The Sun.
London, England, 1810-03-09 00:00:00

PERSIA.

,
'-'Aliaiiirten miles from, Baku, a city situated by
an extellent'haven in the Caspian- sea, is a pheno-
menon-of a very extraordinary nature, called the
Everlasting Fire. The soil is dry and rocky, and
there are built upon it several ancient temples of
stone, supposed to have been all 'dedicated to fire.
Ainong these is a little temple, 'ih which the Gou-
ries a set who consider fire as the most perfea
re4emblance of the Deity, perform- their devotions.
Near the altar is a large' hollow cave, from the end
of which •isAieS a blue 'flame, like that of a lamp
burning with spirits, but to appearance more pure.
This flame the Indians pretend has. continued ever
since the flood, 'and they • fancy it will last to the
end of the world. We, are informed, that at -a
small diStance from the'teinple 'is a, IoW cleft a fa
rock, in Which is a :hollow gap 'two :feet Itoei
the. ground, near six long,- and about three bitted,
from which issues a blue flame like that' already
dpscribed.' sin calm.' eather it .burni low, but; When
fhe wind blows, it Sometienes rises eight feet. hig44,
and yet. it is not perceived that the flame makes any
impresSion on the rock. .But what ..appetrs still
more extraordinary is, tllat the earth for .ahOve two
miles round tlzis place, has this extraordidary.yro,
petty, that on . takittg on two three inches. 01 the

surface, and applying live coaVilie part uncovered
instantly takes fire, almost Arne .the coal touches
it. The_ flame heats without; consuming the soil,
nor.does it affea the earth that is near ii .; 'yet this
earth, carried to another place, does not produce
this effecl. If a cane or a paper tribe, be set. about
tveo inches in the ground, and closed up with the
earth. below, on touching the top of it -with a live
coal, and blowing upon it, a flame immediately is-
sues, without burning either the cane or the paper,
provided the edges be covered with clan- and this
method the, people there Use for lighting their
houses, as they have no other floor but the earth.
Three or four of these lighted canes will boil water•
in a pot, and thus they dress their provisions. The.
flame may be 'extinguished in the, same manner as
that of spirits of wine. The ground there is dry
and stony, and the more stony it is, she stronger
and clearer is the flame ; it will burn lime to great
perfealon; and his a sulphurous smell like naptha
fs kind of chalky clay that takes fire like brimstone),
but this smell is not very otnnsive. Near the
place where is found this remarkable phenomenitin,
'brimstone is dug, arid ;springs of naptha are found.
The principal places-for-the black or dark grey nap-
ilia, is the small island caled. Wetoy, in. the Cas-
pian Sea, which is uninhabited, except when they
ate taking naptha. The springs of this chalky soil
boil up highest. when the weather is thiek and hazy,
and the naptha frequently takes fire on the surface,
running in great quantities framing into the sea, to
an almoit incre,lible distance frem the, shore ; but,
in clear weather the springs do not boil up, abine
two or this.se feet in height. This oily substance,
in boiling over, bt.:comes of.such a consistetice, that,.
by degrees, it almost closes up. the mouth of the
spring, and sometimes entirely, forming a hillock .
as_black as pitch. But when a 'spring 4 thus stops
Oed up in Tie place, it breaks out in another ; and
some that have.not been long open, forin a mouth'
eight or ten feet in
,diameter. This substance has •
an :unpiklawitit smell, and is principally used by the
poor in
.lamps, and to_ boll their, provisions, but
gives the food a disagreeable taste ; it burns best
when mixed with a small quantity of ashes, and as
there is great plenty of it, every family is well Stip-
plied. The peolle keep it in' earthen vessels? under
groutid, at a swan distance from from their houses,
on account:of its being very liable to takerfire• In
the peninsula
_of Apcberon is g white naptha, of a
toUch ttinner consistence, which. the people drink
as a cordial and ,tnedieine. It is, also used extern
nally, and is carried into India, where bring properly
prepared, it is made into a most beautiful and last-
tug tarnish.

