LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume I, Issue 72, 24 August 1874, Page 3

LITERATURE.

IN DANGER. IN POUR CHAPTERS. Concluded. 'Don't you know me?' cried out the horseman, who wore the uniform, so far as I could make out, of a Persian top-bashi, or captain of artillery. 'lam Demetrius Vassili, the poor Pole whom you found starving by the roadside, like a masterless dog, and who comes now, in the nick of time, to prove that even a renegade may be grateful for old kindness. Keep back,' he added, in broken Persian, as he flourished his sword before the astonished eyes of Yussef Khan. 'Lay not a finger on the Frank. The prince is at hand, and your head auswers for that of bis guest.' And indeed, before El Zagal and his followers had time to recover from their surprise, Mirza Hussei>', with a numerous escort, rode up at a rapid pace ; and at the sight of his lifted hand and the sound of his angry voice, the executioner and his squalid attendants slank away ; while the khan himself drew a step or two backwards, and folded his arms sullenly across his broad breast. The Pole sprang from his horse, and anticipated the prince's orders by severing the cords that bound mc. 'My preserver—my friend—my brother ! ' he whispered ; ' how could 1 ever have forgiven myself, had I been too late to save you from these fiends ! A false shame prompted me, when you were seated in Mirza Hussein's tent, to keep out of your sight, since I did not wish you to behold me as what I am now—a Moslem who has embraced Islam, as outcasts do, to earn, bread beneath the turban. Not for ever, though, please the saints ! The day may come when Demetrius Vassili, at home again in Warsaw, may live and die as a Pole and a Christian. For the moment, however, he is Mustafa Beg, captain in the Shah's artillery ; and as such it luckily came to his ears that the Lefthanded was going to play a pretty trick to the English traveller; and he was able to frustrate the malice of yonder scowling demon.'

And very like a demon balked of liis prey did El Zagal look as he received what was evidently a stern reprimand from the prince, who next iode up to me, and dismounted, saying courteously, in his fluent French : ; Accept my regrets and my excuses, monsieur, for this very unpleasant affair, which I felicitate myself for having prevented from turning to an irreparable misfortune. Permit me to inquire, however, by what unlucky accident you found yourself thus disguised as an Asiatic, amongst these miserable idolaters, whom it has been our painful duty to chastise ?'

In compliance with this request, I at once related the story of the mysterious disappearance of Ali Sahib, carrying with him my clothes and baggage, and leaving me no choice but my present travesty ; on hearing of which, the ypung prince's brow cleared, and he absolutely clapped his hands aud laughed aloud, as.tifc a joke too exquisite for even his politeness to be proof against it. ' Dobresjee himself 1' he exclaimed, still laughing ; ' Dobresjee, for a thousand tomauus, aud again has the clever knave slipped through our fingers, like an eel. If I catch him, I shall, of course, direct his skin to be flayed off, aaxd carefully stuffed with straw, to be hung up in front of his majesty's palace at Teheran j but, for all that, I shall regret to proceed to extremities with a rogue so dexterous. Coquin, va ! ' And seeing my bewilderment, the prince proceeded to explain that the government did not absolutely prohibit the worship of fire as practised by the small remnant of Guebers existing in Persia, but was severe in punishing such of the Suo-worshippers as persisted in assembling by night, aud in lonely places, to celebrate their ancient rites, more especially when any political purpose was thought to be mixed up with tne old superstition of Iran.

Mirza Hussein informed me further, that a secret understanding prevailed between the Parsees of India—a powerful and wealthy body—and their impoverished co-religionists in Persia, and that missionaries were sent out to keep alive the old zeal for Mithra in the hearts of many professing Moslems, chiefly in the province of Mazanderan. Of these emissaries, the most adroit and zealous was a Parsce fanatic named Dobresjee, a man who had run a thousand risks in his various expeditions to Persia, and whom it was easy to identify with my treacherous interpreter, Ali Sahib. No doubt, the dervish was a Gueber spy in disguise ; and had conveyed to Dobresjee the information that his presence in the country was known ; a traitor having, in fact, betrayed the Fire-worshippers to the general in command of the Persian force charged to suppress unlawful assemblages of the suspected. Wherefore, I had been drugged, and my clothes stolen, that Ali Sahib, or Dobresjee, might make his escape in European garb ; my late entertainers having all been secret adherents of the old faith. My chancing to be present when the gathering of Fire-worshippers was suppressed by the military, El Zagal's eagerness to wreck his spite safely on a victim who seemed delivered over to him, my rescue through the instrumentality of my grateful Pole, now an officer in the Shad's service, were easy to comprehend. It was also the belief of Mirza Husseiu that the mitre-wearing arch-priest was no other than Dobresjee himself, and that he had eluded pursuit, and, dressed in my garments, was on his way to the frontier, which the connivance of" the country-people would enable him to reach. I have little more to tell. Thekindness of Mirza Hussein enabled me to travel under safe escort to the coast; and the rainy season having set in just then, we wore able to (loat down to the Caspian the valuable limber which had been felled, and to return to Kizil-Oatch, towing after our steamer a chain of rafts, the net profit on which exceeded three; thousand pounds. The information which I had acquired proved useful to the Company, since we soon established a regular trade with Mazanderan for the produce of that district, and my appointment as cnginecr-in-chief' was at once made permanent. I have a better appointment now, being sub-manager at Astrakhan, with hopes of succeeding to my present chief on his retirement ; and Kate has been long my wife, and she and her mother happily and comfortably settled with me in the wild land in which we have.made our home.