CORNELE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 UBRARY 
 
€mrA "^m la»k}'s 
 
 LECTURES, 
 
 ON 
 
 TUKKET AND RUSSIA, 
 
 WITH A MAP. 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924006296770 
 
-Jit*^ 
 
 Ittvsr J*rutiky is Uve. bozatdary betwei^t. 
 Russittnj ajtA the Ottorrtcuv Empire., 
 
TWO LECTURES 
 
 t ^mm I 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 TURKEY Al^D RUSSIA ? 
 
 WITH A MAP SHOWING THE POSITION OF BOTH 
 
 ARMIES IN THE PRINCIPALITIES. 
 
 (this lecture has been delivered with great success in 
 
 boston and elsewhere.) 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 THE EXILE IN A FOREIGN LAI^D : 
 
 A POETICAL SKETCH. 
 
 BY COUNT LOUIS KAZINSKI, 
 
 EXILE FROM POLASD, AND LATE OPPICBE IN THE BODY GUARD OP OHARLES ALBERT, 
 KING OP SARBINIA. 
 
 MANCHESTER, N. H. : ..muim,,^ 
 
 STEAM POWER PRESS OF ABBOTT, JENKS & CO. . f, \ T Y 
 
 1854. ^„;«^' "' "';^'"*'^ 
 

 000^ 
 
LECTURE I. 
 
 Mahomed the II, of glorious memory, secured by the con- 
 quest of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman Empire in 
 Europe. It attained its utmost pitch of greatness and splendor, 
 under Suliman the great, who died in 1566. For more than 
 one century, the growth of this power excited much terror and 
 hostility among the whole family of christian princes. Francis 
 the I, surnamed " the Most Catholic," entered into a treaty of 
 alliance and friendship with Suliman the great, a striking exam- 
 ple of those times of fanaticism, when crusades were preached 
 everywhere, and persecution was a virtue, that a christian prince 
 should conclude such a treaty, and that this treaty should contain 
 a special provision for the admission of the Pope to the league. 
 Policy commanded it to oppose the growing power of Austria, 
 under Charles the V. The Island of Rhodes, taken from the 
 Knights of St. John, a large portion of Hungary, and the pro- 
 vinces of Moldavia and Walachia, whose princes became tributa- 
 ries to the Porte, were the acquisitions of territory made under 
 the famous Suliman the Great. Malta only resisted his at- 
 tempts, thanks to the brave resistance of the Knights of St. 
 John and the arrival of the Sicilian fleet. This defeat occurred 
 in 1665 ; Suliman died in the following year, a,nd from that 
 period dates the decline of the Ottoman power. 
 
 Effeminate luxury reigned in the palace ; endless abuses 
 ruined the military character and institutions of the Empire, and 
 the fearful name of the Crescent soon became a shadow. In 
 vain Sultan, Abdul Hamed issued after the tr eaty of Kainardje, 
 (17T6) severe edicts for their reorganization ; the resistance of 
 whole provinces was too powerful and the government was 
 obliged to give way. 
 
But the decline of the Ottoman Empire is to be dated from 
 the brilliant victory of Choczim, -vvhich the brave John Sobieski 
 gained, and for which he was elected King of Poland. By 
 intrigues, Sobieski entered into an alliance with Austria. How 
 nobly he fulfilled his engagement, proves the victory of Vienna, 
 12 Sept. 1683. The Ottoman army was defeated, and the city 
 of Vienna, after having been beseiged for two months, was res- 
 cued, and with it Christianity saved. The Porte never recov- 
 ed from the effects of this terrible defeat. She lost Hungary 
 in 1686, and in the following year, Transylvania and Sclavonia 
 came under the domination of the house of Austria. At the 
 treaty of Carlowitz, the rivers Marosch, TTieiss, Save and the 
 Unna were fixed as the boundary between Austria and Turkey. 
 From that date, the descendants of the Prophet continued to 
 dechne. 
 
 When Peter the Great of Russia, so wise, so consistent, — yes, 
 when that wonderful man founded St. Petersburgh on the banks 
 of the Neva, did he intend his capital should be seated on the 
 very verge of his Empire ? No, he designed it should be at 
 some future time in the centre of his maritime states, Sweden 
 and Norway spread around it. His successors have been vacil- 
 lating between the erection of a northern and southern mari- 
 time power. 
 
 In the Baltic, Russia, as she is now situated, cannot have a 
 formidable navy; nature forbids it. During the summer 
 months, when the sea is navigable, it is too smooth to form good 
 sailors; and sailors can only be formed by long navigation of 
 difficult seas in tempestuous seasons. The theory of nav- 
 igation may be taught by Archbishops and Cardinals, but it 
 requires Admirals, officers and seamen to put them into execu- 
 tion. How very different is the black sea. There, the Rus- 
 sians have nurseries to form sailors, because the sea is naviga- 
 ble all the year. 
 
 The ambitious Czarina Catherine, took every opportunity to 
 
 ravage the Turkish provinces, and under the Sultan, Abdul 
 
 •Hamed, after the terrible defeat near Schumla, the Porte was 
 
 ■obhged to accept the peace upon almost any terms ; and the Rus. 
 
