NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE chief event of the week is the opening of the Turkish Parliament by the Sultan in person, which took place on Thursday. The scene, which is admirably described by the special correspondent of the Times, must have been very impressive. The crowd was the most wonderful that any city in the world could have produced, and, strangest of all, we read that "the windows and most of the roofs were bright with the faces of Turkish women, who, for this occasion at least, dispensed with the veil." Inside the Parliament House at Stamboul the mixture of races and creeds, distinguished by a great variety of picturesque costume, justly reflected the nature of the Turkish Empire. Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Arabs, and Druses, mixed with soldiers and great officers of State in gorgeous uniforms, were all represented. It is interesting to note that our Ambassador, Sir Gerard Lowther, as be walked to the Parliament House received an ovation which suggested "that even the humblest in Stamboul vaguely connected us with this red-letter day of theirs." The Sultan was so late as for a time to give some colour to the rumours that his nerve had failed him at the last moment. When he came, however, he was well received; so, too, was the Speech from the Throne, which was read by his aide-de-camp.
