predicting a calamity to Arabia. This of course settled the question. I must here fully state my hearty conviction the result of the ex- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 37 perience of more than twenty years of travels of the immense util- ity of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The Word of God would have been entirely extinct among the Eastern Christians but for that Society. Its copies are in the hands of mullahs of all de- .nominations, not only in Asia, but even in the deserts of Tflrkistaun. The agents they employ are excellent men ; I only need mention the Rev. H. Leeves, at Athens, and Benjamin Barker, Esq., at Myti- lene, the capital of Lesbos. It is utterly absurd to say that all be- nevolent societies are to be under the direction of bishops ; even the Church of Rome, in her powerful discipline, has never followed this plan, that all benevolent societies are necessarily to be placed un- der episcopal control, nor does the Church of Armenia. We have hospitals without bishops, why should not the Word of God be circu- lating by the layman or the presbyter ? I thank God that there is also a Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, which does not give only the Bible, but also the Liturgy of the Church of England ; for neither the Jews nor the Muhammedans are without a Liturgy. And it is a most important feature to show the agreement of the Church of England with other forms of faith in this particular. I confess I should also like to see a Society of the Church of England, which should give to the world a systematic Theology, both moral and practical ; and such a system ought to have the sanction of all the bishops as well as the learned presbyters of the Church of Eng- land : of this I should like to see a transcript in every language, and circulated to the four winds. I had also a dispute, in writing, with Ameer Sayd Ahmed Mujtehed of the Sheahs, at Lucknow, but it is too long for me to in- sert in this brief abstract of my former Indian connection, which led to my intimacy with Captain Conolly, and to my second journey to Bokhara. From Lucknow I passed to Benares, the holy city of India : who- ever dies there will obtain Inokshu, Absorption into the Deity. I con- sider this is little better than the comfortable system of Nirwana, or Annihilation of the Buddhists, who hold in a final state of annihilation of all things. This is the ultimate boon offered by a faith embraced by the largest portion of the East, thank Heaven, not of the world, for the Christians now outnumber any other denomination. This is the case with the spiritualizers in the Christian Church ; they have an unscriptural, unprophetical, unnatural dislike to hear of anything but Nature's doom and Nature's death. Nothing will satisfy them, but that the world, animate and inanimate, once happy t it for a single day, should draw its penance onwards to the utmost 38 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION longevity of miserable age, and then sink into annihilation. The ghosts of the Lamas of Thibet, who move about in the air, are the sisters of the forms visible in their shadowy Paradise. I do expect to rule over a renovated earth, purified and redeemed, and in- habited by living creatures in flesh and blood, and though in flesh and blood, redeemed from Satan, sin, and death. If a phantom! zing system is spirituality, the Buddhists at Lassa, the SooiFees at Shiraz, and the Hindoos at Nadown, might claim analogous influences. The Hindoo writings contain no reference to Jesus in the sacred books. I need scarce particularize the feelings with which, after various wanderings, I lectured in Henry Martin's pulpit at Dinapore. At Giyah, famous for its Hindoo pilgrimages, I explained the Gospel in Persian to Hindoos and Muhammedans. At last the kind Bishop of Calcutta received me in his house on the 22nd March, 1833. Again I experienced in this city the splendid hospitality of Lord and Lady W. Bentinck. I lectured to about twelve hundred persons in the Town Hall. The Baptist missionaries, Marshman, and the veteran Carey, welcomed me gladly also, and in- vited me to their splendid and unique establishment at Serampore. From Calcutta I passed to Masulipatam, whence I visited Hyder- abad. While there, the inquiries were proceeding with respect to the Thugs, and I believe that I first laid a complete statement of that question before a British public. As the story of these monsters, ex- hibiting a totally new form of crime, is now fully known in this coun- try, this wholesale murder and theft system, I shall not here enter into it. On my journey from Hyderabad to Madras, I was attacked with cholera the instant I entered the Bungalow of Mr. Bruce of Nel- lore, at Ramapatam. It was accompanied by cramp and dysentery. With no European near me, I commended my soul to God. My hands and feet became convulsed, but I felt peace in Christ amid all my sufferings. I prayed to Him to send me relief, and I had scarce done so before a voice exclaimed near me, in English, " I see you have the cholera morbus ; my husband died of it two months ago." The person who spoke was a half-Indian, or, as she called herself, in humility, a half-caste, the wife of a serjeant of Vellore, of the name of Gillespie. She gave me a whole bottle of brandy with two hun- dred drops of laudanum, and other remedies*. The remedies of my * The kindness of that woman, and others, convinced me that it is too harsh an assertion to affirm the general depravity of the half-Indians. There are generous and noble-minded people among them, and surely it must be the interest of a great and powerful empire like our own, to efface all offensive expressions, giving an infa* my skin deep only to a high-minded and well-educated and numerous class of its OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 39 female mediciner stopped the vomiting at intervals. Dr. Cooper, sent by Mr. Bruce, arrived next morning ; he gave me warm water with salt, and twice, forty grains of calomel ; this stopped the vomiting for two hours. He asked me whether I would submit to his putting a hot iron on my stomach. I said, " Yes." He branded me three times, and, God be praised, it stopped the cholera morbus entirely. Four days I remained there ; on the fifth I was carried to Nellore, where I remained twenty days in a critical state from bilious fever. After this I attempted to proceed in a palanquin to Madras, but at forty miles from Nellore I was attacked with a violent spasm, which obliged my bearers to carry me on their shoulders to a native Bungalow. Here Mr. Prendergast, the sub-collector, found me, and dear Dr. Cooper came a second time to assist me. After four days I reached Madras, I recovered sufficiently to lecture there at St. Thomas on the Mount, a spot where it is believed that St. Thomas the Apostle suffered martyrdom : so says Eastern tradition and many Fathers of the Church. I saw here Dr. Rotler, the fellow-labourer of Schwartz. He was eighty-five years of age. I left Madras August 31st, 1833, and, after various movements, ar- rived at Trichinopoly. Here I found a hundred and fifty native Chris- tians, observing caste, but relinquishing it at the Lord's table. And here I received an invitation from the most famous missionary of the East, the Rev. Mr. Rhenius, of Palamcottah ; more enterprising, bold, and talented, than Schwartz himself. The number of Hindoos to whose conversion he has been instrumental, amounts to twelve thou- sand, I cannot express the satisfaction I felt at the immense progress he was daily making under my own eyes among the Hindus. I lec- tured to them ; Rhenius and Shaffter, his fellow-labourer, interpreted, for I did not understand Malabar, and they could not understand Per- sian. I must reluctantly pass much, and go on to Cochin, which I was anxious to reach from its well known Jewish population. I found there black and white Jews celebrating the feast of Tabernacles. Those that are called black Jews are people who became Jews of their own. accord at Cranganore, and in other parts of the country of black and half black colour. For this reason, the white Jews do not inter- marry with them. They have neither priests, nor Levites, nor fami- lies, nor relations on foreign coasts. They are only found in the Mal- abar coast. They observe the law as white Jews do. They are most subjects. The governor-general now receives all distinctions of colour at his table. The Merchant-Princes of Prophecy ought, undoubtedly, to efface all such odious appellations. 40 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION numerous at Cochin. Many of the black Jews, however, assert that their ancestors became Jews when Haman fell, and affirm (though the white Jews deny it) that they were there when the white Jews came to Hindustan. They consider themselves as slaves to the white Jews, pay them yearly tribute and a small sum for the circumcision of their children, and for permission to wear frontlets in prayer time. They do not sit down with the white Jews, nor eat with them. In this they resemble the Americans in the United States, who do not eat with the negro population. The immorality of the white Jews of this place was frightful. I met among them a Polish Jew, a man of extraordi- nary talents, possessing almost more than the immense facility of his countrymen in general in the acquirement of language. He knew eighteen languages. I pass intermediate spots, and come to Goa, the scene of the labours of thfe great Francis Xavier. Here around in all directions with over- flowing eyes I saw the cross of Christ, Christian churches, and the idols of Hindustaun displaced. The Augustinian Convent here is a highly valuable institution. They spoke nobly of Buchanan and his undaunted behaviour before the Inquisition. They condemned it, and agreed with me that our government did right to suggest its abolition in 1810. All their books came from Lisbon. There had been Jews at Goa, they told me, until they were exiled by the Inquisition. The Portuguese viceroy of Goa, D. Manuel de Portugal Castro, corres- ponded with me on various matters, and expressed his high satisfaction at my labours ; he was a nephew to Don Pedro : as did also the gov- ernment secretary Nunez. The Jesuits were suspected of having re- moved the body of Francis Xavier, which was carried there from China, (for he died in China,) at the time of their departure ; but it was not so, since, on the inspection of the tomb, the body of that ap- proved servant of God was still found within it. I pass intermediate spots, and come to Poonah, where I arrived on November 21st. I went with the learned missionary of the Scotch Missionary Society, Mr. Stevenson, among the Beni Israel, children of Israel, living at Poonah. They are totally distinct from the rest of the Jews in Europe and Hindustaun. Soon after the destruction of the first Temple, they came in seven ships, they say, from Arabia to Hindustaun, where they have since forgotten their law, but con- tinue to repeat in Hebrew certain prayers which they have learnt from the other Jews ; they also read the Pentateuch, but without un- derstanding the language. They have synagogues, but they have not, like the rest of the Jews, the Sepher Torah, or, in other words, the Pentateuch written on parchment. They say, " As we are soldiers, OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 41 and do not keep the law, the Sepher Torah may do us harm if it stands in the midst of us." They serve as soldiers in our armies, and are esteemed the best native soldiers. They are far superior in morality to the Jews of Cochin. They have, however, in their houses, HindQ idols, and seem to trust in charms and amulets. This is a curious and literal fulfilment of the prophecy in Deuteronomy xxviii. 36, " And there shalt thou serve other Gods, wood and stone." I ques- tioned them about Jesus ; they repeated the current Jewish objections, but did not possess any original views. The Beni Israel amount around Bombay to nine thousand two hundred and fifty souls. I reached Bombay on November 20th, and was received very kindly by Lord Clare, Archdeacon Carr, the Rev. Dr. Wilson, Mr. James Parish, and others. I preached here to many, and especially to the Beni Israel. I went one day while here with that champion of our faith against Muhammedans, Parsees, and Hindus, the Rev. John Wilson, D. D., who may be called the missionary to the Hindu phi- losophers, to see a Fakeer celebrated for his austerities. The nails of his hand were grown into and through his cheek. He was lying in the sun. I asked him, " How can one obtain the knowledge of God ?" His answer was, " Do not ask me questions ; you may look at me, for I am a God." I have no doubt he thought that he had at- tained, like Roman saints, to limits beyond mortality ; but how sad was the fact, that the penance that he thought had thus elevated him, had in reality proportionately depressed, since the Supreme measures man by his practical might, founded on Gospel truth, and not by his theoretical visions, -based upon nothing. At Bombay I called with Dr. Wilson on Daood Captan, a captain in the Bombay native army, a person of immense obesity. He was of the Beni Israel. He was very much prejudiced against me, and believed me to be a magician, and capable of making proselytes to Christianity by forbidden arts. He, with the rest of his people, be- lieved that I had raised the dead from their graves. On my calling on him he was shaking his fat sides from sheer alarm. On my an- nouncing myself as Joseph Wolff, and requesting him to show me the synagogue, he rudely said, " No, I shall not show it you, for you are a magician." I then muttered something mysteriously to myself, and motioning with my finger, I said to him, " Daood Captan, you are too fat." He grew alarmed, and, fearing the fascination of the Evil Eye, said, " Sir, sir, let my fatness alone." I then said, " Show me your synagogue." He complied immediately. Hence I passed to Mocha. The high priest at Sanaa has the title of Ab-Beth-Din Father of the Court of Law. Sixty years ago there 6 42 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION was a curious disputation among the Jews of Sanaa. They thought that they could ascertain their genealogy, and that they were in pos- session of ancient documents to prove this, and a dispute arose among them who was to be greatest. They listened, however, to the wise counsel of Shalom Ben-Ahron, their Nassi, and Rabbi Yahyah Salekh, their Ab-Beth-Din, to destroy their genealogies. The whole congre- gation of Sanaa rose as one man, burnt their genealogies, and ex- claimed, " Peace, peace for ever in Israel." I pass my adventures at Loheyah, Massowah, and Jiddah, where I met with the raving St. Simonians. As a proof of the accuracy of their theology, I need only add, that I saw a tract written by a St. Simonian to the Jewish ladies, in which he addressed them in the fol- lowing manner : t( Read the prophecies of Solomon," (who never wrote prophecies,) " and your book of the Prophet Baruch in the Hebrew tongue" (which does not exist in Hebrew.) In Jiddah it is said the mother of mankind lies buried : outside the gate of Jiddah they show the tomb of Eve. Jiddah is an Arabic word, and means grandmother, namely, Eve. Jiddah contains sixty thousand inhabitants. It is the great passage town to Mecca, and seventy-two thousand pilgrims go thither annually : if the number be less, the angels fill up the vacan- cies, according to Muhammedan tradition. Every pilgrim casts seven little stones at the devil, and sixteen against the devil's two children. The reason of this hard usage of the children is not very apparent. From Jiddah I embarked for Suez, after I had visited Cairo, and went thence to Alexandria. I arrived from thence at Malta, on March the 20th, 1834. There I remained the greater part- of 1834 and 1835, preparing my travels from 1831 to 1834 for publication. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 43 CHAPTER II. Embarks from Malta for England, March, 1835. Leaves England for another Mis- sion, October, 1835. Proceeds to Malta; Alexandria; Rosetta; Cairo. From Cairo to Mount Sinai. Monastry of St. Catherine ; Trappist M. J. de Geramb. March 29, 1836, at Tor; thence to Suez. Embarks for Jiddah. Proceeds to Mosawah on the African coast. Adventures in Abyssinia ; Languages, Chronol- ogy, and Religion of that Country. Zaasega ; Tigre ; Axum ; Gondar ; Mount Senafe; Mount Halay. Return to Jiddah. Jeisaun; Beduins. Beni Hobab. Shereef Aboo Mesameer ; his Cruelty. Loheya. Ibrahim Pasha. Saneef. Proceeds to Sanaa. Meets with the Rechabites ; their kind treatment of him. Saves the Caravan from being pillaged. Jews of Yemen. Sanaa. Beaten by the Wahabites. Reaches Mocha. Attacked with Typhus Fever. Embarks for Bombay ; proceeds thence to the United States of North America. New York ; enters the Anglo-Catholic Church ; ordained Deacon by Bishop Doane. Indians not proved to be Descendants of the lost Ten Tribes. Leaves New York, January 2nd, 1838. Arrives in England ; receives Priest's Orders of the Lord Bishop of Dromore ; takes the Incumbency of Linthwaite, Yorkshire. IN March, 1835, I embarked for England in the Firefly, where I staid till October ; but returned to Malta by the 19th for another mis- sionary tour. The first place that I arrived at was Alexandria. There I met, among numerous other individuals, my old friend, the celebrated Boghos Youssuf Bey, the Armenian, the prime minister to Muhammed AH. Mr. Salt saved him in the very nick of time, for Muhammed AH had bagged him, he was already in the sack with safe orders for a sufficient allowance of Nile water for the remainder of his life, when the order was countermanded, and by the wonderful vicissitudes of Oriental fortunes, he became the prime favourite of the Pasha. I passed thence, via Rosetta, to Cairo, where I took into my service an ^Armenian from Tiflis, a most consummate rascal, Bethlehem by name, who had been in the service of Oubia, the chief of Simean and Tigre in Abyssinia. Of this worthy, Oubia, the- interesting work of Major Harris on Shoa gives a good account. This fellow Bethlehem promised to carry me through Abyssinia on his head. He had been sent by Oubia to procure an Aboona from the Kopts. But the Kopts would not send one without the usual fee of six thousand dollars. By the way, Monsieur Fresnel, a gentleman of high Oriental acquire- ments, whom I met there, had married an interesting girl, that I learnt, 44 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION to my astonishment, was once of the Galla tribe. The chief rabbi of Cairo came this time to see me. He told me, at the beginning of his address, that my having been ten times in Egypt with the same leading object, proving Jesus to be the Messiah, had certainly produced an effect upon them, for it looked both like pertinacity and sincerity. They received the exposition of my views most kindly, but the rabbi said at the last, that his nation would only be convinced by the actual presence of Jesus in glory. I left Cairo on the 10th of March, and on the 16th, set out for Mount Sinai for the second time. On the 18th, I reached Khorandal. The Beduins received me most cordially. Sheikh Hassan introduced his wife to me, that I might bless her, for she was barren. He told me he had married four wives, and divorced three for this cause, but this one he sincerely loved. She, however, often threatens him that she will tear out his beard if he takes another wife. I next visited the convent on Mount Horeb, the monastery of Saint Catherine. They all received me well. This time I noted in the Book of Strangers, the following lines, written by the celebrated Trappist Geramb : "I arrived here, Feb. 25th, 1833, at the Convent of Mount Sinai. On the 28th I lay with my face in the dust on the holy mountain. The Eternal, in his mercy, gave to Moses, the most ancient of historians, the sublimest of philosophers, and the wisest of legislators, this law, the necessary foundation for our own. Quitted, March 3rd. Marie Joseph de Geramb." March 29th, 1836, I proceeded thence to Tor. I must not omit to mention that I received at Mount Sinai the promised book of Johannes Stauros, a Jew from Bulgaria, converted to Christianity. I read it with great delight ; and I perceived that he, like myself, held in a personal reign of Christ. It i also very remarkable, that the monks who had read the book were quite prepared for my view of the question, and themselves entertained it after having carefully read the book. They remarked to me that the third chapter of Habakkuk was a prophecy predicting the final coming of Christ in glory ; and they read with great enthusiasm the words : " God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth Was full of his praise. Before Him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. He stood, and measured the earth : He beheld, and drove asunder the nations ; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow." The superior struck the earth with great animation, exclaiming, " On tfr *e spot mighty events shall yet be seen." OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 45 I cannot endure the manner in which I hear travellers speak ill of this Hospice of the desert. These monks are excellent people. I reached Suez on April the 6th, 1836, to embark there by the Hugh Lindsay, expected from Bombay for Jiddah. While there, Koodsee Manoole, the British agent, at whose house I resided, and several of the Greek priests, had interviews with me. Some of their strange traditions affected me much ; one was, that Satan was not convinced that Jesus was the Son of God, until he had seen the curtains in the Temple rent, the sun darkened, and the earth convulsed. My servant, Bethlehem, in some discussions that took place about the authority of councils, made a judicious remark on one, that for his part he could not profess himself wiser than three hundred and eighteen Fathers of the Church. One can perceive by these remarks of the Eastern Chris- tians, that they have a high respect for ancient councils ; and of this we can as little deprive them as we could the Lutherans of their Augs- burg Confession, the Church of England of her Thirty-nine Articles, and the Kirk of Scotland of the Westminster Confession. I embarked in the Hugh Lindsay on the 6th May. Singular to say, Mr. Hugh Lindsay was my fellow-passenger in the same ship which bears his father's name, in 1834, when he came from China. We reached Jiddah on May llth. I found the Simonians infinitely madder than on my last visit, advocating a community of women, and that ships ought to be manned with women. One Saint Simonian woman married four Frenchmen at the same time ; and even the Turkish governor was so scandalized, that he protested against such abomina- tion in one of their holy cities. Here I found a letter from my inter- esting friend Dr. Charles Ovenden. He afterwards proceeded to the camp of Khursheed Pasha, fell ill, and on my return from Abyssinia I called on him in his last illness. He exclaimed, " God be praised, you are come ; dear Mr. Wolff, pray with me." I remained with him read to him ; he expressed deep repentance for all his sins, gave me the direction of his father in Enniskillen, and died. At Jiddah I met the English travellers Messrs. Bayley and Ormsby. I considered Mr. Ormsby an extremely sensible gentleman. Here 1 found Hadara, an Abyssinian, and profited by his acquaintance to learn Amharic pre- vious to entering Abyssinia. I left Jiddah for Mosawah, on the African coast, where I arrived on the 30th May, 1836. Here they speak the purest Ethiopic. The governor of this place told me that there are four great Sheikhs in the world, as there are four quarters of the world ; that every Sheikh had forty bodies. Thirty-nine bodies go for nothing, with which he may commit every crime, but with the fortieth he must serve God. On 46 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION quitting Mosawah, my servant Bethlehem gave me to understand that he was an Abyssinian gentleman, and could no longer act as my servant, but as my escort. No help for this, so I bore it patiently. The 5th of June we reached Eylet, and thence proceeded to a place inhabited by the Shiho. Our guide was the nephew of the chief who governs the Arabs at Mosawah, called Nayel (Lieutenant.) Here Hadara fired at a wolf which charged us, and he sheered off. Ele- phants wander about here in great numbers. Tigers, also, are not uncommon. We ascended the mountains of. Hamazien on the 7th, and reached Asmara on the 9th. The customs of the Abyssinians are peculiar. Their churches resemble synagogues. They are all round buildings. In the first and outer apartment, the congregation sit and pray. There is another smaller division answering to the Holy of Holies, where the priest enters. They kiss the door-posts on entering the church, put off their shoes, and pray silently. The priests are dressed in white, like the ancient Levites. When the Abyssinian women grind meal, they make bare the leg and the thigh, and have their children on their backs. Every Abyssinian has but one legal wife granted to him by the church ; other women are con- cubines ; nor is divorce allowed. They baptize by immersion, and circumcise on the eighth day. The 10th of June I arrived at Zaasega, where I met Hyloo, the chief of the province of Hamazien, a young man of thirty. His complexion was a brilliant black, and a most good-natured smile played over his whole countenance. Seven languages are spoken in Abyssinia. The Aboona is the chief spiritual authority. He is always a Copt, and sent by the Cop- tic patriarch of Alexandria. He ordans priests and deacons, and lives at Gondar ; receives tithes from all property, and his income is about 30,000 dollars. To my utter astonishment, one day while I was con- versing with Hyloo and the priests and the people about religion, they all shouted out, " He is our Aboon in disguise. 51 They fell down at my feet, kissed them, and implored my blessing, and desired me to spit at and upon them. I was compelled to perform such an extraor- dinary sputation, that my throat was completely dry. They com- pelled me to submit to have my feet washed, and for them to drink the water of ablution. Protestations were useless; but as it is a crime for an Aboona to smoke, I ordered my pipe and smoked, but even this would not convince them ; they said it was a feint to deceive them. Hundreds of cows were brought to me as a present, and corn, milk, &c. ; and so matters went on until we reached Adwah. The people actually carried me on their shoulders. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 47 The Abyssinians reckon from the creation of the world till now, 1845 A. D., 7335 years. And the present year would stand in their reckoning 1837 A. D. The belief with regard to a future state in the Abyssinian church is, that after death there is a separate state of souls the good in Paradise, the evil in Sheol. After the coming of the Lord, the righteous, they say, will be gathered to Him, the evil to Hinnom. Adam and Eve were driven, they say, to a land called Feyt. Enoch and Elijah are now hid in Paradise, and both shall ap- pear at the coming of the Lord. I inquired of their priest, who had called on me, the Gebra Maskal, how men would be saved. He re- plied, that one must first be baptized, and take the sacrament at a cer- tain age, use confession to a priest, give alms to the poor, and leave off all evil. On June 18th I left Zaasega, with three persons, Mueller (an ex- cellent Swiss), Hadara, and Bethlehem. Hyloo gave orders for a hundred sheep to be killed for us in passing through his country, but we received only two. At Zaffa, which we reached on the 19th, a fertile country, thickly inhabited, we heard the people praying in the Bthiopic tongue, using a corrupt Liturgy, full of invocations of Mary, angels, and saints. My white appearance shocked excessively the Abyssinian ladies ; they called out when they saw me, " Woe unto us, woe unto us, that this Copt has appeared among us, white as the devil himself." The priests, however, saluted me as Aboon, and im- plored my blessing. I replied that I was no Aboon. They exclaimed, " Whatever you are, bless us." I did so. Through Kooda.Falassee and Kudus Michael Onamtay I was carried on the shoulders of the people. The singular notion that the Abyssinians know how to change themselves into hyaenas, I found very prevalent. The war- rior chief, one of the finest looking men in Abyssinia, Ghebra Am- lak, the length of whose hair reminded me of Absalom, came to me at midnight, and, with tears, implored my blessing. I said, " I am not your Aboon." He replied, " I know it, father ; but bless me, for you are a servant of Christ." He and his soldiers carried me the next day over rocks and mountains for an immense distance on their shoulders. On July 23rd I saw the convent, Kudus Gabriel. The monks of Abyssinia have carefully ket up the memory of their great queen, the Queen of Sheba, and Menelik, her son by Solomon, from whom the royal houses of Shoa and Gondar trace their descent. June 24, 1836. We arrived at a plain called Marab, and at a vil- lage called Behesa we found Oubia had been devastating the coun- try. Wald Raphael, the chief of this village, supplied us with a goat. I demanded of him and his people, how they punished crimes. 48 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION They replied by hanging, crucifying, and stoning, by the infliction of forty stripes save one, and the bodies of criminals were given to the beasts of prey. I gave Wald Raphael three Amharic Testaments and a Psalter. The great saint of Abyssinia, Tekla Haymanot, made such an impression on the devil by his preaching, that he actually became a monk forty years. " Cucullus non facit monachum," is cer- tainly true in this instance. Tekla Haymanot stood forty years upon one place, praying until he broke his leg. Twenty-four elders, more modern traditions say, surround the throne of God with censers in their hands, and Tekla Haymanot is the twenty-fifth. He had six wings like angels. 25th June we arrived at a beautiful village called Shahagee, where my servant Bethlehem told me that unless I disbursed two thousand dollars he would get me murdered. I instantly dismissed him. I arrived at Adwah, the capital of Tigre, June 26th, 1836, where I met Gobat, the missionary. With him I determined to return to Jiddah, for he was very ill. July 26th, I took a dozen of Psalms and Testaments, and went with them to a convent, Abba Kareema, five miles east of Adwah. Here resided one hundred monks, with their superior. I observed the Scriptural usage here of pouring water over the hands. The younger priest in a cottage, (for the monks dwell in cottages two by two,) poured water over the hands of the elder, as Elisha did over Elijah. August 5th, I visited Axum, the holy city of the Abyssinians, which even the Galla chief that had invaded the coun- try dared not enter, but dismounted from his steed and fell on his face at the sight of it. It is the city of refuge for all criminals. Rupell has given an excellent account of this place. The utility of convents in the middle ages is abundantly apparent, since even the Vandals who invaded Europe never approached those sacred places from a reverence for their sanctity. Thus did the monks transmit to us by their own immunity from surrounding evil, the sacred oracles. Much effusion of blood is daily prevented by the monks in Abyssinia, as it was by the Christian monks in the middle age, and is also by the derveeshes of the Muhammedans. The influ- ence of the Monastic character is very remarkable over these periods. When the Swiss, in the time of the Emperor Sigismond, were at vari- ance, neither the Bishop of Constance nor the ambassadors of the Em- peror were able to re-establish peace. The diet was already on the point of dissolving, and the cantons rushing to civil war, when sud- denly the Hermit Nicholas Von der Flue, who passed by the name of Brother Klaus, commanded peace in the name of Christ crucified, and was instantly obeyed. No traveller could wander in Turkistaun, if OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 49 the Khaleefa of Mowr would not take the defenceless pilgrim under his protection. What could the great Athanasius have done when flying from the fury of the Arians, if he had not found an asylum in the Thebais among the pious hermits who live there under the direc- tions of St. Anthony, who made the deserts resound with doxologies to the Son of God ? The church is magnificent. Fifty priests and two hundred monks reside around it. I circulated here gratis many copies of the Psalms of David and the New Testament. Pilgrims came to Axum from Shoa, Gojam, and all parts of Abyssinia. Columns of immense size are standing at Axum, and on my demanding who built them, they answered, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Of the kingdoms of Abyssinia, Shoa is the best regulated ; the report that reached me of our new ally, Sahela Selassee, was, that he possessed great political talents, and was beloved by his subjects. His country was surrounded by the Gallas, with whom he preserved friendly relations, and thereby pre- vented the invasion of his country by the Amhara people. Gondar is the capital of this latter kingdom. Here also exists a descendant of the house of Solomon, but in great poverty, for his knights have di- vided the country among them. Ras Ali, a Galla chief, plunders Gondar at his pleasure. Quitting Adwah on the 1st September, with Gobat and his family, and Andreas Mueller and Hadara, I proceeded to Mount Senafe, which I reached on the 10th. The Abyssinians were then celebrating their new year's day, called Kuddees Yohanna (Holy John), in commemo- ration of John the Baptist. Women, men, children, and beasts, are baptized on that day. 12th September, I reached Halay, the highest mountain in Abyssinia, twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea. October 2nd, I arrived at Jiddah. Gobat embarked for Kosseyr, whilst I remained behind, as my services were no longer required to protect him. Here I determined to set out to see the Rechabites around Sanaa, previous to my return to Abyssinia. Passing Lyt for the second time, where leaving a Bible on the tomb of a buried saint, created such terror through the whole country, that the book was sent to Mecca, I came, October 14th, to Confoodah, where I had a most in- teresting conversation with the soldiers of the Pasha's army, and Ah- med, an officer in that body, formerly a derveesh. When Ahmed de- manded of me whether Saheb Zemaan (the Lord of the Age) must not arrive before Jesus at his second coming ? I replied, " Elijah the Pro- phet shall first come ;" and should have continued the disputation, 7 50 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION which had already extended to some length, but for the drum beating to muster. This coming of Elijah is denied by the greater part of the Protestants. I refer for confirmation of my opinions to Augustin, Treatise, iv. 1 ; John i. 20. Art thou Elias ? He answered, No. I view John as the forerunner of Christ in one coming, Elias in another. John had the same Holy Ghost as Elias, therefore stood in the spirit and power of Elias. But as Elias must come, and as this is expressly declared, it must be at the second coming. October 19th we arrived at Jeisaun, a miserable bay for ships, in- habited by Beduins. Here one of the Arab sheikhs of the tribe of Hobab, brother-in-law of Moses, called on me. He knew Hebrew ex- ceedingly well, and even the Arabic dialect of the children of Hobab, is mixed with Hebrew phrases from the Book of Moses. They observe outwardly the Muhammedan law, but inwardly are attached to the law of Moses. It is a remarkable fact, that among all nations where religion is en- forced by the civil law, sects will arise who, if I may so express my- self, have two religions, one outwardly observed to avoid exclusion from civil privileges, and the other the religion of the heart, and which they in secret practise. Thus, for instance, the very Beni Hobab of whom we have spoken, confirm this ; the Shamseea (Worshippers of the Sun), in Mesopotamia, outwardly profess Muhammedanism, and in secret are worshippers of the sun. The Daouddee, or the believers in the divinity of King David, among the Bakhtyaree in Persia, the Georgians in Bokhara, though for centuries resident there, inwardly are Christians, outwardly Muhammedans. Full sixty thousand Jews in Spain are outwardly Roman Catholics, but regularly meet in secret, and exclaim, " Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord :" which expression forms their pass-word with each other ; and I was struck with amazement to find even in the United States of North America, that many of the Indians, especially among the Cherokees, have adopted outwardly the Protestant religion, in order, as they hope, to prevent Congress from sending them further into the interior. He informed me, that near Sanaa the other branch of the children of Hobab were encamped, i. e. the Beni Arhab, children of Rechab. A great number of their tribes came down from the mountain Seir. They related to me the history of Moses, of his wandering in the deserts under the guidance of Hobab, who at last refused to go fur- ther. " Do you know," said they to me, " Moosa, the prophet of God ? The peace of God be upon him. Hobab, our father, was bis brother-in-law." OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 51 Shereef Ahmood Aboo Mesameer, of the tribe of Hobab, governed in the mountain of the Aseer, for Jeisaun is at the foot of the moun- tain. He punished criminals by putting a nail in their forehead, and therefore received the name of Aboo Mesameer, " the father of nails." I give one anecdote as characteristic of the man. One of the Banians, or Indian merchants, went one day, by land, from Hodeydah to Aboo Areesh. He was attacked by robbers, who said, " Give up your property." He replied, " I arn in possession of dollars belonging to Ahmood Aboo Mesameer." The robbers, fearful of being literally nailed, left him untouched. I proceeded thence to Loheya, and from thence to Hodeyda, a town that contains thirty thousand inhabitants. Here were the head quar- ters of Ibrahim Pasha, commander-in-chief of Muhammed All's troops in Yemen : I do not mean the son, but the nephew of the Pasha. With him I held a very long religious discussion. Amongst other points of our conversation he advised me to direct my attention to the conversion of Rothschild. I had also here a long conversation with Muhammed Johar, a learn- ed gentleman, formerly governor of Hodeydah. The Arabs of this place have a book called Seem, which treats of the second coming of Christ, and his reign in glory. I must not omit that, in a visit here to Ibrahim Pasha, I missed my way, and had nearly arrived at the harem of the ladies. The Pasha laughed, and said, " I am astonished that such an absent man as your- self should ever have found his way to Bokhara." Husseyn Effendi, the present governor of Hodeydah, is the kindest Turk 1 have met with. I translated to him The Fridolin and the Crows of Ibycus, of Schiller. The heat here was intolerable : how this country got the name of Araby the Blest, I cannot conceive ; uncultivated lands, parched up with the burning heat, destitute of all inhabitants, save mountaineers, are, in my opinion, most unblest regions. All over Yemen there prevails the singular expectation that a mighty man of Arhab, i. e. Rechab, will arise and become the sword of Yemen. After passing numerous spots I arrived, on the 26th November, at Beit Alfake, where Muhammed Ali's officers had circulated the re- port that his beard had become black again, a certain token, in their notion, that he was to live much longer. After this I came to Saneef. Its Sheikh and inhabitants are of the tribe of Naasraau, i. e. Christians, or Moonasera, the Christianized. I requested to learn the history of their tribe. They told me, " A disciple of Jesus, Bulus or Paul by name, came to Yemen unto our 52 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION ancestors, who had been worshippers of idols, became Naasraan* (Christians), and therefore we have retained the name, though we ex- claim now, God, and nothing but God, and Muhammed, the Prophet of God." I demanded, " Are there any Christians in Yemen ?" The Sheikh replied, " All Yemen, with the exception of the Jews and the children of Rechab, exclaim, There is God, and nothing but God, and Muhammed, the Prophet of God." Paul says he went to Arabia, in Galatians i. 17. I gave the Sheikh a Bible, as he expressed a deep desire to have one. Saneef is at the foot of the Mountain of Borro, inhabited by the tribe of Aram, mentioned in Genesis x. 23. Its inhabitants are Wahabites. They desired Bibles, and I gave them to them. I left Saneef on November the 29th, and proceeded on the road to Sanaa, which I learnt was besieged by the Rechabites. Of course the caravan with which I was travelling ran no small risk on this ac- count. I therefore took a mule, and went on alone to Sanaa, desiring the chief of the caravan to wait until he heard from me. As soon as I had passed Matna, I saw a swarm of the Rechabites rush- ing to me, exclaiming : " Hoo, hoo, hoo !" Holding up my Bible, I stopped them at once, and they shouted, " A Jew, a Jew !" We dis- mounted, and, sitting down, I told them that I saw, twelve years ago, one of their nation in Mesopotamia, Moosa by name. Rechabites. Is your name Joseph Wolff?" W. " Yes." They then embra- ced me. They were still in possession of the Bible I gave to Moosa, twelve years before my arrival in Yemen. I spent six days with the children of Rechab (Beni Arhab). They drink no wine, plant no vineyard, sow no seed, live in tents, and re- member the word of Joriadab the son of Rechab. With them were children of Israel of the tribe of Dan, who reside near Terim in Ha- tramawt, who expect, in common with the children of Rechab, the speedy arrival of the Messiah in the clouds of heaven. Neither par- ty now offers sacrifice. They requested me to remain among them and teach them the doctrine of the Messiah, as they call the Gospel, and to marry one of the daughters of Rechab. The children of Re- chab say, " We shall one day fight the battles of the Messiah, and march towards (Kuds) Jerusalem." They are the descendants of those whom the Muhammedans call Yehood Khaibar, who defeated Mu- hammed in several battles, but they were at last themselves defeated, for they had sinned, and the Lord of Toor (Sinai) was not with them. * And besides this, many Arabs went to the pillar of Simon Stylites, and he preached to them the Gospel, and thus it spread in Yemen. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 53 I sent them to the chief of the caravan to fetch about eighty Hebrew Bibles and Testaments, which I gave them. One of their party, Loo. loe, belonging to the powerful tribe of Hamdan, a friend of the Beni Arhab, escorted me and the whole caravan, safely within the gate of Sanaa, where I entered in the month of December. Sanaa is called Uzal, (Gen. x. 27,) and exhibits a magnificent spec- tacle to the eye. It is in a valley surrounded by four mountains. The city has the loveliest of gardens, which furnish pomegranates, grapes, and cherries. The houses are of stone, four stories high, with terraces to walk on in the cool of the day. Here they show us a very ancient house in ruins, called Kaser Saum, the college of Shem, the son of Noah. The Imaum or prince resides in a splendid palace, built in a Gothic style resembling a fortress. He has eight other pal- aces. Like the Deys of Tunis, and formerly of Algiers, he seldom leaves his palace, and is always afraid of a revolt of his soldiers. He received me very kindly, made me a present of a shawl, a robe of honour, and twenty dollars, for effecting the entry of the caravan. I regret to say he is drunk from morning to night, and the Jews of Sanaa furnish him with brandy and wine. He was sitting on a di- vaun when I entered, surrounded by black slaves ; he is completely black as black as a Beduin. He is a man of no talent or energy. He invited me to stay at his palace ; but I declined his offer, and took up my abode with the Banians or merchants from India. Here I may as well notice the Jews of Yemen generally. While at Sanaa, Mose Joseph Alkaree, the chief rabbi of the Jews, called on me. He is an amiable and sensible man. The Jews of Yemen ad- here uniquely to the ancient interpretation of Scripture, in the pas- sage Isaiah vii. 14, " a virgin shall conceive," and they give to the na>* the same interpretation, virgin, that the Christians do, without knowing the history of Jesus. Rabbi Alkaree asserted, that in Isaiah liii. the suffering of the Messiah is described as anterior to his reign in glory. He informed me that the Jews of Yemen never re- turned to Jerusalem after the Babylonish captivity ; and that when Ezra wrote a letter to the princes of the captivity at Tanaan, a day's journey from Sanaa, inviting them to return, they replied, " Daniel predicts the murder of the Messiah, and another destruction of Jeru- salem and the Temple, and therefore we will not go up until He shall have scattered the power of the holy people, until the thousand two hundred and ninety days are over." I demanded, " Do you con- sider these days to be literal days?" The Alkaree replied, " No ; but we do expect the coming of the Messiah, from the commotions now going on in Yemen. We think he begins to come from Teman, 54 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION t. e. Yemen, for you see the tents of Cushan are now in affliction, and the curtains of Midian tremble. There is now war in the wilderness, unprecedented in our memory. There are twelve gates at Sanaa. As soon as one of them, the Bab Alastraan, which is always kept closed, is opened, we expect Him. Rechab and Hamdan are before it." I then expounded Isaiah liii., and read him the holy history of Jesus. He said, " Your exposition is in better agreement with the an* cient interpretation ; I approve it much more than that of our nation which ascribes the passage to Josiah." This kind Jew assisted me in the distribution of Testaments among his people. Sanaa contains fif- teen thousand Jews. In Yemen they amount to twenty thousand. I conceive the total population of the Jews throughout the world, amounts to ten millions. I baptized here sixteen Jews, and left them all New Testaments. A fever seized me while at Sanaa. I left it, and slept the first night with Sheikh AH, of Looloe, of the tribe of Hamdan. We passed Matria. At Khamees, a band of the Wahabites, whom I men- tioned above, rushed down from the mountain, exclaiming, " The books you gave us do not contain the name of Muhammed." W. " You ought now, then, as the name is not in that holy book, to come to some decision." Wahabites. " We have come to a decision ;" and saying this, they horsewhipped me tremendously, and rode off, saying, " This is our decision." Joseph Ben Alnataf, a Jew, accompanied me hence to Mocha. Numbers of soldiers came down from the mountains to fight against the troops of Muhammed Ali. They demanded seventy dollars of me. W. " I am an English subject." Soldiers. " In Yemen we know not the name of an Englishman. In Yemen we know only Allah uaala ilia Allah, u Muhammad Rasool Allah (God, and nothing but God, and Muhammed the Prophet of God). For infidels we have three things, tribute, death, and kalima (confession of faith)." I yielded, and gave my last penny. I reached Mocha, by the mercy of God, towards the end of Decem- ber, and set out again for Abyssinia, but caught a typhus fever at Hodeydah, where its kind governor and Monsieur Devaux for six weeks tended me most affectionately. Finding myself too weak to recross Abyssinia, I embarked in the Hugh Lindsay, for Bombay. I then recovered, and determined to set out thence to the United States of America. A Swedish vessel, the Amalia, received me. We stopped at St. Helena, where I lectured on the second coming of Christ The kindness of Major- General Middlemore and all his family, and Colonel Trelawny, I shall ever gratefully remember. I arrived in OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 55 New York in the month of August, 1837. Here I found myself sur- rounded with a phalanx of friends of all religious denominations. 1 lectured in the Tabernacle on the personal reign of Christ, and the restoration of the Jews. I was here introduced to Bishop Doane, and arrangements were speedily made for my reception into the episcopal church. Doctors Henderson and Chapman examined me in ecclesi- astical history, the Articles of the Church, Hebrew, and Greek, as well as natural theology and philosophy. By this worthy Bishop of New Jersey I was ordained deacon, and then preached at Philadelphia, Washington, and Baltimore repeatedly. On the motion of John Quincy Adams, I received permission to give a lecture in the Congress Hall, in presence of all the members of Congress of both houses, the Bishop of Virginia,' and the clergy and citizens of Washington. I had the same honour conferred on me by the government of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It will naturally be asked what I think of that extraordinary ques- tion lately so much mooted in Europe and America, and so much connected with my own researches. " Whether the Indians spring from the Ten Tribes of the Dispersion ?" With respect to ancient tradition, the rule of Vincentius Lirinensis, though not infallible, is one of the best criteria. " What has always been believed, by all, and everywhere." This is not traceable in the Indians. They have not at all times, and in all places, and all conjointly affirmed, " We are the Ten Lost Tribes of the Dispersion." On the contrary, they know nothing of any such tradition. I trace no remarkable affinities in their language to lead to such a conclusion. Nor are the rites among them, quoted as analogous to the Jewish, sufficient to justify this con- clusion. I am sure all nations will be found connected with the Jewish, as the great centre of spiritual worship, all rites will be found in their uses and abuses, to maintain somewhat of the great princi- ples inculcated in the Jewish law ; but I am not prepared, from such grounds, the result of a common origin from the first parents, to affirm them all to be necessarily descendants from the lost tribes, because, in sooth, no other hypothesis suits the reigning taste. People who have a preconceived favourite system, try to maintain it ad entrance, and think they see it realized when nothing of the kind in reality exists. Worthy people in America desired me to travel about with them, in order that I might convince the Indians of their extraction from the Jews; but this was putting the argument the wrong way. I wanted the Indians to convince me of their origin, and not to aid in deluding them into this notion, as I perceived many well- intentioned people did. I came among the Mohican tribes near New 56 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION York, and asked them, " Whose descendants are you ?" They re- plied, " We are of Israel. 3 ' I asked, " Who told you so ?" and ex- pected to learn much ancient tradition. To my great surprise, they said, " Mr. and Mrs. Simons, of Scotland." I asked, " What did your ancestors tell you about it?" " All our ancestors told us that we were born under the earth, and a woman among us looking out of the earth was taken hold of by a spirit ; and that spirit led us up to the surface of the earth ; and there we lived in peace until the white men came, by whom we were subdued." Many of their customs, besides words in their language, and their physiognomy, rather seem to me to betray a Tartar race. Thus, for instance, they have the word Kelaun, Great, which is also used in the same sense at Bokhara. They have nine as a favourite number, which the Tartars also have. The Turkomauns also play on a flute in a melancholy strain around the tent of their beloved mistresses, and the Indians adopt a similar fashion. The Jews in America are of very recent origin, principally com- posed of emigrants from Germany, Poland, and England. I regret to say they are mostly unbelievers in their own law, and marry with- out distinction among Quakers, Anabaptists, and other sects. There are honourable exceptions. At New York I received a visit from Noah the Jew, so well known for his love to Israel. The emigration of Roman Catholics from the Austrian and German states was by thousands at this period, 1838. The Leopoldine Society of Austria sent out numerous missionaries to America, to obtain among its sectaries converts to the Roman Catholic faith. If Romanism were successful, it would scarce be worse than the mad folly of some of the sectarians of America, or the detestible perversions of Scripture, of which they incessantly avail themselves. There are thousands of Shakers in America ; and when they are asked, why do they turn about in a circle, you get as an answer, " Does not the Scripture say, Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die ? Ezekiel xxxiii. 11." The Roman Catholics, however, have found opponents in America among the Episcopalian and Dutch communi- ties, that have more than outmatched them in disputations, confuting Romanism on truly Catholic principles. Vituperation does the Ro- manists good, and raises their cause ; but if the controversy be con- fined to the great question, On what does a Church depend ? they are scattered easily. A Church founded on the authority of the Bible, and a Church founded on her own authority alone, the great dis- tinctions between Romanists and Anglo-Catholics, need only clear exposition to show which has the advantage. It is true, Rome has an OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 57 authority beyond what she claims, but as it is one which she rejects, she is not entitled to the benefit of it in controversy. This is the great question, the true authority of the Church in Scripture. Collat- eral points may work into this, and become important to confirm this ; but this properly defined, as I believe it to be in the Articles of the English Church, duly and reverentially obeyed by its laity, rigorously followed out by a practical energy, strong in proportion to the strength it inhales from its nearness to the purest spring, this will, I believe, yet produce, and certainly has even now, in part, produced, a state of Christendom unparalleled in earthly history. I may say without fear of any imputation of vanity, that I have now seen and made myself acquainted with all the branches of the Catholic Church, and with all the sects existing on earth ; and I have not shunned to sit at the feet of the bishops in the Roman Catholic Church, in the Armenian Church, in the Greek Church, in the Chaldean and Abyssinian Church, with Wesley ans, Independents, and learned Bap- tists ; and the result of my investigations is, that the Church of Eng- land is the pearl of price and jewel of the earth, and the mightiest masterpiece of Bible illustration which the world has witnessed since it fell under the yoke of sin. At New York, I must not omit to mention the kindness I received also from its distinguished president, Mr. Martin Van Buren, that shrewd, clever, polished, and refined statesman. In his drawing-room I gave a short lecture before several members of the Congress. I quitted New York on January 2nd, 1838, accompanied to the vessel in which I embarked by numerous friends, and arrived in Eng- land on January 28th. Instantly on my arrival in England, in the Isle of Wight, I gave an account of my missionary proceedings for eighteen years ; also at Southampton and London. Being introduced to the Marquis of Anglesea, in whose house I dined and delivered a lecture, his Lordship recommended me to the Marquis of Normanby, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and to Archbishop Whateley. The Uni- versity of Dublin conferred on me the degree of LL.D. From Amer- ica I received the degree of D.D., from the Protestant episcopal col- lege of St. John's, Annapolis, Maryland. I then received priest's orders in Ireland, by the Lord Bishop of Dromore, in June, 1838. Immediately afterwards I was made honorary chaplain to Lord Vis- count Lorton, and after eighteen years' peregrination in the world, tired out, and enfeebled in constitution, I contemplated now seriously settling in England as one of the clergy of its national Church, when the Rev. Hugh Stowell, of Manchester, was kind enough to procure me the situation of incumbent at Linthwaite, near Huddersfield, York- 8 58 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION shire, where I had the princely income of twenty- four pounds per annum, collected by pew rents, and no augmentation from Queen Anne's Bounty. Previous to my arrival, the Pastoral Aid Society had given eighty pounds to my predecessor ; but as I did not apply for it previous to my accepting the living, and as they said Lady Georgiana had a sufficient income, they refused to give it to me. Here I cannot but note, that the state of the British Church, ac- cording to Parliamentary returns in 1835, viz. of nearly five thousand livings, or about one half of the total number of livings returned, viz. ten thousand four hundred and seventy-eight, being under two hun- dred pounds per annum, was a position of ecclesiastical matters that called loudly for the attention of the Premier, and I am pleased to see that Sir Robert Peel directed the powers of his vigorous intellect im- mediately to it. Disparity of incomes in any Church, want of promo- tion of deserving men, create a faintheartedness in its members that must prove deleterious to the Church's great interests. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. CHAPTER III. Quits Linthwaite for the Curacy of High Hoyland. Hears of the Imprisonment of his Friend Conolly at Bokhara. Writes to his Family, offering to proceed thither in 1842. Leaves High Hoyland. Receives from his Congregation a Testimonial of Respect. Puts a Letter in the Morning Herald, July, 1843, stating his willing- ness to go to Bokhara ; Captain Grover replies to it. Dr. Wolff goes with his Family to Bruges. Correspondence with Captain Grover. Arrives in England. Interview with Stoddart and Conolly Committee. Public Meeting convened : Address of Dr. Wolff; Speech of the Chairman, Sir J. Bryant, detailing former Intimacy between Dr. Wolff and Lieutenant Conolly. Embarks on the Mission, October 14, 1843. Arrival at Gibraltar. Character of Bishop Tomlinson. Malta. Athens. Interview with the King and Queen of Greece. Dardanelles. BESIDES the smallness of income at Linthwaite, from the ex] situation of the locality, Lady Georgiana as well as myself were con- stantly attacked with quinsey. I therefore, after a stay of two years, took the curacy of High Hoyland, near Wakefield, with a salary from the rector, who lived two hundred miles distant, a very worthy gen- tleman, the Rev. Christopher Bird, in 1840 ; and these were assu- redly the happiest of my days. I visited my poor people, and there existed a mutual attachment between us. But our expenses far ex- ceeded our income ; we became involved in debt from the necessity of the case ; and therefore the Lord Bishop of Ripon, my worthy dio- cesan, wrote to the Bishop of London to procure me a foreign chap- laincy. His Lordship of London promised to bear it in mind, and I left with regret my parishioners in 1843. I received a testimonial of the respect entertained to me by my congregation, conveyed by a piece of plate, and we were about to settle at Bruges ; but previous to my departure from High Hoyland, I offered myself to go to Bok- hara to save Stoddart and Conolly. This offer was made in 1842. I also tendered my services to go to Cabul, to save the prisoners there ; but it did not appear at that momejU; necessary. I then went to reside at Richmond in Surrey. In July, 1843, I put into the Morning Herald the following letter : PROPOSAL FOR THE LIBERATION OF COLONEL STODDART AND CAPTAIN CONOLLY. To all the Officers of the British Army. Gentlemen, 13, Richmond Green, Richmond, July 2. Though a missionary and a clergyman myself, and not an officer, I do not take 60 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION up my pen in order to excite your sympathy in behalf of a clergyman or missionary, but in behalf of two of your fellow-officers, Captain Conolly and Colonel Stoddart, who are at present captives hi the great city of Bokhara ; but having been myself two months at Bokhara, and knowing, as I do, the character of the inhabitants of Bokhara, I am fully convinced that the report of their having been put to death is exceedingly doubtful much more so by the source from which the report originated. If, therefore, one of you, gentlemen, would be inclined to accompany me to Bok- hara, or merely pay the expenses of my journey there, I am ready to go there ; and I am fully confident that I shall be able, with God's help, to liberate them from cap- tivity, with the assistance of my Turkomaun friends in the desert of Khiva, and one of the derveeshes ; but I would undertake the journey without making myself re- sponsible to the British Government, and entirely on my own responsibility. I merely want the expense of my journey, and not one single farthing as a com- pensation ; even in case of complete success. I shall be ten days more at Richmond, Surrey ; if, therefore, one of your brave officers is now ready to accompany me, or to assist me in making the journey, let him come to me, and we may talk over the matter more fully. I am, Gentlemen, Your humble servant, JOSEPH WOLFF, Late Curate of High Hoyland, Yorkshire, formerly Missionary in Per- sia, Bokhara, and Affghanistaun. The next day I had a letter from Captain Grover, who informed me that he would provide the requisite funds, and would call on me the following day at Richmond. Not wishing that Lady Georgiana should be made uneasy about my intended journey to Bokhara, until all was finally settled, I determined, if possible, to anticipate Captain Grover's visit. In consequence, immediately after breakfast I walked up and down Richmond Green, to intercept the Captain, and to con- verse with him before he saw Lady Georgiana. I soon perceived a stranger looking anxiously about him, and on addressing him at a guess, found that he was Captain Grover himself. We shook hands most heartily, and he immediately told me that he had offered to pro- ceed at his own expense to Bokhara, and had been refused the only security for his safety, he considered, viz., a letter from government, and the permission to wear his uniform. He wished me to proceed via Orenbourg, he did not anticipate any cordial assistance from the British Government, who had in his opinion most unaccountably abandoned the Officers to their fate. He then told me that he would make a national matter of it, if he could not get it taken up, as he thought it ought to be, as a government question. He stated his in- tention to call a public meeting, and appoint a committee, which would enable him to communicate more easily with the government, and to enforce all necessary measures for my protection. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 61 On communicating with Lady Georgiana, she felt reluctant to my encountering the matter, and we went to Bruges to await the issue of Captain Grover's efforts. The circumstances connected with these Officers I found to be the following. Colonel Stoddart was on a di- rect mission from the government to Bokhara. Captain Conolly on a mission to Khokand and Khiva, from the Indian government, and fur- ther he was instructed to aid and assist Colonel Stoddart in Bokhara, and had strict injunctions that Colonel Stoddart, in his political capa- city there, was empowered to claim his services at any period. After this, various communications took place between myself and my friend Captain Grover, in which he detailed the progress that he had made to carry out his object, and he further published a small pam- phlet, giving a few clear and succinct details of the then state of the Stoddart and Conolly question. This pamphlet of Captain Grover drew public attention to the matter, and then there appeared an ac- count of the death of both these officers in the paper, on the authority of one Saleh Muhammed, who simply stated what he had heard, but not what he had seen. This statement had further the official guar- antee of the signature of the Charge d'Affaires at Teheraun, Colonel Sheil. This semi-official statement produced no effect, and on Captain Grover communicating with me, with a view to ascertain what I thought of that statement, I wrote to him the following letter ; which I here insert as illustrative of the feelings and motives which influ- enced me in undertaking this journey : My dear Sir, Bruges, August 27, 1843. I read the statements of Muhammed Saleh in the Globe, copied from the Times, two days before you were kind enough to send to me the Times, and I con- fess that I doubt more than ever the truth of the report of their having been put to death, for, if such an event had taken place in the city of Bokhara, containing a population of 180,000 inhabitants, he would not have heard that story of their heads having been cut off by one of the executioners alone, but by the loud expres- sions of indignation of thousands of the inhabitants ; but it seems from the report of Saleh Muhammed, that only one of the executioners made him acquainted with tho history. I say there would have been loud expressions of indignation, for having been myself two mouths at Bokhara, I know that the person of a guest is considered as sacred, and the mullahs, who are all-powerful at Bokhara, would have deposed the Ameer. The mullahs of Bokhara themselves told me that if the Ameer Al- moomeneen (this is the title of the prince) suspects a person strongly, he either gets hmi poisoned secretly distant from Bokhara, or strangled, for they do not cut off heads with a knife. Beside these considerations, allow me to give you the following account of my own journey to Bokhara in 1831. When I arrived the second time at Teheraun, in July, 1831, (for I was there the first time in 1825,) I called on my old friend Khosrow Khan, to whom I had been introduced hi 1825 by Sir Henry Willock and Sir John McNeile. He (Khosrow 62 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Khan) sent immediately for a Persian merchant who was very well acquainted with the slate of Bokhara, and had just arrived from thence ; and the following dialogue took place between that merchant and myself in the presence of Khosrow Khan. After Khosrow Khan, who was one of the ministers of Fut Allah Shah, had informed that merchant of my plan to go to Bokhara, he (the merchant) turned to me, and said : " Name tuwanee berawee," i. e., Thou canst not go. W. " Tshera," . e., Why ? Merchant. " As soon as you arrive in Khorassaun, the Turkomauns, who are cursed Sunne'es, and therefore invade Khorassaun (the inhabitants of which are good Sheahs}, in order to make slaves of the Khorassanee, will certainly make a slave of you ; and if you should succeed to come as far as Sarakhs or Merve, the Turko- mauns would put you to death the first moment you should arrive there ; and even if you were to arrive at Karakol, there the governor, another Harram Zadah (son of a ) of a Sunne'e, would receive you in the kindest manner, and then give secret orders to have you drowned in the Ammoo (Oxus), and the greatest misfortune for you would be to arrive safely at Bokhara, for Moorcroft, Guthrie, and Trebeck Sahib, after they had given many thousands of rupees to Ameer Behadur, have been put to death openly at Bokhara by his express orders." However, I undaunted proceeded to Bokhara ; it is true that I was made a slave in Khorassaun, but not by the " cursed Simnees," i. e., the Turkomauns, but by the banditti of Muhammed Izhak, Khan of Torbad Hydarea, people of Khoras- saun, and of the sect of Sheah, who made slaves of me and ten companions of mine, all of them Sheahs, made slaves by their own co-religionists, with the design of selling us to the Turkomauns ; but the very fact of my being an English subject was not only the cause of my own liberation, but of all the Sheah slaves of Torbad, where a regular slave market existed, and where every year hundreds of Sheahs were sold by the above-mentioned Sheah Khan ! ! ! The Turkomaun chiefs, who were that time at Torbad, declared me to be their mehmoon (guest), for whom they would go thousands of miles to give their lives for me. They sent the Arabic Bibles I gave to them to their mullahs at Sarakhs and Khiva, declared me to be the forerunner of the Muhdee and Jesus, and desired my blessing. After my arrival at Meshed, the capital of Khorassaun, the Sheah merchants and the Sheah mullahs of Meshed, again assured me that Moorcroft, Guthrie, and Trebeck, had been publicly put to death, and at Bokhara ; on my arrival among the Turkomauns in the desert of Sarakhs, I lodged with the Jews, but the wild sons of the desert paid me every respect ; even their Mullah, who had got the Bible which I gave when at Torbad to the Turkomaun Sayd Neyaas, came and asked from me thefatkha, blessing ! I fixed on their tents public proclamations, announ- cing to them the second coming of Christ in Glory and Majesty, called on them to repent of their evil doings, and especially exhorted them to give up the practice of making slaves of the Persians ; I remained among them twenty-two days, and so far from then- attempting to put me to death, I had every morning numbers of Turkomauns demanding my blessing, which I granted on condition of their giving up the occupation of tshapow, i. e., slave making. I then set out with one jsingle Turkomaun from Sarakhs to Mower, and Bokhara ; was not murdered in either of those places, tho' it was predicted by the merchant at Teheraun. The governor of Karakol gave me, according to the custom of the country, bread and salt to eat, and tea mixed with salt, and horse flesh beside, and was far from disposed to give the order to drown me in the Ammoo or Oxus. On my arrival at Bokhara, OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 63 notwithstanding that a Jew there, Elias by name, who knew me at Bagdad, behaved very hostilely towards me, on account of his knowing that I came to convert them, and declared me openly before numbers of the inhabitants to be a Russian spy, I was treated with the greatest hospitality ; and there I learned, to my astonish- ment, that neither Moorcroft, nor Guthrie, nor Trebeck, had been put to death at Bokhara. Moorcroft himself died at Ankhoy, not within the dominion of the King of Bokhara, and he died of fever. Guthrie and Trebeck died at Mazaur, governed by a khan, who is a rebel against the King of Bokhara, whom the Goosh-Bekee (vizier) to the King of Bokhara, told me that he strongly suspected had poisoned Guthrie and Trebeck ! Now mark ! a few days after my arrival there the mullahs of Bokhara went in a body to the Ameer, and said : " O your Highness ! Joseph Wolff, the Englishman who has arrived here, has informed your vizier with frankness that the Persians had told him that we had put to death Moorcroft, Guthrie, and Trebeck. His report agrees with what we heard from others, that the rascally Sheahs have given to the city of Bokhara, which is Kawat Islaame Deen (Energy of Islam), the name of Murderer of Guests, who are considered sacred by us. We must therefore treat Joseph Wolff, and every English traveller after him, with the highest regard and respect, and give him money if he wants it, in order that he may give a real statement of our dispositions towards guests, and our scrupulosity in the treatment of guests !" The Ameer replied : " By my head I Joseph Wolff must be treated well ! and he will soon be convinced that the Guzl Bash are liars !" and well treated I was ; and I am now in possession of the passport. I was well treated throughout the kingdom of Bokhara, and so was Lieutenant Burnes, afterwards Sir A. Burnes. It is true that I was stripped again afterwards, but not in the kingdom of Bokhara, but fourteen days' distant from it, at Doo-ab, near But-Bamian ; not by the Sun- nees, but by Sheahs, who are by far worse than Sunne"es. It is true that the expedition to Affghanistaun may have caused a change of sentiments towards the English, but this would only lead to a detention and strict surveillance of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, not to a violent murder of them ; and if it had led to such, why has it never been confirmed by the Chekarpoore merchants at Teheraun and the Jews of Meshed ? for the merchants in the caravanserai of Chekarpoore at Bokhara have continual intercourse with the Chekarpoore merchants at Teheraun ; and those Chekarpoore merchants of Bokhara, jealous as they are of English travellers, certainly would have noised it abroad, if such a deed had been perpetrated at Bokhara. I also forgot to add, that whilst I was well treated at Bokhara, letters arrived from the Jews of Meshed, stating that it had been currently reported at Meshed and Isfahan that I had been put to death by order of the Ameer. Now, having given you my reasons for disbelieving Saleh Muhammed's account, I repeat again my willingness to proceed if all can be arranged by the 1st of October. I get letters after letters, making inquiries, as if they had to confer a personal favour upon me ; whilst I wish to undertake the journey, not for my own pleasure, but from a sense of philanthropy. Such being my motives, I remain, Yours truly, JOSEPH WOLFF. I trust my readers will not deem me too sanguine in considering the account of Saleh Muhammed, alluded to in this letter, as false, 64 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION since it afterwards turned out to be substantially so ; or inconclusive in reasoning, in placing the story of the death of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly on a similar basis with respect to veracity to that be- fore us as to the death of these English travellers, which also turned out to be totally unfounded. I received shortly after this, fresh com- munications of the further progress of the Mission on behalf of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, and replied in the following terms : My dear Captain Grover, Bruges en Bdgique, Sept. 4, 1843. I am glad to learn that the project with regard to Colonel Stoddart and Cap- tain Conolly seems to be on the fair way of being realized. It would not be the first time that I have been enabled to be of service to others, even at the expense of my missionary proceedings. In the year 1836, I intended proceeding to Timboktoo from Abyssinia, but on my arrival at Adwa in Tigree, I found Mr. Gobat the missionary very ill, and unable to return to Europe with his wife and child ; I therefore renounced my plan of going to Timboktoo, and brought Mr. Gobat and his family safely to Jiddah. I fell ill after this myself, which obliged me to change my plans altogether. The committee of the Church Missionary So- ciety thanked me for that act. In the year 1821, when in the Isle of Cyprus, I saved the lives of four priests, who were sentenced to be put to death ; and three boys of the Greeks, whose fathers were put to death, were sent by me to England. In 1821, I established the Mission at Jerusalem, when all the friends at home thought that it was impossible. You may make use of these statements in case that you think that they will be useful ; but pass them over with silence in case that you deem it proper. After I shall have been informed that five or six hundred pounds have been paid into the bank of Messieurs Drummond and Co., 49, Charing Cross, and a passport from Lord Aberdeen, to the following purport, Revd. Joseph Wolff. English Cler- gyman, travelling in Central Asia, shall have been given, accompanied with two letters, according to Lord Aberdeen's own promise, simply recommending me to the good offices of Sir S. Canning and Colonel Sheil, without involving Lord Aberdeen or the Ambassadors in any responsibility, I shall proceed instantly from Bruges with Lady Georgiana to London, to see once more my son, who is educated at Rugby ; but I shall only stay at London till the first October packet sails for Malta from Falmouth. Perhaps the Colonial Secretary would also give me a letter for the gov- ernor at Malta, and the Admiralty for the admiral in the Mediterranean. My missionary character has been a passport at Bokhara in 1832, and also in other most dangerous places, and I trust it will prove so again to me, and Stoddart and Conolly, with God's help, in 1843. Pray, after all is settled, ask from the Jews' Society one dozen Hebrew Bibles and Liturgies for the Jews at Bokhara. Yours affectionately, JOSEPH WOLFF. I hope my readers will perceive my object in laying before them a large mass of the correspondence antecedent to my departure, since I trust it will produce this important result, viz., the clear indication OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 65 that my course and plan were well and dispassionately weighed, and that no unseemly haste was exhibited in my own conduct, or apparent in the proceedings of any party. I continued to receive from Captain Grover renewed assurances of the confidence entertained in the result of my exertions, and I again wrote to him as follows relative to a pub- lic meeting which it was his intention to convene : My dear Grover, Bruges, Sept. 6, 1843. I beg you to state frankly and openly to the ladies and gentlemen of the meeting, that I am fully aware of the doubts entertained with regard to Colonel Stoddart's and Captain Conolly's being still alive ; but at the same tune, tell them also, that nothing has shaken my wish of ascertaining the fact with my own eyes ; and should they be dead, (which I trust is not the case, and have reasons to doubt,) the people of Bokhara and their prince will be struck with amazement and conster- nation, on their observing that such interest is taken in England in the lives of their countrymen ; and it may have a great moral and religious influence among them. When I set out in the year 1821 for the purpose of preaching the Gospel at Jerusa- lem, all my friends, among whom was that man of God, Mr. Simeon himself, thought it impossible ; however I went there and preached the Gospel, and with God's help, was thus the first cause which induced the Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews, to send a permanent mission there ; and my going to Bokhara the second time may thus lead to other results. Let us show to Muhammedans that Chris- tians love each other so much, that they are ready to lay down their lives for each other ! Yours affectionately, JOSEPH WOLFF. Of the contents of this letter I am, on its reperusal after this dis- tance of time, still further convinced that the principle I then laid down, that my Mission would produce a good result to England, hap- pen what might to myself personally, has been realized ; and I feel fully satisfied that a moral dignity has been lent to England by this Mission among the Oriental nations, that will last and produce far more beneficial results to her power than if it had been attended with every possible success. It has, at least, demonstrated that death does not intimidate an Englishman, and that he will demand from the very executioner and butcher of his countrymen, the strictest account of such atrocities, either at the head of armies, or as the simple Christian, with no other arms than the Word of Truth the Bible. I need only allude to the positive fact, subsequently developed in the further prog- ress of this narrative, that though with no other power than that of a simple derveesh, the Ameer of Bokhara proffered to send an ambassa- dor with me to give an account of his conduct to our government, though fully assured by me that my mission was not political.' This ambassador also was to proceed first to the Sultan, to obtain his inter- 9 66 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION cession with England, and I need not appeal for further evidence than that, as to the utility of the noble mission of the Stoddart and Conolly Committee. My letter of the 6th was well received, when read to them, by the Stoddart and Conolly Committee, which was formed September 7th, 1843 ; and that .body of gentlemen manifested a most enthusiastic in- terest in my Mission. Captain Grover was installed as its President, a most necessary measure, as it enabled him to put himself in com- munication with Government, and to demand all necessary aid. It further emboldened me in my design, as I had then to deal with a rec- ognised organ of communication. Captain Grover had informed the Committee that I was prepared to start when 500Z. was raised for that object, but that he trusted 2000Z. would be realized speedily. To this communication I replied, giving my plan of proceeding ; and, in re- turn, received a letter, dated September 15, from Captain Grover, communicating the information that the route proposed was accepted by the Committee, and informing me that he should take apartments for me in London near Portman square. It also communicated the highly-valuable accession of the hero of Navarino, Sir E. Codrington, and the celebrated traveller, Mr. J. Silk Buckingham, as members of the Committee ; as also the munificent contributions of Lords Beau- vale and Melbourne to the fund. About this period Lieutenant Eyre, so well known for his distin- guished conduct at Cabul, did me the honour to send me the following spirited and high-minded communication : Revd. and dear Sir, Meerut, Sept. 11, 1843. I have but just perused your letter of 2nd July last, in which you so nobly offer to proceed to Bokhara, for the purpose of procuring the release of those enter- prising but unfortunate officers, Colonel Stoddart and Captain Arthur Conolly ; both of whom I had once the pleasure to know personally, and with the latter of whom I was on most friendly and intimate terms. Had it been my good fortune to be present in England when your letter appeared, I would not have hesitated for an instant to accept the invitation which you gave to any British officer to accompany you ; and I feel assured we could have managed between us to raise sufficient money for the purpose. Even now, if I am not unhappily too late, I offer myself as your companion, and I have just dispatched a letter to the secretary of the Cabul Relief Committee, urging that a sufficient sum may at once be placed at your disposal, to use in case of necessity, and I am not without hope that my suggestions may be attended to. Though not enjoying the pleasure of your personal acquaintance, I am sufficiently acquainted with your character to feel confident that you are, of all men, the most likely to. succeed in the object you at present have in view. I heard much of you when you were in India from our mutual friends Darcy Todd and poor Arthur Conolly himself. My own name may be not quite unknown to you, as one of those OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 67 British officers who fell into the hands of Akbar Khan, on the retreat from Cabul, in January, 1842, and who, after a captivity of more than eight months, experienced so wonderful and so unlocked for a deliverance, when on the point of being carried into Toorkistan, with their wives and families. The remembrance of my own most Providential liberation arms me with all the necessary confidence and resolution for joining in this eiFort on behalf of my less fortunate countrymen, who are still, per- haps, languishing in a miserable imprisonment at Bokhara. To be, in the most remote degree, instrumental in their deliverance, I should esteem the greatest happiness that could befall me, and if when this letter shall reach your hands, no more suitable companion should have offered himself, we might perhaps manage to meet each other at Bombay, or some other place, thence to proceed by whatever route shall seem to you most feasible. I should not despair of reaching Bokhara in safety by the route of Cabul, because I know that both Dost Mahomed Khan and his son, Mahomed Akbar, are interested in the fate of Stoddart, with whom they were once shut up in the same prison at Bokhara, and formed a personal friendship in consequence. They would therefore be likely to afford every facility to such a journey as you contemplate ; and they might even feel some gratification in seeing one who had been so recently a prisoner in their hands, appearing with so much confidence amongst them again, and trusting to their feelings of humanity. The Khiva route, however, which you propose, seems the most free from risk, and easiest of accomplishment to one starting direct from England. I will now tell you all I have been able to learn about our two captive country- men. The last authentic intelligence was contained in two letters from Arthur Conolly himself, to his brother John, then a hostage at Cabul, in the summer of 1842, in which he drew a melancholy picture of their situation in a prison at Bokhara. For four months they had no change of raiment ; their dungeon was in a most filthy and unwholesome state, and teemed with vermin to a degree that rendered life a burden. Stoddart was reduced to a skeleton, and his body was covered with putrid sores. They had, with great difficulty, prevailed on one of their keepers to represent their wretched condition to the King, and were then awaiting his reply, having committed themselves to God, in the full assurance that unless soon released, death must shortly terminate their sufferings. The King was always described to us by the Affghans, as a mad .and merciless tyrant, being subject to fits of insanity, during the continuance of which all around him trembled for their lives. This picture of him may be overcharged, but, if true, it is almost destructive of hope. You have, of course, heard the story derived, through Colonel Sheil, from a Per- sian who professed to have actually seen the graves hi which Stoddart and Conolly had been buried. This story has, however, been contradicted by two highly re- spectable Jews, both of whom I know intimately, and whom I believe to be honest upright men. They have received letters from friends at Bokhara, mentioning both officers as still alive ; and information has been received from other quarters, that the two graves were those of two servants who had offended the King. There was a popular belief at the time of their execution, that they were British officers, and this may have been what misled Colonel Sheil's informant. Sept. 18th. Since writing the foregoing, I have received a reply to my applica- tion from the Cabul Relief Committee, who regret that they are debarred by the 68 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION rules of the fund to place any money at your disposal, but expressing their readiness to assist your undertaking to the utmost of their power. I greatly lament that no- thing can now be done by this mail, but I shall stir the matter in the papers. I have just learned that my troop is ordered to Agra, to form part of an army there to assemble. Should my public duty in this country interfere with the private wish I have here expressed, you will still believe I take the greatest interest in your pro- ceedings, and shall rejoice with all my heart to hear of your success. God be with you, my dear sir, and believe me, Yours very faithfully, VINCENT EYRE, Lt. Horse Artillery. The numerous useful suggestions contained in this letter, it is al- most unnecessary to particularize ; I was glad to find that the route I had proposed seemed the best to this experienced traveller. The sufferings of the British Officers, I need not add, as described in this letter, added fresh fuel to my earnest desire to reach them; and though the character of the Khan, which was fully realized in my own instance afterwards, was anything but satisfactory to my feelings, I confess, yet had I on the instant possessed the magic carpet of Prince Houssein, I should have immediately used it to transport my- self to Bokhara to inquire into their sad destiny, if possible to redress their fearful wrongs. No reply could of course be given to this let- ter, which arrived in England after I had started, and reached me at Constantinople. Nor was this the only offer I received indicative of the deep sym- pathy entertained for the British Envoys. Lieutenant-Colonel Napier, on hearing of my offer, immediately volunteered to accompany me in the following letter : Sir, Merchiston Hall, Horndean, Hants, August 17. I see by the public papers that you are anxious to proceed to Bokhara, to en- quire into the case of Colonel Stoddart, and would wish to be accompanied by a military man f T have been a good deal in the East, and if such an expedition could be managed and authorized by the British government, it would give me great pleas- ure (under certain provisos) to have the advantage of the company of so experienced a traveller as yourself. Believe me, reverend sir, to remain, Yours truly, E. NAPIER, Lt. -Colonel H. P. Unatt. To resume the thread of my story, to the letter before alluded to from Captain Grover, I subjoin my reply : My dear Captain Crover, Bruges, Sept. 18, 1843. I beg you to tell the members of the Committee that I am highly flattered with the confidence they place hi me. I think that Malta will be the shortest way ; therefore, try that I may be enabled to start with the first steam-packet in the month of October, and that all may be prepared for that time. I am very glad that Lord OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 69 Melbourne and the Hero of Navarino take an interest in this matter. I shall be able to consolidate the forty-one pounds, which are in Drummonds' hands, from the separate committee. After the necessary five hundred pounds shall be collected, and the passports and letters from the Foreign Office procured for Sir Stratford Can- ning and Colonel Shell, I shall be very happy to attend a meeting at London, and state more at large the importance of ascertaining the truth of the report of Muham- med Saleh, which has since, according to the newspapers, been contradicted by pil- grims from Bokhara, who passed Constantinople. It is very extraordinary that neither Sheil, nor any one from Teheraun mentions that the report had been con- firmed by caravans from Bokhara, nor by the Jews of Meshed ; and the whole evi- dence depends on the too circumstantial account of Muhammed Saleh, as Miss Stoddart lately wrote to me. I do not like to come to London with Lady Georgiana until all is settled, on ac- count of the expense which I should incur at London ; for having never had a living in England, and being only lately a curate in Yorkshire, with an income of sixty pounds per annum, which obliged me to leave the place, in order to live in the cheap town of Bruges, I do not like to go away from here, where I have hired apartments, and incur expenses at London for other apartments, until I am on the very point of starting for Bokhara. I think that such a meeting would be highly useful. If we find both Conolly and Stoddart dead, the Asiatic nation, the Muhamme- dans, will have perceived by my inquiring after them, that the Christians love each other, and are not indifferent at the fate of two of their brethren ; and they will exclaim, as in the time of Tertullian the heathens exclaimed : " How the.se Christians love each other .'" And, further, this Mission will make the people of Bokhara ap- prehensive of the consequences, and deter them from doing so again ; and also, knowing, as I do, that the powerful Khans of Khiva, Shahr Sabz, and Khokand, are (but especially that of Shahr Sabz) enemies of the King of Bokhara, I may ascer- tain how far these Khans will be prepared to take up the case, and unite with Eng- land in punishing the Khan of Bokhara, if he should have done such a thing. Many other beneficial results may accrue from this journey. But I repeat my most firm conviction, that I do not believe one single word of the circumstantial account of Muhammed Saleh, for there is no nation in the world like the Persian, who can tell lies in the most circumstantial manner. 1. I shall take with me a clergyman's gown and cassock, my hood, and a shovel hat. 2. One dozen or two of Hebrew Bibles and Testaments, and of the Common Prayer Book in Hebrew, for the Jews of Bokhara, Shahr Sabz, Khiva, Samarcand, Balkh, and Khokand. These you may get from the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews. 3. Two or three dozens of silver watches, for the grand mullah and mullahs of Bokhara, the Khans of Khiva, Shahr Sabz and Khokand. The Ameer of Bokhara shall not get one single thing, in case that he was the cause of their death. 4. Two or three dozens of maps in the Arabic characters, published by the Church Missionary Society. 5. Three dozens of Robinson Crusoe, translated into Arabic by Mr. Schlienz, at Malta. I distributed a great many copies of this book, when at Sanaa and Loheya, in Arabia, and I assure you that it excited a great sensation. Robinson Crusoe's adventures and wisdom* were read by Muhammedans in the market-places of Sa- * On reading the book which I gave them the Arabs exclaimed, " Oh, that Robinson Crusoe must have been a great Prophet !" 70 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION naa, Hodyeda, and Loheya, and admired and believed ! All these circumstances I would state in the meeting, and an interesting meeting we shall have. Lord Viscount Canning wrote to me, that whenever I should come to London, and wish to see him, he shall be most happy to receive me. I think that it will be well to make him and Lord Aberdeen acquainted with the contents of my letters, in order that they may see that I have a well-matured plan, and do not intend to make use of the name of government in my proceedings, and that, after all, I don't in- tend to rush into danger like a wild fanatic ! If I was in London, we could combine many things together, which cannot be done so well by letter ; but, as I have said, I fear the expenses. My health is quite well, and so I am not afraid on this score, not to be able to make this journey. Yours very truly, JOSEPH WOLFF. P. S. You should send your pamphlet, and all the proceedings of the Committee, to the Turkish, Russian, and Persian ambassadors at London, and also to Arteen Bey, Muhammed Ali's envoy, by which means the news will spread to Bokhara be- fore I arrive there, and may effect the liberation of Stoddart and Conolly before I get there. Communicate it also to the French ambassador. On this subject I need offer but few observations, except to note the trouble from a solitary member of the Stoddart family, that I experi- enced ; but I shall not further honour that individual, save by the simple statement, that if an individual had been selected from out the entire world who ought to have clasped in tears and gratitude the knees of my friend Captain Grover, one would have naturally ex- pected him to have been that individual who most grossly insulted and abused Captain Grover at the public meeting at Exeter Hall on my return to England ! The British public exhibited on that occasion their sense of that ungrateful attack on the friend of Stoddart, by ex- pressions of no doubtful character. But I will not anticipate matters. The particulars detailed in this letter show, I trust, that I was not a man prepared madly and reck- lessly to risk my life, but prove, I conceive, that my plan for the mis- sion was both comprehensive and as secure as circumstances would permit it to be. After a further communication with Captain Grover on the convening of a public meeting, in which I was desirous of laying before the public my former experience in the habits of these countries, and of detailing my journey to Bokhara in 1830, and of my curious reception in that interesting and ancient city, I again, on the 26th of September, announced to him my intention of coming to England to prepare for the expedition, and also my plan of embarka- tion by the October packet of the 15th from Southampton to Malta, and that I purposed quitting Bruges on the 1st of October for that ob- ject. Before, however, I did so, I addressed to Captain Grover the following letter : OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 71 Bruges, Hotel du Commerce, To Captain Graver. Sept. 28, 1843. You will have received my letter of the 25th, as an answer of yours received eta Antwerp, by which you will perceive that my proposed plan exactly agrees with the wish of the Committee, stated in your letter of the 25th. I shall come over to England, via Ostend, on Monday, in the afternoon ; for we shall sail from Ostend on the 1st of October, in the evening. I hope that the Iberia is a steamer, for I would not run any risk in a sailing vessel at this season of the year ; and in case that it is a government packet, perhaps the Admiralty would grant to me a free pas- sage in her? However, this is only a query. With regard lo the watches I men- tioned, you must contrive that they are bought clear from the five hundred pounds, which must go entirely for my expenses to Bokhara, and back to London. The reasons of my going to Bokhara are : 1st. To perform a Christian act, by attempting the liberation of fellow-creatures, of two gullant officers of my adopted country. 