The Sun.
London, England, 1822-01-16 00:00:00

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P E it S 1 A.

A short time since, Persia appeared almost
alone in the Old World, to enjoy the sweets of
peace, undisturbed by any intestine commtions ;
but suddenlY her armies'were put in motion, and
attacked the Ottoman empire, which seems to be
threatened at once with every 'disaster. This
new war is a feeble episode of the grand drama
which is in. preparation, yet it has attracted, for
the last two or three weeks, the public attention.
To those who wish to be well acquainted wiih
the theatre of it, to be familiar with the manners,
enstoms,.and laws of these vast countries, bend-
ing under the yoke of despotism and superstition,
we would recOmmend, the perusal of the Travels
of M. Amedee Jaubert in Turkey, Persia, and
Armenia, a work which has lately issued from the
PariSian Press.
JaubertWas charged with various missi?n,
to Turkey and Persia, and in the years 180 N oni
1806, went on one of very great importan-e to the
Sovereign of the latter country, the objer. of which,
hoWever, he has not thought pror,. to disclose.
a happy &but in
Our traveller did not mat.--
his diplomatic journies.; suffered in Kurdistan,
a country inhabited ty wandering tribes and
plithderers, enough .nisfortunes, and met with in-
cidents enough, furnish the matter of a ro-
mance, and,•ven of a melo-drama. A Pacha
who disc. aibles b€tter than the 'Most skilful po-
fitiorun, or the most
.able comedian ; who loads
t-'.e traveller with preSents, who gives him a
feast, an escort, and soon afterwards causes, him
to be sti ipped and thrown intoa frightful dungeon;
a deep and infectious vault where the unfortunate
Frenchman receives only black bread, and from
the bottom of which he hears the noisy dances
Of his oppressors; a venerable Aga who sends
him consolation in this dark abode ; a tender,
compassionate woman, for they are to be met
With, every where, an angel who succeeds' in
transmitting information to the King of Persia
of the prisoner ; in short, the most animated
pictures, the mist pathetic and varied situations,
all, up to the great scene of gratitude, presents
to our melo-drarnatic and novel writers excellent
Materials for the display of their ingenuity.
M.*Jaubert arrives at last in the country of
Darius, the magnificence of whose modern Go•
vernors equal's that of the ancient Satraps. We
have heard that an open rivalry and jealousy divide
the two eldest sons of the King ; and indeed, ac-
cording to all
,appearances, these brother-enemies,
will one day furnish a subject to the Tragic
muse. A bbas-Mirza, the second son, whom the
Schah has since designed for the heir of his
Throne, then commanded on the frontier and re-
ceived the Fla:nail envoy. M. Jaubert bestows
the highest eu!ogiurns on this prince, in which
respect he is in direct contradiction with a tra-
veller who has lately returned from Persia ; hut
it should be observed that M. Jaubert performed
his journey in 1806. All the talents and bril-
liant qualities which M. Jaubert admires in
Prince Abbas, the other traveller extols in Prince
Mahamed. These contradictory opinions, how-
ever, appear to us to admit of easy explanation.
Sixteen years have elapsed since M. Jaubert
performed, and in so long a space of time, the
two Printes may have quite changed characters.
Then Mahatned, by virtue of the right of print°,
geniture, fancied himself sure of the Crow u ; and
certain of reigning, he neglected the art of pleas-
ing. Au oriental 0.4.5p0t disdains to make parti-
zan's ; the sceptre and sabre satisfy him, and he
cares little for the love of his people. A bbas-
Mirza, on the contrary, at that time was appre-
hensive of remaining a
,subject, may have wished
to -elevate himself by his talents, and to obtain
favour with a 'people of whom he was not des-
tined lo become the master. Not expecting to
make himself obeyed, be aimed at making him-
self beloved. The respective situation of the two
princes is suddenly changed ; Abbas-Mina, be-
come the heir of the throne, has neglected all the
sciences, and the cultivation of a good natural'
understanding ; Mahamed, excluded from the
crown, and desirous of deserving it, has exerted
himself to obtain the love of the army and the
people. Thus one has lost what the other has
gained ; - and in this way, in our opinion, may
be explained the contradictory accounts of the
traveller who visited Persia fifteen years ago,
and of him who islust returned from that country.
Be that as it may, the discourse of yOnng
A bbas-Mirza Jaubert; when the latter was
admitted under his tent, will be read with plea-
sure, more particularly as this prince is now com-
manding the Persian army, which has invaded
the Ottoman territory, and achieved the.conquest
of Armenia :

" Speak, stranger ; tell me what must be done to regenerate
the Persians ;lought I, like the Muscovite Czar who for-
merly descended froin his throne to visit your towns, ought I
to abandon Persia and all this vain splendour of riches? Or must
I, in company with a sage, travel and . instruct myself to 01
that a Prince should know ? I have heard of the interesting
adventures of a young lonian who quitted the shores of Ithaca
in search of his father, and who traversed with benefit to himself
the costs and islands of the White Sea, Syria, tgYpt, and
ti-reece. Tell me what credit is to be given to that narrative,
and inform me of the present condition of those COuntri,i; so
celebrated which are now almost unknown to us, and Whether-
there are any records .of those illustrious Kings, whose nafines
have scarcely reached Persia,. and give us but a confined idea
of the grandeur of the ancients."
h The Persians are magnificent in their fates;
they give entertainments, the description of which
would inspire our modern lint-allows with
envy, and give our political epicures a hick
idea of the wisdom of this gave rnwt:iit.

