Khan said, "Betray me not ;" and thus Omar Khan wandered about in the Desert of Mowr, and made an alliance with the King of Khiva; and I heard, after this, that he was slain in battle against his brother, the present King. It is also said that the present King poisoned his own father.

Hakim Beyk, who had assisted him to mount the throne, became his Goosh-Bekee, or Vizier; and as long as he followed the advice of that wise Minister, Nasir Ullah was the beloved King of Bokhara, and feared by the Kings around. The Sovereigns of Khokand, Cashgar, and Khetay sent Ambassadors with presents unto him, and Russia continued to be on friendly terms with the King of Bokhara. The object of that great Minister, the Goosh-Bekee, was to draw to that town learned men, and men of arts, from all the countries of the earth; and his friendship with Moorcroft had given him a predilection for England; and he desired me, in 1832, to prevail on the British Government to send Physicians and officers, together with an Ambassador, to Bokhara. Sir A. Burnes, after me, received the favours of that great man; and Dr. Haenigberger, also, from Hungary, who came from Lahore, where he was in the service of the great Runjeet Singh, the Lion of the Punjaub. The Derveeshes of Bokhara began to sing of the praises of Nasir Ullah and his great Minister, the GooshBekee. The town was also adorned with beautiful mosques, and outside gardens, and country-houses were planned; but Nasir Ullah Behadur became jealous of the Goosh-Bekee. At that time, in the year 1835, Abdul Samut Khan arrived from Cabul, where he had run away from Dost Muhammed Khan; and he boasted that he was acquainted with all the European sciences and military discipline. The excellent Goosh-Bekee recommended him to the King, who nominated him the Chief of the Sirbaas; that is, of the regular troops and of the artillery. The Goosh-Bekee poured favours upon the new comer, whilst Abdul Samut Khan all the time began to intrigue against his benefactor, and made the King believe that the Goosh-Bekee was in correspondence with England. The influence of the latter began visibly to decline.

At that time a report reached His Majesty, that an Englishman was on his way to Khiva: he sent soldiers (Usbecks) after him, and made a prisoner of that Englishman. His name was Lieutenant Wyburt. He was cast into prison. The Goosh-Bekee appeared before Nasir Behadur; the respect of the servants was no longer paid to him as before; the GooshBekee bowed three times to the ground, stroked three times his beard, and recited the first chapter of the Koran, called Fatkha, which is as follows:"In the name of the most merciful and compassionate God; praise to God, the Creator of the worlds, the most merciful and compassionate, the King in the day of judgment; we serve thee, we look up to thee; guide us thoroughly in the way of those to whom thou art merciful, not in the way of those with whom thou art angry, not in the way of those who are in error. Amen." And then he stroked again his beard. The King asked him to sit down, which he did, bowing again to the ground. Then the King asked, “What is thy request?" He said, "O, Hasrat! I have devoted my old days and my grey hairs to the service of my King and my master: I have served many years your father, to whom God has been merciful. I have not gathered treasure; and I did all that you might become a powerful Monarch, honoured by all nations; that you might become like Timur, and your name renowned like that of Scander Sulkarneyn. But in what have I now sinned, that my advice is no longer heard?" The King demanded, "What is thy desire?" He replied, "Why has Your Majesty

pulled down those beautiful palaces which you built with so much expense, and which were the delight of the inhabitants? And, besides that, why does Your Majesty arrest Englishmen in the highways, and bring them prisoners to Bokhara? England is a powerful nation; all Hind belongs to it. Shah Soojah-Almulk and Shah Zemaun, the two Kings of Affghanistaun, have found shelter in the dominions of England. Runjeet Singh, the idolater, threatens to attack Affghanistaun; and if once in Affghanistaun, he may come to Bokhara. On the other side we are threatened from Russia and Khiva; and the Guzl-Bash will unite to destroy the King of Bokhara, which may God prevent. What can save us from all these evils, except a strict alliance with England?" The King told him to retire, and promised to profit by his advice.

Soon after this the Reis, (that is, the Great Mullah,) who enforces with bastinadoes and death obedience to the observance of the rites of the Muhammedan religion, preached one day to the people in the following manner :-"The King is a shepherd; the subjects are the sheep. The shepherd may do with the sheep as he thinks proper: he may take the wife from her husband; for the wife is the sheep of the King, as well as the husband; and he may make use of any other man's wife just as he pleases." From that moment Nasir Ullah became the greatest profligate at Bokhara. He employed all his Makhrams as so many ruffians. The persons who were not willing to give up their wives were instantly put to death; and he so habituated them to tyranny, that the husband, on being deprived of his wife, sighed, and resigned himself to the will of the King, with the exclamation, Een kary padsha hast, “This is a royal act.” The honest Goosh-Bekee alone resisted, and boldly reproved the King for it; upon which he was exiled to Karshi. When his friends wanted him to escape to Khokand, he said, "I am too old to be a traitor; I am sixty years of age: I will die in my native country; for die I must, whether in my house or in prison." He remained quietly in prison at Karshi, spent his days in reading the Koran, saw from time to time Derveeshes of the family of Nakshbande, and was at last brought again to Bokhara, and there confined, and then executed by order of the Ameer, behind the palace, on the spot where afterwards Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly were executed.

