The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1909-02-05
Letter from CONSTANT
nople.

BY the kindess of Mrs E. ID. Perkins
we are permitted to publish the fol-
lowing extract from letter written on
Dec. Goth by her sister, Mrs Eta Doane
Marden who has been for many years
engaged in educational and missionary
work in and around Constantinople,
Turkey, under direction of the Ameri-
can Board. Owosso friends will under
stand that the reference to james re-
fers to James Carson of this city, who
is also working for the American
Board. Mrs. Doane says:
The event of this week was the open
ing of Parliament, on Thursday. We
had had grey days all the week, but
with true conformity to tradition, the
Turks got good day. The streets were
frigbtfully muddy, but the crowd was
good natured and did not mind
The Sultan had been asked" to
open the Chambers in person and he
had delayed answer. Like the daisy
leaves of our childhood we said over,
He will come, he will not come. He
will come by sea, he will come by land" "
and there as always as much evidence
for one way as the other. On the day
previous to the opening, the papers said
he would come by land, and gave the
route, very circuitous one. No one
believed it, but thought it measure to
confuse people and render trouble less
possible; tho no one wanted trouble on
that day. In the morning, James ard
] started out, found things doing, and
went back for Miss Jones. tn main
street, just above us, was all lined off
by guards indicating something doing
So we put on our U. S. flags and stood
up in the front row. mud two inches
deep, who cared?
Fine feathers make fine birds The
uniform Of the Turkish official is very
gay Consequently procession comes
to be very brilliant at all times; but
this day every mothers son of them
had on his bravest. Tn eli, was en-
fete, flags everywhere, AID preparations
for the evening illumination. Blue
uniforms with gold braid and silver
braid, gold epauiets and silver epaulets
with long fring9 9depsnding from them
brave show. Suddenly all the sabers
flashed in the air, and round the corner
dashed two fjne, handsome aide de
camps with drawn swords, clearing the
road Then squad of the red Lancers
with their red pennons floating over
them, at iull trot coming around the
same corner. They We're the advance
escort Of the 200 Deputies, who now, in
carriages, began to pass. 1t was in
terestiDg TO see what 1hanper of men
comprised the first Chamber; and like
all public things, it proved to be all
manner Of men; good looking, plain,
inferior; men of all degrees, quite a
proportion being Ulemas doctors of
lpw and theological sciencej. Two men
We're fayorites of the crowd, and they
were cheered all down the long street.
Following the. Deputies came the I'm.
perial HareIn, in which James was
particularly interested. There were
! four ladies in closed coupe, the
windows open. They had on the
Yashmak, (outer wrap so their beauty
was concealed. y Each carriage, there
were ten perhaps, was proceeded and
followed by huge, horrid, black eunuchs
After these ladies came the Am bassadort
in full regalia with cooked hats and flow
ing plumes, all but our man, who with
his first Dragoman, wore just black
with silk hats. Mr.. Lieshman, the
United Estates Ambassador, was i'll
and got up contrary to medical advice
to be in the procession. Who would no
have done Iso, remembering the great
Emperor's wrathful exclamation, "DC
you expect to live always?" After al
this, we went on down toward ST. Sofs
to see the crowd down there. Our
success was something like that of the
man who could not see the City be
cause Of the houses. The crowd wa
enormous and the best behaved crowt
imaginable, full of good nature ant
politeness. st. Sofa was a sight. Al
over the outside of the building were
people, where ever man or Turkish
woman could stick; on getting foot
hold hang there they did. You car
scarcely imagine the strange appear