5 
 
 sians took possession of Crimea, Badjak and Kuban. The Sutr- 
 lime Porte accorded to-the Russians free navigation for merchant 
 vessels in the' Turkish waters, and ceded Azof and Kibouran. 
 In 1783, Catherine seized Kuban ; and in 1786j the Sultan was 
 obliged, ty the will of his people, to declare war, which ended 
 with the death of Abdul Hamad in 1789. His successor, Sul- 
 tan Selim the HI, continued the war, but with ill success ; and 
 in 1790, the fortress of Ismael was taken and all its defenders 
 put to death by the Russians. The treaty of Yassi, 1792, se- 
 cured to Russia, the Island of Taman and Bessarabia, and the 
 territory lying between the rivers Bug and Dniester. 
 
 The reign of Sultan Selim III, was marked by acts of hor- 
 rible attrocities ; whole provinces revolted, and brigands and 
 murderers burnt towns and pillaged the inhabitants. The 
 Janissaries revolted, surrounded the Seraglio, killed all the 
 ministers, and their butchery continued during two whole days. 
 The unhappy Selim was imprisoned and strangled by his' cousin 
 Mustapha. This Sultan was imprisoned by his brother Mah- 
 moud the II, in July 20, 1808, who ascended the thrcme at this 
 period. He was a man of brilliant c|,ua]ities, of great firmness 
 of character, and had the power to conceal his purposes until 
 the last moment. During his whole reign, he had to struggle 
 against internal revolts, the Servians, Wallachians, Grecians 
 and Egyptians. 
 
 I cannot possibly enter into details ; suflSce it to say, that 
 Mahmoud, by refusingtorecognize the independence of Greece, 
 was involved in war with Rjissia. The sympathy then shown 
 by the United States for Greece, makes me believe that the 
 citizens of this country are very well acquainted with its results, 
 and I therefore confine myself to the celebrated treaty of Un- 
 kiar Skelessi, 26 June, 1833. This- treaty consists of six 
 openly acknowledged articles, and one secret article- 
 In the first six articles, the contracting parties enter into a 
 treaty of defensive aUiance, declaring that there shall be per- 
 petual peace and friendship between the Emperor of all the 
 Russias and the Sultan of the Ottomans ; that the. treaty has 
 for its only object the defence of their respective doBuiuon9 
 
6 
 
 against all attacks, and to render, in case of necessity, substantial 
 aid and assistance ; that from a most sincere desire to secure 
 the permanence and entire independence of the Sublime Porte, 
 the Emperor of all the Russias engages, if required for the de- 
 fence of the Ottoman dominions, to furnish, by land and by sea, 
 as many troops and forces as may be deemed necessary by the 
 two high contracting powers ; that the party requiring assistance 
 shall have to pay only the expense of provisioning the forces 
 furnished by the other. 
 
 But the secret article was of far more importance to all mar- 
 itime powers ; — bound to afford to each other, mutually, sub- 
 stantial aid and the most efficacious assistance, His Majesty the 
 Emperor of all the Russias, wishing to spare the Sublime Otto- 
 man Porte the expense and inconvenience -nhich might be oc- 
 casioned to it by affording substantial aid, will not ask for that 
 aid, if circumstances should place the Sublime Porte under the 
 obligations of furnishing it. In place of the aid, the Sublime 
 Porte should confine its action in favor of the Imperial Court of 
 Russia to closing the Straits of the Dardanelles, and not allow 
 any foreign vessel of war to enter therein, under any pretext 
 whatsoever. 
 
 The consequence of such a treaty was the supremacy of Rus- 
 sia in the Black Sea, and the facility of attacking Constantino- 
 ple at her pleasure. I consider, therefore, the rupture of both 
 powers a happy event for the Subhme Porte by annihilating this 
 treaty. 
 
 That Russia is an aggressive power is as clear as sunshine. 
 She has encroached on all her neighbors, as I will show you 
 clearly. Her frontier, smce Catherine until the present time, 
 has been advanced towards Berlin, Vienna and Paris, over 700 
 miles ; towards Constantinople, 600 miles ; towards Stockholm, 
 630 ; towards Teheran, in Persia, 1250. 
 
 Nicholas has said that the Dardanelles are the gates of his 
 house, and he is determined to take po?scssi6n of it as soon as 
 he can get it. Until 1848 Austria was the natural ally of Tur- 
 key, and watched very closely the intrigues of Nicholas and 
 Neselrode ; but since that period she has become subject to 
 
Russia, and her existence on the map of Europe depends en- 
 tirely on the good pleasure of the autocrat. Austria, there- 
 fore, bound by fear and gratitude, has to submit to the aggreS' 
 sions of Russia, and will, if desired, join her. 
 
 The king of Prussia is connected by family ties to the Em- 
 peror, and by reasons of policy will always support Russia. 
 When Nicholas, therefore, sometime ago sent the uisolent Ment- 
 schikoff, with an Asiatic luxury, to Constantinople to extort by 
 intrigue from the Porte the Protectorate over the Greek Catho- 
 lics, and the appointment of the Patriarchs, he thought the' 
 moment favorable. Mentschikoff, this half-civilized barbarian, 
 with the ferocity of a hyena and the insolence of a bear, de- 
 manded the dismission of Fuad Effendi, one of the most intel- 
 ligent and literary men, — a gentleman who speaks different lan- 
 guages, and who has received his education in Paris. The 
 Sublime Porte, astonished, asked for time to reflect. The con- 
 ferences of the Divan and the enthusiastic spirit of the inhab- 
 itants, decided the Sultan at last to declare war and free him- 
 self of an insolent enemy, if possible. For a long time the 
 Turks availed themselves of a fair pretext to throw off the Rus- 
 sian yoke, and they naturally rather look to England than to 
 any other power for assistance. The regeneration of Turkey 
 can only be effected by acquiring a physical force which will 
 enable her to become independent of Russia, and the present 
 war may perhaps effect it and civilize her. That Turkey has 
 to contend against a powerful enemy is admitted ; and the pres- 
 ent strength of Russia is as follows : 
 
 1. The Imperial Guard, composed of six divisions ; — three 
 of cavalry and three of infantry ; — over 150,000 men. 
 
 2. The corps of Grenadiers, consisthig of cavalry and in- 
 fantry, comprising twelve regiments and twenty batteries of 
 foot artillery. 
 
