Greece to be crushed.

It is said that if the Sultan persists in asking the unreasonable terms
he does, and will not grant the armistice unless they are accepted,
Europe will declare war upon him.

There may be another week of waiting before the Sultan sends any reply
to this letter.

The Sultan is anxious to gain time, because every advantage he can gain
in Greece makes his price for peace just that much higher. He has a plan
of his own for gaining time, which is extremely annoying to Europeans.
It is this. In the Mohammedan religion there are a great number of
fasts and feasts. The Sultan, who till now has not been noted for his
piety, has suddenly become the most religious of persons.

When he receives a letter from the Powers that he wants to keep a few
days before he answers it, he sends them a most gracious note, saying
that it is the feast of so-and-so, and it is contrary to his religion to
attend to business during the days appointed for the festival.

By this manoeuvre he manages to keep his army fighting and winning
battles, while Europe is helplessly waiting for his answer. After the
Powers had asked for an armistice he used this pretext to delay
answering for a whole week.

The European diplomats, who are made the victims of the Sultan's
devotion to fasts and feasts, wonder why he allows his army to continue
the business of war during these times if he is really so pious as he
pretends to be.