Robert Grant Watson

“ Falsehood they look upon in all cases where it facilitates their ends, not only justifiable, but highly commendable, and good faith, generosity, and gratitude are alike unknown to them. * * * * In short, to close this outline of the Persian diameter," I shall add, without the fear of confutation, that from my own observation, I feel inclined to look upon Persia at the present day to be the very fountainhead of every species of tyranny, cruelty, meanness, injustice, extortion, and infamy, that can disgrace or pollute human nature, or have ever been found in any age or nation." ”

“ No truth is more plainly written on the page of universal history than that a foreign race loses its distinguishing qualities unless continually reinforced by recruits from its native land. The last complete invasion of Persia occurred sufficiently long ago to admit of time having softened down the enthusiasm and the energy of the conquerors. The races who at present inhabit Persia have become habituated to the climate, and are as much the growth of the soil as are the castor-oil plant and the pomegranate. ”

“ A Persian is perhaps prepared to do as little for his country as any man on earth, but while he holds his country's interests as of no moment whatsoever in comparison with his own, he yet thinks in his heart that there is no land in the world at all comparable to the land of Iran, I believe most Persians who should be sentenced to perpetual exile, and warned that they would be liable to be condemned to death if again found upon their native soil, would, like Shimei, be unable to resist the temptation of viewing once more what is as dear to them as Jerusalem was to the descendant of Judah. ”

“ Quand les seigneurs sont eux-mêmes en differend, la force en decide: celui qui est le plus fort gagne la cause. Voici comment ils s'y prennent: ils fondent à main armée sur les bestiaux de leur ennemi, sur ses vassaux, sur ses maisons, sur ses terres, pillant, brûlant, abattant tout; et enfin, lorsqu'ils ne savent plus à quoi s'en prendre, ils arrachent les vignes, les mûriers et les arbres aussi utiles; que si les parties viennent à se rencontrer durant ces actes d'hostilités, ils se combattent d'une maniére sanglante. ”

“ The Persian army had at one time been on the point of driving the enemy from the field, and the temporary success was to be attributed to the disciplined courage of two regiments from Karadagh, and to the fire of the prince's artillery. These battalions, as well as the artillerymen, had been trained by competent and zealous foreign instructors, and had the whole army been equally well drilled, there can be no doubt that the fate which befell the Persians would that day have befallen their enemies. ”

“ There are hundreds of these jovial beggars scattered over Persia, and many of those in Tehran find their employment so lucrative that they are enabled by it to live in well-appointed houses, and to eat of the fat of the land. They have a chief who disposes to a certain extent of their gains, and who assigns to each dervish the post he is to occupy on the annual occasion when the house of each wealthy person in Tehran is besieged by a member of this brotherhood, who refuses to quit his position outside the door until he has received his contribution. ”

“ These intrigues were not unknown to the Veli of Khorassan; but Isaak Khan continued as usual to attend the levees of the prince, and to obey his authority. The Shahzadeh, fearing lest at last he should lose his government owing to the hostile influence of the Karai chief, determined upon taking a step at which the boldest might have hesitated. No man in Persia possessed more influence than Isaak Khan, and no man was so likely to be missed as he whose unbounded hospitality had been experienced by hundreds of thousands of the subjects of the Shah. ”

“ Nothing is more difficult than to convict a Persian of telling an untruth, and nothing at the same time less common than to hear the plain facts of a case from the lips of an inhabitant of that country. ”

“ Not only do women and children, but bearded and aged men, sob and cry as if their hearts would burst, when under the influence of the actor's performance or of the preacher's eloquence. Nor is it only when at the theatre or the mosque, or the prayer-meeting, that Hussein's mournful story is present to their thoughts. ”

“ After so open a display of discontent on the part of one who had a better right than Abbass Meerza to be selected to be the Shah's heir, it seems strange that Mahomed Ali Meerza should have been employed at the head of an armed force in the field; but while Abbass Meerza was being driven before the Russians his elder brother was once more overrunning the frontier province of Turkey; humbling the Pasha of Baghdad, and reestablishing the governor of Shehr-i-zoor in his office. ”

