MEN AND MANNERS IN CONSTANTINOPLE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 3552, 16 February 1886, Page 3

MEN AND MANNERS IN CONSTANTINOPLE.

{Fortnightly Beview.) His Majeaty the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire is a most high and puissant monarch. His will is law, and hia nod is death. He has many palaces ; he rules despotically over a vaat empire ; he makes quantities of pashas cross their fawning hands whenever he looks at them ; he has tho power to do anything to any one of his faithful subjects— except recall him to life nfter he has killed him. _ But social power he has none. His life is passed m an endless round of official drudgery, nay, positive servitude. Each minutest detail of business, from the highest visions of diplomacy down to the opening of a new coffee-house on tho shores of the Bosphorus, passes throughhisaugust hands ; and each incident of every transaction forms a focus of intrigues which, m their conglomerate mass, it would take twenty sultans with a hundred times Abd-ul-Hamid's power- to disarm and defeat. What timo, therefore, can he have to spare for society? The Commander of the Faithful may be scon any week as he goes to his Friday's prayer. Then, before the gaze of an adoring populace, through lines of splendid troops, crowds of brilliant aides-de-camp and pashas, fair veiled ladies, braying braes bands, and screaming dogs, there passes a thin-faced, long-nosed, grizzledbearded pale man m a half-closed carriage, nervously fluttering his hand before his face by way of salute, and receiving the low salaams of all m return. He hurries into the mosque, scarce giving himself timo to throw a halffrightened glance round, and so is lost to view before he can well be seen. When one considers why that face is so worn aud pale, why those hands are so nervous, how tho heart behind that blue military coat must be beating like a roll of military drums, one feels grateful that one is but a private individual, and not His Imperial Majesty the Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid the Second, living as he does m perpetual fear of assassination. The head of the Stato neither caring nor daring to assume his position m society, no other Turk essays tho role of social leadership. Not only might such an attempt cause him to bo unfavorably regarded by his sovereign, but the Turk has neither, by temperament nor custom, any inclination to mix m European society. It is too gay, too animated for him. It might be Blipposed that the Grand Vizier, the Ministers of the Cabinet, and the principal State officials, being more or less m constant relation with Europeans, might, for political reasons, develop social aspirations. Away from tho Porte, however, one seldom sees them. Apropos, you may bo permitted to make the acquaintance of the Grand Vizier. He is, physically, just the opposite of whnt one would expect a Grand Vizier to bo. There peers up at you, from above a little insignificant tiguro of diminutive stature and rather crooked build, a doadly pale face with queer irregular features ornamented by a long black beard, and with no particular characteristic to strike y<ur attention uutil you see a pair of glittering piercing black eyes closely observing you. eyea do everything. As conversation proceeds, you forget all tho rest of the men, and address yourself to the glowing orbs of the dignitary. His voice also is peculiar : cold, deliberate, passionless, every word carefully weighed and carefully Bpoken. Unquestionably you will have been talking with a very remarkable man, of keen intellect, clear design, and immense tenacity and strength of purpose. In a country where every minister, more especially a Grand Vizier, is looked upon piincipally as a target for volleya of intrigue, Said Pasha has for five years, with, I believe, only two interruptions of very short duration each, stood firm and unmoved, and is at this time more securely rooted m power than ever. But m Booioty he never appears. Thus society m Constantinople is influenced m no way by the Turks, who aro, with one or two exceptions, completely unrepresented. Of these exceptions the principal is Munir Pasha, Grand Master of Ceremonies to the Sultan — a man of irreproachable character and courteous, dignified mannor. Thoro is rarely a party of importance given by an ambassador or ambassadress at which you do not see his big broad shoulders and dark bearded faco, brightened by a cordial smile, m some convenient corner where ho can talk with his friends, and contemplate the. skittish European at his ease. It is he who has the privilogo of introducing ambassadors, special envoys, travelling monarchs and princes, and persons of similar distinguished rank, to the Sultan. Hobart Pasha is the most distinguished officer m the Turkish navy, and has rendered conspicuous aervicos to tho Turkish State. He has been for twenty years m Ottoman employment, and the effective condition of the Turkish navy is notorious. He is, as ho will lose no opportunity of telling you himself, the confidential adviser of the Sultan on all important State matters, and doea not shrink, according to his own account, from addressing Hia M»jesty with the simplicity and bluntness proper to the unsophisticated sailor. Turkish ladies, it is unnecessary to explain, are never seen m general society. There are, however, one or two of them who receivo visitors, both ladies and gentlemen, at their own houses. Of these the principal are Madame Hilnis Pasha and hor sister Zara. The rooms are European ; tho ladies wear Parisian dresses and talk Parisian French ; and their nationality only reveals itself occasionally m the habit of sitting cross-legged on the floor and smoking cigarettes. Sometimes a reaction follows on tho long seclusion of the harem lifo when broken through. Such was the case with Madame Kiazim Pasha, tho mother of Izzet Boy. She received a la Europeennc for some time, and no ono thought much about it. But one day Constantinople was startled by tho announcement that Madamo Kiazim had eloped with a Belgian Secretary of Legation, and would be seen no more. The happy couple married when they got far enough away, and are now, I believe, enjoying the pleasures of ono another's society m Paris.