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NARRATIVE

OP A

MISSION TO BOKHARA,

IN THE YEARS 1843—1845,

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. (^

HIS EXCELLENCY SIR STRATFORD CANNING,

BRITISH AMBASSADOR AT CONSTANTINOPLE,

WHOSE SINCERE FRIENDSHIP, DISTINGUISHED PRO-
TECTION, AND KIND HOSPITALITY, I AM
PROUD TO ACKNOWLEDGE ;

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.

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.

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<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 the
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 243

CHAPTER XYH.

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 Meanings 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 in his Bible a Farewell to his Family 250

CONTENTS,

CHAPTER XVIII.

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. Wolif ; 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 leaijes
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 that 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 . \ V ., ... . . . .256

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

XVI CONTENTS.

Khan. Description of Bokhara by Mr. Macgregor. Population of Khiva.
Trade of those Countries. Russian Trade. Dignitaries of the State. Ecclesias-
tical Dignitaries 264

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 ;
Jie 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— Allot. 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 274

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 282

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

CONTENTS.

a obliged to assume Madness to preserve himself and Abbas Kouli Khan. Turko-
m an us 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 . . . "•*. : • '. . 289

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, Hasr at- Sultan, Tashkand, Shainay, 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 . 300

xviii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Dr. Wolff preaches at the Embassy. Noble Conduct of Count Medem. Colonel
Shell 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; their 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 . . . .310

CHAPTER XXV.

CONTENTS. Xix

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 Awra 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 318

CHAPTER XXVI.

Two leading Sects amid Muhammedans, 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 325

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 ; Scydekan. 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. WolfE
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 Erzroom. 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

XX CONTENTS.

England. Departure from Erzroom. Route — Mey Mansoor ; Saaza ; Massad ;
Beyboot ; Jaajee Koy ; Gumush Khane" ; Artasa ; Yerkopri ; Yeseer Oglu.
Letter from Mr. Stevens 333

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 ... . . . . . 342

CONTENTS. XXi

APPENDIX.

I. The three Liturgies of St Chrysostom, St. Basil, and St. Gregory, with vari-
ous Rites and Ceremonies of the Greek Church, and separate Prayers 355

II. Narrative of Events which happened to Dr. Wolff at Bokhara, and on his
Journey thence to Teheraun ; by Abdul Wahab . . . .362

III. Digest of English Policy relative to Asiatic States; by Captain Con-
olly 372

DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE PLATES.

Durbar of Bokhara -...-...- Frontispiece.

Muhammed Shah Nakshbandee, a Descendant of Muhammed - to face p. 33

The Khaleefa of Mowr and Turkomauns .... "163

Turkomaun Lady "195

Garden of the Nayeb, Abdul Samut Khan .... "208

The Grand Cazi of Bokhara "209

The Dastar-Khanjee « 225

Abdul Samut Khan - » - "249

Abbas Kouli Khan, Persian Ambassador "314

IARBATITE.

CHAPTER I.

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. IB
made a Slave ; saved from his 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.

" VERILY Thou art a God that hidest Thyself! Oh God of Israel,
the Saviour !" This must be the exclamation of every man whose
eye has attentively marked the ways of Providence in the East. To
one who, like myself, has gazed on the children of the Gentiles in
their large scatterings, and on my own Israel in her deep dispersions,
the above passage comes home to the soul with all the deep and sol-
emn impression that a sinking sunset in a tropical land produces.
The heart is filled with the deep mysteries of creativeness, when it
reflects on the wonderful providence of God in the yet partial reveal-
ing. To me the darkness that has gathered over earth appears fast
dissipating, — the iron scourge of the church of God for thirteen cen-
turies seems fast corroding in its strongest hold, and the prophecies of
its downfall seem rapidly hastening to fulfilment. The powerful force

24 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

of events of this character has attracted the attention of even the
busy politicians of the East, and they have owned they see the action
of a more than ordinary might, and the Turks themselves speak
clearly of the speedy rule of the Giaour.

My own life has been as the scenes I have witnessed. I began life
as one of the dispersed people of God. At an early period I received
pure Christianity in the schools of the enlightened Friedrich Leopold,
Count of Stolberg, the well-known Poet, celebrated Greek Scholar,
and Statesman ; next from the distinguished Roman Catholic Bishop,
Johannes Michael Sailer, Print at Vienna, Bolzano at Prague, and the
writings of Fenelon, Pascal, and Bossuet. I was then introduced to
that excellent Pope, Pius VII., to Cardinal Litta, and the present
Cardinal Ostini, and entered the Collegio Romano, and then the Prop-
aganda at Rome ; and though I am indebted to the Propaganda for
many excellent things I witnessed, and though I shall always feel
obliged to speak with gratitude of Pius VII. and Cardinal Litta, I
nevertheless heard many sentiments, and saw many practices in the
Church, against which my conscience revolted, and I was openly
obliged to protest against them, which induced Pope Pius VII. and
Cardinal Litta to decree my banishment from Rome. In the convent
of Val- Saint, in Switzerland, amongst the monks of the order of the
Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris, or the so-called Ligorians, I be-
came still more convinced that my sentiments differed from those of
the Church of Rome. I therefore came to Cambridge in the year
1819. Under the direction of Professor Lee, I studied the Persian
and Arabic, and by the fatherly attention of that holy man, the Rev.
Charles Simeon, of King's College, Cambridge, I acquired theology,
and when this further light broke in upon me, became a member of
the Church of England. My inner world has thus been as this outer,
in which I have walked.

Let me now, in connexion with the causes that produced the present
work, give a brief summary of the past labours that led to my last
mission. I began in 1821, and accomplished in 1826, my missionary
labours among the dispersed of my people in Palestine, Egypt, Meso-
potamia, Persia, Krimea, Georgia, and the Ottoman Empire. My
next labours among my brethren were in England, Scotland, Ireland,
Holland, and the Mediterranean, from 1826 to 1830. I then pro-
ceeded to Turkey, Persia, Turkistaun, Bokhara, AfFghanistaun, Cash-
meer, Hindustaun, and the Red Sea, from 1831 to 1834. Bokhara
and Balkh — when, in 1829, at Jerusalem— occupied especially my at-
tention, on the ground that I expected to find in them the traces of the
lost Ten Tribes of the Dispersion. This led to my first visit to Bok-

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 25

hara. Before, however, I proceed to this, I am induced, at the solici-
tation of many kind friends, to dwell on a few leading circumstances
before my arrival in that city. They will also be necessary in great
part to the clear understanding of the subsequent portion of this nar-
rative.

In passing through Asia Minor, I held numerous and interesting
conversations with the Armenians and the Mussulmans. With the
latter especially I omitted no opportunity that was afforded me, con-
sistent with their habits, of inculcating a far higher reverence for
Christ, than that profound respect even in which they hold his name.
I omitted no opportunity, I say also, of examining both Armenian,
Persian, Hebrew, Arabic and Greek MSS. In the Armenian Bible,
for example, I found an important variation. In Daniel viii. 14, they
read 2068, whereas in our version it is 2300. In this passage, a MS.
in the possession of the Jews of Bokhara, reads 2400 instead of 2300.
With the Yeseedee, or worshippers of the devil, I held long conver-
sations. This singular people, amid one of their strange rites, dance
annually around the ruins of ancient .Babylon.

In Kurdistaun I had long conferences with the Jews, whom I found
possessed of much learning. I spoke with them in Hebrew and Chal-
dean, which they mix considerably with Turkish. Several rabbins,
however, spoke Hebrew remarkably well. I had also, in Teheraun,
affecting interviews with the Jews, in which I expounded to them the
Scriptures. Various curious conversations that I had with the Sheahs,
or followers of AH, in Persia, would fill volumes. With the Guebres,
or worshippers of fire, how often also have 1 conversed in Shiraz, Isfa-
han, and Kashaun. How singular and wild the aspect of the sons of
fire ! How analogous their angel history to the Jewish ! How simi-
lar to the rites of Vesta ! How like that early adoration when my
people bowed to the luminous Shechinah of the Lord ! Yet if idolatry
has been rife on my path, rarely has my step fallen where I did not
trace Christianity. In Egypt I found the Kopts ; in Palestine, the
Maronites, Syrians, Greeks, Armenians, and Armenian Catholics ; in
Mesopotamia, at Merdeen, Mosool, Arbel, and Bagdad, I met the Ja-
cobites, the followers of Nestorius, and Roman Catholics ; in Asia Mi-
nor, at Trebizond, Bayazid, Shooshe in Karabagh, again Armenians ;
at Tiflis, the Georgians. Again, how singularly did I find in these
regions the same great differences of Calvinism and Arminianism that
exist among ourselves. We are too apt to look on the Muhammedan
as a fatalist ; but in Mecca, as well as- elsewhere, the limits of the
will are freely discussed. Haje Sheikh Muhammed told me, in the
words of Milton, " Foreknowledge of God does not affect the free will

26 NARRATIVE Ofr THE

of men." How eternal and inextinguishable also appeared the cus-
toms of the East ! For instance, the shepherd precedes his sheep and
his sheep follow him, the judges sit under the gate, the disciples of the
learned pour water on the hands of their masters, the Jews swear by
the Temple of Jerusalem ; and Jew, Christian, and Muhammedan, by
their heads ; the bride is awakened by the screams of other women,
exclaiming, " The bridegroom cometh ;" torches are carried before
her at midnight ; the war about wells, as in the time of Moses and Ja-
cob, still subsists in Yemen ; the lamentations over a nurse are also
continued ; the names of people are still given to indicate the events
of the period ; the king bestows a name significative of his employ on
his minister ; the lepers sit outside the gates of cities ; bad vines are
called Vines of Sodom ; holy places are approached by putting the
shoes from off the feet ; the scarf is wrought on both sides ; the Re-
chabite plants no vineyard, sows no seed, lives in tents ; the Derveesh,
like the Nazarite of old, still makes vows that no razor shall come
upon his head ; barren women still perform pilgrimages to holy places,
and this state is held in abhorrence, as in ancient time ; Armenian
women vow, like Hannah of old, that if they receive a son, he shall
be devoted to God ; cities of refuge for the shedder of blood unawares,
still subsist, and the person guilty of blood must flee with his family,
like the first murderer, to other places.

From various conversations with Affghauns in Khorassaun and
elsewhere, I learnt that some of them are proud of an origin from the
children of Israel, but I doubt the truth of that partial tradition. Amid
the khans of Khorassaun> 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,
JjjmD1' 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

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

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,

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-

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-

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-

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,

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

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-

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

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."

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<A, 1844.

I have the pleasure of forwarding the inclosed letters, which I received last
night from the embassy, and -trust that the ones with black borders will not provo
the bearers of bad tidings.

The ambassador tells me that you have been loud in your praises at my humble
efforts to do my duty when you were with us. I only regret I could not render you
more efficient service.

I got your letter of Awajik, and am happy to find that you had met with no
disasters on the road thus far, and had moreover received so good a reception on the
Persian soil. The Pasha and Mirza Takke send you their compliments in return
for yours, which I presented to them. They are both really amiable men, and seem
duly impressed with the benevolence and risk of your arduous enterprise.

I sent off by the last post a letter to Captain Grover, giving him the latest news
of your progress towards the goal of your mission ; and told him what tremendous
weather we had experienced since your departure, even as late as the day before
yesterday. Our post got in late last night (Sunday !) and the Tatar who carried
the last Turkish post from this to Trebizond was stopped at Hashapanar, and nearly
perished on the spot where the last one lost his life.

The Perso-Turkish affair goes on slowly, but I trust surely, and when you come
back I doubt your finding the illustrious body of statesmen who enlivened Erze-
room when you sojourned there ! Nous verrons. The Redhouses send their
regards.

Believe me, ever yours,

W. F. WILLIAMS.

I had here the satisfaction of transmitting to my son an autograph
letter from the Sheikh Islam to the Sheikh Islam in Daghestaun, for
as I had abandoned that route it became useless. I sent to him also &

118 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

beautiful golden compass and telescope, given to me by dear Sir
Stratford Canning.

On my introduction, as stated above, to his Royal Highness Bah-
man Meerza, Prince Governor of Tabreez, he was pleased to receive
me most graciously, and his vizier called upon me. I paid, on the
16th, by the especial permission of the Prince, a visit to an old ac-
quaintance, Muhammed Khan Kerahe, of Torbad Hydarea. He is
now a prisoner at Tabreez, by order of the king. In the year 1831,
as my readers have already seen, I was made a slave of by the peo-
ple of Torbad Hydarea, but their khan, by order of Abbas Meerza,
set me again free. This fellow had put out the eyes of hundreds of
people, and cut off noses, &c., and sold not less than 60,000 Persians
to the people of Bokhara. His own turn, however, came, and as I
like to see people in misfortune, not to triumph over them but to con-
sole them, I went to pay him a visit. At present, being in prison, he
receives company at home, not being allowed to stir out of the domi-
cile assigned him by the king, except with a few honourable attend-
ants, the prince's guards, by way of security. On my seeing him, he
immediately recognised me, reminded me of the bastinadoes which he
had inflicted on those who made me a slave and took my money, but
he prudently omitted to state that he put this latter commodity into his
own pocket, and, as Orientals have long recollections, and one may
meet them in out-place regions, and rather unexpectedly, I omitted to
revive any unpleasant reminiscences. By one of those freaks of phy-
siognomy that occasionally happen, his appearance is remarkably
mild, but I should shun that eye if I met it in the desert.

The manner in which he was made prisoner was as follows. When
Abbas Mirza was in Khorassaun, in the year 1831-2, he struck terror
among the different chiefs. At last he (Abbas Mirza) sent this khan
a laanat-namah, i. e. a letter, in which Abbas Mirza wished that all
the curses should come upon him (Abbas Mirza) himself, if he did
not treat well Muhammed Khan Kerahe, in case that he would imme-
diately come and pay him a visit. Muhammed, whose father, Iszhak
Khan Kerahe, strange to say, was similarly entrapped by the Royal
Family, believed the assurance of Abbas Mirza, and came to Meshed,
riding on the back of a splendid horse. On the road, Yahya Khan,
one of the chamberlains of Abbas Mirza, came to meet him, and ad-
vised Muhammed Khan to make a present of his horse to Abbas Mirza.
Muhammed Khan answered sternly to this proposal of Yahya Khan, " I
never shall part from this horse, for which I have given twelve fellows
like thee as an exchange." When Muhammed Iszhak Khan arrived
at Abbas Mirza's, he was given to understsnd that he was a prisoner.

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 119

This does not redound to the honour of that great and amiable man,
Abbas Mirza. Beneath is a translation of the autograph of this cele-
brated captive chieftain, which he wrote in my presence :

Translation of the Autograph of Muhammed the Son of Iszhak Khan Kerahe, $c.
Muhammed, son of Iszhak Khan Kerahe, Tatar of the family of Ghengis Khan.

The ancestors of Ghengis Khan were Oolinjah Khan and Olamgoo, a Mogul, who
had twins : the name of the one was Mogul Khan, and the other Tatar Khan, from
whom all the Tatars descend, as the Moguls do from Mogul Khan. The sons of
Ghengis Khan were, 1. Hutshi Khan ; 2. Jaktay Khan ; 3. Aktaye Khan ; 4. Tula
Khan.

After the death of Ghengis Khan, the children of Tule Khan became kings.
Mikukahan Khan sat upon the throne of Ghengis Khan, who sent his brother,
Alaku Khan, into Persia, and resided for a while at Tabreez, whence he went to
Bagdad, and killed Muattesim, the last of the khaleefs of the family of Abbas. The
tribe of Kerahe had accompanied Halaku Khan to Tabreez, and after the extinction
of the dynasty of Ghengis Khan, the Kerahe emigrated to Turkey ; but when Tam-
erlane became the conqueror of the world, he removed forty thousand families of the
Kerahe tribe from Turkey to Samarcand ; of which number, however, twelve thou-
sand separated and returned to Khorassaun, whose descendant I am.

Muhammed also told me the story of Ghengis Khan's mother hav-
ing become pregnant by a beam of the sun, which entered into her
mouth. Of Timur, he said his very name was prophetic, for Timur
means iron, and Timur or Tamerlane was a man of iron. And here
Muhammed Khan Kerahe became quite animated, and said, " I aspired
after the honour of becoming another Tamerlane and Ghengis Khan,
and my name was already a terror among the Khans of Khiva and
Bokhara, and ambassadors even were sent to me from the Ghirgese and
the Cossacks. I had secret correspondence with Russia, (which latter
words he whispered into my ear.) But in the midst of this career a stop
was put to it by Allah above. I am now little, and am fallen from my
high estate. Allah is great, and man unconscious of his destiny. My
name was Muhammed Kale-Kaan, which means Muhammed the
Head Tearer."

At this place I arrived at the complete demonstration that the account
on which Government relied, of Saleh Muhammed, was untrue, from
a merchant who called on me at the British consulate, on the 17th
January, and told me that at the time he left Bokhara, twelve months
previous, Stoddart and Conolly were both shut up in the fortress. He
further stated that he then saw Samut Khan, in whose house Stoddart
formerly lodged. Mr. Bonham and myself examined him, and all he
knew was, that both were in prison, and he was told by Samut Khan,
that if once a person is imprisoned in the (Ark) castle, no one knows
whether he is dead or alive.

120 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

I regret to say that the state of this country, at the time of my visit,
was most lamentable. The King was reported to be entirely governed
by a bigoted, ambitious, and jealous old Haje, so that all the English
officers are dismissed his service. He never sent, as Abbas Mirza
his father did, any Persian to Europe to be instructed there. Not a
medical man was to be seen throughout Persia. The King himself
was a victim to the gout, for which his quack physician prescribed
brandy. He was victimized, not by hydropathy, but brandypathy. I
must, however, confess that the Haje was more kind to me on my arrival
at Teheraun than I had room to expect from this report of his character
at Tabreez. He seemed to me to be the Persian Cardinal Wolsey.
I learnt also that he had altered his system, and sent young men to
France and England to be educated in various arts and professions.

Mr. Bonham, the consul-general, furnished me with the strongest
recommendations from all the authorities here, civil, military, and ec-
clesiastical, for Teheraun and Meshed. Mr. Bonham is a connection
of Sir Robert Peel, having married a niece of Lady Peel. His hospi-
table dwelling received me the instant I arrived, and nothing could ex-
ceed the kindness shown to me by him and his amiable lady. Mr.
Bonham was not in possession of any information on the subject of
Stoddart and Conolly.

Colonel Sheil was the only person of whom I yet had heard up to
this period who appeared to be convinced of their death, but he had
sent no one to ascertain the fact. I was given to understand in this
place that Colonel Sheil was a retired and silent man, doing nothing on
his own responsibility, and that report led me to doubt still further the
intelligence on which he relied.

On Sunday, the 14th, I preached to the English, and administered
the sacrament to them. I also received on that day a visit from the
Persian governor of the place, and I have already mentioned my visit
to His Highness Bahman Mirza, but I omitted to say that Mr. Bon-
ham accompanied me, and that the mehmoondar was sent to me at his
suggestion by Prince Bahman Mirza to Awajick, six stations from
Tabreez. His Royal Highness promised also to send again, on Thurs-
day the 18th, a mehmoondar with me as far as Teheraun. He further
furnished letters of introduction for Teheraun and Meshed. The
Haje also furnished a letter for the prime minister of the Shah.

In company with Mr. Bonham I also called on the Imam Jemaat,
the High-Priest of Tabreez, who gave me letters for Abdul-Samut-
Khan at Bokhara, with whom Stoddart resided. I ascertained that at
Ooroomia, six days distant from Tabreez, there were American Pres-
byterian missionaries, who did a great deal of good by instructing the

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 121

people, and as they do not interfere with the discipline of the Nesto-
rians, they deserve every praise and encouragement.

I am always rejoiced to learn that Episcopalians send out mission-
aries, but in the mean time, as long as this is not done, the state of
the Eastern churches is in such a sad condition, that modest, prudent,
and zealous Presbyterians might be rendered useful to them, and these
very Presbyterian missionaries would perceive, from the state of the
East, that Episcopacy is a primitive condition of the Church, and
Congregationalism an anomaly. And thus, while it cannot be denied
that they enlighten the East, it will also follow that they take back
with them to their own country, a portion of its light, to the benefit of
the country from which they were sent forth. Archbishop Magee
once told me that he would like to make the Wesleyans, auxiliaries,
to the Church, and thus the Church of England might make the Pres-
byterians, auxiliaries, in spreading the Gospel through the East. Dr.
Grant, Messrs. Perkins, Merrick, and Stoddard, are very worthy men
on this mission. From this place I addressed the following note to the
Committee of the Stoddart and Conolly Fund.

Tabreez, 19th Jan., 1844 :

Gentlemen, the day of my departure for Teheraun,

Through the kindness and indefatigable exertions of Mr. Bonham, Her Britan-
nic Majesty's consul-general in Persia, I leave here to-day for Teheraun, accompa-
nied by a mehmoondar from his Royal Highness Prince Bahman Mirza, and accom-
panied by the following letters of introduction :

1. From His Royal Highness Bahman Mirza, for Mirza Ali Nakee Khan, at
Teheraun ; and for the Assaff-ood-Dowla, Governor of Meshed, and the King's
uncle.

2. From Mirza Lutf Ali, the Imam Jumaa (chief Mullah) at Tabreez, for tho
Haje, Prime Minister of the King, at Teheraun ; for Mirza Askere, chief mullah
at Meshed ; Haje Ibraheem, brother of Samut Khan, at Meshed ; for Samut
Khan, chief of the artillery, at Bokhara.

3. From Mullah Muhammed, Mujtehed at Tabreez, for Haje Mirza Moosa
Khan, chief of the mosque, at Meshed.

4. From Agalar Khan, brother to Manujar Khan, for His Excellency the Assaff-
ood-Dowla, Governor of Meshed ; and for Haje Mirza Mousa Khan, at Meshed.

5. From the Sheikh al-Islara, for the Assaff-ood-Dowla, at Meshed ; and the
chief priest of Bokhara.

6. From Haje Seyd Hussein, for Haje Ibraheem, at Meshed ; and Samut Khan,
at Bokhara.

You would therefore do well to write letters of thanks to the following per-
sonages :

1. To their Excellencies the Governor and Admiral at Malta.

2. To Sir Edmund Lyons, Bart., Her Britannic Majesty's ambassador in Greece,
requesting him also to convey your thanks to Their Majesties the King and Queen
of Greece; to Sir James Stirling, R. N. ; Captain Ommaney, of the Vesuvius; to
the Revds. H. D. Leeves, Hill, and Jonas King, in Athens.

