, 1889-06-01
PRINCESS AND BEAUTY.
AN AFTERNOON WITH THE MOST
BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN PERSIA.

White Cotton Gloves
Somewhere between the middle and close
OF the Nineteenth century, two American Ia
dies strayed as far from homo as Persia, and
on n certain eventful morn In early summer
they received a gilt lettercd billet doux from
royalty, bidding them toh, thought of homeD
TO ~ O'Clock tea" ut the palace
Tho shah, with his court and train of at
tendant satellites, had adjourned to the Shin
ran, a ridge of mountains some twelve miles
back from the capital
Here tho Prince - entertained his royal
mother, one of tho four orthodox Of you viii
pardon the expression wives of the shah
The invitation cnme in her name, although,
as viii hereafter be noted, there was a wife
who was the most beautiful princess in Per
sia, the dnughter-n-lnw of a shah
As the low carriage containing tho guests
arrived within sight Of the palace gates a
number of rcd coated male attendants ap-
preached to net rs escorts.
The palace gRtes shut behind US with the
clank OF doom, and two eunuchs now escorted
us down the marble stairway to the grounds,
upon which the lovely summer palace OF
Prince - was shining In the sunlight Of
smiling welcome
A group OF f~airyliko figures now appeared
around a distant corner of tho palace, and
camo iocking nearer. The eunuchs made a
INV hILA~AnNf anu btlAh 81 H nm hO
tendants Of tho princess, for such thoy proved
To lie, came swarming about like bees.
We wcro conducted to some cushioned
divans, where rugs were spread over the
grass, and there for the first time paused TO
take breath, and realize that beautiful MS WINS
the place 1t was not tho place nlone we had
como to visit, nor was II that about which
our curiosity most conferred. Whore, then,
was tho princess or tho queen, our gracious
hostesf
They Ind wnited just long enough to whet
tho interest TO tho utmost, when the curtains
10 the main entrance of the palace were lifted
and two gracefully swaying female figures
came down the long pathway. The eastern
wife must walk behind tho mother, and Mt
tention now conferred on the figure In nd-
vance AS they cnmo nearer her dress was
seen TO DO OF tho richest description and her
figure, which wns stout oven for Oriental
beauty, was instinct with a dignity and
grace which was thoroughly imposing. The
short skirts, which swayed with each motion
as she walked, were of lightly woven cloth of
gold, tho Jacket, OF purple velvet embroid-
cred with seed pearls and mail diamonds,
wns buttonod with solitaire diamonds.
The guests now rose and tho attendants fell
back " . She greeted us most gra-
cinusly, and ms her faco lighted, wo saw 1t
had a look OF spirit and fine intelligence. The
COLlIltNlpu WIS TlCn III Color ike an lLlllnnA
Tho eyebrows were archod, giving an i'm
perious look TO tho lnrge dark eyes There
was n slight touch of henna between them, as
IL to connect and strnighten them Her long
hair was taine with henna rs woro her oval
nails Tho hair was bound with n silken
scarf which covered IL and which was fast
ened in tho center by a largo diamond of
pure tint ! was so Interested In all the no
ceSorics Of this most wonderful toilet, as
quite to forget tho stately phrases l had been
coming over TO say to her. At length, In n
sufficiently embarrassed manner, | repeated
an elaborate expression often used at court,
whereat tho princess laughed n pleasant little
laugh and said; You arc well versed In the
diplomatic language" and as II TO put mo at
once en- rapport with tho novel surroundings,
with infinite tact she took my hand and said
In n coplial unconstrained manner "Let us
walk together through the grounds; the
prince has had everything arranged quito In
European fashion since no returned from
abroad; how do you like itr' We strolled on
together toward n paterie of pansies, very
beautiful and of great variety Of color.
She gave us each n flower, and soon after
oil returned to the diyans, where refresh
ments were almost Immediately served. By
this time the charming savoir faire Of the
hostess had mnde us feel quito at homo, and
We were soon gesticulating gayly and famil-
iarly together. Tho hostess had tho tact to
use the most simple Persian expressions, such
rs We would DO likely to hear daily among
servants or Persian attendants She had tho
naive simplicity of a child In everything,
even to our dresses, and expressed herself as
frankly. Tho soft gray of my daughters
gown sho objected to as too dull; and she
wondered did not dye her golden hair with
hcnnn-
"Our lives are like n pleasant stream that
runs in n narrow valley. Iran Is an old and
great country. Its shnhs arc wiso; from
their DEGREES we cannot demurl And after
all we are perhaps as happy as any"
All the while tho wifo Of tho princo-ono of
the most superbly beautiful creatures we had
ever seen in any country-a purely physical
type OF beauty, stood silently near.
She rarely spoke; her rich red lips had the
naughty curve Of tho Khajar; sho Ind fine
features, n richly tinted complexion, quite
natural, and magnificent dirk eyes with long,
curling lashes. Her finely formed brow was
shaded by a bang of slightly curled dark hair,
and tho general effect, spite of the imposed
difference OF her manner, gave tho impress
sion Of q woman Of strong character and in
domitable pride
The prince hadnow provldentially returned
and escorted the ladies to tho music room OF
the palace. He desired his guests to play
upon the piano for him / chose a well
known imitation of the banjo, which pleased
him greatly; afterward n more elaborate sci
lection seemed only to amuse
We now expressed a wish 20 hear some
Persian airs, which tho prince played very
willingly and effectively, though in the sim
plest manner, drumming them on the piano
with two or three gloved fingers Tho prince
wore white cotton gloves during tho visit,
Of course played solely by ear. Ho also es-
sayed, not badly, ono or two Russian airs.
The proud princess, his wife, could not sit
In his presence, nor could she ever sit II the
mother or the guests were standing, therefore
from time to time she disappeared in the ad.
joining room
On the whole, the impression given by this
and other visits among Persian women OF
rank was very favorable.
Wholly uneducated In tho western sense OF
the word, they are yet spirited, intelligent
and observing.
The most interesting and charming woman
we saw in Persia was undoubtedly the Auiss
Dowleh, the shahs favorite wife, but because
OF the seolusion with which he surrounds hel
it would seem indelicate, after experiencing
In a special way her generous and graceful