the fish they caught on the banks of the Tigris, which he is told is a good remedy for blindness, and with this remedy the sight of Tobit was afterwards restored. Tobit vi. The gall of animals, Mr. McNeill says, is a common remedy for that description of blindness, which so commonly follows inflammations of the surface of the eye, and which consists in a disorder and opaqueness of the clear part of the eye. During my stay, Sir John Campbell wrote to the King of Persia for letters of introduction to the King of Bokhara. July 29.-I went with Captain McDonald and Mons. Alexander Gwostoff, Secretary to the Russian Embassy, to Beera, three hours distant from our Camp, to see my old friend Dr. Cormick, English Physician to Abbas Mirza. On our arrival at Dr. Cormick's tent, Malek Kasem Mirza, the King's son, who was Prince Governor of Oormia, in the year 1825, entered the tent for the purpose of paying me a visit. Captain McDonald and myself remained standing, until His Royal Highness asked us to sit down. This Prince is now in the background, on account of his not agreeing with the present Kayem Mekaam (Prime Minister) of Abbas Mirza. The Prince offered to give me letters of introduction to his brothers in Khorossaun. A Loote (privileged madman) was at this time going about Tabreez, with a dagger; he had already killed two persons and broken into several houses. The present Governor of Tabreez gave orders to take him up. The Police reported, that it was not possible, for he always kept a sharp dagger in his hand. The Prince replied, "Watch him until he sleeps, and then take the dagger from him." I called with Dr. Cormick on Mons. Bisack, the Russian Chargé d'Affairs, by whom we were kindly and hospitably treated. I conversed with them about our Lord Jesus Christ. They spoke kindly of my brethren Zaremba and Dittrich, Missionaries at Shoosha, and Mr. Pfander, also a Missionary. The Persians of Tabreez consider it a great enjoyment to stand in the rain, and drink wine at the same time. The following document will, I hope, in conjunction with others which I shall give hereafter, be sufficient to prove, to the satisfaction of my readers, a fact, the accuracy of which has been sometimes called in question, namely, that I have always, in my travels, avowed myself to be an Englishman and a Christian preacher. Letter from Khosroe Khan, Chief Eunuch to His My esteemed and kind friend, the ENGLISH PRIEST The letter, the messenger of friendship, which in remembrance of your friend, you had written, reached me at the favourable time and in the happy hour; and gave me intelligence of the welfare of my friend. As for some years there have been symptoms of disease in Persia, and as I had no intelligence as to where you might be, the receipt of your letter gives me the sincerest pleasure. Thank God, your epistle promises, at no great distance of time, the blessings of a meeting. Regarding your journey to Bokhara, and your desire that I should write to my friends, this is a small request; you cannot doubt, that I and my friends will consider your step as fortunate; and that in fulfilling the duties of friendship, they will act without reluctance or reserve. According to your desire, at this time, when we were dispatching a Cossid (Messenger) to Meshed, we have written an intimation to each of our friends on this subject, that stage by stage they should send their Agents with you, till they shall have conveyed you to Bokhara. God willing, after your arrival at the Capital, I shall send a man to convey you to Semnan, and from thence H. R. H. Bahman Mirza will forward you to Juwein; and from thence, Alee Moorad Khan, to Sabzewar; and from thence, Mohammed Tuckey Khan, the Governor of that place, will forward you, stage by stage, till you arrive at the Holy Meshed; and if from the holy city you should desire to go direct to Bokhara, I have written a letter to His Excellency Mirza Askeree, that he may forward you with some merchants and a caravan, so that you may reach Bokhara in safety: and if you should wish to go to Kelat, a letter has been written to Yelantoosh Khan, the Governor of Kelat, that he may send you with Turkomans to Bokhara. Please God, after your arrival in the Capital, matters shall be arranged in whatever manner may be most agreeable to you; of this you may rest satisfied. May you always convey to us pleasing intelligence of your circumstances. Here