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diff --git a/old/51728-0.txt b/old/51728-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 817a115..0000000 --- a/old/51728-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6699 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Constantinople, Vol. I (of 2), by Edmondo de Amicis - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Constantinople, Vol. I (of 2) - -Author: Edmondo de Amicis - -Translator: Maria Hornor Lansdale - -Release Date: April 10, 2016 [EBook #51728] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONSTANTINOPLE, VOL. I (OF 2) *** - - - - -Produced by Josep Cols Canals, Charlie Howard, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - -[Illustration: The Mihrab of the Mosque of Roustem Pasha, Showing -Persian Tiles.] - - - - - CONSTANTINOPLE. - - BY - EDMONDO DE AMICIS, - AUTHOR OF “HOLLAND,” “SPAIN AND THE SPANIARDS,” ETC. - - - TRANSLATED FROM THE FIFTEENTH ITALIAN EDITION BY - MARIA HORNOR LANSDALE. - - - ILLUSTRATED. - - - IN TWO VOLUMES. - - VOL. I. - - - PHILADELPHIA: - HENRY T. COATES & CO. - 1896. - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY - HENRY T. COATES & CO. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - THE ARRIVAL 7 - - FIVE HOURS LATER 33 - - THE BRIDGE 43 - - STAMBUL 59 - - ALONG THE GOLDEN HORN 85 - - THE GREAT BAZÂR 121 - - LIFE IN CONSTANTINOPLE 159 - - ST. SOPHIA 247 - - DOLMABÂGHCHEH 279 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - -VOLUME I. - -Photogravures by W. H. GILBO. - - PAGE - - THE MIHRAB OF THE MOSQUE OF ROUSTEM PASHA, SHOWING PERSIAN TILES - _Frontispiece._ - - MOSQUES OF SULTAN AHMED AND ST. SOPHIA 21 - - VIEW OF PERA AND GALATA 29 - - ANCIENT FOUNTAIN 39 - - BRIDGE OF GALATA 45 - - FOUNTAIN OF COURT OF THE MOSQUE OF AHMED 65 - - BURNT COLUMN OF CONSTANTINE 70 - - TOWER OF GALATA 90 - - PANORAMA OF THE ARSENAL AND GOLDEN HORN 105 - - DATE-SELLER 131 - - VIEW OF STAMBUL, MOSQUE OF VALIDÊH, AND BRIDGE 161 - - SERPENTINE COLUMN OF DELPHI 167 - - GROUP OF DOGS 179 - - TYPES OF TURKISH SOLDIERS 189 - - A TURKISH OFFICIAL 200 - - TÜRBEH OF SULTAN SELIM II. IN ST. SOPHIA 216 - - INTERIOR OF MOSQUE OF AHMED 227 - - ENTRANCE AND TOWER OF SERASKER 243 - - ENTRANCE TO ST. SOPHIA 249 - - FOUNTAIN OF AHMED 251 - - MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA 255 - - INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA 260 - - FIRST COLUMNS ERECTED IN ST. SOPHIA 263 - - PALACE OF DOLMABÂGHCHEH 281 - - PALACE OF THE SULTAN ON THE BOSPHORUS 296 - - - - -THE ARRIVAL. - - -The arrival at Constantinople made such an overpowering impression -upon me as to almost efface what I had seen during the previous ten -days’ trip from the Straits of Messina to the mouth of the Bosphorus. -The Ionian Sea, blue and unruffled as a lake; the distant mountains -of Morea, tinged with rose color in the early morning light; the -archipelago, gilded with the rays of the setting sun; the ruins of -Athens; the Gulf of Salonika, Lemnos, Tenedos, the Dardanelles, and -a crowd of persons and events which had caused me infinite amusement -during the voyage,--faded into such indistinct and shadowy outlines -at the first sight of the Golden Horn that were I now to undertake a -description of them it would be an effort rather of imagination than -of memory; and so, in order to impart something of life and warmth to -the opening pages of my book, I shall omit all preliminaries and begin -with the last evening of the voyage at the precise moment when, in the -middle of the Sea of Marmora, the captain came up to my friend Yunk -and me, and, laying his two hands on our shoulders, said, in his pure -Palerman accent, “Gentlemen, to-morrow at daybreak we shall see the -first minarets of Stambul.” - -Ah! you smile, my good reader, you who have plenty of money and are -tired of spending it--who, when a year or so ago the fancy seized you -to go to Constantinople in twenty-four hours, with your purse well -lined and your trunks packed, set forth as calmly as if it were a trip -to the country, uncertain up to the last moment whether, after all, it -might not pay better to take the train for Baden-Baden instead. If the -captain had said to you, “To-morrow morning we shall see Stambul,” you -would probably have answered, quite calmly, “Indeed? I am very glad to -hear it.” But suppose, instead, you had brooded over the idea for ten -years; had passed many a winter’s evening mournfully studying the map -of the East; had fired your imagination by reading hundreds of books on -the subject; had travelled over one-half of Europe merely to console -yourself for not being able to see the other half; had remained nailed -to your desk for a whole year with this sole object in view; had made -a thousand petty sacrifices and calculations without end; had erected -whole rows of castles in the air, and fought many a stiff battle with -those of your own household; and finally had passed nine sleepless -nights at sea haunted by this intoxicating vision, and so blissfully -happy as to have a twinge of something like remorse at the thought of -all your loved ones left behind;--then you would have some idea of the -real meaning of those words: “To-morrow at daybreak we shall see the -first minarets of Stambul;” and instead of replying phlegmatically, -“I am glad to hear it,” you would have given a great thump on the -bulkhead, as I did. - -One great source of satisfaction to my friend and myself was our -profound conviction that, boundless as our expectations might be, -they could not possibly be foiled. About Constantinople there is no -uncertainty, and the most pessimistic traveller feels that there, -at least, he is safe, since no one has ever been disappointed; -and this, moreover, has nothing to do with the charm of its great -associations or the fashion of admiring what every one else does. It -has a beauty of its own, at once overmastering and triumphant, before -which poets, archeologists, ambassadors, and merchants, the princess -and the sailor, people of the North and of the South, one and all, -break forth into loud exclamations of astonishment. In the opinion of -the whole world it is the most beautiful spot on earth. Writers of -travels on arriving there at once lose their heads. Perthusier falls -to stammering; Tournefort declares that human language is powerless; -Pouqueville thinks himself transported to another world; Gautier cannot -believe that what he sees is real; the Viscount di Marcellus falls -into ecstasies; La Croix is intoxicated; Lamartine returns thanks to -God; and all of them, heaping metaphor upon metaphor, endeavor to -make their style more glowing, and search their imaginations in vain -for some simile that shall not fall miserably short of their ideas. -Chateaubriand alone describes his arrival at Constantinople with such -apparent tranquillity of soul as to strongly suggest the idea of -stupor, but he does not fail to observe that it is the most beautiful -thing in the world; and if the celebrated Lady Montague, in pronouncing -a similar opinion, has allowed herself the use of a _perhaps_, she -clearly wishes it to be tacitly understood that the first place belongs -to her own beauty, of which she had a very high opinion. It is, after -all, a cold German who declares that the most beautiful illusions of -youth, the very dreams of first love, become poor and insipid when -contrasted with the delicious sensations which steal upon the soul at -the first sight of those charmed shores, while a learned Frenchman -affirms that the first impression made by Constantinople is one of -terror. - -Imagine, then, if you can, the effect produced by all these impassioned -statements on the ardent brains of a clever painter of twenty-four and -a bad poet of twenty-eight! But still, not satisfied with even all -this illustrious praise of Constantinople, we turned to the sailors -to see what they would have to say about it; and here it was the -same thing. Ordinary language was felt by even these rough men to be -inadequate, and they rolled their eyes and rubbed their hands together -in the effort to find unusual words and phrases in which to express -themselves, attempting their description in that far-away tone of voice -and with the slow, uncertain gestures used by uneducated persons when -they try to recount something wonderful. “To arrive at Constantinople -on a fine morning,” said the helmsman--“believe me, gentlemen, _that is -a great moment in a man’s life_.” - -The weather, too, smiled upon us. It was a fine, calm night; the water -lapped the sides of the vessel with a gentle murmuring sound, while -the masts and rigging stood out clear and motionless against the sky -sparkling with stars. We seemed hardly to move. In the bow a crowd -of Turks lay stretched out at full length, blissfully smoking their -hookahs with faces turned to the moon, whose light, falling upon their -white turbans, made them look like silvery haloes; on the promenade -deck was a concourse of people of every nationality under the sun, -among them a company of hungry-looking Greek comedians who had embarked -at Piræus. - -I can see before me now the pretty face of little Olga, one of a -bevy of Russian children going with their mother to Odessa, very -much astonished at my not understanding her language, and somewhat -displeased at having addressed the same question to me three -consecutive times without obtaining an intelligible answer. Here on -one side a fat, dirty Greek priest, wearing a hat like an inverted -bushel-measure, is looking through his glass for the Sea of Marmora, -and on the other, an English evangelical clergyman is standing stiff -and unyielding as a statue, who for three days past has not spoken to -a soul nor looked at any one; near by are two pretty Athenian girls in -their little red caps, with hair hanging down over their shoulders, who -turn simultaneously toward the water whenever they find any one looking -at them, in order to show their profiles, while a little farther off -an Armenian merchant is telling the beads of his Greek rosary. Near -him is a group of Hebrews, dressed in their antique costume, some -Arabians in long white gowns, a melancholy-minded French governess, and -a few of those nondescript personages one always meets in travelling, -about whom there is nothing particular to indicate their country or -occupation; and in the centre of all this mixed company a little -Turkish family, consisting of a father wearing a fez, a veiled mother, -and two little girls in trousers, all four curled up under a tent on a -pile of many-colored pillows and cushions, and surrounded by a motley -collection of luggage of every shape and hue. - -How one realized the vicinity of Constantinople! On all sides there was -an unwonted gayety, and the faces lit up by the ship’s lights were all -happy ones. The group of children skipped around their mother shouting -the ancient Russian name of Stambul: “Zavegorod! Zavegorod!” Passing -near one and another of the little groups, I caught the names of -Galata, Pera, Skutari, Bujukdere, Terapia, which acted upon my excited -brain like stray sparks from the preliminaries of some grand display of -fireworks. Even the sailors were delighted to be nearing a place where, -as they said, one forgets, if only for a single hour, all the troubles -of life. Among the white turbans in the bow as well there were unusual -signs of life: the imaginations of even those sluggish and impassive -Mussulmen were stirred as there began to float before their minds the -magic outlines of _Ummelunia_, “Mother of the World”--that city, as -says the Koran, “which commands on one side the earth, and on two, -the sea.” It seemed as though, had the engine been stopped, the ship -must still have gone on, impelled forward by the sheer force of that -impatient longing which throbbed and palpitated from her decks. From -time to time, as I leaned over the side and looked down at the water, -a hundred different voices seemed to mingle with the murmur of the -waves--the voices of all those who cared for me. “Go,” they said, “son, -brother, friend! Go and enjoy your Constantinople. You have well earned -it; now enjoy yourself, and God be with you!” - -It was midnight before the passengers began to disperse, my friend and -I being the last to go, and then with lingering steps. We could not -bear to shut up between four walls an exuberance of joy as compared -with which the Circle of Propontis seemed narrow and contracted. -Halfway down the stair we heard the captain’s voice inviting us to -come on the bridge the next morning. “Be up before sunrise,” he cried, -appearing at the top of the companion-way; “whoever is late will be -thrown overboard.” - -A more superfluous threat was never made since the world began. I did -not close my eyes, and I don’t believe that the youthful Muhammad II. -on that famous night of Adrianople when he tore his bed to pieces, -agitated by visions of Constantine’s city, tossed and turned more than -did I throughout those four hours of expectation. In order to quiet my -nerves I tried counting up to a thousand, keeping my eyes fixed on the -line of white spray thrown up against my port by the movement of the -vessel, humming monotonous tunes set to the throbbing of the engine, -but all in vain. I was hot and feverish, my breath was labored, and the -night seemed endless. At the first glimmer of dawn I leaped out of bed, -to find Yunk already up; we tore into our clothes, and in three bounds -were on deck. - -Despair! It was foggy. - -A thick, impenetrable mist concealed the horizon on every side, -and it looked like rain; so the great spectacle of the approach to -Constantinople was lost, all our hopes dashed, the voyage, in short, a -failure. I was completely stunned. - -At this moment the captain appeared, wearing his accustomed cheerful -smile. Explanations were unnecessary. The instant his eye fell on -us he took in the situation, and, patting me on the shoulder, said, -consolingly, “That will be all right; don’t give yourselves the -slightest concern. This fog, for which you ought to be very thankful, -will help us to make the most glorious entrance into Constantinople one -could possibly desire. In two hours, you may take my word for it, the -sky will be absolutely clear.” At these brave words my blood began to -circulate freely again, and we followed him to the bridge. - -The Turks were already assembled in the bow, seated cross-legged upon -strips of carpet, with their faces turned toward Constantinople. -Presently the other passengers began to appear, armed with glasses of -all sizes and styles, and took their places, one after another, along -the port rail of the vessel, like people in the gallery of a theatre -waiting for the curtain to rise. A fresh breeze was blowing; no one -spoke, but gradually every glass was levelled upon the northern shore -of the Sea of Marmora, where, as yet, nothing could be seen. - -The fog, however, had lifted so rapidly that it was now little more -than a filmy veil hanging over the horizon, while above it the heavens -shone out clear and resplendent. Directly ahead of us could be seen -indistinctly the little archipelago of the three Isles of the Princes, -the _Demonesi_ of the ancients, and the favorite pleasure-grounds of -the court in the time of the Byzantine Empire, now a popular resort and -place of amusement for the people of Constantinople. - -Both shores of the Sea of Marmora were still completely hidden. - -It was not until an hour had gone by that at last there appeared---- - -But there is no use in attempting to understand a description of the -approach to Constantinople without first having a clear idea of the -plan of the city. Supposing the reader to stand facing the mouth of the -Bosphorus, that arm of the sea which separates Asia from Europe and -connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora, he will have on his -right the continent of Asia, on his left, Europe; here ancient Thrace, -there ancient Anatolia. Following this arm, he will find on his left, -immediately beyond its mouth, a gulf, or rather an extremely narrow -bay, forming with the Bosphorus almost a right angle, and stretching -for some miles into the continent of Europe, in the shape of an ox’s -horn; hence the name Golden Horn, or Horn of Abundance, because, when -the capital of Byzantium was here, the wealth of three continents -flowed through it. On that point of land, bathed on the one hand by -the Sea of Marmora and by the Golden Horn on the other, on the site -of ancient Byzantium, rises, on its seven hills, Stambul, the Turkish -city; across from it, on the other point, washed by the waters of -the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, lie Galata and Pera, the Frankish -cities; while on the Asiatic shore, directly opposite the opening -of the Golden Horn, Skutari rises from the sea. Thus what is called -Constantinople is, in reality, three large cities separated by the -sea--two lying opposite each other, and the third facing them both, -and all so near together that from each of the three it is possible to -distinguish the buildings of the other two nearly as distinctly as one -can see across the widest parts of the Thames or the Seine. The point -of the triangle occupied by Stambul, which curves back toward the Horn, -is the celebrated Cape Seraglio, which conceals up to the very last -moment, from any one approaching from the Sea of Marmora, the two banks -of the Golden Horn; that is to say, the largest and most beautiful part -of Constantinople. - -It was the captain at last, with his trained sailor’s eye, who -discovered the first shadowy outline of Stambul. - -The two Athenian ladies, the Russian family, the English clergyman, -Yunk, I, and a number of others, all of whom were going to -Constantinople for the first time, had gathered around him in a group, -silent, absorbed, every eye intent on trying to pierce through the fog, -when, suddenly throwing his left arm out toward the European shore, he -exclaimed, “Ladies and gentlemen, I see the first building!” - -It was a white peak, the summit of some very high minaret whose base -remained as yet completely hidden. Immediately every glass was levelled -at it, and every eye began to burrow in that little rent in the haze -as though trying to make it larger. The ship was now steaming rapidly -ahead. In a few minutes an uncertain shape was visible beside the -minaret, then another, then two, then three, then many more, which, -stretching out in an endless line, gradually assumed the appearance of -houses. On the right and ahead of us everything was still concealed by -the fog. That which was now coming into view was the part of Stambul -which extends like the arc of a circle for about three miles, from -Cape Seraglio along the northern shore of the Sea of Marmora to the -Castle of the Seven Towers; but the Seraglio hill was still invisible. -Beyond the houses, one after another, the minarets now flashed into -sight, white, lofty, their peaks touched with rose color by the rising -sun. Below the houses we could begin to distinguish the dark line -of the ancient walls, uneven and tortuous, strengthened at regular -intervals by massive towers, their foundations partially washed by -the sea-waves, and encircling the entire city. Before long fully two -miles of the city lay before us in full view, but, to tell the truth, -the sight fell decidedly short of my expectations. It was just here -that Lamartine asked himself, “Can this be Constantinople?” and cried, -“What a disappointment!” The hills being still hidden, nothing -was to be seen but interminable lines of houses along the shore, and -the city was apparently perfectly flat. “Captain,” I too cried, “is -this Constantinople?” The captain seized me by the arm and pointed -ahead. “O man of little faith!” said he, “look there!” I looked, -and an exclamation of amazement escaped me. A shadowy form, vast, -impalpable, towering heavenward from a lofty eminence, rose before us, -its graceful outlines still partially obscured by a filmy cloud of -vapor, and surrounding it four tall and graceful minarets whose peaks -shone like silver as they caught the first rays of the morning sun. -“St. Sophia!” cried a sailor, and one of the Athenian ladies murmured -in an undertone, “Hagia Sofia!” (Holy Wisdom). The Turks in the bow at -once rose to their feet. And now before and around the great basilica -were discernible through the fog other vast domes and minarets crowded -close together like a forest of gigantic branchless palms. “The mosque -of Sultan Ahmed!” cried the captain, pointing; “the Bayezid mosque, the -mosque of Osman, the Laleli mosque, the Suleimaniyeh!” - -[Illustration: Mosques of Sultan Ahmed and St. Sophia.] - -But no one was listening. The mist was now rapidly melting away, and -in every direction there leaped into view mosques, towers, masses of -green, tier above tier of houses. The farther we advanced, the more the -city unfolded before us her charming outlines, irregular, picturesque, -sparkling, and tinged with every hue of the rainbow, while the -Seraglio hill now emerged completely from the fog and stood out clear -and distinct against the gray mass of cloud behind it. Four miles of -city, all that part of Stambul which overlooks the Sea of Marmora, -lay stretched out before us, her black walls and many-colored houses -reflected in the limpid water as in a mirror. - -Suddenly the vessel came to a standstill. Every one crowded around the -captain to know what had happened. He explained that we would have to -wait, before proceeding any farther, until the fog had lifted a little -more. And indeed the mouth of the Bosphorus was still completely hidden -behind a thick veil of mist. In less than a minute, however, this had -begun to disperse, and we were able to move forward, howbeit with -caution. - -We were now approaching the hill of the Old Seraglio, and here the -general excitement and curiosity became intense. - -“Turn your back,” said the captain, “and don’t look until we are -directly opposite.” - -I obediently did as I was told, and tried to fix my attention upon a -camp-stool, which seemed to dance before my eyes. - -“Now!” cried the captain, after a few moments, and I spun around. -The boat had again stopped, this time opposite and very close to the -Seraglio. - -It is a large hill, clothed from top to bottom with cypress, -terebinth, fir, and huge plane trees, whose branches, reaching out -across the city-walls, throw their shadow on the water below; and -from the midst of this mass of verdure, separately and in groups, as -though dropped at haphazard, rise in a confused, disorderly mass, the -roofs of kiosks and pavilions crowned with gilded domes and galleries, -charming little buildings of unfamiliar shape, with grated windows and -arabesqued doorways, white, small, half hidden, suggesting a labyrinth -of avenues, courtyards, and recesses--an entire city enclosed in a -wood, shut off from the world, full of mystery and sadness. The sun was -now shining full upon it, but above there still hovered a nebulous veil -of haze. No one was to be seen, not the faintest sound could be heard. -All the passengers stood perfectly motionless, their eyes fixed upon -that hill invested with centuries of associations--glory, pleasure, -love, intrigue, bloodshed; the citadel, palace, and tomb of the great -Ottoman monarchy. For a little while no one moved or spoke. Suddenly -the first mate called out, “Gentlemen, Skutari is in sight!” - -Every one turned toward the Asiatic shore. Skutari, the Golden City, -barely visible to the naked eye, lay scattered over the summits and -sides of her great hills, the morning mist throwing a delicate veil -over her radiant beauty, smiling and fresh as though just called into -being by the touch of a fairy wand. Who can give any idea of that -sight? The language we employ to describe our own cities is altogether -inadequate to depict that extraordinary variety of color and form, -that marvellous mixture of town and country, at once gay and austere, -Oriental and Western, fantastic, graceful, imposing. Imagine a city -composed of thousands of crimson and yellow villas, thousands of -gardens overflowing with verdure, a hundred snow-white mosques rising -in their midst; above it a forest of enormous cypresses, indicating the -site of the largest cemetery of the East; on the outer edge huge white -barracks, groups of houses and cypresses, villages built on the brows -of little hills; beyond them others, again, half hidden in foliage, and -over all, the peaks of minarets and summits of domes, sparkling points -of light, halfway up the side of a mountain which closes in the horizon -as it were with a curtain. A great metropolis scattered throughout -an enormous garden and overhanging a shore here broken by steep -precipices, there shelving gently down in green gradations to charming -little inlets filled with shade and bloom; and below, the blue mirror -of the Bosphorus reflecting all this splendor and beauty. - -As I stood gazing at Skutari my friend touched me on the elbow to -announce the discovery of still another city, and, sure enough, -turning toward the Sea of Marmora, there, on the same Asiatic shore -and a little beyond Skutari, lay a long string of houses, mosques, and -gardens which we had but lately passed in front of, but which, up to -this moment, had been entirely hidden by the fog. With the help of the -glass it was now easy to distinguish cafés, bazârs, European-looking -houses, flights of stairs, the walls of the market-gardens, and -boats scattered along the shore. This was Kadi Keui (Village of the -Judge), erected on the ruins of ancient Chalcedon, the former rival of -Byzantium--that Chalcedon founded six hundred and eighty-four years -before Christ by the Megarians, to whom the Delphic Oracle gave the -surname of The Blind for having selected that rather than the opposite -site, where Stambul is now situated. - -“That makes three cities,” said the captain, checking them off on his -fingers as each moment brought a fresh one into view. - -The ship was still lying stationary between Skutari and the Seraglio -hill, the fog completely concealing everything on the Bosphorus beyond -Skutari, as well as Galata and Pera, which lay directly before us. -Boats began to pass close by--barges, steam-launches, sailboats--but -no one paid any attention to them. Every eye was glued to that gray -curtain which hung over the Frankish city. I trembled with impatience -and anticipation. Yet a few moments and there would be unfolded before -my eyes that marvellous spectacle which none has here been able to -behold unmoved. My hands shook so violently that it was with difficulty -I could hold the glass to my eyes. The captain, worthy man, watched -my excitement with keen delight, and, presently clapping his hands -together, cried, “There it is! there it is!” - -And, true enough, there did at last begin to appear through the mist -first little specks of white, then the vague outlines of a lofty -eminence, then scattered beams of light where some window caught and -reflected the sun’s rays, and finally Galata and Pera stood revealed -before us--a mountain, a myriad of houses, of all colors, heaped one -above another, a lofty city crowned with minarets, domes, and cypress -trees, and towering over all the monumental palaces of the foreign -ambassadors and the great tower of Galata; beneath, the vast arsenal -of Top-Khâneh and a forest of shipping; and still, as the fog lifted, -more and more of the city came into view stretching along the banks of -the Bosphorus; and in bewildering succession there leaped into sight -streets and suburbs extending from the hilltops to the water’s edge, -closely built, interminable, marked here and there with the sparkling -white tips of the mosques--line upon line of buildings, little bays, -palaces built upon the shore, pavilions, kiosks, gardens, groves; and, -dimly outlined through the distant haze, other suburbs still, their -roofs alone distinguishable, all gilded by the sun’s rays--a luxuriance -of color, a profusion of verdure, a succession of vistas, a grandeur, a -grace, a glory sufficient to make any one break forth into transports -of incoherent delight. Every one on board, however, stood speechless, -staring, with mouth and eyes wide open--passengers, seamen, Turks, -Europeans, children. Not a whisper was heard. No one knew in which -direction to look. On one side lay Skutari and Kadi Keui; on the other, -the Seraglio hill; opposite, Galata, Pera, and the Bosphorus. To see -it all one had to keep revolving around in a circle like a teetotum, -and revolve we did, devouring with our eyes first this and then that, -gesticulating, laughing, but speechless with admiration. Heavens above! -what moments in a man’s life! - -But yet the most beautiful and imposing sight of all was to come. We -were still lying stationary off Seraglio Point, and until this has been -rounded you cannot see the Golden Horn or get the most wonderful of all -the views of Constantinople. - -“Now, gentlemen and ladies, pay attention!” cried the captain before -giving the order to proceed. “This is the _critical moment_; in three -minutes we shall be opposite Constantinople.” - -I felt myself grow hot and cold. For a moment all was still. How my -heart beat! How feverishly I waited for that blessed word, “Forward!” - -“Forward!” shouted the captain. The ship began to move. - -On we go! Kings, princes, potentates, ye great ones of the earth! at -that moment I felt nothing but compassion for you. All your wealth and -power seemed but little in comparison with my place on that boat, and -an empire a poor thing to offer in exchange for one look. - -A minute passes, then another. We are gliding by Seraglio Point, and -see opening before us an enormous space flooded with light and a huge -mass of many shapes and colors. The point is passed, and behold! before -us lies Constantinople--Constantinople, boundless, superb, sublime! -The glory of creation and mankind! A triumph of beauty, far surpassing -one’s wildest dreams! - -And now; poor wretch, attempt to describe it. Profane with your -commonplace words that divine vision. Who indeed can describe -Constantinople? Chateaubriand? Lamartine? Gautier? What things you have -all stammered and stuttered about it! and yet no one can resist trying. -Words, phrases, comparisons crowd through the brain and drop off the -end of one’s pen. I gaze, talk, write, all at the same time, hopeless -of success, and yet compelled to the attempt by some overmastering -influence. - -[Illustration: View of Pera and Galata.] - -Let us see, then. The Golden Horn lies directly opposite us like a -wide river; on each bank there extends a ridge; upon them stretch -two parallel lines of the city, embracing eight miles of hill and -valley, bay and promontory, a hundred amphitheatres of buildings and -gardens, an enormous space dotted over with houses, mosques, -bazârs, seraglios, baths, kiosks, of an infinite variety of color -and form, and from their midst the sparkling points of thousands of -minarets reaching heavenward like great pillars of ivory; then groves -of cypresses descending in dark ranks from the hilltops to the water’s -edge, fringing the outskirts, outlining the inlets; and through all -a wealth of vegetation, crowning the heights, pushing up between the -roofs, overhanging the water, flinging itself up in radiant luxuriance -wherever it can obtain a foothold. To the right, Galata, her foreground -a forest of masts and flags; above Galata, Pera, the imposing shapes -of her European palaces outlined against the sky; in front, the bridge -connecting the two banks, across which flow continually two opposite, -many-hued streams of life; to the left, Stambul, scattered over her -seven hills, each crowned with a gigantic mosque with its leaden dome -and gilded pinnacle: St. Sophia, white and rose-tinted; Sultan Ahmed, -flanked by six minarets; Suleiman the Great, crowned by ten domes; -the Validêh Sultan, reflected in the waves; on the fourth hill the -mosque of Muhammad II.; on the fifth, that of Selim; on the sixth, the -seraglio of Tekyr; and, high above everything else, the white tower -of the Seraskerat, which commands the shores of two continents from -the Dardanelles to the Black Sea. Beyond the sixth hill of Stambul on -the one hand, and Galata on the other, nothing can be distinguished -save a few vague outlines of buildings, faint indications of towns and -villages, broken up by bays and inlets, fleets of little vessels, and -groups of trees hardly visible through the blue haze, and which appear -more like atmospheric illusions than actual objects. - -How can one possibly take in all the details of this marvellous scene? -For a moment the eye rests upon a Turkish house or gilded minaret close -by, but, immediately abandoning it, roams off once more at will into -that boundless space of light and color, or scales the heights of those -two opposite shores with their range upon range of stately buildings, -groves, and gardens, like the terraces of some enchanted city, while -the brain, bewildered, exhausted, overpowered, can with difficulty -follow in its wake. - -An inexpressible majestic serenity is diffused throughout this -wonderful spectacle, an indefinable sense of loveliness and youth which -recalls a thousand forgotten tales and dreams of boyhood--something -aërial, mysterious, overpowering, transporting the imagination and -senses far beyond the bounds of the actual. - -The sky, in which are blended together the most delicate shades of blue -and silver, throws everything into marvellous relief, while the water, -of a sapphire blue and dotted over with little purple buoys, reflects -the minarets in long trembling lines of white; the cupolas glisten in -the sunlight; all that mass of vegetation sways and palpitates in the -morning air; clouds of pigeons circle about the mosques; thousands of -gayly-painted and gilded pleasure-boats flash over the surface of the -water; the zephyrs from the Black Sea come laden with the perfumes of a -thousand flower-gardens; and when at length, intoxicated by the sights -and sounds and smells of this paradise, and forgetful of all else, one -turns away, it is only to behold with fresh sensations of wonder and -amazement the shores of Asia, with their imposing panorama of beauty; -Skutari and the nebulous heights of the Bithynian Olympus; the Sea of -Marmora dotted over with little islands and white with sails; and the -Bosphorus, covered with shipping, winding away between two interminable -lines of kiosks, palaces, and villas, to disappear at last mysteriously -amid the most smiling and radiant hillsides of the Orient. To deny that -this is the most beautiful sight on earth would be churlish indeed, as -ungrateful toward God as it would be unjust to his creation; and it is -certain that anything more beautiful would surpass mankind’s powers of -enjoyment. - -On recovering somewhat from my own first overwhelming sensations I -turned to see how the other passengers had been impressed. Every -countenance was transfixed. The eyes of the two Athenian ladies were -suspiciously moist; the Russian mother had, in that supreme moment, -clasped her little Olga to her breast; even the voice of the icy -English priest was now heard for the first time, murmuring to himself, -“Wonderful! wonderful!” - -The vessel having in the mean time dropped anchor not far below the -bridge, we were quickly surrounded by small boats from the shore, which -a moment later discharged a rabble of Greek, Armenian, and Hebrew -porters upon our decks, and these, while anathematizing the aliens -from the other world, at the same time took possession of our property -and our persons. After making some feeble show of resistance, I shook -hands with the captain, gave a kiss to little Olga, and, bidding our -fellow-passengers farewell, went over the side with my friend, where a -four-oared barge rapidly transported us to the custom-house. Thence, -after threading a labyrinth of tortuous streets, we finally reached our -quarters in the Hotel de Byzance on the summit of the hill of Pera. - - - - -FIVE HOURS LATER. - - -The visions of the morning have disappeared, and Constantinople, that -dream of light and beauty, turns out to be a huge city, cut up into -a succession of hills and valleys, a labyrinth of human anthills, -cemeteries, ruins, and desert-places--a mixture without parallel of -civilization and barbarism, reflecting something of every city in -the world, gathering within its borders every aspect of human life. -That comparatively small part enclosed within the walls forms, as it -were, the skeleton of a mighty city; as for the rest, it is a vast -aggregation of barracks, an enormous Asiatic encampment, in which -swarms a population of every race and religion under the sun. It is -a great city in a state of transformation, composed of ancient towns -falling into decay, of new ones built but yesterday, and of still -others in process of erection. Everything is topsy-turvy; on all -sides are seen the traces of some gigantic undertaking--mountains -tunnelled through, hills levelled, suburbs razed to the ground, great -thoroughfares laid out, heaps of stone, and the traces of disastrous -fires, portions of the earth’s surface for ever undergoing some -alteration at the hand of man. The disorder and confusion and the -never-ending succession of strange and unexpected sights make one dizzy. - -Walk down a stately street, and you find it ends in a precipice; come -out of a theatre, and you are surrounded by tombs; climb to the summit -of a hill, beneath your feet you discover a forest, while a new city -confronts you from some neighboring hilltop; the street you have this -moment left suddenly winds away from you through a deep valley half -hidden by trees; walk around a house, you discover a bay; descend a -lane, farewell to the city: you find yourself in a lonely defile, with -nothing to be seen but the sky above you; towns appear and disappear -continually. They start into view over your head, beneath your feet, -over your shoulder, far off, near by, in sun and shadow, on the tops -of mountains and on the shore below. Take a step forward, an immense -panorama is spread out before you; backward, and you see nothing at -all; lift your head, and the points of a thousand minarets flash before -your eyes; turn it, and not one is in sight. The network of streets -winds in and out among the hills, overtopping terraces, grazing the -edges of precipices, passing beneath aqueducts, to break up suddenly -in footpaths leading down some grassy incline to the water’s edge, or -else, skirting piles of ruins, meanders away among rocks and sand to -the open country. Here and there the huge metropolis stops, as it -were, to take breath in the solitude of the country, then recommences, -more crowded, gay, noisy, bewildering, than before; here it spreads -out flat and monotonous, there scales the hillside, disappears over -the summit, disperses; then once more gathers itself together. In one -section it ferments with life, noise, movement; in another there is -the stillness of death; one quarter is all red, another white, a third -shines with gilding, a fourth looks like a mountain of flowers: stately -city, village, country, garden, harbor, wilderness, market, cemetery, -in endless succession, rear themselves, one above another, in such a -manner that certain heights command in a single view all the aspects of -life which are usually found embraced in an entire province. In every -direction a series of strange and unfamiliar shapes is outlined against -the sea and sky, so close together and so indented and broken up by -the extraordinary variety of architectural forms that the eye becomes -confused and the various objects seem to melt one into another. - -In among the Turkish dwelling-houses European palaces rise suddenly up, -spires overtop the minarets, and cupolas crown the garden-terraces, -with battlemented walls behind them; roofs of Chinese kiosks appear -above the façade of a theatre; barred and grated harems face rows of -glazed windows; side by side with open balconies and terraces are found -Moorish buildings with recessed windows and small forbidding doorways. -Shrines to the Madonna are set up beneath Arabian archways; tombs stand -in the courtyards; towers arise amid the hovels; mosques, synagogues, -Greek, Catholic, Armenian churches, crowd one upon the other, as though -each were striving for the mastery, and, from every spot unoccupied by -buildings, cypress and pine, fig and plane trees stretch forth their -branches and tower above the surrounding roofs. - -An indescribable architecture of expedients, following the infinite -caprices of the soil, portions of buildings cut up into sections, -triangular, upright, prone, surrounded and connected by bridges, props, -and defiles, heaped up in confused masses, like huge fragments detached -from a mountain-side. - -At every hundred steps the scene changes. Now you are in a suburb of -Marseilles; turn, and it becomes an Asiatic village; another turn, and -it is a Greek settlement; still another, a suburb of Trebizond. The -language and dress, the faces you meet, the look of the houses in the -various quarters, all suggest a different country from the one you -have just left; they are bits of France, slices of Italy, samples of -England, scraps of Russia. One sees depicted in vivid colors on the -great surface of the city that battle which is here being waged between -the various groups of Christians on the one hand fighting to repossess -themselves of, and Islamism on the other defending with all its -remaining strength, the sacred soil of Constantinople. Stambul, -once entirely Turkish, is assailed on all sides by settlements of -Christians, before whose advance it is slowly giving way all along the -banks of the Golden Horn and the shores of the Sea of Marmora; in other -directions the conquest is proceeding much more rapidly: churches, -hospitals, palaces, public gardens, schools, and factories are rending -asunder the Mussulman’s quarters, encroaching upon his cemeteries, and -advancing from one height to another, until already, on the dismayed -soil, there are sketched the vague outlines of another European city, -as large as the one now covering the banks of the Golden Horn, and -destined one day to embrace the European shore of the Bosphorus. - -[Illustration: Ancient Fountain.] - -But from such general observations as these the attention is distracted -at every step by some fresh object of interest: on one street it is -the monastery of the dervishes, in another a great Moorish building, -a Turkish café, a bazâr, a fountain, an aqueduct. In the course of a -quarter of an hour, too, one is obliged to alter his gait at least a -dozen times. You must descend, mount, climb down some steep incline or -up by stairs cut out of the rock, wade through the mud and surmount a -thousand different obstacles, threading your way now through crowds -of people, then in and out among shrubbery; here stooping to avoid -lines of clothes hung out to dry; at one moment obliged to hold your -breath, at the next inhaling a hundred delicious odors. From a -terrace flooded with light and commanding a magnificent view of the -Bosphorus, Asia, and the blue arch of heaven one step will bring you -to a network of narrow alley-ways, leading in and out among wretched, -half-ruined houses and choked up with heaps of stone and rubbish; -from some delicious retreat filled with verdure and bloom you emerge -on a dry, dusty waste littered with débris; from a thoroughfare -glowing with life, movement, and color you step into some sepulchral -recess, where it seems as though the silence had never been broken -by the sound of a human voice; from the glorious Orient of one’s -dreams to quite another Orient, forbidding, oppressive, falling into -decay, and suggestive of all that is mournful and depressing. After -walking about for a few hours amid this medley of strange sights, -one’s brain becomes completely confused. Were any one to suddenly -put the question to you, “What sort of a place is Constantinople?” -you would only stare at him vacantly, quite incapable of giving any -intelligible reply. Constantinople is a Babylon, a world, a chaos.--Is -it beautiful?--Marvellously.--Ugly?--Horribly so.--Do you like it?--It -fascinates me.--Shall you remain?--How on earth can I tell? Can any one -tell how long he is likely to stay on another planet? - -You return at last to your lodgings, enthusiastic, disappointed, -enchanted, disgusted, stunned, stupefied, your head whirling around -like that of a person in the first stages of brain fever. This -condition gradually gives way to one of complete prostration, utter -exhaustion of mind and body; you have lived years in the course of a -few hours, and feel yourself aged. - -And the population of this huge city? - - - - -THE BRIDGE. - - -The best place from which to see the population of Constantinople is -the floating bridge, about a quarter of a mile long, which connects the -extreme point of Galata with the opposite shore of the Golden Horn, -just below the mosque of the Validêh Sultan. Both banks are European -territory, but, notwithstanding this fact, the bridge may be said to -connect Europe and Asia, since nothing in Stambul but the ground itself -is European, and even those quarters occupied by Christians have taken -on an Asiatic character. The Golden Horn, though in appearance a river, -in reality separates two different worlds, like an ocean. European news -reaches Galata and Pera, and at once it is in every one’s mouth, and -circulates rapidly, fresh, minute, and accurate, while in Stambul it -is heard only like some vague, far-away echo; the fame of worldwide -reputations and the most startling events roll back from before that -little strip of water as from some insuperable barrier, and across that -bridge, daily traversed by a hundred thousand feet, an idea does not -pass once in ten years. - -[Illustration: Bridge of Galata.] - -Standing there, you can see all Constantinople pass by in the course -of an hour. Two human currents flow incessantly back and forth from -dawn to sunset, affording a spectacle which the market-places of India, -the Pekin fetes, or the fairs of Nijnii-Novgorod can certainly give -but a faint conception of. In order to get anything like a clear idea -you must fix your attention on some particular point and look nowhere -else. The instant you allow your eyes to wander everything becomes -confused and you lose your head. The crowd surges by in great waves of -color, each group of persons representing a different nationality. Try -to imagine the most extravagant contrasts of costume, every variety of -type and social class, and your wildest dreams will fall short of the -reality; in the course of ten minutes and in the space of a few feet -you will have seen a mixture of race and dress you never conceived of -before. - -Behind a crowd of Turkish porters, who go by on a run, bending beneath -the weight of enormous burdens, there comes a sedan chair inlaid with -mother-of-pearl and ivory, out of which peeps the head of an Armenian -lady; on either side of it may be seen a Bedouin wrapped in his white -cape, and an old Turk wearing a white muslin turban and blue caftan; a -young Greek trots by, followed by his dragoman dressed in embroidered -zouaves; next comes a dervish in his conical hat and camel’s-hair -mantle, who jumps aside to make room for the carriage of an European -ambassador preceded by liveried outriders. One can hardly be said to -actually see all of these, only to catch glimpses of them as they flash -by. Before you have time to turn around you find yourself surrounded -by a Persian regiment in their towering caps of black astrakhan; -close behind them comes a Hebrew, clad in a long yellow garment open -up the sides; then a dishevelled gypsy, her baby slung in a sack on -her back; next a Catholic priest, with his staff and breviary; while -advancing among a mixed crowd of Greeks, Turks, and Armenians may be -seen a gigantic eunuch on horseback, shouting _Vardah!