Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1881-11-17
THE SULTAN.
Seclusion of the Turkish RuIer---His
Religious 0eVotion--.iis Constant
Fear.

| nehR'ouS OeNotion.-.hIS Constant
Fear.
Sunset Cox, writing from Constatino-
pie to the New York Sun, says: The
sultan lives in great seclusion in his
yellow palace, somewhat aloof and
apart, on the hills of the European
side of the Bosporus. He comes forth
but rarely and cautiously, as czars do
nowadays. He is bound to 90 to GER
tain mosques on certain days, and on
Fridays always. We saw him the
other day at the mosque below the
palace, but we waited for him in a
miscellaneous and enthusiastic crowd
for two hours. The soldiery were there
on guard. They surrounded the en-.
trance and lined the streets between
the high walls. The people were not
neaI. Bands came and played music
officers of state arrived and were ush-
cred through the ranks. At length
there was blast of trumpet good
deal like a circus summons for the
grand cavalcade. The gates of the
palace opened! We peeped into the
secret and beautiOus grounds. Lo! led
by servants in gala attire, some rider.
less horse appeared. 1t is custom
which follows the sultan, Then came
a man in plain fez and on a white
horse. 1t was the sultanl He seemed
sallow; but he was not Unlocking. He
is like all Turks, for they all look alike.
The hush of expectancy was over. A
rush and crush was made aftei hil as
he dismounted and entered the Ii qle.
A shrill cry went up from the D.. IS,
which reminded the sultan that he so
is mortal and God is great. The Gro, !
dispersed, and the sultan stayed al. !
prayed.
He is in perpetual prayer, or is eX-
pected to be, in these fasting days of
Ramazan and festive days of Bairim.
AT the close of the former he was mar
ried-again. 1t was his annual mar
riage at mosque. 1t was public in
one sense, but mo cards" to us. Every
year the Turkish empire is winnowed
for the handsomest young lady to adorn
the palace as wife. The mother of
the sultan selects from the bevy of
beauties gathered from "silken Samar-
cand TO cedared Lebanon" One of the
singular laws of royal marriage here is
that the wife becomes the slave, when
married to his majesty. WhyP Be
cause the crown prince, or future sui
tan, must be born slave himself, and
thus less in rank than the free people
of the realm he governs! This is odd,
but it is Oriental.
Again, this week the sultan appeared
in Scutari, where he met all the militia
~ pashas and beys and the Ulemats,
riding on white horses and wearing
ribbOned turbans. The latter are the
priestly Interpreters of the law and
prophet. They display great pomp in
the procession when the sultan enters
the Church Of the Six Minarets.
This chief of the state, how timid
soever he may be, must come forth at
stated times. The present sultan is
not large man, nor of conspicuous
courage, He is regarded as able, and
manages his own matters with adroit-
ness. When Abdul Aziz was deposed
in 1876 Murad V. assembled to the
throne. He also was deposed after on.
ly two months rule, because of alleged
weak intellect, thus making two weak
lings who have given way under min.
isterial dictation to the present sultan
There is much unrest among the Turks
because of these untoward and suspic-
ious changes, which has been promoted
by the extraordinary trial and exile of
Midhat Pasha for the alleged assassi-
nation of AZiZ.
Therefore we were not a little
curious to see the present sultan, who
seems to master the situation, which
is surrounded by so much doubt and
danger. We had once seen the sultan
Abdul Mejid, amid forty thousand
troops, on a grand day for the recep.
tion of the chief of the Mohammedan
religion from Mecca. No special guard
was needed then. But dynamite and
assassination have made necessary these
precautions, and sense of wrongfully
trying and Furnishing Midhat Pasha
the best of the progressive statesmen
of the east, and full of enlightened
ideas, makes the sultan timid, like the
car. When, therefore, the anniversa
~ of his coronation came, the Other
day, he became nervous and uncertain
First, he was to give grand dinner al
his palatial seat, at which he himself
was to presids-a rare conces
sion and ceremony. He was t.
show himself very happy gener
ally. The dinner was to be giver
to the ambassadors and chief men
1t was discarded, however, on the Piles
of poverty. After spending several
thousand pounds, it was ascertaineG
that it would be indelicate to have &
registering jamboree when the arrear:
of pay of all the soldiers and officer:
were so far behind-a year or more
Making virtue of this fact, the sultar
; postponed his feast. The real situation
IS otherwise. 4 week or so ago som,
Italian subjects of sinister motions anC
conduct were arrested for conspiracy
to kill the sultan. Their explanation
was that their dynamite explosives wer,
only intended for killing fish in the Ses
OF Marmora. But something still les
serious made greater outcry. Tht
custonl-house officials stopped som,
balls having in them explosive materi
ais. They consisted of four globes ant
three iron pipes. The globes were sen
to experts. The master of artillery
Ali Saib, was at the head of a commits
sion to report. Chemists were callet
in. Three little suspicious perforation
in the upper hemisphere of the bal
were found, and found covered, bu
the cover was removed by a keyi So
dunn was found in them. 1t burn
vividly when thrown in water. Th
commission decided that the balls wer
pyrotechnics, and so they were, bu
useful ones. They were intended to b
thrown into the water in case of Der
son overheard at night, when the Il
, Elimination would help to save. Al
inatrI1nnarA fnr. l;fo na.-s.... ..... A.