122 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

3. To His Excellency Sir Stratford, and also Lady Canning.

4. To Lord Napier, at Constantinople.

5. To Their Excellencies the Count Stiirmer, Austrian internuntio at Constanti-
nople, and Countess de Sturmer.

6. To Monsieur Titow, Russian ambassador at Constantinople.

7. To F. Stephens, Esq , Her Britannic Majesty's vice-consul at Trebizond.

8. To Signer Ghersi, Russian consul at Trebizond ; for both Stephens, Gherei,
and a few others, subscribed 40Z., you know.

9. To James Brant, consul, Colonel Williams, and Mr. and Mrs. Redhouse, at
Erzroom.

10. To the Pasha of Erzroom, who paid all the expenses of my journey as far as
Awajik, the frontier of Persia.

11. A letter of thanks to E. W. Bonham, Esq., Her Britannic Majesty's consul-
general, and his lady, for the kind hospitality they afforded to me, and the en-
couragement they gave, and the interest they took in my present object.

Yours affectionately,

JOSEPH WOLFF.

Why is Mr. Bonham not made ambassador ? He is so much respected in Persia.
He arrived here in 1832, and knows the country and language well.

Among many signs of the times that clearly indicate the diminish-
ing power of the fanaticism of the Muhammedans, the following is not
among the least. On the 19th January, the Armenians celebrated
their Khatshauran, i. e. the washing of the Cross, in which they em-
ployed Muhammedan soldiers to fire salutes. This is a wonderful al-
teration of the Osmanlees. By the way, on that occasion, in which
Armenians, Georgians, and Greeks united in the festivity, my Persian
servant Michael became so drunk as to be incapable of doing anything,
and when I reproved him for it, after he got sober, he coolly replied,
" What should one do else on such a grand day !"

Many Armenians, also, who had become Muhammedans, have
openly returned to the Christian faith. I must here note further, with
respect to the Armenian church, that it is well known that the Empe-
ror Nicholas attempts at present to unite the Armenian church with
the Russian : a great division has therefore taken place among the
Armenians. Some of them say it is right, for in former times, in the
year 1179, Emanuel Comnenus made the attempt. Others of the Ar-
menians say that the Czar has no right to interfere with their church.
Those who are in favour refer to the speech of Saint Nierses of Lam-
pron. In order to understand these remarks, I give the following
sketch of the life of this extraordinary man.

S. Nierses of Lampron, son of Ossinio, an Armenian nobleman,
patron of the Castel of Lampron, Prince of Sebaste, was born in
the year 1153. He received his early education in the celebrated
monasteries of Armenia, and then was taken under the direc-

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 123

tion of the great Nierses Shnorhaale or Ghlayazee, who ordained him
priest and gave him his own name, for his former name was Sembate.
After the death of Nierses Ghlayazee, Gregory IV., at the request of
the nation, consecrated him Archbishop of Tarsus and Lampron.
Nierses of Lampron governed the Church with zeal, and kindled
throughout Armenia the fire of Divine love, and reformed the Church
by his preaching and writings ; for he combined in his own person di-
vine and profane sciences in a high degree, so that he was styled the
Master of Armenian eloquence. He was also acquainted with foreign
languages. He has published the following writings :

1. An Exposition of the Armenian Liturgy.

2. A Practical Commentary of the Psalms of David.

3. A Commentary on the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Book of Wisdom, and also th*
twelve Minor Prophets ; and their literal as well as their allegorical sense.

4. Many Homilies upon the Dominical Festivals, and several Admonitory Dis-
courses.

5. Several Letters, written with Apostolical zeal, to various illustrious persons.

6. The Life of Saint Nierses Ghelienses, rendered in elegant verse.

7. Seven most beautiful Hymns : the first on Easter, the second on Whitsunday,
the third on the Ascension, and the fourth on the Festival of the Sons and Nephewa
of St. Gregory the Illuminator.

He also translated several works from different languages into Ar-
menian, among which are highly esteemed, The Explanation of the
Apocalypse of St. John, written by Andrea, Archbishop of Cesarea.
The Rules of the Order of St. Benedict; and The Life and Dia-
logues of St. Gregory the Great.

This distinguished Prelate had nothing more at heart than the pres-
ervation of charity, and unity in the Church ; he was therefore called
by other nations, a second Paul of Tarsus. The above-mentioned
Patriarch Gregory, encouraged by the Emperor Emanuel Comnenus,
intended to re-establish harmony between the two Churches, the
Greek and Armenian, divided for a long time from each other on ac-
count of differences in the doctrine and discipline of the Church. A
council was already commenced under his predecessor, and was only
interrupted by his death. A preliminary discourse was necessary for
the proposed union. Nierses was elected to write it. He recited this
speech in the council assembled in 1179, in the patriarchal castle of
Roomkalah, in Cilicia. We may trace in this curious paper that the
unity of the Church was believed by the Armenian Fathers to have
been typified in the architecture of the Temple.

Most holy fathers and teachers of the Truth ! Heads and pastors of the people
of Christ! Overseers and dispensers of the house of God! What do I now
behold ? One harmonious body, fit to be united to that great Head who rules us all.

124 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

Who has brought you to this tranquil ^haven ? Ye messengers of peace to the
Universe, was not the Holy Spirit for our peace sent down from heaven ? And to
what end, if not to relay the foundation of that ruined building, which the first
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, cast down to the ground ? That Nebuchad-
nezzar who in ancient time took away the sacred and undefiled vessels of gold and
silver, consecrated to the use of the sanctuary, and gave them to his children and
to his concubines for the use of their unholy banquets. We also, O children of
Sion, were captives here, having the harps of our God suspended to the branches of
sterile willows, and shedding torrents of tears, sighed, borne down with the weight
of cruel grief. Then did our tongues also cease from giving praise to God ; then
we asked, " How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land ?"

But now the wrath of heaven is appeased, and the measure of the sin, for which
we became wanderers on earth, is full. The seventy years are now passed, of
which God spake by the mouth of Jeremiah the Prophet. They had been foretold
through Divine inspiration by Haggai and Zachariah, and propitious tidings they
gave us of our return and of liberty. The glory of the latter Temple, of which
you are to be the restorers, these prophets predicted should be greater than that of
the former. This new Joshua*, son of Jozedek, on whose head is placed the
superb crown, and Zorobabelt, the son of Salathiel, whom the Spirit of God raised
up, these are they who recal you from slavery, and are become our leaders towards
the heavenly Jerusalem.

Already I perceive your countenances are more serene, for already are our feet
arrived at the gates of Sion. But if our joy be not yet accomplished, it is because
the house of our God is still in ruins upon the ground. How can we have perfect
gladness of heart, while for the magnificent ornaments of the Temple we find
substituted the devouring firebrands of Nebuzar-aden ?

Yet let not your spirit forsake you, O wise builders ! — take courage, and begin the
restoration of the house of your God. He has brought you here, and He commands
you by the mouth of his holy prophets to gird up your loins to the accomplishment
of so noble an enterprise. Behold how Zachariah comes in the name of God, and
speaks to you.

Tell us, O blessed Prophet ! is it possible for us to rebuild the Temple, and bring
it back to its ancient splendour, seeing we are so few, and so lately delivered from
bondage t

The Prophet replies, " Thus saith the Lord God Omnipotent : Your hands shall
be made strong, the hands of all of you who hear these words from My mouth ; and
as you were a curse to the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I
save you, and you shall be a blessing. Be courageous, and your hands shall be
strengthened, for thus saith the Lord of Hosts. In like manner as I thought to
punish you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, so again have I thought in
these days to do well unto Jerusalem, and to the whole house of Judah. Be ye
comforted. These are the things that ye shall do. Speak ye every man the truth
to his neighbour, execute the judgment of truth and of peace in your gates ; let
none of you imagine evil hi your hearts against his neighbour ; and love no false
oath: for all these things do I hate, saith the Lord Omnipotent. But rather
encourage one another in the work, ascend the mountain, cut down trees with which
to rebuild My house, and I shall have pleasure in it ; and in this manner I shall be
glorified, saith the Lord."

* Gregory the Patriarch, by whose orders they were assembled. t Emanuel Comnenus.

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 125

Behold, you all have heard the voice of the Lord our God — that voice which
brought you here from the four winds of the earth ; daughters of Sion, who were
nursed hi the confusion of Babylon, and amidst the tumult of Calneh — you, who
instantly arose at the call of the patriarch — and you, as many as there be of the
people, gird yourselves, and hasten to build the house of our Lord Jesus Christ.

That this be done well, take counsel of Ezra, that Doctor of the Law. Let us
expel from the building all those that are born children of the Chaldeans. Let us enter
into the desire of happiness in which our ancestors so ardently indulged, that God
be not displeased with us, seeing that we also turn aside from His holy law. Thus
in the magnificent undertaking of building the holy Temple of God, the children of
strangers will not be a stumbling-block to us : so shall we be enabled boldly to lay
our hands to the edifice. The protection of the Omnipotent God in the renovation,
of His house will be prompt and effectual. But I fear some will reproach me with
the introduction of this example of the Old Testament, as though the just limits
marked out for the subject of this discourse had been exceeded. Let it not be so,
for we know that of old St. Paul said, " All these things happened unto them for
our examples, and they are written for our admonition." If we believe that we are
saved by the blood of the true Lamb from the invisible Pharaoh, as the Jews were
from the visible one ; if we pass through the Sea of Sin as they passed through the
Red Sea ; if we have as a guide the spiritual rock, like as they had the material
one ; and if we enter, through Jesus Christ, into heaven, as those who, following
Joshua the son of Nun, entered into the land of promise ; alt these things come to
us through the eye of love and faith, as in reality they actually happened to tho
Jews : for all the holy books clearly demonstrate that the law was a shadow of good
things to come : among us also the Temple has been erected to our God, like as it
was erected among them ; and whilst we were sojourners in the desert, we carried
about with us the Tabernacle of the testimony.

But I will no longer go on in allegory, — I will explain myself more clearly. By
command of Christ, whilst we were so wandering in the desert of persecution
amongst heathens, the holy Apostles planted for us the tabernacle of the testimony
of pure faith ; as Saint Paul says, " I have laid the foundation, Jesus Christ, and
let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon, for you are the true temple of the
living God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. Christ ruleth over his own house,
which house are we, and of this house Christ is the high priest."

This house of faith, which the Apostles built upon Christ, and Christ upon them,
(" Upon this rock," says He, " will I build my Church,") our fathers led about with
us for a long period, through the desert of pagan persecution with much splendour
and honour. Within this spiritual house of faith, in which was the table signed by
the hand of God, that is to say, the body of Christ, and his rod that blossomed,
illustrious champions were offered up in sacrifice, yielding up life under the most
cruel torments, — while the holy priests offered up to God their bright virtues as the
incense with which God was well pleased ; and even as they were led by Him to
their land of promise, so has He guided us also to the peace of the Church under
the most pious kings*.

As the great Solomon planted the Temple of the Covenant, and erected to God
a house of stone, so Constantino firmly established, with the aid of the General
Council of Nice, the house of the faith of Christ, agitated and harassed as it was
on every side ; and so to speak, reforming that in the desert which was counteracted

* Abgar, Constantine, Tiridates, Theodosius the Great

126 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

during the persecution of our pilgrimage, he rendered it illustrious, and restored it to
its primitive beauty.

Thus our true and spiritual Temple was raised under the reign of Constantine,
with the co-operation of three hundred and eighteen most holy Fathers, like as the
material Temple of the Jews was raised under the care of the reigning Solomon.
The shadow ceased and the reality was substituted, exhibiting itself in the same form
and beauty.

The Tabernacle of the Testament of the grace of Jesus Christ which the Apostles
planted and their successors carried abroad, had also its solid foundation whilst they
reigned, according to the decisions and laws of the holy Council of Nice.

In the Temple of old, the throne of God was erected. The altar of expiation was
made of gold, which Moses commanded, and Bezaleel constructed ; but the meek-
ness, humility, and love which Christ commanded, and his Apostles practised, were
left to us as our depository. He rested on this throne, who once had not where to
lay his head ; and was pleased rather to dwell there than on the chariot of the cher-
ubims.

The discourse was so well received, that the union would have
taken place if Comnenus had not died. His successor, Alexis II., was
of different sentiments, on which account the union did not take place.
The Archbishop of Tarsus lived nineteen years after this council, and
then died on the 14th of July, 1198.

I met here, on January 16th, Jaafr Khan, who was brought up in
England, and afterwards employed by Abbas Mirza, in Meshed, where
I knew him. He dined with me at Mr. Bonham's. He is a very in-
telligent Persian. It would be well if there were many such among
them ; but alas they are few. I find, since October 14th, I have trav-
elled the following distances :

Miles.

From Southampton to Gibraltar 1300

Gibraltar to Malta 1000

Malta to Constantinople 800

Constantinople to Trebizond 480

Trebizond to Erzroom 180

Erzroom to Tabreez ----------- 348

4108

I have mentioned certain signs of the decay of Muhammedanism ;
I will adduce another. On the 18th January, I called with Mr. Bon-
ham on Mirza Hashem, one of the family of Muhammed, a man of
immense wealth, who said to me, " You should converse about religion
with the chief mullah at Kerbelay ; if you convert him, all the Muham-
medans will follow his example." " But," said 1, " you put to death
a Muhammedan who should venture to embrace the Christian religion."
Mirza Hashem : " This was formerly the custom, but now a Muham-

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 127

medan who would become a Christian, merely needs to take an English
passport, and declare himself to be a British subject, and he is safe."

January 20th. On this day, my mehmoondar made his appearance
at the door of the British consulate general at Tabreez. Mr. Bon-
ham and Mr. Burgess accompanied me on my journey seven miles.
On the road, after their departure, I observed, to rny great grief, that
Michael, my servant, was so drunk that he was not able to hold himself
on his horse. I ordered him to dismount and give me back my money,
for I had given it to him to keep. He delivered up the money, but
in his drunken fit struck me, and left me on the open road. As
Messrs. Bonham and Burgess had already returned to Tabreez when
that fellow left me, I was afraid that he might either die in the snow,
for he had laid down and slept, or be carried away as a slave, or be
stript of everything ; I therefore sent back the keeper of the post-horses
to give notice to Mr. Bonham, who sent one of his men, and he brought
the fellow by force to Tabreez. I had afterwards to send his portman-
teau after him to Tabreez. I know not what became of him, whether
he returned to Constantinople, where I hired him, or what else befel him.
I continued my journey, and arrived on that same day at Seydabad.

January 21st. We arrived in the hilly village called Tekmetash.
It was tremendously cold, and scarcely had we reached the posthouse
(manzeleh) when the clouds covered the sky, the horizon was darkened,
and a tremendous rising of the snow and sand from the ground in
enormous masses took place. No one dared stir from the house.
The Persians call this kind of storm kulagh. I never as yet in my
extensive travels had seen anything like it. Such kind of kulaghs kill
in an instant the horse and the rider, especially when accompanied
with a blast like death itself in chillness. We were obliged to stay
in that miserable place, more exposed to the so-called kulagh than any
other part of Persia, two days.

The day I left Tabreez on my way to Teheraun, I met with a
learned derveesh in the place I had taken up my abode after my ser-
vant had left me. On my entering with him into a religious conversa-
tion, he broke forth into the exclamation, "You are another Tata Sultan
and Kemaalee Howdbeen !" I asked, " Who were these two persons ?"

Derveesh. The disciples of Buddr-Udeen Seemawn-Ogloo, who in
the Hejrah 835 traversed the country of Room (Turkish Empire),
taught that all the property of men ought to be used in common, — houses,
arms, and clothing, — women excepted. Tata Sultan, whose name
also was Beerekledje Mustapha, was a great friend of the Christians, and
with one of them he spent much time in holy meditation about God
in the island of Sakez (£. e. Scio). Tata Sultan destroyed the army

128 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

of the Sultan of Room, Muhammed. At last Bayazeed Pasha made
Beerekledje Mustapha prisoner, and murdered him, as it was believed,
unmercifully, with all his disciples ; but Beerekledje Mustapha is still
alive, and a friend of Christians ; and you will, in unison with him, upset
the Empire of Room and Persia. I heard of you at Delhi, where you
have conversed with Akbar Shah, the King of Delhi, and the Mow-
levees there ; and I have heard of you at Cashmeer. You have been a
Jew, and all great events proceeded from the followers of Moses, and
will proceed again until Eesa (Jesus) will again make his appearance.
When these events shall take place, when you shall see yourself sur-
rounded by your followers, then remember the Derveesh of Geelan.
Abd-ool Wahab has not succeeded in reforming the world, but you will."
The other Persians sat around us, listening with attention to the
words of the Derveesh of Geelan, and then began to converse about
the bravery of the late Wuzeer Mukhtar, L e., Sir John Me Neil ; of
his defying the King of Persia, and of his preventing the Shah from
taking Heraut. Since the time that Sir John Me Neil has left Persia,
the Persians talk more of him than of Sir John Malcolm. The Per-
sians have a great deal of perspicacity, and characterize the British
ambassadors there in the following manner :

1. Sir John Malcolm, the Munificent.

2. Sir Gore Ouseley, the Scholar.

3. Sir Henry Willock, the good and kind-hearted man.

4. Sir John Campbell, the determined and liberal Wuzeer Mukhtar.

5. Sir John Me Neil, the shrewd, brave, handsome man, and the best Persian
scholar who ever appeared in Persia, and one who at the same time was liberal.

6. Colonel Sheil, a man who loves retirement ; but they give him credit for firmness.

The tone of Persians and Turks has also changed with regard to
their estimate of the British and Russian powers. About twenty-four
years ago the Turks spoke of England as a power inferior to that of
the Sultan, and the Persians spoke of the Russians as men who never
would be able to take Erivaun ; but now, these Muhammedan coun-
tries have at last been compelled to acknowledge the superiority of
both, Russia as well as England ; and it is come so far, that both the
Turks as well as the Persians acknowledge that they cannot go to war
with each other, " for Russia and England will not allow it." Instead
of saying as formerly, " No power can take Stambool," the Turks as
well as the Persians frequently asked me, " When will the English
come and take this country ?"

January 23rd. We continued our journey towards Turkman-Jaa*.

* It is so named from Turkman and Jaa, a place, for the Turkomauns had ex-
tended their plundering incursions to that place, and received there a great defeat.

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 129

A cold air prevailed which penetrated my large boots, given to me by
Colonel Williams, under which I had two pair of stockings. Suddenly
I perceived an awful rising of the sand, so that I was forced to rub my
eyes and shut my mouth. It soon increased terribly, with the snow
falling from the mountain peaks ; and at this juncture my mehmoondar
called out, "Kulagh !" but most fortunately, after ten minutes the
kulagh ceased, the air grew warmer, and the snow fell gently in flakes
from heaven. Had the kulagh lasted longer, I should have been hurled
down a precipice from which I was about twelve yards distant, but
had not observed it. We rode on after this at full gallop, and arrived
safely at Turkman-Jaa, where we stopped the night.

January 24th. On this day we reached the large market town
called Miana, where I obtained a decent room, and called on the mullah
of the place, with whom I had a long conversation on the coming of
Christ in glory and majesty.

January 26th, we arrived in the city called Sanjoon. Here I met
with Mirza Baker, the commander of the troops, who lodged for the
space of two months with me in the house of Mirza Baba at Meshed
in 1831. We talked over occurrences of former days.

January 28th, I arrived at Khoramtarah, where I had the pleasure
of meeting with the Rev. Mr. Stocking, an American Congregationalist
missionary stationed at Ooroomiah with the Right Reverend Bishop
Gabriel, metropolitan of the Chaldean Christians of that place ; but
beside him there is another Bishop at Ooroomiah, Mar Yohannan, the
same who was in America. As Mr. Stocking and the said bishop had
arrived before me at Khoramtarah, they had taken up their lodging in
another house ; but at my request they became my guests.

There cannot be entertained any reasonable doubt of the truth of
the general tradition of the Chaldeans, of their being the descendants
of the children of Israel, for they call themselves Beni Israel (children
of Israel); their language is Hebrew; they have sacrifices called

Doghran Shlama, rtnVfrarfiiHi 4«&^£kO2^ m tne ^east of Transfigura-
tion, consisting of a sheep, lamb, or goat. They have in their churches
the Holy of Holies, 0(6^13 fe*X^OUO they have a veil like the

Jews ; the Bishops are of the tribe of Levi ; the Yeseede are of the
tribe of Judah, but the latter have apostatized ; they have a river called
Gozan. The Jews of Chaldea call them their nephews ; they have
a horror of images, &e. They have seven sacraments (Raase,

? and these are their names, by which you will observe that
17

130 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

they are entirely different, at least the greater part, from those of the
sacraments of the Roman Catholics ; they are as follow :

1. Z2k*Z **nU

^ •

Blessing of the priest, or ordination.

* : •: * : »

2. £k^(X3wX2tOUQ Consecration of the church,

3. &*C^^(X£p Baptism.

4. £*&2kOUQ Lord's Supper.

5. J+3&Q+* OK^OUD The blessing of the old leaven.

6. ul Matrimony.

7. **O aX Service of the dead.

St. Thomas the apostle came into Mesopotamia, where they lived
in captivity, and he preached to them the gospel, when they lived near
Mosul, in a place called Halah and Habor, near the river Gozen, so
that the Jews of Bokhara seem to have given after this to Bokhara
and Samarcand, the name of their original settlements in Mesopotamia.
Their Patriarchs resided first in Eelat Khokhi, after that at Marava,
three days' journey from Tabreez, and then at Alkush, mentioned in
Nahum i. 1, and after Tamerlane's invasion they retired to Cochanes
in the mountains. Some years ago, when I was first curate at High
Hoyland, the Bishop of London sent to me a letter, purporting to have
been written by the Patriarch of the Chaldeans, produced by some
pretended Chaldeans. I wrote at once to the Bishop of London that
they were impostors, and Bishop Gabriel and Mar Yohannan, assured
me that I was not mistaken in my suspicion, and that the letter which
they produced from the Patriarch was a forged one.

January 29th. Stocking and Mar Gabriel continued their journey
towards Ooroomia, and I towards Teheraun, and arrived on the 30th
at Siyadehen, where I had an excellent well-furnished room in the
house of the Ked-Khoda, the chief of the village, Baba Abbas by name.