_ (Make way!), -and, closely following him, a Turkish carriage decorated with flowers -and birds and filled with the ladies of a harem, dressed in green -and violet and enveloped in great white veils; behind them comes a -Sister of Charity from one of the Pera hospitals, and after her an -African slave carrying a monkey, and a story-teller in the garb of a -necromancer. One point which strikes the stranger as being singular, -although it is in reality the most natural thing in the world, is that -all this queer multitude of people pass one another without so much -as a glance, just as though it were some London crowd; no one stops; -every one hurries on intent upon his own affairs, and out of a hundred -faces that pass by not one will wear a smile. The Albanian in his -long white garment, with pistols thrust in his belt, brushes against -the Tartar clad in sheepskin; the Turk guides his richly-caparisoned -ass between two files of camels; close behind the aide-de-camp of -one of the imperial princes, mounted on an Arabian charger, a cart -rumbles along piled up with the odd-looking effects of some Turkish -household. A Mussulman woman on foot, a veiled female slave, a Greek -with her long flowing hair surmounted by a little red cap, a Maltese -hidden in her black _faldetta_, a Jewess in the ancient costume of her -nation, a negress wrapped in a many-tinted Cairo shawl, an Armenian -from Trebizond, all veiled in black--a funereal apparition; these and -many more follow each other in line as though it were a procession -gotten up to display the dress of the various nations of the world. -It is an ever-changing mosaic, a kaleidoscopic view of race, costume, -and religion, which forms and dissolves with a rapidity the eye and -brain can with difficulty follow. It is quite interesting to fix your -gaze on the footway of the bridge and look for a while at nothing -but the feet: every style of footwear that the world has known, from -that which obtained in Eden up to the very latest phase of Parisian -fashion, goes by--yellow _babbuccie_, the red slipper of the Armenian, -turquoise-blue of the Greek, and black of the Israelite--sandals, high -boots from Turkistan, Albanian leggings, slashed shoes, _gambass_ of -the Asia Minor horsemen of all colors, gold-embroidered slippers, -Spanish _alpargatas_, feet shod in leather, satin, rags, wood, -crowded so close together that in looking at one you are aware of a -hundred. And while thus engaged you must be on your guard to avoid -being knocked down. Now it is a water-carrier with his huge water-skin -on his back, or a Russian lady going by on horseback; now a troop of -imperial soldiers wearing the uniform of zouaves, who advance as though -charging the enemy; now a procession of Armenian porters, who pass -two by two, carrying huge bales of goods suspended from long poles -across their shoulders; then a crowd of Turks push their way to right -and left through the throng in order to embark on some of the many -little steamboats which, starting from the bridge, ply up and down -the Bosphorus and Golden Horn. It is one continuous tramp and roar, a -murmur of hoarse gutturals and incomprehensible interjections, among -which the occasional French or Italian words which reach the ear seem -like rays of light seen through a thick darkness. The figures which -strike the fancy most forcibly of all are, perhaps, those of the -Circassians. These wild, bearded men, who pass with measured tread -in groups of four or five, wearing large fur caps like those of the -ancient Napoleon guard, and long black caftans, with daggers thrust -in the belt and a silver cartridge-box suspended on the breast, look -like veritable types of brigands, or as though their sole business -in Constantinople might be the sale of a sister or daughter dragged -thither by hands already imbued with Russian blood. Then there is -the Syrian, clad in a long Byzantine dolman, with a gold-striped -handkerchief wrapped about his head; the Bulgarian, in sombre-colored -tunic and fur-edged cap; the Georgian, with his casque of dressed -leather and tunic gathered into a metal belt; the Greek from the -Archipelago, covered with lace, silken tassels, and shining buttons. -From time to time it seems as though the crowd were receding somewhat, -but it is only to surge forward once more in great, overpowering waves -of color crested with white turbans like foam, in whose midst may -occasionally be seen a high hat or umbrella or the towering headgear of -some European lady tossed hither and thither by that Mussulman torrent. - -It is stupefying merely to note the diversity of religions represented. -Here gleams the shining pate of a Capuchin father; there towers aloft -the _ulema’s_ Janissary turban; farther on the black veil of the -Armenian priest floats in the breeze; _imams_ pass in their white -tunics; nuns of the Stigmata; chaplains of the Turkish army clad in -green and carrying sabres; Dominican brothers; pilgrims returned from -Mecca wearing talismans about their necks; Jesuits; dervishes; and -these last, queerly enough, carry umbrellas to protect them from the -sun, while in the mosques they may be seen tearing their flesh in -self-inflicted torture for their sins. - -To one who watches attentively a thousand amusing and interesting -little incidents detach themselves from the general confusion. Now -it is a eunuch, who glares out of the corner of his eye at a young -Christian dandy caught peering too curiously into the carriage of -his mistress; a French _cocotte_, dressed in the latest fashion, -who follows the gloved and bejewelled son of a pasha; a sergeant of -cavalry in full-dress uniform, who, stopping short in the middle of -the bridge, and, seizing his nose between two fingers, emits a trumpet -blast loud enough to make one jump; or a quack, who, in return for -some poor wretch’s piece of money, makes a cabalistic sign on his -forehead supposed to restore his eyesight; here a large family-party, -newly arrived, have gotten separated in the crowd: the mother rushes -hither and thither, searching for her children, who, on their part, are -weeping at the tops of their voices, while the men of the party try -to mend matters by laying about them in all directions; a lady from -Stambul passes by, and under pretence of adjusting her veil gets a good -look at the train of a lady from Pera. Horses, camels, sedan chairs, -carriages, ox-carts, casks on wheels, bleeding donkeys, skinny dogs, -pass in a long file, dividing the crowd in two. Sometimes a big fat -pasha _of the three horse-tails_ goes by in a magnificent carriage, -followed on foot by a negro, his guard, and his pipe-bearer. The Turks -all salute him, touching the forehead and the breast, while a throng -of Mussulman beggars, horrible, meagre-looking wretches, with muffled -faces and bare chests, hurl themselves at the carriage-windows, begging -vociferously for alms. Eunuchs out of employment pass in groups of -two and three or a half dozen at a time, with cigarettes in their -mouths, easily distinguished by their corpulency, their long arms, and -great black cloaks. Pretty little Turkish girls, dressed like boys in -green trousers and red or yellow waistcoats, run and jump about with -catlike agility, pushing their way through the crowd with soft little -crimson-tinted hands; shoe-cleaners with their gilded boxes; wandering -barbers, their stool and basin ready at hand; venders of water and -Turkish sweetmeats can be seen in every direction, threading their way -through the press and shouting out their wares and avocations in Greek -and Turkish. At every step you meet a military uniform, officers in -fiery and scarlet trousers, their breasts glittering with decorations; -grooms of the Seraglio gotten up like generals in command of an army; -policemen carrying whole arsenals at their belts; _zeibeks_, or free -soldiers, wearing those enormous breeches with pockets behind which -give them outlines like the Hottentot Venus; imperial guards with -nodding white plumes on their helmets, and breasts covered with gold -lace; city guards, who march about carrying handcuffs--Constantinople -city guards! One might as well speak of people who had been charged -with the duty of keeping down the Atlantic Ocean. One curious contrast -is that which is found between the rich clothing on the one hand and -the miserable rags on the other, between persons so laden down with -the quantity and magnificence of their apparel as to look like walking -bazârs and others who scarcely may be said to have any apparel at all. -The nakedness alone is a noteworthy sight. Every tint of human skin -can be found, from the milk-white Albanian to the jet-black slave from -Central Africa or blue-black native of Darfur; breasts which look as -though they would resound at a blow like a bronze vase or break in -pieces like an earthenware pot; hard, oily, wooden surfaces, or shaggy -like the hide of a wild boar; brawny arms tattooed with outlines of -leaves and flowers or rude representations of ships under full sail, -and hearts transfixed by arrows. All such particulars, however, as -these cannot possibly be noted in the course of a single visit to the -bridge. While you are trying to make out the designs tattooed on an -arm, your guide is calling your attention to a Serb, a Montenegrin, -a Wallach, an Ukrainian Cossack, a Cossack of the Don, an Egyptian, -a native of Tunis, a prince of Imerezia. There is hardly time even -to make a note of the different nationalities. It is as though -Constantinople still maintained her former position as queen of three -continents and capital of twenty tributary kingdoms. Yet even this -would hardly account for the extraordinary features of that spectacle, -and one amuses himself by fancying that some mighty deluge has swept -over the neighboring continent, causing a sudden influx of immigration. -An expert eye can still distinguish in that mighty human torrent the -distinctive features and costumes of Caramania and Anatolia, of Cypress -and of Candia, of Damascus and Jerusalem--Druses, Kurds, Maronites, -Telemans, Pumacs, and Kroats, and all the innumerable variety of the -innumerable confederations of anarchies extending from the Nile to the -Danube and from the Euphrates to the Adriatic. Those in search of the -beautiful and those with a craving for the horrible will find, equally, -their wildest hopes surpassed. Raphael would have been in ecstasies, -Rembrandt beside himself with delight. The purest examples of Grecian -beauty and that of the Caucasian races appear side by side with snub -noses and receding foreheads. Women pass with the look and bearing of -queens, others who might pose as furies. There are painted faces and -faces disfigured by disease and wounds, colossal feet and the tiny feet -of the Circassian no longer than your hand; gigantic porters, great fat -Turks, and negroes like dried-up skeletons, ghosts of human beings who -fill you with horror and pity; every aspect of human life, extremes of -asceticism and voluptuousness, utter weariness, radiant luxury, and -wasted misery; and, still more remarkable than the variety of human -beings, is that of the garments they wear. Any one with an eye for -color would find himself in clover. No two persons are dressed alike. -Some heads are enveloped in shawls, others crowned with rags, others -decked out like savages--shirts and undervests striped or particolored -like a harlequin’s dress; belts bristling with weapons, some of -them reaching from the waist to the arm-pits; Mameluke trousers, -knee-breeches, tunics, togas, long cloaks which sweep the ground, capes -trimmed with ermine, waistcoats encrusted with gold, short sleeves and -balloon-shaped ones, monastic garbs and theatre costumes; men dressed -like women, women who seem to be men, and peasants with the air of -princes; a ragged magnificence, an exuberance of color, a profusion -of ornament, braid, fringe, frippery of all sorts; a childish and -theatrical display of decoration, which makes one think of a ball given -by the inmates of an insane asylum, who have decked themselves out with -the contents of all the peddlers’ packs in the world. - -Above the babel of sounds made by all this multitude one hears the -piercing cries of the Greek newsboys selling newspapers in all -languages under heaven, the stentorian tones of the porters, loud -laughter of the Turkish women; the infantile voices of the eunuchs; the -shrill falsetto of a blind beggar reciting verses from the Koran; the -hollow-resounding noise of the bridge itself as it sways under this -multitude of feet; the bells and whistles from a hundred steamboats, -whose smoke, coming in great puffs, from time to time envelops the -entire throng of passers-by. This vast concourse of people embarks in -the boats which leave every moment for Skutari, the villages along the -Bosphorus, and the suburbs on the Golden Horn; spreads out over the -bazârs and mosques of Stambul, the suburbs of Fanar and Balat, to the -most distant points on the Sea of Marmora; flows like an advancing -tide in two great currents over the Frankish shore, to the right in -the direction of the sultan’s palaces, to the left toward the ancient -quarters of Pera, and, receding once more across the bridge, is fed -by innumerable little streams flowing down the steep, narrow lanes -and byways which cover the hillsides of both banks, connecting ten -cities and a hundred villages, and binding together Asia and Europe in -an intricate network of commerce, intrigue, and mystery, at the mere -thought of which one’s mind becomes hopelessly confused. - -One would naturally expect all this to make an amusing and enlivening -spectacle, but it is quite otherwise: after the first sensations of -excitement and wonder have died down the brilliant coloring begins -to pale; it no longer wears the aspect of a gay Carnival procession, -but humanity itself seems to be passing in review--humanity with all -its miseries and follies, its infinite discord of clashing beliefs -and irreconcilable customs, a pilgrimage of decayed races and -humbled nations; a boundless tide of human misery; wrongs to be set -right, stains to be washed out, chains to be broken; an accumulation -of tremendous problems which blood alone, and that in torrents, is -capable of solving--a sight at once overpowering and depressing. One’s -interest, too, is rather blunted than aroused by the enormous number -and variety of strange sights and objects. What sudden mysterious -changes the mind is subject to! Here was I, not a quarter of an hour -after reaching the bridge, leaning listlessly against the side, -scribbling on the wooden beam with a pencil, and acknowledging, between -my yawns, that Madame de Staël was pretty near the truth when she -pronounced travelling to be the most melancholy of human pleasures. - - - - -STAMBUL. - - -In order to restore one’s equilibrium after the bewildering scenes -of the bridge it is only necessary to follow one of the many narrow -streets which wind up the hillsides of Stambul. Here there reigns -a profound peace, and you may contemplate at your leisure those -mysterious and evasive aspects of Oriental life of which only flying -glimpses can be obtained on the other bank amid the noise and confusion -of European manners and customs. Here everything is Eastern in its -strictest sense. After walking for fifteen minutes the last sounds -have died away, the crowds entirely disappeared; you are surrounded -on every side by little wooden, brightly-painted houses, whose second -stories extend out over the ground floor, and the third again over -those; in front of the windows are balconies enclosed with glass -and close wooden gratings, which look like little houses thrown out -from the main dwelling, and lend to the city an indescribable air -of secresy and melancholy. In some places the streets are so narrow -that the overhanging parts of opposite houses nearly touch, and you -walk for long distances in the shadow of these human bird-cages and -literally beneath the feet of the Turkish women, who pass the greater -part of the day in them, seeing nothing but a narrow strip of sky. -All the doors are tightly shut, and the windows on the ground floor -protected by gratings. Everything breathes of jealousy and suspicion; -one seems to be traversing a city of convents. Sometimes the stillness -is suddenly broken by a ripple of laughter close at hand, and, looking -quickly up, you may discover at some small opening or loophole the -flash of a bright eye or a shining lock of hair, which, however, -instantly disappears; or, again, you surprise a conversation being -carried on in quick, subdued tones across the street, which breaks off -suddenly at the sound of your footsteps, and you continue your way -wondering what thread of mystery or intrigue you may have broken in -your passage. Seeing no one yourself, you have the consciousness of a -thousand eyes upon you; apparently quite alone, you yet feel yourself -to be surrounded by restless, palpitating life. Wishing, possibly, to -pass unobserved, you tread lightly, walk rapidly, but all the same you -are watched on all sides. So profound is the silence that the mere -opening and shutting of a door or window startles you as though it -were some tremendous noise. One might suppose that the aspect of these -streets would become monotonous and tiresome, but it is not so. A mass -of foliage out of which issues the white point of a minaret, a Turk -dressed in red coming toward you, a black servant standing immovable -before a doorway, a strip of Persian carpet hanging from a window, -suffice to form a picture so full of life and harmony that one could -stand gazing at it by the hour. Of the few persons who do pass by, -none appear to notice you; only occasionally you hear a voice at your -shoulder call out “_Giaour!_” (infidel), and turn just in time to see -a boy’s head disappearing behind a window-shutter. Again, hearing a -door being opened from within, you pause expectantly, fully prepared -to see the favorite beauty of some harem come forth in full costume, -instead of which an European lady in bonnet and train appears and, with -a murmured _Adieu_ or _Au revoir_, walks rapidly away, leaving you -open-mouthed with astonishment. - -In another street, entirely Turkish and silent, you are suddenly -startled by the sound of a horn and the stamping of horses’ feet; -turning to see what it means, you find it difficult to believe your -eyes when a large car rolls gayly into sight over some tracks which up -to that moment you had not noticed, filled with Turks and Europeans, -with its officials in uniform and its printed tariff of fares, for all -the world like a _tramway_ in Vienna or Paris. The effect of such an -apparition, seen in one of those streets, is not to be described: it is -like a burlesque or some huge joke, and you laugh aloud as you watch -it disappear, as though you had never seen anything of the kind before. -With the omnibus the life and movement of Europe seem to vanish, and -you find yourself back in Asia, like a change of scene at the theatre. -Issuing from almost any of these silent, deserted streets, you come out -upon small open spaces shaded by one huge plane tree: on one hand there -is a fountain out of which camels are drinking; on the other, a café in -front of which a number of Turks recline on mats, smoking and gazing -into vacancy; beside the door stands a large fig tree, up whose trunk -a vine clambers, extending out over the branches and falling in waving -garlands to the ground, and between whose leaves enchanting glimpses -are caught of the blue waters of the Sea of Marmora dotted all over -with white sails. The flood of light and the death-like stillness give -these places a certain character, half solemn, half melancholy, which -makes an indelible impression upon the mind: one is carried on and on, -drawn, as it were, out of himself by a subtle sense of mystery which -steeps the senses little by little, until he loses all idea of time and -space and seems to float on a vague cloud of dreams. - -[Illustration: Fountain in Court of the Mosque of Ahmed.] - -From time to time you come upon vast barren tracts devastated by some -recent fire; hillsides with a few houses scattered here and there, -and grassy spaces between them, intersected with goat-paths; tops of -hills from which can be seen hundreds of houses and gardens, -streets and lanes, but not a living creature, a wreath of smoke, an -open door, or the faintest indication of human life, until one almost -begins to think himself alone in the midst of this immense city, and, -thinking so, to become a trifle uncomfortable. But just follow one of -those steep little streets down to the bottom, and in an instant the -whole scene changes. You are now on one of the great thoroughfares of -Stambul, flanked by splendid buildings, whose beauty almost defies your -powers of admiration. On every side rise mosques, kiosks, minarets, -arcades, fountains of marble and lapis lazuli, mausoleums of sultans -glowing with arabesques and inscriptions in gold, their walls covered -with mosaics, their roofs of inlaid cedar-wood, and everywhere that -exuberance of vegetation which, pushing its way through gilded -railings and scaling garden-walls, fills the air with the perfume of -its blossoms. Here are met the equipages of pashas, aides-de-camp in -full uniform, officials, employés, eunuchs belonging to great houses, -and files of servants and parasites coming and going in a continual -succession between the residences of the ministers: one recognizes the -fact that he is in the metropolis of a great empire, and admires it in -all its magnificence of display. The brilliant atmosphere and graceful -architecture, the murmuring of the fountains, the bright sunshine -and delicious coolness of the shade, all affect the senses like -subdued music, and a hundred smiling images crowd through the mind. -Following these thoroughfares, you emerge upon the large open squares, -from which arise the mosques of the various sultans, before whose -stately magnificence you pause in wondering awe. Each one of these -mighty buildings forms the centre, as it were, of a small separate -city, with its colleges, hospitals, stores, libraries, schools, and -baths, whose existence is at first hardly suspected, so overshadowed -are they by the huge dome which they encircle. The architecture, so -simple in appearance when seen from a distance, now presents a mass -of detail attracting the eye in all directions at once. There are -little cupolas overlaid with lead, oddly-shaped roofs rising one above -another, aërial galleries, enormous porticoes, windows broken by little -columns, festooned archways, spiral minarets, lines of terraces with -open-work carving, and capitals supported on stylobates, doorways and -fountains covered with ornament, walls picked out in gold and every -color of the rainbow--a mass of carving and fretwork, light, graceful, -exquisite, across which the shadows chase each other from great oak -and cypress trees and willows, while clouds of birds, issuing from the -overspreading branches, fly in slow circles around the interiors of -the domes, filling every corner of the immense edifice with harmony. -And now, for the first time, you begin to be conscious of a feeling -stronger and more underlying than a mere sense of the beautiful. These -huge structures seem like the marble witnesses of an order of thought -and belief altogether different from that in which you have been -born and reared--the imposing framework of a hostile race and faith, -testifying in a mute but expressive language of lofty heights and -glorious lines to the might of a God who is not your God, and a people -before whom your fathers have trembled, filling you with admiration not -unmixed with awe, which, for a time at least, checks your curiosity and -holds you at a distance. - -Within the shady courtyards Turks may be seen at the fountains busied -about their ablutions, peasants crouched at the foot of the great -pillars, veiled women who pass with deliberate steps beneath the lofty -arcades: over all there broods a profound quiet, a tinge of sadness and -voluptuousness, whose source you try in vain to discover, exercising -your mind as upon some enigma. Galata, Pera--how far away they seem! It -is as though you were in another world alone, in a different age. This -is the Stambul of Suleiman the Magnificent or Bayezid II., and you feel -dazed and confused when, on turning away from the square and losing -sight of the stupendous monument of the power of the Osmans, you find -yourself once more confronted by the Constantinople of to-day, of wood, -poverty, and decay, filled with dirt, wretchedness, and misery. - -As you go on and on the houses gradually lose their bright coloring, -the vine-trellises disappear, moss creeps over the basins of the -fountains, the mosques become small and mean, with wooden minarets -and cracked, discolored walls, around which brambles and nettles have -sprung up; ruined mausoleums, broken stairways, tortuous lanes choked -with rubbish and reeking with damp; deserted quarters full of gloom, -whose silence is unbroken save for the flapping of birds’ wings or -the guttural cry of a muezzin calling out the word of God from some -distant unseen minaret. On the face of no city in the world is written -in such plain characters the nature of her people’s beliefs. Everything -grand or beautiful comes from God, or the sultan--His representative -upon earth. All the rest, being merely temporary, is not worthy of -consideration and bears the stamp of an utter indifference to mundane -things. This pastoral tribe has become a nation, but the instinctive -love of nature, of a life of contemplation and idleness, is as strong -among its people as ever, and has lent to their metropolis the look of -an encampment. Stambul is not a city; she neither works nor thinks, -nor does she create; civilization knocks at her doors, lays siege to -her streets, and she dozes and dreams in the shadow of her mighty -mosques and pays no heed. It is more like a city let loose, scattered, -disfigured, representing rather the halt of a wandering race than the -stronghold of an established state; a number of cities sketched in -outline, an immense spectacular show, rather than a great metropolis, -of which no just idea can be obtained without traversing every part. - -Taking, then, for our starting-point the first hill, we are at that -point of the triangle bathed by the Sea of Marmora. This is, so -to speak, the crown of Stambul, an imposing district crowded with -associations and filled with magnificent buildings. Here is the ancient -Seraglio, occupying the site where arose first, Byzantium, with her -acropolis and temple of Jupiter, and then the palace of the empress -Placidia and the baths of Arcadius; here stand the mosques of St. -Sophia and the Sultan Ahmed; and here is the At-Meidan, covering the -space formerly occupied by the Hippodrome, where once, in the midst -of an Olympus of marble and bronze and urged on by the frantic cries -of a multitude clad in silk and purple, gilded chariots were driven -furiously seven times around the course beneath the impassive gaze of -the pearl-bedecked emperors. Descending the first hill into a shallow -valley, we come upon the western walls of the Seraglio, marking the -confines of ancient Byzantium,[A] and directly before us rises the -Sublime Porte, containing the offices of the prime minister, foreign -minister, and minister of the interior--silent, gloomy regions where -seem gathered all the sombreness and melancholy of the fate of the -empire. - - [A] Other authorities place the walls of ancient Byzantium - considerably farther west than this point.--TRANS. - -From here we ascend the second hill, where rise the Nûri Osmaniyeh -mosque (Light of Osman) and the Burnt Column of Constantine, formerly -surmounted by a bronze statue of Apollo, whose head was a likeness of -the great emperor himself. This column marked the centre of the forum, -and was surrounded by marble porticoes, triumphal arches, and statues. -On the farther side of this hill opens the Valley of Bazârs, extending -from the Bayezid mosque all the way to that of the Validêh Sultan, and -including a huge labyrinth of covered streets filled with noise and -confusion and crowded with people, from which you issue with your ears -deafened and your head in a whirl. - -Upon the summit of the third hill, overlooking both the Sea of Marmora -and the Golden Horn, stands the gigantic rival of St. Sophia, the -mosque of Suleiman--_joy and glory of Stambul_, as it is called by -the Turkish poets--and the marvellous tower of the minister of war, -erected on the ruins of the ancient palace of the Constantines, at one -time occupied by Muhammad the Conqueror, and converted later on into a -seraglio for the old sultanas. - -[Illustration: Burnt Column of Constantine.] - -Between the third and fourth hills the enormous aqueduct of the emperor -Valens stretches like an aërial bridge composed of two tiers of -delicate arches, around which vines trail and clamber, falling in -graceful festoons as far as the roofs of the houses crowded together in -the valley beneath. - -Passing under the aqueduct, we now ascend the fourth hill. Here, on the -ruins of the celebrated church of the Holy Apostles, founded by the -empress Helena and rebuilt by Theodosius, rises the mosque of Muhammad -II., surrounded by schools, hospitals, and khâns. Alongside the mosque -are the slave-bazâr, the baths of Muhammad, and the granite column of -Marcian surmounted by a marble capital, on which is a cippus still -ornamented with the imperial eagles. Near by is the Et-Meidan, where -the famous massacre of the Janissaries took place. - -Traversing another valley, likewise closely built up, we mount the -fifth hill, surmounted by the mosque of Selim, near the site of the -ancient cistern of St. Peter, now converted into a garden. Beneath us, -along the shores of the Golden Horn, extends Fanar, the Greek quarter -and seat of the Patriarch, where ancient Byzantium has taken refuge, -the scene of the revolting carnage of 1821. - -Descending into a fifth valley and ascending a sixth hill, we find -ourselves upon the territory once occupied by the eight cohorts of -Constantine’s forty thousand Goths, beyond the circuit of the earlier -walls, which only embraced the fourth hill: this is the precise spot -assigned to the seventh cohort, hence the name Hebdomon given to that -quarter. - -On the sixth hill may be seen still standing the walls of the palace[B] -of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, where the emperors were formerly -crowned, now called by the Turks Tekfûr Serai--Palace of the Princes. -At the foot of the hill lies Balat, the Ghetto of Constantinople, a -filthy quarter extending along the banks of the Horn as far as the -city-walls: and beyond Balat is the ancient suburb of Blachernæ, where -once arose the mighty palace with its gilded roofs, a favorite resort -of the emperors, and famous for the sacredness of the relics contained -in the church erected by the empress Pulcheria. Now the whole quarter -is filled with decay and ruin and melancholy. At the Blachernæ begin -the turreted walls which extend from the Golden Horn across to the Sea -of Marmora, enclosing the seventh hill, on which stood the Forum of -Arcadius, and where may still be seen the pedestal of the column of -Arcadius--the largest and most eastern of the hills of Stambul, between -which and the other six flows the little river Lycus, which, entering -the city near the Charsiou[C] Gate, empties itself into the Sea of -Marmora near the ancient gate of Theodosius. - - [B] Prof. A. Van Millingen places the site of the Hebdomon Palace - on the shore of the Sea of Marmora, outside the walls, near - the village of Makri Keui; other authorities state that there - are unanswerable arguments in favor of this view.--TRANS. - - [C] The Lycus enters the city near the Gate of Pusæus and empties - into the Sea of Marmora at Vlanga-Bostan.--TRANS. - -From the walls of the Blachernæ we overlook the suburb of Ortajilar, -inclining gently to the water’s edge and crowned with its many gardens; -beyond it lies that of Eyûb, the consecrated soil of the Mussulman, -with its charming mosques and vast cemetery shaded by a forest of -cypresses and white with mausoleums and tombstones; back of Eyûb is the -elevated plain which was formerly used as a military camp, and where -the legions elevated the newly-made emperors upon their shields;[D] and -beyond this, again, other villages are seen, their bright colors set in -a framework of green woods and bathed by the farthermost waters of the -Golden Horn. - - [D] This ceremony more probably took place near Makri Keui on the - Sea of Marmora.--TRANS. - -Such is Stambul, truly a divine vision. But when it is remembered -that this huge Asiatic village surmounts the ruins of that second -Rome, of that great museum of treasures stripped from all Italy, from -Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, one’s heart sinks within him: the mere -thought of such an accumulation of works of art makes one dizzy. And -where are they now, those great arcades which traversed the city from -wall to sea, those gilded domes and colossal equestrian statues which -surmounted the mighty columns before baths and amphitheatres, those -brazen sphinxes seated upon pedestals of porphyry, those temples and -palaces which once reared their mighty façades of granite in the midst -of an aërial throng of marble deities and silver emperors? All have -disappeared or been changed past recognition. The equestrian statues -of bronze have been recast into guns, the copper coverings of the -obelisks converted into money, the sarcophagi of the emperors turned -into fountains. The church of St. Irene is an armory: the cistern of -Constantine[E] is a workshop; the pedestal of the column of Arcadius -is occupied by a blacksmith; the Hippodrome is a horse-market; the -foundations of the royal palaces are heaps of stones overgrown with -ivy; the pavements of the amphitheatre, grass-grown cemeteries. A few -inscriptions, half obliterated by fire or defaced by the simetars of -the invaders, are all that remain to tell us that on these hills once -stood the marvellous metropolis of the Empire of the East. And over all -this mass of ruin and decay Stambul sits brooding, like some odalisque -above a sepulchre, awaiting her hour. - - [E] The Cistern Basilica, ascribed to Constantine the Great, is - still used for its original purpose. The Cistern Philoxenes - is occupied by silk-spinners.--TRANS. - - -AT THE HOTEL. - -And now, if my readers will kindly accompany me back to the hotel, we -will rest for a while. The greater part of what I have described thus -far having been seen by my friend and myself on the very day of our -arrival, one may easily imagine what a condition our brains were in -as we wended our way toward the hotel at about nightfall. As we passed -through the streets neither of us opened our lips, but on reaching -our room we dropped on the sofa, and, facing about, asked each other -simultaneously, - -“Well, what do you think of it? How does it strike you?” - -“Fancy my having come here to paint!” - -“And I to write!” - -And we laughed in each other’s faces with amused compassion. - -Indeed, that evening and for many days after His Majesty Abdul-Aziz -might have offered me a province in Asia Minor as a reward for a -half-dozen lines of description of the capital of his state, and I -could not have produced them, so true is it that you must get a little -distance away from great objects before you can describe them, and -if you wish to remember them correctly, you must first forget them -somewhat. - -And then how could one possibly do any writing in a room from whose -windows could be seen the Bosphorus, Skutari, and the summit of the -Olympus? The hotel was a sight in itself. At all hours of the day -people of every country in the world were coming and going through -the halls and corridors, up and down the stairs. Every evening twenty -different nationalities were represented at table. I could not get the -idea out of my head during dinner that I must be an envoy sent out by -the Italian government, and that it devolved upon me to introduce some -grave question of international importance with the dessert. There were -many charming countenances of ladies; rough, uncombed artist heads; -seamy adventurers lying in wait for your money; profiles like those -of the Byzantine Virgin, lacking nothing but the golden nimbus; queer -faces and sinister ones; and every day this motley company changed. -At dessert, when every one was talking, it sounded like the Tower of -Babel. On the day of our arrival we struck up an acquaintance with -a party of Russians infatuated with Constantinople, and after that -every evening, when we met at table, we would compare notes. Each -one had visited some point of interest during the day and had some -interesting experience to relate. This one had been to the top of the -Serasker Tower, that one to the Eyûb cemetery; another had spent the -day in Skutari; another was just back from a trip on the Bosphorus. -The conversation glowed with vivid descriptions, life, color, and when -one’s command of language failed him the delicious perfumed wines of -the Archipelago were at hand to loose his tongue and stimulate him -to fresh efforts. There were, it is true, some fellow-countrymen of -mine there who made me furiously angry--moneyed idiots who from soup -to dessert never left off abusing Constantinople, and Providence for -bringing them there. There were no sidewalks, the theatres were badly -lighted, there was no way of passing the evening--apparently they had -come to Constantinople to pass their evenings. One of them having made -the trip on the Danube, I asked him how he had liked the famous river, -upon which he assured me that there was no place on earth where they -understood so well how sturgeon should be cooked as on the Austrian -Royal and Imperial line of steamboats! Another was a charming example -of the lady-killer style of traveller, whose main object in going -about the world is to make conquests, carefully recorded in a notebook -kept for the purpose. He was a tall, lanky blond, liberally endowed -with the greatest of the three gifts of the Holy Spirit. Whenever the -conversation turned upon Turkish women, he would fix his eyes upon -his plate with a meaning smile and take no part in it, except for an -occasional word or two, when he would break off suddenly, taking a sip -of wine as though he feared he had said too much. He always hurried -into dinner a little behind time, with an important air suggestive of -his having been unavoidably detained by the Sultan, and between the -courses would busy himself in changing mysterious-looking little notes -from one pocket to another, evidently intended to look like billetsdoux -from frail fair ones, but which, oddly enough, bore the unmistakable -stamp of hotel-bills. - -But one certainly does run across all sorts of queer subjects in -the hotels of those cosmopolitan cities: no one would believe it -without seeing for himself. For instance, there was a young Hungarian -there, about thirty years old, a tall, nervous fellow with a pair of -diabolical eyes and a quick, feverish way of talking. After acting for -some time as private secretary to a rich Parisian, he had enlisted -among the French Zouaves in Algiers, was wounded and taken prisoner -by the Arabs, and, escaping later from Morocco, had made his way -back to Europe, where he hastened to The Hague, hoping to receive an -appointment as officer in the war with the _Achins_; failing in this, -he determined to enlist in the Turkish army, but while passing through -Vienna on his way to Constantinople for that purpose he had gotten -mixed up in some affair about a woman. In the duel which ensued he had -received a ball in his neck, the scar from which could still be seen. -Unsuccessful at Constantinople as well, “What,” said he, “is there left -for me to do?--je suis enfant de l’aventure. Fight I must. Well, I have -found the means of getting to India;” and he brought out a steamer -ticket. “I shall enlist as an English soldier: there is always some -fighting going on in the interior, and that is all I care for. Killed? -Well, what if I am? My lungs are all gone, anyhow.” - -Another queer creature was a Frenchman whose life seemed to have been -one prolonged struggle with the postal authorities all over the world. -He had lawsuits pending with the post-office departments of Austria, -France, and England; he wrote protesting articles to the _Neue Freie -Presse_, and fired off telegraphic messages of defiance to every -post-office on the Continent; not a day went by without his having some -noisy altercation at a window where mail was received or distributed; -he never, by any chance, received a letter on time or wrote one that -reached its destination. At table he would give us an account of all -his misfortunes and consequent disputes, invariably winding up with the -statement that the postal system had been the means of shortening his -life. - -Then there was a Greek lady with a strange, wild look and very -curiously dressed: she was always alone, and every day would start -suddenly up in the middle of dinner and leave the table after making a -cabalistic sign over her plate whose significance no one was ever able -to make out. - -I have never forgotten, either, a good-looking young Wallachian couple, -he about twenty-five, she just grown, who only appeared one evening: -it was an undoubted case of elopement, for if you looked fixedly at -them they both turned red and appeared uneasy, and every time the door -opened they jumped as though they were on springs. - -Let me see: what others can I remember? Hundreds, I suppose, were I to -give my mind to it. It was like a magic-lantern show. - -On the days when the steamers were due my friend and I used to find -the greatest amusement in watching the new arrivals as they came into -the hotel, exhausted, confused, some of them still under the influence -of the approach to Constantinople--countenances which seemed to say, -“What world is this? What on earth have we dropped into?” One day a boy -passed us, that instant landed; he was entirely beside himself with -joy at having actually reached Constantinople, the culmination of his -dreams, and was squeezing his father’s hand between both his own in an -ecstasy of delight, while the father, equally moved by the sight of his -son’s happiness, was saying, “Je suis heureux, de te voir heureux, mon -cher enfant.” - -We used to pass the hot part of the day gazing out of our windows at -the Maiden’s Tower, which rises up, white as snow, from a solitary -rock in the Bosphorus just opposite Skutari, and while we told each -other stories about the legend of the young prince of Persia who sucked -the poison from the arm of the beautiful sultana bitten by a snake, a -little fellow of five years old would chatter across at us from the -window of an opposite house, where he appeared every day at the same -hour. - -Everything about that hotel was queer: among other things, we would run -every evening against one or two doubtful-looking characters hovering -around in front of the entrance. They evidently gained a livelihood by -providing artists’ models, and, taking every one for a painter, would -assail all who came and went with the same low-voiced inquiries: “A -Turk? A Greek? An Armenian? A Jewess? A Negress?” - - -CONSTANTINOPLE. - -But suppose, now, we turn our attention again to Constantinople itself, -and wander about as unrestrainedly as birds of the air? It is a place -where one may give free rein to his caprices. You can light your -cigar in Europe and knock the ashes off in Asia, and, getting up in -the morning, ask yourself what part of the world it would be pleasant -to visit during the day, with two continents and two seas to choose -from. Saddled horses stand waiting for you in every square; boats with -their sails spread are ready to take you anywhere you may choose to -go; steamboats lie at every pier awaiting nothing but the signal to -depart; kâiks manned with rowers and skiffs fitted with sails crowd the -landing-places; while an army of guides, speaking every language of -Europe, is at your disposal for as long a time as you may want any of -them. Do you care to hear an Italian comedy? see the Dancing Dervishes? -listen to the buffooneries of Kara-gyuz, the Turkish Punchinello? -be treated to the licentious songs of the Parisian café chantant? -watch the gymnastic performances of a band of gypsies? listen to an -Arabian story-teller? attend a Greek theatre? hear an _imam_ preach? -see the Sultan pass on his way to the mosque? You have but to say -what you prefer and it is ready at hand. Every nationality is at your -service--Armenians to shave you, Hebrews to clean your shoes, Turks to -row your boat, negroes to dry you after the bath, Greeks to bring your -coffee, and one and all to cheat you. Perhaps you are heated from your -walk? here are ices made from the snows of Olympus. Thirsty? you can -drink the waters of the Nile as the Sultan does. Should your stomach -be a little out of order, here is water from the Euphrates to set it -straight, or, if you are nervous, water from the Danube. You can dine -like the Arab of the desert or a gourmand of the _Maison dorée_. If you -want to doze and drowse, there are the cemeteries; to be stirred up -and excited, the bridge of the Validêh Sultan; to dream dreams and see -visions, the Bosphorus; to pass Sunday, the Archipelago of the Princes; -to see Asia Minor, Mt. Bûlgurlû, the Golden Horn, the Galata Tower, -the world, the Serasker Tower. It is, above all, a city of contrasts. -Things which we never think of connecting in our minds are seen there -at a single glance side by side. - -Skutari is the starting-point for the caravans for Mecca, and also -for the express trains for Brusa, the ancient metropolis; the Sofia -railroad passes close by the mysterious walls of the old Seraglio; -Catholic priests bear the Holy Sacrament through the streets escorted -by Turkish soldiers; the common people have their festivals in the -cemeteries; life and death, sorrow and rejoicing, follow so close -upon one another’s heels as to seem all a part of the same function. -There are seen the movement and energy of London side by side with the -lethargic inertia of the East. The greater part of existence is led in -public before your eyes, but over the private side of life there hangs -a close, impenetrable veil of mystery; under that absolute monarchy -there exists a liberty without bounds. - -It is impossible, for several days at least, to get a clear impression -of anything: it seems every moment that if the disorder is not quelled -at once a revolution must break out. Every evening you feel, on -reaching your lodgings, as though you had just returned from a long -journey, and in the morning ask yourself incredulously if Stambul can -really be here, close at hand. There seems to be no place where you can -go to get your brain a little clear; one impression effaces another; -you are torn by conflicting desires; time flies. You think you would -like to spend the rest of your life here, and the next moment wish you -could leave to-morrow. And when it comes to attempting a description of -this chaos--well, there are moments when you are strongly tempted to -bundle together all the books and papers on your table and pitch the -whole thing out of the window. - - - - -ALONG THE GOLDEN HORN. - - -It was not until the fourth day after our arrival that my friend and I -attempted to introduce anything like method into our sightseeing. We -were on the bridge quite early in the morning, still uncertain as to -how we would spend the day, when Yunk proposed that we should make our -first regular expedition with tranquil minds and a well-defined route -for purposes of study and observation. “Let us,” said he, “explore -thoroughly the northern bank of the Golden Horn, if we have to walk -till nightfall to do it; we can breakfast in some Turkish restaurant, -take our noonday nap under a sycamore tree, and come home by water in -a käik.” The suggestion being accepted, we provided ourselves with a -stock of cigars and small change, and, after glancing over the map of -the city, set forth in the direction of Galata. - -If the reader really cares to know anything about Constantinople, I -am afraid he will have to make up his mind to go too, with the clear -understanding, however, that whenever he finds himself getting bored he -is at perfect liberty to leave us. - - -GALATA. - -On reaching Galata the excursion begins. Galata is situated on the hill -which forms the promontory between the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, -the former site of ancient Byzantium’s great cemetery. It is now the -“city” of Constantinople. Its streets, almost all of them narrow and -tortuous, are lined with restaurants, confectioners’, barbers’, and -butchers’ shops, Greek and Armenian cafés, business-houses, merchants’ -offices, workshops, counting-houses--dirty, ill-lighted, damp, and -narrow, like the streets in the lower parts of London. A hurrying, -pushing throng of foot-passengers comes and goes all day long, now -and then crowding to right and left to make room in the middle of the -street for the passage of porters, carriages, donkeys, or omnibuses. -Almost all the business conducted in Constantinople flows through this -quarter. Here are the Bourse, the custom-house, the offices of the -Austrian Lloyd and the French express company, churches and convents, -hospitals and warehouses. An underground railroad connects Galata -and Pera. Were it not for the ever-present turban or fez, one would -hardly know he was in the East at all. On every side is heard French, -Italian, and Genoese. The Genoese are, in fact, almost on their native -soil here, and are still somewhat inclined to assume the airs of -proprietors, as in the days when they opened and closed the harbor at -their will and replied to the emperor’s threats with volleys from their -cannon. Of this ancient glory, however, nothing now remains except a -few old houses supported on great pilasters and heavy arches, and the -ancient edifice which was once the residence of the Podesta. - -Old Galata has almost entirely disappeared. Thousands of squalid houses -have been razed to the ground to make room for two wide streets, one -of which mounts to the summit of the hill toward Pera, while the other -runs parallel with the sea-wall from one end of Galata to the other. -My friend and I took the latter, seeking refuge from time to time in -some shop or other when a huge omnibus rolled by, preceded by Turks -stripped to the waist, who cleared the street by means of long sticks, -with which they laid about them. At every step some fresh cry assailed -the ear, Turkish porters yelling, “_Sacun ha!