The daily critic., 1890-11-12


boots seemed hardly In keeping with
The tasselcd red fez, the only Oriental
feature In their costumes Filled with
interest In the approaching scene, ] be-
gan 90 congratulate myself on my fOrtu
nate position, which enabled me 90
command q view of the entire line Of
route. But at this moment an official
appeared and politely Informed me and
my companion that we must Withdraw
into The adjoining house. No foreign
parb, no civilian costume. must mar the
unity Of the military display on which
the Sultan's eye was presently TO gaze.
LOath aud reluctant. I retired into the
hot crowded room, where, standing on
uptoe, | endeavored 90 catch a glimpse
OF the pageant through the interstices
In the forest of artificial flowers,
feathers lace and other apparatus Of
the feminine headgear which adorned
and blCckaded the windows Yes. &c
was all very beautiful, that assortment of
culors, those huttering ribbons. those
bobbing poppy heads set among corn.
flowers and ears Of wheat and yet I had
the bad taste 10 think that the interest
of the picture before me was somewhat
diminished by the superintendent Orna.
mentation of the frame
-
First came a long line Of covered car
liagos each drawn by pair Of hand
some horses; by the side Of the coach
man sat a Nubian eunucb, while others
Of these dusky attendants followed on
foot. Within we're costly yelled figures
the female members Of the royal family;
among them the Sultan's mother, the
greatest lady in the Empire. What Wis
ions of a strange secluded life were sug.
gested by these mysterious forms, these
shrouded denizens of an unknown world
with It's hidden scenes Of intrigue and
jealousy OF triumph and despair. From
the window Of one Of the carriages a
fresh, beautiful young face, entirely un-
yelled, peeped forth with large, wonder
ing eyes at the military spectacle.
There was something strange and touch
ing in this apparition, as when one sees
an exquisite flower blooming alone in
an arid desert.
A pause followed, and then the Sui
tan's carriage appeared, an open
barouche drawn by two splendid cream
Colored horses. On the front seat sat
lNO hl5INEuldhtu ullllhlN OlllttIst
Nafyk and Osman Pasha, the latter the
hero Of Plevna; alone on the seat OPP
posite, arrayed in a field marshal's uni.
form, sat the Sultan, a man Of somewhat
less than middle height, with a sallow
complexion, a short, dark moustache
and beard and melancholy eyes, which
seemed to glance from side TO side with
a nervous, apprehensive expression. He
returned the salutes Of the soldiers In a
somewhat mechanical fashion. aud
never once raised his eyes TO the win
dows from which we looked. There
were no loud huzzas TO be responded 10,
no crowds Of loyal and excited spec.
tators craving for a bow or a smile. All
was silent but for the sharp click OF the
rifles as the soldiers presented arms; far
beyond the line Of bayonets before us
we could only see the green sward and
plantations Of the imperial garden, as
destitute Of human life as some sandy
stretch of Sahara. There was a time
when the Sultans used TO drive through
the crowded thoroughfares OF Con.
stantlnople on the day Of the selamllk,
but the occasions on which Abdul
Hamid III. has shown himself In the
streets Of his capital might be counted
without much difficulty.
-.
The procession passed into the court.
yard Of the mosques the officials bowed
their heads TO the earth, and the Sultan,
leaving his carriage, assembled a narrow
flight of stone steps leading up to the
private gallery, or rather box, 10 which
he performs his devotlons. No Chris
iian Is permitted TO attend the service,
so we spent the interval IN conversation,
while tea was handed around by the
imperial servants, In about twenty
minutes time the Sultan was seen de
see ding the stone steps alone, as he
had gone up phaeton with a pair OF
smart ponies was substituted for the
state carriage, and His Majesty, taking
the reins, drove rapidly no the hill TO
the gate Of the Yidiz Kiosk, while the
whole crowd Of officials, eunuchs and
servants raced on foot after their
masters equipage. A Turk In a hurry
is an unusual sight, but a crowd Of dig
nihed MOslem officials scamperlng he'll
ter'skelteT up a hill Is indeed a singular
spectacle. SO interesting did | find Il
that / mounted crazy cane char In
order 10 obtain clear view over the
summit Of a Duchess Of DevOnshire hat
In front, topped with snowy feathers.
As the great gate closed over the Sui
tan's Tetinue / became sensible of a
Iemulous motion beneath my feet. ac-
COmpanied by a cTeaking sound. but
draw a veil over the catastrophe that
followed. IL was attended with some
Inconvenience, but bore them cheer
fully, for had not seen the SULTAN