2nd. To liberate a friend, an intimate friend of mine, in the person of Conolly. 3rd. To be useful to England. 4th. To perform a promise given to the prime minister of Bokhara, that I would remove the prejudice from the Europeans, caused by the calumny of the Persians, that the people of Bokhara were murderers of guests. 5th. To show to Asiatics how highly an Englishman and a Christian values the life of his 'fellow-creature, by exposing myself to the fatigues and dangers of a jour- ney from the Thames to the Oxus ; and thus to inspire respect for the name of an Englishman in the minds of the Usbegs and their prince. 6th, and lastly. To be the instrument of drying the tears from the eyes of Conolly's family, and perhaps * * * I hope, my dear friends, that there will be no disappointment, for it would be dis- tressing if I were to come to England, and then the plan be given up. There is only one disappointment which I should be glad to learn ; and that is, that accounts were to reach you that Stoddart and Conolly have arrived at Teheraun. This would be indeed an agreeable disappointment for me. I beg you to express to the Committee my sense of heartfelt gratitude for the confidence they have placed in me. I beg you to make acceptable to Sir Edward Codrington, whom I had the honour to know when at Malta, my humble respects, and kind regards to the brothers of the justly -lamented Sir Alexander Burnes. I am, yours truly, JOSEPH WOLFF. I arrived in England on October 1st, 1843. The day after my ar- rival in London I had an interview with the Committee, when Captain Grover, according to his promise, gave me a check on his bankers for five hundred pounds. I explained to the Committee my reasons for disbelieving the statement of Saleh Muhammed, to which the govern- ment gave credit, and detailed at full the plan I purposed following during my journey and residence at Bokhara. I promised to go di- rectly thither, and on no account to deviate from the direct route. It was agreed on between us, that as soon as I had ascertained that Stoddart and Conolly had been put to death, or that I should have 72 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION conveyed them safe to Teheraun, that ray engagement with the Com- mittee should cease, and that I should be at liberty to proceed wher- ever I might please. The Committee were most anxious for my per- sonal safety^ and Captain Grover did all in his power to impress upon my mind the great dangers and difficulties to which I was about to expose myself, and also as to the uncertainty of my being able to clear up the mystery should I reach Bokhara. I gave the Committee a short account of my previous journeys to Bokhara, of the kind man- ner I was treated by the Ameer, and of my acquaintance with many of the most important persons of that holy and learned city. My sacred character of Mullah would also command respect, I had no doubt, and the charitable object of my journey would, I trusted, in- sure me the kindness of all. My knowledge of Hebrew would enable me to communicate secretly with the Jews, and of Persian and Arabic with other parties. Captain Grover remarked, that every means would be employed to make me believe the officers were dead to which I replied that nothing but seeing their bones would satisfy me, and these I would bring to the Committee. I expressed a wish that a public meeting should be convened, 1st, that the objects of the mission might be understood, and benefit me by preceding me wherever I went ; 2nd, with a view to the reimbursement of Captain Grover by the British public ; and 3rd, that any of the relatives of the Stoddart or Conolly family, or others, might then have an opportunity of show- ing their sympathy with my mission, by aiding it by all the means in their power. A meeting was immediately convened at the Hanover-square Rooms, Major-General Sir Jeremiah Bryant, C.B., in the chair. My friend Captain Grover detailed the singular circumstances under which we became acquainted; and certainly our juxta-position as a British officer and a Protestant divine, both devoutly and sincerely oc- cupied on one common purpose of philanthropy to which he eloquent- ly alluded was alone one of remarkable singularity. I pointed out to that meeting, that on my first expedition to Bokhara, in 1832, a report prevailed that the travellers Moorcroft and Trebeck had been barbarously murdered by the Khan of Bokhara, which proved wholly unfounded. I indicated also my reception by the Goosh-Bekee, or " King's Ear," to whom I had notified my purpose to visit Bokhara and Balkh, to converse with my people the Jews about Jesus, and, if possible, to trace the Tribes of the Dispersion. Eighteen years had been consumed by me in missionary labour. That I considered Bok- hara and Samarcand to be one of their positions, if extant, in common with a celebrated Rabbi at Jerusalem, and that I was supported in OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 73 that view by the remarkable passage in 1 Chron. v. 26. I showed that I was plundered, beaten, and enslaved by the Turkomauns, but that such was the respect entertained for derveeshes that my liberty was restored to me. I pointed out the feelings under which I entered the gates of Bokhara, the Kawate Islaam-ud-Deen, the strength of Islamism, the city of Afrasiab, the supposed Habor of Scripture, the rival and supplantress of Samarcand, the place of residency of Behadur Khan, the treasures of which are so celebrated that they are mentioned in the poems of Hafiz, the asylum of the Nogay, the Jew, the Girgese, once the Hindoo Bokhara, so harshly treated by Ghengis Khan, and then again by Tamerlane. I entered it with my Bible in my hand, on a horse sent me by the " King's Ear." I stated what I knew of the Jews, of their ignorance of their religion, that the mul- lahs were quite indignant at the reported death of Moorcroft and Tre- beck, my utter disbelief of Saleh Muhammed's statement, and my full confidence that I should return in peace. The chairman, Sir Jeremiah Bryant, particularized many points connected with Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly. He entered on the merits of the Conolly family most feelingly. One brother, he stated, had died a prisoner among the Affghauns ; another had been shot through the heart while aide-de-camp to General Sir R. Sale ; the third (Arthur) was the object of their present solicitude. The Journal of Captain Conolly was before the public. He had himself seen Wolff and Conolly together in 1832 at Cawnpore, in a controversy which Dr. Wolff was conducting with the Muhammedan doctors. He further stated, in conclusion, his conviction that I was eminently fitted for the mission, from my former experience, general acquaintance with Asiatic countries, and strong personal attachment to Captain Conolly. The thanks of the meeting were unanimously voted all standing to my friend Captain Grover, for his chivalric and high-spirited devotion to the cause ; and Captain Grover, in returning thanks, said that the offer of entering on the mission, made by himself personally, was only an echo of the general sentiments of the British army, numerous offi- cers having volunteered to undertake the mission many to accom- pany Dr. Wolff, among whom he could name Colonel E. Napier, pro- vided they were permitted to go as British officers. I expedited matters with all possible dispatch, and arrived at South- ampton for embarkation on the 14th of October. While there, the celebrated authoress of the Undying One, the Honourable Mrs. Norton, came forward to shake hands with me, and to wish me heartily well on my journey. I was much gratified by this lady's attention, and I trust to win many regards to the way of truth by those singular oir- 10 74 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION cumstances in which it has pleased the Almighty to dispose of my lot. I was also visited by a young gentleman of high birth and noble family on board ship, who expressed his wish to accompany me, if circum- stances had permitted him. I thank God that he did not, for I never should wish to see any young man enter Bokhara. If it were possible, in the present state of the, world, to conceive scenes that would justify to the full the awful injunctions in Leviticus against the Canaanitish nations, they are certainly enacted in that atrocious city. We set sail in the Iberia for Gibraltar on October 14th, 1843. My fellow. passengers were twenty-three in number, and among them I made the acquaintance of Lady Augusta Paget, and her daughter. The first day her ladyship conversed largely with me ; on the second the ominous evils of a sea voyage began to indicate them- selves, and her ladyship took to her berth. Doctor Gilchrist, the super- intendent of the medical board at Gibraltar, also an old acquaintance, was on board. The chief engineer of the Sultan, Mr. Haigh, and his lady ; they were both of the Wesleyan persuasion, and were from Penzance, in Cornwall, and emphatically assured me that I should meet some other good people on board. I must not omit, also, to men- tion, among my other companions, Mr. and Mrs. Richardson. This gentleman, a most good-natured personage, was proceeding to Con- stantinople to direct the building of the British Palace. My previous habits made me support the voyage better than my fellow-travellers. I walked about on deck without a hat, and every morning had sea water poured over me. I slept on the sofa in the dining-room, rarely in my berth. We made nine miles an hour, and arrived off Ushant on the 15th. I wrote to my dear wife and son at this period, to beg them to pray for me, and that, by the Lord's will, I trusted that we should again be soon united and live happily together in God ; and if the world and the church did not reward me, and both had neglected much worthier beings, still to keep their minds fixed on Christ. That Christ, who after all he had done in nineteen centuries was still expected, since as yet the heathen are not given to him for his inheritance, nor the utmost parts of the earth for his possession. We were off Ushant on the 15th, as I observed ; and on Sunday, the 16th, my poor fellow-passengers were too ill to admit of my perform- ing divine service, and matters were not mended when we slipped into the Bay of Biscay. On Monday the 17th, I gave a lecture to the ship's company, and at 6 P.M. we passed Cape Finisterre. On Tues- day the 17th, I lectured again. We had then Cape St. Vincent in sight. On the 19th, when off Cadiz, I continued my lecture. On the 20th, early in the morning, we entered Gibraltar. I imme- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 75 diately went on shore, breakfasted with Dr. Gilchrist, and then called on my old friend Dr. Burrow, archdeacon of Gibraltar. As soon as I had sent in my name, the worthy archdeacon came out and led me into his drawing-room, where I was introduced to his two daughters, and to the Rev. Mr. Buchanan, chaplain to the forces; and I met also a Mr. Levy, missionary to the Jews of Gibraltar. The vener- able archdeacon expressed a deep interest in my present enterprise, and immediately introduced me to his Excellency the Governor, Sir Robert Wilson. The chivalrous conduct of Sir Robert Wilson in de- livering Lav alette from imprisonment and death, and the interest I al- ways felt in Madame Lavalette, that sweet affectionate woman, ren- dered my interview with him most pleasing. I could have wished that circumstances had permitted Sir Robert to have accompanied me to Bokhara. Were the whole lives of some men recounted, how far more wonderful would they appear than any romance. The governor and his daughter received me in a most cordial manner, and expressed their deep sympathy in my present mission. I was also introduced to Major Wilbraham, the secretary, who had been in Persia, and knew Colonel Stoddart. Major Wilbraham was inclined to believe the re- port of Saleh Muhammed : however, he admitted that it would be well to come to a certainty. The Bishop of Gibraltar had left Gibraltar a few weeks ago, and returned to Malta. The Church of England could not have sent a better man to the Mediterranean than Dr. Tomlinson : he combines in his person every requisite for a bishop in the Levant. Dr. Tom- linson does not sit down in one place, and make mere excursions of amusement : he is quickly observed at Athens, consecrating a church there, again at Constantinople, after that at Oporto, and soon at Gi- braltar. An English bishop in the Levant ought to be acquainted thoroughly with the literature of his own country, and be master of the French and Italian, and also know something at least of the Arabic literature ; now Dr. Tomlinson is master of all these languages, with which qualities he unites the most essential of all qualities, i. e. PIETY. It was very fortunate that the Lord Bishop of London had, previous to his proposing to send a bishop to the Mediterranean, held a conver- sation with the Rev. C. Schlienz, missionary to the Church Missionary Society, who, being well acquainted with the Oriental languages, and also the customs and manners of the East, was able to suggest meas- ures according to which the bishops in England seem to have acted in sending out that excellent prelate, Dr. Tomlinson, to Malta. It would be highly advisable to send Dr. Tomlinson to Chaldea, in order to investigate the present state of the Nestorians, and to afford them 76 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION relief; or, should Dr. Tomlinson not have time, it would be well to send there the Rev. George Williams, Fellow of King's College, Cam- bridge, who has not only travelled in Palestine, but has taken trouble to learn the language. It is quite distressing to see how often a person sets out for the East on a journey of pleasure, without knowing one single word of the language, and then comes back, after a few months, (when he could only have observed that the Eastern clergy wear beards,) and writes a nonsensical pamphlet, pompously styling it, The State of the Eastern Churches. We left Gibraltar on the evening of the same day as our arrival ; the excellent Archdeacon Burrow wished me to stay with him one or two months. He said that nobody agreed better with him than myself in all his opinions. Mr. James Potts, from Dublin, and Messrs. George and Thomas Bourne, from Liverpool, brothers-in-law to my friend the Rev. Mr. Brandreth, embarked on board the Iberia for Constantinople. On the 21st of October I continued my lectures to the passengers ; Sunday, the 22nd, I read divine service and preached ; Monday, the 23rd, I lectured again; Tuesday, the 24th, we were off Tunis; Wed- nesday, the 25th, we sailed with contrary wind, and passed, early in the morning, the island of Zemra. We had before us the island called Pantaleria, thickly inhabited the Botany Bay of Naples. I had a con- versation with several travellers on the necessity of faith and obedience, and on the personal reign of Christ, and the restoration of the Jews. At ten in the morning of the 26th October we reached Malta. On our entry into the harbour, a servant of Mr. Hunter came on board to fetch the lad Abbot, from Smyrna, who was passenger on board the Iberia, from London, on his way to Smyrna, but as his father, a mer- chant at Smyrna, was performing quarantine at Malta, Mr. Hunter was commissioned to take care of the boy. I therefore wanted to go with Hunter's servant, first of all to Mr. Hunter, as I had a letter for that gentleman from the house of Baring, but the boats were in such crowds near the Iberia, that one of the active boatmen took hold of one of my feet and dragged me into a boat different from that in which Abbot was rowing off. Scarcely had I arrived on shore, when num- bers of Maltese exclaimed, " Come sta Signore ? come sta la Signora Georgiana." It was quite touching. As I passed Mrs. Kilburn's shop, I went first of all to her, and she exclaimed, " Who ever thought that I should see you again ? how is Lady Georgiana, and how is Drummond (my son) ? You are going on a glorious errand !" I inquired her age : " How old are you, Mrs. Kilburn ?" " Seventy- six. 3 ' I replied, "You may live twenty years more ! Good bye." I then hastened to the governor. The first person I met was the old OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 77 servant of Sir Frederic Ponsonby ; he delivered my card to Captain Tidy, aid-de-camp to the governor. Captain Tidy exclaimed, " Oh, Doctor Wolff, your arrival was expected ; I was at the taking of (I forget the name of the place) together with Captain Conolly." Gen- eral Stuart and Lady Stuart shook hands most cordially with me, and invited me to dine with them at seven o'clock in the evening ; and as the captain of the Iberia determined to stay till midnight, I was able to accept the invitation which I at first believed was impossible. His Excellency promised me every assistance in his power. On my going out again from the general's room, the servant asked me whether I had seen Lady Emily Ponsonby. I told him all I knew about her ladyship, and that her ladyship's countenance always brightened up when I mentioned the name of Malta to her in England. The General then sent an orderly with me to the Admiral, Sir Ed- ward Owen, a venerable old gentleman. His aid-de-camp, Com- mander Bedford, knew me in former times, and was very glad to see me, and on announcing me to the good Admiral, he immediately asked me to breakfast with him. He had already received a letter about me from the Admiralty, via Marseilles, and regretted that he had not detained the Orestes, which sailed two days before my arrival for Constantinople, but he told me that I would arrive sooner in the Iberia than by the Orestes, as the latter was obliged to stop several days at Corfu. He gave me letters for Admiral Walker (Yavar Pasha), at Constantinople ; for the Captain of the Devastation, at Constantinople ; for Captain Stirling, of the Indus, and Sir Edward Lyons, at Athens. He then placed his carriage at my disposal. I then went first of all to Dr. Tomlinson ; the person who opened the door was Carlo, the servant of Mr. Schlienz, now servant to the Bishop of Gibraltar. His lordship received me with great kindness, and his sister told me that she knew Lady Georgiana and Lady Ma- ria West, and inquired very kindly after both. His lordship then en- tered most frankly with me into the state of missions. His lordship gave me letters for the English clergy at Athens ; for Doctors Ben- nett and Southgate, at Constantinople ; and a commendatory letter from his lordship to all the bishops and priests in the East. I here append it. Reverend and dear Sir, Malta, October 26, 1843. I am glad to hear that you are about to proceed immediately to ascertain the fate of poor Colonel Stoddart and his fellow sufferer in Bokhara. I hope that you may be prospered on your way, and that, with the blessing of God, you will succeed in your object. It is melancholy to think of such men being left without assistance, if they are still alive. But at all events, your journey must be productive of good. 78 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION You will hardly need any introduction in the countries to which you are going ; but you are quite at liberty to show this letter, wherever it may be of service to you. I beg you will commend me to any of the Oriental Bishops and Clergy of my ac- quaintance whom you may meet with in your journies. Praying that you may be preserved by the goodness and mercy of God from all the dangers of the way, I remain, dear Sir, Your faithful servant in Christ, G. GIBRALTAR. His lordship told me that Mr. Frere was very anxious to see me ; I therefore went out to him in the Pieta. He was there with his old servants Beppo and another, who were rejoiced to see me. I was shown, as usually in former times, to his drawing room j his table was covered with books, and memorials from poor Maltese. After a while my dear old friend entered the room weeping for joy, enquired after my wife and my son Henry most kindly, and talked over our former intimacy. His speech was somewhat feeble, and he told me that he had had at Rome an attack of an apoplectic stroke, but his memory is ex- ceedingly good. I stopped with him about an hour, and he was sorry to learn from me that I was sailing off the same day, as he wanted to invite a party to meet me, among others the Governor, the Admiral and Miss Hamilton. Befpre I left him, he kindly gave me an order for twenty-one pounds, on Bell and Co., and a strong letter of intro- duction to Sir Stratford and Lady Canning. I then took my leave of the good old man, and went in the carriage to Miss Hamilton. When I arrived I sent in my card. I imagined that I should find a lady bowed down by age, and that she would scarcely remember me ; but she came running to meet me, looking better than she ever did when I saw her eight years ago. " I never thought to see you again," she exclaimed ; " now will you eat a good beef-steak with me, and drink the best glass of ale you ever tasted in your life, and pears which Mr. Frere sent me from his garden only yesterday." So I sat down, and then I said, " I saw your sister, Lady George Sey- mour, only last July, at Lady Emily Ponsonby's, when your sister complained that you had entirely given up your relations, and that you never write to them." She replied, " Poor people, writing is such a great trouble to me, but I threaten them after all with a visit of mine, one of these days : I am now seventy-seven years of age, as well as ever ; there is no such a place as Malta." " I have learnt that you have ten cows." " Yes, I have a little farm, and here you see my garden, the whole of which does not cost me thirty-two pounds per annum." And this lady lives in a most palace-like house in Floriana for thirty-two pounds per annum. I reminded her of hav- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 79 ing promised me a kiss when I came back from my journey. She re- plied, that I could not expect such a thing from such a young girl as herself. She reminded me of our evening party at Miss Leech's, where we met the American who chewed the cud, but it was still to be ascertained whether he divided the hoof or not. She asked very particularly about my son, and also Lady Emily Ponsonby and her children, and everything about my wife. After this pleasant chat with a delightful old acquaintance, I next called on Mr. Christian, whose son I found much grown, and who wished me to go with him to his country house, but I had no time for it. He inquired after all my friends, and after Lady Emily Pon- sonby. I then left him, and on leaving his house I met Paolo, my old cook, out of service. I then went to visit Mr. Weiss, who was quite overjoyed to see me ; he is no longer connected with the Church Missionary Society. On my returning to the palace of the Governor I met with Arch- deacon Le Mesurier, who expressed great joy in seeing me. He looks as well as ever, and is as stout and active as ever. There must be something in the climate of Malta which makes people younger rather than older. At seven o'clock I came to the Governor, when he introduced me to Lady Stuart and to his daughters ; and I met at table my old friend Sir Hector Greig. I also met with Colonel Edward, Captain Tidy, and some ladies. Sir Hector wished me to come back to Malta, and offered me a bed in his house, but I could not accept it. I returned to the Iberia at eleven o'clock at night; and as the Vernon was lying opposite, which was commanded by Captain William Walpole, I went on board of her, but Captain Walpole was on shore. I left a few lines with him for friends at home. We left Malta that night, the 26th, and experienced on the 27th hot but excellent weather ; our rate nine knots per hour on to Athens. We reached the harbour of the Piraeus on the 29th of October, at three in the afternoon. On my arrival I went on board the Indus, which was then in the Piraeus, where I saw Sir James Stirling, the commodore of the British navy in the Archipelago, and accepted his polite invitation to breakfast. I then proceeded to Athens, to see Sir E. Lyons, and not finding him at home called on the English chaplain at Athens, the Rev. H. D. Leeves. In company with this gentleman who received me with the greatest cordiality and his daughters, I proceeded to the Acropolis ; and on the Areopagus, where St. Paul preached, I read Acts xvii., " Ye men of Athens," &c. During my stay with, Mr. Leeves I saw Jonas King, my old fellow. 80 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION tra\ller, Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin, American missionaries, and Con- stantinos, one of the Greeks whom I had sent to England in the year 1822 from Cyprus, and who has now a flourishing school at Athens. The father of Constantinos was beheaded in 1822, during the Revolu- tion, and I had saved him and three other boys from slavery, and despatched them to England ; one of them, Paolo Pierides, is now a physician in Scotland, and his brother a schoolmaster at Larnica. On my return home from the house of my old friend, the Rev. Mr. Leeves, I found a note from Sir E. Lyons, inviting me to breakfast with him on the following morning at eight o'clpck. I did so, and as Sir E. Lyons expressed a desire that I should be introduced to King Otho and her Majesty the Queen, and as I was glad of the opportunity, it was arranged. Mr. Leeves, pursuant to Sir E. Lyons' request, introduced me to Dr. Rueser, a Bavarian, who immediately conducted me to the Rev. Father Arnott, the king's confessor. It is contrary to etiquette for the ambassador to introduce under two days' notice, which my stay did not permit me to give. Father Arnott, on my introduction to him, told me that he had seen letters of mine written to Dumreicher at Alexandria. They expressed great joy that they had made my personal acquaintance. They introduced me to a lady in waiting to Her Majesty, who was born two miles distant from Weilersbach, my native place ; we conversed a great deal together, and laughed much about several subjects. They gave notice, first of all, to Count Ma- vromichale, the chamberlain, who announced me to His Majesty, who immediately ordered him to bring me to his room. His Majesty is a tall, meagre-looking gentleman, dressed in Greek costume. I made a profound bow, and His Majesty immediately said, "You have made, and are now making, a great journey for a benevolent purpose." W. I had the great honour of being introduced to Your Majesty's Royal Father at Rome. King Otho. In what year ? W. In the year 1818, when he was accompanied by Dr. Ringseis and Counts Seinsheim and Rechberg. K. What nations have you visited and conversed with ? W. Jews, Muhammedans, Chaldeans, Yeseede, Syrians, Sabeans, Persians, &c. K. In what state are the Chaldean and Armenian churches, what are their tenets, and does the Armenian church recognise a head of its religion like the Pope of Rome ? W. The Patriarch of Ech-Miazin, at the foot of Mount Ararat, has the title of Katokhikos. i. e. Catholicus, and he alone has the power of OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 81 consecrating bishops, and sending them over all the countries where Armenians are to be found. K. Whose descendants are the Armenians ? . - W. According to Armenian historians, they are the descendants of Hayk the brother of Belus, one of the builders of the Tower of Babylon. K. Have the Armenians a literature ? W. Yes ; in the fifth century the great Mesrob translated the Bible into the Armenian tongue ; Moses Vocazer, Chorinazi, the historian, and Isaac, are celebrated writers among the Armenians. In the eleventh century they had the great patriarch Nerses Shnor-Haale, and Archbishop Nerses Lampronazi. At present they have very clever men at St. Lazarus in Venice, as an instance I may mention Father Pasquale Aucher ; and at Calcutta, Hoannes Avdal. After having given His Majesty the detail of their tenets, he asked me the reasons which induced me to believe that Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly were alive. I gave him my reasons, and told him that I hoped to find also Lieutenant Steer and Dr. Balfour, who were made prisoners in the war of AfFghanistaun. His Majesty asked me where I had left Lady Georgiana and my family, and how many chil- dren I had. I satisfied His Majesty also on this subject. The con- versation lasted a whole hour. I was then introduced to Madame Blosco, nee Comtesse de Witzleben, a niece of Count Stolberg, with whom I talked about her uncle ; she announced me to Her Majesty, who immediately ordered me to appear before her. She is really a most beautiful and lovely Queen: the very beau ideal of a Queen. When I approached her for the purpose of kissing her lovely hands, she hastened to put off one of her gloves, and I then -kissed it. Queen. What travels you have made ! What astonishing travels! W. In order to obtain a great object, one must make great exer- tions. Q. Have you found the Jews very much opposed ? W. Sometimes ; but they generally treated me with great polite, ness. Q. Have you often been attacked in the road ? W. I was a slave ! Q. You must have a great deal of courage. W. I am mostly afraid of the sea, for there is a proverb among the Jews in Germany, that the water has no beams. Her Majesty laughed, and I observed, " Your Majesty thinks now, 11 82 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION that I, after all, betray my descent from the Jews by that observation, for the Jews do not like the sea." Q. Have many of the Armenians and Chaldeans joined the church of Rome ? W. About 60,000 Armenians and 3,000 Chaldeans have joined the church of Rome. Q. What religion have the Armenians ? W. They are Monophysites*, but are a most interesting and in- quiring people. Q. What kind of people are the Chaldeans ? W. They live at Mosul, Diarbekir, Ooroomia, Salmast, and in the mountains of Kurdistaun. They are beyond doubt descendants of the Jews, converted to Christianity, for they call themselves the " children of Israel." They have their patriarch, Mar Shemaan by name, who pretends to be a lineal descendant of St. Peter. Some thousands of them have been converted to the church of Rome, espe- cially those residing at* Mosul, and in the village called Alkush, the birth-place of Nahum the prophet, and also the place where he was buried. Q. Are there more Roman Catholics or Protestant missionaries ? W. Roman Catholics. Q. Who have made most converts ? W. The Roman Catholics ; but the Protestants have of late had very considerable success in India. Q. What an enthusiastic and sincere man you are ; I admire your zeal. Do you not fear going now to Bokhara ? W. I am carried on by the object. Q. It would be well if all the churches were united together. W. This is much to be prayed for, but this union will only be realized at the second coming of our Lord. Q. Do you expect that this will soon happen ? W. Yes, I do ; but I intend that if I should preach the gospel again in Russia, not to act under the Lutheran consistory, but under the Russian synod, and have my converts baptized in the Russian church. Q. This is well meant, but I doubt whether the Russian synod would agree to it. * A sect that believes that the human nature of our Lord has been absorbed into the divine, and so that both natures are one nature ; contrary to the beautiful dis- tinction in the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, and the close declaration of the Second Article of our Church, " That two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and the Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and very man." OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 83 W. I think that they would, for this was the contention with the Scotch missionaries at Astrachan, for they were not allowed to carry on their mission, as they refused to submit to having their converts baptized by the Russians. Q. Have you had much success in your mission ? W. I was the first who went to Jerusalem to preach the gospel there to the Jews, at a time when the war was raging between Greece and Turkey, and my mission there excited the attention of the public in England to the importance of a mission at Jerusalem. The Jews at Jerusalem began first to inquire, after my arrival, into the merits of the Christian religion, induced by my conversations with them. Through my mission at Jerusalem, the Jews at Jerusalem, Sichem, Aleppo, and Bagdad, directed their attention to the subject of Christi- anity. I also was the first who made the Jews, resident in Persia, Khorassaun, the whole country of Bokhara, Affghanistaun, the deserts of Turkistaun, Khokand, and Chinese Tartary, acquainted with the New Testament, and thus the Mussulmans and Jews at Constantinople were converted through my instrumentality ; and I baptized Jews in Egypt, Jaffa, Sanaa, Yemen, and Bokhara. I was the first who brought the subject of the Jews before the universities of Oxford, Leyden, and Utrecht, and before the Congress of the United States of America. The conversation then turned to different other subjects, and then Her Majesty most graciously took leave, and I bowed and went away. The conversation lasted one hour. Madame Blosco then told me that Her Majesty was particularly delighted with my interview with her. I then went with Mr. Leeves and Mr. King to see the president of the Greek Senate, Bishop Neophy tos, for the synod is composed of five bishops. J am sorry to learn that the Greek church in Greece is no longer under the Patriarch of Constantinople. After my visits were over, I dmed at Mr. Leeves', and then said Good bye, and Mr. Leeves and Mr. King went with me to accompany me on board the Iberia, but it was too late, for the Iberia had already sailed for Syra ; I therefore went on board Her Majesty's ship Indus, and Messrs. Leeves and King went immediately to Sir E. Lyons', where Sir James Stirling, the captain of the Indus, was at dinner, and Lieuten- ant Leicester, of the Indus, also went on shore to report my missing the Iberia to Sir James. Sir James Stirling immediately returned to the Indus, and ordered Captain Ommaney, of the steamer Vesuvius, to prepare immediately for bringing me as far as Syra, where the Iberia was to stay twelve hours ; and at eleven o'clock of the 31st we overtook most fortunately the Iberia, where I was hailed with 84 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION cheers by the whole ship's crew and passengers, and then at four o'clock we sailed for Smyrna, where we arrived on the 1st of Novem- ber. We only stopped two hours, during which time I saw Temple, the American missionary, and Mr. Calhoun, the agent of the Ameri- can Bible Society ; Lewis and Meredith were in the country. On the 2nd of November I arrived in the Dardanelles. I confess that I was rather disappointed with the strength of the fortifications, and I really believe that Gibraltar would be far more difficult to be taken than the Dardanelles. Military men would quote to me, " Ne sutor ultra crepidam" " Don't travel beyond Bokhara." I freely confess I should find some little difficulty in taking either. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. CHAPTER IV. Constantinople. Interview with Sir Stratford Canning. Doubtful reports at Con- stantinople about Stoddart and Conolly. Interview with the Charge" d' Affaires of Naples relative to Signor Naselli, who had visited Bokhara. Nature of Evidence as to the Existence of Stoddart and Conolly procured at Constantinople. Official Papers from the Sultan, the Sheikh Islam, and others. Visits to Count Sturmer. Attempts made by certain Parties to deter Dr. Wolff from proceeding to Bokhara. Kindness of Sir Stratford Canning ; His Excellency pays all Dr. Wolff's Expenses to Trebizond. High Opinion entertained by all Parties of Captain Grover. Embarkation for Trebizond. ON the 3rd of November I arrived in the harbour of Constantino, pie. I immediately reported my arrival to the Rev. Horatio South- gate, the American episcopal missionary, for whom I had a letter from the Bishop of Gibraltar. I was received very cordially by him and his wife ; they have two very nice children, and Mrs. Southgate is a very charming lady. I immediately sat down and wrote to Sir Strat- ford Canning, who lives now at Buyukdere (Great Valley), a large village on the Bosphorus, twelve miles from Constantinople, and an- nounced to His Excellency my arrival at Constantinople. I received the next day from him an answer, which I subjoin verbatim, to show the extreme kindness of our distinguished ambassador : Dear Sir, Buyukdere, Nov. 3, 1843. I am happy to hear of your arrival, and hope to have the pleasure of seeing you here whenever it may suit your convenience to come. Will you dine here on Sunday or Saturday ? We dine at half-past six. I cannot offer you a bed in the house, but there is a respectable inn at no great distance ; or if you prefer returning to Pera at night, there is at present a splendid moon. With respect to your letters, I had applied for them before your arrival, and I think you had better see Mr. Frederick Pisani, the first interpreter of this embassy, and inform him more particularly of your wishes. On the subject of the steamer I am less at liberty to act as you desire. The vessel is expected every day to move in a different direction from yours, and before she is free you will probably have embarked in one of the weekly boats to Trebizond. I return you the letters you inclosed for my perusal. I beg you will believe me, dear Sir, Very sincerely yours, STRATFORD CANNING. His Excellency also gave permission to Mr. Southgate to allow me to preach in the chapel, on Sunday the 12th of November. On the 86 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION 5th of November I received a letter from Mr. Leeves, of Athens, of the following gratifying contents : My dear Mr. Wolff, Athens, Oct. 31, 1843. I take advantage of the French steamer of to-day to do what I wished to have done last night by Sir James Stirling, but had not time ; namely, to write you a line. You will remember the Greek proverb I quoted to you in the boat of the Indus last night " Every hindrance is for good." So I trust it has proved now ; for your misfortune of last night has called forth many expressions of kindness and sympathy in your honourable and benevolent mission. When we got up to Sir Edmund Lyons' house last night, the first movement of Sir James Stirling's heart upon hearing this mishap was, " We must not let Mr. Wolff's funds be affected by this ; we must raise a purse among ourselves to pay his passage in the French steamer." And when Sir Edmund Lyons, who was then out of the room, returned, he immediately closed with the idea of sending you on in the Vesuvius, and the thing had been fully settled between himself and Sir James Stirling before Lieu- tenant Leycester came up from the ship to make his regular report to his captain. I hope this may prove an omen for good in reference to your mission, and that God will open the hearts of all men, Englishmen and Greeks, Turks and Persians, Curds and Bokharians, Jews and Gentiles, to provide facilities for its success, and that many good results may flow from it, direct and indirect. I reckon, among one of its good results, that I and all my family have renewed our acquaintance with Joseph Wolff, and we shall, I trust, remember you in our prayers. Do the same by us, and accept the kind regards of all the party, both kissed and unkissed. Would you not let us have a line from you sometimes ? It would be interesting to all here ; and among others, I have no doubt, to the King and Queen, who were pleased with their interview with you. And now God bless you, and prosper abun- dantly your errand, and restore you in safety to your wife and son, to your adopted country and church. Yours affectionately, H. D. LEVEES. Nothing could be more kind and prompt than Sir Edmund was in putting the Vesuvius at your disposal. November the 4th, Mr. Schauffler, the missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions at Constantinople for the Conversion of the Jews, whom I had sent to America seventeen years ago, called on me, and soon after Mr. Goodell, and welcomed me very affectionately. November the 5th, being Sunday, I went with Mr. and Mrs. South- gate to church, and was clerk to Mr. Southgate. At three o'clock I hired an ardba (Turkish cart), and went out to Buyukdere to Sir Stratford Canning, by whom, and Lady Canning, I was received in the kindest way possible, as also by Lord Napier and the rest of the attaches of the British embassy ; and there I also met with Princess Mavrocordato. The general opinion was, that the fate of Colonel OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 87 Stoddart and Captain Conolly was very uncertain. There was here a Russian gentleman who had acquaintances at Khiva, and who seemed to be inclined to believe the story of their death, but there were also people from Bokhara at Constantinople, who related that there were two Englishmen at Bokhara, one tall, and another short and stout ; and that the latter was kept in custody by a keeper of the mosque outside the city of Bokhara. The Ambassador, however, who has suspended his judgment on the subject, has advised me not to call on the Bokharians until he has made more inquiries about them. Af- ter dinner, Sir Stratford Canning asked me to expound and read pray, ers. I left His Excellency at twelve o'clock at midnight, after which he ordered his boatman to bring me on board the Devastation, for Captain Robinson, commanding the Devastation, to whom I had a let- ter from Admiral Sir E. Owen, was kind enough to invite me to sleep on board the steamer. Captain Robinson is a most amiable and pious gentleman. On the 6th I called on Dr. Bennett, the chaplain of the embassy, who went immediately with me to Captain Walker, who is Admiral of the Turkish fleet, and has the title, Yavar Pasha. He knew me already in London, and promised me every assistance in his power. He is a very modest and delightful man, and his wife is a most excel- lent and amiable lady. He had no carriage to offer me to bring me back to Pera, where I lived with Mr. Southgate, but he offered me a horse ; but as I was afraid to mount a horse, I preferred hiring a cart dragged by oxen, and returned thus to Constantinople. On coming back to Southgate, I learnt that Mr. Brown, the American Charge d'Affaires, had called on me, and wished to inform me that the Nea- politan Charge d'Affaires desired to know when he could call on me in order to speak with me about Signor Naselli, who had proceeded to Bokhara, and his fate was also doubtful. I forgot to mention, that Mr. Frederick Pisani, the first interpreter to the British embassy, called on me on Sunday last, the 5th of No- vember, at eight o'clock in the morning, and told me that the de- spatches from government in England had instructed them that all the necessary documents, just as I desired them, should be procured for me, and that I should have them on the 17th of November, those from the Sullan as well as those from the Sheikh Islam, that he had already applied for them, and that the Turks expressed their astonishment at my courage and determination. On the 7th of November, when Sir Stratford Canning was in his palace at Pera, with Lady Canning and Lord Napier, I had a confi- dential conversation with the Ambassador on the subject of Conolly 88 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION and Stoddart ; all I can say about it is, that the conversation was not discouraging. He again invited me to dine with him the week follow- ing, and to expound again ; he also promised to give me despatches to Trebizond and Erzroom, so that my journey to Persia will cost but little. At this period I was visited by the Charge d'Affaires of the King of Naples, who informed me of Cavalier Pietro Naselli Florey, a Sicilian, of whom it was also reported that he had been put to death, but this report had turned out to be a mere fabrication, and therefore he could assure me of sincere thanks on the part of His Neapolitan Majesty, if I would make inquiries about him on my arrival at Bokhara, which I promised to do. The evidence that I encountered at Constantinople with respect to Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly was of the most conflicting de- scription. I subjoin the following details, which then reached me : I. Monsieur Danielewsky, late consul of His Imperial Majesty at Khiva, and now occupying the same position at Belgrade, assured Sir Stratford Canning that he had seen several persons from Bokhara when at Khiva, some of whom declared they had witnessed the execu- tion of the British officers ; some stated their belief that it had taken place from hearsay, and some even described their persons, agreeing therein with the impression which Mr. D. had received from others respecting their personal appearance on former occasions, before their labours and their sufferings had become an object of public interest. II. The following letter to Sir Stratford Canning was also commu- nicated to me : Sir, Trebizond, August 16, 1843. Dr. Casolani, of the quarantine department, has informed me that several natives of Bokhara have recently arrived at the lazaretto from the interior, with one of whom Dr. Casolani entered into conversation respecting Colonel Stoddart and Captain Couolly. The Bokharalee stated that he quitted his native place about six months ago ; that he was in Bokhara at the time news reached that place of the reverses which the British forces had met with in Affghanistaun, and that on such news being communicated to the Ameer or chief of that country, the two English ambassadors then there, (meaning Messieurs Stoddart and Conolly, and who are described by the Bokharalee as a tall, and the other as a short man,) were called up for sentence. On being offered their liberty, provided they embraced Mahomedanism, the tall man refused it, and was put to death by having his throat cut ; and that the short man, seeing the sad fate of his companion, had actually embraced Mahomed- anism, and his life was spared. The latter, according to the Bokharalee's statement, now exists, and is employed as a servant in one of the mosques at Bokhara. The name of the Bokharalee who gave Dr. Casolani the information is Abdul Rahim Jam Muhammed : he proceeds to Constantinople, with his companions, by one of the steamers, on departure to-morrow. He possesses a Turkish passport, granted him OF DR. WOLFF TO- BOKHARA. 89 from this quarantine department, No. 11. If the person in question be properly interrogated, in a language he understands, I have no doubt that other particulars of importance, connected with the fate of the two British officers in Bokhara, might be obtained. I have, &c. FRAS. J. STEVENS, V. Consul. III. Sir Stratford Canning sent suddenly for me on the 8th of this month (November), and told me these words : " T have good news for you ; there are people here from Bokhara who state that both Stod- dart and Conolly are alive ; I advise you, therefore, not to go to see those people of Bokhara for two or three days, until I have seen them myself, and I will then let you know when to see them yourself. I am not quite so enthusiastic as you, but I shall rejoice if I should find the report confirmed/' IV. The L'lmpartial Journal Politique Commercial et Literaire Smyrne, Vendredi, 3 Novembre, 1843, had the following paragraph, headed, INDES ORIENTALES, Bombay, 2 Octobre : " Le bruit a circule ces jours ci, et il parait venir de bonne source, que le Colonel Stoddart dont on a annonce la mort, est en vie a Bokhara ou il est retenu pri- sonnier." I received a visit from Frederick Pisani, first interpreter to the British embassy, on the 5th of November (Sunday morning), and I requested him to get me the following documents : 1. A common travelling firmaun from the Sultan, mentioning the cities of Bokhara, Khokand, and Khiva. 2. Letters from the Sultan to the King of Bokhara, ordering him to set at liberty the English travellers Colonel Stoddart, Captain Conolly, and also the officers Lieutenant Steer and Dr. Balfour, if there. Should the above-mentioned officers be dead, the Ameer should state to me the reasons of their having been put to death, and how far he (the Ameer) is willing to make reparation to the satisfaction of the relations of the officers. 3. That I should not be detained one single day at Bokhara, but be sent back immediately with the said officers to Constantinople, where I was expected by the Sultan ; in either case, after the space of six months from the time of my departure from Constantinople. 4. The Sultan should also give me letters for the Kings of Khokand and Khiva. 5. Letters from the Sheikh Islam to the mullahs of Bokhara, Khiva, and Khokand, to the same effect. The letters, he informed me, would be procured, and firmauns, before the 15th of November, and that on the 17th of November Sir 12 90 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Stratford Canning would send me in a steamer, free, of expense, to Trebizond and Erzroom. My stay at Constantinople excited the liveliest interest in all direc- tions. I preached repeatedly in the ambassador's chapel, and ex- pounded in His Excellency's family. Walker Pasha invited me, with great kindness, to see him. The Count and Countess Sturmer, the Austrian Internuntio, also invited me to dine with them on the 23rd of November. Countess Sturmer said to me on that occasion, " How happy you will be if you meet with Captain Conolly again ; you deserve it, and Conolly loved you very much ; he always spoke of you when he was at Constantinople." His Excellency Count Sturmer observed that he had learnt from several persons that the belief of the personal reign of Christ and the restoration of the Jews was believed by many in England. I met there the Russian and Prussian ambas- sadors, and also General Jochmus, who conversed with me a good deal about Charles Churchill, of whom General Jochmus tells me, that he takes such an interest in the Jewish nation that he would wish to become a second Judas Maccabseus. General Jochmus is a native of Hamburgh, and commanded the Austrian troops in Syria in 1839, against Ibrahim Pasha. He is a brave man, and good might be done by employing him in an expedition against Bokhara. After dinner I lectured in German. I. On Christ's personal coming and reign on earth. II. The first resurrection. III. The renovation of the whole earth. IV. The restoration of the Jews to their own land. V. The blessedness of the believers in the heavenly Jerusalem, who shall be the kings of the earth, whilst the nations not converted to Christianity shall be their subjects. VI. A continual intercourse between the saints above and the people below shall take place. Count and Countess Sturmer then observed, that my views agreed in a great degree with those of the Rev. George Fisk, prebendary of Litchfield, whose acquaintance they had made at Constantinople. It might appear that I was neglectful of the high purposes of my mission amid these pleasant attentions, but the following letter from Sir Stratford Canning's head interpreter will probably acquit me of any unnecessary delay : Dear Sir, Pera, Nov. 14th, 1843. I have received His Excellency's letter about your affair ; I have answered it. I am going on with your papers, but with all my zeal and the good will of Ilia OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 91 Excellency the minister for foreign affairs, we are both afraid it will be impossible to be ready for you this week. Have the kindness to send me a note, with the names of the principal towns you are to pass through. Seven or eight names will do for the whole of Turkish Asia. I am, very truly yours, FRED. PISANI, First Interpreter to H. B. M. Legation. At this period I despatched to my kind friend, Captain Grover, the following letter : My dear Grover, Constantinople, Nov. 11, 1843. The greatest interest is excited here among the members of the diplomatic body, about my mission into Bokhara. His Excellency Count de Sturmer, Inter- nuntio of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria at the Sublime Porte, has expressed a wish to make my personal acquaintance, and has invited me to dine with him next Monday. To-morrow (Sunday), at four o'clock, I shall expound the Scriptures in the British embassy, when also Admiral Walker and Lady Walker will be invited to attend there, and also to dinner. I am promised to have my papers from the Sultan, and the Sheikh Islam, on the 16th, and on the 17th I shall set sail for Trebizond, and then I shall have no delay till Teheraun. I hope to arrive at Bokhara at the end of January. Pray ask government whether I shall be allowed to ransom them (Stoddart and Conolly), or any other English prisoners, in case I am demanded. Yours, affectionately, JOSEPH WOLFF. The Internuntio, who had promised to assist me to the full extent of his power, furnished me with the kindest proofs of it, and addressed to me the following letter : (Translation.) Reverend Sir, Constantinople, November 20, 1843. I have, alas, not succeeded in my endeavours of procuring for you letters of recommendation for Khiva and Bokhara. Only the Sublime Porte is in corres- pondence with those countries, and from that quarter you will receive letters of introduction, through the application of the British embassy. I send you herewith letters of recommendation for the excellent Austrian consul, who is at the same time Russian consul ; and herewith I also send to you a letter for my particular friend, Count Colloredo, ambassador to His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, at the court of St. Petersburg. I beg you, at the same time, to accept as a mark of respect from me, Hammer's History of the Osman Empire, which may be an amusement to you on your long journey. Should you return safely to England, I beg you to send to me in return for it, your Journals, which I and my wife will read with the greatest attention. Could we have the pleasure of seeing you once more to dinner next Monday ? or would you mention some other day convenient to yourself, Friday excepted, in case that you want to eat meat. With true regard, I am, reverend Sir, Yours, most sincerely, COUNT STURMEJU 92 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Various attempts were made at this period to deter me from pro- ceeding to Bokhara ; hints were thrown out, that it would be better not to proceed beyond Meshed, and to pour money into Bokhara. Had I done so, I might have gone on to the present moment with this system without any satisfactory result. By the kindness of Sir Stratford Canning I was enabled to announce my departure to my friend Captain Grover, in the following letter: My dear Grover, Buyukdere, British Palace, 24 Nov., 1843. The inclosed translation of the Sultan's letters to the Kings of Khiva and Bok- hara will convince you of the great influence of Sir Stratford Canning at the Porte. The Committee will also be glad to learn that Sir Stratford Canning ordered Mr. Stephen Pisani, his dragoman, to introduce me in person to the Grand Vizier, the Reis Erfendi, and the Sheikh Islam, all of whom have treated me with the greatest distinction. I leave to-day for Trebizoud. In great huny, yours truly, JOSEPH WOLFF. Sir Stratford and Lady Canning acted like parents to me, and the dragomans, Messieurs Frederic, Stephen, and Count Pisani, showed themselves, in spite of their manifold occupations, most zealously anxious in my behalf ; and also Lord Napier, Mr. Allison, and the rest of the attaches, displayed the deepest interest in the cause. We insert the letter of the Sultan to the Ameer of Bokhara, and as that to the King of Khiva is couched in similar terms, with the excep- tion of simply urging that monarch to recommend me to the King of Bokhara, and to treat me with the highest possible distinction in the event of my arriving in his dominions, I do not think it necessary to give this latter communication. Letter from the Sultan Abdul Medjid to the Khan of Bokhara, dated Nov.2l> 1843. Your Greatness knows that the English Government, having requested some time since that we should graciously assist in the deliverance of two English officers that you had put in prison, we wrote to you to that effect. As now Dr. Wolff, an English clergyman of distinction, is sent by some English- men to Bokhara to obtain information concerning the fate of the two officers above mentioned, as well as of two other Englishmen since arrived there, to take them with him and conduct them to their country, the English Government has again on this occasion requested, in a particular manner, that we should write to you a Sov- ereign Letter to request you to deliver up the above named prisoners, to consign them to Dr. Wolff, and to cause them to return home. Your Greatness knows, and it is superfluous to tell you, that the maintenance and preservation of the close and sincere friendship which exists since the most an- cient time between our Sublime Porte and the Court of England is the object of the desire of both parties ; and, therefore, that the requests of the above-mentioned Court are favourably received. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 93 It is, therefore, certain that we ought to interest ourselves to the effect that the above-mentioned prisoners be restored to liberty and sent back to their country. In fact, it is a thing incompatible with the principles observed by Governments, and with the dignity of Sovereignty, to arrest and imprison such Moussafirs ; and it is fit that your Greatness should cause them to return whence they came. From the sentiments of equity and justice which animate you, and your obedience to our august person, in our quality of Khaleef, we have the certainty that, con- formable to what we have above remarked, you will be graciously disposed to liberate the prisoners, if they are still at Bokhara ; we expect that your Greatness will have the goodness to consign them to the clergyman above named, and to make them depart immediately, that they may return" to their country by way of Constantinople. It is to express this expectation and to consolidate the edifice of our sincere friendship, as well as to inquire the state of your health, that we have written to you this Sovereign Letter, on the receipt of which, if it please God, we expect that your Greatness will kindly employ your willing attention to the end above- mentioned. Some idea of the interest excited in the fate of the Bokhara captives tnay be formed from the following paragraph from the Turkish Ga- zette, dated 26 Sheval, or 20th November : About three or four years ago, two English officers, both well versed in science *nd literature, were travelling for information ; on arrival at the city of Bokhara, the governor there, suspecting them to be acting as spies, ordered them to be seized and thrown into prison. Their relatives and friends, not having received any intelligence from, or about them, were very anxious to know the truth, and made several inquiries ; but the only information they could obtain was from some Bokhara merchants, who reported that whilst there (at Bokhara), they had heard that the government had these two officers executed. Such information not being satisfac- tory oi positive, the above-named friends and relations, anxious to elucidate this affair, have selected the celebrated Mr. Wolff, a gentleman well versed in several languages, and who has been a great traveller in Asia, to proceed to Bokhara, and ascertain the fate of the two officers. This gentleman has now arrived, and is to proceed by the steamer to Trebizond, from thence to Erzroom, Persia, &c. I should indeed be wanting in every principle of gratitude and affec- tion, were I to be insensible to the great kindness shown to me by all the resident ministers at Constantinople, and by none more heartily thai? our own distinguished ambassador and his lady. After preaching, bj his kind permission, in his chapel, I was repeatedly invited to Buyuk- dere, and after discharging duty at Pera on the 12th November, I left for Buyukdere, and preached and read service there also. I remained there until the 21st, when I delivered a lecture in the ambassador's chapel, where the above-mentioned diplomatists were again present, and the chapel was crowded with other people beside. On Wednes- day, the Russian ambassador sent his first dragoman, Monsieur de 94 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Semayloff, with me to the house of the Reis EfFendi (minister of state for foreign affairs), in order to make the acquaintance of Haje Mu- hammed Shereef, a sheikh from Bokhara, who had just arrived from Mecca, and was on his way to Bokhara. On our arrival at the pal- ace of the Reis Effendi, His Excellency was already in his carriage on his way to the seraglio. Monsieur de Semayloff went out of the carriage in which we both came, and approached the Reis Effendi, to ask his permission to introduce me to the Sheikh. The Reis Effendi immediately asked, " Have you Joseph Wolff with you ?" Sem. " Yes." " Pray bring him here, for I myself wish to see him." His Excellency (his name is Rifaat Pasha), as soon as he saw me, said that the Sultan had written all the letters in the strongest manner, and that His Majesty and the whole court admired my courage and . philanthropy, and His Excellency wished to speak with me also the next day. He sent immediately one of his officers back with me to his palace, to introduce me to the Bokhara sheikh, who at once recol- lected having seen me twelve years ago at Bokhara, in the house of the Goosh Bekee. He promised me every assistance on his arrival at Bokhara, but as he went via Orenbourg, I was not able to go with him. On the 23rd, Sir Stratford Canning sent with me Mr. Stephen Pi- sani, his most energetic and clever interpreter, to the Sheikh Islam, the first mullah of the Muhammedan religion at Constantinople, who is the only person allowed to sit down in the presence of the Sultan, and the Sultan even kisseth his hand. His influence extends not only over Tur- key and Arabia, but into Central Asia, and wherever Muhammedans of the Sunnee persuasion exist. He also received me in the kindest manner, and told me that he had already sent his letters for me to the mullahs of Khiva, Bokhara, Khokand, and Daghestaun. His Felicity ' (this is his title) is a man about seventy years of age, with a white beard, a large green turban upon his head, clothed in a kind of red velvet tunic, with a white band around it. Another mullah was sit- ting at his left, at a considerable distance from him upon the divaun. The Sheikh Islam offered me a pinch of snuff; I replied, " Though I am not used to take snuff, I consider it such a high honour to take snuff with so distinguished a personage, that I would take a very hearty pinch." And so I did, and my sneezing after convinced him of the truth of my remark. I then expressed my joy to have now seen all the heads of every religion on earth, and that it was my wish that the good understanding which then subsisted between England and the Porte might long continue. The Sheikh Islam replied that this was also his ardent desire. I then called on the Reis Effendi, who delivered to me eight letters of introduction. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 95 I. From the Sultan : 1, to the King of Khiva ; 2, to the King of Bokhara, which His Majesty wrote with his own hand at night. II. From the Sheikh Islam : 1, to the mullahs of Bokhara ; 2, to the mullahs of Khiva ; 3, to the mullahs of Khokand. III. From the Reis Effendi : 1, to tlie Pasha of Trebizond ; 2, to the Pasha of Erzroom ; 3, to the General-in-chief of the army at Erzroom. The Reis Effendi then advised me also to call on the Grand Vizier, and on the Cadi of Roumelee, which I did, by all of whom I was re- ceived with the greatest kindness and politeness, and all of them rec- ommended me particularly to the Sheikh of Bokhara above-mentioned, whose name was Haje Muhammed Shereef Bokharaae. I then re- turned to the Reis Effendi, who said to me, " I am very much con- cerned about you, and so we are all at court, and therefore you ought not only to call on me, but on all the ministers of the Sultan, as the Grand Vizier and the Cadi of Roumelee. With the latter you can speak Arabic and Persian, for he is a very learned man." I did ac- cordingly, and both the Grand Vizier and the judge of Roumelee ex- pressed a great interest in my mission. I met there with Mr. Allison, the first secretary to the British embassy, who told me that the general impression was that I was an ambassador. On my return to Mr. Southgate's house, I met with Mr. Nicolay- son, just arrived from Jerusalem, who was very glad to see me, and he expressed a wish that I should come to see them at Jerusalem. I received then a note from Sir Stratford, requesting me to go back with him to Buyukdere, in the steamer Devastation. I did so accordingly. On the 24th, Lady Canning herself sowed up my letters from the Sultan, and the Sheikh Islam, in my coat, gave me tea and sugar, and saddle and bridle. Sir Stratford gave me a telescope and compass. I cannot express how much the whole Committee owe to Sir Stratford and Lady Canning. Two days before quitting Constantinople I vis- ited the Convent of the Bokhara and Samarcand derveeshes, who were highly rejoiced when they perceived that I was acquainted with their country, but were not able to give me any information about Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly. I must not omit to mention, that the Rev. Mr. Nicolayson was waiting to obtain a firmaun in order to be allowed to build a church at Jerusalem, without which firmaun they never would have been en- abled to build. If any one could induce the Sultan to grant such a firmaun, Sir Stratford Canning would be the man, our highly prin- cipled, religious, talented, and kind-hearted ambassador. If the fir- maun be obtained, I hope that the Arabs round about Jerusalem, and 96 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION the local authorities, will put no further obstacles in the way. But I think that the best way would have been not to have applied for the firmaun at all, as they cannot give such a firmaun by the Muham- medan law. But the law might be evaded in the following manner : by building a large house for the British consul at Jerusalem, and an- nexing to it a chapel for him. And in order to keep the Arabs and the Pasha quiet, to send to the Pasha occasionally some bottles of champagne, which he might drink medicinally, and to invite him and the Arabs to dine with the Bishop of Jerusalem. This course, com- oined with a present to the local authorities of some thousand piastres, would have answered the end. I must not, however, forget to mention also my obligations to Lord Napier, to Messrs. Allison, Tod, Wood, F. Pisani, Count A. Pisani, all attached to the British mission, and to Mr. Lafontaine, who exerted himself kindly in obtaining information for me about Stoddart and Conolly. Mr. Hunter, also, one of the proprietors of the Times, was most actively engaged in spreading a favourable report of my mission. Count and Countess Sturmer, and Mr. de Titow, furnished me with letters for the road. Sir S. Canning paid my passage-money to Treb- izond. Before I left, Sir Stratford said, " You must return via Con- stantinople, for if you succeed we receive you in triumph, if not, we will try to console you. And with either result, your expedition must be viewed as a national act, and will conduce to the honour of the British nation." Many other persons made the remark, " What a bold, straight- forward, generous gentleman Captain Grover must be." At one o'clock (November 24), I embarked on board the Mettcrnich, an Austrian steamer, commanded by a kind captain, Signor Clician, which vessel Count Sturmer ordered to call for me at Buyukdere. Lord Napier gave me, when on board, Luther's Exposition of the Epistle of St. Peter, printed in German three hundred years ago j and also the Life of Goethe, written by Falck, a remarkable work, as Falck died before Goethe. All the rest of the attaches accompanied me on board, and took leave of me. I took with me one servant, a Servian, Michaele. Signor Clician showed to me the book in which his passengers had written their names ; and I met with the following : Lord Pollington, May twenty-eighth, 1808, from Constantinople to Trebizond. I have passed three days very pleasantly on board the Metternich, and I have every reason to thank Captain Ford for his kindness. And most remarkable : I beg to add my thanks to Captain Clician for his kindness during a passage from Constantinople to Trebizond. August 24, 1839. ARTHUR CONOLLY. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 97 CHAPTER V. Arrival at Trebizond. Singular Report of Signor Ghersi. Interview with Pasha of Trebizond. Subscription to Mission at Trebizond. Departure for Erzroom ; ter- rific Route ; Gumush Khane*. Conviction of the Turks that their Empire is sink- ing. Murad Khan Oglu ; Balahor ; Bayboot. Kob ; curious Story of a Derveesh at this Village. Ashkaleh. Elijehtebbe. Warm Springs. Erzroom. Dispute between Turks and Persians on Frontier Question. Mr. Brant, the Consul ; his Kindness. Interview with Pasha of Erzroom. Etymon of Erzroom. Pasha of Erzroom pays Dr. Wolff's Expenses to Persian Frontier. Letter from Erzroom to Captain Grover. Baptism of a converted Jew. Proposed Route. Detention at Erzroom by inclemency of Weather. Kindness of Colonel Williams and Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse. Letter to Captain Grover. Letter from Colonel Williams. Public Address to the Muhammedans. Letters to England. Contribution to Mission from a Gentleman at Trebizond. Address to the Armenians. ON the 20th of November, the steamer stopped towards the evening for one hour at Samsoon, where Mr. Richard White Stevens is British vice-consul, brother to Mr. Francis Iliff Stevens, British vice-consul at Trebizond. Mr. Stevens at Samsoon called on board the Metternich, and told me that I was already expected at Trebizond and Erzroom, and that his brother at Trebizond had prepared a room for me. We then stopt a few hours at Sinope, where Diogenes was born. On the 27th I arrived at Trebizond, where Dr. Casolani, superintendent of the quarantine, came on board, and expressed a very sincere joy and sym- pathy with my present object. Soon after, Mr. Stevens, the British vice-consul, sent to me Mr. Dixon, son to Dr. Dixon at Tripolis, whom we knew at Malta, and that gentleman welcomed me in the name of Mr. Stevens. Arriving at the house of Mr. Stevens, he and his two very amiable sisters received me with the greatest cordiality, and a room was prepared for me. In the evening I met a large party at dinner. The Austrian vice-consul, Signor Ghersi, also called on me ; I knew him here twelve years ago. He stated to me, that eight in- habitants of Bokhara had just arrived, who said that both Stoddart and Conolly were alive : the first, they said, under the name of Abdul Sa- mut Khan, commanded the artillery, and that Conolly acted under him as his Kiaya. On the 28th of November, Mr. Stevens, the vice-consul, introduced me to the Pasha of Trebizond, for whom I had a letter of introduction from the Reis Effendi. He received us in the most satisfactory man- 13 98 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION ner, gave me a passport for the road, and a tatar. He is, however, generally regarded as a great brute, bigoted, and an enemy to the re- forms made by the Sultan. He cannot bear Europeans, and tries to discourage every attempt to civilize his people at Erzroom, and mal- treats the Christians whenever he has an opportunity. An association of European Christians ought to be established for giving protection to the Eastern Christians, to Armenians, Greeks, and Chaldeans. It is true that the Christians in the East are now, by long oppression, so de- graded that they will not feel much gratitude for the assistance of Europeans ; but we ought not to do good in order to receive thanks from men, but for the sake of humanity. Even civilized people do not always feel gratitude for benefits received. Trebizond is inhabited by Armenian and Greek Christians, beside Turks, and some European Christians. And around Trebizond are great numbers of villages inhabited by Greeks who outwardly profess the Muhammedan religion, but in secret they practise the Christian religion. This they have carried on since the establishment of Mu- hammedanism at Constantinople. They have their priests, who, in se- cret, are ordained by the Patriarch of Constantinople, and by the Bishop of the Greek church at Trebizond. I lectured in Italian that same evening, and through the great kind- ness of Mr. Stevens, four thousand four hundred piastres were collected for defraying the expense of my journey to Erzroom, equivalent to forty-four pounds sterling (I subjoin the kind letter in which this is conveyed) ; so that I had not yet drawn one single farthing from my money since I left England. My dear Sir, Trebizond, 29th November, 1843. Our small circle, appreciating the humane motives which have led you to undertake your present journey to Bokhara, expressed a wish to form a subscription, with a view to defray the expenses of your journey, from this place to Erzeroom. I have accordingly collected 4400 piastres, in the manner set forth in the annexed copy of the subscription list. From that sum I have disbursed, on your account, 1388 piastres, as is seen by the accompanying note. There remains a surplus of 3012 piastres, for which amount I beg to enclose a credit I have to-day opened in your favour with Messrs. James Brant and Co., of Erzeroom, and which, I trust, will suffice to carry you to Tabreez from Erzeroom. You will observe, from the accompanying note of disbursements, that the items therein comprise your entire expenses to Erzeroom. It only now remains for me to unite my prayers to those of our whole circle, for your preservation throughout the long journey you are now prosecuting, and that the Almighty will assist you in the humane object of your undertaking, is the prayer of, my dear Sir, Yours faithfully, FRAS. I. STEVENS. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 99 Disbursements made for Dr. Wolff at Trebizond. Piastres. Cost of a saddle and two whips --------- 88 " Tatar to Erzeroom 800 Additional Tatar for road expenses, horses, &.C., and for which he will render an account at Erzeroom - - - - 500 Total 1388 FRAS. I. STEVENS. Messieurs Stevens and the Misses Stevens are the children of Mr. Stevens, my solicitor at Malta ; the most kind-hearted, hospitable, and excellent people I ever met with. Mr. Ghersi is also a very nice, open-hearted, and liberally minded gentleman, and so is Dr. Casolani. I set out, on the 1st of December, for Erzroom, with my Servian attendant, Michael, a tatar of the Pasha, and an excellent Turk, who always walked near me when I ascended the precipices of Trebizond. The road from Trebizond to Erzroom was horrid, so that I walked the whole day on foot. On my arrival at Gumush-Khane, which means house of silver, for there are silver mines there, as I had a letter from Ghersi, the Austrian and Russian consul at Trebizond, for a wealthy Armenian, Arrakel Cibukci-Oglu (the son of the pipe-maker) by name, I took up my lodging with him, where I also met with the Armenian Archbishop, a well-informed gentleman, who was very glad to make the acquaint- ance of " Mr, Wolff," of whom he had heard so much. I met in his house also with an Armenian pilgrim from Jerusalem, who had just arrived from that city, and had seen there the bishop of the Protestants. The Armenians at Gumush-Khane, however, are not satisfied with their Archbishop, and accuse him of tyranny. The Sultan has conferred great powers on the Armenian and Greek bishops, and encourages them in punishing those of their flock who have intercourse with the Protestant missionaries, and therefore the worthy missionaries stationed at Trebizond and Erzroom have their hands tied, and can do nothing. Messrs. Bliss and Benjamin, mis- sionaries from America stationed at Trebizond, and Messrs. Peabody and Jackson at Erzroom, are most worthy people, quiet and peaceable, and zealous in their work ; but the Armenians are prohibited by their Bishops to receive them in their houses. What a beautiful country the Turkish empire would be if in the hands of a European power, for it is blessed with everything by na- ture ; but it will never be improved by the Turks, for, beside the natural indolence of the Turks, the Muhammedans have a strong con- viction on their minds that they will be driven out of their present pos, 100 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION sessions, and that their labours will be for the benefit of Christians, who will become the rulers of their country. This conviction has not only been produced by the superiority exercised over them by the European powers, but also by old traditions, sayings, and prophecies of their own. And it is for that reason that I always engaged the at- tention of their mullahs when I spoke to them about the second coming of Christ, the restoration of the Jews, and that those events shall be ushered in by unheard-of judgments over all countries. There are in Gumush-Khane two hundred Armenians, two hundred Mussulmans, four hundred Greeks, and eight catholic Armenians. The Armenians have one church, and the Greeks four churches. The Armenians lamented that their schoolmaster had just left them, and that they were without a school at present, but the Archbishop wrote for one to Constantinople. The Archbishop of Gumush-Khane is also Archbishop of Trebizond, and his net income amounts annually to the vast sum of eighty dollars, i. e. sixteen pounds sterling. I left Gumush-Khane on Monday the 4th of December, and, recross- ing the river before the town, took a more easterly direction through a rocky valley surrounded by a line of mountains. After some hours' ride, the country took a more pleasant appearance. We observed it was covered with verdure, and goats were running about in the plain. We slept that night at a miserable place called Murad Khan Oglu, and the next day we arrived, in the afternoon, in a village called Balahor, for which place I had a letter from the Archbishop of Gumush-Khane, for an Armenian called Stephan, who received me hospitably in his house, which was remarkable for having a dome, in contrast to the general flat roofs of the East. Most of the Kurdish houses are of that form, and also in Armenia : they are exceedingly dark. My poor host was very kind. On the 6th of December we arrived at Bayboot, surrounded by high and bare mountains ; a rapid stream runs through the place. It contains four hundred Mussulmans, and one hundred Armenians, and has six mosques and one church. As I had a letter for Mombjoo Oglu Stephan, an Armenian merchant, I was hospitably received by him ; and the Armenian priests also called. A place of quarantine is established there, where the Turks and others who come from the interior of Turkey are obliged to undergo the quarantine for nine days. An Italian physician, Luigi Ercolani by name, was placed over it ; he called on me, and I found him to be well versed in the Italian literature, and, as a Roman by birth, well acquainted with the distinguished characters of that city ; he seemed also to be well ac- quainted with his profession. He informed me that the greatest phy- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 101 sicians in Italy at that period were Dr. Buffalini at Florence, and Drs. Folchi and Mattei at Rome. I also had a visit from an Arme- nian, Haje Anbar by name ; when he entered the room all rose, for he had only arrived three months ago from Jerusalem ; he spoke kindly of the English ; and the account of the state of Jerusalem was rather gratifying. The Armenians live in peace there not disturbed or oppressed by the Turks and Zacharias Wardapet is their patri- arch. He told me that he accompanied Bishop Alexander to Beth- Lehem. December 7th, we arrived in the village called Kob, whence the tatar was obliged to take two men to carry me safely over the moun- tains, covered with snow, for two hours. I paid to the poor people fourteen piastres. I am now a more wretched horseman than I ever was before, so that Dr. Calsolani, and Mr. Stevens, the vice-consul of Trebizond, found it to be expedient to send with me a Turk, Omar by name, who always walked near my horse, but mostly I walked on foot, an excellent fellow he was. When th* horse stumbled in the least, and I cried out, he immediately took hold of the bridle, and ex- claimed, " Sarar yok, Beyk Zadeh!" "No danger, Son of the Bey!" In the time of Sultan Murad a holy derveesh was residing in this village of Kob. When the Sultan Murad was returning from his ex- pedition to Persia, he came to this village ; and meeting that derveesh, he took him with him to Constantinople in order to mock at him. On their arrival at Stambool, that derveesh was bold enough to reprove openly the monarch on account of his tyranny, for which the Sultan, in his wrath, ordered him to be put into a fiery furnace, from which, however, the holy man came out untouched. The Sultan, perceiving by this that he had to do with a real man of God, took him into his treasury, and told him that he should take out of it whatever he pleased. The derveesh selected a girdle and a book, at which the Sultan was much surprised, and asked him why he had not taken money ; he re- plied that he was not in want of money, but requested the Sultan that he should permit him to return to his native village, and there bestow upon him various fields and meadows for his and his descendants' benefit. The Sultan, gratified at his moderation, gave him the grant of his request by a firmaun, which secured to him and his heirs the village of Kob free of tribute. After his return to his native village he commenced husbandry, and prospered. He had a wife, who used to take his food in the field to him ; and he also had a daughter, who went on a certain day to take her father's food to him ; on her ar- rival in the field she discovered that the plough used by her father was 102 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION drawn by griffins, and the harness was of snakes and serpents. She returned home and related what she had witnessed, which so annoyed her father that he offered up a prayer that no female of the family should ever arrive at a marriageable age. The second generation is now living, and they have never been able to rear a daughter beyond ten years old, but they have sons. The descendants of this good derveesh still occupy the village. They have built a college, and every person in the village of Kob knows how to read and write. They have abolished smoking, as an idle habit, and there is not a pipe to be seen in the village. Sixty men are residing in the village above the age of eighteen, and the rest are composed of females. The head of the village, Sheikh Abd Ullah, grandson of the above holy der- veesh, is now performing a pilgrimage to Mecca ; he himself related this history to Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse. We then arrived, after seven hours from Kob, in the village called Ashkaleh, where one crosses, the first time, the Western Euphrates, called in Turkish Kara Soo, Black Water; near Dia-Deen, the East- ern Euphrates flows, called Moorad, when they are united together about Kaban Madan ; they are called Frat. At Ashkaleh I found again three derveeshes from Bokhara, who left Bokhara four months ago. I asked them whether they had seen at Bokhara some English travel- lers. Bokharalee. Yes ; and it was reported for some time that they had been killed, but there was no truth in it ; but one of them came from Khokand, with whom the King of Bokhara was angry, believing that he did assist the King of Khokand, and therefore put both the tall and short Englishman into prison, but let them out after some time, and they now teach the soldiers of Bokhara the European Nizam. I recommended these Bokharalee to Mr. Stevens at Trebizond, and requested him to send them in a steamer to the British ambassador at Constantinople ; which was done at my expense, and for which I paid six hundred piastres. The names of these derveeshes were: 1, Muhammed Badur, of Tashkand, in the Great Bokhara ; 2, Mu- hammed Nasar, of the city of Bokhara ; 3, Haje Falwan, of the city of Shahr Sabz, near Bokhara ; 4, Haje Rustam, of Heraut. On the 9th of December, 1843, I arrived at Elijehtebbe, where Pompey defeated Mithridates, a place deriving its name, like Ther- mopylae, from its hot springs; elyeh, spring, and tebbe, warm, tepid. A mineral bath is to be found there, where a Turk asked me whether the Balius (consul) of the English nation, residing at Erzroom, was not the " Kraal Inglees Oglu," the Son of the King of England. This question at least was, so far, gratifying, for it shewed that our consul OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 103 was respected at Erzroom ; and thus I found it also to be the case, for on my arrival at Erzroom, the Turkish inhabitants of Erzroom, who thirteen years ago looked upon a European with comtempt, saluted me kindly, and many walked with me to the house of the British consul, my old kind friend and host, James Brant, Esq., who resided thirteen years ago at Trebizond. He received me with his usual straightforward and cordial hospitality, and delivered me letters from my dear Lady Georgiana. He informed me that several of the Eng- lish residents at Erzroom wished me to administer to them on the day following, the 10th of December, the sacrament. There was a dispute between the Turks and Persians with regard to the frontiers and the Coords ; British, Russian, Turkish, and Persian commissioners were therefore sent here to settle the affair. The fol- lowing British subjects were for this cause, therefore, at Erzroom : 1. James Brant, Esq., Her Britannic Majesty's consul. 2. H. H. Calvert, Esq., Cancelliere to the consulate. 3. George Guarracino, Esq., Attache to the consulate. 4. P. Zohrab, Esq., dragoman, and his wife and daughters. 5. Joseph Diekson, Esq., M.D., son to Dr. Dickson at Tripoli. 6. Colonel Williams, R. A. ; and 7. Honourable Robert Curzon, son of the Honourable Robert Curzon and Lady La Zouch ; both these latter gentlemen were the commissioners on the part of the British Government. 8. J. Redhouse, Esq., secretary and dragoman to the commissioners, the greatest Turkish scholar in Eu- rope he was here with his amiable wife. From Russia the following gentlemen were sent as commissioners : 1. Colonel Dainese, commissioner. 2. Moukhine, interpreter. 3. ProseuriakofF, secretary. From the Persian side : Mirza Takke, plenipotentiary. Turkish side : Envery Effendi, plenipotentiary ; Dr. De Camin, his physician ; Signor Garibaldi, Russian consul ; French consul, Mon- sieur Goepp ; French interpreter, Monsieur Belin ; Russian consul's secretary, Dr. Bertoni. Bekir Pasha, attached to Envery Effendi, called on Mr. Brant ; he is a descendant of Abu Bekir, speaks English well. There are also here the Revs. W. C. Jackson and Josiah Peabody, American mis- sionaries ; excellent people. 10th December, 1843, being Sunday, I read divine service, preached, and administered the sacrament to about seven English friends ; all the British attended, except the Honourable Robert Curzon, who was prevented from attending, simply by weakness resulting from a dan- gerous fever. His Excellency the Pasha of Erzroom, Kamilee Al-Haje, a very 104 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION amiable and polite man, paid a visit to Mr. Brant, my kind host, who had the kindness to introduce me to His Excellency, the above-men- tioned Pasha. I delivered my letter from the Reis Effendi to him. He promised me every assistance in his power. The Russian consul also called on me. On the llth I called on Colonel Williams, who had first called on me, on Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse, and Mr. Curzon, who knew Lady Georgiana at Malta. On this evening we had a very pleasant party at Mr. Zohrab's, the dragoman to Mr. Brant. I recollected Mrs. Zohrab and her daugh- ters at Malta. There is a great deal of snow at Erzroom, and in the country around. No one could be more kind than Mr. Brant was to me, and all the officers of the consulate. I was now only four days distant from Mount Ararat. There are at Erzroom about forty thou- sand inhabitants, mostly Mussulmans, six thousand Armenians, and some hundred Armenian catholics, with their bishop. I may also as well note here the Etymon of Erzroom. It is derived from Erz, land, Room, Rome, indicating that it was part of the Eastern Roman Em- pire ; and the Greeks are to this day called by the Turks, Room ; and in Turkistaun and in Persian the Sultan of the Turkish Empire is called the Sultan of Room. Tuesday the 12th, I baptized the child of Mrs. Stagno, and prepared a Jew, who went by the name of Robinson Crusoe's servant, Friday, for baptism ; he was servant to Colonel Williams, who gave him a most excellent character. Shah Jemaal Addeen, of the celebrated family of derveeshes named Nakhsbande, a sheikh from Bokhara, called on me ; he told me that I should find my friends alive, and that he would give me letters. On this day I breakfasted with Colonel Williams ; Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse, and Mr. Brant were also there ; after which, Mr. Brant the consul, Colonel Williams the commissioner, and Mr. Redhouse the interpreter to the commissioners, and myself, mounted our horses, and called on His Excellency the Pasha of Erzroom, Kamil Pasha by name. I was dressed in my canonicals. On entering the palace of the Pasha, Envery EfFendi, the commissioner of the Sultan, for whom I had a letter from the Reis Effendi, was also there. Both the Pasha and the commissioner rose on our entering the room, and shook hands with us in the English manner. Chairs were offered to us, we sat down, then pipes, coffee, tea, and shirbet, were brought. A long con- versation about the Arabic and Persian literature took place, also on the history of Muhammed, the Arabian prophet, and on my travels through Asia. I then told them some anecdotes about Frederic II., and took in both the Pasha and the commissioner with the fish and the ring. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 105 His Excellency the pasha promised to defray the whole expense of my journey from Erzroom to the Persian frontier, and to send two soldiers with me at his own expense. My dear English friends here furnished me also with everything necessary, and Messrs. Brant, Williams, Redhouse, and his amiable wife, took care of me like a brother. On Wednesday the 13th I dined with Colonel Williams ; Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse, and Messrs. Calvert and Guarracino also dined there. I also slept that night at Colonel Williams's, and on Thursday the 14th of December I gave the sacrament to the Honourable Robert Curzon and Mrs. Redhouse. In the afternoon I lectured in the house of Mr. Brant, where Bekir Pasha and Anwaree Effendi were among the hearers ; and as Anwaree Effendi does not understand English, Mr. Redhouse interpreted every sentence to him. Messrs. Peabody and Jackson, and their wives, were also present. On the 16th I wrote as follows to Captain Grover : My dear Grover, Erzroom, Dec. 16, 1843. I thought it would be the easiest way, and the best, to have my letter to Lady Georgiana copied by Mr. Guarracino, the attache" to the British consulate at Erzroom, and send it to you. You will also herewith find inclosed another evidence of eight Bokhara pilgrims, which I got to-day, through the kindness of our excellent consul, Mr. Brant, with regard to Colonel Stoddart's and Conolly's being still alive and well treated at Bokhara. God grant that it may be so ! I am, however, very much encouraged by it. As the road from Erzroom to Tabreez was covered with snow, Colonel Williams most kindly furnished me with a suit of winter clothing and boots, &c., for the jour- ney ; so that I shall not be able to set out from Erzroom for Tabreez before next Wednesday, the 20th of December, when I shall leave Erzroom early in the morn- ing. The commissioner of the King of Persia has also furnished me with letters of introduction to his friends on the frontier of Persia, and at Tabreez. Mirza Takee (this is the name of the commissioner) knew me at Tabreez, and was aware that I took with me from Persia Mirza Ibraheem to England, at my expense, and that he is now professor of the Persian language at the East India College, near Hertford Haileybury. Yours, affectionately, JOSEPH WOLFF. On Sunday the 17th of December I performed again divine service in the British consulate, and after the second lesson I baptized Israel Jacob, the above named servant to Colonel Williams, one of Her Ma- jesty's commissioners at Erzroom. Israel Jacob was a Jew from Germany. Colonel Williams, Mr. Brant, Her Britannic Majesty's consul at Erzroom, and Mrs. Redhouse, stood as witnesses. I preached also, after the prayers were over, a sermon on the personal reign of Christ and the restoration of the Jews. In the afternoon a 14 106 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Muhammedan from Bokhara called on me, the first that has told me that he had heard that Colonel Stoddart had been killed. A visit to Envery Effendi, the commissioner on the part of the Turk- ish government, prevented my writing to Captain Grover this day. Mr. Brant and Mr. Zohrab accompanied me. Envery Effendi was much amused with my carelessness, and that I should have come to Erzroom without winter clothing. Envery Effendi also gave me letters to Balool, pasha of Bayazid, and to the Turkish consul at Tabreez. I delivered this afternoon another lecture here on my late journey from Bokhara to Calcutta, when again not only the English commis- sioners but also Envery Effendi and Bekir Pasha attended it. I have also circulated here in Turkish my Call to the Mussulman Nation, which was published in Galignani and the Herald. Mr. Redhouse has kindly translated it, and another translation of it has been lihade into the Persian tongue. It is scarcely possible to imagine the inter- est evinced by my English friends here in my mission. I only wish to be enabled to show my gratitude to them in some way or other. No brother can be more kind to me than Mr. Brant, the consul, and Colonel Williams. The following will be my road, by the blessing of God : Dec. 21 Hassan Kaleh .... 6 hours 18 miles. 22 Khorassaun 8 24 24 Mullah Soleiman ... 15 45 25 Kara Kleseah ....? 21 27 Diadeen . . . . . 12 36 28 Bayazid 6 18 29 Awajik 8 24 30 Kara Aineh 8 24 31 Zorahweh 8 24 Jan. 2, 1844. Khoy 11 32 3 Taswej 8 farsang 32 4 Tawshea 6 24 5 Tabreez ..... 