The Life of King Edward VII
no doubt that the stately reception given the Heir to the British Crown
proved a substantial service to the present and future residents of his
nationality in that part of the world. The Prince, himself, must have
benefited greatly by the insight into Oriental methods of government
which he obtained and by the curious efforts at an adaptation of western
ideas which were going on all around him; while the picture left upon
his mind of ancient traditions and the history of a mighty past could
not but have been impressive and interesting.
On boarding the _Ariadne_, off Alexandria, and starting for
Constantinople the Royal party lost Sir Samuel Baker, Lord Gosford, Sir
Henry Pelly and Lord Huntly, who were leaving for other points of
destination. During the next few days the vessel passed through the
"Isles of Greece" and by various famous or historic spots. Patmos and
Chios were seen for a time in the distance and, on March 31st, the
Dardanelles were reached and salutes fired from shore to shore--from
Europe to Asia--as the Royal yacht steamed between the Turkish forts.
Upon anchoring, the British Ambassador, the Hon. Henry Elliot, came on
board, together with Raouf Pasha, who attended to offer the earliest
compliments of his Imperial master the Sultan. At the next landing, off
Chanak, the Prince was formally welcomed by Eyoub Pasha, Military
Governor of the Dardanelles, and his staff and guard of honour. Salutes
from the Forts followed and the Prince returned to his vessel which
steamed up to Gallipoli, where another stop was made and a visit paid to
the French and British cemeteries of the Crimean War. Early on the
morning of April 1st the towers and minarets of Constantinople were
sighted and various tugs and boats containing British residents and
others surrounded the Royal vessel and joined in singing "God Save the
Queen" as the Prince and Princess appeared on deck. Their stepping into
a barge to row ashore was the signal for a general salute from the
Turkish iron-clads and, amidst flying colours, fully-manned yards and
swarming caiques and steam-boats the journey to the shore was made--with
some private speculation as to what would happen to the Life Guardsmen
of the Prince's suite if they should be upset in the water with all
their cumbrous "toggery" on.
When abreast of the Palace of Saleh Bazar the Royal barge was met by the
state caique of the Sultan, followed by other gorgeously decorated and
equipped vessels, containing the Grand Vizier, Aali Pasha, and other
officials dressed in blue and gold and wearing numerous ribands, stars
and crosses of knightly orders. Amidst cheers from crowded tugs and
boats and ships the Royal visitors were transferred to the caique and
thence to the landing place of the Palace where a guard of honour, a
crowd of officers and a gorgeous staff surrounded the Sultan who, like
the Prince of Wales, was in full uniform. His Majesty, after various
gracious greetings, which were translated by the Grand Vizier, led his
guests up the staircase of the Palace and then retired. Shortly
afterwards the Prince and his suite were driven to the Dolmabakshi
Palace where they were received by the Sultan with much state and, after
a brief visit, returned to Saleh Bazar. Luncheon followed and the Prince
and Princess called at the British Embassy. On their way back in the
Sultan's carriages the streets were lined with impassive people who
saluted in silent respect. At the Palace an admirable dinner was served
on gold and silver plate. During the entire stay of the Royal visitors
here they were supplied with every luxury and requirement--guards of
honour, carriages, saddle-horses, caiques, a band of eighty-four
splendid musicians and an immense staff always on duty and clad in
gorgeous uniforms of green and gold.
Every morning there were presents from the Sultan of most exquisite
flowers and the finest fruit. Mr. W. H. Russell thus described the
surroundings in one of his letters to the London _Times_: "The
_valetaille_, in liveries of green and gold, with white cuffs and
collars, throng the passages and corridors, and black-coated
Chibouquejees are ready at a clap of the hands to bring in pipes with
amber mouth-pieces of fabulous value, crested with hundreds of diamonds
and rubies, and coffee in tiny cups which fit into stands blazing with
similar jewels. The _cuisine_ cannot be surpassed and the wines are of
the most celebrated vintage. All the persons attached to the Palace
speak French or English. There are Turkish baths inside ready at a
moment's notice. Equerries, aides-de-camp, officers of the Body-Guard,
radiant in gold lace and scarlet, in blue and in silver lace, flit about
the saloons and corridors. Human nature can scarce sustain the load of
obligations imposed on it by such attention. If the Prince is seen on
the water guards are turned out along all the batteries and the strains
of music are borne on every breeze that blows. Yards are manned and
crews turned out on the slightest provocation. The least wish is an
order."
On April 2nd the Sultan went in state to the Mosque in honour of his
Royal guests. The streets were lined with five thousand troops and the
Prince and Princess, with their suite, were driven to the Palace of
Beshik Jool, from a beautiful room in which they could see the Imperial
procession pass by. The sloping ground on the opposite side of the road
was filled by groups of women clad in varied colours and looking from a
distance like animated flowers. The Sultan came, presently, preceded by
brilliantly garbed Circassian troops, announced by the blast of a
trumpet and the acclaim of the Turkish populace and riding a magnificent
horse, which an English spectator described as a "marvel of beauty." He
wore a splendid military uniform and his jewelled orders and sabre-hilt
shone brightly in the rays of the sun, while immediately before and
behind him were the officers of state. After the pageant had passed,
little Prince Izzedin--the eldest son of the Sultan and a delicate,
intelligent-looking child--came over to visit the Prince and Princess.
