The Washington herald., 1911-01-08
ABDUL HAND Is
HAUNTED BY FEAR
OF VIOLENT DEATH:

Ut IlGlENl UEAl1
For long years Abdul Hamid had been
haunted and tormented by the nightmare
of death. In every shadow he seemed to
see an assassin. All his vast power could
| not bring him one moment Of peace and
happiness. Not for one moment was Tur-
keys monarch at ease.
| Year by year his fears had been Grow.
| ing upon him. He had terror Of the
| dark. At night Yildiz always blazed with
! lights. His sleep had become restless.
and he would waken at the slightest
sound. Sometimes he would come out OF
his sleep with start, frightened by a
nightmare. and that would mean hours
of wakefulness. At such times he would
| find the solitude of his room unbearable.
and he would send for some one to en-
| tertain him. often a sorcerer, who would
explain the dream; or a slave. who would
read to him from one of his favorite
books-those giving detailed accounts OF
| assassinations, executions, and other hor-
rors.
He was always armed. His clothes were
served him both as arsenals and archives,
| and bulged with pistols and rolls of spies
reports.
Everybody at Yildiz was afraid of being
shot by him: he was likely to fire at the
slightest action that might seem to him
suspicious. There is story that one
day a gardener working in the park Of
Yildiz. on seeing the Sultan approach.
rose quickly from STOPPING posture to
assume a respectful attitude. Abdul Ha-
mid, startled by his sudden appearances
and suspecting some evil motive. at once
fired at him. The man fell dead Later,
as no weapon was found on his body, it
had to be acknowledged that blunder
had been committed. Such is the tale told
by a son of the late Prince of Samos.
who was one Of the Sultan's ministers.
The Secret Watch.
Yildiz, scene of innumerable horrors.
had been built by Abdul Hamid himself,
and he had made it more like a labyrinth
than a palace. 1t was the production and
the abode Of fear unutterable. Surely no
sane mind planned it. To guard against
spnspirators getting a plan Of his resi-
dence. its master was continually chang
ing its internal arrangements, walling up !
doors, opening new ones, narrowing pas
sages. dividing rooms by partitions. max
ing windows, and closing them again 1t
was a constantly changing maze.
To spare himself the danger of crossing
the graveled path that separated his
apartments from his harem. he had link
ed his residence by flying bridges to the
harem, on one side, and to the imperial
theater, on the other. This theater was q
gloomy little place. where the monarch
would sit entirely hidden from view in a
dark corner of his box while actresses
and singers from Paris and other Euro
pean cities entertained him. He never
came into view, never appualded. and the
visible audience consisted of a few mem-
bers of his family.
The building used by Abdul Hamid as
his private residence looked more like a
prison. for all the lower windows were
securely barred and the heavy iron doors
were of great strength and capable OF
being firmly bolted inside.
Every room in the palace was provided
with a couch on which the Sultan could
sleep if he felt inclined. Nobody ever
knew in what room he would sleep on
any given night. Before retiring to rest
he would sometimes call his attendants
and say to them, keep good lookout.
am going to sleep tonight in this room"
But he would invariably sleep somewhere
else.
Frugal and Crafty.
Abdul Hamid was frugal soul in
many ways, despite his great wealth.
yet in others he was extremely liberal.
The 800 lovely jewels of his hare.n, many
of whom had been stolen in various parts
Of Europe by his secret emissaries, were
provided for lavishly. Their bills for
Partisan gowns and millinery would have
made those of many wealthy Philadelphia
women look small indeed. for the ladies'
of Yildiz dressed in the latest styles OF
the most progressive capitals
The Sultan was fond Of jewels, too, and
his collection was worth millions, to
say nothing of the expensive gems he
bought to adorn the beauties of tho
harem.
Yildiz was an extremely expensive es-
to keep up. 1t was a verita-
BILE city in itself The Imperial Guard sta
toned there numbered 1000 men and
there were 5000 human beings besides-the
300 women of the harem and their suite,
the slaves and eunuchs: the princes, his
sons, their household and servants; then
his chamberlains, aids-de-camp, body
guards. musicians. gardeners, cooks,
grooms. domestics. Wallets, and stable
boys. The stables alone were a heavy
expense for the Sultan owned 800 horses,
most of them pure Arab blood.
The crafty despOt had some curious
fads. He owned an enormous collection
Of Turkish pipes and he had a passion
for shirts and collars. More than LOCO
shirts and twice as many collars were
laid away in his wardrobes.
His FenP of Death.
On the roof Of the imperial apartments
was an astronomical observatory. which
had been fitted up with an exceedingly
good telescope by a Partisan firm. This
was a favorite place with
the Sultan. yet he took not the slightest
interest in astronomy. The telescope was
here to serveAhis own purpose of espion-
age, for he used it almost exclusively
,or the purpose of watching the residence
,f Prince Yussun Izzeddin. eldest son OF
Abdul Aziz and heir nesumptive to the
throne. Its glass was never turned upon
The heavens.
But sometimes from his lonely lookout
he monarch saw stranger things than
he residence of Prince Yussuff. things
hat no other human being had ever
ireamed of. There we're times when his
morbid imagination played curious pranks
with him.
1t was on the day following an attempt
lpon his life by one Ali-Souavi and q
evolt at Toheragan, both Of which IN
.idents greatly upset him. that Abdul
damid hurried down from his observa-