The New York Herald Newspaper, July 30, 1873, Page 3

THE SHAH SHOWN UP, A Brilliant Letter from Mr. E. C. Grenville Murray. Paris Seemed to Nassr “Like a Bride in Her Wedding Dress.” HIS MAJESTY’S PLEASURES, Preliminaries to His Depar- ture from Teheran. England— “Lo! See! Look at All Around Us !— Make My Country Like This.” The Shah’s Penchant for Ballet Dances, to the Exclusion of His Wives. FISHING FOR BRIBES. The Base Attempt on Nassr’s Life in 1862. Sir Henry Rawlinson To Be Made Peer for His Shah Doings. DIPLOMATIC HOPES AND FEARS The Persian Horses---*‘A Herd of Stiff- Kneed, ¥ew-Necked Brutes, With- out Shape or Action.” THE GREAT PERSIAN DIAMOND. Politically Speaking, the Shah Merely Like a Child Who Has Seena Sight, IMPERIAL CUNNING AND CRUELTY. The Relations of Persia with Russia and Eng- land, and the Impossibility of a Conflict. ABLE AND COOL CRITICISM. PaRis, July 18, 1873, The semi-barbaric and impotent monarch who ‘now rules over Persia set out from his mud- built capital of Teheran, which is little better than @ human stable, under the belief that he was the Mightiest potentate upon earth. In this frame of mind he mounted a tall horse, with a long tal, painted scarlet, and put a scymitar on his thigh and rode down towards the sea coast, with his bead up and his spirits high. In Russia he was Startled as one who had unexpectedly received the contents of a shower bath upon his head; he was more or less impressed witn the military organization and stiff state of Prussia; but the wealth and grandeur of Engiand quite Mattened him and took his breath away. The mag- nificence of his reception in France again sur- prised him, so far ashe had any longer strength to be surprised, He was amazed at the luxury and riches of France just after her deieat, and he said to Mousieur Mellinet, the French Minister in at- tendance upon him, that “Paris seemed to him like a bride in her wedding dress.”’ Indeed the day of his uyrivai was fine, the arrangements for his re- ception were good, and the French have ever been excellent managers 01 theatrical spectacles. The Shah had lohg nursed, so he says, a secret desire to visit Europe before he resolved to gratify it, At Jast he was so stimulated by the accounts and pictures of ioreign countries which appeared in the illustrated newspapers he is accustomed to receive, and so irightened by the effects of the late famine, that his impatience broke bounds and could be restrained no longer. His desire for travel was much encouraged by his present Prime Minister, Meerza Hussein Kian, an intelligent man, who means well by Persia, but who could do Rothing, being op, oscd by the influence of the Anderoon and the stupendous -ignorance of his Toyal master. Malcolm Khan also, a man of Russian origin, educated in Paris, and who is at present Minister for Foreign Affairs ad interim, thougit that if the Shah couid only have a littie of the nonseuse taken out of him by \oreign travel he would be much more reasonable and easier to manage. Therefore Malcolm Khan jikewise u. ged Nassr-ed-Diu strongly to go and be well futtened abroad. THE COURT OF RUSSIA. The Cabinet of St. Petersburg in like manner, finding that the Shan could never understand any- thing that v as said or writien to him, and that he had been often extremely and unseasonably bump- tious, lured him cautiousiy on, to have the starch taken out of him, and in that limp condition to be shown the mighty majesty and dominion of Russia. Mr. Wiluam Thomson, the British Minister in Russia, was instructed by Lord Tenterden (who presides over the Foreign Office in the place of Lord Granville, in consequence ofthe latter's disposition to indulge his love of ease) to tell the Shah that his presence would be weicome in England. Mr. Thomson, who naturally thought that the visit would benefit the Shal, was by no means remiss in carrying out Lord Tenterden’s instructions. PERSONAL CHARACTER OF THE SHAM, The Shah of Persia is of a weak. vacillating, un- Certain character. He often begins a business twenty times over and changes bis mind as often before concluding or abandoning it. At present he Ws all for referm; and he had not been three days in England when ie said to his Prime Minister:— “Le! see! Look at all around us! You are my Minister; make my country like this. You can do 80, for you have both your power and mine to do, it.” On the other hand, “The Shab,” said a French diplomatist recently from Teheran to the Duc de Broglie, on the Persian’s arrival in Paris, “is as ignorant as a carp. He may desire to profit by his travels, but he will be unable todo so, He is surrounded by too many dolts and bigots.” THE SHAN’s SUITE. Of course the Persian Princes and Ministers in attendance upon the Shah have spent their time chiefly in quarreling with each other. Bucking- ham Palace especially was the centre of Asiatic Intrigue during the Persians’ stay here. Sir Henry Rawlinson, however, who is the ablest Oriental diplomatist in England, kept an attentive eye on the Persian visitors, who could not get hold of any of the British Cabinet Ministers, because the former could not make themselves understood. Lord Granville looked good-humoredly on at the strange, barbaric sow the Persians made, and asked them to dinner; but they did not interest him, not being exactly in his line, The Prince of Wales is understood to have taken op the Shah more warmly than any one else; and ahero 18 avery odd story anout the reason why the NEW YORK HERALD, WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 1873.