Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-03-24


hat, replied, ut is thus that the re.
forming Vizier whom thou hast Sc
over thy Empire teaches and that
upon this his Majesty was pleased tC
give orders for the exile of his Premier
and the appoint of the successor. But
by others it was told that the reason
for the fall of the great man was that
he had, so lately as lastSaturday, found
the Sultan intractab BILE in regard to GER
tain appointments which he had
considered necessary for the good
of the Empire. He told his mas
ter, quoth they, that he must
have more Christians in Office,
and that to effect this he must turn
more Moslems out" "What!' cried
| the Sultan, according to that account,
turn out man without a trial? Is
| that your Constitution ?' Whereupon
| Midhat is said to have retired in haste,
somewhat after the fashion of one un-
happy person known to all time as
Haman; while Ahasuerus, or rather
Abul Hamid, fearing further trouble,
gave orders for his ruin. He had
reason" said some one who stood by
me; for | happen to know that as
Midhat left the palace he said, If Alb
dul Hamid cannot see his way clear to
do as he is told he will have to go the
way of either Murad or Azizl You
are wrong in what you are saying"
struck in Bey; the reasons you give
are silly. Mldhat has simply been
sent to exile because he vas actually
plotting to overthrow the Sultan and
to restore Murad." Now this an
nouncement caused some little stir, for
the man who made it was of certain
rank; aud | was wondering what would
be said to it, when person whom |
have known as owing his all to Md
hats kindness, and at whom | greatly
marvelled, seeing him standing court
ier to the new Vizier in thatcrowded
room, Whined out, Then, if Midhat
has offended against the Constitution,
feel that even | must abandon him.
can no longer support a man who is
not sincere" 1t was in vain to reply,
But has that clause of the Constitu-
ton which refers to justice been so
strictly observed by the Sultan in thus
exiling Minister without trial, that
even you should spurn him ?" Not
word was given in response; the mis-
cradle traitor stood waiting for his
master rival
As the only Englishman in the room,
[ found myself in strange company.
At the far end of the chamber in
long divan set ten of the Ulema, all
save one wearing huge turbans, the ex-
ception being arrayed in green. There
were officers of the army and of the
navy; there were diplomatic servants
in embroidered coats, and people in
plain dress. But believe [ was the
only man in the room who did not
wear fez. These red skull caps gave
to their owners very curious appear
ance, which had noticed before. All
was involved in the deepest mystery
not a soul could tell who would be the
newly appointed Vizier. Some said
that Redit had been summoned, and
then sent away; that Saivet had de-
clined the honor on the ground that
he was not strong enough for the work;
that the Sultan's brother-in-law NAH
moud-who, y-the-way, only speaks
Turkish, and knows nothing Of any
thing or anybody slve what may be
picked up in a Moslem harem-had
been chosen; that not he, but Edhem
was the man Nobody knew-it was
all the merest guesswork. A very
short time would tell-tilI then we must
wait. Yet, Turks though they all were,
they could not at such a moment wait
stoldily. | have seen them lounging on
chairs in the battle field, making ciga-
rettes and drinking coffee The while
that shells were falling and bursting
all around; | have watched them as,
without the slightest tremor, they
have moved slowly forward to face
what appeared to be certain death
quiet, self-possessed, and determined.
But in that audience room they were
all in excitement. Not a man could
keep still. When, presently, the noise
of the bands which were stationed
outside was heard to herald the ap-
proach Of the Sultau's Premier, they
all rushed to the windows and strug-
gled for places like boys playing at
football. How they peered through
that wretched window glass down into
the crowded street below, to see who
it was that rode on horseback through
the long lines of troops and the dense
crowds of peoplei How they jammed
each other into corners-generals,
clerks, priests, pashas, all bending
forward to see whom the new conner
might be For to them the horse on
which the Grand Vizier sat might
bring honor or disgrace, power or ruin,
wealth or poverty, reward or punish
ment. They actually trembled with
excitement as the procession came up
In
Nearer and nearer moved the horse
men who heralded it, nearer marched
the soldiers who guarded its progress,
and then came into view, on horse
back, the Sheik -ul- Islam, clad in
white and gold, followed by Edhem
Pasha, the Sultan's choice. "Edhem
Edhem!" echoed all round the room.
There were some who smiled, many
who sighed, others who looked doubt
full, as though they knew not what the
new possessor Of power might do to or
with them. But this was only observ-
able for a moment, for now all were
anxious to get as near to the Premier
as possible, and then another rush was
taking place to the centre Of the apart
ment, down which on either side of
narrow pass formed from the door
ranged all those who were in the room
A minute elapsed, then was heard a
great noise in the outer hall as of peo-
pie being thrust back by the soldiery in
order that room should be made for the
Grand Vizier; and then entered the
the Sheik -ul- Islam, his gold
cred turban and his long white robe
being conspicuous as he advanced, fol-
lowed Immediately afterwards by Ed
hem Pasha, tine Sultan's Secretary.
safvet Pasha, and others. There was
such a scene of cringing and bowing as
[ had never seen even in Turkey be-
fore. Those who could lean forward
and almost touch the ground with their
faces did SO, and were happy; but not
so the unfortunate ones crammed to-
gether behind them. For them it was
only reserved to beat their faces with
their hands in demonstrative fashion,
in the hope that perchanoe by some
accident the new lord of their destinies
might happen to see them. They did the
same thing when Mahmond was made
Vizier, now many years ago; they beat
fore heads to Mehemed Ruchdi and
Midhat. Now it was Edhem's turn to
receive their salutations. | am bound
to say he did not lack for lowly bows.
At length he ceased to acknowledge
these tokens of humility, and stood as
though he awaited something; where