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NARRATIVE 


OF  A 


MISSION   TO   BOKHARA. 


Vol.  I 


NARRATIVE 

OF  A 

MISSION    TO    BOKHARA, 

IN    THE    YEARS    1843—1846, 
TO  ASCERTAIN 

THE  FATE  OF  COLONEL  STODDART  AND 
CAT^TAIN  CONOLLY; 

BY  THE 

REV.  JOSEPH  WOLFF,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


IN    TWO    VOLUMES. 

VOL.  L 


LONDON: 

PUBLISHED,  FOR  THE  AUTHOR, 

BY  JOHN  W.  PARKER,  WEST  STRAND. 


M.DCCC.XLV. 


IXC 

\)Jf1 


LONDON  : 
HARRISON    AND    CO.,  PRINTERS, 

ST.  martin's  lane. 


9  3f 


TO 

HIS    EXCELLENCY    SIR    STRATFORD    CANNING, 

British  Ambassador  at  Constantinople, 

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

TO 

CAPTAIN   GROVER, 

MY    WARM  AND   ZEALOUS  FRIEND,  THE   PRESIDENT   OF    THE 
STODDART    AND    CONOLLY    COMMITTEE; 

AND    TO 

THE  GENTLEMEN   OF  THAT  COMMITTEE, 

EQUALLY    ESTIMABLE   FOR  THEIR  TRUE   ENGLISH   PHILAN- 
THROPY  AND    CHRISTIAN    COMMISERATION    FOR 
THEIR    BRETHREN    IN    DISTRESS 
AND    IMPRISONMENT: 

I    DEDICATE    THE    FOLLOWING    PAGES. 

JOSEPH   WOLFF. 


Vol.  T. 


P  R  E  FACE. 


Few  words  will  suffice  to  lay  so  simple  a  story 
as  the  causes  which  led  to  the  production  of 
the  Work  now  before  the  pubhc.  In  1843  I 
undertook,  at  the  desire  of  the  Stoddart  and 
ConoUy  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 

b  2 


viii  PREFACE. 

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 
probably  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  Admiral  Sir  Edward  Owen, 
Sir  Patrick  Stuart  at  Malta,  Mr.  Stevens  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  Con- 
stantinople :  nor  must  I  omit  to  mention  Their 
Excellencies  Count  and  Countess  Stiirmer, 
Count  Von  Medem,  and  Monsieur  Titow. 

For  the  quietude  of  soul  of  the  friends  of 
those  murdered  officers,  Colonel  Stoddart  and 
Captain  ConoUy,  I  have  to  observe  that  they 


PREFACE.  IX 

were  both  of  them  cruelly  slaughtered  at  Bo- 
khara, after  enduring  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  practised  on  them,  the  positive 
agent  of  their  entire  misery,  was  the  Nayeb 
of  Nasir  Ullah  Behadur,  Ameer  of  Bokhara, 
Abdul  Samut  Khan.  I  charge  on  that  pre- 
tended friend  of  the  English  nation  this  foul 
atrocity.  I  wish  that  this  open  declaration  of 
mine  should  find  insertion  in  the  Persian  news- 
papers  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 
objects  at  heart  of  Colonel  Stoddart  and  Cap- 
tain ConoUy,  and  that  Abdul  Samut  Khan 
intended  to  have  added  me  to  their  bloody 
graves.  I  appeal  to  his  understanding,  whether 
a  letter  from  England  then  received  from  any  of 


X  PREFACE. 

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  Sove- 
reign who  has  so  highly  honoured  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  obligations  to  Professor 
Haughton,  for  the  translation  of  a  valuable 
Persian  paper  in  the  Appendix,  written  by 
Captain  Conolly :  to  the  Reverend  H.  G.  Wil- 
liams, 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 


*  The  portion  of  this  gentleman's  labours  forms  Appendix 
No.  I. 


PREFACE.  xi 

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  Cap- 
tain ConoUy,  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  SOth,  1845. 


CONTENTS  OF  THE  FIRST  VOLUME. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Mysterious  state  of  the  Pagan  World.  Life  of  Dr.  Wolff:  converted  to 
Christianity ;  banished  from  Rome ;  begins  his  Missionary  Labours 
in  1821.  From  1821  to  1826,  occupied  in  Missions  among  the  Jews 
in  Palestine,  Egypt,  Mesopotamia,  Persia,  Crimea,  Georgia,  and 
Ottoman  Empire.  From  1826  to  1830,  similarly  occupied  in  Ire- 
land, Holland,  and  the  Mediterranean;  commences  a  fresh  Mission 
in  1831.  In  Asia  Minor  meets  with  Armenians;  passes  thence  to 
Kurdistaun.  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  MuUahs  before  the 
King  of  Oude.  Benares ;  Remarks  on  the  Buddhists.  Visits  Cal- 
cutta; 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  1—39 


CHAPTER  11. 

Embarks  from  Malta  for  England,  March,  1835.  Leaves  England 
for  another  Mission,  October,  1835.  Proceeds  to  Malta;  Alexan- 
dria; Rosetta;  Cairo.     From  Cairo  to  Mount  Sinai.    Monastery  of 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

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,  Chro- 
nology, 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  De- 
scendants 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,  York- 
shire    40-69 


CHAPTER  III. 

Quits  Linthwaite  for  the  Curacy  of  High  Hoyland.  Hears  of  the  Impri- 
sonment of  his  Friend  Conolly  at  Bokhara.  Writes  to  his  Family, 
offering  to  proceed  thither  in  1842.  Leaves  High  Hoyland.  Re- 
ceives from  his  Congregation  a  Testimonial  of  Respect.  Puts  a 
Letter  in  the  Morning  Herald,  July,  1843,  stating  his  willingness  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  Com- 
mittee. 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 70 — 118 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Constantinople ;  Interview  with  Sir  Stratford  Canning.    Doubtful  reports 
at  Constantinople  about  Stoddart  and  Conolly.     Interview  with  the 


CONTENTS.  XV 

Charge  d'AfFaires  of  Naples  relative  to  Signor  Naselli,  who  had 
visited  Bokhara.  Nature  of  Evidence  as  to  the  Existence  of  Stod- 
dart  and  Conolly  procured  at  Constantinople.  Official  Papers  from 
the  Sultan,  the  Sheikh  Islam,  and  others.  Visits  to  Count  Stiirmer. 
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  enter- 
tained by  all  Parties  of  Captain  Grover.  Embarkation  for  Trebi- 
zond       --------.        119—141 


CHAPTER  V. 

Arrival  at  Trebizond.  Singular  Report  of  Signor  Ghersi.  Interview 
with  Pasha  of  Trebizond.  Subscription  to  Mission  at  Trebizond. 
Departure  for  Erzroom ;  terrific  Route ;  Gumusli  Khane.  Convic- 
tion of  the  Turks  that  their  Empire  is  sinking.  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  Erz- 
room. 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.  Deten- 
tion 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  Muham- 
medans.  Letters  to  England.  Contribution  to  Mission  from  a 
Gentleman  at  Trebizond.     Address  to  the  Armenians    -     142 — 171 


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;  Utsh  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  Deri- 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

vation  of  his  Name.  Falsity  of  the  Statement  of  Saleh  Muham- 
med.  No  certain  Information  of  Stoddart  and  ConoUy.  Letters 
of  Introduction  to  Bokhara.  Letter  to  Stoddai-t  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 
Tahreez,  January  20th.  Seydabad.  Tekmetash.  Awful  Storm. 
Kulagh.  Conversation  with  Dervecsh.  Tata  Sultan,  Kemaalee 
Howdbeen.  Opinions  of  Mussulmans  changed  with  respect  to 
the  Giaours.  Turkman- Jaa;  Miana;  Sanjoon;  Khoramtarah; 
Chaldseans ;  Meeting  with  their  Metropolitan ;  their  Descent 
from  Israel.  Ceremonies  and  Doctrine  of  the  Chaldaean  Church. 
St.  Thomas  the  Apostle.    Siyadehen;   Kasween;    Sephir  Khaja. 

172—206 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Arrival  at  Teheraun.  Interview  with  Colonel  Sheil.  Interview  with 
Meshedee-Rajab,  Colonel  Stoddart's  Servant.  Bokhara  Eljee. 
Account  of  Latif.  Barenstein.  Preaches  before  the  Embassy.  Au- 
dience with  the  Shah.  Letter  of  Shah  to  the  Ameer  of  Bokhara. 
Interview  with  the  Vizier  of  the  Shah.  Ambassador  of  Bokhara 
tells  Dr.  Wolff  that  Stoddart  and  Conolly  are  alive.  No  certainty 
at  Teheraun  as  to  their  Death.  Ambassador  of  Khiva.  Dilatory 
Conduct  of  Colonel  Sheil.  Borowsky,  the  Jew.  Most  distin- 
guished Generals  in  the  East,  Jews.  Sefaweya  Dynasty.  Departure 
from  Teheraun.  Visits  Palasht ;  Darey  Khur ;  Deh-Namak ;  Surk- 
hak.  Enters  Khorassaun.  Interview  with  Prince  Seif  UUah 
Mirza  at  Semnan.  Koute  through  Aghwan;  Khosha;  Damghan 
(reported  to  be  the  oldest  City  in  the  World);  Deh-Mullali  Sha- 
root;  Miyamey;  Miyandasht;  Meher;  Khosroejerd.  Sebzawar; 
Tower  of  Human  Skulls  built  by  Tamerlane  at  this  place.  Route 
continued— Safran ;  Gerra-Ab.  Letter  received  by  Dr.  Wolff  from 
the  Persian  Viceroy  of  Khorassaun.  The  Assaff-ood-Dowla. 
Route  continued  -Nishapoor;  Report  here  of  Stoddart  and  Conolly 
being  alive.  Route  continued — Kadamgah ;  Shereef-Abad ;  Aske- 
rea;  meets  here  with  Mullah  Mehdee;  Saleh  Muhammed,  the 
Akhund-Zadeh.  Muhammed  Ali  Serraf,  the  Agent  of  Colonel 
Stoddart ;  suspicious  Conduct  of  this  Agent        -         -         207—241 


CONTENTS.  xvii 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Arrival  at  Meshed.  Visited  on  arrival  by  the  Heads  of  tlie  Mosque. 
Distance  traversed  by  Dr.  Wolff.  Dr.  Wolff  reported  to  be  a 
Mullah  two  hundred  years  old.  The  improbability  of  Saleh  Mu- 
hamraed's  Statement  clearer  shown  by  further  examination  of  him. 
Muhammed  All  Serraf,  a  Villain.  Haje  Ibrahim,  brother  of  Abdul 
Samut  Khan.  Aga  Abool  Kasem.  Letters  of  Sir  Moses  Monte- 
fiore  for  the  Jews  of  Bokhara  detained  by  Muhammed  Ali  Serraf, 
and  not  forwarded  to  Bokhara.  High  Priests  of  the  Mosque.  Ar- 
rival of  the  Viceroy,  the  Assaff-ood-Dowla,  at  Meshed.  The  Vice- 
roy commends  Dr.  Wolff  to  the  care  of  the  Turkomauns.  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  BokharJt.  Turkomauns.  De- 
lays used  by  the  Turkomaun  Chief,  Dil  Assa  Khan.  Letters  sent 
to  the  King  of  Khiva.  Interrogation  of  Saleh  Muhamnjed  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  Arrah- 
man,  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.  Dancing  Der- 
veeshes.  The  Khaleefa  offers  Dr.  Wolff  the  means  of  escape  and 
dissuades  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.  Ghengis  Khan. 
March  of  the  Russians  to  India         .        .        -        _        242—- 286 


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  enter- 
tains serious  Alarm  for  his  own  Safety;  adopts  Measures  accordingly. 
Letters  of  Sultan  and  Sir  Moses  Montefiore  never   forwarded   to 


xviii  CONTENTS. 

Ameer  by  Muhammed  Ali  Serraf  by  order  of  Colonel  Slieil.  Dis- 
tant manner  of  Colonel  Shell  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.  Con- 
versations 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  incur- 
sion of  the  Khivites ;  his  Death  reported.  Jehaar-Joo.  Silly 
Conduct  of  Ameer  Sarog ;  his  wish  to  add  a  fourth  Wife  to  his 
Barem  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  Con- 
duct to  Dr.  Wolff;  sends  three  Ambassadors  to  the  Ameer  of  Bok- 
hara requesting  the  Ameer  to  put  Dr.  Wolff  to  Death,  but  affects  to 
be  well  disposed  to  him.  Dil  Assa  Khan  the  Servant  of  this  Yar 
Muhammed  Khan.  Dil  Assa  Khan  escapes  from  Yar  Muhammed 
Khan,  and  becomes  the  Servant  of  the  Assaff-ood-Dowla.  Letter 
from  Dr.  Wolff  sent  on  from  Jehaar-Joo  to  the  Ameer  of  Bokhara. 
Visit  from  Jews  of  Bokhara.  They  warn  Dr.  Wolff  of  his  Danger; 
recommend  Flight  to  Organtsh,  and  tell  him  of  the  Death  of 
Wyburt,  Stoddart  and  ConoUy,  and  five  other  Englishmen.  Der- 
veesh  tells  him  to  proceed  -----         287 — 305 


CHAPTER  X. 

Arrival  at  Karakol.  Dr.  Wolff  is  abandoned  by  his  Servants.  Motives 
for  the  conduct  of  Dil  Assa  Khan.  Shahr  Islam.  Shouts  of 
Populace  on  Route.  Description  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 
introduced  to  the  King  of  Bokhara.     The  King  thinks  Dr.  Wolff 


CONTENTS.  xix 

an  extraordinary  Personage.  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  Der- 
veesh.  Omar  Khan  shares  the  fate  of  his  Brethren,  and  dies  in 
battle  against  Behadur  Khan.  Ameer  supposed  also  to  have  mur- 
dered 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; 
recalled;  and  executed     ------        306 — 325 


CHAPTER  XL 

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  Descent  from  a  Persian  Mother  and  an  Usbeck  Prince; 
nursed  by  a  Cassack  Woman.  Dr.  Wolff's  Interview  with  Shekawl. 
Equivocation  of  Dil  Assa  Khan.  Dr.  Wolff  explains  his  Mission. 
The  Makhram  sent  in  the  Evening  with  Questions  for  Dr.  Wolff  to 
answer.  Appearance  before  Ameer  on  the  following  day.  Makhram 
sent  to  Dr.  Wolff  with  another  Question.  Visit  to  Abdul  Samut 
Khan;  History  of  him.  Nayeb  receives  Dr.  Wolff  with  apparent 
cordiality.  Long  Conversation  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  Com- 
mittee. 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 326—352 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  PLACING  THE  PLATES. 


Volume  I. 

Durbar  of  Bokhara    -----.        Frontispiece. 
Muhammed  Shah  Nakshbandee,  a  Descendant  of| 

Muhammed j 

The  Khaleefa  of  Mowr  and  Turkomauns       -         -  „         270 

Turkomaun  Lady        --..-_-  ^^         328 


Volume  II. 

Garden  of  the  Nayeb,  Abdul  Samut  Khan    -        -  Frontispiece. 

The  Grand  Cazi  of  Bokhara    -         -         -        -  to  face  p.    3 

The  Dastar-Khanjee „         34 

Abdul  Samut  Khan         -----  „         78 

Abbas  Kouli  Khan,  Persian  Ambassador      -         -  „       203 


NARRATIVE. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Mysterious  state  of  the  Pagan  World.  Life  of  Dr.  Wolff:  converted  to 
Christianity ;  hanished  from  Rome ;  begins  his  Missionary  Labours 
in  1821.  From  1821  to  1826,  occupied  in  Missions  among  the  Jews 
in  Palestine,  Egypt,  Mesopotamia,  Persia,  Crimea,  Georgia,  and 
Ottoman  Empire.  From  1826  to  1830,  similarly  occupied  in  Ire- 
land, Holland,  and  the  Mediterranean ;  commences  a  fresh  Mission 
in  1831.  In  Asia  Minor  meets  with  Armenians;  passes  thence  to 
Kurdistaun.  Adventures  with  the  Head  Tearer,  Muhammed  Kale 
KhanKerahee.  Is  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 
Simlali.  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  Cal- 
cutta; Masulipatam;  Hyderabad.  Seized  with  Cholera  Morbus. 
Reaches  Madras ;  Trichinopoly ;  Cochin ;  meets  here  with  Black 
and  White  Jews.  Goa ;  Poonali ;  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 
Vol.  I.  B 


2  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Gentiles  in  tlieir  large  scatterings,  and  on  my  own 
Israel  in  lier  deep  dispersions,  the  above  passage 
comes  home  to  the  soul  with  all  the  deep  and 
solemn  impression  that  a  sinking  snnset  in  a  tropical 
land  produces.  The  heart  is  filled  with  the  deep 
mysteries  of  creativeness,  when  it  reflects  on  the  won- 
derful providence  of  God  in  the  yet  partial  revealing. 
To  me  the  darkness  that  has  gathered  over  earth 
appears  fast  dissipating, — the  iron  scourge  of  the 
church  of  God  for  thirteen  centuries  seems  fast  cor- 
roding in  its  strongest  hold,  and  the  prophecies  of 
its  downfall  seem  rapidly  hastening  to  fulfilment. 
The  powerful  force  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  them- 
selves speak  clearly  of  the  speedy  rule  of  the  Giaour. 
My  own  life  has  been  as  the  scenes  I  have  wit- 
nessed. 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  Leo- 
XDold,  Count  of  Stolberg,  the  well-known  Poet,  cele- 
brated Greek  Scholar,  and  Statesman ;  next  from  the 
distinguished  Roman  Catholic  Bishop,  Johannes  Mi- 
chael Sailer,  Frint  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  S 

Ostini,  and  entered  the  Collegio  Romano,  and  then 
the  Propaganda  at  Rome;  and  thongh  I  am  in- 
debted to  the  Prox)aganda  for  many  excellent  thmgs 
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  Swit- 
zerland, amongst  the  monks  of  the  order  of  the 
Congregatio  Sanctissimi  Redemptoris,  or  the  so- 
called  Ligorians,  I  became  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  stu- 
died 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,  be- 
came 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  mis- 

B  2 


4  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

sionary  labours  among-  the  dispersed  of  my  people 
in  Palestine,  Egypt,  Mesopotamia,  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  proceeded  to  Turkey,  Persia,  Turkis- 
taun,  Bokhara,  AfFghanistaun,  Cashmeer,  Hindustaun, 
and  the  Red  Sea,  from  1831  to  1834.  Bokhara  and 
Balkh — when,  in  1829,  at  Jerusalem — occupied  espe- 
cially my  attention,  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  Bokhara. 
Before,  however,  I  proceed  to  this,  I  am  induced,  at 
the  solicitation  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  narrative. 

In  passing  through  Asia  Minor,  1  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  op- 
portunity, I  say  also,  of  examining  both  Armenian, 
Persian,  Hebrew,  Arabic  and  Greek  MSS.  In  the 
Armenian  Bible,  for  example,  I  found  an  important 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKIIAEA.  5 

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  wor- 
shippers of  the  devil,  I  held  long  conversations. 
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,  w4iom  I  found  possessed  of  much  learning.  I 
spoke  with  them  in  Hebrew  and  Chaldean,  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  Ali,  in  Persia,  would  fill  volumes. 
With  the  Guebres,  or  worshippers  of  fire,  how 
often  also  have  I  conversed  in  Shiraz,  Isfahan,  and 
Kashaun.  How  singular  and  wild  the  aspect  of  the 
sons  of  fire  !  How  analogous  their  angel  history  to 
the  Jewish!  How  similar  to  the  rites  of  Vesta! 
How  like  that  early  adoration  when  my  people  bowed 
to  the  luminous  Shechinah  of  the  Lord !  Yet  if  idol- 
atry has  been  rife  on  my  path,  rarely  has  my  step 
fallen  wdiere  I  did  not  trace  Christianity.  In  Egypt 
I  found  the  Kopts;  in  Palestine,  the  Maronites, 
Syrians,  Greeks,  Armenians,  and  Armenian  Catho- 


6  NAKRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

lies ;  in  Mesopotamia,  at  Merdeen,  Mosool,  Arbel, 
and  Bagdad,  I  met  the  Jacobites,  the  followers  of 
Nestorius,  and  Roman  Catholics ;  in  Asia  Minor,  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  dis- 
cussed. Haje  Sheikh  Muhammed  told  me,  in  the 
words  of  Milton,  "  Foreknowledge  of  God  does  not 
affect  the  free  will  of  men."  How  eternal  and  inex- 
tinguishable also  appeared  the  customs  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,  ex- 
claiming, ''The  bridegroom  cometh;"  torches  are 
carried  before  her  at  midnight;  the  w^ar  about 
wells,  as  in  the  time  of  Moses  and  Jacob,  still  sub- 
sists in  Yemen ;  the  lamentations  over  a  nurse  are 
also  continued;  the  names  of  people  are  still  given 
to  indicate  the  events  of  the  jperiod;  the  king  be- 
stows a  name  significative   of  his  employ  on  Ms 


OF  DR.  M^OLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  7 

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  tradi- 
tion. Amid  the  khans  of  Khorassaun,  Muham- 
med  Izhak  Kerahe  of  Torbad  Hydarea,  the  Rus- 
tam  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  w^as 
soon  surrounded  by  others,  stripped  even  of  tlie 
shirt  on  my  back,  and  had  a  rag  covered  with  ver- 
min thrown  over  me,  and  was  brought  out  into  the 


8  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

highway,  where  all  my  fellows-travellers  of  the  cara- 
van were  assembled,  weepmg  and  crying,  and  bound 
to  the  tails  of  horses.  The  robbers  were  twenty-four 
in  number.  We  were  driven  along  by  them  in  con- 
tinual gallop,  on  account  of  the  approach  of  the 
Turkomauns;  for  if  the  Turkomaunshad  found  them 
out,  our  robbers  W'ould  have  been  made  slaves  by 
them,  they  being  Sheahs  themselves.  During  the 
night  three  prisoners  escaped.  At  tw^o  in  the  morn- 
ing 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,  valuing  him 
at  ten  and  myself  at  five  tomauns.  They  took  his 
money  from  him,  by  which  I  found  that  he  had  pre- 
viously robbed  me  of  sixteen  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."  Robbers.  "  A  pity  that  he  died  not 
himself,  then  we  should  be  free  from  that  tyrant, 
and  not  be  obliged  to  plunder  people  in  the  joath, 
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, 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  9 

'^  Do  you  see  these  blind  men  and  women  ?  their 
pyes  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  chil- 
dren orphans." 

Though  naked,  they  examined  us  narrowly  as 
we  entered  Torbad,  thinking  we  might  have  money 
concealed  about  us.  I  exclaimed,  bi!n^^  void,  ^^Hear, 
Israel,"  (a  common  exclamation  of  my  countrymen 
throughout  the  world,)  and  was  soon  surrounded  by 
Jews.  They  pledged  themselves  that  I  should  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  convinces  me  that  the  Jews  ofKhorassaun 
and  Bokhara  are  of  the  Ten  Tribes  who  never 
returned  to  Palestine  after  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
Therefore  there  still  remains  to  be  fulfilled  the  pro- 
phecy recorded  in  Ezekiel  xxxix.  28 :  "  Then  shall 
they  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  their  God  which  caused 


*  He  places  his  hands  on  the  head  of  his  subjects,  and  literally,  from 
his  enormous  strength,  rends  the  scalp,  and  it  is  said  sometimes  the  skull, 
of  his  victims. 


10  NARRATIVE  OP  THE  MISSION 

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 J^     The  next  day  I  was 
desired  to  go  back  to  the  robbers,  when  I  was  sud- 
denly 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   incessantly.     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 
appeared,  who  exclaimed,  "Is  any  Englishman  here?" 
"  Yes,  yes,"  w^as  my  exclamation.     The  chains  were 
removed,  a  soldier  of  Abbas  Mirza  had  arrived  with 
a  letter  for  Muhammed  Izhak  Khan,  ordering  him  to 
release  me.     He  gave  instant  orders  to  that  effect,  and 
bastinadoed  the  robbers,  wishing  the  whole  matter  to 
appear  as  done  without  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  dees  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  11 

distance,  terror  in  every  look.  He  demanded  what 
sum  had  been  taken  from  me.  I  rephed.  Eighty 
tomauns.  He  got  it  from  the  robbers,  but  kept 
it  himself.  He  then  said,  "  You  came  here  with 
books  in  order  to  shew  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 
Youssuf-U'Zuleika,  Joseph  and   Zuleika,   describing 
the   love    of    Potiphar's    wife   for    Joseph.      They 
have  Hajiz  in  a  similar   character.      They   speak 
of  an  exoteric  and  esoteric  religion,  like  the  philo- 
sophers  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 


12  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

of  his  death!  He  was  at  Meshed  m  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  w^ell-principled 
traveller.  The  misfortune  of  this  gentleman  was, 
that  he  had  no  interest  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  regretted  my 
captivity  in  Khorassaun ;  and  told  me,  when  I  went 
to  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  certi- 
ficate of  the  object  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  Turkistaun ; 
and  first  let  me  speak  of  Sarakhs,  a  place  of  doubt- 
ful origin  in  its  etymological  root.  Some  derive  it 
from  the  Arabic  zara,  sowing;  others  from  saraky 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  13 

to  steal.  It  is  the  country  of  slave-stealing,  and 
therefore  this  latter  etymon  is  not  improbable. 
Eighteen  hundred  families  of  Turkomauns,  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  descendants  of  Togarmah,  one  of  the  sons 
of  Gomer,  mentioned  in  Genesis  x.  3.  The  Tur- 
komauns 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,  Muhammed  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  w^as  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the  Jews,  and 
hold  friendly  intercourse  with  the  Muhammedans  at 
Bokhara,  he  advised  me  to  do  nothing  without  con- 
sulting the  Goosh-Bekee,  or  vizier.  He  also  de- 
manded my  opinion  about  the  mullahs  issuing  Fetwa, 
or  Bulls,  that  the  Tiirkomauns  should  make  slaves  of 


14  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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,  underw^ent  much  rigid  questioning  from 
the  Goosh-Bekee  on  various  points,  such  as  whether 
Muhammed  w^as  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  discontinued  any 
further  participation  in  their  services. 

The  king,  Behadur  Khan,  w^as  then  twenty-eight 
years  of  age.  He  spends  his  mornings  in  reading  the 
Arabic  writings  of  Jelaal  and  Bydaw^ee  with  the 
mullahs,  visits  the  grave  of  Baba  Deen,  a  sanctified 
derveesh  of  Bokhara,  and  hears  causes  of  dispute 
during  the  remainder  of  the  day  among  his  subjects. 
He  is  terribly  dreaded  by  his  ministers. 

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  Ha- 
lah, though  later  writers  called  it  Balakh,  or  Balkh. 
The  Jews,  both  of  Balkh  and  Samarcand,  assert  that 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  15 

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 
interpretation,  particularly  that  important  one  in 
Isaiah  vii.  14 — HD*?;?  Virgin.     They  translated  it  as 


16  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  MISSION 

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  sojourn,  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  All's 
camel  disappeared  miraculously  at  his  tomb.  Hither 
came  pilgrims  from  AfFghanistaun,  Cashmeer,  Kho- 
kand,  Shahr-Sebz,  Hindustaun,  Khiva,  and  Bokhara. 
Hence  I  proceeded  to  Cabool,  in  AfFghanistaun.  Some 
jifTghauns  claim  a  descent  from  Israel.  According  to 
them,  Affghaun  was  the  nephew  of  Asaph,  the  son  of 
Berachia,  who  built  the  Temple  of  Solomon.  The 
descendants  of  this  Affghaun,  being  Jews,  were  car- 
ried 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 


*  Researches  and  Missionart/  Labours  among  the  Jeios,  Muhammedans, 
and  other  Sects,     By  the  Rev.  Joseph  Wolff.    Nisbet^  London,  1885. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  17 

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  Aff- 
ghauns,  the  Poshtoo  Book  of  Khan  Jehaun  Loote. 
The  account  in  this  book  agrees  witli  that  given  in  the 
MSS.5  Teemur  Nameh  and  Ketaub  Ansahee  Muhak- 
kek  Toose.  I  thought  the  general  physiognomy  not 
Jewish,  but  I  was  wonderfully  struck  with  the  resem- 
blance that  the  Youssuf  Szeye  and  the  Khaibaree,  two 
of  their  tribes,  bear  to  the  Jews.  The  Kaffre  Seeah 
Poosh,  if  AfFghauns,  vary  widely  from  the  rest  of  their 
nation.  Many  travellers  have  thought  them  the  de- 
scendants 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- 
Ama*,  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  un- 
clean animals.  When  a  child  is  bom  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 


♦  I  verified  on  my  last  visit  at  Bokhara  the  exactitude  of  this 
account,  for  Imra  is  God,  and  Amaj  House. 

Vol.  I.  C 


18  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  remark- 
able for  their  charity:  one  is,  -^  Increase  us  our  pro- 
perty ;  do  not  make  us  sick ;  and  kill  the  Mussul- 
mans."    After  every  prayer  they  say,  "Hehamaj," 
and  then  kiss  their  fingers.     Their  idols  are  of  wood 
and  stone — gigantic  human  figures.     They  know  but 
little  of  a  future  state,  and  their  rites  are  largely 
Pagan.      I  always  thought  that  the  Kaffre  Seeah- 
Poosh  were  descendants  of  Israel ;  and  some  of  the 
learned  Jews  of  Samarcand  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  surroimded  by 
his  officers  and  soldiers.  To  him  I  had  the  satisfac- 
tion 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, 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  19 

after  quitting  Lahore,  at  Umritzer,  with  the  Lion  of 
the  Punjanb,  the  Maharajah  Runjeet  Singh,  my 
readers  will  find  detailed  at  length  in  the  w^ork  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  posses- 
sion, much  to  the  advantage  of  the  Seiks,  I  visited 
our  first  British  station  in  that  direction,  Loodi- 
anah,  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  Bryant,  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  inter- 
esting 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 
w^ere  nearly  exterminated  by  him,  the  great  Muham- 
medan  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  sur- 

C  2 


20  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

prised  to  find,  looked  on  the  Affghauns  as  of  Jewish 
descent.  He  pointed  out  to  me  two  important  forms, 
in  which  all  refutations  of  the  Koran  ought  to  be 
shaped,  and  numerous  other  equally  interesting  ques- 
tions were  discussed  by  this  true  believer,  in  a  most 
learned  and  Christian  spirit. 

Obtaining  leave  to  pass  into  Cashmeer  from  Run- 
jeet  Singh,  by  means  of  Lord  William  Bentinck,  I 
crossed  accordingly  first  to  Belaspoor,  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  by  soldiers,  was  performing 
his  devotions  before  three  naked  Fakeers.  I  imme- 
diately entered  into  conversation  with  them,  and  in- 
quired 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  reply,  he  kept  exclaiming,  "Be 
silent  and  listen."  I  seized,  however,  despite  of  him, 
on  an  opportunity  to  point  out  the  truth  of  our  reve- 
lation. 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  Styhtes,  or  in  the 
deserts  of  the  Thebais  with  Antony.     Active  energy 


>^- 


w 


MUEJEEAMMIEIU)  SISAM  MAIKIHISIBAMIOIEE, 

MURSHEED  OF  TURKISTAUN. 


T  Vigne  dd^- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  21 

in  promoting  truth  and  virtue  is  worth  all  the  seden- 
tary graces  of  Fakeers,  Monks,  or  Solitaries.  I  do 
not  impugn  their  merits  in  their  peculiar  path,  but 
it  is  obviously  not  one  of  general  obligation.  Simon 
Stylites,  however,  was  more  practical  than  is  com- 
monly supposed ;  he  preached  to  thousands  of  Arabs, 
as  did  Antony  also. 