-TRIPLE SHEET. Shah delayed nis departure trom London in order to be present at an entertainment provided by His Royal Highness, The English ladies in general, and some in par- ticular, are understood to have been pleasing in the eyes of the Shah, His highest admiration, however, was reserved for the sister of the Princess of Wales, who is, unfortunately, married to the Crown Prince of Russia, or perhaps she would almost have persuaded Nassr-ed-Din to become & Christian. Above all the pleasures which the Shab has tasted nothing has more delighted him than the ballet da neers he first saw in Russia, It was alter making the acquaintance of these merry-toed ladies that he sent back his own wives to Teheran, having, as he alleged, no immediate use for them. Upon the whole he has couducted himself with more decency than could have been expected, and has shown a childish delight in what he has seen and heard, He is said to have taken an especial fancy to Marshal MacMahon, ‘I am happy,” he satd, or his interpreter said for him, and the speech was probably cut and@dried beforehand; “I am happy to have visited France at a time when a soldier is President of the country. No other man could pre- vent fresh troubles breaking out.” The Shah is now ready to shake hands with every one who is considered of sufficient rank to approach him. His manners are much changed by his travels, His mind is a chaos of new ideas, all tossed and tumbled together, without order or lucidity, RECEPTION OF THE SHAH IN FRANCE. ‘The Shah has been well, and even splendidly, re- ceived in the French capital. He is lodged in the finest of the fine apartments of the Corps Législatif. His suite occupy the best rooms in the French Foreign OMce. The Shah sleeps in the bed of the Empress Marie Louise, which has been especially fitted up and embellished for his benefit. The Persians, however, complain bitterly of their isolation in Paris; for the French are bad linguists, and so short of'interpreters that there was no one toread the address of welcome which had been prepared for His Majesty in such a manner as he could understand it. The official person charged to do so is one Casimirski, a@ Pole, and a pretender to learning. He acquitted himself so badly of the task assigned to him that one of the Shah’s suite was obliged to help him. Thus it happens that the Shah and the Persian princes, who are all tulkative People 4nd anxious to express themselves, can often find no means of doing so in France. M, J. B, NICOLAS. It is the old, old story; ability is always thrust aside for incapacity, and jobbery is forever at work in France, as in all other countries, Thus there is a certain M. Jean Baptiste Nicolas, formerly first dragoman, or interpreter, to the French Lega- tion at Yeheran and French Consul at Reshd. He is unquestionably the most distinguished Oriental scholar in France and one of the most learnea men in Europe. He is the author of a Persian dictionary of extraordinary value and research, He has trans- lated the “Bostan” of Saadi into French, He has rendered important services to his country, and might have done so again. It is probably for that reason he was thrust aside to make way for Casi- mirski. THE SHAH’S TRAVELLING EXPENSES, The Shah does not spend much money upon his journey, and has made few presents. Those he bas made are of small value. He brought four horses with him aod has given two away. They were worth about a hundred pounds sterling each. Personally, the Shah knows little of politics or Statecraft, and hardly understands the overtures made to him; but his Ministers have not been backward in turning their opportunities for in- trigue to account, and have caught a larze number of second rate diplomatists, cashiered ofcers and pushing engineers in search of employment, The Ministers, FISHING FOR BRIBES, have given out that they waut— 1, Engineers. 2, Professors for the schools of Teheran. 3, Contractors for the construction of roads and bridges. 4. Men of science generally, 5. Surgeons and physicians. 6. Infantry and cavalry officers, to act as army instructors, 7. Directors of police. 8. Directors for post ofiices and arsenals, 9, Gas makers. 10, Tailors, shoemakers, blacksmiths and gardeners, This is the pubsished list of places vacant in Per- sia, and it is a general invitation to persons out of work. In fact, the Persians are passing part of their time in Evrope, not without profit, in keep- ing a “servants’ registry office.” It is not the first time they have played this trick on the un- wary. A Persian envoy in London, not very long ago, made considerable gains by disposing of om- cial places for his private benefit, He sold the Persian Consul Generalship in London to a waten- maker for a gold watch, and played so many funny little games of that kind that his recall was de- manded, REASON WHY THE SHAH’S WIVES WERB SENT BACK. It appears that the imaginations of the Shah’s wives were fired by what they saw in Russia, They wanted to lay aside tneir veils and go to public places uncovered, The Russian authorities did not know how to receive them; and the Shah was informed, in language as polite as possibie, that royal honors could hardly be paid to several ladies at the same time. Similar representations were made by the other European courts, and there was only one way of getting out of the difficulty, which was, to send them home. The thing was more easily said than done, The Shan’s wives made a tremendous clamor when they were told that they must go back to Teheran, and ever since one of them has been very ill of rage and mortification, also, it is said, of jealousy—for everything finds its Way ib a miracalous manner to the Anderoon—and dlis Majesty's conduct has been rather that of an enterprising bachelor on his travels than of a middle-aged father of a family. THE SHAH'S PRESENTS, The Shah has been giving away his photograph set in diamonds and other costly gifts to some of the English ofMcials, likewise several sums of money. Lord Granville refused the diamonds and took the photograph, saying, with some dignity, that a British public servant could not receive any giltof value irom a foreign sovereign. Indeed, the acceptance of such gifts is forbidden by