SAVED FROM THE TURKS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 43, 14 November 1907, Page 11

SAVED FROM THE TURKS.

'A STORY OP BASE INGRATITUDE. London, September 21. An extraordinary story of an Armenian's ingratitude; utter being snatched from death at the hands of the Turks, was stated at tho Marylebone Police Court, yesterday. Tho accused was a comparatively young Armenian subject, giving the namo of Nicholas Cook, and describing himself as of no occupation, who was charged with having fraudulently obtained food and lodging to the amount of £12. from. Frederick James Haverley, a decorator, of 18 Lawford lioad, Kentish town, on the statement that he was a representative, of Thomas Cook and Sons, of Ludgate Circus, who,- he said, would be responsible for any debts incurred by him. Sir .A. Faulkner, financial manager to Messrs. Cook and Sons, excursion agents,'of Ludgate. Circus, said the prisoner was: not' in tho employ of the firm, nor were thoy responsible for his debts.. He then proceeded to give a graphic account of the,prisoner's career. His proper name, he said, was not Cook, but.NicholsSohedawyoin. In-1892 ho entered Messrs. Cook's services in Constantinople as doorkeeper and messenger, and continued in that capacity until the outbreak of the Armenian massacro in 189 G. 'He would undoubtedly have b'een murdered by the Turks, hut for the action of the firm's Constantinople agent. The rioters, it seemed, chased him down a street, and were close upon him, when he was dragged into the office of the firm and the door was slammed in the face of tho mob. They concealed him on the premises for. three or four days, while the massacres continued, during which time some of tho rioters wore patrolling outside the office, waiting for his\ life. Things wore so serious at that time that the firm telegraphed instructions from the headquarters in London to their agent in Constantinople to closo tho oiuco, leaving everything in charge of the British Embassy, and take the nocessary- steps to protect tho servants. ' . .

Being tho only Armenian, they could not leave the prisoner to the mercy of the Turks, so tho agent disguised him as a sailor and smuggled him on board a Fronch steamer, by .which ho was conveyed to Athens and thence to England. •

Mr. Faulkner went on to say that the prisoner could riot speali English, and scarcely knowing what to do with him Messrs. Cook employed him in London as a porter, but he shirked-his work so, and was such "a trouble, that they created a light position for him as doorkeeper on their main staircase, where his duty was simply to direct the firm's, clients to tho various departments. But even this he did very unsatisfactorily. Then ,in 1903, he had a severe attack of , rheumatic fever, followed by another twelve months later, and the firm bore tho expehso of both ■ and sent him to a convalescent homo. Hα waa still somewhat of a wreck, however, and fearing another attack of fever, Mcsrs. Cook tlrged him to go to a warmer climate, and en.doavoured to obtain a passport for him to return to Turkey. But tho Turkish authorities, unfortunately, would not grant ono. The firm then offered to pay his passage, secondclass! to Algiers, Tunis, or Alexandra, and give him six months' wages to keep him wiiilo trying to obtain work, bill; ho refused tho offer.' About that time tho firm discovered that ho was consulting a lawyer with a viow to bringing an action for £2,000 for wrongful detention in this country. They folt, therefore, , that they could tolerate him no longer, bu't, before parting with him altogether, they repeatedly renewed tho offer they had made to send him away, only to-'have it refused. For tho last two years his conduct had been intolerable. He had appealed to a number of philanthropic people, and his case had been inquired into by tho Home Office, Foreign Office, and several members of Parliament. Messrs. Cook offored prisoner a ticket to any point in Bulgaria he might select, and £10 to help him on the way, but that offer was also refused.

Tho following is vouched for as a truo story. Her little boy of seven years of ago said , to her one day, "Mother, I know why it k that babies cannot speak until they are 12 months old. It is because they conip straight from Heaven, and if they were ablo to talk as soon as they were born they would tell tho secrets, and so God doesn't let them speak until they havo almost forgotten thenu , '-