Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-05-23
BEFORE THE SHAH.
rHr AMERICAN MINISTER'S ARRIVAL
AT TEHERAS.
MIS- irving Journey In Country Without
Roaas-The Persian Monarch
Described.
lrsheran letter to Times'l

arc so extremely rough, the climate so
tryinr. and the whole vast country IN
,oeent of any other mode OF locomo-
Ion than horses, mules, or camels.
But when the travelling has 10 be done
n a copjupcture. when torrents OF rain,
elonds OF sizzling snow, or waves OF
ecorcbing heat are evenly distributed
xiurinc the brief time OF one single week ;
when the roads--or rather, mule-paths---
srs soaked and almost impossible |;
when the mountain brooks are swollen
beyond recognition, and the smaller
kiyers have become momsntary Mississi-
bis--then, indeed, travelling in Irak is
thing which needs lots Of luck, more
Endurance, and an iron constitution to
DE accomplished without loss Of health,
limb, or life. consider that the ride
Iof go miles We just have made from
Enzeli to Teheran, albeit much shorter,
fought to rank in consemporaneous histo-
/ ~ side by side with Burnaby's IA.
mous ride to Khiss. Especially was
Ethst portion Of it from Pal
ehens to Aghaoaba--a distance OF
three miles-as dangerous and
Atiguing as anything that can we'll be
eonceiyed. From in the morning till
in the afternoon nothing but deep,
bnbroken snow. path eighteen inches
ide, often indistinguishable, while to
light and left and on the mountain
ides above you lay the winding sheet
81 grim death, in many places fifteen
ID twenty feet high, sitting on
horses stumbling with fatigue, whose
bne misstep might mean the en-
pulling Of you and your poor beast
Beyond recovery, where the spriDging
h Of an untimely wind would have
3es,royed the path behind you and be-
tre, and would have buried the whole
lyalcade so securely that even their
pnes might never have been recovered,
bi,h a glaring sun on the endless snow
Lids, which blinded you and made you
ZEE as we'll as feel blue-that is an ex-
perience which anybody else il welcome
to hereafter, if he cares TO make it, but
which have made my mind up to never
~ again.
The party Of Minister Winston
landed at EDzeli, the Persian port on
Z The Caspian sea, on March 18th, and
{ Cor fully four days We never caught
Tim pse of the sun--nothing but driz-
LINZ or driving rain. The province is
t4Ged Gielan, (which means Mudland,)
4n<l there never vas a truer name. The
Ain ate here is always uncertain, but
1t5y certain is this-that there is much
4Nin all the year round. Vegetation,
= hen the soil is fertile, is luxurious, but
Us fruit cannot properly ripen-there is
tot enough sun. Other parts Of Per-
~. il is true, make ample amends
IL his, so that on the whole this may
1}II1 be appropriately termed the land
Of he sun. But then we had to get
flyopgh Gielan first in order to get to
~ sunny and warmer portion OF Per-
eis. Well, I'll spare you the details
Of tie trip. From the foregoing you
must have gathered enough to know
thst 1t was exceedingly trying. 1t was
On Friday, April %, that the party at
last, trayel-worn and travel-stained,
halted before the gates Of Teheran.
The reason we had to halt was this;
Our meimandar, in one of his
freouent fits of Observation-Disclosures,
bad completely forgotten that this
day was the Moslem holiday,
and that it was, besides, the
hast of the thirteen days the Per-
man Noon Rouz Tor NeT-Yesr's cele-
hraiiop) lasts, in consequence Of which
ofIIcials, burghers, everybody, has
]osf grand blowout" and the few
fo1paining tomans jingling in their pock-
III re spent in merry-Inaking, mostly
tu>3ide the city. leaving the latter prac-
fto6lly deserted. A courier from the
Ninister Of Foreign Affairs, spprising
III. Winston Of this and requesting him
. postpOne his entry for one day, had
ns at Shahabad, the last stage be-
J5f@ the capital. But the American
afinhter decided to push ahead and, if
peosible, to find away of sleeping under
~ foof Of the American Legation that
1I6At, being heartily sick Of this Per-
I'D Invention OF the devil, the chap
~ khsne (pest-house), with its myri-
l(b Of vermin, its smoky chimneys, and
~ total absence Of all comforts. The
&9inandsr (the envoy Of the Shah
aens TO conduct the Minister to Tehso
1nn}. at last effected o compromise.
ssr ctioned by the Minister Of Foreign
Affairs. Mr.. Winston and suite were
allowed to enter the city incOgnito, but
the formal reception was to take place
next day Saturday at noon. Thus
tbe Thing was done, and we slept that
NIGHT, for the first time in a fortnight,
assrm and undisturbed by those va
Nous voracious insects which make life
q : chapper khsne q burden.
Next day the Shah sent two closed
ft<fisges around, and we were taken,
ma manner calculated to attract the
Isent attention, TO the royal pavilion,
1<6s the race.couTse, not far from the
t6tss Of the city. Here sort of pre-
HHinary reception took place, the per-
1Ses paying honor to the American En-
~ being about 100 in number, the
16es prominent being Mass III Mulk,
<erfesenting the Shah; Ameer Tomau,
1G6nander of an army corps; Gene
III Mahsoon Khan, Secretary Of
n Foreign Office; General Mira
HAS Keats Khan, sent on the
Of the War Office, and
iIi(e moostaffy, sent by the Premier,
~ a ZEN. who at that moment was
~ ~ the point of death at his house.
nlilitary perSonages were clad in
3txiing uniforms, all of them with
,h<sy decorations on their breasts, and
~ ul Mulk, besides, wearing the
pck(ssit Of the Shah, set in huge dia-
0onds. The civil dignitaries wore
fnyzl robes Of honor Of wonderfully
tIne cashmere, with diamond and ruby
buckles and lined with costly fur, and
on their heads they had the old-fash-
toned high turban. The place of honor,
next to the window on divan Of green
NIX, was assigned to the Ame-
tfcsn Minister. and next TO him