I  cannot  detail  the  numerous  interesting  conver- 
sations on  the  VedaSj  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  commenced  various  con- 
versations with  them:  with  a  descendant  of  the 
false  prophet  Muhammed  Shah  Nakshbandee  espe- 
cially. He  received  me  with  great  cordiality.  He 
actually  read,  in  Persian,  to  his  disciples,  the  24th 
and  25th  chapters  of  Matthew,  and  I  then  spoke  of 
regeneration,  and  they  read  the  third  chapter  of 
John.  All  the  Brahmins  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 


22  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

every  tongue  she  pronounces  every  day  a  new  name 
of  God ;  and  this  she  has  done  for  centuries  on  cen- 
turies, never  repeating  a  name  once  pronounced." 
A  similarly  v^ild  account  was  given  in  reply  to  a 
question  on  the  history  of  the  creation,  with  con- 
fused 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  pro- 
phet 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  fanaticism 
which  has  produced  nothing  but  death  and  destruc- 
tion. Muhammedanism  has  been  founded  by  the 
sword,  and  Muhammedanism  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  An- 
glo-Catholic  missionaries,  but  we  do  not  find  six 
Muhammedans,  especially  among  the  Turks.  I  can 
only  trace  two  Persians,  and  one  Arab.  Buchanan 
was  misinformed  wholly  by  the  infamous  apostate 
Sabat. 

While  here,  Moulavie  Khyr  Addeen,  writer  of 
the  History  of  Cashmeer,  came  to  me.  With  him  I 
had  a  discussion  for  four  hours,  about  the  divinity  of 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  23 

Jesus,  and  it  did  small  credit  to  his  knowledge  of 
modern  history.  One  of  his  proofs  for  the  truth  of 
the  Muhammedan  religion  was,  that  all  the  Christian 
powers  are  subjects  of  and  give  tribute  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  prevented  me.  I  left  Cashmeer  on 
October  21st,  1832.  On  olir  route  we  were  accom- 
panied by  fugitives  from  Cashmeer,  flying  from  the 
oppression  of  Runjeet  Singh.  Women,  walking  des- 
titute of  everything,  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  Cash- 
meer. Ameer  Kebeer,  king  of  Hamadan,  forsook 
the  world,  and  became  a  Fakeer  in  Cashmeer.  Huz- 
rut  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. 


24  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

After  various  journeys  I  reached  Delhi  on  De- 
cember 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  con- 
versed with  the   grand  mullah, — a  man  of  great 
scientific  renown, — Muhammed  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  pro- 
phesied   his    mission.      To    this    he    replied,    that 
Muhammed's  mission  was  clear  from  the  numerous 
miracles  he   worked;    next,  from   the   divine   and 
superhuman  perfection  of  the  composition  of  the 
Koran,  the  bodily  strength  of  the  Prophet,  his  nume- 
rous 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  composition 
of  a  book,  could  not  be  considered  as  a  grave  argu- 
ment,  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  25 

untruth.  3rd.  That,  as  we  denied  the  authority 
of  the  Koran,  that  could  avail  nothing  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  num- 
bers 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  criterion.  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  absolutely, 
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,  therefore,  I  could  not  believe  in 
Muhammed. 

From  Delhi  I  passed  to  Agra,  and  thence  to  vari- 
ous 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  described  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  revised 
my  Journal  for  me  with  the  most  unaffected  kindness. 


26  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  sub- 
stantial assistance  in  combating  their  arguments. 
Conolly  was  a  man  possessed  of  a  deep  Scriptural 
knowledge;  a  capital  textuary ;  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  mission- 
ary. 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  England.  Here  our 
friendship  was  renewed.  At  Constantinople  I  learnt 
he  expressed  his  deep  affection  for  me  to  Count 
Stiirmer.  I  often  wished  to  repay  him  my  debt  of 
gratitude ;  and  the  instant  the  news  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  reflec- 
tion 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  dee^s 
of  iniquity,  but  were  upraised  to  God  our  Maker  and 
Saviour.  His  firm  conduct  at  his  dying  hour  reminds 
lis  forcibly  of  the  bearing  of  those  brave  soldiers  who 
died  in  the  persecution  of  Decius  and  Diocletian.     I 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHAHA.  27 

hope  to  see  my  Conolly  among  them  at  the  hour  of 
Christ's  commg  in  glory. 

I  cannot  speak  more  of  Cawnpore,  for  it  is  embit- 
tered to  my  memory,  and  shall  pass  on  to  Luckuow. 
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  Hookham  Frere,  now  residing  at  Malta,  my 
excellent  friend,  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds, 
which  he  had  generously  advanced  to  me  to  defray 
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  mis- 
creant 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  circumstance,  I  can  refer  to  Messrs.  Drum- 
mond.  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  second  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  disputation  with 


28  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  astonishment,  they  attempted 
to  show  from  the  ^*  Burden  on  Arabia,"  the  mission 
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  experience  of  more  than  twenty  years  6f 
travels — of  the  immense  utility  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society.  The  Word  of  God  would 
have  been  entirely  extinct  among  the  Eastern  Chris- 
tians but  for  that  Society.  Its  copies  are  in  the  hands 
of  mullahs  of  all  denominations,  not  only  in  Asia,  but 
even  in  the  deserts  of  Turkistaun.  The  agents  they 
employ  are  excellent  men ;  I  only  need  mention  the 
Rev.  H.  Leeves  at  Athens,  and  Benjamin  Barker, 
Esq. ,  at  My  tilene,  the  capital  of  Lesbos.  It  is  utterly 
absurd  to  say  that  all  benevolent  societies  are  to 
be  under  the  direction  of  bishops;  even  the  Church 
of  Rome,  in  her  powerful  discipline,  has  never  fol- 
lowed this  plan, — that  all  benevolent  societies  are 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  29 

necessarily  to  be  placed  under  episcopal  control, — 
nor  does  the  Church  of  Armenia.  We  have  hospitals 
without  bishops, — ^why  should  not  the  Word  of  God 
be  circulated  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  Muham- 
medans  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  England:  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  insert  in  this  brief  abstract  of 
my  former  Indian  connection,  which  led  to  my  inti- 
macy with  Captain  ConoUy,  and  to  my  second  jour- 
ney to  Bokhara. 

From  Lucknow  I  passed  to  Benares,  the  holy  city 
of  India:  whoever  dies  there  will  obtain  Inokshu, 
Absorption  into  the  Deity.     I  consider  this  is  little 


30  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  ulti- 
mate 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,  unpro- 
phetical,  unnatural  dislike  to  hear  of  anything  but 
Nature's  doom  and  Nature's  death.     Nothing  will 
satisfy  them,  but  that  the  world,  animate  and  inani- 
mate, once  happy  but  for  a  single  day,  should  draw 
its  penance  onwards  to  the  utmost  longevity  of  mise- 
rable  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  inha- 
bited by  living  creatures  in  flesh  and  blood,  and 
though  in  flesh  and  blood,  redeemed  from  Satan,  sin, 
and  death.     If  a  phantomizing  system  is  spirituality, 
the  Buddhists  at  Lassa,  the  Sooffees  at  Shiraz,  and 
the  Hindoos  at  Nadown,  might  claim  analogous  influ- 
ences. 

The  Hindoo  writings  contain  no  reference  to 
Jesus  in  the  sacred  books.  I  need  scarce  particu- 
larize the  feelings  with  which,  after  various  wander- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  81 

ings,  I  lectured  in  Henry  Martin's  pulpit  at  Dina- 
pore.  At  Giyah,  famous  for  its  Hindoo  pilgrimages, 
I  explained  the  Gospel  in  Persian  to  Hindoos  and 
Muliammedans. 

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  invited  me  to 
their  splendid  and  unique  establishment  at  Seram- 
pore. 

From  Calcutta  I  passed  to  Masulipatam,  whence 
I  visited  Hyderabad.  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,  exhibiting  a  totally  new  form  of 
crime,  is  now  fully  known  in  this  country,  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  Nellore,  at 
Ramapatam.  It  was  accompanied  by  cramp  and 
dysentery.  With  no  European  near  me,  I  com- 
mended my  soul  to  God.  My  hands  and  feet  became 
convulsed,  but  I  felt  peace  in  Christ  amid  all  my 


82  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  yon  have  the  cholera  morbus; 
my  husband  died  of  it  two  months  ago."  The  per- 
son 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  hundred 
drops  of  laudanum,  and  other  remedies*.  The  reme- 
dies of  my  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 


*  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  infamy  skin  deep  only  to  a 
high-minded  and  well-educated  and  numerous  class  of  its  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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  33 

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,  arrived  at  Trichinopoly.  Here 
I  found  a  hundred  and  fifty  native  Christians,  ob- 
serving 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  ta- 
lented, than  Schwarz  himself.  The  number  of  Hin- 
doos to  whose  conversion  he  has  been  instrumental, 
amounts  to  twelve  thousand.  I  cannot  express  the 
satisfaction  I  felt  at  the  immense  progress  he  was 
daily  making  under  my  own  eyes  among  the  Hin- 
diis.  I  lectured  to  them ;  Rhenius  and  Shaffter,  his 
fellow-labourer,  interpreted,  for  I  did  not  understand 
Malabar,  and  they  could  not  understand  Persian. 
I  must  reluctantly  pass  much,  and  go  on  to 
Vol.  I.  D 


34  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  intermarry  with  them.  They  have  neither 
priests,  nor  Levites,  nor  families,  nor  relations  on 
foreign  coasts.  They  are  only  found  in  the  Malabar 
coast.  They  observe  the  law  as  white  Jews  do. 
They  are  most  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  front- 
lets 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  extraordinary 
talents,  possessing  almost  more  than  the  immense 
facility  of  his  countrymen  in  general  in  the  acquire- 
ment of  language.     He  knew  eighteen  languages. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  35 

I  pass  intermediate  spots,  and  come  to  Goa,  the 
scene  of  the  labours  of  the  great  Francis  Xavier. 
Here  around  in  all  directions  with  overflowing  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  beha- 
viour 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,  corresponded  with  me  on  various 
matters,  and  expressed  his  high  satisfaction  at  my 
labours;  he  was  a  nephew  to  Don  Pedro:  as  did  also 
the  government  secretary  Nunez.  The  Jesuits  were 
suspected  of  having  removed  the  body  of  Francis 
Xavier,  w^hich  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  approved  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 

D  2 


36  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

from  the  rest  of  the  Jews  m  Europe  and  Hindustaun. 
Soon  after  the  destruction  of  the  first  Temple,  they 
came  in  seven  ships,  they  say,  from  Arabia  to  Hindu- 
staun, where  they  have  since  forgotten  their  law,  but 
continue  to  repeat  in  Hebrew  certain  prayers  which 
they  have  learnt  from  the  other  Jews ;  they  also  read 
the  Pentateuch,  but  without  understanding  the  lan- 
guage. 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,  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,  Hindu 
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  questioned  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  Farish,  and 
others.      I  preached  here  to  many,  and  especially 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  37 

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  austeri- 
ties. The  nails  of  his  hands  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  attained,  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  de- 
pressed, since  the  Supreme  measures  man  by  his 
practical  might,  foimded  on  Gospel  truth,  and  not 
by  his  theoretical  visions,  based  upon  nothing. 

At  Bombay  I  called  with  Dr.  Wilson  on  Daood 
Cap  tan,  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,  believed  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  announcing  myself  as  Joseph  Wolff,  and 
requesting  him  to  show  me  the  synagogue,  he  rudely 


38  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

said,  '^No,  I  shall  not  show  it  you,  for  yon  are  a 
magician."  I  then  muttered  something  mysteriously 
to  myself,  and  motioning  with  my  finger,  I  said  to 
him,  "  Daood  Cap  tan,  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  was  a  curious 
disputation  among  the  Jews  of  Sanaa.  They  thought 
that  they  could  ascertain  their  genealogy,  and  that 
they  were  in  possession  of  ancient  documents  to  prove 
this,  and  a  dispute  arose  among  them  who  was  to  be 
greatest.  They  listened,  however,  to  the  wise  coun- 
sel of  Shalom  Ben-Ahron,  their  Nassi,  and  Rabbi 
Yahyah  Salekh,  their  Ab-Beth-Din,  to  destroy  their 
genealogies.  The  whole  congregation  of  Sanaa  rose 
as  one  man,  burnt  their  genealogies,  and  exclaimed, 
*' 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.  Si- 
monian  to  the  Jewish  ladies,  in  which  he  addressed 
them  in  the  following  manner  :  "  Read  the  prophe- 
cies of  Solomon,"    (who  never  wrote  prophecies,) 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  09 

^^  and  your  book  of  the  Prophet  Baruch  m  the  He- 
brew 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  vacancies,  according  to  Muhammedan 
tradition.  P^very  pilgrim  casts  seven  little  stones  at 
the  devil,  and  sixteen  against  the  devil's  two  chil- 
dren. The  reason  of  this  hard  usage  of  the  chil- 
dren is  not  very  apparent. 

From  Jiddah  I  embarked  for  Suez,  after  I  had 
visited  Cairo,  and  went  thence  to  Alexandria.  1 
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. 


40  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 


CHAPTER  11. 

Embarks  from  Malta  for  England,  March,  1835.  Leaves  England 
for  another  Mission,  October,  1835.  Proceeds  to  Malta;  Alexan- 
dria ;  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,  Chro- 
nology, 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  De- 
scendants 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,  York- 
shire. 

In  March,  1835,  I  embarked  for  England  in  the 
Firefly,  where  I  staid  till  October;  but  returned  to 
Malta  by  the  19th  for  another  missionary  tour.  The 
first  place  that  1  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  Ali. 
Mr.  Salt  saved  him  in  the  very  nick  of  time,  for 
Muhammed  Ali  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  41 

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 
acquirements,  whom  I  met  there,  had  married  an 
interesting  girl,  that  I  learnt,  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  con- 
vinced by  the  actual  presence  of  Jesus  in  glory. 

I  left  Cairo  on  the  10th  of  March,  and  on  the 


42  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

16th,  set  out  for  Mount  Sinai  for  the  second  time. 
On  the  18th,  I  reached  Khorandal.  The  Beduins 
received  me  most  cordially.  Sheikh  Hassan  intro- 
duced 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  re- 
ceived me  well.  This  time  I  noted  in  the  Book  of 
Strangers,  the  following  lines,  written  by  the  cele- 
brated 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  is  also 
very  remarkable,  that  the  monks  who  had  read  the 
book  were  quite  prepared  for  my  view  of  the  ques- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  43 

tion,  and  themselves  entertained  it  after  having  care- 
fully read  the  book.  They  remarked  to  me  that  the 
third  chapter  of  Habakkuk  was  a  prophecy  predict- 
ing 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  perpe- 
tual hills  did  bow."  The  superior  struck  the 
earth  with  great  animation,  exclaiming,  "On  this 
spot  mighty  events  shall  yet  be  seen." 

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  w^as,  that  Satan  was  not  convinced 
that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God,  until  he  had  seen 
the  curtains  in  the  Temple  rent,  the  sun  dark- 
ened, and  the  earth  convulsed.     My  servant,  Bethle- 


44  NAERATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

hem,  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  Christians,  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 
Augsburg  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  11th.  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  abomination  in  one  of  their 
holy  cities.  Here  I  found  a  letter  from  my  interest- 
ing 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  45 

remained  with  him — read  to  him ;  he  expressed  deep 
repentance  for  all  his  sinSj  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  gen- 
tleman. Here  I  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  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  Nay  eh  (Lieutenant).  Here 
Hadara  fired  at  a  wolf  which  charged  us,  and  he 
sheered  off.  Elephants  wander  about  here  in  great 
numbers.     Tigers,   also,   are  not  uncommon.     We 


46  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

ascended  the  mountains  of  Hamazien  on  the  7th,  and 
reached  Asmara  on  the  9th.     The  customs  of  the 
Abyssinians  are  pecuhar.     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  concubines  ;  nor  is  divorce  allowed.     They  bap- 
tize by  immersioUj,  and  circumcise  on  the  eighth  day. 
The  10th  of  June  I  arrived  at  Zaasega,  where  1 
met  Hyloo,  the  chief  of  the  province  of  Hamazien,  a 
young  man  of  thirty.     His  complexion  was  a  bril- 
liant 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  Coptic  patriarch  of  Alexan- 
dria. He  ordains  priests  and  deacons,  and  lives  at 
Gondar;  receives  tithes  from  all  property,  and  his 
income  is  about  30,000  dollars.  To  my  utter  asto- 
nishment, one  day  while  I  was  conversing  with  Hyloo 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  47 

and  the  priests  and  the  people  about  religion,  they 
all  shouted  out,  ''He  is  our  Aboon  in  disguise." 
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  extraordinary 
sputation,  that  my  throat  was  completely  dry. 
They  compelled  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  w^ould  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. 

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  appear  at 
the  coming  of  the  Lord.  I  inquired  of  their  priest, 
who  had  called  on  me,   the  Gebra  Maskal,  how 


48  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

men  would  be  saved.  He  replied,  that  one  must 
first  be  baptized,  and  take  the  sacrament  at  a 
certain  age,  use  confession  to  a  priest,  give  alms  to 
the  poor,  andleave  off*  all  evil. 

On  June  18th  I  left  Zaasega,  with  three  persons, 
Mueller  (an  excellent  Swiss),  Hadara,  and  Bethle- 
hem. 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  Ethiopic  tongue,  using  a 
corrupt  Liturgy,  full  of  invocations  of  Mary,  angels, 
and  saints.  My  white  appearance  shocked  exces- 
sively 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  Mm- 
sel/J^  The  priests,  however,  saluted  me  as  Aboon, 
and  implored  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  shoul- 
ders of  the  people.  The  singular  notion  that  the 
Abyssinians  know  how  to  change  themselves  into 
hyaenas,  I  found  very  prevalent.  The  warriour  chief, 
one  of  the  finest  looking  men  in  Abyssinia,  Ghebra 
Amlak,  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  49 

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. 
Tlie  monks  of  Abyssinia  have  carefully  kept  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  village  called  Behesa  we  found 
Oubia  had  been  devastating  the  country.  Wald 
Raphael,  the  chief  of  this  village,  supx)lied  us  with  a 
goat.  I  demanded  of  him  and  his  people,  how  they 
punished  crimes.  They  replied  by  hanging,  crucify- 
ing, 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  Am- 
haric  Testaments  and  a  Psalter.  The  great  saint  of 
Abyssinia,  Tekla  Haymanot,  made  such  an  impres- 
sion on  the  devil  by  his  preaching,  that  he  actually 
became  a  monk  forty  years.  "  Cucullus  non  facit 
monachum,"  is  certainly  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. 
Vol.  I.  E 


50  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

25th  June  we  arrivx^d  at  a  beautiful  villag*e  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  Adsvah. 
Here  resided  one  hundred  monks,  with  their  supe- 
rior. 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  EHjah.  August  5th,  I  visited 
Axum,  the  holy  city  of  the  Abyssinians,  which 
even  the  Galla  chief  that  had  invaded  the  country 
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  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  51 

of  blood  is  daily  prevented  by  the  monks  in  Abyssi- 
nia, as  it  was  by  the  Christian  monks  m  the  middle 
age,  and  is  also  by  the  derveeshes  of  the  Miiham- 
medans.  The  influence  of  the  Monastic  character  is 
very  remarkable  over  these  periods.  When  the 
Swiss,  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Sigismond,  were 
at  variance,  neither  the  Bishop  of  Constance  nor  the 
ambassadors  of  the  Emperor  were  able  to  re-establish 
peace.  The  diet  was  already  on  the  point  of  dissolv- 
ing, 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  Tiirkistaun,  if 
the  Khaleefa  of  Mowr  w^ould  not  take  the  defenceless 
pilgrim  under  his  protection.  What  could  the  great 
^thanasius  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  lived  there 
under  the  directions  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, 

E  2 


52  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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 
l^ossessed  great  political  talents,  and  was  beloved 
by  his  subjects.  His  country  was  surrounded  by  the 
Gallas,  with  whom  he  preserved  friendly  relations, 
and  thereby  prevented  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  divided  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  commemoration  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  em- 
barked 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  53 

a  Bible  on  the  tomb  of  a  buried  saint,  created  snch 
terror  through  the  whole  country,  that  the  book  was 
sent  to  Mecca,  I  came,  October  14th,  to  Con- 
foodah,  where  I  had  a  most  interesting  conversation 
with  the  soldiers  of  the  Pasha's  army,  and  Ahmed, 
an  officer  in  that  body,  formerly  a  derveesh.  When 
Ahmed  demanded  of  me  whether  Saheb  Zemaan  (the 
Lord  of  the  Age)  must  not  arrive  before  Jesus  at 
his  second  coming?  I  replied,  "Elijah  the  Prophet 
shall  first  come ;"  and  should  have  continued  the 
disputation,  which  had  already  extended  to  some 
length,  but  for  the  drum  beatmg  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,  inhabited  by  Beduins.  Here  one  of  the 
Arab  sheikhs  of  the  tribe  of  Hobab,  brother-in-law 
of  Moses,  called  on  me.  He  knew  Hebrew  exceed- 
ingly well,  and  even  the  Arabic  dialect  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Hobab,  is  mixed  with  Hebrew  phrases  from 
the  Book  of  Moses.     They  observe  outwardly  the 


54  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Muhammedan  law,  but  inwardly  are  attached  to  the 
law  of  Moses. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  among  all  nations 
where  religion  is  enforced  by  the  civil  law,  sects  will 
arise,  who,  if  I  may  so  express  myself,  have  two  reli- 
gions, 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  (Wor- 
shippers of  the  Sun),  in  Mesopotamia,  outwardly 
j)rofess  Muhammedanism,  and  in  secret  are  wor- 
shippers of  the  sun.  The  Daouddee,  or  the  be- 
lievers 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  Ca- 
tholics, 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  Cheroo- 
kees,  have  adopted  outwardly  the  Protestant  reli- 
gion, in  order,  as  they  hope,  to  prevent  Congress  from 
sending  them  further  into  the  interior. 

He  informed  me,    that  near  Sanaa  the   other 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO   BOKHARA.  55 

branch  of  the  children  of  Hobab  were  encamped, 
i.e.,  the  Beni  Arhab,  children  ofRechab.  A  great 
number  of  their  tribes  came  down  from  the  moun- 
tain 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  further.  ''  Do 
you  know,"  said  they  to  me,  '^  Moosa,  the  prophet 
of  God  ?  The  peace  of  God  be  upon  him.  Hobab, 
our  father,  was  his  brother  in  law." 

Shereef  Ahmood  Aboo  Mesameer,  of  the  tribe  of 
Hobaib,  governed  in  the  mountain  of  the  Aseer,  for 
Jeisaun  is  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  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  character- 
istic 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  am  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  quarters  of  Ibra- 
him Pasha,  commander-in-chief  of  Muhammed  All's 
troops  in  Yemen :    I   do  not  mean  the  son,  but  the 


56  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

nephew  of  the  Pasha.  With  him  I  held  a  very  long 
religions  discnssion.  Amongst  other  points  of  onr 
conversation  he  advised  me  to  direct  my  attention  to 
the  conversion  of  Rothschild. 

I  had  also  here  a  long  conversation  with  Muham- 
med  Johar,  a  learned  gentleman,  formerly  governor 
of  Hodeydah.  The  Arabs  of  this  place  have  a  book 
called  Seer  a,  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  yourself  should  ever  have  found  his  way  to 
Bokhara."  Husseyn  EfFendi,  the  present  governor 
of  Hodeydah,  is  the  kindest  Turk  I  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  imblest  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  Muhammcd 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  57 

All's  officers  had  circulated  the  report  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  Naasraan,  i.  e.  Chris- 
tians, 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  ancestors,  who  had  been  worshippers 
of  idols,  became  Naasraan^  (Christians),  and  therefore 
we  have  retained  the  name,  though  we  exclaim  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  chil- 
dren 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  pro- 


*  And  besides  tliis,  many  Arabs  went  to  the  pillar  of  Simon  Stylites, 
and  he  preached  to  them  the  Gospel,  and  thus  it  spread  in  Yemen. 


58  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

ceeded  on  the  road  to  Sanaa,  which  I  learnt  was 
besieged  by  the  Rechabites.  Of  course  the  caravan 
with  which  I  w^as  traveUing  ran  no  small  risk  on  this 
account.  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  rushing  to 
me,  exclaiming:  "Hoo,  hoo,  hoo!"  Holding  up  my 
Bible,  I  stopped  them  at  once,  and  they  shouted, 
^^A  Jew,  a  Jew!"  We  dismounted,  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  embraced  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  vine- 
yards, sow  no  seed,  live  in  tents,  and  remember  the 
word  of  Jonadab  the  son  of  Rechab.  With  them 
were  children  of  Israel  of  the  tribe  of  Dan,  who  reside 
near  Terim  in  Hatramawt,  who  expect,  in  common 
with  the  children  of  Rechab,  the  speedy  arrival  of 
the  Messiah  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.  Neither  party 
now  offers  sacrifice.  They  requested  me  to  remain 
among  them  and  teach  them  the  doctrine  of  the 
Messiah,  as  they  called  the  Gospel,  and  to  marry  one 
of  the  daughters  of  Rechab.     The  children  of  Re- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  59 

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  Mu- 
hammedans  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.  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,  Looloe,  belonging  to  the  power- 
ful 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  spectacle  to  the  eye.  It  is  in  a  valley  sur- 
rounded by  four  mountains.  The  city  has  the  love- 
liest 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  palaces.  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 


60  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

shawl,  a  robe  of  honour,  and  twenty  dollars,  for 
eflfectrng  the  entry  of  the  caravan.  I  regret  to  say 
he  is  drunk  from  morning  to  night,  and  the  Jew^s  of 
Sanaa  furnish  him  with  brandy  and  w  ine.  He  was 
sitting  on  a  divaun  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  Aikaree, 
the  chief  rabbi  of  the  Jews,  called  on  me.  He  is  an 
amiable  and  sensible  man.  The  Jews  of  Yemen 
adhere  uniquely  to  the  ancient  interpretation  of 
Scripture,  in  the  passage  Isaiah  vii.  14,  *^a  virgin 
shall  conceive,"  and  they  give  to  the  HD^^  the  same 
interpretation,  virgin,  that  the  Christians  do,  wdthout 
knowing  the  history  of  Jesus.  Rabbi  Aikaree  as- 
serted, 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  returned 
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  Jerusalem  and  the  Temple,  and  there- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  61 

fore  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  de- 
manded, ^^  Do  you  consider  these  days  to  be  literal 
days?''  The  Alkaree  replied,  "iVb;  but  we  do 
expect  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  from  the  com- 
motions now  going  on  in  Yemen.  We  think  he 
begins  to  come  from  Teman,  i,  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  me- 
mory. 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  ex- 
pounded Isaiah  liii.,  and  read  him  the  holy  history 
of  Jesus.  He  said,  "  Your  exposition  is  in  better 
agreement  with  the  ancient  interpretation;  I  ap- 
prove 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  fifteen  thousand  Jews. 
In  Yemen  they  amount  to  twenty  thousand.  I 
conceive  the  total  population  of  the  Jews  through- 
out the  world,  amounts  to  ten  millions.  I  bap- 
tized here  sixteen  Jews,  and  left  them  all  New 
Testaments. 

A  fever  seized  me  while  at  Sanaa.     I  left  it,  and 


62  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

slept  the  first  night  with  Sheikh  Ali,  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,  ex- 
claiming, "  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.  FF.  '^  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  Mu- 
hammad 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  December,  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  G3 

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  New  York  in  the 
month  of  August,  1 837.  Here  I  found  myself  sur- 
rounded with  a  phalanx  of  friends  of  all  religious 
denominations.  I  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  ecclesiastical  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  Bal- 
timore 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. 


64  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

It  will  naturally  be  asked  what  I  think  of  that 
extraordinary  question  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  every- 
where." This  is  not  traceable  in  the  Indians.  They 
have  not  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  and  all  con- 
jointly 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  conclusion.  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  main- 
tain somewhat  of  the  great  principles  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  wlio  have  a  preconceived  favourite  system, 
try  to  maintain  it  ad  outrance,  and  think  they  see  it 
realized  when  nothing  of  the  kind  in  reality  exists. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  65 

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  w^ell-intentioned  people  did.  I  came  among 
the  Mohican  tribes  near  New  York,  and  asked  them, 
"  Whose  descendants  are  you  ?"  They  replied,  *^  We 
are  of  Israel."  I  asked,  '^  Who  told  you  so  ?"  and 
expected  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 
s]Dirit ;  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  Tatar  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  Tatars  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. 
Vol.  I.  F 


66  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

The  Jews  in  America  are  of  very  recent  origin, 
principally  composed  of  emigrants  from  Germany, 
Poland,  and  England.  I  regret  to  say  they  are 
mostly  unbelievers  in  their  own  law,  and  marry 
without  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  communities,  that  have  more  than  outmatched 
them  in  disputations,  confuting  Romanism  on  truly 
Catholic  principles.   Vituperation  does  the  Romanists 
good,  and  raises  their  cause ;  but  if  the  controversy 
be  confined  to  the  great  question,  On  what  does  a 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  67 

Church  depend  ?  they  are  scattered  easily.  A  Church 
founded  on  the  authority  of  the  Bil^le,  and  a  Church 
founded  on  her  own  authority  alone, — the  great 
distinctions  between  Romanists  and  Anglo-Catho- 
lics,— need  only  clear  exposition  to  show  which 
has  the  advantage.  It  is  true,  Rome  has  an  autho- 
rity 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, 
Collateral  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  Wesleyans,  Independents, 

F  2 


68  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

and  learned  Baptists;  and  the  result  of  my  investi- 
gations is,  that  the  Church  of  England  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.  r 

At  New  York,  I  must  not  omit  to  mention  the 
kindness  I  received  also  from  its  distinguished  presi- 
dent, 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,  ac- 
companied to  the  vessel  in  which  I  embarked  by 
numerous  friends,  and  arrived  in  England  on  Ja- 
nuary 28th.  Instantly  on  my  arrival  in  England,  in 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  I  gave  an  account  of  my  mis- 
sionary 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  Ire- 
land, and  to  Archbishop  Whateley.  The  University 
of  Dublin  conferred  on  me  the  degree  of  LL.D. 
From  America  I  received  the  degree  of  D.D.,  from 
the  Protestant  episcopal  college  of  St.  John's,  Anna- 
polis, Maryland.  I  then  received  priest's  orders  in 
Ireland,  by  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Dromore,  in  June, 
1838.     Immediately  afterwards  I  was  made  hono- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  69 

rary  chaplain  to  Lord  Viscount  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,  w^hen  the  Rev.  Hugh  Stowell,  of 
Manchester,  was  kind  enough  to  procure  me  the 
situation  of  incumbent  at  Linthwaite,  near  Hudders- 
field,  Yorkshire,  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  accept- 
ing 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,  according  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  hundred  pounds  per  annum,  was  a  posi- 
tion 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  immediately  to  it.  Disparity  of 
incomes  in  any  Church,  want  of  promotion  of  deserv- 
ing men,  create  a  faintheartedness  in  its  members 
that  must  prove  deleterious  to  the  Church's  great 
interests. 


70  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 


CHAPTER  III. 

