Tombstone epitaph., 1915-06-13

 sion without a moments delay.
 This was not my first lesson in the barbarity of oriental customs; there were dark stories floating about Con- stantinop!s. beneath the surface, of men, some of them foreigners of high rank. who had ventured into forbidden precincts. and suffered the most horri- ble retaliation at the hands of eunuchs in the service of a revengeful Moslem.
 Strangely agitated. almost before I realized what l was doing, 1 bent down, and picking up the slipper carried it out of the shadow of the ilex tree. into the full moonlight. and drew forth what it contained.
 Do not ask me to describe the sight which met my eyes. and which com pleted the horror of the entire incident The foot which held in my hand was unlike any other foot which had ever seen-unlike any human foot. dropped the frightful thing on to the ground. averted my eyes. and lied | from the accursed place"
 At this point the ambassador inter rupted himself to order the waiter. | who had already served our coffee, to ] bring cognac as well
 ''l had retraced my steps almost as far as the Golden Horn." he proceeded, when discovered that was still cax- rying the slipper in my hand. Think ing that 1t might yet prove to be of i'm | portance. thrust it hastily inside the folds of my Turkish robe before pro | ceeding. At the same time 1 began to | observe that there was certain move i Inelt ;n the streets. which vas not common at that hour of the night. l saw soldiers about. and. unless my eyes deceived me. there were more lights than usual on board the Turk | ish warships anchored opposite the | Dolmabacheh palace.
 T might have stopped to investigate these symptoms of disturbance. but for a sudden change which now took place in the atmosphere. The great black clouds which had been gathering from one corner of the sky massed them selves overhead. and then suddenly split in a blinding Assure of forked lightning, while a crash of thunder shook the towers and roofs of Stam- bout like an earthquake. Immediately the rain began to descend with the weight of an avalanche. and huge pools instantly formed themselves along the roads. ! rushed through the storm as best l could. and reached the embassy in safety.
 Even then. however. the alarms of that fearful night were not at an end. had been lying in bed, unable to sleep. for an hour or two. when all al once I heard the well-known boom of cannon answering the thunder over head. I listened and again and again the sound was repeated, till a hundred | cannon had gone on in the darkness {: and, finally. the storm passed away like a routed army. and the gray dawn came stealing over the Black sea
 That night has since become his. toricaL It was the night Of the 29th of May, on which Abdul-Aziz Khan. the Refuge of the World and the Shadow of God. was forcibly deposed
 
 tive in his own palace.
 "As soon as morning had come. the news of what had taken place was all over Constant!nople. It did not take the diplomatists in Pera wholly by sur prise. For some time past Abdul-Aziz had been unpopular with his suh!sc1ess To him had been attributed the mis- fortunes which were gathering round Turkey. aud winch seemed to threaten the dissolution of the empire. There had been more than one armed out break in the capital. ministry after ministry had been set up only to be thrown down. and a feeling of unres. was in all mems minds.
 "It appeared that this state of things had cuiminated in the meeting of 6 secret council of the great pashas al the seraskierate. which is, as you are aware. the headquarters of the army
 "Ths council had been called sud denly. in the dead of night. by Me hemed Rushdi Pasha. the grand vizier but for whom. it was said. the revolu ton would have taken place before
 "At this council the principal ule mas of the Moslem faith attended, and the head of their body. the sheik-ul Islam. officially pronounced that com mander of the faithful might be law fully deposed. Thereupon, the agents of the conspiracy received their or ders. the palace was surrounded wi:t troops, and the men-ofwar, which had seen illuminated, prepared to cut on all egress on the water side These arrangements completed messengers were sent secretly into the quarter of the palace in which Me hemed Murad Enendi. the sultan's nephew. was kept a prisoner by his suspicious uncle. The prince was smuggled out in safety. escorted to the seraskjerate. and there proclaimed as sultan, to the sound of a hundred guns ] "In this way was the monarch of [ . great empire dethroned. and his crowr given to another. without the loss oi , a single life. and with hardly a com motion in the street Believe me. my friend. we have yet much to iearr