The troops then filed past the Palace windows. Later in the day a
deputation of British residents was received by the Prince and in the
evening a special performance at the Theatre was attended and witnessed
from the Sultan's box.
Early in the morning of April 3rd, the various foreign Ambassadors and
Ministers called on the Prince of Wales and were presented by Mr.
Elliot. Amongst them was General Ignatieff, of Russia. A visit to
Seraglio Point followed, and from its heights was seen that most
exquisite view which embraces the Sweet Waters, the Bosphorus, the Sea
of Marmora and its islands, the shores of Scutari, the minarets of the
city and a general mingling of sea and shore, of light and shade, of
softness and Eastern charm which is hardly equalled in the world. The
great mosque of St. Sophia was then visited. In the evening a state
dinner was given by the Sultan at Dolmabakshi Palace--the first ever
given by His Ottoman Majesty to Christian guests. The Prince and
Princess were received in the grand drawing-room by the Sultan and all
his Ministers. The Princess was taken in by His Majesty and Madame
Ignatieff by the Prince. The dinner-room was already renowned for its
exquisite candelabra and lustres in rock-crystal; and its other
decorations, combined with plate and flowers of the most beautiful kind,
made up a scene well worth remembering. Aside from this, however, it was
not very interesting, as none of the Sultan's Ministers--except the
Grand Vizier--had ever sat in his presence before and were apparently
too much astonished and afraid to speak a word to each other or to any
of the twenty-four guests who made up the banquet. After dinner the
Princess and Mrs. Grey visited the Harem, or rather the Sultan's wife
and mother. Mrs. Grey, in her _Diary_, declares the dullness and
stiffness of the occasion to have been indescribable. There were
innumerable slaves, but they were all "hideous," though loaded down with
jewels, while other incidents and surroundings were not very unlike a
similar reception at a European Court. The whole affair broke up at
10.30.
A VARIETY OF INCIDENTS
On the following day the Royal party attended service in the church of
the British Embassy, driving through silent and crowded streets. In the
afternoon they inspected the Cemetary at Scutari. On the following day
the Prince and Princess, attended by Mrs. Grey, and all garbed in the
humblest English clothes they could find, visited the Bazaar. "Mr. and
Mrs. Williams" seemed to enjoy themselves greatly, the former smoking a
long pipe; the latter buying quantities of curios and, as the merchants
soon found out, driving an occasional bargain with earnestness. They
took in all the entertainments, sipped sherbets and the various
unnamable drinks which are sold in such places, and revelled in a few
hours of freedom. Later in the day the Prince paid some formal visits
and in the evening they again attended the theatre. Meanwhile Sir Andrew
Buchanan, British Ambassador at St. Petersburg, had arrived with his
wife, on their way home to England, and were welcomed at the Palace. The
following day a visit was paid to Belyar Beg, some distance up the
Bosphorus, which has been described as "the most beautiful place in the
most beautiful situation in the world." Guards of honour were seen in
all directions as the Royal party passed in caiques up the river. The
luxury and elegance of the furniture at the Palace and the beauty of
both buildings and surroundings evoked expressions of admiration from
the Prince and Princess and, perhaps, they even regretted their refusal
to stay here in preference for the other and more accessible residence.
Tchamlidja, not far away, the summer residence of Mustapha Fazil Pasha,
brother of the Viceroy of Egypt, was then visited and a "luncheon"
served which proved to be almost wanton in its luxury--the choicest
fruits that Paris could produce and the finest wines of the east or the
west being served in profusion. Afterwards, the Princess and Mrs. Grey
visited the Harem, while the men smoked exquisite cigars and drank the
finest obtainable coffee.
The following day included a trip across the Bosphorus in the Sultan's
yacht and a state ball at the British Embassy in the evening, which was,
for a short time, attended by the Padishah himself. The Royal party did
not retire from the gathering until daylight. During the next three days
one function continued to follow another. A visit to the British
Memorial Church; attendance with the Sultan at a great special
performance in the Theatre through densely-crowded streets; a visit to a
cricket match in the suburbs; attendance at a state banquet given by the
British Ambassador; inspection by the Prince of a Turkish
ironclad--Hobart Pasha's flagship; a dinner at the country home of the
Grand Vizier. The day of departure fixed upon was April 10th, and, after
a stately breakfast with the Sultan at Dolmabakshi, and farewells
exchanged amidst all possible pomp and Oriental pageantry, the _Ariadne_
was boarded and slowly steamed away from the Moslem capital to the sound
of cheers and thundering guns from fleet and fort. They were soon in
the gloomy waters of the Black Sea on the way to the Czar's dominions.
Arrangements had been under discussion for some time in connection with
this visit to the Crimea and Sir Andrew Buchanan's opportune arrival
had, no doubt, a good deal to do with the matter. On April 12th
Sebastopol was sighted, crowned with its ruined bastions and replete to
the Royal tourists with memories of the Redan, the Malakoff, and the
Mamelon. Neither flags nor men were visible, however, upon the ramparts