law; nevertheless several public oMcers, one peer at least, and itis whispered more than one illustrious personage, took the Shah’s ‘presents without scruple. tanners, THE SHAH’S FRENCH. The Persian sovereign speaks French, and a very odd sort of French itis. It 1s almost entirely com- posed of verbs and substantives—not too many of them, either. THE SHAH’S PLEASURES, What has most pleased His Majesty in Europe has been an exhibition of wax works, a fight between two fishes in an aquarium, and the wife of the Prince Imperial of Russia: THE SHAH’S DINNER, At home the Shah dines usually on rice prepared in several ways, a dish of stewed mutton and a dish of stewed fowl, with a few morsels of broiled calf's liver and sheep’s kidney served on a skewer (kebabs). He eats this choice repast with his fingers. His drink is sugared water, lemonade (sherbet) or sour milk, mixed With @ little sait. In Europe he has eaten whatever has been pre- sented to him, and drunk wine frequently, ATTEMPT ON THE SHAH’S LIFE, Only one attempt has been beem made to assassi- nate the Shah. It happened in 1862, and was set on foot by the Babis, a sect of the Sofles—relig- fous free thinkers—who accuse the Shiite priests of having corrupted the dogmas of Islam and of having misinterpreted the Koran. The attempt to kill the Shah was made at Chimram, a village at the foot of Mount Albrooz. The Shah was on horseback, and just passing through the gates of the village, when four Babis approached him with @ petition. He reined in his horse and stretched out his hand to take it, when the assassins frea three pistol shots at him. Their pistols were only loaded with small shot, and the Shah was very slightly wounded. The four men were then rested, tortured till they discovered the names of the Babi chiefs, and then as mapy of them as could locksmiths, | be caught were put to death with horrible cruel- ties. More than a thousand of these Babis were destroyed, and the Shah forced his Ministers to be present at their execution as a wholesome warn- ing to them, for the sect had many suspected ad- herents in high authority, A NEW PEER. Not many people have been gainers by the Shah’s visit to Europe, and numbers of greedy persons have been disappointed. The Shah has neither thrown away his money nor his good word. Nev- ertheless, there are one or two individuals who will not go unrewarded. Sir Henry kawlinson is to be made @ peer, and Mr. Ronald Thomson, the British Secretary of Legation at Teheran, will have the Companionship of the Bath, This order has been go prostituted that ic is not worth having. It has been given to Court footmen as well as to brave soldiers and able diplomatists. On one oc- casion, lately, it was given to an official for the sole jon that he had misappropriated public moneys when he was Assistant Under Secretary of State at the Foreign Ofice. He had for many years driven a brisk trade in the sale of the Queen’s commissions. Even a peerage is no longer worth having, and if Sir Henry Rawlinson were a young man he would not accept it, for it means political extinction. But Sir Henry is growing old now, and will, per- haps, like a coronet for a plaything in his second childhood. He isa distinguished man and has a fair right to any reward the Knglish Ministry can offer him, ‘or he is always getting them out of some scrape or other into which they blunder in the East. He was also the fame-father of Dr. Lay- ard in the Nineveh excavation business, and what- ever reputation Layard has acquired belongs prop- erly to Rawlinson. Rawlinson was writish Envoy to Persia some years ago, but threw up the post when he was required to serve under Mr. Ham- mond at the Foreign Office and forbidden to make presents to the Shah, PERSIAN GREED. Sir Henry well knew that nothing was to be got out of the Persian Court without a present; and one of the Engiish envoys was lately taught this lesson rather rudely. “Look at that mirror,” said the Prime Minister to him, when he wanted some Official thing done—“Look at that mirror om my wall! Look at that musical clock!! Look at this Star on my breast!!! All these things came from Russia. What did I ever get from you?” It is needless to add that tke British Envoy was dis- missed without his errand, THE SHAH FATIGUED. The Shah went to sicep at the ball given in his honor at Stafford House, the Duke of Sutherland’s palace in London—went fast off to sleep in the middle of it, and snored. On the second day of his arrival in Paris, too, he was too tired, he said, to pay official visits, but turned up in the afternoon at the Invalides and paid a good many compli- ments in broken French to the old soldiers. He used his jorefinger a good deal Uuring this talk, to add emphasis to it, and poked his finger about on @map. He is childishly civil in his manners when pleased, but has none of that natural coartesy which expresses itself in punctuality. He kept Lord Granville and the Prince and Princes of Wales all waiting ior him, and made no apology. He had been simply lying down and resting him. self. % WILL THE VISIT HAVE CONSEQUENCES IN PERSIA? The dress, manners and habits of the Persians have not changed for many centuries. It is too much to expect that they will alter because a Shah, acting under the influence of the Stock Exchange | and irom other causes, has made an excursion into a few civilized countries. The people who expected to make most political capital out of the Shah's visit are the dipiomatists, who thought he would be much easier to deat with when he saw what a very petty prince he is when compared with the big sovereigns, . The diplomatists will probably be deceived In their calculations, for if the Shah has learned from his journey that Persia is weak, he has also learned that European rivalries are strong; for instance, that Russia has enough to do to keep an attentive eye on Prussia, and that England