While Bathing

While bathing in the Danube, profligate Prince Abdul Kadir, a son of the late ex-Sultan Abdul Hamid, expired. Too much water in the lungs was the cause of his death.

His father, Abdul Hamid, was one of the astutest and most brilliant of the 36 rulers of the Turkish House of Osman. Had he been less brilliant, the Young Turks might not have thrown him into prison in 1908.*

His son, Abdul Kadir, was also brilliant, and his radiance attracted more ladies than even a self-respecting Turk allowed in his harem. After his father was banished to a luxurious prison in what is now Greece, Abdul Kadir migrated to Budapest where women, wine and Tsigane music swelled his collection of unpaid bills. He married the Hungarian equivalent of a Ziegfeld Follies beauty, but eventually abandoned her and the small, red heir to which she had just given birth. A few days later the Prince walked into a Budapest court in answer to a summons. The police were amazed. Further investigations were made and it was discovered that the Abdul Kadir who was drowned was not a Prince but a merchant.

*After Adbul Hamid came Muhammad V (1909-18), Muhammad VI, the last Sultan (1918-22).