n that resulted in the downfall of Abdul Hamid, and since then
he had ever played a leading part in the constantly shifting drama in
Constantinople. Dapper, alert intelligent, and approachable, modest
almost to the point of shyness, Enver was almost a venerated figure
among the Turkish people. As he passed on horseback, his slim figure
erect and stiff in its military pose, he attracted more attention and
interest than did the sultan himself.

He formed the chief and perhaps the strongest link between
Constantinople and Berlin. Honored in an unprecedented manner by the
sultan, Enver's influence in Constantinople was almost supreme. It is
through him that the various negotiations with Berlin were conducted.
Soon after the triumph of the Young Turk movement Enver went to Berlin
as military attache to the Turkish Embassy, and thoroughly imbibed the
Prussian military spirit. He returned to the Turkish capital an
enthusiastic admirer of the German army system and became a willing ally
of General Liman von Sanders in the latter's attempt to repair the
weaknesses of the Turkish army revealed by the Balkan War.

Second only to Enver Pasha in those critical days was Talaat Bey, an old
and more experienced member of the inner council of the Committee of
Union and Progress and also a prominent figure in the revolution against
Abdul Hamid. He was described by Sir Louis Mallet, British Ambassador to
Constantinople, as the most powerful civilian in the cabinet and also
as the most conspicuous of the leaders of the Committee of Union and
Progress. He was troubled by no such personal modesty and shyness as was
Enver. He was, however, a much harder man to judge. Enver was openly
pro-German in the weeks that preceded the actual break with the Entente
Powers, but for a long time the real intentions of Talaat Bey were in
doubt--at least they were to the British, French, and Russian
Ambassadors.

Djemel Pasha, Minister of Marine, while pro-German in his sentiments, is
believed to have hesitated in advising an open break, largely because of
the condition of the Turkish navy and the state of Turkish finance. The
arrival of the _Goeben_ and the _Breslau_, the importation of hundreds
of German sailors to stiffen the Turkish marine, and, during October,
the receipt of about $20,000,000 in gold from Berlin, won him over. In
the end Djemel Pasha stood with Enver and Talaat.

Other members of the Turkish Cabinet made a demonstration of attempting