is in some danger from both of them. Persian Min- isters, thereiore, will threaten less, bat they will intrigue more, and Teheran wili become the same hotbed for the forcing of diplomatic quarrels as Constantinople has been for the last fifty years, As for Baron Reuter’s railways and public works, they are no: made yet. The railway trom Teheran to Resht appears to have been surveyed, but the business will hardly go much further in this genera- tion. The Persians are a sententious, philosophical people. they do not want to be improved, and, perhags, would not be much better for it. Exceptin famine time, every one can get enough to eat and drink, and the Orissa aflair showed that no gov- ernment can make rice or wheat grow if the ground and the weather will not have it. They think they are very well as they are, and they have a marked hatred, even a contempt, for the Franks. ‘To talk of representative government and consti- tutional theories ripening in Persia is non- sense. To expect any alteration what- ever, either in the government or the people, is to be, more sanguine than wise. Few barbaric princes have had cause to congratu: late themselves on a visit to civilized countries, Taey usually make some wild and foolish attempts at impracticable reforms on their return home, and, finding that they cannot do or undo the work ofagesin a week, they fail into a state of dejection, and mope themseives to death. ‘Yhe Shan can hardly be described in the most means a romantic person. Yet it is impossible not to feel acertan pity when one reflects upon the rude shock his mind must have recetved when he discovered that, instead of being the King of Kings, he was merely the first figure in ‘‘Reuter’s show.” He thought himself the master of the mightiest army in the world; now he knows, at least, that his troops are a mere awkward. squad of militia and a ravble of ill-armed and ill-mounted horsemen. His capital appeared in his eyes the wonder of the world—a city of fairy- like magnificence. He will return to see it as it seems to others—a disorderly heap of mud hovels, with here and there some building a little better than a barn, a littie worse than a stable. His horses, which he believed to be the pride of the universe, will be revealed to him as what they are— a herd of stif-kneed, yew-necked brutes, without shape or action; and all his royal state will look like tinsel aiter the splendors of London, St. Peters- burg and Paris, EFFECT ON THE SHAH. At this time, however, his suite—rather the Europeans among it, who are closely watching him—declare that he 1s under a species of intoxi- cation, and the effect produced on his mind by his reception in Europe is precisely that which might be expected to have been made on the mind of any other untaught barbarian. It has increased his own estimate of his personal importance to an absurd degree. “If,” he thinks, “that rich English Queen has treated me with such respect it means that she is afraid of me. Ifthe Russians have entertained me with such splendor it signifies that they know how to value my alll ance, If the Prussians were so deferential it is clear that, although their behavior and manners made me yery uncomfortable, they were.aware of my greatness,’? Such are the thoughts which pass through that queer looking, dark head in spectacies, now en- gaze; and these are the sentiments which he utters in an excitable manner to tlose nearest to him, He has quarreiled with his Prime Minister and his Prime Minister's Prime Minister (Malcolm Khan), They are, says the gossip of the hour, both to be disgraced on their return home, which ig @ pleasant prospect for them; for it means neither more nor less than that they will certainly have their toe nails beaten off with sticks, unicss they take to their heels, and that very probably. they will be murdered, a8 most of their predeces- sors have been. THE SHAW’S DIAMONDS. As 4 matter of fact, the jewels worn by the Shah are not of much value. It is more than doubtful if he has @ dozen diamonds, of any size, of pure water and free from flaws. He has some large cracked emeralds, and some large dingy stones of divers sorts and colors; but the principal jewel which be- longed to his ancestors was stolen at the close of the last century by one Manouk, an Armenian mtr. courtly language as a patriot king, and he is by no | gaging the half disdainful curiosity of the world’s | cuant, who had advancea money upon it. sparkles in the imperial sceptre of Russia. THE GREAT PERSIAN DIAMOND. This Manouk, who is ancestor of the present wealthy and respectable Prince Manoukbey, of Bessarabia, having got hold of one of the big, precious stones in the world, was frightened out of his wits lest he should be murdered because of it, Tt weighed no less than 103 carats, or one ounce, twelve pennyweights and four grains troy; that is to say, far more than the Pitt diamond or the Koh-i-noor at its present size, Manouk knew very well that his life was not safe for an instant while he was known to have this awlul treasure in his possession, so he gave out that he was dying and took to flight in the dress of a beggar. In this guise he made the best of his way towards the Russian frontier; but, fearful of being robbed even of such rags as he had, he cut a hole in nis leg and buried the diamond in his living flesh, binding filthy and sordid rags over it. The Empress Catherine HU. offered for the diamond, when he reached Russia, £104,166 138. 