from his horse and stunned. The Chief of his Staff, Colonel Lugard, ably supplied his place, and it was an occasion to tax the energy and self-possession of a commander. The Persians threw out light bodies of horse, who surrounded the English army, firing their matchlocks and making loud cries. The troops were much distracted and alarmed by finding an enemy, whom they could hear plainly enough, and who might be pretty numerous, to judge by the noise he made, but whom they could not see, and who surrounded the whole army. The Brigadiers ordered the guns attached to their brigades to open fire on the enemy, and a desultory cannonade was commenced. It was very fortunate that none of our own troops opened fire on each other like the American regiments at Big Bethel, for they were somewhat separated at the beginning of the action. At last Colonel Lugard caused all firing to cease, and collected the troops into a hollow square, with the baggage in the centre. It is much more easy to narrate the fact of this movement being effected, than to carry it out on a pitch dark night with an enemy hovering round. By method and decision, however, the troops were brought into position, and before two o'clock all was still and motionless in the English square. About one o'clock the enemy had brought up five guns, and either by accident or by judging distance correctly, though that is not easy in the dark, they got our range well, without seeing the effect of their fire. Several soldiers and camp followers were killed and wounded, among others Lieutenant Greentree of the 64th regiment lost his leg; but the Persians soon tired of cannonading troops who sullenly refused to return their fire, which did not look as if it was doing much damage, and the night ceased to be illumined by the broad flashes of their guns. The English soldiers were in constant fear lest their foe should escape the punishment which a

waited his audacity, if the dawn found him still within their reach. They were agreeably disappointed when the morning light showed a considerable force within long cannon range. The Shooja-ool-Moolk's idea of military tactics was peculiar. He drew up his infantry, which was about the same numerical strength as the English, in two wings of three battalions each. These wings (for no conceivable reason, as the ground was quite level) were more than half a mile apart. The cavalry underthe Eel-Khanee formed a third body at a respectful distance of more than a mile, evidently waiting to see how the day would go before exposing themselves to the shock of battle. The English guns were moved up to the front and poured murderous volleys into the enemy's right column, while our infantry were getting into line. The hollow square formation was exchanged for one in two lines facing the enemy -a small party of infantry and cavalry being left to protect the baggage from scattered detachments of horse who kept hovering round in the distance. Our cavalry had been lying all night beside their horses, watching the glare of the Persian guns, and wondering whether they would have an opportunity to seize them as trophies. They were allowed to advance a little too soon, or else anticipated their orders, for before the infantry had advanced to within musketshot, the cavalry had gallantly, almost rashly, charged the enemy. The 3d Bombay Light Cavalry cut its way completely through a perfectly formed square, on the right wing of the Persian; for the Persian infantry had been trained to the manoeuvres of European armies. This rough usage, and the terrible artillery fire they were subjected to, quite broke up the right wing before our infantry had a chance of even firing a volley. The left wing of the Persians, which was the farthest away, marched off to their right, without any pretence of making a stand, and thus gradually

joined the discomfited right wing, and the whole array became a disorderly stream of fugitive infantry, two of their guns left sticking in the sand, and their mounted brethren and the other three guns quietly walking away in the distance, without offering to make any diversion in their favour. The Persian infantry had not sufficient discipline to enable them to rally when broken, but sufficient to keep them together in masses for our artillery to play on with fearful effect. It was the terrible fire of our eighteen guns, rather than the cavalry charge, which disorganised them. No troops could have stood it long; the only course open to them was either to assume the offensive, or retire to some piece of ground where they could await our attack less exposed to the artillery fire. But it was quite clear that the Persian officers, although they might understand their drill on parade, had not so far completed their education as to have any idea of manoeuvring on the battle-field, and once the retreat was commenced they soon became mingled with the common herd of fugitives. The action was one of artillery and cavalry alone, so far as the British were concerned, the infantry merely looking on. The pursuit was kept up for three miles by the cavalry and horse-artillery, with great slaughter. Some of the wounded Persians fired on our troops after their lives had been spared, which so exasperated them that no quarter was given; one batch of about forty, who collected on a small hillock and made signs of wishing to surrender, were cut down to a man.

The action was over by eleven o'clock, and the force passed the remainder of the day at the village of Khooshab, near the field of battle. At nine o'clock another weary night march was commenced across the muddy plain, the rain descending in torrents. After moving slowly for four or five hours the guide lost his way, and the troops had to halt two dreary hours wishing for day. The

