Bahmar Mirza. Muhammed Wele Khan asked me the difference between Christians who have beards and those who have none. Every one of our camel-drivers knows the object of my mission: one of them said to me at Meshed, 'You have opportunities enough to dispute with Jews.' They say Damghan was built by king Hushenhe 5247 years ago, four generations from Adam. Damghan, Balkh, and Nijarpour, near Meshed, are believed by the Persians to be the oldest cities in the world. Nadir Shah destroyed and depopulated Damghan by his tyranny: after him the Afghans invaded Damghan and took the inhabitants to Cabul. Now there are six thousand inhabitants there, often besieged by the Curds; for neither Bahmar Mirza at Semnar, nor Ismael Mirza at Bastan, have one single cannon at their command. Damghan is twelve English miles from Dowlat Abad. The country around Damghan, Deh Mallah, and Sharat have many vineyards. I offered to Muhammed Wele Khan a Bible, but he politely declined the acceptance of it.

"Oct. 3.—At eleven o'clock in the forenoon I set out for Hadada, where I lodged with Muhammed Muhem Khan, who was polite in the evening, expecting a present; but when I told him I was poor, he was rather cold on my departure in the morning. There are hereabout a great many villages which have castles, on account of the Turcomans in the desert.

"On my way to Hadada I saw a Persian swiftly running: I asked him after whom he was running: he said, 'My wife has run away with another man, and I am running after her.' The woman was not far distant from us; we rode after him, to see how he would meet his eloped wife. He spoke kindly to her, and induced her to go back with him. She was, as the Persians say, a cowley-i.e. harlot. It reminded me of Judges xix. 1-3. On our arrival at Hadada, Muhem Khan received me hospitably in his house: he has two sons very fond of reading; they desired of me the work of Saadi, called Kalliat Saadi. I learnt from them that Harem Rachid was the founder of Meshed: a city stood before upon the spot where Meshed now stands, called Tooz. Drs. M'Neille and Cormick are well known in Khorassan. The mehmandar, who was sent with me to Hadada, had the order to kill any horse he may meet with belonging to Muhammed Ali Khan of Dowlat Abad. "The people of our caravan frequently sing,

'To

my black Indian girl

I would gladly give

Both the cities of Samarcand and Bokhara.'

To my dear Georgiana and Drummond I would gladly give both the cities of Samarcand and Bokhara. Only the desire of preaching thy name, O Jesus, in Samarcand and Bokhara, could induce me to leave my wife and child for a while.

"Hadada is five farsangs, or twenty English miles, from Damghan. "The Prince Ismael Mirza, at Bastan, behaved very badly; he desired me to give him in writing the promise that the king..of England would give him 10,000 tomaums-that is, 6000l. per annum for sending me safely to Bokhara, and back to Teheran. I left

his Royal Highness laughing. Slept at Sharat, near Bastan, one night, and returned to my caravan. Bastan is twenty-four English miles from Hadada. Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, is the great sword for healing the sons of men. Shew to me Christ on Calvary, and it makes me exclaim, 'Christ, remember me in thy kingdom." "Oct. 5.-We returned to join our caravan at Deh Mullah, twenty miles from Sharat.

"Oct. 6.We met on the road to Deh Mullah with Gypsies, called by the Persians at Teheran, Cowley Ben Band; by those at Tabreez, Garatshee; by those at Khorassan, Kerishmael.

"The common people of Persia give the following account of the origin of the Gypsies :-'Nimrod commanded Abraham to be cast into a fiery furnace; two angels prevented this. The devil said to Nimrod, that he should place near Abraham a brother and sister, who should commit iniquity together, which would compel the angels to conceal their faces: while the angels thus turn away their faces from Abraham, he may be cast into the fiery furnace. Nimrod followed the advice of the devil, and Abraham was cast into the fiery furnace. The brother, who was brought with his sister, was called Cow, and the sister Ley; and their descendants are the Gypsies. Abraham, however, was not burned, for the furnace was changed into a rose-garden.

"The inhabitants of Deh Mullah asked my servant how he could serve a Kafer (infidel), who was najas (unclean).

“Oct. 8.—In the night we left Deh Mullah and went to Detshe, a village four farsangs from Deh Mullah. My health, God be praised, is perfectly well; and I trust, by God's grace, that this is the case with you and child. 66 JOSEPH WOLFF."

“Kana Khiste, S. E. from Bastan twenty farsangs, "Oct. 13, 1831.

