The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-06-17 00:00:00

VII STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER

bagataway, that they were pained that the Prince of
Wales was not well, and that he could not come to
give them the sunshine of his august presence and
that of the beautiful Princess r that they were awed
by the greatness and magnificence of England,
and would carry back to far Cnagnawagha the tale
of what they had seen and how they had been wel-
comed ; and finally they thanked the soldier Prince
who had witnessed their sports, and all the great people
there, and made them their loyal and respectful
salutations. This little speech was delivered in a
sonorous voice and with much earnestness and power
of gesticulation. At its close all bowed and pointed
their head coverings towards the pavilion, and then
the entire party scampered off like schoolboys let
loose for play. Presently the chief returned, bearing
his totnalisvvk (which is really a monster pipe, such as
King Cole may have smoked out of), and waited on the
Doke of Connaught, who wished to see him. His
Royal ilighners reminded him how had seen his tribe
before, and remarked in French that he thought they
had played rather roughly. Teir Karoniare replied
in French that there was no diversion in the game
unless they played it with enthusiasm and vigour.
After a few more words the chief returned to his tent,
his dusky countenance beaming with satisfaction, and
soon afterwards the band of whimsical "savages,"
having changed the striped guernseys, scarlet trunk
hose, and white tights that made them look so very
like street acrobats, re-appeared in the nineteenth
centirry dress of England.

ulnar artery of the left arm, inflicting a.wound or cut
which must needs put an end to his life in ten or fifteen
minutes. He then allowed himself to bleed to death
like an old Roman hero, till he sank exhausted in the
posture in which he was found. His face and body
were utterly bloodless, his skin white and scrupulously
clean, and no braise or swelling, no trace of a struggle
or violence, could any where be discovered. At the
express request of the Government, a professional
examination of the body was made one hour later
in a guard-room on the ground floor, where it had been
removed, attended by native and foreign doctors, about
twenty in number, among whom were Dr. Dickson,
the physician attached to her Majesty's Embassy, and
other European surgeons and general practitioners,
either belonging to the European Embassies or Lega-
tions, or residents in Pera or Galata; and these gen-
t'emen delivered a certificate, now in print, signed by
all of them, and to the effect that the ex-Sultan had
died of wounds or cuts -;ghich be alone and no other
person could possibly have inflicted. Dr. Dickson
came out this morning to Therapia, on a visit to Sir
Henry Elliot, and gave the Ambassador a minute
account of the circumstances on which the unanimous
opinion of himself and his colleagues was founded.
The verdict, therefore, was "Feb o de se," which did
not prevent the burial of the body with solemn pomp
at Mahmoud 11. 's monument at Samboul later in the
afternoon. I scarcely need advert to the fact that this
is the first instance of a Sultan putting an en el to his
days, as suicide is by no means prevalent among the
fatalist ()manila. Many; however, are the Sultans
who have met with a violent death; three of them were
strangled, and others despatched with dagger or
poison. Some have also been deposed or compelled to
resign. Abdul Aziz thus withdraws from all compe-
tition to the Throne he has forfeited, and goes to give
another world his account of the manner in which he
has occupied it for nearly 15 years (June 25, 1861, to
May 29, 1876.)

The Correspondent of ViC TinICS also adds to his letter—
Part of the ex-Sultan's stud of horses are already
being sold by auction. It may not be equally ea,ly to
dispose of his female establishment, amounting, it is
said, to 1,500 persons, between what people improperly
call "wives "—for a Sultan never marries—and nurses,
slaves, singing and dancing girls, and other attendants.
As I was walking yesterday in the neighbourhood of
Beikos, across the Bosphorus, on the Asiatic shore, on
the road frcm the kiosk or palace of Tokat, I met two
" anthem," or country carts, drawn by oxen, and laden
with women of various ranks with children and
nurses and negro attendants. My surmise was
that these were some of ,the inmates of the
the ex-Sultan's harem, for whom a temporary
home was provided in the vacant apartments
of Tokat till the new Sovereign or his Ministers had
time to consider what permanent arrangement could
be made for them, in which case other flocks of the
Same birds could find their nest in some of the man y other
Imperial country homes. Many of the former women
of Abdul-Medjid, and even some of those of Mahmoud
11., who died in 1839, are still enjosing the pension
allowed to them by the Civil List. A widow or cast-
off woman of a Sultan has a high value in the matri-
monial market among these loyal Turks; those who
have borne children to the Sultan are, however, de-
barred from marriage.
It breckonedthatof 200,000,0001. T. constituting the
debt of the Ottoman Empire, a sum of 53,000,0001. T.
has been absorbed by Sultan Abdul-AZz during the
15 years of his reign. If we reflect that of the
200,000,000 LT. issued at nominal price little more
than half was ever actually encashed, and if we take
into account the interest at the average rate of 5 per
cent, for so many years, we shall easily understand
hew little of the ill-borrowed money ever found its
way into the State Treasury.