His successor, Abdul-Aziz, had been the first to profit by the indulgence and liberality of his brother, who from the beginning to the end of his reign showed him genuine brotherly affection, allowed him uncontrolled freedom as heir-apparent, and furnished him with a very liberal income, making a point of never getting any object of value for himself, without offering its equivalent to his brother.
Abdul-Aziz, however, did not make any good use of the liberty he enjoyed before coming to the throne. Sensual, extravagant, and narrow-minded, his occupations and pleasures were anything but imperial: his wasteful habits were ruinous to his country, whilst his want of judgment and foresight prevented his realizing the fatal effects of his conduct. This may, however, be accounted for, to a great extent, by the fact that he was subject at times to merak (aberration of mind). From an early age he began to give signs of that whimsical, suspicious, and morose disposition which during the latter part of his reign became the principal characteristic of his nature.
Unlike his brother, Abdul-Medjid, he was strongly built, and his personal appearance was singularly unattractive. His tastes and amusements, very much in harmony with his exterior, showed themselves in all kinds of extravagant and odd fancies. Cock-fighting was a spectacle in which he greatly delighted, by turns decorating or exiling the combatants.
In his moments of good-humor he often imposed a wrestling match upon his ministers and favorites, at times taking an active part in the sport. The celebrated Nevrez Pasha, half knave, half fool, who from the lowest stage of seraglio functions had been raised to a ministerial position, was the one generally chosen by the Sultan with whom to measure his strength.
The corpulent Pasha never failed to be the beaten party; the ludicrous attitudes into which he fell and his jokes gave him a higher grade whenever they were called into play, and caused him to say that every kick he received from the imperial foot was worth to him a Nishan (a decoration), a konak, or a vizirlik.
It would, however, be unfair not to acknowledge in this Sultan some good services rendered to his country.
One of these is the purchase of the fine fleet of iron-clads the Porte now possesses; another, his untiring efforts in placing the army on the, comparatively speaking, improved and high footing on which it stood at the beginning of the war; and a third, the construction of the railways now existing in the country. Some will perhaps reckon among his merits the shrewdness he and his ministers displayed in accomplishing these undertakings with funds that were not exactly theirs.
The details of the dethronement, short captivity and death of Sultan Abdul-Aziz, though extremely curious and interesting, are as yet but little known to the public. One of the ladies of his seraglio related some of the incidents connected with these events to me, but she said, “We cannot now divulge all, for fear of prejudicing the living, but in course of time, when history reveals unknown facts, all doubts and mystery on his untimely death will be removed.” Upon which she burst into tears, and repeatedly uttered the Turkish exclamation of distress, “Aman! Aman!”
She then recited to me in Arabic the verse which the unfortunate Sultan, on entering his prison, traced on the dust that covered the table. The following is a translation:—
Man’s destiny is Allah’s will,