The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-07-07
SULTAN'S IDIOSYNCRASIES.
HIS WAYS WITH FRIEND AND
 FOE.
Pictured by a Former Attache-AbduI Hsmid on the Turklsh Foreign or fee -s

dee.
 The sultan completed his sixtieth year on September 22, 1902. Time has worked great changes in his majestys appearance, and it is only with difficult " that one can now recognize in him the Prince Hamid represented in the portrait taken of him at the time he mounted the throne. His jaws have grown broader, giving to his face coarseness it did not have before; the cheek bones, formerly unnoticeable, protrude prominently on hollow cheeks, which have been covered for more than twenty years by a short beard, not quite gray, and which he himself dyes various shades of brown and brownish red, with a,anixture of coffee and gall nut, the recipe for~ghich was given him by sheik. >
 His forehead bulges out sligfrsya snd- he conceals his badness under the enormous fez which he has made fash ionable in Turkey, and the form size and color of which make the emaciated paleness of his face seem even more sickly. His nose has become more hooked. A stronger moustache, also dyed, which his delicate and thin hand often caresses with a mechanical ges- ture, now conceals almost entirely the upper lip, which is thin and hard The lower lip has become still thicker, and has accentuated somewhat sensual l expression. The line of determination which completes the character of this mouth, so interesting for the physiog- nornist, is also deeper and more appa- rent. The fattened temples, with the. widely separated orbits, have become more hollow, and in the depths of the eyes, now half hidden under the droop- ing eyeids and heavy lashes, seems to be smoldering the vacillating flame of his glance.
 The eyes are the most disconcerting part of this complex physiognomy. Re f1ecting usually uneasy melancholy, at other times they will stare for a long time into vacancy, as though absorbed in thought and then, If a flash of an ger or fear lightens up the dark-gray tris-the color of a stormy skythey in stantly become remarkably keen and alert, and cause those whose glance they ceet a painful impression that can be borne only, after long familiarity.
 Tn short, the entire physiognomy of the sultan confirms his divers charac- teristics, even that of the gentleness that he assumes at times. Of medium height, slightly rickety on his legs and painfully thin, he seems now only to have his breath left, and, in fact, it is | his nerves that keep him alive. Such constitution must necessarily influence his mentality. Abdul -Hamid is, in aruth, a victim of neurasthenia, and in some things a monomaniac. His phys ical condition alone can explain the contradictions of his character.
 He is full of dIssimulated obstinocy, and only yields to force with the secret intention of getting back later what he is compelled temporarily to abandon. He is never at a loss for expedients, is a deep calculator, and knows admira- ply how to escape dangers by strata X gems that are always new. He is a skilful layer of traps, and capable of all kinds of abjectness toward his ene- mics when he fears them, and of the greatest severity when he has them in his power, and his vengeance is the heavier for having been patiently nour- ished in secret.
 Not only is the life of a man who is troublesome to him of little account, but spilled blood seems to calm and soothe his shattered nerves, always tretched to the snapping point. At night, before going to sleep, says one of his chamberlains, The has some one to read to him. His favorite books are those giving detailed accounts of assas-3 situations and executions. The stories of crime excite him and prevent him sleeping, but as soon as his reader reaches a passage where punishment falls upon the criminal, the sultan i'm mediately becomes calm and falls asleep.
 The sultan, like all neurotics, has mo- ments of great irritability, during which he becomes violent Several times he has beaten his secretaries or his chamberlain Once he threw his inkstand at the head of Kutehuk-Said Pasha, then secretary-i -in-chief, who was able to dodge his head in time. Another day. suddenly enraged with the same parsonage during a discussion on the Egyptian question, he drew from his pocket a revolver, and threa tened to fire at the pasha, who, terrified, i'm plored his pardon.
 It is said that Abdul -Hanid quickly regrets his violence, which he fears will arouse the resentment of his suite. It is, moreover, his policy as well as his Temperament to make people think him gentle and good and to pretend that he has in reserve vast stores of tenderness. He tries to enlist sympathies every where, feeling that no one loves him. Thus he poses often as yictif, conn plaining of the malice and ingratitude of men, and his complaints have such an accent of sincerity that for the mo- n1ent they deceive those who listen.
 Although his voice is naturally deep and strong, he knows how to make it caressing and almost gentle and he has the gift of making himself agreea- ble in order to win the friendship of those who approach him, especially for eigners He takes all kinds of pains to please them, and it is seldom that Eu- pean leaves him without being fascina- ted by his cordial and charming man. ner and exquisite tact. The sultan, in fact, practices the art of politeness and Iospitality not only as an oriental but