Page:The Persian Revolution of 1905-1909 (1910).djvu/160

 116 THE PERSIAN REVOLUTION

together with Aaa Sayyid Jamal, Shaykh Muhammad the Preacher (Wd’zz), and others, began to denounce autocracy and tyranny in the pulpit, especially during the month of Muharram (Feb. 25—March 26, 1906). Sayyid Jamal was particularly active, and had an enormous influence with the “udéh-namadis,” or felt-capped artisans and humble folk of the dézérs, to whom he spoke in graphic and forcible language which they could understand, and who loved him accordingly. Thus he would relate to them, as an illustration of the sort of selfishness and inhumanity which Persian absolutism involved, how one night, when the Shah was on a hunting-expedition, a snow-storm came on, accompanied by a violent wind which threatened to “:blow down the royal tent, and how, to prevent this, certain oldiers were sent out into the storm to hold the tent-ropes, and ere found in the morning frozen to death—“a sacrifice,” as he

- aid, “to the person of His Most Sacred Majesty.” a TO ther influences were also at work, notably a secret society ~ known as the Anjuman-1-Makhft, and a National Library, or Kitdb-khdina-i-Millt, The latter was essentially a free library designed to educate the people in patriotic ideas, and was founded amongst others by Hajji Sayyid Nasru’ll4h Akhawi, an upright man and true patriot, who is now Vice-President of the Majlis. This library was situated opposite to the Avg or citadel, and, to quote the picturesque expression employed by Taqi-zada (to whom I am indebted for this information) “everyone whose head ached went there.” Amongst its other supporters were Mirzd Aga of Isfahan, afterwards one of the Deputies for Tabriz; Hajji Mirza Hasan Rushdiyya, and Majdu1- Islam of Kirman, aterwards editor of the NWzdd-yi-Watan, or “Country’s Call.’ These three, who were all exiled by ‘Ayn d- Dawla to Kalat-i-Nadiri, were of more doubtful integrity. The first by his double-dealing incurred alike the suspicion of his comrades, who expelled him from the library, and of ‘Ayuw'd- Dawla,with whom he had at first ingratiated himself by articles which he contributed to the Calcutta Hablwl-Mattn. Later, when brought back from Kalat-i-Nddiri, he was elected one of the Members for Tabriz, but was subsequently held up to obloquy in the columns of an illustrated Tabriz paper entitled “ Reptiles