_” (Make room!); Armenian -water-carriers calling out, “_Varme su!_” and the Greek, “_Crio nero!_” -Turkish donkey-drivers crying, “_Burada!_” venders of sweetmeats, -“_Scerbet!_” newsboys, “_Neologos!_” Frankish cab-drivers, “_Guarda! -guarda!_” - -After walking for ten minutes we were completely stunned. Coming to a -certain place, we noticed with surprise that the paving of the street -suddenly ceased: it had evidently been removed quite recently. We -stopped to examine the roadway and discover, if possible, some reason -for this eccentricity, when an Italian shopkeeper, seeing what we were -about, came to the rescue and satisfied our curiosity. This street, it -seemed, led to the Sultan’s palace, and a few months previously, while -the imperial cortège was passing along it, the horse of His Majesty -Abdul-Aziz stumbled and fell. The good Sultan, much annoyed by this -circumstance, commanded that the pavement should be removed all the -way from the spot where the accident occurred, to the palace; which of -course had been done. Fixing upon this memorable spot as the eastern -boundary of our walk, we now turned our backs upon the Bosphorus -and proceeded, by a series of dark, crooked little streets, in the -direction of the - - -TOWER OF GALATA. - -The city of Galata is shaped like an open fan, of which the tower, -placed on the crest of the hill, represents the pivot. This tower is -round, very lofty, dark in color, and terminates in a conical point -formed by a copper roof, directly beneath which runs a line of large -glazed windows, forming a sort of gallery enclosed with glass, where -a lookout is kept night and day ready to give warning of the first -appearance of fire in any part of the immense city. The Galata of the -Genoese extended as far as this tower, which stands on the exact line -of the walls which once divided it from Pera--walls of which at -present no trace remains;[F] nor is the present tower the same as -that ancient Tower of Christ, erected in memory of the Genoese who -fell in battle, having been rebuilt by Mahmûd II., and prior to that -restored by Selim III.,[G] but it is none the less a monument to the -glory of Genoa, and one upon which no Italian can gaze without feeling -some pride at the thought of that handful of soldiers, merchants, and -sailors--haughty, audacious, proud, stubborn--who for centuries floated -the flag of the mother republic from its summit and treated with the -emperors of the East as equals. - - [F] A few traces of these walls may still be seen near the Galata - Tower.--TRANS. - - [G] The Galata Tower, called in the Middle Ages the Tower of - Christ or of the Cross, was built in 1348, probably on - the foundations of an earlier Byzantine tower ascribed to - Anastasius Dicorus, and in the present century was repaired - by Mahmûd II.--TRANS. - -[Illustration: Tower of Galata.] - -Immediately beyond the tower we came upon a Mussulman cemetery. - - -THE GALATA CEMETERY. - -This is called the Galata Cemetery. It is a great forest of cypress -trees, extending from the summit of the hill of Pera all the way -down the steep declivity, nearly to the edge of the Golden Horn, and -casting its thick shadows over myriads of little stone and marble -pillars--inclining at every angle and scattered irregularly over -the hillside. Some of these are surmounted by round turbans on which -may be seen traces of coloring and inscriptions; others are pointed -at the top, many lie prone upon their sides, while from others the -turbans have been cut clean off, making one fancy that they belong to -Janissaries, whom, even after death, Sultan Mahmûd took occasion to -degrade and insult. The greater part of the graves are merely indicated -by square mounds of earth, having a stone at either end, upon which, -according to Mussulman belief, the two angels Nekir and Munkir take -their seats to judge the soul of the departed. Here and there may be -seen small enclosures surrounded by a low wall or railing, in the -middle of which stands a column surmounted by a huge turban, and all -around it other smaller columns: this is the grave of some pasha or -person of distinction buried in the midst of his wives and children. -Footpaths wind in and out among the graves and trees, crossing and -recrossing one another in all directions from one end of the cemetery -to the other. A Turk seated in the shade smokes tranquilly; boys -run about and chase each other among the tombs; here and there cows -are grazing, and a multitude of turtle-doves bill and coo among the -branches of the cypress trees; groups of veiled women pass from time to -time; and through the leaves and branches glimpses are caught of the -blue waters of the Golden Horn streaked with long white reflections -from the minarets of Stambul. - - -PERA. - -Coming out of the cemetery, we passed once more close to the base of -the Galata Tower and took the principal street of Pera. Pera lies -more than three hundred feet above the level of the sea, is bright -and cheerful, and overlooks both the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. -It is the “West End” of the European colony, the quarter where are -to be found the comforts and elegancies of life. The street which we -now followed is lined on both sides with English and French hotels, -cafés of the better sort, brilliantly lighted shops, theatres, foreign -consulates, clubs, and the residences of the various ambassadors, -among which towers the great stone palace of the Russian embassy, -commanding Galata, Pera, and the village of Fundukli on the shore of -the Bosphorus, for all the world like a fortress. - -The crowds which swarm and throng these streets are altogether unlike -those of Galata. Hardly any but stiff hats are to be seen, unless we -except the masses of flowers and feathers which adorn the heads of the -ladies: here are Greek, Italian, and French dandies, merchant princes, -officials of the various legations, foreign navy officers, ambassadors’ -equipages, and doubtful-looking physiognomies of every nationality. -Turkish men stand admiring the wax heads in the hairdressers’ windows, -and the women pause open-mouthed before the showcases of the milliners’ -shops. The Europeans talk and laugh more loudly here than elsewhere, -cracking jokes in the middle of the street, while the Turks, feeling -themselves, as it were, foreigners, carry their heads less high than in -the streets of Stambul. - -As we walked along my friend suddenly called my attention to the -view, behind us, of Stambul. Sure enough, there lay the Seraglio -hill, St. Sophia, and the minarets of the mosque of Sultan Ahmed, all -faintly veiled in blue mist--an altogether different world from the -one in which we stood. “And now,” said he, “look there!” Following -the direction of his finger, I read the titles of some of the books -displayed in the window of an adjacent stationer’s shop--_La Dame -aux Camelias_, _Madame Bovary_, _Mademoiselle Giraud ma Femme_--and -experienced so curious a sensation at the rapid and violent contrast -thus presented that for some moments I was obliged to stand quite still -in order to adjust my ideas. At another time I stopped my companion to -make him look in a wonderful café we were passing. It was a long, wide, -dim corridor, ending in a large open window, through which we beheld, -at what seemed to be an immense distance, Skutari flooded with sunlight. - -When we had proceeded for some distance along the Grande Rue de Pera -and nearly reached the end, we were startled by hearing a voice, -quite close at hand, exclaiming in tones of thunder, “Adèle, I love -thee! I love thee better than life itself! I love thee even as much -as it is given to men to love upon earth!” We gazed at one another in -astonishment. Where on earth did the voice come from? Looking about -us, we discovered on one side of the street a wooden fence through the -cracks of which a large garden could be seen filled with benches, and -at the farther end a stage on which a troupe of actors were rehearsing -the performance for the evening. A Turkish lady not far from us stood -peeping in as well, and laughed with great enjoyment at the scene, -while an old Turk, passing by, shook his head disapprovingly. Suddenly -with a loud shriek the lady fled down the street; other women in the -neighborhood echoed the shriek and turned their backs rapidly. What -could have happened? Turning around, we beheld a Turk about fifty years -old, well known throughout all Constantinople, who elected to go about -the streets clad with the same severe simplicity which the famous monk -Turi was so anxious to impose upon all good Mussulmen during the reign -of Muhammad IV.; that is, stark naked from head to foot. The wretched -creature advanced, leaping on the stones, shouting and breaking forth -into loud bursts of laughter, followed by a crowd of ragamuffins making -a noise like that of the infernal regions. “It is to be devoutly hoped -that he will be promptly arrested,” said I to the doorkeeper of the -theatre. “Not the smallest likelihood of anything of the sort,” replied -he; “he has been going about like that for months.” In the mean while I -could see people all the way down the street coming to the doors of the -shops, women getting out of the way, young girls covering their faces, -doors being shut, heads disappearing from the windows. And this thing -goes on every day, and no one so much as gives it a thought! - - * * * * * - -On issuing from the Grande Rue de Pera we find ourselves opposite -another large Mussulman cemetery shaded by groves of cypress trees and -enclosed between high walls. Had we not been informed later on of the -reason for those walls, we should certainly never have guessed it. They -had evidently been quite recently erected, to prevent, it would seem, -the woods consecrated to the repose of the dead from being converted -into a trysting-spot where the soldiers from the neighboring artillery -barracks were wont to meet their sweethearts. A little farther on we -came upon the barracks, a huge, solid, rectangular structure, built -by Shalil Pasha in the Moorish style of the Turkish Renaissance, its -great portal flanked by light columns and surmounted by the crescent -and golden star of Muhammad, and having balconies and small windows -ornamented with carving and arabesques. In front of the barracks -runs the Rue Dgiedessy, a continuation of the Grande Rue de Pera, on -the other side of which stretches an extensive parade-ground; beyond -that, again, are other suburbs. During the week this neighborhood -is buried in the most profound silence and solitude, but on Sunday -afternoons it is crowded with people and equipages, all the gay world -of Pera pouring out to scatter itself among the beer-gardens, cafés, -and pleasure-resorts which lie beyond the barracks. It was in one of -these cafés that we broke our fast--the café _Belle Vue_, a resort of -the flower of Pera society, and well deserving its name, since from -its immense gardens, extending like a terrace over the summit of the -hill, you have, spread out before you, the large Mussulman village of -Fundukli, the Bosphorus covered with ships, the coast of Asia dotted -over with gardens and villages, Skutari with her glistening white -mosques--a luxuriance of color, green foliage, blue sea, and sky all -bathed in light, which form a scene of intoxicating beauty. We arose -at last unwillingly, and both of us felt like niggards as we threw our -eight wretched sous on the counter, the bare price of a couple of cups -of coffee after having been treated to that celestial vision. - - -THE GREAT FIELD OF THE DEAD. - -Coming out of the Belle Vue, we found ourselves in the midst of the -Grand Champs des Morts, where the dead of every faith except the -Jewish are buried in distinct cemeteries. It is a vast, thick wood of -cypress, sycamore, and acacia trees, in whose shadow are thousands -of white tombstones, having the appearance, at a little distance, of -the ruins of some great building. In between the trunks of the trees -distant views are caught of the Bosphorus and the Asiatic coast. Broad -paths wind in and out among the graves, along which groups of Greeks -and Armenians may be seen passing to and fro. On some of the tombs -Turks are seated cross-legged, gazing fixedly at the Bosphorus. One -experiences the same delicious sense of refreshment and peace and rest, -as on entering a vast, dim cathedral on some hot summer’s day. - -We paused in the Armenian cemetery. The stones here are all large, -flat, and covered with inscriptions cut in the regular and elegant -characters of the Armenian language, and on almost every one there -is some figure to indicate the trade or occupation of the deceased. -There are hammers, chairs, pens, coffers, and necklaces; the banker is -represented by a pair of weights and scales, the priest by a mitre, -the barber has his basin, the surgeon a lancet. On one stone we saw a -head detached from the body, which was streaming with blood: it was -the grave of either a murdered man or else one who had been executed. -Alongside it was stretched an Armenian, sound asleep, with his head -thrown back. - -We passed on next to the Mussulman cemetery. Here were to be seen the -same multitude of little columns, either in rows or standing about in -irregular groups, some of them painted and gilded on top, those of the -women culminating in ornamental bunches of flowers carved in relief, -many of them surrounded with shrubs and flowering plants. As we stood -looking at one of them, two Turks, leading a child by the hand, passed -down the path to a tomb some little distance off, on reaching which -they paused, and, having spread out the contents of a package one of -them carried under his arm, they seated themselves on the tombstone -and began to eat. I stood watching them. When the meal was ended the -elder of the two wrapped what appeared to be a fish and a piece of -bread in a scrap of paper, and with a gesture of respect placed it in -a hole beside the grave. This having been done, they both lit their -pipes and fell to smoking tranquilly, while the child ran up and down -and played among the trees. It was explained to me later that the fish -and bread were that portion of their repast which Turks leave as a -sign of affection for relatives probably not long dead; the hole was -the small opening made in the ground near the head of every Mussulman -grave in order that the departed may hear the sobs and lamentations of -their dear ones left on earth, and occasionally receive a few drops of -rose-water or enjoy the scent of the flowers. Their mortuary smoke -concluded, the two pious Turks arose, and, taking the child once more -by the hand, disappeared among the cypress trees. - - -PANKALDI. - -On coming out of the cemetery we found ourselves in another Christian -quarter--Pankaldi--traversed by wide streets lined with new buildings -and surrounded by gardens, villas, hospitals, and large barracks. This -is the suburb of Constantinople farthest away from the sea. After -having seen which, we turned back to redescend to the Golden Horn. On -reaching the last street, however, we came unexpectedly upon a new -and strikingly solemn scene. It was a Greek funeral procession, which -advanced slowly toward us between a dense and perfectly silent crowd -of people packed together on either side of the street. Heading the -procession came a group of Greek priests in their long embroidered -garments; then the archimandrite wearing a crown upon his head and -a long cape embroidered in gold; behind him were a number of young -ecclesiastics clad in brilliant colors, and a group of friends and -relatives, all wearing their richest garments, and in their midst the -bier, covered with flowers, on which lay the body of a young girl of -about fifteen dressed in satin and resplendent with jewels. The face -was exposed--such a dear little face, white as snow, the mouth slightly -contracted as if in pain, and two long tresses of beautiful black -hair lying across the shoulders and breast. The bier passes, the crowd -closes in behind the procession, which is quickly lost to sight, and we -find ourselves standing, sobered and thoughtful, in the midst of the -deserted street. - - -SAN DMITRI. - -We now descended the hill, and, after crossing the dry bed of a -torrent and climbing up the ascent on the other side, found ourselves -in another suburb, San Dmitri. Here almost the entire population is -Greek. On every side may be seen black eyes and fine aquiline noses; -patriarchal-looking old men and slight, sinewy young ones; girls with -hair hanging down their backs, and bright intelligent-looking lads, -who disport themselves in the middle of the street among the chickens -and pigs, filling the air with their musical cries and harmonious -inflections. We approached a group of these boys who were engaged in -pelting one another with pebbles, all chattering at the same time. -One of them, about eight years old, the most impish-looking little -rascal of the lot, kept tossing his little fez in the air, every few -minutes calling out, “_Zito! zito!_” (Hurrah! hurrah!) Suddenly he -turned to another little chap seated on a doorstep near by, and cried, -“_Checchino! buttami la palla!_” (Checchino! throw me the ball). -Seizing him by the arm as though I were a gypsy kidnapper, I said, -“So you are an Italian?”--“Oh no, sir,” he answered; “I belong to -Constantinople.”--“Then who taught you to speak Italian?”--“Oh that?” -said he; “why, my mother”--“And where is your mother?” Just at that -moment, though, a woman carrying a baby in her arms approached, all -smiles, and explained to me that she was from Pisa, that she and her -husband, an engraver from Leghorn, had been in Constantinople for -eight years past, and that the boy was theirs. Had this good woman -had a handsome matronly face, a turretted crown upon her head, and a -long mantle floating majestically from her shoulders, she could not -have brought the image of Italy more forcibly before my eyes and mind. -“And how do you like living here?” I asked her. “What do you think of -Constantinople on the whole?”--“How can I tell?” said she, smiling -artlessly. “It seems to be like a city that--well, to tell you the -truth, I can never get it out of my head that it is the last day of -the Carnival;” and then, giving free rein to her Tuscan speech, she -explained to us that “_the Mussulman’s Christ is Mahomet_,” that a Turk -is allowed to marry four wives, that the Turkish language is admirable -for those who understand it, and various other pieces of equally -valuable information, but which, told in that language and amid those -strange surroundings, gave us more pleasure than the choicest bits of -news--so much so, indeed, that on parting we were fain to leave a small -monetary expression of our esteem in the hand of the little lad, and -exclaimed simultaneously as we walked off, “After all, there is nothing -that sets one up so as a mouthful of Italian now and then.” - - -TOTAOLA. - -Recrossing the little valley, we came to another Greek quarter, -Totaola, where our stomachs gave us a hint that this would be a -favorable moment in which to investigate the interior of one of those -innumerable restaurants of Constantinople, all of which, built on the -same plan, present the same extraordinary appearance. There is one -huge room, which might on occasion be turned into a theatre, lighted, -as a rule, only by the door through which you enter; around it runs -a high wooden gallery furnished with a balustrade. On one side is an -enormous stove at which a brigand in shirt-sleeves fries fish, bastes -the roast, mixes sauces, and devotes himself generally to the business -of shortening human life; at a counter on the other side another -forbidding-looking individual serves out red and white wine in glasses -with handles; in the middle and front of the apartment are low stools -without backs and little tables scarcely higher than the stools, -looking for all the world like cobblers’ benches. We entered with some -slight feeling of hesitation, not knowing whether the groups of Greeks -and Armenians of the lower orders already assembled might not evince -some disagreeable signs of curiosity; on the contrary, however, no one -deigned so much as to look at us. It is my belief that the population -of Constantinople is the least inquisitive of any on the face of the -globe. You must be the Sultan at least, or else promenade through the -streets without any clothes on, like the madman of Pera, for people to -show that they are so much as aware of your existence. Taking our seats -in a corner, we waited some time, but, as nothing happened, we finally -concluded that it must be the custom in Constantinopolitan restaurants -for every one to look out for himself. Advancing then boldly to the -stove, we each got a portion of the roast--Heaven only knows from what -quadruped--and then, providing ourselves with a glass apiece of the -resinous Tenedos wine, we returned to our corner, spread the repast out -on a table barely reaching to our knees, and, with a sidelong glance -at one another, fell to and consumed the sacrifice. After resignedly -settling the account we walked out in perfect silence, afraid on our -lives to open our lips for fear a bray or a bark should escape them, -and resumed our walk in the direction of the Golden Horn, somewhat -chastened in spirit. - -[Illustration: Panorama of the Arsenal and Golden Horn.] - - -KASSIM PASHA. - -A walk of ten minutes brought us once more into real Turkey, the great -Mussulman suburb of Kassim Pasha, a city in itself, filled with mosques -and dervishes’ monasteries, which, with its kitchen-gardens and -shaded grounds, covers an entire hill and valley, and, extending -all the way to the Golden Horn, includes all of the ancient bay of -Mandsacchio, from the cemetery of Galata quite to the promontory -which overlooks the Balata quarter on the other shore. From the -heights of Kassim Pasha a most exquisite view is to be had. Beneath, -on the water’s edge, stands the enormous arsenal of Tersâne; beyond -it extends for more than a mile a labyrinth of dry-docks, workshops, -open squares, storehouses, and barracks, skirting all that part of the -Golden Horn which serves as a port of war. The admiralty building, -airy and graceful, seeming to float upon the surface of the water, -stands out clearly against the dark-green background of the Galata -cemetery; in the harbor innumerable small steamboats and käiks, crowded -with people, shoot in and out among the stationary iron-clads and old -frigates of the Crimea; on the opposite bank lie Stambul, the aqueduct -of Valens, bearing aloft its mighty arches into the blue heavens above, -the great mosques of Muhammad and Suleiman, and innumerable houses -and minarets. In order to take in all the details of this scene we -seated ourselves in front of a Turkish café and sipped the fourth or -fifth of the dozen or more cups of coffee which, whether you wish to -or not, you are bound to imbibe in the course of every day of your -stay in Constantinople. This café was a very unpretending place, but, -like all such establishments--Turkish ones, that is--most original, -probably differing but little from those very first ones started in -the time of Suleiman the Great, or those others into which the fourth -Murad used to burst so unexpectedly, cimeter in hand, when he made his -nocturnal rounds for the purpose of wreaking summary vengeance upon -venders of the forbidden beverage. What numbers of imperial edicts, -theological disputes, and bloody quarrels has this “enemy of sleep and -fruitfulness,” as it has been termed by ulemas of the strict school, -“genius of dreams and quickener of the mind,” as the more liberal sects -have it, been the cause of! And now, after love and tobacco, it is the -most highly prized of all luxuries in the estimation of every poor -Osman. To-day coffee is drunk on the summits of the Galata and Serasker -towers; you find it on the steamboats, in the cemeteries, in the -barber-shops, the baths, the bazârs. In whatever part of Constantinople -you may happen to be, if you merely call out, “Café-gi!” without taking -the trouble to leave your seat, in three minutes a cup is steaming -before you. - - -THE CAFÉ. - -Our café was a large whitewashed room, with a wooden wainscoting five -or six feet high, and a low divan running around the four walls. In one -corner stood a stove at which a Turk with a hooked nose was making -coffee in little brass coffee-pots, from which he poured it into -tiny cups, adding the sugar himself: this is the universal custom in -Constantinople. The coffee is made fresh for every new-comer and handed -to him already sweetened, together with a glass of water, which the -Turk always drinks before approaching the cup to his lips. At one side -hung a small looking-glass, and beside it a rack filled with razors: -almost all the cafés in Constantinople are barber-shops as well, the -head of the establishment combining these duties with those of leech -and dentist, and operating upon his victims in the same apartment as -that in which his guests are drinking their coffee. On the opposite -wall hung another rack filled with crystal _narghilehs_, their long, -flexible tubes wound around like snakes, and terra-cotta pipes with -cherry-wood stems. Five Turks were seated on the divan thoughtfully -smoking their _narghilehs_, and in front of the door three others sat -upon very low straw-bottomed stools, their backs against the wall, -side by side, with pipes in their mouths; a youth belonging to the -establishment was engaged in shaving the head of a big, fat dervish -clad in a camel’s-hair tunic. No one looked up as we took our seats, no -one spoke, and, with the exception of the coffee-maker and the young -man, no one made the slightest movement of any sort. The gurgling -sound of the water in the _narghilehs_, something like the purring -of cats, was all that broke the profound stillness. Every one gazed -fixedly into vacancy, with faces absolutely devoid of all expression, -like an assembly of wax figures. How many just such scenes as this -have impressed themselves indelibly upon my mind! A wooden house, a -cross-legged Turk, broad shafts of light, an exquisite far-away view, -profound silence,--there you have Turkey. Every time I hear that word -pronounced these objects rise up before me in the same way that one -sees a canal and a windmill when any one mentions Holland. - - -PIALE PASHA. - -From there, skirting along the edge of a large Mussulman cemetery which -extends from the top of the Kassim Pasha hill to Tersâne, we proceeded -again in a northerly direction, and, descending into the valley, -reached the little district of Piale Pasha, almost buried in her trees -and gardens, and paused before the mosque from which the quarter -takes its name. It is white and surmounted by six graceful domes; the -courtyard is surrounded by arches supported on airy columns; there is -a charming minaret, and surrounding the whole a circle of enormous -cypress trees. At that hour all the neighboring houses were tightly -closed, the streets empty, and even the courtyard of the mosque itself -deserted; the drowsiness and heat of noonday brooded over everything, -and, except for the dull buzzing of the insects, not a sound was to be -heard. Looking at our watches, we found it wanted just three minutes to -twelve o’clock, one of the Mussulman’s five canonical hours, at which -the _muezzin_, appearing upon the gallery of every minaret, announces -to the four quarters of the globe the religious formula of Islam. We -were perfectly well aware that in all Constantinople there is not a -minaret upon which, punctual as clockwork, the messenger of the Prophet -does not appear at his appointed hour; at the same time we could hardly -bring ourselves to believe that in that farthest outpost of the immense -city, on that solitary, out-of-the-way mosque as well, and amid that -profound silence and apparent desertion, the figure would rise up, -the message be delivered. Watch in hand, I stood waiting with lively -curiosity the stroke of the hour, glancing now at the minute-hand, now -at the small doorway opening out on the gallery of the minaret, about -as high from the ground as the fourth story of an ordinary house. -Presently the minute-hand reaches the sixtieth little black speck: -no one appeared. “He is not there,” said I.--“There he is,” replied -Yunk; and, true enough, there he stood. The balustrade of the gallery -concealed all his person but the face, of which the distance was too -great to distinguish the features clearly. For a few seconds he stood -perfectly motionless: then, closing both ears with his fingers and -raising his face toward heaven, he chanted slowly, in high, piercing -accents, solemnly, mournfully, the sacred words which at the same -moment were resounding from every minaret in Africa, Asia, and Europe: -“God is great! there is but one God! Mahomet is his Prophet! Come to -prayer! come and be saved! God is great! there is none other! Come to -prayer!” Then, proceeding a part of the way around the balcony, he -repeated the same words toward the north, then to the west, and then to -the east, and finally disappeared as he had come. At the same instant -we caught the faint far-away tones of a similar voice in the distance, -sounding like some one calling for help. Then all was still, and we -two were left standing motionless and silent, with a vague feeling of -hopelessness, as though those two voices had been addressed solely to -us, calling upon us to fall down and pray, and with the disappearance -of the vision we had been left alone in that still valley, like beings -abandoned by God and man. No tolling or chime of bells has ever -appealed to me so strongly, and I then understood for the first time -why it was that Mahomet decided in favor of the human voice as a means -of summoning the faithful to their devotions, rather than the ancient -trumpet of the Israelites or tymbal of the Christians. He hesitated for -some time before making up his mind, so that the entire Orient narrowly -escaped wearing an aspect totally different from that of the present -day. Had he selected the tymbal, which must inevitably have become a -bell later on, it is very certain that the minaret would have gone, and -with it would have disappeared for ever one of the most charming and -distinctive features of both town and country in the East. - - -OK-MEIDAN. - -Mounting the hill to the west of Piale Pasha, we reached a vast open -plain from which there is a view of Stambul and the entire length of -the Golden Horn from Eyûb to Seraglio Point, four miles of mosque and -garden--a scene so overpoweringly beautiful that one is tempted to -fall upon his knees as before some heavenly vision. On the Ok-Meidan -(Place of Arrows) the sultans used formerly to practise shooting with -the bow and arrow, after the custom of the Persian kings. A number -of small stone obelisks and pillars scattered about irregularly bear -inscriptions each to the effect that upon that spot some imperial arrow -has fallen. The beautiful kiosk is still standing from whose tribune -the sultan was wont to draw his bow; on the right were drawn up a -long line of pashas and beys, living exclamation-points indicative of -the admiration excited by their lord’s dexterity; to the left stood -a group of twelve pages belonging to the imperial family, whose duty -it was to run after and pick up the arrows, marking the spots on -which they fell; hidden behind the surrounding trees and shrubbery -a few venturesome Turks peeped out who had stolen thither to gaze -fearfully upon the sublime countenance of the vicar of God; while in -the tribune, in the attitude of some haughty athlete, stood the sultan -Mahmûd, the mightiest archer of the empire, his flashing eye compelling -the bystanders to avert their gaze, and that famous beard, black as -the raven’s feathers of Mt. Taurus, gleaming afar against the white -tunic all spotted with the blood of the Janissaries. All this has now -changed and become utterly commonplace. The Sultan practises with a -revolver in the courtyard of his palace, while Ok-Meidan is used by the -infantry for target-practice. On one side stands a dervish monastery, -on the other a solitary café, and the whole place is as melancholy and -deserted as a steppe. - - -PIRI PASHA. - -Descending from the Ok-Meidan toward the Golden Horn, we came to -another little Mussulman quarter called Piri Pasha, possibly after the -famous vizier of the time of the first Selim, who educated Suleiman the -Magnificent. Piri Pasha faces the Jewish quarter of Balata, situated -on the opposite bank of the Golden Horn. We met nothing as we passed -through it except a few dogs and occasionally an old Turkish beggar; we -did not regret this, however, as it gave us an opportunity to examine -its construction at our leisure. It is a very curious fact that on -entering any quarter of Constantinople, after having seen it from the -water or some adjacent height, you invariably experience precisely the -same shock of astonishment as on going behind the scenes of a theatre -after having witnessed some beautiful spectacular effect from the -stalls. You are filled with amazement to find that the combination of -all these mean and ugly objects is what has just produced so charming -a whole. I suppose there is no other city in the world whose beauty is -so entirely dependent on general effect as Constantinople. Seen from -Balata, Piri Pasha is the prettiest little village imaginable, smiling, -radiant with color, decked with foliage, its charming image reflected -in the Golden Horn like the features of some beautiful nymph, awakening -dreams of love and pleasure in the breast. Enter it and the whole thing -changes: you find nothing but rude, mean little houses colored like -booths at a country fair, filthy courts looking like witches’ dens, -groups of dusty fig and cypress trees, gardens littered with rubbish, -narrow, deserted streets--dirt, misery, wretchedness. But run down the -hillside, jump into a käik, and give half a dozen strokes with the -oars, behold! the fairy city has reappeared, beautiful and fascinating -as before. - - -HASKEUI. - -Continuing along the shore of the Golden Horn, we descended into -another suburb, vast, populous, wearing an entirely different aspect -from the last, and where we saw quite plainly, after taking half a -dozen steps, that we were no longer among Mussulmans. On all sides -dirty children covered with sores were rolling about on the ground; -bent, ragged old crones sat working with their skinny fingers in the -doorways, through which glimpses could be caught of dusky interiors -cluttered up with heaps of old iron and rags; men clad in long, dirty -cloaks, with tattered handkerchiefs wound around their heads, skulked -along close to the wall, glancing furtively about them; thin, meagre -faces peered out of the windows as we went by; old clothes dangled from -cords suspended between the houses; mud and litter everywhere. It was -Haskeui, the Jewish quarter, the Ghetto of the northern shore of the -Golden Horn, facing that on the other shore, with which, at the time -of the Crimean War, it was connected by a wooden bridge, all traces of -which have since disappeared. From here stretches another long chain -of arsenals, military schools, barracks, and drill-grounds, extending -nearly all the way to the end of the Golden Horn. But of these we -saw nothing, our heads and our legs having given out equally. Of all -that we had seen, there only remained a confused jumble of places and -people; it seemed as though we had been travelling for a week, and we -thought of far-away Pera with a slight sensation of home-sickness. At -this point we should certainly have turned back had not our solemn -compact made upon the bridge come into our minds, and Yunk, according -to his helpful custom, revived my drooping spirits by chanting the -grand march from _Aida_. - - -KALIJI OGHLU. - -Forward, then! Traversing another Turkish cemetery and climbing -still another hill, we found ourselves in the suburb of Kaliji -Oghlu, inhabited by a mixed population. In this little city, at -every street-corner, you come upon a new race or a new religion. You -mount, descend, climb up, pass among tombs and mosques, churches and -synagogues. You skirt gardens and cemeteries, encounter handsome -Armenian women with fine matronly figures, slender Turkish ones who -steal a look at you through their veils; all around you hear Greek, -Armenian, Spanish--the Spanish of the Jews--and you walk on and on and -on. “After all, you know,” we say to one another, “Constantinople must -end somewhere.” Everything on earth has an end. We have been told so -ever since we were children. On and on and on, and now the houses of -Kaliji Oghlu grow fewer, woods begin to appear; there is but one more -group of dwellings. Quickening our pace, we passed them by, and at last -reached-- - - -SUDLUDJI. - -Merciful Heavens! what did we reach? Nothing in the world but another -suburb, the Christian settlement of Sudludji, built on a hill -surrounded by woods and cemeteries, the same hill at whose base was -formerly one end of the only bridge which in ancient times connected -the two banks of the Golden Horn. But this suburb, by a merciful -providence, was actually the last, and our excursion had finally come -to an end. Quitting the houses, we cast about us for some spot where -we might seek a little much-needed repose. Back of the village there -rises a bare, steep ascent, up which dragging our weary limbs, we -found before us the largest Jewish cemetery in Constantinople. It is a -vast open space, filled with innumerable flat gravestones, presenting -the desolate appearance of a city destroyed by an earthquake, and -unrelieved by a tree or flower or blade of grass, or even so much as -a footpath--a desert solitude as depressing to look upon as the scene -of some great disaster. Seating ourselves upon one of the tombs, we -turned in the direction of the Golden Horn, and while resting our tired -bodies feasted our eyes upon the superb panorama which lay spread out -before us. At our feet lay Sudludji, Kaliji Oghlu, Haskeui, Piri Pasha, -a chain of picturesque villages set in the midst of green gardens and -cemeteries and blue water; to the left, the solitary Ok-Meidan and the -hundred minarets of Kassim Pasha, and farther on the huge, indistinct -outlines of Stambul; beyond, fading away into the distant sky, the blue -line of the mountains of Asia; directly facing us on the opposite shore -of the Golden Horn lay the mysterious quarter of Eyûb, whose gorgeous -mausoleums, marble mosques, deserted streets, and shady inclines, -dotted with tombstones, could be clearly distinguished from where we -sat, rural-looking solitudes full of a melancholy charm; to the right -of Eyûb lay still other villages covering the hillsides and peeping -at their own reflections in the water; and then the final bend of the -Golden Horn, lost to view between two lofty banks covered with trees -and flowers. - -Half asleep, exhausted in mind and body, we sat there, allowing our -eyes to wander at will over the whole exquisite scene; put all we had -done and seen to music, and chanted antiphonally a rigmarole of I don’t -know what nonsense; discussed the history of the dead man upon whose -tomb we were sitting; poked into an ant-hill with bits of straw; talked -of all manner of foolish and irrelevant things; asked ourselves from -time to time if it were really true that we were in Constantinople; -reflected upon the shortness of life and vanity of all human desires, -at the same time drawing in deep breaths of pleasure and delight; but -away down in the bottom of our secret souls we each realized through -it all that nothing on earth, no matter how charming and beautiful it -may be, can quite satisfy a man, provided he does not while enjoying it -feel in his the hand of the woman he loves. - - -IN A KAIK. - -Toward sunset we descended to the Golden Horn, and, taking our places -in a four-oared käik, had scarcely pronounced the word “Galata!” before -the graceful little boat was already in mid-stream. Of all varieties of -boats which skim over the surface of the water, there is certainly none -so delightful as the käik. Longer than the gondola, but narrower and -lighter, carved, painted, and gilded, it is without seats or rudder; -you sit in the bottom upon a cushion or bit of carpet, only your head -and shoulders visible above the sides; both ends are shaped alike, so -that it can be propelled in either direction, and it is easily upset -by any sudden movement. Shooting out from the shore like an arrow from -the bow, it seems to fly like a swallow, barely touching the water; -overtakes and passes all other craft, and disappears in the distance, -its bright and varied colors reflected in the waves like a dolphin -flying from its pursuer. Our oarsmen were a couple of good-looking -young Turks dressed in white trousers, light blue shirts, and red -fezzes, with bare arms and legs--a pair of lusty athletes of twenty -or so, bronzed, clean, cheerful, and frank. At each stroke the boat -bounds forward its whole length. Other käiks fly by, hardly seen before -they are lost sight of; we pass flocks of ducks; large covered barges -filled with veiled women; clouds of birds circle over our heads; from -time to time the tall sea-grass shuts out everything from view. - -Seen thus from the other end of the Golden Horn and at that hour, the -city presents an entirely new aspect. The Asiatic coast, owing to the -bend of the shore, is entirely hidden, Seraglio Point shutting in the -Golden Horn as though it were a great lake. The hills on either bank -seem to have grown larger, and Stambul, far, far away, is a blending -of delicate blues and grays, huge and indistinct. Like an enchanted -city, it seems to float upon the water and lose itself among the -clouds. The käik flies on; the two banks recede, inlet after inlet, -grove after grove, suburb after suburb; our surroundings widen out. -The colors of the city grow dim, the horizon seems to be on fire, the -water is full of purple and gold reflections; on and on, until at last -a profound lethargy steals over us, a sense of boundless content, in -which we remain silent and happy, until finally the boatman is obliged -to call in our ears, “_Monsù! arrivar!