Very little is known of the new Sultan, Reshad Effendi,
who has been called to the throne after thirty-three years' captivity in the Palace of Dolma Baghche, but that little is all to his credit. Mohammed V., to call him by his new title, is a man of sixty-four, tall, stout, and of a far more genial expres- sion of countenance than his brother. The enforced seclusion and inactivity of more than half his lifetime have encouraged a habit of indolence, but, though living in a cloud of spies, he seems to hare retained a natural kindliness of disposition. For the rest, he is known to be a good Persian scholar, and is alleged to have long harboured liberal ideas. A correspondent of the Times, who saw and conversed with Reshad after the revolution of July, gives a pleasant, if rather pathetic, picture of his courtesy, good feeling, and intelligence. The general impression left by an hour's conversation was that of a, gentle, well-meaning man who, "given favourable circumstances and good advisers, was well qualified to preside over a period of peaceful transition, while it was more doubtful if he was capable of riding the whirlwind." The recorded public utter- ances of the new Sultan, we may add, confirm the favourable impression created by this account.
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