4d., besides an annuity of £1,041 13s, 40., which Manouk retused. It was aiterwards sold to Catherine’s favorite, Count Orloff, for the first mentioned sum, without tne annuity, and was by him pre- sented to the Empress on her birthday tn 1772. Moreover, although the Armenian, Manouk, did not get his annuity, he got someting better and made @ shrewd bargain, He obtained the conces- ston ofan immense tract of corn land in Bessa- Tabia, and, now, that the railways of Southern Russia have been opened, nis descendants are among the richest wheat producers in the world. / The title of Prince, aiter some dispute, has been recently conceded to them by the Russian govern- ment, and, indeed, it generally is granted sooner or later by all governments, under one form or other, vo rich men, It now PERSIAN RICHES. The Persians are generally pretty good judges of precious stones, and put a high value upon them, In a country where fortune and liberty are so in- secure every one naturally wishes to possess as much portable property as possible, and a fortune in jewels may be carried in the compass of a lew inches and eusily secreted in time of danger. Therefore there are few jewels worth anything which get into the market. They areall hidden away for a rajny day, and the Khans plaster themselves with paste and other shiny substitutes on State occasions. The largest stones in common use are emeralds, but they are nearly all Nawed aud of poor color, Rubies, brilliants and valuable pearls are very rare. Turkoises, the best of which are found in Persia, used to be numerous and common; but most of the good ones are bought up as soon as they are found. They are much used for talismans, the Persians considering them lucky and attaching much the same value to them as the Venetians and Turks formerly attached to the opal. They are nious imitations of them are made out of coiored wax, THE BATTLE OF THE DOCTORS, doctor, Tholozan, and tne English doctor, Sir Joseph Dickson, who must have made a mint of money during his long residence in Persia, and who is a very worthy and well-informed gen- tleman. It seems, however, that M. Belle, the French Secretary of Legation, now in attend. ance on the Shah, had some difference of opinion with Sir Joseph Dickson, and informed his colleayue, Mr. Ronald ‘fhomson, the British Secretary of ion, that Sir Joseph could not be received on board the French man-ol-war com- missioned to convey the Shati and his suite to the French coast, because the position assumed by Sir Joseph Dickson as the Shah’s domestic physician could not be recognized while that post was held by Dr. Tholozan. Sir Joseph Dickson protested with some heat that he had been appointed by the Shah himself, and that his position as the King’s physician had been officially acknowledged by tie British government, He declared, therefore, that he shonld accompany the Shahto France, what- ever opposition might be offered by the French Minister to his doimg so; and that if he were not received on beard the French man-of-war ordered to carry the Shah and his suite he should charter @ vessel for his own use at the expense of the British government. It was a very pretty quarrel, and it is certain that Sir Joseph Dickson was not admitted on board the French man-of-war. It is also equally certain that he was lodyed at the French Foreign Ofice as one of the Shah’s suite. How he got there is not so clear. THE PERSIANS IN PARIS, ‘The Persian Shah and his suite look funny figures enough among the brisk matter-of-fact Parisiarts. To begin witn the beginning ‘of them, they ail dye their hair, except a certain Prince Iikani, of the blood royal, whose beard is of a venerable white. ‘they wear a sort of European dress, very badly | made and with a look of shortness, stiffuess and bagginess about it very Persian, OPINIONS OF THE SITAH. ‘Ihe private opinion of the Shah about European Powers may be thus summed up:—He fears both England and Russia as possible enemies. He ais- likes the Germans, who teazed him by their for- malities and annoyed him by their rudeness. He is fond of the rench and of France, as he considers her disinterested in the Eastern question and at present quite harmless and undesigning. More- over, lie counts upon France as an ally in time of danger. Upon all other subjects his ideas are con- insed, ile 18 merely like a child who has seen a ignt. bie CRUELTY AND CUNNING OF THE SHAH. Altnough His Persian Majesty seems so pleasant and so pieased just now that the European papers abound with anecdotes of his suavity and conde- scension, he has done some awful things in iis own country. Among them stands foremost the treacherous murder of his brother-in-law, Meerza Tagui Khan, his first Prime Minister. Meerza Tagui Khan was the friend of Nassr-ed-Din when his Prospects of ascending tue Persian throne were very doubtiul, and he heid only the insecure and slippery post of Governor of Aderbijan. His own abilities would never have made a king of him; but on the death of Mohammed Svah the Russian Minister took him up, and Messrs. Ralli & Co., the rich Greek merchants of Tabreez, found him money, aud then the genius and valor of Meerza Tagui Khan did the rest. So the Shah named him Prime Minister, and could hardly have made a better choice, The first thing he did was to organize a Post Otlice—an institution previously unknown in Persia. ‘The next thing he did was to create a police. Having done these two good services, he tried to establish order in collecting the taxes, which had been grossly mismanaged, and then he made himseil enemies, as every one Will who ventures to attack public abuses where money is concerned. The tax- gatherers and their creatures now began to in- trigue against him, and Prince Dolgourouki, the Russian Envoy, Was ruined in trying to protect him. He was therefore driven into exile and com- pelled to hide himself at Cashan. Now he had married the Shah's sister when he stood high in favor, aud though she did not and could not love him, because le was long past the age of love, she beliaved with exemplary fide1ity and devotion in his misfortunes. She would not leave him for an instant, and she prepared ali his food witn her own hands and tasted it herself fo the Shah, | being unwilltag to commit a violent murder jn his | sister's presence, determined