The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1883-02-22

How the Shah Treated Il Painter.
Among the many who were engaged
by the Shah to 90 to Persia was M. Err
nesto Pelletier, young French painter
of great promise. On his arrival in
Teheran he went straight to the palace,
and not knowing word of the Ian
guage, and consequently being unable
to explain himself, he was seized by the
guard and thrown into prison, where he
remained for nine months, suffering
the most awful indignities and priva-
tons.
One day the Prince Moskin Han, tho
Grand Vizier of Persia, was consigned
to the same prison, and took an interest
In the Frenchman-promising him to
intercede in his behalf should he be
liberated, which happy event, he had
reason to believe, would take place in
few days, as it really did. A few weeks
later the artist was conducted to the
palace, when to his establishment the
Grand Vizier addressed the Shah thus:
tshIost Glorious Father of the Sun, this
is an infidel painter, who arrived this
morning only, with the rising of the sun,
from foreign parts, attracted to this
great and mighty city by the fame of
your Majesty's name, and now humbly
asks to be allowed to paint this most
wonderful of palaces, for which he asks
no compensation, the honor OF having
served the illustyiouS Emperor of Persia
being of greater value 70, him than The
gold which three camels cannot carry"
To which the Shah replied: "Let him
paint" and dismissed him.
A very comfortable apartment was
assigned to him, and he set to work.
In three months he completed the deco
rations of small trick-traek room,
which so pleased the Shah that he sent
for him, decorated him, and gave him
purse of gold, and from that day his
Majesty used to sit for hours watching
him paint.
On Wednesdays the Shah used to sit
at the window of his medglis overlook
Ing the palace-yard, and from there try
the prisoners below. On Wednesday ne
invited the young foreigner to sit by his
side and see how he judged his subjects,
and the horrors to which he was wit
ness can not adequately be related. A
trembling baker was in the yard between
two soldiers, charged with selling light
weight loaves of bread. A cadi made
the charge. The poor wretch made
some defense. ''Kess kopeogli" (cut
the son of dog), said the Shah, hold
ing up his right hand; and in a second
the executoner seized the man, and
there and then cut off his right hand
The feelings of the artist can easily be
imagined, but, knowing what awaited
him if he interfered, he kept his seat in
silence. The next prisoner was o watch
man in a store of the bazaar, into which
robbers had entered without his hearing
them. s'Kess kopeogE," quietly said
the Shah again, this time holding both
his ears; and in an instant the poor
Watchman's ears were cut off. In three
hours, during which Monsieur Pelle-
tier assisted at this awful day of judg-
ment, two men were beheaded, one
woman and six men lost a hand each,
a muleteer who had already lost one
hand had the other cut off, and in ten
cases we're the prisoners deprived of
their ears, eyes and noses. In many
cases. however, the prisoners bought
themselves off Immediately after the sem
tence was pronounced, but before it
could be executed, by shouting out the
sum they are willing to pay his Majesty;
and, after deal OF bargaining between
the sovereign and the subject, the latter
went away accompanied by an official
to whom he was to pay the money, and
by soldier who saw that he did not es-
cape before paying. Mons. Pelletier
subsequently, discovered that whenever
the Shah required money he used to or
der the arrest of wealthy citizens, and
the cadis had instructions to accuse
them of crimes they had never commit
ted. Tho Shah would then sit at the
little window of the medglis TO try them,
which really meant to eXtort large sums
of money from them, under the threat
of cutting off their ears or hands, or,
what was still more serious, their heads.
The arHst used to spend his leisure
time in painting in his apartment on his
own account. He had finished a life
size picture of the head of st. John the
Baptist being presented to Herodias'
daughter on charger, and with which
the painter has since takon a prize. His
friend, the Grand Vizier, who took
lessons in painting from him. thinking
to do him good, told the Shah that the
young Freedman had painted a magnii-
cent picture referring to the religion of
the inidels, and that he prayed to be al
lowed to exhibit it to his Majesty, to
which the latter consented. On the f0l-
lowing DAY the PAINTER took the picture
to one Of the Shah 5 private apartments,
but he moment he saw it he told the
list it was faulty. The latter asked
whore the fault was, but for all reply the
Shah demanded how many minutes
were supposed 10 intervene between the
head Of IT, john being cut off and its
being pre- cntcd to HerodiaS' daughter,
10 which the painter replied that he al
bowed Two minutes to pass; when his
Majesty, walking mp 10 the painting
and closely eyalnjrinc it, said that IN
that case the lips o39ht TO be ashy-white
and wide-olen, instead Of being PINK
and contractedi and, as The artist was
unwilling 10 be convinced, the Shah
clapped his hands once, and, upon a