I now learnt that Russian intrigues had been the means of very nearly creating a war between Persia and Turkey. There is a Turkish border-hamlet, called Kashka Beulah, about nine miles from Khoi. Some Persian soldiers had recently attacked this village, and had robbed the inhabitants of everything they possessed.
Whilst the Persians were engaged in their work of pillage, some Turkish soldiers, under a Usebashe, arrived from an adjacent guard-house. But the Persians were more numerous. They captured the captain and seven of his men, and brought them prisoners to Khoi. A Turkish lieutenant in the guard-house heard of the fate of his Usebashe, and arrested two Persian merchants who happened to be in the neighbourhood. He sent them as prisoners to Van. The Consul, on hearing of this, telegraphed to his Ambassador at Teheran, for instructions how to act. The latter official sent back an answer that the Persian merchants were to be immediately released. The Consul then wrote to the governor at Van, informing him of the order he had received. The governor, however, declared that he could not comply with it without authority from Constantinople. After several weeks' delay, during which time the Turkish captain and his men had been kept in chains in the prison at Khoi, and had been treated like the commonest of malefactors, orders came from Teheran and Constantinople for the mutual exchange of prisoners.
A day was fixed. At the appointed time the Turkish Consul, with the prisoners and three hundred Persian soldiers, started for the frontier. Here he was met by the Persian Consul from Van. The latter was accompanied by the Persian captives and by an escort of Turks. The troops then retired to a short distance. The Consuls remained alone with their prisoners. The exchange was effected.
"What was the origin of the disturbance?" I inquired of the Consul.
"That is exactly what I wished to discover," replied that official. "I went to the governor of Khoi, who, by the way, is the Shah's uncle, and asked him why his regular troops had first of all attacked our village. The reply was, 'My orders came from some one of higher rank than I am.' Later on, it turned out that Russian agents at Teheran were the origin of the affair."
"I am very dull here," now remarked the Consul. "My wife died six months ago. I have not been able to find any one to replace her."
"Why do you not take a Kurdish girl?" observed the Usebashe. "They make the best of wives," he continued; "if their husbands have money they do not ask for any, if the husbands have no money the wives never bother their heads about the matter. In addition to this, they do not care about fine clothes. A long piece of calico and a pair of slippers content each one of them as well as all the silks and satins in the bazaar at Erzeroum."
"My late wife was a Kurd," replied the Consul sorrowfully. "She cost me very little."
A servant entered the room and lit the speaker's pipe.
"This man is my father-in-law," he added. "My mother-in-law cooks for me downstairs. When I married their daughter I wanted some servants; my wife proposed that we should engage her father and mother. I did so, and have found them hard-working people. When my poor wife died, I allowed them to remain with me. When I marry again, my new lady will probably wish her own relations to come here: I shall be obliged to get rid of my present servants."