The uneasiness in Constantinople seems to increase. There is no
money for anybody outside Yildiz Kiosk, and the Sultan is evidently warned by his spies that plots are constantly on foot, some of which threaten his life. He is, therefore, rest- lessly suspicious, arrests go on continuously, and as the spies direct his fears specially against reformers, a regular flight has commenced of distinguished Turks, one of them a son of the Minister of Police. The regular method of flight is to seek refuge in a European Consulate, and thence escape to the Continent, more especially if the suspected man has been offered an Asiatic appointment. In Asia persons out of favour are apt to suffer from malaria. Too much import- ance must not be attached to these events, as the Sultan's power rests on a solid foundation, his religious and traditional hold over the Ottomans in Asia Minor ; but the disaffection of the capital has been fatal to many Sultans, and if the Ulema grew alarmed a revolt might assume dangerous pro- portions. Curiously enough, the timidity of the Sultan is in one way his protection. It is believed that if attacked he would fly to Broussa, and the populace of Constantinople know perfectly well that if he fled no Sultan would ever re- enter a city which its citizens still regard as the Queen of the Mahommedan world. The Turks have always declared that whenever they quit Constantinople they will leave behind them irreparable ruin.
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