8 32 "374 By this plan I considered that I should be on the 7th of January at Tabreez, and on the 20th of January at Teheraun. December 19th. Mrs. Redhouse was kind enough to put together my papers, and to get for me biscuits and warm clothing. In short, both this lady and her husband took care of me like brother and sis- ter. A tremendous snow-storm in the night, and we had in the morn- ing a slight earthquake. I found that I should not be enabled to set OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 107 out before Thursday, as the roads were blocked up with snow. Last night, for a whole hour, many guns were fired every five minutes, in order to warn the poor travellers of the situation of the citadel, to save them from snow drifts, as there are great quantities of marshes, &c. I received this day a note from Mr. Brant, the consul. He wrote to me : A poor French doctor, who persisted in starting yesterday for Kars, is, I fear, lost in Deveh Bouyoon, a mountain near Erzroom ; he got before his people, who re- turned, but there is no news of him. The pasha sent out people to look for him, &c. JAMES BRANT. I was clothed by Colonel Williams's kindness in the following man- ner : in an aba, trousers made immensely large, a waistcoat and coat of the same. The coat is precisely the form of a shooting jacket : over this a large loose coat, sleeves and body entirely lined with fur of wolf's skin ; thus I was a Wolff in wolf's clothing : round my waist a large woollen shawl. On my feet, first of all some thick worsted stockings, light boots lined with fur, over all large leather boots like the Horse Guards, that came up to my hips : attached to my fur coat was a hood to draw over my fur cap when travelling, and a large pair of fur gloves sown to my coat. With all this, my friends believed me to be snow proof. Mr. Curzon told me that I looked like a gentleman on a shooting expedition. Should I be detained till after Christmas, the hospitable Mrs. Redhouse promised me a good Christ- mas dinner ; roast beef, plum pudding, mince pies, &c. On the 21st I wrote to my kind friend, Captain Grover, the follow, ing letter : My dear Grover, Erzroom, Dec. 21, 1843. A more active and benevolent fellow than yourself is not existing ; I therefore write to you on a particular subject. My host here, James Brant, Esq., Her British Majesty's consul at Erzroom, is a most excellent, educated, and philanthropic gen- tleman, through whose activity and exertions the commerce between Turkey and Persia has been most considerably increased and facilitated. Through his endeav- ours, six new consulships have been established in the interior of the Turkish empire, in places the most bigoted, and I can bear witness to the fact, that the spirit of the inhabitants of Erzroom has considerably been changed for the better. Formerly no European could have gone out in his European dress ; now a European is respected. The streets have been made better, and the commerce between Turkey and Persia has considerably increased. As the consul-general of Tripolis in Barbary, Colonel Warrington, is an old gentleman, and probably to be soon pensioned off, I should be much obliged to you if you would be kind enough to recommend him, by means of your other friends, to the Foreign Office. He is very anxious to contribute towards the abolition of 108 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION slavery in Africa, and also to establish consulships hi the ulterior of Africa. Pray do so. The horses for my departure, and the two officers of the Pasha (cavasses) are already ordered to accompany me to Bayazid, but the snow is still so great, that neither caravans go or come, and therefore it is impossible for me to set out this week on my journey. I am exceedingly vexed, but it cannot be helped. Colonel Williams has also written to Sir Stratford Canning, that they were obliged to keep me from going almost by force. Yours affectionately, JOSEPH WOLFF. On the 22nd, I received from my excellent friend, Colonel Williams, the subjoined communication : My dear Dr. Wolff, Erzeroom, Dec. 22nd, 1843. I send you a pair of saddle-bags, and will request the Pasha to allow my cavass to affix a Turkish and Persian copy of your address to the Mussulmans, at the gate of the principal Persian khaun (better than palace or mosque). I am sorry you did not think of it before, and I recommend you to cause to be posted up this document, the moment you arrive at Tabreez and Teheran. You will find your sheep-skin " sleeping-bag " in the saddle-bag ; and pray, my dear doctor, DO NOT FORGET TO PUT YOUR FEET INTO IT ! With regard to your last question, I have not and shall not ask or allow any person to club with me. I consider it my duty as a British officer to assist in every possible manner, to forward your most praiseworthy and courageous attempt to release or discover the fate of my brother officers for, recollect, we are all brothers in the army. Yours very faithfully, W. F. WILLIAMS. P.S. I do not think you can set out to-morrow. When my cavass gets permis- sion he will come to you for the two copies, and then affix them to the khauu. The address alluded to in this letter, which I subjoin, was circulated among the Muhammedans in the Turkish Empire, Persia, and Kho- rassaun, and from thence sent by Muhammedans to Affghanistaun, Cabul, Cashmeer, and Bokhara. Followers of Islam ! In the whole of the Turkish Empire, Arabia, and Affghanistaun, you remember me well. I have been among you at Damascus, Egypt, Aleppo, Bagdad, Isfahan, Bokhara, Cabul, and Hindustaun. I have conversed on the coming of Jesus Christ with Muhammedans, Jews, Parsees, and Hindus. I have been well received, though differing in religious sentiments, by the Grand Mogul of Delhi and the Shah of Persia, the Grand Mullahs of Bagdad, Constantinople, Isfahan, Cashmeer, and Bokhara. I have been to the utmost boundaries of the world, even to America, which is situated on the other side of the Ocean, exhorting people to do good, and to repent for the sake of Jesus. And having learnt that two British officers of high merit, Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, have been put to death by order of the Ameer of Bokhara, and also a Neapolitan officer, Cavaliere Naselli OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 109 by name, I am going to the Great Bokhara to ascertain the truth of that report ; for I cannot believe it, as I was well received at Bokhara, and with great hospitality. Besides this, such an act is against the rites of hospitality, so sacredly observed by Muhammedans. I go there to demand the bodies of these people if alive, and if dead to demand the reason of their death. The Sultan of Constantinople, whose life may God preserve, and the Sheikh-Islam, whose life may God preserve, have given me letters to the Ameer of Bokhara and to the Grand Mullahs of that town. I call now on all the Muhammedan Princes and Mullahs throughout the world to send letters of recommendation on my part to the King of Bokhara, that he may receive me well. JOSEPH WOLFF. The terrible state of the weather prevented my departure, for which event I was most feverishly anxious, as I considered that possibly the fate of Stoddart and Conolly depended on my speed. Anxious beyond measure that I might appear to realize to the full the noble and phi- lanthropic views of those who had dispatched me, I addressed to Cap- tain Grover the following letter : My dear Grover, Erzroom, Dec. 25, 1843. About ten people have been brought to Erzroom dead, from the road of Tabreez and Trebizond, so that you will not wonder that my dear friends here, Colonel Williams and Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse and Mr. James Brant, did not allow me to start till now for Tabreez ; but I shall leave this on the 27th instant. Colonel Williams has furnished me with an entire suit of warm clothing. Not less than thirteen people from Bokhara have given the assurance to Mr. Stephens, the vice- consul of Trebizond, that Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly are alive ; and I rejoice to learn that also Lord Aberdeen has great hopes of their being alive, as I perceive by his despatches sent to Colonel Sheil through the British embassy at Constantinople, and from thence to Colonel Williams, with the request of allowing me to read the documents. Give my love to every member of the Committee, and to your family. Yours affectionately, JOSEPH WOLFF. I think that I have already mentioned to you that the Pasha of Erzroom pays all the expense of my journey as far as Persia. The weather continued in unmitigated severity until Christmas. Stragglers were daily brought in from the roads dead, and my kind and excellent friends in Erzroom would not permit me to depart. On Christmas eve, which I spent with Colonel Williams, Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse, and Bekir Pasha, we all wrote to Lady Georgiana, and by way of illustrating the feeling that prevailed among us, I subjoin our communications verbatim : My dearest Georgiana, Erzroom, Christmas Evening, 1843. You will be surprised that I am still here at Erzroom, but there was such a tremendous snow storm that stragglers are daily brought in from the road who were found dead in the street, so that my dear and excellent friends here who took and 110 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION still are taking a most lively interest in my present mission into Bokhara, did not allow me to start ; however, now, God be praised, there is fine weather, and I shall start next Wednesday, i. e. after to-morrow. However, all is for good, for to-day Colonel Williams received dispatches from Sir Stratford Canning, inclosing letters from Lord Aberdeen for Colonel Sheil, in which letters I am mentioned, and in which he expresses a hope that Colonel Stoddart or both are alive, so that I shall have full protection from Colonel Sheil. I have already written to you of the very, very great kindness I have received here from Colonel Williams, Mr. and Mrs. Red- house, and Mr. Brant. As Colonel Williams and Mrs. Redhouse will add some lines to you, and as I have so often written to you, I will close my letter, and only men- tion that as despatches are sent from the Foreign Office twice a month, you will be kind enough to embrace this opportunity to write to your most affectionate husband, JOSEPH WOLFF. At the particular request of Dr. Wolff, I have ventured on rather an awkward employment, in addressing Your Ladyship without the pleasure of a previous ac- quaintance, but feeling assured that even the testimony of a perfect stranger, in the present case, must prove welcome, it gives me real pleasure to report our good and benevolent friend in excellent health and spirits, and that we have done all in our power to render his sojourn hi this frozen region as pleasant as we (birds of passage ourselves) are able, and I am sure the heart of every English person must ejaculate the fervent prayer that his perilous mission may meet its reward, at least as far as this world can bestow, but we must look to a higher tribunal for eternal reward ; trusting that yourself and son may be supported by good reports during his absence, believe me, Yours most truly, JANE E. C. REDHOUSE. Erzeroom, Christmas Day, 1843. Doctor Wolff having spent this evening in our circle, and called upon us for our testimony with respect to his health, I am happy to say he is in perfect health and has met with many very encouraging reports relating to the object of his most Christian journey. May the Almighty grant he may spend next Christmas in his own family circle, after full success and a safe and happy return to England with the objects of his solicitude. J. W. REDHOUSE. tat Sty JJK OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. Ill J". Madam, Erzeroom, Dec. 25th, 1843. Dr. Wolff will have informed your ladyship of all that has occurred since his arrival in Erzeroom, and I have therefore simply to add (agreeably to his request), that every preparation is made for his departure on the morning of the 27th, when I shall accompany him through the first pass on his road to Tabreez, and there wish him success, commensurate to his most sanguine expectations, in his benevolent and courageous mission to Bokhara. The encouragement which Dr. Wolff has received to persevere in this benevolent undertaking, is as pleasing to his friends as it is consoling to himself. I remain, your ladyship's faithful servant, W. F. WILLIAMS. Bekir Pasha, who signed the above letter, is the chief of the artil- lery. Thirteen people from Bokhara in all have now given me their assurance that Stoddart and Conolly are alive. A gentleman from Trebizond sent me here five hundred piastres, which I received on Christmas eve, for the object of my mission. I trust I shall not omit to record any instance of kindness received, but if I do, a traveller's hurried life must plead my excuse. The Pasha of Erzroom has drawn out a call on all the Mussulmans, exhorting them to take an interest in my present mission. If the kindness of every class of re- ligionists on earth can preserve a life, I feel that mine will be so, and that I go to Bokhara with a moral force that amounts to the full meas- ure of political power. From this place I wrote to the Bishop of London, beseeching him to send a clergyman to Erzroom, for the British consulate. To my most beloved friend, Sir T. Baring, commending Mr. Brant's interests to his charge. Also to Henry Drummond, on various matters of re- * The above Turkish is from Bekir Pasha, who was educated hi England. The letter contains nothing more than ordinary compliments. 112 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION ligious interest. On the morning of Christmas day, I administered the sacrament to seven English people, and the Jew whom I had bap- tized. This took place at Mr. Brant the consul's private house, un- der whose hospitable roof I remained seventeen days. Before I left Erzroom I published also the following address to the Armenian nation : Descendants of Hayk and Followers of Gregory Lusaworitsh, Mearop, Moses Vocazer, and Nerses Shnorhaale ! I have been declared the friend of the Armenians by public letters of your late venerable Katokhikos Ephrem, and Nerses, the present Katokhikos of Ech Miazin ; and my having established schools for you at Bussorah and Busheer, prove that I was your friend, and am still your friend. I have, therefore, to address to you the following petition. I am now going to Bokhara for the purpose of ransoming Colonel Stoddart, Captain Conolly, and Cavaliere Naselli. From having been a Jew, it gives me particular pleasure to prove to the Gentile world, that I love my Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, by being ready to lay down my life for the brethren Gentiles as well as Jews. Knowing that the Armenians of Astrachan, Orenbourg, and Moscow, are hi correspondence with merchants of Bokhara, I beg you, and particularly your Archbishop Serope at Astrachan, to write to the few Armenians residing at Bokhara, and also to recommend me to the great Emperor Nicholas Paulowitch, that he also may recommend me to the Ameer of Bokhara, so that His Majesty the Ameer of Bokhara may be induced to deliver up the above-men- tioned officers. Your affectionate brother hi Christ, JOSEPH WOLFF. Before the late war of the Russians with Turkey, there were sev- eral thousand families of Russians at Erzroom, but General Paske- witch, on his return to Russia, advised the Armenian bishop, and the rest of the Armenian population of Erzroom and the adjacent coun- try, to follow him into Russia. Above 90,000 families of Armenians in the Turkish Empire followed the call of that hero, and they settled in Georgia, Karabagh, and other parts of the Russian Empire. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 113 CHAPTER VI. Departure from Erzroom, December 27. Kerujak ; Hassan Kaleh ; Komassor ; Dehli Baba ; Armenian Marriage at this last Village. Taher, a Kurd Village. Mullah Soleiman, an Armenian Village. Kara Klesea ; Kolassur ; Utah Kelesea ; Diadeen ; Ghizl-Deesa. Tremendous Snow Storm. Awajick ; Karaine ; Sehr Abad ; Khoy Tashwish ; Tawsar ; Tabreez. Visit to an old Acquaintance in Prison, Muhammed Khan Kerahe. Autograph of the Khan, giving his Descent. Birth of Ghengis Khan. Timur ; the Derivation of his Name. Falsity of tho Statement of Saleh Muhammed. No certain Information of Stoddart and Con- olly. Letters of Introduction to Bokhara. Letter to Stoddart and Conolly Com- mittee. Armenian Festival and Khalshauran, or Washing of the Cross. St. Nierses of Lampron ; Life and Writings of this learned Armenian Prelate. Decay of Muhammedanism. Departure from Tabreez, January 20th. Seydabad. Tek- metash. Awful Storm. Kulagh. Conversation with Derveesh. Tata Sultan, Kemaalee Howdbeen. Opinions of Mussulmans changed with respect to the Gia- ours. Turkman-Jaa ; Miana ; Sanjoon ; Khoramtarah ; Chaldaeans ; Meeting with their Metropolitan ; their Descent from Israel. Ceremonies and Doctrine of the Chaldsean Church. St. Thomas the Apostle. Siyadehen ; Kasween ; Sephir Khaja. QUITTING Erzroom on the 27th, I waded through the snowy moun- tains from Armenia unto the frontier of Persia. My hardships were fully equal to those I experienced on the route to Erzroom, where the Turk that accompanied me by the side of my horse made me climb over various precipices, where I was compelled for safety to creep upon my stomach. In leaving on this day the truly hospitable dwelling of Mr. Brant, two fine stately cavasses of the Pasha (to whom I was ordered by the Pasha not to give a farthing, as he would pay them himself), were in readiness outside the British consulate, on horseback, smoking their pipes. Colonel Williams had come on horseback to the consulate, with one of his servants. I then mounted my horse, and so did my Servian servant, Michael, crossing himself and calling on the Virgin and St. George for protection, not omitting St. Nicholas, the patron saint of Servia. The snow was still so high that I wanted to go on foot, but Colonel Williams said to me, in a commanding voice, " Nev- er go down from your horse, for as long as you see that your other horse will be able to carry your baggage, this one will also be able to carry you. And beside this, imagine that you have behind you the people of Muhammed Kerahi of Torbad, driving you with their whip." 15 114 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION This allusion to my old persecutor made me smile and obey. Colonel Williams accompanied me to a distance of six miles, just to the spot where, eight days before my departure, a French physician and ten muleteers had perished in the snow ; and then Colonel Williams dis- mounted from his horse, gave me a glass of Tenedos wine to drink, drank my health, shook hands cordially with me, and returned to Erzroom. I continued my journey, accompanied by the above-men- tioned cavasses, one mile further to a village called Kerujak, where we slept in the stable of a kind-hearted Turk ; but the stables in Tur- key have elevations made on purpose for travellers, where they are not exposed to the danger of being kicked by the horses, and these elevated places are pretty clean. A good pilaw was brought to me in the evening. In the morning of the 28th, we rose with the sun, and continued our journey, but the snow was still so high that I certainly would have followed the bent of my inclination, and walked on foot, if Colo- nel Williams had not made me promise not to descend from my horse, as long as the other could carry my baggage. I kept my eyes stea- dily fixed on the other horse, and perceiving that he waded, though with difficulty, through the snow, I remained firm, and thus we ar- rived that day six miles distant, to a place called Hassan Kaleh, where we again resided with a Turk. On the 29lh of December we travelled as far as Komassor, where we slept in the house of an Armenian, whose room was not as clean as the stables of the Turks. There are only thirty houses of the Ar- menians in this place. December 30th we arrived at Dehli Baba, where I again slept in the house of an Armenian. There are here thirty-five families and three priests. Most of the Armenians were gone on horseback to a neighbouring village, to fetch a bride, accompanying her, with mu- sical instruments and clapping of hands, to their own village. The next day, December 31st, the road was so thickly covered with snow, that I was obliged to take with me two Armenians to drag me with my horse through the snow, until we arrived a distance of six miles, at the village called Taher inhabited by Kurds. We slept in the house of one of the Kurds, who scarcely gave us anything to eat. even for money, and certainly would have plundered me, if I had come without the men of the Pasha of Erzroom. January 1st, 1844. I arrived on this day at Mullah Soleiman, in- habited by Armenians, who two hundred years ago were all converted to the Roman Catholic faith by a Romish missionary, Soleiman by name, from whom the place took its appellation. The priest of the OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 115 place, a well-informed man, was ordained by Abraham, Bishop of Merdeen, whom I knew twenty years ago, when at Merdeen, in Meso- potamia. This kind priest expressed his regret at my not having taken up my abode in his own domicile. January 2nd, I arrived at Kara Klesea, where a church was estab- lished, according to tradition, by the preaching of the apostle Thad- deus. The place is called in Armenian, Pakre-Ant. Jan. 3rd. Arrived at Kolassur, a place colonized by Persians from Erivan, who left Erivan in 1827, in order not to be subjects of the Russian government. The mullah of the place called on me. He knew how to read the Koran without understanding it, and he was surprised when I translated to him some parts of the Koran from the Arabic into Persian. I then spoke with him about the merits of the Gospel. January 4th, I arrived at Utsh-Kelesea (three churches), a convent, called Wank in Armenian, where Gregory the Enlightener converted many thousands of the Parsees and Armenians to the faith in Christ ; and there also King Tiridates was converted by St. Gregory, and baptized in the Euphrates, which flows there. This Utsh-Kelesea must not be confounded with Utsh-Kelesea, or Etsh-Miazin, near Erivan. The superior of Utsh-Kelesea recognised me from my former visit in 1831, when I was sick three days in that convent, and at that time accompanied by a priest called Simon to Tabreez. I refreshed my- self now again among the pious and exemplary inmates of that con- vent for a whole day, and then set out, on the 5th of January, for Diadeen, a miserable village entirely inhabited by domiciled Kurds, where I lodged in the house of a very civil, kind-hearted, and hospi- table Kurd. One hour after our arrival, two soldiers arrived from Bayazid, on their way to Erzroom, and as the inhabitants of the vil- lages are always obliged to furnish the soldiers gratis with horses to the next station, my Kurdish host ordered one of his men not to suffer the postman who brought me and my people to go away in the morning with his horses without taking the two soldiers with him back as far as Kara-Klesea, whence I came ; and therefore enjoined his servant to have a good look out during the night, in order that the postman from Kara-Klesea might not be able to take the horses out of the sta- ble in a stealthy manner, which they are accustomed to do. How- ever, sleep overcame the servant at night, and as I was not able to sleep that night, I saw the postman coming into the stable and taking away the horses ; but not having been aware at the time of the ar- rangement made by my landlord, took no notice of it. One hour 116 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION after the departure of the postman the servant awoke, and perceiving the horses taken away, he exclaimed, " Pesevenk !" i. e. Ruffian, and gave the alarm, but it was too late ; and in the morning the two soldiers from Bayazid demanded for awhile to have those horses which were to take me on ; but I gained the point, and two very bad horses were given to the soldiers, and I set out for Ghizl-Deesa, a most mise- rable Kurdish village, where our two cavasses were obliged to beat one of the Kurds with a whip in order to convince him of the neces- sity of affording to us a shelter in his house. Scarcely had we entered his house before clouds covered the sky so rapidly, and snow fell to such a degree, that actually a person could not see his neighbour standing near him ; so that, snugly settled in a warm stable, I ex- claimed, " Al-hamdoo Lellah Rabb-ul-Alemeen" (Praise to God the creator of the world !) " that I am already in the house." My Kur- dish host observed, " If I had known before that this European says, ' Al-hamdoo Lellah Rabb-ul-Alemeen/ I would have taken him in at once." However, one hour after, the sky cleared up again, and it ceased to snow, when I heard a voice from the street asking whether no Englishman had arrived ; and immediately after a courier (gholam) sent from Colonel Sheil, of Teheraun, with despatches for Erzroom, entered the room and told me that a mehmoondar* had been sent to Awajick from the Prince of Tabreez, at the request of Mr. Bonham, with an order (rakum) to furnish me with horses as far as Tabreez. January 7th, I arrived at Awajick, where I was very hospitably received by the governor, Khaleefa Koole Khan. At Awajick I dis- missed the two cavasses from the Pasha of Erzroom, and though I was not obliged to give them one farthing, I gave to them a present of two hundred piastres, and they returned to Erzroom ; and I contin- ued my journey with Ismael Beyk, the mehmoondar of the Prince of Tabreez, towards that city. January 8th, we slept in the miserable Persian village called Ka- raine. January 9th, we arrived at Sohr-Abad. On the 10th at Khoy, where I lodged in the splendid house of my old acquaintance Soleiman Khan, now governor of Khoy, who is a freemason, though a Muham medan. He treated me at supper with excellent wine. He told me that on my arrival at Teheraun, it would be worth while to make the acquaintance of a renowned derveesh, Mirza Naser Ullah Sadder Almemalek, after I had called on the Haje, the prime minister of Mu- hammed Shah, for the latter is the former's enemy, and if I was to call first on the former, the latter might be offended. In the night * From mehmoon, a guest, and dar, having ; a person sent to prepare a lodging for another. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 117 time a fire broke out in the same house where I slept, and a consider- able part of the house was burnt down, but I slept so soundly from being tired out by the journey and cold, that I knew nothing about it till the morning, when the fire was extinguished, and I was informed of it. January llth, I arrived at Tashwish; on the 12th at Tawsaj ; and on the 13th at Tabreez. The news of Stoddart and Conolly in this place (Tabreez) did not amount to more, however singular it may appear, than mere repeti- tions of accounts in Galignani, and other European newspapers. I found here the Times, Herald, Post, and Chronicle, all which papers may be gratified to learn that they circulate in Tabreez. I was introduced, on January 15th, to the Prince of Tabreez and the chief mullah, who promised to furnish me letters for Meshed. At this place I received for the first time the communication from Lieuten- ant Eyre, already given. Here also I received the following kind letter from the excellent Colonel Williams, from Erzroom. My dear Dr. Wolff, Erzeroom, Jan. 29: 1 Sam. xix. 24. The chiefs of the Tflrkomauns came from all parts, and said to me loudly : " Write to your King of England, that if he gives us a good sum of money, we will assist him in sending an army to Bokhara, in order that he may punish the King of Bokhara, for having put to death Stoddart Saib and Conolly Saib, for we Turkomauns do not mind who governs those countries of Bokhara and Khiva, whether Behadur Khan, or England, or Russia ; if we only get khelais (robes of honour) and tillahs, i. e. ducats. We are now sorely pressed by Khiva, for we have slain the governor ; and the Kajar, i. e. Persia, cannot be trusted; and therefore we shall at last go nearer to the Russian ter- ritory, where they have built a castle. A pity it is that the Kasaks and Kirgiz and the snow have prevented the Russians from marching towards Khiva, for we would have assisted them in spoiling and killing the people of Khiva !" The Khaleefa also told me : "If you wish to go to Bokhara, I will send on a Turkomaun to Bokhara, and recommend you to the King there, previous to your proceeding hence, but I do not advise you to go, for I thought, at first, that Conolly was alive ; but I am mistaken he is dead, and it is quite a different person who is now with Abdul Samut Khan. Youssuff Wolff, you are a derveesh like myself, permit me to save you, and to be instrumental to your escape to the Turko- mauns of Akhaul, who will bring you to Astarabad, whence you may proceed to Khiva. Do not go to Bokhara." I replied, " To Bokhara I must go." The Khaleefa therefore wrote letters to the governor of Jehaar-Joo, and to the King of Bokhara, mentioning to them that I was a holy man, and came accompanied by Dil Assa Khan, a man of the Assaff-ood-Dowla, but that Dil Assa Khan designed to betray me, but he (the Khaleefa) exhorted His Majesty the Ameer of Bokhara to treat me well. I think that it might be of the highest importance and beneficial consequences, if the British government would charge their ambassador at Teheraun to enter into a friendly correspondence with the Khaleefa of Mowr, and send him presents from time to time. He requested me to write to Colonel Sheil, that he should intercede with the King of Persia in behalf of four Turkomauns, who were kept as slaves by the King's mother, in order that they might be set free again. I wrote to Colonel Sheil, but I received no answer about them. He also wished me to write to the Assaff-ood-Dowla, in whose hands there were twenty Turkomaun prisoners, that he should release them. I wrote to this effect to the Assaff-ood-Dowla, and he promised to do so. 166 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION The Jews who reside at Mowr, and are either from Heraut or Meshed, are great favourites with the Khaleefa, and some of those who were forced to become Mussulmans at Meshed, exercise again the Jewish religion at Mowr. Nathan, the above-mentioned old Jew, called on me one day with a derveesh, from Kashgar. The derveesh from Kashgar observed: Youssuff Wolff, who is the Author of the Fire and Water ?" W. God. Derveesh. No such thing ! Satan is the author of both ; for fire and water are destructive materials, and therefore it is impossible that God could be the author of them. And you ought to know that there are two Gods, one is God of the world above, who is a good God, who created the light which does not burn, and who created the rose and the nightingale ; but a battle took place between God above and God below, and the God below marred all the creatures of God above ; and this is a fight which still goes on. Men who act well are servants of the God above, and his creatures. Men who act badly are the servants of the God below. There shall be another battle fought, when the God below shall ascend to the seventh heaven with myriads of his soldiers ; flying serpents shall soar up with him ; but the God below shall be defeated, and at last shall become a humble subject of the God above ! I then read with the derveesh, and Nathan the Jew, Revelation xii., and showed to them how far Scripture agrees with them, and how far not. I then said, " All that is, is the work of God of that God who is above, and who is the Creator of heaven and earth, and of Adam and Eve ; and after He had overlooked all things that He had made, He pronounced everything to be good, but Satan, in the garb of a serpent, and who is called by the apostle the God of this world, be- guiled Eve, and she her husband, and thus evil came into the world ; and as where tyranny prevails the country becomes a desert, thus the world and men therein became corrupt ; but Jesus, the Word of God, who descended from heaven, and was born of Mary, came to the world below to unite again the Creator with the creature ; and to effect this great work he showed his love to the creatures by giving his life for them, but took it again after three days. He gained by that first act a great many followers of all nations, and those countries which follow Him are therefore better, and the inhabitants thereof better, than those who do not follow Him ; but a combat is still going on between God and Satan between the followers of the one and the other the seed of the serpent and the woman's seed and will be carried on until Jesus the Meseeh, i. e. Christ, shall return with ten thousands of his OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 167 saints amidst the sound of the trumpet and the shout of archangels, and the rising of those dead people who became martyrs for the sake of the religion of Jesus. And then Satan shall also be killed, who, though call- ed ' God,' is not an eternal God, but was a created angel, who remained not faithful to his Creator, and then Jesus shall erect his throne at Jerusalem, and there shall be a communication between the inhabitants on earth and the inhabitants in heaven, and angels shall ascend up to God and descend upon Jesus his Son. At the request of the Khaleefa, I addressed to Captain Grover the following letter : Desert of Merve or Mowr, 12th April, 1844. My dear Grover, and to the whole Committee ! I now write to you at the request of the Khaleefa or spiritual guide of all the Turkomauns throughout the Desert, and even the spiritual guide of the Kings of Bokhara, Khiva, Khokand, Tashkand, and Shar Sabz, who has the title Majesty (Hasrat) ; I am his guest. He entered just now my room, and showed to me a letter, in which he wrote to the King of Bokhara that it was of the highest impor- tance to deliver up the strangers to me, (i. e. Stoddart and Conolly), and to make reparations for the insult to England, and not to keep me longer than three days at Bokhara. This letter was dispatched by an express Turkomaun on horseback, who will arrive in three days, and three days before me. His Majesty also sends with me one of his own relations and disciples, to introduce me properly to the King of Bokhara, and ten Turkomauns as far as Jehaar-Joo, the first town belonging to Bokhara. He desired me, therefore, to express to the Queen his ardent desire to become a sincere friend to the British nation, and that he accompanies this request with the following petition: One year ago Raheem Dad Beyk, chief of the Hazara, made twenty prisoners of the Turkomauns of Mowr, and sold them as slaves to the Assaff-ood-Dowla, who will not deliver them up though the Khaleefa restored to the Assaff eight Persian slaves in his possession. He (the Khaleefa) requests, therefore, the Queen or the Vizier of England to intercede for the twenty Turkomauns to the Assaff at Meshed, in order that the twenty Turkornaun slaves may be restored to liberty, as he has not the thousand tomauns demanded for them in his possession. I promised to his Majesty to write to Lord Aberdeen, and also through you and the Committee to the Society for the Abolition of Slavery. Give your assistance in this affair, and Britain's name will be greater than ever in the desert of Turkistaun. In six days it will be decided whether Stoddart and Conolly are alive, or whether I shall be allowed to leave the town again. In six days I shall enter Bokhara. Pray for your affectionate friend, JOSEPH WOLFF. While here, I cannot express how much pleased I felt with the dil- igence and attention of Mullah Mehdee. My letters of the date of the 3rd of February reached me even here by the kindness of Colo- nel Sheil and this valuable agent ; but had Mullah Muhammed Ali 168 NARRATIVE OP THE MISSION Serraf been the medium, the villain would have kept them from me, possibly for a year. Yar Muhammed, the present governor of Heraut, wrote most strongly, I was told, to the King of Bokhara in my behalf. The Assaff-ood-Dowla has behaved most handsomely during my whole connection with him. But Dil Assa Khan frustrated all his benevolent purposes in every possible way. The sensation created at Bokhara by the letter of Lord Ellenbor- ough I learn was extraordinary. The Khan expected a direct com- munication from the Queen, and was greatly irritated by not receiv- ing it. The Desert here even, I repeat, rings with the names of Todd, Ri- ach, Shakespeare, Thomson. From the Affghanistaun war the Eng- lish name is now known, respected, admired, and even loved among the Turkomauns. The children of the Desert speak of the English as the noblest sons of the earth. Notwithstanding all this, which raised encouraging sensations, I could not but feel that I was about to place myself wholly unprotected in the hands of a despotic monarch of more than ordinary cruelty, even for an Eastern dynasty ; one who had probably put to death many of my countrymen, as well protected as myself. I committed myself therefore, as all should do in perilous circumstances, to the keeping of God's good providence, which had so wonderfully sustained me previously, and which I trusted would yet preserve me for better things. In anticipation of the worst, I sent the following letter to Lady Georgiana : Nerve or Mowr, 14th April, 1844. My dearest and most beloved Georgiana, I set out after two hours from here for Bokhara. The Khaleefa of Mow? has behaved most excellently towards me ; he has sent one of his own disciples with me to Bokhara. Be of good spirits, my dearest Georgiana, for all that may happen to me there is of the Lord. I go there without much apprehension, I often think of you and dear Henry, and pray pardon me, both of you, if I have/ ever uttered an unkind word ; I love both of you more than myself. All the Turko- mauns behave very respectfully to me. Your most loving husband, JOSEPH WOLFF. At Mowr, Nizam Oolmulk, the Great Vizier of Malek Shah, of the Seljuck dynasty, established a school, and since that time, as the Turkomauns assured me, a school is kept up, and even now, the sons of the Great Khaleefa keep a school at Merw, in which they instruct the children in the Arabic and Persian tongues. I must here observe OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 169 that it is remarkable that wherever celebrated schools have existed in ancient time, among the Eastern people, they would consider it a sin to give them up. It is thus invariably among the Muhammedans, the Guebers, and the Jews. I instance, first, that at Mowr, already men- tioned ; though a desert, a school is kept there, on account of its anti- quity. At Bassora, in the Persian Gulf, though destroyed, the school is not given up ; at Bagdad the same ; and even the Arabs around Kufa have a school ; and Temen or Yemen, where knowledge did not cease in the time of Jeremiah, to this day has celebrated schools, Zubeyd, Sanaa, Hodeydah, and Loheyah. And, with regard to the Jews, I shall only mention that in the city of Safet, where the great Simon Ben Yohaaye, the compiler of the Book of Zohar, and the other compilers of the Talmud, lived, a famous school is still existing. At Yazd, in Persia, formerly the seat of Parsee learning, the ancient Parsee language is still taught. At Merw, all those Jews who have been constrained to embrace Muhammedanism in other parts of Persia, are permitted to return to their ancient usages and religion. But it is a remarkable fact, that there are some Jews at Mowr, who have professed the Mu- hammedan religion and become Turkomauns, and that there are Jews at Khiva, of whom I was told at Mowr, who, though remain, ing Jews, have intermarried with the Usbeks. And is it not stri- king, that Jews have received the most powerful protection among the wild inhabitants of the desert ? Thus, Jews, who are tyrannized over at Bokhara and in Persia, fly to the inhabitants of the desert, at Mowr, Sarakhs, Akhal, and to the Hazarah in Affghanistaun. And this is even the case in Morocco, where they often fly from the tyranny of the Emperor to the inhabitants of the desert at Tafilla-Leth. And in Mesopotamia they escape from Bagdad and Mosul to the wild Yeseede, in the mountains of Sunjar. Here, before I proceed further, I have a few words to say on the campaigns of Ghengis Khan in these regions. Ghengis Khan was attacked by Jelaal-Oodeen, the son of Allahdeen Muhammed, King of Organtsh or Khiva. The great Ghengis Khan therefore marched from the city of Turkistaun or Hazrat Sultaun, first to Khokand, Khodjand, Samarcand, Bokhara, Peykand, Jesmaan-Doo, Allat, Jehaar-Joo, Rafitak ; thence to the borders of the Caspian in the land of Khorassaun. This leads me now to speak on the question agitated so much in England, Will the Russians be able to march towards India from that road ? Having so many people, as Macdonald Kinneir, and others, against me, who consider it improbable, and being devoid of mili- 22 170 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION tary knowledge, I may not be considered a competent authority ; but, despite of this, I must give my decided opinion, that I believe that the Russians can march with great ease through those countries. It will be asked, Why were they not able to do so in 1838 and 1839, when they intended to march against Khiva ? I answer, that, in order not to involve themselves in war with the Kings of Khokand, Bok- hara, and Shahr-Sabz, they intended to make the whole route through the desert from Orenbourgh to Khiva. Probably they also did so, in order to show to England that they had no design on Bokhara and Kho- kand, but only to get redress for the insults they received from Khiva. But if once they are determined to make themselves masters of those countries, nothing is more easy for them than to march from the fron- tiers of Russia to the city of Hazrat Sultaun, or Turkistaun. Hence to Khokand, and, with a few thousand troops, insure Samarcand and Bokhara ; and the people, disaffected as they are with their respective governments, will not fire a shot. Nothing can resist in these coun- tries a well-disciplined artillery and cavalry ; and the body of the army may march to Khokand, to Cashgar, and Cashmeer, and thence come down to Lahore and India. Not one shot would be fired, for the people of Cashmeer would receive them with open arms, and at La- hore the British army would meet them, and then the strongest would have it. And also there, much will depend upon whether the people of the Punjaub are affected or disaffected to England. Or they may go from Khokand to Kondus and Khoollom, thence to But-Bamian ; and if they keep friends and promise liberty to the Guzl-Bash from the yoke of Dost Muhammed Khan and Akbar Khan, they will obtain a powerful body of auxiliaries. And as the Guzl-Bash in Affghanis- taun have been most shamefully abandoned by the British army af- ter the retreat of Lord Ellenborough, they certainly will join tL3 Russians. I must also note, that the moment I heard that the English had in- vaded Affghanistaun, I wrote from High Hoyland, where I was the curate of the Reverend Christopher Bird, to Lord Hill, the Com- mander-in-Chief, and told him that if the English people did not keep a bright look out near Cabul they might be cut to pieces by the moun- taineers. So it happened. But I say that though I considered that whole war a gross act of imprudence, Lord Ellenborough ought to have ordered the troops to stop there five years after they had recon- quered Cabul and Ghuznee. The shout of the Affghaun nation at seeing the English return was, " These Englishmen are like birds fly- ing in the air, nothing can be done with them ; they are more dan- gerous after defeat than victory; we must submit." The Guzl- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 171 Bash also would have taken fresh courage, and have stood by them to a man. Christianity might have been established among them, but by the sudden retreat the poor Guzl-Bash have been left a prey to the vindictiveness of the Affghauns. Meer-Ali-Nake, as his letter from Shakespeare proved to me, had assisted most gallantly the English people in retaking the prisoners at But Bamian, in reward for which he is given over to beggary with thousands of other Guzl-Bash. There is also a loud complaint all over Affghanistaun, that the English peo- ple did not behave well towards Nawaub Jabar Khan, brother to Dost Muhammed Khan, who was the greatest friend to the English before the war, so much so that even to this moment Dost Muhammed Khaft frequently asks him in a joking manner, " Now, brother, how are youi friends the English going on ?" It must, however, be confessed, thai nevertheless the name of the Englishman is respected all over AfFghanistaun and Khorassaun, as already said, and many of the Saddoo-Szeyes still expect to regain their throne by the influence of England. It must also be observed, that the Russians have now steamers in the Caspian Sea, and have built a fortress on the shore, not far from Khiva, where they can easily land troops ; no power can then prevent them from taking Khiva, and when once Khiva is in their possession, they may march to Balkh with the greatest ease ; neither the Usbeg nor the Hasara will dream of resisting the Russian army, and thus they may proceed towards India as above stated. The other way for the Russians to advance towards India is to make an alliance with the Assaff-ood-Dowla after the death of the King Muhammed Shah, and march with him through the land of the Hasara, Maymona, and Ank- hoy, towards Cabul ; for it must not be concealed, that the Assaff-ood- Dowla is more favourably disposed towards the Russians than towards the English government, for more attention is paid to him by the Rus- sians than by the English, and he was especially displeased at his not receiving any answer to the letter which he sent through me to His Grace the Duke of Wellington ; and it may be asserted with cer- tainty, that all the members of the Royal Family in Persia are more inclined to Russia than to England, and almost all the people in au- thority, whilst the populace in general are more inclined to England ; and I have not the least doubt, that one of the reasons for which the people in authority are offended at England is, the shabby presents they get from the British government, at the suggestion of Colonel Sheil : as instances I mention these three facts. 1st. The Assaff-ood- Dowla twice sent to the King of Bokhara presents to the amount of five hundred tomauns, once by Hassan-Baba, who was sent by the 172 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Assaff-ood-Dowla, eleven days before my arrival at Meshed, to Bok- hara, and then by Dil Assa Khan, who accompanied me to Bokhara. To my great horror, after my return to Teheraun, Colonel Sheil told me that he had proposed to the British government to make a present of a watch to the Assaff-ood-Dowla. Again, Abbas Kouli Khan, who behaved so generously towards me, as I shall show, was also consid- ered as adequately remunerated by a watch. 3rd. Colonel Sheil sent with me, as a present for the King of Bokhara, a silver watch and two pieces of cloth, both not worth more than six pounds, by which the King of Bokhara was exceedingly offended. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 173 CHAPTER IX. Departure from Mowr. Letter to Captain Grover. Ameer Sarog. Vile Conduct of Dil Assa Khan. First serious Apprehensions of the Death of Stoddart and Conolly. Mode of Capital Punishment altered at Bokhara from Strangling to Beheading. Dr. Wolff entertains serious Alarm for his own Safety; adopts Measures accordingly. Letters of Sultan and Sir Moses Montefiore never for- warded to Ameer by Muhammed Ali Serraf by order of Colonel Sheil. Distant manner of Colonel Sheil disadvantageous to the British Interest in Persia. Khosrow Khan. Dr. Wolff makes up his mind to die. Letter from Kalja in the Desert to his Friends. Writes from this place to the " Philanthropists of Europe." Fall of Snow. Conversations in the Desert with Turkomauns. Their account of Timur Kurican. Timur's Pyramid of Skulls ; Love of Truth ; Bodily Strength ; Inflexible Character ; Death ; believed by the Jews of his time from his Warlike Character to be the Messiah. Nadir Shah. Route. Rafitak. Dr. Wolff escapes Death from an incursion of the Khivites ; his Death reported. Jehaar-Joo. Silly Conduct of Ameer Sarog ; his wish to add a fourth Wife to his Harem resisted by the other three. Dr. Wolff robbed by Dil Assa Khan and his Followers. Shah Kamran. Yar Muhammed Khan; puts to Death his Sovereign Shah Kamran; his treacherous Conduct to Dr. Wolff ; sends three Ambassadors to the Ameer of Bokhara requesting the Ameer to put Dr. Wolff to Death, but affects to be well disposed to him. Dil Assa Khan the Servant of this Yar Muhammed Khan. Dil Assa Khan escapes from Yar Muhammed Khan, and becomes the Servant of the Assaff-ood-Dowla. Letter from Dr. Wolff sent on from Jehaar-Joo to the Ameer of Bokhara. Visit from Jews of Bokhara. They warn Dr. Wolff of his Danger ; recommend Flight to Organtsh, and tell him of the Death of Wyburt, Stoddart, and Conolly, and five other Englishmen. Der- veesh tells him to proceed. ON April 14th, I quitted the roof of the kind and excellent Kha- leefa with great regret, and advanced into the Desert twelve miles, where I indited the following epistle, as stealthily as I could, to Captain Grover : In the Desert of Mowr, twelve miles from the house of the Khaleefa, in the tent My dear Grover, of Ameer Sarog, April 15, 1844. I left yesterday the house of the Khaleefa, where I wrote to you two days ago. I learnt here by my host, a very highly respectable Turkomaun, that the King of Bokhara took great offence that the Queen ordered the Governor-General of India to answer his letter. It is certain that no public execution of the officers has taken place ; but it is also certain, that if they are alive they are in the prison behind the harem of the King. I advance confidently towards Bokhara, and shall be at Jehaar-Joo or Char-Joo after two days. If the King does not stop me, in three days more I shall be in the capital. Should I find them alive well, if not 174 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION and should my head fall, exert then your powers for the ransoming of 200,000 Persian slaves in the kingdom of Bokhara. I cannot write much, for the Turko- mauns sit near me on the ground. Merve is already subject to Bokhara, and in a few days a governor from Bokhara will be sent here. J. WOLFF. April 15th. I passed a pleasant day in the tent of the Turkomaun Ameer Sarog. A most extraordinary fall of snow took place at this period. Dil Assa Khan grew worse and worse. Though sent by the AssafF-ood-Dowla to protect me against the extortions of the Turko- mauns, I was actually obliged to call on them to protect me against him. Three couriers did that kind friend the AssafF-ood-Dowla send through the desert to threaten him, and to give him fair warning. If the Assaff-ood-Dowla catches him at any time, I would not give a para for his life. The Khaleefa of Mowr sent up with me also Ameer Sarog, his own relative, who was to proceed with me to the King of Bokhara. I began now to be for the first time under very serious ap- prehensions for Stoddart and Conolly. I found they were not seen at Bokhara by repeated inquiries, and the Samut Khan mentioned by Ghersi, the Consul of Trebizond, as being Colonel Stoddart, was, I found, not a correct statement. Samut Khan is a Persian employed in the artillery, and called " Frankee" by the people of Bokhara. I found also the other European young man with him was not Conolty, but Giovanni, an Italian watchmaker, made prisoner by the King of Bokhara at Khokand and brought to Bokhara. This Italian had turned Mussulman, which probably led some persons to believe him to be identical with Colonel Stoddart. I could not, however, find any European or Asiatic that had wit- nessed the execution. All the other Europeans, as Youssuf Khan, had been publicly executed. I could hot help thinking that there was another poor Youssuf who might shortly share the fate of his more dignified predecessor. Strangling, I learnt also, was abandoned by the present King that was one comfort, for I have a strong antipathy to hanging and slaughtering with a knife substituted in its room. This was not the case when I was Jlrst at Bokhara. In this respect alone is Saleh Muhammed right in his circumstances. In the event of anything happening to me, I wrote, knowing that alone would be efficacious, to my wife, to say, that nothing short of Her Majesty's sign manual to a letter to the King of Bokhara, could save me. The Ameer evidently viewed it as a deadly affront that the letter he wrote by Stoddart to the Queen was answered by Lord Ellenborough, though Governor-General of India. I also wrote to request my friends to obtain a similar letter from the Emperor of Russia. I further pressed OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 175 on them not to forward any letter from the Queen to the King of Bok- hara by Meshed, for Mullah Mehdee might not be there when it ar- rived, and the Persian Muhammedan agents were either cowards 01 rascals ; but to send it to the care of the British Ambassador at St, Petersbugh, who might recommend it to the charge of Count Nessel- rode, to transmit via Orenbourg to Bokhara by a Cossack. I knew, if it fell into the hands of Muhammed Ali Serraf, my death would be certain, since I found, as I have mentioned, in the possession of that villain, the identical letter written by the Sultan, two years ago, to the King of Bokhara, and also another from Sir Moses Montefiore to the Jews of Meshed. When I asked him why the letters were not sent on by an express, he said, " Here are Colonel Sheil's letters, in which he tells me not to send them on by an express, but at a convenient opportunity." I am at a loss to guess the motives of Colonel Sheil. Perhaps Muhammed Ali Serraf might have given him intimations of which I am not aware, which influenced him to this singular course. It must also be observed that Colonel Sheil was not an Ambassador, but simply Charge d'Affaires, by which he found himself possibly not enabled to act at his own discretion, but from in- structions from the British Government. It gives me particular pain to utter one word of censure of Colonel Sheil, who received me most kindly at Teheraun, but I must, from a regard to truth, state, that his retired and distant manner operates as a check to the Persians, and even Europeans, in their approaches to him. It is quite different from what I witnessed at Teheraun from Sir Henry Willock in 1825, and from Sir John Campbell and Sir John McNeill in 1831. At that time the British Embassy was the rendezvous of the great men of Persia, but now it is, as the French gentlemen in Persia expressed themselves, "L'ermitage des Anglais." In illustration, I supply the following anecdote. Khosrow Khan, one of the chief eunuchs of the King of Persia, whom I had frequently seen in the company of Sir Henry Willock and Sir John McNeill, called on me at the last visit but one to Tehe- raun, when I was on my way to Bokhara. On his leaving me, just as he was going out of the house he looked back and said, " Oh, here formerly my friends Willock Saib, Ousely Saib, McNeill Saib, Camp- bell Saib, were living ! And then I considered the British Embassy my home, but now I am a stranger here." Two things may be said in defence of Colonel Sheil : 1st. He is exceedingly bilious, and has frequent attacks of gout, which may preclude conventionality. 2nd. The present Prime Minister, Haje Mirza Agasee, is very jealous of the English and does not like Persians to visit the British Embassy ; 176 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION but this is also the case with the Russian Embassy, but I saw con- stantly the latter filled with Persians, while the former was deserted. I also admonished all my friends to bear my death, should it hap- pen, as the will of God, and that no doubt good effects would spring from it, for I should die in the full belief of His all holy Son Jesus, and in joyful hope of a resurrection of the just. I wrote these brief notices to them under a tent, and, having no writing paper, on the slips of my memorandum book, at a desert place called Kalja, between Mowr and Jehaar-Joo, a hundred miles in ad- vance in the kingdom of Bokhara, April 16th, 1844. I was then only a hundred and eighty miles from the dangerous capital of Bokhara's King. At this place I was accompanied by a caravan, composed of people from Bokhara, Khokand, Tashkand and Heraut. At Kalja I received a present of a lamb from the Jew Mullah Seffy, and had the pleasure of sending back by the Turkomaun that brought it, the communica- tions alluded to with the beloved, of my beloved and adopted country, England, and also the following letter To the Philanthropists of Europe. (Sent from Mowr.) My dear Friends ! I am now proceeding to Bokhara, from which city I am only seven days dis- tant. Soon it will be decided whether Stoddart and Conolly, and also Cavaliere Naselli, are dead ! The general report in the Desert of Mowr is, that they have been executed, and the Turkomauns assured me that I should share a siinfJar fate, and they advised me therefore to go to Khiva ; but I am determined to proceed as long as there is the least probability of finding them alive, or perhaps some other Europeans. Should my head fall, it falls for a good cause, and Christians ought to be ready to lay down their lives for the brethren, as Christ did. I do not call on you to avenge my death, in case that you should hear that my head has been struck off; but remember one thing that 200,000 Persian slaves are sighing in the kingdom of Bokhara. Philanthropists of Europe ! make one grand attempt, in ransoming them, to carry at the same time the light of pure religion and civilization to the land of Timur and Ghengis Khan, and my bones in the grave shall shout that I was thus the humble instrument in rousing you, Philanthropists of Europe, to carry your benevolent ex- ertions from Europe to the Oxus. JOSEPH WOLFF. There fell at Kalja an unusual quantity of snow, which prevented us from stirring out that day. This was an unusual occurrence in the month of April in these regions. A Turkomaun in the tent showed to me a whole bag of Greek and Arabic coins. It is remark- able to hear these Turkomauns speak of the exploits of Alexander OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 177 and Timur, exactly as if of modern occurrence. One of the TQrko- mauns, striking upon the ground with his hand, said, " Here it was that Timur the Kurikan was born (as Tamerlane is called there). Timur Kurikan passed here to punish the Khan of Kharasm, i. e. Organtsh, and how severely did he punish him. He made a pyra- mid at Organtsh, entirely of sculls of men, cemented with clay. He spared the lives of none, except those of holy derveeshes, of the learned, and of poets, around whose houses he placed Karawl, i. e. guards. He was nine times in the desert of Mowr, nine times he returned in triumph to Samarcand. He had white hair from his childhood, and by his strength of body he could have slain a Rustam, and was endued with such a strength of mind that he never wept. He so much loved the truth, that when some person told him a lie with the intention of pleasing him, he cut him to pieces ; and when a person told him a truth, though disagreeable, he rewarded him with gold. At the death of his son, whom he tenderly loved, he lifted up his eye towards heaven, and said the word of the Koran, ' We are of God, and to God we shall return.' " Then another Turkomaun turned to me, and said, " He also came on to your country, Joseph Wolff, (i. e. the land of Room, Turkey,) where he made a prisoner of Bay- azid, and brought him in a cage to Samarcand. He was only once wounded, and this was in the country of Sistan, which made him lame, and for which reason he received the name of Timur-Lank, t. e. Timur the Lame. The gardens which he made at Samarcand were innumerable, and his court was filled with the learned from the country of Ghatay, with the fakeers of Hindustaun, and with the scholars from Room. Jews and Guebers, Cossacks, and the inhabit- ants of the land of Russ, became his guests. The man was born at Shahr-Sabz, and was on his way to Ghatay to conquer the whole land of Cheen-Pa-Cheen, when Fate decreed otherwise. He died at Atraw, but he is buried at Samarcand, in a splendid tomb." Mullah Seffey, the Jew present, said, " Our ancestors, whom he much loved, and for which they were rewarded by God with so much power, believed him to be the Messiah ; and when he returned to Samarcand they went to meet him with the Sepher Torah in their hands, and palms in the other, and we sang, We beseech Thee, O Lord, save us ! We be- seech Thee, O Lord, we beseech Thee, O Lord, prosper us !' ' Then one of the derveeshes present in the tent began to speak about Nadir Shah, the son of a pelisse-maker, who became mighty in battle, and a tiger in war. He was at Mowr, and marched towards Hind. He sent six thousand people on to Rafitak to dig wells. He had num- bered the number of Turkomauns, and a regular census of the inhab- 23 178 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION itants was established in every country he traversed. The tribe of Salor in the camp of Yolatan, (six miles from Mowr,) were his great friends, and he gave sums of gold to the Turkomauns ; on which ac- count they assisted him in his march ; and one of the other Turko- mauns said, " Thus the English must do as Nadir Shah did, when they want to conquer Khiva and Bokhara ; they must feed us Turk- omauns. We care rot who rules ; we are always with the stronger party." From Kalja we arrived at Rafitak. We were three days without water until we arrived there. There are in this place four wells, two wells with bitter water, and two wells with sweet, but they are extremely deep, full forty feet, which the Turkomauns fill up with sand and stone. When we approached Rafitak we heard from some stragglers the fearful rumour that the people of Khiva were in the neighbourhood, and marching with six thousand men towards Merw. When Ameer Sarog and Kaher Kouli, rriy Turkomaun companions, ieard this report, they said, " Allah, Allah, Allah, this will make the tents of Merw tremble ;" which reminded me of the words in Habak- kuk, " The tents of Kushan tremble." But fortunately the Khivites did not come that day, but came to Rafitak two days after, and smote the caravan that succeeded ours ; and I heard after, in a letter from the AssafF-ood-Dowla, which I received at Bokhara, that the rumour had spread throughout Khorassaun, that I had been killed by the peo- ple of Khiva, which had induced His Highness to send an express courier to Sarakhs to ascertain the truth of that report. From this place, annoyed with every inconvenience that the knavery of Dil Assa Khan could throw in my way, I reached Jehaar-Joo. Besides all this I was both amused and annoyed by that fool and knave, Ameer Sarog, so named because he was born on the same day as the former Ameer of Bokhara. That silly fellow, though above sixty years of age, was daily weeping and lamenting his disappointment in love. He said, " I have three wives, and I wish to have a fourth, and I could have succeeded in marrying her, if my other wives had not intrigued, and if the parents of that beautiful woman had not demanded such a sum for her. I at last shall be obliged to hang myself." This horrid fellow murdered a merchant in his house, and robbed him of all his property. Dil Assa Khan, and the villains that accompanied him, took from me by force the tea and sugar and provisions which I had taken with me from Meshed, and sold them to the people of the caravan. They compelled me to give them money for purchasing sheep and other victuals, which they pocketed. From Sarakhs I sent another Turkomaun expressly to the AssafF-ood-Dowla to recall Dil OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 179 Assa Khan. A second horseman reached us, after our arrival at Merwe, threatening Dil Assa Khan that the Assaff-ood-Dowla would destroy his house and imprison his family if he did not behave better. His Excellency wrote that it was too late to recall him, and that he would be of great use to me at Bokhara, and sent me a copy of the letter he had written to him. This Dil Assa Khan being a Merwee and a Sunnee, the Assaff-ood-Dowla thought would be of use to me at Bokhara. These Merwees are a most villainous tribe, noto- rious, even among Turkomauns, for avarice, faithlessness, and treach- ery. They are very numerous in Bokhara, and are descendants of Ghengis Khan. This fellow, Dil Assa Khan, was in the service of Yar Muhammed Khan, who was the vizier of the King of Heraut, infamous in repute as a man-seller. I will now add a few particulars about his master, Yar Muhammed Khan. Shah Kamran, of the Saddoo-Szeye, the royal dynasty of Affgha- nistaun, was King at Heraut. His vizier and fac-totum was Yar Mu- hammed Khan, an Affghaun, a man of extraordinary talent, but the worst of characters a drunkard, a liar, and a slave-seller. Shah Kamran was an imbecile. When Muhammed Shah besieged Heraut, he courted the English government, and treated with great politeness Pottinger and Darcy Todd and Colonel Stoddart. But as soon as Muhammed Shah had raised the siege, he entered into a treaty with the Assaff-ood-Dowla at Meshed, and threatened Darcy Todd with death if he did not give him an immense sum of money. Only two years ago, he most cruelly put to death his royal benefactor and master Shah Kamran. He now spends his days and nights in revellings, and in order to make himself popular among the Affghauns at Heraut, he has permitted them to make and drink wine. Bands of dancing girls dance before him whole days, and he has lately contracted an alliance by marriage with Dost Muhammed Khan, the Ameer of Cabul, and Kohandil Khan of Candahar. To give a further idea of his treach- erous character, I just mention that he wrote to me a most polite letter promising to send on my account an express Ambassador to the Ameer of Bokhara, in order that his majesty might send me back to my country with honour, instead of which, he sent three Ambassadors to Bokhara, advising the Ameer to put me to death. Now, of this Yar Muham- med Khan, Dil Assa Khan was the servant. He had escaped from Muhammed Khan, and went over to the Assaff-ood-Dowla. The Assaff-ood-Dowla had taken him into his service, and given him the village of Nasarieh for his possession, and made him there Chief of the Merwee. Even with all this hold upon him, the rascality in his nature was so strong that he was incessantly committing some act of 180 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION villainy ; at one time hiring camels and charging them to me, at another a kajava or palanqueen bound on the camel. Mullah Mehdee wanted to engage them, by way of check against him, of the Kafila Bashi or caravan leader. But Dil Assa Khan said the caravan would be too slow for us, and produced three camels of his own, for which I was obliged to pay double the price of camels. Eight Merwees, amid them a fellow named Ismael, that accompanied him, seemed to vie with each other in villainy. At Mastron, sixty miles from Meshed, where a horseman reached me from the Assaff-ood-Dowla, and proved a momentary check on their rapacity, the instant after he had quitted, Dil Assa Khan and Ismael actually unloaded one of the camels where my baggage was, put it on one of the camels of the caravan leader, with the promise to him that I should pay him for it, and loaded my camel, hired of Dil Assa Khan himself, with the merchandize of that villain. I have mentioned that one of my servants, Rajab, expressed a fear at accompanying me beyond Mowr, and remained there. Hussein and Abdullah, however, followed me. The Khaleefa of Mowr had sent on two other Turkomauns with me of the tribe of Sarog. Both behaved exceedingly well on the journey through the desert, and the Turkomauns against whom I had taken Dil Assa Khan as a protection, became a protection to me against him. Thus did we reach Jehaar- Joo, the first place in the Ameer of Bokhara's dominions. Jehaar-Joo means Four Wells. It was a place of considerable im- portance, with about twenty thousand inhabitants, fourteen years ago. But the continued invasion and depredation of the people of Khiva has reduced the inhabitants to about two thousand, who live in contin- ual consternation. They have a fortress a castle ; but the Usbecks cannot make use of artillery, and the Ameer is afraid of sending Persian slaves thither, who have learned the art of artillery under his Lieutenant, Abdul Samut Khan. And he even would not trust Abdul Samut Khan by sending him to Jehaar-Joo, for fear of his being bribed by the Persians. From that place I sent on a letter to the King of Bokhara, and de- livered another to the Governor of Jehaar-Joo, detailing the object of my mission. To the Most Powerful and Renowned Ameer of the Believers, the King of Bokhara, Ameer Nasir Utlah Behadur : God preserve him. Be it known to Your Majesty, that I, Joseph Wolff, am the well-known Der- veesh of the Christians in England, who have traversed Syria, Persia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Yemen, and Hindustaun; and have enjoyed the friendship of Muhammed Ali, Pasha of Egypt, the Sheikh Islam of Stamboul, Akbar Shah of OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 181 Drlhi, the Khaleefa of Mowr, M uhammed Shah Nakshbandee at Cashmeer, the Great Moursheed of Turkistaun, of Abbas Mirza of Persia, and of the present Shah of Persia. I have also been at Bokhara twelve years ago, where, after re- ceiving the hospitality of Your Majesty for more than a month, I set out with a gracious passport from Your Majesty to the following purport. " The High Decree has gone forth, that Joseph Wolff, the Englishman, should return to his country, and that on his way through these dominions nobody should lay any impediment in his way on entering or quitting any place. He that readeth this, lei him hear and obey." And obeyed it was ; for Your Majesty's command is powerful, since I was well received at Balkh and at Masaur. 4 Now again I am about to enter Bokhara, in order to claim Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, of whom it is reported in England, Russia, Germany, and America, that Your Majesty has put them to death. But I, knowing the hospitality of the inhabitants of Bokhara, did not believe it ; and therefore I shall petition Your Majesty on my arrival there, to send both gentlemen with me to England, in order that the commotion may subside which now exists throughout Europe, and that strict friendship may be established between Your Majesty and the British Govern- ment. Should they have been put to death on account of some misdemeanour on their part, I beg Your Majesty to state to me the cause, and to deliver to me their bones, in order that they may be buried in their own land. For Your Majesty must know that I have been the Moorsheed of Conolly, and Conolly was my Murreed. I am Your Majesty's humble servant, J. W. The Khaleefa of Mowr had also stated that Dil Assa Khan was merely sent by the AssafF-ood-Dowla to Bokhara on my account. That villain, however, had the effrontery, without informing me, to send a message to the Governor of Jehaar-Joo, purporting that he was an Ambassador from the AssafF-ood-Dowla to the King of Bokhara, for the purpose of offering the Ameer assistance in his war with the Khan of Khiva. He had even the impudence to say that he was in no way connected with me, but came for quite a different object. I picked up this piece of intelligence from Kouli, his own servant, and several of the inhabitants of Jehaar-Joo confirmed it, as also the Governor him- self; but he, by the provident care of that great man, the Khaleefa of Mowr, was fortunately apprized of the real facts of the case, and had learnt from him that Dil Assa Khan was my servant, and that he was sent forwards for the sole object of protecting me by the Assaff- ood-Dowla. From the Governor of Jehaar-Joo, I consequently ex- perienced every kindness. I was here also visited by Jews from Bokhara ; and, most remark- able, the same Jews whom I met at Jehaar-Joo, twelve years before. They expressed a very great joy to see me again well. And after the Usbecks had left my tent, the Jews spoke to me in the following man- ner : " Joseph Wolff, Joseph Wolff, Joseph Wolff, you are a son of Death as soon as you enter Bokhara. For God's sake do not enter ; 182 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION there is still time to retrace your steps ; this night we will fly with you to Organtsh, or send a man with you to Organtsh, with one of our friends. The King of Organtsh is a friend to England, and to Conolly, but for God's sake do not go on to Bokhara. Stoddart has been put to death ; Conolly also ; and some years before both of them, Lieutenant Wyburt, who was on his way to Khiva, but was brought to Bokhara and put in prison there, and some years after his throat was cut ; and five other Englishmen have been put to death at the Gate of Jehaar-Joo, only ten months ago. Poor Conolly, poor Con- oily, poor Conolly was dragged to the place of execution. His words were, ' Wail, wail, wail ; Kee aftadam bedaste SZAALEM.' ' Woe to me, woe to me, woe to me, that I have fallen into the hands of a Ty- rant.' J: This very fact of his exclaiming thus was told me previously by Mullah Nathan, the Jew, when at Merwe. I however replied to them, " I shall go on, I must be more certain as to this object." A derveesh entered my tent at this instant, who was considered to stand in immediate communication with God, and he had the title Baba. He said to me, " Go on, and prosper." OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 183 CHAPTER X. Arrival at Karakol. Dr. Wolff is abandoned by his Servants. Motives for the con- duct of Dil Assa Khan. Shahr Islam. Shouts of Populace on Route. Descrip- tion of Usbekistaun. Kaffer Seeah Poosh. Their Language ; Worship ; Dress. Reception of Dr. Wolff on entering into Bokhara. Roofs of Houses thronged. Thousands to witness the entry into the City. Bible held open in his hand; brought up to the King. Interview with the Makhram. Inquiry whether he would comply with the Ceremonies used in Presentation to Ameer ; assents to them. Ordered to send up Letters ; sends Letters from Sultan, Shah, Haje, Count Medem, Sheikh Islam, Assaff-ood-Dowla. Dr. Wolff and Dil Assa Khan intro- duced to the King of Bokhara. The King thinks Dr. Wolff an extraordinary Per- sonage. Person of the King. History of Ameer ; gains the Throne by Hakim Beyk ; murders all his five Brothers except Omar Khan. Dr. Wolff meets Omar Khan a Fugitive in the Desert of Mowr, who is there recognised by a Derveesh. Omar Khan shares the fate of his Brethren, and dies in battle against Behadur Khan. Ameer supposed also to have murdered his Father. History of Hakim Beyk ; becomes Goosh Bekee ; raises the Character of the Nation ; supplanted in King's favour by Abdul Samut Khan, whom he had raised from a low station. Imprisonment of Lieutenant Wyburt ; the Goosh Bekee intercedes for him ; the King promises to reform. Doctrine of Passive Obedience and Non-resistance laid down by the Reis ; the Ameer acts on it. People believe that the King can do no Wrong ; seizes Wives of his Subjects. Goosh Bekee resists ; is exiled ; recall- ed ; and executed. I PROCEEDED, I own, with considerable misgiving from Jehaar-Joo to Karakol, where rooms were assigned me by the Governor by order of the Ameer of Bokhara, and proper provision sent for me. Here, also, that execrable villain, Dil Assa Khan, called, without my knowl- edge, on Hussein Khan, Governor of Karakol, a man of probity and mercy, whom I knew in my former journey into Bokhara, in the year 1832. I was asleep from the fatigues of the journey, when Dil Assa Khan called on Hussein Khan. When I awoke in the morning, I called out for my servants. After a considerable time, Abdullah ap- peared, and said, " Ameer Sarog and Kaher Kouli have left you, and I also cannot any longer be servant to you ; and I have eaten dung, because I came with you. I can no longer be your servant." He then seized his bag and went off. At last Hussein, the other servant, appeared, and said, " I shall stand by you." This man was a rogue, but was not devoid of that kind of affectionate spirit I have noted in some very depraved men, which leads me to imagine that had that 184 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION tendency been oftener watched and fostered into fuller growth, the character itself might have become essentially changed. Hussein had been my servant in 1832, from Meshed to Bokhara and Cabul, and had witnessed the Providence that God had extended over me, when they wanted to burn me at Doo-Ab, near But-Bamian. His abiding with me brought back Abdullah, but I noticed that both the Turko- mauns, Ameer Sarog, and Kaher Kooli, went always from this time with Dil Assa Khan and his servants, and both Abdullah and Hus- sein exhibited considerable signs of alarm, although they remained with me. Kooli, the servant of Dil Assa Khan, soon gave me the key to this mystery. Dil Assa Khan had been with the Governor of Karakol, closeted for some time, and had been informed by him that Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly had been killed, and also several other Europeans, and that he entertained little doubt that I should share their fate, since the Ameer now evidently looked upon all Europeans as spies, and would execute them accordingly ; that he doubted not that the instant I reached Bokhara I should be beheaded. Dil Assa Khan instantly possessed the Turkomauns with all these circumstances, told his own servants also, and advised mine to abandon me, to look out for their own safety, and to join him. I have no doubt, also, that this villain had pondered over in his mind three states of circumstances that might arise. The first, and to him the most probable, for his con- duct evinced his belief, was, that I should be executed on the instant of my arrival. He therefore determined to divest himself of all im- plication as one of my suite. The second, that I might so represent his conduct at Bokhara, supposing that I succeeded in saving my life, as to get him into very serious difficulty. The third and last, and for this he was prepared by a short cut, as we shall subsequently show, to obviate that position, that on my return I might urge the AssafF- ood-Dowla to punish him, as he well knew that he deserved, for his robbery, lies, and treachery to me. Dil Assa Khan prepared himself for all circumstances, and he also expected to extort from me a large sum of money. Perceiving this state of circumstances, while we were leaving Ka- rakol, and on the road to Shahr Islam ; (Shahr Islam is the place where formerly Afrasiab, the famous king in Persian history, in an. cient time resided, and also where Islamism was first introduced, it is eight miles from Bokhara ;) I said to Dil Assa Khan, " I now fully perceive that you have acted, do act, and will continue to act, the traitor. Be cautious ; I warn you, the consequences will alight on your own head.' 3 OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 185 D. A. K. (sneering). Both of your folks (Kavvm) are killed, Stod- dart and Conolly. W. And, in consequence, you will play traitor ? D. A. K. How much money will you give me to do your work ? W. Not a single pool, i. e. penny. When, however, I reached Shahr Islam, the King's chamberlain (Makhram) was sent to welcome me, not Dil Assa Khan, and sweet- meats were sent for me, and the Makhram brought me, in the King's name, the assurance of His Majesty's good will towards me. The scene then became suddenly changed. Both the Turkomauns, Ameer Sarog and Kaher Kooli, diminished the distance between us. I was dressed in full canonicals the entire distance from Mowr to Bokhara, being determined never to lose sight of my position as mul- lah, on which alone 'my safety depended, I soon perceived. I also kept the Bible open in my hand ; I felt my power was in the Book, and that its might would sustain me. The uncommon character of these proceedings attracted crowds from Shahr Islam to Bokhara, all which was favourable to me, since if I was doomed to death, it would be widely known, and the consequences might be even serious to the Ameer himself, of interfering with a sacred character, armed with the Book of Mousa, and David, and Jesus, protected by the word of the Khaleefa of Mowr, supported by the Sultan, the Shah of Persia, the Russian Ambassador, the Assaff-ood-Dowla, both by word and letters, and the popular principle among the Mussulmans, as testified on my route, in shouts of " Selaam Aleikoom," " Peace be with you." The Turkomauns my guides were in the strictest sense of the word masterless, for their Aga Sakals, " Lords with the Beard," have only a right to give advice, and to conduct them on their plundering expe- ditions, but they have no power to punish. This country of Usbekistaun is filled with beautifully- watered and cultivated valleys. Here we find the Great Bokhara, in contradis- tinction to Little Bokhara ; from 34 to 42 north latitude, and from 80 to 92 east longitude, it extends in different directions. It bor- ders towards the south-west from the desert Khawar towards Iraun ; from the river Amoo to the territory of Balkh, towards the southern Affghanistaun, through the high galleries of mountains to the Hindoo Kush, it borders on the southern provinces of China. Since the expulsion of the Turks or Tatars the Usbecks are the dominant people. Sheybek Khan brought them to the country of the river Amoo, in the year 1498, when they had the centre of their em, pire at Organtsh, in Khiva. They spread death and destruction over 24 186 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION the whole of Turkistaun, as far as Iraun. The celebrated Murad or Beggi Jan raised the nation of the Usbecks. Incessant wars with Persia and Cabal have sometimes extended the empire as far as Merve, Heraut, and Balkh ; and sometimes it has been reduced to its former limits. The Usbecks are Mussulmans, rough and uncul- tivated ; but the Tatshick, the original inhabitants, are more civilized. The Usbecks live mostly on cattle, whilst the Tatshick are merchants. The Tatshick are the Armenians of Turkistaun ; they are merchants and brokers ; their language is the Persian. The Tatshick are ex- ceedingly deceitful. The people of Khokand are proud and effemi- nate, but friends of Europeans ; the women chaste, but men given to vice ; fond of music and of hunting, and of cheerful temper. The inhabitants of Marghilaan are a quiet, inoffensive, and agreeable peo- ple. The Kaffer Seeah-Poosh are pagans. They are believed, as I have said, by some to be the descendants of the army of Alexander the Great ; their women are beautiful, and celebrated in Asia ; their dialect seems to be derived from the Sanscrit, as some of the following words may prove : Imra ---... God Dagoon ------- God. Terekam God. Tata Father. Yeh Mother. Manash ------- Man. Amatesan Village. Ama House. Geda Horse. They worship their ancestors. Their idols are of wood and stone, to whom sacrifices are offered by the hereditary priesthood. They also have magicians. They consider fish as unclean. Polygamy is practised among them. They are deadly foes to the Muhammedans. They are sociable, cheerful, and passionate. Dancing, with musical instruments and drums, forms part of their amusements. Hospitality and vengeance of blood belong to their religious principles. The men wear a shirt, and over it a black goat's skin, for which they are called Seeah-poosh, black clothed. . The women wear only one shirt, and their heads are covered with silver ornaments. A red tiara dis- tinguishes the maidens. They live on cattle, fruit, (walnuts, apples, grapes, and apricots,) and good wine. Their domiciles are of wood, with subterranean chambers ; utensils according to European fashion, as chairs, tables, and bedding. They have daggers and fire-arms. A wealthy Seeah-Poosh possesses eight hundred goats, three hundred OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 187 oxen, and eight slaves. Their number amounts to ninety tnousand. Upon the height of Badagshaun are four free tribes of Israel ; those of Naphthali, Dan, Zebulon, and Ashur. My villain escort, Dil Assa Khan, then came up to me and said, " You ought to enter Bokhara dressed as a poor man." I replied, " Villain, liar, and man-seller, (for strong terms alone are effective in the East,) leave me. The Assaff-ood-Dowla will assuredly put you to death when we reach Meshed." Dil Assa Khan turned deadly pale. Shouts of " Selaam Aleikoom" from thousands rang upon my ear. It was a most astonishing sight ; people from the roofs of the houses, the Nogay Tatars of Russia, the Cassacks and Girghese from the deserts, the Tatar from Yarkarid or Chinese Tartary, the mer- chant of Cashmeer, the Serkerdeha or Grandees of the King on horse- back, the Affghauns, the numerous water-carriers, stopped still and looked at me ; Jews with their little caps, the distinguishing badge of the Jews of Bokhara, the inhabitants of Khokand, politely smiling at me ; and the mullahs from Chekarpoor and Sinde looking at me and saying, " Inglese Saib ;" veiled women screaming to each other, " Englees Eljee, English Ambassador ;" others coming by them and saying, " He is not an Eljee, but the Grand Derveesh, Derveesh Ke- laun, of Englistaun." My addresses had been circulated throughout all the parts of Per- sia, Turkistaun, and Bokhara ; my object had become widely under- stood, and I doubtless reaped the fruit of making the object of my mission thus clear and intelligible to all the Mussulman world. Amid the continued shouts of " Selaam Aleikoom," I looked closely among the populace, in the hope that I might recognise Stoddart or Conolly. It was vain. Before we were carried to our assigned quarters, we were brought what they emphatically call " Bala," up to the palace of the King. This is situated on a lofty eminence. When we reached it, the Ser- kerdeha, i. e. the Grandees of the Empire, were just leaving it, riding upon horseback. The people crowded in masses on me, demanding, " What book have you in your hand ?" I replied, " The T&wrat-e- Moosa (Laws of Moses), the Saboor-e-Dawood (Psalms of David), and the Anjeel-e-Esau (Gospel of Christ), and the Prophecies of Dan- iel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, &c." Devoutly did those poor unen- lightened souls touch the Book. At the entrance of the palace gate we were ordered to dismount from our horses. Only the Grandees of the Empire, and Ambassadors of the Sultan of Constantinople, of the Shah of Persia, should they come to Bokhara, are permitted to enter the palace gates on horseback. No Christian, Heathen, or any 188 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION other Ambassador is allowed that privilege. Singular to say, how- ever, I was allowed this privilege at my audience of leave, prior to my departure from Bokhara. Previous to our entrance, one of His Majesty's Makhrams appeared before me, and said, " His Majesty condescends to ask whether you would be ready to submit to the mode of Selaam," (for Stoddart Saib refused, and drew his sword.) I asked, " In what does the Selaam consist ?" He replied, " You are placed before His Majesty, who will sit upon the Bala Hanah, (from whence Balkan is derived,) and the Shekawl (Minister of Foreign Affairs) will take hold of your shoul- ders, and you must stroke your beard three times, and three times bow, saying at each time, ' Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar,' * God is the greatest, God is the greatest, God is the greatest ;' * Sa- laamat Padishah,' Peace to the King.' " On being asked if I would do so three times, I said, " Thirty times, if necessary." En- tering the gate, we were desired to sit down upon a stone seat, and after a few minutes' delay were ordered to send up our letters. I sent the following : L Two letters from the Sultan The one which the Sultan himself gave me, and the other which I found at Meshed, and which was not forwarded by that vil- lain Muhammed Ali Serraf. 2. A letter from His Majesty Muhammed Shah of Persia. 3. A letter from Haje Mirza Aghassee, Prime Minister to the King of Persia, ad- dressed to the so-called Vizier of the King of Bokhara, but who in fact is nothing else but the chief of the custom-house, and who is not allowed to receive or open any letter without the Ameer's permission. 4. A letter from His Excellency Count Medem, Russian Ambassador at Tehe- Taun, to the Ameer himself. 5. A letter from the Sheikh al-Islam of Constantinople, to the Cazi Kelaun (grand judge) of Bokhara, for I knew that none of the dignitaries of Bokhara, not even a merchant, are allowed to receive letters without first of all being perused by the Ameer. 6. Letters from the Assaff-ood-Dowla written to myself, in which he stated to me that all the presents he had sent to the King of Bokhara were sent on my account ; and he further wrote to me, that if Dil Assa Khan should betray me at Bokhara, he would burn his father. 7. A copy of the letter sent by the Assaff-ood-Dowla to Dil Assa Khan himself, warning him not to betray me. Most of the above letters have been published in the course of the previous Narrative, but the letter to the Cazi Kelaun, or Sheikh Islam of Bokhara, from the Sheikh Islam of Constantinople, is so charac- teristic a document, that I cannot refrain from giving it at full length. O Asylum of Excellence, O Loom of Knowledge, the Master of the art of appreciating the worth of men of science, the Possessor of deliberateness, whoso customs are those of sincerity ; may He endure in honour ! OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 189 With the offering of the select of sweet-smelling prayers, and of running fountains of odoriferous blessings of good odour, the friendly representation is this ; that of the officers of the Kingdom of England, a Colonel named Stoddart, another officer, and two or three Englishmen under safe conduct, who had gone to Bokhara on business Borne time back, had been arrested, and imprisoned by the glorious Government of Bokhara ; and on account of the request which was formerly made on the part of the said kingdom, an august epistle containing (a request for) the exertion of endeav- our to liberate the said persons, was issued and dispatched on the part which unite? honour and glory, of the asylum of the Caliphate, His Majesty, my Magnified Lord, the Royal, Dread, Puissant, and Great Emperor of the posterity of Osmaun (may God eternize Him, and fortify Him with His assistance unto the end of time !) my Master, to His Majesty, the fortunate, brave, and glorious Khaun, (may God grant ' him long life, with glory and renown !) At this present time, it has been resolved on the part of England to send the es- teemed Derveesh called Dr. Wolff to gain information concerning the circumstances of the said imprisoned persons, and if they are alive, to take them with him and con- duct them back to their country ; and a request has been made on the part of the said kingdom that our August Imperial Epistle to His Majesty the said Khaun, be this time also issued, and that an express letter be also written and sent on our sin- cere part to Your High Quarter, to the effect that endeavour be made to deliver the said imprisoned persons to the said Derveesh, and to restore them to their place. According as it is known to Your Excellent Self, the endurance and stability of the pillars of sincerity and friendship, and of the columns of love and amity which from of old have stood and remained firm between the Sublime Empire of eternal duration and the said kingdom, is a thing desired on both sides ; and by this reason, such requests as take place are deposited in the centre of acceptance and fulfilment ; also in reality the imprisonment and detention of such guests cannot be in accord- ance and congruous with the laws of nations and the customs of sovereignty ; and again, by reason that, according to the result of the requirements of the uniting point of religion and true faith which exist between the Imperial Person of the Ca- liph and His Majesty the said Khaun, it is an undoubted circumstance that the re- quests of either to the other which appear in the mirror of event and forthcoming, will arrive at the receptacle of acceptance ; therefore, although it is evident that al- ready endeavour has been made to clear of impediment the road of the said impris- oned persons, still in case they should not yet have left Bokhara, an august epistle has been issued and dispatched unto His Majesty the said Khaun, to the effect that endeavour be used for their being delivered to the said Derveesh, to their being re- stored and sent back safely and joyfully to their place with all possible speed, by way of Constantinople ; therefore, according to the generous qualities of equity and conscientiousness with which Your Noble Self is endowed and qualified in this mat- ter, that is, in the matter of restoring and sending back the said imprisoned persons to their place with all possible speed, it is hereby explained, that it is Our sincere and most express hope that most strenuous endeavours will be exerted to the attain- ment of the requisite means, and the accompaniment of the necessary assistance and protection in their behalf; and in this wise the present letter, the bond of sincerity, has been written, and sent and forwarded to Your Presence, the Element of Excel- lence. When, with the grace of the Most High, it shall arrive, the exertion, in the manner aforesaid, of Your most strenuous endeavours, depends upon Your Qualities, Odoriferous with great things. 190 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION From the sincere friend, MUSTAFA 'AASIM, son of the native of Mecca ; may both their sins be forgiven. After the letters were sent up, we were brought before the King Dil Assa Khan and myself. His Majesty was seated in the balcony of his palace, looking down upon us : thousands of people in the dis- tance. All eyes were bent on me, to see if I would submit to the etiquette. When the Shekawl took hold of my shoulders, I not only submitted to his doing so to me three times, but I bowed repeatedly, and exclaimed unceasingly, " Peace to the King," until His Majesty burst into a fit of laughter, and of course all the rest standing around us. His Majesty said, " Enough, enough, enough." We were then ordered to retire. The Shekawl, an officer who answers to our Secre- tary of State for Foreign Affairs, then assured me that His Majesty had smiled upon me, and exclaimed, " What an extraordinary man this Englishman is, in his eyes, and his dress, and the Book in his hand." His Majesty is about five feet six inches high, rather stout, black eyes and small, of dark complexion, with a convulsive twitching of the muscles of his face ; his voice not remarkably powerful, but rapid in intonation ; his smile appears forced. He has the whole appearance of a bon-vivant. His clothes are quite those of a common mullah, without any pomp or decoration. He has deprived the mullahs of all their power, and taken the executive into his own hands. On his accession to the throne he killed five of his brothers : two of them, it is reported, were murdered in the territory of foreign powers, viz., one of them at Khokand, and the other at Orenbourg in Russia. After the death of his father, Turah Zadeh was the eldest, and had actually taken possession of Bokhara ; however, Nasir Ullah, the present King, retired to the fortress of Karshi, and his friend, who was the Hakim Beyk, remained at Bokhara, and gained over the people of Bokhara by his learning, talent, integrity, and wealth, in favour of Nasir Ullah. After he had thus gained the inhabitants, he sent word to Nasir Ullah to come with troops to the gates of Bokhara. As soon as he appeared the gates were opened, and Turah Zadeh murdered, and Nasir Ullah ascended the throne. A second brother was murdered in the arms of his mother. Omar Khan, a third brother, had the good fortune to escape, and he wandered about in the whole of Turkistaun, spent some time among the derveeshes of Mowlana and Jelala Adeen, in the Turkish Empire, performed under the garb of a derveesh his pilgrimage to the Kaaba at Mecca, to the grave of Muhammed at Me- dina ; returned again to the Khunkaar (Sultan) of Stamboul ; and when I, in 1832, was in the desert of Mowr, seated in the tent of a OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 191 Jew, a derveesh entered the tent of my Jewish host, and soon after an Usbeck came in, and stared at the derveesh, and exclaimed suddenly, kissing his feet, " God preserve Omar Khan, my padishah of Bokhara, son of Ameer Hyder Behadur." Omar Khan said, " Betray me not ;" and thus Omar Khan wandered about in the desert of Mowr, and made an alliance with the King of Khiva ; and I heard after this that he was slain in battle against his brother, the present King. It is also said that the present King poisoned his own father. Hakim Beyk, who had assisted him to mount the throne, became his Goosh-Bekee, or Vizier ; and as long as he followed the advice of that wise minister, Nasir Ullah was the beloved King of Bokhara, and feared by the Kings around Bokhara. The Kings of Khokand, Cashgar, and Khetay, sent Ambassadors with presents unto him, and Russia continued to be on friendly terms with the King of Bokhara. The object of that great minister, the Goosh-Bekee, was to draw to Bokhara learned men, and men of arts, from all the countries of the earth ; and his friendship with Moorcroft had given him a predilec- tion for England, and he desired me in 1832 to prevail on the British Government to send physicians and officers, together with an Ambas- sador, to Bokhara. Sir A. Burnes, after me, received the favours of that great man, and Dr. Haenigberger, also, from Hungary, who came from Lahore, where he was in the service of the great Runjeet Singh, the Lion of the Punjaub. The derveeshes of Bokhara began to sing of the praises of Nasir Ullah and his great minister, the Goosh-Bekee. The town of Bokhara began to be adorned with beautiful mosques, and outside Bokhara, gardens and country houses were planned ; but Nasir Ullah Behadur became jealous of the Goosh-Bekee. At that time, in the year 1835, Abdul Samut Khan arrived from Cabal, where he had run away from Dost Muhammed Khan; and he boasted that he was acquainted with all the European sciences and military dis- cipline. The excellent Goosh-Bekee recommended him to the King, and the King nominated him the Chief of the Sirbaas, i. e. of the regular troops and of the artillery. The Goosh-Bekee poured favours upon the new comer, whilst Abdul Samut Khan all the time began to intrigue against his benefactor, and made the King believe that the Goosh-Bekee was in correspondence with England. The influence of the Goosh-Bekee began visibly to decline. At that time a report reached the King, that an Englishman was on his way to Khiva ; he sent soldiers (Usbecks) after him, and made a prisoner of that Englishman. His name was Lieutenant Wyburt. He was cast into prison. The Goosh-Bekee appeared before Nasir Behadur ; the respect of the servants was no longer paid to him as 192 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION before: the Goosh-Bekee bowed three times to the ground, stroked three times his beard, and recited the first chapter of the Koran, called Fatkha, which is as follows : " In the name of the most merciful and compassionate God ; praise to God, the Creator of the worlds, the most Merciful and Compassionate, the King in the day of judgment ; we serve Thee, we look up to Thee ; guide us thoroughly in the way of those to whom Thou art merciful, not in the way of those with whom Thou art angry ; not in the way of those who are in error. Amen." And then he stroked again his beard. The King asked him to sit down, which he did, bowing again to the ground. Then the King asked, " What is thy request ?" He said, " Oh, Hasrat ! I have devoted my old days and my gray hairs to the service of my King and my Master ; I have served many years your father, to whom God has been merciful. I have not gathered treasure ; and I did all that you might become a powerful monarch, honoured by all nations ; that you might become like Timur, and your name renowned like that of Scander Sulkarneyn. But in what have I now sinned, that my ad- vice is no longer heard ?" The King demanded, " What is thy de- sire ?" He replied, " Why has Your Majesty pulled down those beau- tiful palaces which you built with so much expense, and which were the delight of the inhabitants ? and besides that, why does Your Maj- esty arrest Englishmen in the highways, and bring them prisoners to Bokhara ? England is a powerful nation ; all Hind belongs to it. Shah Soojah-Almulk, and Shah Zemaun, the two Kings of Affgha- nistaun, have found shelter in the dominions of England. Runjee' Singh, the idolater, threatens to attack Affghanistaun : and if once in Affghanistaun, he may come to Bokhara. On the other side we are threatened from Russia and Khiva, and the Guzl-Bash will unite to destroy the King of Bokhara, which may God prevent. What can save us from all these evils except a strict alliance with England ?" The King told him to retire, and promised to profit by his advice. Soon after this the Reis, i. e. the Great Mullah, who enforces with bastinadoes and death obedience to the observance of the rites of the Muhammedan religion, preached one day to the Muhammedans in the following manner : " The King is a shepherd. The subjects are the sheep. The shepherd may do with the sheep as he thinks proper; he may take the wife from her husband, for the wife is the sheep of the King, as well as the husband, and he may make use of any other man's wife just as he pleases." From that moment Nasir Ullah be- came the greatest profligate at Bokhara. He employed all his Makh- rams as so many ruffians. The persons who were not willing to give up their wives, were instantly put to death, and he so habituated them OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 193 to tyranny, thai the husband, on being deprived of his wife, sighed and resigned himself to the will of the King with the exclamation, Een Kary Padsha hast" This is a royal act." The honest Goosh- Bekee alone resisted, and boldly reproved the King for it. Upon which he was exiled to Karshi. When the friends of the Goosh- Bekee wanted him to escape to Khokand, he said, " I am too old to be a traitor, I am sixty years of age ; I will die in my native country, for die I must, whether in my house or in prison." He remained quietly in prison at Karshe, spent his days in reading the Koran, saw from time to time derveeshes of the family of Nakshbande, and was at last brought again to Bokhara, and there put in prison, and then executed by order of the Ameer, behind the palace, on the spot where afterwards Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly were executed. 