The Sultan and His People

by C. Oscanyan

DIVORCE.

Voltaire has observed, “Le divorce est probablement de la même date à peu près que le mariage; je crois, pourtant, que le mariage est de quelques semaines plus ancien; c’est à dire qu’on se querella avec sa femme au bout de quinze jours, qu’on se battit au bout d’un mois, et qu’on s’en sépara après six semaines de cohabitation.”

If such be a true picture of human nature, it is not too highly drawn for a country where polygamy is practised, since it is no hard matter for a man to part with one wife, when he has several others. The privilege of divorce would be somewhat tyrannical if allowed only to the men, but in Turkey, the women themselves may exercise this prerogative, if they are maltreated, or not properly provided for, with at least the requisite “bread and candles.”

A man may put away his wife merely by uttering in the hearing of a third party, the ominous word “bosh,” null, void, which even if carelessly spoken renders the man and wife strangers to each other, the lady feeling obliged to assume her veil, and conceal her charms; and in case of reconciliation, a second marriage ceremony is necessary. The woman, on her part, has the privilege of leaving her husband, by declaring before the Cadi, Djanum azad, nikeahum helal—I forfeit my dowry, and claim my freedom.

It is fortunate that divorce is very disreputable, and is seldom practised by either party if they have any respect for public opinion, or regard for themselves; otherwise, wives and husbands would be constantly changing hands, as was the practice among the old Arabs, in the time of Mohammed.

This custom was decried by the Prophet, “It shall not be lawful for thee to take other women to wife hereafter, nor to exchange any of thy wives for them.”

The moral effect of a facility of divorce is to keep both parties on their good behavior, but at the same time a spirit of extreme selfishness is induced in the women. For being in constant apprehension of a sudden separation, they look upon their husbands as a means of revenue, and endeavor to store up as much jewelry, clothing etc., as possible, to be ready in case of emergency. The display of shawls and diamonds upon the persons of women, even of the poorest classes, is not from a feeling of vanity, but rather an exhibition of the extent of the personal wealth they have extorted from their lords and masters.

In case of separation, the children are supported until they are seven years old, by the father; after which the boys remain under the paternal care, and the girls belong to the mother; unless some other arrangement is made by mutual consent.

The most unjust stigma of illegitimacy, is almost unknown in Turkey; the children by slaves being as respectable and legitimate as those by the regular wives, and it is only when the father cannot be discovered that they are regarded as bastards. Such principles are certainly right, and more humane than those of Christian lands, where the innocent are taunted all their lifetime with the immoralities of others, for whose actions they are as irresponsible as “the babe unborn.”

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE SULTAN’S HAREM.

Although there are more than 2,000 women in the palace, but five of these hold the rank of kaduns, or wives.

Mussulmans, in general, are allowed to have four wives, but sultans can have seven.

Their superiority to ordinary men is thus attested, and the chance made surer of an heir to the throne.

It will, therefore, be perceived that polygamy, in the case of a sultan, is a matter of policy, and not choice; for even should he content himself with one wife, the State would interfere.

The design of limiting his majesty’s wives to seven, is to spare the State the enormous expense attendant upon the maintenance of so many ladies of royal rank.

The present sultan, however, in asserting his prerogative, has limited the number to five, which, while it shows his power to exceed the restrictions upon other Mussulmans, at the same time, displays an inclination not to burden the State too heavily with his private expenses.

It is true he has had children by several others, whom custom requires to be elevated to the rank of kaduns, but he has retained them under the title of ikbals, or favorites, for the sake of sparing the State the additional expense which the dignity of kaduns would require.

The sultan being above all law, cannot submit to any matrimonial bondage; he is not, therefore, legally married to any of his wives, but those who are selected by him to share his affections, are pronounced by him Kaduns, or ladies, and not sultanas; for none but those of the royal blood can enjoy that title, except the mother of the reigning sultan, who on her son’s accession to the throne, takes, by courtesy, this title, and is called Validé Sultan.

The title Sultan is equally applied to males and females, with this difference only, that it precedes the name of the male, and follows that of the female: thus, they say Sultan Abd-ul-Medjid, but for his sister, Adilé Sultan.

When it is used by itself, it always implies the female branch of the royal family, and never his majesty, who is known by the title of Padishah, or Hünkear, or, in common parlance, Efendimiz—our Lord.

His majesty never forming an alliance with any of his subjects, all his kaduns are originally Georgian or Circassian slaves, who are selected for this distinguished honor and presented to him by his mother or sisters, on Kadir Gedjessy, or the night in which the Koran descended from Heaven.

They have each their separate establishments and retinue in the palace, and live as much apart as if in different dwellings, seldom seeing each other, except on occasions of state ceremony and etiquette.

The princes of the royal blood also reside in the same palace, who, if of age, have their own odaluks, attendants, etc.

It may be supposed, that in such a royal establishment, the rising generation is well represented; but on the contrary, few of them are allowed to prolong their lives, while many more never see the light.

This premature destruction of life, though strictly prohibited in the Koran, is very prevalent in Turkey. In some cases from State-Policy, lest the heirs to the crown should become too numerous, and in others, from a false desire in the ladies to preserve their beauty and freshness from the toils and trial of maternity.

But very often the better feelings of their natures are sorely tried, and two of the sisters of the present sultan pined away in sorrow, and at last died, because their infant sons were sacrificed upon the altar of state-policy!

Abd-ul-Medjid himself, in his younger days, was not exempt from trials of this sort. For just before coming to the throne, he had a favorite odaluk, to whom he was much attached. But as the princes are not permitted to become fathers, she fell a victim in the attempt to frustrate the probable birth of an heir, when a single week’s delay would have elevated her to the rank of first kadun to the reigning monarch; for sultan Mahmoud died a few days after she was sacrificed.

Whenever a child is born to the sultan, or any other Oriental father, the tidings are immediately communicated to him and the family relatives, and the messenger handsomely rewarded. Among the Mussulmans the father himself pronounces the future name of his offspring at the moment of its birth.

A certain man, having scarce passed the honeymoon, for he had only been married three months, one day, while he was in the bath, was suddenly apprised of the birth of a son and heir. As soon as he recovered from his surprise at such an unexpected event, he ordered him to be named Tchapgun or racer, because, said he, he has accomplished in three months, the customary labor of nine.

They have a singular notion that the reason a child cries as soon as it is born is, because his satanic majesty being of course present, cruelly pinches the tender offshoot of humanity; the only exception on record, being the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ, who were protected from the touch of the devil by a veil, so placed by Allah himself; thus, doubtless, accounting for the Immaculacy of the Holy Virgin.

The children, at their birth, are rubbed down with salt, and nicely bandaged. They are placed in a cradle and secured there. The hands and feet are bound in, so that the child cannot move. The poor little victim becomes black and blue under this treatment, and is occasionally relieved from its fetters to be re-enveloped in swaddling clothes; and when the toilet is completed, it very much resembles a little Egyptian mummy.

The child is nursed while lying down, the mother bending over it, and tilting the cradle, until she attains the requisite position.

Owing to the bandages in which the infants are constantly enveloped, the circulation of the blood is impeded, and they are obliged to be relieved by occasional scarifications, and the writer still wears the honorable scars of this traditional practice.

When the sultan wends his steps from the Mabeyn to the Harem, the black gentlemen on guard at the door of the ladies’ apartments, proceed immediately to announce his majesty’s approach to the Haznadar-Ousta, or the lady treasuress.

This personage, is a very important character in the royal household; being the keeper of all the jewels and other treasures, and the mistress of ceremonies; she is, in a word—

“That dame who keeps up discipline among

The general ranks, so that none stir or talk

Without her sanction on their she-parades:

Her title is, the mother of the maids.”

There is always one of these Haznadars attached to the harems of the wealthy; and the individual who fills this office, has been the nurse of the head of the family in infancy; so that this “mother of the maids” feels almost a maternal interest in his majesty’s happiness.

The Haznadar-Ousta immediately proceeds to the salon, where she awaits the entrance of the sultan, who, after receiving her salutations, in the course of conversation, inquires after the health of one of the Kaduns, which is taken as an indication that her company is desired by his majesty.

This Kadun now enters the royal presence alone, or perhaps with one of her children, while her train of attendants remain within call. Like all other Orientals, the Padishah delights in the company of his children, and they are often seen in public with him, or in the royal Mabeyn. His first-born was a daughter, and lately married to Aali-Ghalib Pasha, the son of Reshid.

The children of the sultan precede their mother in rank, for they are of royal blood, while she is but a slave.

Hence the mother always takes a secondary position in cayiks, carriages, or in the saloon of reception. This apparent superiority never elates the children, nor in any way lessens the respect which they feel for their mothers. For whilst they are flattered and worshipped as Shah-zadés and Sultans, or Princes and Princesses, the general deference paid to their mothers is undiminished. They have a proverb which is very expressive of their feelings on this subject,

“Dagh kadar babam olajaghina,

Yüksük kadar anam ola.”

“Rather than a father the size of a mountain,

Give me a mother, small as a thimble.”

The late Validé-Sultan, or mother of the sultan, was one of the most powerful individuals in the realm, and her patronage most assiduously courted.

His majesty and his harem are frequently entertained with the graceful movements and merry castanets of the dancing girls. The Osmanlis are very fond of dancing, but consider it inconsistent with their own dignity; they always have beautiful young slaves trained in this accomplishment, and also made proficient in the music of the country.

Turkish music is very unlike that of European countries, where there is a general similarity. Although the Orientals have very good ears for music, and treat the subject scientifically, yet it is strange that they do not understand the harmony of sounds—for all their concerts, both vocal and instrumental, consist of solos, that is, they all sing and play only the air or tenor, and never the bass and contralto, etc.

The natural tones of their voices are very sweet; and of late years the military music having been arranged in European style, they have made great proficiency in this art.

The opera house in Pera is also very attractive to the Turkish gentlemen, and much frequented by them. The sultan has his loge, or box there, and sometimes honors the house by his royal presence.

Recently the piano has also become very fashionable among them, and it is to be heard incessantly jingling in all the harems. The sultan being himself an amateur, frequently plays on that instrument, and has also an Italian Opera attached to his palace for the entertainment of his ladies, where many of the female slaves are trained to sing and act à la Italienne, in the costumes of both sexes.

The ladies of the palace are also amused with other exhibitions, which they witness through latticed partitions.

From the preceding sketch, it will be readily understood, that all the ladies in the royal palace, are in reality slaves from the regions of Circassia, but they are always well treated, and even addressed by the title of Hanums, or ladies; and we may say their greatest hardship is being lightly clothed all seasons of the year; their feet without stockings, and their dresses made of the lightest fabrics, from which fact many of them fall easy victims to consumption.

These ladies are not allowed to go abroad as freely as Turkish hanums in general, on account of the restrictions of court etiquette; this confinement is also very injurious to their health, and their ennui is often insupportable. Sometimes, after a due warning to all the gardeners and other gentlemen to quit the premises, they are allowed to stroll in the palace gardens, and occasionally the Validé Sultan takes pity on some of them, and permits them to enjoy a promenade in her own train, when the exuberance of their spirits often tempts them to the most childish acts of coquetry. Indeed, so great is their longing to encounter the lords of creation, that a feigned sickness affords an occasion of seeing a doctor, and their favorite remedy for all ailments is bleeding, or the bleeder!

These beautiful girls having no other ambition than to be as fascinating as possible, and such aspirations sometimes seem to be felt in more enlightened bosoms, they do not like to waste their sweetness on the desert air; as they are consequently a little mischievous, the practice of locking up each one in her own apartments has been deemed advisable. When the muezzin proclaims the hour of evening prayer, the disconsolate ladies are severally consigned to a state of security by the sable turnkeys of the palace.

This is not, however, so dismal a fate, when we remember that a short time ago, all the inhabitants of Stamboul were obliged to be within their own domiciles, about two hours after sunset; and awhile since, there was the curfew bell even in good old England.

CHAPTER XXX.

CIRCASSIAN SLAVES.

Although the slave trade has been nominally abolished in Turkey, and the public mart formally closed to this traffic, yet the practice of buying and selling has not been, nor will it ever be altogether abandoned, because the slave constitutes an essential element in the composition of their domestic institutions.

There are two kinds of servitude in every house; one, the ordinary labor of domestic service; the other that of personal attendance; neither of which the free Mussulman women are willing to perform, because they will thereby be more or less brought in contact with men, which is proscribed by the Koran. The slave service, therefore, becomes necessarily indispensable with the Mussulmans, whose houses have hitherto been supplied with Circassian and Nubian slaves, the former being a species of ladies in waiting, and the latter performing the menial services of the household.

The average price of the slaves is, according to the tariff of the Custom-house, $500 for the white, and $100 for the black. They bring these prices when they arrive fresh from their native lands. Those of the Circassian, who are, however, brought into the country in childhood, and carefully educated and trained in accomplishments, attain so rare a style of beauty and delicacy of appearance that they are frequently sold for $6,000 or $8,000.

Though the restrictions upon the trade have forced Turkish families to employ Greek and Armenian women in their houses, yet there is always a demand for slaves.

The Armenians having the same institution as the Mussulmans, viz., the harem, their maidens are prevented from entering any family as servants; it is only the old women, whose charms have all faded and gone, who are willing to expose themselves in this way. The Greeks, though not so scrupulous, are generally ignorant of the Turkish language, and altogether uncongenial in their habits and ideas, so that they are unpopular.

Slaves are still more indispensable in the palace, for the Mussulman prejudice is opposed to the introduction of any of the subjects who would thus come in contact with royalty. Besides, is his majesty to form an alliance with his subjects?

The Circassian parents so long accustomed to the benefits derived by the advancement of their daughters to positions of comparative ease, will always be ready and anxious to supply the metropolis; and the traffic, notwithstanding the formal prohibition, is still continued at private houses in Top-hané.

Circassian slavery in Turkey, is not a condition of servitude. All the children who are born from odaluks are free, and they also render their mothers free; an odaluk may be sold alone, but never after she has become a mother.

Besides the maids of honor or ladies in waiting, at the palace, are often bestowed in marriage upon pashas and other dignitaries, who thus consider themselves in some sense allied to royalty. One of their number was a slave to Validé Sultan. She was married to Mehmed Bey, the brother of the sultan’s brother-in-law, with the idea of ameliorating her condition; but being very ill-treated by her husband, she had a petition written and presented it to her royal patroness, whereupon the validé summoned the husband, and reprimanded him in such a manner that he became exasperated, and having intoxicated himself with racky, or Turkish brandy, rushed into the harem, and plunged his dagger into the breast of the unfortunate wife.

Sultan Mahmoud lost his favorite wife, and was so much grieved by her death, that he ordered her apartments to be locked up, and that no one should enter them; he only, spent some time there every day in solitary meditation upon his lost favorite.

There was a slave girl fourteen or fifteen years old, whose duty was to clean the bath belonging to these apartments. She was so curious to know why these rooms were always locked up, that she one day found herself on an exploring expedition by means of the private staircase. Finding the door open, she ventured to enter the apartment, when, lo! and behold! there was the awful Mahmoud himself.

He said, “how dare you venture here; do you not know my express commands?”

The terrified girl fell at his majesty’s feet, and craved pardon.

She was so bewitching in this posture, that the sultan not only pardoned her, but invited her to meet him every day in the same place, till at last, he ordered that the apartments should be appropriated to her, and she became the Fifth Kadun, and the mother of the present sultan!

It is the idea of aspiring to such honors and stations, near even royalty itself, which induces the Circassian parents so readily to sell their daughters to Mussulmans, when nothing could induce them to barter their offspring to Christians.

No wonder that each simple peasant of the Caucasus fancies slavery in the metropolis, to be a translation from poverty to an earthly elysium, when tales, and true tales too, not the enchantments of Aladdin’s wonderful lamp, are so common in Oriental life!

Therefore, even if the traffic is formally prohibited, the Circassian parents will force their offspring into the market, not only to ameliorate their condition, but to secure favorable alliances for themselves; so that if the legal sum be not hereafter realized as purchase money, their children will still be apprenticed in some way or other.

CHAPTER XXXI.

WATERING PLACES.

There is a prevalent impression that the Turkish ladies are always imprisoned at home; but nothing is more erroneous. For, since the destruction of the janissaries, who molested every one in public, they are to be seen everywhere, and on all occasions.

The only requisite for their appearance is to be veiled, and to wear the Feradjé, or cloak.

Thus accoutred, they wander through the bazaars, frequent all rural places of resort, visit the baths, and scarcely a day passes when they stay at home. Nor is it to be supposed that they are closely muffled, as they were formerly. The ancient out-door costume was most hideous; they were enveloped in an immense white sheet, a little piece of horse-hair gauze being suspended over the eyes. But the yashmak or veil, is, at the present day, composed of the lightest India mull, and has little power of concealing their charms, but on the contrary, serves to heighten their beauty by its gossamer transparency.

The arched eyebrows, through this deceptive veil, seem more delicately curved; the large and lustrous eyes shine more darkly from its snowy folds; and the delicate and peach-like hue of the complexion is rendered tenfold more lovely.

The texture of the yashmak is now so exquisitely fine, that the two square yards of muslin which compose it do not weigh more than a single drachm!

The feradjé or cloak is an ample outer garment, made of fine colored bombazine or Thibet, lined with silk, and the edges are trimmed with embroidery.

Their feet are clothed with yellow chedik, or morocco buskins, over which paboudj, or slippers of the same color, are worn in the street.

So great is the force of habit and education, that not even the oldest woman ever appears in public unveiled, although the Koran pronounces furrows and wrinkles to be all-sufficient disguises for faded charms; yet, in Turkey, as well as all over the world, the maxim doubtless is popular, that beauty never dies.

Even the dames of ebony hue, dreading the display of darkness visible, are most punctilious in covering their charms, thus affording more distinguished specimens of the wonderful effects of light and shade.

During visits of ceremony, when the feradjé and yashmak are taken off, a long strip of white muslin is left hanging from the top of the head down the back, for the purpose of covering the face in case of sudden emergency. But such accidents seldom occur, as the gentlemen of the family are informed, as soon as they enter the vestibule of the harem, that there are strangers within.

Thus equipped, the Osmanli ladies are the most independent creatures in the world.

As no one dares to look them in the face, from a sense of respect, it has been customary for them slightly to encourage their timid admirers by a few furtive glances, if not positive attacks; so that, on all public occasions, an attentive observer may detect them in some of the wiles of coquetry, or unmeaning flirtation.

Ladies of distinction are attended by black eunuchs, who protect them from the too familiar approach of any witless knight, who may ignorantly trespass the limits of Oriental decorum.

These ebony gentry, from the nature of their position, had become insolent and overbearing, under the plea of protecting the ladies, and a native always avoided a collision with them, since they were sustained by public opinion. But their own extravagant conduct has put an end to their pretensions and power.

Kizlar Aghassy, or the head black eunuch of the palace, was formerly so influential a personage as to rank among the ministers of state; but at the present time, the eunuchs have lost all their pristine greatness, and are mere domestics of the household.

The carriage generally used by the ladies is called an araba, which is often very richly ornamented and gilded, and well cushioned in the inside. The top is covered with a crimson or green ehram or shaggy cloth, manufactured in Albania, and fringed with gold. This spacious conveyance, capable of accommodating six or eight persons, has no springs, and is drawn by a couple of oxen, whose heads are gaily tricked out, and furnished with a charm against the Evil-Eye. The ends of the tails are tied to a cluster of red tassels, which are fastened to a hoop set in the yoke, and gracefully arched over their backs. This arrangement is to prevent the animals from spattering the mud with their tails.

The araba is entered by means of a small temporary ladder at the back. There is a conductor, or arabagee, who leads the oxen by a chain attached to their heads, and a yanashma, or boy, who walks by the side, and goads them on.

But many of the families are now to be seen in public, in European carriages, and they delight in excursions on the water in their beautiful cayiks.

Nature has been so lavish in her gifts to the land of the Osmanlis, that they have every temptation to linger for hours in some one of the many lovely spots which are to be found all along the Bosphorus.

Boghas-itchy or the Bosphorus, is the most magnificent stream in the world. Its winding way, its shores besprinkled with palaces, mosques and minaré’s, in the peculiar picturesque style of the East; the gradually sloping hills, here and there studded with airy and pretty dwellings, and decked out in green array—all combine to enchant the eye and delight the mind.

There is nothing so exquisite as the cayiks of the Bosphorus. Their forms are as slender as the canoe’s, and certainly more graceful than the gondola’s, defying any other aquatic conveyance rowed by men. They are always propelled by long sculls of one, two, or three pair, fastened on the gunnels at about midships, to pins, by leather bands.

The hold is allotted to the accommodation of passengers; there you recline amid downy cushions, and noiselessly glide along, with the measured oars of the boatmen, who look like very sea-nymphs, in their snow-white robes.

By moonlight, the shores, with their latticed and irregular buildings, seem to be some fantastic realms in the distance; and the blue waters reflecting back the silvery stars, almost tempt one to plunge beneath their glassy surface. No wonder, then, that the Osmanlis should spend most of their time, when the summer sun cheers and invigorates, in loitering among such scenes as these.

The sultan has numerous kiosks of his own; on the most lofty summits of the hills, in the most sweetly embosomed valleys, by the margin of the briny sea, where wave after wave has “noiselessly rolled up the beach” ever since the waters which were above the firmament were divided from those below—in the midst of plains, by the roadside, and in the noisy populous streets of the metropolis, are these tasteful pleasure bowers ever to be met with, but carefully guarded from profane footsteps. Generally, however, in the spots thus consecrated by royal pleasure, are to be found coffee shops, and mats or low stools, for the accommodation of other classes of this nature-loving multitude, where at all times the most lovely groups of men, women, and children are collected.

There are some places of resort more frequented than others. The Kehat-hané, or as it is commonly known to Europeans the “Sweet-waters of Europe,” at the head of the Golden Horn, Fener-Bahchessy, or, the garden of the Light House, and Moda Bournou, or the Fashionable Point, on the Marmora, the Geök-Souyou or the Heavenly Waters of Asia, on the Bosphorus, Hunkear-Iskellesy or the Sultan’s Valley—and Kalender on the opposite shore.