"As this evening a caravan is arrived, going to Teheran, coming from Herat, I hasten to write to you again. I am now in the most dangerous road on account of the wandering Turcomans, and on account of the intolerance of the inhabitants of Khorassan, who never saw a Christian in this part of the country.

"Oct. 9.-I proclaimed the Gospel of Christ to my servant Muhammed Hassim: he told me that Iman Rese, buried at Meshed, performs many miracles; he gives sight to the blind, heals sick camels; and barren women, going to Meshed, get children.

"Oct. 10.-I examined the names of about 126 villages of Afghan, to see whether they have Hebrew names, by which I might ascertain whether the Ten Tribes settled here, but I found very dim light on this subject.

"Sarakhs, a place belonging to Turcomans, five days from Meshed, is inhabited by many Jews.

"The wife of Haji Shiekh Muhammed, of Herat, desired me to write a prayer for her, in order that she may be cured. Haji Shiekh Muhammed told me to-day, 'You think that you will be able to

make all mankind of one mind, but this is impossible.' I told him that Jesus shall do it.

"Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our sins, and hast shed thy blood for us, look down upon us all, in order that we may safely arrive at Herat, and that I may be enabled there to proclaim thy holy Name, and, if it is thy good pleasure, to find the lost Tribes of Israel. Amen.

"I prayed yesterday for little boy, for it was his birth-day. I write this letter in a tent, but as writing is rather dangerous here, I wanted to shorten my letter; but as the people are now going, I am writing a little more. Muhammed Hassim, my servant, told me that he had dreamed that he had been attacked by a tiger, whom he was not able to kill; and, as the dream was in the afternoon, he knows that it means something, and he believes that the tigers were the Turcomans.

"Oct. 10.-We left Detshe, and went towards the south east; we had only twelve armed men, and were in the most dangerous road on account of Turcomans and Pulatsh. My servant, Abd Aluhim, desired me to ask the intercession of Iman Resa, who had received gifts to bestow on seventy-two religions. I told him that Jesus Christ is my only Mediator and Intercessor. The Mussulmans were fervently praying. I at once perceived a horrid smell; they told me it was produced by the blood of men on account of fear, for the Turcomans.

"Oct. 11.-However, we arrived safely, God be praised, in a depopulated place called Baghgout, twenty-eight English miles from Detshe. We continued our journey, and arrived next morning at Biyar Jamand: here a noise was spread that I was a Russian, but it was peaceably settled by Haji Shiekh Muhammed.

"Oct. 12.-To-day is thy birth-day, O little Drummond. The Lord bless thee, with thy mother, and keep thee; and the Lord let the light of his countenance shine upon thee and thy mother, and be gracious unto thee and unto thy mother.

"To-day a Mussulman turned not his face in prayer towards Mecca; another reproached him for his ignorance, and said, 'I am sure you do not know of Iman Resa:' her name was Zobeide Khatoor.

"Oct. 13.-We arrived at Khana Khode; the noise was spread again that I was a Russian, but Haji Shiekh Muhammed undeceived them.

"JOSEPH WOLFF."

"Ain Abad, in the territory of Twesheesh, in the province

of Khorassan, Oct. 16, 1831.

"To Lady G. W.-God be praised, we have now made the most dangerous road without the least accident, and from here to Herat people and roads are better. If the Lord please, I shall soon be with you. Last night I had a very disquieting dream about you and my boy; I hope that it will be a false dream. I dreamed that my child was gone to his Saviour; Lord preserve the child. Now my journal.

"Sarakhs, is a place belonging to Turcomans, and Jews live among them. The Jews are well treated by the Turcomans, and are never taken slaves by them. The Turcomans say that the Jews have no Padeshak―i.e. king—and are poor: we must therefore be kind to them.' The Protestants in Germany, with their unsanctified knowledge, persecute the Jews.

"Oct. 14.-We arrived near a ruined castle called Hizeme, fortyeight English miles from Khana Khode: we met with no Tur

comans.

"Oct. 15.—We arrived at Touroon, a place inhabited by rebels to the king of Persia, a very inhospitable people indeed. The Persians say, 'This place does not know the king.' It is twelve miles from the former station. We have an odd old man in our company; he came from Kerman to go to the sepulchre of Iman Resa; he lost in one place one Sahebkeran-i.e. sixpence-hè remained behind the caravan a whole day to find it, and came after us on foot; he is eighty years of age.