_” before we can arouse ourselves -sufficiently to know where we are. - - - - -THE GREAT BAZÂR. - - -After giving a superficial glance over all of Constantinople, including -both banks of the Golden Horn, it seemed now time to penetrate into -the heart of Stambul, to explore that world-embracing, perpetual fair, -that hidden city, dim, mysterious, crammed with associations, wonders, -and treasures, which, extending from the Nùri Osmaniyeh to the Serasker -hill, is called The Great Bazâr. - -We will start from the square in front of the Validêh Sultan mosque. -Here the epicurean reader may like possibly to pause long enough to -inspect the Baluk Bazâr, that fish-market famous ever since the days -of thrifty old Andronicus Palæologus, who, we are told, met the entire -culinary expenses of his court with the profits made from fish caught -only along the walls of the city, where, indeed, they are still most -plentiful, and, seen on one of its principal days, the Baluk Bazâr -would afford as succulent and tempting a subject for the author of the -_Ventre de Paris_ as one of those well-covered tables one sees in old -Dutch pictures. The venders, almost without exception Turks, are drawn -up all around the square behind their fish, which are spread out on -mats stretched upon the ground or else on long tables, around which -a crowd of customers and an army of dogs fight for precedence. Here -may be found the delicious mullet of the Bosphorus, four times the -size it attains to in our waters; oysters from the island of Marmora, -which the Greeks and Armenians alone understand how to cook properly, -broiling them on the live coals; sprats and tunnies, the salting of -which is an industry confined almost entirely to the Jews; anchovies, -which the Turks have learned how to put up in the Marseillaise fashion; -sardines, with which Constantinople provides the entire Archipelago; -the _loufer_, that most delicious of all the Bosphorus fish, which is -caught by moonlight; mackerel from the Black Sea, which make seven -invasions successively into the waters of the city, accompanied by a -noise so loud that it can be heard in the towns on both shores; the -colossal _isdaurid_; enormous sword-fish; turbots, or, as they are -called by the Turks, _kalkau-baluk_; shellfish, and a thousand and -one other varieties of the smaller kinds of fish which dart and frisk -about from one to the other of the two seas, chased by dolphins and -_falianos_, and preyed upon by innumerable kingfishers, from whose very -mouths the booty is often snatched by the _piombini_. - -Cooks from great houses, old Mussulman bons-vivants, slaves, and young -employés from the various restaurants surround the tables, examine -the fish with a meditative air, bargain in monosyllables, and walk -off, each carrying his purchase suspended by a bit of twine, grave, -taciturn, self-contained as though it were the head of an enemy. By -mid-day the square is deserted and the venders have repaired to the -various cafés in the neighborhood, where they will sit with their backs -against the wall and the mouthpiece of a narghileh between their lips, -in a sort of waking sleep, until sunset. - -To reach the Great Bazâr we take a street opening out of the -fish-market, so narrow that the projecting parts of the opposite houses -almost touch one another; on either side are rows of low, ill-lighted -tobacconist shops, that “fourth support of the tent of voluptuousness,” -coming after coffee, opium, and wine, or “the fourth of pleasure’s -couches,” as it is sometimes called. Like coffee, tobacco has been -blasted by imperial edicts and denounced by the _mufti_, with the -usual result of adding fresh zest to its use and making it a fruitful -source of tumult and punishment; and now this entire street is devoted -to traffic in it alone. The tobacco is displayed upon long shelves in -pyramids and round piles, each one surmounted by a lemon. All kinds -are to be found here: _latakia_ from Antioch; Seraglio tobacco as fine -and smooth as spun silk; tobacco for pipe and cigarette of every grade -of strength and flavor, from that smoked by the gigantic porter of -Galata to that used by the indolent _odalisques_ of the Seraglio to -put them to sleep. There is the _tombeki_, so powerful that it would -set the head of even a veteran smoker spinning did its fumes not reach -his mouth first purified by the water of the narghileh, and which -is kept in glass jars like a drug. The tobacconists are all Greeks -or Armenians, with ceremonious manners, somewhat inclined to give -themselves airs. The customers assemble before the shops in groups. -Many of them are employés of the various foreign ambassadors or of the -Seraskerat, and occasionally one sees some personage of importance. It -is a great place for gossip of all kinds; politics are discussed; the -doings of the great world talked over; and merely to walk through this -little, retired, aristocratic bazâr leaves a strong impression upon -one’s mind of the joys to be obtained from conversation _and_ tobacco. - -We now pass beneath an old arched doorway festooned with vines, and -come out opposite a large stone edifice, from which opens a long, -straight, covered street lined with dimly-lighted shops and filled -with people, packing-boxes, and heaps of merchandise. Entering this, -we are immediately assailed by an odor so powerful as to fairly knock -one down: this is the Egyptian Bazâr, where are deposited all the wares -of India, Syria, Egypt, and Arabia, which later on, converted into -essences, pastilles, powders, and ointments, serve to color little -hands and faces, perfume apartments and baths and breaths and beards, -reinvigorate worn-out pashas, dull the senses of unhappy married -people, stupefy smokers, and spread dreams, oblivion, and insensibility -throughout the whole of the vast city. After going but a short distance -in this bazâr your head begins to feel dull and heavy, and you get out -of it as fast as you can; but the effect of that hot, close atmosphere -and those penetrating odors clings long to your clothing, and remains -for all time in your memory as one of the most vivid and characteristic -impressions of the East. - -After escaping from the Egyptian Bazâr you pass among a crowd of noisy -coppersmiths’ shops, Turkish restaurants, from which issue endless -nauseous smells, and all manner of wretched booths, shops, and stands, -dark little dens containing trash of all sorts, and finally come to -the Great Bazâr itself, not, however, before you have been obliged to -defend yourself from a vigorous attack. - -About a hundred feet from the main entrance there lie in ambush like so -many cutthroats the agents or middlemen of the merchants and the agents -of the agents. These fellows are so well up in their business that at a -single glance they learn not only that this is your first visit to the -bazâr, but usually make so clever a guess as to your nationality that -they rarely make a mistake in the language which they first address you -in. - -Approaching, fez in hand, they proceed, with an engaging smile, to -offer their services. - -There usually then follows a conversation something like this: the -traveller, declining the proffered service, remarks, - -“I do not propose to make any purchases.” - -“Oh, sir, what difference does that make? I only want to show you the -bazâr.” - -“I don’t care to see the bazâr.” - -“But I will escort you gratis.” - -“I don’t wish to be escorted gratis.” - -“Very well; then I will just go to the end of the street with you, -merely to give you certain points, which you will find very useful some -other day when you come to buy.” - -“But suppose I don’t want to even hear you talk about buying?” - -“Very well, then, let us talk about something else. How long have you -been in Constantinople? Is your hotel comfortable? Have you gotten -permits to visit the mosques?” - -“But when I tell you that I don’t want to talk about anything--that I -wish, in short, to be alone--” - -“All right; then I will leave you alone, and follow a dozen steps -behind you.” - -“But why should you follow me at all?” - -“Merely to prevent you from being cheated in the shops.” - -“But I tell you I am not going into the shops.” - -“Well, then, to save you from annoyance on the street.” - -And so you must finally either pause to take breath and collect your -ideas, or else yield and allow him to accompany you. - -There is nothing about the exterior of the Great Bazâr to either -attract the eye or give the faintest idea of what it is within. It is -an immense stone edifice in the Byzantine style, irregular in form and -surrounded by high gray walls, lighted by means of hundreds of small -lead-covered domes in the roof. The principal entrance is through a -high, vaulted doorway of no architectural pretensions. Outside, in the -neighboring streets, no sounds can be heard of what is going on within, -and half a dozen steps away from the entrance one might easily believe -that only silence and solitude reigned within those prison-like walls; -once inside, however, this delusion is quickly dispelled. You find -yourself not in a building at all, but in a labyrinth of streets with -vaulted roofs, lined with columns and carved pilasters--a veritable -city, with mosques and fountains, thoroughfares and open squares, -pervaded with the dim, subdued light of the forest, where no ray or -gleam of sunshine ever penetrates, and thronged with immense crowds of -people. Every street is a bazâr, generally leading out of the principal -thoroughfare--a street covered by a roof composed of white and black -stone arches and decorated with arabesques like the nave of a mosque. -Processions of horses, camels, and carriages pass up and down the -dimly-lighted streets, in the midst of the throng of foot-passengers, -with a deafening, reverberating noise. On all sides attempts are being -made by word and gesture to attract your attention. The Greek merchant -hails you with loud, imperious voice, while his Armenian rival, by -far the greater knave of the two, assumes a modest, retiring manner, -addressing you in soft, obsequious tones; the Jew murmurs gently in -your ear; while the Turk, silent and reserved as ever, squats on a -cushion in his doorway and contents himself with addressing you solely -with his eye, leaving the results to Fate. Ten voices appeal to you at -once: “Monsieur! captain! caballero! signore! eccelenza! kyrie! milor!” -Down every cross-street you catch glimpses of new vistas, long lines of -columns and pilasters, corridors, other streets opening out of these -again, arcades and galleries, confused far-off views of new bazârs, -shops, merchandise suspended on the walls and from the roofs, bustling -merchants, heavily-laden porters, figures of veiled women, noisy -groups, which constantly form, dissolve, and form again--a mingling of -sights, sounds, colors, and movement to set one’s head in a whirl. The -confusion, however, is only apparent: in reality, this enormous mart is -arranged with as much system and order as a barracks, and it takes but -a few hours for one to become sufficiently at home in it to find -his way to any object without difficulty or the help of a dragoman. -Every separate kind of merchandise has its own especial quarter, -its little street, corridor, and square; there are a hundred small -bazârs opening one into another like the rooms in some vast suite of -apartments, and each bazâr is at the same time a museum, a promenade, -a market, and a theatre, in which you can look at all without buying -anything, can drink your cup of coffee, enjoy the open air, chat in a -dozen different languages, and make eyes at the prettiest girls to be -found in the East. - -[Illustration: Date Seller.] - -Dropping at random into any one of these bazârs, half a day goes by -without your so much as knowing it: take, for instance, the bazâr -of stuffs and costumes. Here are displayed such a dazzling array of -beautiful and rare objects that you at once lose your head, to say -nothing of your purse, and the chances are that, should you in any -unguarded moment be tempted to satisfy some small caprice, you will end -by having to telegraph home for assistance. You pass between pyramids -and heaps of Bagdad brocades; rugs from Caramania; Brusa silks; India -linens; muslins from Bengal; shawls from Madras; Indian and Persian -cashmeres: the variegated fabrics of Cairo; gold-embroidered cushions; -silken veils striped with silver; striped blue and red gauze scarfs, -so light and transparent as to look like clouds; stuffs of every -variety of color and design, in which blue and green, crimson and -yellow, all the colors which disagree most violently, are combined and -blended together in a harmony so perfect and exquisite that you can -only gaze in open-mouthed admiration; table-covers of all sizes upon -whose background of red or white cloth are outlined intricate silken -designs of flowers, verses from the Koran, and imperial monograms, -which it would take a day to examine, like a wall in the Alhambra. -Here one has as good an opportunity to see and admire, one by one, -each of the various articles which go to make up the costume of a -Turkish lady as though it were the alcove of a harem, from the green -or orange or purple mantles which are thrown over everything in public -down to the silken chemise, gold-embroidered kerchief, and even the -satin girdle upon which no eye of man other than that of the husband -or eunuch is ever allowed to fall. Here may be seen red-velvet caftans -edged with ermine and covered with stars; yellow satin bodices; -trousers of rose-colored silk; white damask undervests thickly covered -with gold flowers; wedding veils sparkling with silver spangles; -little greencloth jackets edged with swan’s down; Greek, Armenian, -Circassian costumes of a thousand fantastic shapes, so thickly covered -with ornamentation as to be as hard and glittering as breastplates; -and mixed in with all this magnificence the sombre, commonplace, -serviceable stuffs of England and France, producing much the same -effect upon the mind as would the sight of a tailor’s bill introduced -into the pages of a volume of poems. If there is a woman anywhere in -the world whom you care for, you cannot walk through this bazâr without -longing to be a millionaire or else feeling the passion for plunder -blaze up within you, if only for a moment. - -To free yourself from these unhallowed desires you have but turn a -little to one side and you find yourself in the pipe-bazâr, where the -soul is gently conducted back to more tranquil pastures. Here you come -upon collections of cherry, maple, rosewood, and jessamine pipes, and -of yellow amber mouth-pieces from the Baltic Sea, polished until they -shine like crystal, and of every grade of color and transparency, some -of them set with diamonds or rubies; pipes from Cæsarea, their stems -wrapped with silk and gold thread; tobacco-pouches from Lybia decorated -with many-colored lozenges and gorgeous embroidery; silver, steel, and -Bohemian glass narghilehs of exquisite antique shapes, engraved and -chased and studded with precious stones, their morocco tubes glittering -with rings and gilding, all wrapped in raw cotton and under the -constant surveillance of two glittering eyes whose gaze never wavers; -but let any one short of a vizier or a pasha who has spent years in -bleeding some province of Asia Minor approach, and the pupils dilate -in such a manner as to cause the modest inquiry as to the price to -die away upon one’s lips. Here the purchaser must be some envoy of the -sultana anxious to present a slight token of her appreciation to the -pliable grand vizier; or a high court dignitary, who on assuming the -cares of his new office is obliged, in order to maintain his dignity, -to expend the sum of fifty thousand francs upon a rack of pipes; or a -newly-appointed foreign ambassador who on departing for some European -court wishes to take to its royal master a magnificent memento of -Stambul. The Turk of modest means gazes mournfully upon these treasures -and passes by on the other side, paraphrasing for his consolation that -saying of the Prophet, “The flames of the infernal regions shall rage -like the bellowing of the camel in the stomach of him who shall _smoke -a pipe_ of gold or silver.” - -Passing from here into the perfumery bazâr, we once more find ourselves -beset with temptations. It is one of the most distinctively Oriental -in character of all the bazârs, and its wares were very dear to the -heart of the Prophet, who classes together women, children, and -perfumes as the three things which gave him the greatest pleasure. -Here are to be had those famous Seraglio pastilles designed to perfume -kisses; packages of the scented gum prepared by the hardy daughters -of Chio to be used in strengthening the gums of delicate Mussulman -women; exquisite essence of jessamine and of bergamont and powerful -attar of roses, enclosed in red-velvet, gold-embroidered cases, and -sold at prices that make one’s hair stand on end; here can be bought -ointment for the eyebrows, antimony for the eyes, henne for the nails, -soap to soften the Syrian beauty’s skin, and pills to prevent hair -from growing on the face of the too masculine Circassian; cedar and -orange-water, scent-bags of musk, sandal oil, ambergris, aloes to -perfume cups and pipes--a myriad of different powders, pomatums, and -waters with fanciful names and destined to uses undreamed of in the -prosaic West, each one representing in itself some amorous fancy or -seductive caprice, the very refinement of voluptuousness, and exhaling, -all together, an odor at once penetrating and sensual, and dreamily -suggestive of great languid eyes, soft caressing hands, and the subdued -murmur of sighs and embraces. - -These fancies are quickly dispelled on turning into the jewelry bazâr, -a narrow, dark, deserted street, flanked by wretched-looking little -shops, the last places on earth where one would expect to find the -fabulous treasures which, as a matter of fact, they do contain. The -jewels are kept in oaken coffers, hooped and bound with iron, which -stand in the front of the shops under the ever-watchful gaze of the -merchant, some old Turk or Hebrew with long beard, and piercing eyes -which seem to penetrate into the very recesses of your pocket and -examine the contents of your purse; occasionally one or another of -them, standing erect before his door, as you pass close by first -regards you fixedly in the eye, and then with a rapid movement flashes -before your face a diamond of Golconda, a sapphire from Ormus, or a -ruby of Gramschid, which at the slightest negative movement on your -part is as quickly withdrawn from sight. Others, circulating slowly -about, stop you in the middle of the street, and, after casting a -suspicious glance all around, draw forth from their bosoms a dirty bit -of rag in whose folds is hidden a fine Brazilian topaz or Macedonian -turquoise, watching like some tempting demon to see its effect upon -you. Others, again, after scrutinizing you closely, come to the -conclusion that you have not the precious-stones look, as it were, and -do not trouble themselves to offer you anything, and you may wear the -face of a saint or the airs of a Crœsus, and it will not avail to open -those oaken boxes. The opal necklaces, emerald stars and pendants, -the coronets and crescents of pearls of Ophir, the dazzling heaps of -beryls, agates, garnets, of crystals, aventurine, and lapis lazuli -remain inexorably hidden from the eyes of the curious, provided he has -no money, or, at all events, from those of a poor devil of an Italian -writer. The utmost such an one can accomplish is to ask the price of -a coral or sandal-wood or amber _tespi_ which he runs through his -fingers, as the Turk does, to pass away the time in the intervals of -his forced labors. - -If you want to be really amused, though, just go into the Frankish -shops, those which deal in everything, and where there are goods to -suit all pockets. Hardly has your foot crossed the threshold before -a crowd of people spring up from you don’t know where, and in an -instant you are surrounded. It is out of the question to transact -your business with one single person. What between the merchant -himself, his partners, his agents, and the various hangers-on of the -establishment, you never have to do with less than a half dozen at -least. If you escape being floored by one, you are, so to speak, strung -up by another. There is no way by which final defeat can be warded -off. Words fail to describe their patience, art, and persistency, -the diabolical subterfuges to which they resort in order to force -you to buy what they choose. Finding everything put at an exorbitant -price, you offer a third, upon which they drop their arms in sign of -profound discouragement or beat their foreheads in dumb despair, or -else they burst into an impassioned torrent of appeal and expostulation -calculated to touch your feelings as a man and a brother. You are hard -and cruel; you are evidently determined to force them to close their -shops; your object is to reduce them to misery and want; you have no -compassion for their innocent children; they wonder plaintively what -injury they could ever have done you that you should be so bent upon -their ruin. While you are being told the price of an article an agent -from a neighboring shop hisses in your ear, “Don’t buy it; you are -being cheated.” Taking this for a piece of honest advice, you soon -discover that there is an understanding between him and the shopkeeper; -the information that you are being imposed upon in the matter of a -shawl is only given in order to fleece you far worse in the purchase -of a hanging. While you are examining the various articles they talk -in broken sentences among themselves, gesticulating, striking their -breasts, casting looks full of dark meaning. If you understand Greek, -the conversation is in Turkish; if you are familiar with that, it is in -Armenian; if you show any knowledge of Armenian, they employ Spanish; -but whatever language is adopted, they know enough of it to cheat you. -If after some time you still preserve an unbroken front, they begin -stroking you down--tell you how beautifully you talk their tongue; that -you have all the air and manner of a real gentleman; that they will -never be able to forget your attractive face. They talk of the land of -your birth, where they have passed so many happy years. They have, in -fact, been everywhere. Then they make you a cup of fresh coffee and -offer to accompany you to the custom-house when you leave in order to -interpose between you and the overbearing authorities; which means, -being interpreted, in order to secure a final opportunity for cheating -you and your fellow-travellers, in case you may have any. They turn -their whole shop upside down for you, and should you finally leave -without having bought anything, you get no black looks, as they have a -sustaining conviction that the harvest is only deferred; if not to-day, -then some other day: you are certain to return to the bazâr, when their -bloodhounds will scent you out, and should you escape falling into -their clutches, you will undoubtedly be caught in the toils of one of -their associates; if they do not fleece you as shopkeepers, they will -flay you as agents; if they fail to overreach you in the bazâr, they -will get the better of you at the custom-house. Of what nationality -are these men? No one knows: by dint of having a smattering of so many -different languages they have lost their original accent, and the -constant habit of acting a part has ended by altering the natural lines -of their faces to such a degree as to efface their national traits. -They belong to any race you choose, and their profession is whatever -you may have need of at the moment--shopkeeper, guide, interpreter, -money-lender, and, above all, past master in the art of gulling the -universe. - -The Mussulman shopkeepers present an altogether different field -of observation. Among them may still be found examples of those -venerable Turks, rarely enough to be seen now-a-days in the streets -of Constantinople, who look like living representatives of the days -of the Muhammads and Bayezids, remnants left intact of that mighty -Ottoman edifice whose walls received their first rude shock in the -reforms of Mahmûd, and which since then, year by year, stone by stone, -have been crumbling into ruins. One must now go to the Great Bazâr -and search in the dimmest shops of the most obscure streets to behold -those enormous turbans of the time of Suleiman, shaped like the dome -of a mosque, and beneath them the impressive face, the expressionless -eye, hooked nose, long white beard, antique purple or orange caftan, -full, plaited trousers confined about the waist by a huge sash, and -the haughty and melancholy bearing of a once all-powerful people. With -expressions dulled by opium or lighted up with the fire of fanaticism, -they sit all day in the backs of their dens with crossed legs and -folded arms, calm and unmoved like idols, awaiting with closed lips -the predestined purchaser. If business is brisk, they murmur, “_Mach -Allah!_” (God be praised!); if dull, “_Ol-sun!_” (So be it!), and bow -their heads resignedly. Some employ their time in reading the Koran; -others run the beads of the _tespi_ through their fingers, murmuring -under their breath the hundred epithets of Allah; others, whose affairs -have prospered, _drink their narghilehs_, as the Turks express it, -slowly revolving around them their sleepy, voluptuous-looking eyes; -others sit with drooping lids and bent brow in an attitude of profound -meditation. Of what are they thinking? Possibly of their sons killed -beneath the walls of Sebastopol, of their far-off caravans, of the -lost pleasures of youth, or possibly of the eternal gardens promised -by the Prophet, where, in the shade of the palm and the pomegranate, -they will espouse those dark-eyed brides never yet profaned by mortal -or geni. There is about each individual one of them something striking -and original, and all are picturesque. The shop forms a framework for -a picture full of color and suggestion; one’s mind is instantly filled -with images taken from history or what is known of the domestic life -of this strange people. This spare, bronzed man with a bold, alert -expression is an Arab; he has led his train of camels laden with gems -and alabaster from the interior of his far-off country, and more than -once has felt the balls of the robbers of the desert whiz past him. -This one in the yellow turban, bearing himself with an air of command, -has crossed the solitudes of Syria on horseback, carrying with him -treasures of silk from Tyre and Sidon. Yonder negro, with his head -enveloped in an old Persian shawl, is from Nubia; his forehead is -covered with scars made by magicians to preserve him from death, and he -holds his head aloft as though still beholding before him the Colossus -of Thebes or summits of the Pyramids. This good-looking Moor, with his -black eyes and pallid skin, wrapped in a long snow-white cloak, has -carried his _caic_ and his carpets from the uttermost western limits of -the Atlas chain. That green-turbaned Turk, with the emaciated face, -has this very year returned from the great pilgrimage. After seeing -relatives and companions die of thirst amid the interminable plains of -Asia Minor, he finally reached Mecca in the last stages of exhaustion, -and, after dragging himself seven times around the _Kaaba_, finally -fell half swooning upon the Black Stone, covering it with impassioned -kisses. This giant with a pale face, arched brows, and piercing eyes, -who has far more the air of a warrior than of a merchant, his entire -bearing breathing nothing but pride and arrogance, has brought his -furs hither from the northern regions of the Caucasus, and in his day -struck at a blow the head from off the shoulders of more than one -Cossack. And this poor wool-merchant, with his flat face and small -oblique eyes, active and sinewy as an athlete, it is not so long since -he was saying his prayers in the shadow of that immense dome which -rises above the sepulchre of Tamerlane. Starting from Samarcand, he -crossed the desert of Great Bûkharia, and, passing safely through the -midst of the Turkoman hordes, crossed the Dead Sea, escaped the balls -of the Circassians, and, after returning thanks to Allah in the mosques -of Trebizond, has at last come to seek his fortune in Stambul, from -whence, as he grows old, he will surely return once more to his beloved -Tartary, which always claims the first place in his heart. - -The shoe bazâr is one of the most resplendent of all, and possibly -fills the brain more than any other with wild longings and riotous -desires. It consists of two glittering rows of shops, which make the -street in which it is situated look like a suite of royal apartments -or like one of those gardens in the Arabian fairy-stories where the -fruit trees are laden with pearls and have golden leaves. There are -shoes enough there to supply the feet of every court in Europe and -Asia. The walls are completely covered with slippers of the sauciest -shapes and most striking and fanciful colors, made out of skins, -velvet, brocade, and satin, ornamented with filigree-work, gold, -tinsel, pearls, silken tassels, swan’s down; flowered and starred in -gold and silver; so thickly covered with intricate embroidery as to -completely hide the original texture; and glittering with emeralds and -sapphires. You can buy shoes there for the boatman’s bride or for the -Seraglio belle; you may pay five francs a pair or a thousand. There are -morocco shoes destined to walk the paved streets of Pera, and beside -them Turkish slippers which will one day glide over the thick carpets -of some pasha’s harem; light wooden shoes which will resound on the -marbles of the imperial baths; tiny slippers of white satin on which -ardent lovers’ kisses will be showered; and it may well be that yonder -pair encrusted with pearls will some day stand beside the couch of the -Padishâh himself, awaiting the pretty feet of some beautiful Georgian. -But how, you ask yourself, is it possible for any feet to get into -such tiny little receptacles? Some of them seem intended to fit the -houris and fairies--long as the leaf of a lily, wide as the leaf of -a rose, of such dimensions as to throw all Andalusia into despair; -graceful as a dream--not slippers at all, but jewels, toys, objects -to stand on one’s table full of bonbons or to keep billetsdoux in. -Once allow your imagination to dwell upon the foot which could wear -them, and you are seized with an insane desire to behold it yourself, -to stroke and caress it like some pretty plaything. This bazâr is one -of those most frequented by strangers: it is not unusual to encounter -young Europeans wandering about with slips of paper in their hands upon -which are inscribed the measurements of some small French or Italian -foot, of which they are possibly quite proud, and it is amusing to -see their faces fall and the look of incredulous astonishment which -follows the discovery that some slipper which has attracted their fancy -is far too small; while others, having asked the price of a pair they -had thought of buying, receive so overwhelming a reply that they make -off without a word. Here, too, may sometimes be seen Mussulman ladies -(_hanum_) with long white veils, and one can often catch, in passing, -fragments of their lengthy dialogues with the shopkeepers, brief -sentences of that beautiful language, uttered in sweet, clear tones, -which fall upon the ear like the notes of a mandolin: “_Buni catscia -verersin!_” (How much is this?) “_Pahalli dir_” (It is too high). -“_Ziade veremem_” (I won’t pay any more). And then a childish, ringing -laugh, which makes you feel like patting them on the head or pinching -their cheeks. - -But the richest and most picturesque of all is the armory bazâr. It is -more like a museum, really, than a bazâr, overflowing with treasures -and filled with objects which at once transport the imagination -into the realms of history and legend. Every sort and shape of -weapon is there, fantastic, horrible, cruel-looking, which has ever -been brandished in defence of Islamism from Mecca to the Danube, -polished and set out in warlike array, as though but now laid down -by the fanatical soldiery of Muhammad and Selim. You seem to see the -glittering eyes of those formidable sultans, those savage Janissaries, -those _spahis_ and _azabs_, drunk with blood, amid the gleaming -blades--those _silidars_, to whom pity and fear were alike unknown, -and who strewed Europe and Asia Minor with severed heads and stiffened -corpses. Here are displayed those renowned cimeters capable of cutting -through a floating feather or striking off the ears of audacious -ambassadors; those heavy Turkish daggers which cleaved downward at -a blow from the skull to the very heart; mighty clubs which crashed -through Servian and Hungarian helmets; _yataghans_, their handles -inlaid with ivory and encrusted with amethysts and rubies, and on -their blades the engraved record of the number of heads they have cut -off; poniards with silver, velvet, or satin sheaths and agate or ivory -handles set with coral, turquoise, and garnets, inscribed in golden -lettering with verses from the Koran, their blades curved backward as -though feeling for a heart. Who can tell whether amid all this strange -and terrible array there may not be the cimeter of Orcano or the sabre -with which the powerful arm of the warrior-dervish Abd-el-Murad struck -off the heads of his enemies at a single blow; or that famous yataghan -with which Sultan Moussa clove asunder the body of Hassan from shoulder -to heart; or the huge cimeter of the Bulgarian giant who set the first -ladder in place against the walls of Constantinople; or the club with -which Muhammad II. felled his rapacious soldiers beneath the roof of -St. Sophia; or the mighty Damascus sabre with which Scanderbeg cut down -Firuzi Pasha beneath the walls of Stetigrad? All the most horrible -massacres and blood-curdling murders of Ottoman history, revolts of -the Janissaries, and black deeds of treachery come crowding into one’s -mind at the mere sight of these terrific weapons, and one fancies that -bloodstains can be detected upon the gleaming blades, and that those -old Turks lurking in the dim recesses of their shops have gathered -them from the field of battle--yes, and the bodies of their owners -as well--and that even now their shattered skeletons are occupying -some obscure corner close at hand. In among the arms are great blue -and scarlet velvet saddles, worked with gold stars and crescents and -embroidered in pearls, with plumed frontals and chased silver bits; -saddle-cloths magnificent as royal mantles; trappings which remind one -of the _Thousand and One Nights_, seemingly intended for the use of a -king of the genii making his triumphal entry into a golden city in the -land of dreams. Suspended on the walls above all these treasures are -antique firelock muskets, clumsy Albanian pistols, long Arabian guns -worked and chased like pieces of jewelry; ancient shields made out of -bark, tortoise-shell, or hippopotamus skin; Circassian armor, Cossack -shields, Mongolian head-pieces, Turkish bows, executioners’ axes, great -blades of uncouth shape and full of horrible suggestions, each one of -which seems to bear witness to a crime committed, and brings before one -frightful visions of death-agonies. - -Seated cross-legged in the midst of all these objects of magnificence -and horror are the merchants who, of all those to be found in the Great -Bazâr, present the most striking and distinctive examples of the true -Mussulman. They are, for the most part, old, of forbidding aspect, lean -as anchorites, haughty as sultans, belonging apparently to another age -and wearing the dress of a bygone era: it would seem as though they -had arisen from the dead for the purpose of recalling their degenerate -descendants to the forgotten austerities of their ancient race. - -Another spot well worth seeing is the old-clothes bazâr. Rembrandt -would simply have taken up his abode here, and Goya have expended his -last _peseta_. Any one who has never been in an Oriental second-hand -shop can form no idea of the variety and richness of the rags, pomp -of color, and irony of contrast to be found in them--a sight at once -fantastic, melancholy, and repellent. They are a sort of rag-sewer, in -which the refuse of harem, barrack, court, and theatre await together -the moment when some artist’s caprice or beggar’s necessity shall once -more call them forth into the light of day. From long poles fastened -to the walls depend antique Turkish uniforms, swallow-tailed coats, -fine gentlemen’s cloaks, dervishes’ tunics, Bedouins’ mantles, all -greasy, torn, and faded, looking as though they had been taken by force -from their former owners, and strongly resembling the booty found on -footpads and assassins which may be seen on exhibition in the Court of -Assizes. In among all these rags and tatters one catches the glitter of -an occasional bit of gold embroidery; old silk scarfs and turbans, all -unwrapped, dangle to and fro; a rich shawl with ragged edges; a velvet -corsage looking as though some rude hand had torn off its trimming -of pearls and fur; slippers and veils which may once have belonged -to some beautiful sinner, whose body, sewn up in a bag, now sleeps -quietly enough beneath the rippling waters of the Bosphorus;--these -and countless other feminine garments and adornments, of all manner of -charming shapes and colors, hang imprisoned between rough Circassian -caftans, long black Jewish capes, rusty cartridge-boxes, heavy cloaks -and coarse tunics beneath whose folds who knows how often the bandit’s -musket or dagger of the assassin may have been hidden? On toward -evening, when the subdued light from the roof above becomes still -more uncertain, all these garments, as they sway back and forth in -the wind, assume the look and air of human bodies strung up there by -some murderer’s hand, and just then, as your eye catches the sinister -glance of one of those old Jews seated watchfully in the rear of his -gloomy den of a shop, you cannot avoid fancying that the skinny claw -with which he scratches his forehead can be no other than the one -which tightened the rope--a soothing idea which causes you to glance -involuntarily over your shoulder to see if the entrance to the bazâr is -still open. - -One day of wandering here and there will not suffice if you really -wish to see every part of this strange city. There is the fez bazâr, -in which are to be found fezzes of every country in the world, from -that of Morocco to the Vienna fez, ornamented with inscriptions from -the Koran, which serve to ward off evil spirits; the fez which is -worn perched on the tops of their heads by the pretty Greek girls -of Smyrna, surmounting their coils of black hair intertwined with -coins; the little red fez of the Turkish women; soldiers’, generals’, -sultans’, dandies’ fezzes, of all shades of red and every style, from -the primitive ones worn in the days of Orcano to the large and elegant -fez of Mahmûd, emblem of reform and an abomination in the eyes of -Mussulmans of the old school. - -Then there is the fur bazâr, where may be seen the sacred fur of the -black wolf, which at one time none but the Sultan himself and his grand -vizier were allowed to wear; the marten, used to trim state caftans; -skins of white and black bears; astrakhan, ermine, blue wolf, and rich -sable skins, upon which in old times the sultans would expend fabulous -sums of money. - -Then the cutlery bazâr is worth a visit, if only to examine those huge -Turkish shears whose bronzed and gilded blades, adorned with fantastic -designs of birds and flowers, open with a murderous sweep wide enough -to swallow up entirely the head of an unfavorable critic. - -There are the gold-thread embroidery, china, household utensils, and -tailors’ bazârs, all differing from one another in size, shape, and -character, but all in one respect alike, that in none of them do you -ever see a woman either attending to the customers or working apart. At -the very most, it may occasionally happen that a Greek woman, seated -for a moment in front of some tailor’s shop, will timidly offer to -sell you a handkerchief she has just finished embroidering. Oriental -jealousy forbids shopkeeping to the fair sex, as offering too wide a -field for coquetry and intrigue. - -In other parts of the Great Bazâr it is as well for a stranger not -to venture unless he is accompanied by a dragoman or one of the -shopkeepers. Those are the interior parts of the various districts -into which this strange city is divided--the islands, as it were, -about which wind and twist the rapid currents of streets and byways. -If it is a difficult matter to keep from losing your way among the -main thoroughfares, in here it is quite impossible. From passage-ways -scarcely wider than a man’s shoulders, where it is necessary to -stoop to avoid striking your head, you come out upon tiny courtyards -encumbered with bales and boxes, where hardly so much as a single ray -of light can penetrate. Feeling your way down flights of wooden steps, -you come to other courts lighted only by lanterns, from which you -descend below ground, or, climbing up again into what passes for the -light of day, stumble with bent head through long, winding corridors, -beneath damp roofs and between black and moss-grown walls, to come at -last upon some small hidden doorway, and suddenly find yourself exactly -where you started. Everywhere shadowy forms are seen coming and going; -dusky shapes stand immovable in dark corners, outlines of persons -handling merchandise or counting money; lights which flash ahead of you -at one moment, and the next, disappear; a sound of hurrying footsteps, -of low, eager voices, coming from you don’t know where; reflections -thrown from unseen lights; suspicious encounters; strange odors like -those one might expect to escape from a witch’s cave; and apparently -no possible means of escape from it all. The dragoman is very apt to -conduct his victim through these quarters on his way to those shops, -usually somewhat apart, which contain a little of everything, like -Great Bazârs in miniature or a superior sort of second-hand shop, -extremely curious and interesting, but extremely perilous as well, -since they contain such a variety of rare and attractive objects as to -woo the money out of the pocket of the veriest miser. The shopkeepers -here are great solemn knaves, thoroughly well versed in every art -appertaining to their business, and, polyglot like their brothers of -the trade, have a certain dramatic power which they employ in the most -entertaining manner to tempt people to buy, sometimes rising to the -level of genuinely good acting. Their shops usually consist of dark -little holes cluttered up with boxes and chests of drawers, where -lights have to be lit in order to see anything, and there is barely -enough space to turn around in. After displaying a few trifles inlaid -with ivory and mother-of-pearl, some bits of Chinese porcelain, a -Japanese vase or two, and some other things of the same sort, the -shopkeeper informs you with an impressive air that he sees what sort -of person you are, and will now bring out something especially suited -to you. He then proceeds to pull out a certain drawer, whose contents -he empties upon the table. There are all manner of knick-knacks and -gewgaws--a peacock-feather fan, a bracelet made of old Turkish coins, -a little leather cushion with the Sultan’s monogram embroidered upon -it in gold, a Persian hand-glass painted with a scene from the _Book -of Paradise_, one of those tortoise-shell spoons with which Turks -eat cherry compôte, an ancient decoration of the Order of Osmanieh. -You don’t care for any of these, either? Very well. He turns out the -contents of another, and this is a drawer which, as a matter of fact, -was being reserved for your eye alone. There is a broken elephant’s -tusk; a Trebizond bracelet, looking as though it had been made from a -lock of silver hair; a Japanese idol; a sandal-wood comb from Mecca; a -large Turkish spoon, chased and filigreed; an antique silver narghileh, -gilded and inscribed; bits of mosaic from St. Sophia; a heron’s -feather, which once ornamented the turban of Selim III.: for the truth -of this last statement the merchant, as a man of honor, is willing to -vouch. And still there is nothing which suits your fancy? Here, then, -is another drawer, crammed full of treasures--an ostrich egg from -Sahara; a Persian inkstand; a chased ring; a Mingrelian bow, with its -quiver made out of an elk’s skin; a Circassian two-pointed head-piece; -a jasper rosary; a smelling-bottle of beaten gold; a Turkish talisman; -a camel-driver’s knife; a box of _attar-gul_. In Heaven’s name, is -there still nothing that tempts you? Have you no presents to make? no -beloved relatives? no dear friends? Perhaps, though, your tastes run -to stuffs and carpets. Well, here too he can assist you as a friend. -“Behold, milor, this striped Kurdistan mantle, this lion skin; yonder -rug is from Aleppo, with its little steel fastenings, while this -_Casablanca_ carpet, three fingers thick, is guaranteed to last for -four generations; here, Your Excellency, are old cushions, old brocade -scarfs, old silken coverlids, a little faded, a little frayed out at -the edges, it is true, but such embroidery as you could not get in -these days, even if you were to offer a fortune. You, _caballero_, have -been brought here by a friend of mine, and for that reason I am going -to let you have this ancient sash for the sum of five napoleons, and -live myself on bread and garlic for one week in order to make up the -loss.” Should even this magnificent offer fail to move you, he whispers -in your ear that he has in his possession, and is moreover willing to -sell, the very rope with which the terrible Seraglio mutes strangled -Nassuh Pasha, Muhammad Third’s grand vizier. And if you laugh in his -face and decline to swallow it, he gives it up at once like a sensible -man, and proceeds to make his final effort, displaying before you, in -rapid succession, a horse’s tail such as were once carried before and -after every pasha; a janissary’s helmet, spattered with blood, which -his own father picked up on the day of the famous massacre; a scrap of -one of the flags carried in the Crimea, showing the silver star and -crescent; a wash-basin studded with agates; a brazier of beaten copper; -a dromedary-collar with its shells and bells; a eunuch’s whip made of -hippopotamus leather; a gold-bound Koran; a Khorassan scarf; a pair of -slippers from a kadyn’s wardrobe; a candlestick made from the claw of -an eagle,--until at length your imagination is fired. The longing to -possess breaks forth, and you are seized with a mad impulse to throw -down your purse, watch, overcoat, everything you have, and fill your -pockets with booty. One must indeed be an uncommonly well-balanced -person, a very mountain of wisdom, to be able to withstand the -temptations of this place, whence many an artist has come forth as poor -as Job, and where more than one rich man has thrown away his fortune. - -But before the Great Bazâr closes let us take a turn around to see how -it looks at the end of the day. The crowd moves along more hurriedly; -shopkeepers call out to you and gesticulate more imperiously than ever; -Greeks and Armenians run through the streets calling aloud, with -shawls or rugs hung over their arms, or form into groups, bargaining -and discussing as they move about, then break up and form again into -other groups farther off; horses, carriages, beasts of burden, all -moving in the direction of the gateway, pass by in endless files. At -this hour all those tradespeople with whom you have had fruitless -negotiations during the day start to life again, circling around you -in the dusk like so many bats: you see them peeping out from behind -columns; come suddenly upon them at every turn; they cross in front -of you or pass close by you gazing abstractedly in the air, to remind -you by their presence of that certain rug or that bit of jewelry, and, -if possible, reawaken your desire to possess it. Sometimes you are -followed by a whole troop of them at once: if you stop, they do the -same; if you slip down a side street, you find them there before you; -turning suddenly, you are aware of a dozen sharp eyes fixed upon you -which seem to fairly devour you whole. But already the fading light -warns the crowd to disperse. Beneath the vaulted roof can be heard the -voice of an invisible muezzin announcing the sunset from some wooden -minaret. Some Turks have spread strips of carpet in the street before -their shop-doors and are murmuring the evening prayer; others perform -their ablutions at the fountains. The centenarians of the armor bazâr -have already shut to their great iron doors; the smaller bazârs are -empty; the farther ends of the corridors are lost in shadow, and the -openings of the side streets look like the mouths of caves. Camels -suddenly loom up close to you in the uncertain light; the voices of the -water-carriers echo distantly among the arched roofs; the Turk quickens -his step and the eunuch’s eyes grow more alert; strangers are seen -hurrying away; the entrance is closed; the day ended. - -And now on all sides I can hear the questions: What about St. Sophia? -and the old Seraglio? and the Sultan’s palaces? and the Castle of the -Seven Towers? and Abdul-Aziz? and the Bosphorus. All in good time: each -one of them shall be fully described in turn, but for still a little -while longer let us wander here and there about the city, touching at -every page upon some new theme just as some new idea strikes our fancy -at every step. - - - - -LIFE IN CONSTANTINOPLE. - - -THE LIGHT. - -[Illustration: View of Stamboul. Mosque of Validêh and Bridge.] - -And first of all I must speak of the light. One of my chief pleasures -at Constantinople was to watch the sun rise and set from the bridge of -the Validéh Sultan. At daybreak in the autumn there is almost always -a light fog hanging over the Golden Horn, through which the city can -only be seen indistinctly, as though one were looking through those -thin gauze curtains which are lowered across the stage of a theatre in -order to hide the details of some grand spectacular effect. Skutari -is quite invisible; only her hills, a vague outline, can be faintly -traced against the eastern sky. The bridge, as well as both banks, is -deserted. Constantinople is buried in slumber, and the profound silence -and solitude lend solemnity and impressiveness to the scene. Presently -behind the Skutari hills the sky begins to show streaks of gold, and, -one by one, against that luminous background, the inky points of the -cypress trees stand out clear and defined, like a company of giants -drawn up in battle-array on the heights of her vast cemetery. Now a -single ray of light flashes from one end to the other of the Golden -Horn, like the first faint sigh of returning consciousness, as the -great city stirs and slowly awakens once more to life. Then, behind -the cypresses on the Asiatic shore, a fiery eye shines forth, and -immediately upon the white summits of St. Sophia’s four minarets an -answering blush is seen. In rapid succession from hill to hill, from -mosque to mosque, to the farthest end of the Golden Horn, every minaret -turns to rose, every dome to silver. The crimson flush creeps down -from one terrace to another; the light increases, the veil is lifted, -and all of Stambul lies revealed, rosy and resplendent on the heights, -tinged with blue and violet shadows on the water’s edge, but everywhere -fresh and sparkling as though just risen from the waves. In proportion -as the sun rises higher and higher the delicacy of the first coloring -disappears, swallowed up in the flood of dazzling light, which becomes -so white and blinding as in turn to slightly obscure everything, until -toward evening, when the glorious spectacle recommences. So clear does -the atmosphere then become that from Galata you can easily distinguish -each separate tree on the farthermost point of Kadi-keui. The huge -profile of Stambul is thrown out against the sky with such distinctness -and accuracy of detail that it would be quite possible to note one -by one every minaret, every spire and cypress tree, that crowns her -heights from Seraglio Point to the cemetery of Eyûb. The waters of -the Bosphorus and Golden Horn turn to a marvellous ultramarine; the -sky, of the color of amethysts in the east, grows fiery as it reaches -Stambul, lighting up the horizon with a hundred tints of crimson and -gold, making one think of the first day of creation. Stambul grows -dim, Galata golden, while Skutari, receiving the full blaze of the -setting sun upon her thousand casements, looks like a city devoured -by flames. And this is the most perfect moment in all the twenty-four -hours in which to see Constantinople. It is a rapid succession of the -most exquisite tints--pale gold, rose, and lilac--mingling and blending -one with another on the hillsides and water’s surface, lending to -first one part of the city and then to another the finishing touch -to its perfect beauty, and revealing a thousand modest charms of -hill- and country-side, which were too shy to thrust themselves into -notice beneath the blaze of the noonday sun. It is then that you see -the great melancholy suburbs losing themselves amid the shadows of -the valleys--little purple-tinted hamlets smiling on the hilltops; -towns and villages which languish and droop as though their life were -ebbing away; others disappear from view, as you look at them, like -fires which have been suddenly extinguished; others, again, apparently -quite dead, come unexpectedly to life again, all aglow, and sparkle -joyously for still some moments longer in the last rays of the sun. -Finally, however, nothing remains but two shining summits on the -Asiatic shore--Mt. Bûlgurlù and the point of the cape which guards the -entrance to the Propontis. At first they are two golden coronets, then -two little crimson caps, then two rubies; and then Constantinople is -plunged in shadow, while ten thousand voices from ten thousand minarets -announce that the sun has set. - - -THE BIRDS. - -Constantinople possesses a grace and gayety all her own emanating from -her myriads of birds of every species, objects of especial veneration -and affection among the Turks. Mosque and grove, ancient wall and -garden, palace and courtyard, are full of song, of the cheerful sound -of twittering and chirping; everywhere there is the rush of wings, -everywhere the busy, active little lives go on. Sparrows come boldly -into the houses and eat from the women’s and children’s hands; swallows -build their nests over the doorways of cafés and beneath the roofs of -bazârs; innumerable flocks of pigeons, maintained by means of legacies -from different sultans as well as private individuals, form black and -white garlands around the cornices of the domes and terraces of the -minarets; gulls circle joyously about the granaries; thousands of -turtle-doves bill and coo among the cypress trees in the cemeteries; -all around the Castle of the Seven Towers ravens croak and vultures -hover significantly; kingfishers come and go in long lines between the -Black Sea and Sea of Marmora; while storks may be seen resting upon -the domes of solitary mausoleums. For the Turk each one of these birds -possesses some pleasing quality or lucky influence. The turtle-dove is -the patron of lovers; the swallow will protect from fire any building -where her nest is built; the stork performs a yearly pilgrimage to -Mecca; while the halcyon carries the souls of the faithful to Paradise. -Hence they feed and protect them both from religious motives and from -gratitude, and in return the birds make a continual festival around -their houses, on the water, and among the tombs. In every quarter of -Stambul they soar and circle about, grazing against you in their noisy -flights, and filling the entire city with something of the joyous -freedom of the open country, constantly bringing up before one’s mind -images of nature. - - -ASSOCIATIONS. - -In no other city of Europe do the sites and monuments, either legendary -or historical, act so forcibly upon the imagination as at Stambul, -because in no other spot do they record events at once so recent and so -picturesque. Elsewhere, in order to get away from the prose of modern -every-day life, one is obliged to go back for several centuries; at -Stambul a few years suffice. Legend, or what has all the character -and force of legend, dates from yesterday. It is not many years since, -in the square of Et-Meidan, the celebrated massacre of the Janissaries -took place; not many years since the waters of the Sea of Marmora -cast up upon the banks of the imperial gardens those twenty sacks -containing each the body of a beauty of Mustafa’s harem; not long since -Brancovano’s family was executed in the Castle of the Seven Towers, or -European ambassadors were pinioned between two _kapuji-basci_ in the -presence of the Grand Seigneur, upon whose half-averted countenance -there glowed a mysterious light; or within the walls of the old -Seraglio that life--so extraordinary--a mingling of horrors, love, and -folly, ceased finally to exist, which now seems to belong to such a -far-distant past. Wandering about the streets of Stambul and reflecting -upon all these things, you cannot help a feeling of astonishment at the -calm, cheerful aspect of the city, gay with color and vegetation. “Ah, -traitoress!” you cry, “what have you done with all those mountains of -heads, those lakes of blood? How is it possible that everything has -been so cleverly concealed, so wiped out and obliterated, that not a -trace remains?” - -On the Bosphorus, beneath the Seraglio walls and just opposite -Leander’s Tower, which rises from the water like a lover’s monument, -you may still behold the inclined plane down which the bodies of -the unfaithful beauties of the harem were rolled into the sea; -in the middle of the Et-Meidan the serpentine column still bears -witness to the force of Muhammad the Conqueror’s famous sabre; on the -Mahmûd bridge the spot is still pointed out on which the fiery sultan -annihilated at a single blow the adventurous dervish who had dared to -fling an anathema in his face; in the Holy Well of the Balukli church -the miraculous fish still swim about which foretold the fall of the -City of the Palæologi; beneath the trees of the Sweet Waters of Asia -you can visit those shady retreats where a dissolute sultana was wont -to bestow upon the favorite of the hour that fatal love whose certain -sequence was death. Every doorway, every tower, every mosque and park -and open square, records some strange event--a tragedy, a love-story, -a mystery, the absolutism of a padishah or the reckless caprice of a -sultana; everything has a history of its own, and wherever you turn the -near-by objects, the distant view, the balmy perfumed air, the silence, -all unite to transport him whose mind is stored with these histories -of the past out of himself, his era, and the city of to-day, so that -not infrequently, when suddenly confronted with the suggestion that -it is high time to think of returning to the hotel, he asks himself -confusedly what it means, how can there be a “hotel.” - -[Illustration: Serpentine Column of Delphi.] - - -RESEMBLANCES. - -In those early days, fresh from reading masses of Oriental literature, -I kept recognizing in the people I met on the streets famous personages -who figure in the legends and history of the East: sometimes they -answered so entirely to the picture I had drawn in my own mind of some -celebrated character that I would find myself stopping short in the -street to gaze after them. How often have I seized my friend’s arm, -and, pointing out some passer-by, exclaimed, “There he goes, by Jove! -Don’t you recognize him?” In the square of the Sultan Validéh I have -many a time seen the gigantic Turk who hurled down rocks and stones -upon the heads of Baglione’s soldiers before the walls of Nicea; near -one of the mosques I came across Unm Dgiemil, the old witch of Mecca -who sowed thorns and brambles in front of Mohammed’s house; coming out -of the book bazâr one day, I ran against Digiemal-eddin, the great -scholar of Brusa, who knew all the Arabian dictionary by heart, walking -along with a volume tucked under his arm; I have passed close enough -to Ayesha, the favorite wife of the Prophet, to receive a steady look -from those eyes “like twin stars reflected in a well.” I recognized in -the Et-Meidan the beautiful and unfortunate Greek killed at the foot of -the serpentine column by a ball from the huge guns of Orban; turning -a sharp corner of one of the narrow streets of Phanar, I found myself -suddenly face to face with Kara-Abderrahman, the handsomest young Turk -of the days of Orkhan; I have seen Coswa, Mohammed’s she-camel, and -recognized Kara-bidut, Selim’s black charger; I have encountered poor -Fighani, the poet, who was condemned to go about Stambul harnessed -to an ass for having made Ibrahim’s grand vizier the subject of a -lampoon; I saw in one of the cafés the unwieldy form of Soliman, the -fat admiral, whom the united efforts of four powerful slaves could -with difficulty drag up from his divan; and Ali, the grand vizier, who -failed to find throughout all Arabia a horse fit to carry him; and -Mahmûd Pasha, that ferocious Hercules who strangled Suleiman’s son; -and, established before the entrance of the copyists’ bazâr near the -Bayezid square, that stupid Ahmed II., who would say nothing all day -but “_Kosc! kosc!_” (Very well! very well!) Every character in the -_Thousand and One Nights_--the Aladdins, the Zobeids, the Sinbads, the -Gulnars, the old Jew dealers with their magic lamps and their enchanted -carpets for sale--passed before me one after another like a procession -of so many phantoms. - - -COSTUMES. - -This is perhaps the very best period in which to study the dress of -the Mussulman population of Constantinople. In the last generation, -as will probably be the case in the next, it presented too uniform an -appearance. You find it in a sort of transition stage, and presenting, -consequently, a wonderful variety of form and color. The steady -advance of the reform party, the resistance of the conservative Turks, -the uncertainty and vacillation of the great mass of the people, -hesitating between the two extremes--every aspect, in short, of the -conflict which is being waged between ancient and modern Turkey--is -faithfully reflected in the dress of her people. The old-fashioned Turk -still wears his turban, his caftan and sash, and the traditional yellow -morocco slippers, and, if he is one of the more strict and precise -kind, a veritable Turk of the old school, the turban will be of vast -proportions. The reformed Turk wears a long black coat buttoned close -up under the chin, and dark shoes and trousers, preserving nothing -Turkish in his costume but the fez. Some among the younger and bolder -spirits have even gone farther, and, discarding the black frock-coat, -substitute for it an open cut-away, light trousers, fancy cravat and -jewelry, and carry a cane, and a flower in the buttonhole. Between -these and those, the wearers of the caftan and the wearers of the coat, -there is a deep gulf fixed. They no longer have anything in common but -the name of Turk, and are in reality two separate nations. He of the -turban still believes implicitly in the bridge Sirat, finer than a -hair, sharper than a cimeter, which leads to the infernal regions; he -faithfully performs his ablutions at the appointed hours, and at sunset -shuts himself into his house. He of the frock-coat, on the contrary, -laughs at the Prophet, has his photograph taken, talks French, and -spends his evening at the theatre. Between these two extremes are -those who, having departed somewhat from the ancient dress of their -countrymen, are still unwilling to Europeanize themselves altogether. -Some of them, while wearing turbans, yet have them so exceedingly -small that some day they can be quietly exchanged for the fez without -creating too much scandal; others who still wear the caftan have -already adopted the fez; others, again, conform to the general fashion -of the ancient costume, but have left off the sash and slippers as well -as the bright colors, and little by little will get rid of the rest as -well. The women alone still adhere to their veils and the long mantles -covering the entire person; but the veil has grown transparent, and not -infrequently reveals the outline of a little hat and feathers, while -the mantle as often as not conceals a Parisian costume of the latest -mode. Every year a thousand caftans disappear to make room for as many -black coats; every day sees the death of a Turk of the old school, the -birth of one of the new. The newspaper replaces the _tespi_, the cigar -the chibuk; wine is used instead of flavored water, carriages instead -of the _arabà_; the French grammar supersedes the Arabian, the piano -the _timbur_; stone houses rise on the sites of wooden ones. Everything -is undergoing change and transformation. At the present rate it may -well be that in less than a century those who wish to find the traces -of ancient Turkey will be obliged to seek for them in the remotest -provinces of Asia Minor, just as we now look for ancient Spain in the -most out-of-the-way villages of Andalusia. - - -CONSTANTINOPLE OF THE FUTURE. - -Often, while gazing at Constantinople from the bridge of the Sultan -Validéh, I would be confronted by the question, “What is to become -of this city in one or two centuries, even if the Turks are not -driven out of Europe?” Alas! there is but little doubt that the great -holocaust of beauty at the hands of civilization will have been already -accomplished. I can see that Constantinople of the future, that -Oriental London, rearing itself in mournful and forbidding majesty upon -the ruins of the most radiant city in the world. Her hills will be -levelled, her woods and groves cut down, her many-colored houses razed -to the ground; the horizon will be shut in on all sides by long rows of -palatial dwellings, factories, and workshops, broken here and there by -huge business-houses and pointed spires; long, straight streets will -divide Stambul into ten thousand square blocks like a checker-board; -telegraph-wires will interlace like some monster spider-web above -the roofs of the noisy city; across the bridge of the Sultan Validéh -will pour a black torrent of stiff hats and caps; the mysterious -retreats of the Seraglio will become a zoological garden, the Castle -of the Seven Towers a penitentiary, the Hebdomon Palace a museum of -natural history; everything will be solid, geometrical, useful, gray, -hideous, and a thick black cloud of smoke will hide the blue Thracian -heavens, to which no more ardent prayers will be addressed nor poets’ -songs nor longing eyes of lovers. At such thoughts as these I could -not help feeling my heart sink within me, but then quickly there came -the consoling fancy that possibly--who knows?--some charming Italian -bride of the next century, coming here on her wedding journey, may -be heard to exclaim, “What a pity! what a dreadful pity it is that -Constantinople has changed so from what it was at the period of that -old torn book of the nineteenth century I found in the bottom of my -grandmother’s clothes-press!” - - -THE DOGS. - -In those coming days another feature of Constantinopolitan life will -also have disappeared, which is now one of the most curious of her -curiosities--the dogs. And, as this is a subject which really merits -attention, I am going to devote some little space to it. Constantinople -is one huge dog-kennel; every one can see this for himself as soon as -he gets there. The dogs constitute a second population in the city, -and, while they are less numerous than the first, they are hardly less -interesting as a study. Every one knows how the Turks love and protect -them, but just why they do so is not so easy to decide. I could not, -for my own part, make out whether it is because the Koran recommends -all men to be merciful to animals, or because they are supposed, like -certain birds, to bring good luck, or because the Prophet loved them, -or because they figure in their sacred books, or because, as some -insist, when Muhammad the Conqueror made his victorious entry into the -city through the breach in the gate of St. Romanus he was accompanied -by a following composed principally of dogs. Be this as it may, the -fact remains that many Turks leave considerable sums at their death for -their maintenance, and when Sultan Abdul-Mejid had them all transported -to the island of Marmora the people murmured, so that they were brought -back amid public rejoicings, and the government has not attempted to -interfere with them since. At the same time, the dog, having been -pronounced by the Koran to be an unclean animal, not one out of all the -innumerable hordes which infest Constantinople has an owner; any Turk -harboring one would consider his house defiled. They are associated -together in a great republic of freebooters, without collars or masters -or kennels or homes or laws. Their entire lives are passed in the -streets. There, scratching out little dens for themselves, they sleep -and eat, are born, nourish their young, and die; and no one, at least -in Stambul, interferes in the smallest degree with their occupations or -their repose. They are the masters of the road. With us it is customary -for the dogs to withdraw to allow horses and people to pass by. There -it is quite different, people, camels, horses, donkeys, and vehicles -making sometimes quite a considerable circuit in order not to disturb -the dogs: sometimes in one of the most crowded quarters of Stambul -four or five of them, curled up fast asleep directly in the middle of -the street, will make the entire population turn out for half a day. -And in Pera and Galata it is nearly as bad, only there it is done -less out of respect for the dogs themselves than for their numbers. -Were you to attempt to clear the road, you would have to keep up an -uninterrupted series of blows and kicks from the moment you set out -until your return. The utmost they will do voluntarily is, when they -see a carriage and four coming like the wind down some level street, -at the last moment, when there is no possible hope of its turning -out and the horses’ hoofs are fairly grazing their backs, they will -slowly and unwillingly drag themselves a couple of feet to one side, -nicely calculating the least possible distance necessary to save -their precious necks. Laziness is the distinguishing quality of the -Constantinople dogs. They lie down in the middle of the street, five or -six or a dozen of them in a row or group, curled up in such a manner as -to look much more like heaps of refuse than living animals, and there -they will sleep away the entire day, undisturbed by the din and clamor -going on about them, and not rain or sun, wind or cold, has the least -power to affect them. When it snows, they sleep under the snow; when it -rains, they stay on until they are so completely covered with mud that -when they finally get up they look like unfinished clay models of dogs, -with nothing to indicate eyes, ears, or mouth. - -The conditions of society, however, in Pera and Galata are not quite -so favorable to the contemplative life as in Stambul, owing to the -greater difficulty in obtaining food: in the latter place they live -_en pension_, while in the former they eat _à la carte_. They take the -place of scavengers, falling with joy upon refuse which hogs would -decline as food, willing, in fact, to eat pretty much everything short -of stones. No sooner have they swallowed sufficient to sustain life -than they compose themselves to slumber, and continue to sleep until -aroused again by the pangs of hunger. And they almost always sleep -in the same spot. The canine population of Constantinople is divided -into settlements and quarters, just as the human population is. Every -street and neighborhood is inhabited, or rather held possession of, by -a certain number of dogs, the relatives and friends of one family, who -never leave it themselves or allow strangers to come in. They have a -sort of police force, with outposts and sentries, who go the rounds -and act as scouts. Woe to that dog who, emboldened by hunger, dares to -adventure his person across the boundaries of his neighbors’ territory! -A crowd of infuriated curs give chase the instant his presence is -discovered; if he is caught, they make short work of him; otherwise he -is pursued as far as the confines of their own quarter, but no farther, -as the enemy’s country is nearly always both feared and respected. -It would be impossible to convey any just idea of the skirmishes and -pitched battles which arise over a disputed bone, a reigning belle, or -an infringement of territorial rights. Two dogs encounter one another; -a dispute follows, and instantly reinforcements pour in from every -street, lane, and alley; nothing can be seen but a confused, moving -mass enveloped in clouds of dust, out of which there issues such a -deafening hurlyburly of howls, yelps, and snarls as would crack the -ear-drums even of a deaf man. At last the group breaks up again, and, -as the dust subsides, the bodies of the fallen may be seen extended -on the ground. Love-passages, jealousies, duels, bloodshed, broken -limbs, and lacerated skins are the affairs of every hour. Occasionally -they assemble in such noisy troops in front of some shop that the -owner and his assistants are obliged, in the interests of trade, -to arm themselves with stools and bars and sally forth in approved -military style, taking the enemy by storm; and then there follows a -pandemonium of howls, yells, and lamentations mingling with the sound -of cracked heads and ribs, enough to fairly make the welkin ring. In -Pera and Galata especially these wretched beasts are so ill treated, so -accustomed to expect a blow whenever they see a stick, that at the mere -sound of a cane or umbrella on the sidewalk they make preparations for -flight: even when they seem to be fast asleep they frequently have the -corner of one eye, just the point of a pupil, open, with which to watch -attentively, for a quarter of an hour at a time, the slightest movement -of some distant object bearing a resemblance, no matter how slight, to -a stick. So unused are they to humane treatment that if you pat the -head of one of them in passing, a dozen others come running up, fawning -and gambolling and wagging their tails, to receive a like caress, and -accompany the generous patron all the way to the end of the street, -their eyes shining with joy and gratitude. - -[Illustration: Group of Dogs.] - -The condition of a dog in Pera and Galata is worse, all said, than that -of a spider in Holland, and their’s is usually admitted to be the most -persecuted race in all the animal kingdom. When one sees the existence -led by these miserable dogs, it is impossible not to think that there -must be for them, as well, some compensation in another world. Like -everything else in Constantinople, the sight of them recalled an -historical reminiscence, but in their case it seemed like the -bitterest irony to picture the life of Bayezid’s famous hunting-pack, -who ran about the imperial forests of Olympia wearing purple trappings -and collars set with pearls. What a contrast of social conditions! -Their unfortunate state has no doubt a great deal to do with their -hideous appearance, but, apart from that, they are almost all of the -mastiff breed or wolf-dogs, bearing some resemblance to both foxes and -wolves, or rather they do not bear a resemblance to anything, but are -a horrible race of mongrels, spotted over with strange colors--about -as large as the so-called butcher’s dog, and so thin that each rib -can be counted twenty feet off. Most of them, moreover, have become -so reduced in the course of a life of incessant warfare that if you -did not see them moving about you would be apt to take them for the -mutilated remains of dogs. You find them with their tails cut off, -ears torn, with skinned backs, sides laid open, blind in one eye, lame -in two legs, covered with wounds, devoured by flies, reduced to the -last possible stages to which a living dog can be brought--veritable -types of war, famine, and pestilence. The tail may be spoken of, in -connection with them, as an article of luxury: rare is it, indeed, for -a Constantinople dog to enjoy the possession of one for more than a -couple of months, at most, of public life. Poor creatures! they would -move a heart of stone to pity, and yet at times they are so grotesquely -maimed and altered, you see them going along with such a singular -gait, such odd, ungainly movements, that it is almost impossible not -to laugh outright. And, after all, neither hunger nor blows, nor even -warfare, constitutes their most serious trial, but a cruel custom which -has prevailed for some time in Pera and Galata. Sometimes in the middle -of the night the peaceful inhabitants of a quarter are aroused from -their slumbers by a diabolical uproar: rushing to their windows, they -behold a crowd of dogs leaping and dancing about in agony, bounding -high in the air, striking their heads against the walls, or rolling -over and over in the dust: presently the uproar subsides, and in the -morning, by the early light, the street is seen all strewn with dead -bodies. It is the doctor or apothecary of the quarter, who, being in -the habit of studying at night, has distributed a handful of pills in -order to obtain a fortnight’s quiet. Through these and other means it -happens that there is some slight decrease in the number of dogs in -Pera and Galata; but what does this avail, since at Stambul they are -so rapidly on the increase that it is merely a question of time when -the supply of food there will prove insufficient for their support, and -colonists will be sent over to the other shore to supply the places -of those families which have been exterminated and fill up all blanks -caused by war, famine, or poison. - - -THE EUNUCHS. - -But there are other beings in Constantinople who arouse a far more -profound sentiment of pity than the dogs. The eunuchs, who were first -introduced among the Turks in spite of the clear and unmistakable voice -of the Koran, which denounced this infamous form of degradation in no -measured terms, continue to exist in defiance of recent legislation -prohibiting the inhuman traffic, since stronger than either law or -religion are the abominable thirst for gold which induces the crime -and the cowardly egotism which derives advantage from it. These -unfortunates are to be met at every street-corner, just as they are -encountered on every page of history. In the background of every -historical scene in Turkey may be traced one of these sinister forms -grasping the threads of a conspiracy, laden with gold, or stained with -blood--victim, favorite, or instrument of vengeance; if not openly -formidable, secretly so; standing like a spectre in the shadow of the -throne or blocking the approach to some mysterious doorway. And the -same way in Constantinople: in the midst of a crowded bazâr, among the -throng of pleasure-seekers at the Sweet Waters, beneath the columns of -the mosques, beside the carriages, on the steamboats, in käiks, at all -the festivals, wherever people are assembled together, one sees these -phantoms of men, these melancholy countenances, like a dark shadow -thrown across every aspect of gay Oriental life. With the decline of -the absolutism of the Sultan their political power has waned, just -as the relaxing of Oriental jealousy has diminished their importance -in private life; the advantages they once enjoyed have consequently -become greatly reduced, and it is only with considerable difficulty -that they are now able to acquire sufficient wealth or power to in any -measure compensate them for their misfortune. No Ghaznefér Aghà would -now be forthcoming to submit voluntarily to mutilation in order to -become chief of the white eunuchs; all those of the present day are -unwilling victims, and victims who receive no adequate compensation. -Bought or stolen as children in Abyssinia or Syria, about one in every -three survives the infamous knife, to be sold in defiance of the law, -and with a pretence of secresy far more revolting than if it were -done openly. There is no need to have them pointed out: any one can -recognize them at a glance. They are usually tall, fat, and flabby, -with smooth, colorless faces, short waists, and long legs and arms. -They wear fezzes, long black coats, and European trousers, and carry -a whip made of hippopotamus skin, their badge of office, walking with -long strides, and softly like big children. When on duty they accompany -their mistresses on foot or horseback, sometimes preceding, sometimes -following after, the carriage, either singly or in pairs, and looking -around them with an ever-watchful eye, which, at the slightest -suggestion of disrespect either by look or gesture on the part of a -passer-by, becomes so full of angry menace as to send a cold chill -down one’s backbone; but, except in some such case as this, they have -either no expression at all or else an utter weariness of everything -in the world. I cannot recollect ever having seen one of them laugh. -Some among them, while very young, look fifty years old, and others, -again, give one the impression of youths who have suddenly, in the -course of a few hours, grown into old men; many of them, sleek, soft, -and well-rounded, look like carefully-fattened animals. They wear fine -clothing, and are as scrupulously neat and redolent of perfume as some -vain young girl. There are men so heartless as to laugh in the faces -of these unhappy creatures as they pass them on the street; possibly -they imagine that, having been accustomed to it from infancy, they -are unconscious or nearly so of the gulf which divides them from the -rest of the human family. But it is perfectly well known that this is -not the case; and, indeed, who, after giving the subject a moment’s -thought, could suppose that it was? To belong to neither sex; to be -merely the phantom of a man; to live in the midst of life, and yet -not of it; to feel the billows of human passion surging all about -you and be obliged to remain cold, impassive, unmoved, like a reef -in the storm; to have your very thoughts, the natural, promptings -of your whole being, held in check by an iron band that no amount of -virtuous effort on your part will ever avail to bend or break; to -have constantly presented before your eyes a picture of happiness -toward which all around you tends, the centre about which everything -circulates, the illuminating cause of all the conditions of life, and -to know yourself immeasurably far away in the outside darkness, in a -cold immensity of space, like some wandering spirit accursed of God; -and to be, moreover, yourself the guardian of that happiness in which -you can never participate, the actual barrier which the jealousy of man -has reared between his own felicity and the outside world, the bolt -with which he makes fast his door, the cloth he uses to conceal his -treasures; to be obliged to live in the very midst of that sensuous, -perfumed existence of youth and beauty and enjoyment, with shame upon -your brow and fury in your soul, despised, set aside, without name, -without family, without a mother or so much as one tender memory, cut -off from the common ties of nature and humanity,--who could doubt -for one instant that theirs is a life of torment which the mind is -powerless to grasp, like living with a dagger thrust into one’s heart? - -And this outrage still continues: these unhappy creatures walk the -streets of a European city, live among men, and, wonderful to relate, -refrain from tearing, biting, stabbing, spitting in the face of that -cowardly humanity which dares to look them in the eye without either -shame or pity, while it busies itself with international associations -for the protection of dogs and cats! Their whole existence is nothing -but a series of tortures: as soon as the women of the harem find that -they are unwilling to connive at their intrigues, they look upon them -as spies and jailers, and hate them accordingly, punishing them by -every device of coquetry that lies in their power until they sometimes -drive them quite beyond all bounds, as in the case of the poor black -eunuch in the _Lettere persiane_, who put his mistress in the bath. The -very names they bear are a bitter irony, being called after flowers -and perfumes, in allusion to the ladies whose guardians they are, as -_possessors of hyacinths, guardians of lilies, custodians of roses and -of violets_. And sometimes, poor wretches! they fall in love and are -jealous and chafe, and become shedders of blood, or, seeing that some -ardent glance directed toward their lady is returned, they lose their -heads altogether and strike, as happened once during the Crimean War, -when a eunuch struck a French officer in the face, and had his own -head cut open in consequence by the other’s sword. Who can tell what -they suffer or how the mere sight of beauty must sometimes torture -them, a caress enrage, a smile torment them, the sound of a kiss given -and returned cause their hands to steal toward the dagger’s hilt? It -is hardly to be wondered at that in their great empty hearts little -flourishes beside the cold passions of hate, revenge, and ambition; -that they grow up embittered, cowardly, envious, and savage; that -they have either the dumb, unreasoning devotion of an animal for -their owners, or else are cunning and treacherous; or that, when they -do get into power, they use it to revenge themselves upon mankind -for the affront put upon them. The more desolate and isolated their -lot, so much the more do they seem to feel a necessity for female -companionship. Unable to be her lover, they seek to be the friend of -woman. They even marry, sometimes choosing for their wives women who -are pregnant, as Sunbullin, Ibrahim’s chief eunuch, did, so as to have -a child to love as his own, or, like the head eunuch of Ahmed II., -they have harems filled with virgins in order that they may enjoy the -contemplation and society of female loveliness; others adopt young -girls, so that in old age they may have a female breast upon which to -recline and not go down to the grave ignorant of all tenderness and -loving care, having had nothing all their lives but scorn and contempt, -or at best indifference. It is not uncommon for those who have grown -wealthy at court or in some princely establishment, where they have -combined with the duties of chief eunuch those of intendant, to -purchase in old age a pretty villa on the Bosphorus, and there to pass -the remainder of their days in feasting and gayety, seeking by these -means to blot out the recollection of their misfortune. - -Among all the various tales and anecdotes which were told me about -these unfortunate beings one stands out with peculiar clearness in -my memory. It was related by a young doctor of Pera in denial of the -statement, sometimes made, that eunuchs do not suffer. - -“One evening,” said he, “I was leaving the house of a wealthy -Mussulman, one of whose four wives was ill with heart disease; it -was my third visit, and on coming away, as well as on entering, I -was always preceded by a tall eunuch who called aloud the customary -warning, ‘Women, withdraw,’ in order that the ladies and female slaves -might know that there was a man in the harem and keep out of sight. On -reaching the courtyard the eunuch returned, leaving me to make my way -out alone. On this occasion, just as I was about to open the door, I -felt a light touch on my arm: turning around, I found, standing close -by me, another eunuch, a good-looking youth of eighteen or twenty, who -stood gazing silently at me, his eyes filled with tears. Finding that -he did not speak, I asked him what I could do for him. He hesitated a -moment, and then, clasping my hand convulsively in both of his, he said -in a hoarse voice, in which there was a ring of despair, ‘Doctor, you -know some remedy for every malady; tell me, is there none for mine?’ I -cannot express to you the effect those simple words produced upon me: -I wanted to answer him, but my voice seemed to die away, and finally, -not knowing what to do or say, I pulled the door open and fled. But all -that night and for many days after I kept seeing his face and hearing -those mournful words; and I can tell you that more than once I could -feel the tears rising at the recollection.” - -Philanthropists, journalists, ministers, ambassadors, and you, -gentlemen, deputies to the Stambul Parliament and senators of the -Crescent, raise an outcry in God’s name that this hideous ignominy, -this black stain on the honor of mankind, may in the twentieth century -be merely another dreadful memory like the Bulgarian atrocities. - - -THE ARMY. - -[Illustration: Types of Turkish Soldiers.] - -Although I was fully aware before going to Constantinople that no -traces of the magnificent army of former days were still to be seen, -nevertheless, as soldiers are always a source of lively interest to -me, I had no sooner arrived than I began to look about for them with -eager curiosity. What I found, however, fell short of even what I -had been led to expect. In place of the ancient costume, flowing, -picturesque, and eminently warlike, they have adopted an ugly, forlorn -uniform, consisting of red trousers, little scant jackets, stripes -like a lackey’s livery, belts like those of college students, and -on every head, from the Sultan’s down to the lowest man in the ranks, -that miserable fez, which, besides being undignified and puerile, -especially when perched on the head of a big, stout Mussulman, is the -direct cause of any amount of ophthalmia and headache. The brilliancy -of the Turkish army is lost, without any of that which belongs to the -European military having been gained. The soldiers looked to me a -mournful, half-hearted, dirty set of men. They may be brave, but they -are certainly not impressive; and as to the nature of their training, -one may form some idea of that from seeing officers and men employing -their fingers in the street in place of handkerchiefs. One day I saw -the soldier on guard at the bridge, where smoking is not allowed, bring -this fact to the knowledge of a vice-consul by snatching the cigar out -of his mouth; and on another occasion, in the mosque of the Dancing -Dervishes, on the Rue de Pera, a soldier informed three Europeans -that they were expected to uncover by knocking their hats off before -my eyes: I knew very well that to raise a protesting voice on such -occasions would mean nothing less than being seized and carried off -bodily, like a bundle of old rags, to the guard-house. Hence throughout -my entire stay at Constantinople my attitude toward the military was -one of profound deference. On the other hand, one ceases to wonder -at the uncouthness of the soldiers after seeing what sort of people -they are before donning the uniform. One day in Skutari a hundred or -so recruits, probably brought from the interior of Asia Minor, passed -close by me, and it was a sight which aroused both my compassion and my -disgust. They looked like those terrible bandits of Hassin the Mad who -passed through Constantinople toward the close of the sixteenth century -on their way to die by the Austrian cannon on the plain of Pesth. I -can see before me now their wild, sinister faces, rough shocks of -hair, half-naked, tattooed bodies, and barbarous ornaments, and I seem -to smell again the close, sickening odor, like that of wild animals’ -dens, which they left behind them in the street. When the first news -was brought of the massacres in Bulgaria, at once my thoughts turned -to them. “My Skutari friends, beyond a doubt,” I said to myself. It is -a fact, however, that they form the one solitary picturesque feature -which I am able to recall of the Mussulman army. - -O glorious pageant of Bayezid, of Suleiman, of Muhammad! could one but -behold you just once from the walls of Stambul, drawn up in glittering -array upon the plain of Daûd Pasha! Every time I passed the triumphal -gate of Adrianapolis I would be haunted by this brilliant vision, and -pause to gaze fixedly at the opening, as though expecting each moment -to see the pasha quartermaster come forth, heralding the approach of -the imperial troops. - -It was, in fact, the pasha quartermaster who marched at the head of -the army, with two horse-tails, his insignia of rank, while behind him -for a great distance flashed and glistened in the sunlight certain -objects which were nothing less than the eight thousand brazen spoons -fastened in the folds of the Janissaries’ turbans; in their midst could -be seen the waving herons’ plumes and glittering armor of the colonels, -followed by a crowd of servants laden with arms and provisions. Behind -the Janissaries came a small troop of volunteers and pages dressed in -silk, with iron mail, and shining head-pieces, accompanied by a band of -music; after them, the cannoneers, with the cannon fastened together -by means of metal chains; and then another small band of aghas, pages, -chamberlains, and feudal soldiers, mounted on steeds with plumes -and breast-plates. All of these were only the advance-guard, above -whose closely-packed ranks floated thousands of brilliantly colored -standards, waving horse-tails, and such a sea of lances, swords, -bows, quivers, and arquebuses that it was not easy to distinguish the -lines of swarthy faces burned by exposure in the Candian and Persian -wars; accompanying them was the discordant sound of drum and flute, -of trombone and kettledrum, mingling with the voices of the singers -who escorted the Janissaries, and, with the rattle of arms, clanking -of chains, and hoarse cries of Allah, forming a mighty roar, at once -inspiriting and terrible, which could be heard from the Daûd Pasha -camp to the other bank of the Golden Horn. O poets and painters, you -who have dwelt with loving touch upon every picturesque detail of that -vanished life of the Orient! come to my aid now, that together we may -recall to life the Third Muhammad’s famous army and send it forth, -brilliant and complete, from the ancient walls of Stambul. - -Passed the advance-guard, we see another glittering body of troops. -Is it the Sultan? No, as yet the deity has barely quitted his temple. -This is only the favorite vizier’s retinue, consisting of forty aghas -clad in sable, and mounted upon horses caparisoned with velvet and -with silver bits in their mouths; behind them are a crowd of pages and -gorgeous grooms, leading other forty horses by the bridle, with gilded -harness, and laden with shields, maces, and cimeters. - -Another troop advances. This is not the Sultan, either, but a body -of state officials--the chief treasurer, members of the council, and -the high dignitaries of the Seraglio--and with them a band of players -and a throng of volunteers wearing purple caps decorated with birds’ -wings and dressed in furs, scarlet silk, leopard skins, and Hungarian -_kolpaks_, armed with long lances entwined with silk and garlands of -flowers. - -Still another sparkling wave of horsemen pours out of the Adrianapolis -gate, but it is not the Sultan yet. This is the train of the grand -vizier. First comes a crowd of mounted arquebusiers, _furieri_, and -aghas, all high in favor with the Grand Seigneur; after them forty -aghas of the grand vizier, surrounded by a forest of twelve hundred -bamboo lances, borne by twelve hundred pages, and then the forty pages -of the grand vizier clad in orange color and armed with bows, their -quivers richly ornamented with gold. Following them are two hundred -more youths, divided into six bands, each band having a distinctive -color, and, riding in their midst, the governors and relatives of the -chief minister; after these come a throng of grooms, armor-bearers, -employés, servants, pages, and aghas, wearing gold-embroidered -garments, and a troop of standard-bearers carrying aloft a multitude of -silken flags; and last the _kiâya_, minister of the interior, escorted -by twelve _sciau_, or legal executioners, followed by the grand -vizier’s band. - -Another host pours out from the city-walls, and still it is not the -Sultan, but a throng of _sciau_, _furieri_, and underlings, gorgeously -attired and forming the retinues of the jurisconsults, the _molla_ -and _muderri_; close behind them are the head-masters of the falcon, -vulture, hawk, and kite hunts, followed by a line of horsemen -carrying on their saddles leopards trained for the chase, and a crowd -of falconers, esquires, grooms with ferrets, standard-bearers, and -drummers, and packs of caparisoned and bejewelled dogs. - -Another brilliant concourse sweeps out: the crowds of spectators -prostrate themselves. At last the Sultan? No, not yet. This is not -the head of the army, but its heart, the holy flame of courage and -religious enthusiasm, the sacred ark of the Mussulman, around which -mountains of decapitated heads have been reared, torrents of human -blood have flowed--the green ensign of the Prophet, the flag among -flags, taken from its place in the mosque of Sultan Ahmed, and now -floating in the midst of a ferocious mob of dervishes clad in lion and -bear skins, a circle of rapt-looking preaching sheikhs in camel’s-hair -cloaks, and two companies of emirs, descendants of the Prophet, wearing -the green turban; all of whom together raise a hoarse clamor of shouts, -prayers, shrill cries, and singing. - -Another imposing troop of horsemen herald the approach, not of the -Sultan yet, but of the judiciary, the judge of Constantinople and chief -judge of Asia and Europe, whose enormous turbans may be seen towering -above the heads of the sciau, who brandish their silver maces to clear -a space for them through the crowd. With them ride the favorite vizier -and vizier kaimakâm, their turbans decorated with silver stars and -braided with gold; all the viziers of the Divan, before whom are borne -horse-tails dyed with henné, attached to the ends of long red and -blue poles; and last of all the military judges, followed by a train -of attendants dressed in leopard skins and armed with lances--pages, -armor-bearers, and sutlers. - -The next company pours out, glittering, magnificent. Surely the Sultan? -No--the grand vizier, wearing a purple caftan lined with sable and -mounted upon a horse fairly covered with steel and gold, he is followed -by a throng of attendants clad in red velvet, and a crowd of high -dignitaries, and the lieutenant-generals of the Janissaries, among whom -the _muftis_ shine out like swans in the midst of a flock of peacocks; -after these, between two lines of spearmen carrying gilded spears and -two lines of archers with crescent-shaped plumes, come the gorgeous -grooms of the Seraglio, leading by the bridle a long file of horses -from Arabia, Turkestan, Persia, and Caramania, their saddles of velvet, -reins gilded, stirrups chased, and trappings covered with silver -spangles, and laden with shields and arms glittering with jewels; -finally the two sacred camels are seen, bearing one the Koran, the -other a fragment of the Kaaba. - -The grand vizier’s retinue has passed, and a deafening clamor of drums -and trumpets assails the ear. The spectators fly in every direction, -cannon roar, a multitude of running footmen pour through the gate -brandishing their cimeters, and here at last, in the midst of a thick -forest of spears, plumes, and swords, the central point of those -dazzling ranks of gold and silver head-pieces, beneath a cloud of -waving satin banners, behold the Sultan of sultans, King of kings, -the dispenser of thrones to the princes of the world, the shadow of -God upon earth, emperor and sovereign lord of the White Sea and of -the Black, of Rumelia and Anatolia, of the province of Salkadr, of -Diarbekr, of Kurdistan, Aderbigian, Agiem, Sciam, Haleb, Egypt, Mecca, -Medina, Jerusalem, the coasts of Arabia and Yemen, together with all -the other dominions conquered by the arms of his mighty predecessors -and august ancestors or subdued by his own flaming and triumphant -sword. The solemn and imposing train sweeps slowly by. Now and again, -the serried columns swaying a little to right or left, a glimpse is -caught of the three jewelled plumes which surmount the turban of -the deity, the serious, pallid countenance, the breast blazing with -diamonds; then the ranks close in once more, the cavalcade passes on, -the threatening cimeters are lowered, the bystanders raise their bowed -heads, the vision disappears. - -After the imperial retinue a crowd of court officials come, one -carrying on his head the Sultan’s stool, another his sabre, another his -turban, another his mantle, a fifth the silver coffee-pot, a sixth the -golden coffee-pot; then more troops of pages, and after them the white -eunuchs; then three hundred mounted chamberlains in white caftans, and -the hundred carriages of the harem with silvered wheels, drawn by oxen -hung with garlands of flowers or horses with velvet trappings, and -escorted by a troop of black eunuchs; then three hundred mules file by -laden with baggage and treasures from the court; after them a thousand -camels carrying water and a thousand dromedaries laden with provisions; -next a crowd of miners, armorers, and workmen of various kinds from -Stambul, accompanied by a rabble of buffoons