When Sir James Malcolm was in Persia, on his first expedition, an electrifying machine which he took with him was one of the chief means of astonishing his Persian friends; and with its effects he surprised and alarmed all, from majesty itself to the lowest peasant.

At Isfahan, all were delighted with the electric machine, except one renowned doctor and lecturer of the college, who, envious of the popularity gained by this display of superior science, contended publicly that the effects produced were moral, not physical; that it was the mummery the Europeans practised, and the state of the nervous agitation they excited, which produced an ideal shock; but he expressed his conviction that a man of true firmness of mind would stand unmoved by all that could be produced out of the glass bottle, as he scoffingly termed the machine. He was invited to the next experiment, the day arrived, and he came accordingly.

This doctor was called "Red-stockings," from his usually wearing scarlet hose. He was, notwithstanding his learning and reputed science, often made an object of mirth in the circles of the great and wealthy at Isfahan, to whom he furnished constant amusement, from the pertinacity with which he maintained his dogmas.

Hence, "Red-stockings," with all his philosophy, was not overwise. Nevertheless, he maintained his ground in the first society, by means common in Persia, as in other countries: he was, in fact, a little of the fool,^[5] and not too much of the honest. This impression of his character, combined with his presumption, made Sir John Malcolm and his party less scrupulous in their preparations to render him an example for all who might hereafter doubt the effects of their boasted electricity; indeed, their Persian visitors seemed anxious that the effect should be such as to satisfy the man that had dared them to the trial—that it was physical, not moral.

The philosopher, notwithstanding various warnings, came boldly up, and took hold of the chain with both hands, planted his feet firmly, shut his teeth, and evidently called forth all his resolution to resist the shock. It was given; and poor "Red-stockings" dropped on the floor, as if he had been shot. There was a momentary alarm; but, on his almost instant recovery, and it being explained that the effect had been increased by the determination to resist it, all gave way to one burst of laughter. The good-natured philosopher took no offence. He muttered something about the reaction of the feelings after being overstrained, but admitted there was more in the glass bottle than he had anticipated.