t appears on the table, the food is inspected by
two trusted officials whose duty it is to see that the king is not
poisoned. Before the king eats of the food it is further examined by
his physician.

TREASURY.

The late Shah left $200,000,000 to his son, nearly half of which was in
the form of precious stones and jewelry. Perhaps he has a larger amount
invested in precious stones than any other king in the world. His
peacock throne which was brought from Delhi, India, by king Nadirshah,
who captured that city about 200 years ago, was prized at $12,500,000
some years ago, and is worth more than that now. It is made of solid
gold, and is embedded with diamonds, pearls, and other precious stones.
The rug upon which he prays is worth $2,500,000. At the beginning of
each new year, seated on the peacock throne, he wears his crown, and
all of his officers bow before him and wish him a prosperous reign
during the new year. On such occasions his person is covered with many
dazzling jewels.

WIVES.

The late Shah had forty regular wives and about sixty concubines. The
present Shah has seven wives. The palace in which the king's wives
reside is almost as beautiful as the king's palace, near which it is
located. A number of soldiers guard the entrance to this palace. There
are no men inside the palace except a few eunuch servants. There is
also a large number of maid servants therein. When the king has many
wives he marries some of them against their will. If he fancies a
beautiful daughter of a lord, her parents will frequently marry her to
the king in order to get an office or a title. The eunuchs have
authority to rebuke the wives of the king. Sometimes a number of the
women will playfully resent the eunuch's authority and push him against
a wall or knock his high hat down over his eyes. Once they picked an
old fellow up and threw him into a pool of water greatly damaging his
fine suit of clothes. At times they give a valuable present to a eunuch
such as a nice robe.

CHAPTER II.

GOVERNOR.

Persia is divided into thirteen states. The King appoints a governor
over each state; this governor appoints a mayor over each city within
his territory. This office is not awarded on the basis of education,
ability or worthiness, but is given to the man who will pay the most
money, provided his ancestry is fairly good. Many mayors of cities are
related to the royal family. These offices are limited to terms of one
ye