and conjurers; and finally -the bulk of the fighting ranks of the army--hordes of Janissaries, -yellow _silidars_, purple _azabs_, _spahis_ with red ensigns, foreign -cavalry with white standards, cannon that belch forth blocks of lead -and marble, the feudal soldiery from three continents, barbarian -volunteers from the outlying provinces of the empire, seas of flags, -forests of plumes, torrents of turbans--an iron avalanche on its way to -overrun Europe like a curse sent from God, in whose track will be found -nothing but a desert strewn with smoking ruins and heaps of skulls. - - -IDLENESS. - -Although at certain hours of the day Constantinople wears an air of -bustle and activity, in reality it is probably the laziest city in -Europe, and in this respect both Turk and Frank meet on common ground. -Every one begins by getting up at the latest possible hour in the -morning. Even in summer, at a time when our cities are up and doing -from one end to the other Constantinople is still buried in slumber. -It is difficult to find a shop open or so much as to procure a cup -of coffee until the sun is well up in the heavens. Hotels, offices, -bazârs, banks, all snore together in one joyous chorus, and nothing -short of a cannon would arouse them. Then the holidays! The Turks keep -Friday, the Jews Saturday, and the Christians Sunday, besides which -regular weekly ones are all the feast-days of the innumerable saints -of the Greek and Armenian calendars, which are scrupulously observed; -and although all of these holidays are supposed to affect only certain -parts of the community respectively, in reality they provide large -numbers, with whom, properly speaking, they have nothing whatever to -do, with an excuse for being idle. You can thus form some idea of the -amount of work accomplished in the course of a week. There are some -offices which are only open twenty-four hours in the seven days. Each -day some one of the five nationalities who go to make up the population -of Constantinople is rambling about over the big city with no other -object in the world than to kill time. In this art, however, the Turk -yields to none. He can make a cup of coffee, costing two sous, last -half a day, and sit immovable for five hours at a stretch at the foot -of a cypress tree in one of the innumerable cemeteries. His indolence -is a thing absolute and complete, an inertia resembling death or sleep, -in which all the faculties seem to be suspended--an utter absence of -any sort of emotion, a phase of existence completely unknown among -Europeans. Turks dislike so much as to have the idea of movement -presented to their minds. At Stambul, for instance, where there are no -public walks, it is extremely unlikely that the Turks would frequent -them if there were: to go to a place designed expressly for the purpose -of being walked about in would, to their way of thinking, resemble work -entirely too much. They enter the nearest cemetery or turn down the -first street they come to, and follow, without any objective point, -wherever their legs or the windings of the path or the people ahead -may lead them. A Turk rarely goes to any spot merely for the purpose -of seeing it. There are those among them, living in Stambul, who have -never been farther than Kassim Pasha; Mussulman gentlemen who have -never gotten beyond the Isles of the Princes, where they happen to -have a friend living, or their own villa on the Bosphorus. For them -the height of bliss consists in complete inactivity of body and mind; -hence they abandon to the restless Christian all those great industries -which require care and thought and travelling about from one place -to another, and content themselves with such small trades as can be -conducted sitting down in the same spot, and where sight can almost -take the place of speech. Labor, which with us governs and regulates -all the conditions of life, is a thing of quite secondary importance -there, subordinated to what is pleasant and convenient. We look upon -repose as a necessary interruption to work, while to them work is -merely a suspension of repose. The first object, at all costs, is -to sleep, dream, and smoke for a certain number of hours out of the -twenty-four; whatever time is left over may be employed in gaining -one’s livelihood. Time, as understood by the Turks, signifies something -altogether different from what it does to us. The hour, day, month, -year, has not a hundredth part of the value there that it has in other -parts of Europe. The very shortest period required by any official of -the Turkish government in which to answer the simplest form of inquiry -is two weeks. These people do not know what it is to desire to finish -a thing for the mere pleasure of having done with it, and, with the -single exception of the porters, one never sees a Turk employed on any -business hurrying in the streets of Stambul. All walk with the same -measured tread, as though their steps were regulated by the beat of a -single drum. With us life is a seething torrent; with them, a sleeping -pool. - -[Illustration: A Turkish Official.] - - -NIGHT. - -As by day Constantinople is the most brilliant, so by night it is the -gloomiest, city in Europe. Occasional street-lamps, placed at long -distances one from the other, hardly suffice to pierce the gloom of -the principal streets, while the others are as black as caves, and -not to be ventured into by one who carries no light in his hand. -Hence by nightfall the city is practically deserted: the only signs -of life are the night-watchmen, prowling dogs, the skulking figure of -some law-breaker, parties of young men coming out of a subterranean -tavern, and mysterious lights which appear and vanish again like _ignis -fatui_ down some narrow side-street or in a distant cemetery. This -is the hour in which to look at Stambul from the heights of Pera or -Galata. Each one of her innumerable little windows is illuminated, -and, with the lights from the shipping, reflections in the water and -the starry heavens, helps to light up four miles of horizon with a -great quivering sea of sparkling points of fire, in which port, city, -and sky melt imperceptibly one into another until they all seem to be -part of one starry firmament. When it is cloudy, and through a break -the moon appears, you see above the dark mass of the city, above the -inky blots which mark the woods and gardens, the glittering rows of -domes surmounting the imperial mosques, shining in the moonlight -like great marble tombs, and suggesting the idea of a necropolis of -giants. But most impressive of all is the view when there is neither -moon nor star nor any light at all. Then one immense black shadow -stretches from Seraglio Point to Eyûb, a great dark profile, the hills -looking like mountains and their many pointed summits assuming all -manner of fantastic shapes--forests and armies, ruined castles, rocky -fortresses--so that one’s imagination travels off into the region of -dreams and fairy tales. Gazing across at Stambul on some such night as -this from a lofty terrace in Pera, one’s brain plays all sorts of mad -pranks. In fancy you are carried into the great shadowy city; wander -through those myriad harems, illuminated by soft, subdued lights: -behold the triumphant beauty of the favorite, the dull despair of the -neglected wife; watch the eunuch who hangs trembling and impotent -outside the door; follow a pair of lovers as they thread some steep -winding byway; wander through the deserted galleries of the Grand -Bazâr; traverse the great silent cemeteries; lose yourself amid the -interminable rows of columns in the subterranean cisterns; imagine -that you have been shut up in the gigantic mosque of Suleiman, and -make its shadowy corridors echo again with lamentations and shrieks of -terror, tearing your hair and invoking the mercy of the Almighty; and -then suddenly exclaim, “What utter nonsense! I am here on my friend -Santoro’s terrace, and in the room below there not only awaits me a -supper for a sybarite, but a gathering of the most amusing wits in Pera -to help me eat it.” - - -CONSTANTINOPLE LIFE. - -Every evening a large number of Italians gathered at the house of my -good friend Santoro--lawyers, artists, doctors, and merchants--among -whom I passed many a delightful hour. How the conversation flowed! -Had I only understood stenography, I might easily have collected the -materials for a delightful book out of the various anecdotes and bits -of gossip told there night after night. The doctor, who had just been -called to a patient in the harem; the painter, who was employed upon -a pasha’s portrait somewhere on the Bosphorus; the lawyer, who was -arguing a case before a tribunal; the high official, who had knotted -the threads of an international love-affair,--each separate experience -as they related it formed a complete and highly entertaining sketch -illustrative of Oriental manners and customs. Each fresh arrival is -the signal for something new. “Have you heard the news?” one exclaims -on entering: “the government has just paid the employés’ salaries, due -for over three months, and Galata is flooded with copper money.” Then -another arrives: “What do you suppose happened this morning? The Sultan -got mad at the minister of finance and threw an inkstand at his head!” -A third tells a story of a Turkish president of a tribunal. Provoked, -it seems, by the wretched arguments employed by an unscrupulous French -lawyer in defending a bad cause, he paid him this pretty compliment -before the entire audience: “My dear advocate, it is really quite -useless for you to take so much pains to try to make your case appear -good. ----;” And here he pronounced Cambronne’s word in full: “no -matter how you may turn and twist it, it is still----,” and he said it -again. - -The conversation naturally covered geographical ground quite new to me. -They used the same easy familiarity in talking of persons and events in -Tiflis, Trebizond, Teheran, and Damascus as we do when it is a question -of Paris, Vienna, or Geneva, in any one of which places they had -friends or had lately been or were about going themselves. I seemed to -be in the centre of another world, with new horizons opening out on all -sides, and it was difficult to avoid a sinking feeling at the thought -of the time when I would be obliged to take up once more the narrow and -contracted routine of my ordinary life. “How will it ever be possible,” -I would ask myself, “to settle down again to those commonplace -occupations and threadbare topics?” This is the way every one feels -who has spent any time in Constantinople. After leading the life of -that place, all others must necessarily appear flat and colorless. -Existence there is easier, gayer, more youthful than in any other -city in Europe; it is as though one were encamped upon foreign soil, -surrounded by an endless succession of strange and unexpected sights, -an ever-changing, shifting scene which leaves upon one’s mind such a -sense of the instability and uncertainty of all things human that you -end by adopting something of the fatalistic creed of the Mussulman or -else the reckless indifference of the adventurer. - -The apathy of that people is something incredible; they live, as a -poet has said, in a sort of intimate familiarity with death, looking -upon life as a pilgrimage too short to attempt, even were it worth -their while anyhow, great undertakings requiring long and sustained -effort; and sooner or later this fatalism attacks the European as -well, inducing him to live in a certain sense from day to day, without -troubling himself more than necessary about the future, and playing -in the world, so far as lies in his power, the simple and reposeful -part of a spectator. Then the constant intercourse with so many -nationalities, whose language you must speak and whose views to a -certain extent you must adopt, does away with many of those fixed rules -and conventionalities which have in our countries become iron-bound -laws governing society, and whose observance or non-observance causes -endless vexations and heartburnings. - -The Mussulman population forms of itself a never-ending source of -interest and curiosity, always at hand to be seen and studied, and so -stimulating and enlivening to the imagination as to drive away all -thought of ennui. The very plan of Constantinople helps to this end. -Where in other cities the eye and mind are almost always imprisoned, -as it were, in one street or narrow circuit, there every step presents -a new outlet through which both may roam over immeasurable distances -of space and scenes of entrancing beauty, and, finally, there is the -absolute freedom of that life, governed by no one set of customs. One -can do absolutely as he pleases; nothing is looked upon as out of the -way, and the most astounding performances hardly cause a ripple of -talk, forgotten almost as soon as told in that huge moral anarchy. -Europeans live there in a sort of republican confederacy, enjoying a -freedom from all restraint such as would only be possible in one of -their own cities during some period of disorder. It is like a continual -Carnival, a perpetual Shrove Tuesday, and it is this, even more than -her beauty, which endears Constantinople so greatly to the foreigner, -so that, thinking of her after long absence, one experiences a feeling -almost amounting to home-sickness; while those Europeans who have -made their homes there strike down deep roots and become as devotedly -attached to her as her legitimate sons. The Turks are certainly not far -wrong when they call her “the enchantress of a thousand lovers,” or -say in their proverb that for him who has once drunk of the waters of -Top-Khâneh there is no cure--he is infatuated for life. - - -THE ITALIANS. - -The Italian colony at Constantinople, while it is one of the most -numerous, is far from being the most prosperous there. It numbers among -it but few rich persons, and many who are wretchedly poor, especially -those who come from Southern Italy and are unable to find work: it is -also the colony most poorly represented by the press, when indeed it -is represented at all, its newspapers only making their appearance -to promptly vanish again. When I was there the colony was awaiting -the issue of the _Levantino_, and meanwhile a sample copy was put in -circulation setting forth the academic titles and personal gifts of the -editor: I made out seventy-seven in all, without counting modesty. - -One should walk down the Rue de Pera of a Sunday morning, when the -Italian families are on their way to mass: you hear every dialect -in Italy. Sometimes I used to enjoy it, but not always: it was too -depressing to see so many of one’s fellow-countrymen homeless wanderers -on the face of the earth; many of them, too, must have been cast up -on those shores by storms of misfortune and strange, uncomfortable -adventures. And then the old people who would never see Italy again; -the children in whose ears that name meant nothing more than a -place--dear, no doubt, but distant and unknown; and those young girls, -many of whom must inevitably marry men of other nationalities and -found families in which nothing Italian will survive beyond a proper -name or two and the fond memories of the mother. I encountered pretty -Genoese, looking as though they might just have come down from the -gardens of Acquasola; charming Neapolitan faces; graceful little heads -which I seemed to have seen a hundred times beneath the porticoes of -Po or the Milanese arcades. I felt like gathering them all into a -bunch, tying them together with rose-colored ribbons, and marching them -two by two on shipboard, conveying them back to Italy at the rate of -fifteen knots an hour. I would also have liked to take back with me, -as a curiosity, a sample of the language spoken by those born in the -Italian colony, especially those of the third or fourth generation. A -Crusca academician, on hearing it, would have taken to his bed with a -raging fever. A language formed by mingling the Italian spoken by a -Piedmontese doorkeeper, a Lombardy hack-driver, and a Romagnol porter -would, I think, be less outrageous than that spoken on the banks of the -Golden Horn. It is Italian which, impure at the outset, has been mixed -with four or five other languages, each impure in their turn; and the -most singular part of it is that in the midst of all these barbarisms -you suddenly come plump upon some such scholarly word or phrase as -_puote_, _imperocche_, _a ogni pie sospiuto_, _havvi_, _puossi_, -witnesses to the efforts made by some of our worthy compatriots, who -by dipping into anthologies seek to preserve the _celestial Tuscan -speech_. But, as compared with the rest, these might well lay claim, as -Cesari said, to a reputation for using choice language. Some of them -can hardly be understood at all. One day I was being escorted, I don’t -remember just where, by an Italian youth of sixteen or seventeen, a -friend of a friend of mine, who was born in Pera. As we walked along I -began asking him some questions, but soon found that he did not want -to talk; he answered me in a low tone and as shortly as possible, -growing red in the face as he did so and hanging his head; he was so -evidently unhappy that I presently asked him what it was that troubled -him so much. “Oh,” said he with a despairing sigh, “I talk so badly!” -As we continued our conversation I found that he spoke indeed a strange -dialect, full of outlandish words and strongly resembling the so-called -Frank language, which, as a French wit once said, consists in pouring -out as rapidly as possible a quantity of Italian, French, Spanish, and -Greek nouns and tenses until you happen to strike one the listener -understands. It is, however, seldom necessary to go to so much trouble -in Pera or Galata, where almost every one, including the Turks, can -speak, or at least understand, some Italian, though this language, -if you can call it a language, is almost exclusively a spoken one, if -you can call it speaking. The tongue generally employed for writing -is French. Of Italian literature there is none. I recollect on one -solitary occasion, in a Galata café crowded with merchants, finding at -the foot of the commercial intelligence and quotations of the Bourse, -printed in French and Italian, eight mournful little verses all about -zephyrs and stars and sighs. Unhappy poet! it seemed as though I could -see you before me, buried beneath huge piles of merchandise, composing -those verses with your last breath. - - -THE THEATRES. - -Any one who is blessed with a pretty strong stomach can pass his -evenings while at Constantinople at the play: he may, moreover, choose -among quite a number of almost equally wretched little theatres of -various sorts, many of which are beer-gardens and wine-shops as well. -At some one of these one can always find the Italian comedy, or -rather a troupe of Italian actors, whose efforts frequently make one -wish the whole arena could be converted into a vegetable market. The -Turks, however, frequent by preference those theatres in which certain -bare-necked, brazen-faced, painted French women sing light songs to -the accompaniment of a wretched orchestra. One of these theatres was -the Alhambra, situated in the Grande Rue de Pera: it consisted of a -long apartment, always crowded to the utmost, and red with fezzes from -stage to entrance. The nature of those songs, and the bold gestures -which those intrepid ladies employed in order to make their meaning -perfectly clear, no one could either imagine or credit unless indeed he -had been to the _Capellanes_ at Madrid. At anything especially coarse -or impudent all those great fat Turks, seated in long lines, broke -into loud roars of laughter, and then the habitual mask of dignity -and reserve would drop from their faces, exposing the depths of their -real nature and every secret of their grossly sensual lives. There is -nothing that the Turk conceals so habitually and effectually as the -sensual nature of his tastes and manner of life. He never appears in -public accompanied by a woman, rarely looks at, and never speaks to, -one, and considers it almost an insult to be inquired of concerning -his wives. Judging merely by outside appearances, one would take this -to be the most austere and straitlaced people in the world, but it is -only in appearance. The same Turk who colors to the tips of his ears -if one so much as asks if his wife is well, sends his boys, and his -girls too, to listen to the coarse jests of _Kara-gyuz_, corrupting -their minds before their senses are fairly awakened, while he himself -is fully capable of abandoning the peaceful enjoyments of his own -harem for such excesses as Bayezid the Thunderbolt set the first -example of, and Mahmûd the Reformer was doubtless not the last to -follow. And, indeed, were proof needed of the profound corruption which -lurks beneath this mask of seeming austerity, one need go no farther -than to that selfsame _Kara-gyuz_. It is a grotesque caricature of a -middle-class Turk, a sort of _ombra chinese_, whose head, arms, and -legs are made to accompany with appropriate gestures the developments -of some extravagant burlesque having usually a love-intrigue for its -plot. The marionette is worked behind a transparent curtain, and -resembles a depraved Pulcinello, coarse, cynical, and cunning. Sensual -as a satyr, foul-mouthed as a fishwife, he throws his audience into -paroxysms of laughter and enthusiasm by every sort of indecent jest and -extravagant gesture. Before the censorship curbed to some small extent -the hitherto unbridled looseness of this performance, the figure was -made to give visible proof of its corporeal resemblance to Priapus, and -not infrequently upon this lofty and elevating point the whole plot -hinged. - - -TURKISH COOKING. - -Wishing to investigate for myself the Turkish manner of cooking, I got -my good friends of Pera to take me to a restaurant _ad hoc_ where every -kind of Turkish dish is to be had, from the most delicious delicacies -of the Seraglio to camel’s meat prepared as the Arabians eat it, -and horseflesh dressed according to the Turkoman fashion. Santoro -ordered the breakfast, severely Turkish from the opening course to the -fruit, and I, invoking the names of all those intrepid spirits who -have faced death in the cause of science, conscientiously swallowed a -part of each without so much as a groan. There were upward of twenty -dishes, the Turks being a good deal like children in their liking to -peck at a quantity of different kinds of food, rather than satisfy -their appetite with a few solid dishes. Shepherds of the day before -yesterday, they seem to disdain a simple table as though it were a -trait of rustic niggardliness. I cannot give a clear account of each -dish, many of them being now no more than a vague and sinister memory. -I do, however, remember the _kibab_, which consisted of little scraps -of mutton roasted on the coals, seasoned with a great deal of pepper -and cloves, and served on two soft, greasy biscuits--a dish not to be -named among the lesser sins. I can also recall vividly the odor of -the _pilav_, the _sine quâ non_ of a Turkish meal, consisting of rice -and mutton, meaning to the Turk what maccaroni does to the Neapolitan -or _cuscussu_ to the Arab or _puchero_ to the Spaniard. I have not -forgotten either--and it is the sole pleasant memory connected with -that repast--the _rosh’ab_, which is sipped with a spoon at the end of -the meal: it is composed of raisins, plums, apples, cherries, and other -fruits, cooked in water with a great deal of sugar, and flavored with -essence of musk, citron, and rose-water. Then there were numberless -other preparations of mutton and lamb, cut in small pieces and boiled -until no flavor remained; fish swimming in oil; rice-balls wrapped -in grape-leaves; sugar syrups; salads served in pastry; compôtes; -conserves; sauces, flavored with every sort of aromatic herb--a list -as long as the articles of the penal code for relapsed criminals; and -finally the masterpiece of some Arabian pastry-cook, a huge dish of -sweetmeats, among which were conspicuous a steamboat, a fierce-looking -lion, and a sugar house with grated windows. When all was over I felt a -good deal as though I had swallowed the contents of a pharmacist’s shop -or assisted at one of those feasts which children prepare with powdered -brickdust, chopped grass, and stale fruit--not unattractive-looking -when seen at a distance. All the dishes are served rapidly, four or -five at a time. The Turks dive into each with their fingers, the knife -and spoon only, being in common use among them, and one drinking-goblet -serves for the whole company, the waiter keeping it constantly filled -with flavored water. - -These customs, however, were not followed by the party who were -breakfasting at the table adjoining ours. They were evidently Turks -who valued their ease, even to the extent of poising their slippers -upon the table: each had a plate to himself, and they plied their -forks very skilfully, drinking liquors freely in despite of Mahomet. I -observed, moreover, that they failed to kiss the bread before beginning -to eat, as every good Mussulman should, and that more than one longing -glance was sent in the direction of our bottles, although the muftis -pronounce it a sin to so much as cast the eye upon a bottle of wine. -There is, indeed, no doubt that this “father of abominations,” one -drop of which is sufficient to bring down upon the head of the sinning -Mussulman the “curses of every angel in heaven and earth,” gains new -disciples among the Turks every day, and that nothing but the fear of -public opinion prevents its open use. Were a thick cloud to descend -upon Constantinople some day, and after an hour suddenly be lifted, I -have little doubt that the sun would surprise fifty thousand Turks, -each one in the act of lifting the bottle to his lips. In this, as in -almost every other shortcoming of the Turks, it was the sultans who -were the stone of stumbling and rock of offence. Singular to relate, -it is that very dynasty which rules over a people among whom it is -considered a sin in the sight of God to drink wine at all, which has -produced more drunkards than any other line of rulers in Europe; so -sweet is forbidden fruit even in the estimation of the “shadow of God -upon earth.” It was, we are told, Bayezid I. who headed the long list -of imperial tipplers, and here, as in the case of the first sin, woman -was the temptress, the wife of this Bayezid, a daughter of the king of -Servia, offering her husband his first glass of Tokay. Next Bayezid -II. got intoxicated on Cypress and Schiraz wines; then the selfsame -Suleiman I. who fired every ship in the port of Constantinople that -was laden with wine, and poured molten lead down the throats of those -who drank the forbidden liquor, himself died when drunk, shot by one -of his own archers. Then comes Selim II., surnamed the _messth_ (sot), -whose debauches lasted three days, and during whose reign men of the -law and men of religion drank openly. In vain did Muhammad III. thunder -against this “abomination devised by Satan;” in vain did Ahmed I. close -all the taverns and destroy every wine-press in Stambul; in vain did -Murad IV. patrol the city accompanied by an executioner, who beheaded -in his presence every unfortunate whose breath witnessed against him, -while he himself, ferocious hypocrite that he was, staggered about the -apartments of the seraglio like any common frequenter of the pothouse. -Since his day the bottle, like some gay little black imp, has crept -into the seraglio, lurks in the bazâr, hides beneath the pillow of the -soldier, thrusts its little silver or purple neck from beneath the -divan of the beauty, and, crossing the threshold of the very mosques -themselves, has stained the yellow pages of the Koran with sacrilegious -drops. - -[Illustration: Turbeh of Sultan Selim II in St. Sophia.] - - -MOHAMMED. - -Speaking of religion, while wandering about the streets and byways of -Constantinople I used often to wonder whether, were it not for the -voice of the muezzin, Christians would see anything to remind them -that there was any difference between the religion of this people -and their own. The Byzantine architecture of the mosques makes them -seem very like churches; of the Islam rites there is no external -evidence; while Turkish soldiers may be seen escorting the viaticum -through the streets. An uneducated Christian might remain a year in -Constantinople without being aware that Mohammed, not Christ, claimed -the allegiance of the greater part of the population; and this led me -on to reflect upon the slight nature of the fundamental difference--the -blade of grass, as the Abyssinian Christians called it in speaking -to the first followers of Mohammed--which divides the two religions, -and the trifling cause which led Arabia to adopt Islamism instead of -Christianity, or, if not Christianity, at all events something so -closely resembling it that, even had it never developed into that -outright, it would have seriously altered the destinies of the entire -Eastern world. This slight cause was nothing more or less than the -voluptuous nature of a certain handsome young Arabian, tall, fair, -ardent, with black eyes and musical voice--he lacked the force to -dominate his own passions, and so, instead of cutting at the root of -his people’s prevailing sin, he contented himself with pruning the -branches, and in lieu of proclaiming conjugal unity as he proclaimed -the unity of God, merely confined within somewhat narrower bounds, and -then proceeded to give the countenance of religion to, the dissolute -selfishness of men. No doubt he would have had to encounter a more -determined opposition in the one case than in the other, but that it -was in his power to succeed who can question when it is remembered -that in order to establish the worship of one sole God among a people -given over to idolatry he was obliged to first overthrow an enormous -superstructure of tradition and superstition, including innumerable -grants and privileges all closely interlaced, the result of centuries -of growth, and that he made them accept, as one of the dogmas of his -religion for which millions of believers subsequently died, a paradise -which at its first announcement aroused a universal feeling of scorn -and indignation? Unfortunately, however, this handsome young Arab -temporized with his passions, and as a consequence the face of half -the globe is changed, since polygamy was, without doubt, the besetting -vice of his rule and the principal cause of the decadence of all those -races who have adopted his religion. It is the degradation of one sex -for the benefit of the other, the open sanction of a glaring injustice -which disturbs the entire course of human rights, corrupts the rich, -oppresses the poor, encourages ignorance, breaks up the family, and by -causing endless complications in the rights of birth among the reigning -dynasties overturns kingdoms and states, finally placing an insuperable -barrier in the way of the union of Mussulman society with the people -of other faiths who populate the East. If, to return to the original -proposition, that handsome young Arab had only been endowed with a -little more strength of character, had the spiritual in his nature but -outweighed, by ever so small an amount, the animal, who knows?--perhaps -we would now have an Orient orderly, well-governed, and the world be a -century nearer universal civilization. - - -RAMAZAN. - -Happening to be in Constantinople in the month of Ramazân, the ninth -month in the Turkish calendar, in which the twenty-eight days’ fast -falls, I was able to enjoy every evening a spectacle so exceedingly -comical that I think it merits a description. Throughout the entire -fast the Turks are forbidden to eat, drink, or smoke from sunrise to -sunset. Most of them make it up by feasting all night, but as long as -the sun is shining the rule is very generally observed, and no one -dares, in public at any rate, to transgress it. - -One morning my friend and I went to call upon a friend of ours, a young -aide-de-camp of the Sultan, who prided himself upon his liberal views. -We found him in one of the rooms on the ground floor of the imperial -palace with a cup of coffee in his hand. “Why,” said Yunk, “how do -you dare to drink coffee hours after sunrise?” The young man shrugged -his shoulders, and remarked carelessly that he did not care a fig for -Ramazân or the fast; but just at that moment, a door near by suddenly -opening, he was in such a hurry to hide the telltale cup that half -its contents were spilled at his feet. One can readily imagine from -this incident how rigorously all those must abstain whose entire day -is passed beneath the public eye, the boatmen for instance. To get a -really good idea of it one should stand on the Sultan Validéh bridge at -about sunset. What with the boats at the landings and those which are -going from one place to another, the ones near at hand and those in the -distance, there must be very nearly a thousand in sight. Every boatman -has fasted since sunrise, and by this time is ravenously hungry. His -supper is all ready in the käik, and his eyes travel constantly from -it to where the sun is nearing the horizon, and then back again, while -he has the restless, uneasy air of a wild animal who paces about his -cage as the feeding-hour approaches. Sunset is announced by the firing -of a gun, and until that signal is heard not so much as a crumb of -bread or drop of water crosses the lips of one of them. Sometimes in a -retired spot in the Golden Horn we would try to induce our boatman to -eat something, but the invariable answer was, “Jok! jok! jok!” (No! no! -no!), accompanied by an uneasy gesture toward the western horizon. When -the sun gets about halfway down behind the mountains the men begin to -finger their pieces of bread, inhaling its smell voluptuously. Then it -gets so low that nothing can be seen but a golden arc, and the rowers -lay down their oars. Those who are busy and those who are idle, some -midway across the Golden Horn, some lying in retired inlets, others on -the Bosphorus, others over near the Asiatic shore, others, again, who -are plying on the Sea of Marmora, one and all, turning toward the west, -remain immovable, their eyes fixed on the fast-disappearing disk with -mouth open, kindling eye, and bread firmly clasped in the right hand. -Now nothing can be seen but a tiny point of fire: a thousand hunks -of bread are held close to a thousand mouths, and then the fiery eye -drops out of sight, the cannons thunders, and on the instant thirty-two -thousand teeth tear a thousand huge mouthsful from a thousand loaves! -But why say a thousand, when in every house and café and restaurant a -similar scene is being enacted at precisely the same moment, and for a -short time the Turkish city is nothing but a huge monster whose hundred -thousand jaws are all tearing and devouring at once? - - -ANCIENT CONSTANTINOPLE. - -But think what this city must have been in the great days of the -Ottoman glory! I kept thinking of that all the time. How it must have -looked when not a single cloud of smoke arose from the Bosphorus, all -white with sails, to make ugly, black marks against the blue of sky -and water! In the port and the inlets of the Sea of Marmora, among -the picturesque battle-ships of that period with their lofty carved -prows, silver crescents, violet standards, and gilded lanterns, -floated the battered and blood-stained hulks of Spanish, Genoese, -and Venetian galleys. No bridges spanned the Golden Horn, which was -covered with myriads of gayly-decorated boats plying constantly from -one shore to the other, among which could be distinguished afar off -the snowy-white launches of the Seraglio, covered with gold-fringed -scarlet hangings and propelled by rowers dressed in silk. Skutari was -then no more than a village: seen from Galata, she only appeared to -have a few houses scattered about on the hillside; no lofty palaces as -yet reared their heads above the hilltops of Pera; the appearance of -the city was doubtless less impressive than now, but far more Oriental -in character: the law prescribing the use of colors being then in full -force, one could determine accurately the religion of the occupant from -the color of each house. Except for its public and sacred edifices, -which were white as snow, Stambul was entirely red and yellow; the -Armenian quarters were light, and the Greek quarters dark gray; the -Hebrew quarter, purple. As in Holland, the passion for flowers was -universal, so that the gardens were like huge bouquets of hyacinths, -tulips, and roses. The exuberant vegetation not having been as yet -checked on the surrounding hillsides by the growth of new suburbs, -Constantinople presented the appearance of a city built in a forest. -The public thoroughfares were nothing but lanes and alleys, but they -were rendered picturesque by the varied and brilliant crowds which -thronged them. The huge turbans worn by the men lent them all an air -of dignity and importance. The women, with the single exception of the -Sultan’s mother, were so rigorously veiled as to show nothing but the -eyes, and so formed a population apart, anonymous, enigmatical, which -lent to the entire city a certain air of secresy and mystery. Severe -laws controlled the dress of every individual, so that from the shape -of his turban or color of his caftan one could tell the precise rank, -occupation, office, or condition of every one he met, as though the -city had been one great court. The horse being as yet almost “man’s -only coach,” thousands of cavaliers filled the crowded streets, while -long files of camels and dromedaries belonging to the army traversed -the city in all directions, giving it something of the savage and -imposing air of an ancient Asiatic metropolis. Gilded arabas, drawn -by oxen, passed carriages hung with the green cloth of the _ulemi_ or -scarlet cloth of the _kâdi-aschieri_, and light _talike_ hung with -satin and fantastically painted. Troops of slaves marched along, -representing every country from Polonia to Ethiopia, clanking the -chains riveted on them in the field of battle. On the street-corners, -in the squares and the courtyards of the mosques, groups of soldiers -collected, clad in glorious rags, displaying their battered arms and -scars still fresh from wounds received at Vienna, Belgrade, Rodi, -and Damascus. Hundreds of orators recounted to rapt and enthusiastic -audiences the heroic deeds and brilliant victories achieved by the -army fighting at a distance of three months’ march from Stambul. -Pasha, bey, agha, musselim, numberless dignitaries and personages of -high rank, clad with theatrical display and accompanied by throngs of -attendants, made their way through the crowds, who bowed before them -like grain before the wind. Ambassadors representing every court in -Europe, accompanied by princely retinues, who had come to Stambul to -sue for peace or arrange an alliance, swept by. Caravans laden with -propitiatory gifts from Asiatic and African kings filed slowly along -the principal thoroughfares. Companies of _silidars_ and _spahis_, -haughty and insolent, swaggered by, their sabres stained with the blood -of twenty different nations, while the handsome Greek and Hungarian -Seraglio pages, dressed like little kings, pushed haughtily through the -obsequious multitude, who, recognizing in them the unnatural caprices -of their lord, respected them accordingly. Here and there a trophy of -knotted clubs before some doorway indicated the presence of a corps -of Janissaries, who at that time acted as police in the interior of -the city. Parties of Hebrews would be seen hurrying to the Bosphorus -with the dead bodies of the victims of justice. Every morning a body -would be found in the Baluk Bazâr, lying with the head under the right -armpit, a stone holding in place the sentence affixed to the breast. -Law-breakers to whom summary justice had been meted out would dangle -from a beam or hook in the public highway, while after nightfall one -was liable to stumble over the body of some unfortunate who, after -having his hands and feet pounded with clubs, had been thrown from the -window of the torture-chamber. In the broad light of day merchants, -caught in the act of cheating, would be nailed through the ear to their -own shop-doors, and, there being no law controlling the free right of -sepulture, the work of digging graves and burying the dead was carried -on at all hours and in all places--in the gardens, in the lanes and -open squares, and before the doors of dwellings. The cries of lambs -and sheep could be heard from the courtyards where they were being -slaughtered in sacrifice to Allah on the occasion of a circumcision -or a birth. From time to time a troop of eunuchs, galloping by with -warning cries, would be the signal for a general stampede; the streets -would become deserted; doors and windows fly to, blinds be drawn down, -and an entire neighborhood suddenly assume the look and air of a city -of the dead. Then in long procession files of gorgeously-decorated -coaches filled with the ladies of the imperial harem would pass by, -scattering around them an atmosphere of perfume and laughter. Sometimes -it would happen that an official of the court, making his way through -some thoroughfare, would suddenly encounter six quite ordinary-looking -individuals about to enter a shop, and at that sight grow unaccountably -pale. These six, however, would be the Sultan, four officers of his -court, and an executioner making their rounds from shop to shop in -order to verify the weights and measures. - -[Illustration: Interior of Mosque of Ahmed.] - -Throughout the whole of the city’s huge body there coursed an -exuberant and feverish life; the treasury overflowed with jewels, the -arsenal with arms, the barracks with soldiers, the caravanseries with -strangers; the slave-market was thronged with merchants and lofty -personages come to inspect the crowds of beautiful slaves. Scholars -pressed to examine the archives of the great mosques; long-winded -viziers prepared for the delectation of future generations the -interminable annals of the Empire; poets, pensioned by the -Seraglio, assembled in the baths, where they sang the imperial loves -and wars; swarms of Bulgarian and Armenian workmen toiled at the -erection of mighty mosques, employing huge blocks of granite and Paros -marble, while by sea, columns from the temples of the Archipelago, and -by land, spoils from the churches of Pesth and Ofen, were brought to -contribute to their splendor. In the harbor a fleet of three hundred -sail made ready to carry terror and dismay to every coast in the -Mediterranean; between Stambul and Adrianapolis companies of falconers -and gamekeepers, to the number of seven thousand, were stationed; and -in the intervals between military uprisings at home, foreign wars, and -conflagrations which would reduce twenty thousand houses to ashes in a -single night, revels would be celebrated, lasting thirty days, in honor -of the representatives of every court in Asia, Africa, and Europe. On -these occasions the glorifications of the Mussulmans degenerated into -folly: sham battles were fought by the Janissaries in the presence of -the Sultan and the court, amid huge _palme di nozze_ laden with birds, -mirrors, and fruits of various kinds, in order to make room for which -walls and houses were ruthlessly destroyed; and processions of lions -and sugar mermaids, borne on horses whose trappings were of silver -damask, and mountains of royal gifts sent from every part of the Empire -and every court in the world; dervishes executed their furious dances, -and bloody massacres of Christian prisoners were followed by public -banquets where ten thousand dishes of _cuscussù_ were served to the -populace; trained elephants and giraffes danced in the Hippodrome, -while bears and wolves, with fireworks tied to their tails, were let -loose among the people; allegorical pantomimes, grotesque masquerades, -wanton dances, fantastic processions, games, comedies, symbolic cars, -rustic dances, followed each other in rapid succession. Little by -little as night descended the festival degenerated into a mad orgy, -and then the lights from five hundred brilliantly illuminated mosques -spread a great aureole of fire over the entire city and announced -to the watching shepherds on the mountain-heights of Asia and the -wayfarers on the Propontis the revels of this new Babylon. - -Such was once Stambul, a haughty sultaness, voluptuous, formidable, -wanton, as compared with which the city of to-day is little more than -some weary old queen, peevish and hypochondriacal. - - -THE ARMENIANS. - -Absorbed as I was by the Turks, I had, as may be readily understood, -but little time left in which to study the characteristics of the -three other nationalities--Armenian, Greek, and Hebrew--which go to -make up the population of Constantinople--a study requiring a certain -amount of time, too, since all of these people, while preserving to a -certain extent their national character, have outwardly conformed to -the prevailing Mussulman coloring around them, now in its turn fading -into a uniform tint of European civilization. Thus it is as difficult -to catch a vivid impression of any one of the three as it would be of a -view that was constantly changing. This is true in a special sense of -the Armenians, “Christians in spirit and faith, Asiatic Mussulmans by -birth and carnal nature,” whom it is not only hard to study intimately, -but even to distinguish at sight, since those among them who have not -adopted the European costume dress like Turks in all except some very -minor points. All of them have abandoned the ancient felt cap which -was formerly, with certain special colors, the distinctive sign of -their nation. In appearance they closely resemble the Turks, being -for the most part tall, robust, and corpulent, with a grave, sedate -carriage, but their complexion is light, and the two striking points -of their national character can usually be read in their faces--the -one, a quick, open, industrious, and persevering spirit, which fits -them in a peculiar way to commercial enterprises; and the other -that adaptability, called by some servility, which enables them to -gain a foothold among whatever people they may be thrown with from -Hungary to China, and renders them particularly acceptable to the -Turks, whose confidence they readily succeed in winning, making them -faithful subjects and obsequious friends. There is nothing heroic -or bellicose either about their appearance or disposition: formerly -this may have been otherwise. Those parts of Asia whence they came -are at present inhabited by a people, descendants of a common stock, -who, it is said, resemble them but little. Certainly those members of -the race who have been transplanted to the shores of the Bosphorus -are a prudent and managing people, moderate in their manner of life, -intent only upon their trade, and more sincerely religious, it is -affirmed, than any other nation which inhabits Constantinople. They -are called by the Turks the “camels of the Empire,” and the Franks -assert that every Armenian is born an accountant. These two sayings -are, to a great extent justified by the facts, since, thanks to -their great physical strength and their quickness and intelligence, -they furnish, in addition to a large proportion of her architects, -engineers, doctors, and clever and painstaking mechanics, the greater -part of Constantinople’s bankers and porters, the former amassing -fabulous fortunes, and the latter carrying enormous loads. At first -sight, though, one would hardly be aware that there was an Armenian -population in Constantinople, so completely has the plant, so to -speak, assumed the color of the soil. Their women, on whose account -the house of the Armenian is almost as rigorously closed to strangers -as that of the Mussulman, have likewise adopted the Turkish dress, -and none but the most expert eye could distinguish them among their -Mohammedan neighbors. They are generally fair and stout, with the -aquiline Oriental profile, large eyes and long lashes; many of them are -tall, with matronly figures, and, surmounted by turbans, might well be -mistaken for handsome sheiks. They are universally modest and dignified -in their bearing, and if anything is lacking it is the intelligence -which beams from the eyes of their Greek sisters. - - -THE GREEKS. - -Difficult as it may be to single out the Armenian at sight, there is no -such trouble