THE SHAH AND SHAHESSES AT HOME.

Western Star, Issue 1540, 28 February 1891, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE SHAH AND SHAHESSES AT HOME.

“ His Majesty the Shah ” is the subject of this month’s sketch of “ Lesßois chez Eux ” in the Figaro Illustrs for November (Boussod, Valadon & Co.). It is delightful reading, and those who have seen the dusky monarch when he passed in meteor-like splendour, through this country, on his recent visit to the kingdoms of the West, will recognise him easily in some of the excellent illustrations which add to the interest of the sketch. THE BRINGING UP OP THE BABY SHAH,

Nasr-ed-Din, the son of Mahoramed Shah, was born in 1830. His mother who seems to have been a strongminded Persian female engaged a worthy mollah as a kind of assistant teacher, she herself undertaking part of the Shahlet’a early education. He was taught the tongues of the Arabs and Turks as well as that of his fathers. The Koran was explained to him, and from great Firdusi’s poems he tried to appreciate his august forefathers. He was taught to shoot, and ride, and climb, and to kill the “ savage mutton,” and altogether he had a lively time in the days of his youth. At sixteen, Nasr-ed-din, by the wish of his sire, took unto himself a wife, whom he would probably never have called his own had the law prevailed in Persia that “ a man may not marry his grandmother," for the lady honoured with the hand of the youthful prince might, as far as age is concerned have been her husband’s grandmother. However, Mahommed Shah had plainly inherited some of the wis dom of his great namesake, for his choice of the first Mdme. Nasr-ed-Din was made with a view of her being a guide and motherly counselor to the heir of the Persian throne. When he was twenty, Mdme. Mahommed, his stouthearted mamma, had thrust back a cluster of pretenders to the throne of Darius Xerxes, and lifted her son upon it. And there he has ruled and reigned ever since, THE LADIES. There is in the household of the Shah one great lady who has been the sun and centre of the female heirarchy of Persia for over thirty years. This is Anizeh Dooulet, a woman of lowly origin, bright, intelligent, and courageous, who has always been, and still remains, the Shah’s favourite wife. Contrary to her ambitious predecessor, she has never tried to meddle in politics, but has made it her one desire in life to please and humour her Royal lover, and to make him forget the cares of the State. In this she has succeeded to such a degree that even now, at the age of nearly 50, she reigns supreme over the heart of Nasr-ed-Din. After her come the Shah’s four legitimate wives, and round them again, circle a cluster of lesser lights. All these ladies are provided for by the ruler of the Persians, and their “ salaries ” vary according to their master’s estimate of them. Anizeh Dooulet has £12,500 a year ; the Royal Princesses have each £1,250 ; the rest are paid at the rate of payment to generals in the army, “ with this difference, that the women get the money, while the generals only expect to get it.” THE TOILETTE OP THE SHAH. The ladies of the palace rise early at day-dawn, but the great Shah rests from his labours till about half-past eight. Then the following delightful process commences: —

Immediately after rising he' delivers himself up into the hands of an artist who cuts his beard with scissors—the razor, which has been the instrument of wicked deeds, might come too near an artery. He then proceeds to minute ablutions, and is attired in a European shirt and trousers, a cashmere coat, pleated at the waist, and a blue military cape. None of his clothes—all made by a special tailor—are tried on. Tea and the kalyan are then brought, and Nasr-ed-Din leaves the inner for the outer palace. nasr-ed-din’s menu. ’

Those who wondered at the Shah’s culinary arrangements in his private rooms at Buckinghamshire palace will read with interest that Nasr-ed-din “ takes his luncheon between 10 and 12 a m. This meal, which is served on a gigantic tray, consists always of a broth made of acid herb?, and seasoned with fermented milk or lemon juice, of roast lamb, chicken, stewed app’es, and a pilau of the finest rice. The king eats very daintily with the tips of the fingers of the right hand, drinks ice water which is brought to the palace by a special aqueduct, meanwhile listening attentively to Dr Tholozon’s translations from European newspapers. After the cheese a tiny cup of coffee is served, and the ‘ master of the pipe ’ then presents to him a kind of chibouk Formerly Nasr-ed-Din lunched in the presence of five or six Persian ASsculaps, but Dr Tholozon’s arrival deprived them of this honour, ‘ which was their joy and their glory.’ the sons of the shah. At noon the Ministers have their audience, one by one, and after them the sons of the Shah cause the light of their father’s countenance to shine upon them if they are at Teheran. One of the best known among these is Zelle Sultan (the Shade of the Sultan) aged thirty-eight, but excluded from the throne on account of his mother’s low origin ; the heirapparent, Yalyat, aged thirty-five; and Nasr-ed-Din’s favourite son, Nai’el Sul-1

tane, Minister of Vfar. THE FAVOURITE SPARROW. We have all heard endless stones of the miserable looking little lad whom it pleased the Shah to drag about with him wherever he (went on his visit to this country. Here is the story as told in the Figaro : — There ia no one who holds as high a position as Meli Djeck (Little Sparrow) the present favourite of the monarch. His father, a Kurd of very short stature, who held the humble position of underchamberlain at the palace married the sister of one of the king’s masseuses, who was even shorter than the husband. Meli Djeck, the offspring of these pigmies, was two years old when he was brought to the palace. The King was amused at his small size, Jiis vivacity and his tricks, and gave orders that he was to be maintained in the inner palace. If Meli Djeck—petted by the women, spoiled by the eunuchs —was capricious, self-willed, and disrespectful, the Shah applauded j if he went fearlessly against the rules of the Court etiquette, the Shah beamed. In the same degree as the boy grew in favour, his parents’ position rose. The masseuse became mistress of the robes, and the former under-chamber-lain went with one bound to the top of the military heirarchy. Quite recently “ Little Sparrow’’ has been raised to the rank of a first-class general; he keeps an establishment wlrch costs the Shah £150,000, has horses, eunuchs, a military band composed of children of his own size, and treats as his equals the Royal princes, who look at him with jealous eyes, but who, nevertheless, lavish their presents upon him. The latest news from Persia states that “ Little Sparrow ” is betrothed to the Shah s youngest daughter.