Quits  Linthwaite  for  the  Curacy  of  High  Hoyland.  Hears  of  the  Impri- 
sonment of  his  Friend  Conolly  at  Bokhara.  Writes  to  his  Family, 
offering  to  proceed  thither  in  1842.  Leaves  High  Hoyland.  Re- 
ceives from  his  Congregation  a  Testimonial  of  Respect.  Puts  a 
Letter  in  the  Morning  Herald,  July,  1843,  stating  his  willingness  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  Com- 
mittee. Public  Meetmg  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  exposed  situation  of  the  locality,  Lady 
Georgiana  as  well  as  myself  were  constantly  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  gentleman,  the  Rev. 
Christoi)her  Bird,  in  1840;  and  these  were  assuredly 
the  happiest  of  my  days.  I  visited  my  poor  people, 
and  there  existed  a  mutual  attachment  between  us. 
But  our  expenses  far  exceeded  our  income;  we  "be- 
came involved  in  debt  from  the  necessity  of  the  case; 
and  therefore  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Ripon,  my  worthy 
diocesan,  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of  London  to  procure 
me  a  foreign  chaplaincy.     His  Lordship  of  London 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  71 

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  Bokhara  to 
save  Stoddart  and  ConoUy.  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  moment  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  STOD- 
DART 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  up  my  pen  in  order  to  excite  your 
sympathy  in  behalf  of  a  clergyman  or  missionary,  but  in 
bebalf  of  two  of  your  fellow-officers.  Captain  ConoUy  and 
Colonel  Stoddart,  who  are  at  present  captives  in  the  great 
city  of  Bokhara;  but  having  been  myself  two  months  at 
Bokhara,  and  knowing,  as  I  do,  the  character  of  the  inha- 
bitants 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  Bokhara,  or  merely  pay  the  expenses  of  my 
journey  there,  I  am  ready  to  go  there ;  and  I  am  fuUy  confi- 


72  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

dent  that  I  shall  be  able,  with  God's  help,  to  liberate  them 
from  captivity,  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  respon- 
sible 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  compensation;  even  in  case  of  complete 
success. 

I  shall  be  ten  days  more  at  Richmond,  Surrey ;  if,  there- 
fore, one  of  you  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  Mis- 
sionary in  Persia,  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  deter- 
mined, 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  converse  with  him  before  he  saw 
Lady  Georgiana.  I  soon  perceived  a  stranger  look- 
ing anxiously  about  him,  and  on  addressing  him  at  a 
guess,  found  that  he  was  Captain  Grover  himself. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  73 

We  shook  hands  most  heartily,  and  he  immediately 
told  me  that  he  had  offered  to  proceed  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  vid  Orenbourg, 
as  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  intention  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. 
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  direct  mission  from  the  govern- 
ment to  Bokhara.     Captain  ConoUy  on  a  mission  to 
Khokand  and  Khiva,  from  the  Indian  government, 
and  further  he  was  instructed  to  aid   and  assist 
Colonel  Stoddart  in  Bokhara,  and  had  strict  injunc- 
tions that  Colonel   Stoddart,  in  his  political  capa- 
city there,  was  empowered  to  claim  his  services  at 


74  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  pamphlet,  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  ap- 
peared an  account  of  the  death  of  both  these  officers 
in  the  paper,  on  the  authority  of  one  Saleh  Muham- 
med,  who  simply  stated  what  he  had  heard,  but  not 
what  he  had  seen.  This  statement  had  further  the 
official  guarantee  of  the  signature  of  the  Charge 
d'Affaires  at  Teheraun,  Colonel  Shell.  This  semi- 
official statement  produced  no  effect,  and  on  Captain 
Grover  communicating  with  me,  with  a  view  to  ascer- 
tain what  I  thought  of  that  statement,  I  wrote  to  him 
the  following  letter;  which  I  here  insert  as  illustra- 
tive of  the  feelings  and  motives  which  influenced 
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  confess  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  oiF  by  one  of  the  executioners  alone,  but  by  the 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  75 

loud  expressions  of  indignation  of  thousands  of  the  inha- 
bitants; but  it  seems  from  the  report  of  Saleh  Muhammed, 
that  only  one  of  the  executioners  made  him  acquainted  with 
the  history.  I  say  there  would  have  been  loud  expressions 
of  indignation,  for  having  been  myself  two  months  at  Bo- 
khara, 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  Almoomeneen  (this  is 
the  title  of  the  prince)  suspects  a  person  strongly,  he  either 
gets  him  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 
in  1825  by  Sir  Henry  "Willock  and  Sir  John  McNeile.  He 
(Khosrow  Khan)  sent  immediately  for  a  Persian  merchant 
who  was  very  well  acquainted  with  the  state  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,"j".  e..  Why? 

Merchant.  "As  soon  as  you  arrive  in  Khorassaun,  the 
Turkomauns,  who  are  cursed  Sunnees,  and  therefore  invade 
Khorassaun  (the  inhabitants  of  which  are  good  Sheahs),  in 
order  to  make  slaves  of  the  Khorassance,  will  certainly  make 
a  slave  of  you;  and  if  you  should  succeed  to  come  as  far  as 
Sarakhs  or  Merve,  the  Turkomauns  would  put  you  to  death 
the  first  moment  you  should  arrive  there ;  and  even  if  you 


76  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  1\IISSI0N 

were  to    arrive  at   Karakol,    there   the  governor,    another 

Harram  Zadah  (son  of  a )  of  a  Sunnee,  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 
thousands  of  rupees  to  Ameer  Bchadur,  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 
Sunnees,^^  i.  e.,  the  Turkomauns,  but  by  the  banditti  of  Mu- 
hammad 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  sub- 
ject 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  Ncyaas,  came 
and  asked  from  me  the  fatkhay  blessing !    I  fixed  on  their 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  77 

tents  public  proclamations,  announcing  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  re- 
mained among  them  twenty-two  days,  and  so  far  from  their 
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 
single  Turkomaun  from  Sarakhs  to  Mowr,  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,  not- 
withstanding 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  astonishment,  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  Kinoj  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 


78  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

rascally  Sheahs  have  given  to  the  city  of  Bokhara,  which  is 
Kawat  Islaame  Deen  (Energy  of  Islam),  the  name  of  Mur- 
derer 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  state- 
ment 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.  Bumes. 

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  Sunnees,  but  by 
Sheahs,  who  are  by  far  worse  than  Sunnees,  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  Chekar- 
poore  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  Bok- 
hara. I  also  forgot  to  add,  that  whilst  I  was  weU  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  pro- 
ceed if  all  can  be  arranged  by  the  1st  of  October.    I  get 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  70 

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  oi  philan-^ 

thropy. 

Such  being  my  motives,  I  remain. 
Yours  truly, 

Joseph  Wolff. 

I  trust  my  readers  will  not  deem  me  too  sanguine 
in  considering  tlie  account  of  Saleh  Muliammed, 
alluded  to  in  this  letter,  as  false,  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  before  us  as  to  the 
death  of  these  English  travellers,  which  also  turned 
out  to  be  totally  unfounded.  I  received  shortly  after 
this,  fresh  communications  of  the  further  progress  of 
the  Mission  on  behalf  of  Colonel  Stoddart  and  Cap- 
tain Conolly,  and  replied  in  the  following  terms : 

My  dear  Captain  Grover,  Bruges  en  Belgique,  Sept.  4, 1843. 

I  am  glad  to  learn  that  the  project  with  regard  to 
Colonel  Stoddart  and  Captain  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  Aclwa  in 
Tigree,  I  found  Mr.  Gobat  the  missionary  very  ill,  and 
unable  to  return  to  Europe  with  his  wife  and  child;  I  there- 
fore renounced  my  plan  of  going  to  Timboktoo,  and  brought 
Mr.  Gobat  and  his  family  safely  to  Jiddah.     I  fell  ill  after 


80  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

this  myself,  wliicli  obliged  me  to 'change  my  plans  altogether. 
The  committee  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  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  Aber- 
deen, to  the  following  purport, — Revd.  Joseph  WoliF,  English 
Clergyman,  travelling  in  Central  Asia, — shall  have  been 
given,  accompanied  with  two  letters,  according  to  Lord  Aber- 
deen's own  promise,  simply  recommending  me  to  the  good 
offices  of  Sir  S.  Canning  and  Colonel  Shell,  without  involving 
Lord  Aberdeen  or  the  Ambassadors  in  any  responsibility,  I 
shall  proceed  instantly  from  Bruges  with  Lady  Gcorgiana  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  governor  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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  81 

I  hope  my  readers  will  perceive  my  object  in  lay- 
ing before  them  a  large  mass  of  the  correspondence 
antecedent  to  my  departure,  since  I  trust  it  will  pro- 
duce this  important  result,  viz.,  the  clear  indication 
that  my  course  and  plan  were  well  and  dispassion- 
ately weighed,  and  that  no  unseemly  haste  was  exhi- 
bited in  my  own  conduct,  or  apparent  in  the  pro- 
ceedings 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  public  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  time,  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  wiU  be  struck  with  amazement 
and  consternation,  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  Jerusalem,  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 
Vol.  I.  G 


82  NAERATIVE  OF  THE   MISSION 

the  second  time  may  thus  lead  to  other  results.  Let  us  show 
to  Muhammedans  that  Christians  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  re- 
perusal  after  this  distance  of  time,  still  further  con- 
vinced that  the  principle  I  then  laid  down,  that  my 
Mission  would  produce  a  good  result  to  England, 
happen  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  Eng- 
lishman, 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  progress  of  this  narrative, 
that  though  with  no  other  power  than  that  of  a 
simple  derveesh,  the  Ameer  of  Bokhara  proffered  to 
send  an  ambassador  with  me  to  give  an  account  of 
his  conduct  to  our  government,  though  fully  assured 
by  me  that  my  mission  was  not  political.      This 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  83 

ambassador  also  was  to  proceed  first  to  the  Sultan, 
to  obtain  his  intercession  with  England,  and  I  need 
not  appeal  for  further  evidence  than  that,  as  to  the 
utility  of  the  noble  mission  of  the  Stoddart  and 
ConoUy  Committee. 

My  letter  of  the  6th  was  well  received,  when 
read  to  them,  by  the  Stoddart  and  ConoUy  Com- 
mittee, which  was  formed  September  7th,  1843 ;  and 
that  body  of  gentlemen  manifested  a  most  enthu- 
siastic interest  in  my  Mission.  Captain  Grover  was 
installed  as  its  President,  a  most  necessary  measure, 
as  it  enabled  him  to  put  himself  in  communication 
with  Government,  and  to  demand  all  necessary  aid. 
It  further  emboldened  me  in  my  design,  as  I  had 
then  to  deal  with  a  recognised  organ  of  communica- 
tion. Captain  Grover  had  informed  the  Committee 
that  I  was  prepared  to  start  when  500/.  was  raised 
for  that  object,  but  that  he  trusted  2000/.  would  be 
realized  speedily.  To  this  communication  I  replied, 
giving  my  plan  of  proceeding ;  and,  in  return,  re- 
ceived 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  cele- 
brated traveller,  Mr.  J.  Silk  Buckingham,  as  members 

G  2 


84  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

of  the  Committee ;  as  also  the  munificent  contributions 
of  Lords  Beauvale  and  Melbourne  to  the  fund. 

About  this  period  Lieutenant  Eyre,  so  well  known 
for  his  distinguished  conduct  at  Cabul,  did  me  the 
honour  to  send  me  the  following  spirited  and  high- 
minded  communication: 

Eevd.  and  dear  Sir,  Meenit,  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  enterprising  but 
unfortunate  officers.  Colonel  Stoddart  and  Captain  Arthur 
ConoUy;  both  of  whom  I  had  once  the  pleasure  to  know  per- 
sonally, and  with  the  latter  of  whom  I  was  on  most  friendly 
and  intimate  terms.  Had  it  been  my  good  fortune  to  be  pre- 
sent 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  cha- 
racter 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  him- 
self. My  own  name  may  be  not  quite  unknown  to  you,  as 
one  of  those  British  officers  who  fell  into  the  hands  of  Akbar 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  85 

Khan,  on  the  retreat  from  Cabul,  in  January,  1842,  and  who, 
after  a  captivity  of  more  than  eight  months,  experienced  so 
wonderful  and  so  unlooked  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  reso- 
lution for  joining  in  this  effort  on  behalf  of  my  less  fortunate 
countrymen,  who  are  still,  perhaps,  languishing  in  a  miserable 
imprisonment  at  Bokhara.  To  be,  in  the  most  remote  degree, 
instrumental  in  their  deliverance,  I  should  esteem  the  great- 
est 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  conse- 
quence. They  would  therefore  be  likely  to  afford  every  faci- 
lity 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  pro- 
pose, seems  the  most  free  from  risk,  and  easiest  of  accomplish- 
ment to  one  starting  direct  from  England. 

I  will  now  tell  you  all  I  have  been  able  to  learn  about  our 
two  captive  countrymen. 

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  Bo- 
khara.    For  four  months  they  had  had  no  change  of  raiment ; 


86  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  diffi- 
culty, 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  termi- 
nate 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  Shell,  from  a  Persian  who  professed  to  have  actually 
seen  the  graves  in  which  Stoddart  and  ConoUy  had  been 
buried.  This  story  has,  however,  been  contradicted  by  two 
highly  respectable  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  re- 
ceived 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  application  from  the  Cabul  Relief  Committee, 
who  regret  that  they  are  debarred  by  the  rules  of  the  fund  to 
place  any  money  at  your  disposal,  but  expressing  their  readi- 
ness to  assist  your  undertaking  to  the  utmost  of  their  power. 
I  greatly  lament  that  nothing  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  87 

army  there  to  assemble.  Should  my  public  duty  in  this 
country  interfere  with  the  private  wish  I  have  here  ex- 
pressed, you  will  still  believe  I  take  the  greatest  interest  in 
your  proceedings,  and  shall  rejoice  with  all  my  heart  to  hear 
of  your  success.  God  be  with  you,  my  dear  sir,  and  be- 
lieve me.  Yours  very  faithfully, 

Vincent  Eyre,  Lt.  Horse  Artillery, 

The  numerous  useful  suggestions  contained  in 
this  letter,  it  is  almost  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  ear- 
nest 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  pos- 
sessed the  magic  carpet  of  Prince  Houssein,  I  should 
have  immediately  used  it  to  transport  myself  to 
Bokhara  to  inquire  into  their  sad  destiny,  if  possible 
to  redress  their  fearful  wrongs.  No  reply  could  of 
course  be  given  to  this  letter,  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  sympathy  entertained  for  the  British 
Envoys.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Napier,  on  hearing  of 
my  offer,  immediately  volunteered  to  accompany  me 
in  the  following  letter : 


88  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Sir,  Merchiston  Hall,  Homdean,  Hants,  August  17. 

I  see  by  the  public  papers  that  you  are  anxious  to 
proceed  to  Bokhara,  to  enquire  into  the  case  of  Colonel 
Stoddart,  and  would  wish  to  be  accompanied  by  a  military 
man:  I  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  pleasure  (under  certain 
provisos)  to  have  the  advantage  of  the  company  of  so  experi- 
enced a  traveller  as  yourself.  Believe  me,  reverend  sir,  to 
remain,  Yours  truly, 

E.  Napiee,  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  Grover,  Bruges,  Sept.  18, 1843. 

I  beg  you  to  tell  the  members  of  the  Committee  that  I 
am  highly  flattered  with  the  confidence  they  place  in  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  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 
Canning  and  Colonel  Sheil,  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  Muhammed  Saleh, 
which  has  since,  according  to  the  newspapers,  been  contra- 
dicted by  pilgrims  from  Bokhara,  who  passed  Constantinople. 
It  is  very  extraordinary  that  neither  Sheil,  nor  any  one 
from  Teheraun  mentions  that  the  report  had  been  confirmed 


OF  DR.   WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  89 

by  caravans  from  Bokhara,  nor  by  the  Jews  of  Meshed ;  and 
the  whole  evidence  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  account  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  2)ounds  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  Muhammedans,  Avill  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:  ^^  Hoio  these  Christians  love  each  other r 
And,  further,  this  Mission  will  make  the  people  of  Bokhara 
apprehensive  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  espe- 
cially that  of  Shahr  Sabz)  enemies  of  the  King  of  Bokhara,  I 
may  ascertain  how  far  these  Khans  will  be  prepared  to  take 
up  the  case,  and  unite  with  England  in  punishing  the  Khan 
of  Bokhara,  if  he  should  have  done  such  a  thing.  Many 
other  beneficial  results  may  accrue  from  tliis  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  clex'gy man's  gown  and  cassock, 
my  hood,  and  a  shovel  hat. 

2.  One  dozen  or  two  of  Hebrew  Bibles  and  Testaments, 


90  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

and  of  the  Common  Prayer  Book  in  Hebrew,  fur  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. 

3.  Two  or  three  dozens  of  maps  in  the  Arabic  characters, 
published  by  the  Church  Missionary  Society. 

6.  Three  dozens  of  Robinson  Crusoe^  translated  into 
Arabic  by  Mr.  Schlienz,  at  Malta.  I  distributed  a  great 
many  coj)ies  of  this  book,  when  at  Sanaa  and  Loheya,  in 
Arabia,  and  I  assure  you  that  it  excited  a  great  sensa- 
tion. Robinson  Crusoe's  adventures  and  wisdom*  were  read 
by  Muhammedans  in  the  market-places  of  Sanaa,  Hodeyda, 
and  Loheya,  and  admired  and  believed !  All  these  circum- 
stances 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  liim,  he  shall  be 
most  happy  to  receive  me.  I  think  that  it  will  be  well  to 
make  liim  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 
intend  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. 


*  On  reading  the  book  which  I  gave  them  the  Arabs  exclaimed, 
«  Oh,  that  Robinson  Crusoe  must  have  been  a  great  Prophet !" 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  01 

P.  S.  You  should  send  your  pamphlet,  and  all  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Committee,  to  the  Turkish,  iRussian,  and 
Persian  ambassadors  at  London,  and  also  to  Arteen  Bey, 
Muhammed  All's  envoy,  by  which  means  the  news  will 
spread  to  Bokhara  before  I  arrive  there,  and  may  effect  the 
liberation  of  Stoddart  and  Conolly  before  I  get  there.  Com- 
municate 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  experienced ;  but  I  shall 
not  further  honour  that  individual,  save  by  the  sim- 
ple 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  expected  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 
expressions  of  no  doubtful  character. 

But  I  will  not  anticipate  matters.  The  particu- 
lars detailed  in  this  letter  show,  I  trust,  that  I 
was  not  a  man  prepared  madly  and  recklessly  to  risk 
my  life,  but  prove,  I  conceive,  that  my  plan  for  the 
mission  w^as  both  comprehensive  and  as  secure  as 
circumstances  would  permit  it  to  be.  After  a  fur- 
ther communication  with  Captain  Grover  on  the 
convening  of  a  public   meeting, — in   which   I  was 


92  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

desirous  of  laying  before  the  public  my  former  expe- 
rience in  the  habits  of  these  countries,  and  of  detail- 
ing 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  embark- 
ation by  the  October  packet  of  the  15th  from  South- 
ampton to  Malta,  and  that  I  purposed  quitting 
Bruges  on  the  1st  of  October  for  that  object.  Be- 
fore, however,  I  did  so,  I  addressed  to  Captain 
Grover  the  following  letter : 

Bruges,  Hotel  du  Commerce, 
To  Captain  Grover.  Sept.  28, 1843. 

You  will  have  received  my  letter  of  the  25tli,  as  an 
answer  of  yours  received  via  Antwerp,  by  which  you  will 
perceive  that  my  proposed  plan  exactly  agrees  with  the  wish 
of  the  Committee,  stated  in  your  letter  of  the  25  th.  I  shall 
come  over  to  England,  via  Ostend,  on  Monday,  in  the  after- 
noon; 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  Admi-'^ 
ralty  would  grant  to  me  a  free  passage  in  her?  However,  this 
is  only  a  query.  With  regard  to  the  watches  I  mentioned, 
you  must  contrive  that  they  are  bought  clear  from  the  five 
hundred  pounds,  which  must  go  enthely  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  libe- 
ration of  fellow  creatures,  of  two  gallant  officers  of  my 
adopted  country. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  93 

2nd.  To  liberate  a  friend,  an  intimate  friend  of  mine,  in  tlie 
person  of  ConoUy. 

3rd.  To  be  useful  to  England. 

4tli.  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  journey  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  disappoint- 
ment, for  it  would  be  distressing  if  I  were  to  come  to  England, 
and  then  the  plan  be  given  up.  There  is  only  one  dis- 
appointment which  I  should  be  glad  to  learn;  and  that  is, 
that  accounts  were  to  reach  you  that  Stoddart  and  ConoUy 
have  arrived  at  Teheraun.  This  would  be  indeed  an  agreeable 
disappointment  for  me. 

I  beg  you  to  express  to  the  Committee  my  sense  of  heart- 
felt 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  arrival  in  London  I  had  an  inter- 
view with  the  Committee,  when  Captain  Grover, 
according  to  his  promise,  gave  me  a  check  on  his 


94  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

bankers  for  five  hundred  pounds.  I  explained  to  the 
Committee  my  reasons  for  disbeUeving  the  statement 
of  Saleh  Muhammed,  to  which  the  government  gave 
credit,  and  detailed  at  full  the  plan  I  purposed  fol- 
lowing during  my  journey  and  residence  at  Bokhara. 
I  promised  to  go  directly  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  ConoUy  had  been  put  to  death,  or  that 
I  should  have  conveyed  them  safe  to  Teheraun,  that 
my  engagement  with  the  Committee  should  cease, 
and  that  I  should  be  at  liberty  to  proceed  wherever 
I  might  please.  The  Committee  were  most  anxious 
for  my  personal  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  manner 
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, 
insure  me  the  kindness  of  all.  My  knowledge  of 
Hebrew  would  enable  me  to  communicate  secretly 
with   the   Jews,   and  of  Persian  and  Arabic  with 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  95 

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  rela- 
tives of  the  Stoddart  or  Conolly  family,  or  others, 
might  then  have  an  opportunity  of  showing  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  occupied  on 
one  common  purpose  of  philanthropy — to  which  he 
eloquently  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  indi- 


96  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

cated  also  my  reception  by  the  Goosh-BeJcee,  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  Bokhara  and  Samarcand  to  be  one  of 
their  positions,  if  extant,  in  common  with  a  cele- 
brated Rabbi  at  Jerusalem,  and  that  I  was  supported 
in  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  - 1  entered  the  gates  of  Bokhara,  the 
Kawate  Islaam-ud-Deen,  the  strength  of  Islamism, 
the  city  of  Afrasiab,  the  supposed  Habor  of  Scrip- 
ture, the  rival  and  supplantress  of  Samarcand,  the 
place  of  residency  of  Behadur  Khan,  the  treasures 
of  which  are  so  celebrated  that  they  are  men- 
tioned 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  mullahs  were 
quite  indignant  at  the  reported  death  of  Moorcroft 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  97 

and  Trebeckj — my  utter  disbelief  of  Saleh  Miiham- 
med's  statement,  and  my  full  confidence  that  I  should 
return  in  peace. 

The  chairman.  Sir  Jeremiah  Bryant,  particular- 
ized 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  Jour- 
nal 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  coun- 
tries, and  strong  personal  attachment  to  Captain 
Conolly.  The  thanks  of  the  meeting  were  unani- 
mously 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 
officers  having  volunteered  to  undertake  the  mission 
— many  to  accompany  Dr.  Wolff,  among  whom  he 
Vol.  L  H 


98  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

could  name  Colonel  E.  Napier,  provided  they  wiere 
permitted  to  go  as  British  officers. 

I  expedited  mattei-is  with  all  possible  dispatch, 
and  arrived  at  Southampton  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  circumstances  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  circumstances  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  injunc- 
tions in  Leviticus  against  the  Canaanitish  nations, 
they  are  certainly  enacted  in  that  atrocious  city. 

We  set  sail  in  the  Iberia  for  Gibraltar  on  Oc- 
tober 14th,  1843. 

My  fellow-passengers  were  twenty-three  in  num- 
ber, 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF    TO  BOKHARA.  99 

indicate  themselves,  and  her  ladyship  took  to  her 
berth.  Doctor  Gilchrist,  the  superintendent  of  the 
medical  board  at  Gibraltar,  also  an  old  acquaint- 
ance, was  on  board.  The  chief  engineer  of  the 
Sultan,  Mr.  Haigh,  and  his  lady ;  they  were  both 
of  the  Wesleyan  persuasion,  and  were  from  Pen- 
zance, in  Cornwall,  and  emphatically  assured  me 
that  I  should  meet  some  other  good  people  on  board. 
I  must  not  omit,  also,  to  mention,  among  my  other 
companions,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richardson.  This  gentle- 
man, a  most  good-natured  personage,  was  proceeding 
to  Constantinople  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 

H2 


100  NAURATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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-passen- 
gers were  too  ill  to  admit  of  my  performing  divine 
service,  and  matters  were  not  mended  when  we 
slipped  into  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  On  Monday  the 
1 7th,  I  gave  a  lecture  to  the  ship's  company,  and  at 
6  P.M.  we  passed  Cape  Finisterre.  On  Tuesday 
the  I7th,  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  immediately  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 
venerable  archdeacon  expressed  a  deep  interest  in 
my  present  enterprise,  and  immediately  introduced 
me  to  his  Excellency  the  Governor,  Sir  Robert  Wil- 
son. The  chivalrous  conduct  of  Sir  Robert  Wilson 
in  delivering  Lavalette  from  imprisonment  and  death, 
and  the  interest  I  always  felt  in  Madame  Lavalette, 
that  sweet  affectionate  woman,  rendered  my  interview 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  101 

with  him  most  pleasing'.  I  could  have  wished  that 
circumstances  had  permitted  Sir  Robert  to  have  ac- 
companied me  to  Bokhara.  Were  the  whole  lives  of 
some  men  recounted,  how  far  more  w^onderful  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  Wilbra- 
ham,  tlie  secretary,  who  had  been  in  Persia,  and 
knew  Colonel  Stoddart.  Major  Wilbraham  was 
inclined  to  believe  the  report  of  Saleh  Muhammed: 
however,  he  admitted  that  it  w^ould  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.  Tomlinson  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  Gibraltar.  An  English  bishop 
in  the  Levant  ought  to  be  acquainted  thorouglily 
with  the  literature  of  his  own  country,  and  be  master 
of  the  French  and  Italian,  and  also  know  some- 
thing at  least  of  the  Arabic  literature;  now  Dr. 
Tomlinson  is  master  of  all  these  languages,  with 


102  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  conversation 
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  measures 
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  advis- 
able to  send  Dr.  Tomlinson  to  Chaldea,  in  order  to 
investigate  the  present  state  of  the  Nestorians,  and 
to  afford  them  relief;  or,  should  Dr.  Tomlinson  not 
have  time,  it  would  be  well  to  send  there  the 
Rev.  George  Williams,  Fellow  of  King's  College, 
Cambridge,  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  know- 
ing 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, 
Uie  State  of  the  Eastern  Churches. 

We  left  Gibraltar  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day 
as  our  arrival;  the  excellent  Archdeacon  Burrow 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  103 

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 
DubHn,  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  conti- 
nued 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;  Wednesday,  the  25th,  we  sailed 
with  contrary  wind,  and  passed,  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, the  island  of  Zemra.  We  had  before  us  the 
island  called  Pantaleria,  thickly  inhabited  —  the 
Botany  Bay  of  Naples.  I  had  a  conversation  with 
several  travellers  on  the  necessity  of  faith  and  ohedi- 
ence,  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  merchant  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 


104  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  numbers  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.  Kil- 
burn?"  "Seventy-six."  I  replied,  "You  may  live 
twenty  years  more !     Goodbye." 

I  then  hastened  to  the  governor.  The  first  person 
I  met  was  the  old  servant  of  Sir  Frederic  Ponsonby ; 
he  delivered  my  card  to  Captain  Tidy,  aid-de-camp  to 
the  governor.  Captain  Tidy  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  Doctor 
Wolflf,  your  arrival  was  expected ;  I  was  at  the  taking 
of— (I  forget  the  name  of  the  place) — together  with 
Captain  ConoUy."  General  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  Excel- 
lency promised  me   every  assistance  in  his  power. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  105 

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  lady- 
ship, 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  Edward  Owen,  a  venerable  old  gentle- 
man. His  aid-de-camp.  Commander  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  be- 
fore 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  Stir- 
ling, 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  Gib- 
raltar. His  lordship  received  me  with  great  kind- 
ness, and  his   sister   told  me   that  she   knew  Lady 


1Q6  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Georgiana  and  Lady  Maria  West,  and  inquired  very 
kindly  after  both.  His  lordship  then  entered  most 
frankly  with  me  into  the  state  of  missions.  His  lord- 
ship gave  me  letters  for  the  English  clergy  at 
Athens;  for  Doctors  Bennett  and  Sonthgate,  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.  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  acquaintance  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  pf 
the  way,  I  remain,  dear  sir. 

Your  faithful  servant  in  Christ, 

G.  GiBRALTAK. 

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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  107 

I  was  shown,  as  usually  in  former  times,  to  his  draw- 
ing room;  his  table  was  covered  with  books,  and 
memorials  from  poor  Maltese.  After  a  while  my 
dear  old  friend  entered  the  room  w^eeping  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  exceedingly  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  Gover- 
nor, the  Admiral  and  Miss  Hamilton.  Before  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  T  said,  "  I  saw  your  sister, 


108  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Lady  George  Seymour,  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  having  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  every  thing  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  109 

Lady  Emily  Ponsonby.  I  then  left  him,  and  on 
leaving-  Ms  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  Archdeacon  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  daugh- 
ters ;  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  T  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 
WiUiam  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  experi- 
enced 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, 


110  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  thig 
gentleman — who  received  me  with  the  greatest  cor- 
diality— and  his  daughters,  I  proceeded  to  the  Acro- 
polis ;  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-traveller,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Benja- 
min, American  missionaries,  and  Constantinos,  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  Revolution,  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'clock.     I  did 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  Ill 

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  oppor- 
tunity,  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  hitro- 
duce  under  two  days'  notice,  which  my  stay  did  not 
permit  me  to  give.     Father  Arnott,  on  my  introduc- 
tion to  him,  told  me  that  he  had  seen  lettei's  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  con- 
versed a  great  deal  together,    and  laughed  much 
about  several  subjects.     They  gave  notice,  first  of 
all,  to  Count  Mavromichale,  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  ? 


112  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Arme- 
nian 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  conse- 
crating 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  Lam- 
pronazi.  At  present  they  have  very  clever  men  at 
St.  Lazarus  in  Venice,  as  an  instance  I  may  men- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  113 

tion   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 
ConoUy  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  children  I  had.  I  satisfied  His  Majesty  also  on 
this  subject.     The  conversation  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  exertions. 

Q.  Have  you  found  the  Jews  very  much  opposed  ? 

W.  Sometimes;  but  they  generally  treated  me 
with  great  politeness. 

Vol.  I.  I 


114  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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,  that  I,  after  all,  betray  my  de- 
scent 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  Chal- 
deans have  joined  the  church  of  Rome. 

Q.  What  religion  have  the  Armenians  ? 

W.  They  are  Monophysites*,  but  are  a  most 
interesting  and  inquiring  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  "  chil- 


*  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  distinction  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  BOKHAEA.  115 

dren  of  Israel."  They  have  their  patriarch,  Mar 
Shemaan  by  name,  who  pretends  to  be  a  lineal  de- 
scendant 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  Catholic  or  Protest- 
ant 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. 

I  2 


116  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Q.  This  is  well  meant,  but  I  doubt  whether  the 
Russian  synod  would  agree  to  it. 