January 31st, I arrived at Kasween, whence I got such bad horses,
that on my arrival at Sephir Khoja, fourteen farsangs or fifty-six
miles from Teheraun, I was obliged to write to Colonel Sheil, petition-
ing him to send five horses to my assistance. I however continued
very slowly my journey.

The horses sent most kindly by Colonel Sheil (his own horse for
myself), arrived, with a kind letter from him, inviting me to take a
room in the British Embassy.

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 131

CHAPTER VII.

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
Knur ; 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 ;
Meyandasht ; 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 AH
Serraf, the Agent of Colonel Stoddart ; suspicious Conduct of this Agent.

FEBRUARY 3rd. I arrived at Teheraun this day about twelve
o'clock. Colonel Sheil at once assured me that he would give me
every assistance in his power, in order to reach Bokhara in safety.
He (Colonel Sheil) had also detained in his house Meshedee Rajab,
from Heraut, who for three years was servant to Colonel Stoddart, by
whom he was sent to Cabul. He had suffered imprisonment at Bok-
hara, and I took him into my service to accompany me to that city.
Stoddart and Conolly owed him one hundred and eighty tomauns,
which were paid to him by Colonel Sheil.

Colonel Sheil told me that he bad seen the Eljee (ambassador) from
Bokhara, who told him that he did not believe that Colonel Stoddart
and Captain Conolly were killed, but kept in prison. But the Rus-
sian ambassador told me that the Eljee from Bokhara had told him
that they were killed. I asked Rajab, my servant, what his impres-
sion was : he told me it was not certain that they were killed, for
there had been people at Bokhara detained frequently for five years
in prison, and believed by all the inhabitants to have been killed, and
then suddenly had made their appearance again. So much is certain,
that no one at Bokhara of whom I can get intelligence has witnessed
the execution either of Conolly or Stoddart ; and at least in this point

132 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

•

the account of the Akhund-Zadeh, with regard to the execution of both
gentlemen in the presence of many people, is not exact : and my de-
termination, therefore, of going straight to Bokhara was unshaken
and unabated. Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott- — " My castle strong
the Lord he is."

I must confess that I attached no importance to the account of Latif,
who appeared at Hyderabad with the story of having had letters from
Stoddart, which had been taken from him, and that he was alive ; nor
to the totally opposite account of the Jew Barenstein at Lahore, pre-
tending to have witnessed the execution of both, with four others.

I did not believe Latif 's account, for, 1st, it seemed improbable that
they should take the letters from him, and suffer him to proceed on to
India ; 2nd, I always found that people flying off in their story on a
subject of the highest importance, to a trivial matter, try by that to
avoid a strict investigation on the graver question. Thus, for instance,
when I had the intention of going to Timboktoo in the year 1836, a
Maltese was sent to me who pretended to have been at Timboktoo :
on my examining him he diverged in his answers as fast as he could
from the main point, and began to talk about Rome. I suspected him
at once ; and after this I heard by Mr. Dixon, the Swedish consul of
Tripoli, that the above Maltese had never come further than Tripoli.
Thus Latif was examined by the authorities at Hyderabad, and he
flew off and talked about Yar Muhammed Khan at Heraut, and the
regret of the people of Cande^ar ; and beside this, Rajab, who knew
Latif, told me that he was a notorious liar.

Nor did I believe Barenstein's Account, for it was entirely in con-
tradiction with Saleh Muhammed 's account, and every one who knows
the timid disposition of the Jews of Bokhara will know at once that
they would have prevented Barenstein from witnessing such a horrid
act ; and, as I have already said, thus much \*as certain, that nobody
had witnessed their execution ; and even the ambassador of Bokhara
expressed only to the Russian ambassador his belief that they had
been killed. In short, nobody knew, and therefore further sifting was
necessary. Another fact struck me : according to &ileh Muham-
med's account, the Ameer was induced to kill them, because people
from Affghanistaun demanded their death ; and the Russian ambas-
sador told me that the Bokhara Eljee told him, that the Ameer had
proceeded against Stoddart for having despised his warning, and con-
tinued his correspondence with his countrymen in India, and Conolly
for having gone to Khokand. I myself did not like to go to the Eljee
of Bokhara until I had seen the Shah and his prime minister, and with
both Colonel Sheil promised to procure me an interview. To Bokhara

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 133

— to Bokhara ! was my firm resolve ; and even if the Ameer should
tell me that they were dead, I was determined to demand their bodies,
to put them in camphor, and carry them with me to Constantino,
pie, and thence to London ; at all events, I determined to see their
bodies.

The King of Persia wrote a letter to his relation at Meshed, com-
manding him to send on with me a mehmoondar to Merwe, which be-
longs now to the King of Bokhara ; and the prime minister wrote a
letter to Mirza Askere, the chief priest at Meshed, requesting him to
give me strong letters to his influential friends at Bokhara.

His Excellency Count de Medem promised me a letter of recom-
mendation in Russian, and I requested him also to have my doctor's
diplomas and ordination papers translated into Russian • for they have
Russian interpreters at Bokhara.

His Excellency, agreeable to his promise, forwarded me the follow-
ing letter to the Ameer of Bokhara :

January 30, 1844.

Doctor Joseph Wolff, a Christain Priest, of great celebrity in Europe, and well
known there for his extreme piety, has now determined on a journey to Bokhara,
with the intention of obtaining of Your Majesty the liberation of Colonel Stoddart
and Captain Conolly, his personal friends, in order to conduct them to Europe, by
the route of Meshed and Constantinople, or rather by Orenburg and St. Petersburgh,
according to circumstances.

Dr. Wolff has determined on this voyage hi full reliance on the Most High, and
the wishes of all the European nations, who consider him as a derveesh exclusively
occupied with religious and scientific meditations, and completely indiflerent to
worldly affairs, accompany him in his enterprise.

Persuaded that the recommendation of the Minister of His Majesty the Emperor
of Russia, in Persia, will contribute to obtain for him a favourable and gracious re-
ception on the part of Your Majesty, I take the liberty of strengthening him by this
note.

The object of Dr. Wolff is also to deliver many other Europeans retained hi
slavery in Asia, and among this number is a Cavaliere Naselli, who two years since
went from Teheraun to Bokhara, and to whom I trust Your Majesty will not deny
pel-mission to return to his country if he manifests any desire to do so.

I preached and read prayers in my room in the British Embassy,
when Count de Medem and all the interpreters and Russian attaches,
and also the Russian consul-general, besides the English Protestants,
attended. I preached on Psalm ii., verse 8.

There are here also two interesting gentlemen attached to the Brit-
ish embassy : Mr. W. Taylour Thomson, from Scotland, who had ac-
companied Colonel Chesney in his Euphrates expedition, and has also
visited Khiva ; and Mr. Glen, son to the celebrated missionary Glen,
of Astrachan. He (Mr. Glen) is a young gentleman of very con-

134 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

siderable acquirements, and is well acquainted with the Oriental lan-
guages. Colonel Sheil himself is a great Persian and Turkish scholar.
I also met again here with my old friends Mr. and Mrs. Read ; the
former copied my journal in the year 1831, when on my way to Bok-
hara, and bestowed the same favour again on me now.

From this moment I began to draw "money on the Drummonds in
good earnest, for I had to appear respectably at Bokhara, as the great
mullah from England, as described by the Sultan and the Sheikh Is-
lam, and others. But as the mullahs among the Muhammedans live
with great simplicity, I determined to do the same. I also determined
not to neglect to search for the other officers at and around Bokhara,
and every Sepoy I might pick up.

I met here, February 5th, Mirza Abool Hassan Khan, minister for
foreign affairs ; he remembered Lady Catherine Long. Certainly
Teheraun is an agreeable place : a little burst of the sun of civiliza-
tion on me, after what I had passed and what I knew I was going to,
was quite charming. I shall miss its sweet society, I thought, much
in the deserts of Turkistaun. Colonel Sheil's notion of keeping the
ambassador of Bokhara, as a hostage for my return, I thought very
good. I could not but wish that a different idea had been entertained
of Colonel Sheil by the Stoddart and Conolly Committee. I was re-
ceived by him with unaffected kindness and hospitality, and with
great cordiality also by Messrs. Thomson and Glen, the attaches ; and
I wish this to be understood of all our diplomatic agents in Teheraun
in the fullest sense that the words unaffected kindness and hospitality
can convey. Mar Yohannah, the Chaldean bishop from Ooroomia,
mentioned above, was here when I arrived. From conversations with
him I am still further confirmed in my notion that the Chaldeans are,
as they themselves say, the children of Israel.

February 7th, 1844. On this day I had an audience of the Shah.

Colonel Sheil was kind enough to introduce me to His Majesty.
His Majesty sent, previously to our going to him, the nephew of His
Excellency Mirza Abool Hassan Khan, minister for foreign affairs,
who called, and said that it was His Majesty's wish to see me : Colo-
nel Sheil and Mr. Thomson accompanied me. I had put on my ca-
nonicals, and my Doctor's Hood over them. His Majesty was sitting
upon a divan about eight feet from the place where we took our posi-
tion. As only ambassadors are allowed to sit down, Colonel Sheil,
myself, and Mr. Thomson were standing. The moment we had made
our bows, His Majesty at once said that he was rejoiced to see me
again, and, to my greatest surprise, reminded me of all the minutise
of our conversation at Meshed, of Lady Georgiana being the sister to

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 135

the Earl of Orford, of her having been at Malta during my peregrina-
tions ; that I was made prisoner by Muhammed Khan Kerahe ; that I
had only one son, &c. His. Majesty then informed me that he had
written several letters, and one for the King of Bokhara himself ; and
His Majesty admired my philanthropy, and told me, if Stoddart and
Conolly were dead, I might make them alive by my prayers ! Once
actually I forgot myself, and interrupted His Majesty whilst he was
talking, when Colonel Sheil gave me a push, but His Majesty wished
me to say what I wanted to say ; and then His Majesty continued his
assurances of his protection and countenance. We made our bow,
after having been one hour with His Majesty, and then retired : we
experienced on the whole a most gracious reception.

I here give a literal translation of the letter of the Shah to the
Ameer of Bokhara.

(Translation.)

The Enlightener of the dawn of Sovereignty and Dominion, the Personage
worthy to occupy the throne of power and government, the Exalted Star in the
heaven of splendour and greatness, the Illustrious Sun in the firmament of magnifi-
cence and felicity, the Best of the rulers of illustrious rank, the Most Excellent of
the sovereigns illustrious for their generous deeds, the Chosen of the pillars of the
governments of Islam, the Assister in the path of the religion of Mustapha, Ameer
Nusr Oollah : May your greatness and splendour not perish ! May the glory of
splendour, sovereignty, and dominion, be with you !

We make known to your friendly mind that amity and cordiality among those
who believe in the unity of God, and are of pure minds and dispositions, and who
secretly and publicly coincide with each other in opinion, and whose native coun-
tries and dominions are in close neighbourhood, are required, and it is therefore
expedient, that the chain of correspondence should never at any time be broken, or
that the bonds of friendship should be snapped asunder between the two parties of
Islam.

Now as the High in Rank, the Possessor of genius and understanding, the
Endowed with sagacity and judgment, the Prop of the learned among the followers
of Messiah, the Chief among the wise people of Christendom, the English Padre"
Wolff has the intention of proceeding in that direction, urged by the sincere friend-
ship which exists between us, and in order to promote the unanimity of Islam, we
are induced to issue this auspicious friendship-denoting letter, the love-increasing
zephyrs of affection being reflected towards your benevolent mind, and the opportu-
nity being favourable for announcing the ties of friendship which of old and now
bind us.

In a former friendly letter we requested the princely Ameer, as friendship and
correspondence are established between the two ever-enduring governments of Persia
and England, that the high in rank Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, English
officers, who have been for some time at Bokhara and are detained there, should be
released and sent along with a trustworthy person to Meshed.

Now as the above-mentioned person of high rank, (Dr. Wolff,) is proceeding to
Bokhara for the purpose of obtaining the release, and inquiring into the condition of

136 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

those two officers, we also hope that the princely Ameer, as the above-mentioned
person of high rank is one of the learned and distinguished persons of that govern-
ment, will enjoin the authorities to show him all necessary kindness and hospitality,
so that he may with all freedom and tranquillity employ himself in making inquiries
as to their condition, and so that having completed his business he may return
perfectly satisfied.

The peculiarities ofthe rules of friendship and cordiality are these ; that the gates
of amity and correspondence having been opened by the keys of the pen of una-
nimity, you should send letters containing the glad tidings of your auspicious
condition, and that you should acquaint the ministers of this government with all
occurrences of importance, and believe that we shall conclude them agreeably to
tho most pure friendship.

May the days of sovereignty and dominion be perpetual.

On our leaving the room, Khosrof Khan, a friend of Lady Geor-
giana, was in waiting, who told me that he would call on me. He
wanted me to procure him one of the newly-invented bellows to make
fire with, which I promised to get for him. He made numerous in-
quiries about my son and wife and family. He is one of the chief
eunuchs of the King, and was formerly the prime favourite of Futt
Allah Shah, but is not so much so of the present King. Is it not ra-
ther remarkable that several of these eunuchs are married to several
wives, — for instance, Manujar Khan, the present governor of Is-
fahan ?

February 10th, I went to call on the ambassador of the King of
Khiva, of whom more anon ; but I must now continue to speak of the
visits I made on Wednesday, the 7th of February. After I had left
His Majesty's presence, Mr. Thomson called, with me, on the Haje
Mirza Agasee, who is the prime minister and fac-totum of the King,
and an extraordinary man he is. He has the King entirely in his
power ; and, under the garb of a mullah, he lives with royal pomp,
and scarcely ever says that the King will do so, but the Haje has
commanded — I, the Haje, intend to send troops to Bokhara, &c. All
the rest of the ministers approach him with reverence. When Mu-
hammed Shah was as yet prince, Haje Mirza Agasee was his tutor,
and predicted to him that he -should be King ; and after the execution
of the late Kayem Makaam he was made vizier. He received me
with great affability, asked me to sit down near him ; and when I told
him that I considered myself happy to see the great vizier of the great
Shah, the Haje said, " I am no vizier, I am a mullah, like yourself, a
poor derveesh, who cares nothing for this world, — I only think of the
other world." We then talked about England. He expressed his
admiration of the rest of the English nation ; and then informed me
that a person from Khorassaun had written to him that Stoddart and

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 137

Conolly had been killed, but he was not certain ; but I called after
this on the ambassador of the King of Bokhara, who decidedly denied
the whole of it, and believes them to be in prison. The ambassador
of the King of Bokhara, and his secretary, when I called on them,
treated me with the greatest kindness, and expressed a wish to accom-
pany me themselves into Bokhara, and assured me that the King
would receive me with the greatest distinction. In short, nothing was
known at Teheraun about them, as little as at London, and only my
going there would solve the mystery. I called yesterday, the 8th,
also on the ambassador of the King of Khiva, who is a great enemy
to the King of Bokhara ; he advised me to request of Colonel Sheil to
tell the Shah that he would not allow the ambassador of Bokhara to
stir from Persia until I had safely returned. I, of course, gave no
answer to this advice, as Colonel Sheil did not wish to have it known
that he had already spoken to the Shah about it.

Not a single-eye-witness of the death of Stoddart and Conolly had as
yet appeared ; the ambassador even of the King of Khiva was not able
to afford me any additional information. "Maalloom neest," " Noth-
ing is certain about it," was the answer to all inquiries. I do not
think Colonel Sheil was to blame, though from his vicinity it might
seem that he could easier arrive at the truth, — for all the Persians
have such a horror of Bokhara that it would be almost impossible to
induce them to go there even for a thousand tomauns. Colonel Sheil
rendered me most effectual aid. The Russian ambassador has done
the like. With all these aids, Colonel Sheil says, — and so does every
one, — if they are alive, I shall get them.

I must not omit to mention, that Colonel Sheil also informed me that
he had sent, two months before my arrival at Teheraun, a ghulam of
the embassy to the Assaff-ood-Dowla, at Meshed, requesting that His
Excellency would send an express messenger to Bokhara with letters
to the Ameer, in order that the Ameer might surrender to him the
bones of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, in case they were dead,
and their persons in the event of their being alive. Now I must say,
if such a thing had been done immediately on the imprisonment of
Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, with the terror that the Ameer
feels at the very name of the Assaff-ood-Dowla, such a measure would
certainly have saved their lives. Therefore, as I am now in England,
and reflect on these points more coolly, I cannot but blame Colonel
Sheil for having delayed the adoption of so strong a measure until I
was en route, and when he knew that I was en route. My readers
will have observed, that I speak of Colonel Sheil with all the gratitude I
owe to him, and with a due sense of his personal kindness to me ; but

138 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

still a portion of his conduct with regard to these gentlemen, will al-
ways remain, I fear, somewhat mysterious.

On the llth of February I preached at the British embassy in Ger-
man and English, and administered the sacrament to two Chaldean
bishops, Mar Yohannan and Mar Joseph. After the service I re-
quested one of them, Mar Yohannan, to pronounce the blessing, which
he did. I have forwarded from them letters to the Bishop of London,
requesting him to print their Liturgy in London.

On reflection, I found that I should be awkwardly situated at Bok-
hara. If 1 kept a journal it would look suspicious ; I therefore deter-
mined to carry neither paper nor ink with me, to write in Persian,
and send all the letters through the medium of the Ameer. The am-
bassador of the King of Khiva, a hostile power to Bokhara, told me
that his Sovereign had a great esteem for Captain Conolly tnd Mr.
Thomson, one of the attaches here, and he had warned Conolly on
this very account not to go to Bokhara.

I find my mission has excited great interest in St. Petersburgh. I
met here a Dr. Labat, professor of medicine at Paris, who assured me
also of this. Letters have been despatched to Orenbourg, to the gov-
ernor, to render me all the assistance in his power. I baptized here,
on February 12th, the child of General Semino, whom I knew at
Meshed in 1831-2. The Russian consul-general stood godfather,
and Madame Labat, wife of the gentleman just named, godmother.
I read the service in English, Italian, and German. After the bap-
tism a splendid breakfast was given. Madame Labat is an extremely
clever woman. She has accompanied her husband to Egypt, Suez,
Algiers, St. Petersburgh, Astrachan, Bakou, Tiflis, and Teheraun ;
and they purposed at that time going to Heraut, but he became after-
wards physician to the Shah. The child I baptized was as black
as a negro, and so is Madame Semino, who was formerly Borowsky's
wife.

After I had returned in 1829 with Lady Georgiana, from Jerusa-
lem to Alexandria, a Jew, Borowsky by name, called on me, of dandy-
like appearance, who pretended to be the son of a Jewess, who was
mistress of Prince Radzivil. He seemed to me of a boasting disposi-
tion, which rendered me reluctant to have any intercourse with him,
and he supported himself at Alexandria by giving lessons in mathe-
matics and English. He left Alexandria in the beginning of 1830,
and set out for Bombay. On my arrival at Tabreez in 1831, I sat
at table with Sir John Campbell and Dr. (now Sir John) Me Neill,
when a letter came from the British resident of Busheer, mentioning
to Sir John Campbell that a Polish nobleman, Borowsky by name,

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 139

had arrived at Busheer from Bombay ; that he was of gentlemanly
appearance, but as he had brought -no letters of introduction, he had
not been received at the British embassy. I immediately said to Sir
John Campbell, " Borowsky is not a Polish nobleman, but a Jew
whom I knew at Alexandria." I soon after left Tabreez, and pro-
ceeded on my way to Bokhara. When I arrived in Khorassaun, in
1831, towards the end of October, I was made a slave by the people
of Muhammed Khan Kerahe of Torbad Hydarea, who went by the
name of the " Head Tearer," on account of his cruelty. I have given
some details of this personage in a few previous pages. After I was
liberated from captivity, by the interference of Abbas Mirza, I arrived
at Meshed in utter destitution. I wrote, therefore, to Captain Shee,
who was with the army of Abbas Mirza at Nishapoor, requesting him
to send me money and clothing. A few days after my having writ-
ten to Captain Shee, a gentleman in the uniform of an English gen-
eral entered my room, exclaiming, " How do you do, Mr. Wolff?"
It was General Borowsky, the same person whom I knew at Alexan-
dria. He related to me his singular adventures — singular even in an
Eastern land, where men do seem to rise as it were by the possession
of Aladdin's lamp, or some process equally marvellous. He had be-
come acquainted with Colonel Chesney at Busheer, with whom he
had formed an intimate friendship, and Colonel Chesney recommend-
ed him to Sir John Campbell, who then recommended him as a man
of talent to Abbas Mirza. That prince took him into his service.
Borowsky assisted Abbas Mirza most essentially, taking for him the
strong town of Cochan, in Khorassaun ; and it was Borowsky also
who took the castle of Sarakhs, and made prisoner the leader of the
Turkomauns. After the death of Abbas Mirza, he gave most essen-
tial assistance to Muhammed Mirza, the son of Abbas Mirza, and
enabled him to ascend the throne of his grandfather, Futt Allah Shah.
Borowsky confessed to me that he was the son of Jewish parents, on
the father's as well as the mother's side. He left the interest of the
British government, and joined the Russian party in Persia, and was
shot at the siege of Heraut. His wife, a Georgian slave, received a
pension from Muhammed Shah, for the essential services Borowsky
had rendered to Abbas Mirza, and after his death married General
Semino.

It will probably be thought that I am about to take a chapter from
Mr. D'Israeli in the following assertions, and I may be exposed, like
him, to the laughing gibes of that sad fellow, Punch, but notwithstand-
ing, it is true, that the most distinguished generals of the East are
Jews. For instance, General Jochmus, who distinguished himself in

140 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

Spain, and at last in Syria against Ibrahim Pasha, is a Jew ; General
Ventura, in the service of Runjeet Singh, and afterwards of Sheer
Singh, at Lahore, and who was the terror of the Affghans, and the
beloved governor of Cashmeer, is a Jew by birth ; his name is Reu-
ben-Ben-Toora. I could name several others. General Jochmus
told me that he was ready to march to Bokhara with a detachment
of three thousand European soldiers, if supported by the British gov-
ernment. After the Jews, the Armenians are the most enterprising
people of the East. Samson Khan and Yakoob Khan, from Tiflis,
are brave and valiant generals at present in the service of the King
of Persia ; and Krimitzki, Archbishop of the Armenians in Persia
and Hindustaun, has established of late an excellent college at New
Joolfa, where the Armenian boys are instructed in the French and
English tongues.