is a merchant who will go direct from Teheran to Bokhara, but before you can arrive here, he will have returned from Kashaan, and will be at your service to convey you to Bokhara. These are the arrangements, and when we meet, whichever plan you may adopt, it shall be ordered accordingly. Give my friendly regards to Captain Campbell, and Mr. McNeill. I am much obliged to you for the accounts you have given of them. I hope one day to have the pleasure of conversing with them. I thank God that they are in good spirits and free from sorrow. (Signed) KHOSROE KATMEZ. Dr. McNeill was so kind as to translate the above; he frequently did me the favour to copy and translate. ADERBIJAN. There are no Jews in Aderbijan, at Tabreez, or in the villages round, nor even at Khoy, until you come to Salmast, Khosrowa, and Oormia; of which places I have spoken in the third volume of my Journals. The reason alleged why there are no Jews in Aderbijan, is as follows: (but I must observe that the accusation is false). A Mohammedan child was one day missing, and after a strict search, it was found that some Jews had killed it and drank its blood. This calumny, alas! which is believed in some Christian countries, is spread by vile renegadoes, who left the Jewish and embraced the Mohammedan religion. It is strange that such a lie should be believed by any one; but I found narrow-minded missionaries who observed, that of a nation who crucified the Lord of Glory, any thing may be believed! DEPARTURE FROM ASTARA, NEAR TABReez. August 7.-I preached for the last time in the tent of Sir John Campbell, and then went to the tent of Dr. Cormick, to take leave of him. His Royal Highness Malek Kasem Mirza, in sending me the promised letters of introduction, wrote me a letter in French as follows, Monsieur, Sivan, Hejira ai 1246. Comme je sais que les recommandations peuvent vous être utile, je joint a celle du Hamed Ali Mirza, une pour un de mes autres frères, le Prince Gouverneur de Bustan, Bahaman Mirza. Je crois, que de passer a mon camp ne dérange pas votre chemin; si cela est, j'aurais, Monsieur, le plus grand plaisir de vous voir. J'ai aimé à écrire à mon frère de ma propre main, à qui vous serez agréable. Je vous souhaite, Monsieur, un bon voyage. (Signed) A Monsieur Wolff à Bira. MELEK CASSUM MERZA. JEWS IN CURDISTAN. In the second and third volumes of my Journals, I treated at large of the Jews at Salmast, Sheeras, Cashaan, and Ispahan. I have only to observe, that around Hamadan the following places are inhabited by Jews, who are in possession of all the books of the Old Testament, as are also the Jews throughout Persia. Hamadan 150 families. Khormabad 50. Ulgud 20. Tusurgan 40. Nawand 40. Kermanchah 20. Senaa 150. Garooz 50. Sakaz 50. Banaa 50. Soleimanea 200. Karadagh 200. Halabyar 20. Khorombar 20. Penjeween 20. Total 1080 families, or 5400 souls. It is also striking to find, even in Curdistan, Jews of learning, i. e. in their Talmudical writings. These Jews, and those in Persia, read the Hebrew in a most sonorous manner. They are full of traditional accounts, which they do not however like to communicate to Christians or Mohammedans. They are not half so demoralized as the Armenians in Curdistan. According to Jew Nisim from Salmast, the Jews of Teheran, and the Rabbi Shlome from Hamadan, whom I met at Teheran, the Jews settled in Persia and Curdistan during the captivity of Babylon. Their names corroborate the truth of their account, that many of them had returned to Jerusalem with Nehemiah;' but their descendants, after this, came back to Persia. This they shew in a very plausible way; viz. that there are families in Persia whose names are of later date, and are to be found among the Jews in Palestine; as for instance, the name Nisim is to be found even now in Persia, and there is a family called Nisim at Jerusalem; there are Jews called Succoth, in Teheran, and there are families of that name at Jerusalem. They are in possession of the same traditional accounts respecting the Ten Tribes, as the Jews all over the world. In the year 1826, at Salmast and at Oormia, I spoke Hebrew and Chaldean with them. Some of the Jews mix the Hebrew with Turkish and Chaldean; but several of their Rabbies, who came from the neighbouring places, spoke Hebrew very well. Mullah Israel, at Sheeras, is a man who feels deeply the corruption of the human heart, and the incapability. E |