As no muleteers could be procured at Tehran to proceed to Tebriz, it was considered advisable that Mr. Martyn should travel alone to the King's camp, for the purpose of seeing Mirza Shufi, the Premier, (or Ameenoddoula,) and solicit his assistance in obtaining for him an introduction to the King: for he was "anxious to lose no time in presenting his book;" so "leaving the city," he says, "just before the gates were shut, and giving the cattle their feed outside the walls, I went on, and travelled all night, till sunrise, and arrived at the caravansara, close to the King's camp, at Carach. I lost no time in forwarding Jaffier Ali Khan's letter to the Premier, who sent to desire that I would come to him. I found him lying ill in the verandah of the King's tent of audience. Near him were sitting two persons, who, I was afterwards informed, were Mirza Khanter, and the other Mirza Abdoolwahab, a Secretary of state, and a great admirer of the Soofi sage. They took very little notice, not rising when I sat down, as is their custom to all who sit with them, nor offering me calean. The two Secretaries, on learning my object in coming, began a conversation with me, on religion and metaphysics, which lasted two hours. As they were both well educated, gentlemanly men, the discussion was temperate, and, I hope, useful. What I remember of it was as follows:-'Do you consider the New Testament as the word spoken by God?' 'The sense from God, but the expression

from the different writers of it.' Here the Premier asked, how many languages I understood; whether I spoke French; where I was educated; whether I understood astronomy and geography? and then observed to the others, that I spoke good Persian, to which they assented. They resumed, 'We want to know what you learned men think about the state of the soul after death, till the resurrection?". I mentioned the different opinions. But how, think you, does the Spirit exist without the body? Tell me,' said I, ‘how the Angels exist, and I will tell you.' 'In what sense do you believe the resurrection of the body: that every particle buried shall rise?" I mentioned the Scripture metaphor of the wheat dying and rising, with which the Soofi Secretary appeared much pleased. What are the principles of your religion?" "They are all centered in Jesus; not in his precepts, but himself.' 'What are your opinions concerning Christ: was he a Prophet created? His Manhood was created; his Godhead, of course, not.' 'Now we much wish to hear what are your notions on this extraordinary subject-the Trinity? I explained, and began with observing, that it was by no means so extraordinary as at first sight it appeared to be; and then brought the illustration from the words, 'Image of the invisible God.' 'Have you read the Koran?" "Yes.' 'Is it not a miracle? 'Prove it to be so.' The Soofi said, as if from me, 'the Arabs say it is inimitably elegant; how do I, who am a Persian, know it to be so?" "What

do you say to the division of the moon?" "No sufficient evidence for it.' 'What superior evidence have you for the miracles of Christ? I was about to answer, when the Soofi, not thinking it would be satisfactory, said, rather dogmatically, 'that no religion could be proved demonstratively.' I said, 'If such degree of probable evidence was adduced as we acted upon in common life, we should be inexcusable in rejecting it.'

"On the top of the caravansara, at sun-set, I had a conversation of a different kind on one of these subjects. A man, seated on his rug, asked me, what I walked up and down for, and told me to come and sit with him on his carpet. I did, and found him to be a plain Mahometan, that is-pure bigotry and ignorance. Any thing I said, went for nothing. I knew nothing at all about the Gospel. He had talked with Armenian preachers, and therefore knew more about the matter than myself. They had told him, that the story of Jesus and Mary, in the Koran, was exactly true; this he took to be an acknowledgment that the book was from God. Thinking it worth while to see the state of the middling rank of Mahometans, I let him talk away. He supposed that the Mahometans had formerly taken all Europe, and that we still paid tax for being permitted to live. That the mother of Mehdi was the daughter of Simon Peter, or Plato; he could not tell which, but rather thought it was Constantine, Emperor of Rome. He could

not understand how Europe should be on one side of Persia, and India on the other. Such geographical difficulties are not to be wondered at in such a poor fellow, though he had travelled as a merchant a good deal, when the Moollahs, and probably the Ministers of State, do not know the relative situa tions of the provinces of their own kingdom.

"The man was very angry at my presuming to ask why he was a Mahometan. Finding me at last, more disposed to hear than speak, he began to think his discourse had made some impression on me, and with eyes sparkling with hopes of a con quest, told me, with great affection, what I should do to get a knowledge of the truth. 'Drink,' said he, 'no wine for three days; pray, according to your own form, for divine direction, and depend upon it you will find it.' 'But suppose,' said I, 'I have no such doubts in my mind, as to feel my need of divine direction in this particular; what then?' 'Why then,' said he, looking grimly, 'I have nothing more to say to you, and so, good night.""

The third day after the above conversations, Mr. Martyn was called to a severer trial of his faith and patience than any to which he had yet been exposed. Several of the most intemperate Moollahs set themselves in array against him, and contended with him in behalf of Mahometanism, in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom. There it was demanded of him, that he should deny that Savior who had bought him with his blood; but there he

"witnessed a good confession," and fearlessly acknowledged Jesus as his Lord.

12.-"I attended the Vizier's levee, when there was a most intemperate and clamorous controversy kept up for an hour or two; eight or ten on one side, and 1 on the other. Amongst them were two Moollahs, the most ignorant of any I have yet met with in Persia or India. It would be impossible to enumerate all the absurd things they said. Their vulgarity, in interrupting me in the middle of a speech; their utter ignorance of the nature of argument; their impudent assertions about the law and the Gospel, neither of which they had ever seen in their lives-moved my indignation a little. I wished, and I said that it would have been well, if Mirza Abdoolwahab had been there; I should have had a man of sense to argue with. The Vizier, who set us going at first, joined in it latterly, and said, 'You had better say, 'God is God, and Mahomet is the Prophet of God." I said, 'God is God,' but added instead of 'Mahomet is the Prophet of God,' 'and Jesus is the Son of God.' They had no sooner heard this, which I had avoided mentioning till then, than they all exclaimed, in contempt and anger, 'He is neither born, nor begets,' and rose up, as if they would have torn me in pieces. One of them said, 'what will you say when your tongue is burnt out for this blasphemy?"

"One of them felt for me a little, and tried to soften the severity of this speech. My book.