 Then there are eight corps d'armdes, each consisting of one 
 division of light cavalry, three divisions of infantry, two bat- 
 teries of horse artillery, and fifteen batteries of foot artillery. 
 
 The total strength of the six corps d'arm^es is twenty-four 
 regiments of light cavaby, seventy-four regiments of infantry, 
 
twelve batteries of horse artillery, and ninety batteries of foot 
 artillery. 
 
 There are one hundred and forty-four battallions of infantry 
 
 of regerve : 
 
 1. The corps of the Caucasus, consistmg of one regiment of 
 dragoons, three divisions of infantry, and sixteen batteries of 
 foot artillery, 
 
 2. The corps of Orenburg, consisting of one division of in- 
 fantry, and sixteen batteries of foot artillery. 
 
 ■ 3. The corps of Siberiar— one division of infantry. 
 
 4. The corps of Finland^one division infantry. 
 
 There are also for the service of the interior : 
 
 Ten battallions of sappers, fifty battallions for duty in the 
 fortresses, and one division of horse artillery in reserve. 
 
 Besides this there are : 
 
 Four batteries of horse artillery of the river Don ; two 
 of the Black Sea ; two of Orenburg ; and two of Siberia. 
 
 The Cossack force is as follows : 
 
 ■J^iifty-six regiments of the Don ; twenty-one, of the Black 
 ,Sca ; .tjvelvc, of the Caucasus ; two, of the Danube ; one, of 
 Azof; thjree, of Astracan; three, of Baschkirs; two, of Nav- 
 ropol ; twelve, of the Ural ; twenty, of Orenburg ; twelve 
 of Siberia, and two of little Russia. 
 
 In addition to ihis force, there are at St. Petersburg, as 
 models for the rest of the army, a regiment of cavalry, one of 
 .'infantry, and a battallion of sappers. 
 
 Hence it appears that the total strength of the Russian in- 
 fantry is upwards of 700,000 ; cavalry, 150,000, exclusive of 
 the Cossacks. 
 
 Judging from the expense incurred in maintaining so large 
 an army, it might naturaUy be concluded that the finances of 
 ^he Ru££ia.u e^fpjrp would be seriously crii^pled ; but the cost 
 ,of a soldier in any other J]uropean country i§ yery much 
 greater than it i§ i^ Russia. One American soldier costs as 
 much as ten Russian SQldiers, The character of the R.u^sian 
 soldier is well known tq yoi>. They are moving machines ; Ijraye 
 and courqw.ous, Init withp.-i any pipi of intelligence. 
 
9 
 
 The Ottoman anny, at present, is of no small importance ; 
 and the thousand different reports of their incapability which 
 have invaded your ears, were spread by Russian emissaries, and 
 newspapers in the pay of the Russian Bear. 
 
 In 1843 a new system of organization was issued by the 
 council of war. The service consists of two distinct branches ; 
 the nizam, or effective army, and the redif, or the reserve. 
 The army consists of six ordou, or divisions, commanded by a 
 mushier, or general. Each ordou contains nearly 21,000 men. 
 The Ottoman army contains an effective force of nearly 180,000, 
 which is now doubled by calling into service the reserve militia. 
 To this available force may be added more than 150,000 men, 
 irregular troops, coming from the tributary provinces and other 
 districts. As to the appearance of the army, I never saw a 
 finer body of men, both as respects equipment, bearing and good 
 discipline. They are better fed than any other army in Eu- 
 rope, and acquire with great facility military evolutions. The 
 uniform is very comfortable, with the exception of the head- 
 dress, — the eternal /ez, a kind of red cap, with a black silk tas- 
 sel at the top. The color is different for the different divisions ; 
 purple, dark, blue, red, brown, etc. I need not assure you of 
 their courage ; and, exasperated by the aggressions of Russia, 
 I am confident they will show themselves the true descendants 
 of Soliman. If there were no artillery, or gunpowder had never 
 been invented, they surely in less than two months, with the 
 sabre in their hands, would plant the crescent on the churches 
 of St. Petersburg. 
 
 As to the superiority of their general officers, I can only add, 
 that they are mostly foreigners, of military experience, and who 
 know the country well. As for example, Omer Pasha, a born 
 Croatian ; Ismael Pasha, the celebrated Hungarian general 
 Guyon ; and Jusef Pasha, the great Hetman of the Cossacks. 
 
 I come now to the natural defence of Turkey, — the Balkan. 
 These mountains, which extend to the Black Sea, are nearly 
 parallel with the Danube, and may be regarded as the Boule- 
 vards of the Ottoman Empire, as you will see by the Map. 
 The passages, like the Pravadi, Selimno and Aidos, are very 
 
10 
 
 straight ; and on both sides are tlie Shumla mountains, pre- 
 senting abrupt cliflfs, and rising in exact level with each other. 
 On the left side are thickly wooded hills, and a little farther, the 
 river Pravadi— broad but not deep. Since the passage of the 
 Russians, Mahmoud II, as well as the present Sultan, have di- 
 rected their special attention to the fortification of those pas- 
 sages. Fortifications of all kinds, built in a scientific manner, 
 with an excellent artillery, will soon prove that the Balkan is 
 the Gibraltar of the Ottoman empire. The map will show near 
 enough the position of both armies as described by the news of 
 the Arctic. 
 
