ence of a sultry breathless air, were at once exposed to the unmitigated severity of a cold and heavy rain, driven against their persons by a piercing wind; and they soon suffered as much from the cold as they had lately done from heat. It was no trifling addition to their distress to find that in the confusion and darkness of the storm, they had managed to miss their road, and had got entangled in a maze of hillocks and irregular ground which bounds the plain upon the north-east; and although the tatar assured them that neither ill consequence, nor even material detention, could ensue from the accident, the travellers could not entirely divest themselves of anxiety, as delay in any shape was what they most wished to avoid.

So intently was the party occupied in remedying their error, that the changes which now rapidly took place in the weather, and upon the face of the heavens, attracted but slight attention. When the violence of the rain, and the depth of the darkness abated, they had indeed remarked, that a huge pile of clouds still remained around the mountain, rearing themselves high into the blue sky which began to break out overhead-and that the flashes of forky lightning, which darted and played among the mazes of this lurid mass, no less than the sullen roar of distant thunder, betokened the elemental strife which was still maintained within its recesses. But while threading the intricacies of the ground in which they were entangled, they neither noted the gradual subsidence and dispersion of this murky congregation of vapour, nor the clearing of the heavens above them; so that they were in no degree prepared for the scene which was about to burst upon them-a scene, which pen or pencil would in vain attempt to delineate, and to which, for its peculiar simplicity and grandeur of effect, the world itself perhaps cannot afford a parallel. After winding for some time along a hollow between gravelly hillocks, the travellers stood upon the brow of a gentle eminence which sloped gradually down to a plain, from twenty to thirty miles in breadth, stretching far on either hand, and speckled with villages and gardens. But the suffusion of purple and golden

light shed over half its surface from a setting sun of such glorious splendour as Eastern skies alone are blessed with, rendered every object indistinct. In front, bathed in the same mellow radiance, arose from this noble plain, in solemn majesty, the grand, the venerable Ararat, gracefully rearing its two lofty peaks, until their snowy summits, richly lighted up by the same declinin; beam, were relieved against the clear pearly sky. A misty play of rich and delicate tints pervaded the whole atmosphere, and threw over the landscape that filmy golden haze, so enchanting in autumnal evenings, softening every harsh line and too prominent feature into ineffable harmony; while the recent shower had lent to the hues of the foreground, ruddied as they were by the fast sinking sun, a freshness which contrasted not less powerfully than happily with the rich but mellow tones of the distance. The deep and lengthened shadow of the mountain which fell across the plain, shrowding half its extent in mysterious darkness, finished the picture, by giving tenfold lustre and effect to its more brilliant features.

"Glorious! Splendid! Magnificent indeed!" burst, after a moment, from the lips of the two Franks, as this sublime spectacle flashed, as it "Behold, were, upon their senses. old Agri-Daugh—there's a mountain for you, agas!" echoed the tatar, more keenly alive perhaps to the honour of his country and its wonders, than to the splendour of the scene before him. Yet not insensible to the enchanting contrast of the present hour to that which had preceded it, he continued, "See how the grim old fellow smiles at us after the passion he has been in ;-one would think that he never could frown, and that neither storm, nor thunder, nor lightning ever played around his head." exclaimed

"By Heavens, Cone of the Franks, after a pause, "it is well worth riding a few hundred miles to see this-well worth a drenching, and a cold too, should it follow-was there ever such a mountain! See how it rises in solitary grandeur from that noble plain, disdaining all connexion with the pigmy hills around!"-" And to see it under such happy circumstances," returned his friend; "what a rich crimson and

