Note 134 — XI. THE TOWN OF X. (continued 2)

Further instances of Turkish kindness are recorded by the writer in his subsequently published narrative:

“The poor Armenians sold their few possessions, but the transaction was really a legalised plunder. Everything was sold at one-tenth of its value. Here is a conversation between two Turks in a coffee house: ‘What a pity things were sold at such a low price! I could not stand the sight in the streets; I saw many cheap things, but my conscience would not permit me to buy anything.’ The other fellow replied: ‘Well done! What a conscience you have! If you really pitied them, you should have bought something and offered them a good price! If you and I do not buy, to whom will the poor people sell?’ It is to their credit that many of the old school Turks really took pity on the persecuted Armenians. During the massacres of 1895 many Turks had shielded and saved Armenians, but in this instance no one dared express his feelings or do an act of kindness. It is said that a Turk was hanged in front of his own house in Vezir Köprü, in the Vilayet of Sivas, for giving shelter to an Armenian.”