 I will endeavor to give you, as near as possible, the precise 
 amount of the pubhc revenue, which amounts, after passing 
 through all the pilfering hands of functionaries, to about thirty- 
 five millions of dollars ; and there is little room to doubt that 
 if it were honestly collected, it would amount to three times as 
 much. To this you may add the church land, shamefully plun- 
 dered ; but at the present moment, as this is a war of death or 
 life for the children of the prophet, it will be tendered to the 
 Sultan. To what the revenue amounts, it would be impossible to 
 state; but I should not be surprised if Turkey should not 
 need any foreign aid in money, for the next eighteen months or 
 two years. 
 
 My next object is to inform you that all the exaggerated state- 
 ments of the persecutions to which Christians are subject, are 
 false, and maliciously propagated by Russian emissaries and other 
 interested parties, for the purpose of exciting discontent against 
 a government which sincerely means to deal even-handed justice 
 between all its subjects, without regard to race or creed. " Let 
 us only recognize the Mussulman at the mosque, the Christian 
 at the church, and the Jew at jihe synagogue," is the maxim of 
 the present government. To illustrate this more clearly, let me 
 give you a fact whiph occurred in the city of Pera, Asia Minor, 
 in the year lS4.'j. A Moslem entered, on a fine summer morn-- 
 ing, a dry goods shop, kept by a Christian merchant, and 
 asked for son]e trifling article. The price demanded seemed 
 not exactly to agree withtTic jdonsof mv friend the Mahometan. 
 
11 
 
 Ho, therefore, always silent, threw a few piastres on the counter, 
 (a piastre is four cents, American money,) and pbssessed him- 
 self of the fancied article. The merchant, with high Christian 
 indignation, disputed the article. A struggle was the nat- 
 ural consequence, and, " By the prophet !" the Moslem broke 
 the arm of the Christian. The merchant, very christian-like, 
 directed his steps with due humility to the house of my lord 
 the cadi, (the mayor of a city,) stated his facts, and awaited 
 with due submission its results. Highly indignant, although 
 always dignified, the cadi, seated on a low divan, with his legs 
 crossed, and smoking the inevitable chibouque, — the cadi, I 
 say, ordered the culprit to be brought into his presence, with a 
 surgeon to examine the broken arm of the Christian. The 
 Moslem and surgeon appeared in due time : 
 
 Cadi. Surgeon, what is the severity of the wound, and how 
 long will it be before the Christian is restored to health ? 
 
 Surg. The arm is broken, but I think that in three months' 
 time it will be healed. 
 
 , Gadi {to the 6ulpi-it.') Allah is great, and Mahomet is his 
 prophet. Thoii shalt pay 10,000 piastres to the Christian. 
 
 With sublime submission the culprit asked for twenty-four 
 hours' time to collect this sum. It was granted to him, and on 
 the next day the money was deposited in the hands of the mag- 
 istrate. 
 
 Cadi (to the culprit.) Now that thou hast satisfied the Christian, 
 thou art still in debt to the laws of thy country, whiph laws 
 condemn thee for five years to the galleys. 
 
 The culprit, crossing his arms over his breast, and inclining 
 his head towards Mecca, exclaimedj with a voice of a martyr, 
 " Allah is great, and Mahomet is his prophet." 
 
 What a contrast with the Russians ! I saw a Cossack hold 
 a Turk by the beard till he made the sign of the cross. The 
 poor Mahometan thus assailed, bought his release from the grasp 
 of his captor by complying with his request. The Russian sav- 
 age became immediately satisfied, and they both went off in 
 perfect harmony together. The Moslem complained, but could 
 never obtain justice. 
 
12 
 
 In 1847, the Divan (privy council of the Sultan,) granted 
 to Christians privileges in the courts of justice, ivhich un- 
 til that period they never enjoyed, viz : — they can give evi- 
 dence in a trial ; and in case a Christian is to be judged, the 
 jury is composed of one half Christians, and one half Mahomet- 
 ans. Their new code of laws is the code Napoleon, with the nec- 
 essary changes, according to their customs. 
 
 The vices of the Turks have been overrated, because they 
 have been chiefly drawn at periods of fanatical excitement, 
 which should only be considered as episodes. The most fa- 
 vored nations, at times, with all the advantages of education, 
 commit excesses; yet, when the crisis is over, resume their 
 places in the front rank of civilization. An exceeding love of 
 indolence is the prominent featui-e of their character. Shop- 
 keepers, in hot weather, rather than rise from their cushions to 
 reach you the article you want, will desire you to go to another 
 shop. They are not revengeful, like the Albian, with whom 
 blood must atone for blood. They forgive a personal insult, and 
 embrace the murderer of a friend. They are courageous, and 
 skilful in the use of arms, drawing the ataghan, in particular, 
 with electric effect. The Turks are liberal, and always have a 
 richly dressed train of domestics, and a beautiful steed ; but 
 still simplicity guides most of their tastes. Perfumes, the 
 sound of falling water and rushing winds, — 'harmless pleasures, 
 which are easily procured by artificial means, — are necessary to 
 their comfort ; to which add the chibouque and a tolerable sup- 
 ply of coffee, and they require no more to enable them to get 
 through the day with patience. At evening they may honor the 
 ladies with their presence. I will not draw the harem curtains ; 
 — a description of the bizarre and multiplied sensualities behind 
 it, would rather offend than amuse. Yet this monotonous life is 
 capable of bemg exchanged for one of violent action, and with 
 a surprising facility. After lolling for years in Sybarite indo- 
 lence, only using their legs to convey them from one sofa to an- 
 other, they will gird their loins, and ride twelve hours a day for ' 
 a month. They are not the unsocial animal so perpetually de- 
 scribed. On the contrary, they are very peculiar in their likes 
 
