Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-10-17

A Pen Picture Of the sultan an His Way
to Prayers on Friday
Sultan Abdul Hamid has an empire nearly
half the size Of the United states, over which
~ 4. ahsoln,, ruler. aud his word means life
and dsa,b 10 more than $1,000, 600 people. He
A. The spiritual head OF the great Mohamme-
dan religion. and 20OOOO,OOO lips speak his
name In worship every day. Multitudes in
India North Africa China and South Europe
I,ok ,,,c, hin, es the shadow OF God" and
uko ths Turk of Asia Minor, regard him as
the rsnresentatiye uf Mohammed He has an
income of tlO 10000 year. His treasury
IA flled with diamonds His palaces are num-
bered by scores and he counts his Arab horses
NV Tho fbousnpd. lie has countless servants
20 satisfy his every wish
IL physical comfort, sensual enjoyments
and worldly power are the chief ends OF life,
this man. now In nj, prime, ought 20 be the
happiest man In the world Vie Is, ON the
contrary, one OF the most miserable. Every
one OF the roses Of his life conceals n thorn,
and In each OF his palaces the skeletons OF fear
hide In the closets, stand behind the marble
columns OF the salons and poke their heads
out ut him through the perfumed steam OF
his luxurious Turkish bath. Having absolute
control over millions OF lives, he exists Ia
rs he spends his nights and DAYS inside his
great palace surrounded by his guards
GUARD or 1000
He moves among bis people only when he
isforced 10 do 50 by the religious observances
which are incumbent upon him as the head
VI the Mohammcdan religion, and his only
suting is on Friday afternoon when he goes
IN state 10 worship at the mosque.
fIha .,r,tu,ny H. e,, Of tina Grand s,..lt. e
Coustantinople The people would rise in in
surrecticu II the sultan omitted IL, aud IL
takes 1000 troop 20 guard him on his way
from his palace 90 the place OF worship. A
wide, winding road leads from the palace 20
the mosque, and nj the side OF this "A house
has been built by the sultan for distinguished
foreign guests. This house Is Just Opposite
the mosque and IT, windows command a An,
view Of It and the roads leading 20 IT,
Armed with the card Of the American min
lister and accompanied by my Mohnmmeslnn
guide, was received by the officer In charge
when called no this house | was given a
seat at one of the windows, and for two hours
preceding the ceremony | was interested in
the massing Of the soldiers and In the prepa-
ration for the coming Of the sultan First
came a little army Of carts drawn by donkeys
and led by bare legged men In turbans.
These carts were filed with soft yellow sand
and spread over the road to the depth OF sew
eral inches. As time goes on the soldiers
march up, division after division, and rank
themselves along the highway.
There are regiments OF cavalry on the
finest OF Arabian stee,is, each regiment hay
ing horses Of the same color, and nea "
every regiment uniformed differently. Here
Is a troop Of Circassians with black caps six
inches high, upon the crown OF which ara
white crosses. They are dressed In European
uniforms, and upon their breasts are rows Of
cartridges Below them are cavalry from
Asia Minor, and coming down the hill IN the
distance are troops after troops OF bronze
faced, fine looking men In turhans and caps
on the finest 81 Arabian horses. The soldiers
are tall, broad shouldered and straight
Down another road march long lines OF in
fantry, some In the green colors Of Moham-
med and others in clothes Of blue trimmed
with red.
As the hour for the coming of the sultan
approaches the roads turn into rivers OF
color. and along the side OF them, back OF the
soldiers, are seen the curious characters Of n
Mohammedan crowd There at the right Is
patch Of white, and YOU note that the hun
dred baloon-like bags OF white cotton or silk,
which seem 10 stand upright on the ground,
out Of each Tag, near the top, peep two black
eyes, and you know that these are the ladies
Of several Mohammedan harems. who have
come out 90 get view u the sultan. New
come the officers Of the court. They drive up
In carriages drawn by magnificent horses
Some Of them come on horseback, and the
breasts OF all are covered with medals, while
their clothes, Of European cut, fairly blaze
with gold lace Each man wears IA bright
red fez cap. which looks like gigantic red
tumbler inverted, and these caps crown the
heads Of the soldiers as well, making the
whole crowd look like great human flower
bed OF red
LOOKS LIKE JAY GOULD.
There Is "A cheer from ten thousand throats
and the music is heard Ia the distance. The
cry goes up that the sultan Is coming, and
now around tue corner, preceded by "A COR
geously dressed guard upon horseback, sur
rounded by officers with swords drawn comes
a low barouche, drawn by the most magnifi-
cent black horses you have ever seen These
are driven by n coachman whose body is re-
splendent In "A red velvet suit embroidered In
gold. He has fez cap on his head and as
be holds his reins tight his gold sleeves hang
down like those OF the . 90 a.h,, Eqable
dress OF some years f'dulcs
blac, hp, 40. ,,.--sr ago. The carriage is,.l
~
In the :. INNINGS are gold.
cnrriage itself three persons are |
ssated On the front seat note a fine gray
whiskered old man. IL Is Osman Pasha, the
hero Of Plevna, and beside him y a younger
man, the favorite Of the sultan On the back
seat -its the sultan himself He Is more sim
ply dressed than any ono of the ten thousand
I,eovle surrounding him, and TITS eiothe- are
the morning suit OF gentleman, the coat
cut high at the neck like that Of an Episco-
pal clergyman when out % the pulpit His
coat Is edged with red cord, and he wears the
same kind IT n boiled shirt aud turn over col
lar that you do.
His head Is covered With a red fez cap which
you could buy Tor a dollar, and below this
look out pair u large, liquid dark eyes
through a face which is Of the same sallow
hue and which has the same features n that
OF Jay Gould He b., judge, about . feet
inches high, and he weighs about 100 pounds
His face j. the color OF old Jersey cream and
his eyes are large, black and restless He has
a high, narrow forehead a long, thin face; a
nosc Just slightly inclined To the Roman, and
a full set OF short, luxuriant, glossy black
whiskers His hands are long and thin, and
he has the look 81 a man who lies awake at
night. flo does not look like n happy man,
and his eyes wandered here and there Us he
rods slowly over the sanded way 81 the gates
Of the mosque. As he passed the house OF
entertainment no looked up and raised his
hand 10 his fez cap in salutation. He then
drove ON 10 the mosque, and going up pri-
vate stairway was soon hid from view
Frank G.. Carpenter.
A New York judge sentenced a highway
man b. an imprisonment Of sixteen years for
stealing thirteeu cents. The sentence proba-
bly, convinced the thief that thirteen is an
unmeky number.
QUEER TEMPERED RAZoRS.
Shaving Instruments Discussed from the
Metaphysical Point of View.
"When I say that razor has good tenn
psr,n said n barber 10 n reporter, ~ mean
something more than that the steel has been
hardened by fire and water 10 Just the right
point In my opinion n razor has DISPOSE
ton like "A human being. II may be amiabl,
and always do It's work smoothly-though
never did $50 a razor yet that wasn't subject
10 of spells once in a whie--or II may be