remained under the rule of the Arabs, unviolated by the successive
Princes, who have conquered and retained so large a portion of the rest
of Persia. But ABDULLAH RESOUL, the grandson of SHEIK NASR, inherited
the office only of his predecessor, and possessed no qualities which
could command the affections and the services of his people; and though
at the time of our landing the government was vested in him as the
descendant of the ancient possessors, it was obviously improbable that
_Bushire_, which had now become the principal port of Persia, would be
suffered to remain long under the administration of a young Arab, of
sluggish, dissolute, and unwarlike habits.
In the evening of the 16th Oct. (the day after our landing), the
_Sheik_ of _Bushire_, escorted by several of the principal men of the
town, paid a visit to the Envoy. They had not sat long, when a man came
in and whispered something in the ear of one of the visitants, which
caused the _Sheik_ to arise, take a hasty leave, and gallop at full
speed into the town. The Government of _Shiraz_ had sent a body of men
to seize him. He had just time to reach _Bushire_ before the party of
_Shiraz_ horsemen could overtake him. He immediately mustered all his
little force, planted a guard on the walls, and himself kept constant
watch at the gates. He had indeed anticipated the probable designs of
the Court of _Shiraz_; and, though now apparently resolved on the last
resistance, he had already taken the precaution of shipping most of
his property on his own vessels, and with them meditated to retire to
_Bussora_.
The commander of the _Shiraz_ horsemen, to whom the commission was
intrusted, was MAHOMED KHAN, the _Nasakchee Bashee_, an office not ill
understood by that of chief executioner[16]. He is always employed,
at least, in seizing state prisoners, though his personal character
is rather opposite to the duties of his situation; for to the
facetiousness of his temper, according to the report of his countrymen,
he owes the favour of the Prince of _Shiraz_, and through that favour,
his office; and, as a second consequence, the monopoly of tobacco[17].
In the discharge of his functions the _Nasakchee Bashee_ is generally
supposed to realize in every commission a considerable sum, besides
the maintenance of himself and his followers at the expence of the
individuals against whom he may successively be sent. While he waited
the accomplishment of his present attempt, he remained encamped at a
short distance from the town. About twelve o’clock on the 18th, he made
a visit of ceremony to the Envoy. He was attended by eighteen men,
himself alone mounted on a horse; on his arrival he seated himself on
a couch next to Sir HARFORD JONES, and his men extended themselves in
two rows to the right and left before him. The conversation consisted
of mutual compliments about health, the hopes of continued amity
between Persia and England, and the never failing topic the weather.
The whole party wore the black sheep-skin cap (the dress of every rank
of Persians), and almost all had pistols in their girdles; some had
muskets, and all, except the _Khan_’s own body servants, had swords.
Most of them also wore the green and high-heeled slippers of ceremony,
and every man had a full black beard. On the day of this visit, the
_Sheik_, as a douceur perhaps to engage the Envoy’s interference in his
cause, sent him a present of two horses.
On the 20th. I went on the part of the Envoy to return the visit of the
_Nasakchee Bashee_. He was encamped among some date trees; and living
in the remains of a house which was all in ruins, but which he had
screened up with mats to keep off the sun and wind. A clean mat was
spread on the floor, carpets were arranged all around, and his bed and
cushions were rolled up in one corner: over the carpet, on which he
sate himself, was a covering of light blue chintz. When we were within
a hundred yards, we saw him walking about; but as soon as he perceived
our approach, he seated himself in the place of honour, and did not
pay us the compliment of rising when we entered. I made him a civil
speech in Turkish, and he in return asked after the Envoy’s health. He
seemed, indeed, much pleased with the epithet of _Effendi_, which I
used frequently in addressing him, but which, as I afterwards learned,
is never applied in Persia to any but very great men. His vanity was
accordingly much flattered; and he exclaimed to his attendants, that
I was “_Khoob Jouani_,” a fine fellow. When we had exhausted all our
compliments, we took our leave.
The mission on which he was dispatched to _Bushire_ originated in the
following circumstances. Some years ago, the _Sheik_ had been required
by the Governor of _Farsistan_ to furnish a certain sum of money.
He pleaded poverty: he was ordered to borrow; and to obviate every
difficulty, he was told that a particular person would advance the
money, at an interest indeed prescribed by the same authority which
dictated the amount of the capital. The _Nasakchee Bashee_ was now sent
to enforce the immediate repayment of the capital and interest, which
together had swelled to twenty-eight thousand _tomauns_, a sum nearly
equal to the same number of pounds sterling. To save his authority, and
perhaps his head, the _Sheik_ endeavoured to accommodate the present
difficulty by offering to pay down five thousand _tomauns_, and to
secure the rest by instalments. This, however, was refused; and the
unfortunate _Sheik_ accordingly gave immediate and public notice of the
sale of his effects, his horses, mules, and asses; and in the course of
a few days raised fifty thousand piastres.