about the Greek, who differs so essentially in character, -bearing, appearance, everything, from all the other subjects of the -Empire that he can be told at once without even looking at his dress. -To appreciate this diversity, or rather contrast, one need only watch -a Turk and a Greek who happen to be seated beside one another on board -a steamboat or in a café. They may be about the same age and rank, -both dressed in the European fashion, and even resemble each other -somewhat in feature, and yet it is quite impossible to mistake them. -The Turk sits perfectly motionless; his face wears a look of quietude -and repose, void of all expression, like a fed animal; if by any chance -some shadow of a thought appears, it seems to be a reflection as -lifeless and inert as his body; he looks at no one, and is apparently -quite unconscious that any one is looking at him, expressing by his -entire bearing an utter indifference to his surroundings, a something -of the resigned melancholy of a slave and the cold pride of a despot; -hard, closed, completed, he seems incapable of altering any resolution -once taken, and it would drive any one to the verge of madness who -should undertake the task of persuading him to any course. In short, he -appears to be a being hewn out of a single block, with whom it would -only be possible to live either as master or servant, and no amount -of intercourse with whom would ever justify the taking of a liberty. -With the Greek it is altogether different. His mobile features express -every thought that passes through his mind, and betray a youthful, -almost childish ardor, while he tosses his head with the free action of -an uncurbed and restive horse. On finding himself observed he at once -strikes an attitude, and if no one looks at him he tries to attract -attention; he seems to be always wanting or imagining something, -and his whole person breathes of shrewdness and ambition. There is -something so attractive and sympathetic about him that you are inclined -to give him your hand even when you would hesitate about trusting him -with your purse. Seen side by side, one can readily understand how it -is that one of these men considers the other a proud, overbearing, -brutal savage, and is looked down upon in his turn as a light -creature, untrustworthy, mischievous, and the cause of endless trouble, -and how they mutually despise and hate one another from the bottom of -their hearts, finding it impossible to live together in peace. And so -with the women. It is with a distinct feeling of gratification and -pleasure that one first encounters amid the handsome, florid Turkish -and Armenian types, appealing more to the senses than the mind, the -pure and exquisite features of the Greek women, illuminated by those -deep serious eyes whose every glance recalls an ode, while their -exquisite shapes inspire an immediate desire to clasp them in one’s -arms--with the object of placing them on pedestals, however, rather -than in the harem. Among them can still be occasionally found one -or two who, wearing their hair after the ancient fashion--that is, -hanging over the shoulders in long wavy locks, with one thick coil -wound around the top of the head like a diadem--are so noble-looking, -so beautiful and classic, that they might well be taken for statues -fresh from the chisel of a Praxiteles or a Lysippus, or for youthful -immortals discovered after twenty centuries in some forgotten valley -of Laconia or unknown island of the Egean. But even among the Greeks -these examples of queenly beauty are exceedingly rare, and are found -only in the ranks of the old aristocracy of the Empire, in the silent -and melancholy quarter of Fanar, where the spirit of ancient Byzantium -has taken refuge. There one may occasionally see one of these -magnificent women leaning on the railing of a balcony or against the -grating of some lofty window, her eyes fixed upon the deserted street -in the attitude of an imprisoned queen; and when a crowd of lackeys -is not lounging idly before the door of one of these descendants of -the Palæologi and the Comneni, one may, watching her from some place -of observation, fancy that a rift in the clouds has revealed for an -instant the face of an Olympian goddess. - - -THE HEBREWS. - -With regard to the Hebrews I am prepared to assert, having been to -Morocco myself, that those of Constantinople have nothing in common -with their fellows of the northern coast of Africa, where observing -experts say they have discovered in all its primitive purity the -original Oriental type of Hebrew beauty. In the hope of finding some -traces of this same beauty, I summoned up all my courage and thoroughly -explored the vast Ghetto of Balata, which winds like an unclean reptile -along the banks of the Golden Horn. I penetrated into the most wretched -purlieus, among hovels “encrusted with mould” like the shores of the -Dantesque pool; through passageways which nothing would induce me to -enter again except on stilts, and, holding my nose; I peered through -windows hung with filthy rags into dark, malodorous rooms; paused -before damp courtyards exhaling a smell of mould and decay strong -enough to take one’s breath away; pushed my way through groups of -scrofulous children; brushed up against horrible old men who looked as -though they had died of the plague and come to life again; avoiding -now a dog covered with sores, now a pool of black mud, dodging under -rows of loathsome rags hung from greasy cords, or stumbling over heaps -of decaying stuff whose smell was enough to make one faint outright. -And, after all, my heroism met with no reward. Among all the many women -whom I encountered wearing the national kalpak--an article resembling -a sort of elongated turban, covering the hair and ears--I saw, it is -true, some faces in which could be discovered that delicate regularity -of feature and the expression of gentle resignation which are supposed -to characterize the Constantinopolitan Jewess; some vague profiles of a -Rebecca or a Rachel, with almond-shaped eyes full of a soft sweetness; -an occasional graceful, erect figure standing in Raphaelesque attitude -in an open doorway, with one delicate hand resting lightly on the curly -head of a child; but for the most part my investigations revealed -nothing but discouraging evidences of the degradation of the race. What -a contrast between those pinched faces and the piercing eyes, brilliant -coloring, and well-rounded forms which aroused my admiration a year -later in the _Mellà_ of Tangiers and Fez! - -And the men--thin, yellow, stunted, all their vitality seems centred -in their bright cunning eyes, never still for a moment, but which -roll restlessly about as though constantly attracted by the sound of -chinking money. - -At this point I am quite prepared to hear my kind critics among the -Israelites--who have already rapped me over the knuckles in regard -to their co-religionists of Morocco--take up the burden of their -song, laying all the blame of the degeneration and degradation of the -Hebrews of Constantinople at the door of the Turkish oppressor. But -it should be remembered that the other non-Mussulman subjects of the -Porte are all on a precisely similar footing, both political and civil, -with themselves; and, even were it otherwise, they would find some -difficulty in proving that the filthy habits, early marriages, and -complete abandonment of every sort of hard work, considered as primal -causes of that degeneration, are the logical results of the loss of -liberty and independence. And should they assert that it is not so -much Turkish oppression as the universal scorn and petty persecutions -which they have had to endure on all hands that have brought about such -complete loss of self-respect, let them pause and first ask themselves -if the exact opposite may not be nearer the truth, and the general -obloquy in which they are held be not so much the cause as the result -of their manner of life; and then, instead of trying to cover up the -sore, themselves be the ones to apply the knife. - - -THE BATH. - -After making the tour of Balata the most appropriate thing to take next -seems to be a Turkish bath. The bath-houses may be easily recognized -from without: they are small, mosque-shaped buildings, without windows, -surmounted by cupolas, and have high conical chimneys, from which smoke -is constantly rising. So much for the exterior, but he who desires to -penetrate farther and explore the mysteries of the interior would do -well to pause and ask himself, _Quid valeant humeri?_ since not every -one is able to endure the _aspro governo_ to which he who enters those -salutary walls must be subjected. I am free to confess that, after all -I had been told, I approached them with some feeling of trepidation, -which I think the reader will admit was not wholly unjustifiable before -he has done. As I recall it all now, two great drops of perspiration -stand out on my forehead, ready to roll down when I shall be in the -heat of my description. Here then is what was done to my unhappy -person. Entering timidly, I find myself in a large apartment which -leaves one in doubt for a few moments as to whether he has gotten by -mistake into a theatre or a hospital. A fountain plays in the centre, -decorated on top with flowers; a wooden gallery runs all around the -walls, upon which some Turks, stretched upon mattresses and enveloped -from head to foot in snow-white cloths, either slumber profoundly or -smoke in a dreamy state between waking and sleeping. Looking about -for some attendant, I become suddenly aware of two robust mulattoes, -stripped to the waist, who appear from nowhere like spectres and ask in -deep tones and both together, “_Hammamun?_” (bath?). “_Evvet_” (yes), I -reply in a very weak voice. Motioning me to follow, they lead the way -up a small wooden stair to a room filled with mats and cushions, where -I am given to understand that I must undress, after which they proceed -to wrap a strip of blue and white stuff about my loins, tie my head up -in a piece of muslin, and, placing a pair of huge slippers on my feet, -grasp me under the arms like a drunken man, and conduct, or rather -drag, me into another room, warm and half lighted, where, after laying -me on a rug, they stand with arms akimbo, waiting until my skin shall -have become moist. These preparations, so distressingly suggestive of -some approaching punishment, fill me with a vague uneasiness, which -changes into something even less admirable when the two cutthroats, -after touching me on the forehead, exchange a meaning glance, as who -should say, “Suppose he resists?” and then, as though exclaiming, “To -the rack!” again seize me by the arms and lead me into a third room. -This apartment makes a very singular impression at first sight: -it is as though one found himself in a subterranean temple, where, -through clouds of vapor, high marble walls, rows of columns, arches, -and a lofty vaulted roof, can be indistinctly seen, colored green and -blue and crimson by the rays of light falling from the cupola, white -spectral figures slide noiselessly back and forth close to the walls. -In the centre half-naked forms are extended upon the pavement, while -others, also half naked, bend over them in the attitude of doctors -making an autopsy. The temperature is such that no sooner have we -entered than I break out into a profuse perspiration, and it seems most -probable that should I ever get out at all it will be in the form of a -running stream like the lover of Arethusa. - -The two mulattoes convey my body to the centre of the room and deposit -it upon a sort of anatomical table consisting of a raised slab of white -marble, beneath which are the stoves. The marble, being extremely -hot, burns me and I see stars, but, as long as I am there, there -is no choice but to go through with the penalty. My two attendants -accordingly begin the _vivisection_, and, chanting a sort of funeral -dirge the while, pinch my arms and legs, stretch my muscles, make my -joints crack, pound me, rub me, maul me, and then, rolling me over -on my face, begin over again, only to put me on my back later and -recommence the whole process. They knead and work me like a dough -figure to which they want to give a certain form they have in mind, -and, not succeeding, have grown angry with; a slight pause for breath -is only followed by renewed pinching, pulling, and pounding, until I -begin to fear that my last hour is drawing near; and then finally, when -my entire body is streaming with perspiration like a wet sponge, the -blood coursing furiously through my veins, and it has become evident -that I have reached the last limit of endurance, they gather up my -remains from that bed of torment and carry them to a corner, where in a -small alcove are a basin and two spigots from which hot and cold water -are running. But, alas! fresh martyrdom awaits me here; and really -the affair at this point begins to assume so serious an aspect that, -joking aside, I consider whether it would not be possible to strike -out to right and left, and, just as I am, make a break for life and -liberty. It is too late, though: one of my tormentors, putting on a -camel’s-hair glove, has fallen to rubbing my back, breast, arms, and -legs with the same cheerful energy a lively groom might employ in -currying a horse; after this has been prolonged for fully five minutes -a stream of tepid water is poured down my back, and I take breath and -return devout thanks to Heaven that it is all over at last. I soon -find, however, that this is premature: that ferocious mulatto, taking -the glove off, promptly falls to once more with his bare hand, until, -losing all patience, I sign to him to stop, with the result that, -exhibiting his hand, he proves to his own entire satisfaction and my -complete bewilderment that he must still continue, and does so. Next -follows another deluge of water, and after that a fresh operation: each -of them, now taking a piece of tow cloth, rubs a quantity of Candia -soap upon it, and then proceeds to soap me well from head to foot; then -another torrent of perfumed water, followed by the tow cloths again, -but, Heaven be praised! without soap this time, and the process is one -of drying me off. When this has been accomplished they tie up my head -again, wrap the cloth about my body, and then, enveloping me in a large -sheet, reconduct me to the second room, where I am allowed to rest a -few moments before being taken to the first; here a warm mattress is in -readiness, upon which I stretch myself luxuriously. The two instruments -of justice give a few final pinches to equalize the circulation of -blood throughout all my members, and then, placing an embroidered -cushion under my head, a white covering over me, a pipe in my mouth, -and a glass of lemonade at my side, depart, leaving me light, fresh, -airy, perfumed, with a mind serene, a contented heart, and such a sense -of youth and vitality that I feel as though, like Venus, I had just -been born from the foam of the sea, and seem to hear the wings of the -loves fluttering above my head. - - -THE SERASKER TOWER. - -Feeling thus “airy and meet for intercourse with the stars,” one could -not do better than ascend to the top of that stone Titan called the -Serasker Tower. I think that should Satan again undertake to offer a -view of the kingdoms of the world by way of a temptation, his best -course would be to select this spot for the enterprise. The tower, -built in the reign of Mahmûd II., is planted upon the summit of the -most lofty hill in Stambul, on that spot in the centre of the vast -courtyard of the War Office called by the Turks the _umbilicus_ of -the city. It is constructed mainly of white Marmora marble, on the -plan of a regular polygon with sixteen sides, and rears itself aloft, -erect, and graceful as a column, overtopping to a considerable extent -the gigantic minarets of the adjacent mosque of Suleiman. Ascending -a winding stair lighted here and there by square windows, you catch -fleeting views now of Galata, now of Stambul or the villages on the -Golden Horn, and before you are halfway to the top seem already to have -reached the region of the clouds. It may happen that a slight noise -is heard directly over your head, and almost at the same instant a -something flashes by, apparently an object of some sort being hurled -headlong from above; but, in reality, one of the guards stationed -day and night on the summit to watch for fires and give the alarm, -who, having discovered at some distant point of the horizon a -cloud of suspicious-looking smoke, is taking word to the seraskier. -After mounting about two hundred steps you reach a sort of covered -terrace running all around the tower and enclosed with glass, where an -attendant is always at hand to serve visitors with coffee. On first -finding yourself in that transparent cage, suspended as it were between -heaven and earth, with nothing to be seen but an immense blue space, -and the wind howling and rattling the panes of glass and making the -boards strain and creak, you are very apt to be attacked with vertigo -and to feel strongly tempted to give up the view; but at sight of the -ladder which leads to the window in the roof courage returns, and, -climbing up with a beating heart, a cry of astonishment escapes you. It -is an overpowering moment, and for a little while you remain silent and -transfixed. - -[Illustration: Entrance and Tower of Seraskier.] - -Constantinople lies spread out before you like a map, and with the -turn of an eye the entire extent of the mighty metropolis can be -embraced--all the hills and valleys of Stambul from the Castle of the -Seven Towers to the cemetery of Eyûb; all Galata, all Pera, as though -you could drop your sight down into them like a plumb-line; all Skutari -as though it lay directly beneath you--three lines of buildings, -groves, and shipping, extending as far as the eye can reach along -three shores of indescribable beauty, and other stretches of garden -and village winding away inland until they fade out of view in the -distance; the entire length of the Golden Horn, smooth and glassy, -dotted over with innumerable käiks, which look like bright-colored -flies swimming about on the surface of the water; all of the Bosphorus -too, but, owing to the hills which run out into it here and there, it -looks like a series of lakes, and each lake seems to be surrounded -by a city, and each city festooned about with gardens: beyond the -Bosphorus lies the Black Sea, whose blue surface melts into the -sky; in the opposite direction are the Sea of Marmora, the Gulf of -Nicomedia [Ismid], the Isles of the Princes, and the two coasts of -Asia and Europe, white with villages; beyond the Sea of Marmora lie -the Dardanelles, shining like a silver ribbon, and beyond them again a -dazzling white light indicates the Ægean Sea, with a dark line showing -the position of the Troad; beyond Skutari are seen Bithynia and the -Olympus; beyond Stambul the brown undulating solitudes of Thrace; -two gulfs, two straits, two continents, three seas, twenty cities, -myriads of silver cupolas with gilded pinnacles, a glory of light, an -exuberance of color, until you doubt whether it is indeed your own -planet spread out before you or some other heavenly body more highly -favored by God. - - -CONSTANTINOPLE. - -And so on the Serasker Tower I asked myself, as I had already done -over and over again on the old bridge, the Tower of Galata, at Skutari, -how I could ever have been so infatuated with Holland; and not only did -Holland now seem a poor dull place which one would tire of in a month, -but Paris, Madrid, Seville as well. And then I would think miserably -of my wretched descriptions--how often I had used the expressions -superb, beautiful, magnificent, until now there were none left for -this surpassing view; and yet at the same time I knew I would never be -willing to subtract a syllable from what I had said about those other -parts of Constantinople. My friend Rossasco would say, “Well, why don’t -you try this?” To which I would reply, “But suppose I have nothing to -say?” And indeed, incredible as it sounds, there really were times -when, in certain lights and at certain hours of the day, the view did -look almost poor, and I would exclaim in dismay, “What has become of -my beloved Constantinople?” At others I would experience a feeling -of sadness to think that while I had that immensity of space, that -prodigality of beauty, spread out before me for the asking, my mother -was sitting in a little room from which nothing could be seen but a -dull courtyard and narrow strip of sky, as though I must somehow be to -blame; and feel that I would give an eye to have my dear old lady on my -arm and carry her off to see St. Sophia. As a rule, however, the days -flew by as lightly and gayly as the hours at a feast, and when, by -any chance, my friend and I were attacked by ill-humor, we had a sure -and certain method of curing ourselves. Going to Galata, we would jump -into the two most gayly-decorated two-oared käiks at the landing, and, -calling out, “Eyûb!” presto, before we knew it, would find ourselves -in the middle of the Golden Horn. The oarsmen, Mahmûds or Bayezids or -Ibrahims, about twenty years old or so, and endowed with arms of iron, -would usually amuse themselves by racing, keeping up a series of shouts -and cries and laughing like children. Above, a cloudless sky, below a -smooth transparent sea; throwing back our heads, we would inhale great -breaths of the delicious scented air, and trail one hand over the -side in the soft clear water. On fly the two käiks; palaces, gardens, -kiosks, and mosques glide by; we seem to be borne on the wings of the -wind across an enchanted world, and are blissfully conscious that we -are young and at Stambul. Yunk sings, and I, while reciting half aloud -some one of Victor Hugo’s ballads of the East, can see now on the right -hand and now on the left, near by, afar off, a beloved face crowned -with white hair which wears a tender smile and tells me, as plainly as -though it were a voice speaking, that she appreciates and fully shares -all my enjoyment. - - - - -ST. SOPHIA. - - -And now, if even a poor writer of travels may be allowed to invoke -his Muse, I do most certainly invoke mine with bent knee and clasped -hands, for, verily my mind grows bewildered, “_in faccia al nobile -subbietto_,” and the majestic outlines of the great Byzantine basilica -tremble before my vision like images reflected in the water. May the -Muse inspire me, St. Sophia illumine me, and the emperor Justinian -pardon me! - -[Illustration: Entrance to St. Sophia.] - -It was a fine morning in October when we at last set forth, accompanied -by a Turkish _cavas_ from the Italian consulate and a Greek dragoman, -to visit the terrestrial Paradise, second firmament, car of the -cherubim, throne of the glory of God, wonder of the world, the greatest -temple on earth after St. Peter’s. This last expression, as my friends -of Burgos, Cologne, Milan, and Florence must know, is of course not -my own, nor would I ever dare to make it so: I merely quote it among -the rest as one of the many terms consecrated by the enthusiasm of -the Greeks which our dragoman repeated to us as we passed along the -streets. We had purposely supplemented him by the old Turkish cavas -in the hope--and we were not disappointed--that their two accounts -might bring vividly before us the struggle between the two religions, -histories, and nations, the legends and explanations of one magnifying -the Church, those of the other the Mosque, in such a manner as to make -us see St. Sophia as she should be seen; that is to say, with one eye -Christian and the other Turkish. - -My expectations were very great and my curiosity was all on fire, -and yet I realized then, as I do now, that the actual sight of -a world-renowned object, no matter how fully it may justify its -reputation, never quite comes up to the keen enjoyment one experiences -when on his way to see it. If I could live over again one hour out -of each of those days on which I saw some great sight for the first -time, I would unhesitatingly choose the one which intervenes between -the moment of saying, “Now let us start,” and that in which the goal -is reached. Those are the traveller’s most blissful hours. As you walk -along you can feel your soul expand, preparing, as it were, to receive -the streams of enthusiasm and delight soon to well up in it. You -recall your boyhood’s dreams, which then seemed so hopelessly far from -realization; you remember how a certain old professor of geography, -after pointing out Constantinople on the map of Europe, traced the -outline of the great basilica in the air, a pinch of snuff between -his thumb and fore finger; you see that room, that hearth, in front -of which, during the coming winter, you will describe to a circle -of wondering and attentive faces the famous building; you hear that -name, St. Sophia, ringing in your head, your heart, your ears like the -voice of a living person who calls, and awaits your coming to reveal -some mighty secret: you see above your head dim, prodigious outlines -of arch and pilaster and column, mighty buildings which reach to the -heavens, and when, at last, but a few steps more are wanted to bring -you face to face with the reality, you linger to examine a pebble, -watch the passage of a lizard, tell some trifling anecdote--anything -that may serve to postpone, if but for a few seconds, that moment to -which for twenty years you have been looking forward, and which you -will remember for the rest of your life. And, truly, if you take away -what goes before and what follows after, not so very much remains of -the much-talked-of joys of seeing and admiring. It is almost always a -delusion, followed by a slight awakening, after which we obstinately -delude ourselves again. - -[Illustration: Fountain of Ahmed.] - -The mosque of St. Sophia stands opposite the main entrance of the old -Seraglio. On reaching, however, the open square which lies between the -two, the first object to attract attention is, not the mosque, but -the famous fountain of Sultan Ahmed III., one of the richest and most -characteristic examples of Turkish art. This exquisite little building -is not so much a monument as a caress in marble imprinted in a moment -of passionate adoration by an enamored sultan upon the forehead of his -beloved Stambul. I doubt if any but a woman’s pen can do it justice: -mine, I feel convinced, is far too coarse and heavy to trace those -delicate outlines. At first sight it hardly looks like a fountain at -all, being in the form of a little square temple with a Chinese roof, -whose undulating rim extends for some distance beyond the walls, and -lends to the whole something of the character of a pagoda. At each -corner rises a round tower furnished with small screened windows, or, -rather, they are more like four charming kiosks, corresponding to the -graceful cupolas on the roof which encircle the main central cupola. -In each of the four walls are two niches, flanking a pointed arch, -beneath which the water flows from a spout into a small basin. Around -the edifice there runs an inscription which reads as follows: “This -fountain speaks to you in the following verse by Sultan Ahmed: Turn -the key of this pure and tranquil spring and call upon the name of -God; drink of these inexhaustible and limpid waters and pray for the -Sultan.” The little building is composed entirely of white marble, -which, however, is almost hidden beneath the mass of ornamentation -with which its walls are covered--arches, niches, tiny columns, roses, -polygons, garlands, fretwork, gilding on a background of blue. Carving -around the cupolas, inlaid-work below the roof, mosaics of a hundred -different combinations of color, arabesques of every conceivable -form,--all seem to vie with one another to attract attention and arouse -admiration, until one’s powers of seeing and admiring are well-nigh -exhausted. Not so much as a hand’s breadth of space is left free -from carving, painting, gilding, or ornament of some sort. It is a -prodigy of richness, beauty, and patience, which should, by rights, be -preserved under a glass case; and, as though it were too perfect to -delight but one sense alone, you are tempted to break off a piece and -put it in your mouth, feeling that it must taste good as well--a casket -designed, as one would suppose, to guard some priceless treasure, and -you long to open it and find the--what? Infant goddess, magic ring, or -fabulous pearl. Time has to some extent faded the brilliant colors, -dimmed the gilding, and darkened the marble; think, then, what this -colossal jewel must have been when first unveiled, all fresh and -sparkling, before the eyes of the Solomon of the Bosphorus a hundred -and sixty years ago! But, old and faded as it is, it undoubtedly -occupies the first place among the lesser wonders of Constantinople, -and is, moreover, an object so distinctively Turkish that, once seen, -it claims a prominent position among that certain number of others -which will dwell for ever in one’s memory, ready to rise up at the -sound of the word “Stambul;” the background for all time against which -will be thrown out one’s dreams and visions of the Orient. - -Looking across from the fountain, St. Sophia can be seen occupying one -side of the intervening square. About the exterior there is nothing -especially noteworthy. The only points which attract the eye are the -lofty white minarets, which rise at the four corners from pedestals -each the size of a house. The celebrated dome looks small, and it -seems impossible that this can be the same as that which we are wont -to see, from the Bosphorus and Sea of Marmora and the hillsides of -Asia, rearing its mighty form like the head of some Titan against the -blue heavens. It is a flattened dome overlaid with lead, flanked by -two semi-domes, and pierced at the base by a row of small windows. -The four walls which support it are painted in broad bands of white -and red and strengthened by enormous masses of masonry. A number of -mean-looking buildings, baths, schools, hospitals, mausoleums, and -soup-kitchens, crowd around the base and effectually conceal the -ancient architectural form of the basilica. Nothing can be seen but a -heavy, irregular edifice, faded and bare as a fortress, and apparently -totally inadequate to embrace the mighty expanse of St. Sophia’s great -nave. Of the original basilica only the dome is visible, and even that -has been despoiled of the silver splendor which, according to the -Greeks, could once be seen from the summit of the Olympus. All the -rest is Mussulman: one minaret was erected by Muhammad the Conqueror, -another by Selim II., the two others by the Third Murad, the same -who toward the close of the sixteenth century added the buttresses -to strengthen the walls shaken by an earthquake, and placed the huge -bronze crescent on the summit of the dome, the gilding alone of which -cost fifty thousand ducats. The ancient atrium has disappeared, and -the baptistry has been converted into a mausoleum where are interred -the remains of Mustafa I. and Ibrahim, while nearly every one of the -other small buildings which adjoined the Greek church have been either -destroyed outright or else, by the erection of new walls or some other -alteration, changed past recognition: on all sides the mosque crowds, -pushes, and bears down upon the church, of which the head alone remains -free, and even around that the imperial minarets mount guard like -four gigantic sentinels. On the east side there is a doorway flanked -by six marble and porphyry columns; another on the south leads into a -courtyard surrounded by low, irregular buildings, in the midst of which -a fountain for ablutions plays beneath a little arched canopy supported -on eight, small columns. Viewed from the outside, there is nothing to -distinguish St. Sophia from the other great mosques of Stambul, except -that it is heavier and dingier; far less would it ever enter one’s -head to name it “the greatest temple on earth after St. Peter’s.” - -[Illustration: Mosque of St. Sophia.] - -Our guides conducted us by a narrow street skirting the northern wall -of the edifice to a bronze door, which, swinging slowly back on its -hinges, admitted us to the eso-narthex. This is a very long and lofty -hall lined with marbles, and still glowing here and there with ancient -mosaics. Nine doors on the eastern side give access to the body of the -church, opposite which five others formerly led to the exo-narthex, -which, in turn, communicated by thirteen doors with the atrium. We had -barely crossed the threshold when a turbaned sacristan demanded our -firmans, and then, after donning slippers, at a sign from the guides we -approached the middle door on the eastern side, which stood half open -to receive us. The first effect is certainly quite overpowering, and -for some moments we remained stunned and speechless. In a single glance -one is confronted by an enormous space and a bold architecture of -semi-domes which seem to hang suspended in the air, enormous pilasters, -mighty arches, gigantic columns, galleries, tribunes, arcades, over -which floods of light are poured from a thousand great windows--a -something I hardly know how to define of theatrical and regal rather -than sacred; an ostentation of size and strength; a look of worldly -pomp; a mixture of the classic, barbarous, fanciful, arrogant, and -magnificent; a stupendous harmony in which, with the formidable and -thunderous notes of the pilasters and cyclopean arches, recalling -the cathedrals of the North, there mingle soft, subdued strains of -some Oriental air, the noisy music of the revels of Justinian and -Heraclitus, echoes of pagan chants, the choked voice of an effeminate -and wornout race, and distant cries of Goth, of Vandal, and of Avar; -a mighty defaced majesty, a sinister nakedness, a profound peace--St. -Peter’s shrunken and plastered over, St. Mark’s enlarged and abandoned; -a quite indescribable mingling of church, mosque, and temple, severe -in aspect, puerile in adornment--of things old and new, faded colors, -and curious, unfamiliar accessories: a sight, in short, so bewildering, -so awe-inspiring, and at the same time so full of melancholy, that -for a time the mind cannot grasp its full meaning, but gropes about -uncertainly, trying to find first what it is, and then words in which -to express it. - -The plan of the edifice nearly approaches an equilateral rectangle, -over the centre of which rises the great dome, supported on four -mighty arches resting upon massive pilasters: these form, as it were, -the skeleton of the entire building. From the arches on the right and -left of the entrance there rise, before and beyond the great dome, -two semi-domes, the three covering the entire nave, these semi-domes -have six exedræ, of which the four on the sides are also covered -with semi-domes, making four small circular temples enclosed in the -large one. Between the two exedræ at the east end of the building is -the apse, which projects beyond the external wall, and is likewise -covered with a domed roof. Thus seven semi-domes encircle the main one, -two just beyond it and five more beyond these, all of them without -any apparent support, and presenting an extraordinary impression of -lightness, as though they actually were, as a Greek poet once said, -suspended by seven cords from the roof of the sky. All these domes -are lighted by large windows arched and symmetrical. Between the four -great pilasters, which form a square in the centre of the basilica, -there rise to the right and left of the entrance eight wonderful -columns of green marble, from which spring graceful arches richly -carved with foliage, forming charming porticos on either side of the -nave, and supporting at a great height two vast galleries, where are -to be seen two other lines of columns and sculptured arches. A third -gallery, communicating with the first two, runs above the narthex, and -opens out on the nave by means of three enormous arches supported on -double columns. Other smaller galleries, resting upon porphyry columns, -intersect the four small temples at the extremities of the nave, and -from them rise other columns supporting tribunes. - -Such is the basilica. The mosque is, so to speak, spread over its -surface and hung upon its walls. The _mihrab_--that is, the niche -which indicates the direction in which Mecca lies--is hollowed out of -one of the pilasters of the apse; to the right of it, high up on the -wall, hangs one of the four prayer-carpets of the Prophet. In the angle -of the apse nearest to the mihrab, reached by a steep little flight -of stairs whose marble balustrade is carved with the most marvellous -delicacy of workmanship, is the pulpit, surmounted by a queer conical -roof and hung on either side with victorious banners of Muhammad II. -Here the _rhatib_ ascends to read the Koran,[H] and carries in his hand -a drawn simeter, to signify that St. Sophia is a mosque acquired by the -force of arms. Opposite the pulpit is the Sultan’s tribune enclosed -within a gilded grating. Other pulpits or species of balconies, having -railings of open-work carving, and supported on small marble columns -and arabesqued arches, protrude here and there along the walls or -toward the centre of the nave. On either side of the entrance stand two -huge alabaster jars, found among the ruins of Pergamum and brought to -Constantinople by Murad III. Enormous green disks, bearing inscriptions -from the Koran[I] in letters of gold, are hung below the pendentives, -beneath which great mural slabs of porphyry bear the names of Allah, -Mohammed, and the first four khalifs. In the pendentives may still -be seen the gigantic wings of the four mosaic seraphim, whose faces -are now concealed beneath golden roses. From the roofs of the domes -hang innumerable silken cords, measuring almost the entire height -of the building, from which are suspended ostrich eggs, lamps of -wrought bronze, and crystal globes. Here and there stand cassia-wood -reading-desks, inlaid with copper and mother-of-pearl, on which lie -manuscript copies of the Koran. On the pavement are spread great -numbers of rugs and mats. The walls are bare, whitish, yellowish, gray, -still adorned in some places with discolored mosaics. The general -aspect is inexpressibly mournful. - - [H] This pulpit is the _minbir_, used only on Friday, and then - by the rhatib to read a prayer for the Sultan, Khalîf, and - Islam.--TRANS. - - [I] The names of Allah, the Prophet, and four khalifs mentioned - below are on these green disks, not verses from the - Koran.--TRANS. - -[Illustration: Interior of the Mosque of St. Sophia.] - -The great marvel of the mosque is the central dome. Gazing up at it -from the middle of the nave, it truly seems, as Mme. de Staël said -of the dome of St. Peter’s, as though a vast abyss were suspended -over one’s head. It is very lofty, with an enormous circumference, -and is made to appear still larger from the fact that its depth -is but one-sixth of its diameter.[J] Around its base runs a small -gallery, above which are a row of forty arched windows, and around -the crown are inscribed the words pronounced by Muhammad II. -when he drew his horse up opposite the high altar on the day of the -conquest of Constantinople: “Allah is the light of heaven and earth.” -These letters, white on a dark background, are some of them more than -twenty-seven feet long. As is well known, this aërial prodigy could -never have been constructed had ordinary materials been employed. The -roofs were built of pumice-stone, which floats on the surface of water, -and of bricks from the Isle of Rhodes, five of which hardly weigh as -much as one ordinary brick; on each of them was inscribed the sentence -from David, “_Deus in medio eius non commovebitur. Adiuvabit eam Deus -vultu suo_,” and with every twelfth row relics of various saints were -walled in. During the progress of the building operations the priests -chanted and Justinian attended in person clad in a coarse linen tunic, -while immense crowds looked on in admiration; and this is hardly to -be wondered at when we consider that the construction of this “second -firmament,” which even at the present time is an object of wonder, was -an undertaking without parallel in the sixth century. The common people -believed it to be the result of magic, and the Turks must have had -much ado for a long period after the conquest to keep their gaze fixed -upon the east when praying in St. Sophia, instead of resting it upon -that “stone heaven” above their heads. The dome covers, indeed, nearly -half the nave, in such a manner as to light up and dominate the entire -edifice: it can be seen, at least in part, from every point, and, -wander where you will, you invariably bring up beneath it to find your -gaze attracted for the hundredth time to that immeasurable space, where -eye and mind float with ecstatic delight as though borne on wings. - - [J] This is a mistake: the great dome of St. Sophia is 107 - feet across by 46 in height. (See Fergusson, _Hist. - Architecture_.)--TRANS. - -After inspecting the nave and dome one has but just begun to see St. -Sophia. Whoever takes the least shadow, for example, of historical -interest in the building could spend an hour over the columns alone. -Here may be found spoils from every temple in the world. The four -columns of green marble supporting the large galleries were presented -to Justinian by the magistrates of Ephesus, having formerly stood -in the temple of Diana, which was burned by Herostratus. The eight -porphyry columns which stand two and two between the pilasters were -a part of the temple of the Sun at Baalbek, and were carried thence -by Aurelian to Rome. Others are from the temple of Jupiter at Cyzicus -and of Helios at Palmyra--from the temples of Thebes, of Athens, of -Rome, of the Troad, the Cyclades, and from Alexandria: altogether, -they present an endless variety of style, form size, and color. What -between the columns, the railings and pedestals, and the portions of -the ancient covering of the walls which still remain, there are marbles -from every quarry of the Archipelago, Asia Minor, Africa, and -Gaul: the white Bosphorus marble speckled with black contrasts with -the black Celtic veined with white; the green marble of Laconia is -reflected in the blue Libyan, while the Egyptian spotted porphyry, -starred granite of Thessaly, the red-and-white striped stone of Mt. -Jassey, and pale _caristio_ streaked with iron, mingle their colors -with the purple Phrygian, red Synadian, gold of the Mauritius, and -snow-white marble of Paros. Added to this wealth of color is the -indescribable variety of form, as seen in the friezes, the cornices, -roses, and balustrades, and odd Corinthian capitals carved with -foliage, crosses, animals, and strange chimerical figures, all -interlaced: others, again, belong to no order in especial, of curious -design and unequal size, evidently coupled together by chance--shafts -of columns, pedestals ornamented with strange sculptures, injured by -time and mutilated by sabre-cuts,--altogether an effect of wild and -barbarous magnificence which, while it outrages the rules of good -taste, attracts the eye with an unresistible fascination. - -[Illustration: First Columns Erected in St. Sophia.] - -From the nave one hardly appreciates the vast size of the building, of -which it indeed forms but a comparatively small part. The two aisles -beneath the large galleries are in themselves two large edifices, out -of either one of which a separate temple might be formed. Each of these -is divided in three and separated by large vaulted openings. Indeed, -everything here, column, architrave, pilaster, roof, is gigantic. -Passing beneath these arches, you can barely see the nave from between -the columns of the Ephesian temple, and seem almost to be in another -basilica: the same effect is produced from the galleries, reached by a -winding stair with very gentle gradations, or rather it is an inclined -plane, for there are two steps, and one might readily ascend it on -horseback. The galleries were used as gynæconitis; that is, those parts -of the church reserved for women: penitents remained without in the -eso-narthex, while the mass of the faithful occupied the nave. Each one -of these galleries is capable of accommodating the entire population -of a suburb of Constantinople. You no longer feel as though you were -in a church, but rather walking in the foyer of some Titanic theatre, -expecting at any moment to hear the sudden outburst of a chorus sung -by a hundred thousand voices. In order to realize the immense size -and obtain a really good view of the mosque one must lean well over -the railing of the gallery and look around. Arches, roofs, pilasters, -have all swelled to gigantic proportions. The green disks which, seen -from below, appear to measure about the length of a man’s arm, are now -large enough to cover a house. The windows look like portes-cochères -of palaces, the seraphim wings like the spread sails of a vessel, the -tribunes like vast open squares; while it makes one’s head swim to -look up at the dome at all. Casting the eyes below, one is taken aback -to find how high he has mounted: the pavement of the nave is far away -at the bottom of an abyss, while the pulpits, jars from Pergamum, mats, -and lamps seem to have shrunken in the most extraordinary manner. -One rather curious circumstance about the mosque of St. Sophia is -particularly noticeable from this elevated position: the nave not being -precisely in line with Mecca, toward which it is incumbent upon every -good Mussulman to turn while praying, all the mats and strips of carpet -are placed obliquely with the lines of the building, and produce upon -the eye the same disagreeable effect as though there were some gross -defect in the perspective. From there, too, one is enabled to see and -observe all the life of the mosque. Turks are kneeling upon the mats -with foreheads touching the pavement; others stand erect and motionless -as statues, with hands held before their faces, as though interrogating -their palms; some are seated cross-legged at the foot of a pilaster, -much as they would rest beneath the shade of a tree; veiled women kneel -in a distant corner; old men seated before the lecterns read from the -Koran; an _iman_ is hearing a group of boys recite sacred verses; and -here and there beneath distant arches and through the galleries the -forms of _rhatib_, _iman_, or _muezzin_ and various other functionaries -of the mosque glide noiselessly back and forth, as though their feet -hardly touched the ground, clad in strange, unfamiliar costumes, while -the vague, subdued murmur of those who pray and those who read, that -clear, steady light, the thousand odd-looking lamps, the deserted apse -and echoing galleries, the immensity of it all, the past associations -and present peacefulness,--combine to produce such an impression of -greatness and of mystery as neither words can express nor time efface. - -But the dominating sensation, as I have already said, is one of -sadness, and that great poet who compared St. Sophia to a “colossal -sepulchre” was not far wrong. On all sides you see the signs of a -barbarous devastation, and experience more melancholy in the thought -of what has been than pleasure in contemplating what still remains. -After the first feelings of amazement have to some extent subsided, -one’s mind turns intuitively to the past. And even now, after a lapse -of three years, I can never think of the great mosque without trying to -imagine the church. Overthrow the pulpits of the Mussulman, remove the -lamps and jars, cut down the disks and tear away the porphyry slabs, -reopen the doors and windows that have been bricked up, scrape away the -plaster which covers wall and roof, and, behold! the basilica whole and -new as it appeared on that day, thirteen centuries ago, when Justinian -exclaimed, “_Glory be to God, who has judged me worthy to perform this -mighty work! O Solomon, I have surpassed thee!