the Gospel, and is impatient for his nephew to explain the evidences of Christianity, which I have drawn up.

"22d-Sunday.-My friends returned from the Mosque, full of indignation at what they had witnessed there. The former Governor of Bushire complained to the Vizier, in the Mosque, that some of his servants had treated him brutally. The Vizier, instead of attending to his complaint, ordered them to do their work a second time; which they did, kicking and beating him with their slippers, in the most ignominious way, before all the Mosque. This unhappy people groan under the tyranny of their governors; yet nothing subdues or tames them. Happy Europe! how has God favoured all the sons of Japheth, by persuading them to embrace the Gospel. How dignified are all the nations of Europe compared with this nation! Yet the people are clever and intelligent, and more calculated to become great and powerful than any of the nations of the East, had they a good Government, and the Christian religion.

he was

"24th to 29th.-The Soofie, son of the Moojtuhid, with some others came to see me. For fifteen years a devout Mahomedan; visited the sacred places, and said many prayers. Finding no benefit from austerities, he threw up Mahometanism altogether, and attached himself to the Soofie Master.

"I asked him, what his object was, all that time? He said he did not know, but he was unhappy." I began to explain to him the Gospel, but he cavilled at it, as much as any bigoted Mahometan could do, and would not hear of there being any distinction between Creator and creature. In the midst of our conversation, the sun went down, and the company vanished.* "Aga Baba was also for many years a zealous Mahometan, often passing whole nights in prayer. His father, who had at first encouraged his religious propensities, found them at last so troublesome, that he was obliged to leave the house, not being able to get

* This was for the purpose of taking an immediate repast:

sleep for the noise his son made in prayer. Finding after many years, that he was growing more and more proud and contemptuous, he could ascribe it to nothing but his prayers, and therefore, from pure conscientious motives, left them off.

'Jaffier Ali Khan was also once a great sayer of prayers, and regularly passed every afternoon, for fourteen years, in cursing the worshippers of Omar, according to the prescribed form; but perceiving that these zealous maledictions brought no blessing to himself, he left them off, and now just prays for form's sake. His wife says her prayers regularly five times a day, and is always up before sunrise, for the first

prayer.

"Mirza Seid Ali seems sometimes coming round to Christianity, against Soofeism. The Soofies believe in no prophet, and do not consider Moses as equal to Mirza Abulcasim.-' Could they be brought,' Seid Ali says, 'to believe there has been a prophet, they would embrace Christianity.' And what would be gained by such converts? Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. It will be an afflicted and poor people that shall call upon the name of the Lord, and such the Soofies are not: professing themselves to be wise, they have become fools.'

"October 1st.-Thousands every day assemble at the Mosque; it is quite a lounge with them. Each, as soon as he has said his prayers, sits down and talks to his friend. The multitude press to hear Hagi Mahomed Hasan. One day they througed him so much, that he made some error in his prostrations. This put him into such a passion, that he swore that Omar's curse might come upon him, if he preached to them again. However, a day or two after, he thought better of it. This preacher is famous for letting out his money to interest; and, therefore, in spite of his eloquence, he is not very popular. About two years ago, Shekh Jaffier came here and preached. The Persians are all murderers! adulterers! What does the Shekh mean? said his followers, Why,' said hẹ,

'the Persians take usury; and he that does that, is worse than a murderer or adulterer.'

"7th. I was surprised by a visit from the great Soofie Doctor, who, while most of the people were asleep, came to me for some wine. I plied him with questions innumerable; but he returned nothing but incoherent answers, and sometimes no answer at all.Having laid aside his turban, he put on his night-cap, and soon feel asleep upon the carpet. Whilst he lay there, his disciples came, but would not believe, when I told them who was there, till they came and saw the sage asleep. When he awoke, they came in, and seated themselves at the greatest possible distance, and were all as still as in a church.

"The real state of this man seems to be despair, and it is well if it does not end in madness. I preached to him the Kingdom of God: mentioning, particularly, how I had found peace from the Son of God and the Spirit of God; through the first, forgiveness; through the second, sanctification. He said it was good, but Isaid it with the same concern with which he admits all manner of things, however contradictory. Poor soul! he is sadly bewildered.