Still the hope of a less rigorous arrangement was not entirely
excluded: the _Sheik_, attended by the principal men of the town, and
with a strong guard (so stationed that the signal of a moment could
bring them to his assistance) visited the _Khan_. The _Khan_ indeed
had sworn that he would not molest the _Sheik_ “at present;” though,
when asked to extend the oath to every visit or opportunity, he replied
that he would not answer for the directions which he might receive from
his government. Two days after the visit, we observed a party of forty
horsemen arrive at the _Khan_’s encampment, who probably bore the last
orders of the Court.
On the 25th of Oct. the Envoy received an intimation of a visit,
jointly from the _Sheik_ and the _Nasackchee Bashee_; but he was so
much occupied, that at the time he could not accept it. In a few
minutes after we heard a great commotion among the servants, and an
outcry that the _Sheik_ was seized. By the assistance, indeed, of our
glasses we perceived the unfortunate man, with his arms pinioned,
surrounded by about twenty horsemen, and dragged away at full speed
towards the _Shiraz_ road. It appeared, that trusting in this
conditional oath of the _Khan_, the _Sheik_ had accepted his invitation
to visit with him the Envoy, and had gone forth from the town escorted
by five men only. On his way to the Envoy, he called for the _Khan_;
and when they were both mounted, the _Khan_ cried out to his men to
seize, disarm, and carry off their prisoner.
The consternation of the town was immediate and general. Mr. BRUCE,
the Assistant Resident, was sent by the Envoy to learn the particulars
of its situation: he found the gates shut, and the towers manned,
but he gained admittance through the wicket, and saw all the misery
and confusion of the crisis. The _Sheik_’s wives and servants were
embarking in great haste on board one of his ships; his _Vizir_ also,
HAJEE SULIMAN, was hastening his own preparations to escape. The
shops were shut, the streets were crowded with men transporting their
households to the sea shore, and their wives and daughters were beating
their breasts and crying in loud lamentation. Nor was there a shew of
resistance, except on the walls; or a thought of defence: the only hope
and the only thought of every man was the preservation of his little
fortunes and the honour of his women. The same alarm prevailed in the
country; all the poor date-hut villagers flocked for protection into
the Factory, and trusted to its walls the security of their families
and their scanty wealth. Women and children, their asses and their
poultry, were all indiscriminately hurried into the enclosure; and
before the evening we saw around us no common scenes of misery and
terror.
The Assistant Resident, who had examined this state of things in the
town, was sent, on his return, by the Envoy to the _Khan_, to represent
the alarm of the place; and to add, that the Envoy expected that no
molestation should be offered to any of the persons belonging to his
mission. The _Khan_ was extremely civil, and treated him as usual with
coffee and three _kaleouns_. He informed him on the subject of his
commission; that he had orders from his court to seize the _Sheik_,
his cousin, and his _Vizir_: and then read to him the _firman_. The
_firman_, in the first place, ordained the act of seizure; and then
ordained, that not the smallest molestation should be given to the
English, that every possible respect and attention should be shewn
to them, and strongly denounced vengeance on any offender; and
lastly ordained, that no inhabitant, either of the town or of the
villages, should receive the least harm. In his own name, he assured
the Assistant Resident, that he was determined to put the _firman_
in its full force; and turning to his followers and guards, cried
out, “Woe be to that man who shall be found guilty of giving the
smallest offence to any Englishman, or to any of his servants, or to
any thing that belongs to him.” He added, indeed, that the present
fate of the _Sheik_ was the punishment of his ungracious behaviour to
the English;[18] and swore, that, for his own part, nothing was so
strongly the object of his mind, as the good will of our nation. The
_Khan_ further stated, that he had intended, in the proposed visit of
the morning in conjunction with the _Sheik_, first to have read the
_firman_ to the _Elchee_, (the Embassador), and then to have executed
it on the _Sheik_; but the _Sheik_ had tempted him by an opportunity so
resistless, that he could not pay the full compliment to the Envoy of
delaying the seizure till the communication had been made.
MAHOMED NEBEE KHAN, who is known to the English as the Persian
Embassador at _Calcutta_, had procured the succession to the
Government of _Bushire_, at the price, it was said, of forty thousand
_tomauns_[19].
At this moment the _Vizir_ HAJEE SULIMAN was seized on the point of
embarkation. The _Khan_ had declared that he would not spare _Bushire_
unless the _Vizir_ was delivered to him. The people, therefore, of
his own town intercepted his flight, and surrendered him to the
_Khan_. But the cousin of the _Sheik_, whose fate was threatened in
the same proscription, escaped. There, as in Turkey, and probably
in all despotic countries, the guilt, or rather the disgrace, of an
individual, entails equal punishment on all his family and adherents.
