Show r it Secrets of the Courts of Europe EuropeAn An AnOld Old Ambassadors Ambassador's Revelations of the J k Inner History of Famous Episodes Her Heretofore tofo e Cloaked in Mystery n. n I Chronicled ALLEN UPWARD ti by f A SERAGLIO SECRET t Y We came out into the open air and anc seated ourselves in front of a small smal table with a marble surface which a waiter walter diligently wiped with his na nap napkin kin before proceeding to bring us our out r refreshments The night was mild and the numerous lights of the boulevard boulevard boule boule- vard yard were muffled by a faint mist i which softened th the voices of the pass pass- ersby The ambassador leaned forward forward forward for for- ward with one ar arm arni i. i resting on the table and his hat bat se set back from his hie 0 forehead It was on a night like this he befi begaIi began be be- fi gan gaIi only more close and sultry that i I had what Is perhaps the most bizarre S H. H experience of my my life me It was when I Iwas was attached in the capacity of secret secretary secretary secre secre- t tary ry to our embassy in ConstantiS Constanti S nople S It was at a time when the affairs o of Turkey were about to attract the attention at at- of the civilized world Russia t was already preparing to draw the sword and it was believed in some somei i- i quarters that England would not conf conr consent con con- r f sent to remain a passive spectator o of the struggle Tho The entire weight o of i. i France was being thrown wn into the f scale to avert this contingency and I have reason to believe that it was the services which I was able to render to tc i K the republic during this crisis which S led to my being with my first i embassy i r S Our desire of course was to keep keel fi Russia strong to act as a restraint on or Prussia and in this task I found myself my self pitted against your celebrated celebrates t S' Lm minister Lord Beaconsfield He wasS was wasa wasi S i to a great man let me tell yo you who sueS succeeded suc- suc S seeded in obtaining for himself s a L t t European vogue second only to that of of I A a k Bismarck But nut of my labors labor in this c r direction I must not speak To return to th the night which I I Ir r R have already referred to I had sauntered sauntered out from the embassy quite late t and after walking through the streets of Pera Fera for an hour I was seized by an impulse to cross over the Golden Goiden Horn and explore old Stamboul It was perhaps per per per-I haps hags a rash proceeding at such a time i but I had accustomed myself to these nocturnal rambles in which for greater great great- I Mohammedan cos costume I cos-I er safety wore a tume I S Doubtless you have read those delightful de de- 1 Y Arabian Nights and can figure figure fig fig- figr r ure to yourself the enchantment of wandering through an Eastern city iu ill u uthe the silent hours when the moonlight falls softly on the the tapering and on the high Ugh walls of mysterious S gardens in which veiled beauties re re- recline recline cline beside marble fountains and listen to the songs of divine birds I made maae my way as I have told you into the Turkish quarter Avoiding the region of the bazaars which at this r 4 hour were closed I turned my steps Into that in which the pashas have their superb residences a region Intersected Intersected intersected in In- at long intervals by narrow and solitary lanes running between blank walls with here and there a little little littie lit lit- tle tie postern gate artfully introduced introduces beneath thy th ivy I was sauntering slowly down one of these lanes when c I j perceived in front of me at a point iS where the shadow of a tall ilex fell fie across the white surface of the road roada a a. a group of ot those dogs which Infest Constantinople They were quarreling over some object which lay on the roadway in the center of the black biasi J patch of shadow shado Save for the tha presence presence pres Ares ence of the tho dogs t the e whole neighborhood neighbor neighbor- hood appeared to be absolutely de de- sorted I advanced toward the spot endeavoring endeavoring endeavoring en en- to make out the nature of S the object which had attracted these carnivorous brutes As I got nearer x I perceived it to be a slipper of ot the pattern usually worn In Turkey My Iy J curiosity was now strongly roused 1 I stepped into the midst of tho the growling curs and drove them off with a few blows of a a. stick which I carried Then m t iI I stooped down to pick up this mysterious mys rays c t object t No sooner had my hand touched it han haq I 1 s starred ared back with aj veritable veri thrill of horror The slipper contained rf S w a ia human foot My first impulse on making this terrible ter ter- t i 1 discovery was to turn and fly t from from the place But a dreadful fasci fasel fascination nation which I could not overcome i rooted me to the spot and en even com com- r me to make a closer examina t tion lion I stooped down peering in the tho dim light and asking myself with a ng heart how this severed severd foot had come to be exposed there on that r lonely path as If it it were the damning n evidence of some strange crime i i As s I gazed at It thus I be became