I was more surprised at the salubrity of this town, from knowing the great extremes of heat and cold to which it is subject, having obtained from a friend who had resided there during the whole of the preceding year, a most accurate diary of the various changes of its climate. From this it appeared, that on the twentieth of October there was a heavy fall of snow, which did not however remain long upon the ground; the weather again became mild, and there was no excessive cold until the middle of December, from which period till the end of January Fahrenheit's thermometer, when exposed to the air at night, never rose above zero, and in the house, at mid-day, it was seldom above 18°.
January was by far the coldest month; during it, the water is described as becoming almost instantaneously solid in the tumblers upon the dining table, and the ink often freezing in the inkstand, although the table was quite close to the fire. For at least a fortnight not an egg was to be had, all being split by the cold. Some bottles of wine froze, although covered with straw, and many of the copper ewers were split by the expansion of the water when frozen in them.
According to this diary, the weather became comparatively mild towards the end of February; but it appears that here, as in England, a
"Lingering winter chills the lap of May;"
for on the first of that month there was a heavy fall of snow, with such cold, that all the promise of the spring was destroyed. Of the heat that ensued, and the sudden and great changes to which Tebreez is subject, we had abundant proof; in the month of June, the range of the thermometer being usually, within the twenty-four hours, from 56° to 94°, a difference of 38°.
The extreme heat of summer causes most of the houses in Tebreez to be built so as to admit the air during that season; but the architects of Persia fall far short of their brethren in Europe, in forming plans by which the cool air can be admitted in summer and excluded in winter. This partly accounts for the effects of the cold to which I have alluded; but the city of Tebreez, and many other parts of Aderbejan, and still more of the neighbouring province of Kûrdistan, though nowhere beyond the fortieth degree of latitude, are, from their great elevation, subject to extreme cold. In the latter country I found, on the morning of the seventeenth of August, ice half an inch thick on a basin of water standing in my tent.
During the few days we remained at Tebreez I was in continual attendance upon the Elchee, who was engaged in inspecting the state and equipment of the newly-formed regular troops of Persia. The day before our departure he had had a long interview with Abbas Meerzâ, who appeared to expect that what he had seen of his military improvements would alter his sentiments as to the policy of the change. This, however, was not the case; the arguments before urged were repeated: and, though every credit was given to the young and ardent prince for the surprising progress he had made, the Elchee still contended that it must be dangerous for a country to make its armies more tangible to an enemy, until certain of being his equal in the field of battle.
In the course of their conversation upon this subject, the Elchee related to the prince what the late minister, Hajee Ibrahim,[158] had told him, of the sentiments and designs of that able monarch, Aga Mahomed Khan, when a large army of Russians, under Valerian Zuboff, crossed the Araxes, and encamped on the plain of Mogam, in the month of November, 1796.
Notwithstanding the severity of the season, Aga Mahomed Khan made every preparation to resist the threatened invasion. He assembled the leaders of his army, and told them that the Russians had presumed, during his absence in Khorassan, to invade the opposite frontier of his dominions. "But my valiant warriors," he added, "shall be led against them, and we will, by the blessing of God, charge their celebrated lines of infantry and batteries of cannon, and cut them to pieces with our conquering swords." The chiefs applauded the heroic resolution of their sovereign, and promised to support him with their lives. When they were gone, the monarch directed Hajee Ibrahim to approach, and asked him if he had heard what he said to the military commanders. The minister said he had. "And do you think," said he, "I will do what I have told them?" "Undoubtedly, if it is your majesty's pleasure," was the reply. "Hajee," said Aga Mahomed Khan, half angry, "have I been mistaken? are you also a fool? Can a man of your wisdom believe I will ever run my head against their walls of steel, and expose my irregular army to be destroyed by their cannon and disciplined troops? I know better. Their shot shall never reach me; but they shall possess no country beyond its range. They shall not know sleep; and, let them march where they choose, I will surround them with a desert."