W.  I  think  that  they  would,  for  this  was  the  con- 
tention 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  Christianity.  I  also 
was  the  first  who  made  the  Jews,  resident  in  Persia, 
Khorassaun,  the  whole  country  of  Bokhara,  AfTghan- 
istaun,  the  deserts  of  Turkistaim,  Khokand,  and  Chi- 
nese Tartary,  acquainted  with  the  New  Testament, 
and  thus  the  Mussulmans  and  Jews  at  Constantinople 
w^ere  converted  through  my  instrumentality;  and  I 
baptized  Jews  in  Egypt,  Jafifa,  Sanaa,  Yemen,  and 
Bokhara.  I  was  the  first  who  brought  the  subject 
of   the    Jews  before    the    universities    of  Oxford, 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  117 

Leyden,  and  Utrecht,  and  before  tlie  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  conversa- 
tion lasted  one  hour.  Madam  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  Neophytos, 
for  the  synod  is  composed  of  five  bishops.  I  am  sorry 
to  learn  that  the  Greek  church  in  Greece  is  no  longer 
under  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople.  After  my 
visits  were  over,  I  dined  at  Mr.  Leeves',  and  then  said 
Good  bye,  and  Mr.  Leeves  and  Mr.  King  went  with 
me  to  accompany  me  on  board  the  Iberiay  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  Lieutenant  Leicester, 
of  the  Indus,  also  went  on  shore  to  report  my  missing 
the  Iberia  to  Sir  James.  Sir  James  Stirling  immedi- 
ately returned  to  the  Indus,  and  ordered  Captain 
Ommaney,  of  the  steamer  Vesuvius,  to  prepare  imme- 
diately 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, 


J  18  NAKRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

where  I  was  hailed  with  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 
November.  We  only  stopped  two  hours,  during 
which  time  I  saw  Temple,  the  American  missionary, 
and  Mr.  Calhoun^  the  agent  of  the  American  Bible 
Society ;  Lewis  and  Meredith  were  in  the  country. 
On  the  2nd  of  November  I  arrived  in  the  Darda- 
nelles. 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  be- 
yond Bokhara."  I  freely  confess  I  should  find  some 
little  difficulty  in  taking  either. 


OF  DE.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  119 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Constantinople.  Interview  "with  Sir  Sratford  Canning.  Doubtful  reports 
at  Constantinople  about  Stoddart  and  ConoUj.  Interview  with  the 
Charge  d' Affaires  of  Naples  relative  to  Signer  Naselli,  who  had 
visited  Bokhara.  Nature  of  Evidence  as  to  the  Existence  of  Stod- 
dart and  ConoUy  procured  at  Constantinople.  Official  Papers  from 
the  Sultan,  the  Sheikh  Islam,  and  others.  Visits  to  Count  Stiirmer. 
Attempts  made  by  cei-tain  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  enter- 
tained by  all  Parties  of  Captain  Grover.  Embarkation  for  Trebi- 
zond. 

On  the  3rd  of  November  I  arrived  in  the  harbour 
of  Constantinople.  I  immediately  reported  my  ar- 
rival to  the  Rev.  Horatio  Southgate,  the  American 
episcopal  missionary,  for  whom  I  had  a  letter  from 
the  Bishop  of  Gibraltar.  I  was  received  very  cor- 
dially 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 
Stratford  Canning,  who  lives  now  at  Buynkdere 
(Great  Valley),  a  large  village  on  the  Bosphorns, 
twelve  miles  from  Constantinople,  and  announced  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 : 


120  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  tliem 
before  your  arrival,  and  I  think  you  had  better  see  Mr.  Fre- 
derick 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, 

Yery  sincerely  yours, 

Stratford  Canning. 

His  Excellency  also  gave  permission  to  Mr.  South- 
gate  to  allow  me  to  preach  in  the  chapel,  on  Sunday 
the  12th  of  November.  On  the  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  Stir- 
ling, 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  121 

night  has  called  forth  many  expressions  of  kindness  and  sym- 
pathy 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  immedi- 
ately 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  Lieutenant  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 
abundantly  your  errand,  and  restore  you  in  safety  to  your 
wife  and  son,  to  your  adopted  country  and  church. 

Yours  affectionately, 

H.  D.  Leeves. 

Nothing  could  be  more  kind  and  prompt  than  Sir  Ed- 
mund was  in  putting  the  Vesuvius  at  your  disposal. 

November  the  Ath,  Mr.  Schauffler,  the  missionary 


122  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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.  Southgate  to  church,  and  was  clerk  to 
Mr.  Southgate.     At  three  o'clock  I  hired  an  araha 
(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  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  Constanti- 
nople, who  related  that  there  were  two  Enghshmen 
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  judg- 
ment on  the  subject,  has  advised  me  not  to  call  on  the 
Bokharians  vmtil  he  has  made  more  inquiries  about 
them.    After  dinner.  Sir  Stratford  Canning  asked  me 
to  expound  and  read  prayers.     I  left  His  Excellency 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  123 

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  letter  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  excellent  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  Charg^  d* Affaires,  had  called  on  me,  and 
wished  to  inform  me  that  the   Neapolitan   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 


X24  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Oil  Sunday  last,  the  5th  of  November,  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  told  me  that  the  despatches  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 
Sultan  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  Can- 
ning and  Lord  Napier,  I  had  a  confidential  conver- 
sation with  the  Ambassador  on  the  subject  of  ConoUy 
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  following,  and  to 
expound  again;  he  also  promised  to  give  me  des- 
patches 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  sin- 
cere 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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  125 

The  evidence  that  I  encountered  at  Constanti- 
nople with  respect  to  Colonel  Stoddart  and  Captain 
Conolly  was  of  the  most  conflicting  description.  I 
subjoin  the  following  details,  which  then  reached  me  : 

I.  Monsieur  Danielewsky,  late  consul  of  His  Im- 
j)erial  Majesty  at  Khiva,  and  now  occupying  the 
same  position  at  Belgrade,  assured  Sir  Stratford 
Canning  that  he  had  seen  several  persons  from  Bok- 
hara when  at  Khiva,  some  of  whom  declared  they 
had  witnessed  the  execution  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  communicated  to  me  : 

Sir,  Treblsond,  August  16, 1843. 

Dr.  Casolani,  of  the  quarantine  department,  has  in- 
formed me  that  several  natives  of  Bokhara  have  recently  ar- 
rived at  the  lazaretto  from  the  interior,  with  one  of  whom  Dr. 
Casolani  entered  into  conversation  respecting  Colonel  Stod- 
dart and  Captain  Conolly.  The  Bokharalee  stated  that  he 
quitted  his  native  place  ahout  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. 


126  NARRATIVE  OF  THE   MISSION 

(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  Mahomedanism,  and 
his  life  was  spared.  The  latter,  according  to  the  Bokha- 
ralee's  statement,  now  exists,  and  is  employed  as  a  servant  in 
one  of  the  mosques  at  Bokhara.  The  name  of  the  Bokha- 
ralee who  gave  Dr.  Casolani  the  information  is  Abdul  Rahim — 
Jam  Muhammed:  he  proceeds  to  Constantinople,  with  his  com- 
panions, by  one  of  the  steamers,  on  departure  to-morrow.  He 
possesses  a  Turkish  passport,  granted  him  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,   F.  Consul 

in.  Sir  Stratford  Canning;  sent  suddenly  for  me 
on  the  8th  of  this  month  (November),  and  told  me 
these  words :  "I  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  U Impartial  Journal  Politique  Commer- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  127 

cial  et  Literaire  Smyrne,  Vendredi,  3  Novembre, 
1843,  had  the  following  paragraph,  headed,  Indes 
Orientales,  Bombay,  2  Octolre:  "Le  bruit  a  cir- 
cule  ces  jours  ci,  et  11  parait  venir  de  bonne  source, 
que  le  Colonel  Stoddart  dont  on  a  annonce  la  mort, 
est  en  vie  h  Bokhara  ou  11  est  retenu  prisonnier." 

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  Bok- 
hara, ordering  him  to  set  at  liberty  the  English 
travellers  Colonel  Stoddart,  Captain  ConoUy,  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  satis- 
faction 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  Con- 
stantinople. 


128  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Stratford  Canning 
would  send  me  in  a  steamer, /ree  of  expense,  to  Tre- 
bizond  and  Erzroom. 

My  stay  at  Constantinople  excited  the  liveliest 
interest  in  all  directions.  I  preached  repeatedly  in 
the  ambassador's  chapel,  and  expounded  in  His  Ex- 
cellency's family.  Walker  Pasha  invited  me,  with 
great  kindness,  to  see  him.  The  Count  and  Countess 
Stiirmer,  the  Austrian  Internuntio,  also  invited  me  to 
dine  with  them  on  the  23rd  of  November.  Countess 
Stiirmer  said  to  me  on  that  occasion,  ''  How  happy 
you  will  be  if  you  meet  with  Captain  ConoUy  again ; 
you  deserve  it,  and  ConoUy  loved  you  very  much ; 
he  always  spoke  of  you  when  he  was  at  Constanti- 
nople." His  Excellency  Count  Stiirmer  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  ambassadors,  and 
also  General  Jochmus,  who  conversed  with  me  a 
good  deal  about  Charles  Churchill,  of  whom  Ge- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  129 

iieral  Joclimus  tells  me,  that  he  takes  such  an 
interest  in  the  Jewish  nation  that  he  would  wish 
to  become  a  second  Judas  Maccabaeus.  General 
Jochmus  is  a  native  of  Hamburgh,  and  com- 
manded 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  expe- 
dition against  Bokhara.  After  dinner  I  lectured  in 
German. 

I.  On  Christ's  personal  coming  and  reign  on 
earth. 

n.  The  first  resurrection. 

HI.  The  renovation  of  the  whole  earth. 

IV.  The  restoration  of  the  Jews  to  their  own 
land. 

V.  The  blessedness  of  the  believers  in  the  hea- 
venly 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  Stiirmer  then  observed,  that 
my  views  agreed  in  a  great  degree  with  those  of 
the  Rev.  George  Fisk,  prebendary  of  Lichfield, 
whose  acquaintance  they  had  made  at  Constan- 
tinople. 

It  might  appear  that  I  was  neglectful  of  the  high 
purposes  of  my  mission  amid  these  pleasant  atten- 
VoL.  I.  K 


130  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

tions,  but  the  following  letter  from  Sir  Stratford 
Canning's  head  interpreter  will  probably  acquit  me 
of  any  unnecessary  delay: 

Dear  Sir,  Pera,  Nov.  14tli,  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  His  Excel- 
lency 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  mem- 
bers of  the  diplomatic  body,  about  my  mission  into  Bokhara. 
His  Excellency  Count  de  Stiirmer,  Internuntio  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  pro- 
mised to  have  my  papers  from  the  Sultan,  and  the  Slieikh 
Islam,  on  the  16th,  and  on  the  17th  I  shall  set  sail  for  Tre- 
bizond,  and  then  I  shall  have  no  delay  till  Teheraun.  I  hoj^e 
to  arrive  at  Bokhara  at  the  end  of  January.  Pray  ask 
government  whether  I  shall  be  allowed  to  ransom  them 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  131 

(Stoddart  and  ConoUy),  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  follow- 
ing letter : 

(Translation.) 
Reverend  Sir^  Constantinople,  November  20, 1843. 

I  have,  alas,  not  succeeded  in  my  endeavours  of  pro- 
curing for  you  letters  of  recommendation  for  Khiva  and 
Bokhara.  Only  the  Sublime  Porte  is  in  correspondence  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.  Peters- 
burg. 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  StUrmer. 

K  2 


132  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Various  attempts  were  made  at  this  period  to 
deter  me  from  proceeding  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  Bokhara  will  convince  you  of  the  great 
influence  of  Sir  Stratford  Canning  at  the  Porte. 

The  Committee  will  also  be  glad  to  learn  that  Sir  Strat- 
ford Canning  ordered  Mr.  Stephen  Pisani,  his  dragoman,  to 
introduce  me  in  person  to  the  Grand  Vizier,  the  Reis  Effendi, 
and  the  Sheikh  Islam,  all  of  whom  have  treated  me  with  the 
greatest  distinction.  I  leave  to  day  for  Trebizond.  • 
In  great  hurry,  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  occuj)a- 
tions,  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  exception  of  sim- 
ply urging  that  monarch  to  recommend  me  to  the 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA,  133 

King  of  Bokhara,  and  to  treat  me  with  the  highest 
possible  distinction  in  the  event  of  my  arriving  in  his 
dominions,  1  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  give  this 
latter  communication. 

Letter  from  the  Sultan  Abdul  Medjid  to  the  Khan  of  Bokhara, 
dated  Nov.  21,  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  eflPect. 

As  now  Dr.  Wolff,  an  English  clergyman  of  distinction, 
is  sent  by  some  Englishmen  to  Bokhara  to  obtain  informa- 
tion concerning  the  fate  of  the  two  officers  above  mentioned, 
as  Avell  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  Sovereign 
Letter  to  request  you  to  deliver  up  the  above  named  pri- 
soners, to  consign  them  to  Dr.  Wolif,  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  sin- 
cere friendship  which  exists  since  the  most  ancient  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  re- 
ceived. 

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  Govern- 
ments, 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. 


134  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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,  conformable  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  Grreatness  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  Sove- 
reign Letter,  on  the  receipt  of  which.  If  it  please  God,  we 
expect  that  your  Grreatness  will  kindly  employ  your  willing 
attention  to  the  end  above-mentioned. 

Some  idea  of  the  interest  excited  in  the  fate  of 
the  Bokhara  captives  may  be  formed  from  the  follow- 
ing paragraph  from  the  Turkish  Gazette,  dated  26 
Sheval,  or  20th  November : 

About  three  or  four  years  ago,  two  English  officers,  both 
well  versed  in  science  and  Hterature,  were  travelHng  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  seve- 
ral 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 
satisfactory  or  positive,  the  above-named  friends  and  rela- 
tions, anxious  to  elucidate  this  affair,  have  selected  the  cele- 
brated Mr.  Wolff,  a  gentleman  well  versed  in  several  Ian- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  135 

guages^  and  who  has  been  a  great  traveller  in  Asia,  to  pro- 
ceed 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  affection,  were  I  to  be  insensible  to  the 
great  kindness  shown  to  me  by  all  the  resident  minis- 
ters at  Constantinople,  and  by  none  more  heartily 
than  our  own  distinguished  ambassador  and  his  lady. 
After  preaching,  by  his  kind  permission,  in  his 
chapel,  I  was  repeatedly  invited  to  Buyukdere,  and 
after  discharging  duty  at  Pera  on  the  12th  Novem- 
ber, 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  Wednesday,  the  Russian  ambas- 
sador sent  his  first  dragoman.  Monsieur  de  Semay- 
loff,  with  me  to  the  house  of  the  Reis  Effendi  (minis- 
ter of  state  for  foreign  affairs),  in  order  to  make  the 
acquaintance  of  Haje  Muhammed  Shereef,  a  sheikh 
from  Bokhara,  who  had  just  arrived  from  Mecca, 
and  was  on  his  way  to  Bokhara.  On  our  arrival  at 
the  palace  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 


136  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  recollected  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  vid  Oren- 
bourg,  I  was  not  able  to  go  with  him. 

On  the  23rd,  Sir  Stratford  Canning  sent  with  me 
Mr.  Stephen  Pisani,  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  Turkey  and  Ara- 
bia, but  into  Central  Asia,  and  wherever  Muhamme- 
dans  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  137 

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  tur- 
ban upon  his  head,  clothed  in  a  kind  of  red  velvet 
tunic,  with  a  white  band  around  it.  Another  mullah 
was  sitting  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  person- 
age, 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  be- 
tween England  and  the  Porte  might  long  con 
tinue.  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  intro- 
duction. 

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  mul- 
lahs of  Khokand. 

III.  From  the  Reis  Effendi:  1,  to  the  Pasha  of 


138  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Trebisond ;  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  received  with  the 
greatest  kindness  and  politeness,  and  all  of  them  re- 
commended me  particularly  to  the  Sheikh  of  Bokhara 
above-mentioned,  whose  name  was  Haje  Muham- 
med  Shereef  Bokharaae.  I  then  returned  to  the  Reis 
Effendi,  who  said  to  me,  "  I  am  very  much  concerned 
^bout  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  accordingly,  and  both  the  Grand  Vizier  and 
the  judge  of  Roumelee  expressed  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  ambas- 
sador. 

On  my  return  to  Mr.  Southgate's  house,  I  met 
with  Mr.  Nicolayson,  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  139 

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  can- 
not express  how  much  the  whole  Committee  owe  to 
Sir  Stratford  and  Lady  Canning.  Two  days  before 
quitting  Constantinople  I  visited  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  ConoUy. 

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  Jeru- 
salem, without  which  firmaun  they  never  would  have 
been  enabled  to  build.  If  any  one  could  induce  the 
Sultan  to  grant  such  a  firmaim,  Sir  Stratford  Can- 
ning would  be  the  man,  our  highly  principled,  reli- 
gious, talented,  and  kind-hearted  ambassador.  If 
the  firmaun  be  obtained,  I  hope  that  the  Arabs 
round  about  Jerusalem,  and  the  local  authorities, 
will  put  no  further  obstacles  in  the  way.  But  I 
think  that  the  best  w^ay  would  have  been  not  to  have 
applied  for  the  firmaun  at  all,  as  they  cannot  give 
such  a  firmaun  by  the  Muhammedan  law.  But  the 
law^  might  be  evaded  in  the  following  manner :  by 
building    a  large  house   for  the  British  consul  at 


140  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Jerusalem,  and  annexing  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,  combined  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  ConoUy.  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  Stiirmer, 
and  Mr.  de  Titow,  furnished  me  with  letters  for  the 
road.  Sir  S.  Canning  paid  my  passage-money  to 
Trebizond.  Before  I  left,  Sir  Stratford  said,  "  You 
must  return  vid  Constantinople,  for  if  you  succeed 
we  receive  you  in  triumph,  if  not,  we  will  try  to 
console  you.  And  with  either  result,  your  expedi- 
tion must  be  viewed  as  a  national  act,  and  will  con- 
duce to  the  honour  of  the  British  nation."  Many 
other  persons  made  the  remark,  "What  a  bold, 
straight-forward,  generous  gentleman  Captain  Gro- 
ver  must  be." 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  141 

At  one  o'clock  (November  24),  I  embarked  on 
board  the  Metternich,  an  Austrian  steamer,  com- 
manded by  a  kind  captain,  Signor  Clician,  which 
vessel  Count  Stiirmer  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 ;  and 
also  the  Life  of  Goethe,  written  by  Falck,  a  remark- 
able 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  Polllngton,  May  twenty-eiglitli,  1808,  from  Con- 
stantinople 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  kind- 
ness during  a  passage  from  Constantinople  to  Trebizond. 
August  24,  1839.  Arthur  Conolly. 


142  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 


CHAPTER  V. 

Arrival  at  Trebizond.  Singular  Report  of  Signer  Gliersi.  Interview 
with  Pasha  of  Trebizond.  Subscription  to  Mission  at  Trebizoad. 
Departure  for  Erzroom ;  terrific  Route ;  Gumush  Khane.  Convic- 
tion of  the  Turks  that  tlieir  Empire  is  sinking.  Murad  Khan 
Oglu ;  Balahor  ;  Bayboot.  Kob ;  curious  Story  of  a  Derveesh  at 
this  Village.  Ashkaleli.  Elijehtebbe.  Warm  Springs.  Erzroom. 
Dispute  between  Turks  and  Persians  on  Frontier  Question.  Mr. 
Brant,  the  Consul ;  his  Kindness.  Interview  with  Pasha  of  Erz- 
room. 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.  Deten- 
tion 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  Muham- 
medans.  Letters  to  England.  Contribution  to  Mission  from  a 
Gentleman  at  Trebizond.    Address  to  the  Armenians. 

On  the  26th  of  November,  the  steamer  stopped 
towards  the  evenmg  for  one  hour  at  Samsoon,  where 
Mr.  Richard  White  Stevens  is  British  vice-consul, 
brother  to  Mr.  Francis  IhfF  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  Si- 
nope,  where  Diogenes  was  born.  On  the  27th  I 
arrived  at  Trebizond,  where  Dr.  Casolani,  superin- 
tendent of  the  quarantine,  came  on  board,  and 
expressed  a  very  sincere  joy  and  sympathy  with 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  143 

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  honse  of  Mr.  Ste- 
vens, he  and  his  two  very  amiable  sisters  received 
me  with  the  greatest  cordiality,  and  a  room  wag 
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  inhabitants 
of  Bokhara  had  just  arrived,  who  said  that  both 
Stoddart  and  Conolly  were  alive :  the  first,  they 
said,  under  the  name  of  Abdul  Samut  Khan,  com- 
manded 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  satisfac- 
tory manner,  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  reforms  made 
by  the  Sultan.  He  cannot  bear  Europeans,  and 
tries  to  discourage  every  attempt  to  civihze  his 
people  at  Erzroom,  and  maltreats  the  Christians 
whenever  he  has  an  opportunity.  An  association  of 
European  Christians    ought  to  be   established  for 


144  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

giving  protection  to  the  Eastern  Christians,  to  Arme- 
nians, Greeks,  and  Chaldeans.  It  is  true  that  the 
Christians  in  the  East  are  now,  by  long  oppres- 
sion, so  degraded  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  Chris- 
tians. And  around  Trebizond  are  great  numbers  of 
villages  inhabited  by  Greeks  who  outwardly  profess 
the  Muhammedan  religion,  but  in  secret  they  prac- 
tise the  Christian  religion.  This  they  have  carried 
on  since  the  establishment  of  Muhammedanism  at 
Constantinople.  They  have  their  priests,  who,  in 
secret,  are  ordained  by  the  Patriarch  of  Constanti- 
nople, and  by  the  Bishop  of  the  Greek  church  at 
Trebizond. 

I  lectured  in  Italian  that  same  evening,  and 
through  the  great  kindness  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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  145 

My  dear  Sir,  Trebizond,  29  th  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  oj)ened  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  dis- 
bursements, 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  Al- 
mighty will  assist  you  in  the  humane  object  of  your  under- 
taking, is  the  prayer  of,  my  dear  Sir, 

Yours  faithfully. 

Eras.  I.  Stevens. 

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 

Eras.  I.  Stevens. 
Vol.  I.  L 


146  NAUEATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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,  Arra- 
kel  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  pil- 
grim 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  Archbishoj), 
and  accuse  him  of  tyranny.     The  Sultan  has  con- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  147 

ferred  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,  missionaries  from  America  stationed  at 
Trebizond,  and  Messrs.  Peabody  and  Jackson  at 
Erzroom,  are  most  worthy  people,  quiet  and  peace- 
able, and  zealous  in  their  work ;  but  the  Armen^a^s 
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  nature;  but  it  will 
never  be  improved  by  the  Turks,  for,  beside  tjie 
natural  indolence  of  the  Turks,  the  Muhammedans 
have  a  strong  conviction  on  their  minds  that  they 
will  be  driven  out  of  their  present  possessions,  and 
that  their  labours  will  be  for  the  benefit  of  Chris- 
tians, who  will  become  the  rulers  of  their  country. 
This  conviction  has  not  only  been  produced  by  the 
superiority  exercised  over  them  by  the  Exiropean 
powers,  but  also  by  old  traditions,  sayings,  and  pro- 
phecies of  their  own.  And  it  is  for  that  reason  that 
I  always  engaged  the  attention  of  their  mullahs 
when  I  spoke  to  them  about  the  second  coming  of 
Christ,  the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  that  those 

L  2 


148  NAUKATIYE  OF  THE  MISSION 

events  shall  be  ushered  in  by  unheard-of  judgments 
over  all  countries. 

There  are  in  Gumush-Khane  two  hundred  Ar- 
menians, two  hundred  Mussulmans,  four  hundred 
Greeks,  and  eight  catholic  Armenians.  The  Arme- 
nians 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  Con- 
stantinople. 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,  recrossing  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  ap- 
pearance. We  observed  it  was  covered  with  ver- 
dure, 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  149 

Kurdish  houses  are  of  that  form,  and  also  in  Ar- 
menia :  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  quaran- 
tine is  established  there,  where  the  Turks  and  others 
who  come  from  the  interior  of  Turkey  are  obhged  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  cha- 
racters of  that  city;  he  seemed  also  to  be  well 
acquainted  with  his  profession.  He  informed  me 
that  the  greatest  physicians  in  Italy  at  that  period 
were  Dr.  Buffalini  at  Florence,  and  Drs.  Folchi 
and  Mattel  at  Rome.  I  also  had  a  visit  from  an 
Armenian,  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  Jeru- 
salem was  rather  gratifying.     The  Armenians  live 


l50  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

in  peace  there— not  disturbed  or  oppressed  by  the 
Turks — and  Zacharias  Wardapet  is  their  patriarch. 
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  trieti 
to  carry  me  safely  over  the  mountains,  edVered  with 
snow,  for  two  hours.  I  paid  to  the  poor  people 
fourteen  piastres.  I  am  noW  a  m^^re  wrietched  horse- 
man thaii  I  ever  was  beforie,  so  that  Dr.  Casolani, 
and  Mr.  Stevens,  the  vice-consul  of  Trebizond, 
found  it  to  be  expedient  to  setid  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  the  horse  stumbled  in  the  least,  and 
1  cried  out,  he  immediately  took  hold  of  the  bridle, 
and  exclaimed,  ^'Sarar  yok,  Beyk  ZadehP'  "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  froni  his  expedition  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 
ihonarch  on  account  of  his  tyranny,  for  which  the 
Stlltan,  in  his  wrath,  ordered  him  to  be  jput  into 
a  fiery  furnace,  from  which,  however,  the  holy  man 


OF  M.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  151 

eame  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  bf  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  replied  that  he  was 
not  in  want  of  money,  but  requested  the  Sultan 
that  he  should  permit  him  to  return  to  his  native 
village,  aiid  there  bestow  uJ)on  him  various  fields 
and  meadows  for  his  and  his  descendants'  bene- 
fit. 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  lie  also  had  a  daughter,  who  went  on  a  certain 
day  to  take  her  father's  food  to  him ;  on  her  arri- 
val in  the  field  she  discovered  that  the  plough  used 
by  her  father  was  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 


152  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  UUah,  grandson  of  the 
above  holy  derveesh,  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  Eastern 
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  travellers. 

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,  be- 
heving  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 


OF  DR,  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA,  153 

tliey  now  teach  the  soldiers  of  Bokhara  the  Euro- 
pean 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,  Muhammed  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  Thermopylae,  from  its 
hot  springs  ;  elijehy  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 
Ingle es  Oglu,''  the  Son  of  the  King  of  England.  This 
question  at  least  was,  so  far,  gratifying,  for  it 
shewed  that  our  consul  was  respected  at  Erzroom ; 
and  thus  I  found  it  also  to  be  the  case,  for  on  my 
arrival  at  Erzroom,  the  Turkish  inhabitants  of  Erz- 
room, who  thirteen  years  ago  looked  upon  a  Eu- 
ropean with  contempt,  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  re- 


154  NAKRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

ceived  me  with  Ms  usual  straightforward  and  cordial 
hospitality,  and  delivered  me  letters  from  my  dear 
Lady  Georgiana.  He  informed  me  that  several  of 
the  English  residents  at  Erzroom  wished  me  to 
administer  to  them  oh  the  day  following^  the  10th  Of 
December,  the  sacrament. 

There  was  a  dispute  between  the  Turks  aiid 
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.  Calvert3  Esq.,  Cancel- 
li^re  to  the  consulate.  3.  George  Guarracino,  Esq.^ 
Attache  to  the  consulate.  4.  P.  Zohrab,  Esq.,  dra- 
gottian,  and  his  wife  and  daughters.  5.  Joseph  Dick- 
son, 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  Govern- 
ment. 8.  J.  Redhouse,  Esq.,  secretary  and  drago- 
man to  the  commissioners,  the  greatest  Turkish 
scholar  in  Europe — ^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",  secre- 
tary. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  155 

From  the  Persian  side:  Mirza  Takke,  plenipo- 
tentiary. 

Turkish  side  :  Envery  EfFendi,  plenipotentiary ; 
Dr.  De  Camin,  his  physician  5  Signor  Garibaldi, 
Russian  consul;  French  consul,  Monsieur  Goepp; 
French  interpreter.  Monsieur  Belin  5  Russian  consul's 
secfetary,  Dr.  Bertoni. 

Bekir  Pasha,  attached  to  Envery  EfFendi,  called 
on  Mr.  Brant;  he  is  a  descendant  of  Abu  Bekir,— 
speaks  Enghsh  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  sacra- 
ment to  about  seven  English  friends  ;  all  the  British 
attended,  except  the  Honourable  Robert  Curzon, 
who  was  prevented  from  attending,  simply  by  weak- 
ness resulting  from  a  dangerous  fever. 

His  Excellency  the  Pasha  of  Erzroom,  Kamilee 
Al-Haje,  a  very  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  11th  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. 


156  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

On  this  evening  we  had  a  very  pleasant  party  at 
Mr.  Zohrab's,  the  dragoman  to  Mr.  Brant.  I  re- 
collected Mrs.  Zohrab  and  her  daughters  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 
thousand  inhabitants,  mostly  Mussulmans,  six  thou- 
sand Armenians,  and  some  hundred  Armenian  ca- 
tholics, with  their  bishop.  I  may  also  as  well  note 
here  the  Etymon  of  Erzroom.  It  is  derived  from 
Ers!,  land,  Room,  Rome,  indicating  that  it  was  part 
of  the  Eastern  Roman  Empire ;  and  the  Greeks  are 
to  this  day  called  by  the  Turks^  Room;  and  in  Tur- 
kistaun  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  Nakhs- 
bande,  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  157 

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  EngHsh  manner.     Chairs  were  offered  to  us, 
we  sat  down,  then  pipes,  coffee,  tea,  and  shirbet, 
were  brought.     A  long  conversation  about  the  Ara- 
bic and  Persian  literature  took  x)lace,  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. 

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,  WiUiams,  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. 


158  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Calvert  and  Guarracino  also  dined  there.  I  also 
slept  that  night  at  Colonel  Williams's,  and  on  Thurs- 
day 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  inter- 
preted every  sentence  to  him.  Messrs.  Peabody  and 
Jackson,  and  their  wives,  were  also  present. 

On  the  16th  I  wrote  as  follows  to  Captain  Gro- 
ver . 

My  dear  Grrover,  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.  Guarra- 
cino, 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  Tabree?  was  covered  with 
snow.  Colonel  Williams  most  kindly  furnished  me  with  a  suit 
of  winter  clothing  and  boots,  &c.,  for  the  journey;  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  morning.  The  commissioner  of  the 
King  of  Persia  has  also  furnished  me  with  letters  of  intro- 
duction to  his  friends  on  the  frontier  of  Persia,  and  at 
Tabreez.     Mirza  Takee  (this  is  the  name  of  the  commis- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  Ip9 

sipner)  knew  nie  at  Tabreez,  and  was  aware  t^i^t  I  took 
with  me  fropi  Persia  Mirza  Ibralieem  to  England,  at  my 
expense,  and  that  he  is  now  professor  of  the  Persian  lan- 
guage at  the  East  India  College,  near  Hertford — Hailey- 

bury. 

Yours,  affectionately, 

Joseph  Wolff. 

On  Sunday  the  17tli  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 
Majesty's  commissioners  at  Erzroom.  Israel  Jacob 
was  a  Jew  from  Germany.  Colonel  Wilhams,  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  Muhammedan  from  Bo- 
khara called  on  me,  the  first  that  has  told  me  that 
he  had  heard  that  Colonel  Stoddart  had  been  killed. 

A  visit  to  En  very  Effendi,  the  commissioner  on 
the  part  of  the  Turkish  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. 