orange light is powdered, as it were, over all that shoulder-there just where the sun rests-and how it trembles in lines of radiance down to our very feet. And mark how finely the sober grey that clothes the rest of the mountain, contrasts with that rich light-how gauzy and visionary is the contour and substance of that loftiest peak, as it retires into the warm yellow sky which now rises behind it-and see! how fine and calm the effect of yon streak of grey cloud which rests upon the upper shoulder-almost the only remaining trace of that violent storm!" "And of what nature is the ground upon the mountain side?" enquired the elder of the travellers, addressing the tatar, after a pause of some continuance.-" To me, from hence, the slope seems even and gradual, and the ground smooth-is it so in reality? has the summit ever been ascended, pray?"-" Smooth? any thing but that, aga; take my word for it. Many a height and hollow is there, many a rocky chasm and ravine that would stop the march of an army. Observe these dark shadows and lines; these are deep hollows and clefts of unknown wildness; but there is plenty of good pasture land also. See that shoulder there, all red with the rays of the sun-the yeilak of the Sirdar+ is there, and he is somewhere thereabouts himself with his flocks and herds."—" You have been upon the mountain, then?" "Ay, sir, often enough; that is, as far the yeilāks extend."-" What, no higher?-never tried to get to the top?"-"Allah-il-allah!-the top of Agri-Daugh? me ?-no, no, aga-not to be the Sirdar himself, would I try such a prank—in fine, it is not to be done."" And why not, pray? It seems easy enough from hence, and there is not much snow."-" Ai! aga, who can judge of the difficulty or danger from such a distance as this? -All I can say is, that few have attempted the thing, and none have succeeded. I have gone pretty far myself-once, when I was a madcap youth, I was tempted, by the devil I believe, to go and peep into

the tail of that ravine yonder; there, just under the cloud to the left of that great patch of snow; I got to the craggy shoulder below, and just peeped in. But it was quite enough," added the tatar, with a shudder; "I should like to see the man that would venture further.”—“ And what should hinder him, pray?"—" Hinder him?" echoed the tatar; "why, devils, ghouls, death would hinder him! for what is that place but the very khelwut of them all?-and who would go and thrust his head into the devil's own house?"-"Psha! what do you talk of-devils? I should like to see the devil that would keep me from the top of Ararat, if I were inclined to try.' "Don't speak so, aga; you don't know-others have said and thought the same, but-who can tell the horrors of that chasmhow deep-how dark!-the pit of hell is not more terrible, with its black shaggy rocks, and awful precipices of ice and snow, from which great masses are tumbling every minute into the gulf at their feet with a noise like thunder-and smoke ascends, and forms, oh, too horrible to think of-I could only look for a moment, and turned away my eyes for very fear of what might come." -" And, in the name of God, what worse than the rocks and precipices could have come to frighten you, friend?-What did you dread ?"— "What can I tell, aga? who knows what might come from Shytaun's own den? They say that the devils and gins of the pit below, are nothing to the ghouls and spirits which haunt the snow-rifts and the icecracks above-creatures of dim unspeakable shapes, with pale bluey bodies, which flit about with a ghostlike motion, and fix upon the sons of Adam their visionless eyes, that glare like those of a dead man in the moonlight, until life and sense are sucked as it were away!-Ugh!" exclaimed he, with a half start, half shudder, "it seems as if I saw them now."

"But if no one has ever ventured among the ice and snow, how is it known that all these fearful things exist? it must at best be conjec

The devil-Satan.

their chance of the danger for the sake of the blessing, have now and then returned with fearful accounts of their adventures, sometimes bringing bits of wood, for which they swore they had to fight with the spirits that guard the ark."-" And did the Kalifah believe all this ?" asked the Frank. "What can I tell ?" replied the tatar; " at all events, he profits by the tale, and shews and sells the wood as that of the true ark."

"And you never heard of any one undertaking the adventure from mere curiosity ?"-" Curiosity, aga! what good would that have done them ?— no, but other motives have sometimes prevailed over fear, as I have heard; not that any one ever reached the summit-that is on all hands admitted to be impossible."-" But what motives do you allude to ?"-"“ Ah, strange ones enough-and many strange tales have I heard on the subject-but you Franks laugh at all such things, so there is no use in saying any more about them. But see, agas, the sun has set, and if you wish to reach Erivan in time enough to get horses this night, we have not a moment to lose."-" Well, friend Moustapha, we shall attend you; but as you have somewhat excited our curiosity, you shall just exert yourself to satisfy it by telling us some of these same wonderful tales, to shorten the way, as you have done more than once already-and an excellent kissagot you are."