to catch his old friend by stratagem, With this purpose His Per- sian Majesty Sent @ messenger of high rank to the fallen Minister, assuring Meerza Tagui Khan of a fall pardon and immediate restoration to ail his honors. The Meerza at once fell into the trap, and his wife, who could not believe that her brother could be 80 base and crucl as to deceive her, at last let her husband out ef her sight in order that he might take a bath and pat on the robe of honor which had been sent him by the King, as the customary sign of royal favor. He had no sooner entered the bath, however, than the chief executioner entered there also, exhibiting the Shah's warrant for his immediate execution, and merely leaving him a choice of the manner in which he preferred to die, The Meerza stretched out his arms resignedly and said, “Open my veins.” The executioner then bied him todeath as the Shab had commanded, POLITICAL RELATIONS OF PBI POWERS—RUSSIA—RNGLAND—TERSIO at England and Russia are the only two Powers consequently so much in ‘request that very inge- | There has been a flerce fight between the French | 3 / j which have mucn reai interest im persia, though [ on the first step of the pubic service ne wilt Germany, uneasy under the weight of her recently acquired glories, now thrusts herself into every place and insists upcn proclaiming herself as a very first class Power indeed. Persia, however, is not worth the attention of any German financier but Baron Renter, and her trade is scarcely worth the thoughts of a score of pediers in any country. Among English politicians it has been always held a tradition to keep on good terms with Persia, and at odd times the British gove nment has spent a mint of money on this very useless purpose, Bat, in sober earnest, the Persian government neither could nor would help or harm Engiand at a pinch. Persia has no army beyond @ rabble rout of ragamuffins, She has no fleet, no resources, no means of transport, no provisions to spare or within reach of British India, Besides, before the first shot was fired in the fina struggle between England and Russia the Russians would have occu- pied the whole country, dnd tne Shah, if he became troublesome, would have his ears cuffed by some rude Russian General, The Russians are now within two days’ march of the Persian frontier, and could scize Tabreez in less than a week, They command the Caspian Sea, too. Persia has no for- titled places, no engineers, no artillery worth a doliar, and her tambie-down cavalry would hobble of like a herd of scared cows before a squadron or two of Tartar spearsmen, Persia could not offer a single day’s effective opposition to the Russian advance, and if she were in alliance with England atthe outbreak of hostil- ities she would be only a serious cause of dan- ger and almost certain defeat. The English have quite enough and too much territory to guard in India without having to protect the Persian frontier as Well, as Persia could do nothing to protect herself, A couple of Russian regiments and one major gen- eral would give @ satisfactory account of Ler; and the Persian army, bag and baggage, if it ever came into the fleld at all would be either bought up or annihilated, as served the Russian purpose. Eng- land might begin to make a stand in Cabool and Candabar, where her money bags could purchase some very warlike allies; but the lignt and frivo- lous Persians are worth nothing to her either as friends or foes, The mission which England keeps: up at Teheran is a pretty piece of Foreign OUfice patronage, as already pointed out, but it really serves no otheruse. If Great Britain wanted fine words and fine promises from the Shah she might have as many of them as she chose to purchase at any time; but the Shah has neither fear nor respect for England, knowing that it will not suit her purpose to aMict him. As for his promises, it 1s certain that, whatever promises he might give or sell—and he would certainly sell a good many of them—he could not keep one of them, nor would he attempt or desire to keep one. Russia wouid have no scruples at all either about dethroning him or annexing his country; and the Shah, though not generally well informed, knows very well what happened in the Caucasus, At present, however, nothing can possibly be more utterly absurd than the talk about a quarrel | between England and Russia. It is kept up by Anglo-Indian people, who seldom know much about Russia, and by officers in the army and navy, who are tired of a quiet and ill-paid life, and who mistake their hopes for facts and reasons. News- papers find their account in keeping up the delu- tion, and the Pall Mal Gazette even, the only Eng- jish newspaper which rises above cant and non- | Sense, and which is not more or less jobbed to sume company of stock jobbers, appears to have been now and then deiuded into publishing a talse esti- mate of Russian power and Russian designs. In truth, Russia is a giant with only the strength of a baby. Her army 13 numerous enbugh on paper, but it is commanded by offcers surprisingly igno- rant and inefficient. To talk of the power of Kussia , to anyone who bas lived in Russia, and knows any- thing of Russian affairs, is absurd. Russia has no generals, no money. Her troops are ill-fed, il- clothed, ill-disciplined. They are merely food for powder, and would be, as they always have been, slaughtered like sheep by any properly organized soldiery; and, whatever disatlected people may think or say, the English army just now is ina better state than ever it was bere. England could not attack Russia so as to do Russia much harm. She could, as she did, Knock the houses of the German and Greek merchants at Odessa about their ears, She could blockade the Black Sea and the Sea of Azof. She could set all the dis- solute and impoverished landlords of the Polish provinces jabbering curses, for want of