New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-06-27
dN ENGLISH ADTENTI RER.
SIR ROBERT SHIRLEY. A SEVENTEENTH
CENTURY PERSIAN AMBASSADOR
From The Pail Mall Ca1otto

a
From The Pail Mall Gazette
The newspapers say that Nasr-uINu,l, tho
81 cla Persian Envoy now among us ie oh,iccd
|" quit London in haste after pcrformna, his
outN, because another Special Envoy from 70
h'ran is coming to assist at the Jubilee Such is
the law OF the Modes and Persiaus In rradin,.
TINS gossip. some OF us reminded OF an q n,ient
scandal humorous enough at the beginning but
-" ~ the end as Oriental tales apt to
~ NlhS James as Special Envoy from Shan
,Dtaa gro hnhSh,d lie brought his Circassian
residence here to whom the queen and rrince
Henry stood sponsors-in short. re was treated
the King gave him 300 and sent him home I'm q
mne snip with an autograph letter to the shah
rms was so satisfactory that in 1923 Sir Robert
S"iicited and obtained another mission. which
proved TO be n less agr eeable. Perhaps it was
the diversions of the Court which tempted him
-, ms correspondence with the Shah; at
least. that arbitrary Paynim took offence and
presently dispatched another Envoy. When this
.tiSoi."St arrived ne sent due notice to Sir
ROBERT VINO ought to have left the country forth
Ma aS tcc.Ne1 at Court. to his horror he beheld
NO. | actually in the Presence Chamber Words
could not express his indignation at this breach
:" 81, eIlIuettc. though he used the strongest in
the loudest voice; he slapped Sir Roberts face
ara his son knocked him down in the Kings
picsrnce Inc incident is unique. perhaps in the
annals of diplomacy. Both parties We're hurried
OUT ana iiis Majesty ordered them to quit the
reai,n' lhey sailed for Persia-in different ships
As he approached his native shores No > fclt
more ana more strongly that he had gone too
ldi, ahc al length took to an exclusive diet OF
opium. whereof he died in sight of land Tho
Shah gave Sir Robert an audience. but scarcely
spoke TO nm lie even Knocked his personal an
pearance--the old English cheer had dcvclonad
lat, perhaps. or red nose. When the poor man
hsard TINS his distress brought on a fit OF apo
pcNy. and they buried him under the threshold
of his own house ut Ispahan
But who was Sir Rob IT Shirley and how cano
IL mat the great shah Abbas sent him on en-
bassies? The story is long even summarized for
one cannot mention Robert without ;,lluding to
his elder brothers Among English adventures
they stand in the first rank. Thomas. tho head
OF his ancient family and heir u "A large fort
une. served in the Low Countries with great dis
tinciion Then he fitted out three vessels to make
private war upon the Turks: but his reckless
courage i'm attacking an enormous ship-which he
captured. howcver-convinced his men that he
was not a busincsS-like leader and they mutt
nod. Finally, Sir Thomas was taken prisoner
ana confined for four years in "A dungeon at Con
Siantin"plc, treated with horrible barbartv and
ordered to execution at least three times At
length his father ransomed him. But the man
was incorrgible. \ letter the Earl of Shrews |
bury states, September !. 1907 Young Sir
Thomas Shirley is committed To the Tower Some
say it was for busying himself with The
traffic of Constantinople to have brought il into
Venice and the Florentine territories" etc That
Is the last we hear Of him.
Anthony. the second son. graduated at oxford
FOUGHT in the Low Countries and in France
where Henry OF Navarro decorated him II was
on this occ; sion that Elizabeth declared Il win
not have my sheep marked with a strange brand |
nor suif. + them To follow the pipe of a strange /
shepherd Sir Anthony was commi,t"d 70 tbe
Heet. Then he went huccaneerng, captured St /
JaSo and Jamaica. served with Essex at CadIz
and in Ireland where he wa lnishted and nrae
&ntly led force Of picked English soldiers to
rival, however, he found that the disputants had
come to terms, and from Venice he started f,r
Persia Essex and the company of Aleppo NOR
cilahtS supplied him with funds, for what object
We do not see clearly. but the adventurer's re-
sources all through life were mvstcrious IJo
travelled in prodisious state At lenctb bc
reached lspahan, and gained the Shal,'s favor ,t
once. lie was first named Lieutenant of The inn
penal army. but presently the Shah disnatcbnd
MN TO Europe on a rowing mission o stir IN rho
NIlStlan POWERS against the Turk Throupb
MuScoNE Germany, Italy and Spain this aston
iShifiS man travelled like a prince receiving tho
hlShcSt honorS every where. The German E,n I
leror sent him as Ambassador to Morocco In /
SPAN ne was made Il Knight of ST Jaeo ana on, /
pointed captain general Of a fleet co,nprsin, tvrc
huncred great ships besides gaIlevs and small
vessels manned by thirty thousand sailors np,i
soldiers me purpose of this armament * MOI al
NuiSed, but it caused such alarm that lanes 7
oruercd ms subject to return to England at once
on peril of his life. Sir Anthony disobcycd tbe
; luminous, but he thought it prudent To- resit,n
ms hiSh command He died in Spain in I,I;O .
magnificent to the last, though his only visihln
income was a pension of 1000 Gucats as n ,
'ount OF the Holy Roman Empire.
iIopert, the third SON accompanied his hrotbor
10 PERSIA ana became a great favorite vim tbo
>Hah lie commanded the army in several com, ,
l,hiShS against the Turk always victorinre
When the shah discovered that Anthonv vs.
making no progress in the organization az Tho ,
league against Turkey, he sent Robert on ~
same GRAND Thus the Special Envoy cane 70 +,
England, as has been told S "