The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-08-13
IN THE LAND OF THE SHAH.
MISERY Is VERY GENERAL IN THIS
ORIENTAL COUNTRY.
Parsces and MohRmmedans Some
Personal RecOIiections of a Trip
Through Persin-The Craze for
rifles Carried to an Extreme.

I'd attention to that country, the history
of which dates from hoary antiquity Per-
STA is one of the four countr;es-China,
Turkey and Morocco beng the other
thre-which have been marked out as
ready for partit on. It's present condition
is so wretched that its inhabitants are
utterly indifferent TO whatever political
changes may take place as no change
could well be for the worse. Thu Shah is
apparently a well-intentioned man, but so
far he has done nothing, nor does it
seem likely that he will be able TO do
anything for the welfare of his people
That the prevailing misery and misgov-
eminent have psf led to general and or
gan zed outbr ea&s aga'rs the existing
condition of cffairs is due to two causes;
the first, that the Persians, like all ORR
entails are easy-going and lcng-suffering;
the second, that they are vaguely look
ing for help from without.
The Fersians-like the rest of the Quad
ripple alliance to which they belong-have
the highest possible opiuion of themselves,
and call themselves the Ilani. the noble;
the r<st of the world they name the Tu-
rsni, the ignoble.
Parsees and S1Ohammedans.
Practically all the Persians are Parsecs
or Mohammedans, the latter being by tar
the more numerous. The Parsees are the
direct descendants of the old p. RS an fire.
worshippers, whose religion they maintain
IN it's pristine purity. Like their co-relig-
ionists in Incia, they are Distinguished
for their nobility and uprightness of char
acter. Because Of their fire worship thew
were formerly subjected to persecution.
but now live in peace among the Moham-
medans There are but some 400 or 500
families of Parsees left. Their capital is
Obest.
1t IS noticeable that even among the
Mohammedans there are taints of fire.
worship, for in the walls of many of the
towns through which | passed l noticed
rlches, in which, at sunrise and sunset,
trumpets are blown and drums banged in
honor of the great luminary The noise
made is enough to wake the dead, and
worse still to wake the living. The Mo-
hammedans belong to the Shilte sect, and
they have the most lively, natural and
religious hatred of ard cent mpt TO- Their
Turkish co-religionists, who belong to the
unorthodox or Sunnite sect.
Gifted People.
The Persians are a gifted and charming
people, of high grade of intelligence, al
though their character is marred by
strong shadows. Between the upper and
lower classes there is a great gulf-a gulf
as great and impossible as that which di-
vided Dives from Lazarus. The up
pers" treat the lowers as if they were
dirt; The lowers" bow to the "uppers"
as if they were gods.
What impressed me most among the
Persians was their universal thirst for
gold and their abnormal greed for titles
decorations and honors. If Mr. United
States English Astor would go to that
country he would be received as a man
after their own heart, and would get more
titles than he could remember-and new
ones every day.
The Persian is the most consummate
swaggerer conceivable. In his mind
clothes come immediat ely after money
and titles in Importance. His idea of
happiness is to strut about in the most
magnificent coats, and 10 produce due eff
feet, he frequently piles six or seven on
top of each other. But to go back to
titles. such appellations as excellency,
wonthiness, honor, etc, are as common
there as Mr.. in the Northern states or
colonel in the South. Even the servants
in the kitchen address each other in the
most highfalutin style, for instance: "Will
your Honor scour the dishes?" 81 will see
your ExceHency hanged first It's your
turn to-day"
Women without Rights.
The Persian women may have rights,
but they have yet to be discovered The
marriage bond is not allowed 90 become
tiresome to man, who very easily gets rid
of wife he no longer wants by sending
her back to her father The Shah has
the most delightful way of freeing himself
of those who are no longer pleasing to
him, and at the same time of gratifying
his spite-he gives them to his ministers.
The relations between the Persian mon
arch and his people are less than those of
ruler 10 his subjects than of a father to
his children father whose children have
the right to support him. If the Shah
learns that one of his beloved subjects
is getting wealthy, or Weather, he visits
him. This visit is rendered all the more
serious an honor as His Majesty never
travels in his own country with a retinue
of less than several hundreds, all of whom
have to be fed, and who expect land OBJ
tain) presents. from their unwilling host.
They only way to get rid of them is to
pay them to go away.
The Shah's Private City.
The shahs (igurative) tent is pitched al
Teheran. There rests his ark-in other
words, his private city. This consists CT
the Birnum, or outer city, for men; and
the ErGirum, or reserved inner city, for
women. There is not one. but several
palaces in one of which is a large room
devoted to the storage of the treasures OF
the Shah. In this room there are twelve
hollow pillars. of from six to seven feet
high and one foot indiameter all of which
are fun of pearls. Boxes lie about full oil
rubies, emeralds, diamonds and other
precious stones These boxes are from
Delhi, and were part of the plumber
brought back from that city by an an
cestor of the Shah, who made and annexa-
ton trip there. One of the most remarka-
BILE objects of interest in the room is a
globe, one and a half feet in diameter, OF
solid gold. which revolves in a golden
frame. on this globe the equator and the
tropics are marked in diamonds; the bor-
ders of countries are picked out in rubies
turquoses and pearls; while the place oc-
,cupied on the earth's surface by the Per
sian monarchy is completely covered with
diamonds of remarkable briliance.
The noble Persian does not condescend
to walk about the streets. but drives In a
closed carriage. attended by numerous out
riders and attendants. The whole cortegt
moves al great rate. and il is well for
the common people In the way II they car
GO. off the earth. 1t sometimes happens
that the cverkangng burden of a mule Is
caught by the wheel and thrown on the
ground. The muleteer naturally curses
the driver lashes him in the face with his
whip for darlng to be in the way, and
drives on
The Ladies' of the zennnn.