"Very flat," said the medical gentleman; "the people do not put much faith in doctors, that is, until they are really ill, and then we have a busy time of it. They pill themselves," he continued, "and go in for herbs and old women's remedies; they get them cheap, and grudge the money which they must pay to a regular practitioner."
"You do not look very well," said the doctor.
"Thank you, there is not much the matter," I replied. The fact was that I had a splitting headache, owing to the charcoal pan or mungo which warmed the apartment. The gas from the charcoal being lighter than the air, fills the upper part of the room. The Turks and Armenians generally squat on the floor. They do not feel the effects of the fumes so much as a person who is seated on the divan.
Another Armenian now paid me a visit. He was the telegraph inspector in Tokat, and he informed us that orders had just been sent from Constantinople to buy up all the available horses in this neighbourhood.
"Things look warlike," he continued, "and the doctor," pointing to his compatriot, "will have plenty of practice before long. The whole Christian population is to be armed. It is clear that the Government has not much faith in the Conference, and is doing its best to prepare for war."
The Armenians in Tokat complained of the slack way in which justice was administered throughout that district. According to the doctor, if a man committed a crime, and could get away for a year or two and then return to his home, he would not be pursued by the authorities; that is, unless the aggrieved parties made a formal complaint.
"Yes," said another visitor, "three months ago fifty-four malefactors escaped from the prison. Forty of them shortly afterwards surrendered; the rest made their way to the mountains. Their ringleader, who is a murderer, has been recently seen in Tokat: no one has cared to arrest him."
Four young Turks entered the room; the eldest could not have been more than three-and-twenty.
"What do you want?" I inquired.
"We do not wish to go to the war," replied one of them, who took upon himself to be spokesman for the party.