MASSACRE OF PERSIANS AT KERBELA. 341 exposed themselves to the horrors which their abodes now witnessed. One princess was severely wounded, and hundreds of the Shah's subjects shared the fate that befell so many thousands of the inhabitants of the town. The news of this event travelled to Tehran with- out the explanation of the causes that had brought it about ; and the messenger arrived at that city at the time when the people were engaged in the cele- bration by a religious ceremony of the martyrdom of Hussein. Had the contents of the despatches which reached the Government been at once divulged, there is little doubt that the people, already in a state of high excitement, would have been goaded to frenzy by the eloquence of their priests. But the Shah's Minister wisely kept the news that had reached him secret, until the expiration of the ten days of mourning. When at length the inhabitants of Tehran learned that the city containing the tomb of their favourite saint was in the hands of those whose swords had been stained with the blood of so many of their fellow-countrymen, they demanded vengeance from the Shah and his Minister. The latter knew that to argue with men under the influ- ence of fury would be a waste of time, and he accord- ingly at once acceded to their demand. Troops were ordered to prepare for marching, and immense stores were called for. Couriers were sent about in every direction, and one would have imagined that the Shah's government really intended to avenge on the inhabitants of Baghdad the wrongs of the citizens of Kerbela. But all this time Haji Meerza Aghassi had no thoughts whatever of commencing hostilities. He was naturally a humane man, and he had seen enough of campaigning