To all of these places, the people flock in cayiks and carriages, and spreading their carpets upon the green sward, recline with true Oriental nonchalance and comfort. The chibouk adds its curling fumes to the scene, the narghillé bubbles in unison, the favorite kahvé is handed round in tiny cups, the wild notes of the Lahouta and Kementché are re-echoed by the verdant hills, while an entire lamb on a spit sheds its fragrant odors, predicting a pic-nic champêtre. The itinerant seller of bon-bons plants his tray before you, and you cannot refuse to partake of its luscious contents—wandering gipsies present you wild flowers, and proffer their services in unfolding the pages of destiny. Group after group glides along in the fanciful costumes of Stamboul, and all are joyous and contented.

Thus the Osmanlis enjoy that sensation of delight, their indescribable Kief, when for the moment all care and trouble are forgotten, amid the scenes of beauty which nature so freely lavishes upon all, rich and poor.

Especially on a Friday, or the Mohammedan Sunday, there are congregated thousands of persons, people from every clime, and of every rank—Persians in their peaked papakhs; Albanians with their fustanels; Circassians in their woolly caps; Zeybeks, or Turkish mountaineers, in gay costumes and lofty head-gear, and armed from head to foot; strange men on horse-back, who seem to be made up of gold embroidery and cashmere shawls; Turkish soldiers, and ebony negroes on milk-white steeds; the representatives of the different western powers in their elegant carriages, with their own ladies and families; European travellers and book-making authors, mingle in the crowd. The imported beauties of Circassia, sit on their embroidered cushions, sable guards patroling around, while their lords and masters keep at a respectful distance.

The Osmanli ladies seem all to be beautiful, especially in their white and delicate veils, and costumes of such varied hues, with brilliant diamonds glittering upon their heads, necks, arms, and fingers—in a word, a Turkish watering-place would eclipse even Broadway itself in recherchées toilettes and unparalleled beauty; while the charm of such an endless variety furnishes a study for the artist, and leaves nothing to be desired to complete a picture exquisitely perfect.

Amid such scenes as these, the blue heavens for a canopy, with nature’s emerald carpeting, the tall and majestic trees bearing the impress of unnumbered seasons, more beautiful in their leafy verdure than the most exquisitely carved and marble columns of the palaces of kings; while the tuneful songsters of the grove trill their plaintive notes—are displayed the simple tastes and habits of this people, so inaccessible when they are once within the precincts of their own domiciles.

Here may the stranger, who for the first time treads the shores of the Eastern world, perceive the real spirit of Oriental society and manners, as exhibited in the exchange of mutual intercourse and the etiquettes of life.

The group just before you may be the harem of an Armenian banker. Though composed of many ladies, yet the Armenians being Christians, by virtue of their religion, they are not allowed to number more than one wife in their harems.

Again, under the shadow of yonder tree, are two lovely Mussulman girls, surrounded by a train of halayiks, or female slaves, and attended by black eunuchs. Stay your footsteps, for it is the harem of —— Efendy—a Redjal or grandee of the realm.

This distinguished man had the misfortune to lose his interesting and beloved wife; and so strong was her memory upon his heart, that he never sought to replace her loss; consoling himself with these two beautiful pledges of her love, and lavishing upon them all his affection and indulgence.

These young ladies alone now constitute the harem of a man who has perfect freedom to number as many as four lawful wives!

Thus it may be perceived, how far from being synonymous are the two words Harem and Polygamy.

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE BAZAARS.

The bazaars of Constantinople are built of stone, and lighted from the top. They seem like long streets covered with arched roofs, each street being appropriated to some particular merchandise; thus, there are the spice bazaar, where all kinds of condiments, drugs, and dye stuffs are sold; the perfumery bazaar, containing the most delicious perfumes of the East, the otto of roses, Tcherkess-souyou, and many other essences, also the fragrant pastilles, which are placed upon the pipe bowls, filling the atmosphere with their delicious scent, and the singular rat’s tails which emit a perfume like musk, and retain their odor for any length of time; the silk bazaar, the calico bazaar, the shoe bazaar, depots of most varied and exquisite embroideries; the jewelry bazaar, the pipe bazaar, where are displayed the beautiful and costly mouthpieces studded with gems, the long and graceful stems of jessamine, or cherry, and the gilded and delicately modelled red clay bowls.

The space occupied by these bazaars is equal to the whole of the sixth ward in the city of New York, and the internal arrangements are entirely unlike the shops of this country. There are no front windows, nor counters. The entire façade of the streets being shelved for the display of wares and goods, presents a whole front with the appearance of a vast library, not of books, but of merchandise. A sort of elevated platform, about five or six feet wide, and two feet from the ground, extends the whole side, on which both merchants and customers sit, thus serving the double purpose of counter and seats. The shops are divided by elbow boards, and a small room is attached behind each for the storage of goods, etc.

The ends of the streets are furnished with immense gates, which are closed every evening about an hour before sunset, and are opened again in the morning about eight.

The whole effect is very interesting; the fanciful wares, the great number and proximity of the stalls or shops, and the varied costumes of the venders and purchasers, combine to create rare and beautiful groups for the pencil of the artist. Carriages, horses, and foot-passengers, are continually passing and re-passing in crowds.

Occasionally the owners of the shops are obliged to leave their merchandise for a short time, and during their absence, a covering of net-work suspended across the front of the stall, is sufficient to indicate the absence of the proprietor, and also to protect the property from all depredation.

These bazaars are the favorite resort of the Turkish ladies of all ranks, and there is no little coquetry displayed by the fair purchasers, when the unusually handsome appearance of the merchant tempts them literally to ransack his whole establishment for the most trifling article. These occasions are also made available for the purposes of flirtation, assignation, and all other romantic amusements. It is amusing to observe the ladies as they fit themselves with their peculiarly colored and shaped chaussure, for they make no scruple of displaying their beautiful ankles, which are generally divested of every semblance of hosiery.

The method of buying and selling is peculiar to the country, and doubtless very entertaining to strangers. The system of Prix-Fix, is unknown in Turkey, for, as they go on the principle “each one for himself,” no one is content with any price except his own valuation. Besides, the people are so conceited that any concession on the part of the merchant is flattering to their vanity. He, therefore enjoys the privilege of being beaten down, merely as complimentary to his customers. So the merchant always demands an exorbitant price, which he has no idea of receiving, in order to give his customer a fair chance to gratify his vanity, and also to exercise his judgment.

As London has its “Whitechapel Road,” Paris its “Temple,” and New York its “Chatham street,” so Constantinople has its “Bit-Bazaar,” emphatically so denominated from the vermin which infest old clothing.

Infinite diversity pervades the garments here displayed, and as people’s clothes always look something like themselves, so the empty garments seem to tell tales of their good or bad fortunes, whether the former owners died of plague or small pox, were solitary occupants of the robes, or shared them with other animalculæ.

At the auction, which occurs every day in these purlieus, poverty may find a momentary relief by the disposal of its surplus wardrobe, or may even don the cast off rags of some less fortunate victim of misery.

There is a more respectable auction at the Bezesten every day except Friday, until noon, where jewelry, embroideries, carpets, arms, and all sorts of superior second-hand garments are disposed of. Here the humblest citizen may at least enjoy the semblance of grandeur, as he invests himself in the same setry which the Efendi discarded the day before; or an ambitious mother may procure the same toilette de noces as graced the form of a beautiful Hanum.

The Bezesten is a large quadrangular stone building, surmounted by a cupola, in the centre of the bazaars, and serves not only as a place of public auction, but for the safe deposit of valuable property, either money, shawls, or jewelry.

There are numerous khans in the city, which are constructed in the form of a hollow square, and are two or three stories in height. The various rooms are occupied as offices, by jobbers, wholesale merchants, and bankers.

Goods are sold in wholesale, usually at two or three installments of 31 days each, which are seldom liquidated in less than 6 or 8 months.

The trades are divided into different guilds, called esnafs; each one governed by its own laws and officers. The chiefs of these guilds are always Mussulmans, and appointed out of the corps of superannuated palace attendants, such as boatmen, cooks, and scullions, who are thus pensioned off.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

KAHVÉS.

We have desires to which we are impelled by nature, and their attainment is indispensable to the continuation of life; but we have desires also which are the results of acquired tastes, and which habit often makes as impulsive as our natural wants. Thus are created the luxuries of life, and to increase the delight which we derive from such sources of enjoyment, we endeavor to refine, to etherealize their forms, and to divest them of all sensual and grosser accompaniments.

Among such luxuries, coffee and tobacco are pre-eminent, which are made even the basis of hospitality and the bond of social intercourse by all the Osmanlis. Tobacco, when imbibed in its exquisite forms, is the source of the most refined enjoyments, creating those reveries and dreamy sensations which float for the moment about our listless senses, beclouding with a silvery vapor some of life’s dull realities.

Tobacco, ever since its first introduction to the civilized world, has become so indispensable an item of consumption that it has long been ranked among the staple commodities of life, and seems to claim the double title of a natural and artificial taste. Yet, no form of pleasure and exhilaration has ever been the subject of so much study, as the ways and means of enjoying this fragrant weed.

All the world are well aware of the different forms in which tobacco is used, viz., inhaling in the form of smoke, titillating the nostrils by its powder called snuff, or imbibing the juice into the system by the process of mastication. The two latter forms of enjoying this luxury, seem to admit of no refinement, as time has rolled on, and snuffing and chewing yet remain in their pristine state of simplicity.

On the contrary, no ingenuity has been spared to invent, improve or remodel the various vehicles by which the more exquisite and graceful practice of smoking may be enjoyed.

Although tobacco may have been indigenous to America, yet we have the assertion of Professor Beckman to corroborate the fact, that this plant was known to the Tartars long before the discovery of America. As early as the year 1610 a native Turk was paraded through the streets of Constantinople with a pipe transfixed through his nose, as the penalty of indulging in the pastime of smoking, which was then in great disrepute.

Indeed, if we may credit tradition, Mohammed himself predicted “that in times to come there should be men, bearing the name of Mussulmans, but not really such, who should smoke a certain weed called Dükhan, or Tobacco.”

Tobacco was introduced into England soon after the discovery of Columbus, by Sir Walter Raleigh, and thence found its way into Europe; but not until fifteen years after do we hear of it among the Turks, whence it seems that the Orientals must have acquired their knowledge of this plant through some other channel, most probably from their Tartar neighbors. But from whatever clime we first derived this fragrant weed, there is no doubt that the earliest method of using it was in a pipe, and not in the form of cigars, or by imbibing the juice by chewing—which latter practice was unknown to the early lovers of tobacco, and is unpractised by the Orientals even at this day.

As the aromatic plant by degrees became essential to the happiness of mankind, even including the fair sex, doubtless the inconvenience of the pipe suggested the idea of a more portable form, whence the invention of cigars.

In Holland, in 1570, they smoked out of conical tubes, made of palm-leaves plaited together; and subsequently the leaf of the plant was rolled up, and the present form of cigars adopted. The only recommendation to the form of cigars is their convenience; but many amateurs pretend that they thus attain a stronger relish of the tobacco than from pipes. The cigar is certainly strong in its fumes, but whether the relish is greater is a matter to be questioned, and in this form the injurious and even poisonous properties of the plant are imparted to the system. Besides, there is the close proximity of the fire to the mouth and teeth; secondly, the condensation of the essential oil on the lips, leaving a yellow tinge around the mouth; thirdly, the gradual dissolving of the end of the cigar in the mouth, producing, by its nicotine property, irritation of the gums and the salivary glands; fourthly, there is the necessity of always holding the cigar, which in the course of time imparts a dingy hue to the fingers; fifthly, the danger of injuring the clothes and furniture by the constant falling of the ashes; sixthly, the eyes suffer from their proximity to the heated fumes; and last, but not least, there is the satisfaction of imbibing the nectar-juice of some black mouth, for the black nymphs who are employed in this manufacture, always salivate their handiwork, by way of giving it a smooth and handsome finish. Surely, could our amateurs but witness the manufacture of their favorite Havanas, they would forever eschew that form of the aromatic weed.

But apart from all these considerations, the very convenience of the cigar becomes an objection; for being always at hand, the too frequent use of it has converted the pleasure into an evil—such a constant craving being excited that even the health is injured. Doubtless this perverted taste, in circumstances where smoking has not been permitted, as on board ships, behind counters, in offices, etc., has induced the pernicious practice of chewing.

Those nations who retain the original, natural, and simplest mode of enjoying the weed, have never relinquished the pipe, but have varied the form of this implement, and much beautified and improved it. The people who have retained the use of the pipe, are the Dutch, Irish, English, Scotch, Germans, Russians, Turks, Persians, and all Orientals. In the perfection of the art of smoking the Persians may rank first, then the Osmanlis, Russians, Hungarians, Dutch, English, and last of all the Germans.

The Persians rank high in this respect, because they have studied the philosophy of enjoying the fumes of tobacco in their greatest purity. This they have attained by passing the smoke through water, and thus purifying it from the essential oil of the plant. The kaleon of the Persians, the hookah of Hindostan, the shishé of the Arabs, or the narghillé of the Turks, is an air-tight vessel partially filled with water, on the top of which is a bowl to contain the ignited tobacco. From this bowl a tube descends into the water, and the long and flexible pipe is inserted into the vessel above the level of the water. When the smoker begins to draw through the pipe, a partial vacuum is created in the vessel, which occasions the pressure of the external air to force the smoke of the tobacco downward through the small tube above mentioned into the water beneath, where, after losing its solid particles, it bubbles up into the vacant space above, and thence through the pipe to the mouth of the smoker.

But ever since the peculiar and agreeable properties of this fragrant plant have been known, the ingenuity of its votaries has been excited to invent and improve the ways and means of obtaining the greatest amount of satisfaction from its use.

In the earliest stages the pipe was made of one entire piece of clay, but soon the fact was established that this substance became so heated as to decompose the tobacco. Metallic and other pipes were tried, but still the same evil existed; until wood became the most popular material. But that being combustible, the flavor of the tobacco was deteriorated; and at last the arrangement was made of a stem of wood with a bowl of clay attached to it, to contain the ignited plant. The wood was a nonconductor of heat, capable of being constructed of any length, and moreover, easily cleaned, so that this was pronounced the great desideratum.

The Turks have displayed the greatest refinement and taste in the manufacture of their long and beautiful chibouks or pipe-stems, to which they attach the amber mouth-piece, so agreeable to the lips and free from all impurities.

A peculiar species of clay was discovered in Turkey so remarkably argillaceous as to supersede all other substances for the construction of pipe-bowls; and these Oriental and philosophic smokers have displayed their wisdom and science in the peculiar form into which they have molded them. The form of a lüllé, or Turkish pipe-bowl, is that of an inverted cone, the base of which, when filled with tobacco, forms the surface. The design of this form is to present a greater surface of exposure to the atmosphere, and to bring a smaller body of tobacco in contact with the bowl, which is made as thin and delicate as the nature of the material will permit, so as to possess the least quantity of body, and thus less power of retaining heat. The pipe should be lighted in the centre of the bowl, not with a piece of paper, which would scorch the surface of the tobacco, but with a small piece of spunk. At each inhalation the ignited circle enlarges and extends toward the edge of the bowl, and as the combustion takes place proportionally downward, it is evident that all the tobacco is consumed without the assistance of fingering it, as the Germans are in the habit of doing.

The stem is always of wood, but great care is used in its selection. Jasmine is cultivated expressly for pipe-stems, and carefully trained so as to increase in length and uniform thickness. Cherry-stems are much prized and more durable than the jasmine, and there is a species of wild fruit tree called germeshek, peculiar to Turkey, remarkably suited for the use of tobacco, and very generally used. These pipe-stems are never less than four or five feet long, and perfectly straight. The object gained by the length is that the smoke arrives at the lips comparatively cool, having deposited its more solid particles in the stem, which being perfectly straight is easily cleansed; for it is an essential point that the pipe should, contrary to German philosophy, be kept pure. Still another advantage gained by the length is that the pipe may be easily disposed of for the moment, resting by the side or against a table without deranging the tobacco in the bowl, which should always have a small brass tray beneath it to protect the floor from any accident.

Certainly, then, a Turkish chibouk is unequalled as an implement for smoking. The pure amber mouthpiece often glittering with brilliants, the long stem, one unbroken length of slender jasmine, and the delicate and beautifully-gilded bowl, seem to constitute the very essence of refinement in the luxury of smoking; and no wonder that the Osmanlis recline for hours on their silken cushions, and puff and puff again “ambrosial gales.”

One reason of the luxury displayed in the Turkish pipe is, that the chibouk is an indispensable appendage of hospitality, always presented to the guests, and constantly changed and replaced by another, each successive pipe exceeding its predecessor in beauty and value, until the visit is terminated.

The chibouks and narghillés are symbols of luxury and wealth among the Osmanlis, as services of silver are appendages of elegant life to the Europeans, and there is great ambition to excel each other in the costliness of their appurtenances of smoking. Many of the pashas and other men of wealth, possess chibouks to the value of $50,000, ranging from $10 upwards.

Sultan Mahmoud was forced to issue an edict forbidding the hosts to present them to visitors, and ordering that every one should provide his own chibouk. Hence the appendage to all gentlemen of rank of a Chibouk-gy, who always accompanies his master.

The narghillés or hookahs are also very popular, and often of exquisite workmanship; but pipes being more portable and handy, are generally preferred. The effort necessary to draw the smoke from the narghillé is, by some, considered as objectionable, but a little practice soon habituates to its use, and certainly with this instrument we have the smoke in its greatest purity.

But it is not only the utility and beauty of the long chibouk which constitute the Osmanlis the best and most philosophical smokers. There is no tobacco in the world so delicious as the Turkish; so varied in its degrees of narcotic strength, or so carefully prepared, and a taste once being acquired for this species of the plant, all other varieties become intolerable. A growing taste for this tobacco has of late been acquired in America, and the increasing demand for this article has induced speculators to flood the market with spurious imitations or adulterations both imported and of home manufacture. Even in Turkey the greatest connoisseurs can, with difficulty, procure the best species; there are so many varieties offered for sale; the very worst kind, of which so much is exported to America, being from Smyrna and its immediate neighborhood. The tobacco most valued, and justly so, for its pure and aromatic flavor, is only raised in a small district of Thessaly, in European Turkey, and is called Yenijé tobacco, from the name of the region where it is cultivated.

There has been concocted a peculiar kind or brand of the plant under the title of scafarlatti, which seems to have gained great celebrity in the United States as being the genuine Turkish article. This appellation is as yet unknown in Turkey, and must have sprung from the inventive brain of some one of the Barnum race, who would even enlarge the Turkish vocabulary at the expense of the lingua Italiana.

Not to notice the Western nations, who, with their clay pipes, have remained in statu quo in the art of smoking, the Germans deserve some criticism: for they have made many attempts to arrive at perfection.

The material of which the German pipe-bowls are made, poetically called meerschaum, is ill adapted for the purpose, and the forms of their stems and mouth-pieces imply entire ignorance of the science of smoking.

The meerschaum, or froth of the sea, is a native rock formation of Turkey, and is excavated about two or three hundred miles from the sea of Marmora. Every particle is exported to Vienna, and it is never used by the natives, because it is a calcareous substance, and when in contact with fire undergoes a process of combustion to a sufficient degree to decompose the tobacco. This fact is well attested by the circumstance that a meerschaum pipe-bowl is greatly enhanced in value when by a long and tedious process it has lost all its combustible properties, and is thus rendered incapable of deteriorating the tobacco. But why select a substance which requires so long an apprenticeship, when nature furnishes one well suited for the purpose? and why esteem an article for its power of absorption and then prize it the more for having lost it by time and use? German philosophy only can explain!

Apart from the unfitness of meerschaum for the bowl, the form in which it is modelled shows how little the nature of tobacco is understood by those sturdy people; for the form of an elongated cylinder only serves to surround the weed by a heavy body of combustible material capable of containing an excessive degree of heat, and thus decomposing the tobacco. But the main object of these amateurs of the mere-sham seems to be to deteriorate the fume of the narcotic plant as much as possible—for to cap the climax of their absurdity, a metallic cover is nicely fitted to those exquisite pipe-bowls, and thus the favorite meerschaum is converted into a perfect retort for the manufacture of tobacco-gas!

Their stems are generally made of the most ordinary wood, short and curving, and the mouth-piece of the minutest dimensions. The object in having such small mouth-pieces is to imitate the process by which infants are nourished, by introducing them into the mouth and regularly sucking up the smoke instead of inhaling it, as the Osmanlis do, by merely resting their lips upon the large and oval surface of the amber. The introduction of the piece into the mouth immediately excites the saliva, which in part passes into the pipe, and is otherwise discharged by spitting—a most disgusting practice unknown among the Orientals. Notwithstanding also the shortness of the pipe, owing to its curved form and the diminutive mouthpiece, it is almost impossible to keep it clean. But it seems to be a sort of German philosophy not only to have their pipes in a most filthy state, but to delight in and value them the more in proportion to their antiquity and impurity. Truly there is no accounting for taste, nor is it any longer a matter of wonder that pigs delight to wallow in the mire.

If, then, the nations of the East, the Persians and Osmanlis, are behind the age in other matters of civilization, they have surely attained the acme of refinement in this delight.

Nature, too, has favored them in the peculiar quality of their tobacco, and the very indolence of their habits has led them to meditate more diligently on their favorite luxury. Hence the palm in this matter is to be given to their musical gurgling narghillé, purifying and cooling the fragrant fumes, and to the long and graceful chibouk, which a little care will keep always pure and ready for use. These are well worth the adaptation of other nations. Some have, however, objected to the chibouk as not being portable and convenient during a promenade, as if there were a municipal law requiring all good citizens to smoke in the streets. If the good taste of the community should render the use of these chibouks and narghillés popular, there is no doubt that all the places for public refreshment would be provided with them, as they now are in Turkey and all over the East.

The coffee plant is well known to be a native of Arabia; it was used as a drink in that part of the world as early as the ninth century of the Hegira, and was gradually introduced into the countries of the Levant; it was many times declared unlawful by the followers of the Koran, as being of the class of inebriating liquors so often condemned by Mohammed; but the Eastern nations are so addicted to its use, that they say, “A cup of coffee and a pipe of tobacco are a complete entertainment!” It seems that this beverage was made fashionable in Paris about the year 1668, by a Turkish ambassador. “The elegance of the equipage recommended it to the eye, and charmed the women; the brilliant porcelain cups in which it was poured, the napkins fringed with gold, and the Turkish slaves on their knees, presenting it to the ladies seated on the ground on cushions, turned the heads of the Parisian dames. This elegant introduction made the exotic beverage a subject of conversation; and in 1672, an Armenian at Paris, at the fair time, opened a coffee house.” This establishment was much frequented by the literati, until the proprietor added the sale of wine and beer to its attractions.