25 194 NARRATIVE OP THE MISSION CHAPTER XI. Passive Obedience the feeling of the People of Bokhara. Bad Character of the Mervee. King's Touch supposed to cure Disease. His Wives ; his mixed De- scent from a Persian Mother and an Usbeck Prince ; nursed by a Cassack Wo- man. Dr. Wolffs Interview with Shekawl. Equivocation of Dil Assa Khan. Dr. Wolff explains his Mission. The Makhram sent in the Evening with Ques- tions for Dr. Wolff to answer. Appearance before Ameer on the following day. Makhram sent to Dr. Wolff with another Question. Visit to Abdul Samut Khan J history of him. Nayeb receives Dr. Wolff with apparent cordiality. Long Con- versation relative to the Death of Stoddart and Conolly. Private Conversation with Nayeb afterwards ; he affects to have befriended Stoddart and Conolly ; shows Testimonials from them and Sir Alexander Burnes. Dr. Wolff hears " God save the Queen" played by the Ameer's Band ; writes to Lord Aberdeen about the Russian Slaves in Bokhara. Nayeb gives Dr. Wolff three thousand Tillahs ; Dr. Wolff objects to receive them. Dr. Wolff explains to the Nayeb the Object of the Stoddart and Conolly Committee. Nayeb demands how much Money Dr. Wolff would pay for his Ransom. King deeply affected at Report made by the Makhram of Dr. Wolff's Interview with Abdul Samut Khan. Letter to Captain Grover. WHATEVER crime or cruelty the King of Bokhara commits, the people simply observe, " This was an act of the King" " Who can fathom the heart of a King ?" But the Tatshick have more sense of liberty, and they in secret complain of the cruelty of the King ; and the Mervee would at once join the Persians, if the latter would send an army there. But the character of the Mervee is so bad, that the proverb is current at Bokhara and Meshed, If you meet with a viper (mar in Persian) and a Mervee, kill first the Mervee and then the serpent (mar). They (the Mervee) are, however, as also the Tatshick, fond of reading poetry. They assembled daily in the quarter where I lived, in the room of Dil Assa Khan Mervee, the treacherous Mervee who served me as mehmoondar from Meshed to Bokhara, and read aloud the poem of Scander Nameh, or, History of Alexander the Great. It is curious, that though the people of Bokhara are great enemies of the Sheah, yet they are great admirers of the writings of Hafiz and Saadi. The people of Bokhara and all the rest of the Turkomaun nation attach a particular efficacy to the touching of the King's garments or hands, and believe that sick people may be cured by the simple touch of the King. Harper & Brothers , "New York OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 195 The King has four wives, of whom he has only one son, who is about twenty years of age, and said to be of a weakly constitution. But it is said that his wives hate him, and that they are Persian slaves. They are the friends of Abdul Samut Khan, to whom they report every action and every word of the King. And it is not to be won- dered at that they should hate the profligate above described. It must be observed, that the King himself is the son of Shah Hydur, with a Persian slave ; and as a Tarkomaun well said, at Nishapoor, " As a horse paired with a donkey produces a mule, so an Usbeck married to a Persian must produce a monster." Besides that, the King had a Cassack woman from the desert as his wet nurse, and thus, as the same Tarkomaun at Nishapoor observed, " he drank the milk of a man-eater, for the Cassacks in the desert are accused of eating the bodies of dead men, and it is for that reason that he is such a blood- hound," After presentation to the King we were brought to a small room in the palace, which serves as an office ; here the Shekhawl above men- tioned came accompanied by Mullah Haje his secretary, who is one of those Persian slaves of whom there are two hundred thousand throughout the kingdom of Bokhara. Mullah Haje recollected having known me when at Bokhara in 1832. The Shekhawl then opened the business by first addressing himself to Dil Assa Khan Mervee. Shekhawl, What is your name and country ? D.A. K Dil Assa Khan, Sh. What is your request of His Majesty (Hazrat) ? D. A. K. My request consists only in one point ; His Excellency the Assqf-ood-Dowla being a great friend of His Majesty, and convinced that the King of Bokhara with justice demands the possession of Khiva and Khokand, offers his assistance to His Majesty against Khiva and Khokand, and all the cannon, ammunition, and troops, demanded from him, the Assaf-ood-Dowla will be ready to send to the Ameer. Khorassaun is near to Bokhara, Russia is two months distant from Bokhara, and England six months ; therefore friendship between the Assajf-ood-Dowla and Bokhara is most necessary. This is the only request I have to make. Wolff. Have you no other request to make ? D. A. K. None whatever. W. You are my man, and the Assaff-ood-Dowla has merely sent yon here to assist me in my request to the King, and you have been paid by me for it. D. A. K. The Assaflf-ood-Dowla has merely sent you on with me here. Sk. What is your name and request ? 196 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION W. Joseph Wolif is my name, a well-known mullah and derveesh from England. I was in the city of Bokhara twelve years ago, (Mul- lah Haje here recollected me and at once said so,) when I was well treated by His Majesty, and a passport was given to me previous to my departure, saying that the high order had been issued that Joseph Wolff the Englishman should be allowed to return to his country, and that on the road nobody should lay any hindrance in his way. After me Sir Alexander Burnes arrived, and was well treated and allowed to proceed on his way to England, and the hospitable conduct of His Majesty towards myself and Sir Alexander Burnes induced others to visit Bokhara Shereef. Two officers, (highly beloved and honoured by the British government,) my friends, Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, came here ; Captain Conolly was my Murreed, i. e. spiritual disciple ; when suddenly it was reported from the land of Russia, the land of Khiva, and even from the land of Khokand, and also from the land of Hindustaun, that both officers, brave in war, and religious men, had been killed by order of the King of Bokhara, and this news made not only a great commotion throughout England and Hin- dustaun, but also in the new world (America), and Muhammed Ali of Egypt heard of it, and thousands in England exclaimed, " War with Bokhara !" Here the Shekawl interrupted me by asking, " How far is England from Bokhara ?" Dil Assa Khan replied, " Six months march." I said, " That is untrue ; England itself is only three months march distant from Bokhara, but we have troops at Shikarpore, ne&r Canda- har, which is only thirty days march from Bokhara." I then continued, saying, " I, Joseph Wolff, seeing this great com- motion (vi^Twi*) throughout the world, about the death of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, put into the newspapers, Oh my Eng- lish friends, I cannot believe the report of the death of Colonel Stod- dart and Captain Conolly, for they revere at Bokhara guests very much. I shall therefore go there and ascertain the truth.' All my friends said, * Don't go there, for they will kill you also.' I said, 'I shall go, for Conolly was my great friend.' On seeing my determi- nation, my friends induced the government of England to order their Ambassadors at Constantinople and Teheraun to procure me letters for His Majesty the King of Bokhara from the Sultan, and from Mu- hammed Shah. On my arrival at Constantinople the Sultan gave me the required letters, also the Sheikh-al-Islam of Stamboul ; and Mu- hammed, Shah of Persia, not only gave me letters for the King of Bokhara, but also for the Assaff-ood-Dowla, ordering him to give me OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 197 every assistance and aid, in order that I might meet with a good re- ception at Bokhara. On my arrival at Meshed the AssafF-ood-Dowla asked me whether I should like him to send a respectable man with me, who would speak in my behalf to the Ameer ; in this case he would give himself one hundred tomauns to that man, and I should give an- other hundred tomauns to that same man. And His Excellency the AssafF-ood-Dowla said he would also send presents to the Ameer to secure for me a good reception. I accepted the proposal, and gave a hundred tomauns to Dil Assa Khan, and we set out for Bokhara, but as he behaved on the road like a knave, I sent several Turkomauns to Meshed, reporting his bad conduct, on which account the Assajf sent me several letters, and letters to Dil Assa Khan, with copies of them to me, which I have delivered to the Ameer with the rest of the letters, by which the Ameer will perceive that Dil Assa Klian is only my man, that he has played the traitor, and that the statement of the object of his coming to Bokhara and back, is a falsehood from beginning to end." D. A. K. I never said that I did not come on your account, for I know that England and Persia are great friends. W. / don't want your assistance. Sh. What is therefore now your object ? Dil Assa Khan here replied, " His (Joseph Wolff's) object is to es- tablish friendship between England and the King of Bokhara." W. I have no authority for that, but my object is, first, to ask, Where are my friends, Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly ? are they alive, or dead ? If alive, I beg His Majesty to send them with me back to England ; if dead, His Majesty will state his reasons for putting them to death, and also send with me an Ambassador to England. I perceived that if I did not hold out some hopes of reconciliation, he (the King) would be driven to despair, and perhaps put me to death ; and at the same time the Ambassador would serve me as an escort in my journey through the desert. I now give the continuation of my dialogue with the Shekawl. Sh. Has the British Government itself authorized you to come here? Dil Assa Khan interrupted me here, and said, " Yes." W. No ; I am sent by the Sultan and Muhammed Shah, on ac- count of their friendship with England. Sh. Are you authorized to claim them if alive ? W. Yes, by all the Powers of Europe, and the voice of the British nation. Sh. Is there much commotion about it in Europe ? 198 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION W. Very much so ; people speak only of Stoddart and Conolly, and of the apprehension they entertain of my sharing the fate of Stod- dart and my friend Conolly. Mullah Haje. You loved Conolly very much ? W. Very much. We were then dismissed ; and the house formerly belonging to Toora Zadeh, brother to the present King, who was killed by order of the latter, was assigned to us as our dwelling ; and from that mo- ment, ajl liberty of going out as I pleased was taken from me. I was watched day and night by the Makhrams of the King. The evening of my arrival the King sent to me two persons, the one was a Makh- ram, the other a Mirza who writes down everything which the Makh- ram (confidential servant to the King) asks the stranger. Mirza (addressing himself to me). This is a favourite Makhram to Hazrat (His Majesty). ******** Makhram. His Majesty has been graciously pleased to order you to answer two questions, which he proposes to you now through his slave. The first question is, " Are you able to awake the dead ?" The second question is this, " When will the day of resurrection take place ?" W. By God's power, one is able to do everything, for God is mighty above all ; and if God (His name be praised !) gives me that power, I am able to do so, but hitherto He has never granted me that power from above. With regard to the second question : when I was at Bokhara, twelve years ago, I conversed with the Jews about the re- turn of Jesus, and then I told them, and also the Goosh-Bekee, His Majesty's Vizier, that Jesus would return after fifteen years : but since that time I have had some doubts that my calculation may not be quite correct, for the meaning of the numbers mentioned in the Prophet Daniel admit of a twofold interpretation ; yet I am convinced by the signs of the times that the time of the coming of Jesus is at hand. I then pointed out to him the signs of the times, as mentioned in Matthew xxiv. xxv. ; Luke xxi. ; Isaiah xxxiv., &c., and then departed, every word I said having been written down by the Mirza. We were ordered to meet the next day again, to appear before the Ameer to make our Selaam, and then to retire. On returning to my lodging, a Makhram was sent again by the King to ask me why I was dressed in black and red colours, for I wore my clergyman's gown and doctor's hood whenever I was obliged to call on His Majesty. I therefore replied that it was the costume of the Mullah Kelaan, Great Mullahs of England. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 199 Makhram. Has it some meaning ? W. With me it has. M. What meaning have these colours with you ? W. The black colour indicates that I mourn over my dead friends, and the red colour indicates that / am ready to give my blood for my faith. I arrived, I think, on the 27th of April, it was on a Friday, and on the 29th, Makhram Kasem came and said I must follow him some- where. W. Where shall we go ? Kasem. This you will see. All the attendants around me trembled. An old Yoos Bashi (com- mander of a hundred soldiers), who was a Persian slave, wept, and said to me in a whisper, after Kasem had gone out of the room of Dil Assa Khan, " Why did you come here ? Stoddart Saib and Conolly Saib have thus been taken out of the house where they will now bring you." I asked my servant Houssein, " Will you accompany me ?" He replied in the affirmative. Dil Assa Khan also mounted his horse, and, accompanied by his servants, he rode proudly before me, Makh- ram Kasem at his side, who throughout the road conversed with Dil Assa Khan, and not one word with me ; and Dil Assa Khan's ser- vants drove violently back my horse, when it came a little near the side of Dil Assa Khan. Houssein, my servant, also began to fear to appear as my servant, and walked near the horse of Dil Assa Khan. We rode one mile out of the town, to the garden of Nayeb Abdul Samut Khan, chief of the artillery, which he disciplines in the Euro- pean way. Before I proceed with the relation of my first interview with the Nayeb, a slight digression will make my readers acquainted with a fact, which I believe I mentioned in my journey to Bokhara, in 1831 32. When I arrived at Cabul, in 1832, I met with Sir Alexander Burnes, and in conversation he told me, " When you come to Pe- shawr be on your guard against a person there who calls himself the Vizier of Sultan Muhammed Khan ; his name is Abdul Samut Khan, a great rascal, who if he can do any harm to an Englishman he will do so, for he knows that we look with contempt upon him." There- fore, on my arrival at Peshawr, I never came near him, but saw him only for one moment, when he called upon me in the company of Sul- tan Muhammed Khan. Abdul Samut Khan was born at Tabreez, in the year 1784, and having acquired some smattering of military science at Kermanshah, from Monsieur le General Court, he was employed there for a while 200 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION by Muhammed All Mirza, the celebrated son of Futt Ullah Shah : on account of some misdemeanour of Abdul Samut Khan, Muhammed Ali Mirza ordered his ears to be cut off. The Khan then deserted, and went over to Muhammed Ali Mirza's antagonist, Abbas Mirza at Tabreez ; but was soon obliged to escape from Tabreez. He pro- ceeded to India ; thence to Peshawr ; from whence he escaped, and took service with Dost Muhammed Khan ; he fled thence and came to Bokhara, where the wise and good Hakem Beyk, the Goosh-Bekee of Bokhara when I was there in 1832, procured him service with the Ameer, in order to teach the soldiers the military discipline. The Ameer made him a Khan, and nominated him his Nayeb (lieutenant). He lives in great pomp outside the town, and has acquired, during the nine years he has been there, a fortune of sixty thousand tillahs, i. e. ducats. He visits the King every Sunday, and likes to pass as a Eu- ropean by birth, and a disciple of the English officers. He was once in disgrace on account of having withheld the pay of the troops, and was near being .killed soon after Stoddart's death, but the war with Khiva and Khokand prevented the Ameer from doing so, as he was in need of his advice. To this man, Abdul Samut Khan, I was brought, and to the room in the upper story of the house where he fre- quently conversed with Stoddart and Conolly. He first embraced slightly Dil Assa Khan, but when he came to me he pressed me to his heart, kissed me for about ten minutes, pinched my hands and my fingers, as I suppose (for I am no Freema- son) the Freemasons do, then asked me to sit down and partake of an excellent breakfast of kubaab (roasted lamb), rice, coffee, and tea. Whilst the Nayeb, Dil Assa Khan, and myself, were seated at table, Makhram Kasem, with a Mirza, was seated on the ground in the Eastern manner, and the Mirza (writer) with the pen in his hand and paper and ink before him. Nayeb (eating at the same time). Now, Mullah Youssuf Wolff, I have known you twelve years ; aye, I saw you at Peshawr, and I know all about you. At present England and Bokhara are at war and are enemies ; but after you have heard how the two officers, Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly treated Hazrat (His Majesty), and how they have treated me, England and Bokhara shall be friends, which I heartily wish. By the Uzbecks I am suspected of being an Englishman, and by the English I am suspected of being an Uzbeck, but 1 am neither the one nor the other. All I wish is that the truth should be known, and now I will tell you all about it. When Colonel Stod- dart arrived at Bokhara, His Majesty sent a whole troop of soldiers to receive him ; he came to Bokhara, and to the Ark, just when Hazrat OF DE. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 201 returned from a pilgrimage to Baba Deen Nakshbande (a holy man buried outside the town). Colonel Stoddart was on horseback. The Shekhawl, and several other Serkerdeha (grandees) went up to him and said, " This is His Majesty, you must dismount." But he repli- ed, " I have no orders for doing so." The Ameer smiled, and said he is a mehmoon (guest). When you, Joseph Wolff, made your Sa- laam before the Ameer, the Shekhawl took slightly hold of your shoul- ders to make you bow down ; you submitted with your book in the hand ; but when the Shekhawl only touched Colonel Stoddart, he laid his hand on his sword and drew it. Nothing was said to this. The house of Toora, the same house in which you live, was assigned to him as his quarters. When a few days after the Rais (one of the mullahs who watch over the people, and have power to flog any one who does not observe strictly the Muhammedan religion) sent one of his friends to Stoddart and asked him whether he was an Eljee (am- bassador) or a Sodagur (merchant) ? Stoddart replied, " Eat dung /" His imprisonment upon this occasion the Nayeb passed over in si- lence, and continued, " At last from fear, Stoddart said he would be- come a Mussulman, and according to the Muhammedan religion, if a person says he will turn Mussulman, he must either do so or die. He became a Mussulman, and a short time after openly avowed again the Christian religion. At last it was agreed that he should write to Eng- land to be acknowledged as the accredited agent of Great Britain at the court of Bokhara, and that the King of Bokhara should be the ac- knowledged sovereign of Turkistaun, &o. ; and Colonel Stoddart promised that in four months an answer should arrive from the Gov- ernment of England. Though at his (Stoddart's) request, Japar Khanas (post-houses) were established from Bokhara to Sarakhs, which did not exist either at Bokhara or in the land of Turkistaun from the time of Afrasiab, fourteen months elapsed, and no answer arrived. During the time that Colonel Stoddart was at Bokhara, Captain Con- oily went from Organtsh (Khiva) to Khokand, where he stopped a considerable time, exciting both countries to wage war against the Ameer of Bokhara. He at last arrived at Bokhara, announcing him- self as a British Agent, without having any letters from the British Government ; and whatever Colonel Stoddart had agreed to he upset, announcing to the King of Bokhara that the British Government would never interfere with the affairs of Turkistaun, and all that Colonel Stoddart had agreed to went for nothing. Thus it was clear that Colonel Stoddart was a liar. During the stay of Conolly and Stod- dart they took every opportunity of despatching, in the most stealthy manner, letters to Cabul ; and on this account His Majesty became 26 202 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION displeased, and both Captain Conolly and Colonel Stoddart were brought, with their hands tied, behind the Ark (palace of the King), in presence of Makhram Saadat, when Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly kissed each other, and Colonel Stoddart said to Saadat, ' Tell the Ameer that I die a disbeliever in Muhammed, but a believer in Jesus that I am a Christian, and a Christian I die.' And Conolly said, ' Stoddart, we shall see each other in Paradise (Behesht), near Jesus.' Then Saadat gave the order to cut off, first the head of Stod- dart, which was done ; and in the same manner the head of Conolly was cut off." W. I thought strangling was the mode of killing at Bokhara. N. Strangling was formerly used, but the King of Bokhara said, " Strangling gives more pain, and the rascally Khan of Khiva stran- gles people ; and therefore, out of mercy, I command the heads of evil-doers to be cut off with a common knife." Then the Nayeb said to me, " Have you some request to make '?" W. First of all, I am astonished that His Majesty should have thought that the Government of England would enter into a corres- pondence with him as long as Stoddart was a prisoner, and thus forced to write whatever His Majesty pleased. Secondly, I am astonished that Colonel Stoddart should have expected that Government would, under these circumstances, listen to his proposals. IV. (knocking upon the table on which the breakfast was spread). But Japar-Khanas (post-houses) were established on Stoddart's ac- count, which existed not from the time of Afrasiab. W. Yet he was a prisoner. N. (again in the same manner). But Japar-Khanas were estab- lished on Stoddart's account, which existed not from the time of Af- rasiab. W. Then I have to observe, that the correspondence between Eng- land and Persia was carried on for a long time through the Governor- General of India. Now I have been informed that Lord Ellenborough, the present Governor-General of India, wrote to His Majesty the King of Bokhara. The Nayeb evidently appeared embarrassed, and said, " I never saw such a letter from the Governor- General;" and then immediately asked me, " What is to be done ?" I saw clearly that there was nothing else to be done but to contrive to get away from Bokhara as soon as possible, and in the best and safest manner I could. I therefore saw clearly that if I did not hold out some hopes of reconciliation, that I should not be allowed to go back to tell the story, and therefore thought that the best way to effect my escape would be to propose to OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 203 the Ameer to send ah Ambassador with me ; for even if he had suf- fered me to go alone, I had reason to be apprehensive that Dil Assa Khan afraid that I should get him punished for his treachery by the Assaff-ood-Dowla would murder me on the road to Meshed ; and such an Ambassador, therefore, would serve me as a protector. I therefore simply told the Nayeb, " Let the King send with me an Am- bassador to apologize in England for his conduct." This whole conversation, at my proposal, was written down ; and the Makhram Kasem, with the Mirza, instantly rode off to the palace, for the King was so impatient to know the result of the conversation, that ho actually sent three Makhrams on horseback, one after the other, from the palace to the garden of the Nayeb. After the Makhram Kasem and the Mirza had departed, the Nayeb desired Dil Assa Khan, his servants, and my servants, to go down and take a walk in the garden, and after this had been done by them the whole conversation took quite a different turn. Nayeb Abdul Samut Khan began to weep, and said, " Both Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly have been put to death without a sin or crime on their part. I was not able to answer your objection, that the King could not expect an answer from Dowlat, (this, which means the Power, is the emphatic designation of our Government at Bokhara,) as long as Stoddart was a prisoner ; in fact, he was so much worn out that when he (Stoddart) came to me he had not a shirt on his back, pale as the wall. I offered to the King one hundred thousand tillahs for their release, but he would not give ear to my proposal ; all His Maj- esty replied was, ' They are spies, and as spies they must die.' Soon after them another Englishman came, whose name I don't know, he was also put to death ; and one Frankee, Naselli by name, who had letters for Avitabile at Lahore. The tyrant (Abdul Samut Khan con- tinued) intended putting me to death, and has for two years back not given me any salary, until he saw that he could not go on without me ; and thus he acted even after I had taken Khokand ; and if he had been able to have taken Khiva, he certainly would have cut off my head. Let the British Government send one officer to Khokand, another to Khoolom, another to Khiva, and thus let those Khans be in- duced to march against Bokhara, and let the British Government only give me twenty or thirty thousand tillahs, I am ready to support them ; I make Hah, Front f (he said this in English, the only words he knows besides no force.) Three days after they were killed, the ty- rant sent to me Makhram Saadat, and gave to me the full report of it, and I went to see the spot. There is a custom on the circumcision of a son to invite some great man, who takes the child upon his knees. 204 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION I intend, if the British Government gives me twenty thousand tillahs, to invite the King, place him upon a seat undermined, and the moment he sits down I will blow him up. I know that he intends to kill me, but (here the hypocrite lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said) * In- shallah,' God willing, I shall put him to death." W. This, neither the British Government, nor any Christian, will ever approve of, for Kings are considered by us as Sille- UUah, i. e. the shadows of God. I will now ask you a question, and this it is, What did he say when he heard of my arrival ? Nayeb. When he received the letter from the Khaleefa of Mowr, announcing to him your arrival, he informed me of it. I asked, " What does Your Majesty intend to do with him ?" He replied, " If he brings no letters from Dowlat he shall fare like the former, I put him to death." But his mind was so restless, that he assembled about twenty Serkerdeha (grandees), most of them advising him to put you to death. One of them, my enemy, who was dismissed on my account from his situation of Governor of Samarcand, said to him, " Your Majesty asks me for my advice : I would recommend Your Majesty first to kill the Nayeb and then the Englishman/' I received this news only yesterday, when Mullah Haje informed me of it by his wife ; but fear not, I will stand by you, and to prove I have been a friend of Stoddart and Conolly and Sir Alexander Burnes, I will show you something. Here he produced the following documents : I. From Colonel Stoddart, 6 November, 1841. I write this document in certificate of my sense of the good offices rendered to me at Bokhara, by Nayeb Abdul Samut Khan, who was extremely kind to ma while I was recovering, under God's mercy, from severe fever and ague ; I was or- dered to this house in the beginning of this year, from the Daster-Khanjee, and since I have been with him, he has been of good service in forwarding my commu- nications to and from the Ameer, and with Government, and in aiding to obtain permission for my departure from Bokhara. I have reported, and will further re- port, all the details of his good offices to Government, and I give him this as testi- mony of my gratification and sense of his kindness by way of introduction to any Englishman, and as he has requested it, thinking it may some day serve him, with my best prayer that God Almighty may bless him and his family. I sign this CHARLES STODDART, given at the Garden. II. From Captain Conolly. Received from Nayeb Abdul Samut Khan three thousand tillahs, which I have promised to get invested for him in the Honourable East India Company's Fund. I take this money on public account, and will write suggestions for allowing tho ^Nayeb twenty per cent, profit on it, (the Bazaar rate of exchange to Cabul,) when OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 205 I next address the Envoy and Minister at Cabul. This I merely give as a note of hand to secure him against accident to myself in the interim. ARTHUR CONOLLY, on a special mission to Turkistaun. Then, after this, the Nayeb produced a most friendly letter in Per- sian, but signed in English by Sir A. Burnes, which entirely de- ceived me with respect to the Nayeb's character; for Sir A. Burnes had warned me against the Nayeb when I met him at Cabul ; so I thought that Sir A. Burnes might have changed his opinion about the Nayeb, and have been deceived with respect to his character when he saw him in 1832 ; and I was further deceived by a letter, recom- mending me to him from Colonel Sheil ; and lastly, by a despatch sent from Lord Aberdeen to Colonel Sheil, in which Abdul Samut Khan was recommended as a man worthy of credit. The time of evening approached, and the band of soldiers played " God save the Queen," which most agreeably surprised me. I then asked him whether there were any other Europeans there ; he told me that there was one Italian, Giovanni Orlando by name, who came from Constantinople to Khokand with a Khokand Ambassador ; that on the taking of Khokand, the King intended putting him to death, but that he, Abdul Samut Khan, saved his life, and brought him and his wife to Bokhara, where he now gains his livelihood by watch mending. I saw the man afterwards ; he is a good-natured fellow of fair capacity, who was, as he expresses himself, " Un povero mise- rabile, nel suo paese," which is Parma, and is " Un povero misera- bile," in Bokhara. I then asked whether there were Russian slaves at Bokhara. He replied that there were in the town anfl in the villages about twenty. I said that I should like to ransom them ; I had no authority for doing so, but I knew that my friends in England would assist me. He said that he would procure for me the twenty slaves for one thousand tillahs (ducats). I agreed to that in case I could openly take them with me. He said that he would arrange the matter. I wrote there- fore a letter to Lord Aberdeen about it. He then said he would give into my charge three thousand tillaha, to invest in the Bank of England. To this I decidedly objected, as- signing as my reason, 1st, that I was totally unacquainted with money matters ; 2nd, that it was very dangerous to carry so much money through the desert. He replied that he would send one of hi* own servants with me as far as Meshed, who should carry it, and he said, " You will certainly not refuse when I deliver you from such a tyrant." At last one of the Makhrams of the King came on the King's own 206 NARRATIVE OP THE MISSION business, and Dil Assa Khan also approached us. After the Nayeb had conversed with the Makhram a few minutes, the Makhram, Dil Assa Khan, and myself, sat down in the open garden with the Nayeb, to partake of a supper, when the Nayeb began, " But Mullah Youssuf Wolff, about one matter I have been astonished, and that is, that you came here with such a shabby present for such a great King as Nasir Ullah Behadur, who is a Padishah, and the Padishah of Bokhara Shereef, and of Samarcand of the tribe of Mankid, to bring for such a King only a present valued in the market-place at ten tillahs ! You ought to purchase here for the Padishah nine times nine shawls, according to the usage of the country, every shawl to the value of thirty tillahs, so that you will have to incur an expense of eighty-one times thirty, which will amount to two thousand four hundred and thirty tillahs, but a little sum for the great Power of England." I then said to the Nayeb, in the presence of the Makhram and Dil Assa Khan, " Now I must make you acquainted thoroughly with my circumstances, and with every circumstance connected with my mis- sion to Bokhara. The Government of England was thoroughly con- vinced that the report of Stoddart and Conolly's death was true, and a mighty vizier, Sir Robert Peel by name, openly stated all circum- stances in the House, where all the Grandees of the Empire assem- ble ; but some friends of mine and myself doubted the fact, especially as I was well treated at Bokhara twelve years ago. These few friends have allowed me one thousand tillahs for my journey to and from Bokhara. If Stoddart and Conolly had been alive, I might have thought myself authorized to spend two thousand four hundred and thirty tillahs, and even more, for their release, but as they are dead, I have neither authority from my friends, who have sent me, nor from Government." Nayeb. Stoddart and Conolly's pay was but two hundred rupees a month, and yet they would have paid one hundred thousand tillahs ; how much would you pay if you were imprisoned ? Here I perceived the height of my unguarded observation, and I began to tremble, and was already somewhat afraid that the Nayeb was not quite sincere. The Makhram departed, and it was already about midnight, when suddenly Makhram Kasem came from the city to the garden, breathing hard, the gate was shut, but His Majesty had ordered the gate to be opened. The Makhram told us that when he brought the written conversation held between the Nayeb and myself, Hasrat (His Majesty) was sitting with his head supported by his hands, when suddenly he started and exclaimed, " What did Yottssuf OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 207 WolfF say ?" They gave him the paper to read ; he immediately sent word that the Ambassador would be ready in a few days to de- part with me to England, with presents for the Queen. " Now," said the Nayeb, " you have permission to leave, and after to-morrow we send for Morteza the Kafila Bashee, who goes to Meshed, and before you leave there will also be ready articles of Conolly and Stoddart." At this period, by order of the Ameer, I addressed the following letter to Captain Grover, giving the official details of the execution of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly : Sir, Bokhara, May 5, 1845. I write this letter in the house of Nayeb Abdul Samut Khan, the chief of the Artillery and of the Arsenal of His Majesty the King of Bokhara, a sincere and ex- cellent friend of the British nation, and in the presence also of His Majesty the Ameer's Makhram (private chamberlain) : and I write this letter officially, by order of the King of Bokhara, to whom I give a translation of the letter, and therefore confine myself only to the most necessary topics, without comment, and without any observation on my part. 1st. On the 29th of April, the King stated to me, by medium of the above-named Nayeb, and in the presence of Mullah Kasem, the King's Makhram (private cham- berlain), that he had put to death, in the month of Sarratan, 1259, Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly. Colonel Stoddart was put to death, firstly, on account of his having treated Royalty with the greatest disrespect on different occasions ; secondly, that he had turned Mussulman, and then returned to the Christian faith ; thirdly, that he had promised to get letters from England, and fourteen months had elapsed without receiving any answer, though the King had erected Japar khanas (post- houses) on his account And with regard to Conolly, that he had been put to death for having induced the Khans of Khiva and Khokand to wagf war against the King of Bokhara, &c. His Majesty has given me permission to leave Bokhara on the 9th of May, i. e. Friday next. From Meshed I shall write everything more fully. I am, Sir, Your humble and obedient servant, JOSEPH WOLFF, Mullah of England. A musical band played " God save Victoria our Queen." They were Hindees from Lahore, formerly in the service of Runjeet Singh. 208 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XII. Colleges of Bokhara. Manner of Lecturing. Derveeshes fed by Ameer. Jewish Synagouge at Bokhara. The King of Bokhara attached to the Jewish Religion. Bokhara and Samarcand. Singular Report of Dr. Wolff, that he understood Beventy-two Languages, knew seventy-two Religions, and had conversed with seventy -two Nations, and that he had come from Sulmistaun to convert the Bok- harese. Makhram sent from the Ameer with a Question, How the Authenticity of the Christian Religion is shown ? Answer. Makhram sent again, with a Re- quest that the History of Muhammed, as related by the learned Men of Europe, should be written by Dr. Wolff, and transmitted to the King. Dr. Wolff consents, on the condition that he should not be forced to embrace Muhammedanism. Dr. Wolff writes the Life of Muhammed. Life of Muhammed. THE day following the conversation with the Nayeb, given in the previous Chapter (it was on a Monday), the Makhram, Dil Assa Khan, and myself, mounted our horses. Dil Assa Khan now began to ride near me, the Makhram Kasem spoke in a friendly manner, and pointed out to me the colleges of Bokhara, which are splendid and beautiful buildings. In these colleges the writings of the learned Sunnees, as well as of the Sheahs, are read and discussed. Oratory, rhetoric, poetry, and logic, are studied, besides the Koran ; disputations are carried on in a scholastic manner; Jelaal, Beydawee, are read. They take as their guide the schools established in Yemen. And, as I have wit- nessed it when in Yemen in the year 1837, it is remarkable that the very mode of opening their lectures is taken from the manner adopted in Yemen. The teacher as well as disciple lifts up his eyes first to heaven, the palms of his hands are then turned to his face while the Fatkha is recited, and then they stroke their beards ; and I must ob- serve that all judicial transactions are opened in this manner, and after a present is given from a superior to an inferior, it is also reci- ted. The same custom exists in Yemen, and only in Yemen, by which it appears to me that Bokhara has taken her customs and man- ners from the learned of Yemen. They have a convent at Bokhara, dedicated to the famous derveesh Mawlana Jelaal Uddeen, who cen- turies ago went from Bokhara to Iconium. The derveeshes at Bok- hara are fed at the expense of the Ameer, but he does not allow them any impertinent acts, and frequently bastinadoes and puts them to death. TMUVBBSITT ASH IF IBQHDSLfiAA, Harper & Brothers . ".New Tofk . OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 209 The Synagogue of the Jews at Bokhara is a very ancient building, but quite out of repair. The Ameer gave his consent during my stay there to the Jews, to repair the synagogue a little, but not to extend the ground. They have here an ancient MS. of Daniel, and in Chap. VIII. is the number two thousand four hundred, instead of two thou- sand three hundred. Though the King of Bokhara is a friend to none, yet he seems to have some predilection for the ceremonies of the Jewish religion, and frequently goes to the house of Rabbi Simha on the day of Taberna- cles, and sees them celebrate that feast, and partakes of their dinner. He has never seized on a Jewish woman, as he has done on the wives of his great ministers. He has even seized on the wife of the excel- lent Grand Cazi, whose awful portrait we subjoin. He is also anx- ious to learn from them their views of the Messiah. I shall now take this opportunity of saying a few words on the cities of Bokhara and Samarcand. Bokhara is situated in 39 27' north latitude, 80 19' east longi- tude. It is surrounded by deserts, and watered by the little river Waf kan, which flows between forests of fruit-trees and gardens. It has eleven gates, and a circumference of fifteen English miles ; three hundred and sixty mosques, twenty-two caravanserays, many baths and bazaars ; and the old palace called Ark, built by Arslan Khan one thousand years ago, and has about one hundred splendid colleges. The houses have neither roofs nor windows. The population amounts to one hundred and eighty thousand, composed of Tatshicks, Nogays, AfFghauns, Mervee, Usbecks, and ten thousand Jews, who are dyers and silk traders, and must wear a small cap, and girdle around their waist, to be distinguished from the JVIuhammedans. There are seve- ral thousand slaves. There are about three hundred merchants from Scinde, and many derveeshes. Whole streets contain nothing but shops and magazines for merchants from all the parts of Turkistaun, Cashgar, Hindustaun, and Russia. There are great numbers of country houses, with gardens called Jehaar-Baghs, all around Bok- hara. Most delightful villages are to be found eight miles around Bokhara. A sickness prevails, chiefly in the city, called Riskta an immense worm comes out of the knees, and makes people frequently lame for life ; it is ascribed to the water. Ophthalmia is also preva- lent. There is only one Jewish physician of some skill, who prides himself on knowing the sense of the word " antimonial," and perpetu- ally uses it, as Abdul Samut Khan prides himself on knowing how to say, "Halt! front!" 27 210 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Karkee, near the Amoo, is a strong town, with one hundred and fifty houses, about one hundred English miles from Bokhara. In the cities of Oratepa, Karakol, and Jesagh, the Usbeck chiefs called Serkerdeha have their country houses, but they are now much oppressed by Nasr Ullah Behadur, the present King of Bokhara, who often takes possession of their wives and sons. ****** The chief of the mullahs at Bokhara has the title of Mullah Ke- laun (grand mullah), a man of excellent character, who deplores the murder of poor Stoddart and Conolly. Of Samarcand, the rival city, formerly the place of residency of Timur, in the midst of the beautiful valley Soghd, I have to remark that it was not long since the seat of the King of Bokhara in the time of winter, but as this town is frequently in a state of mutiny, he seldom goes there. It was known in the time of Alexander the Great by the name of Marakanda Regia Sogdianorum ; and contains the sepulchre of Timur. It is still the seat of Oriental literature, and called " The Ornament of the Face of the Earth." It has a wall of clay, and forty thousand inhabitants ; a beautiful palace, and many houses of marble ; many mosques and colleges. It was formerly inhabited by Chinese, who manufactured paper of silk, and it once had the name of Bokhara-Tsheen, but received the present name from the Conqueror Samar, after Christ 643. Oologh Beyk erected there an observatory. There are two thousand Jews there. Near it is a little town called Sheeras, and it is probable that the poet Hafiz alluded to Sheeras, near Samarcand, in his lines : If that Turkish girl of Sheeras would give me her heart, I would give for one mole of her cheek, Samarcand and Bokhara. For there are no Turkish girls at Sheeras, in Persia. A report was spread abroad, I found, throughout the whole country of Bokhara, that Mullah Joseph Wolff, the grand derveesh from Eng, land, was acquainted with seventy-two languages, with seventy-two religions, and had conversed with seventy-two nations of the earth. That further I had been in Sulmistaun, i. e. the land of Darkness, Tartarus, and that I had called on the Ameer to compel all the inhab- itants of Bokhara to embrace the religion of Jesus. The Ameer sent one day to me the Makhram, with the following question, of which I was obliged to write down the answer : " How do the Christian mullahs prove the truth of their religion ?" OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 211 I replied : I. That its Divine Founder, Jesus, and his religion, were predicted, centuries before his coming on earth, by the prophets of old. II. By the miracles which Jesus ' performed, and which miracles were admitted to have been performed by Him by his own enemies. III. By the life and conversation of Jesus. IV. By the prophecies which He uttered and which were fulfilled ; as, for instance, the destruction of Jerusalem was predicted by Him. V. By the effect which Christianity produc d. Christianity teaches a man to set a proper value on human blood. The Christians feel more horror, consequently, than many other nations at the shedding of human blood. VI. Christianity fills the heart with compassion and love, even to- wards others who are not our own people. The Christians are the only people who have established houses for the sick, where they re- ceive attendance and medicine without money, and also houses for aged people and for widows and orphans. On another day, when surrounded by many Kalmucks, Merve, Usbecks, Jews, Kafer Seeah Poosh, Hindus from Chicarpore, together with Dil Assa Khan, His Majesty sent to me his Makhram, with the following command, that I should give him the history of their Prophet Muhammed, as related by the learned men among the English and other European nations. This was rather a delicate point, and I therefore asked His Majesty first, whether this would lead to any at- tempt at forcing me to become a Muhammedan. He sent me word, " Not in the least." I wrote down as follows : May God preserve Nasir Ullah Behadur, Ameer of the Mussulmans, and Shaheen-Shah of Bokhara, the most learned of the Ulema of the Bokhara Shereef. Your Majesty's wisdom, anxious to know the customs and manners and religious sentiments of other nations, imitating in this respect your great ancestor Timur Kurikanee, has graciously ordered me to write down the History of Muhammed as related by Christian historians ; a task most difficult for me to perform, since, 1st, I am not so well versed in the Persian language as to write it in an elegant style, as such a subject deserves ; 2nd, I wish to perform the task in such a manner that it may be consistent with truth, and at the same time not to wound the feelings of any one. But as, according to the religion of Jesus, we must obey the commands of Kings as far as their commands do not insult the commands of Jesus ; and Your Majesty having promised that my undertaking will not lead to a renunciation of my religion, I submit to your Majesty's command by thus writing down the History of Muhammed the son of Abd Ullah, the Prophet of the Mussulmans. The Empire of Rome was in the decline ; the followers of Jesus forgetting the precepts of the Anjeel (Gospel) given up to vice ; Persia was enervated ; the Government of the Yoonaanean, residing in the place called at that time Byzan- tium, and now Stambool, was given to bad morals ; and Arabistaun was divided by internal dissensions hi the affairs of this world as well as in religion. No wonder 212 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION that God sent his chastisement upon all these nations. A man, therefore, was wanted to achieve the overthrow of Asia and part of Africa. Such a man ap- peared in the person of Muhammed, of the family of Hasham, of the tribe of Koreish. The office of Superintendent (Shereef) of the Kaaba at Mecca, had been at first hereditary in the family of Ishmael ; afterwards, for some centuries, it was vested in the tribe of Khoza ; and in the year 464 after Jesus, the tribe of Koreish deprived the Khozaites of this office by cunning, and afterwards by open force. The office of Shereef of the Kaaba was connected with certain advantages : he that occupied so high a situation enjoyed not only great influence over the city of Mecca, but also, as the holy house was an object of veneration amongst all the tribes, over the whole of Arabia. This high dignity, combined with the government of Mecca, descended through four generations to Abd Almutaleb, son of Hasham, grandfather to Muhammed, the prince and chief of his tribe. Abd Almutaleb had rendered tho most essential services to his country. To prevent general famine, the father of Abd Almutaleb had in aforetime made provision by permanent regulations for regular importations of corn, by means of two numerous caravans, which departed and returned regularly ; and Abd Almutaleb himself had liberated his country by his valour and prudence from the yoke of the Abyssinians. His liberality was not only extended to men, but the birds of the air and the beasts of the field felt the effect of his benevolence. On a certain day of every month he fed all the poor of the city upon the roof of his house ; and also directed his servants to carry appropriate food to the beasts on the hills. Abd Almutaleb was crowned also by the plenitude of domestic blessings : he had thirteen hopeful sons and six beautiful daughters. Abd Ullah was one of his younger sons, and his favourite child. He was the jewel of Arabian youths. But not less beautiful and modest was Amina, Waheb's daughter, a Jewess of the noble family of the Zarhites. Abd Almutaleb married his favourite son to this beautiful girl. But in the fourth year of her marriage, when she was about to have a child, her husband, on a journey which he had undertaken for commercial purposes, died at Yatreb, now called Medinah. Abd Ullah had had no time to acquire riches ; the whole property he left to his disconsolate widow consisted of five camels and one Abyssinian slave-girl, Barek by name. Two months after the death of her husband, on the 12th day of Raba (April 10, 569 A. D.), in the afternoon, Amina gave birth to a boy, who received from his grandfather the name of Muhammed. To celebrate the happy delivery of his daughter, Abd Almutaleb prepared a splendid feast, to which he invited the most distinguished of his family ; and in their presence he gave to his grandson the name of Muhammed ; and the Arabian histo- rians add, that the family of Koreish, astonished at this, said to Abd Almutaleb, " Why dost thou call the boy thus, as no other of thy tribe bears that name ?" Abd Almutaleb replied, " God shall glorify him in heaven whom He has created on earth." We Christians, however, say that the miraculous events which are said to have taken place at his birth, according to Abulfeda, Elmakin, and Masoodee, are evidently imitations of the Gospel narrative of the birth of Christ ; for instance, that rays of light appeared in heaven, which illuminated all the towns, villages, and markets throughout Arabia and Syria ; and even many Muhammedan writers doubt these facts, even among the Sunnee. Muhammed was consigned to the care of a nurse, Halima by name ; and when he was old enough he kept the flock of his foster brothers and sisters. The boy grew up thriving, lively hi spirits, and strong hi body, but was attacked by epileptic fits, OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 213 which rapidly increased to such a degree, that Halima, in fear, returned the boy to the care of his mother. But his mother died in his sixth year, on a journey to see her uncle, and was buried at Al-Aba, between Medinah and Mecca. Abd Almu- taleb undertook the guardianship of Muhammed ; but in the boy's eighth year he also died, at the age of a hundred and ten years ; and in his dying hour recom- mended the orphan to the care of Abu Taleb, who became his successor in the office of Shereef. Abu Taleb was a wise man, highly respected at Mecca and in the whole sur- rounding country ; he was merchant, warrior, and hunter. He undertook the education of Muhammed, exercised him in military hardihood, and tried to inspire him with courage, by taking him with him in his expeditions for hunting the lion. Besides, he made the boy acquainted with mercantile business, for which purpose he took him on a journey to Syria. Among his travelling companions were Abu- Bekr and Belal, who became afterwards his most zealous partisans in the promul- gation of his new religion. On that journey they came near Bosra, in Syria, near to Damascus, where Abu Taleb was acquainted with the monks of the Mandaye, who resided there. The monk Boohyra, of that convent, observed, " Muhammed will become a great man," and Muhammed believed himself the more to be a chosen vessel in the hand of Providence. He had frequently heard wise men, in the house of his uncle, express the necessity of combining together the conflicting religions of the Arabs into one pure religion, and reducing all the tribes of the nation under the obedience of one common creed. Besides, the historical traditions of the Arabs had much analogy to those of the Hebrews, and coincided with them in a great number of points ; for, as they were of the Shemitic race, they deduced their origin from Abraham and the other holy patriarchs of the primitive world. Hence the traditions of a purer faith, and the simple patriarchal worship of the Deity, appear never to have been totally extinguished among the Arabs. In this manner a spark was thrown into the glowing imagination of Muhammed, which produced that mighty Arabian conflagration whose flames were scattered to Turkistaun, Hindustaun, and Affghanistaun by the sons of the Desert. After their return to Mecca they resumed their usual occupations, Muhammed, as before, spending his time in commercial pursuits and military exploits; and on account of his tall figure and graceful deportment, he was considered the finest and handsomest man in Arabia. When he was twenty years of age, a feud broke out between the tribe of Koreish and the two tribes of Kenan (the Rechabites) and Hawazan. Under the order of Abu Taleb, Muhammed had the command of a small body of horse ; and he distinguished himself so much by his courage and intrepidity, as well as by his judicious arrangements, that, by the unanimous voice of his allies, as well as his opponents, the victory was ascribed to the valour of Muhammed. Abu Taleb, and the house of Hasham were much gratified with the military glory of Muhammed. Other circumstances also combined to raise the reputation of Muhammed. Long before the time of Muhammed, the Kaaba of Mecca had been constituted the great sanctuary of Arabian worship. It contained the Black Stone, the object of the religious devotion of the Arabs from a very ancient period. We meet with a similar form of worship among the Seikhs at Lahore, with regard to the stone callefl Salkram. When the tribe of Koreish began to rebuild this temple they were at a loss to know how the Black Stone should be fixed in the wall, and what hands should touch it, when, unexpectedly, the lot fell to young Muhammed. He received from this moment the name of Alameen, the trustworthy. Khadijah, a rich widow, 214 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION took him into her service. On behalf of his mistress he returned to Syria, and renewed his acquaintance with Boohyra at Bosra. Boohyra made him acquainted with the contents of ancient books ; and Solomon the Jew spoke to him of the expectations of the Jewish nation ; and the hope, which the Jews still entertained, of the future coming of a Deliverer and Prophet, operated powerfully on the mind and imagination of Muhammed. In the service of Khudijah, Muhammed undertook other journeys to distant Arabia and the Persian Gulf ; crossed the Euphrates, and stood on the ruins of Babylon, and visited Mesopotamia and Persia. He no longer travelled as a mere commercial agent, but tried to enrich his mind and intellect by various sciences ; wherever he came he tried to make himself acquainted with the state of the country, with the laws and character of the natives, and especially the different religions ; and the never-ceasing divisions, wherever he came, were the chief object of his attention. Burning with a desire of knowledge, he associated with every one of whom he believed he could learn something. Sometimes he frequented the company of the disciples of John the Baptist, of Zoroaster, Manichseans, and other sects. One day, as Khadijah was walking with her companions on the terrace of her house, she saw Muhammed returning from his journey. Khadijah sent one of her slave girls after him, requesting him to become her husband ; and she bestowed her hand on him when his whole property consisted of five camels and an Ethiopian maid-servant. A splendid feast was given at the wedding, to which all the inhab- itants of Mecca were invited. Twenty-four years Muhammed and Khadijah lived together, contented and happy, blessed with four sons and four daughters. None of the sons survived the daughters grew up ; their names were Fatima, Zaima, Rukaya, and Usu Khaltoon. He lived fifteen years, pursuing his public functions with great conscientiousness, treating all inferiors with great mildness, and was a most tender husband ; his moral character without reproach his outward conduct without blame. He continued for some time his commercial journeyings, when suddenly he lost at once all desire to travel, loved retirement more and more, and at last retreated, during part of every year, to a cave three hours distant from Mecca, giving himself up to meditation ; when suddenly he declared himself first of all to Khadijah and his children as the long-desired Rasool Ullah, Ambassador of God. It was in the night time of the 23rd and 24th of Ramadan, in the night of the divine decree, that Muhammed declared he had heard a voice upon the mountain of Abuk Beis. When he descended the mountain, as the Arabian historians some centuries after his death relate, a heavenly light suddenly illuminated the country around, and the Koran descended from heaven. The bearer was, according to your Prophet's account, the angel Gabriel, who also had taught him to read ; and he said he had been hailed by the angel Gabriel as the highest Prophet of God which we Chris- tians do not believe. The angel took the Koran back with him to Heaven, but gave Muhammed the assurance that he would, from time to time, as the occasion arose, give him portions of it, divided into Suras. Khadijah declared herself his convert ; Waraka, a Jew, and translator of the Bible, also became his convert ; after him Ali ; and Abd Ullah, who received the name of Abu Bekr, the father of the virgin, as Muhammed married his daughter. Abu Bekr, thirty-four years of age, a man of great weight, engaged other men of authority to embrace the doctrines of your Prophet. However, Muhammed confined himself first of all to his nearest relations and acquaintance, to whom he preached, sometimes in eloquent prose, at others in verses, the dogmas of his religion, OF DR WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 215 and in three years he had made about forty converts. At last he declared that Gabriel had ordered him to preach openly and from the house-top to the whole nation. He invited the tribe of Hasham to a frugal dinner ; after the repast was over he offered to them uninterrupted happiness in this life, as well as in eternity, by em- bracing his doctrine. The guests looked at him with much astonishment, believing him to be mad. Muhammed threatened them with eternal hell-fire, which inflamed Abu Lahab, one of his uncles, with such fury, that he cast a stone at him, when Ali interfered, and declared that he would knock out the teeth, force out the eyes, tear the entrails, and break the bones of every one of those who dared to resist the Prophet. Muhammed was so rejoiced at the emphatic confession of Ali, that he embraced him as a brother ; but when he went so far as to nominate Ali, who at that time was fourteen, as his Khaleefa, whom every one was to obey, all the guests burst out into a fit of laughter. The bad success of this first attempt was far from discouraging Muhammed ; under the protection of Abu Taleb, who, though not a convert himself, still favoured his nephew's enterprise, Muhammed appeared before the people with the pretension of a Prophet, and announced his doctrine by the name of Islam. The more resistance he encountered, the more he pressed forward. The Koreish attempted to crush him, but in vain. Muhammed, however, too weak to resist openly, advised his followers to fly from Mecca. Eighty-three of them, with their wives and children, took shelter under the King of Abyssinia ; but Muhammed remained at Mecca under the protection of his uncle. The principal men of the Koreish went to Abu Taleb, and said : " Thy nephew reviles our reli- gion and sage ancestors, and, accusing them of ignorance and infidelity, makes dis- sensions and rebellion." Muhammed replied, " Even if they were to place the sun to my right hand, and the moon to my left, they shall not bring me back from the road I have taken." However, when the Koreish made an attempt upon his life, he took an asylum in a fortified house upon the Hill Zaffa, near Mecca, defended by thirty-nine followers. He scarcely had remained there one month, when his party gained the important acquisition of two powerful men, that of Hamsa, Muham- med's uncle, and Omar. Under their protection, Muhammed left Zaffa, and, with an armed escort, he approached the Kaaba, and boldly preached in the open mar- ket-places of Mecca. The Koreish challenged him to perform a miracle. His answers were, on one occasion, " That he was commissioned to be a preacher only, and not a worker of miracles." At another time, he replied, " That God, out of mercy, would not perform miracles ; for it would only redound to the greater con- demnation of the infidels, who after all would not believe." The Koreish assembled in the valley of Mecca, in the plain of Muhazzab, in order to consult. The result of their consultation was, not to lay down their arms until they had exterminated the declared enemy of the state, with his whole family, either by the sword, dagger, or poison. This mighty conspiracy was reported to Abu Taleb ; Muhammed and the family of Hasham were sent for ; they immedi- ately fortified themselves in a country house of Abu Taleb, two miles distant from Mecca. When the Koreish saw that their conspiracy was discovered, they openly proscribed and excommunicated Muhammed and his whole family and followers. They marched against him ; but they were not able to succeed ; he was already too powerful They attempted to starve him by cutting off the wells and provis- ions ; but he had already too many friends. In his fortress he pronounced his curse against Abu Lahab. They fought for three years with mutual success and defeat ; but, during the four holy months, when the Arabs were obliged to observe a strict 216 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION armistice, and in which it was not allowed to employ either sword or lance, Muham- med went forth from his fortress, and proclaimed himself to the people, and to the pilgrims journeying towards Mecca, as the Ambassador of God. The persecutions he underwent by his opponents fired him with greater zeal: the natural effect of persecutions. He spoke with amazing eloquence, every sentence which he uttered fell upon the heads of his enemies like a clap of thunder, great numbers were added to his party, among them the most distinguished citizens of Medinah. In this emergency of the state, when the downfall and the total overthrow of the constitution of Mecca was to be apprehended, the Arabs chose Habeeb, one of their mighty princes, who had twenty thousand cavalry under his command, as arbiter between them and the Hashamites. Habeeb was one hundred years of age, a Jew in his youth, then a Sabean, and after a Christian, but celebrated in Yemen for his love of justice artd wisdom. He undertook willingly the office of arbiter, and encamped with three thousand horse in the plain of Muhazzeb. Muhammed appeared before the judg- ment seat of Habeeb, but here Muhammed knew how to state his case with such presence of mind, that he was honourably acquitted by Habeeb, and even taken un- der his powerful protection. Habeeb observed to those around him, " Nothing will be able to stem this mighty torrent : he will succeed, and idolatry shall be crushed !" Tranquillity was restored thus at Mecca, but only for a short time. Muhammed made use of the short period of armistice to get the sentence of ex- communication recalled, which had been pronounced by the Koreish against tha Hashamites, and which excommunication had been deposited in the Kaaba. Ho sent word to the family of Koreish, that God had revealed to him that a worm had been sent by him into the Kaaba, in order to gnaw through the document of excom- munication, deposited in the Ark, except that spot where the name of God was writ- ten. The family of Koreish examined the document ; and, on finding tins to be the case, they annulled it altogether. But, in the tenth year of his mission, his uncle Abu Taleb and his wife Khadijah died ; and the greatest enemy of his family, Abu Suffian, of the tribe of Ummia, succeeded to Abu Taleb in the government of Mecca ; many of his followers, from fear, left Muhammed ; so that he undertook, in the company of his faithful disciple Sayed, a journey to Tayef, thirty miles eastward from Mecca, where he received hut a cold reception, and was banished from the city as a madman. Resistance and obstacles incited the more the audacity and courage of Muham- med. He returned again to Mecca, and, without taking the least notice of Abu Suffian's threats, he preached from the housetops to the swarm of pilgrims, and made hosts of proselytes, and gained over to his doctrine six of the most respectable citizens of Medinah, of the noble tribe of Khasredj and Aus, allied with the Jewish tribe of Karaites and Nadir, who had the greatest influence in Medina and through- out the Arabian republic. These six citizens swore allegiance to Muhammed, and bound themselves by an oath never to forsake him, and to bear witness of his divine message to the family of Aus, and before all the rest of the tribes. The enthusiasm of these six citizens laid the first foundation of the worldly grandeur of Muhammed ; and his supremacy gave to the history of the world a new direction. Till this period, Gabriel only was the person who initiated him as a prophet ; but in the twelfth year of his mission he obtained a higher call. On the night of the 20th of the month of Rajab, while Muhammed slept in the valley between Saffa and Merva, suddenly he was awaked by a voice saying, " Sleeper, awake." When he opened his eyes, he saw Gabriel standing before him hi his true figure, enwrapped OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 217 in rays of light, having round his forehead a royal tiara, upon which was written, hi strokes of fire, the words: There is God, and nothing but God, and Muhammed the Prophet of God The angel announced to him that the Highest had called his Prophet to converse with Him. A horse, saddled and bridled, Al Barak, i. e. the lightning horse, stood near the angel, which had the head of a horse, but with the face of a man, two wings like an eagle, his colour gray, mixed with white, but resplendent like the stars when illuminated with the light of the sun. The horse was unruly, and when Ga- briel reminded him that he stood before Muhammed the Prophet, it availed nothing until Muhammed himself promised that a good stable in Paradise should be provided for his comfort ; then he was calm and resigned. Gabriel took hold of the bridle, and with the swiftness of thought they arrived at Jerusalem, where, at the gate of the Temple, a multitude of patriarchs and prophets were standing, desiring his in- tercession and blessing, and wishing him a happy journey. Barak was tied to a rock, and Muhammed ascended with Gabriel on a ladder up toward heaven. For a few moments they stood before the gates of the heavenly realm. The porter, on being informed that Gabriel and Muhammed stood without, immediately opened the gate ; when an old man came to meet the Prophet, who bowed with deep humility, and recommended himself to the prayers of Muhammed. This old man was no other than Adam, the father of the human race. The journey extended to the second, third, fourth, fifth, and seventh heaven. The first was of silver, set with jewels ; the second of gold ; the third of transparent diamonds ; another vaulted entirely with the odour of roses and other flowers ; but the seventh consisted of nothing but splendour and divine light. He conversed with Abraham in the seventh heaven, and there he observed two angels continually occu- pied in writing the names of some men and erasing those of others. In the seventh heaven the Angel Gabriel left him, and he alone continued his progress to the throne of God. When he approached his footstool, he read the inscription, " God and nothing but God." The Almighty laid his hands upon Mu- harnmed's breast and shoulders. God revealed to his Prophet deep mysteries, and granted him many prerogatives the knowledge of languages, and the privilege of retaining for his own private use the spoils taken in battle ; also an order from God to make his followers to pray fifty times a day, which, however, at his instant intercession, was reduced to five times. He returned, accompanied by Gabriel, to Jerusalem, where he mounted his horse Al Barak, and was in the twinkling of an eye again in the plain between SafFa and Merva, one mile from Mecca. The whole journey, which, according to Arab cal- culations, required eleven thousand years to perform, was accomplished by him in less than an hour. Gabriel then took leave of him, and Al Barak, the horse, reminded Muhammed most humbly of his promise to provide a comfortable stable for him in Paradise. But his friends begged him not to speak openly of his journey to heaven, as it would only expose him to ridicule. However, Muhammed openly proclaimed it, and Abu Bekr confirmed it ; but the family of Koreish declared that he must be either mad or an impostor ; but he was more successful at Medinah, where the story was not only believed, but embellished by his followers. With the assistance of his disciple Mozab, the greater part of Medinah was converted to him. Seventy-two men and women were sent to Mecca from Medinah to Muhammed to pay him. homage, and they promised him, after a secret conversation with him, to assist him 28 218 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION in war, defensive and offensive. He nominated immediately twelve chiefs, whom he endowed with temporal and ecclesiastical power. Before they returned, the Ambassador asked Muhammed, " After thy native place shall have acknowledged thy virtues and thy merits, wilt thou forsake us?" He answered with a smile, " All is now common among us ; your blood is my blood ; your happiness is my happiness ; your misfortune my misfortune. The bonds of religion have united us together for ever ; yea. the bonds of honour and general interest. I am your friend, and for ever the enemy of your enemies." They replied, " If we should fall in thy service, what would be our reward?" He replied, " Paradise." They said, " Muhammed, give us thy hand." He gave his hand as a pledge, and the union was made for ever ; and from that time Islam was the ruling and universal religion of the inhab- itants of Medinah. This union produced general consternation among the tribe of Koreish. They determined to murder Muhammed, whose followers were scattered abroad ; but he was saved by his nephew AH, and Muhammed took shelter with Abu Bekr. They both escaped. Abu Bekr was oppressed with gloomy thoughts. " Why art thou cast down?" Muhammed asked him ; " dost thou not know that we are not alone?" " Who is with us?" asked Abu Bekr. " Ullah" (God), Muhammed answered. They hid themselves in a cave in the mountains of Tur. The tribe of Koreish came near the cave, but did not observe them. After three days they left the cave. Abu Bekr procured two camels and a guide, by name Abd Ullah, an idolater, and they commenced their journey to Medinah. But suddenly they were overtaken by Sorak, one of the Koreish cavalry, who ran upon them with his lance ; but his horse took fright, which gave Muhammed and Abu Bekr time to escape, and they arrived safely at Medinah. This flight, called the Hejra, 622 A. C., was the beginning of a new era. After a fatiguing journey of twelve days along the sea shore, they at last arrived at Medinah on a Friday, when Muhammed made his solemn and pompous entrance, met by five hundred citizens, and all the fugitives who had preceded him. Mu- hammed sat on a she camel, and an umbrella of palm leaves sheltered him from the sun. Abu Bekr rode by his side, and Boreida before him, with a flag in his hand. 'Thousands saluted the Prophet in the street, and from the windows of the houses. He was received with shouts of jubilee and joy. Thousands desired him to be their guest, but Abu Tayeb had the honour of receiving the Prophet under his roof. A few days after, he laid the foundation of a mosque and a house for himself and family. Both buildings were completed in less than eleven months', for Paradise was the reward promised to the builders. He next began to exercise the functions of High Priest and King. He instituted public prayers ; he preached daily under a palm-tree ; appointed the times of fasts and ablutions. Magi, idolaters, Persians, and Jews came daily to Medinah to pay homage to the Prophet, and he made any reform he pleased in the state. At last he held a public levee, nominated civil and military officers, and commanded every Mussulman to take the sword, or pay a contribution for the expense of the war, at the first summons of the Apostle ; and every war declared by Muhammed was styled the holy war. He had a great seal, with the words engraved on it, " Muhammed the Prophet of God." The battle of Bedr was fought in the year 623. Abu Suffian marched against Muhammed with seventy-five thousand men ; the Prophet had only fifteen thousand to oppose to him. Already he was defeated ; shouts of triumph were heard from the camp of the enemy, when Muhamraed himself came forward with a detachment OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 219 of troops from an ambush, and exclaimed, with a voice of thunder, " Angel Gabriel ! come down with eleven thousand angels !" Arrows were flying and darts hurled at the same moment ; his already-defeated army, imagining themselves to be protected by invisible hosts of celestial warriors, took fresh courage, and Abu Suffian's army, struck with a panic, took flight, and Muhammed gained the victory. Immediately after the battle of Bedr, that of Ohod was fought. Khaleed, the son of Waleed, marched against Muhammed. The idol of Lat and Uthal, the protector of Khaleed's army, was placed at a little distance, guarded by only a few ipen. Muhammed was again giving way, when he rode up to Ali, and commanded him to hasten with a detachment of cavalry to the idol, and break it to pieces. Ali, with the swiftness qf lightning, obeyed his command. Khaleed's army, perceiving their idol destroyed, took to flight, and Muhammed again was victorious. At length, in the year 629, the daughter of a Rechabite, like another Jael, mentioned in the history of the Jews, undertook to deliver Arabia from Muhammed ; she administered poison to Muhammed, which produced inflammation in the brain. " None has ever suffered such pains as I do," he observed to Omar. " Go thou, and perform the prayer in the mosque, instead of me." Already Omar had ascended the pulpit, when Muhammed raised himself upon his couch, and said to his attend- ants, " Pour cold water over me." They obeyed ; he then rose from his bed, and said, " As long as I shall have breath in me, I shall perform public prayer myself." He went to the mosque, and called to Omar to stop. He performed the prayers with a loud voice went home laid down on his bed uttered three dreadful shrieks : his last words were, " Rasool Ullah" (Ambassador of God), and expired 220 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XIII. Sensation produced by the Life of Muhammed ; Copies of it circulated through Balkh, Khoollom, Mazaur, and Cabul ; Remarks of the Sheikh Islam on it. Yar Muhammed Khan advises the King to behead Dr. Wolff. Ak Muhammed Beyk appointed Ambassador from Bokhara to Kngland. Mischief occasioned by the Ser- vants of Colonel Stoddart. Colonel Stoddart ends his Diplomatic Relations with Yar Muhammed Khan by kicking him down stairs. Questions by the Makhrams. King's Remark on Dr. Wolff's Personal Appearance. The People call Dr. Wolff Khoob Ademee, " The Good Man." The King gives him three Names. High rep- utation of Sir Moses Montefiore among the Jews of Bokhara. Further Questions put by the Makhrams by order of the Ameer to Dr. Wolff; Dr. Wolff's Reply to each. The Dastar Khanjee a Disgrace to Manhood. Dr. Wolff demands the Bones of Stoddart and Conolly. Peculiar Character of the Post at Bokhara. The Ameer reads all the Letters of his Subjects. Interview of Dr. Wolff with the Ameer. The King threatens to send Dr. Wolff's Bones to England. Dr. Wolff hears of the Villany of Abdul Samut Khan from various Persons. Refused per- mission to depart by reason of the Detention of the Bokhara Ambassador in Per- sia. Writes to Colonel Sheil. Russian Slaves refused Liberation. Conversation with the Officers of the Nayeb. Hassan Shirazi. THE sensation excited by my paper on Muhammed, as soon as copied, and delivered to His Majesty the King, was immense. He sent for the Sheikh Islam, for the Kasi Kelaun, and all the rest of the mullahs. The Sheikh Islam observed, " This life must be kept among the library in the Great Mosque, and it is remarkable with what pru- dence Joseph Wolff has contrived to state his sentiments without giv- ing offence, and at the same time delivers with sincerity the sentiments of wise Christians with regard to our Prophet." Copies were ordered by His Majesty to be taken and sent to Balkh, Khoollom, and Mazaur ; and Mullah Buddr-Deen, the great merchant from Affghanistaun, sent copies to Cabul ; and Khodsha Sahib, a merchant from Cashmeer, sent to his friends at Cashmeer ; and the Governor of Samarcand sent copies to the mullahs of Samarcand and Orateppa. And the Sheikh Islam observed to His Majesty, " A great calamity will befal the city, if Joseph Wolff, is killed at Bokhara, and not sent back to his coun- try with distinction." His Majesty the King replied, " I have given myself a terrible wound by having killed Stoddart and Conolly." May 5th. I received permission to depart, on the 9th of this month, from the King. At this period I laboured under the most pleasing de- lusion as to the real character of the Nayeb, and in the innocency of my heart wrote to England to that effect. I continued to labour un- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 221 der this delusion for some time. The 9th arrived, but with it no per- mission to depart. The King, however, and the Nayeb continued to treat me kindly. I soon, however, found that I was surrounded by a mass of treachery nearly unparalleled. The first glimpses broke in on me from a discovery that I made as to Yar Muhammed Khan, of Heraut. This villain promised to recommend me to the Ameer of Bokhara, and he kept his word. He did so for decapitation. The Ameer, however, did not attend to him, being prepossessed against him, fortunately for me, otherwise I might not now live to tell the tale. Wednesday, the 14th, was again fixed for my departure with Ak Muhammed Beyk, a great Turkomaun chief, who was to accompany me with presents from the Ameer for our Queen, and a letter. Ap- parently great outward kindness was shown to me, for when I wanted to be bled, the King sent word that I ought not to do so previous to a journey. I called on the King in my Bokhara dress, and His Maj- esty laughed heartily at my appearance. He is wholly uneducated, but not without talent. I remained in the house of Abdul Samul Khan. People began at last to assume sufficient courage to call on me. They all expressed their astonishment that I should be better treated than the Russian Ambassador, and they began now to bow to me in the street. One day I fell from my horse in the street, but was not hurt, which they ascribed to my carrying the Bible always about with me. Though I did not feel the effects then, this fall afterward produced a rupture, which greatly inconvenienced me, since I had to ride twelve hundred miles on horseback without a bandage. On inquiry, I found in all directions that Colonel Stoddart's servants did him immense injury. All the accusations against my poor friend Conolly were of the idlest description. Colonel Stoddart was cer- tainly a most rash and inconsiderate man. The story of drawing his sword on the Makhram that was to present him to the King, was in everybody's mouth, as a gross violation of the etiquette of the Court. I conversed one day with several people of Heraut. They spoke highly of English officers, and related the following story of Colonel Stoddart : " He was visited on one occasion by Yar Muhammed Khan, who was, as the Heraut people expressed themselves, the greatest Haram-Zadeh in existence. Colonel Stoddart spoke to him about the affairs of Kamran Shah, and after a few remarks by him on the vil- lany of Yar Muhammed Khan, the discussion became so warm that Colonel Stoddart rose and said, < With you I shall soon have done,' and kicked him down stairs." This was diplomacy with a ven- geance. 222 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Every day of my residence here brought with it some question to be solved for the King's satisfaction. On even the second day of my arrival, the King sent one of his Makhrams to ask two questions. 1st. Whether I had the power to raise the dead ? 2nd. Did I know when the day of resurrection would take place ? My answers were written down. One day the King remarked to the Nayeb, that I was the most sin- gular being he had ever seen. I was not like any other European. I was not like an Englishman, or a Jew, or a Russian, in my outward appearance and conduct. I pass here by the name of the Khoob, Ademee, the good man, among the people. In the very market-place, they say, " The Englishman is come, and he asked Hazrat (His Majesty), Why have you killed my countrymen ? After him more of his people will come with force and power, and our Nayeb is occupied with the Englishman for some great design and purpose." About this time, May the 14th, 1844, the King learnt the detention of his own Ambassador at Meshed on my account, and therefore de- termined to detain me. I continued, however, to ride about without strict surveillance on to the 22nd. The King wrote letters to the Sul- tan and Shah. Ambassadors are sharper looked after than myself, for they are not permitted to get clear of a very strict surveillance. His Majesty looked upon Dil Assa Khan as a contemptible dog, he told me, for not having fulfilled his duty to the Assaff-ood-Dowla. He gave me three epithets. 1st. Joseph Wolff" the Original. 2nd. Joseph Wolff the Star with the Tail. 3rd. Joseph Wolff the Timid One. The Jews of Bokhara have taken courage, and called on me. The name of Sir Moses Montefiore, and the rumour of his exertions for the benefit of the Jewish nation, have reached their ears and those of their brethren in Samarcand, Balkh, Khokand, and Heraut. And Sir Moses Montefiore will be surprised to learn that his exertions in behalf of the Tews have drawn the attention of the Jews in those distant regions to the doctrines of Christianity ; for many Jew's, when at Bokhara, observed to me that the religion of the Gentiles in England must absolutely be better than that of Muhammed, as the proceedings of Sir Moses Mon- tefiore, in behalf of the Jews, are not only tolerated, but also counte- nanced, supported, recommended, and eulogized. And about Rothschild they say that, in a country where one can so openly make a display of one's property, the religion of that nation must be better. The reason why His Majesty called me Joseph Wolff the Timid One, I discovered to be from the cause that Ameer Asian told him that I was ill from the apprehension of losing my head. He sup- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 223 posed this to be the case, from a sudden illness with which I was seized in the market-place. His Makhram continued to come down daily with questions such as these : The mode of travelling in Persia, Turkey, and England ? To this I replied, giving an ordinary explanation ; but His Majesty could not understand why we had no camels in England, and I had to write an immense time before he comprehended our railroad travelling. Whether the Queen has a husband 1 I answered this in the af- firmative, but told him that the government was in the hands of the Queen. He then exclaimed, " What kind of husband is he that is under the government of his wife ?" Why a woman is Queen, and not the husband ? I pointed out that the succession ran in the eldest branch, male or female, and illustrated the position by James of Scotland. The Ameer wished another day to have the names of the four grand Viziers, and twelve little Viziers of England, and the forty-two Elders. I gave to His Majesty a list of the names of the present Ministry, when the Makhram returned in a fury, and said that His Majesty had found me out to be a Uar, for the four grand Viziers, according to Colonel Stoddart's account, were : Laard Maleburne, Laard Jaan Rawsall, Laard Malegraave, Seere Jaane Habehaase. I was brought in to the King, and then had to give a complete idea of the Constitution of England, which, though His Majesty could not understand it fully, yet I convinced him that my list might be true also, especially as I was able to tell him the names of the Whig Ad- ministration. At the same time His Majesty asked me whether witches were to be found in England. To which I replied, that witchcraft was pro. hibited to the Christians, and according to the old law of England, was punished with death ; that this arose from the fact that witch- craft required to complete its rites, shedding of blood, and other un- lawful acts, and was consequently for that, independent of any other question of its effects, punished with death, under Jewish and Chris- tian ordinances. That witchcraft does not now exist, and that scarce- ly any one in England believes in the existence of it at all. I was the more anxious to say this, lest from the circumstance of their en- tertaining the notion of my being a wizard, I might suffer those very serious consequences that my predecessors in the black art had from time to time experienced. It will further be seen, in the progress of this Narrative, that it was reported that Abdul Samut Khan and I practised witchcraft at our meetings, when in truth that mighty alchymist was only bent on transmuting me into as much solid gold 224 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION as possible by the dint of his philosopher's stone, cruelty, incarcera- tion, and threats of death. On another occasion I was asked, How many Ambassadors Her Majesty had, and how they were treated ? I gave a list of Ambassa- dors, and stated that they were not guarded and watched, as was the practice at Bokhara, but enjoyed full liberty and high distinctions and privileges. The King then asked, Whether they would kill his Ambassador at London ? I replied, if any Englishman did so, he would immediately be put to death, by the laws of the land ; and to illustrate it I told him of the good reception of Dost Muhammed Khan in India. Why do the English people like old coins ? was then demanded. I explained that their value in the eyes of Englishmen arose from the cir- cumstance that coins were looked upon as the very backbone on which the frame of history is supported. That without them we could not ascertain the duration of the world, dynasties of kings, and national events. That they were the great guides of the historian in determin- ing his seras, and formed a metallic history of the earth, and that stat- ues and ancient monuments were used as similar auxiliaries. Who Ghengis Khan was ? After the usual particulars of this well- known life, I added that the Jews believed that he was one of their na- tion. Who Dareius was ? I then detailed the history of this monarch, whom they call Takianus. How the English govern India ? After general details, I pointed out the toleration of the British Government in India, allowing all persons to follow their own religion, and making no difference in the exercise of law between Englishman, Muhammedan, and Hindoo ; and that if an Englishman were to insult a Muhammedan or Hindoo, rela- tive to religion or any other matter, he would be severely punished. The names of the richest Jews in England ? Rothschild, Gold- smith, Sir M. Montefiore, and Cohen. Whether the Queen has the power to kill any one she pleases ? No ; but she can pardon whom she pleases ; and persons who have even attempted the life of the Queen have not suffered, but been pardoned. I explained that the Queen was compelled to submit her rights to the trial by jury, as well as the Lords or Commoners. On which one of the Makhrams observed, " What kind of a sovereign is this, that can- not take away any life that she pleases ?" How many farsakhs an hour a steam ship goes ? I said three and four farsakhs (about sixteen miles an hour.) The Bokhara Ambassador, alluded to in one of the above questions, ^m- : OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 225 was a man of striking appearance. He was a Tatshick, and his brother one of the first merchants in the place. The instances of villany which I daily detected of Dil Assa Khan were perfectly startling. I found out that he had laid a plot to sell me to the Hazarah. Next to the Dastar Khanjee I considered him at this time one of the most wicked men I had ever seen. This man, who is placed over the King's kitchen, and at the same time has also the custom-house under him, and occupies in fact the position of King's Vizier, is only twenty years of age, and has been raised to this office for demerits unmentionable in any journal or narrative. He is one of the most voluptuous and effeminate villains imaginable. I have in- serted his portrait, and I think it gives fully the base character of the man. When he is older it is generally hoped by the inhabitants, and confidently expected by them, that the King will decapitate him and seize on his enormous wealth. He treated Colonel Stoddart and Cap- tain Conolly with peculiar severity. The less said of this disgrace to manhood the better. In order to exemplify in the best manner the tyranny of the Ameer of Bokhara, I need only mention the following facts : That every letter sent from Bokhara, and every letter arriving for their merchants and dignitaries, and every private note which the wife writes to her hus- band, or the husband to the wife, must first be opened and perused by the King of Bokhara ; so that actually it is a matter of the utmost dif- ficulty to forward letters to Bokhara. This circumstance may plead an excuse for Colonel Sheil ordering Muhammed Ali Serraf not to for- ward the letters from Sir Moses Montefiore by an express Gholam. For even if the letters arrive the people are afraid to receive them. The Khaleefa of Mowr alone is able to forward letters to Bokhara with safety, but of this circumstance Colonel Sheil was not aware, and Muhammed Ali Serraf had no inclination to make use of the Kha- leefa. Another act of tyranny committed by the Ameer is that boys are employed as newswriters, whose duty it is to report to him every word which other boys talk in the street ; even brother to brother at home, and servants in families, are also obliged to write down for the King any conversation they hear between husband and wife, even in bed ; and the people set over me were ordered to report to him what I might happen to speak in a dream. Such written reports are called Areeza, i. e. petitions to the King. But whilst His Majesty has established such a complete system of espionage, a similar one is established over him, though in secret, by several of the great officers of the State. Abdul Samut Khan boasted to me, and I heard the truth of his state- 29 226 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION ment confirmed by others, that he (Abdul Samut Khan) knew every sentence and every half sentence the Ameer uttered, and all that is spoken to him. Abdul Samut Khan was exactly informed of every word that I uttered on a certain Friday that I went to the Salaam (levee) of the King, viz., that I had requested His Majesty to give me the bones of Stoddart and Conolly, and that His Majesty's answer was, " I shall send your bones." The Ameer is evidently afraid of Abdul Samut Khan, for as often as Abdul Samut Khan exercises his artillery by ordering cannons to be fired, the Ameer sends one of his Makhrams to the Nayeb, who lives outside the town, to inquire for what purpose the cannons are fired, and I witnessed that in a single day three or four times Makhrams came to Abdul Samut Khan with the same question. It may be asked, " Does the Ameer fear England ?" I say exceed, ingly : so much so that when I arrived there, for three days he was sitting with his head leaning upon his hands, in deep thought ; and he observed to the Grand Cazi, " How extraordinary ! I have two hun- dred thousand Persian slaves here ; nobody cares for them ; and on account of two Englishmen, a person comes from England, and single- handed demands their release." There are two Armenians from Astrachan at Bokhara, the name of the one is Barhur-Dar, and the other Hoannes, who were forbidden by the Ameer to approach me. They are suspected by the inhabitants to be Akbar-Nuwees (report writers), some say to the English Gov- ernment, and others to the Russian. I however found a real friend to the British Government in a Khoja Sahib, a merchant from Cashmeer, who chiefly opened my eyes about the infamous Nayeb, Abdul Samut Khan, and who told me, " That rascal has never told you how ill he treated Conolly, poor Conolly, and gave him nothing to eat, after he had stopped with him for a while, for Conolly was too shrewd to be cheated by him." With respect to this person (Abdul Samut Khan), I omitted to men- tion that after the long conversation I had with him on the subject of Stoddart and Conolly, given above, that he made me a present of a Bokhara robe, and also one to Dil Assa Khan. On our return to my lodgings in the Toorah Khane from that interview, the good old Yoos- Bashi, when he saw me, wept for joy, as when one sees another re- turning from a dangerous journey. Also the Turkomauns, Ameer Sarog and Kaher Kouli, who were formerly distant in their demean- our, again took courage to salute me. After three days I called again on the Nayeb. He informed me that he had already paid thirty tillahs for five camels to Morteza preparatory to my departure, and OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 227 twenty tillahs I should have to pay him at Meshed. I said, " Why so ? I only want two camels, which amounts to six tillahs (about three pounds), but he replied that he should have to give me so many effects of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, which he had recovered at great personal cost from others, that I should not know what to do with them. He showed to me three mantles (khelats) from Conolly, when a curious thing happened. A soldier (Sirbas) exclaimed, on passing, as he caught a sight of the Khelat, " I know that ; we took it from the palace of Muhammed Ali, King of Khokand." The Nayeb exclaim- ed, " Pedret Sukhte," " May thy father be burned, but do you know they belonged to Conolly Saib V and I observed him giving the man a look of peculiar expression. The soldier slowly walked off, but when he saw me again, he told me, " The Nayeb lies. We took it from the palace of the King of Khokand. You will never come out of this place again. The Nayeb, Pedre Sukhte Nayeb, will do with you as he did with Stoddart and Conolly. He killed them, and he will kill you." Whilst we were talking, I heard the shrieks and howlings of people. I asked, " What is that ?" He said, " This the prison kept by the Nayeb for those whom he suspects, and whom he suffers to starve from hunger." The Nayeb came, and our conversation was interrupted. I asked the Nayeb, "Will the Rukhsat (permission to depart) be given to-day ?" He said, " Yes ; and for this reason I beg you now to give me a receipt for five thousand tillahs. Three thousand which I will give you now ; one thousand for the Russian slaves whom I will de- liver to you to-morrow ; and one thousand tillahs, which you have to pay for Conolly's and Stoddart's effects, for the bribes which I have given to the people, and the hire of the Caravan Bashi." I exclaimed, " Great God ! can you show me the account ?" He showed me an account. I said, " Give me this account." Nayeb. " Not now ; but give me your receipt ; you have to do with the Nayeb, who will not deceive you." I gave him the receipt for five thousand tillahs. In the evening, instead of the permission to depart, Makhram Cas- sem came with the following message from the King : " His Majesty had already ordered the letters to be written to the Queen of England, and the presents which were intended for Her Majesty the Queen of England were already prepared, but His Majesty had just been in- formed that the Vizier Mukhtar (Ambassador) of England, at Tehe- raun, had offered one thousand tillahs as a daily compensation, as long as the Bokhara Ambassador was detained within the confines of Persia. His Majesty the Ameer therefore was determined to keep Joseph Wolff at Bokhara as long as his Ambassador was detained in Persia." 