1913]' New Coup d'Etat at Constantinople 407 



refusing to abandon Adrianople, and the Bulgarians being backed up 

 by our Foreign Office and the French and Russian. McCullagh has 

 returned from the war, and gives a bad report of the Turkish military- 

 position. It is a case for them, he says, of the devil or the deep sea, 

 of being driven finally out of Europe, or of remaining at Constantinople 

 on terms of slavery to Christendom. They may well prefer to fight, 

 even with every chance against them, but I dare not advise. 



" 21st Jan. — There is a violent attack in last night's ' Pall Mall ' on 

 the Gaekwar of Baroda, insisting on his ' disloyalty to his Sovereign ' 

 at the great Durbar last year — quite true I dare say, as why should 

 it be otherwise? From India I continue to receive messages from 

 Moslems in admiration of ' Egypt ' and praise of my services to Islam in 

 telling them the truth. I wish the paper could be continued for their 

 sake. 



" 22nd Jan. — Lord Ashburnham is dead, a good Sussex nobleman, 

 and long my friend. A year ago his little daughter, whom he had 

 brought up a Catholic, and who was all he had to love, went into a 

 Convent, and with that his life ended. He is succeeded by a childless 

 brother, settled somewhere in the colonies, and, though another branch 

 of the Ashburnhams exists in Sussex, the peerage and the connection 

 of the family with the Stuart fortunes is closed. Ashburnham became 

 a Catholic some thirty years ago through political sentiment, as con- 

 necting him more closely with the Stuarts. Through this cause, too, he 

 affected an allegiance to Queen Mary, the Stuart representative, and 

 maintained close relations with Don Carlos and other exiled dynasties, 

 also on that account he was an Irish Nationalist. 



" 23rd Jan. — It is announced from Constantinople that the Grand 

 Council of the Empire has agreed to the cession of Adrianople, as the 

 price of peace and being allowed to live. If this includes a cession of 

 the Marmora coast the Ottoman Caliphate is at an end. Europe will 

 hold it in vassalage to do its Christian bidding, that is to say, the bid- 

 ding of cosmopolitan finance. I have a letter to-day from John Dillon, 

 lamenting this. 



" 24th Jan. — Great news ! There has been another revolution at 

 Constantinople. The traitor Kiamil has resigned, and Mahmud Shef- 

 ket is named Grand Vizier, with the avowed determination to refuse 

 submission about Adrianople, and, if necessary, renew the war. This 

 is better than I could have hoped, and I have telegraphed to Ryan to 

 come, and we will bring out a special number of ' Egypt.' Our London 

 papers are furious, and, no doubt, Grey will be very angry. It is a 

 rude slap in the face to his diplomacy, and there is talk of all sorts 

 of coercive measures to be taken by the Powers. I rejoice, if only 

 that the Turks have once again recovered their dignity. It will be 

 better for them to lose Constantinople, if that should happen, than to 