A similar attempt was made in New York in 1855, but soon relinquished; notwithstanding the proverbial fondness of the Americans for good coffee and tobacco. The fact is, their temperament is too nervous, and their habits are too restless to allow them quietly to sip their coffee and smoke their pipes as the Orientals do.

Besides, the style of preparing the coffee in Turkey is decidedly superior to any known in Europe or America, and has met with the approbation of those who have tasted it either in New York, or in the sultan’s dominions.

“Coffee is found on chemical analysis to contain a highly nutritious element, known as caffein. This component part of all good coffee is found to contain a larger proportion of nitrogen than any other vegetable principle, and in this respect equals some of the most highly animalized products, rendering it nutritious as a drink.”

The essential oil of the berry is so volatile, that the greatest care and skill are requisite in its roasting and pulverization; for if too much burnt, the aroma is destroyed, if underdone, the water fails to absorb or extract the nutritious material, and if not properly pulverized, a perfect chemical combination of the particles in solution is not effected.

There is no doubt a desire among the Americans, to obtain this beverage in its purity and excellence, as evince the many machines and contrivances they use; yet they seldom if ever succeed in their attempts.

The mixture from the grocers, and the ingredients they mingle at home, such as eggs, isinglass, etc., render it impossible to secure a pure, unadulterated, fragrant solution of this berry.

The commercial competition is so great that in order to be able to undersell each other, all sorts of cheaper substitutes are mixed with the coffee, such as chicory, beans, peas, etc.; thus annihilating the really nutritive properties of the genuine plant.

In a word, those who have never tasted a cup of good Turkish coffee, are yet in unhappy ignorance of the peculiar aroma and deliciousness of coffee as a beverage.

Coffee being the universal and favorite beverage in Turkey, the first ideas of an Osmanli, upon opening his eyes in the morning, are associated with his kahvé and chibouk, or coffee and pipe, which in reality constitute his only breakfast, and are not only used upon rising, but at all hours during the day, and at the very moment of his retiring.

These luxuries are invariably offered to visitors, and their omission is regarded as a breach of hospitality.

Their universal use has given rise to the establishment of numerous kahvés, which are the resort of persons of all ranks and condition. They are to be met with in all parts and quarters of the city, each having its own set of customers, and constituting, in reality, the only casinos or club houses, where politics are discussed, business transacted, and the news of the day freely circulated; in fact the only Bourse or Exchange in Constantinople, was a coffee house at Pershembé-Pazar, in Galata: and it is only of late years that a regular Exchange has been erected.

Many of these kahvés are very beautifully constructed, and adorned with pillars and fountains, with gardens attached to them, where visitors are entertained with sweet strains of music; and crowds assemble to listen to the extravagant fictions of the Meddahs, or professed story-tellers, or otherwise to wile away the time; smoking, sipping the fragrant berry, and playing backgammon, dama, or mangala.

All games of chance are played by the Osmanlis, only for amusement, and gambling is not generally practised by them.

The moral effect of these establishments upon the community is very evident; for though wine is forbidden by the Koran, there are many mey-hanés, or grog-shops, to be found in Turkey, which are not generally frequented by people of any pretensions to respectability; indeed drunkenness is a very uncommon vice, doubtless owing to the numerous kahvés, which afford the habitual refreshments of pipes and coffee to the people, with every facility for social intercourse.

On entering the coffee shop, there is an elevated platform on the three sides, which is furnished with cushions or mats for the accommodation of visitors. On the sides of the wall are various grotesque pictures, and also shelves, where the implements of shaving and toilette are so fantastically displayed as to create a somewhat comic appearance, and one altogether peculiar to Turkey. At one of the remotest corners is an elevated fire-place for the preparation of coffee, which is served in very small cups. The diminutive quantity of this beverage was so unsatisfactory to one of the sailors of the English fleet at Constantinople, that upon tasting it he observed, “This is excellent; just bring me a dozen.”

Surrounding the fire-place are shelves, upon which stand the graceful narghillés, with their brazen and polished mountings, attractive and pleasing to the eye. But the most active and busy personage in this establishment is the Berber, or barber, who is not only the shaver, hair-dresser, and trimmer in general, but extends the province of his sharp profession to bleeding, cupping, leeching, and tooth-drawing; the results of which avocations are displayed at the door, fantastically strung and diversified with colored beads.

Barbers always follow in the train of doctors, and even precede them, for bleeding is a universal remedy in Turkey, whether the patient is sick of fever or fright. Indeed, it is the custom for every body to be bled once a year, generally in the spring, in order to purify the system. Add to this the frequent application of leeches, scarifications, and cupping, and it may be easily conceived that this branch of industry is very profitable; still more so when it was the custom to shave the whole head, for the convenience of frequent ablutions. Many, in conformity with European civilization, now allow the hair to grow, but those who oppose other reforms are equally unyielding in this respect, and “calculating even to a hair.”

CHAPTER XXXIV.

HAMAM, OR BATH.

In the East there is one source of comfort and enjoyment which is more essential than all else, and that is the use of the bath, which follows all other pleasures, when excess has wearied the system, and precedes and prepares for anticipated luxuries physical or mental. This process of purifying and refreshing the body, is eagerly sought for as soon as the traveller arrives at Constantinople; indeed seems to be second only in his mind to the impressions of an entrance to the magnificent harbor.

The baths of classic memory, where the heroes of ancient Rome were wont to prepare their sinews for the athletic games, and where the patrician dames of Pompeii resorted, to add fresher and more glowing tints to their fair charms, were all conducted on the same principle as those of Stamboul at the present day.

It is wonderful that modern civilization should not yet have adopted the refinements of olden times, when they are so essential to real health and comfort.

As by some mishap this desideratum exists, it would not be mal-a-propos to describe the real charm and merit of these institutions. The object of all bathing is to free the skin from the deposits of insensible perspiration. This idea has been much in vogue of late, as testify the water-cures, vapor-baths, medicated, sulphurated, etc., being in reality rather vehicles for disease than remedies. But the peculiar substance which closes up the pores of the skin, cannot be removed by simple immersion in soap and water, for, like all other greasy substances, it is composed of solid and liquid, or stearine and olein, the liquid part of which may, in a chemical combination, be absorbed by the water, but the skin will still remain clogged up. Seeing the futility of the process of immersion, many have supposed that a profuse perspiration excited by fumigation, vaporization, etc., would carry off these deposits, by which processes, however, the liquid portion only would be removed, and the system reduced to a state of perfect exhaustion. The Turkish baths are neither immersion nor vapor baths; but the atmosphere is heated by means of flues through the walls, to a temperature suited to induce a free perspiration, without causing over-exhaustion; for the interior is so arranged that the bather, in passing from one apartment to another, gradually becomes acclimated to the heat.

These baths, unlike many other institutions in the East, are perfectly accessible to all, both natives and foreigners, and are the more attractive on account of their entire dissimilarity from all establishments for the same purpose in Europe or America.

Frequent ablutions, and the greatest personal cleanliness being strictly enjoined upon all true believers, by the precepts of the Koran, it is considered an act of piety to erect edifices and public fountains for those purposes, either during life-time, or by personal bequest; consequently, such instances of benevolence are by no means rare, nor are the structures deficient in architectural beauty. They are built of stone, and adorned with cupolas, besprinkled with globular glasses, which transmit a softened light to the interior.

The interior is divided into three compartments; the saloon, the tepidarium, and the bath itself.

The saloon, where the visitors dress and undress, is a large apartment surrounded on three sides by elevated platforms, on which are placed mattresses and cushions for the comfort and accommodation of those who frequent the bath. In the centre of this room there is usually a marble fountain, whose trickling waters soothe the ear, and add beauty to the scene, dispensing a delicious coolness to the atmosphere. On his entrance to this saloon, the visitor is immediately greeted with Bouyourun, (you are welcome), from the attendants, who conduct him to one of the mattresses on the platform, where he is undressed, within a temporary screen, made by holding up a towel to prevent exposure of the person; for the Osmanlis are sensitively modest, and feel a feminine delicacy in this respect, so that none ever bathe in public without being suitably invested.

His watch, ring, and purse, are handed over to the Hamamgy for safe keeping, and his apparel being carefully folded in a shawl, and designated by his own head-gear, which is placed upon it, is deposited by the side of the mattress, now appropriated to his exclusive use.

Notwithstanding all these precautions, very ludicrous mistakes sometimes occur, as happened recently to a certain soldier, who was anxious to abandon the ranks, and possessing no other means of changing his uniform for a citizen’s dress, entered the bath en militaire; where, after having performed his ablutions, he committed the very slight error of appropriating to himself a neighbor’s mattress, with its accompanying wardrobe, and thus was enabled to make an honorable retreat en bourgeois.

Being now undressed, enveloped in large towels, and mounted on nalluns, or wooden pattens, to protect his feet from the hot marble and the water, the bather is conducted into the Halvet, or tepidarium, which is heated to a degree a little above temperate, where he reposes on cushions until he is gradually acclimated to the atmosphere.

When the pores of the skin are opened, and perspiration excited, the visitor proceeds to the inner room to go through the process of bathing.

The Hamam, or bath itself, whose temperature is raised to any requisite degree by means of flues constructed within, and all along the walls, so as to allow the flames to circulate freely in every direction, is in many of these establishments, exceedingly beautiful; the dome being supported on magnificent columns, and the walls and doors inlaid with large slabs of marble, and adorned with finely chiselled fonts on all sides, which are furnished with double ornamented brass cocks, for the supply of warm and cold water.

There is an elevated marble platform in the middle, where the bathers lie at full length, for the purpose of having their sinews relaxed, and joints examined. Both the apartment, and this process in particular, have been most ridiculously described, and, either through malice or ignorance, most egregiously exaggerated by travellers; for example, the public are informed that, “A dense vapor sometimes so fills the saloon, that he (the bather), sees nothing distinctly, but figures flit before him like visions in a mist. Having walked, or sat in this heated mist, till a profuse perspiration bursts out, the tellak again approaches, and commences his operations. He lays the bather on his back or face, and pins him to the ground by kneeling heavily on him, and having thus secured him, he handles him in the rudest and most painful manner. He twists and turns the limbs, so as to seem to dislocate every joint. The sufferer feels as if the very spine was separated, and the vertebræ of the back torn asunder. It is in vain he complains of this treatment, screams out in anguish and apprehension, and struggles to extricate himself. The incubus sits grinning upon him, and torturing him, till he becomes passive from very exhaustion.”

In the first place, there is no dense vapor in a Turkish bath, but the heat is produced by the flues in the walls; true, there is sometimes the appearance of mist, which is only created momentarily by the quantity of hot water poured over the bathers, and is soon dispersed by ventilation, for such an atmosphere is never tolerated by the natives.

Now, as to the bather being pinned to the ground in the rudest and most painful manner, etc., there is more of a spirit of ridicule than simple truth in this description; it being only resorted to in cases of rheumatism, and the like maladies, when the patient is extended on the marble platform, and all his joints examined and rubbed by the tellak, or assistant, who, owing to the relaxed condition of the nervous system, easily discovers the seat of any local pain, and proceeds to dispel it by friction.

Many having experienced decided relief from this mode of treatment, it is very frequently resorted to in Turkey. No such treatment, therefore, ever occurs on ordinary occasions, unless the farce is got up by special request, and for the benefit of strangers or travellers, who, not content with the usual modus operandi, insist upon the realization of their own extravagant ideas.

A native of Constantinople had to stop at Smyrna on his way to America. Being anxious to enjoy the luxury of a bath once more, he repaired to one of the establishments. As he wore a hat, the attendants mistook him for a regular Frank or European, and he resolved to maintain the joke by pretending utter ignorance of all the languages of the country. After having experienced many absurdities, all novel to a native, he was at last stretched full length upon his stomach on the marble platform of the bath. The tellak kneeling by his side commenced a regular process of pommelling him, and, at the same time, of cracking his joints. The incubus, as though not satisfied with his own exertions, now called for assistance from another tellak, who came and placed himself on the opposite side, when both commenced in the rudest manner to push their victim from one to the other. The sufferer, astonished at this extraordinary treatment, was ready to split his sides with laughter, which one of the tellaks taking as an indication of uneasiness, observed to the other not to be so rude in his manipulations. He was, in return, assured “this is the way the Franks like, the harder the better; also, they must not be allowed to think they haven’t had their money’s worth!”

Doubtless an Osmanli would not only be much amused, but astonished, could he behold the victim of a European vapor bath, as he sits boxed up, and enveloped in blankets to his throat, parboiled with steam, and suffocated by the fumes of brimstone; surely he would believe he had by mistake got into the regions of Eblis.

When the person is in a state of free perspiration, he is seated by the side of one of the fountains, beneath which are marble basins to receive the water, both hot and cold, as it flows from the ornamented cocks, for no Osmanli ever uses the tub, water which has once been in contact with the body, having imbibed its impurities, is deemed unfit for further use; therefore, on all occasions, their ablutions are performed with flowing water, for they do not delight to wallow and splash in a solution of their own dirt.

The tellak having upon his right hand a kesse, or bag made of raw silk, commences a gentle rubbing (for they cannot bear any rude or rough treatment, for which reason the delicate hands of boys are employed), over the surface of the body, by which the deposits of insensible perspiration are disengaged from the pores of the skin, and combining together fall from the person like fibres of paste, which, to the uninitiated, might seem like the peeling off of the outer pellicle itself.

In this process consists the real virtue of a Hamam, and to it alone is to be attributed the peculiar velvet-like softness of the skin of an Oriental, which even gives them an air of effeminacy.

Immediately after the process of shampooing or rubbing, the marble font having been filled with water of the desired temperature, it is poured over the person of the bather from the brass tass, or bowl, used for the purpose by the attendant. The person is now thoroughly washed with perfumed soap, again water is poured over him in abundance, and he is finally enveloped in the havlous, or large napped towels, manufactured in the country expressly for the purpose, and admirably adapted to absorb moisture.

Now perfectly purified, with a sensation of languor, the bather proceeds to the dressing saloon, where, as he reclines upon luxurious cushions, his whole being seems momentarily lost in that dreamy repose of half-conscious existence, which is the true kief of an Oriental.

He is only awakened to real life by the assiduities of his attendants, some gently fanning him, and others presenting sherbet, coffee, pipes, etc.

The fatigue and languor gradually pass away, as, with a sensation of renovated existence, he reposes until the heat of his body is reduced to its natural temperature. His toilette being completed, he surveys himself in a small enamelled mirror which is offered to him, and after depositing upon it the amount of money compatible with his own station in life, he quits the precincts of this luxurious establishment, light, joyful, and contented.

The Hamams being altogether charitable institutions, there is no fixed price demanded from visitors, for the use of the bath itself—it being entirely left to their own option. But the personal services of the attendants, and the wear and tear of the splendid bathing paraphernalia not being included in the same category, an adequate remuneration is of course expected. This also is left to individual generosity; in ordinary cases, from half to three quarters of a dollar is sufficient, but there may be no limit to a person’s munificence, nor to the attentions bestowed upon him.

A gentleman of rank once visited a bath where he was an entire stranger, and although he was not treated with even ordinary politeness, he left on his departure a sum of money far beyond the expectations of the attendants, which, opening their eyes, forced them to make a thousand apologies for their remissness, and protestations for the future. The gentleman soon after gave them an opportunity to retrieve their former errors, and contrary to their excited hopes rewarded them with a couple of piasters (about 8 cents) observing, “This is what you merited on my first visit, and what you then received is the equivalent for your present services.”

The money collected at the bath is divided into two portions; one of which is for the Hamamgy, or proprietor, and the other is shared among the attendants.

Many of the public bathing houses are divided into two parts, one for men, and the other for women, and when the establishment is not a double one, Fridays and Sundays only are reserved for men, and the rest of the week allotted to the ladies.

There are always exquisite specimens of these Hamams attached to the houses of the wealthy; and their friends and neighbors are often invited to partake with them of this amusement.

As the Osmanli ladies very seldom enjoy the excitement and bustle of a crowd, they consider the occasion of going to bathe as one of the greatest festivity; and they always carry with them every article necessary for comfort or luxury, the Hamamgy not furnishing mattresses, towels, etc., as in the case of the gentlemen.

Besides the opportunity of displaying embroidered cushions, napkins, etc., they find rare and ample amusement in the discussion of scandal, moral and political, as well as general domestic gossip.

The tout ensemble of a lady’s bath is one altogether peculiar, and of course more enchanting to the eye than the ablutions of their lords and masters.

The following description of a visit to a bath by a lady long a resident in Constantinople, may be interesting as the result of personal observation and experience.

“My first Turkish bath—shall I describe it, dear?—We were a large party. The mother, her three daughters, three maids, and my humble self. You would have supposed we were arranging our wardrobes for a long season of travel—except that the garments would be rather unpresentable on ordinary occasions. Very peculiar nappy towels, large as sheets, issued forth from their repose in the vast closets, white and colored, embroidered and fringed; head-gear of the same style; curious-looking yellow woollen mittens, to rub with, they told me; innumerable shining bowls; tremendous stilt-like clogs for the feet, great bars of soap, precious packages of dyes, paints, capillary antidotes, perfumes, essences, mirrors in embroidered frames, and a thousand other etceteras of Oriental toilette, in due order entered the vast bundles which were in preparation. Next appeared a beautiful rug or carpet, a rich silken mattress and cushions, and a large piece of crimson woollen, shaggy material, to envelope the cushions, such as I have frequently seen spread in the beautiful cayiks. Really one would have supposed we were to be deposited in some unfurnished dwelling with all this paraphernalia.

“Then came the private wardrobe of each individual neatly folded in a separate envelope—and last but not least; the most refreshing array of fruit, sherbets, and a curious machine, some five stories high, in whose different compartments were packed various specimens of Turkish cookery. I began to wonder if we were ever to return from this bathing pic-nic, so vast were the preparations; but every one was gay, and nothing was tiresome. Besides we always go to bathe in this style, at least once a month.

“Our carriage waited at the door, a grand spacious one, covered with crimson shag, the ends trimmed with deep fringes of gold—no seats, but plenty of cushions, and two milk-white oxen were our steeds.

“Having duly veiled ourselves, that our ‘ornaments’ or charms might not be displayed to the eyes of the unprivileged, we ascended the steps at the end of our araba, and were seated according to our respective ranks. The old lady and myself occupying the honorable places in the front, just behind the tails of the oxen, which were fortunately looped up, so that they could neither switch us, nor themselves. There is a decided advantage in this seat, the view being unobstructed by any coachman, as that dignitary always walks before the head of the animals. Next to us were the three Hanums, behind whom were the maids and bundles, and the large pannier was slung underneath full of its creature comforts.

“I felt as if I had suddenly been transformed into a houri, as they all declared that the Yashmak converted me into a real Circassian beauty. In due time we arrived, and descended from our airy vehicle. As we entered the outer hall of the bath, each one made a polite temennah to the Hamamgy-Kadun, or the lady proprietress, who was squatting on her cushions in a corner. This salutation she returned, to all genuine Turkish ladies (myself included) with the same polite gesture—but the unfortunate giavours only received a slight nod, no matter how profound their selams. It is well to be queen somewhere, even of a bathing establishment.

“The maids, Eleny, Maria, and Sophy, spread out our cushions in one of the niches upon the elevated platform, and as they modestly held up a towel as a screen, we proceeded to reduce ourselves to a state of nature. Enveloped from head to feet in our bathing habiliments, which hung about us in just such folds as they drape the statues—we willingly thrust our pedestrial extremities into the great clogs, inlaid with mother of pearl, entered the antechamber of the bath, and sat down on the marble platform to acclimate ourselves. Here we take a coup d’œil of the strange scene.

“Old women without any charms to conceal, spare themselves the effort, and multitudes of naked cherubs patter about. Yonder sits a victim to paints and dyes—her hair now white, suddenly becomes beautifully black, and the colour streaming over her body bedecks her for the moment à l’Indienne. But that was all washed off, and they proceeded to rub a sort of mud all over her body, to take out the pains. Then she underwent a process of pommelling, as she was stretched out on the marble floor—poor thing, she had both rheumatism and grey hairs, and was a fit subject for the most special and extra efforts of the attendants of the bath. But the children! such victims, of all ages, from one month upwards, were screaming to the highest pitch of their little voices, as they were unmercifully rubbed and lathered from the crown of their heads to the soles of their feet. ‘Rough up and smooth down,’ seemed to be no part of the nursery creed of their unmerciful mothers, but rough all ways. Amid these infantile yells and agonies, the girls, young and pretty, walked up and down, pattering with their clogs, and chanting their wild native melodies, as if to put out all other noises, and the great marble halls did their best to re-echo all these floating sounds.

“Was I in Paradise or Pandemonium; were these peris or demons, I could not tell; everything was so bewildering. I was duly rubbed, and washed like the rest—then it was proposed to take lunch. Our party en déshabillé de-pechetemal, which means, crimson faces and napkin drapery, with long and dripping hair, sea nymphs—maids of the mist—seated themselves on the marble platform in the cooler room, and the large round tray made its appearance.

“How delicious the iced sherbet, the little balls of rice covered with delicate vine leaves—the artichokes à l’huile d’olive, the kebab, the helva—in a word, spite of the strange table, strange costume, and general humidity, we all had tremendous appetites.

“Then, came a chibouk to the old lady, little cigarettes to the young maidens—a delicious cup of coffee, and we all raised our voices in a sweet Turkish song, about loves, jessamines, güle and bülbüls.

“Being thus recruited, we were able to undergo the last ablutions, and with a complete investment of pure white and delicately perfumed towels, we proceeded to our first niche in the great dressing-room, and laid us down to dream, or listlessly to watch the innumerable toilettes of the devotees to Venus and Love.

“Some, all fair and rosy, were reclining luxuriously like ourselves, enveloped in fine white drapery, richly embroidered and fringed with gold, while their beautiful slaves, whose charming figures were not so carefully concealed, were combing, braiding, and perfuming the long silken tresses of the fair hanums.