I must here mention some curious details of those two men, Bo-
rowsky and Semino, which happened in the year 1831, at Meshed.
Borowsky was in my room when Semino entered in full uniform, and
demanded satisfaction from Borowsky for having struck his (Semino's)
servant. Borowsky told him that he had been impertinent to him.
Semino called him a liar ; upon which Borowsky spat in his face.
Semino then drew his sword. Borowsky said, " I will give you satis-
faction in an instant." On saying this, he attempted to seize his pis-
tols ; on which Semino gave a signal to his eight servants at the door,
who entered, bound Borowsky, and carried him off. I immediately
ran, although it was ten at night, to Abbas Mirza, and procured
Borowsky 's release. The day following a Persian court martial was
held, to which, singular to say, I was president, and I decided that
Semino should remain in arrest for twenty-four hours, and then apolo-
gize to Borowsky, as well as to myself. And this was done.

Borowsky died, as I have shown, after this, and left behind a widow
and twenty-two thousand ducats. Semino married Borowsky's widow
in hopes of getting his money, but the executors of Borowsky made
away with it. He got the widow without the money. Borowsky might
smile at him in the other world. Semino, though I thus punished
him, as I have stated, was now my great friend.

I saw this day, February 12th, a pompous Mussulman from Masu-
lipatam, on the Coromandel coast, in India, famous for its snuff. He
is, however, in reality of a renowned race. He descends from the
Sefaweya, who governed Persia. He came for purposes of religious
discussion, but my mind was so full of my poor friends at Bokhara,
that I did not undertake it, and simply asked him some questions
about the Sefaweya dynasty. He says that there were eleven kings

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 141

in Persia of that dynasty. The first lived in 1590. I give their
names :

1. Ismael, son of Sultan Junneyd.

2. Shah Tahmanee.

3. Shah Ismael.

4. Sultan Muhammed.

All these resided at Casween ; the following at Isfahan :

5. Shah Abbas the Great.

6. Shah Sapee.

7. Shah Abbas IT.

8. Shah Suliiman.

9. Shah Sultan Hussein.

10. Shah Taman.

11. Abbas III.

So far of the Sefaweya, the promoters of science and literature, by
whose orders the Bible and Gospel were translated into Persian.
Their successors :

12. Nadir Shah ; after him three kings, who reigned a few months ; and then
came to the throne, '

13. Kereem Khan, who married a daughter of the Sefaweya.

14. Ali Murad Khan.

This day also the ambassador of Khiva called on Colonel Sheil,
and brought me a letter of recommendation addressed to all the Turk-
omauns of Sarakhs subject to the King of Khiva, and informing them
that I was in possession of letters from the Sultan, for the Kings of
Khiva, Khokand, and Bokhara.

: On my departure from Teheraun, Colonel Sheil could scarce con-
ceal his grief at losing me ; he gave me some presents for the King
of Bokhara, consisting of a watch, &c., but he was too ill to accom-
pany me out of the town ; Mr. Abbot, the British consul of Teheraun,
Mr. Holmes, both of whom had arrived the day before my departure
from Teheraun in this capital, Messieurs Thomson, Reed, Karapet,
and Glen, accompanied me one farsagh (four miles) out of town. 1
was on February the 14th, escorted by Sadik Beyk, His Majesty's
courier (gholam), Korban Ali Beyk, courier (gholam) to the British
embassy, Rajab, late servant of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly,
Jaarwadar (muleteer), and a postillion (Shakerd Japarjee) • and fur-
nished, beside my various letters of introduction, with a firmaun from
the King, containing an order to the burgomaster (Ked Khoda), and
every Hakem (governor), of every town, to give to me, in every sta-

142 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

tion, without money, four chickens, pilaw, fifteen pounds of butter, ten
mans of wood, five pounds of wax candles, barley and straw for the
horses, and five horses. I arrived the first day at Palasht, a misera-
ble village, containing about twenty-five houses, twenty miles from
Teheraun.

Thursday, the 15th, I was annoyed by the muleteer, on account of
the bad horses he had procured; but as the post-horses are not al-
ways to be got, I preferred hiring five with my own money to the
trouble of waiting for them, and the whole hire did not amount to
seventeen tomauns and five sahebkeran (£8 10s.) from Teheraun to
Meshed. We reached that day Jvanee-Keif, twenty-eight miles from
the former, a very considerable village, surrounded by a range of
gardens. Though I travelled at His Majesty's expense, I of course
gave always two or three sahebkeran (one sahebkeran=sixpence) as
a present, but the person with whom I lodged was over civil, for which
he expected a large present, but was disappointed ; and I must say
that I never was so fortunate with servants as this journey — excellent
servants they were, though of different characters ; I mean by ser-
vants, all the attendants above mentioned.

Friday, the 16th February, we went between the mountains called
Darey Khar. Many murders have been committed in this pass. We
met here people from Heraut, who told me that they were returning
to Heraut with the intention to murder Yar Muhammed Khan, the
vizier of Heraut, who had murdered their King, Shah Kamran, and
was now tyrannizing over the people of Heraut. We arrived that
day at Kitshlagh, twenty miles from the Darey-Khar.

Saturday, the 17th, we went towards Deh-Namak (Village of Salt),
for the ground and water is salt. On the road we met pilgrims on
horseback, who on their way to Meshed sang praises to Muhammed :

Comfort to Muhammed !

Comfort to AH !

Prayers are worthy to be given to Muhammed !

Here I was informed that there is a sect existing at Mazanderan
who have a superstitious belief in the effect of eating swine's flesh.

Sunday, the 18th February, arrived at Lasgerd, forty miles from
the Deh-Namak. There I remained over night in a castle, a most
ancient building, built evidently before the appearance of the Prophet,
and the saying is current that Genii had erected it. This spot was
formerly a famous place for Guebres. The inhabitants told me that
the Genii were since the time of the Prophet banished to Taht Solei-
man, near Tabreez, to Mazanderan and Sistan, but they are now

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 143

chained, so that they are not able, as in former times, to carry away
beautiful girls and children.

Monday, the 19th, on passing the village Surkhak, we saw that
Prince Seif Ullah Mirza was on his hunting expedition, and met his
hounds. He is governor of Semnan, and brother to the King. After
twenty miles ride we arrived at Semnan, a considerable town, contain-
ing about 6000 inhabitants. So far we travelled in the province of
Irak. Semnan is the, first town belonging to Khorassaun, coming
from Teheraun. It contains several colleges. The vice-governor
gave me a very good room in the caravanseray, and sent me the vic-
tuals ordered by the King.

As I was not quite well, I stopped at Semnan the next day, and
called on the prince, who spoke with great regard of Colonel Stoddart,
whom he knew personally. He spoke, also, very highly of Sir John
Me Neile, though he and all the Persians accuse Sir John of having
been the cause why Muhammed Shah could not take Heraut. His
Highness sent me venison.

Wednesday, the 21st February, we arrived at Aghwan, a caravan-
seray twenty-four miles distant. A child was lost here in former
times, which was restored to the mother by an animal called Aghu,
at the intercession of the great patron saint of Khorassaun, Imam
Resa ; hence, the caravanseray is called Aghwan.

Thursday, the 22nd February, we left this caravanseray, and passed
the ruined castle built by Nushirwan. We passed the cold mountain
Tatawar, and arrived at a castle built by the present Shah, called
Sultan-Abad*, near the caravanseray called Khosha, built by Shah
Abbas. Muhammed Shereef Khan, from Casween, assured me that
he was a great friend to the English people, for which he desired me
to give him wine ; as I had with me a few bottles given to me by Col-
onel Shell, I gave to him one of them. The climate is particularly
cold here.

Friday, the 23rd of February. Arrived, after twenty-four miles
ride, at Damghan, considered, after Balkh and Nishapoor, the most
ancient city in the world ; and the numerous ruins testify the truth
of its antiquity. But the Kedkhoda (burgomaster), who had been
previously informed that a great (Elchee) ambassador from England
was coming, with above two hundred men, was so frightened that he
fled from the town, and the colonel (Serhenk) was obliged to procure
victuals for me.

Saturday, February 24th, we arrived at Deh-Mullah ; as I felt
very unwell, I got a barber to bleed me.

* Abad, abode. A curious union of European and Asiatic terms.

144 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

Sunday, the 25th, I arrived at Sharoot, a city containing about two
thousand inhabitants. I lived here in a house erected expressly for
the reception of respectable strangers by Ismael Mirza, formerly
prince governor of Boostan, the same who, twelve years ago, wanted
to exact a promise from me, that King William should give him six
thousand tomauns per annum, in case of his sending me safely to Bok-
hara : a pension which just now would be welcome to him, for he
lives now at Teheraun in poverty. It is surprising to observe the
change of feeling in Khorassaun towards the English people. Twelve
years ago, the people of Sharoot insulted my servants for serving an
infidel ; now, I entered Sharoot in my clerical habit and gown, and
was well respected. This change is to be ascribed to the entrance
of Abbas Mirza into Khorassaun, which brought, for the first time,
many English people into notice in this country ; and also to the
invasion of the British army in Affghanistaun. On Monday I re-
mained here, and visited the Muhammedan college of Sharoot, and
conversed about the Gospel with their mullahs.

February 27th, I arrived at Miyamey, and on the 28th at Miyan-
dasht. From Miyandasht to Meher, the road is considered rather dan-
gerous, for the Turkomauns sometimes make it still unsafe, though not
in such a degree as formerly ; I therefore was, according to the or-
der of the King, escorted, and Korban Khan, of Miyandasht, himself,
with five horsemen armed, accompanied me to Abbas-Abad ; and I
must here observe, that Korban Khan behaved in a very handsome
and disinterested manner. The road to Abbas-Abad is very dreary,
and not a single village was seen for forty miles.

February 29th, I arrived at Abbas Abad, twenty miles.

March 1st, 1844', we arrived at Massenan, formerly a large town,
but now in ruins.

March 2nd, I arrived at Meher, where I met a person from Torbad,
who immediately recognised me as the person who formerly was slave
at Torbad. I also met a person, Soleiman by name, who was Stod-
dart's servant for a few days.

Sunday, March 3rd, we arrived at a beautiful village called Khos-
roejerd. I had sent on the King's courier to procure me a place for
one hour's rest, but the fellow was tired, as well as myself, and took
lodging for staying there over night.

Monday, March 4th, we arrived at Sebzawar, four miles distant ; a
town containing twelve thousand inhabitants. Here Tamerlane built
a tower of the sculls of men whom he had slain in battle, and hither
it was that the Jews were transported from Kaswin to Khoras-
saun, by Shah Abbas. Sebzawar is covered with verdure and

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 145

melons in profusion. Hence it derives its name, Selz, verdure ;
Awar, having. All the mullahs called on me ; and as the Persians
dislike Omar, Osman, and Abubekr, they asked me therefore : " Whom
do you like better, Omar, Osman, and Abubekr, or Ali, Imam Hus-
sein, Imam Resa, and Abool Casern ?" W. The latter. Mullahs.
Why ? W. Omar, Osman, and Abubekr killed people ; but the lat-
ter were more conciliating.

Tuesday, March 5th, I arrived in a miserable village called
Safran.

Wednesday, March 6th, at Germ-Ab, i. e. Warm water, for there
is a spa. As I had learnt that the Assaff-ood-Dowla (viceroy) of
Khorassaun, and uncle to the King, for whom I had letters from the
King, and who resides at Meshed, was only twenty miles distant from
Germ-Ab, for his diversion, in a place called Maadan ; I therefore
sent to him the King's courier, my mehmoondar, to ask His Excel-
lency whether he would receive me there or at Meshed. My meh-
moondar returned late in the night, with a letter from the Assaff-ood-
Dowla (viceroy) for his lieutenant-governor, at Meshed, to procure a
good house for me at Meshed, and provide me with everything neces-
sary, and at the same time with a message to me, that he would re-
ceive me at Meshed, on the 25th of the month Saffar, i. e., the 15lh
of March, (after to-morrow,) when he would be at Meshed ; and he
sent me word that Stoddart and Conolly were alive eleven months
ago, and that he had sent, only ten days before my arrival at Germ-
Ab, Hassan Baba, a Merwee, with presents to the King of Bokhara,
at the request of Colonel Sheil. For Colonel Sheil, as I mentioned,
had sent three months before my arrival at Teheraun, an express
Ghulam to Meshed, requesting the Assaff-ood-Dowla to send on a man
to Bokhara, and to demand the bones of Colonel Stoddart and Captain
Conolly. Now is it not very remarkable, that the man, though sent
from Teheraun three months before my arrival there, should have
been delayed four months at Meshed, until the Assaff-ood-Dowla
granted the wish of Colonel Sheil. That the man waited at Meshed
four months until he was admitted to the Assaff-ood-Dowla, is evi-
dent from the circumstance that the Ghulam of Colonel Sheil came
to Germ-Ab on his way back to Teheraun. When I asked him,
" Why did you stop so long at Meshed ?" he answered me that
Muhammed Ali Serraf, Colonel Stoddart's agent, to whose care
the letter was sent by Colonel Sheil, delayed giving it to the As-
saff-ood-Dowla until eleven days before I met the Ghulam at Germ-
Ab. Now here I cannot avoid making another remark, for the mat-
ter is too important to be hastily passed over. Before I left England

146 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

I wrote a confidential letter to Mr. Addington, of the Foreign Office,
telling him that I should do all in my power to prevent any political
discussion on account of my mission, in order that my mission might
assume its true form, and not become a question of Whig or Tory.
The subject is, however, too important to be passed over, and since I
have come back, and been enabled to reflect on the subject, I must
say that it was very unfortunate that Colonel Sheil did not know, be-
fore he reposed such confidence in Muhammed Ali Serraf, the charac-
ter of the man ; and thus the safety of the lives of the two Envoys
were left dependent on the trustworthiness of a villainous Persian,
who was surreptitiously concealing the property of one of the victims,
whom from the basest motives he had left to perish at Bokhara, hold-
ing his property from him and his relatives, and sacrificing his life.

Thursday, March 7th, 1844, I arrived at Nishapoor. YoussufF
Kakulli, a Turkomaun from Khiva, and Hassan Khan Kurd, from
Mazanderaun, both chiefs, called on me there ; and Kakulli showed
to me a letter from his brother at Bokhara, who assured him that the
tall Englishman was still alive at Bokhara. Tamas Beyk, chief of
the couriers in Khorassaun, to whom all the couriers (Japarjees) and
the Kafila Bashis (heads of caravans) from Khorassaun come, a man
active and well-inclined to the English interest, also called on me,
and assured me that Mullah Kurban, the Kafila Bashi from Mymona,
had assured him that Stoddart and Conolly were still alive, in the Ka-
laa (castle) outside Bokhara.

Friday, March 8th, I stopped on purpose with Tamas Beyk, to see
whether he would remain consistent in his story, and he did.

Saturday, I arrived in the village called Kadamgah (Place of the
foot), inhabited by Sayids, where my mehmoondar had prepared a
place for me in the mosque, but I declined accepting it, observing that
it was not decent to sleep in a place of worship : all the Sayids ex-
claimed, " Khoob ademee," " He is a good man." Several of the chief
Sayids came to me, and wished to obtain from me a notion of the re-
ligion which I profess, and which I faithfully conveyed to them.
Many of them expressed a wish to go to England, and be better in-
formed of our religion and habits. The change for the better I have
met with in Khorassaun, since the time I was here in 1831, is surpri-
sing : a proof of what a more regulated government is able to effect ;
for it is evidently now better governed by the King and his lord lieu-
tenant, than it was under those tyrannical khans, who have been suc-
cessfully exterminated, in a most wonderful manner ; and the invasion
of the British in AfFghanistaun has also much contributed towards it.

Sunday, the 10th, arrived at Shereef-Abad, the place where I, in

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 147

1831, was the second time in danger of being made slave, and where
I was beaten for not saying the Kalima. I lived now again in the
same house, feared and respected ; though arriving in my clergyman's
gown, which made them stare.

On Monday, the llth of March, I arrived at Askerea, two miles
distant from Meshed. I had sent on before the King's mehmoondar,
and the gholam of the British embassy. The first who came to meet
me was Mullah Mehdee (Meshiakh), the Jew with whom I had lodged
twelve years ago, and who treated me most hospitably when in distress
and misery and poverty, previous to the arrival of Abbas Mirza at
Meshed, from Nishapoor.

All the Jews of Meshed, a hundred and fifty families, were compelled,
seven years ago, to turn Mussulmans. The occasion was as follows :
A poor woman had a sore hand ; a Mussulman physician advised her
to kill a dog and put her hand in the blood of it ; she did so ; when sud-
denly the whole population rose, and said that they had done it in derision
of their Prophet. Thirty-five Jews were killed in a few minutes ; the
rest, struck with terror, became Muhammedans ; and the fanatic and
covetous Muhammedans shouted, (^j\~)t\ VL JtXSJ J*c£ )£
" Light of Muhammed has fallen upon them !" They are now more
zealous Jews in secret than ever ; but call themselves, like the Jews
in Spain, Anusim, " the compelled ones !" Their children cannot
suppress their feelings when their parents call them by their Muham-
medan names ! But Mullah Mehdee and Mullah Moshe believe in
Christ, and Mullah Mehdee asked me to baptize him. He has been of
the greatest use to the English in Heraut and Candahar, as his testi-
monials from Rawlinson and others amply testify.

Soon after, Saleh Muhammed, the Akhund-Zadeh who gave to
Colonel Sheil the detailed account of the death of Stoddart and Con-
oily, came also on horseback to meet me. He is not the same person
whom I supposed that I knew, and he is a Sunnee, and may have
heard the story at Bokhara ; but I did not believe the truth of it, and
was still of the opinion with many others, that both were alive.

The third who came out to meet me was Mullah Muhammed Serraf,
Colonel Stoddart's agent at Meshed. This person, I was informed by
Mullah Mehdee and others, held property in his possession to a consid-
erable amount belonging to Colonel Stoddart. He himself never uttered
a word about it ; on the contrary, he spoke to me of Colonel Stoddart's
being in his debt. He (Mullah Muhammed Ali Serraf) seemed to me
to be a civil, many-promises-making fellow, boasting of the services
he did to the English — a cowardly rogue, only bent upon his own inter-

148 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

est, and who had most shamefully neglected Colonel Stoddart's welfare,
for which he was paid. At the recommendation of Colonel Stoddart
himself, who seemed to have been imposed upon by the said mullah,
Colonel Sheil forwarded through him all the letters to Stoddart. Now
what struck me as strange in him was this ; that the first thing he told
me was : " I shall now deliver to you the letter Colonel Sheil sent to me
from the Sultan of Constantinople."

W. Why did you not send long ago a man with the letter to Bok-
hara, which you sent back once to Colonel Sheil after the report of
Stoddart's death, and which was sent a second time to you by Colonel
Sheil for the purpose of forwarding it on ?

M. M. A. S. Every one was afraid to take it.

W. Why did you not send on the letter with the man of the Assaf-
ood-Dowla, who was sent to Bokhara at Colonel Sheil's request thir-
teen days ago ?

M. M. A. S. I was afraid that the King of Bokhara might ask the
man of the Assaff-ood-Dowla, " What have you to do with the Sultan
of Constantinople ? Who gave you this letter ?"

Could anything be more annoying than this? Beside this, Mr.
Macnaghten and Miss Stoddart had forwarded, one year ago, letters to
Colonel Sheil from Sir Moses Montefiore, at my advice, for the Jews
of Samarcand, Bokhara, and Balkh : all these letters Mullah Muham-
med AH Serraf told me he had sent on only one mon+h ago to the Jews
of Bokhara, — if he sent them at all. I became therefore more anx-
ious than ever to go to Bokhara, and determined that nothing should
prevent me from my design but death ; for the Assaff-ood-Dowla him-
self sent me word, that he had learnt that, eleven months ago, both had
been alive. And I wrote therefore a second letter to the Assaff-ood-
Dowla, on my arrival at Meshed, beseeching him to send me on with
the greatest speed and haste ; and His Excellency proved that he was
ready to do so, by sending me on to Mowr with all the Turkomaun
chiefs who were at Meshed at the time.

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 149

CHAPTER VIII.

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 Ali 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 Derveeshek 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.

ON my arrival at Meshed I was received in the most polite manner
by Mirza Askeree, Mirza Moosa Khan, both heads of the religion, and
chiefs of the great mosque at Meshed ; which is not a little thing.
The AssafF-ood-Dowla was expected on the 15th of March to a cer-
tainty.

But the above-mentioned Mullah Muhammed Ali Serraf, in whose
hands above two thousand tomauns worth of property of Stoddart was
found, actually frightened one of my servants, Rajab, from accompa-
nying me to Bokhara, for he would follow me only as far as Mowr.
I took another servant of Stoddart, Abdullah by name, who turned out
to be a most consummate rascal. I was now overrun with people who
came from Heraut, Cabul, and other places from Alfghanistaun, Aff-
ghauns, — with testimonials from Rawlinson, Conolly, Todd, and Doctor
Riach, of the services they had rendered to the British army. I copy
one of these testimonials :

This is to certify that Meer Allie Khan Khort was one of the chiefs of the Kuzzel-

150 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

bash, who accompanied me for the recovery of the prisoners, and that he behaved
most handsomely and afforded me all the assistance in his power.

September 20*A, 1842. (Signed) RICHMOND SHAKESPEARE.

I gave to this fellow one tomaun, for he seemed to me to be in great
distress. But there came two others, who produced some paper from
Major Todd, by whom they were sent to Bokhara to release Stoddart,
who were most consummate rascals. The name of the one is Seyf
Kulle Khan, and the other Tamas Kulle Khan ; they bitterly com-
plained that they had been sent to Bokhara, and received no remuner-
ation for it, whilst I knew from Aga Abool Kasem, formerly British
agent at Meshed, and from my friend Mullah Mehdee, that they had
received about one thousand five hundred tomauns, or seven hundred
and fifty pounds sterling, as a reward. On mentioning Aga Abool
Kasem, formerly British agent here, the question may be asked, Why
was he not employed by Colonel Sheil in forwarding the letters to
Bokhara ? There are two very weighty reasons for it, if not more.
1st. Aga or Mullah Muhammed AH Serraf was Stoddart's agent, and
recommended as such. 2nd. Aga Abool Kasem candidly told me,
that he had declined to undertake the task, as he had a brother residing
at Bokhara, who had not the courage to assist him. And the above-
mentioned rascals themselves told me, that when they came to Bokhara
they only had a sight of Colonel Stoddart, but were afraid to speak to
him ; and all they did, was to deliver a note to him in a stealthy man-
ner, and to receive one from him in the same way. I wrote to Colonel
Sheil, and requested him to send on immediately Mr. Thomson to
Meshed, to look also into the affairs of Mullah Muhammed Ali Serraf,
Stoddart's agent, in order that everything might be delivered into his
(Thomson's) hands.

