The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-04-22

Had he. too. inherited the family
curse? Was 81 a mailman who. for 50
years. held supreme power in the EN-
pire?
1T is believed by sane and careful
Observers says Sir William Ramsay,
that Abdul-Hamid's orders have
been responsible for the death Of hair
a million men. Was it in the disol-
dered brain Of a maniac that that
widespread slaughter was planned?
II he still lives, Abdul -Hamid is moi
by any means SO old a man as he
looked on his last public appearance,
when, feeble and emaciated. he might
have been taken for so. He was born
on September 20, 1912, and would now
be only 6S.
His mother, a slave, said TO be OF
Armenian origin, was a dancer in the
household of his fathers sister,
Esme-Sultana.
His infancy was spent, like that
of the other princes, in the harem,
among slave enuchs and head sery-
ants. Sickly. alone and taciturn, ne
differed from his brothers and Sis
tiers in character, tastes and habit.
He was a pale, Silent, melancholy boy,
and, according NJ. Vambery, the cele-
brated Orientalist, who knew him
when a child, his face had a distrusr-
full and cunning expression.
One day, while his uncle was still
on the throne, the young Prince met
a gypsy woman, who asked TO read his
palm. He extended his hand, and af-
ter merely glancing at It, she cried:
20 Prince, you will one day sit
upon the throne Of your ancestors,
and your reign will be long!"
Yet his uncle was still I'm the prime
of life, and his elder brother young
and well Prince Hands chance
seemed rather slim. But from that
day, so the story goes, he became fir
ed with the ambition to sit at the
head Of the empire.
Abdul Hamid devoted days and
nights to sorcerers and magicians,
and to studying the casting of magic
: spells, still he found time for ro'
p nance or two as well.
One day pretty girl with golden
hair, Mile. Flora Cordier, a Belgian
$ modiste, hurrying through the crowd
( ed streets of Constantinople, became
2 aware that sallow, dark-eyed youne
e man on horseback was watching her
t intently She shot swift glance al
, his unprepossessiDg face and contin
ued on her way.
But the horseman followed. Before
long he leaned out of his saddle and
2 spoke to her in French. There waa
=. no reply from the girl, who quickly
= turned away from him, and soon nc
s lost track of her in the crowd.
= On the next day, however, mes
y senger brought a note to the prett,
modiste. In some mysterious way the
. man on horseback had discovered
where she lived. The note declared
d that Prince Abdul-Hamid would lk,
e to make her acquaintance.
y The 9oor little modiste was dazzler
d by the throne When finally he offe,
+ ed to make her his legitimate wife
70 she accepted, became converted to Is
e lamism and took the name of Fatima
d Love was short-lived with tn
3 Prince Fatima Cordier was forgo
c. ten by him before long. Many year
n ago she disappeared. Persons col
al nected with Abdul-Hamid sometime
d. had a mysterious way Of disappearing
" Then there was his infatuation fo
IN a girl in the seraglio of his uncle, tn
O. Sultan. He carried her off one nigh
n taking her out of a window by mean
of a ladder, and to prevent the su
~ tan from interfering, married her. 81
NJ she, too, was soon forgotten.
g Abdul-Hamid was 80 years old whe
n in May, 1876, his brother, Murad, sui
al ceeded to the throne upon the dep
sition Of Abdul-Aziz. Murad was I
lg longer the vigorous, studious man
he a few years before. The mad strea
le. of the Othmans had begun to crop o.
ne in him, and one Of the ways in whiC
on it showed itself was a craving (,
mt drink.
ri It was Midhat Pasha, the gre
Sc friend of the people. who declared f
'p- the removal of Murad from power al
no the substitution Of Abdul-Hamid
to regent. But the Prince objectc
up strongly to the idea of a regency. I
wanted the throne absolutely.
en- my brother is a hopeless ma
OF man." he told Midhat He viii new
ks recover his reason"