and nine bags of money, with other things to the value of 11000 crowns, taking care to let no body know when he intended to leave the town, till he actually fet out. But he had the mortification to be forfaken by his guard, and left in a thick wood, three English miles from the place of embarkation; he, however, got fafely on board with the money and goods, and the next day returned to Aftrabad. On the 29th he went again on board with 5000 crowns more, leaving Matteufe his old Armenian clerk, and two fervants to follicit for the remainder due on the Shah's decree.

While Mr. Hanway was at Aftrabad, he received a letter from the Shah's nephew, who was Governor of Mefched, in anfwer to one he had wrote to him in relation to the payment for the piftols inlaid with gold, and other curiofities, which Mr. Elton had provided for him by exprefs commiffion : but this great man had fo little sense of honour, that he returned them on Mr. Elton's hands, though they were utterly unvendable, alledging that they were too good for him.

The Perfian paper on which they write their letters, is made of cotton and filk rags, and afterwards a glofs is fet upon it by rubbing it with a smooth stone or fhell; but it is fo foft and liable to be torn, that they roll it up. Their letters are wrote on small flips of paper in few words, and with great exactness, for their characters are rather drawn than written : no interlineations or blots being ever fuffered;

they

they are then made up in rolls about fix inches long, and a piece of paper being faftened round them with gum, it is fealed with an impreffion of ink, which resembles our printers ink; but is not fo thick; it is compofed of a mixture of burnt rice, galls and gum, and anfwers the double purpose of ink and wax, as it ferves not only for writing, but for fubfcribing with their feal. Their pens are made of reeds brought from the fouthern parts of Perfia; and in their rings they wear agates, which generally serve for a feal, there being frequently engraved on them the wearer's name, with fome verfe of the Khoran.

Mr. Hanway having lived fome time in a very friendly manner with Mr. Elton at Langarood, went to Lahijan for the recovery of his health, he, having been for a confiderable time very ill, and from thence he removed to Refhd. Mr. Elton who had used him with the extreameft kindness, was about this time much offended at the conduct of Mr. Hanway's employers in Europe, for their fubmiffion to the Ruffian court, and being apprehenfive of our Author's making a juft reprefentation of his engagements with the Shah, which were abfolutely inconfiftant with the views of the Ruffia company, and of carrying on the trade into Perfia, he fuddenly became our Author's most bitter enemy.

Before Mr. Hanway takes leave of Perfia he gives fome account of the religion of the Gebers, which is still preferved by fome of the pofte

rity of the ancient Indians and Perfians. This religion was founded by Zoroafter, who lived about the year of the world 2860. This great philofopher being ftruck with the demonftra tions he obferved of the perfection of that selfexiftent Being who is the Author of all good, and being at a lofs how to account for the introduction of evil into the world, thought there were two principles or beings, one the caufe of all good, whom he imagined refembled the light, the other the author of all evil, whom he represented by darkness. Thus confidering light as the most perfect fymbol of true wifdom, and darknefs as the reprefentative of whatever is hurtful and deftructive, he inculcated an abhorrence of ill images, and taught his followers to worship God only under the form of fire; confidering the brightness, activity, purity and incorruptibility of that ele ment, as bearing the most perfect resemblance to the nature of the good Deity. Thus the Perfians fhewed a particular veneration for the fun, as the brightest image of God; and offered up their facrifices in the open air, and generally on the top of a hill; for they esteemed it injurious to the Majefty of the God of heaven, to shut him up in walls who fills immenfity with his presence.

About 600 years after the first Zaroafter, another philofopher of the fame name arose, who taught that under the fupreme Being there are two angels, the one of light, who is the author of all good, and the other of darkness, who is

the

author of all evil; that they by a mixture of light and darkness made all things; and are in a perpetual struggle with each other. That when the angel of light prevails, there good reigns; and where the angel of darkness, there evil predominates. That this ftruggle shall laft till the end of the world, when the angel of darkness, with his followers, fhall for ever be feparated from the light; but thofe who cherifh their fpiritual nature, and obey the angel of light, fhall go with him into a world, where they fhall be rewarded amidst everlasting brightnefs, and triumphant glory. In fhort, this laft Zaroafter caufed temples to be built, in which the facred fire was ordered to be conftantly preferved.

Thefe opinions, with a few alterations, are fill preferved by the Gebers, or Gaurs, the pofterity as we have faid, of the ancient Indians and Parfians, who are very zealous in preferving the religion of their ancestors, particularly with refpect to their veneration for fire.

What is commonly called the everlasting fire, is a phænomenon of a very extraordinary nature. This object of their devotion is about ten miles from Baku, a city fituated by an excellent haven in the Caspian Sea, on a dry, rocky foil, where there are feveral ancient temples of stone, fuppofed to have been all dedicated to fire; but most of them were only arched vaults, about ten or fifteen feet high. Among others is a little temple in which the Indians now perform their devotions. Near the

altar

altar is a large hollow cane, from the end of which iffues a blue flame like that of a lamp burning with fpirits, but to appearance more pure. This flame the Indians pretend has continued ever fince the flood, and they fancy it will laft till the end of the world. Here are generally forty or fifty poor devotees who come on a pilgrimage from their own country, and feed upon a kind of Jerufalem artichokes, wild fallary, and several other herbs and roots. They pretend to make expiation both for their own fins and for those of others, and continue longer in proportion to the number of perfons for whom they promife to pray. They mark their forehead with faffron, and have a great veneration for a red cow. They wear but little cloathing, and those most diftinguished for their piety put one of their arms upon their heads, or fome other part of the body, and keep it unalterably fixed in that pofition.

At a small distance from the temple, is a low cleft of a rock in which is an horizontal gap two feet from the ground, near fix long, and about three broad, from which iffues a blue flame like that already described: in still weather it burns low, but when the wind blows, it fometimes rifes eight feet high, and yet it is not perceived that the flame makes any impreffion on the rock. The Indians here alfo pay their adorations, and fay that if these fires are stopped in one place, they will rife in another. But what appears still more extraordinary, is, that the earth for above two miles

round