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where. They did not attempt to set up Mohammed against Christ. The "injils" of the Old Testament I dwelt upon. They asked about the appearances of Christ in the Old Testament, and I took especially the wrestling of Jacob and Hosea's comment on it, which we read, and there seemed a general readiness to admit the plain and natural sense of this. Had I come only to witness to-day's confession of so many blessed truths by some learned sons of Persia, I should have felt the visit worth making and the journey taking. George and I prayed afterwards for a blessing. The dying and rising with Christ seemed marvellously to commend itself to them. The Word and Son of God, His eternal oneness with the Father, seemed to present no difficulty. "How can we come thus," they said, "to be dead and buried with Christ?" I dwelt on baptism and the yielded heart and life as the true means of death to sin in repentance. I pressed on them the seeking the help of the Spirit to understand all this.

'A general in the army and a sheikh called and sat a long time. I pointed out the same subjects generally. They said much about the "tauhid" or unity, and I showed how the unity was the first principle of all religion and all truth. So far we were all agreed; but there were the idioμara, which were the mysteries of faith. I must try to show how barren, empty and naked the idea of absolute deism is, and how the Trinitas is out of the root of the unity and in its root, and how its fruitfulness in itself, and beyond itself in its communication, depends on this.

The general and sheikh both wanted copies of the Bible, specially of Isaiah and Daniel, after what I told them of Cyrus and Darius from those books. They inquired particularly about “wiladat-i-sani” (new birth), what it meant and how it was attained, which gave occasion for bringing out the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

'The sheikh quoted a hadis', in which God is stated to have said that by truth and holiness, or such means, "you can become like Me.""

'April 13. The old man and two others called this morning; not much encouraged. Sorrowful letter about dear Edith to-day. Rode with nawab three miles or so to the Dilkoosha garden, under a pyramidal hill. Felt ill and undone to-day, and could talk but little to the diwan", who had waited for me for some time, and had started in his carriage for a drive, but returned seeing me from a distance. A wonderful water-spring gushes from the hill just above his garden. I sat not half an hour, and he walked with me round part of his orchard. I rode on a little way to

1 Gospels.

2 Traditional saying of Mohammed.

3 Fath Ullah Khan. See Curzon, vol. i. p. 431.

Hafiz's garden beyond. A few trees compose the garden, of which the chief attraction is a tomb-like stone of the usual shape engraven and chased with Hafiz's poems. On the wall also are other quotations at length. Bambridge (missionary from Bagdad) arrived in the evening, which refreshed me. He had got here in five days, walking one horse the whole distance.'

เ

April 14. Accepted invitation from a mujtahid (the Imam Jumas of Shiraz) to visit him in his garden two miles off, called Rahmatabad. The nawab was also there, and other moollahs. I spoke at some length on the new birth, and the word of God, and the second coming of our Lord. Books, which the colporteurs had brought, excited their attention much; and ten Bibles or Testaments in Arabic or Persian were bought. The mujtahid read out the first Psalm and the second, delighted with the similarity of it to the Koran. I pressed upon them the importance of spreading the four great books of the word of God, and told them the "raunak" would be greater than the kingdom of Cyrus, if they could spread the kingdom of God and Christ. passages I had copied out this morning as to the Soofee views of the "kalamat" (word of God) were helpful. Delightful to get Henry Martyn's life to-day. Looked over Ezra's account of Cyrus with Bambridge, especially his careful specifications as to templebuilding arrangements. It was a pleasant "balakhana" or upper chamber in a garden where we met, a mujtahid and moollah sat in some state, the rest anywhere. They brought a box for me to sit on, which was really unusually considerate. The garden green and verdant with rivulets of fresh water flowing through; opposite (across some young crops and green fields just under the hills, over which footpaths towards Zarghun were clearly traceable) was another cypress garden, partly concealing three flour watermills—“asiyab," they called them. The great copy of the whole Persian Bible seemed very attractive to them. Evidently they thought that there must be something in all that. The great man kissed it devoutly, and placed it reverently on the top of his head to express his respect and homage. The mujtahid whom H. Martyn describes at Shiraz can hardly have been so open to conviction and impression as the present high priest appeared. The colporteurs were highly delighted at the sale of books which took place. Three or four years ago there was much more shyness and reluctance in the purchase of books. More Bibles were called for to be sent after! I said to them, "If you can get the mujtahids to do your work for you, how pleased the Bible Society will be." God grant this little change for the better may usher in a new state of things.

'A long and pleasant evening with a Nicodemus-like moollah, who sat one and a half hours, and I had difficulty in getting him to go at last! Much of the work of John the Baptist and of the Saviour was gone through with him.

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"Masih imroz aram" (Christ is peace to-day), and the teaching based upon it, struck him much. "Being justified by faith must follow this evening. I was most refreshed by meeting such a gentlemanly, humble, modest inquirer to whom the truth seemed as clear, fresh water out of spring.

'In speaking of "Christ is peace to-day," the Nicodemus said, "You must have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you," of which I had been speaking. Evidently the thought had taken hold of him in a strange way.'

