THE

CLASSICAL JOURNAL;

N°. LXXIII.

MARCH, 1828.

NOTICE OF

Sketches of Persia, from the Journals of a Traveller in the East. 2 vols. 8vo. Lond. 1827. Murray.

To those who read merely for amusement, these entertaining volumes will afford ample gratification; while those whose object is solid information, may be assured that in the "Sketches of Persia" they will find most authentic and accurate delineations of character, manners, and customs. This we can venture to affirm, on the authority of a gentleman who has traced the "Sketcher's" route through several of his Persian journeys, and was well acquainted with many of the personages commemorated in these pages. It is not our business to inquire why the author of so creditable a publication should have suppressed his name; but from various circumstances of internal evidence, we must acknowlege ourselves inclined to adopt the general opinion which ascribes it to Sir John Malcolm: who has already distinguished himself by literary productions of considerable merit; and who, during two missions from our East-Indian government, (first as Captain, afterwards as General Malcolm,) succeeded in rendering himself a universal favorite among the Persians, without the slightest sacrifice either of the dignity or of the advantages of that honorable body which he represented.

But whoever may be the author, he modestly professes to offer little more than "sketches taken on the spot, while the facts and the feelings to which they relate were," says he, " fresh and warm before me; and I can truly affirm, that the sense, the nonsense, the anecdotes, the fables, and the tales-all, in short, which these volumes contain, with the exception of a few sage reflections of my own, do actually belong to the good people amongst whom they profess to have been collected." (Introd. p. xi.)

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In another place he says "Nothing that had hitherto appeared respecting Persia at all frightened me. I am no historian, therefore I did not tremble at Sir John Malcolm's ponderous quartos : I am no tourist, Mr. Morier's Journeys gave me no uneasiness: the learned Researches of Sir William Ouseley were enough to terrify an antiquarian, but that was not my trade; and as I happen to have clumsy, untaught fingers, and little if any taste for the picturesque, I viewed without alarm the splendid volumes of Sir Robert Ker Porter. Far different, however, was the case when that rogue Hajji Baba made his appearance. I perused him with anxiety; but was consoled by finding, that though he approached the very borders of my province, he had made no serious inroads." (Introd. p. ix.)

Whatever expectations the reader may be induced to form by these hints, we must content ourselves with a brief statement of the author's route. From Bombay he proceeded to Muscat on the Arabian coast, and incidentally mentions an anecdote related by the captain of the vessel in which he performed this voyage going one day to visit a tender containing several men who had just been pressed, and were strictly confined in their floating prison, he found them, nevertheless, "joining in the chorus of one of our patriotic airs, and singing with great glee the old song, 'Who are so free as we sons of the waves?"-(Vol. i. p. 9.) Muscat furnished our traveller with many interesting observations on the Arabs of that place, and their chief or Imam: one of them having looked through an English telescope at some distant fortifications, suddenly went off exclaiming, "You are magicians; and I now see how you take towns: that thing (pointing to the telescope), be they ever so far off, brings them as near as you like.' (P. 25.) From Muscat, our author, sailing up the Persian Gulf, soon found himself, as he informs us (p. 27,)" on classic ground, where all the wonderful adventures of Sinbad the sailor were, what a genuine Yankee would call, located." Here he heard of the Wahabees, or Jouassimes, a piratical race of Arabs, who, adhering to the sacred text of the Koran, which forbids them to plunder the living, kill their prisoners before they strip them. At Bushire, or more correctly Abusheher, on the Persian coast, the British elchee, or envoy, with his inseparable companion the ingenious Sketcher, landed, to the great amusement of men, women, and children, who seemed astonished at the uniform appearance and regular movements of some English soldiers belonging to the 84th regiment. Here the envoy, desirous of conferring an essential benefit on the Persians, undertook to introduce amongst them the cultivation of potatoes. "It is satisfactory to add, that the plan for introducing this valuable root did not fail: they were found to florish at Abusheher, where they are called 'Malcolm's plums' (alou e Malcolm), after the elchee, who looks to the accident which gave his name

to a useful vegetable, as one of his best chances of enduring fame." (P. 36.)

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The reader will find in chap. iv. some very shrewd and just observations on the Turks, given in the form of a conversation (whether real or imaginary) with Abdulla Aga; whose remarks also on the Persian character seem founded on an intimate knowlege of it; but these our limits will not allow us even to abridge. One trait, however, of the Arab character we must notice.-The surgeon had just set a man's broken leg, and observed to the patient that he complained more of the accident than became one of his tribe; "Do not think, Doctor," said the Arab, that I should have uttered one word of complaint, if my own high-bred colt in a playful kick had broken both my legs; but to have a bone broken by a brute of a jack-ass is too bad, and I will complain." Thus an artilleryman in India, having been upbraided for too loudly lamenting that his arm had been shattered in a battle, replied, "It is not the wound, Sir, of which I complain : had I lost a limb by a cannon-ball, I should not have said a word; but to lose one by a rascally rocket, would make any one mad." (P. 51.)

