time the important city of Erivan was taken possession of in the name of the Shah. At the opening of the campaign Mehdi Kuli Khan, whose successful cavalry manoeuvre before the forces of General Seeseeanoif has been already mentioned, had been sent on by the king to Erivan with instructions to ascertain the real intentions of the governor of that place, Mahomed Khan. It would seem that that chief had once more listened to the overtures of the agents of Russia, and Mehdi Khan accordingly determined that he should be superseded. He entered the fortress with some of his followers, and, under the pretext of preparing the place against a fresh siege by the Russians, he was enabled to introduce all his troops without having aroused the suspicions of the governor. Upon an appointed signal being given, his soldiers manned the walls and took possession of the gates, and Mahomed Khan, when it was too late, discovered that Erivan was no longer his to betray.
About this time the Russian commander-in-chief conceived the idea of making a descent upon the coast of Gilan, and from there threatening the Persian capital; but he had not fully taken into account all the difficulties that lay in the way of such an undertaking. The Russian ships landed at Enzelli, a small seaport which commands the entrance to the lake or lagoon of the same name. Of that place the soldiers possessed themselves, and from there their commander prepared to advance on Resht, the chief town of the province of Gilan. The lake of Enzelli is about twelve miles in breadth, and for a part of that distance it is so shallow that only small boats can pass over it, and these must be carefully steered in order to avoid being stopped by the mud which is continually
