The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-06-23

from the insurrection, and it was impossible
20 And the smallest proof of its having met
with either his incitement or approval. The
Bah was accordingly lodged in prison, where
he endured his captivity with the courage of
a martyr, spending his hours in prayer or
meditation. His tranquility of mind was
unalterable. All who approached him were
vanquished, in spite of themselves, by the
ineffable charm of his face, his manner, and
his conversation. Even his very guards were
not quite exempt from this weakness. He
knew his death TO be near, and spoke of it fire.
quently as idea that was not only fami-
liar, but welcome to him. After confne-
ment of eighteen months he was shackled
with chains and, surrounded by a strong
escort, conducted to Tabriz there to appear
before the Chief Minister of State, to-
gether with two of his disciples, who had
voluntarily shared his imprisonment, Seyd
Houssein and Moullah Mohammed-Ah, the
latter belonging TO a family of rich and
honored merchants in TabriZ When before
his judges, the Bah was interrogated by one
Of them respecting the traditions of the
Prophet and of the Imaums, and, according to
the evidence of spectators, triumphantly re-
futed both the arguments of his adversary,
and the exposition of the cardinal principles
of the MosleIn creed as there discussed.
From this it would appear that the Royal Com
mission came off second best in the encoun-
ter. They, at all events, deemed it iniudi-
cious to enter into further controversy, which
might be dangerous; and as the Bah refused,
when proposed to him, to return to the faith of
Islam, they announced to him that he was about
to die. In Persia, the carrying out of a capi-
tai sentence does not involve much delay or
ceremony. But, in this instance, the policy
of the executive was directed to the taking
away of his life openly, in order to gain the
important step of convincing the public of his
veritable death, and thereby cutting down any
pretext for agitation. The Bah and his two
disciples were, accordingly, strongly ironed,
and conducted on foot through all the streets
of the town to the place of execution. The
Mosems, masters of the day, thronged the
streets, abusing the prisoners both by reviling
and striking them about the head and face,
and when stone, flung by boy, struck the
Bah or one of his fellow-suffe ferers, soldiers
and mob, alike, burst out laughing.
Seyd-Houssein, too weak for such martyr
dom, fell upon his knees and suppGcated for
pardon. He was commanded to curse the
Bah, and he cursed him accordingly. He
was required to spit in the face of his master,
and he obediently spat; after which he was
set free The other disciple, being both
young and rich, it was believed that it would
be easy to obtain from him a renunciation of
his heresy; but even the sight of his wife and
young children, who were brought before
him, did not shake his courage, and he only
requested to die before his master. The two
martyrs were then suspended at some feet off
the ground by cords passed beneath their
arms, and in the presence of an immense
mob they were fired at by the soldiers. The
disciple was killed instantaneously, but the
Bah remained untouched. The cord
which sustained him in the air was
cut by ball: he dropped on
his feet, and instinctiyely commenced to flee,
but he was pursued, and mortally stabbed
without uttering a groan, A. ID. 1850. In
stead of their chiefs death discouraging the
Babists, it, on the contrary, exasperated them
to such pitch that they have ever since be-
come irreconcilable enemies to the Persian
dynasty. An assembly of the leaders of the
sect was held at Teheran, and new Bah, the
actual chief of Babism, was not elected so to
speak, but recognized as such from exterior
signs and certain moral faculties which i'll
him gave II divine indication Of his right to
the succession of the Bah. He, like lis pre-
decessor, was also young man, being youth
of sixteen, named Mira Yahara son of Mira
Bouzong-Noury, Vizier of Imam Werdy- Mira,
Governor of Teheran. He took the title of
'Hezret-e-Ezel, or Eternal Highness After
his nomination, he left the capital, and went
from town to town to escape from the Sc
verify of the Government, and adjured his
rection, declaring authoritatively that the
time for engaging with material arms
was not yet come. In 1862, an attempt by
three Babists to assassnate the Shah, led the
way to new arrests, and consequent penalties
of death. Among the persons thus arrested
was Gourret-oul-Ayn, the Consolation Of tie
Eyes. Being of high rank, she was treated at
first with some consideration, and conducted
to the governors house, who gave her into
the custody of his wife. A few days after
wards she was conducted to NAV eran, and in
presence of the princes, great officers of state,
prisoners, and the general public, she was
asked with gentleness and courtesy to declare
that she did not belong to the new sect.
But instead of ying with this request
she broke into an eloquent profession of
faith to God, and to the Bah. She was
sent back to Teheran and having been yelled
against her will, she was placed upon pile of
straw in order to be burned alive; but before
firing the funeral pile, the executioner suffo-
Gated her so completely with her own gar
menls that her corpse only was left to be con-
sumed. All the other prisoners men, women,
and children, went to execution with equal
courage, singing, amid the inconceivdble
torment of torture heightened with the ut
most cruelty:--'In truth, we belong to God,
and we go back to Him" This sacrifcial day
gave to Babism more secret adherents than
long period of doctrinal teaching would
have done. Since the events of 1852, Babism
has every day made immense progress; but
now, in obedience TO the command of their
present chief, the Babists conceal their reli-
gious faith, deny it on occasion, and when it
becomes necessary, are ready to declare that
the Bah was a myth and an impostor This
systematic dissimulation, however, is perhaps