The Armenians dressed in a similar manner to the Turks. The Christian women were closely veiled whenever they left the house. In many instances, an Armenian was not permitted to see his wife[12] before marriage, and had to take her, as the Yankees say, "on spec."
Great harmony existed between the Turks and Christians. Whenever I dined with an Armenian there were always Mohammedans present. When I visited a Turk's house, I generally found Armenians amongst the visitors. On inquiring whether this state of things prevailed elsewhere, I was informed by the Armenians that in other parts of Anatolia, and more particularly in Sivas, the Christians were ill-treated by the Turks, and that the prisons were filled with Armenians.
During my stay at Ismid I had heard precisely the same story of the sufferings of the Christians at Angora. I had been told that the Armenians were cruelly oppressed, and that justice was never shown to them. However, in Angora the two religions did not seem to clash. The Mohammedans and Christians were on the best of terms. I began to be a little sceptical as to the truth of the statement about Sivas, and determined not to form any opinion on the matter from mere hearsay evidence, but to see with my own eyes if the prisons were so full of Christians as the Armenians in Angora would have had me believe.
Later on in the day, Radford suggested that it would be as well for me to sell the lame horse and buy another; he was doubtful whether, even without his pack, the animal would be able to march to Yuzgat. The poor beast was very lame, the frog of his foot was much swollen. Whilst we were talking, a Turkish veterinary surgeon arrived: taking out his knife, he made a slight incision in the swollen place.
Meantime several horse-dealers, learning that I wanted to buy a horse, brought me some animals for inspection, at the same time offering me the liberal price of 2l. sterling for my own animal.
"Well," said one man, extracting some silver from what appeared to be an old stocking, "I will give twelve medjidis."
"Your heart is very hard, brother, soften it a little," said Osman. "Our horse shall not go for less than forty silver pieces. You love your money, but we love our horse still more."
Nobody would give this sum, and as I thought that possibly the operation performed by the Turkish veterinary surgeon might benefit the animal, I determined to wait another day in Angora. This would also give me an opportunity of inspecting more closely the old Augustin monument, one of the curiosities in the town.
To my great delight the operation proved successful; in the evening the horse could walk without much pain. He would be able to march on the following morning, and so I gave orders for an early start. Just before leaving, a servant arrived from the Pacha's palace. The young Bey, who had observed that I much admired a work entitled the "History of the Ottoman Empire," and which was in his library, had sent it to me as a present, and hoped that I would do him the honour of accepting the book as a memento of my visit to Angora. There were about ten volumes, the weight would have been at least twenty pounds, and a considerable addition to the baggage. Much to my regret, I was obliged to decline the kind offer. The hospitality of the Turkish nation is proverbial. The generosity of the Turks is equally great. In fact, they carry this virtue to excess. Sometimes after having admired a horse, I have been surprised to find that the steed has been sent to my stable, with a note from the owner, entreating my acceptance of the animal.
I often experienced great difficulty in finding excuses for not accepting the presents so generously offered to me by my entertainers. "I cannot take any more luggage," I would say, if the present were at all cumbersome. However, if it were a horse, I could only decline the gift and say that I had not sufficient servants to look after the animals.