ame that the foot had for some som time a aware ware tl d l ceased to bleed It had been cat ott oU at the ankle and Uie od was beginning to congeal over th the severed veins and arteries I looked on the i ground beside it for stains of blod but not one was visible I extended my imy circle and scrutinized all round ItI it I with care but the result was the same i Of one fact I Iwas was now positively now positively as as- cured This foot which I beheld on fr Sc i the ground had not been cut off the human being to whom it belonged at i this place nor nor perhaps anywhere Inthe In ll Inthe the ne neighborhood It had been brought here doubtless under the influence of some strong fear by one who felt Celt it iti L r l i i It i h necessary to rid himself of its posses posses- possession s sion slon on without a moments moment's delay This was not my first lesson in the barbarity of oriental customs there were dark stories floating about Constantinople Constantinople Constantinople Con Con- beneath the surface of men some of ot them foreigners of high rank who had ventured into forbidden precincts and suffered the most hori I ble retaliation at the hands of eunuchs hs hsin in the service Of of-a of a revengeful Moslem Strangely agitated almost before I realized what I was doing I 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 completed completed completed com com- the horror of the entire incident The foot which I held In my hand was unlike any other foot which I had ever seen unlike seen unlike any human foot I dropped the frightful thing on to the ground averted my eyes and fled fied from the accursed place At this point the ambassador Interrupted interrupted Inter inter- ru ted himself to order the waiter walter who had bad already served our coffee to bring cognac as wellI wellI wellI well I had retraced my steps almost as asfar asfar asfar far as the Golden Horn he proceeded when I discovered that I 1 was still carrying carrying carrying car car- the slipper in my hand Thinking Thinking Think Think- ing that it might yet prove to be of importance importance importance im im- I thrust it hastily inside the folds of my Turkish robe before pro pro- seeding At the same t time me I 1 began to observe that there was a certain movement movement movement move move- ment In the streets which was not common at that hour of the night I saw soldiers about and unless my eyes deceived me there were more lights than usual on board the Turkish Turk Turkish ish warships anchored opposite the palace I might have stopped to investigate these symptoms of disturbance but for fora 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 themselves themselves themselves them them- selves overhead and then suddenly split in a blinding fissure of forked lightning while a crash of thunder shook the towers and roofs of Stamboul Stam Stam- boul like an earthquake le Immediately the rain began to descend with the weight of an avalanche and huge pools Instantly formed themselves along the roads I rushed through the storm as best I could and reached the embassy in safety Even then however the alarms of that fearful night were not at an end I had bad been lying in bed unable to sleep for an hour or two when all at once I heard the well-known well boom of cannon answering the thunder over over- head I 1 listened and again and again the sound was repeated till a hundred cannon had gone off in the darkness and finally the storm passed away like a routed army and the gray dawn came stealing over sea That night has since become historical historical his his- It was the night of the of May on which Aziz Abdul Khan the Refuge of the World and the Shadow of God was forcibly deposed from the sultanate and made a captive captive captive cap cap cap- tive in his own palace As soon as morning had come the news of what had taken place was all allover allover allover over Constantinople It did not take the diplomatists in Pera wholly by sur sur- prise For some time past Aziz Abdul-Aziz had been unpopular with his subjects To him had been attributed the misfortunes misfortunes misfortunes mis mis- misi i fortunes which were gathering round Turkey and which seemed to threaten the dissolution of the empire There had been more than one armed outbreak outbreak out break in the capital ministry after ministry had been set up only to be thrown down and a feeling of unrest was in all mens men's minds It Ii appeared that this state of things had culminated in the meeting of or a secre secret co council of f th the great pashas al at atthe althe the which is as you are aware the h headquarters arters of the of-the the army T ie council had been called suddenly suddenly sud sud- denly in the dead o of night by Me 1 Mehemed hewed Pasha the grand vizier but but for whom it was said the revolution revolution tion would have t taken ken p place ace before At this council the principal ul ulemas ule ule- ulemas mas of the Moslem faith attended and the he head d of their body the ul sheik Islam officially officially pronounced that a commander commander com corn mander of the faithful faithful might be law v lawfully lawfully fully Cully deposed Thereupon the agents of ot the conspiracy received their orders orders