13 
 
 and dislikes, as the constant occupation of the coffee-bouse 
 proves. True, -whether in to-vra or country, their verbal inter- 
 course is confined to " selam alykum," or, " alykum selam," 
 i. e., " Peace be with you," and the ordinary questions and 
 answers ; followed by a long silence. But what can they say ? 
 Deprive th'e most loquacious people of books, of newspapers, of 
 scandal, and their conversation will soon drop to monosyllables. 
 
 I need hardly observe that charity and hospitality are the 
 first duties enjoined by Mahomet, and to say truth, very gener- 
 ally practised by his disciples. To partake of food, to break 
 bread and salt with your host, ensures the safety of the guest ; 
 even though an enemy, his person from that moment is sacred. 
 The first praise that can be bestowed on a chief, is a panegyric 
 on his boimty ; the next on his valor. But the virtue which 
 chiefly characterizes the Mussulman is cleanliness, which they 
 carry to fastidiousness. I cannot comprehend how some trav- 
 ellers have disputed it. They must have formed their opinion 
 from the Greeks or Armenians. For my part I do not know so 
 clean a people ; — and I have seen them in all grades of society. 
 In addition to his daily ablutions, the Turk takes a bath every 
 day. Equally incorrect is the saying, that they do' not fre- 
 quently change their linen. Perhaps they who assert it judge 
 from his showing no shirt collar ; which in civUiaed countries 
 would certainly be an admissible argument. Their houses and 
 every thing relating to their food, are scrupulously clean, and 
 in every Mussulman dwelhng is seen a neat temple to the wor- 
 ship of Cloacina — a piety nowhere else practised. No people 
 have a keener sense of propriety. We in vain seek in the streets 
 of a Mussulman town for sights which in polished European cit- 
 ies make a woman turn her head, and force magistrates to issue 
 laws and orders. 
 
 Before I advance further, let me give you a description of a 
 reception by the Pasha of Smyrna, now Redshid Pasha. His 
 laconic order : " Bring coffee, pipes," was scarcely uttered than 
 obeyed. Two capidgis, with sUver sticks, marshalled in ; — a 
 noiseless train, which nearly filled the apartment. The chiboukgis 
 advanced first, describing circles in the air with the long chi- 
 
14 
 
 bouques, and placing brass saucers ou the spotless floor to re- 
 ceive the bowls, presented one to each guest, -with a finished and 
 graceful submission,. thatwould have become ambassadors offering 
 gifts to a queen. In the middle of the apartment the cavedji 
 took his station, holding a tray covered over with a piece of gold 
 brocade ; beside him waited the dispenser of the sober decoc- 
 tion, while a third person removed the covering, and disclosed 
 the china cups and filigreed silver saucers. The cup-bearers 
 then advanced to perform their duty ; and the cups being all 
 filled, stood one beside each guest, waiting, according to eti^ 
 quette, till the Pasha took his, to present theirs. At the same 
 moment we were served. We sipped, returned the cups to the 
 expectant hands, and then the room was cleared with the same 
 quiet haste. But yet further honors awaited us. When we 
 had skimmed the cream of our first pipes, he again clapped his 
 hands, and ordered fresh ones. Again the silver sticks and 
 train entered, -^this tune bringing a handsomer set of chibouques , 
 and instead of coffee, conserve of roses. We were much 
 pleased, and enjoyed the second pipe equally. A third time 
 the Pasha clapped his hands, and a third batch of pipes was 
 brought in, yet handsomer than the preceding. Sherbet was 
 the. accompaniment, and on each bowl a fragrant pastil was 
 laid, producing a delightful effect. Such is the reception of a 
 Turkish grandee. 
 
 It would be tiresome to describe minutely all their mosques, 
 —I will therefore confine myself to the mosque of St. Sophia. 
 The original St. Sophia was built by Constantino I, and over- 
 turned by an earthquake. Constantius rebuilt it. It was agam 
 destroyed by the great fire which consumed neatly all the city, 
 in the fifth year of Justinian. This Emperor then built the 
 present edifice. Its form is nearly square, 273 feet by 247, re- 
 presenting three naves, without a cross. The dome has 128 feet 
 diameter, and is 195 feet above the pavement. It is lighted by 
 twenty-four windows. Two half cupolas are attached to it, ter- 
 minated by four smaller ones. The gallery above the naves is 
 supported by forty columns, eight of which are of porphyry,— 
 the rest of Egyptian granite. Its outward appearance is mean, 
 
15 
 
 compavecl with that of the other mosques, owing to its flat dome 
 and dwarfish minarets. But the situation is very good. It is 
 visible from every side ; — from the sea of Marmora', the Bos- 
 phorus, and the harbor. The conversion of the church 'to a 
 mosque was early effected. Mahomet was invoked in it that 
 day, the cross supplanted by the crescent, and the following af- 
 ternoon, from a hastily constructed minaret, the muezzin's voice 
 was heard for the first time in the city of the Roman Csesars. 
 On a still evening, when the muezzin's invariably fine voice is 
 heard, the effect is solemn and beautifid beyond all the bells 
 in Christendom. ' 
 
 "While speaking of their customs, I will endeavor to give an 
 idea of an oriental burial. As soon as the procession reaches 
 the spot fixed on, breathless, two of the party set about digging 
 the grave, while the remainder sit around the coffin in a circle, 
 apparently quite unconcerned. Women cannot attend. The 
 coffin is taken to pieces, and the body being laid in the ground, 
 a kind of vault is raised over it with planks, on which the earth 
 is heaped. No service whatever is performed. 
 
