made him carefull in that point, but more particularly his infinite desire of my returne, which he thought would be more assured by so deare a pawne; and by daily relation which I should receive of his royal usage I should also be daily invited to returne. Howsoever if I met with such fortunes as would be worthy to make mee stay from him, or such accidents as had power to hinder me by their necessitie, the company of my brother should give him great satisfaction in my absence. And if the worst should be happen unto me, he did desire ever to have a subject so neere unto me, upon whom he might make a declaration unto the world, both of what qualitie his owne mind was, and of what condition his true and royall affection towards me was."

Young Robert Sherley supported this plan and readily agreed to stay with the Shah; five of the party also remained with him.

It was at first arranged that a young Persian noble, friendly to Sir Anthony, named Assan Khan should accompany him, but this plan was interrupted by the young man's marriage to a relative of the Shah; "None others of the great ones having a spirit to apprehend only such a voyage, much less a heart to perform it." Sir Anthony was consequently constrained to put up with a man of inferior rank, named Hussein Ali Beg (Seine Olibig) who was recommended by his opponents the Vuzier and Bostan Aga, and who subsequently gave him much trouble. But the greatest annoyance he experienced was from one Nichola di Meto, a Portuguese Dominican Friar, who had been Bishop of Ormus and Inquisitor General of the Indies; and being now on his return to Spain, applied to Sir Anthony for permission to join his party and travel under his escort. This Sir Anthony not only readily acceded to, but went out to meet him on his arrival at Ispahan, and paid him every mark of attention and respect. But the Friar, who it was soon discovered had been recalled to Spain on account of gross misconduct, had scarcely joined when he commenced intriguing, and this conduct being commented on and checked by Sir Anthony, a feeling of hatred and a desire of vengeance sprung up in his mind, which he subsequently missed no opportunity of giving vent to.

In the beginning of 1601, Sir Anthony and his suite took their final departure after above a year's residence in Persia. The Shah himself accompanied them several miles out of Ispahan, and at parting gave Sir Anthony a golden seal, saying at the same time, Brother, whatever thou dost seal unto, be it to the worth of my kingdom, I will see it paid." He likewise renewed his promise of regard and protection to Robert Sherley, whom he vowed he would treat as his son, and thus in the concluding words of the Knight's narrative" after some teares on all parts, we all parted; they for the Court, myself for my journey, having left with my brother my

heart certainly, not only for the conjunction which nature had made betweene us, but also for those worthy sparkes which I found in him likely to be brought to great perfection by his virtue, which cannot leave working in any which will give them way, much more in him who will make way for them."

Sir Anthony and his party marched to the southern shore of the Caspian, where they embarked, probably at Ashraff, for Astrakan which port, owing to bad weather, they did not reach for nearly two months; from thence they proceeded by boat up the Volga to Kazan and Negson where they were delayed nearly a month, waiting for a deputation and escort from Moscow. Here the conduct of the Friar Nichola de Meto was such that Sir Anthony was compelled to place him in confinement.

Boris Godenow was at that time Czar of Russia, and he appears from the first to have received Sir Anthony and his mission with a suspicious eye, and to have entertained a personal dislike towards the Knight himself, which the proud and independent bearing of the latter was not calculated to remove or to conciliate.

The Czar markedly treated the Persian Envoy as the head of the Mission, a position which the latter was quite ready to assume, and assisted by Nichola the Friar lost no opportunity to foster the ill-feeling of the Czar towards the English Knight. Each day new indignities were offered to Sir Anthony, who with his suite was placed in actual durance, and the English merchants at Moscow forbidden to hold any communication with them, whilst their papers were seized and ransacked. At length Sir Anthony was dragged before a Royal Commission appointed to investigate certain absurd charges brought against him by Father Nichola; on which occasion he boldly denounced the conduct of the Czar, which he declared he would proclaim all over Europe. The Friar imagining himself secure under the protection of the Court, ventured to indulge in further insolence and abuse, when Sir Anthony, "whose blood" in the words of Parry's Narrative, 'already boyled with the excesse of his choler's heat, which as then abounded, and being by that gracelesse and ungratefull Friar further provoked, he not able, (though instantly he should have died for it,) to suppresse his heat, gave the fat Friar such a sound box on the face, (his double cause of choler redoubling his might, desires of revenge with all augmenting the same,) that down falls the Friar as if he had been strucke with a thunder bolt. Which being done, (with that courage and high resolution which well appeared in his lookes, words and deeds,) they forthwith gave over examination, because they had too examined Sir Anthony's patience, which well they, with feare (as I thinke) saw, and the Friar (almost past feare) did far better feel."

This ebullition of temper, instead of ruining his cause as might have been expected, proved favorable in the long run; for the Czar thus convinced of the nature of the man he had to deal' with, ordered his release and permitted his departure in a few days; after which the Friar fell into disgrace, when he was punished for his false accusations, and as Parry relates-" all his substance that he had deceitfully and lewdly gotten many years before in the Indies, taken from him, leaving him not so much as his friar's weed, and whether they caused his throat to be cut it was uncertain, but not unlike."

From Moscow Sir Anthony proceeded into Germany, where the treatment he experienced offered a remarkable contrast to what he had recently been subjected to. At Prague he met with the greatest respect and honour from the emperor Radolph the Second, by whom he was created a Knight of the Holy Roman Empire, and at whose Court he remained six months, receiving royal entertainment. But we find no trace of any effectual league being arranged with Persia. Thence he proceeded via Munich, Inspruck, and Trent to Rome, at all which places he was received with great honors. Here he came to an open rupture with Hussein Ali Beg, the Persian Envoy, whose conduct from the first had been a continued source of annoyance and trouble. The latter now returned to Persia where he arrived after a long journey, bringing a whole series of false accusations against Sir Anthony. But Sir Robert being at the time in favour with the Shah, called for an investigation, and so clearly proved the falsity of the charges against his brother, that the unfortunate Envoy was proved guilty and sentenced to have his hands cut off, and his tongue torn out, which was done in the presence of Robert Sherley, who being asked if he required any further revenge of his brother's wrong, replied "that he took no delight in his torment, and that which was already done was more thus he was willing or consenting to, but that now he would entreat in behalf of the miserable Persian, for that he supposed there could not be in his case a greater pleasure done unto him than to have his head follow the fortune of his tongue and hands."

