News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1899-09-20
HE SAW THE SULTAN.
WHO SEEMS TO THINK HIMSELF Mis-
UNDERSTOOD.

Quick at Repartee, Which Has to DO
Tr,uslated-FuIl of Historical Excuses
Impresses Everyone brought Into Close
Contact with Him.
l had a talk a few days ago with
young American who had spent sew
eral years in Constantinople as Sec.
rotary of Legation, and he gave me
some interesting glimpses into the
character OF the Sultan. 1 should say
that, unlike myself-unlike most peo-
ole in Eng!and-this young American
was rather an admirer personally OF
the ruler of the Turkish Empire, and
what he said must be taken with that
deduction.
AS to the Sultan's constant dread of
assassination there is not the small
EST doubt His visits once a year to
the city-even his weekly visits to the
Mosque to say his prayers-are pre-
pared with an elaborateness that dis
plays the most constant dread of con-
spiracy and conspirators. Thus it is,
FOR instance, that all the streets along
The land route are arranged in tho
most careful manner for the passing of
the Sultan. The banners are out, the
roads made smooth-everything is
done which seems to prove that the
Sultan is certain to go that way and
TO return by the water route. At the
last moment the Sultan goes by the
water route and returns by land.
These terrors are largely due to the
fact that the Armenians are the most
capable and reckless throwers Of
bombs in the world.
The Armenians in Constantinople
are strange mixture. While they are
ready to do such desperate deeds. and
to take all the consequences to them
selves as to others, they have no power
Of making open resistance. and appar-
emily even little will to do so. For in
stance, in that terrible riot in which
1000 Armenians were killed a couple
Of years ago, eleven Armenians were
standing in the streets, all armed with
crowbars. Nine Turks with nothing
but clubs came up. They killed all
the Armenians. who did not even
make an attempt at resistance. III
they had made any such attempt they
would undoubtedly have proved the
stronger. When my friend discussed
the extraordinary action of the Ar
menians with an Armenian banker he
expressed no surprise. All he could
feel was admiration for the men who
had thus allowed themselves to be
massacred like sheep. They were pa
triots, he said; they wished to make
the massacres as bad as possible, so
rs to bring about the intervention of
Europe.
Although the Sultan does stand in
fear of assassination, and although he
is undoubtedly guarded carefully,
there are few if any signs of this in
his immediate neighborhood. 1t is
difficult to get access to the palace,
but once you are in there you see fewer
soldiers and fewer signs of precautions
than in Russia, or even Germany.
You Sc nothing but obsequious serv-
ants.
The Sultan impresses immensely by
his ability everybody who is brought
into close contact with him In all the
years he had seen him, my American
friend had never, he said, seen him
taken aback; never without an answer,
even when things were hottest and
darkest against him. He has always
speciOus argument a historical il
ustratiOn-sOmetimes sly national
recrimination-to urge in defense
Of his own acts, and even of the worst
barbarities in his own kingdom. And
he says all these things with perfect
calm and self-possession: indeed, as a
gentleman who is painfully misunder-
stood. His repartees are, perhaps, the
easier to make because he takes pIen-
ty of time to prepare them. For
though undoubtedly he understands
French fairly well, it is contrary to
court etiquette that he should speak
in any language but Turkish, every
thing has to be interpreted. And yet
now and then the Sultan. when he is
taken off his guard, utters a "Merci
monsieur" or some other short word
in French, which shows that his pre-
tended inability to converse in French
is like Dom Paul's professed ignorance
Of the English tongue.