THE SHAH AT HOME.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2674, 31 August 1889, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE SHAH AT HOME.

We know something about the conduct o: tho Shah when ho travels abroad, anc [ may know more by and by. Wβ an comparatively in the daik, however, as t< , his doings among his own peoplo in th< Pen-ian capital. A very interesting article on this subject, by Wolf vot Schierbrand, appeared eomo eighteei; . months ago in an American magazine— [ the Cosmopolitan—and from it an , gathered the following particulars :— . TUB PALACE AT TEHERAN. Want of judgment and barbaric taste , tnay bo eaen in the decorations nnd wholt , interior arrangements of tho Shah's palact , at Tehemn. "The furniture is partlj very fine and costly, partly very rough , and shabby; the wall papers are iraudj ; as a rule ; of the rugs and carpets, fionii , are the choicest products of the Persiai [ looms, others are cheap English or Frenct , fabrics, with a generous display of scarlet . sky blue, or bright jrreen in the flora [ patterns. The andaroun, the part allottee , to the extensive female branch of th( - Royal family, is in poorer taste, and ii . more meanly furnished than that serving , tho Shah alone. Some of the State anc , ceremonial halls are very fine and elegant ; One of the odd features about the palaci . is the fact that thiee small rooms in i ; have their walls entirely covered witl , pictures cut out of the English, French, and German illustrated journals which ai Nome time or other came into the hands ol , hie Majesty. ,, THE SHAH'S MUSKUM. The Shah has a museum in his palace and it is said to bo a curious place. Il contains jewellery and treasures of differ ent kinds worth a fabulous amount. Thf no-Ral)ed Peacock Throne, carried of) from Delhi 150 years ago, is alone valued ■it many millions. In this muceurn you may also see vases of agate in gold anc lapis lazuli, aaid also to be worth millions and alongside of them empty perfume bottles of European make with gaudj labels, that can bo had at four cents apiece. You will see priceless mosaics and exquisitely painted cups and cunt and vases which wore presented by some European potentato; and side by side with them you will notice horrible daubs, veritable 10 cent, chromos, pinked up nc one knows how or where. You will perceive glass oases filled with huge heaps ol rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, turquoises, Upazes, garnets, beryls of all sizes and kinds, cut and uncut; anc cheek by jowl with these your eyes will see cheap music boxes, j-:w's-harps, pqueaky hand oraans. Tho Shah musl also be in a condition to " bull" the market on pearls, for here is, for in-tance, a big glass case, 24in. long by 18in. wide and high, which is more than half filled with beautiful pearls (mostly from tht Persian Gulf fisheries) of all sizes anc degrees of loveliness. The crown jewels are in a little box, and it is always locked, and for which tho Shah himself for ever, waking or sleeping, carries the keys. The contents of this box and of the severa; vaults where he keeps his piles on piles of bright, shining, unused money, he never allows others to view, although the museum may bo visited once a year b> the European diplomatists and the friend: that they vouch for. THE SIIAII'.S PRIVATE TREASURY. Nasr-ed-Deen, like many other potentates, is fond of money, and is supposed to possess a colossal fortune. "He pays small salaries to his servants and dignitaries if the money comes out of his own pocket—that is, out of the legitimatt revenues of the country, but he pays at least promptly and fairly what he agrees to pay. After deducting what he deems right for army, administration, and household purposes, he puts the balance away every year into his private treasury. Once the money—which must always be coin—has been dumped into his vaults, no power on earth can induce the Shah to give the slightest portion of it back again or to touch it for any purpose whatsoever. When he is compelled to borrow money from the Armenians he pays usurious interest sooner than go to his strong box and take from its illimitable treasures the smallest sum." A REMINISCENCE OF HARD TIMES. When a youth the Shah and his mother were much neglected, and had to undergo many humiliations. "As he was very awkward in his manners and gait, and spoke in a timid hesitating way, he drew several years ago one of the innumerable caricatures that with him form a source of unfailing amusement, and showed the sketch to his courties. ' Who is this ?' he asked of his minions. None dared speak. ' That was I as I felt and looked at that time,' he said, • Many a time did we lack food, tny mother and I,' he continued, drawing a deep sigh. ' Where, then, were you fellows, now so lavish in your protestations ' " ? IN WANT OF A DINNER. This is very likely true, as the Shah was held in great detestation by his father, who wae anxious that the second son should come to the throne. Nas-red-Deen was, however, at 14 made Governor of Azerbeidju, that north-westerly province whoso capital is Tabriz. But fortune does not seem to have smiled on him, even in that position. " There his fuller's ill-will followed him, and many a time, because his salary was not sent regularly, the young Prince and his mother were deprived of even the necessaries of life. Once, after waiting impatiently for the wherewithal to keep the pot boiling, a tax collector sent what purported to be tho revenues of a certaiu district. They consisted, however, only a kind, and one lot—a number of fine rugs—had to bo sold at great loss to an Armenian dealer to furnish next day's dinner."