228 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION This news was like a thunder-bolt to me. On the receipt of this intelligence, I wrote the following letter to Colonel Sheil : To Colonel Sheil, at Teheraun, thence to be sent to His Excellency Sir S. Can- ning, Constantinople, and thence to the Earl of Aberdeen, who will kindly com- municate the contents of it to Captain Grover. My dear Colonel Sheil, &c. Bokhara, May 15, 1844. Ak Muhammed Beg, a powerful chief of Turkomauns, was already appoint- ed as Ambassador to the Queen of England from the King of Bokhara, of which I sent to all of you a copy, and I was to set out on the 12th instant for Meshed, after I had made my dua to His Majesty, when he received a message from Meshed, that the Assaff-ood-Dowla detained his Ambassador there on my account. He is therefore determined to keep me until his Ambassador comes back. I beg you there- fore to send an order from Muhammed Shah to the Assaff-ood-Dowla, that he should immediately permit the Eljee of Bokhara to depart from Meshed for Bokhara. Pray do so, for he ( the King ) is a determined fellow, and would keep me ten years if the Ambassador is not sent. I write this letter in the house of our friend Nayeb Abdul Samut Khan, who has taken great trouble about me. I have recovered a journal. [ The Nayeb did not give me this journal, as he promised. It contained, among other matters, a description of fortresses from Kho- kand to Bokhara. The official seal of Stoddart was also retained by him.] I also have got the official seal of Stoddart. The King does not attempt to justify his having murdered Todderwise and Naselli. [I found Todderwise alive at Teheraun, on my return from Bokhara. I asked him how the report originated that the Na- yeb had killed him at Bokhara. He said that the Nayeb had invited him to see him, for he knew him in India ; but as he, Todderwise, was informed of his character, he did not go, being fearful of being enslaved, but another person, a German went, who was put to death by the King, without seeing the Nayeb, and the Nayeb sup- posed that it was Todderwise.] Poor Conolly had done nothing but what every traveller does ; he kept a journal, which made him suspected to be a spy. You must pardon my confused style, for I am in a great stew, not knowing how long I shall be kept. I am now allowed to ride about in the town without a Makh- ram (private chamberlain) of the King, and which even the Russian Ambassador was not allowed when here. There is now ao probability of his putting me to death He himself said to the Nayeb, " Do not tell Joseph Wolff that Yar Muhammed Khan has written to me that I should put him to death, for it will frighten him." Pray send a copy of this letter to India, and tell them that they should assist me from thence and from England with money, for I must give some presents to those Makhrams who behaved exceedingly kind to me ; and Dil Assa Khan, the Eljee of the Assaff, almost stripped me on the road ; and after I had left Merve, I discovered that Rajab had stolen several things, he was paid by Nur Khyr Ullah in behalf of Colonel Stoddart, so you need not pay him over again. What horrid rascals those natives are ! from the Prince down to the lowest subject ! The Nayeb has behaved nobly towards me. A report is spread about at Bokhara, that the Nayeb and my- self sit together the whole day shut up in a room and practise witchcraft. Pray get the Ambassador soon sent off, and be kind enough to send a copy of this letter to Lady Georgiana also. Yours, &c. JOSEPH WOLFF. The Nayeb informed me that last Sunday the King told him these words : " We will spread about a report that we march against Khokand, but the real object of OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 229 the expedition will be to lake Shahr Sabz by surprise." It would be a great pity if he should succeed. I must abstain from writing to you anything now about the character of this court, for obvious reasons ; and besides this, you must know that I am at present in a continual fever, and shall be so until I shall be at Meshed. I have taken six hundred tillahs from the Nayeb for expenses, [The Nayeb had made me his debtor to this amount, in presents to Makhrams, which I afterwards discov- ered he never gave to them.] for the recovery of Conolly's effects, and for official presents to the Makhrams, Sheikhawl, &c. Pray honour my bills, and I shall ar- range with you matters. Abbott authorized me to draw, in case of need, one hun- dred tomauns on him. The inclosed is a copy of a letter of the King of Bokhara, which I am to take with me to England. I took the Nayeb alone, and begged him to give me back the re- cept mentioned above, but he swore by Abdullah Khan, his son, four years of age, to speak on the Sunday following to the Ameer, to pro. cure me permission to depart. With regard to the Russian prisoners, he sent first of all for an old woman, one hundred and eleven years of age, who spoke Turkish, and the Bokhara Persian, and remembered the Empress Catherine ; and when I asked her whether she would return to Russia, she smiled, and said, at the same time striking the ground with her staff, " Here at Bokhara I shall be buried. What shall I do in Russia ?" I gave her one tillah, for which, in sign of gratitude, she knocked her head six or seven times to the ground, and departed, always moving her head, and saying, " I return to Russia ? I return to Russia ?" He next sent for some other Russians with the same success. Some of them said, " We cannot return, for we are deserters." Others, " We are married here, and have wives and children." Behadur Hussein AH, and other officers of the Nayeb, then took me alone, and said, " You will find at last that the Nayeb is a Haram Zadeh (son of ), who treated Stoddart and Conolly as he does you, and Boutenieff, the Russian Ambassador, whom he detained as long as he could, always pretending to be their friend." Behadur then took me alone, and pulling off his cap, and lifting his eyes to heaven, said, in a kind of despair, " Oh, Conolly Saib ! Oh, Conolly Saib ! thou wert deceived by that Haram Zadeh the Nayeb. He has also deceived me, allured me with promises to Cabul from Lahore, and from Cabul to Bokhara ; and now he has forced me to marry, and having made a slave of me, will at last kill me, and take the few tomauns I have from me ; but, what is worse, he has already made me his accomplice in every evil work he has committed. I am the keeper of those prisoners, who will never see the light of day again, for he has killed many of them, and I shall be killed also. But I must tell you all, for I am an Indian Mussulman, and have eaten the 230 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION salt of English people. I knew Mr. Vigne at Cabal ; he has drawn my portrait, and has given me many a rupee. I am not an Iranee (Persian), I am a Hindee, and have eaten the salt of Englishmen. The Nayeb will kill you at last, after he has got money from you. He gave money to Conolly, and after Conolly was dead he got it back again. Pray do not tell him what I tell you, he will kill me he will kill me. I am not an Iranee, I am a Hindee, and have eaten the salt of Englishmen." This account of Behadur, delivered with every mark of deep sincerity of feeling, was amply confirmed by Mirza Mu- hammed Noori and the Yavar, i. e. Major of the Sirbaas, who at the same time added, "That cursed Nayeb receives every year thirty thousand tillahs from the King, in order to equip the soldiers, and for the cannon foundry, but he puts the money into his pocket, and suffers the poor soldiers to go barefoot and starve. He is an enemy to his own country, Persia ; and though a Guzl-Bash himself, woe to that Guzl-Bash who is sold to him as a slave. He never gives them their liberty, except by paying to him three times as much as an Usbeck would demand. Here is Assad Ullah Beg, who has been demanded three times by the Haje of Persia ; and it would only cost the Nayeb a few words to the King to give him liberty to return to Persia, but he has not spoken one single word to the King." And I know myself that Assad Ullah Beg was only sent back to Persia by the Nayeb after having paid to him ninety tillahs, the whole earnings of the poor fellow for several years ; and besides this a shawl worth one hundred tillahs, whilst an Usbeck would not have demanded more than twenty tillahs for the ransom of Assad Ullah Beg. But to proceed with my Narrative. I was just on the point of re- turning to my lodging in town when a curious and rather alarming incident occurred. Hassan Shirazi, formerly servant to Colonel Stoddart, entered the garden, and seeing the Nayeb, he said, " My heart trembles as often as I come here." The Nayeb said, " Go to hell, you father of the Curse. Who tells you to come here ?" He replied, " Many have left their heads and bones here, who have entered your house." The Nayeb replied, with a horrid expression, " Go to hell." The Nayeb then said, " To show you what sort of a fellow that is, when Colonel Stoddart was put to death, this fellow, his servant, being suspected of some designs against the Government, was sent to the Black Well. When there he was asked by one of the Makhrams, by order of the Ameer, ' What conversations did the Nayeb hold with Colonel Stod- dart ?' Then that fellow, Hassan Shirazi, to implicate me, replied, 1 That Stoddart and I had agreed that if English or Affghaun troops OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 231 should come to Balkh, to join them,' and he also stated that Stoddart and I (the Nayeb) had read together two letters which came from Cabal, and then burned them." Now it is very remarkable that if Hassan Shirazi was such a bad fellow as the Nayeb tried to make out, and a traitor to Sto4dart as well as to himself, that he (the Nayeb) previous to this had recom- mended Hassan Shirazi as a servant, to accompany me back to Per- sia. But the fact was this, that the Nayeb maintained a secret inter- course with Hassan Shirazi and the other servants of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, to betray them first, and seize on their effects afterwards ; and as there is no friendship among thieves, they natu- rally suspected each other. When I now think over, what sort of company I have par force kept in these regions, I am fully convinced, as all at Bokhara were, that the Nayeb intended to include me in the number of his victims. I cannot but look back with horror and dis- may on that period. The countenance of that villain, Abdul Samut Khan, fell daily more and more, exhibiting daily fresh features of vil- lany, the mark of Cain grew darker and darker in his vile physiog- nomy, and so far from imagining evil where no evil was, which has been imputed to me, the quantity of evil he not only meditated, but actually committed, exceeded the bounds of ordinary imagination. My readers will perceive that I trusted the villain only too long. I must proceed. I mounted my horse, and proceeded to the Toorah Khane, but returned the next day to the Nayeb, to urge him for leave to depart. Then the Nayeb informed me that he had put in irons Hassan Shirazi, and incarcerated him on my account, for he had just found out that he was married, and had given to his wife the four til- lahs, which he the Nayeb had given him on my account as wages beforehand, and had told his wife that she should go to a certain vil- lage, and that when he had stolen my money he would join her ; but the real reason for incarcerating him was, that the Nayeb began to be afraid of him. 232 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XIV. Disasters of the Seikh Army in Lassa. Csoma de Koros ; his Researches ; publishes a Dictionary of the Thibet Language. The Surveillance over Dr. Wolff grows more rigid. Barhurdar, an Armenian, ordered not to visit Dr. Wolff by the Ameer. Nasir Khayr Ullah, a Kaffer Seeah Poosh, mistaken for Colonel Stoddart from the fairness of his complexion. Conversation between Dr. Wolff and the Nayeb. Letter of Sir Richmond Shakspeare. The Nayeb detains in his possession the Letter of Lord Ellenborough to the Ameer. Nayeb alarmed ; advises Dr. Wolff to communicate to the Ameer the fact of the Letter having arrived ; Dr. Wolff does so. Hassan Caboolee dispatched. Dr. Wolff discovers that, though appa- rently sent, he did not really go. Affghaun Bear Leader imprisoned as a Spy ; he tells Dr. Wolff that the Ameer sent a Lion to Russia as a Present to the Czar, for which his Ambassador was munificently rewarded ; but that the Czar refused after the Execution of the British Officers to hold any further Intercourse with the Ameer. The Ameer goes to war with Khokand and Oratepa ; orders in his absence the Guards over Dr. Wolff to be doubled, and tells him that his Departure will depend on the success of his Expedition. Dr. Wolff writes to Lady Geor- giana and his Son. Conversations with Dil Assa Khan, Abdullah, and others. Dr. Wolff bribes the Guards. Previous War with Khokand ; King made Prisoner and put to death by the Ameer of Bokhara ; his Wife and Child barbarously murdered. Abdul Samut Khan the chief Agent in the Slaugnter. At the news of the Death of Stoddart and Conolly the Inhabitants of Khokand renew the War. The Ameer retreats before them and the Khivites. Dr. Wolff contrives to acquaint the British Envoy at Teheraun of the movements of the Ameer, and warns the Town of Shahr Sabz of the King's intention to attack them. Ameer says that nothing prospers with him since the Death of the English Officers. The King of Khokand offers Dr. Wolff an Asylum in his Dominions. PREVIOUS to my visit to the Nayeb mentioned in the preceding chapter, Muhammedans from Cashmeer called on me, and gave me some information respecting the great disasters which the Seikhs had experienced on their march to Lassa, the capture of Thibet, and resi- dence of the Grand Lama. Several thousands of the Seikh army had been frozen to death, and many soldiers had been found frozen in the very attitude of defence, so that actually the Chinese, when approach- ing them, doubted whether they were alive or dead, and dared not disturb them. They also told me that the people of Thibet have a prophecy, that the whole country will fall under the English sway. Some of these Cashmeerians were acquainted with the Hungarian traveller, Csoma de Koros, who spent much time in one of the convents of the Lamas near Ladack, where he made researches into the origin OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 233 of the Hungarian language and of the Huns. This extraordinary man set out in 1826, if I do not mistake, for this purpose, from Paris, and went via Constantinople to Persia, in the disguise of a derveesh. On his arrival at Teheraun, he received the kind hospitality of Sir Henry Willock. Thence he went to Bokhara, Lahore, Ladack, and Calcutta. He wrote the only Dictionary of the Thibet language, I believe, extant, and then died. The Cashmeerians spoke to me also of Mr. Vigne and Baron Hugel. The surveillance over me kept getting more and more severe. An Armenian merchant, Barhurdar by name, from Astrachan, sent me word by Kouli, a servant of Dil Assa Khan, one of the servants that was kind to me, that I should excuse his absence, for the Ameer had sent him a strict order not to approach me. The day following my last visit to the Nayeb, Nasir Khayr Ullah entered the garden. Nasir Khayr Ullah was by birth a Kaffer Seeah-Poosh, who are called by many Muhammedans, from the fair- ness of their complexion, Frankee, and this is the reason he was mis- taken by some for Stoddart himself, whose friend he pretended to be, or perhaps was. He intended, he said, to go to Teheraun, to get some property there. This accounts for the information that Layard ob- tained at Constantinople, of Stoddart being alive, and passing by the name of Nasir Khan, for Nasir Khayr Uullah has the name of Nasir Khan. He was formerly a slave, but acquired considerable property at Bokhara. He showed to me forged letters from certain people who pretended to have carried the bodies of Stoddart and Conolly to India, for which service he (Nasir Khan) says, that he gave to them one hundred and fifty tillahs. The following conversations took place on that day between me and the Nayeb. W. Nayeb, to-day a Jew called on me, and showed to me a note evi- dently written by Shakespeare when at Jelaal-Abad ; the contents of the note, far as I can recollect, are as follows : Hussein Cabulee is the bearer of a letter written by the Right Honourable the Governor-General of India to His Highness the Ameer of Bokhara, for which the bearer has received one hundred rupees, and after having brought an answer from His Highness, he will, on delivery to any British authority, receive five hundred ru- pees more. (Signed) SHAKESPEARE, Military Secretary. Camp Jelaal-Abad. I knew that such a letter had arrived at Bokhara, and even your brother, Hajee Ibraheem, told me himself so. Nayeb (pale and evidently discomposed). I am astonished that I 30 234 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION have not heard of this letter before. Nasir Khan has just told me that a Cabul man was in possession of such a letter, but he says that he had left the letter at Balkh. As Nasir Khan was already gone, he said that he must send to him to hear more about it ; for when he (Abdul Samut Khan) had told the King that Joseph Wolff asserted that the Governor-General had written to His Majesty, His Majesty replied, " Where is that letter ?" In the evening, to my utter surprise, the Nayeb produced the same note of Shakespeare which I saw in the hand of the Jew. I heard then by Mirza Muhammed Noori, by the chief servant of the Kasi Kelaun, by Mullah Makhsoom, a Tatshick, and by Moolam Beyk, that the Nayeb had been all the time in possession of the letter of Lord 'Ellenborough, and the other of Captain Shakespeare, and that it was by a contrivance of the Nayeb with Hassan Caboole that the note of Shakespeare was shown to me by the Jew Moollah Mesheakh. The letter of Sir Richmond Shakespeare, together with the letter of Lord Ellenborough, is, as will be seen, in the hands of Colonel Sheil ; and as, according to the testimony of the above respectable people, the letter with Captain Shakespeare's note arrived before the execution of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, it is evident that the official date of 1259 Hejira, corresponding with July, 1843, which was given to me by order of the King and Abdul Samut Khan at the beginning, is the correct date, and not as I supposed erroneous when I arrived at Teheraun from Bokhara. Abdul Samut Khan must have known that to be a mistake ; for, though the date of Shakespeare's note is no longer in my memory, I well remember that, when calculating over the date of the note of Shakespeare, and its arrival at Bokhara, it could only have been one year before my arrival there. It could only have been in 1259, as the Ameer arid Nayeb first told me. On the Sunday following these events, the Nayeb went to the King, and after two hours he came back to the garden, and said, " Now you have leave to depart with all speed. The King asked me what kind of person the Ambassador ought to be ; I told him that he ought to be an Usbeck, a stout fellow, with thick head and little beard." W. When will all be ready ? IV. After four or five days. W. This is too long. IV. Oh, you must have patience, for it is an act of the King. Everything is ready. Whilst we were sitting together in the evening, Mirza Muhammed Nooree, his secretary, and others of his officers with him, he said, " Now you could show to the King that the English people speak the truth ; OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. write to him that such a letter actually exists here, sent from the Governor-General, and that His Majesty should cause search to be made for it." W. I shall do no such thing, for this would only be the cause of another delay ; and I do not care what opinion he entertains of me if he only lets me go. The officers sitting by, and Mirza Muhammed Nooree, agreed with me, that this would cause a delay ; but the Nayeb said, " By the head of Abdullah Khan, my son, it will not. Write ! I tell you, write V I wrote to the King. His Majesty sent immediately to find the man, who came instantly to the garden, escorted by the Makhram, and also Nasir Khan with him. Hassan Caboolee (in apparent fright). "Nayeb, Nasir Khan frightened me, and therefore I did not deliver the letter ; now they will kill me. Hasrat (His Majesty) will now kill me." The Nayeb said to him, " Be not afraid say where is the letter." And gave him a significant hint. He said, " At Balkh." He was despatched immediately to Balkh at my cost. Six days after, I saw him at Bok- hara, which I told the Nayeb ; he replied, that somebody else went there on his account. At this period, I was brought by the three guards to the garden of the Dastar Khanjee, where I met with an AfFghaun, who came here with a menagerie of wild animals two years ago, and as the King suspected him to be a spy of the King of Lahore, he detained him prisoner at Bokhara. He however displayed a Muhammedan indiffer- ence about his fate. He spoke to me with high regard of the English nation. He had taught his bear to dance, of which he gave a proof to me. Of this person also I learnt that the Ameer sent, previous to the decapitation of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, a lion as a present to the Emperor of Russia, for which his Ambassador was munificently rewarded by the Emperor ; but after the execution of both officers, the Ameer sent again an Ambassador to Russia, with presents, but on his arrival at Orenbourg, he was informed by the Governor of Orenbourg that the Autocrat would have no more inter- course with the King of Bokhara, nor was His Majesty the Emperor inclined to accept any letters from the Ameer. The poor man who was sent as Ambfcsador returned to Bokhara, and has been since in disgrace. In the month of June, when the Ameer went with his army to Samarcand and Khokand, for the purpose of reconquering Oratepa, which had rebelled against him, and also Khokand, my prospects of 236 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION ever being set at liberty were but weak ; for, previous to his departure, he gave strict orders to watch me, and at the same time doubled the guards, and gave me to understand that my receiving permission to depart depended on the success of his expedition. 1 therefore wrote the following letter in my Bible to Lady Georgiana and my son Henry, which I forwarded to Colonel Sheil ; but Colonel Sheil not opening the Bible, did not know what to do with it, and kept the Bible with him until my return to Teheraun. Here is the letter : To the Right Honourable Lady Georgiana M. Wolff, and Henry Drummond Charles Wolff. My Dearest Wife and Son, Bokhara, June, 1844. I am still detained at Bokhara, and the King has now marched against Kho- kand. Whatever may happen to me, dearest wife and son, remember that you yourselves have nothing to reproach yourselves, for it was my own choice to make the journey, in order to liberate the prisoners, and remember that our Lord Jesus Christ is now with me. I am not unkindly treated, and am not without hopes of being allowed at last to return with the Persian Ambassador ; though one cannot depend upon the promise of an unprincipled tyrant, and Yar Muhammed Khan of Heraut has advised the Ameer by three Ambassadors to put me to death. God has given me strength to await his will with patience and resignation. Pray amuse yourself, and go to Wiesbaden in summer. I am well treated, but am not allowed to stir out without three guards, and am strictly watched. Tell my dear Henry that ho should pardon me if ever I have hurt his feelings, and so I beg you to pardon me. I have never ceased to love you tenderly, both of you, and thank God that we are believers in Christ Jesus. Your affectionate husband and father JOSEPH WOLFF. Dil Assa Khan entered my room with eight Mervee, and he began thus, saying, " What an Englishman are you ! how stingy ! Todd Saheb, at Heraut, gave to the Hazarah, near Heraut, two thousand five hundred tillahs (ducats) for one horse. Pottinger Saheb gave every year thirty thousand tillahs to Yar Muhammed Khan, and do you think that I shall be satisfied with two hundred tillahs ? Two hun- dred tillahs are good for nothing. It is for that reason that I have played the traitor, which I never would have done, if you had given me three thousand tillahs !" Then his people began : " And what have you done for us ? You ought to have given two hundred tillahs to every one of us, and thus you would have exalted the Queen of England, and made her name immortal. Instead of this you gave us only a fewnfengas (pence) to pay for our bath. Do you think that the Ameer will let you go from here without our interceding for you ? Far from it. Abdul Sarnut Khan himself tells us that you ought to make us comfortable." Abdullah, my servant, entered then my room and said, " The whole OP DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 237 town of Bokhara speak with certainty that the Ameer will put you to death, for it is the wish of Abdul Samut Khan, and all the Serkerdeha (grandees) ; and the King of Persia, being a Sheah, has no influence at Bokhara ; but if you satisfy our demands, we will save your life." I turned them all out of the room. Then a tailor of Abdul Samut Khan entered, saying, " Abdul Sa- mut Khan has given to-day one hundred tillahs to the Shekhawl ; he does everything for you, but you must spend your money ; if not, he will fail in his trouble." I turned him out of my room. The Ameer Sarog, and Kaher Kouli, who had behaved exceedingly well for a while, so that I gave them a testimonial for their good con- duct, said, " Mullah Youssuf Wolff, tillahs (ducats) are sweet ; we dream of tillahs day and night, and we dreamt last night that you, on your return to England, sate near your Monarch, and all the grandees of your country kissed the hem of your garment. The most beauti- ful women crowded around you, and desired to be your wives, and you took the daughter of the Queen as your lawful wife. * * * * You will live in the finest palace, except the Queen's, and fanned by dancing girls ; and if you shall say to her, Oh, my Queen, cut off the head of this or that person,' she will immediately follow your ad- vice. Both of us, Kaher Kouli and I, Ameer Sarog, dreamt this at one and the same time, and therefore it will become true." Then the Guards entered, and told me that they would admit any one in case that I gave them money. This I was forced to do. The war with Khokand commenced about this period, and the Ameer, leaving Abdul Samut Khan to follow him, proceeded thither. This was the second war with the people of that unfortunate country in which the present Ameer had engaged. I shall here give the details of the first. Muhammed AH Khan reigned at that time at Khokand, a very mild monarch, and fond of Europeans. He treated Conolly with great dis- tinction, and always advised him not to go to Bokhara. But Muham- med Ali Khan was addicted to the vice of drinking, and to women, which gave time to Nasir Ullah Behadur, the Ameer of Bokhara, to fit out an arrny against him ; and he marched with several thousand irregular troops and four hundred regular troops, and six pieces of ar- tillery, commanded by Abdul Samut Khan, towards Khokand, in the year 1842, after Conolly had left the town. He took Khokand by sur- prise. Muhammed Ali Khan intended to escape, but was made pris- oner, with his wife. The cruel Nasir Ullah Behadur, at the advice of Abdul Samut Khan, put not only Muhammed Ali Khan to death, but also his wife, pregnant with child. The child was taken out of her 238 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION and murdered. The slaughter continued a whole day. Abdul Samut Khan told me, smiling, " I never give quarter to any prisoner, I al- ways kill every one." As soon as the inhabitants of Khokand re- ceived the news that both Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly had been put to death, they made themselves again independent, and elect- ed the nephew of Muhammed Ali Khan, Sheer Ali Khan by name, as their King, and made an alliance with the King of Khiva against the King of Bokhara. The Ameer of Bokhara marched against Khiva, but was defeated ; on his return to Bokhara he said, " My bowels of compassion did not allow me to shed more blood !" During my stay at Bokhara he prepared again an expedition against Khokand, and arrived near Oratepa. As soon as he had learnt that Sheer Ali Khan came out to meet him with eleven thou- sand Ghirgese, he returned. I sent, previous to his march, a Jew to Bokhara, to give notice to Sheer Ali Khan of the design of the Ameer. My readers have already perceived that I had given notice to Colonel Sheil of the same. For though he had declared that in case that he should be beaten he would put me to death, I thought it advisable, for the sake of humanity, to risk my life. He was beaten ! I also was informed that he intended to take by surprise Shahr Sabz, a town which never was subdued by the Kings of Bokhara ; for the surround- ing country can be inundated, so that he cannot bring there artillery, and besides this the Shahr Sabz are very good horsemen. I therefore sent there also a Jew, giving notice to the Khan of the design of the Ameer to surprise Shahr Sabz on his way to Khokand. When the Ameer came near Shahr Sabz he found the whole country, in conse- quence, inundated, so that his army went towards Samarcand by another direction. The Ameer was heard to say, "Since I have killed these English people I do not prosper in anything." I had for about ten days at this period a Makhram, a kind-hearted guard, who allowed Muhammedans to come to me ; among others a Cashmeerian came to me, who said, " Sheer Ali Khan, the King of Khokand, is very anxious that you should come to Khokand, in order that he may, through you, send presents to the Queen of England." OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 239 CHAPTER XV. The Mervee wish to know the Story of Napoleon ; Dr. Wolff Recounts it in an Oriental fashion. He amuses the tedious hours of Captivity by telling various Anecdotes. His Anecdote of the Arabian Derveesh reaches the ears of the Daster Khanjee, who reports it to the Ameer. The Kasi Kelaun assures Dr. Wolff that the British Officers were put to death, and that the King deeply repented of the act. The Kasi Kelaun warned the Ameer of the Consequences. All the Jews knew of the Execution the same day, and the Inhabitants of Bokhara, in town and country, speak of it as a matter well known. Dr. Wolff tells an Anecdote of Frederick the Great of Russia. Dr. Wolff laughs at Ameer Sarog's Vanity, and tells him the Tale of the Derveesh with the White Beard. SOME of the Mervee who called on me at this time, wished me to make them acquainted with the life of Napoleon. I will give my readers an idea of the manner in which European facts must be told to Eastern people. I began thus bearing in mind that much of what I said would be considered. as referable to my own circumstances: " There is a country in Frankistaun, which is called the Land of the Francees, which had a great Padishah. He had under his dominion, besides the land of Francees, a little island, which is called Corsica, in which is a little town with the name of Ajaccio. One of the Ser- kerdeha residing there was named Bonaparte, who had several sons ; the name of the elder was Lucien of the younger, Napoleon, who had a great inclination for becoming a Yoos-Bashi, or some other chief among the soldiers ; but as, in Europe, no person can become a chief of soldiers without having first studied the art of soldiery in a school purposely established for that object, Napoleon was sent to a school in the land of Francees, in a small town called Brienne, where he kept but little company, and made such progress that he was sent to the capital of Francees, Paris. At this time the people of the land of the Francees rose against their King, for, on their side, they had lost the fear of God ; and on the part of the King, he was not governed by wise counsellors : and it came to such a pitch that they at last put to death the King and the Queen. And as that King and Queen were related to other Padishahs of Europe, and especially to the Padishah of Nemsa, i. e. Germany, they became involved in war, especially as the greater number of the people of the land of Francees began to deny all religion, and even the existence of a God, and persecuted those who said, < We will rather die than give up our belief in God and in Jesus.' 240 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION " At that time, as I said, the young Napoleon was brought from the school, and distinguished himself at the taking of towns which were not willing to yield to the rebels ; so that Napoleon, who was first Yoos-Bashi, was made Sirhenk, Colonel ; and in the war with the Emperor of Nemsa, he distinguished himself by his intrepidity, so that he became Serteeb, i. e. General ; at which time he became ac- quainted with a lady, by whom it was foretold by a Kawlee-Berband (gipsy) that she should become a great Queen, but then fall again. " Napoleon then went to Egypt with an army, took the whole of it, but was driven out by the Englees ; and after that he had a battle with the combined armies of the King of Nemsa and the Emperor of Russia, in which he beat both of them. He was made Padishah of the Land of the Francees, and thus the prophecy of the Kawlee-Ber- band was fulfilled. But Napoleon was not satisfied. He wished to become like Timur Kurican, not only a Jehaun Geer, but also a Je- haun Dar, and he became proud ; and he said as the Prophet Isaiah (the comfort of God and peace upon him !) predicted : ' I will sit in the sides of the north ;' and he went therefore to Russia, where he was overcome by the snow, and by the army of Russia, and defeated. " At last all the armies of the different Kings of Frankistaun, even the Emperor of Nemsa, whom he had compelled to give him his daughter, combined against him, when he was beaten by the great Serteeb of the English, Arthur Wellington, and the Serteeb of the Prussians, Bliicher. He was made the prisoner of the English, and died in an island which is situated between the land of the Ghurb and Hindustaun ; and the prophecy of Isaiah was thus fulfilled : ' They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee. Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, and did shake kingdoms ? that made the world as a wilderness and destroyed the cities thereof? that opened not the house of his prisoners ?' And the prediction of the Kawlee-Berband was fulfilled, that his Queen should fall again." My readers will be surprised to perceive, that though a prisoner, and not allowed to stir out of the house unwatched, that I could amuse myself by entertaining those very people who betrayed me and im- prisoned me, by telling them different anecdotes ; but I did so. They certainly thought me the strangest of captives. They were one even- ing all seated around me, Dil Assa Khan, Ismael Khan, Kouli, Kaher Kouli, Ameer Sarog, and others of the Mervee. Each of these fellows was well calculated to be a torch leader in the race of rascality. I told them the following story. They were all silent. There was a derveesh in Arabia, renowned in the whole of Arabistaun as a witty man. When that derveesh passed the house of a great Mufti, he wrote OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 241 in Arabic three times upon the wall the word Donkey, and to each of these three donkeys he wrote a meaning. He said, the first donkey is he who has a watch and asks what o'clock it is ; and the second donkey is he who has a horse and who walks on foot. Here I paused, and said nothing, when the whole body of my hearers exclaimed, " Who is the third ?" and I said, " Every one of you." This anecdote reached the ears of the Daster Khanjee, who wrote to the King, then on the expedition to Khokand, the following words : " Youssuf Wolff, the Englishman, Your Majesty's slave, is now very cheerful, and gets fat from Your Majesty's bounty ; and he has taken in the whole party who visited him with the following anec- dote." I had also a visit at this time from the Kasi Kelaun, relative to Stoddart and Conolly. My readers will ask me, and I have been asked in England, What evidences have you that Stoddart and Con- olly are dead ? I say, first, that there is no doubt that the King would have given anything to restore them to me. Even the Kasi Kelaun, on this secret visit, told me that he had never so repented of any act as of that one : and the Kasi Kelaun himself also said, one afternoon when all around me were asleep, " I warned His Majesty, but he will never hear advice, and I warned him one hour before he perpetrated the act." All the Jews knew it the very day of the execution, and they all told me of it ; and thus every inhabitant of Bokhara, and of all the country around, speak of it as a matter well known. On another occasion I told a large party the following anecdote, which I was obliged to introduce somewhat oddly to make it intel- ligible : A great Padishah reigned in Nemsa, whose name was Frederick, and who went by the name of The Great. He waged a seven years' war with many Padishahs, and though his men were few, he routed all his foes. As the language of the Nemsa is different from the lan- guage of the Francees, he one day gave the following order : " I, Frederick, have condescended to order, that if at any time one of the men of the country of the Francees comes and says, * I wish to become a soldier in the army of the Padishah Frederick,' the Sirhenks and my officers are hereby commanded not to enlist him ; as the Francees are never able to learn the language of the Nemsa, and give, conse- quently, a great deal of trouble." However, there came one day a man from the land of the Francees, who was very tall, and, as the Sirhenks knew that Frederick the Great liked tall soldiers, they said, " Let us take him, and try to teach him the language of Nemsa, in Order that the King may not find out that he is a Francees." How- 31 242 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION ever, all their attempts to teach him the language of Nemsa were vain, so that they taught him by rote the answers to three questions, which the King asked every year of every soldier, and of which he never changed the order. The first question which the King asked of every soldier was, " How old are you ?" To which the soldier replied, giving his age. The second was, " How long have you been in the service V To which the soldier replied according to circum- stances. The third question was, " Are you contented with pay and food ?" To which he answered by the word Both. The Sirhenk taught the soldier (the Francees) the following words, as answers to the three questions : " Twenty years," " Three years," and " Both." These he got by heart, and they told him to say at the first question, Twenty years ; at the second, Three years ; and at the third, Both. The King arrived after a year, and reviewed his soldiers, and put questions to every one of them, according to the usual order. But when he came to the tall man of Francees, he changed the order, put- ting the first question, " How many years have you been in my ser- vice 1" He answered, " Twenty years." The second question of the King was, " How old are you ?" To which he replied, " Three." Hasrat then demanded, " Am I a donkey, or you a donkey ?" To which he replied, " Both." At another time Ameer Sarog, the old roguish Turkomaun, sitting in the company of others with me, boasted that he had the finest beard in the company, and that it was completely white. I replied, " Ameer Sarog, do you know the dream of a derveesh ? A derveesh dreamt one day that he saw standing before him an old man with a fine ven- erable beard : the derveesh said to him, ' Oh, I know thee who thou art ; thou shalt not deceive me with thy fine white beard. I know thee, that thou art Satan,' and began to pull out his beard. Upon which the derveesh awoke, and had his own beard pulled out." I then said to Ameer Sarog, " Take care that you have not a similar dream, for then you will lose your beard to a certainty." They all burst into a fit of laughter, and said, " Don't boast of your venera- ble beard in the presence of Youssuf Wolff, for he laughs in your beard." OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 243 CHAPTER XVI. Abdul Samut Khan told Dr. Wolff that he was the chief Instigator of the Slaughter at Khokand in the first War ; his Motives were to create a Feud between the States, which he trusted would end in the Death of the Ameer. Abdul Samut Khan said that the first Expedition against Khokand was by the advice of Rus- sia. People of Khokand have since made an Alliance with Russia. Policy of Russia was to bring this about by urging the Ameer to war on them when they would require Aid. Russians intend to erect a Fortress at Hasrat Sultan. People from Cabul, Kashmeer, and Scinde call on Dr. Wolff; they praise highly Sir Charles Napier. Affghauns from Cabul ascribe the Disasters of the British Army to the Immoral Conduct of the Officers. Determined Conduct of Major Raw linsou ; he puts to Death an Affghaun for Murder. Manners and Customs of the Muhammedan Mullahs. Diligence of Muhammedans in copying the Koran; Propaganda and British and Foreign Bible Society discharge the same Office by the Christians. The Bible would be nearly extinct in the East but for these Societies. Arrival of Abbas Kouli Khan, the Persian Ambassador ; he tells Dr. Wolff that the Shah, Haje, and Assaff-ood-Dowla had strongly recommended him to bring Dr. Wolff with him, or to send him on before him. Nayeb sends for Dr. Wolff; informs him that Yar Muhammed Khan had sent three Ambassa- dors to Bokhara, stating that Colonel Sheil had called the Ameer a Robber in the presence of the Russian and Yar Muhammed Khan's Ambassadors, of Dr. Wolff, and the Bokhara Ambassador; therefore Yar Muhammed Khan advised tho Ameer to strike off Dr. Wolff's Head. Nayeb offers Dr. Wolff his Protection. Turkish Officer dies suddenly in the Nayeb's Garden. Another Conversation with the Nayeb. The Nayeb reports Abbas Kouli Khan's Mission untruly. Dr. Wolff tries to escape. The Nayeb violates his promise to protect Dr. Wolff. The King sends for him. Dr. Wolff charges the Nayeb with the Murder of Stoddart and Conolly ; the Nayeb owns it. Dr. Wolff again tries to escape through a Water Hole from the Garden of the Nayeb to the House of the Yawer. While there a Woman is introduced to him ; he is aware of the Stratagem to compel him by her means to embrace Muhammedanism, and drives her from him. Ordered by the King to appear before him ; leaves the Garden of Abdul Samut Khan ; presents himself before the Ameer, who receives him sternly. Ordered to the Toora Khane and close Confinement ; calls on Abbas Kouli Khan, who vows to save him. The King sends word to him that he may quit Bokhara in two ways ; leaves to His Majesty the choice of either. King sets out for Sa- marcand. RELATIVE to the first war on Khokand, I have stated that Abdul Samut Khan was the chief instigator of the fearful slaughter which then took place. The reasons that induced Abdul Samut Khan to advise the King of Bokhara to put to death the King of Khokand, and to massacre as many as possible of the inhabitants, were, that there 244 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION might be an eternal blood feud between the two States. This feud he trusted would end in the death of the Ameer. These circumstan- ces he communicated to me himself. At the time when this miscreant pretended to be my friend, he told me also another highly important circumstance, which was this : that Boutenieff, the Russian ambassador, strongly advised the King of Bok- hara to make war on Khokand before the first expedition ; and it is remarkable that since he made war for the first time, the people of Khokand, as Abdul Samut Khan told me, have entered into an alli- ance with Russia ; and it is a subject much canvassed, that the Rus- sians intend to erect a fortress at or near the city called Hazrat Sul- tan, otherwise called Turkistaun. On another day, during the expedition of the King to Khokand, people from Cabul, Kashmeer, and Scinde, called on me ; those of Scinde expressed their highest admiration, not only of the valour and heroism of Sir Charles Napier, but also of his justice and equity. They said his name frightens the Polooj more than the mentioning of the approach of an army ; and I say it again, that I am sure that Sir Charles Napier would be the fittest man for being sent to Bokhara. But now I come to a very delicate point. Affghauns from Cabul at Bokhara, and also after my departure from Bokhara through the des- ert to Meshed, ascribed the disaster of the Bi itish army, and the in- dignation of the people of Affghaun against the army, to the conduct of several British officers, whose names I forbear mentioning, and who shocked the feelings of the natives by their introducing into the country the " vices of Europeans," and by the liberties they took with Affghaun women. We see from this, that the exertions of judicious missionaries, who speak with the Muhammedans about the name of Jesus, may not shock the Orientals, but the immoralities of Europeans assuredly will. The general idea around Cabul, is, that most of the British officers did not believe in a God. At Candahar it is quite dif- ferent ; the names of Major Rawlinson, of Nott, of Lugin, of Todd, are mentioned with regard ; and the following account which I heard at Bokhara about Major Rawlinson pleased me very much, and the people who related it spoke with admiration of Major Rawlinson's self-possession at the following occurrence. An Affghaun in open daylight put to death an Englishman at Can- dahar ; he was brought bound before Major Rawlinson. The Major addressed him, " Why have you murdered that Saheb ?" The Aff- ghaun answered, " I would kill you if my hands were not bound." The Major, " Why so ?" The Affghaun replied sternly, " What business have you infidels to enter our home ? You infidels have no OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 245 business in our home. Affghanistaun belongs to us, and it belonged to our ancestors. What business have you in our home?" An Affghaun present turned to Major Rawlinson, and in order to save the criminal said to him, " Major, he is mad." The murderer heard him, and said, " I am not mad ; I am full of understanding : these infidels have no business in our home." Upon which the Affghaun paid the penalty of his crime by death. I have now to touch on another point, namely, on the manners and customs of the Muhammedan mullahs at Bokhara, and all over the world. The dignity Of Sheikh-Islam, of Cazi, of MufFti, of Imam- Jumaa, are the highest which are in the Muhammedan persuasion, and they correspond to those of archbishops and bishops in the Chris- tian Church, and the honours conferred on them by the monarch ex- ceed those conferred on the Christian clergy by any King : thus, for instance, the Sultan kisses the hand of the Sheikh-Islam at Constanti- nople, and the Ameer of Bokhara kisses the hand of the Sheikh-Islam there ; yet those very Sheikh-Islams are surrounded by the poor of their nation and the poorest has free access to the Sheikh-Islam. We frequently hear poor mullahs (priests) and others of the poor laity say, " I must go to my Sheikh-Islam at Bokhara ;" and I heard others say, " I must go to the Imam-Jumaa at Meshed :" and this confidence of the poor towards their clergy is also prevalent among the Arme- nian, Greek, and Chaldean and Jacobite Christians, " I must go up to the Katokhikos at Ech-Miazin, in order to receive relief:" one hears the same thing said in the Armenian dwellings at Wagarshabat, and in those around Mount Ararat. This confidence of the poor in their prelates also prevails in the Roman Catholic Church, and there exists also a strong reliance of the poor on their ecclesiastical author- ities among the Lutherans in Germany. I frequently saw, in the year 1811, the Superintendent-general Voigt, at Saxe Weimar, and Dr. Flatt, at Tubingen, surrounded by poor, and I heard those very superintendents frequently listening, not only to the entreaties but even to the insulting remarks of the poor, who are often very impertinent ; 1 say I heard them frequently listening to them with the greatest at- tention. It were highly desirable that this prevailed to a greater ex- tent in Christian countries among the dignitaries of their respective establishments. The Muhammedans are also very diligent in copying their Koran, on which account thousands of copies are always extant. This is not the case with copies of the Bible. Neither Jews nor Christians have the means of obtaining many written copies of their sacred documents ; and therefore, if the Propaganda had not in former times, and the 246 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION British and Foreign Bible Society in our times, sent printed copies to the East, the Christians would certainly have been without &ny copies of the sacred records, save a few preserved in convents. At last, Abbas Kouli Khan, the Persian Ambassador, on whom 1 knew my life depended, arrived. I called on him the first day, when he told me that Muhammed Shah, the Haje, and the Assaff-ood-Dowla, had strongly recommended him either to bring me back, or send me on before him ; but I was scarcely with him a few minutes when the Nayeb sent for me to give me important news. I immediately went to him, and he said that there had arrived now three Ambassadors from Yar Muhammed Khan, saying that Colonel Sheil and myself, when at Teheraun, had quarrelled with the Bokhara Ambassador ; that Colonel Sheil had called the Ameer a robber, who had stolen Stod- dart and Conolly's property ; and that Colonel Sheil had done so in the presence of the Russian and Yar Muhammed Khan's Ambassadors ; and that he (Yar Muhammed Khan) therefore advised the King to cut off my head ; but the Nayeb said, " Now remain with me here in the garden ; if the King does not send for you in a few days, I will let you escape, either to Shahr-Sabz or Organtsh. I swear to you by the head of Abdullah Khan by the Koran that I will do so ; and if the King will take you by force, I will beat the drum drum ! drum ! drum ! and say, Halt, Front !' for I know that the King will send you home. The King said that he knew that Yar Muhammed Khan was a liar and told me a few words which convince me that he will not kill you ; i. e., ' I must send Joseph Wolf soon away, for I have had wounds enough since I killed Stoddart and Conolly.' '' A few days after this conversation a Turkish officer, coming from Constantinople, and intending to go to Khokand to see his mother there, and who was already for some months under the surveillance of the Nayeb, suddenly died in the garden of the Nayeb whilst I was there. The Nayeb told me that he had strangled himself, but he refused to show to me his body ; but all the officers of the Nayeb affirmed that the Nayeb himself had caused him to be murdered. The day following, Makhram Kasem came to have some private conversation with the Nayeb. I retired a few minutes ; afterward the Nayeb called out, " Youssuf Wolff, come here." I came ; he told me '' Makhram Kasem has just brought me a piece of news, but fear not, for the King knows that the intent of it is to involve him in a war with England." W. What news ? Nayeb. " Abbas Kouli Khan has arrived here with five requests from Muhammed Shah. The first request of the King of Persia is, OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 247 that he (the Ameer) should put you to death. The Haje Mirza Aghasee wrote the same. Those Kajar are fathers of the curse, but fear not ; I shall see the King next Sunday." I shut myself up in one of his rooms, and prayed ; and soon after, when the Nayeb went to his harem, Behadur, above mentioned, came to me, and said, " I am not an Iranee (Persian), I am a Hindee. I have eaten the salt of Englishmen. If you like, I will let you escape, and bring you to Khoollom, and thence go with you to India, but don't tell the Nayeb of it." We agreed that we should leave that very evening, but in the evening I found a Carowal (guard) around my bed. I also ob- served, that the Nayeb had sent a private message to the King. The morning following, a Makhram, whom I hitherto had not seen, came in great agitation, and said, " You must go to town, you are here tired ; the King orders you." As the Nayeb was up-stairs, I called out, " Nayeb !" The rascal came down. The hue of his complexion was quite black ; I almost started at the sight. I asked him whether he knew the King's order. He said, " Yes, and you must obey." This absolute contradiction of his express promise to protect me, even from the Ameer himself, incensed me beyond bounds, and I said, " I now see that the people are right, who say that you are the cause that Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly have been killed ; you are a liar, a traitor, and a rascal ! you intend to kill me too." To this he replied, " Yes, I have killed them ; Stoddart quar- relled with me and my brother, who is a Haje, in my garden, about tillahs." I then said, " Liar ! why did you always tell me that Stoddart and Conolly have always been your friends ?" He replied, " I know how to treat you Franks as you ought to be treated." The Makhram again said that I must go with him. I said, " No ;" and saying this, I ran out of the garden over a low part of the wall, when Behadur followed me, and said, " Now I will let you escape." He brought me, first of all, to the garden belonging to the Nayeb's son, Abdullah, which garden is not yet quite finished, where, on a former occasion, the Nayeb told me that he intended to construct a fortress to defend himself in case of need against the Ameer ; when, quite against all expectation, Ameer Abool Kasem was brought to me by the Nayeb's order. He informed me that he was the intended Ambassador for England. [Note. I have forgotten to mention above, that the Nayeb advised me, when an Ambassador was first proposed, and the proposal accepted, that I should administer poison to him on the road, which of course I rejected with horror.] I said to Ameer Abool Kasem, " I know that the Ameer intends to kill me ;" and as I had a little paper and ink with me, I wrote a note to the Nayeb, 248 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION saying, " Now I know that you are a traitor and a liar ! and thai you will kill me as you have killed Stoddart and Conolly ;" and I gave the note to Ameer Abool Kasem, who gave it to the Nayeb. Behadur then brought me, through a water-hole, to the house of the Yawer (major), situated about three hundred feet distance from the Nayeb's house, whence Behadur and the Yawer promised to let me escape that very evening. The evening approached, when the Yawer came and said that the Ameer, under the supposition that I had es- caped, had sent soldiers on all the different roads to pursue me ; it would be therefore better for me to stay there until the troops of the Ameer had come back, and after they had given up pursuing me. He (the Yawer) and Behadur would accompany me to Shahr Sabz, Khoollom, and even as far as India. I told them that I was convinced that the Nayeb was a traitor and a liar, in whose words in future I should place no reliance, and that I expected my fate with patience and res- ignation. Both Behadur and the Yawer went out of the room, when a female, in the most coquettish manner, and unveiled, entered it. I at once ob- served the trap, and exclaimed, in a loud voice, and with great ap- parent rage, " Go to hell !" The Yawer and Behadur immediately entered, and asked what was the matter ? I explained the whole. It was the same trick which the rascally Nayeb tried to play to Stoddart and Conolly, for I heard from different people that the same stratagem had been practised on them, with a view to forcing them to become Muhammedans, but in vain. To this he compels every slave he takes, in order to sell the issue from them as slaves. I slept at night in the house of the Yawer, Behadur and Hussein Ali, both servants of the Nayeb, near me, and when I told them that they should sleep at a greater distance from me, they objected that the Nayeb had ordered them to do so, but I pushed them away by force. The next morning, one of the King's head officers came and ordered me, in the name of the King, to go to town, and that I should instantly receive leave for my departure. I obeyed ; but previous to this I was brought to the Nayeb, where the rascal told me that he had given twenty tillahs to the head officer, that he should treat me with respect, and that I should get leave to depart after twenty days. I left the horrid garden of that bloodhound, and rode to the town. It was on a Friday. I was first ordered to make my Salaam to the King ; but was not brought as usual previously to a decent room of the palace, but was obliged to wait outside the gate until the Ameer appeared, which he soon did. He looked sternly at me, and evidently displeased. I was then ordered by His Majesty to accompany the NAYEB OF THE AMEER OF BOKHARA 1 Harper <5c .Brothers , ITerw Tbrlc OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 24d Makhram, and two other guards, to my old quarters in the Toora Khane, where now, also, Abbas Kouli Khan was residing, and that I should not stir out of the house without especial order from His Majesty. I came to the Toora Khane, and occupied the same room which Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly had previous to their execution. I called on Abbas Kouli Khan, who, fortunately, lived in the same house, so that he did not come under the prohibition, I considered, at least I was determined not to understand the order in that sense. He immediately told me, " I swear to you, by God and the Koran, that I will not leave Bokhara without you." I told him that Nayeb Abdul Samut Khan had told me that he had been ordered by Muhammed Shah to effect my detention and death at Bokhara. He in a most dig- nified manner denied the charge, and produced his instruction from Haje Mirza Agasee, Prime Minister to the -King of Persia, in which he was distinctly ordered to effect my release from Bokhara. Towards the evening, the Ameer sent to me the following message : " There were people at Bokhara from Khokand and Organtsh, whose inhabitants were guilty of blood ; and beside them, people from Cabul, Cashmeer, and Hindustaun. None of them had been molested by him. All of them enjoyed his protection. He (His Majesty) there- fore felt greatly incensed that I had openly declared at Bokhara that His Majesty's intention was to put me to death ; that His Majesty had been red in his face from anger. He therefore now asked me whether I would leave Bokhara without honour and in disgrace, or with honour and filled with favour. In the first case, His Majesty would furnish me with a simple passport ; in the second case, he would, after his return from Samarcand, adorn me with a robe of honour, and send an Ambassador with me to England." I sent as an answer that I repented having given cause to His Maj- esty to be angry with me ; and with respect to the mode of my going from Bokhara, I left that'entirely to His Majesty's choice. The next day he set out for Samarcand with the intention of recon- quering Khokand and Tashkand. 32 250 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XVII. Jews obtain leave from the Ameer to visit Dr. Wolff; they sing with him, and ask for the Names of illustrious Jews who had embraced Christianity ; he tells them of several, viz., Emanuel Veith, M.D., Dr. Mayers, Dr. August Neander, Dr. Rat- isbon, Isaac da Costa, Dr. Kabbadose, Madame Dorothea Schlegel. Muhammed Bakher Nakash, the Servant of Conolly, abjures Islam, and says the Christians are better Men than the Muhammedans ; he is brought before the Sheikh Islam ; per- sists in his Avowal ; is sent to Prison, and flogged. Ameer returns ; sends to Dr. Wolff a Mullah, to know whether he will embrace the Muhammedan Religion ; Dr. Wolff replies, Never. Executioner sent also. Letter from the Shah ; Haje Ibrahim, the Brother of Abdul Samut Khan, informs the Nayeb of the Letter, and urges him to prevent Abbas Kouli Khan from receiving it. Muhammed Bak- her saved by Dr. Wolff. Atrocities of Abdul Samut Khan ; gets a Turkomaun beheaded, who came to save Stoddart; also Ephraim, a Jew, from Meshed. Prisoners in his Garden ; their Moanings and Wailings. Impression throughout the Muhammedan Countries that England and Russia will seize all those Regions. Remark to Dr. Wolff. Affghauns praise the English. Habeeb, weeping, tells Dr Wolff that he is to die. Servants of Abdul Samut Khan announce his Death, and show a Letter from Abdul Samut Khan to that effect. Dr. Wolff makes up his mind to die, and writes hi his Bible a Farewell to his Family. PREVIOUS to the departure of the Ameer for Khokand, the Jews most kindly asked his leave to visit me ; which was granted. They called on me, and desired me to sing a Hebrew melody, for they said, " Your voice is sonorous and sweet." I sang in a plaintive strain : " By the waters of Babylon we sate down and wept, for we remem- bered Zion," &c. After this, we sang the Hymn of the Jews in Turkistaun : The King our Messiah shall come. The Mighty of the Mighty is He. The King, the King, the King our Messiah shall come. The Blessed of the Blessed is He. The King, the King, our Messiah. The Great One of the Great is He. The Jews here asked me whether there were any Jews of distinc- tion in our days who had embraced Christianity. I replied, " Seve- ral ;" and they wished to have their names, which they wrote down* I gave them the following : 1st Emanuel Veith, M.D., now Domprediger of the Cathedral of St. Stephen'* at Vienna. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 251 2nd. Dr. Mayers, Professor of Jurisprudence at Tubingen. 3rd. Dr. August Neander, at Berlin. 4th. Rev. Dr. Ratisbon, in France. 5th. Isaac da Costa, in Amsterdam. 6th. Dr. Kabbadose, in Amsterdam. 7th. Madame Dorothea Schlegel. I gave them the following histo jy of them : " Emanuel Veith was born in the year 1788, at Klattau, in Bohe- mia, and studied regularly at the university of Prague ; after this at Vienna. He distinguished himself so much in medicine, and especial- ly in the veterinary department and natural history, that he received the office of Professor of Medicine and Natural History, and Director of the Veterinary Hospital at Vienna, when only twenty-four years of age. He was the most popular physician at Vienna, not only on account of his success, but also by reason of his benevolence and philanthropy : when suddenly he began to read the Bible, and the writings of Saint Augustin and Jerome. He studied theology, and is now the greatest divine and preacher at Vienna. His Sermons on the Resurrection of Lazarus ; his Exposition of the Lord's Prayer ; his Journeys to the Holy Mountains ; his Religious Tales ; are con- sidered masterpieces in the German literature. " Dr. Mayers was born in the year 1798, in Germany, and distin- guished himself for his knowledge of the Talmud at the early age of seven. He was born at Freudenthal, near Stuttgart, in Wirtemburg. He entered the Gymnasium of Stuttgart, and previous to entering the University of Tubingen he made a speech in Greek that aston- ished the learned. He is now a pious Christian, and a celebrated professor. " Dr. August Neander is also of Jewish parents, though Neologistic in views. He is evidently a sincere and pious inquirer after truth. He is Professor of Theology at Berlin. His Apostolical and Ecclesi- astical History are the productions of a mind deeply imbued with spir- itual religion. " Ratisbon is a Roman Catholic priest, whose Life of St. Bernard has excited the greatest sensation in France. " Isaac da Costa springs from those Jews who were what are called t The Compelled,' ' Anusim,' in Spain, and is grand nephew to the famous Uriel da Costa, Canon of Barcelona, who when he had left Spain and reached Amsterdam, returned to Judaism, which he em- braced, and all his family, and after this committed suicide. Isaao da Costa was educated as a Jew at Amsterdam, but studied the law at Leyden, and was converted, through the instrumentality of BUder- 252 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION dyk, to the Christian religion ; and he was instrumental to the con- version of his mother and family to that faith ; and also of Dr. Kab- badose, in the same manner as Uriel da Costa had converted his family to the Jewish belief. Da Costa is a celebrated writer, and a devoted admirer of the spirit of the Middle Age, but a high Calvinist in his views ; a man of powerful eloquence, and a poet. " Dr. Kabbadose, the convert of -Da Costa, spends his days in acts of benevolence. I must here observe, that it must be confessed that only those Jews that have had a thorough education have approved themselves to be sincere Christians ; and it seems, therefore, highly desirable that the colleges in England should be open to the Jews. " Madame Dorothea Schlegel was the daughter of the most cele- brated philosopher of the Jewish nation, Moses Mendelsohn. She married Veith, a Jewish banker at Berlin. When Friederich Schle- gel wrote his celebrated book, Lucinde, Madame Veith replied to it in a book called Florentine. She had two sons of Veith, but was after* wards separated from Veith, and married Schlegel. Both of them, Schlegel and herself, became Roman Catholics at Cologne; when Schlegel became a mighty defender of the Middle Age, and his wife a great admirer of the Spanish literature. She translated several things from Spanish into German ; without pretending to be a preach- er, she converted, through her conversation, many Neologists to the Christian religion. Her two sons, Johannes Veith and Philip Veith, also, were baptized by Cardinal Severoli, the Pope's Nuncio at Vien- na. Both Johannes Veith and Philip Veith are celebrated painters in Germany. I knew them at Rome, where they enjoyed the highest esteem among both Roman Catholics and Protestants for their talents, genius, industry, and piety. " I must not omit to record, also, of Philip Veith, that in the war of Germany against Napoleon, he and Theodor Korner, the well known poet, entered as volunteers among the Prussians. He fought by the side of the chivalric La Motte Fouque, in the battle of Leipzic. When a Prussian corps was yielding, Philip Veith called out, " Forward, comrades," cheered them to action, and conducted himself with such gallantry and heroism, that Bliicher made him an officer on the battle plain." At this time Muhammed Bakher Nakash, i. e. the Painter, formerly in the service of Conolly, loudly exclaimed in a bath, " The Frankee are by far better than the Mussulmauns. Muhammed was no prophet. He was a cruel tyrant, and thus are all his followers. There is one God, but no prophet does exist." He was brought before the Sheikh Islam, and questioned about his public declaration. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 253 Sheikh al-Islam (to Muhammed Bakher). Is it true that you have made such a declaration ? Muhammed Bakher. Yes ! I have loudly proclaimed that there is no Prophet. Sh. Do you believe, perhaps, that Jesus is a prophet ? M. B. No. Sh. Mullah Youssuf Wolff does not agree with you, for he be- lieves that Jesus is not only a prophet, but he calls him also the Son of God. M. B. I believe no prophet ; but Jesus was a better man than Muhammed, and the followers of Jesus are better than the followers of Muhammed. Muhammed Bakher was then sent to prison and flogged, but with- out any use. The mullahs then sent off an express courier to the Ameer, who was at that time at Samarcand ; but he ordered them not to put him to death until he came back. On the return of the Ameer, he sent, as my readers will see in the next chapter, a mullah to me, to know whether I would become a Muhammedan ; and an executioner to threaten me with death. But the letter of the King of Persia had arrived, which was written and sent at the request of Colonel Sheil, to the care of the Assaff-ood- Dowla at Meshed, who delivered it to my friend Mullah Mehdee, who with the greatest secrecy delivered it into the hands of a Turkomaun for Abbas Kouli Khan at Bokhara. Most providential it was that Haje Ibrahim, brother of Abdul Samut Khan, was not at Meshed at the time, for on his return to Meshed he learned that Mullah Mehdee had sent off a letter from the Shah to the Ameer. He in a rage ran to Mullah Mehdee, and said to him, " Why did you send away the letter from the King of Persia to the Ameer of Bokhara ? and why- did you not give the letter to me, when I would have forwarded the letter to my brother, Abdul Samut Khan, who would have delivered it himself to the King ?" Now that this fact is true is clear, for Be- hadur, Abdul Samut Khan's servant above mentioned, told me that he had seen a letter from Haje Ibrahim, in which Haje Ibrahim wrote to Abdul Samut Khan by an express messenger the following words: " That cursed Jew, Mullah Mehdee, has sent off a letter from the Shah to the Ameer, to be delivered by Abbas Kouli Khan. I was not at Meshed at the time, and therefore could not intercept the letter. Do all you can, dear brother, to prevent the letter coming into the hands of Abbas Kouli Khan, for if it reach him you will not succeed in keeping the Frankee, and on his arrival in England he will con- found us all." 254 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION That this statement of Behadur is true, is certain from the follow, ing circumstance: that on my arrival at Meshed, Mullah Mehdee himself told me the instant he saw me that Haje Ibrahim was absent from Meshed at the time, and was highly incensed with him for send- ing off the letter. This letter also deterred the King from doing any- thing to Muhammed Bakher, as he was the servant to Conolly, and gave me liberty from captivity, and the King observed at the same time : " No harm must be done to Muhammed Bakher, for Joseph Wolff is more than a mere derveesh." I must now give, in addition to the above, a few more examples of the atrocities committed by that villain, Abdul Samut Khan, testified to me by that respectable person Khoja Saheb of Cashmeer, and others. A Turkomaun came to Bokhara for the purpose of saving Stoddart. Abdul Samut Khan was informed of it, and he immedi- ately gave notice of the attempt to the Ameer, who instantly ordered the Turkomaun 's head to be struck off. Ephraim, a Jew from Meshed, also arrived to assist Stoddart, when that villain also informed the King of it, and the poor Jew was also beheaded. Whenever I was in the garden of that villain, he brought me on purpose near the place where he had his prisoners, and I heard the moanings and waitings of those who sighed in prison. He, well pleased with himself, said to me : " Youssuf Wolff, do you observe what power I have ? The Ameer inflicts upon criminals only seventy- five stripes ; but I two thousand stripes." There is the impression, from the Dardanelles to the Oxus, and from thence to the utmost boundaries of Tibet, that England and Russia shall be the conquerors of the world, and the people are not dissatisfied with it, but, on the contrary, wish that that event may soon take place. One of the people of Bokhara paid a visit to Dil Assa Khan ; on his leaving him he saw me walking about, near my room. He looked at me and said : " This Englishman in his mullah's dress is only the forerunner of great events ; not without reason has he appeared here with the Books of the Christians open, placed at his heart ; this is a sign that very soon the Christian Powers shall set at defiance the whole of Islam, and Jesus shall be King over all the world for the space of forty years, and Dujaal (Antichrist) shall come." An Affghaun sat dawn in the evening near my room, and said : " I am well acquainted with the mode of Government in India ; every Englishman in India is a king, and therefore they will not be satisfied with Hindustaun alone, but their rule will be spread all over China ; and Russia will soon be in possession of the city of Turkistaun, Kho- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 255 kand, and Organtsh ;" and by a hint directed towards me, he indi- cated also the kingdom of Bokhara. Another said, " I always told the people of Affghanistaun, ' Do not rise against the English people, for the English people have wings, and if you drive them out now, they will soon come again.' " Another observed : " Russia and England are two great rival powers. A certain Vicovich was sent from Russia to Dost Muham- med Khan, but he soon was recalled, and he died by suicide." Habeeb, one of the guards who watched me, came one day weep- ing in my room, and said : " Curses, thousand curses to Abdul Samut Khan ; he has at last succeeded in inducing the King to send an order here to put you to death immediately on his return." Scarcely had lie done, when servants of Abdul Samut Khan entered my room and showed to me actually a letter from Abdul Samut Khan to one of his officers, writing to him : " Hasrat" (His Majesty) " has at last decided to put to death the Englishman, and nothing will save the man ! Let him go to the devil ; what business had he to come to Bokhara ?" 1 looked at the seal, and it was the seal of Abdul Samut ; I wrote therefore in my Bible these words : My dearest Georgiana and Henry, I have loved both of you unto death. Your affectionate husband and father, JOSEPH Wounr. -256 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XVIH. Colonel Shell. Bad Conduct of Dr. Wolff's Servants. Remark of Usbecks on the Treatment of Dr. Wolff. Questions put by the Makhrams by order of the King to Dr. Wolff. Kindness of Abbas Kouli Khan to Dr. Wolff; the noblest-minded Persian Dr. Wolff has seen ; sends Dr. Wolff Food from his own Table ; places a Servant with Dr. Wolff for his personal Safety ; sends his Physician to Dr. Wolff to treat him for the Rishta. Abbas Kouli Khan and Dr. Wolff read together. Various Reports of the Ameer's Proceedings. Abbas Kouli Khan's Religious Opinions. Conversation with People of Samarcand ; they tell Dr. Wolff of Gold Mines and Turquoises near Samarcand ; of Ghengis Khan and Tamerlane. Letter of Abbas Kouli Khan to Lady Georgiana. Nayeb sends two thousand tillahs to Dr. Wolff The Letter of Lord Ellenborough reported to be at Balkh ; arrives in forty days ; Seal broken. Abdul Samut Khan leaves . Bokhara for Samarcand ; his Message to Dr. Wolff. Vile Conduct of Abdullah ; tries to rob Dr. Wolff. Dr. Wolff wishes the Jews to take charge of Abdul Samut Khan's Money ; they decline it, on the ground th at Abdul Samut Khan would take it from them, and make them pay for it. Letters arrive at Bokhara from the Brother of Conolly ; Dr. Wolff opens them. Abbas Kouli Khan's con- tinued Kindness to Dr. Wolff. The Jews visit Dr. Wolff; their curious method of Conversation. Dr. Wolff writes to the " Sovereigns of Europe." A second Letter, with strict Instructions about Dr. Wolff's Safety, arrives from the Shah. Letter to Captain Grover. Return of the Ameer and Abdul Samut Khan to Bokhara. King reads Lord Ellenborough's Letter ; determines in his own mind, Abdul Samut Khan says, to kill Dr. Wolff. Others say that Abdul Samut Khan advised him to do so. Abbas Kouli Khan, Dil Assa Khan, and Dr. Wolff, visit the Ameer ; he does not look on Dr. Wolff. Letter to Lady Georgiana and his Son. All Letters sent open by Dr. Wolff. Mullah sent to Dr. Wolff to know if he would embrace Muhammedanism ; he replies, Never. Executioner visits him. Dr. Wolff prepares for Death. Abbas Kouli Khan intimates to the Ameer that he has a Letter to deliver from the Shah. The Ameer receives it, and gives Dr. Wolff up to him. IT seems to me that both Colonel Shell and the Foreign Office at home, have been deceived in the character of that bloodhound, Abdul Samut Khan, and though I am sorry to say anything to the dispar- agement of Colonel Sheil, on account of the hospitality shown to me, and the prompt assistance he gave to me, by forwarding the letter of the King of Persia to Bokhara, yet I must say that it appeared to me that Colonel Sheil seemed to be unwilling to be undeceived re- specting the real character of Abdul Samut Khan ; though my de- scription of the character of that infamous villain was confirmed by Abbas Kouli Khan, and is further confirmed by every Persian who OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 257 has been at Bokhara, and I perceive the infamy of that miscreant is well known to Monsieur de Bode and to Sir Claude Martin Wade. On another day, my servant Abdullah entered my room in a furi- ous way, and said : " Now they are going to kill you, and what shall I do here ? I have no money for going back. Give me a letter to the Ambassador of your nation at Teheraun to make me a present of two thousand tillahs ; if not, I will kill you now. If you do so be- fore the Ameer sends this order, I will get some Khoja (saint) to speak in your behalf." I took a stick and gave him such a beating as I never gave to any one ; and I turned him out of the room, and out of my service ; but Abbas Kouli Khan besought me to keep him again, as it would not be safe at Bokhara to suffer him to run about and ex- cite, perhaps, the populace against me. So I took him again, which made him only more impertinent ; and the villain Abdul Samut Khan encouraged him in it, and sent me word that I should give him a sum of money, in order that he might not play the Haramzadeh, i. e. the traitor. However, I must not go into details of what I suffered at Bokhara by that villain Abdul Samut Khan, and my servant Abdul- lah. I only can say that I frequently wished that the King of Bok- hara would not delay my execution, in order to have peace for ever ; and I must say, that it was an inconsiderate act of Colonel Sheil to send to me a demand for money from that viJJain from Bokhara to England ; for by the items, he (Colonel SheiJ) ought to have seen that the promise was extorted from a poor prisoner who had death before his eyes. I was very ill one morning; on awaking from sleep, Abdullah screamed : " I have committed a great error by coming to Bokhara with an infidel." I said : "Do you not perceive that I am very un- well ?" Abdullah, in a most malicious manner, replied : " Then be well. All the same to me." Usbecks from Bokhara who were present, and the guards of the King observed. *' They try to kill this poor Englishman by annoying him ;" and another observed, " It is all at the advice of that villain Abdul Sarfiut Khan, who wishes to bring our Ameer into difficulties with the English, and the villain would like to see Bokhara destroyed, and he himself gain by it." On another day I got a message from the King. His Majesty wished to know whether the English people could make a bridge over the Oxus ? I replied, " Yes, with very great ease." He immediately sent another Makhram with the question, " How many cannons have the English ?" I replied, that I never counted them ; but I was sure that they must have several thousand pieces of artillery. A third Makhram was 33 258 NARRATIVE OP THE MISSION sent the same day, with the question, In how many days a caravan of camels would arrive in England ? I replied, " No caravan of camels could proceed to England ; such a thing is not seen in England." The kindness I experienced from Abbas Kouli Khan at this trying period, when so many evils beset my path, and my life was on the brink of destruction, I must ever remember with the deepest gratitude, though he was by no means without apprehension for his own fate, but laboured, as all at Bokhara must, under terrible misgivings of his own personal safety. Abbas Kouli Khan was formerly Governor of Bush- ire, in the Persian Gulf, and therefore acquainted with English people. He was a man of a higher sense of honour than I had ever met among the Persians. When he perceived that I could not eat horse- flesh, and tea with salt and milk, and besides this, rice only half boiled, he sent me daily a pilaw of his own cooked in the Persian style ; and as he perceived that I was in danger of being murdered by the guards set over me by the King, or by Abdullah my servant, or Dil Assa Khan, he sent one of his own servants to sleep in my apartment ; and as he soon saw that I had an attack of the " Rishta," he sent one of his own physicians to bleed me. I also was enabled to go every day to him, when we read together some of the Persian works, as Scandername, which details the adven- tures of Alexander, u.nd Tabari, a book which I afterwards received as a present from the King. I heard, also, in his company, several contradictory reports from tiae camp of the King ; for instance, one day the news came that the Ameer had arrived at the gates of Kho- kand, and that the Cazi, Mufti, ar*3 others, had come forth to bring him the keys. Another day that the Atneer had, out of mercy to the inhabitants of Khokand, retired with his a*my, but the fact was, that he was beaten, and had lost twelve Generals or Serkerdeha. I also had with Abbas Kouli Khan many conversations on religion. His belief was, that the whole world would become Christians, and that Christ would govern forty days upon earth. After this, that Anti- christ would appear, when all the world would become Mussulmans. Whilst I was with Abbas Kouli Khan, there came people from Samarcand, who talked to me about the Turquoises and gold mines which the Ameer of Bokhara had near Samarcand. They also con- versed about Tamerlane, as though he were dead but yesterday. I heard, also, that Ghengis Khan had a Jew from Germany as his Sec- retary. They preferred in general Tamerlane to Ghengis Khan, for they say of Ghengis Khan that he knew how to conquer a world that he was a Jehaan-Geer, a world-taker ; but Tamerlane was no only a Jehaan-Geer, but also a Jehaan-Dar, a world-holder. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 259 To instance the kindness of Abbas Kouli Khan, I need small proof. The following letter will alone supply ample evidence of his kindly heart*. It is addressed to Lady Georgiana. In the Name of the Highest ! . I acquaint the exalted and virtuous lady, my kind and distinguished sister, the respected lady of the high in rank, the distinguished among the learned persons of the Christian Faith, the Reverend Joseph Wolff, that on my arrival at Bokhara, my distinguished friend was much grieved and his affairs were in a confused state. I brought him to my own place of residence, and I waited twice on His Highness the Ameer of Bokhara on his account, and I obtained permission for him to depart agreeably to the commands of His Majesty, my Sovereign, on whom the regard of the universe is fixed, may the whole world be his sacrifice, and agreeably to the orders of His Excellency, &c. &c., my Lord the Haje, (Prime Minister of Persia,) may his great shadow be increased, that I should bring him along with me. His Highness the Ameer of Bokhara having had to undertake a two months' jour- ney against Khokand, it was impossible for me to despatch him on his journey until the return of the Ameer. Again, a second Firman from His Majesty (the Shah) to the Ameer of Bokhara arrived, which I caused to be delivered in a suitable manner, and I did all that was incumbent on me in regard to the friendship subsist- ing between the two powerful Governments of Persia and England. I obtained leave for him to depart by one means or another. In eight days more, I shall bring him along with me in safety and health. Rest assured. I have no ends in view or expectations in this. I did it in the service of my own Government, and on account of the friendship subsisting between the two Govern- ments. I am the brother of my distinguished friend Joseph Wolff. I am also your brother, O virtuous Lady, and you are my sister. I have written these few words at the request of my brother, and I present my compliments. Bokhara, Sth Rejjeb, 1260 (23r d July, 1844). Soon after the King's departure for Khokand the Nayeb sent to me the two thousand tillahs which he had made me promise to take on with me to Teheraun, in order to deliver to Colonel Sheil, for the pur- pose of receiving twenty per cent, for the important services he had rendered to England ; and which money, he gave me to understand, was a pledge to me that he was in earnest to procure speedily my re- lease. The next day, however, he sent again for the money without a written order, and said that Mango, the Hindoo merchant, might give me bills for them, or any Jewish merchant at Bokhara. I sent him word that he should first send me back my note, and at the same time a written order to whom I should deliver the money ; to which the Nayeb gave me no reply. He then sent to me Mortesa, the Kafila Bashi from Heraut, giving me to understand that he (Abdul Samut Khan) had kept Mortesa on purpose here, in order that he might en- * This letter was kindly translated into English by Mr. Thomson at Teheraun. 260 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION able me to escape concealed in a large trunk, in case that the Ameer should not give me permission to depart. At last, forty days after the time at which it was pretended that the messenger was sent to Balkh for Lord Ellenborough's letter, the letter, as they said, arrived from Balkh, which might have been back easily in six days from the time the alleged messenger went to Balkh. Ab- dul Samut Khan sent the letter for my inspection. The seal was broken in two, which the Nayeb said happened on the road by the messenger having fallen from his horse. After the letter had arrived, Abdul Samut Khan set out for Samarcand, to join the King, accom- panied by two hundred disciplined troops, and four pieces of cannon. The day of his departure he sent to me Behadur, his servant, telling me that I ought to give Abdullah a present of one hundred tillahs, in order that he might not commit Haramzadekee, i. e. rascality and treachery ; I gave him, however, only twenty. Abdullah became worse and worse every day, and in the night time I observed that he tried to rob me of the money, in order, as I was afterwards assured of by trustworthy people, to hand it back to the Nayeb, and after this to murder me, either at Bokhara by poison, or on the road in any way he could ; and he (Abdul Samut Khan) having my note of hand for it, would then have come upon the British Government for the money, so that he would have been twice paid, exactly as he did with Captain Conolly. For this reason, also, Mortesa, the Kafila Bashi, was de- tained at Bokhara. I, in order to rid myself of the burden, wished a respectable Jew at Bokhara to take the money, and give me a bill on Meshed ; but Meshiakh, and Mullah Simha, and Pinehas, (these were the names of the Jews to whom I applied,) told me that they were ac- quainted with Abdul Samut Khan's conduct towards Conolly and Stoddart. Should that rascal, they said, find out that I had delivered the money into the hands of the: Jews, he would force them, after my departure, to deliver the money over to him : they therefore declined accepting the money. Two letters, by the hands of two different people, arrived from the brother of Conolly, addressed to Conolly, wishing to know whether he and Stoddart were alive or dead. I opened the letters, gave several ducats to the bearers, and in order to induce them to depart quickly, I informed them that I had told the King that letters had reached me from India, which induced them to start immediately for Balkh and Cabul. What I suffered all the time of the King's absence I cannot de- scribe. The good Abbas Kouli Khan sent me victuals constantly from his table, in order that I might not be poisoned by Abdullah. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 261 In the night time he took possession of the key of my room, in order that I might not be murdered, and kept his servant in my room to protect me, as I have mentioned. Every moment a spy from the King came to ask me what I did. The Jews, however, had the cour- age to come, and I advised them to come when the King's Makhrams were with me ; when each of us looked in a Hebrew Bible, as if we were reading, and thus carried on our conversation in Hebrew in the presence of the Usbecks, who all the time believed that we were reading in the book by turn, whilst I learnt every particular of the conduct of the King and the Nayeb towards Stoddart and Conolly, particulars of the death of the latter, and of the licentious and tyran- nical conduct of the King. Conversations not political we carried on in Persian. At this period I wrote and sent from Bokhara the following letter : To all the Monarchs of Europe. Sires ! Bokhara, 1844 I set out for Bokhara to ransom the lives of two officers, Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly ; but both of them were murdered many months previous to my departure, and I do not know whether this blood of mine will not be spilt. I do not supplicate for my own safety; but, Monarchs, two hundred thousand Persian slaves, many of them people of high talent, sigh in the kingdom of Bokhara. Endeavour to effect their liberation, and I shall rejoice in the grave that my blood has been thus the cause of the ransom of so many human beings. I am too much agitated, and too closely watched, to be able to say more. JOSEPH WOLFF. During the absence of the King a second letter arrived from His Majesty the King of Persia to the King of Bokhara, at the solicitation of Colonel Sheil, which letter was delivered to Abbas Kouli Khan ; he immediately showed the letter to me. His Majesty the King of Persia had written : " The greatest friendship subsists between Eng- land and Persia ; and therefore, if you do not send back Joseph Wolff with Abbas Kouli Khan, I shall become enraged with you." . At this period also I wrote the following letter to Captain Grover : Dear Friend ! Bokhara, June, 1844. I have now been already two months in this place, and though five or six tunes the King has promised to send me instantly to England, with one of his own ambassadors, I am hi the greatest danger. I cannot stir out of the house without a guard of three men. Dil Assa Khan, the fellow sent with me by the Assaff-ood-Dowla, has shamefully robbed, deceived, and outraged me. The Persian ambassador, Abbas Kouli Khan, is kind to me, but I think he will not have it in his power to rescue me. The Nayeb, Abdul Samut Khan, has extorted from me a writing to pay him five thousand tomauns to effect my liberation. I suspect that he was the cause of Stoddart and Conolly's death, in spite ef his continued protestations of friendship. 