The explanation he gives for this act, which looks very like a breach of faith with the Powers, is that he has sent these men to replace the invalid and disabled soldiers who are among his troops.
The necessity for such action is not apparent to the European governments, as the terms of peace had been agreed on, and Greece had accepted them, so it did not seem as though the Sultan needed to keep a strong fighting force in Thessaly.
People in Europe are daily growing more fearful that the Sultan does not mean to keep his promises, and that he will force Greece to pay the large war indemnity, while he keeps possession of Thessaly, and rules the Cretans in exactly the same cruel manner that he did before the war.
A French journal has published an interesting account of the Sultan as a man.
The writer describes Abdul Hamid as a man who has so many sides that it is impossible to say just what he is or is not.
He is kind, amiable, and even attentive to those he likes, and takes pleasure in showering them with gifts, going to the trouble of finding out what present will be most acceptable to the recipients of his favors. At the same time he has such a frightful temper that his ministers are afraid of him.
Abdul Hamid seems to be a very vain man, and likes to create an immense impression on his visitors. Any one who is to be admitted to the presence of the Sultan is therefore conducted through beautiful gardens and pavilions, past lines of fierce-looking soldiers, and on into a palace blazing with gold and splendor. Gradually his imagination is wrought up to such a pitch that he pictures the sovereign he is about to meet as a person robed in all the gorgeousness of the East, glittering with jewels, and a sort of Arabian-Nights figure of such splendor that he will hardly be able to rest his dazzled eyes upon him.
Instead, he is finally conducted into an apartment more beautiful and gilded than any of the others. Mirrors reflect the light and splendor from side to side, until it appears to be a veritable fairyland. And here, waiting for the brilliant Sultan to appear in all his pomp and majesty, he is suddenly confronted by a slight, pale-faced man, dressed entirely in black, who stands motionless before him, and gazes at him with stony, expressionless eyes.
The effect is said to be tremendous. Every one who has seen the Sultan says that this sudden contrast gives an awe-inspiring impression which it is impossible to describe. One Frenchman whom the Sultan wished to decorate almost fainted at the sight of the great man.
Those of you who have never approached royalty may fancy this description is exaggerated. But it is an absolute fact that there is something about the approach of majesty that stirs your blood, and makes your heart beat and then stand still, if for one moment the royal gaze rests on you.