After presentation to the King, we were brought to a small room in the palace, which serves as an office: here the Shekhawl above mentioned came, accompanied by Mullah Haje, his Secretary, who is one of those Persian slaves of whom there are two hundred thousand throughout the kingdom. Mullah Haje recollected having known me when at Bokhara in 1832. The Shekhawl then opened the business by first addressing himself to Dil Assa Khan Mervee.

Shekhawl.—What is your name and country?

D. A. K.-Dil Assa Khan.

Sh.-What is your request of His Majesty (Hazrat)?

D. A. K.-My request consists only in one point: His Excellency the Assaff-ood-Dowla, being a great friend of His Majesty, and convinced that the King of Bokhara with justice demands the possession of Khiva and Khokand, offers his assistance to His Majesty against Khiva and Khokand; and all the cannon, ammunition, and troops demanded from him, the Assaffood-Dowla will be ready to send to the Ameer. Khorassaun is near to Bokhara, Russia is two months distant from Bokhara, and England six

months; therefore friendship between the Assaff-ood-Dowla and Bokhara is most necessary. This is the only request I have to make. Wolff.-Have you no other request to make?

D. A. K.-None whatever.

W.-You are my man; and the Assaff-ood-Dowla has merely sent you here to assist me in my request to the King, and you have been paid by me for it.

D. A. K.-The Assaff-ood-Dowla has merely sent you on with me here. Sh.-What is your name and request?

W.-Joseph Wolff is my name, a well-known Mullah and Derveesh from England. I was in the city of Bokhara twelve years ago, (Mullah Haje here recollected me, and at once said so,) when I was well treated by His Majesty; and a passport was given to me previous to my departure, saying, that the high order had been issued that Joseph Wolff, the Englishman, should be allowed to return to his country, and that on the road nobody should lay any hinderance in his way. After me, Sir Alexander Burnes arrived, and was well-treated, and allowed to proceed on his way to England; and the hospitable conduct of His Majesty towards myself and Sir Alexander Burnes induced others to visit Bokhara Shereef. Two officers, (highly beloved and honoured by the British Government,) my friends, Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, came here: Captain Conolly was my murreed; that is, "spiritual disciple :" when suddenly it was reported from the land of Russia, the land of Khiva, and even from the land of Khokand, and also from the land of Hindustaun, that both officers, brave in war, and religious men, had been killed by order of the King of Bokhara; and this news made not only a great commotion throughout England and Hindustaun, but also in the new world (America); and Muhammed Ali of Egypt heard of it; and thousands in England exclaimed, "War with Bokhara!"

Here the Shekhawl interrupted me, by asking, "How far is England from Bokhara?" Dil Assa Khan replied, "Six months' march." I said, "That is untrue : England itself is only three months' march distant from Bokhara; but we have troops at Shikarpore, near Candahar, which is only thirty days' march from Bokhara."

I then continued, saying, "I, Joseph Wolff, seeing this great commotion throughout the world, about the death of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, put into the newspapers, O, my English friends, I cannot believe the report of the death of Colonel Stoddard and Captain Conolly; for they revere at Bokhara guests very much. I shall therefore go there, and ascertain the truth.' All my friends said, 'Don't go there; for they will kill you also.' I said, 'I shall go; for Conolly was my great friend.' On seeing my determination, my friends induced the Government of England to order their Ambassadors at Constantinople and Teheraun to procure me letters for His Majesty the King of Bokhara from the Sultan, and from Muhammed Shah. On my arrival at Constantinople, the Sultan gave me the required letters, also the Sheikh-al-Islam of Stamboul; and Muhammed, Shah of Persia, not only gave me letters for the King of Bokhara, but also for the Assaff-ood-Dowla, ordering him to give me every assistance and aid, in order that I might meet with a good reception at Bokhara. On my arrival at Meshed, the Assaff-ood-Dowla asked me whether I should like him to send a respectable man with me, who would speak in my behalf to the Ameer in this case he would give himself one hundred tomauns to that man, and I should give another hundred tomauns to that same man,

And his Excellency the Assaff-ood-Dowla said he would also send presents to the Ameer, to secure for me a good reception. I accepted the proposal, and gave a hundred tomauns to Dil Assa Khan, and we set out for Bokhara; but as he behaved on the road like a knave, I sent several Turkomauns to Meshed, reporting his bad conduct; on which account the Assaff sent me several letters, and letters to Dil Assa Khan, with copies of them to me, which I have delivered to the Ameer with the rest of the letters; by which the Ameer will perceive that Dil Assa Khan is only my man, that he has played the traitor, and that the statement of the object of his coming to Bokhara and back is a falsehood from beginning to end."

D. A. K.-I never said that I did not come on your account; for I know that England and Persia are great friends.

W.-I don't want your assistance.