All the Jews from Torbad, who saw me in slavery there in 1831,
and the Jews who knew me at Sarakhs, were here ; one of them
offered himself to me as a servant. I found that I should not be ena-
bled to set out from Meshed before the 25th of March, for Bokhara.

My journey up to this point was as follows :

Miles.

1. From Southampton to Constantinople - - - - - 3300

2. „ Constantinople to Trebizond - - - - - - 480

3. „ Trebizond to Erzroom - - ».:- ..^ - - 180

4. „ Erzroom to Teheraun 588

5. „ Teheraun to Meshed ------- 556

5104
There remained only to Bokhara ...... 550

5650

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 151

Among the other wild Eastern rumours at Sharoot, a report was
spread that a mullah from England had arrived, two hundred years
of age — Joseph Wolff, by name.

I forwarded hence three letters to the King of Khiva ; the first from
the Sultan of Constantinople, the second from Colonel Sheil, and the
third from the Ambassador of Khiva to the Court of Persia, whom I
had met at Teheraun, with a letter to His Majesty the King of Khiva,
written by myself. My own letter was in the following terms.

Joseph Wolff, the derveesh of the Christians in England, sends his blessing to
His Majesty the King of Organtsh, and wishes him the wisdom of Solomon the
Wise, (upon whom is the comfort of God and peace,) and the power and riches of
Timur Kurikanee, the conqueror and possessor of the earth. Know ye, O King,
that I am the well-known derveesh of England, and have traversed, for the sake of
Jesus, Egypt, Mount Sinai, Yemen, Jerusalem, Damascus, Bokhara, Balkh, and
Hind, and the New World, which lies on the other side of the Ocean. All these
countries I traversed for the sake of God and Jesus, and for the good of my fellow crea-
tures, telling princes and little ones that they should repent and turn to God, for we
are of God, and to God we must return. I also spoke with the Muhammedan Mul-
lahs, and with Jews and Guebers, that we have to expect first of all the coming of
the Dejaal (Antichrist), who shall bring great mischief into the world, and force
many to worship him as God ; but after him, Jesus shall come, and kill Dejaal with
the breath of his mouth, and set up a kingdom, that all nations shall serve Him ; and
in his time the lion and the lamb shall lie down together, and the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea ; and universal peace shall
prevail upon earth.

But now I go to Bokhara for another object. I have been informed, and all
England has been informed, that two English officers of high rank, Colonel Stod-
dart and Captain Conolly, have been put to death at Bokhara ; and as the life of
an Englishman is dear to his people, the account has spread indignation throughout
England, Russia, Germany, and America. I therefore said that I would go to Bok-
hara, in order to ascertain the truth or falsehood of that report ; and if they should
be still alive, that I would demand their persons from the King of Bokhara. I beg,
therefore, Your Majesty to bestow on me the following favours : 1st. To write to
the King of Bokhara to grant my request ; 2nd. That Your Majesty will make
known my mission, not only among Khivites, but also send letters to all the Turko-
mauns and Hazarahs, and to the Khans of Ankhoy, Maymona, and to the Ameer
of Cabul, and to the King of Khokand and Shahr Sabz.

Giving you my benediction as the great derveesh, well known throughout Frank-
ietauu and hi the land of Russia.

(Sealed) JOSEPH WOLFF.

To the Hazarah at Daragass, Arand, Ankhoy, and Khoollom :

Joseph Wolff, the derveesh of England, believer in Jesus, sends his salutation
and his blessing to the powerful tribe of the Hazarah, celebrated among the heroes
of Turkistaun, and whose ancestors have been valiant companions in battle to the
great Ghengis Khan, the Tshagatay. Know ye that I am going to Bokhara to
demand from the Ameer Nasir Behadur Ullah, in the name of God and Jesus the

152 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

Word of God, the release of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly ; and after this
I wish to pay you a visit, and speak with you about the great trumpet which shall
be sounded, and the descent of Jesus from heaven, amidst the shouts of angels !
For I have learnt that you have a respect for Englishmen, and especially such as
Pottinger and Darcy Todd. And therefore I am confident that you will receive me
kindly. I therefore beseech you to announce my going to Bokhara among the
Ghirgese and Cossacks of the Desert. For it is of high importance that all the
inhabitants of Turkistaun should know that Englishmen do not look with indiffer-
ence on their brethren in captivity, and that there is a derveesh whose life is devoted
to the service of God.

(Sealed) J. WOLFF.

I got both these corrected and fine copied at Meshed, by Mirza Mu-
hammed Noori, and forwarded by a relation of Shah Soujah El-Mulck,
late King ofCabul.

During the whole period of my stay at Meshed, the Assaff-ood-Dowla
(viceroy) of Khorassaun, ordered his lieutenant to treat me with all
the respect of an ambassador, and three rooms were placed at my dis-
posal, and every day victuals were sent to me by the Calandar.

On a further conversation with the Akhund-Zadeh Saleh Muham-
med, my hopes were further raised, of the probable existence of Stod-
dart and Conolly. One solitary person at Bokhara was also, he ad-
mitted, the sole source ofhis information. I did not believe his story :
1st. Because Tamas Beyk, the chief of the Japaree of several prov-
inces in Khorassaun, a kind hearted and excellent man, who lives
at Nishapoor, told me that Kurban, the chief of caravans, who resides
at Maymona, twelve days' journey from Bokhara, and who is there
every three months, assured him that both Stoddart and Conolly were
alive, and imprisoned in the Kalai, outside of Bokhara. Kakulli, also
a Turkomaun chief, who also was at Nishapoor, showed to me a letter
from his brother at Bokhara, in which he stated that Stoddart was
alive to a certainty. Further, His Excellency the Assaff-ood-Dowla
(viceroy) of Khorassaun, to whom I sent the king's courier to inquire*
where I should meet him, whether at Maadan or Meshed, sent me
word that Stoddart and Conolly were alive last year. 3rd. The peo-
ple of Meshed themselves told me, that the report of their death had
been current at Meshed three years ago, when it was certain they
were alive. 4th. It was reported for five years at Bokhara, that the
Goosh Bekee had been put to death, when he suddenly made his ap-
pearance again, and only died a short time since a natural death.
5th. All people at Meshed say, " Kesee nadeed" — " No one has seen
the execution."

The further I investigated the character of Aga Muhammed Ali
Serraf, the greater rogue he appeared. Poor Stoddart ordered all his

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 153

letters to be addressed by Colonel Sheil to him. The Sultan's letter
was sent to him, for Colonel Sheil had nobody else at Meshed on whom
he could rely.

My proofs are these : on my first meeting him I asked him whether
he had sent on the letter of the Sultan, which he had received a year
ago, and which he had sent back to Colonel Sheil on the first report
of their death, and which Colonel Sheil returned with the express or-
der of forwarding it to Bokhara at any rate ? I have shown how he
equivocated on that point : and on my entrance into Meshed, he hesi-
tated as to giving me the letter, until I sent him a threatening mes-
sage, when he produced it, but brought with him one of his friends
who was at Bokhara, viz. Haje Ibrahim, brother to Abdul Samut
Khan, of whom Colonel Sheil told me afterwards, that cunning and
knavery were depicted in his very look ; and he sate down in my
room, and said, with a loud voice, " Have you a letter from the Queen
of England for the King of Bokhara ?" I replied, " No ; but I have
letters from the Sultan of Constantinople, from the King of Persia, and
from the Russian ambassador." Haje Ibrahim replied, " All these
letters are pootsh," which means, good for nothing. " I will tell you
what they will do with you as soon as you arrive at Jehaar-Joo.
They will put you in a little room, take from you all the money you
have, keep you there until an answer comes from the Ameer, to whom
they will report your arrival. After his answer, they will bind your
eyes, that you shall not be able to see anything about you in the coun-
try, put you in the black well, and then kill you." I asked, " How
do you know that ?" He said, " Stoddart came to Bokhara with a
letter from the Vizier Muchtar, the British envoy at Teheraun ; he
was put in prison. After this, Conolly came with letters from the
ambassador at Cabul, or, as he called him, the Laard Nawaub Saheb.
He was put in prison. Then a letter came from the Sultan. The
Ameer cast it away with disdain, and said, ' The Sultan is half a
Kafir (infidel). I want a letter from the Queen of England.' Some
time after a letter arrived from the Sirkar of Hind (the Governor-
General). This letter," said he, with a sneer, " stated « that Stoddart
and Conolly were innocent travellers.' Upon which the Ameer was
so angry that he put both to death, and I have this account from my
brother, Abdul Samut Khan."

I beg the reader to remark this point with respect to this important
letter, which on my return to Teheraun, when Haje Ibrahim came
thither for the money which he claimed for Abdul Samut Khan, he
boasted, in the presence of Mr. Glen, one of the attaches of the Brit-
ish embassy, to have mentioned to me, and then repeated all the above

154 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

conversation at Meshed, verbatim, especially relative to Lord Ellen-
borough's letter.

I immediately took the letter of the Sultan, which was in the pos-
session of Muhammed AH Serraf, and put it into the case with the
other letters of the Sultan and the King of Persia which I had brought
with me, and told the fellows : " Your endeavour to frighten me is in
vain ; I shall set out from here, and need not the assistance of any
one of you !"

Aga Abool Kasem, formerly the British agent at Meshed, a respec-
table merchant from Heraut, called on me, for I had a letter for him
from Colonel Sheil. I asked him why he did not take the letter from
Muhammed AH Serraf, and send it on to Bokhara ? He, more up-
right than that fellow, told me : "I have a brother at Bokhara, who is
a coward, and who would not have executed my wish ; and I should
not have liked to compromise him myself, for I never received a salary
from the British government, and I .am a merchant."

On the 13th March, I by chance learnt from Mullah Mehdee, the
Jew, that several letters had been sent from Sir Moses Montefiore to
the care of Mullah Muhammed AH Serraf, Stoddart's agent. I im-
mediately recollected that they must be the same letters which I had
advised Mrs. Macnaghten and Miss Stoddart to procure from Sir Moses
Montefiore, and forward them through Mullah Mehdee, of Meshed, to
the Jews of Bokhara, Samarcand, Balkh, and Khokand ; but Colonel
Sheil, of course, according to Stoddart's direction, forwarded them
through his agent, Mullah Muhammed AH Serraf. He called yester-
day evening, and I said : " What have you done with the letters for
the Jews of Bokhara, &c. ?"

M. M. A. S. I broke the seal, took off the envelope, and had the
direction of it written by Ismael the Jew in Hebrew only ; for as the
English writing upon it might make the Jews suspected, I thought that
it was not safe.

Now there was some reason in this ; but in the first instance, in the
East, a letter without a seal goes for nothing ; secondly, on my de-
siring him to produce the envelopes, which he said he had preserved,
I found that he only had forwarded the letters to Samarcand, Balkh,
and Khokand, but broken the seal and kept back the most important
of all, the letter of Sir Moses Montefiore to the Jews of Bokhara. As I
was sure that Sir Moses Montefiore, who does not like me, would be sorry
if I was the deliverer of the letter, and seeing then no necessity for it, I
returned the letter to him in England. And even the other letters, I
found to a certainty, had only been forwarded thirty days ago.

Aga Abool Kasem, the above-mentioned respectable merchant, and

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 155

formerly British agent, gave me this day the following exact informa-
tion as to the property of Colonel Stoddart, in the hands of his agent :
(viz.,) that Muhammed Ali Serraf was in possession of shawls con-
signed to him by Colonel Stoddart, which he had given as a pawn to
merchants, to obtain money from them for buying land, for they are
to the amount of two thousand tomauns — one thousand pounds sterling.
I asked him about that. He replied, that he had still the shawls in
his possession, and he intended to deliver the shawls to Colonel Stod-
dart's sister in person ; and then sat down to write a letter to his
(Colonel Stoddart's) sister. The fellow is a rogue ; and it was not
Colonel Sheil's fault, but Stoddart's, in choosing such an agent. He
told me that Stoddart said, (which has a lie on the face of it,) that he
was to deliver the shawls to his sister, who would richly reward him.

I called on the 12th on the great high priests at Meshed — Mirza
Said Askeree, the Imam Jemaat of Meshed, and Haje Mirza Moosa
Khan, Metwalle of the Mosque, both of whom have been very kind
to me, and given me every assistance. They wish to obtain a litho-
graphic press, each one of them, and the Assaff-ood-Dowla wishes for
a beautiful spy-glass. I wrote to England to get these things for-
warded to them, not by Stoddart's agent, but by Mullah Mehdee, my
friend.

March 15th. The Assaff-ood-Dowla (viceroy) of Khorassaun ar-
rived here, and immediately sent his chamberlain to welcome me.
Three hundred Turkomaun chiefs from the desert of Mowr were here,
beseeching the AssafF-ood-Dowla to bring their tribe near Meshed ; by
them I was to be escorted to Mowr. The Assaff-ood-Dowla will send
one of his men with me on to Bokhara. Report said that a Russian
ambassador reached that - city a month previous to the time I was at
Meshed.

March 20th. The Assaff-ood-Dowla assembled the Turkomauns in
his tent, read my letters from the various Sovereigns, and then said to
them, " Here I recommend to you an English mullah, recommended
to the King of Bokhara by four Powers." They stroked their beards,
and swore to bring me safely to Bokhara.

This is the New Rooz (new-year's day) of the Persians. His Ex-
cellency the Assaff-ood-Dowla sent me sweetmeats, and gold and sil-
ver pence, — which are considered blessed pence, — to the value of five
tomauns sterling, according to Persian custom. I saw at his levee the
Persian soldiers drilled before him. One Turkomaun chief is ap-
pointed to bring me safely to Bokhara ; and of the three hundred
Turkomaun chiefs, thirty go to the King of Persia, and the rest ride
on before to announce me to the Turkomauns of Sarakhs and Merwe.

156 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

My letters from the Sultan and Sheikh Islam of Constantinople, for
the King and Mullahs of Khiva and Khokand, were sent on by an ex-
press Turkomaun, for which I paid fifty tomauns. I gave one hun-
dred tomauns to the men of the Assaff-ood-Dowla. The change of
circumstances in Khorassaun surprises me, since the last twelve
years, among the low as well as among the high. I am here received
by all the mullahs with the same distinction as they treat each other.
The Assaff-ood-Dowla is one of the shrewdest persons I ever met with.
tie said to me, " Now I will tell you a few words which you must
learn by heart, and address to the King of Bokhara, and the words are
these:

i. e. " I am sent from England, and from the Turkish government,
and from the Russian government, and the Persian government, by
reason of that friendship which subsists between these governments
and England." I asked him whether he would wish to have an Eng-
lish physician here; he significantly, but with politeness, replied,
" There is no necessity for that, — all we want is, the friendship of
England." He sent presents by Dil Assa Khan, — the Turkomaun
chief who is to take me to Bokhara, — for the King, amounting to five
hundred tomauns in value. Really our government ought to recog-
nise his great kindness, even to so mean a member of its body corpo-
rate as myself. My letters from England were conveyed to me by
the hands of his own chamberlain. My rooms were here a most ex-
traordinary sight. On one occasion, while I was writing a letter to
England, four Turkomaun chiefs were seated on the ground, eating
bread, sour milk, and pocketing the sweetmeats given to them ; Mul-
lah Mehdee sate in another compartment of the room (I have privately
baptized him) ; Dil Assa Khan, opposite to him, writing down what I
wanted for the road, such things as sugar, four horses, a tent, dates,
&c. ; Aga Abool Kasem, a Persian merchant, sitting on the ground.
Sadik Beg, the King of Persia's Mehmoondar, looks anxiously about
my safety. My own servants consulting what I ought still to have
with me.

On the 25th the Assaff-ood-Dowla sent for me, (by the way, I
ought not to have omitted to state that this kind and excellent person

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 157

is the uncle of Muhammed Shah,) and desired me to mention in my
letters to England the following facts.

After the TQrkomauns of Merwe had rebelled against the King of
Khiva, and killed the governor set over them by that sovereign, they
first of all sought protection from the King of Bokhara, but he (the
Assaff-ood-Dowla) having been informed of the ill-treatment of Stod-
dart and Conolly, induced all the Ttirkomauns to rebel against the
King of Bokhara, and that now three hundred Turkomaun chiefs,
whom I myself had seen at the palace, were come to Meshed to ask
permission to settle near it. The Assaff-ood-Dowla has consequently
secured under his command the most powerful tribes, Sarakhs, Mahal,
Merwe, and Tajan. From these Turkomauns he sends to Teheraun,
not, as I first understood, thirty, but seventy, as hostages to the
King, in order to insure me a good reception in the desert of Mowr,
and also to obtain their powerful interference in case the King of
Bokhara should resort to violent measures against me. Besides this,
he assured me that, should the Shah have any scruples as to the de-
tention of the Eljee of Bokhara, he would detain him at Meshed until
I reached it safe and sound. When Colonel Sheil wrote to him fifty
days ago, to send on a man to Bokhara, he immediately sent one with
presents to the amount of five hundred tomauns, and he said that he
should send further presents to the same amount by Dil Assa Khan.

He also said that he was ready to march on Bokhara with the
Shah's permission, and upon the first hint from England, and that our
own country would be the noble liberatrix of thousands of slaves.

Were even the bones of Stoddart and Conolly produced to me, I de-
termined now to proceed to Bokhara, and to investigate how they died.
A strong prestige was also rising in my favour. Yar Muhamrned
Khan, at Heraut, had been advised by his friends at Meshed to write
to the King of Bokhara to release the prisoners and treat me well.
The Hazarah, also, in the deserts of Maymona, proclaimed my mis-
sion to Bokhara, as far as Khoollom. The various delays at this
place became so vexatious that I wrote to the AssafF-ood-Dowla on the
24th March, complaining of Dil Assa Khan, the chief of several
tribes of Merwee, who wanted to stay till the 27th of this month, when
it was my wish to set out on the 26th (the Tuesday,) and not on the
Wednesday. His Highness ordered Dil Assa Khan, accordingly, to
leave on the 26th of this month. Dil Assa Khan received from me
one hundred tomauns, and the AssafF-ood-Dowla gave to him out of
his own pocket three hundred tomauns, and sent presents, as I have
mentioned, for the King of Bokhara, to the amount of five hundred
tomauns. Colonel Sheil also had given to me some cloth (three

158 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

pieces), and a silver watch for the Ameer, in order not to appear
empty handed. The letters of the Sultan of Constantinople for the
King of Khiva, and the letters of the Sheikh Islam of Constantinople
for the mullahs of Khiva and Khokand, had also been sent to the King
of Khiva by Youssuff Mirza, the Shah Zadeh, an Affghan prince,
who early this morning called on me ; and who sent on a man to
Khiva with a Turkomaun, to whom I paid fifty tomauns, and shall
have to pay him thirty tomauns after he brings an answer from the
King of Khiva, which will be delivered to Colonel Sheil at Teheraun,
for I shall not be back from Bokhara until the answer returns from
Khiva. I also wrote to the King of Khiva, desiring him to order the
Turkomauns under his jurisdiction not to molest me on the road, and
to make known to all the Turkomauns the reason of my expedition to
Bokhara. This will have, as the King of Khiva is at enmity with
Bokhara, the twofold effect, — first of all, he will take good care to
make it known among all the Turkomauns, and at Shahr Sabz, Kho-
kand, Samarcand, Khoollom, and even at Bokhara, that the conduct
of the King of Bokhara is disapproved by the Sultan, and resented by
the other Powers of Europe ; and it will at the same time deter the
Usbeck Tatars from giving any further assistance to the King of
Bokhara. Mullah Mehdee, a friend of Yar Muhammed Khan, at
Heraut, wrote, in his name (not in my name), to Yar Muhammed Khan
that now was the time to succeed in obtaining the support of England
by writing to the King of Bokhara that he should set free the English
prisoners, and receive me with distinction on my arrival at Bokhara.
Youssuff Mirza, the Shah Zadeh, wrote also the same to him, and to
the Hazarah tribes of Maymona and Ankhoy ; to the latter he wrote
for the purpose of making it known among all the mullahs, der-
veeshes, and awliyaans, in order that they may call on the Ameer of
Bokhara to suffer the strangers to go back to their own land.

I also addressed a most respectful letter to the Ameer of Bokhara,
with the intention of delivering it myself, in which I reminded His
Majesty of the hospitable reception he granted to me when at Bokhara
twelve years ago, and my having boldly defended him in England
and throughout Europe, when I heard him accused of having been
the murderer of guests ; and petitioned His Majesty most humbly to
allow me to bring back my friends to their native country, or, should
they have died on account of some fault committed, to inform me of the
nature of their crime, and to permit me to carry with me to England
their corpses, to be buried there by their relations. I put this letter
into the hands of the Imam Jemaat, of Meshed, who read it in the
mosque of Gowher Shah, where five thousand people were assembled.

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 159

A caravan arrived here some days ago from Bokhara, and the an-
swer to my inquiries was, They may be alive, for nobody has seen
them executed, whilst the others were publicly executed ; and the
Goosh-Bekee, or vizier, who for five years was supposed to have been
put to death, suddenly came forth alive and well from prison : and the
chief of the caravan of Bokhara, Mullah Kereem by name, who is
there every two months, and has a wife there, told me two days ago,
that if any one asserted that he had seen the execution of the two El-
jees, he was a liar ! And, as I have said, even the Akhund-Zadeh,
Saleh Muhammed told me that the two persons who were put to death,
and of whom he gave a circumstantial account to Colonel Sheil, might
have been two other persons, and the executioner who told him the
story might have belied him ; and besides this, I must confess that
two things are suspicious to me in the extreme in the Akhund-Zadeh's
account. First of all, at one time he told me that the executioner
from whom he had the story had been the executioner of Stoddart ; on
another day, when I asked him again which of the two executioners
had put Stoddart to death, he replied that he did not know. Besides
that, I used the method of questioning him, which Mr. Pitt applied to
people whose veracity he suspected on a certain subject. He ques-
tioned those people on other points : so did I with the Akhund-Zadeh ;
I asked him one day about the intended expedition of the Russians to
Khiva. The answer of the Akhund-Zadeh was, that he knew posi-
tively (^(.yJt.0 ) that not one single Russian came back to Orenbourgh ;
every one of them, with all the camels besides, were killed. Besides
that, he made a claim on Colonel Sheil for one hundred and twenty
tomauns, which I learnt from different quarters he had received from
Major Todd ; and I learnt, moreover, that he was of the party who
frightened my servant (Rajab) from accompanying me to Bokhara.
The other servant of Stoddart, when at Heraut — who is also in my
service — told me quite gravely, that he received once two thousand
stripes by order of the King of Persia, for having served the British
officers who were at Heraut during the siege of Heraut. You will
perceive by this, how difficult it is to find out the truth in such a
country of lies ! The Assaff-ood-Dowla is very anxious to march
against Bokhara, and take it. He is confident that he could take
Bokhara in less than half an hour.