111,1 r., Rosa's •PAMPHLItt.—We lately took some
extracts from this valuable traCt relative to the inter-
ests of the NatiOn, and We now consider it a duty to
the lake illu,trious Minister of this country, to seleet
trorrithe same Work the following proof of the noble
spirit ofdisinterestedriess Which formed an essential.
teature in his chara&er

"In alluding (says Mr. Rose) to embarrassed
state of Mr. Pitt's finances, it is due:to his memory.
from the Author, who has never separated fromhirn,
either in personal alledtion or political attachment,
from his first entrance into public life, to almost the
latest hour of his existence, to state 'a circumstance
with respect to pecuniary_matters infinitely to hii
credit.

"-Early in 178 n, when the Nation was in- a state
of despondency respe&ing the health of our beloved
Sovereign, and a' change in the AdministratiOn was
thought-extremely probable, it ocCurred to several
Gentlenien of the first respeEtalaility in the City of
London, that-Mr. Pitt on quitting office,' would be
in a, situation of great embarrassment, not only from
some debts Which he bad-unavoidably incurred, but
as to the means of his futUre subsistence. They felt.
the strongimpresiion; in Which the- nation partici-
pated, of his great virtues, as well as Obis eminent
talents; and they were sensible, in common With
their country, Of the value of those services to which
his life had been hitherto devoted, particularly. to
those commercial interests in which they were deeply
engaged. 'Under this impression, a certain ninnber
of merchants and ship-owners rnet, and resolved to
raise the Sum of .100,0001. to be presented tobith as
a free gift,--the well-earned reward of his merito-
rious exertions ; each subscriber engaging never .to
divulge the name of himself, or of any other person
'Contributing, in order to prevent its being known
to any one excepting themselves who the contribu-
' tort were. The only exception to this engagement
of secrecy, was a respeetable Baronet—(Note. Sir
Hobert Preston, then Member- for DOver, who gave
many proofs of kindness and 'attachment to Mr. Pitt,
. but never asked a single favour of bid] 3 who being
3011 living, no further tribute of justice can be paid
to him]—who was deputed --to conic to the Author
tolearu in what manner the- token of esteem and
gratitude (as. it i*assexpressed) could by presented
most accek)tably to Mr. Pitt ; whose name was to
be as carefully concealed from- Mr. Pitt as the others.
Highly flattering as the offer was, and season-
able, as the ad would have been (proceeding from a
set of Gentlemen whose motives must, have been
pure and disinterested, not, only in such,an unequi-.
vocal mark of regard fOr a falling Minister, but from
the mode of carrying, their. objeCt into died), the
Author entertained doubts of Mr. Pitt accepting the
proffered bounty, and therefore thought it right to .
apprise . him of the intention. This occasioned- a
long discussion on the subject, which ended in Mr..
Pitt expressing a positive and fixed determination to
decline the acceptance of the liberal and generous
offer : a determination that nothing could shake, for
when it-was urged that it could never be known to
him who the.-subscribers were, and that they were
inen whore fortunes put them out of -all probability .
of ever soliciting the sniallest, favour, from hitn;- his
reply was, that II he should,.at any future time of
his life, return w oflicd,-he should never see a Gen-
tleman- from the city 'Without its recurring to tint
that he [night be one of his subKribers.'
" His positive determination was communicated
by, the Author to the Baronet before alluded to,
;which put an -end to the ,measure-; and:in a lerk
'Clays•afteri .Mr, Vitt, in conversing •aoput his. future
told the Author he had taken 'a-fixed resort"-•
iron to return to the 13.11-, and apply. unremittingly
,to
that profession, in order to extricate hiuiselt troth
his eLtlieuli ies,. and to secure, as far as he should- be
able, thestneaus of future' independence.
• •