Evening star., 1909-04-23
SICK Man OF EUROPE.
Strnage Attributes of Sultan
Described by Turk.
TREACHEROUS AND CRUEL
Voice Has Charm Which Lures All
Who Hear to His End.
DEGENERATE AND DISEASED
Intelligence Of Highest 0rder-Uses
Personal Enmities to Insure
Own Safety.
DEGENERATE AND DISEASED

make the luTklSn sultan perhaps Tie
most talked of man in the world at the
present time.
A striking picture of this remarkable
man was published in the American Mag
! azine for November last. 1t was written
by Nicholas c. Adossides. for some years
an attache Of the Turkish foreign ofiice.
The authors father, Adossides Pasha,
was high official under four sultans. be-
ing successfully Governor of Crete, Prince
of Samos. minister of interior. imperial
commissioner Of Roumania and envoy
extraordinary to the Dalmatian prov
inces. Because of his liberal views, how
ever, he became persona non grata with
Abdul Hamid. He and his family were
subjected to espionage for several years.
Abdul Hamid, the sick man." writes
the younger AdOssides, ''is the most mys-
,terious parsonage of our time No other
has SO occupied the imagination OF the
world; no other has been SO feared and
SO hated; no other has been so much the
theme OF the contemporary historian;
What titanic epithets have been hurled
against the unhappy Sultan Of Turkey.
who has reigned for thirty-three years,
throned on the fear OF his subjects"
Appearance Of Sultan.
Rather tall and exceedingly slender" !"
he continues. abdul Hamid has the un-
studied stoop of the consumptive. His
face is wrinkled parchment, as II thou
sand anxieties and suspicious had left
| their impress there. His features, be-
sides cruelty and cunning, denote intelli-
gence and cowardice.
His eyes of almond shape, by far the
| most interesting detail of his person. are
dark and piercing, aged with eternal sus-
picion. They denote high intellect, ex-
Nafiy mt
and pitiless cruelty.
1.-The thin upper lip and the thick.
sensual lower indicate a combination Of
passion, irascibility and selishness. His
appearance OF bird of prey The chin,
though hidden by a beard, is weak and
indecisive.
1.-The voice. however. bellies the face
1t is marvelously subtle and insnuating
melodious in its moduations and full Of
dulcet tones. With this remarkable voice
Abdul Hamid has been able to seduce
nearly everybody who has approached
him. even his antagonists
Il remember that once my father on his
return from the palace. where he had
had an audience with his majesty said:
Although l know how cruel this man is
yet | never approach him without being
impressed by his flnesse and CHARM"
Mr.. Adossides states that Mr.. de Blow
itz. the famous correspondent of the Lon
don Times. regarded Abdul Hamid as the
most intelligent OF reigning monarchs
and that. possessing an intelligence
amounting to genius, he was consum-
He relates that after an interview with
the sultan who had asked him 10 tell
him Of the defects Of his administration
and he had replied In words that must
have ranked the mind of the Turkish
despot. with a show Of pretended SYM
pathy with the views of Mr.. de Blowitx
Abdul Hamid decorated him with the
Order of Mejidie. doubtless with the hope
Of eulogistic descriptions of himself per
sonally in the European press.
Degenerate Invalid.
1.-The sultan continues Mr. Adossides
is an invalid. degenerate OF the highest
order. Descended from sickly princes
whose lives were spent half in the gloom
of a prison, half In the wanton luxury OF
the seria: son, grandson and great-grand-
son OF lazy slaves Of different races; him
self the child Of consumptive mother
and tuberculous father. he belongs to
an enfeebled dynasty that Ia afflicted
with every disease. both Of body and
mind, to the point of actual insanity
Such Is the graphic description Of Alb
dul Hamid, the Sultan OF Turkey, whom
all his subjects fear and whose cunning
manipulation of affairs has ingulfed the
land of the Turk in revolution and count
er-revolution, the outcome OF which IL
awaited by all the world with curious
interest and In some quarters with keen
anxiety.
"As soon as he mounted the throne"
states Mr.. Adossides, 'he began at once
to exile the encourage Of his predecessors,
which was composed Of honest able men,
and. treacherousiy breaking all promises
that he had given to the ministers of
Mourad v. he suppressed the constitution
hot hoy Ia I{~h
solved the parliament, created a new
encourage, crushed every liberty and
caused to be constructed at Yildiz an
immense fortress, where he has taken
army on whose fidelity he can count
Mr.. Adossides explains that before Alb
dull Hamid's reign the power OF the sui
tan Was certainly absolute. but 1t was
exercised through the medium OF minis
ters. who took an active part in affairs.
internal and foreign, for the sublime
porte was crowned with the prestige of
antiquity.
1T is not. however. the same today"
he adds.
'"The ministers now are nothing but
mere agents to execute without question
or discussion the sultan's WILL They are
not even regular agents. for he frequent
ly passes them by and uses other instru-
generals, admirals are not allowed to
make the least decision or to have any
initiative at ALL Everything is centered
In the sultan and everything must ema-
nate from him.
Short Shrift for Grand vixier.
I'm Turkish states Mr.. Adossides,
''the official term for the title Of grand
vixier is Sadri Azam, an Arab word
meaning porter" and, he continues,
while the derivation remains the same,
the original sense has disappeared. The
grand viziers Of Abdul Hamid carry moth
ing on their shoulders except the ever
lasting dread Of disgrace that may come
upon them at any moment"
They are nothing but f1gureheads. he
explains. There is an unending process
sion of those who have at one time or
another filled the Office. some for a year,
q month, a week and even q day.
Although the willy sultan disposes Of
ministers and grand vixiers with q COM
mendable regularity that would seem to
be startling. yet 1t is said the personnel
Of the palace of Yildiz is unchanging and
to q degree Interchangeable. for here the
sultan exacts qualities from those who
serve him that are united In each OF the
courtiers. II the ministers are servile
the people Of the palace are ten times
more SO. and. 1t is declared. they have no
personality Of their own, no individual
late A,,k cSv~n npl~ IND iNa