PRICE SEVENPENCE.

Jauhert was received at I)jeinal-A bad, whiCh.
signifies the scud of prifedion, but which is, not
withstanding, a wretched town, where you see
cameleons and serpents, amid a quantity of suf-
focating dust and lizards The governor, Baba-
Kan, is one of those old Sybarites, who blend
devotion very well with pleasure, and more than
one of whom we may meet, without going so far
as Persia. He gave M. Jaubert an entertain-
ment, the details of which may furnish themes of
inspiration to some of our poets. FloWers, cas-
cades, and voluptuous dances; slaves who em-
balmed the air with aloes and incense, and who,
in spite of the laws of the Prophet, filled with
exquisite wines golden vases and cups ;
choir of musicians. who reh. aised the stanzas of
an improvisatore ode' by a poet, who began to
sing in the sweetest strains, but whose tones, at
first affecting, by degrees became so violent, that
you would have taken him for Orestes torn by
the Furies..

are 'very -aut.....vfitious, and are
even•ektremely intolerant respecting tht,titward
ceremonies of their worship ;. but they are very
accommodating touching matters of faith, and
will even willingly discuss religious opinions ;
very different front the Turks, who begin killing
you to convince you. Poetry is much cultivated
among the Persians; they are indeed quite mad
respecting song and allegory ; the former is not
always chaste, nor the latter always veiled ; but
in this despotic country, there is no person to
find fault,.not even the Faquirs and the Imans..
Feth-Ali-Schah, the present Sovereign of
Persia, has among his principal Officers three
men who possess great influence, his historio-
grapher, his story-teller, and his buffoon. The
first is required to discoier the truth, the second
to conceal it, and the third to tell it. The his-
toriographer acquits him Self of his duty as welt
as certain of our historians.. The story-teller,
whatever may be his talent for concealing his
ideas under ingenious fictions, would not obtain
the same success inTurope as in Asia.
As for the buffoon, he is an original who is per-
mitted to say what he pleases without previous
preparation and licence ; he says openly what he
thinks acid what others think, nor does he regard
either the courtiers, men in office, or the Schalk
himself. No person has the right of calling him
to order much less to command him to be silent.
Sir John Malcolm, in his History of Persia,
has related some very amusing anecdotes on the
subject, which, as we have not his book at hand,
we must quote; from memory.
Kureem Khan belonged, he says, to one of the native tribes
of Persia, whose language, on account of its harshness, is cal-
led the Ilar!,arous Dialer t. This prince being one day seated
in public, heard a dog bark, and ordered his buflbon to ask the
animal what it wanted: The courtiers smiled at this pleasan-
try of the monarch ; the buffoon obeyed his sovereign's orders,
and after having appeared to listen some time, he returned and
said, with a serious air, " Your Majesty must send one of the
:ifficeft of your own family to learn what this gentleman says,
for he speaks no other language but the Thrbarous Dialect; of
, which I do not understand a single word."

One would think that the -buffoon would h.!
impaled for having dared to express himself th.,li
irreverently ; he was not even prosecuted, not
even reprimanded. The King, says Sir John
Malcolm, laughed at the joke, and rewqrded-
jester. It seems that the despots of Persia air
much more merry than the ministers Of free
countries. The English traveller relates another
anecdote, which proves that these slaves of det4.-
-potism may take greater liberties than would be
attempted by the inferior classes in European
countries.

Hajee Ibrahim, who was lately Prime Minister of Persia,
took delight in relating a conversation which passed between his
brother, then Governor of Ispahan, and a derder in vegetables
of that town. Ad extraordinary impost had been put on all
shops. This man presented himself before the Governor at a
public audience, and declared he was not capable of paying
the tax. " You must either pay it or quit the town,". said the
man in office. " And where am Ito go ?" " You may go to
Shiraz or. Kashan." " Your brother," observed the shop-
keeper, " is the Governor of one of these towns, and your nephew
of the other ; what assistance can I expect at either of thon?
places?" " You • may go to the Court," replied the Gover-
ner, "and complain to the King if you think I have acted un-
justly towards you." " Your other brother is Prime Mini-
stei." ." Go then to the infernal regions, and leave Inc in
quiet." " Your very good father has perhaps great influence
there," rejoined the dealer, with the utmost composure. Th?
persons present, and the Governor himself, could not help
laughing,' and the Petitioner obtained the remission of the tax.
r There is more than one Excellency of Europe
that would not have taken the joke in such good
part. We see, also, from this anecdote, that in
Asia Ministers do not forget their families any
more than they do in Europe. -
The descriptions of the enchanting gar-
dens of Feth-Ali-Schah and his harems are
very interesting in the narrative of M. Jau-
bert. This Sovereign has four or five hundred
.wives, and the portraits of all those who have
enjoyed his favours decorate one of the galleries
of the palace.. All strive to please him, and
offer him presents worked with their own hands.
The choice he makes every morning indicates
jj Hi preference, or rather his taste, for the day.—
There is something allegorical even in this cus-
tom : it seems to signify that the favours of the
Great are not to he obtained gratis. This alle-
gory is not, we think, inapplicable to the customs
lof some other countries as well as Persia.
The work of M. Jaubert unites the useful tD
the agreeable; and what is very acceptable in
these times of rears :'and rumours of wars,- it is
fnrt►ished witlaan excellent .rnap, vibich captains
the theatre of the present, war between the
Turks- and 'the Rersiris. C.