"Oct. 16.-We arrived in the dangerous desert place called GouTurcoman-i.e. grave of the Turcoman-twelve farsangs, a day's journey. One of the caravan sung in a dangerous place, 'To my black Indian girl,' &c. I told him he ought now to pray to God instead of singing love songs; he thanked me, and began to pray. Haji Sheikh Muhammed spent in my tent two hours, to have explained the object of my mission; then he told me the following history of Hagar and Ishmael. Hagar wandered about in the desert with her little babe, and found no water; she put the child upon the sand and wept; the child cried and stamped with his little feet in the sand, when suddenly a well sprang out of the sand upon the spot which was marked by the feet of the babe.' This is Beer Zam Zam, near Mecca. The spot was lost, but found again by Abn Taleb, the uncle of Muhammed. He saith, that upon the spot where Mecca was, stood an altar which was built by Adam, destroyed by the Deluge, and built again by Abraham. Haji Sayd Buker, the Muftched of Ispahan, is considered the Pope of all the Mussulmans of the sect of Ali in the whole world.

86 JOSEPH WOLFF."

Birjant, in Khorassan, Nov. 1, 1831. "Oct. 18.-We encamped in the desert of Abdallabad, twenty English miles from Ain Abad.

"Some Afghans said to me to-day, 'Do you know that we descend from the Bene Israel-i. e. the children of Israel? Our Mullahs tell us so, and at Herat you may learn by Mullah Shann more about it.' The Afghans speak the Poshtoo language. I asked them the meaning of several things in the Poshtoo; but I found no similarity between the Poshtoo and Hebrew except AUR, which means fire, and in Hebrew light. The Afghans relate that Afghans have learnt their language from the demon who was kept in chains by King Solomon. That demon is called Ashmedaz by the Jews.

Oct. 19.-We arrived at Fakhr-Abad, a village with a strong castle, thirty-two English miles from the former place. I learned here by the Afghans that they have some books written in the Poshtoo, as the poem of Rahman, and Youssuf and Solukha, translated from the Persian.

"Oct. 20.-We arrived at Betshistim, a village with a large garden. "Oct. 21.-We arrived near Waterhouse, which in Persian is House, too, twenty-eight English miles from the former place.

"Oct. 22.-We arrived at Baghistoon, near Toon, a beautiful village, and inhabited by good-natured people; but still at Toon they do not like the arrival of Christians, for fear to profane the place.

"Oct. 23.-We arrived at Seragoon, a considerable town, a day's journey of 28 miles from Baghistoon.

"Oct. 24.-We arrived at Teekho, a miserable place; the inha、 bitants recognised me to be a Jew by having shewn to be afraid of touching fire.

"Oct. 25.-We arrived in the considerable town Hafrees, whose merchants trade to Bokhara.

"Oct. 27.-Arrived at Birjant. I left the caravan, for the purpose of drawing some money from Hindoo merchants. Birjant is 80 miles from Hafrees, and is an ancient town, said to have been built by the famous giant Bijant, who was killed by the white Deeves in the time of Rostam, and whose head was so large that only Rostam was able to draw it out of the well into which it was cast by the white Deeves. Near Birjant is the talismanic mountain Baghroon, upon which the sons of many Imaums are buried.

"Some of the camel-drivers of our caravan had accompanied us to this place; they demanded a large present: as I refused to give it, they went to Assad Ullah Khan, the independent governor, and told him that I and my servants were people of his enemy Abbas Mirza; I left, therefore, immediately the place: but after having arrived at Sirjah, thirty-two miles from Birjant, horsemen came and brought us back, under the pretext that I had run away from Abbas Mirza with 12,000 tomaums.

"Oct. 28.-I arrived at Birjant again, escorted by soldiers.

"Oct. 29.-I went with my Bible in my hand to Assad Ullah Khan, where I met with Abd Resa Khan of Yazd, another rebel against the king of Persia. I told them that I was an English Mullah, who converses with people about God. Assad Ullah Khan and others recognised me to have seen me at Teheran six years ago. A long conversation about religion took place. They desired me to read some portions of the Gospel and the Bible to them, which I did-Matt. v. and Exod. xv.-in the presence of crowds of Mussulmans who were standing outside. Assad Ullah Khan spoke comfortably to me, and promised to send me on to-morrow to Meshed, which is nearer than Herat to Bokhara. Kiss baby.

66 JOSEPH WOLFF."