The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-02-03
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In the summer of 1886, while a mid
| shipman serving as aide on the staff
OF the commander-in-chief of the
United States squadron on the Europe
accompany that officer, Rear-Admiral
S. R. Franklin. upon a trip to Con-
stantinople. to reach which place he
was compelled to transfer his flag
temporarily from his flagship. the old
Pensacola, now the station ship at Goat
| Island, San Francisco, to the old wood
en- corvette, Kearsarge, the same vessel
that sank the Alabama and was SUBJ
sequently lost on Roncador reef, in
the West Indies. The change was made
necessary by the treaty rule that no
vessels of war carrying more than
seven guns shall pass through the
Dardanelles.
During our stay in Constantinople,
we received many Inequalities from
the Sultan, Abdul Hamid, whom
managed to see twice-once at the i'm
pressive Salaamlik and once at the
spectacular Bairam ceremony in the
Dolma-Baghche Palace, at the end of
the Ramadan, or Mohammedan Lent
The most interesting of the Sultan's
Inequalities, however, was a banquet
he gave to the Admiral, the other of
ficers and the crew of our ship. AL
though he did not appear in person at
the banquet-so great is his fear of
assassination-he was personally rep
resented by his Minister of Marine,
dignified but cordial, portly old Turk,
and took care to have some of his
most distinguished army and navy Of
flcers 1T the affair.
The banquet took place in the palace
of the Minister of Marine on the Golden
Horn. We left the Kearsarge about 7
p. m, the officers in a steam launch,
which towed two cutters bearing a del
egatfon of our crew. This was a pc
culfar feature of the event: The Sui
tan, perhaps the most absolute tyrant
in Europe, recognized American democ-
racy sufficiently to include the en-
listed men of our ship in his invitation
He wanted all ranks represented.
Upon arrival at the landing in front
of the Minister of Marines palace, a
magnificent band struck UP one of
Sousa's marches-if remember Alright
it was the washington Post" march
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attired Turkish marines were drawn up
facing each other, forming a lane
through which we were to pass. It be-
ing after sunset, no gun salute was
fired, but the display Of gold lace,
bright steel arms, and brilliant ac-
coutrements by our hosts made I'D for
the omission.
The Minister of Marine gave his arm
to Hon. S. S. Cox, then U. S. Minister,
and to our Admiral, and the three led
the way to the handsome palace, to
the music of the Turkish band. The
rest of us followed in pairs, in order
of rank, each American officer having
a Turkish officer of similar rank as his
escort. The crew brought up the rear.
well-attended by Turkish petty officers
and seamen.
The interior of the palace was beautf-
fully decorated with greens, and with
the American and Turkish flags en-
twined. There were flags, bunting and
greens, also numberless flowers, every
where. A big fountain in the court
yard was SO arranged that electric
lights of various colors playing upon
it made an effective display.
After a sip of some delicious cordial,
the name of which do not know, in
an ante room, we were ushered into the
dining hall. 1t, too, was handsomely
decorated, but the two great features
of the meal were the delicious dishes
and the magnificent table service. The
latter was the Sultan's own personal
property, sent to the Minister of Marine
for use expressly on this occasion. The
cut glass and the silverware were ex-
tremely handsome, although not sur
passing those of many Americans of
means. The gold plate, however, was a
wonderful creation. 1t consisted OF
many pieces, some repousse, some
severely plain in their simplicity, yet
all massive. Our after-dinner coffee was
served in small cups of solid gold,
studded with precious stones.
The menu was a wonder. OF course,
there were many conventional dishes,
but there were also some culinary crea-
tions the like of which 1 never tasted.
Some birds that we had for one course
were, I was told afterwards. of a rare
species, of which the Sultan was espe-
cially fond. He had them brought
alive from a great distance for his per-
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