262 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Pray console my dear wife and child as much as you can. I love them dearly. The Ameer is now at Samarcand, and I am here waiting the most fatal orders from the King daily to reach me. It is true that poor Stoddart openly professed Christianity after he had made a forced profession of Muhammedanism. Do for me what you can, as far as the honour of England is not compromised. All the inhabitants wish that either Russia or England should take the country. Yours affectionately, JOSEPH WOLFF. P.S. Do not believe any reports of my speedy departure, for I am in great danger. Forty or fifty days (for I lost all certainty of date) after the King's departure, the King and Abdul Samut Khan returned to Bokhara. My servant Abdullah, immediately, without asking leave of me, ran to the Nayeb, who sent me word by him, as also by Mirza Abdul Wehab, that the King had said, after he had perused Lord Ellen- borough's letter : " Now it is proper that I should kill Joseph Wolff." But I was informed by others who were present when the King had read the letter, that the Nayeb said to the King, " Now it is proper that Your Majesty should kill Joseph Wolff, as the Governor- General tries to frighten Your Majesty." A fortnight before the King's arri- val, Abdul Samut Khan had written to me from the camp, that His Majesty had been well pleased with the letter, and had said that he would soon send me to my country. Abbas Kouli Khan, Dil Assa Khan, and myself, went to meet the King near the palace ; he looked away from me. The crowd observed, " It will not go well with that Englishman." In this hour of deep distress and despondency, I sent through Sir Charles Napier, via India, the following letter : My dearest Wife and Child, Never, never, never for a moment lose your love and obedience and faith in Jesus Christ ; and pray for me, that I may remain faithful to Him in the hour of trial. Entreat the Churches in England to pray for me to our most blessed Re- deemer, Jeeus Christ. Give my regards to all my friends. Your most loving husband and father JOSEPH WOLFF. I sent all letters from Bokhara open, even that to the Sovereigns of Europe ; and this latter letter was forwarded by the King himself. Had they been able to read them, no doubt I should have died. The day following, a mullah came, and asked me, in His Majesty's name, whether I would turn Mussulman. I replied, "Tell the King, NEVER NEVER NEVER !" He asked me, " Have you not a more polite answer for the King ?" I said, " I beg you to tell His Majesty, OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 263 that you asked me whether I had not a more polite answer for His Majesty, and I said, ' Decidedly not.' '' A few hours after the executioner came, the same who had put to death Stoddart and Conolly, and said, " Joseph Wolff, to thee it shall happen as it did to Stoddart and Conolly," and made a sign at my throat with his hand. I prepared for death, and carried opium about with me, that, in case my throat should be cut, I might not feel the pain. However, at last I cast away the opium, and prayed, and wrote in my Bible these words : My dearest Georgiana and Henry, I have loved both of you unto death, Your affectionate husband and father, Bokhara, 1844 J. WOLFF. But that very same day, Abbas Kouli Khan sent word to the Ameer, that he had received a letter for His Majesty from Muhammed Shah. The Ameer sent word that Abbas Kouli Khan should send the letter by the Shekhawl ; but Abbas Kouli Khan replied, that he had re- ceived orders from his court to deliver the letter in person. The Ameer sent word again that he should send the letter, but Abbas Kouli Khan protested against it, when His Majesty at last consented to his coming to the palace. Abbas Kouli Khan delivered the letter to the Ameer ; after having perused it he said, " Well, I make a pres- ent to you of Joseph Wolff; he may go with you." 264 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XIX. Ameer sends for the Servants of Abbas Kouli Khan and Dil Assa Khan, but omits Dr. Wolff's by mistake, to give them Robes of Honour. Interview with the Nayeb. Presents from the King. The Ameer tells Dr. Wolff to ask a Favour of him ; Dr. Wolff declines doing so. Ameer determines to send an Ambassador to England. Vile Conduct of Abdul Samut Khan. Audience of leave to depart. Ameer commends the Conduct of Dr. Wolff; censures that of Stoddart and Conolly. Reception in Bokhara by the People. Murders committed by Abdul Samut Khan. First Plan by which the Ameer might be effectually checked in his Atrocities. Second Plan for same. English Honour requires some Notice to be taken of the Ameer's Conduct. Character of the Ameer; brutal, lustful, tyrannical, but not so to the Poor ; fond of Information ; deeply affected at having put to Death Stoddart and Conolly. Dr. Wolff prefers Ameer to Abdul Samut Khan. Description of Bokhara by Mr. Macgregor. Population of Khiva. Trade of those Countries. Russian Trade. Dignitaries of the State. Ecclesias- tical Dignitaries. THE day after the presentation of the Shah's letter, the Ameer sent for Abbas Kouli Khan's and Dil Assa Khan's servants, to ask them the ordinary questions before the robes of honour are distributed, but he did not send for mine. Abbas Kouli Khan was frightened, and said, " Do not stir out of my room ; if they want to detain you. I will defend you with my sword !" However, my servant was omitted by mere mistake, and soon sent after. I then was ordered to go to the Nayeb by order of the King. The rascal told me shortly, " There are no Russian slaves for you ; I give you one thousand tillahs more, which you will deliver with the other two thousand, and three thousand tillahs you have to give me for my trouble, including a present of eight hundred tillahs to my son Ab- dullah Khan ; and the two thousand two hundred tillahs I have spent for you among His Majesty's officers. You must therefore give me now a note of hand for six thousand tillahs." W. Give me back my other notes of hand ! He did so, which I tore instantly to pieces. Abdul S. Khan. Why do you tear them before you have written the other ? W. " I will write you now another." I wrote thus : In the garden of the infamous Nayeb, Abdul Samut Khan, surrounded by his banditti, and compelled by him, I write that he forced from me a note of hand for six thousand tillahs. JOSEPH WOLFF, Prisoner. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 265 I desired him to give me back also my letter of his good services to me, that I might write another. This he would not do. Abbas Kouli Khan had sent his servant after me, afraid lest something might happen to me there. I therefore returned immediately to the Toora Khane. At last I was called down to the room of Abbas Kouli Khan, when ninety tillahs were given to me from the King, as a present ; a horse with a silver saddle, and a shawl. Dil Assa Khan received only forty-five tillahs, but neither shawl nor horse ; and the Shekhawl then turned to Abbas Kouli Khan and said : " His Majesty had first intended to send an Ambassador with Joseph Wolff to England, but as he had brought no letters from the British Government, he has re- nounced this idea, especially as he goes with you ; and you and he can explain to Muhammed Shah and in England the reason of the death of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly." A few days after the presents of the King were delivered, suddenly a Makhram entered my room with a Persian Manuscript, called Ta- wareekh Tabbaree, as a present from the King to me ; and His Majesty requested me to ask a favour. I replied, that His Majesty's bounty, especially in sending me away in such an honourable manner, was so great, that I had no other favour to ask. I only begged His Majesty to add his seal to the book, which he did, and then sent me word that he was, after all, determined to send Ameer Abool Kasem, his chief Makhram, as Ambassador with me to England. I replied, that His Majesty might do what he pleased, but as His Majesty sent one to Mu- hammed Shah, there was no necessity for it. The Ameer sent a Makhram to Abbas Kouli Khan, to ask what the necessary expense of an Ambassador to England might be. Abbas Kouli Khan, who wished to dissuade the Ameer from this, replied, Two hundred thou- sand tillahs. However, the Ameer was determined now upon sending an Ambassador, for the assassin Abdul Samut Khan had told him that if he did not send an Ambassador with me, Abbas Kouli Khan would have the credit of having effected my release, and, beside this, he (Abdul Samut Khan) had borrowed for me from merchants three thousand tillahs, with which I might easily defray the expense of an Ambassador to England, whilst at the same time he made my servant Abdullah, Mortesa, Abbas, and others, promise to poison the Ambas- sador on the road, for he well knew that on his return the Ambassador would expose his villany from my information, and the authority of my Government possibly, if his credentials were received. Abbas Kouli Khan and myself were then called up to the Ameer. I was allowed to ride on horseback with Abbas Kouli Khan through the gates, whilst Dil Assa Khan was ordered to remain behind. We 84 266 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION appeared before the King. He said to me : " I send with you Ameer Abool Kasem, to accompany you to England. Stoddart and Conolly excited Khokand and Organtsh to war, and therefore were put to death. You, Joseph Wolff, proved yourself to be a man of under- standing and knowledge, and therefore I treated you with honour." W. Europeans frequently come to a country without knowing the customs of it, and make, therefore, mistakes which they do not intend. We then left Bokhara the day following, amidst thousands of con- gratulating inhabitants, who called my liberation " A new birth !" I succeeded in taking with me four slaves; but Abbas Kouli Khan bought with his own money twenty slaves, whom he ransomed, and took with him one thousand of those who had previously bought their liberty. The following people have been killed at Bokhara, at the instigation of Abdul Samut Khan : 1. Youssuf Khan, from Scio. 2. Colonel Stoddart. 3. Captain Conolly. 4. A Turkomaun from Merwe, sent to Bokhara to assist hi the escape of Colonel Stoddart. 5. Ephraim, a Jew from Meshed, who brought letters for Conolly. 6. An Englishman, who passed by the name of Hatta. 7. Captain Wyburd. 8. Five Englishmen, executed outside the town of Jehaar-Joo. 9. Naselli. The Grand Cazi, his servant Molam Beyk, Mahsom, Khoja Saheb from Cashmeer, Ushur Beyk, Saadat, several merchants from Persia, and Abdul Samut Khan's own servants, accuse him as the murderer ; nor does he deny the perpetration of these atrocities himself. Haje Ismael, a merchant, left Bokhara with me. He had been long in Yarkand and Kashgar. He told me that several Englishmen had arrived at Yarkand, who escaped from the disaster at Cabul. They were well treated, but not allowed to leave the place. If the Ameer had permitted me to proceed via Yarkand and Russia, I cer- tainly would have taken that road. Haje Ismael also informed me that they have at Kashgar, Yarkand, and throughout Chinese Tartary, beacons of fire, by which they are informed of the departure and ap- proach of caravans from an immense distanse. The question may here, after the detail of these atrocities, be ask- ed, Is there no way of punishing the King of Bokhara, and ought it to be done, and what advantages may accrue from punishing him, and what disadvantages from not punishing him ? OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 267 Now first, Is there no way of punishing him ? There are several ways of punishing him, and this most surely. The first, and the most straightforward, would be by sending an army from Scinde through Candahar, and from Candahar through Maymona, to Bokhara. On that road there would be villages upon villages, and provisions and water enough, and in order to induce Kohandel Khan, the Ameer of Candahar, not to lay any hindrance in the way, they should allow him to take possession of Ankhoy, which place is governed by a Khan, but one who is tributary to the King of Bokhara, a robber and slave- maker : and Kohandel Khan ought to be made to promise to the British army, that after his taking Ankhoy, he would give liberty to the Persian slaves residing at Ankhoy. Dost Muhammed Khan ought to be allowed to send an army to Khoolom and Balkh, whilst all the time the British army should march from Ankhoy to Kar- kee, where they must cross the Oxus, for which reason they ought to take a good deal of timber with them, in order to be able to make a flying bridge. A few shots of artillery from the part of the English army will put to flight the whole host of Usbecks. Having once crossed the Oxus, they should issue proclamations to all the inhabitants of Bokhara, saying that nothing should be done to them in case they delivered up, alive or dead, the Ameer of Bokhara, and his Nayeb Abdul Samut Khan, which I am sure would be instantly done. The British army then should proclaim the Ameer's son the rightful successor to the throne, which would pacify the whole nation ; but the Persian slaves, two hundred thou- sand in number, ought to be made free, which would give popularity to the English nation all over Persia, Khokand, Tashkand, and Yar- kand. The name of Sir Charles Napier, Governor of Scinde, which has already struck terror all over AfFghanistaun, Beloochistaun, Bok- hara, Khiva, and Khokand, would supply twenty thousand men ; for he is called now at Bokhara, the Rustam of Dowlat, which means the Giant of England. The other plan of marching towards Bokhara will be to allow Persia to take permanent possession of Sarakhs and Mowr, and thus for ever put a stop to the depredations of the Turkomauns of Mowr, and also to take Jehaar-Joo, a frontier city of Bokhara this side of the Oxus; and then allow them to march towards Bokhara in order to liberate the Persian slaves there, but on condition that the Persian army should evacuate Bokhara after having taken prisoner the Ameer, his Nayeb, Abdul Samut Khan, and placed on the throne the Ameer's son. It should march back by Maymona and Ankhoy, in order to liberate the slaves there, and thus return triumphantly to Persia, enriched by thou- 268 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION sands of Persian subjects, and the additional possession of Mowr and Jehaar-Joo. In order that the expedition of the Persian army might be crowned with success, and that, at the same time, the inhabitants of Bokhara and all the countries around should be convinced that that expedition was undertaken at the instigation of the British Government, some regiments of British soldiers ought to be sent with it. The ad- vantage of punishing the King of Bokhara, either from the side of Scinde, or with the assistance of Persia, would be this : First, that such an occurrence as the murder of two British Officers would not be repeated, either at Bokhara, or in any other adjacent countries ; and European travellers might then with more ease go there and pursue their researches in those interesting countries ; and the light of the Gospel might then with more ease be spread all over Bokhara, Kho- kand, &c. ; and Persian slaves at Bokhara, with those of Ankhoy and Maymona included, amounting in the whole to the number of two hundred and fifty thousand, be set at liberty j and the name of Eng- lishmen would be blessed even by the Usbecks themselves for having delivered them, from the hands of two bloodthirsty tyrants, the Ameer, and his Nayeb, Abdul Samut Khan. Should England, however, not take any further notice of the atrocious murder committed by the Ameer at the instigation of the Nayeb, Abdul Samut Khan, our country will lose all the moral influence it now possesses in these countries ; and Khiva and Khokand, where such a crime has not yet been com- mitted, may follow the example of their enemy the Ameer of Bokhara, in order to show that they can do so with the same impunity, and England will fall into contempt even in Persia. I have here also to observe, that on my arrival at Bokhara, I im- mediately asked what had become of Hassan Baba, the man sent by the Assaff-ood-Dowla, at the request of Colonel Sheil, who was a Mervee. To my great astonishment, I learned that though he had arrived two months before my arrival at Bokhara, he never had seen the Ameer, and though he had delivered the letter and present of the Assaff-ood-Dowla, His Majesty never deigned to give him any answer whatever. This shows still further the necessity for controlling him. I shall take this opportunity of saying a few words on the character of the Ameer. My readers may ask what I think about the character of the Ameer. There can be no doubt that he is tyrannical and cruel ; witness the deaths of his five brothers, and the many murdered Makhrams who refused to pander to his passions. Muhammed AH Khan, King of Khokand, was not only murdered by him, but also his pregnant wife was not only killed, but the living child severed from her womb was OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 269 cut to pieces. His profligacy is universally spoken of; his disposition is not only suspicious, but variable ; but at the same time we must not forget some good points. He does not tyrannize over his poor subjects, who pass by the name of Fukarra, but protects them powerfully against the tyranny of the Serkerdeha, and is therefore liked by the commons, and detested by the nobility. He is not fond of money, and hates bribery in the ex- treme ; affects to take Timur as his pattern, and has therefore a sim- ilar motto for his seal, i. e. Hakan Adalat " Truth and Equity." His desire for information is unbounded, and he therefore puts to strangers question after question, and if he were not in the hands of Abdul Samut Khan he might yet become another Muhammed AH ; and with this advantage over the Pasha of Egypt, that he would have contrived to make the poor happy, of which Muhammed Ali has no idea. I must repeat, that it was a great mistake of the British Gov- ernment not to have allowed his Ambassador to come here. Even the Russian Ambassador told me that his government would not have any- thing to do with the King of Bokhara until the Ameer had sent an Ambassador to England apologizing for his conduct. He gets soon incensed, and when he is angry the blood comes into his face, and creates convulsive action of the muscles ; and in such fits he gives the most outrageous orders, reckless of consequences. He has put down by the simple word Hookum, i. e. Order, the most ancient customs, and has overthrown the power of the mullahs utterly. He delights to hear that people tremble at his name, and laughs with violence when he hears of their apprehensions. He is jealous of Muhammed Ali, in Egypt, and says that his country will never equal Bokhara. He expressed no contempt for England, but was exceedingly anxious to become reconciled to it ; but the continual suspicions infused into his mind, made him hesitate dismissing me, suspicions engrafted there by those who well knew this weak point of his nature ; and, as the Kazi Kelaun assured me, he more than once had exclaimed, " The wounds of my heart for having slain those English people will never heal." And I must now declare, that I prefer him, in spite of his faults, to the base Abdul Samut Khan ; and Colonel Sheil, knowing that Abdul Samut Khan was in India, ought to have asked of Sir Claude Martin Wade, who is well acquainted with Abdul Samut Khan's character, what kind of a man he was. I am now in England, and enabled to reflect on subjects more maturely than at the time when I was sur- rounded with dangers and suffering from illness ; and I must say that I cannot understand why Colonel Sheil refused to give me % a letter for 270 NARRATIVE OP THE MISSION the King of Bokhara, whilst he gave me two letters of introduction, the one for Haje Ibrahim, Abdul Samut Khan's brother, a most con- summate villain, and another for Abdul Samut Khan himself* Let us now look a little at another point the commerce between these countries and Russia. The following statement of Mr. McGre- gor, the Secretary to the Board of Trade, is highly valuable, subject only to a few corrections : The trade of Russia with Khiva and Bokhara appears to be growing into impor- tance, chiefly from Nijnei-Novogorod, and through the town of Orenburg, on the river Aral. This town is admirably situated for trade with the Kirghises, and with Khiva and Bokhara, although a part of the Russian trade with the countries east of the Caspian is carried on from Astrakan across that sea, and to some extent through Persia. Orenburg, which has a population estimated at nineteen thousand inhabitants, is situated on the north bank of the Aral. This long tortuous river, with the mountain range of the same name, forms a boundary between European Russia and Asia. It is shallow, and of little advantage for navigable purposes, but it abounds with fish. The town of Orenburg is regularly built and fortified. The trade of the town is chiefly carried on at Bazaars, on the south or Asiatic side of the river. In 1833 there arrived, according to Schnitzler, fourteen caravans of two thousand five hundred and forty-seven camels, exclusive of horses ; and thirteen caravans of four thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine camels, and two hundred and sixty -four horses departed, laden with goods, for various parts of Asia, chiefly for the country of the Kirghises, for Khiva, and for Bokhara. The Khanat of Khiva, which now comprises a vast region along the Caspian from Persia, north to the Kirghises Tartar country, and east to the Oxus and the Lake Ural, has only, according to Burnes, a population not exceeding two hundred thousand inhabitants. He describes them as organized bandits 5 and, according to other authors, they are not generally better than predatory savages. It is agricul- tural where the ground is sufficiently fertile for cultivation. There are few horned cattle ; sheep, goats, and horses are numerous, and all these are used as, and con- sidered the chief food of the inhabitants. There are few manufactures, except some coarse cottons and silk stuffs made by the women. Camels are chiefly used as beasts of burden, and caravans of these proceed annually for Russian merchan- dise to Orenburg, Astrakan, and Karaghan, on the east coast of the Caspian, and others go south to Cabul and Persia. This trade is conducted by the Turkomauns, Khivans, and Persians. The Khan, who is chief of the Usbeks, or dominant races, levies duties on goods entering or passing through the Khanat ; and especially at the ports or landing-places of Mangasluk and Karaghan, where boats with goods arrive from Astrakan. The capital of Khiva is a town of mud huts, with three stone mosques, and a mud palace. Its chief trade is in slaves, of whom there are about forty thousand in the Khanat, and it is said there are many captured Russians who are slaves in Khiva. The Khanat of Khokan bounds closely on Russia. This mountainous region produces silk and cotton, and various grains, coals, and iron abound. Agriculture, pasturage, and rearing silk-worms, and mounting cottons, and embroidered silks. Russian goods find their way, to a considerable amount, to Khokan, the capital. It is said that this town has a population of one hundred and fifty thousand. It is, OP DR. WOLFF TO BOKHASA. 271 like Khiva, built of mud, with the exception of three stone bazaars. Russian caravans from the Siberian towns of Semipolatinsk, on the banks of the Irtish, and from Petroparetok on the Ichim, are said to pass also through Khokan to the fron- tiers of China, with Russian merchandise. Mussulmans pay a duty of two and a half per cent, on goods imported, and other importers five per cent. The Khanat of Bokhara, or the country of the Uzbec Tartars, comprises about two hundred and thirty thousand square miles of Central Asia, and Burnes esti- mates its population at one million of inhabitants. Other authorities estimate the Uzbecs alone at one million five hundred thousand, and the other races at nearly one million. Many portions of this region are remarkably fertile, and agriculture is the principal source of occupation and subsistence. Wheat, barley, rice, maize, beans, melons, are all grown, with several other kinds of grain, vegetables, and fruits, sheep and goats ; the latter yield the fine hair or wool scarcely inferior to Cashmeer the former the jet-black Woolly skins used for Persian caps, &c. ; about two hundred thousand skins are annually exported. Mutton is the chief animal food. Horses and oxen are reared ; the flesh of the latter is only eaten by the poor. The manufacturing industry is unimportant ; some embroidery, silk stuffs, shagreen, sabres, fire-arms, and articles of various metals, and leather, are among the limited quantity of fabrics made. The capital, Bokhara, is described by Burnes as a town containing one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants. It has massive buildings, three hundred and sixty mosques, three hundred schools, the Khan's palace, or rather fortress ; houses built of bricks dried in the sun ; very narrow and dirty Streets ; lofty arched bazaars, in which the different trades have their distinct sec- tions ; and ponds and fountains for the supply of water. The slave and gem markets are open only twice a week ; all others are open daily. Fruits and jellies of all kinds abound in the market, and plenty of ice is to be had during the hottest weather. Tea is the favourite beverage. There are numerous large baths. This mart, which is to Central Africa the great entrep&t, is described as presenting unceasing activity and noise. The caravans from and to Russia travel by the following routes, viz. : by the route of Khiva, to the shores of and across the Caspian, from and to Astra- kan ; by the route to and from Orenburg, by land, in sixty days, through Orghenje in Khiva ; to and from Trodiska, in Tobolsk, by the route east of the lake Aral, in forty-nine days ; and to and from Petroparstok, in ninety days. Of the whole number, two thousand, which leave India annually, about one thousand camels reach Bokhara with Oriental goods ; the remaining thousand stop in Affghanistaun, Cabul, or diverge west into Persia*. The population of Khiva is at least six hundred thousand. In- cluded in this number are forty thousand Persians, including Kaffir Seeah-Poosh. The Russian slaves, who caused the war with Russia and Khiva, and which amounted to two hundred, have been sent to Russia by the advice of Sir R. Shakespeare. Mr. Abbot, who pre- ceded him, was foolish enough to advise the King of Khiva not to give up the Russian slaves until he had treated with the Russian Emperor, but Shakespeare was wise enough to advise their immediate cession. The Khan of Khiva is, as I think I have observed already, very anx- * Commercial Statistics, Vol. II., p. 637. 272 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION ious to make a strict alliance with England, and it seems that Eng- land encourages him, but, to speak the truth, it is not of the least use ; for though the Khan of Khiva has, perhaps, not yet killed any Eng- lishmen, I am sure that he is equally disposed, or rather more so, than the King of Bokhara. From all that I have heard of the Khan of Khiva, he is a horrid brute, and the atrocities committed by the Khan of Khiva exceed those of the King of Bokhara, and they are too horrid to be described. I say, studiously, perhaps he has not killed any Englishman, for I am not at all certain that he has not killed several. For I have it on good authority that he has strangled several Euro- peans. But Colonel Sheil, to whom I mentioned the fact, told me that those Europeans, though Germans by birth, were Russian spies. Besides that, what can England expect from the King of Khiva ? Bokhara and Khiva are like the Barbary States slave-making states and ought to be put down ; and if England were to make an alli- ance with Khiva, Persia and Russia would be her enemies. The population of the city of Khokand is three hundred thousand, and the entire population is three millions. From the best sources, viz., the Kazi Kelauri, the Tatshick merchants, and other mullahs, we know that the population of the kingdom of Bokhara is one million two hun- dred thousand, of whom two hundred thousand are Persian slaves. The capital contains one hundred and eighty thousand. Horse-flesh is considered a delicacy ; I received it repeatedly from the King's table, and the King eats it himself. The manner of drinking tea in the Mogul fashion, is with milk, salt, grease, and cinnamon. The town of Bokhara is situated one day's journey to the north of the river Jehoon or Amoo ; Ghengis Khan besieged it in 1219, and took it in 1220. Thousands of Jews emigrated at that time to China. The houses are mostly built of mud. The chief places for trade in the kingdom are Bokhara, Karshee, Karakol, Samarcand, and Kar- kee. There are immense numbers of shops, in which chiefly Russian goods are sold, full three hundred merchants, from Chicarpore, in Scinde, and other parts of Hindustaun ; but the chief trade is carried on with Russia. Mighty caravans arrive from and go to Orenbourg and Siberia, transported by the Kirghese. It is very remarkable that the Prophet Ezekiel, in the twentv-sev- enth chapter, fourteenth verse, gives an exact description of the trade carried on by the Turkomauns with the inhabitants of Bokhara, Khi- va, and Khokand. The Prophet says : " They of the house of Togar- mah (i. e. the Turkomauns) traded in thy fairs with horses and horse- men, and mules." The Turkomauns to this day, like the Swiss Guards, are mercenaries, and let themselves out for a few tengas a OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 273 day. It is also remarkable, that I frequently heard the Tflrkomauns call themselves Toghramah, and the Jews call them Togarmah. Viewing the hosts of camels coming with merchandise from Cash- meer, Cabal, Khokand, Khetay, and Orenbourg, the passage of Isaiah Ix. 6, comes forcibly on the mind, where the Prophet says : " The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah ; all they from Sheba shall come : they shall bring gold and incense." Mentioning gold, I must not forget, that near Samarcand there are gold mines and turquoises. And the King of Bokhara wanted to know whether there are turquoises to be found in England. The articles which are brought from Bokhara to Russia are dry fruit, silks, indigo, and caps. The articles brought from Russia, cali- coes, muslins, &c. The merchants from Bokhara transport also to Russia goods from Khokand, Tashkand, Khokand, and Turkistaun. Among the chief dignitaries of the state may be numbered : The Goosh-Bekee, or Keeper of the Seal ; this situation is now vacant, since the late Goosh-Bekee, an excellent man, was killed by order of the present Ameer, though he was chiefly indebted to him, as we have shown, for his accession to the throne. He was not only the Vizier, but also the Chief of the Custom-house ; but this situation is now vested in the Dastarkhanjeo, who carries a gold hatchet, and brings the victuals to the King. The person who occupies at present this situation is a man of the most licentious character. Shekhawl, Minister for Foreign Affairs. Moonshee Bashi, Chief Secretary of State. Mukhram, Chamberlains, who are not only the spies, but also the ruffians of the King. They came almost every day swaggering into my room, accompanied by a Mirza (Secretary), telling me, in an authoritative and vulgar overbearing manner, " Hasrat (His Majesty) wants several questions to be answered by you !" The dignitaries of the Muhammedan religion : 1. Sheikh al-Islam, Chief of the Ulemas. 2. Nakeeb, who decides the disputes between the soldiers. 3. Kazi-Kelaun, who settles the disputes between the Fukara, i. e. subjects. 4. Reis, Minister of Public Worship Superintendent of the Morals of the place ; he does not allow smoking, and gets people bastinadoed if they neglect going to the mosque. 5. Meer Shab, Director of the Night, who announces, with a sound resembling a loud drum, that people are not allowed to stir about in the night time. These are the chief authorities; beside others, as in different Muhammedan countries. 35 274 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XX. Departure from Bokhara. Dr. Wolff discovers a Plot to kill and rob him, en route. Thousands attend to witness their Departure. Dr. Wolff refuses to separate from Abbas Kouli Khan. Arrival at Jesman-Doo. Vile Conduct of Muhammed Taki. Abbas Kouli Khan expresses his Displeasure. Derveesh of Yarkand ; Conversation with him. Affghaun Seyd ; Conversation with him. The Calmucks ; their singular Conduct. Remarkable fine sense of Smelling and Hearing in Turkomauns. Appearance of Usbecks. Conversation with Abbas Kouli Khan ; he thinks Abdul Samut Khan was the Murderer of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly. Visit from a Mullah; his Account of Timur. Shahr Sabz. Route Jesman-Doo ; Shahr Islam. History of Afrasiab. Reports of Guzl-Bash about the English. Mortesa and Abdullah advise Dr. Wolff to leave Abbas Kouli Khan ; he refuses. Peikand. Karakol. The Governor of Karakol warns Dr. Wolff that a Plot is laid to take away his life. Hussein. Route Allat. The Caravan lose their way. An attempt made by Ismael and Mortesa to seize Dr. Wolff; he calls on the Merchants of the Caravan to protect him. Sayen. Dr. Wolff wishes to throw away the Money in the Desert ; Abbas Kouli Khan takes it in his keeping. WE set out from Bokhara on the 3rd of August, and arrived one farsagh from Bokhara, at the village called Jesman-Doo, where we halted for a time in a garden on the border of a tank. The party consisted of Abbas Kouli Khan ; Dil Assa Khan ; Ameer Sarog ; Kaher Kouli ; Sabhan Ullah Beyk, Ambassador of the King of Bok- hara to the King of Persia ; Ameer Abool Kasem, Ambassador to Queen Victoria j Haje Ismael, from Yarkand ; four Persian slaves, whom I caused to escape ; one thousand slaves, who had bought their liberty ; the murderers hired by Abdul Samut Khan ; merchants from Cabul ; derveeshes and fakeers from Hindustaun ; Mirza Abdul Wa- hab, who painted for me portraits when at Bokhara, and who wrote a narrative of my sufferings ; in all full two thousand camels. Previous to quitting Bokhara, I discovered that the Nayeb had agreed with Abdullah, Dil Assa Khan, Ismael Khan, Mortesa, Ameer Sarog, and Kaher Kouli, that they should kill me, and take from me the three thousand tillahs, as he thought he could get with ease the six thousand tillahs by presenting my note of hand to Colonel Sheil ; and beside this, the three thousand tillahs of interest at twenty per cent, which he gave Conolly, and which he took back after his death. I was informed of this plot by the Jews, Mullahs Meshiakh, Pinehas, and Simkha, by the servants of the Grand Kazi, and even those of the OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 275 Nayeb. Abdullah confessed it at Meshed, and Abbas Kouli Khan had received similar information. On our leaving Bokhara, thousands of people came forth, Jews and Usbecks, Tarkomauns and Persians, and the streets resounded with the exclamation, " God preserve the Ameer that he has sent you away." A veiled woman stood in the street ; she wept, and exclaim- ed, " What joy your wife will have ! how will she sing you have been born again f Such a favour has not been shown for a long time by the Padishah." The conspirators, Mortesa and Abdullah, tried to persuade me to separate from Abbas Kouli Khan, but I refused. I said, " I know your viliany; I shall always ride in the train of Abbas Kouli Khan." We thus proceeded, by order of the King, to Jesman-Doo. Muham- med Taki, the astrologer from Heraut, who came with Abbas Kouli Khan from Persia, for the purpose of getting, by the Shah's influence with the Ameer, his wife, who had been made a slave of by the Turk- omauns, both recovered her, and, besides this, received one hundred ducats from the Ameer. When he came to the garden of Jesman- Doo, to our surprise, without his wife, Abbas Kouli Khan asked him, " Where is your wife ?" He replied, " I have looked in the stars for two or three nights successively, and seen one star with a black tail, from which I perceived that misery is entailed upon her, and therefore I have resold her for forty ducats and a beautiful high-bosomed slave girl, only seventeen." I never saw in my life a man so incensed as Abbas Kouli Khan. He rose from the ground, cast away his galyoon with such violence that it broke to pieces, and said, " God burn you and your stars. You rascal, you did not look on the stars, but on the money and the beauty of the young girl. I spit in your beard." The astrologer went out quite mortified. Soon after, a derveesh of Yarkand entered the garden. He was of that class of derveeshes called the Bektash, who pretend to have at- tained to such a degree of knowledge that no divine revelation is of any use to them, nor any book. He asked me, " How do you prove the necessity of religion ?" I replied, that all nations were forced to confess that religion is the only support to our weak nature, and that knowledge which has only for its object terrestrial things is unworthy of the name of knowledge. But in order to arrive at a knowledge of heavenly things, a heavenly mind is required. There is a spiritual sense in the heart, which I call a revelation of God to the heart, and therefore God will disappear from those who seek Him only with their intellect. This is the case with you Bektash, and many European 276 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION philosophers. The revelations of God, as laid down in our sacred books, may be considered as wings by which men are able to soar up to heaven. Only by a steady looking on divine revelation, is human nature able to progress towards heaven. Nothing is so terrible and awful to man as when God disappears from human reason j I mean, when we seek truth, independent of its Author. An Affghaun Seyd entered the garden, and said, " Aye, you Kafir ! have you succeeded in cheating the Ameer, so that he let you go ? If he had only given you into my hands, I would soon have made away with you by my javelin." Abbas Kouli Khan said to him, " Go, and leave the Frankee alone ; he is a derveesh." " A der- veesh !" he sneeringly replied, " I know these Frankee derveeshes I know these English derveeshes. They go into a country, spy out mountains and valleys, seas and rivers ; find out a convenient adit, and then go home ; inform a gentleman there a chief, who has the name of Company, who sends soldiers, and then takes a country ; tell him what I say." After this he left the garden. .Some Calmucks, also, purposely called on me. They are also called the Eliad. They said, " We come to see the renowned Frankee derveesh." They are of a yellow colour ; they were sitting down, and looking at me. They made remarks on every movement of my body, which amused Abbas Kouli Khan so much, that he laughed incessantly. After they had examined me from head to foot, he ad- vised me to allow them to pursue still closer investigations, which I declined. Like the Hazarah, they have scarcely any beard. At last, one of them turned to a Jew, and asked him, in a low tone, to give him brandy and wine. They addressed me in Russian. I told them, in Persian, that I did not understand Russian, and asked them where they had learned it. They replied, " From the Nogay Tatars." Then they began : " Have you heard of Nicholas Pawlowitch ? he is the greatest Krawl Russia has ever enjoyed." They asked me whether we had many slaves in England. I told them that slavery was prohibited. My rascally servant, Abdullah, expressed a wish to go from Jesman- Doo again to see Abdul Samut Khan, but Abbas Kouli Khan pre- vented him. An extraordinary power of smelling in a Turkomaun, Khan Saat from Sarakhs, was indicated to me here. He said, drawing up his nostrils, " I smell a caravan of Usbecks ;" and in a few hours a car- avan from Organtsh arrived full of them. It is remarkable how the Turkomauns know, by the footsteps in the desert, the person who has OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 277 been there, nay, the very tribe of TQrkomauns that has passed. When TQrkomauns or Cal mucks see people talking from a distance, I frequently heard them say, " Let us draw our ears." They then lie down on the ground, and hear from a distance what even two per- sons whisper together, and relate the exact conversation. Another party of derveeshes came to me and observed, " The time will come when there shall be no difference between rich and poor, between high and low, when property shall be in common, even wives and children." Suddenly we were alarmed by Usbecks coming in great consterna- tion. I was afraid that an order had been issued to fetch me back by the Ameer, but they reported that news had arrived from Tsheesakh, a city beyond Samarcand, that Sheer Ali Khan, the present King of Khokand, had made an alliance with the Girghese and Kasaks, and had even invited the Russians to come through Khokand, and Sheer Ali Khan was seriously contemplating a march against Bokhara to avenge the death of Muhammed Ali Khan. Abbas Kouli Khan, my friend, spoke to me at Jesman-Doo about the villany of Abdul Samut Khan, and said that there was not the least shadow of doubt that Ab- dul Samut Khan was the murderer of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, and other Europeans ; but he, Abbas Kouli Khan, should be sorry if Abdul Samut Khan were put to death by the Ameer, for he might, after all, be of service one day, to Persia, on a contemplated attack on the part of Persia on Bokhara ; for, as Abbas Kouli Khan expressed himself, "A fellow like Abdul Samut Khan, (may his father be burned !) is capable of turning against the Ameer when he sees it will be to his advantage, and of putting him to death with as much facility as he did Stoddart and Conolly." We then had a visit of a mullah from Bokhara, who asked me whether Timur was much spoken of in England. I replied in the affirmative. He then asked me whether they knew of his daughter Agabeyk, and of his sister Toorkan-Khatoon, and his only son Je- haungeer. The death of these people, he said, made Timur weep, who had a heart of iron, and never wept before. They are buried at Shahr Sabz. Thus far the mullah. I then got the following information about Shahr Sabz. It is a central city of Bokhara, but separated from the King, independent, and governed by its own Khan. The reason of it is this : 1st. The people of Shahr Sabz are by far better and more courageous horse- men than the people of Bokhara. 2nd. They can put in a moment the whole town under water, so that troops cannot reach them. 3rd. It serves for the people of Bokhara as an asylum from the tyranny 278 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION of the Ameer ; and therefore the people of Bokhara do not wish to take it. The Khan of Shahr Sabz, however, for form's sake, sent to the Ameer one thousand horsemen, as a subsidy in his war against Khiva and Khokand, but they were always ordered by the Khan of Shahr Sabz not to give him the least assistance in reality. From Jesman-Doo we proceeded to Shahr-Islam, the city of Afra- siab. As the name of Afrasiab is not familiar to the generality of Eng- lish readers, nay, does not meet even with insertion in very extensive biographical works, we shall subjoin the following particulars of that Sovereign. He was the ninth King of the Peshdadian dynasty of Persia. He was by birth a Turkomaun. He descended from Feridun, who had a rebellions son, named Tur, and sought, like Absalom of old, with whom some think he was contemporary, the kingdom of his father. Frustrated in his plots against his father, he fled to Tartary, where he became a King. Tur had a son, named Peshang, from whom (though this point is not quite clear) Afrasiab descended. Ancient Persian authors make him out a descendant, in some way, from this Tur, who died in battle against the Persian Monarch, Minu- chihr, the direct descendant in the male branch from Feridun. The incursions of Afrasiab and his Tatars during the reign of Peshang, compelled the Persian King Minuchihr, to sue for peace, which was granted, the Oxus being the boundary of the two Empires. Minu- chihr was succeeded by Naudar, an unpopular Sovereign, against whom Afrasiab waged successful war. Afrasiab avenged on him his grandsire's wrong, or what he supposed such ; and Afrasiab killed with his own hand the Persian King Naudar. Afrasiab became King of Persia, and ruled it, like Timur, with a rod of iron. The hero, Zal, the glory of Persia, rose against the tyrant ; he defeated Afrasiab, refused the proffered throne himself, and raised the legiti- mate branch to its lost seat. Afrasiab strove undaunted to recover Persia during various reigns ; but at length a Persian King arose strong enough to carry the war home to the Turkomaun himself. Kai Khosro, after a severe battle, seized on the palace of Afrasiab, ulti- mately on the Turkomaun Chief himself, and put him to death. Afrasiab's name being the most famous of an olden dynasty, repre- sents anything very aged in Persian annals. Afrasiab has been thought of as high an antiquity as even the King of the Deeves and Afrits, Solomon himself. We ought to except from the above censure the Biographical Dictionary published by Messrs. Longman ; and we can refer our readers for further particulars to Ferdousi, and Sir John Malcolm's work on Persia. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 279 At Shahr-Islam, people from Cabal crowded around me ; they were mostly Guzl-Bash. They said that the English had made themselves enemies by various things. 1st. That they did not protect the Guzl- Bash. 2nd. That they offended Nawaub Jabar Khan, brother to Dost Mu hammed Khan, their friend ; and 3rd, as I have already stated, by the customs they introduced. Morteza and Abdullah, the conspirators against my life, came up to me, and said, that the bustle on leaving Bokhara was so great, that I should do better to quit Abbas Kouli Khan, and pitch my tent at a considerable distance from him ; and, besides this, that as an English Eljee (for thus they call all the English), I was a greater man than either Abbas Kouli Khan or any one else of the caravan, and there- fore I should keep aloof from them. I told them, " I know your vil- lany ; you have not to prescribe to me where I am to pitch my tent. I shall ride with Abbas Kouli Khan." At Shahr-Islam I observed that the trunks in which the three thou- sand tillahs lay were somewhat broken. After passing Peikand, therefore, and arriving at Karakol, I bought strong cloth, and Mirza Abdul Wahab, the Persian who painted for me the pictures, and whose description of my sufferings is in the Appendix, and also Haje Ismael from Yarkand, assisted me in folding them up carefully. And in order that I might not be obliged to trust the trunks to Morteza, the Chief of the Kafila (caravan), I bought a mule at Karakol, in order that I might have the money always under my own eyes. We stop- ped at Karakol two days, in the house of Shaker Beyk a house which belonged to the King. Hussein Khan, the Governor of Kara- kol, had sent a confidental servant to me, through whom he apologized for not waiting on me ; though, as he expressed himself, " his heart and soul was bound up with my heart and soul thirteen years ago at Karakol." He informed me that I was, on my route to Meshed, in as great danger as at Bokhara ; for Abdul Samut Khan, ever thirst- ing for blood, and the greatest scourge which Bokhara had ever seen, had hired assassins to put me to death in the desert ; and these assas- sins were my servant Abdullah, Morteza, the Kafila Bashi, Ibrahim Abbas, Dil Assa Khan, Ismael, Rahim Beyk, and others. He advised me, therefore, to employ the four Persian slaves who had succeeded in leaving Bokhara with me, with which fact he was aquainted, as they acknowledged it to him, as sentinels against the murderers ; and also, that I should not quit Abbas Kouli Khan's side. I must here observe, that I had committed at Bokhara a great mistake, by dismissing Hus- eein, for though a great rouge, he had still a species of affection for me, since he had accompanied me from Meshed to Cabul in the year 280 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION 1832, and was a check on Abdullah, who was a perfect concentration of all the rascality of the East, always drunk with opium, and in- triguing ; from which latter defect Hussein was not wholly free, of which point I give the following illustration. There are scorpions at Bokhara, and a person who lived near me at Bokhara was stung by one of them. Hussein pretended to cure diseases by saying Duas (charms), and was called in to the case, I do not know with what success ; but immediately after he had said his Dua, he went to the mosque, and intrigued with a woman, for which he got a tremendous thrashing. On my arrival at Allat, I observed that Ameer Sarog, Abdullah, and the rest of the hired assassins, were around my mule when we had pitched our tent. The day following, when I wanted to load it with my trunks, I found that it was lame. I therefore informed Ab- bas Kouli Khan of this circumstance. He ordered that the mule should in future be dragged on with his mules, and that during the night time my trunks should be watched by one of his servants placed at my disposal. Haje Ismael, of Yarkand, perceiving the design of the villains, slept in my tent. The four slaves whom I saved watch- ed them ; Abdullah and Morteza therefore began to quarrel with both Abbas Kouli Khan's servant and Haje Ismael. We marched then towards Jehaar-Joo. It was night. The whole of the caravan lost their way. Abbas Kouli Khan, who most kindly held the ropes of my horse, in order not to lose sight of me, consigned me to the care of his brother, Nujuf Kouli Khan, in order that he himself might look out for the road. Then Ismael and Morteza tried to push him away, when I loudly exclaimed in Persian, " Will you commit treachery ?" This exclamation made the principal persons of the caravan rally round me. I pointed out to them Ismael and Morteza, who then retired. Towards daylight, Abdullah came up to me, and said to Nujuf Kouli Khan and myself, that Abbas Kouli Khan had ordered that I should remain behind and await his return. We observed, that this was a lie. We traced the footsteps of Abbas Kouli Khan's horse, and soon found him. He was anxiously expect- ing me. Abdullah then began to sell the greater part of my victuals to the ransomed slaves. We arrived then at Sayen, and stopped in the house of Ak-Sakal, " Lord of the Beard," a chief. Abbas Kouli Khan sent me victuals of his own, for he heard himself that the assas- sins intended to poison me. It must be observed here, that at Sayen, the mighty conqueror, Hullakoo Khan, whose name is still in the mouth of every Usbeck child, encamped with his army. Perceiving that I was continually harassed about the money, I said OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 281 to Abbas Kouli Khan, " I will open my trunks, and pour out the money in the open desert, in order that the villains may be satisfied." Abbas Kouli Khan replied, " Give me the money." He gave it into the hands of Ali Akbar, his treasurer, and made the people believe that he had sent the money on to Meshed, sealed up, by a Turkomaun. It is a remarkable fact, that though the Turkomauns are great rob- bers, they are entrusted by merchants with money, which they safely convey to the owner, provided it be sealed. The assassins soon felt that my trunk was no longer so heavy. This made some of them de- sist from annoying me, but Abdullah, in whose horrid countenance one could perceive that he was a murderer, and who did not blush to say that he had murdered two people, and who was particularly charged by Abdul Samut Khan to take away my life, as he confessed at Meshed, did not cease from continually annoying me. The four slaves whom I supported, and Haje Ismael, told me that he contin- ually observed, "I shall kill this Kafir by irritating him." One day, when it was exceedingly hot, I took off my gown and gave it to Ab- dullah. He rode away from me with it, and sold it to Kaher Kouli, and said he had lost it. 282 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XXI. Arrival at Jehaar-Joo. Abbas Kouli Khan calls on the Caravan to protect Dr. Wolff. Bokhara Ambassador demands Money from Dr. Wolff. Rafitak. Bok- harese Horsemen from the Ameer demand Tribute. Dr. Wolff disconsolate. Arrival at Ujaaje. Mowr. Caravan declared Prisoners. Ameer of Bokhara orders the Turkomauns to release the Caravan ; they refuse to obey ; their Khaleefa threatens to leave them if they injure the Caravan ; they obey him. Conversation of Derveesh. Turkomaun. A Derveesh tells the Story of Scan- derbeg. Fakeers. Sultan Sanjaar. The Khaleefa speaks of Ghengis Khan. Khaleefa's Son speaks ill of the Assaff-ood-Dowla. Tribe of Salor best of the Turkomauns. Ameer Sarog and Kaher Kouli lay a Plot to murder Dr. Wolff; the Khaleefa frustrates it. Jews aid the Khivites against Bokhara. Joseph of Talkhtoon. Turkomaun Tales of Sultan Sanjaar. Turkomauns, in despite of Treaty, kill the Messenger of the Assaff-ood-Dowla. The Khaleefa's Conversa- tion the night of his departure with Dr. Wolff. ON our arrival at Jehaar-Joo, I learnt that Ismael, Dil Assa Khan's man, Kaher Kouli, Rahim Beyk, and Ameer Sarog, with some others, would come in a body, demand money, and, if I did not give it them, would put me to death. I made Abbas Kouli Khan acquainted with this project. He summoned the conspirators before him, and the prin- cipal people of the caravan, and told them the following words : " The Englishman that I have under my care purposes to escape to Khiva, for these people intend to murder him. He who is a good Mussulman will join me to protect him from the hand of every rascal." The principal people replied, " We will burn the father of the first rascal that touches him." I pointed out to them the assassins; they pro- tested against having any such intention. It was awful in the night time to hear from the tower of Jehaar-Joo, the voice exclaiming, " Watch, watch, for the people of Organtsh may come, kill your cattle, and destroy the child in the mother's womb." The Governor of Jehaar-Joo sent, by order of the Ameer of Bokhara, fifty men on horseback, to dig for water at Rafitak, that we might not experience any drought, for the people of Merwe had filled up the wells, that the people of Khiva might find no water. During our stay at Jehaar-Joo, Ameer Abul Kasim, the Ambassador for Queen Victoria, in the place of Ak Muhammed, who was the first nominated to the office, incessantly annoyed me with requests for money ; for he said Abdul Samut Khan had himself stated to the King that he had given me three thousand tillahs for the expenses of his Ambas- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 283 sador to England. I gave him, therefore, some money, and after the horsemen had returned from clearing the wells at Rafitak, we left Jehaar-Joo. We rode two nights and two days, without ceasing, from fear of the Khivites. The agonies I sustained on horseback I cannot describe; for I felt that the fall from the horse at Bokhara had produced internal injuries. The nearer we came to Rafitak, the greater was the con- sternation of the whole caravan, on account of the reports that reached us that the King of Khiva was approaching, and Rafitak is a rallying point of the Khivites. I confess that I should have been glad had they arrived, for they profess a friendship for the English, had not the fol- lowing circumstance damped my desire. Ameer Sarog and Kaher Kouli, both Turkomauns, gave me candidly to understand, that the moment the people of Khiva approached the camp of Rafitak, they would put me to death, and escape with all that I had left in my trunk. At our arrival at Rafitak, we were obliged, in spite of the danger, to remain there two days, for horses, mules, camels, and men, were too tired to proceed immediately. On the very day of our starting again, we perceived horsemen from a distance approaching, and a cry from all sides was heard, " Organtshee, Organtshee." The Khivites are thus called by the people of Bokhara. Neither Ameer Sarog, nor Kahex Kouli, thought of killing me ; I stood fast by Abbas Kouli Khan, who gave orders for fighting, while Arneer Sarog, and Kaher Kouli ran off like whipped hounds, but Abdullah, my servant, mounted a horse and rode towards the horsemen, with the intention, which he afterwards confessed at Meshed, to inform them that a Russian Kasak was among the people in the caravan ; and also Abbas Kouli Khan, an Ambassador from Persia to Bokhara, and an enemy of the King of Khiva. But on the approach of the horsemen we perceived that they were Bokharese horsemen, sent by the Ameer, demanding two ducats for every free-bought slave who had crossed the Oxus, for this, they said, was an ancient custom. Abbas Kouli Khan wrote his protest against this to the King of Bokhara. We continued our journey. My mind was so harassed, and the pain of my internal injury so great, that I began to weep, and said, " Oh God, I know that I shall not return to England to see my wife and my child." To my greatest astonishment I saw that horrid fellow Abdullah also weeping. A derveesh came up to me and sung the following words, from the famous book called Masnawee : Ham Khoda Khahe, Ham Donyae Dun, Een Khyal ast, een Mohal ast, een Jenoon. 284 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION His fancy's wild, his mind distraught, Who casts on God and Earth his thought. We arrived at Ujaaje, near a river, when the Turkomauns conspired t^ stop us, which was prevented by some of the tribe of Tekka. Here it was where Hullakoo fought a battle against one of the Kings of the Kharasms, or Organtsh, and defeated him completely. ' Thence we arrived at Mowr. The noble Khaleefa received me most hospitably : his sons, however, imitate ill their noble father. We were all (the entire caravan, Abbas Kouli Khan included,) declared prisoners by the Turkomauns, until the slaves who had already purcha- sed their freedom should pay nineteen thousand ducats to them. A mes- senger was immediately dispatched to Bokhara by night, and an order soon after arrived from the Ameer, under whose protection the Turk- omauns of Mowr have placed themselves, that we should be permitted to depart immediately, and without molestation. The Turkomauns then declared they would not obey the Ameer ; on which the Khaleefa replied, " If you do not obey, I shall leave Mowr and settle myself at Heraut and give you my curse." This had the Effect required ; but they conspired still to smite the caravan with the sword on the road, and they compelled me to pay for the merchandize on eight camels sent by the Nayeb to his brother, Haje Ibrahim, at Meshed, for they said, " Abdul Samut Khan is the King's right hand." While at Mowr, a derveesh, who came from Samarcand, related one evening to the people of the caravan, all seated on the ground, the deeds of Timur, also called Tamerlane ; how he built at Sabz-Awar a tower of the skulls of men ; of his defeating Bayazid ; of his en- trance into Samarcand ; of the festivities of triumph which he gave at Samarcand ; of his death at Atrar when just on the point to march against China. Whilst he thus was relating the deeds of Timur, he suddenly broke off, and turning to me he said, " The English people are now Timur, for they are the descendants of Ghengis Khan. The Inglees will be the conquerors of the world. On my pilgrimage to Mecca, I came to Aden, where they keep a strong force, and from whence they may march to Mecca whenever they please ; and march towards Mecca they shall." A Turkomaun present said, " The Russians shall be the conquer- ors of the world. They have now built a strong castle almost in the midst of the sea, not far from Khiva. The people of Khiva have once burnt it down, but they soon built it up again. All is over with Islaam." A derveesh sitting among us made the following observation : " The OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 285 great mullahs of Samarcand assert that Russia is the Jaaj-Majooj, i. e. Gog and Magog, and this has been already predicted by Ameer Sul- tan, the great derveesh of Room." To my greatest astonishment, the derveesh related to the Tdrko- mauns the history of the Apostacy of Iskandar Beyk from Islamism, in the year 862 of the Hejira, whose name was first Girgis Kastrioota, but who received for his valour the name of Iskandar Beyk from Sul- tan Murad^ whom he forsook and turned to the Europeans, and became a scourge of the Mussulmans, and put a stop to their conquests. From this circumstance one may observe, that there are still clever people among the derveeshes, and that they are not all, as described by Mr. Perkins, a set of useless beggars. The derveeshes and Jews preserve some knowledge of religion in the desert, among those wild Turkomauns, just as the Christian monks preserved the Bible in the middle ages in the convents from the destruction of the Vandals, and as the monks in Abyssinia to this day have preserved copies of the Bible in their convents, at a time when the Gallas inundate the country of Ethiopia. Ameer Sultan, Shams Tabreezee, Mullah Roome, Hafiz, Saadi, Per- dousi, Abool Kasem, are derveeshes whose names will only be forgotten when the Eastern world and its literature shall be utterly destroyed. The same is the case with the Christian monks. I need only mention the names of Thomas a Kempis, Taulerus, Luther, Gerson, Sixtus Senensis : these will be in everlasting remembrance. There was also in the caravan a Fakeer from Patna, who was on a pilgrimage to Russia, where the Hindus have a place of pilgrimage, the name of which I have forgotten. He told the Turkomauns of the deeds of the British nation in Hindustaun, of General Lake and Lord Clive. Another came forward. He was from Scinde, and said, " There is now a Governor in Scinde, Lord Napier by name, who is like light- ning flame. He has beaten one hundred thousand Pooluj with foui hundred men." The whole caravan exclaimed, " Allah, Allah, Al lah ! They certainly will come here ; and if they come, we submit at once, for we Turkomauns will never fight against those who have the upper hand. We serve the most powerful, let them be Hindus, Christians, or Mussulmans. Those who give us khelaats (robes of honour), and tillahs (ducats), we serve." The Khaleefa of Mowi observed, " God rewards integrity. The English are a people of in tegrity, and therefore God rewards their integrity. We Turkomauns are thieves, and therefore God is displeased with us." The Turkomauns of this place and of Sarakhs formerly provided the King of Khiva, as they do now the Ameer of Bokhara, with horse- 286 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION men, called Sawar, or Al-Aman, horses and mules. I have already alluded to Ezekiel xxvii., and shall only add, that the Jews call them Togarmah, and the Tarkomauns give themselves a similar name. Near this place we meet also with the ruins of a mighty city, called Sultan Sanjaar, from a King, who, according to Sir John Malcolm's account, lived A. D. 1140. He was the greatest of the Seljukian dynasty, but was at last beaten by the Tarkomauns. The Khaleefa of Mowr spoke with admiration of Hulakoo Khan, grandson of Ghengis Khan, and son of Tooli Khan. He marched through Mowr, conquered Organtsh, and at last Bagdad. When the Tarkomauns of Mowr intended to plunder us, he reminded the Turko- mauns, in an exalted voice, that such an act of treachery was not even committed by Ghengis Khan. It is worthy of notice, that the son of the Rabbi of Meshed is among those Jews who became Mussulmans, and turned Turkomaun. The Khaleefa of Mowr showed great confidence in me, by recom- mending to my care a Haje from Khokand, who was on his way to Mecca. The son of the Khaleefa called on me, and said, " Dil Assa Khan has acted a treacherous part against you ; but, be assured that he has only acted according to his master's orders, the Assaff-ood-Dowla, who is the most dishonest man in existence. Three years are passed since he has promised to us to return the twenty Turkomaun prisoners, and he has never done it. There is no faith in the Kajar," by which he meant the members of the Royal Family of Persia. However, I have no just reason to coincide with the opinion of the son of the Khaleefa of the character of the Assaff-ood-Dowla, for he acted always uniform- i ly kind to me. That he is afraid of the English there can be no doubt, and that he entertains more hope in the assistance of Russia. There is no doubt, also, that he will declare himself King of Khorassaun after the death of Muhammed Shah. He hates the Haje with all his soul. The best class of Turkomauns are those of the tribe of Salor, who Dualled on me, and said, " When Tod was at Heraut, and Abbot and Shakespeare on their way to Khiva, they employed us frequently to give them information, which we willingly gave to them, for Turkman perwa nedarand." The Tarkomauns do not mind whom they serve, either the King of Bokhara, or the Khan of Khiva, or the Padishah of Russia, or Dowlat, ?'. e. the Power, by which they mean England. " And we serve you," they continued, " if you pay us well." I was surprised to observe, that the Turkomauns and people of Heraut were aware that the British Government disapproved of Tod's departure OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 287 from Heraut ; but all of them assured me that Yar Muhammed Khan would have put him to death if he had stopped there. A Tflrkomaun of the Salor tribe brought to me, to the house of the Khaleefa, i. e. the Grand Derveesh of Mowr or Merve, a whole cam- el's load of melons, which I declined accepting, as they generally de- mand ten times more than the value as a recompense. Ameer Sarog and Kaher Kouli consulted with each other, and de- termined to bring me in the night time to their house, and then to con- duct me on the road to Khiva, and murder me there. I informed the Khaleefa of it, who placed a guard the whole night near my room. i found, to my greatest surprise, two Jews at Merve (Mowr) who had embraced the Muhammedan religion, and become Tarkomauns by profession and pursuit. It is to be observed, that the Jews of Mowr call the inhabitants of Khiva Philistines ; and they maintain that they are the descendants of the Hiviies of old. The Jews of Khiva intermarry with the Mu- hammedans at Khiva, whilst the respective parties preserve each their separate religion : a great proof that the Turkomauns and Usbecks are, with regard to their religion, in many respects, less fanatics than the Muhammedans in Turkey and Arabia, where they would instantly put to death both husband and wife. The Jews of Mowr, as well as those of Bokhara, assure me that the Jews residing at Khiva are so intimate with the Turkomauns, and have such a hatred against the King of Bokhara, that they frequently assist the Khivites in battle ; and one may frequently hear among the Khivites, when attacking the enemy, the war-cry, in Hebrew, " Rabone Shel Olam /" Lord of the World ; mixed up with that of the Tflrkomaun war-cry, " Serenk !" Brave ; or, " Bismillahe Arrahman Arraheem /" In the name of the most merciful God. The Jews of Mowr, as well as those of Bokhara, assure me that children of Israel of the tribe of Naphtali and Zebulun, are in the Hindfl Koosh among the Balkhwee, and live from robbery ; and they know the exclamation, " Shama Yisrael !" " Hear, Israel." Ghengis Khan had a whole corps of Jews among his troops. Joseph of Talkhtoon, a Jew from Meshed, but who lived among the Tflrkomauns at Talkhtoon, and in the fame of sanctity, returned to Meshed as soon as the event of Allah-Daad had taken place ; became Muhammedan took his wife and child went to Candahar, where he again returned to Judaism. The Jews of Khiva, Khokand, and Tashkand visit sometimes the following marts and fairs : those of Makariev, Orenbourg, and As- trachan, in Russia ; and go even as far as Leipsic, where they were 288 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION justly recognised as the remnants of the Ten Tribes of Israel. The Jews of Khiva, Khokand, and Tashkand, and also those of Heraut, sent me word that they had a great desire to see me in those places, in order to speak with me about the coming of the Messiah. Several Jews of Heraut spoke to me with great regard about Majors Rawlin- son, Todd, and a certain Mr. Loggin, whom I have not the pleasure to know. Singular to say, Sir Alexander Burnes told the Jews of Cabul that I was dead. Here also are found coins, with Arabic inscriptions, of the time of Sultan Sanjaar, of whose riches the Tttrkomauns speak wonders of his silver thrones, and of his hundred crowns of gold. He was once defeated by the inhabitants of Khetay. He resided at Merwe, and governed Khiva. He was at last made prisoner by the people of Khetay ; he escaped. Derveeshes till this moment relate in melo- dious strains the deeds of Sanjaar. The Turkomauns here I found, in spite of the treaty with the AssafF-ood-Dowla, had killed, fourteen days before our arrival, one of his messengers, and made seventeen Persian slaves. The evening before our departure from this place was the only agreeable evening I passed in it. The Khaleefa then supped with me, and I conversed with him till midnight on the second coming of Jesus, and on the day of resurrection. As the Khaleefa had been informed of the intention of the Turkomauns to plunder the caravan, he and his eldest son ac- companied us two days through the desert towards Sarakhs, and left us with the friendly tribe of Tekka. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 289 CHAPTER XXII. Tribe of Tekka. Route Olugh Baba; Sarakhs. Abbas Kouli Khan ill-treated by the Turkomauns. The Turkomauns demand Robes of Honour. Dr. Wolff is obliged to assume Madness to preserve himself and Abbas Kouli Khan. Turko- mauns demand Tribute again. Taking of Sarakhs by Abbas Mirza in 1832. Kho- jam Shokoor threatens to put the Caravan to Death. Arrival at Mostroon. Nasa- rieh. Dil Assa Khan disgraced by the Assaff-ood-Dowl a. Gaskoon. Meshed. Dr. Wolff seized with Illness. Account of Meshed ; its Rulers. Letter from Colonel Sheil, announcing a Subscription to the Mission of three thousand Rupees from Captain Eyre. Second Letter from same, announcing a Subscription for the same Object from Cabul Relief Committee of ten thousand Rupees. Dr. Wolff never received these Amounts. Letter from Agra Bank, announcing further Subscription from the North-west Provinces of India. Third Letter from Colonel Sheil. Assaff-ood-Dowla takes Birjand. Earthquake at Kayen. Persian Agents not trustworthy. Kind Reception at Meshed of Dr. Wolff by Hussein Khan, Son of the Assaff-ood-Dowla. Hussein Khan wishes to punish Dil Assa Khan. Dr. Wolff intercedes for him on account of his Family. Dr. Wolff gets Abdullah bastinadoed and imprisoned. Kindness of Mullah Mehdee to the English. Vil- lany of a German named Dieskau. Mirza Askeree, the Imaam Jumaa, calls at Night on Dr. Wolff. Massacre of Allah-Daad. The Jew Rahmeem. Dr. Wolff's Letter to the Jews of Meshed. THE tribe of Tekka, spoken of in the last chapter, are more at- tached to the King of Organtsh than to the Ameer of Bokhara, and therefore the people of Mowr dared not pursue us here. It is also to be remarked that the tribe of Tekka, with the tribe of Toora Timur, remained attached together to the unfortunate Sultan Sanjaar, to the last. One thing was unfortunate for me, that several of the tribe of Tekka are in secret understanding with Nayeb Abdul Samut Khan, so that if a time should arrive that that villain will be obliged to escape from Bokhara, he will find not only an asylum among the Turkomauns of Tekka, but also persons, especially one Khan Saat by name, who will assist him in making his escape. These Turkomauns of Tekka knew that Abdul Samut Khan was my enemy. We went from Tekka to another camp of the same tribe, called Olugh Baba, and then arrived at Sarakhs. Abbas Kouli Khan was so ill treated by them that the poor man burst into tears, and said, " If ever I am back to Persia, I will perform my Siyarat (pilgrimage) to Kerbelay, to the tomb of Imam Husseyn, and thence go to Mecca and Medinah, and there remain with my wife and child." 37 290 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION On our arrival at Sarakhs, the Turkomauns demanded from Abbas Kouli Khan and myself, Khelats (robes of honour). I had none to give, except those belonging to Conolly, which he bought as presents for chiefs, and which I gave them. Dil Assa Khan, however, com- bined with Abdullah, and advised the Turkomaun boys to hoot me and Abbas Kouli Khan. As if struck by inspiration, I suddenly con- ceived the brilliant idea of playing the madman, to prevent a rush of the mob on us, and began to dance about and sing the Persian song, His fancy's wild, his mind distraught, Who casts on God and Earth his thought. Thinking me possessed, they called out, " This is a Dehli" (a possessed derveesh), and quitted me in terror. Residence among these lawless tribes convinces me more than ever that there cannot be worse despotism than the despotism of a mob. There is nothing in my eyes more detestable and calamitous than the attempt of a foolish and unpolished mob, governed by maddening in- fluences, to sway and power. Virtue is repeatedly punished by them vice scarcely at all. Savage life, with me, has no charms. I have always found the savage more malicious, deceitful, and cruel, than the beings in civilized life, whatever fine things may be said of the virtues of the desert. What is the savage in the abstract ? The fearful declension from a purer type, not, as is erroneously supposed, the early element of man. Even at Sarakhs, though nominally under the protection of Persia, the Turkomauns detained us again for several days, demanding trib- ute, which we were obliged to give ; but here another circumstance of a most annoying nature happened. The Ambassador of the King of Bokhara to the court of Persia, Sabhan Ullah Beyk by name, in union with his co-Ambassador for England, permitted some Turko* maun chiefs to capture those slaves that had purchased their liberty, and to again enslave them. After a long discussion, they were out- voted by some of the chiefs of the Turkomauns. I did not find one single Turkomaun at Sarakhs of those who inhabited that place in 1832. On my way to Bokhara, there were there some of my old ac- quaintances of 1832, but on my return they were all gone to Yolatan, near Mowr. Thus unsteady are the movements of these tribes* Abbas Mirza took Sarakhs in the following manner, in 1832. He marched with his army towards it, but sent word to the Turkomauns that he wished to treat with them, and therefore they should send to him their chiefs. The chiefs came. When he pretended to be car- rying on negotiations, he ordered the chief portion of his army to ad- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 291 vance, and His Royal Highness himself soon followed. When he came near the castle, a little rivulet obstructed his way. General Borowsky, the Jew, advised Abbas Mirza to divert the stream, which he did, and the castle was taken, with the assistance of one thousand Russians, by the address of Borowski. The greater part of the Tflrkomauns were either slain in battle or made slaves. Thus, for the first time, the Tdrkomauns experienced the same calamity which they inflicted on the Persians ; for as they formerly made slaves of the Persians in Khorassaun, Abbas Mirza, as a just punishment, en- slaved them in return. Previous to the arrival of Abbas Mirza, the Khans, from covetousness and policy, gave to any Tflrkomaun who happened to be made prisoner, his liberty, on paying a small sum for his ransom. Thus Abbas Mirza was the first who punished the rob- beries of the Turkomauns with just retribution. I cannot bear the Turkomauns ; they are a covetous, treacherous, and, at the same time, stupid class of people. They have not either the ability of the Arab or the Kurd, I must also add that Mullah Mehdee, the Jew of Meshed, and the Jews of Sarakhs, were of essential assistance to Ab- bas Mirza in his stratagems to delude the Turkomauns. I must also confess that I am sorry that our Government withdrew the British force, consisting of Captain Shee and five Serjeants, as soon as Abbas Mirza marched against Sarakhs ; for what advantage can accrue to the British Government from befriending the Turkomauns at the ex- pense of amity with Persia. It is the same policy which was for- merly pursued by the European Powers with regard to the Barbary States. I think it is time that Christian Powers should pursue a line of policy consistent with principles of morality, founded upon the Gos- pel, and not follow measures founded on mutual jealousy. Would to God the British Government would appoint everywhere such men as Sir Stratford Canning and Lord William Bentinck. The most powerful Aga Sakal of the tribe of Tekka at Sarakhs is Khojam Shokoor, who is allied with the King of Khiva. He threat- ened to smite with the edge of the sword the whole caravan, if they did not give him tribute, after the other Turkomauns had taken it, The place is divided into those who are allied with Bokhara, and others with Khiva. We left that horrid place, and arrived at Mostroon. " Thank God I" we exclaimed, " we are on Persian ground." Mostroon is situated upon an eminence, with a castle erected there by the Assaff-ood-Dowla of Khorassaun, for the purpose of watching the movements of the Turkomauns, and to prevent them from invading Khorassaun. Fifty soldiers of the Merve tribe are placed there, with some pieces of artil- 292 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION lery. About ten minutes walk distance from Mostroon is a hot well of most powerful mineral water. If this place were in the hands of a European power, a most beautiful Spa could be made of it. From thence we proceeded to Nasarieh, a place containing about twenty houses, and six farsangs distant from Mostroon. It is inhabited by Mervee, who were formerly on a good understanding with the Turk- omauns, and assisted them in making slaves in Khorassaun ; but the Assaff-ood-Dowla cut off the heads of several of them, and then they thought better of it, and ga,ve up that trade. The villain Dil Assa Khan was the Chief of the Mervee at Nasarieh, but, on account of his treachery towards me, the Assaff-ood-Dowla has deposed him. From Nasarieh we proceeded to Gaskoon, a village of two hundred houses, with a strong castle; we slept there one night. Mullah Mehdee, the Jew, came from Meshed to welcome me. We proceeded the next day towards Meshed, the capital of Khoras- saun. Many inhabitants came out to meet me, and exclaimed, " Praise be to God that you come back with your head from that accursed city, Bokhara ! We have heard how shamefully you have been treated by those scoundrels, Nayeb Abdul Samut Khan and Dil Assa Khan. The Assaff-ood-Dowla has sworn by God, the Prophet, and Ali, to burn the father and wife of Dil Assa Khan !" Just. on our entering Meshed the Holy, I was taken with a most violent vomiting. Before I enter into details about my reception at Meshed the Holy, as it is called, I must give a short sketch of that place. Meshed was formerly called Toos. When Imam Resa was poisoned by the son of Haroon Rasheed, the place was called Meshed, i. e. the place of martyrdom ; it is the most celebrated place of pilgrimage for the Sheeah. Muhammedans of that sect from all parts come to per- form their devotions at the tomb of Imam Resa, over which a most splendid mosque is built ; the cupola of it is entirely of gold. It is visited every year by from twenty to thirty thousand pilgrims. It is a great commercial town, and caravans go from thence to Heraut, Candahar, Bokhara, Isfahan, Teheraun, and Tabreez. The town is under the King of Persia, but he has but little influence there. It is not only the place of burial of Imam Resa, but also of Haroon Rashid and his son ; also the great poet, Ferdousi, the author of the Shah Nameh; and the great conqueror, Muslem-Beyk, at whose tomb Timur performed his devotions. It was conquered by Tamerlane, and the following personages are the real rulers of the place : 1. Alloyer Khan, the Assaff-ood-Dowla, or Viceroy of the Empire. He is uncle to His Majesty the King of Persia. OF T)R. WOT/FT TO BOKHARA. 293 2. Mir/a Askeree Imaum Jumaa, Head of the Mosque of Tnmum Rosa, and Chief Mullah of the Town. 3. Mirza Moosa Khan, the Metualli, f. e. President of the Mosque. 4. Mirza Haje Hashem, one of the Directors of the Prayer at the Mosque. 5. Minister of the Police. These direct all the internal affairs of and around Meshed as far as Semnan. In order to give some idea of the little influence the King of Persia has at Meshed, I have simply to note that, after the massacre of the Jews had taken place at Meshed, the King sent a commissioner with an order, that tho perpetrators of the crime should be delivered and brought to Teheraun. This order was disobeyed ! On my arrival I met Ali Muhammed Beyk, Gholam of the British Embassy of Teheraun, already there, with letters from Colonel Sheil for myself, and also letters from India, that three thousand rupees had been collected for me, which I never received. On this subject I subjoin the following kind communication from Colonel Sheil : My dear Dr. Wolff, Tehran, August llth, 1844. A messenger is on the point of going to Meshed, and gives me time only to tell you that I have received a letter from Captain Eyre, in which he informs me that three thousand rupees are at your disposal. You can draw on me for that amount ; but I beg you particularly to distinguish in your different bills on what account it is you draw. This is necessary for my reimbursement. I have told Agha Abul Kassim to deliver to you this letter on your arrival at Meshed ; for I cannot venture to place you in danger by sending a letter to Bokhara. With best wishes, believe me, Yours very truly, JUSTIN SHEIL. I cannot express my thanks for Lieutenant Eyre's great kindness, for I refer to him, indirectly if not directly, the following communica- tion from Colonel Sheil : Sir, Tehran, June 1st, 1844. I have the honour to forward to you a letter, which I have received to your address from Captain D'Arcy, Secretary to the Bombay Cabul Relief Fund Com- mittee, placing at your disposal, for certain purposes, the sum of ten thousand rupees (10,000 Rs.). Your drafts upon me to the above amount, not exceeding two thousand tomans (Ts. 2000), will receive the attention requisite. And I have moreover requested Agha Abul Kassim, a merchant at Meshed, with whom you are acquainted, to afford you assistance in finding purchasers for your bills, and to answer your bills on him. You should, however, avoid drawing largely on this person without previous communication, as his means may be inadequate to the payment of considerable sums. Should you draw upon me for the purposes mentioned by Captain D'Arcy, I beg 294 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION you will keep in distinct recollection the necessity of stating, in the body of the bill, that it is drawn on account of the Bombay Cabul Relief Fund Committee. An omission on this point will put me to much inconvenience. I also transmit to you a letter from the Secretary to the General Committee Cabul Relief Fund, authorizing you to draw upon the Sub-Committee for ten thousand rupees (Rs. 10,000). I am inclined to conjecture that your bills on that Association would not be saleable in Toorkestan, or even at Meshed, and I am not aware that the Committee has made any other adequate arrangement for their payment. It is therefore, I suppose, requisite that in case of necessity, you should draw bills on me for the above amount, not exceeding two thousand tomauns (Ts. 2000). And I have also requested Agha Abul Kassim to afford you such assistance as may be hi his power in the disposal of your bills. I shall write to the Secretary of the General Fund to make arrangements for answering my counter bills. Should you draw oil me on this account, I shall be equally obliged to you to state distinctly in the bill, that it is on account of the General Cabul Relief Fund Com- mittee. I have forwarded these letters to Mullah Mehdee, your agent at Meshed, directing him to transmit them to Merve, to your servant Rejjeb. But I have told Mullah Mehdee not to send these letters to Bokhara ; for however useful it might be that you should receive them in that cjty, I fear to expose you to what I believe would be great danger, by rendering you liable to the suspicions of the Ameer. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, JUSTIN SHEIL. I think it right to add, that I have received nothing from either of these Societies' funds, which have possibly remitted the separate amounts to England or Persia. Independent of these, I received by the Agra Bank 1297. 15s. 4d., remitted to my bankers, Messrs. Drum- mond, of which I subjoin the following document : Agra and United Service Bank, Sir, May IQth, 1844. I have the pleasure to advise my having this day sent to Messrs. Drummond and Company, Charing Cross, a bill for 129Z. 15s. 4d., being amount of subscriptions of officers and others in the North West Provinces of India, in aid of the benevolent object you have undertaken. At the suggestion of Captain V. Eyre, we have made this sum payable to Colonel Sheil, on your behalf. He will, no doubt, be able to advise with you as to the best mode of realizing it. I remain, Yours faithfully, H. W. I. WOOD, Assistant Secretary for the Society. To Colonel Sheil I feel deeply indebted for the safe conveyance of all these notices, and for the following cautious and well-timed epistle : My dear Sir, June Wth, 1844. As a matter of precaution, lest your detention at Bokhara should be prolonged OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 295 on other pretexts, I have despatched a letter from the Shah to the Ameer regarding you, to be forwarded, in the event of there being any necessity, by the Assaf-ood- Dowlah, to Bokhara. I trust, however, that this will not be required, and that you are already within the Persian territory. It will be very satisfactory to me to hear this intelligence, for until then I shall not be free from anxiety on your account Believe me, my dear Sir, Very truly yours, JUSTIN SHEIL. / The Assaff-ood-Dowla was just gone to the district of Kay en, in the city of Birjand, called also by some travellers Burjund. Ameer As- saad Ullah Khan, of Kayen or Burjund, was the only Khan who re- fused submission to Abbas Mirza, and now to the Assaff-ood-Dowla. The Assaff-ood-Dowla marched against him whilst I was at Bokhara, and succeeded in taking the whole district, and Burjund, the capital. An earthquake also killed thousands of the people of Kayen. Now to give an idea of how little the Persians can be trusted as agents, I have just to state the following fact. Soon after my arrival at Meshed, Aga Abool Kasem, then the agent of Colonel Sheil, came to me. I was then with Mullah Mehdee, and surrounded by a great number of Jews, or, as they were now called by the Mussul- mans, Islam Jadeeda, New Mussulmans, as Jews in Spain, forced to be Christians, are called Nuevi Christian^ New Christians. Now Aga Abool Kasem brought with him a Sayed, and introduced him to me as a man sent as a secret agent by Colonel Sheil to watch the movements of the Assaff-ood-Dowla. He told me also, that his (the Sayed's) brother was sent by Colonel Sheil to Kayen, to watch the Assaff-ood-Dowla there, and report to him whenever the Assaff in- tended to attack Heraut. He told me that he was a secret agent of Colonel Sheil in the presence of twenty Jews and many Mussulmans ; and I know that he was employed by Colonel Sheil. The following circumstance must also not be forgotten. One of the chief men of Yar Muhammed Khan at Heraut, whose name I have forgotten, sent a man to Colonel Sheil with some presents and a letter. Colonel Sheil gave to the man a letter for Yar Muhammed Khan's chief man, and a spy-glass as a present. The messenger came to me, and wished actually to sell to me the spy-glass consigned to his care by Colonel Sheil to deliver it to the man of Yar Muhammed Khan, called Mirza Nujuf Khan ; and though the fellow had returned from Teheraun to Meshed when I arrived at Meshed on my way to Bokhara, he never proceeded to Heraut, but was still at Meshed on my return, and never had delivered either Colonel Shell's letter or spy-glass. As the Assaff-ood-Dowla was not there, his son Hussein Khan re- 296 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION ceived me very kindly, and delivered to me a letter from his father, who made a thousand apologies for having sent with me a man like Dil Assa Khan, and desired me to order any punishment which I liked to inflict upon him, and placed him immediately in irons, but as Dil Assa Khan had a wife and children, I interceded for him ; but I got instantly put into irons my servant Abdullah, bastinadoed and sent to prison for forty days ; for he threatened to come after me, and that he would not rest until he had accomplished the pledge he gave to Abdul Samut Khan, to put me to death, adding these words : " God burn the father of Abbas Kouli Khan, for his care and solicitude about the Kafir, which prevented me from killing him on the road." Though I had assigned a house to me by Hussein Khan, the Gov- ernor, I stopped with Mullah Mehdee, who has always shown himself a friend to me and all the English nation ; and this kind Jew was, during the invasion of the English in Affghanistaun, employed by Major Rawlinson at Candahar, and Major Todd at Heraut, and suf fered repeatedly for his attachment to our people. In proof of it I record the following fact. A German from Hamburgh, named Dieskau, came from India tc Meshed, pretending to be an English ambassador. Mullah Mehdee lent him twelve hundred ducats, with which the rascal escaped. The fact is known to Sir John Me Neill, Colonel Farrant, and Colonel Sheil, and to the Governor-General of India. Mirza Askeree, the Imaum Jumaa, or chief of the mosque, called on me in the night time, for I was exceedingly unwell. He made me a present of a turquoise ring. He said, " I was suspected by Muham- med Shah (King of Persia) to be too partial to England, and he there- fore invited me to appear at Teheraun. I obeyed the summons, but I could drive out the Kajar, i. p. the present dynasty of Persia, from Meshed whenever I please." I besought him to protect the Jews, and not to allow the Muhammedans to carry on against them a regular system of inquisition. Mirza Askeree is very fond of money, and af- ter receiving a few tomauns from a Jewish family, he allowed a con- siderable number of them to emigrate to Heraut, Yazd, and Teheraun, where they live again as Jews. How affecting it is to look at the Jews of Meshed. I saw the poor old women go about continually, ex- claiming, "Allah-Daad! Allah-Daad!" God has given! God has given ! the exclamation used by the Saye'd to excite the populace to murder the Jews of Meshed. On my second arrival I heard more fully the history of the massacre of the Jews. The Jews for centuries had settled there from the cities Casween, Rasht, and Yazd. They were distinguished advantageous. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 297 ly by their cleanliness, industry, and taste for Persian poetry. Many of them had actually imbibed the system of the Persian Suffees. We heard them, instead of singing the Hymns of Zion, reciting in plain- tive strains the poetry of Hafiz and Ferdousi, and the writings of Mas- nawee. They had accumulated great riches, and did not busy them- selves in propitiating the authorities of Meshed by occasional presents. Their wealth had long excited the cupidity of the people of Meshed, who only sought an opportunity to seize on their possessions. The following occasion presented itself, which enabled them to realize this object. In the year 1838, the Muhammedans celebrated the feast of Bairam. On that very day a Jewess slaughtered a dog at the advice of a Mus- sulman physician, for the purpose of washing with the blood of the dog her own hands. One of the Mussulman Sayeds, who heard it, and to whom the Jews previously had refused a present, called together all the Mussulmans in the mosque of Imam Resa, and addressed them in the following manner : " People of Muhammed and Ali, the Jews have derided our feast of Bairam by sacrificing on the- very day of our feast a dog. I shall now tell you in two words what must be done. Allah- Daad" which means, God has given. They took the allusion, and whilst the Assaff-ood-Dowla, the Mirza Askeree, the Imaum Jumaa, and the rest of the authorities, were sleeping, the whole populace shouted " Allah-Daad," and with the shout of Allah-Daad they rushed into the houses of the Jews, slew thirty-five of them, robbed and plun- dered their property, and the rest of them saved their lives, but not their property, by reciting the Muhammedan creed. Only a few of them preferred death to apostacy. Mullah Daoud Cohen, the Chief Rabbi and High Priest of the Jewish nation at Meshed, gave the first example of apostacy. The year in which this event happened still goes by the name of Allah-Daad both among Jews and Muhammedans. In secret they observe the Jewish religion, and tell their children not to forget the event of Allah-Daad. There is a Jew here, Rahmeem by name, whom I knew in former times. He was not only learned in Jewish learning, but also in Per- sian literature, and rather given to the system of the SoufFees. When he saw the Jews massacred, and the shout of " Allah-Daad" became universal, he turned Muhammedan with the rest, but soon after was struck with madness. The word of " Allah-Daad" struck him with consternation ; he tears his clothes, and runs about in the streets, and the only word he utters is " Allah-Daad !" I asked him, " Rahmeem, if I give you a suit of clothes, will you wear them ?" " Yes." I gave him a suit of clothes ; the next day he tore them into pieces, ex- 298 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION claiming, " Allah-Daad ! When my mosque shall be built I will wear clothing. Now Allah-Daad ! Allah-Daad !" Whilst I was with the Jews at Meshed, the time came that the Jews commemorate their day of Atonement. The poor women and the old Jews fasted in secret. The Mussulmans were informed by those Jews who had been real apostates to the Muhammedan faith, and who vol- untarily embraced that faith for the sake of convenience, previous to the event of Allah-Daad, that the Jews converted in the year of Al- lah-Daad were Jews in secret. Whilst I was with them the servant of Mirza Sayd Askeree, the Imaum Ajooma, entered the house of a Jew in the evening time, in order to find out whether they celebrate the day of Atonement. I was informed of the fact, and sent him word to leave immediately the house of the Jews, which he did. The next morning I wrote to the Imaum Ajooma a serious letter, and gave him to understand, that most of the European powers take an interest in the condition of the Jews, and told him that he would make himself an immortal name if he would protect the Jews; which he promised to do. I wrote the following appeal to the Jews of Meshed, which was copied by them, and sent by them to the Jews of Heraut, Mazander- aun, Yazd, Ramadan, and others. The appeal was as follows : My dear Brethren, I knew you fourteen years ago ; a long time before the event of Allah-Daad took place. You were kind to me, and administered to me the rites of hospitality ; and therefore what I am going to tell you does not proceed from any feeling of hos- tility and ill-will, but from a feeling of affection, regard, and compassion towards you : and what I am going to tell you is, that you had but little feeling for true re- ligion of that religion which teaches the Shah, the sage, and the philosopher, to look up to the Creator, the Lord of the world, with confidence, like a sucking child to the mother while it rests upon her knees, and which teaches the philosopher to exclaim with child-like simplicity, Abba, Father ! You had little feeling for that re- ligion which teaches us that all around us is desert if our spirit does not look towards heaven. You, like the Sooffees of the Persians, whom many of you worshipped, studied history and nature without reference to religion, unmindful that nature and history are only enigmas, which can only be solved by the knowledge of true relig- ion. You wallowed about in the sensual poems of Hafiz, and Youssuf and Zuleika, and forgot Moses and the Prophets. You were totally void of faith, which is the element of all human knowledge and activity. You despised Moses and the Proph- ets, and walked in the ways of the Gentiles. God, therefore, gave you up to them in his righteous indignation ; and those very people in whom you placed your entire confidence, have been, as you told me yourselves, the first who not only forsook you but plundered you. Return, therefore, to the Lord your God, with weeping, sorrow, and contrition of heart. Search the Scriptures, which will lead you to Him who, though He was rejected by the Jews as the brethren of Joseph rejected their brother, and as the children of Israel rejected Moses in the beginning, was nevertheless the son of David according to the flesh, and the Jehovah our Righteousness according to the OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 299 Spirit. He was bruised for our iniquities, and despised and rejected of men, and was cut off from the land of the living ; but, after there shall have been overturnings, overturnings, overturnings of empires, He shall bring you into the wilderness, and there He will plead with you face to face, like as He pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt. Those days of Egypt, my dear friends, and the events which took place in those days, are typical of those days and events which shall take place when Jesus of Nazareth, who is the real son of David, shall come the second time to redeem not only Israel, but also accomplish all the promises to the Gentiles. Mighty events shall soon take place ; and you have already had a forewarning of the sufferings which shall come upon you in the event of Allah-Daad, until you shall look on Him whom you have pierced, and mourn. Then you shall enter into the Land of Promise ; but you must repent first of your sins, and be con- verted, that your sins may be blotted out when the days of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. I advise you, however, in the first instance, to write to Sir Moses Montefiore, who will give you every assistance in his power, in order to bring you out of your present distressed condition. JOSEPH WOLFF. 