The San Francisco call., 1901-10-06

fore in the literary world with
THE Private Life of the Sultan
First a little about who M. Dorys is.
We are told that Dorys after all is but
pseudonym and that this young man who
has dared to write of the inner life of
''the King of Kings. the shadow of God
upon earth, the sole arbiter of the desu-
nies of the world, master of the two con-
unents and the two seas, sovereign of the
Orient and the Occident," etc, is none
other than the son of the late Prince
Samos. one of the Sultans Ministers and
at one time Governor of Crete.
That NJ. Dorys has written daringly is
shown by the lack of favor with which
the Sultan regards the publication of the
book. il is said that he has appealed TO
the different governments where the book
has appeared and asked that it be sup
pressed. In Sweden he prevailed upon
the authorities to prohibit sales of the
work and TO raid houses for copies Fur
ther, he condemned TO death the author
and probably the sentence would have
been carried out had not M. Dorys left
hurriedly for a foreign country.
1t is not a nice story that NJ. Dorys has
to tell Of his Imperial Highness Abdul
Hamid II of Turkey, and the wrath of
the object of these attacks can well be
magined. The author seems to have been
very close to the life in the Yildiz Palace
IN fact he had the opportunity of ac-
uuiring information at first hand-first
through his father and then through his
own position as sub-correspOndent Of the
London Times.
n. Dorys finally became too interested
in the wrong side of politics to please
the Sultan. and consequently was obliged
TO leave hurriedly for Paris. where the
present book was written. Undoubtedly
N. DOrys has no love for the Sultan of
Turkey, and possibly many of his state
ments may be regarded bylreaders as in
spired by personal animus- Through the
eyes Of the author Abdul Hamid II GER
tainly does not show to advantage.
He pictures him as cunning, crafty.
merciless, a believer in magic and su-
perstitious 10 a degree, and a man who
lives in constant fear of his life. He tells
us that the Sultan has such dread of
the darkness that he always has the Yil-
diz Park brilliantly lighted; that he is
terrified by silence, and consequently has
armed force marching up and down
in front Of his window all night; spies re-
port 10 him at all hours of the night. and
woe betide the man or woman of whom
lie becomes suspicious; that even the fire
department must get his permission be-
fore attending a fire, and it is even sad
that the official permission is very slow
in coming when the house happens to be-
long to one of the suspected
All Of these things and many more NJ.
Dorys brings OFT in his book on the Sui
tan large Fart of the book is anec-
dOtai, which always imparts interest TO
work Of this character.
There is this 10 be said for the good
faith Of NJ Dorys-newspape dispatches
and reports from other sources bear out
the truth of many Of his statements; at
any rate his book is well worth reading.
Those who wish discredit the
authors tales of cruelty on the part of
Turkeys ruler and still find much in
the work that Is both instructive and in
teresting-
That some Of the high officials realized
q mistake had been made at the begin
ming of Abdul Hamid's reign would ap-
pear from the following:
Tt took ne three months to know Abdul
4 Aziz. three hours were sufficient to judge Alb
dul Hamid." SAID the former Grand Vizier,
NehYned Ruchdi Pasha. one day to his friend.
Akif l'1s,,a, alludinz to the first audience
which tie Sultan granted him the day follow
ing his proclamation. On coming out from
this interview, which was a long one, Ruchdi
was so convinced that he said TO the famous
AIahmoud Djelaleddfn Pasha- who. in his
quality Grand Referendary Of the Sublime
Porte, had ACCOMPANIED him to the Imperial
Palace: our new master has all faults i'm
sgirable and presumption into the bargain;
knows II all And the Grand Vizier added,
with TIE air Of a man filled with regret and
sadness. Hsltittik Cwhat blunder we hava
made)!
Here is a graphic description of Abdul
Iiamid 1.-the man-according to the pen
Of N Dorys:
Time has worked great changes in his
2ia5es1y's appearance and il is only with diff
fculty thSt now recognize in him
the Prince Hauid represented in the portrait
taken of him az the time he mounted tha
throne
face brutality ii did not have before: the
cheek homes. formerly unnoticeable, protrude
prominently hollow cheeks. which have
been covered for more than twenty years b.
short beard now quite gray, and which he
himself dyes very clumsily various shades Of
brown and brownish red with a mixture Of
coffee and gall-nut- t-e recioe for which was
given him by sheik-
His forehead bulges out slightly and he con-
oeais his bsldness under the enormous fez
which he has made fashionable in Turkey,
ane the FORM size and color Of which make
the e1aaciated ualeness Of his face seem even
more sickly-
His nose has become more hooked. A stronger
1nustache, also dyed. which his delicate and
thin hand often caresses with a mechanical
gesture. coDcesls almost entirely the up-
Per liD which is thin and cruel The lower
Lip has become still thicker and has accentu-
city which completes the character of this
mouth, 50 interesting for the physiognomist
is also deeper and more apparent
The fsttened temples with the widely SEN
zrated orbits, have become more hollow and
in the depths Of the eyes, now half hidden
under the dropping eyelids and heavy lashes,
seems 10 be smoldering the yacllating flame
of his glance.
The eyes are the most disconcerting part of
this complex physiognomy. Rejecting usually
uneasy melancholy and falseness, at other
times they viii stare for a long time into
vacancy as though absorbed in thought and
then If a fash Of anger or fear Iightens up
the dark-gray iris, the color of a stormy sky,
they instantly become remarkably keen ana
alert and, like the eyes of the insane, cause
those whose glance they meet a painful i'm
preston that can be borne only after long
familiarity.
In short, the entire physiognorny OF the Sui
tan confirms his divers characteristics even
that Of the hypocritical gentIeness that he as
sunes at times
OF medium height, slightly rickety on his
legs and painfully thin, he seems now onlv 10
have his breath left, and in fact IL is his
nerves that keep him alive. Such constitu-
lon v-~HrcF A IA