 The tombs or monuments are very beautiful. They are of 
 white marble, covered with verses of the Koran, massively gild- 
 ed on a dark blue ground. The orientals carry the art of gild- 
 ing to perfection, and the arable character is peculiarly effect- 
 ive for its display. The name of the deceased only is inscribed, 
 without any record of virtues. The nature of the carved tur- 
 ban denotes the rank which he held in society. The burial 
 ground is always adorned with a vast forest of cypresses, im- 
 penetrable alike to sun or gale, and the deep solemnity which 
 is the natural consequence, cannot be imagined. * 
 
 The next object of not slight interest is the Avret Bazar, or 
 women market. Please do not be afraid, although the sound of 
 these words is revolting. " What," you may say, " a market 
 v/here women are sold like beasts ? Horrid idea !" Yes ! yes ! 
 I ffrant it, and God forbid that I should defend it ! Neverthe- 
 less, at the same time, the pretty creatures seem so content that 
 I cannot pity them, and the descriptions which you have read 
 of weeping innocence, dishevelled locks, torn garments and 
 
16 
 
 beaten breasts, exist only in the imagination of some sentimental 
 writers. The Circassians and Georgians are only victims of 
 custom, willing victims ; — being brought up by their mercenary 
 parents for the merchant. Their destination is constantly before 
 their eyes, painted in glowing colors ; and so far from dreading 
 it, they look with much anxiety for the moment when they are 
 brought to the market. In the market they are lodged in sep- 
 arate apartments, carefully secluded, where, in the hours of 
 business, they may be visited by aspirants for possessing such 
 delicate merchandise. The would-be purchaser may fix his 
 eyes on the lady's face, and his hands may receive evidence of 
 her bust. Our waltz or polka allows nearly as much liberty be- 
 fore hundreds of eyes. The price and value differ, and de- 
 pend on their accomplishments and beauty. I am now at the 
 point to give you a true picture of their beauty, intellect, social 
 intercourse and pleasures. A very natural question arises. It 
 is this : What can be said of viomen who have no balls, plays, 
 masquerades, concerts, operas, theatres, lectures, panoramas, 
 picnics, fancy fairs, — not even tea parties ? If no other, then 
 that they are the happiest women in the world. Love, or de- 
 sire, (as you will,) is the idol to which they are devoted from 
 childhood ; at whose altar their ideas are formed, to whose ser- 
 vice their education tends. The principal care of a mother is 
 to instruct her daughter in the art of pleasing the first man who 
 sees her— her husband ; and, as his tastes are not refined, the 
 nature of her lessons may be supposed. The oriental bride is 
 a self-contradiction. Their beauty ! who can be so presump- 
 tuous as to describe it? Eyes belying the prophet's anti-female 
 soul doctrine, large and softly lustrous ; a voice tuned Kke a 
 silver lute, making music of every word that leaves the lips ;— 
 a luxurious expression, which rivals with the Sybels feasting 
 with Cleopatra ; hands small, taper fingered, indicate favorably 
 of the remainder of nature's handiwork. Different from the 
 Italian or Spanish black, or from the deep blue of fair Ameri- 
 can ladies, their eyes, in particular, are unrivalled for an expres- 
 sive expression, which it is impossible to look upon without ad- 
 miration. Of the higher classes of women in Turkey, (for the 
 
17 
 
 lower orders lead nearly the same life in all cbuntries, nursing 
 children, cooking food, etc.,)rank first the inmates of the seraglio, 
 who are divided into two classes, the Sultan's ladies, and the maid- 
 ens of the valid^ Sultana. The former are purchased slaves, 
 since no Turkish woman being free-born can be a mistress even of 
 the sovereign ; the latter are also in part slaves, and part daugh- 
 ters of Pashas, who have been placed there for ^onor, or on the 
 death of their fathers. They are all instructed in the Arabian 
 and Persian tongues, in dancing, and singing. The resource 
 of each other's company, the luxury of their existence, and the 
 absence of care, render them happy. After a sister or a daugh- 
 ter, the Sultan cannot evince greater favor for a Pasha than by 
 giving him in marriage one of his'unknown women. An equal 
 honor is a wife from the house of the valid^ Sultana. The lady 
 in either case is placed at the head of her husband's harem, 
 with absolute authority, since on her interest at court depends 
 his advancement. More pashalicks are gained by petticoat in- 
 terest than is supposed. The condition of a lady in a harem is 
 very charming. She has a train of female slaves, more or less 
 numerous, more or less bea^itiful, and more or less ornamented, 
 according to her fancy, distinguished as are the officers of her 
 lord. They watch her eyes, hsten for the clap of her hands, 
 leave her alone, dance to her, sing, act the buffoon, any thing 
 to please her whims. She smokes, chews mastick, sips coffee, 
 and drmks sherbet. Voila her life ! Tiresome enough, will 
 you think, fair ladies, but habit reconciles us to everything, and 
 ignorance is bliss ; and 
 
 " Where ignorance is bliss, 
 '1 is folly to be wise." 
 
