Constantinople and Sultan Abdul Majiid (Hazard Diary 120)
Half of this page (not transcribed here) lists expenses of JPH's time in the Middle East, 1858, including "Constantinople, Smyrna, Rhodes, Beyroot, Jaffa, Jerusalem, etc." A narrative passage and other notes are transcribed below. JW
1858
Constantinople, where I saw "Sultan Abdul Majiid", who so gazed upon me from his carriage, and whose spirit materialized itself not long thereafter (he was murdered) at Vaucluse, R. I. when he cut from his [illegible] robes of cloth of gold, a piece, which I have now.
I saw the above named sultan, January 1958, in Constantinople, the saddest looking man I ever saw. For some reason, unknown to me, he fixed his eyes upon me (from his carriage [Illegible] was stopped in a Park of Constantinople, by a farm, somewhere, a fallen tree, I think), in a most extraordinary manner, as if he might think I was an old friend of his, whom he had not seen in a long time; and therefore, not quite able to feel sure, such was the case or not.
When his carriage started, he put his head of an open side window, and continued his gaze until he had gotten at least 50 yards from me.
He was a good man, but was murdered not long after the date of the above incident.
A few years thereafter, during a private spiritual séance at my brother Thomas' house, at Vaucluse (that is six miles North of Newport, R.I.), a man walked out from the little [illegible] room, a closet that communicated with the chamber that was used for séances, and which closet had none other door than the one above mentioned; he seated himself in a chair, and beckoned for me to come to him. This I did, by seating myself close to him. He was draped in cloth of gold, or rather, was robed in a very large quantity of this material. He then signified that he wished to have a pair of scissors. This was given to him, immediately, whereupon, he proceeded to cut a piece from his garment, about an inch square.
He was long time doing this. When he had completed this task, he hand it toward me, but my brother Thomas, supposing it was for himself, he eagerly took it from the donor’s hand. This materialized spirit then nodded to me, and proceeded to cut another piece, which he gave to me.
This spirit seemed to be completely at ease, though he remained in materialized condition, three times as long as materialized spirits usually do.
When I saw this monarch in Constantinople, I attributed his conduct toward me as being ascribable to the fact that everybody I met took me for an Englishman, my "Guild" complexion and voice being similar to those of the British people.
My belief now is, that this sultan was a clairvoyant, and therefore saw that I was a warm friend of the Turks, and that I esteemed them to be a most sincere and very kind people, and they really believed in their religion, and were most [illegible] and sincere in their devotion, and very demonstrative, and so earnest. They are not in the least conscious (as it seemed to me) of what they were about.
I found them a most kind and straightforward people, and that their Shop Keepers, so far my experience was concerned, [are?] disposed the idea of asking a higher price for their articles, than they offered them for. And the same in the Barbary States of North Africa, Egypt included.
During a visit to Calcutta, Prince {illegible} Mohsin Tagni, called upon me at my hotel and gave me invitation to attend his frequent musical entertainments, for which he had a theater at each of the palaces he [owned?] and occupied in that city.
With view to testing the real character of the robe of [which] the Spiritual Sultan gave me a piece, I lent it from America to him, asking him to give me "cloth of gold". In reply, Prince T. informed me that this example represented genuine "cloth of gold", but that the Persians made these that were far richer or finer in character, than that of the sample I sent to him.
My nephew John N. Hazard being a skillful Chemist I asked him to analyze the golden wire that is woven into their robes. He found that the wire had very little if any in it, though the wire was composed of something that does not tarnish, but retains its brilliancy, much a pure gold does.
Penciled note at the bottom of this page, evidently written much later than the above narrative:
Abdul Majid in Jan'y, 1858
Whose materialized Spirit presented itself to me at a spiritual sitting some years thereafter, and who cut a piece of his robe of "cloth of gold" that he gave to me, and which I have now, at Peacedale, August 10, 1890.
Transcribed by Jessica Wilson