the Sultan, who laughed
in his sleeve at the dilemma the Powers were in; and knowing that he was
perfectly safe, and that they dare not declare war against him, he
delayed the peace negotiations for months, and settled his army in
Thessaly, to destroy the prosperity of the country.

The position of Greece is now something deplorable. When she has given
her consent to the terms of the treaty she will no longer be a free and
independent nation, but a slave to the countries that control her
treasury. While she still has her King seated on the throne, his power
is no longer what it was. He can carry out no great schemes for his
country's good, for he can enter into no plans, that involve the
spending of money, without the consent of the Powers that are to manage
his affairs.

The plan that the Powers should control the treasury of Greece was not
agreed upon until Germany, prompted by the financiers, insisted that
Greece must lay money by to take care of her old debts, as well as of
the new war payment.

This is the story of the Greco-Turkish war. The great Powers stood
quietly by and let Greece be sacrificed, and then insisted upon a
shameful treaty, that will bring ruin and distress to a sister country,
because the financiers were unwilling to lose money they had invested.

The Powers are, however, by no means satisfied with the result of their
fifteen weeks of deliberation and discussion. They feel that the Sultan
has got much the best of them at every point, and even though he has
agreed to do so, they are uncertain whether he intends to keep faith
with them about either Crete or Thessaly.

It is said that as soon as the first five million dollars is paid he
will invent some fresh excuse for keeping his soldiers in Thessaly a
little longer, and that he will lengthen the time little by little,
until, in the end, he will retain possession of Thessaly altogether.

He has already hinted that he does not mean to keep faith about Crete.

He told the Italian ambassador the other day that in return for the good
terms he had made with Greece he expected the Powers to be very lenient
in regard to Crete.

The ambassador, much surprised at this remark, ventured to remind the
Sultan that Home Rule for Crete had already been agreed on.

The crafty Sultan smiled and shrugged his shoulders, and intimated to
the ambassador that the settlement of affairs in Crete was not quite so
sure as he seemed to think.

The conclusion of