"God knows! but he is quite capable of doing so, if the Bey would let him."
The doctor now felt his patient's pulse, and administered a few words of consolation; then, promising to send some medicine, he left the room.
CHAPTER VII.
Erzingan—The Mutasarraf Pacha—Widdin—Russian official documents—Names of high functionaries—General Ignatieff—Your Indian frontier—The Kurds will be excited to massacre the Armenians—The probable final result of the war—If Turkey were to join Russia—The boot manufactory—The shoe-makers being drilled—The gaol—Coiners—A jealous woman in prison—The unfortunate shopkeeper.
I next visited the Mutasarraf Pacha, the civil governor of Erzingan. He was an active little man, of about sixty years of age, full of energy. He seemed to have more of the Gaul than the Osmanli in his disposition. Formerly he had been civil governor at Widdin. Whilst he occupied this post some of his Zaptiehs had arrested a Russian. The latter had documents on his person which clearly showed that he was an agent of a society in Moscow, formed with the object of creating a revolution in Bulgaria. Abdul Aziz was then Sultan, and the Mutasarraf Pacha forwarded the documents to Constantinople. Ignatieff's influence was at that time paramount with the Sultan. No notice was taken of the papers. Very shortly afterwards the Pacha was removed from Widdin to Erzingan.
"Were there any names upon the document?" I inquired.
"Yes, names implicating some very high Russian functionaries. I hope that we shall soon be engaged in hostilities with Russia," said the Pacha. "Ever since the battle of Sedan she has been secretly at war with Turkey, and trying to stab us under the guise of friendship.[2] Ignatieff encouraged Abdul Aziz in his extravagance. He knew that this would lead to bankruptcy, and to a rupture of the alliance with England; and you may depend upon it, that the Russian Ambassador was one of the first men to advise his majesty to repudiate the debt. They are very clever, these Russian diplomats," continued the Pacha; "and however poor Russia may be, she has always enough gold to sow the seeds of sedition and rebellion in her neighbour's territory. You will find this out for yourselves one day."
"How so?"
"When she touches your Indian frontier; by that time you will have enough to do to keep your native troops in order. Will England help us in this war?"
"I do not know; but it is not likely. You see the Turkish Government is very unpopular with us, because it does not pay the interest of its debt, and also because of the massacres which have taken place in Bulgaria."