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 crown was not easily understood by the Persian Government. They saw the two envoys striving against each other for influence, as if, so far from belonging to the same country, they had been the representatives of two hostile Governments; but a solution of this puzzling enigma, which seemed eminently satisfactory, soon suggested itself to the Persian mind. General Malcolm was the more open-handed of the two envoys, and as he was known to be the representative of the Government of a commercial company, they inferred that he of course received a percentage upon all the money which he spent during his mission, and that therefore it was for his own interest that he should disburse as much money as he might find the Persians willing to accept.

In addition to the direct objects of this mission from India, there were other ends which it was meant to secure. The want of accurate information relative to the countries beyond India on the North-west had long been severely felt by the Government of that country; and it was the more necessary to obtain this information at a time when the invasion of India by an European enemy was supposed to be a probable event. Several enterprising young officers were for this purpose attached to the staff of General Malcolm; and to the exertions of Pottinger, Christie, Macdonald-Kinneir, Monteith, and others of their number, Europe was indebted for the greater part of the reliable statistics regarding the countries situated between the Black Sea and the Indus which were known for the next quarter of a century.

In the meantime hostile operations between Persia and Russia had been resumed. The general commanding-in-chief the army of the Caucasus had advanced to