One of the muskets furnished with a spring bayonet was shown to us, which, although not equal in finish, and more heavy in form than those of Europe, was, nevertheless, very creditable to an establishment, that is yet comparatively in its infancy. I was much amused by the astonishment of a respectable old Turk who was superintendent of the finishing department, when he saw me engaged with my father in examining this musket. “What pleasure can a Frank woman find in looking at fire-arms?” he asked the Dragoman; “One of our females would be afraid to touch such a thing. Where does she come from? and how came they to let her in here?” The reply of the interpreter surprised him still more.
“Mashallàh!” he exclaimed, approaching me with a look of comic earnestness. “Did the Pasha send her? Why, she is but a girl. How should she know how to write books better than our women who never do so?”
“Because your women are shut up”—replied the Dragoman.
The Turk nodded assent; “True enough, true enough; they cannot learn of the walls. The Franks see and hear, and travel over land and sea; and that is why they know more than we who remain at home, and ask no questions.”
I give this little dialogue, because it strikes me as being very characteristic. How often have I been reminded by the Turkish women that if I had learnt many things of which they were ignorant, I had taken a great deal of trouble to acquire them, while they had remained comfortably at home without care or fatigue.
From the Armoury we crossed over to the barracks of the Imperial Guard at Scutari, where my appearance created as much astonishment among the troops as though I had come to take the command of the garrison; and once more I was stopped by the officer on guard; but, as Achmet Pacha had prepared the Commandant for our visit, he was immediately summoned by the Dragoman, and received us with the greatest politeness.
This magnificent barrack is nearly quadrangular, the centre of the fourth side being occupied by low workshops, and a noble gateway opening upon an exercise ground, at whose extremity on the edge of the rock overhanging the sea stands the Persian Kiosk of the Sultan. Nothing can be conceived more grand than the view from this graceful summer pavilion whence you command the port, the channel, the city of Constantinople, Pera, Galata, and every object of interest and beauty in the neighbourhood of the capital; the picturesque Seraï Bournou; and far, far away, the Sea of Marmora, and the dark mountains of Asia. The prevalence of northerly winds had prevented any vessel from entering the Golden Horn during the three preceding weeks, and a little fleet of about thirty merchant-men were lying at anchor under the very windows of the Kiosk, giving the last touch of loveliness to the scene spread out before us.
The whole interior extent of the barrack is furnished with arched cloisters along each story of the building; by which means a sufficient space is ensured for the purposes of drill and exercise during inclement weather. The cleanliness of the rooms was beautiful; and here, as elsewhere, we had occasion to remark the extremely orderly conduct of the troops. We were standing in the yard of a barrack containing five thousand men, and there was not sufficient noise to have annoyed an invalid. The barrack was constructed to accommodate fifteen thousand, but it is at present garrisoned only by four regiments, and a brigade of artillery, whose stabling is situated under the lower range of cloisters. The kitchen is fitted up with steam; and the steam-tables are of white marble, with which material the vegetable store is entirely lined. Meat and pillauf are furnished daily to the troops in ample quantities; and all their clothing is supplied by the government, while the sum allowed as pay, for the purchase of coffee, fruit, and similar luxuries, is greater than that given to Russian soldiers, who are moreover obliged to furnish themselves with several articles of clothing. The workshops were thronged; that of the shoemakers contained a hundred and sixty individuals, who were making shoes of every description, from the coarse slipper of the private, to the neatly-finished boot of the Pasha. Every member of the Imperial Guard is furnished from these workshops, and five hundred men are instructed in each trade, who relieve one another in the event of duty or sickness.
The Regimental School was a model of neatness and order, and the number of pupils very considerable; all the children of the Imperial Guard being expected to attend it, whatever may be the rank of their fathers. Many of the sergeants and corporals were studying geography; and on a table in the centre of a second and smaller apartment, stood a handsome set of Newton’s globes. Of the imitative talent of the Turks I have already spoken; and on this occasion we were shown a map of Iceland, etched by a corporal of the guard, in as good style as any pen and ink drawing that I ever saw from the college at Sandhurst.
The arms, as I have already remarked to be universal with the Turkish troops, were in the most admirable order, and the stores containing clothing were well filled, and very neatly arranged. We declined visiting the Hospital, as three recent cases of Plague had occurred there; added to which we discovered certain threatenings in the sky which denoted a coming storm; and, as the passage from Scutari to Topphannè is, though comparatively short, extremely dangerous in the event of a sudden tempest, we spent half an hour with the Commandant in his apartment, where we partook of some exquisite sherbet, made from the juice of the green lemon; and hurried thence to the pier, laden with a basket of the delicious grapes and melons of Asia. But we had already lingered too long: the wind was blowing briskly from the Black Sea; and the distant shores were veiled in dense and heavy vapour.