The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-05-13


Patenotre, now French minister for the repub-
lie at Tangier, who was in Persia some fifteen
years ago.
had long pressed my friend to tell me
the true particulars of certain adventure
which he had taken part in during his re-
cent travels in Asia and of which his ac-
quaintances whispered mysterious hints.
At last, one evening at the club, when
CASTOR was in an amiable frame of mind,
waxing confidential, he unburdened his
mind to me and related the following re-
markable experience:
Lighting a cigarette, he said: THE
story is not long one, but rather dra-
matte. Diable' Why, even thinking of it
gives me the cold shivers dare say YOU
remember that two years ago the minister
Of fine arts dispatched me to Persia WE'LL
my mission was to study and describe the
province of Irak Ajami, to accomplish
which | began by installing myself COM
fortably at Isfahan. To tell you the truth,
by the end of three months | had col
lected and digested all my material and
had drawn up fairly exhaustive report,
but had | returned so quickly the officials
of the department would hardly have be-
lieved that l had fully complied with my
instructions, and | was, indeed. being al
most bored to death with enn,tt when. for
tunately, the governor of the province,
the metamet, as they call him, was
changed, and in place of the former the
shah sent his cousin. Prince Malcolm
Khah, to rule at Isfahan."
What. the prince who came to
France"
Eyes, he is now envoy at the court of
st. James. In fact, you know one of my
heroes, Mahamah Aga, who was his or
derby officer here. He had been promoted
to the rank OF Enlargement, or rather, as
they say in Persia, of sartip.''
"Ah, | remember him well-a nice
young fellow, about thirty, fancy, who
used to come and have supper with us oc-
caslOnallv."
Just SO; that's the man. You can
fancy how glad l was at meeting him again
III that out-of the-way part OF the world.
All the more that those 0rientals have
something very taking about them when
they become half Partisan. One might
say that their primitive and stern reserve
gives way TO a winning and gracious man.
ner by contact with western civilization,
Before the week was out the sartiD and |
became inseparable."
"But how about the drama?"
Don't be in such q devil of hurry
As yet l have only got to the prelude.
One fine morning as 1 was riding about
the town rather dreamily / suffered my
self to give way to the eDchantment of the
locality, as ] had done hundred times
before, bewitched by The fairy-like CLAM
our of my surroundings Picture to your-
self endless avenues, bordered to right
and left by arcades, shadowed for their
entire length by gigantic chenars, plane
trees, and alongside running streams of
pellucid water. Further on"
"For heavens sake cut your description
short, my good fellow; you are not elabor-
! ating a report for the minister You
promised me dramatic story. Let's have
it, and, above all, no scenic descriptions
Spare me your oratory"
CASTOR gave sigh of resignation and re-
sumed: 81 was out riding near the Kiosk
OF Tchehet Setum, when at the corner of
a street j saw lady in a litter. AS rule,
Persian women out OF doors look like mere
bundles of clothes. They are mutiled of
course, or, rather, they wear over their
heads a sort of hood, with a veil which
covers the lower part of their faces. The
Persian lady whom ! now met was. how
ever, an exception to the rule, and took
pains that her graceful and well-propor-
toned figure should be seen to advantage
could notice her eyes very large and
shining like live Goals. My horse was at
a walk, and | quietly followed the litter,
which was carried along very slowly. l
hall fancied that the fair unknown turned
around once or twice, but at the time |
really didn't pay much attention to the
circumstance, as in the East adventures of
that kind are very improbable.
81 had nearly forgotten the incident,
when two days alterward / again came
across the same litter. This time it hap
pened that l was not alone. Mahamad
Aga was with me. At a glance | recog-
nized the yelled lady, ana. above all, her
extraordinary eyes, which literally blazed,
as it were, with hot flames. She turned
round as before, but this time unmistak-
ably and deliberately. / glanced at my
friend the sartip, but he apparently took
no notice.
I'VE had ridden along in this wav for
some ten minutes when the litter turned
sharply toward the bridge leading to Julia.
This bridge is one of the most beautiful
structures of the kind in the world. 1t
has thirty-three pointed arches. whose
piers are washed by the swift current of
the Zaindarud, that most capricious of rv-
ers, switch in summer you can cross dry
shod, but in the month of November, in
which we then were, its waters are as
rapid and turbulent rs one of the wild Al
pine torrents. On either side OF the cause
way across the bridge is line of arcades
afIOrding a pleasant shelter, and this
bridge is rather frequented as a promen-
ade and rendezvous, where people go to
breathe the fresh air of an evening. | had
therefore some hesitation in following my
unknown charmer too openly for fear OF
compromising her-and mvself-but ]
need have mad no scruples. The fair
dame, at all events, did not hesitate in the
least, for. leaning half out OF her litter,
she coolly dropped her handkerchief in
the roadway"
ala, hal The Persian ladies then are
lively? And the sartip, did he say moth
ing?'
"At the moment, no; but during the
| rest at our ride he remained very silent,
and he bit his mustache in rather pre-
occupied manner. When we reached the