'Report on the Persian Army' [‎21v] (42/170)

drilled by English officers, and 12 guns of horse artillery under
an English captain (Lindsay). At Nakchivan he assisted at a
review of a body of infantry which the khan of the place him
self had formed. Of this body he speaks with great contempt:—
“ It was impossible to imagine anything more ridiculous than this species
of newly-organised infantry. Should the Asiatic ever be feared, it would
only be on horseback, and one shot from a cannon suffices to disperse the
most numerous body of Persian infantry.”
At labriz he resided with an English major of artillery
who “ occupied the position of Abbas Mirza’s Minister for War
and was the superintendent of the foundry and taught tactics
to the Prince with the help of a young Persian who spoke a
little English.’ lie was very much astonished to hear all the
English at labriz speak Persian fluently—not counting the
artillery major, who had to employ an interpreter—and to see
that they lived according to Persian usages, even to the most
unimportant details. In the same way he expressed his
astonishment at finding that Sir Gore Ouseley, who arrived
m Tabriz on the 10th June, also spoke Persian fluently, and
pointed out that ministers who speak Persian are more trusted
bv the Persian Government, and have the advantage of being
able to do without interpreters, who are generally traitors and
open to bribery.
Sir Gore Ouseley did much to help Freygang, but Abbas
Mirza had received information of Napoleon’s entry into Russia,
and rejecting all offers of peace, decided to make another
expedition to Georgia, thinking thereby to obtain more favour-
ajlc terms and to increase the glory of his own exploits.
Since 1800, when Russia took Georgia, there had practically
been war between her and Persia. The war, as the Russians
a eged, was ot small importance to them, but caused much
loss to Georgia. Bodies of irregular cavalry frequently
attacked the Georgian villages and carried off men, women
and children, and cattle. Other means employed by the Per
sians against the Russian Government in Georgia were to
create revolts with the help of the fugitive Prince Alexander
ot Georgia, who possessed the unhappy talent of misleading his
< ountiymen by vain hopes. The revolts were sometimes suc-
t - ; a , Ava ^ but a few shots always restored order and
i ught the rebels back to submission. Russian writers
further stated thatthe Emperor of Russia, out of paternal
sevei-iV^T 1 Wlt 1 themtentlon . of obtaining an honourable peace,
mint bnf ir Tr l neg0tiat : 10ns with the Persian Govern-
ment but the obstinacy, cunning, and double-tonguedness of
e,d» ZT-’ n 11 ^ T - 1 a CCrtain craftinc ‘ ss which always
he cause tWl 6 T' ^^^trigues, have so far been
i esuh’’ Vov^H’"I Well ;™ eant and I ,eac efid intentions had no
a ttemnt J 1 Fre >* gang was sent to make another
attempt. lie also failed as we have seen. Abbas Mirza verv
of m !co T ^Zi ]aStin ,r in r ? fuai "g the conditions
31 st Octoiior is’o l‘ nS ‘ " ' m, \ '’"seley s advice, for on the
Octobci, 1312, he was completely defeated at Aslanduz by