“ The King of Persia chooses his wives not exclusively from amongst the princesses or the highly-born ladies of the land, but equally from amongst the whole of the daughters of his subjects. Any peasant, if she be beautiful, may become the favourite wife of the Shah, and the mother of the heir-apparent. ”

“ The Guebres of Persia turn to the sun during their devotions, but they do not regard that luminary as a deity. They look upon it as an emblem of the Creator, calling it the light of God. They consider the four elements as sacred and not to be defiled unnecessarily. The Guebres of Yezd wear a sacred girdle, a thick narrow ribbon, composed of seventy-two threads of the wool of sheep or goat, which is bound on at the age of fourteen, a ceremony which is celebrated with rejoicing. ”

“ They are for the most part an entertaining set of men, who enjoy the good things of this life, and who appeal for charity, not to any physical claims to it, but to their religious character solely. These useless members of society are of two classes, those who reside in towns and live at their ease in the midst of their families, and those who make a vow of celibacy, and who wander about the country. The distinguishing badges of the first of these two classes are the dervish's cap, the peculiarly shaped axe carried over the shoulder, and the water-cup slung over the arm. ”

“ With regard to some portions of the history of modern Persia, I have had to trust to such information as was to be derived from Persian sources. The English reader may be disposed to look with mistrust on information coming from such authorities; but in all that refers to what has taken place in Persia in relation to any European state, I have availed myself of every opportunity of testing the accuracy of Persian statements by comparing them with the accounts given by European authorities. ”

“ If there be any beauty in truth, in honesty in dealings between man and man, in uprightness and independence of character, in wedded love, in family life and family affection, in readiness to sacrifice fortune or life, if necessary, for the public good, in tolerance towards others in points relating to religion, in fair play towards others, in gratitude for past kindness, in modesty, in a consistent endeavour to provide for the well-being of posterity such beauty it would be vain to expect to meet with in Persia. ”

“ The dome of the mosque itself, before which, as it glitters in the Eastern sun, thousands of pilgrims from the utmost parts of Asia bow their heads in silent awe, the dome itself was stripped of its golden splendours to supply the demands of the lawless soldiery. ”

“ It is no uncommon thing for a man to remain five or even ten years at one post, and when an official personage quits one government or office, it is, as a general rule, only to go to another, for no Persian makes such poor use of his time in office as not to be rich enough when it is over to purchase for himself another post. ”

“ Many good qualities are to be found side by side with the crimes and vices that defile the land of Persia. The people in general are patient and easily governed. The poorer classes are frugal and respectful. The poor are not allowed by their rich countrymen to starve for want of food. Fathers of families, as a general rule, make a suitable provision for all their offspring, whether born in lawful wedlock, or illegitimate. All classes own willing allegiance to their lawful sovereign, and men conduct themselves towards each other with good nature and with the outward forms of respect. ”

“ The Persian peasants are at all times liable to be called from their out-of-door labour to take part in the defence of their villages, against parties of ruthless marauders who live on spoil, and who carry away with equal indifference either the produce of Persian rice-fields for their maintenance, or the inmates of the peasants' cottages to be sold as slaves in the marts of Khiva and Bokhara. Under no circumstances can a Persian ever venture to go unarmed from one village of the province of Astrabad to another ”

“ During the last two thousand years, whose history we possess, Persia has been repeatedly overrun by foreign conquerors, and the sequel of each conquest has been the same, namely, that the influence of climate and of luxurious Persian habits has relaxed the energies and the original virtues of the invaders, and disposed them in turn to fall victims to another conquering people. ”

“ Although slavery exists in Persia all field-labour is free, the slaves being only employed in domestic service. Persian Mahomedan peasants are not even tied down to one spot, but can go from one village to seek work in another, according to their own convenience. Each village, however, has a patron, or feudal-lord, at whose expense the peasants are all entertained on the recurrence of the yearly feasts. All Persians of any consequence maintain a large number of idle retainers about them, who contribute nothing to the general wealth of the country. ”

“ When one bears in mind the great elevation of the tableland of Persia, the numerous chains of mountains with which the country is intersected, and the consequent variation of temperature to which the people, living as they do in a sunny land, are exposed, one learns without surprise that fevers prevail to a great extent amongst the Persians. For another reason this complaint prevails in the low-lying provinces of Persia, namely, because they are overrun with moisture and with vegetation, and the hot sun produces malaria. ”

