Meerza, the governor-general of Khorassan. That prince offered his services in the prosecution of the war against Russia; but it was considered by the government that at such a crisis it would be unsafe to remove the check which his presence in Khorassan imposed upon the turbulent chiefs of that province. Some of the Khorassan squadrons of cavalry were, however, directed to march to Azerbaeejan; and the prince of Kermanshah received orders to bring up the whole disposable force of his province and a body of horsemen from Looristan, making together a corps of twelve thousand men. The ruling weakness of Fetteh Ali Shah was an extreme unwillingness to part with money. This avariciousness increased with his years, and it was peculiarly disagreeable to him to be forced now by circumstances to disburse to his army one year's pay in advance, besides having to expend the sum of fifty thousand tomans in refurnishing the arsenal at Tabreez.
On the Russian side, General Sewadzamidzoff quitted his position at Lori, and marched by the route of Gumri upon the fortress of Erivan; but he was so much harassed by the troops of Hassan Khan, that, after having approached to within a short distance of the city, he was forced to retire with the loss of four hundred men and a portion of his baggage. The Russian force thus discomfited was composed of about five thousand men, and was scarcely inferior in point of numbers to that under the Sirdar of Erivan. But an occasional display of activity and bravery on the part of some of the Shah's troops was not sufficient to counteract the influence of the disciplined organization of the Russian army. Through the most shameful malversation on the part
