Page:Historyofpersiaf00watsrich.djvu/320

 300 A HISTORY OF PERSIA. On the 23rd of November, 1837, Mahomed Shah arrived within a mile of Herat, and a skirmish ensued between the irregular horsemen of both sides. One prisoner was brought before the Shah, who, ^in order to show the spirit in which he intended to carry on the war, ordered him to be bayoneted before the royal tent. On the following day a trench was commenced to be dug round the Persian camp. The Shah in person superintended the opening operations of the siege, and continued during the subsequent days to watch the pro- gress of events from a small tent on a hillock. Sixteen miles distant from Herat was a village inhabited by Sheeah Syeds, who of all men might have been expected to have least to fear from the soldiers of a Sheeah monarch. A party of Persians arrived at this village in quest of provisions, and the chief man of the place came out and informed the Persian officer who was in command, that all that the village contained of pro- visions was at his disposal, and would be brought to his camp, provided he would agree to restrain his men from entering the place. The commander assented to the arrangement, but the soldiers were not to be baulked of the opportunity of plundering, and they paid no attention to the restriction which was put upon their entering the village. Their commander upon this requested the Syeds to terrify his troops by firing upon them from the village wall. They did so, and eight Persians fell ; whereupon the survivors assaulted the place, and, having stormed it, revenged the death of their comrades by that of thirty of the holy men : they also committed every kind of atrocity. In the journal of one who was at this period in the