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INDIGNANT TURKISH OFFICERS 289
how the reduction of garrison had come about, and
could guess without much difficulty where Italian
money had gone.
On two points especially he raged. Firstly, that
the reorganised Turkish Army—better than which,
should be complete,
when the work of reorganisation
would not exist — was unable to do more than
look on. That was the outcome of naval neglect
which had been going on for forty years. At one
time the Turkish fleet had been the greatest in the
Mediterranean, now it was forced to remain anchored
in shelter while the State was being dismembered by
an upstart enemy.
His other chief source of exasperation was that the
aggression should have come from Italy—it might as
well, for its indignity, have come from Greece. Would
that Tripoli had been seized rather by England or
France or Germany. That would have been a great
disaster, but have carried less dishonour to the
Turkish Empire, and might have been borne though
never forgotten. But Italy ! Fifty years ago there
was no Italy. She was an upstart State living on
the great name of Rome, and making her way by
cunning instead of strength.
The major returned while this fierce denunciation
was in progress and sat quiet, a sad-looking fatalistic
whom even words now seemed wasted effort.
man to
But when the speaker, again warming to his subject,
shouted that if there had been 40,000 Turkish regulars
—no, even 30,000—the Italian invasion would never
have been attempted, the major quietly interposed
" Twenty thousand," like one speaking with professional
authority. The naval officer's hope was that
the Italians might be tempted to try their fortune in
Anatolia or Syria— if only they would throw a large
force ashore at Smyrna or Adalia ! Then would come
the opportunity of the Turkish Army, and the disgrace
of Tripoli would be removed. Of such good fortune,
however, the major sadly saw no prospect.
The major was a man much older than the other,
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