The conduct of the royal party, on the very morning when this selfish request was made, was not at all calculated to remove the prejudices to which their previous behaviour had given rise. The Prince had obtained a firman to see the mosques, which would have admitted four hundred as readily as four; yet he had not the good feeling or politeness to announce to any single passenger that he was going to visit these exclusive curiosities, but went with his suite and his particular friends alone; and though he had appointed a certain hour for assembling before St. Sophia, he actually went thither an hour earlier, so that those who intended to spunge upon the royal firman came too late, and were disappointed. PREPARATIONS TO DEPART.After such treatment, could they assent to postpone the departure of the boat for a single day? Though I am proud to say none of my countrymen gave in, yet the Neapolitans, Germans, and Spaniards, and one or two Frenchmen on board, uniting with the Prince's friends and suite, obtained a majority for the measure. As we dined at the palace, I determined to sound Lord Ponsonby, in the evening, as to the probability of the Actæon's departure; for hitherto he had repeatedly told me it would take place in a few days, or, at the latest, by the end of the month. This state of uncertainty was very unpleasant; for I was prevented from leaving Terapia on any excursion, even for two or three days; because it was possible she might sail any day at six hours' notice. Now, as it seemed very probable that the steam-boat would remain in the harbour till the end of the week, I might arrange to go in her, especially as my friend and fellow-lodger Barrow was very anxious to be off, and a house divided cannot go on smoothly. By taking a passage in the Francesco, I should also have an opportunity of visiting Smyrna and most of the Greek islands. Unfortunately, however, the French ambassador and several of his legation came in, and sat until a late hour; so the opportunity did not occur. In fact, the reply of Captain Grey, in answer to an observation made by the commander of the French frigate, in the course of the evening, sufficiently explained that his departure was altogether uncertain.
Tuesday, 18th.—I was informed to-day, by Hodgson, that on Thursday, the American chargé d'affaires intends visiting the mosques, having received a firman for that purpose; and he very kindly invited me to go, observing, at the same time, that if my two friends chose to be at the gate of the seraglio, opposite St. Sophia, at a certain hour, they might enter in the train.
ROYAL COUNTRY SEAT. On returning to Terapia, I joined a party who were going to see the Sultan's palace on the lower side of the bay. It is a very comfortable pleasant country seat, without containing any furniture of a costly description; the usual display of Oriental taste and magnificence being lavished on the baths, which are situated at a short distance from the main building, in a delightfully secluded spot; and are as splendid and luxurious as art can render them. The little valley in which the kiosk stands has been entirely enclosed by stone walls, in order to form gardens and pleasure-grounds; and it is possible to ride for five or six hours through the broad and stately alleys cut through the groves and shrubberies of this lovely domain, without passing twice over the same route. RAPACITY OF THE SULTAN.This truly royal dwelling once belonged to an imân, whom the Sultan thought proper to bowstring[16], and forfeit his lands. Of the precise nature of his crime I am ignorant; but in a country like Turkey, where the caprice of the Sultan is the law, a very slight pretext is sufficient to ensure the destruction of such as have excited his rapacity by an imprudent display of wealth, or his jealousy by attempts to acquire popularity: in the present case, it was probably the great beauty of this estate that caused its owner's destruction. However this be, I certainly envied his sublime highness the possession of so charming a retreat: it is a place to live and die in; and I felt a momentary desire to pass the remainder of my existence within its ever-blooming orange, rose, and jasmine bowers. I believe it might belong to the British government for a trifle, having been offered by the Sultan to Mr. Stratford Canning, who refused it, from very honourable motives, as he considered it possible he might be suspected of pressing the government to purchase it, with a view to his own private enjoyment.
The Sultan is now not sorry we declined his offer, for he spends a great portion of his leisure in this, the most pleasant, romantic, and delightful of all his summer residences. We left it highly gratified, after partaking of some delicious strawberries, cherries, and melons, which the gardeners brought us from the hot-houses.
DEPARTURE OF THE ACTÆON. After dining at the palace, I found an opportunity of mentioning to his Lordship that I was invited to return home in the Actæon, she being supposed to be on the point of sailing; but, if this was uncertain, I should endeavour to find another mode of conveyance. Lord Ponsonby, thus appealed to, acknowledged that there was no chance of the ship sailing till her time was up, for he had written to the admiral of the station, and the government at home, to have the Actæon fixed at Terapia, at his disposal. As he did not know what might happen between him and the Russians, he thought it right to have a frigate to go away in, if necessary; and he preferred that vessel for the purpose, as he felt a strong personal friendship and regard towards both captain and officers. This communication, which was highly complimentary to my friends, as well as particularly satisfactory to myself, decided me at once, and, on returning home, I announced to my gay warm-hearted companions on board the Actæon that the painful moment of separation was at hand. The blow was not unexpected, yet some of us would rather it had been deferred. The next morning I started for Pera, and bargained with the directors of the steam-boat for my own and my friend's passage to Malta.