“After we had amused ourselves at the indifference of the really beautiful, and the minute and strenuous efforts of others to appear so, we again sipped our coffee and completed our toilette, ready at any time, to spend another day in such delightful aquatic luxuries. I could not help contrasting my sensations with those I had often felt on leaving one of the bathing establishments in my own country. There, a solitary closet, a tub, from which perhaps some dirty wench had just emerged, a hook or two, a dirty flesh brush for general service, etc. True, the warm water was agreeable, and for the moment caused an oblivion of all antecedents, the hook convenient, and the brush need not be used. After an immersion of perhaps half an hour, you hurry on your apparel, and hurry home, all à l’Américaine. But here, in this Turkish bath, how imperceptibly a whole day had passed away, how entertaining the scene, how beautiful the fair handmaidens of Nature, so soft and pure, after their watery festivities. Their skin so white, their lips so red, the delicate rosy tinge of their cheeks so tempting; even old age seemed to bloom again, while a universal exhilaration took possession of us all. A delicate tissue of softness seemed to envelop my body, and a wonderful feeling of amiability and love for all the race of human kind glowed within my breast. Every motion gave me pleasure, and I could scarce recognize myself. Alas! for American ladies, they can never feel the true oriental Kief in bathing; for they have no cushions to repose upon, no softly murmuring fountains to lull their senses, nor any such relaxation from all external and internal woes, as follows a Turkish bath. In vain they tinge their complexions, powder, and wash, they cannot attain this τό καλον of beauty, nor be electrified by this wand of enchantment, which renders the humblest Cinderella of the Orient lovely as a princess, and says avaunt to all the modern mysteries of the toilette.”

CHAPTER XXXV.

THE RAYAS OR NON-MUSSULMAN SUBJECTS.

THE ARMENIANS.

The whole population of Turkey may be estimated at over 35,000,000 of souls, including the principalities and other tributary states, which, if deducted, leaves 27,000,000 in Turkey proper, half of whom are Mohammedans, and the rest Christians and Jews.

The Christians are of various denominations, each denomination constituting a separate community, governed by their own municipal regulations, and guided by their respective spiritual heads.

Hitherto the Europeans have regarded the Greeks as the predominating Christian population of the East; the truth is, among the different communities the Armenians stand most prominent, because not only next to the Bulgarians they rank high in numbers, but in reality supersede all others, politically and morally, in their relations with Turkey.

Although the Bosnians, Bulgarians, and the Greeks profess the same religion, they do not surrender their respective nationalities. The Greeks themselves are not, therefore, so numerous as is generally supposed, but have erroneously been confounded with the others.

The Armenians, of whom there are 3,500,000 in Turkey, like other nations, have evinced their pride in national pedigree, by tracing their origin to Haig, the grandson of Noah, and they call themselves Haiks even at the present day.

In the year of the creation of the world, 1757, Jewish chronology, soon after the flood, and even during the lifetime of Noah, Haig, or Haicus, with his sons and daughters, resided in the country of Senaar, in Mesapotamia.

While they lived in those regions, the famous Tower of Babel was erected, and the Babylonian Empire was founded by Belus.

Haig, unwilling to submit to the authority of Belus, returned with his family, of about 300 persons, to the country of Ararat, where he incorporated himself with the earliest settlers in those regions, who had never wandered thence, and retained all the undisciplined habits and freedom of their utter seclusion from the progress of civilization.

It is more than probable that he and his descendants continued to speak the language of their father Noah, and in that case there is no more ancient tongue than the Armenian. Besides, while the descendants of Shem and Ham emigrated to other lands, those of Japhet who begat Gomer who begat Togarmah, the father of Haig remained in the vicinity of Ararat, and there is no reason to suppose ever changed their language. The Biblical history records the confusion of languages of those who were in the land of Shinar.

The Armenians are as ancient as the Jews, and have ever remained as separate a people; and even amid all their vicissitudes have preserved their nationality with equal tenacity.

But Haig was not left long in quiet, for Belus, fearing that he would become too powerful a rival, marched against him with his warriors all clad in iron armour. Yet destiny was about to found a great nation, and the small band of Haig proved victorious—an arrow from the bow of Haig, transfixed the proud Belus as he was retiring. Thus was the first impetus given to this embryo empire.

Victory and the spoils of war inflamed their breasts and strengthened their resources; cities were erected, one on the very spot of this battle.

Haig was a man of noble appearance, and superior intellect, which must have had a perfect development during his long life of five hundred years.

His immediate descendants built fortified towns, adorned with palaces, and caravanserais. A very beautiful city was built by Semiramis, the queen of Babylon, which occupied 12,000 workmen and 600 architects. She was enamored of Arah, the Armenian king, who was surnamed the Handsome, and being a widow wished to marry him. But he, disgusted at her demonstrations of excessive fondness, refused the alliance. The consequence was, that she determined to take him by force, and marched with her troops into his dominions.

But all she obtained was the dead body of the beautiful young Armenian prince, which she endeavored to restore to life by magical incantations.

The beauty of the country and her own romantic associations, inspired her with the desire to erect a monument of her magnificence, and she founded the city of Shamiram, now called Bitlis, on the borders of Lake Van, which became ever after her summer residence.

The Armenians enjoyed a long period of prosperity, waging successful wars with the Syrians, Medes, Persians, and other neighboring nations, until they were at last conquered by Alexander the Great, and remained tributary to him for 176 years, under governors appointed by him and by his successors the Seleucidæ.

They now changed masters, and enjoyed great prosperity under the Arsacidæ or Parthians who freed them from the Seleucian yoke.

Their prosperity lasted for 580 years, until internal dissensions rendered them easy victims to the intrigues of the Greeks and Persians, who eventually divided this beautiful domain between them. Oppression of all sorts, spiritual and temporal, now pervaded the once peaceful and happy homes of this fated race.

Royal blood could not quench the fire of its rage, profusely shed by the princes, in defence of their people and religion. Idolatry was enshrined upon the altars, and the priesthood sacrificed to fire and tortured upon the rack.

A temporary relief was afforded to the country by the rise of the Bagratian princes, who were the descendants of Abraham, and who first came into Armenia during the captivity of the Jews under Nebuchadnezzar.

Bagarat, the founder of this Jewish line of princes, was distinguished in the reign of Valarsace, and was appointed by him to the hereditary office of placing the crown upon the king’s head, and all his descendants were known as the Bagratians. Now it happened that Ashot, one of their number, so pleased the caliph in his administration of the affairs of his own tribe, that in the year 859 A. D., he appointed him governor of Armenia, and dispatched Aali-Ermeny, an apostate Armenian, to invest him with magnificent robes of state. Although the nation was again restored to comparative tranquillity under this race of princes, yet internal disunion and foreign oppression did not cease to harass the country, and the Greeks finally destroyed the Bagratian monarchy. But Melik-Shah, of Persia, regained his sway over Armenia, and the power of the Greeks was thenceforth annihilated.

The Armenian princes of the line of Reuben now governed the country, and it was during their reign that the Crusaders took Jerusalem; and while they were besieging Antioch, Constantine, the second of these Armenian princes, supplied the army with provisions. He was in return made a marquis, and received the order of knighthood, besides many valuable presents. This line of princes was extirpated by the Egyptians, who poured an immense and devastating army into their country, and after besieging Leo, the last king, for nine months, took him and all his family to Cairo, with all the royal treasures.

They remained in prison seven years, because they refused to renounce Christianity. By the intervention of king Juan, of Spain, they were set at liberty, and received from him many valuable possessions, such as houses and lands.

King Leo even appealed to England and France to assist him in regaining the throne of Armenia, but without any good success. He died in Paris, A. D. 1393, and was buried in the convent of Celestine.

His wife Mary, who belonged to the family of Lewis Charles, king of Hungary, died at Jerusalem.

The Armenians next fell into the power of the Ottomans; with their last king their glory perished.

The sunrise over Mount Ararat, the meridian brightness over the fairest portion of Asia, and the last departing rays shed over the regions of Silicia, are all merged into the dark pages of history—where but few ever seek to read the tale.

The ancient religion of the Armenians was that of the Magi, but the introduction of Christianity among them was coeval with Christ.

Abgar, one of their kings, having had occasion to send ambassadors to the Roman general Marinus, in Syria, upon the return of his messengers, was apprised of the wonderful and miraculous performances of the Messiah.

Giving a ready credence to the report that this was indeed the Son of God, a second embassy was sent to entreat the great healer of the sick to visit the king Abgar, who was laboring under a distressing malady.

The letter was as follows: “I have heard that the Jews murmur against you, and seek to destroy you. I have a small but beautiful city, which I offer you to partake with me. It is sufficient for us both.”

It is said that the Saviour received this embassy with much satisfaction, and dictated to the Apostle Thomas this remarkable reply,—“When I shall rise to my glory, I will send you one of my disciples, who shall remove your pains, and give life to you and those around you.”

After the Ascension of Christ, according to his request, Thaddeus, one of the seventy, was sent to Edessa, who, having instructed the king in the true faith, baptized him and the citizens of that metropolis.

The seeds of Christianity were thus early sown in Armenia, still but little progress was made until the appearance of Gregory of Cesarea, three centuries later, who created such a revival of this faith, that he was called the Illuminator, and his followers, the Gregorians.

The Armenian resembles the Greek church in some respects. They are both Episcopal in their government. Both acknowledge the Trinity, and the Immaculacy of the Holy Virgin, and perform the ceremony of the Lord’s supper, or the mass, with even more pomp than the Catholics. The Armenians believe the divine and human nature of Christ to be so blended as to form but one; whereas the Greeks declare them to be entirely separate. Therefore the former, in administering the Eucharist, use only wine, and unleavened bread, and the latter mingle water with the wine, and use leaven in the bread. The Armenians, in case of necessity, partake of the holy sacrament in other Christian churches, whereas the Greeks acknowledge no church ceremonies as canonical but their own; always re-baptizing those who may wish to come under their spiritual jurisdiction. Their manner of signing the cross even differs, the one making it from left to right, and the other from right to left. They celebrate the church festivals on different days, and find many other occasions on which to disagree.

The Armenians are not, therefore, to be confounded with the Greeks, nor with that sect called Arminians, or the followers of Arminius, but as a distinct people, originally inhabiting the country about Mount Ararat, and professing Christianity at an early period.

The reason why they are known to the Western nations as the Armenians, and not by their proper name, Haiks, is, that when Aram, one of their early kings, and the father of Ara the Handsome, succeeded to the throne of Armenia, he, by his wisdom and policy, so greatly extended his dominions, that the power and valor of the nation was acknowledged from Mount Caucasus to Mount Tauris. This prince first raised his people to any degree of renown, both by the exercise of arms and the cultivation of the arts of peace; so that contemporary nations, in making mention of the actions performed by his subjects, called them the deeds of the Aramians, or the followers of Aram, a name which has been corrupted into Armenians; the country which these people originally inhabited was called by them Haikastan, or Hayasdan, and those regions which were added to their territories by the conquest of Prince Aram were called Aramia, or in contradistinction to each other, the former were called the Greater, and the latter the Lesser Hayasdan, which the Western nations transcribed as Armenia Major and Minor.

It will be perceived that they were at one time a very powerful and flourishing nation, and were the envy of all the neighboring tribes; facts well authenticated even by Roman historians.

In the reign of Tigranes, many unfortunate princes, who had fallen prisoners to the Armenian king, were obliged to stand in his presence in an attitude of Oriental deference, with arms folded on their breasts, in token of perfect submission. Four of these wretched monarchs had also to attend him constantly in their regal robes, and when he appeared in public on horseback, his royal captives preceded him on foot.

Mithridates, the uncle to the king Tigranes, rendered himself no less glorious. He extended his dominions even to the borders of Scythia. His subjects and tributaries comprised twenty-two nations; and it is related that this prince conversed with equal fluency in all the languages spoken by those peoples. Even Hannibal, the great Carthaginian general, found an asylum in Armenia.

In the time of their greatest prosperity, they amounted to 30,000,000 of souls, but constant wars, with their attendant train of famine, disease, and death, have sadly diminished their numbers, and reduced them to less than five millions.

The depopulated condition of their provinces, and the internal dissension of their princes, favored the depredatory invasions of various nations, Romans, Greeks, Persians, Saracens, and Scythians, or Turks. These last finally crossing over the Caspian Mountains in hordes, subjugated them, and took possession of their immense territories, and have ever since held them in bondage.

The Armenians were the first Christians who were subjugated by the Mussulmans, and as they were the earliest Christian subjects, they became, in their mutual relations, the model or measure for all succeeding conquests; for the Turks, profiting by their first experience, ever after practised accordingly.

The conquerors, imbued with a spirit of Islamism, added to their barbarities a system of religious persecution. The cruelties which they committed on the inhabitants were horrible in the extreme. Aged men and women were often tied in pairs, and then together cut in halves. Pregnant women were frequently ripped open, and their unborn babes wantonly thrown into the air; infants sucking at the breast were torn from the arms, and massacred before the eyes of their distracted mothers, so that human blood flowed in torrents throughout the country, and well may the Osmanlis of the present day regard the very name of Turk opprobrious, as it reminds them of former barbarities.

At last these persecutions and cruelties ceased; for perceiving the advantages which they might derive from this hardy and industrious race, and finding them also strong and enthusiastic in their faith, the persecutors moderated their religious ardor, and adopting a more politic course, opened negotiations with the Armenians, and willingly compromised by making them tributaries, with the payment of Kharadj, or poll tax, as recommended by the Koran; and by kind promises for the future, their servitude was rendered more tolerable.

Besides, with the design of ruling them through religions prejudices, the Armenians were granted the privilege of being governed by one of their own priesthood, to whom they gave the title of Patrik, or Patriarch.

The people being now deprived of all civil rights, regarded this Patriarch as the sole bond of national unity.

The Turks, on their part, finding it an easy policy to govern the mass through one individual, allowed great privileges to this office, and the free exercise of the principles of their own religion in its administration.

The power of the Patriarch was so unlimited, that he could even levy taxes, punish any person with the bastinado, imprison, or send into exile.

National enthusiasm and the politic tolerance of their conquerors, in the course of time, led the Patriarchs into the abuse of their privileges.

Cloaked though they were under the mantle of religion, their despotism was not always exempt from impunity. For the people, long accustomed to regard the church apart from temporal authorities, could not brook such conduct in their high priest, and therefore there has always been a strife between them and the priesthood.

The government has sometimes sustained the popular will, and at others, the rights of the pontiff, as interest or policy required.

This community constitutes the very life of Turkey, for the Turks long accustomed to rule rather than serve, have relinquished to them all branches of industry. Hence the Armenians are the bankers, merchants, mechanics, and traders of all sorts in Turkey.

Besides, there exists a congeniality of sentiment and community of interest between them and the Mussulmans. For, being originally from the same region, they were alike in their habits and feelings; therefore, easily assimilating themselves to their conquerors, they gained their confidence, and became and still are the most influential of all the rayas. There is not a pasha, or a grandee, who is not indebted to them, either pecuniarily, or for his promotion, and the humblest peasant owes them the value of the very seed he sows; so that without them the Osmanlis could not survive a single day.

This is a fact so well attested, that Russia, with the design of undermining Turkey, always endeavored to gain over this part of the population, and in 1828, when she took possession of Erzeroum, she enticed the Armenians of that place to acts of violence and revenge against the Turks, so that when the Russians retired, the Armenians were obliged to emigrate with them.

Besides, in the demarcation of her boundaries with Turkey, she so managed as to embody Etchmiadzin, the see of the high pontiff of the Armenians, within her own territories, for the express purpose of governing them through their spiritual head.

Even the correspondent of the London Morning Post, in speaking of the corruptions of the country, in his ribaldry, termed the Armenians the cloaca of Turkey, accusing them of being the means through whom all the filth passed.

Naturally endowed with a brave and warlike spirit; of noble and intelligent appearance, and great athletic vigor, their services have ever been invaluable to the country; it has only been their protracted servitude which has reduced them to the timid and cautious temperament that they now possess.

Some have even distinguished themselves as statesmen, patriots, and faithful servants. Had it not been for the good advice and diplomacy of Abro, or, as he is commonly known to Europe, of Boghos Bey, Mehmed Aali could not have secured to his heirs the independence of Egypt.

Again, at the conclusion of the last war with Russia, when Sultan Mahmoud was writhing under his inability to meet the peremptory demands of his enemy, an Armenian came to his rescue.

Kazaz Artyn was a most noted personage of the Armenian nation. Having risen from the lowest rank in life, he finally became the head of the Royal Mint, and the friend and factotum of his majesty Sultan Mahmoud, who never passed a day without seeing him.

He was so much beloved by his imperial master, that although he was a giavour, his majesty visited him at his last hours. This condescension was not only remarkable in the king, but more wonderful in a Mussulman; for the Koran forbids all intimacy with Christians. “O true believers, take not the Jews or Christians for your friends; they are friends the one to the other; but whoso among you taketh them for his friends, he is surely one of them.” This passage explains the antipathy of the Mohammedans to all Christians, as well as to the institutions of Christianity.

Sultan Mahmoud being of an imperious nature, waived such religious considerations when impelled by gratitude, and no one of the ministry dared to breathe a censure against the imperial will; for as sultan, he was not only above the law, but the law itself. Besides, every one knew the extent of Kazaz Artyn’s services to his royal master.

At the end of the last war, when the Russian indemnities were to be paid, there was not a single piaster in the treasury.

The sultan, in despair, shut himself up, and forbade any one to approach him; but, reckless of consequences, Kazaz Artyn rushed into the royal presence, and anxiously begged to be informed the cause of his majesty’s grief. “The Muscovite giavours are insisting upon their indemnities, and I am told the treasury is empty.” Whereupon Kazaz Artyn assured his majesty that their demands should be met, even on the very next day.

He accordingly summoned all the bankers, and collected the necessary funds, which were transmitted to the Russian Embassy to their utter astonishment, in the course of twenty-four hours. This money remained at the Russian Embassy, out of which they were accustomed to pay the salaries of the whole legation, etc. The bankers were afterwards repaid in beshliks, a species of spurious coin, which are now being redeemed by the present sultan.

The cultivation of the arts and sciences were of an early origin with the Armenians.

In the reign of Valarsace, the Parthian, 150 B. C. the archives of Nineveh were searched by Maribas, and made to contribute to the literature of the nation; and during Arsaces’ reign, the city of Armavir was embellished with several pieces of beautiful statuary, which were taken from the Greeks. Three, in particular, those of Diana, Hercules, and Apollo, well executed, brazen and gilt, were from the hands of the celebrated Cretan artists Scyllis and Dipænus.

Duin, Ani, Edessa, and several other cities, were noted for their architectural beauties, and, considering that Armenia is coeval with the Babylonian Empire, there is no reason to doubt, that researches into its territories would be as interesting, as those of Mossoul.

The Armenians having no alphabet of their own, adopted the characters of other nations, viz., the Syriac in religious writings, the Greek in scientific works, and the Persian for statutes of law. But at the commencement of the 5th century, a monk, Mesrop by name, invented the present characters, which have been in use ever since. They are neat in appearance, and capable of representing any articulate sound; thirty nine in number, and styled by Lord Byron, a Waterloo of an alphabet.

There is no doubt that they early possessed some literature of their own, prior to the invention of their alphabet, for even the writings of Eusebius were originally discovered in the archives of the Armenians. Many very eminent works, generally in MSS. on martyrology and the affairs of the church, are still extant, and it is reported that the old monasteries in Armenia contain records of history, which, if brought to light, would prove great additions to the annals of very ancient times.

They boast of classic authors, to whom Lord Byron alludes in eulogistic terms, and the works of Moses of Khoren, which have been translated, are highly appreciated by the literati of Europe.

The Armenians of the present day are also many of them distinguished for their acquisitions in both Armenian and Turkish literature; and so great is their aptitude for acquiring languages, that they are often well versed in the various dialects of Europe. Even the children are in the daily habit of speaking three different languages, viz., Turkish, Armenian, and Greek.

In their domestic relations, living in constant intercourse with the Osmanlis, and the lapse of time throwing the veil of oblivion over their past sufferings, all their habits of life and general ideas have become assimilated to those of their masters, with those distinctions only, which result from the tenets of their faith. Self-respect has forced them to seclude their women from the public, and hence they have the same domestic arrangements, style of dress, etc., as those of the Osmanlis.

Their social institutions, like other Orientals, are very patriarchal, every man being a monarch in his own family, and the children are educated to observe the greatest deference and respect to their parents. No son or daughter ever dreams of contracting a marriage on their own responsibility, but the destined bride is selected by the mother and her friends, and is thankfully accepted by the happy son.

The betrothal having been arranged with all due ceremony, the wedding takes place at the appointed time. The marriage ceremonies are celebrated both at the house of the bride and of the bridegroom during three days.

The bride is conducted by the bridegroom and his friends to the house of her intended husband, and the ceremony is performed on Sunday at midnight.

The bride, muffled and tinselled, is conducted to a carpet in the middle of the saloon, where she is placed opposite to the chosen bridegroom. Their right hands are joined by the officiating priest, and they are severally demanded whether they will “love, cherish, and honor each other.” The man is also asked, as he stands opposite to this mass of shawls and tinsel, “will you take this girl, whether she be lame, or deaf, or humped, or blind,” to which he responds with due resignation, “even so I will take her.” A silken cord, twisted of two colors, is now tied round the head of each, and after a long service, reading of prayers and chanting, the happy pair are pronounced man and wife! The bride, over whose varying emotions during the interesting ceremonies an impenetrable veil was suspended, is now led by two attendants to a corner of the sofa, where she is temporarily enthroned on a cushion.

The propitious moment has at last arrived, and the legalized husband may ascertain for himself the measure of charms to which he is allied. While the agitated maiden sits, oppressed by shawls and tinsel, and internal anxiety as to the effect she may produce upon her future lord, he slowly approaches, pale and tottering—for he has sworn to have her, blind or hump-backed. With such alternatives, even a moderate share of good-looks, or the mere absence of actual deformity, would almost constitute beauty.