On the following morning, MAHOMED KHAN, the _Nasakchee Bashee_, whose
mission had produced these changes, entered _Bushire_, and assumed the
administration of the government. The town was so far tranquillized,
indeed, that the _Bazars_ were re-opened. The proclamations which the
_Khan_ had issued, pledging security and peace to the inhabitants, had
recalled them to their houses; and the example of severe punishment,
which he inflicted on one of his own men for stealing the turban of a
Jew, operated still more powerfully than his assurances. In the course
of the morning we rode to the gates of the town: there was here a
large assembly of armed men, for little other purpose indeed than to
hear the news and the lies of the day: for a picture, however, the mob
was excellent; nothing can be marked more strongly in character, than
the hard and parched-up features of the inhabitants of this part of
Persia. Though the first consternation had thus subsided, the people
had not resumed their daily occupations. In the course of our ride we
did not meet a single woman carrying water, or a single ass carrying
wood; for the circumstances which had now happened were unparalleled in
the memory of the oldest inhabitant, and excited the strongest emotion
throughout the country.
In appearance, indeed, the place was already tranquil; but the
regulations which the _Khan_ enforced, were too little accommodated
to the previous habits of the people to reconcile them to his
administration. Some of the most respectable merchants prepared to
emigrate, and all beheld with terror the officers of police displaying
in the _Bazars_ the preparations for the bastinado, (the justice of
Persia), with which they contrasted very favourably the lenient rule
of their Arab Chief. In the progress of his government, the _Khan_
still continued to exasperate the principal inhabitants by extorting
donations of their goods. When, indeed, MAHOMED JAFFER, the brother of
the expected Governor, received in his turn such a demand, he not only
returned a direct denial, but wrote to the townsmen to arm in revenge,
and defend themselves against such requisitions.
In a few days the same MAHOMED JAFFER, in obedience to new orders was
proclaimed by the _Khan_, Governor pro tempore till the arrival of his
brother; and was invested in this dignity by the girding of a sword on
his thigh, an honour which he accepted with a reluctance perhaps not
wholly feigned. When he was complimented on the occasion, he replied,
“You see to what I am come at last; all would not do: I was obliged
to put on this sword.” But the moment that he assumed the government,
he followed in his turn all the rigours of his predecessor, and
bastinadoed his new subjects without commiseration.
His reign, however, was short: on the 7th of November he was seized by
the _Khan_, (the _Nasakchee Bashee_), thrown into prison, and fastened
to the wall by a chain, said to have been sent expressly from _Shiraz_
for his neck, but in reality intended for that of HAJEE SULIMAN, the
late _Vizir_ of _Bushire_. The cause of his disgrace was his supposed
instigation of the flight of the _Vizir_, who had contrived to escape
by sea; and this punishment was to be enforced unless he delivered up
the fugitive, or paid twenty thousand _tomauns_. As the Vice-Governor
was unable or unwilling to conform to either requisition, he remained
in prison. At length, however, he resolved on attempting the re-capture
of the _Vizir_; and would have undertaken the voyage, if the security,
which he offered for his own return, had been deemed sufficient by the
_Nasakchee Bashee_.
In the mean time his release was prepared on easier and surer terms.
MAHOMED NEBEE KHAN, the appointed Governor of _Bushire_, though little
friendly to his brother, was yet jealous of the honour of his family,
and felt in his own person the indignity which the late punishment of
the chain had inflicted on JAFFER. He swore, therefore, that he would
not rest till the head of his brother’s enemy was cut off; and as the
first act of his influence procured the immediate restoration of his
brother to his former offices. JAFFER was accordingly released from
the prison where he was chained by the neck, and again seated in the
administration.
I must not omit as a specimen of Persian character, the mode of
communication which notified this change at _Bushire_. The Prince’s
Messenger that brought the intelligence from _Shiraz_ of the disgrace
of the _Nasakchee Bashee_, came into the presence of MAHOMED JAFFER,
and told him, “Come, now is the time to open your purse-strings; you
are now no longer a merchant or in prison; you are now no longer to
sell _dungaree_, (a species of coarse linen); you are a governor; come,
you must be liberal, I bring you good intelligence: if I had been
ordered to cut off your head, I would have done it with the greatest
pleasure; but now, as I bring you good news, I must have some money.”
The man that said this was a servant, and the man that bore it was the
new Governor of _Bushire_.
In a few days MAHOMED JAFFER paid us a visit, in appearance perfectly
unconscious of the indignities which he had suffered. But the habitual
despotism which the people are born to witness, familiarises them so
much to every act of violence which may be inflicted on themselves or
on others, that they view all events with equal indifference, and go
in and out of prison, are bastinadoed, fined, and exposed to every
ignominy, with an apathy which nothing but custom and fatalism could
produce.
