Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-15
The Dinner Hour.

himself to attend to the business of the day.
 The Dinner Hour.
 This disposed of, the sultan says an- other prayer, takes a lunch and goes to his bath, at which six other female slaves attend him. None of these are wives or. concubnes, but simply slaves. No man is allowed to lay his unholy hands upon the sultan's sacred person. After this bath comes the monday meal The food is prepared by one man and his aides. None others dare touch it. It is cooked in silver vessels, which are sealed up and opened in the presence of the sultan by the chamberlain. AS an additional pre- caution, the chamberlain takes spoon full of each kettle before the sultan tastes it. Each kettle is a course, and is served with bread and kind of pancake, which is held on golden tray by slave.
 It requires just twice as many slaves as there are courses to serve dinner to him. He usually sits on a divan near a window which looks out over the Bos- phorus and takes his ease and comfort in a loose pem-bazar and gegelik, with his sleeves turned up After he has eat en all he wants the sultan sips his coffee and smokes his chibouk, lying back in a quiet reverie, which he calls taking his keif.
 The food being cooked outside of the palace makes it necessary to have bell shaped felt covers to clap down tightly over each kettle which has been placed on tray. For the sultan and royal fam fly there are magnificent velvet covers which go over the outside of these, em- broidered with gold and silver threads and pearl, coral or turquoise beads. Those for others are not so handsome.
 The sultan Is served first and he al- ways eats entirely alone, never under any circumstances deigning to eat with any one, and as soon as he has begun to a c Thn fQt never uses plate. He takes all his food direct from the little kettles, and never uses a table and rarely a knife or fork. A spoon, his bread or pancake or fingers are far handler. The whole household is at liberty to take meals where 1t suits him or her best, and thus every one is served with a small tray, with a spoon, a great chunk of bread, and the higher ones only get the pancakes.
 Feeding of the Subs.
 After the harem the officers of the inn perial body guard, the eunuchs. the chamberlains and other high functiona- ries are fed, they usually be- ing seated around table, and the kettles are offered each one, who helps himself to two or three spoon fuls of the contents of each. It is not etiquette to take more, no mater how nice the dish nor how hungry the diner, but the number of dishes is always so great that no one need go hungry.
 After all the officers and others of high degree are fed the soldiers and servants get their food, and at the same time all the men employed in the imperial stables have theirs, and during the progress of the meals any stranger. whoever 1t may be, Is at liberty to come in and seat him self and eat. As a general rule, 300 per- sons are fed every day who have no earthly right except what the laws of hospitality give. It is sort of perpetual fx-aa 1,tvaa n, xxyn1l fOl, men avail themselves of this royal bounty.
 Once In a while the sultan will drive to visit one of his numerous kiosks, or country houses, or go on an ostensible hunting expedition. Sometimes the notion will seize him to start for a kiosk in the middle of the night. with one of his wives following in another carriage. There are always six officers whose duty it Is to be ready for these midnight occasions.
 At bedtime the sultan finds waiting pa- tiently in his room the wife chosen for him by the eunuch and she must re- main standing until the six slaves have undressed him and put him in bed. The same six never perform the service but once day. Therefore, if the sultan un- dresses dozen times there must always be six new slaves to take their turn, and these, with all the other slaves and servants, make up an enormous retinue of almost useless persons.
 Attaches of the Palace.
 In all there are some 5000 souls attached to the palace. The cost of keeping them is estimated at about $41, 100000 a year There are no less than 300 ladies who claim the honor of being sultanas. Abdul had one great love in the mother of his daughter, who is now dead. His favorite at present, and the autocrat of the ha- rem. is a mysterious French woman, whose name Is unknown.
 This may account for the strong per- sonal sympathy always professed for French people by the sultan, even when his ministers. after Sedan. showed anti Gallic proclivities. But another reason ic that bd,,1 IJa mid ho tro of IVrapo oh