SASR-KD OKEN'S I'RKDECESSOR. The present Shah was 18 years olc when hi* father died. " Anybody wht had any legitimate means prrown fat anc rich under his reign sought safety f roir the wrath to come in fight. None of thi wives and children of the dead despol evon troubled themselves about his remains. The corps, only partially covered with a ru<j, lay uncared-for iu a buck room of the castle at Teheran, with none so poor to do it reverence, for four days and nights, till the long-neglected son and heir appeared and gave orders that all due honours and rites were to be payed to the remains. iMehmed Shah whs then speedily buried, with nil the pomp nnd circumstance which his son had decreed, but only hirelings followed the cortege to the grave, nnd tho rabble cursod the dead when they had not dared to curse the living , ." THE RUSSIAN CONSUL-GENERAL'S RIDE. Nasr-ed-Deon had had a rough time of it for four days before he appeared at the side of his father's dead body. When the then Russian Consul-General at Teheran, M. AnitchkofT, had been informed by a well-paid spy of the death of Mehmed Shah, he at once, and at fall speed, set out to tell Nasr-ed-Deen of it, so as to enable the latter to be in Teheran and elaim the successorship first. M. Anitchkoff, after a long and dangerous ride of several hundred miles, arrived at the Prince's Palace at three o'clock in the morning, and had him awakened at once and saluted as the new Shah. As usual a lack of funds troubled Nasr-ed-Deen, but the exertions of M. Anitchkoff brought him into contact with the Ameer Mirza Taghi, who put his vast private fortune completely at the disposal of the young Sovereign. With this money troops were quickly hired, and the outfit for the journey to Teheran (to be made with Oriental splendour) was of course procured. The Ameer hastily beat back the straggling hosts of one of the pretenders, who had already collated forces at Kaswin, and made the road clear for the youthful Shah, who oll'ected a dignified entry into Teheran on the morning of the second day after his father's death. A BASE CRIME. The Ameer Mirza Taghi wasappointed Grand Vizier, and lie proved not alone a faithful friend to the inexperienced youth, but a man of unusual gifts, energy and ideas, who began to institute a number of reforms which in the main were greatly needed, and which benefitted the country at large. The Shah gave him his sister

in marriage, and for a time all went well. Unfortunately the Shah afterwards gave heed to flatterers and cringing minions, who poisoned his mini) so as to make him suspect the man who had been his friend in need as anxious to supplant him. This suspioiou finally became a conviction. In November, 1851, after having been in power three years, the Ameer was driven into exile. Subsequently the Shah sent out assassins to put the disgraced dignitary entirely out of the way, and thus rid him of an .ever-haunting fear. The Ameer was finally strangled in his bath. Whether the fears of the Shah were well founded or not it is impossible to say, but the murder of his friend and benefactor is probably the worst thing the Shah has done in his life. HOW TUB SHAW IS ADDRESSBD. The Shah has quite a stock of titles and forms of address, such as Shahinshah (King of kings), Khukiin (a Kadgar title), Padishah, Alahaezret (Majesty), which latter is the formal appellation that he goes by. The usual phrases in addressing him, however, aro " Kaobleh atim " (Point toward which the earth inslines), and "Kurban shalwem " (May I become your sacrifice). It is not customary to address the Shah iu any more direct manner; but if in the course of conversation it cannot possibly bo avoided, he is not spoken to as " ehoma " (you), which is the common form of address in polite Persian, but as "to " (thou). Iu his intercourse with European diplomats, the French " Votre Majeste , " is employed, and iu addressing him in writing he is spoken to and of as " Votre Majest6 Imperial." AS HAROUN-AL-RASCHID. On one occasion the Shah conceived the idea of imitating Haroun-al-Ratchid and going about by night iu disguise and unattended through the streets of Teheran. On leaving the castle, the sentinel, dozing in his box, let him pass two nights without hindrance, whereupon the Shah had the sleepy soldier flogged. The third night another soldier sto'id on guard, apd he stopped the Shah ami forced him, despite all his protestations, to spend the rest of the night in the sentry-box, barring caress with his bayouet. The next morning tbo Shah, after have been liberated, first had the unaccommodating soldier bastinadoed, and then he applied a plaster to his lacerated feelings and soles by sending him a purse with a sum equal to a hundred and fifty dollars and a robe of honour ; but the Shah was cured of his love for nightly excursions.