New-York tribune., 1893-11-26
RELIGION IN PERSIA.
SOME OF THE MYSTERIES BENEATH THE
=, SURFACE OF ISLAM.

A YEAR AMONGST THE PERsIANs. .Impres
the People of Persia ReceSed During sn
Months Residence In That Country in the Years
= '-' Pp. ix 5ei.' London. Adam & Charles Black
-" It is pity that Mr. Browne was compelled
to yield to his publishers in the form Of his work
on Persia He is thorough investigator. but
he is not so good narrator of his own ex
periences as might be wished. The most In
terestng parts Of the present work are not the
episodes Of travel, but the recurrent studies OF
social and religious life, of magic and mysticism
themes on which Mr.. Browne had already ex-
hbited his learning and skill in works less pop
ular and accessible perhaps than the present
one The exigencies of the narrative have
broken these studies into parts when they
might easily have been shaped in each case
into a we-rounded essay on Zoroastranism, on
S,hism, on Magic and on the Babis.
There have been occasions when it seemed as
If these United States were to be the home of
b, the inventors Of religions. But 1t has almost
invariably happened that a few years wit
messed the complete growth and premature de-
cay of Western vagares in the religious field
The true home of religious origins Is Western
ASIA There in spite of every form Of opposi-
tion they gradually reach perfection. The
reasoning of Gamaliel-if the thing is good no
. power on earth can stop it; if it is not good it
will die But by the same reasoning the tyrant
is justified, since he presses with strong hand
on all alike and only allows that to grow which
r1dst grow In spite of him. Martyrdom by the
wholesale seems foreign to the thought of the
nineteenth century But we have merely to en-
large our horizon little to find not only that
1t Is possible, but to learn that the heroism OF
early Christianity has been rivalled within the
last fifty years by a which has spread
almost as far in lifetime Christianity did
in the age of the Apostles. The region-build-
ing OF the West, whether 1t be by ignorant en-
thusiasm or by an esoteric cult, seems like
childs play beside movements characteristic Of
the East. To one of these movements. that be-
gun by Mira Ali Muhammad the Bah, in Per-
sa. Mr. Browne devotes great deal Of atten-
ton. 1t is subject which he has worked upon
before but he tells in this volume how he fell
in with the Friends in Persia, If by a
mysterious accident long after his ina gination
had been fired by the enthusiastic work Of
Gobineau the Bah and his followers One can
easily imagine the way in which this happened,
though the author himself carefully avoids sug-
gesting any theory. IN the first place, as
student Of the Persian language and literature
he had shown his interest in the Babis and as
1t turned out young Persian with whom he
foregathered in England was also attracted by
the sect. familiar with its leaders and
might we'll have informed them of the coming
of a friendly traveller. Moreover. Mr.. Browne
had no sooner reached the boundaries of Persia
than he began his search for Babi. The mys-
terious being eluded his most strenuous efforts
and most digent inquiries. Even in Teheran
the home of Persian philosophy. he learned
only enough about the hidden sectaries to make
him the more desirous Of discovering them.
Yet, doubtless he surrounded by them. Il
was told tales" he writes, "of their unfinching
courage under torture, of their unshakabe
faith. of their marvellous skill in argument"
but more he could not learn until later-and
then he found that some of the Teheranis who
had conversed with him were Babis too cautious
to incur persecution by making themselves
known. He might have inferred as much, and
Doubtless did, from a single anecdote which he
tells Of learned man who said: II once met
one Of these Babis as was returning from Ker-
bella, and he succeeded in drawing me into a
discussion on religious matters. So completely
was l worsted by him at every turn. so
thorough his knowledge Of the Koran and
Traditions. and so ingenious the use he
made Of his knowledge. that was finally COM
PEELED to effect my escape from his irresistible
logic by declaring myself to be 1a-mazhab' "a
'freethinker). whereupon he left me- saying that
with such he had nothing to do"
Imagine real Mussulman making such a con-
fession as that Of defeat in an argument! Man
ffestly Mr.. Browne was being led along with the
astuteness common in the Orient until those
wi.hin the obscure circle which he sought to
enter were convinced Of his trustworthiness
and had raised his curiosity to the highest
pitch. This conjecture is confirmed by the ex-
periences of others as related to him. He
found an American missionary who admitted
that he had talked much with the Babis with
out ever encouraging their confidence. because
he deemed their ideas fanciful and mischievous.
And the missionary seemed to be surprised
that any one found difficulty in identifying
them. "as they always spoke on religious topics |
whenever an opportunity presented itself, and |
dwelt especially on the need Of fuller revea- |
tion. caused by the progress Of the human race" |
One can dimly remember that he has heard |
such things nearer home within the last twen- |
ty-ive years When Mr. Browne thought he |
had caught Babi. he always found that he |
was mistaken, or at all events he could never
make his prize confess the fact Once he was
sure that he had victim in an old merchant
Of Shiraz who was loud in his praises of the
new religion. "Al the time he was talking
he kept looking at me in peculiar way, as
tnougn 10 watch the enect produced by his |
words. This old man told Of signs and won
ders which heralded the birth of Mira Ali
Muhammad the Bab and his miraculous keen
ness and intelligence as a child. and Of the
startling prophecies given out by the Bab's sue
cessor. Now. there was something curious
about these prophetic utterances as Mr.. Browne
found out later According to the belief of the
Babis. the second head Of the Babi organiza-
lion addressed letter to Napoleon III, long
before the Franco-Prussian War, in which ne
exclaimed: Because Of what thou hast DONE |
anairs shall be changed in thy kingdom, and
empire shall depart from thine hands as a |
punishment for thine action. We have
seen humiliation Fastening after thee, while
thou art OF those that Sleep" And there were :
,ther letters to the Queen Of England, the EN- .