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Page 6
The writer describes Abdul Hamid as a man who has so many sides that it
is impossible to say just what he is or is not.
He is kind, amiable, and even attentive to those he likes, and takes
pleasure in showering them with gifts, going to the trouble of finding
out what present will be most acceptable to the recipients of his
favors. At the same time he has such a frightful temper that his
ministers are afraid of him.
Abdul Hamid seems to be a very vain man, and likes to create an immense
impression on his visitors. Any one who is to be admitted to the
presence of the Sultan is therefore conducted through beautiful gardens
and pavilions, past lines of fierce-looking soldiers, and on into a
palace blazing with gold and splendor. Gradually his imagination is
wrought up to such a pitch that he pictures the sovereign he is about to
meet as a person robed in all the gorgeousness of the East, glittering
with jewels, and a sort of Arabian-Nights figure of such splendor that
he will hardly be able to rest his dazzled eyes upon him.
Instead, he is finally conducted into an apartment more beautiful and
gilded than any of the others. Mirrors reflect the light and splendor
from side to side, until it appears to be a veritable fairyland. And
here, waiting for the brilliant Sultan to appear in all his pomp and
majesty, he is suddenly confronted by a slight, pale-faced man, dressed
entirely in black, who stands motionless before him, and gazes at him
with stony, expressionless eyes.
The effect is said to be tremendous. Every one who has seen the Sultan
says that this sudden contrast gives an awe-inspiring impression which
it is impossible to describe. One Frenchman whom the Sultan wished to
decorate almost fainted at the sight of the great man.
Those of you who have never approached royalty may fancy this
description is exaggerated. But it is an absolute fact that there is
something about the approach of majesty that stirs your blood, and makes
your heart beat and then stand still, if for one moment the royal gaze
rests on you.
In that moment you understand why men were glad to give up their lives
and their fortunes for the sake of their kings, and you would be glad to
drop on your knee or perform some act of self-abasement to relieve your
own feelings. If these are the sensations that attack men when
ordinary-looking people in ordinary-looking costumes come into the
apartment, how much greater must the effect be after the long theatrical
preparation which the Sultan makes his visitors pass through before they
reach the presence.
The writer we have quoted from thus sums up the character of the Sultan:
"He is audacious and a coward, a dreamer and a man of business, a miser
and a prodigal, a loving father and a sanguinary monster. In one day he
condemned a nation to be slaughtered, signed a decree about decorating
some ladies, and speculated in stocks, all with the same peaceful and
contented manner."
* * * * *
There is a report in South Africa that Dr. Jameson, the leader of the
Transvaal Kid, will run for a seat in the Cape Town Assembly at the next
election, and that the chances are that he will be elected by a large
majority.
The Boers are likely to have more trouble with such a firebrand as that
helping to direct the affairs of a neighboring state.
At the same time the news comes that Mr. Cecil Rhodes, the man who is
accused of having planned the raid, is seriously ill in his home in Cape
Town, and not expected to live.
* * * * *
The Government of Siam has looked into the matter of the assault on
Vice-Consul Kellet, and has decided to express regret to our Government
that the trouble occurred.
We told you about this affair last spring. Vice-Consul Kellet went into
the interior of Siam to settle the estate of Mr. Cheek, an American who
had died in Siam, and who had left directions that Mr. Kellet was to
arrange his affairs for him.
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