The Assaff is really a great man ; he has brought, by his prudent
conduct, the greatest number of Turkornauns under his sway. The
Japow, or Plundering Expedition of the Turkomauns into Khorassaun,
is through him in a great degree abolished. He has erected caravan-
serays and other buildings. There he keeps and maintains now the

160 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

Shah Zadeh of Affghanistaun, in order to check, by continual fear,
Yar Muhammed Khan, of Heraut, who killed Kamran Shah, one year
ago. But I felt very angry with him, for he might have sent me
away sooner if he had not kept me on account of the man whom he
sent to Bokhara thirty days ago ; five months ago also, Sheil sent an
extra Gholam to urge him to send one on to Bokhara, but that delay
did not happen by his fault, but by the fault of Stoddart's agent.
Now, however, he expects back the man who went thirty days ago,
but I am determined to go away next Tuesday, i. e. to-morrow. I
have already bought four horses, victuals, &c. Hewever, as a pre-
caution, I determined to write to Colonel Sheil, that he should send on
a man to Meshed, with an order from the Shah to send me on imme-
diately.

The trouble that Dil Assa Khan occasioned me is almost inconceiv-
able. Though ordered by the AssafF-ood-Dowla to accompany me
with the armed men to Bokhara ; though letters were given to him
for the King of Bokhara, the chief Turkomauns of Sarakhs, and the
Khaleefa of Mowr, the spiritual head of the Turkomauns, writing to
all that they should take good care of me, for Persia, England, Russia,
and Turkey would otherwise call them to account ; all had little in-
fluence on this fellow. His dread of Behadur Khan seemed as unmit-
igated as his cupidity. I was obliged to pay him a hundred tomauns
in advance to begin. The Assaff-ood-Dowla next charged him with
presents to the King of Bokhara, and gave him orders to leave Me-
shed on the 26th. He made, however, constant excuses, and at last
sent me on with one of his men to Kanakoosha, twelve miles from
Meshed. Mullah Mehdee, the Jew, also accompanied me. Late in
the evening a letter arrived there for me from Dil Assa Khan, telling
me that the Assaff-ood-Dowla wished me to sit in a kejaweh during the
journey, or what they call at Cairo a shelrea, in order not to attract
too much the notice of the Turkomauns, and to take beside another
camel for water. I saw at once into this contrivance on his part to
extort more money from me. I therefore sent Mullah Mehdee with a
letter to the Assaff-ood-Dowla, telling him that I was ready to hire a
camel with a kejaweh^ and also another camel, but that I hoped His
Excellency would order Dil Assa Khan to make no further delay ; if
not, I would go back, and proceed via Russia to Bokhara. A kind
letter arrived from the Assaff-ood-Dowla, and I had taken the two
camels in order to avoid delay, but still Dil Assa Khan came not until
the 30th to Nazarieh, four miles from Kanakoosha, and even then he
wanted to stay some days more, until I positively ordered my servants
to make ready for returning to Meshed.

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 161

March 31st. We at last entered fairly the desert, and encamped
on the plain, covered with shrubs, called Jehaar Gunbaz. Dil Assa
Khan so annoyed me with incessant demands for money, that I sent
on secretly Mullah Mehdee, who had accompanied me so far, with a
letter to the AssafF-ood-Dowla, desiring him to send me another com-
panion in my route. Meanwhile I steadily refused Dil Assa Khan's
demands.

Monday, April 1st. We arrived at Rabat Mahal, a desert place,
where I pitched my tent. The water here is very salt. On the 2nd
of April a horseman came in all haste behind us, calling out, " Stop,
stop !" We stopped, and the horseman was sent after us from the
AssafF-ood-Dowla, with a letter from him for myself and Dil Assa
Khan. His Excellency wrote to Dil Assa Khan : " I will ruin you
and your family if you ask one single (derahem) farthing from my
friend Joseph Wolff, and do not discharge well your business." And
to me he wrote that to Sarakhs I should not part from the caravan,
and at Sarakhs I should take on with me, beside Dil Assa Khan, also
four Turkomauns and ten from Mowr, where I am already announced
by the two hundred Turkomaun chiefs. Dil Assa Khan is now very
humble and submissive.

We arrived at Masteroon, a fortress built upon the height of the
mountain, in order to watch the movements of the Turkomauns of
Sarakhs ; and to prevent them from plundering the caravans, fifty
artillerymen are on this account placed here with some cavalry by
the AssafF-ood-Dowla. The chief of those soldiers came to my tent ;
I made him a present of a loaf of bread ; he observed other Saheboon
(a name given to English gentlemen) made him always a present of
some tomauns. I replied, " that a mullah's bread is blessed." He
was quiet.

On the 3rd of April we arrived at Karagosh (Black Straight), for
the water is black here between two straights, and very salt.

On the 4th of April, we passed the desert place of Abe-Sherok, and
came to Gonbazli, twenty miles from Sarakhs. Here I had nothing
left to eat but dates and bread, and rain water to drink. I forgot to
mention that Rajab, after all, went on with me from Meshed, and ac-
companied me as far as Merve. I had also with me Mullah SefFee,
the Jew, who served Conolly and Stoddart, the first time when at
Khiva, the second when at Bokhara. He was also with Todd at He-
raut. I cannot enough impress upon the minds of the English people
the necessity of sending an English gentleman by birth to Meshed ;
for though Mullah Mehdee is very useful, still he needs the surveil-

162 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

lance of an English gentleman, and the agent of Stoddart, Muham.
med Ali Serraf, is a most contemptible fellow.

On the 5th of April (Friday), we arrived at Gonbazli, three far-
sakhs (twelve miles) from the former : nothing but a well in the des-
ert, and very salt. On the 6th of April (Saturday), slept again in
the desert. We crossed the Derya Sarakhs (River of Sarakhs),
which comes from Heraut. On the 7th we arrived at the Camp of
Nafas Beyk, who lives twenty-four miles from Old Sarakhs, a ruin
since Abbas Mirza came there accompanied by Borowsky. Nafas
Beyk treated me hospitably, for which he expected a Khelat. I gave
him a Turkomaun shirt. On the 8th of April (Monday), we left the
camp of Nafas Beyk, but lost our way in the desert, as the sky was
very foggy, and only found it again on the 9th of April (Tuesday).

To-day (10th of April, Wednesday), we made twenty-four miles,
and are in a desert place, where there is a Hausee-khan — a house
of water made by a khan. I was now sixty miles from Merve, and
three hundred miles from Bokhara. I received yesterday a letter
from Mullah Mehdee, sent from Meshed by a Turkomaun on purpose,
enclosing a letter from Yar Muhammed Khan, governor of Heraut,
who promised his powerful influence to me with the King of Bokhara.
The King of Bokhara intends to march against Khiva ; it is therefore
probable that I shall meet him to-morrow at Merve, or, after a few
days, at Jehaar-Joo.

I was bothered every day .to death by my companion, Dil Assa
Khan, the man of the AssafF-ood-Dowla, for presents, which I firmly
refused. I arrived safely, April 12th, at Mowr, and was received
very hospitably by Abd Arrahman, the Khaleef of Khiva and Bok-
hara. The Jew Nathan, and other Jews who knew me twelve years
ago when in this place, immediately called on me, and we talked over
old times. I may safely say that I was, in the year 1831, the only
Englishman known in the desert of Mowr, but now the names of Stod-
dart, Conolly, Shakespeare (who is called Sheikh-Sefeer), Abbott,
Todd, Riach, and Thomson, are mentioned with respect and regard,
and the whole nation is admired ;• so that Lord Palmerston ought to
have the thanks of Britain for having invaded AfFghanistaun, for even
in Affghanistaun they think now with affection of England and Eng-
lishmen. Abd Arrahman, my host, is a venerable old TQrkomaun,
worthy of his office ; a man without many words, without covetous-
ness, given to prayer, and a friend of hospitality. Conolly stopped in
his house when going from Cabul to Khiva. One of his sons knew
Major Todd well ; if the British government in India could be aware
how highly respected Todd rendered the English name throughout

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 163

Tflrkistaun, they would not have sent him back to his regiment.
The name, and liberality, and kindness of Todd, resound through the
desert of Turkistaun ; and thus is Riach respected, and the above-
named gentlemen ; only Stoddart is described as a brave but rough
man universally ; Conolly is described as a man of religion. "»

The above-mentioned Khaleefa Abd Arrahman told me positively
that Stoddart was alive, but in prison ; about Conolly he was not
quite certain. The Jew Nathan believed them to be dead, but had
his accounts from the Akhund-Zadeh, Saleh Muhammed, Colonel
Sheil's informant. Rain, slowness of the camels, wind of the desert,
occasional want of water, mistaking the road on cloudy days, were
all causes for unexpected delays. Beside this, the country is in a
warlike condition. The Turkomauns here in Mowr, or Merve, lately
rebelled against Khiva, and killed their governor, so that they may
expect every moment an invasion of the army of Khiva. There are
two parties here and at Sarakhs, some tribes holding with Bokhara,
the others with Khiva. I found Captain Grover quite right ; Stoddart
was sent by Sir John McNeill, but Conolly was also an accredited
agent, for he was sent by Sir W. Macnaghten to Bokhara to liberate
Stoddart.

A letter from Bruges reached me here in seventy-five days.
Ghersi's account about Stoddart was erroneous, for Abdul Samut
Khan is a Persian at Bokhara, head of the artillery, but is erroneous-
ly believed by many to be an Englishman, or Feringhee. In this
remarkable place (Mowr) there is an equally remarkable man ; I al-
lude to the Khaleefa of the Turkomauns. My readers will in this
work see the portrait, by a Persian artist, of this remarkable indi-
vidual.

Providence does appear in a most wonderful manner to operate by
the most singular causes to restrain the wickedness of men. The
Tflrkomauns of the desert of Mowr and Sarakhs are a people of such
a perfidious disposition, and of such great rapacity, that one could not
depend for a moment on their promises, or on any treaties entered into
with them ; for the Turkomauns, as well as the Bedflins in the deserts
of Arabia, do not consider consequences, but are only restrained by
instant infliction of punishment ; and therefore, no caravan could ever
dream of passing through the deserts of Mowr, Sarakhs, and Rafetak,
if there was not one man in that desert who knew how to restrain the
Turkomauns. This man is the great derveesh, who has the title of
Khaleefa, or successor of the Prophet, and is addressed by the royal
epithet of Hasrat, i. e. Majesty, and to whom are paid all the honours
due to royalty by the Turkomauns. His blessing they invoke pre-

164 NARRATIVE OF THE MISSION

vious to their going on any expedition, and to him they give the tenth
of all their spoil. He receives all the caravans under his protection,
and shows hospitality to all the wanderers. His blessing is the most
ardent desire of the Turkomauns, and his curse their deepest dread.
He inculcates among them the rites of hospitality, and tells them that
Abraham was honoured with the visit of angels, as a reward from
God for his hospitality. Even the Kings of Bokhara, Khiva, Khotan,
and Khokand, and even the Governor of Yarkand in Chinese Tartary,
send him presents, and give him the title of King. His name is Abd
Urrahman, " Slave of the merciful God j" for, on the day of his birth,
the merciful God sent rain over the desert after it had not rained for
a long time : such is his gifted nativity in the mind of these simple-
minded people. He has a son, whose name is Kereem Werde, which
means, " The bountiful God has given ;" for after God had only given
daughters to the Khaleefa, He at last bountifully added a son to his
family. This is the man sent by Providence to keep the Turkomauns
in order to a certain degree. I say to a certain degree, for he him-
self encourages them to fight and spoil the Sheea, which he tells them
is more acceptable to God than the performances of pilgrimages to
Mecca or to Masaur, near Balkh, where Ali's camel ascended to
heaven.

Several years ago the King of Khiva had forced upon the Turk-
omauns of Mowr, a governor, who resided in the castle of Mowr,
with 600 Khivites. The Turkomauns conspired against him, and slew
him and several hundred of the Khivites. Aboui three hundred took
refuge in the house of the Khaleefa Abd Urrahman. The Turkomauns
rushed to his house, and asked him furiously to deliver up to their
vengeance the rest of the Khivites ; but he boldly came out of his
house and said, " First you must put to death your Khaleefa, and then
those unfortunate men who took refuge under my roof." The infuri-
ated Turkomauns retired, and during the night time he escorted the
remnant of the Khivites out of the desert of Mowr until they were safe
from being pursued by the Turkomauns.

During my stay at Mowr, a company of dancing derveeshes arrived
from Yarkand, who stripped themselves and danced about until they
sank down to the ground. The son of the Khaleefa, seeing them
dance about thus, stripped himself also, and danced about with them.
The coincidence in the method of naming his children, and of these
wild rites, with some passages in Scripture, cannot but strike our
readers. We adduce one in corroboration of the latter : " And he
stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in ilke

OF DR. WOLFF TO BOKHARA. 165

manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Where-
fore they say, ' Is Saul also among the prophets ?' >: 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-

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.

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-

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

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.

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

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!"

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

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-

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

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.

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-

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 BOKHARA1

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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."

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

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

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."

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

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-

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.

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

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.

APPENDIX,

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

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<sarn that Joseph Wolff assented to their reasonable sentence.
After the departure of the Makhram, the Nayeb said, " The gentlemen were inno-
cent ; the King put them to death unjustly. I have been two years in his service
without pay myself, and he has dismissed me. If the English Government would
send a »ian to Shahr-Sabz, Khokand, Organtsh, Balkh, to make an alliance with
them, and give me twenty thousand tillahs, I myself would kill the Ameer hi re-
taliation for the death of the English gentlemen."

Joseph Wolff. " The illustrious Dowlat does not sanction the murder of Sov-
ereigns. We do not seek a name of infamy."

(From the time that Joseph Wolff came to the Nayeb's house to the period when
he went with Abbas Kouli Khan to Meshed, he was on each separate occasion
guarded night and day, so that no one could have access to him, nor could he hold
speech with any unperceived.)

The Nayeb produced on one occasion a paper, signed by Stoddart and Conolly,
that the Nayeb had lent them three thousand tillahs, which they were in debt. " I
will send you," said he to Joseph Wolff, " six thousand tiilahs on behalf of Abdullah
Khan (his son). Have a care that hereafter those three thousand tillahs, with tho
six thousand tillahs which I will send you, be paid. You will give a written under-
taking, that the interest shall be paid to my son." Joseph Wolff agreed to this.
He took three thousand tillahs. The other three thousand were disbursed for the
journey.

Every day the Nayeb used to say, " His Majesty will give you leave to depart
to-morrow." (The fact was not known among the people, that at this time the
Ameer had determined to kill Joseph Wolff ; but this was the fact.) Had Abbas
Kouli Khan not secured the safe conduct of Joseph Wolff, he would have been
killed as Messrs. Stoddart and Conolly were. The Ameer, when he learnt the
arrival of the Eljee, Abbas Kouli Khan, from the Shah, the shadow of God, (may
God prolong his empire and government,) with several requests, determined to see
him, and to learn what they were. He asked him by the Shekhawl, for what pur-
pose he came. Abbas Kouli Khan : " I, the slave, come from the King of Persia
with four requests. I have a letter in which they are contained. Let the King of

364 APPENDIX.

Bokhara receive it." After the arrival of the Khan they invited him to an audi-
ence. Abbas Kouli Khan brought a royal letter, with greetings on the part of the
Shah, to the Ameer of Bokhara. Having taken the letter, he went to the Ameer.
After compliments, he preferred the following requests to the Ameer of Bokhara :
1st. The release of Joseph Wolff. 2nd. The liberation of slaves. 3rd. Liberation
of Muhammed Taki the Astrologer's wife, who was in slavery with the Ameer.
4th. Respecting Mowr.

The King of Bokhara answered, " With respect to the departure of the Rever-
end Joseph Wolff, I have no difficulty. I am very glad that you are come. This
is my will in common with that of the King of Persia. We are going to send an
Eljee, in company with Joseph Wolff, to England, to please you. Several people
from Persia I shall give you, and we shall send them in your company to Persia.
Never has an instance been known from the most ancient time, that any King ever
has taken slaves from Turkistaun into Persia. As thou art the devoted slave of
Iraun and a perfect man, we give you Joseph Wolff for your safe conduct. Take
him with you and also those slaves* that I have permitted."

Then Joseph Wolff and Abbas Kouli Khan agreed to go together to Meshed.
Then there came the news of the march to Khokand. Praise be to God, the Ameer
went there and was defeated, and returned ; Abbas Kouli Khan was allowed to
depart with Joseph Wolff, having taken with them the slaves sent out from Meshed.
Then there came another letter from the Shah, demanding the release of Joseph
Wolff.

Joseph Wolff one day said to the Nayeb, in the presence of Mullah Kasem and
Dil Assa Khan, " The Dowlat has sent by India a letter to the King of Bokhara,
and in the country of Cabul five hundred rupees were paid to an Affghaun to con-
vey the letter to Bokhara, and that Affghaun lives at Balkh." Several days after
the arrival of Joseph Wolff, when the news of this letter went abroad, Nasir Hirul-
lah, a Cabulee, came to the Nayeb, saying, " This Affghaun, who brought from
Cabul the answer to the letter of the King of Bokhara, is in Bokhara in my house,
and gave me no account of the letter from fear. Shall I take the letter and give it
to the King ? It is respecting the release of Stoddart and Conolly. Having learnt
that a gentleman has come from Iraun to Bokhara, this man carne from Balkh to
Bokhara." The Nayeb informed the King that the letter had come from England
to Cabul, and from Cabul to Bokhara ; and that from fear it had not been delivered
to His Majesty, and that the letter was at Balkh. " Let them bring it from Balkh,"
said the King. The Cabulee and other persons were sent to fetch it. Some time
after this event, the expedition to Khokand took place. The Ameer sent a man
from Samarcand for the Nayeb, that he should come with soldiers and four cannon
hi order that he might march against Khokand. One day before the Nayeb set ou
from Samarcand, the letter came from Balkh. The letter was sealed, but broken
in the middle. The Nayeb gave the letter to one of his men to show it to Joseph
Wolff, and said he was going with the letter to give it to the King at Samarcand.
Having shown the letter to Joseph Wolff, he took it away and brought it to the
King. After the Nayeb came back from the march to Khokand, he gave the letter
to me, Mirza Abdul Wahab, being at that time in the house of the Nayeb, and said,
" Carry the letter to Joseph Wolff to read it." Again, His Majesty, after reading
it, said, " It is no answer to my letter to the British Government. It is just that I
kill this Frankee also." If Abbas Kouli Khan had not been at Bokhara, Joseph

* The Ameer meant the slaves that had purchased their freedom. J. W.

APPENDIX. 365

Wolff would have been killed, like the other English gentlemen, but he led him
away. I, who am Abdul Wahab, showed this letter to Abbas Kouli Khan, and
told him what the Nayeb said. Abbas Kouli Khan said to me, " Give the letter to
Joseph Wolff, but do not tell him what the Nayeb said. If you tell Joseph Wolff
what the Ameer has said, it will kill him. I am from Iraun ; there will I carry him.
If he shall die, what shall I say to the Shah?" I gave the letter to Joseph Wolff,
but said not a word. The Nayeb himself, in his own house, said to Joseph Wolff,
that the King had said as above.

But with respect to the money which the Nayeb gave to Joseph Wolff one day,
the Nayeb gave me two thousand tillahs, saying, " Take them to the house of Joseph
Wolff, and give them to him, and take a receipt for me, sealed up " I carried with
me the two thousand tillahs. Joseph Wolff gave them into the hands of Abdullah,
and Mehdee, a servant of the Nayeb, lent to Joseph Wolff for the purpose of
attending him, saying, " Count them, and see that the silver is right." Having
given Joseph Wolff the money, I came to the house of Abbas Kouli Khan, and sat
down for about an hour, when Joseph Wolff brought the written receipt to me,
sealed in due form, acknowledging that the two thousand tillahs were correct. I,
the humble servant, took the receipt, and gave it to the Nayeb. Two days had
elapsed from the giving of the two thousand tillahs, when I gave him one thousand
more, in the presence of Ameer Sarog the Turkomaun, who accompanied Joseph
Wolff from Meshed.

Abbas Kouli Khan, Dil Assa Khan, Joseph Wolff, Ameer Sarog, and Kaher
Kouli, having departed from Bokhara, set out for Meshed. Night and day the sole
thought of Ameer Sarog, of Abdullah, of Kaher Kouli, of the men of Dil Assa
Khan, was, if possible, to kill Joseph Wolff, and take away his money. Should they
not be able to kill him, they determined to have his money. Abbas Kouli Khan
understood their design, and gave Joseph Wolff one Ibrahim, a servant of his own 5
and in the night he kept guard over him, and bound his bridle to mine. During
each station our tents were pitched side by side, till the time of loading. The money,
the three thousand tillahs, was kept in the trunk of Abbas Kouli Khan. Further
occurrences shall be related. Saturday evening, 12th Rajab.

One hour of the day had elapsed, when the high in rank, Abbas Kouli Khan, and
Joseph Wolff, with Dil Assa Khan, Abdullah, Ameer Sarog, Kaher Kouli, with the
rest of the attendants, arrived at Jesman-Doo, and halted for a time in a garden on
the border of a tank. Dil Assa Khan, with his own servants, took up his abode
outside the garden. When the first of the sun came, we mounted our horses and
set out for Shahr Islam. They halted at Shahr Islam in a mosque.

