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Show i I A SUBLIME I SUMMONS A Story of Turkey and the Sultan Dr. Jani was in prison in SlainbouL he did not know why. All he had been able to learn from the guards was that he was arrested by the orders or-ders of the sultan. He had protested innocence of all wrong doing, but without with-out avail. He had begged for time to put his affairs in order, to write a few notes to friends, to communicate with, the ambassador or with the consul, to send a telegram. No, all he was to do was to go with the guards who had taken him directly to the prison and locked him up with no hint of why or wherefore. He could not so much as guess why he was. there. But then there had been others. He remembered them well. Montinet, the oriental scholar who had lived in peace for years and suddenly had been summoned to be seen no more among his friends nor even heard of by them. There was Saloms who never had returned from the ride he started out upon one afternoon, after-noon, though his household waited days and weeks and months. Then there was Morelli, the musician, and little Grigo. whom every one had loved, whose life had all joy and merriment, mer-riment, but who had vanished like the others as though changed to air. Now his turn had come, and why? He could think of nothing whatever that could have offended anyone holding hold-ing authority in Stamboul. With his elbows on the rough table before him, he looked back to the day when first he saw the Thespian Bos-phorus. Bos-phorus. He had come for a month's holiday, and the maic scenery, with its infinity of panoramas, had bewitched be-witched him. The one month had lengthened into 12, and the artist in him had been supremely happy. As a physician, too, he had been attracted attract-ed by Stamboul, but from a very different dif-ferent reason than that which had attracted at-tracted the, artist, namely, the city's filth. Where there was so much filth there must be diseases, probably strange diseases that western Europe know nothing of. He had stayed on account of this filth, and his reward had been ample, as medals and diplomas diplo-mas in his quarters showed. The literature of the east had been another charm to hold him. He had delighted in it and had translated much. He also had put some western stories into Arabic, and had won distinction dis-tinction by so doing. But it was all done now. His laboratory lab-oratory work, his pictures, his studies and translations were of the time that has been. He should never see his manuscripts or be in his beloved studio again. He like thof-e others whom he had been thinking of had come to the end. He might havs-known havs-known it. He had been a fool bot why? Why? Why? He asked himself him-self with a sort of madness over again and again, why? Why should it be? What had he done? Was he not useful? use-ful? Had he not done good? Had be not saved lives? He had. He had saved many lives. He had taught the people how they might save themselves them-selves when diseases came. He had been the friend of all. and had never so much as thought of politics or uttered ut-tered .a word about the state. He pressed his hands to his head and tried once more to think, staring at the dull blank wall before him Then the door of the cell opened anu an officer came in. "You are Dr. Jani?" he inquired. "I am, but " "You have been translating a story from the French, which has been running run-ning as a serial in the Weekly Crescent?" Cres-cent?" "I have been translating a story from the French, a romance, in which there is not one word that could give offense, not a word that " As before he was interrupted. "1 am commanded by the sultan," said the officer, "that you are to re main here until the translation is finished. fin-ished. His majesty desires to read the remainder of the story immediate ly. Whatever you may require for the task will be brought here with the greatest possible dispatch." And so it happened that all was not over for Dr. Jani. Indeed, so eager was the sublime porte to have the story that he dispensed with the formality for-mality of having the story written out. and . had the doctor brought into hi? study, where the translation was finished fin-ished orally. The sultan had majiy questions to ask the doctor read aloud, which the man of medicine, being be-ing learned in the literatures both of the east and of the west, and being, furthermore, at) artist, was able to answer an-swer and to illustrate in a way that gave the sultan the liveliest satisfaction. satisfac-tion. Instead, therefore, of never seeing his Stamboul home again, the doctor returned there on the second day after his arrest wearing an especial decoration deco-ration and driving in a royal carriage , with an escort. But he was not quite himself again for many weeks. Meteor Seen in New Jersey. The superstitious were thrown into consternation at Ihe sight of a strange comet, with a fiery tail, in the eastern sky about ten o'clock the other night. The big ball of bluish flame, with sputtering appendix of (he same color, appeared in the heavens at one minute min-ute past ten o'clock, and traveled in a southeasterly dlrction. So close did the meteoric object appear that it was be'iTed It would fall somewhere im Sew Jersey, near HaddonDeld, but inquiry in-quiry brought the report that while the light had been seen near there, no meteor had fallen. Philadelphia Evening Times. |