300 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XXIII. Dissent among the Mussulmans. Saye'd asserts Pilgrimages to be unnecessary. Imaum Resa killed by Haroun Rashid. Muhammed Ali Serraf calls on Dr. Wolff; Dr. Wolff charges him with Neglect in not delivering the Letters of Sir Moses Montefiore and the Sultan ; Muhammed Ali Serraf shows a Letter from Colonel Sheil to justify his Conduct. Date of the Execution of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly. Argument for 1258 Hejirah ; 1259 the right Date. Dr. Wolff regrets that the Sufferings of the Officers should have been so protracted, but cannot come, on reflection, to any other Conclusion than 1259 Hejirah, 1843 A.D. Character of Colonel Sheil. Evil of appointing Envoys that are not of the Established Church. Singular Conduct of Colonel Sheil. Letter from the Assaff- ood-Dowla. Christian Missions. Stations for them recommended at Semnaan, Damghan, Nishapoor, Meshed, Hasrat-Sultan, Tashkand, Shamay, Yarkand, Cashgar, Eele, Thibet, and Cashmeer ; not at present at Bokhara. Khokand, Cashmeer, Ladack, and Lassa. Languages requisite : Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Chinese, Hindustanee, Hebrew, and Kalmuck. Sciences and Arts. Conduct required in a Missionary. The Character of a Missionary. Dialogue between Dr. Wolff and a Sooffee. Ameer Beyk, the Daoodee. Route Askerea ; Shereef Abad ; Kadam-Gah ; Nishapore ; Sabz-Awar. Curious Report circulated there, at the first Visit of Dr. Wolff, that he was two hundred years old, and acquainted with all the Sciences of the Earth. Visited the second time by Crowds who con- ceived he had predicted the recent Earthquake. Route Massanan; Abbas Abad ; Miyandasht ; Miyamey. Dr. Cormick died at Miyamey. Death of Abbas Mirza. Illness of Dr. Wolff. Conversation between Sabhan Ullah Khan and Dr. Wolff. Route Shah Rood ; Deh-Mullah ; Damghan ; Dowlat Abad ; Aghwan ; Semnan ; Lasgird ; Deh Namak ; Pah-Deh ; Kish-Lagh. Arrival at Teheraun. Hospitable Reception by Colonel Sheil. Monsieur Le Comte Sartiges. IT is remarkable that dissenters in doctrine are now prevailing largely in the Muhammedan religion. A Saye'd at Meshed began to teach that the Koran was quite enough, and pilgrimages unnecessary. This, in the great city of Imaum Resa, was extraordinary doctrine. This Imaum Resa was the eighth of the twelve Imaums descended from Muhammed. He was killed at Meshed by the son of Haroun Rashid, by a poisoned grape. Beside Imaum Resa, there is here in- terred Aboo Mosleem, the fiercest of all the conquerors of the Islam faith. A strong cry of heresy was raised against this Saye'd, but Mirza Askeree protected him. A fierce schism now prevails among the Sheeahs at Meshed. Muhammed Ali Serraf, Colonel Stoddart's agent, called on me again on my return. I reproached him for not having forwarded the OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 301 letters of Sir Moses Montefiore and the Sultan from Colonel Shell. He showed me, for his own justification, a letter from Colonel Sheil, in which he distinctly wrote to him that he should not forward the let- ters by an express messenger, but by some other opportunity. Colonel Sheil must have had peculiar reasons for giving him these instruc- tions, of which I am not aware. He may have leaned to the convic- tion, that both Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly were executed in the year 1258 Hejirah, or A. D. 1842. I shall now give further details of this date question. Both the Nayeb and the King gave as the date, Sarratan, 1259, and after I had sent away the letter written to the Stoddart and Conolly Committee, by order of the King, in which this date was mentioned, Nayeb Ab- dul Samut Khan repeated again 1259 ; but counting the months since their death brought it to twenty months instead of twelve. He num- bered them on beads, as all the Persians do. I then said, " If twenty months have elapsed, the event must have taken place in the year 1258," for 1260 had just begun. The Nayeb then, after reflection, said with some hesitation, " Yes, you are right, and both the King and I were mistaken." I think it also fitting to add here, that I have my doubts whether the Nayeb did not desire to confuse the matter, for it may yet be a serious matter to him. I then asked several at Bokhara about the date, among others Saadat, and they gave 1258. Thus much may be said in favour of 1258, and that was my impression in my excited state at Teheraun. But Haje Ibrahim, before my arrival at Bokhara, told me distinctly that the letter of Lord Ellenborough had arrived previous to the execution of Colonel Stoddart and Cap- tain Conolly. Now I counted at Bokhara the date of Sir R. Shaks- peare's note, which accompanied Lord Ellenborough's letter, and that note was written, I well remember, only one year before my arrival. Now Haje Ibrahim would not have said that Lord Ellenborough's let- ter arrived before their execution, if it had not actually been the ease ; and adding to this, that Abbas Kouli Khan, as will be seen af- ter my leaving Teheraun, decidedly said to me that they had been put to death only eleven months before my arrival ; and besides that, the Assaff-ood-Dowla also, on my going to Bokhara, told me the same thing ; it cannot be denied that the year 1259 is the most probable, for though the Nayeb had not delivered, as I fully believe, the letter of Lord Ellenborough to the King, he (the Nayeb) yet received it be- fore their death, and suppressed it from the fear of consequences to himself. I much wish I could revert to my old conclusion, since it would be more satisfactory to the painful feelings of many dear friends to learn, 302 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION that the misery of the unfortunate sufferers had not extended over so protracted a period of time, that the account of the Akhund-Zadeh were exact ; since to reflect on two British officers, reduced to so hor- rible a state that the flesh was gnawed from their bones in large masses by vermin, with the fearful sufferings, mental and bodily, that they must have undergone by the slow operation of the atrocious tyr- anny practised upon them at the instigation of Abdul Samut Khan, excites an intensity of feeling on my part almost maddening, and can- not produce an inferior feeling among those of their own flesh and blood. And here let me take the opportunity to add a few words on the character of Colonel Sheil. He is evidently a gallant and honourable officer, who would serve his Queen with his blood ; but his reserved disposition must prove painful to many. I once remarked this to the gentlemen of the Embassy : " Colonel Sheil has not that pleasing communicativeness which is so conspicuous in Sir Stratford Canning.'* The answer I received was, that " I ought to consider that Sir Strat- ford Canning was Ambassador, and Colonel Sheil only Charge d'Af- faires." I am also convinced that he will give protection to British subjects, and to Protestants in general, as far as his religious princi- ples allow him, for he is a Roman Catholic. As an instance, I men- tion the following fact. The American missionaries, who have been always under English protection, received the greatest hospitality from Colonel Sheil, but when they came in conflict with the Roman Cath- olic missionaries, though he believed the Protestant missionaries to be in the right, he candidly told them that he could not interfere, for he was a Roman Catholic. This is one evil of appointing a minister of a different religious persuasion to that established in the land ; an evil which the sagacity of the Archbishop detected at the passing of the Emancipation Bill, then stating that the Protestant missions must suf- fer from it. As an instance, I may mention also the following fact, by which it will be seen that a Protestant clergyman must suffer considerably, even among the most liberal Roman Catholics, by such a circum- stance. Colonel Sheil very liberally gave me permission to preach in the Embassy, but he himself did not attend. Now the impression raised among the natives by this line of conduct is unfavourable to Christianity, who either say the Vizier Muchtar has no religion at all, or that he pays no regard to the Mullah of his country. It will always remain to me an enigma why Colonel Sheil, though he admitted that Abdul Samut Khan was a villain, and though he was unfavourably impressed with the appearance of Haje Ibrahim his OP DR. WOLFP TO BOKHARA. 303 brother, nevertheless would never enter into details about him, and when I recommended him to get full information of the infamous char- acter of Abdul Samut Khan from Mirza Abdul Wahab, he actually turned in a rude and insulting manner from Abdul Wahab. My esti- mate of Colonel Sheil's character will be fully established by every Englishman that knows him. His bilious maladies, however, and gout, must plead an apology for all this. He also acted completely the reverse of Sir S. Canning in the following affair. He knew fully, as well by Abbas Kouli Khan as by myself, how villanously I was treated by Dil Assa Khan, but he never for one moment thought of getting me any redress, or of punishing him through the medium of the Assaff-ood-Dowla ; on the contrary, Sir S. Canning, when I told His Excellency that the Ambassador who was designed to accompany me to England from Bokhara had taken from me money and a shawl, would have compelled him to restore everything had I wished it. I received, also, the following letter from the Assaff-ood-Dowla : To the mighty in rank, of high family, the fellow-traveller of greatness and dignity, the chief of the great personages of the Christian faith, and the cream of the illustrious (followers) of the Messiah, the unique of the times, Padre Joseph WoliF ; may he always be happy and delighted, and gratified by obtaining his objecta and desires. Be it known, that from excess of friendship, I was most anxious and desirous to see that great man ; and it so happened, that when he returned from Bokhara to the Holy Land, I was not there, which was a source of regret and disappointment to me, but since that mighty person came to seek for peace and the increase of friendship and good understanding between both nations, I am much pleased and delighted. If it please God, that great person, after returning to the seat of Government, Will always write an account of himself to me, as I am much gratified with his friendship. Salaam. (Seal of Assaff-ood-Dowla.') At this point of my travels I drew together the following view of Christian Missions. During my journey to Bokhara, I tried to ascer- tain where new missionary stations might be established, and I believe that if some Christian-minded physicians were sent into Khorassaun, they might become eminently useful, for, since the invasion of Aff- ghanistaun by the British army, the people of Khorassaun are re- joiced when they see an Englishman. I was frequently asked for copies of the Bible ; and in the cities of Semnaan, Damghan, Nisha- poor, and Meshed, I was invited to open discussions about religion with the chief mullahs. The chief mullahs of Meshed sent actually presents of turquoises after me through Colonel Sheil, when I had left the country. Writings published against Muhammedanism, by the 304 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION late missionary, Mr. Pfander, are read at Meshed and Nishapoor with eagerness. I therefore would advise persons to send Christian physi- cians to Semnan, Sharoot, and Meshed, to labour there among Mu- hammedans ; and Jewish missionaries ought to be sent to the Jews of Mazanderaun. Dr. Thompson, at Damascus, who is sometimes visited by three thousand persons, as I was informed, has sufficiently proved the utility of a Christian physician among Muhammedans. There are also, in Khorassaun, several mines, and the Assaff-ood- Dowla wishes to obtain miners from England. If, therefore, some persons of respectability, acquainted with mining, could be sent, they would prove highly useful. From Khorassaun, missionaries might easily extend their influence, accompanied by Jews, to the deserts of Sarakhs, Merw, Akhal, and Khiva. Missionaries to Jews, as well as to Muhammedans, in the cities of Khokand, Hasrat-Sultan, or Turkistaun, and Tashkand, would be hospitably received ; for neither the Jews nor Muhamme- dans of those towns are bigoted or intolerant. It is also remarkable that in Shamay, in Chinese Tartary, a colony of Polish Jews is found, amounting to three hundred families, who would hail the arrival of English people with delight, as I was assured by some of them whom I met at Bokhara. Yarkand is another city where a missionary to the Jews, as well as Muhammedans, would be of the greatest use, and also Cashgar and Eele. In the latter city, caravans from Russia deposit their merchandize. From Khokand, Tashkand, Turkistaun, and Cashgar, Bibles might be sent into Thibet and Cashmeer. The people of Thibet are also partially acquainted with the art of printing ; if, therefore, printers and lithographers were sent to those parts, it might tend to further the promotion of the Gospel of Christ. The question will be asked, " Could a mission be erected at Bok- hara ?" I reply, " Not under the present Ameer, for he is too capri- cious a tyrant, and though he has an ardent desire of knowing every- thing, and gathers around him strangers, yet he does not allow them free egress and regress." In consequence, no respectable person will go there, and as long as Abdul Samut Khan is with him, Europeans would certainly perish. However, the son of the Ameer gives some hopes of being a better man than his father ; on his accession to the throne a mission may be established. The following places would be the best adapted for missions for Jews, Heathens, and Muhammedans : Khokand, Cashmeer, Ladack, and Lassa. The following languages would be absolutely necessary : Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Chinese, Hindustanese, Hebrew, and the Kalmuck. The following sciences and arts would be useful : medi- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 305 cine, astronomy, sacred and profane history, watchmaking and engi- neering. Missionaries might also make excursions from the above- mentioned places to the Kasaks, Ghirgese, Kafir Seeah Poosh, and to the tribes of Naphtali and Ashur, in the HindQ-Cush. I think that a missionary in these countries should put on the garb of a derveesh, and take a cottage outside the town, when thousands would crowd around him to hear his wisdom. He must use hospi- tality, bring forth to the stranger bread and sherbet, pour rose-water on his head, present him with a rose, and delight him with the song of the nightingale. If he is distant in manner, no soul will come near him. They ought to be missionaries like Schauffler, Goodell, Dwight, Benjamin, Peabody, Bliss, Dr. Grant, Dr. Wilson, and Duff. For though I essentially differ with those gentlemen with regard to Church government, I highly esteem their zeal, judgment, kind- heartedness, and perseverance. They are men not only willing to learn, but also to teach. Or if missionaries of the Episcopal Church be sent, they ought to be like my late lamented friend, the Rev. Mr. Leeves, Chaplain of Athens, or the Rev. Mr. Hill, American Episco- pal Missionary at Athens. A Sooffee called on me, and said, " Youssuff Wolff, do you think that religion is necessary to a wise man ?" I replied, " My dear friend, he only is a wise man who feels and is convinced that religion is the only means of giving support to helpless nature ; and all the sages of every age have taught us, with one consent, that knowledge which has only for its object terrestrial things is not worthy of that name. And understand, that God manifests himself to the heart, and hides Himself from those who seek Him with their reason only. Faith, and obedience to God's laws, are wings of the soul, by which it is able to soar up to God's presence ; and whenever human nature de- cays and degenerates, divine knowledge disappears." Sooffee. What do you think of our Prophet Muhammed, and of his religion ? W. Muhammed is a Prophet without miracles, and therefore a false one. His system is a faith without mysteries, and therefore not a divine one ; and a morality without love, and therefore a devilish mo- rality. Christianity takes hold of the heart, in order to make it better ; Muhammedanism takes hold of the heart, in order to make it worse. After we had stopped at Meshed for twenty-one days, another Gho- lam arrived for me with letters from Colonel Sheil. The name of that Gholam was Ameer Beyk, who, in the year 1838, was seized by the Turkomauns in carrying dispatches for Sir John McNeil from Colonel Stoddart, at Heraut. He tried to escape twice 39 306 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION from Khiva ; the second time he was brought back, and had his ears cropped close to his head. He was afterwards purchased by Abbot, and he enjoys a pension from the British Government for the loss of his ears. He is not a Muhammedan, but a Daoodee, i. e. of a sect who believe that King David was a God. He was of very great use to me. We set out, together with Abbas Kouli Khan, the two Bokhara Ambassadors, and Mullah Mehdee the Jew, for Teheraun. The Jews of Meshed and many Muhammedans accompanied me out of town. We stopped the first day at Askerea, a village belonging to Mirza Askeree, the Imam Ajooma of Meshed. It contains about twenty houses, and is about five English miles from Meshed. From thence we proceeded to Shereef-Abad, a place where, fourteen years ago, I was obliged to remain for several days, on account of the wandering Hazarah, a Mogul tribe who reside near Heraut, and invaded at that time Khorassaun, in order to make slaves. Now Shereef-Abad contains about twenty houses, and is situated between two mountains, and is very cold. A messenger came there from the Assaff-ood- Dowla to welcome me, and made me a present of a shawl. The two Ambassadors from Bokhara the one who was to accompany me to England, and the other who was sent to Muhammed Shah were quite surprised that the Assaff paid to me such attention. From Shereef- Abad we continued our journey to Kadam-Gah, which means, Place of the Foot, for the foot-print of Imam Resa, the patron saint of Meshed and Khorassaun, is still pointed out there ; and it is therefore a famous place of pilgrimage for the Muhammedans. The inhabit- ants of that place are descendants of the family of Muhammed ; and therefore they cannot be forced by Government to entertain a stranger ; but they treated me both times with great respect and hospitality, and many of them wished me to send to them the Gospel. Several of them asked me seriously, "When will the English come and take this country ?" Kadam-Gah contains also a strong castle. From Kadam-Gah we arrived at Nishapore, twenty miles distant from the former place, con- sidered, after Balkh, in their traditions, the most ancient town in the world, and was formerly the place of residency of the King. There are several iron mines to be found. It was destroyed by Tamerlane. It contains numerous mines, and the surrounding country is most lovely. We proceeded thence to Sabz-Awar, which contains about six thou- sand inhabitants, and a good many shops. When I was there on my way to Bokhara, a rumour was spread that I was two hundred years of age, and acquainted with all the sciences upon earth ; so that the OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 307 whole town naturally rushed out to look on such a prodigy. When I told them that I was only forty-eight, they declared me to be a great liar. However, on my second arrival, I was again visited by crowds of Mus- sulmans, among whom was a chief mullah, who considered me to be a Prophet, for I told him on my way to Bokhara, that, previous to the coming of our Lord Jesus, there would be earthquakes in Khorassaun and all over the world. And as a terrible earthquake of which I have given a description actually happened, it was considered as a part of my prediction. Even some of them declared me to be Baba Elias, a celebrated derveesh. I contradicted none of these rumours, for it is useless to attempt it. Khorassaun rings with the praises of Sir John Me Neil and Sir John Campbell. From Sabz-Awar we proceeded to Massanan, which has a fine car- avanseray, built by Shah Abbas. It has excellent wells, and is highly cultivated. They have there several guns, on account of the Turko- mauns, whenever they come from Astarabad to make Chapow. Thence we passed to Abbas- Abad, inhabited by descendants of Geor- gians, brought there from Tiflis by Shah Abbas. They have many privileges peculiar to the place, confirmed by firmauns from Shah Ab- bas, Nadir Shah, Abbas Mirza, and Muhammed Shah. They profess now the Muhammedan religion, except fifteen families of them, who are, in secret, Christians. We then proceeded to Miyandasht, a little place built by the pres- ent King of Persia ; and from thence to Miyamey, a beautiful cara- vanseray. Here Dr. Cormick died, who was an Irish gentleman, and favourite physician to Abbas Mirza. He was an excellent but eccen- tric man. He was married to a Georgian by the famous Henry Martin, and, strange to say, never acknowledged it ; but after his death, his wife produced a certificate from Henry Martin proving that she was married to him. Dr. Cormick resided at Tabreez with Abbas Mirza. When Abbas Mirza marched toward Khorassaun, he left Dr. Cormick at Tabrreez ; but when the Prince saw that his stay in Kho- rassaun would be prolonged, he wrote to Dr. Cormick to join him. He obeyed ; but arriving at Miyamey, he was seized with a violent fever, which killed him in twelve hours. He left about twenty thousand pounds for his wife and children. When Abbas Mirza was informed of the death of his medical friend, he said, " Now all is over with me I shall soon follow;" and His Royal Highness died a few weeks after. During our journey on to Teheraun, Sabhan Ullah Khan, Ambas- sador of the King of Bokhara to Muhammed Shah, came every day to me, for I had taken up my quarters at a distance from the rest, being 308 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION too much indisposed to see any one. My mind was overpowered with despondency and melancholy. I was bled almost every other day, and took a medicine which they have in Khorassaun called Sheer- khishk, a kind of powerful manna. I scarcely had strength enough to talk. Sabhan Ullah Khan came every day to see me, and on one occasion he spoke to me in the following manner : " I can assure you also of what the Kazi Kelaun has told you, and I know it, that Stod- dart and Conolly were put to death at the instigation of Abdul Samut Khan. He was the mediator between Hasrat and them." I arrived next at Shah-Rood, River of the King. Stoddart's name is well remembered here. They call him the Rasheed, the Brave Man. Our next point was Deh-Mullah, one of Sultan Mahmoud's villa- ges ; but it has beautiful gardens. Thence we passed to Damghan, a most ancient town in great part ruinous. There are poisonous bugs here which kill strangers. We then reached Dowlat-Abad and Agh- wan, and at last Semnan, where a room was given to me in the palace of the Prince Governor, who was absent at the time of my visit. These beautiful palaces sink here to ruin, for as the Governors do not know how long they may be allowed to remain, they think it scarcely worth while to improve their dwellings. Jews from Mazanderaun called on me here. They are better off than in other parts of Persia, and the Persians relate of the Jews of Mazanderaun, that they are almost better off than the Muhammedans, for they blacken twice a day their beards with henna. We arrived next at Lasgird, a place with a most ancient castle, said to be built by the Deevs (fairies). Thence to Deh Namak, Pah- Deh, and Kish-Lagh, where I met a horse sent after me by Colonel Sheil, and soon after the excellent Mr. Read came to welcome me, and Mr. Karapet, an Armenian, who was the apothecary in the Brit- ish Residency j and at last we arrived at Teheraun, where I met with a hospitable reception by Colonel Sheil, the British Envoy. I also met there with Messrs. Thomson and Glen, the Attaches to the Embassy, and Mr. Abbot, the British Consul. As the King and His Majesty's Prime Minister were going out hunting, Colonel Sheil and the Attaches accompanied them, whilst I remained at the Em- bassy and received the visit of Monsieur le Comte Sartiges, Charge d' Affaires to the King of the French, who was sent there in order to effect the reinstatement of the Lazarists in Persia. I spoke to him, that he should write in my name to the King of the French, that I ardently wished that France should join England in the endeavour of effecting the liberation of the two hundred thousand Persian slaves in OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 309 Bokhara. He also told me that it was considered great courage on my part to address a letter to all the European Powers from the city of Bokhara in behalf of the slaves. I also received a visit from the French Lazariste, Monsieur Clusel, who appeared to me to be a very zealous man. The Lazaristes were established by that ardent phi- lanthropist Vincent de Paul, who sighed in slavery at Tunis, whence he escaped with his master, whom he had converted to the Christian faith. Monsieur Clusel intends to establish his mission at Teheraun, or Ispahan. 310 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XXIV. Dr. Wolff preaches at the Embassy. Noble Conduct of Count Medem. Colonel Sheil refuses to return the Letter of Lord Ellenborough. Kindness of the Russian Embassy. Khosrow Khan. Dr. Wolff writes to the Ameer. Reception by the Shah. Dr. Wolff thanks His Majesty for his Life. His Life twice preserved by the Court of Persia. Autograph of the Shah. Mullah Bahram, the Gueber. Colonel Sheil demands the Date of the Execution of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly ; Dr. Wolff gives 1258 Hejirah. Abbas Kouli Khan thinks it was 1259. Dr. Wolff, on further reflection, coincides with Abbas Kouli Khan. Persia could not under existing circumstances take Bokhara. Mirza Abdul Wahab. Letter of Abbas Kouli Khan to Lady Georgiana Wolff. Kindness of the Embassy to Dr. Wolff. Armenian Church. Recourse had to the Russian Embassy, and not to the British, by the Protestant Missionaries. Count Medem visits Abbas Kouli Khan, and thanks him for his Kindness to Dr. Wolff. Visit of Dr. Wolff to the Haje, the Prime Minister of the Shah; then- Conversation. Haje Ibrahim demands six thousand Tillahs ; Dr. Wolff takes an Oath that he never received this Sum ; Dr. Wolff pays him three thousand Tillahs, and draws on Captain Grover for four hundred Pounds. Haje Ibrahim claims three thousand Tillahs as due from Conolly ; Dr. Wolff protests against this Payment, and thinks Colonel Sheil ought to have refused to pay Haje Ibrahim anything for either Dr. Wolff or Captain Conolly. Inexplicable Conduct of Colonel Sheil. Letter from the Queen to the King of Bokhara. Visit to Haje Baba. Now I may write again dates, for, having arrived at Teheraun, which is the Rages of Tobit, I was informed that it was the 3rd of November. On the 4th of November, Colonel Sheil allowed me to preach in the Embassy, though he himself, being a Roman Catholic, did not come. Count Medem, the Russian Ambassador, behaved most nobly to- wards me. He not only invited me to preach in his house in German, on which occasion His Excellency and all his Attaches attended ; but he also made me a present of two shawls, and gave me a public din- ner, to which he invited Colonel Sheil, all the British Attaches, Count Sartiges, Abbas Kouli Khan, Monsieur Labat, the King's Physician, &c. ; and during my stay at Bokhara, he wrote to Count Nesselrode about me. Count Sartiges gave also a public dinner to me, to which he invited the British Embassy. I must here remark, that, having been very unwell at Meshed, I sent on before me to Colonel Sheil Lord Ellenborough's letter, given to me by the Ameer of Bokhara, and other documents from Conolly OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 311 to the Ameer. A few days after my arrival at Teheraun, when Colo- nel Sheil came back from the sporting expedition, and he was in his office, I wrote to him from my room, on a piece of paper : Dear Sir, Would you be kind enough to give me back Lord EUenborough's letter, and the other documents of Conolly. And sent the note by his servant, to which he wrote in his own hand writing, upon a piece of paper, the following answer, which I have still in my possession : Lord Ellenborough's letter is the property of Government, as well as all other official documents. As I dislike to create any dissension, I of course submitted to his judgment ; and, beside this, I did not wish to be embroiled with the Government at home. I cannot also but remark, that the kindness shown to me by the Russian Ambassador at Teheraun, was unbound- ed ; so much so, that even Mullah Mehdee, the Jew, and persons in authority at Teheraun, observed that " the Russians are by far kinder to you than your own people, the English." I have good authority to say that, had I been a Russian subject, the Russian Government would not have suffered me to pay one farthing to Abdul Samut Khan's brother. But Colonel Sheil, beside that, did not send forward to Captain Gro- ver the note of Sir R. Shakespeare which accompanied Lord Ellen- borough's letter. I have already mentioned that I had a friend at Teheraun, whose name is Khosrow Khan, chief eunuch to Futt Ali Shah. He occu- pied several high functions under that monarch, as, for instance, the place of Governor of Ispahan, and at another time Geelaun ; but now, being out of favour with the Haje, is out of favour with the King. On my first arrival at Teheraun, he called on me, but as Colonel Sheil did not come to see him in my room, he refused to call on my second visit, and therefore I called on him. He is, like all the Georgians, secretly attached to the Christian religion, but he is somewhat of a Swedenborgian. He always affects to see some saint of olden time. When I last saw him, he told me with great earnestness that he had lately seen, and even conversed with, Samuel the Prophet, who had a little beard, completely white, and beautiful blue eyes, and that he was a man of powerful figure, but low. He also saw Moses, who had a most powerful voice, and had a great resemblance in his outward appearance to the late King, Futt Ali Shah. He never smiled, he said, and was greatly incensed at the ingratitude of the Jews towards him. 312 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION I took the opportunity while here of writing a full account to the Ameer of Bokhara, of my notions of his own conduct, and a complete exposure of the villany of Abdul Samut Khan. My reception by the Shah was most gracious. When I entered the presence of the Shah, introduced by Mr. Thomson, he smilingly said, " Now you have enough of Bokhara : you will not go again to that city in a hurry." I replied, " Twice have I been saved from danger by the gracious assistance of the Persian Government. Twelve years ago, from the hands of Muhammed Khan Kerahe, by Your Maj. esty's father, and from the Ameer of Bokhara by Your Majesty." He then asked me why I had cut off my beard ? I told His Majesty that it had given me too much trouble, on which he laughed heartily. I also requested His Majesty to give me his autograph, upon which he wrote the following lines, of which I give the autograph and translation. Autograph of His Majesty the King of Persia. (Given to the Rev. Dr. Wolff, after his return from Bokhara to Teheraun, 30th October, 1844.) OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 313 This is the translation which Mr. Thomson made for me : Translation of an Autograph of Muhammed Shah. Praise be to God, Mr. Wolff is rescued, and may he go in safety to London to his wife. Verse. Two friends know each other's worth when their intercourse has been interrupted for some time, and they again meet. The month of Shewal, 1260 of the Hejireh. Written by the Shah of Persia, and presented to Dr. Wolff, at his audience on his return from Bokhara. Mullah Bahram, the chief of the Guebers, and who managed all matters for my departure twelve years ago, called on me. He told me that the Haje Mirza Aghasee was a great friend to the Guebers, and had built them a village four miles from Teheraun, of which he had made him overseer. On my arrival, Colonel Sheil asked me whether Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly had been put to death in 1259 of the Hejirah, or 1258. I told him that the Nayeb had said 1259, but that twenty months had elapsed between the time of my arrival and their execu- tion. I told him on a second occasion, that according to this calcula- tion the execution was in 1258, to which he agreed. Others also said at Bokhara that it was 1258. Colonel Sheil desired me to give him a statement to that effect in writing, which I did. On leaving, however, for Tabreez, Abbas Kouli Khan and myself had some conversation on this subject, and he then said, " I made most accurate inquiries pursuant to my official instructions. You may de- pend upon it that the information I have obtained about their execu- tion is more correct than your own. Stoddart and Conolly were put to death eleven months before your arrival." He then emphatically added, " They were put to death, as the Nayeb told you at the first, in the year 1259, and not 1258." And as it is certain that Shaks- peare's note, with the letter of Lord Ellenborough, arrived before their execution, the information of Abbas Kouli Khan, and the first of- ficial statement of the King and Abdul Samut Khan, is correct. I therefore regretted that I gave the paper to Colonel Sheil, which should not have been demanded from me when I was in a state of the great- est excitement, ill and miserable, and attended by Dr. Kade, the phy- sician of the Russian Embassy. It may be asked, If Persia proceeds to Bokhara alone, without the assistance of either Russia or England, will she take Bokhara ? My 40 314 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION reply is, Her success is very doubtful, for the following reasons. First, it could only be effectually done by an order and full power given to the Assaff-ood-Dowla, but the Assaff-ood-Dowla and the Haje Mirza Agasee are deadly enemies, and each jealous of the other ; so that they would counteract each other, as they did during the siege of Heraut. Besides this, the officers themselves are very jealous of each other. They would agree to no general combined plan, and therefore they would mutually betray each other's plans to the Ameer of Bok- hara. Also Muhammed Shah is afraid of the Assaff-ood-Dowla, and I know for a certainty, upon the best authority, that the King has a most well-founded suspicion that the Assaff-ood-Dowla entertains the design of making himself, if not King of all Persia, at least of Kho- rassaun. I must here observe, that I paid at Teheraun thirty tomauns lo Mirza . Abdul Wahab, the painter, for his work for me. For though the Nayeb included him in his account, he had not in reality given him one single farthing. I must here repeat, that the kindness of Count Medem, the Russian ambassador, can never be obliterated from my memory. He gave a public dinner on my arrival, to which he invited Colonel Sheil, the en- tire British Embassy, and Abbas Kouli Khan. Abbas Kouli Khan also made me a present of two Cashmeer shawls for Lady Georgiana. He also sent to her the following kind and truly Eastern letter. Translation of a Letter from the Persian Envoy to Bokhara to the Lady Georgiana Wolff. May my exalted and esteemed sister, whose station is as that of Bilbeis (Queen of Sheba), the respected and dear lady of my friend and brother, the Reverend Jo- seph Wolff, enjoy good health. Five months ago, according to the desire of His Excellency the Doctor, I addressed a letter to you, my esteemed sister, and I assured you that I would bring with me, with honour and respect, and in perfect safety, my friend and brother the Doctor. Praise be to God, praise be to God, praise be to God, eight days previous to the date of this, which is the 16th Shevval, I brought him to Teheraun. I give praise and I am thankful to God, that I have had no cause to be ashamed before you, my sister. The gentleman will himself, please God, arrive soon in London, and he will acquaint you, my sister, verbally, with what has occur- red. You will then perceive how I have acted as a brother. I hope that you, my respected sister, will not forget me. May your letters always reach me in Persia. (Signed) ABBAS KOULI KHAN, KOORD., Sirteeb (Colonel). IGth Shevval, 1260. Count Medem invited me to preach in his house, as I have said, in German, before the entire Russian Embassy, proffered pecuniary as- sistance, which I declined, to send on his own Gholam to Tabreez, XirzaJbte: IB IB A g? J?C(0)T3riL:i J'SO PERSIAN AMBASSADOR TO BOKHARA. rper & ** .- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 315 and recommended me to all the Russian authorities and to his Impe- rial Master. However, I must say that Mr. Thomson and the excel- lent Mr. Read were exceedingly kind to me, as well as Mrs. Read ; and I must also say, that Messrs. Thomson, Glen, and Abbott ren- dered me every assistance in their power. I now proceed to speak of the Armenians. Hoannes Surrenno Krimetzki, Archbishop of Julfa, Hindustaun, and Teheraun, called on me, covered with Russian orders. He is a venerable old gentleman, and anxious to improve the Armenian nation. He has established a school at Julfa, where the Armenian boys are instructed in the Eng- lish, French, and Armenian tongues. He receives contributions for that purpose from Russia, Armenia, and from the Armenians of Hin- dustaun and Yava. " I was frequently advised to send Armenian youths to England and France," he observed ; " but the danger in sending them there is : 1st, that they forget their own language ; 2nd, they become spoiled by good living ; and then return discontented with their own country. I thought it therefore more advisable to in- struct them in their own country in foreign sciences, where, at the same time, they do not forget their own language, and put up with the hardships of their countrymen." The Eastern churches have deacons in the most scriptural sense of the word, for they are chosen by the people, consecrated by the bish- ops, and they are seldom allowed to preach, but have simply to raise alms, to provide for the poor and sick, and to make arrangements for the internal management of the churches. This occupation of the deacons is obviously derived by the Apostles from the Jewish syna- gogue. I must also observe, that there is far greater liberality and li- cence in preaching in the Eastern and Roman Catholic churches than in the British. It is a fact, that, in the Eastern, as well as Roman Catholic communities, simple laymen, without ordination at all, are allowed to preach in the church, with the especial licence of the bishop. Thus, for example, Ignatius Loyola, and the Jesuits, preach- ed without ordination, on the simple permission of the Pope. It must be observed, that Count Medem gives most efficient protec- tion to the Armenians throughout Persia, and also to the Chaldeans, residing in Oroomiah ; and when the Chaldean Nestorians of that place were oppressed by the Roman Catholic missionaries, he put a stop to it. The Protestant missionaries of Oroomiah are also pro- tected, and they recur to the Russian Embassy for protection in case of need. Formerly they had recourse to the British Embassy. I was delighted to perceive that Count Medem called instantly on Abbas Kouli Khan, thanked him for his kindness to me, and invited 316 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION him to dinner. I cannot avoid saying, that Mr. and Mrs. Read, whom I knew in Persia fourteen years previous, form the very life of the Embassy, which would be dulness itself without them. I must not omit to mention the kindness of General Semino ; he is alluded to before in this work. I also called on the Haje, and thanked him. He told me that it would have been well if I had waited according to his advice at Te- heraun, until Abbas Kouli Khan had reached me there ; for my pro- tection would have been stronger my suffering less. This Persian Wolsey is very fond, as our own was, of building palaces and also villages. When the former Ambassador from Bokhara left Tehe- raun, he sent word to the Ameer : " How can the Ameer dream of making war with Khiva ? Khiva belongs to me !" He evidently does not like the English ; and he once made the following observa- tion to an English gentleman, whose name I forbear to mention : " I know your English fashion. You first of all send a physician to a country to feel our pulse, and afterwards a surgeon to bleed us to death ; and then officers follow, and they dispose of our land as the others have done of our bodies." Previous to my departure, Haje Ibrahim, brother to Abdul Samut Khan, arrived for the six thousand tillahs. I took an oath that I never received three thousand tillahs of this amount ; and though of the three thousand tillahs entrusted to me, above six hundred were partly stolen on the road, and partly went on account of the Nayeb's camels, as above mentioned, I repaid him the whole of the three thousand ; to do which I was obliged to draw four hundred pounds on my dear and excellent friend, Captain Grover. Haje Ibrahim also applied for the three thousand tillahs of Conolly ; but against this I put in my pro- test, and I have it on the highest authority, that, had I been under the Russian flag, I should not have been called on to pay Haje Ibrahim one single farthing, and I might have got, as an indemnification, the whole of the sum entrusted to me by Abdul Samut Khan, as I was through his instigation imprisoned in Bokhara, and ill treated on the road. And Persians, as well as other personages of high importance, were surprised that Colonel Sheil did not insist upon the arrest of Haje Ibrahim, in order to hear all even the minutest circumstances of the execution of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, in which dark trans- action Haje Ibrahim was deeply involved. Instead of which, Colonel Sheil suffered that villain to annoy me in my room, demanding twenty per cent, for the money, until I took him by the throat and turned him out. Ill, miserable, bilious, and excited, I still bore up against all ; but these things soon had issue in a dangerous and delirious illness on OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 317 my arrival at Tabreez, in the house of the excellent Mr. Bonham. But of this more hereafter. I have only here to add, that if Govern, ment pays the debt of Conolly to Abdul Samut Khan, they will pay a premium to that villain for the murder of other Englishmen, and for the robbery of their fellow-citizens. One thing appeared to me very extraordinary ; that Colonel Sheil said to me, in the presence of Mr. Glen and Mr. Thomson, that he would recommend Government to pay to Abdul Samut Khan, one hundred tillahs for the letter of Lord Ellenborough. I asked why ? For according to Shakespeare's note, the one hundred tillahs were to be paid to the bearer after he had brought an answer from the Ameer to the Governor-General. Now, not only was no answer given, but, as shown above, the letter was not delivered to the Ameer until after my arrival. I Jiere say, such conduct is utterly inexplicable. I met at Teheraun Mr. L'Abbe Clusel, of the Lazarist order, who was sent as missionary to Persia by the Propaganda. He seems to me a man of zeal and piety. I told Colonel Sheil, one day, that a letter had arrived from Her Majesty Queen Victoria, and inquired why the King of Bokhara had not received it. All the answer I received from Colonel Sheil, in the presence of Mr. Thomson, was, " You are not at liberty to say that a letter has come from Her Majesty or not." Before quitting Teheraun, I called on Mirza Abul Hassan Khan, the Haje Baba of Morier, and the Secretary for Foreign Affairs to the Court of Persia. Haje, though looking older, is cheerfulness it- self. 318 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XXV. Departure from Teheraun. Route Kand ; Sunghur-Abad ; Sepher-Khoja. Meet- ing here with Assaad Ullah Beyk. Route Casween ; Sultanieh ; Sanjoon ; Gul Teppa. Illness of Dr. Wolff. Kind Reception of Dr. Wolff at Tabreez by Mr. Bonham ; his Treatment by Dr. Casolani. Mr. Osroff and the Russian Legation. Introduction of Dr. Wolff by Mr. Bonham to Prince Bahman Mirza. The Prince presents Dr. Wolff with a valuable Emerald Ring. Letter of Prince Bahman Mirza. Russian Inhabitants of Tabreez consider it disgraceful to the British Gov- ernment to permit the Stoddart and Conolly Affair to rest in its present position. Extracts showing the exact Position of these Diplomatic Agents. First, from Captain I. Conolly, Brother to the murdered Captain Conolly ; Second, Extracts from the Correspondence of Colonel Stoddart. Impolicy of Non-interference. Holy Places visited by Persians. Dispute between Turks and Persians on Frontier Question. Colonel Taylor and Major Rawlinson. Disciples of John the Baptist ; their singular History ; their Report of themselves that they are Descendants of the Chaldeans and of the Brothers of Abraham. Triple Name of God. Baptism of John in the Wilderness. Two kinds of Priests ; one the Representative of the Baptist, the other of the Christ. Their Book, the Sadra Raba ; reported Authors of it, Seth and John the Baptist ; their Residences. Fruitless Attempts of Father Agatangelos to convert the Mandaye or Disciples of John the Baptist. Dr. Wolff, however, establishes a School which the Son of even the Ganz Awra, or Repre- sentative of Jesus Christ, attends ; they affirm Boohyra to have been a Nestorian Monk ; also that they emigrated from Egypt with the Jews, and separated from them on the Institution of the Rite of Circumcision by Joshua ; their Language Chaldean. The Ganz Awfa has, his Right Hand cut off by order of the Governor of Bosra ; he maintained that numbers of their Sect were resident in Morocco. Catholicity shown to be a natural Principle from the Conduct of Sectarians. ON the 7th November I left Teheraun. accompanied by Abbas Kouli Khan, Messrs. Taylor, Thomson, Glen, Abbot, Read, Cara- pied, and the Russian Attaches. Previous to my departure, Count Medem called at the British Embassy, and took leave. I arrived that day at Kand, nine miles from Teheraun. It is a beautiful vil- lage, with gardens. On the 8th of November we came to Sunghur- Abad, thirty-eight miles from Teheraun. It belongs to Haje Mirza Aghasee. On the 9th of November we reached Sepher-Khoja. A curious incident happened when I arrived. Assaad Ullah Beyk, who, when I was at Bokhara, was slave to Abdul Samut Khan, also arrived in this village. He ransomed himself for ninety tillahs, though the Nayeb had never bought him; and besides all this, the poor fellow was OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 319 obliged to give him a shawl worth one hundred tillahs. I confess that I supposed him acquainted with the Nayeb's design to kill me by as- sassins, and that I believed him to be one of them ; but he quickly undeceived and assured me, that Abdul Samut Khan had not treated him better than me. Assaad Ullah Beyk was now the Shah's Chap, aree (postman), and was going to collect money at Khoy. November 10th. Reached Casween with Mullah Mehdee, an inu mense town ; but, on account of lack of water, and of the plague, thinly inhabited. Formerly, numerous Jews dwelt there, who were> transported to Sabzawar, Nishapoor, and Torbad in Khorassaun. It was formerly a royal residence. The Governor, a very kind man, received me in his house, and treated me most hospitably. On No- vember 14th we reached Sultanieh, built by the Shah Khoda Banda. A splendid mausoleum is here. On the 18th of November I arrived at Sanjoon, built, according to Jewish tradition, by Ahasuerus. There is a Georgian there, Yakoob Khan by name, who is in the service of the Persian army, and occu- pies the situation of Colonel. He practices secretly the Christian religion, and has all his children baptized ; and as his wife was just confined he requested me to baptize the child, which I did ; and Mullah Mehdee, my baptized convert, was godfather. I pressed upon Yakoob Khan the duty of confessing the name of Christ publicly ; upon which he begged me to recommend him to the Queen of England, in order to be made a Colonel in the British army. Then he said he would imme- diately go to England, profess openly Christianity in the Colonel's uni- form, and sword in hand. I could not give him any encouragement. I found there another young Georgian, who told me, if I did not take him on to England, and put him in the way to make money, he would turn Mussulman in spite of me. I told him he was welcome to do so. On the 20th we arrived at Gul-Teppa. On the road towards that place I met with the American missionaries, Perkins and Stocking. I asked them where they came from. Mr. Perkins said, "You are Dr. Wolff, I guess." Stocking said, " Yes, I know him : it is Dr. Wolff, if I guess right." We were not able to talk much, from the heavy fall of snow. On the 24th of November I was taken so ill on horseback, that I vomited immensely, and was also seized with a terrible shivering ; I therefore sent immediately the Gholam of Colonel Shiel, who accom- panied me, to Tabreez, to Mr. Bonham, Her Britannic Majesty's Con- sul-General. As he had no Takhtrawan (litter) himself, he procured me that of one of the principal Armenians of Tabreez. Mr. Bonham, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul-General, and his most amiable lady, 320 NARRATIVE OP THE MISSION received me not only with hospitality, but with great cordiality. I baptized their child, born while I was at Bokhara. Through the kind care of Dr. Casolani, the medical gentleman of Prince Bahman Mirza, I was partially restored to health. After which Mr. Bonham gave a public dinner on my account, to which he invited Monsieur Osroff, and the Russian Attaches, and all the Greek and Armenian gentlemen. Mr. Osroff gave a dinner in return, and told me that he had orders from his Government to give me every assistance in case that I in- tended to go "via Russia." Mr. Osroff also told me that he had been private secretary to Prince Galitzin, late Minister of Public Instruc- tion ; and in perusing the private correspondence of that statesman, he frequently met with my name, and an honourable description of my pursuits. I also was introduced by Mr. Bonham to His Royal Highness Bah- man Mirza, Prince Governor of Tabreez and the whole province of Azerbijan. He is brother to the present King. He wrote for me the following autograph, of which I subjoin, from its length, the transla- tion only ; and he also made me a present of an emerald ring, worth thirty pounds. Translation of a Letter from His Royal Highness Bahman Mirza, Prince Gov- ernor of the Province of Azerbijan, Persia, addressed to the Rev. Dr. J. Wolff, LL.D. $c. As at the time of the victory and dominion of the army of the great state of England in the Affghaun countries, two officers of that magnificent and powerful monarchy were lost at the seat of Government of Bokhara, and there were no signs of them ; in the year of the Hijrah 1259, His Excellency, endowed with acuteness and knowledge, a chief among the nobles of the Christians, and a pillar among the learned of the religion of the Messiah, Priest Joseph Wolff, who belongs to the great and noble of that religion, and who is familiar and acquainted with every language, the excess of his learning, and the extremity of his magnanimity and research, outweighing in this business the sacrificing of his life and property, that he might arrive at the truth of this news, he accounted the trouble of this very dangerous jour- ney, in which the first step is taking leave of life, more agreeable than remaining at ease. And hi this long journey, which in every road of it, from the brigands of the tribes of Yemout and Turkomaun, and of the Septs, with crooked languages, of Tar- tary, may be considered as going out of the world, he trusted his own single person to the step of diligence, until, after a thousand kinds of afflictions, he accomplished the object which he had. In truth, undergoing such hardships is beyond the endu- rance of every one. Now that hi the latter end of the year of the Hijrah 1260, he has returned, and arrived at the beat of Government of Tabreez, it was necessary for us to write an account of the extent of his hardships, which we have seen and heard of, hi this our own hand writing, that in every state and in every country it may tend to the increase of his consideration and honour. And we further order the governors and lords, and nobles and chiefs of the country of Azerbijan, at every sta- tion and in all journeys at the time of his passing, to take care of the aforesaid priest, OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 321 and treat him with kindness and honour. Also, if after this he returns to Azerbijan, they must act according to this order. Written in the month of Zeekada, A.H. 1260, answering to, from 12th Nov. to llth Dec., A.D. 1844. The Russian inhabitants of Tabreez, as well as Greeks, together with the English, observed that it would be a perfect disgrace for the British Government to let the matter of the murder of Stoddart and Conolly sleep, as there was no doubt that they were both political agents, sent by Government, and that Conolly went to Bokhara by direction of Colonel Stoddart. To prove that this notion is correct, I give : I. Extracts from a letter of Captain J. Conolly, brother to the de- ceased officer, to a relative. Arthur starts in a few days for Kokan. His mission will be an interesting one, and the objects of it you will learn by reading a correspondence which Arthur intends sending you. ****** The fortunate Envoy is Arthur. His route will be across the desert to Khiva, and, if circumstances permit, to Bokhara. He has the prospect of gaining great laurels. Sir A. Burnes was first offered the appointment, but declined the embassy ; and Sir William said that he could hardly dispense with his services from this place (Cabul). Arthur will no doubt write to you shortly about his mission. II. The following correspondence from Colonel Stoddart : July, 1841. Conolly returns back, you have probably read, and is likely to accompany me hence, and has been placed at my disposal, so far as calling upon him to return by this line goes. * * * * I have availed myself of Captain Conolly's visit here to propose to the Ameer to send me off, as Captain Conolly has orders to stop here if the Ameer wishes. The above evidence is quite sufficient to prove, that it cannot con- duce to the honour of the British Government to let this question slum- ber as it has done. Affghanistaun and Bokhara have broken through that charm that bound down the Deeves and Afrits of these regions, as powerful as the fabled virtue of the Seal of Solyman. It is well that the chivalric valour of a Napier in Scinde, a Government like Lord Ellenborough's, one meteor flash, dazzling and confounding, now startles the East ; but let reverses come, and see then whether the two hundred millions of our Indian empire will not break from the charm that has bound them astance for nearly a century. The question is a matter of indifference as to envoys or officers. I am of the wise man's opinion of old : That form of Government is best, " where an injury done to the meanest subject is an insult to the whole community." 41 322 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION He spoke of insult ; I speak of murder. What country, I ask, has such facility to vindicate her honour, to preserve the life of every one of her meanest subjects, as England. To say nothing of her officers, her distinguished officers, I might add more, her but I forbear to use that that gives the climax to our shame. I speak not of the past j I inculpate no one ; I leave that to others ; but I do demand, Can matters rest thus ? Are we to allow this foul blot on the scutcheon of national honour ? The Persians here visit the following holy places : 1st. Kerbelai, near Bagdad, where Imaum Hussein is buried. 2nd. Kasemein, near Kerbelai, where is the sepulchre of Kasem. 3rd. Meshed, where is the tomb of Imaum Resa. After a visit to these towns, a person re- ceives the appellation of Kerbelai, Meshedee, or Kasemein. I joked frequently with them, and said, as I had been at Meshed, they ought to call me Meshedee Youssuf Wolff. But after they have made the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, they drop these appellations, and become Haje, like the rest of the Muhammedans. A considerable feud now prevails between the Persians and Turks ; for which reason, as I have observed, English and Russian Commis- sioners are at Erzroom, in order to prevent hostilities. The dispute first broke out on account of the frontiers ; but it was increased by the Pasha of Bagdad sending troops to Kerbelai, and massacreing the Sheeahs of that place, which will never be forgotten. I am very sorry that Colonel Taylor's conduct, the British Consul-General at Bagdad, was disapproved of on that occasion. He was displaced for not hav- ing interfered, and prevented the Turks from marching to Kerbelai. He is an excellent man, and of astonishing learning, and a marvellous polyglott. He knows above twenty languages. However, it seems that he placed too much reliance on his Armenian subalterns, espe- cially Khatshik. 1 hope Government will give him some other post. Government has, however, greatly to their honour, sent to Bagdad a most extraordinary man. His name is Major Rawlinson, who has so distinguished himself at Candahar, and he is a great favourite with the Indian Government. He is, besides, a great Arabic, Persian, and Turkish scholar, and an ardent philanthropist. It must have been very amusing to see these two gentlemen, as I learnt they did fre- quently, (Colonel Taylor and Major Rawlinson,) remaining up until three in the morning, disputing about some Arabic root, as my friend Colonel Farrant related matters to me. I hear Major Rawlinson pro- tects admirably the missionaries. I shall never forget the kindness of Colonel Taylor, and the assist- ance he gave me when with him six months at Bozra, in the Persian OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 323 Gulf, in making researches amongst the disciples of John the Baptist, who are called also Mandaye Hayah, i. e. the followers of the living God. They affect to be the descendants of the Chaldeans, and of the brothers of Abraham ; and when Abraham proclaimed the unity of the one God, they relate the brothers of Abraham followed him. But when Abraham established the rite of circumcision, they looked at him with horror, and separated from him. But they continued to worship the one living God by three names ; the names of Hayah Kadmaya, Hayah Tinyana, Hayah Tlitaya, i. e. the living in the first degree, the living in the second degree, the living in the third degree. And when John the Baptist appeared, they received baptism by St. John in the Wilderness, and from that moment they have had two kinds of priests, they say, the one called the Turmeda, who is a rep- resentative of the Baptist, and the Ganz-Awra, who is the represent- ative of Jesus Christ. And the representative of Jesus Christ is bap- tized every Sunday by the representative of John the Baptist in the river Frat, or Euphrates. They have a great book, called Sadra Raba, the authors of which, they say, were Seth and John the Bap- tist. They relate that John the Baptist was buried at Shuster, the ancient Susan, in Khuzistaun. They themselves reside in the fol- lowing places, near the Euphrates : at Bozra, Gorno, Sook-al-Sheookh, Shustar, and Desbul. Their number amounts to six thousand. Fa- ther Agatangelos, a Roman Catholic missionary, about one hundred years ago, and whose journal was given to me in MS. by the Roman Catholic priest at Bussorah, in the year 1824, and which I have given to the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews, re- lates that he had made fruitless attempts to convert the Mandaye to the Catholic religion ; but with the kind assistance of Colonel Taylor, I established a school at Bussorah. Even the Ganz-Awra, represent- ative of Jesus Christ, sent his son to the school, who made great prog- ress in English. The poor Mandaye sing, persecuted as they are by the Muham- medans : We are oppressed by the circumcised. Departed from our eyes is the timbrel and dance. They maintain that Boohyra, the monk at Bozra, who assisted Mu- hammed, and who was supposed to be a Nestorian monk by the Chris- tian historians, was a Mandaye. They also say that, at the time when the Jews were in the captivity in Egypt, they lived with them, and were oppressed, like them, by the Egyptians ; and when Pharaoh was overwhelmed in the sea, they emigrated with the children of Is- 324 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION rael to Mount Sinai, and lived there in amity with the Jews. But when Joshua re-established the rite of circumcision, they separated from the Jews. It is very remarkable, that, in the twelfth chapter of Exodus, it is said, that a mixed multitude went out with the chil- dren of Israel ; and also, according to Joshua, circumcision was neg- lected in the desert, and then re-established. Their language is Chal- dean. The Ganz-Awra, who was my teacher in Sabsean, and also Colonel Taylor's, wrote some mysterious characters upon a part of the Governor's wife's body usually concealed from sight, in order to form a charm to insure pregnancy .; for which the Governor gave orders to cut off his right hand, and he writes therefore with his left. He maintained, that a great number of their sect were residing in the deserts of Faz and Mekanez in Morocco. Two things are very remarkable with respect to small sects, that they always maintain that great numbers of their body are residing in distant countries ; so also the Mandaye assert, and the Samaritans at Nablooz told me the same, that great numbers of their people lived in London and Paris. And the Baptists in England rejoice very much to hear that there exists a sect on the Euphrates, who, like them, are called disciples of John the Baptist, and baptize in rivers. This anxiety on their part indicates Catholicity to be a natural and inherent principle. OP DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 325 CHAPTER XXVI. Two leading Sects amid Mohammedans, Sheeahs, and Sunnees. Ball by Mr. Bonham ; Dancers all Gentlemen. Death of Mrs. Bonham. Shamar Beyk ; Anecdote of him and General Neidhart. Chaldeans in the Mountains of Kur- distaun, not of the Ten Tribes, Dr. Wolff thinks, as commonly asserted. Nesto- rians or Chaldeans ; their Assertion that they did not become Followers of Nesto- rius, but simply received him kindly among them ; Episcopacy hereditary among them ; oppressed by the Kurds ; Sir Stratford Canning interferes in their behalf. Mar Yohannan, Bishop of Oroomiah ; his Letter, written in English. Accurate character of Mr. Ainsworth's Work on Asia Minor, &c. Armenians of Tabreez give Dr. Wolff a Public Dinner. Diploma from Bahman Mirza to Dr. Casolani. Daoud Khan. Attempt to abolish Ancient Forms by the Protestant Missionaries injudicious. Edward Burgess ; his unfortunate Position ; Letter addressed by him to Dr. Wolff. Departure of Dr. Wolff from Tabreez. Route Mayoon ; Deesa Khaleel ; Tasuj ; Sayd Hajee ; Khoy. Dangerous travelling from this point. Robbery of Messrs. Todd and Abbott ; the Kurds compel Mr. Todd to swallow his Pomatum. Route Soraba ; Karaine ; Leyba ; Awajick. Snow compels Dr. Wolff to go on Horseback. The Pasha of Erzroom sends a Guard of Honour for Dr. Wolff. Letters from Colonel Williams. I SHALL now touch on a few points with respect also to the two leading sects among Muhammedans, the Sheeahs, and the Sun- nees. The Persians being Sheeahs, practise dissimulation whenever they come into countries where the Sunnees are in power. This sys- tem of dissimulation is called by them Takeea. Thus, for instance, the Sheeahs pray with their arms hanging down, like a soldier when he is drilled, and add the name of Ali in their prayers, and curse five times a day Omar, Osman, and Abu-Bekr in their prayers ; but when they are among the Sunnees they perform their devotions with their hands laid upon their breast, omit the name of Ali, and take care not to curse Omar, Osman, and Abu-Bekr. A Muhammedan at Meshed told me that the Sheeahs were enjoined by Muhammed himself to practise Takeea in the presence of Sunnees. When I told him, that in Muhammed's life the distinction between Sunnee and Sheeah did not exist, he told me that Muhammed foresaw, by the spirit of prophecy, that such a distinction must arise. Mr. Bonham gave a ball on account of my arrival. He got the band of the Prince to play European music, but the dancers were not ladies and gentlemen, but all gentlemen. The Russian Consul-Gene- ral, Mr. OsrofF, with all his Attaches, and the respectable Greek mer- 326 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION chants of the house of Ralli, a firm established at Tabreez, Constan- tinople, Marseilles, London, and Manchester, were there. They put on my Turkomaun dresses and the robe which the Ameer of Bokhara had given me. It was a most funny sight. Mrs. Bonham kept her- self in the other room, as some Persians were present. I was sincerely grieved when I heard, after my departure, of the death of that excellent lady, who died from typhus fever, and is now removed from us. She was one of the most pious, sensible, virtuous, and kind-hearted ladies I ever met with ; exquisitely beautiful, with a child-like simplicity. She was daughter to Sir William Floyd, Bart., residing at Brussels. I shall ever remember Mr. Bonham and his sainted lady with gratitude and delight. Previous to my departure, I heard also at Tabreez, a great deal of Shamir Beyk, a mighty chief in Daghistaun, who has risen up in bat- tle against the mighty Emperor of Russia, and a bloody war is now carried on in that region. General WoronzofF has been sent against him ; and though the conflict is obstinate, and the mountaineers sup- ported by Polish officers, there is no doubt entertained, that, at last, Shamir Beyk, though a gallant fellow, must give in to the Giant of the North. I heard a curious anecdote of this Chief and General Neidhart, Governor-General of Georgia. General Neidhart issued a proclamation to the following purport ; that whosoever would bring the head of Shamir Beyk should receive as much gold as the head weighed. Shamir Beyk, on hearing of it, sent a letter to General Neidhart, expressing to His Excellency his gratitude for the high compliment he had paid his head, by setting so high a value on it ; but on his part he regretted he could not return the compliment, since he could assure His Excellency that he would not give a straw to any one who would deliver his (General Neid- hart's) head to him (Shamir Beyk). A few words on the Chaldeans in the mountains of Kurdistauri. These Chaldeans, as the late lamented Dr. Grant well observed, are of Jewish origin, though I cannot go so far as to affirm that they are of the Ten Tribes, since they do not know their own genealogy. They are now mostly Christians, and a number of them, converted to the Roman Catholic Church, have their patriarch at Diarbekr. The real Chaldeans, also called Nestorians, had a patriarch, Mar Shemaun by name, who resided until the last year only at Khojanes. They protest, however, that they are not Nestorians, and they said to me, in the year 1825, when I visited them at Salmast and Oroomia, " Nestorius came to us and we received him kindly, but we never took him as our guide, but as our brother in Christ." They resem- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 327 ble mostly the Protestants of Germany and England, for they have neither images nor monasteries, and their priests are married. The episcopal dignity, however, is hereditary, as well as that of the Pa- triarch, and at the time the mother of the patriarch becomes pregnant, she abstains from drinking wine and eating meat; and in case that a son is born, he is the patriarch, and if a daughter, she is obliged to observe eternal virginity. They are now sorely pressed by the Kurds ; several thousands of them have been slain by the Kurds, and many wounded, which atrocities were committed at the instigation of the Pasha and Cazi of Mosul ; but this was too much for the great Sir Stratford Canning to allow. He interfered at the Porte, and the Cazi and Pasha of Mosul were summoned to appear before the Sultan ; and the gallant Colonel Turner was sent to the Kurds to investigate matters, and Mr. Stevens, the British Vice-Consul of Samsoon, was sent to redeem the Chaldean slaves made by the Kurds, in which he was very successful. My excellent friends, Colonel Williams and Mr. Brant, at Erzroom, were also employed by Sir Stratford Canning to obtain the protection of the late excellent Pasha of Erzroom, for the Chaldean Christians, Haje Kamil Pasha, not only Pasha of Erz- room, but Seraskier for all Kurdistaun. And he did so effectually, but the Porte showed in that, as in everything else, her imbecility and total unfimess for Government, by recalling that excellent Pasha after my departure from Erzroom, and sending, as his successor, to Erz- room a most miserable creature. Mar Yohannan, Bishop of Oroomia, called on me at Tabreez. He is a gentleman of much intelligence, and had learned English from the American missionaries, and has visited America. He wrote to me a letter, which reached me in London, and which I insert just as it came. My dear and beloved Friend, Oroomiah, March %7th, 1845. I have much pleasure to write letters to you, but I could not find good time. I greatly desire to see you and to speak with you. I hope you will not forget me ; will you remember me with your prayers in your churches, when you pray for tho people. Your prayers will be a blessing to us, and will guide us to heaven ; they will be light to our way. I wrote another letter for the Lord Bishop of London. If you please you will write me answer, that I may know ; I want to come to your country, and to see your people. If you please I will bring with me two or three boys that may learn your language, they know little the English. My dear, we made covenant with each other at Theran that we shall go together to London ; you left me at Tabreez, you went. I hope now you will send me letter about my going to your country. May the Lord bless you with all his blessings in the kingdom of Your affectionate Friend, MAR YOHANNAN, Bishop of Oroomiah. 328 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION The letter is in itself fully indicative of the simple character of these Chaldean Bishops. I am pleased to find that Mr. Ainsworth agrees with me that the Chaldeans are not Nestorians, and the details in his admirable work are such as may be fully relied on, for I have confirmed by personal experience a large portion of the matter in his highly interesting volumes, entitled, Travels and Researches in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Chaldea, and Armenia. The principal Armenians of Tabreez also gave me a public din- ner, to which the Consul-General, Mr. Bonham, and the rest of the English inhabitants of Tabreez, and the Russian Consul-General, with the Russian authorities, were invited. I must here also express my thanks to Dr. Casolani, a Maltese physician, who recovered me from a second dangerous attack of bil- ious fever. Dr. Casolani is nominated Physician to the Prince Gov- ernor, Bahman Mirza, by a diploma to the following curious purport : A Royal Order, That since the sagacity, the acuteness, the science, the excellence of the high in dignity, exalted station, having sincerity and candour, being endowed with judgment and penetration, the great among the nobles of Christendom, Mr. Casolani, English Physician and Surgeon, has been proved in the receptacle of the honourable mind, and revealed to the illustrious and royal under- standing, particularly at this time, as the cures which he has performed in this place have all been marked with wisdom and science, and the remedies which he has made use of in this country have been profitable to and effective in every constitution and temperament, it was necessary that we should attach, particularly to ourselves, a person of this kind, who was celebrated and lauded for his approved skill. There- fore, in this year of Loo-eel, of happy indication, we have enrolled the high in station above mentioned in the rank of our followers, and in reward for this service, we have granted and bestowed three hundred tomans in the way of salary to the above-mentioned high in rank ; that he may receive and take it every year ; that he may use it for his expenses and spend it for his disbursements ; that with tran- quillity and repose he may accomplish the cure, and administer remedies, as may happen to the Royal Chief and his princely children, and according to the extent of his skill he may be diligent in examining and considering our constitution, so that the Royal favour may daily increase. The Honourable Secretaries of State will take a copy of the date of this Order, and consider it as obligatory. I visited again Daoud Khan, a Colonel in the Russian service. He is a genuine Georgian, and as such is not very fond of the Armenians. He informed me what I knew before, for I was in Georgia in the year 1825, that the native Jews in Georgia are slaves to the country gentlemen of Georgia, or, as those country gentlemen are called, Kenyaz. The first of these is the Prince of Kenyaz Aristow, at Suran ; the second, Kostantil, at Mukhram Battone ; and the third, Prince Kalavantan, at Sekwee. I give these names, as the Jews' So- OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 329 ciety may feel disposed, probably, to send some agents there. The dig- nitaries in the Georgian Church have the following degrees : 1, Diacon ; 2, Odeli (Priest) ; 3, Behse (Monk) ; 4, Dacanoggi (Dean) ; 5, Zi- nam Jawaree (Bishop) ; 6, Katalikos (Archbishop). It will be in vain for Protestant missionaries to attempt to abolish forms among the Eastern Christians. We seem to forget that the hu- man mind is like fluid matter, which can only attain permanency in a vessel ; therefore Dr. Grant, Whiting, and Goodell, perceived that, and left all forms unaltered. I must also note here, that Dr. South- gate, American Episcopal missionary at Constantinople, has gained the affection of the Armenian Bishop at Constantinople, by his wise conduct in this particular. I must not forget also to name an interesting and unfortunate young gentleman at Tabreez, whose name is Edward Burgess, well acquainted with the Persian language. This excellent young gentle- man is employed by Prince Bahman Mirza, as translator of the Eng- lish Newspapers. His brother was employed by the Persian Govern- ment, and sent by them with several thousand tomauns to England to buy merchandize, and poor Edward Burgess remained guarantee for his brother's honour. His brother most shamefully neglected to re- deem his honour, and abandoned Edward to the consequences of his generous devotion. He is therefore detained in Persia for his brother the defaulter. The poor man would be in the utmost distress if Mr. Bonham and the Russian Consul-General, and the Greek merchants, did not do all in their power to serve him. He told me, with tears in his eyes, that he had written four times to Colonel Sheil without receiving any answer from him, though he had written to him offi- cially as a British subject. Such a matter ought to be settled, since, in a country like Persia, nothing is more probable than that at the death of the King Burgess would be sold as a slave. I am exceed- ingly pained to be obliged to say such things, for the forwarding the second letter of the Shah to Bokhara by Colonel Sheil, certainly saved my life ; but I am only one, and I was recommended power- fully ; but an ambassador ought to take an interest in the meanest subject. The translation of Prince Bahman Mirza's letter, given above, is by him, and he enclosed it to me in the following kind note, which I insert. My dear Sir, Tabreez, 8th February, 1845. I sent the translation of the letter the Prince wrote to you by a courier of the French Mission, who started on the 1st of January ; I trust that it reached you safely. I did not write to you when I sent that translation, because I had very little notice of the courier's departure. I hope the translation will please you ; I have 42 330 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION made it as near the Persian as possible to make sense of it, and I endeavoured, as much as our language will allow, to preserve the idiom of the Persian ; you who are acquainted with the latter language know how difficult that is. The title " Ex- cellency," which is given to you in the letter, may appear strange in Europe, but it is the only translation I could give to the word i 'Lies* (Jenaub). In this country it is only used to priests of high rank and ambassadors, and has always been trans- lated as I have done. One of the Government secretaries attached to the Prince told me that His Royal Highness had given you this title because he understood you had high clerical rank in England, and therefore he wished to give you the same title and respect as was usual in addressing their own Mahomedan priesthood. You no doubt have heard of the melancholy death of poor Mrs. Bonham ; she died on the 30th of December, after an illness of only five days. I hope that this will find you safely passed through all your difficulties ; we heard of your arrival at Erzeroom, but that you were unwell ; no doubt, ere this reaches you, you will again have returned home, and had a happy meeting with your family. It was just as well you started when you did, for the winter has been most severe ; I believe nearly two hundred people have perished in the snow in the immediate neighbourhood of this town, besides those who have been lamed and crippled ; the snow in many places was drifted level with the walls of the vineyards which sur- round the town, and the thermometer stood at ten degrees below Zero, or forty-two degrees of frost. It was almost like living in a place that was besieged ; they were so constantly bringing us in news of men being lost. For the last ten days the weather has been milder, and to-day and yesterday we have had quite warm spring days, and the ice and snow is fast disappearing. I am, my dear Sir, Your obedient Servant, EDWARD BURGESS. At last I determined on my departure from Tabreez. Mr. Osroff, the Russian Consul-General, gave me a third dinner, and made me a present of a Takhtrwan (litter) ; for being ill I could not ride on horse- back. I left Tabreez on the 9th of December. Bonham, Osroff, Dr. Casolani, Daoud Khan the Armenian, all the Russian Attaches and the Greek merchants, accompanied me a long distance. Dr. Caso- lani's brother accompanied me even to Khoy. All the Europeans cheered me heartily on my departue, with many a hearty Hurra. On the evening of the 9th we slept in a village called Mayoon, eight English miles from Tabreez. On the 10th we went to Deesa Khaleel, twenty-four English miles from the last place. On the llth we reached Tasuj, twenty-four miles. On the 12th, Sayd Hajee, twenty- four miles. On the 13th we arrived at Khoy, a considerable town in former times, but almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake. It is now in great confusion, for there is a Governor there, and besides him a brother of the Haje, the Prime Minister, who also pretends to be Governor, does everything in despite of the real Governor ; and OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 331 Prince Bahman Mirza, Prince Governor of Azerbijaun, does not dare to keep him in order, from fear of offending his brother the Haje. I stopped then in the house of a Persian, for whom I had a letter from the Armenians of Tabreez, till the 15th, when I set out for Perea, always in the Takhtrwan, for my excessive weakness and biliousness did not allow me to ride on horseback. Here the great danger of travelling begins, by reason of the Kurds, who attack every traveller, and who attacked, some years back, Messrs. Todd and Abbott, and robbed them of everything they had. After they had stripped poor Todd of everything, they took away his pomatum. They asked him what it was, when he said that it was butter ; they tasted it, but as they did not like it, they forced poor Todd to demolish sundry pots of it. I am told that he cannot endure bacon ever since, and he was so disgusted with the country, that he took a tremendous oath not to remain in Persia ; and he actually left Persia, where he was hand- somely paid, and returned to Constantinople, where he was Attache" without pay, but minus pomatum, until he became Attache in Han- over. I have this account from high authority, no less than his bosom friend, Mr. Layard, who goes into the full details of everything, and does not leave a tittle unfathomed. I learn that Mr. Todd published something about me ; which compliment I beg leave to pay him in return. He is, however, an excellent person, notwithstanding all this. On the 16th December we arrived at Soraba, twenty-four English miles from Khoy. The cold was intense, and my biliousness increased. Snow had begun to fall. However, we continued our journey, and we arrived at Karaine, where eight Armenian families are residing, who are exceedingly dirty ; but as they were well acquaintad with the road, I agreed with one of them to accompany me as far as Erzroom, in order that he might everywhere prepare lodgings among the Arme- nians, for as my health was precarious, I wished to stay in Christian houses, so that if I should die I might be decently buried and in a Christian manner. After I had agreed with him to give him two ducats to Erzroom, and his victuals, the priest who had recommended him told him that he should not allow him to go except I gave him something for his recommendation. Though I am rather partial to the Armenians in general, I must say that the Armenian priesthood around Tabreez and Khoy, together with those priests of the Chaldean nation who have been converted to Romanism, and who reside at Sal mast, Bashgala, Khosrowa, and Oroornia, are most depraved, and generally perform the office of Ruffiani to Europeans who are of a gay disposi- tion. I gave that Armenian priest something for the permission to 332 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION depart with his Neophyte. A few miles distant from Karaine is an Armenian convent, called Tatus Arrakel, which means Thaddeus the Apostle, for it is believed that the Apostle Thaddeus preached there. That convent contains about six priests, who are called Wardapiet. We were detained at Karaine by a Kulagh. We then arrived at Seyba, seven miles distant. As it snowed too hard, and natives were actually frozen to death that day, I was compelled to keep the house, where the Armenian whom I had taken with me thoroughly disgusted me by his dirty habits. The filthiness of that fellow was almost in- conceivable. On the 20th December we set out for Awajick, the last frontier town of Persia. Khaleefa Kouli Khan, the governor of that place, re- ceived me very kindly, and he again asked me particularly whether I had heard anything of Me Neil Saheb and Campbell Saheb. I met with a very curious circumstance in his house. I saw there a Per- sian servant of Colonel Farrant, of Erzroom, by whom he was sent away and in irons from Erzroom to Persia, in order to receive con- dign punishment by the Haje of Teheraun. He entered my room with his feet in irons, striking them together, and then sat quietly down, and smoked a galyoon, and asked me several questions with great arrogance. After having inquired the reason of his being iron- ed, I ordered him to leave the room, which he did. I was obliged to leave my Takhtrwan behind, on account of the prodigious snow, and I had now to ascend the mountains of Armenia, and therefore was obliged to go on horseback. Khaleefa Kouli Khan went some distance with me himself, and sent twelve horsemen on with me who had orders to accompany me as far as Ghizl-Deesa, fifteen miles from Awajick, in the Sultan's dominions. Arriving there, I found a cavass, i. e. a guard of honour, sent there already twenty-four days previous by his Excellency the Pasha of Erzroom, Haje Kamil Basha, with a welcome letter of my dear friend Colonel Williams, who informed me that I should find there the gal- lant and cordial Colonel Farrant, and that on my approach to Erz- room they should come out to me and give me three cheers ; at the same time reminding me of my promise to stay with him, and not with my friend Mr. Brant, the British Consul. How cheering was this to me ! Would to God he had been at Teheraun on my return there, for certainly he would have made an example of Dil Assa Khan and of Haje Ibrahim ! OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. CHAPTER XXVII. Route Ghizl-Deesa; Utsh Kelesea. Nierses, the Katokhikos of the Armenian Church. Efforts of Czar to unite Armenian and Russian Churches. Route Yuntsh Aloo ; Kara Klesea ; Mullah Suleiman ; Seydekan. Dr. Wolff injured by a Fall from his Horse. Route Dehli Baba ; Komassur ; Kopre Koy ; Hassan Kaleh. Letters from Colonel Williams and Mr. Brant. Letter of Colonel Wil- liams to Captain Grover. Arrival at Erzroom. Dreadful Sufferings of Dr. Wolff. Kindness of Colonel Williams, Mr. Brant, and Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse to Dr. Wolff. Letter of Dr. Casolani. Ambassador from Bokhara to England arrives at Erzroorn. Letter from Sir Stratford Canning. Interview of Dr. Wolff, Mr. Brant, Colonel Williams, and Colonel Farrant, with Kamil Pasha ; Kamil Pasha's Statement to them of his Interview with the Ambassador from Bokhara to England. Departure from Erzroom. Route Mey Mansoor ; Saaza ; Massad ; Beyboot ; Jaajee Koy ; Gumush Khane" ; Artasa ; Yerkopri ; Yeseer Oglu. Letter from Mr. Stevens. WE set out for Ghizl-Deesa, and proceeded on to Diadeen. On our way thither the heavens were clear ; not a cloud visible until we had passed between two mountains covered with snow, when suddenly the wind blew, from both sides apparently, and drove from both summits masses of snow into our faces. The cavass seized hold of the rope of my horse, and giving a spur to his own, said, "Let us try to get through that horrid pass as fast as possible ; if not we shall be buried in the snow, for here is the Kulagh." After a few minutes ride the sky was covered with mists, which kept back the wind, and thus we came safely through the dangerous pass, and arrived at Diadeen. There is more danger in these countries when the sky is clear than when surrounded with thick mists. On the 23rd we arrived in the Armenian convent of Utsh Kelesea, i. e. Three Churches, of which I have already given a description, for I have been twice there. In that convent I found an ancient MS. of the Bible in the Armenian tongue, and my friend J. H. Frere will be glad to learn that, on his account, I looked particularly at Daniel viii. 14, in which the number two thousand four hundred is found. Thus the Hebrew MS. at Bokhara, at Adrianople, and Utsh Kelesea confirm his hypothesis. Utsh Kelesea is situated near the Moorad, i. e. Eu- phrates. The convent is placed at the very back of a mountain, and we cross the Moorad by a bridge, so that in winter it is exceedingly cold, and there is almost a continual Kulagh. The superior informed me, what I knew before, that the great Nierses, formerly Archbishop 334 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION of Tiflisj was exiled by Paskewitsh to Bessarabia, on account of his inflexible character, and refusal to cede any rights of the Armenian Church. The Emperor Nicholas, however, showed his good sense by proposing Nierses to the Armenian Church, as a candidate worthy of being chosen as Katokhikos at Ech-Miazin. I knew Nierses when at Tiflis in the year 1825. He was a venerable man, learned in the Ar- menian language, and even in Russian. His whole mind was ab- sorbed in the great attempt of reviving in his nation the spirit of Nier- ses Shnorhaale and Nierses Lampronazi. He tried to reform his na- tion without imbuing them with a spirit of German Neology. He established schools for his nation in all parts of Georgia, and the wri- tings of Mesrop are read, and those of Nierses Shnorhaale and Moses Korinaze. In these addresses he reminds his countrymen that they are descendants of King Abgar, who corresponded with our Lord. He had his nation instructed not only in the Armenian language, but also in the Russian literature. The great Nikolaus has hopes to unite the Armenian Church with the Russian ; and though I consider it to be a Scriptural principle that the Sovereign ought to be the Head of the Church, I think that he will find it a difficult matter to carry. All attempts among Protestants to establish a union have proved abortive ; and not only that, but Chris- tian communities who have lived in peace among themselves have been disunited as soon as a direct attempt was made to establish a stricter union among them ; so, for instance, the so-called Evangelische Kirche, i. e. the Swiss Confession, lived in perfect harmony together until the late King of Prussia made an attempt to unite both together ; then even the great Professor Creutzer, at Heidelberg, and others, rose against it. Thus the attempt to establish a union between the Greek and Anglican Church has failed ; and thus also the attempt lately made of uniting the Lutheran Church with the Church of England will fail yea, has failed already. The best mode of uniting Chris- tian Churches is, to give each other assistance in those things which the Christian Churches are in want of, and to show good will to- ward each other ; and thus, by each branch trying in its own com- munity to promote a spirit of holy zeal for the glory of God, and the promotion of His kingdom, and by each branch displaying a holy emu- lation in the practice of Christian virtues, the best union is established. And, I ask, is there union within the pale of the Roman Catholic Church ? I ask, is there any union between the Roman Catholics ? Even before Ronge was excited to an open protest against the Coat of Treves, the schools of Hermes, Sailer, Gosner, were as much opposed, not only to Rome, but even to the school of Klee, and even more than OP DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 335 the Lutherans and Evangelicals are. I ask, is the Theological Semi- nary of Prague, where Caspar Royke, Bolzano, and Peszel taught, in union with the unity taught at Rome ? And is there not a distinct difference made in Austria between Roman Catholics and the so-called Rdmlinge, i. e. Romanists ? Why was Johannes Jahn, Professor of Oriental Literature, openly denounced as a heretic by Cardinal Seve- roli ? I ask further, are the theological schools in Italy united ? Whether, for instance, there is no difference between the teaching of Tamburini at Pavia, and Professor Piatti, formerly Professor of Dog- matic Theology in the Collegio Romano at Rome ? And, I ask, would Dr. Wiseman dare to teach at Rome as he does at Oscott ? There is no union in the churches, and no rule of uniformity will re-establish that unity ; and no unity will be re-established until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to reign upon earth j then the nation shall go up to Jerusalem, and one language shall be spoken. I stopped at the convent of Utsh Kelesea one day, and was kindly treated by the monks. On the 24th we arrived at Yuntsh Aloo, twenty-five English miles from Utsh Kelesea. Here a priest informed me that the Armenian Liturgy was composed by Nierses, Mesrop, Yeknisha, and Isaac, in the fourth century. On the 25th (being Christmas day) we arrived at Kara Klesea, inhabited also by Arme- nians, who were very anxious to know whether the English people were united with the Church of Rome or not. I gave them a full account of that point. I wished to set out that same day for Mullah Suleiman, but I was overtaken by a shower of snow, which compelled me to return, and I was so weakened besides, that I sent on an ex- press messenger to Colonel Williams, telling him of my approach. On the 27th I set out for Mullah Suleiman. The hatred subsisting between the Armenians and the Armenian Catholics cannot be de- scribed. The Armenian servant I had with me, and an Armenian priest, who came with me, actually refused to go with me to the house of the Armenian Catholic priest, and rather preferred leaving me and going to the house of a Muhammedan. From thence we went to Seydekan, five English miles. I was de- tained there also by the snow. The Armenians there are so dirty, that it would be actually indecent to describe it. On the 30th Decem- ber, we arrived on the Mount of Taher, and as I wished to get fast through the mountain, and was afraid of being overtaken by a Kulagh, I spurred my horse forward, but I got a violent fall, and the horse fell with me, so that I was taken up senseless, and brought bound on the horse to Kurd AH, inhabited by Kurds, and stopped in the house of Hassan Aga. The present Pasha of Erzroom has inspired terror 336 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION among the Kurds in his immediate vicinity, and therefore I was civilly treated, but left in a stable with cows and horses. Most of the Kurds in villages wear no turbans, but large caps dropping behind, like the Maltese. Their language is a most horrid corruption and mixture of Turkish and Persian, and therefore the proverb is current among the Persians : Arabee wasi ast Farsee shereen ast Turkee hunur ast Kurdee Khar ast Which means Arabic is an extensive language ; the Persian sweet ; the Turkish powerful ; the Kurdish donkey-tongue. On the 31st December we arrived at Dehli Baba, which has one Armenian church and three priests. On January 1st, we slept at Komassur. On the 2nd of January we reached Kopre Koy, where it was horridly cold ; and from thence to Hassan Kaleh, where I was hospitably received by the Turkish Governor, who delivered to me the following kind letters from Colonel Williams and our Consul : My dear Dr. Wolff, Erzeroom, 3rd January, 1845. Pray persevere and come into Erzeroom ; it would be madness to take medi- cine so near us. We will nurse you, and put you all to rights in a few days. Brant sent you some wine, which, after all, may be bad for you. I will ride out to the first tillage this afternoon ; pray therefore take courage and come along ; we are all eady for you, and if you are to be laid up, we are to be your nurses. Ever yours truly, W. F. WILLIAMS. Erzeroom, 2nd January, 1845, My dear Wolff, Thursday Evening. I am glad you are so near us. I received your note from Dahar, and asked the Pasha to send out a Takhtravan or a sledge ; he sends out a man to order the Woyvoda of Hassan Kaleh to pay you every attention, and to furnish you with either a Takhtravan or a sledge, both which the Pasha said the Woyvoda had ; but in case he did not send, the Pasha requested you would wait until one was sent you from hence. As to Dr. Dickson, he would willingly have gone to Hassan Kaleh, had you been very ill and required immediate assistance, but he thinks you had better defer taking medicine until you arrive here, therefore lose no time hi coming on. I send you a bottle of Marsala, which Dr. Dickson recommends in preference to French wine ; but