The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-01-24
THE SHAH OF PERSIA.
CHARACTERISTICS OF LATE OC-
 CUPANT OF THRONE

And SuccessOr--It is Said in European
 Capitals by These Who Have Watched
 Persia Carefully for the Last Ten
 Years That the New Shah WilI At
 tempt to Rule Ills People With a
 Primer Hand Than Dis His Father.
 It is said in European capitals by those who have watched Persia care fully for the last ten years that the new Shah will attempt to rule his peo- pie with a firmer hand than his did his father, who died on January 8. Moi hammed All Mirza, who now occupies the throne is a man of stronger phy- sque, of more wilful disposition, of a more aggressive character than was the late Muzaffar- r-ed-Din. Although he is the first Persian monarch to be- gin his reign by being fettered by a constitution and a parliment, vet it is said that he will by no means give up any more of the privileges of his an- cent office than he obliged to do. The present Shah has said that he favors constitutional monarchy, yet not such a one as England, but rather a more autocratic type like that of Germany. Indeed, he has been reported as re- garding the Kaiser as the ruler above all others who are worthy of his imi- tation
 The Shah who has just died did not enjoy imperial power so much as his son expects to do. He did not delight in that grandeur of the regal office of which his successor is said to be most fond, He made memorable reforms. He drowned on the existing system of official eXtortion and abolished the old time practise of selling public offices to the highest bidder He granted a con stitution and parlliment, which changed forever the character of Per- sia from despotism to a representa- tive government, and yet he frequently complained that his solieitude for his peoples welfare was not appreciated.
 His action at the time he was crown ed was Illustrative of the man. As soon as he had descended from the throne he hastened to the privacy of his inner apartments. There an at tendand found him about ten minutes later sitting in his shirtsleeves, his head buried in his hands, and the crown on his head pitched to one side at much the same angle as the silk hat is always pictured of the man who had dned too well. A door was open, and cold draft of air poured over his head and shoulders.
 Your majesty will fall i'll if you sit here said the attendant
 "Oh. am so warm, I don't care said the Shah, slowly raising his head. Then. taking off his crown and throw ing 1t aside, he added: And this is so heavy. I hope I shall never have to put It on again
 At another time he took off his kolah which was incrusted with diamonds ard many other stones of rare value, and throwing 1t at a servant, he said Take pair of pincers and pull out those jewels. I am not going to have my head cracked with a load like that"
 Neither did Musaffar- r-ed- Din care for the gorgeously rich garments which Shah is expected to wear When out of the sight of his court he invariably cast off not only his outer robes, heavy with gold and silver lace, but his silk ,,, ,,udapno r,,,apte a 6 vtnn erni1o a 1,f,,,t instead in sort of a kimono. It is said that the reason that he left his first wife was because she was constantly finding fault with his appearance, She even went so far as to say he did not wash himself often enough In de- fence of himself he replied that his mind was concentrated on more im- portant things.
 Certainly this neglect of his person was not from laziness. He was wont to rise early, and after performing his devotions he ate some thin pasty Per sian bread and drank glass of sweetened tea. At o'clock he receiv- ed his ministers, wearing at the time hardly more than his kimono and a pair of long-toed slippers. Then with his secretaries he went through the let ters that has been opened and assort- ed for him, dlstated half a hundred answers, for he was scrupplous in re- plying to the appeal of the humblest subject, and studied the report of the household expenditures of the 0receed- ing day. This done, he had breakfast of several courses.
 As there was always danger of an attempt to poison him, the Shah's meals were always guarded with a great deal of precaution. All the dish- es sent him from the kitchen were sealed and the seals were broken in his presence. Some of the contents of each vessel were then given to some member of his household, selected for test by lot If after an hour the tnst- or showed no signs of being poisoned the monarch preceded to eat of the dish himself, the food in the meantime being kept weam hear him. where no treacherous hand could reach it. Mu- zaffared-Din was particularly suspic- ious of plot to assassinate him, for the reason theat his father was the victim of a conspiracy
 Before his first European tour the late Shah always ate with his fingers. On being told that it was the custom of Western countries to use knives and forks, and that the Queen of England when inviting his to dinner might be annoyed to have her guest stick his hands into the food, he responded; "Wait until am ready to go to Eng land. Then I will be able to do as the .r .l