THE SULTAN OF TURKEY 



soil; its countries by the uniforms of their 

 armies and not their peoples; to know just a 

 few men and then only through layer after 

 laj^er of cold, gold braid. Think of the ruler 

 of a nation who has never had the opportunity 

 of knowing personally the big, broad-minded, 

 natural man or woman, and then you will not 

 wonder at him for not having a fair under- 

 standing what the world is really for. The 

 holder of such a throne onlv knows what the 

 doorkeeper to the throne tells him, and these 

 keepers naturally tell him what is best for them 

 and for the people nearest them. The lessons 

 that are in the lives of other men are kept from 

 him. He does not even know how they lived, 

 or when they died. I have heard stories of the 

 Sultan's crueltv, and most of them I do not be- 

 lieve. If he is cruel, his heart and face do not 

 show it. 



So I think the Turkish system is more to 

 blame for the Sultan's ill reputation than the 

 Sultan himself. He has been forced to be- 

 come suspicious. He has been able to trust no 

 one and he has achieved the reputation of not 

 being trustworthy himself. This digression 

 will explain in part the impression reduced to 

 drawing of my view of the Sultan. 



[43]^ 