 The oriental lady knows no other mode of existence, nor has 
 she any books to enable her to define the vague wishes which 
 arise in her bosom in moments of languor: A singular amuse- 
 ment for consolation is the following example : Two ladies declare 
 themselves lovers ; plans of intrigue are formed, confidants estab- 
 lished, secrecy ensured, billets-doux in flowery language ex- 
 changed, all the little ruses de guerre are employed to elude 
 discovery, and in this way a harmless courtship is continued for 
 years. 
 
And now, although it may seem strange to a Christian, I musi 
 bestow a compliment to the Koran. While it gives great power 
 to the husband it does not leave a wife defenceless, but gives 
 her a title to an equal share in her lord's affections. In default, 
 redress may be had of the cadi. Facility of divorce is their 
 great ally. If, in a moment of anger, he says the words : I 
 ■will live with thee no longer — that suffices. The parties go be- 
 fore the cadi, and the act of separation is drawn out ; the lady 
 receives her dowry and can re-marry. What an advantage ! 
 Suppose her husband was a disagreeable fello'v. She is at once 
 rid of him, and, if without children, she has nothing to regret. 
 But as easily as they are separated they can be reiinited 
 — a mutual wish is sufficient. The cadi takes his fee and the 
 affair is ended. A third divorce exists ; but the Koran (the 
 Bible of the Mohammedans) has wisely enough put some ob- 
 stacles in the way, not altogether acceptable to a jealous dispo- 
 sition. It requires that the lady must have been married to 
 another man for at least twenty-four hours, before she can bo 
 reiinited in happy -wedlock with her already twice separated 
 master and lord. That Mahomet has well calculated human 
 nature, is proved by the following singular privilege of Turkish 
 women : A merchant, travelling from one city to another, (sup- 
 pose from Damascus to Bagdad,) where business may detain 
 him for some time, goes, on his arrival, to some of the mosques, 
 and addresses himself to one of the numerous Imams, (a kind 
 of an inferior priest :) 
 
 Merchant. Jusuf is likely to remain for some time in this 
 city ; and as he is a stranger, he would desire you to find him 
 some handsome young female, for the time he thinks to reside 
 in this place. 
 
 Imam. Of what condition, my love, wish you the lady? 
 
 Mer. As Jusuf is not rich, and has left a numerous family 
 at home, he would prefer a young widow in easy circumstances. 
 Should my brother find such an one, Jusuf will not forget him, 
 and will liberally reward the service. ' 
 
 The Imam desires the merchant to return in a day or two, 
 and in the meantime is engaged in finding the coveted object. 
 
19 
 
 He describes his employer to the lady, as a man of the most 
 amiable disposition, a handsome exterior, fond of pleasures and 
 luxury, and assures her that her future lover is most desperately 
 enamoured with her. After some pour-^parler the proposal is ac 
 cepted, the happy pair go before the cadi, a contract for a cer- 
 tain length of time is drawn out, and they are — husband and 
 wife. At the expiration of the fixed period, the contract is null 
 and the party free. 
 
 Indeed it would be wrong to deprive the oriental ladies of all 
 moral capacity. Turkish women are indeed entitled to the 
 credit of being the best of mothers. Q'o be childless is consid- 
 ered the greatest calamity ; and yet, by a strange contradiction, 
 after having had two or three children they do not desire any 
 more. Wet nurses are unknown among them, and the European 
 custom of sending children far oif to be educated, is regarded 
 as unnaturaK They never lose their influence with their sons, 
 which repays them in some measure for their want of impor- 
 tance in the eyes of their husbands. The chief care of an ori" 
 ental, on arriving at wealth and power, is to make his mother 
 comfortable ; which amiable trait in his character excuses many 
 of his faults. It is interesting to see the Turks along the quays 
 of the Bosphorus, dancing their children in their arms, and 
 dropping their gravity to play with them. The poorest will 
 deny himself to deck his child. 
 
 Having spoken of men and women, I must not omit another 
 class of oriental inhabitants of no small importance,'^the dogs. 
 The dogs belong to everybody and to nobody. The streets are 
 their homes. Their appearance is between a wolf and a jackah 
 It is astonishing how they continue their species^ exposed as 
 they are to a rigorous winter and other dangers. They are lit- 
 tered and reared in the streets. In the summer, some die of 
 thirst, but none have ever been known to go mad. Though a 
 nuisance to promenaders, their general utility is obvious ;"-for 
 as the Moslems throw the leavings of their kitchen out of doors, 
 the streets would very soon be impassable but for the voracious 
 propensities of the dogs. As they subsist entirely on charity, 
 instinct teaches them the necessity of a division of labor; and, 
 
20 
 
 therefore, in the same manner as a well-regulated society of 
 beggars has a separate walk for its members, they divide the 
 city and its faubourgs into districts. Were a dog found in a 
 strange quarter, he would inevitably be torn in pieces by the res- 
 ident dogs ; and so well are they aware of this, that no argu- 
 ment, not even a bone of roast meat, will induce a dog to follow 
 a person beyond his district — a singular but authentic fact. 
 
LECTUKE 11. 
 