"At a Garden, called Shah Chiragh, in which is the tomb of a brother of one of the Imans, who was killed on the spot, a miracle is wrought every Ramazan. The Mootuwilli, or proprietor of the garden, in whose family it has been for ages, finds its supposed sanctity abundantly profitable, as he is said to make 20001. a-year of it. To keep alive the zeal of the people, who make their offerings there every day, he procures a villager, who is at first sick, and crying to Ali for help; and then, on the appointed day, recovers. This year a man was recovered of the palsy, and our servants came full of it. Though this farce is played off every year, the simpletons are never undeceived. Presents of sheep, fowls, sweetmeats, money, flowed in upon the Mootuwulli, who skilfully turned all to the best advantage. Those who wished to see the man's face, were to pay so much; those who were anxious to touch him, were to pay so much more; and so on.

Two days in the Ramazan, tragedies were acted at our house, in the woman's court. Two or three men, dressed in the Khan's court-robes, spouted and sung for an hour, before an immense concourse of women, all veiled. The subject, the first day, was the death of Mahomet; the second, that of Iman Hosyn. "18th.-The Ramazan ended, or ought to have ended, but the moon disappointed them. The Moollahs, not having seen the new moon, would not allow the fast to be over, and the people were, in consequence, all in confusion; for not having eaten in the night, they were not at all disposed to go through the day fasting. At last some witnesses appeared, who vowed they had seen the silver bow. These were from the Prince; but the Moollahs said they would not admit them till seventy-two of the same kind bore the same testimony. This was no great number for a Prince to produce; so the seventy-two appeared, and the feast was proclaimed."

Towards the end of November, great progress having been made in the Persian translation of the New Testament, Mr. Martyn ordered two splendid copies of it to be prepared, designing to present the one to the King of Persia, and the other to Prince Albas Mirza, his son. It being now also his fixed intention to pass the winter at Shiraz, he resolved to commence another eminently useful, and to him most delightful work-a version of the Psalms of David, into Persian, from the original Hebrew. The Divine Songs of Sion became thus the subject of his critical examination, close meditation, and frequent prayer: and whilst engaged in this sacred employment, often did he find his soul elevated, and his spirit refreshed, "in a strange land."

The events of the last month of the year stand thus recorded in his Journal.

"December 3d.-Attended the lecture of Aga Mahommed Hasan. He read and commented on three books of metaphysics, and at intervals conversed with

6

me. Among other things, we discussed the cause of the ascent of a light body in a fluid. Our argument came at last to this-that if one particle of fluid were on another, it would, from its gravity, move ever horizontally off, in order to be nearer the centre. If, said he, a body can move toward the centre only directly, how do you account for its falling down an inclined plane?" I began to explain the composition and resolution of forces, but some disciples coming in, he could not stay to hear what I had to say, but went on with his lecture. At one time he asked me some questions about genera and species.

"6th.-Aga Boozong, and his disciple, Aga Ali, a Mede, came, and sat many hours. The former, from love to the Gospel, as he said, desired a friend at Isfahan to send him Luke's Gospel, translated from the Arabic. He asked me about the Trinity, and said, that for himself, he had no objection to the doctrine.' So say all the Soofies, but they will only concede to Jesus a nature, which they conceive to belong to all the Prophets, and all the illumined. He stated his sentiments: I asked for reasons, but asked in vain. 'Proofs,' he said, 'were cobwebs-a breath broke them nothing but a divine teacher could make known the mystery. Aga Ali, in order to prove to me that proofs were nothing, adduced the instance of Matthew the publican, who rose at the call of Christ, without seeing a miracle. They were fond of producing what they knew of the Gospel, in confirmation of their mystic themes. The Atonement they would not hear of, because the Mahometans pretended, in the same way, that Hosyn was sacrificed for the sins of men. Thus Satan has contrived Mahometanism with more craft than at first appears; for the impostor of Mecca, by making common cause with the Prophets of God, has taken care, that if any forsake him, they shall at the same time, forsake the messengers of God; of whom they know nothing but just what he tells them -which is far enough from the truth.

"8th.-The Soofies breakfasted with me. Aga Boozong talked dogmatically about the unity of all