From Rome where he was made a Knight and Earl of the Sacred Palace of the Lateran, Sir Anthony proceeded into Spain, where as usual he appears to have gained the regard of the reigning monarch, Philip the Second, who not only gave him a most honorable reception and installed him a Knight of St. Jago, but finally took him permanently into his service, and conferred on him the rank of grand Admiral, with a pension of two thousand ducats per annum. In 1604 he was sent as Ambassador to Morroco and shortly after commanded a naval expedition against the Turks. After this he appears to have relinquished all further efforts in favor of

Persia, whether occupied by matters of greater personal interest to himself, or convinced of the impossibility of uniting such incongruous elements as the European and Persian polities of that period.

His connection with Spain aroused the jealousy of his own sovereign, James 1st, who summoned him to return to England; an order which he did not consider it advisable to obey. From thenceforward he appears to have connected himself entirely with Spain, in the service of whose monarch he remained until his death in 1630.

He is described as a man of noble presence, indomitable courage and energy, generous to prodigality, deeply imbued with the chivalrous principles of that romantic period, somewhat pompous in manner and conversation, but still possessing great tact, and in an eminent degree, the talent of winning the regards of all with whom he came in contact, whether sovereign princes or his most humble followers.

But a bold restless spirit of this stamp was specially distastful to the craven monarch, James 1st, and to this dislike, maintained throughout a long reign, may probably be attributed the little mention made of him in contemporary history after the accession of that prince to the throne.

We now return to notice the fortunes of the younger brother, Robert Sherley, who had been left at Ispahan with Shah Abbas. The party that remained with him included Captain, afterward Sir Thomas Powell, John Ward, John Parrot who some years after accompanied Mr. Mildenhal to Lahore where he died; Gabriel Brookes, who also subsequently went to the East Indies, Arnold Roldcraft the Gunner who was some years later assassinated by an Italian when detached into Khorassan, and Vanthievier the Dutch cannon-founder. Shah Abbas was true to his word and treated them all with extreme kindness and liberality, notwithstanding his disappointment at the fruitless results of Sir Anthony's mission. All were employed in commanding and disciplining his new force of regular troops, which appear to have been brought to a considerable state of perfection, as they were enabled to cope with much larger forces of the Turks. Regarding the result of these measures Purchas observes,-"The mightie Öttoman, terror of the Christian world, quaketh of a Sherly-fever and gives hopes of approaching fates. The prevailing Persian hath learned Sherleian arts of war, and he which before knew not the use of ordnance hath now 500 pieces of brasse and 60,000 Musketiers; so that they which at hand with the sword were before dreadfull to the Turkes, now also in remoter blowes and sulfurian arts are grown terrible."

Although they may not have had cannon prior to the arrival of the Sherleys, the Persians were well acquainted with

the use of fire arms, for Manwaring distinctly states in his Narrative that "they are very expert with their pieces or muskets, for although there are some which have written now of late, that they had not the use of pieces until our coming into the country, this much I must write to their praise that I did never see better barrels of muskets than I did see there; and the King hath hard by his court at Ispahan about two hundred men at work, only making of pieces, bows and arrows, swords and targets." The Rev. John Cartwright who was in Persia whilst Robert Sherley was there, and published an acount of his voyage under the title of "the Preacher's Travels," speaks of the Persian troops as very superior to the Turks, and "by good right very highly to be esteemed." For the Turkish horseman is not to be compared with with the Persian man at arms, who comes into the field armed with a strong cuirasse, a sure head-piece and a good target." Again, "the Persian horseman weareth his pauldrones and gauntlets, and beareth a staff of good ash armed at both ends."

Shah Abbas commenced his long meditated hostile operations against the Turks in 1602-3, by the assault and capture of Nahavend; he then marched into Azerbijan, and overran that province with great rapidity. Ali Pacha, the Turkish General, was at this time absent in Kurdistan, but hearing of these successes he hastened to oppose the Shah, and a battle ensued near Tabriz in June 1603, in which the Turks were defeated with great loss, and Ali Pacha himself made prisoner. Robert Sherley, who was appointed Topchi Bachi or Master General of the Ordnance, accompanied the Shah throughout these campaigns and it was probably in this action that he "so valiantly besterred himself that the Persians gave him a crown of laurel for the victory; for being armed and made ready for fight, taking a pole-axe in his hand, he himself give first such an honourable attempt, and so amazed and repulsed the enemie, that his soldiers, imitating his courage put all the foes to the edge of the sword." We are further informed that he offered to exchange thirty Turkish prisoners for his elder brother Thomas, with whose misfortunes and imprisonment at Constantinople he had been made acquainted; which offer being refused, he is reported to have struck off their heads "and according to the custom of Persia commanded them to be carried in triumph about the market place on the top of his soldier's pikes." This proceeding we would fain hope is an exaggeration.

The fall of Tabriz was the result of this victory, and the Shah following up his successes laid seige to Erivan and despatched Ali Verdi Khan to invest Bagdad. Erivan surrendered the following year after a long siege. But the Turks were now assembling an immense force under the command of Jaghah-aghli