 - The exile is like the hunted deer, — driven from his father's 
 home, banished from the watchful eye of his Beloved mother, 
 exiled from the tender embraces of his dear sister and brother, 
 deprived of the cheerful greeting of the well-known faces of his 
 friends. He wanders from city to city, from toWn to town, and 
 from village to village, always alone, always uncared for, in 
 many instances suspected, but seldom meeting the philanthropic 
 hand of a cosmopolite citizen. He is far more unfortunate 
 than the youth who has lost both his father and his mother, 
 sister and brother, or other relatives. Tou may ask the ques- 
 tion, Why ? Take the orphan. Does he not tread upon the 
 earth which has seen him born ? Does not the same sweet air 
 which first smiled in his baby face, greet him in the morning ? 
 Does he not daily meet the good-humored fece of a friend ? Of 
 the bewitching smiles of a dear lady acquaintance ? But he has 
 other consolation. In a beautiful summer morning, when na- 
 ture awakes him with her golden sunbeams, he may take a walk 
 to the silent cemetery — the city of eternal peace. There is 
 the grave of his father ; there of his mother ; here of a sister, 
 or perhaps of his beloved wife ! Rwse bushes, intermingled with 
 evergreen, adorn the white marble monument. He reposes him- 
 self under the shadow of the cypress tree, addresses a prayer 
 to the Most High for the benefit of his dear departed ; and I 
 am sure his heart will beat with joy, and consoled will he depart 
 to his daily toil. Is not this consolation ? Regard the exile ! 
 He knows that his country sufiers under the iron rule of a for- 
 eign despot. He knows that almost daily some of his friends 
 are sacrificed on the altar of liberty. He knows that his mother 
 and relatives are weeping for their loaj; son, husband, brother or 
 
22 
 
 cousin. He imagines that perhaps some members of his fam- 
 ily are suffering in the cold dungeons of despotism. The con- 
 solation of corresponding is interdicted by tyranical laws. When- 
 ever he greets a brother exile in a foreign land, he is sure to 
 meet misery and suffering. Nature, with all her beauty, re- 
 fuses him a moment of solace. Look ! Do you see yon prairie, 
 adorned with thousands of flowers of various colors ? A rivu- 
 let glides noiseless through this perfumed Eden. The steps of 
 the exile are stopped ; a mysterious murmur enchants his ear ; 
 he kneels on nature's blooming carpet, approaches his ear to 
 the silver surface of the water, and oh ! endless misery, a for- 
 eign sound destroys the happy dream. No ! a thousand times 
 no ! the murmur of my native stream is sweeter. Hear ! hark ! 
 The melodious voice of a mocking-bird, concealed beyond the 
 leaves of the almond tree, sings his ^morning song in praise 
 of his Creator. Attentive the exile listens to long-forgotten 
 notes. But 0, cruel deception ! 0, too fervent imagination ! — 
 It is not his native nightingale, perching her airy copse in jes- 
 samine branches. 0,'my nightingale ! thou knowest the suffer-- 
 ing of my fatherland ; thou knowest that enslaved liberty does 
 not admit the lofty notes of triumphant freedom, and in a long 
 complaint of harmonious notes thou sympathisest with the hearts 
 of my oppressed people. Wander and march, unhappy exile ! the 
 roses, lilies and tulips bloom not for thee. Their arrogant per- 
 fume is foreign, and mocks thy delicate feelings. Morally and 
 physically fatigued, the exile faints on nature's divan. Mor- 
 pheus soon closes his eyelids, and apparently to mortal eye he 
 seems to slumber, — yes, he seems to slumber ;— ^but his restless 
 spirit, his heat-oppressed brain, know not slumber. Foreign to 
 him are night's refreshing hours. With the wings of time he 
 travels the waves of the mighty ocean ; passes with mysterious 
 velocity through the straits of England's potent Gibraltar ; min- 
 gles in brotherly love with the mild Mediterranean, and, with 
 Aurora's call, finds himself in the Eosphorus of memorial anti- 
 quity. A friendly welcome extends to him the Danube, mourn- 
 ing over the victims whose blood reddens its shores by the or- 
 der of the despot. In Poland's deserted cities ho meets cruel 
 
23 
 
 confusion :— mothers, clinging to their sons; wives, struggling 
 with recruiting sergeants ; maidens, beating their breasts, and 
 casting a last look on lovers, parting under a tyrant's uniform. 
 The exile's breast beats heavily. All his nerves are in convul- 
 sion ; his body wanders from one side to the other ; a last gasp 
 escapes him : — his sleep of agony is over. He opens his eye- 
 lids, -closes them again, brings his hands to his forehead, stretches 
 them from north to south, from east to west, and at last exclaims : 
 I thank thee, God ! — it is but a dream. Too soon his wan- 
 dering senses are collected, and his dream— Oh ! cold and stern 
 reality— exists. His feverish imagination is but a feeble pic- 
 ture of the crimes which are perpetrated by the minions of the 
 Russian despot. He starts with electric agility ; his eyes seem 
 a pair of living coals ; his hands burn like red hot iron ; he 
 grasps with fury where he used to find his sword ; to the East, 
 — the earth selected by the Almighty to enlighten the children 
 of clay, the birthplace of Christ, the beloved son of God ; to 
 the capital of the ancient Greek empire, now the seat of the 
 descendants of Soliman, — are his steps directed. Strange con- 
 tradiction! Vile necessity! The Christian exile is forced to 
 join the Crescent banner, in order to avenge his down-trodden 
 country. 
 
 ehkata. 
 Page 12, seventeenth line from top, for Albian read Albanian. 
 
Cornell University Library 
 DR 567.K23 
 Two lectures-Lecture 1. Turkey an;* ""f*' 
 
 3 1924 006 296 770