Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-07-03
The shah.

mr.. VIM. II. Russell writes to the New
York 1iDaes from Berlin, as to the ORR
entail visitor recently the sensation of the
German capital:
The jewels of the Shah have quite sur
passed the reports of their SIZE ca, ana value
which preceded their arrival. me Leas-
nr1y ~ Persia. we all know, was rich to
an incredible richness, with accumulated
1yealth of the sort, but no one was pre-
nared To see a,0rt1libltS 0cuGs, a diamond
nearly twice the size of the Kooh-i-noOr,
ar Mountain of Light (now in the
possession Of the Queen of England,
once Runieet Sing, the Lion of Lahore's
greatest glory), stuck in front Of mans
sword-belt, and five diamonds, each
larger than that Jewel of jewels, en- eClte-
Ian up his coat from waist to shoulder.
These stones are scarcely cut, and do not
show as they ought, but they are of sur
passing purity. The Shah's sword-belt
j. a treasure-house in itself. The sheath
Is studded with rubies, emeralds and dla-
Inonds, which shame their setting of
unrest gold. The trout of his coat is
rarnished with rows of brilliants instead
of lace. The collar and sleeves are
crusted with them, and his orders are Of
the most precious jewels. His spurs
flash like sunbeams. All this on the per-
son of man who has nothing noble in
mien or face, although he is above the
average hight of the Indian Mussulman
7lObleSse.
But in spite Of his jewels and external
spIendor, the Shah-in-Shah is, according
10 European notions, a savage in many
respects-proud, willful, sensual and ar
bitrary. If punctuality be ''the polite
mes of princes" as it is said to be, the
Shah would, in consequence of his utter
indifference to engagements, be one OF
the most ill-mannered men in the world.
He kept the parade at Potsdam, ordered
by the Kaiser, Waitinga couple of hours.
lie kept the Queen for half an hour at
the railway station waiting for him. He
would not 90 to breakfast when it
was announced at the time of invita-
ton, but walked about in the garden,
and then seeing ar arbor which pleased
him, desired to have his breakfast
brought there. When he sat at dinner
Yesterday he put his fingers in his plate
and ate with them, and if he came on a
piece Of some dish which he did not
like, he took it out of his mouth and
threw it down-not on the ground, but
on the Queens (Empresss) dress. II
free from the more horrid vices attrib
uted to Persians by travellers, he is quite
without shame or scruple in his disre
gard Of what is called morality by
Christians and good Mussulmen.
came home from POtsdam in the same
carriage with some of his suit-very fine
gentlemen as far as their lace and cloth
ing went-but with all the frivolity anC
arrogance of ignorant and uncducatet
men.
Their talk was of their own proves!
and of clothes; how they could ride bet
ter than any people in the world, because
they could back a horse from the dcser
and ride him, whereas Europeans rode
only horses which were already broker
ina Prussian officer dryly remarked
''The difference is that we direct the
course of our horses, and that your hor
SEES follow their own" They all SPOKE
French, and the ah-in-Shah knows i
much better than he would be though
to do from his mode of speaking it, a:
when he is quite at his ease he can tall
it pretty fiuently. But his not much al
his ease with European barbarians, anC
it is ludicrous to see him standing alone
in q crowd with a clear space around
I'LL anu III OIlC ~ Ittlh w. LII LtC b'tl
ances first on one leg and then on an
other, ''like a hen on hot griddle, anC
does not know what to do with them OF
his hands When he turns his back and
the spectator calmly surveys his ex.
terror, freed from the distracting intlu.
ences of his diamonds, the Shah does
not present an imposing appearance.
admit that the backs of most people fail
to impress one, but his Majesty's tailor
has rendered his ''regers" quite abnor
mally ridiculous by making his frock-
coat with a multitude of fine plaits like
those of Highlander's kilt or of a lady
of Queen Bess's time over the hips and
so all round. His face is seldom ami
mated, and there is something incongru-
Gus in the position of his respectable
gold spectacles, q Ia Theirs, on his &C
outline nose, under Persian cap, and
over all these, diamonds.
Before | close, as an illustration Of
their character, which in some respects
is the same as that of their ancestors,
may mention that they told some Prus
slams that the campaign of 1856 was il
their favor. The reason they gave wa
curious. ''The British retired from
Persia-that showed they were beaten
Had they been victorious they would
have remained" ''But the Shah signed
treaty granting all the British demand
and apologizing for the offences com
mitted by his people" eyes, that may
be so, but it was not because we wer,
obliged to do it." They made some APP
peals to the enormous old Colonel o
Police, who is famous for the rightly o
his manners ard the severity with which
he guards the morals of the city, to re
lax his code in their favor, and were no
at all successful. The Shah has, how
ever, some reason for thinking that tn
high tone of the Police Director is no
maintained uniformly, for he has, as
think / told you already, added to tn,
number OF his wives here, if report b,
true, and espoused girl of fifteen whom
he saw by accident, and immGdiatel,
proposed" to by a representation to he
mother, which that good lady accepted
as there was provision made for hel
daughters future in Persia. There ha!
been some trouble in teaching the Shall
and his followers that women are to bt
treated with respect, even though they
go about with their faces uncovered, an(
one of the most useful lessons they will
carry back from Europe is that which
will teach them to consider their wives
their equals, and not their slaves-i-
they learn it. There is great eff, :" TO
they do not at all approve of all they SCI