New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-08-23
The Shah Dead Beat.
From wsttersons last letter to the Courier'Jour

uSAI ...... Z
. Briefly, the Shah is said to be dead beat
He is pronounced not only dead beat but
he il q dead beat of genius. There are
those who declare him fraud-no Shah at
-all-only an advertising agent OF Reuter-.
This take 1t, is cslumny. He may be
the speculative barOn's middle man; but ne
is still the ruler over that squallid, lice-coV-
erred and diseased country. which Is famous
chiefly as having given the wcr orig ~ Da hat
! ter known - the home of Nasred-Deen, the
peer of Victoria Woodruff and the superior
of George Francis Train
y I will tell yOu the story as they are now
telling it everywhere here.
It seems that the Shah first showed his
,cloyen paw at St. Petersburg. He was
standing at bay-windOw with the Prin-
cess Dagnar. Her royal highness observed
that the diamonds worn by her. Asistic
COMPANION was exceedingly rich and rare.
"Not 60 rich nor so rare" avs the gallant
Shah, ''as yours" throwing his arm about
the princess royal neck. Now. scientific
ptiRcess is usually woman OF spirit and,
the Princess Dsgmar is good girl. She
raised - royal row about it. and
they hustled the amorous Persian
out OF. the country upon down grade
Wisely, however, they kept their mouths
shut. They said: HE has sold US: we
: don't want 70 be the only 7dupes; let him 20
+. aad sell our snemies; The- ever ready
bolden.d by bis escape, ne augmented the
meaaurc of his daring. EnscOnced in
Buckingham Palace, the virtuous
dwelling % Of widowed Queen,
he began q career of unbridled licentiOus-
ness. The worst characters were picked up
on the streets and carried into VictOria's
private apartments. Bruisers and cock
Il ;n<p 70 hall of
state, there to exhibit their art and skill.
All night long, and every night, there was
an orgie in which the Shah and HE suite
made themselves rs free and easy rs though
tree love were the law OF the land. But
this was by no means all. The king OF
kings, not to be .outdone in libsrality by
his entertainers. bought huge quantities of
jewelry, taking some of it away with him
and leaving behind him many costly pres
ents. The presents the jewelers. have got
back again. But what the Shah took away
with him they will never see any more. 1t
is even said that, while in Paris, some OF
the members Of his suite had to be remon
strated with touching their designs on
the plate Of the palace in which they were
lodged. ..- ~ ---u
To all this, il any of il be true, and
where there is so much talk there must be
some truth, one 10 disposed to say, ''served
them right" There was never more alb
surd, and in some respects a more unprin-
cipled and demoralzing Theatre perform
ance than the series of pageants, ovations
and honOrs which greeted this filthy Asiatic
yagabopd from his advent into Europe
to his exit into Persia. That he insulted a
Russian princess; that he befouled the
home of an English queen; that he swim
died gaping riff raft of boOt-kissing jewel
err, would seem to be . most natural thing
for such varlet to do. His personal be-
haviOr was cOnspicuously ill-bred and I'M
bearable. He did only what the whim of
the moment suggested, regardless OF per
sons, ussges and consequences He paid
not the smallest attention to his entertain
-ers except as it suited his caprice. His
table manners were particularly bad. He
would take up a peach. bite bit of it. and
throw the remainder on the floor. He would
suck plum Of about half its juice and
drop the PUPPY substance on the cloth. In
all things he affected the king of kings,
wrapped in the mantle OF his own heather
originality and dirt.
A good many years ago, away down IN
the wilds of Tennessee, Tom Neal, of Dyers
burg, discovered o darby who had found a
bag of diamonds hid in hollow log (origin-
ally it was bag of gold. but for present
purposes it will answer better as bag OF
-diamonds). / took from the first a spiritual
and imaginary interest in that darby. steal
, ing him away from Albert Roberts, who
had dramatic designs on him, and carrying
him through series of extraordinary ad-
ventures. At proper intervals | took him
to Mexico with Macmillan, and l made
him . duke of the empire; carried him to
France with Bazaine, and made him the
Keeper of an American bar in the Rue
de Ia Paix, and finally left him with
'Theodorus in Abyssinia. I never wrote a
line about that darby that was not imme-
diately gObbled mp by all the newspapers.
At last / got to half believing my own ro-
mance-or rather Tom Neal sand at this
moment l am almost persuaded that my
quondam cclored Tennessee hero is the
Shah of Persia. observed a striking like
ness between the two, and am sure that
one of these days it will come out how
Baron Reuter- caused the real Shah TO be
privately assassinated; how, having become
acquainted with our Ternesseean, and find
ing him a man of parts and experience. ne
smuggled him into Teheran, and how,
wishing TO advertise his Persian railway
scheme in Europe, he planned this recent
visit,