approached the shore was fired upon, and one Persian had his musket
presented at Captain Maitland. He was just on the eve of firing, when
fortunately the Admiral and two Indian naval officers in a moment
wrenched it from his hands, and kept possession of the piece, which
they found loaded with a heavy charge. You may imagine how strongly
inclined the marines must have been to fire. The benevolent spirit of
the Admiral, however, would not allow it till the throwing of stones,
and continued firing from the Persians, called forth two volleys,
which caused the Persians to evacuate the breastwork. One was killed
and two wounded; their fire upon us, fortunately, did not injure any
one, but the Commodore and several other officers were struck with
stones. After this the Residency was put in a state of defence,
Captain Hennell (the Political Agent), had all the property conveyed
as quickly as possible on board the _Wellesley_, _Elphinstone_,
_Clive_, and _Emily_, and finally abandoned the Residency on the
morning of the 28th, when surrounded by four or five hundred armed
Persians, composed of Bushirees and Tungustanees, with Baukr Khan at
their head.... And on the morning of the 29th the _Wellesley_ and the
other vessels reached Kharrack, bringing along with them the whole
Residency establishment."

On May 9, 1839, the Officiating Secretary to the Government of India
wrote to Maitland: "The Right Hon. the Governor-General highly
applauds the cordial and able assistance offered by the officers and
crews of H.M.'s and the Hon. Company's ships, in the removal on board
the ships of the Resident and his suite from the Residency at
Bushire,--an operation which, but for their aid, might have been
attended with difficulty and danger." Maitland was bitterly attacked
by the Anglo-Indian press for his forbearance on this occasion, which
it was said had lowered British prestige in the eyes of the Persians.
It is possible that our relations with Persia might have been improved
by the slaughter of the Bushire mob by the _Wellesley's_ marines, but
apparently the Admiral thought otherwise.

The Bushire incident was followed by a cruise round the Persian Gulf,
in the course of which the Admiral had various interviews with the
local chiefs, and impressed upon them the necessity of keeping the
peace and respecting British interests.

It was his last service. He died at sea, off Bombay, on November 30,
1839. A letter from the late Admiral Phi