The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-06-02
THE SULTAN OF TURKEY.

THE SULTAN OF TURKEY.
Said to Have French Blood In His
Veins.
Is the present Sultan of Turkey of
French descent? This question is agi-
tating many persons in France at this
moment, and the utmost efforts are be-
ing made to obtain a satisfactory an
swer to it. Foremost among those inter-
ested is Dr. Cabanes. He is satisfied
that there is French blood in the Sui
tan's veins, and he is spending all his
time in an endeavor to prove his case.
The historical data on the subject,
though few, are precise enough. The
trouble is that it is almost impossible to
say where history ends and legend be-
gins. The only satisfaction is that there
IS every reason to believe that docu-
ments may yet be unearthed which will
clear up the entire mystery.
The heroine of the story is a Mile.
Bazillais. In her girlhood she was a
bosom friend of Mile. de Tascher de Ia
rag rie. One day an old mulatto wo-
! man told the fortunes of these two
girls. She told Mile. de la Pagerie that
she would marry twice, and that her
second husband would raise her to a
position loftier than that of any Queen,
and she told Mile. Bazillais that she,
| too, would become the consort of a IA
nous ruler. The girls were surprised
at the old womans words, but time
showed that she had not prophesied
vaguely. Mile. de la Pagerie did marry
twice, and did rise to a position Ioftier
than that of any Queen. BY her first
marriage she became the wife of Beau
harnais; by her second she became the
wife OF the great Napoleon. and all the
world heard of her as the Empress
Josephine.
Mile. Bazillais also rose to a great
! olstlnctlon. While she was taking a
sea- voyage she was captured by Turk
1sh pirates, and, being sold by them,
she became an inmate of the imperial
seraglio. Her great beauty soon at
tracted the Sultan's attention and she
became his favorite and in due time
bore him a son. who succeeded his
father as Sultan. In this way is ex-
planned the introduction of MANY
/ French customs at the court of Con-
stantinople. These, it is said, were due
to the influence of Mile Bazillais, who,
furthermore, took care to train her son
as far as possible after the French
style. The latter, after becoming Sui
tan, sent an Envoy to France with in
structions to find out all he could about
the Bazillais family. The Envoy, how
ever, was unsuccessful in his search.
Tor the reason that the Baziliais We're
strictly religious people and would
have nothing to do with the represen-
| tative of such hereto as the Sultan.
| With these facts in his possession
Dr. CabaneS went to the Turkish EN-
bassy in Paris and applied there for
further information. He was told very
courteousiy that the Embassy had no
inside information on the subject, but
| he was assured that a search would
be made in the archives for official doc
uments The officials at the Embassy
also admitted that they had heard the
story before. DR.. Cabanes went home,
expecting that an immediate search
would be made in the archives, but as
yet has heard nothing further from
the Embassy.
| He next applied for information to
! NJ. Paul de Regla, a writer who is
Well acquainted with Constantinople
and political life in Turkey, and
received in reply the following letter.
My Dear Colleague: There is a tradi-
ton in the imperial harem at Con-
stantinople that Sultan Mahmoud,
father of Abdul Medjid and grand
father of ex-Sultan Murad ", who is
the brother of the reigning Sultan, Alb
dul-Hamid IL, was the son of a
French woman who had been cap
1 fJIt 6xr,@ 49,. =
this beautiful and intelligent French
woman exercised so much influence
over her son Mahmoud that the re-
forms which he accomplished while
Sultan were mainly due to her."
| DR.. Cabanes next made a search for
members of the Bazillais family He
heard that there were two persons at
Nantes who could give him the desired
information, and he wrote to them.
One of them, M. Clerieau, an architect
and relative of the Bazillais by
marriage, sent him in reply the FAM
lily tree of the Bazillais, and told him
that the last member of the family, a
girl, was born in 1749, and had died,
married, in 1884. He added:
There is unquestionably some truth
in the story which you tell me. have
| heard 1t all before, and, even when i
was child, I remember very clearly
that I heard my parents talk about
| the girl who, on account of her great
beauty, was presented to the En-
peroryat Nantes Gin 1903, believe). and
who subsequently went to Turkey and
became the favorite Sultana4 remem-
Der this story very distinctly. But was
this girl Bazillais? I hardly think
SO. for the last member of the family
! Ga girD was, as We see, born in 1149,
and consequently her age and beauty
could hardly have proved very attrac-
tive to the Emperor in 1903. More
over, she died at Nantes, leaving five
children. Could this Sultana have been
one Of her daughters? I do not think
| so. for the reason that she would not
| have borne the name of Bazillais.
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