160 


NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 


I  delivered  this  afternoon  another  lecture  here  on 
my  late  journey  from  Bokhara  to  Calcutta,  when 
again  not  only  the  English  commissioners  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  trans- 
lated it,  and  another  translation  of  it  has  been  made 
into  the  Persian  tongue.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to 
imagine  the  interest  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  mil 

22  Khorassaun    . 

.     8 

i> 

24      „ 

24  Mullah  Solelman 

15 

j» 

45      „ 

25  Kara  Kleseah 

.     7 

a 

21      „ 

27  Diadeen 

12 

a 

36      „ 

28  Bayazid 

.     6 

a 

18      „ 

29  Awajik 

8 

jj 

24      „ 

30  Kara  Aineh    . 

.     8 

J? 

24      „ 

31   Zorahweli    . 

8 

» 

24      „ 

Jan.  2,  1844.   Khoy     . 

.  11 

jj 

32      „ 

3  Taswej 

8  farsang 

32      „ 

4  Tawshea 

6 

39 

24      „ 

5  Tabreez 

8 

i) 

32      „ 
374      „ 

OF  DE.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  161 

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  sister.  A 
tremendous  snow-storm  in  the  night,  and  we  had 
in  the  morning  a  slight  earthquake.  I  found  that  I 
should  not  be  enabled  to  set  out  before  Thursday, 
as  the  roads  were  blocked  up  with  snow.  Last  nighty 
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  yester- 
day for  Kars,  is,  I  fear,  lost  in  Deveh  Bouyoon,  a  mountain' 
near  Erzeroom;  he  got  before  his  people,  who  returned,  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  manner:  in  an  aba,  trousers 
made  immensely  large,  a  waistcoat  and  coat  of  the 
same.  The  coat  is  precisely  the  form  of  a  shoot- 
ing jacket:  over  this  a  large  loose  coat,  sleeves 
and  body  entirely  lined  with  fur  of  wolf's  skin; 
Vol.  I.  M 


162  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Christmas  dinner; 
roast  beef,  plum  pudding,  mince  pies,  &c. 

On  the  21st  I  wrote  to  my  kind  friend.  Captain 
Grover,  the  following  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. 
JMy  host  here,  James  Brant,  Esq.,  Her  British  Majesty's 
consul  at  Erzroom,  is  a  most  excellent,  educated,  and  philan- 
thropic gentleman,  through  whose  activity  and  exertions  the 
commerce  between  Turkey  and  Persia  has  been  most  consider- 
ably increased  and  facilitated.  Through  his  endeavours,  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.  For- 
merly 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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  163 

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  con- 
tribute towards  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  Africa,  and  also  to 
establish  consulships  in  the  interior  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,  bu^  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.  22ad,  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  princi- 
pal Persian  khaun  (better  than  palace  or  mosque). 

I  am  sorry  you  did  not  think  of  it  before,  and  I  recom- 
mend 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  tlie 
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  witli  me.  I  consider  it 
my  duti/  as  a  British  officer  to  assist  in  every  possible  manner, 

M  2 


164  NAERATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

to  forward  your  most  praiseworthy  and  courageous  attempt 
to  release  or  discover  tlie  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  permission  he  will  come  to  you  for  the  two 
copies,  and  then  affix  them  to  the  khaun. 

The  address  alluded  to  in  this  letter,  which  I 
subjoin,  was  circulated  among  the  Muhammedans 
in  the  Turkish  Empire,  Persia,  and  Khorassaun,  and 
from  thence  sent  by  Muhammedans  to  Affghanistaun, 
Cabul,  Cashmeer,  and  Bokhara. 

Followers  of  Islam  t 

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  Hin- 
dus. 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  ConoUy,  have  been  put  to  death  by  order  of  the 
Ameer  of  Bokhara,  and  also  a  Neapolitan  officer,  Cavahere 
NaseUi  by  name,  I  am  going  to  the  Great  Bokhara  to  ascer- 
tain the  truth  of  that  report ;  for  I  cannot  believe  it,  as  I 
was  well  received  at  Bokhara,  and  with  great  hospitality. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  165 

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.  Anx- 
ious beyond  measure  that  I  might  appear  to  realize 
to  the  full  the  noble  and  philanthropic  views  of  those 
who  had  dispatched  me,  I  addressed  to  Captain 
Grover  the  following  letter : 

My  dear  Grover,  Erzroom,  Dec.  25, 1843. 

About  ten  pdople  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 
27  th  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  Aber- 
deen has  great  hopes  of  their  being  alive,  as  I  perceive  by  his 
despatches  sent  to  Colonel  Shell  through  the  British  embassy 


166  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Wil- 
liams, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Redhouse,  and  Bekir  Pasha,  we 
all  wrote  to  Lady  Georgiana,  and  by  way  of  illus- 
trating the  feeling  that  prevailed  among  us,  I  sub- 
join our  communications  verbatim : 

Erzroom,  Christmas  Evening,  1843. 
My  dearest  Georgiana, 

You  will  he  surprised  that  I  am  still  here  at  Erz- 
room, hut  there  was  such  a  tremendous  snow  storm  that  strag- 
glers 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  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  WiUiams  received  dispatches  from 
Sir  Stratford  Canning,  inclosing  letters  from  Lord  Aberdeen 
for  Colonel  Shell,  in  which  letters  I  am  mentioned,  and  in 
which  he  expresses  a  hope  that  Colonel  Stoddart  or  both  are 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  167 

alive,  so  that  I  shall  have  full  protection  from  Colonel  Shell. 
I  have  already  written  to  you  of  the  very,  very  great  kind- 
ness I  have  received  here  from  Colonel  Williams,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kedhouse,  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  mention 
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  emplojrment,  in  addressing  Your  Lady- 
ship without  the  pleasure  of  a  previous  acquaintance,  but  feel- 
ing 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  in  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,  ^t  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  sup- 
ported 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 


168  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

success  and  a  safe  and  happy  return  to  England  with  the 
objects  of  his  solicitude. 

J.  W.  Redhouse. 

jsJ^^lii  %jj}^]j^\s^  ^^^  <Umj  t^l  Jd^^  t5«^'^j^  ,JJCL^  ti;'^^^ 
>jb  '^^Xkjbj  c:^j^sr«  jjji^iJJ^^  5$<^ol/Jisr«j  l::.^^as»-U^  jj^i^f^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  there- 
fore simply  to  add  (agreeably  to  his'request),  that  every  pre- 
paration is  made  for  his  departure  on  the  morning  of  the 
27  th,  when  I  shall  accompany  him  through  the  first  pass  on 
his  road  to  Tabreez,  and  there  wish  him  success,  commen- 


*  The  above  Turkish  is  from  Bekir  Pasha,  who  was  educated  in 
England.    The  letter  contains  nothing  more  than  ordinary  compliments. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHAUA.  169 

eurate  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  artillery.  Thirteen  people  from  Bokhara 
in  all  have  now  given  me  their  assurance  that  Stod- 
dart  and  ConoUy  are  alive.  A  gentleman  from  Tre- 
bizond  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  in- 
stance 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  religionists 
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  measure  o^ 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  inte- 
rests to  his  charge.  Also  to  Henry  Drummond,  on 
various  matters  of  religious  interest.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  Christmas  day,  I  administered  the  sacrament 


170  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

to  seven  English  people,  and  the  Jew  whom  I  had 
baptized.  This  took  place  at  Mr.  Brant  the  con- 
sul's private  house,  under  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, 
Mesrop,  Moses  Vbcazer,  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  estabHshed  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  ConoUy,  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  in  correspon- 
dence with  merchants  of  Bokhara,  I  beg  you,  and  particu- 
larly 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-mentioned  officers. 

Your  affectionate  brother  in  Christ, 

Joseph  Wolfp. 

Before  the  late  war  of  the  Russians  with  Turkey, 
there  were  several  thousand  families  of  Russians  at 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  171 

Erzroom,  but  General  Paskewitch,  on  his  return  to 
Russia,  advised  the  Armenian  bishop,  and  the  rest  of 
the  Armenian  population  of  Erzroom  and  the  adja- 
cent country,  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. 


172  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Departure  from  Erzroom,  December  27.  Kerujak;  Hassan  Kaleh; 
Komassor;  Delili  Baba;  Armenian  Marriage  at  this  last  Village. 
Taher,  a  Kurd  Village.  Mullah  Soleiman,  an  Armenian  Village. 
Kara  Klesea;  Kolassur;  Utsh  Kelesea;  Diadeen;  Ghizl-Deesa. 
Tremendous  Snow  Storm.  Awajick;  Karaine;  SehrAbad;  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  Deri- 
vation of  his  Name.  Falsity  of  the  Statement  of  Saleh  Muham- 
med. No  certain  Information  of  Stoddart  and  ConoUy.  Letters 
of  Introduction  to  Bokhara.  Letter  to  Stoddart  and  ConoUy  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.  Tekmetash.  Awful  Storm. 
Kulagh.  Conversation  with  Derveesh.  Tata  Sultan,  Kemaalee 
Howdbeen.  Opinions  of  Mussulmans  changed  with  respect  to  the 
Giaours.  Turkman- Jaa;  Miana;  Sanjoon;  Khoramtarah;  Chal- 
dssans ;  Meeting  with  their  Metropolitan ;  their  Descent  from 
Israel.  Ceremonies  and  Doctrine  of  the  Chaldsean  Church.  St. 
Thomas  the  Apostle.    Siyadehen;  Kasween;  Sephir  Kliaja. 

Quitting  Erzroom  on  the  27th,  I  waded  through 
the  snowy  mountains  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  dwell- 
ing of  Mr.  Brant,  two  fine  stately  cavasses  of  the 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  173 

Pasha  (to  whom  I  was  ordered  by  the  Pasha  not  to 
give  a  farthmg,  as  he  would  pay  them  himself),  were 
in  readiness  outside  the  British  consulate,  on  horse- 
back, 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  call- 
ing 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  com- 
manding voice,  *^  Never  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." 
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  dismounted  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-mentioned  cavasses,  one  mile  further  to 
a  village  called  Kerujak,  where  we  slept  in  the  stable 


174  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

of  a  kind-hearted  Turk ;  but  the  stables  in  Turkey 
have  elevations  made  on  purpose  for  travellers, 
v^here  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  Colonel 
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  steadily  fixed  on  the  other 
horse,  and  perceiving  that  he  waded,  though  with 
difficulty,  through  the  snow,  I  remained  firm,  and 
thus  we  arrived  that  day  six  miles  distant,  to  a  place 
called  Hassan  Kaleh,  where  we  again  resided  with  a 
Turk. 

On  the  29th  of  December  we  travelled  as  far  as 
Komassor,  where  we  slept  in  the  house  of  an  Arme- 
nian, whose  room  was  not  as  clean  as  the  stables  of 
the  Turks.  There  are  only  thirty  houses  of  the 
Armenians  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  neigh- 
bouring village,  to  fetch  a  bride,  accompanying  her, 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  175 

with  musical  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,  inhabited  by  Armenians,  w^ho  two 
hundred  years  ago  were  all  converted  to  the  Roman 
cathohc  faith  by  a  Romish  missionary,  Soleiman  by 
name,  from  whom  the  place  took  its  appellation. 
The  priest  of  the  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  established,  according  to  tradition,  by 
the  preaching  of  the  apostle  Thaddeus.  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. 


176  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  con- 
verted by  St.  Gregory,  and  baptized  in  the  Euphra- 
tes, 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  accom- 
panied by  a  priest  called  Simon  to  Tabreez.  I 
refreshed  myself  now  again  among  the  pious  and 
exemplary  inmates  of  that  convent  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  hospitable  Kurd.  One  hour  after 
our  arrival,  two  soldiers  arrived  from  Bayazid,  oii 
their  way  to  Erzroom,  and  as  the  inhabitants  of  the 
villages  are  always  obliged  to  furnish  the  soldiers 
gratis  with  horses  to  the  next  station,  my  Kurdish  host 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  177 

ordered  one  of  his  men  not  to  suffer  the  postman  who 
brought  me  and  my  people  to  go  away  in  the  morn- 
ing 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  stable  in  a  stealthy  manner,  which  they 
are  accustomed  to  do.  However,  sleep  overcame  the 
servant  at  night,  and  as  I  w^as  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  arrangement  made  by  my  landlord, 
took  no  notice  of  it.  One  hour  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  miserable  Kurdish  village, 
where  our  two  cavasses  were  obliged  to  beat  one  of 
the  Kurds  with  a  whip  in  order  to  convince  him  of 
the  necessity  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  neigh- 
VoL.  L  N 


178  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

bour  standing  near  him;  so  that,  snugly  settled  in  a 
warm  stable,  I  exclaimed,  "  Al-hamdoo  Lellah  Rabb- 
iil-Alemeen"  (Praise  to  God  the  creator  of  the  world!) 
"  that  I  am  already  in  the  house."  My  Kurdish  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  whe- 
ther no  Englishman  had  arrived ;  and  immediately 
after  a  courier  (gholam)  sent  from  Colonel  Shell,  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  re- 
quest of  Mr.  Bonham,  with  an  order  (rakum)  to  fur- 
nish 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  dismissed  the  two  ca- 
vasses  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  continued  my  journey 
with  Ismael  Beyk,  the  mehmoondar  of  the  Prince  of 
Tabreez,  towards  that  city. 


•  From  mehmoon,  a  guest,  and  c?ar,  having ;  a  person  sent  to  pre- 
pare a  lodging  for  another. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  179 

January  8th,  we  slept  in  the  miserable  Persian 
village  called  Karaine.  January  9th,  we  arrived  at 
Sohr-Abad.^  On  the  lOth  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  Muhammedan.  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  Muhammed  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  time  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  same  house 
where  I  slept,  and  a  considerable  part  of  the  house 
was  burnt  down,  but  I  slept  so  soundly  from  being 
tired  out  by  the  journey  and  cold,  that  I  knew  no- 
thing about  it  till  the  morning,  when  the  fire  was 
extinguished,  and  I  was  informed  of  it. 

January  11th,  I  arrived  at  Tashwish;  on  the 
12th  at  Taw^saj ;  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  repetitions  of  accounts  in 
Galignaniy  and  other  European  newspapers.  I  found 
here  the  Times,  Herald,  Post,  and  Chronicle,  all 
which  papers  may  be  gratified  to  learn  that  they  cir- 
culate in  Tabreez. 

N  2 


180  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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 
Lieutenant  Eyre,  already  given.  Here  also  I  re- 
ceived the  following  kind  letter  from  the  excellent 
Colonel  Williams,  from  Erzroom. 

My  dear  Dr.  WoliF,  Erzeroom,  Jan.  29tli,  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  wLQ  not  prove  the  bearers  of  bad 
tidings. 

The  ambassador  tells  me  that  you  have  been  loud  in  your 
praises  at  my  humble  eiForts  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  bene- 
volence 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 
Trebisond  was  stopped  at  Hashapanar,  and  nearly  perished 
on  the  spot  where  the  last  one  lost  his  life. 

The  Per  so- Turkish  affair  goes  on  slowly,  but  I  trust 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  181 

surely,  and  when  you  come  back  I  doubt  your  finding  the 

illustrious  body  of  statesmen  who  enlivened  Erzeroom  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  a 
beautiful  golden  compass  and  telescope,  given  to  me 
by  dear  Sir  Stratford  Canning. 

On  my  introduction,  as  stated  above,  to  his  Royal 
Highness  Bahman  Meerza,  Prince  Governor  of  Ta- 
breez,  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  acquaintance,  Muhammed  Khan  Kerahe,  of  Tor- 
bad  Hydarea.  He  is  now  a  prisoner  at  Tabreez,  by 
order  of  the  king.  In  the  year  1831,  as  my  reader 
have  already  seen,  I  was  made  a  slave  of  by  the 
people  of  Torbad  Hydarea,  but  their  khan,  by  order 
of  Abbas  Meerza,  set  me  again  free.  This  fellow 
had  put  out  the  eyes  of  himdreds  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  console  them,  I  went  to 
pay  him  a  visit.     At  present,  being  in  prison,  he 


182  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

receives  company  at  home,  not  being  allowed  to  stir 
out  of  tlie  domicile  assigned  Mm  by  the  king,  except 
with  a  few  honorable  attendants,  the  prince's  guards, 
by  way  of  security.  On  my  seeing  him,  he  immedi- 
ately 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  physiog- 
nomy 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  Kho- 
rassaun,  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 
immediately  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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  183 

On  the  road,  Yahya  Khan,  one  of  the  chamberlains 
of  Abbas  Mirza,  came  to  meet  him,  and  advised 
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  fel- 
lows like  thee  as  an  exchange."  When  Muhammed 
Iszhak  Khan  arrived  at  Abbas  Mirza's,  he  was 
given  to  understand  that  he  was  a  prisoner.  This 
does  not  redound  to  the  honour  of  that  great  and 
amiable  man.  Abbas  Mirza.  Beneath  is  a  trans- 
lation of  the  autograph  of  this  celebrated  captive 
chieftain,  w^hich  he  wrote  in  my  presence ; 

Translation  of  the  Autograph  of  Muhammed  the  Son  of  Iszhak 
Khan  Kerahe,  8fc. 
Muhammed,  son  of  Iszhak  Khan  Kerahe,  Tatar  of 
the  family  of  Ghengls  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.  Tule  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 ; 


184  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

but  when  Tamerlane  became  the  conqueror  of  the  world,  he 
removed  forty  thousand  families  of  the  Kcrahe  tribe  from 
Turkey  to  Samarcand;  of  which  number,  however,  twelve 
thousand  separated  and  returned  to  Khorassaun,  whose  de- 
scendant I  am. 

Muhammed  also  told  me  the  story  of  Ghengis 
Khan's  mother  having  become  pregnant  by  a  beam 
of  the  sun,  which  entered  into  her  month.  Of  Ti- 
mur,  he  said  his  very  name  was  prophetic,  for  Timur 
means  iron,  and  Timnr  or  Tamerlane  was  a  man  of 
iron.  And  here  Mnhammed  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  uncon- 
scious of  his  destiny.  My  name  was  Muhammed 
Kale-Kaan,  which  means  Muhammed  the  Head 
Tearer." 

At  this  place  I  arrived  at  the  complete  demon- 
stration that  the  account  on  which  Government 
relied,  of  Saleh  Muhammed,  was  untrue,  from  a 
merchant  who  called  on  me  at  the  British  consu- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  185 

late,  on  the  17th  January,  and  told  me  that  at  the 
time  he  left  Bokhara,  twelve  months  previous,  Stod- 
dart  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. 

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  Eng- 
lish 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  vari- 
ous arts  and  professions. 


186  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Mr.  Bonham,  the  consul-general,  furnished  me 
with  the  strongest  recommendations  from  all  the 
authorities  here^  civil,  military,  and  ecclesiastical,  for 
Teheraun  and  Meshed.  Mr.  Bonham  is  a  connec- 
tion of  Sir  Robert  Peel,  having  married  a  niece  of 
Lady  Peel.  His  hospitable  dwelling  received  me 
the  instant  I  arrived,  and  nothing  could  exceed  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  Shell  was  the  only  person  of  whom  I  yet 
had  heard  up  to  this  period  who  appeared  to  be  con- 
vinced of  their  death,  but  he  had  sent  no  one  to 
ascertain  the  fact.  I  was  given  to  imderstand  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  farther  the  intelligence 
on  w^hich  he  relied. 

On  Sunday,  the  14th,  I  preached  to  the  English, 
and  administered  the  sacrament  to  them.  I  also  re- 
ceived 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.  Bonham  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  Thursday  the  18th,  a  mehmoondar 


OP  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  187 

with  me  as  far  as  Telieraun.  He  further  furnished 
letters  of  introduction  for  Teheraun  and  Meshed. 
The  Haje  also  furnished  a  letter  for  the  prime  mini- 
ster 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  ascer- 
tained that  at  Ooroomia,  six  days  distant  from 
Tabreez,  there  were  American  presbyterian  mis- 
sionaries, who  did  a  great  deal  of  good  by  instruct- 
ing the  people,  and  as  they  do  not  interfere  with 
the  discipline  of  the  Nestorians,  they  deserve  every 
praise  and  encouragement. 

I  am  always  rejoiced  to  learn  that  Episcopalians 
send  out  missionaries,  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  Congre- 
gationalism 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.  Arch- 
bishop Magee  once  told  me  that  he  would  like  to 


188  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

make  the  Wesleyans,  auxiliaries,  to  the  Church, 
and  thus  the  Church  of  England  might  make  the 
Presbyterians,  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,  19tli  Jan.,  1844 : 
Gentlemen,  the  day  of  my  departure  for  Teherami. 

Through  the  kindness  and  indefatigable  exertions  of 
Mr.  Bonliam,  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  consul-general  in 
Persia,  I  leave  here  to-day  for  Teheraun,  accompanied  by  a 
mehmoondar  from  his  Royal  Highness  Prince  Bahman  Mirza, 
and  accompanied  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  the  Haje,  Prime  Minister  of  the 
King,  at  Teheraun;  for  Mirza  Askere,  cliief  mullah  at  Me- 
shed; 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-Islam,  for  the  Assaff-ood-Dowla, 
at  Meshed;  and  the  cliief  priest  of  Bokhara. 

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


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHAUA.  189 

You  would  therefore  do  well  to  write  letters  of  thanks  to 
the  following  personages : 

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  Vesu- 
vius; to  the  Revds.  H.  D.  Leeves,  Hill,  and  Jonas  King,  in 
Athens. 

3.  To  His  Excellency  Sir  Stratford,  and  also  Lady  Can- 
ning. 

4.  To  Lord  Napier,  at  Constantinople. 

5.  To  Their  Excellencies  the  Count  Stiirmer,  Austrian 
internuntio  at  Constantinople,  and  Countess  de  Stiirmer. 

6.  To  Monsieur  Titow,  Russian  ambassador  at  Constanti- 
nople. 

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

8.  To  Signer  Ghersi,  Russian  consul  at  Trebizond;  for 
both  Stephens,  Ghersi,  and  a  few  others,  subscribed  40/.,  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  Bri- 
tannic Majesty's  consul-general,  and  his  lady,  for  the  kind 
hospitality  they  afforded  to  me,  and  the  encouragement  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. 


190  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Among  many  signs  of  the  times  that  clearly  indi- 
cate the  diminishing  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  employed  Muhammedan  soldiers  to  fire  salutes. 
This  is  a  wonderful  alteration  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  Muham- 
medans,  have  openly  returned  to  the  Christian  faith. 
I  must  here  note  further,  with  respect  to  the  Arme- 
nian church,  that  it  is  well  known  that  the  Emperor 
Nicholas  attempts  at  present  to  unite  the  Armenian 
church  with  the  Russian  :  a  great  division  has  there- 
fore 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  Armenians  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 
Lampron.  In  order  to  understand  these  remarks, 
I  give  the  following  sketch  of  the  life  of  this  extra- 
ordinary man. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  191 

S.  Nierses  of  Lampron,  son  of  Ossinio,  an  Arme- 
nian nobleman,  patron  of  the  Castel  of  Lampron, 
Prince  of  Sebaste,  was  born  in  the  year  1153.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  the  celebrated  monas- 
teries of  Armenia,  and  then  was  taken  under  the 
direction  of  the  great  Nierses  Shnorhaale  or  Ghlaya- 
zee,  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  Arme- 
nia the  fire  of  Divine  love,  and  reformed  the  Church 
by  his  preaching  and  writings ;  for  he  combined  in 
his  own  person  divine  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  Psahns  of  David. 

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

4.  Many  Homilies  upon  the  Dominical  Festivals,  and 
several  Admonitory  Discourses. 

5.  Several  Letters,  written  with  Apostolical  zeal,  to  va- 
rious illustrious  persons. 

6.  The  Life  of  Saint  Nierses  Ghelienses,  rendered  in  ele- 
gant verse. 


192  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Nephews 
of  St.  Gregory  the  Illuminator. 

He  also  translated  several  works  from  different 
languages  into  Armenian,  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  Dialogues  of  St.  Gregory  the  Great. 

This  distinguished  Prelate  had  nothing  more  at 
heart  than  the  preservation  of  charity,  and  unity 
in  the  Church ;  he  was  therefore  called  by  other 
nations,  a  second  Paul  of  Tarsus.  The  above-men- 
tioned Patriarch  Gregory,  encouraged  by  the  Em- 
j)eror  Emanuel  Comnenus,  intended  to  re-establish 
harmony  between  the  two  Churches,  the  Greek  and 
Armenian,  divided  for  a  long  time  from  each  other 
on  account  of  differences  in  the  doctrine  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  Church.  A  council  was  already 
commenced  under  his  predecessor,  and  was  only 
interrupted  by  his  death.  A  preliminary  dis- 
course 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  193 

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  harmoni- 
ous body,  fit  to  be  united  to  that  great  Head  who  rules  us  all. 
Who  has  brought  you  to  this  tranquil  haven?  Ye  messen- 
gers 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  Nebuchadnezzar  who  in  ancient  time  took 
away  the  sacred  and  undefiled  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  con- 
secrated 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  harj^s  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  mea- 
sure 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  Za- 
charlah,  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  Zorobabelf, 


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

Vol..  I.  o 


194  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  ? 

The  Prophet  replies,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  Omnipo- 
tent :  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  coura- 
geous, 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  in  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  195 

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." 

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  in  the  con- 
fusion 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  om-  ancestors  so  ardently  in- 
dulged, 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  pro- 
tection 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  sub- 
ject of  this  discourse  had  been  exceeded.  Let  it  not  be  so, 
for  we  know  that  of  old  Saint  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  Bed  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 ;  all  these  things  come  to  us  through  the  eye  of 
love  and  faith,  as  in  reality  they  actually  happened  to  the 

O  2 


196  NARKATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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,  illus- 
trious chamj^ions  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  Cove- 
nant, and  erected  to  God  a  house  of  stone,  so  Constantine 
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 


Abgar,  Constantine,  Tiridates,  Theodosius  the  Great. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  197 

the  desert  which  was  counteracted  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  reiofnino* 
Solomon.  The  shadow  ceased  and  the  reality  was  substi- 
tuted, 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  com- 
manded, and  Bezaleel  constructed;  but  the  meekness,  humi- 
lity, 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  cherubims. 

The  discourse  was  so  well  received,  that  the 
union  would  have  taken  place  if  Comnenus  had 
not  died.  His  successor,  Alexis  II.,  was  of  differ- 
ent sentiments,  on  which  account  the  union  did  not 
take  place.  The  Archbishop  of  Tarsus  Uved  nine- 
teen 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 


198  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  travelled  the  follow- 
ing distances : 

Miles. 
From  Southampton  to  Gibraltar  -     -     -     -     1300 

Gibraltar  to  MaUa     - 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 
Mnhammedanism ;  I  will  adduce  another.  On  the 
18th  January,  I  called  with  Mr.  Bonham  on  Mirza 
Hashem,  one  of  the  family  of  Muhammed,  a  man  of 
immense  wealth,  who  said  to  me,  '^  You  should  con- 
verse about  religion  with  the  chief  mullah  at  Ker- 
belay;  if  you  convert  him,  all  the  Muhammedans 
will  follow  his  example."  "  But,"  said  I,  •^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- 
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  con- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  199- 

sulate  general  at  Tabreez.  Mr.  Bonham  and  Mr. 
Burgess  accompanied  me  on  my  journey  seven  miles. 
On  the  road,  after  their  departure,  I  observed,  to 
my  great  grief,  tliat  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  lit 
struck  me,  and  left  me  on  the  open  road.  As  Messrs. 
Bonham  and  Burgess  had  already  returned  to  Ta- 
breez 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  port- 
manteau after  him  to  Tabreez.  I  know  not  what 
became  of  him,  whether  he  returned  to  Constanti- 
nople, 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. 


200  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

No  one  dared  stir  from  the  house.  The  Persians 
call  this  kind  of  storm  kulagh.  I  never  as  yet  m  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  chilness.  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  servant  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  See- 
mawn-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  medi- 
tation about  God  in  the  island  of  Sakez  (i.  e.  Scio). 
Tata  Sultan  destroyed  the  army  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  disci- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  201 

pies;  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  pro- 
ceeded from  the  followers  of  Moses,  and  will  pro- 
ceed again  until  Eesa  (Jesus)  will  again  make  his 
appearance.  When  these  events  shall  take  place, 
when  you  shall  see  yourself  surrounded  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,  i.  e.,  Sir  John  M?.  Neil;  of 
his  defying  the  King  of  Persia,  and  of  his  preventing 
the  Shah  from  taking  Heraut.  Since  the  time  that 
Sir  John  M?.  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  charac- 
terize the  British  ambassadors  there  in  the  following 
manner : 

1.  Sir  John  Malcolm,  the  Munificent. 

2.  Sir  Gore  Ouseley,  the  Scholar. 

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


202  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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

5.  Sir  John  Mc  Neil,  the  shrewd,  brave,  handsome  man, 
and  the  best  Persian  scholar  Avho  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  Rus- 
sians as  men  who  never  would  be  able  to  take  Eri- 
vaun;  but  now,  these  Muhammedan  countries  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  fre- 
quently asked  me,  "When  will  the  English  come 
and  take  this  country?" 

January  23rd.  We  continued  our  journey  to- 
wards Turkman-Jaa*.      A  cold  air  prevailed  which 


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


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  203 

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  junc- 
ture 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  stopt 
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  San- 
joon.  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 


204  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

stationed  at  Ooroomiah  with  the  Right  Reverend 
Bishop  Gabriel,  metropoUtan  of  the  Chaldean  Chris- 
tians 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  Bmi 
Israel  (children  of  Israel);  their  language  is  He- 
brew; they  have  sacrifices  called  Doghran  Shlama, 
^y^\y  4^  ^£^6  2^  in  the  feast  of  Transfiguration, 
consisting  of  a  sheep,  lamb,  or  goat.  They  have 
in  their  churches  the  Holy  of  Holies,  \JC02i3 
^hX^QkO  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,  &c.  They  have  seven  sacraments  (Raase, 
>Lf>ti),  and  these  are  their  names,  by  which  you 
will  observe  that  they  are  entirely  different,  at  least 
the  greater  part,  from  those  of  the  sacraments  of 
the  Roman  Catholics;  they  are  as  follow: 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  205 

1.  A^*Z  *J3^SO  Blessing  of  the  priest,  or  ordi- 
nation. 

2.  4Sk:^QJ^^%:kQJa  Consecration  of  the  church. 

3.  ihi^^O.'^.X^   Baptism. 

4.  JLbi^OiJCl    Lord's  supper. 

5.  JL'i^OuA  >JS,^6ja  The  blessing  of  the  old 
leaven. 

6.  >S^^4^  Matrimony. 

7.  liK^  l^SSML  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  Go- 
zan,  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  Ta- 
merlane'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  Patri- 
arch 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 


206  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  conti- 
nued 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  Te- 
heraun,  I  was  obliged  to  write  to  Colonel  Shell,  peti- 
tioning him  to  send  five  horses  to  my  assistance.  I 
however  continued  very  slowly  my  journey. 