Joseph Wolff came to Abbas Kouli Khan, exclaiming, " For God's sake come
here, Ameer Sarog, Kaher Kouli, Abdullah, Dil Assa Khan, Mortesa, from whom I
hired camels for carrying the cash, pick quarrels with your servant. They will at
last kill me ; I shall not arrive in Teheraun. Having broken my trunk they want
to carry off the bag of money." Abbas Kouli Khan said to me, Mirza Abdul
Wahab, " Run, do not leave the money in the hands of the Englishman, and seal
it with wax and a seal." To another servant, whose name was Fezullah, it was
given in charge to look after the money, so that no one might steal it.

We quitted Shahr Islam. Abbas Kouli Khan, with Joseph Wolff, took up his
quarters inside a house, Dil Assa Khan and others outside. Provision was sent to
Joseph Wolff from Abbas Kouli Khan. We arrived at Karakol, and remained in
the house of Shakerbeg, which is the House of the King ; Dil Assa Khan and

366 APPENDIX.

others outside, on the bank of the river. Day and night Abbas Kouli Khan's ser-
vants were constantly annoyed by Abdullah, Ameer Sarog, and Kaher Kouli.

From Karakol we went to Alat. In Alat we had one common abode with Abbas
Kouli Khan. Here Joseph Wolff gave bread and a sheep to the slaves. Abbas
Kouli Khan gave at every station an allowance to the slaves, until the day when we
arrived in Meshed.

Thence we departed, and to the village of Sayen. There, in the house of the
Lord of the Beard, we took up our quarters. Ameer Sarog said to Joseph Wolff's
servant, " If the Turkomauns from Khiva come and assault us, I shall kill Joseph
Wolff, and take away his money ; I will not leave it for the Organtshee to take it.
The Organtshee may take Abbas Kouli Khan along with the slaves." Abdullah
came and told this to Joseph Wolff; Joseph Wolff said to Abbas Kouli Khan, " If
you will take care of the money, well ; if not I will pour it forth in the Desert ;
Ameer Sarog wishes to kill me for the money." Abbas Kouli Khan replied, " Ameer
Sarog dare not do it ; do not be afraid." Joseph Wolff was not satisfied with this.
Abbas Kouli Khan then said to me, " Abdul Wahab, go into the room of Joseph
Wolff, put the money in a bag, and seal the mouth of it with wax ;" and he gave
it into the hands of Ali Akbar, the baggage carrier. I went according to the order
of Abbas Kouli Khan ; I took the money of Joseph Wolff, put it in a bag, and sealed
it with wax. I kept it till at Myandasht, where I gave it one night into the. hands
of Joseph Wolff. After he (Ali Akbar) had taken the money, Abdullah repented
that he had told Joseph Wolff this circumstance, which induced him to give the
money to the baggage guard.

From Sayen, three o'clock, remaining from sunrise, we set out on horseback, and
came to Kirya Karab, and lodged in the garden ; a guard was given us. We
remained about the prisoners three days, until they had passed the Jehoon (Oxus),
and then proceeded to Jehaar-Joo, where we pitched our tent outside the tower,
which was destroyed by the people of Organtsh. Abbas Kouli Khan inquired of the
inhabitants of Jehaar-Joo respecting the way to Rafitak ; their reply was that the
way to Merve through Rafitak was near, but that the Organtshee had destroyed the
wells. Abbas Kouli Khan spoke to Ahmed Beyk, the governor, to send some men
by way of Rafitak to Merve, to dig wells, or to repair those which might have been
partly destroyed.

After having remained four days in Jehaar-Joo to recruit a little, Abbas Kouli
Khan and Dr. Wolff, with the Bokharese ambassadors, set off within three hours of
sunset for Rafitak. After halting one hour at noon, we reached Rafitak. We
stayed there one night, and on the next day, within three hours of sunset, we took
the way to Auje Aajee. We had mounted our horses, when suddenly the Bokharese
uttered an exclamation, that the Organtshee were coming. Abbas Kouli Khan
despatched some men to ascertain whence these troops came. They returned to
the Khan, and informed him that they were the troops of Ahmed Beyk, the Gover-
nor of Jehaar-Joo. One of the horsemen presented himself before Kouli Beyk, the
commander of the horse, saying that he had a written order from His Majesty the
Ameer to this effect. They were to demand one hundred and fifty pieces of gold,
as a tribute for the slaves whom Abbas Kouli Khan had taken along with him from
Bokhara. Kouli Beyk, having received the order of the King, came with it to
Abbas Kouli Khan, telling him how the king demanded this sum as a tribute for
passing the river, and that it was to be paid to Ahmed Beyk's men. To this Abbae
Kouli Khan made answer, " What sort of a principle is this that you follow ? If
you granted me the slaves, why do you require tribute for them ? And if you are

APPENDIX. 367

for exacting tribute, why pass by the kindness we have done, for we furnished slaves
whom you might take with you to Persia? Slaves certainly have no property of
their own. The expenses of the inns, including hire, I defray out of my own purse.
I myself have no property that I should be able to pay you tribute for the slaves,
and they have nothing to pay for themselves." They replied, " It is not so ; one
hundred and fifty pieces of gold must be had." Abbas Kouli Khan said hastily, " I
will write a letter to the King of Bokhara, asking him what kind of a plan this is
that he follows. If he desires the friendship of the King of Persia, why should he
send this letter ; or if he does not wish to cultivate his alliance, why should he have
given the slaves leave to depart ?" Abbas Kouli Khan, together with Sabhan Kouli
Beyk, the chief steward at Court, wrote to the King about the money demanded,
and sent an express to Bokhara.

The Bokharese horsemen going on with Abbas Kouli Khan, we went forward to
the station of Auje Aaje. In the course of the way, Ameer Sarog, Abdullah,
Mortesa, and Kaher Kouli, were talking together. They said, " If the Organtshee
come up, let us kill Joseph Wolff, and carry off his property." They thought he
had two thousand pieces of gold deposited in the chest. They had not learned that
there was any money in the possession of Ali Akbar, or in the part where the chest
of Abbas Kouli Khan was kept. From the first station to the last, Ali Akbar, who
had charge of it, kept riding along by the side of it, in order that, if it could be
prevented, no one might come against it.

Night and day, Abdullah, Ameer Sarog, Mortesa, and Kaher Kouli, were con-
certing plans about Dr. Wolff; I heard them talking together and concerting their
plan. They said, " Let us make a quarrel between Abbas Kouli Khan and the
Turkomauns. They will kill Abbas Kouli Khan, and we will kill Joseph Wolff,
and carry off his property till we arrive at the station of Auje Aaje." The men
of Abbas Kouli Khan and the Turkomauns began quarrelling at a well of water
about the return to Bokhara. It happened that they were just returned from Bok-
hara. They bade us take care of the villany of Kaher Kouli, Ameer Sarog,
Abdullah, and Mortesa. But it so happened that Abbas Kouli Khan, by one means
or another, such as giving them presents, kept the Turkomauns quiet till we arrived
at the station of Merve Kahnah.

Sometimes Ameer Sarog came up to Dr. Wolff, saying, " Come out of the way
of the desert, I will conduct you to Khiva, and from Khiva I will bring you by way
of Mazanderaun to Teheraun." Dr. Wolff was for agreeing to it. Abbas Kouli
Khan, when informed of what he had said, told Dr. Wolff, " They want to get you
into the desert, and kill you, and carry off your property ; and I who have brought
you safe from Bokhara, shall not be able to entrust you to the care of the English
Envoy, Colonel Shell." Dr. Wolff then ceased to listen to him.

We set out from Auje Aaje, and having halted one hour at noon, we went on to
old Merve. Here Abbas Kouli Khan and Dr. Joseph Wolff lodged in the house of
the Khaleefa Abdarrahman. The Bokharese ambassadors, when they came, lodged
in the castle.

Ameer Sarog said privately to the Turkomauns, " The Englishman has ten
thousand pieces of gold : if you frighten him, and tell him you must have tribute for
the slaves, he will give it you through fear. Abbas Kouli Khan also has a precious
knife and sword. Let us take his property and kill him and sell his men to the
Organtshee." We saw that the thousand Turkomauns and Abdullah conspired to
execute it together with Mortesa. But praise be to God, he did not allow them to
accomplish their design. Kaher Kouli began complaining to Dr. Wolff, and saying,

368 ASPENDIX.

" You did not give me any money, when you were at Bokhara ; you must give me
some here. If you don't, I will seize your property."

Dr. Wolff went to the tent of Abbas Kouli Khan to tell him. He replied, " As
long as I am alive, no one shall speak in this way. Don't distress yourself — be
quiet." He said to me (Abdul Wahab), " If Kaher Kouli comes, let me know; I
will come and deal with him." When Kaher Kouli came, I brought him to Abbas
Kouli Khan. The latter said to him, " I have heard that you have been more
than once to Dr. Joseph Wolff, demanding money : Heaven knows, if you do it
again, I will take care that you suffer for it." Kaher Kouli, whatever he might
before have received from Dr. Wolff, never demanded money from him again. He
was kept in awe by Abbas Kouli Khan.

Ameer Sarog too never repeated his demand. However, he secretly excited a
disaffection among the Turkomauns. One of them formed a plot. He took hold
of the bridle of the horse of Abbas Kouli Khan and said, " We have no injunction
from the King himself, but we have a strict charge from the minister, telling us that
he does not release our prisoners, and as such we are to keep a strict watch over
you. Whenever we have a command to that effect, we will let you go." Abbas
Kouli Khan, who did not comprehend the drift of all this, looked at the servant of
the King and said to him, " What is this you have in your minds ? There is a per-
fectly good understanding between the King of Iraun and the King of Turaun. I
will write a letter to the royal court, begging that a command may be given to the
minister to send a certain number of soldiers, and the King of Bokhara, on his part,
will send some, and together they will soon stop you."

Just at this time, a swift horseman whom they had sent from Rafitak to Bokhara,
on matters connected with the tribute for passing the river and the tribute at Merve,
arrived. A favourable letter was received from the King of Bokhara, addressed to
Arak Chojah, the governor of Merve, and the chief of the Safeedan, a Turkomaun
tribe, notifying to them that he had granted the slaves to Abbas Kouli Khan. We
therefore paid no tribute. He further commanded them to pay all respect and
attention to Abbas Kouli Khan, till he should have passed through his territory.
The result of this courtesy of the King of Bokhara was, that the Turkomauns
exhibited all due regard to him. They even sought his protection, beseeching him
to receive acknowledgments from them, and expressing their fear, that if he did not,
the minister would set their slaves at liberty. Abbas Kouli Khan also gave the
Khaleefa one shawl gown, and five pounds of tea ; to one of his sons he gave a silk
gown ; and to another an axcellent javelin.

He obtained information that the Turkomauns were making a conspiracy to fall
upon himself by the way, to take him, and carry off the slaves to Khiva, to kill
Joseph Wolff, and to seize his property. Abbas Kouli Khan gave directions to his
servants, in case they should attempt to put their design into execution. The Kha-
leefa, being aware of their intention, took ten horsemen of the tribe of Salur, and
twenty horsemen of the tribe of Saruk, and they came provided with spears to
Abbas Kouli Khan at the bank of the river Tekka, and partook of a meal with him
at the bank of the river. On the next day the Khaleefa told the Turkomauns that
he would accompany them with one of his sons, Rachman Birdee, and would go
with Abbas Kouli Khan by the river Sarakhs. The Khaleefa said, " You go with
my son, Rahman Werde, and Abbas Kouli Khan, to Sarakhs ; from Sarakhs he
must return." At Sarakhs we were guests of Khan Saat. Abbas Kouli Khan and
Joseph Wolff gave presents to Khan Saat, and then we went on to Olugh Baba.
There Abbas Kouli Beyk demanded a hundred and fifty tillahs for the slaves.

APPENDIX. 369

Abbas Kouli Khan replied, " I have before now travelled from the State of Iraun to
that of Turaun. I have had ten thousand pieces of gold to pay expenses. You,
who are so great an ambassador, have not one hundred and fifty pieces of gold ; and
for this sum you are getting a bad name for your King." Sabhan Kouli Beyk
replied, " I know nothing about the honour of the King, or of any one else ; I must
have one hundred and fifty pieces of gold." Abbas Kouli Khan said, " I have no
ready money at my disposal, and the slaves have none of their own. From Bokhara
to Meshed I am paying their expenses out of my own purse. Do not act in this
way ; you are going to Iraun yourself, and there you will have a bad name, and will
deprive the King of Bokhara of all honour there." Sabhan Kouli Beyk replied,
" Give me one hundred and fifty pieces of gold for passage-money, and let the King
of Bokhara be without honour ; that is no concern of mine. If you give me this
sum I shall go on to Iraun ; and if you don't, I shall return to Bokhara with the
slaves." Abbas Kouli said, " Very well ! if you mean to take the slaves, take them."
Sabhan Kouli Beyk directed the Iblat, a Turkomaun tribe, living on the bank of the
Sarakhs, to take the slaves, and carry them off, — to seize all the property of Abbas
Kouli Khan, — to kill the Englishman, and to take his money. Once we saw about
six thousand Turkomauns surrounding the tent of Abbas Kouli Khan and Joseph
Wolff. They were all about the chests of Abbas Kouli Khan. I, Abdul Wahab,
was aware of the necessity of defending them, because the property of Joseph
Wolff was there ; and I knew that if we neglected this, the Turkomauns would
make a spoil of them. Ali Akbar was always kept stationed by the chests. Once
the Turkomauns made an attack upon them. Ali Akbar came to me and said,
" Make haste, and come to the cherts." I came, and saw about fifty Turkomauns
around them> 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

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<rli<;ii
State should in no wise be molested. Of this kind was latterly Ranjit Singh, tU

APPENDIX. 375

Sovereign of the Sikh nation ; and though formerly the AfFghauns were dominant
over the Sikhs, yet in these latter years, Ranjit Singh having become victorious,
many of the provinces of those people are come under his sway, by reason of the
domestic quarrels which have sprung up among the Affghauns.

In the manner just now described, the town of Calcutta, which had been raised
solely for the purpose of trade, by reason of the violence and injustice of the oppo-
nents and the ignorant people of the other provinces of India, very soon became a
new great (seat of) empire, and one of the multitude of various foreign provinces of
the English State. Under the shade of this exalted State, the country of Hindu-
etaun has remained happy and prosperous in every way : and an army of two hun-
dred thousand renowned regulars, together with materials for war in perfect con-
dition, which the English Government keeps continually reauj'. is at most times
occupied in military discipline against the day of need, lest any foreign foe should
appear. And you must not form the idea that whatever tribute the English Gov-
ernment receives, they collect it for the purpose of transmission to the treasury in
England ; that is not the case : the tribute and revenues of India are expended in
the government and for the advantage itself of that country. The profits, which
the English people derive from the possession of that rich country, are such produce
in various ways, as results from the complete enjoyment of its commerce.

The English Government, however able to do it, never meddles or interferes in
the usages or the laws of the various people and nations of the natives there ; for
which reason those people remain content and happy. By conjecture, a seventh
part of their subjects in that country are Mussulmauus, the rest mostly Hindus ; a
few however are Jews, and Christians, and some others, as for instance the fire-
worshippers. In regard to all the religious rights and temporal customs of the peo-
ple of Islam, the law is fixed according to the rule of their ancient institutes, but in
cases of doubt and of calling for evidence, the Muhammedan Cazis and Mullahs,
are summoned to explain and direct the suit. The Brahman law too, which applies
to the greater portion of the above-named people, is established according to their
ancient practice and customs : and to all the subjects they (the English) have given
protection, free from bias or partiality. Each individual enjoys like privileges with
the whole body of the State ; they give not preference to any one over another.
The Government, too, never interferes in the religious matters of its numerous and
mixed subjects, unless for the purpose of warding off disturbance, which possibly
might be occasioned by the quarrelling of the different sects, for the English confess
that there is One who owns the right of judgment with regard to the consciences
and belief of man, viz. God Almighty, the Creator : and from this sentiment they
act, with all caution and forbearance, in the point of religion everywhere. There-
fore, Your Majesty, my friend, will decide as to what degree of truth there can be
in the saying that they intend to advance their power only ; as far as concerns the
Mussulmaun faith it is a mere calumnious invention, to which artful people give
publicity for their own purpose : and the assertion is wholly false, that when at any
time their temporal goods are consumed, they labour to get possession of their neigh-
bour's property, by exciting war and strife. Forty years ago, when the English
chiefs vanquished the multitude of Hindus, the Marhattas, as has been noted before,
they found the blind and helpless emperor, the descendant of Timur, viz. Shah
Aalam, in the hands of the merciless plunderers. At that time what was their
conduct towards that descendant of ancient friend Aurang Zeb? They brought
him back to the city of Shahjahanabad, and settled on him and his posterity, from
generation to generation, imperial titles and revenues.

376 APPENDIX.

Again, if that Friend, or His Majesty, will now turn his regard towards Rttm, the
Turkish Empire, he will there see, that the English Government having formed an
alliance with the Government of Russia, as well as with those of other of the greatest
nations of the Christians, have leagued together to strengthen and support the Turk-
ish Empire, which is the most eminent of the present Mussulmaun States ; since it
is apparent that the ruin and breaking up of the Turkish Empire would produce
trouble in the kingdoms of Europe adjoining to Turkey. These are matters which
have no connexion with sect or creed, but that which the Almighty has directed,
•when He commands all the people of the earth to live in peace and equity one with
another ; and in the opinion of the considerate and wise, like that Friend, or Your
Majesty, (i. e., the person addressed,) a history like that last recounted will have
superior value ove a hundred vague reports, however artfully fabricated or dis-
seminated.

Now be pleased to turn the attention to the conduct and procedure of the English
State in Iraun, Persia, and Affghanistaun. Near forty years ago, a very powerful
people of Europe, named the French, who at that time carried on war with the
English nation, formed the design of stirring up trouble and commotion in Hindu-
staun ; but as the way by sea was closed by the ships of war of the English, a body
of the French by land assembled on the frontiers of Persia, in order that from that
quarter they might make an attack on Hindustaun. Futt AH Shah was friendly
disposed towards the English Government, and as he did not perceive that, in in-
juring them, any advantage would accrue to himself, he refused the request of the
French nation ; he made an agreement with the English Government, that on no
account would he admit that hostile nation into the kingdom of Persia. During
eight years Futt Ali Shah remained faithful to this promise ; but at the close of
this period, the French sent a message to this effect, that if he, the King of Persia,
would befriend them, they would, for mutual protection, make war on the Russians,
who were alike enemies to the Persian and French Governments. The English
Government at that time was not able to assist the King of Persia, because it was
at peace with the Russian Government. Futt Ali Shah, not knowing the exact
state of feeling of his former friends, the English, brought several French officers to
his capital of Teheraun, and requested that they would commence instructing and
exercising the Persian army according to the rules of European warfare. At that
time, the English Government thought it necessary to construct an additional bar-
rier for the security of Hindustaun : accordingly, Envoys were sent on the part of
the Government of India to the Court of the chief of the Dummies, Shah Shuja-al-
Mulk, who at that time ruled over the whole country of Affghanistaun ; a treaty
was entered into with that king, to the intent that, whenever it should be necessary,
the two Governments of Affghanistaun and India should unite for the purpose of
driving back and opposing the Guzl-bashis and their European associates. The
English Envoys took leave of Shah Shuja-al-Mulk and returned towards India ;
but before they had had time to cross the frontier of Shah Shuja-al-Mulk's country,
that Sovereign had been dethroned by his own brother Mahmud Shah. The Eng-
lish Government rendered no assistance at that time to Shah Shuja, because he
wished that it should not interfere with the domestic quarrels of the Affghaun na-
tion ; he merely wished that it should unite with the Affghauns in repelling or at-
tacking foreigners. But as the English Envoys had been treated with honour and
respect at the Court of Shah Shuja-al-Mulk, the English Government afforded that
Sovereign royal protection in India, where, as an honoured guest, he resided for the
space of thirty years.

APPENDIX. 377

After these events in Affghanistaun, which have just been explained, the King
of Persia saw that the French were not able to afford him the necessa/y assistance
in his war with Russia ; he therefore sent away the French officers, and renewed
his engagement with the English Government. It so happened, that during thia
interval the English Government had also become hostile to that of Russia, and it
considered that the Persians would be a valuable obstacle to the Russians ; there-
fore they agreed to a treaty in these terms, " that the warlike stores of Futt Ali
Shah should be prepared in the best manner ; they supplied him with officers who
should instruct his army in the mode of managing European guns, and also with
arms ; they agreed also to pay him a yearly allowance of two hundred thousand
tomauns, by way of assisting him in his preparations, so long as he should be at
war with any European nation, and provided that the fault lay with that nation
(and not with him.") The French unavoidably abandoned the design in India
which they had entertained. The English officers, who were first sent to Persia for
the purpose of instructing the Guzl-bashis, along with that corps, fought several
battles with the Russians ; after four years these hostilities were put an end to, be-
cause the English Government again became on a friendly footing with the Rus-
sians, and effected a reconciliation between the Emperor and the King of Persia.
From that time to the present, the English and Russian Governments have con-
tinued on friendly terms with each other. The king of Persia, however, made war
with the Russians, confiding in his own strength, by which he lost several of his
most valuable provinces, which lie northwards to the shores of the Caspian Sea. By
conquering these provinces, the Russian Government acquired considerable power
over the remainder of the Persian dominions ; the English Government had fore-
seen this result, and had repeatedly advised the King of Persia not to contend (with
the Russians), because in extent of dominion, and the means of making war, they
were far superior to the Persians. Futt Ali Shah, however, disregarded this friendly
advice of the English ; and the latter, from a sense of justice, were not able to do
anything more, though they saw, that they would necessarily suffer from the con
fusion as to the limits of the Persian Empire, and the diminution of its authority.

Hence it is plain and evident, that the practical wisdom of the English Govern
ment is exercised merely for its own preservation ; and by considering this matter
it is seen and established, that the affairs which have lately occurred in Aff
ghanistaun, rendered it necessary that the English Government, as often hap-
pens, should well consider the position and circumstances of the Saduzai Gov-
ernments.

