occurred on August 29th, and was followed by an almost
private interment on the next day, has, it is officially stated, greatly grieved the Sultan ; but it must also have greatly relieved him. Murad V. has been a prisoner—very leniently treated, but still a prisoner—ever since his deposition and the accession of his brother Abd-ul-Hamid in 1876, and probably owes his life to the Mahommedan respect for the mentally afflicted. He was, however, a personage of some political importance. He was quite unable to reign ; but dis- contented parties in Constantinople always used his name as their war-cry, each leader hoping, it is probable, to reign as Vizier of an enfeebled Sultan. His mental condition, indeed, was repeatedly denied, apparently in the teeth of evidence. Abd-ul-Hamid will now be succeeded by a son ; but it is re- markable how the Princes of the Ottoman line contrive to keep in the shade. They dread the jealousies of the Palace, and efface themselves with a success which in a European Court would be impossible.
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