The  horses  sent  most  kindly  by  Colonel  Shell  (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.  207 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Arrival  at  Teherann.  Interview  with  Colonel  Shell.  Interview  with 
Meshedee-Rajab,  Colonel  Stoddart's  Servant.  Bokhara  Eljee. 
Account  of  Latif.  Barenstein.  Preaches  before  the  Embassy.  Au- 
dience with  the  Shah.  Letter  of  Shah  to  the  Ameer  of  Bokhara. 
Interview  with  the  Vizier  of  the  Shah.  Ambassador  of  Bokhara 
tells  Dr.  Wolff  that  Stoddart  and  Conolly  are  alive.  No  certainty 
at  Teheraun  as  to  their  Death.  Ambassador  of  Khiva.  Dilatory 
Conduct  of  Colonel  Shell.  Borowsky,  the  Jew.  Most  distin- 
guished Generals  in  the  East,  Jews.  Sefaweya  Dynasty.  Departure 
from  Teheraun.  Visits  Palasht ;  Darey  Kliur ;  Deh-Namak ;  Surk- 
hak.  Enters  Khorassaun.  Interview  with  Prince  Self  Ullah 
Mirza  at  Semnan.  Route  through  Aghwan;  Khosha;  Damghan 
(reported  to  be  the  oldest  City  in  the  World) ;  Deh- Mullah  Sha- 
root;  Miyamey;  Meyandasht;  Meher;  Khosroejerd.  Sebzawar; 
Tower  of  Human  Skulls  built  by  Tamerlane  at  this  place.  Route 
continued— Safran ;  Germ-Ab.  Letter  received  by  Dr.  Wolff  from 
the  Persian  Viceroy  of  Khorassaun.  The  AssafF-ood-Dowla. 
Route  continued — Nishapoor;  Report  here  of  Stoddart  and  Conolly 
being  alive.  Route  continued — Kadamgah ;  Shereef-Abad ;  Aske- 
rea;  meets  here  with  Mullah  Mehdee;  Saleh  Muhammed;  the 
Akhund-Zadeh.  Muhammed  Ali  Serraf,  the  Agent  of  Colonel 
Stoddart ;  suspicious  Conduct  of  this  Agent. 

February  3rd.  I  arrived  at  Teheraun  this  day  about 
twelve  o'clock.  Colonel  Shell  at  once  assured  me 
that  he  would  give  me  every  assistance  in  his  power, 
in  order  to  reach  Bokhara  in  safety.  He  (Colonel 
Shell)  had  also  detained  in  his  house  Meshedee  Ra- 
jab,  from  Heraut,  who  for  three  years  was  servant 
to  Colonel  Stoddart,  by  whom  he  was  sent  to  Cabul. 
He  had  suffered  imprisonment  at  Bokhara,  and  I  took 
him  into  my  service  to  accompany  me  to  that  city. 


208  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Stoddart  and  Conolly  owed  him  one  hundred  and 
eighty  tomauns,  which  were  paid  to  him  by  Colonel 
Shell. 

Colonel  Shell  told  me  that  he  had  seen  the  Eljee 
(ambassador)  from  Bokhara,  who  told  him  that  he 
did  not  beheve  that  Colonel  Stoddart  and  Captain 
Conolly  were  killed,  but  kept  in  prison.     But  the 
Russian  ambassador  told  me  that  the  Eljee  from 
Bokhara  had   told  him  that  they  were  killed.      I 
asked  Rajab,  my  servant,  what  his  impression  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  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  determination, 
therefore,    of  going   straight   to  Bokhara   w^as  un- 
shaken 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  209 

alive ;  nor  to  the  totally  opposite  account  of  the  Jew 
Barenstein  at  Lahore,  pretending  to  have  witnessed 
the  execution  of  both,  with  four  others. 

I   did  not  believe   Latif's   account,  for,  Ist^  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  tri- 
vial 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  sus- 
pected 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  Can- 
dahar;  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   contradiction  with   Saleh  Muhammed's 
account,  and  every  one  who  knows  the  timid  disposi- 
tion of  the  Jews  of  Bokhara  will  know  at  once  that 
Vol.  L  P 


210  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

they  would  have  prevented  Barenstein  from  witness- 
ing such  a  horrid  act ;  and,  as  I  have  already  said, 
thus  much  was  certain,  that  nobody  had  witnessed 
their  execution;  and  even  the  ambassador  of  Bo- 
khara expressed  only  to  the  Russian  ambassador  his 
belief  that  they  had  been  killed.  In  short,  no- 
body knew,  and  therefore  further  sifting  was  neces- 
sary. Another  fact  struck  me :  according  to  Saleli 
Muhammed's  account,  the  Ameer  was  induced  to  kill 
them,  because  people  from  Affghanistaun  demanded 
their  death;  and  the  Russian  ambassador  told  me 
that  the  Bokhara  Eljee  told  him,  that  the  Ameer 
had  proceeded  against  Stoddart  for  having  despised 
his  warning,  and  continued  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  pro- 
mised to  procure  me  an  interview.  To  Bokhara — to 
Bokhara !  was  my  firm  resolve ;  and  even  if  the 
Ameer  should  tell  me  that  they  were  dead,  I  w^as 
determined  to  demand  their  bodies,  to  put  them  in 
camphor,  and  carry  them  with  me  to  Constantinople, 
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,  commanding  him  to  send  on  with  me  a 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  211 

mehmoondar  to  Merwe,  which  belongs  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  influ- 
ential friends  at  Bokhara. 

His  Excellency  Count  de  Medem  promised  me 
a  letter  of  recommendation  in  Russian,  and  I  re- 
quested 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,  for- 
warded me  the  following  letter  to  the  Ameer  of 
Bokhara  : 

January  30, 1844. 
Doctor  Joseph  Wolff,  a  Christian  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  ConoUy,  his  personal  friends, 
in  order  to  conduct  them  to  Europe,  by  the  route  of  Meshed 
and  Constantinople,  or  rather  by  Orenburg  and  St.  Peters- 
burgh,  according  to  circumstances. 

Dr.  Wolff  has  determined  on  this  voyage  in  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 
indifferent  to  worldly  affairs,  accompany  him  In  his  enter- 
prise. 

Persuaded  tnat  the  recommendation  of  the  Minister  of 
His  Majesty  the  Emperor   of  Kussla,  In  Persia,  will  contri- 

P2 


212  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

bute  to  obtain  for  him  a  favourable  and  gracious  reception 
on  the  part  of  Your  Majesty,  I  take  the  liberty  of  strength- 
ening him  by  this  note. 

The  object  of  Dr.  Wolff  is  also  to  deliver  many  other 
Europeans  retained  in  slavery  in  Asia,  and  among  this  num- 
ber is  a  Cavaliere  NaseUi,  who  two  years  since  went  from 
Teheraun  to  Bokhara,  and  to  whom  I  trust  Your  Majesty  will 
not  deny  permission  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  Rus- 
sian consul-general,  besides  the  English  Protestants, 
attended.     I  preached  on  Psalm  ii.,  verse  8. 

There  are  here  also  two  interesting  gentlemen 
attached  to  the  British  embassy :  Mr.  W.  Taylour 
Thomson,  from  Scotland,  who  had  accompanied 
Colonel  Chesney  in  his  Euphrates  expedition,  and  has 
also  visited  Khiva ;  and  Mr.  Glen,  son  to  the  cele- 
brated missionary  Glen,  of  Astrachan.  He  (Mr. 
Glen)  is  a  young  gentleman  of  very  considerable  ac- 
quirements, and  is  well  acquainted  with  the  Oriental 
languages.  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 
Bokhara,  and  bestowed  the  same  favour  again  on  me 
now. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  213 

From  this  moment  I  began  to  draw  money  on 
the  Drummonds  m  good  earnest,  for  I  had  to  appear 
respectably  at  Bokhara  as  the  great  mullah  from 
England,  as  described  by  the  Sultan  and  the  Sheikh 
Islam,  and  others.  But  as  the  mullahs  among  the 
Muhammedans  live  with  great  simplicity,  I  deter- 
mined 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,  w^as  quite  charming.  I  shall  miss  its 
sweet  society,  I  thought,  much  in  the  deserts  of  Tur- 
kistaun.  Colonel  Sheil's  notion  of  keeping  the  am- 
bassador of  Bokhara,  as  a  hostage  for  my  return,  I 
thought  very  good.  I  could  not  but  wish  that  a  diffe^ 
rent  idea  had  been  entertained  of  Colonel  Shell  by  the 
Stoddart  and  ConoUy  Committee.  I  was  received 
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  under 
stood  of  all  our  diplomatic  agents  in  Teheraun  in  the 
fullest  sense  that  the  words  unaffected  kindness  and  hos- 
pitality can  convey.  Mar  Yohannah,  the  Chaldean 
bishop  from  Ooroomia,  mentioned  above,  was  here 


214  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  audi- 
ence of  the  Shah. 

Colonel  Shell  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 :  Colonel  Shell  and  Mr.  Thomson  accom- 
panied me.  I  had  put  on  my  canonicals,  and  my 
Doctor's  Hood  over  them.  His  Majesty  was  sitting 
upon  a  divan  about  eight  feet  from  the  place  where 
we  took  our  position.  As  only  ambassadors  are 
allowed  to  sit  down,  Colonel  Shell,  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  minutiae  of  our  conversation 
at  Meshed,  of  Lady  Georgiana  being  the  sister  to  the 
Earl  of  Orford,  of  her  having  been  at  Malta  during 
my  peregrinations;  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  Bok- 
hara himself;  and  His  Majesty  admired  my  philan- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  215 

thropy,  and  told  me,  if  Stoddart  and  ConoUy  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  Shell  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  Domi- 
nion, 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  magnificence 
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 
OoUali :  May  your  greatness  and  splendour  not  perish !  May 
the  glory  of  splendom',  sovereignty,  and  dominion,  he  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  pub- 
licly coincide  with  each  other  in  opinion,  and  whose  native 
countries  and  dominions  are  in  close  neighbourhood,  are 
required,  and  it  is  therefore  expedient,  that  the  chain  of  cor- 
respondence should  never  at  any  time  be  broken,  or  that  the 


216  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  friendship  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  opportunity  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 
ConoUy,  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  obtain- 
ing the  release,  and  inquiring  into  the  condition  of  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  government,  will  enjoin  the 
authorities  to  show  him  all  necessary  kindness  and  hospitality, 
so  that  he  may  Avith  all  freedom  and  tranquillity  employ 
himself  in  making  inquiries  as  to  their  condition,  and  so  that 
having  completed  his  business  he  may  return  perfectly  satis- 
fied. 

The  peculiarities  of  the  rules  of  friendship  and  cordiality 
are  these ;  that  the  gates  of  amity  and  correspondence  having 
been  opened  by  the  keys  of  the  pen  of  unanimity,  you  should 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  217 

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  the  most  pure 
friendship. 

May  the  days  of  sovereignty  and  dominion  be  perpetual. 

On  our  leaving  the  room,  Khosrof  Khan,  a  friend 
of  Lady  Georgiana,  was  in  waiting,  who  told  me 
that  he  would  call  on  me.  He  wanted  me  to  pro- 
cure him  one  of  the  newly-invented  bellows  to 
make  fire  with,  which  I  promised  to  get  for  him. 
He  made  numerous  inquiries  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  rather  remarkable  that  several  of 
these  eunuchs  are  married  to  several  wives, — for 
instance,  Manujar  Khan,  the  present  governor  of 
Isfahan  ? 

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 


218  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  re- 
verence. When  Muhammed  Shah  w^as  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  consi- 
dered 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  ex- 
pressed 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 
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  kind- 
ness, and  expressed  a  wish  to  accompany  me  them- 
selves 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  219 

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  Shell  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"  *'  Nothing- 
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.  Colone  1 
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  be- 
fore my  arrival  at  Teheraun,  a  ghulam  of  the  em- 
bassy to  the  Assaff-ood-Dowla,  at  Meshed,  requesting 


220  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

that  His  Excellency  would  send  an  express  mes- 
senger 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  imprison- 
ment 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  cer- 
tainly have  saved  their  lives.  Therefore,  as  1  am 
now  in  England,  and  reflect  on  these  points  more 
coolly,  I  cannot  but  blame  Colonel  Shell  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  Shell  with  all  the  gratitude  I  owe  to  him, 
and  with  a  due  sense  of  his  personal  kindness  to  me ; 
but  still  a  portion  of  his  conduct  with  regard  to 
these  gentlemen,  will  always  remain,  I  fear,  some- 
what mysterious. 

On  the  11th  of  February  I  preached  at  the 
British  embassy  in  German  and  English,  and  admi- 
nistered the  sacrament  to  two  Chaldean  bishops,  Mar 
Yohannan  and  Mar  Joseph.  After  the  service  I 
requested  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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  221 

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

I  find  my  mission  has  excited  great  interest  in 
St.  Petersburg!!.  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 
governor,  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  baptism  a  splendid  break- 
fast was  given.  Madame  Labat  is  an  extremely 
clever  woman.  She  has  accompanied  her  husband  to 
Egypt,  Suez,  Algiers,  St.  Petersburg!!,  Astrachan, 
Bakou,  Tiflis,  and  Teheraun ;  and  they  purposed  at 
that  time  going  to  Heraut,  but  he  became  afterwards 
physician  to  the  Shah.      The  child  I  baptized  was  as 


222  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

black  as  a  negro,  and  so  is  Madame  Semino,  who  was 
formerly  Borowsky's  wife. 

After  I  had  returned  in  1829  with  Lady  Georgi- 
ana,  from  Jerusalem  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  disposition,  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)  McNeill, 
when  a  letter  came  from  the  British  resident  of 
Busheer,  mentioning  to  Sir  John  Campbell  that  a 
Polish  nobleman,  Borowsky  by  name,  had  arrived 
at  Busheer  from  Bombay;  that  he  was  of  gentle- 
manly appearance,  but  as  he  had  brought  no  let- 
ters 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  proceeded  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  223 

"  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  written  to  Cap- 
tain Shee,  a  gentleman  in  the  uniform  of  an  English 
general  entered  my  room,  exclaiming,  "  How  do  you 
do,  Mr.  Wolff?"  It  was  General  Borowsky,  the  same 
person  whom  I  knew  at  Alexandria.  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  become  acquainted  with  Colonel 
Chesney  at  Busheer,  with  whom  he  had  formed  an  in- 
timate friendship,  and  Colonel  Chesney  recommended 
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  Bo- 
rowsky also  who  took  the  castle  of  Sarakhs,  and 
made  prisoner  the  leader  of  the  Turkomauns.  After 
the  death  of  Abbas  Mirza,  he  gave  most  essential 
assistance  to  Muhammed  Mirza,  the  son  of  Abbas 
Mirza,  and  enabled  him  to  ascend  the  throne  of  his 


224  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Herant.  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  not- 
withstanding, it  is  true,  that  the  most  distinguished 
generals  of  the  East  are  Jews.  For  instance.  Ge- 
neral Jochmus,  who  distinguished  himself  in  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  Reuben-Ben-Toora.  I  could  name  several  others. 
General  Jochmus  told  me  that  he  was  ready  to 
march  to  Bokhara  with  a  detachment  of  three  thou- 
sand European  soldiers,  if  supported  by  the  British 
government.  After  the  Jews,  the  Armenians  are  the 
most  enterprising  people  of  the  East.  Samson  Khan 
and  Yakoob  Khan,  from  Tiflis,  are  brave  and  valiant 


OP  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  225 

generals  at  present  in  the  service  of  the  King  of 
Persia ;  and  Krimitzki,  Archbishop  of  the  Armenians 
in  Persia  and  Hindustaun,  has  estabhshed  of  late  an 
excellent  college  at  New  Joolfa,  where  the  Arme- 
nian boys  are  instructed  in  the  French  and  English 
tongues. 

I  must  here  mention  some  curious  details  of  those 
two  men,  Borowsky  and  Semino,  which  happened  in 
the  year  1831,  at  Meshed.  Borowsky  was  in  my 
room  when  Semino  entered  in  full  uniform,  and  de- 
manded 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  satisfaction  in  an  instant."  On  saying  this,  he 
attempted  to  seize  his  pistols;  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, 
of  which,  singular  to  say,  I  was  president,  and  I 
decided  that  Semino  should  remain  in  arrest  for 
twenty-four  hours,  and  then  apologize  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. 
Vol.  I.  Q 


226  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Semino  married  Borowsky's  widow  in  hopes  of  get- 
ting 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  Mus- 
sulman from  Masulipatam,  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  pur- 
poses 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  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  II. 

8.  Shah  Suleiman. 

9.  Shah  Sultan  Hussein. 

10.  Shah  Taman. 

11.  Abbas  III. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  227 

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  Sefa- 
weya. 

14.  Ali  Murad  Khan. 

This  day  also  the  ambassador  of  Khiva  called  on 
Colonel  Sheilj  and  brought  me  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation addressed  to  all  the  Turkomauns  of  Sa- 
rakhs  subject  to  the  King  of  Khiva,  and  informing 
them  that  I  was  in  possession  of  letters  from  the  Sul- 
tan, for  the  Kings  of  Khiva,  Khokand,  and  Bokhara. 

On  my  departure  from  Teheraun,  Colonel  Shell 
could  scarce  conceal  his  grief  at  losing  me ;  he  gave 
me  some  presents  for  the  King  of  Bokhara,  con- 
sisting 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  Tehe- 
raun in  this  capital.  Messieurs  Thomson,  Reed, 
Karapet,  and  Glen,  accompanied  me  one  farsagh 
(four  miles)  out  of  town.  I  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  Stod- 
dart  and  Captain  ConoUy,  Jaarwadar  (muleteer),  and 

Q  2 


228  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

a  postillion  (Shakerd  Japarjee) ;  and  furnished,  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  station,  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  miserable  village,  con 
taining  about  twenty-five  houses,  twenty  miles  from 
Teheraun. 

Thursday,  the  15th,  I  was  annoyed  by  the  mule- 
teer, on  account  of  the  bad  horses  he  had  procured ; 
but  as  the  post-horses  are  not  always  to  be  got,  I  pre- 
ferred 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  {SI.  lOs.) 
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  ex- 
pense, I  of  course  gave  always  two  or  three  saheb- 
keran (one  sahebkeran  =  sixpence)  as  a  present,  but 
the  person  with  whom  1  lodged  was  over  civil,  for 
which  he  expected  a  large  present,  but  was  disap- 
pointed; and  I  must  say  that  I  never  was  so  for- 
tunate with  servants  as  this  journey — excellent  ser- 
vants tliey  were,  though  of  different  characters ;  I 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  229 

mean  by  servants,  all  tlie  attendants  above  men- 
tioned. 

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  Mu- 
hammed  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-Na- 
niak  (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  Muham- 
med : 

Comfort  to  Muhammed! 

Comfort  to  All! 

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 
overnight  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 


230  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Soleiman,  near 
Tabreez,  to  Mazanderan  and  Sistan,  but  they  are 
now  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  Surk- 
hak,  we  saw  that  Prince  Seif  UUah  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  consider- 
able town,  containing  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  victuals  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 
McNeile,  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  caravanseray  twenty-four  miles  distant. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  231 

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  Khoras- 
saun,  Imam  Resa ;  hence,  the  caravanseray  is  called 
Aghwan. 

Thursday,  the  22nd  February,  we  left  this  cara- 
vanseray, and  passed  the  ruined  castle  built  by  Nu- 
shirwan.  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  Colonel  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 


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


232  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

colonel  (Serlienk)  was  obliged  to  procure  victuals 
for  me. 

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

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  Bo- 
khara: 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  Enghsh  people  into  notice  in  this 
country;  and  also  to  the  invasion  of  the  British  army 
in  Aflfghanistaun.  On  Monday  I  remained  here,  and 
visited  the  Muhammedan  college  of  Sharoot,  and 
conversed  about  the  Gospel  with  their  mullahs. 

February  27th,  I  arrived  at  ]Mi\  amev,  and  on  the 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  233 

28tli  at  Miyandasht.  From  Miyandasht  to  Meher, 
the  road  is  considered  rather  dangerous,  for  the 
Turkomauns  sometimes  make  it  still  unsafe,  though 
not  in  such  a  degree  as  formerly ;  I  therefore  was, 
according  to  the  order  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,  for- 
merly 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 
Stoddart's  servant  for  a  few  days. 

Sunday,  March  3rd,  w^e  arrived  at  a  beautiful 
village  called  Khosroejerd.  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  thou- 
sand inhabitants.     Here  Tamerlane  built  a  tower  of 


234  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

the  sculls  of  men  whom  he  had  slain  in  battle,  and 
hither  it  was  that  the  Jews  were  transported  from 
Kaswin  to  Khorassaun,  by  Shah  Abbas.     Sebzawar 
is  covered  with  verdure  and  melons  in  profusion. 
Hence  it   derives  its   name,    Sebz,   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  Hussein, 
Imam  Resa,  and  Abool  Casem?"     W.  The  latter. 
Mullahs.  Why?     W.  Omar,  Osman,  and  Abubekr 
killed  people ;  but  the  latter  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   Excellency 
whether  he  would  receive  me  there  or  at  Meshed. 
My  mehmoondar  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  every- 
thing necessary,  and  at  the  same  time  with  a  mes- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  235 

sage  to  me,  that  he  would  receive  me  at  Meshed,  on 
the  25th  of  the  month  SafFar,  i.  e.,  the  15th  of 
March,  (after  to-morrow,)  when  he  would  be  at 
Meshed;  and  he  sent  me  word  that  Stoddart  and 
ConoUy  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  Me- 
shed four  months  until  he  was  admitted  to  the  AssafF- 
ood-Dowla,  is  evident  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  AssafF-ood-Dowla 
until  eleven  days  before  I  met  the  Ghulam  at  Germ- 
Ab.     Now  here   I   cannot  avoid  making  another 


236  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

remark,  for  the  matter  is  too  important  to  be  hastily 
passed  over.  Before  I  left  England  I  wrote  a  con- 
fidential 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  Shell  did  not 
know,  before  he  reposed  such  confidence  in  Mu- 
hammed  Ali  Serraf,  the  character  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  pro- 
perty of  one  of  the  victims,  w^iom  from  the  basest 
motives  he  had  left  to  perish  at  Bokhara,  holding 
his  property  from  him  and  his  relatives,  and  sacri- 
ficing his  life. 

Thursday,  March  7th,  1844,  I  arrived  at  Nisha- 
poor.  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  Bok- 
hara. Tamas  Beyk,  chief  of  the  couriers  in  Kho- 
rassaun,  to  whom  all  the  couriers  (Japarjees)  and  the 


OF  DR.  \yOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  237 

Kafila  Basliis  (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  Kalaa  (castle)  outside  Bokhara. 

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

Saturday,  I  arrived  in  the  village  called  Kadam- 
gah  (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  exclaimed,  "  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  religion  which  I  profess,  and  which  I  faithfully 
conveyed  to  them.  Many  of  them  expressed  a  wish 
to  go  to  England,  and  be  better  informed  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  surprising:  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  lieutenant,  than  it  was  under  those  tyrannical 
khans,  who  have  been  successfully  exterminated,  in 
a  most  wonderful  manner;  and  the  invasion  of  the 


288  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

British  in  AfFghanistaun  has  also  much  contributed 
towards  it. 

Sunday,  the  lOth,  arrived  at  Shereef-Abad,  the 
place  where  I,  in  1831,  was  the  second  time  in  dan- 
ger 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  11th  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  suddenly  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  Xhe  fanatic  and  covetous 
Muhammedans  shouted,   (^^}    '^^i    '^^'^^   *^*3S  j^ 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  239 

"  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  sup- 
press their  feelings  when  their  parents  call  them  by 
their  Muhammedan  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  Can- 
dahar,  as  his  testimonials  from  Rawlinson  and  others 
amply  testify. 

Soon  after,  Saleh  Muhammed,  the  Akhund-Zadeh 
who  gave  to  Colonel  Shell  the  detailed  account  of 
the  death  of  Stoddart  and  Conolly,  came  also  on 
horseback  to  meet  me.  He  is  not  the  same  person 
whom  I  supposed  that  I  knew,  and  he  is  a  Sunnde, 
and  may  have  heard  the  story  at  Bokhara;  but  I 
did  not  believe  the  truth  of  it,  and  w^as  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  considerable  amount  belonging  to  Colonel  Stoddart. 
He  himself  never  uttered  a  word  about  it;  on  the  con- 
trary, 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, 


240  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

boasting*  of  the  services  he  did  to  tlie  English — a 
cowardly  rogue,  only  bent  upon  his  own  interest, 
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  mul- 
lah. Colonel  Shell  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  Shell 
sent  to  me  from  the  Sultan  of  Constantinople." 

W.  Why  did  you  not  send  long  ago  a  man  with 
the  letter  to  Bokhara,  which  you  sent  back  once  to 
Colonel  Shell  after  the  report  of  Stoddart's  death, 
and  which  was  sent  a  second  time  to  you  by 
Colonel  Shell  for  the  purx)Ose  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  Assaff-ood-Dowla,  who  was  sent  to  Bok- 
hara at  Colonel  Shell's  request  thirteen  days  ago  ? 

M.  M.  A.  S.  I  was  afraid  that  the  King  of  Bok- 
hara might  ask  the  man  of  the  AssafF-ood-Dowla, 
"  What  have  you  to  do  with  the  Sultan  of  Constanti- 
nople ?     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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  241 

Jews  of  Samarcand,  Bokhara,  and  Balkh :  all  these 
letters  Mullah  Muhammed  All  Serraf  told  me  he  had 
sent  on  only  one  month  ago  to  the  Jews  of  Bokhara, 
— if  he  sent  them  at  all.  I  became  therefore  more 
anxious  than  ever  to  go  to  Bokhara,  and  determined 
that  nothing  should  prevent  me  from  my  design 
but  death ;  for  the  AssafF-ood-Dowla  himself  sent  me 
word,  that  he  had  learnt  that,  eleven  months  ago, 
hoth  had  been  alive.  And  I  wrote  therefore  a  second 
letter  to  the  AssafF-ood-Dowla,  on  my  arrival  at  Me- 
shed, 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  Mowt  with 
all  the  Turkomaun  chiefs  who  were  at  Meshed  at  the 
time. 


Vol.  I.  R 


242  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Arrival  at  Meshed.  Visited  on  arrival  by  the  Heads  of  the  Mosque. 
Distance  traversed  by  Dr.  Wolff.  Dr.  Wolff  reported  to  be  a 
Mullah  two  hundred  years  old.  The  improbability  of  Saleh  Mu- 
hammed*s  Statement  clearer  shown  by  further  examination  of  him. 
Muhammed  Ali  Serraf,  a  Villain.  Haje  Ibrahim,  brother  of  Abdul 
Samut  Khan.  Aga  Abool  Kasem.  Letters  of  Sir  Moses  Monte- 
iiore  for  the  Jews  of  Bokhara  detained  by  Muhammed  Ali  Serraf, 
and  not  forwarded  to  Bokhara.  High  Priests  of  the  Mosque.  Ar- 
rival of  the  Viceroy,  the  Assaff-ood-Dowla,  at  Meshed.  The  Vice- 
roy commends  Dr.  Wolff  to  the  care  of  the  Turkomauns.  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.  De- 
lays used  by  the  Turkomaun  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  Arrah- 
man,  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.  Dancing  Der- 
veeshes.  The  Khaleefa  offers  Dr.  Wolff  the  means  of  escape  and 
dissuades  him  from  going  to  Bokhara.  Conversation  with  the 
Derveesh  of  Kashgar.  Letter  to  Captain  Grover.  Sensation 
created  at  Bokhara  by  Lord  EUenborough's  Letter  to  the  Ameer. 
Letter  to  Lady  Georgiana.  Schools  in  the  Desert.  GhengisKhan. 
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  rehgion,  and  chiefs  of  the  great 
mosque  at  Meshed;  which  is  not  a  little  thing.     The 


OP  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  243 

Assaflf-ood-Dowla  was  expected  on  the  15tli  of  March 
to  a  certainty. 

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  accom- 
panying 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 
Affghanistaun,  Affghauns, — with  testimonials  from 
Rawlinson,  ConoUy,  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  Kuzzelbash,  who  accompanied  me  for  the 
recovery  of  the  prisoners,  and  that  he  behaved  most  hand- 
somely and  afforded  me  aU  the  assistance  in  his  power. 

(Signed)        Richmond  Shakespeare. 
;    September  20th,  1842. 

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  Stod- 
dart, who  were  most  consummate  rascals.  The  name 
of  the  one  is  Seyf  KuUe  Khan,  and  the  other  Tamas 
Kulle   Khan;  they   bitterly   complained  that  they 

R  2 


244  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

had  been  sent  to  Bokhara,  and  received  no  re- 
muneration for  it,  whilst  I  knew  from  Aga  Abool 
Kasem,  formerly  British  agent  at  Meshed,  and 
from  my  friend  Mullah  Mehdee,  that  they  had  re- 
ceived  about  one  thousand  five  hundred  tomauns, 
or  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  sterling,  as  a 
reward.  On  mentioning  Aga  Abool  Kasem,  for- 
merly British  agent  here,  the  question  may  be  asked, 
Why  was  he  not  employed  by  Colonel  Shell  in  for- 
warding the  letters  to  Bokhara?  There  are  two  very 
weighty  reasons  for  it,  if  not  more.  1st.  Aga  or 
Mullah  Muhammed  Ali  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 
manner,  and  to  receive  one  from  him  in  the  same 
way.  I  wrote  to  Colonel  Shell,  and  requested  him 
to  send  on  immediately  Mr.  Thomson  to  Meshed, 
to  look  also  into  the  affairs  of  Mullah  Muliammed 
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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  245 

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.  5,     Constantinople  to  Trebizond     -     -     -  480 

2.  „     Trebizond  to  Erzroom      -----        180 

3.  „     Erzroom  to  Teheraun     -----  588 

4.  „     Teheraun  to  Meshed  ------       556 

5104 
There  remained  only  to  Bokhara  -    -    -     -    -         550 


5650 


Among  the  other  wild  Eastern  rumours  at  Sha- 
root,  a  report  was  spread  that  a  mullah  from  Eng- 
land 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  Shell,  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  Eng- 
land, sends  his  blessing  to  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Organtsh, 
and  wishes  him  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  the  Wise,  (upon 


246  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  tra- 
versed for  the  sake  of  God  and  Jesus,  and  for  the  good  of  my 
fellow  creatures,  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 
Mullahs,  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  wor- 
ship 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 
eea;  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  Stoddart  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  Bokhara, 
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  Turkomauns 
and  Hazarahs,  and  to  the  Khans  of  Ankhoy,  Maymona,  and 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  247 

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  Frankistaun  and  in  the  land  of  Russia. 

(Sealed)        Joseph  Wolff. 

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

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  Tur- 
kistaun,  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  UUah,  in  the  name  of  God  and  Jesus  the  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  there- 
fore I  am  confident  that  you  will  receive  me  kindly.  I  there- 
fore 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  indifference  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  Muhammed  Noori,  and  forwarded 
by  a  relation  of  Shah  Soujah  El-Mulck,  late  King 
of  Cabul. 


248  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

During  tlie  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-Za- 
deh  Saleh  Muhammed,  my  hopes  were  further  raised, 
of  the  probable  existence  of  Stoddart  and  ConoUy. 
One  solitary  person  at  Bokhara  was  also,  he  admitted, 
the  sole  source  of  his  information.  I  did  not  believe 
his  story:  1st.  Because  Tamas  Beyk,  the  chief  of  the 
Japaree  of  several  provinces  in  Khorassaun,  a  kind 
hearted  and  excellent  man,  who  lives  at  Nishapoor, 
told  me  that  Kurban,  the  chief  of  caravans,  who  re- 
sides at  Maymona,  twelve  days'  journey  from  Bok- 
hara, and  who  is  there  every  three  months,  assured 
him  that  both  Stoddart  and  ConoUy  were  alive,  and 
imprisoned  in  the  Kalai,  outside  of  Bokhara.  Ka- 
kuUi,  also  a  Tiirkomaun  chief,  who  also  was  at  Nisha- 
poor, showed  to  me  a  letter  from  his  brother  at  Bok- 
hara, 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  ConoUy  were  alive  last  year.  3rd. 
The  people  of  Meshed  themselves  told  me,  that  the 


OF  DK.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  249 

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  appearance  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  ap- 
peared. Poor  Stoddart  ordered  all  his  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  order  of  forwarding  it  to 
Bokhara  at  any  rate?  I  have  shewn  how  he 
equivocated  on  that  point :  and  on  my  entrance 
into  Meshed,  he  hesitated  as  to  giving  me  the  letter, 
until  I  sent  him  a  threatening  message,  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 


250  NABRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  pootshy^ 
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  country,  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  ambas- 
sador 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  inno-^ 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  261 

cent  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  Tehe- 
raun,  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  British  embassy,  to  have  mentioned  to  me,  and 
then  repeated  all  the  above  conversation  at  Meshed, 
verbatim,  especially  relative  to  Lord  EUenborough's 
letter. 

