The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-01-10

| / have often seen 1t stated In print
that the Sultan wears a habitual ex-
preston of melancholy--in other words,
that his main characteristics are sad
ness and nervousness.
| Neither my own experience, nor the
testimony Of others best in a position
| to form relibale opinion, bear this out,
| although the tragic circumstances I'M
| der which he came to the throne, very
much against his will, may well have
| left their impression on his memory.
| The Sultan's is an exceedingly sensl-
| tive nature. He 10 a man in whom the
domestic affections are very strong,
| Thus a blow, such as the recent loss OF
| a daughter, might well have had cru
| ell effect on him-as only those can I'M
derstand who have loved and lost chill
| dren of their own. But ! do not believe
that the Sultan's temperament is one
of habitual melancholy. On the con-
trary, l know that his majesty enjoys q
joke and laugh as heartily as ever
did Martin Luther, even though it must
be admitted that the nature Of some of
the doughty reformer's jokes would
SCdICely oull lllS IellllSu law VI Wv
Caliph of the Mohammedans.
No, repeat, the tale of the Sultans
habitual melancholy, as distinct from a
certain grave seriousness, is myth.
1t would, indeed, be nothing to be
wondered at if he were occasionally in
a serious mood. There are monarchs be-
sides the Sultan whose humor is not
always couleur de rose. Uneasy lies
the head that wears a CROWN Is not q
Mohammedan proverb. But the Sultan's
| now universally admitted strength or
purpose; his truly phenomenal powers
of work; his extreme abstinence from
every form of nervous stimulant, eX-
cept an occasional cigarette and cup Of
coffee-all this is, the reader will admit
totally irreconcilable with the idea
that he could possibly be of morbidly
nervous disposition. AS to the Sultan's
working habits, l have known him to
be at work at five in the morning and
keep a. whole staff of secretaries going
at that hour who had slept overnight
on couches in the rooms in the palace
they habitually work In. Munir Pacha,
the imperial grand master of ceremo-
MES and one of the most kindly, dis
llIlE uiSlItu lllCll ~ ID POoolblO W ihCCe,
once said to meet: There is one char
acteristic of his majesty which con-
veys a constant lesson to us all; 1t Is
his extraordinary self-control-his i'm
passive calm. 1t is almost sublime. No
contrariety, no trial, seems able to ruff
file his perfect self-possession. 1T is
truly marvellous
The prepossessing impression which
the Sultan is universally admitted to
produce on those who are privileged to
come into contact with him is doubt
lesss in part due to that charm of man
ner, that quiet dignity so free from
angular self-assertion, which is more
or less characteristic of all well-bred
Turks But in his case it Is supplement
ed by a pleasing smile. and an unusual
ly sympathetic voice, the notes of which
always seem to convey pleasant i'm
preston, even to the stranger who Is
unable to understand what his majes-
ty has said until it translated by the
interpreter. The Sultan usually gives
audiences on Friday after the cere-
mony of the Selamlik, when he wears
Turkish generals uniform, with the
star of the Initial Order in brilliants
AIuliS LiOll Ills uSGh. 40 he SllS III LlDill
Of you, with his hands resting on the
hilt Of his sword before him, and you
watch him speak to Munir Pacha In his
quiet, dignified way, you cannot resist
the impression of his picturesque dig
nifty.
On other occasions his dress Is SIM
plicity itself, scarcely differing from
that of his secretaries and other Off
cials. He wears a black frock-coat, cut
in Turkish fashion, which just hides
white waist-coat with a gold watch
chain. The only other jewelry is apt to
be plain gold ring on the little finger |
Of the right hand with a fair-sized ruby |
cut or polished en- cabochon. 1t is Gus
tomary to sit in the presence Of the Sui |
tan after being requested to do so, but !
the native-born Turk will only just sit |
on the very edge of the little gilt chair |
and fold his arms across his chest, |
waiting for the Sultan to address him, |
and then mutter In reply, while bend |
ing low and touching chest, lips and |
forehead with the right hand, "Firman
master thy word Is |
w).-From 1.-The Sultan at Home" by |
Sidney Whitman, #. r. G. S., in Har-
pers Magazine for January