Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-30
SUNDAY MAGAZINE FOR OCTOBER So 1910
When Royalty Forgets Its RS and Is
Continued from page s

Continued f.
than any politician that ever went after the
rural vote. When Mohammed ", that good
natured, easy going old man who just at
present occupies the wabbly throne of Osman
during the indefinite retirement of Brother
Abdul, was being prepared sartorially by a
whole retinue of chamberlains and equerries
and Wallets for the ceremony of investiture,
he informed the scandalized dignitaries that
he was going to be crowned in khaki.
For" said he 1.-The men that came from
Saloniki to put me on this throne wore khaki
uniforms, and what's good enough for them
is good enough for me-" Believe it or not,
but it took the combined arguments of the
Grand Vizir, the Sheik ul Islam, and the
Generalissimo of the Forces to prevail upon
him to alter this decision, and even then he
compromised upon an undress uniform of
plain dark blue, refusing to wear even the
historic diamond aigret which has twinkled
and sparkled in the fez of every Turkish
Sultan since Mohammed the Conqueror took
Byzantium for his own.
A Sultan's First Interview
MOHAMMED is the first Turkish sover-
AVA eign who ever gave an interview to a
newspaper correspondent, and he gave it be-
cause he was new at the game and didn't
know any better. But third of century
of close confinement is not likely to make
man quickwitted or worldly wise.
1t was in April, after Constantinop.e had
been taken by the victorious Army of LIBERIA
| ton and Abdul Hamid had been forcibly
ousted from his throne. Intermittent street
| fighting was still in progress, the city was
under martial law, the roads leading from
the capital were filled with disorganized
bands of Hamidieh soldiery, when the cor
respondent of great London daily, riding
| through the suburbs to see what he might
see, found himself by chance at the gate of a
wide spreading palace of pink stucco and
latticed windows.
Somewhat confused as to directions, he
raped with his riding crop on the door of
the lodge; but no one appeared in answer to
the summons. Tying his horse, the English
man, finding the gates unlocked, pushed
them open, and found himself in marble
courtyard, likewise deserted. Crossing it,
the jingle of his spurs the only sound other
than the distant rattle of musketry, he made
his way into the palace itsef, and, after wan
dering from salon to salon and from corridor
to corridor, he at last caught sight of an aged
negro hurriedly packing his belongings.
Whose palace is this?" demanded the
Englishman. Where am 1 and where is
everybody"
This is the Palace of Tcherigan and the
residence of Rechad Effendi,' was the as
founding answer. His Highness sits there,
in that room yonder."
By almost incredible good luck the cor
respondent had made his way into that
mysterious palace which for thirty-four
years had been the jealousy guarded prison
of the Sultan's younger brother, at mo-
ment when its inmates were flying in panic
and the heir apparent was waiting to know
whether he was to be assassinated or en-
throned. Knowing what Rechad and his
panic stricken household evidently did not
know, that Abdul-Hamid was even then a
prisoner in his own palace and that Paria-
ment had only that morning voted to place
his brother on the throne, the correspondent,
approaching to the full the immense news
value of the scoop chance had thus thrown
in his way, boldly opened the door, and
found himself face to face with somewhat
surprised but altogether dignifed and COM
posed old man, who was still unaware that he
had been made Commander of the Faithful.
1t was an easy task for the experienced in
terviewer to obtain expressions of policy and
opinions of men and events from this simple,
kindly man, who for close on third of a CEN
fury had known no other companions than
his wives and his books. For two hours and
L