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 REPULSE OF THE PERSIANS FROM HERAT. 313 would look upon the occupation by Persia of Herat, or any portion of Affghanistan, in the light of a hostile demonstration against England ; and he was to refer to the fact that the Shah must be already aware that a British naval armament of five ships- of- war had arrived in the Persian Gulf and taken possession of the island of Karrack. Soon after the departure of the British Minister from the royal camp the troops of the Shah, after six days' incessant battering, were led to the assault of Herat,* and repulsed with considerable loss ; the number of killed and wounded being said to have amounted to about eighteen hundred men. The loss of the higher officers was great in proportion to the total number of men killed ; but the person whose death was most severely felt was the Shah's Polish officer, Monsieur Peroffski, who held the rank of major-general. Amongst the wounded was General Samson, the colonel of the Eussian battalion in the service of the Shah. The Persian troops are said to have assaulted with gallantry, and to have planted their standards three successive times on the breach ; but they were unable to maintain their position. The Affghans attacked them sword in hand with irre- sistible energy, and drove them with great slaughter across the ditch. It is said that of the killed and wounded in the Persian ranks three -fourths received sabre-wounds. This assault was the great event of the siege of Herat. It had been planned by Count Simonich, and that circumstance is said to have afforded to the Shah and his Minister some consolation for the want of success which had attended it : so fickle and so
 * On the 23rd of June.