Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-04-01

| pam. II" extended his hand, and al
ter merely sIancing at it she cried
20 Prince. you vii! one day sit upon
the throne u! Your ancestors and your
reign W. i! lie long
Yet his Uacle was still in the prime
OF lite and his elder brother Young and
| wei. Prince Hamid's chance seemed
rather slim 3ut from that day. SO tho
| story COS, lie became fired with the
| ambition to sit at the head of the en-
| pire.
Abdul devoted days and
nights te sorcerers and magicians and
to studying the casting OF magic spells.
still he found time for romance OF
| two as we'll.
,, Ore day pretty girl with golden
l&ir, Mile. Flora Cordier, Belgian
modiste hurrying through the crowded
streets # ConstantinOpie, became
aware that a salioW. rN-eyed young
man on horseback wa; watching her
intcntiy. She shot 4 swift glance AZ
his unpTepossessing face, and contia
ued on her way.
Rut the horseman followed. Before
lo1S he leaned out of his saddle and
spoke II her in French. There was 10
reply from the girl, who quickly turned
away from MIN, and soon he lost track
Of her in the crowd.
On the next day, however, a MesSen-
ger brought a note to the pretty mod
istc. In some mysterious way the man
on horseback had discovered where
she lived. The ncte declared that
Prince Abdul Harid would like tC
mako her acquaintance,
The poor little uiodis;e was dazzlcd
by the advances of q brother Of tbs
heir TO the throne. When finally he
offered to make her his legitimate
wife, she accepted. became converted
to lslalrsm, and took the name OF
! Fatiina.
Love was short-l lived with III,
| Prince. Flora Cordier was forgotte!
by him before long. Many years age
She disappeared. Persons connected
with Abdul sometimes mad ;
mysterious way of disappearing.
| Abdul Hamid was thirtythree years
old when, in Nav, 1876, his brother
| Murad, succeeded to the throne upon
, the deposition of Abdul-Aziz. MuraC
was no longer the vigorous, studiou
man of few years before. The mac
! streak Of the Othmans had begun L
F., crop out in him, and one Of the ways
in which 1t showed itself was Il craving
| for drink.
1t was Midhac Pasha the grea
! frierd of the people, who declared fol
the removal Of MuIad from power ana
The substitution OF Abdul Hamid q:
regent. But the Prince objected
| strongly to the idea of a regency. II;
wanted the throre absolutely.
MY brother is o hopeless mailman.
be told Midhat tGe will never recov,
| er his reason
Only three months after Aturad's &C.
| cession to the throne his place was
| taken by Abdul-Hanlid who inrmedi-
ately had his brother securely locked
up. With strong guard over hin
| night and day. NOBODY was allowed tC
see the royal prisoner except ply
sicians, and they We're Of Hamid',
choosing.
For many years. until his death, Mu-
rad remained behind the bars. al
though it was the prevailing impress.
| sion that he had completely recovered
| his reason. But the new Sultan had
little cause to worry on the score of nj:
brether's possible recovery. There was
no longer Midhal Pasha, to reckon
| with. Scarcely had Abdul HamiC
| found himself a supreme authority
| tnan the patriot was sent into exile
He Was not the only person to sur
| fer under the new regime. Not only
We're the expected reforms not forth.
| CnIrtino hlIt
most prominent in advocating then
were either bonislled imprisoned o,
mysteriously dropped out of sight
There were tales that some of then
| had been taken out to sea ant
| drowned, though it Was never certain
| that the crime could be laid at the Sui,
| tan's door.
Did Midhat Pasha still hold in hi,
! possession the supposed promise
signed by Abdul Hamid that h We ulc
| surrender the throne IN the event q.
the recovery of Murad? There Was .
general belief that the schoming Su,
tan was greatly worried about that
paper. Perhaps the monarch's worries
| bore some connection with a fire thai
destroyed MiGhat Pasha's house iust
| sptsi 'iE "tiil iilLp CSlie. ana possibly
that mysterious paper nad some bear
ing upon the secret order that wen,
out to the Governor of Hedjaz that re-
suited in Midhat Pasha's death. \ few
! days after Midhat Pasha was cholied
to death in his bed curious box ~
| rived in Constan-inople. 1t bore The
address:
| ITO His Majesty Abdul Hamid IL.
IildiZ Palace, Constantinople:
Fragiie-Wlth care-iYory teeth. u
Inside wGs Midhat Pasha's head.
More than a quarter of a century after
the head was found i'll the Sultan
cellar.
One Of his spies might report that
some shopkeepers in Stamboul were
| about to throw Il bomb into the palace
| and as likely as not the Sultan, with
out troubling to get corroborative evil
| dence. would act upon what the jour
| nal said. There would be likely to fol-
| low some mysterious disappearance
| among the shopkeepers of STEAMBOAT
This was a matter of frequent occur.
renee.
The Sultan bad more than 5000 spies
| who spread terror throughout all his
| do!ninions