ture."-" Ah, no, aga! not so neither-people have gone, although few have returned; and fewer still have kept their senses. Some have become dumb; some have raved until they died; and others have laughed and shuddered alternately like idiots, for the remainder of their days, unable to answer any questions, but becoming terribly agitated at the sight of snow or ice. Even the few who have preserved their reason, can speak only in doubtful and mysterious terms."-" But if such is the ill repute of this same mountain, how happens it that any one has ever been tempted to try the enterprise?" -"Oh, sir! what madness will not money make men commit? and what lengths will not zeal and superstition carry others!"-" But what has this Agri-Daugh to do with your zeal or superstitions ?"-"Nothing, aga, with mine, praise be to God! but much with that of these poor misguided Armenians. You know, agas, that it is said the ark of Huzrut Nooh* rested upon Agri-Daugh, after the great deluge which destroyed the world; and the priests of Etchmiadzin-the great Armenian monastery which you see yonder, with the three black churches-say that this same ark, unchanged by time or decay, is still upon the mountain, among the eternal snows of its summit. To the wood which formed it, the poor infidels attribute many virtues, and covet the possession of it above all things. And well they may, for they sell the smallest pieces at a great price; but whether it be truly the wood of this ark, God only can tell. At all events, to get hold of this wood is a mighty object with them; and the Kalifah, (or Patriarch,) who declares that he can tell the true from false as easily as you would do a sweet from a water melon, is always trying to persuade thoughtless fellows, both Mussulmans and Armeniaus, to go and fetch it for him. The former go for gold, the latter generally for the blessing of God, which the old father assures them will attend upon so pious an act. But it seems that none who ventured for money have ever come safely back, while those who have taken

• Noah.

The travellers cast one more look at the majestic form of the huge grey mountain, which rose against a sky still glorious with the purple and golden light of the departed luminary; then turning their horses into the proper track, rode swiftly along for a while, until the nature of the road forcing them to moderate their speed, the tatar, flattered by the compliment to his abilities in narration, collected his ideas, and intimated his readiness to commence. They regulated their pace accordingly, and he began as follows.

"In the earlier part of the reign of Aga Mahomed Shah, while the brave Lootf Alee Khan still struggled for his life and crown in the south and

"It happened, that among the females there was one lovely young creature, who was already betrothed

and all but married to a fine Armenian youth, named Gregoor, the inhabitant of a neighbouring village. Imagine, agas, the horror and dismay of this young man, when, ignorant of the catastrophe, he came to seek his beloved, and found the village in ruins, the remaining inhabitants weeping and lamenting their losses, and his dear Annah gone-carried off-none could tell whither! He raved like a madman, and committed a thousand foolish actions-but of what avail was all his grief-it would not bring back his mistress-the poor girl was lost to him! All he could learn was, that the mischief had been done by the people of Doozd Mahomed Khan, who were known as well by their fierce audacity, as by their dress and appearance. And it was also too well known, that to recover goods or chattels, man or beast, from the gripe of Doozd Mahomed, was as easy as to wrest the lamb from the wolf's jaws, or the dead from the grave.

east of Persia, and the rest of the country was in a very unsettled state, there lived in these parts a chief of great power and influence, named Doozd Mahomed Khan, of the Zookhanloo tribe which ranged the heights and pastures of Aberaun and Goomree, in the neighbourhood of Erivan. He was a heartless, cruel, rapacious chief-a great plunderer of caravans and travellers; but by dint of a frankness of demeanour, and great liberality to his followers, he had collect ed a force with which he succeeded in overawing his neighbours, and became the scourge and dread of the surrounding country. But it was the poor Armenians who chiefly suffered under his tyranny; he visited their peaceful villages with fire and sword, wringing money and goods of all sorts from the men, and carrying off their wives and children as slaves, or for the use of his harem. I know a good deal of the Armenians, agas, and they are not bad people, although they are infidels. Many a good pillaw and comfortable night's quarters have I had from an Armenian, and I owe my life, I believe, to their good old Khalifah-for once I was robbed and nearly murdered, not very far from hence, by some rascally Turkish Eeliauts; and an Armenian priest going by, found me, stript and bleeding, and carried me straight to the convent, where the Khalifah paid me every possible attention, and came himself to see my wounds dressedmay his prosperity increase! and in the long fever that followed, for more than a month they took care of me, and sent me away a whole man again; so I don't like to see the poor creatures abused. But Doozd Mahomed only looked upon them as beasts of burden-creatures made to contribute to his pleasures, or to supply his wants.

"Well-one day his rascally gang of robbers had gone forth, and surprised an Armenian village, some five pursungs distance from the monastery; and after driving off thegreater part of the cattle, and such articles as were worth their while, they carried off a number of girls and boys, and returned to the camp of their master.