The attendant bridemaids exultingly raise the veil, and the new husband ventures to take one look of love and admiration, in return for which he places a valuable ring on her finger, and slowly retreats to muse upon his fate, which is not often so deplorable, for the Armenian girls are generally pretty. At all events, he submits with the best grace, for, unlike his Mohammedan compatriots, he has no retrieve or door of escape, but must abide by his bargain “till death us do part.”

The veil is again dropped, and the bride left to her own meditations.

She receives presents from all the guests, so that the tickets of admission to an Armenian wedding are no trivial affairs to one’s pockets.

Three days after the ceremony, the newly married couple are at length left to a better acquaintance, unmolested by veils or spectators.

The Sunday following, the bridegroom proceeds to his father-in-law’s house, to acknowledge his gratitude for the possession of such a charming treasure, etc., all which is expressed by the ceremony of kissing the hands of the parents of the maiden, and this Sunday is called, par excellence, the “Kissing Sunday.”

These are the real Armenians; but about a hundred and fifty years ago there was a secession in favor of Catholicism. The Catholic Armenians, of whom there are about fifteen thousand in the metropolis, and seventy-five thousand throughout Turkey, although distinct from the Roman Catholics, have assimilated themselves, in many respects, to European habits; forgetting their nationality and language, and aping customs and usages they do not even understand; so much so, that a very amusing work has been written in Armeno-Turkish under the title of Acaby, as a burlesque upon such inclinations. They are not, therefore, to be confounded with the orthodox Armenians.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE GREEKS.

The Greeks, who sent the trophies of their versatile genius, their graceful architectural adornings, and exquisite paintings to the temples at Rome, and over the western world, whose classic lore is yet the theme and model of the learned, once gloried in the possession of the proud Stamboul.

About a century after its foundation by Constantine, it is said to have possessed “a capital, a school of learning, a circus, two theatres, eight public and one hundred and fifty-three private baths, fifty-two porticoes, five granaries, eight aqueducts of water, four spacious halls of justice, fourteen churches, fourteen palaces, and four thousand and three hundred and eighty-eight houses, which, for their size and beauty, deserved to be distinguished from the multitude of plebeian habitations.”

The magnificent temple Ayia-Sophia, dedicated to the Goddess of Divine Wisdom, rose like a Phœnix from its ruins, under the liberal patronage of Justinian, and the assiduous labors of ten thousand workmen during five years, eleven months, and ten days.

This was the shrine of the Greek Faith, and those walls glittering with golden mosaic and precious stones, re-echoed the Κυριε ελεησον of the adoring Christians. The magnificent altar of precious metals and glittering gems witnessed the prostrations of patriarchs and their acolyths—and the impenetrable veil was suspended before the Holy of Holies.

The great city was the arena for the sports of the pleasure-loving Greeks; sometimes in the race of wild beasts with each other, and again in the more terrible contests of the gladiators.

The Bosphorus was alive with human freight, youths and maidens, wooed by its blue and sparkling waves, delighted to dream of love as they glided over the gently-heaving waters.

The shores were gay and gladsome, as the enamored throng tripped through the mazes of their fantastic Romaica to the tinkling music. But the Grecian prince is hurled from his throne, and the grave and sombre Moslem sits there, the despot and bloody conqueror. The great temple, which rivalled even that of Solomon, is suddenly divested of the symbols of a Christian faith. Its mosaics of the saints which adorn the walls are obliterated, its cherubim are torn down, its altar demolished, and nothing left of all the gorgeous decorations. The bare, unadorned niche—the mihrab or index to the temple of Mohammed, is instituted, and “Allah-il-Allah,” is henceforth the cry of the Faithful.

Yet, they say, the distant chant of the last officiating priest of the Greek religion still lingers within the walls, from whence he will issue when the edifice is restored to its original worship.

Sports are over—maidens and youths are coy of their charms, for a change has come over the spirit of their dreams.

The liberty of woman is shackled, and the dominion of seclusion established. Certain quarters of the city are assigned to the Greek subjects—and externally their very dwellings assume the dusky tints of bondage and ruin.

Truly their glory has departed, and their name as a nation is only sustained by the shades of their ancient heroes, who even after their last degenerate descendant has mouldered into dust, will continue to flit around the civilized world, scattering the scintillations of early genius amid earth’s darkness. Yet, as it is their nature to boast, they point into the past, and even one day hope to sit on the throne of their ancestors εις τιν πολιν of yore.

There are no less than a million and a half of Greeks in the Turkish dominions, of whom 150,000 live in the capital. At the time of their conquest, the Turks allowed them the same municipal immunities and privileges as they had done to the Armenians.

As the Greeks seemed to approximate more nearly to the western nations in their habits, than any of the other rayahs, the Osmanlis supposed them more fitted to act as intermediaries between themselves and the European states; they therefore became the first interpreters of the Divan. Many of their number have thus risen to wealth and distinction, and after long services they even succeeded to the government of the Danubian Principalities—yet the Osmanlis have never felt the same sympathy and confidence towards them as for the Armenians, who, though not so advanced in civilization, possess better stamina of character, greater honesty, and more congeniality of temperament. Many Greeks, even now, occupy places of trust, which are confided to them rather from political motives than as marks of peculiar confidence. The office of saraf or banker, which is equivalent to homme de confiance, has never been successfully filled by them, though attempts have been made to do so; this post has invariably been assigned to the Armenians.

It is customary with the Osmanli grandee, when appointed to some high station in the provinces, before their departure, to leave with their banker a certain number of blanks to be filled by him whenever occasion should require their use. And many even entrust their personal property to the sarafs on their pilgrimage to Mecca, for safe keeping.

One of the principal dignitaries of the present day, who is reputed for his irascible temper, was some years ago involved in a dilemma. One of his attendants was found to be guilty of a liaison with a slave in his harem. The circumstances were aggravating, and his pride could not be satisfied, save by dire revenge; and the two, instead of being married, according to the custom of the country, fell victims to his fury. But after the commission of the rash act, he repented, and began to fear the disgrace which would probably fall on himself.

In his perplexity he sent for his old Armenian saraf, and when closeted with him, poured his sorrows into the bosom of his confidant, relating to him the whole circumstance, weeping bitterly for his act, and asking advice and consolation.

Now, no Osmanli has as yet evinced such confidence and sympathy towards the Greeks.

Besides, the pride of the Mussulmans is not compromised in associating with the Armenians, who are so much like their masters in manners and language, that often it is impossible to detect any difference. On the contrary, although some of the Greeks have distinguished themselves in Oriental literature, especially Yacobaky, in his History of Russia, written in elegant Turkish, yet they have never been able to speak the language of the country correctly.

The moment they open their mouths, out leaps the native accent. This is equally true of the French and other languages, and even their own beautiful Hellenic can scarce ever be heard in Stamboul, a miserable, mongrel island dialect being the substitute.

The character of the Greeks of Constantinople is thus admirably portrayed by the author of Anastasius, the best work extant on Turkey.

“The complexion of the modern Greek may receive a different cast from different surrounding objects; the core still is the same as in the days of Pericles. Credulity, versatility, and thirst of distinction, from the earliest periods formed, still form, and ever will continue to form, the basis of the Greek character; and the dissimilarity in the external appearance of the nation arises, not from any radical change in its temper and disposition, but only from the incidental variation in the means through which the same propensities are to be gratified. The ancient Greeks worshipped a hundred gods, the modern Greeks adore as many saints. The ancient Greeks believed in oracles and prodigies, in incantations and spells; the modern Greeks have faith in relics and miracles, in amulets and divinations. The ancient Greeks brought rich offerings and gifts to the shrines of their deities, for the purpose of obtaining success in war, and pre-eminence in peace; the modern Greeks hang up dirty rags round the sanctuaries of their saints, to shake off an ague, or propitiate a mistress. The former were staunch patriots at home, and subtle courtiers in Persia; the latter defy the Turks in Mayno, and fawn upon them at the Fanar. Besides, was not every commonwealth of ancient Greece as much a prey to cabals and factions as every community of modern Greece? Does not every modern Greek preserve the same desire for supremacy, the same readiness to undermine, by every means, fair or foul, his competitors, which was displayed by his ancestors? Do not the Turks of the present day resemble the Romans of past ages in their respect for the ingenuity, and at the same time, in their contempt for the character of their Greek subjects? And does the Greek of the Fanar show the least inferiority to the Greek of the Piræus in quickness of perception, in fluency of tongue, and in fondness for quibbles, for disputation, and for sophistry? Believe me, the very difference between the Greeks of time past and of the present day arises only from their thorough resemblance, from that equal pliability of temper and of faculties in both, which has ever made them receive, with equal readiness, the impression of every mould, and the impulse of every agent. When patriotism, public spirit, and pre-eminence in arts, science, literature, and warfare were the road to distinction, the Greeks shone the first of patriots, of heroes, of painters, of poets, and of philosophers. Now that craft and subtlety, adulation, and intrigue, are the only paths to greatness, these same Greeks are—what you see them!”

Although the Armenians have borne the first impetus of Mussulman fanaticism, and consequently suffered more than any other Christian subjects, yet the Greeks excel them in their animosity towards their conquerors.

This is owing to their excessive bigotry, and it is recorded that even while the enemy was before the gates of Constantinople, they were discussing the great question, whether the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Father or the Son.

This disposition to cavil on religious points, has made them a ready prey to the domineering priesthood who have completely swayed the multitude. These priests being a mean and grovelling set, utterly indifferent to the moral elevation of their people, are ever ready to make traffic of the sins of those who are still more ignorant than themselves; the consequence is, that lying, cheating, stealing, and other immoralities to any extent, are very common among this community, for a few piastres, or even paras, cancel the crime and lull the conscience.

The whole community suffers from such a system, as business and other necessities bring them into constant contact.

The servants are generally Greek, and there is no virtue in lock and key in any house. You suddenly find your wardrobe emptied by imperceptible degrees, and the jars of preserves gradually diminish, as they are repeatedly licked and sleeked over again.

Divorces are easily obtained, or they are granted after the priest has extorted the last para he can from the applicant.

The corruption of the masses through their spiritual leaders is painfully evident. The most dire superstition rules every mind, and the veriest knaves, and even prostitutes, follow their injurious callings without compunction, if under the patronage of one of their saints. Christos kai Panayiaumo is an expiatory charm, and the dingy portrait of any saint in the calendar annihilates the bad effects of every crime. The most abandoned class of women are generally Greeks; and while they perform the obscene rites of Bacchus and Venus, they watch with holy trembling the twinkling taper which burns night and day before the anointed picture of their guardian angel. This flame, like the Vestal fire, is never suffered to go out, if perchance, Dii avertite omen!

The Greek islands furnish a miserable set of men and women to the population of Turkey, who come to gather spoils in the metropolis, and then return to enjoy them at home. Robberies, and even assassinations are committed by them, which, if they are detected, are either protected by the Greek legation, or punished by a short imprisonment, and then the miscreants are again let loose, hardened in crime, and thirsting to revenge their temporary detention.

It is only within the last two years, that a famous bandit, in the vicinity of Smyrna, has been captured. Katurjy Yanny and his merry men had long infested the neighboring mountains, detaining gentlemen on their travels, carrying them blindfolded to their den, and only liberating them upon the receipt of a handsome ransom from their friends. The eagle of the mountain was at last caged in the humble prison of Smyrna. While other miserable victims were peeping through their latticed and iron bound casements, whining out a feeble cry for alms, he, the proud chieftain, sat upon a sofa, dressed in the picturesque costume of the Greek mountaineer, his eyes flashing defiance, and his lofty bearing all princely, as he puffed his narghillé, and chatted with those about him. But he must now feel somewhat crest-fallen, as day succeeds day, and he still dwells within the awful precincts of the Bagnio, whence, like the rest of its miserable occupants, the once proud Katurgy Yanny, sometimes emerges, broom in hand, and chained to his fellow, to sweep the streets of the metropolis.

The restless temperament and fanaticism of the Greeks have ever made them the most turbulent of the Ottoman subjects, and ready instruments in the hands of Russian diplomatists for sowing the seeds of discord and confusion in the Turkish empire.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE JEWS.

The Jews of Turkey, of whom there are about 170,000, are by no means exempt from the sorrows and curses of their race. As if conscious that there is no escape from the contempt of the rest of the world, they are willing to undertake the meanest of earth’s callings, literally to “eat the dirt” of their Moslem masters.

Content to appear like the refuse of humanity, they strive to accumulate the miser’s hoards, and receive the buffetings and cursings of their neighbors as if they were choice blessings—usury of all sorts, whether upon sequins or old clothes, peddling the meanest of wares in the streets, rag-picking, and filth-gathering in general, are their means of earning a livelihood.

The venerated names of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are almost needless, or seldom heard—for the one comprehensive word Yahoudy (Jew) is the nomenclature of the whole remnant of the chosen people. Yahoudy come, and Yahoudy go, are the summons and dismissal—while the rabble boys mockingly shout Tchefut, and snatch some fragment of their tattered garments.

Public sentiment having stigmatized them as utterly depraved, they have no incentive to honesty, and not daring enough to commit any atrocious crime, they become more expert in petty larcenies and like misdemeanors. They are even accused of stealing a Christian child once a year, in order to mingle its blood in their festivals, as a retaliation upon the Christians in general.

This, of course, refers to the mass, who, victims as they are to misery of all sorts, cannot be expected to practice the kindlier virtues which distinguish those among them to whom a better fate has been allotted.

There was a celebrated Armenian banker, Tcharazly, who, having fallen under the displeasure of a certain Turkish grandee, was suddenly one day seized and hung before the door of his own dwelling; his property confiscated, and his only son cast into prison.

A certain Jewish banker, Shabgee by name, had long been the friend and neighbor of this family; and now, in the time of their trouble, he spared nothing for the liberation of the unfortunate young man, the son of his friend; which, he not only succeeded in obtaining, but reinstated him in all the honors of which he was the lawful heir.

The Jews are to be found in many villages on the Bosphorus, though their principal quarter is at Balat, on the Golden Horn. They live also in other parts of the city, but as may naturally be inferred, in such places as no one else would inhabit.

Their houses are like bee-hives, literally swarming with human life; even one single room serves for the only home of several families—and the streets of their quarters are almost impassable, from the collection of garbage and all sorts of refuse, which are indiscriminately thrown from the windows of their dwellings. Their misery may partly be attributed to their practice of very early marriages, as before a man is twenty-one years of age he is burdened with the care and support of a numerous family, which reduces him to such poverty, that even the meanest economy can scarcely enable him to support his own existence and that of the helpless beings dependent on him. The exactions of the Khakhams or priests, which are very great, help also to impoverish this pitiable people. It is no wonder, then, that they appear in rags and tatters—and herd together in styes—yet it is most amusing to see them on a Jewish Sabbath. The filthy gabardines which they wore in the week, as they exercised their various callings, being laid aside, and bright and gaudy finery substituted, in which they strut about the streets, seeming to be other beings, and to have no relation to the wretches of yesterday. But, of course, in such a population there will be various grades of misery, and a few families of wealth are to be found among them.

They have some of the domestic institutions of the Osmanlis, and the women wear thick white veils, but without concealing the features, as in the case of the Turkish ladies. The young virgins are allowed to wear their hair long and flowing—but after marriage it is carefully concealed beneath a towering and cumbersome headgear, which is a wonderful illustration of the tenacity with which this singular race adheres to ancient usages. It recalls to mind the days of Pharaoh and the people of Israel, for the similarity is perfect between their present head-dress and that of the mummies who have reposed in their tombs ever since the family of Joseph “took their cattle and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his seed with him.”

As they were originally from Spain, their language is still a mongrel dialect of that country.

They are very strict in the observance of their religious rites and ceremonies—never transacting any business on the Sabbath, nor performing any domestic duties. Even their lamps on Sabbath evenings must be lighted by some one of their Christian neighbors—and should a conflagration occur on that day, their helplessness is truly pitiable, for they will see all their property consumed without making one effort to save it.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

PERA AND THE PEROTES, OR FRANKS.

At the time that the Turks took Constantinople, there was a colony of Genoese Venetians established in a suburb of the city, called Galata, who were allowed to retain this quarter, which occupies the declivity of the hill with the summit called Pera, where the European emigrants, attracted by commerce and other motives, as well as the foreign dignitaries, have ever since continued to reside. The warehouses of the merchants are at Galata, which is connected with the city by a floating bridge across the Golden Horn.

A little above Galata, on the Bosphorus, is a Turkish quarter called Top-hané, or the department of ordnance, through which access is usually obtained to Pera. The most busy and varied scene is constantly presented to the eye at this quay. The graceful cayiks with their delicately pointed prows lie on all sides, some waiting for the convenience of passengers, and others engaged in disembarking their living freight. It is wonderful to observe the dexterity of cayikgees. Now, a single boatman pushes up his slender craft, and succeeds in gaining just space enough to slip in, so closely packed are the boats all around. It may be some lonely veiled woman who is safely landed. Anon arrives the large omnibus cayik, as completely stored with live stock as the New York avenue cars on a Sunday.

The boatmen vociferate, and shove alongside in spite of all their competitors; the motley group of passengers, Mussulmans, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Franks, all huddled together, move not, speak not, but fasten their eyes upon the shore, with the firm conviction, that as they were safely landed the day before, they will be equally successful to-day. A prolonged, shrill musical cry, ya-lu-nuz! hushes every other sound; there is a simultaneous movement among the cayiks, a moment’s pause in the hurrying crowd on shore, as way is made for the embassy boat with its gilded prow, flying colors, and five pair of oars. The Eltchy-Bey! is whispered from ear to ear.

Even the beautiful canopied boat of the sultan sometimes passes this way; propelled by twenty-eight men, it rapidly glides over the waters, with the regular music of the plashing oars. The cannon peals forth a royal salute from the shore, and the landing of Top-hané resumes its bustling appearance.

Thousands of men, women, and children, are daily landed here, of every rank and clime, and doubtless, in each bosom one similar emotion, for a moment displaces all others: gratitude for the footing gained; then rushes in the vast tide of human hopes, cares and anxieties. The platform upon which they step, is wretchedly out of repair; the keahya, who gains a slender pittance by holding the boats from which so many are safely landed, is invariably a trembling old man; and as the crowd necessarily jostle each other, it is astonishing that there are so few accidents. But Oriental self-possession has its careful measured gait, and it is rarely that any stumble, though Turkish indifference leaves cracks, crevices, and chasms in yawning boldness. There is a large open area, just after you land; apparently Nature’s great warehouse, solid ground for a foundation and the vault of heaven for a roofing. Along the shore lie numberless small coasters, whose crews and cargoes are alike begrimed with darkness, for they have come down from the Black Sea to supply the city with charcoal, the ordinary fuel; and immense piles of wood proclaim the demolition of forests of trees.

There, too, is a great market place, or rather a centre of attraction to the venders of various merchandise, whom time and custom have established in their prerogatives, for there is no building whatever for the convenience or protection of this sort of commerce. Here, then, in the open air, are butchers, green-grocers, fishmongers, bakers, fruiterers, and basket-makers, an epitome of practical life. But here too, is the mosque, the minaré, and the fountain, carrying away in its limped flowing, impurities both spiritual and physical.

This fountain is a beautiful specimen of Oriental architecture. It is an edifice about 30 feet square, built of pure white marble. Beneath the cornice which surrounds the roof is a border of arabesque characters, richly gilt, and from each side the water flows into a marble basin.

Not far from this fountain is a cluster of small shops, for the sale of Kebabs, tobacco, bonbons, and also many small Kahvés.

The Kebabs are small pieces of mutton, passed on iron skewers, and roasted over fires of ignited charcoal, and, though the establishments are small, they are constantly filled with groups, who surrounding the copper dishes, seem to attest the excellence of the viands. After satisfying the more imperative calls of nature, a visit to the tetune-gee, or tobacco merchant, is inevitable; for not to mention the almost hourly use of the far-famed weed, this luxury must always succeed every other repast. Then a moment of kief at the coffee shop, the fumes of the chibouque, a sip of mocha’s berry, a little neighborly chit-chat, or it may be a business rendezvous, and you are ready to proceed up the steep hill to Pera. Some mount their own horses, which the grooms hold in attendance, others avail themselves of the more jaded looking animals who are waiting to be hired, and sometimes the Turkish ladies,—rather antiquities of the species, deliberately mount the leather hunch on the Hamal’s back, and they too ride up, while others still are obliged, either from a lack of a like independence, or other stringent motives, to go on Shank’s mare. Those who do not ascend the hill, disperse in various directions through the many narrow by-ways which diverge from the great area.

Pera is the Elysium of shop-keepers, the very essence of à la Franga, the Bey-oghlu or dwelling-place of Princes, the rendezvous of Ministers Plenipotentiary, Ministers resident, Consular dignitaries, secretaries of Legations, Dragomans, Attachés, and all the élite of society—a swarming hive of Diplomacy—only get inside of the hive, even as drone, and you are comme il faut. There is a certain imposing, mysterious, impenetrable air about every member of this haute noblesse—each one is full of importance, each one is condescending to the other; all are on the qui vive for a stray word, an echo of the all-important diplomatic measures of their rivals; all are cautious not to betray by look or action any embryo intrigues or manœuvres. Thus social intercourse consists of gracious words, unmeaning civilities, and mutual distrust and suspicion.

Those who have been born in Pera, and others who have been bred there, have one and all become so very diplomatic that conversation ordinarily dwindles into monosyllables, general inquiries after health, and prognostics of the weather.

The simplest question is regarded by them as an inquisitive intrusion upon their prerogatives and peculiar sphere, so that, not to exceed the bounds of decorum, absolute silence becomes the only alternative. But when any sudden change takes place in the Turkish administration, or a new public measure is adopted, there is a jubilee in this social clique—for the discussion of the pros and cons, probabilities and possibilities, are talked over until the original theme is lost sight of, and all the excitement subsides—unless something else turns up at the Porte.

Intermarriage has produced a race of Perotes who never having had the benefit of finding their proper level by contact with a more elevated and extended sphere, consider themselves the very salt of civilization, and are even more afraid than the members of the Legations themselves, of mingling in general society.

The honorable distinction of being a Perote, does not only depend upon birth, but a still more essential point is allegiance to the Catholic religion. For the embassies under whose wings these colonies first sheltered themselves were the representatives of Catholic nations. The Oriental principle that religion and nationality are synonymous, had its effect even on this mongrel race; who, by degrees came to consider Catholicity as also identical with Europeanism.

