STUART'S RESIDENCE IN NORTHERN PERSIA. * NEARLY twenty years ago, Colonel

then Captain Stuart, accom- panied Sir Henry Ellis on his embassy to Persia as private secre- tary, and subsequently shaped the journal of his travels and ob- servations into the form of a book. The manuscript was approved of by the late Mr. Morier, who advised its publication. The au- thor, however, had strength enough to resist request of friends," until the supposed eagerness of the public for any information re- lating to the scat of war induced him to consent to this publication Of his Resideece in Persia.

The narrative is of a lighter and more gossipy character than the .Military Tour of General Macintosh, which was noticed last week ; and from Trebisond to Tabreez goes over nearly the same ground. The account of Colonel Stuart's journey from Con- stantinople to the modern capital of Persia, Teheran and of a. subsequent excursion to the shores of the Caspian, is rather lifeless, from want of circumstances or object. Stuart had not, like Macin- tosh, a distinct purpose which gives an interest to every spot, and the occurrences on his way are not very extraordinary. His Residence at the court of Teheran is a pleasant and indeed instructive picture of the Persian Shah, his courtiers and people. The volume also contains portraits of foreign diploinatists and European adven- turers; as well as sketches of the soldiery drilled in European fashion, and degenerate ; for Colonel Stuart fully confirms the opinion of the Duke of Wellington when speaking of the Mahratta horse that it is not wise for a people to change its national arm. " BOrowski [a Polish adventurer in the service or Persia) has been saying some foolish things lately, and came to breakfast this morning, to redeem his character with us, by saying some equally foolish things concerning his hatred of the Russians. He described how he would, in the event of a war, cut off the supplies of the Emperor's army, and wear it down by constant night attacks with irregular cavalry, as he had himself been defeated near Herat. This was the mode of warfare successfully practised by Aga Ma- hemmed Shah against the Russians : and I have heard that General Yermo- loft; formerly Commander-in-chief in Georgia, could not conceal his joy when he was told that Abbas Meerza had begun to form a regular army,— saying that he should now be able to get at the Persians, which he never could do before. Chiefs of tribes now find it a much more profitable specu- lation to get the command of a regiment of Surbaz, whom they can fleece and cheat at pleasure, than to live at home and encourage the spirit of horse- manship and patriotism among their clansmen. A moss-trooper, for such was the Eeliaut of the last century, and indeed as late as the war of 1812, nascitur non fit'; and if the Shah was now anxious to raise a body of ir- regular cavalry, I doubt whether he could collect ten thousand horsemen in many months, instead of the 100,000 who used annually to take the field with his grandfather. The breed of horses is likewise nearly extinct."

The Persians are the most polished people of the East. Colonel Stuart admits the politeness, but dislikes it, preferring the straightforward manners of the Turks to the artificial style of the Persians : besides their obvious insincerity, the national self- opinion is so great that they are often offensive. The profligacy of the upper classes is described as very bad; but at present they do not seem to be bloodthirsty. Acts of cruelty of course occur, or it would not be Asia ; but their general characteristic is that of the chevalier d'industrie rather than the cut-throat. Here is the Governor of Tabreez raising the wind.

"Not long since, this worthy, being in want of money, sent out some of his myrmidons, who seized an unfortunate Hajee in the streets, accused him of drunkenness, and stuffed some bottles of wine into his trousers, which they produced before their master in evidence of the crime. The poor pilgrim was obliged to pay a round sum in ducats to procure his release. The Governor, himself a notorious drunkard, tells this story as a capital joke."

Another story after the Jeremy Diddler style, but of a higher personage, one of the Kajar princes.

• Another charming anecdote of these virtuous Kajars ! Colonel Stan- nus, formerly Resident at ]iushire, gave a very curious and beautiful snuff- box to the late Viceroy of Fars, commonly called the Erman Firma, whose army ran away from Sir H. Bethune last year at Kcer-i-chum. His High- ness used to press his friends to come and see this snuffbox, and then charge them a tomaun (ten shillings) a head for the view. On another occasion he gave out that one of his sous was sick, and that the Hakeem had declared that he must be constantly kept in a state of pleasing excitement : all,

• Journal of a Residence in Northern Persia, and the adjacent Provinces of Tur- key. By Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart, Thirteenth Light Infantry. Published by

Bentley.

therefore, who valued his favour, must call daily, and make the child a hand- some offering in money !"

A hint to the British fair anent foreigners' albums..

" We called yesterday upon old Hajee Meerza Abul Hassan Khan, who, since the mistake he made at the Shah's accession, has lived in great retirement. We passed through a neatly kept garden, full of flowers, and by some dark turnings entered a fine high room furnished with numerous divans, cushions, and sofas, and ornamented with looking-glasses, European prints, and pk- tures of the late Shah Abbas Meerza, &c. A picture of his excellent self, painted in London, is very like. Though fat, he is a fine-looking man, and has very good manners. )1is establishment is by far the most civilized I have seen in the country.

" This worthy, when Ambassador in England, was made an immense fuss with by many fine ladies. He begged them to gratify his sentiment by in- scribing their names in a sort of album which he kept, taking care to keep blank spaces above the signatures, in which he afterwards inserted, in Per- sian, whatever he thought proper, and what the ladies might perchance think exceedingly improper. To a lady, who refused him her autograph, he said, Ah, you very cunning, Ma'am !' "

In Persia etiquette is everything in diplomacy; and the reader of Malcolm and other diplomatic travellers must remember their humorous accounts of struggles touching ceremonies. Sir Henry Ellis's firmness gained the day, and brought forth a Persian Minister's French.

