SUCCESSION OF NASSER-ED-DEEN. 355 that were built for the use of Sultanas are now the refuge of the jackal and the owl. But at the epoch of the death of Mahomed Shah the palace of Mahoinediah contained two ladies of princely rank, in the relative condition of whom a wonderful alteration was effected by the demise of the king. During the lifetime of his Majesty his affections had been centred, and his con- fidence bestowed, on one alone of the many fair women who formed the royal household. But that princess was not the mother of the heir-apparent, and she had now the mortification of being forced to yield the place of dignity and influence to her rival, the new queen-mother. Nasser- ed-deen Meerza, the heir-apparent of Persia, was absent at the seat of his government in Azer- baeejan at the time of the death of his father. It was of the utmost importance, for the establishment of a feeling of public security, that the young Shah should be brought to the capital without any unnecessary delay. The Kussian Minister, in conjunction with the English charge d'affaires, had determined to send members of their respective Missions to Tabreez so soon as they should receive intelligence of the demise of the king. But certain persons, whose interest it was to prolong the state of lawlessness which commonly prevails imme- diately after the death of a Persian monarch, had, before the demise of the Shah, begun to assemble in threaten- ing bands on the roads between the palace and the city, with the view of stopping the messengers who should be sent to announce to the hundred and thirty provinces or governments of Persia that the monarch of the land was no more. Under these circumstances, Colonel Farrant, who was then in charge of the English Mission, 232