Enjoying peculiar immunities as protégés of these embassies, in their imagined superiority, as Catholics, to all around them, they regarded the rest of their fellow citizens with even greater contempt than the Mohammedans felt towards the Giavours. This soi-disant aristocracy is not confined to Pera, but is to be found scattered throughout the Levant, at Smyrna and other commercial ports.

Ignorance of the language of the country where they are born is considered only a proof of their superiority to the other nations; but for their ignorance of all languages and miserable mongrel dialect called lingua Franca, we can find no excuse either aristocratic or diplomatic.

This lingua Franca is a corrupted dialect of the Greek language, interlarded with French and Italian; and in writing the Roman characters are substituted for the Hellenic, as being more distingués. Even family names have been modified so as to ignore any traces of parentage—such as Sazan Oghlou into Salsani, and Zipgy Oghlou into Zipcy, etc.

When the foreign ambassadors first became residents of Pera, as long ago as the days of Suleyman, they found this mixed people apparently a connecting link between the East and the West; and being themselves then ignorant of Oriental peculiarities, and the languages of Stamboul, they were glad to receive these Perotes as employés, dragomans, etc.

Thus, by degrees, they became a sort of necessary evil to the foreign diplomatists.

Greater familiarity with the country, and still more, a just appreciation of these aspirants to aristocratic honors and functions, has, however, of late years, opened the eyes of the foreign representatives; and each embassy is now furnished with employés from the home government—consequently, the Perotes are now decidedly below par.

Adventurers, who, in their own lands, would never be heard of, in Pera become the guests of ambassadors and statesmen, and aping the airs and manners of their distinguished patrons, manage to pass current. Women at every other word murdering their mother tongues, are transformed into ladies of quality in the palaces of the representatives of their respective sovereigns.

But these are trifling matters. The outcasts of European society here find a safe retreat, and are even protected in their outrages, while the various protégés of the different Legations, natives and foreigners, constitute a privileged community.

Russia has endeavored to increase her own power by inducing the rayas to adopt her protection, in order to secure any claims whatever against either Turks or Christians.

“The most desperate ruffians of Southern Europe are in Turkey under British, Austrian, French, or Greek protection. The English give impunity to Ionians and Maltese; Austria has her Croats; French passports screen a crowd of Levantines, whose professed attachment to Catholicism is allowed to be the cloak to any knavery; while Greece and Naples send a contingent whose character may be easily imagined. While the worst of them have protection for delinquencies, the whole enjoy immunities of the most unjust kind.

“They can only be sued in the consular courts of their own country. They pay less taxes than their neighbors, and in some places none at all. They are wholly beyond the jurisdiction of the Porte, while for all claims on the government, or on Turkish subjects they can bring into play the whole machinery of their embassy. Each representative is almost bound to make every private complaint an affair of state, and, in fact the real or nominal Austrian, Briton, or Frenchman, practically turns the diplomatists of his sovereign into his own special attorneys whenever he pleases.”

This picture is not too highly drawn, and shows that if the Mussulmans need reforms, the nominal Frank population are in a somewhat similar category.

The effect which has been produced upon the minds of the Osmanlis by such specimens of civilized Europeans has certainly not been favorable; and it is to be hoped that more extended intercourse with Europe will counteract these influences.

The Diplomatic corps and the Perotes, though the Upper Tendom, and codfish aristocracy of Pera, are by no means the greater part of the population.

English, Americans, French, Germans, Greeks, Armenians, and even Moslems, reside there, preferring the bustle and public amusements which are to be secured, to the quiet atmosphere of Stamboul. The opera house and the fashionable emporiums of commerce have their attractions. On a Friday, it is amusing to see the crowds of Turkish women in the different shops, relentlessly handling the merchandize to the infinite annoyance of the proprietors themselves, who are not so patient as the merchants of the Bazaars. Often the most extravagant prices are paid for trifling articles of luxury, by the Osmanlis of wealth, who, even in this sort of trade, seem to feel that everything à la Franca must cost them dear.

The modistes have grown rich by selling them feathers, flowers, and haberdashery, and the confiseurs have exchanged their honeyed stores for bags of Turkish gold. There is a great fondness for dress in the population of Pera, and the balls, soirees and reunions are so numerous that many shopkeepers, having reaped a rich harvest, have retired from business. Feast days and holidays, which are so frequent, require their appropriate garb, and the Carnival, its masquerades and costumes de bal.

All the people, high and low, are determined to dress well, and display their toilets, so that the marts of fashion and luxury are never deserted.

The great rendezvous for these happy souls, when their supremest efforts in outward adorning are accomplished, is the Grand champ des Morts. Whither they resort in crowds, and sit among the verdure that springs from the dust of their ancestors, the white tombstones, the only records of those who once walked in their midst! Occasional funeral trains, slowly moving towards the newly opened graves, and the mournful strains of the requiems of the dead, do not distract the thoughts of those who are bent in chasing the shadows of Time, even while the realities of Eternity are passing in review before them, and the very spectres of the tombs seem ready to burst their cerements, and start up in mocking derision.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

THE ARISTOCRACY AND THE PEOPLE.

As in every country there ate two classes, viz., the aristocracy and the people, so in Turkey, there are the Kibars and the Nass.

Aristocracy may everywhere be sub-divided into the aristocracies of birth, of letters, wealth and position.

In Turkey, all hereditary rank is vested solely in the person of the sultan; titles are conferred at his sovereign will and pleasure, and they do not descend from father to son.

There is not, therefore, a regular or systematic aristocracy, and the spirit of democracy is there very evident.

Although the Osmanlis hold all learning in great respect, yet Turkish literature having hitherto been confined to the Koran and its commentaries, the aristocracy of letters has consequently been constituted by the expounders of the faith, who arrogate to themselves the modest appellative of Ulema, or savans. Nevertheless, the people have the greatest reverence and consideration for Zadés, or those who are the descendants of illustrious and enlightened parents.

L’argent fait tout is known and acknowledged by all the world; and wealth is everywhere the great highway to power and distinction; elevating its possessor above the common herd. But the love of riches usually begets the love of power; for, N’est on que riche, on veut être grand, this is most evident in a country where the great tenure by which individual wealth is preserved and personal respect commanded, is official authority. Hence no Osmanli is contented, however great his wealth, without some civil function by which he can avert the overbearing disposition of his rivals. Indeed, so great is their ambition for supremacy, that wealth and everything else is but secondary in their estimation.

Therefore the only aristocracy in Turkey is that of wealth combined with position.

It is not generally merit that raises a man to power in any part of the world, but still less in Turkey. No matter what his previous avocations, or utter ignorance, it is supposed that when Allah, or his proxy, the Padishah, gives the office, that within the turban of distinction lie all the sense and wit needed for the post! Hence, what if the cobbler become the pasha, or the shop-boy Grand Vezir, Allah Kerim!

This a country where versatility of talent is very remarkable, if not great depth of genius; for one day a man may be head cook to his majesty, the next a captain pasha, or minister of finance! Thus are often realized the tales of the Arabian Nights, and the humblest subject may dream of greatness, and wake to find himself a Redjal, or grandee of the realm.

Indeed the only real statesmen and true patriots may be reduced to few individuals, all told, viz., Reshid, Aali, Fuad, Riza, Rifaat, and Omer Pashas.

Besides, those who have been long employed as servants of the palace, or have proved themselves cunning buffoons, or able intriguers, are rewarded by some official post instead of a royal pension, provided they are of the Faithful. For elevation to office is the privilege of the Mussulmans only, who, considering themselves lords of the soil, as they are the proprietors, are unwilling to consign their rights to their rayas, on the principle that “to the victors belong the spoils.”

The very existence of the rayas has rendered the Osmanlis proud and arrogant in their peculiar right as Mussulmans; and, though holding all high places themselves, they have been willing to call in the assistance of their subjects in secondary employments. The rayas thus employed, are, of course, but a small proportion of the whole; to all the rest life dwindles into a tinkering, jobbing affair.

This mushroom aristocracy, which was formerly ephemeral, like Jonas’ gourd, springing suddenly into existence, coming to maturity in an incredibly short space of time, then perishing ere the sun of its glory arrived at meridian height, has now, by virtue of the Tanzimat, which secures the enjoyment of life and property, attained a sort of permanency.

These officials being originally of the people, it may be supposed, would feel some sympathy for them; but the moment they come into power, they become an exclusive class. Because in Turkey the patriarchal idea that everything belongs to the sovereign, has led them to regard the government as not made for the people, but the people for the government; they think, therefore, that all advantages should accrue not to the governed but to the governing, thus reducing the mass into the state of individual nonentities, or mere conduits for the resources of the empire. The persons in authority seek, therefore, only the prosperity of the government, and constitute, as it were, a sort of fiscal administration, rather than one mindful of the good of the commonwealth. Hence, whenever a project of public utility is proposed, the first idea that crosses the mind of a Turkish functionary, is what direct advantage may accrue to the government? With such perverted ideas, the aristocracy, who are termed par excellence the Kibars, though few in numbers, are like leaven to the whole mass; domineering, exciting, and often corrupting the best materials; and as men are creatures of circumstances, their moral and temporal conditions are but the results of the good or bad government under which they live. The evils, corruptions, and miseries existing in a community, are not therefore to be attributed to the mass indiscriminately, but rather to the influences that surround them.

Baluk bashdan Kokar is a common proverb with the Osmanlis, or as is the fountain so will be the streams which flow from it; therefore a government which exercises its prerogatives to revenge, not to punish; to remove the offender, not to benefit others by making an example of him; to deal death-blows to all who stand in the way; to encourage self-aggrandizement rather than study the wants of the community; to prefer the intriguant before the patriot; to patronize the buffoon rather than the statesman; such a government cannot fail to stamp its sanguinary and arbitrary character upon its subjects.

A country where the insidious poison is ever at hand, and where the innocent and new-born infant who may endanger the heirs to the throne is forced to yield the life it has but just received; in such a land the same scenes will be enacted in its darkest corners, and the peasant will mimic the lord as far as he dares.

The selfish and corrupt principles of the government have naturally had their pernicious effects upon all its agents, and through them, upon the people.

The sultan is the great sun of the system—around whom the many lesser orbs revolve. While the pashas and dignitaries are themselves planets of no small lustre, attended by innumerable satellites of their own.

The grandee holds the cable of power upon which tremblingly cling a numerous train, from its summit to its lowest extremity—all sustained, as long as the rope is firm; all crushed, when it slips from the hand of its supporter.

Indiscriminate patronage being a principle, favoritism and corruption become of necessity a natural consequence. Indifferent men are therefore raised to places of trust, to perform duties which can never occupy their minds or engross their intellect, but the want of money is their first and their keenest necessity; for “N’est on que grand? On veut être riche. Est on et grand et riche? On veut être plus grand et plus riche.”

Thus all patriotism is subverted—and individual interest and position are made the sine quâ non of existence.

Before they were enervated by conquest and the possession of vast tributary states, which intoxicated them with sudden wealth, the Turks were brave in battle, faithful to their friends, and generous to their enemies. But being inured to war and excitement, peace and tranquillity only reduced them to a state of sloth and idleness, and inspired them with conceit and arrogance to all around them. Content with being the lords of the realm, ignorant and unfitted for the arts of peace, all their affairs were consigned to their rayas.

The titles of Vali, Pasha, Mussellim, etc., were enjoyed by them while their provinces and Pashaliks were either farmed out to subordinates or managed by their Armenian sarafs or bankers—who received and disbursed their incomes; so that the Osmanli grandee had nothing to do but lounge listlessly in his Keosk and puff his long chibouk—varying his life by occasional official visits to the Porte, or in the softer seclusion of his harem.

The enviable condition of indolence, and the desire to be surrounded with the trappings of wealth, created a rivalry among them, not to attain high and honorable posts as the champions of their country’s welfare, but to ensure the means of luxury and display—and to excel each other in supremacy.

Hence they have arrived at the acme of perfection in the arts of adulation, servility, deceit, and intrigue. Real virtue is of no avail, where successful vice only is admired, and the most insidious and faithless ever the favorites of fortune. Indeed, ingratitude is stamped upon their character, for an Osmanli raised to power, would turn the enemy even of his patron, should he dare to cross his schemes. This is so proverbial that they have a saying—Bir Osmanli bir piré itchin koss kodja yorgani yakar! an Osmanli would burn up an entire coverlet to rid himself of a single flea! or in other words, no consideration would deter him from any sacrifice that would promote his own interests—examples of which are of daily occurrence in their political machinations.

In such a malarious atmosphere, it would be supposed that every moral virtue would perish, and only noisome weeds choke the soil—but such is by no means the case. As the richest fruits and most fragrant flowers often grow from the very putrefactions that lie on the surface of the earth, so the people in Turkey, surrounded by such a depraved and corrupted court, are themselves often specimens of nature’s best handiwork.

The native honesty of the Turks is proverbial, and in illustration thereof the following story has been widely circulated.

An Englishman having landed a cargo of goods at one of the custom-houses in the East, was unwilling to leave them at the wharf unguarded; when he was told by the officer, that there was no need for apprehension, as there was not another Englishman within fifty miles!

Whatever may be the truth of this statement, it may be observed, that some of the Osmanlis of the present day have so far advanced in civilization as to even excel in this respect their present honorable Allies! For, the idea that to rob the treasury of the sultan is not defrauding the people, has led the officials into all the wiles of corruption and systematic cheating—so that cheating and bribery may be considered as the corner stones of this vast edifice.

In the purchase of government supplies there is a display of honesty on the part of the officials, and also of the European merchants, who endeavor to underbid each other in prices, which may be considered by an outsider as ruinous, but on the contrary, always proves profitable to the co-partners in the speculation.

On a certain occasion 780 pieces of cotton cloth were palmed off upon the government by a European merchant for 78,000 pieces! for which amount the Treasury gave a note.

Such instances are not of rare occurrence, nor confined only to officials—they pervade all classes. Hence the scullion cheats the cook; the cook the steward; the steward the master; the master the efendy; the efendy the pasha; and the pasha the sultan; and why not? Where the strife for aggrandizement and power is so great, and the battle not to the brave and good, but to the wealthy and intriguing, there is little or no inducement to honesty and good faith.

Russia seems to understand our people better than any other Europeans, owing perhaps to her natural proximity; also since “a fellow feeling makes us wond’rous kind,” she knew where to touch the sensitive Osmanlis, when she provided Prince Menschikoff, on his late mission to Constantinople, with a surplus fund of 300,000 Paul Imperials, or over a million of dollars!

It is not, however, only in Turkey that bribery and corruption prevail—even Europe, France and England, the very centres of civilization, have furnished sad examples of personal aggrandizement, under the garb of patriotism.

Nevertheless, it is eminently true, that those of the people who have retained their primitive simplicity are truly honest and confiding; while others have become contaminated by the corruption of the court, and the grasping spirit of European adventurers.

Many of the peasants remove to the metropolis, with the hope of bettering their condition. Some of them become hamals, or porters, Tellaks, or attendants of the baths; cayikjys, or boatmen, common laborers, venders in general, and others, domestics in private houses.

A certain Armenian, native of Van, immediately upon his arrival in Constantinople, was engaged as a scullion.

In course of time, he complained to his companions that he was not doing a good business on such a salary as he received, and he wondered at their apparent prosperity.

His simplicity was, of course, ridiculed at first, and through compassion, he was initiated into the tricks of the trade. He was told that he must always add to his account the customary Khamin of 20 or 30 per cent., a technical term, expressing overcharge, or cheating, not understood by novices.

So the next day, when this simple son of Armenia presented his account to his master, at the foot of the bill there was an item, which seemed not quite intelligible to him. He therefore called for an explanation; when the servant, in all his native simplicity, informed him that, that item was the Khamin, or the sum total of his cheating, which his companions assured him was customary, and allowed to all servants in their daily purchases! How fortunate and consoling it would be, if, instead of being drugged in small doses, we could thus be informed of the sum total of all the cheatings to which we are subjected!

The most unlimited confidence is stamped upon all their reciprocal transactions, and they intrust each other with any amount of goods, without demanding a receipt, check, or counter check. In the exercise of their avocation as hamals, they are often intrusted with bags of money untold; they are generally the watchmen or guardians to the stores and mercantile houses of the Franks, and in any deficiency or robbery, their character and integrity are never questioned or suspected.

The Osmanlis possess the domestic virtues of kindness and affection in a remarkable degree; their love of offspring is very great, and their patient endurance of the whims and caprices of their women quite exemplary.

Merhamet, or compassion, is an essential component in their character, and induces them to extend a most unlimited patronage even to the lower orders of creation. Hence the streets in Turkey swarm with dogs, the roofs of the houses with cats, and the domes of the mosques with venerated pigeons, which, one and all, are objects of special charity.

The thousands of cayiks that ply up and down the Bosphorus, acting as aquatic omnibuses, besides their designated load of passengers, make a point to carry one or more boys gratuitously, as an act of charity; and how astonished would they be at the cry of “cut behind,” which so often greets the ears of beggars in more eminent Christian lands, who mistaking wishes for horses might otherwise chance to ride.

Yet a Turk is a singular being, apparently composed of contrarieties, of savage traits, as well as domestic virtues, and this contrariety is to be attributed solely to his fanaticism. Social and humane until you touch his religious prejudices, when he becomes implacable.

It has been the interest of the clergy to nurture a fanatical conceit, by which the great principle of human nature, self-glorification, has well sustained, and the Mussulmans been led to consider themselves the very salt of the earth, and the rest of the human family as contemptible Giavours.

Hence they will not honor a Christian with the Mohammedan salutation, Selamin Aleküm, “Pax vobiscum,” nor will they observe any one in the company, until they have looked for a true believer, to whom, however humble he may be, is offered the Arabic, or orthodox salutation; and on the Christians present, however great in their own estimation, will afterwards be bestowed as their due, a simple Sabahlar-Hayr Olsoon, or good morning, in plain Turkish.

Though they have been subdued into a certain degree of external deference by the progress of civilization, yet in the exchange of social etiquettes, there is always a meaning slight cast upon their unbelieving friends, which is well understood and appreciated among themselves.

Even the humblest Mohammedan will appropriate to himself the best position in a public conveyance, or in any promiscuous assembly, considering himself as fully entitled to such privileges, by the simple guarantee of his faith, which elevates him above all humanity.

In the medical school, where some of the scholars belong to the families of the rayas, this Mussulman conceit is most evident, and even tolerated and encouraged by the government at the present day; for regardless of actual merit, it has hitherto been a principle with the faculty always to place a Mussulman boy at the head of the class!

It may be a matter of wonder to see such bigoted characters adopting the very garb of the contemptible giavours. But the change of costume was effected by the invincible Mahmoud, who, to liberate his people from the thraldom of the janissaries, and the superstitions of darker ages, feared neither priest or Koran, and at all hazards resolved to make a daring stride towards civilization and reform.

Therefore this change of costume was not effected through any relaxation of religious bigotry, but by the force of the supreme power of the sultan; and the Ulema themselves were obliged to compromise, by wearing a fez, with a simple turban around it, with some other slight modification of their flowing robes.

Reform in dress having become an essential principle of the government, those connected with the court and all public officers, were obliged to conform to the established style, and the young élégans of Stamboul now vie with the Parisian exquisites in their recherchées toilettes.

But beyond the circle of court etiquette and fashion, the artisans and peasants still preserve all the varieties of costumes identified with Orientalism.

Religious fanaticism in the East, is not confined to the Mussulmans alone. It seems to have a universal sway in this climate, pervading every community.

The Mussulman would feel callous at the sight of the decapitation of a Christian, and a Christian would experience a secret exultation at the death of a Mussulman.

Some years ago, I had the misfortune to meet with an accident; my carriage was lost in the Bosphorus, and my horse and hostler were drowned. Near the spot of this occurrence, there was a Greek coaster lying at anchor, and the sailors soon came to my call for assistance; but perceiving that the drowning man was dressed in Turkish costume, and taking him for a Mussulman, they instinctively exclaimed, Τουρκος εινε, Τουρκος εινε, he is a Turk, he is a Turk, left him to his sad fate. It was in vain that I proclaimed that he was a Greek and co-religionist of their own.

The Mussulman is fanatical, because he has thereby been goaded on to victory, and attributes all his successes to the banner of the Prophet—and the Christian is bigoted, because his religion is the only thing left him—his church is the cradle of his superstitions, and the badge of his nationality.

Even a Turk designates his nationality by his religion; for if you ask him, Of what nation are you? his answer will invariably be, El-hamd-ullah Mussulmanem, or Thank God I am a Mussulman.

Indeed, religion in the East is so pre-eminent, that a declaration of faith is equal to an allegiance of fealty, and the Mohammedan formula of La-Illah-Illallah, etc., is the only oath of naturalization, which, if once pronounced, fully entitles the individual to all the privileges and immunities of Turkish citizenship.

Neither is there a community of sentiment among the Christians themselves—who, all abhorring Islamism, hate none the less each other through their religious differences.

An Armenian, native of Angora—whose inhabitants are reputed for their religious bigotry—and a Roman Catholic by persuasion, had occasion to visit Trieste on some commercial business. On his arrival there, he was asked by the officer of the quarantine what nation he belonged to! His unsophistical and prompt answer was “Catholic.” The officer, somewhat puzzled at this novel nationality, reminded him that they were also all Catholics there, but called themselves Austrians or Italians—now, what is your nation? thereupon our worthy friend unflinchingly reiterated that he was a Catholic; nothing else but a Catholic; for they now had, through the interference of the French Ambassador, a Patriarch of their own, and were recognized as a nation! meaning a community.

If a Greek mendicant happen to call at your door, and you ask his co-religionist who it is, his answer will surely be Christianos or a Christian; but if the applicant for charity should chance to be of any other creed, his only title would be ztiyanos, or beggar.

Apart from the religious fanaticism, which is universal, the people, uncontaminated by a depraved and corrupted court—unlike the enervated and luxurious Osmanlis of the metropolis, are simple-minded, brave, robust, temperate, intelligent, active and industrious.

The Mussulmans formerly taught that apostasy should be punished with death; but now a new system of instruction, on this and other points, proceeding from supreme authority, is as readily received by the credulous multitude.

Their bravery has been attested by the late massacre of Sinope, when one and all preferred death to an ignominious surrender. The events of the recent war have established the fact, that there are no better soldiers than the Turks.

