The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1895-12-28

we1l-watered sand about six inches deep,
and the streets Through which the sultan
rides are always protected in this way
in order that. his,Toyal bones may not be
iolted in going over the cobb!e stones
and macadam s.,f.. 3s,.! IA; ! ]
During my stay had a chance to see
some of the sultan's horses He has about
1000 in his stable, and among these are
specimens of nearly every breed in the
wcrfd. HIS finest horses are OF Arabian
blood, and his favorite mount was beau-
tiful Arabian bay. He often took rides in
the grounds of his palace, and when Cen
erai Lew Wallace was minister to Con-
stantinople he and the sultan often rode
Together. The sultan is a good shot, and
Nj was told that he could break a dozen va
ses with a revolver while galloping past
them on horseback. He has always been
particular as to the horses OF his army.
and each of the regiments which accom-
panied frim to the mosque was mounted
on an Arabian horse of one color. Dur
ing talk had with General Wallace
not long ago he spoke very highly OF this
sultan, saying that he was a much greater
man than he was generally supposed.
I was told that he .didaa great deal Of work
keeping track of foreign affairs as we'll
as those of his own country, and that he
had the foreign newspapers translated for
him He has been so surrounded, how
ever, by officials and spies that it has
been impossible for him to know what has
been going on in his country, and it is
a question: whether he has even been able
to control the factions which make up
his government The whole, Turkish EN-
pire is honeycombed with spies, and Con-
stantinople is city Of intrigles and in-
triggers. 1t is doubtful tn fact, whether
the sultan can command good faith on
the part of his harem, and ne does not
know that mis- favorite wife may not
pI owe false to him.
The sultan's wives are all OF slave Orl-
gin. The. danger Of assassinat alton from the
harem has made it the custom of Turkey
for the sultan not to marry. This pre-
vents the political intrigues Of a many
branched royal family, and all of the sui
tans that had slave mothers. Abdul
Hamid had, was told. 1000 women in
his royal seraglio, and as this number is
recruited every year by slaves from Geor-
gia and Circassia, the imperial harem
COUldl1S luuN nuA4iDCl LCuaS :.
It is curious to know what is done with
such a horde Of wives in case Of the
death of the sultan. 1t is said that the
grandfather of Abdul Ha1nid sewel UP
nearly 200 of the wives Of his predeces-
sors in sacks and loaded the sacks with
shot He then dropped them into the
Bosphorus in order that there might be
no treachery among the ladies Of the
palace saw number Of the harem
ladies during the sultan's trip across the
city They rode in cabs. the windows Of
which were open, and though their faces
were covered, the wells were of the thin
nest gallze, and I could see them almost
as plainly as though they had worn no
wells at all, They were not to my eyes
extraordinarily beautiful, and not few
seemed rather old Each OF the carriages
was driven by swell coachman, beside
whom sat e. sober-faced eunuch with
long whip in his hand, and e11nuchs rode
,lp and down the line, jealousy guarding
their charges A large part OF the SER
wants of the palace are ennuchs. There is
a chief eunuch who has charge Of all the
women about the sultan. and who is al
most as important man as the grand
vizier He gets a big salary, and his in
f1uence is such that he is able to make a
fortune out of it during his Office. There
are 1000 servants connected with the pal
ace of the sultan, and. each of his favorite
wives has servants Of her own. At the
head of the llarem is the mother of the
sultan. who is known as the valide sui
tana, and who has something to do as TO
picking out and training the snltans
wives This Woman rules the hare1n.
She has her. eunucas and her servants,
and one of the principal days of the year
for her is that which comes at the end
of the Mohammedan lent, or Ramazan,
She has Lot of Georgian slaves brought
to her months before this. She picks
out fifteen of the best looking They are
put upon diet, are taught music. and are
as carefully groomed as so many race
horses Just about the close OF lent she
looks over the lot and picks out the one
who is to be what is called the Bairam
bride of the sultan. This girl, so the sto-
nv goes. is not seen by the sultan till the
night after Bairam which is the Moham-
medan Easter. His majesty finds her in
his chamber when he retires to rest, and
the story told me at Constantinople was
that the new bride had to crawl IN under
the clothes from the foot OF the bed'i in
token of her subsection. I made some i'll
QllFlSS DIS u lNH CO5k VI >tiSh SolAio' e'hts
was told that the price of the slave depen-
ded quite as much upon her accomplish
ments as her beauty. An ordinary slave
girl of desirable age. ranging from II TO
l6, brings 5000. If she is beautiful she
may be worth $4,000 and this sultan has
had many wives for whom he has paid
as high as $4,000. Blonde beauties, with
blue eyes and transparent skin, usually
bring high prices, but black girls are sold
for a song. I was told that the buying
and selling of slaves still goes on in Con-
stantinople, but that Of late years such
sales have been under the rose"
The papers are full of the poverty Of
Turkey. The debt Of the country runs
high into the l1undredsof millions and,
things are taxed. The customs duties
meyer get into the hands Of the sultan.
They are paid to the foreign bondholders
and the tribute from Egypt goes almost
directly to England. His majesty is sup
posed to be poor, but his private expendi-
lures have amounted always to Ilaay
millions year, and there is a vast amount
of money tied up in the jewels Of his
treasury. It was through the priyates sec
retary of the sultan that I got access TO
this treasury Guarded by Turkish sol.
'diers and accompanied by officers whose
swords. c!anked over the marble. floors,
/ wandered about room after room flied
with jewels and precious stones. ! feast
ed my eyes on cases loaded :yitn enough
gold plate to have broken the backs Of
half a dozen government mules, and /
broke the tenth commandment many
r1t,.6ry H{<.1n