use it moderately, it may perhaps not do you good. I know you intended to have taken up your quarters with Colonel Williams, and although I think you ought to have applied to your old house, the Queen's Arms, yet I did not wish to thwart your inclination. However, as you require nursing and doctoring, I think you had better come to me, as you will get a more commodious room than Colonel Williams can give you, and a house hi which you will not be so liable to catch cold. Besides, you will be nearer the Doctor, who can more easily and frequently visit you at my house than were you living at such a distance. I OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 337 calculate you will not reach Hassan Kaleh until Saturday evening, and I hope you will be here by Sunday, or Monday early. Thank you for the offer of your services to bind me to a wife, but I do not mean to avail myself of your kindness just now. Hoping soon to welcome you and see you set up in health to prosecute your journey, Believe me, my dear Wolff, Your affectionate Friend, JAMES BRANT. To show, also, the great interest taken in my proceedings by that eminent philanthropist, Colonel Williams, I also add his letter to Cap- tain Grove r : Dear Captain Grover, Erzeroom, November 28th, 1844. I have to thank you for your note of the 5th of September, which, owing I presume to delays at the Foreign Office, only reached me by the Turkish Tatar yesterday ; since that date you must have received my letters announcing Dr. Wolff's fortunate escape from Bokhara, and his arrival at Meshed ; not, however, before you undertook your benevolent journey to St. Petersburg, from whence the last Galignani gives your return to London. I sent the good old Doctor's journal to the Ambassador a fortnight since, under flying seal, and directed to you ; no doubt it is now on its way to London. By the Golaum who brought this lengthy letter, I received a private note from the gallant Doctor, telling me that he should leave Teheraun in time to arrive at and quit Tabreez by the 17th instant. I therefore sent off two of the Governor's Cavasses, or guards, to the town of Bayazeed, on the Persian frontier, to escort the Doctor to my house. His Excellency Kaimili Pasha sent letters to Baloul Pasha, the Governor of Bayazeed, enjoining him to furnish the necessary Guard through the Koordish tribes, and His Excellency also caused orders to be addressed to all the village Chiefs along the route, directing them to receive Dr. Wolff as his friend, and to furnish him with every thing he might require (horses, &c. &c.). I wrote to Wolff by the Cavasses, so that he will be aware of all this kindness on the part of our excellent Governor. Although I have not heard of his arrival at Tabreez, I look for him about the 1st of December, and will use my utmost endeavours to get him off for Trebizonde on the 4th. Until I see him I shall be anxious about his dress, for our weather is now as stormy and cold as that through (here) which he passed on his way to Bokhara, and I fear he has been fleeced of the skins I rigged for him ! Then his excitement was equal to one great coat ; now the good pilgrim has for his travelling companions regrets for the victims of Bokhara, and the daily misery of riding and resting in the filthy stable-hovels of Armenia ! He has performed a deed of almost unexampled good- ness, and I hope he may meet with a commensurate reward, I mean hi this world. Whilst I am writing you these hurried lines a storm of snow is raging without, and the desolate appearance of the landscape would lead an Englishman (could he view it) to estimate Wolff's courageous task. Next week I hope to announce to you hia passage over the first snowy passes. Believe me, very truly yours, (Signed) W. F. WILLIAMS On Saturday, January 4th, I left Hassan Kaleh, and arrived at the small village where I found a Takhtravan sent to me by His Excel- 43 338 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION lency the Kamil Pasha of Erzroom, and Seraskier of Kurdistaun. On the 5th of January I left that village in the Pasha's Takhtravan, and set out for Erzroom. Colonel Williams, Mr. Redhouse, and Colonel Farrant came out to meet me. I was in such a state of de- bility and nervousness, and so eaten up by vermin all over the body, that I was not able to walk. Colonel Williams rode, therefore, back to Erzroom before me, and ordered immediately a good Turkish bath, gave me his own linen, and then brought me to his hospitable dwell- ing, where I found my dear old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse, and my old friend Mr. Brant, the Consul, Calvert, Dr. Dickson, Mr. Pea- body, and the American missionary, who sent me clothes. Colonel Farrant shook hands with me cordially. He is a fine, open, English soldier. He was the appointed Secretary of Legation to Teheraun. For five days poor Colonel Williams was engaged in putting the vermin off my body, and it would have been of no use if Dr. Dickson had not given me an ointment to kill them. I was not allowed to walk about in the streets, as they were covered with ice, and slippery ; but as we had a nice terrace, Colonel Williams took me there every day, dressed in Mrs. Redhouse's fur cloak, red comforter, fur gloves, and Mr. Redhouse's big boots, which gave me the appearance of a Russian nobleman. These walks refreshed me so much, that it re- newed in me the hope, which I had given up, that I should be able to bear the fatigues of the last stage of my journey by land to Trebizond, when the doctor said the sea air would thoroughly restore me to health, strength, and good spirits. His Excellency, the Pasha, sent to me his brother to inquire after the state of my health ; and so did the other Turkish authorities. As I have already given a description of my dear friends, James Brant and Colonel Williams, I must say only a few words of Colonel Farrant, who was sent by Government to Mosul, in order to ascertain the reasons of the massacre of the Nestorian Christians by the Kurds. He is a fine, straightforward fellow. He had heard a great deal of me, as he said, and Sir John Me Neil had told him the story of the fa- mous wasps which stung me twenty years ago, at Bosra, on which ac- count I had made such a noise in the house that I awoke the whole family of Colonel Taylor from sleep. It is singular that such an in- significant story about the sting of wasps should have travelled from Bosra to Bushire ; thence to Teheraun, and excited the attention of the great diplomatist, Sir John Me Neil, so that I was reminded of it, after twenty years, by Colonel Sheil at Teheraun, by Colonel Farrant at Erzroom, and by Mr. Alison at Constantinople ; and I dare say, as my friend Sir John Me Neil is at Edinburgh, he will have made all OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 330 the scientific societies of the Athens of the North acquainted with it, and probably it has even reached Downing Street. Mr. Redhouse was formerly Dragoman to the Porte. He has writ- ten a Turkish Dictionary, which the Sultan has ordered to be printed ; and has also published a Grammar of the Ottoman Language, which I think that every person who wishes to be employed in any Oriental Embassy ought to possess. The British Government should appoint Mr. Redhouse Professor of the Turkish Literature in one of our Eng- lish Universities. I received at Erzroom the following melancholy letter from Tabreez, which nearly overpowered my already sinking spirits : Dear Rev. Dr. Wolff, Tabreez, 3lst December, 1844. My brother desired me to write to you these few lines, to accompany tho memorandum book which you left in his charge ; and at the mean time to make you acquainted with the very distressing news of Mrs. Bonham's death, who, on the 26th, was attacked by an eruptive typhus fever, the nature of which was so very severe that medical assistance had too slight an effect ; and after lingering for nine days, expired yesterday morning at six o'clock. The corpse was so soon putrefied, on account of the severity of the fever, that they were compelled to inter it last night at midnight. I let you imagine the grief that this catastrophe caueed to Mr. Bonham, and all the Europeans. Mr. D'Ozeroff begged my brother to write to you by this opportunity, to present to you hip best regards, and to ask you whether you have taken with you the parcel of letters of recommendation which you received while at Tabreez from the Russian Mission ; should this be the case, Mr. D'Ozeroff would feel exceedingly obliged to you, should you return them to him by the first opportunity, as Count de Medem particularly desired him to send him back the fore -mentioned letters, should you not undertake your journey for England through Russia. My brother sincerely wishes you a merry new year's day, and many returns of the day ; and so does Your most obedient servant, ROBERT CASOLANI. P.S. Your messages, with which I was charged, have been duly delivered. I hope you have till now quite regained your lost strength. All the Europeans send their best regards to you. R. C. During my stay at Erzroom, Ameer Abul Kasem, the Ambassador from Bokhara for Her Majesty Queen Victoria, arrived there ; for, though he was told by Colonel Sheil that he would not be received by the Court of St. James, he nevertheless was determined to proceed on his way to Constantinople, as he had also letters for the Sultan. Previous to my departure from Erzroom, I received the following kind letter from Sir S. Canning : My dear Sir, BuyuTcdere, Oct. 1, 1844. I hope this letter will meet you on your return from Bokhara ; if not, tho Turkish letters, which I now hasten to forward, may possibly be of some service to 840 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION you. At all events, they will show the interest which Turks, as well as Christian*, take in your safety. Her Majesty's Government have shown a laudable zeal on your behalf, by instructing me officially to exert myself for you. I cannot help fearing, that if the former letters have not helped you, these are not likely to prove of much use. But, at all events, they may as well be sent to you. It must be consoling to you to observe the interest which you have generally inspired ; and I assure you that no persons feel a larger share in that interest than Lady C. and myself. May God protect you, my dear Sir, and restore you to those who are capable of appreciating your talents and virtues. Believe me, very sincerely yours, STRATFORD CANNING. Never shall I forget my noble friend Sir S. Canning. I feel towards him an enthusiasm that I never felt to any other ; and how should I feel otherwise to one who has given a greater blow to Muhammedan- ism than any Ambassador ever did ? With one word he, with the as- sistance of the great Guizot at Paris, has overthrown one of the fun- damental laws of Muhammedanism. I called, with Colonel Williams, Colonel Farrant, and Mr. Brant, on His Excellency Kamil Pasha. He told me that the Ambassador from Bokhara had just called on him, when he asked him about the extent and power of Bokhara ; upon which he gave the following exagge- rated statement : That the kingdom of Bokhara was six hundred far- saghs in length, and that the King of Bokhara has two hundred thou- sand regular troops in continual pay, and eight hundred pieces of ar- tillery. Kamil Pasha then asked what had become of Stoddart and Conolly, when he gave the following lying statement : That Stoddart had arrived at Bokhara. Soon after his arrival the King observed that many of the Serkerdeha had become rebellious ; he inquired into the matter, and His Majesty discovered that Colonel Stoddart had been the instigator of the rebellion. With regard to Conolly, he gave the following statement : That Conolly had been at Khokand ; when the King from Bokhara arrived with his army there, that Conolly was made a prisoner, and he did not know his fate. He denied altogether that he had been sent to England, and simply said that his mission was to the Sultan. The evening before my departure from Erzroom, all my English friends, and also Colonel Dainesi, the Russian Commissioner, and Signor Garibaldi, the Russian Vice-Consul, Signor Bertoni, and the American missionaries, assembled in the house of Colonel Williams, where they dined, and drank most cordially my health. On the 27th January a cavass from Kamil Pasha, and another cavass of Mr. Brant, the Consul, with a Takhtravan driver, arrived OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 341 at the door of Colonel Williams. Colonel Williams, Colonel Farrant, Mr. Brant, Calvert, Guarracino, Garibaldi, Bekir Pasha, a Turkish gentleman who was in England, mounted their horses, and I entered my Takhtravan, and they accompanied me three hours to Elijeh. My kind-hearted friends then took a hearty leave of me, embraced me, and then returned to Erzroom, whilst I prosecuted my journey towards Trebizond. Colonel Farrant, a lively, cordial soldier, became a great friend of mine, so that I called him my nephew, and he called me his uncle. I continued my journey, and arrived, on the 28th of January, at Mey-Mansoor, inhabited by Mussulmans. Oh the 29th we arrived at Saaza ; on the 30th at Massad. On the 31st we arrived at Beyboot, where I lodged in the house of an Armenian, not of the best disposi- tion. On the 1st of February we were obliged to remain at Beyboot. Doctor Frankfurter, a Jew from Presburg, in Hungary, was stationed there by the Turkish Government as medical man to superintend the place of quarantine. On the 2nd of February we arrived at Jaajee Koy. On the 3rd of February we arrived at Gumush Khane, where I lodged in the house of a respectable Turk. He was an old man. His name was Mustapha. On the 4th of February we arrived at Ar- tasa. On the 5th we arrived at Yerkopri. On the 6th of February at Yeseer Oglu. I received at this place the following letter from Mr. Stevens, the Vice-Consul of Trebizond : My dear Sir, Trebizond, 6 Feb., 1845. I received late last evening your note from Ardassi, and I hasten to send you out my cavaz, Mehmed Agha, with the enclosed letters, which have accumulated here for you ; and also to write you these lines to welcome you back to Trebizond, where I hope you will arrive in safety to-morrow morning. I shall be at the Lazzaret- to, and bring with me my colleagues. An apartment is being prepared for you. I presume the Ambassador from Bokhara will arrive to-day. My cavaz has orders to communicate with you, and place himself under your orders in quarantine. Send him into the Lazzaretto at least an hour before you reach to- morrow, to give me warning. Mrs. Stevens and my sisters send you compliments. Yours faithfully, FRAS. J. STEVENS. 342 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION CHAPTER XXVIII. Arrival at Trebizond. Folly of Land Quarantine there. Ambassador from Bokhara arrives. One of his old Friends the Makhrams calls on Dr. Wolff ; Dr. Wolff feels reluctant to renew the Intimacy. Visits received by Dr. Wolff when in Quarantine. Letter from Colonel Farrant. Letter from Sir Stratford Canning. Bokhara Ambassador gets Pratique one day before Dr. Wolff. Singular Conduct of the Pasha of Trebizond. Letter from Mr. Brant. Departure for Constantinople. Sinope and Samsoon. Arrival at Constantinople. Dr. Wolff preaches on board the Virago. Letter from Sir Stratford Canning. Dr. Wolff waits upon Their Excellencies Sir Stratford and Lady Canning. Letter from the Honourable Mr. Wellesley. Kindness of the Legation. Letter from the Reverend H. D. Leeves. Arrival of seven Franciscan Friars at Constantinople, expelled from Russia for their refusal to take the Oath of Allegiance to the Czar. Sympathy excited for them. Power of the Romish Church greatly curtailed by the Czar. Letter from Sir Stratford Canning. Visit to Saint Sophia. The Missionaries call on Dr. Wolff. Schauffler ; his extraordinary Acquirements in Language. Kindness of Count Sturmer. Sir Stratford Canning induces Sultan to abolish Punishment of Death for Apostacy ; the Declaration of the Porte. Introduction of Dr. Wolff to the Grand Vizier, the Reis Effendi, the Shekeeb Effendi, and the Sheikh Islam. Introduction to Greek Patriarchs. Liturgies of St. Chrysostom, St. Basil, and St. Gregory. The Patriarch visits Dr. Wolff. Dr. Wolff preaches at the Legation, and in other Places. Kindness of Lady Canning. Letter from the Honourable Mr. Wellesley. Dr. Wolff embarks for England. Arrives at Smyrna. Meets there Lord Clarence Paget and the Reverend H. D. Leeves. Quarantine at Malta. Lord Lorton visits Dr. Wolff in Quarantine. The Bishop of Gibraltar also sees him in Quarantine. Then sails for Gibraltar ; on his arrival there receives Letters from the Governor, Sir Robert Wilson, and the Reverend Dr. Burrow. Reaches South- ampton on April 9th ; meets there Captain Grover, Lady Georgiana, and his Son. Starts for London. Returns thanks to Almighty God for his Preservation in Trinity Church, Gray's Inn Road. Public Meeting at Exeter Hall. Noble Character of Captain Grover. Letter from the Reverend R. W. Stoddart, Vicar of Hundon. Conclusion. I ARRIVED on the 7th of February at the place of quarantine at Trebizond. It is strange to hear of quarantine on land ; and it is one of the most foolish things I ever heard of, for until a caravan ar- rives at Trebizond, it must have touched all the neighbouring places, which are not in quarantine. All the answer I can give is, that all the attempts of the Turks at civilization appear farcical. A room was assigned to me close by the Ambassador of Bokhara. He did not himself come near me, but what is very extraordinary, a Makh- ram sent after us by the Ameer called on me, and he told me that he believes that the Nayeb, Abdul Samut Khan, will have met with his OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 343 deserts already, or will certainly meet with punishment shortly. I confess that I was not easy in his company ; though I know that peo- ple will think that I had imaginary fear, I am not ashamed to confess it. For one thing must be observed, which I have omitted to mention in speaking of Bokhara ; that the King and Abdul Samut Khan are connected with the people called the Ismaelee, whom he sends for some great purposes always to murder people whom he suspects, like the Old Man of the Mountain, the chief of the Assassins. Thus, for instance, one of his Serkerdeha, whom he suspected, and who had fled to Shahr-Sabz, was murdered in the palace of the Khan of Shahr-Sabz, and the head was brought in triumph to Bokhara two months before my arrival. It was said that he was suspected to have been a friend of Stoddart. I have already adverted to the circumstance that one of the Ameer's brothers was murdered at Khokand, and another at Orenbourg, and besides this, that Makhram, whose name was Shereef Sultaun, when- ever he came to me, desired me to send away my servants. It may be objected that the Ameer would not do such a thing, for he would put in jeopardy his own Ambassador ; but to this I answer, such an argument is quite ridiculous, for a savage like the Ameer does not care a straw for the life of his Ambassador. It may be objected also, that the Nayeb would not do such a thing, for he is in the power of the Ameer ; but to this I answer, that it remains still to be seen wheth- er the Ameer will put to death the Nayeb or the Nayeb the Ameer. Both are bent upon each other's destruction, and the self-interests of both cause each to delay the execution of the deed. During my stay in the quarantine, I was visited by the English, Turkish, and Russian Consuls, and also the excellent American mis- sionaries, Messrs. Benjamin and Bliss, who all of them sent me daily European dinners, and visited me daily : and during my stay in the quarantine, I received a letter from Colonel Farrant, which I subjoin. My dear Doctor, Erzeroom, 3lst January, 1845. I write you a few lines to enquire after my good old uncle's health, and hope sincerely this may find you safe and sound at Trebizonde. We all miss you very much here. No news from Persia. Our Gholam arrived in twenty -seven days from Teheran, and was twelve days between Turcomanchaie and Tikmedash. What a lucky escape you had. Bonham writes me that he is broken and destroyed and takes his little boy home in May. I see the book you expected has arrived here for you. Good bye, my dear Doctor, I wish you health and every good, and a happy meeting with Lady Georgiana and Master Charles Henry Drummond, and that your severe trials may meet with their just reward, for you have performed a long and perilous journey. God bless you. Always yours most sincerely, J. FARRANT. 344 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Mind you do not tell the riddle, " My first it." * * * We have had no earth- quakes since you left. Mollah Medhee sends a million selaams, and begs me to tell you that those two turquoise rings were sent you by the Chief Priest's brother of Meshed. Adieu ; take care of yourself. J. F. On another occasion the following reached me from Sir Stratford Canning : My dear Sir, Constantinople, February 7, 1845. I had much pleasure in receiving your letter from Erzroom, and I congratu- late you most cordially on having surmounted with so much fortitude the many difficulties, privations, and dangers with which you have had to contend in the course of your benevolent and bold enterprise. It is well that men of your generous character should be under the special safeguard and direction of Providence. We shall be happy to see you here, and to assist in rendering your pause at Constantinople gratifying and comfortable to you. I understand that you are to put up at the Southgates, though I know not how this is to be managed in the absence of the Bishop. The box of shawls has never reached us ; if it had, Lady Canning would have had much pleasure in forwarding it without availing herself of your kind permission. Dr. Bennett has abandoned for the present his thoughts of retiring. I understand that your converted friend has returned to Meshed, and I think Colonel Williams has counselled you wisely hi that respect. I do not wonder at your expressing yourself so strongly in favour of the Colonel. He has always taken the strongest interest in you. With every good wish from Lady Canning and the children, I beg you will believe me, very sincerely yours, STRATFORD CANNING. One day before our pratique, the Bokhara Ambassador received his, as he had entered one day before me. During his stay in the quarantine, he received every day his victuals from the Pasha, Abdullah by name, who, a few weeks before my arrival, was forced by the Porte to make an apology to the British Vice-Consul in person, for having grossly insulted him. This person differed widely from the former Pasha of Erzroom. He cannot conceal his hatred against Christians, and espe- cially Europeans ; and therefore, whilst he treated the Bokhara Am- bassador with all distinction, he took not the slightest notice of me. I must give an instance in point, to illustrate the character of the Bokhara Ambassador. He had left Bokhara with seven attendants. With these he reached Teheraun. To my greatest surprise he arrived at Trebizond with four-and-twenty. He managed this in the following manner. He collected at Bokhara several of the Bokhara and Khiva merchants, whom he told, " If you pay me a certain sum of money, I shall get your merchandise free into Bokhara." On my arrival at Constantinople I told the Vizier and the Reis Effendi. I omitted to give the following characteristic letter from our consul at Erzroom. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 345 My dear Wolff, Erzeroom, 31st January, 1845. I hope you this morning started from Baiboot, and you ought to be at Trebizond on the evening of the 5th February. I shall be very anxious to hear that you have got on in comfort ; a man reported you well at Maimansoor. Tho second evening I feared you would not get to Khoshappoonah. Do get to England as fast as you can, and do not daudle at Trebizond and Constantinople. Once with Lady Georgiana you will be happy and comfortable, and will be properly attended to ; and I trust you will soon regain your health, and forget the cut-throats of Bok- hara. Write to me when you are at home, and let me know where your living is situated, for I shall one day come and see you. Remember me to our excellent kind friend David Baillie. God bless and preserve you, my dear old fellow, and restore you to your wife and child, and may you enjoy many, many years of health and comfort in a snug living, and after a long life of usefulness may you descend honoured to the grave, soothed by the recollection of a well-spent life and the opening hopes and prospects of a better. With sincere respect and esteem, believe me, my dear Wolff, Your affectionate friend, JAMES BRANT. After I had left quarantine, I took up my abode with Mr. Stevens, from whom I experienced the most cordial reception ; and after having visited the Greek Church, I set out in an Austrian steamer for Con- stantinople with Captain Clician. The Bokhara Ambassador embark- ed with his whole escort, but he had no room in the cabin. The steamer stopped for a few hours at two remarkable places, Samsoon and Sinope, in Paphlagonia. Amisus is the ancient name of Samsoon, which was colonized by the Athenians, and embellished by Mithridates, taken by Lucullus, then by Antony, ruined by the tyrant Strabo, again exalted by Augustus after the victory near Acti- um. Both places, Sinope as well as Samsoon, were governed after this by the son of Isphandiar, then taken by Bayazid the Lame, then by Bayazid the Lightning. Khasee Thselebe, nephew of Khayaz Adden, of the Seljuck dynasty, was master of Sinope. He carried on piracy against the Genoese. There are in both places many mines, and both places are inhabited by Greeks and Turks, and Muhamme- dans of Greek origin, who in secret profess the Greek religion. Sinope is the birthplace of Diogenes. An interesting account of both places is given by Joseph Von Hammer, in his History of the Ottoman Empire. I left Trebizond on the 20th, and arrived at Constantinople on the 23rd February. The moment I arrived in the harbour of Constanti- nople, the steamer Tagus was sailing for England, and as Her Majes- ty's ship Virago was there, commanded by Captain Otway, I sent a note, announcing my arrival, without knowing him personally. He immediately sent a boat after me with a midshipman, and as it was 44 346 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Sunday, I preached in Her Majesty's ship Virago to the officers and crew ; and scarcely had I done preaching, before the following note came from my dear, dear friend, Sir Stratford Canning. My dear Sir, British Embassy, Sunday, February 23, 1845. I rejoice to hear that you arrived at Constantinople this morning, and hope that you are well enough to partake of our dinner to-day at seven. Come to us if you can, and afford me an opportunity of saying in person how cordially I congratu- late you on your providential escape from so many dangers and perilous fatigues. Believe me, faithfully yours, STRATFORD CANNING. When I had finished preaching, breakfasted, and received a shaving from one of the sailors, I called on their Excellent Excellencies Sir Stratford and Lady Canning. Her Ladyship at once told me that she had prepared a room in the palace for me, but as a new Attache, Mr. Douglas, had arrived, her Ladyship could not receive me in the palace, but had taken rooms for me in the Hotel d'Angleterre, where all my expenses should be paid. At Mr. Misiri's, the British Hotel, I met Lord Clarence Paget, Lord Maidstone, Lord Anson, Mr. Rash- leigh, M.P., Mr. Ponsonby, Mr. Hammond, &c. On the 24th of February I received the enclosed letter of the 4th February, from the Honourable Mr. Wellesley, First Secretary to the Legation. Dear Sir, Pera, February 24, 1845. Although I have not the advantage to be personally known to you, I trust that your acquaintance with my mother will excuse my setting aside all forms, and proposing to you to come and dine with me to-morrow at seven o'clock. It will give Mrs. Wellesley and myself the greatest pleasure to have this opportunity of making your acquaintance. Believe me, dear Sir, very faithfully yours, H. WRLLESLET. I give these documents to show the great spirit of kindness and af- fection which warmed every breast in the Legation, from its distin- guished chief downwards, to a humble individual like myself. The last communication I ever received from an individual whose virtues made me as proud of his acquaintance as that of any of the most distinguished parties here, my late lamented and beloved friend, the Reverend H. D. Leeves, chaplain of Athens, I give at length. My dear Dr. Wolff, Smyrna, March 15, 1845. Hearing that you are in the neighbourhood, I write you a line to congratulate you sincerely upon your escape from the perils of your adventurous journey, and to say that I hope I shall soon do the same in person, together with my daughter Mary Anne. We are here together on our way to Syria and Jerusalem, and are staying at the hospitable house of Mr. Lewis, We learn that you come down here by the OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 347 boat which leaves Constantinople on Monday, and will therefore be here on Wed- nesday, and I was charged by Mr. Lewis this morning to say, that he meant to write to you, but as I proposed doing so on my coming into town, he has charged me to say, that he hopes on your arrival you will come up to Boujah, and take up your quarters with him. This I hope, also, you will do, as we shall then be under the same roof, and be together during our stay. We cannot leave for Syria till the 27th, and you, I suppose, will like to halt here for a short tune before you proceed to England. I shall send this to the care of the Ambassador, from whom as well as from Lady Canning you are I doubt not receiving every kindness and assistance. With every good wish, and expecting very soon to shake you by the hand, I am, dear Wolff, Yours affectionately, H. D. LEEVES. Seven Franciscan friars arrived at Constantinople, who were ex- pelled from Russia for having refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Emperor. Great sympathy was excited among the Roman Catholics at Constantinople about them. There is no doubt that the Papal power has received a blow, and will receive a still mightier, in the Russian Empire. I received, on the 1st of March, the following letter of Sir Stratford Canning : Dear Sir, Pera, Saturday, March 1, 1845. Your letters shall be duly forwarded when the messenger goes. If I thought you would be ready with your sermon a regular church discourse to-morrow, I would willingly propose to Dr. Bennett to lend you the pulpit then, without waiting for another week ; but I have not yet seen the Doctor ; the rain has, perhaps, detained him in the country. I understand that you wanted a firman for travelling with ; but if you go away by sea, how can you want a firman ? With respect to the dedication of your Journal, my name, if you really desire it, is at your service ; but I should like to see the record of so much humanity and resolution placed under the auspices of a nobler or a brighter name. I think you told me that you are to dine with the Russian Envoy to-day. I hope we shall have the pleasure of seeing you at dinner to-morrow. Believe me, dear Sir, Faithfully youre, STRATFORD .CANNING. Lords Clarence Paget, Maidstone, Anson, and Ponsonby, Captain Otway, Mr. Rashleigh, M.P., and others, visited the Great Mosque of Saint Sophia, and they invited me to go with them, which I did. Thus have I now seen the greatest churches upon earth St. Peter's at Rome, St. Paul's at London, and St. Sophia's at Constantinople. My missionary friends, Schauffler, Goodell, and Dwight, also called on me. Mr. Southgate has since been made Bishop, by the Episcopal 348 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION Church of America, for all Turkey and its dependencies. Mr. South- gate is a worthy man, but I abstain from any judgment about the in- stitution of Bishoprics undertaken by either the Church of England or America, as I reserve that for a future work, in which I shall de- velope the utility of these Bishoprics, and the impression they have made among the Eastern Churches. I have only to say a few words of Schauffler. This is an extraor- dinary man. When I went from Persia through the Crimea, and arrived at Odessa, I met there a young man, a German, William Schauffler by name, who copied my Journal, though he did not com- pletely understand English. He was a turner by trade. He studied at the Andover seminary, in America, under Moses Stuart ; and after this at Paris, under Silvestre de Sacy. He then went to Vienna, and translated the whole Bible into Jewish Spanish. He now knows twenty-four languages, and is beyond all doubt the most eminent mis- sionary in the Levant. I cannot but speak with gratitude of him and the rest of the missionaries for their kindness. Count Sturmer, the Austrian Internuntio, and his Countess, Mr. Titoff, the Russian Ambassador, and Madame Titoff, frequently in- vited me to dinner, when our conversation was on topics of the high- est importance. William Palmer, of Magdalen College, I observe is well known by the Russian Church, and is highly esteemed. Sir Stratford Canning's exertions, in union with the French and Russian Ambassadors, to effect the abolition of the barbarous law of putting Christians to death who embraced Mohammedanism and then returned to Christianity, were crowned with the most distinguished success. The following declaration was issued by the Sublime Porte: It is the special, and constant intention of His Highness the Sultan, that his cordial relations with the High Powers should be preserved, and that a powerful reciprocal friendship be maintained and increased. The Sublime Porte engages to take effectual measures to prevent henceforward the execution and putting to death of the Christian who is an Apostate. Several Armenians were at Erzroom, who had embraced the Mu- hammedan religion. They were taken by Colonel Williams and Mr, Brant from the palace of the Pasha, and have now openly returned to the Christian religion. There ought to be established a Society for the protection of Eastern Christians arid Jews. By order of Sir Stratford Canning, I was introduced by Messrs. Frederick and Stephen Pisani to Their Excellencies the Grand Vizier, Eaoof Pasha, and to the Reis Effendi, Shekeeb Effendi, who was for- OF DR. WOLJW TO BUKHARA. 349 merly in England, and to the Sheikh Islam. All of them expressed their great sympathy with my sufferings, and their delight to see me again. His Excellency got me introduced to the Greek Patriarch, the successor of St. Chrysostom in the Church of Constantinople, who made me a present of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, and Gregory Theologos, of which I insert an abstract, and refer my readers for further particulars to Appendix No. I. Service Boole, comprising the Divine and Holy Eucharistical Services of JoJin Chrysostom, Basil the Great, and Gregory Dialogus (alias Theologos), namely, for the Sanctified. Moreover, the Orders for all the Ordinations ; the Office of the Marriage Vow, and Crowning; the Office of the Lesser Purification, and Portion of the Communion; and other necessary Prayers for the Chief Priests. Now published for the use of the Chief Priests, by the combined care of the Most Holy Superintendents of the Patriarchal Typography at Constantinople, 1820, at the Greek Press in the Patriarchate, by permission and order of the Holy Synod, To our most venerable Fathers, the most holy Patriarchs, and to our most beloved Brethren, all the Chief Priests, befitting homage and due salutation. It is fit that the husbandman that labours should first partake of the fruits, as the holy Apostle has already spoken. They cultivate, some here, some there, as to every one it is committed ; and they gather as much fruit as the tillage is calculated to produce. Since, then, we have undertaken to labour at the common patriarchal typography of the nation ; but there have joined themselves, and do join themselves, all, so to speak, by spontaneous love of excellence, and unanimous alacrity ; but more actively than the rest they who are comprehended in the hierarchical order, as having sown the seed by their labour as in this soil, it is fit that they before others should reap also of the fruits. Moreover, the book called the Archicraticon (Book of Offices) having fallen short, we thought it right to publish this. Besides, we have introduced many things, which in previous editions were omitted, but which seemed necessary and indispensable ; having also corrected whatever was erroneous in them. And they would have been distributed gratuitously to men of the same order, to be the first- fruits, did it not appear safer that the things belonging to individuals should be dispersed to the public, than that the things of the public should be dispersed to individuals. Thus, then, having chosen the safer part, accept this book, and with us carry it forth, sowing in this furrow a more abundant seed, that it may bear a larger crop. Farewell ! THE SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE PATRIARCHAL TYPOGRAPHY. His Holiness paid me back my visit. He, as well as the Armenian Patriarch, spoke with high regard of Dr. Tomlinson, and called him their dear brother. The Greek Patriarch observed, " This is a Bish- op with some sense*" His further remarks I shall notice in a fu- ture publication. I also called on the Armenian Patriarch, and on the Armenian Catholic ; all of them treated me with the greatest kind- ness, and paid me the compliment that 1 had always acted in my mis- sionary pursuits in such a manner as not to grieve the Eastern churches, since I had directed my attention to those out of the Church. 350 WAKKATIVK OF THE MISSION I preached several times, not only in the English Embassy, but also in the house of Sir Stratford Canning, and expounded my views on the personal reign of Christ, in the palace of Count Sturmer, and Mr. Titoff, in the presence also of Prince Dolgorouki, Mr. Lecoque, the Prussian Ambassador, and others. On the eve of my departure, Sir Stratford and Lady Canning had so arranged matters, that I had nothing to pay either for my stay at Constantinople, or my journey to England. Lady Canning herself took care to have my trunks packed up, and sent a present of an Ar- menian scarf to Lady Georgiana. I received the inclosed letter from the Hon. Mr. Wellesley : My dear Sir, Constantinople, March 20, 1845. Here is the letter you wished to have for my father. I hope to find a moment this morning to wish you Good-bye ; in case, however, I should be prevented, pray accept Mrs. Wellesley's and my best wishes for a prosperous journey home. Yours very faithfully, H. WELLESLEY. I then embarked in the Oriental Peninsular Company's steamer, The Duke of Cornwall, for England. We stopped twelve hours at Smyrna. Immediately on my arrival there, Lord Clarence Paget, whom I had seen at Constantinople, sent a boat from his ship, the Aigle, to invite me to breakfast, where I met the Rev. W. Lewis, Chaplain, and my now dear departed friend, the Rev. H. D. Leeves. I then embarked again with two fellow-passengers, Captain Irvine and Captain Macpherson, who took brotherly care of me during the voyage to Malta, where they disembarked. I stopped in quarantine, at Malta, two days, to wait for passengers from India, via Alexandria. During our short stay at Malta, Lord Viscount Lorton, to whom I have the honour to be chaplain, and the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Gibraltar, called on me, and regretted that they could not shake hands with me in quarantine. At last Sir Joseph Sackville, Colonel Ovans, and seventy other passengers, ar- rived from Alexandria. We sailed that same day, and arrived, on the 2nd of April, in the harbour of Gibraltar, where I received the two following letters, one from His Excellency the Governor, Sir Robert Wilson, which I give : Dear Sir, It gives me great pleasure to afford you any gratification. We had accom- panied you in your generous career with our best wishes, and trust your health has not been impaired. I have only to regret no personal communication is admissible. Yours truly, Gibraltar, April 2nd, 1845. R. WILSON, G. G. OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 351 And another from that most dear and interesting individual, Dr. Burrow : My dear Sir, I cannot express my regret and disappointment at not having it in my power to take you by the hand, and to congratulate you on your arrival in safety under the guns of a British fortress. I have looked with deep anxiety for the vessel which might be bringing you home again from your perilous but truly Christian enterprise. We all bless God that He has been pleased to preserve you under the many trying circumstances which have passed since we last met, and trust that He has yet hi store for you, even in this life, the reward of your charitable labours. Had it been possible, I would have put myself into a boat, merely for the chance of having a few words with you alongside, but unfortunately I am confined to the house by a severe cold, which has settled in my face, and threatens to prevent my doing duty, if not attended to. I am sorry to say that I have no newspapers of my own to offer you, but I win send and endeavour to procure some, without loss of time. Mrs. Burrow and my family unite in best wishes with, Dear Sir, your very faithful servant, E. J. BURROW. Wednesday, April 2, 1845. On the 9th of April I arrived off the Isle of Wight ; on the llth I disembarked at Southampton, where I met, on the shore, my most dear and excellent friend, Captain Grover, and many other friends, all cheering me ; and, a few minutes after, my dear wife and child. Captain Grover had procured an order from the Lords of the Treasury that my presents from the different Sovereigns and Ambassadors should be duty free. After this I arrived on the 12th in London. I embraced the first opportunity that presented itself of returning thanks to Almighty God for my preservation at Bokhara, and in the deserts of Merwe and Sarakhs, in Trinity church, of which my friend, the Rev. J. W. Worthington, D.D., is the incumbent. I preached there to a numer- ous congregation, and have received, since my return to town, the vis- its of many most distinguished individuals. It was considered proper, on the part of the Stoddart and Conolly Committee, that a public meeting should take place in Exeter Hall ; I attended it, and spoke for several hours, and was heard with the deep- est attention. To my kind friend, Captain Grover, at the conclusion of this Nar- rative, which never would have been furnished to the public but for his manifold kindness in numerous ways, I cannot but publicly ex- press my feeling that the most disinterested, generous, noble-minded, and zealous friend which Stoddart and Conolly could have had, and which I could have had during the whole period of my wandering, 352 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION detention in Bokhara, and after my arrival home, and the most zeal- ous friend the British Army could have, is that gentleman. One who was no niggard from his disinterested character of his scanty income ; one who has reproved the lukewarmness and indifference of others, whose duty it was to have shown greater zeal in the cause of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly. I must here state to the public, that Captain Grover spent four hundred pounds out of his own pocket for defraying the expense of my journey ; and besides that, more than two hundred pounds, in order to interest the Russian Government in my behalf on his journey for that object to St. Petersburg. Among the various letters that I have received since my return, I have to lay before the public one from a worthy member of the Stod- dart family, the Rev. R. W. Stoddart, Vicar of Hundon : Hundon Vicarage, Near Close, Suffolk, April (May) 1th, 1845. Rev. and dear Sir, As a cousin of the ill-fated and much-lamented Colonel Stoddart, one of the Bokhara victims, I take the liberty of writing to you, to express, as one of his rela- tives, a deep sense of gratitude due to you especially, in the risking your life in search of him and his fellow captives. Only weekly receiving a paper in tliis retired spot, I have just read with deep regret, that the harmony of the meeting at Exeter Hall should have been so unfortunately interrupted by my cousin, the Rev. George Stod- dart. I am at a loss to know the grounds of his charge against Captain Grover, evi- dently based upon something which he has seen hi the red book published by that gentleman ; but I feel that nothing justifies his interruption of a meeting so harmo- nious as it appears otherwise to have been, hi expressing the high sense of gratitude due to yourself, and Captain Grover as a promoter of your self-sacrificing journey, wherein your own life was in danger. Whatever advice of my cousin's friends might have caused him for a time to as- sume the garb of a Mussulman, yet I felt from the first that nothing would show but that he died in the faith of Jesus, which I am glad to see confirmed by your statement ; and before any would detract from his honour or Christian faith, let men bear in mind, that a captive in a dungeon might be made to appear outwardly in the garments of any faith, but inwardly his heart was evidently unchanged. Also from the very first I entertained no hope of his life having been spared, and especially after the blood on our flag in the Afghanistan war ; for I observed, after reading that, that without doubt poor Charles's fate was fixed : yet a superficial hope still re- mained upon my mind, and every letter which you have sent I have read with deep and painful interest. I think also our best thanks are due to Captain Grover, for his interest and sacrifice made in the good hope of rescuing a fellow soldier from the tyrant's grasp. No praise I feel to be too much to be given to you both ; and per- haps you will be kind enough, as I know not his address, to convey mine, and in them the expression of the feelings of the relatives of Colonel Stoddart, to him. My means are limited, but if you will be kind enough to tell the Secretary of the Stod- dart Fund to place my name down as a subscriber of a sovereign to the testimonial you so justly deserve, I shall feel obliged. I would that I could give ten times the amount ; and most happy should I be to see a subscription to reimburse Captain OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. Grover, to which I would willingly give my mite. Hoping that you will meet in another and better world with the reward due to your endeavours to rescue the cap- tives from their dungeon, is the prayerful wish of Yours very truly, R. W. STODDART. I have now to thank my readers for the patience with which they have hitherto indulged me ; and I trust that the time will never come when the lot of the captive in the dungeon shall cease to command the deep sympathy of a British public ; and that the slight effort here made for the lives of the brethren will in no wise be measured by its success, but by the important principle it has developed, that there exists not a recess so dark upon God's earth into which Philanthropy will not pour its light ; that Eastern tyranny can neither daunt nor subdue the Christian principle, but that it will force its way like the mighty leaven that leaveneth the mass, not only to the remotest ends of the earth, but possess every particle in it with its own benevolence, charity, and love. 45 APPENDIX, i. The three Liturgies of St. Chrysostom, St. Basil, and St. Greg- ory, with various Rites and Ceremonies of the Greek Church, and separate Prayers. Passages from the Greek Liturgy, or Communion Service of St. Chrysostom. A Prayer which immediately precedes the singing of the Cherubical Hymn, or Trisagium, beginning, " Holy, holy, holy." Oh, holy God, who hast thy resting place in the holy ; whose praises the seraphim chant in triple invocation ; who art glorified by the cherubim, and worshipped by every heavenly power ; who from not being hast brought all things to be ; who createdst man after thine own image and similitude, and adornedst him with every grace of thine own ; who givest to him that asketh wisdom and understanding, and dost not neglect the sinner, but enduest him with repentance unto salvation ; Thou who hast granted to us, thy poor and unworthy servants, even at this time, to stand before the glory of thy holy altar, and to offer thy due of worship and praise, do Thou thyself, O Lord, receive, though from the mouth of us sinners, this Trisagium, and look upon us in thy goodness. Forgive us every transgression, voluntary and involuntary ; sanctify our souls and bodies ; and grant us in holiness to serve Thee all the days of our life, by the intercession of the holy Mother of God, and of all the saints who, from the beginning, have been pleasing to Thee ; for Thou, our God, art holy, and to Thee we give praise, to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, now and for ever. A Prayer said by the Bishop during the singing of the Trisagium. O King of Glory, none of those who are bound by fleshly lusts and pleasures is worthy to approach or draw nigh to Thee, or to officiate unto Thee ; for to minis- ter before Thee is a great and fearful thing, even for the heavenly powers themselves ; and yet, in thine unspeakable and unlimited love for us, Thou didst become surely and substantially man, and wert called our High Priest, and gavest to us the minis- try of this eucharistic and unbloody sacrifice, as being Lord of all. For Thou alone, O Lord our God, art the Master of all things in heaven and in earth, riding on the throne of the cherubim, the Lord of seraphim and the King of Israel, alone holy, and making thy resting-place among the holy. Thee, therefore, I venerate, who alone art good and ready to hear ; look upon me, a sinner and an unprofitable ser- vant, and cleanse my spirit and my heart from conscience of evil, and enable me by the power of thy Holy Spirit, being endued with the grace of the priesthood, to stand at this thy holy table, and to offer thy holy and undefiled body and thy precious blood. For Thro I approach with bended neck, and entreat Thee turn not thy face from me, and reject me not from among thy children. But grant that these gifts may be offered to Thee by me, a sinful and unworthy servant, for Thou art He 356 APPENDIX. that offerest and art offered, and receives! and distributes!, O Christ our God ; and to Thee do we give glory, together with thy eternal Father, and the all-holy, and good, and life-giving Spirit, now, henceforth, and for ever. Amen. A Catholic Commemoration of the Servants of God. (The Bishop says:) And we offer to Thee this our reasonable service in behalf of all those who have fallen asleep in the faith ; for our forefathers, fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, ascetics, and every spirit made perfect in faith. (With an uplifted voice :) Chiefly for her, our all-holy, undefined, most blessed, and glorious mistress, the Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary. (Then in the same tone as before :) For the holy John, Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist ; for the glorious saints and ever blessed apostles ; for the saint whom we commemorate, and all thy saints, at whose supplication may God look upon us. And remember all that have fallen to sleep in hope of a resurrection to eternal life, and grant them to rest, O our God, there, where the light of Thy countenance looketh upon them. Yet, again, we be- seech Thee, O Lord, remember the whole order of bishops among the orthodox, who rightly divide the word of thy truth ; the whole order of priests ; the diaconate in Christ, and every order Holy and Monastic. Yet, again, we offer to Thee this reasonable service in behalf of the whole world ; for the holy catholic and apos- tolic Church ; for those who live in chastity and sober conversation ; for our most religious and Christian kings, for all the palace, and their army. Grant them, O Lord, a kingdom of peace, that we, also, in their peace, may lead a calm and quiet life hi all sanctity and soberness. (Then with an uplifted voice :) Especially, O Lord, remember our archbishop (here mentioning his name), whom bestow upon thy holy churches in peace, in safety, in honour, hi health, living long, and rightly dividing the word of Thy truth. (Here the Deacon reads out from the Roll the names of illustrious living Members of the Church ; after which the Bishop continues :) Remember, O Lord, the city in which we sojourn, and every city and country, and the faithful who live in them. Remember, Lord, all that travel by sea and land ; those who are sick, in trouble, and hi prison, and save them. Remember, Lord, those who bring forth fruit and rightly serve Thee in thy holy churches, and those who are mindful of the poor ; and upon all of us send forth thy mercies ; and grant us to glorify Thee with one mouth and with one heart, and to sing the praise of thy honourable and glorious name, the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, now, henceforth, and for ever. And the mercies of the great God, and of our Saviour Je- sus Christ, shall be with us all. Passages from the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. A Prayer of the Bishop after the Cherubic Hymn and the Oblation of the Elements. O Lord our God, who hast made us and brought us into this life, who hast showed us the way of salvation, and of thy grace hast revealed to us heavenly mysteries, and APPENDIX. 857 appointed us to this ministry with the power of thy Holy Spirit ; be moreover well pleased, O Lord, that we should be ministers of thy new covenant, and celcbratora of thy holy mysteries. According to the multitude of thy mercy, receive us who draw nigh to thy holy altar, that we may be worthy to offer unto Thee this reason- able and unbloody sacrifice on behalf of our own sins and the ignorances of the peo- ple ; receive it as a sweet-smelling savour upon thy holy and reasonable altar which is above the heavens, and send down in return upon us the grace of thy Holy Spirit Look upon us, O God, and behold this our service, and accept it as Thou didst ac- cept the gifts of Abel, the victims of Noah, the sufferings of Abraham, the sacrifices of Moses and Aaron, and the peace offerings of Samuel. As Thou didst accept this real service from thy holy Apostles, so in thy goodness, O Lord, accept also these gifts from the hands of us, sinners that we are, that we, being admitted to minister without blame at thy holy altar, may receive the reward of faithful and wise stew- ards in the dreadful day of thy righteous retribution. A Prayer of the Bishop after the Versicles, Lift up your hearts, Let us give thanks unto our Lord God. O Thou who art our Master, Lord God, almighty and adorable Father ; it is very meet, right, and suitable to the majesty of thy holiness, that we should praise Thee, celebrate Thee in song, bless Thee, worship Thee, give thanks unto Thee, and glo- rify Thee, who alone art really God, and offer unto Thee this our reasonable service with a contrite heart and humble spirit ; for it is Thou who hast granted us the knowledge of thy truth ; and who is able to express thy noble acts, or show forth all thy praise, or to tell of all the marvellous works that Thou hast done since the world began? O Ruler of all men, Lord of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible ; Thou who sittest upon the throne of glory, and lookest upon infinity ; eter- nal, invisible, incomprehensible, indefinable, invariable ; the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the great God and Saviour, our hope, who is the image and exact impression of thy goodness, showing the Father in Himself, the living Word, very God, Wisdom from before all worlds, Life, Sanctification, Power ; the true Light from whom there has shone forth the Holy Spirit ; the Spirit of truth, the gift of the adoption, the earnest of the inheritance to come ; the first-fruits of good things which will never pass away ; the life-giving power, the fountain of sanctification from whom all rea- sonable and sensible creation receiveth power to do its services unto Thee, and to send up unto Thee for evermore its praise, for all things are in subjection under Thee. To Thee give praise angels and archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, pow- ers, forces, and the cherubim, full of eyes ; around Thee stand the seraphim, of whom each one hath six wings, with twain they cover their faces, with twain they cover their feet, and with twain do they fly, while each one crieth unto another with lips that never cease, and praises that sound for evermore, (Here shall the voice be exalted,) Singing the hymn of triumph, exclaiming, crying out, and saying, (Here probably the choir sang an hymn. Then shall he continue :) With these blessed powers, O merciful Lord, we sinners also do cry aloud, and say, Holy art Thou of a truth, and altogether holy, and there is no bound to the ma- jesty of thy holiness, and holy in all thy works, for in righteousness and true judg- ment hast Thou brought all things upon us. For when, by taking the dust of the ground, and honouring it, God though Thou wert, with thine own image, Thou hadst made man, Thou didst place him in the garden of pleasure, and didst promise unto him everlasting life, and the enjoyment of eternal happiness, by the keeping of 358 APPENDIX. thy commandments. But when he was disobedient to Thee the true God, hia Creator, and was led astray by the guile of the serpent, and was dead in his own transgressions, in thy righteous judgment Thou, O God, didst put him forth from the garden into this world, and badest him return unto the ground from which he was taken, instituting at the same time the economy for his salvation by regenera- tion, to be brought about by thy Christ Himself. For Thou didst not utterly cast away thy creatures which Thou hadst made, O good Lord, nor didst Thou cease to remember the work of thine hands : but Thou didst look upon him in divers manners through the bowels of thy compassion ; Thou didst send forth from Thee prophets and didst work miracles by thy saints who found favour in thy eyes in each genera- tion ; Thou spakest unto us by the mouth of thy servants the prophets, declaring unto us before -hand the salvation which was to come ; Thou gavest for our help the law ; Thou didst place over us the angels as guardians ; but when the fulness of tune was come Thou didst speak to us by thy Son Himself, by whom also Thou madest the worlds, who, being the brightness of thy glory, and the express image of thy person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, thought it not robbery to be equal with God and the Father. But God, though He was from everlasting, yet He appeared upon the earth, and had his conversation among the children of men ; for, being incarnate of a holy Virgin, He emptied Himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was found in the humble fashion of us men, that he might make us be found in the glorious fashion of his own image. For since through man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, it pleased thy only-begot- ten Son, who was in the bosom of Thee, God and Father, being born of a woman, the holy Mother of God, and ever Virgin Mary, and being under the law to con- demn sin in his own flesh, so that they who were dead in Adam might be made to live in thy Christ. And when He had formed to Himself a kingdom in this world, and given the ordinances of salvation, and brought us back from wandering after idols, He led us on to the knowledge of Thee the true God and Father. And hav- ing gotten us for Himself as a peculiar people, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, and having made us clean by water, and having sanctified us by the Holy Spirit, He gave Himself as a ransom for us from the death in which we were holden, sold under sin ; and going down by means of the cross into hell, that He might be the fulfilling of all things, He overcame the sharpness of death, and by rising again on the third day He opened a way for all flesh to the resurrection from the dead. And since it was not possible that He, the Author of life, should be holden of corruption, He became the first-fruits of them that slept, the first-born of the dead, that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. And when He had ascended into heaven He sate down at the right hand of thy Majesty on high. And He shall come also to repay every man according to his works. He left behind Him for us these me- morials of his saving passion, which we have offered before Thee according to his commandments. For when He was about to go forth to his voluntary, and memorable, and life-giving death, in the night in which He gave Himself up for the life of the world, He took bread in his holy and undefiled hands, and having oifered it up to Thee, God and Father, having given thanks, and blessed it. and consecrated it, and broken it, (Here shall he exalt Ms voice,) He gave it to his holy disciples and apostles, saying, (Here follow the usual formulae of consecration of the elements.} Another Prayer at a later period of the Service. O God, the God of our salvation, teach us to give thanks unto Thee, as we ought, for the benefits which we have received, and are receiving at thy hand. Tiiou, APPENDIX. 359 who art our God, and hast received these gifts, cleanse us from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, and teach us to fulfil all righteousness in the fear of Thee, so that receiving our share of thy holy things with the witness of a pure conscience, we may be made one with the holy body and blood of thine anointed, and having been worthy recipients of the same, may we have Christ dwelling within our hearts, and may we become the temple of thy Holy Spirit ; so let it be, O God. And let none of us be guilty of these thy fearful and heavenly mysteries, nor let there be any among us weak in soul or body, from having shared in them unworthily, but grant that until our last breath we may worthily receive our portion of thy holy elements, so that they may be our viaticum to eternal life, and enable us to make an acceptable answer at the tremendous judgment seat of Jesus Christ, so that we, with all the saints who have found favour before Thee in every generation, may be partakers of those good things which Thou hast prepared for evermore for those who love Thee, O Lord. Passages from the Missa Prasanctificatorum, used only on days of fasting. O Lord, compassionate and merciful, of long suffering and great pity, incline unto our prayer, and listen to the voice of our supplication. Show upon us some sign for good. Lead us in thy path, that we may walk in thy truth. Make glad our hearts within us, that we may fear thy holy name, for Thou art great, and dost wondrous things. Thou only art God, and among the gods there is none like unto Thee, O Lord. Thy power is merciful, and thy loving kindness is strong, to help, comfort, and serve all those who put their trust in thy holy name. Prayer of the Introit. At evening, and morning, and noonday we praise, bless, give thanks unto, and make supplication unto Thee, O Ruler of all, O Lord, who lovest mankind ; let our prayers arise up before Thee as incense, and let not our hearts be inclined to any evil thought or word ; but deliver us from all those who seek after our souls to do them evil, for upon Thee, O Lord, upon Thee our eyes do wait ; we have put our trust hi Thee, O God ; let us not be confounded. For there is all glory, &c. Another Prayer. O great and adorable God, who, by the life-giving death of thy Son, hast made us pass from corruption into incorruption, make all our senses free from whatsoever of death remains in them, and maintain as a trustworthy Ruler over them the Reason which Thou hast placed within us. Let no evil look glance from the eye, no idle word mount up into the ear, and let the tongue be pure from all unseemly sayings. Make our lips clean wherewith we bless thee, O Lord. Keep our hands from all wicked actions, and make them labour only at such things as are well pleasing unto Thee, and by thy grace preserve all our members and our understanding in perfect safety. A Prayer for the Benediction of the Branches on Palm Sunday. O Lord our God, who sittest upon the cherubim, who didst raise up thy power and didst send forth thy only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that He might save the world by his death, burial, and resurrection, who, as He came into Jeru- salem to his voluntary sufferings, was met by the people who sate in darkness and the shadow of death, bearing the signs of victory, branches of trees and boughs of palm, 360 APPENDIX. foreshowing thereby his resurrection ; preserve now us also, O Lord, who after this example are carrying in our hands this day before the feast boughs and branches of trees, and watch over us as we shout Hosanna unto Thee, as did the crowds and children at that day, so that with hymns and spiritual songs we may be thought worthy to celebrate the life-giving resurrection of the three days, through Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom Thou art to be praised with the all-holy and good Spirit, the giver of life, now and ever, world without end. Amen. A Prayer to be said over Penitents. O God, our Saviour, who through thy prophet Nathan didst grant unto David forgiveness of his sins, and didst accept the prayer of Manaeses, which he offered up, being penitent, accept now, O Lord, with thy accustomed loving kindness, this thy servant (here the name is repeated), whorepenteth him for the evil that he has done, and pass over all that he has committed, Thou who puttest away iniquity and re- memberest transgressions no more. For thou hast said, O Lord, " He desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live ;" and hast told us how sins ought to be forgiven until seventy times seven. As thy greatness is incomparable, so is thy mercy infinite ; for if Thou be extreme to mark what is done amiss, who may abide it ? For Thou art the God of the penitent, and to Thee, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, we ascribe glory, now and always, world without end. Amen. An Absolutory Prayer for the Dead. O Lord our God, who of thy unspeakable wisdom didst make man out of dust, and didst form him into shape and comeliness, and didst beautify him as a precious and heavenly possession for the praise and majesty of thy glory and kingdom, by the leading of a life according to the image and similitude which he bare, and when he had transgressed the commandment of thy ordinance, and had not preserved this image, but departed from it, didst, in order that the evil might not be everlasting, mercifully command, by thy divine will, as the God of our Father, that this com- pound and mixture should be dissolved, and this wonderful bond should be broken, and didst command that the Spirit should return thither where it received its being, to await the general resurrection, but the body return to the earth as it was, we beseech Thee, eternal Father, and thy only begotten Son, and the all holy and consubstantial Spirit, the giver of life, that Thou wilt not suffer the work of thy hands to be swallowed up in destruction, but that his body may be dissolved into the dust of which it was composed, and that his soul may take its place in the assembly of the just. Yea, O Lord our God, let thy boundless mercy, and thine infinite compassion prevail, and whether this thy servant fell under the curse of father or mother, or the sin of his own soul, or provoked one of thy priests, and was bound by him in a chain which cannot be broken, or was suffering under the most grievous excommunication of the bishop, and through his sloth or neglect had not obtained absolution, absolve him through me, sinner and unworthy servant of thine that I am Dissolve his body into the dust of which it was composed, and bid his soul take its place in the habitations of the saints. Yea, O Lord our God, who didst give this power to thy divine and holy apostles for the forgiveness of sins by them, and didst say, Whatsoever things ye shall bind and loose, shall be bound and loosed, loose this thy departed servant (here shall his name be mentioned) from his sins of body and soul, and let him be absolved now and hereafter, through the intercession of our un- defiled Lady, the Mother of God and ever Virgin Mary, and all thy saints. Amen. APPENDIX. 361 A Benedictory Prayer of the Bishop in the Service for Nuptials. Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, who didst consecrate the mystic and undefiled rite of matrimony ; who art the Ruler of our bodily life, the Guardian of our immortality, the good Dispenser of the things of this world. O Thou our Master, who didst form man in the beginning, and didst appoint him as king of creation, and didst say, It is not meet that man should be alone upon the earth ; let us make him an help meet for him ; and having taken one of his ribs, didst form woman, whom, when Adam saw, he said, " This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man ; for this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh ; and whom God hath joined together, let not man put asunder ;" O Thou our Lord and Master, and our God, send thy heavenly grace on these thy servants (here mentioning the names of the couple) ; and grant to this damsel to be subject to her husband in all things, and to this thy servant that he may be as the head of the woman, that they may live according to thy will. Bless them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst bless Abraham and Sarah. Bless them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst bless Isaac and Rebecca. Bless them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst bless Jacob and all the Patriarchs. Bless them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst bless Joseph and Asenath. Bless them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst bless Moses and Zipporah. Bless them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst bless Zachariah and Elizabeth. Preserve them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst preserve Noah in the ark. Preserve them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst preserve Jonah in the belly of the whale. Preserve them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst preserve the three Holy Children from the fire, sending upon them the dew of heaven : and may there come upon them that joy which St. Helen had when she found the precious cross. Re- member them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst remember Enoch, Shem, Elias. Remember them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst remember thy forty holy Martyrs,, sending down their crowns from heaven. Remember also, O Lord, their parents who reared them, for the prayers of parents establish the foundations of the house. Remember, O Lord our God, thy servants the para-nymphs assembled at this rejoicing. Remember, O Lord our God, this thy servant and thy handmaid, and bless them ; grant them the fruit of the womb, the grace of children, and agreement in spirit and in body ; exalt them as the cedar of Libanus, and as the choice-clus- tering vine ; grant them to be as the fruitful vine, that, having all-sufficiency, they may abound unto every work that is good and well-pleasing to Thee, and may see their children's children as the young olive-branches round about their table, and being acceptable before Thee, may shine as lights in the heaven : through Thee, our Lord, with whom be glory, and power, and honour, and worship, together with thy eternal Father, and thy life-giving Spirit, now, henceforth, and for ever. Amen. A Prayer said by the Bishop over one employed to travel officially. O God our God, who art the true and living way, who didst accompany thy servant Joseph on his journey, accompany, O Lord, this thy servant (mentioning his name} ; protect him from robbers and pirates, and every plot of the murderous enemy of man. Forgive him every transgression, voluntary and involuntary, what- soever he has committed in deed, in word, or in intention, whether in knowledge or in ignorance. Preserve his life unassaulted, and his soul pure from all defilement. Prosper his movements, and conduct his plans ; keep him in health and of a sound mind in all to which his mind shall be given. Even so we pray Thee, O almighty 46 362 APPENDIX. King and long-suffering Lord, hear me, unworthy as I am, for thy goodness ; and overlooking all the offences of thy servant (here mentioning his name}, enrich him with thy grace, and make him full of all thy earthly and heavenly gifts, and an inheritor of thy divine glory and of thine unspeakable peace ; for thine is the king- dom, the power, and the glory, O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, now, henceforth, and for ever. Amen. II. Narrative of Events which happened to Dr. Wolff at Bokhara, and on his Journey thence to Teheraun ; BY ABDUL WAHAB, MIRZA, PAINTER, WATCHMAKER, AND TAILOR. IN company with the exalted Abbas Kouli Khan, as will now be detailed, the Rev. Joseph Wolff arrived in Bokhara. Before the Ameer of Bokhara admitted Joseph Wolff to his presence, he assembled several of his Grandees to consult with him, saying, " What answer shall I give to the English envoy respecting putting to death two English gentlemen, Stoddart and Conolly?" They answered, " Your Majesty knows best." His Majesty said, " Let us say that they committed high treason, and therefore we have seized them and put them to death." The Grandees said to the Ameer, " This gentleman who is now come, seize him and put him to death. Who is he ? He may be coming with an army towards Bokhara, and he may possibly take Bokhara." His Majesty answered, " Let us wait to see wnat he will do when he arrives in Bokhara." A Chamberlain from the King then went to Joseph Wolff, saying, " Tell us what is your object, that I may inform His Majesty." Joseph Wolff answered, " I have letters from the Shah and Sultan. Why do you maltreat a stranger? And why have you put to death two English gentlemen ? Answer me what was their crime ? By what religion or creed is this right, killing your guests ?" The King of Bokhara had no answer to give. The Chamberlain then left. The King sent Joseph Wolff to the Nayeb, Abdul Samut Khan, to receive answers from him about the execution. Joseph Wolff, on a Monday, at nine o'clock, went with Dil Assa Khan, whom the Assaff-ood-Dowla had sent from Meshed with him, in company with a Makhram, Mullah Kasem, to Abdul Samut Khan. They seated themselves on the balcony of the house of the Nayeb, with Abdul Samut Khan. A conversation then took place on the subject of Stoddart and Conolly, opened by Dr. Wolff. Abdul Samut Khan attributed to Stoddart and Conolly crimes that they had not committed (of which Heaven is witness). Dr. Wolff perceived that he should be implicated in a troublesome matter if he said, " You have made false imputations with respect to those gentlemen," and probably be put to death himself. He said nothing. Afterward Abdul Samut Khan said to Joseph Wolff, that His Majesty had writ- ten a letter to the Dowlat, asking information as to the capacity in which they had APPENDIX. 363 come to Bokhara. From the time of their arrival in Bokhara other kings had be- come rebellious. (This account was false, and these gentlemen calumniated ; for from the most ancient times, from the reign of Shah Hydur, the father of the pres- ent King, Khokand and Khiva had been yearly at war with Bokhara.) Joseph Wolff replied, " The letter which the Dowlat received through India was answered a year ago. Why do you utter falsehoods ?" (But this letter had not reached the King, though it had certainly been received by the Nayeb. The Nayeb only owned to this two days before his departure for Khokand. He had re- ceived it by Nasir Hirullah, a Cabulee.) We come now to later circumstances. From the arrival of Joseph Wolff until Abbas Kouli Khan came, Joseph Wolff was greatly distressed hi mind, as shall be explained. One day they brought Joseph Wolff to Abdul Samut Khan's house, when the following circumstances occurred, in company with Mullah Kasem, the Chamber- lain, and Dil Assa Khan. After the crimes which they imputed to Stoddart and Conolly had been named, which Joseph Wolff refused to answer, the Chamberlain went to the King, and reported his silence, and represented that Joseph Wolff, who had heard the offence of the officers in the Nayeb's house, and the statement against Stoddart and Conolly, was convinced of their guilt. The Ameer was greatly delighted to J with the design of plundering them. They had completely surrounded them, and were in every d/rerdon about Joseph Wolff. He went to Abbas Kouli Khan, and said to him, " The tribute for the slaves had better be paid out of the money that is deposited in the chests." He replied, " If this is done, the Turko- mauns will be sure to repeat their conduct, and no one will be able to bear them." Abbas Kouli Khan sent for Chajem Shakur, a person of consideration among the Turkomauns. When he came, Abbas Kouli Khan said to him, " How is it that there is all this trouble with the Turkomauns? If you seek tribute from the slaves, they have no property. From Bokhara to Meshed, I, out of mere kindness, pay their expenses. Do leave off acting in this monstrous way, and do not annoy the Englishman by going continually to his tent. Heaven knows, if you do the slightest injury to any of the people of the caravan, the Government shall hear of it, and they will settle the matter with you." Chajem Shakur replied, " If either you or the Englishman suffer the least injury, even as much as a grain of mustard-seed, from the Turkomauns, I, Chajem Shakur, with my whole tribe, shall suffer by the Assaff-ood-Dowla." Abbas Kouli Khan made answer, " If you speak truly, go and tell the Turkomauns to disperse." Chajem Shakur made no reply, but obeyed Abbas Kouli Khan, went to the Turkomauns and told them to go their own way. From the station at Alak, Abbas Kouli Khan, Joseph Wolff, and Sabhan Kouli Beyk, the Master of the Kitchen, together with Abul Kasem and myself, went to- wards Shorak. At Alak, Abbas Kouli Khan gave one hundred tillahs present and delivered it into the hands of Sabhan Kouli Beyk. The latter having received it, went off, and we made for the station of Shorak. The English Government are aware that the aim of those employed in the Bok- hara service is to preserve the honour of their King, and that the aim of Abbas Kouli khan was the same with regard to the King of Iraun. He brought Bihzar 47 370 APPENDIX. Mahr, who had come from Bokhara to keep an especial eye towards the honour of the King of Iraun, to Joseph Wolff, accompanied by about a thousand, great and small, whom he had set at liberty, and the expense being defrayed, he took them to Meshed. We next went to Mazduran. In the course of the journey, Mullah Mehdee Is- laam ladeed came to Joseph WollF. At Mazduran we happened to pitch our tent8 close by that of Dr. Wolff, at the bank of the river. Joseph Wolff's great desire seemed to be to reach Meshed. From Mazduran we went to Chehar Gumbad. There, in the midst of the desert, Abbas Kouli Khan and Joseph Wolff pitched their tents at the bank of the river. Meer Abul Kasem had said to Joseph Wolff at Mazduran, " You must give me presents previous to your entering Meshed ; for I must enter Meshed in the midst of the people with new trappings." Joseph Wolff replied, " The Envoy at Teheraun will give you a present." At Chehar Gumbad, Meer Abul Kasem sent his men forward to attend Joseph Wolff, in order that we might arrive on the next day at Meshed. He again said, " I have no good trap- pings. You must assuredly give me a robe of honour ; for to-morrow we shall be entering Meshed." Joseph "Wolff replied, " I have nothing but a single garment, a robe of honour, which His Majesty the King of Bokhara gave me as a present, and one Cashmeer shawl which I got for my wife. I must take the present of the Bashal with me to London. Meer Abul Kasem more than once said to Joseph Wolff in an outrageous way, " Let them go and fetch me the shawl that the Bashal gave you as a present." Dr. Wolff said that he had no choice ; he gave the shawl to Meer Abul Kasem. But the latter was not satisfied with the shawl. He de- manded money for it. Dr. Wolff was unable to endure this. He sent somo men, and they took away the shawl again from Meer Abul Kasem, who remained degra- ded among the people. Abbas Kouli Khan, Joseph Wolff, and the ambassadors, were treated with great respect and honour at Meshed. Joseph Wolff stayed in the house of the Jew, Mul- lah Mehdee, and the Bokharese ambassadors together in one house. At the arrival in Meshed, through the lapse of time, Joseph Wolff became very indisposed. They bled him plentifully. Each day Abbas Kouli Khan sent to inquire after his health, and very frequently went himself to see him. Hussein, the son of the minister of state, continually sent the Ferash Baashe"e (director of police) to attend upon Joseph Wolff. The latter sometimes sent Mullah Mehdee Islaam ladeed to wait upon Ab- bas Kouli Khan. Joseph Wolff declared that the kindness he had received was un- paralleled, and begged that Abbas Kouli Khan would accept the two thousand pieces of gold deposited in the chests, only reserving enough for necessary expenses. To this Abbas Kouli Khan replied, " All the kindness I have shown was not for pecu- niary reward, but to promote a good feeling between the governments of Iraun and England, and the money remains precisely as it has been entrusted to AH Akbar who has charge of the chests. You might, with reason, have some fear on this point, when you were anywhere near Bokhara ; but, thank heaven, there is no cause for such fear at Meshed." Sometimes Mullah Mehdee was for agreeing to what Ab- bas Kouli Khan said. Sometimes he inquired of me, Abdul Wahab, " How is it that Abbas Kouli Khan borrows money of the merchants, and does not use part of the money entrusted to him ?" I gave answer, " Abbas Kouli Khan shows kindness for the sake of a good feeling between the two States, not for the sake of reward. And be assured of this much, that he has not touched, and will not touch, a deposit." Joseph Wolff gave Ameer Abul Kasem, who was to go to England as ambassa- dor, a Cashmeer shawl as a present. Hussein Khan, the minister of the Khakan, sent a splendid horse, as a present, for the service of Joseph Wolff. The minister APPENDIX. 371 of state sent a list of articles to Hussein Khan, which were to be sent in his name to Joseph Wolff. The articles were, a shawl from the AssafF-ood-Dowla, a horse, and sweetmeats. The wish of all was to get away from Meshed. Abbas Kouli Khan saw that Joseph Wolff was unable to ride on horseback. He went to the apartments of Hus- sein Khan, and said to him, "Joseph Wolff is unable to ride ; a takht-rawan (litter) should be prepared for him, that he may proceed by it." Hussein gave directions, through his Ferash Baashee, and they got one ready in five days. Joseph Wolff made use of this till he reached Teheraun. Abbas Kouli Khan, Mullah Mehdee, and all the people of the khafeelah (caravan) accompanied him till we reached As- kariyah, distant one parasang from Meshed. Here Hussein Khan sent a Farash, i. e., honorary guard, to Joseph Wolff. From the station at Askariyah, we went on, satisfactorily, five parasangs to Sha- reef Abad, and took our place on the side of a river. From Shareef Abad we ad- vanced eight parasangs, and pitched our tent under the shade of some trees in the city Kadam-Gah. From this place we went on five parasangs quite comfortably, when we reached Nishapoor, and lodged at the caravanseray. The commander of the forces went to see Joseph Wolff, and took several presents along with him. We remained one day in Nishapoor, and on the next day we set off, and after travelling twelve parasangs, we reached Zagphranee, and took up our station at the side of a river. From Saineen, which is under subjection to the Assaff-ood-Dowla, to the station in the midst of the desert lying towards Teheraun, AH Akbar, who had charge of the chests, and myself, had no rest, day or night, on account of the two thousand pieces of gold, which had been entrusted to Abbas Kouli Khan ; till the time when, at the station of Miyandasht, I delivered them into the hands of Joseph Wolff, in the presence of Mullah Mehdee. From Zagphranee, we proceeded six parasangs to the city of Sabzawar, and re- mained outside the town. At every resting-place, from Bokhara to Geshlak, which is towards Teheraun, morning or evening, Abbas Kouli Khan took care to conduct Dr. Wolff from the station. This was the case as far as Geshlak, when he became safe on the way to Teheraun. From Sabzawar, we travelled seven parasangs to Sudchar. Joseph Wolff, accompanied by Mullah Mehdee, Ameer Pak, and the servants, stayed within the village ; Abbas Kouli Khan and the Bokharese ambassa- dors outside. From the village of Sudchar we proceeded five parasangs to Mazy- nan, and stayed by the side of a river. Here Abbas Kouli Khan was treated with great honour. Joseph Wolff went from Mazynan, seven parasangs, to Abbas Abad, and stayed at the castle. Abbas Kouli Khan and the Bokharese ambassadors lodged at the caravanseray of Shah Abbas. From Abbas Abad, six parasangs brought us to Miyandasht. Dr. Wolff stayed at the castle. He several times wished Abbas Kouli Khan to accept of the two thousand pieces of gold which were contained in the chests, but he would not con- sent. Abbas Kouli Khan directed me to take the money to Mullah Mehdee, to be taken care of for Joseph Wolff; to show him the seal and deliver it up to him. Af- terwards a note reached me, telling me to take the money and bring it back. I took it, and delivered it, as I was directed. A number of persons then came ; I again took possession of it, to keep it for Abbas Kouli Khan. From Miyandasht we went five parasangs to Miyamee. Here Abbas Kouli Khan and all the ambassadors lodged in the caravanseray. From Miyamee we advanced nine parasangs to the city of Shahrud, and stayed outside it. Joseph Wolff was at the castle. Abbas Kouli Khan came to him to inquire after his 372 APPENDIX. health. Next, Joseph Wolff, Abbas Kouli Khan, and the Bokharese ambassadors, went five parasangs to the village of Deh Mulla, and halted by the side of a river. Here Ameer Abul Kasem sent his son at night on a message to Joseph Wolff, to obtain money from him if he could. Dr. Wolff told him to go and bring a note from Ameer Abul Kasem, and then he would give him money. He said, " You have taken fifty pieces of gold and a shawl, and you are not satisfied." The son of Ameer Abul Kasem confessed in my presence that they had obtained one horse, one shawl, as well as money at different times from Joseph Wolff. Before the Ameer Achur he said, they had neither had horse, shawl, nor money. The Ameer Achur came ; he concealed me, Abdul Wahab*, while Ameer Abul Kasem said to the Ameer Achur, " I have nothing to do with either money or shawl." The Ameer Achur replied, " Last night your son confessed, in the presence of Mirza Abdul Wahab, that his father had obtained one shawl and fifty pieces of gold." Ameer Abul Kasem saw that it was no use denying it. He could not help saying, " Well, I did have them." The Ameer Achur said, " Why did you act thus? you have been lying ; and lies will not do in dealing with Europeans." Ameer Abul Kasem replied, " I am sorry for what I have done." From Deh Mulla we proceeded six parasangs to Damaghan, and stayed outside the city. Thence we went forward four parasangs very pleasantly, to the city of Dowlat Abad, and lodged outside the castle. Thence we went nine parasangs, and reached Ahuwan, and lodged in the caravanseray at Shah Abbas. Next we went six parasaugs to the city of Samnan. Joseph Wolff was here treated with great honour, and lodged in the royal palace. Abbas Kouli Khan and the Bok- harese ambassadors lodged within the city. We remained one day to rest ourselves, and then advanced six parasangs. Joseph Wolff lodged in the castle at Laskird, in a house which heaven seemed to have provided for him. Hence six parasangs brought them to the town of Deh Namak. Joseph Wolff lodged in the castle, and Abbas Kouli Khan outside the city. In seven parasangs more we arrived at Geshlak, and halted at the side of a river. From Geshlak Joseph Wolff went with Mullah Mehdee, and all his own servants. Abbas Kouli Khan too went from Geshlak, advancing six parasangs to the city of Aburanak. At last, after seven parasangs they arrived at one city ; after twenty parasangs, they reached another ; and then after four more, they came into the country of Teheraun. III. Digest of English Policy relative to Asiatic States ; BY CAPTAIN CONOLLYf. May the Lord render easy (this attempt,) and may it be well finished. To my Friend the Prince, Lord of the Kingdom of Khwarazm. AFTER salutation and benediction, O Friend, in conformity with your wish, I have put in order, briefly, the circumstances of the English Government with * Here Abdul Wahab's words are illegible. J. W. t This important document was given to Dr. Wolff by order of the Ameer of Bokhara. APPENDIX. 373 the kingdoms of Hindustaun, Affghanistaun, Iraun (Persia), and Russia. When they ('the circumstances) have reference to proximity, to distance, or to the places of Turkistaun, this sketch may prove of use to you as a memorandum ; and I en- treat of Your Majesty to investigate the correctness of it, as well by comparing it with historical books, as by questioning every one who may possess a due acquaint- ance with the above above-named countries, and a (certain) person* may be un- biassed. But the men of Turkistaun, for the most part, had not heard of the English people till half a year ago, when intelligence arrived that they (the English) had sent a large army to Candahar and Cabul, and had driven out the rulers of those countries, in the cause of Shah Shuja-al-Mulk Durrani, the former King of Aft- ghanistaun, who had been during some years a guest of those (English) people in Hindustaun. Moreover, that after assisting and succouring Shah Kamran in the affair of the siege of Heraut by the Kajar army, they had dispatched one of their chiefs to Heraut, who for a length of time expended much money in repairing the walls of the citadel, as well as in restoring the cultivation (of the lands) which tho Kajar army had devastated. After various rumours, the report gained ground to this effect, " That Shah Shuja-al-Mulk was a puppet in the hands of the English, whose sole aim it was to seize for themselves all the region of Affghanistaun, either by force or bribery ; and, also, that they wish to get all other countries, a smuch as possible, like as they had brought the kingdoms of Hindustaun, one province after another, into their posses- sion, till they had rendered themselves absolute sovereigns of that region. Besides this, that they ought to break down (overthrow) the religion of Muhammed, so that they may abolish the Mussulmaun Institutes." Yet, my patron ! the real state of the affairs of the Indian Government, iu Affghanistauu and in Turkistaun, was not rightly ascertained ; but, at length, these reports of the common people obtained credit : the foundation of which may be re- ferred to the enemies of the Government (may it be durable !) of the servants of Shah Shuja-al-Mulk, and their ally which the English Government is. The cir- cumstances, which I shall here relate, are solely for the purpose of manifesting and proving the falsity of those reports, by means of exhibiting the correctness of conduct which the English have maintained in every country above named, from the beginning to the present time. In the first place, let your mind be applied to a consideration of these circum- stances in the countries of Hindustaun. One hundred and fifty years ago, a com- pany, in mercantile business, of the English people, who at that time had become one of the richest and most eminent of the nations of Europe, by reason of the extent of commerce which they possessed in every quarter of the globe, obtained the permission of the Emperor Aurang Zeb, Sovereign of Delhi, and a descendant of Sultan Babar of Farghana ; and to settle in his country they got leave to build a port for themselves at Calcutta, which was then an insignificant village, near the salt sea of Hindustaun ; and, in a short time, through the collecting together of wealth, which is always the consequence of commerce, that little village was con- verted into a great city. Some years previous to the English becoming settled in Calcutta, they had obtained two other ports also on the sea coast of India, one of which was named Madras, and the other Bombay. Several European nations, in like manner, for the convenience of their trade in the country of Hindustaun, had * This may allude to the Prince addressed, as if the writer trusted he would judge impartially. 374 APPENDIX. appropriated and established ports for themselves ; the Rulers and Rajahs of Hin- dustaun assenting, and desiring that the Europeans should form ports in their dominions for the purpose of trade, because they were sensible of a general benefit to themselves from the transit of merchandise. Moreover, as the above-mentioned nations paid all the expenses of forming their ports, they became wholesale pro- prietors of their ports ; so much so that they had the right to make exchanges and tranferences one with another : in this way, the port of Madras, which a Rajah of the Hindus had granted to the English, and which remained some years in the hands of another European nation called French, and the port of Bombay which had originally been given to a trading nation, called Portuguese, and which had been in their possession for the period of one hundred and thirty years, were trans- ferred to the English. It is also well known that, after the decease of Aurang Zeb, the power and splendour of the descendants of Timur in Hindustaun turned to decline for the space of ninety-five years ; so that the fifth Emperor of Delhi after the said de- ceased emperor, that is Shah Aulam, became entirely subdued and vanquished, and deprived of sight by the hands of an assemblage of Hindu Rajahs called Marhattas. At this time the whole space of Hindustaun became the theatre of war, slaughter, and devastation. In the mean time, the chiefs of Hindus and Mussnlmauns, every one of whom was seeking his own advancement as well as the ruin of others, and foreign nations, as, for example, the Persians in the invasion of Nadir Shah, and the Affghauns in the invasion of Ahmad Shah Durrani, seeing the opportunity fa- vourable to themselves, made inroads into those delightful regions : yet, for the space of fifty years after the death of King Aurang Zeb, the English people keeping aloof entirely from those contests remained at their posts, transmitting their mer- chandize to England as well as other ports. Afterwards, in those times, some enemies from amongst the people of Hindustaun, who were envious of the fortune and prosperity of them (the English) and ignorant of their means and resources, unjustly made an attack on them ; but, previous to that violence of their enemies, the English had built for themselves the port of Cal- cutta. The English chiefs there made application for peace and ease ; and as they had no other resource, they at last solicited aid from their own Sovereign. For a while, those unjust people became victorious, but eventually, by the right of war, the English took possession of their territory for retaliation and future protection. During some years, from the increase of the burning fire of the envy of other chiefs, who were less near, they found enough to do ; for, continually, new and fresh ene- mies sprang up against them. The English chiefs wished for and sought no war j yet remained always prepared to repel aggression, and by divine favour they caused to break (or fail) every insurrection or attack of their opponents, till forty years ago, when having routed the forces of the Marhattas, before noticed, they beheld them- selves masters of the greatest portion of India. Some chiefs of Hindustaun, at a more early epoch, contracted friendship and formed alliance with the English State, through favour of which they remained un- touched : at length, those who remained contracted with them the bonds of friend- ship, sat under their State, became tributaries, and bound themselves by promises to commit the arbitration of all differences amongst themselves to the supreme English Government. Some, too, whose territories were more remote and away from the frontiers of the English State, made peace, saying, " we will remain in onr own independence ;" yet they promised that the countries appertaining to the En