money, and deprive them of a market for their corn as long as | the United States kept clear of the squabble and was Willing to sell her breadstuffs. She could even make herself troublesome in the Baltic under an enter- prising admiral, but she could not do any serious | damage to the heart of the Russian Empire. Russia is still, a8 Napoleon I. found it, almost impregnapie to attack. Her climate, her snows, her poverty are her protection. She can neither attack nor be attacked with effect. She could no more march an army down to the frontiers of British India, with her present means of transport, than she could send an army to the moon in balloons, It is only fair to add that she has no bellicose intentions towards England, and those that are attributed to her are merely the laughable fancies of silly people or the interested tricks of persons who desire to keep up a panic for their own objects, It is of course quite possible that an unfledged attaché to a Russian Embassy, or here and there an elderly Crimean Colonel, may talk and think a good deal about the Russian conquest of British India, but the Cabinet of St. Petersburg nourishes no such designs, and the Czar, who is a very easy | going person, only desires to end his !ife in peace, It has been now and then hinted that the Crown Prince of Russia has some warlike notions, and that when he ascends the throne he may set his troops in motion, One need never be surprised at anything, and perhaps he may go in search ofa beating twenty years hence, when iis father is dead. He will not, however, attack England, for he will have a great deal too much to do at home. The present Czar has encouraged, or tolerated, liberal principles till they have assumed rather a | meuacing aspect, and among the very likely things of the juture is the probability of a civil war in Russia, There is an awkward revolutionary spirit abroad in many places; a formidable middle clazs is rising up in the towns, and in the next genera- tion Russia will have a most sturdy and impracticable peasantry, very jealous of their rights and very prompt toresent any encroachment on them, She will also have, should her present land laws still exist, the wealthiest aristocracy in | the world; and history has seldom suown that rich landlords and sulky bumpkins could long live in harmony together. Then, again, Russia is men- | aced by Prussia. Her Baltic provinces, not less | than her Polish provinces, are a standing danger to her; and her German subjects, who have doubt- | jess much to complain of, already look towards | Prussia for protection, Whenever Russia comes into hostile contact with Prussia she will be beaten back with loss of territory; and the struggle between these two Powers is inevitable. It will | probably take place within these next tenor a dozen years, and tien Russia will be crippled for acentury. The Germans will take Riga and the richest of her commercial towns in the Baltic, and the Poles will probably profit by her weakness to seize their ancieyt possessions down to the Black Sea. Inafight with Prassia Russia would be ut- terly impotent, and with Prussia she must fight sooner or later, Yet any one who has resided in Russia will see at a glance how helpless she will be. Her sovereign, to begin with, is a German, with German feelings, sympathies and relatiqn- ships. He will go to war very unwillingly, and, when he has been forced into hostilities he will be sold and betrayed on all hands, The richest of his merchant: itieglitz, Mahs, Herder and hundreds of others—are Germans.« Ali the engin- eers, artisans and shopkeepers of note are Ger- mans, The flower of the Russian army, such as itis— Luders, Kotzebue, Todleben—are Germans, All the principal heads of departments at St. Petersburg are Germans. ‘The reason why the Germans have come already } all never take it off till he has risen to tha top of it, He will submit to any slights er humiliation—any amount of snubving—and ha will stick on steadily. There is no shaking him off till his chance of promotion comes, and he rises, by slow but certain footsteps, higher and higher, It may be asked why the Court of Russia, having No designs upon British Indla, should have paid such extraordinary honors to the Shah. There is, however, surely not much difculty in finding an’ answer to this question, The Court of Russia has merely acted after the natural instincts of all courts, which is to exalt royal and imperial per- sonages; for if'a shah were to be considered of small account by the light-minded it might also come to pass that the opinions of mankind might. some day be modified about aczar. At present, also, Russia has no desire for foreign conquest. To annex Persia would bring her into immediate collision with England; and under these circum- stances she would rather have a friendly neighbor, on her Circassian tronticr than not. The honorg paid to the Shah in Russta have no deeper causa than this, GERMANY AND THE SHAH, Germany received him well, because in Germany, as in Russia, the Court is all-powerful and very naturally considers tut it ts desirable to incalcata a taste for sovereigns. Germeny, however, has ad real interest in Persia. Now and then she sends out a few learned men to go about digging and reading inscriptions umong ancient ruins there, and when tyey bave done so they return to Berlin and write @ book which nobody reads, Austria does very much the same, THE ATTIDUDE OF FRANCE TOWARDS PERSIA, France, however, has always been very busy im the Fast, though she has hitherto reaped but small advartage from her meddling. She has constantly kept an envoy at Teheran, though he had nothing todo there but make money, which he sometime did in very queer ways. Napoleon the First made @ tremendous fuss there; and ft was put down by Sir John Malcolm with such energy that the de. lighted Persians of the period were pald more tham @ hundred thousand pounds by the Indian General, and the French probably paid them as much more. It is ailover now, Baron Pinchon and the Count, de Gobineau are usually understood to have lo: nothing by their missions; but they neither had nor sought to have any political influence. The enthusiasm shown for the Shah in Paris simply proves how extremely shallow is republican feeling in France, Marshal MacMahon, who is ® legitimist, was very glad to observe this, and paid such honors as he could to the Asiatic potentate with a willing mind. But the Shah himself was by nd® means pleased with the present aspect of French affairs. He learned with astonishment, and something lke terror in his looks, that this excitable people, since 1789—that 18 to say in les@ than ninety years—have beheaded one king, allowed one sovereign, Napoleon I.,to be dethroned,’ and upset three more—Charles X., Louis Philippe and Napoleon Ill.—for reasons which to him, the Shah, were incomprehensible ; that they have, moreover, changed their form of government filtteen times; that they have set up and{ knocked down three republics, and tha they believe in nothing bat the music o M. Offenbach. The effect of this announcement on the Shan’s mind was extremely disquieting. Ha found the French people curious and given to joka about him, but by no means reverential, They pretended to confound him with a strange species of tom cat, and danced and shouted “V ‘la le chats when he went abroad among them, There wag none of the cringing and flattery, none of the solemn bowmg down to him whicn he had ob- served with such complacency in Russia, Prussia and England. The comic papers, too, which de« light the Parisian public, turned him into ridicule. and told immoral anecdotes about the emotions his diamonds excite in female French breasts, E. C. GRENVILLE MURRAY. CHOLERA IN EUROPE. Severe Assaults of the Disease in Austria—R Military Station Made Desolate—Many 4 Deaths in the Capital. TELEGRAM TO THE NEW YORK HERALD. VIENNA, July 29, 1873. , In the barracks in the suburbs of this city there have been in one day as many 4s 290 cases of cholera and thirty deaths. The ravages of the disease have become so ex tensive that the government has been compelled to order the removal of the troops to Bruck, @ small town twenty-three miles southeast of Vienna, In this city the number of deaths trom cholera i¢ reported at twenty per day, MEXICO. net The Capture of Lozada Announced to the Cabi¢ net—Heavy Reinforcements for the Line of the Rio Grande—Caution Against Revolutionist Caucus. TELEGRAM TO THE NEW YORK HERALD. Crry oF Mexico, July 29, Via HAVANA, July 2, isha. } The government has received despatches con- firming the report that the famous revolationiat Lozada had been taken prisoner by the national troops. - He was captured on the 14tn inst. The Tepic revolution is avout ended, TROOPS FOR THE RIO GRANDE FRONTIER. The government ts arranging to send 6,000 troops to reiniorce the army on the Rio Grande, SHARP PRACTICE AND SECRET SERVICE. Minister Mejia declares that he will not support the government in its dictatorial powers. He is charged with holding revolutionary caucuses at the house of Santa Cecilfa, a son-in-law of the late President Juarez. Death of Another of Wade's Victims. PHILADELPHIA, July 29, 1873, Last evening John McBride, husband of Isabella McBride, who was murdered last week by Nelson Wade, died in Williamsport from wounds received at the hands of the murderer of his wife. Shortly betore he died he regained consciousness for a few moments, but was too feeble to give any imorma- tion of importance or that will fasten the deed on Wade. The latter's startling confession covers the ground, and the riséner calml, awaits the hour when he will be arraign to plead guilty to the killing of two inoffensive fel- low creatures. After the death of McBride a Coro- ner’s jury was empanelied and promptly rendered @ verdict against Wade, McBride had been warned on severa: occasions against hoarding his money in his house, as it would invite murder; but he pooh-poohed the idea of any one ever ming him. He was buried by the side of his wile and the funeral was attended by a vast concourse of citi- zeus. The murderer heard the tolling of the church bell and witnessed the tuneral cortege pass to the cemetery without flinct ing. Since his confession he has changed considerably, and now converses with but few. INDIANS FIRING ON A SURVEYING PARTY, YANKTON, D. T., July 29, 1873. The surveying party in charge of Lieutenant Wooley arrived here last night, having been fired into by @ war party of about fisty Sioux Indians of, the Yankton Nais band from Fort Thompson, under the lead of a chief named Quilted Fan. This oc- curred about two hundred miles directly north of here, on the James River, the Indians declaring that the lands belonged to them, and that they Would not allow them to be surveyed. STRUCK BY LIGHTNING James Young, twenty-four years of age, of 4% Norfolk street, was struck by lightning last even- ing and paralyzed, while standing under a tree at Eighth avenue and Ninety-fifth sacha He wae conveyed to, the Ninety-ninth street a oe by irty-first precinct. flag- the police ot the Thirty: io ta wis; i staf on Cornell's iron fount ‘Twenty-sixth street, was struck by lightning yea- to govern Russia, to all practical intents and pur- poses, is plain and lies upon the surface, It is ac- knowledged by the Russians themselves, They are accustomed to say that ‘a Russian will only serve aslong as he is wanted, but that a Gernian will serve a8 long as he can.” As soon as one of this pategt and laborious race gets his foot terday afternoon and slightly damaged. HELD IN $10,000 FOR SMUGGLING, Boston, Masg., July 29, 1873, Captain de Leroy, of the schooner E. B. Phillips, has been held in $10,000 bail for trial on a charge of smuggling gin from St. Pierre to Marblehead,