We have the testimony of a distinguished American who

“Stood

Among them, but not of them.”

He says that “we had an agreeable conversation with General Omar Pasha’s staff surgeon …. Among other things, he said the Turks had long been extremely anxious to unite with their Allies in a direct assault upon Sebastopol. I was somewhat surprised at this intimation, knowing their considerate nature, and general inclination to conservative views.” Yet, notwithstanding, they have been accused of cowardice for the desertion of the batteries daring the battle of Balaklava, which could not well have been avoided under the circumstances. The triumphs of Silistria, Tchetate and Kars, afford ample refutation of such calumnies.

The Orientals are strong and athletic men, capable of enduring the greatest bodily fatigue.

The hamals or porters, both Mussulman and Armenian, have been known to carry on their backs immense weights; and one of these Oriental Hercules has been seen carrying, on a wager, a load of no less than a thousand pounds to a distance of a quarter of a mile!

The heavier hardens are suspended from long poles, the number of which increases in proportion to the weight. And when the contents are of glassware, instead of being marked Fragile, a full size representation of a bottle is painted upon the package. The ends of these poles rest on the shoulders of the hamals, and they walk in a steady and measured soldier-like step. One of them once accidentally slipped and fell, and the end of the pole striking him on the chest, he became senseless. His companions raised him up, whilst one of their number stood back to back with the injured man, and locking his arms within those of his comrade, repeatedly raised him from the ground, thus expanding the chest, until he recovered his breath, when, to the astonishment of the bystanders, the man, after taking one or two long inspirations, smiling at the funny incident, shouldered his pole and marched on as if nothing had happened!

These very men live habitually on the simplest diet, consisting of the coarsest brown bread, in the middle of which they make a cavity, and fill it with equal proportions of olive oil and molasses, and it is really a pleasure to see them enjoy their simple meals with a relish that would kill all dyspepsia doctors from sheer envy.

The native intelligence of the people is evinced by their aptitude in acquiring the arts of civilized life; for after a residence of a couple of years in the metropolis, the rudest peasants become accomplished soldiers and skillful artisans.

The facility with which they have adapted themselves to the European style of music is very remarkable, and certainly implies much talent or cleverness.

Indeed, many of those who have risen to the higher ranks of society, evince no signs, in their general deportment, of plebeian origin, save the peculiar brogue of local rusticity.

Nothing is more erroneous and unjust than the idea that the Orientals are indolent or inactive.

The tabys or garçons of the Kahvés even excel their Parisian competitors in alertness and general ubiquity—serving scores of customers at once with coffee, chibouk, and narghillés.

The boatmen, who transport the pashas and others to their homes, after the adjourning of the Porte, and closing of the Bazaars, delight to compete with each other in speed, and linger on their course until they meet with an antagonist, when the race sometimes extends the whole length of the Bosphorus.

Their sports and national games, consisting of horsemanship, wrestling, chasing, cricket, etc, all tend to show their love of activity.

There is none of the bustle, or American go-a-headism, in the Oriental character and habits; none of that nervous excitement which has so much the air of great progress, too often, like the whirlwind among the natural elements, creating prodigies of human noise and commotion, which subside and leave no sign; or it may be, only havoc and destruction. In all the machineries of Eastern life, public or domestic, steady and quiet perseverance rules the motion, the oil of gentleness falling drop by drop upon the rolling wheels, suffices for the friction; while in the land of modern adventure, by increasing the pressure to a tremendous degree, the whole structure is often crushed to atoms. This giddy rushing to a certain point is too apt to wear out human energy, and most surely annihilates self-possession, which is the keystone to success. Leave then, we say, the Oriental sometimes to sit amid the fumes of his favorite chibouk; for while external things are beclouded, often a mighty scheme is in conception, and the sunshine of matured judgment suddenly bursts upon the dim atmosphere, in full power and glory, ready to fructify and yield all manner of increase.

The apparent idleness which some persons have attributed to the natives of this country, is more the effect of a spirit of resignation to external circumstances, than of a desire to be unemployed.

Taking for a basis the idea that the interest of the people is but secondary, and under the pretence of increasing the revenue of the country, and thus benefiting the state as it were, but with the secret hope of self-aggrandizement, all advantageous projects are seized upon by the officials; thus an effectual check is thrown upon all private and public enterprise.

The writer was the first to propose to the Turkish government the establishment of a railroad from the capital to Adrianople. Not succeeding in this, a line of post coaches was suggested, for which, after great exertion, a Firman was granted. But no sooner were the advantages of the project understood, than several persons in authority began to intrigue, until they succeeded in appropriating the Firman to themselves, which had been obtained at so much expense and toil by another.

But as usual, it proved to them more ruinous than profitable, because of the numerous contenders for the spoils.

No internal improvements are dreamt of, and no motive left for speculation, and as there is no mutual confidence between the government and the people, the formation of corporate companies, which require united action, is out of the question, or, if attempted, they are sure to fall through by official exactions. Thus, a country teeming with mines and minerals, is left unexplored, and all other internal resources lie dormant.

Some attempts have of late been made by the government at internal improvements, such as the post-road from Trebizond to Erzuroum; but the over-exertions of those intrusted with the work soon exhausted the appropriations, and the road was but half completed.

The coal mines at Heraclea have shared a similar fate. Indeed, no undertaking can be prosperous in the lands of the officials—and if any such privilege be granted to private individuals, it is invariably under the patronage of some grandee.

A permission was obtained from government by an individual to light the streets of Pera. In the course of six months the lamps were demolished by the citizens, because they were heavily taxed to fill the pockets of the speculator, without any advantage to themselves—the streets for the most part, being as dark as before.

All innovations are, therefore, in disrepute, not that they are not appreciated, but because they invariably prove to be mere schemes for individual advantage, and never pro bono publico.

Hence it is also that the streets, even in the metropolis, are ill paved, filthy, and not lighted—each person carrying his own lantern, and getting along as best he can.

Public enterprise being at so low an ebb, a spirit of indifference pervades the country and if you once pass the aristocracy, the actual necessities of the community are but few. They have no idea therefore of bettering their condition. If you offer them any new invention, they admire its ingenuity, and dryly tell you they have no need of it—consequently there is no need of patent rights for new inventions.

This indifference is not to be construed into a love of inactivity—but is rather the result of selfishness—each man’s interests being circumscribed by the sphere in which he moves. In case of any emergency they are most indefatigable and persevering. It needs only to cite the fact that Pera, one of the suburbs of the city, has, in the course of twenty years, been destroyed by fire four times, and entirely rebuilt by native industry. Indeed, inactivity is against the spirit of the country, for there, there are no Rentiers—but every one must have a calling—even the sultan is traditionally supposed to belong to the tooth-pick trade!

Since the abolition of capital and summary punishments and the monopolies, by the promulgation of of the Tanzimat, which was an attempt at reformation, not without some beneficial results, a new impulse has been given to the activity of the population. In a word, give but the necessary impetus, and as much genuine go-a-headism may be found in Turkey, as in Yankee-land itself.

With such a population, and so many internal resources, it may be deemed a matter of wonder that this empire should be in so ruinous a condition.

CHAPTER XL.

THE FUTURE OF TURKEY.

The survey that has been taken of the Turkish empire, political and social, will furnish the component parts of this wonderful structure of human power and religious fanaticism. Owing to the remarkable sway attained by the sword of the Prophet, the various ingredients mingled by the power of conquest, have all been brought together, like so many antagonistic elements, to be wrought into some degree of unity of spirit and purpose, and to be rendered subservient to one great potentate, absolute and despotic.

The dread power of the Turk, ravaging and blood-thirsty, has only of late years ceased to inspire terror to the world in general, and to hold in trembling awe the subjects over which it domineered. Suddenly the dark cloud of barbarism began to disperse from this vast clime of the Orient, as Mahmoud, seizing the torch of civilization, scattered the light of science and reform over the land.

Ever since his day, the struggling beams of knowledge and truth have been casting a mistlike glow over these dominions, sometimes almost bursting into a blaze of brightness, and again subsiding into the obscurity of olden times and religions bigotry.

The principles of progress, and the maintenance of ancient and long established usages were now at war; the former supported by the semi-enlighted portion of the people, and the latter by the formidable body of the ulema or the Mohammedan clergy.

The Rayas, or Christian subjects, hitherto quiescent and despairing, now saw the star of hope and comparative liberty in their horizon, and were ready to grasp at any straw of deliverance from the storms of oppression and tyranny. The mass is in commotion—Mussulman power trembles at the vision of the emancipation of its victims. Oppressed and suffering humanity even dares to utter one vast groan, and to raise a furtive glance towards the glorious temple of liberty, and the equality of man with man.

Mahmoud, the bold champion of his country, is surrounded by intrigues, both foreign and domestic, and becomes entangled in the web of turbulence and opposition, until his soul can endure no longer, and wings its flight from the terrible field of battle.

But the iron gates of barbarism had been unlocked; and even the extreme youth of the succeeding Sultan, Abd-ul-Medjid, bringing with him a sort of regency, could not refasten the heavy bolts.

Thus we find this empire only advancing in progress, the more wonderful since there has been comparatively so little reform in the actual government. Even the Sultan has abrogated his absolute and despotic sway; the once powerful viceroy still sits at his right hand, but no longer unfettered; and the various religious and civil functionaries, although the same as the creatures of yesterday, are themselves amenable to the tribunal of justice and reform, where the spirit of Mahmoud seems to linger as a reproving and condemning monitor.

The opposing influences to all innovations were strong; the very soil rank with bigotry, conceit, and prejudice, and the powers in actual possession of the commonwealth self-willed and cunning. Hitherto a comparative isolation had created natural walls, within which despotism had its unmitigated sway. But as distance became annihilated throughout the world’s dominions, as oceans dwindled into lakes, rivers into little rills, and broad acres into mere pleasure gardens, before the mighty achievements of modern invention, all natural barriers disappeared.

As in ancient times the walls of the great city of Jericho fell at the blast of the trumpets of Joshua, no sooner did the echoes of the shrill whistle of the mighty steamship reverberate along the shores and among the seven hills of Stamboul, than were annihilated the frontiers of a barbarous and spiritual despotism, in the stronghold of the Mussulmans. Civilization from Europe was no longer stayed, but boldly stepped into this natural garden of the world. To stem the current would be to perish in an overwhelming vortex; and the very government was obliged to conform, to compromise, and to make treaties of peace with this new element, social and political progress.

Not only in Turkey, but universally, the spirit of domination has been pre-eminent, until the march of human improvement awakened the community to a sense of their own power and individual rights. Thus the elements of democracy have been arrayed in opposition to the oppressions of despotism, threatening its utter annihilation, and forcing the ruling powers to terms of capitulation. The Reformation checked the authority of the Pope, a charter was granted to the English, and their colonies in America soon grew to a great and independent state.

Though the European states cannot boast of that degree of independence they have ofttimes struggled for, yet their rulers and potentates have ever been, and are still, forced to don the mantle of Liberty, and maintain the guise of Justice in their various administrations; thus proving the supremacy of the spirit of democracy.

But despotism, fostered in the bosom of the little dukedom of Moscow, has maintained its unbroken sway, and spread over the vast territories now known as the Russian dominions.

It has engulphed Finland, Crimea, Poland, Bessarabia, Circassia, Georgia and many other provinces, and by its continued and systematic encroachments upon Turkey, even threatened to overwhelm Europe itself. Local circumstances have combined to favor her designs, and render her aggressions successful.

The remarkable spirit of Mohammedan fanaticism led the Turks on to conquest. The neighboring countries were all subjugated, until the thirst for war enticed them into Europe, where victory still followed their banner. But the very nations that they conquered, many of whom were induced, by force or otherwise, to make their abode in the Turkish dominions, tended by degrees to undermine their power. With them came various religions and creeds, conflicting with each other, and creating the bitterest animosities. Apart from this, the vast extent of their territories, without any of the modern facilities of intercourse, rendered the empire unmanageable by an unenlightened and barbarous government. The army was numerous and powerful, but turbulent and refractory, usurping the power of governing to themselves, as attests the well known history of the Janissaries, who could only be subdued by the bold daring of the illustrious Mahmoud. A new army was organized, on European principles, and various civil reforms attempted, but without any beneficial result; for the neighboring nations, especially the formidable power of Russia, the inveterate enemy of Turkey, were anxiously regarding the waning decline of Ottoman supremacy.

Russia, who never missed an opportunity to expedite the rain of this rival empire, has at various times waged war upon the most trifling pretexts. Upon the termination of the Greek insurrection, and immediately after the destruction of the Janissaries, a most aggressive and iniquitous war was commenced, in which the European powers acted as sleeping partners. The Albanian, Servian, Egyptian and Kürdish rebellions were each successively instigated by Russian and Austrian emissaries, or secret agents, until the whole country became the arena of party intrigue, and the direst confusion, thus realizing the plans of its enemy, and rendering it an easy prey to Moscovite cunning.

To Europe, now awakened to a sense of her own impending danger, the division of Turkey seemed the only alternative, since that empire showed evident symptoms of decay and inability to resist so powerful an enemy as Russia.

Reshid Pasha, one of the ablest and oldest statesmen and a true patriot, was at this time in Europe as representative of the Porte. On hearing of this proposed division of his country, he hastened home to offer his counsels to the young sultan who had just ascended the throne. By his representations and suggestions, his majesty was induced to issue a proclamation called the Tanzimat, or reformation, by which it was hoped that the country would be regenerated, and the world convinced that Turkey could maintain itself.

THE TANZIMAT.

Translated from the Turkish.

In the former days of the Ottoman empire, as every one knows, the glorious precepts of the Koran and the laws of the monarchy were universally observed; and consequently the empire increased both in power and size, and all subjects, without exception, attained the highest degree of ease and prosperity. For one hundred and fifty years a succession of accidents and of divers causes have put an end to this obedience to the sacred code of the laws, and to the rules which spring from it, and our former power and prosperity have been changed into weakness and poverty; for an empire loses all stability when the laws cease to be observed.

These considerations are constantly present to our mind, and from the day of our accession to the throne, the idea of the public welfare, the amelioration of the state of the provinces, and condolence with the people, have been its sole occupations. Now, when we consider the geographical position of the Ottoman empire, the fertility of the soil, the aptitude and intelligence of the inhabitants, we are convinced that by applying ourselves to discover suitable means, the result, which by the aid of God we hope to attain, may be obtained in the space of a few years. Thus, then, full of confidence in the Most High, and relying upon the intercession of our Prophet, we have judged proper to seek by new institutions to procure for the provinces composing the Ottoman empire the benefit of a good administration.

These institutions must bear principally upon three points, to wit; 1st. The pledges which insure to our subjects a perfect security of life, honor and fortune. 2d. A regular mode of assessing and levying the taxes. 3d. A mode equally regular, for the levy of soldiers, and the duration of the service.

And are not life and honor truly the most precious goods which exist? What man, however base his situation, if his character adapt him for violence, could be prevented from having recourse to it, and thus doing injury to his government and the country, if his life and honor are endangered? If, on the contrary, he enjoys, in this respect, a perfect security, he will not wander from the paths of loyalty, and all his acts will concur to the prosperity of the government, and of his brethren. If his fortune be not secured to him, each remains cold to the voice of the prince and the country; no one is occupied with the progress of public fortune, absorbed as every one must be in his own inquietudes. But if, on the other hand, the citizen possess in confidence his property of every kind, then full of ardor in his business, the circle of which he seeks to enlarge in order to extend that of his pleasure, he finds each day redoubled in his heart the love of his prince and country, and devotion to her cause; these sentiments become in him the source of the most praiseworthy actions.

As to the regular assessment and establishment of the taxes, it is very important that this matter should be regulated, for the State that is driven to various expenses for the defense of its territory, can procure the money necessary for its armies and other services only by the contributions levied upon the subjects. Although, thanks be to God, those of our empire have for some time been delivered from the scourge of monopolies, improperly regarded in former times as a source of revenue, an injurious custom still exists, and which cannot but have disastrous consequences, I mean that practice of venal concession known as the Iltizam. By this system the civil and financial administration of a locality is delivered to the arbitration of a single man, and sometimes to the iron hand of the most violent and base passions, for if this farmer of the revenue be not good, he will only have regard to his own advantage.

It is requisite, then, that this time forward each individual of the Ottoman society be taxed his quota of his established impost, in the ratio of his fortune and possessions, and nothing farther can be required of him. Special laws too must fix and limit the expenses of our armies by sea and land.

Although, as we have said, the defense of our common country is an important matter, and although it is the duty of all the inhabitants to furnish soldiers to that effect; laws must now be established to regulate the proportion that each locality shall furnish upon the necessity of the moment, and to reduce to four or five years the term of military service. For it is both acting unjustly, and giving a death blow to agriculture and industry, to take, without regard to the respective population of the districts, from one more, and from another fewer, than they can supply; while it reduces the soldiers to despair, and contributes to the depopulation of the country to retain them all their life-time in the service.

To resume, without these different laws, the necessity for which we have just seen, the empire can possess neither power, riches, happiness nor tranquillity; while all these blessings may be obtained from the existence of the new laws. Therefore, from this time forward the cause of every accused will be publicly judged conformably to our own divine law, after thorough inquest and examination, and so long as the regular judgment is not interrupted, no one will be able in secret, or in public, to put another to death by poison, or any other punishment.

No one will be permitted to attaint the honor of another. Each individual will possess his property, of every kind, and will dispose of it with the most entire liberty, without the opposition of any one; thus, for example, the property of a criminal shall not be confiscated to his innocent heirs.

These imperial concessions, extending to all our subjects, of whatever religion or sect they may be, shall by them be enjoyed without exception. A perfect security is thus granted by us to the inhabitants of the empire in their lives, honor, and fortunes, as the sacred text of our law demands.

Upon all other points, as they must be regulated by the agreement of enlightened opinion, our Council of Justice (augmented by new members when it shall be necessary), to which will be joined, on certain days by us appointed, our Ministers and the Notables of the Empire, will assemble for the purpose of establishing regular laws, for the security of life and fortune, and the imposition of taxes. In these assemblies each man will freely express his ideas and give his opinion.

The laws for the regulation of the military service will be fixed by the military council, to hold its sessions at the Palace of the Seraskier.

As soon as a law is fixed to be forever available and executory, it shall be presented to us, and we will give it our sanction, which we shall write at the head with our own imperial hand.

As the present institutions have for their aim but the establishment of religion, government, the nation and the empire, we pledge ourselves to do nothing contrary to them. In pledge of our promise we will, after having placed them in the hall in which is kept the glorious mantle of our Prophet, in presence of all the ulema and grandees of the empire, make oath by the name of God, and afterwards the ulema and grandees shall also swear. And if, after this, any one among the ulema, or grandees of the empire, or any other person whatsoever, shall violate these institutions, he shall undergo, without regard to rank, consideration, or credit, the penalty annexed to his well-proved crime. To this effect a penal code will be re-enacted.

As all the functionaries of the empire at the present day receive suitable salaries, and as the appointments of those, whose duties are not sufficiently well remunerated as yet, will be regulated, a vigorous law will be enacted against the traffic of favor and of charges (richvet), which is reproved by the divine law, and which is one of the principal causes of the decadence of the empire.

These dispositions, above stated, being an alteration, and a complete renovation from the ancient usages, this imperial edict will be published at Constantinople, and in all the other cities of our empire, and will be communicated officially to all the Ambassadors of friendly powers residing at Constantinople, that they may be witnesses of the alteration in our institutions, which, if it please God, shall ever endure.

To this may God have us all in his holy and worthy keeping.

May those who are guilty of an act contrary to the present institutions, be the object of divine malediction, and be forever deprived of every kind of happiness.

---

This document, which is an official acknowledgment of the existing evils and corruptions, was read at Gül-hané, on the 3d of November, 1839, with the greatest solemnity, before a vast concourse of people, and in the presence of the foreign representatives.

In order to commemorate the occasion, and enforce these new principles, it was proposed to erect a magnificent public monument, the plans and designs of which were confided to the writer; but before the foundations could be laid, a complete

“Change came o’er the spirit of their dreams.”

The great Napoleon has wisely pronounced that “Constantinople is the key to all Europe, and designed to be the capital of the world.” Turkey may, therefore, be divided and subdivided, but Constantinople, the great bone of contention, being indivisible, the partition of Turkey becomes an impossibility, and political equilibrium will not permit any one power to usurp its possession.

It was fortunate that it fell accidentally into the hands of the Turks, who were incapable of availing themselves of its advantages; and for the same reason it is desirable they should retain it. Hence the maintenance, or diplomatically speaking, the integrity of Turkey became an essential element in the polity of Europe.

The proclamation of the above Hatti Sherif, or Royal Edict, was therefore hailed with general satisfaction by the European states, and hopes were awakened that the impending danger would be averted by such an entire change in the administrative government.

But the Turks of the ancien régime, perceiving no threatening attitude in their European neighbors, and highly offended at the ultra-liberal measures of the reform party, who even dared to insult their Mussulman prejudices, and coolly inform them that “the council chamber was not a theological school for the discussion of religious polemics, nor convertible into a mosque,” resolved to resist to the utmost, and re-establish their own party. They, therefore, in a body, protested to the sultan, who, in such a dilemma, could do nothing but dismiss the actual ministry, and organize a new one.

Rendered bold by success, the new ministry, at whose head was placed Riza Pasha, soon began to adopt fanatical measures, whereby to modify the Tanzimat, which it did not suit their policy to nullify altogether; for, by it additional security of life and property was granted even to themselves.

Besides, the lords of the realm, who only existed by the “cohesive power of public plunder,” foresaw that the Tanzimat secured equality of civil and political rights to the Christians, especially to the Armenians, who, being better educated and more enlightened than they themselves were, and in fact the ruling spirits, would soon have preceded them in all the departments, and taken the lead in the control of the country.

Schemes of oppression were formed to deprive the Rayas of their newly acquired privileges. Even the external semblance of equality was no longer tolerated. To distinguish them from the true followers of the Prophet, their dress being the same, an order was issued, that the giavours should wear a certain mark on their fesses, a piece of black tape. Even the grandees of the Christian community were stigmatized by a mock badge of honor, made of gold, to be also worn on the side of the fess. They carried their fanaticism so far as even to defy Europe in the decapitation of Ovagim, an Armenian apostate, who had abjured Mohammedanism.