I  immediately  took  the  letter  of  the  Sultan,  which 
was  in  the  possession  of  Muhammed  Ali  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  respectable  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  Mu- 
hammed Ali  Serraf,  and  send  it  on  to  Bokhara  ?  He, 
more  upright  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 


252  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Ali  Serraf,  Stoddart's  agent.     I 
immediately  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  Me- 
shed, to  the  Jews  of  Bokhara,  Samarcand,  Balkh, 
and  Khokand ;  but  Colonel  Shell,  of  course,  accord- 
ing to  Stoddart's  direction,  forwarded  them  through 
his  agent,  Mullah  Muhammed  Ali  Serraf.    He  called 
yesterday  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  enve- 
lope, 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  desiring  him  to  produce 
the  envelopes,  which  he  said  he  had  preserved,  I 
found  that  he  only  had  forwarded  the  letters  to  Sa- 
marcand, Balkh,  and  Khokand,  but  broken  the  seal 
and  kept  back  the  most  important  of  all,  the  letter  of 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  253 

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 
etters,  I  found  to  a  certainty,  had  only  been  for- 
warded thirty  days  ago. 

Aga  Abool  Kasem,  the  above-mentioned  respect- 
able merchant,  and  formerly  British  agent,  gave  me 
this  day  the  following  exact  information  as  to  the 
property  of  Colonel  Stoddart,  in  the  hands  of  his 
agent :  (viz.,)  that  Muhammed  Ali  Serraf  was  in  pos- 
session of  shawls  consigned  to  him  by  Colonel  Stod- 
dart, 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  Stoddart'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 
Shell'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 


254  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

of  Meshed,  and  Haje  Mirza  Moosa  Khan,  Metwalle 
of  the  Mosque,  both  of  whom  have  been  very  kmd  to 
me,  and  given  me  every  assistance.  They  wish  to 
obtain  a  Uthographic  press,  each  one  of  them,  and  the 
AssafF-ood-Dowla  wishes  for  a  beautiful  spy-glass.  I 
wrote  to  England,  to  get  these  things  forwarded  to 
them,  not  by  Stoddart's  agent,  but  by  Mullah  Meh- 
dee,  my  friend. 

March  15th.  The  AssafF-ood-Dowla  (viceroy)  of 
Khorassaun  arrived  here,  and  immediately  sent  his 
chamberlain  to  welcome  me.  Three  hundred  Tur- 
komaun  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  Enghsh  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  Eooz  (new-year's  day)  of  the 
Persians.  His  Excellency  the  AssafF-ood-Dowla  sent 
me  sweetmeats,  and  gold  and  silver  pence, — which 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  255 

are  considered  blessed  pence y — to  the  value  of  five 
tomauns  sterling,  according  to  Persian  custom.  I 
saw  at  his  lev^e  the  Persian  soldiers  drilled  before 
him.  One  Turkomaun  chief  is  appointed  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. 

My  letters  from  the  Sultan  and  Sheikh  Islam  of 
Constantinople,  for  the  King  and  Mullahs  of  Khiva 
and  Khokand,  were  sent  on  by  an  express  Turko- 
maun, for  which  I  paid  fifty  tomauns.  I  gave  one 
hundred  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.  He  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 : 

is^^^3  ifi^-t^  ^^^^i  CdV^^  ^-^^"^  Mr^  /^  ^V  •-^^^ 


i.  e,  "  I  am  sent  from  England,  and  from  the  Turkish 
government,  and  from  the  Russian  government,  and 


256  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

the  Persian  government,  by  reason  of  that  friendship 
which  subsists  between  these  governments  and  Eng- 
land." I  asked  him  whether  he  would  wish  to  have 
an  Enghsh  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,  amount- 
ing to  five  hundred  tomauns  in  value.  Really  our 
government  ought  to  recognise  his  great  kindness, 
even  to  so  mean  a  member  of  its  body  corporate  as 
myself.  My  letters  from  England  were  conveyed  to 
me  by  the  hands  of  his  own  chamberlain.  My  rooms 
were  here  a  most  extraordinary  sight.  On  one  occa- 
sion, 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  ;  Mullah  Mehdee  sate  in  another  com- 
partment 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  Melunoondar,  looks 
anxiously  about  my  safety.  My  own  servants  con- 
sulting 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  2i"37 

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

After  the  Turkomauns  of  Merwe  had  rebelled 
against  the  King  of  Khiva,  and  killed  the  governor 
set  over  them  by  that  sovereign,  they  first  of  al-* 
sought  protection  from  the  King  of  Bokhara,  but  he 
(the  AssafF-ood-Dowla)  having  been  informed  of  the 
ill  treatment  of  Stoddart  and  Conolly,  induced  all  the 
Turkomauns  to  rebel  against  the  King  of  Bokhara, 
and  that  now  three  hundred  Turkomaun  chiefs,  whom 
T  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  Taj  an.  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  m  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  detention  of  the 
Eljee  of  Bokhara,  he  would  detain  him  at  Meshed 
until  I  reached  it  safe  and  sound.  When  Colonel 
Shell  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 
Vol.  I.  S 


258  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

he  should  send  further  presents  to  the  same  amount 
by  Dil  Assa  Khan. 

He  also  said  that  he  was  ready  to  march  on  Bok- 
hara 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  ConoUy 
produced  to  me,  I  determined  now  to  proceed  to  Bok- 
hara, and  to  investigate  how  they  died.  A  strong 
prestige  was  also  rising  in  my  favour.  Yar  Muham- 
med  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  mission 
to  Bokhara,  as  far  as  KhooUom.  The  various  delays 
at  this  place  became  so  vexatious  that  I  wTote  to  the 
Assaff-ood-Dowla  on  the  24th  March,  complaining  of 
Dil  Assa  Khan,  the  chief  of  several  tribes  of  Mer- 
wee,  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  High- 
ness ordered  Dil  Assa  Khan,  accordingly,  to  leave 
on  the  26th  of  this  month.  Dil  Assa  Khan  re- 
ceived from  me  one  hundred  tomauns,  and  the 
Assaff-ood-Dowla  gave  to  him  out  of  his  o\^ti 
pocket  three  hundred  tomauns,  and  sent  presents, 
as  I  have  mentioned,  for  the  King  of  Bokhara, 
to  the  amount  of  five  hundred  tomauns.      Colonel 


OP  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  259 

Shell  also  had  given  to  me  some  cloth  (three  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  Shell  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  two- 
fold effect, — first  of  all,  he  will  take  good  care  to 
make  it  known  among  all  the  Turkomauns,  and 
at  Shahr  Sabz,  Khokand,  Samarcand,  KhooUom, 
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 
w^ill  at  the  same  time  deter  the  Usbeck  Tatars 
from  giving  any  further  assistance  to  the  King  of 

S  2 


260  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Bokhara.  Mullah  Mehdee,  a  friend  of  Yar  Mu- 
hammed  Khan,  at  Herant,  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  sliould  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,  derveeshes,  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  hos- 
pitable 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  com- 
mitted, 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 


OF  DK.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  261 

Meshed,  who  read  it  in  the  mosque  of  Gowher  Shah, 
where  five  thousand  people  were  assembled. 

A  caravan  arrived  here  some  days  ago  from 
Bokhara,  and  the  answer  to  my  inquiries  was, 
They  may  he  alive,  for  nobody  has  seen  them  exe- 
cuted, 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  Eljees,  he  was  a  liar ! 
And,  as  I  have  said,  even  the  Akhund-Zadeh,  8aleh 
Muhammed  told  me  that  the  two  persons  who  were 
put  to  death,  and  of  whom  he  gave  a  circumstantial 
account  to  Colonel  Shell,  might  have  been  two  other 
persons,  and  the  executioner  who  told  him  the  story 
might  have  belied  him ;  and  besides  this,  1  must  con- 
fess that  two  things  are  suspicious  to  me  in  the  ex- 
treme 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  sus- 


262  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

pected  on  a  certain  subject.  He  questioned  those 
people  on  other  points :  so  did  I  with  the  Akhund- 
Zadeh  ;  I  asked  him  one  day  about  the  intended  ex- 
pedition of  the  Russians  to  Khiva.  The  answer  of 
the  Akhund-Zadeh  was,  that  he  knew  positively 
(^^^)  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  Shell  for  one  hundred  and  twenty  to- 
mauns,  which  I  learnt  from  different  quarters  he 
had  received  from  Major  Todd ;  and  I  learnt,  more- 
over, that  he  was  of  the  party  who  frightened  my 
servant  (Rajab)  from  accompanying  me  to  Bok- 
hara. The  other  servant  of  Stoddart,  when  at  He- 
raut — 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  AssafT-ood-Dowla  is  very  anxious  to 
march  against  Bokhara,  and  take  it.  He  is  confi- 
dent that  he  could  take  Bokhara  in  less  than  half 
an  hour. 

The  AssafFis  really  a  great  man ;  he  has  brought, 
by  his  prudent  conduct,  the  greatest  number  of  Tur- 
komauns  under  his  sway.  The  Japow,  or  Plundering 
Expedition  of  the  Ttirkomauns  into  Khorassaun,  is 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  268 

through  him  in  a  great  degree  abolished.  He  has 
erected  caravanserays  and  other  buildings.  There 
he  keeps  and  maintains  now  the  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,  Shell  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.  How- 
ever, as  a  precaution,  I  determined  to  write  to 
Colonel  Shell,  that  he  should  send  on  a  man  to 
Meshed,  with  an  order  from  the  Shah  to  send  me  on 
immediately. 

The  trouble  that  Dil  Assa  Khan  occasioned 
me  is  almost  inconceivable.  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  Tiir- 
komauns  of  Sarakhs,  and  the  Khaleefa  of  Mowr, 
the  spiritual  head  of  the  Turkomans,  writing  to  all 
that  they  should  take  good  care  of  me,  for  Persia, 


264  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

England,  Russia,  and  Turkey  would  otherwise  call 
them  to  account ;  all  had  little  influence  on  this  fel- 
low. His  dread  of  Behadur  Khan  seemed  as  unmi- 
tigated 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  ex- 
cuses, and  at  last  sent  me  on  with  one  of  his  men  to 
Kanakoosha,  twelve  miles  from  Meshed.  Mullah 
Melidee,  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  shehrea,  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  ano- 
ther 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  vid  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, 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  265 

and  even  then  he  wanted  to  stay  some  days  more, 
until  I  positively  ordered  my  servants  to  make  ready 
for  returning  to  Meshed. 

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  companion  in  my  route. 
Meanwhile  I  steadily  refused  Dil  Assa  Khan's  de- 
mands. 

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. 


266  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  ar- 
tillerymen 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  pre- 
sent 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  accompanied  me  as  far  as  Merve. 
I  had  also  with  me  Mullah  SefFee,  the  Jew,  who 
served  ConoUy  and  Stoddart,  the  first  time  when  at 
Khiva,  the  second  when  at  Bokhara.  He  was  also 
with  Todd  at  Heraut.  T  cannot  enough  impress  upon 
the  minds  of  the  English  people  the  necessity  of  send- 
ing an  Enghsh  gentleman  by  birth  to  Meshed ;  for 
though  Mullah  Mehdee  is  very  useful,  still  he  needs 
the  surveillance  of  an  English  gentleman,  and  the 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  267 

agent  of  Stoddart,  Muhammed  Ali  Serraf,  is  a  most 
contemptible  fellow. 

On  the  5th  of  April  (Friday),  we  arrived  at 
Gonbazli,  three  farsakhs  (twelve  miles)  from  the 
former;  nothing  but  a  well  in  the  desert,  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 


268  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

that  I  shall  meet  him  to-morrow  at  Merve,  or,  after 
a  few  days,  at  Jehaar-Joo. 

1  was  bothered  every  day  to  death  by  my  com- 
panion, 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  Bokhara.  The  Jew  Nathan,  and  other  Jews  who 
knew  me  twelve  years  ago  when  in  this  place,  imme- 
diately 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  Stoddart,  Conolly,  Shakespeare  (w^ho 
is  called  Sheikh-Sefeer),  Abbott,  Todd,  Riacli,  and 
Thomson,  are  mentioned  with  respect  and  regard, 
and  the  whole  nation  is  admired ;  so  that  Lord  Pal- 
merston  ought  to  have  the  thanks  of  Britain  for 
having  invaded  AfFghanistaun,  for  even  in  Affghanis- 
taun  they  think  now  with  affection  of  England  and 
Englishmen.  Abd  Arrahman,  my  host,  is  a  vener- 
able old  Turkomaun,  worthy  of  his  office;  a  man 
without  many  words,  without  covetousness,  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  through- 
out Turkistaun,  thev  would  not  have  sent  him  back 


OP  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  269 

to  his  regiment.  The  name,  and  liberality,  and  kind- 
ness of  Todd,  resound  through  the  desert  of  Turkis- 
taun;  and  thus  is  Riach  respected,  and  the  above- 
named  gentlemen;  only  Stoddart  is  described  as  a 
hrave  but  rough  man  universally;  Conolly  is  de- 
scribed 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,  slow- 
ness 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  Tiir- 
komauns  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 


270  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

was  erroneous,  for  Abdul  Samut  Khan  is  a  Persian 
at  Bokhara,  head  of  the  artillery,  but  is  erroneously 
believed  by  many  to  be  an  Englishman,  or  Ferin- 
ghee.  In  this  remarkable  place  (Mowr)  there  is  an 
equally  remarkable  man ;  I  allude  to  the  Khaleefa 
of  the  Turkomauns.  My  readers  will  in  this  work 
see  the  portrait,  by  a  Persian  artist,  of  this  remark- 
able individual. 

Providence  does  appear  in  a  most  wonderful 
manner  to  operate  by  the  most  singular  causes 
to  restrain  the  wickedness  of  men.  The  Turko- 
mauns 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 
Beduins  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  previous  to  their  going  on  any  expedition. 


OF  DR.   \YOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  271 

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  Tar- 
tary,  send  him  presents,  and  give  him  the  title  of 
King*.  His  name  is  Abd  Urrahman,  ''Slave  of  the 
merciful  God;"  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  himself  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  All's  camel  ascended 
to  heaven. 

Several  years  ago  the  King  of  Khiva  had  forced 


272  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

upon  the  Turkomauns  of  Mowr,  a  governor,  who 
resided  hi  the  castle  of  Mowr,  with  600  Khivites. 
The  Turkomauns  conspired  against  him,  and  slew 
him  and  several  hundred  of  the  Khivites.  About 
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  infuriated  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 
tlie  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  like  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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  273 

The  chiefs  of  the  Turkomauns  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  w^e  Turkomauns  do  not  mind  who  governs 
those  countries  of  Bokhara  and  Khiva,  whether 
Behadur  Khan,  or  England,  or  Russia;  if  we  only 
get  khelats  (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,  can- 
not be  trusted;  and  therefore  we  shall  at  last  go 
nearer  to  the  Russian  territory,  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  dif- 
ferent person  who  is  now  with  Abdul  Samut  Khari. 
Youssuff  Wolff,  you  are  a  derveesh  like  myself,  per- 
mit me  to  save  you,  and  to  be  instrumental  to  your 
Vol.  I.  T 


274  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

escape  to  the  Turkomauns  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  de- 
signed 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  govern- 
ment would  charge  their  ambassador  at  Teheraun  to 
enter  into  a  friendly  correspondence  with  the  Kha- 
leefa 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. 

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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  275 

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  nightin- 
gale; 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 

T  2 


276  NATtUATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  pro- 
nounced everything  to  be  good,  but  Satan,  in  the 
garb  of  a  serpent,  and  who  is  called  by  the  apostle 
the  God  of  this  world,  beguiled  Eve,  and  she  her 
husband,  and  thus  evil  came  into  the  world;  and 
as  w^here  tyranny  prevails  the  country  becomes  a 
desert,  thus  the  world  and  men  therein  became  cor- 
rupt; 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  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  277 

also  be  killed,  who,  though  called  '  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  Grrover,  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  Shahr  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  importance  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  Bok- 
hara, 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  Kaheem  Dad  Beyk,  chief  of  the 


278  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Turkomaun  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  Com- 
mittee 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 
ConoUy  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  diligence  and  attention  of  Mullah 
Mehdee.  My  letters  of  the  date  of  the  3rd  of 
February  reached  me  even  here  by  the  kindness  of 
Colonel  Shell  and  this  valuable  agent ;  but  had  Mul- 
lah Muhammed  Ali  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  Bo- 
khara in  my  behalf. 

The  Assaff-ood-Dowla  has  behaved  most  hand- 
somely during  my  whole  connection  with  him.     But 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  270 

Dil  Assa  Khan  frustrated  all  his  benevolent  purposes 
in  every  possible  way. 

The  sensation  created  at  Bokhara  by  the  letter 
of  Lord  EUenborough  I  learn  was  extraordinary. 
The  Khan  expected  a  direct  communication  from 
the  Queen,  and  was  greatly  irritated  by  not  re- 
ceiving it. 

The  Desert  here  even,  I  repeat,  rings  with  the 
names  of  Todd,  Riach,  Shakespeare,  Thomson. 
From  the  Affghanistaun  war  the  English  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  encoura- 
ging 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  pro- 
bably 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 : 


280  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Merve  or  Mowr,  14tli  April,  1844. 
My  dearest  and  most  beloved  Georgiana, 

I  set  out  after  two  hours  from  here  for  Bokhara. 
The  Khaleefa  of  Mowr  has  behaved  most  excellently  towards 
me;  he  has  sent  one  of  his  own  disciples  with  me  to  Bo- 
khara. Be  of  good  spirits,  my  dearest  Georgiana,  for  all  that 
may  happen  to  me  there  is  of  the  Lord.  I  go  there  icithout 
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  Turkomauns  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  Tiirkomauns  as- 
sured 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  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  Gue- 
bers,  and  the  Jews.  I  instance,  first,  that  at  Mowr 
already  mentioned;  though  a  desert,  a  school  is 
kept  there,  on  account  of  its  antiquity.  At  Bassora, 
in  the  Persian  Gulf,  though  destroyed,  the  school  is 
not  given  up ;  at  Bagdad  the  same ;  and  even  the 
Arabs  around  Kiifa  have  a  school;  and  Teman  or 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  281 

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  con- 
strained to  embrace  Muhammedanism  in  other 
parts  of  Persia,  are  permitted  to  return  to  their 
ancient  usages  and  religion.  But  it  is  a  remark- 
able fact,  that  there  are  some  Jews  at  Mowr, 
who  have  professed  the  Muhammedan  religion  and 
become  Turkomauns,  and  that  there  are  Jews  at 
Khiva,  of  whom  I  was  told  at  Mowr,  who,  though 
remaining  Jews,  have  intermarried  with  the  Usbeks. 
And  is  it  not  striking,  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  TafiUa-Leth.     And  in  Mesopotamia  they 


282  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Je- 
laal-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,  Sa- 
marcand,  Bokhara,  Peykand,  Jesmaan-Doo,  AUat, 
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  military  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,  Bokhara,  and  Shahr-Sabz,  they 
intended  to  make  the  whole  route  through  the  desert 
from  Orenbourgh  to  Khiva.     Probably  they  also  did 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  283 

SO,  in  order  to  show  to  England  that  they  had  no 
design  on  Bokhara  and  Khokand,  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  frontiers  of  Russia  to 
the  city  of  Hazrat  Sultaun,  or  Tiirkistaun.  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  countries 
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  Lahore  the  British  army  would  meet  them, 
and  then  the  strongest  would  have  it.  And  also 
there,  much  will  depend  upon  whether  the  people 
of  thePunjaub  are  affected  or  disaffected  to  England. 
Or  they  may  go  from  Khokand  to  Kondus  and  Khool- 
lom,  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  Affghanistaun  have  been  most 
shamefully  abandoned  by  the  British  army  after  the 
retreat  of  Lord  EUenborough,  they  certainly  will 
join  the  Russians. 


284  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

I  must  also  note,  tliat  the  moment  I  heard  that 
the   English   had    invaded  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  mountaineers. 
So  it  happened.     But  I  say  that  though  I  considered 
that  whole  war  a  gross  act  of  imprudence,   Lord 
EUenborough  ought  to  have  ordered  the  troops  to 
stop  there  five  years   after   they   had   reconquered 
Cabul  and  Ghuznee.      The  shout  of  the  Affghaun 
nation  at  seeing  the  English   return  was,   '^  These 
Englishmen  are  like  birds  flying  in  the  air,  nothing 
can  be  done  with  them ; — they  are  more  dangerous 
after  defeat  than  victory ; — we  must  submit."     The 
Guzl-Bash  also  would  have  taken  fresli  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 
people  did  not  behave  well  towards  Nawaub  Jabar 


OF  BR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  285 

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 
Khan  frequently  asks  him  in  a  joking  manner, 
"Now,  brother,  how  are  your  friends  the  English 
going  on?"  It  must,  however,  be  confessed,  that 
nevertheless  the  name  of  the  Enghshman  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  pre- 
vent 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  Ankhoy,  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  Russians  than  by  the  English, 


286  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  certainty,  that  all  the  members  of  the 
Royal  Family  in  Persia  are  more  inclined  to  Russia 
than  to  England,  and  almost  all  the  people  in  autho- 
rity, whilst  the  populace  in  general  are  more  inchned 
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  Shell:    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  Assaff-ood-Dowla,  eleven  days  before  my 
arrival   at   Meshed,  to   Bokhara,  and  then  by  Dil 
Assa  Khan,  who  accompanied  me  to  Bokhara.     To 
my  great  horror,    after   my  return  to  Teheraun, 
Colonel  Shell  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  considered  as  adequately  remunerated 
by  a  watch.     3rd.  Colonel  Shell  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  exceed- 
ingly offended. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  287 


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  ConoUy.  Mode  of  Capital  Punishment 
altered  at  Bokhara  from  Strangling  to  Beheading.  Dr.  Wolff  enter- 
tains serious  Alarm  for  his  own  Safety;  adopts  Measures  accordingly. 
Letters  of  Sultan  and  Sir  Moses  Montefiore  never  forwarded  to 
Ameer  by  Muhammed  Ali  Serraf  by  order  of  Colonel  Shell.  Dis- 
tant manner  of  Colonel  Shell  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.  Con- 
versations 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  incur- 
sion 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  Con- 
duct to  Dr.  Wolff;  sends  three  Ambassadors  to  the  Ameer  of  Bok- 
hara requesting  the  Ameer  to  put  Dr.  Wolff  to  Death,  but  affects  to 
be  well  disposed  to  him.  Dil  Assa  Khan  the  Servant  of  this  Yar 
Muhammed  Khan.  Dil  Assa  Khan  escapes  from  Yar  Muhammed 
Khan,  and  becomes  the  Servant  of  the  Assaff-ood-Dowla.  Letter 
from  Dr.  Wolff  sent  on  from  Jehaar-Joo  to  the  Ameer  of  Bokhara. 
Visit  from  Jews  of  Bokhara.  They  warn  Dr.  Wolff  of  his  Danger; 
recommend  Flight  to  Organtsh,  and  tell  him  of  the  Death  of 
Wyburt,  Stoddart,  and  ConoUy,  and  five  other  Englishmen,  Der- 
veesh  tells  him  to  proceed. 

On  April  14th5  I  quitted  the  roof  of  the  kind  and 
excellent  Khaleefa  with  great  regret,  and  advanced 
into  the  Desert  twelve  miles,  where  I  indited  the 


288  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  of  Ameer  Sarog,  April  15, 
My  dear  Grover,  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  Bok- 
hara 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 — and  should  my  head  fall,  exert  then  your  powers  for  the 
ransoming  of  200,000  Persian  slaves  in  the  kingdom  of  Bok- 
hara. I  cannot  write  much,  for  the  Turkomauns  sit  near  me 
on  the  ground.  Merve  is  aheady  subject  to  Bokhara,  and  in 
a  few  days  a  governor  from  Bokhara  will  be  sent  here. 

J.  Wolff. 

April  1 5th.  I  passed  a  pleasant  day  in  the  tent 
of  the  Turkomaun  Ameer  Sarog.  A  most  extraordi- 
nary 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  Turkomauns,  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  289 

him  fair  warning.  If  the  AssafF-ood-Dowla  catches 
him  at  any  time,  I  would  not  give  a  yara  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  apprehensions  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  Conolly^  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  notj  however,  find  any  European  or 
Asiatic  that  had  witnessed  the  execution.  All  the 
other  Europeans,  as  Youssuf  Khan,  had  been  pub- 
licly executed.  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  there 
was  another  jjoor  Youssuf  viho  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  substi- 

VOL.  I.  U 


290  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

tuted  in  its  room.  This  was  not  the  case  when  I  was 
first  at  Bokhara.  In  this  respect  alone  is  Saleh  Mu- 
hammed  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  EUenborough,  though  Governor- 
General  of  India.  I  also  wrote  to  request  my  friends 
to  obtain  a  similar  letter  from  the  Emperor  of  Rus- 
sia. I  further  pressed  on  them  not  to  forward  any 
letter  from  the  Queen  to  the  King  of  Bokhara  by 
Meshed,  for  Mullah  Mehdee  might  not  be  there 
when  it  arrived,  and  the  Persian  Muhammedan 
agents  were  either  cowards  or  rascals ;  but  to  send  it 
to  the  care  of  the  British  Ambassador  at  St.  Peters- 
burgh,  who  might  recommend  it  to  the  charge  of 
Count  Nesselrode,  to  transmit  vid  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHAM.  291 

express,  he  said,  ''  Here  are  Colonel  Shell's  letters, 
in  which  he  tells  me  not  to  send  them  on  by  an  ex- 
press, but  at  a  convenient  opportunity."  I  am  at  a 
loss  to  guess  the  motives  of  Colonel  Shell.  Perhaps 
Muhammed  Ali  Serraf  might  have  given  him  intima- 
tions of  which  I  am  not  aware,  which  influenced  him 
to  this  singular  course.  It  must  also  be  observed 
that  Colonel  Shell  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  instructions  from  the  British  Government.  It 
gives  me  particular  pain  to  utter  one  word  of 
censure  of  Colonel  Shell,  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  Mc 

U  2 


292  NAMATIYE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Neill,  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,  Campbell 
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  Per- 
sians to  visit  the  British  Embassy ;  but  this  is  also 
the  case  with  the  Russian  Embassy,  but  I  saw  con- 
stantly the  latter  filled  with  Persians,  while  the  for- 
mer was  deserted. 

I  also  admonished  all  my  friends  to  bear  my 
death,  should  it  happen,  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  resftirrection  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 
advance  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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  293 

At  this  place  I  was  accompanied  by  a  caravan, 
composed  of  people  from  Bokhara,  Khokand,  Tash- 
kand  and  Heraut.  At  Kalja  I  received  a  present  of 
a  lamb  from  the  Jew  Mullah  SefTy,  and  had  the 
pleasure  of  sending  back  by  the  Turkomaun  that 
brought  it,  the  communications  alluded  to  with  the 
beloved,  of  my  beloved  and  adopted  country,  Eng- 
land, 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  distant.  Soon  it  will  be  decided  whether 
Stoddart  and  ConoUy,  and  also  Cavaliere  NaselH,  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  similar  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  faU,  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  oif;  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  civihzation  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  exertions  from  Europe  to 

the  Oxus. 

Joseph  Wolff. 


294  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  remarkable  to  hear  these  Turkomauns 
speak  of  the  exploits  of  Alexander  and  Timur, 
exactly  as  if  of  modern  occurrence.  One  of  the 
Turkomauns,  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  pyramid  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  child- 
hood, 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  295 

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  Bayazid,  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,  i,  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,  Cos- 
sacks, and  the  inhabitants  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  tlis  !  We  beseech  Thee,  O  Lord, 
we  beseech  Thee,  O  Lord,  prosper  us !'  " 


296  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Then  one  of  the  derveeshes  present  m  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  numbered  the  number 
of  Tiirkomauns,  and  a  regular  census  of  the  inhabit- 
ants 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  account 
they  assisted  him  in  his  march ;  and  one  of  the  other 
Tiirkomauns  said,  "  Thus  the  English  must  do  as 
Nadir  Shah  did,  when  they  want  to  conquer  Khiva 
and  Bokhara  ;  they  must  feed  us  Tiirkomauns.  We 
care  not  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  Tiirko- 
mauns 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  thou- 
sand men  towards  Merw.  When  Ameer  Sarog 
and    Kaher    Kouli,    my    Turkomaun    companions, 


OF  DE.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  297 

heard  this  report,  they  said,  ^'  Allah,  Allah,  Allah, 
this  will  make  the  tents  of  Merw  tremble ;"  which 
reminded  me  of  the  words  in  Habakkuk,  *'  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  people  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  inconveni- 
ence 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 


298  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Khan,  and  the  villains  that  accompanied  him,  took 
from  me  by  force  the  tea  and  sugar  and  provisions 
v^hich  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  Assa  Khan.     A  second  horse- 
man reached  us,  after  our  arrival  at  Merwe,  threat- 
ening 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  vil- 
lainous tribe,  notorious,  even  among  Turkomauns, 
for  avarice,  faithlessness,  and  treachery.     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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  299 

dynasty  of  Affghanistaun,  was  King  at  Heraut.  His 
vizier  and  fac-totum  was  Yar  Muhammed  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  polite- 
ness Pottinger  and  Darcy  Todd  and  Colonel  Stod- 
dart.  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  Ko- 
handil  Khan  of  Candahar.  To  give  a  further 
idea  of  his  treacherous  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 


300  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Bokhara,  advising  the  Ameer  to  put  me  to  death. 
Now,  of  this  Yar  Muhammed  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  pos- 
session, and  made  him  there  Chief  of  the  Merwee. 
Even  with  all  this  hold  upon  him,  the  rascality  in 
his  nature  was  ^o  strong,  that  he  was  incessantly 
committing  some  act  of  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  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  301 

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  importance,  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  continual  conster- 
nation. 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 


802  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

King  of  Bokhara,  and  delivered  another  to  the 
Governor  of  Jehaar-Joo,  detaihng  the  object  of  my 
mission. 

To  the  Most  Powerful  and  Renowned  Ameer  of  the  Believers, 
the  King  of  Bokhara,  Ameer  Nasir  Ullah  Behadur:  God 
preserve  him. 

Be  it  known  to  Your  Majesty,  that  I,  Joseph  Wolff, 
am  the  well-known  Derveesh  of  the  Christians  in  England, 
who  have  traversed  Syria,  Persia,  Egypt,  Mesopotamia, 
Yemen,  and  Hindustaun;  and  have  enjoyed  the  friendship 
of  Muhammed  AH,  Pasha  of  Egypt,  the  Sheikh  Islam 
of  Stamboul,  Akbar  Shah  of  Delhi,  the  Khaleefa  of  Mowr, 
Muhammed  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  receiving  the  hospitahty  of 
Your  Majesty  for  more  than  a  month,  I  set  out  with  a 
gracious  passport  from  Your  Majesty  to  the  following  pur- 
port. "The  High  Decree  has  gone  forth,  that  Joseph  Wolff, 
the  EngHshman,  should  return  to  his  country,  and  that  on  his 
way  through  these  dominions  nobody  should  lay  any  impedi- 
ment in  his  way  on  entering  or  quitting  any  place.  He  that 
readeth  this,  let  him  hear  and  obey."  And  obeyed  it  was; 
for  Your  Majesty's  command  is  powerful,  since  I  was  well 
received  at  Baikh  and  at  Masaur. 