On the 4th of Dec. the restored Vice-Governor was invested with a
_kalaat_, or dress of honour, from the Prince at _Shiraz_; and his
dignities were announced by the discharge of cannon. The form of his
investiture was as follows:--Attended by all the great men, and by
all his guards (the greater part of whom were the shopkeepers of the
_Bazar_ armed for the occasion), the new Governor issued from the town
to meet his vest. As soon as he met it he alighted from his horse,
and making a certain obeisance was presented with it by the person
deputed by the Prince to convey it. The whole party then rode to the
spot appointed for the investiture; thither the _kalaat_ was brought
in state on a tray, surrounded by other trays decked with sweetmeats.
The Governor was here assisted to throw off his old clothes, and to
put on his new and distinguishing apparel. The whole present consisted
of a ponderous brocade coat with a sash, and another vest trimmed with
furs, and valued altogether at one hundred and fifty piastres, though
the receiver would pay for the honour (in presents to the bearer and to
the Prince in return) the sum, perhaps, of a thousand _tomauns_. When
he was invested, his late clothes were carried away as the perquisite
of the servants. After this, the _firman_ was read, declaring the
motives which had induced the Prince to confer so marked an honour on
AGA MAHOMED JAFFER, and then every one present complimented him on
the occasion, with a “_Moobarek bashed_, Good fortune attend you.”
After this the company smoked, drank coffee, and eat sweet cakes; and
then mounting their horses escorted the Governor into his town. The
Governor, in his glittering but uneasy garb, re-entered _Bushire_,
amid the noise of cannon and the bustle of a gaping multitude; and the
ceremony closed.
These honours were conferred on AGA MAHOMED JAFFER, as a compensation
for his late indignities, probably through the influence of his
brother; but his brother had a less questionable merit, than that of
thus revenging the wrongs of his own family: for to his influence
his deposed predecessor owed his life. When the unhappy _Sheik_ of
_Bushire_ was dragged to _Shiraz_, and hurried into the presence of the
Prince, all his crimes real or fictitious were immediately accumulated
in his face. Of every vice in the catalogue of enormity he was
pronounced guilty, till the passions of the Prince were so exasperated,
that he ordered his victim to be decapitated on the spot. MAHOMED
NEBEE KHAN then threw himself at the Prince’s feet, and entreated that
the life of the wretch might be spared. The Prince was sufficiently
appeased to grant the supplication, but ordered the _Sheik_ to be
blinded. Again, a second time, his intercessor threw himself at the
Prince’s feet, and saved the prisoner’s eyes. The Prince contented
himself with ordering the _Sheik_ into confinement.
The particular interest which these changes might have excited in
the people, is swallowed up by the consideration, that their new
masters in every change are Persians, and that the rule of Arabs is
over. A feeling which naturally did not conciliate the Arab community
to any successor of their _Sheik_. The general impression was not
ill-expressed by an old Arab, whom we found fishing along the shore.
“What is our Governor? A few days ago he was a merchant in the _Bazar_;
then he was our Governor: yesterday he was chained by the neck in
prison; to-day he is our Governor again; what respect can we pay him?
The Governor that is to be, was a few years ago a poor scribe; and what
is worse he is a Persian. It is clear that we Arabs shall now go to the
wall, and the Persians will flourish.”
CHAP. III.
RESIDENCE OF THE MISSION AT BUSHIRE.
CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE PERSIAN GOVERNMENT: INTRODUCTION OF THE
EUROPEAN DISCIPLINE AT SHIRAZ--MILITARY PREPARATIONS--PERSIAN
LETTER--(DERVEISHES)--CONDUCT OF THE NASAKCHEE BASHEE--PRESENT TO
THE ENVOY FROM THE COURT--MEHMANDAR--ARRIVAL OF AN OFFICER FROM
SHIRAZ--DESCRIPTION OF HIS PARTY--HIS VISIT RETURNED--CEREMONIES OF A
VISIT--FEAST OF THE BAIRAM--ACCOUNT OF THE CAPTURE AND RECAPTURE OF
THE SYLPH--DEATH OF MR. COARE.
The negociation was begun at _Bushire_. On the day after our landing
the Envoy despatched his letters to JAFFER ALI KHAN, the acting English
agent at _Shiraz_; and through him to the Prince HOSSEIN ALI MIRZA,
Governor of _Farsistan_; to the Prince’s Minister, NASR OALAH KHAN; and
to the Prime Minister at _Teheran_, MIRZA SHEFFEEA. These letters all
contained the simple statement, that the writer had arrived as Envoy
Extraordinary from the King of Great Britain to the King of Persia,
in order to confirm and augment the amity which had so long existed
between the two countries.