Though his life was promised to Lord Stratford, no sooner had the secretary of legation, Mr. Alison, left the Porte, than the unfortunate victim was led forth and beheaded. Whatever may have been the cause of the sudden reversal of their merciful intentions, it is well known that Prince Handgery, the Russian Dragoman, was also at the Porte, and did not leave until the consummation of the sentence. His body was exposed in the streets of Constantinople at Baluk-Bazaar, the head placed between his legs, as was customary, with the European cap which he wore, upon it, as an extra insult to all Europe.

The bodies of state criminals were formerly exposed in public for three days, but the weather being at this time excessively warm, the late Sheikh-ul-Islam was advised that injurious effects might result from such a long exposure; who sagely remarked, that “the fact was indeed so, but the sad results would be still more palpably felt three years hence.” Strange to say the prediction has been fully verified by recent events.

Thus Mussulman fanaticism brought on a retrograde movement, and threatened the entire ruin of the country; and the rapacious and ambitious dispositions of those who lived on the fat of the land, by degrees so consumed its vitality that it justly merited the cognomen of the SICK-MAN.

The Eagle and the Vulture were hovering over the expiring empire, and Humanity and Civilization demanded that it should be watched over, with the hope either of prolonging its existence, or at least of giving it a decent burial.

Russia and Austria, who thought that the propitious moment had arrived to pounce upon their victim, resolved to accomplish their own plans by one sudden and effective coup-de-main, as the insulting conduct and threatening attitude of their respective emissaries fully demonstrated.

But their expectations were not to be realized; for, notwithstanding the corrupt character of those in power, the spirit of regeneration was not wholly extinct in the country. The liberal party, some of whom had retired from public life in disgust, and others, who, giving up all hope of reform, had abandoned their favorite project, and joined the powers that be, in such an emergency, like true patriots, whose moral influence had been silently exerted over the people, came to the rescue; resisting every form of bribery and fearless of menaces, they boldly took up the gauntlet, and war was declared.

The interests of Europe being involved in the fate of Turkey, “foreign interference” became inevitable. Fortunate it is not only for Turkey, but for Europe in general, that this event happened at a time when such interference was available, otherwise Turkey, like Poland, would have been ingulphed by Russia and Austria. The result is known to the world.

Although the battle has been fought, the Russian bear been driven to his den, and the congress of nations at Paris has adopted the Osmanlis into their fraternity, still the “Eastern question,” or the maintenance of Turkey, as a barrier between Russian despotism and European liberty, is far from being settled. For the problem is not solved, in as much as the ways and means for the future permanence of this empire are not proclaimed to the world.

Turkey is apparently secured from Russian animosities, but unless the country be set on a new basis, and rendered capable of maintaining itself, the future of Turkey will inevitably be only a repetition of the past, if not indeed far worse.

This difficult subject will, no doubt, engross the wisdom of Europe, but the present is the moment to be seized, while the indebtedness of the Osmanlis to their allies is fresh in their memories, and the gates of their vast empire stand open to civilization and reform.

Will the Allies again content themselves with mere scrolls, parchments, and state papers like the Tanzimat of 1839? Shall the patriots of the state again be left subject to the sway of a conceited bigotry and blind fanaticism? In a word, shall the country be permitted to feed upon its own vitals until it consumes itself?

The time has arrived when fictitious progress can no longer be tolerated, and a wholesome reaction most take place.

Turkey and its inhabitants have suffered not only from external aggressions, but internal discord has maintained an empire of misrule.

Religious animosity and party spirit have reigned supreme. Greeks and Christians hating each other, Christians denouncing Christians, and the Grand Mufti pouring out the anathemas of the Prophet upon the whole host of giavours. Whence then, in such a population, can any unity of feeling or of action spring? Amor patriæ, philanthropy, progress are all merged in sectarianism and the rage for religious supremacy. Hitherto, Mohammedanism filling the places of authority, and possessing the only permanent foothold upon the territory itself, has left the Christian population without incentive to competition of any sort. Even in the earliest conflicts of Mohammedanism, three proposals were always made to those whose territories were invaded—to join the standard of the Prophet; to adhere to their own religious tenets as tributaries; or the trial by combat; thus evincing a wonderful spirit of liberality in a conquering power, whether the antagonism was that of conquest or propagandism.

Religious toleration was only a wise policy of the Ottoman government, for as long as the rayas were of various creeds and conflicting with each other, the Mussulmans were in no danger. As in union is strength, so in the disunion of the subjects was the safety of the rulers. The rayas, as has been said, losing their own nationality in their condition of servitude, clung to the tenets of their respective creeds, and knew no country, no nationality but that of religion. In Turkey all classes of Christians and Jews have always had freedom of religions worship with the free exercise of their peculiar rites and observances, public and private.

The proof may daily be witnessed in their funeral processions with torches, crosses, and chanting priests, preceded by kavasses or police officers, as the pages of the “Missionary Herald of the American Board for Foreign Missions” amply testify. Besides it is a well known fact that all the Christian churches are privileged to hold vakufs of their own, on the same footing as those of the mosques; the very existence of so many differing creeds, and their constant free discussions, is proof of a great degree of religious toleration.

Even the recent war was the result of this tolerance; for it is well known that the original matter of debate was whether Russia or France, or, in other words, whether the Greek church or the Catholic should control the holy places of Jerusalem!

These holy places not only are in the dominions of the Sultan, but are the objects of religious veneration to the Mussulmans themselves, who reverently style them Coods-u-Sherif, or Holy Jerusalem; yet with a remarkable spirit of conciliation, their jurisdiction was conceded to the Christians.

Travellers who have chanced to be in Jerusalem during the festivities of Easter, may remember, that when the Christians are quarrelling and contending with each other, the Mussulmans are forced to interfere to keep peace and tranquillity!

It is true that the Ottoman government has frequently refused permission to the Christians to erect or repair churches, etc. This, however, is not from a spirit of intolerance, for it soon was understood that a liberal sum might be obtained for these privileges, and the officials could not resist such occasions for increasing their revenues. The same advantage is taken of the party intrigues, at the time of the election of the new patriarchs of the Armenians and Greeks.

In the days of ignorance, this election cost the Armenians 40,000 piasters, but years of experience have raised the value of the Sultan’s sanction to 200,000 piasters, and the Greeks, amongst whom party strife is far greater, pay between two and three millions for the installation of their spiritual head.

Hence it is evident that religious toleration is a principle of the government, and the contrary an incidental abuse for the advantage of those in power. This very abuse has had its origin among the Christians themselves, who were ready to bribe the ruling power to any amount, in order to gain their own ends.

Nevertheless, Russia has endeavored to mislead the whole world, and especially the Christian population of Turkey, with the plausible pretence of a “Guarantee of Liberty of Worship to all classes of Christians in Turkey;” while her conduct at home belies her sincerity.

The cross upon the Armenian church at Odessa was, not long ago, removed by order of the government, lest the population should be misled by the impression that the edifice belonged to the established church. And in the case of intermarriage, the law orders that the children should invariably be educated in the Russian faith.

The adage “nearer the church, farther from God,” is peculiarly applicable to Russia; for we are told by Gibbon, that long before the Turks were in Constantinople, the Russians made several attempts to capture this fated city, and were only driven away by the flood discharged from the batteries. Were the Greeks of that time Mohammedans, or was there any suffering Christianity, that these philanthropic Muscovites were impelled to come to the rescue of the Christian faith?

There are some strange records in history which conflict materially with political hypocrisy! The fact is, under the pretence of being the champion of the Cross, the real object of Russia has ever been to avail herself of the existing religious fanaticism of the East, and by fanning the flames of Christian ardor, to institute a crusade of the nineteenth century!

Nations are not, however, governed by sympathy, but by interest, and the Christians have had too bitter experience of Russian protection to be again caught in the same net.

The Armenians of Erzuroum were induced to emigrate into the Russian land of Canaan, which, they were assured, flowed with milk and honey; but when they drank these honeyed waters, they found them only wormwood and gall, and all who could, eagerly burst their fetters, and returned to Turkey, preferring Moslem oppression to Moscovite despotism and systematic serfdom.

The Greeks, who were so clamorous against the Turks, when they succeeded in obtaining their independence, by raising the standard of the Cross against the Crescent of the Prophet, showed very little preference for the Hellenic government, since after a while they returned by thousands into Turkey!

The effect of Turkish policy has been such, that there is a prevalent desire among the Rayas to escape from their allegiance to such a government, and place themselves under foreign protection, not from any fear of religious intolerance whatever, but merely to obtain comparative liberty and justice. Indeed, what incentive have the people in general, either Turks or Rayas, to patriotism, or what care they for national prosperity, when they are forced to regard themselves as mere tenants of their own houses and lands?

Missak, the late Armenian banker, did not escape into Russia from any fear of religious oppression, but to avoid the vindictive persecutions of the Minister of Finance.

It is not, then, religious freedom that the Christians of Turkey require, but political franchise and unbiased justice.

The past has sadly proved that the Mohammedans are incapable even of self government, or at best, Mohammedan domination has had a demoralizing tendency over half, if not the entire population.

Is the country, then to be ruled by the other half of the inhabitants viz., the Christian population?

This is another impossibility; for this population is like a house divided against itself, and besides their incapacity in other respects, they, having so long felt the bitterest animosity towards their Mussulman masters, would in their turn become even greater oppressors than the Mohammedans themselves, as was evinced by the conduct of the Armenians of Erzuroum during the last war with Russia.

The “Eastern question” is not, however, one of propagandism, either of Christianity or of Mohammedanism, but demands, while granting perfect liberty of conscience to all classes, how political and civil equality may be maintained throughout the Ottoman dominions. Fusion, then, is the only policy that can resuscitate the Turkish Empire.

The Tanzimat was the beginning of a reform, but there were no coercive measures put into play, to overthrow the power of ancient usages, so that the proclamation soon became almost a dead letter. The blind bigotry of the people and the absolute power of the heads of government, imbued as they are with a spirit of favoritism and corruption, have hitherto excluded the unfortunate subjects of the sultan from the justice and protection which are the sacred rights of every son of Adam. There has been no security for property nor any inducement to honesty in Turkey.

A man has, under the existing laws, every temptation to injure his neighbor to any extent, and the innocent have no other means of protecting themselves and their interests, than by resorting to counter dishonesty. For instance, if a man is unjustly accused of a debt of one hundred dollars, it would naturally be inferred that he would at once deny the accusation, and call for proof. But such an honest procedure would not answer in the Turkish courts of justice, for it would immediately give the plaintiff the desired privilege of producing two hired witnesses, by whose testimony the defendant would, beyond a doubt, be condemned to pay the pretended debt.

The only alternative, in such instances, is to verify the principle “set a rogue to catch a rogue” by acknowledging the debt, at the same time declaring that it has already been paid; thus the accuser is deprived of the privilege of suborning witnesses, and the defendant avails himself of that prerogative.

Therefore the moral sense of the community is corrupted, and self-preservation impels the people only to strive to excel each other in roguery. In such a poisoned atmosphere, no salutary influence can be exercised until the axe is laid at the root of the evil. In order, then, to give a fresh stamina to this fading empire—

1. A new and complete code of justice is needed, consistent with progressive civilization, and suited to the necessities of these heterogeneous peoples.

2. To overthrow the sceptre of oppressive bigotry, the next thing to be effected is an entire separation of church and state, so as to prevent the interference of the ulema in the administration of justice. Thus also the aristocracy of religion being abolished, the animosity existing between the Moslems and Christians will be annihilated, and the hitherto excluded portion of the subjects of the sultan acknowledged as members of the great Ottoman family.

The identity of religious faith and nationality long swayed even the European states, but in those countries, this idea is now obsolete, and must of necessity become so in Turkey, since she has entered their confederacy.

3. A mixed administration must be formed, composed of representatives of the different communities, and Mussulman supremacy no longer tolerated. The mutual benefit of this combination is evident; for while the Christians, in sharing the supreme power, would lose their former incentives to cunning and self-interest, the Mussulmans, on their part, would make rapid strides in the true science of government.

The tenure by which this mutual authority is to be held, must be supported and confirmed by a superior tribunal, as it were, consisting of the powers of Europe, who, having constituted themselves the champions of Turkey, and shed their blood in her defense, are entitled to become the guardians of her interests, which are, henceforth, so identified with their own.

4. The resources of the country must be developed, and a system of internal improvements established, by which the ruinous principle of centralization will be counteracted, and the beneficial effects of this regeneration felt in the uttermost corners of the land.

A general and accurate survey of the country is indispensable, defining the exact boundaries of both public and private lands, and the idea that the natural treasures of the soil, belonging to individuals, appertain to the government, must be abandoned. Hitherto much of the wealth of the country has lain dormant, because there was no incentive to exploration of any sort.

5. The Vakuf system must be abolished, and the accumulated wealth devoted to internal improvements, thus depriving the Ulema of their great arm of power. It is true, the government has in some measure controlled these revenues, and established a Bureau of all the Vakufs, called Evkaf, but it has never dared to appropriate, or to touch any portion of this income for its own purposes.

6. Equal taxation should be levied on property, and the tariff equitably regulated.

7. A limited free press must be established as the only means of bringing into publicity the corruptions and abuses to which the officials have hitherto been addicted.

These are the most apparent means of the preservation and regeneration of Turkey.

Broad principles may be laid as the foundation, but the edifice is to be raised and the master builders must not desert their work. For, unless these salutary reforms are accomplished by the aid and influence of the European Powers, there is no hope of the preservation of Turkey, nor is there any security for the peace of all Europe and the world in general.

The only question is, Can these reformations be effected in Turkey?

The nature of the Mohammedan religion is not essentially in opposition to reform. Modern times have proved the Koran of a more elastic nature than was once supposed, as was exemplified in the establishment of quarantine regulations; when it was pretended, that it was blasphemous to interfere with the decrees of Allah to protect human life; but as it was proved that the Koran allowed self-protection, the measure was sanctioned by the expounders of that sacred book, and accepted by the Mussulmans.

Apostasy from Islamism was formerly punished with death; but when Lord Stratford de Redcliffe interfered in behalf of humanity in the case of poor Ovagim, who was beheaded in 1843, the Koran was found to be on his side. The same lenity was manifested by the Mohammedans of Hindoostan, only a few months ago, towards an apostate, on the plea that the country was now under British jurisdiction. The reason is, that the principles of Islamism are so very simple that they can be adapted to any degree of modification and reform, especially under the pressure of circumstances—besides, necessity knows no law, not even the Koran itself.

But it may be said that the government thus remodelled will no longer be Turkish or Mohammedan.

Surely the aim of the friends of this falling empire is not to re-instate a decaying faith, but to enable the Turks and all the inhabitants of the land, to gird up their strength and stand before the world a united and powerful people, freed from bigotry and superstition, a great Ottoman nation.

Turkey has been admitted into the fraternity of Europe; not as a Mohammedan power, but as one of the powers that rule the earth’s domains.

The sultan has a voice among the potentates of his times—not the voice of Mohammed the Prophet, but of the civilized and regenerated friend of his own people and the world in general.

A new era has dawned upon Mohammedanism; for, if the Christian world has for the first time received into its confederation an anti-Christian empire, the Mohammedans, by entering such a confederation, have also for the first time placed themselves on an equality with the former Giavours, whom the precepts of the Koran have proscribed, and doomed to the sword of the Faithful. Here then is a bold stride beyond the confines of a faith only suited to barbaric days, and well calculated to sway the minds of a superstitious multitude on to conquest. As consanguinity with civilization is strengthened, who can trace the pathway of the Mussulman nation through the world’s history!

The genius of the country and the condition of the people are not in opposition to the progress of reform.

The past history of this nation has been the progress of Mohammedanism—its conquests and its laws. As Moses was both the spiritual and temporal law-giver to the Jews, so has Mohammed been to the Turkomans. Such laws suited the exigencies of the times; but the sword is sheathed, and in its sheath too, must abide the darkness and barbarity of past ages.

Besides Mohammedanism in Turkey is not the same as in Arabia or Bokhara, where Imams and priests predominate. The Turkomans had, previous to embracing Islamism, a civil government of their own; and in making the Koran the rule of faith and conduct, they never lost the idea of Sovereignty independent of Religion. Hence the Turkish has never been like the Papal government, where cardinals and bishops represent all the departments of the pontifical state. The very existence of two distinct representatives of the Sultan, the Grand Vezir and the Sheikh-ul-Islam, are evidences of a separation of church and state. If the ecclesiastical has hitherto superseded the civil power, it has been through the superstitions of the people, and the chicanery of the officials.

The only real union is in the person of the Sultan, who is the proxy of Allah, and the supreme Ruler of his people. His will and his edicts are regarded by them with superstitious reverence.

The natural relations of this empire with the rest of the world, as well as its new ties of consanguinity with civilization, must, of necessity, bring about a revolution of policy as well as of action.

His majesty has already introduced many measures of reform—such as the abolishing of capital punishment—the promulgation of a new constitution, with the privilege of free deliberation in the national councils, etc.; and besides all these, he has already commenced, even in his own person and household, a renovation, which is, in reality, only a conformation to the habits of civilized life. He has become himself a salaried executive, diminished his own retinue, etc.

The Sultan well understands the imitative nature of his own people, and is aware that he is the model to the Grand Vezir and the various Pashas, who, in their turn, are the channels of his majesty’s own movements to the rest of their fellow citizens. Constantinople is the city where the game is played by high and low, “So does the Grand Mufti.”

Indeed, the very monkeys of India cannot excel them in their disposition to imitate each other. For, it is said that a merchant once carrying a large bale of fesses, or red caps on a speculation, opened his goods on the way, with the view to examine them; and taking one out and putting it upon his head laid down to repose a while under a tree. What was his astonishment on waking, to find his stock of caps had taken wings. He looked around in dismay, but happening to cast his eyes upwards, he beheld a whole colony of monkeys each sporting one of his caps! It seemed a hopeless case to catch each one of them and force him to surrender the cap. In his anger and bewilderment he seized his cap and in a passion threw it to the ground; when the whole tribe of these mimicking creatures of the grove, instinctively, with the same vehemence, divested themselves of their head-gear!

In imitation of Sultan, Pashas, and Efendi, the people in the East have already doffed their robes and turbans; and are ready for other reforms, if derived from the same honored projectors; crosses now adorn the breasts of statesmen, and his majesty, the Sultan, displays on his person the insignia of the garter. Indeed much good may be anticipated from the liberal sentiments and benevolent dispositions of the Sultan, were he but rightly advised and sustained in the exercise of his absolute power; with the requisite protection against inimical intrigues and aggressions, both foreign and domestic.

Besides, the government itself is already divided into two parties, the liberal, who are ready to throw off the yoke of ancient prejudices, and the church party, who not only with a blind zeal, but with hopes of self-aggrandizement, are resolved to maintain the rule of superstition. Now as the advancement, the maintenance of the country is dependent on the one, its retrogradation and downfall involved in the other, so Europe necessarily holds out its strong arm to the one, and leaves the other not only unsupported but threatened. The wisest of the Turkish statesmen are therefore prepared for changes; indeed, they feel themselves bound to certain compromises with their friends the Allied Powers, who engaged in the war, as they well know, not with the view to reinstate Mussulman oppression and bigoted misrule, but to set the country on a new footing—by raising the Christian population to a level with the Mussulman. Considering the almost equal proportion of the Christians to the Mohammedans, it is but just, there should at least be an equality of national rights and privileges. For in civilized countries, even a MINORITY is protected and their rights respected; how much more then should this be the case where there is not only no disproportion in numbers—but decided superiority in civilization.

Besides, should the Mohammedans resist the required concessions—the great Christian population of Turkey is ready to join their western co-religionists in any movement. Therefore it is only a wise policy in the Mohammedans, making a virtue of necessity, to submit to circumstances, rather than by opposing, to work their own ruin.

The great essential is a community of interest, which has already, in some cases, produced a legitimate action. The corps of firemen is composed of both Mussulmans and Christians, who not only unite in a common effort for mutual good, but call each other brothers, carouse together, shed their blood in each other’s defense, and never seem to remember their characteristic dissimilarities.

There is already an indisposedness towards the tenacity of religious fanaticism, which is so hostile to moral and social progress. Many of the distinguished men of Turkey having resided abroad, and acquired foreign languages, have imbibed a taste for the literature of Europe. A familiarity with the works of such authors as Voltaire, Volney, and Rousseau, has made many of them free-thinkers. Indeed, most of the younger members of the Porte are men of liberal sentiments.

They pay external deference to the religion of the state rather from motives of self-interest than from any moral conviction.

Nevertheless, some of these very men, so long habituated to power and the spoils of office, may, under the guise of religious enthusiasm, become the instigators of opposition through the superstitions of the multitude.

Hence the gazettes will occasionally report hostile demonstrations, and even bloodshed; but any attempts at insurrection must prove futile; for, with the destruction of the Janissaries, the spirit of rebellion perished in Turkey. Besides, recent events having brought the superiority and power of Europe within the immediate vision of the whole population, they have been forced to call to mind their own proverb, that “the elephant is greater than the camel,” and doubtless they will henceforth arrive at a juster appreciation of their own capabilities.

Much more might be written on so extended a theme as The Sultan and His People, and an abler pen portray the condition of this interesting Eastern empire, just emerging from barbarism into civilization. Yet it may be hoped that these humble efforts will awaken some sympathy in behalf of a country and its inhabitants, who so much need the interest and assistance of other lands; at a moment, too, when the question is of life or death; of free progressive life, under the shelter of the broad wings of civilization, or of a suffering death within the claws of the rapacious Vulture of despotism and oppression.

It may be objected that Turkey has been represented “en couleur de rose.” If that roseate hue has been given, the odorous flower has been presented with all its thorns, divested of the verdure which might have concealed their bristling points.

But the sweetest rose may preserve its pure essence and odor, even while growing amid wild and poisonous roots; and if the noxious weeds can be uprooted, Turkey may, with the requisite culture, become one of the fairest gardens which adorn our beautiful planet.

It is to be hoped, that the morning twilight is already casting its softening beams over this land of the Orient; and that the noon-tide glory of the sun of peace and regeneration, will, ere long, irradiate with its glorious effulgence, this ancient and interesting Empire!

THE END.