guide was by some suspected of treachery; but as the night was so dark as to render objects undistinguishable at ten yards, and the country a dead uncultivated level which could be traversed in all directions, it does not seem necessary to attribute to him any worse crime than that of losing, not the right road, for there was no road to lose, but the right direction. At daylight the march was resumed, until a small village and fort called Chaghedrik, twelve miles from Bushire, was reached, where a halt was ordered till four o'clock, when the force again moved forward to Bushire. The intrenched camp with tents standing had been left partly in charge of some sailors from the ships, who, like all Jacks ashore, were rather fond of creating a sensation, and insisted on taking our jaded columns for the Persians, not absolutely to the extent of firing on them, but they seized the opportunity of raising alarming cries, copiously interlarded with nautical terms. Their favourite expression was "Pass up the cavalry," as if cavalry could be passed up like a water-bucket to extinguish a fire. The troops arrived all safe at last through the mud and sailor outposts to camp. The British loss in this action was nearly a hundred killed and wounded; that of the enemy at least seven hundred left dead on the field: an immense quantity of arms and ammunition were also abandoned. Our readers may remember the amusing instance given by Hajee Baba of lying on a great scale, when the Persian commander concocts his despatch after an engagement in which three Russians are killed. As a proof that the lively author of that amusing work has not overdrawn his picture, the following extract from the Teheran Gazette, an official publication of the Persian Government, is given. The translation is by Captain Taylor, Political Secretary to Sir James Outram. According to an express sent by Shooja-ool-Moolk, it appears that the English army, consisting of five regiments and ten guns, marched on

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the 3d February 1857 to Char-Kota, four fursacks from Bushire, to work some injury to the army under Shooja-ool-Moolk, before it could join the other Moslem troops. The Shooja-ool-Moolk, with three thousand infantry, three hundred cavalry, and twelve guns, on the 4th contemplated a night attack on the enemy.

"When he had proceeded four miles from Barns-jaru the rain began to fall heavily. The English advanced about four miles from Char-Kota, where they entered holes and went behind irregularities of the ground.

"The Moslem troops having no shelter from the rain, and finding their own encampment nearer than that of the enemy, went back, proposing to return to the battle.

"As the English army were under cover, they reached Borasjoon next morning.

"On the night of the 7th the Shooja-ool-Moolk, at the head of three thousand picked infantry and eight guns, attacked the English, whose advanced guards, becoming aware of their movements, fired a signal gun. The British, unable to remove the enormous quantity of their ammunition (owing to the rain), blew it up, and returned towards Bushire. "The victorious Persian army pursued the English to within two and a half fursucks (fourteen miles) of Bushire, where reinforcements, consisting of two regiments, four hundred cavalry, and ten guns, came out to their relief; on which they turned back again and wanted to fight. Though the strength of the victorious army did not exceed three thousand infantry and eight guns, still they heeded not the overpowering numbers of the enemy, but eagerly rushed forward to the slaughter. They fought heroically for four hours, beginning at daylight; and twice breaking through the English square, entered their lines, and strove vigorously. It is also reported that General Stalker, who first arrived at Bushire, was killed in that action, but it requires confirmation.

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Among the Persian officers Mahomed Koolee Khan Surteep was wounded with a grape shot; and Alee Khan Surteep of the Karagoozaloo regiment received a sword wound when he penetrated into the English ranks; but I thank God neither of them have come to harm. "Owing to the intensity of the rain, each party was obliged to desist from further warfare, and returned to its own camp, leaving on both sides several guns sticking in the mud. An accurate account of the killed and wounded could not be obtained, owing to the inclemency of the weather; but the killed on the side of the English must have been from seven or eight hundred to one thousand, and, on the side of the Persians, from three to five hundred. The Sukeseetchee-bashee, who has proceeded to the field of battle, will shortly write a true account of the affair, and (D.V.) it shall be published in the next number of the Gazette."

The month of February was one of no importance in the general conduct of the campaign, and passed in comparative idleness by all but the transport service and quartermaster - general's department. General Outram had determined on the capture of Mohummerah as his next operation, but it was not till the middle of March that the necessary preparations were completed. Mohummerah is about thirty hours' sail from Bushire, and the force told off for its capture consisted of about 3500 men, 2000 being left as a garrison for Bushire. It was Sir James Outram's intention to have placed General Stalker in command of the garrison of Bushire, but that officer, in a moment of mental derangement, put an end to himself. No cause but the above could be assigned for this act on the part of one who had just acquired such distinction by the success with which he conducted the expedition to Persia, and whose kind heart and gentlemanly manners won the regard of all.

One week afterwards, Commodore Ethersey, commanding the naval

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forces in the Persian Gulf, followed this fearful example. He was an excellent officer; and his melancholy end, following so soon after General Stalker's, cast a gloom over the whole expedition.

The garrison of Bushire was placed under the command of General Jacob of the Bombay Artillery, who arrived in Persia soon after the expedition to Borasjoon. This officer had already developed talents of the very highest order, both as a soldier and administrator, and might have risen to great distinction had he not been cut off prematurely soon after his return to India, in the following year.

Another officer joined the Persian field force about the middle of February. He was then unknown to fame, and not destined to see the beginning of another year. But a few months sufficed for Major-General Havelock to achieve a name, which will last while the English language is read or spoken.

