EX-SHAH IN EXILE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 746, 19 February 1910, Page 12

EX-SHAH IN EXILE.

HIS LIFE IN RUSSIA. Writing from Odossa to.a London-paper, B. M. Fleming tells of the life in' Knssia, of Mohammed Ali, the deposed ' Shah of Persia.— From, tho ceaseless turmoil of foreign affairs many strange and tragic figures emerge; some , withdraw disillusioned, . others are thrust forth as,the current of" a stream • whirls twigs from its , eddies,, into .some dark and secluded backwater; 1 Of these .none are, more strange than, the,exiles ,whose authority, and. occupation in high affairs is suddenly torn.' from them, , .to be replaced by a life of futile. effort, trivial pastime, and empty honours which often hide a sneer. ■ .; ' ■ .By .some strange...-metamorphosis;., of : character Mohammed. Ali, the. ex-Shah of Persia, is in banishment a, very, different.' person from the ..indolent,..sensuous, and - obstinate , monarch of- tho days of power. Coming to Odessa from tho Eastern to the Western-world, he ,has found a whole range of interests of. which he had alwayi been .ignorant. . The ,change has .not' left him apathetic, or contemptuous. He has ' welcomed it with enthusiasm. His strenuous activities and > newly-cultivated J pursuits aro a revelation, te his household. 11 Ho has. entered .upon a course of Europoan* -instruction, - arid. is. proving - both an apt and intelligent studeni ■

' His new programme began ■ with ; visita ,to tho chief industrial 1 establishments in the city, and he utonce showed remark* oblo' perception in grasping - the -'detaili of the scientifio and other processes explained' to him. . Among ; other ; the mysteries of the iiroduction of a duly newspaper have- .been, rovealed- to '- him, and on one occasionhe spent three-hours inspecting the Central; Odessa' Prison. ; In his recreations Mohammed Ali patronises the theatres,' the 'cafes-chantants, arid the racecourse.' He crui6es in the harbour in a,steam critter,' and his:,latest.ambition is to make a balloon ascent. :-■.'.

By. no; means' prepossessing in appearance, Mohammed Ali : is short rather stout, squat in l build, short-necked, bulletheaded, and sallow*-in complexion. Hu features are redeemed, by nis piercing black eyes. He dresses simply, in dark, close-fitting tunic and; trousers, and' tho conical black Persian head-dress..

: -This' ehergetio exile; is'.an early rises. Before- the weather'became- eevero "h» might-be seen regularly taking'his coffeeon the balcony of his mansion, which commands a magnificent sea view. A'little' later he' would' promenade; the" l garden Mith his-two young - sons, v Mohammed' Jlehdi Mirza and Mohammed 1 Hass&n llirza, aged respectively -seven and fivt( to whom he is fondly devoted. 'From nine to eleven. the. ex-Shah' deals with his correspondence, ;which is>"of no.'smjill volume, and dictates dispatches and'tele, grams to a couple of Persian secretaries, i'roin; eleven to -noon, on'; alternate days,' he applies himself with' creditable zeal to the- study of Russian literature- under the tuition of a local professor. Between midday, and ono o'clock dejeuner is ' served. The menu, both'at luncheon and dinner, consists of:-a' combination of Persian -and European - dishes. : On Mohammed Ali's arrival hero;' a local 'restaurateur was engaged-to. cater for the.'royal table, 'and for : the household, but subse- ' quently, his services, were dispensed with . and' replaced - by, those' .of ■. a '.; special'chef summcned from.' Teheran./; .:

- After.-lunch the ex-Shah' takes his-"con- ' stitutional,-"; but. never : on foot: 5 He, usu.. : .ally drives in a motor-car or -a .'pauv' horsed .'victoria,'" and occasionally ho is' seen in tho - saddlo.; When nding in motor-car or he is' sometimes accompanied 1 by Ilia official host, the City, Prefect,- but -more, frequently by soma l member :; of his'-suite,- his - Russian " ad- ! jutant, and adragoman.' The latter: ii ! : more . or'.less- indispensable, as his Mn. . drivosi generally mcindd a -call of ' inspection '.-at <6ome ; place l of ".interest bp t public works. The only, and scarcely ! noticeable, jbodyguaril^is-a:'police: ! mufti, who, follows at some little distanco in the wake ofi the( royal-equipage, j The appearance of the ox-Shah in', t&o streets has become "so familiar to the citizens that he 'no longer attracts., any ; publio attention. . The only''salutes 'he reoeivos.are those from the, police and ■ police'inspectors on point duty. Mohammed All* is quick and ' alert in ; but of invariably- serious' 'demeanour ;' he . is_, gracious and ■ amiable ■to those about him, .but is-never Eoen' to' 6mile. He dines' at 5.80, sometime . with..;his -wife. and children, on which'occasions no one else is present, but when tho dinner is not • a ■ family party his- Eussian; adjutant ■ and- a : few .members, of; the "suite ;are"'iri- 1 : vitedto the' royal ■ table. Modern- musio -by a small local r orchestra; frequently forms : part ' of. the , evening's" entertainment. " ' ; - ' ; ' The - ; ex-Shah's principal visitors are General *• Kaulbars," General , Tolmatcheff (tho Prefect), the Mayor, and a few other local; dignitaries.: ' It is ii rigid rule oftho ■ royal exilo never to discus? his cotmaffairs with his official hosts or visitors. - It is exclusively with his own Persian: entourage' that home matters are V debated in the-privacy of his "Majesty's cabinet, One not infrequently; hears' the ; question . asked whether : Mohammed; Ali ' Shah, domiciled in''this country; may poV in. certain l eventualities, prove: to. bo'; a trump; card in. Russia's .'capacious sleeve. ; •Were it not for the 'existence: of; the Anglo-Russian entente ■, theremight, in-': deed, become substantial basis for that hypothesis.';'. The royal exile may possibly - * entertain' some latent hope of, his" restoration to''the throne of the, Kajars,; but he' never divulges/his iniiermost" thoughts' to ■ those;-about, him," "and,' for tlio present, 'he'remains the" honoured eisd luxuriously ; domiciled guest' of the 1 Great White' Tsar. Mohammed ; Ali'6 * harem consists of thirteen women. They aro frequently seen in public, but always thickly veiled,' ■ .of _ course, going to ' and from; the Slaviaaski public batns under the^' escort; of the.; chief eunuch ajid a police guard, A lady of my, acquaintance who happened to be at the; baths on one when. , tha harem arrive<l, and vrho tho women unveiled';'tells me. that she did not oonv ■ sider any of-thcm partioularly ' ing—that - is, ■ fromthe; Western 'standpoint of feminine beauty;. With' hro or ' • three stout exceptions," they', were young, of good figure,-and passably, food-looking,' ,and. they had,all, the. 6ame nondtalant . and dreamy, expression. .:' - . .;;; : The ex-Shah's palace in the Gogol! Street • is a two-stpried, forty-roomed man:- i sion : of . old " Gothic architecture audi standing; within its own: grounds.. It ia sumptuously - ' furnished throughout, partly in .Persian , and partly-in European stylo.- ' The 1 cost of'the interior.;, equipment, of carriages, horses,, and mo-tor-car, and the rent for one year (,£1200) is borno by Tsar's;private .cabinet.Mohamnied: Ali'.is ih' all respects as a royal guest : of Russia,. ond. : the;hos- ;. pitality accorded' him;' oerlainly leaves nothing, to, be desired exoept'a personal; audience ;of the: Tsar,'- and- that favour .his Imperial' Majesty has > politely but firmly declined to grant.