, 1884-02-13
ABDUL HAMID.
The Sultan of Turkey Going to thu
Mosque for Prayers
Precautions to Guard tho Com
mander OF tho Faithrui- Against
Attack---The suItan's Per-
sonaI Appearance.

lfOrei2n Cor. San Francisco Chronicle-l
Beyond tho Assiz palace, where six year
ngo the predecessor Of Abdul HAmid was
murdered by having tho veins OF his arm
cut with a pair of SCISSORS, th0ro was a noise
OF bugleS and the whole street was blocked
by a confused mass of color. It was the
soldiers ut the mosque. They were driving
the crowd back and clearing the avenue in
anticipation OF the coming OF tho sultan.
They had drawn up in Limo for full GOO
yards on either sids OF the street. those on the
right being the marines from the Turkish
gunboata. Every company had its own band
playing, md each band played its own tune.
A moment lator and high above the othar
din came the shril blast Of tho bugies that
announced ths closing OF the street. From
that time no one was allowed 70 pass the
barriers till after the ceremony was over.
The winter palace, from which the sultan
was to come, stands on the top of a high hill
and Is approached by two roads leading up
opposite sides A judicious rsticencs, born OF
the impulse to go cunning for him, displayed
on two previous occasions by his devoted sub
jects, has induced the sultan to keep it secret
until tho latest moment by which OF these
two roads he will descend tho hill. Tho i'm
patient crowd at the lower junction waited a
full hour before the posting of the
guards gave evidences OF his choice.
Then they Trimmed rapidly out
In search Of points of vantage.
The preparations against attack were re,
marknbls in their completeness. At inter
walls of about ten feet on alternate sides OF
the road squads of from two to I've soldiers
took their place as guards. Twenty PAGES
bshind these a second line OF patrols was
placed, who walked back and forth and
kept q limo beyond which no one was al
lowed to pass. Wherever q lane or path
came into the highway it was closed by a
flo OF mon They were all armed with i'm.
proved Winchester rifies-American patent
and carried their sword bayonets mounted.
All the troops carried swords and were
armed with rifies OF the most approved pat
tern. With their black faces and white eyes,
their wonderful stature and Oriental cos
tune, they wers MS grim and formidable q
body OF troops as one would want TO meet.
Ignorant and fatalistic, they are invaluable
to the sultan; for being ignorant they nave
all the fidelity Of dogs, and being fatalistic
they fight like very devils against overwhslm-
ing oddA In tho interval that followed
the guards along the road were
doubled. Officers rode continually up and
down botwo1n the double line. There was a
1uttsr Of garments and momentnry confu-
sion as the women in the orchard rose to
their foet and pressed to tho outer barrier.
Many Of them carried paper which they
were arranging and waving above their
heads. These were petitions to tho sultan,
which were to DO displayed as he passed by.
No one is allowed to make verbal petition
to him at this time, but all papers thus held
up are collected, after he passos, by an oficor
who rides In the wake OF his carriage.
The pause still continued and the patience
OF the crowd became severely tried. They
called and shouted and pushed and jostled
each othsr and the guards But suddenly
thoy know that hs was coming. How they
knew 1t I cannot tell, for there was only
100 yards OF road visible and no one said
so or made q manual sign. They must
have felt that he was coming In the air. An
instant hush Of expectation succeeded to tho
noise, and voluntarily thsy fell back. The
confusion of the moment before WAS sue
ceeded by absolute silence. Even the water
vonders forgot to clink their glasses. The Oh
GERS stopped riding up and down and faced
rigidly to the front. 1t was 80 still that l
could hear the bands playing In Galatsa, a
mile below there on the water.
Then suddenly, away up the hill, came a
measured click, click, click, one following on
the other like the notes Of a great telegraph
machins. The sound came nearsr, grew
louder, reached US, was intolligibls, passed
US, grew fainter and was gone along tho road
1t was the hands OF the guards striking
kutlI kuth - bAol PiOF~nJSd aluh II inter
another down the hill. The officers
touched their forohoads and breasts as IL cross.
ing themselves and bent humbly and revcr.
emily to the ground, and with n whirl Of dust
and n clatter of hoofs and wheels tho sultan
with his body-guard passed suddenly round
the turn of the hill and came rapidly down
the road. The coTtege was a blaze OF scarlet
and gold, the carriage and harness were
gildSd at every possible point and the
troops wore scarlet cloalu over their
blue uniforms. There wore sixty
eight of them, aud each man carried drawn
sword. On the front seat OF tho carriage
wero Osman Pasha, present minister of war.
and tho grand vizisr. The former is old and
whits-beadsd From the cast OF his features
and the way he wears his whiskers he might
easily be mistaken for an English arissocrat
The vizier, on the contrary. Ia fat, swarthy
and smooth-faced, an unmistakabls Turk
Facing them, and alone, on the back seat
was Abdul Hamid, the present commander
Of the faithful" He IL not an impressive
looking man; small and SANDER, with short
mustachs and almost boyish features, he
has no ono attribute of a great and dsspotie
ruler. His dress, too, helped to con-
Arm this opinion. His ministers, his
guards, his subjects who looked on as
spectators, wero brilliant with gaudy
colors. He himself wore a simple dress OF
plain black with tho red fez, indicative OF his
Mussulman faith. His only ornament was
the row Of decorations" worn in tho French
fashion in a line across the left breast OF his
closely buttoned coat He sat nervously up
right on his seat and looked hxedly in front
Of him, never turning his eyes to the right or
to the left