" There is now a knotty point to be decided, viz. whether an Ambassador is more honoured by the proper people coming out of the capital four miles to meet him, or by a very great man coming out eight miles and the proper people only one ? The former reception was given to Sir Gore Ouseley, the latter is offered to Mr. Ellis. However trifling such an affair of ceremony appears to Europeans when at home, a great deal really depends on the first impression made upon the Persian authorities by an ambassador's firmness in matters of etiquette ; and in a barbarous country, where the eyes must be spoken to, England will be considered powerful by the ignorant multitude very much in proportion to the outward marks of respect bestowed by the Shah upon the representative of her King. "Futteh-Ali-Khan-Reshtee, one of the greatest men of the court, and son of Hedayut-Khan, who was hereditary chief of Ghilan, came out to meet Mr. Ellis, with a horse sent by the Shah richly caparisoned ; but our Riches would not move a step until he received positive notice of the intentions of Meerza Massood, Minister for Foreign Affairs. We small people have quite given up all hopes of moving today, and were sitting shivering over a smoky fire, lamenting our hard fate, when we received the welcome summons to get ready. The consequence of Ellis's firmness has been, that the Foreign Minister and the acting Master of the Ceremonies (cousin to the Shah) con- sented to come out four miles to meet him : so that we have the advantage over Sir Gore's embassy of Futtch-Ali-Khan-Reshtee and a caparisoned .horse! The condescension, however, went sorely against bfassoodia grain : he had the impudence to write to Sir John Campbell, 'Si Is bon Dieu veuill ' (this is an exact copy of the Meerza's orthography) clue je continue d'avoir cotta fonction, dans peu de tempo spies je devais eller amenee le s ambassa- deurs de leur propres capitaux.' He wanted to make his comb].' out con- ditional on Mr. Ellis's engaging that our Foreign Secretary should go out to meet any Persian Ambassador who might hereafter be sent to London. It would be amusing to see Lord Palmerston waiting at the 'Bricklayers' Arms' to escort some Meerza or Khan to Grillon's Hotel!"

The reader will find a good deal of light and gossipy matter, but very indicative of the state of society, in the Residence in Persia mingled with some deeper remarks on politics and the then state of the Persian army, which probably is quite as bad now. In Colonel Stuart's opinion, the Turkish army was far better dis- ciplined, in the sense of instruction, than the Persian ; although England, and we believe Russia, for some forty years past have directly sent officers and arms, while Turkey has managed her affairs for herself. On the return route through Southern Russia and Poland, from Odessa, there are several passages to which present circumstances give an attraction. This is one; Marshal Paskiewitsch at Warsaw.

"Mr. Barnet, the British Consul, (an old friend of Ellis, and a ci-devant Guardsman,) having intimated to Marshal Paskewitsch, Ellis's desire of calling upon him, his Highness was civil enough to send a secretary to make excuses on account of his occupation in council, and to invite us both to dinner. The 'Marechal Prince de Yarsovie ' lives in great state ; we found three double sentries of grenadiers on the staircase, a Circassian and a Cossack officer in the first ante-room, and an aide-dc- camp in waiting in the second. He is a man apparently about fifty years of age, with a pleasing though weather-beaten countenance ; his manners are gentlemanly and quiet. Madame la Princesse is a plain forlorn lady. The large hall in which we were received, and in which we also dined, was hung with Persian and Turkish arras and armour. The campaigns in Aderbijan and Armenia are a favourite hobby of the "Erivanski. He talked a good deal about Persia to Ellis ; who has formed a high opinion of his general abilities, good sense, and knowledge of Asiatic affairs. He certainly ac- quired a good reputation in that country by his conciliatory manners, and the maintenance of strict discipline among the troops. He says that he had never more than 15,000 men in his army. At Ganger the Surbaz behaved at first with great gallantry. The Marshal thought it right for the sake of morale, to leave a good position, and attack the Persians in the plain ; the latter advanced to within fifty paces of the Russians, halted, and commenced a sharp fire by platoons ; Paskewitsch charged their line in front and flank, a mode of attack which puzzled them, and they were soon completely broken : but he confesses that the fate of Georgia was for a moment doubtful."

The observations of a military man on Russian troops, however desultory they may be, have just now an interest from the possi- bility that our soldiers may soon be engaged with them.

" The idea of instituting military colonies was derived from the frontier regiments of Austria, but the position and duties of those corps are so pecu- liar that they could scarcely have served as a model.

"We passed through an ante-room filled with staff-officers in a variety of handsome uniforms, and found Count de Witt in his cabinet de travail. His breast was literally covered with orders. We accompanied him to the small parade-ground behind the theatre, where the men for duty, about two hun- dred, were formed. They belong to the reserve battalion of a regiment do- ing duty on the Turkish' frontier, and are mostly from Little Russia; four battalions of reserve, each four hundred strong, from the garrison of Odessa. Count de Witt at one moment did his utmost to disparage the troops before us ; at the next called them 'des troupes superbes,' and added that Russia had four hundred thousand like them, not including the Guards. In faet, the men we saw were of all ages and not particularly well sized,—which is natural enough in a depot battalion ; their average height was rather under that of our troops of the line; and I should say that their drill was much upon a par with that of a good English regiment, perhaps superior in some minor points: their stamp would impose upon a civilian. I have since seen the :lassian Guards in the great manteuvree at Koasuve Selo. Taking battalions individually, our troops are better, because quicker, and more intelligent, and equally steady : but we must not conceal from ourselves, that the habit alien they have of acting together in large bodies, commanded by active generals in the prime of life, gives them immense advantages."