Mohummerah lies on the north side of the river Karun, close to its junction with the Shat-ul-Arab, here from 600 to 800 yards wide. It is about thirty miles from the sea. There were no defences at the mouth of the river; but for a quarter of a mile, both above and below the junction of the Karun, some excellent earthworks had been thrown up, and were lined with artillery and musketry. To take Mohummerah it was necessary to sail up the Shat-ulArab past the embouchure of the Karun, and land the troops on the left bank, so that a very heavy fire would be encountered from these defences. The left or east bank of the Shat-ul-Arab, for sixty miles from its mouth, belongs to Persia, the right bank to Turkey, which further up possesses both sides. The delicate question arose whether it was not breaking the laws of neutrality to sail up such a river in hostile guise. We had no intention, certainly, of firing upon the Turkish side; but we intended to pound the Persian shores with all our might; and the Persians evidently could not be expected to

offer their cheek to the smiter: but if they returned our fire, every cannon-ball that passed over our heads would land on the Turkish side of the river; and it was reported that several Turks were actually killed in this manner, for they naturally crowded the banks to witness a spectacle such as they had never seen in their lives before, and we hope will never see again. Either with or without permission from the Turks, the English frigates steamed up the Shat-ul-Arab, and the well-laden transports followed.

Had the Persian gunners worked their guns properly, the vessels ought never to have passed the embouchure of the Karun.

No doubt the advantage, as regards weight of metal, was on our side; but the batteries which sheltered the Persian guns and gunners were admirably constructed of a clayey earth, and able to stand a far heavier battering than the wooden walls of our frigates. Nevertheless the latter, with little injury to themselves, but not altogether unscathed, had very sensibly reduced the enemy's fire after three hours' cannonade; and the transports with the troops on board were ordered to pass up the river to the spot selected for disembarkation above the batteries.

This they did without any accident; and the water being very deep close to the bank, they soon had discharged their living cargoes. The Persians offered no opposition, beyond a few musket-shots, to the landing.

The ground was a good deal intersected near the river by small irrigation canals for supplying the date groves, so the troops got clear of these and halted, while the general reconnoitred. The enemy had a large force, some five or six thousand men, but they had lost heart at finding their batteries were unable to cope with our ships. The tremendous size of our 68-pounder shot astonished and terrified them not a little; and more than one specimen of these iron messengers

were brought to the Shazadah commanding, that he might see what sort of work was going on in the batteries. They seem to have given him a disrelish for the combat altogether; and before Sir James had made his preparations for attack, the Persian army, which he at first descried drawn up as if for battle, had retreated up the right bank of the Karun, leaving all their campequipage and stores as booty to the conquerors. The loss on our side in this action was ten men killed, and Lieutenant Harris and thirty men wounded, all belonging to the Indian Navy. The enemy had upwards of three hundred killed-most of the wounded escaped. "The few found by us," says Captain Hunt, were taken care of, though so perfectly misunderstood was this kindness at first, that, imagining they were only reserved for greater torture, they for some time resisted all kind of treatment, even water, from the hands of their conquerors.' From this we may conclude that the modern Persians have not altered the treatment of prisoners which is represented in the old sculptures from Nineveh at the British Museum-where successful generals are seen amusing themselves, after a victory, by cutting off the heads and limbs of their captives.

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A strong moral effect was produced by the capture of a place like Mohummerah, which the Persians imagined they had rendered impregnable, by the massive batteries they had erected, the number of guns they had placed in them, and the strength of the garrison. But this was the only blow which we could have struck after the capture of Bushire without invading the country, where the wide plains and precipitous mountains would have proved more formidable obstacles than the opposition of their inhabitants. It is true that these obstacles are by no means insurmountable, or an invasion of Persia from Bushire, right up to Teheran, an impossibility, if necessity demanded it; but an expedition of the kind would

require to be conducted with great judgment, and cause a heavy drain on our resources. Fortunately for both countries, our English statesmen and the Persian plenipotentiary who had been sent to Europe to treat for peace, had discovered, even before the capture of Mohummerah, how unwise it was to continue the struggle; but the news of the preliminaries of peace having been signed did not reach Sir James Outram in time to prevent blood being spilt in vain at Mohummerah

just as, in 1814, the news of the abdication of Napoleon reached the English and French armies too late to prevent the battle of Toulouse.

After the action at Mohummerah, the English army could not follow the Persians, for they had no means of providing the necessary land-carriage. But as the retiring army was certain to follow the course of the Karun, both for the sake of water and because they were known to have supplies at Ahwaz, a hundred miles higher up, the General ordered three flat-bottomed river steamers, under the command of Captain Rennie, of the Indian Navy, to ascend the Karun, and annoy the enemy if he could find opportunity. Three hundred of the 64th and 78th regiments, under the command of Captain Hunt, embarked in the steamers, and left Mohummerah on the morning of March 29. The river Karun, flowing from the high range of the Backliari Mountains, is subject to periodical inundations from the melting of the snows. For the last hundred miles of its course it flows through a rich level soil, like that of Egypt, and irrigation alone is required to make its banks rival those of the Nile in fertility. Yet the following is Captain Hunt's account of it a short way above Mohummerah : "The Karun is here about one hundred yards wide, and from twelve to twenty feet deep, with a powerful current, its banks fringed on both sides with dwarf poplar and willow jungle, which extends but a little distance from the bank. Beyond, nothing is seen but the wide desert,