Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1823-10-16

glory. The splendcur OF ner throne mas
passed away; the authority of her scep-
tro, to whose sway the half Of Asia was
obedient, has long since ceased; while
the ruins of her cities, and the records
of history alone remain to tell us what
Persia. was. But we trust there is in
store for her glory of another sort;
glory that shall far outshine the splen-
dour of earthly monarchs--even when
Messiah shall sit upon her throne, hold
ing the soeptre of righteousness and
peace.
In this dissertation, it is proposed
]. To give a brief view of the pre-
sent state of Persia.
III. Shov what has been done towards
spreading fbesgospel there.
I'll. Inquire what is the prospect for
the conversion of Persia, and what en-
enlargement fer Christian effort.
l. Its present state. +
Persia proper is bounded as follows:
Caucasus, the Caspian, and the Tartar
desert, north; Cabul, east; the Indian
Ocean and the Persian Gulph, south I;
and the Euphrates, west. This country
is of very large extent, being abont 1900
miles long and 1000 broad; its area is
larger than that Of the United States this
side OF the Mississippi; and it embraces
about The same number OF degrees of
latitude as the United States, though the
whole is five degrees farther south--in
other words, it lies between e5 and 440
north latitude. The population IS vari-
ously estimated, from 100000 to
aa,ooo,ooo; bun authorities incline more
to The, latter.
The general appearance of tl;s coun-
try is very Singular. A writer in the
Quarterly Review states, that one third
of this extensive region is made of bar
rem deserts, impregnated with salt and
nitre, which givee faint to all the streams
and lakes found nearthem. One Of these
deserts is 70Urmiles long and 200 broad,
and traver7es nearly the whole extent of
Persia in a direction of n. w. and S. f
Another third part rs composed of noun
tasns equally barren; but the bases OF
these mountains, and the intervening
valleys which constitute the remaining
third, arc remarkably fruitful and YER
dant, producing great variety of the
richest fruits of the earth, and support
ing vast herds OF cattle.
In Persia there are three climates; the
southern, middle, and northern. On the
Persian Gulph, the heat in the summer
monthsis SO intolerabIe, that a residence
is entirely out of the question, and the
inhabitants flee to the mountains to pre-
serve their lives. Henry Martyr, in
travelling from Bushre TO Shiraz, found
the thermometer at one time standing al
i26o. TO add to the horrors of this eli
mate ire Samiel wind frequently blows:
which by It's suffocatingqualities, proves
instantly fatal to the unsfery traveller
In the northern provinces, the cold in
winteris sesintetse that people are fire.
quenty frozen to death. The gates OF
their cities being always closed at sun
set, and on no account opened again till
sunrise, the most melancholy scenes are
presented; forit oftenhappens, that ira
Yelling parties arrive at the gates toe
late for admittance; and in the morn
ing. men, women and children, together
with their beasts, are found frozen stiff
as the cakes of ice by which they are
surrounded. The middle provinces.
compared witithe other, are temperate
both in summer and winter.
The government of Persia is probably
the most do7potic in the world. SO alb
solute is it, that every officer and sub
Jet lies rt the mercy of the Shah, and
for any offence may be publicly basti-
nadoed or beheaded. The officers of
government follow in the steps of their
master, and commit with impunity the
most atrocious cruelties in the exercise
of their authority. In such a state of
things, it is matter of course thatthere
should be no security of property. Ac-
cordingly, the wheat crops Of the hus-
bandman, his sole subsistence. may be
taken from him the moment it is ripe
for the sickle; or the sprnging blade
may be wantcnly destroyed, should a
public officer, passing that way, be dis
posed to turn his horses into the field.
The consequences of this rapacity and
oppression, are illustrated by the ac-
counts of recent travellers. Mr. Kin
nier asserts that he frequently passed
through most fertile pieces, utterly de-
serted by their inhabitants-their rich
bayests and luxuriant crops of every
kind being given up Il prey to wasting
and desolation. The Shah has body
guard of 10000 men, which are the on
iy regular troops in tife empire. On an
emergency, however, he can cali into
the field 100000 men a force, which