*

"But young Gregoor had a spirit by far more bold and fearless than most of his countrymen, and was not so easily persuaded to abandon all hope of recovering his betrothed wife. He could not indeed immediately decide on what was to be done, but he was certain that his Annah had been taken to the Khan's camp, and from thence only was she to be recovered. There, therefore, hateful and terrible as was the place to all Armenians, did the bold Gregoor resolve on proceeding, to act as circumstances might determine. The remonstrances of his own parents, and even of the father of his Annah, were unheeded-go he would-and all they could wring from him, was a promise to be prudent-wary-calm. Calm!-a lover-and that lover Gregoor-calm or prudent ?-but however, away he went, carrying with him nothing but his arms, and a relic-some nail parings of his own patron saint and that of his country, St Gregory, bound round his arm like a talisman, in a small silver case.

"It was not until he had arrived within sight of the camp that the

young Armenian began to consider how he should proceed, or even present himself, so as to avoid inconvenient suspicions. An open declaration of his errand would not only defeat its purpose, but cause, in all probability, his own destruction. Address was his only chance; and he at length resolved to come forward boldly as a young man seeking service, as it was well known that the Khan omitted no opportunity of retaining handsome youths about his person as pipe-bearers and body servants. His project succeeded perfectly. He entered the camp;—was stopped, interrogated, and taken before the Khan, who, delighted with his manly beauty and handsome address, received him instantly into his service; and in a very short time he was in attendance-gorgeously equipped-upon the great man himself.

"In this situation he soon became acquainted with the particulars of the late exploit; and heard enough to convince him that it was in the harem of the Khan his mistress was to be found, and from thence, if at all, must she be delivered. But to violate the sanctity of a Persian chief's harem, and such a chief as Doozd Mahomed!-it was an enterprise of danger and difficulty enough to have daunted the courage of most men,if any thing, it sharpened that of Gregoor.

"But fortune was adverse to the poor young man, at least in his first attempts. For, applying to a countrywoman of his own, a servant in the harem, as a means of communication with his poor Annah, his intrigue was either discovered or betrayed; and he was immediately seized, and led bound into the Khan's presence, who, having been indisposed for several days before, was in a worse than ordinary humour.' Baseborn scoundrel!' thundered he, as the young man appeared before him; 'cursed Armenian dog! what dish of filth is this you have been eating? -what infernal business have you been about?-have you a mind for the stake, or to be torn by horses, that you have ventured to interfere with my harem?-Speak, miscreant! -what answer have you to make?' "My Lord,' replied the young man with respectful firmness, I am neither a base-born fellow nor a vil

lain. I have not sought for, nor interfered with, any thing but what was my own, and what justice would assuredly restore to me. Nay, my hope is strong that a just and generous master like your lordship will not hesitate in so doing, as soon as you have heard my story. In entering your service, Khan, it is true that your slave did entertain a hope of recovering his lost wife-for such is Annah already in the face of Heaven. In so far has he deceived your lordshipbut in all other matters he had resolved to conduct himself as a faithful and zealous servant should do. Such has he been, my Lord-and such will he continue in all duty. He seeks in return but his own-his betrothed wife, who will die if she be separated from him, as he should do were he to lose her. Be generous then, Khan; imitate the Lord of the universe; dispense happiness around you, and convert two miserable, broken-hearted creatures into faithful and devoted servants!'

"What says the Armenian dog?' said the Khan, with darkening face, to his attendants. What have I to do with his wife?-this is some dirt that he is eating, to excuse his abandoned attempt at intriguing in my harem. But his effrontery shall not avail the unclean scoundrel-he shall feel that Doozd Mahomed has teeth as well as eyes, and will not have filth thrown in his face with impunity. Ho, guards, there!-see him strictly confined until our pleasure be known. Ourself will see his punishment, and it shall be signal-at present we are somewhat indisposed.' And the luckless Gregoor was hurried away to a prison, from whence he had no hope of returning, except to a painful and disgraceful death.

"But Fate, which had played the young man so mischievous a trick, seemed now willing to befriend him, for the Khan's illness increased so rapidly, that, before the hour of evening prayer, he was in a burning fever, and all business, executions included, was suspended, until at least the fate of the chief should be decided.

"Next day passed in anxiety and doubt. The most learned physicians which the country afforded, were called in, and were unremitting in their attendance. Every remedy they