| Show SULTAN OF TURKEY ALTHOUGH turkey la is open to the commerce of the world and people from fora all nations freely visit constantinople stantin ople yet the real condition of turkish society is little understood and the most erroneous ideas prevail in relation to its inner life all kinds of foolish stories are told concerning the sultan and his court aud and of the condition of women I 1 in B turkish households once in a while some truthful traveler gives reliable accounts not intended to pander to popular ideas but to convey the truth and these are altogether different to the lit highly ehly colored tales usually told about the disciples dieci ples of mahomet it is very much the same with the turks as with the mormons cormons Mor mons they are greatly misrepresented and as little is really known of one as the other by the masses of mankind and though the two peoples are as dissimilar as any diverse races can possibly be it is a a common error to class them in the same category the sultan is a very different personage age to the popular ideal of that monarch and we copy from the new york sun the following brief description of his ways and his bis home the sultan of turkey lives and thinks in ks p retty pretty much after the fashion of f ther other high european sovereigns he ele rises very early and takes a cold bath something unknown to turkish sultans before his day dav at he enters his study and sits down between two mountains of papers paper one all turkish newspapers and translations eions from foreign newspapers the other documents of state B by his side sits his secretary sureya pha pasha with whose aid he goes through all the dailies and clippings and reports every state paper is read carefully by the sultan him himself Belf who boasts that he be has never affixed his name to a document that he had not first read through h after having disposed of both batches batches of papers the sultan lunches plainly and without wine when the sultan is alone the table service is china when guests are resent it is is gold alter after luncheon the S gaitan ultan usually drives or takes gym mastic exercise upon his return from his recreation he again retires to his study and works till the tasks of the day have been performed the home life of the sultan is sti stjan angely gely different from the prevalent ideas of it according to Tam vambery bery the hungarian traveler who has haa recently returned to his home home from a long visit at the turkish court the harem has ceased to have any significance for the life of the turkish sovereign who lives with and loves his one chosen wife as would any other european sovereign his affection for this chosen wife is so strong that during her recent illness he ate and slept little and was by her side almost all his leisure time his daughter naime sultana has been educated in all european accomplishments and is a pianist of rare talent and remarkable execution As an the sultan of course allows that female slaves are presented to him but he does not take take them into his family in any way baym in fact never sees their faces face abdul hamid II 11 is a believing moslem vambery says yet never forgets that he rules over greeks and armenians Armen ians as well as over moh AM madans not only the clergy of his own creed but also the greek and armenian patriarchs patria rohs rolis are frequents recipients of his pres W ants T ILL e sultan is far from being a an u orthodox mohammedan f for or he encourages the fine arts ans has founded a museum containing statues to look at which according to the koran is a deadly sin min and has laid the basis of the education of turkish women for w which too his creed finds no endorsement besides the business of live politics plans for the introduction of a co constitution in his empire occupy m much u e h of the sultans attention he f feels oe i s an obligation to do this thio for uis his rt people it p le yet fears they are not ripe for in europe the ground was prepared for constitutions by centuries of liberal government he said to vambery now you come to ask me to transplant this western growth too 10 the stony soil of asiatic lift life let me first ali t AL J sag remove the thistles whistles es and stones let me turn and water the soil for we have no rain here and then I 1 will transplant the ive western ern product as you wish believe me no one would be better pleased than I 1 with the success of the experiment such is the sul tan says vambery painted without prejudice |