Sh. What is, therefore, now your object?

Dil Assa Khan here replied, “His (Joseph Wolff's) object is to establish friendship between England and the King of Bokhara."

W.-I have no authority for that; but my object is, first, to ask, Where are my friends, Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly? are they alive, or dead? If alive, I beg His Majesty to send them with me back to England: if dead, His Majesty will state his reasons for putting them to death, and also send with me an Ambassador to England.

I perceived that if I did not hold out some hopes of reconciliation, he (the King) would be driven to despair, and perhaps put me to death ; and, at the same time, the Ambassador would serve me as an escort in my journey through the Desert. I now give the continuation of my dialogue with the Shekhawl.

Sh.-Has the British Government itself authorized you to come here? Dil Assa Khan interrupted me here, and said, “Yes.”

W.-No; I am sent by the Sultan and Muhammed Shah, on account of their friendship with England.

Sh.-Are you authorized to claim them, if alive?

W.-Yes, by all the powers of Europe, and the voice of the British nation.

Sh.-Is there much commotion about it in Europe?

W.-Very much so: people speak only of Stoddart and Conolly, and of the apprehension they entertain of my sharing the fate of Stoddart and my friend Conolly.

Mullah Haje. You loved Conolly very much?

W. Very much.

We were then dismissed; and the house formerly belonging to Toora Zadeh, brother to the present King, who was killed by order of the latter, was assigned to us as our dwelling; and, from that moment, all liberty of going out as I pleased was taken from me. I was watched day and night by the Makhrams of the King. The evening of my arrival the King sent to me two persons, the one was a Makhram, the other a Mirza, who writes down everything which the Makhram (confidential servant to the King) asks the stranger.

Mirza (addressing himself to me). This is a favourite Makhram to Hazrat (His Majesty).

Makhram.-His Majesty has been graciously pleased to order you to answer two questions, which he proposes to you now through his slave. The first question is, "Are you able to awake the dead?" The second question is this, "When will the day of resurrection take place?"

W.-By God's power, one is able to do everything, for God is mighty above all; and if God (his name be praised!) give me that power, I am able to do so; but hitherto he has never granted it me from above. With regard to the second question: when I was at Bokhara, twelve years ago, I conversed with the Jews about the return of Jesus; and then I told them, and also the Goosh-Bekee, His Majesty's Vizier, that Jesus would return after fifteen years: but since that time I have had some doubts that my calculation may not be quite correct, for the meaning of the numbers mentioned in the Prophet Daniel admit of a twofold interpretation; yet I am convinced, by the signs of the times, that the period of the coming of Jesus is at hand. I then pointed out to him the passages, as mentioned in Matthew xxiv., xxv.; Luke xxi.; Isaiah xxxiv., &c.; and then departed, every word I said having been written down by the Mirza.

We were ordered to meet the next day again, to appear before the Ameer to make our Selaam, and then to retire. On returning to my lodging, a Makhram was sent again by the King to ask me why I was dressed in black and red colours; for I wore my Clergyman's gown and Doctor's hood whenever I was obliged to call on His Majesty. I therefore replied, that it was the costume of the Mullah Kelaan, Great Mullahs of England.

2. Makhram.-Has it some meaning?

W.-With me it has.

· M.-What meaning have these colours with you?

W.-The black colour indicates that I mourn over my dead friends, and the red colour indicates that I am ready to give my blood for my faith.

I arrived, I think, on the 27th of April; it was on a Friday; and on the 29th, Makhram Kasem came, and said I must follow him somewhere. >W.Where shall we go?

Kasem. This you will see.

All the attendants around me trembled. An old Yoos Bashi, (Commander of a hundred soldiers,) who was a Persian slave, wept, and said to me in a whisper, after Kasem had gone out of the room of Dil Assa Khan, "Why did you come here? Stoddart Saib and Conolly Saib have thus been taken out of the house where they will now bring you." I asked my servant Houssein, "Will you accompany me?" He replied in the affirmative. Dil Assa Khan also mounted his horse, and, accompanied by his servants, he rode proudly before me, Makhram Kasem at his side, who, throughout the road, conversed with Dil Assa Khan, and not one word with me; and Dil Assa Khan's servants drove violently back my horse, when it came a little near the side of Dil Assa Khan. Houssein, my servant, also began to fear to appear as my servant, and walked near the horse of Dil Assa Khan. We rode one mile out of the town, to the garden of Nayeh Abdul Samut Khan, Chief of the Artillery, which he disciplines in the European way.

Before I proceed with the relation of my first interview with the Nayeb, a slight digression will make my readers acquainted with a fact, which I believe I mentioned in my journey to Bokhara, in 1831-32. When I arrived at Cabul, in 1832, I met with Sir Alexander Burnes, and in conversation he told me, "When you come to Peshawr, be on your guard against a person there who calls himself the Vizier of Sultan Muhammed Khan; his name is Abdul Samut Khan, a great rascal, who if he can do any harm to an Englishman he will do so, for he knows that we look with