“ That general being thus the master of one of the chief roads to power in Persia, set out, on the breaking up of the camp at Sheeshah, in pursuit of the dispersed bodies of men who were proceeding towards Tehran. An Oriental army, on the death of its chief, becomes like a rope of sand, and Sadek Khan found no resistance to his own compact division, which he was soon able to increase to the number of fifteen thousand men. ”

“ When he has been suitably paid he retires at once, and there is no fear of another taking his place. But if the master of the house be indifferent to the inconvenience of having a spy constantly at his gate, whom there is no dislodging, the dervish after a time has recourse to other measures than the mere display of patience. In the dead of night he blows his horn under the windows of his victim, and the sound of this blast is considered so peculiarly unlucky, that the master of the house is at once beset by all within it, and entreated no longer to defer giving his contribution. ”

“ But the Eelkhani still held out, and Abhass Meerza advanced to besiege his last stronghold, the fort of Khabooshan. The forces of the Eelkhani and of the prince were nearly equal, each army consisting of twelve thousand men; but Abbass Meerza had the superiority in artillery, and the Eelkhani was discouraged by the retreat of his ally, the Khan of Khiva. The ruler of Herat, too, who had promised to assist him, had, on seeing the turn that affairs had taken, sent his Vizeer to the prince's camp to announce his sympathy with the cause of the Shah. ”

“ Those of the Shah's personal attendants who have been appointed to be governors of provinces seldom or never care to proceed to their respective governments. They appoint deputies to rule in their place, whilst they continue to stand in the presence of the king, subject though they be to those little inconveniences that arise from the sudden ebullitions of temper to which even the mildest of men occasionally give way. ”

“ The national religion of Persia is Mahomedanism of the Sheeah sect. The Persians maintain the inalienable right of Ali to the immediate succession to the throne and mantle of Mahomed. The ministers of religion enjoy great influence amongst all classes of the people, and it may be observed, as being illustrative of the respect felt by Persians for the Mahomedan religion, that, though they are notoriously untruthful, they do not dare to take a false oath if it be administered by a Mujtehed, or high priest. ”

“ The Persian Government cannot be said to be a very efficient or an energetic one. Great confusion prevails in almost every branch of the administration. The Ministers retain their power during the Shah's pleasure, and it is believed that one of the chief objects of securing office in Persia, next to that of gaining the royal favour, is to amass as much money as the direction of a department is capable of affording. Almost everything in Persia is a question of money. ”

“ If they excited discontent amongst the people of the districts ravaged by the insurgents or invaders, they in turn afforded to an unpaid army the opportunity of enriching itself by plunder. There had been but one war in which Persia, since the accession of the Kajars, had been obliged to cede any territory, and the Shah was therefore only careful to avoid giving occasion for another struggle with the powerful neighbour whose might he had so sorely felt. ”

“ Girls are taught to read, and to write, and to sew, and occasionally their education includes some instruction in Persian music. But the range of their ideas is by no means wide, and a man more instructed than a Persian generally is would not, probably, find their society very engaging.
An exception to the rule by which education in Persia is left to private persons, is in the case of the college which has been established by the Government at Tehran. The pupils in that establishment are maintained at the Shah's expense during the course of their instruction. ”

“ During that month each quarter of a Persian town has a theatre for this religious representation, in which the impassioned beholders sit in long rows regarding the performance on the stage. The interior decoration of these theatres is sometimes very gorgeous. Each takeah has a patron, who takes care, for the sake of his own reputation, that the interior be suitably arranged. The one whose patron is the Shah, is, as might be supposed, the most magnificent of all. ”

“ The King of Persia is constantly attended by a set of gentlemen who are denominated peishkhidmets, or waiters in the presence. They correspond in rank and title to the lords and gentlemen in waiting at the courts of Europe. They are not only contented, like them, to assume the denomination of household servants, but they perform the actual duties of domestic retainers. The Shah's dishes at breakfast and at dinner are placed upon the tablecloth by men holding a high position in the country, some of them being the sons of his ministers, and others being themselves governors of provinces. ”