Virginia statesman. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1828-1829, 1828-04-23
FROM THE BALTIMORE AMERICAN.


FROM THE BALTIMORE AMERICAN.
Persia.-Abbas Mira, the heir of the
throne, who has Just concluded an unsuc-
cessful campaign against the Russians. is
about forty six-years of age. He is per-
son of great dignity of department, and
when ten or eleven years younger, possess
ed handsome person. His conversation
is sensible, and, says our authority, "his
smile we'll tuned" His eye is full of good
ness: he is also Just, and never sanctions
the crueItes authorized by the Persian
laws. Notwithstanding his long beard and
terrific mustachoes," adds our author,
Abbas Mira won the hearts of us ALL"
He is highly courteous, dressed plainly, !
and ayerse to all pOmp. The last cam
paign is not the only one in which Abbas
Mira has contended against Russia, and
with like i'll fortune In 1905 he command
ed an army of thirty thousand men; and
the poor state of Persian tactics may be
estimated, when we are told, (on Russian
authority indeed, that a Russian colonel,
with six hundred men and a single field
piece, made good his defence during three
days, against this great force, led on by
Abbas Mira in person. The Russians
fought under no other cover than some
tombs and high grave-stones, the battle be-
ing fought in the church-yard of village.
To crown this enterprise, a Russian gene
rail- with twelve hundred men, and few
guns, marched against Abbas Mira, and
totally defeated him. The king, who was
near with large army, retreated with pre-
cipitation. After this, it is not surprising
that a war with Persia, is generally equiva-
lent to an acquisition of territory The
province Of Eriyan, so often spoken of, is
watered by the Araxes, which winds along
the base of Mount Ararat. Here, the Ar
menians say, Noah built his first dwelling.
Numerous villages lie scattered about.
The country is intersected by numerous
canals, which irrigate the rice and cotton
fields, but emit disagreeable and unwhole-
some vapours. 1t is a curious fact, how
ever, which is somewhat contradictory of
the commonly supposed contagiousness of
the plague, that though that pestilence rag
es with violence in the neighboring Otto
man possessions, it has never extended its
ravages beyond the line of the Araxes, and
this though there is a continual trade with
Turkey, and the Persian government never
adopts the slightest precautionary meas
ures against its inroduction.-Thi fact
corresponds with others which have been
observed in Europe, relative to this dread
full malady, one of whose chief mischiefs is
the delay it causes to commerce by the
quaratine system. The advocates of the
free trade system in Europe, could not
better subserve the interests Of commerce
than by promoting more extensive inquiries
into the true nature of this disease, whose
contag iousness has been doubted.
Of Abbas Mira the following story is
related in Kotzebue's Narrative of the
Russian Embassy into Persia. "The EN-
bassador discovered in his garden pro-
Iiecting corner of an old wall, which spoiled
the beauty of the surrounding objects, and
dis6gured the prospect. His Excellency
asked the Prince why he did not order the
wall to be pulled down. "Only conceive, y
replied the Prince; ''with the view of form
ing gardens on a grand scale, purchased
the grounds of several proprietors. The
owner of that where the wall stands. is an
old peasant, who has absolutely refused to
sell his property to me, because he will not
part for any price with an ancient patrimo-
NAL possession of his family. must al
low, his obstIEacy vexes me exceedingly.
and yet | cannot but honor him for his at
tachment to his forefathers, and still more
for his holiness in denying me his ground.
/ must wait till the time when his heir will,
perhaps, be more reasonable" With this
story attached to it, the old wall would. to
our view, have been the best point of view
in Abbas Mirza's garden.
90
REPTILES OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.
Mr.. Flint, in the Western Monthly
Review for February, describes the vari-
Gus species of reptiles that infest the West
i IL