Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-10-27
bic la Frank American Efendi may have
his room. ! was satisfied.

SuuHCleuL 10 say lHdt CdTTleu ouI my lOiO
/ to the satisfaction OF the Turks and all
parties concerned. These men did not
doubt or question my high rank and
official position, but they were in total ig-
noranee as to what my Government busl-
| ness was, and why travelled incog without
uniform and large retinue of attendants.
| kept them well confused by my mysteri-
Gus and evasive replies. When we sepa-
rated they were undecided whether was
going to buy up for the United States
| Government the southern section of Rus
sis, or whether my commission was to COM
plete an alliance with Persia against the
Ottoman rule in Turkey. They are prob
| ably discussing the matter yet.
| Let me inform my readers right here
| that we are now in a country where there
is no democracy, and where mans i'm
portance and rank are measured by exter
nal appearances alone, by the way he sets
| himself up above all others and orders
around everybody whom he regards as
beneath him. 1t would be socially fatal
| to a man to enter room where men were
seated and sit down near the door, or, as
they put it here, upon a low seat.
Please" "By your leave" 81 beg your
| pardon" ETC., are all left behind at Con-
stantinople, to be called for upon our re-
turn. We shall have no present need for
these embellishments of human nature.
| We are where they are not appreciated
and understood. They are as drug in
the market A man-an ordinary man, l
mean-who would make use of these terms
in the Oriental world would be set down
at once by the masses as a low-born fellow,
who would probably be asking for money
if allowed any privileges at all.
Language from here on must be in the
imperative mode, present tense, under
scored, in bold-face type, with no gilt. Or
der the Captain, dictate to the steward call
your servant lazy, good d-for-nothing dog
in tone that can be heard throughout
the ship; if anybody's else servant comes
near, tell him to git (which is good Turk
ish, if it Is bad English), or you will have
him thrashed; if the Captain says any
thing about navigation, contradict him
tell him you know better-but don't tell
him what you know if Turkish official
speaks of politics, call him an ass for not
knowing more about his own country; if a
mollah speaks of his religion, tell him he
better read up the books of Islam before he
parades his ignorance before unbelievers.
Keep up this STYLE and you will be re-
garded the largest man in that company
more especially if you can make some
show of wealth, such as brass watch and
chain, ring or two with some colored
glass set in them, a fur overcoat Qur in
side), and gold eyeglasses. 1t is humiliat-
ing to be compelled to acknowledge that in
the most enlightened countries men become
'great" (?) by these same means. Such is
human nature. 1t makes the world akin.
One of my servants is linguistic curios-
ity. He is an Armenian by birth and
hence speaks that language well, and, like
all Armenian born in this part of the
country, knows Turkish When about Is
years of age he spent some twenty months
in Russia, part of the time in Greek
settlement, and thus learned to speak
Russian and Greek. Soon after his re-
turn home he secured Government po-
sition as servant to the Vail of Mosul
where he learned Arabic. This Vail was
transferred to Monsh, where our man
learned Kourdish. He, after this, returned
to Constantinople and became servant to
the Consulate to Paris, and there he picked
up French. This gave him speaking
acquaintance with seven languages. | can
testify that he spoke three of them very
well indeed. He would turn from one to
the other without any trouble whatever.
He was very desirous of learning English
he said if he could be where it was spok-
en- he could master it in two months. |
do not doubt that he would do so.
1t was a most fortunate thing for me
that secured the services of such a lin
guist as this, as will appear later on. |
am confident that this mans tongue saved
my life To this dragoman, linguist, tray-
eler, ex-official and servant | contracted to
pay the magnificent salary of two Turkish
pounds (SS S0) per month and board. His
name was Mugerdich, pronounced Mug
ur-dltch, and which by Interpretation
meaneth the baptist. My other servant
was also Armenian, who spoke only Ar
menian and Turkish. His name was Mar
diros, ''the martyr" but I came to the
conclusion that be was all right and | was
the martyr before he had been with me
week. OF all men that could not be made
to understand plain orders and who could
invent excuses for not obeying them when
understood, that man-the martyr-stands
head and shoulders above them all. He
will have much profanity to answer for
hereafter fear.
/, myself, having spent some years in
the East, was familiar with Armenian and
knew some Turkish.
After comfortable six days sail.-if you
can call chop sea a comfort-we ap-
preached the fort of Trebizond, long since
made famous by Xenophon and his ten
thousand. We were now out of the beaten
tracks of tourists and travellers, where
American footprints are rarer than honest
Orientals, and where familiar sounds and
customs and life do not appear at ala
strange land to the Western world.