The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-12-20

ell that Abdul Hamid never reads, never
writes and never eonfers with any n
According to this chronicler, he gets all his
information, both concerning the progress
of affairs in his own empire n the re-
mainder of tho world, through his two sec
r~etaries. This writer further declares that
the sultan always has his pet parrot in the
room when he listens to these function
aries, and that he persistently plays with
the bird all through the reading of their
reports. The recording secretary enters
first, and bis report consists of a synopsis
of tho affairs of the day, propositions con-
corning the immediate course of the gov
eminent and information as to what has
been lone III the way of executing pre-
yious orders. Occasionally the potentate
mods, and every nod is taken by the score
tary as an assent to some proposition. A
memorandum is made, and eventually an
irado thereon is issued. An Trade is like a
proclamation, or, moro properly, a Russian
ukase, ''only more So" TO question the
wisdom of an trade is to utter treason,
and treason is a very serious matter in
Turkey. 1t s'apt to cyentuato in the bow
string and the sack. Very rarely is tho
subject of an Trade we'll considered. Usual
ly only tho barest outlines of any given
proposition are read to him, n the de-
tails of its carrying out and of the proba-
Bile effect thereof are not often known to
the sultan, and yet the fate of thousands
often depends upon just such hastily writ
ten decisions by this monarch. After the
sultan has got through with this secretary
then comes another, who reads a synopsis
of the news of the day, both home and for
eign, including dispatches from all parts
of the earth received the night before.
Then the ministers are admitted, and
Abul Hamid talks to them of what he has
heard and what he thinks of it. This is
called a discussion" though only the
sultan takes part therein. After it issoyer
the ministers retire to a little foom, where
what they do can be seen and what they
say can be heard by their master. Some
times their views are embodied in the re-
port read by the first of the secretaries the
next morning and sometimes not. Rarely
does the sultan pay even as scant an
amount of attention as is above described,
or moro than W or three hours. After
noon he fills up his time with the most
trivial things, not the least of which are the
dancing and playing upon musical in
struments OF his 300 female slaves, or
odalisques, all of whom are less than IS
years old.
Here is another picture of the sultan,
painted indeed by his only intimate friend,
Osman Pasha, but probably as likely to at
least approach the truth az the other. Ae-
cording to this authority, the sultan is
not at all a man of frivolous ease and in
dolehce. He is impressed with the thought
that inNis hands are placed the keys of
Europe, and that the responsibility is
something enormous. He therefore reads
much, STUDIES history profoundly, keeps
himself accurately Informed upon all cur
rent events and the trend of modern west
ern thought.
No man in all the Ottoman empire
works harder. He rises with the sun, of
ten after but an hour or two of sleep, fire.
quently having passed the night writing
with his own hand some important doeu-
ment of state. Since the affairs of the
Turkish provinces have come SO promi-
nently to the front the sultan allows nc
order of II sort affecting them to issue
without understanding it thoroughly or
without his own signature, and, according
to Osman Pasha, a ruler more thoroughly
in touch with the most remote parts Of
his realm would be very hard to find. This
story goes Oh to the effect that, although
tho sultan has a hundred women in his
harem, besides his EGO odaIisques, max
ing 800 n.all, he is thoroughly devoted to
his wife, by whom he has three daughters,
of whom he is very fond. Whenever he is
tired of tho cares of state and the court, he
betakes himself to the company of his
wife and the daughters, and the latter
play for him on the harp and the piano.
He delights in such melodies as are to be
found i'll 1.-THE Huguenots" or selections
from Wagner, of whose Funeral March,
he never tires. The sultan then looks as
fittle like a turk as he possibly can and
yet be one. Put him into a slouch hat
and black clothes, and he would look not
unlike an American divinity student"
After all, the outside world knows very
little about the real personality and life Of
the sultan of Turkey.
HISTORY OF THE PEA.