s wanted
at present is the development of the country on a solid, reliable basis,
instead of the insecure, unsteady intrigues upon which business, whether
political or commercial, is unfortunately carried on in the present state
of affairs.

No one realises this better than the well-to-do Persian, and nothing
would be more welcome to him than radical reform on the part of the Shah,
and the establishment of the land of Iran on unshakable foundations. With
a national debt so ridiculously small as Persia has at present, there is
no reason why, with less maladministration, with her industries pushed,
with her army reorganised and placed on a serviceable footing, she should
not rank as one of the first and most powerful among Asiatic independent
nations.

We have seen what young Japan, against all odds, has been able to
accomplish in a few years. All the more should a talented race like the
Persians, situated to begin with in a far less remote position than
Japan, and therefore more favourably for the acquisition of foreign ways,
be able to emulate, and even in a short time surpass, the marvellous
success attained by the little Islanders of the Far East.

It is grit that is at present lacking in Persia. The country has a
wavering policy that is extremely injurious to her interests. One cannot
fail to compare her to a good old ship in a dangerous sea. The men at her
helm are perplexed, and cannot quite see a clear way of steering. The
waves run high and there are plenty of reefs and rocks about. A black
gloomy sky closes the horizon, forecasting an approaching cyclone. The
ship is leaking on all sides, and the masts are unsteady; yet when we
look at the number of rocks and reefs and dangers which she has steered
clear through already, we cannot fail to have some confidence in her
captain and crew. Maybe, if she is able to resist the fast-approaching
and unavoidable clash of the wind and sea (figuratively England is the
full-blown wind, Russia the sea)--she may yet reach her destination,
swamped by the waves, dismantled, but not beyond repair. Her damage, if
one looks at her with the eye of an expert, is after all not so great,
and with little present trouble and expense she will soon be as good as
new. Not, however, if she is left to rot much longer.

Such is Persia at present. The time has come when she must go back into
the shelter of a safe harbour, or face the storm.

CHAPTER XII

The Persian army--The P