Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-02

Statue of the shah ut Teheran.
doubt of the intrinsic value of these jewels.
/ they did not impress one 60 the extent
/ they would if the cutting were better. The
fiat cutting custC mary In India and Persia
| seems TO deaden the stone and make 10
less lustrous. The shah is a very busy
man and works hard. He writes al his
orders and frmans himself. and his let
tiers and papers are fne specimens of liter
| airy production as well of penmanship.
HIS journal Of his travels in Europe. which
! has been partly translated into German By
/ DIR. +. Rosen OF the German legation in
! Persia shows that he is a keen observer
and a versatile critic. He keeps well post
| ed on all the happenings in the outer world,
and copious TRANSACTIONS OF items from the
Russian. English and French journals are
regularly prepared for him. The position
Of American minister to Persia is a pleas
ant one for the reason that cur government
| takes only an observant interest in Asiatic
| politics. / think i noticed that the shah
felt that he was talking to a friend when
] speaking with the United States minister,
and most certainly has he the right 50 to
| think in view OF the charitable scholastic
and hospital work Of the hundreds OF
American missionaries scattered through
out his country. The audience was about
to terminate. and to receive the impress
sion that was not TO be in IL at all. when,
with sudden turn OF the head. the shah
looked at me and said: rChe chees esg'
| (who is thisD The matter was explained.
and was introduced His only answer
was 'Krehh koob" (very good.
l
in charge of the legation during the abb
| sence OF the minister, had audiences
| with the shah which were most pleasant
After the great cholera epidemic in 1874
he sent for me and warmly praised thu
| American missionaries for their hospital
work in that crisis and asked me 10 thank
them in his name.
The Grand vfrier.
Next to the shah the aIl-powe-fui man
| in Persia is the Amin-es sultan he grand
vizier. The shah has a regular cabinet OF
ministers. but they appear to be more orna-
mental than otherwise. The grand vizer
controls the revenue and everything else
besides. His will is law. He Is q young
man. considerably under forty. OF pre-emi-
nent executive ability and would be a prom
inent man in any country. He sprang
from the people and is a self-made man.
Naturally. under such a state OF affairs
as one-man power many nagrsnt abuses
occur, but the Persian Is fatahst and
besides every Persian knows that there
Is a possibility OF mis- rising TO rank and
power, no matter how humble his origin.
IL Is greatly a matter OF chance The peo-
pie believe firmly in astrology and tho
lucky star.
The shah's Mascot.
The shah has a mascot In the person Of
the Assis-e-Sultan. the little boy who ac-
companies him everywhere ana whose
presence was the cause Of much comment
on the occasion OF the shah's visit 70 Eu-
rope The Assis-e-Sultan Is now about
seventeen years old lie is he son Of one
OF the shsh's servants and his coming into
favor was the result Of an accident pure
and simple.
When this boy was quite a child he was
playing in a court yard OF one Of the pail
aces and for some cause or other COM
menced TO cry. The shah who was busy
writing, disturbed by the shrieks Of the
child ordered an attendant TO so out ara
stop the noise The attendant con.llied
with the royal will In a few minutes,
however, the noise commenced again ana
louder than at first The shah WAS furious
and jumped UP from the divan on which
ne mad been sitting and hurried to the
window. Almost the same second that the
shah left the divan the heavy rrescoed
ceiling fell down. carrying with II a large
crystal chandelier. The spot where his
majesty had been quietly sitting a moment
before was covered with q ton OF debris
Had he remained there he would have been
killed When the horoscope Of the child
was cast the astrologers cleverly found thar
IL exactly conceded with that OF the shah
From that time forth the boy became the
shahs constant companion. has been loaded
Win presents and titles and made the COM
mander Of the Ten Thousand Mobiles.
In fact, so high position did the shah
Wish TO give him that he ordered that he
should take precedence over the DIPLOMATS
corps. This was objected to. He does how
ever, rank above all Persian ministers OF
state, excepting the grand vizier. and a
not arerse to using his position and bower
TO punish his enemies. He has made Il very
uncomfortable for some and others, at his
instance, have been placed beyond their
earthly troubles.
The boy came very near being the cause
OF the death Of his imperial benefactor.
one day, while playing in the shah's tent
ne took UP a revolver and, as revolvers will
90 sometimes, IL went Of. The ball passed
through the skirts OF the shah's xarnsDt
he Was so incensed that he told the ex-
ecGtloner TO kill the traitor The frSf sSa.
was that the boy had been made the tool
OF plot 10 murder the king. The execu-
uoner was wary fellow and hid the how
away Tor few days, intending 70 await de-
NeIopments. investigation proved that the
occurrence was an accident and great was
the JOY OF the shah when he heard that hi,
laNoflte was alive. and the executioner was
rewarded for his tact and farsightedness
Inc shah has all the nomadlc instincts OF
ms haolar tribe, and during the pleasant
months OF the year lives in tents. His love
OF travel caused him to visit Europe several
times. and these journeys have been fruit,
iul or good results for his country. One Of
theSe was the establishment Of a postal
service. which. although very defective
when compared to Others, is at least SO
good that English insurance companies will
insure money and valuables forwarded by IL
against all loss. including robbery. When
the shah returned from Europe he expressed
himself as much pleased with the equestrian
statues OF rulers and generals which he had
seen in the several cities. Acting upon this
hint Persian artist modelled and had cast
IN gun metal at the Teheran arsenal
equestrian statue of the shah The work in
q bold one, and very crude from an artistic
standpoint. but IL pleased the king OF kings.
and that is the ambition and desire Of every
Persian WILLIAMS g. FOX
Cheap Locomotfon.
From the Journal de vieune.