The Washington herald., 1911-12-22
RUSSIA AND PERSIA

Quence or the SITUATION brought ABOUT ny
Morgan Shuster's ill-advised note, not to
say tactless offense to that government,
when Russia merely is doing in her
sphere of Persia what England is doing
in the British and neutral spheres? Rus
sias procedure is said to be violation
of the integrity and dependence of Per-
sia. OF course 1t is, but so is England S
action in sending her Indian cavalry to
occupy, Shiraz and Bushire. Why not,
first of all, denounce the Anglo-Russian
convention which divided Persia against
the wishes of its rulers into Russian and
British spheres of influence, for that
convention is nothing but a negation of
that independence and integrity which
the powers agreed to for Persia.
The Persians are a romantic people,
who have charmed humanity by the grace
of their poets and the beauty of their
arts. This is a picturesque view to take
of the Persian people: but, after all, what
the European trader wants is protection.
not poetry, and this is just what the
Persian government cannot give him.
Leave the Persians alone" says Lord
Curzon, land they will work through
chaos to tranquility" but in his report
to the foreign office. which was pub
lished on the same day as Lord Curzon's
speech the British consul at BuShire told
another tale, namely, that Persian rule Is
impotent and played out, and that unless
England sent troops to keep order in
Southern Persia, British trade would
come to an end.
AS to the dispute between the Russian
consul general at Teheran and Morgan
Shuster what are the facts? Both the
Russian and the Persian governments
having claims on the property OF The
ex-Shah's brother. Prince Shua-es-
Sultaneh, the Russian consul general
agreed to discuss with Mr.. Shuster's rep
resentatives what arrangements should
be made for satisfying the interests of
all claimants alike; but while the con-
ference was in progress Mr.. Shuster sent
his own treasury police to seize Shua-eS-
Sultaneh's house and property, and so
forestall any joint action which might
be arranged as a result of the confer
ence. What made matters worse was
that when the Russian consul general
sent mis- officials to Shua a-es-Sultaneh's
house TO assert the claims of his govern
ment they were refused admission by
Mr.. Shusters policemen. The Russian
government regarded Mr.. Shuster's action
as a breach of diplomatic faith, and
am inclined to think any government
would have taken the same view under
COnOlJlOnS.
Ex-Sultan Abdul Hamid's jewels have
been hurried into the market, and no
time was given to amateurs or connois-
seurs of such baubles to come from other
countries, especially the two Americas,
where multimillionaires abound. The pri-
vate rooms OF the Petit galleries at
Paris were so crowded that those who
And when these rooms were at last
opened to the general public there was
a fearful crush. The sale itself took
place at the Rue Drouot auction rooms
The bulk of the Turkish regalia is still
at the treasury of the old seraglio, and
what was sent to Paris was main
ly from the ex-Sultans jewel room at
the Yildiz Kiosk. A great quantity is
from the Rue de la PaiX and the Palais
Royal in the days of the Second Empire
and the early years of the French re-
public. There are many others that seem
to bear the Bond street and the Regent
street marks. The rivers" OF brilliants,
or plain necklaces that used to be worn
at the Tulleries balls, and the way of
ringing round large pearls with small
brilliants is now called "dreadfully Sec
ond Empire" The ex-Sultan had as great
a fancy for emeralds as the late Pope
had for rubies.
Abdul Hamid liked to have chaplets
made of them. and when q cadine or an
odalisque stood high in his favor he
gave her emeralds of great value. Yet,
strictly speaking she had but a life in
terest in them, as in Ottoman law the
Sultan is the heir of any of his beauties
who die in the seraglio, and whenever he
married off one the treasurer of his ha-
rem saw that she took with her only
what the padishah bestowed as wedding
presents
Among the collection on exhibition an
emerald brooch. composed of round
oval stone of enormous size, with a pear
shaped pendant of proportionate size. ex
cited the covetousness OF ladies under
standing the value of such things. The
brooch is set in brilliants in Second EN-
pire style, but the pendant is not The
ten large emeralds, that can be worn
with short additional chains as a neck
lace, or without them as a bracelet, are
set in rings of brilliants. and have be-
tween the rings large brilliant
A great deal has been written about
the great diadem" which was the
chef d'oeuvre" of the exhibit. But to
my mind the Byzantine and other dia-
dems, the rivers brooches, bracelets.
and coronets n Greek key or in
fender" designs. often lovely in them
selves, must, from their European syle,
have been absurd in a seragliO. Jewelry
can only be worn with zest on occasions
OF high festivity and in banqueting or
bathrooms 1 once saw at a ball, on the
head Of a Palals Royal ex-actress, then
the wife OF a territorial magnate. a
match for the great dladem composed
of entrelacs Che design of Ghent duchess
or Venice lace is formed of "entrelacs"),
studded with brilliants, and bearing In
front a large crescent, from which sprang
in bold, long curve an aigrette plume, |
each feather of which was also diamond |
frosted and terminated in large brilliants |
OF the most intense fire.
The whole coiffure. in a strong light, |
struck one as a pyrotechnic show, as
an object to be fttingly worn upon the |
stage or at a court banquet-in short, as |
a center upon which all eyes must con-
verge. But It must have been torture |
to a harem beauty fresh in favor to |
wear this diadem in the seclusion OF the !
seraglIo. The only consolation Il could |
give was in the proclamation 1t made |
to her sister beauties that. for the mo- |
ment she stood high above then.
The collection contained none of the |
arms or head ornaments of the former |
Sultan or of his near or far-back prede- |
cessors. The zarfs OF twisted patterns |