It seems to us very doubtful whether the ignorant, half-naked, swarthy men and women, broiling (as our author describes them) under the burning sun of Abusheher, with hardly any food but dates, are such objects of pity as might be imagined:-they looked contented; and all the details of English wealth and luxury-the fine gardens, fine clothes, fine houses, and fine carriages-failed to excite any sentiment but pity, when they learned that England did not produce a single date-tree; "and they went away wondering how men could live in a country where there were no date-trees." (P. 77.) From Abusheher the envoy and his party proceeded through Kazeroon to Shiraz; near which city they were feasted by the prince and chief inhabitants, with such a profusion of icecreams, sweetmeats, preserves, and delicious fruits, that the meanest followers of the camp, even the dog-keepers, were busied in devouring these luxuries.-"A lion's share was always allotted to a party of the 17th dragoons, which forms part of the escort. I heard these fine fellows, who were all (says our author), with the exception of one man, from Ireland, discussing, as they were eating their ices, their preserves, their grapes and nectarines, the merits of Persia: It is a jewel of a country,' says one: 'It would be,' said a second, if there were more Christians in it.'-' I don't so much mind the Christians,' observed his companion, if I could see a bog now and then, instead of these eternal rocks and valleys as they call them.'-' Fine though it be,' concluded Corporal Corragan, 'I would not give a potato-garden in little Ireland for a dozen of it, and all that it contains to boot.' This patriotic sentiment, which appeared to meet with general concurrence, closed the dis

cussion." (P. 99.) From the ninth chapter we learn the vast im2 portance attached by Persian courtiers to ceremonies and etiquette, and the difficulties which were purposely thrown in the way of our envoy on his introduction to the prince at Shiraz: having here successfully insisted on the seat of honor and other privileges due to his situation, the envoy had not any occasion subsequently to contend on points of ceremony.

Some excellent remarks on Eastern apologues, tales, fables, and romances, may be found in chapters 1x and x, with curious specimens of the flowery and hyperbolical style used in the preambles of treaties and other compositions. "Speaking on the above subjects to Aga Meer," (says our author, p. 158,) "I asked him if their monarchs were as much delighted with this hyperbolical style as the meerzas or secretaries: "Not at all," said he; "the late king, Aga Mahomed, who was remarkable for his hatred of ornament and show in every form, when his secretaries began with their flattering introductions, used to lose all temper, and exclaim, (Bemezmoon, badbakht,) To the contents, you scoundrel."" But some of the best Persian historians adopted a plain and distinct style; of which a fair specimen is given (p. 163.) in the anecdote respecting Yezdijird: this monarch was last of the Kaiânian, or rather, as an Orientalist suggests to us, of the Sassanian race. Our ingenious author, studiously avoiding any display of erudition, either in numerous quotations or elaborate notes, has not mentioned the Persian writer from whose work this anecdote is extracted. But the reader may be assured of its authenticity: for we learn from our friend, the Orientalist above noticed, that it is translated from the Chronicle of Ahmed Ibn Asem of Cufa. This, indeed, appears from the Persian text of the anecdote, which was printed many years ago in the "Oriental Collections," (Vol. i. p. 162.) with an English translation, by the Rev. B. Gerrans, differing so slightly from our present author's version, that we must regard both as having been faithfully executed; and whether the printed text or some manuscript was consulted on this occasion by our accomplished Sketcher, is a matter of little concern to the general reader, since the story is affecting, well told, and, there is every reason to believe, historically true. Of a different kind, but highly entertaining, is the story of Abdulla and Zeeba: related by Derveesh Seffer, with a design of convincing the envoy that "worldly success might be promoted by munificence, in any shape, to shrines like those of which he (the Derveesh) had charge." (P. 177.) Of this man's extraordinary powers in recitation, an anecdote is given, p. 199. When he began his story, two gentlemen prepared to leave the party, as they did not understand Persian. "Entreat them to stay (said the Derveesh), and they will soon find that their ignorance of the language does not place them beyond my power.' His wishes were explained, and the result proved

"

he was correct: they were nearly as much entertained as others, and had their feelings almost equally excited; such was his admirable expression of countenance, and so varied the intonations of his voice.

On the march from Shiraz to Isfahan, the magnificent remains of Jemsheed's palace at Persepolis, and the ruins at a place called Mader e Suliman, enable our author to condense, with his wonted ingenuity, into twenty or thirty lines, the sum of many learned but very dry investigations, which occupy a much greater number of quarto pages in the works of different travellers and laborious antiquaries. Nevertheless, as he disclaims any inclination towards the subject of antiquities, we shall not offer any remarks on those interesting monuments, but proceed to notice one of the original and excellent anecdotes which abound in this work. It was related to the envoy by Hajee Ibrahim at Isfahan :-A shopkeeper, he said, went to his brother to represent that he would not pay an impost: "You must pay it like others," said the governor (Hajee Ibrahim's brother), or leave the city."-"Where can I go?" asked the man: "To Shiraz or Cashan."- "Your nephew rules the one city, and your brother the other."-"Go to the king, and complain, if you like."-" Your brother the Hajee is prime minister.""Then go to hell," said the enraged governor. "Hajee Merhoom, the pious pilgrim, your father, is dead," retorted the undaunted Isfahanee. My friend," said the governor, bursting into a laugh, "I will pay the impost myself, since you declare my family keeps you from all redress, both in this world and the next." (P. 255.) From Isfahan the envoy proceeded through Cashan and Koom to Teheran: and the chapters describing this journey are replete with entertaining anecdotes and instructive observations; sometimes conveyed under the form of dialogues with Aga Meer, Jaffier Ali, or other Asiatic friends: but our limits will scarcely allow us to notice as particularly curious the remarks on Mahomedan ladies, their rights and privileges after marriage, and divorces; with the story of Sadik Beg, who, having married a highborn shrew, terrified her into good behaviour by cutting off the head of her favorite beautiful cat on the very day of their nuptials. One of his friends, a little man named Merdek, who had the misfortune to be governed by a wife of very violent temper, hearing how this exploit of Sadik had succeeded, significantly exclaimed, "A word to the wise ;" and immediately on his return home was welcomed as usual by the unsuspecting cat, his wife's great favorite; but in a moment he severed the poor animal's head from its body: the result was such a blow from his enraged wife, as laid him sprawling on the floor; and knowing whose example he intended to imitate, "Take that," said she, giving him another cuff, "take that, you paltry wretch: you should," she added, laughing him to scorn, "have killed the cat on the wedding-day." (Vol. ii. p. 57.)