The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1885-04-10
WITH IL SULTAN
Ex-GoVernor Stamford, Of Calitorn,,
T. the Ruler OF Turkey. @Aa
From tha San Ero - ..on. So

"reminiscences of his travels abroad !.
it fell from his own lips:
by appointment we went one ,oo,n
ing to the old palace in which the c,oa,.
jewels are kept, having as our ..
cort, Pangeria Bey, n Of 4.
Sultan's aides-de-camp and o man !
superior intelligence. On reacn;nr
the building we we're received by soro
twenty-five or thirty officers in rl;tt.,;.
uniforms, who formed two lines tbronsSS
which we passed to the door of the trsss'
ure chambers. This door, which was !
solid bit of wood, had two locks. wb;.s
were sealed with wax. Two officials ~
peared upon the scene, broke the seal.
with certain formalities, threw open hi
door, and acted as our guides. Ii seem.
impossible for me to give You an ada,
quate idea of the immense wealth stored
in those three or four chambers In them
are the gems collected during centuries
past by rulers of despotic power, and
these precious stones represent q MONEY
value that is extraordinary, ~althouchthe
amount can not even be coniectured. NJ
no n has ever set a price no each sepa.
rate gem. 1t Is safe to say, however.
that this collection is far more valuable
than that celebrated one in the Green
Vaults Of Dresden; while the latter il
estimated to be worth some $50 900 900.
Under glass cases, which are ranged
around the walls and through the center
of the rooms, are basins filed with
diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls and
other precious stones, both cut and
uncut. Cimeters, daggers, pistols, rifles,
shields and other weapons of many q
curious shape are to be found here, the
handles and scabbards of each of them
studded with jewels that represent a
fortune. Ornamented in like fashion,
we find saddles and saddle cloths, tur-
bans, robes of state, carpets, velvet,
silk and satin canopies, pipes, and
Heaven knows what else. Here are
wax figures of all the Sultans who have
reigned, and each of these figures ia
decked with gems that would have ran
somed king in the olden days. Here
is the gorgeous throne of the Caliph,
Haroun ell Rescued, more brilliant and
costly than anything we dreamed Of
while reading the arabian Nights"
Numberless other things there are Of
precious worth, and after glanclng them
over q person can only wonder how
Jewels retain their high standard Of
value while so many of them ore known
to exist In a single place. When we
passed from the treasurer chambers the
outer door was again doubly locked and
sealed, according to the form prescribed
by law, and after coffee had been served
we drove back to u quarters, dazzled
by what we had seen.
"Ths day before the n appointed
for u leaving Con~stantinople, / was
much surprised at receiving through
court official an invitation for the fol-
lowing afternoon to a private audience
with the Sultan, during which ne
wished to question me concerning the
material developments OF Turkey.
While approaching the honor con-
ferred, I was embarrassed b5 the con-
siderable delay that it's acceptance
would necessitate, and tried to explain
that fact as politely as possible. Ihe
officer said the matter could easily oe
accommodated by delaying the Austria
mail steamer for a day, and tins was
done by the steamship company IN COM
pliance with q request from the Cour.,
At 2 o'clock on the appointed day !
reached the palace in company VIII
General Wallace and Pangeria Bey,. ana
we were ut once ushered into . prlva1e
audience chamber where the Sultan
was seated, with several officials STAND
ing around him. After exchanging
bows, he motioned Gen. Wallace ana
myself to seats that were placed In fron'
of him, and then OF once commenced =
question me through an interpreter, =
he either is not Or seems not 70 "
acquainted with either English "
French. There was nothing remarks.
BILE about the room, except. pernapS'
the fact that it was furnished In Frencl
style, nor was there much OF Orien'a'
splendor in the dress OF the oui,ai'
He wore q blue undress uniform OF hu.
ropean cut, the only traces OF Eastern
costume being a plain fez, and . nss
n~ificently mounted cimeter. he x.
peared to be q rather slight man. SONY y:
thirty-fve years Of age, with an n,e, en-.
gent face that showed a somewhat ' -
id character, I should judge, and . ~
cidedlv Jewish cast of features.
He FIRST Intercepted me 81 sV1 ~
length and in q manner that snoweu ~. ~
had already studied the question, upG 8
the political and material situation Ia
America, and then questioned me cio',
II as to the advisability OF buldile
railway from Constantinople 70 sne n. ar.
of the Persian Gulf. His questions W. =
TO the point. while my answers were Il;
essarily somewhat longer, as tney 4
to be Of an explanatory nature, ~
the close Of the audience he asked XXI
embody them in q letter, that ne m ~,
have them at hand for more caie
.--ls~-