VISIT TO THE MOSQUES. Thursday, 20th.—This being the day fixed for the American chargé d'affaires' visit to the mosques, at nine o'clock our party sallied forth, and, on arriving opposite the Seraglio Gate, we bought slippers, took our pipes, and squatted in the shade, under the wide-spreading roof of the beautiful fountain in the centre of the square.
St. Sophia was built by Justinian on the ruins of a church of the same name, already twice destroyed; and part of the dome was a third time overthrown by an earthquake. Splendid and various were the treasures it once contained; but these have been long since removed by the desecration and sacrilege of the Latin and the Moslem; and nothing of that description is now left to astonish the pilgrim of either creed, who approaches this sacred temple. Justinian gloried that he had erected a place of worship which far surpassed the work of Solomon; and on dedicating it the second time, after the restoration of the dome, he was nearly maddened by joy. What would have been his feelings, could he have foreseen the day when the conquering Latin should defile its altar, and the infidel Turk convert it into a temple for the worshippers of his prophet, after being consecrated to the pure religion of Christianity for a period of nine hundred years! St. Sophia is thus equally an object of veneration to the Christian and the Musulman.
On the arrival of our American friends, we mustered in a large party before the bronze gates of the church, where we were all for a few moments busily engaged in taking off our boots and putting on the slippers we had purchased. This done, we proceeded into the interior of the edifice, with which I confess myself greatly disappointed; as the tout ensemble displays no magnificence, and the impressions on the gazer's mind, partake of none of that involuntary admiration and religious awe, which the sight of an old English cathedral, or the splendid churches of Italy, never fails to produce. One of its greatest defects arises from want of loftiness in the dome, the diameter of which is one hundred and fifteen, while its height does not exceed twenty feet. There is an immense number of columns, the spoils of various heathen temples. Of these, eight, of porphyry, are from that dedicated to the Sun by the Emperor Aurelian; and the same number, of green marble, verd antique, or serpentine, from the temple of Ephesus. Very little of the ancient mosaic now remains, as the devotees, both Turk and Christian, have for ages been in the habit of pillaging it, to make ornaments, beads, and talismans; so that the work of destruction is nearly complete, and a manufacture of these relics, which are composed of gilded glass, will soon be required. I bought a whole handful for a few paras; and having seen them dug out of their cement by the mufti who sold them, I can vouch for their being genuine.
We now ascended into the upper and lower galleries; in the former of which the Greek women performed their devotions, and the men in the latter. Two doors, one on either side of the passage in which we now were, opened into a third gallery, where I was told stood the "gates of heaven and hell." They are of marble, but the origin of this superstition I could not learn. The floor of the mosque was covered with beautiful carpets, and the ornaments resembled those I saw in that of Soliman the Magnificent, which is considered a much finer building. St. Sophia is also surpassed in beauty by the mosque of Sultan Mehemet, which may be considered as the St. Peter's of the East. The next in size and grandeur are those of Achmet and Osman; but as these buildings very much resemble each other, both in external and internal form and decorations, to see one is quite sufficient: "ab uno disce omnes." A greater or less number of elegant, tall, slender minarets or towers, are attached to each mosque in proportion to its size. They are dazzlingly white, like the edifices to which they belong, and are surmounted by golden crescents that flash and sparkle in the brilliant sunbeams of this sultry clime; and, as the number of public religious foundations is immense, independently of thousands of private mosques; the united splendour of so many glittering objects, added to the beauty of the deep blue cloudless sky, contribute to render the view of Constantinople, from a distance, one of the most singular and attractive prospects on the earth.
On quitting St. Sophia, we proceeded to the mosque of the Sultan Achmet, situated in the Atmeidan[17]; but I did not observe any thing particularly worthy of notice, except the court, which is very beautiful and shaded by fine trees. The Osmalie, or "light of Osman," is built of pure white marble; and may be pronounced to hold the same rank among giomi, or mosques, as the Cathedral of Milan among Christian churches. Its clean and white appearance, the untarnished splendour of the gilded railings which surround that sacred spot, pointing eastward towards Mecca, the burial-place of the Prophet; together with the rich and brilliant patterns of the soft carpets that overspread the floor, called forth unqualified admiration from the whole party. We were equally pleased with the assiduity and politeness of the mufti, or priest, who acted as our conductor, in explaining every thing worthy of notice; as well as the purposes to which the different portions of the edifice were applied.