Page:Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened.djvu/172

166 opening address of the exercises. The subject of that paper is praise for the Sultan; the style is oriental, poetic and adorned; the language as high as possible, full of Persian and Arabic words and phrases, and the tone of reading low, monotonous and quivering.

In order to make our readers better acquainted with the contents of said paper, we shall attempt to translate some parts of it, according to the capacity of the English language in expressing oriental formality: "By the boundless grace and endless mercy of the Lord of all creatures on earth and in heaven, and under the safest shadow of the world-stretched wing of his Imperial Majesty, our Sovereign and Sultan, the king of all kings and the crown-giver of all the princes of the world, we, the most humble subjects of the glorious Ottoman empire and sons of the sacred and most prosperous countries, are privileged to assemble here to-day to perform our usual sacred duty in sincerely praying for the utmost prosperity and longevity of our powerful, gracious and great padishah, and for the constant welfare of his highest commonwealth. Since the happiest day of the glorious enthronement of his Imperial Majesty, the greatest, wisest of all the rulers of the universe, we most fortunate subjects of the pearly throne—the glory of which equals the brightness of the celestial constellations—have always been enjoying innumerable and marvellous signs of his bottomless ocean of wisdom and unparalleled prudence, which is the miraculous heavenly gift to the worthiest of all