portant service, and heal him with your royal favour. We further command that their Excellencies, the distinguished nobles of the Court of Exchequer, and the Ministers of the supreme Court of Royalty should preserve copy of this royal Firmaun in their respective registers, and preserve them from any alteration or forgery." (Sealed with his Majesty's imperial seal, and registered and sealed by the grand Vizier and twelve other Ministers of State). Firmaun from Abbas Meerza, relative to the Mines. "The royal command is issued, viz., that the object of our illustrious mind is this-that the mines which are in the country of Azerbijan, as far as are under our dominion, should not remain useless nor unproductive-nay, they should be useful and profitable; and as his Excellency — &c. &c., on whose learning and the high degree of his service we have great confidence, and are sensible of. He in the auspicious presence of his Royal Highness, requested that he should be appointed to execute this important service, and have committed to his charge the mines of the above-mentioned countries. We have granted for the space of twentyone years, that he may procure miners from England whensoever he should approve them to be learned and distinguished in this art, to open the mines; and by the help of God, they should employ all their endeavours and efforts, that this important affair should be terminated with success, and so may be the means of the increase of the royal favour towards him," &c. (The grant was confirmed by the eldest son of the Crown Prince of Persia). Firmaun from Mahmoud Meerza, the present Shah of "This royal order denotes, that since the powerful and penetrating command of his Royal Highness the superior and my Lord of Bounty, the mighty deputy of sovereignty to whom my life is devoted, has established the honour of working the mines," &c. &c. (recapitulating as before). "We, therefore, obediently to the royal commands, according to its contents, it having been commanded and ordered to us, who are the most obedient of servants, that we should also pass and order agreeably to the royal command. We, therefore, obediently to the royal commands of his Royal Highness (our father), in the manner that that royal order has passed, from the beginning of the present year until the time above mentioned, have granted that important affair to the above mentioned distinguished gentleman, in order that without interruption or interference of any one, he should work the above mentioned mines. We further command that the great marshals and the superior nobles, the governors of the different districts of Azerbijan, shall obey this command, and consider all the requisites and necessaries therein confined exclusively to him; their excellencies the secretaries of the blessed state should register and preserve the contents of the royal firmaun, and having preserved it from the guile of any alterations, and obey it necessarily." Firmaun from Abbas Meerza accrediting the before-mentioned "distinguished Gentleman" to the Government of the Sublime Porte. (After various salutations.) "We represent that in conformity to the friendship and unanimity which exists between the two sublime powers, the constant desire of our heart is that we may make inquiries respecting the true state of your Majesty's health in a becoming manner, and evince in an appropriate way the degree of friendship which exists in our heart towards your Majesty. "Wherefore at this time, when the Alijah (the illustrious), the ornament of Christian nobles, being about to proceed to that country (Turkey), we have written this epistle, expressing our sincerity. "The afore-mentioned Alijah, one of our agents, is on his way to England, by Constantinople, for the accomplishment of some affairs, and intends to return after awhile; it is therefore requested from your Majesty, that during the stay of the said Alijah in Constantinople, and before his departure for England, whatever he may require with regard to the affairs of the sublime power of Persia, and shall make known the same to your Majesty according to the friendship existing between the two sublime powers, you will be pleased to take notice of them, so that, if it please God, by the assistance and attention of your Majesty, the affairs that are committed to him may be accomplished." Reply from the Kaimacan Pasha to Abbas Meerza. (After the customary titles.) "We have received through the channel of the most excellent amongst the noblest of Christians, who is on his way to the British government on the part of the illustrious government of Persia, the letter which your Royal Highness has addressed to his Highness the Supreme Vizier, to request that a favourable reception be given to the demands of the above-mentioned Khan relative to your affairs; we have perfectly understood the meaning thereof. "The Sublime Porte of everlasting duration have always had at heart to receive favourably and agreeably to treaties all subjects and agents of the kind belonging to the illustrious government of Persia, bound in sincere friendship with the Sublime Porte. “It is for this reason, and in consequence of the abovementioned Khan having made known to us that he is going to proceed to England, agreeable to the instructions given to him, that we seize of the circumstance to address the present friendly letter to your Royal Highness." (Many compliments follow.) VOLUME II. PAGE 112. The Persians consider Ali to have been the handsomest man that was ever created, and they say that the blessed in heaven account it their chiefest felicity to be beloved by him. In the mosque at Koom, in which he was interred with the fair Fatima, the daughter of Mahomet, is inscribed six songs, in golden characters, from which I select the following: "O inexpressible man! who hast no equal but Mahomet, the select Prophet, what is the light of the sun compared to thy understanding! destiny does but execute thy commands; the sun is enlightened by the beams of thy knowledge. If thy glory be weighed in the balance of exalted sense, the highest mountains weighed against it would appear no more than the seed of lentils; the sun is made a crown of glory of the shadow of thy umbrella. O! divine and sacred host, nature is only adorned and enriched by thee-had not thy perfect being been in the idea of the Creator, Eve had been eternally a virgin and Adam a bachelor. The angel Gabriel every day kisses the ground-sill of thy gate, as being the only way that leads to the throne of Mahomet. Minister especially elected of God for the master of the faithful! Thou art the son of the Prophet of God. The sparkling rubies cover themselves with the earth in the hollow of the mines, ashamed of their not being bright enough to be put into thy treasure. The universal spirit, with its sublime knowledge, cannot arrive at the portals of thy gate, O master of the faithful! Were there a place more exalted than the most high throne of God, I would affirm it to be thy place, O master of the faithful! That we may give thee praises worthy of thyself it behoves us to depict thy wonderful essence; for that reason alone it is impossible to praise thee according to thy merit, O master of the faithful! We be all poor beggars at the gate of thy beneficence, and the kings of the world are in the number of those beggars, O master of the faithful! The price of thy favours surpasses human understanding. The weight of thy majesty and of thy glory is too heavy for the shoulders of human understanding. Being of inconceivable puissance, the commands of Providence are executed by thy orders. Thou canst turn with thy hands alone the vast celestial sphere. The sun, under whose shadow and auspicious omens nature rolls, is but a glittering beam of the clasp of thy girdle. The superior of the college of creation, Gabriel, and all his art and knowledge, is but a mere scholar to thee. The verses of the Alcoran, which assure men of the mercy and favour of God, were sent from heaven for thy sake, O destroyer of heresy! Thou art the secretary of the commandments of divine inspiration; the judge of things commanded or forbidden. If the idea of thee, the most noble of divine essence, were not in the world, the world would be but an imperfect and |