of his brother. Each prince lost no time in proclaiming himself king, and in organizing a military force sufficient to give effect to his pretensions. But in the meantime, others were taking effective measures for carrying into execution the will of the dead Shah, who had designated his grandson Mahomed Meerza to be his successor. The representative of Russia offered to seat him on the throne by a Russian military force; but the effective measures adopted by Sir John Campbell, the British envoy, who was at that time at Tabreez, rendered it unnecessary for the young Shah to have recourse to the aid thus proffered by his powerful neighbour.
Mahomed Meerza was at this time completely under the surveillance of his minister, the Kaim-Makam, and that Vizeer was so jealous of any one gaining influence over his master, that he took every precaution to prevent all but his own creatures from approaching the person of the youthful Shah. Yet the Kaim-Makam did not exhibit at this critical juncture the qualities that mark a vigilant and able statesman. Instead of using every possible effort to hasten the preparations for the king's march to the capital, he urged puerile objections to the plans suggested by the British envoy for facilitating the royal advance to Tehran. He alleged the want of military stores as a reason for delaying his master's departure, and when the English representative had himself furnished money for their purchase, the Vizeer declared that he had not the means of procuring horses to drag the artillery with which the Shah must be accompanied. But all the apathy of the Kaim-Makam was insufficient to damp the energy of Sir John Campbell, who advanced more money on account of the Shah, and himself visited