_” Every object upon -which the eye rests shines or glitters or flashes like the enchanted -palaces in a fairy tale. The enormous walls, once more covered with -precious marbles, send back reflections of gold, ivory, steel, coral, -and mother-of-pearl; the markings and veins of the marble look like -coronets or garlands of flowers; wherever a ray of sunlight chances to -fall upon those walls, all encrusted with crystal mosaics, they flash -and sparkle as though set with diamonds; the capitals, entablatures, -doors, and friezes of the arches are all of gilded bronze; the roofs of -aisle and gallery are covered with angelic forms and figures of saints -painted upon a golden background; before the pilasters in the chapels, -beside the doors, between the columns, stand marble and bronze statues -and enormous candelabra of solid gold; superb copies of the Gospels -lie upon lecterns adorned like kings’ thrones; lofty ivory crosses and -vases encrusted with pearls stand upon the altars. The extremity of -the nave is nothing but one blaze of light from a mass of glittering -objects: here is the gilded bronze balustrade of the choir, the pulpit -overlaid with forty thousand pounds of silver--the Egyptian tribute for -a whole year; the seats of the seven priests, the Patriarch’s throne, -and that of the emperor gilded, carved, inlaid, set with pearls, so -that when the sun shines full upon them one is forced to avert the eye. -Beyond all these splendors in the apse a still more vivid blaze is -seen proceeding from the altar itself, the table of which, supported -upon four gold pillars, is composed of a fusion of silver, gold, lead, -and pearls; above it rises the ciborium, formed of four pillars of pure -silver supporting a massive gold cupola, surmounted by a globe and by a -cross also of gold weighing two hundred and sixty pounds.[K] Beyond the -altar is seen the gigantic image of Holy Wisdom, whose feet touch the -pavement and head the roof of the apse. High over all this magnificence -shine and glisten the seven semi-domes overlaid with mosaics of crystal -and gold, and the mighty central dome covered with figures of apostle -and evangelist, the Virgin and the cross, all colored, gilded, and -brilliant like a roof of jewels and flowers. And dome and pillar, -statue and candelabra, each and every gorgeous object, is repeated in -the immense mirror of the pavement, whose polished marbles are joined -together in undulating lines, which, seen from the four main entrances, -have the effect of four majestic rivers ruffled by the wind. But we -must not forget the atrium--surrounded by columns, and walls covered -with mosaics--in which stood marble fountains and equestrian statues; -and the thirty-two towers whose bells made so formidable a clamor that -they could be heard throughout the seven hills; or the hundred bronze -doors decorated with bas-reliefs and inscriptions in silver; or the -hall of the synod; the imperial apartments; the sacerdotal prisons; -the baptistry; the vast sacristies overflowing with treasure; and a -labyrinth of vestibules, tricliniums, corridors, and secret stairways -built in the walls and leading to tribunes and hidden oratories. - - [K] Some authorities give the weight of this cross as - seventy-five pounds.--TRANS. - -And now let us in fancy attend some great state function--an imperial -marriage, a council, a coronation. From the enormous palace of the -Cæsars the glittering procession sweeps forth through streets flanked -by thousands of columns, perfumed with myrrh, and spread with flowers -and myrtle. The houses on either side are decorated with precious -vases and silken hangings. Two bands, the one of _azzurri_, the other -_verdi_, precede the cortége, which advances amid the songs of poets -and noise of the heralds shouting vivas in all the tongues of the -empire, and there, seated like an idol laden with pearls in a golden -car with purple hangings, and drawn by two white mules, the emperor -appears, wearing the tiara surmounted by a cross, and surrounded with -all the pomp of a Persian monarch. The haughty ecclesiastics advance -to the atrium to receive him, and all that throng of courtiers, -attendants, place-seekers, sycophants, lord high constables, chief -eunuchs, master-thieves, corrupt magistrates, spurious patricians, -cowardly senators, slaves, buffoons, casuists, mercenaries, adventurers -from every land, the entire glittering rabble of gilded offscourings, -pours through the twenty-seven doors and into the huge nave lit up -by six thousand candelabras. Then along the choir-rail and beneath -arcade and tribune there is a coming and going; a movement and mingling -of bared heads and purple cloaks; a waving of jewelled plumes and -velvet caps; the glitter of golden chains and silver breastplates; -an interchange of ceremonious greetings and courtly salutations; the -constant rustle and sweep of silken garments and rattle of jewelled -hilts; while soft perfumes load the air and the vast servile throng -makes the sacred edifice ring again with shouts of admiration and -profane applause. - -After making the circuit of the mosque several times in silence, we -gave our guides permission to talk. They commenced by showing us -the chapels built beneath the galleries, now, like the rest of the -basilica, despoiled of everything of value: some of them, like the -_opistodomo_ of the Parthenon, serve as treasuries, where Turks who are -about to start on long journeys deposit their money and other valuables -to be secure from robbery, sometimes leaving their possessions there, -under the protection of Allah, for years at a time; others have been -closed up and are used either as infirmaries for the sick, where they -lie awaiting death or recovery, or else places of confinement for the -insane, whose melancholy cries or bursts of wild laughter awaken from -time to time the echoes of the vast building. - -We were now reconducted to the centre of the nave, and the Greek -dragoman began to recount the marvels of the basilica. The design, it -is quite true, was sketched by the two architects, Anthemius of Tralles -and Isidorus of Miletus, but the first conception came to them through -angelic inspiration; it was also an angel who suggested to Justinian -the idea of opening the three windows in the apse to represent the -three Persons of the Trinity; in the same way the hundred and seven -columns of the church stand for the hundred and seven pillars which -support the House of Wisdom. It took seven years merely to collect -the necessary materials for constructing the edifice, while a hundred -master-builders were employed to overlook the ten thousand workmen, -five thousand on one side and five thousand on the other, who labored -at its erection. When the walls had risen to the height of but a few -hands only from the ground more than four hundred and fifty quintals -of gold had already been expended. The outlay for the building alone -amounted to twenty-five million francs. The church was consecrated by -the Patriarch five years eleven months and ten days after the first -stone was laid, and Justinian celebrated the occasion by feasts and -sacrifices and distributions of money and food which were prolonged for -two weeks. - -At this point the Turkish _cavas_ interrupted in order to call our -attention to the pilaster upon which Muhammad II. left the bloody -imprint of his right hand on the day of his victorious entrance, as -though to seal his conquest; he then pointed out the so-called “cold -window,” near the mihrab, through which a perpetual current of cool -air inspires the most eloquent discourses from the greatest orators -of Islamism. He next showed us, close by another window, the famous -“shining stone,” a slab of transparent marble which gleams like crystal -when struck by the sun’s rays, and made us touch the “sweating column,” -on the left of the north entrance. This column is overlaid with bronze, -through a crack in which the stone can be seen covered with moisture. -And finally he showed us a block of hollowed-out marble, brought from -Bethlehem, in which, it is said, was placed immediately after his birth -Sidi Yssa, “the Son of Mary, apostle of, and Spirit proceeding out -from, God, worthy of all honor both in this world and the next.” But it -struck me that neither Turk nor Greek placed very much faith in this -relic. - -The Greek now took up his parable, and led us by a certain walled-up -doorway in the gallery, in order to recount the celebrated legend of -the Greek bishop; and now his manner was one of such entire belief -that, if it was not sincere, it was certainly wonderfully well feigned. -It seems that at the very moment when the Turks burst into the church -of St. Sophia a bishop was in the act of celebrating mass at the high -altar. Leaving the altar at sight of the invaders, he ascended to one -of the galleries, where some Turks, following in hot pursuit, saw him -disappear within this little door, which was instantly closed up by a -stone wall. Throwing themselves against it, the soldiers tried with all -their force to break it down, hammering and pounding furiously against -the stones, but with no other result than to leave the marks of their -weapons upon the wall. Masons were sent for, who worked an entire day -with pickaxes and crowbars, finally abandoning the attempt: after them -every mason in Constantinople tried in turn to effect an opening, but -one and all failed to make any impression upon the miraculous wall, -which has remained closed ever since. On that day, however, when the -profaned basilica shall be restored to the worship of Christ the wall -will open of its own accord, and the bishop will come forth, wearing -his episcopal robes, and, chalice in hand, his face illumined as with a -celestial vision, will mount the steps of the altar and resume the mass -at the very point where he left off centuries ago; and then will be the -dawn of a new era for the city of Constantine. - -As we were about leaving the building the Turkish sacristan, who had -followed us all about, lounging and yawning, gave us a handful of bits -of mosaic, which he had dug out of a wall shortly before, and the -dragoman, whom this incident had interrupted as he was about to launch -forth into the account of the profanation of St. Sophia, resumed his -recital. - -I certainly hope, however, that no one will interrupt me, now that the -whole scene has been brought so vividly before me by this description -of the building. - -Hardly had the report been noised abroad throughout Constantinople, -at about seven in the morning, that the Turks had actually scaled -the walls, than an immense throng of people rushed to St. Sophia for -refuge. There were about a hundred thousand persons in all--renegade -soldiers, monks, priests, senators, thousands of virgins from the -convents, members of patrician families laden with their treasures, -high state dignitaries, and princes of the imperial blood,--all pouring -through nave and gallery and arcade, treading upon one another in every -recess of the huge building, and mingling in one inextricable mass -with the dregs of the population, slaves, and malefactors escaped from -the prisons and galleys. The mighty basilica resounded with shrieks of -terror such as are heard in a theatre at the outbreak of fire. When -every nook and corner, gallery and chapel, was filled to overflowing, -the doors were shut to and securely bolted, and the wild uproar of the -first few moments gave place to a terror-stricken silence. Many still -believed that the victors would not dare to violate the sanctity -of St. Sophia; others awaited with a stubborn sense of security the -appearance of the angel foretold by the prophets who was to annihilate -the Turkish army before the advance-guard should have reached the -Column of Constantine; others, again, had ascended to the gallery -running around the interior of the dome, from whose windows they could -watch the movements of the enemy and impart their intelligence by signs -to the hundred thousand strained and ashy faces turned up to them from -the nave and galleries below. An immense white mass could be seen -covering the city-walls from the Blachernæ to the Golden Gate, from -which four shining bands were seen to detach themselves and advance -between the houses like four torrents of lava, increasing in volume -and noise and leaving behind them a track of smoke and flame. These -were the four attacking columns of the Turkish army driving before -them the disorganized remainder of the Greek forces, and burning and -plundering as they came, converging toward St. Sophia, the Hippodrome, -and the imperial palace. As the advance-guard reached the second -hill the blare of their trumpets suddenly smote upon the ears of the -terrified throng in the basilica, who fell upon their knees in agonized -supplication; but even then there were many who still looked for the -angel to appear, and others who clung to the hope that a feeling -of awe at the vastness and majesty of that building, dedicated to -the worship of God, might hold the invaders in check. But even this -last illusion was soon dispelled. Through the thousand windows there -broke on their ears a confused roar of human voices mingled with the -clashing of arms and shrill blare of trumpets, and a moment later the -first blows of the Ottoman sabres fell upon the bronze doors of the -vestibule and resounded throughout the entire building, sounding the -death-knell of the listening multitude, who, feeling the chill breath -of the grave blow upon them, abandoned hope and recommended their -souls to the mercy of God. Before long the doors were battered in or -struck from their hinges, and a savage horde of janissaries, spahis, -_timmarioti_, dervishes, and sciaus, covered with dust and blood, their -faces contorted with the fury of battle, rapine, and murder, appeared -in the openings. At sight of the enormous nave, glittering with gold -and precious stones, they sent up a great shout of astonishment and -joy, and, pouring in like a furious torrent, abandoned themselves to -the work of pillage and destruction. Some busied themselves at once in -securing the women and virgins, valuable booty for the slave-market, -who, stupefied with terror, offered no resistance, but voluntarily held -out their arms for the chains. Others attacked the rich furnishings -of the church: tabernacles were violated, images overthrown, ivory -crucifixes trodden under foot, while the mosaics, mistaken for -precious stones, fell under the blows of the cimeters in glittering -showers into the cloaks and caftans held open to receive them; pearls, -detached from their settings with sabre-points, rolled about over the -pavement, chased like living creatures and fought over with savage -kicks and blows. The high altar was broken up into a thousand pieces of -gold and silver; thrones, pulpits, the choir-rail, all disappeared as -though swept away by an avalanche of rock and stone, and still those -Asiatic hordes continued to pour into the church in blood-stained -waves, and on all sides nothing could be seen but a whirlwind of -drunken ruffians, some of whom had placed tiaras on their heads, while -others wore different parts of the sacerdotal vestments over their own -clothing. Chalices and receptacles for the Host were waved aloft, and -troops of newly-acquired slaves, bound two and two with ecclesiastical -scarfs of gold, and horses and camels laden with plunder, were driven -over the pavement strewn with broken fragments of statues, torn -copies of the Evangels, and relics of the saints--a barbarous and -sacrilegious orgy in which shouts of triumph, fierce threats, bursts -of hoarse laughter, children’s cries, the neighing of horses, and -shrill clanging of trumpets mingled in one overpowering uproar, until, -suddenly, the mad tumult ceased, and in the awed hush which followed -the august figure of Muhammad II. appeared in a doorway, on horseback -and surrounded by a group of princes, viziers, and generals, haughty -and impassive, like the living representative of the vengeance of God. -Rising in his stirrups, he announced in a voice of thunder, which -re-echoed throughout the whole of the devastated building, the first -formula of the new religion: “Allah is the light of heaven and earth.” - - - - -DOLMABÂGHCHEH. - - -Every Friday the Sultan says his prayers in some one of the mosques of -Constantinople. - -[Illustration: Palace of Dolma Baghcheh.] - -We saw him one day on his way to the mosque of Abdul-Mejid, which -stands on the European shore of the Bosphorus not far from the -imperial palace of Dolmabâghcheh. To reach this palace from Galata -you pass through the populous district of Top-Khâneh, between a -great gun-foundry and an immense arsenal, and, traversing the entire -Mussulman quarter of Fundukli, which occupies the site of the ancient -Aianteion, come out upon a spacious open square on the water’s edge, -beyond which and on the shore of the Bosphorus rises the famous -residence of the sultans. - -It is the largest marble building reflected in the waters of the strait -from Seraglio hill to the mouth of the Black Sea, and can only be -embraced in a single view by taking a käik and passing along its front. -The façade, nearly a half (Italian) mile in length, looks toward Asia, -and can be seen at a great distance gleaming between the water’s blue -and deep green summits of the hills behind it. Properly speaking, -it can hardly be called a palace, since it is not the result of any -one architectural plan. The various parts are detached and present -an extraordinary mixture of styles--Arabic, Greek, Asiatic, Gothic, -Turkish, Romanesque, and Renaissance--combining the stateliness of -the royal European palaces with the almost effeminate grace and charm -of those of Granada and Seville. It might be called, instead of an -imperial palace, an imperial city, like that of the emperor of China, -and, more from the peculiarity of its arrangements than its great size, -looks as though instead of a single monarch, a dozen kings, friends -or brothers, might occupy it, dividing their time between amusement -and complete idleness. Seen from the Bosphorus, there are a series of -façades, looking like a row of theatres and temples, covered with an -indescribable mass of ornamentation, apparently, as a Turkish poet has -said, thrown broadcast by a madman’s hand, and which, like the famous -Indian pagoda, weary the eye out almost at the first glance. They seem -to be stone memorials of the mad caprices, loves, and intrigues of the -dissolute princes who have inhabited them. Rows of Doric and Ionic -pillars, light as the pole of a lance; windows framed in festooned -cornices and twisted columns; arches carved with flowers and foliage, -surmounting doors covered with fretwork; charming little balconies with -open-work sculpture; trophies, roses, vines, and garlands which knot -and intertwine with one another; delicate fancies in marble budding -forth in the entablatures, running along the balconies, surrounding -the windows; a network of arabesques extending from door to roof; a -bloom and pomp and delicacy of execution and richness of design which -lends to each one of the smaller palaces forming a part of the whole -the character of some masterpiece of the workman’s chisel; and so -impossible does it seem that the design could ever have emanated from -the brain of a placid Armenian architect that one is rather tempted to -ascribe its origin to a dream of some enamored sultan sleeping with his -head upon the breast of an ambitious lady-love. Before it stretches -a line of lofty marble pilasters connected by a gilded screenwork of -boughs and flowers intertwined with such marvellous delicacy that at -a little distance it has all the appearance of a lace curtain which -at any moment may be carried away by a puff of wind. Long flights -of marble stairs lead from the entrances to the water’s edge, and -disappear beneath the waves. Everything is white, fresh, and sparkling, -as though completed but yesterday. No doubt the eye of an artist would -detect a thousand minor errors in composition and taste; but the effect -as a whole of that vast and magnificent pile of buildings, that array -of palaces, white as the driven snow, set like so many jewels and -crowned with verdure, reflected in the shining waters below, is one of -power, of mystery, of luxurious pomp, and voluptuous pleasure which -almost supersedes that of the old Seraglio itself. Those who have -had the good fortune to see it affirm that the interior fully comes -up to the exterior of the building. Long suites of apartments, whose -walls are covered with brilliant and fantastic frescoes, open into -one another by doors of cedar and cassia-wood; corridors flooded with -soft radiance lead to other rooms lighted from crimson crystal domes, -and baths which seem to have been fashioned from a single block of -Paros marble; lofty balconies overhang mysterious gardens, and groves -of cypress and rose trees, from which, through long perspectives of -Moorish porticoes, the blue waters of the sea are seen sparkling in the -sunlight beyond; and windows, terraces, balconies, kiosks, everything, -brilliant with flowers, and everywhere cascades of water shooting -into the air to fall back in filmy showers upon green turf and marble -pavement; while in all directions there open up enchanting views of -the Bosphorus, the cool breezes from whose surface impart a delicious -freshness to every corner of the great building. - -On the side facing toward Fundukli there is an imposing entrance, -covered with a mass of ornamentation, out of which the Sultan was -expected to appear and cross the square. Not another monarch upon -earth has such beautiful surroundings in which to issue in state from -his palace and show himself to his subjects. Standing at the foot of -the hill,--on one side is the entrance to the palace, looking like a -royal triumphal arch; on the other the beautiful mosque of Abdul-Mejid, -flanked by two graceful minarets; opposite is the Bosphorus; and -beyond rise the green hills of Asia dotted over with kiosks, palaces, -mosques, and villages of every variety of form and color, like some -great scattered city decked out for a fête; farther on is seen the -smiling beauty of Skutari, with her funereal crown of cypress trees; -and between the two banks a never-ending procession of sailing vessels; -men-of-war with flags flying; crowded steamboats, looking as though -their decks were heaped with flowers; Asiatic ships of strange, -obsolete design; launches from the Seraglio; princely barges; flocks of -birds skimming over the surface of the water--a scene at once so full -of peace and regal beauty that the stranger whose eye wanders over it -as he awaits the coming of the imperial cortége finds himself picturing -the fortunate possessor of all these things as endowed with angelic -beauty and the smiling serenity of an infant. - -A half hour before the appointed time two companies of soldiers wearing -the uniform of zouaves stationed themselves in the square to keep the -way cleared for the Sultan’s passage, and before long the spectators -began to arrive in crowds. It is always amusing to take note of the -queerness and variety of the people who assemble on such occasions. -Here and there elegant private carriages were drawn up to one side, -filled with Turkish great ladies, the gigantic form of a mounted eunuch -standing guard at each door, immovable as pieces of marble; there were -hired open turnouts containing English ladies, groups of tourists with -opera-glasses hanging at their sides, among whom on this occasion I -recognized the languishing face of the irresistible youth from the -Hôtel de Byzance, come, no doubt, cruel charmer! to crush with one -triumphant glance his powerful but unhappy rival. A few long-haired -individuals wandering about the outskirts of the crowd with portfolios -under their arms I took to be artists animated by a faint hope of -being able to make a hasty sketch of the imperial features. Near the -band-stand was a strikingly beautiful French woman, whose conspicuous -dress and free, hardened bearing suggested a cosmopolitan adventuress -come hither to attract the eye of the Sultan himself, especially -as I seemed to read in her glance the “fearful joy of a mighty -enterprise.” There was also a sprinkling of those old Turks, fanatical -and suspicious subjects of the empire, who never fail to be present -whenever their Padishah appears in public, in order that they may be -assured by the evidence of their own senses that he is alive and well -for the glory and prosperity of the universe. It is, in fact, precisely -that his people may have this proof of his continued existence that -the Sultan thus shows himself every Friday, since it might easily -happen again, as it has before, that his death, brought about either -by violence or from natural causes, would through some intrigue of -the court be concealed from the populace. Then there were beggars, -and Mussulman dandies, and eunuchs out of employment, and dervishes, -among the last-named of whom I noticed one tall, old, lean specimen -who stood motionless gazing with fierce eyes and a most sinister -expression at the door of the palace, exactly as though he only awaited -the Sultan’s appearance to plant himself in his path and fling in his -teeth the words addressed by the dervish of the _Orientals_ to Pasha -Ali of Tepeleni: “Accursed one! you are no better than a dog.” But -such examples of inspired candor have gone out of fashion since the -famous sabre-thrust of Mahmûd. Then there were numbers of Turkish -women standing apart and looking like groups of masks, and the usual -gathering like a stage chorus which makes up a Constantinople crowd. -All the heads were thrown out in relief against the blue background of -the Bosphorus, and every mouth at that moment was probably whispering -the same thing. It was just then that rumors were beginning to be -circulated about the extravagant doings of Abdul-Aziz. For some -little time stories had been told of his insatiable greed for money. -People would say to one another, “Mahmûd had a passion for blood; -Abdul-Mejid for women; Abdul-Aziz has for gold.” All those hopes built -upon him when as prince imperial he felled an ox at a single blow, -exclaiming, “Thus will I destroy ignorance,” had died out some time -before. The tastes he had evinced in the early years of his reign for -a simple and severe mode of life, caring, as was said, for only one -woman, and cutting down with an unsparing hand the enormous expenses -of the Seraglio, were now but a distant memory. Probably it had been -many years as well since he had finally abandoned those studies in -legislation and military tactics and European literature about which he -had made as much noise as though the entire regeneration of the empire -was to be effected through them; now he thought only of himself, and -hardly a day passed that some new anecdote was not set in circulation -about his bursts of wrath against the minister of finance, who either -would not or could not give him as much money as he demanded. At the -least opposition he would hurl the first object on which he could lay -his hands at his unfortunate Excellency, repeating from beginning to -end and at the top of his voice the ancient formula of the imperial -oath: “By God, the Creator of heaven and earth, by the prophet -Mohammed, by the seven variations of the Koran, by the hundred and -twenty-four thousand prophets of God, by the soul of my grandfather -and by the soul of my father, by my sons and by my sword! give me money -or I will have your head stuck on the point of the highest minaret in -Stambul.” And by one means or another he always succeeded in getting -what he wanted, sometimes gloating over the money thus acquired like -a common miser over his hoard, at others scattering it to the winds -in the indulgence of all manner of puerile fancies. To-day he would -take a sudden interest in lions, to-morrow in tigers, and agents would -be despatched forthwith to India and Africa to purchase them for him; -then for a whole month five hundred parrots stationed in the imperial -gardens made them resound with one single word; then he was seized with -a mania for collecting carriages, and for pianos, which he insisted -upon having played supported upon the backs of four slaves; then he -took to cock-fighting--would witness the combats with enthusiastic -interest, and himself fasten a medal around the neck of the victor, -driving the vanquished into exile beyond the Bosphorus; then he had a -passion for play, then for kiosks, then for pictures: it was as though -the court had gone back to the days of the first Ibrahim. - -But with it all the unfortunate prince was unable to find peace; he -was moody and taciturn, and only succeeded in alternating between -utter weariness of soul and the most wretched state of apprehension. -As though with an uneasy foreboding of the tragic fate awaiting him, -he would sometimes be possessed with the idea that he was going to -be poisoned, and for a while, mistrusting every one about him, would -refuse to eat anything but hard-boiled eggs. Then, again, he would be -haunted by such a dread of fire that he would have everything in his -apartments, made of wood, removed, to the very frames of the mirrors; -it was even said that at these times he would read at night by the -light of a candle placed in a basin of water. And yet, notwithstanding -all these follies, which were supposed to have their origin in a cause -of which there is no necessity to speak here, he preserved to the full -the original strength of his indomitable will, and knew how to make -himself both obeyed and feared by the most independent spirits around -him. The only person who exerted any influence over him at all was his -mother, a vain, foolish woman, who in the early years of his reign used -to have the streets through which he must pass on his way to the mosque -spread with brocaded carpets, which she would give away the following -day to the slaves who were sent to take them up. - -In the midst of all the turmoil of his restless life Abdul-Aziz found -time as well for the most trivial whims, such as the having a door -painted after a particular design, combinations of certain fruits and -flowers, and, after giving the most minute directions, would spend -hours watching every stroke of the artist’s brush, as though that were -the main business of life. - -All these eccentricities, exaggerated--who knows to what extent?--by -the thousand tongues of the Seraglio, were in every one’s mouth; and -possibly from that time on the threads of the conspiracy which two -years later was to hurl him from the throne were woven more and more -closely about the unhappy prince. According to the Mussulmans, his -fall had already been determined upon and judgment passed upon him -and upon his reign--a judgment which does not differ in any essential -point from that applicable to any other one of the later sultans. -Imperial princes, attracted toward a European civilization by a -liberal but superficial education, their youthful imaginations all on -fire with dreams of reform and glory, before mounting the throne they -indulge in visions of the great changes they are to bring about, and -form resolutions, no doubt perfectly sincere at the time, to dedicate -their entire lives to that end, leading an existence of struggle and -self-denial. Then they come to the throne, and after some years of -ineffectual resistance, confronted by thousands of obstacles, hemmed -in by customs and traditions, balked and opposed by men and things, -appalled at the immensity of the undertaking, of which they had formed -no true idea, they become discouraged, lapse into indolence, grow -suspicious, and finally turn to pleasure-seeking and self-indulgence -for that distraction which seems to be denied them in the successful -carrying out of their designs, and, leading an utterly sensual life, -lose little by little even the memory of their early ambitions, as well -as the consciousness of their own deterioration. Thus it happens that -every new reign is ushered in with the most hopeful prognostications, -and not without reason; only these are as invariably succeeded by -disappointment. - -Abdul-Aziz did not keep us waiting: at the hour fixed there was a -flourish of trumpets, the band struck up a warlike march, the soldiers -presented arms, a company of lancers made their appearance suddenly in -the gateway, and after them the Sultan on horseback, advancing slowly -and followed by the members of his court. He passed so close in front -of me that I had an excellent opportunity of examining his features -attentively, and of finding how singularly incorrect was the picture -I had formed of him in my mind. The “king of kings,” the prodigal, -violent, capricious, imperious Sultan, then about forty-four years old, -had the air of an extremely good-natured Turk who had found himself -a sultan without quite knowing why. He was stout and robust, with -good features, large calm eyes, and a short, close-cut beard, already -somewhat grizzled: his countenance was open and placid, his bearing -easy, almost careless, and in his calm, indifferent expression no -trace of consciousness of the thousand eyes fixed upon him could be -discovered. He rode a handsome gray horse with gold-mounted trappings, -led by the bridle by two gorgeous grooms. The long distance at which -the retinue followed would have pointed him out as the Sultan if -nothing else had. He was very plainly dressed, wearing a simple fez, -long dark coat buttoned close up under the chin, light trousers, -and leather shoes. Advancing very slowly, he looked around on the -spectators with an expression of mingled benevolence and weariness, as -though saying, “Ah, if you did but know how sick of it all I am!” The -Mussulmans all bowed profoundly, and many Europeans raised their hats, -but he took no notice of any one’s salutation. Passing in front of us, -he gave a glance at a tall officer who saluted with his sword, another -at the Bosphorus, and then a much longer look at two young English -ladies who were watching him from a carriage, and who turned as red as -cherries. I noticed that his hand was white and well formed: it was, by -the way, the right hand, the same with which two years after he opened -the vein in the bath. After him followed a crowd of pashas, courtiers, -and prominent officials on horseback, for the most part sturdy, -black-bearded men, simply dressed, and as silent, grave, and taciturn -as though they were part of a funeral cortége: then came a group of -grooms leading splendid-looking horses; then more officers, these on -foot, their breasts covered with gold braid: when these last had -passed the soldiers lowered their muskets, the crowd began to scatter -over the square, and I found myself standing gazing at the summit of -Mt. Bulgûrlû, revolving in my mind the extraordinary situation in which -a sultan of Stambul must find himself now-a-days. - -He is, said I, a Mohammedan monarch, and his royal palace stands in -the shadow of a Christian city, Pera, which towers above his head. -He is an absolute sovereign, holding sway over one of the largest -empires in the world, and yet here in his capital and not far away -there live in those great palaces which overlook his Seraglio four or -five ceremonious foreigners who lord it over him in his own house, and -who in their intercourse with him conceal under the most respectful -language a constant menace, which he acknowledges and fears. He has -power over the life and property of millions of his subjects, and the -means of gratifying every whim, no matter how extravagant, and yet -could not, if he wanted to, alter the fashion of his own headgear. -Surrounded by an army of courtiers and body-guards, who, if required, -would kneel down and kiss his footprints, he stands in constant fear -of his life and that of his sons. Absolute master of a thousand among -the most beautiful women on earth, he alone among all Mussulmans in -his dominions cannot bestow his hand in marriage upon a free woman, -can only have sons of slaves, and is himself termed “the son of a -slave” by the same people who call him “the shadow of God.” The sound -of his name is feared and reverenced from the farthermost confines of -Tartary to the uttermost bounds of Maghreb, and in his own capital -there is an ever-increasing number of persons over whom he can claim no -shadow of control, and who laugh at him, his power, and his religion. -Over the entire surface of his immense domain, among the most wretched -tribes of the most distant provinces, in the most isolated mosques and -monasteries of the wildest regions, fervent prayers are constantly -ascending for his safety, health, and honor, and yet he cannot make a -journey anywhere in his empire that he does not find himself surrounded -by enemies who execrate his name and call down the vengeance of God -upon his head. In the eyes of that part of the world which lies outside -his palace-gates he is one of the most august and imposing monarchs -upon earth; to those who wait at his elbow he seems the weakest, most -pusillanimous, and wretched being that ever wore a crown. A resistless -current of ideas, beliefs, and forces, all directly opposed to the -traditions and spirit upon which his power rests, sweeps over him, -transforming before his very eyes, underneath his feet, all about him, -customs, habits, laws, the very men and objects themselves, without -his assistance or consent. And there he is between Europe and Asia, -in his huge palace washed by the sea-waves as though it were a ship -ready to set sail, in the midst of an inextricable confusion of ideas -and things, surrounded by fabulous luxury and misery unspeakable, -_neither two nor one_--no longer a real Mussulman, nor yet a complete -European; reigning over a people changed, though only in part, -barbarians at heart, with a whitewash of civilization; two-faced like -Janus; worshipped like a god, watched like a slave; adored, deceived, -beguiled, while every day that passes over his head extinguishes a -ray of the halo that surrounds him and removes another stone from -the pedestal upon which he stands. It seems to me, were I in his -place, weary of such a condition of things, satiated with pleasure, -disgusted with adulation, and outdone with the constant surveillance -and suspicion to which I was subjected, I would lose all patience -with a sovereignty so onerous and unstable, a rule over conditions so -hopelessly at war with themselves, and some time at night, when the -entire Seraglio was buried in slumber, would jump in the Bosphorus like -a fugitive galley-slave, and, swimming off to Galata, pass the hours -till dawn in some mariners’ tavern, with a glass of beer and a clay -pipe, shouting the Marseillaise in chorus. - -[Illustration: Palace of the Sultan on the Bosphorus.] - -A half hour later the Sultan returned, driven rapidly by, this time in -a closed carriage, followed by a number of officers on foot; and the -show was over. I think, on the whole, that what impressed me most -vividly was the sight of those officers, attired in full dress, running -and skipping after the imperial equipage like so many lackeys: I have -never witnessed a similar prostitution of the military uniform. - -This spectacle of the state appearance of the Sultan is, as may be -seen, a poor affair enough, very different from what it once was. -Formerly the sultans only showed themselves in public surrounded by -great pomp and display, preceded and followed by a gorgeous retinue of -horsemen, slaves, guards of the gardens, chamberlains, and eunuchs, -which when seen from a distance resembled, to use the simile of the -enthusiastic chroniclers of the day, “a vast bed of tulips.” In these -days the sultans seem to rather avoid all such display, as though it -would be a piece of theatrical ostentation, representing an order -of things which no longer exists. I often asked myself what one of -those early monarchs would say if, rising for a moment from his -sepulchre in Brusa or türbeh in Stambul, he should behold one of his -descendants of the nineteenth century pass by clad in a long black -coat, without turban, sword, or jewels, and making his way through a -crowd of insolent foreigners: probably he would grow red in the face -with rage and shame, and, to show his utter disdain, would treat him -as Suleiman I. did Hassan--seize him by his beard and cut it off with -his cimeter, than which no more poignant insult can be offered to an -Osman. And, indeed, between the sultans of to-day and those whose names -resounded like claps of thunder throughout Europe from the twelfth -to the sixteenth century there is as much difference as between the -Ottoman empire of our times and that of the early centuries. To their -lot fell the youth, beauty, and vigor of the race; and they were not -only the living representatives of their people, glorious examples, -precious pearls in the sword of Islamism, but they constituted a -distinct force in themselves. The personal qualities of these powerful -rulers formed one of the most potent factors in the marvellous growth -of the Ottoman power during that period of its youth which covered -the hundred and twenty-three years from Osman to Muhammad II. Truly, -that was a succession of mighty princes, and, with a single exception, -not only powerful, but, if you take into consideration the times in -which they lived and conditions of their race, austere and wise as -well, and deeply beloved by their people--frequently ferocious, but -rarely unjust, and often kind and generous to their enemies. All of -these, too, as princes of such a race should be, were handsome and -imposing in appearance, veritable lions, as their mothers termed them, -at whose roar the whole earth trembled. The Abdul-Mejids, Abdul-Azizs, -and Murads are but pale shadows of padishahs in comparison with those -formidable youths, sons of fathers and mothers of eighteen and fifteen -respectively, offspring of the flower of Tartar blood and bloom of -Greek, Caucasian, and Persian beauty. At fourteen they commanded -armies, governed provinces, and were presented by their mothers with -slaves as beautiful and ardent as themselves. Sons were born to them at -sixteen as well as at seventy, and they retained their youthful vigor -of mind and body to old age. Their spirit, said the poets, was of iron, -their bodies were of steel. Certain features which they all possessed -in common were lost later on by their degenerate descendants--high -foreheads, with arched eyebrows meeting like those of the Persians; -the blue eyes of the sons of the Steppes; a curved nose above crimson -lips, “like the beak of a parrot over a cherry;” and very thick black -beards, which exhausted the fertility of the Seraglio poets to find -meet comparisons for. They had the piercing glance of the eagle of -Mt. Taurus and the endurance of the king of the desert; bull necks, -enormously wide shoulders, expanding chests, “capable of containing all -the warlike ardor of their people;” very long arms, huge muscles, short -bowed legs, under whose grip the most powerful Turkomanian chargers -would neigh with pain; and great shaggy hands, which tossed the -bronze maces and mighty bows of the soldiery about as though they had -been reeds. And their surnames fitted them well--wrestler, champion, -thunderbolt, bone-grinder, blood-shedder. After Allah, war occupied -the chief place in their thoughts, and death the least. Although they -did not possess the genius of great commanders, they were endowed with -that power of prompt and quick action which almost takes its place, -and a ferocious obstinacy which not infrequently accomplishes the same -results. They swept like winged furies across the field of battle, -the heron-quills fastened in their white turbans and the ample folds -of their purple and gold-embroidered caftans showing from afar, as -with savage cries they drove forward the decimated ranks of sciari -whose ox-like nerves had at last given way under the demoralizing -fire of Servian and German guns. They swam their horses across rivers -whose waters were reddened with blood from their dripping cimeters; -they would seize cowardly or panicstricken pashas by their throats, -dragging them from the saddle in their headlong flight; leap from -their horses in a time of rout and plunge their jewelled daggers up to -the hilt in the backs of the flying soldiers; and, mortally wounded, -would conceal the hurt and mount upon some eminence on the battlefield -that their janissaries might behold the countenance of their lord, -pallid with death, but threatening and imperious to the last, until, -finally sinking exhausted to the earth, they would roar with rage, -maybe, but never with pain. What must the sensations have been of one -of those gentle Persian or Circassian slaves, hardly more than a -child, when on the evening of a day of battle she beheld for the first -time, in the door of her purple tent, under the subdued lamplight, -the terrific apparition of one of those all-powerful sultans, drunk -with victory and blood. But he could be tender and winning as well, -and, gently taking the trembling little fingers in his mighty hands, -still cramped from wielding the cimeter, search his imagination for -pretty figures of speech to reassure his frightened slave, comparing -her beauty to the flowers in his gardens, the jewels in his dagger, -the most gorgeous birds in the forests, the most exquisite tints of a -sunrise in Anatolia or Mesopotamia, until at last, taking courage, she -would reply in the same impassioned and fanciful language: “Crown of my -head! glory of my life! my beloved and mighty lord! may thy countenance -ever shine with splendor on the two worlds of Africa and Europe! may -victory follow wherever thy horse shall bear thee! may thy shadow -extend over the whole earth! Would I were a rose to exhale sweetness -in the folds of thy turban! a butterfly beating its wings against thy -forehead!” And then, as her all-powerful lover reposed his mighty head -upon her breast, she would recount childish tales of emerald palaces -and mountains of gold, while all around the wild and savage soldiers -of the army lay extended fast asleep upon the dark, bloodstained -earth. All weakness, however, was left within the tent, from which -these sultans came forth more hardy and imperious than ever. They -were tender in the harem, ferocious on the battlefield, humble in the -mosque, and haughty on the throne. Their language was full of glowing -hyperboles and appalling threats; any judgment once pronounced by them -was irrevocable; the war was declared, the subject elevated to the -pinnacle of greatness, the head of the victim rolled at the foot of -the throne, or a tempest of fire and sword drove furiously across the -face of a rebel province. Thus sweeping from Persia to the Danube, from -Asia to Macedonia, in a continual succession of wars and triumphs, -with intervals devoted to the pursuit of love and in hunting, to the -flower of their youth there succeeded a maturity even more vigorous and -ardent, followed by an old age of which their horses’ flanks, their -sword-blades, or the hearts of their favorites could not have been -conscious. And not in old age alone, but sometimes in the very flower -and vigor of their youth, they would become overpowered with a sense -of their position, dismayed in the very moment of victory and triumph -by the tremendous responsibility resting upon them, and, seized with -a sort of terror at the magnitude and loneliness of their own exalted -state, would turn to God with all the force of their natures, passing -days and nights in composing religious poetry in dim recesses of the -palace-gardens, betaking themselves to the seashore to meditate by the -hour upon the Koran, joining the frantic dances of the dervishes, or -reducing themselves with fasting and sackcloth in the company of some -devout old hermit. In death as in life they furnished their people -with examples either of fortitude or of majesty--whether dying with -the serenity of a saint, like the founder of the dynasty; or laden -with years and glory and melancholy, like Orkhan; or by the hand of a -traitor, like Murad I.; or in the misery of exile, like Bayezid; or -calmly conversing with a circle of poets and scholars, like the first -Muhammad; or from the mortification of defeat, like the second Murad. -And one may safely assert that there is nothing upon the blood-red -horizon of Ottoman history which can compare with the threatening -phantoms of these formidable rulers. - - -END OF VOLUME I. - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not -changed. Several spurious commas were removed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced -quotation marks retained. - -Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. - -Page 241: “wings of the loves” probably should be “doves”. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Constantinople, Vol. I (of 2), by Edmondo de Amicis - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONSTANTINOPLE, VOL. 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