means "head." My class was very loving and kind to us two Persians.
Every time we made good recitations in classes, they were gladder than
we were, and when we failed they became even more sorry than we. I
remember once failing in my recitation, and after class Mr. Earhart
came into my room to comfort me. The memories of my class are to me
like sweet spices, and will be cherished by me everywhere I go.

INTRODUCTION.

This book is by a native who knows at first-hand of what he writes. He
writes of those features and facts of Persia as a country and a people
in which an intelligent American is most sure to be interested. Very
ancient and renowned among the Asiatics, Persia, persisting in her
nationality and gradually improving her condition excites inquiry
abroad. In this volume we have a view of her geographical divisions,
her form of government, system of taxation, methods of merchandise,
educational conditions and the state of religion.

The author also particularizes and portrays the character, creed and
course of Mohammed: how Moslemism was propagated by violence and
perpetuated by deceit, and of such false doctrines, as hatred toward
enemies, and rewards in heaven and hell. The reader is informed of
Bobeism, a new sect which has arisen in opposition to government and
orthodox Mohammedanism. The book was written for the reading public and
by its style, movement, and contents is calculated not only to enlarge
ones general knowledge of the land of the Shah but to quicken interest
in the enterprise of Christian Missions which are the chief hope of the
country.

REV. JOHN L. WITHROW, D.D., LL.D.

_Ex-Moderator of General Assembly,
Chicago, Ill. July 19, '97._

PART I.

CHAPTER I.

GENERAL SURVEY OF PERSIA.

Once, in ages long past, Persia was the home of heroes and was studded
with palaces of splendor. Bards and poets of all nations have vied with
each other in singing of the bravery of her sons and the beauty of her
daughters. The names of Cyrus the Great, Darius, and others are
engraved in ever-living letters on the pages of history.

To-day, though her glory has flown away and her splendor has faded, her
natural beauty remains untarnished. The words of the poet Sahdy are
still true: "It is a paradise making men drunken with the odors of its
roses; it is a garden whose streams wreath the faces of men in smiles."

In 1826, in the war between Persia and Russia, the territory of the