'April 15 (Sunday). Two services as before. In the evening walked with Bambridge to Hafiz's tomb; thought a tomb in an elevated spot to be Hafiz's, and going up to it was invited to sit down by some moollahs gathered there. I found it was one of their padris', buried I know not how long ago, not long probably, but there was a preaching place by it, and evidently it had a sacredness in their eyes. I had a long conversation with the moollahs, and read a little out of the New Testament. One moollah could do nothing but cast reproaches upon God for allowing Satan to have so much power over faithful men. I think he felt silenced at last. I pressed the immense love of God in sending His own Son to deliver us from the power of darkness, how at this very moment He invites him to find all the power of resistance he needs. I might have taken the few first verses of James-"Count it all joy when ye fall, &c." Afterwards looked at poor Hafiz's tomb, which was encircled with an iron rail—“daurash ahin ast," as he expressed it'. Glad to rest at night and talk quietly with Bambridge.'

Besides this missionary labour, the bishop found some opportunities of ministering to the European community. One little girl, Greta Stainton, he baptized on Sunday, April 15; and to a telegraph officer who had lost his promotion more than once through drink, he solemnly made over his own pledge-card, inducing him to sign it.

6

'I put the question before him on its highest grounds,' he said, especially the ground of the cross, and showed him Dr. Odling's crucifix, and asked him in its presence to take the pledge. I prayed with him, and promised him one or two books, and asked him to dine on Thursday.'

When on the Thursday he did come and dine, the bishop, though very tired, read and prayed with him; in fact, he left no means untried of winning him.

1 See Curzon, vol. ii. p. 108.

On April 18 the bishop and his party started for Ispahan, and in four hours of rough riding traversed the twenty miles to Zarghun, a small town of some 4,000 inhabitants, and with four mosques in it. They found the rahdars, or people in charge of the sarais, most civil. A fine tall man, a Christian baptized by Bruce, came in the evening. He said he was forbidden by the moollahs to read or speak of Christ.

The next day, April 19, the much-to-be-remembered plain of Merv-dasht was reached amid showers and storms over the marshy levels of the Zarghun plain,' whose dark morasses were in places paved with rough round stones. The black flocks and black tents of nomad tribes contrasted with the grey rocks and green pastures.

'A great imperial plain,' said the bishop, 'is Merv-dasht, worthy of being the seat of a great kingdom. It is rich to a degree at this season, the villages well-walled with stone having deliciously green shrubberies, walled in also, apples, pomegranates, vines, willows by the waters, planes, poplars, apricots. There were two splendid hills to our left as we drew near to Persepolis and Pooza; one seemed like a couching lion, the other like a lion ready to spring. The stormy weather and driving rain-clouds helped to increase the illusive impression. A poet would have been in ecstasies but for the drenching rain.'

'20th. A memorable day. Fine and yet not hot or over-bright sunshine for examining Persepolis. We started at about 7.30, and returned at 3.'

'21st. Off at 6.45 to see Darius' tomb. I was most struck with two things.

(1) A perfect copy, or original (I know not which) of the sculpture near Shahpor's tomb, of Shahpor receiving the submission of the Emperor Valerian'. In one [sculpture] the Emperor of Rome stands by his horse and offers his diadem to Shahpor; in the other, he is on his knees in far more abject submission, and this accords with the usual illustrations in histories. The grand haughtiness and erect omnipotent attitude of Shahpor is in felt contrast with the touching, bowed down, and prostrate look of the emperor. (2) Yet more wonderful, if possible, as a work of

1 Curzon, vol. ii. pp. 115-119, gives an elaborate description of the remains, with many illustrations, including Shahpor and Valerian, (p. 121).

art is a bit of a desperate battle struggle between some royal per sonages (or great heroes at any rate): the muscular action and marvellously life-like natural attitude of every limb, both of man and horse, has an overpowering effect; not a limb but seemed in an agony of tension and beauty of most perfect development. Since Aurelian's statue at Rome, and the Laocoon at the Vatican, I have seen nothing, so far as I recollect, so extremely artistic or in which it would be so impossible to add or diminish anything. It is only a portion, apparently, of a larger sculpture, of which part has suffered from destructiveness of man or the elements. In such a lovely, lonely, desolate spot to see such flowers of human art and industry blushing unseen makes one marvel indeed. We rode on to the extremity (one extremity at least) of the Merv-dasht plain by the villages of Faido and Faro, where are excellent anars' and grapes; then rounded a mountain promontory, and through a short pass came into the Siwand or Araxes valley, much more narrow than Merv-dasht, but also in parts very green, and having gardens. We crossed the Araxes, fairly swift but low and perfectly easy, and passed right through one village, where was a bag, out of which five kids peeped and bleated, and infants of two years were riding mules and ponies. We passed at length Siwand and Kuhna, now deserted like shells of oysters left high and dry. The new Siwand is round another promontory in a very beautiful and highly cultivated valley, with poplar plantations and vineyards under mountains of curious lie of strata. . . the village a collection of unicoloured grey stone and clay huts. The telegraph officer's house has a singularly enjoyable and lovely prospect, the contrast between the dark mountain range (abounding however in brushwood) and smiling fields and orchards arresting one's gaze continually.'

From this most charming rest-house he wrote to Mr. Clark and Mrs. French fuller descriptions of his sight-seeing. To Mr. Clark he said::

. . . The tomb of Darius one could not but look upon with thrilling interest yesterday. That, as well as the tomb of Cyrus the Great, which we hope to see to-morrow, appear to be identified by the inscriptions, as well as historic testimony, most satisfactorily. The ladies' apartments have sculptures of ladies in the recesses of doorways, most of the buildings representing kings and their attendants, or soldiers. One thought the sculptures of Xerxes' zenana might embrace one of Esther. I am working on slowly with the colloquial Persian for the villagers and poorer

1 Pomegranates.

2 Or perhaps bag (garden).