Some years after, Shah Mahmud had deprived Shah Shuja of his Government,
the former murdered his minister, Fath Khan Barakzai, at the time that the nu-
merous brothers of that minister, having become rebellious, were acting with op-
pression in all the provinces of the Affghaun Government, with the exception of
Heraut, which was held by the Prince Kamran ; and when Shah Mahmud found
that his power was insufficient to recover his country, he took up his abode in the
city of Heraut, until the time of his death. Several times after Shah Shuja-al-
Mulk had retired into India, he was extremely anxious to recover his kingdom, but
he had no treasure with which to enlist an army for that purpose, and his English
hosts, true to their word, neither assisted him with men nor money ; in fact, foui
years before this, the English Government had no idea that Shah Shuja-al-Mulk
would again acquire authority in Affghanistaun, and at that period it sent an En-
voy, named Mr. Alexander Burnes, into that country, in order that he might estab-
lish a friendly relationship with the various chiefs who were exercising government

378 APPENDIX.

there ; and that the trade of India might be freely exercised, and extended over the
countries to the west of the rivers Abbok and Indus. The Barakzai chiefs wel-
comed Mr. Alexander Burnes, because they hoped on all sides, that they might at-
tain their objects by the assistance of other Governments ; for example, the Barak-
zai brothers, of Kandahar, because they dreaded the King, wished for aid that they
might ruin him, and take possession of his country ; and the principal ruler of Cabul,
Dost Muhammed Khan, particularly desired assistance, that, by means of it, he might
bring under his rule the province of Peshawar, which Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the
Sikhs, had in war taken from his brother ; and that, by this means, he might raise him-
self in Affghanistaun. To all the requests that the chiefs made to Mr. Alexander
Burnes, that gentleman replied, that from the very first day of intercourse with the
Affghaun nation ; that is, during the space of twenty-eight years, the English Gov-
ernment had carefully abstained from any interference in its internal disputes, and
certainly as to himself he had no wish to be mixed up with them in any way. Mr.
Burnes further explained, that the Government of India was only desirous that its
trade should be increased by means of the chiefs ruling Affghanistaun at that time,
and that it hoped that these chiefs would respect each other's rights, and live to-
gether in peace and security ; otherwise, it would not be possible that trade could
be beneficially established with their country. Again, Mr. Alexander Burnes said,
the English Government had no authority to request Ranjit Singh, who was a
Sovereign possessed of independent power, to restore a country which, in open war-
fare, he had taken from his former enemies ; but that the English Government was
ready to effect a peace between the Sikhs and the Affghauns, so that there might
be no recurrence of hostilities between them, and that Dost Muhammed Khan
might remain peaceably in his present position. The Barak/ai chiefs were not
satisfied with these replies of Mr. Burues ; and previous to his coming into Aff-
ghanistaun, they had hoped that they might obtaiu their wishes by the assistance
of Muhammed Shah Kajar, to whom they had written petitions in the style of de-
pendents, saying, " As the King of Persia was justly the heir to all the provinces
of Affghanistaun, they entreated that he would march and assist them, his slaves,
in their opposition to both Shah Kamran and the Sikhs." At the same time, all
the chiefs preferred the aid of the English to that of the Persians ; they therefore
waited some time, for the purpose of seeing whether or not they could obtain
the help of the Europeans. Mr. Alexander Burnes, however, always told them,
that the English Government did not make promises ; therefore, having no hope of
assistance from that quarter, they then became busily engaged in their arrangement
with the Persians. Muhammed Shah wrote to the Candahar chiefs and told them,
" that if they would aid and assist the Kajar army, so that Heraut might be taken,
the King of Persia would grant their request, provided they would only attend him
to that place." He sent a message also to Dost Muhammed Khan, saying, " After
the approaching New-year's day, the King of Persia will send you an army, so that
you may settle matters with the Sikhs."

The English Government became thoroughly acquainted with these matters ; be-
cause, on the one hand, the Barakzai Chiefs showed Muhammed Shah Kajar's let-
ters to Mr. Burnes, in order that they might provoke him ; and on the other hand,
when the Envoy of the English Government, who was present at the Court of Mu-
hammed Shah Kajar, asked the servants of that King as to the purport of these
writings and promises, he was told, that from a remote period, the country of Aff-
ghanistaun had been connected with Persia, and that the petitions, which on this
understanding the Chiefs before mentioned had written, were shown to him. When

APPENDIX. 379

matters came to this point, it became very necessary that the English Government
should make a decided arrangement for its own protection ; accordingly it clearly
intimated to the Government of Cabul, " England will not permit you, by any strat-
agem, and merely to gratify your hatred and promote your designs, to inflame the
Affghaun nation by means of the Kajar King ; nor will it allow you to bring a Guzl-
bash army for the purpose of creating disturbance and commotion on the borders of
India : if, therefore, you do not put an end to this treachery, the English Govern-
ment will give its assistance to the Sadozai King, Shah Shuja-al-Mulk, who, from
the first, was the cause of the friendship existing between the Governments of India
and Affghanistaun, and who, no doubt, will act in a just and manly manner to-
wards both countries." By these means it became perfectly clear that King Mu-
hammed Shah Kajar, by any right or possession, had no authority over any one in
the Durrane country ; therefore, his claim was considered by Shah Kamran as an
affair between two separate and independent rulers. The commencement of this
affair occurred not a year before this happened ; therefore it is necessary to recur to
the circumstances of that period. When Abbas Mirza, the heir apparent of Persia,
manifested a design of assembling an army at the point of Heraut, the English
Envoy, who was in attendance on Futt Ali Shah, asked what was intended by it ;
and that since the plain intention of the treaties, which the English Government
had entered into with the Governments of Persia and Affghanistaun, was to in-
crease the security of India, it was at all times important that the English Envoy,
who resided at the Court of Teheraun, should be well acquainted with all the af-
fairs of the King of Persia, lest, by any of those affairs, the designs of the English
Government should in any way be thwarted. Futt Ali Shah replied, " That the
object of that expedition was, that Abbas Mirza might completely prevent, and put
a stop to, a system of plunder, and the selling of human beings, which were carried
on by several of the dependencies of Heraut, in connection with the Turkomauns
of Mowr, and the neighbouring places." The English Envoy then answered,
" That as the King of Persia was an independent sovereign, the English Govern-
ment allowed that, when another nation acted with violence, oppression, or even
incivility towards either his country or subjects, he, the King of Persia, had a per-
fect right to obtain redress by force of arms ; but as the English Government was
at peace with the Affghauns, it could not permit war in any part whatever of the
Affghaun dominions ; on this account, therefore* the English gentleman, who be-
longed to the Kajar army, did not in that expedition attend the Deputy of Persia
(i. e. Abbas Mirza). For the same reason, after the accession of Muhammed
Shah, the English Envoy, who constantly resided at his court, in the same man-
ner, asked, " What was the reason for the assembling of an army on the bor-
ders of Khorassaun, and the adjacent countries ?" He was told the object was,
that the " King (of Persia) might accomplish those designs which his father had
commenced." At this time, also, the gentlemen of the English Government
were not supplied with any other answer than that which they had before given to
Futt Ali Shah.

After a little time, however,-the events which have been already mentioned oc-
curred ; then, quite another story was told ; when the English Envoy first spoke to
the servants of Muhammed Shah Kajar respecting the affair of Heraut, the latter
personage confessed that he should be well pleased to make peace, and he gave
his consent that that Envoy, who was entitled "Minister Plenipotentiary," and
whose name was Mr. Mac Neil, should be a mediator in the affair. And when
Shah Kamran saw, that, although Heraut was a strong fort, yet, from the abun-

380 APPENDIX.

dance of artillery, and the superior manner in which the Kajar army was equip-
ped, it must, ultimately, be taken and destroyed, he likewise was willing that
the be fore -mentioned Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy should, by means of
negotiation, settle his affairs : therefore, Mr. Mac Neil used his best efforts to
bring the business of Heraut to an amicable conclusion. He thought and con-
sidered, that an army, which comes to make war in a country, or to besiege a
city, whether in the end it succeed or not, by the ruin and confusion which it
inflicts on all the inhabitants, is able in one month to destroy the cultivation and
population of a thousand years ; and that, by the great injury (it does) to the
Government, it will destroy the wealth and power which, in (their) prosperity,
the inhabitants may have acquired. Again, wherever a " torch from the fire of
war bears a spark," no person can calculate how far it will consume.

After much correspondence with the servants of the two Governments at
Meshed, Teheraun, and Heraut, Mr. Mac Neil obtained, from Shah Kamran
himself, a written agreement to this effect : " That the taking away slaves from
the borders of Persia, and selling them, should cease, and that all anxiety and hos-
tility should be completely stopped and ended ; further, that every Guzl-bash slave
in the country of Heraut, as far as was possible, should be restored (to his country),
and that proper protection and treatment should be observed towards all Persian
merchants and travellers who might arrive at Heraut." And in order that the
cause of anger and alarm, which had brought Muhammed Shah to these parts,
might be set aside, Mr. Mac Neil declared, " If the King of Persia would at once
desist from the siege of Heraut, and stop the war, he would affix the seal of the
English Government to the written declaration of Shah Kamran as a security (for
the fulfilment of that) declaration of the King of the Saduzais." But Muhammed
Shah then said, " That he would be satisfied with no other conditions, than that
the whole of the people of Heraut should be subject to the Government of Persia."
When Mr. Mac Neil distinctly stated, that the English Government reckoned the
Affghauns a completely free people, and considered them as the first barrier in be-
half of India ; and as the King of Persia, by his unwillingness to give even neces-
sary answers on the subject of Heraut, and by his dealings with the Barakzai
Chiefs, had plainly shown that it was his intention, by his own means, to break
down that barrier, and diminish the security and tranquillity of India, the English
Government would prevent his designs by all the means that it thought proper.

Agreeably to this declaration, the following message of comfort was despatched
to the men in the fort of Heraut : " You will receive aid and assistance from the
English Government : therefore, at all hazards, you must continue to fight and not
give up the fort." And as the Barakzai Chiefs showed no fear or concern at the
statements of the gentlemen of the English Government, the Government of India
necessarily assisted Shah Shuja-al-Mulk, that he might again recover Candahar and
Cabul. At that time, also, the English Government dispatched an army from India by
sea ; it landed on an island called Kharak, near the port of Bushir (in the Persian
Gulf), which belonged to the Government of Persia. When the King (of Persia)
obtained intelligence of these affairs he withdrew his army from the siege of Heraut
with the exception of some (men) who retained possession of Ghorian, and two or
three other places which belonged to Heraut. The English Government stated,
" That it would not remove its army from the island of Kharak until the Persians
restored Ghorian, and the other dependencies of Heraut, to Shah Kamran." There-
fore, by reason of this declaration, the Governments of Persia and England have
had no intercourse with each other.

APPENDIX. 381

At last comes the subject of the English Government interfering with the affairs
of Affghanistaun. When the Government of India promised Shah Shuja-al-Mulk
that it would give him its assistance, in gaining possession of the countries of Cabul
and Candahar, that Government explained to that illustrious Sovereign, that it
merely wished to see the AlFghaun nation strong and firm in its own authority, and
that it had no desire, in any way, to interfere with the internal arrangements of his
country ; but that, in serving him, it did wish, that as Shah Kamran had displayed
great energy in the defence of Heraut, the Government of Shah Shuja should ac-
knowledge the distinct authority of that province of the Affghaun (Empire). To
this Shah Shuja consented ; a treaty was entered into accordingly, and the Govern-
ment of India set about fulfilling its engagement. From the first, it was agreed
that the English army should remain no longer in Shah Shuja's country than might
be considered advisable for the purpose of restoring order to that unsettled country,
or the warding off" any external injury, which (otherwise) might be adverse to the
interests of India and AfFghanistaun. According to this agreement, the English
army was to return whenever Shah Shuja might think proper. Afterwards, in or-
der that the empire of Cabul might in future be secured from any external attack,
the English Government was willing to give to tte Durrani King the same assist-
ance which, during the last few years, it had given to the King of Persia ; namely,
that several officers should be lent to him, for the purpose of instructing his army
and remaining in attendance upon him.

On the subject of the money which the English nation expended in Heraut, and
which was mentioned at the commencement of this letter ; that money was expended
in consequence of the English sending a message to the effect, " that although ruin,
might befal the inhabitants of Heraut, still they were to manage to take care not to
surrender the fort." In truth, sums of money were on this account, expended by
Mr. Tod, who was the special English Envoy at the Court of Shah Kamran ; and
(in fact) the English Government has faithfully performed whatsoever it was bound
to do, with regard to the desolation caused by the Kajars ; but no sum of money
would be adequate to remedy the ruin and confusion caused by the attack of the
Kajar army, and years must pass away, before a single inhabitant of Heraut can
sit beneath the shade of a tree. May God, the Most High and Benevolent, avert
such a terrible desolation from all other countries ! It is equally advantageous to
the Aflfghauns as to the English, that the whole of Turkistaun should remain free
and unembarrassed ; and the Affghaun and English Governments are willing to as-
sist in this object, provided the Uzbeck chiefs will be friendly with them, and will
act with justice and equity towards other Governments. There are only two na-
tions— namely, the Russians and Persians — who it is thought wish to change the
present state of Tiirkistaun ; unless the practice of rushing upon and capturing
their people, which, up to this time, the dependencies of the Usbeck Government
have practised, shall be completely slopped. It is good that this vile practice should
be abolished. With regard to any nation that may have had the power and oppor-
tunity of putting a stop to such a custom, and yet always refuses to do so, and
whenever the demand for justice shall not be sufficient, (then) there are only two
remedies ; either to make an attack on the principal cities of the chiefs who allow
their subjects to commit such acts of oppression, or to limit their boundaries, and
take possession of such places as that from them, the offending people, may be re-
strained by force. There is no room to doubt that the Russian Government has the
power to apply its own remedy ; hence the Sovereign of that magnificent Empire

382 APPENDIX.

has clearly shown that he wishes to increase its power, whenever it may be neces-
sary (to employ it), for the protection of his people.

According to the notion of this Friend (». e. the Writer), the Persians will be able
to apply their remedy, whenever they may collect their forces, and return towards
Turkistaun. Now I proceed to state, in your presence, several reasons for my em-
bracing this opinion. The bravery and courage of the Usbecks and Turkomauns
are well known to the whole world ; but at present they do not possess the warlike
stores which the Persians have, and can easily procure ; and the experience of
many years and of different countries has completely established (the fact) that a
numerous body of horsemen, armed with swords and undisciplined, cannot stand
against a park of fire-scattering artillery and a few brave but disciplined men. (It
is my) opinion that the power of the Persian Government is greater than what the
people of Turkistaun imagine. For some years that Government (the Persian) has
been in an unsettled state, principally in consequence of external wars, attended
with immense expense, which the Kajar King has had on every side ; but now that
he is at peace with his two ancient and powerful enemies, viz., the Russian and
Turkish Governments, it is only necessary for him to cast his eye over the numer-
ous provinces and large cities which are now comprised within his Empire, that ho
may be convinced that only a small amount' of peace and order is required, and he
would quickly become rich and powerful. And with regard to the military force
which the King now possesses, it is clear, when two years ago he had it in hia
power to bring to the siege of Heraut an army of forty thousand men and eighty
mounted guns, that it cannot be reckoned less now. Again, up to the time of Mu-
hammed Shah's last dispute with the English Government, respecting the affairs of
Affghanistaun, the commanders and instructors of the Persian army were English-
men, who again withdrew, and at times when their services were most wanted, be-
cause they could not make war on the friends of the English Government. This
circumstance happened at the commencement of the war which the Government
of Persia had with the Governments of Russia and Turkey, and also on both occa-
sions when Abbas Mirza and Muhammed Shah led their armies into the country of
Heraut ; therefore, the power and capability of the Kajar army have not, as yet,
been well ascertained. And besides, Abbas Mirza, on his last expedition into Kho-
rassaun and the countries adjacent, showed, notwithstanding the disordered state of
his country, that the brave Guzl-bashis were capable of rendering effective service ;
and without doubt, if the English Government had not, in several ways, used its
exertions, they would not have driven back the army of Muhammed Shah from
Heraut. The country of Persia is contiguous to all the countries of Europe ; and,
from them, the Kajar King can at all times procure the best of arms, also com-
manders and instructors in proportion to his ability to pay them, who, having prop-
erly arranged his army, and provided they were not prevented by treaty, would be
willing to make war whenever the King of Persia might send them. In truth, it
is well known that after his last separation from the English Government, Muham-
med Shah procured from the French, who are well acquainted with the science of
war, muskets for thirty thousand brave (men), and several commanders for the
purpose of instructing his army. In consequence of the English gentlemen not
continuing in Persia after what had occurred at Heraut, I am not acquainted with
the present state of the army of that country ; but I have no doubt that Muham-
med Shah will put it in order for the purpose of attacking Turkistaun ; it may be,
that he will not come this spring, or during the next summer, but he will certainly

APPENDIX. 383

come soon ; therefore, I consider it very necessary and important that the Uzbeck
Chiefs should consider and make proper arrangements for future events.

From the observations (already) written, you will have discovered that the Eng-
lish Government does not wish either the Kajar or Russian nation to go beyond
their present limits in the direction of India ; not because of any feeling of hostility
that it entertains towards those nations, but merely as a matter of precaution ; and
it is necessary, that this observation should be well understood before we prove it ;
the Persian nation especially should be told on the contrary, that regarding the af-
fairs of Affghanistaun, the English Government was on perfectly friendly terms
with the King of the Kajars, and exerted itself that his Empire should, by every
means, obtain honour and prosperity. Even now the English entertain no feeling
of enmity towards the Guzl-bash nation (the Persians) ; and as to the dispute be-
tween Muhamtned Shah (Kajar), it has an intimate connection with the rights of
Kings (in general) ; and when this affair shall be settled, no cold-heartedness will
remain between the two Governments. The English wish that this reconciliation
should speedily take place, because enmity and disunion are a source of injury to
any State. The English will at all times be anxious that Persia should be happy
and prosperous within her present limits ; (they will desire this), on account of the
ancient friendship which they have maintained with the Kajar Government, as
well as their own peculiar benefit ; for, when (Persia) is at rest, and in easy cir-
cumstances, her trade with England and India is of considerable value.

During the last two years, however, the King of Persia has been pleased to
obtain his own objects without considering whether he was injuring or benefit-
ing the English ; and as the Persians have now become more or less dependent
on other nations, and at some period will probably be excited to interrupt the
tranquillity of India — under these circumstances, the English Government can-
not consent that the frontier of Persia should be extended to the eastern side of
Khorassaun.

On the subject of the Russians. — When the English for a short time had a
dispute with the Russians, and afterwards exercised caution and watchfulness lest a
future injury should arise (from it), some people thought that the English enter-
tained a secret feeling of enmity to them ; and others, that the Russians had a de-
sign on India ; but (all) these ideas were wrong : the truth of this particular matter
is this, that from the time when the English and Russian Governments made a re-
newal of treaties, during a period of twenty-eight years, they entertained the same
feeling of friendship towards each other, and the welfare of each Government
became united by the great amount of trade which, between the two countries,
was flowing towards Europe from the side of the Black Sea ; and this is the
beat of ties, because it cannot be broken, except with complete injury to both
parties.

In the different countries which intervene between their respective boundaries,
eastwards, the English and the Russians have an equality of trade, and therefore it
may sometimes happen, that one or two individuals will strive to increase the power
of the Government to which they belong in an unwarrantable manner ; for in-
stance, in the last affair with Affghanistaun the Russian Ambassador who was at
that time stationed at the Court of Persia, and the Envoy of the same nation, who
was sent to Cabul for the purpose of ascertaining the best means whereby to in-
crease the trade between that country and Russia, both associated themselves with
Muhammed Shah, and the Barakzai Chiefs, whose designs and wishes they la-
boured to accomplish ; but, as soon as the Emperor of Russia was informed of what

384 APPENDIX.

they had done, he disavowed the acts of both his servants, and after recalling them,
.dismissed them from their employments ; (and) as at the same time, the King of
England approved of what the Emperor had done, it became quite evident to the
whole world, that mutual friendship existed between them. Besides this, that
Friend (i. e. His Majesty) has himself seen to what extent the Emperor of Russia
showed kindness to the servants of the English Government, who in those days
proceeded from Khiva for the purpose of establishing peace between the Govern-
ments of Russia and Khwarazum. May God, the Most High, grant that the
friendship and unity of the English and the Russians may never again suffer in-
terruption.

But, as we have before shown, altercation has happened between the two Gov-
ernments, and may possibly occur again | because, with regard to affairs which
were under human observation, no person in this unstable world can predict what a
single day may bring forth. Nations that are at war will strive to injure each
other in every way : so that the English saw, that when the French wished to in-
jure them in India, it became therefore only an act of prudence that a barrier
should be formed on the frontier of their dominions, to prevent their sustaining any
harm from the attacks of foreigners.

The Russians also exercised a similar degree of caution. The best protection
that India would have, would be a collision between the Persian and Russian Gov-
ernments. Notwithstanding the powerful and friendly Governments which exist
between the h'mits of the English and Russian Governments, this is quite certain,
that the Eiiglish Government would, with men and money, assist in protecting and
putting the Affghauns into a proper state of defence ; for the same reason, it wishes
that the TTzbeck States should be completely free and independent of Persia and
Russia ; nay more, that they should be prosperous, and (sufficiently) strong to keep
in their possession the places which properly belong to them. Therefore, the Eng-
lish Government will at all times be ready and willing to become the cause of peace
and concord between the Uzbeck States and any of the nations before mentioned ;
by this means also, it wishes to increase its friendship with the Uzbeck States ; and
by exchanging the profits of trade between India and Turkistaun by means of the
Affghauns, the English Government wishes to have friendship with both these na-
tions, and that they should both derive benefit from this trade. The English do
not tell the Uzbecks to consider the Russians and Persians as enemies, and that
they should trade and have intercourse only with the English ; on the contrary,
they tell the Uzbecks that they should make those nations their friends, by
forming with them just and proper treaties with respect to the rights both of rulers
and people ; nay, more, they tell them, that with regard to trade, they should,
without partiality, act alike towards all foreign nations, and should allow them to
derive every advantage from the intercourse, and that they are able to supply them
with the best and cheapest goods.

Now, be pleased to pardon the trouble I have occasioned you, together with
the boldness of these pictures, as well as errors and omissions of their style !
Because my Mirza Husaiui was weak and helpless, and therefore I had no
remedy, but to describe my mission myself. Being the well-wisher of this State,
and also of the Uzbeck States, I have without ceremony, written according to
the measure of my knowledge.

Finally, it is necessary the Uzbecks should well consider their own power and
well-being ; and whatsoever is to happen is in the hand of God !

03147127^1

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Full text of "Narrative of a mission to Bokhara : in the years 1843-1845, to ascertain the fate of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly"

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