Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1898-05-06
::MEHMED'S LUCK.

.MEHMED'S LUCK.
Mehmed Agha was one of the most shift
less and useless Of the refugees from Bull:
garia who came to Constantinople after
the Russian war made that region Chris
tian country. He was strong in build, lie
was good looking, and he seemd fairly in
telligent. But do what he would he could
! find no steady work. AT almost any hour
Of almost any day his bright yellow waist
| coat and crimson girdle cleaned among
the shadows OF the dingy little coffee house
| by the carriage stand at Beshiktash, for
! There he lounged away his time, waiting
for something to turn up. At night he
! wrapped himself in bis brown homespun
cloak and slept on one of the coffee house
| benches, barely tolerated by the coffee
house keeper, because he, having been a
refugee himself, knew the pitiful bitter
ness of the refugees lot How Mehmed
lived no one knows He was never seen
to eat, and people looked at him askance,
as though he had mastered the chame]eon's
secret. At last Mehmed's long and pa
tient expectancy was justified. Something
did turn up, and from that moment the
| mans character as we'll as his life was
revolutionized.
What turned up was very simple and
pleasing solution of his difficulties. One
day the stout and jolly old imam of the
! parish received visit from Melek Hanum,
| buxom widow living nearly opposite the
little coffee house by the carriage stand.
She held her white veil modestly over her
face, and, with a certain amount of hest
tation and incoherency, she asked the as
tonished old gentleman to obtain for her
the hand of Mehmed the refugeein mar
riage. She explained that, being lone
woman, she needed husband, and that
Mehmed Agha, being good looking man
who had nothing in particular to occupy
him, she fancied that he might have been
destined by fate for the vacant post in her
house. "Of course it will amount" she
said, ''to my doing everything for him,
but then the poor fellow needs to have
some one to take care of him."
The good imam had not quite that right
of disposal of Mehmed Agha's hand WHICH
Melek Hanum seemed to ascribe to him.
Nevertheless as pastor of the parish he had
more than once performed similar favors
for anxious and hopeless ones. He there
fore saw no reason to refuse to act as WOO
or of Mehmed for the widow, and, thanks
to his wise diplomacy, match was quick
~ arranged.
Not long after the marriage Me]ek Eta
mum casually remarked to her husband
that she knew how to make very good
beurek pastry cakes. "There~ is no rea-
son. she said, "why you should not 60
out early in the morning and sell my
buy them for breakfast, and we shall make
on them at least enough to pay for our
COAL" This seemed unimpeachable sense.
Thus Mehmed Agha became beurekji,
rising early every morning and peddling
the toothsome cakes from house to house
in little tray slung about his neck. The
of regular duties
After the trade in pastry cakes had be-
come an established and successful enter
prise Melek Hanum one day hailed her
husband with new proposal. sob, Meh-
med, soul of my soul,'' she said, cit is no
shame to work if we can get money in
that way to pay the bakers account. The
neighbors have just told me from their
gone away. He is to be stableman at XII
and ask him to let you be school porter
Your beurek cakes are sold off long before
it is time to take the children to school,
You might do this work as we'll as not
The imam was kindly disposed, and SO
the next day, after selling his beureks
Mehmed Agha~ began his new duties
gathering up all the. little children of the
quarter and taking them and their dinner
tins under his protecting shadow to the
school.
After few weeks there came again a
day when the good imam knocked at the
door of the little house opposite the coffee
shop and called for Mehlned Agha. ..sMay
God give you endless days!''' said he. "A
may whom put into the Bezestan as
broker has died. If you like, Lean get you
his place. Perhaps you mig bit make lit
tie money out Of the business H. *
+ Before Mehmed Agha had chance To
answer gentle voice from behind the
screen where Melek Hanum had taken
refuge on the arrival Of the imam said !:
!" Certainly, Mehmed, you ought to take
this position. Fortunately the Bezestan
does not open until the middle Of the fore
noon. You will not have to hurry at all
after taking the children to school. It is
not every day that you can get chance to-
take up q business which will pay the rent
of the house, Needless to say, Mehmed
@Agha became 8 Bezestan broker Every
day after selling his beureks caKesand tax
ing the children to school he hurried over
% stamboul and spent three Or four hours
in perambulatingE the bazaars, now with 8
watch and again with s copper kettle Or
perhaps an amber cigarette hold der III his
hand for all to zee. while be cried aloud
the amount of the last bid and accepted
new onos. he succeeded pretty vel, for
the Bezestan merchants liked his looks
and his manner Of liking and gave him,
plenty Of opportn nities to make his oom-
mission.
# One evening when Mehmed Aghas re-
turned from STEAMBOAT he found bis wife
IN q state q great excitemen Ont. Hamid,
the night Watohman of tho distld ct, was
anso1d. man. He had now been taken sick
again and had been forced toack Acknowledges
that he could no longer form the dudes
rs he ofiacs e issa rare chanos tor