New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-12-28
FROM PRIVATE TO ENVOY.
S# John Harrington's Ertraordiinaru
Rise from the Ranks.

Rise from the Ranks
Sir John Harrington who hs. t,S. - .,...
70 the rank OF minister plenipotentiarv enfovs tb
distinction OF being the only British enx,o, ,,t -
.,aeiaiy risen from the ranks having enlisted in
lSsA at the age of twenty. as a private IN o. -
iah1ry regiment At the age of tv7entv-fo,,r sfta
suceessively holding the grades of corpnral 40
9hseaht ne received commission as second uo,,
1eH~l OF the Middlesex Regiment and fifteen
-o a iater ne was transferred to that picked
OOoy the Indian Stan Corps Before lone he ,-ol,,,
teered for service as vioe-eons1l AZ Zarsb a n.i
ieii'ial pace. which is one OF the seaports Of
Any sSihla' the POST in question being avoided as
Inuch as possible by the other members Of the
iholan stan Corps by reason Of fts Ioral3-,sss "a
-, ii1ess 30 good the use which FIar-
IHston made Of his opportunities that he was able
ie"oeT invaluable assistance to the special mis-
go VI oir Rennen Rodd TO Emperor Menelik in
80 s.IlAihg up great friendship with Lord Ed
ward Cecil, the soldier the late Lord Sails
buTy' and who formed part of Sir RenneIrs staff
ne result was that when the British government
resolved 10 establish a permanent legation in
1Ossslhla' where British interests are exceedingly
important. both Sir Renneu and Lord Edward
warmly recommended Lieutenant Harrington 10
Lord Salisbury for the post He has since re-
celVeo military promotion TO the rank OF colonel
ana the influence which he has been able 10 acouira
over the dusky potentate whom he IS accredited
Is so remarkable that it has completely reIeeated
Into the background that Of Russia and OF France
which formerly predominated
Sir Jonn-for he has been lnighted by King Ed
wards the only person who ever succeeded IN in
oucing Queen Victoria 10 talk into a phonograpb
And she did this reluctantly merely becausa he
explained TO her the immense weight that mes
sage from her TO the Emperor OF AbyssinIa CON
veyed in that fashion, would have on the monarch
OF Ethiopia.
Queen Victoria however. stipulated that v,han
her message had been delivered to the Negus the
record should be destroyed and pledged Sir John
harrington 10 see to this in person. MeneIik was
SO delighted at hearing the Queens voice thar he
promptly demanded that the record shorla h.
handed over to him But Sir John naturally was
obliged to defer to the commands Of his rovaI mis-
tress and. taking hold of the record. he stamped
It TO pieces in the presence of the Negus
Lord Curzon's stately progress up the pars,.r
Gulf on board the finest battleship ever seen in
indian waters attended by several cruisers was
not quite SO successful as has been reported II
was marred by one rather unpleasant incident
which threatens to develop into trouble When
the British squadron arrived at the Persian ror+
OF Bushire. the Viceroy awaited the visit of the
Persian Governor Of Ears. Oriental etiquette IS
extremely punctilious in all such ceremonial mat
tiers, and by Its ruling the obligation rested on the
Persian Governor TO pay the first visit and II had
been so arranged with the full consent Of the
Shah But at the last moment the Shah uroupte5
II Is believed, by the influence OF the Russian
Minister al TeheTan, sent a peremptorv order To
Bushire the effect that Lord Curzon Womb b.,.
TO pay the hrst visir shore. instead of first 1e
ceving the Persian Governor as had beep ar
ranged. on the quarterback Of the British battle
ship Hsrdinge.
Had Lord CurZon submitted to this treatment
British prestige would have suffered throughout
Persia, and especially along the gulf where the
good results Of the viceregal progress and the
salutary impression created thereby yvouId have
been destroyed
LORD Curzon is the last man to put I'D with in
suits, especially in the Orient and he gave he
Shah q rebuff by issuing orders TO the SQUADRON
TO raise anchor Immediately and sail away from
Bushire The Persian Governor was thus made TO
look rather ridiculous as he yaniv waited for the
coming OF his distinguished guest, and all the
elaborate preparations he had made for a grand
! reception OF the Vceroy OF India were utterly
wasted
Nor has the matter been allowed TO rest there
The British government has directed its envoy ar
Teheran 10 demand explanations from the Shah in
person, with intimation that unless the ex-
plantations are OF more satisfactory nature than
the facts in evidence suggest. Englands attitude
toward Persia and her ruler VIII undergo serious
alteration.
This is only natural. For England's position in
/ the Orient Is based on prestige rather than
force. and she cannot therefore afford 70 submit
to anything calculated 10 affect that prestige such
as the recent affront by the Shah. Her relations
with the latter nave until row been most friendly.
Indeed. he is the only Oriental ruler who has re-
ceved the English Order Of the Garter which has
been withheld from the Sultan Of Turkey from
the Emperor OF China, from the King of SIAM and
even from Great Britains ally, the Emperor Of
Japan. much 10 the disgust Of the latter.
! King Edward has done popular thing in con-
/ ferring knighthood together with the star of
commander OF the Victorian Order. on James
Knowles. who, after being from 1870 until 1877 the
/ Editor OF The Contemporary Review" has
since then-that is 10 say. for more than a quar-
( ter OF a centUry-been the Editor OF The Nine
tenth Century Review which he created and
owns. As such he has been brought into contact
with all the most eminent men Of the last three
decades. most Of whom have written for his maya
zine time another. Kings and queens,
great statesmen victorious generals, successful
plorers Roman Catholic cardinals. Anglican arch
bishops and the most eminent priests Of the Ma
hometan, Buddhist and Brahmin cults have been
among his contributors. During all these three
decades and more he has been Of the best
known figures In London society, and. without pos
sessing the mordant wit and the conversational
brfancy Of Abraham Hayward yet he has been
quite as much 'repandu" in the London great
world dining out almost every night Of his life
1t may safely be asserted that no disting uished
parsonage ever came 10 London without making
the acquaintance Of the Editor The Nineteenth
Century" whose name from viii figure
the title page Of his review as Sir James
Knowles" And IN this he assisted by his
numerous friends and acquaintance, who took
care whenever they heard Of any remarkable
or women coming TO England arrange that they
should Knowles
II Is not generally known that he was archi-
tec by profession having followed that for
years before turning his attention to literature,
and among the buildings which he designed