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 
hospitahty  of  the  inhabitants  of  Bokhara,  did  not  beheve  it; 
and  therefore  I  shall  petition  Your  Majesty  on  my  arrival 
there,  to  send  both  gentlemen  with  me  to  England,  in  orde 
that  the  commotion  may  subside  which  now  exists  through- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  303 

out  Europe,  and  that  strict  friendship  may  be  established 
between  Your  Majesty  and  the  British  Government.  Should 
they  have  been  put  to  death  on  account  of  some  misde- 
meanour 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-bod-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  himself;  but  he,  by  the  pro- 
vident 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- 


804  NARRATIVE  OF  THE   MISSION 

ood-Dowla.     From  the  Governor  of  Jehaar-Joo,  I 
consequently  experienced  every  kindness. 

I  was  here  also  visited  by  Jews  from  Bokhara ; 
and,  most  remarkable,  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  manner:   ^'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 ;  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  ConoUy,  but  for  God's  sake  do  not  go  on  to  Bo- 
khara.    Stoddart  has  been  put  to  death;  Conolly 
also ;  and  some  years  before  both  of  them,  Lieute- 
nant 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  Conolly,   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,  w^oe  to  me,  that  I  have  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  a    Tyrant.'"      This   very  fact 
of  his  exclaiming  thus  was  told  me  previously  by 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  305 

Mullah  Nathan,  the  Jew,  when  at  Merwe.  I 
however  replied  to  them,  ''  I  shall  go  on,  I  must 
be  more  certam  as  to  this  object."  A  derveesh 
entered  my  tent  at  this  instant,  who  was  con- 
sidered to  stand  in  immediate  communication  with 
God,  and  he  had  the  title  Baba.  He  said  to  me, 
"  Go  on,  and  prosper." 


Vol.  I. 


306  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 


CHAPTER  X. 

Arrival  at  Karakol.  Dr.  Wolff  is  abandoned  by  his  Servants.  Motives 
for  the  conduct  of  Dil  Assa  Khan.  Shahr  Islam.  Shouts  of 
Populace  on  Route.  Description  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  Makhrara. 
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 
introduced  to  the  King  of  Bokhara.  The  King  thinks  Dr.  Wolff 
an  extraordinary  Personage.  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  Der- 
veesh.  Omar  Khan  shares  the  fate  of  his  Brethren,  and  dies  in 
battle  against  Behadur  Khan.  Ameer  supposed  also  to  have  mur- 
dered 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; 
recalled;  and  executed. 

I  PROCEEDED,  I  owii,  witli  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  knowledge,  on  Hussein  Khan, 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  307 

Governor  of  Karakol,  a  man  of  ]3robity  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,  Ab- 
dullah apx:)eared,  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  imagfine  that  had  that  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  wit- 
nessed 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  Hussein  exhibited  consider- 
able signs  of  alarm,  although  they  remained  with  me. 

X  2 


308  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  ConoUy  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  accord- 
ingly ;  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  Ms  own  servants  also,  and  ad- 
vised 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  conduct 
evinced  Ms  belief,  was,  that  I  should  be  executed  on 
the  instant  of  my  arrival.  He  therefore  determined 
to  divest  himself  of  all  implication  as  one  of  my  suite. 
The  second,  that  I  might  so  represent  liis  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  shew,  to  obviate 
that  position,  that  on  my  return  I  might  urge  the 
Assaff-ood-Dowla  to  punish  him,  as  he  well  knew 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  309 

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  Karakol,  and  on  the  road  to  Shahr 
Islam ;  (Shahr  Islam  is  the  place  where  formerly 
Afrasiab,  the  famous  king  in  Persian  history,  in 
ancient  time  resided,  and  also  where  Islamism 
was  first  introduced,  it  is  eight  miles  from  Bo- 
khara;) I  said  to  Dil  Assa  Khan,  ^*I  now  fully 
perceive  that  you  have  acted,  do  act,  and  will  con- 
tinue to  act,  the  traitor.  Be  cautious ;  I  warn  you, 
the  consequences  will  alight  on  your  own  head." 

B.  A.  K.  (sneering).  Both  of  your  folks  (Kawm) 
are  killed,  Stoddart  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  sweetmeats  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. 


810  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

I  was  dressed  in  full  canonicals  the  entire  distance 
from  Mowr  to  Bokhara,  being  determined  never  to 
lose  sight  of  my  position  as  mullah,  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  at- 
tracted 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  conse- 
quences 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  Ambas- 
sador, the  Assaff-ood-Dowla,  both  by  word  and 
letters,  and  the  popular  principle  among  the  Mussul- 
mans, as  testified  on  my  route,  in  shouts  of  "  Selaam 
Aleikoom,"  "  Peace  be  with  you." 

The  Tiirkomauns  my  guides  were  in  the  strictest 
sense  of  the  word  master  less,  for  their  Aga  Sakals, 
"  Lords  with  the  Beard,"  have  only  a  right  to  give 
advice,  and  to  conduct  them  on  their  plundering 
expeditions,  but  they  have  no  power  to  punish. 

This  country  of  Usbekistaun  is  filled  with  beauti- 
fully-watered and  cultivated  valleys.  Here  we  find 
the  Great  Bokhara,  in  contradistinction  to  Little 
Bokhara ;  from  S^""  to  42°  north  latitude,  and  from 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  311 

80°  to  92°  east  longitude,  it  extends  in  different 
directions.  It  borders  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  moun- 
tains 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 
empire  at  Organtsh,  in  Khiva.  They  spread  death 
and  destruction  over  the  w^hole  of  Turkistaun,  as  far 
as  Iraun.  The  celebrated  Murad  or  Beggi  Jan 
raised  the  nation  of  the  Usbecks.  Incessant  wars 
with  Persia  and  Cabul  have  sometimes  extended  the 
empire  as  far  as  Merve,  Heraut,  and  Balkh;  and 
sometimes  it  has  been  reduced  to  its  former  hmits. 
The  Usbecks  are  Mussulmans,  rough  and  unculti- 
vated ;  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  exceedingly  deceitful.  The  people  of 
Khokand  are  proud  and  effeminate,  but  friends  of 
Europeans;  the  women  chaste,  but  men  given  to 
vice ;  fond  of  music  and  of  hunting,  and  of  cheer- 


812  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

ful  temper.  The  inhabitants  of  Marghilaan  are 
a  quiet,  inoffensive,  and  agreeable  people.  The 
KafFer  Seeah-Poosh  are  pagans.  They  are  be- 
lieved, as  I  have  said,  by  some  to  be  the  descend- 
ants 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  prac- 
tised 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  313 

shirt,  and  their  heads  are  covered  with  silver  orna- 
ments. A  red  tiara  distinguishes  the  maidens.  They 
live  on  cattle,  fruit,  (walnuts,  apples,  grapes,  and 
apricots,)  and  good  wine.  Their  domiciles  are  of 
wood,  with  subterranean  chambers ;  utensils  accord- 
ing to  European  fashion,  as  chairs,  tables,  and  bed- 
ding. They  have  daggers  and  fire-arms.  A  wealthy 
Seeah-Poosh  possesses  eight  hundred  goats,  three 
hundred  oxen,  and  eight  slaves.  Their  number 
amounts  to  ninety  thousand.  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  assu- 
redly put  you  to  death  when  we  reach  Meshed.'' 
Dil  Assa  Khan  turned  deadly  pale.  Shouts  of  "  Se- 
laam  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  Yarkand  or  Chinese  Tartary,  the  merchant  of 
Cashmeer,  the  Serkerdeha  or  Grandees  of  the  King 
on  horseback,  the  AfTghauns,  the  numerous  water- 
carriers,  stopped  still  and  looked  at  me  ;  Jews  with 
their  little  caps,    the  distinguishing  badge   of  the 


314  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

Jews  of  Bokhara,  the  inhabitants  of  Khokand, 
politely  smiling  at  me ;  and  the  mullahs  from  Chekar- 
poor  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  Kelaun,  of  Englistaun." 

My  addresses  had  been  circulated  throughout 
all  the  parts  of  Persia,  Turkistaun,  and  Bokhara ;  my 
object  had  become  widely  understood,  and  I  doubt- 
less reaped  the  fruit  of  making  the  object  of  my 
mission  thus  clear  and  intelligible  to  all  the  Mussul- 
man world.  Amid  tlie  continued  shouts  of  ''  Selaam 
Aleikoom,"  I  looked  closely  among  the  populace,  in 
the  hope  that  I  might  recognise  Stoddart  or  ConoUy. 
It  was  vain. 

Before  we  were  carried  to  our  assigned  quar- 
ters, 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  Serkerdeha,  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 
Towrat-e-Moosa  (Laws  of  Moses),  the  ^aboor-e-Da- 
wood  (Psalms  of  David),  and  the  Anjeel-e-Esau 
(Gospel  of  Christ),  and  the  Prophecies  of  Daniel, 
Isaiah,  Ezekiel,  Jeremiah,  &c.''     Devoutly  did  those 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  315 

poor  unenlightened  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  Con- 
stantinople, of  the  Shah  of  Persia,  should  they  come 
to  Bokhara,  are  permitted  to  enter  the  palace  gates 
on  horseback.  No  Christian,  Heathen,  or  any  other 
Ambassador  is  allowed  that  privilege.  Singular  to 
say,  however,  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  Stod- 
dart  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  shoulders,  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 ;'  '  Salaamat  Padishah,' — '  Peace 
to  the  King.' "  On  being  asked  if  I  would  do  so 
three  times,  I  said,  "  Thirty  times,  if  necessary." 
Entering  the  gate,  we  were  desired  to  sit  down 


316  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

upon  a  stone  seat,  and  after  a  few  minutes'  delay- 
were  ordered  to  send  up  our  letters.  I  sent  the 
following : 

1.  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  villain  Mu- 
hammed  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,  addressed  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  Teheraun,  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  beinjr 
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, 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  317 

is  so  characteristic  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,  whose  customs  are  those  of 
sincerity;  may  He  endure  in  honour! 

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,  an- 
other officer,  and  two  or  three  Englishmen  under  safe  con- 
duct, who  had  gone  to  Bokhara  on  business  some  time  back, 
had  been  arrested,  and  imprisoned  by  the  glorious  Govern- 
ment 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  endeavour  to 
liberate  the  said  persons,  was  issued  and  dispatched  on  the 
part  which  unites  honour  and  glory,  of  the  asyluifi  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  esteemed  Derveesh  called  Doctor  Wolff 
to  gain  information  concerning  the  circumstances  of  the  said 
imprisoned  persons,  and  if  they  are  alive,  to  take  them  with 
him  and  conduct  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  sincere  part  to  Your  High  Quarter, 
to  the  effect  that  endeavour  be  made  to  deliver  the  said 


818  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

imprisoned  persons  to.  the  said  Derveesli,  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  friend- 
ship, 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  accordance  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  Caliph  and  His  Majesty  the  said 
Khaun,  it  is  an  undoubted  circumstance  that  the  requests  of 
either  to  the  other  wliich  appear  in  the  mirror  of  event  and 
forthcoming,  will  arrive  at  the  receptacle  of  acceptance; 
therefore,  although  it  is  evident  that  already  endeavour  has 
been  made  to  clear  of  impediment  the  road  of  the  said  impri- 
soned persons,  still  in  case  they  should  not  yet  have  left  Bo- 
khara, 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  restored  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  conscien- 
tiousness with  which  Your  Noble  Self  is  endowed  and 
qualified  in  this  matter,  that  is,  in  the  matter  of  restoring 
and  sending  back  the  said  imprisoned  persons  to  their  j)lace 
with  all  possible  speed,  it  is  hereby  explained,  that  it  is  Our 
sincere  and  most  express  hope  that  most  strenuous  endea- 
vours will  be  exerted  to  the  attainment  of  the  requisite 
means,  and  the  accompaniment  of  the  necessary  assistance 
and  protection  in  their  behalf;  and  in  this  wise  the  present 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  319 

letter,  the  bond  of  sincerity,  has  been  written,  and  sent  and 
forwarded  to  Your  Presence,  the  Element  of  Excellence. 
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. 

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 
distance.  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  repeat- 
edly, 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  Secretary  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  com- 
plexion, with  a  convulsive  twitching  of  the  muscles 


820  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  actu- 
ally taken  possession  of  Bokhara;  however,  Nasir 
UUah,  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  UUah.  After  he  had  thus  gained 
the  inhabitants,  he  sent  w^ord  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 


OF  DE.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  321 

derveesh  his  pilgrimage  to  the  Kaaba  at  Mecca,  to 
the  grave  of  Miihammed  at  Medina;  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  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  IMowr,  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  Moor  croft  had  given  him  a 
predilection  for  England,  and  he  desired  me  in  1832 
Vol.  I.  Y 


322  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

to  prevail  on  the  British  Government  to  send  physi- 
cians and  officers,  together  with  an  Ambassador,  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  UUah 
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 
Cabiil,  where  he  had  run  away  from  Dost  Muham- 
med  Khan ;  and  he  boasted  that  he  was  acquainted 
with  all  the  European  sciences  and  military  disci- 
pline. 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  823 

soldiers  (Usbecks)  after  him,  and  made  a  prisoner  of 
that  Englishman.  His  name  was  Lieutenant  Wy- 
burt.  He  was  cast  into  prison.  The  Goosh-Bekee 
appeared  before  Nasir  Behadur ;  the  respect  of  the 
servants  was  no  longer  paid  to  him  as  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 

Y2 


824  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

sinned,  that  my  advice  is  no  longer  heard  ?"  The 
King  demanded,  "  What  is  thy  desire  ?"  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  Majesty  arrest  English- 
men 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  Affghanistaun,  have  found 
shelter  in  the  dominions  of  England.  Runjeet 
Singh,  the  idolater,  threatens  to  attack  Affghanis- 
taun ;  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  325 

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  became  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  to  tyranny, 
that  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  after- 
wards Colonel  Stoddart  and  Captain  Conolly  were 
executed. 


326  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 


CHAPTER  XL 

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  Descent  from  a  Persian  Mother  and  an  Usbeck  Prince; 
nursed  by  a  Cassack  Woman.  Dr.  Wolff's  Interview  with  Shekawl. 
Equivocation  of  Dil  Assa  Khan.  Dr.  Wolff  explains  his  Missiop. 
The  Makhram  sent  in  the  Evening  with  Questions  for  Dr.  Wolff  to 
answer.  Appearance  before  Ameer  on  the  following  day.  Makhram 
sent  to  Dr.  Wolff  with  another  Question.  Visit  to  Abdul  Samut 
Khan ;  history  of  him.  Nayeb  receives  Dr.  Wolff  with  apparent 
cordiality.  Long  Conversation  relative  to  the  Death  of  Stoddart  and 
ConoUy.  Private  Conversation  with  Nayeb  afterwards ;  he  affects 
to  have  befriended  Stoddart  and  Conolly ;  shews  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  Com- 
mittee. 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  S2^ 

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  be- 
lieve that  sick  people  may  be  cured  by  the  simple 
touch  of  the  King. 

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  arc  the  friends  of  Abdul  Samut  Khan,  to 
whom  they  report  every  action  and  every  word  of 
the  King.  And  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  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  Turkomaun 
well  said,  at  Nishapoor,  "  As  a  horse  paired  with  a 
donkey  produces  a  mule,  so  an  Usbeck  married  to 


828  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Turkomaun  at 
Nishapoor  observed,  "  he  drank  the  liiilk  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  bloodhound." 

After  presentation  to  the  King  we  were  brought 
to  a  small  room  in  the  palace,  which  serves  as  an 
office ;  here  the  Shekhawl  above  mentioned  came  ac- 
companied by  Mullah  Haje  his  secretary,  who  is  one 
of  those  Persian  slaves  of  whom  there  are  two  hun- 
dred 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. 

8h.  What  is  your  request  of  His  Majesty  (Haz- 
rat)? 

D.  A.  K.  My  request  consists  only  in  one  point ; 
His  Excellency  the  Assaff-ood-Dowla  being  a  great 
friend  of  His  Majesty,  and  convinced  that  the  King  of 
Bokhara  zvith  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 


t  :»;■-. 3* <        "J' 


^ 


im  I 


'/',-- 


Mina,  Abdul  WaJial  dd~: 


■*it<iniililn*  tf  ^*  Uth^ 


TTWmiKDMiWM  JLABH. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  829 

Assaff'Ood'Bowla  will  he  ready  to  send  to  the  Ameer. 
Khorassaun  is  near  to  Bokhara,  Russia  is  two  months 
distant  from  Bokhara,  and  England  six  months;  there- 
fore friendship  between  the  Assaff-ood-Bowla  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  you  here  to  assist  me  in  my  request  to  the 
King,  and  you  have  been  paid  by  me  for  it. 

D.  A.  K.  The  AssafF-ood-Dowla  has  merely  sent 
you  on  with  me  here. 

Sh.  What  is  your  name  and  request? 

W.  Joseph  Wolff  is  my  name,  a  well-known 
mullah  and  derveesh  from  England.  I  was  in  the 
city  of  Bokhara  twelve  years  ago,  (Mullah  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 


330  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Hindustaun,  but  also  in 
the  new  world  (America),  and  Muhammed  Ali  of 
Egypt  heard  of  it,  and  thousands  in  England  ex- 
claimed, ^' 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,  near  Candahar,  which  is  only  thirty 
days  march  from  Bokhara." 

I  then  continued,  saying,  ''I,  Joseph  Wolff, 
seeing  this  great  commotion  (u:^*.^*)  throughout  the 
world,  about  the  death  of  Colonel  Stoddart  and 
Captain  Conolly,  put  into  the  newspapers,  *  Oh  my 
English  friends,  I  cannot  believe  the  report  of  the 
death  of  Colonel  Stoddart  and  Captain  Conolly,  for 
they  revere  at  Bokhara  guests  very  much.     I  shall 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  331 

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  determination,  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   Muhammed 
Shah.     On  my  arrival  at  Constantinople  the  Sultan 
gave    me   the  recpired    letters,   also   the    Sheikh- 
al-Islam  of  Stamboul;   and   Muhammed,  Shah  of 
Persia,  not  only  gave  me  letters  for   the  King  of 
Bokhara,  but  also  for  the  Assaflf-ood-Dowla,  ordering 
him  to  give  me  every  assistance  and  aid,  in  order 
that  I  might  meet  with  a  good  reception  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  hun- 
dred tomauns  to  that  man,  and  I  should  give  another 
hundred  tomauns  to  that  same  man.    And  His  Excel- 
lency the  Assaff-ood-Dowla  said  he  would  also  send 
presents  to  the  Ameer  to  secure  for  me  a  good  re- 
ception.    I  accepted  the  proposal,  and  gave  a  hun- 
dred tomauns  to  Dil  Assa  Khan,  and  we  set  out  for 
Bokhara,  but  as  he  behaved  on  the  road  like  a  knave, 
I  sent  several  Turkomaims  to  Meshed,  reporting  his  bad 
conduct,  on  which  account  the  Assaff  sent  me  several 


332  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

letters,  and  letters  to  Dil  Assa  Khan,  with  copies  of 
them  to  me,  ivhich  I  have  delivered  to  the  Ameer  with 
the  rest  of  the  letters,  by  which  the  Ameer  will  perceive 
that  Dil  Assa  Khan  is  only  my  man,  that  he  has  played 
the  traitor  J  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.  /  donH  want  your  assistance. 
Sh.  What  is  therefore  now  your  object? 
Dil   Assa    Khan    here    replied,    "  His   (Joseph 
Wolff's)   object  is   to   establish   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,  h§  (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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  833 

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  Muham- 
med  Shah,  on  account  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  ? 

W.  Very  much  so ;  people  speak  only  of  Stod- 
dart  and  Conolly,  and  of  the  apprehension  they 
entertain  of  my  sharing  the  fate  of  Stoddart  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  dwelhng;  and  from  that 
moment,  all  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  Makhram,  the  other  a  Mirza  who   writes   down 


334  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

everything  which  the  Makhram  (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  every- 
thing, 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  return  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  men- 
tioned in  Matthew  xxiv.  xxv. ;    Luke  xxi. ;  Isaiah 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  335 

xxxiv.,  Stc,  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  obhged  to  call  on  His  Majesty.  I  therefore 
replied  that  it  was  the  costume  of  the  Mullah 
KelaaUj  Great  Mullahs  of  England. 
Makhram,  Has  it  some  meaning  ? 
TV.  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  I  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  somewhere. 
W.  Where  shall  we  go? 
Kasem.  This  you  will  see. 

All  the  attendants  around  me  trembled.  An  old 
Yoos  Bashi  (commander  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?  Stod- 
dard Saib  and  ConoUy  Saib  have  thus  been  taken 


336  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

out  of  the  house  where  they  will  now  bring*  you." 
I  asked  my  servant  Houssem,  "Will  you  accom- 
pany me?"  He  replied  in  the  affirmative.  Dil 
Assa  Khan  also  mounted  his  horse,  and,  accom- 
panied by  his  servants,  he  rode  proudly  before  me, 
Makhram  Kasem  at  his  side, — who  throughout  the 
road  conversed  with  Dil  Assa  Khan,  and  not  one 
word  with  me ;  and  Dil  Assa  Khan's  servants  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  European  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  conversa- 
tion he  told  me,  "  When  you  come  to  Peshawr  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."      Therefore,   on   my   arrival   at   Peshawr,    I 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  337 

never  came  near  him,  but  saw  Mm  only  for  one 
moment^  when  he  called  upon  me  in  the  company  of 
Sultan  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  by  Muhammed  Ali  Mirza,  the  celebrated  son 
of  Futt  Ullah  Shah:  on  account  of  some  misde- 
meanour 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 
proceeded  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  Sun- 
day, and  likes  to  pass  as  a  European  by  birth,  and 
a  disciple  of  the  English  officers.  He  was  once  in 
Vol.  I.  Z 


338  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

disgrace  on  account  of  having  withheld  the  pay  of 
the  troops,  and  was  near  being  killed  soon  after 
Stodd art's  death,  but  the  war  with  Khiva  and  Kho- 
kand  prevented  the  Ameer  from  doing  so,  as  he 
w^as  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  frequently  con- 
versed with  Stoddart  and  ConoUy. 

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,  arid  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. 

Nayeh  (eating  at  the  same  time).  Now^,  Mullah 
Youssuf  Wolff,  I  have  known  you  twelve  years; 
aye,  I  saw  you  at  Peshawar,  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  Cap- 
tain ConoUy  treated  Hazrat  (His  Majesty),  and 
how  they  have  treated  me,  England  and   Bokhara 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  339 

shall  be  friends,  which  I  heartily  wish.  By  the 
Uzbecks  I  am  suspected  of  being  an  English- 
man, and  by  the  English  I  am  suspected  of  being 
an  Uzbeck,  but  I  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  Stoddart  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 
returned  from  a  pilgrimage  to  Baba  Deen  Naksh- 
bande  (a  holy  man  buried  outside  the  town) .  Colo- 
nel Stoddart  was  on  horseback.  The  Shekhawl, 
and  several  other  Serkerdeha  (grandees)  went  up  to 
him  and  said,  "  This  is  His  Majesty,  you  must  dis- 
mount." But  he  replied,  "I  have  no  orders  for 
doing  so."  The  Ameer  smiled,  and  said  he  is  a 
mehmoon  (guest).  When  you,  Joseph  Wolff,  made 
your  Salaam  before  the  Ameer,  the  Shekhawl  took 
slightly  hold  of  your  shoulders  to  make  you  bow 
down ;  you  submitted  with  your  book  in  the  hand ; 
but  when  the  Shekhawl  only  touched  Colonel  Stod- 
dart, he  laid  his  hand  on  his  sword  and  drew  it. 
Nothing  was  said  to  this.  The  house  cfToora,  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 

Z  2 


340  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

friends  to  Stoddart  and  asked  him  whether  he  was  an 
Eljee  (ambassador)  or  a  Sodagnr  (merchant)  ?  Stod- 
dart rephed,  ''Eat  dung  P' 

His  imprisonment  upon  this  occasion  the  Nayeb 
passed  over  in  silence,  and  continued,  "At  last 
from  fear,  Stoddart  said  he  would  become  a  Mus- 
sulman, and  according  to  the  Muhammedan  reli- 
gion, if  a  person  says  he  will  turn  Mussulman,  he 
must  either  do  so  or  die.  He  became  a  Mussul- 
man, and  a  short  time  after  openly  avowed  again 
the  Christian  religion.  At  last  it  was  agreed  that  he 
should  write  to  England  to  be  acknowledged  as  the 
accredited  agent  of  Great  Britain  at  the  court  of 
Bokhara,  and  that  the  King  of  Bokhara  should  be 
the  acknowledged  sovereign  of  Turkistaun,  &c. ;  and 
Colonel  Stoddart  promised  that  in  four  months  an 
answer  should  arrive  from  the  Government  of  Eng- 
land. 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  Afra- 
siab,  fourteen  months  elapsed,  and  no  answer  ar- 
rived. During  the  time  that  Colonel  Stoddart  was 
at  Bokhara,  Captain  ConoUy  went  from  Organtsh 
(Khiva)  to  Khokand,  where  he  stopped  a  consider- 
able time,  exciting  both  countries  to  wage  war 
against  the  Ameer  of  Bokhara.  He  at  last  arrived 
at  Bokhara,  announcing  himself  as  a  British  Agents 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  341 

without  having  any  letters  from  the  British  Govern- 
ment ;  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  ConoUy  and  Stoddart  they  took  every  opportunity 
of  despatching,  in  the  most  stealthy  manner,  letters 
to  Cabiil ;  and  on  this  account  His  Majesty  became 
displeased,  and  both  Captain  ConoUy  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  ConoUy  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  ConoUy  said,  '  Stoddart,  we  shall  see  each  other 
in  Paradise  (Behesht),  near  Jesus.'  Then  Saadat 
gave  the  order  to  cut  off,  first  the  head  of  Stoddart, 
which  was  done ;  and  in  the  same  manner  the  head 
of  ConoUy  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  strangles  people ; 


842  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  Eng- 
land would  enter  into  a  correspondence  with  him  as 
long  as  S  tod  dart  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  cir- 
cumstances, listen  to  his  proposals. 

N.  (knocking  upon  the  table  on  which  the  break- 
fast was  spread).  But  Japar-Khanas  (post-houses) 
were  established  on  Stoddart's  account,  which  ex- 
isted not  from  the  time  of  Afrasiab. 

W.  Yet  he  w^as  a  prisoner. 

N.  (again  in  the  same  manner) .  But  Japar-Kha- 
nas were  established  on  Stoddart's  account,  which 
existed  not  from  the  time  of  Afrasiab. 

W.  Then  I  have  to  observe,  that  the  correspond- 
ence between  England  and  Persia  was  carried  on  for 
a  long  time  through  the  Governor-General  of  India. 
Now  I  have  been  informed  that  Lord  EUenborough, 
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- 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  343 

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  reconcilia- 
tion, 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  tlie 
Ameer  to  send  an  Ambassador  with  me ;  for  even  if 
he  had  suffered  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  Ambassador 
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 
w^as  so  impatient  to  know  the  result  of  the  conversa- 
tion, that  he  actually  sent  three  Makhrams  on  horse- 
back, 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  ser- 
vants, and  my  servants,  to  go  down  and  take  a  walk 


844  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  an- 
swer 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  (Stod- 
dart) 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  Majesty  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  continued)  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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  345 

those  Khans  be  induced  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  Halt,  Front !  (he  said  this  in  English, 
the  only  words  he  knows  besides  no  force.)  Three 
days  after  they  were  killed,  the  tyrant  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.  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)  ^  Inshallah,^  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-  Ullah,  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 


846  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

was  so  restless,  that  he  assembled  about  twenty 
Serkerdeha  (grandees),  most  of  them  advismg  him 
to  put  you  to  death.  One  of  them,  my  enemy,  M^ho 
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, 
w^hen  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  me  while  I  was 
recovering,  under  God's  mercy,  from  severe  fever  and  ague; 
I  was  ordered  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  Bo- 
khara. I  have  reported,  and  will  further  report,  all  the 
details  of  his  good  offices  to  Government,  and  I  give  him  this 
as  testimony  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. 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  347 

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  sugges- 
tions for  allowing  the  Nayeb  twenty  per  cent,  profit  on  it, 
(the  Bazaar  rate  of  exchange  to  Cabul,)  when  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  Persian,  but  signed  in  English  by 
Sir  A.  Burnes,  which  entirely  deceived  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  de- 
ceived by  a  letter,  recommending  me  to  him  from 
Colonel  Shell;  and  lastly,  by  a  despatch  sent  from 
Lord  Aberdeen  to  Colonel  Shell,  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; 


348  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

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  miserabile,  nel 
suo  paese,"  which  is  Parma,  and  is  ''  Un  povero 
miserabile,"  in  Bokhara. 

I  then  asked  whether  there  were  Russian  slaves 
at  Bokhara.  He  replied  that  there  were  in  the  town 
and  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  (du- 
cats). I  agreed  to  that  in  case  I  could  openly  take 
them  with  me.  He  said  that  he  would  arrange  the 
matter.  I  wTote  therefore  a  letter  to  Lord  Aber- 
deen about  it. 

He  then  said  he  would  give  into  my  charge  three 
thousand  tillahs,  to  invest  in  the  Bank  of  England. 
To  this  I  decidedly  objected,  assigning  as  my  reason, 
1st,  that  I  was  totally  unacquainted  with  money 
matters ;    2nd,  that  it  was  very  dangerous  to  carry 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  349 

SO  much  money  through  the  desert.  He  replied  that 
he  would  send  one  of  his  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  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  UUah  Behadur,  who  is  a  Padi- 
shah, 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. 


350  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  MISSION 

and  with  every  circumstance  connected  with  my 
mission  to  Bokhara.  The  Government  of  England 
was  thoroughly  convinced  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  assemble ;  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." 

Nay  eh.  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  w^as  not  quite  sin- 
cere. 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 


OF  DR.  WOLFF  TO  BOKHARA.  351 

he  brought  the  written  conversation  held  between  the 
Nayeb  and  myself,  Hasrat  (His  Majesty)  was  sitting 
with  his  head  supported  by  his  hands,  when  sud- 
denly he  started  and  exclaimed,  "  What  did  Youssuf 
Wolff  say  ?"  They  gave  him  the  paper  to  read ;  he 
immediately  sent  word  that  the  Ambassador  would 
be  ready  in  a  few  days  to  depart  with  me  to  Eng- 
land, 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  ad- 
dressed 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  excellent 
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  tof)ics, 
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  chamber- 
lain), that  he  had  put  to  death,  in  the  month  of  Sarratan, 


852  NARRATIVE. 

1259,  Colonel  Stoddart  and  Captain  ConoUy.  Colonel 
Stoddart  was  put  to-  death,  firstly,  on  account  of  liis  having 
treated  Royalty  with  the  greatest  disrespect  on  different 
occasions;  secondly,  that  he  had  turned  Mussulmaun,  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  (posthouses)  on  his  account. 
And  with  regard  to  ConoUy,  that  he  had  been  put  to  death 
for  having  induced  the  Khans  of  Khiva  and  Khokand  to 
wage  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. 


END  OF  VOLUME  THE  FIRST. 


0 


LONDON  :    HARRISON  AND  CO.,  PRINTERS,  ST.  MARTIN's  LANE. 


mNmm  sect.  ::;  2 1968 


DK  Wolff,  Joseph 

873        Narrative  of  a  mission  to 

W7  Bokhara 

y.l 


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