The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-03-23
.EX-sHAH IN
GERMAN FLAT
LandIady Well pleased That His Form.
er Hishness and Family
Have Gone
Away.
PERSIAN ETIQUETTE
Drink Soup From Platss and Pick
pieces Of Meat Out
With Their
Fingers.
PERSIAN ETIQUETTE

(By Karl H. Won Wiegend, Berlin cor
respondent OF the United Press.1
! BERLIN. March 23.-For month";
} Berlin has been harboring king ano
once powerful potentate unawares
Sincs last spring, Mohammed All. ex
shah of Persia. with his family has
been occupying a furnished nat IN q
pension" or boarding house in the
western part of the city awaiting the
hoped for but apparently never com
ing revolution, that would replace
him on the Persian throne. His iden.
tity becoming known through the old
mans pride and vanity in desiring To
hear the accustomed your majesty,
Mob Ali and his retinue. have
disappeared, no one knows where.
The ex shah gave his name as kaz'
zan Machmudoff, petroleum or small
oil king OF Baku. Soon after his ar
rival in Berlin, h. was followed by
one OF his many wives with two
Young princes. Aside from these his
retinue consisted of two young men
. cook and a woman who demanded
t. be called countess
Many attempts were made to inter
view the ex-shah when his identit-
became known, but one of these sue
cseded and that only partly. A youns
girl of IS and swarthy complexion
opened the door in answer to the bell
and Immediately covered her face
and ran away when she saw a stran-
ger. Ths door was left open and step
ping into the hall the newspaperman
was somewhat astonished that In ad-
joining rooms hung the family wash
ing to dry.
Evidently the remaining wife OIL
tie once powerful shah, was now do
ing her own washing. The draught
from the front door caused the door
to another room to open, and there on
the floor were the two princes, five
end six years Of age, on ths back OF
a man who was on "all fours." They
were playing "horse" or camel
with him and he seemed to be quite
USED to being kicked In thu ribs by
the two royal princes.
Two Persians came from another
room to bar the way Of the inqu1sl-
tive intruder. They had on felt slip
pers, trousers that bagged at the
knees, shirts that probably once were
white, and coliarless. After some par.
leying in broken German, they led
thu viistor into a room, the principa.
decorative feature of which was the
number OF cheap colored prints o.
nude women on the walls.
The loud talking Of the two Per
slams brought the master" himself.
It was Mohammed Ali, "ex-shah Of
shahs" and king of kings" A small
dark man in sack suit, felt slippers
but like the other two, without any
collar to his shirt which gave him
Dut a majestic appearance.
He says he has BEEN sick" He
says he is better now" said one o.
the two Persians acting as Interpreter.
At this moment a small dumpy Per
sian WON an opened this dining room
door and shouted something in a
sharp voice. 1t was the ex shah's
wife. The once "shah of shahs" turn
ed abruptly and without word walk
ed to the dining table. The audiences
was ended by call to dinner. With
yells like those OF an ordinary com
mon youngster, the two princes raced
for the tabEs to see who would get
there first.
The ex-shah, his wife, the two men
and the princes took their places. A
servant placed soup before them.
They dived into the soup with their
fingers and picked out the pieces of
meat, thsn lifted the plates and
drank the contents with a noise that
may he true oriental Persian etiquette
but not associated with our occidental
table manners.
Madame, the shah's wife, sat at the
table with an old felt hat on her
head. Apparently she has little author
ity over the princes for they quarrel
led while eating. It was with much
difnculty that she restored order.
The shah paid no attention to the
noise. Hs was served
first. That was the only indication OF
Difference shown to the once all-pow
erful despotic ruler OF Persia.
mo more exiled monarchs for my
house," declared the boarding house
keeper the day after the ex-shah ana
his family had departed. "I'l1 have to
disinfecf. scour, scrub, repaper the en-,
tire fiat bE6ore ! will get rid OF the
worst traces of ''his majesty and his
family she added. II wonder If their
place in Teheran looked anything
like the inside Of my fiat"