orders or or- ders the palace was surrounded with troops and the war men which 1 had seen illuminated prepared to cut cutoff oft off all egress on the water si side c. c These arrangements completed mess mes's messengers messengers were sent c ca eUy into the quarter of the palace in which Mehemed Mehemed Me- Me Murad Effendi the sultans sultan's nephew was kept a prisoner r by his suspicious uncle The prince was WM smuggled out in safety escorted to the and there proclaimed as DS sultan sound of f a hundred guns In this way was the monarch of a great empire deth dethroned and his crown crownI I given to another without the loss of ofa ofa ofa a single life lire and with hardly a commotion com com- commotion motion in the street Believe me my friend w we we have yet much to learn learnE E from these thele oriental peoples f Y t.- t. 1 h i Ui Lif s 's 1 Constantinople was settling down again after alter its excitement and I 1 was beginning to believe that nothing more would happen when the tho news of ot the catastrophe arrived About midday a steam launch left the palace and came down the stopping at the residences of the the ambassadors am am- am and bearing Suleiman Sul Bey the secretary tar of the grand vizier who communicated to each of the foreign representatives in turn the tragic tidIngs tidings tidings tid tid- tid- tid ings that Aziz Abdul-Aziz had refused to survive his deposition and had died by his own handI hand when Suleiman I I was with my chief Bey reached the French embassy and andas as the ambassador had no secrets fromme from fromme me me me I I remained while he delivered his message message He appeared much agitated a thing which Is most unusual In an orientaL The ambassador and I were of or cou course e overwhelmed by y the announcement announcement announce announce- ment ment nt which he he made ade jp to us While V the Bey was speaking my chief glanced at acme Ine me and I read In his eyes yes the suspicion suspicion suspicion sus sus- which had already dY form formed d itself in my own yn mind Ind This sudden death of an Inconvenient and dangerous prisoner was an event which it w was s seas easy to understand in an Eastern court Evidently the t e grand vizier had anticipated anticipated anticipated an an- the feeling with which this intelligence would be received The secretary went on to say My master has thought it his duty to communicate the fullest particulars of of f this this affair to the representatives of the the powers powers at once The body of thel the l late te sultan is still lying in the room in in which it was discovered by his at at- He appears to have taken his life lire by means of or a pair of Persian scissors with which he is beli believed ved to have cut open a vein vei in the left arm and then bled to death The ambassador rose to his feet with a severe frown This is a remarkable story which the grand vizier has sent you to tell me he said with a distrust which wast was not Intended J to be concealed I trust t I He Turned Pale and His Eyes Literally Protruded From Their Sockets i for the new sultans sultan's own sake sake there will be a proper proper investigation which will confirm the views the tho the powers are asked to take of this of-this this affair lr The bey showed no resentment at these remarks that It is the viziers vizier's earnest desire the powers should satisfy themselves as to what has taken place he replied He has has' desired me to Invite you to send a representative at once to the palace who will be admitted to tea a sight of the dead body and g given ven every every facility fa- fa for satisfying himself as to the facts This sounded sufficiently correct My chief turned to me with a look of inquiry and I at once volunteered to accompany Suleiman Bey to the Dol Dol- palace and make the inquiries in in- inquiries w which ich the grand vizier invited Accordingly arter to my own room for a moment with a a purpose purpose which you will readily understand I left with the bey and quickly arrived at the scene of or th the imperial tragedy The streets it is nce needless to say were lined with people all of them wearing exultant and and fierce looks which were not rendered rendered more amiable by the th-e sight of a being admitted admitted admitted admit admit- ted through the palace gates Hoever However However How How- ever a very strong force of troops had been brought together by the vizier with a promptness which In itself itself it self was capable of or an evil interpretation tion and there was no open dis' dis disorder In In the palace I found members rs of pf the staff of all the tho principal foreign embassies prominent nt among among them then them be being ing of course the representatives representatives' of Russia and England As soon as we were all gathered we were taken Into the presence of Mehemed Rushdi who who received us with a great display of or sincerity and who appeared moreover to be really affected by this sad event After Arter making a little statement tous to tous tous us which was practically a repetition lon of what he had said already through his messenger he handed us over to Said Pasha the imperial chamberlain who conducted us to the apartment in which so he be assured us |