The Sun. — 1865-01-19 (London, England)

CRUELTY OF THE SHAH OF PERSIA.  His basest deed was the murder of his Prime Minister and brother-in-law, the Amir Mirza Takee, after having solemnly sworn that, if that unhappy man gave himself up, and left the British Mission in which he had sought refuge, his life and liberty should be respected. Upon this promise the Amir surrendered, contrary to the advice of every European in Teheran. His wife, the Shah's sister, from the time of her husband's disgrace and fall, never left his side for a moment, custom, stronger always than even law, making it a crime of the first magnitude to put any one to death in the presence of a female member of the royal family. After her husband's surrender, her distrust of her brother redoubled. The Princess would not permit her husband to leave her sight, and for some weeks the unhappy couple endured this constrained mode of existence. At last an order came for the disgraced minister's exile at Cashan, where he was to remain a prisoner at large, the Shah accompanying the command, in order better to disarm suspicion, with a letter saying that, though he desired a severe punishment, yet, owing to his relationship as well as to his promise, he would only inflict upon him this slight confinement. On his arrival at Cashan the unfortunate Amir, considering himself safe, at last left his wife to go to a bath, on entering which the first person who met his sight was the chief executioner—a man who owed everything he possessed to his own bounty—standing before him surrounded by ferashes or gendarmes, and bearing in his hand the fatal mandate. The only favour he could' obtain was a choice of how he should die. He preferred being bled to death, and his veins being accordingly opened, he expired in the bath.  One's mouth waters at the description, elsewhere given by Mr. Ussher, of the Shah's Jewels, when it is said—" The gem of the whole collection was the far-famed Deriah Noor, or ' Sea of Light,' taken by Nadir Shah from Mohammed, the Mogul Emperor of India. This superb diamond was set plainly in gold as the buckle of a sword belt. In form it is oblong, about two inches in length, one and a half in breadth, and in thickness not three quarters of an inch. It is perfectly plain, not being cut in angles, as is usual with diamonds. The front is quite smooth, and it seemed exactly like a bit of very thick plate glass. This celebrated diamond is considered equal in fineness and water to the renowned Koh-i-Noor, or " Mountain of Light," now in the possession of the Queen, which, taken from India at the same time, after various adventures found its way to the treasury of Runjeet Singh, the Sikh chief, and thence into English hands. A great number of uncut emeralds and some very large turquoises were shown to us, and also a quantity of embroidery ornamented with pearls, some of which were very large. Most of the emeralds were full of flaws, but they were of enormous size, some crystals being nearly three inches in length, and of corresponding breadth. A very beautiful kaleoun of state of green enamel, ornamented with emeralds, was no less remarkable for the simplicity and elegance of its shape than from the rich materials of which itwas composed. All these treasures were handed to us without hesitation, and passed from hand to hand round the circle. We were surprised indeed at the little care seemingly taken of jewels representing such enormous wealth, the loss of one of which would infallibly have entailed that of the guardian's head." As affording another and charming illustration of our author's powers of description, we give below his account of the—